If you asked Caboose if he had any siblings, he'd smile and say yes he did.

If you asked him if he had any brothers, he'd say no with a sad shake of his head.

If you asked him how many sisters he had, he'd smile and say seventeen, a smile so bright it put the sun to shame. If you asked him to verify that later, he'd say twenty with just as much confidence as he did when saying seventeen. If you asked him if he was sure, he might say twelve or nine or seven or eight, he might even say twenty-five or nineteen, and sometimes he'd say three, but never less than three, and if you worked behind the desk at a military recruitment station, you may just want to stab your own eye out with a number two pencil. However, you'd just write down his first answer and be done with it, sending the new recruit on so someone else could deal with him.

If you had bothered asking for clarification, Caboose would have told you that in his life he has had more that seventeen sisters, but never less than three.

Caboose came from a small, war devastated moon colony at the far-reaches of UNSC controlled space. It was there that Caboose met his sisters for the first time.

First, there was Dorothy. Dorothy loved daffodils. Dorothy's favorite color was yellow. Dorothy was his oldest sister. She had brown, curly hair that fell in ringlets across her shoulders and laugh lines etched their way into her milky skin when she smiled. Her eyes were blue, almost the same shade as Michael's. Michael called her Dot and she called him Mikey. She used his full name when she was mad, Michael didn't like making her mad. She always gave him piggyback rides whenever he asked and cut the crust off his sandwiches. She made the best cookies and knew the best songs. She couldn't sing but she'd sing Michael to sleep anyway. She hated the rain.

Then there was Ann and Jean, the twins. Ann wore her hair short and Jean kept hers long, both of their hair was the same shade of onyx, a stark contrast to the shock of blond on top of Michael's head. Their eyes were molten whiskey, sharp and piercing, each a perfect gem set in their earthen skin. They always argued over who was born first, but whenever it came time to watch one of the younger kids they would always point at the other and yell, you're the oldest! Jean always ended up being the responsible one while Ann liked to slip away whenever someone mentioned work. Jean was level headed, always the one to keep Ann in line. Ann was the one to sneak Michael chocolate and Jean was the one to read to him when he was sick. Ann snored, Jean didn't. Ann walked Michael to school, Jean bought him his first pet fish. Jean taught him how to tie his shoes, Ann taught him the proper way to run. Ann loved hugs, Jean gave the best kisses.

Michael had a lot of sisters at The Caboose Family's Home for Wayward Girls, but Dorothy, Ann, and Jean were constant in Michael's life, the sisters that never went away.