I have decided to take opportunity in this wifi so I will upload the third chapter of this story and my Lives After The End.
Just so everyone knows, action scenes are a butt to write! I have several Spartans introduced-all of which are my OCs-but they will not be in later chapters. They may show up when needed, but I think I will have one or two more chapters with these Spartans before they may not show up again.
Kudos to my reviewers!
I do not own Halo. Many OCs in this chapter.
Read and Review!
CHAPTER THREE
0600 Hours, November 25, 2557 (Military Calender) /
Double Helix Star System, Planet Symphony, On-Route to the Simulation Room Alpha-006
The Master Chief had the Fall Out suit on and like the many routinely tests administered, he had passed with high results. Nothing was faulty or out of place and the systems ran smoothly. Maria performed internal scans and program runs to assure herself and the Master Chief that everything was in working order. Master Chief noted she was shy, unlike Cortana who immediately began a conversation. He cleared his throat, breaking their silence.
"Master Chief?" she asked, a small hint of concern in her voice.
His external speakers were offline as he replied, "Maria. I hope you understand this is not an easy task for me, having another AI assist me."
"Of course, Master Chief. Dr. Halsey gave me the basics of your history with Cortana, but I only know so much about my sister AI." Maria said, "I assume she is no longer with you, otherwise you would not need my assistance."
John grunted, "She sacrificed herself to assure that I came out alive."
Maria paused, her voice quiet when she spoke again, "I am sorry to hear..."
"What is done is done." the SPARTAN said rougher than intended. However, he corrected himself, "This happened recently, Maria. Please pardon me if I am brute towards you; I am trying to cope."
"Not a problem, Master Chief." said Maria.
"And please, call me John, or Chief."
The AI paused, "John."
General Nakai's voice came online from the intercom, capturing the Master Chief's attention, "May the SPARTANs assigned to simulation room Alpha dash oh, oh, six, please proceed to the starting platform where you will be tested for maneuverability within your Fall Out suits."
Without another word, the Master Chief followed the other SPARTANs assigned to the simulation room. Maria had minimized the motion tracker sensors to a radius of two meters from their standard 25 meters due to their close proximity to the other SPARTANs. In time she would increase the radius. Within the current radius, FOF tags appeared on the Master Chief's HUD and the name of their branch next to them.
John noticed not all the suits were the same; some had armor modifications, such as the gungnir helmet, the enforcer helmet, tactical wrist-wear, etc. John noticed several with scout armor, EOD armor, and EVA armor with their respective helmets. John was one of the few who had no modifications on their suits-he had a standard Mark Fall Out.
"There will be a total of sixteen Spartans in this simulation including you, Chief." notified Maria. "They are equally distributed: four Spartans from each military branch."
John noted than none of them were officers, just enlisted staff. It was quite typical to see Spartans with enlisted ranks and the man had yet to see a high-ranking officer who was a Spartan in the field. He knew that the Noble Team were officers, but they had to be the only Spartans he knew of with that kind of rank.
"What kind of tasks do the different military branched Spartans perform?" asked John, external speakers offline.
Maria took a swift second to reply, "Every Spartan-regardless of their branch-has combined skills and tactics. Those associated with the Air Force and Navy are more designed to be fit in the air and sea, respectively; those in the Marine Corps and the Army are more revolved around the brute forces, the backbone. However, these Spartans are made to recognize what methods should be used in what situations."
"In other words, they are at the top of their game."
"Yes, just as all Spartans are made to be."
John took in this information as he soon met with the assigned Spartans designated to Simulation Room Alpha-006. He noticed the different variants in some of their armor: five standard Fall Out suits-including himself-, three Reconnaissance, one Scout, two Enforcers, three Operators, and two Aviators. Telling from the suits, there were six females and ten males, including John.
"Master Chief." one Spartan addressed. He was clearly male and one of the other standards; his armor sported a midnight purple main coloring with secondary frost white details. According to his FOF tag, he was part of the Army with the rank of Master Sergeant. John gave him an acknowledging nod and accepted the armored hand of the other Spartan without hesitation, "I have heard a great amount of deeds about you. Quite the experience to have been through."
"Indeed it is, Master Sergeant." there was a small pain of emotion that came from his chest, but he swiftly brushed that aside. "Unforgettable experiences, if I may add."
By this point, the other Spartans gained interest in such a legendary man, exchanging their names and ranks. Their introductions were swift as the simulation room began to buzz and the lights dimmed a significant amount.
On the intercom, General Nakai's words flowed out, "Simulation Room Alpha-006 is now active. The objective for this simulation is to eliminate Covenant forces and hostiles. Remember, Spartans, grow accustomed to your suits and trust your Artificial Intelligences."
"Master Chief." the voice of the Marine Gunnery Sergeant came into his internal speakers causing John to startle slightly.
"Yes, Gunnery Sergeant?" addressed the Master Chief, his helmet turning in the direction of the Enforcer clad Spartan.
John also noticed that the entire group of Spartans were facing him as the simulation room continued to buzz, foliage taking form and light coming from the artificial sky. The Gunnery Sergeant spoke again, "Would you like to do the honors of commanding us, Master Chief?"
The offer was expected, but it still surprised the Master Chief. Yet, he did not hesitate; it was not the first time he commanded his own team.
"Of course." John nodded.
In seconds, the entire simulation room had turned into a thick forest. The canopy covered the majority of the skies, small creaks of light seeping down to touch the moist ground. Tall trees circled around the cluster of Spartans and wildlife began to call simultaneously around them. John grabbed the standard Assault Rifle from the latches on his back and the other Spartans followed his example. His comrades were waiting for his command and the Master Chief knew this.
Maria voiced through the internal speakers in his helmet and in his mind, "I've expanded your motion sensors back to twenty-five meters and I have conducted a scan of the area. So far no Covenant activity has been spotted and I have an idea of what this map looks like. It would be preferable if we found a high ground to grasp a vantage point of where we are and checkpoint areas for recognition."
John made a small grunt of acknowledgement before facing the gathered Spartans. He called towards the Scout, "PO2."
The Scout straightened at the abbreviation of her rank, "Yes, Master Chief?"
"Climb up the trees and see where we are. The canopy should be enough cover to shield you from any possible aerial forces." commanded the Chief.
The helmet of the Scout nodded, tucking her pistol back onto her thigh holster and she jumped for the nearest limb of the tree, expertly climbing like a monkey. She swung upwards until she reached the high canopies.
The Petty Officer's voice came from the internal speakers, "We're on a mountain side, but not too far up in elevation. The peak of the mountain is to our west and there is a clearing down to the east of our direction. Everything is covered in trees as far as the eye can see aside from that clearing. I can visibly see a cruiser in the sky, give or take four kilometers from here. It's settling a little ways away from the clearing, but it doesn't seem like they are settling directly above it."
"Is there anything else that would be significant?" asked the Master Chief, his helmet tilted upwards in the direction of the female so high up into the trees.
"The cruiser is beginning to drop several phantoms loaded with Covenant. According to my bifocals, they're full with Grunts-I see six Elites, all minors. Then there is a separate phantom carrying approximately fifteen Jackals." added the Petty Officer. "I also see a gravity lift being formed so there should be ground forces coming in soon."
John took note of this, "How many phantoms?"
The Scout replied, "Three."
"Good work, Spartan. Come back down." said the Master Chief. Seconds passed and the female Scout was down on the ground. He addressed the entire team, "With the establishment of the gravity lift, then without a doubt we should expect Hunters being deployed. Our objective is to eliminate all Covenant forces so we should destroy all ground forces before lifting into the cruiser. Recon Spartans, I want you to take point and fill us in on what is ahead of us." the Reconnaissance Spartans gave a nod in acknowledgement, their lights flicking on within John's helmet. "Operators, I want you bringing in our rear. Aviators, upon sight of possible Banshees, take to the trees and hijack for aerial support."
Acknowledge lights flickered on and the Master Chief nodded in satisfaction.
"Sir," a female Enforcer voiced and the Master Chief lifted his head in an indication to continue, "I feel that it is necessary to add, these simulations are so real that should any one of us fall in defeat-though I do not assume will be the case-we will stay down until we all fall or the objective is completed."
John gave a nod in understanding, "Now, are we all in understanding of what is to be done. Silence all weapons until there has been return fire from the Covenant."
Once again, green lights flickered within his helmet.
The Master Chief gave the hand sign to move out and the Spartans immediately allowed the Recon Spartans ahead. The three Recon Spartans made a light jog, spanning out into a 'V' as the others filled in between with the Operators herding them.
They moved silently despite the weight of their armor. The ground was surprisingly not littered with twigs and leaves. The grass waved with the small, yet fluent breeze, swaying from side to side only to be trampled by the footfalls of the titans. John saw the three taking point become smaller the further down the mountain side they went, but the pause in their jog was evident when he received a comm from one of the females, "Master Chief, there is a drop, approximately sixty meters down."
"Is there an alternative route to get to the bottom?" asked the team leader through the comm link.
"Unless from going around a kilometer or two, no, sir." she replied.
Maria's voice piped up from the internal speakers and John's mind, "I suggest using the jetpack attachment on your suit. I can adjust the trajectory and the amount of thrust put into the exhausts of the jetpack so that it would be enough to ensure a steady negative slope down the drop-off."
John made a noise of agreement and he voiced to his team, "Listen up. We're jetpacking down the drop-off ahead. Have the AIs steady the thrust so that we have a soft fall and not skyrocket upwards."
Acknowledge lights winked on.
The Master Chief saw the three ahead jump and the unmistakable sound of their jetpacks came into his audio range. He and the other Spartans followed suit. Maria had no problem adjusting the amount of power going through his jetpack to bring the Master Chief in a steady decline until they touched down on the earth beneath them.
Once again, they were jogging until the Recon Spartans stopped a kilometer later and cowered within the brush. John's internal speakers came to life with the same Recon female's voice, "We see two of the five Elite squads coming in with their Grunts. Ten Grunts are counted in total, two Elites. By the looks of it, they're scouting for hostiles."
"Remain hidden until we are spotted. No live fire until they shoot." ordered John.
Another voice spoke up, one of the standard males, "Sir, allow me to go north. Perhaps I can grab a good vantage point to where I kill the two Elites with one sniper round."
Crockett was his name, an Army sharp-shooter if John remembered correctly. "How well are you with that weapon, Sergeant?"
"Well enough to shoot an apple out of a man's mouth without killing him." came his confident reply.
John knew one Spartan with a sharp shot. Linda. God knew where she was right now; he had not heard of her in years. Though, now was not the time to ponder. John gave Crockett the go-head and the Spartan took off with the reminder of not being spotted by the enemy. His green light winked on and John focused on the rest of his team. He gave the order to hide as best as they could. Surely enough, one by one, their entire bodies disappeared as the invisible armor ability took effect and they were transparent and hidden behind bush and tree. The scouting Covenant came into clearer view, passing the Spartans at point. John could hear them speaking in their native tongue; the Elites grunted and growled quietly to their squadron of Grunts who hissed and chirped in response. Plasma pistols and rifles were humming, ready to be fired. Their foe indicators came to life on his motion sensors and John was naturally calm. Seconds ticked by and suddenly, a sharp crack filled the air and the Elites dropped like flies, gargling on their own alien blood. The Grunts jumped and cried as John screamed down their comm line, "NOW!"
It was a blur of Spartans coming together, rounding the Grunts like cattle and executing them with a bullet to the head before any of them could activate their plasma grenades. Their deaths were swift, but John was certain that the ring of the single bullet and the shouts of the Grunts was enough for the rest of the Covenant forces to become aware of their surroundings, that there was indeed hostiles.
"All Covenant you encounter, do not hesitate to eliminate it." commanded the Master Chief. Lights flickered to life and the Spartans were moving forward with their weapons in hand.
Within several meters, they were greeted by the remaining three Elites with their squadron of Grunts. The short minions battle cried as their leaders roared for an attack.
Those at point lunged forward, their main focus on the Elites; they all knew that Grunts went haywire without their squad leader. The female Recon latched herself onto one of the Elites, grasping the creature on the shoulders as she used her jetpack thrusters to spin her onto it's back. With a swift draw of her blade, she stabbed the serrated edge into the top of it's spine and sliced up the creature's neck to the top of it's armored head. Pistol fire rang as the Grunts were executed swiftly and the gurgling cries of the two remaining Elites were heard as the Recon Spartans finished them off. John lifted his helmet, seeing Crockett return to the team and the pile of dead aliens at their feet. He gestured with his hand to keep a move on.
The Covenant, John told himself, were no longer a volatile force. What remained of them were rogues and those that still believe in the Great Journey. The actions of these false Covenant were dangerously similar to the aliens that breathed, the aliens that the Master Chief fought and killed. He wondered how the Army General managed to create such closely real simulations, but his pondering would have to wait.
"Chief, three o'clock!" Maria cried.
The Spartan swiftly turned his head, leaning his body back to avoid being hit by a Hunter's fuel rod blast. The searing heat of the pale green plasma whizzed in front of him as John regained his footing and charged forward. The Hunter held up his armored arm, edging away from the Spartan, but the man leapt into the air as he grabbed the tip of the arm shield, spinning himself around onto the alien's back. The Hunter roared in protest and John held on firmly with one hand as he pulled out a shotgun from his subspace. He shoved the muzzle of his weapon the crook between the head and back armor, then pulled the trigger. The Hunter gave a gargling cry as it's neck fell apart in all directions. It's cry was accompanied by the shriek of a Grunt, followed by a sickening squish. John jumped off the Hunter and proceeded to join the fray of warring sides.
"Calla," called one of the Aviators to his AI, "There are Banshees in the sky. I want a jetpack boost to launch me."
"On it, Dominic." replied the AI.
The Senior Master Sergeant opened a comm to his fellow Aviator, Technical Sergeant Jesse, "Jesse, see what I see?"
The female Spartan replied, "Aye, Dom. Let's fly."
Launched upwards with a powerful thrust, both Spartans claimed a Banshee that flew like a pack in the sky. The other four Banshees peeled away as the two that were currently being hijacked were attempting to maneuver rough tricks to shake off the Spartans. Dominic pried open the Banshee, then kicked the Elite fiercely in the side; the Elite fell out with an angered cry before he landed on a Jackal underneath. The Jackal shrieked as the weight of the Elite crushed him.
"Master Chief, I have secured a Banshee." informed the Aviator clad Spartan.
Instead of replying, the acknowledge light winked on.
"Jesse." he called as he banked to the right and began to return fire on the Banshees zeroing on him.
"Right above you, Dom."
Her FOF tag signaled above him and she followed his example, firing the plasma cannons at the enemy Banshees. Dominic hit the accelerator on the Banshee, zooming past Jesse and he took aim on the Banshee in front of him. The other Elite seemed well aware he was being tailed as he began to do barrel rolls, hard bankings, and nosedives. Dominic kept up with the other Banshee, mimicking the exact maneuvers until he was close enough to take a shot. Switching from plasma turrets to fuel rod cannons, Dominic fired and landed a hit perfectly on aft, sending the Banshee to the ground like a flaming ball of fire. The Spartan banked to the side, rounding back to his comrade and the other enemy Banshees.
He was welcomed by angry plasma fire from the remaining three enemy Banshees and he joined the female Spartan, assisting her in taking down a Banshee that was raining upon her. The Banshee went up in plasma flames before making its descent to the ground, taking a small number of ground forces with it.
"Thanks, Dom." came Jesse's voice from the male Spartan's internal speakers.
"Not a problem." he replied. "Let's rain hell."
There was a hint of a faint smile in Jesse's voice as she replied, "I couldn't agree more."
The two Banshees zoomed above the three Recon clad Spartans in the center of an angry mob of Jackals and Grunts. One of the female Spartans had a serrate-edged blade in her matte hand, preferring hand to hand combat. She moved swiftly between her comrades and enemies towards her target: a Jackal with a focus rifle. Performing agile gymnastics, the Jackal could not keep up with such fluid movement and found itself with a blade stabbed into it's chest. The Recon Spartan sliced upwards with a grunt, alien blood spurting on herself and the ground around them as the upper half of the Jackal was split. Without warning, she launched her blade to her right and there was a sharp shriek before it was silenced.
"And you weren't looking." voiced her AI.
"I hardly do, Junction." she answered as she retrieved her blade from the Grunt's head within a heartbeat.
"I am always awed at your display of might, Hannah." said Junction before he added firmly, "On your six, three Jackals with shields and plasma pistols."
As swift as wind, Hannah hilted her blade and drew her plasma repeater that was latched onto her thigh, firing upon the center Jackal. She felt their plasma fire faintly bite at her shields, but the aliens had to have more power in their weapons to bring down her shields. The center Jackal soon lost his energy shield and Hannah onlined a plasma grenade, chucking it at the bird-like alien. It squawked as the blue orb latched onto it's chest and within seconds, the grenade exploded; hot plasma vaporized the majority of the victimized Jackal and killed the two next to it.
The Scout's voice rang within her helmet, "Drop pods! Five of them with six Spec-Ops in each!"
As if to prove her statement, there were powerful whooshes and heavy thuds, followed by the angry cries of the Elites.
The Master Chief followed after her, "Spartan one, zero, five; eliminate as many as you can with your sniper. The rest of you, do not let them catch you from behind."
Hannah winked on her acknowledge light before focusing on the remaining horde of Grunts and Jackals.
"Hannah, I've detected explosives-" Junction was interrupted by a comm from one of the other Recon Spartans.
"First Sergeant, get out of there unless you have armor lock." said a male Spartan. "I've rigged several bodies with explosives."
"Junction, triangulate the positions of the explosives and place me in the center." she commanded. The Recon clad Spartan answered the other Marine Sergeant, "I will play as bait to herd them in. There's twenty out here."
A blip came on Hannah's HUD and she followed it, dodging the fire of the enemy weaponry.
"Wink me when you're at the center, First Sergeant, so I can detonate."
Hannah released a small huff, "Dunn, I've told you to call me Hannah." she leapt over the small group of Grunts, who squealed as they blindly fired. She crashed down to a knee, activating her acknowledge light and her armor lock a split second before the light flickered on.
The ground around her for twenty meters went up in explosions and screams of the Covenant could be heard. When the explosions were finished, Hannah's armor lock flickered offline and she was suddenly surrounded by her Recon comrades, posing as defense as her shield recharged. They found it unnecessary since they were surrounded by dead alien bodies within a twenty meter radius.
Dunn spoke again, "Sorry, First Sergeant. I am beneath your rank."
"They drilled you too hard."
"First Sergeant, we were raised together."
The third Recon motioned the other two, her voice coming through external speakers, "Spec-Ops, on our nine o'clock!"
There were five of them charging in a 'V' formation, plasma and concussion rifles firing in their direction. As the three Recon clad Spartans rolled to evade the firing, a sharp bang resonated through the air and two of the white-armored Elites collapsed. The remaining three growled loudly, swiftly moving to search for some sort of cover to hide from the unseen sniper.
"One for each of you." Sergeant Crockett's voice came through their internal speakers.
The lower ranking of the three Recon Spartans replied, "Thanks, Sergeant."
"Not a problem, Cicada." he replied.
The three Spartans charged, ammunitions firing from their weapons and lowering the energy shields of the remaining three Elites.
Once dead, a male voice rang through the Spartans' shared communications, "PO3 Xiao, requesting assistance!"
"AFC Mah'halia, here. Where are you?" came another male voice.
The Petty Officer replied, "My AI sent you my location."
"SFC Georgia, willing to assist." a female said.
"I need all the help I can get. Wraiths are currently being dropped off. Count so far, three. The General is giving us one helluva fight!" said the Petty Officer.
Sergeant First Class replied, "I'm en route to your location, Xiao. Hang tight."
The Enforcer clad Spartan hid, keeping track of his motion sensors, analyzing where the Wraiths were currently at and waiting to see friendly blips on his motion sensor.
"Jupiter, report." he commanded.
A disembodied male voice replied through his internal speakers, "Your recharge rate dropped seventy-five percent due to the EMP blast to your pack. Subspace is functional, as are your ringlets. I also suggest you lower heart rate, Petty Officer, as it is climbing into the danger zone."
Xiao cursed as he momentarily closed his eyes and allowed five seconds to breathe evenly. He said to his AI, "Then, my shields are recharging at the rate a regular Mark suit would?"
"Yes." replied Jupiter.
Xiao cursed again.
"Petty Officer, this is the Airman First Class. You've got quite the party." said Mah'halia through their comm link.
A standard Fall-Out suit appeared from the bushes in front of Xiao's hiding place.
"My pack suffered a direct EMP blast from an overcharged plasma pistol. My functions are all normal except my recharge. I cannot fight all those Wraiths on my own without my ass being smoked." replied Xiao.
"What's the recharge rate now?"
"Times one."
Another standard suit appeared beside Mah'halia, a slimmer frame, "Tough luck, Petty Officer."
Xiao narrowed his eyes at the female, but before any of them could say something else, a Wraith began to fire it's plasma turrets at the hiding spot; thus, drew attention to the other two and did the same.
"We've got you covered. Go to Senior Airman Jean; she's a tech repair." said Mah'halia.
Xiao nodded before the two Spartans leapt into the angry fray of Wraiths with plasma pistols in their hands. The last thing Xiao saw were his comrades offlining the systems of the Wraiths before he disappeared further into the trees to search for the Senior Airman.