spartan051 | (no subject)

"Ponce," Matt declares the AI. FILSS was better, and he knew she wasn't Smart AI. Which made him wonder why the whole mess was what it was. Ship AI, he'd heard a bit of. Had theories there.

"But sooner better."

Give them a few days to think about their failure before the second.

"That might be too generous but he is necessary for the day to day running of the camp and our training program." Kurt jerked one shoulder up in a shrug and finished the last few bites of food left on his tray.

"I agree, tomorrow though we'll gather the troops and we can explain to them why they failed so miserably in attacking you and how important communication is within a team."

Mendez grunted quietly and looked vaguely grumpy about the whole thing.

Really, Mendez? Matt raises his hand to his throat, touches the scars.

"Communication issues," he says. This is why you do it, this is why it's important. "Almost died. Got here, good. But otherwise? Bad."

Gets people killed, and you need to deal with that.

Mendez was just a cantankerous old goat though it wasn't their suggestion that he necessarily disagreed with but rather the amount of finagling they had to do to in order to finish out the Gamma's training before Ackerson came down on Kurt like a bag of bricks.

"I got that, son, and don't necessarily disagree with you. It's just we're already making heavy weather trying to get these kids trained by the deadline ONI has graced us with."

"We'll make it up somehow, Chief. Hopefully, this won't take more than a week or so to iron out the wrinkles in their team composition."

"You're the boss."

Matt himself was working though his food a bit slower, until he had himself down just to the three things of pudding. He rushes through two of those, and takes the last one as a slow final touch to his meal. Probably not good for him, but he didn't care. It was worth it.

"Should have faith in you both," Matt counters, hardly amused at the idea. "Not mindless tools."

Kurt and Mendez both shared a frown that spoke whole volumes of unstated commentary.

"Ackerson is..."

"He's a right son of a bitch. ONI to the fucking core and he might be behind the Spartan-III program but I don't rightly know why since he obviously doesn't value their lives." Mendez put in roughly, not one to mince words.

"In his eyes, it's the cost of war, of the survival of humanity." Kurt added softly. "He doesn't like the fact we've been expanding our training a year more with each class. But it's obvious they need that training."

Well now Matt was raising an eyebrow at that. That was very straight-forward. Not something he was used to before this. Still, he nods and listens.

"Sounds like old CO," he observes softly. But he won't say more on that.

"War needs to end. Faith in John."

Mendez had just gotten more blunt in the ensuing years and thankfully for him, Kurt seemed to accept and welcome that plain-spoken manner.

"There's too many CO's like that in this war." Kurt said with a dark look on his face. The mention of John seemed to lighten his mood a little bit thought.

"I have faith in John and the rest of our brothers and sisters out there. Especially Linda." Of course he had faith in her, she had been Green team first after all.

"Green team to end the war," Matt mumbled, raising his water in a quiet salute to Linda.

Not that Kurt wasn't bleeding for that same purpose, just in a different way. At least Linda hadn't turned up MIA yet. That... that would probably kill Matt from pain alone. It had been hard enough to lose Kurt.

"Always, can't let Blue Team win when it really counts." Kurt agreed and shot Matt a conspiratorial smirk because they might be forty years old but some things just never got old. And inter-team rivalry was one of them.

Mendez just rolled his eyes heavenward in exasperation. "You two are gonna set a bad example for the Gammas with talk like that."

"Nonsense, a little competitive spirit is healthy." Right a little competitive spirit indeed. If it was one thing that seemed to breed true in all Spartans was they were competitive as hell.

"I don't see them here," Matt counters. But Mendez isn't wrong. See, the thing is that these SPARTANS will be working in mass, rather than as units. So it's important that they work together. Competitive spirit isn't as good here.

"So, it's possible to do it? The fight I want?"

"I know, I know, I just forgot how ridiculously competitive you II's could be." The old solider snorted and shook his head but there might have been a subtle softening to those dark eyes.

"Absolutely. Kurt, I'll deal with Endless Summer, why don't you make sure Matt there gets his wounds looked at. Another thing I remember is the propensity for II's to try and downplay their injuries." This was said with an arch look as the chief climbed to his feet.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Chief. But I appreciate you taking point on this." Kurt said with a completely straight face.

"You made us that," Matt shrugged off Mendez's comment.

Really? His eyes roll. How does Matt even begin to explain that he's perfectly fine. What would be the point of downplaying injuries? He's learned a lot over the years about how an injury can do you in. A black eye is nothing.

"Thanks," he says, because all he cares about is getting the new SPARTANs ready.

"Bah," Mendez scoffed as he climbed to his feet so he could get starred with drawing up the list they would implement.

"His bark is worse than his bite." Kurt said with both humor and affection in his voice. "A realization I only came to after I was an adult, mind you. And one I hope our Gammas dob't figure out any time soon."

"Perhaps," Matt says softly. The issue is that he doesn't know how to approach Mendez. But he's going and that leaves Maine to finish his pudding. Then his attention goes back to Kurt.

"Don't imagine they will. I'm old and I have only your word to go on."

"That's okay, you have time." While Matt worked on his pudding cup, Kurt sipped at his coffee slowly. It was black and tasted vaguely burned from sitting on the heating element for too long but he'd long since stopped noticing.

"It behooves us to have the Gammas know he can put the fear of God into them."

"God is dead."

It's a useless dismissal, but Matt makes it anyway. He's stopped believing in higher powers. Religion was supposedly what drove the Covenant to do this to them. Granted, Matt would still exist without that, because the Insurrection was why they were made.

War on humans. Who knew what would happen with that afterward.

"Only SPARTANs to be afraid of these days."

"It's a turn of phrase only, Matt." Kurt snorted, mildly bemused his brother had such strong convictions when it came to religion. Like the rest of the II's he'd been raised without any hint of a religion and he was a staunch atheist as well but he didn't feel the need to go around proclaiming "God" was dead.

"Especially if you are the Covenant."

Maybe that was how he was raised, but there was a lot Matt had experienced since then. And humans that still held to religion were a bit maddening. There was nothing out there to save them. Just themselves.

"Especially then," Matt agrees. Finished with his food he rises to his feet. Time to get a bit of a workout in before heading off to sleep. Probably a run. He could really use a run. A real run.

Kurt understood why they still clung to their beliefs and hopes for a merciful god, because it brought them hope, the promise of a better tomorrow. And in times of peril, humanity craved hope to help get them through the day. But he also knew that wishing for hope was a pretty useless activity when you could be doing something.

"What are your plans for the evening?" He asked his brother as he got to his feet. Kurt recognized that vaguely restless energy that practically radiated from Matt.

"Run," Matt smiles, and he looks so pleased at the idea. "I haven't been able to run in years. Getting to build up my strength, my speed, getting to be what I am is pretty high up there on my priorities."

There is a lot to be said for the ability to de-stress that comes with just... running. Almost understood Kelly more now.

"Mind some company?" Considering Kurt only had paperwork to look forward to, he would happily put that off for the chance to get out and stretch his proverbial legs. Especially since Mendez was taking point on Matt's suggestion of mixing up the Gamma teams.

Well, that gets an even wider smile. Sure, if he can lure the CO off of his duties to instead go running, he's down for that.

"Track or cross-country?"

The paperwork would be there when he got back. It always was. That was one of his least favorite part about being in command but it was a necessary evil unfortunately.

"You said you wanted to stretch your legs, right? Can't really do that running on a track." Of course, it was beginning to head towards sundown so maybe running around in the jungle wasn't the best idea but they'd done far worse in training.

Really? They're SPARTANs, Kurt. Their night vision is beyond natural. They'll be fine.

"Gonna change?" Matt asks, gesturing to what Kurt's wearing. Clearly not suitable for a workout, unlike Maine. He's still in fatigues. Maybe he'll even go grab one of the heavy packs just to make it feel right.