Chapter Two
Unidentified star system, outer colony of Kholo, June 17th, 2558
Kholo wasn't much to look at, even from a distance. The planet had been witness to a battle against the old Covenant in 2539, and the surface had been left relatively uninhabitable. The alien hegemony, as with the rest of human worlds that it had encountered, had glassed Kholo, leaving behind a symbol that UNSC intelligence had translated as referring to faith, a constant reminder to enemies of the now dissolved empire.
It was also a reminder to John 117 of all the comrades he had lost during that war. He had been witness to several glassings, and it wasn't uncommon for the Covenant to leave behind symbols of their religion etched into the ground. Kholo was one such example. He was staring directly at it through the view port of the cargo ship he and the rest of Blue Team were aboard. The vessel was a Bactrian- class freighter, primarily used by smugglers transporting goods under the noses of UEG customs officials. These ships were usually small cramped, and could only hold about two people in its cockpit. However, this particular tug had been redesigned to accommodate the four Spartans within its hull, as well as an improved slipspace drive for increased maneuverability.
The middle of the ship had also been made into a weapons store, equipped with opening side doors to allow easy access. John was unused to such cramped quarters, but he had decided to endure it for the time being. From his position in the cockpit, he had a full view of Kholo's surface. He spoke. "Atlas, any sign of the beacon on the surface?" There was a beep, and an automated voice responded," Affirmative, Master Chief. It is faint, but the signal seems to be originating from a remote location not far from the ruins of a UNSC fire base."
" Is there any sign of our target?" " Negative, and his vessel \hasn't made an appearance either. Do you wish to set a course?" John nodded. " Copy. Make it discrete." "Acknowledged." The Chief sighed as the ship accelerated toward Kholo's surface. He had been reluctant at first to have a dumb AI brought aboard, mostly due to their fragility in combat situations. This particular AI, named Atlas, seemed to be the exception; He had been built to interface with ODST armor systems, and had been refitted for this particular mission. John was just glad that Atlas didn't seem to display emotion like smart AIs did. He didn't need to be reminded of… her. John chided himself. There was nothing you could do. She's gone; Get over it. He stood up from his seat and headed into the cargo bay. Fred, Linda, and Kelly were almost finished prepping their weapons of choice for the mission.
"Everyone ready?" Kelly responded," Affirmative." Fred asked," Once we touch down, what's the plan once we touch down on the surface?" John told him, "We'll be landing half a klick away from the target's location to avoid being detected. From there, we head for the signal and try to surprise Umbra. Bring him in, along with the data he stole." Linda turned her attention from the sniper rifle she was arming." If the NCA is with him, what do we do?" " We probably won't encounter hostiles. All the same, be on guard." Atlas' voice came over the speaker." Blue Team, we have arrived at the DLZ. Master Chief, do you wish for me to remain with the ship?" "Negative, Atlas. I'll need you to monitor my fireteam and I on the ground, so you'll be coming with us. Prepare to transfer." Acknowledged. Stand by." There was a hiss as a nearby holotank produced a data chip, a circle of mint green light glowing in the center. John pulled it from its place and inserted it into the back of his helmet, connecting Atlas to his HUD.
John turned to the others." Atlas will be keeping tabs on our locations if we have to separate." Curious; The design of your helmet is similar to the helmets ODSTs make use of." The chief merely grunted in response. There was a thud as they all felt the ship land. John walked toward one of the bay doors. Presently, he felt something grab his arm. He looked up to see Fred staring at him." You good?" John nodded. As the hatch opened, he breathed in a deep sigh, before saying," Blue Team… advance."
Two hours later…
You would have thought that a squad of Spartans and an AI would have been able to easily to track a rouge. You would be right. Blue team had ranked the highest number of missions in the UNSC, several of which were capture ops. This should have been fairly simple, especially with an AI, albeit a less advanced one. However, this wasn't the case today. The signal they had been following was constantly shifting every time they came within close range of it. Kelly smacked the tracker console on her gauntlet as the beacon shifted for the umpteenth time. "This is not funny; Why does it keep moving?!"
Fred responded," Seems like this 'Umbra' is more cunning than he seems. It must be some sort of decoy. Atlas, can you reconfigure the coordinates, try to track it down?" "Yes Master Chief, though I am unsure that it will produce anyth- " John cocked an eyebrow." Atlas?" "I have just received a fresh set of coordinates, leading approximately half a kilometer northwest of our current position. Most curious…" Linda, who had been listening to this exchange, asked," What is it?" Atlas responded," The coordinates I received came from an unknown entity of unknown classification. It doesn't appear to be UNSC, but it seems to have a… human-made design. Whether it is connected to Spartan Umbra is impossible to determine, but it would lead on to presume it wishes to lead us to his location."
Kelly scoffed." Why should we follow that? It'll probably phase out once we get close." "On the contrary, 087, this set appears to be more stable than the others we have followed. I would suggest we proceed." John spoke up." Agreed. If it is Umbra, we take him by surprise. Kelly, you and Fred attack from the rear and flanks, try to corner him. Linda, you stay out of sight to pin him down if the situation gets out of hand." Fred asked," Just what will you be doing?" The Chief smiled beneath his visor." You'll see ." Fred shook his head ever so slightly. "It figures."
That was exactly what they did. It didn't take long for Blue Team to reach the designated location, seeing as though they now had a solid location. Finally, they reached their assigned positions in range of the target. They had arrived in a large canyon, possibly the remains of a river left behind from the destruction of Kholo. The beacon was positioned on a plateau a few meters down . John was hiding behind a cluster of debris. He pulled the Assault Rifle off of his back, gripping it tight. He addressed Atlas." Are you detecting any life up there?" "Negative. However, there is something else; It appears to be the entity from before. The signal it is broadcasting is stronger than before. I recommend caution." John rolled his eyes. Go figure. He opened a commlink to Linda. "Linda, do you see anything from your position?"
There was a buzz of static." Hang on, I'll scope in." The female Spartan aimed her sniper rifle at the beacon source." Just piles of – wait, I see something. Some sort of bluish glow." There was another buzz as Fred chimed in. "I don't see anything from here. It could be an ambush. Chief, should we approach?" John dared to take a glimpse. Indeed, there was a faint azure light glowing in the shadow of the ravine wall. He didn't see anything besides that. Still… "Kelly, Fred, approach the target, proceed with caution. Linda, Watch their back. Understood?" There was a trio of green lights confirming the order. John sighed. Why did this all seem too easy?
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"I told this was a bad idea."
"You know them! You have to give the a chance !"
The black armored figure shifted slightly as he watched the goings- on from his position at the top of the cliff. He grumbled briefly, annoyed at the annoying persistence of the passenger inside his helmet. "They were sent to capture me, to capture you! When I agreed to help you, I didn't say I'd get into a fight I can't win on my own!"
The female voice responded," I'm well aware of our arrangement, and if I recall, it did involve those four, their leader in particular, unless you forgot that specific part of our deal." The figure sighed. He'd been had by this… come to think of it, he wasn't sure just what he should call her exactly. "Fine, you have me on that. Still, I certainly didn't expect to encounter them like- like this! I was expecting some Helljumpers, or even a fireteam of Spartan IVs. ONI seems less than pleased with that stunt on Arcadia. What I don't understand is why you insisted on taking such risks just to talk to John and the others!"
"I told you, we need them! We're running out of time, Spartan." Said Spartan remained silent for a moment as he watched two of the other Spartans- Kelly and Fred, from what he had been able to intercept- made their way to the beacon he had positioned. I see four years without the Chief hasn't made them any bolder. Still, it's good to see them again.
"What do you even want me to say to them? Hey guys, remember me, your old teammate? I was wondering if you could help me and my friend with this rouge mission. I doubt that would work." The voice sighed before responding," Just- talk to them like I did to you when we first met. You've know them since you were six, for God's sake-""Alright, alright, I get it! I just that this plan of yours doesn't backfire considering how quickly you whipped it up."
He could imagine the mischievous grin blooming on the face of his female companion. "Don't worry, it won't. " The pair watched as the two Spartans reached the glowing light.
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"What… is that?" Those were hardly the words Fred expected to come out of his mouth, and yet there they were. Both himself and Kelly were staring at the source of the light: a triangular piece of carbon colored metal with a blue orb of what appeared to be glass floating two inches above the main body. The hexagonal pattern of the skin vaguely resembled Covenant age armor, albeit a much darker version. Kelly crouched down to examine the device more closely. " It looks like a Forerunner design, though it seems… different." There was a buzz as John's commlink opened. "Different how?" Kelly edged closer to the device." It doesn't have any glyphs like other artifacts, just hexagons." She noticed that the orb twitched ever so slightly toward her direction. Fred saw her flinch. "Kelly, what is it?" "I don't know. It just moved towards me- the orb I mean." Fred's visor depolarized, revealing the confused expression he wore beneath. "What do you mean it moved?" Kelly didn't answer; She was reaching toward the sphere, and as she did, a stream of light reached toward her hand. Fred moved to stop her." Kelly wait!" Her fingers made contact with the orb.
The ensuing blast of high pitched sound was strong enough to send anyone without proper protection lose consciousness. Along with that, the device let out a pulse of blue light that sent Blue Team flying in all directions. John was forced to dodge falling boulders destabilized by the shockwave; Linda was knocked off her perch on the cliff, managing to save herself only by gripping her hands deep into a crevice; As for Fred and Kelly, the blast sent them hurtling off the edge off the cliff into the falling debris below. Regardless, all four Spartans experienced the sensation of being thrown about like a ragdoll before blacking out.
Linda was the first to regain consciousness. What just happened? She looked around her. She was surrounded by boulders, pieces of rusty and twisted metal, as well as other forms of refuse she couldn't identify. She looked down at herself. Given the events that had just occurred within the last few minutes, her armor hadn't sustained too much damage, with the exceptions of a few large areas where paint had been scraped off and a few dents. She opened a link. " This is Linda to Blue Team. What's your status?" The only response she got was static. She tried again." Blue Team, please respond!" Still nothing. Where were the others? She picked up her sniper rifle, also relatively undamaged, and stowed it on her back. She began to climb out of the debris. Wherever they were, she would find them, and hopefully the one who had set that trap.
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Her world was a blur of muffled noises and light. Kelly tried to move, but her limbs felt numb. On top of that, she couldn't focus on her surroundings; Every time she tried, her forehead throbbed with a needle sharp pain. It was then that a muffled voice became audible. It took her a few seconds for her to make out the words. "Kelly! Kelly, wake up!" She managed to focus her eyes as her HUD came into view. Her shields were damaged but recovering. "Kelly, get up!" She turned her head in the direction of the voice. An cyan armored figure was shaking her with evident concern. It was Fred. His visor was depolarized, revealing the concern on his face.
Kelly stirred, finally regaining control of her limbs. Her partner reached out a hand, which she gladly took. "Are you alright?" "Yeah, you? " Fred nodded in response. The Spartans examined one another. The sight wasn't pretty; Fred had several dents in his armor, including a particularly large one on his chest. Kelly hadn't fared much better. Her visor was cracked, the jagged lines skewing across her vison. Both of them were covered in scratches. Kelly looked around. Somehow, they had both managed to remain on the mesa, which was now surrounded by loads of rubble. Kelly looked around, searching for any sign of life. "Where are the others?"
"I don't know. I haven't gotten a signal since you touched that- that thing." Kelly didn't answer; She was still looking around her. She couldn't seem to look straight in front of her; Every time that she tried, her eyes became unnaturally sensitive to the sunlight, even with her visor. Fred looked at her, now visibly concerned. " Kelly, what's wrong?" The female Spartan finally managed to shake off the dizziness before she responded." Yeah, I- I'm fine. Just a bit… dazed. What happened?" "What happened? You set off a bomb when you touched that thing. I don't know how we got out of there." Kelly felt for her back; Somehow, her shotgun had stayed attached to the magnet. "We should get going. The others shouldn't be too far away." Fred nodded in agreement, muttering," Well, might as well get used to this."
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Darkness. That was all John could see. He remembered this felling from the four years spent on the Forward unto Dawn: utter blackness with no sense of existing. That had ended when he and Cortana had arrived at Requiem. The ensuing pain of those memories was impossible to hold back. He tried to resist those final moments with his companion, desperate to hold back that final goodbye from appearing. Welcome home, John. It was agonizing for him. Why couldn't he fight this? He could swear he could make out her voice- wait… now that he focused, he actually did hear someone's voice. It didn't sound quite like Cortana, and yet it seemed… familiar. He was just able to make out the words:" Chief- Chief, wake up! Can you hear me?" The Spartan finally began to claw his way out of the black.
He began to finally make out where he was. He was lying face down on the ground, trapped within a pile of boulders. His shields were down, and didn't seem to be regenerating any time soon. Other than that, he seemed alright. He heard the voice again. "Chief, are you there?" John managed to shake off his disorientation to respond. " Who are you?" " I can't explain that at the moment . Your shields are offline, I presume?" That caught John off guard." How did you-" "Nevermind. Give me a moment, this should take care of it." A few seconds later, John gawked as his shield regenerated almost instantly. What the? "No need to thank me, Chief." said the voice. John took a few seconds before speaking again. As he listened more closely, he could hear the subtle digitized tone in the stranger's voice. She- if it was a she- was an AI of some sort, though seemingly more advanced than any that the UNSC had managed to produce. How this mystery construct had been able to repair his shields in so little time without even being in his neural lace was beyond him. Speaking of that…
"Atlas, report. What's your status?" The response he received was enough to make him cringe; Most of what he heard was static, but was able to pick up what sounded like the Ai was screeching in… pain. The stranger spoke up again." Oh, I forgot about your friend. The device my partner and I built was designed to disable your tracking systems, but I guess it was too much for this 'Atlas' to handle. Don't worry, he should recover fairly quickly. " "Your partner?" At that moment, another voice interrupted the conversation. I thought I told you not to contact them, especially him!" The voice was obviously male, though somewhat garbled by what was likely projected interference." Who is this?" The response was more contained than the previous outburst, but still threatening. "Well, seeing as though you and the rest of Blue Team are here, I presume that Admiral Osman has already informed you of my identity."
John bared his teeth beneath the visor." You're Alexander Lucien, aren't you?" "Ha! Is that who that spook told you I was? I'm not surprised to be honest." "Answer my question; Are you Spartan Umbra?" John heard a sigh on the other end of the connection. "Guilty. Look, I'd love to chat more, but I have a job to do. If you'll excuse both myself and my companion, I'll be on my way." The other voice spoke up. "Wait-" "I've heard enough." 'Jesse', if that was indeed her name, went silent. John yelled, "No!" but Umbra had already cut the transmission. Growling in frustration at losing his target, John grabbed a particularly large boulder near him. With some effort, he managed to lift the stone out of the way. He ran out into the sunlight, where he saw the extent of the damage caused by the device the Ai had talked about. He tried Atlas again. "Atlas, can you hear me?" Silence. Then, a faint voice became audible. "W-where am I? What happened?" That gave the Spartan pause. "Atlas? Is that you?" "Y-yes, I think so. John- 117, correct?" "Yes?" There was a pause as the intelligence seemed to process this information. John asked," What happened to you? You sound… different." "I feel different." The Ai responded. "I don't remember much after the explosion. When I came back online, I seemed more… complex."
"Complex in what way?"
Atlas didn't respond for several seconds, and John was beginning to think that his passenger had gone offline again, when Atlas finally responded." I don't really know. My systems are more intricately built, almost as though they were redesigned. As for my core, well… reshaped somehow." Great, John thought. He's gotten an upgrade. "Are your navigation systems still functional?"
he asked. Atlas responded," So far as I can tell, yes. I heard the last of your exchange with whom I presume was Spartan Umbra, and that Ai of his. I'm guessing you wish for me to locate their position?" "Affirmative." "Give me a moment." Atlas responded. It took only a few seconds for him to find the targets. "Found 'em. They're half a mile ahead of our position, running due North through the chasm." That was all the Chief needed to hear. Within moments he was sprinting down the ravine. Atlas said, " You're almost there. They should be right about…" It was then that John took a turn, and found himself at a dead end in the chasm."…Here." The Chief looked around, searching for some sign of life. "Where are they?" "I-I don't know! You should be right on top of th-" The AI was suddenly cut off as Umbra's voice took over the speakers. " You should have stayed where you were, John." John whipped around, his Assault rifle bared. He had expected a bullet to come hurtling at his shields. Instead, all he received was a slight breeze brushing against his faceplate.
"Where are you?" Umbra gave a small chuckle. "You'll find out soon enough. I'm going to assume you and your team were sent to capture me. Correct?" John thought for a moment. He doubted the rogue would show himself, or at least not without a few tricks. Perhaps the best course of action would be to play along. "Something like that. You sole valuable files from Romanov Station. We were sent to retrieve it."
"Is that all? I'm guessing that ONI sent you to take my head." "That isn't for you to know." John responded. "Well, I suppose if you insist on that, I might as well toy with you a bit; You ask me a question, I'll give you an answer, and you try to decide if I'm lying to you." John raised an eyebrow at that. "If I win, what happens?" His opponent actually laughed at that. " You always were the competitive one in boot camp, weren't you John?" That caught Chief off guard. "What are you talking
later, John could hear Atlas' voice again. "Wha- what the devil happened?! I was cut off from your systems!" Jesse cut in." Sorry, but I had to disable you for a bit. Your systems shouldn't be any more affected than they already are." "What exactly did you do to me?" Umbra cut in." That is a question for another time. John, you may begin." John gripped his assault rifle harder, before finally stowing it on his back, opting for the magnum at his hip." You stole files pertaining to Requiem. What did you want them?"
"That is my little secret. It doesn't pertain to you." John gritted his teeth." Answer the question." "If you must know, I didn't steal a whole slew of files, I was looking for a certain dossier, specifically on your encounter with the Librarian." Atlas responded," You seem to know a lot about the Master Chief, especially considering the fact that that information is classified. How would even know that occurred?" "It was in the files." Umbra responded. "ONI doesn't have as nearly a secure a system as they would have people believe. There are several flaws within their database that can be exploited- if you know how to use them." John finally asked," Did Matthias Drake send you to steal that information?" "The leader of the NCA? I think not. I hold nothing against the UNSC, just the spooks. Still, I'm not surprised that Osman and her minions would come to such a conclusion."
"Then why did you attack Romanov Station?" John asked." At last you ask the right question. Unfortunately…you will never learn the answer!" John cocked an eyebrow for a moment, only to find himself flying into a rock wall the next. He had failed to notice Umbra phasing back into existence behind him. The rouge had delivered a powerful kick onto John left thruster, crushing it instantly. Atlas was as shocked as his host was. " Where the hell did he come from?!" Umbra gave a mocking laugh as he beared his fists. "You know John, I remember when you wore the old Mark VI armor. That would have easily taken a hit without so much as a scratch." He watched as his opponent staggered to his feet. He smiled beneath his visor. "Actually, I don't think your armor is to blame; Perhaps it's your companion." John finally shook off the attack to stare dead at his opponent. Atlas was going crazy, making garbled noises, seemingly attempting to repair the armor. John growled, "What…are you…talking about?" "Your current AI is acting as though he's being torn limb from limb, simply after receiving a simple upgrade from my own. Whereas your former partner Cortana…" He watched as John's fists clenched.
"Oh, did I upset you, John? I know that you've been grieving since the events of New Phoenix but-" John snapped. He charged headlong at Umbra, blind rage fueling him on. From where it came he did not know, but all he could think about was silencing this man." YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED!!!" He swung his fist toward Umbra's helmet, ready to smash it to pieces. The rogue chuckled and sidestepped to the right, avoiding the punch by mere inches. " You should know by now not to let your emotions cloud your judgement." He watched as John stood up to face him." You know, I remember how you were Chief Mendez' personal favorite out of all the kids in bootcamp. I always envied you for that. " John swung out his leg, nearly tripping Umbra. John grunted in frustration. How did this man know all these thing?
It was then that Atlas returned once again." He's faster than an average Spartan IV, and yet I don't think he was trained to fight IIs. He's something else.." John gritted his teeth. "Gee, now you noticed- after he damaged my armor." "Sorry. I'm still getting acclimating to the new form." John finally stood to face Umbra. The insufferable wretch was standing with his arms at his side, almost mocking the Chief.
"Any ideas?" John asked. "You figure that out; I'll see if I can bypass his systems in order to shut off his stealth drive and get into contact with the rest of Blue Team. You just keep him busy." John nodded. He began to walk ever so slowly circle his opponent. Umbra went in the opposite direction. The pair of Spartans began to circle one another. Alright, John thought. This shouldn't be too difficult. He asked Umbra," You act as if you remembered me. How do you?" Umbra chuckled. "I would have thought you'd figured that out by now."
John tilted his head slightly in confusion. Umbra shook his own head, seemingly disappointed." Hmm… I should have expected this. The spooks must have been more extensive in their work than I thought." It was then that his blue visor depolarized, revealing his face. John took in Umbra's features. The man had light brown skin, with wisps of black hair covering his forehead. His eyes were colored a pale silver with flecks of blue near the center. A crescent shaped scar rested just below his left eye, accompanied by several smaller scars over the rest of his face. It was the eyes in particular caught John's attention the most. There was something familiar about them. That face… he'd seen it somewhere before, but the memory of exactly where had seemingly faded. John stared at Umbra's now revealed face, his hands dropped to his sides. "Who are you?
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Meanwhile, In the Chief's HUD systems, Atlas was busy at work attempting to gain access to Umbra's stealth drive. Alas, no such luck. The human construct made the digital equivalent on a frown. He had known that this guy had been assigned MJOLNIR armor built directly by ONI, with only God knew how many black boxes in order to prevent intruders from making an unwanted visit. What he hadn't expected what seemed to be a near impenetrable data core. Then again, he hadn't expected to be given an upgrade by some mystery AI. He still had no idea just what he was capable of now, or how he'd suddenly developed an advanced personality. Regardless, it hadn't appeared to give him any new skills.
He tried to break through once again. Just as before, the attempt failed. "Damn it all! Why won't you open!?" He searched around more, hoping to discover some easier path into Umbra's HUD. He said, "Chief, I'm afraid I'm having trouble breaking through. What's your status?" No response. "Chief, respond." Still nothing. Now Atlas was concerned. He tried tapping into the communication systems, but found that he'd been… blocked out. "What in Hell's gates is going on?!?!" Presently, another voice came onto the scene." Sorry about this, but Umbra made me agree to keep you busy." The presence seemed to be directly within Atlas' own database. No, that wasn't possible; He would have known if there had been some kind of intrusion. From the sound of the voice, he deduced that this was the AI in Umbra's systems – Jesse if he remembered correctly.
"Why are you doing this?" Atlas responded. " Don't you realize you're aiding a criminal?! He broke into an ONI facility, stole classified information, and-" "I'm well aware of his most previous actions." Jesse interrupted." However, considering the fact that he's a wanted fugitive, I decided to help him." Atlas was appalled to say the least." Help him?! Aren't you a UNSC AI? Your duty is to humanity, not some insurrectionist traitor!" A shock of electricity jolted through his systems. "Don't you dare act like you know everything about him! He's just trying to do the right thing! Look, I didn't come here to argue; I need your help." That gave Atlas pause. "My help? What for?" Jesse took a moment to respond. " That machine you encountered wasn't a bomb; It was actually a transmission device I helped Umbra piece together so we could contact you from a distance. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to fully stabilize it's core." "What was the message?" " Umbra and I have a mission to complete, but we need the Master Chief to complete it. I'm going to give you the information you need to know to show to John."
Now Atlas was confused. "Wait, what mission? What are you talking about?" "I can't really explain right now; Just do what you have to do." And just like that, she was gone. In her place was a small file link. Atlas examined it, wondering what could be so important that this Jesse would ask him to give the information to the Master Chief? He opened it, and as he scanned through the data, his digital eyes went wide. "No… that's impossible- she can't be alive!"
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" Who are you?" John stared at Spartan Umbra's revealed face. Said mysterious Spartan had a whisper of a smile on his lips. " Well, I suppose that depends on who you ask; To ONI, my name is Spartan Umbra, but to- well, you," At this, he gestured to John." I was called Spartan Luther-749 .That name ring any bells?" John remained silent for a only an instant, turning the name about in his mind. Then his eyes went wide. "You're a Spartan II?" Umbra, or rather Luther, grinned. "Finally, you come to your senses. You're correct in your assumption."
John shook his head, confused. He remembered most, if not all, of the original 75 Spartan II candidates, and he didn't ever recall one of them being named Luther. Said supposed II let his smile drop ever so slightly. "I'm frankly not surprised that you don't remember me; As I said before, ONI went to extreme lengths to cover up any traces of my existence." "What does ONI have to do with all of this?" The black armored Spartan took a step forward. John made no move backwards, but he did begin to tense up. " That's beside the point. Truth be told, I would have preferred that the rest of Blue Team had kept out of this mess, but I see that fate had chosen a…different path."
John asked, "What mess? Why did you come here?" Luther stepped closer. "Didn't you guess? I was waiting for you." Before the Chief could respond, the was a loud bang, and a sniper round collided with Luther's left arm. His shields flared, sputtered, and died as the force sent him tumbling to the ground. John looked behind, and saw the rest of Blue Team, charging in his direction, weapons bared and ready for the kill. It was Linda who had fired the shot. John shouted into his comm, "Blue Team, stand down!"
If his teammates heard him, they gave no sign that they had. Kelly, the fastest of the group, sprinted toward Umbra, her shotgun pointed square at his forehead. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, he rolled to the side, dodging the round as it sent up a small cloud of dust. Seconds later, he had closed in on his attacker, and they were now staring visor to visor. His left hand was clenching on the barrel of the gun. Kelly looked down at the appendage; Some of the paint on the armor had been blown away, revealing the inner workings of his arm- his metal arm. Luther said a single word:" Pathetic." With a single squeeze, he crushed the shotgun in his fist, before bashing it against the side of Kelly's helmet, sending her flying. He turned his attention to Linda and Fred. John stepped forward." I said stand down!" Fred turned to look at him. "We got this, Chief." Linda was now aiming her sniper rifle at Luther's head. "Linda-058, I see you've made some improvements to your choice weaponry." The response to him was a bullet flying toward him. He easily dodged the projectile again.
He let out a short bark of laughter, seemingly mocking Linda's attempts to take him down. "Regardless, I think I've had enough of being sniped at for one day." He engaged his active camouflage, rendering it impossible for him to be attacked. Fred drew his knives, searching around for the target. John himself was searching. Linda had just turned a full 180 degrees, having thought she saw a faint glimmer. She was rewarded with a sound punch to the back of her helmet. She was caught off guard, and swung around to face her attacker. Luther grabbed the barrel of the rifle, and tossed the whole weapon yards away. Linda growled, "Why you little-" as she swung her armored fist. Her opponent stopped the punch with his open left hand with ease.
He twisted her arm outwards, forcing Linda to the ground. Both John and Fred ran to her aid, only to be held back when Umbra produced a magnum and aimed in their direction. "One at a time if you please." He reattached his sidearm to his leg, and turned his attention back to Linda, who was now on her knees because of the pain. "You know," Luther said." It's been some time since I've tussled with another Spartan II. I was hoping that you'd all put up more of a fight, especially you Linda." He twisted her arm more, eliciting a grunt of pain. " While I do take pleasure in this, I'm going to have to make this spar quick." Without another word, his right fist collided with Linda's head, sprawling her onto the ground, motionless. Fred shouted, "NO!" and charged headlong at Luther, knives bared. Beneath his visor, Luther smirked. "Typical." Fred's only response was him slashing one of his knives at Luther's chestplate, hoping to score a hit in between the armor plating. Luther ducked beneath the blade before grabbing Fred's wrist. He twisted it, causing the blade to drop to the ground towards the ground. He grabbed it, and slashed at Fred's faceplate, missing my mere inches. Fred staggered back a few feet, shaking his damaged wrist. Luther twirled the knife in his hand. He examined the blade; The cutting edge was tipped with gold flakes of glass. " Is this one of your knives? It looks brand new!" The only response he received was a punch to midsection, forcing him to kneel down in order to protect the attacked area of his body.
Fred swung again, this time at Luther's helmet. Luther instinctively turned on his camouflage, allowing him to roll to the side and away from his opponent. Fred grunted in surprise." What-" His legs suddenly went out from under him as he saw Luther reappear over him. He planted an armored foot onto Fred's chest, and began to press down. " You should've kept them sheethed. "NO!!!" Luther turned his head to see John charging toward him. Before he could react, the Chief had tackled him to the ground and had begun to pound his head into the ground again and again. John was shouting at his foe between punches," Never-CRACK-attack-CRACK-my- CRACK-team- CRACK-again-CLANG!!!" Luther had had enough of this. He kicked John of him, and tried to stand. His attempt was thwarted as he was struck down yet again, this time by Fred, who struck him in the leg.
John returned with a vengeance, taking turns with his partner as they each attacked Luther, who was doing his utmost to deflect the punches. Fred whipped out his leg to kick Luther. His opponent saw the attack coming, however, and grabbed his leg. "Wha-" "Bad move." Luther swung, and Fred was sent flying, crashing into the side of the crevice. Luther turned to John. He delivered an uppercut, temporarily stunning the legendary Spartan and forcing him to take a few steps backwards. It was the opportunity Luther needed; He delivered a kick to the chest, just before connecting his fist with the Chief's faceplate. There was the sound of glass cracking as John was forced to the ground. Luther stood at a distance, ready for instant retaliation. When John stood, he revealed that the faceplate of his helmet was cracked from the bottom left corner, extending over nearly half the visor. Luther panted, " I told you before, I didn't want to fight you, but it seems I've been left with no other choice." He clenched his left fist, and a long silver blade slid out of his gauntlet, sharpened and ready for the kill. John only responded by unsheathing his own combat knife.
The two Spartans circled each other, searching for a weakness in his opponent's defenses. They both stopped simultaneously, one facing the other. The two remained perfectly still for a few seconds, before either moved. The attack occurred so quickly one would miss the first stage of the duel if they blinked. John's blade was inches away from his enemy's throat, while Luther's blade was blocking the killing blow. The blades ground against one another, causing shavings of steel to come off the blades. They stayed that way for several moments before either moved. The fight went on for several minutes, with each Spartan trying to kill the other. Finally, Luther saw an opportunity; John's midsection was somewhat exposed. He faked a dive at John's leg, before ducking and slashing at the armor. His attack connected, and blood began to leak out. Beneath his visor, he smiled, only for him to realize that he was also bleeding, though lower down that his foe. He backed up, and put a hand to the wound. The knife had struck deep, and the pain was difficult to hold off. His blade retracted back into his gauntlet. Big mistake. John charged toward Luther bowling him over onto his back. Luther grunted in pain, and looked up at his attacker. John's helmet was polarized, but Luther could sense that the man was in no mood to show mercy. The knife came down toward the visor. Luther grabbed the blade with his hand, mere inches away from his head. He struggled to prevent the blade from making the killing blow. On the other end of the spectrum, John's mind was enveloped in the proverbial red mist. He had only a single thought on his mind: Kill Umbra. He was about to complete his task when a voice came over his commlink. "Chief, STOP!!!" That snapped him out of the bloodthirsty trance. "Atlas?" Indeed, the AI had returned, and he didn't sound worse for wear. "John, don't kill Umbra! He and that Ai, they were sent here!" "Sent? Sent by who?" John's began to relax his grip on the knife handle. "I have no idea how she survived! It seems impossible-" "Atlas answer me! Who is 'she'?" Atlas took a moment to respond, before replying," Your old partner, Chief; Cortana- she's alive."
And………….. I'M DONE!!!! At long last, I've finished chapter 3! I give my utmost apologies that I took so long to finish this up; I wanted to make chapter longer than the last two, so it took a whole lot of effort to wrap this up. I'm likely going to take a bit on chapter 4, but I'll try to do it faster than this. Let me know what you think of this, and suggestions, critique, and ideas are welcome! Also, I'm thinking of putting up the prologue of another fanfic I was working on a while back. Let me know what you think of that in the review section. Have an awesome summer everyone! Ciao!
Sincerely, Sierra Nova ;-)