C463, and F484 MIA

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ISitInA
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C463, and F484 MIA

Unread post by ISitInA »

To: Cpt********.1465.UNSC.THESEUS
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Attachments: 4 (UEM-CE.16-F484-U.MP.S-30001-1, UEM-CE.16-F484-U.MP.S-30001-A, UEM-CE.16-F484-U.MP.S-30004-3, UEM-CE.16-F484-U.MP.S-30004-C, 52 Mb total)
Subject: C463, and F484 MIA

Captain,

You asked for more information on C463. If we are dealing with F484, then it's only fair that you know a bit more about her. I already told you how they spent time in 23 Zulu together, and how F484 took her death badly. She was, perhaps, the most important person in his life.

The planet that she was from, naturally, is something I don't feel comfortable sharing. I will say, however, that despite her birth name she was of Indian descent. Honestly, I can't blame F484 for being attracted to her; she was quite the lovely gal. An Interplanetary Olympics hopeful for gymnastics as a child, until a nasty fall on a landing and a broken leg ruined that. It wasn't that she had permanent damage, it was the fear of another one.

Her scholastic skills turned out to be above average. It was like she transferred the zeal she had once put into gymnastics into the rest of her life. By high school she had conquered her fear and was giving speeches at children's hospitals for it.

She turned out to be what we call a gazelle in the Orion program. She almost seemed to stride through everything without much difficulty, save for a mild allergy to one of the treatments. Her highest scores were in CQB, stealth, shotguns, pistols, the DRM, explosives, medical and hand-to-hand. While this all would lead her into the position of pointman on strike squads and fireteams, it was the last in that list that forged her relationship with F484.

She was, quite simply, one of the top three hand-to-hand combatants out of the G1 Orions. In fact, during training, the top three traded places quite regularly. F484, on the other hand, was in the lower end of the middle spectrum. (It should be noted that Orion standards are still much higher than normal.) However, somehow she found herself continually defeated by him.

We'll never know the whys or hows of how he beat her. Neither could ever explain it, and reviewing the videos offers no clues, either. It is known that, however, that she began to use rather quite dirty tactics in order to try and win whenever they would be matched together. While those aren't exactly discouraged, the instructors became concerned about what would happen if they were put on a mission together and arranged some team building exercises for the two of them, thinking it would put an end to what they saw as a rivalry.

Looking back, with the knowledge of the silent and almost imperceptible communication the Orion IVs developed, we know that it was exactly what the two of them wanted. During these exercises, the two had been flirting the entire time.

It was Ball who noticed this, and he decided to use it as a test. Naturally, if they were caught, they'd be punished severely. (Believe me, you don't want to know what kind of punishments they received during training. Consider that an hour-long continuous ISO push-up was considered a normal activity.) If they were able to circumvent all the security to have an illicit liaison, then they deserved it.

Let it never be said that we don't let people motivate themselves. Or that the repression of the sex drive is a perfect process.

Before the program, she'd been outgoing in an elegant, almost reserved way. After the program, she might as well have been a different person entirely. So stoic, so seemingly calm, always speaking in as few words as possible. At least, to most personnel.

It's strange watching records of C463 and F484 talking. F484 talking up a storm, chatting about this and that and the other. Her sitting there, not saying a word. If it weren't for the direct eye contact, you'd think she was ignoring him. But if you watch them closely, you'd see that she was keeping up her end. The number of times she blinked, a flare of one nostril, how far she'd purse her lips while breathing, a twitch of the finger, a muscle in her face tightening... They all said something. A very subtle language.

She retained her agility, a very fluid person. A very brutal one, too, though that could be said about all Orion IVs. She was a tool, never questioning orders, never hesitating. That's how the world saw her. Her writing and her letters to her fellow Orions paint a different woman. A woman who still had a zest for life. 24 at graduation, she still retained that youthful zest for life, buried within a harsh exterior that could break a man's bones without even trying.

I have right in front of me an image taken from the one time after graduation that we ever caught her truly smiling. It was at Christmas, naturally, and F484 pulled her onto the dance floor. (That's a bad term; most of the people "dancing" were far enough apart from each other that they were at least two arm spans away from the next person.) Instead of trying to get her to dance, he began dancing. Or, rather, not dancing. Mock dancing? I'm having difficulty describing it. No matter what you call it, within moments she was smiling, and soon after she was laughing so hard that tears were in her eyes.

And that was before they broke out the alcohol.

Sadly, we have no records of what they were like in private. It's one of those things that we desperately wish we could have learned. In 23 Zulu (always two-three Zulu, never twenty-three) they were away from our prying eyes. The closest that we have is a fleeting image from the same Christmas party of the two of them sneaking off. They weren't quite holding hands, more like she was holding his pinky finger. Oh, how we wish we could grasp the reason why she held onto that one finger.

But I'm rambling, and I have more data for you.

The news that F484 had found a way for them to finally identify where the hell they were was extremely uplifting to the spirits of everybody. Within two days, however, this turned to paranoia. F484 never returned from this mission. For a long time, everybody assumed he had died.

Until the Monitor of the station ended up contacting them. Concerned about the fact that a Guide had been constructed, but was neither present nor listed as destroyed, the “mechanical glowing eye” approached the humans on the ring directly. In the end, it lead them to the Cartographer. There they found a storage device containing all the data his suit had recorded... despite the interference that Myung caused by her very presence.

Oddly, nobody was doubting his reports anymore.

Within a week, they had found a way to crack the “static” of his records. This revealed, much to their surprise, that they could extract audio logs. Some of these logs I have provided for you. Though limited visual reconstruction has been achieved in the passing years, most of it is through other sensors than the cameras. This creates a very CGI look that is more reminiscent of late 20th century entertainment than proper intel.

That said, some staff members have cleaned it up to make it look more realistic, but I haven't gotten to see it yet.

As much as I'd like to say that the rest is a mystery, the actual mystery doesn't pop up until later. Because while this was the last “official” communication, that isn't to say that we haven't been able to secure more intel. Once again, taken from his own suit.

If you thought the parts you didn't want to know were done with, I'm sorry. It only gets worse from here.

Sincerely,

Chair
*************
Note by Hive: Captain, I have encountered additional encrypted data within this message. The encryption keys are old enough to be added to my own databanks upon my creation due to our frequent status in the outer regions of humanity's occupied zone, in case we encountered any of the number of missing ships from the war. Below is the unencrypted message.
*************
This always pains me the most. To think of what you survived. Do you remember?
*************
UEM-CE.16-F484-U.MP.S-30001-1 wrote: Unknown Male 1 (U.M. 1): (BARKING) Halt!
Myung: (STARTLED) Mapsosa! Relax, would you. It's just me.
Unknown Male 2 (U.M. 2): (SURPRISED) Oh, Myung. We thought you were dead.
Myung: I almost was. See the holes? If I wouldn't have been wearing this, some Elite would be munching on me right now.
U.M. 1: It has been so long. (PAUSE, 1.8 SECONDS) Elite? It is not safe through that?
Myung: Not exactly. Where is Lee? I have to discuss what I saw with him.
U.M. 2: Remove your armor first.
U.M. 1: It's her. Why-(INTERRUPTED)
U.M. 2: Because of the... (TRAILS OFF)
(PAUSE, 1.1 SECONDS)
Myung: (SMUGLY) You mean you're afraid of the nuke built into this thing you people didn't bother to tell me about?
U.M. 1: What? How did you know?
F484: (FLATLY) I told her.
(SOUND OF BLOW, U.M. 1)
(SOUND OF BLOW, U.M. 2)
(SOUND OF IMPACT WITH GROUND)
(SOUND OF IMPACT WITH WALL)
(SOUND OF IMPACT WITH GROUND)
F484: Start it.
Myung: I started trying to get through the moment I stepped on rock. (PAUSE, 1.2 SECONDS) It's so easy. Their encryption... Even the UNSC encryption, it's all so-
F484: (SOUNDS OF GAGGING)
Myung: Foxtrot?
(PAUSE, 3.2 SECONDS)
(SOUND OF HELMET BEING REMOVED)
F484: (SOUND OF VOMITING)
F484: (SOUND OF DEEP BREATH)
F484: (SOUND OF VOMITING)
Myung: (WORRIED) Oh, god. Are you... Oh god!
F484: (SHAKY) That isn't right...
Myung: Are you okay?
F484: I haven't crammed. There shouldn't be any blood...
UEM-CE.16-F484-U.MP.S-30001-A wrote: Myung: Foxtrot?
F484: (CURT) Still here, ma'am.
(PAUSE, 4.3 SECONDS)
Myung: They've agreed to send a Pelican to pick us up.
F484: Have they agreed to take us there?
Myung: Yes. (PAUSE, 0.9 SECONDS) Affirmative. (PAUSE, 3.3 SECONDS) Are you okay?
F484: I'm a little winded, but I can complete the mission, ma'am.
(PAUSE, 5.3 SECONDS)
Myung: (CONCERNED) We'll have to sneak up to the surface. Can you do that?
F484: Affirmative, ma'am.
UEM-CE.16-F484-U.MP.S-30004-3 wrote: UNKNOWN FEMALE 1: Why's she sending a-
(SOUND OF BLOW)
UNKNOWN FEMALE 1: (GROANS)
(SOUND OF IMPACT WITH GROUND)
(PAUSE, 4.4 SECONDS)
Myung: Do you have to knock them out?
F484: (FLATLY) Mission parameters include less than lethal use of force, ma'am.
Myung: (UNNERVED) Right.
UEM-CE.16-F484-U.MP.S-30004-C wrote: (SOUND OF MUFFLED THRUSTERS IN THE BACKGROUND)
(PAUSE, 18.2 SECONDS)
Myung: (QUIETLY) Do you have it?
(PAUSE, 7.7 SECONDS)
Myung: (AUTHORITATIVELY) Foxtrot.
F484: Ma'am?
Myung: You've shown signs of illness. I want to inject you with some antibiotics. (PAUSE, 2.8 SECONDS) This is so that we can make sure that you're in top shape for the next phase of the mission.
F484: My suit has plenty of antibiotics, ma'am.
Myung: This is focused for the symptoms you were showing. You will take them. That's an order.
F484: (UNHAPPILY) Yes, ma'am.
(SOUND OF HELMET BEING REMOVED)
(PAUSE, 3 MINUTES 17 SECONDS)
Myung: (WORRIED) You're sure this will keep him down?
UNKNOWN MALE 3: For a while, at least. I have no idea how this stuff interacts with Orions. (PAUSE, 3.7 SECONDS) Should I stow his weapon?
(PAUSE, 9.3 SECONDS)
Myung: No. (PAUSE, 1.2 SECONDS) No, it's as much a part of him as his skin.
ZackDark
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Re: C463, and F484 MIA

Unread post by ZackDark »

Chair, I've been meaning to ask: could you provide date and time stamps on those audio files? It's getting harder and harder to keep track of F484's progress in them.
ISitInA
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Time/Date stamps

Unread post by ISitInA »

To: Cpt********.1465.UNSC.THESEUS
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Subject: Time/Date stamps

Captain,

Sorry about the delay in a response. I've actually had a decent hole in security all day (not quite enough for a full data package, though) but all of this has been giving me a terrible case of insomnia and nightmares. Here lately, I've been lucky to get four hours of sleep a day. If it wasn't for coffee, I don't know what I'd do. Unfortunately, exhaustion finally got the better of me. I don't want to know what people were thinking of me, sprawled out over my desk and snoring.

The fact that nobody woke me up, though, says something.

Unfortunately, all the time/date stamps were corrupted by Myung's presence. When I say we had to crack the static, I mean it. The entire data log was horribly corrupted and we're still trying to figure out the details. However, we have determined some things by what else was going on at the time.

The Covenant vessel that arrived at the ring was destroyed on July 24, 2568. On July 25 of the same year, F484 reported that he was en route to the Cartographer. On July 27, the Monitor of the ring showed up, so they had to have already left the ring by then.

Exact dates are hard to pinpoint. Here and there, however, were recorded events that we know that F484 was involved in, some of which will be part of my data packages. When applicable, I'll go ahead and mention the date, simply to keep you from becoming too lost.

Trust me, we're still trying to figure out how to unscramble a lot of the suit's data. Consider, we've put multiple smart AIs through their entire lifespans doing nothing but trying to scrub the junk free from the data. It's enough to boggle the mind. We can only imagine what we'd discover if we could just get a clear video of Myung without her helmet on.

Oddly, the Monitor of the station didn't cause such data corruption. That raises some interesting, if terrifying, possibilities.

Sincerely,

Chair
thereIwasn't
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Re: C463, and F484 MIA

Unread post by thereIwasn't »

Going back to C463, how did she die, exactly?

For that matter, what were the last things F484 and Myung were noted doing?

Your whole story has gotten me thinking. If this device that can turn people into "guides" exists, then the Halo-engineers must have had a way to turn living beings into electronic thought. What if an accident in such a device caused their minds to be thrown out into space...and onto my ship as the EM anomalies? This is why the fate of those three people is so important; if I have ghosts showing up on my ship, then I get the feeling that the way these people were lost may apply.

One more thing. I have a crewman on this ship, CN Raschad, who supposedly had Orion testing done on him. Would you be aware if he, at any time, interacted with F484?
ISitInA
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Death and possibilities

Unread post by ISitInA »

To: Cpt********.1465.UNSC.THESEUS
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Subject: Death and other possibilities

Captain,

C463 died during OPERATION: DADA. While moving to the extraction point, they came under attack by Insurrectionist forces. An IED landed close to the VIP they were escorting, and she dove on it to smother the blast. Though she survived the blast and continued to fight, a piece of shrapnel moved within an artery until it reached her heart. She died before they made it to the Pelican.

I'd like to remind you that this was before they had access to Kavacha armor. The fact that she survived both the blast itself and the hydrostatic shock (though the autopsy showed both kidney and brain damage from it) is a testament of the augmentation process that the Orion IVs went through.

An interesting theory, Captain. One that I unfortunately don't know enough about. Only two humans ever went to this reported guide production facility, and much of the process is simply unknown to us. We're talking about an alien process that somehow turned a human into an AI, complete with a humanoid form that could easily be hidden within a suit of Kavacha armor, all within a timeframe that makes our cognitive impression modeling look slow in comparison.

We not even certain what process was used to turn her into this Guide. I wish we had more. There are quite literally billions of questions that we wish F484 would have asked Myung. Fortunately, we realize that he did ask a lot of vital questions, sometimes through subtle ways. Some answers were gained simply by him being there. We gained valuable intelligence on the Insurrectionists on Niflheim, UNSC turncoats, Insurrectionist fleet strength, several key identities... And that's not including what we learned about the ring itself or the race that built it.

I wish I had better answers than that, but I'm also not that kind of geek. My majors in school were psychology and sociology.

The possibility of them meeting? Slim to none. The Lebanon incident was in 2382, and your crewman was defrosted in 2602. The last confirmed direct communication between F484 and any member of the UNSC was on April 13, 2569. The possibility of them interacting is zero that I'm aware of.

Are you starting to gain a real grasp of why we're so interested in what's going on out here?

Sincerely,

Chair
thereIwasn't
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Re: C463, and F484 MIA

Unread post by thereIwasn't »

Yeah, I can see why you folks would be interested. It sounds like sci-fi.
Then again, a few centuries ago, slipspace travel would have sounded like sci-fi.

Things now seem strangely calm over here. I await the next part of the story.

Oh, by the way, any news on where the brass want the Theseus once we've finished building this station? We'll only be here for a few more days, and I'd like to start making plans now, while things are quieter.
ISitInA
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You know what they say...

Unread post by ISitInA »

To: Cpt********.1465.UNSC.THESEUS
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Subject: You know what they say...

Captain,

The calm before the storm. If this is F484, and I'm all but positive that it is, the next couple of days will get... interesting, to say the least. Call it an educated hunch.

The fact that you're making such progress means I'll have to step up my game, too. I'll have to skip some of the details that aren't particularly important. Medical logs, full battle analysis, figures... I hate to do it, though. The devil is in the details, they say, and they're right. It is.

I've focused on the defining moments of his career. Not the battles, but the true moments. The things he carried with him beyond the debriefings. I didn't tell you that he was the one who ensured that at least one member of each fireteam had incendiary ammunition and WP grenades when they realized Grunts breathed methane. (To be fair, it didn't make a huge difference, but the psychological impact on the Grunts was measurable, and a Brute whose fur is on fire usually doesn't concentrate on their enemies.) I didn't tell you about when a Brute lifted him by his neck, ready to end his life, only to be saved by a Marine.

To him, those were just battles. The data he collected (and Science Corps always collected data, even on simple missions that nothing "interesting" happened on) was more important to him than the fighting. Then again, he was the kind of boy who beat up bullies because they were a better test of his skills than the geeks, freaks, or oddballs. At the age of twelve, he had a notebook on theories of fighting, based on physics, biology, and martial artists he'd observed. I knew the day that he started getting heavy into psychology because there are notes about not only the mindset of the fighter, but the opponent as well.

No, I'm focusing on the things that meant something in the long run. The fall of Reach. The loss of C463. Those are the things that you need to know. Because if I'm right, he's about to drop a hornet's nest on you.

Which will make the total debriefing of every single crewmember that wasn't in the freezer during all of this more annoying to you, I'm sure. But like I said, if we both make it through this (without me facing a firing squad without a trial) I'll be there for your debriefing. I haven't forgotten our agreement. I've gotten the dress picked out for that dinner already.

Sincerely,

Chair

P.S. I never could get into science fiction. I'm more of a fantasy kind of girl. I even used to LARP when I was a kid. Yes, go ahead and mock me.
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