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This topic has moved here: Subject: [Story] Spartan Training~ Chapter 4, Boot
  • Subject: [Story] Spartan Training~ Chapter 4, Boot
Subject: [Story] Spartan Training~ Chapter 4, Boot
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T.O.A.S.T stands for: Totally. Over. Analyzing. Short. Trailers.

A story aimed at the SPARTAN II training program. It follows John's personal traniner during the program.


September 23rd 2517, Epsilon Eridani System
Reach Military Complex, Planet Reach


Chapter 1


Sarah was a bit too young to be doing this job. This sort of job was for the 40 some things, who had experience and a lack of Emotion. Being the ripe age of twenty-five meant Sarah had guilt. She didn't like doing this, it was cruel. Sarah thought this as she slowly pushed the terrified six year old forward.


They were standing in the line of terrified six year-old children and their handlers. Sarah even knew the name of this terrified boy, who she was pushing along. His name was John, a perfectly normal name. Sarah had known a boy called John at her old school.
The terrified boy looked around the enormous amphitheatre, then round at Sarah. Who maintained the emotionless face she had been taught.]

Dr. Halsey, the woman in charge of this horrible operation, looked at the assembled six year old's. Who were all in various states of distress. Sarah, who had her hands on John's shoulders, could feel them shaking. She wasn't sure if it was her hands, or John's shoulders that were shaking.


Dr. Halsey began her speech, something totally grand and unjustifiable. Something about being protectors of Earth and all her Colonies.These were children for god's sake!! Leave them alone, they should be playing grav-ball at school. I suppose it's all right for you, being some scientist, not interested in people, just results.

Sarah listened to the grand speech with disgust, thinking it was the sort of speech which should be given to the soldiers, not some group of terrified Six year old's.
Sarah suddenly snapped back to attention when CPO Mendez shouted "Fall Out." She tugged at John's small shoulders. He refused to move, his eyes fastened on Dr. Halsey.

"Come on, move," Sarah muttered to him. John still refused to move.

"Move!" Sarah snapped at him, tugging his shoulders harder this time. John jolted and followed her guiding hands, a shocked look on his face.

CPO Mendez ordered Sarah and the rest of the handlers to take the Trainees to the Mess hall and feed them up. She guided the small, trembling boy through the establishment until they arrived at the mess hall. Sarah set John down on one of the chairs and walked over to pick up a tray of food. She picked up the tray labelled "117" and took it over to the still shell-shocked boy. Sarah put the plastic tray down in front of the small boy and watched as the boy slowly picked at the meal of sausages and mash.

"Eat up, your going to need your strength." Sarah said, knowing the ruthless training the boy was about to undergo.

"I'm not hungry," John said, pushing the tray away.

"Eat!" Sarah snapped, rapping her knuckles against the table. John jumped, pulled the plate back towards him and started eating with a new gusto. Looking around, Sarah noted with satisfaction that all the other children had stopped eating, their plates not empty. The other drill instructors were not making a effort to make them eat more.

It took John just under a minute to wolf down the food. His excuse either being fake, or he was just afraid of what Sarah would do to him if he didn't eat it. John drained his cup of milk, setting it down he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"You'll thank me tomorrow," Sarah said, just as CPO Mendez walked into the mess.

"Trainees, hit the bunks" CPO Mendez shouted. Sarah stood up, gesturing for John to do the same. He just sat their, his small head lolling, eyes droopy.

"Up!" Sarah snapped, her nails making a sharp noise as she tapped them against the table. John shot up, all pretense gone.

"Move!" Sarah said, her hands on Johns shoulders, guiding him through the facility and towards his allocated hut and bunk.

"Now get some sleep, that's a order," Sarah said, before closing the Huts door.
Sarah slowly walked back towards the mess. Thinking about the boy, and how she would have to look after him for the years to come.

[Edited on 12.26.2009 11:03 AM PST]

  • 12.18.2009 7:09 PM PDT
Subject: [Story] Spartan Training~ Chapter 1, Now up.

holy god . that was really really good. the different perspective is interesting but great. congratulations on the great work.

  • 12.19.2009 10:32 AM PDT
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  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

Amazing, really brilliant piece of writting...As Sonic said nice to see a differant perspetive, couldn't agree more.

  • 12.19.2009 10:34 AM PDT
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T.O.A.S.T stands for: Totally. Over. Analyzing. Short. Trailers.

Wowzers..... thanks for all the Positive reviews.... anyway,time for chapter 2.


Why Can't I Go Home?


Sarah walked slowly, ever so often resting up against a wall when she felt tired. Suddenly she noticed the slight pain in her stomach. Hunger. Sarah sped up, smelling the mess hall out. She entered the large room to find the other drill sergeants already seated and tucking in. A solitary tray was waiting for her, it was laden with a plate piled up with spaghetti and a cup of water.
Sarah sat away from the other drill sergeants, who seemed to be talking happily about the terrified kids.

"Did you see that girls face as Mendez hit her with the Baton," one of them said with glee.
Sarah suddenly seemed to have lost her appetite, She ate a few twirls of Spaghetti and some of the water, but then stood up. Deciding she needed a breath of air.

It took her a few minutes to get outside, it was getting cold and dark. Sarah was glad she had her heavy uniform on. The base seemed deserted, she absent-mindedly walked by the hut which John stayed in. The sound of sobbing suddenly caught Sarah's attention.

The little figure of John was curled up against the hut, his shoulders jolting slightly as he sobbed. Sarah looked down on the small figure, he seemed so vulnerable. Who could blame him? He just lost his parents, the one thing that had always been there for him.

Sarah couldn't bring herself to shout at the little boy, She knew she should shout at him to go back to bed. But how could she? Slowly, she knelt next to him and wrapped her arm around his small shoulders. The poor boy must have been freezing, Sarah was faintly cold and she was in her full uniform, while this boy was only dressed in his bed clothes. `

"I thought I told you to go to bed," Sarah said softly, trying to comfort the sobbing boy.

"C-couldn't sleep," John mumbled between sobs. "To much to think about."

"Want to share it?" Sarah asked, guessing what was coming. John slowly looked up, his face streaked with tears.

"You want to know?" He asked, his face still screwed up from crying. Sarah hadn't expected that.

"You're not the only one with a lot to think about, how about we share?" Sarah replied. John nodded slightly, a few tears flicked off his face. Sarah wasn't entirely sure how to talk to a six year old, she could deal with cocky recruits and old Vets, but a six year old? That's where she ran into trouble.

"Where are my parents? Why am I here? What's conscription? Who's the creepy woman that gave the speech?-" The words flew out of Johns mouth, Sarah was barely able to keep up with the words.

"Why can't I go home?" John finished, fresh tears now coming out of his eyes. The final question struck right at the centre of Sarah.

"I want to go home to." Sarah admitted, feeling sad about her past. John sniffled and looked up at her.

"Why don't you?" He asked in a small voice.

"I can't.... it's a long story." Sarah said, thinking back to the large crater that had once been her home. A few fresh tears leaked out of Johns eyes, running down his face and landing on his clothes. Sarah brought him a bit closer, putting her chin on top of his head.
John slowly stopped crying, just reduced to the occasional sniffle. Sarah lifted her chin of Johns head and looked into his shining brown eyes.

"You need some sleep, tomorrow is going to be a hard day" she said. John nodded slightly and got up. He slowly climbed through the hut window.
"Thank you." John said sincerely, before disappearing into the hut.

"No problem" Sarah said, watching John vanish into the darkness of the hut. A small smile played on her lips as she saw John climb into bed and close his eyes. Sarah set off back towards the base, feeling a lot better than she had previously.
Unknown to her, Dr. Halsey had been watching the entire conversation on the bases CCTV. Her hand reached across to the Base PA system and pressed it.
"Drill sergeant Sarah Smith, to report to Dr. Halsey's office immediately".

With a sinking heart, Sarah changed her direction through the base.

  • 12.19.2009 2:34 PM PDT

The TNT Studios - Director and Machinima Dude

Contact me on Youtube: TheTNTStudios

Really good!

  • 12.19.2009 2:46 PM PDT
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T.O.A.S.T stands for: Totally. Over. Analyzing. Short. Trailers.

September 23rd 2517, Epsilon Eridani System
Reach Millitary complex, Planet Reach.


Reprimands

Sarah knocked on Dr. Halsey's door, waited a couple of seconds, then entered. The Dr. was sitting behind her desk, typing feverishly on her laptops keyboard. She looked up from the screen and saw Sarah standing at attention. Closing the lid, Halsey looked at Sarah.

"I wanted to talk to you about a 'incident." Halsey said, pressing a button on her desk. The small holographic figure of Deja appeared.

"Play the video." Halsey said to Deja. The hologram of Deja disappeared, to be replaced by a small video of the side of one of the children's hut. The small figure of John climbed out of the window and curled against the hut, John's small shoulders shaking as he sobbed.

"Skip to 0:25:00." Halsey said. The small figure remained, but the light had deteriorated significantly. Sarah watched as the small figure of herself appeared on the screen. She watched as the conversation played out, they were clearly able to hear the words. It struck Sarah how intimate the conversation had been, a lot more than it had seemed at the time. The conversation ended, the small figure of John climbed back into the window and Sarah set off out of the picture, a small smile apparent on her lips. The video stopped. Halsey looked at Sarah, who snapped back to attention.

"You do know why you are part of this operation?" Halsey asked.

"Yes, Ma'am." Sarah said, jerking her head in acknowledgement.

"Then what," Halsey said, gesturing to the holo-pad, "Were you doing then?"

"The child was distressed, I comforted him." Sarah said, knowing it was a poor excuse.

"That is not your job," Halsey said. "If you do not stop this socializing with 117, I will remove you from this operation, with a demotion to Corporal, am I clear?" Halsey said.

"Crystal clear, ma'am." Sarah said.

"That is all, you are dismissed." Halsey said, re-opening her laptop and resuming her typing. Sarah nodded and left the room. She closed the door and leaned up against the wall, thinking.

Deciding on a course of action, she started walking. Her destination was her room, but she went via the mess hall, picking up half a dozen snack bars. She knew she would be hungry later, having not eaten much at dinner.
Entering her assigned room, Sarah shut the door, locking it. She walked over and sat down at her desk. She pulled out a notepad and her map of the base, which included the placings of the CCTV cameras.
It took Sarah about thirty minutes to copy the entire map, specifically noting the camera placings and their field of view. After she had made a good copy, she tore it out of the notepad and folded it into a small square. The she wrote a note on one of the pages.

Can't talk in the open. Look at map, find a good place clear of cameras if you want to talk.

Sarah pulled the page out, cut it so that the line was on its own, on a small ribbon of paper.
Content with her work, she put the note in her lockable drawer, along with the Map.

September 24th 2517, 04:00 hours

Sarah woke to the sound of her alarm, high and shrill. She groaned, cursed, then hit the alarm, which stopped as quickly as it had started. Wiping the sleep out of her eyes, Sarah glanced at her bedside clock. 04:00!! Christ what the Hell Sarah groaned as she sat up, brushing her unkempt black hair out of her eyes. Her PDA bleeped at her. Sarah picked it up and opened the new message.

AI Deja Drill Sergeant > Sarah Smith.

Morning Sergeant.

I would advise you wash and Dress, then get breakfast at the Mess. We will be waking the Trainees at 05:30 hours. Training schedule attached.

End of Message.

See attached file.


Sarah touched the attachment button. The schedule appeared, she winced inwardly. Sarah had known the training was going to be hard, but not this hard. I won't be surprised if we have some wash-outs from this.
She turned the PDA off and set it back on the table. A loud rumbling noise came out of Sarah's stomach. The snack bars had remained untouched.

Sarah groaned and swung her legs out of bed. A quick blistering shower followed, it left her feeling burnt, but it helped wake her up. Sarah struggled into her Uniform, buttoning the buttons. Exiting the room with a stifled yawn, she set of for the Mess.

A large breakfast followed, four rashers of bacon, a couple of sausages, some scrambled eggs and toast. Several large cups of Coffee followed, truly waking Sarah up, although she still felt terrible. Just as Sarah was draining her last cup of coffee, CPO Mendez walked in, he clapped his hand and announced, "Let's go people, time to wake up some trainees."

So it begins.

  • 12.20.2009 10:13 AM PDT

Honor Light Your Way, Our Blood Shall Forge a Thousand Generations!

Not too bad.

  • 12.20.2009 10:24 AM PDT
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T.O.A.S.T stands for: Totally. Over. Analyzing. Short. Trailers.

Soz guys, but it might be awhile untill the next update, it's christmas and all that.

  • 12.20.2009 2:06 PM PDT
  • gamertag: vrbtny
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T.O.A.S.T stands for: Totally. Over. Analyzing. Short. Trailers.

September 24th 2517, Epsilon Eridani System.
Reach Military Complex, Planet Reach
05:30
Sarah Smith.

Chapter 4

Sarah followed the other drill sergeants outside, she got a little worried about what they were going to do, when she was handed a electric baton.

"Okay you know the drill, wake the trainees up, get 'em washed, clothed and get them outside for exercise." Mendez said to the assembled crowd. Mendez threw the huts door open with a loud bang, he walked in shouting "Wake up Trainees!" Sarah watched as Mendez made a bee-line for John's bed, waking him up with a sharp prod from his baton.

"I said up, Boot!, you know which way up is." Mendez shouted at John, who was still in his bed, rolling groggily. The other drill sergeants converged on the other children, Sarah followed their example and roused one of the children, minus the use of the electric baton.

"I am Chief Petty Officer Mendez, the rest of these men are your instructors, you will do exactly what they say at all times." Mendez announced to the bleary eyed children. Sarah spotted John, who looked a bit more awake than the other kids. John caught Sarah looking at him, he cocked his head, as if thinking. The it struck him where he had seen her before. A brief look of surprise came on his face, when he realized who Sarah was. She nodded her head curtly at him

John jumped as Mendez shouted out orders, then jumped again when Mendez prodded him in the back with his baton. Sarah watched as John and the other children, showered and dressed. The drill sergeants then herded the children out of the hut and onto the parade ground. A quick organizing followed, with Mendez making the Children fall into five lines of fifteen.

"Jumping jacks!" Mendez shouted, the children started the exercise. Sarah thought it was cruel, she doubted if most marines could do what the children had to do. One of the children refused, and quickly received a baton in the stomach, the boy quickly got with the program. 100 sit-ups followed, then 100 deep squats.

John threw up half-way through the squats, Sarah quickly rushed over and got him back with the program. A assortment of several more exercises followed, to Sarah's relief, John didn't give up, he looked extremely tired, but determined to keep up.

"Rest! Trainers, get the water!" Mendez shouted, the trainers grabbed the water of the trolley, then handed them out to the exhausted children. Sarah grabbed one, then made a bee-line for John. She slipped the note and map out of her pocket, then wrapped them around the metal beaker. Sarah handed the bottle to John.

"Thanks." He panted, before quickly draining the whole beaker. Then he discovered the paper wrapped around the beaker, John stealthily pulled it off and looked at the note and map.
After reading the note, he looked up and saw Sarah, who was hovering near him. John nodded at her and slipped the note and map into his pocket. Sarah quickly retrieved the beaker from the perspiring John and returned it to the trolley. There was a couple of minutes rest for the trainees, before Mendez was back to business.

"A good start, Trainees, Now we run, on your feet!" Mendez shouted, Sarah and the other trainers herded the children into a square, then got them to running. It was a hard run, even for Sarah, who had never been as fit as a drill sergeant, being a normal sergeant was much better for keeping fit.
They ran for just under two hours, then they arrived at the naval officers academy building. The children disappeared inside, the other drill sergeants relaxed and started chatting.

"Okay people, you have 5 hours while the trainees have their lesson, the mess is serving, so If your hungry, this would be a ideal time to get some chow" Mendez said to the assembled sergeants, who made sounds of content.
Sarah checked herself, finding she wasn't hungry, just extremely tired. She walked over to one of the establishment's free-to-use warthogs, she climbed in and started the engine.
A fifteen minute drive later, Sarah pulled up outside her personal hut. Turning the engine off, she climbed out and entered her hut. It was a simple two room affair, one room was her bedroom and living quarters, the other her personal shower. This was the one thing Sarah liked about her present posting, she got a personal hut. Usually she lived in barracks.


Sarah flopped down onto the bed, not bothering to get under the covers. She quickly fell asleep.

  • 12.26.2009 11:02 AM PDT