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Subject: [Story] The Spartan Four Project: Book Two (Part 12 Is Now Ready!)
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Dedicated to all of The Spartan Four Project fans. You kept me running when my mind when blank, and cheered me up with your over 200 comments when I came home pissed off. I apologize for this taking so long.

Special Thanks to Wolverfrog for stopping me from quitting writing more times than I can count. I am in your debt.

_____________________________________________________________ __

It has been two years since the battle Irindar, the last push to take down the Insurrection, which had turned into a full scale army comprised of unsatisfied nations of the UNSC, lead by Eli Ackerson, the last of the bloodline. The Insurrection was defeated, but at heavy cost. Spartans and tens of thousands of drafted youth were killed. In addition, they failed to bring Eli to justice, as he took his own life. Lord Hood was tagged as nothing but an old fool, and the remnants of the UNSC was on the tipping point of falling apart. Even with the recovery of Spartan 117, salvation of the once great alliance is nothing but a distant dream.


"It's jammed!" The Cryo-Specialist exclaimed. The panicked shout was low slur as Spartan E18, Dante awoke from cryo-sleep in a deep underground ONI base on Reach. His vision began to clear, and he saw that he was trapped in a cryo-tube. Spartan A16, Sarah looked through the glass. She was in her suit, but Dante knew that figure anywhere. She grabbed onto the cryo-tube's lid and tore it off.

"Suit up," Sarah said, "All of our gear was brought here."

"What the hell is going on?" Dante asked groggily as Sarah quickly helped him out of the tube.

"No time to explain; just get in your suit." All of the Spartans were already out of their tubes and geared up.

"They're cutting the door!" Brian, Spartan C12 shouted, and indeed they were. Sparks were shooting out from the cryo-bay's grade-A titanium door. Glowing hot lines in the metal showed where they were improvising a door.

"There's only one door anyway." Cody, A15 said in a rough voice. He pumped his shotgun and pressed his back against the wall next to the door.

Dante had donned his armor. Grabbing a Spartan laser, he took a position on the opposite side of the wall form Cody. The rest of the Spartans took cover behind the tubes, and the Cryo-Specialist entered the fetal position behind a tube in the back of the room.

The cutting stopped, silence. Dante detached himself from the wall, and started charging his laser. He lifted his foot back to kick in the cut door, but they beat him to it. A warthog smashed through the barrier. Dante jumped back, but only avoided the metal slab. The hog caught him in the gut, taking out his shields. He gripped onto the hood as dragged him across the room.

The Spartans fired at the driver, killing him. Unfortunately he died with his foot on the gas. Nobody noticed this because they immediately turned to face the new threat. Human soldiers rushed into the room guns blazing. The Spartan's bullets pinged off shields. They must have been expecting Spartans.

There was a "SLAM!" as the warthog pinned Dante against the far wall. Blood spattered the inside of his visor, and he flat lined.


The Spartan Four Project: Book Two


Parts

Part One: We'll Make It.

Part Two: Bad News.

Part Three: A Bold Move.

Part Four: Just Getting Started.

Part Five: The Agent.

Part Six: Wasting or Spending?

Part Seven: A True Sangheili.

Part Eight: The Fork in the Void.

Part Nine: Espionage.

Part Ten: Deep Trouble.

Part Eleven: The Coup.

Part Twelve: The Same Mistake.

[Edited on 08.06.2011 6:01 PM PDT]

  • 05.15.2011 9:17 PM PDT
Subject: [Story] The Spartan Four Project: Book Two (Part Five Is Up!)
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Part. 1


"Dante!" Sarah was restrained by Brian before she could run out of cover, "Let me go!" She kicked as bullets flew over their heads.

117 ripped the cryo-tube he was hiding behind off of its bracing. He used it as a shield as he advanced towards the door. Along the way he picked up Dante's dropped Spartan laser, and began to charge it. He heard panicked orders as it reached it powered up. The laser fired, cutting through an enemy and a man behind him.

A few bullets hit Spartan A15's shields, draining them more than they should. Examining the enemy fire more closely he noticed something odd. The bullets were surrounded by plasma, yet it wasn't melting the metal. These men were trained and geared for a single purpose, killing Spartans.

A Spartan of Blue Team pulled the pins on three grenades, and threw them into the hall. It was a good call. The weakened shields of the invaders had zero chance of keeping the men alive. With one loud "BOOM!" the firefight was over.

Brian release Sarah and she ran to Dante. Grabbing the warthog, the Spartan threw it off of E18. His stiff body slid to the ground, no longer held up by the armored vehicle's bumper. Sarah threw off her helmet, and attempted to pull Dante's off, but it wouldn't budge. It was painful to watch her shaking
E18's body. All off the Spartans but the Master Chief, Cody, and Brian looked away, making plans to escape the ONI base just to distract themselves.

Brian knelt down next to Sarah, whose tears were dripping down onto Dante's armor. "He's gone Sarah, I'm sorry."

"No you're not." A15 crossed his arms, "Sarah, get over it. Brian, don't lie just to get her back up to speed. She has to do it herself. We're Spartan's."

Brian left Sarah and approached Cody. He grabbed onto the edge of his chest plate and gave him a single shake. "We just lost Dante, Sarah most of all."

"Look on the bright side, we don't have to worry about those two endangering our missions, and now we only have one Master Chief, so we can call him without two people looking."

C12 brought his mirrored visor inches away from Cody's. "I think you're forgetting your place Spartan.

This whole time 117 was staring at Dante's body with narrowed eyes. "He isn't dead."

Brian released Cody. "What?"

A15 shook his head. "You're the last person I expected denial from Chief."

John knelt down next to Sarah and examined Dante. "I'm right. This happened to me once. I jumped out of a pelican on a recon mission when the Covenant invaded Earth. MJOLNIR armor locks down on high impact. It also shuts down the sensors, that's why his vitals read KIA."

"Enough with all this bullsh-"

E18's armor unlocked, and he let out a groan. "Ouch." He pushed himself up, and removed his helmet. All of the Spartans stared at him as he got to his feet.

"How was your beauty sleep Dante." C12 smiled behind his visor.

"I wouldn't consider being slammed by a warthog beneficially for my looks," The base shook vigerously, nearly knocking the Spartans off of their feet.

The Cryogenist swallowed. "It's great that he's alive but your celebration might be short lived if we don't get out of here."

"These guys are geared to kill Spartans," Spartan B7, Jana, looked towards the blown door, "There's probably a lot more, and these narrow halls are really going to screw us."

"My opinion," C12 began, "We bottle neck them at that door, like the battle of Thermopylae. Their gear is expensive, so it's not like they are numberless."

117 shook his head. "Not going to work. That warthog wasn't the standard issue. That was from this base's weapons development chamber. We don't know what else they have. Our best bet is to shoot our way out."

"I trust John's judgment," Dante finally spoke up, "After all, he did save the unive-" The base shook again, even stronger this time. Everyone fell to the ground.

"I don't think we'll have to shoot our way out Chief," Cody looked at the high ceiling, "Those men where to distract us while they got whatever they were looking for. They're slamming the base with MAC rounds to collapse it on us. This is a full scale invasion. My idea, start hauling ass to the surface."

"Even you won't make it in time." The cryogenist said, rejecting Cody's proposition.

Below A15's visor was a face of aggravation. "Alright, fine. You have any ideas genius?"

"Yes, actually. There's a ship a little ways from here. It's in a large cavern, big enough to generate a slipspace field in."

"How do we know it isn't gone?" Cody criticized.

"If it was this place would have collapsed." The cryogenist was off to a bad start with the Spartan.

The base shook even harder. Once climbing to their feet E18 gave the order. "Alright, let's get the hell out of here." The cryogenist pulled out a data pad and downloaded a path into all of the Spartan's HUDs. Dante picked up the man and the run for life began. They sprinted around corners, up stairs, and smashed through doors that would otherwise require retinal, fingerprint, and facial scans.

Every time a MAC round hit the base they would fall, scramble to their feet, and keep running. Three quarters of the way there, the impact of a MAC round caused a defection in the security turret targeting system. The deployed from the roofs of the hallways and fired down on the Spartans. "Sh1t!" Dante bent downwards, covering the cryogenist.

There was no time to return fire. They just had to run. The turrets depleted Brian's shields and punctured his suit in multiple places. His MJOLNIR armor injected bio-foam into his wounds and administered a dose of a powerful stimulant.

The door to the ship's chamber was in sight. Cody smashed through it into the cavern and the Spartans ran through. The ship was a sleek stealth ship. It was ONI developed, impossible to detect by human and alien technology. Dante put the cryogenist down, and he began opening the ship's airlock. Once it slid open everyone piled in.

117 and E18 jumped into the pilot seats and began activating the ship. Dante looked at John as the spacecraft began to power up.

The cryogenist stood behind the two, shaking in fear. "I've estimated the next MAC round impact."

"What is it?" Dante asked, looking over his shoulder only for a moment.

"Ten seconds."

Dante turned to 117, "What if we don't make it?"

John punched in coordinates for orbiting reach and began charging the slipspace drive. "We'll make it."

An automated voice emanated from the speakers in the cockpit. Slipspace jump in 5...4...3...2...

The final MAC round slammed into the base and it began to collapse. "Go go go!" Dante shouted as boulders fell from the cavern roof, exposing the chamber to the light of day. The ship jumped just before a boulder smashed into its hull.

Dante hung his head in relief. He had relaxed just a bit too soon. They exited slipspace to see an enemy destroyer seconds from slamming into the cockpit.

  • 05.15.2011 9:18 PM PDT
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Part. 2



Dante crushed the arm rests of his seat with his vice grip as 117 pulled up. They escaped that near death experience only to plunge head first into another. Archer missiles and other space-grade weaponry soared through the void around them. A MAC round flew right over the top of their ship as John did his best to weave through the crossfire. Their stealth was activated, but where they were that didn't make much of a difference.

117 wove through wrecked ships and dodged weapons fire as he did his best to get them out of the hell hole. He pushed the engines to their maximum power, causing the ship to shake violently. He did a barrel roll as he evaded a chunk of destroyed UNSC cruiser and flew straight through a ship with a molten hole blown through it.

Spartan 117 turned their engines down to a drift. They were safe, for now. Dante examined the battle through the cockpit window. They were all human ships. What in god's name was going on? The Spartan got out of his seat, leaving 117 on his own.

He walked into the operations bay. It was lined with stations and monitors, and in the center was a circular holo-panel displaying the battle in three dimensions. Some were crowded around it, others sitting at the stations, doing nothing but waiting for an explanation.

Dante walked up to the cryogenist, who instantly became pale faced. "Answers," The Spartan said, his voice adapting a rough tone, "Now."

The scientist shrugged nervously. "I don't know what you want me to tell you."

"For starters, what the hell is going on?!"

"Okay okay!" the cryogenist backed up into the holo-pad, "The UNSC shattered, totally. It started with marches against Lord Hood. People were furious over the amount of casualties on Irindar and not seeing Eli publicly executed."

"And then?" Dante asked as the rest of the Spartans gathered around.

"People started getting violent, and there were riots everywhere. Lord Hood tried to make a public announcement in person, you know, to show he was still a strong leader and wasn't going to cower in some underground base. Well, it was a bad Idea. Some kid put a sniper round in his head, Timothy Reynolds I think. They identified him, but they could never catch him. The nations broke apart. Only three stayed in the UNSC. It's almost a free for all. Humanity is tearing itself apart."

"Great."

"Good," Cody said, turning his head to Dante, "More people to shoot." He brushed past his CO and headed for the crew's quarters. Dante was beginning to hate that man.

Everyone dispersed again, going to different parts of the ship according to their training. Dante, his head full of thoughts, headed for the captain's quarters. Upon reaching it he pressed a panel and the metal door slid open. "I thought you'd be here."

"I figured this is where you would come." Sarah sat on the side of a large, comfortable bed. She had removed the plating from her MJOLNIR armor and placed it in a corner, but left the black, strength amplifying fiber on.

The absence of the olive plates revealed her slender form. She was thinner than the other female Spartans, but she was also faster and more agile. Dante deactivated his shields as she walked into his embrace. "Thought I was going to die on you, hu?"

"Yes," She stepped back out of his arms, "I wish we hadn't met under these circumstances."

"I guess luck wasn't on our side that time." Dante pulled off his helmet with a "Hiss!" as it de-pressurized. Tossing it to the side, he placed his hands on Sarah's hips. "If we make it through this one-"

"Don't say it," A16 frowned, "You know they'll chase us to the end of the universe." Sarah sighed and turned away from Dante. "Why did we have to turn this into Romeo and Juliet? Weren't the surgeries supposed to stop this?"

"Yes, they were." Dante circled her so that they were face to face again, "But can you really say you wish it had worked?"

"No, I can't." Sarah stepped forward and started to remove Dante's chest plate when the door slid open. Sarah pressed it back on and turned to see Cody with a stone cold look on his face.

"I don't remember giving you permission to come into my private quarters."

"They are no longer yours." Cody replied.

"And why is that?" Dante narrowed his eyes.

A grin appeared on A15's face as he crossed his arms. "Because I'm relieving you of command."

  • 05.15.2011 9:18 PM PDT
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Part. 3


"Under what accusation?!" Dante shouted angrily.

"An intimate relationship with an inferior officer." Cody leaned against the doorway.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Fortunately, no. This has gone on too long. Now, we're gathering on the bridge to decide your replacement."

"This is absurd!" Dante stepped forward, pointing his finger at A15, "Get the hell out of my quarters."

"Yeah, no. Now you can either come with me or I can drag you there."

Dante gritted his teeth. "Just try."

Sarah placed a gentle hand on E18's shoulder. "Come on Dante, let's not complicate this." Dante relaxed, and followed Sarah's advice. The three left the room and walked to the bridge. The rest of the Spartans save John were already there, standing around the holo-panel but all staring at Dante as he walked through the door.

They had removed their helmets, revealing eyes that pierced through Dante's armor and struck him with nervousness. Was this really happening? Dante and Sarah stopped in front of the crowd, but Cody joined them. He turned to face Dante again. "So, any objections you two? Not that it will help."

"I won't stand for this!" Brian spoke up, joining Dante and Sarah on the other side of the crowd.

"Neither will I." Spartan B7, Jana stepped forward, adding one to the group of three.

"Four of you and all of us," Cody put his hands on his hips, "Even if everyone was against this it's still protocol. This was bound to happen eventually. You endangered us all on Irindar for her." Cody nodded at Sarah. He had a point; Dante couldn't help but go back for Sarah. He held her over the mission, and everyone knew it. "And you call yourself a Spartan. You know what you are? You're a coward. You should have done us all a favor and let her die."

"I'll tear you apart!" Dante lunged forward in fury, but stopped dead in his tracks as Cody and his side drew their guns on him. Dante's followers followed suit.

Cody laughed. "Fire your weapons and the four of you will be reduced to ribbons."

"Enough." 117 said as he pushed Cody and Dante's guns down, "We're supposed to be fighting the enemy, not each other." Everyone lowered their weapons. "Protocol relieves you of command Dante," the Chief turned to Cody, "You need to step in line. If I catch you provoking another Spartan again I'll have you executed."

"Isn't that a little extreme Chief?" Cody questioned.

"Protocol for unruly Spartans."

"Then shouldn't you be lopping Dante's head off? It's protocol, Chief." His last statement had a tinge of mockery.

John grabbed a hold on Cody's chest plate and pulled him close. "What did I just tell you?" He pushed him back again, then looked around at all of his Spartans, "As for replacing Dante, that's not going to happen." He turned his head back to Cody with a cold look. "Period. You're all dismissed."

Everyone dispersed. Dante and Sarah headed back towards the bunks and were stopped by John. "You two can keep the private quarters."

"Thank you," Dante said, "For getting Cody off my back too."

The Chief nodded, and walked away. When Sarah and E18 reached their room, Sarah sat back down on the bed. "I think the Chief has a soft spot for us."

"He certainly doesn't hate us," Dante removed the plating from his black suit and sat down on the bed with Sarah, "But I know who I hate."

"Well, he did save all of us when we attacked that insurrectionist factory."

"I don't question his loyalty," Dante explained, "I just question his morals, making a power grab like that. There are other men I'd rather have fighting by my side."



Planet: Reach//Orbital defense platform operation center:

Sergeant Terry McGovern: Codename-Shadow [ODST]


"Go go go!" Shadow ordered a squad to a sector of the trench in need of reinforcements. The exterior walls of the orbital defense operation center had been obliterated, and the remaining army forces and ODSTs fallen back to the trench dug around the building. The enemy didn't want to destroy the place, they wanted to capture it. They had jammed the orbital defenses and were now going for the controls. If they took the place, it was over. Shadow wouldn't let that happen, he had too much at stake.

Shadow stood up, poking out of the trench. He immediately ducked back down as bullets flew over his head. He looked at his last squad member. "Plant charges in the building. If we can't have it, neither can they." The ODST nodded and crawled out of the trench, sprinting for the building.

Shadow threw a blind grenade out of the trench, and was rewarded by several screams. He quickly poked his head out to assess the situation. The enemy was using the crumbled wall for cover. The ODST fired off a few rounds from his DMR, punching through his target's helmet. It looked manageable, until the tank rolled over the wall's rubble. "Sh1t!" A shell flew at the trench, blowing a huge chunk out of it. One soldier was in the wrong place at the wrong time, his flesh spattering Shadow.

The tank would be the end of them if Shadow. He knelt down and opened a brown case labeled SPNKR. He grabbed the rocket launcher and heaved it over his shoulder. Another tank shell slammed into the trench to his right, slaughtering an entire squad. Shadow emerged again and fired two rockets at the tank. "CRACK CRACK!" The armored vehicle spat out anti-missile shrapnel, detonated the rockets before they could even meet its target.

Shadow slumped down against the dirt wall of the trench, and closed his eyes. He heard another tank shell slam into the trench, undoubtedly killing more of the men that lined the inside of the barrier. Shadow had never seen anti-missile systems on a tank. He wondered what other advancements the Alliance had made on their forces. That didn't matter now though. What mattered was that he got rid of that tank.

Terry knew he wouldn't live through this. Of course they had to draft him, of course. When everyone got to evacuate with their families he and the rest of the population who knew how to fire a weapon were left behind. They were cheated, forced back into the nightmare they had every night, but his wife and son were scheduled on the last evac ship, so maybe this was for the best. He would buy them as much time as he could, even if it cost him his life.

Shadow jumped out of the trench and sprinted forward towards the tank. Four Alliance spotted him and opened fire. The ODST fired back with shocking speed and accuracy, dropping all of them with ease. The tank trained it's cannon on him, and he dove behind a rock. It fired, blowing the rock to pieces and sending him back towards the trench.

Everything hurt. A ring was all Terry could hear as his head lolled to the side. The inside of his visor was spattered with blood, and his teeth were pinked with the same red liquid. His eyes set on a dead Alliance soldier close to him. The man still had an assault rifle gripped tightly in his hand. The ODST's army crawled across the dirt, reaching for the weapon.

A boot smashed down on Terry's arm. This was it. He was over. Turning his head upwards, the ODST set his eyes on the front of a barrel nearly touching his deep blue faceplate. "Say goodnight." The weapon's bearer growled. His finger flexed, and pulled the trigger.

  • 05.15.2011 9:19 PM PDT
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Part. 4


"Click!" The alliance soldier cursed, and pulled a clip out of his belt. He ejected the spent magazine, and slipped the fresh one in. Charging his rifle he aimed it at Shadow's head. He shifted his gaze to the side, and tried to train his gun on another target. He wasn't fast enough.

A boot slammed into the soldier's temple, snapping his neck. Shadow's vision blurred as a black clothed figure stood over him, firing a silenced SMG at the enemy. The stranger grabbed his collar and began dragging him towards the trench, shooting as he pulled the ODST to safety. Everything started becoming bright as he was released. Something stuck into a needle slot in his armor, and he was revitalized.

His savior was wearing a tight black suit that encompassed his entire body. Light boots came halfway up his calf, and over the eye slit of the suit's head were a pair of shining blue goggles. On the left shoulder in grey was printed ONI. "You've got about fifteen minutes of life in you Terry. Make them count."

"G-" Terry coughed, spraying more blood onto the interior of his helmet, "Help me up and give me t-the laser." The ONI operative glanced around for a laser, and spotted it next to a decapitated ODST. He pulled Terry to his feet, took the weapon, and handed it to him.

"I need you to buy me as much time as you can. I'll come back for you if I can."

"My m-men." Shadow stuttered, losing too much blood to speak without a fight.

"They're dead. You won't be leaving anyone behind. Good luck." The operative ran towards the orbital defense control building, leaving Terry on his own. The ODST began to charge his laser, and aimed it at the tank. The tank's operator must have noticed the red tracker pointing at his cockpit, because he swung the hatch open and tried to bail.

The laser fired, cutting the tank's driver in half and destroying the cockpit. He charged the laser again, this time pointing it at a chunk of the destroyed eastern wall that an alliance infantryman was hiding behind. The concentrated beam of light cut through the rubble and slew the man behind it. It didn't matter how well he was doing now. There was just too many of them.

Once Shadow's laser was out of energy, he moved to a chain gun on his left. The handles were wet with blood from its previous user, but the ODST didn't even notice. All that mattered now was holding the Alliance off as long as he could. Whatever that ONI operative was doing it was important, and if it could help his wife and son, he would die for it.

_____________________________________________________________ __


Dante leaned against one of the control panels in the engine room, watching Jana as she worked on a blown engine from the strain on the ship during their flight out of the center of the space battle. "How bad is it Jana?"

"Well," Spartan B7 started, "It could be worse." She shrugged. The soldier hit the engine with the palm of her hand in frustration. "Never mind, it's bad."

"How well can we fly with only two engines?"

"Maneuverability will be decreased drastically, and speed will be diminished, obviously." Jana looked up at Dante with dark brown eyes. They were so dark they almost seemed black, making them look like they were those of a shark. "I can fix it, but it will take some time.

"What, and hour? Two?"

B7 laughed. "Were it so easy."

E18 was silent for a moment. "Why do you think this 'Alliance' wants Reach so badly?"

"For its ship and vehicle producing factories," Jana replied, removing a piece from the engine and putting on the floor beside her, "If they take the planet they would easily be able to subdue the other planets that the UNSC still controls." Jana turned back to her work.

"But the Alliance nations just succeeded from the UNSC. Why would they plunge into war so quickly? We weren't in any hurry to attack them."

"That I couldn't tell you." There was a loud "Pop!" and sparks flew from the exposed part of the broken engine. Jana shielded her unprotected face with her arm while letting out an expletive. She looked back up at E18. "I don't mean to dismiss you Dante, but I need to concentrate on my work."

Dante nodded and left the engine room. Returning to the bridge he noticed Brian sitting in the ship's pilot seat. "Shouldn't you be in the med bay?"

"You know me," Brian exhaled as he unlocked the seat and swiveled it around to face Dante, "I can't stand doing nothing. Even monitoring the ship is something."

Spartan E18 examined C12. All he wore was the black layer of his suit. There were visible holes where bullets had penetrated the armor, and under them white gauze could be seen. "You never could sit still." Dante laughed, "You know that's why you weren't our squads designated marksman. You had a crack shot but no patience."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Brian waved his hand, "I like my assault rifle too much to be a marksman anyway."

"Got a lock on a Jammer." A Spartan from blue team announced as he hit a key on the holographic control panel of his station.

"Dammit," Dante mumbled as he moved over to the Spartan's station. None of their transmissions had gotten to any other UNSC ships. They had scanned for a jammer, but it was fruitless, until now. Dante was hoping it was just a malfunction in the ship that could be fixed by one of the tech oriented Spartans who had been checking for any problem for hours.

The Chief and Dante stood around the Spartan of blue team, watching him as he pinpointed the jammer's location. "There you are." E18 whispered as its exact coordinates were revealed. It was inside a military fortress that had been stormed and conquered by the Alliance. It had anti-air defenses, heavy turrets lining the tall titanium walls, and was loaded with weapons and vehicles. The Alliance must have taken massive casualties occupying the place, and would be severely weakened.

"Get the camera on the base." John ordered. The blue team member zoomed in on the location with the ships HAC Camera. The fortified building was roofless, but obviously went underground. Alliance and UNSC corpses were being thrown into one big pile, but a large amount of Alliance soldiers remained. They had received reinforcements.

Dante turned to the Chief. "Sir, if we don't destroy that we're going to lose Reach."

117 was scrutinizing the image with narrowed eyes. "Send the coordinates to the helm," John turned to Brian with a look of solid determination, "Take us in."


  • 05.15.2011 9:20 PM PDT
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P. 5


Dante turned to the Chief. "Sir, if we don't destroy that we're going to lose Reach."

117 was scrutinizing the image with narrowed eyes. "Send the coordinates to the helm," John turned to Brian with a look of solid determination, "Take us in."

The stealth ship's cloaking system deactivated as it breached the atmosphere, the friction encasing the spacecraft in flames. The vessel shuddered harshly. Dante would have falled over if he hadn't crushed a handhold into one of the bulkheads.

Once the ship made it through the atmosphere they reactivated the cloaking system. "Odds are the base detected us re-entering so close." Dante said.

"We're sort of on a clock here Dante," Brian replied as he steered towards their destination, "Unless you want to take a ten minute tea party, then that's okay."

"Cool it," John ordered, "It's time to assemble a team." Everyone who wasn't already there was called to the bridge. The Spartans fell in line, and saluted the master chief. "At ease," John looked across the two rows of men and women, "A full assault of the base guaranties casualties, casualties we can't afford.

Out of the original 60 Spartan IVs, only 20 were left. The previous war had been devastating enough. John took a moment to think, then made his pick. "E18," Dante stepped forward, "A15," Cody advanced from the line, "and A16." Sarah nodded, and joined the infiltration team.

It had been a difficult choice for John to make. Having Sarah and Dante on the mission together was dangerous. He would have chosen Brian or Jana to replace one of the two, but Brian was injured and Jana was preoccupied with the engine. Cody was a risk as well. He was the strongest, the fastest, but also the most reckless. This flaw was essential to suppress for this mission. There was only one reason he chose him, Cody was a man who knew how to shoot his way out of a pinch.

"Suit up you three." The Chief commanded as he felt the ship touchdown. John had been on many missions in his life, but something about this one made him uneasy. The base was in the middle of a barren wasteland. There was absolutely no cover up to the walls, which were taller than the normal fortress.

Even with the cover of the night, the Spartan had a bad feeling. Why were the anti-aircraft guns so big? From the HAC camera aboard their stealth ship the inside of the base had hardly anything on it save a few barracks and some bunkers. Something told him that someone wasn't going to make it back in one piece.

Dante donned his helmet, causing the armor to seal with a "Hiss!" He turned to Sarah, who had already suited up and was sitting on the bed of their private quarters. She stood up, and took Dante's hands in hers. They tilted their heads downwards, and their helmets touched.

Sarah took a deep breath. "Justdon't die. Okay?"
"Sure thing," Dante smiled behind his golden visor, "So it's okay if I lose a limb?"

Sarah laughed. "You're an ass."

"I'll be fine," The Spartan said, embracing A16, "Let's go."

When the airlock slid open it seemed to be a tear in reality, the Spartans stepping out of the enterior of a virtually undetectable ship. The only sign of which was the view that the open door supplied. In the cloak of the night, they cautiously crossed the plain towards the base. "Careful." John warned on a direct com beam to the other Spartans, "This area could be mined."

"Or something worse." Said Dante, and something worse it was.

_____________________________________________________________ __


The ONI operative removed a chip from the hard case on his leg. It was rectangular, and glowed a bright purple. He inserted it into the MAC cannon control stations mainframe, and the transfer began. More expensive than a slipspace drive, the transfer chip was one of three, and it could only be used once. The device could move the control of almost anything, even the most advanced of spacecrafts to another location manually. With almost everything jammed, it was the only option.


The MAC cannon control extraction was an easy task for the device, and was done loading in only twelve seconds. The Operative turned to leave through the western gate of the complex, but paused. His orders were to stop for nothing. Besides, that ODST was probably dead by now. When the Operative accepted ONI's request, he had agreed to leave everything behind, even Jane.

However, Shadow he had shed blood by Shadow's side, fought on Irindar with him. The ODST had taken him under his wing the day the Operative first met him on Earth. Undoubtedly everyone would have been doomed if Shadow hadn't come with the Spartan. He owed that hell jumper his life. "Dammit." The stealth unit ran back towards his old friend.

Shadow was firing his fifty caliber machinegun at a wave of charging Alliance soldiers. Red puffs of blood sprayed into the air as armor was cracked and bones were shattered. "Come on! Is that all you've got?!" He shouted, his voice not even audible over the gunfire.

A bullet struck the unarmored spot between Shadow's shoulder and chest. He grunted and fell backwards into the dirt. His leaned his head to the side as blood trickled from his mouth. That Operative wasn't coming back for him, he knew it. The ODST reached over to a dead soldier, and took the pistol from his thigh. He pushed himself back, and propped his back up against the back side of the trench.

The first Alliance trooper to jump into the trench took a bullet to the head. The second to the heart, and the third received one to the throat. The next was a lucky one. Shadow's pistol jammed. He cursed as his enemy raised his assault rifle. The soldier's view shifted upwards as he tried to redirect his aim.

The ONI Operative drop kicked the Alliance soldier from the top of the trench, and unleashed a burst from his silenced SMG into the man's chest. "Still alive, impressive." Shadow's savior pulled a spike form his belt and stuck it into the ground. Throwing the ODST over his shoulder, he ran for the eastern part of the complex. "I have a small stealth ship landed in here. Just hold on."

Bullets whizzed past them as they retreated. "Take this!" The stealth agent handed the hell jumper his SMG. Taking it, the ODST fired at their pursuers. A bullet struck the back of the Operatives calf, but the flexible material of his suit instantly hardened and flattened the projectile. He stumbled, but didn't trip.

Shadow gritted his teeth as he fired his weapon. Every step his savior took put pressure on his wounds, possibly cutting him deeper. He wasn't complaining though, not when someone was risking their life to save his ass.

The SMG clicked. Shadow ejected the clip and pulled one from the Operatives belt. Reloading, he brought his gun back up and sent a burst right into the chest of an Alliance soldier. Everyone was in the open now. Lead was flying past them as they moved across a small metal bridge on the trench. How far away was this ship?

The Operative stopped at a certain point, and set the ODST down. He hit a button his wrist pad, and a small ship seemed to materialize before them. It was no bigger than a drop pod, but it looked much sleeker with wings and an angled surface. The owner took his friend inside, and set him down in the co-pilots seat. He settled himself in and reactivated the stealth system. Tapping in commands on the control panel, the ship rose off of the ground and took towards the sky.

The spacecraft shook as it exited the atmosphere and flew into space. "I'd say that makes us even." The operative said as he activated the emergency medical procedure. Shadow's seat reclined and metal bindings clasped his wrists and ankles. "Your heartbeat is too low for morphine, so you'll have to be restrained so you can't thrash."

Mechanical arms with surgical instruments came down from the ceiling. One began a blood transfusion, and the others started removing bullets and shrapnel from his body. He hadn't even noticed he had been shot more than once. Shadow only gritted his teeth.

"Two years out of combat and you're still one tough son of a b1tch." The operative removed his glowing blue goggles and pulled his facemask off.

Terry let out a laugh that was quickly ended by a spike of pain. "Nick Silvers. Long time no see."

  • 05.15.2011 9:21 PM PDT
Subject: [Story] The Spartan Four Project: Book Two (Part 11 Is Now Up!)
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Part. 6


The Spartans turned on their metal detectors, nothing. E18 narrowed his eyes at the military base. "I don't like this."

"Out of the way," Cody pushed Dante to the side, and walked onto the open dirt plain, "Look, nothi-" A wall of blue emanated from the base. It was unmistakably plasma.

A plasma pulse? The Chief had never seen anything like it, but it was clear that if they were hit it would obliterate them. "Brian, get off the ground, now." John turned to his squad, "Through." Is the only thing he said as the Spartan shifted all of his shield power to the front of his armor. It was borderline suicide, but they would never make it to the ship in time.

The Spartans dashed forward. Once they were within ten feet their shields were instantly drained. In a split second Dante was in front of A16, holding her in his arms, making himself a human shield. There was a bright flash, and nothing.

E18 opened his tightly shut eyes. They were alive. He released Sarah and turned to the Chief and Cody. The wave was gone, and they were unscathed. The Spartans were in shock, even John was speechless. After a period of silence, he gave the order. "Move out." The Spartans sprinted towards the structure, not wanting to give the pulse generator another chance.

Sirens wailed inside of the base, and lights positioned up on top of the metal walls lit up , illuminating the open plain. Guards manned machinegun turrets, and hailed lead at the Spartans, bouncing off of their shields but quickly draining them. If the Alliance soldiers had acted sooner they could have torn the Spartans to shreds, but that wasn't the case. John was the first to reach the wall, and began making handholds in the grade-A titanium. They quickly climbed to the top and tore the razor wire off of the edges of the walls.

The elevated walkway went all the way around the square complex, looking down upon three buildings that appeared to be barracks. It was all very bland. None of it showed any sign of importance save its fortification.

Each corner of the walls had a large anti-aircraft cannon, each roosted on top of a hollow pillar, the inside of which was the gun's control room. Considering that their enemy disregarded the presence of their troops by the Spartans, and were firing everything they had at them, those control rooms seemed like a good place to be. "Under the guns!" John shouted, pointed with one arm and firing his assault rifle with the other.

Dante picked up a cowering Alliance soldier and held him to his side, using the man as a meat shield against the oncoming fire from the other side of the wall. The walkway was relatively narrow, as it wasn't meant for anything but machinegun and sniper roosts. One could use it to get from AA-gun to AA-gun, but most used the elevators within the walls for that, a little something the Spartans weren't aware of.

Cody, on point, took pleasure in hearing the screams of his enemy as he threw them out of his way and over the edges of the wall. He cackled a few times, which made A16, who was behind him wonder. Was A15 insane, or just a very enthusiastic killer? Either way, her trust in his reliability was dwindling.

A soldier tried to close the metal doorway to the targeted AA-gun control room, a futile effort. Cody smashed it in, flattening the man beneath the door. The Spartans piled inside, and fired out of the broken entrance. E18 hit an emergency switch and a door slide up from the door, replacing the one A15 had obliterated. It was a small, momentary relief.

Once the Spartans turned around, they noticed a crew of six men sitting at monitors, staring at them in total fear. Each was armed with a pistol. One made a grab for his weapon, and the Spartans opened up. Blood and brains sprayed the stations and pooled on the floor.

"We can only hole up in here for so long." E18 said, looking around the room. Wires were everywhere, hanging in the air, on the ground, lining the walls. Walking through it was almost like bushwhacking through a jungle.

B7 walked up to one of the monitors and started tapping it's control panel. "My god. These are giant gauss cannons."

"We could smash the Alliance fleet to pieces with these!"

John hovered over Jana as she sat down at the station. "Can you commandeer them?"

"I don't think so," Jana said, trying in vain to gain access. "I'm guessing they were locked down before the Alliance got to them. This was probably the first place on the ground they hit, considering the massive advantage it would give. We would need a specialist for this."

"Isn't this your domain Spartan?"

Jana looked up at the disappointed Chief. "This is literally the only thing I can't hack into, so don't talk to me about domain. Besides, your domain was keeping all of your Spartans alive. We all know how that worked out."

John took a few steps back. Everyone was shocked. This wasn't the only time Jana had had this kind of outburst. In fact, she was often cold on missions, when one's true personality was shown. This time was different though. She had practically gutted the Chief in front of his own men. Nobody said anything. It wasn't the right time.

"Would you figure something out already?" Cody said, leaning against a wall, "I'm growing a beard over here."

"You have two options." A heavily accented voice came out from behind a mess of wires. It sounded Russian, and to Dante extremely familiar.

The Spartans pointed their weapons towards the voice. "Wait." Dante said, slowly approaching where the sound had come from. He brushed the wires aside, revealing a lone ODST.

The hell jumper removed his helmet, revealing his identity. Boomer brushed past E18 and stood in front of the other Spartans. "You can take this place back, which would be a suicide mission. This place goes hundreds of feet down. It's ONI. I was here during the original attack. They were like insects, for every one you killed there were two more. Even the ONI defense systems couldn't hold them back. They came in with the jammer so we couldn't call for backup. We never stood a chance."

"What's the other option?" E18 asked.

"We can blow it, and easily. Each of these cannons has a power cell that if overloaded would trigger the others to blow as well. All four exploding at once would create a blast big enough to turn this entire facility into a smoldering crater."

"Let's take this place." Cody pushed off of the wall.

"Not so fast. They've hijacked the defense systems, which are damn good. Even for a Spartan squad it's bordering on a suicide mission."

"So," Dante began, "We blow this place to hell, or risk being slaughtered by our own base defenses."

"Precisely, but there is more. At the bottom of this place is a stockpile of nukes."

"Decisions decisions," Cody sighed, "Let's just blast our way in and out, easy."

"Would you shut up?" Jana snapped.

Dante took a step towards B7 and pointed right at her. "That's just about enough out of you."

"I was waiting for these Alliance hot shots to crack the code," Boomer shrugged, "But with the current functionality of your team, I'd suggest we ice this place."

The Chief wanted to take the place back, but knew it would mean the death of some of his men. CPO Mendez's words echoed through his head. It is okay to spend those lives, but it is not okay to waste them. What would this be? Lives spent or lives wasted?

There was a sizzle and a glowing line began to grow on the emergency door. "Looks like they're trying to cut the door," Boomer turned his head to the melting metal, "Better decide quick."

John looked at his Spartans. Right before he gave the order to retake the ONI facility, Jana's words hit him like a truck. Your domain was keeping all of your Spartans alive. We all know how that worked out. This had never happened to him before. 117 had never been this torn over a decision.

The second door started glowing. "Come on Chief!" Dante shouted, raising his weapon, "We're about to be boxed in!"

John looked at the doors, then at his Spartans. He readied his assault rifle, and gave his order.



[Edited on 06.20.2011 7:54 AM PDT]

  • 05.15.2011 9:22 PM PDT
Subject: [Story] The Spartan Four Project: Book Two (Part Five Is Up!)
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Part. 7


"Blow it."

Boomer looked at Jana. "It's in the back."

B7 jumped out of her chair and fought her way through the wires. She set her eyes on a large, glowing cylinder. "There you are." The Spartan smiled and activated the battery's holo-panel. She tapped at it furiously, knowing they had very little time.

Boomer walked up to A15 and handed him a shotgun. "Oh yeah." Cody grinned, taking the weapon and giving the ODST his assault rifle.

"You can do more with it than I can." Boomer said with a nod. The emergency door burst open and bullets came flying in. The jungle of wires was shredded as lead was thrown from both sides. The second door was cut through. Cody and Boomer turned to it and fired. A rocket shot through the air from Cody's side. He ducked, spun around, and pushed Dante down. The missile shot over their heads and slammed into the Alliance soldiers at the other door.

"Uh, Jana," Dante spoke, "You might want to hurry up."

"Got it!" Jana returned to the squad, "Let's get out of here."

"This is Sierra 117 to Spartan C12, do your read me?"

Affirmitive. It looks pretty damn hot down there.

"We need an evac, now." John's DMR clicked, and he quickly reloaded.

On my way. I'll be hovering at the west wall. Be ready.

"Everyone get to the west wall." John ordered. His squad moved through the broken emergency door and out into the open. More rockets shot at them as they became exposed. One hit the walkway in front of the soldiers. With a flash of blue light and flames it obliterated their path. More Anti-Spartan gear, great.

The squad turned to take cover back under the gun, but a second rocket destroyed their path. They could jump it, but Boomer couldn't. Someone would have to carry him. A second volley of rockets headed their way. Their blast radius was too large to escape them this time. However, luck was on their side.

The stealth ship swooped in, firing its anti missile weapons and detonating the rockets before they could reach the Spartans. It lined up next to the wall, and the airlock slid open. "Come on!" One of blue team's Spartans shouted, waving them in.

One by one they jumped off of the wall into the ship. The Chief made sure he was last. He made the jump just as a rocket flew through his previous location. The airlock slid shut, and they shot up into space. Once they were out of the naval battlefield, they all settled in on the bridge. John removed his helmet and tucked it under his arm. It had been a close call, and it was the Chief's fault. It was the first time he had felt guilt in years. "Everyone take some R&R. We'll meet back on the bridge in 0100 hours." Everyone nodded and went their separate ways.

Dante and Sarah returned to their private quarters, and removed the plates off of their armor. "You know," Dante sat down on the bedside, "We almost died back there."

"Yes," Sarah took a seat down beside him, "First with the plasma wave, which you almost took for me, and second with, well, everything else."

"I hate this." Dante rubbed his temples, "I can't believe this used to be my dream. We were supposed to be numb by now, like everyone else."

"Thank god we're not," Sarah's eyes were full of compassion as she touched Dante's shoulder, "It's a curse, yes, but it's also a gift Dante. I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all, wouldn't you?"

"I suppose."

They were silent for a moment, then Sarah spoke up. "There's been something I've wanted to talk to you about." Her voice was one of nervousness.

"What's that?" Dante turned his head to her.

"Well, you know how many times we've almost been killed. Every time I think I'm finished I always regret never doing this."

"What are you getting at?"

"I'm not pushing for anything, but there's something I've wanted to ask you," Sarah shifted nervously, "Have you ever considered"

"Considered what?" Dante laughed.

"Making love." Sarah's face immediately turned bright red.

"Oh, wow." Dante got off of the bed, looking at the wall to hide his own blushing.

Two Spartans having sex. The idea was almost comical. To anyone on the outside it would be disturbingly hilarious. If the two of them kissing was already off, this would be ludicrous.

"It was just a thought." Sarah said quickly, doing her best to mend the situation.

"Yeah, I know. Maybe we should save this talk for later."

"Yes, but there might not be a later."

Dante turned around, making eye contact with great difficulty. "It's just that there are so many factors to this that makes it a bad idea."

"Like?" Sarah brought her legs up onto the bed, laying them to the side in a way that was unintentionally seductive.

"First off pregnancy, which would be horrible. Second, every Spartan will hear us, and maybe even the ODST. Third, this could end up being a huge distrac...tion." His eyes swept across Sarah's body. It wasn't easy, but he was able to turn around again.

"Is something wrong?" Sarah asked, furrowing her brow.

"Nothing, not really, sort of, yes," Dante turned back to his partner, who was now completely on her side, her head propped up on her hand, "Oh..."

"What?" Sarah laughed. She noticed something in Dante's eyes, something she had seen the night after their augmentation, the look of pure desire.

Cody was sitting in the copilot's chair next to Brian, his seat reclined and his boots up on top of the control panels. "Yes I hate him but that doesn't mean I can let the guy get hit by a rocket launcher."

"True," Brian nodded, "Now here's the real question."

"Let's hear it."

"Alright, a Sangheili comes at him with an energy sword and is about to stab him. Would you-"

"Wait," Cody interrupted, shifting his body so that his ear was pointing in the direction of the sound, "Do you hear that?"

Brian listened, "Yeah, what is it?"

"Well Brian, I suppose it had to happen sooner or later."

"What had to happen?" Cody gave him a look, and he instantly understood, "Mother mercy. Is that them?"

"This is the most hilarious thing I have ever seen." Cody said.

"Then why aren't you laughing." Brian asked in a state of shock and confusion.

"Because it's also the most disgusting thing I've ever seen."

"Well, technically we're not seeing it."

"It's all the same Brian," Cody stretched, "You'll see that one day."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I have no idea."

This is the UNSC Marathon to the Nightingale. Nightingale do you read me?

"I think that's us." Cody said.

Brian leaned forward towards the COM speaker. "This is the Nightingale. We currently have all of the Spartans aboard. Give us orders."

Spartans? I thought they were all destroyed in the ONI facility.

"Spartan's don't die. We're just missing in action."

_____________________________________________________________ __
Planet Sangheilios...


Thel Vadamee paced back and forth in his bedroom, his concerned mate observing him. "What festers you Thel? I have never seen you like this."

The Sangheilli huffed. "This new rule, it worries me so."

"Why is that?"

"A lord of an entire race? It seemsdangerous."

"Only if the lord is weak hearted."

"Indeed," Thel put one hand on the stone wall and drooped his head, "I have no confidence in our ruler. He has no boundaries, no council to go through. An unstoppable fool."

Thel's mate got out of her chair and placed a hand on his shoulder. "This can be a good thing my love."

"How so?"

"A Sangheili with honor, a Sangheili of justice, such as you could lead us. You would need no council with your judgment."

"Impossible. An entire bloodline would have to fall for me become the lord."

"An obstacle that is conquerable."

Thel brushed his mate's hand off of his shoulder and stepped in close to her. "What you suggest is treachery. Keep in mind that honor is stronger than love."

The female showed no sign of fear or intimidation. "And a woman is stronger than a coward." She stepped back and opened a drawer by their bed. She reached in and retrieved a golden hilt of an energy sword.

"No." Thel's voice was firm.

"Take it Thel, for the safety of our race."

"I will not!"

"Then you are not a true Sangheili!" Thels mate's words hurt more than a thousand plasma bolts. With so few words she had blurred his morals. She was a strong woman indeed.

Thel looked downwards at his hand, and began to raise it. Slowly, he wrapped his fingers around the golden hilt.

  • 05.15.2011 9:23 PM PDT
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Part. 8


"That was," Sarah paused, looking for the right word, "Amazing."

"Felt it. It's like the weight of the universe has just been lifted off of my shoulders."

"I'm right there with you." The two laughed.

"You know this is insane, right? I mean if the UNSC knew about this, well this is grounds for termination."

"Ha, like they'd terminate a Spartan when they are on the brink of defeat. I don't think so."

"You've got a point, still though. This is just...dangerous"

There was a moment of silence, then Sarah shifted onto her side. "Wanna do it again?"

"Yeah." There was a banging on the door and the two Spartans jumped out of bed. They quickly pulled on their suits' black under layer and rushed to the knocking.

E18 hit the door's control panel, sliding it open. Cody stood at the entrance in his MJOLNIR armor. "Suit up you two. We've got a mission to do." He turned to return to the bridge but stopped, "And grab some heavy weapons."

"He's already got that covered." Sarah said, wrapping her arms around Dante from behind.

"I'm pretty sure he specializes in small arms Spartan."

"I strongly disagree."

"Alright then!" Dante interrupted, "Well be on the bridge in five."

_____________________________________________________________ __


"So you're a spook now huh?" Shadow winced as one of the mechanical arms pulled a bullet out of him.

"Yes," Nick nodded, "I work for ONI now."

"What exactly do you do?"

"My specialties include sharp shooting, infiltration, and assassination."

"So pretty much everything shady?"

"I don't judge my job. I carry out my orders."

Nick had changed so much since the moment Terry had first met him. The operative was nothing buy a young man. Now he was the walking dead. "Where are we going?"

"Classified." Nick said, flipping switches and turning knobs on his control board.

"Sh1t!" The ODST shouted as multiple needles began sowing his wounds shut. Even in his state of extreme pain he kept talking. "I'm about to see anyway."

"No, you're not." The spook hit three points on Terry's neck, and he passed out.

_____________________________________________________________ __

Saline McGovern stood in one of the many underground evacuation bunkers, waiting for her turn to leave. It would be a few days at this rate, and the food supply was running out. She was hungry, and wasn't producing enough milk for Cade. The place was crowded with people. Her child was in danger of not only starvation but sickness as well.

With this in mind and her constant worry about her husband put the woman in a living hell. Saline cradled her baby in her arms as silent tears rolled down her face. She was strong in many ways, but even she had a breaking point. She felt weak, powerless. There was nothing she could do to protect her family.

"Mrs. McGovern?" A man's voice asked from behind her.

Saline turned around to see a man in black fatigues. His hair was light brown and cropped. Scars covered his face, across his lips, on his narrow nose, blemishing his cheeks. He would have been handsome if it weren't for explosives. "Yes?" Saline replied.

"How would you like to get your child off of this planet? Get him sent to any chosen location and delivered to any family member, escorted by an ONI agent that can bypass every obstacle and get your boy to safety in the blink of an eye."

The woman looked down at her baby, then back up at the soldier. "Tell me what to do."

  • 05.15.2011 9:24 PM PDT
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Part. 9



"Well, Mrs. McGovern, we understand that you were the best espionage agent we have ever known. Possibly even in history. We need you back at ONI."

Saline felt a lump in her throat. Espionage was her name, but not when she had a family to worry about. She could get killed so easily. One slip up and she was finished, one slip up and her son would grow up without a mother. It was that or her son would never grow up at all. "Okay."

The soldier motioned for her to follow him, and she did. She was taken into the large elevator that led up to the surface, and ascended. Saline was scared. Why did this have to happen? Why did humanity plunge itself into war again? Sometimes she wished she could go to some undiscovered planet. It would just be her, Cade, Terry, and a fantasy that would never come true.

When they reached the surface there was a pelican waiting for them. "How's this going to work?" Saline asked, doing her best to subdue the quivering in her voice.

The two sat down in the pelican and the ramp closed behind them. "We're dropping you straight off. These black fatigues are the standard military uniform inside of the asteroid. It's a command and intelligence outpost. It wasn't easy getting you in here, so don't fucI< up."

"We're just waltzing right in?"

"Yes. You'll have to climb their ranks though. It won't be easy." The soldier reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a data pad, "This is what you will be using to gather and send information to us. Don't lose it."

Saline took the device and slipped it into her jeans. She felt the pelican take off, and was startled as it shook and entered slipspace within the planet's atmosphere. "Now," The soldier said, "I'll be the person you hand your information to using your data pad. If you haven't put two and two together then I'm ONI." Saline didn't like this man. Within ten minutes of knowing him she already wanted to put a bullet in his head.

"How long is the ride?"

"Not long," The pelican exited slipspace into an asteroid belt, "It was expensive, to say the least." The man got out of his seat and took a duffel out of an overhead compartment. "Start getting dressed."

Inside of the bag was the same black uniform her new best friend was wearing. She undressed uncomfortably. He was a fellow soldier, and she wasn't even completely naked. Even in his completely uninterested state he still made her nervous. She had never been intimidated before. The scarred face, the grey eyes, all of it added up to make the last person Saline would ever want to see.

"There's a band in there. Tie up your hair and try to look professional." Saline complied. His politeness in the bunker was obviously a façade. Was it possible he even lied to her about getting her baby to safety? It didn't matter. Any chance for Cade to live was a chance she would take.

"Why an asteroid?" Saline asked.

The soldier took a rifle out of the overhead compartment and slung it over his shoulder. "They thought if it was in a belt we wouldn't know it existed, there for we couldn't get a spy in and gather data."

The spy removed the data pad from her previous garments and slipped it into her fatigues. Just then the pelican entered the asteroid's airlock. When it sealed the second door opened and they landed in the hangar. "Your name is Hailey Lockheart. You are single and Earth born. Your parents were killed by UNSC forces in the battle of Irindar. You're age twenty seven, born on august fourth. Once again, don't fucI< up."

The pelican's ramp lowered. To greet them were men in the customary black fatigues and one man in casual clothes. Saline stepped out of the pelican, her eyes scanning the hangar. The roof was high up, all the way to the ceiling of the asteroid. It had been hollowed out, not tunneled through. It had multiple levels, the hangar taking up a small portion of the uppermost floor.

"Hailey Lockheart?" The casually dressed man asked. He was young, around Hailey's age. His face might as well have been chiseled by Michael Angelo. He had straight, dirty blonde hair with emerald green eyes. His nose was straight, and his cheekbones were prominent but not bulging. Everything was just perfect. His body wasn't cut, or even very muscular. He was slender, but not lanky. A gentle vibe emanated from his fair skin.

Hailey snapped out of her deep examination and stood at attention. "Yes sir."

The man laughed. His laughter was light hearted and warm. "I'm not your superior."

Hailey relaxed. "My apologies." The pelican behind her took off towards the airlock. Fear churned in Hailey's stomach. At least her escort was gone. That was a slight relief.

"Don't worry about it." The man told the guards to leave them, and proceeded to walk Hailey across the hangar, "First things first. My name's Trevor, but you can call me Trev if you want. I'll be helping you get integrated with your job, and give you the lay of the land as well. Not only is this place a command outpost, but it's also a home to many alliance citizens. In a way it's a fallback plan. Long story short, we have pretty much everything a town would have."

"I guess I landed a good job."

"Yes you did Hailey," Trevor smiled, "Is it alright if I call you Hailey?"

"Yeah." Hailey smiled back as they passed through a group of engineers. The hangar was a busy place even on quiet days. If it had been active the two would have been lost in a swarm of workers, crates, and fork lifters.

Hailey knew the best way to fit in. At work, she worked no harder than anyone else. Working hard was appreciated and praised, but it made one stand out. The safest thing to do was blend in with everyone else, follow the leader. Being social was also important. A spy who kept to him or herself would make progress more quickly, but would be suspicious. It was almost like acting, be your role.

They let the hangar, walking out into what seemed like any other neighborhood. It had streets, cars, grass and trees. It was awe inspiring. "It's beautiful."

"Sure is." Trevor grinned, "A lot of people take it for granted. Living in a place like this, and it being safe as well, that's a dream. People here just don't know how good they have it."

"That's a shame," Hailey said as they walked down a sidewalk, "The only thing that gives it away is the massive rock dome above us."

Trevor laughed. "True. I kind of like it though. They've been planning on installing an illusion screen to make it look like the sky. They think that it will improve the mood, you know, inspire people."

Hailey heard the laughter of children, and turned her head to see three small boys chasing each other around their lawn. She hadn't seen something like that in years. These people were free, happy, safe, but not for long. Hailey knew what she had to do; she knew where her loyalties lied, at least for now.

"So are you taking me to work now?"

"Nah. I figured I'd show you around. This was supposed to be my day off. If it wasn't I'd be in that damn uniform."

"I apologize for taking up your time."

"Don't worry about it. From what I can tell you seem really nice. It's always good to know people like that," The man ran his fingers across a tree as they passed by it on the sidewalk, "So you probably won't be assigned a house for a day or two. You can stay with me if you want, or the guest barracks. I'll warn you, the barracks smell."

"Would it be too much trouble?"

"Of course not, I always appreciate company. I can also show you how excellent of a cook I am."

Hailey laughed. "I'm looking forward to it." The infiltrator usually had to fake a good mood, fake laughter and smiles. This time those things were real. It was a relief in some ways, but not in others.

"Do you want to stop by my place? You look like you've had a long day, no offence."

"That would be amazing." Hailey said, realizing how tired she was. The stress of this war was weighing down on her. They walked a few more blocks, then came to a white house with clay slates on the top of it. The lawn was well groomed, and flowers were planted in wooded rectangles under the front windows of the building. Clipped hedges separated his house from those of his neighbors. Did Trevor have a girlfriend, or did he do all this?

"Like it?" The man asked as they stood on the sidewalk, looking at the building.

"Was this all you?"

"Yep." Trevor nodded.

"Wow. I've met very few men who take this sort of care for their property."

"I'm one for aesthetics. I'll show you the inside." The two entered the house into a room with a table and doorles passage on each side. The tables held vases and pictures. The passage to the left was a living room, and to the right was a kitchen. "The stairs lead to the bedroom and bathroom. It's not a huge place, obviously, but I like it."

"It's," Hailey paused, searching for the word, "Cozy."

"Do you still want that tour of the asteroid?"

"Not really."

"Thought so," Trevor smiled, "It's almost time for dinner actually, so I might as well start making something. You can take the bed, I'll have the couch. Make yourself at home."

Why did she have to get stuck with a nice one? He was the enemy, she had to remember that. He was part of the army killing her friends and family. She should hate him. She knew this, but there was something about him. She just couldn't bring herself to despise the man. She would have to work around this, leave him out of her job. He wouldn't get in the way, or so she thought.

  • 05.15.2011 9:25 PM PDT
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Part. 10



Hailey closed her eyes, feeling the warm water of Trevor's shower run down her bare skin. It was nice of Trevor to offer her a chance to wash. Not many people would make a stranger so comfortable. The girl squeezed a bottle of shampoo into her hand and rubbed it into her black hair. Once she washed it out she scrubbed her body with a soapy sponge.

After the shower was turned off she stepped out onto the tiled ground. She opened some drawers to find towels, but the only ones that were present would only cover half of her body. There was a bath robe hanging on the door. Even though she didn't want to wear his clothes without permission, she didn't have much of a choice.

She put on his robe and walked out of the bathroom. The smell of something delicious filled her nostrils. She walked into the kitchen to see him at the stove, pans sizzling and sauce boiling. Hailey cleared her throat, but he didn't hear her. "Hey."

Trevor jumped in surprise and turned around. He smiled and laughed. "You scared me."

"Sorry. Uhm, I don't mean to impose but-"

"The mirror in my bedroom slider open to a dresser. Everything will be a bit big, but the sweatpants should fit, at least at the waist."

"Thanks." She turned around and headed for the bedroom. Hailey had never met a man so warm. She had to remind herself he was Alliance, he was the enemy. The girl slid the mirror in the bedroom to the side and stepped into a walk in dresser. Everything was neat and organized by color. "Talk about a dream guy." She mumbled as she searched for clothes.

Hailey walked out of the closet with a shirt two sizes too big, sweatpants that she had to pull as tight as possible, and bare feet concealed by the pant legs. She walked back into the kitchen and was welcomed by a laugh.

"Lookin' good." Trevor smiled. The man served dinner on his small round table in the center of the room. He poured two glasses of wine and they began to eat.

"You weren't lying," Hailey marveled, "You are good cook."

"Thanks," Trevor said appreciatively, "I took some classes just for the sake of it."

Hailey looked at the man with wonder. Jesus, this guy is unreal. He can't be single.

"You alright?" Trevor asked, taking not of her stare.

Hailey snapped out of her daze. "Yeah," She blushed in embarrassment, "I'm good."

"So tell me about yourself."

"Oh, I'm boring really. How about you."

Trevor laughed. "Well I doubt that, but sure. I'll go first. So I was born in this asteroid. It was originally an insurrectionist haven. I like it here. Quiet, safe. Honestly I don't even support this war. I just work for the military out of obligation. I did well in school, so they recruited, or more like drafted me for military intelligence."

"Sorry to hear that. So is your family still here?"

"No, they died on Irindar fighting the UNSC. The remaining scraps of the insurrection joined the Alliance, and that's how this place became a command outpost."

"I'm sorry I asked." Hailey shifted her eyes down at her food.

"Don't be. Those are well healed wounds. Now what about you? I'm guessing you're one of those pretty girls who is visibly better than the rest with a perfect boyfriend and to top it off unbelievably smart."

"What makes you think that?" The woman smiled, raising the rim of her glass to a pair of soft lips.

Trevor shrugged. "Just a feeling." He grinned.

"Well I'd start being suspicious of my feelings if I were you," Hailey laughed, "I'm far from your flattering description."

"How so?"

"First, I've never been better than anyone at anything. Second, I'm single."

"Impossible," Trevor looked at her with narrow eyes, "You, single?"

"Single as can be. What about you?"

"Well, my job keeps me very busy. The only thing I spend enough time with to have any sort of romantic relationship with is my hedges."

Hailey laughed. "I noticed, and I must say your closet is quite impressive. A nice lawn, cooking, cleanliness, what are you?"

This brought a smile to Trevor's face. "My parents had the same kind of thing going. I guess it just rubbed off."

"I guess so." They looked at each other happily. Then they were staring. Trevor had never seen a girl so beautiful. Hailey, no, Saline had never seen a man so...lovely. You don't know him Saline. You met the guy two hours ago for Christ's sake! For all you know he could be some murderer or ped1file. yeah right. He's perfect and you know it. Are you insane?! He's Alliance!

"You know processing a new resident takes a while around here," Trevor said, "so it could be a few weeks until you get your own place. Maybe you'd like to stay with me until then."

"Oh I don't want to-"

"You won't be imposing, really. I could use some company too. I don't usually have anyone to talk to."

She was about to object again, then Hailey realized it was probably the best choice. One, she might be able to manipulate Trevor into helping her. Two, it would be more comfortable sleeping here than staying in the barracks until she got her house. All she would have to do is remember what she was here for. "In that case, sure thing." She smiled, and they continued their dinner.

_____________________________________________________________ __

Terry woke up to the wailing of sirens. He was in a small white room connected to machines and hooked up to tubes and wires. A bag of blood was hanging over him, as was an IV. He could hear voices outside, someone barking orders. The last thing the ODST could remember was being operated on in a small shuttle with his former friend Nick Silvers. After that it was a huge gap in his memory.

Terry tried to sit up, but realized he was strapped into the bed. "FucI<!" He pulled his arms up, shaking as he used all his might to break the leather straps around his wrists. They wouldn't yield. "Damn it!" He thrashed his body, then gave up. There was no way he was breaking out in this weak of a state. After a few minutes it was obvious whoever but him here had forgotten about him. If he didn't get himself out of there the cot he was strapped to would be his deathbed.

He pulled up with life or death strength. The right strap snapped and he undid the other. Freeing his feet, the soldier pulled off his wires as fast as he could. He was about to pull off a tube when he realized it wasn't attached to him it was inside of him. The object ran in between two of his ribs and into god knows where. He gripped it and counted to three.

The first pull didn't suffice. It was agonizing but he had no choice. Gritting his teeth he slowly pulled it out of his body. He gave one final tug and it flew out of his torso. "Son of a b1tch!" His hand clutched the incision until the pain subsided. Terry winced as he stood and realized for the first time that his armor was gone.

The ODST searched the room frantically. How much time did he have left? What was happening here? Would he be shot on sight or would he be a friendly? There was no time to wonder about that. They would inevitably be answered. Now his task was to find his armor.

Terry pulled opened up a metal closet and found his ODST Battle Armor. There were obvious punctures in it. That was bad. From what he remembered he was in space. Now if he was exposed to the void he didn't have a chance. It was better than nothing.

Shadow's only weapon was a knife tucked into his boot. He had killed many with it before, and knew how to throw it with deadly accuracy. Despite his adeptness with a blade, guns beat knives. Even so staying in this room wasn't going to do him any good. The ODST slowly opened the door. It was stopped a quarter of the way open by a lifeless body. He slipped through the exit and examined the corpse. It was UNSC. A single bullet had penetrated the man's skull. The shot was too precise to be one of luck. Special Forces.

"There's one!" Someone shouted in a muffled voice. Shadow turned around to see three men in olive green suits. They looked like some sort of variation of his own armor. Perfect, yet another technological improvement for the Alliance.

The ODST pulled the body off of the floor, using it as a meat shield to retreat. Automatic fire struck the corpse. He ditched it and sprinted around a corner. The halls were metal with titanium air lock doors only able to be opened with an eye scanner. Cameras were positioned to monitor every inch of the place. Broken defense turrets hung from the ceiling. Where was he?

Shadow kept running, not even knowing where he was trying to go. All he knew was there were men with guns and good aim behind him. That was enough to get a soldier moving. As if his circumstances weren't bad enough an automated voice blared over the COM system.

Warning, warning! Incoming class ten projectile. Brace for impact.

Class ten projectile? What was that even supposed to mean? The vessel shook so violently Shadow fell to the ground. The lights flickered and went out. He heard a strange noise from the hall he had come from. It was quiet at first, then started to get louder. Shadow felt the air growing hotter, and a glow from behind him. He turned to face it. The noise was a roar now, and the light was getting intense. The three Alliance soldiers sprinted around the corner. They had dropped their guns and were running for their lives.




(I would have liked to give more but I really figured that it had been too long so I put out what I have. Sorry guys I've been so busy lately and I'm juggling stories. I'll do my best to get the next one faster. I hope you enjoyed this. There's something big coming up. Very big.)

  • 05.15.2011 9:27 PM PDT

The tide is turning, brothers! Let us take our kingdom back!

What other stories are you working on?

  • 05.15.2011 9:50 PM PDT
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Posted by: OfTheBloodguard
What other stories are you working on?


Some non fanfic stuff. Science fiction and fatasy. However my laptop has recently been slammed with viruses (I keep those stories on the laptop) So I'll be working on this more often.

  • 05.15.2011 9:54 PM PDT

The tide is turning, brothers! Let us take our kingdom back!


Posted by: The Munchies

Posted by: OfTheBloodguard
What other stories are you working on?


Some non fanfic stuff. Science fiction and fatasy. However my laptop has recently been slammed with viruses (I keep those stories on the laptop) So I'll be working on this more often.
That's a bummer. Damn viruses :(

But, at least you're back on track with this one. Can't wait to see what you got in store.

  • 05.16.2011 9:55 PM PDT
Subject: [Story] The Spartan Four Project: Book Two (Part 11 Is Now Up!)
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It isn't much but it's been a while so I decided I owed you guys something.

Part. 11



The village below Vadam Keep was dead quiet. The black of night concealed a shadow that cut through its air. Thel pressed himself against the side of a house. With this matter he couldn't be too cautious.

Peering through the open window he saw a lone figure by a fire. The Sangheili's back was towards him, his head tilted down towards a book.

"What is it you read?" Al'Katal turned in alarm, ready to strike out with all his strength, "It is only me." Thel said quickly.

Al'Katal let out a breath. "Old instincts."

"Indeed. I need your help, Al'Katal"

The Sangheili clicked is mandibles. "Only a troubled one would walk while others lay dormant."

"Aye. Troubled."

"Sit," Al'Katal offered, "And speak. What festers you, old friend?"

Thel crossed his legs by the fire, the heat radiating out onto his dark face. He blinked at the flames. "Tonight I have done something you may think foul, and honorless. Yet I believe..."

Al'Katal's face turned to stone. If Thel was in such distress, the situation had to be dire. "What have you done?"

"I have murdered the Vadamin his sleep." Thel quickly stood and began to pace the room, "It was a necessity. It had to be done. I dragged him to the floor, impaled him...and placed his blade in his hand."

Al'Katal's hand clutched the sword within his robe. "You have murdered not only the Vadam, but your honor. Mine too if I do not strike you down."

"Look around you brother! The people are starving! The Vadam knew, and did nothing. The entire bloodline is poisoned by greed and avarice. You know this as well as I do."

"This is a dark path, Thel. It is not the warrior's way..."

"It had to be done! I did not come to confess my sins. I came to ask for your assistance. I need an army. The army that belongs to you, brother. We must strike while they are weak."

"What has become of you?" Al'Katal stood.

Thel turned to the warrior and locked eyes, refusing to falter. Sure in voice and mind. "We cannot afford to lose. If we do, everything we have worked for will crumble. I must leave you. Think of what I have said brother. When you decide to join me, come to my abode. And never, are we to speak of this night again."

Thel departed the way he had come, and Al'Katal sat back down by the fire. His head was turned so that the flames brightened only his profile. Even with his army, he would be outnumbered. No, how could be possibly be considering this?! But...what if Thel was right and everything crumbled? His old friend had started something that he feared they could not finish.


[Edited on 06.20.2011 7:55 AM PDT]

  • 06.19.2011 12:22 PM PDT
Subject: [Story] The Spartan Four Project: Book Two (Part Five Is Up!)
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The next part of my story is out. Its short but its something. I thought you might want to know.

  • 06.19.2011 4:17 PM PDT

- Dorkism Is Contagious.


Oh wow.

This is all from you?

I'm interested in what I've read.

I like. <3

  • 06.19.2011 4:41 PM PDT

No u

Where can i find the first spartan four book?

  • 06.19.2011 8:21 PM PDT

The tide is turning, brothers! Let us take our kingdom back!

So this is what you had planned for Thel. Awesome.

  • 06.20.2011 4:58 AM PDT

No u

Story is going GREAT man, keep it up!

  • 06.21.2011 12:40 PM PDT
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Thanks man :) I've been away for a while so I haven't been able to make any new parts for you guys. I'm coming home tomorrow where the computer that has it all is. I'll try to pump out something good for you guys.

Now I have a lot of different characters. Who would you guys like to read more on?

  • 07.10.2011 6:18 PM PDT

No u

Dante would be nice. I have to reread though. It's been a while.

  • 07.10.2011 6:21 PM PDT

The tide is turning, brothers! Let us take our kingdom back!

Hmm... well, the ONI agent a midst the Insurrection would be nice to read more of.

  • 07.11.2011 3:17 AM PDT

No u

True, true.

  • 07.11.2011 9:44 PM PDT
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Part. 12



Flames shot around the corner and washed over the Alliance troops. They were hungrily devoured by the fire, their screams muffled by a deafening roar. Terry knew in that moment that he was finished, and all too early. He wouldn't live to see hear his child's first words, to see him grow and become a man. All of these thoughts were in a split second as he felt his skin singe from the hot air. All he could do was hope that it would be quick.

A bubble shield activated and bloomed from its small generator. The flames washed over the dome, and someone pulled him to his feet. "Not a time to be sitting on the job."

Shadow stared wordlessly at Nick's mask. After a few seconds he managed to say one word. "Thanks"

"All your questions will have to wait. Find an escape pod, and launch to Reach. This thing is about to enter atmosphere and hit the ground like a bag of bricks. Don't be here when that happens." The agent handed Shadow a silenced pistol and cloaked.

"-blam!-, wait!" He was gone. Great, Silvers was officially a spook. One minute they're at your side and the next they've left you to die. The ODST turned his head and looked at one of the smoldering Alliance corpses on the ground. The faceplate had melted, revealing a scorched cranium with a jaw hanging open as if it was laughing at him. "Yeah? We'll you're just a crispy critter." He kicked the carcass and walked away. Later he would feel guilty for it, but now his mind was in another place.

Shadow checked a corner, then rounded it. He held his pistol at the ready, watching for anything. He heard a firefight echoing through the halls and crouched behind a bulkhead. It was becoming louder and louder. There were screams and shouts to retreat. Alliance troopers rushed into his hallway and skidded to a stop at the airlock. "Shut the airlock!" One shouted. Another hacked into the panel on the wall and sealed off the hallway. They slumped down against the wall in relief. "FucI<ing too close."

One of the soldiers stood and activated a holo-pad on his forearm. "The map says-"

"Screw the map!" Another shouted, "We've got to get out of here! Twenty minutes and this hunk of metal hits the ground!"

"Can it soldier." Their CO got to his feet, "We're on a mission. One I intend to finish. You can come with, or turn tail and get shot in the back of the head. By me."

Shadow was pressing himself against the bulkhead, his hand white from clenching the handle of his pistol. If he only had a grenade he could blow that squad to smithereens. They were up and walking towards his bulkhead now. Would they notice him? If they did, what would he do?

The ODST's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of metal doors bursting open and shouts of supprize. There were no gunshots, just the cracks of bones shattering and the screams that followed. Shadow saw a body fly down the hallway and heard it slam into the wall.

Terry was to shocked to move. What in god's name was that? Whatever it was, it wasn't human. No man could do that. After all that had been seen and done in the past century, it could be anything.
The ODST had been to scared to see the obvious answer. The answer that reached its arm around the bulkhead and pulled him right out into the air, holding him by his armor. He kicked and punched, too blinded by fear to see who was holding him. He received a hard smack on the head that made him dizzy. "Sh1t," A muffled voice said, "I think I hit him a little hard."

"Hell come around." The second was rough, hardened.

"I was just trying to make him calm down. Cover me. I'm going to see if he's arlight." Shadow felt himself lowered down to the ground. His helmet was removed as his captor leaned in close. "Concussion."

"Put his helmet back on. Well come for him once we stop the Alliance from getting the data."

The younger voiced one seemed reluctant. "Alright." Terry, although barely conscious, understood that they were leaving him. He tried to cry out for them to stay, for them not to go, but he couldn't. His body fought his every effort. The two turned away from him and continued down the hall. He was completely helpless. Stuck on a falling station, waiting to die.

No, he had evaded death too many times to die from some jackass on his side hitting him on the head, no matter how big or strong. The ODST got to his feet and shakily moved on. He would make it. Or so he thought. When a squad of Alliance special forces came upon the stumbling, disoriented soldier their first reaction was to blow his head off. If it weren't for their CO ordering them to take him as a prisoner, they would have too.

There was a brief argument between the men. The wide opinion was that, on a falling space station, taking a prisoner would eat up valuable time. Their officer however was quite unbending. He told them that they would take the ODST into custody, or he would personaly hang them by their "testicle strings." They moved to restrain him, but he raised his weapon and pulled the trigger. They pushed his empty hand down and bound it to the other. He had been hit so hard he forgot to pick up his pistol. This had actually saved him. Had he had a weapon, he probably would have fought. And if he had fought, he definitely would have died.

One of them got in close to his faceplate and spoke in an angry voice. "We've got plans for you, dick bag. "I'm gonna watch you squirm"

Shadow felt himself dragged into an escape pod. The doors shut behind him and a loud thud signaled their descent to Reach's surface. The Alliance infiltration team was still on edge. "Let me see it." Their CO ordered.

"Don't worry Cap," One of the men removed a chip from a pouch on his belt, holding it with extreem care, "It's safe and sound. We'll be making Spartans in no time..."

  • 08.06.2011 5:52 PM PDT

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