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Ascendant Part III
Posted By: Archangel's Blade<archangels_blade@hotmail.com>
Date: 06 June 2002, 12:08 am
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Somewhere in space
Battlecruiser Bulldog
Pte. Michael A. Sheener
As I drifted in and out of consciousness, I overheard some fragments of what the docs were discussing.
"-won't make it."
"Administer morphine, hope-best."
"-do any good. Vitals-dropping steadily."
"Shrapnel embedded-thorax, legs-critical."
"-idea-Spartan III-hurry."
"Tell captain-Argos 9-speed."
As the docs discussed something that seemed like the ancient sport of golf to me, I began to wonder where the hell I was. It was clear that I had taken some heavy damage when that crate of grenades exploded. How much damage, however, was unknown to me. I hurt all over, even with the morphine. I figured that I was a goner.
Then it dawned on me. Spartan III? Argos 9? Something important was going on.
Argos 9
Spartan III Medical Centre
I hurt more. I had undergone extensive surgery, and it seemed like I would be alright. However, my head hurt when it hadn't before. Bandages covered my eyes, and I could see nothing but black.
I lay for days. When the doctors came to check on me, they seemed satisfied upon seeing me. What the hell had happened that made them so proud of me, a lowly private who had barely survived his eleventh battle?
One day, the doctors finally took the bandage off my face. A mirror hanging on my wall gave me a clue to what had happened.
My eyes were gold.
Argos 9
Spartan III Medical Centre
It was hell, but the nurses finally got me walking. When I could speak again, I asked what the docs had done to me. The nurses seemed shocked that I didn't know.
I was now a Spartan.
After I was carried off the battlefield by the pelican that I had left mere seconds before, the medic carried me up to the advanced sickbay of the Bulldog. The fleet was fighting a losing battle against over 400 Covenant ships, and was forced to withdraw, leaving hundreds of marines behind, including Jamie.
Aboard the ship, the doctors found that there was little they could do to help me. I was lucky to survive long enough to get to Argos 9. Having taken heavy shrapnel damage, the doctor turned to one last resort.
Having been a doc for the growing Spartan III project, he decided to bring me here to Argos 9 to become a Spartan.
And here I am. My eyes were upgraded to enhance vision. An implant in my brain could increase reaction speed, and link me to my suit. The muscles were enhanced to increase speed and strength. My heart was brought up to the capacity to beat at up to 450 times a minute. That's inhuman!
The doc says that in 3 weeks, I'll be better than my old self.
Five weeks later
Argos 9
Spartan III Training Centre
I finally had my accuracy down pat. These eyes really are something. As I reloaded my MA5B assault rifle, I remembered a time when I could barely clip the foot of the training dummy back in Basic Training on Reach. Reach-.
I remembered my friends who had been stationed there before I left: Juan, Andrew, Robert, and all the others. They had undoubtedly been killed when the Covenant had glassed the planet. Turning back toward the Covenant training dummy, I blew the head off with a burst of full out automatic fire, only using about 10 rounds of 60.
Walking back to the base, I shot the bugs I occasionally saw on the Titanium A walls. Laughing at my newfound targets, I lazily sauntered the 12 mile stretch between the firing range and the armory.
Upon reaching the armory, I noticed a large supply transport unloading crates of weaponry. A private called over to me, "Hey, sir, wanna come meet your new weapons, commander sir?"
Since becoming a Spartan, my rank had improved dramatically. Remembering a time when I was a private, not too long ago, I cheerfully called over, "On my way, 'cause I love seeing my new toys!"
Upon reaching the weapons crates, I tore the lid off easily. What I saw surprised me: an MA5B combined with a plasma rifle.
"You see sir, the boys back on Earth found out how the things work about two weeks ago, and have been mass-producing these new pulse weapons ever since. They're a lot more accurate, and use plasma-charged bullets to pierce covvie armor."
"Mind if I try it out," I asked the 'weaponsmaster'.
"Go right ahead, sir. Not my place to tell you different," was the answer I received.
Lifting one of the pulse rifles, I slapped a clip and battery into the gun. I aimed at a large spider on the wall, and squeezed my finger. Without much kickback, the blue-glowing bullet raced toward its target, and-left a crater in the wall!
"Private, find my fellow Spartans and tell them about these mean motherfuckers, and I mean doubletime!
"Sir yes sir!" The private loped towards the vehicle training course.
1/2 a week later
Argos 9
Spartan III Parade Ground
Assembled, we were an impressive sight. Dressed in the newly developed MJOLNIRNX armor, and armed with phase rifles, just looking at the 349 of us would scare the hell out of covvies by the dozen!
As the commanding officer approached the dias, several men began walking through the ranks handing out small objects according to whose name was upon the object.
"Today, we will be introducing a new element to the Spartan projects," said General Stygia, the project commander.
"Previous tests concluded that the Spartan soldiers preformed more accurately with the AIs of ships. Thus, the UNSC techie branch developed a new toy for all of you. Personal AIs. Each of you has been assigned one, and will keep it with you for the rest of your existence. Each AI has been coordinated with your personality and traits. We hope to see that this experiment comes out with positive results."
By this time, the men had passed me a small chip. Inserting it into the side of my helmet, I prepared for the worst. Instead, a small hologram appeared on my HUD. It was a picture of a winged man with a sword on his back. He had white hair, blue eyes, and an expression on his face that made me feel at home.
"Hello Commander Michael Sheener, Spartan mark VII number 235. I will be your new partner on the battlefield.
"My name is Archangel."
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