CHAPTER 9
22:00 HOURS FEBURARY 26TH 2525 (MILITARY CALENDAR) REACH NAVAL ACADEMY, EPSILON ERIDANI.
"I asked you a question, Trainee!"
Margaret wanted to cry badly, but she couldn't.
"I seem to recall you having two eyes when I threw your ass in the brig!" Mendez roared, his voice ripping through the room.
"The Navy Owns those eyes!" He came again, with greater intensity. "The Navy owns every last inch of you!"
she resisted the urge to feel for something, something that wasn't there anymore.
Her left eye.
It was gone, the bloody socket was covered in a bone-white bandage. She couldn't remember anything.
"The Navy does not like to see it's property damaged! So I'll ask you One. Last. Time!
"Who?"
she asked herself that question, who did this to her? Why would they?
Her memories shone like beacons through smoke in her aching head.
He barked at two of the guards, "This trainee labors under the delusion that the "code of the schoolyard" is more important than his duty to the UNSC!"
"So, Until one of you steps forward and tells me who participated in this brawl"
"dismissed"
and back to the brig. Good. The only thing she wanted to do was lie or sit, and just think.
The cell had a metallic door with a electronic keypad, strong, traumaproof glass was the window inside, simply occupied by a latrine and a bed, as well as a desk. It wasn't filthy, but claustrophobic, even to her. As Hardened as herself, or at least was.
the guards escorted her into the cell. As the door electronically locked and bolted, she sat on the bed, and felt the cold leak of a single stream of tears down her face.
Chief Mendez caught her and Otto a day before. "Dammit! How could he have known?"
She pondered the question
"Red Team, lead by Joshua 029 came in. She fought hard and well. But it wasn't enough.
a sharp shiv arced a light slash which deepened as it sliced into her eye, the next thing she remembers is doctors and armed guards picking her up. The memories coming back seemed to cause a metallic vibration in her brain, it made her head hurt, and she almost vomited.
she faced the mirror, and peeled off the bandage"
her left eye, wasn't there, but something else.
she could see normally. As if nothing happened. Until she realised it was a cybernetic eye. A white spherical shaped orb that fitted as her new eye fitted perfectly, it moved in graceful syncrony with her remaining natural eye. a teal iris lit up.
she fell deeper into tears. They had turned her into a monster. What would the others say?
She fell quiet as she fell back onto the bed, she barely managed an inch of sleep in the cell.
MARCH 5TH 10:00 HOURS
Otto had wanted to know about Margaret, after he was released, he turned to find her missing in the cell blocks, after "what happened" they took her, she was bleeding bad the last time she saw her. He began to imagine the worst. He barely inched a squeeze of sleep that night.
"What did they do to her?" he muttered quietly
He would kill Red Team, all of them, for this.
Slumped down at the table, Victor never said a word, and gave him a cold, hurt stare.
"So, what are we gonna do about "them"?"
"I dunno, but when Mag gets back, we're gonna grease 'em up real good."
"Hell yeah" Otto grunted
Victor said nothing, he sat in complete slience
"Something wrong, Vic?"
"No, Nothing" he said, avoiding eye contact.
It was after the entire mess hall fell silent, that Margaret silently walked through the door. She sat by the table, and said nothing.
"It was Red Team, wasn't it?" Roma said, as she looked at her.
Otto stared at her, her hair had been recently shaved into a short cropped cut. One of her eyes was now a white prothsetic, with a green-blue hue eminating as her iris.
"Mag? You okay?"
Margaret didn't respond, she said nothing.
Roma turned to Otto, "They couldn't handle that we smoked 'em in the last exercise"
"Don't worry, One. We'll get 'em for this."
She finally spoke, whisper quiet. "That we will, Two".
Otto stared back at Victor, who was now making eye contact. Usually with a poker-face, his face didn't expose any emotion, now, it was riddled with guilt and anger.
"Got something to say, Vic?" Otto finally spoke up
"No, nothing" Victor grunted back.
Otto suddenly felt a wave of anger, it showed as his voice rose with it.
"I sure as hell think you have!" he roared. The entire mess turned towards him, Mendez watched vigilant over them.
Victor never said anything, but glared in anger.
Otto wasn't thinking, he pressed his fist with all his anger into his cheek, a cold, hard punch.
Roma tried to stop him "Three, what the hell are you doing?"
he shoved her away, "you damned snitch! You told Mendez on me and One!"
Victor coughed as he smashed his fist into Otto's gut, waves of pain ripped through his stomach.
"you're a serpent!" He yelled
"You want sole glory in rescuing her, Otto, that it? Be her Knight in Jet Black Armor?"
"I won't dignify that with a response."
Otto booted him to the ground and began to viciously beat him, Margaret and Roma pleaded with them to stop, but Otto kept Shoveling him. Bloody, bruised, cut and beaten half to death. Mendez grabbed and pinned him down to the floor.
"That's enough, Trainee!"
Security arrived, wearing wide visor helmets and armed with MA5 Rifles loaded with stun rounds. Mendez waved them and he threw them at the two officers. He pointed to the half-unconcious Black-Four.
"Get this one a medic, I'll deal with him later"
the guards nodded and dragged away Otto, Kicking and yelling
Margaret felt a single strain of tears leaving her remaining eye as she watched Otto, muscled away.