Halo: Fireteam Scarab

Prologue Chapter 3: Cornelia T. Mason

The name's Mason, Cornelia T. Mason, but everyone calls me Niel, and I'm part of the Spartan-IV program. Having hazel eyes and black hair, my childhood wasn't always perfect. My father died on Harvest during the first battle of what would become the Human-Covenant War. However, I wasn't born until November of 2527, close to three years after he passed away. The only reason that I'm alive is because of the fact that my parents decided to freeze some of their eggs/sperm just in case. She decided to have me about two years after his death, but she got more than she expected. When she gave birth to me, she also gave birth to my other two sisters, making us triplets. My other sisters are Lucy and Jiya. According to her, we were a bit of a handful, but that wasn't as bad as when she got remarried.

'I HATE HIM! After mom married our step-dad (I refuse to call him my father), things were fine at first, but it all changed after a few months.' I was hiding in the closet with my other sisters, trying to hide from our step-dad. At that moment, I was writing down my thoughts in a diary when I heard the door to our room slam open. Taking a peek through the slight crack in the door, I saw him standing there as if looking for us.

The look in his eyes was one that I had seen before: a look of yearning. Whenever he had the chance, he would take one of us and make us do stuff for him. Most of the time he took me, partially because I was trying to protect my sisters and partially because he seemed to like me more. He would make us change into these strange costumes and make us do certain things for him. Many times he would grab or spank my butt, but I usually kept those feelings inside. He would usually do it whenever mom was out of the house.

Within seconds of him entering our room, mom entered the room as well. "What are you doing?! They are only young girls who haven't even reached puberty yet," she stated. In my mind, I knew what she said was true because we were only ten.

"They're my girls and I can do whatever I want with them, wrench!" he explained. The way he said it made me think that he was drunk.

"While you may be their step-father, I'm their mother and I have more of a say in what happens to them than you. If this is what you're going to keep doing to them, then I should take them away from you!" Upon hearing this, I sent a quick message to my uncle, who was a member of the police, saying that he needed to get here quick and that mom was possibly in danger. I knew that he would help his sister and us, for he had helped her when she had us.

At that moment, I heard a thud come from the room. Taking a peek out, he had her pinned to the wall and he was beginning to undress her. When he finished, he forced her onto the bed. She struggled against him, but he was strong and began to hit her so that she would stop.

Taking a quick look at my sisters, I silently told them to stay there and to not look out no matter what they heard. Once I did this, I leaped out of the closet and began attacking him from behind, which startled him, especially when I managed to get a hold of him and wouldn't let go. Despite my age and size, I managed to subdue him. Mom came up to me and hugged me, crying tears not only for what had happened to us but for the fact that I was safe.

That moment had changed my life. Upon arriving there, my uncle was surprised and impressed that I actually managed to do that. Afterwards, mom divorced the guy and, thanks to the kindness of our uncle, let us move in with him after the guy was put in prison for abuse and child exploitation.

While I just wanted to forget about those events, my uncle didn't forget. In fact, he encouraged me to go into the service considering the potential that I showed on that day. Even my own sisters agreed with him on his suggestion. I wasn't convinced by them at first, but as I got older, I began to realize that they had a point because I had a tendency to protect others, especially when it came to my own family. After finishing school, I enlisted into the UNSC, deciding to go into the Army to be more specific. I managed to impress a lot of people during that time to the point that I was being promoted faster than most people. Eventually I was recruited by ONI to be a part of the ONI Security.