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Project RAVEN Chapter 1
Date: 26 February 2003, 6:51 am
The effluvium of the dead wafted in nauseating pulses. I would’ve vomited, but there was nothing left in my system to excrete. I was cold, hungry, and drained of energy. I surveyed the glassed corpses of the brave troops that once compiled my squad, inhaled, and dry heaved. The Covenant were—of course—responsible for this brutal attack. I hated them.
I had no idea how long it had been that I sat here, against this slab of concrete that belonged to a pile of debris, which once constructed barracks. The Covenant had hit us hard, and as far as I knew, I was the only survivor. And I had no means of communication. Most of everything was destroyed.
My eyes reflected the emission of red light produced by my last emergency flare. I gripped my assault rifle tightly, as visions of the Covenant slaughtering a mass of human forces filled my thoughts. The thought chilled me to the core, stabbing through a numbness produced by remaining in the same position for so long.
The reflection of light in my eyes flickered and faded away as I memorized the positions of the weapons I had compiled from my dead comrades. I held only enmity for the Covenant.
And, I believe, it was this malignity burning inside of me that kept me alive as my eyes closed and I drifted into a slumber filled with vague nightmares.
“Wake up,” a deep, penetrating voice said.
My eyes opened, and the sight of a SPARTAN-II in MJOLNIR armor reminded me very much of the Elites that had ravaged me of my friends and allies. Adrenalin ripped through my body, and I felt my blood boil; however, I was too shocked to move. I felt a sheet of perspiration as I shifted my body slightly and I finally realized what was before me.
“My God—”
“—There’s no time. Let’s move. It isn’t safe here,” the Master Chief informed me.
“Approximately seven minutes and forty-three seconds before the Covenant reach this position,” Cortana tacked on.
I was blown away. I struggled to my feet, still holding my assault rifle.
“Sir! Are we being extracted?” I asked hopefully.
“We have to go,” he said, before taking off. His movements were so swift, so precise, and so fast that I had to push my shattered hopes aside and raced after him. My body ached as I did so, and I felt my stomach tremble with disappointment, excitement, and adrenalin. We ran for some time, and I could tell he was moving way slower than he had to—for me. If we were going into combat, I would do nothing more than get in the way. I hoped we weren’t going into combat.
Finally, we came to a stop in the thick of a jungle. The rising sun peered through cracks in leaves and branches, and I wondered how long I had slept. I was panting hard and coughing, and the Master Chief looked like he had been power walking at best. When I finally caught my breath, the Master Chief assessed the situation.
“We have to recover an artificial intelligence memory processing cube from the Covenant. We have little time,” The Master Chief informed me.
The Covenant had captured human intelligence? That was bad. I felt the fear of raw evil sweep over me. How did the Covenant capture it? Were they headed to Earth? I had so many questions.
“They’ve just taken over a nuclear testing facility here, and our records indicate that one A.I. has gone undestroyed,” Cortana said, answering my questions before I could ask them.
“Sir, I can’t keep up with you...”
“My orders were to retrieve you and destroy the A.I. memory processing matrix.”
Me? Me, specifically? Why me?
“And there is no place safer for you than with me. Extraction is unavailable due to conflict outside of the planet’s atmosphere. We have no time. Keep up with me, kill the enemy, and do exactly as Cortana and I say at all times. Move!”
We continued through the jungle—slowly, because of me—for quite some time. The Master Chief came to an abrupt and shocking halt. I stopped just six inches behind him, fighting to regain my balance. He was focused on something ahead of us. Orange and blue lights illuminated the jungle some distance away.
“Jackals,” the Master Chief said at the same time that the thought crossed my mind.
“Six of them,” Cortana informed us. I moved left, made sure I had a clear shot, lifted my rifle, and waited for the Master Chief’s signal. His rifle was already raised by the time I glanced at him. I looked back to the Jackals, and they were getting terrifyingly close. However, facing the enemy side-by-side with the Master Chief did something to fill me with confidence and pride.
“Now!”
Two Jackals had dropped by the time I squeezed the trigger. One bullet from a three-round burst caught a Jackal in its shoulder; one bullet missed completely and one pinged off of its shield. Another three-round burst, and he fell. Examining the rest of the troops, only one Jackal remained standing. The Master Chief and I opened fire, and I watched my foe fall to the ground riddled with bullet holes.
The Master Chief continued through the jungle as if nothing had happened. After a moment of thought, I calculated the Master Chief must’ve killed thousands of Covenant soldiers and realized why taking out a patrol of Jackals meant nothing to him.
We met no more enemy forces in our long run through the jungle. I thought of how odd it was that the Master Chief didn’t even ask me what had happened—in specifics—during my encounter with the Covenant. This didn’t feel, at all, like a military operation. Perhaps we were shorter on time than I thought.
I was getting tired, and I held a high regard for the Master Chief. He was machine, killing and moving with precision unfathomable. I felt sick. Our jog came to a slow as we crept into the darkness of night, emerging from the jungle. I couldn’t believe how long we had been in there, and I was even more surprised how good it felt to get out. I felt free of encompassment.
I shuddered when I spotted the massive complex in the distance.
“That’s it,” the Master Chief said, stating the terrifying obvious.
He and Cortana informed me that the A.I.’s memory processing matrix had no information regarding Earth, but did contain all current nuclear technology. Apparently, the Covenant were impressed and surprised by our nuclear warfare, and wanted to absorb our technology.
“So,” I braved, “you were ordered to retrieve me, specifically?”
“I have my orders,” was the Master Chief’s cryptic reply.
Chapter 2 & Chapter 3
Date: 26 March 2003, 6:01 AM
Chapter 2
The inside of the complex was warm and would have been pleasant if I wasn't already overheated from physical activity. I crept along, tailing the behemoth of man leading the way. He looked like he weighed a ton, and I was in awe of his ability to move along so soundlessly. I was envious of the SPARTAN-II, and shocked to be fighting alongside him.
I shook myself of idle thoughts; I needed to keep aware. We came to an exaggerated stop at a crossroads in the hallway. The Master Chief peaked around the corner, sweeping with his assault rifle. Sure that the area was clear, he took the turn, and I followed. He seemed to know precisely where he was going.
We proceeded to silently weave through a maze of hallways for half an hour before we reached a small storage facility. I saw chemicals and tools completely foreign to me. I watched him check the room thoroughly for our enemy before he relaxed. He eased his shoulders back, and placed his assault rifle lightly on a vacant table. I was confused.
"Working on it…" Cortana said, quietly.
The Master Chief nodded in understanding. I didn't.
After thirty or forty seconds transpired, I heard a beep and then a click. An expanse of wall slid out of the way. A secret door? Unusual. I started after the Master Chief, but he motioned me to stop. He entered the secret hallway and came back a minute later carrying a small crate. The hidden door closed behind him as he set the crate on the table, next to his assault rifle. He opened the crate and signaled me forward. My jaw dropped.
The crate was filled with a plethora of covert operations gear. What was it doing here, at a nuclear testing facility? I looked up at the Master Chief, my eyes wide, and watched him equip a silencer to his assault rifle.
"What's all this?" I asked quietly.
He stopped abruptly and slowly lifted his head to face me. I stared hard into his visor, but somehow I knew he was staring back harder.
"You know what it's for," Cortana answered, impatiently. "We cannot risk informing the enemy of our presence. They won't hesitate to obliterate the entire facility."
My eyes widened further. The Master Chief returned to modifying his assault rifle.
"Suit up," Cortana replied without hesitation.
"No, I can't-I don't-I'm not…" I struggled for words as potent memories superimposed themselves upon my field of vision. I had trained as a covert operative before I transferred to the front line.
"You were at the very top of your class, and you are the most qualified for this mission," Cortana stated, reiterating facts I wanted to hide from.
"Suit up," the Master Chief said with such finality to his tone that I would not dare challenge.
Chapter 3
I was ensconced in matte black from neck to toes. A silenced M6D complete with eight clips of ammunition; two combat knives; cable; a fiber-optic probe; a high-emission, low-beam flashlight, and various other high tech equipment were pocketed or strapped to me. The room was swirling slightly. I felt sick.
I stared at the Master Chief as I tried to stomach my emotions. I trembled slightly from an overwhelming array of emotions, ranging from depression to exhaustion to fear. I could feel my heart pounding against the encompassment of my MIRAGE body suit.
The MIRAGE covert operations unit was created for use against pirates, and was even considered for use against the Covenant. However, with the breakthrough in MJOLNIR technology, the MIRAGE project was quickly shunted to the side.
The MIRAGE included amphibious technology, temperature regulation and a neural-integrated network connected to optics that consisted of a HUD very similar to that of MJOLNIR's. The HUD incorporated infrared, night and X-ray vision, motion tracking, a standard issue friend-or-foe GPS locator, and an electronic scope with up to 50x magnification. The suit could also repel low caliber rounds. I had heard that the SPARTANS used something similar in their first missions-before MJOLNIR. The MIRAGE had absolutely no business at a nuclear complex.
I was slowly regaining a demeanor suitable for military operations, successfully fighting back memories I had locked away for so long.
"Your suit does not include any plasma countering technology… so don't plan on taking any shots," Cortana warned me.
"I didn't," I replied, sarcastically.
"From now on, we will refer to this as project RAVEN; named after the artificial intelligence we're searching for. Your call sign will be 'Spectre'."
I nodded in acknowledgement.
"Any questions?" she asked, hurriedly.
"What is a MIRAGE doing here? Some kind of underground operation?"
"Precisely. But that's ancient. You see, the government had developed and hidden some new techno-"
"We don't have time for this," the Master Chief interrupted.
He must've been right, because Cortana said nothing more.
"Okay, Spectre, here's the plan," he said, pointing to a map spread out on one of the tables. He showed me where the A.I. was, likely enemy patrols, rendezvous points and other crucial locations. He outlined the mission plan. The Master Chief's mission experience was reflected in how relaxed his voice was. That, in correspondence with the straightforwardness of our mission objective, eased my nerves a little. However, I knew that things were never so simple in the field as on paper.
"We are to avoid Elites at all costs. We absolutely cannot risk an engagement with them. Therefore, Jackals-because they have night vision-are by far our largest threat. Because we believe that this mission is a low priority to the Covenant, the enemy patrols will probably consist mostly of Grunts. Especially since the Covenant don't believe that any human forces are currently grounded."
I swallowed and then took a deep breath, digesting the information. Not only was I the only factor that could mean success in this mission, but I also had to complete it without alerting a single enemy. Great.
I inspected my silenced M6D, disassembling and reassembling it quickly. It was in perfect condition. When I finished, I looked back up to the Master Chief, returned my M6D to its holster, and shrugged. It was time. I shook my head.
"Ready…" I heard myself say, still trying to grasp what I was about to do. Or try to do.
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