Loot Crate/Transcriptions/Let's Get Tactical

You again?

I take the data I gave you last time didn't prove as conclusive as you would have preferred?

This one will likely be no different.

You've requested the file 'CLAYTON TRANSMISSION B12' from INFINITY's SIGNALS archive. This file was transferred from OWP-142 hours prior to the Covenant's invasion of Earth.

When Blue Team returned from FIRST STRIKE, they were debriefed by Doctor Veronica Clayton, an internal investigator employed by Captain Damian Hogarth of Naval Intelligence. Hogarth worked closely with Colonel James Ackerson before his death and received approval from the Security Council to conduct full psyche evaluations on the returning Spartans-IIs to ensure the stability of the program.

For reasons not defined, Sergeant Major Avery Johnson was included in these sessions. You already know this, however, given your request.

Although she claimed they were largely unsuccessful, due to obfuscation and interference by Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood and his staff, her evaluations made it back down to B5D in Sydney.

The doctor's transport, however, did not. Her taxi ended up getting crushed in the grind that was the Covenant's first orbital wave. After Hogarth was terminated, his files were released to Fleet Security.

The clearance Captain Lasky gave you in accordance to Article 76.0.2 of the UNSC Emergency Communication Measures is just barely enough to grant you access.

Caution, Detective. If you continue to dig into secrets kept behind locked doors, you may not like what you find in the end.

OCTOBER 19, 2552 2351:23:57 // CAIRO STATION

[CLAYTON] …after the team acquired the Covenant asset. What did you say its name was? "Ascendant Justice"?

[JOHNSON] I didn't say, ma'am.

[CLAYTON] Other reports indicate that Sierra-117, the Master Chief, exposed the UNSC AI Cortana to a hostile intelligence on that ship, is that correct? That she interacted with a Covenant AI?

[JOHNSON] Wouldn't know. I was too busy killin' the flesh and blood aliens to keep track of what the Chief was doing.

[CLAYTON] I suggest you stick to the facts, Sergeant. We have helmet feeds of the entire operation.

[JOHNSON] Great, then we're done here?

[CLAYTON] Not by a long shot. Sit down. I need to know about the Spartans' operability. We're evaluatiog risk connected to them.

[JOHNSON] Risk? With the SPartans? [laughs] You may want to check your sources, ma'am. The only risk is that we don't have enough of 'em. You're ONI, right? Can't you folks crank out some more?

[CLAYTON] Sergeant, this is not a joking matter. There's a serious possibility that Cortana was exposed to a malicious AI and suffered personality matrix trauma from it. Smart AIs are expensive materiel. This one is worth more than the entire orbital defense platform you're sitting in right now.

[JOHNSON] Se's not a cheap lady. I can appreciate that.

[CLAYTON] [sigh] Were there any problems with Cortana after she interacted with the Covenant flagship systems, Sergeant?

[JOHNSON] Don't know, ma'am. You should talk to the Chief. She spent most of the time in his armor. Be careful though, he's a chatty fellow.

[CLAYTON] What?

[JOHNSON] The Master Chief. He's a talker.

[CLAYTON] Sergeant Major, I get that you don't want to be answering these questions, but if you were more cooperative, this experience would be more significantly enjoyable for the both of us.

[JOHNSON] Are you trying to flirt with me, ma'am?

Subject suffers from an acute case of BOREN'S SYNDROME, a rare neurological disease publicly attributed to overexposure to Covenant munitions, though his specific condition is directly connected to biochemical therapy undergone within the ORION project of 2491.

Detective-This asset was retrieved from the helmet camera of Petty Officer Second Class Shiela Polaski, one of the only survivors of the events on Alpha Halo. Tragically, she died defending the Covenant ship pictured in the asset. This vessel-ASCENDANT JUSTICE-was captured by the survivors when they attempted to escape the Soell system and return back to human-occupied space. Sergeant Avery Johnson, the subject of your query, was present during this raid, as confirmed in the asset. His interaction witht the AI Cortana during this time is uncertain. Nevertheless, the Office of Naval Intelligence did feel it necessary to secure this file for their records. Given other data from ONI's records, Johnson's response here should be considered suspect. His relationship with S-117 would likely impede his judgment in providing an accurate assessment of Cortana's functional integrity.