Chapter 10: Getting Reacquainted
Voices swirled around the darkness that Will floated in.
"All clear over here…We're good on my end…A-O-K on this side…" He tried to focus on the sounds but would lose them each and ever time. Footsteps echoed through his head making it sound like thousands of soldiers were marching around him. Some appendage of his moved and the blackness suddenly swirled in a million directions at once causing his stomach to try and expel whatever contents it had left in it. Taking a breath, it came up short and he started coughing violently. This sudden action jolted the rest of his body and he slowly opened his eyes up. Although it was like he Vaseline smeared all over his face, he tried to look around and get his bearings. A dark shape walked past him and his head followed it, slumping to his left shoulder. Frantically blinking, the blurriness didn't go away and he labored to move his right arm up to his face mask. Sliding across the blue visor, four smears of clear vision appeared where his fingers cut through the layer of frost that had formed on it. Resting for a few seconds, he took more of the frost off, opening up a decent section of viewable space. Another figure moved past him but stopped just to his right. They tapped their hand on the glass in front of him and he made some kind of a movement. The figure turned to their left and raised a hand high into the air. Suddenly the door in front of him swung upwards and the fog that circled around him poured out of the bottom. Warm air penetrated his suit and he suddenly began to feel rejuvenated and more awake. Another coughing attack hit him and he hurriedly removed his helmet to vomit out the thick grey fluid that had been sitting inside of his chest since he went into the tube. He slowly stood up to his full height and looked around the room. Other Spartans were already standing around talking to each other and checking out their new armor. Will felt a little weak and sat down on the edge of his tube and took deep breaths.
"WE NEED A CRASH CART OVER HERE!" someone yelled out. Everyone looked over at a tube on the other side of Will's row. He got up and slowly made his way over a doctor rushed over and a few more followed her with the crash cart. Lying on the ground was a Spartan without her helmet on.
"She seemed fine when she got out but suddenly stopped breathing and collapsed," one of the technicians said. A few other Spartans hurried over and started to pull her chest plate off so that they could perform CPR. Trying to get a better look, Will threaded through the others standing around and caught a glimpse of her face. Blonde hair spread out from her slightly blue face and his heart stopped. It was Kat. The doctor started chest compressions on her while the others warmed up the defibrillator. They knelt down and the doctor cut patches in her under suit to reveal bare skin. Rubbing some conductor gel on, she grabbed the two paddles and placed them onto her chest.
"Clear!" People stood back as Kat's body arched into the air as 2,500 volts arced through her body. The doctor leaned back as another checked her pulse.
"No pulse." They charged the defibrillator once more and fired it. Kat's body jolted again and the doctor pulled the paddles away. "There's a pulse, but it's faint."
"Alright, get a gurney, she needs to go to the medical wing immediately!" One of the other doctors pulled a gurney from a storage locker and brought it over to them. The Spartans who pulled her chest plate off bent down, picked her up and placed her on the gurney. The doctors pushed it out of the room leaving the Spartans behind in disbelief.
"I've heard about the events earlier today. The doctors would like me to tell you that she should be okay and will be back in a few weeks. But now we need to get to business, the reason we brought all of you back." A young officer stood at the center of a bowl like room. The Spartans, all ninety five of them, were arranged in a crescent shape around a holotank imbedded in the floor. Stepping back, the officer powered it up and a video began to play. "Thirty-six hours ago the UNSC Keyes was stationed above Esterea, a newly proposed colony. While it was waiting for the transports to arrive, three enemy ships jumped into the system." The video fast-forwarded to the thermal image of the three generators. "The Keyes engaged the ships but was quickly overwhelmed and destroyed but not before sending us this video and may-day messages. At first we believed it might be a group of pirates with modified Covenant weapons but that was quickly proved to be false. Lieutenant General Johnson recommended your re-activation as a precaution as well as bringing the UNSC Navy up to full alert status."
"Sir, is it safe to compare this incident to that of Harvest?" one of the Spartans asked.
"That would be a good comparison, yes, although we are not going to make the same mistake twice. It's clear that again, we are outgunned, and, in this situation, out numbered, so because of that, we are not sending any recon pickets nor will we send a task force to try and eliminate this threat because we know it is there."
"Was there any communication between the two groups that possibly could've provoked this?"
"As far as we know, no messages were received from the enemy vessels, although they could've been on an entirely different band or even some other form of communication that we have no way of receiving, although that is incredibly unlikely." Will watched the video as it looped through in fast forward. The attack was so basic, nothing to show John's superiority…flaunt his strength…nothing. It just didn't feel right. "If there are any more questions I'd like to take this time to get you caught up on what's happened since we last left you." A small timeline appeared and the first marker zoomed in. "In 2560, General Cassel led a small insurrection from the moons of Titus V. Nothing really came out of it and his support quickly dwindled making it possible for basic Spec Ops missions to cause the most damage. That was the first time we considered waking up at least a few of you. All was quiet on western front for a few years until 2569. A rather large group of planets declared themselves outside of UNSC control. In response, we mobilized the largest naval armada since the Covenant-Human war. Unfortunately…a show of force wasn't enough to avoid a conflict and our newest classes of ships engaged their ragtag fleet. The conflict was essentially a space based operation with the only real troop to troop engagements consisting of boarding parties and one fight on a moon. Again, we considered waking all of you up but backed off at the last minute. The last major event that I'd like to mention, although it doesn't necessarily pertain to you directly, is the test detonation of the NOVA II in 2579. Increasing the yield a hundred fold over the NOVA I, we were able to completely obliterate a planet that had been glassed by the Covenant. Now that we've got you caught up on the important events, let's go take a look at your new weaponry." Chatter between the Spartans suddenly broke out over their personal comm channels. Some were speculating at what they would be using while others were just excited about getting new toys to play with. Will ignored what they were saying and went back to his own thoughts about the ambush at Esterea. He got up with the rest and Linda appeared out of nowhere at his side.
"Was there something-."
"Yeah, it wasn't what I was expecting," he said, cutting her off mid sentence.
"Alright, I was just making sure."
"I'd like to introduce you to the BR55 Mark II," the officer yelled out in the hot afternoon sun. All of the Spartans had gathered around, their armor taking on an unusual sand and metal color to help blend in with the firing range's environment. Most of them, while yearning to fight, were also curious about the world around them. Every once in a while a loud roar would echo off in the distance and they would crane their necks upward to get a glance of some fighter or transport.
"Using a KAT 9.5x40mm round, this is now the third deadliest weapon in the UNSC's small arms arsenal, next to the M22 SAM/SSM Rocket and the SRSB70-S1 AM rifle. Three modes of fire for the weapon, semi, three-round burst, and full automatic. The clip has been expanded to forty-two rounds and the scope is now an integrated 3x smart-link. It has also become the standard weapons platform for the UNSC," the lieutenant from inside said as he set the Mark II down and grabbed another rifle. "This is the BR55 MkII SAW based off of the BR55 MkII weapon. Instead of being a bullpup design, the magazine has been upgraded to a one hundred round drum located in front of the trigger and grip. Other than the required mechanical changes, the SAW variant retains it's cousins profile except for a longer barrel and modified flash suppressor. Now, I will go back to the BR55…" he said, trailing off as he picked it back up again, "the weapon has many open slots for modifications that include a higher powered scope, threads to attach a suppressor on the barrel, extendable buttstock, and an underslung M290 grenade launcher." The lieutenant then went over the new weapons that were essentially just newer versions of those they had used in 2556. They were then invited to try out the new weapons to get a feel for them. Will stepped forward to a low ledge and grabbed the BR55. Placing it in his shoulder, it felt no different than the MkI but once he fired it, all similarities went out the window. Each round felt like it packed a much heavier punch while at the same time staying completely controllable, with the spread growing no larger than nickel. It also had taken on a more guttural sound when it fired, and when ten of them were shooting at once, it became utterly deafening. Replacing a magazine, Will flicked it onto "Auto" and held the trigger down. The time between each shot was fractionally slower than with the burst, but the auto made up for it's lost time by plowing through the time in between each burst. Like before, it stayed right in Will's shoulder and the spread grew only to the size of a quarter. He stepped away from the table just as Linda passed by him. Giving her a quick thumbs-up, she grabbed the SRSB70 and slid her left arm parallel to the rifle's barrel. Hooking up the fiber optic cable to her right wrist, she zoomed in on the furthest target and fired off a shot. The round screamed through the air, it's small fins keeping it true and straight, and shredded the target. A hot casing flew into the air and before it had hit the ground she popped off another shot on a target about thirty meters to the left of her first shot. All of the other Spartans stopped what they were doing as she lowered the rifle and looked at the Lieutenant.
"Sir, is there any way to place a target further out? I'd like to test the full range on this."
"Of course, I'll get one of the field cadres to place a new one out."
"I'm not sure you'll have enough room for the distance I'm thinking." He turned around and looked in amazement.
"Where do you suggest?" Sweat poured down his tan face and his eyes followed Linda's finger as it pointed out to the blue water that shimmered in the early evening. "I'll see what I can do."
Three kilometers out in the harbor, a dark grey boat bobbed in the water. Back on the shore, Linda was lying in the warm sand, the sniper rifle up against her face mask. Her suit had taken on the golden color of the ground and her under suit had even changed it's hue slightly to become less obvious. She slid one round into the chamber and charged the bolt. Popping into full zoom, she held her breath and figured out the rhythm of the boat. Sitting on top was an old Marine helmet that had been lying around, replaced by the new full face mask ones that were now standard issue for all UNSC soldiers, not just the ODSTs and Spartans. Her finger pressed against the trigger and she fired off a shot just as the boat was coming back up. Sparks showered into the air as the helmet was torn in half and fell into the water. The men on the boat leapt up and looked in amazement. Standing back up, Linda was greeted by a round of applause from the two hundred plus people who had come to watch the shot.
"Nice job! Incredible! Don't want to get on her bad side!" people called out to her. Smiling from behind her mask, she had no idea what to do.
"I think we've got enough time to give you guys an introduction to the UNSC's new vehicles," the Lieutenant said, extending his hand towards a large hangar that was shadowed by the skyscrapers that housed the UNSC's top officials. Inside, six vehicles were arranged in no particular order. Most of them resembled their predecessors in spirit but other than designs features, everything had changed. The first place they stopped at was the replacement for the Scorpion MBT. "This is the M900 Viper MBT. Featuring two twin 120mm cannons and two 7.62mm APT, this is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield." Sporting a lower profile and sleeker design, the Viper was almost the same size as the Scorpion, it also still had the four independent tread pods and space for Marines to jump on and catch a ride. "Over here, you can see the M13 Puma LRV. This variant is fitted with the M41 7.62MM LAAG gun like the Warthog but the Puma has a higher top speed, better traction, and room for five, four passengers plus a gunner." The Puma had a hard top that could apparently be removed due to the presence of clips around the four main supports. On either side of the vehicle, just in front of the LAAG were two seats that had been placed with their backs angled to the main passenger compartment in a way that they could help protect the sides and rear of the vehicle. No other main changes had made that altered it drastically from the Warthog. The next addition was the M52 Mongoose LPV. Essentially a toughened up ATV, it had room for two passengers and had no visible weapons mounted on it though the lieutenant hinted at the fact that some of the riders used their sidearms while riding around. Near the rear of the hangar were the two largest vehicles.
"This is the AD-10 Dagger. Originally designed as a small outer-atmospheric fighter, it's role changed during development until it was brought into the role of a fast recon/assault gunship. Capable of carrying five passengers and a two member crew, the Dagger can insert squads into hot territory at high speeds. Carrying two wing mounted 70mm chainguns and a deployable rocket pod underneath the fuselage, it can pack an incredible amount of punch." The five seats were arranged like a "V" around the relatively thin fuselage, two on each side with the fifth facing the rear. Looking remarkably like a Pelican, the cockpit was a closed canopy with two winged doors. From their, the two wings swept back over the passengers, while the two engines were located just over the fuselage and pointed back towards the two elevators and rudder. The last thing they looked at was the D78-TC/VC Hawk. A new version of the Pelican, the Hawk didn't have very many designs changes to it other than sleeker lines and new motors that provided more thruster but were quieter. One of the only major changes was the addition of two doors on either side of the passenger compartment that allowed for easy disembarking or for snipers or others to fire out of in helping defend the ship. Ruby rays of light spread across the Pacific Ocean as the Spartans made their way back to their quarters on their first hours in 2856.
