"Carolina," Matt says, because he knows the man doesn't have any reason to know what that means. "My CO for the op."

Did she have a rank? Matt sure as hell doesn't know. As for the name, he smiles, and it's soft and warm and he's actually happy. It's almost like he's home. Family. SPARTANs didn't have families, except for each other. He was going home.

"You're... a miracle out of heaven to take me away."

He wants to go home. Serve. Finish this war. And he's being given a chance.

"Okay. I'm going to go mad here. Maybe I should check in with my doctors and figure out how I'm supposed to heal. Better know."