Uncharted | JOHN-117

04

"How's he doing?" Halsey inquires in a hushed whisper as she emerges from the sliding door into the cockpit.

"Definitely un-Spartan-like," Adun responds from beside me in a clipped manner, his brow furrowing in thought. "It's odd that a... a weapon could cause this kind of behaviour."

I lean against the communication table in front of us with my forearm, my tired eyes sliding to Adun in consideration. He's been mulling over the implications of John removing the inhibitor chip all morning, running data analyses and conducting research to formulate a credible hypothesis.

His hypothesis centres on the artefact being the main culprit, whereas mine fixates predominantly on John. The artefact undoubtedly triggered something within him. However, it was his curiosity, his yearning for more that ultimately drove him to remove the chip.

And for John, who's always been so stoic and unyielding, to suddenly have a taste of being able to feel... the experience was like opening a floodgate. It wasn't the artefact that had made him do it; it was the flicker of human emotion that compelled him to do so.

Adun fails to see that Spartans are humans, first and foremost. He and many others view them primarily as weapons to be used. They don't understand that despite their training and augmentation, they're still people at their very core. Or perhaps they do but opt to disregard it, turning a blind eye to their humanity.

"I'm not quite convinced it is a weapon," I remark sceptically, stifling a yawn.

Halsey's eyes gleam with a mixture of approval and intrigue. "My thoughts exactly. Take the Madrigal object, for example, it's clearly capable of emitting enormous amounts of energy, but to John's touch, it seems to act with a kind of agency or purpose, either responding to John's needs or anticipating what the situation requires, which must mean that-"

"-there's an intelligence behind it," Adun deduces thoughtfully.

Halsey nods her head."Yes, and if that's connected to a greater intelligence somewhere then I want to meet it."

Adun's critical gaze shifts over to the navigation station and mine follow curiously. John stands tall and imposing by the panoramic widow, his muscular figure clad in green titanium alloy armour. He opts to leave his helmet off, perched on a nearby bench to his right. With his back to us, his attention is fixated on the vastness of the cosmos, his silhouette framed by the shimmering stars of space.

"Why John? Why did it choose him? What makes him so special?" Adun inquires thoughtfully.

Adun's expression contorts into one of perplexity and a hint of... envy? A playful smile curves to my lips.

"I've been asking myself that same question since I met him," Halsey muses.

With an impish grin still playing on my lips, I take a step closer to Adun, closing the small gap between us. "Careful, Adun," I sing into his ear, my tone light yet tinged with a hint of sarcasm. "It almost sounds like your jealous."

His head whips to me, blinking rapidly as his mouth opens wide in surprise like a goldfish at my accusation. "I...N-no," he stammers, shaking his head dismissively at me."Of course not!"

I send him a pointed look. "If you say so."

"I was just asking questions from a scientific lens," he asserts tightly.

"Of course," I drawl out, taking a few steps backwards.

He watches me carefully, his face flushing redder and redder as the seconds tick by. "Where are you off to now?"

I offer a casual shrug. "Ah, I'm just going to go and ask a few questions from our resident Spartan. Purely, from a scientific perspective, of course."