Halo: Unsung Hero/Chapter 1
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In Medias Res
CHAPTER 1: REBORN - LOST
DATA STAMP [[ERROR]] ANOMALY \ ESTIMATED RANGE AUGUST 29 – NOVERMBER 27, 2552 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \ UNKNOWN LOCATION, UNKNOWN LOCATION, REACH
“Can – control –” James voice was punctuated with static. “They've – they’re everywhere -”. There was more static, and the COM channel went dead.
The lone SPARTAN-005 activated his distress beacon and continued to broadcast through the open COM channel.
- Someone should be able to pick up his beacon. He knew, his teammates would never give up. John-117 would never leave a man – a friend – behind. It was a brotherhood, a family. Relationships made during their first encounter back during the conscription.
His thoughts began to cloud his vision with memories he endured. The training exercises he and the other candidates went through, the friends he made, and even the sight of love.
- It was hopeless. SPARTAN-005 breathed rough through his helmet’s air filtration system.
He needs to gather all his attention and focus at his situation. He went over his mission memorandum.
The Covenant was a religious zealous collection of species, bent on the promise of the fulfilment of the prophecy of the holy Great Journey. At the peak of the hierarchy, ONI presumed that the Elites were the commanders of the overzealous movement. They were wrong.
It was unknown how they stumbled upon Reach on August 30th. From what he knew, there was a commemoration for the deaths of brave soldiers and those involved in the conflict on Reach, celebrated for a whole month.
No one knew how they discovered Reach. The Cole Protocol, through strict practice and exercise, has stressed that any all UNSC vessels or stations must not be captured with intact NAV databases. If they were to be captured, the vessels would initiate a self-destruct sequence. Sacrifice was needed to protect the civilians.
- It was speculated that the Covenant manage to obtain some of the NAV database somehow. And if so, have they arrived at Earth? James ignored the larger picture and focused at his current situation.
What drives the Covenant mad was their fanatical acquirement of the Great Journey. In every broadcast ONI intercepted and decrypted throughout the course of the Human-Covenant War, there were mentions and sermons of the Great Journey. No one, not even Halsey, knew what the Great Journey was.
The promise of the Great Journey sparked life and death – the fall of Reach, fulfilment of the Covenant, downfall of men – they say as the genocide continued.
- The Covenant had gained more advantages over its enemy, the UNSC; superior weaponry and technology and their vast number of forces. It was beyond any human can achieve.
It was a biblical crusade, a fulfilment of a prophecy and the cleansing of the incompetent, nevertheless, a deluded journey. It reminded James of Deja’s history course on the holy crusade over Jerusalem to reclaim the Holy Land. It took the Christian Kings and their men nearly a decade to retake the land back. All of them were willing to die for the so-called Holy Land.
How can the mankind stood up against such atrocious force? Colonies had felled and razed, billions of civilians were caught up in the crossfire.
Mankind has been losing this war slowly every day, every week, every month. A tainted dream, slowly falling apart.
- He knew. Yet, he and his friends stood up against these alien forces, battling them on different planets and different systems. Defending the colonies and preventing them from occupying the planets. Most of their operations were successes. Most.
SPARTAN-005 closed his eyes and released all the troubles his mind was projecting.
- Reality became distant.
A familiar voice approached him from behind, calling out for his return. Who is it? The SPARTAN kept his distance from the silhouette and the world around him turned into flames and ashes.
- A sign. An omen.
The SPARTAN knew nothing of the metaphysical content. Only valid facts and arguments were real to his knowledge. How was he able to experience such a figment?
- Augmentations must’ve kicked in, he thought. It happened to Jarred and Fhajad, but that was during the implementation of the augmentations.
His mind’s eyes closed shut, and the world around him became silent. No Covenant, no UNSC, nothing to linger within his mind. His conscience asked him: How can one man - a super soldier - a SPARTAN-II defeat an entire Covenant legion?
In the green iron clad MJOLNIR armour, James soared motionless in the dark space, pondering about his fate.
- The SPARTAN considered about the question. Speechless he became as another question came into mind. Would he be next, the third SPARTAN to be lost in space? He hoped not.
James traversed through the empty space, conserving his oxygen supply. His MJOLNIR armour was still intact; having battle scars on the front plate and sword scratches at the shoulder plate.
Some of the plasma bolt manage to melt through the armour plating, nearly reaching his internal suit. He was lucky.
James looked at his backpack. A trail of leaked fluid enveloped from his back, his T-PACK jammed by the needler spike.
One shot at the propulsion backpack and it propelled him into the dark, empty space. It reminded him of Mendez’s yelling: “Better start tumbling in this gear!”
The SPARTAN continued to broadcast his status. “This is an open COM channel,” James looked at his arm and tapped in several keys. “This is SPARTAN-005, ID 755-25-25. To any UNSC force listening...”
His COM channel was left opened. James hoped that the weak signal emanated from the channel would give out his position, no matter who it was.
- If it were to be the Covenant, he would be able handle it but he pondered against the larger picture. What if he was against a never ending waves of Covenant infantries? His chances were slim but that was all he had to survive.
Several Longswords swooped passed the small SPARTAN before he managed to finish his broadcast. They were engaging a Seraph fighter from the other side. The battle over Reach was ongoing.
Human chatters filled his COM for a quick second, then faded.
- “Comin’in low! Fox, Fox!” shouted a UNSC pilot as the Longswords made a turn around the debris.
- James watched the battle from afar. Helpless.
UNSC pilot began shouting orders within the COM channel. “Seraphs on my six!” The theatre was blistering. Both faction were channelling everything at their disposal to win Reach.
- “Engage those Seraphs!” yelled a UNCS Officer. “Negative, protect the Pelicans!”
Of course, they were unknown of his position. An enemy should be focused at first, then treat the wounded. Standard UNSC protocol.
The COM channel broke into static. All is lost, James sighed as he observed the destruction of another Halcyon cruiser.
“John would look out for me,” he said in his thoughts. “Hope… that’s all I have left...” James observed a Covenant Frigate passing through the debris of the Halcyon cruiser. Following its trail were several Seraphs fighters.
- James kept his questions and assumptions to himself. He wouldn’t want to lose focus.
“I can still control the T-PACK. The blast only...” James’s voice echoed through the intercom. Static answered him.
His armour system finished its system analysis and prompted James to check the errors it gathered. The MJOLNIR armour indicated that the total air supply is at minimal, best for only 10 minutes. “Control breathing... don’t panic.”
- James relaxed his body. The voice spoke out in his mind again. “Optimism is the key to survival.”
“Air and power supply is at minimal. I’ll be shutting down my suit. Emergency mode initiated. You should be able to pick up my rescue beacon.”
James looked towards Reach, awed at its physique. Scorched and razed, the once famed human stronghold had felled to the wrath of the Covenant.
Mercy and sympathy no longer existed in an all out war. The Covenant never took in any prisoners for interrogation. As far as he knows.
Rubbles formed around the dead planet, corpses of brave men and women serving aboard the UNSC Navy soared around Reach. Those who survived fell prey to the Covenant battery fire.
- A genocide.
James wondered about his teammates. The SPARTANs, Linda-058 and Kelly-087 and John-117. Did they manage to escape out of the system?
- His mind has grown weary since he was apart from his friends. Questions became confusion and hope became despair.
The Covenant had won the battle and possibly the war; it is only a matter of hours or even seconds before they find him.
James once again rebooted his suit and channelled its power output towards the COM module, boosting the transmission relay. “To any UNSC vessels that might be receiving this broadcast, this is SPARTAN-005, ID 755-25-25. Rescue beacon has been activated. Supply is at minimal, but I am able to conserve them.”
Drifting without any motion control, James kept his COM channel alive and repeated under encrypted UNSC coding. John and the others would still be able to hear him out.
From a distance, James can see an outline of a silhouette. A stealth starship. Worse, it was a Covenant Corvette, en route to his location.
- Did they detect my broadcast?
James prepared for the worst. He reloaded his MA5B and rearmed his SMGs. His knife was safely tucked in between the armour’s plating, a perfect spot for an unexpected attack.
- I’m ready, I’m ready...
What now? His thought was filled with multiple consciences. His helmet system suddenly turned off. The MJOLNIR suit was no longer responding to his nerve control. Dead...
- The COM channel went once again static. Then, there was none. Dead...
