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The Hearts and Souls of Electric Sheep by The Invisable O
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The Hearts and Souls of Electric Sheep; Part One of Two
Date: 13 November 2006, 9:51 am
Do robots dream of electric sheep? And what do the sheep dream of?
Master chief petty officer John One-One-Seven stepped off the pelican onto the landing pad; the scorching heat from the engines flared his shields. Sergeant Johnson stepped off behind him. "Sir, the troops and I will reinforce the flanking positions." He turned towards the pelican "Alright ladies, we've got work to do." The marines jumped out and followed him down the ramp as he ran for the command post. The Master Chief paused for a moment of reflection before moving out. He looked up into the sky, searching for the space station Cairo, from which he had weeks ago jumped to 'return' the Covenant's bomb. It seemed like a lifetime ago that he had battled his way through the station to it's core so Cortana could disarm the bomb. He scanned his gaze to the left; looking for the orbiting Forerunner Ark, just in time to see a huge plasma projectile come from seemingly nowhere and hit the front of the pelican. It vaporized the forward half of it and threw him ten meters in the air and onto the barrier ringing the landing pad. The shock wave was incredible; the force of his impact had cracked the short barrier, and when he stood up chunks of it fell away to reveal the steel rebar inside. He turned around to survey the damage to the pelican only to see some grunts setting up a portable plasma turret on the balcony of a building adjacent to the landing pad. He ran towards the crater the plasma impact had left in the concrete and dove into it, pulling the charging handle on his battle rifle as some still-liquid concrete at the bottom of the crater flared his shields. He popped his head and the muzzle of the gun over the rim of the crater and began firing at the grunts with the turret. He took out the gunner and one of the support troops before the grunts figured out what was going on. One pointed it's plasma pistol at him and said "There, the Demon!" in it's shrill, panicked voice; then began shooting wildly, forcing the Master Chief to duck back down into the protection of the crater. When he poked his head out again, he saw to his dismay that three jackals had joined the grunts, one of whom had taken over for the dead gunner. In unison they all fired on him, touching off his shields and yet again forcing his head down into the crater. Unexpectedly, a booted foot not unlike his own crunched down into the shattered and blackened concrete next to his head. A thunderous cacophony of burst fire rang out over his head that was much too loud for a standard battle rifle, and the plasma fire from the balcony ceased. An armored hand grabbed his arm and lifted him effortlessly to his feet. "It appears that the Covenant have penetrated our lines, Master Chief." His rescuer was a man appearing not much older than thirty, wearing dark protective glasses and a long black duster or trench coat. The man spoke with an accent that Sergeant Johnson would have titled 'faintly English', and underneath the coat the man was wearing armor similar to the Master Chiefs, but with thinner armor plates that were anodized matte black, rather than reflective sage green. "You must be John, one of the surviving original Spartans. I am Major Leonidas, I am in command of the Spartan IIIs. Welcome to earth." he said. He was tall, at least two inches taller than John, and he didn't even have a helmet on. His dislike for physical contact was made obvious because he didn't offer him his hand, confirming his status as a Spartan. In his hands was a huge clunky-seeming weapon. "Do you like this? I'm field testing it for ONI." The Major had noticed him tilt his helmet to look at it. "It's a 14.5 by 114 millimeter sniper rifle with a twenty-eight round magazine and three round burst capability mounted under a semi-automatic 40 millimeter rocket-assisted high velocity grenade launcher. It's called an I.A.C.W., short for Individual Assault Combat Weapon."
"When do I get one?" John said, now viewing the massive weapon with respect.
"Soon, of course." Leonidas nodded.
They stood in silence for a moment, a smile hovering on the edge of Leonidas's lips. "Let's return to my Rhino. We need to work our way back to base."
"Rhino?" John asked.
"It's an experimental vehicle. Come with me." He turned and jogged down a different ramp that led away from where Sergeant Johnson had gone, and John hurried after him.
After jogging through a city block's worth of broken buildings, destroyed vehicles and mangled bodies, John said "Why are you wearing that coat, Major?"
"It's prototype 'soft' armor. Just as strong as MJOLNIR, it has a layer that reflects plasma attacks. I'm testing it for ONI." He explained, as they rounded a corner.
"Reflects?" John inquired.
"Yes. It absorbs some of the energy and uses it to redirect the plasma back in the general direction of it's source. Very effective." They rounded a second corner and Leonidas stopped. "Ahhh. Here she is. The new Rhino Heavy Reconnaissance Vehicle." The vehicle itself sat in the shadows of a building, and was different from any other UNSC design John had ever known. The front looked like that of a warthog, complete with massive tires and a curved windshield. The back; however, was a different story. It was widened out by about a meter and had two Scorpion track pods instead of rear wheels. The LAAG gun on the back was offset to the left on it's mount to make room a single Archer missile launch tube, with two reloads attached to the side of the vehicle. The barrels on the LAAG looked bigger too, and there were four of them instead of three. Attached to the roll bar was a weapon rack full of I.A.C.W.'s and M95 semi-automatic combat shotguns. On the passenger side of the windshield a large hole had been made to allow a small 15mm Gauss Cannon to poke out, with a rubber seal filling the gap around it. On either side of the hood, two six-barreled miniguns were mounted on armatures. Leonidas smiled "What a beautiful creature, eh! I'm testing it for-"
"ONI, I surmise. Is there anything you're not testing?" Interrupted John.
"Just Jenkins. Come on out here, Jenkins!" he yelled. A marine in black anodized armor stepped out from behind the vehicle, lowering a shotgun.
"Good to see you sir; Thought I'd lost you." The man said.
"Your not that lucky, corporal. Now get yourself on that LAAG, so we can leave." Leonidas ordered. Jenkins ran around behind the truck and jumped into the back.
"Can't wait to use these missiles, Sir!" he said as he stepped up to the gun.
"Wanna drive, John?" Leonidas smirked.
"I think I'll watch and learn." he said, and jumped into the passenger seat. Odd, the Major had used his first name. The Gauss rifle had controls and readouts similar to the ones mounted on warthogs, except the movement was more restricted. "What are those miniguns for?" he asked.
"Me." Leonidas smirked. He pulled the steering wheel towards himself and the guns elevated, then pushed forward and they depressed. He then took a key out of his pocket and inserted it into the side of the steering column to release the safeties on the vehicles oversize power plant. The electric motors hummed to life, and Leonidas slammed down on the accelerator pedal, forcing John back into his seat with momentum as they tore out of the alley the Rhino had been parked in.
"Did anything happen while I was gone, Jenkins?" Leonidas yelled as they roared down the street, the treads spitting crushed concrete and other debris out behind them.
"Some ODST's commed for help. They're pinned down in an office building five blocks south of here." Jenkins reported.
"Heh, looks like the second best of the best need a little help." Leonidas snorted. It appeared that he, like John, had experienced their disdain for the Spartan program. John leaned back to talk to Jenkins "Corporal, do you have a brother?"
"No sir."
John nodded, puzzled. Of course there could be hundreds of men with the name Jenkins in the UNSC, but this one looked just like a soldier he remembered from Halo 04. Thinking on this, he looked up towards the sky just in time to see a huge plasma projectile like the one that had taken out his pelican slam into a building that was not too far down the street from them. "Watch your heads, boys." Leonidas muttered to himself as he sped on, passing right under massive chunks of the building as they came crashing down into the street. One of the pieces slammed down right in front of them and Leonidas swerved to avoid it, the hubcap of the left tire brushing so close that it shot sparks in the air.
"Where the hell did you learn to drive, sir?" Jenkins yelled over the din of the falling concrete and steel.
"Never had the time corporal, I'm just learning as I go." Leonidas yelled back as he swerved drunkenly around a destroyed Wraith mortar tank in the road. "Lucky for you, I'm a fast learner!"
"We're coming up on those ODST's sir. Let's get ready to rock!" Jenkins said, as he energetically cycled the action on the oversize LAAG. They came to the end of the debris-littered street they had been using and came out into a large intersection that was full of massed grunts, jackals, and a solitary elite. Jenkins immediately opened fire, and, to John's surprise, the gun started to shoot what appeared to be miniature high-explosive tank shells. Bodies flew everywhere as the shells exploded, churning the aliens into a bloody pulp. John quickly targeted with his gauss rifle and took down the single elite, the depleted uranium round passing through his body without even slowing as he fell to the ground with a howl. Leonidas spun the Rhino slightly to the left to bring his own guns to bear on the mass of enemies. He grinned and pressed on triggers behind the steering wheel, unleashing and twelve-thousand-round-a-minute barrage of 7.62mm tungsten slugs. Seconds later, under the combined might of the four weapons, the crowd of about two-hundred aliens were dead and the comm was spouting thanks from the trapped troopers. Leonidas grabbed the mike off the dashboard and clicked it on. "No problem, boys. Do you need transport up there? Your warthogs look a little trashed."
"No sir. We've got incoming pelicans. Thanks again!" they responded, and two soldiers stood up in one of the windows and waved. "Well, that was easy." John remarked; that was the fastest he had seen two-hundred odd covenant killed so far.
The comm twittered for attention and Leonidas picked up the mike. "Rhino seven here, go ahead command." he said. A deep voice came on and announced "Major, we need you to return to base for at least a six hour relief. You've been out there for three days straight without sleep. Over."
"Well, If I must. Out." He sighed. "Make sure that Archer missile is ready Jenkins, I don't want to be caught with my pants down if a Seraph starts chasing us." Leonidas had been itching to use that missile all day, and kind of wanted to be chased by large aircraft.
"Here we go." he said, and floored it through the carnage outside the office building. Blue blood and pink flesh was churned up like a bow wave as they swept by, Jenkins on the look out for survivors of the holocaust.
a few blocks later, Leonidas rounded a bend while he was looking at a digital map and ran straight into a hunter. It had been facing away from them when he struck, and it's head snapped back and hit the hood with enough force to dent it as it's body collapsed. After a few seconds of silence, Jenkins asked "Is it dead?". As if on cue, the hunter reared up between the miniguns, in just the perfect spot so it was in all of their dead zones. With lightning speed Leonidas stood up and pulled two huge and incredibly ancient revolvers from holsters at his side that John had not noticed; he instantly shot the hunter in each eye. It fell back, dead before it hit the ground. He twirled the pistols on his fingers and returned them to their holsters, and now John also noticed the grip of a good-sized sword protruding from his belt. "It certainly is now." he said, and sat back down.
"You sure are full of surprises, Major." John remarked.
"Of course. You know that that's how you survive in this war." he said, and gunned the engine. They shot forward through the streets, performing what could only be called 'drive-bys' on the scattered covenant forces along the way back to the base. As they neared it, the Covenant forces started getting thinner and the human resistance started getting stronger. Eventually they came to a roadblock/checkpoint that would allow them into the immediate vicinity of the base. They slowed down by a block of concrete that seemed to be serving as a makeshift checkpoint booth and Leonidas presented the guard with his hand. The guard pressed it onto a small electronic unit he was carrying and checked the readout, pronouncing them clear. Leonidas accelerated towards the large courthouse that seemed to be serving as a temporary base for local human forces. He swung around in the curved driveway and drove up to a soldier standing by the doors that led into the building. Everyone hopped out and approached the doors as the soldier walked towards the Rhino. Leonidas threw him the key and started inside, then turned around and said "Don't touch any of the buttons in that thing, okay?" The soldier threw a salute and said "Yes, sir!". Leonidas smiled and walked inside the building, John and Jenkins following him. The once grand main atrium was now cluttered with men and women talking on comms and coordinating ground assaults. A large man wearing four stars walked up to Leonidas and shook his hand.
"Damn good to see you Major; I was afraid I'd never hear from you again." The general released him and turned to John. "And who would this good Spartan be?"
"This is Master Chief Petty Officer John One-One-Seven." Leonidas responded.
"Nice to finally meet one of you guys." The general said, and held out his hand. John took it hesitantly and tried to provide a grip that was strong and firm, yet would not crush the General's hand into a pulp. The general winced and released his hand, shaking it in the air. "That's quite the grip you have there Master Chief." he exclaimed. Leonidas laughed.
"Major, go get some rest. I don't want you keeling over in the middle of a battle, now do I?" The general walked back over to his desk. "We'll see you, Jenkins." Leonidas said and walked towards an elevator in the back of the room, John in tow. They stepped into the elevator and Leonidas said "Seventh floor, please." The doors slid shut and the elevator smoothly ascended into the building. "Well now, John; it looks like it's time for some well earned R and R." Leonidas remarked, cracking the seals on his gloves. John nodded his accession as the elevator stopped. The doors slid smoothly open to reveal a long hallway that looked more like it should be on a starship than anything else.
"This building has been reinforced and 'redecorated' since the military occupation; you might find your room a little cramped." Leonidas said as he gestured for John to pick a room. "All the rooms on this floor are empty. Choose whichever one you want." John simply turned to the closest door on the right and said "Here." Leonidas nodded and started down the corridor. John pushed the button by the door and entered the dark room. The door slid shut behind him as he started groping for a control panel. He found one and toggled the lights on to reveal a sparsely furnished room with an odd looking rack and a tray of weird tools in the corner. To anyone else the rack would have seemed strange; but to John it was familiar.
He sighed as he recalled that the rack was the type he had used on Reach to hang his armor up. He stripped it off with practiced ease and hung it lovingly on the queer-looking rack. He grabbed the standard issue UNSC dress uniform lying on the bed and slid into it. Odd; it fit like it was tailored for him. He was about to lie down on the bed when a sudden curiosity struck him; he had to know more about Major Leonidas. He sat down at the computer terminal in the corner and typed in a command for Major Leonidass military records along with his own 9th-level clearance code. What came up was a mission list longer than John's own, but with ninety percent of the details blacked out. The weirdest thing was that his 9th-level code should have displayed his complete record; not this butchered facsimile. Then John noticed the blue-level clearance symbol at the top of the report; only certain admirals and choice ONI officers had that clearance. The record also stated that Major Leonidas had over one hundred years of service with the UNSC. Strange, there was no way he was a day over 30, maybe 35. No ONI produced cover story had this many discrepancies, which meant that it could be faked or possibly true. Well, maybe not all of it. He dug deeper into what parts of the record he could, looking on a hunch. Yes, the Major had been at Reach during it's fall to the Covenant. The parts about his final escape were unspecified, but it did say that he had fought in the capital city and was forcibly taken into orbit by an ONI stealth reconnaissance vehicle ; he hadn't wanted to leave anyone behind. After that incident the record became unclear. John sighed again, it was all very confusing. While much of his mission records had been blacked out, most of the butchering had taken place in the first parts of the record, the parts detailing his background before military service. It did sat he had transferred to ONI on July 7th, 2499. Puzzled, he tried to dig deeper, using some techniques that Cortana had showed him about hacking. Try as he might, he simply could not penetrate the firewalls to the next level of clearance. If ONI hadn't taken away Cortana to retrieve and analyze everything she had learned, he would have the Major's full file by now. Well, there was always the one most difficult and chancy way to get the information that almost no one knew; John could ask him.
He stood up and stretched his tired muscles. This might get interesting if the Major told him anything. Well, might as well try. John walked to the door and it slid open. He started walking down the hall, looking at the digital ID plates on the sides of the doors as he went. At number twenty-one he saw "Major Bernhard Leonidas" and stopped. Gathering some resolve, he pushed the privacy buzzer. Before he even let go of the button, Leonidas's voice spoke from the small speaker on the ID plate; suspiciously missing an English accent, "Come in, Master Chief." and the door slid open.
Authors Note:
I hope this is well recieved. While some parts in this may seem a trifle confusing now, or outlandish (eg: the Major's coat), just stay tuned for part two.
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