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"Every candidate shines now and then Doctor, I've seen them all at their worst and best." Mendez replied.
"But how long has it been since you've seen any others perform below the basic standards?" She replied.
"At least a year and a half, that was until 079 began his decline." Mendez spoke, standing up. "If you're done with him Doctor, I need to return him to his squad for disciplinary functions."
"Don't punish him Chief." Halsey said, pushing her glasses up from the brim of her nose. It came to her then that Scott wasn't acting alone, his academics, the fluctuations in the program, everything that she had considered possible threats to the experiment were coming together. The SPARTAN II candidates were learning faster than anticipated, the program was working; they were taking to their training well, too well. The problem didn't lie within the boy, it lay within the program itself, the teachers would have to adapt to their students.
"Begging your pardon ma'am, but you charged me with the task of turning these children into soldiers, and I am not about to allow dissention within my ranks." Mendez spoke plainly and angrily.
"Punish them all, Scott has been testing us, testing the rules, they all have. They're learning, and they're trying to be subtle about it." Halsey sighed and realized now why he was the one who was caught, why he was the one who was giving her trouble. Halsey knew Scott was smart, his appetite for knowledge and experimentation voracious, but she had never considered before how his own demeanor had made him stand out among the children. So much that even they noticed it, and the recognized it's potential. Stealing a crate of food by yourself was reckless, stupid, he could never have smuggled the whole thing back to their encampment by himself. There were others, and most probably he was either their diversion, or their way of evaluating the risks of such an act.
"I don't think I follow your logic Ma'am," Mendez said, his cross brow turning to the data screens.
"They chose him to make that mistake, to get caught. They wanted us to have someone we would have a hard time evaluating, to have us lay blame, to see what they can slip past us. Punish them all, we need to update our curriculum, perhaps something more challenging, with a more rigorous indoctrination of military protocol." Halsey looked at the Marine standing over her as she spoke, noticing his uncomfortable glare.
"Are you saying that we've overlooked something Doctor? Created a flaw in our candidates this early in the program?" Mendez asked, his mind examining his options.
"No I'm saying that we've been successful to date, but that it is time we give them something more meaningful to hold on to. To ensure their loyalty we have to give them that which they never had: choice." She said feeling her own conscience pang at the mention of choice.
"And how exactly am I to give them a choice that will ensure their loyalty Doctor?" Mendez asked.
"Punish them all, either they all accept responsibility or he goes. Offer to them to save him, they work as a team, and now it's time to give them something to be proud of. Give them the Navy, but to accept it is to take responsibility. Soldiers have to have something to fight for. Perhaps, Doctor, now is the time to teach them the value of their service to Earth." Halsey felt a greater sense of woe in her, this boy was causing change in her program, but she knew it wasn't just him, it was all of them. He was merely the harbinger of the true implications of all this. Doing these things to children changed them, they were never normal. And now they were in between the beginning as raw unprocessed civilian children and the final process of making them into something never seen before by humanity in all of its wars.
"I think I see where you're going Doctor, perhaps it's not such a bad sign after all. They'll take their punishment by choice. The boy will be reined in." Mendez said, picking up his clip board. "I'll follow your instructions Doctor, but in my own way."
"I'll trust your prudence Chief," Halsey replied, standing, "I'll be making my report to ONI on the matter with acknowledgement of the incident as the result of your adaptive combat training's influence."
"The boy made a mistake, he's only human. Discipline will be maintained though." Mendez finished leaving the observation room with a great deal of dissatisfaction within him for the result of the meeting. To introduce choice to the candidates would be difficult, to be a natural thing for them would infer that they had some amount of control, and this early in the training could result in insubordinate soldiers later in key battles.
The next few days the squad went without food or sleep, they survived. On the fourth day Scott was reintroduced, the children were fed, and Mendez cleared his conscience. He spoke to them as they sat rigid in their seats of the auditorium. "Yours is a greater purpose, yours is to be the finest warriors ever birthed by humans. This purpose however, this mission, this challenge is only to be chosen. We have trained and taught you until now to be able to serve, but now we see that one of you has lost sight of this goal. To serve all of humanity, to protect all of humanity, to ensure peace and protect Earth and all of the sons and daughters that have spread throughout the galaxy, you must have pride, honor, dedication, and above all else duty.
"The duty of a savior is that of those who serve with me in the UNSC. And I offer you now to join us, you have proven yourselves in every test, every single one of you is truly extraordinary, but we will not have you if you cannot see our greater purpose. Ours is a life of sacrifice, but we do so, we fight, we bleed to save others. To protect the weak and ensure peace, I ask of you now, to step forward if you will undertake this goal, this purpose, and this mission." The boy was in front of the group now, out of uniform, in a grey jumpsuit, separated. His cold features stared at the ground.
"But do not take this in light consideration. The UNSC doesn't want those who forget their friends, or their obligations. Candidate 079 disobeyed direct orders and violated military law, abandoning you his squad when you most needed him. He will be removed, as will any whoever repeats his actions in any form whatsoever." Mendez waited as the lesson was driven in. "Soldiers fight, cowards run."
"Cowards never win sir." John spoke up standing and looking the taller Chief in the eyes, "but we'll take him sir, and whatever you have for us." The boy was strong and defiant, strange that Halsey was so endeared to him and yet so unfavorable to 079 despite both of their achievements.
"It's not that easy squad leader, Candidate 079 has breached military protocol on several major infractions, and he is a liability to you and your squad."
"Sir, Candidate 079 is an asset to us, and I accept full responsibility for his actions." John responded his voice was firm.
Scott watched the drama unfold before him, he knew their test had failed, but he hadn't anticipated this. Their real test had been to see if they could penetrate the computers in the officer's club, gain information to assist them in acquiring supplies, but he'd been caught. He'd learned his lesson, they all had been punished for days on end, and for all intents and purposes he didn't see any possibility of it ending. Inside though, he reveled at it, it was a new challenge, something new to see and experience. But Mendez's words were hitting home with John he could tell, they were discussing their future. Not just the future of John and the Chief, but all of heir futures.
Scott felt odd feelings inside him, anger, resentment, frustration, exultation, pride, reverence. Remembering the warriors he'd seen in Deja's classroom, remembering all the tactics he'd learned, how much he loved being out on a mission, that feeling of supreme competition, life and death. But Mendez wasn't talking about that any more, it wasn't like a game, there were more people at stake. He remembered the bonding, and looking at Uther and Errol he felt a familiarity. They were all he had, this was all he had, it meant everything to him, but he had never known what it meant to others.
Mendez was speaking to them again, and finally he told them that their future would only be the Navy, through the UNSC. They had a choice to make. John didn't seem to have a problem with the implications; Scott already knew he couldn't say no. This was what he wanted; this was the life he led. Some are born to sacrifice. Some need it. He couldn't wrap his head around the concept, but in his mind he felt a righteous anger inside of him, and then he realized what Mendez had been trying to give him when he punished him, when he punished the squad. He looked to John and he understood, they couldn't say no, they were soldiers. And they had pride.
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