So now we have found The Master Chief. What happens next? Let's find out, shall we?
No one wasted a second after Michaels set the coordinates. One by one, the teams made their way to the cryo chamber, each one more excited than the last to gawk over the Chief's pod. They made the discovery feel like it was just as important as the Prothean ruins on Mars or the invention of Slipspace. In some ways, it probably was.
Eventually, Kyle spotted La Rosa and Tangilanu. What caught his attention the most, however, was the duffel bag slung over Tangilanu's shoulder. The bag floated slightly as they walked, revealing the shape of rifle barrels and other weapons. It seems that they had helped themselves to a little 'shopping' while searching for the Chief.
The two troopers stopped as they saw Kyle, who crossed his arms disapprovingly.
"...what?" Tangilanu asked.
"There's like fifty of those were we found them," La Rosa added. "Tangilanu won't get a better chance to find vintage rifles for the family collection."
Kyle rolled his eyes inside his helmet. Right...grandpa Tangilanu's vintage weapon collection. His family came from a line of gun nuts that collected stuff even as early as the 1900's. Not that they could ever use those guns, but they drew enough of a crowd that there was always a demand for new material. However, he was pretty sure most of their exhibition came from legitimate purchases and donations. Still...it would be hard to trace these weapons.
"...leave it outside," Kyle said conceding.
Tangilnu quickly tied the bag down in another room, just out of sight of anyone else who might object and followed La Rosa to go see the Chief. Kyle figured he would let this moment of looting slip this once. It's not like they couldn't use the 'a bunch of the stock got lost when the ship was sheared in half' excuse.
Right as he thought that, Captain Anderson's group rounded the corner...with a squad of Turian marines in tow!
"Nolan," Anderson greeted as they came to a stop.
"Are you part of the group who found this 'Master Chief?'" One of the Turians asked.
"...sure," Kyle mumbled not making eye contact with the alien. Not that they could tell through his ionized visor.
"...well," the Turian replied. "Let's see if the man measures up to the myth."
The Turians brushed past Nolan until only he and Anderson remained outside. Great…now the Raptors were going to bring down their moment.
"...geez," Kyle said still crossing his arms. "Who invited them?"
"I did," Anderson replied without missing a beat. "They found the ship, so they should be here."
"But-"
"And we're their guests in this little operation, not the other way around. So we'll treat them with respect or 'we' can wait outside. Mull that over for a moment."
Anderson strode past Kyle into the chamber while the lieutenant took a moment to cool down. Anderson had to be doing this on purpose. Why else would he have waited this long to bring the Turians in on the operation? And worst of all, nothing Anderson said was wrong. Why did the man have to be so damn logical and in control? Kyle had to decide what was more important at that moment: being there to move the Chief's pod or keeping away from the Raptors?
It didn't take long for him to decide as he beelined into the chamber. The Captain expected him to play nice? Sure. That didn't mean he had to actually stand next to the Raptors.
He eventually found his squad gathered with the rest of the human soldiers sent to search the ship. Even though there was plenty of room, everyone kept their distance to let Anderson, Michaels and one of the Turians observe the pod uncrowded.
"By the spirits..." The Turian with Anderson exclaimed looking into the pod. "...when you said he was a super-soldier, you sure weren't kidding."
Kyle stopped next to Tangilanu, who was visibly annoyed he couldn't be up there instead of Michaels. To be fair, Michaels was the better technician, but Kyle would never say that out loud. And as long as the Raptors stayed on the other side of the room, he didn't care what else was going on.
"He's not just bigger," Anderson replied to the Turian, "But he's also stronger and faster than the average human."
"And if you believe some stories, luckier," La Rosa chimed in from behind them.
Tangilanu nudged the corporal's side.
"Hey!" La Rosa snapped with a hushed whisper. He then opened a TEAMCOM squad channel to move the conversation to a private setting where the others couldn't hear them. "That's my tender spot."
"You must bruise easy."
"…anyway," the corporal said directing his conversation to Kyle. "Congrats on the discovery."
"Yeah," Tangilanu added. "I'm sure it was a once in a lifetime experience."
"Sure wish we could have been there."
Kyle rolled his eyes. "No one's going to care who found him first, you know," he replied. "Most people can't prove you weren't there first, so roll with it."
"Yeah," Engelbrektsson said. "And if you're extra nice, the lieutenant will say you thought of looking for the chamber first in his report."
"Nuh uh," Beckett interjected. "I called that one."
"Alright, then…La Rosa was the one who actually found the room."
"Why couldn't I find the room?" Tangilanu replied.
Kyle smirked as he turned his attention back to the scene unfolding in front of them. Sometimes it felt like he was a babysitter more than a squad leader, but that was life in the officer corps.
"Alright. Let's see if we can't unhook this pod. It's time this hero came home." Anderson then said getting everyone's attention. "Michaels, think you can do it?"
"Sure." The corporal replied activated his omni-tool. "The ship's systems aren't based on Prothean tech, but they ARE very primitive."
Every second Michaels spent tapping felt like an eternity. Tangilanu groaned into the private channel. "How hard is it to check a cryo pod?"
"It's over a hundred years old, bro," La Rosa replied. "Using an omni-tool on it is like fitting a circle into a square hole.."
"All he'd have to do is-"
"Shh..." Resolme suddenly interrupted. The private had been laser focused on the scene the whole time, so no one expected him to speak up. Everyone seemed to get the hint though, as they turned their attention back again.
Except for Tanglanu, who saw something that apparently couldn't wait. Rather than tell anyone, however, he decided to discreetly slip out from the crowd and head towards a peculiar looking terminal he found.
"Need to find the what?" Anderson then asked Michaels.
"That can't be right…" Michaels said in disbelief while tapping his omni-tool. "...Holy crap…"
That little expression started a flurry of whispers among the crowd through the comms.
"What? Is something wrong?" Anderson asked concerned.
"Uh…I think that depends on what your definition of 'wrong' is, sir," Michaels said lowering his omni-tool, with everyone waiting with bated breath for the follow through.
And then he dropped the bomb.
"He's still alive."
If sound could be heard in the vacuum of space, Kyle would have heard a pin drop. All the humans stood where they were in shock, much to the surprise of the Turians with them.
"What do you mean alive?" Anderson asked.
"According to my omni-tool, all the Chief's vital signs are still good." Michaels said holding up his arm while Anderson checked the readings.
"God..." Resolme said through a private channel, clearly at a loss of words.
Kyle was right there with him. How could the Chief be alive? Cryo technology wasn't meant to preserve someone for over a century and, even if it could, there wouldn't have been enough power on a ship to run a chamber that long. And yet here was Michaels saying that somehow the Chief had defied science to be frozen longer than anyone else. A true Captain America...
The other soldiers quietly conversed with each other over this revelation. The reality of the situation was just starting to settle in. Kyle looked to Beckett, who seemed as lost in thought as everyone else. The question now was what would they do next?
"Guys! Guys!" Tangilanu spoke in a hushed but urgent whisper.
No one responded, which apparently didn't sit well with Tangilanu because he decided to break the chain of command.
"Sir!" Tangilanu said to Captain Anderson, drawing everyone's attention. "I've found something."
"What is it?" Anderson replied expecting another surprise.
"It's a data terminal of some kind."
The soldiers in the crowd parted as the Captain quickly made his way over. Kyle and the soldiers around him took a few steps back to give them room.
"Can you get anything from it?" Anderson asked.
"Maybe..." Tangilanu replied tinkering with the terminal. "...okay, I'm in. Let's see what we got here..."
After one more button press, blue light emitted from the top of the terminal. Tanglanu and Anderson backed up as the light reconfigured into the shape of a holographic woman. It only took a second for Kyle to realize who that woman was and it was about to be yet another bombshell.
"Oh good! Rescue," the woman said cheerfully, only to be greeted by a long silence. "...what?"
Kyle could feel his heart stop for a moment. This day was getting more surreal by the minute. He couldn't even muster an appropriate chuckled as Tangilanu inconspicuously backed away and left the Captain alone with this other century old hero.
"Are you...Cortana?" Anderson inquired.
The woman smiled and stood at attention. "UNSC Artificial Intelligence serial number CTN 0452-9. At your service."
"That's Cortana!" Resolme quietly exclaimed.
"We can hear her," La Rosa replied.
"What's the Council going to think about this?" Engelbrektsson wondered.
Kyle was curious about that too. If this truly was Cortana, the Council was going to have a fit. Part of the treaty signed after First Contact involved the decommissioning of two "potentially dangerous" tools in the human military arsenal: Slipspace and A.I.'s. Slipspace was an understandable, if irrational, concern, but AI's were a tricky situation. It stemmed from that argument about AI's being an 'imitation of life' and therefore untrustworthy in their intentions. A few notable examples of rogue AI's going all sci-if movie on sentient organics didn't help either.
Still, this was Cortana. She was just as important in ensuring humanity's existence the Chief. Surely the Council could make an exception for someone who was clearly an ally to organics.
"Don't sugar-coat it. How long?" Cortana asked Anderson hesitantly.
"To put it bluntly, well over a century," Anderson replied.
"A hundred and thirty-one years, to be exact," Michaels added.
Kyle could have sworn he saw Cortana recoil for a split second at the revelation, but she quickly diverted her attention to the Chief's pod. "Is Chief alright?"
"According to my tech expert, his life signs are stable," Anderson answered.
The AI sighed relieved...and then said what everyone else was thinking.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Wake him up."
Everyone's eyes fell on Anderson as they waited for a response. Turns out, it was a typically political response. "
"Er…well…"
"Weeelllll?" Cortana responded back clearly not amused.
And here Kyle didn't expect a Turian to come in and get Anderson's back, but that's exactly what their leader did. "We came on board this ship looking for the Chief's remains. We thought that after over a century in cryo-sleep, he'd be dead. While it's nice to see he's not…it complicates things a little."
Kyle didn't think it was THAT complicated. Sure, the publicity following the announcement would be intense. And the Chief would have to acclimatize to the modern century. And then they'd have to explain Cortana to the Council. And they'd have to make sure the Chief...
...ok, so maybe it would be a little more complicated than he thought.
Soldiers moved out of Anderson's way as he left the room, saying something about contacting his superior. It looked like Admiral Hackett had the final say on the situation, which was certainly preferable to letting someone from the Earth's government or, God forbid, the Council decide. Still, that meant that all anyone could do was wait.
Well, that and talk to one of the most famous AIs in history.
"So..." Cortana said turning her attention to the Turian leader. "New aliens, huh? Not Covenant, I hope."
"No," the Turian replied. "Not Covenant. We're called Turians. Officially, we're allies of humanity."
"And unofficially?"
"Well…"the Turian stumbled. "There's always some degree of tension in inter-species affairs. Some are more severe than others."
"You don't know the half of it," Cortana replied.
Kyle smiled. She was good in his books so far.
Cortana continued to interrogate and inquire about the Turians until a commotion was heard in the back of the crowd. Kyle turned to see Anderson return and stroll right up to the AI.
"I've just gone over it with my superior, Admiral Hackett," Anderson said. "And he seems to be all for the idea."
Kyle could hear hushed conversations stirring among the crowd as Anderson turned to Michaels. "Wake him up."
"What, you mean right here, right now?" Michaels replied.
"No time like the present," Anderson replied.
"About time," Cortana said happily.
People moved in and out of conversation while Michaels prepared the chamber and Anderson continued talking to Cortana. Kyle knew that any footage from their video feeds would probably be confiscated by the Alliance, but he really wished he could keep his. On top of sharing it with people down the line, he felt like he should make note of this upcoming moment especially.
"Something wrong, Michaels," Anderson asked as the technician paused.
"I just..." Michaels said with a nervous laugh. "We're bringing back the greatest hero in human history. We're MAKING history right now. I…I need a moment to take this in-"
"We haven't got all day," Cortana replied speaking everyone else's thoughts. "Sometime in the NEXT a hundred and thirty-one years would be nice, thank you."
"Right, right. Sorry." Michaels apologized and continued the process. The room was dead silent as they watched the technician hover a hand over his omni-tool. "Okay. I don't have a drumroll, so a countdown will have to do. Cracking open the pod in 3…2…1…."
And then he pressed one last button…
The ride back to the Mt. Everest was the longest in Kyle's life. He removed his helmet and wiped sweat off his brow. He knew it was a nervous sweat, as the shuttle was nowhere near hot enough for that, but he couldn't help it. He, along with Beckett, Tangilanu and Anderson, were sharing a shuttle ride with the Master Chief!
He didn't mean to stare at the Spartan, yet he couldn't force his eyes to move. They were in the presence of the greatest hero of the Human-Covenant War. It defied all logic and science, but somehow the Chief had been preserved for a hundred and thirty-one years with no health consequences. Even Cortana seemed to have survived the degradation from pre-programmed rampancy constraints longer than any A.I. in history. And Kyle was sweating nervous bullets in front of both of them...
Not that the Chief seemed to notice. He had been silent during the first leg of the ride and barely moved from his spot. Kyle could only imagine what thoughts were going through the Chief's head at that moment.
It must have involved him though, because the Chief tilted his head to look at Kyle's armor.
"ODST?" The Chief inquired pointing at the lieutenant's suit.
Kyle saw the ODST corps insignia Chief pointed to and replied with a nod.
"Glad some things stayed the same," Chief said before looking out the window.
Kyle sympathized with the short response. With everything the Chief was about to experience, clinging to something old was probably a good coping mechanism.
Beckett, Tangilanu and Anderson also removed their helmets as they continued their flight back. Kyle looked out the window too to see what caught the Chief's attention. The other drop ships were flying close by as a sort of escort. Not terribly inconspicuous should someone wander in, but they had a lockdown on this system. No one was going to mess with a whole fleet just to screw with one person, even if it was the Chief.
"So..." Cortana's disembodied voice chimed in through their earpieces. "Where are we exactly?"
"The Ismar Frontier," Anderson replied. "A system on the western most edge of the Milky Way."
"Hm...that doesn't match anything on my records."
"We've only charted this region recently. We've expanded our map of the system quite a bit since your disappearance."
"Huh…interesting…"
Kyle could tell that Cortana was doing her best to process everything going on. Unlike the Chief, however, her tone seemed much more opportunistic.
"Cortana?" Beckett then asked.
"That's me," the AI replied.
"Oh, um..." Beckett stammered. "Sorry. I was curious...did you ever expect to be rescued?"
"...yes," the AI replied half-assuredly after a short pause. "I didn't know how or when, but I had a hunch."
"Well, good. I'm guess we, um, we were lucky to find you."
Kyle had never seen Beckett act so awkwardly before, but he kept his mouth shut in case he acted that way too.
"Luck seems to be our thing," Cortana replied. "What's your name, soldier?"
"Oh, um, O.C. Beckett, ma'am," she replied and motioned to the others. "That's my superior Lieutenant Nolan and that's Corporal Tangilanu."
Tangilanu was visibly too star struck to engage in conversation. The Chief continued to look out the window the whole time, as though this conversation barely registered with him.
"All excellent soldiers," Anderson then jumped in. "The ODST still breeds the best fighters in the galaxy. Except for the Spartans of course."
"Hm..." The Chief replied not averting his thousand light year stare from the window.
And that was the last thing said for the remainder of the trip.
As they approached the Mt. Everest, the drop ship formation broke apart to return soldiers to their assigned vessels. Kyle figured he would have a lot to fill Ralston in on when they got back. Without video feeds at their disposal, he would have to recall a lot from his memory.
The Kodak landed in the Mt. Everest's hangar and the door slid open. Anderson stood up and led the Chief out, with everyone else following close behind. Time seemed to stand still as everyone in the hangar stopped what they were doing to watch the Chief. Kyle sensed that this level of attention wouldn't go away for a while.
"I'll take the Chief to the admiral," Anderson said to Kyle while everyone else rejoined the squad. "Let Ralston know we're leaving immediately."
"What now?" Kyle asked surprised.
"We said we were bringing the Chief home. That means all of us. Hackett's mobilizing the Fleet."
Well...it looked like the Chief brought Christmas early!
"Oh….uh, yes sir," Kyle responded.
Anderson turned to leave...then added one more thing.
"Oh, and I think it would be good for all of you to stick around on the Everest. The Admiral wants to speak with all the marines and troopers involved in finding the Chief."
Kyle nodded and Anderson walked over to where the Chief waited. It was then that Kyle felt an urge to say something. He didn't really have anything to say, but he felt that his window may close forever if he didn't say something right now.
"...Chief," he said to the Spartan, drawing both his and the Captain's attention. "...thank you for everything you did. Both of you."
A slight pause lingered before the Chief replied with a short nod.
"Appreciated, lieutenant," Cortana replied as the Chief and Anderson left.
It took a moment for Kyle's heartbeat to stop racing. He didn't realize how stressful that was. So much so that he wished he had thought of something more profound. He was going to say it wasn't like the Chief was someone special, but that wasn't true.
He then noticed that a lot of people saw that moment too, but they didn't seem to react much as they resumed their duties. Great…he had one of THOSE moments. He sighed relieved as he saw the rest of the squad approaching, quickly walking away from that awkward scenario.
"'Thanks for everything you did?'" La Rosa said with a chuckle. "That was the best you had?"
"...shut up," Kyle replied.
"Hm...ah well," La Rosa said shrugging. "Can't win them all."
"Yeah, 'bout that..." Beckett said noting the bag full of old guns over Tangilanu's shoulder.
"Pretty impressive, huh?" La Rosa smirked. "Tangilanu's head was spinning looking at that old crap."
"Crap?" Tangilanu replied unzipping the bag to reveal a gun on top of the pile. "That's a mint condition MA5B. They stopped fabricating this model years ago. 'Crap' in this condition is priceless."
"Yeah, I'm sure you'll make a mint selling those," Engelbrektsson said.
"Sell? Hell no! These babies are going straight to Nuku'alofa."
"You're going to ship antique weaponry across the galaxy to your island hometown?"
"No! You think I'm going to let some Kig'Yar at Citadel Postal lay a tuhu on these? And the postage cost? I got to find someone who can deliver it discreetly."
"That person might be you," Kyle said rejoining the conversation. "The Fleet's being sent back to Earth."
If finding the Chief hadn't lifted everyone's spirits already, that little info bomb did the trick.
"For real?" Beckett said surprised.
"For real. Hackett's orders. We have to make sure the Chief gets home in one piece. What better way to travel that than with a fleet escort?"
"Woo!" Tangilanu exclaimed. "I can't wait to tell kui tangata and the family about-"
"No," Kyle said interrupting. The squad was surprised by his interjection, which prompted him to clarify. "We can tell people we're coming, but I'm certain the Admiral doesn't want the Chief's existence getting out yet."
"Why would-?" La Rosa began to ask.
"Let him talk," Beckett interjected, seemingly getting Kyle's line of thinking.
"The Chief just woke up from the longest nap in history," Kyle continued. "You saw how we all gawked at him here. He's barely acclimatized to us. What do you think will happen when the press gets wind of this?"
A couple of the squad nodded in understanding.
"We'll follow the brass's lead on this one. After that, tell anyone you want."
The squad was quiet for a moment, but everyone seemed to concede.
"As long as the Spooks at ONI don't get involved," Beckett said. "Then yeah, we can keep a secret."
"Good," Kyle said before putting his hands on his hips. "Still...I wish we had that footage from the ship."
"...show him, greenhorn," Engelbrektsson said nodding to Resolme.
Kyle raised an eyebrow while Resolme took off his helmet and revealed the spot under his visor where a tiny camera was concealed.
"No one said we couldn't record it," Resolme said.
"No way!" Beckett replied eagerly.
"Private..." Kyle said somberly, causing everyone to turn his way. "Is that camera linked to any of the ship ISP's or wifi?"
"No sir," Resolme replied. "It's a closed circuit."
"...good," Kyle said suddenly smiling. "Copy that footage to a hard drive now."
The group crowded around Resolme as he prepped the footage to be rendered and copied. At least they would have something to watch on their way to Earth…
The next few days were...interesting. There was a lot of energy among everyone in the fleet. The only things people could talk about were the Chief, Cortana, the Human-Covenant War, going to Earth and anything else related to those topics.
Kyle had no problem with that. It wasn't often that you got to make history, so a little retrospective and nostalgic chit chat was tolerable.
Of course, the hardest thing for people to do on the Mt. Everest was to not talk about these things to or not stare at the Chief while he walked down the halls. Kyle was surprised at how mobile and physically interactive the Chief was with the ship despite the potential culture shock he was going through. 'Potential' was the operative word because based on what Kyle had heard from other marines, the Chief was adjusting to the ship pretty comfortably. Not that the Chief ever told anyone about this, as he rarely said more than a few words to anyone at a time, but no one minded that. They were just honored to be in his presence.
That said, Kyle did his best to stay out the Chief's way. He already looked like a fool when they first met, so he didn't need an excuse to do so again. Not that he would have to keep doing so for much longer. The fleet wasted no time once they set the coordinates for home. They should be back within a day or two.
Everything else about the trip had been relatively painless. Hackett and Anderson had a chat with all the search parties about the implications of the Chief's revival and how to handle it once they got home. They also pulled aside Kyle and the soldiers who found the pod to clarify a few details for the record. Not that there was much to add that their helmet cams didn't pick up, but it was strictly political stuff. It was probably the most exciting thing they would do while they were on the Mt. Everest.
Kyle was set on making the most of their time regardless. Since they weren't scheduled on the ship's regular duties, Kyle planned some squad centric training once they finished morning exercises. Ralston always said that idle hands made for dead soldiers.
"Ok, just like I said," Kyle said pacing past Resolme at the firing range. "Deep breath, eyes on the target, and don't jump."
Kyle lifted two fingers to the ship's firing instructor before surveying the area. Tangilanu was tinkering with some modifications for his Firestorm shotgun at the nearby workbench. Beckett was doing a few extra push-ups and cardio exercises. Engelbrektsson was testing out her L3 implant biotics by levitating some loose objects in a showy fashion. And La Rosa decided to sharpen his sniper skills further down the range. They still had a few more minutes of free time before Kyle started the group practice, so that was enough for Kyle to improve the greenhorn's aim.
"...go," Kyle said.
The instructor raised two holographic dummies and, without missing a beat, Resolme unfolded his holstered pistol and fired. The first target he hit square in the chest, while the second he struck right through the nose. Two killing shots!
"Impressive," Kyle said with a slow clap. "You're becoming a regular Clint Eastwood."
"Who?" Resolme asked.
"Cowboy actor from the 20th century. I'll send you a link," Kyle said remembering that not everyone had a movie centric brother-in-law who could fill in those details. "Let's see how you fare against a moving target..."
"Nolan," Captain Anderson said over Kyle's earpiece.
"...hold that thought," Kyle said to Resolme before answering the call. "Nolan here."
"The Chief wants to use the firing range. Think you can clear a spot?"
"Oh, uh, sure. Nolan out," Kyle replied. It looked like their group practice was going to get a lot more interesting.
"Are we ready?" The firing instructor asked.
"Change of plans," Kyle said directing his attention to the rest of the squad. "VIP's coming, so let's give him some space."
No one objected as they made their way to the farther half of the room. Not that the Chief needed a ton of space, but Hackett made a point about letting him have plenty of room to acclimatize on his own terms.
A minute later, Anderson and the Chief entered the room. Everybody immediately stopped what they were doing and saluted.
"At ease," Anderson replied as he led the Chief to the firing instructor.
The firing instructor was clearly way too excited to talk to the Chief by the way he shook hands for a little too long. Not that anyone blamed him. Then again, Kyle did expect more of an entourage accompanying the Chief. He figured Anderson's aura was repelling any unwanted fanboys away.
Kyle cricked his neck and figured how to use their free time now. He knew Anderson wouldn't appreciate him yelling out drill orders for their group exercises. So he decided to use that time to talk to Beckett. Never a bad choice in his opinion.
"Looks like we get to see the legend in action," Kyle said approaching Beckett, who resumed her warm-up exercises.
"Don't ogle too hard," Beckett said doing some squats. "You're going to make me jealous."
"Baby, you know it," Kyle teased while stretching his limbs.
La Rosa moved over to Tangilanu's workbench to ask a question about his sniper rifle. Meanwhile. Resolme decided to help Engelbrektsson with her training while the two of them continued to watch the Chief get a crash course on modern weaponry.
"...think he's coping?" Beckett asked Kyle.
"Could you?" Kyle replied.
"Losing my only connection to my old time period? ...no, I don't think so."
Kyle nodded. Hackett broke the news the other day that Cortana had been decommissioned due to rampancy. She seemed coherent when they talked to her on the Kodak, but it was possible that there was a delayed effect of being reactivated after that long. Not that Kyle understood the science of rampancy, but a hundred and thirty-one years was long for anyone. At least she still existed in the squad's secret video feed.
He returned to the scene unfolding as he watched the instructor teach the Chief the basics of modern weaponry. It wasn't like the Chief had to be taught how to fire a gun, but at least he seemed to be chill with the lesson. Or as chill as Kyle could assume he was with how little body language he communicated.
"You ever watch those old vids about the Spartans?" Kyle asked as Beckett finished her squats.
"You'll need to be more specific," she replied stretching her limbs.
"Those documentaries that came out shortly after the war."
"Oh yeah. I used to watch them all the time before I joined the ranks. I mean, who wouldn't want to be 'Spartan tough' after watching those?"
"'Spartan tough or not enough,'" Kyle replied quoting the phrase coined by the documentary.
"Unless you're a trooper. So clearly you've seen them."
"Yeah, but I grew up listening to my grandfather's stories more. The stuff he said made those vids seem tame."
"Kyle!" Anderson then called to him from across the hall. "Come over here. "
Kyle's eyebrows shot up. He turned to Beckett, who seemed just as surprised but also impressed.
"Well, don't just stand there," she replied waving him along. She finished her exercises and gathered the squad together for their routine while Kyle strolled over. What could be important enough to call him over?
"Sir?" He asked as he arrived.
"We need someone with a hard suit," Anderson replied motioning hm to turn. "Show the Chief your weapons slots."
Oh...so they wanted a modeling dummy? Well, he was here now. He turned around and stood in place to await further instruction.
"Now," the firing instructor said continuing wherever he left off. "Standard marine hard suits come with five weapon slots. Two on the shoulders for snipers and assault rifles, a shotgun slot on the lower back and two side arms at the hips. We usually recommend a few weapons for ease of travel and to reduce weight, but there's occasionally the brave fools who deck themselves completely."
Kyle rolled his eyes. 'Fools' was a strong word. Not completely incorrect, but still...
"As you've guessed, the collapsible tech used in our guns allows for the added weapon capacity. Lieutenant, can you demonstrate with that assault rifle?"
Kyle reached over to an Avenger on a nearby table and attached it onto his right back slot. He waited for the hiss and whirring of the gun's locking mechanic to finish before grabbing the handle and allowing the gun to unfold in his hands as he turned to point it down range. He still had to follow the range rules after all.
"Seems efficient," the Chief replied.
"It is," Anderson replied. "Kyle and I were around before collapsible weapons came into circulation, so we know what it's like to lug our weapons two at a time."
"And it's a nice reminder of how old we are," Kyle joked, but no one laughed. He put the weapon down and murmured quietly to himself.
"Modern weapons don't use conventional ammunition either," the instructor continued. "Some time after we discovered element zero, Alliance engineers found a way to integrate its particle acceleration power with military hardware. Thus..."
The instructor picked up a Predator pistol from the table and pointed to various parts of the gun.
"...'mass accelerators' were created. Each weapon has a block of metal inside. The accelerator shaves a piece the size of a sand grain off and fires it at a rate significantly more lethal than gunpowder. Once they had been ODST field tested..."
The instructor nodded to Kyle, who nodded back. He remembered that test very well.
"...it became the standard for our armaments."
"There has to be a catch," the Chief inquired.
"There always is. Lieutenant."
The instructor tossed the pistol to Kyle, who twirled it once and showed the heat sink to the Chief.
"The downside is that all that mass accelerating makes the guns damn hot," he said. "Shoot too long and you may as well be firing blanks. You need to keep an eye on the heat gage or it'll stop shooting and yell at you. If that does happen, give it about...oh, three or four seconds to cool down."
"So, you'd emphasize controlled bursts over rapid firing?" The Chief asked.
"Hell yeah," Kyle said tossing the pistol back to the instructor, who fumbled it for a moment before catching. "I mean, there's nothing more gratifying than hosing down someone with bullets, but I usually go for single or burst fire."
"Care to demonstrate for the Chief, lieutenant?" Anderson asked.
Kyle nodded and stepped up to the firing line. "Any preference?"
"Let's start small."
Kyle nodded and unfolded his pistol, twirling it quickly with his finger to get in the right headspace.
"Kyle's one of our best pistol sharpshooters," Anderson said to the Chief. "And clearly a bit of a showboat about it.
"What can I say?" Kyle said folding the pistol back at his hip and squaring his stance as he waited. "You've got love what you're good at."
The instructor then raised two dummies down range. "Alright, feel free to-"
Before the man could finish, Kyle unfolded and fired with his arm outstretched. Red lights flashed between each dummy's eyes with each successful hit. He twirled the pistol and folded it back into its slot.
"Well..." the instructor said impressed. "I guess that's why ODST are the best of the best. Chief, it's your turn."
Kyle stepped back to give the Chief room. He glanced over to see his squad pausing what they were doing to watch. He shrugged to them and brought his attention back as the Chief picked up the Predator.
"Now the effects of prolonged cryogenic sleep may still be in place," the instructor sad. "Take your-"
The Chief also wasted no time and fired his pistol, hitting both dummies between the eyes in the same spot as Kyle. Ok…so the Chief was a fast learner.
"A gun's a gun," the Chief replied.
"...alright," the instructor said seemingly as impressed as everyone else. "Want to try something more?"
"I don't think we need-" Anderson started.
"No no," Kyle interrupted. "Let's try four."
"How about five?" The Chief asked.
Kyle raised his eyebrows, but quickly nodded. "Sure. Follow my lead."
Kyle caught a glimpse of Anderson's disapproving stare. This wasn't about him though. Chief's first shots in a century and he had precision accuracy? Even for a Spartan, that had to be beginner's luck. Now it was time to really test the Spartan. He squared his stance and watched five dummies raise up down range.
The lieutenant smirked and decided to up the ante. He unfolded his pistol, but this time he fired from the hip. He hit each dummy square between the eyes in rapid succession, barely breaking a sweat. Anyone could hit two targets, but five from the hip? That's something only pros like Kyle could do.
"Chief," the instructor said curious how the Spartan would perform.
Kyle twirled his pistol before holstering it, stepped back and crossed his arms as the Chief approached the firing line...
...and holstered his pistol. Wait, was the Chief going to fire from the hip too? Kyle did say follow his lead, but there was no way-
The Chief then pulled out his pistol and fired all five of the dummies one after the other between the eyes...all from the hip and at the same speed as Kyle!
Kyle's arms dropped to his sides as he stared in surprise. Why should he be surprised? The Chief as one of humanity's greatest soldiers. Still...no learning curve? Hadn't being frozen for a century affected the Chief at all? It took Kyle years to get to that level of accuracy and now he was being shown up at his own game. And his squad was watching him get matched!
He looked down range and mulled over a thought. The gears in his head were turning and he remembered one last trick he could pull.
"That should be good for now." Anderson said. "We should-"
"Wait!" Kyle then said. The others watched curiously as he walked over to them. "Clearly, this is too easy for the Chief. We should try something that's more up to his skill. Let's do...seven MOVING targets."
"Kyle," he heard Beckett say over his earpiece. "What are you doing?"
"Up for it?" Kyle asked the Chief, ignoring Beckett.
The Chief looked down range for a second and then back to Kyle. "Sure...but we do it at the same time."
Kyle raised an eyebrow again. It looked like the Chief was more than up for the challenge. Little did the Chief know that this was one of the lieutenant's best skill challenges. No one has beaten his time in ten years and he wasn't going to lose it now. The Chief may be the greatest soldier who lived, but he was in a city with a different master.
"...alright," Kyle said narrowing his gaze. "You're on."
Anderson did his best to suppress an audible groan while the two soldiers approached the firing line. Kyle was fine with this, because was going to show the Chief how things were done. He had no idea why he was driven. It wasn't pride because he knew the Chief was a superior soldier, but it wasn't respect because he knew a regular soldier could take down a Spartan if he was clever enough. Whatever the reason, he was going to make a point one way or another.
"Ok..." the instructor said prepping the console. "Seven moving targets apiece."
Kyle glanced over to the Chief, who looked back at him. Or at least...Kyle thought he did. It was hard to tell through that visor. He wouldn't be phased though. There wouldn't be any trick shots this time. The two of them continued holding their glances as they unfolded their pistols.
"Fire when ready," the instructor said and fourteen dummies popped up moving in simulated patterns.
Chief and Kyle lifted their pistols and began firing. Time seemed to slow as Kyle kept track of each headshot.
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE...
"Very good, Chief!" The instructor said.
…..that didn't sound like a six.
Kyle lowered his pistol and saw all seven of the Chief's targets with flashing red spots between the eyes. The lieutenant's remaining two targets disappeared alongside the others and his shoulders slumped. He lost...
Only seconds passed, but time still seemed to move at a crawl as Kyle figured how to react. He made himself look like an ass to Anderson, the Chief and everyone in his squad. That wasn't something he could just shrug off. He calmly holstered his pistol and faced the Chief, not looking directly at his eyes...or visor.
"...g-good shooting," Kyle said faintly trying to recompose himself.
"You too," Chief said before moving over to Anderson and the instructor.
Kyle could feel Anderson's stare on his back, but he couldn't feel much else at that moment. He shouldn't have expected to have beaten the Chief, but it still stung being defeated. All those years of practice in a skill he prided himself as the best in and he lost to a man who hadn't fired a gun in over a hundred years. And he couldn't ask for a rematch...
"...finish up the routines," he then mumbled to Beckett over his earpiece. "Then...do something."
With that, Kyle left the room. Now he knew what it meant to feel like a dog with its tail between its legs. The scene continued to replay itself in his head, becoming another in a cavalcade of bad memories. Getting his butt kicked by a living legend though? That was a first...
Seven shots. Seven hits.
Red lights flashed between the eyes of seven dummies. Kyle pressed the timer on his omni-tool and checked his time. It was good, but it could be faster. The Chef did it faster.
It was late, or at least late according to the Mt. Everest's clock. Most everyone else was working or sleeping to prepare for their shift. Not him though. He was going to stay up all night if he has to until he could match the Chief's time.
He twirled his Razor and holstered it as he reset the course. Seven dummies. Just like the Chief. Just like the seven Raptors on that hill...
Seven shots. Seven hits.
He checked his timer again. He was...slower! How could he be slower. He had only been at it for an hour and felt great. He had to be faster. Faster than the Chief. Faster than Jaskolski...
Seven shots...and six hits!
Shit! How could he miss a stationary target? The goddamn thing wasn't going anywhere. He never missed when he...
He switched to his synthetic hand and tried again.
Seven shots. Seven hits.
That time was faster than all the previous times combined...but still slower than the Chief. That didn't help at all! He didn't want that hand to be faster! He used his real hand on purpose to prove he didn't need a prosthesis. It was cheating. Just like the Chief did with all his circuitry and augmentations in his body. No one could ever beat someone so much more-
And then Kyle's hand started hurting again. He knew that pain. It was the pain that he had felt for decades. And it was flaring up like his hand was on fire!
"Mother puss bucket!" Kyle shouted detaching the hand and throwing it towards the entrance...
...only to see Beckett catch the hand a short distance from him. He didn't even hear her come in, but there she was with his hand in hers.
"These things aren't cheap, you know," she said crossing her arms. She didn't seem angry or upset. Just worried. Ok, maybe a little upset.
He ignored her and returned to the console...only to realize it would take longer to type in the reset one handed. He exhaled and began the command.
"So...you're just going to ignore me?" Beckett asked.
"Yup," he replied resetting his omni-tool one handed and pulling out his pistol.
Seven shots...six hits.
"Shit," Kyle grumbled pausing his timer.
"Nothing getting under your skin at the moment?"
"Nope," Kyle replied raising his pistol to shoot again...
...only for his pistol to jam. He turned and saw Beckett with her hand outstretched and her omni-tool activated.
"...please don't sabotage my gun," Kyle said containing his annoyance.
"Stop shooting and talk to me."
Kyle exhaled loudly through his nostrils and looked to Beckett. The two them stood there quietly for a minute before Beckett broke the silence.
"So...you really thought you were going to beat the Chief, huh?"
Kyle said nothing.
"I get it. The conquering hero, lost in time and frozen for a century being shown the ropes by a more experienced soldier. Then the Chef offers his undying thanks and decides that you are an integral part of his team just like the Spartans of old. You'll fight side by side, you'll offer sage advice and take down anything that crosses your path. It's a nice thought...until the fantasy remained a fantasy."
Kyle crossed his arms. He waited for the other shoe to drop and for things to get ugly.
"So, now that you made yourself look like an ass, was it worth it?"
"...I haven't lost in years..." Kyle mumbled.
"Sorry?"
"...no one has beaten me in that challenge in over fifteen years," he replied more clearly. "And he kicked my ass without even trying."
"...and?"
"And?"
"Yeah," Beckett said. "Were you surprised that the super powered juggernaut turned out the be better than all of us?"
"It's not that."
"Then what is it?"
"It's...if I'm not the best of the best, what am I?"
"...the second best of the best?" Beckett replied, which Kyle scoffed at. "What? Don't knock it. The Chief literally beat you by less than a second. Do you think anyone else can match that?"
Kyle rolled his eyes. Why did she have to be so reasonable?
"And you did that without augmentations. You know that only an ODST professional can do that."
"Yeah, yeah," Kyle said.
"So, have some dignity in defeat. Let the Chief be the hero of his own story. You can go on and be the best NORMAL pistol sharpshooter in the branch."
"...are you satisfied being 'normal?'"
"Sure," she said. "Relatively speaking. Nothing about the ODST is normal, but we weren't supposed to be like everyone else. Also..."
Beckett held up Kyle's prosthetic to him.
"...you should know better than anyone about limitations. Don't let them get you down."
Kyle sighed and took his hand back from her. Limitations...sure, that's a word to describe that. There wasn't much point continuing this argument though. She would be seen as being in the right by anyone else and he was tired and cranky. Probably best to quit while the conversation was ending on a high note.
"Yeah..." He replied while reattaching his hand. "I guess so."
"You're still one of the best soldiers I know," Beckett replied. "You know that, right?"
"Thanks. You too."
"Please. I wouldn't have made it to four against the Chief."
"Hm...maybe five."
Beckett scoffed. "Alright, I'm too tired to talk about shooting anymore. Let's get some rest."
The two of them started to make their way to the exit...until Kyle had a thought and turned back towards the shooting range.
"Maybe if I did a time trial against you-"
"Nuh uh, nope," Beckett said wrapping an arm around one of his and dragging him back. "Sleep first, shoot later."
Codex Entry (Alliance): The Battle of the Ark
During the Covenant's invasion of Earth, a Forerunner Dreadnaught led by the Prophet of Truth crash-landed in the African region of Tsavo. The ship, accompanied by a Covenant armada, excavated a Forerunner artifact hidden underground for centuries. Truth activated the artifact before UNSC forces could intervene, opening a hidden Slipspace portal. As his fleet entered it, a CCS-Class Covenant battle cruiser arrived bearing the parasitic life form known as The Flood. Only the timely arrival of the Sangheili Separatist kept the Flood at bay, but at the cost of glassing the whole of Tsavo.
It was then learned that the Covenant were searching for a super-weapon called the Ark, believed to have enough power to finish Truth's quest for human extermination. A UNSC Task Force and the Sangheili Separatist Fleet of Retribution launched a counter-attack through the portal to ensure this wouldn't happen. In the ensuing conflict, Truth's fleet was destroyed and the Prophet was slain by the Sangheili Arbiter.
The battle was not without casualties. Many marines were killed fighting Truth's ground forces, including the Task Force's Commander Miranda Keyes. The Sanghelli Separatists also lost numerous soldiers and cruisers defeating Truth's fleet. As the remaining forces evacuated the Ark, the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn remained behind with Spartan 117 'Master Chief,' the Halsey A.I. Cortana, the Sangheili Arbiter and Sergeant Avery Johnson to destroy the weapon. Though they were successful, Sergeant Johnson was killed in action and the portal collapsed before the Chief or Cortana could escape. Only the Arbiter returned to relay the story.
Many details of the Ark's nature, how the Flood came to Earth and specifics for the Battle of the Ark remain unknown or classified by the Office of Naval Intelligence.
There you have it. This part of the story is now done. I hope to have the next section out a lot sooner, so stay tuned. In the meantime though, leave your comments, check out my Walking Dead fanfiction, check out DinoJake's original story or do whatever you please! Thank you so much for all of your support!