janitorscloset | [meme] RvB & Halo AU Meme

"I couldn't say, sir," David replies. He really couldn't. He doesn't know who that is, except in the vaguest of rumours. But Earth needed Spartans, and here they were.

"Yes, sir. Right here." He has the sealed dossier with him and he holds it out. Top secret, as everything they do is.

Couldn't say? That makes Matt a touch more suspicious. Then again, with the age of the man, the likelihood of designations with 'A' before 'B' and the time it took to forge a SPARTAN... the conclusion comes to him and he sighs. That would explain it. Someone was taking the doctor's work for their own.

Which only made him testier as he took the dossier. Something is decidedly wrong here, but he had decided that when the SPARTANs never die thing started. They aren't propaganda, they are weapons. But it seemed someone disagreed. Which wasn't good for anyone.

"You never met the Doctor, did you? You don't even know who she is."

That could lead to complications. The first loyalty of his brothers and sisters was to each other. John had set that into them a very long time ago when he had refused to let their instructors win by leaving a trainee behind in their first wilderness test. Their second was to Halsey. After that came the UNSC. It was a definite third.

It would be a little embarrassing if Wash really felt such things. He'd been embarrassed as a kid, scared and thrown into this, but not anymore.

"Not a clue. Sir." So maybe he'd been one of the mouthier 'recruits' that the Spartan III Project had taken on.

Matt shakes his head. Damn UNSC. "You are here because of her," he says simply as he ooened their orders.

"Your armor is also lacking."

It is so clearly not Mjolnir that it is distressing. How was this man to survive what Janelle hadn't? That probably couldn't take a blast from a plasma pistol.

"I'm here because I have a job to do." And because he has a burning hatred of the Covenant.

"This is the standard issue armour," Wash says solemnly. "They did provide me with an upgraded set. Like yours. It's in the shuttle." It's going to be brought on and then he'll have to wear it and it feels a little like a betrayal of everything he is and of his siblings.

Is that disapproval in his tone? Matt can't rightly tell SPARTAN-IIs weren't exactly known for their social graces.

"Good. Whatever you have won't do much good in an open firefight."

That said he moves to lean against the wall. Not always easy to find a comfortable place to sit in Mjolnir, not that it came off easily either. They would have to ensure the younger man was adequately armored for the operation that Matt was now opening the file to review. The question was just what other armor they had given this David. Mjolnir was expensive, to a ridiculous point. Outfitting him and his siblings had cost more than a fleet when it came down to it. Less expensive on the AI side of course.

"Don't be mistaken, this isn't a subtle operation. Kig-Yar ship. Their enhanced senses will render most attempts at a sneak job pointless in an enclosed space like a ship. According to this brief intel gathered suggests a shipment of replacement equipment for frontline fighters. Part of that shipment is their shield bracelets."

SPARTANs of Matt's generation had shielding based on the Kig-Yar tech, but a lot of he power for that came from their massive suits and the interface handled projectile weapons poorly over such a large area. Smaller, situational shields that could be adapted for ODST and Marine use might help change the face of the ground skirmishes when Elites weren't involved. But people didn't just walk into a Covenant ship and acquire a shipment of them. Maybe a few were salvaged here and there from the tech worshipping species if they weren't too fried after a fight.

Matt and David were supposed to do the unlikely for this. Of course Matt had no way of knowing that the SPARTAN-III would be more experienced with the devices. After all the SPI armor never got shields and most IIs had stopped using the Kig-Yar shields to supplement their own once they upgraded to the Mark-V and VI armor systems.

"We're not afraid of dying."

And many of them had died. But at least they have the chance to fight. Their families had never had that chance.

He nods seriously in response to the orders. "Understood. I'm used to less than subtle missions," he says, with a faint smile. They weren't there to do subtle. Mainly they were there to overwhelm with numbers and strength. This is a much smaller mission than he's used to, just the two of them, and he's not sure how it's going to work out.

Smaller in number, not in scope. Maybe they didn't have numbers but they have force. And Matt hopes this new soldier can do his task. "I have a selection of Covenant weapons if you would like one. We need to be well equipped."

He looks the smaller man over and considers. Can he hold up to the trials of such a thing?

"I want to look over the armor they assigned you."

"I'm good with knives. I can use their energy blades if necessary." And whatever else they choose to give him. He's adaptable. It's part of why he'd been picked out of all of the others to take on this mission.

He gives a short nod. "Of course sir. This way."

"Got one. You can have it," Matt informs the man as he moves toward David and past him toward his ship. He was going to have to check the man's familiarity with it too. As good as Matt had gotten with armor repair he didn't want the man to have to depend on him.

"Show me it."

That's going to make things easier. Covvie weapons tends to be more effective in plenty of cases. It saves him having to scavenge his own later on.

"Alright." He's a little nervous as he leads the way towards where the new armour is stowed. What if he doesn't approve? Is he gonna send Wash back? Does he have the authority to do that?

If only he could send her away. Thing was, Matt was pretty certain he didn't get a say. So he has to make due with what he has been given.

He has to admit, though, that he is impressed when he sees the armor. One of the new series, which he hasn't even been upgrade to. He hums thoughtful over it before pulling up the datapad near it with status information. Stays silent as he reviews it, hoping the man stews. At last he looks to David.

"Have you tried it yet?"

There's a thrill of anticipation as the other Spartan looks over the armour. Will he approve. For some reason David wants his approval. He's in charge. Wash wants to complete his mission.

"Not yet. I only found out on the transport. Got pulled out of my squad just before they headed off on a big mission."

"I am sorry," Matt apologizes. "That you were pulled."

More because of what it means Matt lost than what it is like for David. Not that he doesn't get that took. Spartans of his generation were meant to deploy in small teams. But not like him. He had been pulled from his brothers and sisters. At least he had gotten to retain one. But she was gone now and he had to keep moving.

"The armor looks sufficient. But that doesn't speak to you. Ever use Mjolnir class armor? Or do I have to train you in it?"

"That's just how things work." People get pulled and sent to other places. People go on missions and they don't come back. "We all go where we're ordered." And he's survived a lot longer than some of the others.

"They gave me some basic training in it, just before I got pulled." Testing them, he thinks now. Must have been. Seeing who could best use it to be ready for this mission.

"You're going to have to get proficient," Matt warns him. "We practically live in this stuff. There are few reasons to remove it, if there are any."

With that he sets the pad aside and looks at David. "This is good stuff. Your life will depend on it someday. Possibly some day soon. I'm going to teach you about handling it. How to maintain and improve it the best we can. How to move in it. How to live in it."

Another person might almost expect him to say 'make love in it' from the fond way he spoke of the armor, looked at it. Perhaps even David would expect it, but it wasn't likely with them both being Spartans. The work was all that mattered.

"I learn quickly," David replies. He always has. He picked up killing more than quickly enough, worked hard to pass every test. They wouldn't have sent him here if he wasn't good, would they?

He straightens up though and nods. "Yes, sir. Of course." None of them had had time to deal with hormones and sex like other children and teenagers might. He understands the basics, but it's hardly the first thing that comes to mind, even if he'd picked up enough to not be left behind entirely if he was around other soldiers.

Basics, that was more than Maine had in some regards. He considers the armor and nods to himself. "Time to get that on. Let's see how you move."

He was going to have to cover this guy's ass. What he wanted was a partner and that clearly wasn't going to happen at all. So he had to train it up.

"Yes sir!"

He can't help the thrill of excitement. He'd tried the armour for a brief period and was eager to try it again.

He's already wearing his undersuit, and strips down to it as the machinery sets up to get the armour ready.

Well that energy was interesting, that excitement. At least that was something that a Spartan should feel when in the situation. Despite himself Matt cracked a small smile at the younger Spartan.

"I'm more than willing to help you manage it," Matt offers, backing up a step. The machine did most of it, but he didn't mind helping the man learn to work the machines. "I want to make sure you know how to run the machine."

David flashes a brief smile back. "I'd appreciate it. Be quicker. Give me a better idea of what I'm doing. Don't think the people demonstrating had half as much experience."

Not as much experience as someone who wore it nearly every day, who had to live in it. There was an intimacy in using a piece of equipment over and over again.

"Kills normal people," Matt answered immediately. Didn't need saying, but it was also said. Mjolnir was expensive and deadly for all involved. This wasn't a toy. It was a weapon, and life.

Still, the kid is excited and Matt tilts his head toward the armor. "Stand in the rig. It will do most of the work."

"They might also have been kind of scared of it." They'd looked nervous demonstrating it. Like it might bite them. But David... David doesn't really feel scared of anything. Not anymore. Maybe when he'd been a little kid, after the loss of his colony, but that's long since been wiped away by rage.

He nods and steps up into the rig, looking around himself with curiosity. He wants to understand it more than anything.

"Machine is strong enough to take a man apart," Matt shrugs as he makes sure David is clearly and properly positioned. After that was done he brings up the control panel and punches in the authorization code to start it.

"It runs itself. Stay still."

A Spartan could stay still for a damn long time, but it wouldn't take too long. The machines were efficient.

"Plenty of things can do that and they're still sending people out to fight them." The people who'd trained them, he gets them. But the ones in pristine uniforms who stay back and shuffle paperwork? He has a less favourable opinion about them.

He stays absolutely still as the machine activates, barely moving except to breathe slowly and evenly. It'd be embarrasing to get this far and get crushed.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject