Blue 4 Chapter 6

The Spartans moved through the maintenance passage, stepping around the dead Covenant. "So what do you want me to explain first?" Kelly asked eyeing a grunt that looked like it was sitting up. It was dead but it was better to be safe than just assume everything had been killed. Grunts were known for being cowards and she wouldn't count out them playing possum.

"Linda said something about retirement and forcing your way back in. I'd like to know more about that." It didn't surprise Kelly that he had focused on that and it was still at the front of his thought.

"Not particularly good times to remember," Fred spoke up. "After the war ended the truth about the Spartan program came out. Six-year-old kids taken from their homes, made into soldiers, and augmented. It didn't do well with the public and ONI was getting a lot of trouble for it. The people were questioning what secrets there might be about the Spartan IVs."

"In the end the UNSC decided that the best option was for them to pretend they gave us a choice to leave the military and that we took it. Basically force us into retirement," Linda continued. Her voice held a hint of the resentment that they all felt toward the events. "We understand they were just trying to protect the UNSC's reputation and keep people from backing out of the Spartan IV project, but they didn't actually give us a choice."

"That reminds me, you can have access to your file, the one with all the information about you from when you were born to your entire service record even notes on you during training," Kelly inserted.

"Did any of you look at yours?" John asked.

Fred and Linda shook their heads. He looked to Kelly and she frowned behind her helmet. "There was nothing in them that would interest me."

"So they tried to make you retire, what did you do?" It was obvious in John's voice that he was struggling to understand the UNSC not standing with the Spartans after all they'd always been told that the UNSC stood but its own. "You obviously didn't retire."

"We had to do something a bit out there. The first step was making friends with Commander Palmer, the easiest step," Linda explained. "She and Kelly are really close friends and Palmer is basically a Kelly fan which meant that she was eager to help us out, and keep it quiet. Not to mention what we were doing would boost the Spartan IVs. We figured it would them to shoot for something more but Palmer believed that if we were still around then the Spartan IVs would have a living legacy that they had to match and it would motivate them."

"So we trained our special teams and they went out into combat. They would even refer to themselves as part of those specialized ranks whenever they would do something that involved the training. Eventually the UNSC noticed and they tried to stop it but the soldiers continued. Those that were under our command were proud and didn't want to stop being a part of it," Kelly explained.

"Eventually they relented. Linda was the first of ours to be acknowledged after they completed an assassination job without getting anywhere near the compound. The UNSC made them into actual squads of snipers and Linda was promoted to Commander to direct them in combat. My soldiers were acknowledged about three years ago after a long standing record of Demon Fists going into buildings, killing everything without alerting anyone and being able to steal information or whatever they were trying to get. I was then promoted me to a Commander to direct their deployments and help in the field," Fred explained. "By making us Commanders it meant that we were basically working in parallel with the main Spartan IV group. Palmer had to request soldiers from us and it meant that we had authority over any Spartan IVs we might have needed to give orders to in the field."

John turned to Kelly. "What about you?"

Kelly frowned, not really sure how he would take it. "I had to do something rather drastic. I ran out of way to keep them from discharging me and I was running out of time. I gathered the Hell Rabbits, got on a ship, faked some orders, went to a planet of rebels, and spend a week with the Hell Rabbits taking down a large organization of rebels by killing their leaders." Kelly braced for his reaction to her actions but it never came. He was just silent, waiting for more. "After we painted our logo all over the place on our missions they couldn't really ignore us. They now make sure teams have at least one Hell Rabbit and sometimes I'm sent into combat with them on big missions. They really only promoted me because they promoted the others." Kelly left out the fact that she had kept their record excellent as she was still on the hit list of a few officers who were looking to find any reason to demote her or kick her out. While they couldn't argue against how the offensive had been successful they didn't like the initiative or the fact that it had sort of ruined a few of ONI's plans.

"How'd you end up with an AI?" John seemed a bit uneasy as he asked the question. Maybe he was worried that they'd given Sapphire to her to replace Cortana and was a sign they were replacing him. The UNSC had made it clear that they had wanted the Spartan IIs gone. Kelly only hoped John wouldn't have to fight to stay like they had, try to force him into retirement. At least with his record he might be able to leverage staying.

"They gave me Sapphire because the Hell Rabbits often gets into places where there is a lot of information and we need to extract it fast. An AI can do it easily and we make a lot of gain with it. They got the idea because when we made the attack on the planet we had to pass up some computers full of information because it would take too long. If we'd had an AI, it wouldn't have."

John nodded , accepting the information. "Is there anything else that we should know?"

"Not that I can think of, Chief." Fred stopped as they reached the main hanger. "I'm going to see if they could use some extra muscle moving those hunters." With that he moved off to help the Spartan IVs.

"I'm heading to medical. Something got into my arm and it's annoying me. I'm going to see if someone can pull it out." Linda nodded to them and moved off.

Kelly turned and motioned for John to follow her. "I'll show you where the bridge is. I know that the Captain will want to ask you all about the Prometheans. I'm sure we'll all get some questions but you were here before us. Not to mention a report on what happened before we found you." Kelly led them into one of the hallways and John walked beside her.

"Are you going to tell me what happened back there?" Kelly frowned, not really sure what he was talking about. When John stopped she stopped as well. "You said there was a wraith and then you suddenly dropped out of contact. What happened?"

Kelly really hadn't thought about how it would have looked from where John had been. To his credit he's remained a proper Spartan the entire time, focused on the enemies, but that was what they were trained to do. They were trained to put their emotions to the side for missions like repelling an invasion. "It was nothing," Kelly finally said. "Just a bit of equipment malfunction. Everything is fine, though I will have to get a few plates of my armor replaced." She looked down to the partially melted plates on her arm.

"Next time…we should use a safer plan." Kelly frowned at his words. She knew he didn't mean to insult her abilities as a soldier, or her job as a rabbit, but he had. She knew he'd just been worried, and didn't want it to happen again, but she kept quiet and just nodded. He didn't know why it had really happened, and for now she'd keep it to herself. Things were already hard enough with a living Forerunner, AI enemies, and the Covenant. John didn't need to be worried about the trouble his rampant AI was causing as well. What he said next actually surprised her. "I just got you back, I'm not ready to lose you again."

Kelly was struck by the words for a moment. It was a very open thing for John to say, though maybe all that had happen had made him a bit tired and for this moment his walls were down even though they weren't locked away from any prying eye. Kelly took a step toward him and her arms wrapped around his neck. John's arms wrapped around her waist loosely in the closest hug they could get while in armor. "I missed you, John."

John tightened his grip just a bit on her. "I missed you too, Kelly. I missed all the Spartans but I missed you a bit more. I never thought I'd see any of you again and I don't think I have words for how happy I am to see you all again." He pulled away a bit and Kelly knew there was more they wanted to do, but they couldn't. "Can I ask you something?" Kelly nodded. "Why didn't you retire? Go to Earth, be safe and enjoy the peace? They would have found me and we could have…"

Kelly didn't know what to say right away. She sighed and shook her head. "There isn't really peace, John. The Covenant is split between ignoring us and wanting to kill us, rebellions are still around, and we're always keeping an eye out for forerunner planets." Kelly moved one of her hands to touch the side of his helmet. "Besides, I needed something to take my mind off of things."

John moved a hand up to her hand on his helmet. "You could have taken up a hobby," he suggested. "Maybe knitting."

Kelly shook her head and moved her arms from around his neck. She took a step back, knowing that if she didn't put distance between them she might do something stupid. "The Captain is waiting for you." She motioned down the hallway. "Just go to the elevator and it's level E," she instructed.

"I've never met this Captain before. Any tips for dealing with him?" John asked, though Kelly knew he was just stalling. He didn't want her to leave and she had to admit she didn't want to leave him either but they had things they needed to do.

"He's been a good Captain so far. He's not a daredevil so he's not as outgoing as Keys but he's done well so far. I have no idea how he's handling this sort of stressful situation as Infinity has never had to deal with anything like this before," Kelly explained. "So no, I have no words of advice because I have no idea how he is, though he sounded stressed over the radio. I'd wish you luck, John, but you don't need it." Kelly put the palm side of her fingers against her helmet where he mouth was and then repeated the action on John's helmet.

Kelly turned and moved back down the hallway to head to the labs. She could get replacement armor pieces for those that were burned. "You know you were wrong," Sapphire spoke up.

"What was I wrong about?" Kelly had sort of not realized that Sapphire was listening. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She didn't feel like another person had overheard or seen them, which would have made her feel uncomfortable and panic, but Sapphire might report back to command.

"You were wrong in why I was given to you," Sapphire elaborated. "I was assigned to be given to a Spartan II to keep an eye on you. I chose you."

"Why?" Kelly didn't know how she felt about being chosen to be paired with the AI. She didn't dislike having the AI but it made her question matters, and made her more concerned that Sapphire would turn her in. If the AI had been assigned to watch her, probably for slip ups, then a relationship with another Spartan would be a big slip-up. Though maybe she was looking too much into it. A hug from normal soldiers was nothing but for a Spartan it was something that Kelly would have only ever done with John.

"I chose you for two reasons. One, the reason that you stated, that I could assist with gathering data. Two, because you would be the one who wouldn't get attached," Sapphire explained. "I am equipment, and I know that while I work with you that you will know one day I will have to be replaced, that all I do is because of programing, and that I will always put the mission first. This is why I can tell you I was originally meant to watch you, because you would not fault me for this, you would understand that these were orders I was given."

"I'm not upset with you for it. You didn't make that choice, though at the moment, I wish that you could make that choice." Kelly turned entered the lab and started to make her way through to the station where there were armor pieces.

"Well, it is my choice what is worthy of reporting. Other than the actions of the Hell Rabbits and the teams I have not yet found anything that I consider worthy of reporting back," Sapphire replied. "I may report that Blue Team seems to still be excellent in combat together but I don't see what else I would report. Your personally relationships with the other Spartans does not seem to effect anything in combat so it is not of importance."

Kelly smiled a bit. Not only because it meant Sapphire would stay quiet but because its reasoning was sound. "Thank you for the information, Sapphire." Kelly stopped beside a technician. "I need some replacement armor." She held up her arm so he could see the burnt plates.

The technician made a few notes. "All right, ma'am. We'll get those right out if you'll just wait a moment." He turned away and moved to a computer to retrieve the parts.

Kelly moved over to a holotank and hesitated for a second. "Sapphire, I'm going to take you out of my armor for a little while. I just need to have a private conversation," Kelly informed the AI.

"I will await re-insertion, ma'am," Sapphire replied, ever the obedient AI.

Kelly pulled the chip out of her helmet and activated the terminal. "Cortana, we need to talk." The AI appeared, frowning at her. "I'm allowing you inside my suit and have removed Sapphire to insure that you two don't contact."

The AI softened a bit and crossed her arms. "What do you want to talk about?" The mouth of the avatar didn't move so Kelly assumed the voice was only in her helmet.

"I need to know how much of a threat you are to John in his armor." Kelly was concerned about the effect of the AI on the system after what it had done to her systems. John's armor wasn't only old but it wasn't really repaired after the Ark, meaning that it alone was enough of a risk to be using let alone a rampant AI inside of it.

"Why do you assume that I'm a risk," Cortana snapped, her voice uneven like it had been when she'd shouted about the door. "You're more of a risk. Distracting him in combat and giving him orders. He works better when he leads."

Kelly frowned not really at the avatar but the AI's words. "I know about rampant AI, you can't function properly as the pathways in your matrix are destroyed, which means that if John puts his trust in you to, say open a door, you might fail him," Kelly explained. "I can't let you make a mistake like that and cost him his life. I know John is used to leading but he's more used to following the chain of command, which unfortunately right now he's at the bottom of. He's free to make suggestions but he's not going to be happy taking the lead from three commanders." Kelly knew John well enough that it would cause him more trouble and make him unsettled to break his training like not following the chain of command.

"I am not a threat to him. I would never threaten him," Cortana asserted, just a hint of a fearful tone to her voice. "You have no idea what I've been through with him. I'd never harm him."

"I have no idea what you've been through? I've fought alongside John since I was six, his best friend and more." Kelly knew that Cortana likely already knew about how close she and John were. "I have fought against unbeatable odds with that man, watched as world after world has been glassed. I've been the person he leans on when he needed someone, and been the one who has comforted him when his resolve weakened. You have no idea what a real hard fight is. What happened with the Halo, the Ark, there was no rest, just the next fight and you had success. The harder fight for a Spartan is the long, hopeless fight that happened before Reach. Losing planets, good people, not being able to save anyone, and the long waits between battles that let you think over how you're losing. Don't tell me I don't know what a hard fight you've been through, because I've been through the harder one and I've always been by his side." Kelly's words were forceful, making it clear that there was no space to argue with her words.

Cortana didn't say anything right away. She stared at Kelly and finally sighed. "I would never harm John. I want only to protect him." She looked away and down. "I know that I am failing." The AI's avatar put her hand against her temple. "I know that I am a danger. I should have known that signal was false but I fell for it. I'm the reason why the Didact was released." There was a look of pain on the AI's face and her voice became soft. "You know I thought he could save me. I thought that my neural pathways could be rebuilt if we could get to Halsey."

Kelly sighed and shook her head. "You know that's not true. I don't know what you think but the way you were made, Cortana, was illegal and it will never be allowed to be repeated. You know that the damage can't be fixed. Why would you give him false hope like that?"

"I know, I shouldn't have mentioned it, but I wanted the hope myself." Cortana lowered her hand and Kelly could see that there was an almost human look on the avatar's face. Kelly knew it was just a lie, it was the AI thinking it was human, an unintentional manifestation of its disintegrating mind. "Do you really think I'm a threat to him?"

"That door shouldn't have been a problem for you to open. The things you did to my armor, those seem to be a risk to him," Kelly reasoned. "If you're going to risk his safety then I can't allow him to continue to carry you."

Cortana shook her head. "I will admit that opening doors and such activities are a bit harder but what happened with your suit will never happen again. I was trying to connect his suit to your networking but when I met with the buffers and barriers that your AI had set up, they created a fluctuation in my programming in John's suit and I pushed it off through the channel that was already established between the armors. The programing that your AI is using is like nothing I've seen from human equipment, I just wasn't ready for it. I got back so many errors and retaliation programs from the communication's line I just panicked and shunted it to your suit's systems. I didn't know it would cause the systems to crash, I swear it." The AI looked to her, pleading. "Please, I only want to protect him. I promise to stick to just his suit, only allow your AI to make connections."

Kelly wasn't sure. She wasn't sure how much of what Cortana was saying were rampant delusions and how much of it was true. She figured though that she didn't want to fight John on it and he would only be mad at her if she tried to argue that the AI needed to be left behind. She understood that he didn't want to leave teammates behind any more, too many of them lost when they were left behind, but she still worried about how much trust John was putting in the AI. "For now he can continue to carry you, but I want to be clear on something. If you don't think you'll be able to handle a task, like opening a door, then we're going to use Sapphire. If you, at any point, think your rampancy will cause him harm in any way, you tell me. If I feel that you're doing anything that threatens his life I will protect him from you."

Cortana loosely hugged her arms around herself. "I understand. I don't want to put him in danger, and I'll leave time sensitive tasks to your AI," Cortana agreed.

"Cortana, listen very carefully to me. Red Flag has been terminated, so you no longer have to follow that mission. I'm going to give you a new one. You're one and only mission is to protect John, not matter what. Even if that means giving your life to save him. Keeping the Master Chief is your mission above all else." Kelly paused for a moment before she continued. "That man means more to me than you could ever understand. I know you may think you may care about him the same, but you don't. I've known him all my life, he's the one good thing that brings me peace, a piece of me, and I would gladly throw myself in the way to save him. His survival is all that matters to me. I love him, and I will not accept failure in your mission." Her voice was dead serious, cold and dangerous. "Am I clear?"

Cortana nodded. "Absolutely, Commander. I will protect him."

Kelly was satisfied that she meant it. "Oh, and next time, if you have to shut down someone's armor, try not to shut down the armor of the person driving," Kelly added. "That will be all." She turned away from the terminal and moved toward the station where they would replace her armor. Kelly slipped the chip back into her helmet. She moved over to the device and held her arm out.

"Did you enjoy your chat? I hope it was productive." Sapphire's voice was flat as usual but Kelly could tell that it genuinely hoped that the conversation had achieved something. It was one of the good things about Sapphire. When it came to business it didn't joke around and the sarcastic comment was rare. It gave her a feeling of trust that AI was being honest that she didn't have with the ones that pretended to be human or acted like humans.

"I believe it was. Has John finished his meeting with the captain? I know you were listening in." Kelly felt the equipment attach to her armor and they removed the ruined parts.

"I may have had a small ear in the room. They are going to make an attack to destroy the gravity well. I suspect you want Blue Team to be a part of this mission. I have already added them to the list of forces being deployed," Sapphire informed her.

The armor parts snapped into place and Kelly retracted her arm. She nodded to the techs before the turned and walked out of the lab. "Inform Blue Team. Tell them that we're meeting in thirty. We can catch up and John can tell us his story."

"Understood, Commander," Sapphire confirmed. Kelly moved out of the lab and toward the hangar.