Canon

Smoothers

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Veta Lopis: "And if you don't get your injections, you... what? Start hearing voices? Go berserk?"
Ash-G099: "Something like that. Except we don't always hear voices."
Mark-G313: "Or see flying dinosaurs. That only happens sometimes."
Olivia-G291: "But we can usually... read thoughts. I kind of like that, especially when there are civilians around, thinking about sex and stuff."
— Exchange between Special Inspector Veta Lopis and the three Gamma Company Spartans of Blue Team regarding the latter's augmentations in a joking manner[1]

Smoothers is the name given by the Gamma Company Spartans to the drug cocktail that acts as a counteragent to the effects of mutagen 009762-OO.

Overview[edit]

Smoothers are a cocktail of cyclodexione-4 and miso-olanzapine which act as a counteragent to the effects of mutagen 009762-OO, used in the augmentation procecures of the SPARTAN-III program.[2] Without Smoothers, a Spartan will lose their strategic judgment and become more prone to impulsive, instinct-driven behavior.[3]

There are several different types of "Smoother". The most common type used during combat operations is administered via a hypodermic injection and lasts approximately twelve hours, after which its effectiveness begins to steadily decrease. Several factors such as stress and fatigue can precipitate the mental unraveling process.[4] Ash referred to the Smoother-deprived state as "Gamma-mode fury."[5] The first symptoms, appearing within several hours after the Smoothers' effect wears off, include nervousness and irritability,[6][7] eventually followed by paranoia, fits of temper and physical outbursts.[4] After well over a day without a Smoother injection,[7] Mark-G313 began having difficulties distinguishing friend from foe in the middle of a firefight, holding a combat knife to a Marine sergeant's throat before being successfully convinced by Fred-104 that the Marine was an ally rather than an enemy infiltrator.[8] Another, significantly more expensive type of Smoother is a subcutaneous insert with a longer-lasting effect. While they can only be changed out in a medical facility, they also cannot be lost or destroyed during a mission like the more commonly used kind.[9] While in a Smoother-deprived state, Ash-G099 had to be dangled out of a Pelican by Alice-130 in order to be brought back to his senses. Once Alice assured him that Mark-G313 really was dead and allowed Ash to check, he calmed down completely. Seeing that Olivia was going to put everyone onboard in danger in her "Gamma-mode fury," Ash warned Alice not to use polly-sue or sedatives on either of them as they wouldn't work and would only serve to make Ash and Olivia crazy.[5]

History[edit]

Smoothers were created to counteract the effects of mutagen 009762-OO.[2]

While exploring the Montero Cave System on Gao, Olivia-G291 lost her Smoothers during the fighting, meaning that the young Gamma Spartans of Blue Team would inevitably run out of them on the way out. Mark-G313 volunteered to take only one of the remaining five Smoother injections, leaving two doses each for Ash-G099 and Olivia, with Mark subsequently taking point as the group began their nearly one and a half day's climb toward the surface.[10] As a result, when Mark encountered Marine Sergeant Nguyen and, believing him to be an enemy infiltrator due to his paranoid state caused by his Smoother deprivation, Mark took the sergeant hostage and held a combat knife to his throat. However, Fred was able to convince Mark to release the Marine.[8] The Gammas' mental condition was stabilized once again after they got access to Smoothers again.[10]

During the Ferrets undercover mission to eradicate the Keepers of the One Freedom, they received clandestine Smoother shipments. However, Cortana rose to power and the result of this takeover was the decimation of ONI and its field operations, causing the Ferrets' undercover support prowler to disappear along with the clandestine communications station to which the Ferrets delivered their intel. The D102 Owl that was kept on standby in case of an emergency extraction was also unreachable. In addition, they no longer received covert deliveries of Smoothers for the Gammas on the team, forcing them to begin searching for their own way out.[11] The Ferrets ran out of their remaining Smoothers, leaving Olivia in "Gamma-fury mode" by the time that the Ferrets were rescued after the Battle of Epsilon Clarion.[5] The crew of the UNSC Spirit of Fire had trouble tuning the Ferrets' Smoothers because they didn't have quite the same pharmaceuticals available. However, they were enough to restore Ash and Olivia's sanity.[12]

List of appearances[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ Halo: Last Light, page 136
  2. ^ a b Halo: Last Light, page 123
  3. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 340
  4. ^ a b Halo: Last Light, page 145-146
  5. ^ a b c Halo: Divine Wind, chapter 17
  6. ^ Halo: Last Light, page 182
  7. ^ a b Halo: Last Light, page 214-215
  8. ^ a b Halo: Last Light, page 247
  9. ^ Halo: Last Light, page 249
  10. ^ a b Halo: Last Light
  11. ^ Halo: Divine Wind, chapter 1
  12. ^ Halo: Divine Wind, Epilogue
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