Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or any characters.
'Luck is not something you should overlook. It's decided by chance and can either be good or bad for you. Usually all one will hear about is the good luck. Well unfortunately for me, bad luck follows me like my shadow. It's ironic though, how the Covenant captured me, a Spartan, and changed me into a weapon called the Shadow which so happened to be the embodiment of bad luck, a black cat. That's the ironic part, since black cats symbolize bad luck that's all I've had since…oh, way back then. My luck did seem to change when I was rescued from the Covenant's control liquid but then I was taken out of active duty so I could be studied. Now that I think about it, all the good luck I've had in the past is always followed shortly by bad. I should try to change that. Maybe turn my luck around and instead of receiving back luck I should start dealing it out to those Covenant bastards. But then there's the problem with being out of active duty and being tested on like a lab rat…'
"Repeat again what you remember doing during the destruction of Cyline city." An old man said in a raspy voice, his face was wrinkled with wear and his hair was white as bed sheets. He sat in a metal chair with his elbows on a metal table and his folded hands covering the calculating smirk. The room was dimly lit, with the overhead lights turned down lower than normal, allowing shadows to gather in the edges of the room. A door stood behind the old man, the only hope of an exit.
"Sir, I have repeated that story 27 times in great detail over the past month." A woman on the opposite side of the table said in a smooth, calm voice. She had dark brown hair that was pulled back in a ponytail and was cut just below her shoulders. Her uniform was a simple gray that did not show her rank or even her name. The sun had not touched her skin in years but she still had a slight brown tone. Her face was clear of any emotion as she stared into the old man's eyes without flinching; it didn't even appear she was blinking. Her eyes were different though, they were tinted a light yellow and in the dim light they seemed to be glowing.
"Are you refusing to obey an order?" The old man asked, his eyes twinkling at success.
"No sir, I'm just stating a fact." The woman replied and the man's face turned to a despising frown.
"Well repeat the story another time." The man huffed, his eyes now flashing as if set on fire. The woman calmly breathed in through her nose and started the story for the 28th time. Her eyes were watching the man as she spoke, gauging his mood and watching his emotions change in his eyes.
This man hates Spartans; even one's who used to be Spartans. He has tried for weeks to make me slip up in one of his "questioning" sessions. All he's looking for is one little change in the story or one disrespectful comment and then he'll publicize that so I'll be removed permanently from the military. He undervalues a Spartan's memory though. I have this whole speech memorized.
Half an hour later the man released a heavy breath and dropped his gaze to the table top a second before returning his eyes to the woman. "You are dismissed." He said in a strong tone.
The woman stood swiftly and immediately two things were noticeable. One was her height; she was just above 6 feet while other Spartans were taller than 7 feet. The second thing noticeable was the black tail coming out of her tail bone and swaying from side to side at times. The woman saluted and the man nodded, releasing her from his command and allowing her to walk swiftly out the door in a smooth, controlling gate.
The woman stepped out the door and turned to the right where a marine stood at ease. He had dark tanned skin and was young, just about leaving his teen years. This marine had been assigned to aid her in getting to her schedule appointments, as if she needed a babysitter. He was a new recruit that had never seen battle yet and was still in need of some basic training, so she had a special nickname for him.
"Sorry that took so long, Rookie." The woman said in a silky voice as the marine looked up at her emotionless face.
"That's alright, Shadow, ma'am." Rookie said with a smile as he started walking down the hallway with her.
Yes, that has become my name now. Shadow, a name given to me by the Convent is now my permanent nickname. Oh how lucky I am.
"Uh, ma'am you have no other tests today and have plenty of time to kill. What are you going to do?"
"I wasn't trained to kill time, Rookie." Shadow replied dryly as she looked over at him through the corner of her eye.
"Well you have to do something for the next eight hours." Rookie said with a sigh, he was used to these conversations now.
Shadow inwardly sighed and stopped in the middle of one of stations rest areas where there were trees and small gardens throughout. Her yellow gaze shifted up to the stars above her and she seemed distant in her thoughts until her ears caught the sound of a television. She stepped forward some and spotted it up in a corner of a slightly enclosed area with a few marines sitting on a couch watching it.
"We have new reports on the Shadow story." The blonde haired reporter said with a distasteful tone only few could pick up on. "It has bee confirmed that Shadow is the one responsible for the massacre at Cyline City and was indeed one of the Spartans. In this announcement from one of the top military critics, it is clear that even they do not wish to keep Shadow around." The screen switched to the old white haired man Shadow had just spoken to. "Shadow is just a delinquent soldier that will be disciplined for their actions and will definitely not be put in any situation in which they might hurt any human again." The screen switched back to the reporter who cleared her throat to cover up the scowl that had been on her face for half a second. "There are others who think differently of this Shadow and express their dislike clearly." A different man came up on the screen surrounded by others who were holding signs with a black cat and an X across it. "Shadow should be put to death! I don't care if they were a Spartan if they were the one responsible for thousands of deaths then the death penalty is taking it easy on them. She needs to suffer!"
Shadow's fists shook with her rage as she grinded her teeth. This was unbearable! She was not responsible for any of those deaths. It had been the Covenant that had controlled her! Shadow whirled around and was stomping out the door when the reporter's voice came on again. "Wait! It seems we have update coming in now." Shadow stopped and turned her head to see the reporter with her hand over her ear. "Through a reliable military source we have been given the identity of Shadow." Shadow's eyes widened and she turned back around. "Shadow is Spartan 108 or known by some as the Spartan of the People."
"What?" Shadow hissed at the TV as it showed her picture in one of the old newspapers when she received a medal. Everyone in the rest area turned towards her but Shadow barely noticed as she furiously whipped around and stormed out into the hallway.
"Ma'am!" Rookie said desperately as he scurried next to her. "Ma'am, please calm down. What if someone saw y-?"
"You!" Shadow hissed behind clenched teeth and the Rookie looked up to see the old man in front of them. "You gave away classified information to the public!"
The old man smirked and lowered his head slightly as if he were praising her for figuring it out so quickly. "That information has become unclassified."
"What? Why?" Shadow demanded.
"Someone has to take the blame for the destruction of Cyline City."
"T-the Covenant are the ones to blame!" Shadow said with an edge to her voice.
"Yes, but the public will be suspicious if we blame everything on the Covenant and you are partly to blame."
"Oh yeah, how's that?" Shadow asked acidly, her golden eyes narrowing.
"You had almost ten chances to escape when you were taken aboard the Covenant vessel." The man said coolly, greatly enjoying Shadows anger.
"And all ten of those chances would have meant leaving behind innocent civilians." Shadow struck back, barely containing the rage burning her chest.
"Yes, but if you had left twenty people behind you would have saved thousands of lives."
"I wasn't trained to leave men behind, sir." Shadow shot back, already feeling her anger dying.
"Yes, but you were trained to kill and that's just what the Covenant used you for against your own allies."
"Who are my allies, sir?" Shadow asked sharply, watching the old man's eyes search for an answer and when he didn't respond right away Shadow pounced. "Are my allies the ones who stare whenever I pass or curse my name when I enter a room? Are they the ones who only wish to make me suffer and to see me dead? Would they even betray me?" Shadow's voice rose at the end but when she spoke again her tone was soft and calculating. "To me that sounds more like my enemy, sir." She said, emphasizing the sir at the end and clearing her face of emotion but there was still a hint of her rage in her eyes as she watched the old man struggle to speak.
Shadow strode past the man, shooting a gaze at him when they past before setting her unmoving gaze in front of her. She heard Rookie scurry after her but barely slowed down when she turned the corner and reached one of the trolleys that moved between the different sections of the station. It was occupied but Shadow stepped in and crossed her arms, glaring out the window at the earth that was against her.
"You really need to calm down, Kat." A deep and composed voice said beside her.
Shadow could feel her stomach flutter and her eyes widened. Her gaze shifted to the side and fixed on Master Chief sitting calmly on a seat. "Ah…uh, Chief…" Kat began as she turned towards him and let her arms drop. "I…I'm sorry, sir." She said in a voice full of remorse as she looked into his brown eyes. This wasn't how a Spartan was to act, even one who had fallen from that pedestal.
"What happened now?" He asked, studying her face as she turned towards a panel and tapped a few buttons. The same blonde reporter appeared and Kat's face was still beside her shoulder with a headline below that that read, 'Shadow is Spartan 108.' The reporter was in the middle of interviewing someone, "How do you feel about Shadow being a Spartan?" The woman asked and switched over to a professional looking person, "Well from the start I knew UNSC was wrong in putting Spartans on the battle field but THIS, this has gone too far-"
Shadow switched off the TV and turned back to Chief. "I am sorry sir. I have only smeared the good name of the Spartans."
"How did they get that information about you?"
"It has apparently been deemed unclassified since they need to blame someone for the massacre at Cyline city and the Covenant were only half the reason it fell." Shadow replied, shifting her gaze back to the earth because the very thought of it was making her blood boil again.
"They don't know the whole story Kat." Chief said in a commanding tone, forcing Kat to look back at him.
"I know but I…" Shadow stopped and her shoulder lost some its rigidness. "I don't know what to do. I am fighting for and against my enemy and I can't even do what I was meant to do any more." She said softly, unsure if she should be sharing this with the Chief.
"It'll work out Kat," Chief said in his deep voice while standing and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Your luck will change."
Well starting off the sequel – took me long enough. It didn't really start with a bang, but I'm trying to connect it with the game now. Hopefully I can make a few impressions and I can pull a good story out of this. I have a forum here but still learning how to use it so if all else fails, review!