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Briefing Room, Reach, Doctor Catherine Halsey's POV
"He certainly knows how to make a first impression," she mused as she finished reading the report on the mission Zero-Two-Three, Zero-Six-Nine and Zero-Seven-Zero had been sent on.
"That's putting it mildly, doctor," Commander Thompson said sardonically from his chair at the head of the table. "The blast was visible from Tribute. I hear the people in ONI Public Disclosure are scrambling around like crazy people trying to piece together a cover story the civvies will swallow. Needless to say I want to hear from your SPARTANs directly their explanation for blowing up a chunk of a moon."
She wanted to hear the answers herself but, based on the reports filed by the UNSC assets on the planet and the ships that were the first to respond, she had a theory. The captain of the UNSC frigate Fate's Accord stated that they found two badly damaged destroyers that had been previously stolen by the URF. There had also been enough debris fragments to suggest additional smaller ships that hadn't been durable enough to survive the blast that'd damaged the destroyers. There was no sure number of how many ships had been destroyed but, if it'd been four or more, then she could understand the need for extraordinary measures.
As for stirring up a storm inside ONI, she knew that all too well since she'd already received a message from the program oversight committee stating the need for 'restraint' on future missions. That was understandable since her SPARTANS were meant to be a secret detachment of soldiers that operated off the grid and left as little trace of their existence as possible. Given the particulars of the program and the desire to maintain the element of surprise for as long as possible, it was no surprise that they'd be upset.
Still, there was the unexpected gift Alex's team had brought back with them in the form of a high ranking member of the URF, Lt. General Irene Henderson.
The woman had just been a colonel when she'd defected from the UNSC six years ago but in that time she'd managed to ascend the ranks of the URF until she was just below the big three.
With her capture, along with the capture of Watts, the UNSC had the potential to deal a mortal blow to the URF allowing them to redistribute resources elsewhere.
To places like Harvest.
Due to the nature of the mission and the need for secrecy, the team of three hadn't been present for the reveal involving the Covenant and it would be handled after their debriefing. The space surrounding Harvest was still too hot to send in ships but, given the sensor scans and video recordings brought back by the CMA Heracles, there was little reason to go back there. The planet was under organized bombardment by the Covenant ships and it was clear that they didn't intend to stop until it was all reduced to rubble and molten glass.
Nevertheless, she expected that both the UNSC brass and ONI would have forces dispatched there eventually in an effort to retake the planet while also gaining valuable intelligence on the enemy. Even if the forces they sent into retake Harvest failed, so long as a handful of ships made it back they'd gain valuable tactical data giving them a better idea of what they were up against. All she'd heard thus far was plasma weaponry and some sort of shielding but, given her expertise, she expected that she'd be approached for consultation eventually.
Hearing the door to the room open, she watched as Alex came in with Daisy and Joyce following in behind him. After giving both her and Thompson a salute that the man returned they took their seats at the table, ready to give their reports while also answering any questions. None of them looked like they'd been injured on their mission but that was to be expected given their abilities and the training they'd received from Chief Mendez, along with the other instructors.
"Welcome back, Zero-Six-Nine," Commander Thompson said formally, beginning the debriefing.
"Good to be back, sir," Alex said with an acknowledging nod.
"This meeting is to debrief you on your mission as well as inform you of a recent development that will determine future missions," Thompson said as he activated the holo-display in the table, bringing up the mission specifics. "Your official mission was to tail the Insurrectionist operatives when they stole a target component and follow them back to the main assembly point before using the beacon to signal UNSC to move in. Now every soldier knows that no plan survives first contact with the enemy but I'm going to need you to explain your… unconventional tactics so I can explain things to the oversight committee. So let's take it from the top from when your mission officially began to when you arrived at the UNSC base on Tribute."
For the next house and a half Alex explained everything that happened without going so far into detail so as to bog the briefing down with irrelevant information. She learned how they'd waited for the thieves to show up, snuck aboard the Merlin's Wings and travelled with it to the marked container's destination. Thompson was writing notes just as she was on facts that would need to be followed up on afterwards but, for the most part, the mission had proceeded as expected.
It wasn't until Alex got to the point where the team adopted disguises that Thompson chose to speak up.
"You willingly chose to remove your helmets and don civilian uniforms?" Thompson asked, sounding concerned with the choice. "Weren't you worried that you'd be found out?"
"With no map of the base's layout or what security measures were present, I determined that it was a calculated risk, sir," Alex replied without hesitating. "If we'd attempted to carry out the mission without disguises, any camera in the base would've blown our cover before we could even find the lab where the weapon was being assembled. By adopting disguises and taking every measure to prevent an unobstructed view of our faces, I believed we could delay detection long enough to achieve the mission objectives."
Thompson merely nodded at this before jotting down a note.
From there Alex explained how they'd tailed the marked container while appearing to belong in the base. Once his team had located the room where the nuclear weapon was being constructed they took measures to ensure that a distress call couldn't be sent or that Insurrectionists could escape the base itself.
"According to Lt. General Henderson, it was my cutting off of base communications that alerted her crew that something was wrong at the moon base," Joyce said, choosing to interject at that point.
While a bit anomalous, it wasn't entirely unfeasible.
Given the destruction the nuclear weapon caused to Tribute's moon when it was still incomplete, it was safe to say that the project was a high priority one for the URF. As such having a command level ship receiving constant updates was understandable and a sudden cessation of data transfer would be more than enough to prompt investigation.
As the debriefing continued she learned of Alex's sabotage of the hanger doors and Daisy's reconnaissance of the laboratory. It was an efficient use of time and manpower, allowing them to secure the base quickly before employing the beacon to call in UNSC.
The only fumble that they'd made was activating the beacon inside a room that had been shielded but she could understand the tactical reasons for it. If they'd activated it outside of the room, they would've had to divide their forces between two locations, thus reducing their ability to hold either. If they hid the beacon after activating it there would've still been a good chance that it would've been located and destroyed. If they'd committed themselves to protecting the beacon, the Insurrectionists might've destroyed all project data and materials before UNSC forces arrived.
She'd like to see her enemies in the oversight committee suggest a better course of action.
Once Lt. General Henderson arrived with her ships Alex had taken stock of the situation and had managed to come up with an ambitious but not unsound strategy. Thompson could only chuckle at the audacity of the strategy and how the Insurrectionists must've looked when their 'prisoners' started to kick their butts. From there it was a short retelling of their departure from the base and their method of neutralizing the URF ships, wiping out a good portion of lunar real estate.
Once they were sure that pursuit was no longer an issue they'd descended to the planet's surface before commandeering a civilian vehicle and transporting the Lt. General to the closest UNSC facility.
"Well, I have to say, Zero-Six-Nine, that your ability to adapt to unforeseen developments is matched only by your unconventional methods," Commander Thompson commented wryly as he closed the file on the operation. "I'll do my best to sell your reasoning to the oversight committee. However, in the future, I would recommend that you leave blowing up enemy bases as an option of last resort. Zero-Seven-Zero's hard drives and the capture of Henderson might've mitigated any intel lost in the blast this time but luck only goes so far."
"That may be true but sometimes it's enough, Commander," she said, closing her own notes on the mission.
"True. Now with that matter out of the way we come to a recent development that might very well prove to be an even greater danger to humanity than the Insurrectionists," Thompson said as he opened the file containing all current data on the Harvest incident. "On February 3rd the Tiara space station made long range contact with a vessel of no known configuration. After that all contact was lost with the planet. The CMA attempted to keep things low key and managed to do so for over two months before pressure forced them to send one of their ships to investigate. Contact was lost with it soon after it confirmed arriving in the system.
"After the loss one ship and more than enough evidence to suggest a hostile force in the area, a battle group was organized comprised of the Heracles, Arabia and Vostok were sent ready for a fight," Henderson said before tapping a few keys near his chair, bringing up an image she'd seen before. "The data on the Heracles, the sole survivor of the encounter, was seriously damaged but it provided us with an image of the enemy ship as well as conclusive proof that it wasn't human in origin."
Focusing her gaze on the faces of the three SPARTANs, she could see them evaluating the image of the alien vessel and adding context with the damage it was capable of. Joyce would likely want to spend some time evaluating the sensor data on the ship while Alex would focus on analyzing anything that'd give insight to the ship's crew and their tactics.
Another set of key taps and the message she'd already seen played for Alex's team.
"Humans… your destruction is the will of the gods!" a distinctly alien life form said ominously. "And WE are their instrument!"
The message ended and the proof of a sentient life form that wasn't human proved capable of cracking her SPARTANs' composure, if only a bit.
"They call themselves the Covenant and just one of their ships managed to destroy both the Vostok and the Arabia in less than a minute while severely damaging the Heracles. They had plasma based weaponry capable of melting through the ships' armor and shields that none of the CMA ships could penetrate," Thompson said, showing how serious the situation was. "Both the Arabia and the Vostok were light frigates but the Heracles was a Hillsborough-class destroyer. As you can imagine no one is happy with the fact that they can destroy our ships while we can't even scratch the paint on theirs. Now it'd be nice if it was the only one of its kind but no one believes in that kind of luck or that it'd drop right in our laps."
"How does the UNSC plan to counter these aliens, sir?" Alex asked, fishing for additional information.
"ONI's still gathering intel and attempting to ascertain the Covenant's military strength with what information we currently have," Thompson replied, keeping things short and to the point. "Once we have both, a counterattack strategy will be developed and enacted."
"What about the other outer colonies, sir?" Joyce asked with concern for other potential targets.
"The UNSC and ONI brass believe it'd be a bad move to allow news of a genocidal alien race wiping out planets to reach the public. So until they have no choice, everything about the Covenant is now classified under security clearance level comparable to what you'd need to know about you SPARTANs." Thompson replied firmly so as not to be misunderstood.
Indeed it'd be absolute chaos if the civilian population became aware of the Covenant and their intentions.
Assuming anyone believed such information before the threat literally landed on their doorsteps and started killing people. Since the first day humans ventured out into the stars they'd kept watch for signs of intelligent alien life but until now they'd only found alien animal and plant life. Those with an axe to grind against the UNSC would likely accuse them of doing something to provoke the Covenant into declaring genocidal war. That or be quick to think that, so long as they made it clear that they had nothing to do with the ones at fault, that they would be spared.
In her experience any organization whose religion condoned the utter destruction of an entire race would not care all that much about details like that.
"Without knowing their plans we do not know what missions you might be sent on that might result in you coming into contact with them. I'd advise you to check regularly for new information on them and pack at least one heavy weapon just in case on future missions," Thompson said before closing the file on the Covenant turning the table dark.
"We will, sir," Alex said with a firm and determined nod.
"Then you and your teammates are dismissed," Thompson said, standing up and saluting the trio.
Watching as the team filed out to return to the others, she considered for the tenth time what the best course of action was given recent revelations. If Covenant troops were armed with plasma weaponry and other advanced technology similar to their ships, then conventional body armor would not be enough to keep her SPARTANs safe.
They would need Project Mjolnir.
While it'd always been her intent to give it to the SPARTANs eventually, she had thought that they'd do well enough against Insurrectionists in the beginning to allow her to make further refinements to the armor.
Now, though, there were bigger concerns than the Insurrectionists.
"With the briefing concluded, Commander, I will take my leave," she said, standing up and tucking her pad under her arm. "With this new development added to our plate of things to work on, neither of us will have much leisure time for the foreseeable future."
"No, I guess we won't," Thompson said with a small smirk. "Here's hoping things aren't as bad as it looks."
She didn't have the heart to tell the man what her instincts were telling her, that things were going to get worse, much worse, before they got any better.
UNSC Frigate Commonwealth
En Route To UNSC Damascus Materials Testing Facility
The Chi Ceti System
Joyce Zero-Seven-Zero's POV
"So what's the latest conclusion?" she asked Alex, who was lying on his bunk with pad in his hands.
"With only guesswork and minimum intel to work with, I can't be certain of anything conclusively but if the difference between ship-mounted weaponry and infantry weapons is the same for them as it is for us, we're at a clear tactical disadvantage." Alex put the pad down on the bed. "Infantry body armor isn't nearly as durable as ship armor and even with the scaled down power from ship weapons to personal weapons, we won't be able to take more than glancing shots. We need an upgrade and soon."
"You think that's where Doctor Halsey is taking us?" she asked, having come to that conclusion already.
"Probably. Anything else we might need we can get on Reach." he replied, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bunk.
She agreed with him on that point but she was still a bit mystified.
As a part of her growing skill in cyber warfare, she regularly made efforts to access sections of the base computer network that she wasn't authorized for using several different approaches. While Doctor Halsey regularly reprimanded her for her efforts, she knew that it was just for show to appease those who believed the SPARTANs should be kept on a tight leash. She'd seen enough of the messages sent to the doctor to know that not everyone in ONI supported the SPARTAN-II program and more than a few would be pleased to see it fail. To give the opposition any ammunition to use was to potentially threaten Doctor Halsey, along with every SPARTAN-II. Fortunately for them Doctor Halsey was all too familiar with such threats and so her 'hacking' would not be enough to even warrant mentioning so long as she kept her actions limited to the base.
From what she'd learned, the Damascus Materials Testing Facility was the home of something called Project Mjolnir and it had ties to the SPARTAN-II program. However, according to Norse mythology, Mjolnir was a weapon capable of shattering stone and projecting bolts of lightning.
It was not armor and possessed only minimal defensive capabilities.
Did Doctor Halsey choose the name to throw off any intruders into her files? she thought as Alex stood up and walked over to the nearby window.
Possibly. Misdirection and deception were valuable tools when you wanted to keep your true intentions a secret.
She was about to ask Alex what he considered appropriate response to the Covenant's actions when out of nowhere he turned and tackled her away from the window. She didn't have time to ask why before the ship rocked as something slammed into it and red alert alarms erupted to life from every available speaker.
"We're under attack," Alex explained as he got off her and they both got back to their feet. "I sensed a faint spike of aggression just before we got hit."
"Thanks but who hit us and why?" she asked, focusing on two very important things.
"If we want to know we'll probably have to go to the bridge," he replied as he began moving to the door of the cabin.
"Then let's get going," she said, following him as they left the room. "I'm going to want a name to go with the butt I plan on kicking."
The ship remained steady as they navigated down the hallways but crewmen were moving quickly towards their battle stations, forcing her to move around them. When they arrived on the bridge they were just in time to see six Archer missiles shoot towards an alien ship with a design closely matching the one that attacked Harvest. Somehow, out of the endless number of systems, the enemy had managed to stumble upon a ship that likely carried the UNSCs best chance at opposing them.
If she hadn't seen past evidence of random chance and bad luck, she would've suspected that someone had slipped the Covenant their arrival time in this system.
However bad luck was alive and well as she watched all six missiles impact upon some sort of energy shield, leaving the vessel itself unharmed.
"So they do have energy shielding," Doctor Halsey declared with some astonishment at the confirmation of existing intel.
Not surprising considering that, even with all the time that'd passed since mankind first left Earth's solar system, they had yet to develop energy shields for their ships. All they'd been able to do in order to protect their ships was add extra layers of armor plating, using whatever new material research and development had managed to come out with that year. When added to the fact that Archer missiles could incapacitate all but the most armored UNSC ships, it implied much about the technology at the Covenant's disposal.
"Doctor?! I thought only the largest of Covenant ships—" the captain of the Commonwealth exclaimed in shock at something that went against what he'd been told.
"We haven't had enough survivors of Covenant encounters to be sure of anything yet, captain!" Doctor Halsey snapped back, cutting the man off before he could finish. "What we do know is that missiles are not strong enough to penetrate those shields."
"Lieutenant! Arm the magnetic accelerator cannon!" the captain ordered, logically going with the next strongest option in his ship's arsenal as his next move against the enemy vessel.
"A M.A.C. round will penetrate through their shields but it will not be enough to stop the ship," Halsey pointed out, apparently sticking to her strength of pointing out the flaws of others. "They WILL counterattack and we will be destroyed."
"Doctor Halsey, I have my orders to get you and your package to Chi Ceti Four at all costs," the captain said as he turned to point a finger at Halsey. "I WILL accomplish that task."
With the matter settled as far as he was concerned, the captain turned back to the lieutenant at the weapons console to add further orders to the mix.
"Lieutenant, also arm one of our Shiva warheads. Set proximity fuse for one hundred meters and prepare to fire on my mark," he ordered before, turning away to the officer in charge of the ship's fighter compliment. "Get Longsword squadron Delta on the horn. Tell them to put their ships in the black and engage the enemy craft."
"Aye," the man said in a way that made it evident that he knew he was about to send comrades to their deaths.
"Longswords don't stand a chance against a Covenant ship of that size!" Halsey protested, trying to make the captain see reason. "It's SUICIDE!"
"Perhaps but it will buy us time to make orbit around Chi Ceti Four," the captain said, proving the strength of his resolve to accomplish his mission.
Knowing she did not have the rank to enter into the conversation, she instead chose to focus her efforts on absorbing the new intel as it came into being. She was certain that Doctor Halsey would be reviewing this entire encounter later and the woman enjoyed having her to act as a sounding board to bounce theories off of. It wasn't long before Delta squadron was in the black, flying towards the Covenant ship in a standard attack formation. Once they were within range, a barrage of ASGM-10 missiles was set loose only to detonate against the energy shield, producing even less flare than the Archer missiles had. As per their training the pilots began to veer away so that they could circle back for another run but, before they could even exit their own weapons range, plasma shots from the Covenant vessel blew them all into so much debris.
To her this conclusively proved that in future encounters Longswords should not be wasted on Covenant ships of any sort until the explosive yield of their missiles has been put significantly above that of an Archer missile.
"Sir, M.A.C. charging and Shiva ready," the lieutenant said from his console.
"Launch Shiva!" the captain ordered, launching the nuclear missile from the Commonwealth.
Seeing the comet with a flaming tail shoot towards the Covenant ship, she had to wonder what the captain was planning because, while a nuke was powerful, she didn't think it would be enough.
It was when the M.A.C. gun reached full charge and was subsequently fired that she comprehended the captain's plan. As fast as the Shiva missile was, the round fired by the M.A.C. would be faster, if only by a little bit. Without a doubt the captain was betting on the gun's shot weakening the enemy shields enough for the Shiva missile to punch the rest of the way through to impact on the enemy vessel's hull. Her prediction proved true when, a moment later, a nuclear blast obscured the Covenant ship for a short while before the interference died down enough for the Commonwealth's sensors to inform them of the results.
"It's not destroyed," the lieutenant reported with disappointment at what many had no doubt hoped would be a telling blow. "We only wounded it."
"They're moving away from us. Most likely to make repairs," the captain said, pointing out the silver lining he want everyone to see. "It'll be back for another go once they've locked down any problems."
"I don't think we'll last another round, sir," the lieutenant said, continuing to sift through information. "The reactor sustained additional damage from charging the M.A.C."
"Jettison the core," the captain ordered before turning to the helmsman. "Navigation, I want an orbital flyby of the Damascus facility. As close as you can get us without burning through our power reserves."
"Aye, sir," the helmsman said as she began to chart the ordered course.
"Core jettisoned," the lieutenant reported after a slight vibration physically confirmed the information.
"Inform engineering they have three hours to install our replacement," the captain ordered, evidently planning to cause the Covenant as much trouble as possible.
"Sir? Proper installation requires a space dock and days of test—" the lieutenant protested, obviously being someone who did things by the book and believed the written rules.
Too bad he didn't realize that every engineer and inventor was a little conservative on paper concerning how long something would take to do or what their creations could take.
It made it easier to brag later on when it managed to surprise someone or save the day.
"THREE HOURS," the captain insisted, making it clear the matter was closed.
With that the captain of the Commonwealth turned his attention back to Doctor Halsey.
"Doctor Halsey, we will drop you and your package and then fall back and make as many repairs as time allows. If it comes down to it, we will act as bait for the Covenant ship," the captain said, his measured optimism coloring his tone, "but if you can make it back here in time…"
With no way of knowing how fast the enemy would be able to make enough repairs to their ship to feel confident enough to resume their assault the Commonwealth, it was a distinct possibility that their ride home would be destroyed.
And everyone on the bridge knew it.
"Whatever's down there, I hope it's worth it." the captain said, sounding like he'd take some comfort in knowing that he was spending lives rather than wasting them.
"Captain, I do not think it would be overestimating the situation when I say that what's down on Chi Ceti Four is crucial for humanity's survival," Doctor Halsey said, telling the man all she could without divulging classified secrets.
"Then get the rest of your people and get down to the hanger," the captain said, gaining some courage from the statement. "A Pelican will be waiting to take all of you planetside."
"Good luck, captain," Doctor Halsey said, acknowledging the sacrifice the crew of the Commonwealth was about to make.
With a look the leader of the SPARTAN-II program told her and Xander to follow her off the bridge.
Showing that he did have some grasp of discretion, Alex waited until the hallway they were in was clear of crewmen before opening his mouth.
"If the Covenant destroy the Commonwealth, Doctor, they will likely target the testing facility next," Alex said, conveying his tactical forecast. "Regardless of whatever is down there it won't be a match for a Covenant ship."
"Wait until you see Project Mjolnir for yourself, Alex, and then say that." Doctor Halsey said with a confident grin.
She knew from that grin alone that Alex would be eating his words soon enough.
Cruising Through the Atmosphere of Chi Ceti Four
Daisy-Zero-Two-Three's POV
"Damascus Materials Testing Facility to incoming pelican, please identify yourself." came a voice from the pelican's comm-system.
"This is Doctor Catherine Halsey. Damascus clearance one-nine-seven-three-seven-one-alpha," Doctor Halsey said after pressing the transmit button.
For a few minutes nothing was heard of from the facility indicating that they were comparing the authorization code with what was in their systems while likely also analyzing the doctor's voice. This was, after all, a highly classified UNSC research facility so not just anyone could be allowed to set foot on it.
"Doctor, you are cleared for landing pad four," the facility communications officer stated, showing that everything had checked out.
In response the pelican pilot altered course to fly towards the landing beacon that'd popped up on the craft's sensors and from what she could see the ETA was less than three minutes.
Time enough for her to remember who they'd left to fight a losing battle in space while they journeyed towards the temporary safety of the facility.
Unlike Alex, who had his natural stubbornness to see him through, and Joyce, who had her intellect to keep tossing possibilities at her, she only had the facts. The Covenant vessel had them outgunned and the Commonwealth's weapons could barely scratch the paint. While it was conceivable that they might gain victory using the captain's combination of M.A.C. round and Shiva missiles, it would depend on whether or not the enemy failed to learn from the first successful hit. If they hadn't and the next blow was aimed somewhere crucial, like the engine core or the main bridge, then victory would be theirs. However if the enemy was as skilled and as intelligent as UNSC navy personnel, then they'd destroy the Shiva before it could get close or make sure they never got into the crosshairs of the M.A.C. gun again.
Still, the captain of the Commonwealth had proven that he could devise unconventional tactics on the fly so it wasn't impossible that he could come up with another successful tactic.
As they came in for a landing she decided that there was little she could do from where she was and dwelling on what couldn't be changed was a waste of both time as well as energy.
With the hiss of the airlock opening she, along with every other SPARTAN-II present, stood up and lined up behind Doctor Halsey before disembarking from the pelican. At a steady stride they advanced on the facility, only pausing briefly when they reached the main doors so that Halsey could open them. Once they were inside, though, her eyes fell upon a cutting edge R&D facility with equipment that probably cost more than the food budget of most colonies. However it was the crowd of humanoid armored forms that snagged her attention and not just because that was where Halsey was heading. It was also because it looked to be a seriously upgraded form of the armor that the instructors had started wearing after she and the other SPARTANs had finished acclimating to their enhancements.
"SPARTANs, I present to you Project Mjolnir," Doctor Halsey declared, gesturing towards the armored suits. "The armor's shell is a multi-layer alloy of remarkable strength, coated with a refractive material that disperses incoming energy weapon attacks. An onboard bio-computer interfaces with your neural implants to constantly track vital statistics and the armor's inner structure is composed of a new reactive metal liquid crystal that is amorphous yet fractically scales and amplifies force."
While she was suitably impressed by the apparent cutting edge nature of the armor, she was not as academically inclined as Joyce was.
Fortunately the brains behind the SPARTAN-II program knew this as well.
"This armor is, to put it bluntly, SPARTANs, the single most cutting-edge piece of technology humanity has developed since you," Halsey said before stepping over to a console to activate a holo-pad.
"Ma'am, did I understand correctly? This enhances our strength?" John asked from his position to the left of her.
"Yes, John. It allows an increase in ability of a normal human by a factor of five," Halsey replied turning to the ideal SPARTAN-II. "The problem, however, is that the system is so reactive that unaugmented volunteers wound up breaking their own bones trying to move, tore their own muscles and, as a result, their pained spasms killed them."
Seeing holographic video feed of one such volunteer trying to use the Mjolnir armor, only to get twisted into a human pretzel, she couldn't help but feel uneasy at the prospect of putting a set on.
"But you are not normal humans. Your enhanced musculature and the metal and ceramic layers bonded to your skeleton should be enough to allow you to harness the armor's power," Halsey said as she switched off the holo-display. "There has been insufficient computer modeling, however, so there will be some risk involved."
"I'll be the first to try it," John said, stepping out of the crowd in front of Doctor Halsey.
"I thought you might, John," Halsey said with a knowing smile.
It was just so like John to take the lead whenever they came across some sort of unknown that had the potential to be harmful. Ever since their first group mission out in the snow-covered woods, John had done everything he could in order to make sure that no one was left behind and no one died while he was present. Alex had pointed out once that, as good as John was, he couldn't protect everyone but to this Sierra One-One-Seven had simply said 'that does not mean I should stop trying'.
With John's volunteering the group once more went on the move as they proceeded off to a room on the right with a single large observation window. John and Doctor Halsey were the only ones to go inside but, as she saw through the glass, a four man team of scientists was waiting inside, ready to put the armor on One-One-Seven so the rest of them waited outside. Window space was at a premium so it was quickly filled up by whomever got there first, which of course meant Kelly got the sweetest spot by the intercom. Linda and Fred were next but, refusing to be the one being restricted to audio only, she managed to claim a spot for herself with some creative maneuvering.
John disappeared behind a curtain for a short time but, when he reemerged, he was wearing a black bodysuit that definitely looked like it was meant to go with the armor. From there he stepped onto a circular platform at the center of an array of mechanical arms with various tools attached to the ends. Watching John move, she got the impression that he was stepping into something very precise but, once both of his feet were on the platform, the scientists began to move in concert. One piece at a time they began to assemble the armor around John, locking them into place until all that was visible of John was his head.
"You will need to move slowly. Deliberately," Halsey said once the assembly was finished. "Give yourself time to learn how it reacts. The armor cannot be powered down. The response cannot be scaled back. Just breathe normally but otherwise remain absolutely still."
"Yes, ma'am," John said, not moving anything else other than his head.
It was then that with slow, turtle-like speed that John's arms began to move, followed by his legs. Just standing up took forever but eventually the squad leader was on his feet, looking at Halsey.
"I feel it… shifting," John said as he continued to move his arms to test his control.
"Each Mjolnir battle suit has a gel-filled layer to regulate temperature and fit," Halsey explained before walking over to some shelves nearby to pick up a helmet.
The helmet she had looked like it'd been designed to give its wearer a complete field of vision since the visor made up the top half of the helmet.
"Now slowly, carefully, take your helmet," Halsey said as she held out the last piece of the armor.
"Nice." John said as he reached out to take it… only to crush it in his grasp. "Oh, no! I—"
Apparently John's early success didn't mean that he'd already mastered the basics of using the armor. Seeing this, she could only imagine that the fine control would take a LOT of practice and a LOT of time.
"Stay calm!" Doctor Halsey exclaimed in an effort to keep John from getting excited. "Stop moving!"
John froze and did as he was told.
"Let's try this again, only this time I will put it on you," Halsey said as she chose another helmet with a more focused field of vision and a cap-like beak over the visor. "We'll wait until you're acclimated before we try any finesse movements."
"Yes, Ma'am," John agreed, bending over in order to make it easier for the doctor to put the helmet on.
It only took a moment for the helmet to slide into place and once it was properly connected to the main body of the armor all of them could behold what they themselves would look like after they'd had their turn.
"Well? How does it feel?" Halsey asked with a smile of pride at what she was looking at.
"Feels like I was born to wear it, Ma'am," John said, sounding like he was more certain than ever that he could handle anything that tried to take him on.
Considering how formidable the squad leader had been before the Mjolnir armor, she had a hard time disagreeing with that possibility.
Mine Training Facility, Two Days Later
Alex-Zero-Six-Nine's POV
Sam was dead.
It was during the time when he was in the middle of getting his armor assembled while John's team was putting theirs through its paces that the Commonwealth had radioed in. Apparently the Covenant ship was back on the approach and was estimated to return to weapons range in less than ten minutes. Unfortunately the UNSC ship had not been close to being ready to tangle with them again so, as usual John, had volunteered himself, Kelly and Sam to intercept the enemy ship. He hadn't doubted any of them but he'd also felt that tackling a ship that size with just three SPARTANs was a bit too risky. He'd spoken up, saying that if they waited until he was fully suited up he would join them, increasing the odds of the mission succeeding.
He'd been denied on the grounds that every minute counted if the Commonwealth was going to be saved and that he lacked experience fighting alongside John's team. Both points meant that his presence might actually increase the odds of mission failure instead.
With reluctance he'd accepted their judgment and remained behind.
It'd only been an hour later that John had returned to the facility.
They returned one SPARTAN light.
Halsey had been the one ask the question and, like a good soldier, John had given an efficient report on what'd occurred aboard the enemy vessel. How they'd taken a nuke aboard by slipping through the shields, followed the energy readings to what he figured had been the engine core only to run into enemy forces. Sam had taken a hit meant for John and, while it hadn't been serious it had done the one thing that'd prevented his war brother from returning; it'd compromised his armor's airtight seal beyond the hope of a quick patch job.
Sam had chosen to remain behind and make sure that the nuke wasn't tampered with before detonation rather than die in the vacuum of space.
He knew the logic behind the choice but it did nothing to soften the blow that all SPARTANs were now recovering from.
Sam was dead.
Everyone had their own way to cope with the loss of their brother and in his case it was training to master his new armor as quickly and as thoroughly as possible. From simple movements, to manipulating objects, to finding out where the suit's limits were, he used whatever was available to help him reach his goal. He was making good progress and only took breaks when Joy insisted on it but he didn't need to be a genius to know he still had a ways to go. If he focused, if he was careful, he could do most of what he wanted without any undesirable consequences, but he knew that on the battlefield the enemy rarely granted you the opportunity to narrow your vision on any one task. He tried to do things quicker and closer to what he felt would be necessary in combat but the damage done to the objects was unacceptable. He'd gone at it for an hour straight until all he had to show for it was a pile of mangled weapons with impressions the size of his hands on every one of them.
Forced to accept a rate of speed that would not cause the program's weapons budget to double in less than a month, he'd focused on strength, speed and reflex training.
According to Doctor Halsey, the UNSC was giving them one month to acclimate to the armor before they'd be put back into service to go on whatever missions were deemed worthy of SPARTAN deployment.
When those thirty days came to an end, he'd be ready.
"Alex!" Joy yelled from behind him, almost breaking his concentration.
However, since holding a Warthog over one's head and losing your concentration would likely end with an embarrassing fall, he stayed focused and slowly put the vehicle back on the ground.
"What is it, Joy?" he asked, turning to his teammate as she approached in what SPARTANs considered 'relaxing at home' clothes.
"They're discharging Serin. She's out," Joyce said, sounding distressed by this news.
It'd been eight months since they'd all undergone enhancement and in most cases the results fell into one of three areas: death, disabled or successful. The dead had been given a proper UNSC funeral, the disabled had been reassigned to areas where their mental training could be put to use and the third moved on to field work. However there was always an 'x' factor involved in any enterprise and, in the case of the SPARTAN-II program, that factor was named Serin.
Like all the other children conscripted into the Program, Serin had undergone rigorous training alongside the rest of them to make both body and mind as strong as they could be without artificial intervention. Also like the rest of them, she'd proven herself capable of learning what they were taught and applying it to real life training scenarios constructed by Chief Mendez.
When the time came for the enhancement procedures, she'd proved it was possible to be both lucky as well as unlucky at the same time. She'd been lucky in that she'd managed to survive the enhancement procedures without dying or being afflicted by any of the many side effects that forced some of their number to be reassigned. However she'd also been unlucky in that, while physically superior to any natural human, it'd quickly become apparent that her abilities were nowhere near what the complete successes were capable of.
For the last eight months Doctor Halsey had spent what time she'd had available examining Serin while also exploring possible ways by which the enhancements could be coaxed to do what they were meant to do. According to Joy, the Doctor had been doing what she could to buy time to explore all the possibilities but now it looked like time was up.
"Let's go," he said before breaking into a sprint that Joy was able to keep up with.
Getting back to the surface they took the most direct route and soon had sunlight on their heads and adjusted the direction to target the main administration building. Thanks to their enhanced speed they managed to cover ground quickly but even so they barely arrived in time to see Serin walking down the front steps with two men in suits bookending her. Immediately he was able to identify them as being ONI but this struck him as odd. Even if she wasn't able to be a SPARTAN, she still had plenty to offer the Navy, so why was she being escorted off base by agents from the Office of Naval Intelligence?
"Serin!" he yelled, causing his sister to look in his direction and for the ONI agents to come to a stop.
"Here to see me off, Alex?" Serin asked sounding quietly angry. "You and Joyce would be the only ones."
That didn't make sense.
With all the years they'd spent living together, sweating and bleeding together, they'd all formed bonds with each other as close as any family would possess. If Serin was leaving then he'd have expected every SPARTAN to show up, alongside Chief Mendez to give them a proper send off. Doctor Halsey wouldn't be there but that was because she had never been much of a people person, preferring to focus on her work.
So why weren't they here?
"I don't know why the others aren't here but after finding out that you were leaving there's no other place I'd rather be," he said, being honest with how he felt. "I'm sorry things didn't work out for you here, Serin."
"I'm sorry, too," Serin said, emoting a bit of regret with both her voice as well as her face.
"So… you're hooking up with ONI?" he asked, figuring he wasn't smooth enough to put the question any better.
"They made me a good offer. Something better than a token position for one of the Program's failures," Serin said with bitterness towards the alternatives she'd been offered by the UNSC.
Assuming that Serin had gotten offers similar to what the disabled had after the enhancement procedures, he could understand how she'd be insulted. They'd been told by Doctor Halsey that they'd been chosen to become the best of the best, the protectors of Earth and all her colonies, and that had caused many of them to feel like they were special. So to be shuffled out of the Program to desk jobs or assignments that anyone could've gotten with enough hard work and time would've made the 'chosen' story stink a little.
Fan that stink for a bit and it'd turn into anger.
"Well, if you got scouted by ONI then I guess they recognize your skills. They don't let just anyone wear those letters on their armor," he said, trying not to let his personal opinion of the organization show. "You'll keep in touch after you get settled, right? I know you won't be able to say much if it's above my pay grade but a 'how are you doing' every now and again couldn't hurt."
It was his opinion that being a member of ONI was a dangerous position because to succeed you had to be willing to cross lines most people wouldn't be willing to save under extreme duress, and if you got used to crossing the line you soon started to ignore it without realizing it. Before long you ceased to be the person you'd been when you first joined and those who'd known you before could only see you as a stranger if not a monster.
If keeping in touch with him, reminding her that she still had family on Reach, kept her from losing herself to the grey moral fog that got into the heads of ONI members, then he'd do whatever he could.
"We'll see. They gave me a job description but not how much work I'll need to do to be brought up to speed," Serin conceded with a strong nod. "When I get the chance I'll send a message."
"It might take a few weeks but I'll see if I can provide her that opportunity," one of the ONI agents said in a polite but somewhat hollow tone.
With that the two agents escorted Serin into the waiting car and they all drove off, passing through the gates of the base minutes later.
Less than twenty minutes later they were too far away for his enhanced eyesight to pick out, even with his armor helping.
"I don't like it," Joy said with a voice of suspicion and mild anger.
"I'm not crazy about Serin going to ONI but it's her choice," he said, dropping the mildly forced support and happiness. "I just hope she's smart enough to realize that by joining ONI she's made herself a target for anyone with an axe to grind against with Doctor Halsey. No telling how they'll plan on using her against the Doctor."
"But we couldn't have stopped her with just that," Joy said, jumping ahead a few steps in the conversation. "It'd just sound like paranoia or worse fabricated facts from Doctor Halsey."
"And that'd just push her further away," he said, agreeing with his friend's words. "If we're to get her to keep her guard up in ONI and convince her she has friends here, we need to either find undeniable proof or get her looking in places she might find it herself."
"Ask for a statue you can see from orbit why don't you?" Joy asked sarcastically, providing her difficulty estimate.
"It won't be that tough," he said with a half smile. "Just put that photographic memory of yours to good use and leave it to me to pull a rabbit out of my hat."
"I think even Doctor Halsey would have a problem with blowing up ONI HQ, even if it got Serin back," Joy said with a smile of her own.
"You blow up part of a moon and suddenly people think making things go boom is your only trick!" he said, rolling his eyes at the joke.
Blowing shit up wasn't his only trick.
It just delivered satisfying results more often than not.
UNSC Marathon-class Heavy Crusier Hannibal
Slipspace, Three Weeks Later
SPARTAN Joyce-Zero-Seven-Zero's POV
Is it normal to be kept waiting this long? she thought to herself as she and her team awaited the officer who'd be briefing them.
When they'd been contacted the day before last by the oversight committee that their next mission had been selected, she'd been expecting a vid-call or an officer arriving the same day with the details. Instead they'd just been instructed to travel to the spaceport to be flown up to the heavy cruiser Hannibal and that their destination was Circinius IV. They'd tried to get more information, even Doctor Halsey had lent her aid, but the top brass had been remarkably tight lipped on the subject. When time had run out to get better informed they'd left for the spaceport and caught a Pelican up to the Hannibal, but it'd only been an hour ago that they'd been summoned for their official briefing.
She'd expected the briefer to already be there when they got to the room or to arrive in under ten minutes.
Obviously this hadn't happened.
Still, it was part of her duty as a SPARTAN and a soldier of the UNSC to maintain discipline, so instead of leaving the room to find the briefer like she wanted, she would wait however long it took.
Hearing the door open, she turned her head to see a high-ranking officer of advanced years come in and move to take the chair at the head of the table. When his gaze fell upon them, though, there was a quality to it that she had not seen in other superior officers or even Commander Thompson and, for a moment, she could not define it. However when she remembered some of the expressions on the Insurrectionists of the moon base prior to turning the tables on them in the hanger, she recognized it.
Anger.
Not strong enough to be called hate but still present nonetheless.
"SPARTANs, I am Colonel Abernathy and I will be handling your briefing," Abernathy said with a scowl of dislike on his face. "Briefing packets will be provided at the end of this meeting so I will keep to the broad strokes.
"As you are aware we have recently come into contact with an alien race bent on the annihilation of humanity. However, due to our lack of intel of their capabilities and their overall strategy, we have little in the way to predict where they will strike next," Abernathy said as he brought up holographic images of past Covenant encounters. "As a result forces are being deployed in secret to every populated human colony within ten days travel of Harvest. Naturally their presence will be disguised as the usual bullshit: training exercises, future suspected Insurrectionist attacks and anything else the civilian population will believe. Should the Covenant appear the forces deployed will immediately send out a distress call before countering the attack and buy time for reinforcements to arrive."
"I presume that's where we come in?" Alex asked as team leader.
"Indeed," Abernathy replied, sounding none too pleased by this. "You are being assigned to the covert protection detail of Circinius IV. More specifically you will be assigned to protect the Corbulo Academy of Military Science by request of several high ranking members of the UNSC."
She was familiar with Corbulo by reputation and via the various tests that Doctor Halsey had given her in order to test her intelligence. It was a very prestigious school and one of the unofficial requirements to go there was that you had to be the child of a UNSC officer of sufficient rank. Officially anyone could join provided they passed the entrance exam and could afford the yearly tuition fees. The fees, of course, only served to make sure that only wealthy families could send their children there.
"I presume, sir, that my team and I will be stationed close to the Academy and monitor the situation from a distance?" Alex asked, making it clear that 'covert' meant they would not be anyplace they might be spotted.
"You're half right," Abernathy replied with a small feral grin. "Due to the security clearance required to even know about your kind, having more than one of you on Academy property would raise too many questions. However if only one of you was there, in disguise, not only should there be no suspicion but it would ensure the safety of several VIPs."
She didn't like this and, judging by the physical tell that only she knew of, neither did Alex.
The colonel was obviously up to something and did not have the team's best interests at heart.
"I assume that I'll have some sort of disguise or fabricated identity in order to maintain the secrecy of the SPARTAN-II project," Alex said, keeping his displeasure from peeking out from behind his mask of a professional soldier.
"Indeed you will. You'll be Lieutenant Jonathan Donner of the ODST visiting the Academy in order to teach a seminar on… urban warfare. Naturally you'll be outfitted with ODST armor and gear, with only the commanding officer of the Academy knowing the truth," Abernathy said, looking like there was some sort of malicious joke that only he saw. "However let me make some things perfectly clear: you must never allow anyone to suspect your true nature. That means you must restrain the use of your physical prowess to normal human levels and not show signs of knowledge beyond what one would expect of an ODST lieutenant. Should ANY indication manifest that you've not followed these guidelines to the letter, you will be removed from Circinius IV. The details will be included in explicit detail in the mission report and proper action will be taken."
"What precisely do you mean by 'proper action', sir?" Alex asked, not showing any sign of changing his behavior.
"That will be decided by the SPARTAN-II Program oversight committee," Colonel Abernathy replied, implying with his expression that he would not be involved in the matter. "However I would not be surprised if increased supervision protocols were implemented. After all, if you and your comrades can't keep a low profile, your usefulness in countering the Insurrectionists or these aliens will be only be half of what it could've been. If veteran ONI agents or ODST members were assigned to each SPARTAN team and given full command authority with the punishment for disregarding orders being… indefinite detainment… then perhaps it would soothe any ruffled feathers."
So that was his game.
During their training under the Chief and the other instructors, one of the things she'd seen signs of was a growing bitterness and dislike among the latter. The Chief made sure that it didn't affect the training sessions and personally took an instructor down a peg if they didn't keep their opinions to themselves. However, with her photographic memory, she remembered every incident clearly as well as the subtler signs of animosity that managed to slip by the Chief's notice. Piecing together everything she'd witnessed, she got the impression that the ODSTs and possibly others were disgusted as well as insulted by the purpose of the Program.
Freaks.
Lab rats.
Monsters.
Abominations.
Those were some of the terms she'd heard some of the instructors use in reference to her and the rest of the SPARTAN-IIs when they thought no one could hear them. She hadn't talked about it with anyone, feeling compelled to figure it out on her own beforehand. She could only spare the odd hour or two every week since the rest had to be left for training but that'd been more than enough time. The conclusion she reached was that the ODST and those like them felt threatened by her and her adoptive family. Up until the time of the SPARTAN-II Program, the UNSC had used conventional training with its military members to push them to the peak of what was possible for a human. Those who were considered the elite therefore had special standing amongst the members of the UNSC and were able to feel pride in what they could do as well as how they were seen by others.
However, with the coming of the SPARTAN-II Program, a new breed of soldier had been born, one with abilities that, thanks to science, put them in a league above the former elite, causing those who used to stand at the top to be forced to second place.
Normally going from first place to second wasn't too terrible because most people believed that if they just increased their training they could one day reclaim the top spot.
That which put her and her family above the former elite could only be achieved through scientific augmentation and the current enlisted personnel were already beyond the age requirement for that. Doctor Halsey had made it clear to her that the only reason as many members of her family had survived was because their bodies were at a stage of development where the enhancements stood the best chance of being accepted. If the same enhancement procedures were performed on anyone older, then, regardless of their physical state of fitness, the odds of them surviving were virtually zero. Whether the instructors who insulted her family knew this or not, she did not know. Regardless of whether or not they consciously were aware of this insurmountable hurdle or not, the end result was the same: growing bitterness and anger.
If others with the necessary clearance had become aware of the SPARTAN-IIs, as well as the process by which they had gone from children to super soldiers, then it was only logical that they too would feel the same as the hostile instructors.
While the instructors did not have the power to do anything in response to how they felt towards her family, Colonel Abernathy was another matter altogether. The man wouldn't be able to do anything obviously shady with his authority to undermine them but, if he was subtle enough, he could engineer situations that had a high probability of reflecting badly on them. With enough reports that cast her and the rest of the SPARTANs in a bad light, the oversight committee, as well as those above them, might reevaluate the entire Program.
At worst it would be shut down, with her family being reassigned to positions that could not harm the UNSC or its interests.
"Now, according to the latest ETA from the bridge, we'll be arriving at Circinius IV in five hours," Colonel Abernathy said as he shut down the holograms displayed by the table. "I suggest you return to your room and spend that time committing the relevant facts to memory. There can be no mistakes with the stakes this high. DISMISSED!"
Just as they'd been taught she, Alex and Daisy rose to their feet before executing a perfect salute while looking straight ahead.
The older man did not look to be very impressed and left the room without another word.
"We've received out mission, team," Alex said, looking Daisy in the eyes before turning to do the same to her. "Let's get it done."
There was no hurt from how Abernathy had behaved or hostile anger, but rather the same sort of resolve that'd been on his face when he'd asked her to help make sure every SPARTAN remembered their full name and where they'd come from.
Abernathy's scheme was nothing more than a challenge to Alex and it was one he was determined to not just pass but destroy.
They all would.
Corbulo Academy of Military Science, Outside General Black's Office
8:00a.m
Alex Zero-Six-Nine's POV
So far no ripples have been made that weren't desired from the beginning, he thought as she stood outside the office of the man in charge of the Academy. With the side-effect of the ODST helmet's HUD, seeing my face is impossible. Add to the vocal distortion program Joy put into the com-gear and there should be no way for anyone to learn the truth unless one of them fails.
In order to ensure that neither system failed, he would be sure to perform maintenance on them to the best of his ability while leaving the parts beyond his expertise to Joy. He'd also had Daisy set up basic security measures for the room they'd been assigned to ensure that there wouldn't be any surprise guests getting in. No one would be entering without warning to see the three of them without their helmets, much less in their full Mjolnir armor, and no one would get the chance to sabotage his ODST gear.
I'll still try to research the various ways that outside forces can cause malfunctions or short out the systems entirely though, he thought as he heard the door to the office open. While I might be overthinking the length those who oppose the Program will go to see it fail, it's the job of a team leader to anticipate potential threats to their team.
"Lieutenant Donner?" General Black asked from just inside his office.
"Yes, sir," he replied, performing a crisp salute.
"Step into my office," Black ordered before stepping aside. "Let's get the bureaucratic bullshit out of the way quickly so you can get to your first class on time."
Nodding, he walked into the office but, even once the door closed, he didn't let the ODST performance end since he was aware of multiple methods of eavesdropping that could be employed in this situation.
"Orlan: initiate security measures Omega Black." General Black ordered to the Academy's artificial intelligence.
"Omega Black security now in effect, General," the disembodied voice of the A.I. stated via the room's speakers.
"Now that that is dealt with we can move on to the real discussion," General Black said with a somewhat distant tone. "The orders I received were a bit sparse on the details. Any chance you could enlighten me further?"
"Yes, sir. ONI has come up with a list of possible imminent targets that the Covenant might attack based on distance from Harvest as well as any data they might have acquired there. Given Circinius IV's position, population and the VIPs at the Academy, it was decided that my team and I be deployed here for added protection," he replied, keeping to the facts the General was cleared for. "My specific task is to monitor the situation here at the Academy while undercover as an ODST teaching urban warfare tactics. My teammates will be scouting the woods surrounding the Academy as well as the nearby population centers for any sign of Covenant presence."
"And how long do you expect this assignment to last?" General Black asked, absorbing the information without any opposition.
"It's difficult to say, sir," he replied honestly, answering the question. "At the moment all the UNSC and ONI can do is attempt to anticipate the enemy from a human point of view. There's no guarantee that these aliens think like we do so there's a chance we will continue to be caught by surprise despite our efforts. Until enough intelligence has been gathered to confidently predict their future actions, all we can do is cover as many scenarios as possible and be ready to adapt should the unexpected happen."
"In other words your team's stay could be indefinite." General Black said, summarizing the current situation.
"Yes, sir," he agreed, seeing that as a feasible possibility.
"Based on what I've been told of your skill set, your presence at the Academy will likely be a beneficial one," General Black said with a measured grin. "However I expect to be kept in the loop regarding any new developments involving the Covenant and their potential arrival here at the Academy. The students and faculty here are MY responsibility and I will not have them come to harm because relevant information was kept from me."
"I understand, sir. I assure you that I will pass on as much information as I can," he said, concealing a bit of irritation. "As you are aware, though, there will be some information I will not be able to provide due to your current level of security clearance. If this is not satisfactory I suggest pursuing the matter through official channels."
"I am well aware of what my security clearance level is, 'Lieutenant Donner', and I would not ask you to violate UNSC regulations on the matter," General Black said seriously, sounding a bit offended by the idea that he'd ask for those regulations to be ignored. "Nevertheless I sincerely hope that you are not the sort of person that puts the rules before the lives of innocent people."
"I am not, sir. It is the mandate of my unit to protect the UNSC and all her colonies," he said just as seriously as the General had. "If the rules interfere with the carrying out of that mission then I will do what I must."
"Good to hear. Now your first class will begin in an hour," General Black said, picking up a pad and handing it to him. "Please let me know if there's anything you need."
"Thank you, sir," he said, taking the pad before tucking it under his right arm. "I expect most of what I have to teach can be done in the classroom. However, should my team's stay be projected to last more than a few months, it may become necessary to find a location off campus to carry out mock scenarios in order to apply what they've learned."
"I'll look into the matter and attempt to find some acceptable possibilities," General Black said as he stood up from his chair. "Welcome to Corbulo Academy."
Standing as well, he performing a salute and turned away before leaving the office.
He'd already come up with a loose lesson plan using the Chief's training as a base before adapting it to properly match the cadets attending the Academy.
He had no experience as a teacher.
Nevertheless, he would do his best to pass on what he knew.
Academy Lecture Hall, One Hour Later
Cadet JunJie Chen's POV
"Welcome, cadets, to your introductory course to urban warfare," the ODST behind the podium said loudly enough to be heard even in the back. "I will be your guest lecturer. I am Lieutenant Donner of the ODST."
This shocked him along with everyone else.
While it was not unheard of for advanced classes to receive guest lecturers from the UNSC who were still active, he knew that his class hadn't even reached halfway in their education at the Academy. Also among those who sought a future as a member of the UNSC, the ODST were considered the cream of the crop outside of command level officers. They went on missions that no one else could, against enemies that posed a serious threat to the safety and stability of the UEG as well as the UNSC. He didn't know the details but what he had heard was that there was an intense screening process before you were even allowed to try out for the ODST. Once you were allowed to stand at the starting line, he was certain that it was even harder to prove that you could become one of them.
So to say that they had one as an instructor meant that they were incredibly lucky.
"As the name implies, urban warfare is combat that takes place in towns and cities rather than in the wild or at a fortified location. This makes fighting in such an environment very different on multiple levels," Lieutenant Donner said as he brought up a holographic representation of a city. "The reasons for engaging in urban warfare can range from capitalizing on strategic or tactical advantages through possession or to control areas that are disadvantageous to the enemy.
"But that's a text book definition. Let's take a look at examples from the past and examine them from both the side of the victor as well as those who were defeated." The holographic projection changed and information was sent to their chair info-Pads. "You don't know, after all, which side of the fight you'll wind up on."
From there they were shown various historical battles, ranging from pre-space flight Earth to the various conflicts that'd manifested since the founding of the UNSC. In the beginning he'd been worried that the lieutenant would only be repeating what was written in the library files and nothing more. However, when the teacher began to make good on his intent to explain both sides of the conflicts, it could be said that they finally got to the meat of the class.
He found himself quite interested because, unlike what some might expect, Lieutenant Donner did not show favoritism towards any side in the conflict and bluntly convey the strengths as well as weaknesses of each side. Many of the other instructors at the academy often showed which side they favored personally or chose the side that mirrored the current image of the UNSC and UEG. This soldier, though, was coming as close to providing an unbiased point of view as was possible for a human being.
Glancing a bit around the classroom he could see that the rest of the class, as well as his squad mates, were also showing interest in what Donner had to say. However, just as the man was about to begin another conflict the bell rang, signifying the end of the class and the beginning of the brief period of time they had to get to their next class.
"Okay, that's all the time we have for today," Lieutenant Donner said, shutting down his holographic visual aids. "Now for next class I'd like you to pick one of the conflicts I've talked about and, using what I've told you, come up with a rough strategy that could've changed the outcome. I'm not expecting anything perfect. Just give me your best effort. Dismissed."
With those words everyone, himself included, began to gather their things before leaving the classroom. Like usual they all gravitated towards those they were closest to or enjoyed discussing things with. In his case it was Dimah, since she was the first real friend that he'd made since coming to Corbulo. He wasn't from a military family like the majority of the students here, he didn't have the motivation others did for becoming a soldier, and because of these facts he'd had trouble fitting in with the others. Dimah had helped him get used to how things worked in the Academy as well as passing on the little tricks to help him succeed in places she thought he might have difficulty in. While he wouldn't say that he no longer had any problems at the Academy, he was no longer the outsider he'd once been.
"So what do you think about Lieutenant Donner?" he asked as they walked to their next class.
"His class is certainly more interesting than I'd thought it'd be," Dimah replied, turning to look at him as she walked. "He certainly has an unconventional way of teaching."
"I find it refreshing," Chyler said with an interested smile. "Sometime I feel like the instructors are teaching using censored material. Content approved by the UNSC. This was… honest. Unfiltered."
"You'd better hope that that's not the case or our first class with him could be our last," Michael said from a few steps ahead. "General Black's big on everyone toeing the party line. If he thinks Lieutenant Donner is saying the 'wrong' things, he could get kicked out."
"I didn't say that he's saying anything wrong or dangerous, Sully!" Chyler argued, getting somewhat cross with the misinterpretation. "I'm just saying he's giving us information and letting us come to our own conclusions. Not giving us his own conclusion and expecting us to accept it."
"Chyler's right," he said, putting his support behind his fellow squad member. "Even the assignment is trying to get us to take the facts and make something with them."
It was an odd but good sensation to know that a teacher of the Academy was giving them such freedom but then came the pressure to do well. A sensation he knew all too well from his father, who regularly sent him messages conveying appraisals of his progress at Corbulo. Despite his greatest efforts to please his father, every message he received came with criticism and the bare minimum of praise. In his last message his father provided a measured praise for his academic scores but was sincerely disappointed in his combat scores. Those scores were poor because Lasky was dragging Hastati squad down with his insistence on finding nonlethal methods to win the exercise and his defiance of anyone who did what soldiers were expected to do.
They were expected to kill who their commanding officer ordered them to kill.
Even if they thought they knew a better way.
Most of the squad believed that the Innies were vicious and beyond any hope of being bargained with to end their violence peacefully.
Some even called them selfish.
Tom, the way he talked and acted, made it sound like the UNSC was not only responsible for lighting the match but also perpetuating the fighting unnecessarily.
He… he didn't know what to think.
He'd been raised on Earth his entire life and had never really had a reason to worry about the Insurrectionists. They were just poorly backed, untrained civilians that stood no chance against the might of the UNSC. That was what he'd been told. However, as he'd grown older and their acts of terrorism had claimed hundreds more lives, he'd come to believe that he had an obligation as a human being to oppose this loss of innocent life. Regardless of whether or not their reasons were good, their methods meant that their goals could never be justified.
The death of innocents was never justified.
While he found Lasky's belief's to be honorable, he did not believe them to be realistic.
The Insurrection had been going on since twenty-four-ninety-four, for over thirty years, and during that time there had been considerable death on both sides. Whatever the reasons had been for beginning of the revolt, the desire for vengeance for those precious ones lost in the fighting now held equal weight in the minds of the Insurrectionists. At the same time the soldiers of the UNSC who'd struggled in the beginning merely to restore order now had their own dead to grieve for and anger to propel them to seek justice against those they deemed responsible.
However if justice could not be obtained, he had a feeling revenge would be good enough.
It would take an unparalleled act to cause both sides to set aside their feelings in the interest of the common good.
What that act might be he could not say.