- MaxRealflugel
- |
- Elder Mythic Member
Part Two
September 24th 2553 United States, Earth
John stood quietly in the bracing wind, staring at the memorial before him. Unlike so many other memorials it was not erected in memory of fallen comrades, climactic battles or even the determined exploits of beleaguered medical staff. It was built to remember just one individual; a man with an open mind and an invaluable insight into a constantly changing world.
John, in a way, drew a parallel with his own life and that of the statue enthroned in front of him, as he read an inscription above.
IN THIS TEMPLE
AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE
FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION
THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IS ENSHRINED FOREVER
They had similar ideals and ambitions and desires for protocol, freedom and peace. The only difference between them both was the way they went about it. But unlike Abraham Lincoln, John had been presented with the unique opportunity of visiting his own memorial.
The plains of Africa had been transformed into pits of fire and glass in the opening bombardment by the Covenant, but when he re-visited Mombassa a month ago a lot had changed. The dead landscape was slowly being returned to a site of natural beauty and the recent rise in business had given the city a new lease of life. Mombassa, it seemed, had risen from the ashes.
The Elites had played a huge part in the recent transformation. Their terra-forming skills were far in advance of the UNSC Engineering Division and they had repaired a lot of the damage from the assault, but there was still a great deal of animosity between both species. Many on both sides had lost friends and family but those same people also accepted that the only way to survive was to look to the future.
Another strong gust of wind on his bare face pulled John from his thoughts. The majority of the past twelve months had been spent encased in his Mjolnir armour, but when Lord Hood had first suggested and then ordered John to take some leave he was presented with the opportunity to see some of the wonders of a world that he had long since been protecting. But he had to admit, he felt naked without his armour.
As he looked on at the white marbled memorial he could hear faint footsteps creeping up behind him. The memorial site itself was deserted as most civilians had been drafted into countless contracted companies to aid in the rebuild.
John smiled to himself and spun round, in front of him stood Kelly, Fred and Linda.
Despite the fact that all of them had been without their armour for over two months, John still found it unusual to see his team without a reflective visor staring back at him.
Kelly handed John a mug of hot whiskey. She was quite different when not encased in half a ton of armour. Her small frame was even more apparent now than before. But John knew that she was more than capable of snapping a man in two. She wore her blonde hair in a small ponytail and was dressed from head to foot, like the rest of Blue Team, in a Navy uniform and a long grey coat. Her rank distinguished her as a petty officer, but there was little else to show her true origin. In fact, Kelly looked more like a young teenage recruit than a hardened Spartan soldier with years of combat experience.
"How's the sight seeing going?" She asked.
John looked back at the seated statue of Abraham Lincoln. "Good," he replied. "There's a lot more to Earth than I thought."
"The food's good as well," Fred blurted, with a mouth full of Hot Dog. "These are amazing. Better than that rationed crap we've been living on for years."
"You mean you've never had a Hot Dog before?" Linda asked.
Fred shook his head in response; he couldn't speak as his cheeks were bulging out like those of a foraging squirrel storing nuts for the winter.
John took a sip of the whiskey. The strong smelling odour filled his nostrils and the alcohol set about the task of entering his bloodstream and spreading throughout his body. But it never got the chance.
Any other human would have immediately felt the effect of the steaming whiskey but John's augmented body chemistry immediately negated the mild toxins of the alcohol. The taste left in his mouth was more reminiscent of Earl Grey tea mixed with burnt straw than a hot cup of single malt whiskey.
It would take more alcohol than this to affect a Spartan.
John walked over to a nearby trash can and threw in his cup. Each of the other Spartans did the same after tasting their own.
"So," began Kelly. "When is Lord Hood expecting us back?
"He's not," John replied.
Kelly looked bemused. "I thought you said we had a month of leave before we were to head back to Cairo station?"
"I did, but once we were groundside Hood changed hissuggestion to three months.
"Three months," coughed Fred.
John nodded. "I don't like it any more than you do. I'd prefer to be up on Cairo with Hood, getting all the intel on the Scourge."
"I know," Kelly sympathised. "Have they heard anything?"
"Cortana has only been able to get small pieces of information to me; she's too busy trying to crack the Forerunner glyphs on the cave entrance."
Since John had last seen the Forerunner from the cave system in England, a lot had changed; for some reason they were being unusually secretive. FLEETCOM had desperately tried to open up some sort of dialogue with them, but every attempt had fallen on deaf ears. The Forerunners had even gone as far as erecting an energy field around the cave entrance that was covered in thousands of glowing blue glyphs. "All Cortana knows is that a few deep space survey missions have gone missing, besides that we're as blind to the Scourge threat as we were a few months ago."
"Never thought we'd bump into anyone more advanced than the Covenant, and then the Scourge turned up," Linda voiced.
John knew what she meant but his main concern had nothing to do with the Scourge and their grasp of technology and a resistance to firepower. It was his brief lapse into unconsciousness that bothered him, the voice of Captain Keys echoing inside his head.
Kelly looked at John. She was, sometimes, able to sense what he was feeling. "Thinking about Keys again?"
He nodded.
"It might just be the Gravemind trying to confuse you or have the last laugh," she offered.
"If only I could believe that, Kelly. I watched the Ark burn. It should be dead and so should Keyes."
John glanced back at the white statue and tried to push the memory of Keyes from his mind, but he was distracted by a faint noise in the distance. They all turned to look but it wasn't long before John knew what he was hearing.
"Pelican, inbound."
The dull grey drop ship flew in low from the east before dropping down on the paved promenade nearby. The rear ramp dropped and a thin man in a Navy uniform stepped out. He briefly looked around the area before he came running over to John like a dog with a stick for his master.
John recognised the rank insignia of a Captain and immediately saluted. The other Spartans did the same.
"Master Chief," the officer started. "Your immediate presence is requested by Admiral Hood."
"What's the mission?" John asked.
"Recovery, I'll brief you all on route."
John and the others stepped onto the waiting Pelican. There was a loud whine from the engines before they shot into the sky.
"Chief," the officer voiced. "The admiral will give you a full brief when you arrive but these are the facts."
All of the other Spartans turned their full attention on the young officer.
"Last month, we lost contact with one of our teams. They were originally deployed to observe or engage any priority Covenant targets."
Fred cocked his head to one side. "But the war is over, finished months ago."
"The war might be over but many of the Covenant factions still pose a threat to UNSC interests. Anyway, we've received no other updates for almost three weeks now and ONI need answers."
"ONI are running this?" John voiced. "They rarely do their own dirty work."
The officers' face suddenly grew dark and serious. "ONI are running it, Chief, but it was a Spartan team."
"Which team?"
"Grey," the officer replied.
"Grey?" Linda voiced. "I thought we lost them years ago."
"They've been running deep and silent for over twenty years. Their efforts seriously hampered the Covenant up until Reach. Even afterwards they were a thorn in their sides. The admiral will brief you all on the gory details, Chief."
"What about our armour?" Fred asked.
"Ready and waiting in docking bay 4. Doctor Halsey will reacquaint you."
To be continued...