"No." I said firmly. I said it with finality. I didn't care anymore about the consequences. Nothing that they could do now was worse. Thirty of my comrades lay dead, and twelve more were horribly mutated as the result of the augmentations and gene editing. Thanks to the military's meddling, we were super soldiers. However, I never asked to be changed from a normal guy into a killing machine. In my opinion, the dead were the lucky ones. Because they were at peace. They would be reunited with their parents one day in whatever afterlife happened. I, however, was here with the surviving SPARTAN super soldiers.
We had been kidnapped (recruited was the term that the military used, but in reality, it was kidnapping) at the age of six by these army goons. I was now older, and smarter. I had once actually believed all that crap about duty and sacrifice. All I knew was that this here I would not comply to.
"What did you say?"Officer Mendez, our commanding officer, growled from beneath his bushy eye brows. They reminded me of caterpillars.
"I said no. I will never, ever kill for your goal to control humanity. Ever. People have a right to pursue their dreams. You may think that you can use me, but I…" I trailed off, before firming my jaw. "No."
"Soldier, do you care to retract that statement?" my group leader, John-117 said in a calm tone.
"No, sir." I nodded to him. I had the utmost respect for John, but this was something personal. These military bastards had taken away my life, my hopes, my dreams, my freedom, and worse, my family.
"Confine him." Officer Mendez ordered. Five ODSTs stepped forwards to try and subdue me. Bad move.
I had been trained since six years of age to kill. While I resented my superiors for it, it came in handy now. I sent a light jab at the face of the nearer ODST. However, instead of the light hit I had intended merely as a distraction, my fist sent his head back with a snap. The result of my augmentation made me harder, better, faster, and stronger then any other human. The other ODSTs rushed in. In a minute, I had broken two arms, another skull, and had maybe snapped a rib. The badly injured ODSTs managed to crawl away, two with broken arms, and a third with a snapped rib. I grabbed the one with the snapped rib and snapped his neck.
Never thought that your pet killers might turn on you? Oh, so sad. I thought. Then John-117 and his friends Kelly and Samuel tackled me to the floor. I struggled, but my augmented state was equal to the other's augmented state. Now, it was as if it was one normal man was fighting three normal opponents… if they all are moving with deadly, trained precision.
Eventually, they dragged me to the cell block. As vindication, I managed to spin around as I was being thrown into a cell and send my full strength into a pair of spinning kicks that beheaded the remaining ODSTs. For that, the others began pummeling me. I tried to remain conscious, but I could feel myself slipping into… into…
I awoke. Sitting up, I found myself in the interrogation room.
"Welcome back, Chris-013." Officer Mendez said roughly. "Let's make this quick. Do you recant?"
"No."
Officer Mendez wasted no time. He signaled to a nearby man. He lifted a pair of manacles, nearly white hot from the core. I nearly broke glass with my yells of pain when they were strapped on to my wrists. The torture began.
I awoke again, this time chained in a cryofreeze tank.
"Hey!" I yelled. "Hey! Anyone there?"
A man approached. He stopped in front of me.
"So you're the one." He said softly. "You are the dissenter."
"Damn straight." I snorted. "I haven't got something against the military, but I kinda resent being kidnapped, augmented, tortured, you know, the usual." I responded with biting sarcasm.
The official got straight to the point.
"SPARTAN-013 you are hereby subjected to serve out a sentence of permanent cryofreeze for mutinous actions. You should be aware that this is the most lenient punishment that we can inflict upon you, regarding your actions and your words."
"Wait!" I yelled. In cryofreeze, you were in frozen asleep, and the aging process for your body was temporarily stopped. I could go into cryo now, and wake up in 100 years, and I would still be the same age. "But what about the rest of the people? I'm a SPARTAN! You can't afford to do that to me!"
"That's the only reason we aren't killing you. Initiating cryofreeze." The officer intoned, ignoring my pleas.
Screw you. I thought. I resolved to take my punishment as a man, like the SPARTAN-II I had been trained to be.
The injection of the sleeping agent punctured my skin, injecting deep into my blood.
"Sleep well." The officer said sarcastically.
Damn… If I ever get out of here… I'm gonna retract that statement… this isn't worth it.
My last thoughts swirled around in my head as I fell into unconsciousness.
"Shit!" I yelled. I sat bolt upright. I coughed, and the bio-nutrients that had coated my insides came up with a vengeance. I flipped out of the cryofreeze tank.
"Stand at attention, sir!" A general snapped. I stood at attention.
"Now listen up and listen well!" he roared. "I don't like you. Let's get that straight. You were a dissenter, and although you retracted you statement, you still are on parole. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
"Yes sir!" I snapped a salute.
"You have been woken up because we desperately need your help." The general began pacing. "You were a member of the SPARTAN-II first class, correct?" he asked.
"Yes, sir!"
"Your entire platoon, with the exception of Spartan-117 and you, Spartan-013, are obliterated."
"How did that happen, sir?"
"Glassed along with the rest of the planet Reach." He snarled. "Considering that you are literally "blank", let's begin." He pointed at a holopanel. "Humanity has been at war with the Covenant for a long time, since a bit after you went into that tube. Since then, these aliens have overrun our colonies. And now they are here, on Earth." He motioned to another holopanel. "This is the Ark." He pointed. "It was built by an ancient civilization known as the Forerunners. The Forerunners were a technologically advanced race, far beyond ours or the Covenant. They have constructed an array of weapons that have the potential to wipe out all sentient life in the galaxy. Everything."
The general rubbed his forehead. "The Forerunners were invaded by a parasitical race of aliens known as the Flood. The Flood feed on intelligent life and in doing so become ever more intelligent themselves. The Flood is unique: it uses its enemy's strength against them. The Flood is a parasite: a spore will attach itself to you spine, and take over your bodily functions and your brain. It will transform you into one of various forms as its new body. The Forerunners were a highly advanced people, but they realized that it was hopeless, because if even one spore made it past their lines, they failed. In desperation, they made a decision to destroy everything.
"In a desperate attempt to ensure that they would be the last victims, they built a secret weapon of terrifying power. They called it "Halo." It was an array of weapons scattered throughout the galaxy. Its effect would spread throughout known space, destroying the Flood, and every thinking creature in the galaxy. You see, the Flood fed on sentient, and sometimes non-sentient, species to survive. The Halos would destroy the infection, and its food supply. When they activated it, every intelligent species in the Galaxy was obliterated, including the Forerunners. However, they had shielded specimens of each intelligent race, and once the Flood was gone, their droids reseeded life."
The General paused. "For some reason, the Covenant believes that the Halos will send them on some "Great Journey," some religious nonsense. They seem intent upon activating the Halos, ignorant and heedless of the fact that if the Halos are activated, all of us will be destroyed. Also, worse, on each Halo some specimens of Flood were contained for scientific research. The other surviving member of your group, Spartan-117, discovered Halo Installation 04, and destroyed it, along with its cache of Flood. However, when we came upon Halo Installation 05, the Flood there had escaped from captivity, and overrun the Covenant presence on that planet. The failure to destroy that installation has cost us.
"There are several types of Flood. There is the infection form, or Spore, that is used to infect living or sufficiently intact dead organisms. After a creature is infected, it can go one of two ways. A combat form, in which the Flood takes up residence in the chest cavity, and the body is transformed to a fighting one; or there is a Carrier form, which is thought to be made of bodies too damaged to be of use in making combat forms. A carrier form will consist of legs and a huge sac which carries any number of infection forms, spewing them out upon damage to the form or proximity to a possible host. Then there is the Gravemind, which is the brain of the operation. Technically speaking, you can call it the mother, host, leader, head, or anything else you like. Only one of them can exist at a time. It is very dangerous, and when it has formed, then the Flood can move with cohesion. There are also several Pure Floods, which only can form after a Gravemind has been achieved. Pure Flood can transform into strange forms, but are easier to destroy then the other forms. Anyhow, when the Covenant arrived here on Earth, a faction of them, known as the Elite's, have split with the rest of the Covenant. They have joined our forces. When the rest of the Covenant saw this, they fought their way to the Ark, and opened it. The Ark is where the Halo array was constructed. The opening here on Earth is actually a huge portal that leads to the Ark, which is located somewhere outside of known space. The other Spartan, Master Chief, is away on the Ark trying to kill the Gravemind and thwart the Covenant. Right after the Covenant opened the Ark, the Flood arrived here on Earth, and began ensnaring our forces. Our normal Marines and Navy cannot combat the Flood: we are very susceptible to infection. The Elites, however, can. That is where you come in."
"What do you want me to do, sir?" I asked.
"Your armor, like the armor of the Elites, shields you from immediate infection. They can still kill you, but you stand a far better chance then if we sent normal troops. Also, you have your training." He walked to a nearby panel. "I have a group of four volunteers: One ODST, one Marine, one Navy SEAL, and one commando. I want you to turn them into a hit squad effective against Flood and Covenant, and for use against any normal people who try to deal with the Gravemind. You have my authorization for any weapons and equipment you need. Also, see Doctor Halsey for your own equipment."
"Yes sir!" I said crisply.
"So, what do you think?" Doctor Halsey asked me.
I was flabbergasted. My Mark-II suit was a dream. A layer of bio-tech was the inner layer, allowing constant interface with all aspects of the suit. After the inner layer was a series of complicated software systems that could regulate the environment in the suit, allowing me to survive in any outside environment. After that, there was layer upon layer of armor, topped off with energy shielding. A HUD display contained a radar motion detector, a target reticule that synced with any weapons that I held, a display alerting me to the ammunition amounts of any weapon I had, and a targeting system.
"You got any of these for my Flood Hunters?" I asked.
"Well, that's the problem. The reaction speed required for use of these suits is tailored to SPARTAN's. All of the other human testers have been torn apart by it's speed." Doctor Halsey explained. "We could probably remove the reaction enhancer systems, but-"
"Do it." I ordered. The Doctor shrugged.
My suit was awesome.
However, there was just one problem.
"Does it come in black?" I asked the amused Doctor.