Vandread Fan Fiction ❯ VanDread - Halo The Second Stage ❯ Mother's Day ( Chapter 10 )

VanDread Halo The Second Stage

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to VanDread or Halo at all…

Chapter 7

Mother's Day…

< >: Thoughts

**************

In the Nirvana's Engineering Bay…

“I see…so that is how it works?”

Parfait was currently chatting with none other than Flowing Chapter as the floating Forerunner Military A.I was showing her just what was she looking at in terms of the data, as she was busy studying the technology of Flowing Chapter's creators. The plucky head engineer had been eager to study all that she could manage to in relation to the technology of the Forerunners when they had gotten the information as well as the devices that they were able to salvage from the ruins of their ship. And she was naturally happy to look at all they had created though naturally she needed help in translation.

“Correct Reclaimer, this device is able to function as a portable power supply unit that can work on most devices.”

Right now, the two were busy on their newest tests to see if Forerunner technology could be utilized into the current technology that they had in terms of both the Tarak technology they had as well as the of Megele and the UNSC's. So far Flowing Chapter had been a great help in field testing several devices and also helped in perfecting a few kinks in the Covenant weapons that Cortana had with them, this was certainly useful to the crew as this would help them in battle at a much later date. Parfait was also interested in the possibility of introducing Forerunner technology into her Power Armor creations though she knew that by Forerunner standards, her creations were not yet up to specifications that would count in their eyes as adequate Power Armors.

**************

In the rest of the ship, life seemed normal, but there were a lot of changes going on already, this one was naturally directed at parts of the Nirvana's crew, the first of which was the Dread Pilots. They were currently getting some field training on how to operate weapons in battle as well as now wearing armor to protect them. This was requested by Meia herself, citing her experience during the attack that had been due to the virus that was in the message pod that was in Misty's capsule, having experienced what would happen if they were unable to move and fight, she decided to have the Dread pilots receive upgrades in their uniforms and weapons training on the off chance that they would be forced to fight in such a situation as she did.

Naturally there was some resistance from her fellow Dread pilots, Jura, Barnette, and Dita included, however, she didn't need to get too serious as they got the reasons behind her plans. She contacted the Chief about this and John agreed that the pirates needed their pilots to be properly trained in order to be ready for anything that might crop up. This was why he decided to have Cortana and Parfait make some new gear for the pilots.

The gear in question was a slight fusion of the basic Marine Body Armor and that of the ODST Battle Uniform that she had been able to make, by cutting away some of the lesser functions of the ODST gear and increasing some parts, the hybrid uniforms proved to be effective as it still granted full body movement without restrictions and had better protection from shrapnel, small arms fire, heat, and energy fire.

Like the ODST uniform, this new Megele uniform was vacuum sealed and had a portable air supply for at least a full hour and a half due to Cortana and Parfait's tinkering with the designs, the backpack was removed and a new software package removed the older one in order to accommodate a new one that was able to work with their Dread's OS. Naturally they had to smoothen the plating to suit the women's preference and the women preferred to show that they were women in form so the suits had a more female shape. The helmet was still the same though it had been toned down to have a more defensive nature and didn't have the VISR options as they Dread pilots relied on their Dread's scanner systems, which was why the helmet was given a higher protection level and the uniform also had some protection for the neck to prevent them from being cut in such a vital area. There were naturally built in packs to carry supplies and ammunition within easy reach so they didn't need to worry too much about that.

The features from the Marine Body Armor naturally included the inner ballistic resistant gel system and temperature regulator network for pilot comfort, protection from heat, and also to disperse energy from a glancing blow of energy. There was also a special locator beacon in the suit to help locate them if they were somehow out of their Dreads for quicker pickup. The plating also was given a coating of the ablative substance for a light yet strong layer of extra protection. The suit also was improved to the point that it was not uncomfortable as the ODST version as both Cortana and Parfait incorporated Megele technology into them as well.

The result was promising and the suits were naturally personalized by the Dread pilots to suit their tastes, they had to admit that while it took a while to adjust to the new feeling of their suits, they were surprised to the comfort level and were impressed somewhat when the uniforms were tested by the engineers for physical damage resistance. They also found that while it took some extra time to use their controls due to the uniform, that didn't last long as they were able to do so well enough to still show their edge in battle.

The time for weapons training was a bit more interesting as the Talvernian men were more than willing to help train the Dread pilots in the use of their new gear that Meia had in mind, at first it seemed to be all right as the Spartans were very busy at the moment and the Fire Teams were on a weeklong rest. The weapons included the Combat Knife, Covenant Plasma Pistol, the M6G Magnum, and the two SMGs, the M7 and the M7S as these were easy to carry and were ideal for vehicle crews as per the use of the UNSC. But after a few weeks, Meia decided that it would be better that they were trained by the more experienced members of the Nirvana's Fire Teams due to some incidents, none of which were bad in a literal sense, but had been…confusing.

**************

“Okay, you need to place your weapon's stock on your shoulder to counter the recoil of the weapon.”

“Like this?”

One Dread pilot wearing her older outfit did the posture while one of the men looked on to see if she was doing it right, The man however couldn't help but admire the woman's full form and that was not unnoticed by the woman as she spoke.

“Hey!”

The soldier, one dark haired and slightly blushing youth by the name of Harry Kirkland then looked and replied.

“Yeah?”

“Why are you looking at my breasts like that?!”

“Uh….they just look nice even with the padding on.”

“Oh…”

Rica Flores, the Dread pilot in question couldn't help but feel a bit unnerved by the way her trainer was looking at her breasts, they were not that big in her mind but they way he was looking was making her feel something that was not bad, yet odd and familiar at the same time.

**************

Naturally she was not the only one…

**************

Jane Randal, yet another Dread pilot and a blonde like Jura though with short shoulder length hair and wearing her older Dread uniform was currently trying to handle the recoil of her Magnum with her trainer, one blonde man by the name James Derrick, he moved towards her and check her grip and moved to correct that.

“All right, you need to adjust your grip like so and try to relax…”

“Okay.”

Jane did that but the fact that James was still close to her made her aware of his facial features which were rather interesting as she suddenly felt her body temperature climb up a notch or so, this however made her a lot more tense and that was quickly noticed by the man who turned to look at her.

“Hey, you all right?”

Jane suddenly felt her body temperature rise as she looked at James' face and saw his blue eyes, she had seen blue eyes before but on a man, it felt very different, and she then wondered why her eyes were moving to her lips.

**************

Another Dread pilot by the name of Amanda Lacey was currently in training with her own M7S with her Talvernian trainer, a brown haired youth by the name of Franklin Conner. The two of them were in the firing range as Amanda was currently trying to hit the target but was missing her shots by half and Franklin sighed a bit and moved closer behind her to correct her posture.

“Okay, I need you to relax and take slow breaths and loosen your stance a bit, if you tense up like that, you might miss more.”

“All right…”

The Talvernian man was behind the Dread pilot and was holding her hands while telling her to relax. However, the Dread pilot was not totally relaxed as she was able to feel her trainer's hands on her arms while she was wearing only the suit of her uniform and she couldn't help but feel her body react to the feel of his body, she then felt her trainer's body heat up even more. She however was unaware that her trainer was feeling the same increase of heat in her body, but unlike her, the man was grinning a bit and enjoying this situation a lot more than he normally should.

**************

While the incidents were not bad, it had raised some concerns from the women as they were not used to suddenly working with men and dealing with such sudden surges of emotion and feeling that were totally foreign to them. That reason was why SCPO Mendez and Meia had brought a stop to that in order to avoid anything that might become problematic, but they didn't hinder any interaction between the Dread pilots and the Talvernian men since there was no report of fights breaking out. Mendez pointed out to Meia that since the men were familiar with women due to being in a co-gender environment, they were comfortable around women and were trying to get a bit closer to them and this would no doubt be confusing the women from her world.

Meia had to agree with that though Mendez had pointed out that it was to be expected after all and he suggested that they didn't hinder interaction between the men and women in order to allow the women to get more used to men. However, he had told her that the real test was when they were able to have the men from the Titan's Wrath to join their ranks. This way they were able to establish a better form of relations between men and women.

**************

The other group undergoing changes also included the Fire Teams as well, they decided to change their names to the Nirvana's Infantry Platoon as they were close to platoon size and the Spartans seemed all right with that for the time being, though this was merely for aesthetic reasons. The real changes went into their gear as they were now planning to switch to the ODST Battle Uniforms in change of their Marine Body Armor when the situation demanded it.

After reviewing the footages of their battles, the Master Chief realized that now was the time for the women to have more freedom of gear in their missions, namely in the defensive sense as they were going to need all the protection they could get, and while their Marine gear was effective, close quarters combat could become somewhat dicey so he decided to issue them ODST gear as these not only offered higher levels of protection but was suited for close quarters combat and urban areas. They were not going to phase out their Marine Body Armor just yet as these were easier to repair and maintain, but sometimes defense was needed more than maneuverability which was why they were being trained in the use of the Power Armors.

The Power Armors had undergone more upgrades and had been tested by Parfait in order to make them more effective, and while they were not all that powerful, the overall protection they had as well as the durability was more than welcome in such battles where durability and protection was needed more than maneuverability, and the fact that they were able to carry much heavier and more powerful weapons was something that would be very useful in battles where firepower outmatched maneuverability. Thus they were being upgraded to make them a lot more effective and would be key in battles that the women would find themselves in.

The women were more than willing to test out the gear when they were fully recovered but at the moment, the women on the ship were currently celebrating another significant event and that was Mother's Day, while many of the Nirvana's crew were young and none of them had their mothers there for different reasons, they still took the time to celebrate Mother's Day and it was a simple but loved affair when the crew would reminisce about their lives with their parents and their mothers most of all.

They were not the only ones as the Talvernians themselves were celebrating Mother's Day in their own respective fashions and they would talk about their mothers in their own fashions, some were sad that it was going to be a while before they were able to see them again, while some celebrate in a more sober fashion as their mothers had passed on in some form or another.

However, it was at this point that another part of the Nirvana's crew were going to celebrate Mother's Day.

**************

In the Forward Unto Dawn section of the Nirvana…

John was currently training with the other Spartan IIs as they were busy to keep themselves in top shape with them taking different approaches into doing so, Fred was currently fighting with several of the rebuilt Harvester Shock Troopers in close combat, these were naturally able to use the data from his MJOLNIR Mark VI's helmet recorder system so they were able to fight in the same level of the Spartan Killers that he had faced, while Linda was also training against several foes with her trademark weapon. Kelly likewise was in the shooting range and busy working on her abilities in shoot and she soon planned to go on a series of running laps while John was also busy there in the shooting range.

As they were doing this, they were soon joined by the Spartan IIIs who were very much dedicated to the training as well and they were all wearing their SPI Mark II Armors as they took their time to get to the range, Linda was quickly joined by Mark as they went to the art of being snipers, while Kelly and a batch of the Spartan IIIs were also in training as well and Fred was soon joined by the others in training as the senior Spartan IIs were training the new generation.

John stopped and looked at his fellow Spartan IIs and the Spartan IIIs and wondered how the others would have reacted to the sight before them had they been alive, it would have been something worth seeing as the other Spartan IIs never had to deal with training other Spartans since they very much were in the same class and worked in teams of three most of the time that they were together. However it felt good to see three good friends he had known since his younger days side by side in this new battle field, and the fact was that he knew that their help and that of the Spartan IIIs was invaluable.

His thoughts however turned away from that when Cortana and the three Dread pilots as well as Hibiki walked in, and so did Misty Cornwell. Hibiki had begun to build some ties with the three women who were the ones he partnered with when forming the VanDreads, in Dita's case it was fairly obvious what it was to the observer though Hibiki was still somewhat in the dark as Dita had done everything she was able to do to get closer to Hibiki with Misty egging her on with her attachment to Hibiki, as for Jura, that was still a bit in doubt as Jura's desire to have a baby was something that was difficult for Hibiki to deal with though they were getting along well enough, and for Meia, the two of them seemed to get along well enough.

The Spartan then was able to hear just what was being discussed by the group with the help of his MJOLNIR Mark VI's audio sensors.

“So that is what Mother's Day is like?”

“Yep! It's a good way to celebrate having a mother Cortana!”

The cheerful words spoken by Dita was not lost to the Spartan though he was thinking of other things, he remembered very little of his own birth mother only that she had a kind smile and smelled of soap. The only person he could think of that would be like a mother to him was none other than Dr. Catherine herself. She had been with them all since day one and had been among their family. He never forgot that fact and that was beginning to make him think of something just as Cortana and the others were nearby, while Dita and Misty were once more in the proverbial contest of staring each other down while Hibiki was trapped in the middle.

Jura saw this and decided to watch for the moment, trying to figure out who was going to win in this latest contest of wills between her fellow woman from Megele and the woman from another colony. She had spent some time thinking about how to get the seed she needed though she had begun to admit that teasing Hibiki about it was getting to be entertaining to say the least. She still wanted to get Hibiki's seed though she did have plans if that didn't work out, but she had to admit that her teasing of the young man was good to her for some reason or another.

“Here we go again…”

Cortana smiled a bit at that as she spoke.

“I wonder when Hibiki will decide how to deal with this mess he happens to be in?”

The blonde then replied.

“I don't know, but at least it's certainly not boring, though I hope that it happens soon, as much fun as it is to watch it does get boring, anyway, do you plan to celebrate Mother's Day Cortana?”

The former UNSC A.I gave a thoughtful expression and replied.

“I don't know for sure yet, maybe I will at some point.”

Jura shook her head at that and replied.

“There's not much time in Mother's Day you know, it only lasts one day and you will only get one chance, besides, I think you're `mother', Dr. Halsey would be really happy if you did it for her today.”

Cortana was surprised at that and Jura saw it and replied.

“Come on, you should do it, I mean, she might not have given birth to you like normal women do, but you are very much her daughter in all respects right? I think it would be nice for you to show how much she means to you since she's been helping you get used to being a human woman in all respects.”

“You do have a point there Jura.”

The blonde grinned at that as she replied.

“No charge, I think it would be cool if you had help though, maybe asking the Master Chief for some help in the whole affair since he and the other Spartans know Dr. Halsey very well.”

Cortana then looked at the Master Chief and to her surprise, he nodded a bit and then spoke to her.

“Why not?”

That was when he spoke to Dit.

“Dita, can I ask you a favor?”

The redhead turned to face the Spartan and was surprised as this was the very first time that the Spartan had ever asked her something before, let alone a favor. But she was quick to put that aside and give the Master Chief a happy smile.

“Of course you can ask me a favor Mr. Green Alien! What do you need me to do?”

“Can you help us organize a good menu on short notice?”

Dita nodded in happiness, as she was willing to do something for the Master Chief as he was quick to call his fellow Spartans together. Once they were all there, he told them about his plans and instead of them asking questions or raising objections, they agreed with the idea that he had given them and that was that as they decided to get out of their MJOLNIR Mark VI armor. Cortana looked at her protector and naturally loved one and smiled warmly as she spoke to him.

“You seem happy John, and remember, I happen to have my mother's memories so even if you do have your gear on, I can tell that you're in a good mood.”

“Yes.”

“I see…well then, time to get out of that Armor, we got work to do.”

**************

In the Medical Bay…

Dr. Halsey was currently working on some new projects that would be used in a much later date and she felt like she was going to get even more exhausted as she took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes a bit to relieve the strain, once she was done, she sighed a bit and stopped working for a few minutes or so in order to get her thoughts back.

Ever since the Nirvana took in both the Titan's Wrath and the Ruby Rapier, calls had been coming in to the Nirvana as members of the crew on both ships wanted to know a number of things, most were harmless and some were more annoying than helpful. She was dealing with her own affairs but it had not been easy when she had to cut her time into helping the Nirvana deal with the wounded personnel from the ship itself.

As she finished her work, she wondered briefly if she should have retire from this life at some point, but as soon as that thought appeared, it disappeared just as quickly, retiring was not an option and quite frankly not really worth it, even though she was currently reaching her seventies, she still looked by around her mid thirties, a wonderful show of the increased medical technology that the UNSC had at the time, and with the combined access to UNSC technology and that of both Tarak and Megele, she could live a lot longer.

Besides, this new war required her aid as she was busy using her expertise in many fields to help them all fight the Harvesters and at least in this situation, they were able to fight their best against these foes and had the advantage, even though her Spartans had been put to the test by the Spartan Killers, she was still assured that they were going to grow stronger, as Mendez himself stated that given enough time, the Spartans would only get better.

It was then that she decided to check the Chronometer and saw the date, she sighed a bit at what she was looking at.

<So it's Mother's Day again….hmmmm>

Catherine never celebrated Mother's Day and she had her reasons as well, she too had parents like most people, her mother had been supportive and very capable despite her demanding jobs as both scientist and house wife while her father had been busy working as a engineer and computer support technician, when her parents died when she was sixteen, only a year after her making of her second Doctorial Thesis paper, she was saddened by that yet retained her focus on her tasks.

She believed that it was better to honor her family through hard work and diligence than just eating and partying, and when she worked on the making of the new Smart A.I Generations, she had dropped the idea of celebrating even more. She then became an apprentice to and rising to the position of being the star pupil of Vice Admiral Ysionris Jeromi, she had learned much from the Vice Admiral and considered him a great teacher and something of a parent.

She knew also that his humane nature and innate love to save lives was the reason he never approved of her working for ONI and that had made many decisions she made hard on her as she could easily see her mentor disapproving of such techniques and methods even though those said procedures and methods resulted in considerable successes that spelled the difference between survival and death.

She then thought about her Spartans and then felt the same guilt again in her, she had never forgotten nor completely forgiven herself for the life of a super soldier that she had placed on them so many years before. She always told herself that she was sacrificing the few for the needs of the many, yet that never worked on her consciousness in any fashion. Having raised John and the others from their times as children she had begun to see them as her own, that was why she always called them her Spartans.

Because of this, she had developed a motherly bond with them though she had ordered them around more than once when she was still among them back on Reach, she always respected them and cared for them, helping them adjust to the life that she had personally doomed them into living. Every day when she looked at them she would imagine how things would have been for them if she had not walked into their lives. They would have lived their lives differently and would have their freedom and their ability to choose their own lives. She took that from them the day she began to observe them and finally kidnap them into the program.

When she had gone after Daisy when she and the other Spartans with her had tried to escape, she never showed that she could understand Daisy's desire to return home to the life she once had and it made her feel all the more guilty for that life she gave her and the others. She had seen them suffer and fight with all that they had as well as see them die in battle before. It tore at her to know that she had made them live that life when they could have had different lives.

However, she knew that without what she had done, the UNSC would not have had a chance at all when the Covenant came to destroy them all, yet it never made her feel any better as she had always tried to appear that she was not all that affected though she knew that only those who had known her the best would see the conflict in her.

She knew that they saw her as a mother figure also and while she knew that they were professional soldiers, there was a tiny part of her wished that they would surprise her…

<No….that is too petty a reason for me to ask them.>

<Petty….aren't you forgetting that you have been like a mother to them?>

<No, I haven't….but I doomed them into this kind of life…what kind of mother would willingly allow her children to be used like that?>

Catherine mentally moaned in exhaustion as she knew that no amount of thinking on the past would change it, but still sometimes she wished that she could finally tell someone or anyone about the guilt and memories she carried with her for the past many years, at least find some way to finally release all the things that had been in her mind for so long.

That was when the door opened in the Medical Bay and in went none other than Magno and Buzam, she straightened herself up and placed back on her glasses and spoke to the elderly woman before her.

“Yes Captain Vivian, is there something that you need?”

Magno shook her head at that and replied.

“No, I am fine for the time being, but I think that it's about time that I had a conversation with you Dr. Halsey.”

“Oh? What about?”

Magno sighed and spoke to her.

“It is about something that I should have asked before when you first came here, and now that we are not under threat by the Harvesters, I think that now is a very good time for me to ask this question, can you come with us to the Conference Room?”

**************

In the Conference Room…

Catherine Halsey sighed a bit as she sat down in front of both Magno and Buzam, she already had an idea as to what this new conversation was about, and while she would not bother about this, she kept in mind that Magno was not in the same category as the people she had dealt with back in the UNSC, there on the table was some food and drink though she was not really keen on the food and drink as she sat down as Magno and Buzam did the very same thing. Once they faced one another, it was then that Catherine took the offensive so to speak.

“What is this about Captain?”

The elderly woman spoke at that.

“I wanted to talk to you about some of the things you've done, namely about the Spartans.”

Catherine gave a slight look of annoyance and wariness; she had always considered John and the rest of the surviving Spartan IIs as her Spartans and that was why talking about them to a stranger was something that she normally didn't do.

Magno looked at Catherine with an understanding look.

“I can tell that this is something that you find as an annoyance and no doubt something that you prefer never to be asked of, but I have to know why you did those things to them.”

“It was not easy…”

“I know, John told me and the crew about everything. The conflicts and the the brush fire wars that were cropping up in the UNSC's Outer and even the Inner Colonies, but still, I wanted to know why you agreed with this. Kidnapping children from their parents and replacing them with clones who were destined to die to cover up the kidnappings is a very reprehensible crime. And then training them to be soldiers as well as turning them into test subjects is even worse.”

Buzam nodded at that as well and spoke.

“I have to agree with the Captain Dr. Halsey, what you did to them was a very loathsome action and reprehensible as well. I am even amazed that you were not even charged with crimes against humanity for what you did to them.”

Catherine knew that to be true, while the Spartan II Program was a resounding success despite their low numbers in fighting the Covenant, when it went public to boost morale in the UNSC it attracted a LOT of accusations for the unethical methods they used to mold John and the other children into Spartans, there had been no shortage of outrage in the public about the moral and ethical crimes committed on the Spartans and she was most of all the target of such angry words. but she stood by it and while her guilt was still very much there in her, she couldn't deny that they had done more than even she thought possible, they had kept the morale of the UNSCDF high and also turned what would have been a total lose into a victory, a Pyrrhic victory to be sure, but better than total loss that would have spelt doom to the UNSC.

“I know that, but I am no monster either, you may think of me as one for what I have done, but your world didn't have the difficulties the UNSC had, you didn't have control of the worlds in the number, or dealing with the number of the Insurrectionists who were tearing into the UNSC, when diplomacy failed and the long process of the administration went nowhere they tore into the UNSC and killed many. Even if we used the ODSTs to do covert actions, the casualties on the civilian population and the damage would have been enormous, and the same could be said for the UNSCDF.”

“I made the choice to do the things in order to reduce the loss of life, and I have always carried the guilt of taking away the chance of the Spartans, my Spartans to live normal lives and people, ever day when I watched them train in Reach, part of me always tells me how cruel I was to have done this to them, taking away any chance of being normal people, dooming them to a life of warfare, death, and more. I always said to myself before that I sacrificed the few for the sake of the many every day, but I knew that it was not going to help anyway. I did what I could to treat them not as machines but people, I have always called them by their first names and never by their serial tags to show that I saw them for who they are, human beings, I played games with them and tried everything I could to make some semblance of a civilian life for them despite their lives as Spartans.”

“I had to harden myself in order to not do something foolish when I subjected them to the Augmentations, I tried my best to save those who were unable to fight even after surviving due to the complications, and I had to hold back my tears when those who died were buried in space, and I dedicated my life to making sure that John and the others who survived the Augmentations would recover well and be able to life after it. You think that it was easy for me to bear the sight of the pain they all endured because of my research and my decision? It wasn't, they were all children I had tried to raise in some semblance of normalcy and felt responsible for, they were MY Spartans.”

“When the Covenant came to attack the UNSC, and my Spartans fought them, I did whatever I could to support them in any way I could, when they died in battle, I felt the pain of their deaths whenever I got the confirmation and I look at the picture I had of them when they were young. I remember their faces, names, their lives, I remember everything and I will always regret having placed them into this life. When I was on Reach, I was ready to give my life, for not just the UNSC, but to finally make sure that I paid for what I had done to them, but that changed when Fred and the others found me. And I decided to save every human life that I could, starting with myself.”

“But there are indeed worse things out there in the universe; the Covenant and the Flood proved that to me, the War proved that to me, and no matter how much guilt I carry for what I have done, I will not take back what I have done, without my Spartans, the war would have ended differently, without them, even the advances of the UNSC would have been for nothing, and without them, much more human lives would have been lost, and do not forget Captain, without my Spartans, your crew would have never been able to make it this far. Call me monster if you will, but I will not change what I have done nor will I take back anything that I have accomplished.”

Magno and Buzam could see that Catherine meant those words right down to the bone and there was silence in the Conference Room for a few more minutes and when that was over, the elderly woman spoke to Catherine.

“I see….truth be told Dr. Catherine, I am not going to call you a monster, if I had the same knowledge as you did and lived in those times as you did, things would have been different for me as well. I might have done things in a different fashion, but I cannot judge you for what you have done.”

“There would have been no doubt in my mind had things been different, my world or that of the men would have done what you did to John and the others in order to gain advantages, and while neither of them have done anything like that to my knowledge, there would no doubt be people who will be willing to do just that. You were in a dire circumstance before and during the Covenant war and I have no doubt that you had done what you could in order to make due.”

The elderly woman smiled a bit as she thought about what she had seen when Catherine and the Spartans she had trained, raised, and been with for years talked, there was absolute respect between them and the Spartans, despite being super human killing machines showed absolute respect and loyalty to Catherine, John most of all, and the fact that Catherine had a soft spot for John showed that despite all she had done, there was a human heart and soul there in the woman as she cared deeply for the Spartans. If she didn't then it would not bother her if they died in battle or if they respected her or not.

“Besides, I have seen the way the Spartans treat you, they have a high level of respect for you and never say no to your orders when you give it to them, in fact, if I understand it correctly you are the only civilian they are willing to listen to and even take orders from. That tells me that they hold you in high regard, to the point of seeing you as a mother figure and you show it back since you do care for them and their lives, anyone who treats them like a statistic would care little for them at all and treat them as disposable weapons. You are not one of those people Dr Halsey, if you were, they would never show you such respect and trust to such a level. They would gladly fight to protect you and no doubt they would even die for you.”

Catherine nodded at the truth of that and Magno spoke again.

“I can tell that you act like a mother to them with the way you speak their names, no doubt since you had a large part of training and raising them, you know how to tell them apart since none of us can ever tell them apart unless we hear them speak when they wear the Armor they have on.”

Catherine smiled at that as she recalled how she was able to indeed tell them apart despite the armor that they had on them. Magno and Buzam noted that and the Commander was the next to speak.

“But we noted that you have a slightly different relationship with John, you see him as your favorite Spartan and you have absolute confidence in him and his abilities. You also show him a deep affection as a mother would a son, and we see the very same in John's interactions with you he never questions or tries to undermine your authority and has full trust in you.”

“You are right, John is my favorite Spartan and I care for him, he is an attractive young man and I have always seen him as the bravest and the luckiest of them all, ever since the first day I saw him.”

That piqued the interest of the others and Magno spoke out.

“Really?”

“Yes, he was the very first child I ever observed.”

Magno smiled at that and she spoke.

“At any rate Dr. Halsey, the purpose of this discussion was not in any way meant to have you seen as a monster, but for us to know how you were able to go through with what you have done and how you were able to deal with the things you did to them. You were in a different time, a different dimension, and a different life, as such I have no authority to judge your actions. If we were in the same boat as you, I do not know how things might have turned out for our world and that of the men if we were in the exact same circumstances as well. And since you care for and respect them as people and as your….children, then it tells us that you are not evil in all senses.”

Catherine nodded and that was that as Magno and Buzam left the room and she headed off to the Nirvana to get back to her work, however it was then that Cortana walked over to Dr. Halsey with a smile that spoke of something being planned, that was more than enough to get the attention of her mother.

“What's with the smile Cortana?”

“I wanted to ask you something, mother, you have anything to do today?”

The UNSC scientist became curious as to what was going on here as she had never seen Cortana this excited before. She trusted Cortana without any reservation and decided to reply to her `daughter's' question.

“Nothing too pressing, why do you ask?”

“There's something that I need to show you.”

Catherine was even more curious by this and decided to follow Cortana as she had indeed locked down her terminal in the Medical Bay before she had gone to the meeting with Magno and Buzam to the Conference Room. As they arrived at a nearby room, the two entered and to her surprise, there was a table filled with food and drink, and there were the Spartans, every last one of them, even the Spartan IIIs and they were all out of their Armor and wearing simple and utilitarian clothing. Catherine was surprised at this, as despite taking their Armor off when they had to, her Spartans only did this for more in depth maintenance on their Armors and never took them off completely for any other reason and the same could be said for the Spartan IIIs as they never took off their gear unless they needed to train and make repairs on their gear.

“What is going on here?”

Cortana replied to that.

“Happy Mother's Day!”

With that, Cortana hugged Catherine and she was stunned by this as she stood there and couldn't help but feel some level of shock at what was happening before her as she looked at Cortana, she could understand Cortana as she was her younger self and as such was her genetic daughter even though she had never given birth to Cortana herself, but when she looked at John and the others, she couldn't help but be confused.

“You were part of this?”

John nodded and replied.

“We thought it would be best for this to be done as this is a significant day.”

“But…I'm not your mother John, nor am I the mother of Kelly, Linda, and Fred, even the Spartan IIIs are not my children either.”

Kelly then spoke.

“Maybe there's truth to that, you are not related to us in any way, but you were always there with us, to us, you are our mother in all ways even if not by blood. We never forgot how you always tried to be there for us and support us, playing games when we were not being trained by the DIs, giving us some treats when we do well, showing us respect and kindness when you are with us and being there in everything. Those things you did made you our mother Ma'am, and that will never change.”

Fred was next to speak as well.

“You were with us through everything since the first day we were on Reach, helping us adapt to our new lives to defend mankind, all the way to when we started fighting the Covenant, and you always did what you could in order to help us no matter what. That makes you our mother in all senses.”

Linda also nodded as she spoke.

“We owe our survival and success to you, as well as the fact that you were there with us every step of the way. And that is why we always see you as our mother in every sense of the word.”

John was the one who finished it as he spoke to Dr. Halsey.

“To you, we were living beings and not machines, and that means a lot to us, and you were among the few people who never called us freaks, monsters, or non humans, to you we were your Spartans and in that respect, we were your children, the children of your mind, sweat, and efforts. You were the one who saw us for who we were underneath the Armor even if that annoyed us at times. You are our mother Dr. Halsey even if you are not blood related to any of us and that will never change.”

The feelings that Catherine felt in that moment were varied but all were in the positive spectrum, after that discussion with Captain Magno and Buzam, she had finally told someone of the burden of her actions and that helped alleviate that, and now knowing that her Spartans care for her like this in truth was more than enough to make her feel happy as she hugged Cortana.

She then looked at her Spartans and they nodded as she hugged them gently, they naturally made sure not to harm her with their full strength and in some ways, Catherine felt like a china doll compared to her Spartans who were a lot stronger and more than she was at this moment. The Spartans were more than happy as they could tell that their mother was happy for what they had done for her and that made them feel happy as well.

As she finished hugging her Spartans and did the same with the Spartan IIIs who didn't stop her, she then walked with them to be in this special celebration, Catherine in all of her time in the event known as Mother's Day, gave a smile in a very happy and honest way, not the kind of smile that was forced as she was with her Spartans.

Her children…

**************

Through a camera…

Magno smiled as she looked at the event that had just taken place and she closed it down, allowing the Spartans to have this moment with their `mother' as she knew that this was a private matter. She then looked out to the vast expanse of the stars and then directed her attention to the two ships that were flying alongside and wondered just how they were going to get both sides to work together. This was going to be a serious test of many things, including her patience as well as her ability to keep her own temper in check, but it was things like this that kept life interesting at the very least.

**************

To be continued…

**************

Author's notes:

This is not too long and is something that I felt that the story needed since this deals with a subject that should be explored a lot more in detail, namely the way people would react to the discovery of the project that created the Spartans. This had been mentioned before and while I have pointed out this before that circumstances in the Halo universe were different than that of the VanDread universe, I felt that it would be better to have a more direct explanation.

Keep in mind that on both Tarak and Megele, they do have cloning procedures, while the women allow themselves to have children the natural way, they still use gene manipulation methods in order to have children since they are an all female society. As for the men, they use cloning vats in order to have children though this is not mentioned in the anime or manga. Through these methods of reproduction, it is not impossible for the women and men of both worlds to create super soldiers through gene manipulation, by breeding out the recessive genes while increasing the dominant genes in their gene pool in both worlds. And in turn would have easily conscripted the children to the military and having them live military lives. They would also be able to covertly do this and gather the DNA from people who have the traits and clone them.

A good example would be in the episode of Justice League Unlimited where Terry finds out about his genetic relation to Bruce Wayne and then learning about Amanda Waller's Batman Beyond project.

They did the same thing in the game of Metal Gear Solid and that kind of technique was used to create the Coordinators in the Gundam SEED Universe. Let's keep in mind that this kind of formula has been used many times before and while VanDread is a good anime, there's plenty of ways it would have been expanded. In light of the mentioned information, there would have been no doubt that if given enough funds and support, there would have been super soldier programs in both worlds and considering their cold war with one another and the possible factions on either world that would have wanted to take things to the highest level, then it would have been done.

That naturally means that there is potential for both Tarak and Megele could start their own super soldier program if given the right incentive, and given full support, funding and resources.

While Dr. Catherine's methods are indeed unethical in many ways, at least she did care and loved the Spartans and did her best to make some semblance of normalcy for them. And in turn the Spartans in the sources of information did give back that respect and affection as they do consider her a mother figure and someone they will fight and die to protect with their lives. If Dr. Catherine didn't see them as her Spartans she would have just been like the stereotypical cold hearted and emotionless doctor who didn't care at all if they were all killed and would have recruited more children to fill in the gaps.

At any rate, that should do it.

And as for deaths in the story, I will point out that there will be casualties for the good guys, but I need to take the time and plan it all out on how it would have a serious impact on the crew and on others well. That is why it takes some time to do those things since planning it carefully for maximum impact and effect is key to it's success in enhancing the storyline. But I assure you that the deaths of core members of the story are being considered. Obviously I can't kill key characters but those that I can kill will have some heroic deaths if needed.

Just let me worry about who dies in this story and let me worry about the details on how they meet their ends, all right?