"The Right Nerve"
"Welcome back, soldier. I hope you had a nice nap because it's probably the last one you'll have in a long time." For a few seconds Luke was unable to open his eyes but his lids finally gave way and he flashed them open, the bright light of the room hitting his dilated pupils and sending a blast of pain throughout his skull. "Sorry about that," the familiar female voice said, the AI Rachel speaking to him through the room's speaker system before appearing on a pedestal near the right side of his bed. Through his eyelids he could tell the lights had been dimmed and he chanced another blast of light as he opened his lids. This time, though, the normally white walls were a dark gray color as the amount of light they produced or reflected was turned down dramatically. "You're the first one to wake up but the others have been administered the waking agent." Looking down at his right arm he could see the veins around an IV were raised and red, the pathways tangling up and down his arm. Whatever they used to wake him up had a hell of a kick and definitely did it's job. "Let's go sweetie," Rachel said in a mock comforting tone.
"Yeah…yeah…I'm getting up," he struggled to say, his throat scratchy and sore from the tubes that had been stuck down it. Coughing, he pushed himself up off of the bed with his elbows, the warm white sheets pulled tight across him which suggested the bed had been made recently. Through all of this he had ignored the sirens that were still calling out in the background but now that his senses were coming back he heard them and looked around to see what the source was. Rachel seemed to see this and gave him an answer.
"There was a battle with the Covenant in the area and the wounded are arriving now. Dr. Allara had planned on greeting each of you when you woke up but they needed all the hands they could get and so I was tasked with the job."
"Oh, ok…that's fine," he responded with his eyes closed, his right hand wiping across his forehead. He could feel that his head had been shaved down when the short stubble poked against his head and while he'd been used to having his hair just at the liberal end of regulation, he had no problems with it like this and felt the rest of his head. His hand stopped, though, when a dull pain shot across his scalp as his fingers brushed up against a row of sutures just behind his ears where a large swathe of hair had been completely shaved down. "How did the procedures go?"
"As well as we could've hoped, especially for you." Rachel had an almost shocked look on her face when she finished speaking but Luke knew that it was for show, even a "dumb" AI, if that's what she was, wouldn't say anything they didn't mean to say.
"What do you mean?" She had turned away from Luke, staring at the frosted glass wall that led into the hallway, shadowy figures moving past quickly. When he inquired about what she said Rachel looked around mischievously before leaning in towards him as if no one could hear what she was about to say.
"You're different," she said in a hushed tone. "You were already the strongest, fastest, and smartest of the group and they wanted to see how far they could push you. I'm happy to say you met their challenges without flinching." Luke didn't say anything as he laid in the bed, motionless. "I truly pity those who will stand in your way," she added after a few moments of silence.
"If you're talking about the Covenant…I have no pity for them." She let out a cackle of laughter when she heard this.
"Your killer instinct can't be contained!" Something about her demeanor put Luke off but he ignored this and began to move about in his bed some more. The sheets peeled away from him and he instantly noticed the increased muscle mass and definition in his arms and chest. He found it odd that after his extended stay in the bed would've led to a large amount of muscle atrophy but it seemed as if the opposite was true and he had gained muscles. All across his arms, and his legs after tossing the sheets aside, were small red dots that were centered over the bones in his body. "It's a composite ceramic resin that was injected onto the bones which has made them nearly unbreakable. If one does happen to snap somehow, that'll be the least of your worries I can assure you. And by the way, your muscles have been injected with a protein cocktail that has been, and will continue to, increase your muscle mass and overall strength. We've increased your eyesight by upping the flow of blood to the back of your eyeballs as well as implanting some micro-filaments into your nervous systems to give you much faster reflexes. Your thyroid gland has also been stimulated which will give you even more muscle mass and increase your bone strength. Thankfully they were able to avoid that barbaric procedure of implanting a pellet into the brain like those Spartans had to endure…" As she spoke, Luke continued to examine his body which was feeling more and more different as each moment passed.
"Spartans?" he finally asked.
"Oh yes, you can consider them your grandparents in the sense that the II series, followed by the III series, all had these same procedures to make them some of mankind's greatest warriors. Despite being from different projects, some might argue calling you a Spartan IV…but that's neither here nor there…" she said, trailing off.
"When can I start moving around?"
"We need to wait for-." Rachel was interrupted as one of the frosted panels in the front of the room went completely clear and opened up, Dr. Allara entering the room in a pair of freshly pressed blue scrubs and a white lab coat.
"Nice to see you finally awake, Sword. I assume Rachel has been getting you up to speed on the details of the procedure?"
"Yes ma'am, she has been." Allara nodded an approval and moved over to a screen on the left side of his bed and began to look over data as she flicked through menus and file trees. Seemingly satisfied with what she was seeing, she turned to Luke with a small smile on her face.
"Everything checks out, you're recovering exactly according to schedule. We're going to move you to a new area of the ship that has been cordoned off for you and your team to get back up to speed."
A single nurse was pushing Luke's enormous bed as she made her way through the extra wide hallways. Made from the same self-illuminating material as the other areas of the ship, they were bathed in the bright white light that messed with Luke's perceptions due to the lack of shadows. Until this moment he had yet to see the rest of his team and there were some butterflies in his stomach because, despite being the first to be woken, he was the last to be reunited. Stopping at what seemed to be a non-descript portion of the wall, the nurse tapped a slightly blue area and the portion went completely clear before sliding open. Inside was a second, much smaller hallway that seemed to lead to an open room. From his view he was able to see what looked like the foot of a bed while the adjacent wall had a cluster of lockers painted in a jarring black against the white walls. Finally emerging into the room, he was greeted by a handful of doctors who came over to him almost immediately. They set out removing the cables and wires from his body while doing a quick examination of him before one of them gave him the go ahead to get out of the gurney. Shifting off to the side, he glanced over at the four beds and saw Claymore, Dagger, and Katana standing off to the side in what looked like military pajamas. The other two boys had their heads shaved down like Luke's with the same scars on the sides. Katana got off luckier with her brown hair getting cut to just below her ears and while she had obviously attempted to cover up the scars, the complete lack of hair underneath was too noticeable. He flashed a quick smile to them before he got out of the bed and stood up, his legs shaking slightly. There was a breeze against his backside as the gown he was wearing opened up a little and one of the nurses handed him a perfectly folded stack of clothing. He quickly put them on but was startled when a familiar voice chimed in from the back of the room. sr
"Good to see the four of you made it through the augmentations unscathed; I'd hate to lose my most promising team to something they couldn't put up a fight." Lieutenant June pushed himself away from the corner he was leaning in and walked into the center of the room, near Luke. His eyes were immediately drawn to the right side of the Lieutenant's face where there was now a large amount of scarring from what Luke guessed would've been some sort of explosion which also contributed to the scars that were cut across his face and neck. Whatever had hit him seemed to have also injured his right arm which showed scars from skin grafts and other physical damage. There was a second where Luke considered asking how it happened but he knew that June was most likely here either because he was unfit for combat and couldn't be with his squad or he was the only one who survived the ordeal and he let it pass.
"Yes sir. I'd rather die on my feet than unconscious on some table," Luke said to June as their eyes locked. The Lieutenant didn't respond to this but nodded an approval before putting his hands on his hips and pacing a little bit.
"I want you guys to get a good night sleep because tomorrow is going to be the start of the hardest period of your lives. The UNSC needs you four out on the battlefield and we're more than happy to oblige. We're going to begin with a breaking in of your reflexes and strength before we move into the other areas, finally coming to your armor." He didn't say anything else as he walked out of the room and locked the door behind him.
The room was completely dark as Luke stared up at the nondescript ceiling above him. He was already seeing some of the enhancements to his eyes because, despite the room being almost completely dark, he was able to see as if there was a soft lamp on except he was seeing things in shades of gray and blue. His blankets were tucked around his waist as he brought his arms back up behind head and cradled it in his hands. Luke knew that this was probably the last night where he would be able to just not worry about anything because, if June was right, they'd be going into hell in a few hours and wouldn't be leaving till they died or the war was over. It was a sobering thought but it didn't make him sad or feel sorry for himself, ever since he was a kid he'd assumed he'd die on some battlefield in the war and he wasn't being let down. Looking over at the rest of his squad, he could see that they were all resting peacefully which brought a smile across his face. It wasn't the first time that he was watching over them before something big was about to happen. Finally, he focused on Katana who had a small smile on her face while her hands were clasped together beneath her head as she lie on her side. No matter what, he knew that the feelings he had for her would always be there but he had also come to realize that they were they were soldiers first, lovers second and that that wouldn't change until this war was over. He resolved to tell her that he would be waiting for her the moment the Covenant was destroyed…or they knew they were going to die, whichever came first. As he watched her, the dryness in his eyes signaling a need for sleep hit him and he shut his eyelids, letting himself fall into a deep slumber.
"Get your asses up!" June screamed in the room, jolting Luke awake. It hardly took a split second for him to rolling out of bed onto his feet and scurrying to the front of the bed. Snapping to attention he could see the other four hop to the foots of their bed and stand perfectly still. "You have five minutes to be ready to move out. You're not in these exact spots in that period of time and you'll have hell to pay." Not doubting June's threat, Luke divvied up duties.
"Claymore, Dagger, do anything in the bathroom that you need to do. Katana, get dressed." They repeated acknowledgements as the two boys ran into the bathroom and relieved themselves while quickly brushing their teeth. Beneath each of the beds was a small locker that held their outfits. Loose dark gray sweats matched with a light gray shirt, they had a pair of black underwear and a pair of lightweight shoes that seemed more like baby booties than actual shoes which seemed to suggest they wouldn't be doing too much running. Standing up with the clothes in his hands, he glanced over at Katana who was fiddling with a sports bra while standing completely nude, ignoring him. Quickly changing into his clothes, Claymore and Dagger came back out as they replaced them. The two sinks were covered in toothpaste and spit and he grabbed one of the clear sticks and spread a little bit of blue gel onto the head before scrubbing furiously. As he did this Katana was sitting on the single toilet with her own toothbrush in her mouth.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" She asked, her speech muddled by the brush.
"Yup, you?" he replied, suffering from the same speech impediment. She grunted a yes as she stood up and washed her hands. Walking off, she smacked his rear and stood at attention next to her bed. It was hard for Luke to hold back the smile that was insisting on creeping across his face but he managed and took a deep breath. June was walking back in as he snapped his arms against his side and stared directly in front of him.
"Alright, let's move out." He motioned for them to follow as he led the way, dressed in a freshly pressed pair of ODST ACUs. Walking down the hallways, they were much darker than normal which seemed to indicate most of the crew was still asleep and it was "night" onboard. They didn't travel far before entering what looked like a workout room. The floor was covered in a jet black mat that seemed to give ever so slightly as Luke walked across it. "We're going to have to get you four back up to speed with your skills and the augmentations. I want to start off with close combat before we start looking at anything else." June had moved to the center of the room and turned back around to face them before he motioned for Luke to come towards him. "You and are going to spar until you beat me, got it?"
"Yes sir," Luke said while nodding to the Lieutenant. Spreading his legs apart a little bit, he hunched down as he shield his upper body and his face with his arms which were outstretched and angled upwards. June did the same and seemed to be light on his feet as he began tip toe around Luke, their eyes locked. The Lieutenant made the first move as Luke frantically parried off a right hook before shuffling back a few feet and trying to regain his stance. He could feel a sluggishness in his limbs which was probably due to atrophy from the surgery. At the same time there were hints of speed that he didn't have before but seemed to, frustratingly, be trapped behind his dulled nerves. June launched another quick flurry of punches that Luke managed to block but he was having a hard time keeping up with the Lieutenant who was obviously at the top of his game. Planting his he jabbed with his right arm which was pushed off by June who saw the left hook coming in and ducked out of the way. Luke didn't realize his mistake until it was too late and he felt a solid boot slam into his chest and push him back a few feet, leaving him sprawling out on the ground while frantically trying to recover. Coughing as he got up onto his feet he saw that June hadn't moved from where he was.
"Is that all you've got? All this enhancements and abilities and I'm kicking your ass without even breaking a sweat? You make me sick."
"I'm doing the best I can at the moment," Luke replied, weaker than he had intended.
"I don't give a fuck!" Luke clenched his teeth when June yelled out but he didn't say anything. "UNSC soldiers are dying every moment and you're sitting here telling me that you can't take me down with everything stacked in your favor?!" He didn't wait for an answer as he rushed towards Luke and began to punch him time after time. Impacting his ribs and his chest, Luke tightened up and put his arms in front of his face and breastbone as he weathered the assault, unable to block a punch. Pain was shooting up and down his ribcage and sent stabbing jolts through his back every time he tried to take a breath. Finally unable to take anymore, he flexed his upper body and pushed June away in a single movement before readying himself again. Ready or not, he was going to have to force himself to be what they'd built him to be because he knew June would probably kill him before he let him off easy. It was time to be ruthless. Almost jogging forward he stayed loose with his arms at his side before swinging his right arm into June's left with enough force to throw him off-balance just a little bit. Before the Lieutenant had time to react, Luke kicked with his right leg with all his strength which sent June reeling, obviously not prepared for this sudden ferocity. "Seen it all before Luke!" June said with his arms up in the air, taunting him. "You were like this when we came and picked you up….Hell, that pretty little girl you had with you put up a bigger fight then you. Then again she was fighting to save her life while you're just fighting because I told you to." This was too far and June knew it which was probably why he said it. Luke had done everything in his power over the past few years to block that night out of his mind and in one second it all came flooding back in a wave of emotion that he was having a hard time controlling. His hands were shaking with rage as he remained planted on the padded floor, a cocky smile creeping across June's face as he realized he'd hit the nerve he was looking.
"She didn't need to die!" he finally yelled out.
"Oh, can it Sword, that was four years ago! Everyone you love will be dead eventually so why even bother getting close to anyone?" Luke wasn't going to get baited by June anymore and ran at him. Just before his head smashed into June's sternum Luke began to feel something different creep through his body. Every nerve in his body seemed to come alive and time felt as if it was moving through molasses but he wasn't. As June stumbled backwards, Luke bolted forward and swept his leg under the Lieutenant's which kept him floating in the air. For the final blow he cocked his right arm back and slammed it into the side of June's which slammed him into the mat and stunned him. Rushing over, Luke grabbed pinned one of June's arms into the small of his back with one of his knees while the other was pinned into the mat. Squeezing his head into the mat with his right arm, Luke leaned in.
"How does it feel to be in my position?" he hissed into June's ear. In one fluid motion, Luke had subdued June in a little over two seconds.
A/N: This chapter was a real frustration for me when I was writing it. I think I ended up with four separate versions of it that were completed but I scrapped because I thought they were crap. I still think it's pretty bad but the stories that I tell in it needed to come out one way or another. You guys will be the juge of how it turned out I suppose.