Spartans of Death among Angels and Dragons
A chance meeting
'The Light of Mana, the ability to interact with the world around the person using it. It is the next step in human evolution. Those born with it have the luxury of an easy life but those born without it are instinctively violent anti-social monsters. These people are called Norma and segregated from society never to be heard from again...' The voice of a young girl spoke to herself in reminiscence. She opened her eyes and found herself in a fetal position sitting on a beach head. Her blonde stylish bob-cut swayed as the wind blew through her hair. She also donned on a blueish catsuit revealing her inner thighs, stomach, and back. She looked to her left and remember where she was.
A young male with dark brown hair worked on a large humanoid machine resting on the beach for quite some time. Despite his youthful look he knew what he was doing in repairing the machine to full capacity. The girl smiled, gratefully he knew what he was doing otherwise she'd be stuck there.
"Repairs shouldn't take much longer." The male said not taking his eyes of his work.
Between meeting the male in a huge misunderstanding situation by waking up next to him tied to a bed and having mishaps by having his face near her crouch multiply times, she was grateful for the things he did in the short time they knew each other, "Thank you Tusk." She told him getting up and walking over.
"Don't mention it, It's the least I can do since..." Tusk trailed off upon hearing a gun cock before finishing his sentence, "...since our misunderstandings."
She holstered her weapon and reassured him with a chuckle.
She sat down beside him and watched as he worked. Tusk would continue to loosen and tighten bolts while cleaning some parts of the mechanical machine. He stopped and brushed his forearm across his forehead wiping the sweat off until the sounds of rapid gunfire erupted from the forest.
The blonde girl stood up unholstering her weapon. Tusk on the other hand dug into the cockpit of the machine and pulled out an assault rifle. The blonde immediately swapped weapons with Tusk giving him the pistol, "What was that?" Tusk asked.
"Maybe it's a search party." The blonde replied. Having crashed into the water with the machine it's possible that her colleagues sent a search and rescue team but what struck out as odd was the sound of the gunfire. It wasn't like anything she heard before, "Let's go check it out."
"Are you sure about this?" Tusk asked with concern. Having been in the area long enough there was no telling what that sound could be from. Nonetheless if she was intending on going there was no room for protesting although she knew how to take care of herself and having an extra hand would help.
The Blonde gripped her rifle and proceeded into the forest. She wasn't taking any chances because recently she was bite by a poisonous snake in the inner thigh and had Tusk suck it out. The thought of it infuriated the girl who gritted her teeth gripped her rifle tighter. Tusk wasn't far behind.
Deeper in the Forest, SPARTAN Location
"So what do you think it is?" Carter asked looking down upon the fallen creature at his feet. The creature laid flat on it's belly in a pool of it's own blood with hole out it's back from the shots of MA5 rifles and a DMR.
"It looks like a dragon." DeMarco replied having kelt down beside it's head poking it with the end of his rifle's barrel.
"Dragon?" Daisy stated. She wasn't sure if she heard the word right and wanted confirmation. She stood furthest away also keeping an eye on their six.
"Or a massive lizard with wings." DeMarco commented jokingly. Daisy shook her head and shouldered her weapon making sure there wasn't any more surprises.
"It's probably indigenous here." Carter said looking at the structure of the creature. Reach had some indigenous creatures of it's own, "Do either of you know what Planet we're on?" He then asked the two other SPARTANs.
Daisy glanced back towards Carter and shook her head before looking back to cover their six.
"If I had to guess I'd say we're on earth. Probably in the lower hemisphere below the equator." DeMarco explained standing up and looking up the sky then the surrounding area.
"You know that much off by heart?" Daisy asked slightly turning her head. Judging by her tone she was either being sarcastic or irritating.
DeMarco let out a small chuckle, "Miss, I was in Rio De Janeiro. Trust me, I've been to a lot of Planets and none of them come as close as the forests on earth." He explained with pride. During his time as an ODST, DeMarco spent most of his time dropping in on dozens of planets and enjoyed his time in Rio De Janeiro after the New Phoenix incident as a SPARTAN IV.
Carter glanced up at the sky, "So we could be in South America?" He said. Though he wasn't personally on Earth he had studied the planet during his SPARTAN training.
"Probably." DeMarco answered.
Daisy lowered her weapon and walked over to the other SPARTANs, "That doesn't explain the Dragon here on Earth?" She said stopping at the foot of the dead creature.
DeMarco looked towards the red SPARTAN, "I though you knew the answer?" He responded.
Daisy scoffed at his response, 'Who does he think he is?' She mentally asked herself.
"We're wasting time talking rather than moving out." Carter butted in before thing escalated to the point where the two would try to kill each other. That was the last thing Carter wanted.
Daisy turned to Carter and nodded, "Right let's move." She said.
"You put you in charge." DeMarco asked turning to the blue SPARTAN.
"Unless you're above the rank of Commander, I don't see why you shouldn't take the lead." Carter responded stepping in DeMarco's face close enough to see a reflection in the slit line of the SOLDIER variant's visor.
DeMarco felt like he was hit with a brick and immediately back down, "Lead the way." He calmly said. DeMarco was a squad leader before but Carter was something else, he got the sense of a strong-will determined leader with a lot of experience behind him. The last SPARTAN Commander he knew was Sarah Palmer and she was a bit of a buzzkill but Carter seemed to be more relaxed somehow. DeMarco was relieved he didn't have to lead for a change and followed Carter's lead with Daisy behind them covering their six.
As they left, two individuals came by in another direction. The Blonde girl stopped upon seeing the Dragon dead, "A Scuna-class DRAGON?"
"Ange, wait up." Tusk called finally catching up and stood beside her, "a DRAGON?" He stated looking down to the dead creature.
"It looks like it's been killed." the blonde stated inspecting the wounds on the DRAGON.
Tusk knelt down also inspecting the wounds of the DRAGON, "Maybe it was the rescue party." He said standing up.
"Could be." The blonde stated. She turned to her left and noticed several deep pockets in the soil perfectly spaced out for foot prints, "Boot prints?" She asked herself taking a closer look of the prints.
"Those prints are too big." Tusk responded as the blonde place her hand close by the print. The prints themselves were twice as big as normal boots, "Maybe we should leave." He said cautiously.
Realizing they weren't normal sized boot prints she stood up and understood his caution. She turned to face him and nodded, "Right." Rather than finding out what made those print they proceeded back towards the beach head.
Beachhead
"What is that?" SPARTAN DeMarco asked aloud standing next to a large mechanical humanoid machine rest peacefully on the beach.
"Looks like some kind mech unit." Carter replied noticing the cockpit of the machine. He took notice of the toolbox next to an open compartment leading to the internal machinery.
"Is it Covenant?" Daisy asked walking closer to the head of the machine. She stopped and turned to the other two SPARTANs waiting for a reply.
DeMarco and Carter both turned to each other as if they exchanged looks but their helmets were blocking their expressions but the gestures said otherwise. Turning back to Daisy, DeMarco stepped forward.
"The structural design looks to sharp to be Covenant and there is too much plating detail. Imma take a guess and say this is Forerunner." DeMarco explained. Despite having next to little to no knowledge on the forerunner, his travels as a SPARTAN made up for it especially being on board the UNSC Infinity.
Daisy and Carter then shared looks with each other. They two then turned to DeMarco, "Forerunner?" Daisy stated questionably.
Underneath DeMarco's Soldier Variant Helmet he rose an eyebrow in question,"You're joking right?" He said aloud with a scoff
"Now isn't the time for jokes." Carter recited.
DeMarco let out an irritated sigh, "The Forerunner is...was an ancient civilization a long ass time ago an-" ; "Something's just over." Daisy interrupted DeMarco before lifting her MA5B assault rifle. DeMarco hoped they were listening and might want to ask more later but there were more pressing matters.
What a appeared to be a white neutral dot on their HUDs they wondered what it could be. However they weren't going to take chances so they proceeded cautiously towards the dot weapons lifted and just beyond some ridges.
"I am a little tea pot, short and spout. Here is my handle, here is my snout, when I get all stream up, hear me shout..." An automated voice sung and hummed. A second sound was heard and it sounded like sputtering and vibrations. The three SPARTANs peaked over the ridge noticing a hovering cubic automatron. It had a blueish like emulating from a front central glass.
"Gr, not good." DeMarco commented gripping his MA5D.
"You know what that thing is?" Carter asked slightly lowering his weapon and turning to DeMarco.
"I'll tell ya later." DeMarco assured him looking back. He knew what that thing was and it could explain why they are where they are now.
"Hmm? Is someone there?" The Automatron turned in the direction of the SPARTANs. DeMarco quickly looked towards the hovering contraption and pulled his trigger. The others followed suit, "Gyah! Proceeding with evasive maneuvers!" The contraption said before spinning around and sputtered away evading the bullets.
The contraption shot up and immediately dropped behind a ridge for cover and played the waiting game, "Come out so we don't have to flank you." DeMarco said aloud. Carter and Daisy look to each other and nodded.
Just as Daisy and Carter slowly flanked around the ridge the contraption sounded, "Activating Sensory Pulse Scan." He stated. The three SPARTANs looked to each other in question still zeroed in on the ridge. Before anything was done a large energetic pulse erupted from the ridge hitting the three SPARTANs.
Carter's and DeMarco's energy shields were drained once the pulse made contact also making hem recoil back but Daisy looked at the two with curiosity.
"Vitality levels normal...bone structure denser than average...neural activity accelerated...oh you did make it. He will be most please." The contraption explained in delight.
"What? Who will be most pleased?" Carter asked brushing off the sudden recoil and regain composure. He lifted his rifle and kept his finger on the trigger.
The contraption hovered upwards looking directly at the SPARTANs, "Why my colleague of course. Allow my to introduce myself Reclaimers, I'm-" ; "Not so fast tin can." He said and was about to introduce himself but DeMarco interrupted it. DeMarco had lowered his weapon down to his side still had his finger on the trigger as his energy shields recharged.
"First we need answers." Carter added also lowering his weapon to his hips.
"Of course Reclaimer, I'm sure you have endless amount of questions but rest assured they will be answered in do time." It explained. It sounded as if it knew what the SPARTANs were going to ask. DeMarco had read the reports of Monitors on various Shield Worlds even though it was classified he still managed to snag a few files regarding the Forerunner and this contraption matched the description and appearance of a Monitor
"Very well, Do you know anything about that machine there?" Carter asked and pointed to the unknown machine on the beach head.
The Monitor Contraption yawed to it's left noticing the machine as well, "Scanning, Scanning..." The Monitor said using an area scanner on the machine, "Mechanical Entity Unknown." It told the SPARTANs.
"Great." DeMarco commented in a dispointed tone. Daisy didn't say much but cautiously watched the monitor scan the machine.
"Odd, but most interesting." The Monitor said still scanning the machine.
"What is?" Carter asked stepping up.
"Although it doesn't register in my data banks; the joints and structural frame appear to have been constructed by...Humans." The Monitor reluctantly said. It wasn't sure how to go about explaining things to the Reclaimers or rather SPARTANs.
The three SPARTANs fell silent and looked amongst each other. They can't read mind but they knew what each other was thinking then they turned to the Monitor ready to ask. It had finished it's scan and waited patiently hovering in place looking at the SPARTANs.
"Is it pilotable?" Carter asked. If it was pilotable then either SPARTAN could use it and get them off wherever they were along with the Monitor so it can start explaining.
"More or less. It requires at least some repairs before it's able to piloted." The Monitor replied.
"So how do we repair it?" DeMarco asked in turn. He knew somethings in repairs since he a few others modified a Covenant Shadow Ground Transport to fly then repairing an unknown machine wasn't bad at all.
"Internal components are damaged and must be repaired as well as making a few adjustments." The Monitor explained, "Two unknown entities approaching behind us." It said shifting up looking ahead behind them.
"Who are they?" One of the two individuals asked. The SPARTANs turned around and immediately lifted their respective weapons towards the two. Upon seeing them, one of them wore a revealing catsuit and was blonde and the other wore a casual shirt and pants who had brown hair.
"We were going to ask you the same thing." Daisy stated zeroed in on the Blonde who held the assault rifle and had it pointing back.
The Monitor hovered directly in front of the barrel of Carter's DMR, "Please Reclaimers, I would rather avoid a direct confrontation if possible." It said with concern underneath that monotoned automated voice.
"Are you three looking for me?" The Blonde stated. Despite having an automated thing she was more focused on the three heavily armored SPARTANs.
Just as Carter was about to speak DeMarco spoke before hand, "So what if we are? Maybe we could be doing something completely different." He said sounding catty. The Blonde frowned at his remark and pulled the rifle tighter for better accuracy.
"Reclaimer, I would refrain from using taunting words. You brash attitude will avoid any negotiations in the near future." The Monitor said again with concern.
"Hell, I'll take you on bare handed girly." He stated dropping his MA5D and walked over casually. The Blonde gave the courtesy and allow him to step forward.
Once he reached for a grab the Blonde knocked the arm out of the way and got around him then she booted he back of his knee as hard as she could making him drop to the sande kneeling. The Blonde pulled out his M6 Sidearm and held it towards the back of his head.
"Drop your weapons!" She demanded pressing lightly on the trigger.
"For Christ's sake." DeMarco commented aloud standing up and turning towards the two SPARTANs with the Blonde still holding the gun to the back of his head. Tusk watched quietly as his Blonde compatriot worked.
Carter and Daisy then exchanged looks knowing that SPARTANs would never allowed to be taken prisoner. Having turned back to DeMarco who waited patiently with his arms down and played along. The SPARTAN IV gave the slightest nod which Daisy and Carter knew what it was about and trusted his judgement and played along.
"Drop 'em!" She demanded.
"Alright, you win, for now." Carter said, and just like that Daisy and Carter dropped their weapons to the sand.
DeMarco then spin around knocking loose the M6, grabbed her arm, and pulled her over his back making her flip on to hers. Tusk lifted his sidearm and had it pointed to the SPARTAN's helmet, "Maybe we got off on the wrong foot." He said calmly holding down the Blonde while looking at Tusk.
The Monitor the darted for Tusk, "Exactly my point. Thank the makers we avoided a direct confrontation otherwise all this planning would have been for nothing." It stated stopping a few feet away from Tusk's face. He lowered his weapon when the floating contraption explained the situation.
"Planning?" Tusk said as if he missed something.
"Planning for what?" Carter asked stepping beside the Monitor with his DMR in hands and lowered to his hips.
The Monitor yawed around to face Carter and started orbiting around him like a planet to a sun, "Protocol demands that we follow his instructions in accordance to the plan but now is not the time to reveal such plans until the appropriate time is given. In the mean time I'd take the given time now and get acquainted with each other." It explained stopping after a complete circle. It turned to the Blonde who DeMarco pulled back up on her feet, "I must say you look rather...revealed. To whom I might be referring to?" It asked curiously.
"Ange. My name is Ange." The Blonde introduced yanking her hand away from DeMarco. Already there were some trust issues with the strange bit people, or at least she hoped they were people. To be honest they may as well be robots.
"Pleased to meet you Ange, and your compatriot's name is?" The Monitor responded positively and yawed to face Tusk. Carter, Daisy, and DeMarco stood not far back waiting patiently for the Forerunner Machine to finish.
"Tusk. And you are?" Tusk introduced. It was common courtesy to introduce yourself once the person you met introduced him of herself but in this case the machine would have to do it.
Things just turned weird for everyone. From tall robots to talking machines Ange and Tusk could at least get names, "Irrelevant, My name is of no importance at this point but rest assured you will learn it in time." The Monitor replied. Wether or not this thing had a name it was sure have to explain about this plan much later on.
Flash Notes
Yay! The Forerunner are involved somehow and yet it's only the second chapter. Just want to mention that there are so many Revelations in the story that'll make things wore while. Things you might not expect.
So can you tell me about your thoughts about the Monitor and/or the Plan it mentioned.