- [from trailer]
- Director: "A memo to the Chairman of the Oversight Sub-Committee from the Director of Project Freelancer. Dear Chairman, I write today in response to your Committee's request for more information about our program and the suspected incident at Outpost 17-B. No doubt by now you have reviewed the video logs transmitted by our Recovery Agents dispatched to the region. I am sure you have seen the empty bases, the barricades constructed by the survivors, the cryptic warning left on the wall, the battles that apparently took place between team members that had turned on another, and of course, the ship. While we cannot say for certain, I share with your concern that we have an unfortunate post-project scenario taking place. However, I take exception to your assertion that we were warned that this was a possibility. I would like to remind the Sub-Committee members that anything is possible. Some things are probable, this is what is. And my agency, as it always has, will continue to deal with what is. Until it is no more."
- Chairman: [Chapter One] "To the director of Project Freelancer from the Oversight Sub-committee chairman. Dear Director, I want to thank you in advance for your open response to our sub-committee's request for more information. We were... disappointed that your recovery unit reported a total loss at Outpost 17-B. We had hope that there would be at least one soldier left that could shed some light on the situation. I know that your agency has enjoyed a high degree of freedom with very little scrutiny in the past few years. It is not our intention to disrupt such a "progressive" military program, but instead to find we can all work together in a matter that befits all our responsibilities. I am certain that you will agree. I look forward to making this review process as painless as we possibly can."
- Director: [Chapter Two] "A response from the Director of Project Freelancer. Dear Chairman, while I am obligated to assist your investigation, I ask that you do not waste my time with irrelevant questions. My agency is normally unconcerned with such minute directives such as troop reassignment, except, of course, in the most critical of matters."
- Chairman: [Chapter Three] "Dear Director, due to your busy schedule, we have begun interviewing members of your staff. I'm certain you will let us know if this bothers you. Our debriefings keep coming back to a single subject at Outpost 17-B. Can you explain to us what this Meta is, and what your plans are to deal with it?"
- Director: [Chapter Four] "Dear Chairman, rest assured we have the situation under control. While the Meta is proving to be an elusive enemy, our Recovery agent is already closing in on it. I expect this incident will reach a conclusion soon, and I will be able to return to my research, hopefully, without further interruption."
- Chairman: [Chapter Five] "Dear Director, we can all understand that a shift from autonomy to oversight can be a difficult adjustment for anyone, but especially someone of your standing. But in that spirit, we have attempted to accommodate your brief explanations to our serious inquiries. None the less, I feel compelled to inform you that even our trust has its limits."
- Director: [Chapter Six] "Dear Chairman, the Meta is nothing more than an entity seeking to increase its power in these confusing days after the war. From my perspective, that seems to be a common occurrence at the moment."
- Chairman: [Chapter Seven] "Dear Director, your program was granted the use of a single artificial intelligence unit for implantation experiments. Yet, the department records clearly show multiple agents in the field with implants during the same time frames. Surely this must be a logging error, and we anticipate a corrected document soon."
- Director: [Chapter Eight] "Dear Chairman, I understand your concern that increased activity will bring increased risk. However, our fail-safes are simple but full proof. A dead or dying agent automatically notifies our recovery team, and we will be on the scene immediately to secure all the military's property."
- Chairman: [Chapter Nine] "Dear Director, I feel you are avoiding the question. If this target was already in possession of an AI unit, how was he able to secure an additional unit from Agent South? Would not that verify, as we indicated earlier, that your program runs experiments with more than one artificial intelligence? If so, where did these additional AI come from and how did your agency procure them?"
- Director: [Chapter Ten] "Dear Chairman, our records in this matter are impeccable, and I will refer you to them. It is true we were granted the use of only one AI program, yet with special permission to conduct our experiments. That is all we were allowed to do and that is all we have done. Of course, I am sure that you will agree that the core mission of any scientific endeavor is to find creative solutions to unexpected problems."
- Chairman: [Chapter Eleven] "Dear Director, do your 'creative solutions' include the circumvention of the safety protocols that every member of the military must follow? If they do not, then I fail to see how an enemy has managed to secure not one, but several of your experimental AIs. The protocol is not a guideline, dear Director. It is doctrine, and no one is above its rule."
- Director: [Chapter Twelve] "Dear Chairman, I too hold the protocol in the highest regard. The doctrine kept us all safe during the Great War. If you are insinuating, sir, that we've violated it in any way, or that we would derelict in our duty to the military, well then I suggest you be direct, and tell me exactly how we did so."
- Chairman: [Chapter Thirteen] "Dear Director, our laws are not designed to outline every possible infraction that may take place. However, the spirit of the law is clear: Blatant disregard for the safety and well-being of our citizens, in any form, will always be a punishable offense. Regardless of how well, or by whom that offense has been just."
- Director: [Chapter Fourteen] "Dear Chairman, sir, while I appreciate your concern, allow me to correct you in one area. I value all our subjects' well being. But I revere above all else our ability to continue as a species - our ability to survive. And no committee, no bureaucrat, will ever convince me otherwise."
- Chairman: [Chapter Fifteen] "Dear Director, please do not attempt to recast this investigation as some type of personal vendetta. Our questions to this point have been fairly standard. Your reactions have not. As such, we have secured all your records and logs by the authority granted us by the UNSC. Now we shall see exactly what it is that you have to hide."
- Director: [Chapter Sixteen] "Dear Chairman, I imagine this investigation of our program is providing you the kind of attention that politicians crave so much. How very predictable. What has surprised me most about mankind during the Great War is not our ability to adapt to the new arenas of conflict, but instead, our willingness in victory to so quickly return to the old."
- Chairman: [Chapter Seventeen] "Dear Director, it is now clear, that your agency and its primary program, project freelancer, have abused the trust and freedoms that the oversight sub-committee has provided you. Your abuse of the Alpha AI will now become the subject of a criminal investigation. I'm sorry director, but you have seen the end of my patience."
- Director: [Chapter Eighteen] "Dear Chairman, I don't give a DAMN about your committee and its opinions of my work. Have you forgotten sir, we were at war. A fight with an alien race for the very survival of our species. I feel I must remind you that it is undeniable, and may I say a fundamental quality of man, that when faced with extinction, every alternative is preferable."
- Chairman: [Chapter Nineteen] "To the Director of Project Freelancer: I write to inform you that by the authority of this Sub-Committee, officers have been dispatched to place you under arrest and we expect your full cooperation. Congratulations are in order, I suppose. When they write the new morality protocols for dealing with AI, I am certain they will name entire sections of the doctrine after you. It seems that you will earn your place in history after all... Dear Director."
- Director: [Epilogue] "Dear Chairman, I am disappointed by your decision to press charges, but I am not surprised. My only hope is that the courts will see the matters differently than you have. You see; I never had the chance to serve in battle. Nor did fate provide me the opportunity to sacrifice myself for humanity as it did for so many others in the Great War. Someone extremely dear to me was lost very early in my life. My mind has always plagued me with the question: If the choice had been placed in my hands, could I have saved her? The memory of her has haunted me my entire life, and more so in these last few years than I could have ever imagined. But, given the events of these past few weeks, I feel confident that had I been given the chance, I would have made those sacrifices myself... Had I only the chance. I know that you disagreed with my methods and that others will as well. This is beyond my control. However, I cannot imagine that any court would be able to convict me no matter how low their opinion of my actions might be. You must understand one basic fact for all this to make sense, my Dear Chairman: These AI, they all come from somewhere. They are all based on a person. Our ALPHA was no exception. And while the law has many penalties for the atrocities we inflict on others, there are no punishments for the terrors that we inflict on ourselves. So you send your men. They won't find themselves a fight. They'll only find an old man. An old man tired, but satisfied he did his duty. An old man weary from a mind more filled with memory than it is with hope. Sincerely yours, the former Director of Project Freelancer, Dr. Leonard Church."
- Pvt. Dick Simmons: The other Freelancers never gave orders, they just offered to trade favors.
- Agent Washington: Okay, then let's bargain. What do you want?
- Sgt. Dexter Grif: [conferencing] Three words guys:...
- Sarge: New base...
- Sgt. Dexter Grif: ...gold-plated vagina.
- Pvt. Dick Simmons: Shut up.
- Sarge: Lasers.
- Pvt. Dick Simmons: Always with that.
- Sgt. Dexter Grif: Nudie mags.
- Sarge: Robots and lasers. Lasers, and robots.
- Sgt. Dexter Grif: Milkshake.
- Sarge: All right, we talked about it, and we figured out what we want.
- Agent Washington: All right, let's have it.
- Sarge: We want you to demote Grif.
- Agent Washington: Done.
- Pvt. Dexter Grif: *What?*
- Pvt. Dick Simmons: Another wasted opportunity.
- Agent Washington: Congratulations. You are now *Private* Grif again.
- Sarge: Got anything lower?
- Agent Washington: Private, *Junior* Grif?
- Sarge: I was thinkin' something with an insulting adjective, or... maybe a demeaning adverb...
- Agent Washington: How about Minor *Junior* Private Grif, negative first class?
- Sarge: Heh heh, I like the way you think.
- Mnr. Jr. Pvt. Dexter Grif, -1st Class: You realize you just doomed us to certain death just so you could insult me, right?
- Sarge: Hey, if we do get killed at least we'll go out on a high note. Well, everybody but you. That's to be expected; you haven't had a high note in five years! Why break the goddamn streak?
- Agent Washington: That was the worst throw ever. Of all time.
- Pvt. Michael J. Caboose: Not my fault. Someone built a wall in my way.
- Agent Washington: Don't let her get away!
- Pvt. Leonard L. Church: Hey Caboose, she's on our team and you should help her.
- Pvt. Michael J. Caboose: Ok.
- [accidentally shoots her]
- Pvt. Michael J. Caboose: Uh. She got in the way while I was trying to help her.
- Pvt. Leonard L. Church: We're good.
- Lieutenant Miller: Now Caboose, I know we didn't always get along.
- Pvt. Michael J. Caboose: I got tied up.
- Lieutenant Miller: You seem like a good kid, you're just a little... confused.
- Pvt. Michael J. Caboose: Yeah, he is.
- Lieutenant Miller: But I wanna give you a piece of advice. This guy looks like a tough costumer, and you're bound to run into some situations you're not prepared for.
- Pvt. Michael J. Caboose: Right, like a rodeo.
- Lieutenant Miller: And if that happens, if you get in a situation where you think something bad is gonna happen, I want you to remember one thing... never ever come back here!
- Pvt. Michael J. Caboose: Okay.
- Lieutenant Miller: No, I need to hear you say it I need to know you understand.
- Pvt. Michael J. Caboose: Don't ever go backwards.
- Lieutenant Miller: Well I guess that's as close as we're gonna get.
- Agent Washington: Apparently Command already has a shortcut on their keyboard for recording all Caboose's team kills.
- Pvt. Dick Simmons: Huh. I didn't think of the "fuck it, we're lazy" option.
- Sgt. Dexter Grif: I did. I was just too lazy to mention it.
- Agent Washington: You have got to be the most immature soldiers I've ever met.
- Sgt. Dexter Grif: Your face is immature.
- Delta: I believe Agent Washington's sanity is well within expectable measures.
- Pvt. Leonard L. Church: [Sarcastically] Wow. What a ringing endorsement. I am filled with confidence.
- Director: A memo, to the Chairman of the Oversight Sub-committee from the Director of Project Freelancer. Dear Chairman, I write today in response to your committee's request for more information about our program and the suspected incident at Outpost 17-B. No doubt by now, you have reviewed the video logs transmitted by our Recovery agents dispatched to the region. I am sure you have seen the empty bases; the barricades constructed by the survivors. The cryptic warning left on the wall. The battles that apparently took place between team members that had turned on one another. And of course... the ship. While we cannot say for certain, I share your concern we have an unfortunate post-project scenario taking place. However, I take exception to your assertion that we were warned this was a possibility. I would like to remind the Sub-committee members that anything is possible. Some things are probable. This is what is. And my agency, as it always has, will continue to deal with what is... until it is no more.
- Chairman: To the Director of Project Freelancer, from the Oversight Sub-committee Chairman. Dear Director, I want to thank you in advance for your openness in response to our Sub-committee's request for more information. We were... disappointed that your Recovery force reported a total loss at Outpost 17-B. We had hoped there would be at least one soldier left that could shed some light on the situation. I know that your agency has enjoyed a high degree of freedom with very little scrutiny in the past few years. It is not our intention to disrupt such a... *progressive* military program; but instead to find a way we can work together in a manner that befits all our responsibility. I am *certain* that you will agree, and we look forward to making this review process as painless as we possibly can.
- Director: A response, from the Director of Project Freelancer. Dear Chairman, while I am obligated to assist your investigation, I ask that you not waste my time with irrelevant questions. My agency is normally unconcerned with such minute directives as troop reassignment. Except of course, in the most critical of matters.
- Chairman: Dear Director, due to your busy schedule we have begun interviewing members of your staff. I'm certain you will let us know if this bothers you. Our debriefings keep coming back to a single subject at Outpost 17-B. Can you explain to us what this Meta is, and what your plans are to deal with it?
- Director: Dear Chairman, rest assured we have the situation under control. While the Meta is proving to be an elusive enemy, our Recovery agent is already closing in on it. I expect this incident will reach a conclusion soon, and I will be able to return to my research. Hopefully, without further interruption.
- Chairman: Dear Director, we can all understand that the shift from autonomy to oversight can be a difficult adjustment for anyone, but especially someone of your standing. In that spirit, we have attempted to accommodate your *brief* explanations to our serious inquiries. None the less, I feel compelled to inform you that even *our* trust has its limits.
- Director: Dear Chairman, the Meta is nothing more than an entity seeking to increase its power in these confusing days after the war. From my perspective, that seems to be a very common occurrence at the moment.
- Chairman: Dear Director, your program was granted the use of a single artificial intelligence unit for implantation experiments. Yet the department records clearly show multiple agents in the field with implants during the same time frames. Surely this must be a logging error, and we anticipate a corrected document soon.
- Director: Dear Chairman, I understand your concern that increased activity would bring increased risk. However, our fail-safes are simple but foolproof. A dead or dying agent's beacon automatically notifies our recovery team, and we will be on the scene immediately to secure all the Military's property.
- Chairman: Dear Director, I feel you're avoiding the question. If this target was already in possession of an A.I. unit, how was he able to secure an additional unit from Agent South? Would not that verify, as we indicated earlier, that your program now runs experiments with more than one artificial intelligence? If so, where did these additional A.I. come from? And more importantly, how did your agency procure them?
- Pvt. Dick Simmons: Wait wait wait wait!
- Pvt. Luke Kay: What?
- Pvt. Dick Simmons: Hey uh. Don't we get a last request? You know, anything like that?
- Pvt. Luke Kay: What do you want?
- Sgt. Dexter Grif: How about for starters you suck my-
- [interrupted by Pvt. Simmons]
- Pvt. Dick Simmons: Shouldn't you at least read us our charges?
- Pvt. Luke Kay: You know what you did. You were in charge of our ammunition. And you lost it all!
- Sgt. Dexter Grif: Don't you think it's ironic that you're about to shoot us when we don't have enough ammo?
- Sgt. Dexter Grif: Is that a real rule?
- Pvt. Dick Simmons: I have no clue. But he'll either read the book or read the charges. Either way we're alive for a few more minutes...
- Pvt. Luke Kay: Yeah... we decided that sounds like too much trouble. So we're just going to shoot you and say the Blues did it.
- Pvt. Luke Kay: Who the hell is this guy?
- Sarge: Oh what is this- insubordination? Hi-yah!
- [knocks out Pvt. Kay]
- Pvt. Luke Kay: Does this mean we get a new Sergeant now? Awesome! Cause this one sucks!
- [knocked out by Sarge]
- Sarge: Never talk that way about a superior!
- Sgt. Dexter Grif: Did Sarge just call me a superior?
- Sarge: Simmons, keep firing. Don't let up!
- Pvt. Dick Simmons: Yes, Sir!
- Sgt. Dexter Grif: And get the grenades out there!
- Pvt. Dick Simmons: Yes, Sirs!
- Sarge: Grif, stop confusing everybody. I'm callin' the shots.
- Sgt. Dexter Grif: We're the same rank now. I can do whatever I want.
- Sarge: You're not qualified to lead in battle!
- Sgt. Dexter Grif: *Qualified*? How hard could it be? Simmons, you're doing a terrible job, and you should try to win harder. I mean *try* harder. To win.
- Sarge: That was awful.
- Sgt. Dexter Grif: I learned it by watching you!
- Pvt. Dick Simmons: Excuse me, Sir.
- Sarge, Sgt. Dexter Grif: What?
- Pvt. Dick Simmons: [sigh] Never mind.
- Agent Washington: And they can bring down the one responsible for what was done to Alpha... and to me and to my friends. They can take down the Director.
- Agent South Dakota: What are you gonna do Wash? Shoot m...
- Agent Washington: [shoots South] Yes.
- Pvt. Leonard L. Church: Dude, you are one cold motherfucker.
- Agent Washington: They said we could use this base if we want.
- Pvt. Leonard L. Church: [Sarcastically] Wow. An empty concrete base? Is it our birth-day?
- Pvt. Michael J. Caboose: I want cake.
- Delta: Agent Manes power symptoms are only a small indication of what's going on inside his head.
- Pvt. Leonard L. Church: [Sarcastically] Great. Powerful and crazy. What a winning combo.