Ajax-117

Mistakes

Writers Note: I don't know. One of my writing mentors once told me to write the stories that you wish you could read, so that's what I'm doing. If it does poorly, that's fine, it will just be for me. I wish I could read a long endearing story about a cyborg soldier without feelings finding the courage to have feelings again. It's a tale as old as time.

I want to preface, this story deals with the ethical and moral dilemma of genetically enhanced animals in a working environment. I am a dog lover, having grown up with a multiple dogs throughout my life... I do not stand for, condone, encourage, nor support the mistreatment of an animal EVER! That being said, I will not be writing animal cruelty into this story... though the threat of it may be present in the context of the antagonist's agenda. Please understand this is for fictional narrative only, and does not reflect my views on the handling of a working animal in the military or otherwise. If that makes you uncomfortable, this may not be a story for you.

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AJAX-117

Chapter 1

When I was a child I had heard about the Master Chief. I knew about his campaign against the flood and how he saved earth when the Covenant discovered it's location. Everyone had stories to tell about the legendary Spartan-117 and his AI companion Cortana, it was one the various reasons that I joined the UNCS directly out of primary school.

My planet, Ajax, was glassed in the year 2554 by the covenant. I would never forget the smell of burning flesh radiating in the back of the pelican my mother shoved my younger sister and I aboard. If I tried hard enough, I could still see her tears streaming down her face as we were separated for the final time.

Taken aboard the UNSC Console of God capital ship as a refugee with no family or birth certificate, forced me to grow up while simultaneously offering me the chance to reinvent myself. Judy, my younger sister and I were given the option of returning groundside to an unknown planet or we could join the UNSC's Academy for Military Youth.

A legal, yet still sick and twisted branch of Dr. Halsey's famous spartan youth program from many years before. Not quite as horrible, and it didn't involve disastrous physical and chemical augmentations. It was like bootcamp, but all the time, for six years straight.

When I graduated in the year 2560, just a short time after the very same Cortana that I had heard myths and legends about, had been contained and then destroyed. Though, my journey had just begun.

*****

"It better be fucking good to be waking me up at the buttcrack of dawn," I groaned, striding down the upper flight deck of UNSC Console of God, the only place I knew to call home. Up in space, despite being surrounded by stars, we never came close enough to one to reap the benefits of a morning and night cycle. So we ran off of a constant twelve hour regime, and my twelve hours off shift had just been rudely interrupted.

"It was a direct call from fleet command," Judy, freshly turned sixteen and well on her way to a brass badge in two years, followed behind me. Her pixie cut and dark brown eyes were exactly like our father's, whereas my broken curls and tanned complexion was that of my mother's family descent. No one would ever guess that the two of us were sisters unless they checked the Velcro name tags attached to our uniforms. "I would say it's pretty damn important."

"It better be an assignment, I'm tired of floating around waiting for action," I mused, straightening the buttons of my suit once more as the flight deck elevator came into view, surrounded on all sides by heavy artillery machines and pelican aircraft.

"Bren, don't talk like that. You know what happens to people who ask for action," Judy protested, skipping slightly to keep up with my long legs. Being half a decade older than her, I was a fair bit taller than her as well, my legs travelled further than hers. "I would prefer it if you didn't face the covenant."