He studied my armor as I come off the Pelican and asks. "Lieutenant McKenna, I presume?"

"Yes, sir." I answered and stood at attention at the foot of the Pelican's entrance. The man who asked the question looked like he was in his 50s or 60s. He wore a black suit with a black tie and had a few soldiers in ODST armor behind him, but instead of having fully black armor, they had red highlights with the black.

"Is this the reinforcements UNSC requested?" He asks.

I replied again. "Yes, sir. This is everyone."

"Very well." The transfer ODSTs stand behind me as the man explains to everyone. "I am the Chairman, CEO of Charon Industries. The UNSC has sent you all here as additional protection for my ongoing projects. Projects that could revolutionize galactic warfare as we know it."

"You will be divided into our current security forces and will report to the squad leader you are assigned to." He goes on, which catches me by surprise. I thought we were all going to stick together.

"Sir, permission to speak." I ask. The Chairman nods his head to me, but his expression tells me that he didn't want to be interrupted.

"I was told by my Commander that I am in charge of these ODSTs," I explained. "That would include reporting to me as their squad leader."

"Lieutenant McKenna, you may have been made the leader of this group when you were on your previous ship, but now you are on MY ship." He said in an authoritative voice. "And on MY ship, you are not the leader of these ODSTs; you are just like them."

You got to be kidding me... "Very well, sir. I just want to be sure that my ODSTs are taken care of." I tell him.

"I assure you: they, as well are yourself, will be treated well here." He finalizes before addressing everyone once again. "When you are dismissed, you will find which one of the Lieutenants behind me is your new Squad Leader. After finding them, they will guide you to your bunks. Tomorrow, you will start learning your patrol areas and protocols in case of an emergency. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir." Everyone answers, including me. The Chairman seems to know what he is doing, so I'm not too worried about the ODSTs being treated poorly. I hope that my job requires interacting with the prisoner, Agent Washington.

"You are all dismissed." He says, making a sharp right turn and walking away with one of his current soldiers following him.

The transfers start moving out of the Pelican and finding their squad leaders. Commander Lasky said that he managed to get me a spot in the prison department near the Freelancer, so I scanned the Squad Leaders, trying to find out which one might be in charge of the prison patrols or something that involves the prison. They all have the same armor and the same emblem, so it looks like I'm going to have to guess.

"Lieutenant McKenna."

I turn to the person that said my name. One of the Squad Leaders, a male, wearing a different color armor than the rest, white with blue, was looking at me. "Yes, sir?" I answered.

"You're with me on Prison Watch." He tells me.

Well, that just made my life easier. "Is it just me?" I ask.

"Yep." He says. "The boss believes that we don't need many soldiers down there. But, he wanted someone capable of handling a Freelancer, which so happened to be you. Apparently, you were also recommended by your Ship's commander."

"A Freelancer, huh?" I say, acting surprised about the fact that I'm guarding a Freelancer. "I've heard that they are similar to Spartans but more dangerous."

"You could say that." He says and signals me to follow him. I grab my duffel and follow him to the bunks, which happens to be near the prison.

"I'm guessing our bunk is near the person in case the prisoner escapes?" I say as I follow him inside. The bunk was five times bigger than my personal bunk back on Infinity, but it had four bunk-like beds along the back wall, an entertainment center with couches and a TV on one side of the door, and a desk on the other side.

"The Chairman wanted to ensure that the prisoner wasn't going to be a threat and that we have time to relax after a shift." He explains before showing me a bunk-like bed in the corner, with the bed on top and storage on the bottom. "This will be your bed."

"Thanks." I set down my duffel next to my bed. I took out my sniper and placed it in my back holster. Better to be prepared than not.

"Is this the new recruit?"

"Didn't hear you come in, Rey." The Lieutenant says as we turn our attention to the female soldier that just walked in. "And this is McKenna. She transferred from Infinity."

"Infinity, huh?" She says with a slight surprise in her voice. "Have you worked with the Master Chief?"

"Once or twice." I admitted. I did indeed do a drop mission on Delta Halo with the Chief when I was stationed at In Amber Clad as a private.

"Well, if you were able to work with the big dog, that means you're no joke." She comments. "Welcome to the squad, McKenna."

"Thanks." I replied.

"Also, have to ask: what rank are you?" Rey questions.

"Feels like an interrogation." I laughed. "And I'm a Lieutenant."

She nudges the Squad Leader's arm. "Looks like you got competition, Matthew."

The Squad Leader, Matthew, rolls his eyes. "Yeah, right."

So they call each other by their first name... That is very interesting and very different from the system on Infinity. "So.. I'm guessing we go by first names in this squad?" I ask.

"We won't ask you for your name till you get comfortable with us," Rey explains. "First is getting you comfortable with your duties and then the squad."

"If you say so." These soldiers are laid back; this might make it easier to pick up extra shifts...

"Do you mind if I start now?" I asked. "I've done a few prison watches before, and I really want to see how tough this prisoner is."

Rey's smile grows wider, and she looks at Matthew. "I really like this new recruit. Straight to the point."

Matthew chuckles. "We can thank the Chairman later." He turns his attention to me and says. "You can take over Mike's shift, which only has about two hours left. Rey will take over after that."

"How long are the shifts?" I ask.

"The shifts were about eight hours long," Rey explains. "But now that you're here, they're now six hours long."

Six hours? That's not a long time with the prisoner if I want information... "I mean, I don't mind picking up someone's shift here and there." I tell her.

"First, we have to see how you do." Matt starts walking towards the exit. Rey pulls out something from her pocket and holds it out to me.

"An upgraded silencer for your Magnum." She says as I take it from her. "Consider it as a welcome gift."

"Huh, thanks." Random, but very welcomed. I pulled out my Magnum and switched out the silencers. She signals me to follow her, and we exited the bunks to a door. She swipes a card on the panel, and it opens.

"You will get your own card tomorrow morning." Matthew says as we joined him beside a cell. No one was in the cell at the moment.

"Matthew, where's Mike?" I hear Rey ask her commanding officer.

"I have no idea.." He puts his finger on his helmet. "Mike?"

Matthew goes silent for a bit, then says. "Dude, the new recruit is here, and she's offered to take the rest of the shift."

Another pause. "Yes, I'm serious. Bring the prisoner back from the gym."

Matthew puts his hand down from his helmet and apologizes. "Sorry about that. Mike didn't expect you to take his shift."

"No worries," I replied. "I've been in the same scenario a few times."

We waited a few minutes until a person in gray and yellow Mark VI walked into the room with, I'm assuming, Mike, following behind him.

"Alright, back to your cell." Mike pokes him in the back with his Battle Rifle towards the empty cell.

The Freelancer stops and turns his head. "You know, there's a nicer way of saying that." He says in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Just get in your cell." Mike growls.

The Freelancer turns his head back, walks into his cell, and sits on the bed inside while Mike locks the cell.

"You know, you should really tell me when we have a newbie joining our team." Mike complains.

"I wouldn't consider myself a newbie." I tell him. He looks at me, and his eyes grow wide.

"Oh, my God... you're Lieutenant McKenna." He says in awe.

I blink twice. "Um, you know who I am?"

"You know who she is?" Rey asks suspiciously.

"You're like the most well-known sniper in the galaxy!" He exclaims, ignoring Rey, and extends his hand. "Corporal Mike, at your service."

I shake his hand. "Lindsey."

"So you have gotten used to us being around already." Matthew remarks. "You ODSTs really know how to adapt."

No, I just wanted to get it out of the way and get going to the rest of Mike's shift. "You know it." I say sweetly.

"Lucky for us, he's the only prisoner in the block as of right now," Matthew explains. "We'll be back in two hours, and Rey will take over."

"Sounds good." I replied, taking Mike's position, with my back to the cell.

"See you in a bit Lindsey." Rey smiled, and all three of them exited the block.

"So, Chairman hired another person to guard me." Washington remarks. "Guess he doesn't believe that three people is enough."

I turn around so I see if I can spark a conversation. "So, you a Spartan or something?" I asked, even though I already know much about him.

He tilts his head. "What makes you ask that?"

"Well, your armor doesn't say marine or officer." I explained.

"Well, not really. I'm known as a Freelancer." He answers.

"A gun for hire?" I ask as if I didn't know what a Freelancer was. "Lame. Thought you did something cool for a living."

"I'm not a gun for hire, and my life is NOT lame." Washington defends.

"Well, you're sitting behind bars right now, aren't you?" I pointed out. "That's kind of lame."

"Ok fine." He takes off his helmet and sets it beside him on the cot. He looks at me with his electric blue eyes. "What do you do then?"

I lifted my visor on my helmet so he can see who I was and that I'm not afraid of a Freelancer. "I drop feet first into hell." I answered.

"ODST." He comments. "I guess Chairman really didn't believe in the other guards."

"We just don't want your other Freelancer buddies to break you out."

He gives a short laugh, which surprises me. "Yeah, they are totally going to come for me."

I raise my eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"As far as I know, it's only me, the Meta, who was a former Freelancer, and a bunch of Simulation Troopers that are basically idiots." He says, letting out a sigh. "Everyone else is missing or dead."

I get hit with a wave of sadness, remembering my own team. "I'm sorry," I apologized. "I shouldn't have assumed."

He studies me. "The fact that you were quick to apologize for this means that you know how it feels."

I closed my visor and turned back around to hide my face from him. "Unfortunately... I do."

Washington coughs. "Do you... want to talk about it?"

"No."