Author's Note. I've tried to use the confirmed plot points for Halo 5 as a springboard for this fic as best as I can, but there are also some theories in here which I believe will eventually be in the Reclaimer Saga, but may not be in Halo 5 itself. Mainly though, the purpose of the fiction is to work out a couple theories of my own. My goal is to have this done before the release of the game, as I'm sure Halo 5 will end on a huge cliffhanger, will probably end totally different than I expect and will give me a whole new set of ideas I'll want to work with.
Even though this story is going to be about Halo 5 plot ideas I'll tell you upfront I'm not going to attempt to write from Fireteam Osiris' POV. I don't know enough about Agent Locke at this point to make an accurate character assessment and understand his motivations. He's still a big mystery to me, and the ONI symbol stamped on his armor makes me wary. Also, if I'm honest, I'm not really interested in him as a character yet.
I recently wrote a story called "The Inner Dialogue of Cortana" which goes over the events of Halo 4 from her perspective. It's got a couple of elements which I will be bringing into this story, so if you're interested you can check it out.
Lastly, I am a huge Halo nerd (if you couldn't already tell), so please leave comments with your thoughts and theories. I'd love to hear what you have to say. This universe is one of the most complicated I've seen and that makes so many plot threads equally plausible.
This should be fun.
-Arielle
The Reclamation. Chapter 1: Nightmares
"Come, Warrior. Have your resolution," the Didact said angrily picking the Chief up off the light bridge. John struggled but could not move as he was caught in the Didact's gravity field. "You're a failure. You can't even save the one you care about, and you can't save yourself." John struggled again, feeling powerless. "Humanity's imprisonment, is a kindness."
"If…if…you do that, you'll be imprisoning yourself," he managed to say, gasping every word.
"You are an abomination and you must be eradicated."
John felt the gravity field weakening. He lifted his arm up to strike back at the Didact and was surprised to see it was not his own arm, but the arm of a Forerunner.
"No. I am all that stands between us and the abyss. I will do what you could not." John cut the gravity field and sent the Didact flying off the bridge.
"Cortana!" he called.
John saw the nuke lying on the light bridge. The plan had been to activate it, but he remembered he could shut down the Composer. The Chief ran across the bridge and up to the main control field. He entered a series of codes and shut the Composer down, breathing a sigh of relief. Where was Cortana?
"Cortana!" he called again frantically.
She materialized out of the light bridge. "I'm not coming with you this time," she said sadly.
"I shut down the Composer. You don't have to leave."
"It's already done."
"Cortana, please. I need you."
"Goodbye, John."
"Cortana!" The Chief sat up straight awake. He was sweating profusely and his heart was pounding. He blinked furiously trying to focus his eyes at his surroundings.
He was in his bunk. It was only a dream, he realized. John swung his legs off the bed and put his head in his hands, massaging his temples. The migraines are getting worse.
The Chief lifted his head to look at the holo clock on the wall which read 0300 hours. John decided to concentrate on breathing slowly to lower his heart rate. Eventually he succeeded, but it left him with a familiar ache in his chest and his mind which was so profound, it felt physical.
Cortana.
John rubbed his temples once more and looked over to the drawer which held his civilian clothes. Tightly wrapped inside one of his shirts lay Cortana's chip. He should have turned the chip over to UNSC for decommission but he couldn't bring himself to do that. ONI would have destroyed the chip for security reasons and he couldn't stand the idea they would dispose of it so coldly.
No one really understood what she actually was.
Even though the Chief hadn't disposed of the chip, he hadn't looked at it since packing it away 8 months ago.
John, her voice echoed in his head. That was the problem with advanced memory. He could hear her voice as easily as if she were standing right there.
"Enough of this," he growled while standing up. It was clear going back to sleep would be a mistake, so he got dressed and wandered up to the main deck of Blue Team's ship the Phoenix.
Only a few days after the New Phoenix event Admiral Hood had assigned him to advise Blue Team on a special mission regarding the disappearance of a black Spartan IV division. He was relieved to be back in the field with his original Spartan II team. They were some of the only surviving members of the program and second to Cortana, the only people he felt comfortable with.
After their mission Admiral Hood had ordered him to take an extended leave to recuperate from the events of the past few years. John knew the Admiral had meant well, but where would he have gone and what would he have done? He had been a professional soldier since he was child and never once had he gone on extended leave. So John had blatantly disobeyed the order, (the second time to ever do such a thing) and reassigned himself to his original team.
Somewhere in his mind John had hoped that by being back with Blue Team things would return to normal and the emptiness he felt would go away.
It hadn't.
John reached the flight deck to find Linda sitting in the pilot chair.
"Chief."
"Linda."
"What's got you up?"
"Couldn't sleep."
She nodded and continued looking out window. Out of all of the team Linda was the quietest, even quieter than himself. He appreciated that about her and was grateful she didn't pry into why he was awake at such an early hour.
"What's our ETA?" he asked her.
"Arrival time estimated in 5 hours," she reported.
"Good."
There was no AI aboard the Phoenix so someone was usually awake to monitor the ship. John had been relieved to discover this when he was assigned to Blue Team. He wasn't sure he could ever work with another AI, regardless of whether it was "smart" or not.
They'll pair you with another AI. Even another Cortana model if Halsey lets them.
That's NOT going to happen.
It won't be me. You know that, right?
John shook his head as if trying to shake the memory away, and decided to go over tactical notes. Their team was scheduled to arrive at the ONI research facility in a matter of hours and he needed to be prepared.
If John were honest with himself he didn't actually need to review any notes. Besides his memory being razor sharp the mission was a fairly standard one.
The covenant faction aligned with Jul 'Mdama had sent forces to scour the abandoned facility and Blue Team was being sent in retrieve any valuable artifacts and wipe the main computer.
They would come in hot and fast by dropping into the research station from space and eliminate the Covenant forces.
John leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes briefly.
"Chief?"
"Yes Linda?"
"Might I recommend some sleep?" It was as close to a reproach as she would give him. She was right. Soldiers don't avoid problems even when they are uncomfortable.
"You're right."
She nodded.
"See you at 0800," he said.
The Chief made his way back to his quarters, and stopped briefly to look at the drawer which contained Cortana's chip. He laid back down on the firm mattress and immediately started to drift.
The clock chimed indicating it was just 30 minutes past 0700 and he was instantly awake. John had once again sweat through his clothes and he found the pain in the front of his head even more intense. He had been dreaming of something, but he couldn't say exactly what it was. He was sure it was of a place that he had never seen before standing next to the… I need a shower, he grunted.
John walked down to the showers to find Kelly already there. "Chief," she acknowledged.
"Kelly."
He stripped off his clothing and let the warm water rush over him. It soothed his headache and helped him prepare for the day ahead. He'd have to get a stronger medication from the med bay but he felt the anticipation of the battle ahead. No more weird dreams, no more weird aches. It would just be him and his team.
After his shower the Chief donned the black body suit layer of his armor and stopped at the food storage facility. On a day without fighting Spartan's needed to consume 15,000 calories. Today, he would need at least 25,000. The UNSC had formulated a special powder which the Spartan's mixed with water to get the optimum mix of calories, fat and vitamins they needed. John had been eating it for almost 20 years. Once he chugged the liquid he headed down to the MJOLNIR bay where Fred and Linda were already in their rings getting their armor on. On normal ships there would be a scientist who specializes in the tech there to assist, but John and his Spartans could help each other if an issue arose. It was much more favorable to be completely solitary.
"Chief," Fred acknowledged as he flipped upside down. "Ready to snipe some Covies Linda?"
"Bet your ass I am."
The Chief stepped into the ring which scanned his identity. "Spartan 117 recognized. Initializing armor," the system croaked. The system set about screwing in the different pieces and turning him around. The last was to go on was his helmet. He looked at the system check which showed everything working. John instinctively put his hand up to the back of his helmet to touch the chip slot. His mind felt so empty.
Ready to show a girl a good time?
Always trying to provoke me.
Chief. Somebody's got to make sure you don't take yourself too seriously.
She was right about that.
He stepped out of the ring and Fred immediately came up to inspect his armor. It was a custom among Spartan II's. Nothing was as good as a Spartan's observational skills, and they always made sure everything was in perfect working condition before starting out on a mission.
"You're good Chief."
"Everyone ready?" he asked. They all flicked their HUD lights on in acknowledgement. "Estimate we have approximately 15 minutes until we're in range of the station. Our job is to get in, get the intel we need and get out. Everyone's going to take their standard positions. Any questions?"
All were silent.
"Good. Kelly, bring us in and put the ship into a high orbit above the station for drop in. I'll join up on the command deck shortly." She acknowledged his order and turned to leave.
The Chief quickly made his way up to the medical bay and injected a powerful pain medication serum into his suit. He needed to be focused on the task ahead, and the pain had gotten to a point where light was difficult to look at. After shaking off the initial dizziness he felt the medicine take effect and he felt ready.
"Exiting slip space in 2 minutes," Kelly announced over the coms. John jogged up to the flight deck so he could see what their surroundings would look like before they dropped in.
Kelly exited Slip Space dangerously close to the station. "Hang on!"
She pulled back on the controls as hard as possible, so the ship was parallel with the station as it flew upward. The logic behind this was to keep the enemy from using long range scanners. The amount of debris floating close to the station would make the ship harder to track by short range scanners. Kelly leveled out The Phoenix and placed it in a high orbit above the station.
"Well," she said turning to John, "that was fun."
John swiped the smile gesture across his helmet.
Out of everyone, Kelly seemed the most in touch with her emotions. When they were very young she had resisted the idea of becoming a Spartan and spent much of their childhood fighting with their teachers. John recalled when she dyed her hair blue just to make them angry. Back then he had regarded her stubbornness as a weakness, but now he was glad she had retained her fire. It was what made Kelly…Kelly.
Both he and Kelly walked down to the cargo bay and picked their weapons of choice. For the Chief it had always been the Assault Rifle, Kelly preferred a Magnum, Fred usually had an DMR and Linda the Sniper Rifle.
"Are we ready for drop?" the Chief asked. All the team's acknowledgment lights flicked on. "Good. Let's go. Linda, open the doors."