0530 Hours, October 20, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Sol System, D77-TC Special Operations Pelican Dropship Blackbird
Low Earth Orbit
Maria stood at the edge of the heavens.
Awestruck, she took in its powerful, placid beauty. The world below seemed still.
Had there not been this critical mission, she'd stand here for hours just taking in the splendor of mother earth. Her ionosphere resided just under Maria's feet. The special operations pelican drop ship hovered in low orbit. The colossal sphere down below beckoned as if pulling her in. She slowly traced her sights from the depths of the oceans all the way up to the zenith of this perfect, azure orb. The blues and the whites twirled together, leading up to a dim glow at the sunlit horizon…and then: the inky black of the far beyond.
It was surreal. She felt humbled, hollow and weightless. The slow rush inside her settled and she was one with space, in tune with her surroundings. She looked around to take in its majesty once more. Coming into focus against the deep blues was the deck plate of the pelican. It was nothing in comparison to the planet, an insignificant little piece of metal. And she stood upon its edge. She stared into earth with no thought in her mind as if earth persuaded her that she needed none. She realized just how small the human race actually was.
A crackle of static washed over her ears as the audio emitters in her prototype armor helmet resonated for the first time. Crystal clear voices echoed into her consciousness, so incongruous to the quiet stillness of space.
She snapped back into reality.
"Blackbird arriving at the window in three…two…"
"Telemetry signals green. All signals clear."
"Confirm drop bay open."
"Roger."
"Preparing test and catalogue of A-12-121 MJOLNIR Mark VI Armor."
"Spartan Zero-Six-Two approaching rear of craft."
It was the real-time full-duplex feed of mission control down below, tracking her every move.
"Soldier, you ready to visit beautiful Songnam for a little exercise?" said an old voice thick with Korean accent.
Maria considered the question. The Test Director sure put it to her leniently, as if she had a choice. Technically, she did. OT&E never tolerated safety risks, especially ones involving extreme high-altitude free-falls.
She would have a choice and it comforted her. She hadn't seen any kind of action since the fall of Jericho VII, though deep down she began to push the illusion of choice away from her mind. She was and always would be a Spartan whose luxuries were seldom. She couldn't deny her past. There was no escaping this call of duty today. No matter what danger befell her, she felt compelled to complete this drop—and for a number of reasons. She hadn't known what the rush of combat felt like in many years following her discharge from active duty, and surely pride was part of her reasoning as she had volunteered for this duty. She couldn't pull out now—what would that say of Spartans?
But more than being representative, she remembered the feeling...
She remembered what selfless service was, what it was like to devote everything to a common objective for the good of others.
She deliberated all the likely outcomes of this test sortie. Above risk and danger and death was Spartans—her brothers and sisters—empowered with the greatest augmentation of all time. A modern marvel wartime engineering. The successful evaluation of this exercise would prove that MJOLNIR Mark VI was ready to be fielded by the leanest, meanest, greenest soldiers the universe had ever seen.
The Naval Captain's question surged back into her mind.
There was utterly no reservation in her voice. It was time to perform her soldierly duty.
"Affirmative, sir."
"Then commence drop on my mark..."
She took in the barren vista of cold vacuum once again. It offered her no quarter and seemingly ushered her towards earth, forcing her to complete this mission.
"…MARK!"
She jumped.