Author's Note: Hey, if you've already read this chapter, then don't worry about rereading it unless you want to know the serious changes with wording. I went back and proofread the whole damn thing. Talk about learning not to type a stoy past 12:00 AM. So, enjoy thisreinstallment, review, and wait for the next installment.


Chapter 3

"Blinded by the Past"

A soldier learns a new trick the more time he spends in the army. In space, there isn't a sun to signify a new day, and there is no moon to glow in the night. It's just a vast universe of stars and planets alike. To find a way around this, a soldier adapts to a normal schedule of waking and sleeping. For example, if he wakes up at 6:00 sharp over and over again, then the body is triggered to wake at this timeframe, even if he doesn't have an alarm clock. That's how an endless war gets to a soldier. If he wakes up at the same time everyday, even after service, then he remembers his service. He remembers his time in duty and war. A soldier never forgets. They're kind of like elephants, minus the fact that elephants remember migration routes, not memories.

Mendez, of course, always liked an early start for the day anyway, since he always believed that sleeping most of the morning away gets rid of the best part of the day. So, his mental alarm clock always woke him up at 0530 hours military time, so says the clocks on Cairo. He liked this routine of always waking early in the day. Still, he did miss his home planet's two suns. In fact, he lived on one of the days that both suns rose and set at the same time, a phenomenon that only happened every 250 years. In fact, this great sight happened on his last day on Signum Terrian. Although he didn't see it set, he caught both of them rising. Mendez closed his eyes for a few minutes to remember one of the few happy memories he kept.

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To think that on the last day he would spend on Terrian before being shipped off to training, he would be able to see the view of a lifetime. That morning, the weather forecaster stated that both of the suns were to rise together that morning before the troops were to be sent out. It was as if the planet was sending a going-away present for the galaxy's future protectors.

Before Mendez left for the space carrier, Heaven's Cargo, he stared out of his bedroom window, and since it faced the west, he was able to get the best seat in the house. You see, Signum Terrian turns on an opposite axis as Earth. Instead of the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, Terrian's suns did it oppositely. Yet, Earth didn't have two suns to stare at. Terrian was a pacifist planet, so they were never tarnished by war. They never polluted, had most of their electricity come from the water through Hydroelectricity, and recycled everything as if it were by law. So, their ozone layer could handle the added heat that the sun gave off. It was still a little hot, but that was why Signum Terrian was a tropical climatic planet. No one complained about it, either.

After watching the spectacle he would never see again, he left his room with his belongings and joined his family for a breakfast together. It was a rarity in that house, since the parents were always working. However, today was special. It was Mendez's last day home, and they weren't going to miss it. They fixed Mendez's favorite: Chocolate-chip waffles, whipped cream and maple syrup, cheese grits, link sausage, biscuits, and OJ.

Mendez couldn't help but just stare at his plate. He didn't want to touch his plate. He was wishing this moment would last forever, yet he knew it wouldn't. He wanted to see his family together more, but he knew that it wouldn't happen.

"What's the matter, big brother?" asked his little sister, Diana, from across the table. He wouldn't be able to see her for a long time, or his parents or his friends or anyone else. They would be gone for a long while, and Mendez would miss them so. He began to cry those silent tears as he tried his best to hide them from his family.

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Mendez shook his head. He needed to focus. This mission was important for that missing link in the history of the Forerunners. He needed to put his full attention on the mission ahead, which meant he needed to open his eyes and get out of bed for starters. He rose from his mattress, remade the bed, and began to head to his closet to put his suit back on.

By the time he stepped out of his room to head to the ship that would take him to Earth, it was now 0700. The suit may be easy to take off, but it sure was difficult to put back on. Your skin had to get used to the soft plating that went underneath the actual body armor, and you had to make sure it was put on right. You didn't want the suit lumping in one spot or it feel too tight in another. Skin-tight clothes were always hard to put on, and this work showed that the under armor was no exception. Then, after the under armor was finally in place, perfectly, then you had to lock in the outer armor, the harder material that protected most of the vitals, to the under armor. That was, of course, was a shorter process than the under armor. After all was said and done, he had then put on his helmet, shutting his face from the world once again, and walked out of his room.

He made his way to the shuttle bay to board the Pelican that would take him to Earth. As he walked through the hallway, he glanced at the soldiers and Spartans standing around striking conversations with each other. Most of them, even the Spartans, were of Petty Officer Rate. Only a couple were even 1st class. It was like Cairo was hiring cannon fodder to guard the defenses of Earth. Yet, what they lacked in experience, they had an advantage in numbers. The Covenant war was televised so much, joining in on the fight seemed to become the new fad. Mendez couldn't help but feel sorry for them. He knew that at least half of them would die in combat with the Covenant simply for the fact that they had never seen one, so they wouldn't know what to expect. If he had authority, he would only let Spartans of high caliber deal with the Covenant. However, he didn't have authority. So, all he could do was sulk.

He finally reached the main service elevator that would take him to the shuttle bay with just the push of a button. It sure did beat taking the stairs instead, since the shuttle bay was fourteen floors below him. Besides, he was in a bit of a hurry. His ETA to the dropship was in just two minutes if he took the elevator. Mendez cursed silently as he pushed the button titled 'Shuttle Bay' and the doors began to close. He blamed his wasted time on memories.

Before the doors shut, he glanced out the crack between the two closing doors. If he hadn't remembered that Wolf was still missing, he would've tried to jump through the doors to get to his long-lost captain. Damn mirage, he thought. He shook his head and looked one last time before the doors were completely shut. He was gone.

The elevator began to move its slow descent to the shuttle bay. After about ten seconds, it finally made it to the 12th floor. He was just previously on the 13th, an the shuttle bay was on B1, one floor below the 1st. That meant the elevator would take at least a minute to get there. That meant he was probably going to be late. Great, he thought. Mendez began to regret taking the elevator. However, it wasn't because of the time he was losing. It was because of a memory. It was a memory of his first elevator ride here after he was accepted into Wolf's squad as his first official member. Mendez didn't try to get rid of this memory. He let it come full force.

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Wolf pushed the button for the 14th floor where Mendez's new quarters were located. ONI even had the courtesy of putting their former criminal next to Wolf's room. They acted as if he needed to be watched by his squad leader 24/7. Although Wolf thought it foolish, he learned not to question Command's actions. Mendez, on the other hand, didn't take Command's order well. Hell, if anyone was in Mendez's boots, who would? It wasn't actually served to him on a silver platter. He turned to see the face of a depressed Spartan staring at the visor of his helmet that he held in his hands.

"I have a few rules that I'm going to establish now that I can lead a squad," Wolf said, hoping Mendez would listen. Mendez cocked his head up and looked at Wolf to show his attention. Wolf looked into Mendez's cold-blue eyes, as if they were screaming. They were bloodshot red. He was trying to hide back tears.

"Well, I'm listening," he replied, jerking Wolf out of Cloud Nine.

"Uhm, right," Wolf said, trying to straighten back up, "anyway, I have three rules so far. First, I do not like rates. You will not call me 'sir'. I find that downgrading. It makes me feel old." He saw Mendez crack a smile. He finally caught his attention. "So instead, we will call each other by our names. I find it more welcoming. For starters," he began, extending his hand, removing his helmet, and revealing his face to Mendez, "I'm Samuel Raenef, but you can call me 'Wolf.'"

Mendez extended his hand and shook Wolf's. "I'm Jonathan Mendez, and I prefer Mendez." Mendez smiled. Wolf also smiled, glad that this was helping the current situation. They finally let go, and Wolf continued his monologue of rules.

"Now, here's the other two. Second, when we have meetings or discussions or anything like that, all helmets will be removed. I hate talking to another Spartan and it looks like I'm talking to my reflection. Finally, every month we are to make a status report to ONI."

Mendez lost his cool with the mention of ONI. He had dealt with them enough already. "Great, I bet it's so I don't go on another killing spree, huh?"

"It's nothing like that, Mendez," Wolf said, a little surprised with Mendez's change of attitude. "These are mandatory."

"Bullshit!" Mendez yelled. "Quit lying! I was the same rate as you just three months ago, and I sure as hell didn't have to report every month. Don't tell me another lie!"

"Hold it, Mendez, you need to chill. I'm only taking orders from Command."

"Heh, sure, Command cares. They're probably waiting for the report to say that I'm dead."

"Enough of that, Mendez," Wolf snapped, knowing of Mendez's anger, but thinking it was childish. "Command wouldn't stoop so low."

"Oh, and I'm sure they you enough promotions to say that. How much did they pay you to take me in, huh? Enough to keep your mouth shut about their secret plan to get rid of me?"

Wolf shoved Mendez violently against the wall of the elevator, nearly knocking his head out, as he grabbed his shoulders, shook him violently, and forced his head to look at him. "Now you listen to me, okay? No one ever puts me on the chopping block like that. Got it? I accepted no payment for this, and my promotion was not for this trial. I saved you from living on the streets, and you dare say that about me?" He then stared at Mendez and those cold-blue eyes. Mendez could no longer hide his tears, as they came streaming down his face. It felt like the whole world was about to be consumed by the Great Void. He lost his anger and let go of Mendez's shoulders, backing off to allow Mendez to have some breathing room.

"I-I'm sorry," Wolf said, trying to hold back his own tears.

"Don't be," Mendez said, trying to talk between sobs. "I shouldn't have said that. It's just...just..." he then could no longer hold back, and began to wail his soft agony, sinking to the floor as his legs became weak.

Wolf sank down with him, clutching his frail body in his arms, trying to comfort the weakened soul. "Just let it out, Mendez."

"Why did I have to kill him? Why did I listen to him? Why, Wolf, why?"

"Because you're a good captain, and good captains always listen to what they're teammates have to ask."

Mendez couldn't help but feel a little better with that. At least somebody agreed with his actions. Wolf was a first. Maybe this won't be so bad after all, he thought, finally getting up from his saddened stupor. Wolf helped him up, grabbing one of his arms, making sure it wasn't the left arm, and pulled him up.

"Thanks, Wolf," Mendez said, as the elevator finally reached the fourteenth floor.

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Mendez's elevator finally reached shuttle bay. That was forever, he thought, sniffing in a sob as he walked out of the tiny cubicle transporter. His ship that would transport him straight to Earth was all decked and ready for take-off. The Pelican ship, Grand Inferno, wasn't much of a ship. It was made during the era of Master Chief, so it didn't have all of the technological advances that today's Pelicans have. Still, it could get you from A to B. Besides, the current pilot of the ship, Captain Harold Seinsburg of the Marines, bought it himself, saying that such a treasure shouldn't be trashed. He kept up with its repairs, paid them himself, and flew the thing a lot, since he was a well-respected captain. In fact, Mendez had this captain specifically chosen for his solo mission drop-off.

He walked towards the ship. The captain and his co-pilot, Corporal Gerald Hines, who noticed his arrival, quickly got up from their seats outside the ship to get Mendez prepped and ready.

"How's it going, son?" said Seinsburg. He was a pretty old guy, and had the rough accent to back up his age, so Mendez was immediately reminded of his great companion's attitude when he heard those words: kind and straight-forward. "Ready for your trip?"

"Yes sir, as long as my weapons are onboard."

"You know our policy, Mendez," Hines said, "'You order, we deliver.'"

"Well, I should've remembered that."

"Don't worry about it. Just load up, and we can get you on your way," Seinsburg replied, heading towards the ship's docking hatch.

Mendez couldn't argue with that logic. He climbed onboard, strapped into one of the seats located behind the pilot's chamber, and gave a thumbs-up through the window to signify he was ready. The pilot waved back after he and his co-pilot were ready, telling flight control that the ship was set for leave. The lead flight-controller gave the OK to commence take-off as the docking bay doors opened to reveal the planet Earth below them. The ship wheeled forward, ever faster, before finally flying out of Cairo on its way to the Caspian Sea.

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Wolf woke up that morning to what would hopefully be the last sunrise he would see on that island. It seemed to have a blood-red color to it, as if the world was preparing for Wolf's kill. And what a kill it would be. Wolf thought about it all night. He would follow his victim's footsteps for a long while, and make it seem that he was alone on the island. He would make his best to make his location unknown to his victim. It would make him lose his guard. He would get comfortable. He would begin to lower his gun and put it away when he believed there would be nothing to worry about. And as soon as he thought he was alone...Wolf silently laughed at the thought of it. He would capture him, take him back to this bloody cell he has called home for two freaking years, and murder the man right in front of his Covenant audience. Then, they wouldn't have a reason to find an explanation to keep him here longer. He wanted off of this vile island, and he would do whatever it takes to leave, to get back to where he belonged, to get back to Mendez...

He jolted awake when the hologram projector lit up. It revealed the Prophet of Envy this time. Wolf had learned the difference between the two. They had different "antlers", Remorse being with square tips and a green jewel in the middle of the helmet on his head, and Envy having a blue jewel and triangular tips. Either way, he despised both of them, and vowed to kill them both if they were ever to meet in person.

"Good morning, Wolf," he said, in his usual raspy voice that sounded he had finally kicked the bucket and came back. Wolf never grew tired of hearing it.

"What do you want?"

"To inform you that your prey is on its way to the island. You'll have your chance to get off of this prison soon enough."

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The Pelican was now beginning to make its descent. The co-pilot, Hines, made his way to the back with Mendez to keep him company, probably because he had never seen a real Spartan up close before. Yet, Mendez couldn't help but sense a bit of anger from him.

"Is there something wrong, Hines?" he asked, needing to know if there was anything he needed to clear up.

"Nothing you can fix, sir," Hines said empathetically.

"I take it you have something against us."

"Not much, except for your excuse for using your power on us."

"Abuse..." Mendez whispered to himself. He had heard of it before. Some Spartans saw their new-found abilities as a way to manipulate those who decided not to take part in Project MJORLINR. It seemed that it would happen during the experiment process that something would trigger inside their brain. Something that envied power over weaklings. Many Spartans were able to beat this feeling, but some didn't. Those would sometimes have to be decommissioned from the UNSC. When Mendez was Master Chief Petty Officer, he had to do that a few times before.

"Listen, I know how bad that stuff is, but I promise you I would never do such a thing. That's vile and not understandable. I wish that you could just trust me on that."

Hines thought about it, but eventually let in. "I trust you, but only because you and the boss are friends. That, however, doesn't mean I have to like you."

Mendez still let off a sigh of relief, knowing he could understand that not all Spartans were cold, heartless maniacs.

"Hey," Hines yelled to Seinburg, trying to change the subject, "are we close enough to turn on some radio?"

"Yeah, just let me turn it on!" he yelled from the cockpit, flicking on a switch that temporarily sent some static through the ship's sound system. Then, they began to hear someone's voice.

"...listening to Military Time Radio, keeping our soldiers entertained. Our top story today, 'Copy or Casualty?' The Army has just unveiled a project they've been keeping under wraps for sometime these past few years, but have now gone public with this new development of soldiers now that the project is nearing completion. Codenamed TROJANS, these 'super-soldiers' will be the Army's next-generation of combative force to protect the homeland. In a recent interview with..."

Mendez sat stunned at what he was listening to. TROJANS? Why did that sound like blackmail?

"I take it you haven't been keeping up wit the news," Hines said, sensing the surprised expression on Mendez's face. Mendez nodded. "Well, I think it's a horrible excuse for saying, 'Hey, Navy, we're jealous of your newfound fame with your Spartans, so we're going to make our own Spartans, but we'll just call them TROJANS'. You want to see what they look like? Seinburg, pull it up on the hologram projector!"

Mendez couldn't wait to see this excuse for a copycat as the hologram projector sitting in the middle of the passenger room lit up with a 3D rendered image of the interview. They were currently talking about the specs of these new soldiers, but Mendez wasn't paying the spokesman any mind. He was catching a view at these new soldiers. They were pretty amazing. They were as tall as a Spartan, as fit as a Spartan, but most of all...

"They look just like a Spartan!" he yelled, as he noticed that their armor looked exactly like a Spartan's does.

"Not exactly," Hines said. "Take a look at their helmet."

Mendez observed their helmets. They had what seemed to be a visor there, but the helmet was shaped different. It seemed to have a round top, and a bit tall for a normal human's head. It seemed that two edges extended out of the chin in a curved structure with two more edges at the back. At the top of the helmets, however, were what seemed to be an extended bulbous section at the top of the helmet. It reminded Mendez of the brush on top of a Spartan's helmet.

"So, they don't pull blackmail on the Army because they have a different helmet as ours. Great," he said, turning it off because he was fed up with it.

"Oh, don't worry about those god-damned TROJANS," Hines said. "They're nothing but cheap copies of the real thing. They won't last long."

"Heads up!" Seinburg yelled from the front, "ETA in 15 minutes!"

They both braced the sides of the seats as they entered Earth's atmosphere. Mendez always hated this part. At least it wasn't as bad on Earth as it was on other planets he visited. The bumpy ride, the overheat of the ship, the "Butterflies in your Stomach" routine, the works...everything about entering a planet's atmosphere made it the worst part of the trip. Once the ship got used to the gravity change, however, it became smooth again.

"I'm afraid we have to turn around here, Mendez, so you'll have to take an HEV pod the rest of the way down."

"Oh."

"Nothing personal, Mendez. We're just worried what happened to Wolf will happen to us. They guessed that a smaller vessel than the one Wolf was operating should get the job done."

"You've got two mintues!" Seinburg said, "So, get your gear and get inside the pod so Hines can drop ya."

Mendez made his way to the small weapon rack located next to the cockpit and picked up the necessities: M90 Shotgun, his preferred weapon, SMG, his backup, M67 Fragmentation Grenades, a safety pack, included first-aid kit, extra ammo, satchel, flashlight, flare gun, and fire-starter kit. He felt like he was going camping in Area 51. He then walked to the back of the Pelican and sat in one of the HEV pods. As the flexi-glass shut in front of him, he turned his head to see Hines at the release panel.

"Just phone Command if you have any trouble down there," he said, lifting his hand to his forehead, fingers locked together, and quickly bringing them back down as fast as they came up. Mendez saluted back. Then, he pressed the 'Release' button, sending Mendez on his long fall to his first visit on Earth.

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Wolf felt the tingle in the back of his head, an uneasiness in the air, a bit of vertigo at the moment. His prey was near. His time of redemption was nigh. The Prophets had provided Wolf with his long-forgotten weapon just in case he needed to use it. His preferred chioce:BR55 Rifle. Fully loaded and a great midrange and close range weapon. He loved the feel of it in his hand. He missed the feel of its recoil as he would shoot his enemies down one by one. Now, he would get that chance again. He picked up his weapon, cocked it ready, and waited for his cell door to open, so the predator could go and hunt his prey.

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Mendez's HEV pod came crashing down on the soft sand of the beach south of the island. He kicked open the door since it seemed to jam at the landing. He reached for his shotgun and quickly surveyed his surroundings. Moving his head from left to right, he found nothing in sight, but refused to put his gun away. He could see the great, looming structure reach as far as the clouds in the sky. That seemed to be the thing with the Forerunners. All of their structures seemed to go beyond normal heights. Sometimes, he wished they were Acrophobic like he was. He began to walk towards the structure to begin to put his training in Forerunner language to good use when he stumbled on a piece of rubble. It was steel, with what seemed to be white numbering on it. It looked like...

"A piece of a ship..." he said, picking it up, studying it. Suddenly sensing the realization of the situation, he dropped the piece of metal. "Wolf!" he yelled, following the debris. He began to run, hoping there was some tiny probability that his leader was still alive from the crash he was about to find.

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Wolf felt the presence on the island. He began to inch towards the door. He began the vision he saw in his head last night. Follow, find, break, kill... he repeated over and over again in his head. The thought of finally being able to go home had left his mind entirely. Now, all he could think about was who was waiting for him back on Cairo...Mendez, I do this for you.

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Mendez stood in shock at the crash site in front of him. Pieces of the ship lied everywhere. Electrical lines from the ship's power room lay amuck. He then looked at the giant, gaping hole in the side of the ship. It was very old, yet at the very edges, it still glowed a hint of purple.

"Plasma fire?" he asked himself. Then, he figured it out. "Covenant..."

He then felt something wrong, and turned around to see a startling sight...footprints. Wolf must've survived the crash. Oh my God, he's still here. Where is he? Is he alive? Is he...

"WOOOOOLF!" he yelled to the sky, hoping that he could hear him, if his soul had not reached heaven yet.

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The door finally opened. The hunt was to begin. Wolf was ready. He could taste victory. He could practically hear his prey call his name...Wolf...Wolf...Woooolf...

"Let the games begin," he said, grabbing his gun and exiting to the outside world, his mind set on the task ahead.


Author's Footnote: Well, it's a cliffhanger. Deal with it! You'll be on your seat for a while, but don't worry for too long. I'll have the next chapter up soon. Until then, review.

Signing off,
GundamFreakX