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*REMINDER TO ALL UNSC PERSONNEL THAT SENDING CLASSIFIED
OR PERSONAL INFORMATION OVER WAYPOINT IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
ANY MESSAGES SENT MAY BE SUBJECT TO RANDOM REVIEW*
JULY 17, 2553
F104:
Inspector,
In the dual event that Baby Dragon has in fact given me your actual comm-ID and
that her reassignment of your team isn’t as literal as official records make it out
to be, I trust you are doing well.
I also sincerely hope that my decision to pass off a chunk of BT’s roster into your
care was a sound one. Whatever reservations you have for myself and my team,
I would ask you to put those aside for their sake. A, M and O are wonderful people,
and you would be hard pressed to find a better team to work with. And they seem
to like you, which is an honour you share with select few.
I have attached links to their workbooks in this message. K, L and I have been
trying to round out their academic portfolio in between deployments. They didn’t
get much from their previous schooling. Tell M to pay special attention to the
story of Eurydice. Mythological or not, it’s an important lesson in forbearance and
trust that he will find of particular value.
As for the true purpose of this message: I can’t promise that I’ll respond
regularly, but do not hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns about
your team. Tell the three of them the same, and that I will be checking their
progress on the modules I sent you bi-weekly, schedule permitting. That goes for
O tenfold.
Regards,
LT
JULY 19, 2553
VL:
I don’t know what’s more shocking, that She gave you my actual address or that
I’m getting a message from you. I get messages from all kinds of people these
days.
And you can rest easy, Lieutenant. My politics aren’t so radical that they’ll
prevent me from taking care of my team. They’re the only reason I accepted Her
offer in the first place. And despite our brief and rocky history, I don’t hate you
or BT. Quite the opposite, in fact. Just don’t expect me to be waving any UEG flags
around anytime soon.
I’ll pass your message along. Didn’t know you guys were such academics. There’s
some serious stuff in those modules. Does the UNSC teach all of its thugs ancient
Gaian literature?
The new schedule we have is hectic, but I’ll find some time for them to do their
homework. A asked me if our new operations would still involve “a shitload of
spatial stats.” I’ll let him down gently.
And thanks. Your consultation on these three would be helpful. Never done
anything like this before. I dog-sat for Andera once. Not really comparable. AMO
eat way more. And know too much about military SOP.
Anyway. Take care. I’ll do the same.
-V
JULY 26, 2553
F104:
Inspector,
Glad to hear you’re less of a revolutionary outside of crime scenes. I would hate
for our next meeting to be on opposite sides again.
And no, most enlisted personnel are about as academic as a tank. I apologise if I
gave you the impression that my team and I are anything approaching standard
UNSC stock. Lowering your expectations would be my first official piece of advice
to you.
AMO already seem taken with you, so I don’t expect you’ll have much trouble.
Maybe a little with M. Though false criminal accusations generally don’t engender
much mutual trust, I suppose. I’m sure you’ll overcome your initial fumble with
him.
Make sure they share a room, by the way. They aren’t used to sleeping alone, and
I suspect they’ll be too proud to admit that to you. Navy never knows how to
handle our sleeping arrangements for some reason.
Regards,
LT
JULY 27, 2553
VL:
Oh, not to worry, Lieutenant. My expectations couldn’t be lower after meeting you.
Working planetside with BT was quite the eye-opener.
F104:
Glad to be of help, ma’am.
VL:
Any chance your non-standard education slipped in the rules for chess
somewhere? I’ve always wanted to beat a Spartan at it.
F104:
I’m flattered you spend so much time thinking about Spartans. White pawn to E4.
VL:
Hard not to at this point. You’re the only people I know. Black pawn to d6.
AUGUST 7, 2553
VL:
Man that move must have really scared you, huh.
I can’t really tell you a lot about training, but it’s intense. Thought I had a decent
handle on self-defence, but ONI’s turned it into a dedicated art form. Always
figured it was just the Innie sympathies in my dad that exaggerated his stories
about how brutal military training was. How many ways they prepared you to kill
and keep yourself from being killed. Now his stories seem quaint and ignorant.
I don’t know why I’m saying this to you. I’m not looking for an argument. Get
enough of that from the DIs. It’s just… not how I’d planned my life to go. You don’t
even have to respond to this if you don’t want.
Good luck with whatever world-saving mission you’re on. Not that you need it.
AUGUST 10, 2553
F104:
A little bit of fear is always good in chess. Pawn to D4.
Apologies for the delay. BT got roped into security detail of all things. Diplomats
are a whole other creature (of which I know you are well aware). Can’t save the
world every day.
It is intense. But you survived a week with us. You’ll do grand.
Baby Dragon won’t give me your team’s comm-IDs, so tell A that I know he
hasn’t done his biochem module.
Regards,
LT
AUGUST 11, 2553
VL:
The upside of working for the great oppressor is that I’m now 100% less involved
in joint-force coordination policy and civ-int meetings. And they were monthly,
too! Should’ve signed up with the UNSC ages ago. No more diplomats or morning
conferences. I’m living the dream. Starships have much shittier muffins, though.
Speaking of - I have not stood on actual dirt for a month. I can feel my bones
stretching, and O swears I’ve grown an entire 6cm. I asked the nurse tech about
cardiac muscle atrophy in light gravity. She waved it off, but special injections
can’t beat every force of nature. Though I guess ONI won’t let me drop dead of a
heart attack after spending all this money on training me.
Right?
BTW, M has stopped sidling away from me after every conversation we have. I
think yesterday was the first time I ever saw his back. Baby steps. knight f6.
AUGUST 12, 2253
F104:
Speak for yourself, Inspector. Commissioning was a horrific career move for me.
My OHSS training now covers repetitive injuries like carpal tunnel and desk-
related MSDs. Some days it feels like I wear khakis more often than Mjolnir. K is
sure I’ll meet my end at the hands of a ballpoint pen.
You probably won’t get used to starships. I never have. Dirty boots are always
better, even if the sentiment makes me a turncoat squid. But rest assured that
medical is fantastic at counteracting the physical dangers of long term space
flight. Perhaps less so with the psychological ones. Deep breathing exercises
help.
Knight to C3.
VL:
That’s debatable. You don’t look half bad in khakis.
Pawn to g6.
AUGUST 15, 2553
VL:
Have I mentioned how different ONI is from my previous job? Because it is. I
thought it would just be a more clandestine and unethical version of it, and it is.
Sort of. I can’t really explain. Not over waypoint. But it’s different.
I don’t have any friends here. Didn’t really hit me until now.
AUGUST 16, 2553
VL:
Maybe friends is the wrong word. I’d take an ally. An acquaintance, even.
I’m not totally alone. I have AMO. They’re great, but I can’t expect them to be best
buds with me in such a short time. What’s been done to them… they’re right not to
trust easy. It would be an understatement to say I empathise. We’re so much
more alike than I ever could have thought. So many things I got wrong about you
all. I’m sorry.
I can’t say any of this to them. My problems aren’t theirs - they have more than
enough on their plates. You do too, I suppose.
Maybe I shouldn’t be sending you all this. I barely know you. But you’re the closest
thing to a friend I have right now.
AUGUST 18, 2553
VL:
Spook is too nice a word. If demon hadn’t already been taken, I’d use that instead.
Feels like all I do now is look over my shoulder. I haven’t felt this way in a long
time.
AUGUST 19, 2253
VL:
I miss Cirilo. You remember him? He was a great guy. Would’ve snapped me out
of this mope-fest. And you’d be getting far less messages. Depends on if you find
that a pro or a con.
This is stupid. I’m being stupid. I’m not used to being the bottom bitch, that’s all.
Probably.