Halo:Lost Forerunners - 007

Juarez stood there, dumbfounded for a moment... but then she was brought back to her thoughts when she heard the familiar click return. She spun her head to the group of marines.

Captain Keyes had regained consciousness and had regrouped with Johnson's team. He aimed the sniper rifle carefully at the woman's head...

Master Chief quickly stepped in front of Juarez as the shot was fired.
Juarez crouched into a ball and cried out in fear.
The Master Chief could feel the bullets impact, but only for a short moment as if a pebble was thrown at him. His shields discharged and the warning signal began to beep repeatedly.

Johnson hurried towards the Chief while the group of marines stood there in shock at what the Master Chief had just done.
"What the fuckin hell were you thinking?" he blurted towards the spartan, "You could 'ave been killed! That shot was meant for her!"

"Leave her alone."

Johnson's look of anger became a look of complete and utter confusion. "What?"
The marines advanced towards them, their faces becoming more and more surprised.
Johnson shook his head. "Son... You better explain yourself on why the hell you're protecting her." he pointed at the shaking Juarez, "First off, she attacked two scientists, knocked out the captain, wounded two UNSC marines-"

"Fuck off. She's my..."

"She's your what?"

The Master Chief paused for a moment as he saw all the marines staring at him. Captain Keyes was almost fuming, and Johnson was just plain old pissed off.
Master Chief sighed and relaxed.
"Look... She's not a criminal. She's just scared." he looked at Juarez who still held her hands over her ears and her eyes shut tight, "I'll tell you everything if you don't hurt her."

Johnson and the Captain both looked at the shivering woman.
Juarez finally opened her eyes and looked at them fearfully.
Captain Keyes sighed. "Alright chief. If you trust her this much, then I have no choice but to trust you." he turned back towards the hatch and started walking, "...but I still don't trust her."

~~~

Juarez banged her forehead repeatedly in frustration on the metal table of the interrogation room. She didn't like this one bit. She didn't like the UNSC (they kidnap children against their own will to fight), she didn't like them invading her planet, she didn't like being captured and shot at... she wasn't even sure if the spartan was who he claimed he was... and if he was, she hated him...

She didn't like any of it...

The door opened and a UNSC marine walked in with a clip board. She smiled at Juarez but Juarez remained expressionless.
The woman sat down across the tab;e from Juarez and set her clip board down.
"The Chief told us that your name is Juarez... is that correct?"

Juarez remained silent and unmoving.

The woman frowned slightly and cleared her throat. "It says here that there is no known files on you because they were all burned before you ran away. Could you explain why?"

Juarez didn't budge.

The woman sat up and walked over to where Juarez was sitting. "Look... I know you don't want to be here... I don't want to be here. But if we're to both get out of this room quickly, I'd suggest you better start talking-"

Juarez scowled and remained silent.

After a few seconds, the woman sighed. "Ah... so you won't talk. Is that it?" she began pacing behind Juarez, a technique that was to make her nervous, "Well then, you can write everything down." The woman set a note book and pencil in front of Juarez.

Juarez stared at the pencil and paper and looked at the woman's hand resting on the table. As quick as a flash, Juarez grabbed the pencil and stabbed the woman's hand.

Everyone in the observation room watching the scene through the spyglass clapped their hands over their ears to block the screaming.

Marines swarmed into the room and strapped Juarez's arms and legs to the chair, while they took the interrogator to the medical wing to have the pencil removed from her hand.

An ODST slammed his hands onto the computer console in frustration. "Fuck this!" He yelled, "She aint gonna tell us anything!"

Johnson grabbed the soldiers arm and squeezed it. "Calm down, marine... we'll think of something..." he looked at Master Chief, "Could you do something? Since you two obviously have a relation..."

John tensed, "What?"

Johnson released his hold on the ODST and crossed his arms. "You wouldn't just jump in front of a sniper bullet for anyone, Chief..."

A female ODST snickered. "So, she's your girlfriend?"

The Master Chief scowled beneath his visor. "She is most definitely NOT my girlfriend-"

"Oh... so she's your mistress then?... Hawt."

Master Chief wasn't going to put up with the marine's attitudes. He passed Dr. Halsey as he walked out of the room, who looked at him with a curious expression.

Johnson raised an eyebrow. "Ma'am, would you be able to tell us why the Chief is "reluctant" to tell us who she is and how they know each other?"

Dr. Halsey handed him the clipboard she was holding.

Johnson grabbed it and skimmed through the pages... then his eyes widened. "A Secret Apprentice???"

The 2 ODSTs' jaws dropped.

Dr. Halsey smiled. "Precisely. He though that no one knew, but none of my Spartans can hide anything from me."

Johnson handed her back her clipboard. "Care to explain this?"

"Of course."

~~~~

She was the only survivor. The attack on her home planet was unexpected and the inhabitants were not prepared... Only thanks to John, that she lived.
Signs were posted to other human inhabited colonies of her need of a family, but nobody wanted to take her under their wing... John could see this.

Three weeks later, she "Vanished" from the UNSC quarters. John told us that he had found a place for her to stay... little did we realize, she was now living in HIS room.
The first day in his care, they shared a small celebration... Cake was served and tattoos were painted, though I cannot understand why she asked for such a unique design on her arm...

The next day, her training began.

He taught her everything that was taught to him... He smuggled her into capture the flag battles between the Spartan children, told her the stories of the Spartans and wolf analogies, and even had her train along side him when no one was looking... She had become his secret apprentice...

...this went on for ten years... until I finally caught them.

At first, I wanted to be angry with John... but I saw how Juarez sparred with him. It was like... a symphony. Though she was only fifteen, and he at the age of twenty five... she matched his every movement as a cobra hypnotizes it's prey... Her fluids were unnaturally quick and fluid, but even more silent than a falling leaf. Her face always remained expressionless, and her eyes never broke their gaze from her target... it was as if she had become possessed...

I stayed there, hidden in the darkness of the night, and watched them spar... after a few minutes, she broke the symphony. It all happened so fast, but she defeated him. Knocked him onto his back, he was even wearing his armor...
I stayed hidden, but she sensed that I was there. She knew I was watching.

She knew what I had in store for her... so did John.
Unfortunately, he didn't have the same desire as I did.

Only minutes before the scientists and I came to take her to the lab to get augmented as a Spartan, he tried to get her to run away...
...but she wouldn't leave his side...

(silence)

"What happened? It seems to me that she ran away sometime afterwards..."

She did... but in a very painful way...

"How?"

She was a stubborn as he was. Stood her ground, but remained out of his reach when he tried to catch her...
The only other option... was to give her a reason to run away.

When she wouldn't leave, he told her that she was a failure. She was useless and alone. He only cared for her because he was told to (this was untrue). He told her that he hated her being at his side... He told her that he wished she died along with the others on her home planet... and then...

...he shot her in the side.

It was the only way to make her leave...
By the time we got there, she was gone... and for the first time... I saw a grown Spartan cry.
She had stolen a longsword and escaped from the facility...

...we never saw or heard from her again...

~~~~

"Until now." Johnson corrected Dr. Halsey, "Still, I can't imagine the Chief saying anything like that..."

"Though he is ten years older than she is, they were still both kids." Catherine Halsey said, "But the main question is... how did she get here?... How did she survive alone?"

They both looked at the mute woman who struggled against her bonds, failing to realize... that the Master Chief was watching through the open doorway. "Something tells me..." he said quietly to himself, "...That she wasn't alone..."

~~~~

Kiri saw the tall two legged beings kidnapp the Observer. He was now running through the jungle to the Asylum to warn the Counsel of the Ancients. Kiri was slower than most skirmishlings thanks to his crippled claw, but he still ran as fast as he could.
He leapt over logs and boulders, and slid down a muddy bank, and rested for a few seconds at the bottom.

"Little one? What has gotten you frightened?"

Kiri looked up into the face of the planet's system monitor, it's single eye pulsating a purple hue. "Please!" Kiri pleaded in the best English he could screech, "Please help Kiri save Observer. It be captured by invaders! Please help Kiri, 029 illusive link!"

The AI, 029 Illusive Link as Kiri had called it, acknowledged the small creature's concern for it's friend, The Observer. The AI, though hovering in the air, turned to some bushels. "Treelings? I believe this time may be too early for your appearance to the Observer, for she has not become the transfiguration age, but under circumstances that are dangerous to her, we must act now."

At first, only one was visible as it came out of the shadows, but then twenty more skirmishers in ancient white armor appeared.

Illusive Link showed a holographic image of a woman with watery aqua eyes. "Retrieve the Observer... Bring the one they call "Juarez" out of bondage... It is time for her to be introduced to the Counsel of the Ancients..."