Chapter One: Homecoming
"What've we got, Lorienna?"
"Apparently, there's a team of Spartans that survived Reach, and Ackerson's planning a warm welcome home for them."
"Warm welcome? From Ackerson? You must be joking!"
"As warm as he ever gets, anyways. Most of the officers are going to be there."
"Good. More people for Ackerson to feel embarrassed in front of. Wait here."
"And where exactly am I going to go, outside of ONI's own networks?"
"Stay out of there for now. I'll be back in a few hours."
September 15, 2552 0945 hours
Camp Hayes UNSC Reserve Base
North America
SPARTAN-000, codenamed BLADE, perched in a tree overlooking the parade grounds, with a 'borrowed' sniper rifle in her hands; she had a 'message' she wanted to send to a certain colonel. She adjusted the sniper rifle to allow better visibility, even though what she saw disgusted her as she watched the brass welcome some surviving members of the Reach massacre. So, the surviving SPARTANS receive a heroes' welcome, while I'm forgotten as usual! Haven't I done as much as them, if not a little more? Yet I'm thrown aside like a useless weapon! She knew, however, there was more than just her being useless. According to military files, SPARTAN-000 did not officially exist; the only evidence of her life was in classified Office of Naval Intelligence files, which most people never got to see. Even though she knew it was unfair, Blade knew there was nothing that could be done about it, short of treason and data terrorism.
The welcoming reception was starting to wind down. Watching through the scope, she noticed Colonel James Ackerson, one of ONI's scumbag COs, scowling when he thought no one was looking. Hello, Ackerson, you sadistic bastard. Have I got a surprise for you when you turn this way. Blade saw General Mark West (the only general she really respected) look around and turn to Ackerson. She smiled, guessing what they were talking about, but directed a SpecOps mike towards their location anyways, keeping Ackerson locked in her scope. A tiny speaker let her eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Colonel Ackerson, are you sure this area is secure?"
"Positive, General West. I have my best men in position and on surveillance. Nothing can get in or out without our knowing it."
"Well then, Colonel, I must say I'm rather disappointed in your security perimeter."
"What do you mean, sir? I have men posted every two meters around the parade grounds. There's no way anyone could get past without getting caught."
"Oh, really? Then would you kindly tell me what you see near the trees over there?"
"I see one of my men in the tree on guard, wait…No one is supposed to be in a tree!"
"Of course not, Colonel, since that isn't one of your men. Unless I'm much mistaken, Laura broke through your best men's perimeter and is watching us right now."
"BLADE? Here? Impossible!"
While Ackerson was still facing her, and before he had the chance to turn away, Blade squeezed the trigger; the report of the sniper rifle rang out clear, and Ackerson went down. The paint pellet she'd nailed him with wouldn't kill him, unfortunately, but it had hit him with enough velocity to ensure that he'd be out cold for about three hours. Right between the eyes, you asshole, she smiled maliciously as she dropped the rifle and swung through the trees like a monkey. By the time anyone showed up to investigate, all they found was a sniper rifle, the SpecOps mike, and a canister of paint pellets.
Meanwhile, the Spartans were scattering, trying to evade any further sniper rounds as they'd been trained, and hoping to spot the sniper; Linda swore she saw a shadow moving in the trees, knowing exactly where to spot a potential sniper, and fired three rounds from her assault rifle (two of them barely missing Blade as she slipped away). Marines were scrambling for cover, and general chaos ran rampant. The only one unperturbed was General West, who was busy shaking his head at the blotch of red between Ackerson's eyes, chuckling to himself.
"Oh, Laura, what are we going to do with you this time? Although I must say,
your accuracy is faultless." He noticed one of the Spartans heading toward him.
"Sir, perhaps you'd better take cover."
"No need, son. Whoever it was got what they came for," he said, motioning to the prone figure of Colonel Ackerson, complete with red paint blotch between his eyes. "Non-lethal rounds. The shooter wasn't aiming to kill outright, just to send a message, and did it quite effectively. He'll be unconscious for a while, but that's about all." He was still smiling as he walked off to meet the search teams, a behavior which puzzled the Spartan. Although, there is a lot of hard feelings between ONI and the regular brass, he thought. Maybe that's why he was so amused. The Spartan's team frequency kicked in, and he heard SPARTAN-117's voice: the Master Chief was taking charge of the situation.
"Okay, Linda managed to get a bead on the sniper's position. Let's see if we can't catch the sniper, whoever he is. Move out."
Blade, otherwise known as Laura Morisson, swung away through the trees, dropping back to earth only when she was reasonably sure she was safe. OK, everyone back there is scared shitless, and Ackerson's out cold, which means I should be able to get back to base fairly easily. Job well done. As far as casualties went, she'd caught one bullet in her shoulder, which she stopped and bandaged as best she could; she could get it looked at once she got back to base. She was still moving and congratulating herself when she sensed rather than saw something moving nearby, trying to flank her. Oh shit, she realized with a cold chill. I forgot about them! And now I got cocky and let them catch up to me! Mentally reviewing her knowledge of the local land and trying to come up with a plan, Laura sprinted off to the eastern edge of the woods. There were a number of tall oaks there; if she could outdistance the pursuit and get to them, she might have a chance. She was a few kilometers away when a giant in green armor blocked her path, assault rifle leveled; turning aside, she spotted two others on either side, and the one behind her moved up—she was boxed in. Thankful that she had masked her face, Laura waited to see how things would turn out.
Having caught up with the shooter, the four Spartans boxed him in to prevent him from escaping, keeping him in their gunsights. Activating his suit's external speakers, the Master Chief spoke, his voice calm and a little creepy.
"There's nowhere left for you to run. You may as well surrender."
The stranger turned and looked at him; piercing dark eyes stared at him without fear. In fact, there was nothing in the sniper's eyes but cold, calculating emotion. Moving his hand, the sniper's fingers flicked quickly, subtle hand signals used by the UNSC military. Check your six, his fingers flashed; the hand signals caught the Chief off guard, making him think for a moment that he'd cornered a Marine who'd been set as a lookout in the trees. As the Chief turned, the sniper moved faster than any of them had anticipated: he ran forward and leaped straight up and over the Master Chief in his armor, no easy task considering the Spartan in his armor stood nearly two meters tall. He'd almost jumped over the Spartan when the Chief grabbed his ankle, catching the sniper off-guard and nearly breaking bone. The sniper twisted in midair with the motion of the hand attached to his ankle, getting enough of an angle to break free. He hit the ground hard, and let out a grunt (oddly high-pitched for a man) as he landed, but had managed to get out of the box set up by the four-Spartan team. Bouncing neatly and quickly to his feet, he sprinted quickly into the shadows of the trees; by the time they were able to catch up, there was no one there.
Laura perched in the shadowy branches of an oak, ignoring the pain in her shoulder and ankle, listening as the Spartans caught up to her. Making as little movement as possible, she listened quietly, waiting for them to leave so she could get out of there. As she waited, she noticed a group of Marines approaching.
"General West said you'd gone this way. Did you find the sniper?" the leader, a Lieutenant, asked.
"We tracked him here, sir," one of the Spartans replied. From the voice, it was the one who'd told her to surrender.
"Where did he go?" one of the other Marines asked.
"We're still searching, but I think he's long gone from here, otherwise we would have found him."
"Alright, Marines, you heard the man. Let's move out!" The Marines formed up and followed their Lieutenant out of the oak grove. The Spartans, on the other hand, stayed there for several more minutes; Laura was quite cramped by the time they moved out. Staying alert for a few more seconds in the tree, she dropped soundlessly, wincing as she landed on her sore ankle, and slipped back to the base. Well, I think I've learned something today: don't gloat until you're safe home, or your ass is grass. Laura headed to her bunk at the nearby military base where she'd lived for almost 37 years. She had a feeling that General West would stop in later to see if she really had been at the parade grounds earlier.
The Spartans stood and watched as the sniper dropped from the trees and slipped into the shadows. After SPARTAN-043, Will, had reported that Colonel Ackerson had been shot with non-lethal rounds, the Master Chief had concluded that the sniper was no immediate threat, a conclusion reinforced by the hand signals given. Besides, he'd seen a small amount of blood on the sniper's blacksuit during the escape earlier, indicating he'd been hit by a bullet from Linda's battle rifle; the wound would make it fairly easy to find him, identify him, and deal with him when it was least expected. As they watched him slip away into the shadows, they tried to plan their next move.
"Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to just let him go," SPARTAN-104, Fred, commented.
"He could have easily killed that colonel, but purposely didn't. And remember General West's conclusions? He was trying to send a message," Will replied.
"Whatever the case, it's too late to do anything about it now," the Master Chief replied. "Just keep alert and on your toes: we don't know what's going to happen next." The other Spartans nodded assent and they headed back to the base for debriefing.
Blade's Bunkhouse 1000 hours
Camp Hayes
Sure enough, General West dropped in for a surprise visit. Laura welcomed him with a smile and some homemade bread.
"I had a feeling you'd be dropping in, General. How was the welcoming ceremony?"
"It went off fairly well. I figured you'd be watching. How did you know about it anyway?"
"Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies. Suffice it to say, I don't miss much around here. How did Ackerson react to the Spartans?"
"He seemed quite polite, until he noticed you were nearby and you shot him. Why do you ask?"
"I saw the whole thing, and watched his face in particular. He had a brief look of disgust on his face, but masked it well. Knowing how much he hates the SPARTAN program, I'm surprised he was even there at all."
"How do you know he hates the program?" West was puzzled.
Easy. ONI needs to encrypt their files better." Laura winked at a chagrined West. "I saw a number of disparaging references to the Spartans. Plus, it's fairly easy for me to read people, and Ackerson shows himself to be nothing more than a slimy, sadistic, disgusting, treacherous bastard who cheated and blackmailed his way to the top. And you wonder why I don't trust him?" Laura paused and shook a few escaped strands of her dark hair out of her eyes.
"It doesn't help he keeps trying to eliminate me, either. I'm constantly having to watch my back. The number of Marines I've been forced to incapacitate is disgusting, but he won't stop. He's determined to eliminate me."
"I can't believe that Colonel Ackerson would even stoop to such things, even for ONI."
"Believe it." Laura stood up and walked to the window. It showed a beautiful view of distant mountains and sky, but she wasn't cheered by the view. West saw she had something on her mind and waited. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet and sad.
"I'm tired of this war, General. I'm tired of having to make sure everything is safe before turning around a corner, worrying about my family, fighting my fellow soldiers, worrying about the Covenant. I'm tired of spending my entire life on a military installation. Most of all, I'm tired of not existing, of being nothing more than a 'mistake' listed in ONI's classified files. It's wearing me down, eating me away, and I can't stop it."
"There's nothing I can do, Laura. Even if I could do something, I'd have to justify my decision. My hands are tied either way."
"I know, but you at least listen. That's more than anyone else here does."
After West left, he toyed with the idea in his mind. Maybe there is a way to help her. Perhaps Cortana… He smiled at the thought. There's one person ONI can't control.
Laura stood at her window, mentally turning over the events of the day, when a soft, disembodied voice spoke in her ear.
"I've been listening to the chatter on base. You've put a few people in an uproar again: what did you do this time?"
"Paintball sniping," Laura smiled. "Unfortunately, I almost got caught."
"The Spartans?"
"Who else? Thank goodness I was near some oaks when they caught up, otherwise I'd never have gotten away." She didn't need to say more, since both she and Lorienna knew what she meant. A throbbing in her shoulder broke her chain of thought; she'd forgotten about the bullet wound.
"You should get that looked at," the AI voiced as Laura dug the bullet out.
"And risk some awkward questions? No, better wait until the heat dies down first." As she tended the wound, Laura's mind wandered back to her encounter with the four Spartans. They really are as good as I've heard, she thought grudgingly. Too bad they're ONI's toys. One thing's for sure, they are NOT getting near me ever again!
ONI Building 1030 hours
Camp Hayes
SPARTAN-117, John (better known as the Master Chief), exited the debriefing area with his three remaining comrades: SPARTANs 104, 058, and 043(Fred, Linda, and Will). He was uneasy about the way ONI had handled the debriefing, especially the amount of scorn coming from Colonel Ackerson. While he was pondering this, he and his team were passed in the corridor by a fit, healthy young woman. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight braid, she was almost as tall as the Master Chief, and she wore a tight-fitting black workout suit; strapped to a belt at her waist were a pair of combat knives. Her dark eyes were sparkling with intense anger, and her entire body was tensed, in spite of her fluid motions. She moved straight past them without even a word and headed for a nearby locker room. One of the guards tried to stop her, but she shot him such a look that he paled and shut his mouth. The Master Chief looked at his teammates.
"Wonder who that was? She definitely looks tough."
Fred added: "Did you see those knives? Bet she's an expert in hand-to-hand combat. I'd love to try her."
"Good luck with that, Spartan. It'd probably be close."
The Spartans turned to see General West standing behind them. They saluted hastily. West smiled to himself. Here's how we bring Laura into the open.
"So, now you've seen one of ONI's best-kept secrets. Blade is one of the best soldiers in the military, so much so that the bureaucrats feel she's 'too valuable to lose'. She comes in every morning for a workout, and spends the rest of her time trying to keep herself occupied. She's a bit of a loose-cannon, but once you earn her trust you've got a real ally; the hard part is convincing her to trust you."
"Sir, if she's such a loose-cannon, why was she allowed in the military?" Will's tone was skeptical.
"Classified, son. Only top officials and AI's can hear that." The General winked and strode off. Catching up with him, the Master Chief asked, "What do you mean, sir?"
"I mean, Chief, that unless you know a master hacker somewhere, you'll never find anything on Blade. So you may as well not ask me anymore questions, son." With that, the general walked off.
Fred, Will, and Linda were waiting for him at the end of the corridor. He looked at them all.
"I think we need to have a word with Cortana. If she can't find out about Blade, no one can."
"First let's see what she's up to, if she's really as good as the general said." Fred wanted to see this mysterious soldier in action for himself, as did the others. Without another word, they moved off to the locker room.