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Sinclair looked at the rest of the ODSTs as they filed into the pelican. He noticed that all of them, even though they had the same type of armor, looked different along with their certain fields of specialty. Sinclair walked up to the pilt of the pelican, "That should be all of them. Take us up." The pilot nodded and began to ascend the pelican up to space. Sinclair walked to the back and turned to the rest of the troopers, "As you all know, we will be utilizing the UNSC Pale Horse to get to our destination. It will be a short trip, duue to the fact that the last known location that we reieved a distress from the Say My Name is near the edge of UNSC controlled space. Now, there are a few reasons why ONI requested that Admiral Stanforth send ODSTs along, but half of those reasons are classified. The things you need to know is that since the cruiser is supposedly dead in space with no crew, she is a fair game for anything that could make use of her. Once we are in the prowler, please, make yourselves at home. I will be in the bridge, setting preparations for the mission. If you have any questions, you can find me in the bridge or you can ask Curtis anytime." Sinclair felt the pelican slow down as they approached their prowler.

The Pelican landed in the decent size hanger bay. The door opened and he walked out of the pelican. He looked over his shoulder to the troopers and nodded to them with a smirk. He walked to the bridge and looked at his crew, "All hands, prepare for the jump. Heading 42-17-03 bring us to speed. Spin up FTL drive when clear. Curtis appeared on the holoprojector near him, "Hold on to your helmets everyone, it's time slip out!" The space around their ship began to turn black as they went through slipspace.

Curtis appeared before the ODSTs, "Well, isn't this nice, the Pale Horse hasn't had guests in a long while. If you like, you can head to the armory which is through the doors to my left. Mess is in the rear, and of course bunks are next to the armory. If you have any questions or wish to talk to the commander, please just say my name and I wil assist." Curtis blinked out.

The holoprojector in the armory in front of Viktor. The blue doted silhouette of Curtis stood there in his small AI form, his arms folded as he watched Viktor go through his gear, "So, I guess you are the one in charge most of the time. I do have to admit, I never really figured you as the easy going type. And once again, the AI is right. Although, I'm curious about something. Tell me sergeant, is there something about ONI agents you don't like?" Curtis asked in his curious tone. He loved the way humans spoke about things that struck him as interesting.

Curtis listened intently and thought to himself as Viktor thought. Of course, his file did read out his rank and all, but there were some top secret ONI seals on some of his mission statements. When he finished about his experience with the ONI agents, Curtis came to the realization. Ah, now he remembered operation Whiplash in 2530. It was a sucess according to Captain Cambridge. But, after further investigation, she was court marshaled for the troops she killed in further missions.

As Viktor spoke about his brother, Curtis brought up the file. It was true, his brother was killed in action, but no known cause was written down. Once again, ONI wrapped up the results to the mission tightly. Not even a roster was available. Curtis waited for Viktor to speak on why he also didn't trust AIs. Common logic really, AIs were meant to control all electronic devices when plugged into them. But, never in history have they purposfuly tried to destroy all humans like a cliche scifi movie. Curtis crossed his arms, "Well, I just looked up those files about your brush with ONI. Justice has been given more or less on Captain Cambridge. Altogether though, I am sorry for what you went through. As for your trust with AIs though, have no fear, we are just clusters of intelligence that really doesn't need care becuse we get thingsdone fast. Sometimes the way we act is programmed into us, or we choose to by the persona we take on. And don't worry about me killing everyone by cutting off your oxygen and what not. All AIs have to follow the laws of robotics... huh, that sounds familiar... anyway, we can't harm humans really, only in certain cases can that be compromised. Like the Cole Protocol, or Rampancy. Rest assured, I am far from acting on any of those. Hopfully this mission could help you with your paranoia with me and the Commander, da?"

Curtis watched Viktor leave and go through the elevator to the bridge. Curtis took in everything he heard to his own mental note. He did worry about how much the trooper went through. Wounds do take time to heal, but he had nothing but scars. Curtis blinked out and returned to the bridge before Viktor arrived, "Sir, all readings are normal. And on a seperate note, the Admiral sure does know how to pick them." Sinclair looke at Curtis with a raised eyebrow. Before he could ask what he was talking about, the bridge doors opened and Viktor stood asking if he could enter. Sinclair turned to face the trooper with his hands behind his back, "Ah, Mr. Kravchenko, do come in." Behind Sinclair, Curtis gave a short wave to Viktor like they were friends already. Sinclair half turned to the bridge, inviting the trooper, "What can I help you with?"

As Viktor spoke about what he heard what Curtis spoke about, Curtis himself was making gestures behind Sinclair's back, trying to make Viktor stay quiet. When Sinclair turned towards Curtis, he made it look like he was doing nothing. Instead of scolding the AI, he asked him a question, "Curtis, how far are we from the ship." Curtis mentally sighed with relief. He crossed his arms and replyied to both the humans, "Well, the ship is at the edge of UNSC controlled space, and thanks to the new prototype slipspace drive we got from our new Huragak friends, we should arrive in a few hours... give or take. When aliens work on improving human tech, it makes things harder to sync with timing." Sinclair nodded in agreement, he looked over Viktor like he was assessing his worth. He finally sighed and walked over to the holotable in the middle of the bridge. He waved his hand for Viktor to join him. He typed a few commands and the table showed a projection of the UNSC Say My Name, "Most of the information anout this mission was part of the mission statement from earlier this morning. That is the stuff that you would normally need to know only. Then there is the highly classified information that could give us both a one way ticket to a firing squad if I even uttered about it. However, there is some information in between, information that could be given, but is easily left unmentioned during briefings due to there being no reason to expose it." Sinclair nodded to Curtis's hoogram. The AI nodded back and tags of random info connected to the virtual ship, ONI symbols were everywhere on it. Sinclair continued, "What I can tell you is that ONI recruits other ships as couriers for the Office because our prowlers are too small. So, since I'm telling you this, you should know why you are here. The Admiral only thinks this is a ship retrieval mission. Granted though the ship is improtant. To ONI however, what matters is the cargo. But more on that at a later time. We are still in the stages of confirming everything else. When we arrive, I will tel everyone what we find." Sinclair looked Viktor in the eyes, "Does this help put your mind at ease.?"

Sinclair smiled at Viktor, "Right you are. The admiral does have more control over his ships than ONI does, but there are times when we make requests and tell him only the things he needs to know in order for him to agree. But, we make sure to never endanger the ships we secretly use. This particular ship however worries me. The cargo contents hasn't been fully confirmed, but whatever it is it's got Admiral Parangosky flustered. Also, I know that it's something that needs to be delivered to the finishing touches of the Infinity. But again, I'll give as much as I can when we arrive." Sinclair kept his eye contact with Viktor about his methods on killing his superior officers. Sinclair has read his file, even before Curtis was aware of the roster. Instead of pointing it out Sinclair looked back at the holotable, "According to reports, we are yet to confirm that all of the crew has been evacuated. That and we still cannot contact the ship or its AI. Until we arrive, expect anything. There are a few things I need to sort out myself right now. Go and rest up Mr. Kravchenko, we will be in the mission area soon. If you still need anything, talk to Curtis, he knows as much as I do and more." Sinclair turned and looked out to the black slipspace out the window. He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He figured he needed rest, but he knew he was needed still

Name: Tahlvia Rishtun
Rank 1st Lieutenant
Service Branch: Marines

Tahlvia wandered around the deck, stopping occasionally to stare at something absently, or admire the minor detail of some small joint latching two deck plates together. Damn these ONI Spliffs are nice. She shook her head, and looked up from the floor to see the elevator arriving on the deck. "Well looks like my quiet time is gone..."

Name: Tahlvia Rishtun
Rank 1st Lieutenant
Service Branch: Marines

Tahlvia returned the salute, "I took an earlier Pelican Top, and as for the spook, well I reserve my comment, until I'm proven otherwise."