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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
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"Between the Hammer..."
May 22 2528 - Hour 0233
COL Logan 'Log' Sutton
Aboard the UNSC Roman Blue, Orbit of Installation-04
P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c
Pxtreon: P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin
Trouble shall always find paradise, even though efforts have been made to stave away the worst kind of crap we could end up facing.
The Expedition, albeit bearing my name, was not led by me. This much is quite clear. The issue lied within the divided leadership campaigning it. The UNSC was struggling with the UEG representatives on board of the settler fleet, the latter behaving in a way that is... well, frustrating.
First it was verbal sparring over the limitations of the expedition, then it became something more tedious such as some of the civilian scout ships having gone beyond the planets that were accounted to be checked out and had 'wandered off' near Installation-04.
The reprimand was more than fucking deserved considering how stubbornly bratty those people were being. It wasn't all of them, but some bastards were trying to sneak about and get a chance for glory. Not the kind of politicians that I liked to deal with, but I was stuck with them and... I could tell that it was meant to be. After all, if these hideous morons were with us, then it would make for less troublemakers in the reconstruction efforts back on the currently-owned planets.
"It is our right to know why the UNSC is denying us such a wonderful habitable system!"
"It is classified- and this matter has been settled by your leaders." Hood argued diplomatically, his voice tense but not too stern in delivering that fair statement, but it wasn't enough.
"It still doesn't make any sense," One of them rebuked. "We are elected officials and the Martial Law is receding-"
"It's not a matter of Martial Law, ma'am," I jumped in, trying to lessen the pressure on Hood. "The HIGHCOM has presented enough reasons not pursue that path and it has been accepted by the UEG. If you have any issue with this, then you can bring it up to your bosses."
"We-"
"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear: talking with us will not change that there is a solid agreement, a signed one, between the UNSC and the UEG to respect limitations implemented. If you want to force a change, then it would be smart to just direct it to your leaders. That's the end of it."
I didn't entertain further chatting about this, and while Hood was not trying to play the bad cop here, he too decided to cut short this meeting after reminding the group that the military had authority over them in the matters of security through the entirety of the expedition.
I walked back to my room, checking on any surprises since I couldn't exactly trust these UEG's agents through this campaign. It was frustrating, but Sif was always on the watch for any surprises. I was looking into the new upgraded suit before I got contacted by Sif in regard to an anomaly.
So, I may have some news of the bad kind.
"Another mess from the UEG or-"
A kidnapping. VIPs have been retrieved and have been taken out of the fleet.
I tensed up, glancing around. "Where and who?"
The event happened within one of the storage facilities. The agents had posed as members of the News Corps detached for the occasion.
"I see-"
It seems Insurrectionists, but the way they are acting seems 'odd'- too prepared.
"So, we are dealing with ONI. How come this wasn't brought up to Hood first?"
They have a big bomb on board. A nuke.
...
"Sif-"
I can't deactivate it, and they are moving fast for the Halo.
"Do you think they will cause an 'accident' with a nuke and few hostages? What are they up to?"
They seem to have some offline data. I can't hack it, but it contains something very big inside. Something that may have been prepared to be used on the ring.
That's not good at all...
"Contact Hood and tell him that there is this situation and that I will mobilize a Task Force to take care of this cautiously."
Doing that- but who are you going to ask for?
"I want... Serin, John-117, Jorge-052, and Grace."
Never forgetting a classic, but I thought you would have asked for more of the 'original' group.
I nodded in agreement, but I had a good reason why I couldn't ask for more. First, the Expedition didn't have enough resources to engage the entire force for such an event. We had our own limitations imposed by the UEG to avoid any potential wasteful behavior over equipment; Second-
"It's possible some of the spies are still in the ships. I want the rest of Balmung to carefully weed them out."
Sending messages out now and... are you going to use the new suit?
There was a hint of giddiness in her tone, and I frowned.
"Well, yeah-"
Can you put it on now?
My frown deepened. "Why?"
Why not?
"No, I mean- Look Sif, be straightforward with me here. Did you do something to it I should be worried about?"
No.
"Oh, I guess-"
I took the measurements, so I wanted to know if it was form-fitting.
...
"Oh, I see... Well, I think I will put on to... make sure you got it right."
She giggled at that, and I found it quite suspicious. Still I took the plaque filled with nanomachines, set it by my chest and activated it. This was one of the biggest advances in the BALMUNG line of Power Armor, turning it into a special armored suit that had a superior protection through its shield, and provided a few tools that heightened the jump capacity, the means to slide under a small section or away from attack and... a big fucking Arm-Cannon that was seemingly endless due to the power-core installed in it expected to last for centuries.
This was an 'one of a kind' piece, and one that Gerhardt had regarded as his 'Masterwork' and 'the ever-evolving step of the Balmung line of armors'.
The nanomachines were programmed to 'compress' most of the material within the plaque, and then 'decompress it properly' once those were activated. I had gone through a few tests already, but the tingling feeling and the chance of this springtrapping me out of the blue in an abysmal but still existing chance terrified me.
Nothing bad happened as I put it on but... I could tell I should have warned people a bit more on how it looked like. Then again, the hilarious reaction of some Marines passing by and jumping in surprise at seeing my current power suit was something of an amusing way to distract myself for the moment.
(The new suit is inspired by the Metroid's Federation Phazon Trooper with some color palette different and pieces missing, the reference is on QQ.)
Still, my mind focused on the main issue: retrieve the hostages, capture the terrorists, and secure the nukes.
AN
Balmung X getto! This is indeed the 'final' evolution of Balmung- but rather than be a standardized version, this is a custom made- the pinnacle of self-evolutionary power suits that will be subjected to 'upgrades'.
This reminds me that I may have a 'replacement' for this story once I am done with it. It's currently in the Pxtreon, and it set in the Nintendoverse (starting in Metroid): 'The Cunning God of Cuddles' is a SI that replaces a certain 'Pirate Leader' in his Larval form- In a few words: Little Birdie fucks with Metroid Other M's plot and other games' stories for cuddles and headpats.