Open on a line beds which are enclosed by glass walls. There are sleeping children inside the beds which are made of plastic with no sheets. Pan to one of the beds on which a boy with a shaved head, wearing a grey uniform with the name “John” written on it. With fearful eyes, the boy looks up at his viewer.
Fade in to a closeup of Halsey’s eyes. She seems tired and grave.
Interrogator: “Tell me about the children.”
There is a shadow frame sitting at the other end of the table, its the Interrogator.
Interrogator: “Dr. Halsey?”
Halsey defiantly looks at the shadow framed speaker.
Doctor Catherine Halsey: “You already know everything.”
Interrogator: “You kidnapped them.”
Cut to John-117. Some machines are preparing to operate on him as he is lying down on the bed with a breath mask.
Halsey (voiceover): “Children’s bodies adapt easily to augmentation and their minds accept indoctrination easily which resulted in creation of the ultimate soldiers.”
Cut to a SPARTAN-II, a towering figure among other soldiers. Technicians are inspecting him and his full armor.
Halsey: “The success of our program helped us to be ready when the Covenant invaded.”
Cut to a CAS-class Assault Carrier hovering over a human city. Hundreds of aircraft fly out of its launch bay.
Cut back to the interrogation.
Interrogator: “Dr. Halsey, You did not develop the Spartans to fight the Covenant, stop trying to bend the history in your favor. We all know that you developed the Spartans to crush human rebellion.”
Banshees bomb the city as civilians runs for their lives.
Halsey (voiceover): “When one human world after another fell…”
A Sangheili drives his energy sword through a fleeing civilian.
Halsey (voiceover): “… when my Spartans were all that stood between humanity and extinction…”
From up in the sky, a dozen Spartans drop from Pelicans, using their thruster packs to slow their descent.
Halsey (voiceover): “… nobody was concerned over why they were originally built.”
An Elite charges at The Spartans as they land and take cover. The Spartans shoot down some of the Sangheili who return fire, flaring the shields on the Spartans’ armor, while the lead Elite calmly steps forward and fires back. Cut to the Spartans moving forward, still firing.
Interrogator (voiceover): “So you are trying to justify your choices in the end.”
Cut to Halsey, who sits forward calmly, clasping her hands.
Halsey: “I saved the human race with my developments.”
Interrogator: “Do you think the Spartans’ lack of basic humanity helped?”
Halsey looks at him worriedly, as the interrogator, now standing, backs away from the table.
Halsey: “Who are you? What are you after? You are not naval intelligence like the others before you.”
Cut to a Spartan who is speaking to no one as marines walk past him. He is sitting alone in a hangar with his head dropped down.
Interrogator (voiceover): “Records show Spartans routinely exhibited mildly sociopathic tendencies, difficulty with socialization. Further…”
Cut to a Spartan fighting a Jiralhanae Chieftain. He leaps agilely, dodging its every blow. Dead Sangheili cover the ground around them.
Halsey (voiceover): “The records show efficient behavior operating in hazardous situations. I supplied the tools to maintain that efficiency.”
Cut to Master Chief, seeing Halsey hold up a data crystal chip projecting Cortana.
Cut back to the interrogation.
Interrogator: “Do you believe the Master Chief succeeded because he was, at his core, broken?”
Halsey: “What does John have to do with this? You want to replace him.”
Interrogator: “The Master Chief is dead.”
Halsey: “His file reads ‘missing in action.'”
Interrogator: Catherine, ‘Spartans never die’.
Cut to a Spartan’s foot stepping down on a puddle. The Spartan leads a crowd of military personnel. The fighting has stopped but the city is clouded in smoke.
Halsey: “Your mistake is seeing Spartans as military hardware. My Spartans are humanity’s next step.”
Halsey stands up from her chair in determination.
Halsey: “Our destiny as a species. Do not underestimate them. But most of all, do not underestimate him.”
