Halo: We Think Too Much (TPF)

Fists tap a punching bag at a speed unlike anything else, the sweat drips down the side of her face as she continues to work on her hand-to-hand fighting. Quick taps, followed with powerful kicks and grunts from the Petty Officer Second Class. The lights shine bright and the workout room remains empty for the lone SPARTAN-III to execute her workout. One security guard stands outside with orders to not let anyone in.

It is uncommon to find Mathilda-B079 in the workout room at 08:41, but something has gone wrong as she continues her hard workout. The punches hit the bag harder, making it swing more and sway. A soft grunt is followed after each punch, seeing Senior Chief Petty Officer Mendez’s face appear on the bag, prompting her to hit it again. Her mind races with thoughts, emotions and reactions to everything going on around her.

“Of course, he wanted to have the AI.” She thinks to herself, that AI has drove an invisible wedge in the friendship she has with him.

From 2546 to 2553, they did just fine, if not, better without an AI. Why does he all the sudden want one now? What benefit does he see in an AI that she cannot assist him with?

Mathilda pounds the bag harder, her anger washes over her senses and she starts assaulting the bag with the strongest punches she can land. The bag sways harder, getting away from her and she charges forward. Her senses see it swing back towards her and she lands one powerful kick to the bag, sending it off the bar and into the wall, where two other bags lie.

“Not even 24 hours and he trust it more than me.” Her mind continues to think hard about everything happening. “What does she offer that I cannot give to him?” The thought lingers, such a stupid thought after all for her to think about.

After all, she has assassinated more, has more flight time, more technological experience, a better ability to talk to people, better knowledge of a combat area and even better rifle marksmanship. Yet he still needs that bloody AI, like that is going to save him.

Hooking another punching bag up, she sees the door open to Lieutenant Commander Stephan Ferguson. Last time she saw him was on the UNSC Battuta and being forced to go into cryosleep so he could live. The sight of him would be welcoming to her, but it isn’t because he is the one who gave him the AI.

As he steps across the room, he notices the bags on the ground that had been beaten off their hanging locations. Not impressed since he has seen Mathilda do this often when she gets frustrated, whether it is a feud inside of her mind or with someone else. But he isn’t here to ease Mathilda’s mind.

As Mathilda takes a breath, she glares at Stephan. “I need your help with something.” He holds the bag, forcing the swinging to stop and allowing her to hit it fast. “With. What?” She doesn’t stop, keeping her eyes on the target and hitting it with extreme precision. “We need your help with getting Team Specter to join the Ferrets.”

Mathilda stops hitting the bag and looks at him, the Ferret Teams? Originally Team Specter was to join Spartan Operations, but she was able to persuade him to not bring the team in after the raid on the UNSC Infinity in January of 2553. The Ferrets sound new and different, possibly a chance for staying with the Office of Naval Intelligence.

“Why me?” A simple response, but she knows the answer. Mathilda knows why she is being talked to about the Ferrets while he is not. He follows her, secretly but he does. But doesn’t do quite a good job of hiding it, especially when they are out of armor and waiting for a mission. “He trusts you. He needs you more than that AI he has. Without you, there is no Team Specter. And with no Team Specter, you will be operating alone and have nobody to trust.” A feminine voice is heard, a tall woman walks into the room and Mathilda catches the name, Osman.

Seeing the officer, Mathilda snaps to attention. Posture strong, arm fixated, and eyes focused on the wall before her. “At ease and you don’t need to do that every time.” Serin reminds Mathilda, this is not the first time the two have met, but this is the first time discussing the Ferrets.

Serin walks to Mathilda, the calming steps would send a shiver up the spine of any other ONI officer, but not to Mathilda. Serin stands before Mathilda, glancing up at her and taking another sharp inhale. “You are his only friend and he is your only friend; a SPARTAN works best in pairs or with their team. Very rarely, they are able to accomplish their tasks solo. You are not one of them, unfortunately. If you were, we would not be having this talk, but you both know that you two need one another.” Serin is right, even if Mathilda doesn’t want to admit it. She may hate his guts right now, but she understands that she needs him for a variety of reasons.

Serin finds a small metal chair and sits next to Stephan. The two look at Mathilda, studying her as if she is a candidate for a fashion show and whether she is a top model for the runway. Mathilda has come back from every Headhunter mission and operation, alive and ready to fight. A feat that not many other Headhunter Teams were able to do, it’s what separates Mathilda from the rest of her peers.

As Serin taps a small device on her wrist, a Lieutenant, Junior Grade walks into the workout with a paper file and hands it to Serin. After receiving a salute, Serin dismisses the Lieutenant and opens the file as she leans back into her chair.

A report of Mathilda, one that Stephan has compiled throughout his time in the Headhunter sector. “Extremely lethal, has a military IQ of 139 and knows just about everything when it comes to the Covenant. Impressive scores but, you lack one skillset. You lack the ability to walk away from someone. You are beating the bag since your partner is making a decision without your advice and opinion, but you will never leave him. He is the one person you have left that you can relate to.” Serin dives deep into the roots of Mathilda and why she trusts him. “He is the one you can fully be yourself around and betraying him would hurt you more than it would hurt him. He gave you the option to name the team, gave you the first Covenant kill, cares and protects you when facing other UNSC personnel. He is your brother you never had, now you would get rid of it all since he has an AI?” The statements and facts force Mathilda to think critically about her emotions towards the situation she is currently in.

Hitting a bag in a gym because she doesn’t have a say on something, as stupid as it sounds, it still hurts her. Maybe she should give him slack? No, he betrayed her trust when he brought that stupid AI into their friendship. Fixing her gray ONI t-shirt, Mathilda continues to think about what is going through her mind, processing each outcome and what the most logical thing is to do.

Serin interjects. “The Ferrets, this new sector in ONI will allow you to have a name to operate under. Same rules as a Headhunter, but this time, you will only get alien missions. No more Insurrection work, you are focusing on the aliens. You will be the first response towards hostile aliens. But you need to join the Ferrets and that means you need Team Specter.” Serin takes another breath. “Use your relationship with him to bring him into the Ferrets, once in, we will put you with the Asymmetrical Action Group where you will only run alien missions. Or you can join Spartan Operations and run more Insurrectionists operations.” Mathilda has had enough of the Insurrectionists; she wants to hit the splintered factions of the Covenant and slaughter them into the ground.

“Use your relationship”. The words continue to swirl in her mind like a tornado across an open plain. She can manipulate him to do what she wants because he will follow her. As devilish that sounds, she finds it quite helpful since the Ferrets sound like a far better alternative than Spartan Operations and living on the Infinity. “Think on my words Mathilda, what you do now is for the best of Team Specter and yourself.” Serin stands up and walks out with Stephan, he places a hand on her shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze and pat before walking out. Almost like the same touch her father would give.

The Ferrets and Asymmetrical Action Group versus Spartan Operations. Is it even a thought? Why would she even think about Spartan Operations when she can feed her thirst for killing Jiralhanae and Sangheili. She grabs her pullover, a black ONI sweatshirt and runs down to the barracks. Another warm day in Erdek, Turkey as Mathilda jogs to the barracks, looking like a sprint to the others going on their run around the perimeter of the facility.

Pulling her key out her pants, she opens the door to the barracks and met with the stale smell of metal, clothes and Navy issued soap. He sits on his bed and studies the chess board, glancing up to see Mathilda and gives her a slight nod.

“Game?” He asks, setting the chess board back up. A gift from Stephan after their first successful mission. “Sure, let’s see if you improved with your AI.” Now she has something to tease him with, no more farm boy jokes when walking through a farm field. “Prepare to lose.” He mocks while moving his pawn.

Now is her chance to strike, use her relationship. “We should join the Ferrets and Asymmetrical Action Group. It will give us more Covenant splinter factions to hit.” She glances at him as he moves another pawn after she moves her. He studies the board with intense focus, trying to figure out how to lay a trap for her that she could possibly fall for. “Ok, when do we start?” He looks up after moving another pawn. “We need to confirm with Stephan and then we will be good to go.” She nibbles on her lip, seeing if this could possibly work.

“Emerysen, contact Stephan. Tell him we are joining the Ferrets and the Asymmetrical Action Group. Lace it with the usual ONI encryption and copy Mathilda on it.” he informs the AI of her task; Mathilda’s mind freezes as she sees him blindly trust her. The AI tries to bring up a counterpoint. “May I suggest-” He cuts her off before finishing the line of thought. “Send it Emerysen. Mathilda said we get more ex Covenant forces.” He will not tolerate the AI interfering with the relationship he has spent building for a decade. “It is sent.” The AI replies shortly after, the two check their communicators and ensure that they both have seen the AI send the request.

“Now, where were we?” He studies the board as Mathilda takes in the situation. She has this much influence in his decision-making process? Maybe she is reading everything wrong about him preferring the AI over her.