Soren-066: Difference between revisions

Soren was born in early or mid-[[2511]].<ref name="HEPP">''[[Halo: Evolutions]]'', ''[[Pariah]]'', ''Prologue''</ref><ref name="HEP1">''[[Halo: Evolutions]]'', ''[[Pariah]]'', ''Chapter 1''</ref> At a young age he was brought to the [[Outer Colony]] of [[Dwarka]], a harsh world still in the process of being [[Terraforming|terraformed]].<ref name="HEPP"/> There he was raised by his mother and her husband (his stepfather), who grew illegal crops on a farm in the middle of a forest preserve around one hundred kilometers from any other settlements.<ref name="HEP1"/> Soren spent a lot of time in the woods as a child, though his mother always warned him not to go far, fearing he might think the area was just as safe as the parks that had existed where they had previously lived. While in the woods he sometimes encountered the rotten remains of dead creatures. And though Soren often helped his mother prepare food, what their family ate was limited to prepackaged provisions—they did not harvest from the forest. While aiding her she would only allow him to use their sharpest knife with her direct assistance. His mother used to tell Soren various stories and fables.<ref name="HEP1"/> When Soren was barely six years old in mid-[[2517]] his mother succumbed to a [[Dwarka]]n disease for which treatments were readily available.<ref name="HEPP"/> She had not been taken into town to see a doctor, however, because Soren's stepfather had been too worried about going to jail for his illegal farm.<ref name="HEP1"/> The law required that symptoms of the disease be reported to the planetary officials, after all.<ref name="HEPP"/> By the time her husband became convinced he had no other choice but to seek medical attention for her after just a few days of observing her symptoms, she was already dead and he was sick.<ref name="HEPP"/><ref name="HEP1"/> According to official records, both Soren's mother and stepfather had initially dismissed what she was experiencing as nothing more than a [[Wikipedia:Common cold|cold]] and it was thought they may have been unaware of the treatments that existed due to their remote and isolated residence.<ref name="HEPP"/> His stepfather seemingly refused to face the reality of his wife's loss, as he moved her body into their box room and locked the door, telling Soren that it was not possible to see her because she was too sick and needed to be alone to recover.<ref name="HEP1"/> A few days later Soren stole the key to the room late at night after his stepfather had had too much to drink. After creeping slowly through the door he saw the rotting corpse of his mother and cried for a while before sneaking back out and locking the door behind him. He returned the key to his stepfather's bedside table and snuck back to the kitchen, where he sat and brooded. Eventually he came to the conclusion that his stepfather must be responsible for his mother's death and it was this, among other thoughts, which led him to get up from the chair he'd been seated in and grab the sharpest knife from the nearby counter. It was big and heavy from his point of view and he'd even had to stand on his tiptoes just to reach it. He then slowly made his way back to his stepfather's bedroom and pulled a chair closer to the bed so he could stand on it and overlook the sleeping man. He stayed that way for what seemed like hours until light began to seep into the room. He waited a little more after that, but as soon as his stepfather rolled over to expose his neck Soren struck, falling forward and jabbing the blade between the sleeping man's neck and shoulder a little above one of his [[Wikipedia:Clavicle|clavicle]]s. The boy immediately took off running at that moment and vanished into the surrounding forest. Well-hidden within a clump of bushes, he watched as his stepfather emerged from their home and called out for him and demanded to know what was wrong with him. He'd removed the knife and sprayed his wound with [[biofoam]]. Soren remained completely still as the injured man passed by his hiding spot in search of him.<ref name="HEP1"/>

[[File:TFoR-as-Deja.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Footage of wolves taking down a moose was played many times in the early days of training in order to emphasize the importance of teamwork.<ref name="HTFOR5"/>]]

{{Quote|no=five|q1=I'm trying to decide if you're right for something I'm working on. An experiment. I can't tell you what it is, I'm afraid. But if it works in the way we hope it will you'll be stronger and faster and smarter than you could ever imagine.|Catherine Halsey|q2=Why would you want to do something like that for me? You don't even know me.|Soren|q3=It's not for you, exactly. I can't tell you much more. It won't be easy; it'll be the hardest thing you've ever done—even harder than what happened with your parents.|Catherine Halsey|q4=And what have you decided?|Soren|q5=I've decided to let you be the one to decide.|Catherine Halsey|Doctor Halsey reveals enough about the Spartan-II program to make him consider joining voluntarily.}}<ref name="HEPP"/>

In late August or early September Soren was visited by Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] after only a very short time spent in the custody of others.<ref name="HEPP"/><ref name="HTFOR2">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 2''</ref> Doctor Halsey, a [[civilian]] consultant and scientific adviser for the [[United Nations Space Command]]'s [[Office of Naval Intelligence]], was there because Soren was the sixth of one-hundred and fifty children of similar age that had been selected based on specific genetic markers for inclusion in Project: [[SPARTAN-II]].<ref name="HEPP"/> When Halsey first asked the boy if he could tell he his name, he retorted that she'd need to tell him hers first.<ref name="HEPP"/> Before obligiing she revealed she already knew his name but only had wished to see if he would tell her. She assured Soren she was not yet another [[Wikipedia:Psychiatry|psychiatrist]] so he asked why she was there. Halsey explained that she was considering him for inclusion in an [[Project ASTER|experiment]]—one which could make him smarter, faster, and stronger than he could imagine. She also did warn him that it would be very difficult and even elected to leave the decision to participate up to him. The doctor noted that were he to stay on Dwarka, however, the planetary authorities would arrange a foster home for him. Presented with that idea, Soren immediately chose to go with her and be part of her experiment. Soren and Halsey departed Dwarka shortly thereafter abaord the diplomatic shuttle ''[[Han]]'' and under the auspices of his having been adopted by her.<ref name="HEPP"/><ref name="HTFOR1">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 1''</ref> They and the doctor's military attaché, [[Lieutenant Junior Grade]] [[Jacob Keyes]], had arrived at the planet [[Reach]] by [[2517#September|September 10]].<ref name="HEPP"/><ref name="HFORBC"/> On [[2517#September|September 23, 2517]], Soren and seventy-four other children were led into an amphitheater through four sets of double doors, each accompanied by a [[UNSC Navy|naval]] drill instructor.<ref name="HTFOR3"/> There, at around 2300 hours, far below the ground within [[Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex|a FLEETCOM military complex]], Halsey informed them that per [[Naval Code 45812]], they were thereby conscripted into SPARTAN-II. She explained that they had been called upon to serve and that they would be the protectors of Earth and all its colonies. Halsey told them that from this moment on, the complex on Reach would be their home and their fellow trainees would be their family. And though the training that lay ahead of them would be difficult, she expressed her full confidence in their ability to overcome it. With that said, she told them to rest and that they would begin the next day. [[Chief Petty Officer]] [[Franklin Mendez]] had the children escorted to their barracks, fed, and put to bed.<ref name="HTFOR3">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 3''</ref>