Disclaimer: Once again all halo characters that are not my OCs belong to Microsoft and 343 industries [Now to Halo studios]. This chapter in particular will be based off of mostly the animated series and somewhat from the book Halo: The fall of Reach.
Chapter 7: Chi ceti IV
November 2, 2525, 0600 hours
Location: Epsilon Eridani system, Reach, FLEETCOM Military Complex
Third Person POV
The Spartans had all been gathered inside the amphitheatre all of them except Tyler wondering why they had been gathered. They were called to muster in their dress uniform only one time which was during the funeral of the Spartans who had not made it though augmentations and had unfortunately died.
John had been awarded the Purple heart because of the injuries he suffered during the mission to capture Colonel Watts. Tyler had received the Silver Star for his bravery and success in acquiring the Intel from the asteroid base, although he had not donned it on his uniform yet as to hide the fact that he had also received a medal from his fellow teammates.
Tyler sat on the second row on the edge next to Kelly followed by Sam who was on her right. John sat behind them on the third row alongside Fred and Linda.
'Did I accidently take John's place by sitting here' Tyler thought.
Soon Chief Mendez entered the room and marched to the centre platform. He, like the Spartans, wore his black dress uniform as well. His chest was covered with multiple Silver and bronze stars, three purple hearts, the Red Legion of Honor award and a rainbow of campaign ribbons. He had also recently shaved his head.
'Damn that's a lot of Medals, reminds me of dad' Tyler thought as he remembered his dad also having the chest of his uniform covered with medals.
All the Spartans rose and stood at attention. Doctor Halsey entered the room. She looked at Tyler who in turn nodded at her, she wore gray slacks, a black shirt and her glasses hung around her neck on a gold chain. She made her way onto the stage.
"Vice Admiral on deck!" Mendez announced.
The Spartans all snapped into attention and stood straighter. A man six years older than Doctor Halsey strode into the room and onto the centre of the stage. His short silver hair looked like steel helmet.
His gait had a strange loop in it what crewmen called Space walk from spending too much time in microgravity. He wore a simple, unadorned black dress UNSC uniform with no medals or ribbons. The insignia on the forearm of his jacket was however unmistakably that of a Vice Admiral.
"At ease Spartans" he said. "I am Vice Admiral Michael Stanforth, head of ONI section III"
The Spartans then took their seats in unison, Tyler looked at where the Admiral stood already knowing what's to come, and Halsey gave him a small glance before returning her gaze to the rest of the Spartans.
"And this is Beowulf" Vice Admiral Stanforth said as he gestured to the ghostly figure that was the Avatar of the AI. Stanforth's voice was calm but his distaste was evident on his face. "He is our AI attaché with the Office of naval Intelligence"
He turned away from the AI. "We have several important issues to discuss this morning, so let's get started"
The light in the room dimmed. An amber sun appeared in the centre of the stage with three planets in close orbit around it.
"This is Harvest" he said. "Population of approximately three million. Although on the periphery of UNSC-controlled space, this is one of our more productive and peaceful colonies"
The holographic view zoomed in on the surface of the world and showed grasslands and forests and lakes swarming with thousands of fishes.
"As of military calendar February 4, at 1423 hours, the Harvest orbital platform made long range radar contact with this object"
A blurry object outline appeared over the stage. "Spectroscopic analysis proved inconclusive" Vice Admiral Stanforth said. "The object of material is unknown to us"
A molecular absorption graph appeared on the side screen, spikes and jagged lines indicating the relative proportions of elements.
Beowulf raised a clocked arm and the image darkened. The words CLASSIFIED-EYES ONLY appeared over the blackened data. Vice Admiral Stanforth shot a glare at the AI.
"Contact with Harvest was lost shortly thereafter" he continued. "The Colonial Military Administration sent the scout ship Argo to investigate. That ship arrived in the system on April 20, but other than a brief transmission to confirm their exit slipspace position, no further reports were made. In response, Fleet command assembled a battle group to investigate.
The group consisted of the destroyer, Heracles, Commanded by Captain Veredi, as well as the frigates, Arabia and Vostok; they entered the Epsilon Indi system on October 7 and discovered the following"
The holograph of the planet Harvest changed. The lush fields and rolling hills transformed, morphing into a cratered, barren desert. Thin gray sunlight reflected off a grassy crust. Heat wavered from the surface. Isolated regions glowed red. Tyler heard Kelly gasp while behind him he heard Fred murmur "The hell".
"This is what was left of the colony" The Vice Admiral paused for a moment to stare at the image and then continued. "We assume all inhabitants are lost"
Tyler closed his eyes and thought. 'And so it begins' as he opened his eyes he looked at Kelly through the side of his eye and saw her roll up her fist in anger. Tyler than continued looking at the stage as the Admiral continued, "And this is what the Heracles Battle group found in orbit" he said.
The blurry outline that was still visible, hanging in the air, sharpened into a crisp focus. It looked smooth and organic and the hull possessed an old, opalescent sheen it looked more like the carapace of an exotic insect than the metal hull of a space craft. Recessed into the aft section were pods that pulsed with purple-white glow. The prow of the craft was swollen like the head of a whale. Tyler knew what type of ship it was, Rasus-pattern interdictor or covenant Battleship as the UNSC named it in the future.
"The unidentified vessel launched an immediate attack on our forces" Vice Admiral Stanforth said
Blue flashes strobe from the ship. Red motes of light then appeared along its hull. Bolt of energy coalesced into a fiery smear against the blackness of space.
The deadly flashes of light impacted on the Arabia and flashed across its hull. Its meter of armor plating instantly boiled away, and a plume of ignited atmosphere burst from the breach in the ship's hull. "Those were pulse lasers" Vice Admiral Stanforth explained, "and if this record is to be believed some kind if self-guided, superheated plasma weapon"
The Heracles and Vostok launched salvos of missiles towards the craft. The enemy's lasers shot half before they reached their target. The balance of the missiles impacted and detonated into a blossom of fire…that quickly faded. The ship shimmered with a semitransparent silver coating, which the vanished.
"They also seem to have some reflection shield" Vice Admiral Stanforth said and took a deep breath and his features hardened into a mask of grim resolve. "The Vostok and Arabia were lost with all hands. The Heracles jumped out of the system, but due to the damage she sustained, it took several weeks for Captain Veredi to make it back to Reach"
"These weapons and defensive systems are currently beyond our technology. Therefore…this craft is of nonhuman origin" He paused and then added, "The product of a race with technology far in advance of our own"
As the Admiral finished murmurs broke out among the Spartans, Tyler could hear Kelly and Sam conversing next to him while John and Fred could be heard behind him, he continued looking at the stage with an unfazed look, 'Hopefully shit won't hit the fan immediately after Chi ceti' Tyler thought, he noticed Doctor Halsey giving him a glance. But one she soon retreated from as the Admiral spoke again.
"We have, of course, developed a number of first contact scenarios" he said, ''and Captain Veredi followed our established protocols. We had hoped that contact with the new race would be peaceful. Obviously, this was not the case-the Alien vessel did not open fire until our task force attempted to initiate communications"
He paused, considering his next words. "Fragments of the enemy's transmissions were intercepted" he continued "a few words have been translated. We believe they call themselves The Covenant. However, before opening fire, the alien ship broadcasted the following message in the clear"
The Admiral gestured to Beowulf, who nodded. A moment later, a voice thundered from the amphitheater's speakers. Tyler recognized the voice which belonged to the Prophet of Truth or now Minister of Fortitude if his lore served him right…was it him? or was it someone else?
"Human, Your destruction is the will of the Gods…and we are their instruments"
'Damn bastard' Tyler thought as he continued staring at the stage. John who was behind him stood up from his seat, his hands raised.
"Yes Spartan?" Stanforth said
"Sir, is this a translation?" John asked
"No" the Vice Admiral replied, "they broadcasted this to us in our own language. We believe they have some kind of translation system to prepare the message…but it means they've been studying us for some time"
John then took his seat.
"As of November 1, the UNSC has ordered to full alert" Stanforth said. "Vice Admiral Preston Cole is mobilizing the largest fleet in human history to retake the Epsilon Indi system and confront this new threat. Their transmission made one thing perfectly clear; they're looking for a fight"
"Because of this UNSC-wide mobilization" Vice Admiral Stanforth continued, "your training schedule will be accelerated to its final phase, Project: MJOLNIR"
He stepped away from the podium and clasped his hands behind his back. "To that end, I am afraid I have another unpleasant announcement" He turned to the chief, "Chief Petty officer Mendez will be leaving us to train the next group of Spartans. Chief?"
Tyler had noticed the immediate reaction of the other Spartans, John clutched the riser in front of him while Sam simply clenched his hand.
Chief Mendez then stepped up to the podium and clasped its edges.
"Trainees" he said, "Soon your trainings will be complete, and you will graduate to the rank of Petty Officer Second class in the UNSC, except 071." He said as he looked at Tyler who nodded at him. "One of the first things you will learn is that change is part of a soldier's life. You will make and lose friends. You will move on. This is part of the job"
Tyler was familiar with this as it was one of the things his dad used to tell him, 'The only thing a soldier can do other than fight, is move on' Tyler thought about the exact same lesson his father had taught him.
Mendez looked at his audience. His dark eyes rested on each and every one of them. He nodded, seemingly satisfied with what he saw.
"The Spartans are the best group of soldiers that I have encountered" he continued. "It has been a privilege to train you. Never forget what I've tried to teach you-duty, honor and sacrifice for the greater good of humanity are the qualities that make you the best"
Mendez went silent for a moment, searching for more words. But finding none, he stood at attention and saluted.
"Attention" Tyler heard John bark from behind him. The Spartans all rose up and saluted the chief.
"Dismissed, Spartans" Chief Mendez said. "And good luck" he finished his salute.
The Spartans snapped their arms down. They hesitated, and then reluctantly filed out the amphitheater.
John and Tyler were the only ones that stayed behind. Both of them wanting to have a final talk with Mendez, Doctor Halsey spoke briefly with the Chief and Vice Admiral and looked at Tyler who gave her an 'Okay' nod and then she and the Admiral left. Tyler was the first to approach Chief Mendez and saluted.
"At ease 071" He said.
"It was a pleasure knowing you, chief" Tyler said as he offered the man that had trained and helped him when he first arrived in the Halo universe, a handshake, to which Mendez accepted.
"Doctor Halsey and the Vice Admiral wants to have a word with you, they will be waiting by the hall way" he said and Tyler nodded and started leaving but before he could turn leave Mendez continued. "Make sure to use your knowledge for good, 071…you maybe be our only hope"
Tyler turned around and looked at him; "I will, sir" he said and soon left passing by John who gave him a nod. As Tyler made his way into the hallway soon after a couple minutes of walking later he found Doctor Halsey and Vice Admiral Stanforth next to the hall way discussing something. Tyler approached them and saluted.
"You wanted to see me Doctor, Sir?" Tyler said.
"At ease Spartan" Stanforth said and Tyler lowered his arm, "You must be Tyler-071, Doctor Halsey has spoken a lot about you"
"Your recent exploits on getting Intel from the insurrectionist from the Eridanus system was quite the accomplishment" he continued.
"Just doing what I am told, sir" Tyler said.
"I see that you are" Stanforth nodded. "Now onto why I had called you here" he said grimly. "We have a new mission for you"
Tyler looked confused, 'New mission? But what is it about?' Tyler thought and said. "New mission, Sir?"
"The Spartans will be heading to the Chi ceti system to receive Project: MJOLNIR" Halsey said. "But…"
"But there has been reports of an unidentified ship moving in and out of the system" Stanforth finished, "our guesses is that it is the covenant"
'Oh, I see what they want me to do' Tyler though as he realized what this mission was probably going to be.
"You will be leaving on board the UNSC Commonwealth once you have arrived inside the system; if you encounter the ship you are to try and board it and if possible collect data or samples of the enemy's technology" Stanforth said.
"Understood, sir" Tyler said
"As of now, you are hereby promoted to Senior Chief Petty officer" Stanforth said to which Tyler's eyes widened, yes he had been told that he would be receiving a promotion but a SCPO that was unexpected.
"Yes, sir" Tyler said as he stood at attention.
"Good luck for your mission, Spartan" Stanforth said and left, leaving Tyler standing there with Halsey.
"Damn, a Senior chief petty officer, why?" Tyler asked as he looked at Halsey
"You earned it, your performance on your first mission was already enough, combined with you knowledge in military tactics and leadership qualities, you will make an excellent leader one day" Halsey explained.
"But Doctor…I don't even have a team, hell I'm apart of blue team, I can't just snatch the position of leader from John" Tyler said
"Temporary member of blue team" Halsey corrected. "After you and the other Spartans receive Project: Mjolnir, which I am sure you know what it is, you will all be reshuffled" Halsey explained.
"Any idea where they will send me" Tyler asked
"That will be up to command" Halsey said, "Now let's go, you should get ready, we will be leaving on November sixth so get your things readied up" With that Halsey started leaving.
"Well…things are only gonna get worst from now" Tyler said under his breath and started following Halsey.
November 26, 2525, 1700 hours
Location: En route to Chi ceti system, UNSC Paris-class Heavy Frigate, Commonwealth
As the lid to cryo pod in which Tyler was in opened, Tyler came out gasping for air he wore his black body suit, a nearby technician helped him up and said.
"Sorry for the quick wake up sir, your pod had some malfunctioning" he said.
"It's ok, what day is it and are we there yet" Tyler asked. 'Damn this is the second time that ahs happened' Tyler thought
"Its November twenty six sir, still a day away from the Chi ceti system"
"I see, I am guessing you are here to do some tests on me" Tyler said and the Technician nodded.
As Tyler finished the test the technician allowed Tyler to leave and he soon left for the barracks where he and the rest of the Spartans were assigned, as he looked around the lockers along the wall. He scanned them until he found one with his name on it and soon went over and opened it. He pulled out a set of fatigues and put them on while he looked at the wrist bag that Chief Mendez had given him when he first arrived on reach.
"At least I'll have something to remember him" Tyler said under his breath and soon went over to his bunk and laid down and tried to fall asleep.
Date: Unknown
Location: Unknown
Tyler woke up and once again found himself on the grassy plains again, this time however some change was noticeable, the pond now had a lot of trees along with a large boulder, while the surroundings seemed to have a mixture of bushes and tall grass. 'Huh, looks exactly like the place where I almost got drowned' Tyler thought.
"Because it is" a sudden voice said from behind him and Tyler immediately turned around while keeping his guard up.
"Who's there" Tyler said as he started scanning the area looking around for where the voice came from.
"You are not ready….to see" the voice said its owner still not visible.
"To see what exactly, my family?" Tyler joked.
"You still have many things to do…Tyler" the voice said now creeping Tyler out
"When you say it like that…..yeah I do have many things to do" Tyler said. "But that doesn't explain why I always end up here when I have a normal sleep"
"All will be revealed in the future…..for your destiny is yours to decide" the voice said and Tyler started losing vision.
November 27, 2525, 1745 hours
Location: Chi ceti system, Chi ceti IV, UNSC Paris-class Heavy frigate, Commonwealth
As Tyler woke up he saw Kelly in front of him probably about to nudge him awake.
"I see I didn't have to wake you" Kelly said with a smirk, "John was called over to the bridge, he wants us all ready just incase"
"Alright, got it" Tyler said as he got off his bunk and started heading towards the lockers with Kelly. 'So, it's happening now' Tyler thought as he and Kelly got there Tyler saw the other Spartans scattered around the room getting their equipments ready. Suddenly red alarms began to blare and the flashing red lights came on, then John's voice was heard over the intercom.
"Sam, muster the teams in bay alpha. I want that pelican loaded and ready to drop in fifteen minutes"
"We'll have it done in ten" Sam replied "faster if those longsword pilots get out of the way"
"Okay you heard the man, people" Kelly stated. "Let's move it!"
The Spartans doubled timed on the equipment and began filing out. Kelly and Tyler were the last one left with Kelly waiting for Tyler.
"You can go ahead Kelly, I'll be right behind you" Tyler said as he grabbed his equipment. Kelly stared at him for a moment, reluctant, but she eventually nodded, leaving the room.
About a minute later Tyler also finished grabbing his equipment and started heading towards hanger bay alpha but just as he was reaching the door the ship was rocked by an explosion and suddenly the hallway erupted in flames.
Tyler managed to get into cover just as the flames tried to get inside the room but were halted by the safety door as it shut sealing him inside.
"Fuck me" Tyler said under his breath. 'Guess I'll have to use the long way around' Tyler thought as he went towards the other door and opened it, as he walked out he noticed the hallways of the ship empty.
'Damn feels like a ghost town here' he thought as he then started sprinting hoping not to be late.
As Tyler entered Hanger bay alpha he saw the Pelicans already loaded with some of them already leaving. 'You have to be kidding me' Tyler thought but was soon snapped out as someone tapped his shoulders, as he turned around he saw Doctor Halsey standing behind him.
"Seems like someone's late" Halsey said.
"Well someone has to be" Tyler said. "Mind if I take a ride with you, Doctor"
"Not at all" Halsey said as she and Tyler boarded a Pelican which soon closed its hatch and started taking off the Commonwealth.
November 27, 2525, 1845 hours
Location: Chi ceti system, Chi ceti IV, Damascus Materials Testing Facility
Tyler stood next to Kelly and John alongside the other Spartans who waited anxiously to see what Project: MJOLNIR was really about, all of them stood inside what appeared to be a well-lit hanger; the far end had an obstacle course set up with walls, trenches, dummy targets and barbed wires.
Three technicians and at least a dozen AI figures were busy in the centre of the room. Doctor Halsey cleared her throat. The technicians turned and the AIs vanished.
Tyler noticed that in front were 35 Plexiglas mannequins set up in rows. On each was a suit of armor which Tyler recognized as the Mjolnir MK IV armor, 'Damn all of them look the same' Tyler thought as he looked at the set of armor in front of them all colored olive green while having the same shape and design as well as the helmet which had a orange golden visor.
"Project MJOLNIR or the Mjolnir MK IV Power armor" Doctor Halsey said, she snapped her fingers and an exploded holographic schematic of the armor appeared next to her.
"The armor's shell is a multilayer alloy of remarkable strength. We have recently added a refractive coating to disperse incoming weapon attack" she pointed inside the schematic. "Each battle suit also has a gel-filled layer to regulate temperature; this layer can reactively change in density; against the skin of the operator there is a moisture-absorbing cloth suit and biomonitors that can instantly adjust the suit's temperature and fir. There's also an onboard computer interface with your standard-issue neural implant"
She gestured and the schematic collapsed so that it only displayed the outer layers. "Most importantly" Halsey said, "the armor's inner structure is composed of a new reactive metal liquid crystal. It is amorphous, yet factually scales and amplifies force. In simplified terms, the armor doubles the wearer's strength and enhances their reaction speed by a factor of five"
She waved her hand through the hologram. "There is one problem. The system is so reactive that our previous test with unaugmented volunteers ended in failure. Normal humans don't have the reaction time or strength required to drive this system" she explained. "You do, your enhanced musculature and the metal and ceramic layers that have been bonded to your skeleton should be enough to allow you to harness the armor's power. There has been insufficient computer modeling, however. There will be some risks. You'll have to move very slowly and deliberately until you get a feel for the armor and how it works. It cannot be powered down, nor can the response be scaled back. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Ma'am" The Spartans answered
"Questions?" she asked.
John raised his hand. "When do we get to try them on, Doctor?"
"Right now" Halsey said. "Volunteers"
Every Spartan except Tyler raised their hands; Halsey noticed this but turned to John.
"You've always been lucky, John" Halsey said, "Let's go"
John stepped forwards. The technicians fitted him as Tyler and the rest of the Spartans watched as the pieces of the MJOLNIR system were assembled around his body.
"Please breathe normally" Halsey told him. "But otherwise remain absolutely still"
John held himself as motionless as he could. Then they set the helmet over his head.
"Listen carefully to me, John" Doctor Halsey said. "I just want you to think, and only think about moving your arm up to chest level. Stay relaxed"
John's hand and forearm sprang forward to chest level. Halsey then spoke, "How do you feel?"
"Like it was built for me" John said.
"Good, Petty officer, run through the obstacle course" Halsey said. "We will proceed to fit the other Spartans. We don't have a great deal of time left"
John saluted and his hand bounced off his helmet.
"Carefully, Petty officers very carefully, please" Halsey said
"Yes, Ma'am" he said
After about 30 minutes all the Spartans had been fitted with their Mjolnir armor and were all standing in attention….except one, that being Tyler.
"Uh…Doctor what about me?" Tyler asked as all the Spartans turned towards Tyler and then to Halsey
"Ah of course the best for last" Halsey said as she snapped her fingers again and another set of armor was brought, this time this armor was different. Unlike the other Spartans it was colored Azure blue, it back seemed to have thrusters attached to it but most importantly, the helmet had a comically large visor covering most of the front part of the helmet, which like the others was colored golden orange.
'You have to be kidding me' Tyler though as he laid eyes on what he recognized as the EVA variant of the Mjolnir.
"This is the new prototype for the EVA or Extra Vehicular activity variant of the Mjolnir MK IV armor" Halsey explained. "It's a specialized variant specifically designed to be used for space activities and can allow the wearer to be able to freely move in zero G. Recently it was fitted with a total of 8 thrusters which are powered by a power core which recharges automatically after being depleted. The thrusters if used all at once can last about ten minutes before the power core needs to recharge" Halsey explained.
"Holy shit" Sam who was standing next to Tyler muttered, while Kelly simply bumped into him lightly.
"Looks like someone's getting their own special armor" Kelly said playfully, probably with a gin under that helmet.
"Jealous?" Tyler asked.
"Maybe" she said.
"Now Tyler if you may" Halsey said as Tyler stepped forwards. Soon the technicians started fitting him with his armor one by one. Finally his head was enclosed by his helmet and inside he realized how much more he could see now because of the massive visor.
"Try moving your arm, Tyler" Halsey said, "Very slowly"
Tyler complied and slowly lifted his arm to his head touching his visor with his left hand. Soon he lowered it back down and lifted his right arm and touched his visor and lowered it down as well.
"How does it feel" Halsey asked.
"Like I am wearing normal clothes" Tyler said to which Halsey gave a small smile. "But why Azure blue as its color"
"They ran out of paint, and only this color was available, so" She said
"Guess I'll have to make due… so do I do the obstacle course?" Tyler asked
"No need for you, the other than its capabilities in zero G, it's exactly the same as the normal Mjolnir" Halsey explained to which Tyler nodded and soon went over and stood next to blue team.
Suddenly Captain Wallace's voice broke over the COM channels. "We have contact with the covenant ship, Ma'am. Extreme range, their slipspace engines must still be damaged. They are moving towards us via normal space"
"Your repair status" Halsey asked
"Long-rang communications inoperable. Slipstream generators offline. MAC system destroyed. We have fusion missiles and twenty Archer missile pods intact. Armor plating is it twenty percent" There was a long hiss of static."If you need more time . . . I can draw them away"
"No, Captain" Halsey replied. "We're going to have to fight...this time we have to win"
"Spartan's let's go" John said and the Spartans started filling out the room, except Tyler who stayed behind.
"You know your mission, Tyler" Halsey said.
"Yes" Tyler said
"Make sure you don't die trying" Halsey said
"I won't Doctor" Tyler said to which Halsey gave a small smile. "Before that…if we have our suits breached…then what"
"Ah…Good question" Halsey said as she went over and brought a brief case filled with 20 metallic looking spheres, Halsey pulled one out and handed it to Tyler.
"This is our newly developed, Prototype Vacuum seals for the Mjolnir armor, once activated it will dissolve into a layer of solid tungsten which should cover the breach in the suit, depending on its size, it will last for one to three hours if it's a small breach…if it's a medium sized one it can only last for 30 minutes before it expires and falls off"
"Eh…It'll do the work" Tyler said as he took about six of them
"What prompted you to ask this?" Halsey asked.
"Let's just say someone is going to die because of the exact reason this seal is made to prevent" Tyler said as he strapped the spherical seals on his waist and looked at Halsey. "And I am going to stop it"
Halsey's eyes widened for a bit before going back to normal. "That's…nevermind, may I know who this person was?" She asked.
"You will know when you will see him" Tyler said as he left the room as well.
Inside the back of the Pelican Tyler sat at one of the seats, with him lock and loading his DMR, his twin M6Ds on his waits and a combat knife on the thighs, he also had two frag grenades. Next to him was Sam who was examining his MA5B. Kelly sat opposite to him checking her MA5B, while also giving Tyler occasional stares. The other Spartans did similar things.
"You know, your helmet makes you look like an egg head" Sam said as he got up from his seat
"What? You don't like it" Tyler said, pretending to be offended.
"I do, but your helmet makes you look a bit funny if you ask me" Sam replied.
"Good, at least the covenant would laugh before they have a bullet to their face" Tyler said as he put his DMR on his back. To which Sam snorted a laugh.
John soon came out of the cockpit, "We'll get only one shot at this" he said, "Plot an intercept trajectory and fire your thrusters at max burn. If the target changes course you'll have to make a best guess correction on the fly. If you make it we will regroup outside the hole, if you miss we'll pick you up after we're done"
Tyler didn't listen to the rest and instead he moved towards the hatch and when John was finished with his pep talk he joined Tyler near the hatch as well.
"Nervous" John asked.
"Not really" Tyler answered, although it was half a truth as in reality, Tyler was having second thoughts.
"Sometimes I wish I had your confidence" John said and Tyler laughed. "What do think we will face inside?"
"Ugly Aliens probably" Tyler said John simply nodded and then turned to everyone
"Everyone ready" John asked
There was a chorus of "Yes sir" but Tyler being himself only gave him a thumb up. "I'll be going first since my armor is best fitted for these types of missions" he said to which John nodded.
Soon the hatch to the pelican opened and Tyler activated all eight of his thrusters going at an extremely fast speed.
'Holy shit I feel like Iron man' Tyler thought, soon he was bombarded by pulse lasers which he easily dodged thanks to his armor. Tyler moved towards the back of the ship and managed to slip under the shields and soon slammed into the hull of the ship. "Well now let's get inside this thing" Tyler said as navigated his way across the hull of the covenant ship and soon made It near the hole.
Soon he was joined by Sam who he helped get near. "Phew, thanks Tyler" Sam said as he looked at the inside of the ship. "That's a lot of purple" he said.
"No kidding" Tyler said as soon Kelly joined them followed shortly after by John.
"Are there anymore" Tyler asked.
"No, I think we're the only ones that made it" Kelly said
"Well, let's get going then" Tyler said. "Wouldn't want to keep the covenant waiting"
John led the way through the breach and he collapsed on the first deck as he entered the ship's gravity field.
"Gravity?" he said
"Must be artificial" Tyler said as he made his way down the deck with Kelly and Sam behind him.
"Weapons check" John ordered
They all examined their rifles which had thankfully made it through the trip intact. Tyler got his DMR out and started walking ahead of them; "I'll go see if the path's clear" he said and made his way slowly through the corridors of the ship. Tyler looked around the place seeing if there were any hostiles once it was clear there weren't any.
"Clear" Tyler informed through COM. And soon John, Sam and Kelly joined him. As they continued moving they came across a turning.
As Tyler peaked a little through the corner he saw 2 grunts standing there. 'Damn, they look just like they did in the games, but more like the one's in halo 2 anniversary' Tyler thought and he turned towards John who was behind him. "Two hostiles right around the corner, we could sneak pass them if you want" he said.
"Stealth option seems better" John said.
"Go ahead first I'll keep an eye on them" Tyler said and John nodded moving across the corner to the other side without being noticed, followed by Sam and then Kelly, when it was Tyler's turn one of the Grunts turned around towards him and saw him, the grunt squeaked in fear and started firing his plasma pistol which fired green plasma.
Tyler had to roll back into cover. "Go! I'll take care of them" He said to which John and the others nodded and went on with Kelly giving him a final glance, she did that a lot.
"Alright, time to end this" Tyler said as he came out of the cover his DMR aimed and fired 4 rounds, both grunts getting hit on the head by two bullets each immediately killing them by sending them back.
"Damn feels like I am playing Halo 3 again" Tyler said as he looked at the dead grunts. He approached them and grabbed a plasma pistol which looked like the one from Halo Reach. 'This should probably be enough for ONI to be satisfied' Tyler thought as he put the plasma pistol on his hips and started heading towards where John and the others went.
As Tyler reached the doors what he thought was the reactor room, the doors open and it reveals John, Sam and Kelly standing near the core, as Tyler looked around he saw a bunch of dead jackals. 'That could mean only one thing' Tyler thought as he joined John and the others. "What's the situation?" he asked.
"Well…my suits breached" Sam said grimly. "I'll have to stay behind and hold the room until the bomb takes care of the ship" As Tyler turned his head he saw the breach on Sam's left chest, it had blackened the area with a medium size hole on it.
"Well…it was nice knowing you Ty-" As Sam was about to finish Tyler walked up to him and slammed the metallic sphere where the breach was located. As Doctor Halsey said the sphere dissolved into a solidified layer of Tungsten. Sam his face although hidden by his helmet looked surprised by Tyler action and the fact that the breach had sealed up. "What did you-"
"Vacuum seals, got it from Doctor Halsey before we left" Tyler answered. "You got thirty minutes to get back to the Pelican so you better hurry"
Sam simply laughs. "Guess I won't be dying after all" he said as he gave Tyler a fist bump. "Well we better hurry then, won't want to immediately die after Tyler worked so hard to save my ass" he said jokingly
"Yeah yeah whatever now hand me the bomb, I'll set the timer" Tyler said and Sam handed him the bomb. He then looked at John and Kelly. "You guys should get going, I'll be right behind you" he said and John nodded and started walking towards the exit followed by Sam. Kelly however stayed behind. "You should go, Kelly"
"No, what if you get killed here, Sam nearly got killed as you just saw" She said her voice pleadingly.
"I'll be fine, plus I am just as fast as you so….I'll be out in no time" Tyler reassured and Kelly hesitantly leaves the room giving Tyler one last glance before running off.
"Alright now, fifteen minutes should give me, and them enough time to get out and hopefully make it back to the Pelican" Tyler said. Suddenly the other door to the engine room opened and as Tyler looked up to see what it was his blood froze at what he saw…an Elite zealot…atleast he thought, the golden armor only reminded him of a zealot
'Bloody hell, a zealot or is it the shipmaster' Tyler thought as he placed the bomb down and aimed his gun at the Zealot. The Elite then ignited his energy sword and got into a stance ready to attack.
'Either I die here, or I blow up here, either way I die' Tyler thought, soon the zealot charged him and Tyler fired 5 shots off his DMR which ricocheted off the Elite's shields. 'Fuck' he thought and soon slide down and dodged the initial slash. Tyler dropped his DMR and took out his combat knife.
"Alright you bastard, it's time to play on even fields" Tyler said as he took a position with his knife as well, the Zealot did the same, both stood at opposite sides their blades drawn. 'I feel like a samurai…but british' he thought. The zealot was the first to charge and Tyler followed suit as both of them neared each other the zealot went for a side slash aiming for his head which Tyler dodged again, this time by jumping above him doing a flip mid air and with the Elite's back turned, he stabbed his knife into the back of his neck. As Tyler landed he turned and saw the elite roaring in pain and soon stumbled over and fell dead.
'Holy shit, that was close' Tyler thought as he went over to the dead elite and took his knife out of his neck, the knife now covered with its purple blood.
'Damn, looks like the blood from Halo Ce' he though, Tyler's eyes was however caught by the energy sword which he went over and picked up and as he held it in his hand he accidently activated it igniting it.
"Jesus H Christ. This looks amazing" Tyler said as he fanboyed over the sword. As he prepared to leave he heard more noise behind him. As he turned around he saw two more elites…spec ops.
"You have to be kidding me" he said as he got his knife and the energy sword ready. The two spec ops Elites ignited their energy swords as well and charged in an instant.
Tyler did the same and as he closed the distance he threw his combat knife directly into the eye of one of the elites which stabbed it in the eye, it screamed in pain and stumbled dropping its sword back while Tyler clashed his sword with the other elite, he noticed the dropped energy sword and kicked the Elite on the chest while he went to grab the other sword.
As Tyler ignited the other sword he immediately stabbed the one that had its eyes stabbed by his knife in the chest killing his. While the last one went for a final charge which Tyler avoided by sliding downwards stabbing the elite near the stomach with both blades.
As Tyler got up he saw the two dead elites, he went over and grabbed his knife from the dead elite. He noticed a plasma grenade as well and decided to grab it for his other mission as well. As he looked at the bomb it showed '6 minutes remaining'. "Fuck" he said and soon ran towards the exit through which he came in through.
As Tyler ran through the corridors of the covenant ship he passed by multiple grunts and Jackals who reacted too slowly to hit Tyler with their Plasma pistol. Tyler had never ran this fast, it was almost as If he were running at 70 km/hr.
'Come on Come on' Tyler thought as he finally saw the hole where he and the others entered through. As he finally reached the whole, without hesitation he jumped into space activating his thrusters in the process. As he made his way clear of the covenant ship not too long after the ship exploded into a fiery flame of explosion.
"Hell yeah" Tyler said, as he made his way through space. Soon he met up with John, Sam and Kelly who were waiting outside for him. "Sorry for being late, ran into some guests"
"At least you made it back alive" John said as he floated towards Tyler. "Glad to see you're ok"
"I won't die today" Tyler said as he looked at Kelly who was staring at him. "I just got my armor today after all…unlike Sam"
"Hey! At least I made it out" Sam retorted
"Thanks to Tyler, that is" John corrected.
"Well…I'll give him that" Sam said as he floated towards Tyler as well and gave him a small head bump. "Thanks for saving my ass"
"Anytime" Tyler said, "I am the medic after all"
November 27, 2525, 2020 hours
Location: Chi ceti system, Chi ceti IV, UNSC Paris-class Heavy frigate, Commonwealth
Inside the hanger of the Commonwealth Doctor Halsey along with the Spartan who had been rescued in space waited as the last Pelican finally landed. As the hatch of the pelican opened out came four individual, but one of them stood out the most because of his massive visor and unique color. As John, Sam, Kelly and Tyler came out of the Pelican all of them saluted.
"Mission accomplished, Ma'am" John said as he lowered his arm followed by others.
"I can see that" Halsey said. "Good work Petty officer"
"Ma'am…I would give the credit to Tyler" John said and Halsey looked at Tyler who simply shrugged and back at John. "He was the last one to leave the ship…and because of him we didn't lose a Spartan today"
Halsey eyes widened for a bit until it went back to normal; she then noticed the black charted area on the chest of Sam's armor. She then looked at Tyler who simply nodded. "I see…" she said. "Get some rest…all of you, you all deserved it" as she said that all the Spartans including John, Sam and Kelly started leaving. Tyler stayed behind as he had wanted to talk with Halsey.
"Well Tyler" she said as she looked at him. "Let's have our talk inside my office"
Tyler complied and followed Halsey. As they entered her officer Halsey took the seat behind her desk while Tyler just stood.
"When you said someone was going to die today…I wasn't expecting it to be, Sam" Halsey said.
"Like they say, always expect the unexpected" Tyler said.
"So…did you..?" she asked
"I got two" Tyler said as he pulled the Plasma pistol and the Plasma grenade and placed them on the table.
"The blue looking ball is a plasma grenade; it sticks onto things before it blows up so it's quite deadly"
"And this" Halsey points towards the plasma pistol
"This is a Plasma pistol, one of the main frontline weapons of the covenant; it fires a heated bolt of green plasma which can easily melt through titanium as you saw with Sam's armor"
"Fascinating…good work, Tyler" Halsey said engrossed in the weapons that Tyler had managed to bring. "ONI will be satisfied or for better impressed with your findings…"
"So, what's next" Tyler asked.
Halsey sighed, "Command has decided to split most of you up, they believe one Spartan is more than enough to change the tide of battle on a single planet" she said, the annoyance was clear on her face.
"You will be transferred to the UNSC Macron; I have talked with Captain Wallace. The Commonwealth will rendezvous with the Macron somewhere near the Zufor system" she continued
"Well I guess that's my luck then…and blue team?" Tyler asked.
"I'll be going with them and most of the Spartan will be coming along, the UNSC Persian Gate will arrive here soon to pick us up" She said. "It will take time for you to be reassigned to blue team…possibly years even"
Tyler nodded he knew where they were headed and wished he was going along with them as well, but fate said otherwise, however a small photo holder on her table caught his eye, it was the picture of a baby with Halsey holding Him/her.
"Is that?" Tyler said as he looked at the picture.
"My daughter, yes" Halsey said as she looked at the picture as well. "She was born on reach on February twenty eight; legally she would be your little sister since I did adopt you as my child… Her name is Miranda"
"Who's the father" Tyler asked already knowing who it is but still asking.
"You already know…or do you not?" She said to which Tyler slowly nodded. "Then I guess I won't have to explain"
Tyler looked at her for a moment thinking about if what he would say would change anything; he finally decides to go with it.
"Doctor, you have to trust me with this one" he said as Halsey looked at him with a confused look on her face. "Make sure you give Miranda the attention she needs. Trust me it will help you personally in the long run"
"I'll see about it" Halsey said a small smile on her face. "Just make sure you don't do something rash to get yourself killed"
"I promise, I won-" Tyler said before getting cut off by Halsey.
"Don't make a girl a promise, if you know you can't keep it" she said as she raised her hand motioning Tyler to stop.
What she said hit Tyler in the gut as this was exactly what Cortana would tell chief 27 years later…a quote that could melt any man's heart, if said to.
"I….promise I won't do something stupid…you can trust me in that" Tyler reaffirms to which Halsey gives him an actual smile.
"Go now, you should take some rest after your eventful day" Halsey said as she started working on her data pad.
Tyler nodded and soon walked out of her office and went towards the barracks. As he reached the barracks he did not see anyone surprisingly. 'Most probably with John and the others' Tyler thought as he sat on his bunk, the bunk surprisingly being able to handle the weight of the Mjolnir. As he sat there he thought about the close call he had with the Zealot inside the engine room, 'Why did a Zealot personally come into the engine room, or was it the shipmaster?' Tyler thought, he was soon however snapped out by a voice.
"Mind if I sit with you" Tyler looked up to see Kelly standing next to him.
"Not at all" he said and Kelly sat on his bunk, next to him. "I spoke with Halsey not too long ago…I'll be shipping out soon"
"I heard John saying the same" She said
"It'll be awhile before I get reassigned back to Blue team" Tyler said while staring at the wall. What happened next kind of surprised him, Kelly who was still wearing her armor and helmet rested her head on his shoulder.
"We, almost lost Sam today" She said in a quiet and remorseful tone. "I…was too slow to prevent him from getting hit"
Tyler wraps his arm around her and comforts her. "Hey, it's alright now, Sam made it out either way" he said. "Everyone makes mistakes; it's our job from then on to learn from those mistakes"
As Tyler awaited Kelly's answer he was surprised when he didn't get any, when he turned his head to look at her he realized that she had fallen asleep, 'Was my quote that boring' Tyler thought.
As he continued staring into the wall another group of three Spartans entered the barracks and approached Tyler. He recognized them as Jai, Adriana and Mike.
"Quite the fun you guys had inside that ship" Adriana said jokingly
"Yeah, it was quite the party, Sam nearly died because of how amazing it was" Tyler jest, joining in on the fun to which all four of them started laughing.
"So…what were they like?" Jai asked.
"What you would expect aliens to be, uglies" Tyler said. "The small ones were about 5 and a half feet tall, had a hunch back type body and used some kind of tank to survive, there were bird like ones as well with humanoid bodies, they were about 6.2 to 6.8 feet tall"
"Any idea on what type of weapons they used" Mike asked.
"Plasma, they mostly used a weapon that shoots green plasma, it's deadly and can melt through Titanium as you saw wit Sam's armor"
"Wonderful, exactly what we needed our new alien friends to have" Adriana sarcastically said.
"So, where are you guys being shipped off to" Tyler asked.
"ONI wants us for specialized missions, so most probably we'll be somewhere in Earth or Reach maybe? Or sent on some reconnaissance missions" Jai answered.
"Nice, well I'll be shipped off to the Macron once the commonwealth leaves Chi ceti, probably solo ops for a while" Tyler said.
"Good luck to you" Jai said, "Hey if you ever need a team to be a part of, Gray team has an open spot for you"
"I'll think-" before Tyler could finish Kelly sudden woke up and spoke.
"Back off Jai, he's with Blue team" Kelly hissed at him.
"No fair Kelly, can't we share" Jai said
"No" she reaffirms.
"Aw, but hey the offer still stands if you ever consider it" Jai said before leaving the barracks with Adriana and Mike.
"Jerk" Kelly said under her breath.
"You two seem to have quite the history" Tyler said.
"He used to tease me for my blue hair back during training" she said.
Tyler chuckled. "Aren't you being a bit too hard on him only for teasing you" he said.
"Hmpf, he deserves it" Kelly reaffirms.
"So…I'll still be a part of blue team?" Tyler asked.
"Of course you will your spot will remain untaken in blue team" Kelly said.
Tyler smiled under his helmet. "Thanks Kelly" he said as he hugged her, to which she hugged back.
'This feeling again' Kelly thought.
Meanwhile unknown to both of the Sam was watching through the corner, 'Yep…those two are going to be couples one day' Sam thought as he leaned against the wall and smiled under his helmet which morphed into a grin.
'No need to worry Tyler, I'll make sure to hook you up with Kelly, it's the least I can do for you saving my life' Sam thought as he watch the two still hugging.
A/N: And that's Chapter 7 done, phew this was by far the longest chapter I have written. Anyways as said before all halo characters that are not my OCs belong to Microsoft and 343 industries…Until next time.