Chi Ceti, August 16, 2556
Spartan, Marcus 325 was enjoying himself beneath his gold visor as he whirled and weaved his Warthog through the trees of the large forest areas, a major colony planet that was never touched by the reach of the covenant until now that is. With the Sanghelli civil war the Storm faction was reaching to the outer "unknown" areas to operate undetected. The Lt. was an odd SPARTAN in comparison to the rest.
He was one of the few III's left in active duty, he showed more emotions than the rest of the SPARTANs- but only with close "friends", on occasion he joked with the ODSTs and marines which always surprised them. Marcus was tall even for a SPARTAN, he was 8ft tall man with rich brown skin, a completely shaved bald head. His brown eyes were slightly lighter than normal humans due to his optical implants from augmentation, and he had a clean cut goatee. His dark brown Mjolnir Pathfinder armor added to the effect of looking muscular.
Plasma bolts streamed ahead as two covenant ghosts were closing in. He wasn't concerned by the adversaries that were firing at him, He was more interested in contemplating what color he should paint his armor when he returned to the Autumn-class Cruiser THE GREYHOUND. "Should it be red?- nah to over used." he thought to himself "Green? Psshh chief made that the poster color for SPARTANS. Blue?-maybe. Got it, Steel black with a dark green trim." If that is the epitome of bad-ass he didn't know what would.
He drifted around a cliff face and saw the UNSC compound thinking. "Time to get rid of these guys. " He hit the breaks hard and jumped into the air, grabbed two frag grenades and through them at the ground in front of the ghosts. They bounced just high enough to be level with the riders and blasted them sky high. The Lt. landed in a crouched position on a patch of mud, splattering his visor with about fours drops of brown. "Damn I'm good" he thought knowing that someone at the base was watching him. He stood up and realized he still had about three miles to walk before reaching the compound. "Dammit" he said to himself as he started running.
Five minutes later he reached the compound. As he walked up he saw that they were getting ready for something- whatever it was he was sure they didn't need him. Two metallic blast doors opened and The Lt. walked through and a young an engineer no more than nineteen came up besides him "Lieutenant, We detected an explosion three miles out, we were unsure what to d-" They stopped walking "I neutralized two Storm scouts close to the perimeter" The Lt. interrupted. the engineer looked shocked "Oh, then… I… will tell the men to stand down" The Lt. nodded in acknowledgement and continued walking in a brisk speed "umm, sir you had received a message while you were gone" the poor engineer had to keep a light jog to stay with the towering SPARTAN "the GREYHOUND has sent a Pelican to pick you up. It will be here in about" the kid looked at his watch nervously "ten minutes" In a steady and intimidating voice The Lt. acknowledged
The Lt. quickly moved to his quarters, it was separate from the marines for they had no room for an 8ft giant, he gathered his items- a sniper with customized barrel for CQC to mid ranged engagements and a small yellow smiley face on the left side, two SMGs with suppressor attachments and extended magazine, and a standard assault rifle with a frowning face on the right side. He put them all in a duffle bag with the exception of his sniper rifle, he just felt better knowing it was in his hand.
Walking out onto the landing platform he saw the pelican beginning to descend as opened its back ramp. The Lt. saw three ODSTs in side, two of which he recognized. "Well if it isn't my favorite marines in the core, Rocket and Fives." To his left an ODST holding a grenade launcher with a rocket decal on the side of his armor (where he got his name from) nodded in greeting. To his right a woman stood up "I thought SPARTANS aren't supposed to have favorites, Lt" she joked as she stretched out her arm to help The Lt. up to be nice, knowing she could not lift him "Eh- we have preferences" he said as he took her hand.
He looked at the back where the third was sitting with his helmet off, he looked green not in the sense of being new, but airsick. Probably was the first time of prolonged flight for the poor kid. "Who's he?" The Lt. questioned as the ramp started closing and the craft began ascending. Fives looked at the young kid and turned back to The Lt. "Ah just some newbie fresh from boot" "Hmm" The Lt. nodded and sat down besides Rocket. Fives leaned forward "He scored high on his tests so they gave him a position with us since you were going to need a team" The Lt. let out a puff of air in amusement under his helmet.
He put on an open com to the kid "Hey Green? What's your rank?" the kid looked scared and surprised that the SPARTAN was talking, least of all to him "C-corporal" he said nervously "C-Corporal Jacob Hernandez sir" he said with more confidence. The Lt. looked to Rocket and then to Fives who merely shrugged and leaned back onto the side of the transport, The Lt. did the same. The next fifteen minutes went by in silence.
Arriving at the GREYHOUND The Lt. and the ODSTs disembarked form the transport. The Lt. turned to Rocket "So are you guys escorting me or do you just want to follow?" Rocket looked at The Lt. "Fives told you, we're your new fire team" "And we're stickin' with you as long as we can" Fives added "So where are we going Lt.?" she asked "Well I'm going to go get my armor sprayed, you guys are welcome to come along" he said as they exited the hangar. The kid piped in from the back "W-what are you going to paint it, s-sir?" The Lt. could tell that Green was forcing himself to join the conversation, he sounded nervous and unsure. The Lt. turned hi head so he could see him, the kid was looking better than when they first met but was putting a big effort to keep up with them.
"Black with green trim" The Lt. plainly said. Fives looked at him "Trying to be a bad-ass 325?" "I already am" The Lt. answered in a joking tone, Fives shrugged "Riiiight" she said sarcastically. The Lt. stopped at a door " Alright I'm gonna get sprayed, I'll meet you three in the mess in at 0600, understood?" "Yes 'sir'' Rocket and Fives said in unison "Green?" The Lt. asked waiting for a response "Oh, uh yes sir.' The Lt. nodded and entered the SAPRTAN armory. For the next two hours he would be sitting down twiddling his thumbs, bored out of his mind, while he waited for his armor. -*All hands brace for slip space jump*- he heard on the intercom.
Two hours later a man came out walking along side an unmanned cart carrying The Lt.' armor. The man pulled out a clip board and started reciting what was on it "One Mark VI Mjolnir Pathfinder variant chest plate, one pair Pathfinder greaves, and forearms, One pair of Ricochet variant shoulder pads, and lastly one Mark IV helmet. Paying homage to those who fell huh? Well SPARTAN it seems that your armor is ready and fit for duty. And for convenience we repaired any dents and cracks." The Lt. stood up and grabbed his helmet.
He looked at the man, nodded in thanks and left to go put on his armor. Walking into the mess hall all eyes turned to him, not only was he the only SPARTAN on the ship, he was walking into the cafeteria for normal marines. He stood tall in his shining, freshly painted armor so that everyone could see (pleasing his ego). He saw his team in the back tables, away from the other marines and in the shadows. "So what are we having?" he said in his deep voice. Rocket half-heartedly lifted his fork form his plate "Slop, slop, and a light green slop" he answered while letting his fork drop back onto his plate "Sounds appetizing doesn't it" Fives joked.
"Well I'm glad Green likes it" they all turned to Green who had three empty plates around him, he looked up from his plate "What? I'm hungr-"
A huge explosion shook the ship. "Helmets on" The Lt. ordered. There was no hesitation in any of them. They raced to their lockers for their weapons. Another explosion shook the cruiser. *how could they be under attack in slip space?* he thought. They raced down the hall ways "Hey guys" Green called after them "There's something in this roo- AH" The room exploded blasting Green with glass and shrapnel, a second later he was sucked out into space -*depressurization in armory 34-b*- the intercom said.
The Lt. and the other two ODSTs activated their mag boots to keep from having the same fate as Green "Son of a Bitch" Fives yelled as she slammed her fists into the wall showing her frustration "Kid had just got here" "We can't help him now" The Lt. stated. Another explosion went off The Lt. looked at his team "We need to find these bombs and the person responsible. Activate your VISORs and lets go." "Yes sir" his team answered. They took off in the direction to the elevator "Rocket take the corridor on the left, Fives Take the right." they split off to find the saboteur.
The Lt. ran they entire length of the ship. *nothing* he thought he started to turn back when he saw Fives "Sir I found another Bo-" suddenly two blue prongs came straight through her. She started rising into the air when the form of an elite zealot started to come out from its active camo "Fruqo't Bluagh Nishum" (Damn Disgusting humans) it said as it threw Five's lifeless body to the ground. The Lt. fired three shots of his modified sniper into the head of the Zealot. the elite fell to the ground and started to crawl away. The Lt. stepped over it and put the barrel of the sniper to its head "Flattery will get you nowhere" he said as he fired the last shot.
He reached down and took its sword, he figured it would be useful later on. He walked over to his comrade took her ammo and grabbed her tags. Another explosion went off *there must be another one* he thought. He bolted down the hallway -*all hands abandon ship repeat abandon ship*- *abandon ship in slip space, what was the captain thinking* he was already hearing pods ejecting into the stream and disappear, some instantly exploded rocking the ship even more.
The Lt. continued running when he heard two shotgun blasts. He rounded the left corner to see Rocket fighting another Zealot. Rocket rolled as the zealot swung at him, he fired taking down its shield as he stood back up, but the zealot slashed up at him, cutting through his torso. The Lt. started firing as Rocket fell back. The Lt. fired two shots, one in the heart and the other to the head. "How bad?" The Lt. asked as he crouched next to his partner "Bad. I don't think I'll make sir...Where's Fives?" Rocket questioned weakly.
The Lt. shook his head, Rocket understood. A loud sound rang through the ship, but not from an explosion. The Lt. ran to an observation window across from him. They were still in slipspace but the ship was tearing in half. The Lt. went back to Rocket "Come on, we need to leave" he said as he started to lift his friend. Rocket groaned in pain "N-no. I ain't going to make it" he said as he took off his helmet showing that he has been coughing up blood. Rocket reached into his armor and pulled out his tags. He put his hand into The Lt.' "Take these bastards out" he said with his last breath.
The Lt. stared into Rocket's lifeless eyes. "Rest easy" The Lt. said as he closed his team member's eyes. He stood up and took the sword from the fallen Zealot.
Out the corner of his eye he saw a third Zealot walking down a hallway away from him. He pulled out his dual SMGs and opened fire, the Zealot turn around and pulled out his sword. It charged just as the hallway behind The Lt. exploded as the ship was completely split apart. The Lt. activated his mag boots to keep from flying out and he saw Rocket pass him into the void of space. The elite was trying desperately to grab something when The Lt. grabbed him and held on to him as the emergency blast doors closed to re-pressurized the hall.
The Lt. stood as the Zealot was regaining its air. It looked to The Lt. who pulled out the energy sword he took a few minutes before. The Zealot stood and reached for his only to realize it had been sucked into space. The Lt. tossed his second sword to his adversary, "Die with honor" he said knowing it understood. The elite nodded and they circled each other waiting for the other to strike. they both lunged crossing swords and holding the position. The Zealot stared into the Gold visor of his worthy foe, a legendary SPARTAN.
The Lt. head butted the elite regained his footing and drove a full force knee into its gut. The zealot stumbled back and shook off the hits, it lunged at The Lt. who blocked its attack while spinning towards the zealot and impaled its abdomen. Blue blood came from its mouth as it stumbled forward. The Lt. helped set the elite on the floor. He looked it in the eyes " I'lokt ta sirekte nolac SPARTAN 325 int'um" (I am SPARTAN 325, know my name as I kill you). The elite looked across to the window "Eelek dar sem" (finish me.) The Lt. took off his helmet so the zealot could see his light brown skin and cold unflinching eyes as the sword was rotated 90 degrees and thrusted deeper into the body of the elite. It let out a small groan of pain then went limp.
He stood up with the two swords and holstered them. He looked around for a terminal and saw one on the far left side of the room he was in. He approached it and looked at the ship diagnostic. It showed that most of the ship still had air and pressure, it continued and displayed the number of people left alive... only one. The Lt. figured three reasons: 1) they went to the escape pods, 2) there are more elites left, and 3) they were sucked out when the ship split. He backed away from the terminal, all he could do now was sit and wait.
He walked through the ship looking for anything he could use to transmit a distress signal- nothing. He needed options but there were none. If he didn't find something he would die of starvation. Walking through the engineering bay he saw lines of cryo-tubes. "Got it" he moved to an access terminal and opened one. With no distress signal or any communication he knew it would be a while before someone found him. He set a timer for ten years then it will automatically thaw him hopefully someone will find him. Hopefully. As the door slid down he thought *at least I got my armor painted* as he closed his eyes.
Authors Note: This is my first story and I wanted to get away from Master Chief since there are so many Spartans in his shadow. Please let me know what you think
