Wars are won by heroes. This has been known since the dawn of time. Soldiers that fight, and bleed and suffer and die for the freedom and liberty of their loved ones. If they survive, they return to parades and celebrations and medals, recognized for their courage, bravery and sacrifice.
They are heroes, however, only when they exist…
Captain Gibson UNSC Navy Home Defense Fleet
August 27, 2547 Unknown time
Sydney Australia, Earth
A grizzled, gray haired man sat in his assigned seat at a burnished bronze table. The dark room and its occupants were quiet when he entered and the soundproof door behind him shut with barely a whisper. Before him were notes and plans for the United Nations Space Command's newest initiative. Codenamed Orion's Shield, the details covered a substantial 24 pages. He'd hardly flipped through the whole datafile, but then, Captain Aaron Gibson was hardly one to fuss over the day to day details. He had half a dozen subordinates that would relay the crucial details.
And what delicious details they were.
"So our goal here, is to create an elite unit of soldiers," said the man at the head of the table. Colonel James Ackerson's voice dripped with sarcasm. The man before them had been responsible for parts of the original SPARTAN-1/Orion project, essentially the sole prognosticator of the SPARTAN-III program and a dozen other black ops teams throughout his career. "Soldiers that will be entirely human?"
Captain Gibson winced. Ackerson's resentment of Spartans was well known. Despite outward appearances, his primary motivation for the Spartan-III project was to upstage Catherine Halsey and her legendary SPARTAN-IIs. The Spartan-IIIs were largely a success, though an expensive and inhumane one at that. The surviving soldiers were exemplary, but sacrificing hundreds of lives in that manner was despicable. The plan in Gibson's hand now was much less... unsettling.
"Yes, Colonel Ackerson. That is correct."
The room fell silent. When Admiral Parangosky spoke few dared to interrupt. Her voice was sharp and cold, like the ice water that flowed through her veins. "Except these soldiers will be trainable in five months, rather than ten years, will have combat experience, and most of all, will be completely and utterly invisible. No seven foot tall super-humans will be recorded on camera, only ordinary men and women, operating with full resources and efficiency. "
"So taking regular marines through advanced training makes super soldiers?" Ackerson retorted. He was known for his temper and his smart mouth and both were showing. "I was under the impression that those were referred to as ODSTs."
"Yes, and who are the elite of the ODST? Is there a singular group that is assigned all of our tier three missions? Any group of ODSTs that could be mentioned in a sentence with a Noble team, or a single Spartan-II? No, we will cull the cream of the ODST crop and create a strike team that exists for the sole purpose of supporting high profile actions, such as SPARTAN excursions. A group of Marines that would not be left behind when SPARTANS take the stage."
The final member of the table finally spoke, after being silent for so long. Lieutenant Kurt Ambrose leaned forward. "I'm not so sure that is possible," he intoned. Easily the most striking member of this small board, he was nearly seven feet tall, all muscle and hyper-intelligent, piercing gaze. "I doubt any of you have ever seen us in action against the Covenant. Marines, even the elite soldiers, they just don't keep up."
Parangosky merely smiled. Lieutenant it will be our job to ensure that they do. Your purpose here on this board is to assist us in selecting candidates. The plan has already met approval with the Admiralty and will be executed immediately. The creation of project Orion's Belt is already underway. Now, Lieutenant, Colonel, I require you to direct your attention to the screen. Our first candidate is rather…extraordinary.
A/N: This is my first Halo fanfic. the idea's been in my head forever and i'm just now getting it jotted down. I'm currently in the middle of another fic that gets most of my attention so if you want to see more let me know. this is a small community, but i'll be damned if Halo isnt the most wide open world for an author to play in and i intend to have a lot of fun.
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