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spartanIII project ch.3
Posted By: Hammer220
Date: 26 April 2005, 3:15 AM
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Anna shifted uneasy in her chair. For the first time, her and her team were rested, and invigorated. The flight to HighCom. in Sydney, Australia, was relatively peaceful. They had to detour from Africa, due to the Covenants destruction of New Mombasa, and had taken an hour of down time in Cairo, Egypt. Her team had hardly remembered the trip. They had all fallen asleep as soon as they had left Houston. Hammer was out the whole flight, but Anna and Ken had woke up in Seoul, South Korea, and had breakfast together. They had landed in Sydney in the wee hours of the morning, and were taken straight to Complex Beta 2 -- SongNem.'s main Tech-Ops Station. From there, they were taken to a high level conference room. When they were taken inside, they were overjoyed with the other guest that were there.
Their people....their family. Every Spartan-III combatant was there. They hadn't seen each other in over a month, thanks to various assignments after Spartan-117's return to Earth, and warning HighCom. of the Covenants knowledge of the Sol System. And now, they were all gathered there, together in one place, maybe for the last time. Their team, Spartan's -220, -212, and -210, Hammer, Anna, and Ken respectively, was highly admired among the Spartan-III family. Then again, no one who had met a Spartan-III had anything but respect for them. Anna watched as the Spartans shook hands with their reunited family, most talking about lost time. After about thirty minutes, a bell was sounded, calling the Spartans to attention.
"Spartans, Attention!!," came the voice of a Colonel that was on stage.
They all stopped and quickly strode to their seats, standing proudly. Anna made her way to her seat, and found Ken and Hammer already there next to hers. A highly decorated man stepped out onto the platform, and walked up to the podium. Anna gazed at the man, seeming so farmiliar, then it hit her. It was Lord Hood, Commander over the entire UNSC, and a highly respected naval officer. He had only been recently promoted, with Fleet Admiral Harper taking his place, but already had things moving into full gear. He was a great man, and a great tactician.
"At ease, soldiers," he said, and the entire room moved in unison.
"You are here today to finalize what you have been trained in for years now," Lord Hood began, "You are the best soldiers that Humanity has ever seen, and you are damn fine human beings. I know this is a bit sudden for some. Already, the covenant threat to Earth, and the entire Sol System, has moved you into situations, and missions that are months ahead of what was originally designed...including the reason why you've been brought here today." He signaled to an officer on his right, and the room went dark.
A holo projection screen came on behind him, and a display came up, with something that the Spartans had only been able to dream about -- til now.
"Project MJOLNIR, the last step in your training, and the greatest weapon you may ever weild," he told them, "which has recently been improved, upgraded, and refined beyond the pinnacle of its predicessor, the Mark V. Spartans, I give you the MJOLNIR Armor System Mark VI, your final step, and your greatest tool in this war."
The Spartans stood, some of them in awe, some in joy, and some bursting at the seams, ready to start the training for MJOLNIR. They all applauded, and Lord Hood had to calm them before beginning again.
"I understand your excitement, and your eagerness to begin, but please, exercise some control. Every minute counts theses days, so the quicker we finish your breifing, the quicker you soldiers can get out there and kick some covenant ass," Lord Hood said.
The Spartans cheered once more, but only for a breif second, then they were silent, and settled back into their seats. Anna was excited too. She was ready to be clad in the armor that every Spartan had waited for, and she saw that she was not alone. Hammer and Ken were about to come unglued off their chairs, but they held enough restraint to at least hear the Lord out.
"Now, the following is a quick overview of the schematics, different systems, and maintenance shakedown instructions to the Mark VI armor, just to give you alittle of what to expect," the Lord began.
As the Spartans watched quietly, the other directors on stage took turns showing the Spartans all the different components to MJOLNIR. Anna was getting antsy, and restless...many of them were. After almost an hour, which felt like an eternity to Anna, Lord Hood took the podium again. "Well soldiers, lets not draw this out anymore. Gear up, and report to Tech Station 43 at 1100 hours. Dismissed!!" Anna, Ken, and Hammer eagerly strode out the door, and to their respective quarters at the east wing of the complex. Anna was abuzz with anticipation, and she read the same feeling off of every Spartans face. They simply couldn't wait.....
Hammer was ready. Ever since the breifing, he was unable to stay still. And now, the entire group of Spartan-III's stood in a Tech Lab, with Suits of MJOLNIR armor in front of them. They all stood in line, most of them shifting, unable to calm their nerves. Surveying the group was a team of technicians, taking each Spartan's health, and body statistics. After the orientation was over, one of the lead technicians, a short, grey haired man, who looked to be in his mid-60's, stepped in front of them.
"I'm sure you've already been breifed on the schematics of the MJOLNIR armor suits," he said, "but now comes the hands on part. I need a volunteer."
Before he could finish the sentence, Hammer, Ken, Anna, and four other Spartans stepped forward -- just a split second before the whole group followed suit.
The technician smiled. "I know you are all eager to get started. You two.," he said, pointing to Hammer, and Ken, "Your first up." Hammer, and Ken stepped forward to the team of technicians. Hammer looked back, only to see Anna shooting him a look that could have obliterated a whole covenant armada.
"You guys suck," she mumbled, as they walked forward.
The technicians wheeled two white cylindrical med-tents over to them, and motioned for them to step inside.
"Good luck," Ken joked, as he stepped inside his tent. In part, Hammer knew, he wasn't kidding. They had been told of the dangers to wearing the MJOLNIR armor. They were mind-motion interfaced, transforming mere thought into action. If their bodies had not taken to the augmentations that had been done to them, they could be killed just by raising their arm. Thats what made the Spartans so much stronger. With ceramic encased skeletal structures, near pitch-dark enhanced vision, and over-primed strength, their bodies had been biologically engineered for just this occasion -- Project MJOLNIR. Not all had survived the augmentations, and some where left severly crippled, due to mis-developments in the enhancement process. The ones that hadn't made it fully functional, however, were some of the UNSC's greatest tacticians, and masterminds. They were still Spartans, and always would be.
Hammer stepped inside his med-tent, followed by three technicians with pieces of their crystaline/titanium undersuit that lined the inside of their armor plating.
"Strip," one of the techies said. Hammer listened, taking off his marines uniform. When he was done, the techies swarmed around him, pulling the armor suit over him. Once the undersuit was on, the technicians stepped out for the plating pieces.
"Stay absolutlely still," the first technician told him. Hammer did, but found himself admiring the undersuit to the armor. It was completely black, yet surprisingly comfortable. It was also thick, with what felt like almost a gel feel to the suit. The technicians returned, and placed the armor plating pieces on the ground, infront of the med-tent. A woman, the instructor out of the three technicians, looked him over, nodded with satisfaction, then had two other technicians disassemble the med-tent around him, and take it away. Hammer stood infront of the rest of the Spartan-III's, who were almost in a trance, staring at the black undersuit. Hammer managed to look over at Ken, who wore an undersuit of his own, and also had been removed from his med-tent.
"Stay still!," the woman techie barked.
Hammer looked forward again. The last thing he wanted to do was to get on the bad side of a techie, especially since his life was about to rest in their hands in a few moments. One small error in the armor, or unsecured plating, and he could be severly injured. The techinicians picked up the various pieces to his armor, and began assembling them on his undersuit. Hammer looked over out of the corner of his eye, and noticed they were doing the same to Ken.
"How we doing over there Ken?," Hammer asked, trying to stay still.
"Oh, I'm good, as long as Anna doesn't kill us when she gets hers," Ken said nervously.
The Spartans laughed, and Anna cracked an evil smile across her face, as if that was exactly her intentions. The technicians quickly assembled the leg, and torso pieces. The armor felt heavy, but Hammer already knew that would be fixed. When they had finished with his gauntlets, arm, and shoulder pieces, the technicians stopped.
"Alright, how do you feel so far?," the tech woman asked him.
"Its heavy ma'am, but I'll live," Hammer told her.
"Oh we'll take care of that, stand-by."
Hammer nodded, and the technicians grabbed the last three pieces. They placed the chest piece on, then wrenched it down tight, securing the shoulder plates, and the torso piece. After they had finished their work with that, they moved to his back piece. Hammer knew why it was one of the last pieces to the armor, mainly because of the circuitry, and power generator. They secured it tight to his undersuit, then latched it down to the front piece, secured it to the shoulders, and wrenched in the final security bolts. If the armor wasn't heavy before, it was now. Over a half ton of armor now pulled on Hammers body, and he began to feel more like a train car than a soldier. The main technician ran a wire from the computer systems, and plugged into a port in the back of his armor.
"Scanning MJOLNIR armor now," a man at the computer station said, "Analysis complete. Everything adds up. Looks like he's ok."
They did the same procedure for Ken, who looked a bit uncomfortable.
"Now, do not move, under any circumstances, until I tell you to," the woman told them. "Activating MJOLNIR armor now!!"
She tapped two buttons on their suits control panel, at the back. There was a surge throughout Hammers armor -- the energy sheild coming online. The generator in the back of his armor put off a gentle hum, then went silent. Hammers undersuit changed temperature, first heating, then cooling, and finally changing to match his body temperature. It was like wearing another layer of skin. If Hammer didn't know any better, he would have thought he was naked, especially with the change in the armor plating. It felt light as a feather now, as if he wasn't wearing more than an ounce of fabric.
"Ok, looks good. Now, fasten their helmets please," the woman techie told her team.
Two people stepped up to Hammer, told him to remain still, then placed a helmet, the final piece to MJOLNIR, over his head. As the two fastened the helmet to his neck, Hammers HUD, or Heads Up Display, came online. His vision hadn't changed, yet his radar motion-tracker, sheild meter, and tactical display all came up, as if it was displayed through his own eyes.
The technician pressed her lips together, "Ok, moment of truth. Spartans -220 and -210, without moving, think of gently lifting your right arm 90 degrees out in front of you."
Without warning, Ken, and Hammer's right arm spontaneously lifted out in front of them. Hammer stood there, amazed. A simple thought had raised his arm out, and held it steady at a straight angle out in front of his chest. The armors neural interface chaged their thoughts into motion as quick as lightning.
"Good. Now, talk. Try to say something," she told them.
"This is amazing," came Ken's voice, projected through his external speakers in his helmet.
"More than amazing," added Hammer, "it's perfect."
"Now," the woman cut in, "think of only speaking to each other."
"How you doing over there Ken?," Hammer said, and he saw a personal COM. channel open up to Ken's suit.
"Dude, this is great, how about you," Ken asked.
Hammer smiled, "Peachy."
The technician walked to their side, and told them, "Good. Reading show all COM. systems are functioning properly. Now, carefully move to the next station. We'll come back to the rest of your suits features in a moment."
Hammer, and Ken nodded, then awkwardly made their way over to the next station.
"Now, we need to get the rest of you suited up," the grey-haired man said, after standing to the side, watching his team work, "Who's ne--."
But before he finished, three Spartans dashed infront of him -- with Anna in the front.........
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