His eyes flashed open. He turned his head, shaking off the extreme stiffness. The cryo-chamber door opened and he carefully stepped out, stumbling a little as he shook off the cold, stiff joints that resulted in the cryo-sleep.

"Field Major Tyler Clough. Welcome back, sir," a voice said from the observation platform. Tyler looked up and the one-sided glass shifted for him to see a medical staff employee operating the controls while Dr. Annastasia Harris stood smiling, hands clasped behind her back. It was then he realized he was naked.

Tyler quickly covered up his private area and blushed. He shuffled over quickly to the dressing area and put on one of six black bodysuits that was waiting for him. He then headed up the stairs and joined Dr. Harris as the rest of his team emerged from their cryo-sleep.

"It's a pleasure, sir," she said, walking over to meet Tyler, hand outstretched.

He shook her hand and replied, "Likewise, ma'am."

She smiled back and went off to assist the medical employee with the remaining team. Dr. Harris had always been attractive. She had shoulder length, red hair and big brown eyes. She was a little short, had a great smile and a generally attractive personality. It had been ten years since Tyler and his crew had last seen her. That was right before they had entered their cryo-sleep. It wasn't the first time they had gone into cryo-chambers though. All in all, they should have been long-since dead, but the cryo-chambers and their military status saved them.

Tyler and his crew were born before the year 2000 and were forced into the army during World War III. They excelled as a team and were eventually promoted to higher ranks. They were also enlisted by Dr. Harris, who became a skilled scientist during the war, into a special program. She was centuries ahead of Dr. Halsey's spartan program. The only problem was time. The invention of the cryo-chamber for use strictly by military personnel was soon enacted, and Dr. Harris' group was enlisted for a long-term sleep. The team was awoken only once before, in 2522, to see Dr. Harris off to fulfill her dreams with her secret spartan program. He checked a calendar on the wall. It read; "July 2532."

"It's the 19th, by the way," Dr. Harris said, smiling as she continued her work. She was thirty-one years old now. Tyler and his crew were in a range of twenty to twenty-two years old.

By that point, three of Tyler's five men were heading up the stairs in their bodysuits. The other two were just being let out.

Taylor, Taquiyy and Derek walked up the stairs.

"How have you been? Have a good nap?" Taylor asked, smiling. He walked up and shook hands.

"Yeah. How 'bout you?" he asked.

"Pretty good. But then again, you know me...I can sleep through anything," Taylor chuckled back.

"Taquiyy, Derek. It's great to see you guys," Tyler said, turning to them and shaking their hands as well.

"Same here, man," Taquiyy said.

"Ditto," Derek said, following Taquiyy as he walked off.

After a few minutes, Jared and Veejay headed up the stairs and greeted Tyler with the same humorous ways the rest of the gang had.

Tyler turned and observed his crew. Taylor had matted-down, short brown hair. Taquiyy, who was African-American, had a short-cut afro style black hair. Derek had short spiky brown hair. Jared had red-brown hair that reached down to past his ears. Veejay was the shortest of the bunch in height and had his signature "rat-tail" ponytail. In terms of everything else, the team was pretty much clones from the neck down, especially in the black bodysuits.

"Men. It's been ten years since we were last out of the cryo-chambers. It may seem like a small amount of time compared to our first cryo sleep, but believe me, the world has changed. I'm not even fully sure what to expect. We're in a top secret, heavily classified, spartan program run by our very own, Dr. Harris," Tyler took the time to nod in her direction then continued, "Soon, we'll be suiting up. Each of our suits works to our own, personal skills and abilities. We will be able to run faster, jump farther and fight better. Now, I'll hand the honors over to Dr. Harris."

Annastasia Harris stepped over and smiled to the group as Tyler took his place among his men. He had medium-length, brown hair and bright, blue eyes that glowed in the dim light of the observation platform.

"Hello everyone. It's great to see you all again. I hope your rest was pleasant, but we have things to do. Very important things, at that. So, let's go. Please follow me," she said, turning and stepping into another room with six small "pods." Each pod had lots of mechanical arms surrounding it. Tyler looked around at his men and met everyone's gaze with the same level of confusion.

"These are a variation on the cryo-chambers," Dr. Harris said, gesturing to one of the pods, "They don't function to keep you preserved, only to put you asleep long enough to place the armor on. Now, the armor itself is somewhat...painful, to remove. However, you will be able to open your visors and remove your helmets with no problem. The Mark VII as I currently call it, is lightweight and extremely durable. Your shields are built in to provide protection against medium-range rocket launcher fire. When your shields go down, they will recharge within a few moments after the suit stops taking fire. You will also have enhanced abilities such as," she lifted a clipboard up and read the list off to the team, "...enhanced strength, enhanced agility and acrobatics, enhanced survivability, enhanced speed and enhanced accuracy. As well as the tools necessary to hack into high-security terminals and other forms of both human and covenant technology."

Dr. Harris looked up and said, "Anything I might have missed?"

"Do we get an AI unit?" Derek asked.

"Unfortunately, no. An AI unit would require extremely high-level security pass codes that only certain members of Naval Intelligence have the ability to hand out," she responded. "Any other questions? No? Alright then, get in your pods boys."

The men took their individual pods. Dr. Harris made two trips around to check on the pods mechanical components to be safe.

The first time around, Taylor stuck his head out and said, "Hey, maybe we can get a cold one after this? Sound good to you?"

"No thanks. I don't date my work," she replied, without stopping.

On her second trip around the pods, Taylor tried again, "Come on. You...me...a bottle of champagne. I know you want to." He smiled and tilted his head jokingly.

"If you promise to leave me alone afterwards, then, sure, why not," Annastasia said, then she turned to the staff and shouted, "Start it up!"

The staff started pressing buttons and the pods closed and filled with a white-blue gas. The mechanical arms entered each pod as the men drifted off from the effects of the gas. The only one that didn't nod off was Tyler. He stood firm as the components were placed on him. It was definitely painful. The gas wasn't just for putting people to sleep. It was also intended for multiple enhancements delivered directly to the person's body, not the suit. Tyler occasionally grunted and bit his lip as the suit was put on him, and the gas altered his own genetic code.

It was hours before the suits were on the men, and they stepped out of their pods, looking rather good in their spartan suits. Their helmets were waiting for them on a large, metal table in the corner. Each person had their own service tags inscribed on their suits for ID purposes, but the HUD in their helmets also had the ability to point out each person's location, as well as monitor all sorts of other things.

"Everyone set and ready?" Tyler asked his men.

"Sir, yes, sir!" they shouted, simultaneously.

"Good, let's move out then. I believe we already have a mission. Isn't that right, Dr. Harris?" he said, turning his head to her.

She only nodded and bit her lower lip. On the inside of Tyler's visor was a message. The message was an alert. Covenant forces were attacking the base. It was time to break in the new suits.