The characters listed here are not owned by me. They are property of Bungie and these are just my original stories.
Halo: Re-commissioned
Spartan-117: John
Chapter 1: Funeral
Earth, War Tribute Memorial
April 2, 2553
The mid-day sun strayed arcs of light across the barren wastelands, showing vividly the scars left from the near genocide that was the Great War. The awards and armors glisten alike from the chests of the remaining humans of the UNSC, and the former Covenant Elites, or "Sangheli" as they call themselves; standing in formation together as the fallen are honored here today. A downed Longsword fighter in front of them has been covered with pictures and names of the brothers and sisters left behind, along with the number "117" carved into the tail rutter in large bold letters.
"I can never forget what your kind did to mine when you started this war" Admiral Coal grumbles in a cold, hard voice. "but thank you for being with him… until the end" he finished thoughtfully, hardly able to meet the stare of the elite named "Arbiter" as he shakes his hand. "It's hard to believe he's gone" he mumbles in a low voice not meant for anyone but himself. "Were it so easy" the Arbiter replies in a questioning tone, knowing just how hard it is to kill the one the Covenant had dubbed "The Demon".
As the ceremony ended, the elites entered their drop ships and ascend to their capital cruiser hovering high above the tattered, ruined city of New Mombassa; a city ripped apart earlier in the war, partially by their hands before the split of the Covenant army after the Prophet/Brute alliance undermined the elite control. The Covenant was an army that would defeat and absorb races into its ranks, and expanding it's control across hundreds of galaxies. Its purpose was a holy crusade of sorts, failing to understand the ancient technologies left behind by the mysterious Forerunner race which had crafted the seven halo rings across the galaxies as a last resort to the infection known only as the "Flood". The Prophets are a self righteous race who do not admit failure well; they brought the races of the elites, brutes, hunters,
grunts, drones, and jackals together with the belief that the Forerunners left on "The Great Journey" and that the rings where left for those pure enough to walk the path of enlightenment behind them into a sort of heaven. In the end, they came very close to activating the main controls for these rings, left by the Forerunners here, on Earth.
With the Covenant all but eradicated, and the Flood thought to be destroyed along with the Gravemind (an intelligent being which controlled the flood, making them work as one), it seems the Great War had ended, and again we could sleep peacefully. Before this war had started, before we knew of the Covenant, or any other race, we were at war with ourselves. The United Nations Space Corporation was under constant attack from the terrorist-like Insurrectionists, or "Innies". Wanting control as most wars are fought over; they killed hundreds of thousands in demonstration towards the UNSC, hoping to demoralize and shatter bonds. It was because of this, that the Spartan-II project was secretly devised. Dr. Halsey and Corporal Mendez abducted 75 of the most promising six-year-olds and enlisted them into the UNSC; from there they were conditioned and trained, taught history of war, all known types of war, and the reason they were there, to end it. They were shown recreation videos of ancient wars; one in particular was that of the Spartans of Greece, which the project was crafted around. They too were trained from children to be the greatest of all warriors.
Much like the ancient Spartans, these Spartan-II's were perfect warriors, and perfect soldiers at the age of 16. They worked more efficiently than any force of the UNSC, even the special operation ODST's(Orbital Drop Shock Troopers) which are similar to the old American Navy Seals. Even so, at this age they were ready for the next phase of the Spartan program. They were taken into Orbit around the planet Reach to a medical facility, here they were given treatments that enhanced every aspect of their physical abilities. Roughly half of the 75 Spartan-II's died during this process; several were too badly warped from the augmentations to proceed as soldiers. The others now were immensely stronger, faster, quicker reflexes, better all around senses, along with nearly unbreakable bones. This also made them taller and broader, which took weeks of therapy to adjust to.
Once accustomed to their new abilities, the 33 active Spartan-II's were flawless as a team. But even this was not the end of the project, as the final phase III was the introduction of their MJOLNIR Mark IV Powered Assault Armor, which enhanced their abilities ten fold in
comparison. They became seemingly unstoppable, meant to end the insurrections and bring peace without casualties to the UNSC. This is when the Covenant made a violent first contact on the planet of Harvest, and no longer were the Innies the primary concern. Later in the battle of Reach many Spartan-II's and marines alike died as the Covenant glassed the planned with their plasma weapons, it was unlike anything our worlds had ever seen, and it would not be the last world to endure such a fate. Several of the Spartan-II's are still considered missing in action (MIA), along with several younger Spartan-III's which were created later for suicide missions but proved to be just as resilient as their older siblings. The UNSC has listed all Spartan-II's and III's as MIA, because the secret branch of the UNSC named ONI played it as a moral booster, making it seem like Spartans couldn't die. "Wish that were true" a Spartan once said, but beneath the rubble and ash could even a Spartan survive the hell the covenant made of these galaxies? If they are still out there, will they come back in time to help us if we need them again?