The Spartan of the Planet of the apes
Disclaimer: I do not in anyway shape or form own Halo of the Planet of the apes franchise, nor am I associated with them in any way. This is a non-profit fanwork written solely for the purpose of entertainment. This is no way canon in any shape or form.
Responses to questions or statements:
-Jestalnaker94000: Thank you very much! Hope you like this chapter.
-I do agree with you. It's just like I said, I can't help to root for mankind whenever it's us against other species or races. I mean, I really like Caesar and the other ape characters like Maurice and Rocket and yes, humanity did ultimately did it to themselves. Believe me, I was really invested Caesar's story and I loved Any Serkis's performance (seriously, it's a crime against humanity that he never won any awards for it. But then again, that would imply that award shows have any kind of relevance anymore). But at the end of the day, I'm still going to root for my species when it comes down to our very survival. That's just who I am, I can't help it.
-Like I said, one of the reasons why I really like this reboot trilogy is all the complexity and nuances. How it showed how any animal or species that reaches human levels of intellect have the exact same problems that we have. How the apes are sort of reflections of ourselves and how they make the exact same mistakes we did and go through similar events like our species did like power struggles, deceit, betrayal, prejudice, murder, war, etc. It's why the scene in Dawn where Caesar talks with his son 'Blue eyes' is my favorite in the whole reboot trilogy, where he tells his son, "I thought. Ape better. Than Human. I see now...hoe much like them we are." How he realized how it both species were one and the same. That good and bad people exists on both sides and how apes have the exact same problems and qualities that humans have. It was rather refreshing to see the idea that if another species had out intellect, they would have our issues and make the same exact mistakes as we did. Especially in a time where people seem to have a burning self-hatred for our species, like we're a swarm of locusts
-Slayer 10321: Thank you very much.
-rollynolly: It does sound like a nice idea.
-RontheGuest: Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoy my characterization of Dot.
- I'm glad you enjoy that part. Essentially, I'm having Six be the John Connor of the reboot Planet of the apes universe (or perhaps Caesar of the humans would be more appropriate). Someone who's looked upon as this savior type of figure whom brings hope wherever he goes. A man whose looked upon with awe and reverence by those around him and is seen by many as the very key to salvation.
-I'm also glad you enjoy my characterization of Dot. I plan for her to be the upbeat and somewhat optimistic character. Not necessarily the comic relief, but someone that provides a sense of levity in an otherwise bleak and kind of depressing situation.
-I do plan to have changes in the story. I'm not going to spoil exactly what I have planned. But I do plan for Six and Dot's actions to affect Colonel McCullough's decisions.
-SON jaeger: As it should be, just as the God-Emperor of Mankind intended.
-SRPA Sentinel: Thanks, that was pretty much what I was going for when I was writing the previous chapter.
-TK0421: Thank you very much. Glad you enjoyed it. They never specified where the remains of the U.S Army gathered, so I just picked the joint Lewis-McChord base as it's one of the largest military installations in the United States
-I'm not going to spoil what I have planned. but so far I'm intending to have Six and Dot play a big part in the future human-ape war. But yeah, with Six and Dot around the humans have a much higher chance of overcoming the simian flu.
-AdmiralDan09: Thank you very much.
-Maybe later I'll do an omake taking place at Lewis-McChord. Probably showing how things are going through the perspective of Colonel McCullough or maybe someone else.
-In my opinion, Colonel McCullough is only really a villain since War is shown from the apes point of view. For me he was at best an anti-hero given that he was just trying to save mankind from a terrifying fate. It's why he's the best characters in the trilogy imo. Sure, he's absolutely cold and ruthless, and even a little crazy. But ultimately, he was right in everything that he said, how the apes would eventually take over the world and how humans would be reduced to cattle. He could see the signs and everything he did was to prevent it from happening.
-StormTrooperGary: Thank you very much. Hope this chapter was satisfactory
-AdmiralThrawn756: Pretty much, yeah. Six and Dot are just whatever they can to keep humanity together at this point, with their help in high demand.
-I think I remember a story like that too (though, I can't remember what it was called). I don't know if I will right a story like the one you suggested though. With me being busy in real life on top of my other stories. Apologies. Halo and Titanfall both fit rather well in Avatar imo.
-NewGuest123: Definitely! They're going to be in for quite a sight.
-The idea sounds really good! Though like I just said, I don't know if I can write it on top of my other stories and me being rather bust in real life. Sorry. :(
Now that that's done, onto the story!
WARNING, I SAY AGAIN, WARNING: The bottom of this chapter contains spoilers for Kingdom of the planet of the apes. If you haven't seen it or don't mind spoilers, then I suggest to stop when you finish it.
Chapter 4
"They're animals!" = Normal speech
'There may be more inside.' = Thoughts
"The Spartan's here!" = Hand signals
"/ Target's down. I say again, target is down. /" = Radio
(Location: San Francisco, California)
Malcolm Clarke heaved as he lifted a crate into the back of his truck as he repeated the process with the last case before locking the trunk. They had just finished packing up for the trip into the Muir woods where they would hopefully the dam up there would still be functional. They had every kind of repair tool and piece of equipment that they could think of for every kind of scenario.
Walking over to the other end of the garage, where he saw his son Alexander helping Ellie load the rest of the boxes into the second truck. Closing the hatch as soon as they did and greeted him with a nod as he approached.
"Is that all of it?" He asked.
"Yeah, I think that's everything, dad. The vehicles are also loaded too." His son replied.
"Good." He replied as he saw Ellie giving his son a smile and a pat on the back, to which Alex barely responded to.
"Look Alex, I know it's hard. But please, just try to be nice to Ellie, please." Malcolm pleaded his son. Who still looked upset before sighing and giving him a nod. Turning to Ellie and giving her a somewhat reluctant smile. An act that Ellie appreciated as her smile grew.
He did understand what his son was thinking. He still missed his mother and harbored a bit of resentment to Ellie as he felt she was trying to replace her. Malcolm understood his pain as he still missed her too. But he had to learn to let go and move on. Or else he would never be able to move forward in life. Malcolm had already explained it to him, but it seems it still had yet to sink in.
"Hey, did you found out what's going on?" Malcolm asked the older man.
Earlier, when they loading some spare parts, a sudden vibration shook the building they were in suddenly in the middle of an earthquake. However, it had vanished as soon as it appeared. Foster had went to find out what had caused it while they continued packing.
"Sorry, but I got held up." Foster apologized. "But it was them."
"Wait them?" Ellie inquired with widened eyes. "Do you mean..."
"Yeah, the big guy with his virtual friend."
Everyone all looked at each other and realized that none of them had any idea of it. The only time anyone has heard any news of them over the last few years was when the transmissions and broadcasts regarding events were still commonplace. How the two of them were assisting governments in putting down mass riots or helping to organize relief and evacuation efforts of contaminated areas. They hadn't really expected him to come back if they were being honest with themselves.
"What's he doing back here?"
"Well, from what I heard, Dreyfus asked him to come to see if he could have a solution to our power problem."
"Does he?"
"I don't know. He went to talk with Dreyfus in his office. Though, that was a little bit ago."
"Where is he, anyway?" Ellie asked. Curious on the whereabouts of the super-soldier from an alternate dimension.
"Right here."
Everyone in the room instantly turned to the source of the voice, with Elie actually jumping as she snapped to the source. A near seven-foot tall juggernaut stood in the doorway in his iconic futuristic armor in it's worn down green paint scheme.
"Malcolm."
A heavily modulated voice, akin to someone speaking from a respirator reached his ears. Making the voice sound monotone that helped to conceal what the tone. He stepped forward from the doorway and entered the room, his armored feet emitting a heavy thump with each step, moving effortlessly and without any issue despite how bulky the suit was and how much gear and equipment he was carrying. The armor being something straight out of a comic book or a big budget sci-fi movie.
Malcolm remembered first seeing the suit when the duo had first arrived in San Francisco years ago. He recalled how intimidating he was when he first stepped off his ship and how he towered over everyone he stood next to and helped to explain the situation with Dreyfus as he and Dot were confused as to what was going on. And how he felt saddened when they left to help out elsewhere, but also understanding as there were many others in the world that needed their assistance more.
He still remembered hearing how he was assisting others while being drained for blood almost every day. Since the cure they had developed used his white blood cells and antibodies from his blood as a key component. Malcolm still couldn't believe that he was still able to stand, let alone able to work, with him donating around more of a pint of his blood nearly every two days. With the only reason he was still able to continue operating was due to the augmentations he was given back in his home universe and his upgraded physiology.
"Lex," Malcolm greeted as he regained his composure.
"The feeling's mutual." The armored man replied with a nod as he turned his gaze to Ellie and Alexander.
"Ellie, Alex."
"Uh hi, Lex." The former nurse responded with a bit of nervousness.
While they had no reason to fear Lex given everything he's done, it didn't stop some from being nervous and even wary around him. He was one of those guys that sort of affected the air around him. Emitting a kind of aura that screamed that you did not want to mess with this guy even though he was on your side. And that was aside from the fact that he was outfitted in highly advanced power armor, heavily augmented by stuff that governments and corporations pre-outbreak could only dream of, and armed to the teeth.
"Is uh-" Alex began before he was interrupted by a blue figure shimmering into existence right in front of him. Finally forming a projection of a woman in her 20s outfitted in a former military dress uniform.
"Yup," the AI greeted jovially as she waved her hand. "How've you been, Malcolm?"
"Alright, all things considered." He replied. "So, is it's true that Dreyfus asked you two for help regarding our power issue?"
"Yep," The blue A.I affirmed as she popped the P for emphasis. "We're still considering options. But right now, that dam up there is still your best bet. So, we talked with Dreyfus and we figured w should drop by to inform you that the boss and I are going to be joining your group on your little excursion into the woods."
"Is that really necessary?" Malcolm asked. "We already got Carver and Kemp coming along in addition to the rest of us."
"Well, probably not." Dot admitted. "It's more as a precaution than anything else. Plus, I doubt you would argue against having an extra set of hands up there."
"Also, Dot will be able to provide more accurate readings on the structural integrity of the dam and identify what exactly needs to be fixed or repaired." The Spartan-III chimed in as he leaned on a nearby stack of crates filled with tools and spare parts for vehicles.
"Can't argue with that." Foster agreed. "Guess that means we don't have to take Carver with us now." He joked.
It was no secret that Carver and Foster didn't get along with one another, having butted heads multiple times before. However, both of them knew what was at stake and were professional enough to set aside their differences in order to prevent the colony from losing power.
"Let's just bring him along just to be safe." Malcolm said. "He still knows more about the dam than any of us do."
"Hey!"
"Sorry. All of us except you." He lightly chuckled gave a look to the companion of the Spartan-III, who had a smirk plastered on her virtual lips.
"Still, it's good to see you. Haven't seen you since..." He trailed off as he remembered the day his wife, Olivia, died after fighting off the simian flu for a week. She was already too far gone at that point, the cure that Lex and Dot developed was unable to save her life.
Of course, Malcolm never blamed him for it. It wasn't in anyway their fault and he always appreciated that they tried their bests.
"Yeah, I'm sorry." Lex said remorsefully.
"Don't be. It wasn't your fault." Malcolm assured the two. as he knew the two felt serious guilt over not being able to make more of a difference. It was why he defended him whenever it was brought up that if they had arrived earlier, all of this could've been avoided.
Suddenly Dot disappeared before suddenly reappearing with a more serious look on her face before turning to her Spartan.
"Boss, we got a call coming in from Fort Lewis. It's from General Andrews."
Lex nodded. "Sorry, I got to take this. Nice meeting you again, Malcolm." He said as he stepped out of the room back the way he came from.
Once they had left the room, Alex turned to him with a smile, something he hadn't seen for a long time with another smile on both Ellie's and Foster's. The look in their eyes filled with hope that things might actually turn out okay.
It was feeling that grew inside him as well as he began grinning along with them.
As the two of them stepped out of the garage, Six patched in the incoming communique request from General Andrews. The overall commander-in-chief of all remaining forces of the U.S Army stationed at the Fort Lewis military installation. At the beginning of the crisis, he had only just been promoted to Brigadier General. With him assuming command of what was left of the United States Army when the rest of the top Army brass were killed, resigned, or went underground with the rest of the U.S government during the later years of the outbreak.
While the circumstances were not ideal, Lex figured that he wasn't the worst choice to be the U.S Army commander. He and Dot had worked with him in the past few years to help enforce military quarantines in infected areas, as he was assigned to handle and administrate the zones when they were first started appearing. During that time, Lex made out Andrews to be a man that was competent and good at his job, but at times could be a bit 'soft.' Not that he could really blame him. After all, it would be hard for anyone to order the saturation of American cities with napalm and bombs, which was suggested by Dot and even by a few others at the Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization. Even when those cities were too far gone and bombing them could have slowed the disease's progress, with the higher echelons of military command like General Andrews fiercely opposing the suggestion, saying that they just had to keep the virus confined until a cure could be developed.
Despite how upset they were at the two for even proposing the idea, Dot and Lex had despised it even more so even if the cities they had put forward for saturation only had a few hundred to a couple thousand people left in them, as the majority were already dead or in the process of dying via the Simian Flu. With Dot spending nearly a week in a state of despair, depression, self-hatred for what she was even offering until Lex had managed to get her out of it. However, Dot had run millions of simulations in a desperate attempt to find another solution to buy time for the cure, only to come up short-handed as nothing else could successful hinder the plague. If they had done so, the cure they had developed could have been able to produce more en masse and even more lives could've been saved. By the time, the the brass had conceded and began ordering the bombardments, it was already far too late for it to have any effective impact.
That was a dark time. A time where hard and agonizing decisions had to be made to save more lives. And while somewhat successful, still ultimately failed in the end.
Still, he had to give the man his credit for he was no coward. Choosing to stay behind to lead his men while the rest of the government went into hiding and open enough to listen to them, already putting him above a few other Generals they had met when they had first arrived on this new Earth.
While Six and Dot weren't exactly a "part" of the U.S Army or any of the other branches of the armed forces, they assisted them greatly over the past few years to the point were the remaining leadership highly valued them. Even taking suggestions and considerations from them and assisting them however they could in their current efforts in rebuilding the country.
"/ (Static)- Do you read me. Over?/ " A static and garbled voice came through on his helmet's built in internal radio before Dot managed to clean it up. Making it a lot more clearer and easier to make out.
"Reading you loud and clear, General." Lex answered.
"/ Good. Was starting to think this thing wasn't working no more. /"
"/Well apologies, but you're going to have to make it quick, General. " Dot chimed in. "/Connection's rather spotty. Don't know how long I can keep it stable for. "
"/ Just wanted to check in. See how things are going down there. /"
"/ Not much. Things are pretty much how Dreyfus said they were./ "
"/ Good to hear. Though, some of the men have already begun missing the two of you. /" He joked.
Six had made something of a reputation for himself over the last few years, especially among the enlisted. Maybe apparently saw him as "the coolest thing ever" and a "real life space marine" as he fought and worked alongside many of them over the years. Much like how many saw the Spartans back home, only this time there was a noticeable lack of the resentment and hidden fear, something that Lex wasn't complaining about.
"I know. But like I said, I promised Dreyfus we'd be there if he ever needed us." Six defended.
"/ I know and I'm not blaming you for it. Also, I've received a request for Dot to have a look over some logistics charts. Just so we can get another pair of eyes on it."
"Send me it, I'll have her look it over." Lex assured.
"/ Thanks, Lex. I know it's hard being away from your home. But still, we really appreciate the help. /"
"It's not like we know how to go home anyways, Andrews. But, it's no problem. In fact, it's not all that different from what we were already doing."
"/ Yeah, one day you're going to have to tell us more about this UNSC and alternate mankind of yours. /"
"Maybe, anyways we got to go. Talk to you later.
Andrews gave out an affirm before the transmission ended.
"Alright, let's see if we can't give them an alternative." Six said.
Dot let out a sigh, which Lex knew that if her form was projecting, she would be shaking her head. "No rest for the wicked. Eh, boss."
"Sorry, Dot." He apologized. "Still got the rest of the day. Might as well see if we can get something out of this."
His close friend didn't argue, indicating she didn't disagree. "Still when this is all over and mankind gets back on its feet, you and I are going to have to take a vacation. It's getting really tiring being the last hope for humanity here." She said in good humor.
Lex rolled his eyes from behind his visor. An act that Dot picked up on as she was inside his armor's software.
"Hey! I'm serious!" Her replied in mock offense with her tone of voice not changing. With Lex again rolling his eyes as Dot began chucking. Still, the super-soldier began thinking on her proposal. While it would be undoubtedly many more years before this humanity would not be in danger of going extinct, when things were stable again and they were still unable to find a way home, it wouldn't hurt to go sightseeing. He would at least liked to see Greece again, the country that he originated from back in his home universe. Only having went to this universe version once in order to assist the local government in handing out the cure.
'Maybe a vacation wouldn't be so bad. Just not now, though.' The Spartan-III privately admitted to himself as he made his way to the building's central power grid.
And scene! That's all for now, hope you all found this chapter to be satisfactory. Once again, thanks again to all of you for checking out my story. The next chapter will probably have Six, Dot, and co. finally heading over to Muir woods and finally meeting with Caesar and the rest of the ape tribe.
So, I'm going to be talking about my thoughts for Kingdom here for the rest of this author's note. Again SPOILERS for the new movie here. So, if you don't want to know, or if you just don't care about spoilers, I will see you all next time.
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! DON'T PROCEED FORWARD IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW!
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Ok, so are we good? Reminder again SPOILERS AHEAD.
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Alright? Are we good. Again, last chance for anyone that doesn't want spoilers. 'Cause here we go.
*Pops up champagne* WWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! YEAH, BABY! YEAH! I CALLED IT, LADS! I CALLED IT! BOW BEFORE ME, MORTALS! GIVE ME MY MONEY! YYYYYYEEEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!
Wow, I can't believe I actually predicted having a secret society of humans, not quite exactly like the Enclave from Fallout or to what I was hoping for, but close enough. And in my prediction in that Mae was part of a group of immune humans. Hopefully this means that we'll get to see more human vs ape battles in future movies. Well, if Kingdom makes enough enough to actually justify a sequel. I'm just happy that humanity actually has a chance in the POTA universe. Also, loved how it was not just that group that Mae was part of, but that there were still groups of intelligent humans scatter all over the world. Humanity first, baby! Glory to the God-Emperor! WWWWOOOOOOO!
Raka was a pretty cool dude and Noa was a character I found myself liking. He was no Caesar, but who knows, maybe he'll be on par with him if they decide to do a trilogy. But the star of the movie for me was Mae, especially during the third act.
Mae was personally the character I was most interested in for the movie. I really liked her determination and her desire for the world to return to what it once was, kind of like a mirror of how Colonel McCullough in War. How she was willing to do what she felt needed to be done to prevent the apes from gaining an advantage, like killing that traitor Trevathan. You really understand her when you put yourself in the shoes of a human whose been living in this world for their entire life, which I did.
I am still wondering how she and William H. Macy's character can still speak. So far, I have two prevalent theories. First, she and the rest of the human survivors are immune to the new strain, though the hazmat suit at the end of the film kind of disapproves of this theory. My second hypothesis, and this one us a lot more tragic, is that Mae was sent on what was essentially a suicide mission to acquire the decryption key, which would explain why she wasn't let back into the satellite station at the end. Essentially exposing herself to the virus and dooming herself to the strain. Losing her intelligence and damning herself to be reduced like the other feral humans. What do you guys think is more likely?
Personally, I didn't really see Mae as a bad person, despite what some people on the internet might say. More like an anti-hero type of character since she's not really evil, just wants to go back to the time when humans were dominant. Basically a more reasonable version of the Colonel and was the protagonist for the human side of the story while Noa was the protagonist for the apes. A sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with and support. Even if Proximus was only able to get his hands on a few firearms and tanks, I still completely understood her decision to flood the government bunker even when it put Noa in danger. You can't allow your enemy to gain an advantage, especially since it's pretty much your only edge against them is your technology and weaponry. Basically as a mirror to Proximus. The difference that I saw her doing what she did for the human race while Proximus was primarily motivated by self interest.
Really hope they don't give her the Avatar treatment in later movies. Where she defects to the ape sides and humans are portrayed as the "real" monsters. I really hate that trope.
I am curious if they're going to bring in the Icarus crew, what with the final shot on the telescope and space. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Given how the Planet of the Ape series is now owned by disney, I can guarantee you a sequel is inevitable.
All in all, I really enjoyed Kingdom, I still personally enjoyed Rise, Dawn, and War more, but still I still thought it was rather enjoyable. Not quite as good as I was hoping for and was admittedly felt some parts dragged on, I still felt rather satisfied by the time the credits rolled. The world building was good, the characters were engaging, and the VFX was amazing. I hope this movie makes it's movie back so that we can see a sequel, and I would not be opposed to Wes Ball returning to direct.
Anyways, that's it for now. Have a good day, guys. And remember... stay frosty, gents.
