The Chief sighed as he sat himself down. He'd gotten his own 'room' in the Outpost HQ, which meant he had privacy, a place to stay and a little something more to help him understand the world he was in. Walking into his room, the man scanned the place, noting that he had everything from a proper bathroom with a shower to a wide bed, a desk with titanium reinforcements in the chair, a corner couch, a holographic TV and specialized laptop computer and a lot of other similar amenities to the Commander.
Cortana whistled, "Nice place," with a smile. In a moment, the lights of the room seemed to flash, before returning to normal. Notably, Chief felt that usual cool feeling in his head had vanished. He paused, worried all of a sudden, before watching a figure materialize ahead of him, still barely reaching his chin in height. She smiled at him, arms crossed to her chest as opened her arms and said, "Voila! I now have a little place to hang out and... 1 sec..." She closed her eyes, her avatar flaring emerald for a moment, before she smirked, "Alright. We're clean now. This room is secure."
"Thanks..." He sighed and took his helmet off of his head as the sliding twin doors behind him hissed shut. He sat himself down at his desk, for the first time in a while being able to be with his own thoughts, even as the chair below him groaned a little under the weight of a Spartan in several hundred kilos of Titanium plating. He breathed in, then out and activated his computer as Cortana stood there, leaning against the desk. He cast a glance her way and offered a short, calm smile, before his face returned to the stoic one of old as he requested, "Status report."
Cortana rolled her eyes a little, though her smile remained. She straightened up and stated, "I have a direct link to the Ark from here, though it'd be a bit of a gamble to leave through the data stream connecting us to the whole of the ArkNet. I need to create more secure connections so I know I can wipe any trace of myself from their systems..." before lifting her hand and opening her palm.
An alphanumeric data string played over her hand in the shape of a ring. She told him, "I set up an algorithm that helps filter stuff out about us if you want me to put it into practice. Y'know... If you wanna keep the secret or get some conspiracy theories about us going," with a sly smirk. Chief shook his head and continued typing away his report, to which Cortana rolled her eyes. Marching through the desk, seeing as she was a hologram, she leaned over his shoulder, watching him write out a search query, not a report.
He told her, "Commander might want us to go out. Help him hunt Chatterbox. I'm trying to see if the Outpost's internal net has any information on it," before turning toward her, "Though I'm going to assume you already knew and are scouring it yourself," Which made Cortana smile. She thought sweetly that he knew her so well. With a snap of her fingers, the data necessary, as written by Alyosha, appeared on his screen.
After a while of the two just lounging around, Cortana sat on his desk, the bell rang and the AI vanished as her appropriated holographic emitters turned back to emitting their standard holograms. Chief called out, "Come in!" and the door slid open. Delta walked in, donning casual clothes instead of her full combat uniform. Note that casual clothes meant her usual outfit, minus the bulletproof vest and rifle. She even had her holster still.
The woman stopped in front of Chief's desk and saluted, to which the Spartan saluted back and motioned to her to take a seat. She pulled up a chair and sat herself down, before starting, "Apologies if I'm interrupting anything important, sir, but I figured I should come report in as the senior Nikke of the squad and... Well... Presumably, your XO for future matters."
"My door is always open, Delta," The Spartan stated, echoing what the Commander had told him, though slightly paraphrased. Truth be told, he knew that an open doors policy was conducive to a better work environment for troopers. Though he wasn't a very social man, he knew better than to let the opportunity to assist his own troops in having a decent living standard slip.
Delta gave him a smile and said, "Happy to hear that, sir... Then may I ask you something?"
Chief gave her a nod. She took the opportunity and said, "What kind of War have you fought, sir...? I can see the Scarring and..."
"One very similar to this one," He replied, his voice a little low. He leaned onto the desk and stated, "I will probably have a little presentation ready by midday tomorrow, provided we're not leaving to hunt this Chatterbox Missilis seems so interested in..." as he turned back to typing on his laptop. The young woman gave a nod, then hummed and looked around.
"I think we would all appreciate a short briefing about you, sir..." She nodded next, turning her gaze to him again, "Pays to know how we wound up with a human soldier capable of doing the things you've done. Not to mention knowing how you were molded into this type of unit, almost identical to the Nikke in many aspects, err..." She paused, then added, "Sir..."
Chief replied, "Agreed... I should probably try and finish it," and he almost seemed to be hinting at someone about it, or so Delta thought. Maybe it was her, but the man had looked at the computer while saying it. Delta didn't know, nor would she willingly question her CO at the moment. She'd seen and heard of what the Chief can do, not to mention the way he defended Niner had proven he had a certain type of spine that so many others had lacked so far. So many others sans commander Harris.
"Do you want me to leave you to it?" She raised a brow.
"If it's fine with you," He replied calmly. Delta simply offered him a smile, then stood up and saluted again. Chief stood up and replied to the salute with a nod, his blue eyes locked onto her. With that, the young woman stepped away and out of the room, letting the door shut behind her. The Spartan hummed as he watched Cortana reappear with a smirk.
"Who knew treating warrior cyborgs nice would earn a degree of loyalty, eh?" The girl spoke as she made her hologram form sit down on the desk again. Chief looked up at her for a moment and hummed, to which she chuckled. She told him, "I have what we need written out, John. Plus visual aid in the form of videos you can use in order for you to be able to show the world here everything."
He nodded, "Thanks... I'll call the Commander to see if he's okay with a little showing."
"Roger that, Chief."
The Spartan took a couple seconds and typed out a message for Commander Harris, regarding an impromptu briefing for most of the squads present currently on the Outpost. He told their current active-duty CO he intended to tell everyone of where they came from and, well, what they faced. Though he never mentioned Cortana, he might do that in due time. Commander Harris seemed like a trustworthy individual. Someone who actually gave a damn about the people under him was rare. Rarer still, it seemed, here, if Syuen's way of acting was anything to go by.
... Some hours later, the Nikkes had gathered in a newly-built auditorium area of the Outpost. Several squads, newly-deployed to the Outpost, had also joined. Among them was Squad Triangle, the Central Government's platoon of watchdogs. Three young women, led by a blue-haired one in military garb named Privaty. Her golden eyes focused on the middle of the amphitheater-like building.
Rows of other Nikkes, both Mass Production patrols from the Outpost and unique Nikke like them were sat, each with a view over the other's head to see the area ahead. A large hologram projector played a flat image of static overhead, bathing the otherwise dark room in an eerie blue glow. The Commander of the Outpost, one Alyosha Harris, stood on the stage, his brown peaked cap under his arm.
Murmurs echoed from the Nikkes, whispers about what the summons could be related to. Some members seemed to know, however, as Privaty noted when she saw the newly formed and as-of-yet unnamed combat team under that oddity of a Soldier sitting ahead of them. The Scouts' own Delta hummed, arms crossed as Signal beside her typed away on her Smartphone's BlaBla app.
All those murmurs seemed to be silenced the moment the man clad in heavy armor walked onto the stage, helmet on. Even from this distance, he looked more like a machine than a man. Privaty had thought that the other Elysion units had exaggerated about him. In turn, now she gazed upon a man clad in what she could only describe as a battle suit, an armored coffin that encased him into its own form. She wondered just how much of the man was left under there.
Ironic thought process, she then said to herself as she recalled they weren't much different, probably. She shifted in her seat as the Commander began to speak, "Alright, now that we're all gathered here, all Squads, please, pay attention. Our newest comrade in arms and fellow Commander is about to begin a little briefing about his home. He said he figured it's best to get this out of the way ASAP, however let it be known he won't be happy about anyone filming or sharing this on the ArkNet... He'll know somehow, trust me..."
A few more murmurs that quickly went quiet echoed like a small wave across the room. The Spartan turned to face them, now standing in the middle of the stage. He called out to the commander, removing a chip from his helmet and handing it to him. The man nodded and slid it into a connection port on a computer on the table, then gave Chief a thumbs up.
The PA system of the place powered with a short screech, causing a few people to wince. Noticeably, the Counters were sat backstage, but all three Nikkes winced. Chief let out a sigh, then spoke clearly, voice reverberating through the speakers, "Good afternoon to all Nikkes of the Outpost. I'll make this brief... I am Master Chief Petty Officer 117. A few of you know me already, specifically Counters and my own team, LUCKY STRIKE... Not a name I picked, mind you..." and he cast a sideways glance at the Commander, who laughed awkwardly. The Spartan ignored the display of embarrassment, simply continuing, "Others may know me from the footage spread around the net by Missilis. And the reason we're here is simple. I'll be introducing you to the world I've come from. Feel free to film or record this, as I'm sure the Central Government will want to know."
Privaty blanked, while her comrades, the overworked Yulha and shy Admi, stared, dumbfound, at the Spartan. Murmurs of surprise, fear and shock came from across the Nikkes gathered. The Spartan raised a hand and said, "I'm not an alien," in clarification. He added, "I'm human, though slightly modified. Specifics are currently classified top-secret, however."
Room for more speculation was the common thought among the crowd, even Alyosha. The Spartan continued, turning to the holo-projector as a file started playing. A gleaming blue orb floated in the void of space. Much to the crowd's astonishment, the planet was not Earth, or it didn't seem to be, at least. Rapi, eyes wide, murmured, "That's... My God, that's not Earth. Look at the continents..."
"Holy hell," Anis murmured, while Neon seemed to be filming. The footage itself soon had a Heads-Up Display system appear, denoting the Space Satellite that was filming. A distant sun shined down, light splitting the planet in twain as a sea of stars twinkled around, like a sphere of darkness pockmarked by flakes of snow, so distant to the touch. Rapi's eyes glimmered at the sight...
The collective gasped as the first ship came into view. Blocky, armored and black-hulled, armed to the teeth with cannons and missile pods and even a massive spinal mount of some kind. A dozen such ships flew past the camera, the Chief beginning, "I come from a faction called the United Nations Space Command. We belong to what is called the Unified Earth Government and, unlike your Humanity, we got to space before our extinction event became an issue. The world you see before you was Harvest, a human Outer Colony."
"Was?" The Commander quirked a brow. Chief nodded, then motioned to the screen. The small fleet that was soon identified by the Satellite systems as a Colonial Military Authority naval force, the CMA warship Heracles in the lead. Ahead, space seemed to disrupt between them and the planet, the sat's visual sensors flaring with static due to radiation. The silhouette of a ship seemed to emerge out of a portal, shimmering azure...
A spine-chilling voice then rang out, filled with malice, "Your destruction is the will of the Gods! And we?! We are their INSTRUMENT!"
... Moments later, the first shot in the most fateful encounter the Master Chief's mankind would face to date would be fired. Ventral lines on the ship heated from dull, to burning orange, to a blinding white. Beams lanced out from the sides of the ship as the CMA's naval assets barely had time to reply. Light flashed and the girls gasped as the energy beams cut into armor, splitting several of the black vessels of humanity in half.
Anis's mouth hung open, while Rapi covered her mouth and whispered, "Disgusting firepower..."
"... Only one ship, the CMA Heracles, survived this encounter to warn us. The Covenant," Chief explained as perspectives switched to images from the ground, of Colonial Military units, Militia, infantry and the likes, moving over the wide crop fields. Wildfires burned in the distance as the ships descended. He spoke on, "An Alien hegemony made up of multiple species, theocratic in nature, struck first... And this would be the start of Humanity's Greatest War."
The Covenant's warships bore down on Harvest's surface, breaking through the clouds and billowing smoke, as if they mirrored whales breaching the surface of murky water. Massive plasma beams lanced down onto the planetary surface. A collage of images played, showing the CMA and UNSC forces on the ground, in space and in the air engaging the Covenant's armadas and forces. He stated solemnly, "Harvest would fall, sadly."
And indeed, the previous perspective from the Satellite reappeared, though, this time, a Covenant armada orbited Harvest, its plasma arsenal burning the planet's surface, boiling away its oceans, wildfires raging where the beams had struck and cut their marks. Alyosha, pale as bone, swallowed. His mind ran through his thoughts as he wondered to himself which was worse? Making it to space, only to have to fight this kind of war? Or winding up buried as they fought a nightmare like the Raptures.
He saw no difference, honestly. In space, or on Earth? They would still perish no matter the foe. Chief, however, continued, "Obviously, humanity fought back... And with a man I had served under at least once, we retook Harvest and spawned great victories that we didn't expect..." before images switched to a more hopeful sight, of UNSC infantry landing on Harvest, of UNSC ships engaging Covenant ships and hammering them with their main batteries, of UNSC air assets hammering the enemy with missiles and bombs.
Some glint of hope reappeared in the eyes of several stunned Nikke. Chief then added, "One of our greatest victories up to this point came at Psi Serpentis, led by the same man that has led the retaking of Harvest, for what Harvest was still worth to us..." as the image of a strong-jawed man clad in a UNSC Navy combat uniform appeared on the screen. "Admiral Preston Jeremiah Cole."
Images of Psi Serpentis and the battle there rolled across the screen. The Gambit, the splitting of the Covenant's fleets, the hammer landing and the Everest's dive into the atmosphere of Viperidae, the Gas Giant. A booming voice spoke over the com, a sound mixer appearing below Admiral Cole's portrait. He spoke, proud and focused, "Listen to me, Covenant!" his first words sending shivers up the entire room's spines.
"I am Vice Admiral Preston J. Cole, commanding the human flagship, Everest!" The man's voice continued to boom as the Nikkes and Alyosha listened, the young man more intently than even Rapi thought possible. Cole's voice continued, "You claim to be the holy inheritors of the Universe? I spit on your so-called Holiness!" as another image of the Everest, this one displaying the Heavy Cruiser firing her spinal battery at the enemy, the low cheers of the Nikkes starting to form. He roared, "You dare judge us unfit?! After I have personally sent more than three hundred of your vainglorious ships to hell?! After kicking your collective butts off Harvest not once, but twice?!"
A few louder cheers echoed, while Anis grinned and Rapi seemed to finally crack a smile. The Admiral spoke proudly, "From where I sit, we're the worthy inheritors. You think otherwise, you can come prove me wrong! Is this the best you can do?! Watch what one unworthy human can do!" And, yet again, the images of the man's entry into Viperidae's atmosphere played, to the tune of cheering Nikkes and even a jovial Alyosha, who balled his fist into the air.
Nuclear missiles launched from the Everest, hundreds of them. Viperidae briefly became a second sun on the screen, a blinding flash of light in the darkness and, once all cooled, there was nothing left of the hundreds of Covenant ships that had trailed Cole. Nor anything left of Cole. The image winked off as the Spartan spoke, "The Admiral's sacrifice... And so many others..." a bitter taste on his tongue as he looked slowly over the list of MIA and KIA he had kept updated so meticulously, "Humanity won the war... Twenty-seven years and thirty-three billion casualties later."
That stopped the room cold. Chief nodded as he turned to face the room, noting the pale faces now staring back at him. Chief thought for a moment about how to cap this off... He decided a short speech would be in order, something to boost the morale of the Nikkes present, something to drive home the point they were those who would defend the world. So, he decided to speak, his voice proud and loud, "Humanity was driven nearly to extinction, much like it is here... I know I've barely arrived, but what little I've seen of you all tells me enough for me to understand that that drive to protect is within you all."
"You are all made from humans. You are human, no matter what some arbitrary beliefs some citizens of the Ark hold," His gaze swept across the room, then locked onto Delta's and Signal's hopeful eyes. He continued, "That drive to survive is within all of you... And I'm certain that, thanks to you, humanity will thrive on the surface again, because you are her soldiers. Mankind remembers. We remember our heroes... And you will all be remembered as such. Fight with all you've got and keep each-other safe..."
"I and the Commander will see you all on the other side," He told them.
Much to his surprise, Oh-Niner stood to her feet, snapping a salute and calling, "For All Mankind!" only to be followed up by several of her sister-models, other Mass Production Nikkes and, then, even by his team and Counters. Rapi snapped a crisp salute beside Alyosha, who smiled at the Chief and saluted, too. The entire hall chorused, "For All Mankind!" voices reverberating across the amphitheater.
The Chief hummed, then nodded and saluted back, calling, "At ease! Dismissed!" which got the Nikkes to start filing out. Alyosha, Counters and Lucky Strike stayed behind, with the Commander himself walking up to and giving Chief a pat on the shoulder. He took the chip from the computer and handed it back to the Spartan, who took it with a nod of thanks, sliding it back into his helmet and feeling the cool fog return, Cortana smiling. He nodded to the team, then looked to Alyosha, seemingly curious...
"We got a mission, right?" The guy grinned, "Let's get it going."
For All Mankind...