The Spartan Program II Chap 2

Chapter 2- Fight for Survival


Darkness. Infinite darkness shrouded the Master Chiefs vision as he lay collapsed on the ground before the steps to the temple. Alarms screamed in his head as his suits systems fought to keep his shields active. He rose to his feet, placing his right hand to the side of his helmet. "Cortana. What the hell just happened, I didn't request any snipers?"

"Analyzing" The Chief felt the same absence he always felt as Cortana left his mind to search the UNSC databases for an answer. "Chief. I found something"

A file ran across the Chiefs H.U.D. He read through the report. "Cortana, please tell me this is the tech guys playing a joke"

Cortana's hologram lowered her head with worry. "I am afraid it is authentic. It bears the seal of the UNSC War council, a signature not easily forged" The file contained the termination order of the Spartan II Program.

Cortana closed the file. The Chief stood silent, dumb-struck. "So what now Cortana?"

"We need to get out of here- the Council has committed untold resources to completely removing the remains of the Spartan II Program. I have searched the UNSC records the frigate Black Shadow is currently docked in hanger twenty four. If we move now we should be able to reach it before the council initiates a lockdown of the facility".

"Understood" The Chief locked his MA5B assault rifle against his back. He removed his pistol from his leg holster, dropping the clip as he slapped in a fresh magazine into the chamber and re-holstered the weapon. He looked towards the bulkhead doors which would lead him away from the site of the UNSC's betrayal of their war time heroes, and post war political liabilities.  


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John scanned past the armoury building. He threw himself against the wall, a Scorpion tank rolled along the track just past the building, oblivious of his presence. "Wait stop!" Cortana screeched in his head.

"The ship isn't goanna wait-" The Master Chief growled

"It's Dr. Hasley; she is being detained in the War Council's main chambers. It's the large building in the centre of the compound". The Chief found the structure that was to be his target, contemplating his plan of attack. "This isn't goanna be easy" said Cortana.

"What do you mean? I'll find a way in" John assured her. "One. Two. Three…" John counted in his head. Once he hit four he launched from his position across the dirt track and slammed against the wall of the adjacent building within the blink of an eye.

He noticed a large stone building- large solid steel doors leading into the interior. On either side of the door stood a UNSC marine, each armed with a standard MA5B assault rifle. Alone they posed little threat- but they only needed a second to scream for help. An assault on the main door would be suicide, even for a Spartan. "Cortana I need an alternative entrance". Cortana appeared before his visor, her slender fingers against her forehead. Eyes closed. "There is a small air duct along the west side of the building. I'll mark it with a nav point"

Cortana disappeared from his view; she was replaced by a pulsing orange arrow that indicated the target. The Chief sprinted towards the building; he slammed himself against the wall. He tapped the side of his helmet, activating his exterior listening device; greatly enhancing his already heavily augmented hearing. "So I hear they've can…. Spartan….gram" He eavesdropped on the conversation between the guards. One of them suddenly stopped, raising his finger to the side of his helmet. "Cortana, I need to hear what their saying. Can you intercept them?"

"Searching….. Unknown. They are utilizing a secure wavelength only used for emergency communications- I cannot access it remotely" She pondered the situation for a moment. "But I have an idea." The radio in the Chief's helmet hummed to life as static rolled into his head. The static fizzled as Cortana searched for the frequency. "New orders from commend" The static slowly began to clear. "Dr. Hasley is to be terminated immediately. Command out" The marine turned to his partner. "Command's given the 'Dead Order'. We best get on with it"

"Better than standing around on sentry duty all day I guess. At least we get to use these things we've trained with for over nine months but never actually used" His partner spoke. They relinquished their posts, stepping through the now opening steel doors.

"We have to hurry" The Chiefs voice suddenly changed from exhausted from fatigue, to a burning flame of hate. Cortana had heard this tone before, he only spoke like this when he was personally determined. He turned from John, the Master Chief, to the ultimate war machine who would slaughter his foes, UNSC or Covenant indiscriminately.

The Chief crouched before the flimsy grating covering the vent. He gripped the thin metal bars were easily crushed in his gauntleted hands. He threw the broken metal into the nearby dirt as he crawled into the tight confines of the vent. As he tried to pass his shoulders through the opening his shield fizzled and crackled against the wall of the vent. "I have to lower your shield to allow you to squeeze through the vent" The Chief felt a sudden weight lifted off his body as the shield system weakened, if he should encounter problems he would be in trouble. He lowered to his hands and knees and pushed his way through the tight confines of the air duct.


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Twenty minutes past before he found another grate. He punched the grating. It opened up into a well lavished reception area. He crouched behind the couch for cover as he contemplated his plan. The main doors opened. The marines from the main door passed into the room, approaching the main desk. "We're here to deal with the traitor" The Master Chief peered over the top of the couch as he watched the marines with absolutely no feeling, contemplating the most effective method with which to dispatch them.

"About time. Give her a shot to the head for me" The man behind the reception desk held down a button on his console, the door to the right of the desk silently opened. The marines passed through the door, it closed shut behind them. The receptionist returned to his work, typing out reports on the computer. A rattle behind him roused him from his work; he turned towards the source of the noise. He was greeted by the shiny gold of the Master Chiefs visor. The Chief slammed his fist into the man's nose, the sound of cracking bones ringing hollow throughout the room, his limp corpse collapsed to the ground, blood spilling from his wound.

The Chief pulled his body behind the desk. He pressed the same green button he had seen the receptionist use, sure enough the doors parted. Past the doors lay the UNSC military courtroom, and Dr. Halsey.


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The Chief crouched behind the row of seats at the back of the courthouse, watching, and waiting. At the far end of the courtroom stood a squad of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers and the two marines from the entrance. The squad was dispersed around the courtroom two of them leaning against the sidewall while others watched the two marines enter, ready to serve the UNSC by disposing of a traitor. The doctor stood sternly in defiance, unmoved by the presence of a loaded gun aimed at her head. The marine jammed the barrel of his pistol into Dr. Hasley's forehead, causing a ring of white where her skin had become starved of oxygen. "Any last words?"

The Chief rose from his hiding place, firing two bursts from his assault rifle. The two marines collapsed to the ground, blood spilling from the bullet wounds pocketing their backs.

"Drop!" The Chief screamed. Halsey dropped to her knees, covering her head with her hands.

The ODST's were slow to mobilize, surprised by the sudden sound and frantically attempting to find the lone gunner from amongst the dark corners of the large room.

The Chief bolted from his position firing over the line of seats in front of him. He dropped behind the final column of seats, listening to the gunfire as it blazed over his head uselessly, tearing pieces of brick off the wall behind him. The chief released the clip, empty. He dropped the assault rifle to the ground and drew his combat knife from his belt. He rose from his cover running down the isle between the seats. John threw his combat knife at the ODST, the sharp blade digging into the soft lip of rubber covering the gap over his exposed neck. He lunged towards the final soldier, he clasped his gauntleted hand around the mans neck, collapsing his windpipe in on itself. The soldier's corpse collapsed to the floor, dragging John down with it.

John felt the same satisfaction at this mans death as he had done when he had fought the Covenant mere months ago and the Insurrectionists before that. Even though he was also a soldier of the UNSC at that moment he was the enemy. Behind him John heard the unmistakable click of a hand gun. He stared into the dead ODST's visor, finding the face of the third soldier looming over him, a pistol aimed at the back of his head. The Chief froze; he was going to have to rely on his augmented strengths. He swung his fist around with lightning speed, smashing into the soldier's visor, cracking the reflective metal into dozens of tiny fragments. The broken helmet fell to the ground along with the rest of the soldier, slamming into the stone floor with a loud bang.

The Chief rose to his feet, he was holding his breath, the adrenaline of battle keeping him from noticing it. He let out a slow, long breath. He lowered down to help Dr. Hasley to her feet. That had been an amateur mistake; if he had missed one he could have just as easily missed a dozen. Dr Hasley brushed the creases out of her skirt, pushing her glasses further up the bridge of her nose, as if nothing had happened. "Nice to see you again John. It has been a while"

"So it has ma'am" Only Dr Hasley ever called him by his birth name anymore, since no one else but her knew it.

"I assume you have devised a plan for our escape?" Catherine held great pride in her Spartans.

"Yes ma'am. There is a UNSC frigate docked at this base. I plan to use it to leave UNSC controlled space"

"Very well Spartan"

The Chief drew his sidearm, handing it to Dr. Hasley. "I assume you know how to use this?" Catherine simply smiled back at him and accepted the weapon.


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Colonel Ackerson paced along the line of elite ODST's before him. He stared at the large scale computer screen on the wall before him, the monitor showed the Spartan Master Chief and Dr. Hasley crouched behind a row of crates, in a fire fight with a squad of marines. Ackerson watched in anger as the marines slowly fell one by one, blood spilling from their fresh bullet wounds. The Spartan looked up towards the camera, and fired. The screen buzzed with static, the camera crippled.

James Ackerson stopped in the centre of the formation. "I'm sure you all know why you are here" The soldiers all stood frozen, statues to honour the legacy of the proud regiment. "The Spartan project has been officially dismantled, and the UNSC War Council has decreed that all notes on the project be confiscated and all subjects terminated. Spartan-117 is the last of his kind. He has previously survived the Insurrectionists, the Human-Covenant War and was the first to encounter and decimate those parasitic creatures in the time it took you lot to tie your boots. So now we turn to you" He raised his arms in dramatic pause. "You are the most elite soldiers the UNSC has. Each and every one of you have single handily taken on entire Covenant squads and emerged victorious. But what I ask of you know will demand even more of you than any other member of the UNSC must face. I ask you to end an endangered species. I ask you to kill Spartan-117"

There was a deft silence. Everyone knew Ackerson had been building up to that- but it still hit everyone pretty hard. "I know some of you may have mixed feelings about this. Some of you may have heard of his exploits, some of you may have even fought alongside him and his kind. But remember your pledge to the UNSC. Remember your pledge to serve your planet, serve your government. And serve your race" He snapped a salute, and as one they returned it. Ackerson lowered his hand. "Dismissed" The ODST's filed out in formation, their task clear. Eliminate Dr. Halsey and Spartan-117 before they depart Reach.


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The large bulkhead doors creaked apart; the Chief strode into hanger 24 with Dr. Halsey closely in tow. He searched the hanger for potential threats, only seeing the occasional unarmed technician. The hanger was otherwise empty. "Cortana. The hanger is empty"

"That's impossible" Her voice faded in his mind before returning again. "I've found it. It was a phantom file. Ackerson laid a fake file and inserted it among the other traffic to lead us into a tra-" Her voice was quickly cut off by a loud screech.

"On the catwalks!" Screamed Dr. Halsey, pointing to the maintenance walkways hanging overhead. The walkways were lined with UNSC special forces soldiers, ODST's. A squad of ODST's scaled down from the walkway on rappelling lines. They fired their assault rifles on their descent, raining bullets down on the Chief's position. The Chief hunkered down behind a stack of crates, the occasional bullet pinging off his shield. Hasley hunkered behind the crates next to him, not having a suit of power armour she was being far more cautious.

"Cortana. We need another way out" His mind was silent; he still felt the same warmth that Cortana's presence gave him, but not her reassuring voice. "I have a solution. There is a Pelican dropship docked in the next hanger. It doesn't have a slipspace drive but it will allow you off the planet" John sighed inside his helmet, at least it was better than nothing.

"Doctor, move out we need to get to the hanger"

"Excuse me Spartan, but don't I out rank you?"

"No ma'am. Since the project was cancelled you are now demoted to a civilian again. So I assume command" He smiled behind his golden visor.

"Very well Spartan, what are your orders?" A taint of sarcasm stained her voice. "I'm going to lay down a suppressing fire and you run to the door" She gave him a nod of agreement.

"One...Two…Three…GO!" He yelled. The Chief rose from cover, firing his assault rifle at the ODST's on the catwalk. The soldiers on the rappelling lines hit the ground, scrambling for what meagre cover they could find. He alternated between firing at the squad on the ground and those on the overhanging catwalk.

Before the Doctor could reach halfway to the door she collapsed to the ground, blood spilling from a gun shot wound in her torso. A soldier stood on the catwalk; smoke pluming from the barrel of his gun. The Chief was dumb struck. His blood boiled as he fired into the cable supporting the catwalk to the roof of the hanger.

The cable snapped, the sheet of metal fell to the hanger floor, the soldiers falling soon after. The chief rose from his cover, storming towards the wounded soldiers. Even wounded and shocked they continued to fire. Bullets ricocheted off his armor as he continued to advance, unhindered by the never ending stream of fire. The Chief reached his target; he slammed the butt of his rifle in the helmet of the first soldier, their visor shattering from the impact. The second succumbed to the power of the Chief's gauntleted fist to his stomach, the sound of cracking ribs bouncing off the high walls. The final soldier, the one that had taken such joy in shooting John's supposed 'mother', was lifted from the ground by his armoured neck. The Chief stared into his silver screened visor. He slammed the soldier down into the hanger floor, savouring the sound as the mans neck split.

John finally breathed the sweet scent of victory as he ran to Dr. Hasley's side. He clutched her, applying pressure to the wound. He saw the red stain of her blood on her shoulder blade, spilling her fiery red blood onto the frozen concrete floor. He reached to his belt and removed his med kit. He removed the biofoam as he sealed the wound and wrapped it in bandages, it helped to stop the bleeding but she would still require medical attention.

"Can you walk?" She gave him a weak smile as she rose on her shaky feet. She got to her feet before crashing back down into the Chiefs arms. She had already lost too much blood, she would have to be carried the rest of the way. He cradled her in his metallic arms, hefting her in his arms as if she weighed nothing. He turned and ran towards the door; he had to get off Reach. It wasn't just his life now; it was also about saving Catherine Hasley.


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John finally parted the steel double doors into the hanger. There sat a Pelican dropship, fresh off the repair line. The hanger was devoid of any life save John and Dr. Hasley. John charged up the open cargo ramp of the transport into the cockpit, laying Hasley down in the co-pilots seat. John sat down in the pilot's seat, preparing the engine ready for take-off.

The dual engines roared to life with a deafening cry. John pulled back on the throttle, the ship rose off of the deck. He brought the ship around, it shot out into the open sky, rising into the dark void of space. The dark sky was suddenly filled by random specks of light in the distance, each quickly growing to be a UNSC space craft, bearing on an intercept course with John's Pelican. The small lights in the distance each quickly became a deadly craft as he watched them charge their weapons, ready to fire. A dropship stood no chance against an armada of ships. This was quickly looking to be the end of the Spartan project. And of him.

Suddenly a group of white dots appeared on the edge of the system. The white dots soon grew into the bulbous heads of whale like craft. Covenant Cruisers. As the Covenant ships moved closer towards him the main view screen began to crackle with static. The static cleared and the broken face of the Arbiter came clear into view. "Noble Spartan warrior. We have received word of your fate… and we wish to offer our assistance" John froze in surprise. "You opened my eyes and saved me and my brothers from eternal damnation. Among my race it is customary to assist those who aided us when we were in peril. Board my flagship, The Flames of Light, we will ensure your safety"

"I have a wounded friend. She requires immediate medical attention" The Chief fought to keep his tone neutral.

"We can heal your comrade when you come aboard" John lowered his head, his mind awash with conflicting thoughts. Although the Elites had fought to save the humans during the war he couldn't shake the memories of when the Elites had not long ago been on the receiving end of his assault rifle. But now was not the time to pass judgment on an ally.

"Very well" John tapped the controls, steering the dropship towards the largest Covenant Ship in the centre of the formation.


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Admiral Stanforth stood at the bridge of the Leviathan, the new flagship of the UNSC fleet. The navigation officer turned in his chair to face the Admiral. "Sir. The renegade dropship is on an intercept course for the Covenant command vessel. They appear to be boarding, sir"

Stanforth lowered his head into his palms; if he fired at the dropship he could hit the Covenant and start a whole new war. But if the Chief had gone rouge and he started slaughtering the Covenant soldiers the new alliance would be severely tarnished.

He placed his hand on his data computer opening fleet wide COM channel "All ships, this is Admiral Stanforth. Hold fire. I repeat all ships hold fire; we cannot risk hitting the Covenant Vessels. All craft hold positions. I say again hold position, do not engage the renegade dropship" He closed the channel "Let's see what the last Spartan has planned" Stanforth did not want to have to do this; he saw what happened at Cote Azur. How the Spartans had single handily halted the Covenant ground assault. But the Council had decreed it; if he backed down they would simply find someone else who was willing to do the unpleasant task.    


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The Chief stepped down the Pelican's loading ramp onto the slippery purple surface of the Covenant hanger bay. The Arbiter stood before him, still clad in the armor of the Prophet's had entrusted to him- albeit repaired and upgraded. Even though he had officially been appointed Grand Prophet of the entire Covenant he felt a certain tie to the armour, by wearing the mark of the prophets betrayal he knew it would never be forgotten. "Welcome Spartan. I only wish we were meet again under better circumstances"

The Chief simply stared at him behind his visor; someone could have cut the tension between them with a plasma sword. "My friend is in the cockpit. She's hurt" The Arbiter raised his hand. Two elites ran into the pelican, they returned soon after carrying Dr. Halsey between them. "Come. I will show you to the bridge" The Chief had taken the final step down the road of betrayal. He was as much a traitor to the UNSC as Colonel Wallace, the rebel leader he had captured on his first mission as a Spartan. Now he had no home, no flag. No Hope.