Chapter 1

The life of a retired super-soldier

The Chief slowly opened his eyes to the sound of Breaking Benjamin's Blow Me Away playing on his radio/alarm clock he stretched himself awake, his shoulder and back muscles groaning in protest, and switched the alarm off. Throwing the covers off his body he swung his legs over the left side of the bed, and planted both feet on the soft carpet.

"Good morning, John."

An all to familiar female voice spoke from speakers in his master bedrooms celling. John looked out the bedrooms window, and saw a small bird land on a branch near it, before flying off again, causing small dead leaves to fall off the limb. He always loved getting up in the early morning; a slight breeze was blowing making the brightly colored yellows and reds sway with the wind. Checking the alarm clock the time showed it to be 6:30 in the morning. John pressed a button; the alarm clock lowered itself into the night stand, and was replaced by a holo tank.

"Good morning Cortana."

The image of his life long companion flickered to life on the holo tank. John stood up from the bed, and headed for his closet to grab his work out attire.

"Going for a quick morning jog, I take it?"

She asked the Spartan, "Yes. Want to come along?" He asked her. "Thought you'd never ask. I'll begin planning out the route, Hill or no hill?" John stood there pondering the question. "Hill got to get the legs a good working." He responded.

"What will it be today John?," Asked Cortana.

The Spartan stood there for a moment, "jogging attire with ankle weights," He responded. "How much weight for your ankles?" She asked him.

"Thirty pounds," he told her.

There was a pause before he heard a beep confirming his selection had been meet. John grabbed the clothes from the clothes rack, and proceed to walk back to the bed.

"How is the route coming along?"

He sat down on the bed, and began pulling on his custom made sweet pants, and dry-fit shirt. The clothes where designed to fit like a second skin, and keep him cool, no matter how much he sweats.

"I have it all planed out, and ready for your approval." She told him.

John stood up from the bed, and walked to the oak dresser next to the bathroom door. Opening the top drawer he build out a data pad; turning it on, he looked over the route, and smiled. The 3.5 mile route passed by his old friends house, he could go ask if he wanted to jog, or have a practice session with the Type 1 Energy Sword. Turning off the data pad. John grabbed a watch custom built to hold Cortana's data chip, closing the drawer John then opened the middle drawer, and pulled out a pair of slip resistant running shoes, also custom made. He put the shoes on top of the three drawer dresser. Clipping the watch on his left wrist. Grapping the shoes he made his way over to the holo tank, placing the shoes next to his bed, as he passed.

"I've set a one hour time frame think you could stick to it?" Cortana asked John.

"I don't know Cortana, but if you could make it thirty more minutes." He looked at his friend and smiled. "Of course I can stick to it, this is not my first jog." Cortana raised her hands in surrender. "Alright mister big bad Spartan have it your way." She teased him.

John began pressing buttons on the holo tank to put Cortana into her chip. Her avatar flickered for a brief second, before disappearing from site. He pressed another button; her chip stuck out from a slot on the side of the tank. "You know I think I'll just set this down, and leave it here." He said out loud. Cortana flickered to life on the chip crossed her arms, and started tapping her foot, giving him a annoyed look.

"What do you think your doing?"

John picked the chip off the night stand, and slid it into his watch. He also made sure the route was programed into the watch. He went to the bed, and picked up his shoes. Siting on the bed he first put on the right one and tied it tight then he did the same with the left one, also the Spartan grabbed the thirty pound ankle weights from the bottom of the clothes rack that held his workout attire, before he headed out the door, and down the stairs.

Heading down the stairs. John found the remote sitting on the coffee table on a stack of, Now a Spartan, UNSC magazines based off declassified information on the current Spartan-IV program. He turned on the TV, and flipped it over to the news. He stood there for a minute, watching a brunet in a black suit with small gold earrings, and red lipstick describe the latest insurrectionist attack in a tram station on New Arcadia.

"I know what your thinking."

Cortana finally made here presence know after being put into his watch. "Yeah, that I need to be out there with my fellow Spartans fighting these A-holes."

John tossed the remote on to a recliner next to the sofa/love seat. Things has been getting bad with the insurrectionist since the Human-Covenant war ended; more intense terrorist attacks on multiple worlds, not just on Government targets, but a ever increasing number of civilian "soft" targets, concerts and shopping plazas. Hearing Cortana sigh brought Chief back from his day dreams of falling through space holding on to a Covenant anti-matter bomb, and his time on Alpha Halo fighting the Covenant and Flood.

"The UNSC will call if they desperately need you." She reminded him.

John walked over to the sofa; sitting down he began to strap the weights on to his ankles starting with his left ankle; pulling down on the weight to make sure it did not slip off, and doing the same with his right ankle.

John sat there on the couch, and watched an older gentleman, who appeared to be in his early 40s, talk to a female news reporter about his experiences with the "innes". He was explaining to her that he left one of the inner colony worlds to try and find peace after an attack took his wife and only son. John reached over the arm of the sofa to grab the remote from the recliners seat, and turned the TV off. The Spartan stood up from the couch, and looked around; taking a mental note that he was not forgetting anything, and headed for the front door.

Hello all you wonderful Fanfiction writers. The first chapter in my newest Fanfiction story is now complete, also I know the chapter title has changed, and old content has been deleted, new content add; rest assured this is still going to be the same story.

To: BenadrylCrumplesack,

I hope this chapter has satisfied your inquiring mind.

Be on the look out for chapter 2: Sangheili, Swords, and Spartans. Oh my!