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Project Shadow Spartan by Shadow Spartan
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Project Shadow Spartan: Chapter 1
Date: 5 February 2003, 9:17 pm
Planet Mars, ONI CASTLE Complex, May 5th, 2581
Doctor Halsey was old. She remembered when she used to be young. Huge imagination, wonderful flying hair, and very jubilant. Now, all she was was an old, dying lady, with so many wrinkles, they looked like layers on her skin. She sighed deeply, removing her spectacles from her eyes and slowly leaned her crocked back into the padding of her wheel chair. Her office was much like the old one she had on Reach, except slightly smaller. She didn't care though. She kept it just as tidy as she always did. Classified papers scattered across her desk, files on various candidates on the floor, but like always, she didn't care. The hologram projector given to her was alive on her desk, showing images of the new MJOLNIR-X armor that the soon to be ready Spartan IIIs would be wearing. It was quite similar to the old model. Shields, strong alloyed armor, various motion trackers, but it had one unique new invention. Each one of them had and AI in them, and with this AI, the Spartans could communicate telepathically. Of course, the Spartan IIs could do that just with hand signals, but the Spartan IIIs would be able to use words. She quite liked this invention, and pointed out to herself that she was the one that camp up with it. Feeling her eyes start to burn from the light of the projector, she looked away and fixed her vision on the pictures that scattered her wall. She sighed, tears welling up in her old eyes, and moved her wheel chair closer. They showed pictures of her Spartan IIs. Oh, how she missed them. She sadly knew that all of the Spartan IIs were dead save one, who was MIA. She looked over to her favorite picture. It showed the Spartan IIs Master Chief, John, getting a medal pinned to his already stocked up jumpsuit. She sniffed, looking at the picture. When Reach was attacked, she had been here on Mars, helping out Chief Petty Officer Mendez with the children that would become the Spartan IIIs. The news of the fall of Reach devastated her and the chief. Mendez resigned the next day and went traveling in a UNSC corvette. Halsey however had to stay functional. She remained in office, holding back her emotions of her Spartans. Now, she was almost done. Her successor was already trained and well ready to take over, but Halsey had one last thing to do before she would leave. She turned the wheel chair around and parked it in front of her desk. She pressed a button near the edge.
"Chief, come on in" she said through the respirator mask on her mouth. Seconds later, the door that was located to her left opened, and light shone into the dull room. Two people entered. A young boy and a large man, who held onto the boy with a firm grip that was making him wince. The man stopped just in front of the desk. Halsey turned the chair to look at the boy.
"Hello Josh" she said. The boy looked at her with painful eyes. Halsey wanted to look away, but couldn't. He reminded her of John. Halsey focused on her task.
"Do you know where you are Josh?" she asked. The boy slowly shook his head, still staring at her.
"Josh, this is going to your home for the next few years. The people in this home are your new family. We are going to train you to become humanity's hope for survival" she said, staring at him. Josh's mood seemed to brighten and he stood straight. Halsey leaned back.
"Tomorrow Josh, your training begins. Your family is going to work you very hard, so be ready. I will be seeing you soon" she finished. Nodding at the Chief, she turned around and returned to the papers at her desk. The Chief turned Josh around and marched him out of the room. As the door closed, Halsey heard him mumble.
"Bye mommy." This immediately brought tears to her eyes. She sniffed them back though, trying to forget about what she was doing to that child. She had no choice. He would become what every kid dreams of. A hero. A hero, better than the marines, special ops, Special Forces and the Spartans. He would dominate the battle ground alone. The door suddenly reopened and the Chief reappeared and saluted. Halsey waved at him.
"Oh please Diego, put your hand down, you now I don't take kindly to saluting" she said. The Chief smiled and lowered his hand. He had a strong build to him. Square face, strong eyes, huge shoulders and contact lenses in his eyes that made them look red. He had his head completely shaved and looked like a demon from hell, but he was a very quiet, nice man when not on duty. Halsey looked at him.
"How are my Spartans?" she demanded. Diego smiled and nodded.
"Doctor Halsey, your Spartans are progressing very well. Within six more days, they will be well ready for MJOLNIR-X" he said. Halsey nodded and picked up a piece of paper.
"These status reports are incredible. All of their skills are completely untraceable, they are better than the Spartan IIs. Have you found someone to lead them though? They will need a Squad Leader soon" she asked, looking from the paper to him. Diego nodded.
"Spartan-213, Ian, he is the perfect candidate. He comes in the top three in every drill, including the team ones. I think he would be perfect" the Chief said. Halsey picked up the status report of Spartan-213. She looked at the picture and winced. It was if John was haunting her, every picture she looked at reminded her of John. Nevertheless, the marks that Ian received were high. She nodded, putting the paper away.
"Good, promote him, and then have Chief Petty Officer Browning take over for you. You, Chief Petty Officer Jose will have the privilege of training our finest weapon ever" she said, feeling a pain of regret hit her as she called Josh a weapon. Diego stood straight.
"Yes ma'am" he said. Halsey looked at him and their eyes met.
"Chief, you train that boy, and you train him well. The Covenant are pushing us, and it seems as if they have found Earth. We need him up and moving ASAP. Use the Special Forces training stats. Then, proceed with augmentation, and finally, the Dark Arts. He must be trained" she said, keeping her fix with his eyes. The Chief nodded.
"I will make him the best ma'am, he will not fail" he said, looking away. Halsey nodded.
"You begin his training tomorrow morning at 0700 hours. Take him to the various training facilities in CASTLE, but don't take him outside just yet. When all of the augmentations are completed, you proceed with outdoor training, and then we put him into you-know-what and train him with that on. Once done that, he will be in the field by next month" she said. Diego nodded. Halsey then sighed, and then turned back to her desk.
"That will be all Chief. Good luck" she said. Chief Petty Officer Jose nodded and turned briskly on his heel. He walked out of the office and left Halsey alone with her thoughts. The Doctor was getting tired. She couldn't read any more reports. She realized that it was time to call it a day. Before she left, she leaned forward and pressed two buttons on the hologram projector. The image of the green MJOLNIR-X armor disappeared and was replaced with a different image. Halsey felt a rush of pride. A black armored suit appeared in the projector. Seconds later, a cloak was appeared over top of it, hiding most of the armor. The hood on the back then moved forward graphically and placed itself on top of the armor's helmet. Immediately, the entire image disappeared, but Halsey could make out the faint outline of the armor and cloak. It then reappeared, the hood off. Halsey smiled to herself and shut the projector off. Grabbing her spectacles and a file folder, she moved her chair to the door, which opened and out into the hallway. The door locked behind her. Doctor Halsey then zoomed down the empty hallway, heading home. And so it begins she thought to herself....TO BE CONTINUED...
Project Shadow Spartan: Chapter 2
Date: 6 February 2003, 2:53 am
Planet Mars, ONI D Barracks, May 6th, 2581
Josh's eyes snapped open the moment he heard the door open and the rustling of movement. He sat up straight on his cot, staring around him. He heard someone laughing, and then light filled the room. Josh winced as his eyes burned and looked away. He suddenly, felt pain go through his body. Yelping, he rolled out of bed and looked around him, blinking through tears from the light. A huge man stood over him, wearing full combat camouflage uniform and holding a baton that sparked at one end. He raised his arm, preparing to strike, but Josh was already up and moving about, avoiding it. The man chuckled and crossed his arms.
"What are you looking at boot? Get your legs moving and get ready. Showers are over there" he growled, pointing to the bathroom. Josh hesitated for a split second. The moment the man's arms uncrossed, he moved. He quickly undressed out of his bed clothes and jumped into the cool shower. The cold compound of hydrogen and oxygen flowing down his body woke him up completely. He ran out, drying off for a few seconds, and then grabbed clothing that was near his bed. Combat fatigues, a black sweatshirt and a pair of boots. All of this clothing matched his size. He slapped the buckles on his boots shut, then stood, looking up at the man. He hit him with the baton.
"Stand straight soldier, you are part of the UNSC now, and you will show respect when looking at a superior officer. Suck in your gut, hands at your side and raise that chin!" he yelled. Josh did all of this and once he was approved, he did not move until the man was done.
"My name is Chief Petty Officer Diego Jose, and I am your instructor. I will be teaching you how to become a weapon of mass destruction and invincibility, do you understand me?" he said, walking around Josh and yelling at him. Josh merely nodded; this brought more lashings from the baton.
"The first words and last words out of your stinking hole will be sir! Get me?" he roared. Josh recovered himself and nodded.
"Sir Yes sir!" he yelled. The Chief nodded, and then moved for the door.
"Follow me son, we're heading for the gym. It's a long walk, so fall in behind me" he said. Josh followed the Chief out of the large room. D Barracks was one long, wide hallway with doors spread out on the walls, obviously leading into more rooms. The hallway was huge. Tables and chairs were spread out around it and there were some marines sitting at them. The Chief suddenly began to jog. Josh followed, keeping speed. He remembered how he used to run cross-country at his school back home. Home? The old lady said this was my home he thought to himself, wrinkling his brow curiously. He was so confused, but the Chief's baton made him forget about it as he started to fall behind. The Chief growled at him.
"You lead the way boot and run fast, the gym isn't coming to you" he said. So Josh sprinted off down the hall, the Chief right on his tail. Josh tried to picture a pizza in front of him, so that he could run and catch it. Food? He hadn't had breakfast yet. His stomach growled, but he ignored it. He was merely running away from the Chief's baton. They reached the end of the hallway, in which he was forced to stop. They proceeded into a large elevator that opened to let them in. Josh stood at attention inside, while the Chief looked at him.
"Son, your next few days will go like this. Wake up, get dressed, run to the gym, do your calcite stretches, lift some weights, then head to the Library. Once finished there, you then head for the A Armory station, then to the medical section of this facility, to receive your very first augmentation, you got me?" he said. Josh nodded.
"Yes sir...sir?" Josh said, looking at him. The Chief glared down at him.
"What's an augmentation?" he asked. The Chief kneeled beside him.
"The augmentation is going to make you invincible" he said, then stood up and waited. Josh stood at attention again, pondering this new information. Invincible? Like the Spartans he had heard about. He knew he couldn't ask that question, so he merely agreed with himself. The stoppage of the elevator and the cruel bark of the Chief made him stop thinking and move. He jogged out and into a huge chamber. The gym was large and filled with a wide assortment of exercise equipment. Two boxing rings were in the middle, simulation rooms on the far left side, and a large open space, obviously used for stretching. Two huge men were lifting huge weights with their arms. They looked over at the two and whispered to each other, glaring at Josh.
"Mmmm, fresh meat. Can we eat him Chief?" one of them asked, licking his lips. The Chief looked at him.
"Shut up Private and go about your business. In two days, he is going to eat you" he growled. The man looked away, but glared one last time at Josh. The Chief led him to the open space and had Josh stand in front of him. The Chief glared at him.
"Jumping Jacks, count to 150, go!" he yelled. Josh realized if he hesitated, he got the baton, so he began jumping. The Chief counted for him though. Josh could do it, but he was to tired and hungry to think. He finished the jumping, and then relaxed. The Chief shook his head.
"Sit ups, 150, go!" he yelled. Reluctantly, Josh got on the ground and began to lift himself to touch his knees. By thirty, he felt dead. At one hundred, he threw up on the floor, but the Chief lashed him, so he continued. When he reached one fifty, he was about to relax, but forced to get back up. He did one-fifty push ups, leg curls, rope jumping and finally jogging on the spot for thirty minutes. When he was done, he collapsed, breathing heavily and letting his sweat form a puddle on the floor. The Chief hauled him up, gave him a sip of some bottled water, then threw him toward the exercise machines. Josh however stopped himself from going head first into the weights. The Chief stood over him as he bench pressed eighty pounds, and then lifted another eighty pounds with his left arm, then his right arm. Next was leg lifting. He sat down, and pushed one hundred pounds using only his legs. He felt like he was going to be crushed, but kept on going. He then proceeded to seven other exercise stations, involving his shoulders, torso, arms and lower legs. He lifted over two hundred pounds, and did it around one hundred times. His entire body felt like it was going to fall apart when Josh was finished. He received some more water, and then ran back to the elevator with the Chief. They headed for the Library next. Josh was too tired to even speak.
"When you go to the library, you will be taught history, math, calculus, geography and field tactics all in one. Then, we will go to the A Armory station to learn about various weapons used in the field, and then we head for augmentation, you get me?" yelled the Chief. Josh couldn't stand at attention and couldn't speak. He merely nodded. The elevator stopped and opened. Josh limped out and stopped. The Library was like the gym, except longer and probably taller. Columns upon columns of computerized texts and artifact books littered the area. Josh was awe-stricken. He couldn't believe humans could make such places. He walked forward and was greeted by a glowing lady. Josh realized it was an AI.
"Good afternoon Josh, my name is Dena X. Please follow me, our class is about to start" she said, floating off down the hall. Josh followed her, his mouth still open. Dena X walked into a separate study room and beckoned Josh in. The room was fairly large, consisting of large desks and chairs. A hologram projector was planted on the wall that light up the room with rays of light. Josh sat at a table and was given a plate of stale bread and some more water. He ate it all, ignoring the sour taste and salty water. He looked up at Dena X.
"Josh, I am here to teach you everything you are going to need to know when you are out fighting. This ranging from field battle tactics, various forms of math, like algebra, complex trinomials, Quadratic relations, and Calculus. You will also learn about famous field assassins that did remarkable things to help out their country or nation. You will also learn geography and how to interpret the scale of mountains, the various rocks that are strong enough for cover, that sort of stuff, ok?" she said, looking at him the entire time. Josh was holding his head up by his hands. Drool was slowly dripping out of his mouth. He sucked it all back in and nodded. Dena X smiled and the projector came to life. For the next several hours, Josh learned about extraordinary things he would never have known about. He learned about famous assassins that helped their allies in great wars, he learned about jaguars and how they sneak up on their prey without being spotted, he learned how to do algebra and quadratic relations, he learned how to analyze and field of combat before rushing in, he learned the advantages of battling above ground and on the ground and their disadvantages. The last thing he was taught about was his enemies. The Covenant. Dena X looked at Josh sternly.
"Almost done Josh. This by far is the most important aspect you need to learn. Your enemies and their abilities. Our current enemy right now is the Covenant, and do you know what the Covenant are doing at this moment?" she asked. Josh shook his head.
"They are planning our annihilation. They are planning to wipe out humans. Do you want that to happen Josh? Do you want to die?" she asked, moving closer and looking at him. Josh shook his head.
"No ma'am" he whispered. The projector changed from an open valley to show pictures of a large range of monster like creatures. There were five in total. Dena X looked at Josh again.
"This is the Covenant Josh. This is our enemy. The Covenant are a brotherhood of various races all compiled into one. They have only one goal and that is conquest. They want this entire universe for themselves" she said looking up at the images. One of the monsters was enlarged. It was roughly 4 feet tall, and was wearing some sort of environmental suit. Josh chuckled.
"It looks funny" he said. Dena X shook her head.
"This is a Grunt Josh. They may look like nothing and when by themselves, they are no match for anyone, but if you get a group of them together, nothing can stop them. They hurl themselves at their enemies and stop at nothing to kill it. If its gun runs out, then it merely uses its teeth and claws, they are still dangerous, but are the weakest" she said. The Grunt disappeared and another monster appeared. This one was slightly taller, around 5 feet, and held some sort of bright shield. Its head looked like a bird's head.
"This is a Jackal Josh. They are the most annoying Covenant any one has faced. That plasma shield they have can deflect any sort of bullet. They hide behind it and fire plasma at you as you try to flank it. They are more difficult to take out" she said. The image disappeared once more, and the next one popped up. Josh learned about the field commanders, the Elites, then the behemoth warriors that couldn't be taken out by a frontal assault, the slow, dumb, Hunters. The last one was a weird one Josh was thinking.
"This is a Brute, a new race of Covenant we just discovered. Think of the Brutes as a cross between a gorilla and a rhinoceros. They are vicious. Their fire plasma fuel rod guns, like the Hunters, except the Brutes are more agile and probably tougher as well. If you get to close to them, they stab you with a large metallic sword just below their gun. They are dangerous as well" Dena X said, finishing her lesson. Josh stood up, thanking Dena X for the lesson, and then jogged toward the elevator. Chief Jose was there, waiting. He nodded at Josh.
"Good, now, armory, let's go" he said. Once again, Josh got into the elevator and began the long trek up to the required armory station. He asked a few questions along the way about the Covenant, mainly about their weapons and their language. The Chief answered a few of them, and told him to consider them as an infestation that was going to kill him if he didn't kill them first. This helped Josh a lot, because he felt more anger rise to them. The elevator stopped and opened. Josh and the Chief walked out. The armory station was a lot smaller than the barracks, gym and library. It was like a circle basically. On one side were rows and racks of guns, grenades and explosive launchers, and the other side were firing stations against simulated targets. Josh was introduced to a MA2B and MA5B assault rifle. The SAG-13 combat magnum pistol and a frag grenade. He learned how to successfully load the weapons, cock back the bullet into the chamber and he even fired them. Josh was amazed at how accurate he was. All of his shots stayed within three circles of the four rings that surround a target paper. The gun training lasted a few hours. He would learn how to throw a grenade and other things later. They headed back to the elevator and the Chief suddenly looked worried.
"Okay trainee, last event of the day...augmentation" he said, sighing. Josh didn't like the look on the Chief's face, but didn't bother to ask him. He merely enjoyed the ride down to the medical bay. It opened and they walked into a large waiting room. A nurse sitting at the check in desk saw the two and a look of worry came on her face as well. She disappeared and the door just beside the check in area opened. The Chief led him through. Josh walked down a long hallway, like all the other ones in his home. Various medical rooms' doors were placed on either side of the hall. They went to the end and turned left. There was only one door, and it was at the very end. The Chief opened it using some sort of ID card and led him in. It was a small room. A bed was in the very centre, surrounded by monitoring consoles and operating computers. Four doctors and three nurses stood around the bed, waiting. The Chief helped Josh undress down to his underwear, and then watched him get into the bed. Josh was began to sweat as the nurses put a respirator mask over his mouth and stuck small circles that linked the computer to his body all across his arms and upper chest. Josh suddenly began to felt woozy and dizzy. He looked over at the Chief who leaned over.
"When this is over, and you wake up, it will be tomorrow and we will start off our day like today ok?" he said softly. Josh opened his mouth to speak, and then blacked out. The Chief looked over at the doctors who nodded in reassurance.
"The sleep drug is taking affect, we can now start the augmentation" the lead on said. The Chief nodded, and watched for a few seconds as they injected needles, tore open his skin and replaced his muscle tissue, improved his arms and legs. He finally got too grossed out to watch anymore and waited outside. Several hours passed and still no movement. It was around 6:30 at night when the door to the room opened and a stretcher came wheeling out. The doctor was smiling and looked at the Chief.
"It went fine; the first augmentation is a success. However, try to take it easy on him tomorrow, don't rush the exercises, and let him get used to his new reflexes. He will adapt, the others have, so will he" he said. The Chief nodded, then grabbed the stretcher and wheeled it out into the elevator. A few minutes later, he very gently lifted the 6-year old boy into the cot he slept in and covered him up. He took one long look at him, and then left. As he walked down the hall of the barracks, he took out a tape recorder and pressed record.
"Day one of Project Shadow Spartan, completed" he whispered......TO BE CONTINUED......
Project Shadow Spartan: Prologue
Date: 5 April 2003, 2:57 PM
Project Shadow Spartan: Prologue
**Hey everyone. Many of you may recognize this title. I'm Shadow Spartan, and I was the one who wrote the original Project Shadow Spartan. However, I felt mine wasn't going anywhere, so I've teamed up with Arinoth to work on this new one, Enjoy! **
Prologue: Earth's Solar System Outskirts, December 14th, 2562
"I see it, the exit to this Slipstream, coming up fifteen hundred meters, stand by for exit!" came the all too familiar voice of the "smart" AI Cortanna. John leaned back in the command chair and held on tight to the arm braces. The battered-up Longsword intercept fighter shook uncontrollably as it reached towards the exit. John heard the hull groan and grind as they exploded into real space. The fighter came out of the hole with a bang, and started spinning without warning, as if it was a top. The alarm systems blared in John's ears, and because of frequent use, they suddenly stopped. John felt like he was going throw up. He did his best to cover his mouth and scream at Cortanna.
"Get us back into position!" he exclaimed. He heard a muffled response, but couldn't make out what she had said. He instead waited and prayed that she could fix them up again. This wasn't the first time they had come out of the Slipstream like this. They had been randomly jumping since they had left Halo.
Without warning, the fighter slowed down, and eventually, with much struggling on Cortanna's behalf, they stopped and floated into a cluster of stars. John's vision was blurry as hell and he shook his head and rubbed his eyes to fix it. Slowly, the cockpit of the fighter stopped spinning and came into focus. He gave a loud sigh and looked near the 3-D projector. Cortanna appeared, panting and trying to stand still. She had obviously worked hard to get them out of that spin. John gave her a small smile.
"Nice job, but where the hell are we?" he asked. Cortanna gave a look of disgust at him. 9 years of being together, and they were starting to hate each other somewhat. Cortanna put a hand on her digital forehead. She suddenly smiled and pointed out the window. John cocked an eyebrow.
"What?"
Cortanna smirked, "See that star cluster?"
"Yeah?"
"Naturally, it consists of radiated gases, remains of stars, important effects like that, but that isn't the point. Beyond this star cluster is Pluto" she said, looking at John with a smile. John's eyes widened and he smiled.
"You're joking?" he said, making sure she wasn't. Cortanna grinned.
"Nope, but we still have a few hundred light years to go, so I suggest we go back into the Slipstream after we exit this place" she suggested. John however was in awe over the good news and at the cluster they were passing through. He took this time he had of peace to relax and reflect on past events.
It has been exactly nine years to this day that John had ran up the ramp of this intercept fighter, a large group of Flood Workers behind him. He remembered them barking at him as he had soared out of the cargo bay exit hole. He remembered Halo, the ancient alien ring world for which he and the crew of the Pillar of Autumn had crashed landed on, after escaping the Reach system and avoiding capture of the Covenant who had boarded their ship. He had fought down there, trying to stay alive and take control of Halo for almost a month. When they had discovered Halo's true meaning, John knew they had to leave. But, the Flood was too quick. They killed all the marines, using them for their own purposes and "killed" Captain Keyes as well. John still had trouble sleeping. The Flood was by far the most destructive and unpleasant race he had encountered. He still had dreams of marines getting infected with their disease, and Keyes yelling at him "YOU FAILED!" This had prevented John from sleeping for almost a year, but Cortanna helped him fight it off and he could sleep well. He hadn't aged much. All the drugs given to him during the incubation tests back at Reach had slowed down the ageing process of his body. He still looking like he was in his mid-thirties, even though he was around forty seven in age. That was the problem. John didn't know how old he was. He had forgotten everything. The only thing that was clear in his mind was the past few torturing years of random Slipstream jumps after random Slipstream jumps. John showed signs of cracking a few weeks ago. He was doing a good job of controlling it, but it was getting tough. He needed to get to Earth. He had to help train the next batch of Spartans, so that they would be aware of what would be in store for them. He knew the Covenant would be preparing to invade the Solar System, so he had to get there quickly.
Suddenly, a movement in a cloud caught John's attention. He sat forward and squinted out the window. One of the clouds that had look like a cartoon cloud had suddenly changed and looked like a streak in space. He cocked his eyebrow and looked around him. There were odd lights all around him, and this worried John. In a cluster like this, you would normally see the star up close, shinning with bright energy, and making the insides of any ship feel like a sauna. But John could still feel that coldness in the fighter and was getting agitated. Patches of clouds were starting to pull away and John was starting to realize what was going on. A large chunk of dust suddenly evaporated, revealing what was behind it. John froze. The huge hulk of a Covenant capital ship could be seen through the other dust clouds floating around its hull. More clouds began to move and John could see more Covenant ships, all parked and waiting. He swore silently to himself and sat in his chair. Quickly, he activated the engines, and did what he had been doing for nine years; programmed another random Slipstream jump. He didn't put the coordinates too far, because at the trajectory he had planned, they would be heading in the direction of Earth. If he programmed the ascent coordinates too far, they would most likely end up in the Sun, which wouldn't be good. He made another quick estimate, punched it in, and then sat back, ready. Cortanna appeared, scowling at him.
"What the heck are you doing?!" she exclaimed as the Longsword's engines powered up. John merely pointed both his hands out the window. Cortanna saw the rows upon rows of Covenant ships and her entire shinning digital figure froze for two seconds. She then tapped into the Slipstream countdown and detonated the engines. The hole to Slipstream opened through four clouds, and within seconds, the fighter was gone. John sighed as they accelerated away from the cluster. That was no scout patrol that was an invasion army. Earth's survival time had shortened incredibly. John had to get home, fast.
TO BE CONTINUED: CHAPTER ONE, COMING SOON
By: Shadow Spartan and Arinoth Koby
Project Shadow Spartan: Chapter Two
Date: 9 April 2003, 8:29 PM
Project Shadow Spartan: Chapter 1
Chapter One: Jupiter moon; Io, 16th, 2562
Io was a barren wasteland. The lakes of molten sulphur let off huge amounts of heat and steam into the very thin human-made atmosphere and the volcanos shook the weak moon crust as they exploded outwards large columns of more lava consisting of various unknown gases. The Master Spartan's (same rank as Master Chief, but different series) MJOLNIR-X armor did nothing to block the intense heat given off from the surface. He could feel the sweat from his forehead, running down his face, as he and his team of eight Spartan-III's sprinted down the slope of a huge mountain that towered over the molten landscape. Still pursuing them, a large group of Covenant Ghosts, and a prototype vehicle called the Shadow (which is the equivalent of a human Warthog) appeared and continued to fire random shots at the fleeing Spartans, while trying to catch up with them. The Master Spartan and the remains of his team were only armed with assault weapons, and were also low on ammunition. Logically, the Master Spartan should've tried to surrender awhile ago, but like his trainer Chief Petty Officer Mendez used to always say after a briefing "Live to fight another day." Also, the Master Spartan was well aware that the Covenant didn't take prisoners.
So, after the military base and power plant was overrun and destroyed, he high tailed it out of there, with whatever remained of his squad. He knew that he had around three Spartans unaccounted for, and could only assume the worse for them. Attempting to forget about them, he twisted his torso around and fired the last rounds in the clip of his MA7C battle rifle. The bullets did nothing to the armored alien warthog and did very little damage to the scout bikes. He turned back, jumped over a boulder, and released the empty clip from his rifle. He inserted his last clip of 7.62 armor piercing rounds into the rifle, cocked the weapon and attempted to catch up with his team, which were waiting for him at the base of the mountain. They fired quick bursts of ammo at the pursuing force, and then had to reload themselves.
The Spartans had come into the battle, thinking it would be a quick victory, and didn't pack a lot of ammo, weapons or grenades. They used what supplies they had at the base and power plant then fled the area with very little ammo. Now, the whole team was left with virtually nothing. The Master Spartan reached his team, but did not stop and merely waved his arms frantically, yelling into his radio...
"Go go go! don't stop, keep your lazy asses moving" he yelled. His team fired a few more rounds, and then ran after their leader.
They were now on open ground, and the heat was intensively hot. The lakes of molten sulphur were burning their skin, as the armor did virtually nothing to stop it. The vents were having a hard enough time trying to filter oxygen for their users. However, they had been trained to endure punishments, similar to this. The Master had always been told not to look back at his enemies, but he felt the need too. He turned and wasn't surprised to see the Covenant force decreasing the distance between them.
Suddenly, the Master Spartan heard a deafening roar throughout the sky. He looked to see what the hell is was and swore out loud to himself. He quickened his pace and ordered his Spartans to do the same. But, it was too late. A meteor, roughly the size of a Pelican dropship smashed right into the wide open space between the two forces, running across the plains. The resulting crash, led to a large explosion of rock, flame and molten sulphur. The Master Spartan and his group were blasted forward from the explosive crash, and the Covenant were all blasted backwards from the blast. The radio was filled with screams, as three of his men were covered in molten sulphur, which was powerful enough to burn right through the MJOLNIR-X armor and melt them to carbonized skeletons. The Covenant experienced the same fate as the three Spartans, leaving only one wounded Ghost and the Shadow, which had lost two of its occupants.
The Master Spartan and the remains of his team were buried in smoldering rocks. The armor was blaring alarms in the Master Spartan's hears and he chinned a control to dim them. His shield was gone, and he could definitely tell that his left leg was broken. His static radio was filled with moans and groans of pain, experienced by his fellow Spartans. The MS did his best to uncover himself and attempt to help his suffocating team. He crawled over the layer of debris and found the remaining five Spartans of his team. They all seemed to be find, except for Spartan-224, who was completely knocked out and seemed to have suffered a broken arm and rib. The MS knew it was impossible for them to continue on and hoped that the Covenant force had been weakened as well.
"Ian, is your radio working?" the MS asked a Spartan, making sure no one was coming to attack them in their weakened state. The tall and muscular Spartan turned and nodded his camouflaged helmet.
"Yes, it is working."
"Good, call the Hyperion and tell them we need immediate evac, mention our weakened state and loss of life." The MS felt a surge of sadness go through him as he remembered his fallen comrades. Ian, or Spartan-216, nodded again and switched to FLEETCOM. While he did this, the MS inquired who they had lost. He still had Amanda, Sonya, Jamie, Ian and Terrence with him, which meant that Kyle, Derek and Lisa had perished. He bowed his head momentarily, but was shaken out of his state of depression from Ian.
"Sir, Pelican is on its way" he said. The MS nodded, and they all waited. Within twenty minutes, the roar of a Pelican's engines sounded throughout the area. It hovered above the ground, and a Crew Chief, sitting in the troop bay, waved them forward. The Master Spartan was helped up by Ian and Amanda, and helped in, while the other two Spartans carried the unconscious Terrance aboard. The crew chief helped support the MS's leg on a seat, made a makeshift splint, then helped out Terrence. The Master Spartan stared back at Io, as they lifted off from the ground and headed out to the UNSC destroyer class vessel waiting for them.
Another stab of regret and sadness struck him as the landscape which they fought on disappeared. As they continued to climb, the MS could make out the wreckages of the Covenant Ghosts, who had been chasing them. The Shadow seemed to be abandoned. He shrugged, and then hung on tight as they cleared the atmosphere and made their way into the entrance to the Hyperion's cargo bay.
A team of medics were waiting off to the side, as the Pelican touched down on the cold, steel flooring. The crew chief helped the MS out first, who was immediately put on a stretcher and rushed to the medical bay of the vessel. The remaining medics looked after Terrance and whoever else was hurt. The Master Spartan, or Trevor, was in a state of calmness, thanks to the morphine that was injected into his system. His helmet had been removed and he could feel his hot, sweaty face beginning to cool down as he was rushed down the halls of the ship. The medical bay was a spherical room, lined with cots and bunks for the wounded. There were separate holding areas for the critically wounded and other rooms which held medical supplies. The main part of the med bay was loaded with injured marines, all collected from the surface of Io. Trevor was ushered into one of the separate rooms, which was occupied by only three marines, who seemed to be dead, but the doctors were doing their best to keep them alive. The Master Spartan was transferred to a cot, where he was injected with a special bone regrowth drug and was also forced to gulp down several pain killers. He lay there in a state of numbness as the drugs went to work. Eventually, the pain in his leg started to dwindle, and he was able to sit up. As he did, Captain Cody Miller walked in, hands behind his back, and head bowed. However, he raised his head when he saw the Master Spartan staring at him. Trevor tried to salute, but he still didn't have enough strength to move around. Miller smiled.
"Good to see you Master Spartan, glad you weren't killed down there in that hell hole" he said. Trevor didn't say anything and merely looked at the Captain, who began to pace around his cot.
"The situation is grim my friend. The UNSC High Council is ordering all ships and UNSC personal to fall back into the Inner planets. We have been fighting a losing war since day one, but this shows who we have less than a few weeks probably until we are wiped out of existence" he said, shaking his head as he spoke. Trevor's eyebrow raised.
"Sounds like fun" he said dryly. Miller chuckled.
"The battle for the Inner Planets will be our last stand, and if we can't pull it off, then there is nothing left for humanity to do. We cannot run, as all our colonies are gone, and we don't know what lies beyond this system of galaxies. We have to pull through here, or else it's just all over." The Master Spartan was just getting more and more depressed as the Captain drawled on about humans being wiped out.
"The colonies floating inside Jupiter's atmosphere have been abandoned and the Covenant have destroyed all our military bases on the surrounded moons. The Hyperion and three other destroyers are collecting what's left of the military forces and survivors of various colonies. Once we are done that, we head back into the asteroid field and begin our last few weeks of fighting" the Captain finished, turning to face Trevor. The Master Spartan looked up at him, and then laid back down injected more "drugs" into him. Trevor then drifted into a restless sleep. Miller smiled. Although the man had lost a lot of people down there, he knew that this Spartan wasn't going to give up, despite all the losses.
Cody turned, left the bay and took a lift up to the bridge of his destroyer. He stood on the command deck and looked towards his communications officer.
"Report. How is the evacuation going?" he pondered. The young lieutenant turned in his seat.
"We're all done sir. We just picked up a squad of ODSTs, fighting near the defense perimeter on Io" the man said. Cody nodded.
"Anything else?"
"Nothing sir...what the hell?" Cody turned to look at the man, but the lieutenant was punching in commands at his console.
"Lieutenant?" Cody asked. The man turned.
"Sir, I have been picking up a strange signature for the last few minutes. It seems to be an old Longsword fighter that was put out of commission nine years ago" he said with slight confusion in his voice. Cody cocked his eyebrow, then his eyes widened.
"Keyes?" he whispered, and then ran to the man's console.
"Show me" he demanded. The lieutenant pointed near Jupiter's polar caps and sure enough, the Longsword floated just out of its orbit. Cody pressed several buttons, and then grabbed the headset that the lieutenant wore.
"This is Captain Cody Miller of the UNSC destroyer Hyperion to unidentified Longsword fighter, positioned near Jupiter's polar caps. Please identify yourselves, or we will be forced to engage" he said, his voice thick with authority.
The lieutenant punched in several more commands, and one of the cameras on the destroyer's hull zoomed in on the horribly damaged fighter. It appeared on the screen. There was a period of static, and then a female voice answered.
"This is AI construct Cortanna of the UNSC cruiser Pillar of Autumn," the voice said, "I am here with Spartan-117 of the Spartan-II series."
Captain Cody Miller's eyebrow rose and he smiled, preparing to respond.
"Master Chief...."
TO BE CONTINUED: CHAPTER TWO, COMING SOON
By: Shadow Spartan and Arinoth Koby
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