Notice: I do not own Xenosaga Halo or Advent Rising or Gears of War (For combat scenes) or any of it's characters, only the ones I have created and copyright all names and references I have placed inside of this universe that were not created by Bamco, Bungie and Majesco.
It had finished so long ago. That of a long foretold story that even the earliest records could not keep track of. One of an ancient race that we might have descended from, Humanity, the offspring of the forerunners. Heck, no one can remember who made Zarathustra, the 7 Rings, Atlantis or the Ark for the matter either. The three planets, Onyx, Crimson, and Azure, all were created with some meaning to attach to these machines created, all with a purpose, so that humanity could survive, but survive what? God? Hostile alien races? Or an infestation? No one, over all this time, has been able to discern anything from our past, only that two things out of the named have been destroyed, Zarathustra, and one of the 7 rings called Halo.
100 years had passed since the fateful day when Earth was saved, when the Spartan known as the Master Chief saved humanity and the Elites, along with the grunts and hunters, as the flood was destroyed. The brutes jackals and prophets were pushed back, as the hive like bugs had their home world glassed by a surprise attack by a separate Elite fleet. The Covenant was shattered, as the new Alliance was created, humanity among it. The Spartan program became a footnote in history after so long however, and the Spartan IIIs disappeared into nothing.
Unrest soon appeared on the edges of the rebuilding and budding alliance, forging a new empire. A new Spartan program was secretly placed in motion, the Spartan 4. Unfortunately, forerunner technology was used in the experiment, and the first two experiments died. Garrett, the third augmented child, had survived. His augmentations made him faster and stronger than anything the Spartan II or Spartan III could obtain, but at a high price. The program was being tracked, and the high secrecy of the project finally shunted all funding to different locations and erased all files. Garrett was written in as KIA. The new title he carries, is simply Spartan.
(Crystal Method, Name of the Game)
Garrett-003 clung to the side of the rocky cliff with tether lines and taut cables holding his half ton weight, his black Caduceus M10 armor no longer black, but shifting to coordinate its coloring to blend him into the rocky surface. The Active Camouflage from the Elite Alliance would come in handy at a later time, as it produced far too much heat to be turned on now for this Spartan 4.
Garrett flexed his wrist a bit as he waited for the go signal. It was still sore from his brief training in powered armor, as the ODSTs didn't exactly like letting the Spartan programs survive their rigorous combat training in the past he heard.
Three green taps over a period of 10 seconds told him to get under way. He swapped to IR sensors and watched as small blurs moved through the surrounding jungle, most likely the Hell jumpers providing backup. A final green light happened and he detached, dropping from 150 feet up and flipping his feet out under him, slamming into the ground and causing a slight crater to appear, before pumping his legs as fast as he could towards the rebel camp, 110 kph straight down into the valley.
His blue fluorescent reflective goggles almost screamed demon under the long black visor that was normally used for the standard marine. The armored mask under had more ballistic sheeting than anyone would actually realize, and the brand new state of the art M10 would prove that it had what it took to keep the soldier inside of it alive.
Garrett rushed through the jungle brush, came up behind a rebel soldier and right when he turned he was clothes lined by a large armored arm, snapping his neck in the process as the Spartan continued forward, not even stopping. He came to the edge near a clearing, and meshed with the background, the photo reactive paneling blurring him into the green and black. He waited 2 minutes before the ODSTs finally caught up with him, and gave the go ahead as the rebel soldiers started to change guard. A few quick kills later, they were in, the bodies hidden in empty barrels before everyone became a wisp of smoke, moving silently through the inside of the ammunition supply base, a front for a large research and archeological site.
Garrett's job was not to destroy the base per se, his job was to make sure the ODST's got what they needed from the computer systems for the links and transports, then disappear once a copy had been made. The AI was emplaced in the lead jumper's armor, now equipped with a slot in the back of his cervical casing. The M10 unfortunately didn't have the space available on it for an AI, the backup shields and extra sub space armory control systems took up the room. Garrett tilted his head slightly in thought. He had trained with the sub space armory use once and only once, and to this date had never gotten around to actually use it in any form of combat. The technology was part forerunner, part covenant, part human, allowing a very large amount of weaponry and vehicles to be carried around by one person, namely, him. The ammo replication system and repair system inside of the thing allowed a super soldier like him to be cut off from support for an enormous amount of time, but he was only one man, it was as a last resort. The vehicles and supply equipment placed were mostly for transportation and for assisting of other ground forces. However, once the vehicles stored inside were destroyed, it became an empty ethereal stockroom.
Garrett halted as the leader made the hand movement of incoming guards, and everyone, excluding Garrett, equipped their cling gloves and climbed the walls, literally. Garrett slid into the shadows and activated his active photo cells to blend into piping and metal plating. The guards walked by the hallway they were in, but before they finished, one of them stopped as it looked down the hallway, squinting. Garrett noticed it and looked into the wall with but a thought through his neural interface. A large amount of wiring was flowing through the pipe, and his onboard computer determined it was a control connection to a nearby heater. He concentrated, the OSA training he received allowed his hand to flow freely through the pipe as if it was water, and he tore apart some of the wiring to stop the heater from working. A warning light blinked on near the heater down the other hall and the guards stopped looking, and continued on. A blue light appeared on his HUD from the leader.
"good work" Lieutenant Archerson told him.
"anytime" he responded as he moved quickly through the other hallways, hiding where they could, killing silently where they couldn't.
As they reached the command room, the door slid open and Garrett came face to face with a bewildered woman in glasses, who squeaked once before having her neck snapped by a jumper behind her. Garrett felt slightly odd about what he was doing, so far they had killed 4 noncombatants, people who had seen them so they had to neutralize them. He knew they were working with the rebel insurgents, but killing a woman who in no way could have harmed them aside from calling for guards, it felt wrong. They could have simply knocked her out and tied her up somewhere, but he was going by the books. Those who lay eyes on him will not live to tell about it. Orders are orders.
The jumpers moved in swiftly, their MA7K rifles silently fired triple round bursts into nearby people, efficiently taking over the control room. The leader got to work, a wiz it seemed at hacking and counterintelligence. The AI, Morrigan, slipped into an open slot, a holographic vision of an old Soviet soldier Garrett had seen in books before, with a fur cap and all.
"coordinating and download as we speak comrade" Morrigan said as he stood at attention.
"good, I want all information shot to the Black Widow ASAP, bounce it through the weather satellites with 9th Echelon encryption sequences, that should keep em busy and under the radar" Archerson told him.
"understood, I will alert you when I am finished. However, there is something I believe I have found you would most likely wish to see" Morrigan slightly shifted. When Morrigan shifted on his feet, it usually meant something interesting they needed to check on.
"Show me" Archerson told the AI as a holographic image replaced the AI with an underground dig site. A small waypoint appeared overlaid above the holo screen pointing to an unknown energy source.
"feed this back to the widow as well, we aren't scientists, we aren't going near that thing until we find out what it's coming from" Archerson told the AI as he shook his head.
"but comrade, it might be best to at least scout it out before something… unwanted… happens because of it" Morrigan told him in a hushed voice.
"you think it could be a hazard?" Archerson asked.
"I think… that it might not be a good idea to let the object continue on it's course of action" Morrigan smiled. Garrett hated when he did that, the smile always gave him the creeps.
"damnit… we need more man power, have the elite stealth 101st get in here now, cover our flanks" Archerson told Morrigan
Morrigan saluted then disappeared as the signal was sent, and soon after, within 10 minutes of waiting, 5 eerie silhouettes appeared in the same room as they were.
"We are here as ordered" one of the figures said as the active camouflage turned off and 5 elites appeared.
"good. Continue on with sending this information to the satellite, keep an eye out for patrols and neutralize them, we might actually need to send in one of our own research groups into the depths of this place" Archerson ordered before nodding to Garrett.
"send one of your men with the two of us down into the dig site, we're going to find out what the hell this power source is we're detecting" he told the lead elite, who Garrett soon found out from his comps read out that his name was Adanee Machtamee, and had quite a record from what he was reading through the black widow's back logs.
"I will go myself if you do not mind Lieutenant, my men will stay here and guard the flank" Machtamee told him, and both agreed before Archerson nodded towards Garrett then motioned towards the door. All three of them left the room and slowly moved deeper into the complex, trying to find their way into the area where the power output was unstable.
"sir, I've got a spike reading every 9 seconds from where your going, it seems similar to an unstable Shaw-Fujikawa Drive, but something is off on it… I think… fix…" a communication from corporal Haverson was trying to get through, but was cutting out at random points.
"come back, your breaking up Haverson, what's the status ahead of us?" Archerson asked.
"time…repair…" and the line cut.
"we must have entered a shielded area, we must be cautious" Machtamee told Archerson, then nodded towards Garrett.
"Spartan, you've got point, Machtamee, cover his flank, watch the cross fire" Archerson ordered as both nodded and moved in.
The room was eerie, similar in design to an anti matter reactor engineering room, but oddly alien, and definitely old. Garrett slid along the wall like a ghost's shadow as Machtamee attempted to keep up with him.
"found something" Garrett whispered as Archerson came around back towards where they were. Garrett pointed at a large terminal near the middle with two research specialists taking notes. In the middle was an enormous ring, with a second ring spaced 3 inches around it's diameter. It seemed to be connected by a weight and tumble system to the first one, and in the middle there seemed to be a small platform with stairs leading to it. There was a small space between the stairs and the platform for the rings to move through apparently, and Garrett recorded all of it in the internal memory banks on his battle armor.
"we need to neutralize those men before we can get a clear reading, my armor's systems are getting abnormal information Captain" Machtamee said.
"understood" Archerson sighed, made hand movements for a sweep and clear, and moved forward from his hiding spot. Garrett sat back and swapped through a list of fire support weapons from the sub space armory as he readied the BR-55P from his armored back and watched Archerson and Machtamee come up from behind the scientists.
Both suddenly stopped as the scientists pressed a few buttons and called out through an intercom they were ready to commence with something. Archerson and Machtamee slid back to their hiding spots behind some stairs as the scientists started to press buttons. Power fluctuated and lights dimmed slightly as they fought to control whatever it was they were doing. Archerson and Machtamee attempted one more go before the two rings in the middle of the room started moving in opposite directions, and a small EM field was starting to be sensed by Garrett with his psionic abilities as well as the suit's sensors.
"initiating test" one of the scientists said, though Garrett was having a hard time tracking the voice coming from the mouth the words came from. The room was distorting slightly from his range, and he focused to keep track of his surroundings.
Archerson and Machtamee decided it was best to not attack just yet, wanting to see what it was the scientists were experimenting with.
"field is stabilizing, power grid nominal. No radiation detected like last time. 42 and climbing in portal transfer, matrix is becoming physical. We might just have it this time…" the scientist to the right, who Garrett had now found the name was Jeremy, smiled and chuckled.
"if we don't, that's another beer you owe me sir" the second one said, now known as Thomas.
Garrett stopped reading their minds for data as he heard a click come from behind Archerson and Machtamee. The Caduceus armor flipped out a 3D mobile view into his eyes, cross linked with his psionic senses to act as an invisible eye. His fluorescent goggles suddenly changed color from a sapphire blue to a glowing blood red as he concentrated.
A rifle had been placed at the base of Archerson's neck, and he relinquished his weapon as another rifle was aimed at Machtamee.
"right on time it seems, as always, for the UNSC to attempt to disrupt our work" was heard over an intercom.
"oh for the love of god…" Archerson sighed and turned slowly to find a squad of rebel soldiers aiming their weapons at both him and the elite.
"now now, there is no reason for you to needlessly throw your lives away on this mission. We were so much hoping that you would stay to help us in our experiment, we have it all warmed up for you" the sarcastic male voice continued over the intercom.
"eat shit and die" Archerson cursed under his breath as a soldier whacked him in the back of his legs as Machtamee surveyed the troops. MA6B assault rifles, armor piercing rounds from the red tape slightly shown on the bottom of the clips. He wouldn't last more than 4 seconds before cut down.
"now, for the two of you, how would you like to go on a little trip? You see, I'm not a bad person, I simply wish to continue my research and help mankind find faster ways of transportation, something that could revolutionize the industry, and of course, tide me a large profit in the marketing and fitting of said technology over very much of this glorious new empire humanity has created" the voice in the intercom said.
"you mean stolen forerunner technology? What, you didn't think you could slap a Terran federal patent on the damned thing and expect to call it workable!" Archerson yelled out, and was struck by a rifle butt, cracking his helmet's visor.
"ah, but you see, we have already done all of the work to contain the technology, to rebuild it, this is all ours right now you see captain. I simply extracted the plans from lost data crystals far below this station, and now this technology is ours. Can you not see the effects this will give us? Travel in the blink of an eye, move medicines where it is needed immediately, make faster than light travel obsolete! And who better than to test it than a veteran soldier, valiantly willing to give up his life for the betterment of mankind?" the voice said, echoing around the room.
"fuck you if you think I'll agree to any-" and a rifle butt slammed into the back of his head, knocking him out.
"unfortunately for you, I simply need you alive, not conscious captain. The two of you will make history today, mark my words" the voice finished.
Wait, two he said? Machtamee thought. They didn't know Garrett was still in the room, hiding out of view. Unfortunately for him, he had no idea what the Spartan would do to stop the situation.
Garrett hadn't anticipated this. He wasn't careful enough. That was his error. He should have been sweeping their backs with his mind as he watched point. ODSTs were good soldiers, but they were only human, a liability in his mind.
Time to remedy this Garrett thought as he closed as quickly as he could from his cover, his active camouflage shimmering in the room as he moved across the place in quick motion. Before the first soldier knew what was happening, 9 rounds punctuated the air as a battle rifle cracked a triple round burst into him, followed by two more triple round bursts hitting the soldiers next to him, all head shots. The remaining 7 soldiers ducked for cover, but two were killed almost instantly by the elite's fast reflexes in gaining a fire arm to help. The soldiers sprayed wildly towards Garrett as he walked towards them, his twin link lightning flux shields shimmered slightly by the bullets, and his meter registered a slight alteration in power usage, nothing more.
Machtamee rolled towards cover, Archerson lay sprawled on the ground as gunfire was traded, before a grenade was thrown in his direction. Machtamee swore before leaping away and jumping behind the scientists, who just so happened to be cowering in plain sight before rifle fire pierced one of them through the chest, stray bullets from the soldiers.
Garrett moved silently around a pillar, evaluating the soldiers firing potshots at anything near them before throwing one of his own grenades into the mix, in which there was a prompt BOOM! followed by 3 dead soldiers and 4 more checking the direction the explosive came from.
The Spartan moved like a snake back around the pillar, slid almost right behind the next soldier and pulled him around, sliding his combat knife from the back harness at his waist and impaling down into his chest, wiggling the blade around in an attempt to nick the heart before pulling it out.
Machtamee leapt up onto a terminal and started firing at the remaining 3 soldiers before the room started to vibrate and distort more fiercely than before. There was a strong gravitational pull towards the energy ball now being created in the middle of the oscillating rings, one that was sliding Archerson across the room towards it. Machtamee turned to see the body roll slightly before Garrett ran full throttle towards him, and as Machtamee turned back around, he suddenly found his shields collapse. He reflexively felt his body before looking up, only to hear a spray of bullets from one last soldier firing at him, then darkness.
The last soldier un slung a rocket launcher from his back and aimed at Garrett, now visible from the quick movements needed, and fired. The rocket whizzed behind the Spartan as he ran, full blown across the room towards Archerson's sliding form.
Archerson barely touched the edge of the energy ball floating in the middle of the rings, both stopping as the mass of flesh moved through their trajectory before starting again. Archerson disappeared into the ball before Garrett rushed to follow, diving straight in.