The Beginning of the End

Chapter 2: Abductions and Augmentations

Part One: Abductions

The bell rang and Randall eagerly ran to his locker. He couldn't wait to get home, to get away from all his ignorant classmates, except for the cliques who stuck up for him: the rejects, the cheerleaders (as Randall was quite nice, though as big of an asshole as can be, he was nice to the people that respected him), and the nerds, though they were not a big help. Randall didn't really understand why the jocks (or the jock-offs as he called them) and the pot-heads didn't like him, maybe it was just because he didn't want to be the same as everyone else. He didn't understand why people respected him either; maybe it was because he stood up for himself. Whatever, all he wanted to do now was get home and call up some friends and pizza. He began walking home the usual way he did, and met up with his friend Joe.

"So what are you doing tonight?" Joe asked.

"I don't know, maybe sit down with some video games and some pizza, you can come over if you want," Randall answered. They stopped at the corner of Randall's street and Mike's street. The wind blew and the smell of exhaust from the nearby highway drifted by.

"Well, I got to go, my mom will kill me if I'm late," Joe said.

"Ok, I'll call at around 5:00," Randall said. Joe walked towards his house, and Randall did the same. He immediately regretted taking this way home, forgetting it was the main hangout of the skater-punks/assholes. Randall walked on, pretending he didn't notice them.

"Where you going faggot?" one of them asked.

"Home, where I always go after school dickwad," Randall answered.

"What did you call me?"

"Are you deaf? You heard me," Randall answered with a smirk.

"Are you stupid? Should I go over there and kick your ass."

"I'm stupid! What was your last test grade, and I'd like to see you lay a finger on me." The boy put down his hoverboard and walked over, pulling up his sleeves. Randall watched his hand form a fist and pull back. In a blur of motion, Randall's martial arts instincts kicked in and he grabbed the boy's fist in one hand and kicked him in the chest with his foot. He flew back 3 feet on his back; Randall picked up his backpack, and walked on casually. The wind picked up again, this time with more intensity, and the smell of brunt fuel was stronger too. He looked back to the skater punks and saw them running away from a large black LDAF-Jet with the symbol of the UNSC, a large globe surrounded by olive leaves and a shield in front of it. The jet lowered and ropes dropped from the open side cargo doors, and 4 ODSTs rappelled down from the helicopter. They immediate started on Randall. Randall fought them off with all the power he had, but soon the hard-as-nails Marines had him on the ground with a retina scanner over his eyes. They brought him up onto the jet, and he saw a tall man looking over him nodding and ordering people around, before he felt a sharp pain in his arm and his vision blur and fade…

Part 1.5: What the hell is going on?

Randall woke to very blurry vision and restraints on his limbs. He blinked and his vision cleared. He saw bright fluorescent lights and the hum of computers around him. He lifted his head to see the door when it opened, and saw the tall man from the jet walk in. He had 5 o'clock shadow and dark shadows under his eyes. Followed by him was a large wheeled cabinet with glass doors. There were lots of boxes, and a glowing blue tube. Randall's adrenaline spiked when he saw a range of syringes lined up on the far walls. He mustered up the strength to talk.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON YOU GOVERNMENT PRICKS!" Randall screamed.

"Please try to relax, we'll explain everything when you are prepared," the man said.

"I AM PREPARED YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" Randall screamed. A mechanical arm extended from the ceiling with a syringe on the end. Randall felt the familiar sharp pain in his arm and he blacked out.

Part 2: What the hell is going on?

Randall woke in the same room as before, but he felt extremely nauseas and it felt like there was something in his mind. He opened his eyes and the words: INITIALIZING SYSTEM flashed in front of his retinas. His vision was a transparent blue and code flashed along the sides. A voice in his mind sounded.

"He's awake General," a deep, scratchy voice said. On cue, the restraints on his limbs released and Randall sat up with surprising ease. He wanted to scream at the man, the General, but something in his mind stopped him from doing so. What he would have shouted came out as relaxed.

"What the hell is going on, sir?" Randall asked, the sir added on by his mind.

"There is a lot to explain, so be patient. You have been voluntarily admitted to UNSC/ONI Project 471-X49C.234. You have been made into an almost invincible soldier for the UNSC Marine Corps, a SPARTAN-III. There have been many modifications to your body and your mind, which are shown on this chart. He pointed to a computer station.

"When did I give my consent to this?" asked Randall. General Stacker held up a pink sheet with Randall's scrawl of signature.

"I'd never agree to this shit," Randall stated unbelievingly.

"You did," General said sadly. "I'm really sorry about all this, but you will be saving the lives of every human in the galaxy."

"Thanks for ruining my life," Randall said in disgust.

"Oh it's not ruined, and you haven't even tested all of your abilities yet. I think you'll be quite impressed," he said while typing in some codes into a computer station. A large list popped up and Randall moved to see it. He noticed that he moved more easily now, more fluid, and stronger. He also noticed he no longer needed his vision correction to see properly. He sat down and read the list, his eyebrows going up at some places, sometimes going down, and sometimes looking confused.

"I hate to say it, but I'm impressed. What's this here?" he said pointing to a file at the bottom of the document. He situated himself in front of the command keyboard and typed codes very quickly. Another file popped up named BODILY ACCELERATOR PROTOTYPE v. 1.5.8. He read it slowly, his eyebrows up the whole time. "Nice," he said, awestruck.

"Prototype model, given to me for this project by Colonel Ackerson. The file doesn't have all the facts; it's essentially a tooth sized machine that slows time around you. You can interact with any thing in this state, but take caution; any living thing you move will be severely damaged or killed. The accelerator is taxing on the body though. Any duration longer than 30 seconds will start to break down your body, and drain your power supply. It is activated by a switch in your bottom left molar. Try it out," Stacker explained, obviously getting tired of explaining things. Randall moved his tongue around his mouth and disappeared with a whoosh. He appeared seconds later on the other side of the room.

"Nice, again," Randall said breathlessly. "What about this AI I read about?"

"Oh, Durandul. He's the AI fused with your mind. He will direct and manage most of the functions of your augmentations. Say hi Durandul.

"Hi. I am most excited to be working with you Randall; I hope our relationship will be a pleasant one. I am already prepping your reactors and your weapons for the training. All body systems normal," he said in the deep scratchy voice Randall heard before.

"Corporal, open the doors to S-III training grounds 1," Stacker ordered, and the far wall of the small room opened up to a large multi-environmental facility. "Initiate training one…

Beginning of the End

Chapter 3: Meetings and Ground-based Operations

Sunday, August 16th, 2553

Onboard Echelon Shipyards Construction Arm #3

17:00 Military Standard

2 months after training

General Stacker walked to Randall on the observation deck of the Echelon Shipyards construction arm. He held a small black box in his hand. Randall stood at attention as the General opened the box and pinned the insignia of Sergeant Major on Randall's uniform. Stacker then saluted the newly appointed Sergeant and turned to the observation window. He stared at the massive ship that was being completed there.

"The Marathon, a beauty, isn't she?" the General said.

"The cost of this ship was too heavy, over 300 dead for the stolen technology in it. But it was well worth it, this ship can decimate an entire Covenant fleet. Energy shields, plasma cannons, you name it, this ship has it. Its also one of the fastest, nearly overstepping the boundaries of the relativity theory as the ship can go almost 90 the speed of light if you redline the cold fusion and antimatter reactors. Plus, it has the most advanced slipspace systems ever created, human or Covenant. It can travel the whole diameter of the galaxy in only one day." Randall's mind raced with thought and analysis as his eyes targeted and identified different parts on the ship. His eyes rested on the large transparent metal dome near the rear of the ship. He identified it as a living dome. "The living dome is a near perfect recreation of Earth, so the large crew needed to run this ship can have a nice place to live," Stacker said.

"It is quite impressive," Randall commented. He looked at it again. The ship was mostly white and deep blood red, white being on the main fuselage and red being on the wing like attachments on the sides. The wings looked normal except the fact that it looked like someone had cut the smaller half off. The nose of the ship was durable, made nearly out of solid cordite. The nose gently sloped upward until it reached the living dome. Aft of the living dome were two spare parts and fuel tanks, along with an atmospheric control paddle. The ends of the wings featured what looked like empty Archer missile casing; Randall's mind identified them as antimatter speed engines. The large twin plasma cannons hung over the break in the wing on ball and socket joints. Around the ship was a barely visible film of electrons, the energy shield, capable of fending off 10 direct Covenant plasma blasts before faltering.

"This ship is your new home Randall. I need to fill you in on why you were even created. Come with me," Stacker said as he turned and walked into a briefing room. "Sit."

"Yes sir," said Randall, sitting in the indicated chair. The holodome in the center of the long table illuminated, and Halo popped up, along with Flood DNA models, and star charts of 4 planets, all with human-inhabitable atmospheres, all on the edges of the universe, except for the planet of Hydrae IV.

"As you have probably learned, the crystal on Reach was not one of a kind; there are other Forerunner crystals with different properties. The UNSC and ONI have two in our possession, and one that was destroyed. We have the black and the purple crystals. The black one is the "Holy Light of Protection". This crystal powers the defenses on the Marathon, and is what makes the energy shields on the Marathon the most powerful in the galaxy. The purple one is the "Holy Light of Speed". It makes the ship partially immune to the laws of physics, enabling it to accelerate to high speeds. These crystals have single-handedly defined the program, but there's a catch. The crystals all have their own power, but the power needs to be limited by other crystals. The Speed crystal is best used with the green crystal of Stability. This ship would tumble out of control at high speeds, and there would be no return. The other crystals are: the "Holy Light of the Flood", the "Holy Light of Life, and the "Holy Light of Energy". If we obtain all of these crystals, we have will have a hell of an edge on the Covenant. All of them are on different planets on different parts of the galaxy. All of them are well protected and will be dangerous to extract, but they are needed, and you are the only man for the job," Stacker said as the hologram cycled through different images of crystals as he talked. Randall sat silently as he mulled over the facts. It was one minute before he spoke.

"When do I leave?" ha asked.

"Tomorrow, these installations are run by Forerunner machines, so we're going to give you a formidable partner for your mission with experience with Forerunner artifacts. He's an exiled Elite. I think you met him in training, during the Covenant War Trials," Stacker said.

"The Arbiter, hmm. I'm going to go on the ship and go look around," Randall said quickly, tensing up as the Arbiter was mentioned. He saluted Stacker and left for the ship.

Part 2: The UNSC Marathon

Randall was on the ship for 12 hours. He arrived at the reactor and slipspace generator room in awe from the rest of the ship. It was more tricked out than the Pillar of Autumn was. The ship had more secret passage ways and hidden maintenance access ways than Randall could count. There were auto weapons lockers at every corner, weapons Randall had never seen. He spent over 6 hours looking through all 100 of the docking bays, all filled with different craft. 1-20 held modified Longswords and Pelicans, along with the new human craft, the Capsules, small one-man spacecraft fitted with prototype human plasma cannons and torpedoes. The craft could turn on a dime, and literally fly sideways. 21-40 held research craft all modified heavily for his mission. 41-60 were the Autonomous Weapons bays, all filled to the brim with AI flown weapons ranging from Hammerhead portable MAC cannons to Shiva missile batteries of 200. 61-80 were standard cargo and storage bays, where any ships docking could go. These bays were enormous, large enough to fit 7 MAC Platforms in, cannon tip to cannon tip. 81-90 were the exploration probes, all small fish like balloons designed to take the front lines on the uncharted planets the crystals were on. 91-95 held the escape pods, a lot of escape pods, over 1 million, to hold the large crew needed for the Marathon to fly. 96-100 held crystal extraction ships, along with Randall's modified 2-man craft, the Ares, with a nose that could tear through intact energy shields, great for Covenant sabotage. The bay was also filled with countless ex-Covenant craft, including Seraph fighters. The reactor room was the largest on the ship, almost larger than all the docking bays combined. The center of the room held a tower which pinched in the middle. Where the tower would have come to a point, there was nothing except a ballooning magnetic field and random flashes of light. There were two round columns next to the reactor, both of which would hold the crystals of Stability and of Energy. Randall had already seen where all of the crystals would go, the Holy Light of Life would be stationed at the homeostasis stabilizers at the living dome control room and the Holy Light of Protection and the Flood would be placed at the main energy shield generators. The reactor's bottom tower had 4 struts angling out to the fusion reactors which powered half of the traditional engines and the living dome. Randall made his way to the bridge where General Stacker, Colonel Ackerson, the captain of the ship, Captain Jonathan Lucas, and surprisingly the Arbiter and Master Chief John-117, the SPARTAN II. They turned to see who walked through the door to the bridge and Randall snapped to salute. They returned the salute

"Welcome home Randall, how do you like it?" Stacker asked. Randall walked forward to the command seats where the top officers of the ship could sit.

"It's amazing. What's the power output on that reactor I saw?"

"Which one? They all have different purposes. One is the Slipspace reactor, one is the engine reactor, one is the weapon reactor, one is the shield reactor, one is the main power reactor, one is the antimatter generator, and two smaller ones are the backup reactors, totaling 8 reactors," Captain Lucas explained.

"I probably saw the engine reactor," Randall answered.

"In electric power: 131 yotta-watt hours a minute. Redlined, it can power the ship, with everything online, for 40 years," Captain Lucas said.

"What do you think of the ship Arbiter?" Randall asked the Elite.

"I am impressed at your ability to reverse engineer technology. The ship is technologically superior to the mightiest Covenant warship. I am very impressed," the Arbiter answered in his deep aggressive voice. Master Chief turned to the Arbiter ever so slightly then turned back.

"When do we leave?" Randall asked.

"We leave port at 2000 hours. Master Chief, you may want to brief your team, Arbiter, you should do the same.

"Yes, sir," Master Chief said.

"As you wish," The Arbiter said. They left the bridge. Randall stared out the bridge windows for a moment, and then followed the Master Chief. He took the long way to his quarters so he could think. This was his first mission, he could not fail, and he told himself to treat it as just another training exercise. Randall started feeling heavy and liquid-like. He triggered the body reset and a wave of silver flashed across his body with a quiet clicking noise. He arrived at his quarters with Durandul sitting in his hologram pedestal, in deep thought. Randall seemed to catch him off guard, and Durandul quickly stopped whatever he was doing when Randall entered.

"Durandul, dim the lights and prep my systems for standby mode. I want to get as much sleep as I can before we leave. Prepare all my things for when I wake up," Randall ordered as he entered to room, not noticing Durandul's hidden behavior.

"No problem," Durandul said, showing his happiness at Randall's ignorance. Durandul was very glad he had not caught him. Randall got into his cot and Durandul set all his systems to standby. Now Durandul had a couple of hours to complete his work…

Randall woke to the red standby light flashing under his eyelids. Code scrolled across the HUD, and systems started to boot up. Randall was told to let all his systems boot before getting up, advice he quickly ignored. Randall sat up quickly and felt himself lagging a bit. He got out of bed and went to the desk, where he downed a vial of wake-up stim. Energy levels redlined on his HUD and he got out his uniform with the large Spartan III insignia, Earth with a fist in the foreground, on the back.

"Durandul? Prep yourself for download," Randall said while buttoning up his jacket. Durandul's holographic form appeared on the pedestal.

"Yes sir. Just give me a moment," Durandul said. His holographic form flickered and died. A small antenna rose out of the hologram pedestal and a blue orb appeared on Randall's left hand. It traveled up his arm and to his brain. Randall reached for the clothing emulator chip that enabled his clothes to be an extension of his body. Randall punched in the code for auto-lock on his door and left for docking bay 98.