CHAPTER 7
10:00 HOURS (MILITARY CALENDAR), TRAINING WILDERNESS RESERVE, EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM, PLANET REACH, JANUARY 17TH 2525
Otto dashed into cover as a barrage of paintball pellets stroked the wall he had once been at, he dove for cover and pelted the responder with his own paintball rifle.
The streak narrowly missed the red marked training ballistic armor of the opposing trainee.
"Dammit!" he grunted through the ballistic helmet that covered his face.
Black Team had been competing against Red Team, a collection of four other trainees in a capture the flag match.
"Black-Four, you got one! Movin' Fast!
"Keep your helmet on, Three. It's good season today."
A zip of pink caught him at the back of the helmet, the ballistic plates locked up and immobilsed him
"nice shot!"
"one of many" he sassed back
"You boys done? I'm going for the flag. Black-Two, you still with me? mind watching the front for the other two reds?"
Roma grunted over the team communications channel , "I've taken a hit! My shooting arms all stiff!"
The ballistic armor was more a way of saying "dead" in a training excerise, besides protecting from harsh bruises and missing teeth, it would lock and numb a limb when shot at a specific point, the latter for the entire body if a paintball dart caught the "head" of a target.
"It's an ovbious ambush at their flag, Black-One"
"I know"
Two of the Red Team trainees had been neutralised while they had tried to flank and box them in. the other two had fallen further back to the flag, Roma was right, it was a good oppurunity to ambsuh them as they moved up to their flag.
"Permission to manage the flag, Black-One? If I can't shoot I'm useless and dead otherwise" Roma said
"Permission granted, Black-Two, on the contrary you legs are still working." Margaret sassed into the com.
"Very funny, Black-One"
"Black-Three, Black-Four, you boys go ahead and tour around the flag plant, keep some distance get a few meters front of the flag, somewhere with a good open view. We're gonna ambush the ambush."
"Copy that, One. C'mon, Three"
"Yeah, right behind ya, Four"
Otto fell in behind Victor's steel gaze and sharp wit, he was an ace with the sniper, formulating the most kills in the training excerises out of any of them, he protected his team with a calm, snapping glare of his rifle.
Margaret fell in front while Roma strode behind, her right arm was locked and into a limp position, she seemed to keep up as she ducked behind cover
a streak of weapons fire nearly grazed Margaret's head.
"whoa-" Margaret snapped down in cover, the streak of paint fire hadn't splashed her, missing by an inch.
Otto yelled out at the two Red Team members who began to pin Margaret and Roma with unyielding ferocity.
"Hey! Reds!"
a girl, who had been Red Team's second in command, after Roma had locked Red Leader before he managed to squeeze off a shot that numbed her arm. "get him, Red-Three!" she yelled at the other Red Team trainee.
Victor caught her in the back of the head with a sharp shot from his paintball sniper rifle, she slumped down cold onto the metal base plated floorboard.
Otto caught the last red with a streak of fire, which grazed his left arm, still firing, Margaret leapt from cover and painted his chest a bright pink with paintball ammo.
"Black Team! Rock and Roll!" he yelled out victoriously
they all gave a victory cheer as Victor caught the flag, took it and set it down at their home base.
It was a sweet victory for them all. Otto suddenly felt like a king, no, a god. Almost immortal.
16:27 HOURS, (MILITARY CALENDAR) January 18TH 2524
"Hm, interesting" Halsey curled her lips
"Doctor, Black Team is fast advancing up the leaderboard on team-on-team excerises, this is their third win"
"their performance is exemplary. Their cognative bond allows them to function almost systematically!"
"Doctor, is this what you had invisioned with these excercises?"
Deja was a learning form of concious data, while certainly not the most advanced A.I, she was capable of communicating with her creators. Sometimes conversing with an A.I can be a game of chess with words.
Halsey nodded at Deja. "Yes, Deja. This is exactly what I had in mind!"
"Very well, Doctor" Deja paid attention to a clay tablet that she had in her hand, she turned back to Halsey.
"Doctor Halsey, Chief Mendez is here"
"let him in."
"the automatic doors slid, and out came Chief Mendez, he wore his usual steel face, as he walked up towards her, his neat and well pressed service uniform.
"Morning, Doctor" He said, he smelt of his usual morning cigar.
"I've just been reading your reports, chief" she smiled, she held onto her pregnant swell, cupping it with her left hand.
"Thought I could come and see what you have in mind with Project: ASTER and Project: MJOLNIR?"
"I can't fully explain it to you, Chief, It's something that...I'm still trying to develop and explain to ONI myself.
he cursed beneath his breath. ONI had a reputation for concealing the UNSCs most dire secrets and Black-Operations, earning such a reputation they were referred to as "Spooks" by the rest of the UNSC.
"Dammit" he whispered beneath his breath. He had wanted to know exactly what was both projects, and what they were about to do to his trainees. At least he could know what was going to happen.
"What I can discuss with you, is how well you have taught them."
Mendez didn't feel worthy of the praise, he was training children, the symbol of innocence into lethal killers. He felt like he would go to hell, for the extreme measure of saving humanity from the colonial insurrection that plagued the colonies for decades.
"They seem to have taken an impression off me." he said, while he didn't agree with what Halsey was doing, this program gave these children homes, a purpose, and friends, no. Family. They all gathered and rallied akin to close brothers and sisters.
He continued, "they are some of the best trainees I've ever seen, they always find a way to pass a test. He smiled at the camera image of Black Team celebrating their victory, then staring at the portrait of John 117.
"and it all seems to this one."