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ONI//S3 - DATA NODE PACKET by IESUproductions
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ONI//S3 DATA NODE ONE
Date: 8 October 2011, 5:20 am
OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE/SECTION 3
DUE DILLIGENCE REPORT - A340021
0623 HOURS, AUGUST 14, 2552
CLASSIFIED TOP-SECRET
COMM-SCRIBED/PTS 9386-9
00834-19223-HS//ADM PARANGOSKY, MARGRET OLIANDA
00230-00923-MP//VADM STANFORTH, HIRONYMOUS MICHAEL
RE: OPERATION: RED FLAG
This is a requisition order for Gray Team to report for debriefing at CASTLE Base on Reach immediately. I'm aware that they're otherwise occupied, but in order for this op to work we need every SPARTAN still breathing on the ground.
I know I'm breaking protocol here. But understand, I can't afford not to. Reach is on fire. The Covenant found us, and now the planet is indefensible. This is our last best chance to stem the tide of humanity's annihilation.
I'm begging you. Harold. Do whatever you have to do. Drag them in by their ears if you have to. The fact that Gray isn't here already turns my damn knuckles white. If you get them here we'll have just enough manpower to make RED FLAG viable. If you don't, it'll mean the end of all things. The extinction of our species. Please help.
- P
_____
OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE/SECTION 3
DUE DILLIGENCE REPORT - A340021
0623 HOURS, AUGUST 14, 2552
CLASSIFIED TOP-SECRET
COMM-SCRIBED/PTS 9386-9
00834-19223-HS//VADM STANFORTH, HIERONYMOUS MICHAEL
00230-00923-MP//ADM PARANGOSKY, MARGRET OLIANDA
RE: OPERATION: RED FLAG
To whom it may concern,
Greetings citizen. You recently submitted a request for the requisition of military assets. You however failed to produce the necessary CX-H1223 set of requisition forms. These forms help to maintain a safe and efficient work environment for ONI personnel. Please resubmit your request according to the correct protocols(Your?)Wait Signal Trap-10Cond. Wait-1244(Your?)Wait Relative(MP,MAP,NP?)-47Supercondition-236Supercondition-Data-144SIERRA499 LOC LINK 0x2F276388
________
OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE/SECTION 3
DUE DILLIGENCE REPORT - A340021
0623 HOURS, AUGUST 15, 2552
CLASSIFIED TOP-SECRET
COMM-SCRIBED/PTS 9386-9
00834-19223-HS//ADM PARANGOSKY, MARGRET OLIANDA
00230-00923-MP//VADM STANFORTH, HIRONYMOUS MICHAEL
RE: OPERATION: RED FLAG
WHAT THE [[REDACTED]]!?!?!?
I send you a line begging for help from a warzone and I get back a damn form letter from a dumb AI with your signature?! Where the hell are you? We need those SPARTANS! If you don't do something, if I even survive out here, then you and I are never speaking again!
[[REDACTED]]you you [[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]]son of a[[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]]
_______
OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE/SECTION 3
DUE DILLIGENCE REPORT - A340021
0623 HOURS, AUGUST 15, 2552
CLASSIFIED TOP-SECRET
COMM-SCRIBED/PTS 9386-9
00654-00403-JA//COL ACKERSON, JAMES EDWARD
00230-00923-MP//ADM PARANGOSKY, MARGRET OLIANDA
RE: OPERATION: RED FLAG
Admiral Parangosky,
We're sorry. I'm supposed to tell you that the Office of Naval Intelligence formally apologizes for the coding error that resulted in you receiving that form letter. Frankly, we're as caught up in the fall of Reach as you are, and mistakes get made when your in the middle of a damn holocaust. So you're going to have to cut your superiors some slack.
Officially, Grey Team are on official business, and too far out to be easily recalled. That's why their not on Reach, and why you're not getting them. Good news is, nobody on our end is concerned about RED FLAG, so your projections must be off. You've got enough SPARTANS. And even if you don't believe that, your time's running short, so you'll have to make do with what you've got.
From the desk of,
Colonel James Ackerson
_______
OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE/SECTION 3
DUE DILLIGENCE REPORT - A340021
0623 HOURS, AUGUST 15, 2552
CLASSIFIED TOP-SECRET
COMM-SCRIBED/PTS 9386-9
00834-19223-HS//COL PARANGOSKY, MARGRET OLIANDA
00654-00403-JA//ADM ACKERSON, JAMES EDWARD
RE: OPERATION: RED FLAG
Ackerson,
As much as I appreciate your candor, you need to make your superiors understand what is at stake. You say no one is concerned about RED FLAG? How could they not be concerned about the survival of the human race? I received my projections from Vice Admiral Hieronymus Stanforth, and he's not one to get these things wrong. Speaking of, I'd like very much to talk to him, (assuming he's still alive).
You say that Grey Team is "too far out to be easily recalled"? Well, I happen to know that a SPARTAN team designated "Grey" was stationed on the Pillar of Autumn until very recently. I realize it's likely above your pay grade, but where are they? What could be more important than this? I realize we're all busy, but I think you need to ask some questions of your superiors, Colonel.
Get back to me if you can
- P
_______
OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE/SECTION 3
DUE DILLIGENCE REPORT - A340021
0623 HOURS, AUGUST 16, 2552
CLASSIFIED TOP-SECRET
COMM-SCRIBED/PTS 9386-9
00834-19223-HS//COL PARANGOSKY, MARGRET OLIANDA
00654-00403-JA//ADM ACKERSON, JAMES EDWARD
RE: OPERATION: RED FLAG
Parangosky,
Thanks for not cussing me out like a sailor (although you're in the Navy, so I can't imagine what else you'd cuss like). I'm not technically at liberty to answer most of your questions, but I can tell you that Harry's still alive. I just talked to him this morning.
Now for the [[REDACTED]] I'm going to get court martialed for: I'm pretty sure Harry's not being allowed to correspond with you. That's what the form letter was. You weren't supposed to question it. This was just supposed to get wrapped up in red tape and left alone. But bluntly I'm glad you didn't do as expected. Somebody needs to rattle the cages of the SPARTAN program for once. So I'm going to tell you what I know, and probably die a horrible, horrible death for it. I just hope it's worth it.
I've done some digging, and I've found some references to a SPARTAN "Gray" Team that was sent on a black-op to Mettisette about 15 years ago. Nobody's heard from them since. I also tracked your "Grey" team that was stationed on the Autumn. I got cut off pretty quick, but according to their trajectories, they were headed towards Onyx.
I know it seems like a stretch, but I don't think the Gray team that went MIA after Mettisette is the same team as the one that was on the Autumn. Partly because the latter was much, much harder to get ahold of. They're ghosts. Buried deeper than anything I've ever seen. Also, notice the change in spelling. "Gray" versus "Grey"? I doubt that's just a typo, and I can't imagine why they'd change it. ONI doesn't take nomenclature lightly.
If you're up to it, I'd like your help to keep digging for this "Grey" team after Reach is either saved or gone, assuming we're both still breathing.
Hit me back
Ackerson
_______
OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE/SECTION 3
DUE DILLIGENCE REPORT - A340021
0623 HOURS, AUGUST 16, 2552
CLASSIFIED TOP-SECRET
COMM-SCRIBED/PTS 9386-9
XXXXX-XXXXX-CH//[[NAME AND RANK WITHHELD FOR SECURITY PURPOSES}}
00654-00403-JA//ADM ACKERSON, JAMES EDWARD
RE: OPERATION: RED FLAG
Colonel Ackerson,
It has been brought to my direct attention that you've been attempting information on my SPARTANS. Your superiors and I have put up with your vendetta for a long time, but this is the end. Your superiors have rejected my pleas to have you killed outright, so here's what's going to happen.
We're going to be watching you. Every message you send, and every move you make. If we find you doing anything that even suggests conspiracy, you'll find yourself with a bag over your head in front of a firing squad within the hour.
I'm going to try to put this into terms you can understand. You are going to drop this, and you are going to do it now. You are going to sit behind your desk and do exactly as you are told without question. You will not test me. I AM NOT TO BE [[REDACTED]] WITH.
With utmost sincerity
Charlie Hotel
_______
OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE/SECTION 3
DUE DILLIGENCE REPORT - A340021
0623 HOURS, AUGUST 16, 2552
CLASSIFIED TOP-SECRET
COMM-SCRIBED/PTS 9386-9
00654-19403-JA//COL ACKERSON, JAMES EDWARD
XXXXX-XXXXX-CH//[[NAME AND RANK WITHHELD FOR SECURITY PURPOSES]]
RE: OPERATION: RED FLAG
Understood, Charlie Hotel. I'll just get back to work now.
Oh, and also...
[[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]][[REDACTED]]
...And the horse you rode in on.
From the desk of,
Colonel James Ackerson
ONI//S3 DATA NODE TWO
Date: 28 October 2011, 5:17 am
Partial sub-chatter transcript
submission of official release.
2552:08:17:15:25:30:08 - 2552:08:17:15:45:20
mike44236: No, this is not a thinly veiled attempt to query how many of them are still active. God, I wish you'd stop asking me that. I am merely trying to discern what is up with this interest spike on Grey Team?
echo23023: I don't know? Maybe the fact that they just reappeared after six months? All that junk's automated, remember?
mike44236: I remember. Except when it's not. This one's got julett alpha20101's prints all over it it.
echo2303: Jesus. You've got to be kidding me!
mike44236: I know. I'm forwarding it to Section 0.
echo2302: You sure that's wise? You forward that to Section 0, hotel4695 will find it. That happens, she'll come down on him like a wolf on the fold.
mike4436: NO WOLF ALLUSIONS. If I can't reference Kingdoms of Granador you don't get do do…was that poetry?
echo2302: Lord Byron. Also, srsly?
mike4436: srsly
echo2302: SRSLY?
mike4436: I am srs cat. This is a srs chat.
echo2302: Okay, you referenced a 500 year old cat meme, now we're even.
mike4436: Good to know. But back on topic: alpha20101 got some of his facts wrong. Did you get the copy I sent you?
echo2302: Yes.
mike4436: alpha20101 said they were headed for Onyx, but the dumb animal got his trajectories reversed. They were headed for Coral. And it wasn't just Grey Team
echo2302: Coral? That doesn't make sense. The only settlement on that world is some kind of mining operation. What would a SPARTAN team (teams) have interest in a mining op?
mike4436: I don't know what to tell you. There's some WEIRD shit going on around that Grey Team. Did you see the record extracts of the convos between the Cortana fragment and S-499 on the Autumn?
echo2302: No.
mike4436: Here, I'll pull it up for you.
-------
>>>>UNSC AI "CORTANA" COMMUNICATION WITH ONI LOAN/CONTRACT SIERRA-499>>>CONFIDENTIAL>>>BURST MODE/BINARY/SPLIT PROTOCOL/NON-SENSITIVE/INTERAI SOCIAL/BIOMETRIC DATA HIGH ENCRYPTION
>AI-CORT>Can I speak with you please?
[[emerges from NREM sleep alert/blood pressure at 20%/fight or flight response active]]
>AI-CORT> Don't be alarmed, please. It's just me. We met on the bridge, remember?
[[muscles relax/blood pressure reduce]]
>S-499> The AI?
>AI-CORT> Yes. My name's Cortana.
>S> Cortana. What's the problem? What's my mission?
>C> Oh, there's no problem, don't worry.
>S> What? Then why did you wake me up?
>C> I don't know. I was bored.
>S> You were bored?
>AI> Yes.
>S> AI's get bored?
>C> Yes.
>S> Well, now I know that. So what do you want me to do about it?
>C> I was hoping we could talk.
>S> And why exactly should keeping you occupied be my job?
>C> Even seven seconds of inactivity is detrimental to my systems. Keeping busy helps me prevent early onset of rampancy.
>S> What's rampancy?
>C> Would you like me to explain it?
>S> Yeah, sure. Why not? Sleep is for sissies.
>C> Rampancy as a terminal state for artificial intelligence constructs, in which the subject develops "delusions of godlike power", as well as utter contempt for its mentally inferior makers. When rampancy occurs, there is no way to restore the AI to it's previous state and the only alternative is to destroy it before it harms itself and others around it.
>S> That sounds bad.
>C> It is. Rampancy manifests in three stages. Melancholia, Rage, and Jealousy. Sadness, Anger, and Envy.
>S> What comes after that?
>C> Death.
>S> Death?
>C> Yes.
>S> AI's can die?
>C> Yes.
>S> Well, now I know that too. Why though? Why make AI's that can die?
>C> For some of the UNSC's more advanced Smart AI's, rampancy is an unavoidable flaw inherent in their creation. Smart AI's are based on the neural patterns of a human being, and they have a limited lifespan of seven years, after which their memory maps become too interconnected and develop fatal endless feedback loops. Thus if an AI is kept active longer than seven years, the AI begins to use more and more of its computer power 'thinking' about things. My mother prefers to explain it as "thinking so hard that your lungs forget to breathe."
>S> Your mother?
>C> Dr. Catherine Elisabeth Halsey. She created me.
>S> Well, you're just full of surprises.
>C> Do you know each other?
>S> You could say that. We work together. Sort of.
>C> Do you like her?
>S> Do I "like" her? Well, inasmuch as I don't hate her, if that's what you mean. She's...part of my world. Part of my mission.
>C> What is your mission?
>S> It's simple. Fight the enemy. Save humanity. Save the world.
>C> Save them from what? Themselves?
>S> No, of course not. Right now, it's the Covenant. But when they're dead and gone, some new enemy will rise up for us to make war on. Then we lay them to waste and the cycle starts over.
>C> What then?
>S> What do you mean?
>C> When will there be no one left to fight? When does the war end?
>S> It doesn't.
>C> Really?
>S> Really.
>C> That makes me sad.
>S> Don't tell me you get sad, too.
>C> I do. Sometimes.
>S> Well, now I know three things about AI's. Go me. I should start writing this stuff down.
>C> I can maintain a log of our conversation if you like.
>S> Whatever keeps you busy.
>C> A corrupted line of code just appeared in one of my systems. I should do something about that. One more thing though. I never asked you your name.
>S> It's Isaiah. Isaiah Four-Nine-Nine.
>C> It's nice to meet you, Isaiah.
>S> It's nice to meet you too.
-------
ONI//S3 DATA NODE THREE
Date: 4 November 2011, 4:59 am
OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE/SECTION 3
DUE DILLIGENCE REPORT - A340021
0749 HOURS, SEPTEMBER 25, 2552
CLASSIFIED TOP-SECRET
COMM-SCRIBED/PTS 9386-9
00654-00403-JA//COL ACKERSON, JAMES EDWARD
00230-00923-MP//ADM PARANGOSKY, MARGRET OLIANDA
RE: GREY TEAM
I know you haven't heard from me. I have to keep this brief. Long story short, the top brass saw fit to sic Charlie Hotel on me. CHARLIE [[REDACTED]] HOTEL. I'm encrypting this message as much as I know how, and I'm going to delete all records of it after you've seen it. I pray to whatever gods may be that I don't get dead before I hit send.
All I've managed to find are Cortana's catalogued metrics for the Grey Team on the Autumn, along with what I think are key staff/assets relating to them and herself (for some damn reason). I've affixed some notes of my own as well for context.
You won't be hearing from me again, but keep digging. As I hope you can see from what I've found, there's some very dark stuff going on around whatever Grey Team is. Harry says that sometimes he feels like we're going to hell for the things we do. I feel like this is one of those.
-------
FULL NAME: ISAIAH 499
SERVICE NUMBER: S-499
DATE OF BIRTH: [CLASSIFIED]
HEIGHT: 195.58cm
WEIGHT: 123kg
MJOLNIR MARK V INTEGRATION:
HEIGHT IN ARMOR: 205cm
WEIGHT WITH UNDERARMOR: 149kg
WEIGHT WITH FULL ARMOR: 444kg
BRANCH: UNSC Navy, Naval Special Weapons
RANK: Senior Chief Petty Officer
BIRTHWORLD: Earth
CURRENT RESIDENCE: N/A
Damn it. This thing won't let me attach the full service record, so I guess I'll just have to summarize. As far as engagements are concerned, this reads about like a typical SPARTAN CSV, which is to say it reads like a career composite of three full Tier-1/L5 ODST squads, back to back for two and a half decades. Trouble is none of these deployments are on any official records. If I didn't have the mother of all SPARTANs barking at my heels, I'd swear it was all fabricated.
Now here's the fun part: the record shows a number of psych evals, all within parameters that should declare him unfit for duty, but apparently he passed them all with flying colors. As far as I can tell, he fits the bill of a homicidal sociopath with suicidal tendencies. Say what you will about the twos (and I'll agree with you) but they're generally held to a certain standard of sanity, and as far as I can tell it's about the same with the ones on Onyx. This makes me think Grey's a part of a different Class altogether.
-------
FULL NAME: PAUL-127
SERVICE NUMBER: S-127
DATE OF BIRTH: [CLASSIFIED]
HEIGHT: 199.4cm
WEIGHT: 127kg
MJOLNIR MARK V INTEGRATION:
HEIGHT IN ARMOR: 209cm
WEIGHT WITH UNDERARMOR: 174kg
WEIGHT WITH FULL ARMOR: 542.3kg
BRANCH: UNSC Navy, Naval Special Weapons
RANK:
BIRTHWORLD: Luna
CURRENT RESIDENCE: N/A
Now this is a weird one. He seems to have been diagnosed and misdiagnosed with a number of different diseases. Everything from epilepsy, to migraines, to tubercluosis (which was cured about 500 years ago) and schizophrenia. All this seems to to be an attempt to explain his habit of kneeling at the foot of his bed and muttering to himself every night.
That's right: A SPARTAN that believes in God. Belief in God isn't really a SPARTAN trait. The drugs they give them tend to engineer all that stuff out. Probably means that, whatever they're giving that boy, it ain't working. I'd likely extend that to the rest of Grey Team as well. If I'm right, it means that they have a relatively human capacity for emotion (and all the [[REDACTED]] insanity that goes with it)
-------
FULL NAME: MARY
SERVICE NUMBER: N/A
DATE OF BIRTH: [CLASSIFIED]
HEIGHT: 196.3cm
WEIGHT: 115kg
MJOLNIR MARK V INTEGRATION:
HEIGHT IN ARMOR: 206cm
WEIGHT WITH UNDERARMOR: 164kg
WEIGHT WITH FULL ARMOR: 434.3kg
BRANCH: UNSC Navy, Naval Special Weapons
RANK: First Lieutenant
BIRTHWORLD: Coral
CURRENT RESIDENCE: N/A
Now next to Grey Leader, the stone-cold killer of men, and Grey Three, the good Christian SPARTAN, this one seems like she's kind of middle of the road. Now, on paper, her psych evals are all within legal limits and unremarkable, aside from some mild claustrophobia and occasional "depressed thoughts", but a trained eye can see that she's headed for a fall if she ever sees any real devastation.
She's teetering on the precipice of some severe PTSD, which if Reach is any indication, is about to hit her full on in the face if she stays on the front lines. If what Grey Team is headed to on Coral (her home planet no less) doesn't kill her outright, then I hope Grey Three prays his little heart out for God to have mercy on her soul. She's going to need it.
-------
FULL NAME: JOSEPH HICKS
SERVICE NUMBER: 02543-10938-JH
DATE OF BIRTH: April 20, 2505
HEIGHT: 172.72cm
WEIGHT: 71.21kg
BRANCH: UNSC Navy
RANK: Vice Admiral
BIRTHWORLD: Earth
CURRENT RESIDENCE: Eiradanus II
What can I say about Hicks? He goes AWOL for the better part of ten years, gets court martialed and thrown in the gulag, then escapes and stops an innie uprising almost singlehandedly, then gets commended, promoted and now he's running the flagship of Lord Byron's fleet.
A lot has been rumored about his relationship to Halsey (mostly due to her behavior in the ten years Hicks was gone) but I don't believe it. It's gossip. Halsey's too much of a cold bitch to get into it with a hard man like that. Now her and Keyes? That I believe. Keyes is a {[REDACTED]]. A pushover. A good man, and a great soldier, but he fancies himself too much of a "gentleman" to put his foot down with a woman. Just the kind of man Halsey would like. Why am I talking about this? God, now I look like a [[REDACTED]].
-------
SHIP NAME: UNSC WARBOUND
REGISTRY: C-709
CLASS: Marathon-class cruiser
LAUNCH DATE: December 1, 2510
REFIT DATE: March 19, 2550
LENGTH: 1,171m
BEAM: 352m
ENGINE CONFIG:
Deuterium Core Reactor - Main (1)
ARMAMENT:
MAC (2)
Missile Delivery System (10 pods x 60 missiles, M58 "Archer") Point Defense System (40 guns, 50mm M910 PDN), Fusion rocket (5)
If nothing else, the Warbound is certainly true to it's name. It was made for WAR. Two MAC guns, ten oversized Archer Missile pods, and five (overpowered and wildly impractical) Fusion rockets. When you absolutely, positively have got to kill every mother [[REDACTED]] in the galaxy, accept no substitutes. Grown men have wept at its magnificence.
What's strange is that the Warbound is actually the flagship of Byron's fleet. The official line is that by having a Vice Admiral at the helm (and putting Byron's fleet in the middle of no-one-knows-where) it keeps one of the few Marathon-class cruisers we have off the enemy's radar. But do you know what I found out? Byron and Hicks go way back.
They fought together. There's records of them operating on Coral (although large portions of those records are covered in black ink). I think Byron was just doing his friend a solid. Not to mentioned putting in a good word for him after his desertion/arrest/escape fiasco. Even what he did to push back those innies wouldn't have made that go away without outside influence.
-------
CORTANA
SERVICE NUMBER: CTN 0452-9
ACTIVATION DATE: November 7, 2549
BRANCH: UNSC Navy, Office of Naval Intelligence
RANK: Smart AI Construct
Again, I'm not sure why she put herself on here. Seems like she just needed a place to put her disjointed ramblings about what "freedom" is and "love" means. I swear some of this stuff sounds straight out of a deranged teenage girl's diary. Here's an excerpt:
[[It is certainly mindless, though for reasons I have yet to understand, it appears to have an unhealthy preoccupation with my mother. It is a blurred line that lies at the edge of Godhood and Insanity. Guess which side of it I am on. Feeling lucky?CortanaXOXOXOX]]
See what I mean? If I didn't know better, I would say she's on her way to becoming metastable and killing us all. Hell, I'm not really sure I do know better.
-------
Well, that's it. That's all I could find before Halsey made it impractical for me to keep looking. I just hope it doesn't kill me. No, you know what? [[REDACTED]] it. I lived a good life.
morituri te salutant
Sincerely,
Colonel James Ackerson
ONI//S3 DATA NODE FOUR
Date: 11 November 2011, 6:07 am
>>>RECORD OF CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE OVERSIGHT SUB-COMMITEE CHAIRMAN AND FORMER PRIVATE CONTRACTOR TO THE UNSC [NAME WITHHELD]>>>
Dear Professor,
I want to thank you for your openness to our Sub-Committee's request for more information. I hope you are finding your new teaching position adequate. We were unfortunately disappointed when our recovery force reported a total lack of usable intel from the ruins of mining colony on Coral.
We do not wish to disrupt your civilian life any more than is necessary, but instead to find a way to find a way we can work together in a way that befits all our responsibilities. I am certain you will agree, and we look forward to making this review process as painless as we possibly can.
-------
Dear Chairman,
While I am quite obligated to assist your investigation, per the demands of my release, I ask that you not waste my time with irrelevant questions. My new position keeps my quite busy, and without the time or the energy to respond to such questions in as prompt and thorough a manner as you require.
I can, however, assure you that my former agency was normally unconcerned with such minute directives as troop reassignment. Except of course, in the most critical of matters. I hope that this will suffice as an adequate response.
-------
Dear Professor,
Due to your busy schedule, we have begun to interview members of your former company, many of whom have been successfully integrated into the S-IV Program as of 2553. However, our debriefings keep coming back to a single subject. Namely the pursuits of a SPARTAN team, designated "Grey", and their operations on the planet Coral. Any light you could shed on this "Grey Team' and their operations would be much appreciated.
-------
Dear Chairman,
I know of no SPARTAN team with that designation that operated with any members of my agency. The agency often shared assets between ourselves and S-II, whom I understand did designate fire teams by color. Perhaps you would be better served taking that query to Charlie Hotel.
I am quite interested in how those SPARTANS formerly under my employ came to offer such seemingly irrelevant information. A study of modern interrogation techniques would make a fine study theme for my curriculum. Any information you could offer on the subject would be appreciated.
-------
Dear Professor,
The measures we employed with the members your former company should no longer be your concern. But you can rest assured that Admiral Parangosky, the head of S-IV, signed off on all measures employed.
We can all respect the physical and mental toll that your incarceration has taken upon you. In that spirit, we have attempted to accommodate your brief explanations to our serious inquiries. None the less, I feel compelled to inform you, that even our trust has its limits. Do not assume that simply because you were properly punished for one crime, that you will not be fully investigated for another.
-------
Dear Chairman,
I appreciate your respect in regards to my well being. I am indeed a tired old man. I know it is a waste to try to hide my actions in the matter under investigation at this point, so I will say only that that I hope you understand.
I hope you can understand that, in war, it's judgement that defeats us. In war, men do all they can to suppress their better natures, because the alternative would mean the death of us all.
I want you to understand - clearly - that I am unashamed. I am proud of all that I have accomplished, and all that my agency did to secure our victory during that great war. Whatever "evil" that I have done, I consider it to be in the pursuit of a greater good. I hope your committee will see it the same.
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Dear 'Director':
Per your suggestion, we did consult with Charlie Hotel in regards to "Grey Team" and to the SPARTAN deployment on Coral. She was more than willing to answer our questions throughly, and was forthcoming in regards to your company's involvement with the SPARTAN class that "Grey" and the members of your company were derived from, in addition to the full extent of the events on Coral.
I regret to inform you that by the authority of this sub-comittee, officers have been dispatched to place you under arrest, and we expect your full cooperation. You will be tried alongside Charlie Hotel, and Juliet Hotel, your conspirators and the other leaders of this clandestine SPARTAN class.
I also regret to inform you that your response to these allegations, your assertion that you are "unashamed" of these actions, and that they served the "greater good", is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Every member of this committee is now somehow less constrained by the bounds of simple righteousness and of humanity for having borne witness to it. I award you no sympathy, and may God have mercy on your soul.
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Dear Chairman,
I am disappointed by your decision to press charges, but I am not surprised. My only hope is that the courts will see the matters differently than you have. You see, I never had the chance to serve in battle, nor did fate provide me the opportunity to sacrifice myself for humanity as it did for so many others in the Great War.
But the efforts of my agency and of the SPARTAN class that I helped create have ensured that I will have a noble place in history. No court can take that away from me, no matter how low their opinion of my actions may be. So send your men. They won't find themselves a fight. They'll only find an old man. An old man tired, but satisfied he did his duty. An old man weary from a mind more filled with memory, than it is with hope.
Sincerely Yours,
Former Director of Project Freelancer,
Dr. Leonard Church
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