Forged in mind, tempered in blood

"I actually score fairly high when it comes to marksmanship and sharpshooting, but it's never been my particular cup of tea."

Fred-104 shrugs with a faint smile, before gesturing to the two blades that are almost eternally present on his person. 

Fred-104's smile freezes for a moment, but remains on his face, albeit forced and tight. 

"That's... a pretty invasive question there, isn't it?" The Spartan's fingers twitch unconsciously - no blade between them to spin out of habits born of years of holding everything locked down tight within. "How do you think it feels, knowing that I'm alive and so many of them are gone? How do you think it feels, knowing that I gave the order that caused the single highest number of Spartan-II casualties in any one engagement? I wouldn't know because I don't let myself stop moving long enough to think about it - I can't." 

He sighs, looking away for a moment, as his forced smile fades. 

OoC: One tiny, tiny point of order for folks in the Halo fandom. 

When referring to John-117 by his full rank:  To his face: "Master Chief."  Talking about him: "The Master Chief." 

When referring to John-117 by the short-form of his rank:  To his face: "Chief."  Talking about him: "The Chief." 

Basically, the only time you don't throw a the in front of someone's rank, full or short-form, is when you're talking to them face to face. Otherwise, they're the Master Chief, the Chief Petty Officer, because there's more than one of em out there. 

"Aside from a little 'down time', we'll call it, a little after the end of the war, you mean? Serving in the field, mostly - with the rise of the Spartan-IV Program, I haven't been put into the uncomfortable position of PR and propaganda imagery as much as the Master Chief used to be. 

OoC: Wow, a Mun-Question, huh? Didn't expect that. 

Fred-104 is my favorite Spartan of the lot, actually - I identify with what we see of him quite a bit. Particularly with his tendency to be very... empathetic and his desire to stay out of the limelight despite being very good at what he does. I'm not a big fan of being the center of attention, and I generally try to avoid it whenever I can, but sometimes you have to step forward and take charge, take control and all the good and bad that comes with it. 

I like his human side, really that's what it is. I think he's a testament to both how damaged the Spartan-IIs are, and to the fact that there's still hope for them being able to recover and rebuild themselves as people. 

"Well, for his first experience aboard one of the Halos, I was with the others, on the surface of Reach - above and below - trying my damndest to keep Doctor Halsey safe while keeping my remaining Spartans alive. Still haven't quite forgiven myself for that bailout order, despite knowing it was the only right one to give.