Man's True Best Friend
Rated M (Language, Etc.)
By Casey Riffel (Bearmaster)
Chapter 1
Called Upon
Date: 2522 December 10
Location: Reach, ONI Sword Base
"Begin operation on Cerberus Subject 23-BMD."
"Dr. Halsey, shall I inject the Cytopothemine and Dexotryophimite?"
"Yes, inject it in C7 and TH12."
A dark lit room, a slow ping of a heart beat monitor, this was where Catherine Halsey felt her most useful. A slow breath came from the patient under the operating blanket and it made a cool and ethereal cloud that floated up into one of the operator's facemasks.
"Beginning injection."
A large bulky machine with a syringe came to the patients shaved back, where it crept its way into the skin and penetrated the soft squishy tissue of nerves and mucus. The patient jumped at the feeling but took it with vigor. A shrill beep came reverberating off the machine as it pushed the plunger, and the fulsome blue fluid was slowly let loose in the patient's body.
Soon after the injection began, it stopped and the machine removed its needle. Halsey stood over the patient and rubbed where the head would be as a whimper came from under the blanket.
"That's a good boy. It will all be over soon."
She said with a motherly and comforting tone as the heart beat monitor slowly began to fade into a subtle constant tone.
Date: 2523 February 20
Location: Reach, Spartan/Cerberus Training Grounds
The summer sun was strong on Reach. The light gleamed down onto an enormous empty battle ground, blackened and beaten by years of bombing and weapons training. The UNSC spared none of this land, if it was open and not being made into something, they took it. In the center of that barren wasteland was a sizable training bunker that didn't look like it was there from the times before.
An APC came rumbling down the abandoned road that was neglected for years; followed by two heavy transport Falcons and two anti-aircraft Warthogs. As they made their way to the bunker, thunderous blasts could be heard from miles away from the adjacent ONI Weapons Testing Facility.
The APC and Warthogs slowed to a halt and the Falcons prepared for landing. From the shadows of the training bunker, Dr. Halsey and Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez came walking out, looking bent out of shape. Dr. Halsey took the lead over Mendez and made a b line to the drive of the ACP.
"Shit. Here she comes…"
Said the marine driver of the APC to his side gunner as he rubbed his forehead.
"Yeah… She looks a little irked."
The much younger marine said as he scratched the back of his head.
"What's up guys? Is something… Shit. Is that Halsey?"
Said another marine from the holding area of the ACP. The driver and gunner sighed.
"Yep, and Mendez. Prepare yourself to get a new a-hole fellas."
The younger marine cringed.
"Oh dear god."
Dr. Halsey's white lab coat fluttered in the wind as the Falcons landed and she slammed on the APC driver's window with rage. The APC driver pretended to not hear her, but she just hit the door harder. He then opened the door and stepped out and Halsey immediately got in his face.
"What the hell marine! You were supposed to be here three hours ago! Now we have to cut training short today!"
"I'm sorry ma'am. There was an insurrectionist roadblock that we had to pass. They clogged the entire south side of New Alexandria. There was nothing we could do."
The marine said as he pointed to the maimed marine getting gout of the first Warthog and the countless bullet marks on the APC's armor. Halsey growled with anger and gritted her teeth.
"This is… I can't even describe how this makes me feel."
Halsey said as she clenched her fists into small white balls.
"So-o-o you're not mad at us for being late?"
Said the marine as he unlocked the holding room of the APC.
"Not as much as before. But I can tell you this; this new project will greatly decrease the Insurrectionists abilities. They may even top the Spartans."
The marine looked back at Halsey in confusion.
"But ma'am, they're just dogs."
Date: 2522 December 11
Location: Tyumen, New Harmony
"Aaragh, dammit, that really hurt… Aargh…"
An ODST sat holding his side in the corner of an abandoned shopping complex as a hail of gunfire was falling just to the left of his position. Four other ODST's were battling off a platoon of insurrectionists that were equipped with an array of weapons. It also didn't help that they were all equipped with chest-strapped explosives as well.
"To your right Jenkins!"
Said the marine, as crimson blood came slowly oozing from his side.
"Thanks Collins!"
A land-breaking explosion caused the other ODST's to topple over. Smoke and dismembered Insurrectionist fell around the ODST's and they realized in a haze what had just happened. The Captain came to his knee and aimed his submachine gun and looked to see if any more Insurrectionists' were coming. From what it looked like, they were retreating.
One ODST, named Jenkins, stood in a dynamic pose.
"Oh my god! That was perfect! Did anyone else see that sweet shot I got! Right in the bomb! Woohoo! That's like ten points right there."
"For hell's sake man! You shouldn't be happy about that!"
Said the ODST adjacent from him.
"Shut up Jack, you're just butt hurt 'cause you didn't kill him first."
Jack sat inspecting himself for wounds and couldn't care less bout what Jenkins said. The Captain just finished inspecting Collins' wound and slapped him on the back of the head.
"You'll need some med attention, but not much. Just a few stiches, so stop being a pansy."
Jack suddenly stopped searching himself and looked at the Captain realizing a sudden truth.
"Sir! Where's Lincoln?"
Everyone stopped when they realized that their new recruit was MIA. This had never happened before to the squad, they always kept their group tight and secure. But Lincoln was a new, fresh off the farms of Harvest.
"OH SHIT MAN! He was my responsibility to watch over! Dammit! I'm so screwed!"
Jenkins panic was not unusual. Whenever something bad happened, he was the first to say the sky was falling. He wasn't the best of men, either. Short, gangly body that was not ODST quality, he wasn't a natural for the job. It was like he liked to kill.
"My god, do you think they captured him?"
Said Collins with an expression of sheer terror.
"I don't think so. The Innies don't take prisoners."
The Captain tapped his inner communications device within his helmet.
"Lincoln, can you here me? Lincoln!"
"Sir?"
No response was heard. The Captain looked at Jack and Jenkins and shook his head in regret. Even with the ODST helmets on they can understand each other's emotions. But silence was the worst response they could imagine. Until, from under the Vail of radio silence, a voice, muffled and timid.
"Sir. I'm southeast of your position."
"Thank god! Are you alright, Lincoln? Did you get shot?"
Another bout of silence ensued.
"Dammit man, answer me!"
The Captain had a very assertive voice, not so rare amongst the ODST, but his was different. Even when mad, he seemed to show more than just anger. He showed compassion for his people that he looked over.
"No sir."
"Everyone, double time to Lincolns position!"
Instantly, the entire group, except Collins, was moving to Lincoln. Everyone was worried about Lincoln, he sounded horrified. The Captain feared the worst, usually people don't sound like that unless they killed an innocent. So he couldn't help but think in that direction.
The squad rounded the corner of the shopping complex to reveal Lincoln, kneeling down in front of a bloodied body, his head down sulking into his shoulders. Helmet concealing his face. The room was dark and musty with the smell of drying blood and Lincoln's knees were slowly becoming soggy in the puddle of crimson liquid. The Captain was shocked at the sight. A hole was located in the deceased innocent's abdomen and you could see the floor. The red cross on Lincoln's forehead was slowly becoming less and less visible as the light scurried out of the room.
"Corporal, what happened here?"
Lincoln took his helmet off and placed his hand over his eyes and pressed into them with a force that worried the Captain. But everyone knew what he was doing. He was holding in tears. With a tremendous bellow, he managed to explain what happened.
"I heard someone… Someone upstairs. It was a women and I could tell by her voice she needed medical help. So I followed the voice, she called for help over and over again. I found her but I was too late."
He took a deep breath to prepare himself for the conclusion of his story.
"An Innie grenade blew a hole right through her stomach; she bled out before I could even get to her."
Lincoln wiped his eyes and covered her wound with a piece of cloth that was nearby. She was truly a beautiful girl, not a day over eighteen. Her eyes reflected the same emotion she felt at her death. Pain and fear filled the smooth lines in her face as she slipped into eternity.
Jenkins crept over Lincolns shoulder and caught a glimpse of her face as he placed the cloth completely over her. As the last touch, Lincoln placed his hand on her forehead and with a gentle sweep, closed her forever-fearful hazel eyes.
"Damn man! She was hot!"
"Jenkins! Have some respect."
The Captain snapped back as Jenkins remark hit Lincoln's ears in bad taste. On the floor lay a brown purse that was the girl's and Jack knelt down to pick it up. After some mild rummaging, Jack found her ID.
"Aftin Marsh. Age, eighteen."
Jack sighed as he continued to read the dreadful end of her ID.
"Jerome King High School senior, class of 2523. She wasn't even a high school grad yet."
Lincoln stood stoic and inanimate over the body. A tear rolled down his face as he began to walk out to the bright sun that was at the highest point of the day. As he made his way, the Captain grabbed his arm and pulled him close.
"It's okay son. If it was her time, god took her. But all I know is that it's defiantly not Collins' time yet. So if you'd please provide him with some of your top grade medical technics, he would greatly appreciate it."
Lincoln nodded and began to walk over to Collins, who was a longer ways away then he remembered. As he made his way over, the image of Aftin Marsh settled into the deep folds of Lincoln's mind, her hair, her eyes. He never liked to fight. But now he had a vendetta to peruse. Avenge her death was the only words playing in his mind. Avenge Her Death.
Two Weeks Later
Location: Reach, New Alexandria
(Shore Leave)
"Its great to come here and relax, donchya think, Link?"
Asked Jenkins as the group made their way down New Alexandrian Main Street. Lincoln stayed quiet, still pondering over the death of the girl. Collins fondled the bandage that wrapped around his side and looped around his shoulder. Doing so flashed the pedestrian women the body of an ODST, and one that was battle tattered. He became very popular very fast to say the least.
Jenkins didn't like being ignored and cracked at Lincoln.
"God man, you still upset? Shit happens! You'll need to get over it."
Lincoln chose not to ignore this time and glanced heavily at Jenkins. The face Lincoln made was cold and emotionless, but there was something behind it. Rage and anger was lurking behind his face and Jenkins knew it. It seemed to make his emotionless face much more threatening.
It was a warm day on Reach, not many days are like these. The sun is out; people converge on the busy Main Street for festivities and excitement of city life. Venders on the street selling many different items ranging from food to trinkets that made the very gullible ODST's credits evaporate. Jack bought a Hemp sack to hold all of his goods for a reasonable three hundred credits. The color choice was an odd one, though. The sack was a very fashionable vomit green and the cords that tightened to close the opening were a florescent pink color. The others, mostly Jenkins, couldn't understand his rationing of buying such a monstrosity.
"Jesus man, you'll give Hell Jumpers a bad name if you bring that thing into the barracks!"
"Shut up man, this is a present for my girl."
Jack said as he glanced at Jenkins while adjusting the cords over his shoulder.
"Of course it is. She might as well leave you now for your neighbor."
"You're an asshole, you know that Jenkins? No one likes you."
Jenkins stood in his narcissistic glory.
"Oh? Why do you say that? I'm the biggest man in this squad!"
"That's not what you're girlfriend said last night."
Lincoln said as he rehashed an old favorite insult from the bank of many insults he planned on using against Jenkins; which were mostly insults referring to his manhood. The two-week silence was broken, finally. This was a moment the group rejoiced over, except for Jenkins of course. The Captain patted Lincoln on the shoulder and smiled at him with his paternal manner.
"I'm glad you decided to talk again, buddy."
"Yeah. You started to scare us for a minute."
Said Jack as he sighed in relief.
"Lets get some drinks. I wanna get drunk."
Lincoln said with a chuckle in his voice. No one disagreed.
Much Later that Night
The still and under lit barracks lay quietly in the night. A loud clang of the barracks door stopped that as the guy's came home from a night of booze and deplorable deeds. The light's buzzed on and the inebriated soldiers managed to work their way through the door. Jenkins stumbled to his bunk where he fell face first to his pillow, legs dangling over the side and pants around his knees in an attempt to get comfortable. Lincoln carried Collins to his bunk and before he hit the soft cushion, he was asleep. Jack, who lost the vomit colored bag at the bar they were at, worked his way to the back of the barracks where the bathrooms were and wound up sleeping on the throne. The Captain stood in the threshold of barracks scratching his engorged belly, and started to walk over to his bunk, which was next to Collins'.
"Oh, Link, it look's like 'ew have a mezzage waitin for you."
The Captain could barely stand and he fell backwards to his bunk as if a ghost punched him into it. Lincoln chuckled at the sight the fail and walked over to the computer terminal, which had a small red light that kept blinking like a turning signal of a car. After refreshing the computer, a message was waiting in a file called, for Corporal Lincoln Henderson Eyes-only. The screen was bright and his eyes took some time to adjust. Lincoln tapped the message and a paused video of a young woman popped up. The woman sat in front of what it looked like to be a large desk with nothing on it. Lincoln looked at the woman with a haze. Her hair was long and a brilliant blond that made it harder to look at the screen. She also wore a pair of glasses that complimented her supposed intelligence.
"Hmm. You look smart."
Lincoln mumbled to himself, which he seemed to be mocking her. He pressed play and sat back to watch the video. With a little bit of static, the woman began to speak.
"Hello, Corporal. My name is Dr. Catherine Halsey. You may know me from the Spartan Project but that is not the reason I have summoned you. The reason I'm sending you this message is to tell you this; you are being called upon to serve the UNSC, Earth, and her colonies in a much larger way. Would you like to know more?"
End
A/N: Holly crap people. This is awesome! I have always wanted to make a Halo FF but I never had the time to. But now I bring you this. My very first FF. But this is just chapter one. This is going to be a continuous story and I'm planning on making a new chapter every week. It will be hard, but if I get some good feed back from this then I shall be thrilled to make more! So, if you'd please, write what you think in the comments and if you have any questions, I will be more than happy to answer them.
Chapter 2 will be out on next Sunday. THANKS! :D