This is a first-hand account of the events leading up to the Dimension War. Much of this is based on heresay and rumor, as I was not present for some of it. We have lost so many, it almost kills me to attempt to recount it. Hopefully, if we survive this war, this biography will show the people of Earth all that was sacrificed. If not, then...well, there won't be a people to show. This is not a journal. These are my remembrances.
The Cure
The celebration on the Spirit of Victory was in full swing. The threat of the Covenant was gone; the rings in the Halo Array were all accounted for; the Flood from Installation 05 destroyed. This was the time for fun.
After a few hours, Colonel Kerry Freeman stumbled to his bed. As he lay down, he reflected on the past seven years. Mutation, the attack on his brother, his transformation into Arbiter and back, the outbreaks on Alpha and Delta Halo, the glassing of Africa by Rtas 'Vadum, and the Ark.
He had gained and lost many people over the years. Kevin fell to bad luck, Tyrel to the Flood. Even his friend on NOBLE, Jack-B312, who went by the callsign NOBLE 6, was lost when Reach fell. What hit him most was Ethan. That bastard Guilty Spark had corrupted him. While the Chief fought the heinous orb, Kerry had been forced to kill his best friend. Said orb had also killed the only non-ALPHA soldier who hadn't judged him on reputation, only action, Sergeant Major Avery Jr. Johnson.
He had gained many allies as well. Natalie and Joey on this ship, the Chief and Cortana, Tyler, ALPHA Team, the NOBLE Team survivor Jun, and Thel 'Vadam, the Arbiter after him. They had fought many battles, though Kerry spent most of the battle of Delta Halo behind enemy lines.
He remembered the First Battle of Mars, where he got his team. He remembered the assault on the Pious Inquisitor. He remembered the coup on his prowler, when he nearly killed Natalie, only to have his rational side overload his inhibitor. He remembered the fight for SWORD Base and the Assault on Reach, in which almost an entire team of SPARTANs had died, leaving Jun-A266 to take the mantle of NOBLE 1. He remembered the fight against the Flood across two Halos, Earth, and the Ark. The fight against the Monitor, 343 Guilty Spark, and his unwilling pawn…
He flexed his prosthetic arm. The wound was a result of the fight with Ethan. When they got back to earth, the admiralty had promised him compensation for the limb, though how he didn't know.
As he nodded off to sleep, the dream came. A recollection of bad memories. Tonight was the worst…
Kerry, John, Johnson, and Ethan followed Guilty Spark into the Control room of Installation-04(B). Johnson was talking to the "Lightbulb". Kerry, Ethan, and John hung back, watching for exits for when the ring imploded. They heard the Monitor yell, "ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE!"
They turned and saw Spark blast Johnson, who screamed. He dropped to the ground. Guilty Spark turned to them, his eye glowing red. "You will not destroy my Installation!"
He turned to Ethan, and issued a command in a language Kerry did not know, but somehow understood, "Kill the Meddler."
Ethan turned and rugby-tackled Kerry off the platform. The man was strong. They rolled down the curved chasm and hit bottom. Kerry jumped up and activated his sword. Ethan did the same.
Ethan lunged with a powerful swing. Kerry got his sword up just in time and blocked the slash. They broke apart and circled. Kerry dashed forward and angled right. As Ethan raised his guard, Kerry feinted and juked left. The resultant hit penetrated the armor, but only shallowly. The force of the blow knocked Ethan spinning. Ever the clever one, he used this momentum for a spinning slash.
Kerry saw it coming too late. He tried to dodge, but his left arm didn't make it with him. As the wound cauterized, he stood and let out a rage-powered fury combo. Ethan blocked most of the strikes, but a few got through. Left arm, right arm, left foot. Soon he was left with only his right leg. As he fell on his back, Kerry held the sword to his throat. Kerry asked, "Why?"
Ethan laughed, "Humanity has committed atrocities over the ages. As the Flood retains the knowledge of its hosts, to reduce its warmongering, we must destroy the source. Humanity must die for the universe to live. The Forerunners knew this."
Kerry snapped back, "The Forerunners did what they did for humanity to live! How can you think like that!?"
Ethan coughed up blood, and then responded, "Guilty Spark opened my eyes to the truth. After you destroyed his installation, he deemed you a threat to their culture. He is the arm of the Makers, and I am their instrument."
Kerry closed his eyes and muttered, "I recall saying that once…"
Ethan opened and closed his mouth, at a loss for words. Kerry tensed his body and raised his sword. Ethan realized the implications of the motion.
"Wait, sto-!"
VVVMMMM
Ethan's head rolled across the floor. It stopped facing up. Kerry walked over to the body and took his dog tags. He went to the head and removed the helmet. He mounted the helmet on his hip and put on the dog tags. He commed the Spirit of Victory.
"Ethan is down…killed by 343 Guilty Spark. I'm in need of evac…"
After this, he collapsed from shock at the loss of his arm.
The next thing he knew he was waking up in the med suite of the Spirit of Victory, with Natalie and Adam looking at him. He realized that in order to pick him up, they would have seen the body of Ethan.
"I…can…explain."
They looked at each other. Natalie spoke up softly, "We know. We pulled your video logs. The official statement was Guilty Spark killed him after Johnson. You lost your arm after his sword flew out of his hand from the blast."
He felt helpless. "Forgive…me…"
She looked at him, "We don't blame you. It was that bastard Spark. Now get some rest."
She leaned over and gave him a soft hug. She turned and walked away, leaving him and Adam in the suite.
Kerry immediately tried to get up. Pain shot through his back where his spine had been mended 6 years ago, and he gasped. Adam pushed him back into the bed.
"Man, ya gotta stay in bed. The prosthetic will be ready in an hour, the therapy done an hour after that. Then you can join the party. The admiralty told us to tell you that they will more than compensate you for the arm."
He remembered the two who were with him on the Ark.
"What about…John and Thel?"
Adam shifted nervously. "Uh, well, we know Thel survived."
Kerry sighed, then asked, "And John?"
"MIA. The only SPARTAN truly MIA. The Ark's Slipspace portal closed on the middle of the Forward Unto Dawn. Thel got to earth, but John and Cortana…"
Kerry laid his head down. He nodded off, stress and the shock of his friend being missing getting to him.
Kerry stood on ceremony at ONI Command in Sydney. He and his men were being awarded the Medal of Honor, even Natalie and Joey. Hell, Thel got one too, though his had the symbol of the Separatists, the Mark of Shame, as opposed to the UNSC crest. Kerry took Ethan's to keep his memory alive. Johnson's went to Jilan al-Cygni, his only romantic interest. Jun took John's. As they saluted to Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood, Kerry was wondering what they would do with him.
Even as he thought it, Hood spoke to them.
"I know I promised Kerry compensation, but I feel…"
Kerry groaned.
"…that any who want it will be able to have it too."
Adam spoke up, "Sir, what do you mean?"
Hood straightened, "We found a way to reverse the mutation."
Kerry gasped, "What!?"
Hood laughed, "If you want it, of course."
A feeling nagged at the back of his mind. He voiced it, "If we want, after we turn back, if we want to, could you turn us back? I just want a month as a human, so I can turn on my own terms."
Hood nodded, "Yes, I understand. We can do that. Unfortunately for some of you, your genetics force you to only re-mutate into your current species."
Joey looked dejected. Adam patted him on the shoulder. Before all this, Joey had been the largest of all of them. Now he was miniscule. Even if he turned human, he would still be smaller than most of the others.
After a small debate, it was decided that Kerry, Joey, and Chris would be demutated. They followed Lord Hood into a large chamber with a giant capsule in the middle.
"Alright, who's first?"
Kerry stepped forward, "I'll go."
"Alright, step forward," Hood stated.
One of the techs walked up to Kerry, "Alright, Colonel, this is a simple procedure. When you step into the capsule, we will release a harmless gas. This is to protect your dignity. Then we will bombard your body with a reversed version of the radiation that initially transformed you. When you shift, there will be excruciating pain. In all tests, the subject kept the relative muscle mass they had in their mutated form. So don't worry about fragility."
Kerry walked into the capsule. The door cycled closed. The tech popped in over the intercom, "Sir, we will need you to remove your prosthetic. The radiation might fuse it to your skin, and we don't want that."
He took off the arm and set it in a nook where he also saw a robe. As he stepped into the center of the capsule, gas began to fill the room. Once it filled to the roof, the tech stated, "Alright, Colonel, remove your armor and under harness."
He did so, and set them in the nook. He again stepped into the center. "Sir, starting radiation treatment…now!"
He felt his body heat up exponentially. Pain racked through his body. It felt as though his entire body was being rearranged. He held for as long as he could, but it became too much.
He let out a roar of pain, which slowly shifted into a human scream. As the last vertebrae popped into place, the pain stopped. As he tried to stand up, he lost his balance. His feet were too small to stand on his toes like the Sangheili did. He forced himself to stand with his feet flat.
"Colonel, there are clothes in the nook where you stored your armor. Please put them on."
He went to the nook and grabbed the robe. It fit perfectly. Only as he put it on did he realize that his arm had grown back. He flexed experimentally. It worked.
He walked out of the capsule. He was met by cheers from the rest of ALPHA. A different tech ran up. "Sir, we need you in the armory. As you are still active duty, we need to get you a suit of MJOLNIR so you can keep up with the rest. Afterwords, we have a new assignment for you."
Kerry could care less. He was human again.