I've actually had this chapter ready for a while, sorry it took me so long to post it. anyway, please enjoy and review!
Carrion slumped into her bunk, exhausted from the past few months of training and drills. The ODST's and Spartans had been running drills together against Holland's forces. Most of the time, they prevailed with next to zero losses. The last few exercises though were a lot tougher. Next to no ammo and up against fresh armored units. The last scenario they had run through three times already, each time ending with the entirety of both teams being taken out. She rolled over, trying to find a position that didn't place too much weight on a sore part of her body. She quickly discovered that her entire body was sore. She groaned as she settled onto her back.
"You okay Carrion?" she shot up at the sound of Wander's voice. He had sat up on his bunk across from her.
"Yeah just sore. Why aren't you asleep?" she always waited to shower till after everyone else. She didn't know how Sánchez was comfortable using the communal shower with the rest of the squad.
"Cant." He looked away, trying to keep from making eye contact with her.
"Nightmares?" he surprised her by looking her in the eye as he spoke.
"Yeah. Every night. Some things are hard to live with." A single tear slid down his cheek and she slipped out of her bunk, sitting at the end of his bunk.
"Sir, what happened? What's bothering you, sir?" he sat cross legged facing her. Tears started streaming down his face.
"I killed her. I didn't do anything to stop it and I killed her." Carrion frowned.
"Sir?" he barely moved as more tears flowed out.
"Dan. It's Dan." She stayed silent, scared to ask him anything.
"Dan?" her voice was quiet, scared of him yelling at her again.
"Yes, Maria?" She nodded, thinking on how to frame her question.
"Dan, who did you kill, and, well, how?" he sat still for a second, clearly debating what exactly to say.
"Her name was Mikayla. I….. Could've stopped it. Could've prevented it. Damn it, why didn't I step in the way!" she reached out and rested her hand on his shoulder.
"You know combat. You can't save everyone Dan." He shoved her hand off and turned away.
"Specialist Carrion. Go back to sleep." She nodded and stood back up.
"Dan, I'm always here for you. No matter what." He rolled over, hiding his face from her. She slumped back into her own bunk, asleep almost instantly.
Carrion drummed out a beat on her rifle as she waited. The Spartans seemed like statues, holding a perimeter around the small clearing. Reynolds, Beasley and Holden were all holding combat ready positions while everyone else relaxed. They had been waiting for close to three hours for Colten and Wander to return from scouting. They were only supposed to have a four hour window to complete their objective of taking out colonel Holland. This was the fourth attempt at the scenario and they had tried stealth, two full on assaults, even tried sneaking in with the enemies vehicles. Every time, both teams ended up taken out. She was broken out of her train of thought as Wander and Colten materialized out of nowhere.
"Everyone, we have a plan. We don't know if it will work but. Colten?" he nodded as a holo image of the battle area appeared on their HUD systems. Multiple points lighted up on the map.
"We know we can capture this vehicle patrol, and we know they swap the troops out with every run, so we have a more genuine response. So we capture the vehicles here, then move to assault the facility. Now I know you all are going to say is that won't work, but, every time we strike, the colonel escapes the facility by way of pelican. The landing pad is here, the HQ is here. He has to cross open space to even reach the pelican. The plan is, Sarah, Reynolds, and Beasley will move to this hill top and set up their SRS-99's here." Wander cut in, continuing.
"That's when the rest of us hammer the front gate. Thus forcing Holland to retreat, and giving Reynolds and Sarah a clear shot. As soon as they take it, we fade away, regrouping here. Any questions?" Reynolds piped up before anyone else.
"What if they follow? The op isn't over till we leave the battle area." Wander chuckled a little as he spoke.
"That's the fun part, we lay traps along our retreat path. Anyone following will get some nasty surprises. Now let's move out!" the three marksmen branched away as the group spread out in a large obtuse wedge, the point being Colten and Wander, moving three meters apart from each other. Each soldier moved with about the four meters between them, preventing a mine from taking out more than one or two soldiers, while still allowing non-radio based communications. They quickly arrived at the roadway and setup along it, preparing almost the same ambush from the day before. Carrion charged her rifle, chambering the first round.
They waited for the convoy to come in range, seeming to last hours. She checked the mission time, watching it tick down to thirty two minutes. She cursed, hoping the convoy would arrive in time.
"Uh Wander, they didn't have a tank last time." Bales voice sounded doubtful. She watched as the tank approached the ambush, a group of warthogs and Gremlin APC's following. The enemy numbered at close to a squad of troops.
"Don't worry about it Bale. Colten has it handled." The tank rolled past her position, almost halfway through the group. She watched as a shape leapt out of the trees, landing on the tank. Colten materialized as he opened fire on the driver and gunner, firing through the hatches he had yanked open. She aimed at the gunner in the warthog next to her and fired, watching him slump out of the vehicle. She knocked out the driver and passenger as the rest of the convoy was brought down in seconds.
"Tate, Baxter, man the tank. Leave the troops on the side of the road and leave a beacon. Everyone else pick a vehicle and mount up, we have a hornets nest to kick."
Reynolds adjusted the focus on his rifle, scanning the landing pad. Beasley had his binoculars out and was watching the main gate. The range finder on his scope put the three pelicans at almost two thousand meters away. A challenging shot with high velocity live rounds, much less the low velocity paint rounds they had chambered. He adjusted his scope, changing the range on it to beyond five kilometers, to compensate for the lower velocity rounds. This changed the scopes position so that the bullet would arc out to where the sight was. He ran a few more numbers through his head and double checked his distances and wind variances. He glanced at the mission time on his HUD, reading the seventeen minutes left.
"Reynolds, you dialed in?" Sarah's voice was surprisingly calm.
"What do you think Spartan? This aint my first two click shot." She chuckled slightly.
"Same. Though this is my first using sim-munition." Reynolds grinned, remembering his own training as a Spartan one.
"Second time for me, believe it or not." He could just feel the smile behind her visor.
"Alright, longest confirmed kill. Mine, two thousand, three hundred and fifty three meters. Elite was trying to strangle the commander. Nailed the son of a bitch in the head. Without Mjolnir armor too." He glanced at her as he spoke.
"Hmm, not bad, not bad, but not good enough. Three thousand one hundred and ten meters. Multiple kills. Without alerting the other insurgents I might add. Seven kills if I remember correctly. In ODST armor." She glanced at him as he spoke.
"You're shitting me right?" Reynolds smirked, but was cut off by Beasley before he could speak.
"Looks like the attack has started. Wander got himself a tank. Damn. Well, get ready you two." He focused on the tarmac. Within minutes, it was a flurry of activity. They watched an APC pull onto the tarmac. It rolled a stop near the pelican's rear bay and the colonel stepped out. Reynolds adjusted his aim and spoke aloud.
"Fire one." His first shot blasted away from him, Sarah's just a second behind. "Fire two" their shots were almost synchronized at this shot. "Fire three" one more incredibly loud boom echoed out as the rounds started arcing down into the scopes view. "Fire four" both weapons hit empty as they fired their last rounds, putting eight rounds in the air in the space of mere seconds. Reynolds watched as his first round crossed his sight at precisely the same moment as the colonel. His entourage was all knocked out in the volley with him.
"Wander, target is down. I repeat the H-V-I is down!" Wanders voice rattled through the radio as they all scooped up their gear.
"Rodger that, lets pack it up people!" Reynolds jolted as Sarah's shields suddenly flared and died, dropping out of the war game. He started to duck as a second round slammed into Beasley and a third hit his faceplate. An electric shock jolted through him and his vision faded to black as he slumped to the rock.
I fired a burst from my rifle, knocking out one of the troops spilling out of the gate before I sprinted back up the hill. Baxter and Tate's 'vital signs' had gone grey, marking them as simulated casualties. Gibbs was laying down suppressive fire with his M-247 from a small hill a short distance from the entrance. I slid to a stop at the top of the hill and dropped to my belly as half the team started to reposition. My rifle clicked into semi-auto as I fired rounds over the heads of the enemy force, all of whom had dropped into cover amongst barriers and rocks they had set up at the main gate. They retreated back into the base as my own team retreated. Something felt off as we moved back into the hilly forest. A machine gun suddenly opened fire from somewhere amongst the trees. Bale, Gibbs, and Sánchez all went grey on my HUD as three Spartans leapt out of trees. All three were different shades of blue, two with MA-37 assault rifles and one with a DMR. I focused my fire on the closest one, my paint rounds splashing against his shields. Samantha jumped toward the middle Spartan, Who was clearly female, firing her dual wield SMG's. Colten and Yuri were about to team up on the final Spartan, who was armed with the DMR, when a fourth enemy Spartan came up behind Yuri with a shotgun, blasting him.
My rifle emptied and I ducked to reload as chaos reigned around me. The Spartan I had focused on came into my sight again as he blasted Carrion with a short rifle burst. I popped my rifle up and emptied it, watching with satisfaction as the Spartans shields flared and he collapsed to the ground. Colten was locked in a hand to hand fight with the shot gun Spartan. Something like a skull was engraved in the enemy Spartan's bulbous EVA helmet. My rifle dropped onto its sling as I sprinted toward the forgotten shotgun. I slid to a stop and scooped it up.
"Colten, MOVE!" he dived as I shouted and the enemy Spartan had no time to react as I blasted him with his own shotgun. Chris and Madison darted past, both of their rifles firing at something behind us. I spun, racking the shotgun. The female enemy Spartan was down, and Samantha slumped to the ground as the unknown machine gunner kept firing. I fired my shot gun at the last visible enemy Spartan as the remains of Colten's team knocked out his shielding. He slumped over as we all dived into the sloped surface, trying to avoid the MG fire. Madison was next to me and she leaned up. A sniper shot slammed into her faceplate and her shields flared. She slumped to the grass, stunned. Two red enemy outlines became highlighted in my HUD, made more prominent by the diamonds around them. Two blue friendly outlines had shifted over on a ridge behind them, tagged as Holden and Anderson.
"Grenades, NOW!" Holden's shout was clear as day through the radio. I yanked a dummy grenade out of its pouch and chucked. It joined two more grenades in the air and I watched as the outlines stumbled in the paint blasts. One blip greyed out and I dashed up the hill, the two fellow Spartans following and passing. We crested the small rise almost at the same time. All three of our weapons fired at the remaining Spartan. He was considerably larger than his fellow Spartans and his armor heavily modified. There was a massive pack on his back and he reached for his heavy MG. His shields flared and died, followed by his collapse to the ground. I dropped the shot gun and sprinted to the rendezvous. Colten's voice came across the radio as we ran, the Spartans quickly pulling ahead.
"Specter one to Romeo 1-1, we need immediate EVAC. Co-ordinates to follow. Over?" The pilot's voice blared back at us.
"Rodger that. Co-ordinates received. ETA one mike, over?" I glanced through the vitals on my HUD. All but me, Holden, Anderson, Colten, and Chris where greyed out. Colten's voiced sounded lightly winded as he responded.
"Copy that, over and out!" we sprinted after the Spartans and reached the clearing we had been hiding in. the Pelican arrived seconds after we did and I waited as everyone climbed aboard. Colten nodded to me and we both dragged ourselves into the end seats. The pelican lifted away from the battle zone. Colonel Mason came over the radio as I struggled to control my breath.
"Good work out there. We have a confirmed kill on Colonel Holland. Operation is considered a success, but I rate you as twenty seven over one hundred. Nowhere near good enough Wander. Another pelican will be picking up your squad and you will all go for a run when you get back." Holden grimaced, his hand griping his side. Anderson's head dropped into his hands, cursing aloud. Even the two Spartans seemed defeated as the pelican raced toward our training base. I slumped back into my seat, shaking slightly with adrenaline. Colten's voice broke the silence.
"Where in the hell did those Spartans come from? It was almost as if they had been following us." His voice sounded livid.
"If I knew, I'd tell you. That machine gunner looked bigger than any Spartan I've seen before. Hell, I'm surprised so many of us made it." Chris's voice spoke up next. He had a drawl that sounded oddly familiar.
"Yeah, reckon that fella' was a Spartan two. Don' know where Holland pulled Spartans from though." We all nodded in agreement and I drifted off into thought as I watched the sun drift lower to the horizon out the back of the pelican.
I slumped into my bunk, exhausted. The run had been extra long and the already brunt out soldiers barely finished it. No one on the team bothered to shower, even though we all were coated in sweat. I was asleep the second my head hit the pillow.
It was a very calm warm day. I glanced around, admiring the peacefulness of the quiet neighborhood as the sun sunk lower in the sky. I felt Mikayla's hand slip into mine as we walked toward my house. She leaned into my shoulder and I leaned back, laughing slightly.
"You know, I'm glad you finally asked me out. Only took you ten years." She smiled gently, her green eyes twinkling. We were only a couple blocks away from my house and we could just see it in the distance.
"Yeah, can't believe it toke me this long." I smiled back at her as we stood there, on the street corner. My arms wrapped around her without my commanding them. Our lips were less than a centimeter apart when a loud bang, like a gunshot amplified a thousand fold, ripped through the air. An ominous purple tear drop floated in the air, only two kilometers away. Bluish wisps coiled and weaved away from it as massive balls of plasma started blasting away from it.
"Run! Go for the house!" my right hand instantly yanked the old firearm out of a holster on my thigh as I sprinted after her. The air seemed to fizzle with energy and I felt a thousand times heavier. I was blasted off my feet as the air became scorching hot. I scrambled to my feet and my mouth fell open. Most of the street that had been my home was nothing more than a white hot crater. I sprinted over to where Mikayla lay and I rolled her over. Her eyes blinked open as she spoke.
"Dan? What just happened?" her voice seemed to come from the end of a long tunnel as I became aware of a dull ringing in my ears.
"Your house. Now. We gotta move. We get your mother, and we run for the spaceport. That's where dad said to go when this happened." She nodded as I dragged her up, fighting back tears. We started sprinting back toward the park we had just left when a large purple craft lowered in the street in front of us. It looked like a giant tuning fork. A pair of T shaped objects dropped from where they were suspended between the prongs of the craft. They bounced as they reached the ground, hovering three feet off of it. An orange spike stuck out above each craft, clashing with its purple color. I dived to the ground, dragging Mikayla with me as one of them shot forward. The air became ionized again as it shot over, pressing us into the hard pavement.
"We gotta run!" I followed Mikayla as she spoke and ran down the alleyway. Blue balls of light shot past, singeing our clothes as they narrowly missed. Chunks of the town houses around us exploded, showering us with dust. A hornet shot by above us just seconds before the second. The second hornet's engine sound didn't die away like the firsts. I didn't dare turn around as the sound of chain guns filled the air, followed by an explosion. We rounded the corner of the alley and sprinted up the street. We could just barely see the park ahead of us. The sky was starting to turn orange as darkness began to fall. We slid under the play set to try and catch our breath. My heart was pounding in my chest and I shook with adrenaline. Mikayla's face was white with terror under the thick layer of dust. "What do we do now?"
"I don't know." I wasn't looking at her as I spoke. The houses that had been her street were ablaze. Tears filled her eyes as she started crying. I pulled her closer as we cried together. Gunshots and explosions filled the air, occasionally punctuated by the roar of a fighter's engines as it shot over head.
I shot awake as more memories raced through my mind. I shook my head and checked my clock. It was almost one in the morning. Two hours after I had fallen asleep. I quietly slipped my boots on and left the barracks, sitting down on the steps leading to the obstacle course. It was a silent night, accompanied by a cool gentle breeze. I let the memories flow and my eyes started to sting. A voice startled me behind me and I jumped up, instantly saluting.
"At ease lieutenant. It's just me." Mason shoved me back down and plopped down beside me. He tossed a cloth into my lap and I stared at it, puzzled. "For your eyes. Now, when I met ya, you didn't seem like one who cracks this easy." I glanced at him as I dabbed all traces of tears away.
"I'm not breaking sir. Just have a lot of trouble sleeping." Mason nodded, letting a small, yet comfortable silence pass before speaking.
"If it was medical, it would be in your file. So I'm guessing it's psychological. What's beatin' ya up?" I shrugged in response, instead of speaking. "Lieutenant, do I have to order you to tell me?" I shook my head as I gathered my thoughts.
"I watched someone die. Someone, I should've, and could've, saved. I…. she should be here right now." He patted my shoulder as he spoke.
"Tell me what happened." I looked up at the stars, hoping for the courage to be able to say it.
"She….. There was a needle round. It was headed for me. She pushed me out of the way. Detonated in her gut. I ….. Just let her die. The girl I loved and I didn't try to stop It." silence stretched between us. He finally spoke, very quietly.
"Lieutenant, by saving your life, she saved every life you will save. Twelve men and women owe you their lives right now. And that data you saved? May just save thousands of lives. She knew what she was doing. If she hadn't done so, you would be dead. And you wouldn't be here. Use that. Don't waste it." we sat in silence for a while until he gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder before leaving.
Sánchez watched as Mason stood and left. He stopped when he reached her.
"How much did you hear?" she was afraid to answer, but toke a deep breath and did so anyway.
"All but the last thing you said sir." He nodded and marched through the door. Sánchez hesitated for a second before deciding to talk to Wander. She quietly marched over to him and spoke as gently as she could. "Lieutenant Wander?" he startled slightly as she spoke and looked over his shoulder to see her.
"I suppose you heard everything." She nodded and he motioned for her to sit down. She did, speaking as she did so.
"The big stuff at least. I'm sorry for your loss." He looked away for a second. He shuddered before he spoke.
"It's not your fault. But if you tell the squad, you'll wish it was." There was a certain air of danger in his voice that let her know just how serious he was.
"I won't. But thank you for saving my life. We all owe you and honestly, we wouldn't be here without you." He nodded and she continued. "That girl, the one you loved, she's proud of you right now. And we both know she's with god now." He looked startled for a second as he responded.
"What are you talking about?" she pointed at his chest as she responded.
"The cross you wear on your dog tags. The cross you scratched into your chest plate, both on your old and your new armor. You don't do a good job of hiding It." she smiled slightly as she spoke. He returned it, weakly.
"Guess you're right. And by what you said, so do you." She nodded and they sat in silence for what seemed like hours.
"Come on. I'm sure mason has enough training to sink a heavy cruiser lined up for us." He grinned and they walked back together, slumping into their separate bunks.
Sánchez awoke the next morning not to mason's booming voice, but Wander's. She shot out of bed and put on her uniform. She lined up with the others and stood at attention as wander patrolled through the barracks. Minutes dragged on and there was still no sign of mason. Suddenly, the door slid open, and mason ambled in on crutches, looking like he had just leapt out of bed and marched in. Wander shouted 'officer on deck' and the unit saluted.
"What in tarnation do you all think you're doing? It is four thirty in the morning. Go back to bed. You all have the weekend off, then we start final tests." He was about to walk out when wander spoke.
"Colonel Mason, permission to take full command of the squad for the remainder of today?" there seemed to be something unspoken between them. Mason winked as he spoke.
"Granted lieutenant." Mason marched out and Wander turned back to the squad.
"All right you raggedy ass grubs. I want uniforms pressed and boots shined before O' five thirty. Bale, come on, your uniform has enough wrinkles to make my grandma think it's her skin. And Carrion, your boots are so dull, you'd think they were part of the floor. Anderson, I don't even want to start on the organization of your kit. GET MOVING!" they were all taken off guard by wander's words. All of their gear was in almost perfect condition. Well, the closest it could be given their training. His voice echoed slightly just before he stepped out.
"And I want you all in PT's and outside by O' five thirty." He strode out, his own Physical training gear slung over his shoulder. Sánchez got to work, polishing boots, doing her best to press tattered uniforms and organizing her footlocker. Her arms ached as she stood up with only ten minutes left. But at least her kit looked decent. She slipped into her PT gear and lined up out by the obstacle course. Wander made them run it over and over until all but carrion were coated in mud. Carrion had always had exceptional balance and grace, and had only fallen in the mud once in the entire time they were training. Wander called for one more run. This time, he followed Carrion through it, rather than leading them. As they reached one of the balance beams, he slipped off, dragging carrion with him. The two of them drug themselves out of the mud and he called them all back over.
"Alright people. I want you all showered and clean by O' seven hundred. Ah Carson, good timing!" she watched as Carson and Kawa marched toward them, wearing a T-shirt and jeans and duffels slung over their shoulders. "Carson and Kawa have clothes for all of you. I recommend throwing something you can swim in on under them. You have fifteen minutes. Go!" they all rushed into the showers, confused as they showered and changed. Sánchez barely made it back to the barracks by seven. There were quiet whispers filling the room until Wander entered, followed by Carson, Kawa, and all six Spartans, all wearing the same T-shirts and jeans that the squad had been issued. They were laughing about something.
"Alright, we have a very special mission to take on this morning!" he couldn't help but grin as he continued. "Tate, Baxter, Anderson, and Bale. Mud pit three needs to be emptied and refilled. I would throw some tarps down before you refill it. The garage should be able provide pumps and tarps. Colten, we need a diving board. I think you know where to find one." The entire group gave Wander a puzzled look as Colten spoke.
"Yeah, I think we need a sound system too. Sarah, I think you know how to find that. Our old pal, Mjolnir might help." They both grinned and Wander continued.
"Carson, did you procure ALL of the goods I requested?" he nodded before speaking.
"I need to, hmm, let's say 'Requisition' a Warthog." Wander nodded and kept speaking.
"Alright. Reynolds, I believe you and Holden are friendly with the cooks? We need food, tables, and chairs. A few punch bowls would be good. Sánchez, you know where Mason's office is? There are some important items inside we need. Six of them, glass, filled with liquid. Right side, in the cupboard. Bring Carrion." Carrion couldn't suppress the giggle that had been coming up inside her. Mason kept bottles of single malt whiskey in a locked cupboard. Carrion was already famous with the unit for breaking into her father's liquor cabinet. Which had been locked with DNA and fingerprint scanners, a code lock, and an old fashion key lock. She glanced at Carrion, who had seemed strangely giddy all morning. "And I want all tasks completed by eleven hundred hours. All personnel not assigned to a task, pick a team to help. Hooyah?"
"Hooyah!" the chant reverberated through the barracks and they sprinted off to complete their tasks.
Colonel mason stepped into his office, having only just returned from the Bastogne. He pulled a key out of his pocket and moved to open his liquor cabinet to find it already open. Six of his eight bottles were missing. He sealed it as he rolled his eyes and sat down behind his desk. Not even a minute later, a corporal rushed in instantly speaking.
"Colonel Mason, sir! Colonel Holland would like to submit a formal complaint with the expectation of disciplinary action against your troops stationed here sir!" the soldier was breathing heavily as Mason casually gestured for him to sit down.
"And why is this, if I may ask?" the corporal seemed slightly taken aback by his calmness.
"Well, sir, there have been multiple thefts around the base. The sound system in the auditorium, a pair of diving boards from the officers' training pool, colonel Holland's personal stereo, almost all of Hollands uniform tops, three water pumps, a Warthog, tarps, tables, ropes, chairs, two suits of Mjolnir Mark five armor, and whole list of food from the mess hall sir!" Mason fought to suppress a grin as he calmly continued.
"That merely sounds like a list of small pranks?" the soldier seemed to be getting impatient with him.
"They also vandalized his office sir!" mason's eyebrow raised and the soldier continued. "They graffitied the walls with cruel renditions of 'specters and wraiths' and placed a bucket of mud to fall on the first person to enter! They are currently partying out on the obstacle course! When Holland tried to stop them, they tossed him in a makeshift pool!" the corporal seemed like he was about to burst out laughing.
"Well sounds like they are having a good Friday night. And given ONI is not letting them leave the base, I don't blame them. They will of course be punished. You are dismissed corporal." He saluted and stepped out. Mason finally let the grin slide across his face as he pulled a T-shirt and jeans out of his duffel and put them on. He then marched out to the party, hoping they had saved some whiskey for him. Wander was the first to notice him, grabbing a beer and a glass full of amber liquid and handing them to him.
"Thought you might join us. Here, some Whiskey. Though, don't trust the punch bowls, I hear they've been spiked." Wander nodded to him, barely suppressing a grin. He seemed very different than his normally grim attitude. Carrion was up on a makeshift stage, trying to teach a very drunk Sánchez how she was dancing. Carrion was surprisingly still very graceful, and her more riscae dancing had most of the teams attention. Or it was just the fact that she had let her hair down for once.
"I get the feeling that one would find single malt, Kentucky brewed whiskey in said punch bowls?" Wander's grin massively expanded.
"Well, that seems like a logical conclusion." Mason laughed and swigged the whiskey shot down in a single gulp.
"I must ask, uniform tops, and a bucket of mud?" Wander cracked up laughing as he spoke.
"Well, Holland can't exactly order us around if he is out of uniform. The Graffiti was Carrion though. Needed her, um, lock skills. Almost didn't get the uniforms." He grinned at Mason before jumping on the stage and shouting over the music. "Attention everyone! The man of the hour has arrived! A toast to our very own Colonel Mason!" the entire group started chanting his name as they raised beers to him. Two Spartans hoisted him onto their shoulder, just before tossing Mason in the pool.