#a.i program alpha

He wasn’t doing too well, he knew that much. He was supposed to be able to do things faster, but instead he slipped behind on his usual course times. That’s why he was out here in the cold, running through an obstacle course, instead of having training games inside where it was much warmer.

He was on a timer now, and he had to get this obstacle course done, or he’d be in trouble . He had to spit mud out of his mouth here and there as the rain pounded the ground and set up little shocks of goop right in his face. It was a cycle of freezing in the mud, only to have it washed off by the freezing rain. His hands had long since gone numb from it all, clenched tight into the muck as he pulled himself forward.

A shot rang out and puffed up a cone of mud right next to his face. That was just a warning shot. He had to go faster or this time they wouldn't miss. So he put his head down and crawled faster, carefully dipping under the various wooden barriers. He was making good progress, until the fabric of his fatigues got caught in a section of barbed wire. He tried to twist and free himself, only to startle back into the thick of it when another shot struck the ground inches from his head.

In his panic he managed to wrap the wire around himself tighter, sharp metal edges biting into his flesh through his clothing. They dug behind his knees and his fingers and he couldn’t tell in the darkness if the wetness on him was the mud or his own blood. The shooting stopped, but that was a bad sign. That meant one of the instructors was coming over to see what the hold up was. They were not going to be happy, and they prepared themselves for what was sure to come.

“MIKE-B106, what the hell are you doing?” One of the instructors stomped over, angry voice loud enough to hear over the rain. MIKE didn’t like this one, he was mean and seemed to have fun making him and his sisters cry.

“I got...I got caught, I-” MIKE tried to untangle himself, biting back sobs as the metal ripped jagged lines through his arms and legs. His skin was numb from the cold, but he certainly felt the barbs when they dug in deep.

“That is unacceptable .” Came the biting remark. “You aren’t supposed to be stopped by pain or fear. Those are weaknesses, and no Spartan under my tutelage is going to be such a colossal fuck up. Do you like wasting my time when people out there are dying, while you fuck around in the mud?”

“No! No I-” Guilt piled on MIKE as he stopped struggling. He was supposed to be big and strong. He was supposed to protect people from the bad aliens...but here he was. Messing up and making everyone angry at him.

“You are going to get yourself out of this mess.” The man cut him off. “I don’t care how much blood you need to spill to get out, but you are going to do it without making a sound, do you understand me soldier?”

MIKE could only nod in response, already swallowing back the sobs that threatened to escape his throat. He was afraid of what would happen if he did make a sound. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d get shot for disobeying an order, and probably won’t be his last if he couldn’t do what he was told.

“Good. You have until morning. Make me proud, or die out here in the mud. It’s your choice.”

MIKE knew that a lot of resources were wasted on him already. He was expensive , at least, that’s what he heard from the adults when they thought he couldn’t hear them. He didn’t think they’d let him die. They wouldn’t be that merciful, after all. The man walked away, leaving him alone in the rain and cold.

It took all night fighting the metal, too afraid to make noise, biting his lip so hard it bled when he had to pull the wire out of his wounds. He was so sure it was hitting bone in some places, the wire would snag on something and he’d have to tug, ripping things open even further. By the time he managed to free himself, his hands were shredded and he felt dizzy from blood loss. But he did, in the end, manage to walk himself back to base where a medic was waiting.

The instructor was not waiting there to see if he returned or not. The only ones who cared were his sisters, crowding around him in the medical bay, but afraid to touch him from the sheer amount of wounds that covered his skin. He was given just enough to stop bleeding and sent back to the barracks, where his sisters held him to warm him up.

He didn’t cry. Because Spartans aren’t allowed to cry.

Spartans don’t feel pain.

Spartans don’t feel fear.

Spartans don’t

Spartans d-

Spar-

Caboose managed to empty an entire clip from his rifle before he realized what was happening.

“Caboose! What the fuck man!? ” Church jumped from where he stood beside him. “Are you trying to kill me again!?”

Confused, Caboose looked up from his gun to look at what he actually shot. It was a fence, wooden posts old and somewhat rotten. Splinters spread across the grass, and what was left of the posts smoked slightly from multiple bullet holes. Oh, that’s right. They were on patrol. They saw the fence and he remembered something he didn’t want to and the gun misfired. Oops.

Old twisted wire laid on the grass, fallen from where he shot them off the posts. Caboose stared at them as though they might come alive and attack him. He aimed his rifle at them, the barbed wire so sharp and shining -

Until a hand pushed the barrel out of the way. “Caboose? Stop fucking shooting things that don’t need to be shot! What the hell did that fence ever do to you?”

“I do not like the wires.” Caboose replied curtly. “They are mean and I hate them.”

Church just sighed a tired sigh. “Whatever, just tell me before you decide to riddle something with bullets? Okay Rookie?”

Caboose nodded, and uncharacteristically turned and started to stiffly walk back towards base.

Church ran after him, shouting that they didn’t finish patrol yet, leaving the wires behind to fall into rust.

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