Author's note: Halo: Rise and Fall is the beginning of a 5 part series of stories detailing each of the major events in the timeline up until the end of Halo 3, as 4 onward haven't been released. That may change, based on how long the five parts planned will take to write, as they're all planned to be quite long. I may put in a part 6, if Halo 4 is released by the time I finish 5, which, to be honest, it shouldn't. I've been mapping this story out since before Halo 3's release. In fact, I worked on it in my 7th grade class, and Halo 3 was released my Freshmen year in highschool. The first few chapters of part one will have no real action, because they're character development. But by chapter 4 or so, I should at least have some ODST combat. But the Covenant won't be showing up for quite a while. Just a warning.
ENJOY!
Halo: Rise and Fall
Chapter 1
July 15: 2517 In orbit over Mars Colony
"You know I don't approve of your selection, Lee." Doctor Catherine Halsey said, looking over the top of her glasses at the list of names, accompanied by files on her desk. "One of these has Palsey, which, as you well know, is one of the rarest physical disorders of the last three hundred years! We figured out how to fix the damn problem in 2136!" She was almost yelling. "Why pick somebody with that rare, not to mention severe a disorder?"
The tall, thin man from China answered swiftly, as if rehearsed. "Doctor, I've thought about this for a long time. Think about the boy's file in particular. When he was born, the doctors said he'd never walk. Look at how wrong they are!" He slammed a balled fist on his associate's desk. "He can walk, completely unaided, though I agree his condition would make him a good deal..." he searched for the word, "desireable, for the program."
Halsey didn't respond right away.
"But you know me Catherine! You know that all of the projects I've taken on in the last ten years have been clear successes. You know that I'll succeed here."
"Mind explaining how the great Doctor Chang plans to combat the mid-term stages of Palsey?" Halsey's voice wasn't joking. She was being serious.
"Replace his leg bones with metal, and rebuild his spinal column so that his nervous system can be worked on... Improved."
"Improved?"
"Yes. His sense of pain dulled, yet his perception of all other physical feelings involving touch left the way they are. I assure you, with the genetic alterations formulas you're working on for the SPARTAN program, I could formulate something that would do just that."
"Metal legs, reinforced nerves..." Halsey said out loud, pondering. "ONI wouldn't allow it."
"They wouldn't allow half the things you do." Chang grinned.
"It's my head if you fail, you know."
"It's your wallet doubling in size if I succeed. I'm only your assistant remember? All I really get, aside from this pathetic UNSC commissions check, is the satisfaction of a job well done. I assure you that if you allow me to build a SPARTAN squad, they'll make ONI proud."
"It would take a while for your subject to adapt to the new legs, and spine. If his body doesn't reject the augmentations and kill him, he'll be bed-ridden for weeks."
"During which time, I'll have him studying military stratagy and history."
"And the rest of the squad you want," Halsey smirked. "normal children, or are they crippled too?"
"The other subjects are unique, as subject 049. One, a girl named Lyn, can hit a target with a rock at 100 yards ten times out of ten. She says she can see it clearly enough to read off of it, even if the target is no bigger than, say, that journal you're always scribbling in."
"Hmm... That's talent. It's a positive thing. Palsey isn't."
"But the boy's determination is. That boy will be a SPARTAN. You'll see, and you'll have me to thank." Chang smiled.
Halsey sighed, defeated. "So you say he's on the Mars colony, along with another one of your little tests?"
"Yes, subject 052, Sean."
"Fine. Order abduction and flash-cloning. You can have your squad."
"Ma'am." Chang said, a hint of pride in his tone. "You're making the right choice."