This fanfiction article, Operation: SUNSHINE, was written by Spartan 501. Please do not edit this fiction without the writer's permission.
In the wake of Operation: VORAUSSICHT, dozens of illegal programs, projects, and operations conducted by the Office of Naval Intelligence before, during, and after the Great War came to light. While initially the findings of Codename: SHOGUN's investigation remained tightly under wraps, the secrets uncovered nevertheless could not stay hidden forever. When details from VORAUSSICHT leaked from the investigation, a media panic, "Spartangate", ensued. Public confidence in the defense force and military morale plummeted to levels not seen since the worst days of the Insurrection, as news of ONI's excesses filtered out into the public record. The true depths of ONI's depravity, long hidden by the agency's famous secrecy, became commonly known, with everything from rogue supersoldier programs to the endangerment of entire colonies leaking.
Before this disastrous leak of information, however, Section Zero, the investigative branch of the Office of Naval Intelligence, approved limited measures to limit the damage that could be done to it's own agency. After the investigator known as Codename: RAINFALL hunted down the conspirators behind the complex Operation: BLUE NIGHTS, Section Zero discovered that they themselves had harbored corruption unknowingly. Codename: EGOR, the premier trigger-man for the Field Investigation Team, was captured during VORAUSSICHT's final raid on the BLUE NIGHTS headquarters and rendered into Section Zero custody. Put in the awkward position of detaining a top level agent who had been given conflicting orders---and whose skill-set was to valuable to lose---and well aware of the loss of credibility Section Zero would sustain if it was revealed how thoroughly their own ranks had been compromised, the Deputy-Director of Operations, Codename: OLYCINDUS, arranged for EGOR to be hidden from prying eyes.
Shortly after EGOR was transferred to a prisoner holding area on the UNSC Sophocles, the Section Zero ex-filtration specialist Codename: SUBMARINE was contacted to make EGOR disappear. Faced with the challenging task of hiding a SPARTAN-II operator who, technically, was not supposed to exist, and pressured by a rapidly diminishing timetable before civilian investigators began working on VORAUSSICHT, SUBMARINE executed a complicated scheme to hide EGOR in plain sight. Hoping to both successfully keep EGOR's embarrassing existence hidden and gather information on the newly formed Spartan Branch, who had been resistant to infiltration by Section Zero agents, EGOR was placed aboard the UNSC Infinity and disguised as a SPARTAN-IV commando.
This deception would last long enough for the danger of EGOR being exposed by civilians auditing Section Zero to pass, and give Section Zero valuable insight into the inner workings of Spartan Branch, which future agents would use to successfully infiltrate long term. However, while it did successfully shake all suspicion within ONI away from EGOR---who was quietly put back to work, while carefully monitored by Section Zero officials to prevent his abilities from being misused again---the operation had the unwanted effect of making EGOR into a priority target for Spartan branch, who would on a number of occasions launch missions to re-capture the escaped SPARTAN-II and determine what exactly Section Zero's purpose had been.
SUBMARINE: About? There's a lot going on in the Galaxy right now HANNIBAL. Between Osman's new ONI and all that Requiem shit I don't really have time for gossip.
HANNIBAL: This is no gossip. We've got orders coming down from on high. OZYMANDIAS has a job that needs doing. A VORAUSSICHT related job.
SUBMARINE: SHOGUN's investigation? What the hell does that have to do with us?
HANNIBAL: Too much. Remember CHAUCER's ace in the hole? They nabbed him.
SUBMARINE: He who must not be named, acknowledged, identified, or asked about? How'd they manage that? Guy has always been a ghost.
HANNIBAL: Apparently the old enforcer loaned him out to some corrupt shadowy player---
SUBMARINE: ---Oh good, something new.
HANNIBAL: ---And bit off more than he expected. SHOGUN's Sierra team rolled on the facility EGOR was guarding and, as it turns out, there is something in the universe that can bring EGOR down after all. That something just happens to be the combined talents of four Sierra Twos.
SUBMARINE: So he's in SHOGUN's custody now?
HANNIBAL: RAINFALL's, actually. Seems the up-and-coming little miss was top dog for the whole investigation.
SUBMARINE: And CHAUCER? He finally slip up?
HANNIBAL: No, word is he got out. That or he was never on site. He's too good to leave evidence tying him to the whole thing, anyway. Story he's cooked up is that the Field Investigation Team was infiltrated and EGOR was appropriated. Standard sacrificial purges of the lower ranks later, and he's selling it well enough to keep OZYMANDIAS's ear.
SUBMARINE: Figures. Bastard was always slippery as he was trigger happy. Still not clear where we come in on this, though.
HANNIBAL: Well, here's the thing. Word on the street is that VORAUSSICHT is about to be compromised.
SUBMARINE: Shit, rebels? Remnant?
HANNIBAL: Worse. Civilians.
SUBMARINE: They're getting the UEG involved?
HANNIBAL: Chaining the whole thing to a damn security committee, last I heard. Heavy duty oversight. Leaks will follow right away, naturally. Civilians can never keep their mouths shut.
SUBMARINE: Damn. OZYMANDIAS isn't really about to roll over and let that happen, is he?
HANNIBAL: Too late to stop it. But the boss does want to get a few of the more high value assets clear of things if we can. Hence our involvement. We're supposed to find somewhere to stash EGOR till this whole thing blows over.
SUBMARINE: That's a frustratingly tall order HANNIBAL...
HANNIBAL: Which is why he gave it to us, SUB.
SUBMARINE: I said it was a tall order. I wasn't saying I couldn't do it. Just that it'd be tricky. What about INDIGO and ORPHEUS?
HANNIBAL: OZYMANDIAS didn't say. Maybe they're safe because they're with SHOGUN. Maybe they're a lost cause and civilian already knows about them. Doesn't really matter, eh?
SUBMARINE: Maybe OZYMANDIAS is just more ashamed of EGOR than any of the others...
HANNIBAL: Again, SUB, does it matter?
SUBMARINE: No, I suppose not. Just curious. Seems to me like CHAUCER might have had a hand.
HANNIBAL: SHOGUN and RAINFALL cut him off.
SUBMARINE: Right, and I'm sure CHAUCER has absolutely no back doors or ears still in the office. Their efforts are probably totally foolproof. CHAUCER hasn't been the top tier triggerman for the better part of thirty years, or anything.
HANNIBAL: SUB, let's just get this done, eh? I got OZYMANDIAS on my back and really want something to take back to him, besides, "SUBMARINE thinks your being manipulated into salvaging CHAUCER's prime asset".
SUBMARINE: Alright, alright. Don't get your panties in a knot. Where's EGOR now?
HANNIBAL: Holding area on the Sophocles.
SUBMARINE: Armored?
HANNIBAL: No, they stripped him of his MJOLNIR when they took him.
SUBMARINE: Good, that'll make things easier. Whose our contact on Sophocles?
HANNIBAL: ONI attaché is operating openly. The Captain should cowtow to him.
SUBMARINE: Have to love Osman's ONI...alright, I'll take care of it. Give me a day or two.
HANNIBAL: Glad to see I didn't lie to OZYMANDIAS when I told him you were my best exfil man.
SUBMARINE: Shit, don't jinx me. Thank me when I get it done.
HANNIBAL: Think you'll need anything from me?
SUBMARINE: Nothing fancy, just the usual tools. Secure comms, a shuttle, and the comm frequency for the Sophocles attaché.
HANNIBAL: That's it?
SUBMARINE: You wanted a pro, didn't you? That's why you asked me.
HANNIBAL: You already have a plan, don't you SUB?
SUBMARINE: Of course. You know the best place to hide someone, HANNIBAL?
HANNIBAL: The darkness.
SUBMARINE: Wrong. In plain sight. Although you do win the prize for most ONI-esque answer.
HANNIBAL: Har-har-har. I hate to break it to you SUBMARINE, but Sierra's are fairly conspicuous. Even EGOR.
SUBMARINE: In a crowd full of standard humans like you and me, maybe. But on a ship full of other Sierras...
HANNIBAL: Infinity? You want to hide him on the ship that is LITERALLY the center focus for HIGHCOMM and ONI?
SUBMARINE: It's an opportunity, really. Get ourselves an inside man on Infinity and get EGOR clear of all our troubles.
HANNIBAL: I’m not the professional here, but won't sticking him onto the shop with the single highest priority in the UNSC make him easier to find?
SUBMARINE: See, your missing the beauty of it HANNIBAL. Infinity is so high on the food chain that no one would think we'd be crazy enough to hide him there. Yet it's also filled to the brim with Spartans. EGOR will be a drop in the bucket, and on top of that, once deployments start, things will be so hectic no one will possibly notice.
HANNIBAL: Well, I'll give you credit for coming up with a plan I never would have. How will you get him aboard?
SUBMARINE: I've got a guy.
HANNIBAL: A guy?
SUBMARINE: One of the Spartans on Infinity owes me a...favor. When that attaché on the Sophocles gets the Captain to divert to Sol, I'll arrange for a transfer.
HANNIBAL: With all the difficulty we've had infiltrating Spartan ourselves, I would think it'd be more difficult than that.
SUBMARINE: My man might need a bit of convincing, but he owes me. Besides, none of our earlier plants were augmented SPARTANS.
HANNIBAL: I guess I'll leave you to it.
SUBMARINE: You asked for the best. You'll get you results.
SUNSHINE 2 (Correspondence Logs [2.05.58])
MONTEGUE: Alright, what the hell is going on Harris? You send me a coded message, then expect me to take a fully kitted up augmentee with no background?
SUBMARINE: I need your help on something.
MONTEGUE: Then cut the spook shit and just tell me what you want.
SUBMARINE: The office gave me a...interesting task. VORAUSSICHT drug up some uncomfortables.
MONTEGUE: The office? I stopped working with the office in '53, Harris. What the hell do you mean by "uncomfortables"?
SUBMARINE: A recent raid captured an operative with a very shady origin story. Civilian is about to poke their nose into the investigation and for the good of everyone we need this operative clear.
MONTEGUE: Why the hell are you talking to me, then? I seem to remember Section Zero had safe houses and panic bunkers for just these sorts of occasions. You hid me in more than one before I quit.
SUBMARINE: None of them are secure enough. The records will be too easily accessed by our UEG oversight, and that means inevitably, the asset's location will be leaked.
MONTEGUE: Still doesn't explain why you want to put this "operative" on Infinity.
SUBMARINE: Its one of the few places in the galaxy he can disappear into the background.
MONTEGUE: What, a navy orbital or marine firebase wouldn’t do?
SUBMARINE: No, it wouldn't. The operative is augmented.
MONTEGUE: Javelin? Trojan?
SUBMARINE: Try SPARTAN.
MONTEGUE: When did Section Zero get their hands on a Sierra? Even ONI doesn't get many direct loaners from us.
SUBMARINE: He predates the establishment of Spartan branch. At any rate, we're getting away from the point of the matter, Miller. I need to hide him, and want him on Infinity. It's the perfect cover.
MONTEGUE: ...You need him out of sight, and shifting him to Infinity is the best way to hide him. That's it?
SUBMARINE: He can disappear in plain sight. Four or five hundred of the fours embarked, right?
MONTEGUE: I can't discuss troop numbers with you.
SUBMARINE: Whatever. One more will be a drop in the bucket.
MONTEGUE: Unless he draws attention. Then I'll have Palmer and Lasky crawling all over my ass, checking to see who he is. And whose ass do you think it'll be when they find out his record is a black hole going back to ONI? Spartan branch is new and very wary of ONI intervention. It was hard enough to get clear of my past, Harris. You know what I did. I didn't like it much, and here I'm doing something a lot better. I don't want to lose that.
SUBMARINE: It won't be a problem. He keeps to himself---religiously so. Your superiors won't know. But time is of the essence here. We need him on Infinity.
MONTEGUE: Jesus, who is this guy that your so desperate civilian don't know about him?
SUBMARINE: Miller, that's classified so many levels above even what I'm supposed to know---
MONTEGUE: Oh cut the bullshit!
SUBMARINE: A two.
MONTEGUE: Oh for the love of God...
SUBMARINE: Your the one who wanted to know.
MONTEGUE: No shit?
SUBMARINE: Honest to God truth.
MONTEGUE: Shit. Shit. Ok, ok, Say I play along and we bring him aboard. What's your play?
SUBMARINE: Throw him in a Fireteam---or better yet, deploy him solo and call him a Fireteam. Manipulate the radar's and tracking systems to make it look like he has teammates.
MONTEGUE: I don't have the technical skills for...
SUBMARINE: We can provide software. But stick him by himself, then deploy him just the same as any other squad. Hide him in plain sight. I guarantee he can handle just as much trouble as one of you four teams. Maybe more.
MONTEGUE: Four teams like me.
SUBMARINE: We both know your a hell of a lot more competent than your run of the mill four, Miller.
MONTEGUE: Try your flattery elsewhere. You're not getting me back.
SUBMARINE: Not what I'm here for. You'll take him?
MONTEGUE: Shit.
SUBMARINE: Yes?
MONTEGUE: If he's as good as you say, as I guess we can use him. Arrange the transfer. I'll be waiting.
SUNSHINE 3 (Correspondence Logs [2.10.58])
MONTEGUE: You son of a bitch!
SUBMARINE: What the hell is your problem?
MONTEGUE: When you told me to hide him, it would have been nice of you to tell me he was a one man fucking army!
SUBMARINE: Calm down. What's the issue here, Miller? So he's killing an above average number of Remnant. It's doing Infinity a damn favor.
MONTEGUE: The problem is that your guy is outpacing every other squad on role---not just other individuals, whole five man teams!
SUBMARINE: Huh. Guess this wouldn't be an issue if your four teams were up to spec.
MONTEGUE: Ah, shut the hell up! I don't need your bull Harris. Not when "Fireteam Crimson" is turning into Palmer's go to squad for difficult tasks. Sooner or later she's going to want to meet in person. She's already on speaking terms with half the contingent and it's a miracle she hasn't bumped into him. And that's not even considering Roland!
SUBMARINE: Our software will hold Miller. Anytime EGOR is on deployment, phantom contacts will appear on any of Roland's scans. The filtration software will pick out any reports from first hand sources referring to him. We acquired this software from some folks who managed to hide vital Forerunner translations for decades. Beating one measly overworked shipboard AI is child's play.
MONTEGUE: Right, and I'm sure the subterfuge and duping of the ship's AI will go over quite well when Palmer meets EGOR firsthand.
SUBMARINE: Miller, you've come this far.
MONTEGUE: By the skin of my teeth! I had to double time your man off the Pelican to avoid Palmer's inspection and every time he's on ship it's a gamble whether she'll bump into him.
SUBMARINE: Sit back Miller, and for a moment, think. What actually happens if Palmer finds out?
MONTEGUE: I get my ass chewed out and booted out of Spartan! What the hell are you getting at?
SUBMARINE: Stop acting like a damned idiot. I've hear your radio comms with Palmer and the teams in the field. You may be an actor by second nature, but I know you too well to buy playing dumb. If Palmer finds out, what will it really matter?
MONTEGUE: What will it matter? Like I said, I'm out of Spartan! We're a new branch and fighting and clawing for every bit of autonomy. ONI plants aren't welcome.
SUBMARINE: Even disregarding the fact that Section Three, at least, has had Spartan infiltrated from the outset, I don't think so.
MONTEGUE: And why not? Palmer is not some sophisticated cloak-and-dagger practitioner. She won't see the subtle side of all this.
SUBMARINE: And that's exactly my point. Say Palmer finds out EGOR is doing the job of an entire Fireteam, by himself. You really think she's going to give up her single most effective asset over some spook bullshit? No. She'll rant and rave, yell and fume, then get right back to deploying EGOR anyway, with you watching over him. Because the two of you can do things no one else on that ship can.
MONTEGUE: What about Osman? Lasky is still in contact with her. With the damn Promethean defenses still siding with the Remnant, the paranoia level is shooting through the roof.
SUBMARINE: Osman? Don't worry about her.
MONTEGUE: And why not?
SUBMARINE: Whether Osman knows or doesn't know isn't of concern.
MONTEGUE: Cryptic. What, you going to kill her or something?
SUBMARINE: Don't be daft. VORAUSSICHT is about to be shackled with civilian oversight. Your issues on Requiem are just icing on the cake. In six months time, she'll be so busy running damage control that EGOR will be small news. Hell, she might even elect to keep him on Infinity voluntarily. She'll want him out of civilian eyesight too just because it'll be one less headache to deal with.
MONTEGUE: You've got a whole lot of talk Harris. But if things don't go how plan it, I'm going to be in a world of hurt.
SUBMARINE: You could always have your old job at the office back...
MONTEGUE: Right, I think I'd prefer Palmer finding out and enduring one of her scream sessions.
SUBMARINE: The offer is always open Miller, I'm serious. You were one of our best agents before you were augmented. And now...
MONTEGUE: I'm not talking about this.
SUBMARINE: Your wasting your talent sitting in an op center.
MONTEGUE: I told you, I quit in '53 and that's that.
SUBMARINE: Just hear me out, Miller. Osman's ONI isn't---
MONTEGUE: I told you, I'm done. I'll finish overseeing your asset, and then we're through. My debt will be repaid. Maybe I am wasting talent, sitting in an op center. But it's still better than using it for the office's drudgery. You might be willing to live that life, SUBMARINE, but I'm not.
SUBMARINE: Suit yourself...MONTEGUE. See to EGOR. We'll be in touch.
SUNSHINE 4 (Correspondence Logs [2.16.58])
MONTEGUE: We've got a lot going on here SUBMARINE. I don't exactly have time to chat. EGOR is about to hit dirt at Galileo base.
SUBMARINE: This is time critical. Is it true Catherine Halsey is on Infinity?
MONTEGUE: Well yeah, why do you care? Palmer has got her under armed guard. Fireteam Majestic is escorting her everywhere she goes, and even that is pretty much limited to the engine room and her cell.
SUBMARINE: You cannot, under any circumstances, let her interact with EGOR.
MONTEGUE: A little late for that. Palmer already ran an Op where Crimson acted as Halsey's eyes and ears.
SUBMARINE: You're shitting me.
MONTEGUE: No, earlier today. Your boy EGOR went in an rescued a squad of Spartan Fours whose Pelican got shot out beneath them. Remnant dropped down and pretty much massacred the team anyway, but EGOR rolled onto the objective in their stead and---
SUBMARINE: I don't need a damned play-by-play!
MONTEGUE: Relax, SUBMARINE. Halsey never had a clue. I am aware of her involvement with Sierra Two and took precautions. I know that out of everyone she's the most likely to ID him.
SUBMARINE: Never again. Don't let her anywhere near EGOR. Delay their mission, have him call in sick, hell, shoot down their Pelican. Whatever you have to do to make sure he doesn't have any contact with Halsey.
MONTEGUE: Jesus, what's with all the fuss? Your the one who told me it really wouldn’t matter too much if Palmer found out. If that assessment has changed, I damn well want to know. And that's even if Halsey even told her. The woman isn't very free with information, and there's no love lost between her and Palmer.
SUBMARINE: This is different. Much different. Halsey absolutely cannot know EGOR is on that ship.
MONTEGUE: What the hell is so important about it?
SUBMARINE: I can't tell you.
MONTEGUE: You spend our whole last conversation assuring me that things will fine even if Palmer finds out, and now you change your damn mind? I want answers!
SUBMARINE: EGOR was...he's...shit. Not exactly your average two.
MONTEGUE: Is there such thing as an average two?
SUBMARINE: There was, once upon a time. But all of them died on Reach.
MONTEGUE: Ok, and why is EGOR alive? For that matter, what's his damn name? How did he make it out? You know what, fuck it, what does all this even matter? How does how good a combatant he is have any relevance on whether or not Halsey knows about him?
SUBMARINE: EGOR didn't make it off Reach by being an exemplary combatant and fighting his way off. He made it off Reach because he wasn't deployed on a suicide mission with the rest of the twos.
MONTEGUE: I don't see how...
SUBMARINE: He wasn't deployed because he wasn't with the main force. ONI had him doing a special mission.
MONTEGUE: What, like 052?
SUBMARINE: ...Not exactly.
MONTEGUE: Then what, exactly. You can't expect me to keep him hidden if I don't know anything about him! His name, origins, everything.
SUBMARINE: Halsey knew about 052, obviously. And about Black Team. But as far as she knows, EGOR---Leonid-144---died thirty four years ago on an augmentation table.
MONTEGUE: A Leonidan? I thought those were just a story!
SUBMARINE: VORAUSSICHT confirmed it. Even in ONI, it still isn't widely known. But at least three, maybe even four twos were lifted from the program.
MONTEGUE: Who had the clout for that?
SUBMARINE: VORAUSSICHT confirmed that someone did, but evidence as to who that was is shaky. I've heard a lot of guesses, though. MAGPIE, NOVEMBER ROMEO, maybe even MEDICI or DRACULA.
MONTEGUE: Section Zero grabbed Leonid, didn't they.
SUBMARINE: What makes you think that?
MONTEGUE: Because Leonid is the perfect assassin. Runs stealth gear every mission, impossibly precise in the field, even the way he keeps to himself. He's got Section Zero written all over him.
SUBMARINE: No point lying. He was likely kidnapped by CHAUCER. You remember him, of course. Remember all those times your crew got passed over in favor of the Field Investigation Team? There's a reason OZYMANDIAS threw CHAUCER all the good assignments
MONTEGUE: So everyone in the UNSC thinks he's dead, and if Halsey bumps into him and discovers he's alive...
SUBMARINE: Then soon all of ONI will know, maybe even the whole UNSC. A lot of people will be very unhappy, for a whole lot of reasons.
MONTEGUE: Alright, I get the weight of what we're dealing with. It's going to be even more work, but I think I can keep them away from each other.
SUBMARINE: Good. Is Halsey's access to information limited?
MONTEGUE: Extremely so. Palmer is insisting Lasky keep her on a very tight leash.
SUBMARINE: I'll deploy viral scavengers anyway to scrub the ship's servers of any trace of where Leonid shipped in from.
MONTEGUE: That's going to make my normal job of keeping him hidden even harder...
SUBMARINE: We can't take any chances. Not with Halsey.
MONTEGUE: What about Leonid? He knows Halsey is aboard. What if he tries to seek her out?
SUBMARINE: He won't. He's not really the sentimental type.
MONTEGUE: Well that's one thing to make my life easier.
SUBMARINE: Stay the course. I'll get the viral scavengers uploaded.
MONTEGUE: Right, and how about a backup plan if things go wrong?
SUBMARINE: I'll work on it.
MONTEGUE: I have an Op to run. Just remember, you might have a codename to hide behind, but---
SUBMARINE: But you don't.
MONTEGUE: No. You might have a codename, but I still remember how to find people. And with Leonid here, I figure I can find you if need be.
SUBMARINE: Are you threatening me, MONTEGUE?
MONTEGUE: I just want the situation to be a hundred percent clear.
SUBMARINE: You'll have a backup out if you need one. Go run your Op, Spartan.
MONTEGUE: Gladly. I'll give our mutual charge your regards.
SUBMARINE: Don't waste your breath. Just run your operation.
SUNSHINE 5 (Correspondence Logs [2.17.58])
HANNIBAL: OLYCINDUS wants an update on the EGOR situation.
SUBMARINE: It's still fluid.
HANNIBAL: Not good enough SUB. You know the big guy will want more than that.
SUBMARINE: How much does he know already?
HANNIBAL: The basics, same as me. Just enough to be worried. There are all sorts of weird rumors coming out about Infinity. I heard it was supposed to be a blow through mission, but that instead they're meeting heavy resistance. Taking a decent amount of Spartan casualties.
SUBMARINE: EGOR can handle himself quite well in the field. He's a damn two, HANNIBAL. They don't go down easy.
HANNIBAL: I watched intel vids of four deployments. They don't exactly go down easy either.
SUBMARINE: They're marines in fancy armor. Not real Spartans like twos and threes. Trust me, EGOR can handle more than the new model.
HANNIBAL: OLYCINDUS wanted EGOR hidden, SUBMARINE. As in able to be used again, later down the road. He's no use to the office if he dies on some ground pounder Op on Requiem.
SUBMARINE: If you've got a better plan or want to handle this yourself then go ahead pull him out HANNIBAL. But if you don't, then kindly let me do my job. EGOR's cover demands that he's on the field, deployed.
HANNIBAL: That's not OLYCINDUS's only concern, SUB.
SUBMARINE: Doesn't he have more important things to be worried about?
HANNIBAL: Rumors that open up the possibility of Catherine Halsey bumping into a Leonidan tend to put up red flags with him.
SUBMARINE: I've dealt with that already.
HANNIBAL: How?
SUBMARINE: My man on Infinity knows about the danger and has taken appropriate steps.
HANNIBAL: I've looked at the radio logs of him coordinating those fire teams. He doesn't exactly strike confidence in me.
SUBMARINE: Appearances can be a bit deceiving.
HANNIBAL: Goddamn it, speak plainly, will you?
SUBMARINE: MONTEGUE is, in my opinion, the most capable Spartan on that ship---with EGOR has the exception, naturally.
HANNIBAL: He's a fucking idiot!
SUBMARINE: Oh Jesus HANNIBAL. You seriously can't spot an actor. Agents these days.
HANNIBAL: Your telling me---
SUBMARINE: I figured it'd be the best way to throw off suspicion. Palmer doesn't know he's former ONI, and she's not about to suspect it with him acting like a slow-witted, excitable dunce, is she?
HANNIBAL: And if she doesn't think of him as very capable, she's more likely to write off any suspicions she has.
SUBMARINE: Exactly. And MONTEGUE is playing the role to a T.
HANNIBAL: Well that's something to take back to OLYCINDUS, then. Still hard to believe your not just covering your ass.
SUBMARINE: That's your job, not mine.
HANNIBAL: Settle down, SUB. What kind of interaction has EGOR had with the Four contingent?
SUBMARINE: Negligible outside of the field. Most of the fours frequent the war games simulator, the mess, or the armor bays. EGOR hasn't armored down since the first time he suited up, doesn't seem to bother with the simulators, and as you know isn't exactly the social able type. Mostly he spends his time in the armory maintaining his gear.
HANNIBAL: And the others embarked leave him alone?
SUBMARINE: Mostly. Seems a few of the threes are a bit curious. They notice how different he is from the fours. Bit of that shared "true Spartan" mindset, probably. The fours ignore him though. Too wrapped up in themselves or just plain ignorant.
HANNIBAL: What about on the field?
SUBMARINE: That's admittedly more complicated. The most worrying aspect is that they've deployed EGOR on a number of missions parallel to a Fireteam called Majestic whose on particularly good terms with Palmer. They've avoided a direct joint deployment with them, however. The other team EGOR's been partnered with aren't likely to say anything.
HANNIBAL: Which team?
SUBMARINE: Mountain. The squad's Pelican got shot down en route to a mission and "Crimson" went in to save them. EGOR made a successful rescue but Palmer pressed the mission and got them killed anyway.
HANNIBAL: That's it?
SUBMARINE: Well they've performed a few ops with marine support or to rescue marines. Palmer is quite the snob to non-Spartans however, according to MONTEGUE. Doesn't spend time socializing with them.
HANNIBAL: Doesn't someone debrief them on return to Infinity though?
SUBMARINE: It varies. The marines have their own dedicated support center on the Infinity that's entirely separate from the Spartan branch Op Center. I do mean separate, too---it's two kilometers away.
HANNIBAL: Big ship.
SUBMARINE: No kidding. Marine officers usually are the ones running debriefing of teams. They're about as friendly towards Palmer as she is to their troops. Not much love lost. General Howe doesn't exactly appreciate being sidelined by a Commander---or having funding pulled from his branch. To say nothing of the resentment the marine special forces units are harboring from all those lost troops and veterans that Spartan has recruited.
HANNIBAL: Alright, so Palmer and the marines aren't likely to chat enough to make the connection. Palmer is told by MONTEGUE that she's deploying a team of four Spartans, and her information sources are limited enough that nothing contradicts it. Meanwhile, the marines get their asses saved by Spartans, but to them it's no difference being rescued by one or rescued by four. The grunts don't know the difference or don't recognize the significance, and the officers have their heads up their ass due to dislike for the whole Spartan branch and overlook it.
SUBMARINE: Essentially, yes. There are a few other circumstances we've had to devise solutions too, of course.
HANNIBAL: Like what? Didn't you say marines only debrief marines?
SUBMARINE: Usually debrief them. On days where things get really hectic, they'll push some of that responsibility onto the shipboard AI, Roland.
HANNIBAL: The AI talks to Palmer, yes?
SUBMARINE: From what MONTEGUE tells me, the AI is about the only one on the ship that talks to everyone. It interacts equally with all the disparate, feuding branches. So it potentially could debrief a marine squad after a deployment where they bump into EGOR and notice that this team of four he oversees---sometimes directly---only has one member.
HANNIBAL: You dealt with this.
SUBMARINE: Of course. I took some of our infiltration software, wrapped up some of the niftier algorithms from the BLUE NIGHTS Onyx obstruction, and tweaked it to perfection. Whenever anyone on Infinity gets an electronic read on "Crimson"---from an active search, area scan, whatever---the algorithm generates phantom IFF tags to make it look like a whole squad is following EGOR around.
HANNIBAL: Clever software.
SUBMARINE: It gets better. I used a bit of some of Halsey's old notes, some more recovered BLUE NIGHTS software, and tweaked it again. It uniquely affects Roland. Anytime the AI hears anything referring to "Crimson" in the singular---insofar as it makes logical sense---the worm modifies the memory. Doesn't wipe it, just alters it ever so slightly. Even the AI isn't any wiser.
HANNIBAL: You've gone to a lot of trouble to maintain OpSec here SUBMARINE.
SUBMARINE: You wanted a professionally run job, didn't you?
HANNIBAL: Don't take offense at a compliment SUB.
SUBMARINE: Don't waste my time with a "compliment" then, HANNIBAL. I know you've got more questions.
HANNIBAL: You know me too well. OLYCINDUS wants a thorough threat dossier. Any potential situations that would break OpSec.
SUBMARINE: Oh come on. You're kidding me, right?
HANNIBAL: SUB...
SUBMARINE: I've got my hands full already, HANNIBAL. I don't have time to write a goddamn "what if" report because the big guy is gun shy.
HANNIBAL: Just give me the basics. I won't even make you write a report.
SUBMARINE: If it'll get you off my back...alright, fine. Threats that could break OpSec? Well, if Roland had any serious technical issues and an outside AI tech was brought in, they'd probably detect my modifications. The likelihood of that happening is low, though, and I'll wipe the software long before the tech gets anywhere near it.
HANNIBAL: What else?
SUBMARINE: Deployments alongside other Spartan teams. EGOR is noticeably more competent than your run of the mill four and is obviously one man. A parallel deployment might make the team curious.
HANNIBAL: You've got that covered as well?
SUBMARINE: As much as I can. I'm mostly having MONTEGUE limit EGOR's direct joint deployments, so there's a lower chance of curious minds spending time with him. Comm chatter and mission reports are all filtered through my software. The only real risk is from chatter during downtime between Spartan teams waiting for deployment. I'm monitoring the chatter for signs of trouble and have arrangements in place to get EGOR off Infinity if things turn south, but in this case it's a wait and see.
HANNIBAL: OLYCINDUS won't like that.
SUBMARINE: Look, I'm hiding a two here. There's no such thing as perfect secrecy.
HANNIBAL: I know SUB, and I've got your back. Any other threats?
SUBMARINE: None worth mentioning that you don't already know about.
HANNIBAL: Alright. I'll take it to the big guy. Keep up the work.
SUNSHINE 6 (Correspondence Logs [2.19.58])
MONTEGUE: We've got a serious problem.
SUBMARINE: What is it? I wasn't expecting a report for another week.
MONTEGUE: Leonid is MIA.
SUBMARINE: You lost him?! What the hell happened!
MONTEGUE: We were running an S&R op for a lost Spartan, Gabriel Thorne, and the Covenant rolled in in force. It was an ambush. A light cruiser and it's compliment dropped on him and blew up his extraction.
SUBMARINE: Un-fucking-believable.
MONTEGUE: Palmer is out of the op center right now and dealing with something. We've got time and a bit of leeway but I need to know exactly what your software does to Roland.
SUBMARINE: Is Leonid alive?
MONTEGUE: I think so. I tasked Fireteam Switchback with scouting the area and they reporting signs of a struggle but no body.
SUBMARINE: So...taken prisoner? Do the Covenant even do that?
MONTEGUE: The old Covenant? No, only for sport or sick, live weapons testing. But this Remnant isn't the old Covenant. I don't know how much you know, being so...enamored with ONI affairs and removed from the front, but Jul 'Mdama plays by different rules.
SUBMARINE: I thought he was a fanatic.
MONTEGUE: Not in the traditional sense. He hates humans, but he's no religious nut job. He just uses the dogma for recruiting cannon fodder. He spent time in an ONI base, and word is he picked up some of their manners. He's pragmatic.
SUBMARINE: So he'll take prisoners.
MONTEGUE: Exactly. Good for intel, leverage, hostage trades...and Spartans are damn good prisoners to have. The armor alone is worth it for the price it'll fetch on the black market.
SUBMARINE: Where would they have taken him?
MONTEGUE: It's unclear. Requiem has thousands of nooks and crannies to hide in, and that's without even taking all the little slipspace bubbles that exist into account.
SUBMARINE: You said you wanted to know the specs on my infiltration software on Roland. What's your plan?
MONTEGUE: I figure his processing power tied with the ship's sensors are the best chance we've got of finding him. But if you software interferes with the scans, that could be a problem.
SUBMARINE: It shouldn't be. It only alters the signal after Roland processes it.
MONTEGUE: Understood. SUBMARINE, you know this could be bad for OpSec, right?
SUBMARINE: Remember who your talking too, MONTEGUE. I'm the damned professional here. If you launch a rescue mission for four guys and those four turn out to be just one, you'll be burnt.
MONTEGUE: I thought you'd sound more worried than annoyed.
SUBMARINE: The situation is...how shall we say it, developing.
MONTEGUE: Cut the spook crap please...
SUBMARINE: If EGOR's cover is blown, I've got a ride back to ONI already arranged. He'll be clear at the first sign of trouble. Palmer won't be able to keep up.
MONTEGUE: How are you managing that? And what about me if the cover gets blown?
SUBMARINE: You know I can't tell you the details.
MONTEGUE: Of course not.
SUBMARINE: And I wasn't aware you wanted a ride off. The last time we talked about it, I believe you told me you'd rather "get your ass chewed out" by Palmer then go back to your old job. You want to stay with Infinity, right?
MONTEGUE: I do.
SUBMARINE: Then I won't use up valuable resources arranging an escape that won't be used anyway.
MONTEGUE: Hold on though. What good is bringing him back now going to do? I thought you were hiding him here because ONI's VORAUSSICHT-recovered assets are being tagged and collared by the UEG?
SUBMARINE: About that. Now that he's clear, and some time has passed, it's a fair bet we can bring him in as an outside asset.
MONTEGUE: He's only still here to spy on us, isn't he?
SUBMARINE: It's a damn shame we lost you MONTEGUE. Your such a good spook.
MONTEGUE: Please don't insult me like that.
SUBMARINE: It's the truth. You're good at this, and you know it. Admit it, your enjoying this subterfuge, aren't you? Deceiving Palmer, right under her nose.
MONTEGUE: Maybe if it was harder. She's not difficult to fool, honestly.
SUBMARINE: Fine, how about the challenge of deceiving Roland? A shipboard AI; a hyper intelligent being smarter than anyone else on the vessel and with access to resources you almost can't fathom.
MONTEGUE: You tried to recruit me before at the start of this. It didn't work then SUBMARINE. It won't now.
SUBMARINE: Fine, I get the point.
MONTEGUE: You know, this really isn't how I expected this conversation to go. I thought you'd be...at least, worried.
SUBMARINE: Not yet.
MONTEGUE: Yet?
SUBMARINE: No point worrying now. I'll do enough of that later.
SUNSHINE 7 (Correspondence Logs [2.20.58])
SUBMARINE: I need a status update.
HANNIBAL: And I need to win the Mr. Eridanus talent show, collect my earnings, and leave this life of subterfuge behind. Mind being specific on what exactly you need updated on?
SUBMARINE: The outside situation. How compromised we actually are from VORAUSSICHT. Last time we spoke, you admitted we could probably hide EGOR on a Zero base now.
HANNIBAL: Right, and I also said that OLYCINDUS liked the intel EGOR was gathering. That he wanted him in place inside Spartan to gather information and be ready to take care of any corruption aboard Infinity.
SUBMARINE: Then he’s going to have to choose between keeping his operative or getting some cool intel, because OpSec on Infinity is not going to last.
HANNIBAL: What’s going on?
SUBMARINE: Things aboard the ship are starting to get hectic. The Remnant are dug in according to MONTEGUE and the Fours are taking a lot of casualties. Infinity itself was boarded earlier today. Deployments are starting to get smaller in scope and only the best teams are being sent down. Even then, they’re being sent in groups of multiple teams and are being more closely supervised. And to top it all off, Catherine Halsey pulled a stunt aboard the ship and screwed with the shipboard AI’s processors. He’s fixed and my software was unaffected but you can bet your ass Lasky is going to have a full AI tech out there at the first available opportunity.
HANNIBAL: I don’t like this SUB. You spent a lot of time justifying how safe the cover would be, and now this? I don’t like being lied to and neither does OLYCINDUS.
SUBMARINE: Don’t pull that shit on me HANNIBAL. I was up front with the risks. You gave me a damn near impossible job and I’ve done it. But you need to let me do the rest of my job, and be prepared for when Infinity is no longer a suitable home for EGOR.
HANNIBAL: Is it really that bad?
SUBMARINE: It is, and it’s getting worse. EGOR’s had extensive contact now with a certain Lieutenant Murphy, has been dropped on operations with two separate Fireteams, and even pulled a rescue operation for another Fireteam. There’s a thinning pool of total Spartans, Palmer is getting gun-shy about deploying the weaker teams for fear of unnecessary losses, and EGOR top’s the list of teams that can handle themselves.
HANNIBAL: I thought he got himself captured. She still thinks “Crimson” is all that after that?
SUBMARINE: He was captured, and then escaped on his own accord. That doesn’t make him seem incompetent, HANNIBAL, it turns him into a goddamned war hero. We need to get him out before he becomes even more well known and heavily relied on. Too much glamour, and he’ll be too big to disappear. They’ll launch an investigation. Spartan is new and looking to launch their own intel service to throw off a bit of ONI’s yoke. Hunting down EGOR will be the perfect excuse.
HANNIBAL: OLYCINDUS will just tell them to back off.
SUBMARINE: Further proof that I’m the exfil specialist and you’re just a glorified bureaucrat. OLYCINDUS can’t do that, because that’ll acknowledge he knows about EGOR. The whole time on Infinity and all the effort we went through to get EGOR clear will be for nothing.
HANNIBAL: So Spartan launches an investigation. So what? I thought you were the best, SUB. You can’t tell me you’re afraid of a Spook program still in it’s infancy.
SUBMARINE: You don’t get to be the best by being arrogant. Spartan draws from the best of everyone and they think, for the most part, fairly unconventionally. I’m good, but that’s still an extra wrench thrown into the works. ONI is predictable and I know them inside and out. Spartan could be a wild card.
HANNIBAL: What would you need to get him out?
SUBMARINE: I’ve already got a cover arranged. I borrowed a few Section Zero sloops, and have them hidden enough to seem like a legitimate option. That’ll be our diversion.
HANNIBAL: You still haven’t answered my question.
SUBMARINE: Getting to it. The UNSC Aladdin is already docked aboard the Infinity, but I need authorization codes to launch it.
HANNIBAL: Seems obvious. They’d just track it to it’s destination and pick up EGOR there.
SUBMARINE: Exactly. And while they’re busy doing that, EGOR goes for a spacewalk and one of those sneaky captured BLUE NIGHTS stealth corvettes picks him up. They’ve been optimized to evade Forerunner sensor detection, right?
HANNIBAL: I believe the BLUE NIGHTS cabal might have arranged for that once they started illegally raiding Forerunner sites for Flood samples, yes.
SUBMARINE: Spartan will never find a trace of him.
HANNIBAL: How soon do you need the corvette by?
SUBMARINE: soon as you can get it to me. Have it lock on to Infinity and tail it. When the operation begins, we’ll call it in.
HANNIBAL: What about your man on the inside?
SUBMARINE: He’s already made it clear that he doesn’t want back into the office. Regardless, it shouldn’t trace back to him. He’s just an Ops controller, as far as anyone on that ship is concerned.
HANNIBAL: And after that?
SUBMARINE: Standard operating procedure. I assume OLYCINDUS still has troublemakers that need taken care of, right? EGOR is sharper than ever.
HANNIBAL: I guess I can console him with lose the Spartan intel by gaining him another top-tier shooter.
SUBMARINE: Will VORAUSSICHT take him in?
HANNIBAL: Doubtful. SHOGUN’s been quieter lately and I doubt the civilian oversight is going anywhere. EGOR will be kept safely away from VORAUSSICHT, hunting down other targets.
SUBMARINE: Legitimate ones, of course.
HANNIBAL: He’s under our watch now, SUB, not CHAUCER’s. This won’t be another BLUE NIGHTS or LEONIDAS.
SUBMARINE: Forgive me if I don’t hold my breath. Speaking of CHAUCER, how do we know he won’t come back for EGOR?
HANNIBAL: Come on, you really think he’d push his luck like that again?
SUBMARINE: EGOR is a loose end. CHAUCER has never made a habit of letting those live.
HANNIBAL: You’re paranoid SUB. CHAUCER has spent the last few months putting out feelers into SPECWAR for new muscle. He’s replacing EGOR with a company of shooters. Called it “downsizing his enforcement potential”.
SUBMARINE: And you believe that?
HANNIBAL: OLYCINDUS does. Even SHOGUN dropped his inquiry into CHAUCER.
SUBMARINE: Probably for the best. Wouldn’t want a company of Field Investigation Operatives showing up on SHOGUN’s front door now, would we?
HANNIBAL: You’re too damned paranoid for even your own good SUB. Let me know when you’re ready to kick off the extraction. I’ll have a nice planetary hidey hole all lined up and ready to go.
SUBMARINE: I’ll be in touch.
HANNIBAL: I’m sure you will.
SUNSHINE 8 (Correspondence Logs [2.21.58])
SUBMARINE: Get EGOR prepped and ready to go. It's time for him to leave.
MONTEGUE: I don't think so SUBMARINE. He's on deployment right now and things are going to hell and a hand basket up here. Leonid isn't going anywhere.
SUBMARINE: I've got a Section Zero ship inbound to grab him. He's getting on that ship. It's non-negotiable.
MONTEGUE: I already told you, he's on the ground on an operation. I don't have the resources to get him off---
SUBMARINE: Then I will, MONTEGUE. Our ship is cloaked. We'll get him ourselves.
MONTEGUE: Like hell you are.
SUBMARINE: Excuse me?
MONTEGUE: You take him off, everyone on this ship dies.
SUBMARINE: What the hell have you gotten him into?
MONTEGUE: I didn't get him into anything, SUBMARINE. You did when you put him on this ship! We're in the middle of a ship wide emergency right now.
SUBMARINE: What's going on?
MONTEGUE: Jul 'Mdama apparently had Requiem's self destruct code tucked up his sleeve, and he's using it. The whole damn Covenant fleet is evacuating and the planet's being sucked towards the sun. Infinity is anchored to Requiem with some sort of slipspace conduit nonsense and we're being pulled right along with it.
SUBMARINE: Get EGOR off the ground, right now. He's to damned valuable an asset for the office to lose!
MONTEGUE: The office? Are you fucking kidding me? Infinity is in danger of ending up prematurely inside a star, and your worried about the office losing one of it's cooler toys?
SUBMARINE: Just because Infinity is going down, doesn't mean EGOR is going to too. I've got orders to get him back alive, and I'm doing that. Send the recall order, MONTEGUE. I'm not asking.
MONTEGUE: Leonid is on the ground, right now, working to deactivate the slipspace anchor. He's running parallel to Majestic and Commander Palmer and is, to be honest, the only real hope we've got of getting Infinity free. So you can take your recall order and shove it.
SUBMARINE: If your not willing to get him, we'll come do it ourselves.
MONTEGUE: Infinity will shoot you down the moment you show up.
SUBMARINE: Like Lasky will have any idea what we're doing.
MONTEGUE: He will once I tell him. Leonid is the only thing standing between this ship and certain death, SUBMARINE.
SUBMARINE: I've got my orders and I'll be damned if you let me stop you from completing them.
MONTEGUE: Your orders are going to get everyone on this ship killed. Leonid's not leaving.
SUBMARINE: Just because Infinity is going down, doesn't mean EGOR has to go with it. There's no sense losing a perfectly good asset for nothing--
MONTEGUE: Harris, I don't know what kind of messed up fucking priorities you have, but this is a hell of a lot bigger than your goddamn orders. Bigger than Section Zero losing a fancy toy, bigger than OLYCINDUS getting his balls in a knot, and certainly a hell of a lot bigger than you ruining your perfect exfil record! Infinity goes down, and so does humanity.
SUBMARINE: That's a cute little sound byte, Miller. But EGOR is leaving the ship and that's all there is too---
MONTEGUE: It's no sound byte you ignorant ass. It's the truth. I've spent the last three weeks on this ship, and I've learned something. The same thing that Palmer learned on Draetheus V in 2554 and the same thing Lasky learned at Earth six months ago. The galaxy is a dangerous place, and humanity is on the edge. Right on the edge. One tip, and we go over. Infinity is the galaxy's biggest stick and one hell of a deterrent against alien aggression. And even with it there to scare off the bad guys, there's still thousands of them lining up to take shots at humanity. We're giants now, because of Infinity. We lose it, and that giant stumbles. You know what happens when the giant stumbles? The little guy kicks him in the teeth and beats him while he's down. You're too damn wrapped up in your ONI bullshit to realize it, but there are some things in this galaxy worth dying for.
SUBMARINE: Now I know it's a sound byte. "Things in this galaxy worth dying for"? You should know better than to lie to me, Miller. You can go ahead and play the hero with your Spartan buddies, acting like you're just as ready for a noble sacrifice as they are, but I'm not buying it. I know who you really are. I know you're not the kind to sacrifice yourself. I still remember what you do when you're faced with a situation like that. Do you? Or have you forgotten? Forgotten New Jerusalem, Terra Nova, Sigma Octanus IV? Or forgotten New Carthage, where you left HALLIFAX behind? Where I stole a transport to get you out, saved you from the fallout of what you did? Because I haven't. I know who you are, and you're a coward.
MONTEGUE: Maybe you're right. I was a coward, and I left another operator behind to die. But you know what? This ship is worth a hell of a lot more than some Section Zero hit. It's humanity itself at stake, and I'll be damned if I'm a coward now. Not when it counts. If there's anything I can do to help save this ship, big or small, I'm doing it. Maybe it won't make up for what I did in the past, but if I'm going to die, it's not going to be ten years from now, as some Remnant ship drops a glassing strike on Earth and I stare up at it wondering if I could have helped stop it. I'm staying, and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it.
SUBMARINE: Go down with your damn ship then. But EGOR is coming back to Section Zero. We made a deal, and you owe me. Owe me for saving your ass all those years ago, and for all the headache I went through for doing it.
MONTEGUE: You can take your deal and shove it. I'm done hiding your precious toy and I don't owe you anything. Not anymore. You just don't get it, Harris. And I'm done helping someone who puts ONI ahead of the goddamn human race.
SUBMARINE: You really want to go down this path, Miller? Because the way I see it, you start down this path, and there's no going back for you. Section Zero can get by without you. I've got ways of getting a hold of EGOR once he's back aboard, assuming he survives, and getting him off the ship. But you? What do you have? Lies and deception. You've conned every single crewmate of yours on that ship into thinking your something your not. What do you think they'll do once they find out your a spy? A plant, working for Section Zero, no less? What do you think they'd do if they knew who you really were?
MONTEGUE: That depends.
SUBMARINE: On what?
MONTEGUE: On whether you actually get EGOR off the ship.
SUBMARINE: Believe me, Miller, when I say we will.
MONTEGUE: Then I know exactly what they'll do with me. They'll point me at you, point me at EGOR, and let me hunt you two down.
SUBMARINE: Are you actually trying to threaten me, Miller? You of all people? You're a hell of a shooter and a tracker, buddy, but we both know your no match for me. I've hidden you enough times that you should know it.
MONTEGUE: I guess we'll find out, won't we?
SUBMARINE: It'll be satisfying to watch you finally get what was coming to you. Save your damn ship---or go down with it, I don't care. Just keep a tight watch on EGOR, so you get to see the exact moment he disappears out from under your nose.
SUNSHINE 9 (Debriefing Log [2.30.58])
[Commander Sarah Palmer enters holding area on UNSC Infinity, flanked by Spartan Dalton and escorted by Spartans Thorne and Grant]
MONTEGUE: I see you brought the whole entourage Commander. Scared of one little skimpy ops coordinator?
Sarah Palmer: Shut up. You can speak when spoken too, Miller. I'm the one asking the questions here, not you.
MONTEGUE: And what questions do you want to ask, Commander? Will those explain why you've got me here?
Robert Dalton: Sir, something tells me this is a waste of time...
Sarah Palmer: That's my call, Dalton, not yours. Lasky wants answers and so do I.
MONTEGUE: You're going to have to be more specific.
Sarah Palmer: You know why you're here. Crimson Team.
MONTEGUE: Oh yeah, whatever happened to them? I've been wondering ever since we left Requiem. Last I saw was their Pelican landing.
Sarah Palmer: Next to mine.
MONTEGUE: Yeah, that was one serious landing you guys pulled off. You're a hell of a pilot, Grant.
Sarah Palmer: Cut the bullshit chatter, you little whelp.
MONTEGUE: Then maybe ask me a question.
Sarah Palmer: Oh, I don't know, maybe we can start with the obvious. Why the hell did Crimson Team's dropship only have one Spartan on it, and even more important, where did he go!?
MONTEGUE: I think you need to calm down Commander.
Sarah Palmer: You insubordinate little shit---
[Motion signature detected: Sarah Palmer slamming fist into holding area table, table bending inward.]
MONTEGUE: Really?
Sarah Palmer: Shut up and answer my questions! What the hell is going on with Crimson Team and where did that bastard I grabbed on the Pelican go?
MONTEGUE: You know, yesterday I had it in my head that I was probably going to help you, but I guess I forgot just how much of a massive tool you are.
Gabriel Thorne: Yesterday? You knew we'd be coming for you.
Sarah Palmer: Thorne, zip it. This is between me and Spartan Miller.
MONTEGUE: You should listen to Thorne, Palmer. He's a hell of a lot smarter than you are.
[Motion signature detected: Sarah Palmer stepping back from table. Correlated sound signature: heavy sigh of frustration.]
Sarah Palmer: Alright Thorne, go for it. See if you can appeal to the jackass.
MONTEGUE: Just a note, Commander? Calling the person you want to cooperate with you a jackass isn't the best tactic.
Sarah Palmer: You little insubordinate bastard! I don't need your cooperation you're a goddamned traitor!
MONTEGUE: Oh I am, am I? Want to prove that? Maybe while you're at it, you can try and find my secret clone I had in the Ops center looking for Spartan Thorne over there while you were busy letting Halsey run circles around you. Or maybe you can find the imposter I had in the Ops center coordinating Crimson while they got Infinity free of those slipspace anchors. Faster than you, if I remember correctly.
Sarah Palmer: Oh now that's enough you---
Gabriel Thorne: Commander? Can I try a swing at him?
MONTEGUE: The rational side appears. Spartan Thorne, the POW escapee. Some of you are closer than others, right?
Gabriel Thorne: I was alone in that room with Halsey. You were listening?
MONTEGUE: Maybe I just heard it in the hallway.
Gabriel Thorne: If you were listening, that means you had access to Infinity’s observation systems. You're...a lot more than a ops controller. Who are you?
MONTEGUE: Spartan Jared Miller.
Gabriel Thorne: But where did you come from? I enlisted out of the Army and they sure didn't teach us covert surveillance.
Sarah Palmer: ODSTs don't learn how to tap into friendly comm networks, either.
Gabriel Thorne: You were ONI, weren't you? Are you a plant?
MONTEGUE: The rookie, showing he knows a thing or two about subterfuge? I'm no plant, Thorne. I was vetted and reviewed, same as you. Same as Palmer, way back when.
Gabriel Thorne: But you came from somewhere. Somewhere where they taught those kinds of skills. Hacking and covert surveillance techniques for friendly systems---probably not even standard special forces fare, I think? And lying and acting because I heard you giving Crimson orders during that Fortress op and that Gorge op, and you sure didn't act like you are now.
MONTEGUE: It's a shame our whole branch isn't more like you, Thorne. Slow and deliberate and quick when you need to be. You don't know the first thing about ONI really, do you? You're a grunt who grew up on sheltered Earth. Weren't even eighteen when the Covenant hit the first time. And here you are, pointing right towards...
Tedra Grant: Section Zero.
MONTEGUE: Ah, Grant, with the home run? I never would have guessed it.
Gabriel Thorne: Section Zero? What is that?
Sarah Palmer: Some kind of spook bullshit no doubt.
MONTEGUE: For someone who didn't hesitate to answer a kill order from Admiral Osman, you're pretty biased there, Palmer. And hilariously uniformed. Didn't you say it wasn't your first rodeo? You've done ONI hits before and don't even know about the agency? Sad. Why don't you tell them, Grant? I'm interested to know why you know.
Tedra Grant: It's the...internal affairs agency.
MONTEGUE: And why do you know that, Spartan Grant? Tell me and I might just feel like answering Palmer's inane questions.
Tedra Grant: I had a...friend. Back in ODST. Said a few members of his old unit got killed trying to steal a Pelican load of gold from New Jerusalem but managed to give him a few bars. He was saving it for when he got out, he said. His..."retirement fund". Then one day he just...disappeared. All he left was a note saying, "Section Zero was after him".
MONTEGUE: If it's any consolation, I doubt they'd kill him over something like that. Prison maybe. Or if he was good, recruit him.
Gabriel Thorne: The internal affairs division recruits from criminals?
MONTEGUE: Mild ones, sure. Can't afford to have them in the general military un-supervised, but why waste the really good ones by sticking them in jail? Better to keep them close, supervised, and if it comes to it, throw them at the really dangerous targets.
Tedra Grant: That's sick.
MONTEGUE: It get's the job done, right? It's not a fun job, but...someone has to do it. The one's who don't want to...we make the best killers.
Gabriel Thorne: We?
MONTEGUE: You wanted to know where I came from? Now you do. I was a shooter for Section Zero. Seventeen years. Section Zero picked me out of the ODSTs and threw a big fancy speech at me. They kept me hooked for years. I broke away in '53 but...
Sarah Palmer: But what?
MONTEGUE: It wasn't a...clean break. It took more than I ever feared it would to get clear of the Agency, and I sold more than one part of my soul doing it. An old CO from ODST managed to get me back a position in Drop Jet infantry, and after that it was an easy shot to Spartan. But there were still people in Section Zero I owed. My life and my soul both.
Gabriel Thorne: You weren't looking to spy on us. You were looking for redemption.
MONTEGUE: Maybe nothing so theatric, just...a way to repent.
Sarah Palmer: What a crock of shit. You sold us out anyway.
MONTEGUE: You think I had a choice? Someone in Section Zero saved my life, on a mission and then from the agency itself. I owed him.
Gabriel Thorne: He blackmailed you?
MONTEGUE: You could...call it that.
Tedra Grant: So...Crimson? How did that happen?
MONTEGUE: The man I owed from the agency contacted me. He needed someone hidden. That's it. I was just supposed to hide him in plain sight. Tool him up and let him loose. Give us a bit of a boost and get him clear of some problems Section Zero was having, then return him when the storm had passed. Then it would be over. My debt would be paid.
Sarah Palmer: Who was he? Was there ever more than one?
MONTEGUE: At first, I just knew him as Codename: EGOR. He was always by himself.
Robert Dalton: That's not possible. I was watching the same Op screens you were! I supervised ordinance drops, air strikes, extraction, always for a squad of four.
MONTEGUE: The man I owed infected Infinity with software that modified the sensor readings on the fly. He even modified Roland's code to miss the detection.
Robert Dalton: How is that possible? These Section Zero people can do that?
MONTEGUE: I don't know how it works. I was a glorified hit man, Dalton. I didn't do tech, I pulled triggers.
Gabriel Thorne: But what about in the field? He beat us in clearing the ice fortress, then pulled off all the most dangerous missions. Commander Palmer, you put Crimson on the most difficult ops because they were so good, didn't you?
Sarah Palmer: That I did. They completed missions faster than anyone else. Better than anyone else.
Tedra Grant: Who the hell was he? He did things no one should have been able to do. Like the Gorge mission? It took all five of us to clear that base and even then parts were chancy. How did he do it by himself?
Gabriel Thorne: Or the slipspace artifact. How did he get it offline before us if he was just one Spartan?
MONTEGUE: He wasn't a Four like us.
Sarah Palmer: Like us? As far as I'm concerned, Miller, your no damn Spartan. You sat in that Op center the last month doing jack shit. And on top of it, you lied and manipulated us for some old ONI pals? Like hell you're a Spartan.
MONTEGUE: As usual you miss the point, Commander.
Gabriel Thorne: Was he a Three? You said he wasn't a Four like us but he definitely was a Spartan.
MONTEGUE: Close, but no cigar.
Tedra Grant: He couldn't be. All of them are dead...or...or working with us.
MONTEGUE: He was. A full fledged Two. It's why he ran circles around you, Grant. And Kodiak, and Lancer, and Switchback, and Mountain, and every other Fireteam he got paired with or compared too. He was...something called a Leonidan.
Sarah Palmer: What the hell is a Leonidan? Speak plainly and cut the spook shit Miller or I swear to God...
MONTEGUE: I thought they were a myth, but I was wrong. SPARTAN-II's pulled from the original class during augmentation. Death's or injuries faked and recruited by secret, power ONI groups for their own agendas. EGOR was SPARTAN-144, Leonid. Section Zero used him as an assassin for years.
Gabriel Thorne: You...worked for those people?
MONTEGUE: No, that was someone else. Someone named CHAUCER. I don't suppose any of you have heard of VORAUSSICHT? If you haven't, you will soon. Section Zero is investigating excesses during the last war. They found some conspiracy and discovered CHAUCER pulled Leonid and they captured him.
Sarah Palmer: Why stick him on Infinity then?
MONTEGUE: I...I don't know.
Sarah Palmer: You did all that without knowing why? I don't buy it, Miller.
MONTEGUE: My contact told me they were trying to hide him from civilian oversight but...I think I might have been more. They could have pulled him off long before they did, but they kept him aboard.
Sarah Palmer: Why?
MONTEGUE: That's what I don't know.
Sarah Palmer: Well I'll be damned if they get away with that. He's a damn deserter, if nothing else. I'm going to the brass and asking for a man hunt.
MONTEGUE: ONI won't approve a hunt for a Section Zero man.
Sarah Palmer: Not ONI brass. Our brass.
MONTEGUE: That got approved?
Sarah Palmer: We're our own branch. Now we've got our own leaders.
MONTEGUE: You won't be able to find him on your own. Not with infantry. You need Spooks for this.
Sarah Palmer: Hell no.
MONTEGUE: If you don't say yes, Palmer, I'll just ask our new brass. But you'll never find him on your own. He's Section Zero. You didn't even know it existed before today. I know it inside and out. I'll get him back for you, then you can ask all the questions you want. Let me build us a Spook program, and I'll get you Leonid. Then you can hang me from whatever tree you want.
Robert Dalton: Commander...I know you're the last word here, but he's got a point. We've got no intel gathering capability of our own. All our old recon came from ONI.
MONTEGUE: You want to stop something like this from happening again? You need your own intel force.
Sarah Palmer: And you think I'm gonna let you head it? Like hell.
MONTEGUE: Then put someone on it you trust, and let me work under them. Advise them. And bring in Leonid.
Sarah Palmer: No one'll take an ops controller serious as a Spook anyway, Miller.
MONTEGUE: You're such a damn grunt, Commander. Spooks aren't supposed to be attention grabbing jackasses in black suits and shades. We're supposed to fit in, act nonchalant, and gather intel when you're least expecting it. Like I did with you right here on Infinity. You know I can do this. And I'm your best shot to get Leonid back and ask him all those questions I know you'll have.
Sarah Palmer: People from Spartan still remember your name, Miller. We put you in that damn stupid escape credit announcement.
MONTEGUE: But they don't know my face, mostly. Or my voice.
Sarah Palmer: Your point?
MONTEGUE: If I do this, I'm not Miller anymore. I'm MONTEGUE. The Spook whose going to finally catch Leonid-144.
