Honors and Dishonors Part 1
*Six POV*
Six is still in an irritable mood, but that didn't stop the excitement as it spread through him as he observed his newly armored body.
The Spartans are in the armory as they inspect the new state of the art MJOLNIR exoskeleton suits. They are Mark VI battle armor, never been seen and never been field tested, which excited the super soldiers even more. Their HUDs are now powered with a direct link to command, a liquid crystal layer as another barrier from any fatal blast has been added, and a bio-foam injection system designed to inject the wearer with the sealing substance should he or she take any external damages. They even have a Neural Interface Integration installed in the back of their necks, just like the Chief's old armor, giving all the Spartans the ability to carry AI's just like Cortana if needed. The Spartans were already walking war machines, but now in their Titanium Alloyed shell, they appear to be virtually invincible.
"Nice aren't they?" Master Gunnery Sergeant Greco asks with a grin.
The Spartans IIs nod their heads in silent agreement, leaving Six as the only one to say, "They're quite nice master guns, thanks for handling them so well."
He shrugs in return, now putting all his focus on the III, "It was nothing Lieutenant-"
"Noble Six," the Spartan said, "Or just call me Six for short."
The Gunnery Sergeant frowns slightly before asking, "Why Noble Six? Are there more of you?"
Six sighs as he looks down, pretending to be inspecting his gauntlet, "Negative…I just got used to people calling me Six."
The Gunny nods his understanding, "So it's like your nickname, right?"
Six smiles behind his helmet, "I guess you can say that."
Greco then turns to the other Spartans, "So are they all working well? No malfunctions or anything?"
Again the Spartans remain silent as they shake their heads in answer, all except Six who the Sergeant immediately swooped down upon.
"Anything wrong LT?" He asks.
"Well…" Six replies hesitantly as he tries to figure out a way to say it nicely before bluntly asking "Is there a way to…modify our gear?"
Greco suddenly becomes stiff, eyes widening and his mouth is slightly agape as if he is shell shocked by the request, "Why would you want to do that?"
Six shifts uncomfortably, not looking at the II's as he replies, "I just feel sort of…plain."
Greco snorts, "You want to be a unique Spartan? Get a tattoo, but don't mess with your systems, it's beautiful just the way it is."
Six sighs within his suit of armor as he crosses his arms and looks down again. The first thing he did when he received his first MJOLNIR model was paint it blue with white highlighters and added his own personal upgrades to strengthen what he believes to be his strong points. Now however he appears…indifferent; he is wearing green alloy with an orange faceplate, nothing special, nothing to set him apart from the IIs either if you disregard the actual suits themselves. Only his height reveals the small difference between him and the others.
Before anything else could be said, their comms activated and Cortana's voice filled the channel.
"Spartans, report to the launch bay for departure to Earth," she reports.
Six suddenly becomes alert as he stands and does one last run down of his suit, double checking the equipment, until Cortana speaks again.
"Except for you, Chief."
The mentioned Spartan looked up in confusion. "Why me Cortana?"
"Admiral Hood is presiding over an awards ceremony and wishes to award you for your actions after your last engagement. You as well, Lieutenant."
Six feels dumbfounded. Him being honored? By the leader of Humanity himself? After what he had kept from Hood? This is unheard of to the III, no third generation Spartan has ever been honored before, they didn't even receive the Purple Heart, the medal given to those who have been injured in combat, and Six knows for a fact that almost all the IIIs were injured at one time or another.
There are also security reasons as well. IIIs are supposed to be the UNSC's top secret weapon, a weapon that hardly anyone knows about, if he stands before a crowd then everyone will know of the secret Spartan's existence. Maybe he'll get lucky and he will be mistaken for a II, since as far as armor systems go, they are quite similar.
The Master Chief's face is hidden from Six so he has no idea what he is thinking, but eventually he gives a sigh and says, "Roger that Cortana," he says in what sounds like an annoyed voice, "I'll see my team out and then the Lieutenant and I will report to the bridge."
"Copy that Chief, make sure you wear a tie," Six knew the AI would smirk if her hologram was present.
The II says nothing in return, instead he looks to the other Spartans and appears to be having a private conversation on a secured Comm channel.
The Sergeant turns to Six, "I don't mean to be rude, but you seem to be the odd man out."
Six shrugs, "I'm used to it," he replies, which is true since he was trained to be a lone wolf, "I just hope this won't happen on the battlefield."
The Gunnery Sergeant nods before saying, "I'm going to get some chow and I'll come right back, we still need to perform the mobility test on you and the Chief's suits to make sure your coordination relays are working."
Six rolls his eyes. He's pretty sure he would have noticed a malfunction by now since he has been walking around in the suit for a few minutes with nothing happening, but he knew it's standard procedure to test an exoskeleton before it is sent to the field.
The Sergeant turns on his heel and walks out of the armory, leaving Six alone with the IIs once more. A relentless silence fills the air since the II's are only speaking to each other. Six has no idea where he and the others are standing now.
Once again, it was as if the small moment of mutual understanding had dissolved, creating a rift between the two classes of spartans. The lone wolf could tell simply by the small movements of their visors that they were keeping a close eye on him, causing yet another barrier between them. He only hoped they won't remain divided like this for long considering they have to depend on one another on the battlefield.
Finally the Chief looks back at Six as if remembering he is in the room before saying, "I'm going to see my team to the launch bay then come back up, sir."
Six groans inwardly, the fact that he continues to call Six 'sir' and 'Lieutenant' goes to show how he remains locked onto the military way.
Six just nods his head in acceptance to this arrangement. The Spartans then march to the exit, but Fred, Will and Linda, the departing team, turn and give Six a crisp salute. Figuring it was only right, the III stands up straight as well and returns the gesture. The II's drop their arms before turning and march out with the Chief behind them.
Six watches them go, but before the doors closed, he calls out, "Good luck Spartans."
Will is the only one to look back at him before the door closes. Six sighs again and leans against a workbench, hoping they knew how sincere he was being. They are different, yes, but right now they are the only existing Spartans as far as he knows, and he learned from recent experience that they should bond whenever they get the chance. You never know when a plasma shot will get lucky and find its target.
Six looks to the wall and sees something that catches his eyes. He stands and walks over to the shelf he is staring at and removes two cans of spray paint. One is dark blue and the other is bright white.
He grins beneath his helmet.
*Shress POV*
Shress breathes calmly and carefully as she examines her body again. After Michael's visit, she had drifted off into a fitful slumber, but it still reenergized her… relatively speaking.
Her exposed skin is now covered in strange markings that look like broken glass. From her thighs to her face, a small web of scars emits from the point of origin where the baton had struck her skin, spreading out by a few units. She stares at her arm where a dark stain marks her flesh, it looks like ash and Shress soon begins to fear that's what it is.
Sadly, it wasn't too long before another bout of dizziness overtook her and she was forced to lie back down and look up at the ceiling. This is one of the things that she has grown to hate about her prison; she has plenty of time to think to herself.
She tries to ward her wandering mind off certain subjects, but with nothing to distract her with, she is left with nothing but her worries. Her one and primary concern at the moment is not about her, nor is it about Michael: but about the people of the V'damee Keep.
She shivers for she knows exactly what will happen. Her father would be stripped of his rank within the Covenant and be excluded from the alliance. Her people will be shamed, the younglings within the Keep will be taught of this disgrace and it will hamper them from joining the Covenant and even though Shress knows this isn't an honorable war, there are many Sangheili who will find it disgraceful to not be able to join the 'righteous' struggle. Neighboring Fiefdoms will no longer wish to do business with them, believing that whatever blight that caused the Keep's daughter to fail is contagious and must be avoided at all cost.
Worse still are her parents. Her mother will retain her position as mistress of the house, but she will be ordered not to produce any more offspring with her father or any other males. Though this is the fate that Shress wishes to escape, she knew bearing young is the traditional and well respected trait of being a female, to be ordered not to use this gift is a great shame that no woman could endure.
A shame that her mother, her most beloved mother, will surely suffer.
'Have I made a mistake?' Shress questions, 'I've sacrificed and destroyed everything that I have ever loved just so that I may be with an alien, a human.'
Michael… her opinion of the male keeps shifting with each encounter. She wanted to be angry with him, to even go as far as to hate him for all that he has done, but she knew it was she alone who made the decisions and who has to answer for it. His interference had preoccupied her to the point where she could no longer focus on her duties within the Covenant, worse, she could now no longer kill a human without tarnishing her conscience further. She had worked, trained and endured so much, a lifelong dream to make her father proud, a goal that now can no longer be accomplished. She practically threw it away for him, for her suitor, for her human.
She growls but it soon turns into a whimper. Whether she likes it or not, this human is all she has left and now she wishes for him to be here, to hold her, comfort her and care for her. Her talons begin to dig into the tender insides of the bed as she picks at the enigma known as Michael.
He is strong, honorable and filled with righteousness, he is sensitive, comforting and caring. He is something that many females would love to have, he is someone who her father could appreciate and someone she knew her mother would approve of. The only declining aspect about him is that he is an alien.
She smirks at this, she knew it is impossible for her to imagine her parents ever accepting Michael; it'll be a miracle for him to be in their presence without them trying to kill him.
She sighs at the thought of her parents. Her stubborn father and considerate mother would be horrified and enraged at what has happened to their daughter, beaten, imprisoned and probably scarred for life. She knew males would display any battle wound proudly, but among females, to be marked by combat was considered an ugly shame, for what kind of male would want a damaged female?
Shress knew the answer; the only male that would still want her would have to be human. She was afraid that Michael would see her as a dreadful sight because of her wounds, yet he kissed and caressed her with the familiar feeling of a loved one.
Not that she wanted anyone else at this point anyway…
Her thoughts darken as she begins to think of one feature that may take her suitor away. She shudders in fear and sorrow at the thought. She should have told him when she had the chance and see if he would still accept her despite that one flaw that many females would have seen as a curse. And in a way it is.
She knows not many people would approve of her decisions in life, she most certainly doesn't at the moment, but she cannot change it. And, truth be told, she wouldn't change it even if she could, though she has faced many trials and pain, she would never regret meeting and being with Michael.
All she can do now is lie in wait, waiting for her suitor, her caring human, to return. As she stares at the door in anticipation, she wonders what it is that he is doing now.
*Six POV*
The Master Chief walks back into the armory, but the presence of the legendary hero of humanity is not enough to distract the Gunnery Sergeant as he continues his furious tirade.
"What on Earth did you do to it?!" he shouts, "It's ruined!"
All that Six could do was hold his hands out as he tried to defuse the situation.
"I didn't do anything Gunny," he says in a calm voice, "I just painted some pieces of armor, that's all."
This was true, for Six has painted blue and white stripes onto his armor. Blue streaks along the sides of his arms, down his legs and a large unfinished stripe ends on his main chest piece. The only white highlighter is placed on the top of his helmet, starting from the back of his neck and ending right above his orange visor. He is still overall green, but at least now there is a way for him to be distinguishing from the II's.
Six would have preferred to add some upgrades as well as fully color himself blue in the likeness of his old armor, but decides to leave it like this, hoping that the Gunny wouldn't mind too much. The red faced Marine, however, destroyed any past hope of that.
Six turns to the Chief and asks, "Do you really think colored stripes would affect a mission's outcome?"
The Spartan is silent for a few moments before replying with, "No." Six felt a victorious smile starting to form on his mouth but it died when the Chief continued, "However it is against protocol for any and all UNSC personnel to upgrade, dismantle or interfere in any way with equipment provided by the UNSC Special Warfare group."
Six seethes from behind his helmet, he should have known there was something in the manual and the Chief was just the person to find it.
The Chief moves forward and says, "Can we take the mobility test now sergeant? We're being paged to the control room."
The Sergeant casts one last glare at Six before gesturing for them to follow him. The Spartans fall in behind the man as he enters another sector of the armory.
The room looks more like a storage area rather than an armory. Here, shelves are stacked full of equipment, some appear new while others are otherwise destroyed. In the middle are two raised platforms, one with an open screen in front while the other is facing some sort of turbine hanging from the ceiling.
Six glances out a nearby window and sees the blackness of space, but from this angle he can see the rest of the station, more specifically, the giant MAC gun it's built around. It is nothing more than a long tube pointing into the black void, but the Spartan knew this machinery has enough destructive force to blow a hole in the moon.
Six returns his gaze to the room and spies something on a nearby table. He recognizes a power generator, a prototype shielding matrix and what looks like a melted down helmet.
He raises an eyebrow beneath his helmet before looking at the Gunnery Sergeant and asks, "What happened to this equipment?"
The sergeant just grunts before jerking his head at the Chief, "Ask him, this all came off his armor," he then turns and faces the two meter giant, "Do you have any idea how much this equipment cost son?"
The Chief merely shrugs before stating, "Tell that to the Covenant."
The sergeant shakes his head before pointing with a finger at one of the platforms, "Chief, get on that one," he then turns to Six, "Lieutenant, get on the other one."
Six couldn't help but smile as he walked to the indicated machinery. Another good thing about painting his armor is that now Gunny appears to have lost the respect to call the Spartan sir; which, ironically, was a relief to Six since he didn't like the idea of being seen as a man high in status.
The Spartan III stepped onto the podium that was positioned in front of the turbine while the Chief was facing the giant screen.
"Alright," begins the Sergeant, "Chief, I'll be testing your vision and helmet movement," he twists his head towards Six, "and Lieutenant, you're going to test how well your new shielding tech works."
"What?" No sooner did the words leave his mouth, the giant turbine starts to hum and begins to circle the III at a fast pace. Yellow rays appear and soon entrap the Spartan within, growing brighter as the vibration grows.
Six knew what was coming, but that didn't prevent him from feeling the sting. The ray released a powerful electric shock that has enough force to stop a man's heart from beating. Thankfully the armor prevented that from happening to the Spartan.
After the initial shock, the turbines slow to a crawl before finally coming to a complete halt. Six steps off of the podium, walking normally, but felt shaken from the encounter.
He leans against a wall in a slight daze and watches the Chief complete his test. Unlike Six he wasn't performing a life or death test, instead he was looking up and down, left and right, following the blinking light that would glow alongside the frame of the screen in front of him.
Finally there is a beep and the Gunny nods, "Alright Chief, you're good to go," he then turns to Six, "And how did your armor test out Lieutenant?" he asks with a subtle grin.
Six grunts in return, "Considering I wasn't electrocuted, I think it worked well."
The Gunny gives a small bark of laughter before saying, "Yeah, that's the idea," he suddenly becomes serious as he says, "Now remember, your shields are stronger and more endurable, but you're not invincible, so you might want to find stable cover while your shields recharge."
"That or they can hide behind me."
The Gunny turns in surprise, but not Six and Chief, they heard someone walking in, but it wasn't until now did they see who. In walks Sergeant Major Avery Johnson, a tall and rather courageous figure, by Marine standards of course, but Six couldn't help wondering what kind of Spartan the Sergeant would have made. Despite being a Marine though, he is wearing the white dress uniform of a Navy Sailor, he probably lost his Marine uniform a long time ago, but he still has a chest full of medals nevertheless.
"You done with our boys here Sarge?" he asks as he looks over Six and Chief, "I don't see any training wheels."
The sergeant looks insulted as he defends himself, "Their armor works fine Johnson, they've all but been field tested."
Johnson laughs at that, "Not for long they won't," he then turns to the Spartans, "Come on guys, they're waiting for us."
Finally, Six thinks to himself as he gets up and follows the Chief to the elevator, after the ceremony I should have enough time to talk to Hood about Shress, one way or another, I'm getting her out of the brig.
The two Spartans step on board with the lone Marine as they wait to descend.
Greco steps up next to the threshold and asks, "By the way Johnson, when are you going to tell me how you got back home in one piece?"
"Sorry guns," Johnson says with a grin, "It's classified."
Gunny snorts and says; "Well then you can forget about the modifications to your A2 scope that-" he is cut off as the small cart begins its journey down.
Johnson chuckles to himself, "Well it looks like he's in a fine mood, maybe we should have sent him an invitation."
Six crosses his arms over his chest and says, "I don't think that would be a good idea unless you want him to criticize people for how they're dressed."
Johnsons laughs again, "I can see why," he says before bumping into Six's elbow in a vain attempt to get the limb to move, but the Spartan doesn't budge an inch.
Johnson huffs before looking at the Master Chief and says, "So what about you Chief? They didn't have your favorite color in stock or what?"
Six smiles as he looks at the two men. The Sergeant appears to be one of the few who doesn't fear the Spartans; in fact, he looks comfortable being around them.
The Marine's happy demeanor doesn't affect the II in any way though, the Chief looks down at the Sergeant and says in his usual deep voice, "Protocol stimulates that the decorating of UNSC property is considered vandalism, but it is acceptable by some standards."
Johnson regards the Chief with furrowed brows before looking to Six who could only shrug to answer the Sergeant's silent question. It looks like nothing could penetrate the wall of solitude the Chief had placed around himself.
Finally the cart comes to a halt and they are on the main floor of the station. Lying before them is a trolley that runs the entire length of Cairo; it is the fastest way to travel to the command center. Without saying a word, the trio makes their way to the glass box and seals themselves within as they stand in the middle of the contraption. It is then that Six looks up and sees they are positioned beneath a wide window that shows them the planet.
Johnson sighs as he stares at the world as well, "Earth," he says rather dreamily like he couldn't believe it, "Haven't seen it in years."
The planet still looks exactly like the postcards Six has seen scattered across the many battlefields he has been a part of. Deep blue water covering most of its surface, green and brown landmass floating within it and the top and bottom portion are covered in small ice caps. Here and there he can see spacious greenery of forests and jungles, brown of the untamed deserts, white of the merciless winters and the grey of urban sprawl. He can see the scars of natural disasters and the stains of human warfare, despite people doing their best to cover it up; there will always be evidence of man's mistakes.
The trolley gives a little jerk to the left, but after that small motion, they are rolling down smoothly to the left towards the center of the station. As they travel they pass multiple windows showing either outside of Cairo, or its insides. Cairo is considered an example of one of the most advanced technical marvels ever built by man, a fully operating superstation with artificial gravity on all the time, a massive gun that requires the power of an entire city grid to fire and a crew of the smartest people alive. Six glanced down at one point and watched as they passed the atrium, which is filled with trees to provide the station with actual air; not the recycled oxygen that is often used on Navy ships. Finally, after nearly ten minutes of traveling, they arrive outside of the command room, but Six frowns at what he sees.
Standing outside the massive doors is a large group of battle ready Marines and Sailors, all watching with obvious anticipation as the small cart pulls up. As soon as the trolley doors open, they release a thunderous cheer that Six is sure Shress could hear from three levels below. Everyone, man and woman, starts to shout, whistle and whoop as the three men step out; a Marine, a Sailor, and a Soldier, all of whom are being hailed as champions of the human race.
Johnson smiles broadly as he straightens his cap and stands straight. The Spartans on the other hand become as still as statues in a hopeless attempt of being ignored by the army of admirers. Six has no idea why the Chief is uncomfortable, he's already a legend among the fleet; maybe it's a Spartan reflex to avoid detection. Six however feels like he is a special case; he was raised and trained to be a lone wolf, a secret weapon, taught to evade attention and to disappear from public view. As if to further mock him, small video drones appear out of nowhere and begin to orbit the three as they record this moment forever.
"You said there wouldn't be any cameras," Six is sure he could detect a hint of contained annoyance within the Master Chief's words.
"And you said you were going to wear something nice!" Johnson responded as he led the way to Central Command, forcing the two Spartans to follow.
"Folks need heroes, more than ever now," They halt in front of the door as Johnson removes his dress cap to pat down his buzz cut hair, "So smile will you, while we still have something to smile about."
He just finished his words when the massive doors peel open and bathe them in blinding light as they walk in. When they entered, Six instantly wished he could disappear. The Command deck is a cavern made of the most advanced machinery and tech to have ever been built by human hands. There are five entire decks filled with clapping Navy personnel, along with officers wearing white ceremonial dressings. Before the newly arrived warriors is a long narrow path made of high ranking officials that leads to a podium where an officer is standing in front of a large blue screen with a large window showing the stars of space behind them. Six swallows his nervousness before he starts walking in sync with the Master Chief and Johnson.
This seems to spur the crowd on for some reason, now they start to cheer and wave their arms with complete enthusiasm. Six feels horribly exposed in the large room that is packed full of celebrating people, and he judges from the Chief's silence that he feels the exact same way as well. Johnson remains as cool and as collective as ever, he even has the nerve to blow kisses at some of the female Sailors they passed. Six is starting to have a sinking suspicion that the Sergeant is now mocking the stoic Spartans.
Six's feet is running on autopilot now, his mind too petrified with fear to really give any commands to his body. Every step they take brings them closer and closer to the podium, but each slow second feels like another agonizing hour being spent within the public eye. Finally, with greatly concealed regret, Six feels his body relax as they march up the small flight of stairs onto the small platform and salute the officer before them.
It isn't until Six is standing before the man does he realize that he is yet again before the most powerful man alive.
Admiral Hood returns the salute, and in unison they all drop to a more relaxed pose- except for the Marine and Spartans.
"Gentlemen," the Admiral said in his deep voice, "I'm sorry to say this, but we have to make this quick."
Six instantly tenses and a sixth sense informs him that the Master Chief is feeling the same way. It's almost as if there's a voice whispering in their ears that something is about to happen.
Hood turns to a terminal and says, "Update Cortana."
There is a flicker of blue light before Cortana's transparent figure appears with her hands behind her back as she reports, "Another whisper, sir. Near Io, we have probes en route."
Hood sighs before nodding and turns away to consult with a Captain standing nearby. Cortana then looked at the three men and said, "You look nice."
"Thank you," Johnson began when the Chief simultaneously said "Thanks." The two men look at each other and Six couldn't help but release a small chuckle at this near comical scene.
Hood then turns back around and says, "Keyes, step forward."
The Spartans and the one Marine turn in surprise, wondering if they have heard Hood correctly. They scan the line of white colored men and women, looking for the face of the courageous captain that they all met and respected, but he isn't there. How could he? Both the Master Chief and Johnson reported that the Captain was killed in action, murdered by the Flood parasite.
Their surprise doubled, however, when somebody did step forward, but it wasn't the famed Captain. It was a woman, a rather young woman from the looks of it. She has her brown hair cut to military standards, looks to be about five foot ten and she looks to be no older than thirty or maybe even younger. She wears the uniform of a combat officer with a few medals pin to her chest, while the symbols on her shoulders proclaim her as a Navy Commander.
She takes a place next to the three men and though it was seemingly impossible due to how stiff they already were, the two Spartans stood straighter. The Commander is standing next to Six so he is able to observe her as long as he didn't turn his head thanks to the polarization of his helmet.
He didn't want to be seen as a stalker or anything, but with her being so close he couldn't help but see that there is something familiar about the young lady.
She has a serious expression along with hardened eyes and an aura of command surrounds her. She stands with a respectful attitude that could have rivaled a Spartan's own commitment to the UNSC. She seemed entirely focused and remained rigid with well set eyes, clean face and light complexion. That is when Six realized it, her features mirrors that of Captain Keyes. She must be related to him somehow, she was either his very young sister or his daughter.
Six's thinking is interrupted when Admiral Hood turns to face them before turning entirely to an officer he had spoken to earlier by his side who was holding a wooden box. Hood looks in each of their faces before stepping in front of Johnson, the first in line.
"Sergeant Major," The Marine stood tall as the Admiral spoke his name, "For your valiant efforts and never ceasing courage in the face of a relentless enemy, I present you with the Naval Cross of Combat Heroism,"
He reaches into the box and pulls out a bronze medal cross hanging onto a blue and white ribbon. On the cross is a person holding a rifle in one hand while also holding a flag in the other, Six's eagle-like vision allowed him to see the minuscule details portraying the UNSC flag. The medal is carefully pinned on to Johnson's chest. Six is sure the Sergeant is about ready to burst with silent pride.
The Admiral then moves along and stops in front of the Chief and says, "Master Chief Petty Officer," the Chief remains absolutely still as Hood gazes into his faceplate, "For your unbelievable show of strength, stamina and will that represents the true colors of humanity, I reward you the Naval Cross as well."
He takes out another prize the same as the one that Johnson had received, but the Admiral appears stumped as to what to do with it since there is nothing for the ribbon to be pinned to. The Chief answers by holding out his hand that seems massive to Hood, who drops it into the Spartan's palm. The Chief stares at the medal for a millisecond before opening a hatch on the side of his hip and pushes the small reward within its folds before closing it again.
Hood next moves to face Six and says lowly, "I hope you don't mind getting an award from an Admiral and not a General, Lieutenant."
Six tries to imitate Chief's iron like pose as he says, "No problems at all sir."
Hood nods at this before reaching into the box and pulls out a different medal. This one is bronze and is held by a ribbon as well, but the shape is different. The Cross is of different origins and it has the UNSC Eagle branching out its wing as if it's taking flight.
"Lieutenant," the Admiral says in a much louder voice, "I present you with the Distinguished Service Cross for your courage as you defended Reach, you and your team reminded us why we fight and how far the human spirit can carry us," he reaches out and Six's hand meets his as he presses the reward into Six's gauntlet, "In more ways than one," he said quietly, making Six's eyes go wide before Hood continued in a louder voice.
"Accept this on behalf of your team, who's brave sacrifices will not go in vain."
Six could only nod and say, "Thank you sir," before copying the Chief and placing the award in his mechanical pocket. He actually felt something stirring within him after the Admiral's words and the true impact of Reach finally hit him.
His entire team has given their lives to ensure that he would live, not so he could get a medal but to continue the fight. Six wish he could say something, but that would break the Spartan's code of silence and besides, if Emile ever saw him give an emotional speech he would no doubt call Six a sissy for the rest of his life.
Finally Hood moves to the young woman at Six's flank and says, "Commander Miranda Keyes," he pauses as he reaches within the box and removes the reward. This next award was indeed different. It held a multitude of stars on the ribbon while supporting a bronze medal stare with the image of a person saluting with the planet Earth rising like a moon behind him.
Like the Spartans before her, Miranda holds out her hand while the Admiral places it within her palm, "In memory and honor of your father's great service to the human race," Hood says in his solemn voice, "I give to you the Medal of Honor in remembrance of his dedication and his strong conviction of justice that made him the man we all needed in our darkest hour."
The Commander breathes in a shuddering breath before closing her tiny fingers around the cool metal and tucks it into her pocket. She looks greatly shaken, but she keeps her composure, aside from that small stuttering breath, she stands with absolute resolve. Six can see why someone so young got promoted to a Commander; good leaders who knew how to keep it together are hard to come by, even in the best of times.
Hood, having finished allotting awards, now looks at each of the men and woman as he nods towards them and says, "I speak with confidence when I tell you that you made the people of the UNSC proud with your show of valor and courage," he ends with a salute, to which the honored line of warriors salutes back.
Suddenly, the whole station shuddered and the lights flickered while a boom sounded in the distance. Miranda Keyes began to fall forward, but Six quickly caught her by the shoulder and brought her back up to her feet.
Hood has his feet braced before looking to the same console and says, "Cortana-"
The A.I appeared and was already speaking before Hood had finished his sentence, "Admiral, we have contacts entering the Sol system," behind Hood the massive screen flickers to life and displays a series of symbols. Earth was a large half circle on the far right of the screen while tiny blue dots surrounded it, the UNSC forces. Opposite of the blue was a contingency of crimson spots, all of which were ten times bigger than the azure dots.
Six immediately felt his insides freeze as he looked along the line. Johnson's eyes are wide and Keyes looks stunned while the Spartans remain immobile. But Six knew what it was that the Master Chief was thinking, what he was feeling.
An emotion of rage and surprise takes over Six as they all look up and out the nearest portal. Through the glass they see them; over dozens of bulbous purple ships are making their way towards the space station.
The Covenant has found Earth.
\/\/\/\/AUTHORS NOTE\/\/\/\/
That was so much easier to fix than the last one. Oh my god
It looks like we finally reached Halo 2, and will be moving on with the story line from here. Don't think that the many implications of the additions we have made will cause the story to move on identical to the original, because we have already done the math as to what butterfly effect will change what.
-PyreElegy.
