CHAPTER TWENTY:
My gift… My curse…
"Your mistake is seeing Spartans as military hardware. My Spartans are humanity's next step… Our destiny as a species. Do not underestimate them…" – Catherine Halsey during interrogation – September 2553
"Sabre-Five…how's it look on your side?"
"Looks like they are going to try and push another patrol up the street. How's it look on your side Six?"
"Same here…looks like a company size push. You zoomed in?"
"Yeah…you'd think they would know better by now.
Sabre-Five chuckled, "What do except from Marines… They're as thick-headed here as back home."
Sabre-Six chuckled back, "Same as last time?"
"Yeah. You use your sniper rifle to take out the officers and then the non-coms…I'll open with the SAW and then you go active camouflage and sweep from behind and give them a nice surprise to finish them off."
"Seems too easy…"
"Easier than training… Open up on ten count."
"Copy that…go on ten."
Sabre-Five settled his SAW into position and took aim where he was going to open up after Sabre-Six opened fire. He began the count.
"One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…nine…ten…"
Sabre-Five paused as he waited for the sniper rifle to open up, but there was nothing. He could see the Marines still moving up the street slowly and carefully and worst of all unmolested.
"Six? What's your status? Why haven't you opened up yet? Miller what's—"
Sabre-Five never got a chance to finish his sentence or express any surprise as two strong hands grabbed his helmet and in one fast and powerful move twisted it snapping his neck.
oOoOo
Riley came out of a private office back into the main area of the command post. He had just spent the last thirty minutes on a conference call getting his ass handed to him over how he'd been handling this whole situation. He was tired and exhausted. His body ached and he couldn't remember the last time that he had closed his eyes for more than an hour. He had been tempted to tell his superiors in the call to kiss his ass and then he could go home to his wife and kids, but that wasn't like him to leave a job that wasn't finished, especially with so much on the line.
He had no second guesses or regrets about the decisions he had made at the time. He was pissed on how things had turned out and that they had gotten the short end of the stick. He knew that the conference call reaming he had just taken was more for the higher ups to cover their asses and find a scapegoat for this situation that they were now referring to as a debacle.
He had asked for more reinforcements to keep the pressure on Colonel Baker and his Spartans, but that request had been refused. The casualty lists were already long and still growing and it was getting harder to keep a lid on the fighting here and the last thing the government wanted was the public to know that advanced super soldiers from another dimension were running around an American town and threatening to set off a nuclear weapon. The panic that would cause was something no one wanted to contemplate.
Riley looked around the command post as he made his way back to the map area. He noticed that there was still an undercurrent of fear and panic running through the soldiers. Before he had gone into the call, he had discussed with Colonel Maselli on trying to keep pushing some troops into the area that they thought the Spartan base was located. Riley argued that if they could locate the base then maybe they could neutralize the nuclear threat. Maselli reluctantly agreed with his assessment, but he also wanted to focus on trying to evacuate as many civilians as possible out of the danger zone.
Riley hadn't been too optimistic about that because a 100 kiloton nuclear blast at ground level would mean evacuating a minimum of twenty square miles and then there would be the fallout to deal with. If the prevailing winds were blowing the wrong way, the fallout could be carried to Los Angeles and that caused even more nightmares about this situation.
He approached the map table and saw Colonel Maselli staring at the map. He had spent enough time around the Colonel that he could pick up on his body language and he got a really bad feeling. His bad feeling was only confirmed when he got closer and could see the frustrated grim look on the Colonel's face. Riley was almost afraid to ask, but he knew he had too.
"What's happened now?" Riley asked.
"NORTHCOM reported another energy burst event 15 minutes ago…"
"Damn! Does that mean they left?" Riley asked fearful that Baker had taken Faith and her kids and they would be gone forever.
"No…they're still here. I'm still getting reports of fighting. My patrols are trying to push forward and still getting hit hard." Moselli replied not taking his eyes off the map.
Riley looked at the map and his face matched the Colonel's, What the hell is Baker doing? He said he had everything he wanted and was leaving. Why would he bring in more reinforcements?
Riley looked at the map for what seemed like a long time that his vision started to glaze over and he lost focus of the map as his mind wandered. He was suddenly brought back into focus when a Lieutenant came into the room and spoke to the Colonel.
"Sir…you need to come to the communications center. Captain Jacobs, Kilo Company/2nd Battalion is reporting…he wants to speak to you ASAP."
Riley was puzzled when he heard the report and he followed the officers into the communications center and watched as Maselli picked up the handset.
"Kilo-Actual…this is Godfather-Actual. What's your SITREP?"
"Godfather…this is Kilo-actual. We're advancing up to map reference Juliet-12 and we have not encountered any enemy resistance."
A little cheer rang out in the communications center as this was the first bit of good news in days.
"Understood Kilo-Actual… Excellent work…"
Maselli was interrupted before he could finish, "Godfather, we have found two…I repeat two enemy KIA…"
A huge cheer broke out in the communications center as the thought that they could actually kill the enemy gave them some hope for turning around the battle.
"Excellent work Captain! Provide details on how you killed the enemy so we can pass it around…"
There was a long pause, "Godfather you misunderstood…we found the enemy KIAs. We didn't kill them…I repeat…someone else has taken them out."
There was dead silence in the room, "Could they have been taken out by one of our choppers?" Maselli asked now confused over what he was hearing.
"Uhhh that's a negative Godfather. One enemy appears to have had a knife driven into his throat and the other appears to have had his neck snapped. Both bodies appeared to have been tossed down from the top of buildings…"
Again dead silence and confusion hung through the communications center.
"…Who or whatever took these two out did us a favor as it looks like they were setting up to ambush us."
Riley heard the report and he was stunned like everyone else. Suddenly it hit him and he cursed himself for being so tired for not picking up on what was happening sooner.
"Colonel! That last report from NORTHCOM…where in Sunnydale did they report it happening?"
Maselli was still confused and stunned from the report from Kilo Company and it took him a moment to understand what Riley was asking. He shook his head to clear it and moved back to the map table.
"Satellite recon showed that the energy burst was detected in this light industrial area in the northeast section on the edge of town. We sent helicopters over to look for any enemy forces, but nothing was spotted. We were going to shift 4th Battalion to screen that area…"
A smile came to Riley's face as he recognized the location on the map. It was his first genuine smile in days and he could feel his exhaustion start to fade away as he now had that precious feeling of hope running through him. Maselli saw Riley smile and was even more confused by what was happening.
"What is it? What does this mean?" Maselli asked uncertain of what was happening now and thinking that maybe Riley had lost it.
Memories flowed through Riley's mind. They were from long ago and had occurred in a different dimension. The situation had been grim then as now for him, Buffy and Faith and many others. Images flashed in his mind of a battle and how one man had changed the outcome and his wrath on the demons that had taken and injured the woman he loved.
"You wanted a miracle…we just got a miracle. The game has just changed and I think that Colonel Baker and his Spartans are in for a rude surprise." Riley said getting a smile that looked right at home on a predator.
oOoOo
"Adriana…Adriana? Can you hear me?"
Adriana slowly regained consciousness. She fought to open her eyes and they still felt heavy. She tried to move, but found that she couldn't move her arms and legs. Being helpless forced her mind to become more aware of her surroundings and she fought through the fog to wake up.
"Com'on Adriana…wake up."
Adriana's eyes opened and tried to focus on her surroundings as she slowly regained her senses. She felt the rough carpet on her skin and then her eyes focused and she saw her mom lying on the ground several feet from her, with her younger brother and sister sitting on the ground between them. She saw that her mom had her hands behind her back and then noticed that there were restraints on her legs—that's when Adriana became aware that she was also restrained and could barely move.
"Mom?!"
"It's okay… I'm fine… You were drugged and we're in Sunnydale right now."
Adriana tried to struggle against her restraints with no results.
Faith could see the panicked look on Adriana's face and she spoke to try and keep her calm, "You have to stay calm and keep focused…"
"But mom…?"
"I know it doesn't look good, but they want us alive, so we just have to bide our time. Your father and Virgil will track us down and get us out of here…trust me I've been in worse situations."
Faith saw a sad look on Adriana's face and she got a bad feeling.
"Mom…Virgil is gone. When they attacked the installation they were able to upload some sort of attack program…"
Faith couldn't believe what she was hearing, "No! You're wrong… He's fine and your father will come and get us…"
"Mom…I saw Virgil go offline…I saw him die. Without him dad can't access the dimensional portal system…He's stuck in that other dimension…"
Faith fought to keep her composure as she could feel her defenses crumble, Need to focus… Focus on the children… Focus on the now…worry about the future later, she thought as she looked at her children that were at the mercies of this Baker character and his plans for them and her.
Adriana could see how hard her mom was trying to keep under control and this provided herself the strength to keep her own fear and panic under control. She heard loud approaching footsteps coming closer and tried to turn her head and body to see who or what was coming. She was greeted by the sight of an armored figure entering the room and coming over towards them.
"So everyone is awake now…a nice little happy family reunion."
The armored figure bent down and Adriana got a close look at the man that spoke. He looked like a middle-aged man with short cropped hair in that familiar military-style cut that her dad always had. She could see how intense the man's eyes were as he looked her over and this caused Adriana to shiver slightly as it reminded her of how those vampires had looked at her when they had almost turned her.
"You are a most impressive young woman. You have the makings of being a great Spartan…with the right instruction and guidance."
Adriana was tired of being scared and fearful. She directed her famous "Lehane temper" at her captor, "What the hell would you know about being a Spartan? My dad is a great Spartan! You aren't fit to walk in his shadow…"
Adrian heard the man snort and she could tell by the look in his eyes that she had scored a point by hitting a raw nerve.
"Your father is a coward and a deserter! He ran and hid when the UNSC needed him the most! For him being a better Spartan…well you and I are here and he isn't. Your father is nothing but a genetic medical experiment that has gotten out of control…well it's time to bring it back under control and you, your siblings and mom can be useful tools for ONI and the UNSC."
"Go screw yourself if you think I'll help you…"
"Oh I know that you and your mother will resist at first as you are both older and not educated in the way things are. In time you will both comply with the training phase and then the breeding phase of the project…"
Adriana's eyes widen in shock at the words—breeding phase.
Faith had overheard the conversation between Adriana and Baker and the same words set her off, "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU TOUCH HER!" she screamed causing Catherine and John to move behind her in fear.
Baker stood up and a smirk came to his face, "Don't think that I'm some sort of rapist…" he snorted.
He continued, "You, Adriana and Catherine when she comes of age will be the genetic mothers for a whole new generation of Spartans…ensuring the security of the UNSC and protecting humanity from its enemies."
Faith just stared at Baker as she grasped what he had planned for her and her children, "You're crazy! You're stark raving mad!"
"Don't you dare judge me! What the hell do you know about suffering and living under the threat of extinction?"
Faith snorted a derisive laugh, "I've gone through my share of apocalypses…several times."
Baker gave her a hard look, "You don't know shit! I was thirteen years old when I saw my home world burned by the Covenant… I lost my mother, father, baby brother and my baby sister plus every other relative and friend."
Baker turned to Adriana, "You said I'm not worthy to be a Spartan… I volunteered to be a Spartan…to hit back at the Covenant…to get revenge. I became a Headhunter…do you know what that means? That means I was one of the meanest and baddest that was sent out on assassination missions that were considered nothing less than suicide and guess what…I'm still here."
oOoOo
Images and memories flow through my mind. I see everyone's face… I see his face. This is my gift and my curse… I can recall and replay every moment of that mission…of every mission. Every detail…every sound…every smell, it's all there. I remember how his eyes looked in the sniper scope as I took aim and slowly squeezed the trigger. I saw the pain there. I was too young at the time to understand what that pain was or what could've caused it, but I understand it now.
My gift…my curse as the memories replay again…
Another memory comes to me…an old man and his granddaughter on New Constantinople as the Covenant glassed the planet. I watched the old man die after he had placed his body between me and an Elite, taking the plasma blade meant for me…my grandfather and my sister.
My gift…my curse as the memories continue…
After Adriana told me who I was and what I had done… I screamed and cursed my existence as it does not matter what dimension/universe I am in…the pain is still the same…the crime I committed is still the same. She tried to explain there was no way for me to know and there was no way that ONI purposely planned it that way. It doesn't matter to me…the universes…the dimensions are using me as their play thing…as the punch line to some grand existensionalist joke.
She tried to comfort me and ask what I was feeling. I feel nothing but anger and hate… I hate ONI… I hate the UNSC… I hate what was done to me… I hate what was taken from me… I hate what I was ordered to do and did without question… I hate myself.
My hate and rage is further fueled by what Adriana has been able to access and tell me about "Project Slayer" and what will happen to Faith and our children. They would use my son as a guinea pig to try and recreate parts of the Spartan-II program and turn my wife and daughters into genetic breeding vessels. I want to go back to the UNSC and burn the whole thing down, but Adriana tries to explain that not everyone supports ONI. There are those that would be horrified by what was being planned. She then tells me that he is still alive… The last information I had from there was that he had died saving Earth from the Flood. I had named my son after him to honor him for his strength and the example he always set for the rest of us. That my grandfather's name was also John just emphasized how I was at the mercy of the universes and these "coincidences".
I wrap my anger, hate and rage around me as a cloak and use it to fuel my strength for what I will face. The odds are against me, but then they have always been against me… My whole life I have questioned who and what I was. I tried to understand what I was and what my place was in the universe. Doctor Halsey…my other mother…knew who we were and what we were meant to be when she selected us for the program. She understood better than anyone else… She knew what her Spartans were to be and I understand that now in my anger and hate. I am more than human… I am Spartan and that is my destiny…has always been my destiny. I know my purpose and my path… I no longer have any doubts or regrets of not going back to the UNSC…that's not my home anymore.
I always told myself that my home and place was with Faith and our children, but now for the first time in my life I do not hear the whispering voices of doubt. I know who and what I am now. I know where my future is…where it was always meant to be.
I know what I was born for…designed for…augmented for…trained for…
I found two of Baker's men setting up to ambush a company of Marines. My Virgil-modified motion sensors gave me a range advantage over theirs to detect them. Adriana was able to mask my approach as I moved slowly on the first one to avoid detection… They call themselves Spartans, but they were arrogant as they weren't running their active camouflage and were overconfident. We would have never made that mistake… Some people called us arrogant…we were never arrogant. We knew we were better…arrogance gets you killed.
Adriana has tapped into their com channels and she quickly locates two more of Baker's men…they are running in pairs performing hit and run raids and ambushes to keep the Marines off balance. I know where Baker is located…Adriana has all that information and more. We work together in tandem and balance like we have never been apart. I move on to the next pair of Baker's men. I swear that I will make Baker and his troops pay for what he has done and plans to do to my family. Adriana and I have a plan and I move on to the next pair… I go to do what I am good at.
I will not have my sons and my daughters used by ONI or any other group. I will not have them forced to do what I did. They will be free to live their lives and find their path wherever it may lead. They carry our genes in them and they will pass them down to their children. They will be Doctor Halsey's legacy.
Once again the memory of a man and his pain-filled eyes filling a sniper scope flashes through my mind. The last time I saw Doctor Halsey, she had that same pain-filled look. I understand now what it all means… I have a clarity of who I am like I have never known.
What I have done and what I will do… It's what I will have to live with the rest of my life. I will learn to live with it like I have learned to live with everything else I have done.
My gift… My curse…
oOoOo
Private Jia was riding in the troop compartment of his LAV-25A3 as it moved slowly down the street. His vehicle was the third vehicle in this column of eight vehicles which was a mix of LAVs and HUMVEEs as they slowly probed forward. His nerves were on edge as he was less than six months out of boot camp and this was his first experience in combat. When he had first heard the orders that his unit was being deployed to Sunnydale, he thought it was for an exercise or to help with some sort of civil emergency.
Four days in and he was still alive where a lot of guys in his unit were either dead or wounded. He didn't know who they were fighting and there was a lot of rumors and speculation going around. He'd heard the word "Spartans" mentioned several times, but he had never heard of any terrorist or extremist group with that name before. Whoever these "terrorists" were, they were unlike anything he had ever heard of and they were armed to the teeth.
He had seen the burned out hulks of HUMVEEs, LAVs and a couple of M1 tanks and it was hard to believe that this was actually happening inside the United States. He was feeling a little more hopeful as word was quickly spreading that Kilo Company had actually been able to reach its objective with no casualties. There were rumors that they had actually taken out some of the enemy they were facing too, but that was tempered by the stories that the enemy was wearing some type of advanced body armor making them really hard to kill.
The LAV stopped and Jia felt his heart start beating faster. He heard over his headset, "Traffic jam up ahead blocking the intersection… Spider-One is moving up to check it out." The Private took a deep breath to try and relax as he hated the thought of them stopped and being a sitting duck.
oOoOo
Riley was pacing around the communications center like a caged tiger. There had been more reports coming in of discoveries of dead enemy combatants—taken out at very close range and very violently. There had been no reports or sightings of who was doing this, so it appeared that Michael was keeping a low profile. Riley hoped it was Michael, but then again who else could it be. He had intel and info from Buffy and Giles that those few demons and vampires that were still living in Sunnydale had wisely fled after the fighting had started as their survival instincts kicked in. They didn't want to get caught in the fighting especially after it became known that there were more Spartans running around. They were more than willing to let humans bloody each other.
I wish I knew what he was planning…we could at least back him up.
Riley's thoughts were interrupted by a commotion in the communications center.
"What the hell?!"
Riley turned and saw all the communication techs punching away at their screens and consoles frantically and looking very frustrated.
"What's going on?!" Maselli shouted to be heard over the commotion.
"Sir! We've lost control of our systems! We still have radio contact with all our units and we can see data and video, but we're locked out, we can't input commands!" a Lieutenant reported back.
"How the hell did this happen?"
"Unknown Sir!"
"Fix it and get control back!" Maselli ordered, his frustration obvious.
"We're trying Sir! The encryption is like nothing I've ever seen…We're trying hard resets." the Lieutenant responded.
"Keep me apprised of your status Lieutenant…"
"Yes Sir!"
Riley was confused with what was going on and hoped that Maselli's men could get everything back up. Everyone in the room was shocked as a female voice came over all the speakers flooding the room with her voice.
"Hello Agent Finn…or should I say Director Finn."
Riley stood there slacked jaw as he heard the female voice speak. He was in shock as he recognized who was speaking to him. He hadn't thought it was possible.
Everyone in the communications center stared at Riley and it took him a long moment to gather his thoughts before he could actually say something, "Adriana…? How? I was told that you were…gone."
The female voice let out a small chuckle, "Much like the phoenix…I have arisen from the ashes. Now if we can get to business...time is of the essence."
Maselli came across the room towards Riley, "Riley, what the hell is going on? Who the hell is that woman speaking?"
"My apologies Colonel Maselli…I needed to borrow 'access' to your computer networks. This will in no way impact with your ability to communicate with your troops. I would advise them to hold their positions. We'll take it from here."
"That still doesn't tell me who you are and who this 'we' that will deal with the enemy that my regiment has fought and bled against… I want—"
Riley interrupted, "Colonel…Adriana is a highly advanced artificial intelligence and I think we would want to listen and take her advice."
Adriana chuckled, "I always thought you were smarter than you looked."
Riley couldn't help himself as he smiled, but he quickly refocused, "I take it Michael is here and is going to neutralize Baker and get Faith and the kids back."
There was a long pause and Riley thought something was wrong. Adriana finally replied, "Yes…I would suggest you inform all your units to hold their fire or not get in his way."
Riley smirked at thought of what was coming for Baker and his men, "I guess Michael is really motivated…"
Again there was another long pause which caused Riley again to worry, "You have no idea…" replied Adriana.
oOoOo
Private Jia was still sitting in the stopped LAV, it felt like it was taking forever and he was feeling the heat and getting a touch claustrophobic.
"Take it easy Jia…you've got to learn how to relax." Corporal Hicks said from the other side of the troop compartment.
Jia nodded and took a deep breath. He heard his headset crackle.
"All units this is Godfather-Actual…we have support in the field…unit is friendly…he—"
Jia didn't hear anymore as the last vehicle in their column went up in a huge fireball. This was quickly followed by the lead vehicle—Spider-One—going up in flames.
Screams filled the tac-channels, "AMBUSH! AMBUSH!"
oOoOo
Colonel Baker was working at the console to get the dimensional portal online. He had finally gotten the system initialized and was just going to enter dimensional co-ordinates. He took a moment to look towards his prisoners. He could hear them talking—trying to reassure each other and make plans to delay him and escape.
He smirked at their useless plans, Make all the plans you want…soon we'll be out of this place and back home…
Baker's thoughts were interrupted as he could hear him being called over the com channel. He reached for his helmet and put it on.
"Baker here…what's the situation?"
"Sir…Sabre-One is reporting that he has lost contact with Sabre-Five and Six."
"Casualties were to be expected Lieutenant, we are heavily outnumbered…Tell Storm-One to hook up with Sabre-Team and prepare to start falling back. We should be able to leave within the next thirty minutes…"
"Good to hear we'll be out of here soon Sir, but I've lost contact with Storm team…they're not responding."
Baker paused and he felt his heart beat faster, No way the locals could have taken all those Spartans out… It can't be him…there's no way…
He quickly refocused, "Hold the perimeter for as long as you can and then fall back into the building…we'll be out of here soon."
"Yes Sir!"
Baker cut the channel and got back to work getting the dimensional portal system ready to go. He typed in a few commands and saw that the portal system was operational. A smile came to his face in anticipation of leaving. Suddenly a message displayed across the console screen.
SYSTEM ERROR
"What the hell!?"
He tried to type in some commands to reset the system and clear the error message, but another message displayed on the screen.
SYSTEM LOCKOUT… NO ACCESS FROM THIS CONSOLE
He tried to enter commands, but the error message just stayed on the screen. The keyboard was no longer responding. He could feel his anger and frustration grow and he smashed the keyboard with his armored hand.
"Problems?"
Baker turned and saw Faith looking towards him with a taunting smile on her face.
"It looks like you're having some computer problems…that's too bad." Faith said still smiling and enjoying that Baker was having problems.
"Shut up!" he said angrily.
Faith was enjoying taunting Baker, she wanted to see him flustered, "Looks like you'll have to replace that keyboard…"
"I said SHUT UP!" Baker said as he stood up and moved towards Faith. Adriana and the other children shrank away as the Spartan strode angrily towards their mother.
Baker was about to bend down and pick up Faith by the neck. He would teach her how to listen and obey when given an order. He stopped as he heard a crackling noise coming from the other end of the conference room. It sounded like a voice caught in static. He looked and saw the pedestal that Hunter used was glowing and flashing. The static continued with occasional words being said. Baker couldn't make out the words. He forgot about Faith and moved towards the pedestal.
"Hunter? Hunter is that you?"
Baker was hoping it was his wayward AI. He would be able to fix the portal system and get everyone home faster. Baker could feel his hopes growing, but they were dashed as a female voice spoke from the pedestal.
"I'm sorry, but the AI you are looking for no longer exists…"
Baker was shocked by the response. He wasn't sure that he had heard the voice right. It took him a very long moment for the words to sink in and for him to gather his thoughts and regain his composure.
"Hunter respond?"
The female voice sighed, "My…you are dense. Your little AI is gone and he's not coming back."
Baker felt an icy feeling growing in him, "Who are you? Identify yourself!"
Faith had been watching Baker and she saw the flashing light and static coming from the pedestal at the other end of the room. Whatever it was it had his attention, she then heard the voice and her eyes widened.
No! It can't be! She's gone! She's…
A ball of light appeared hovering over the pedestal and exploded causing Faith to look away briefly. When she looked again she saw the small bluish red female form hovering there.
Faith was speechless and couldn't believe what and who she was seeing.
Adriana picked up that something important was happening, "Mom…what's wrong? Who's that?"
The other Adriana heard what her "goddaughter" had asked and she looked towards her, Faith and the other children with a small reassuring smile. She then looked back at Colonel Baker giving him an unforgiving glare.
"I am UNSC AI Adriana…and you will surrender or face the consequences."
oOoOo
Baker couldn't believe what he was seeing and hearing and he found himself speechless for a minute as his mind raced at this turn of events.
He took a deep breath, "UNSC AI Adriana, you will obey my orders as the lawful UNSC authority according to all rules and regulations…You will act—"
"Save your breath Colonel… I don't recognize your authority or any UNSC authority anymore. I answer to Michael and his family…my family. As for activating and opening a dimensional portal back to the UNSC… I'm doing that right now, it's a micro portal as I am sending a burst transmission to HIGHCOM detailing all your activities and everything involving 'Project Slayer'. There are still good people back there that won't like or support what you are doing…"
Baker snorted, "I've got ONI backing on this… HIGHCOM dances to our tune."
Adriana just smiled at Baker, "Oh I don't think that the ONI brass will be too pleased about all this coming out in the open…you will be expendable to them. I think you'll be their scapegoat to throw under the bus, but I would think you have bigger worries than that… He's coming for you."
Baker understood what the AI was telling him and he would probably be the one hung out to dry, but he was too valuable a resource for them to lose. Plus he had a lot of dirt and knew where a lot of the skeletons were buried for any harsh or long lasting punishment. The AI was right though, he did have a bigger problem at the moment.
Baker smirked inside his helmet, "Let him come…I've got his family as hostage. He'll never—"
"I told him…"
Baker stopped in mid-sentence as the words hit him, "What do you mean you told him?"
"I told him everything… I told him who he was…and I told him what ONI had him do."
Baker felt the blood drain from his face and his heart start pounding, "Uhhhh… You know there was no way that anyone could have known about that. It was a coincidence…bad luck…fate."
The AI gave Baker a harder more hateful look, "It doesn't matter to Michael… ONI took him from his family…had him pull the trigger…now you've taken his family."
Baker was speechless once more as his situation started to sink in and his mind raced to come up with contingencies to deal with this new situation.
"He hates you and god help you when he gets here, but you know what…I hate you even more. If I could I would kill you…" Adriana said giving him that hate filled look.
Baker was taken aback as he had never seen an AI talk or act like this before and he was curious, "How could you hate? Why?"
"I hate you because I had to be the one to tell Michael about his father… I had to be the one to see the look on his face when I told him…the look on his face is something that I will never forget. To have to do that to a friend is something that I can't forget or forgive…"
Faith overheard Adriana speaking and was confused. She was happy that the AI was back and that it looked like that Michael was here, but there was something wrong…something to do with him and his father.
"Adriana…what's wrong? What's going on?" she asked the AI.
The AI looked at Faith with a sad look on her face. She was shocked at how the AI looked, she knew that Adriana had emotions, but she had never seen the AI with such a look before.
"ONI sent Michael on a mission to take out a separatist leader on Jericho VII… It was his first mission. He was successful and killed the leader… That man was Michael's father…"
The room was dead silent, even the sounds of the fighting outside seemed to fade away as the words hit Faith like a hammer. It took her what seemed like an eternity to wrap her mind around what she had heard.
My God! Michael!
Faith felt her heart break as she imagined how this had hit Michael. She loved him so much that when he bled she did too and this was something so unimaginable that it seemed unbelievable. Then she felt the anger and hate start building up.
"You bastards… you god damn bastards…" Faith said in a low angry tone.
Baker heard her and knew that if she hadn't been restrained, she would be at his throat right now…armor or no armor. He thought that he should reply and explain that it wasn't his fault—it wasn't anybody's fault. It was war and it had been an unfortunate accident—a coincidence—but he saw the look of hate on Faith's face and the look of horror on the two older children's faces and knew anything he said would be useless. He didn't have anything to feel ashamed of. He was doing his duty to protect the UNSC and humanity. He shrugged off their looks and focused on dealing with this new threat.
oOoOo
Private Jia fell out of the back of LAV, he had been pushed out by Corporal Hicks. He felt the wind knocked out of him as he hit the ground hard. Explosions and weapons fire surrounded and engulfed him. He recovered his senses somewhat and found that he had dropped his assault rifle when he had hit the ground. He scrambled slowly on his stomach looking around for his weapon. He saw a weapon ten yards away from him and he started to crawl towards it.
His LAV suddenly went up in a huge ball of fall as some sort of high velocity round hit it and cut through the armor like it wasn't even there. The explosion tossed Jia at least ten yards hitting the ground hard on his back this time. He found himself looking at the smoke-filled sky as pain throbbed through his body. He slowly turned over back on to his stomach. He looked for his weapon, but he couldn't see anything. That's when he saw something—someone—come through the flames and smoke. It looked like an apparition of death coming to collect him. Jia froze in fear.
oOoOo
Everything seems to be standing still or moving slow… I am moving with a fluid smooth grace that I have never had before. My reactions and speed seem faster. My mission is to get my family back…that's my only mission.
I've arrived too late as this Marine column was ambushed. I took out one of Baker's men with a long burst from my MA5 at short range. I move along the column being attacked by the other man…it looks like he is taking out the vehicles with a railgun. I had considered sweeping around, but the Marines here are getting shot up badly.
I use the smoke and cover of the buildings and vehicles to avoid the other shooter. There is the concern that the Marines will turn their weapons on me, but Adriana was to have contacted Riley and the local authorities and let them know I am on their side…
I'm almost up to the third vehicle…or what's left of it. I can see some of the Marines were lucky to have gotten out, but others weren't. I see one dazed Marine on the ground ahead of me. He has no weapon and I can see the fear on his face…
That's when I spot the other enemy with the railgun. He has spotted me and is going to take a shot. I don't have a lot of options, but I do have a big advantage and I use it…
oOoOo
Jia had never seen anyone move that fast before. The person was huge and wearing what looked like body armor, but nothing like he had ever seen, but what stood out the most was the helmet with the gold covered visor.
He looks like a giant robot, was all that Jia could think of as he watched the figure approaching fast.
Jia ducked as a huge explosion went off where the "man" had been. When he looked again he expected to see a smoking hole and remains, but the armored man had dodged the shot and the explosion seemed to have no effect in slowing him down. He then looked on wide-eyed and slack-jawed as the man jumped avoiding another shot and came down hard on one knee. That wasn't the strangest part though, when the man hit the ground he started glowing…
oOoOo
I easily avoided the two railgun shots… I need to bring him in closer. The only way to do that is to make myself an easier target. As I hit the ground in one motion I activate my armor-lock. I'm appreciative that Virgil had upgraded the system, it activates faster and is stronger.
I feel one and then a second railgun round hit me square on and explode. I see the Spartan IV move up and get ready to fire again. I only have seconds left on my armor-lock…he is close enough for what I want to do.
I visualize the moves I am going to make. I try to clear my mind, but images and memories of my father's face in the sniper scope and others fight through. Time slows down and I try again to clear my mind…I can't afford to be distracted. I think of Faith and our children…I think of how lucky I have been to find her, to hold her and love her. I can feel my pulse and heart rate slowing down. Time slows down even more for me...everything seems to freeze in place. That's when I hear her voice…
"Reclaimer, you are the culmination of a thousand lifetimes of planning when I indexed mankind for repopulation in our universe… I placed seeds which would lead to an eventuality. Your physical evolution. Your combat skin. Your ancilla. Even the installation on 5414 Erde-Tyrene was placed there for you..."
Her voice is gentle and sings to me. I've never heard this voice before. I should be worried that I'm hearing voices in my head, but the voice is soothing and reassuring.
"Reclaimer, I reach out to you now… Your whole life, I have quietly tried to show you the path of where you belonged. We knew of this universe and the darkness and evil that dwelt here. We saw the strength of those that were called 'Slayer' and how they fought against the darkness. We foresaw a time when the people of this world and universe would be at risk and the Slayer would need assistance. The Slayer would require your strength and your skills to help them much like we Forerunners tried to uphold the Mantle. You, your wife and your children have reached a critical point in the path... What was taken from you, I return to you…"
I'm confused by what the voice has said, but then memories flood my mind. They are memories that I had thought I had forgotten… They were memories from when I was child…before I was taken. I can see my parents…my baby sister. I see the green fields that seemed to go on forever near our home on Jericho VII. I can see my mother and father's faces clearly. They both look younger and happier. I can hear my baby sister giggling as we watched the sunset and the stars came out…
I can feel the tears in my eyes as I see and feel the memories I thought I had lost are returned to me. My mind refocuses as I know that my armor-lock is going to disengage in seconds. I ready myself to reach for the smooth curved piece of metal attached on my left hip…
oOoOo
Jia still couldn't believe what he was seeing. The glowing armored man shrugged off two consecutive direct hits from some sort of high-velocity high explosive round. He saw another armored man holding some sort of strange looking rifle-type weapon moving closer. He was frozen and weaponless, he didn't know what to do…
It happened so fast that Jia almost missed it. The kneeling armored man stopped glowing and in one motion leapt up moving to his right using a nearby building to bounce off and change direction towards the shooter. The armored shooter fired wildly missing. He watched in awe as the armored man in one motion pulled something from his left side and grip it in his right hand. Jia's eyes widened as he saw two glowing blades appear and the man hit the ground and spun driving the blades into the shooter's chest. He sat there rooted to the ground as the armored man lifted the impaled shooter off the ground and after a long moment tossed him easily off his blades. The body hit a wall and fell to the ground with a sickening thud.
Jia would never forget what he saw. He saw the armored man standing there like a predator ready to strike holding those glowing blades. The gold-tinted visor looked towards him. He couldn't see the man's face, but he could feel an intensity from that look. He noted all the details on the man's armor—an emblem that looked very much like the USMC's Eagle, Globe, and Anchor and the number 113.