Also, bad writer warning. x3
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There was only darkness and silence in the small cell. Its single inhabitant drew shallow, dry breaths as stagnant air pushed down into his lungs. The thick air tormented the young man to breathe it, with each breath came the sting from the diminutive irritants that lingered in the cell. It was a never ending nightmare and he didn't have to open his eyes to know he was curled on the same cot, in the same ship and heading towards a dead-end assignment. He dreamt brightly of his future, deep inside knowing it would be as dank as the room.
He sat in thought, wondering where in the solar system the ship was, how close to Pluto. As if on cue to answer the question, the cell door's electronic locks clicked open and blinding light flooded through the room. Then for what felt like the first time in years he heard something besides his own breathing. A pair of footsteps moved with haste towards him. Then a voice, deep and rough, but also insecure masked false authority.
"Prisoner 731, this is your stop. Prepare to disembark," it commanded harshly.
Prisoner 731 was more then happy to comply, but lacked the strength and speed the speaker wished. Within several seconds of the command, the speaker rammed a blunt object, a rifle butt, into the prisoner's back. Pain arced along Prisoner 731's back, pushing the air and a violent cough from him. Before he could recover, a set of rough hands gripped the prisoner's tank-top, pulling him off the cot.
There the young man was face to face with a the hardened facial features of a marine. For a split second the marine's gaze willed fearful tears to well into the prisoner's green eyes, but before he was broken, the marine forced the prisoner's head to one side as the second pushed a scanner against the young man's neck.
"Prisoner 731, Jamie Carpenter," the marine with the scanner confirmed, "This is our guy."
Jamie didn't have the time to regain his bearings. He was forcefully dragged from the containment cell into the corridor leading to freedom. The hall was completely different from the cell, it was bright and the air filtered. The light caused Jamie to clinch his eyes close and tears of pain rolled down his cheeks and the clean air working as a filter, caused him to cough phlegm from his damaged lungs. He tried to stop, double over and let the thick liquid drop from his mouth. Jamie's captor however refused to allow it and the marine pulled Jamie violently down the hall.
Further down the corridor the two men came to an automated door, the arrow painted on the ground before it reading 'showers.' The marine pulling Jamie punched the doors code into the keypad, then pushed Jamie inside.
"You have five minutes. I'd make sure you are clean."
When the door shut, Jamie undressed and rushed to a shower. He turned the water on and let the warm flow wash the grime from his lithe body. The young man quickly grabbed a shampoo bottle, lathering his shoulder length black hair and scrubbed it thoroughly clean, then proceeded to wash his body.
By the time Jamie had finished, he calculated that two of his five minutes remained. He leaned against the tile wall and let the water relax his aching muscles. He heaved a sign and looked towards the ceiling, simply wanting to collapse and sleep soundly. A light buzz filled the room, but abruptly stopped as the lighting in the ship died. Within a few short, eerie seconds, the lights and the buzz returned to the room.
"A true piece of Navy patchwork," Jamie mumbled to himself, his voice barely audible from the lack of recent use.
After the he dressed in fresh UNSC BDU, Jamie went back out into the hall and willingly followed the hostile marine into the hanger bay. The young man was then ushered to a waiting Pelican Dropship, which promptly lifted-off once preparations were complete.
There where several other prisoners besides Jamie on board, the UNSC unwilling to throw able bodied soldiers into prison and forget about them. They needed every human they could get to fight the Covenant and odds of survival even then were slim. Jamie never tried to think about it, the thought of species wide extinction made him shudder with uncertainty.
He quickly pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, closing his eyes and returning to the paradise he dreamed so frequently about. He felt acceleration, deceleration, twists and turns. Before Jamie wanted it, the troopship had arrived.
The Pelican's bay doors opened and unloaded the handful of men, Jamie being the last out. He stepped onto the dock of Installation No. 0005, A Plutonian mining facility. As the Pelican's rear door closed slowly Jamie caught the tail end of the pilot's checklist.
"Why did the radar just cut out? I can't get it back," the pilot said in confusion.
It didn't matter to Jamie, he was in his own little slice of the universe, the war machine would never near him. He watched the Pelican dust-off, hopefully the last time he'd ever see a machine of combat.
A/N: There it is chapter one. Boring and poorly written, I know. I just wanted to get something down and get some feedback. Dunno when I'll update, but it'll be sometime next week. Anyways, the poor quality is because lack of sleep. I'm normally a decent writer. Normally. Anyways, thanks for reading this thing. Bet it was as exciting as a grocery list.