Deviation Actions
Literature Text
The door to the observation room opened and Kelly turned to see Senior Chief Petty Officer Mendez enter. Kelly moved to face him and snapped to attention. “Sir,” she greeted crisply.
“As you were, Spartan,” Mendez said as he moved to stand beside Kelly. It still felt odd to have her rank simply referred to as “Spartan”. True, she was indeed a Spartan - the way ODST were known as just ODST - but even ODST still had ranks on top of that title. After having been a Petty Officer for so many years, this new ranking system was taking some getting used to. “What do you think of them?” Mendez asked, staring down at the screen in front of him that displayed the statistics of the current game. “Rather one-sided,” the Chief muttered.
Kelly hesitated, not wanting to say anything too harsh about the Spartan-IVs. She would have to try to stay impartial; and at any rate she didn’t think it was exactly fair to compare them to Spartan-IIs. “They aren’t quite what I expected,” Kelly admitted cautiously. The Spartan-IVs were just getting off the ground, so a bad word from her might get to higher ears - and she wouldn’t want to diminish how important the Spartan-IVs were. “I’m sure they’ll improve over time. After all, it has only been a few months since the program was fully approved.”
“What about them disappoints you?” Mendez asked her. Kelly frowned, feeling uncomfortable with the question. She had never been one to speak ill of others, particularly when it might cause them trouble. But Mendez had known her almost all of her life and he knew her well enough to recognize her hesitation. "I'm just asking, Spartan, not in any formal purpose. They want my advice on how to train these new recruits, but you know better than I do as to what they'll be up against."
"Do I?" Kelly asked, watching as another Spartan had the ball slammed into his head. "Does anyone know what they'll be up against? The war is over, so what exactly will they be fighting?"
"ONI intelligence indicates Covenant splinter-groups and possibly human rebels in the future. From the reports about the Sangheili, it seems that the Arbiter only has command of a small portion of his people at the moment; so it is likely there are still anti-human groups that may attack us. There's also word of a new rebel organization that’s growing in the outer colonies." Mendez tapped the controls of the screen and started to flip through the previous records from the war games. "So I'll ask again: what do you think of these Spartans?"
Kelly didn't reply right away, but it was more to get her thoughts in-line so she could answer him as best she could. "They likely aren't what the brass wanted," she began. "They want more Spartan-IIs…but it’s the same situation as with the Spartan-IIIs, they simply aren’t like us. It also seems that they haven't made it clear that augmentations and armor aren’t what make you a Spartan. Just as how simply putting on an ODST helmet doesn’t make a soldier a real ODST. But the UNSC is just handing them armor and a title after the augmentations, when I feel that they should be earned." Mendez nodded, acknowledging her words. "It also seems like they're wasting a lot of Spartans for non-essential tasks."
"You think that there are Spartans being put in the wrong positions?" Mendez asked, turning his gaze from the screen to the action below. "Where would you prefer they be?"
"It's more about their future plans," Kelly clarified. "Their plan to fill the Op-Center with Spartans is just…I don't understand why. Why take the people standing at a terminal, augment them, and give them power-armor when they aren't going to be in combat? It's a waste of an augmentation and equipment that should be going to a soldier on the ground who is deflecting plasma, not making a tech look impressive. It all just seems to be for appearances. But I would think that seeing more Spartans in combat would make people more impressed than seeing some desk jockeys standing around in expensive armor - completely out of harm’s way and not helping." Kelly regretted saying that almost instantly. Even if this wasn't a formal inquiry, the comment still felt like it was overly critical. She couldn't take it back now though, and she wouldn't lie and say she didn't believe what she'd said.
"It does seem like energy shields and unbreakable bones are better used on field units than on support on a ship." Mendez frowned and shook his head slightly as the soldier in Scout armor just started flat outrunning her opponents and they killed each other as they raced after her. "I don't really see what the objective of this exercise is."
"I believe they're only doing it for competition’s sake," Kelly informed him. "It doesn't serve any training purpose, aside from basic calisthenics. And it’s the competitors that decided to partake, they’re not ordered."
Mendez let out a low "Hmm," as he looked back to the results of the previous games. "This Spartan McKal seems to be doing well. The war game may be useful for finding stand-outs."
"He's not really doing all that well," Kelly corrected. "He's from the Army; all the others are Air Force, pilots mostly. He's taking advantage of the fact that they aren't ground-combat soldiers to stroke his own ego. That's why Spartan Palmer entered the game. She wanted to knock him down a peg or two."
"Well that explains their lack of basic tactics," Mendez muttered as he watched Palmer stand at the end of a hallway and dodge shots as her opponents picked each other off until there were few enough left that she could just beat the remainders to death with the ball. "Do you approve of her stepping in with that motive?"
"Yes," Kelly answered without hesitation. "Spartan McKal has become cocky, picking on the lower skill of his fellow Spartans. Palmer has gone in to show him he's no better to her than they are to him. I'll admit it’s not the most honorable thing to do, but he's getting a big head the way a teenager would by showing up five-year-olds."
Mendez nodded, but Kelly wasn't sure if it was out of acknowledgement or if he was actually agreeing with her. "Besides this group, do you have any other concerns or suggestions for the Spartan-IVs?"
Kelly wasn't even sure where to start with that question. What sort of suggestions was he looking for? Did he mean concerns about the project as a whole or just about the soldiers specifically? "Don't over think it," Mendez said in a slightly sharp voice.
Kelly took a deep breath and decided to just speak what came to mind. "Why are they taking soldiers from every branch of the military? They seem to be trying to take them evenly from all sectors, but I don't understand why."
"They have to appease all the branches. The Navy will complain if they take more Army troops for example. It's a matter of their soldier's pride," Mendez explained. "The Spartans can't risk a branch refusing to give them more soldiers because they feel they’ve been unfairly treated."
"It just feels like that would leave the program scraping the barrel for recruits. I read the files about the original five Spartan-IVs, they were chosen because they were ideal candidates. They had proven that they were worthy of being Spartans. With some of these new recruits however, it looks like if they got good grades and a Purple Heart they were admitted. It just doesn't feel like it's up to the standards befitting the legacy of my fallen family." Kelly pushed aside the sorrow of the years of loss.
"Can't say I don't agree, Spartan, but then again we don't have much sway over that." Mendez clasped his hands behind his back and watched as the game ended, Palmer being the only player with any points. "So what's your final verdict on them? They are after all who is going to take up the Spartan name."
Kelly frowned, feeling uncomfortable with the question. She decided to go with the best response she could manage. “If they get more Palmers and less McKals, then they’ll be fine.” At least Kelly hoped they would. There were only four of the Spartan-IIs left now, and in the years to come these Spartan-IVs would be what people thought of when thought of Spartans. They would carry on the legacy of Will, Joshua, Sam, and all the other fallen Spartans. “It just concerns me that Spartans like McKal seem to treat this like a fantasy, like a dream come true and they aren’t taking it seriously enough. I don’t understand why it is that they didn’t just hand out an invitation to every ODST that had experience from the war. Unlike marines and pilots who wish to be Spartans, ODST don’t want that. To them this is a chance to be better and do their job better. They would also create a strong, skilled starting class for the program.”
“Sometimes the leaders above us make choices that we wouldn’t,” Mendez informed her. “We just have to live with their decisions and make the best of it.” Mendez closed his eyes and let out a long breath. “Sometimes we’re asked to do things that we think are illogical or immoral, but we have our duty - and that includes dealing with the choices of our superiors.” Kelly didn’t exactly understand everything he meant, but she got the general idea. She just wasn’t used to not having John as a buffer between her and the actions of their superiors.
“Sir, may I ask a question?” Kelly asked. Mendez looked a bit confused but nodded, allowing her question. “Why are you asking me about this? Shouldn’t you be asking Fred, as he’s the head of the Spartan-IIs now. Or Linda, as she’s better at observing people.”
“That may be true, but I believe that I know the Spartans I trained well enough - and I’ve come to you.” Mendez smiled a bit to himself. “Everyone has something to offer, what matters is which skill you need. You’ve always had a knack for knowing how to push people to be better, and that’s what I need right now. Linda could tell me plenty of things about them after watching them, but she doesn’t have as personal of a touch. And Fred has too personal of a touch; over thinking things, and taking every word too seriously. It causes him to be harder to get to settle on an answer. You are honest, but also observant, and over the years I’ve seen you support your team leaders through the hardest of times. That ability to recognize what needs to be done in order to best support these Spartans is what I need. And there’s no one else I’d turn to.”
Kelly smiled at the complement, not sure how much she agreed, but acknowledging the comment. “Thank you, sir.”
Mendez smiled and looked to the screen where the Spartans were leaving the war games area. “Seems that Spartan Palmer beat them a little too soundly, so they quit.” Mendez frowned in disapproval. “What do you think of Spartan Palmer?”
“Yes, what do you think of me?” Kelly turned to look back at Spartan Palmer as she entered the room. She moved to stand away from Kelly and her eyes stayed focused on the Spartan-II.
“I think that next time they have a free-for-all, we should both get in there so you can really put your skills to the test.” Kelly smirked, happy to see the smirk returned.
“You’re on, Spartan,” Palmer said in a confident tone.
to celebrate the anniversary of her John and Kelly blog, The Eagle and the Rabbit, and to give Kelly some much needed love. I don't own anything from Halo. Please read and comment.