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The Second Ring (Part 3)
Posted By: Jason<promodo@tampabay.rr.com>
Date: 30 November 2003, 3:57 AM
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Continuing the story, Chief Mendez and the MC are now aboard a Corvette speeding through slipspace toward the mysterious second ring world, holding a planet within its rotating exo-skeleton of machinery and mysterious technology.
~~~~~
Chief Petty Officer Mendez. The man behind the machine that had single-handedly taken down the Covenant on Earth. If Dr. Halsey was the mothering mad scientist playing God with the Spartans, then CPO Mendez was most certainly the father and lord of the Spartan program's military manor.
In a matter of seconds, John was six years old all over again, staring up at the monster who would, in his earliest years of life, teach him everything that he had grown to value in his existence.
The tower, however, had taken some hits at its foundation. The man standing before the MC now used a cane in transport, his eyes half-closed and the right one glassed over with a cataract. His hair, shorn short as it had always been, was receding along his scalp, and turning deep shades of grey as it blended up into the jet black that still remained.
Some things, however, would never change. The sharp attitude, the overbearing sense of presence, and the unparalleled strength held in his frame would always stand out to John. Even the way the CPO walked seemed to have purpose and bend the tides of some important matter later to come.
Standing sharp at attention, the Spartan didn't even realize that in his age and armor, he now had a good two feet on Mendez. As the aging Marine approached, he gave a grunt of approval, before shooting a sharp salute to the Chief. "At ease, Master Chief. I'm no longer Marine Corps personnel. I was Double-D'd after the war on Earth, when those sorry-looking sons of bitches took my leg out of commission," his features softened for a bare moment, before he took up that stone visage again. "That does not mean I no longer live by the corps, though. You're late, son. Are you getting sloppy?"
The Chief lowered his arm, his 'ease' seeming sharper than most men on parade. Regardless, he now took a breath, before asking with a hushed voice. "Chief Mendez, what happened to you? I heard you were on Reach when it was taken by the Covenant." Saying those words seemed to come at a personal loss to the Chief.
Mendez stepped forward, a faint limp as he disregarded his cane, shaking his head. "I was. You forget that the Spartan program was thousands of feet under the surface. It got hot in the zone, but a few of us made it out. Not many, but a few." The CPO turned then, and started to pace toward the main whole of the ship. "C'mon, John. Walk with me."
The Master Chief was surprised to hear such a cordial name come from Mendez, but followed like an obedient son of the Corps should.
The aging teacher continued as he paced, his tone flat, "Only six of us made it out of that mess, John. The six hardest, toughest, meanest sons of bitches on the planet that had the luck to be underground at the time. We all managed to get into a high velocity pod along one of channels leading through the extra-coronal transit network that covered Reach for safe transport of nukes and the likes. We made it to the other side of the rock just as the Covenant started glassing the surface over HQ, and just escaped the atmospheric collapse in a transport vessel. We floated in the debris around Reach and watched it burn, John. I think that's what spurred me and my Spartans to survive."
The Master Chief stopped in half step, the words striking him deep. Questioning, his voice reached out to Mendez, "Sir, are you saying that my brothers and sisters made it o-"
The CPO cut him off, "No, John. They were in the HQ, defending it tooth and nail until the nukes fell. No, I'm talking about the next batch of warriors. There are only three of them left, now that the Terran Earth campaign is over, but they're the toughest kids you've ever seen, I promise you that."
To alliterate such, the pressure door before them slid open with a hiss, and three sharp reports came at once toward them. "Mr. Mendez, sir!"
The CPO turned to the Chief with a smirk. "Took me three months to get them to stop calling me 'Chief'."
Stepping in, he gave a sharp salute to the three young men standing before him, all of whom quickly eyed up John in his MJOLNIR armor. Likewise, the three of them were retrofitted with a similar suit. Each removed their helmets as they stared half in awe of the Master Chief, who returned their stares quite openly.
"Master Chief. Meet the Spartan-II second generation class. The three remaining soldiers of my special corps."
The first two struck John with the impression of double vision, before he realized he was staring at twins. Each quickly snapped a salute as the Chief looked to them, speaking in unison, "Master Chief, sir!"
The third, presented with dark brown skin almost touching at midnight and a smoothly shaved head, had a serious look on his face, but a powerful sense of pride in the way he sharply snapped to attention. "Master Chief, sir. I am Marine First Sergeant Spartan-204, squad commander of the Spartan-IIb unit." The sergeant gave a sharp turn to his right, facing the other, two, and spoke in a deep, baritone shout. "Sound off, marines!"
The first of the twins snapped to sharp attention, "Marine Gunnery Sergeant Spartan-223, Master Chief, sir!"
His brother followed suit quickly, "Marine Gunnery Sergeant Spartan-224, Master Chief, sir!"
The Chief gave a sharp salute to the men, and gave an abrupt order to go back to their business. The two brothers continued the hand to hand exercises they were doing, giving John's eye implants a work out as they blurred quickly. 204 went back to a weight bench, where presses were lifting seven hundred and forty pounds.
The MC looked to Mendez, furrowing his brows. "Chief, weren't the Spartan's under a Naval operation? Why are they Marines?"
Mendez gave a sigh, giving John's armor a firm slap on the shoulder. "Times change, and so does funding. The only branch that had the funding for five more suits of MJOLNIR was the Marine Corps, so that's where we went on Earth. Five suits were made and retrofitted with adaptive technology to upgrade them to Mark VI level. They aren't in the same armor, Chief, but they've got the same heart."
The Chief gave a nod of his head, before he asked with a frank tone, his voice sharp. "Pardon my forwardness, Chief, but what in the hell are we doing here?"
Mendez gave the sharp line of his brow a furrow once more, before he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with a grizzled hand. "We're going to this new Halo, John... and we don't know what we're going to find there."
~~~~~~~
So ends part three.
I know you all want action, so hold tight... a Covenant extremist religious cult might have their eyes on this new ring world, and the Chief won't lie down and let them take it... nor will the Spartan-IIb's.
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