whenwefall-halo

[whenwefall-halo]

TWO

Axel was next to get her Evaluation. It made since considering she was our second in command on the field. She also seemed in good spirits after leaving the briefing room and even gave her brother a high five.

After Axel's eval, he was shouting down the hall about how exciting things were going to get. He gave the top of Tango's head a fierce rubbing with his fist, messing up her perfect combed back brown hair before she could enter the room.

She patted down her own hair, smiling as Axel walked off towards the War room. She had never seen the team this excited before and it was a nice change of pace. She faced the sliding door and placed her hand on a panel nearby. As it slid open, she entered the room.

The front of the room had several screens interlocked together, for now displaying the UNSC logo. She stood in front of Commander Vale and saluted him, waiting for his own salute in response. He never moved, which was not just against protocol but off-putting as well.

She lowered her hand, a little slower than she had liked but his gaze was Stern and unwavering. She started to realize this evaluation may not be as great as the evals the rest of her team got. She stood at attention anyway, waiting for Vale to begin.

"Spartan 242, Ellie "Tango" Oliver, Rookie of the Red Team." His tone carried a bit of teasing to it, as if she was the punchline to some kind of joke. She wasn't exactly happy with that, but she knew better than to say anything. She had been trained to accept the chain of command and respect it without question.

"Everyone thinks you'll be the next Face of Humanity... The poster child for the UNSC, like 117 before you." She had heard of this legendary Spartan before. It wasn't the first time someone compared her to him, and yet she barely knew anything about him. After he deserted, it was practically illegal to speak of him.

"I have no desire to be on posters, sir." She finally decided to speak up. She was tired of being compared to someone who she barely knew about. "I want to be on a battlefield." Her remarks made Vale narrow his eyes at her. She had no right to speak, but he did like the spunk in her answer.

"Tango, you have shown great promise in your training. You're problem is your mercy." He turned to the display and called up an old file, one showing her saving a Simulation child from an explosive. Moments later, the child was cut down by Axel.

She remembered this simulation. It was a brutal one and the first to include civilians in the line of fire. There was a time she wouldn't of hesitated, but that was before the lab accident. She knew they had been watching her ever since, but she couldn't let that stop her or her team.

"Mercy is a tool of war, sir." She explained. Vale turned on her quickly, raising his voice to try and make his point clear. "Mercy is a weakness, Spartan." His voice didn't intimidate her. His words didn't sting so she didn't even flinch as he moved closer to her.

Her eyes were glues to the screen, her body tight at attention as she stood her ground. Vale stood right beside her, trying to look her directly in the eyes but she refused to meet his gaze.

"The objective was to wipe out an Insurgent cell. You failed the objective because you spared him." He pointed at the screen, showing the simulation child in her arms as she raced away from a bomb. She didn't respond to him, knowing nothing she could say would change his mind.

"Men ought to be crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries." He quoted an old text from a time long forgotten. However, Tango could remember a woman's voice say the same quote in a different way. It was a faint memory, but one she clung to despite never seeing who spoke it.

"Or be well treated." She responded, not realizing she knew the original text. Vale's eyes gave away his surprise. He quickly corrected himself and recovered what confidence he had left. "When did you get your hands on Machiavelli?"

She didn't mean to reveal her memories in that moment. Spartans had their memories taken from them so that they wouldn't cloud their judgement in battle. If the UNSC discovered she remembered herself, they would kill her.

"We read it in the academy, sir. I happen to find an untouched version locked away." She was correct, of course. They did read a version of the book in the Academy, but it had been taken apart by the UNSC and used as an instruction manual for conquest.

She doesn't remember who said those words to her, not completely. She remembers a blue light as she awoke from her Stasis chamber, but it all goes dark after that. She knew there had to be a different version somewhere, and based on Vale's reaction she must be right.

"Reading banned texts... So that's what's influenced your judgement." It was better than him finding out her secret. He believed she simply broke Academy rules, and that she could get away with.

"Do not make a habit of this, Spartan. The only reason we keep you around is because Red Team needs a body." He stood in front of the display, looking at the freeze frame of Tango holding the child.

"And we need someone to put on the posters." He placed his hands behind his back, straightening his spine before clearing his throat. "You may join your team in the war room, Spartan 242."

Tango saluted again, knowing she wouldn't even make him turn around in response. She did it to continue her act, so that she could get into the heart of this military and poison it directly.

Tango was once Ellie Oliver, a 10 year old girl orphaned by the UNSC. She remembered who she was before they twisted her in their Spartan program. She was a fighter, a rebel against the military that wanted to control the galaxy.

Tango swore to bring them to their knees from the inside out.

[whenwefall-halo]

ONE

It was always unusual to watch her fight. Tango fought without mercy in the training simulations but still showed signs of hesitation in certain areas. It's not like Spartans to hold back against the enemy, no matter their circumstances.

She had a habit of ignoring children and women. Thankfully her team has a better handle on things and cleans up the mess before she can react. Commander Vale stands watch over the simulation, sizing up the team and preparing an evaluation.

He looks on as Red Team completes the objective: clearing the area of insurgent threat and securing the location. Vale walks away, returning to the briefing room so that he can give each Spartan their final evaluations.

"Loading Zone secure." Tango's voice buzzes over the coms to alert her team of their success. She was the youngest member, at only age 23, and yet she showed more promise than the others had at that age.

Red Captain started his approach to the building, ready to call in the air team when another voice boomed overhead of them. "Simulation success. Congratulations Red Team. Please make your way to the briefing room for your final evaluations."

The voice was pleasant and automated. The world around them started to fizzle away and the Spartans regrouped on their Captain. Tango was on a team of four. Her captain, Red, and the twins, Axel and Ace.

As the twins approached, they started their usual bickering after every training session. "How can they stop us like that when we are on a roll?" Axel's tone gave away his annoyance more than his words. His sister slapped him on the back of the head, getting a quick command from Red.

"Don't start you two. We completed the objective, there's nothing more to be done." Axel's laughter was covered by a bit of static, a sign of possible damage in his helmet from Ace. "Red, we both know anything can happen out there. There's always more to be done."

Tango was the only rookie on the team. The other three had already been in the field and mastered their teamwork. They were recalled only to replace the casualty they suffered and work with her. She knew nothing of a real battlefield, but she was eager to see one.

"Captain, we should get going." She suggested, waiting for Red to lead the way. They left their weapons behind and entered the briefing room, each taking off their helmets and placing them under their arms.

Red's real name was Bradley Wells. He got the nickname Red from the ginger hair he spotted, along with the red stripes on his armor that he added over time. Nobody knew what they stood for, but he refused to clean them off even when the UNSC ordered it.

Red saluted Commander Vale, a stocky man who had aged alongside the war. He was dark skinned and had gray hair, but you could see the harsh years he had been through in his brown gaze. "Spartan 187, Captain "Red" Wells of Red Team. We will start with you."

Vale turned to the others of the team and motioned with his head to the door. The team was a bit confused, to be honest. They had never received evaluations privately before and were not sure what to think of it.

Red motioned with the hand he had behind his back, giving them the gesture they used to say "let's move". Axel gave a small huff of breath before following orders, turning with his sister and going to the door.

Tango hesitated, but followed behind them. She wasn't sure how to feel about this. If they didn't receive the green light from Vale, their team would be grounded for another rotation. She didn't want to be the reason they didn't see battle again.

The door slid shut behind her, completely cutting them off from their Captain. That somehow gave Axel the idea he could speak freely without hesitation. "Something is up. I just know they are keeping us here on purpose."

"What reasons would they have to keep us here, Axe?" His sister was always the voice a reason for the team. They depending on her in their tightest spots. Her skin was a lot like Vale's, but lighter in tone. Her dark hair was twisted into braids that kept it from getting messy in her helmet.

Her eyes were trained on her brother's face. He looked exactly like her, just a bit more masculine in bone structure. He kept his hair shaved but broke UNSC dress code by having stars shaved on one side. He also had a scar on one eye, giving away an injury they left him blind in that eye.

"I don't know, maybe because we failed the last ground mission we did." Ace slapped her forearm on his chest, forcing him up against a wall. Axel was bigger than your average Spartan, but that didn't stop his sister from pushing him around.

"We didn't fail." Her tone was dark, and Tango took this as her cue to step in. She put her hand on Ace's elbow, trying to remind her they were just outside the doors of the Commander and Captain. They could be heard.

"Let's be honest, guys. I'm the one that's holding you back." Ace relaxed herself and moved away from her brother, both looking at Tango with apologetic eyes. Tango knew her inexperience was keeping them here, and they knew it too. They just didn't have the heart to place blame on her.

Axel patted Tango on the back, the sound of metal against metal quiet compared to his laughter. "You're nothing special, there's no way you're holding us back." He gave his sister a sideways glance before she rolled her eyes, smiling.

The doors slid open, Red looked a bit more enthusiastic than he did when they left him. In fact, Tango noticed he had a bit more bounce in his step. She wasn't the only one to notice, and Axel chuckled at the sight of it.

"Must of been a good eval, huh Red?" Red smiled at Axel and then shared his expression with the team. He made his way past them with confidence, throwing his words back to make sure he was heard. "I'll meet you in the War Room, Red Team."

[whenwefall-halo]

UNSC SPARTAN FILE 242: ELLIE "TANGO" OLIVER We've intercepted an insurgent cargo ship. Aboard, our Spartan team finds an arsenal of weapons and classified tech from a recent raid on an outer colony outpost.

There was one survivor.

Female, age 10, orphaned during the assault. She took control of the ship and jettisoned our team into enemy space. She open fired on them.

The kid has spunk.

Her skill in strategy and combat excelled expectations. We were not prepared for an actual assault on our Spartans at this level. Our Spartans we're not prepared to attack a child.

I gave the order.

Commander Vale sent instructions to capture the insurgent. She would be made an example of in front of those who opposed us. Her death would end the war.

It sparked revolution.

This girl has become a test subject for Dr. Halsey. She refused to give up any information on the enemy, and so the memory stripping began. We need that Intel. We need to know our enemy.

They want peace.

Spartan Tango is top of her class. She is compared to Spartan 117, but she has her faults. She continues to show evidence of insurgent spirit.

She's meant to replace him.

There was an accident in the lab. 117's assault on the building caused malfunctions in her stasis chamber when they breeched it. Her life is on the line again.

There is one survivor.

Spartan Tango is retrieved and brought back to UNSC headquarters. She is assigned a team and trains with them in order to sync up with their teamwork. She's remarkable, but has her faults.

She had spunk.

The Red Team is ready for their first mission. They are to report for their first briefing in the war room. Please standby for further reports.

[whenwefall-halo]