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ACT 1: PROTECTORS OF HUMANITY

"All legends have a beginning"

SEPTEMBER 24th 2517/ LOCATION: REACH

A shock of electricity ran through David's body causing him to jolt up with a yelp.

"WAKE UP MAGGOT!" In front of him was a man who appeared to be in his late forties, holding a metallic baton. The other children in the room got up the same way he did. David got out of his cot as fast as he could, causing himself to get dizzy. He opened the chest next to his cot and saw a pair of grey sweats. Labeled in white on the shirt was David-119. Suddenly a uniformed man entered the room.

"Listen up recruits!" David and the others turned to look at the instructor. "I am Chief Petty Officer Mendez" The man said. He gestured at the other men in the room "These men and I will be your instructors for as long as you remain here. You will do EXACTLY what I say!

The Chief continued "Your first mission is to wash up in the showers." He pointed to the opposite end of the barracks. "Once you're dressed, you will form up in a shoulder to shoulder formation outside." Mendez said.

He let out a small sigh, folded his hands behind his back, and yelled "DOUBLE TIME IT! LET'S go, GO, GO!"

David and the others sprinted towards the showers. He washed himself in warm soapy water, then finished off with a cold rinse. As he sprinted back to his cot and threw on his shirt and paints, David thought about not being able to see his parents and sister again.

Then David started to jog when a girl behind him called out "Hey your shirts on backwards you know." His face turned red and he stopped to fix his shirt. The girl ran passed him, after he fixed his shirt, David caught up with her.

"The name's Claire by the way." She said as they jogged out of the barracks. Claire held her hand out.

"I'm David, nice to meet you." David said shaking her hand. He noticed her shirt labeled Claire-116. Like him and the rest of the children, her head was shaved, the color of her hair was dark brown but to David it looked black. David looked at the others as they ran by to see if he recognized anyone from his neighborhood. He then realized that he was surrounded by strangers. As they finally made their way to the Chief's location and joined the others in line, Mendez spoke "We will start with one-hundred push-ups. Go!" A few of the others groaned.

Seventy-five children dropped to the ground and began. After doing one-hundred push-ups David felt like he was going to throw up, but he held it in and swallowed. He shivered as it went back down.

"Now we do one hundred Jumping Jacks! Double time!" Mendez yelled.

"Ninety-one, ninety-two…" David called out. Come on don't give up, your almost there. He made himself go on even though his body couldn't take it. After they finally reached one hundred, David stopped and fell on his hands and knees, breathing heavily. David notice the boy on his left collapsed onto his back. His face was pale and covered in sweat. Rex-121 was labeled on the boys' instructor with a baton began to approach the boy. David saw him and immediately grabbed Rex's arm, pulling him up. The instructor scowled and pointed his baton at the two "I'll get you next time boot." Rex stood there speechless. David stuck his tongue out at the instructor when he turned around.

"Nice move." Claire said softly before she turned around and threw up.

David was about to say something until Mendez yelled "One hundred sit-ups!" As the Chief sat on the ground and put his arms around his head, David and the other children groaned and mirrored Mendez's movements. "No slacking!" The chief added.

After doing two sets of sit-ups, they did another set of one hundred jumping jacks. David continued doing this for what felt like hours. Here and there a kid would refuse and get beaten. While David was on his third set of push-ups, a pair of jets flew over. David looked up to see two longsword interceptors split formation over the complex. He then glanced at Mendez. That man was moving like a machine, as if they all were. When they completed the third set, David and the others then moved on to leg lifts, which were followed by hard squats. David threw up, but he knew he had to keep moving.

"Ok, now we rest!" Mendez finally told them. He motioned the other instructors to get something. Moments later they came back with carts full of water and snacks. David grabbed the bottle and chugged it down. He let out a sigh of relief and whipped the sweat off his forehead. His head was pounding and David felt like his veins were about to burst. He watched as the sun rose above the mountain range behind the complex.

After a few minutes of rest Mendez motioned them with a wave of his hand. "Gather around…" He said. David, Claire, Rex and the others formed a circle around the chief.

"I'm proud of what you've accomplished so far. But I'm afraid that is just the beginning of what's to come." Mendez told them. David and Claire glanced at each other while Rex stood there looking like he wanted to cry.

"Now, enough talk. Let's take a little stroll shall we?" Mendez said as he started to jog. As they followed the Chief out of the gate and into the dense forest that surrounded the area, the jog became a ten mile run. Ten minutes in, after passing through the thick forest, Mendez ordered them to triple time it. David, Claire, and Rex forced themselves to sprint as fast as they could in order to keep up with Mendez. They ran through a long tunnel under the mountain range and even ran across a fast-moving river.

After sprinting for what felt like hours, David clutched his side as it began to cramp. He ignored the pain and continued moving. After running for what felt like two hours, a smile came across David's face as he saw the large fences of another UNSC base. This base was larger than the complex they were last at. A marine in the guard tower saw the group approaching and opened the gate with the push of a button. He stared at Mendez and the seventy-five children as they ran through.

Mendez led the group up to a large building at the center of the base. A tall marble sign read Naval Officer's Academy. Old Earth naval fighter jets from the 21st century were positioned at the front as if they were guarding the entrance. Those were likely duplicates that were shipped from Earth. Mendez slowed down as he approached a flight of steps and held up a fist. David collapsed onto the ground and breathed heavily. After his breathing slowed down, David got up and noticed there was an A.I standing at the top of the stairs. Her holographic figure was covered in symbols. David stared in awe at the construct as this was his first time seeing one. She took the appearance of a Greek goddess. David remembered learning about Greek mythology from his mother.

"Greetings" The A.I said in her robotic yet smooth voice. "My name is Deja and I will be your teacher." David heard the others groaned, but he stood there and didn't say anything. He enjoyed learning about new things. "Unless you'd like to spend the rest of this wonderful morning with Chief Petty officer Mendez. Then I suggest you come along." She said waving her hand towards the entrance of the academy. David triple timed up the steps and entered the building.

The lobby was split into three corridors: one going left, one going right, and one in the middle. Deja led them into the left corridor, passed three rooms and then entered the fourth room. David rushed to a seat to find a small pile of crackers and a bottle of water on his desk. He scarfed the crackers down and chugged the water, then let out a sigh of relief. David managed to snatch another cracker off a boy's desk when he wasn't looking. The lights dimmed and a holo projector appeared in the center of the room. A tall holographic figure appeared.

"How many of you know about the legendary Battle of Thermopylae?" Deja asked. David recognized the figure, the man held a circular shield in one hand and had a spear in the other. He and a few others raised their hands slowly. She told them the figure was a "Spartan". The Spartan holo transformed into a battle field. David saw three-hundred Spartans highlighted in blue clustered together as the Greek army retreated behind them. The Persian army (which was highlighted in red) charged toward them. Even though the Spartans managed to hold their ground for a long period, most of the Greek army was whipped out. Leaving the Battle of Thermopylae a clean victory for the Persians.

The lights lit the room once again and the holographic display disappeared. "That will be all of today's lesson." Deja said "Now, then report to Chief Mendez outside for your next assignment." David groaned loudly as Deja motioned them to leave. Just like Deja said, the Chief was waiting patiently outside, along with the other instructors.

Mendez nodded at David and the others as they approached him. "Gather around" He said gesturing them too come closer. "All right listen up! Now we head to the playground." The Chief told them. Mendez put his hand on his hips and shouted "DOUBLE-TIME IT RECRUITS!"