Spartan 003
Chapter 1- Rendezvous On The Amber Clad
The blast of blue white hot plasma could be felt by soldiers even close to the enemy Wraith's shots. Sergeant Robertson Had motioned for his main battalion of pelican to air lift a new suppliment of Warthog reinforcements. A low flying blast from a nearby Wraith lineup took out almost half of the incoming drop ships, but were soon dealt with by a nearby Scorpion Tank.
"Commander, should we move in?" A young marine questioned. He was new to the CORPS but was forewarned that the squad he was now in was legendary for coming out scratch less for their precision shooting and strategies. He may have been new, but he also was aware of the new "Enhancements" certain few soldiers were undergoing. Implants, biologically accelerated muscle growth and sustainment, and even optical and sensory upgrades. Such a thing was unheard of, at least being done to humans to the general public.
It caused great controversy, but the new super soldiers were soon accepted and affectionately named "Spartans". "We don't move in till I get a shot at that tank driver...Flank on the left and barricade yourself with two point men armed with shotguns." The intensity in the eyes of his commander rattled the new private, but he wasn't going to belay the order of a decorated Spartan commander. He stepped down form his perch on the small rock face and headed down to flank behind the nearby Covenant battalion. As the squads position was confirmed the private watched in astonishment and fear as an Elite Guardsmen armed with a Plasma Rifle soon caught onto his scent.
In a race of sprinted panic he drew his gun and clipped back to fire upon the behemoth but was soon surprised to see the elite topple down where he stood. He wasn't alone however as he watched an additional three elites drop down in defeat. Nearby grunts retreated screaming and cursing in foreign alien tongue as their commanders were taken out. The private was gravely confused as he began to watch several more elites falling dead where they stood. Soon they had caught on however and took evasive positions behind nearby rocks and trees. The wraith was firing upon the rock face that they had just left. His commander along with a wing man remained behind, and a small shock of realization raced over him.
"The commander, HE'S STILL BACK THERE WE HAVE TO-" He turned to see the rest of the squad racing towards the tank, whose back was turned as it shot to destroy the source of the battalion's dismemberment. He soon took a long breath or preparation for the battle ahead and began unloading on the hiding elites. A new sense of duty to his commander flowing through him. The squad's point man grabbed a nearby plasma grenade that had rolled off of the belt of a nearby downed elite and hopped on the back of the wraith. Before the wraith could even turn the grenade was activated and planted to the hinges of the main door on the top of the giant purple juggernaut. This succeeded in blowing away the door along with causing the tank driver to turn. The private leaped for cover quickly with the rest of the squad as it began to unload on their position.
The squads commander jumped over the rock's ledge he had used for cover, minor plasma burns evident on his arms, but the same intense look as before. "Backard head to aid your crew with medical attention if needed. I'll handle the wraith." The squad man that had escorted the commander nodded and took his previously rehearsed position on wraith evasion. The commander ran up to the tank taking large leaps to avoid its fire and throwing grenades to the dirt to blind the drivers view of him as he quickly took advantage of his implements of enhancement. With a quick jump he landed on top of the wraith main face and with a quick squeeze of his sniper trigger he shot the driver dead. Without a second thought or flinch, he stood up straight on the disturbed earth the wraith pushed up.
"Report in squad injury report and count MAKE IT BRIEF." They quickly confirmed condition and count of the full squad and moved on to the next area of disturbance. As they took a stealthy approach to the back end of the main covenant command encampment, the private whispered a silent question to one of his squad mates who silently replied in confirmation of his curiosity.
"Our commander IS a Spartan and probably one of the best snipers in the U.E.A. I wouldn't question whether or not he is a good commander because had he not taken those Elites out...that wraith would've fried us and the trees we hid behind." He motioned for the private to put his attention back on the mission and after a quick flurry of sniper and Battle rifle fire, and a quick trudge over the corpses of their alien enemy the commander lead the team to the main encampment.
"Commander Tycous...or should I say Spartan159?" Master Chief motioned for the commander to step forward as they both looked over the covenant battle net within the conquered encampment. The two soldiers had a previous history of serving in the CORPS together and were friendly with each others presence unlike many of the other Spartans. Master Chief found it as quite a release to have a Spartan under his command that wasn't quick to become conceited in his own abilities and get his squad killed." Nice job back there David. Your squads swift elimination of any hostiles allowed a quick ambush to their main encampment. Word of the covenant's retreat has already reached main command."
"Thanks John but I prefer to keep it simple ya know? Protocol is great and all, but my men have confidence in me. I'm sure that without my confidence in YOU MASTER CHIEF I wouldn't be as swift." The two soldiers shared a laugh and rummaged through a small amount of tactical files before parting ways to their own squads. David knew John since they joined the CORPS together, but with an amazing ability to lead men into battle and his performance in battle his friend quickly became his superior. This didn't bother him as he was mostly a support man not a leader of all men. His marksmanship labeled him as a good person to depend on, and he was soon awarded with the title of Commander.
His mind was scarred from battle as was his body, but he'd do anything to defend the people he loved. Rumor was going around that Testing on Spartans for a new armor would soon commence. The Mark I armor as it was supposedly called, was said to have a personal shield just like the Elites had. This was quite good news as it was proving nothing but bothersome to wins these small pointless battles as it barley put a dent in the Covenant's forces. With the amount of Spartans being enhanced every day it seemed as though there WOULD be a way to even the fight up. Master Chief was said to be the first Spartan they were going to test on and that He would decide who would be tested next...That is if he was to survive. Sure it was just armor but David didn't trust technology as much as he used to.
The thought of a personal shield is intriguing but dangerous as well. The electric pulses and magnetic pull of the iron in your blood could very well be fatal to those not strong enough. The days went by as another fleet was destroyed close by David's own , and much to his dismay production on the armor was raced to a finish, many precautions overlooked. The day was coming soon and would remain classified until successful as the UEA preferred. David took a long walk through the airlock to board the nearby Amber Clad. Upon arrival he soon met up with Master Chief.
"David, I thought you hated technology. I thought for sure you'd turn this armor down!" The Chief looked at him strangely his pale brown eyes reflecting off of the dimly light corridor. He nodded agreeing giving Chief a glimpse of some of his plasma burns.
"Oh you know how it is Chief...for the UEA….for my family...for earth and all that gibberish...Truthfully though I'm getting it because I feel that it'll even things up with the elites and THEIR personal armament." He looked curiously into the room and saw on a nearby wardrobe pedestal the pride of the UEA scientists. "Hmm so that's the armor eh?" He gave a quick glimpse to the chiefs armor and nudged him in the shoulder. "Going green eh? I thought for sure you'd pick red you "Individual" you." He laughed along with the chief Examining his own armor which was black as the space through the windows. "Hey Chief, What's this symbol on your shoulders and back?"
"Don't call me Chief, David. We're good friends, and I Don't expect you to take a straight order from me anyways." The Chief walked over to his friends armor and eyes the symbol with interest. "It looks like a crosshair; i mean i heard about having a personal symbol on the armor, but I didn't know they'd be in tune to the user." The chief knew his friends skill with any weapon was amazing, but it was his skill with a sniper rifle that truly distinguished him as an elite soldier. "On your back there's and eagle crossed with sword in red and gray." David looked at his armor and then the mask it came with. It looked more robotic then man. This unnerved him making him rethink the entire decision.
"Chief are you sure this is a good idea...I don't feel safe...this technology isn't even tested yet. What if you don't survive the test John? The UEA would've lost one of their best Spartans." The Chief turned to him with an encouraging smile.
"What'dya mean ONE OF the best?" He nodded to his friend and headed to the chamber where the suit would be implemented into his Neurological signs. David's head was spinning as he took a look around the Amber Clad's armory. There was reinforced windows surrounding the room so that the view of space was evident to all its workers. It almost seemed as if the nearby star was taunting the worker with its large rays of light, but a quick visor would always be activated to make sure the Monolith's blazes of light wouldn't harm those viewing it. It took a while for him to breath normal again as numerous ideas flooded his head. From the view of a window, without a planet there is no point of perspective.
You could be going inhumanly fast in the vast darkness of space and not even realize it. The Amber Clad was stationed pretty close to earth however so a view of the blue planet was almost always within reach. He placed his hands on the cool glass separating him from the nothingness of space, and with a smirk and a long sigh began admiring the planet in it's glory. Thoughts of his family back on earth were always fresh in his mind. The thought of losing them was enough to fuel him with strength and determination enough to take out a spec ops elite. "I can almost see there faces...smiling back up at me." A nearby tech officer heard the commander's mumbling and turned to question him.
"What was that sir?" It was evident that the young officer thought the commander possibly had a question about the suit. The commander simply nodded him off as his eyes smilingly drilled a hole into he void of space reaching out to see his family.
"It was nothing soldier...get back to work on that vital analysis…I don't want chief in any pain during this procedure." The tech officer nodded and headed back to his post accordingly. David wasn't truly aware how long he had been waiting in the armory until metallic footsteps rung in his ears. He took his hands from the window noticing their impression as he walked towards the door the steps were emitting from. His eyes began to dilate as they readjusted to dim lighting of the ships lower level. With the small swish of the doors pressure system, it opened revealing an impressive looking Cyborg.
"You were always one for dramatic entrances weren't you John?" The Chief's face was shielded by the visor of the helmet. It sent chills through David's spine as he imagined it's capabilities, and he was soon a bit more enthusiastic about the whole project. The Chief took a couple of steps forward towards David, the footsteps echoing throughout the armory.
"Spartan 159, It's about time you became a super soldier." He put his hand on the commander's shoulder. "Good luck David...Oh and I think you'll enjoy the modifications i ordered for YOUR suit. David turned his head in alarm, but before he could protest the doors shut separating him from the world for the time being.
"Commander, We're going to be putting you in a more relaxed state so as to configure the suit to your neurological signs and to keep your muscles or reflexes from halting the procedure." The Commander nodded a slight sense of adrenalin overcoming him. He wasn't a fan of needles, but the amount of time he had gotten his in battle it wasn't something he couldn't stand. After the injection he began to feel sleepy, the world around him spinning, his arms and legs going numb, and thought of old time memories on earth flooding back.
With a sense of struggle he turned to one of the tech officers. "W-what custom features d-did the Chief request?" The officer turned to comply and smiled, happy to be questioned about his prized system.
"Well Commander, Your helmet has a new Optical Enhancement installed to improve on your old one. Your reflexes will be tuned so as to improve your multi tasking in the field of battle. You will have personal contact with the chief in access at all times, and your weapons will be specially in rhythm with the suits vital signs." David felt a cold feeling rush over him. He hadn't thought much about what it would be like AFTER the procedure. He would be a Cyborg, Virtually a robot, compared to the marines he lead into battle. He would have even more responsibility then before to keep his men alive now that he was a "Super Spartan".
With the sense of sleep coming over him, the mentally exhausted commander fell victim to his own fatigue. From his state he could still hear the tech officers hard at work and could occasionally recognize the foreign feeling of something alien. It was an unusual feeling without a doubt, but it went by quickly. What felt like minutes really took well over an hour. His eyes cracked open slightly, the light of the observation table glinting in his eyes. His vision felt strange as well. Although he was looking straight into a light he could see the bulb as a whole. The glare wasn't distorting his vision at all and his eyes were wide open.
Had they put the armor on? He wasn't sure as everything felt quite natural if not...better. He got to his feet and noticed the room was eerily silent. Suddenly a disembodied voice through his com. "Commander this is tech officer Chris Raikos. Your suit and all implements have been equipped. you'll noticed to you left a table with your new fire arms. Your sniper rifle has been upgraded to a newer model, an S2 AM. Your side arm has also been given a tune up. The M6C Magnum will be your new sidearm model. As per your modification the sniper clips will contain six shots instead of just four, and the projectiles and clips have been tuned for this as well." David's head was spinning again but this time his thoughts were perfectly clear. He grabbed his weapon and with a small tingle he could feel the weapon, how much ammo was left, the condition of the barrel, and even the ammunition that filled its clips.
"You'll also notice your vision has been given a "coat of protection" so to speak against glares, smoke, or anything else that should come between you and a clean shot sort of a solid barrier." The com cut off giving a short but noticeable static echoing into his ear. He looked down and could see the black armor his body was encased in. It felt so natural, his arms moved freely, his joints were easily bendable, and the suit didn't feel like any extra weight at all. He could hear a slight static once again as the com was once again active.
"Commander I'm afraid we cannot go through any configuration at the moment your needed on the bridge immediately, orders VIA Master Chief and Sergeant Robertson." David nodded and stretch for a second to get blood flowing throughout his body. He grabbed both of his weapons, clipping his pistol to the side of his belt. He carried his sniper freehand even though it wasn't proper procedure to carry firearms on the ship when it was without reason.
"Roger that tell Master Chief I'm.." He soon realized he could tell the Chief himself, and with a small static buzz he heard his friend's voice once again.
"I got your message David, hurry it up we've got a situation that needs immediate attention. The kind of attention they'd need us BOTH for..." David headed out of the lab, the door opened as slow as it ever has. As he made his way through the halls he found the suit nearly undetectable well at least to himself. Others stared at him as he flashed by bounding for the bridge. As he entered the bridge he could see that they had arrived in a different system, and that they had been their for quite a while. "You were out for a while David, and I wish you had time to get used to the suit but this is urgent. A Covenant fleet has entered the system, and although it's a relatively small one we have to get them out of the system before they take another planet as a stronghold.
David nodded, "The closer they get to the milky way, the closer they get to hitting us where it hurts, Earth..." The Chief pointed out a nearby hanger on the ships holo map.
"That's where we will be deploying commander, unfortunately we will not have our usual fleet as I feel they have had enough action for one day. We will be supplied with 30 men under our command." David gave a nod of compensation.
"Well then Chief let make sure they get home alive, but not before giving those alien bastards some hell.." With that the General dismissed them both watching as they made they're way to a nearby pelican. Upon arrival to the pelican they received many stares and subtle mumbling. As the ship approached, however everyone was silent shy of their clips locking into place.