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Halo Battle Cry Chapter 1: God Rested
Posted By: Daniel Johnson<danieljohnson86@hotmail.com>
Date: 21 August 2002, 8:17 pm
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Jenny was happy, finally. After 34 years of searching she'd found him. Intelligent, handsome, kind, understanding and best of all he loved her. He was brilliant, Alex was an ex-Marine, he had taken hounrable discharge because he didn't share the beleifs of the Govenments idea to stop support to the 3rd world. A man with morals, dignity and a respect for people.
She new it wasn't completely real of course, he was just too perfect, too fautless.
Jenny was a genetic analysyst for a phamicutlcle company, or at least that's what her C.V stated, she was living a lie. She really worked for "Reach". "Reach" was a sercret government divison, designed to save mankind. They were creating a new solider, it was very early days, but the threat of a Alein attack was on the government's mind. Reports form the pioneer ships had been docterd for the public. They had stumbled on something that would change our world. Only the most inportant employ's at "Reach" had acsess to the reports. A picture from a long range scanner of a ship, was the only thing of intrest in the file, Jenny had sneaked a peek. The ship was very advanced, purple and about 15ft long. The next picture showed the same ship but with purple flashes from a turret, it had destroyed our probe with devestating force. The probe had been sent out many years before and was the furthest man-made object from Earth.
Earth was at crises point, over population was critcle, even with the new laws it was hopeless, 50 years previously the law wouldn't of been considerd, but it was desperate now. Only people with a I.Q. of 130 + would be allowd to have children. After years of rioting and outrage, it was past out of desperation. The public were persuded with the claim that their genetic information would be stored and when we found a new home they would be ressurected. It didn't go down well but by that time nobody cared. Food was sparse.
Jenny hadn't thought much about the photo's scince meeting Alex, who was she trying to kid, she hadn't thought about anything scince Alex.
After about 3 months of being happy together she began ot be sucspeicious of his authenticity, she had taken a hair sample from his pillow. What she found was just a answer to the question she had been asking. He wasn't blessed with his gifts, he had been given them.
Daniel Johnson
He was one of the "messiah" program. A series of genetic experiments designed to develop a new variation of human being. They were designed for different purposes, military, politics and the space program. The project was disbanded due to fierce opposition. The children created escape and were never seen again. He was one of only five still thougt to be alive. Wheither he knew was another matter. He talked about his parents with great respect, he had no idea that he had been adopted. She wasn't going to tell him. It made no sense to.
They lived happily for many years, little changed, she spent 4 fours working on Reach and it's secret purpose. The scientist were very surprised when they found they had reached perfection so quickly. Jenny new why, early on in the relationship after she had discorverd Alex's true nature she spliced in his gentic structure, after this only a few minor changes were needed..She loved her work and they were on verge of a breakthrough they had finished creating the perfect soldiers genetic code. Soon they would start the cloning process. 25 children would be created, all exactly the same, each would need to mentors, Jenny and Alex chose the first one they saw. They were only meant to be monitering the child through it's education and training. Instead the maternal pull was too much and they became parents.
John aged very quickly, he was given a specific genetic make up, that allowd him to grow at twice the normal rate, the military wanted solidiers fast. Also gravity on "Reach" had always been kept at a constant of 0.8 of Earths. It made work easier and more enjoyable.
At 6 six years old he could out smart most teenagers and looked like one. He was well behaved and enjoyed all the things a geneticly enhanced super solider should. Strangly he never played with guns our toy weapons, he already understood them and respected them. He would play with his friends, never leaving Reach and never being aware of his true purpose.
When he was 12 he underwent the first in a series of enhancments, the first was the most difficult and dangerous, 50% of the clones had died at this point. It could only be done when the subject had stopped growing, it was to replace the bones in his body with a high composite steel, inplanet his neurol lace which allowed him to comunicat with machines and support A.I. and it also increased his reflexes. The H.U.D would be added in six months when he started combat training.
He made it through the ordeal and rested. For now he was the strongest man who ever lived.
Daniel Johnson
Chapter 2: Combat Training.
The artificle light flickerd on and it almost seemed to much, his trophies seemed to generate their own light. His stay here at reach was coming to a close and he took a final look at his rewards for they were to be packed away.
"Winner of the Rookie Battle" his first trophy he won when on his first training session. He was 13 and was a natural, that was 7 years ago. Countless more sessions and countless more trophies. However he now understood how little they were worth. If he didn't succeed in the finals he would never become a soilder he would be sent to Earth as a reject, away from Jenny and Alex. He knew very little actual information about Earth, if he succeded then he would probably visit one day.
"The Trials" the flashing red sign, did nothing to boost John's confidence, the automatic doors flung open to reveal a huge arena, with one major thing missing the crowd. Of course all of the test team were there but that was only around 50 people, he had been dreaming of this day for years, but he had always imagined a huge baying crowd like a Roman Gladiator Game at the Coliseum he had read about. He didn't fully understand why he assumed that a crowd would be there. But never the less it made the whole experience much more personal, which can't be a bad thing he thought.
A huge auditorium with steep inescapable walls with the small audience held in a glass pod on the north wall. Inside was a series of structures and buildings, their purpose was pretty obvious, each was designed to test them to the limits. Speed, endurance, intelligence, knowledge and heart.
He and his comrades had been kept in the dark about the trials, if they weren't a surprise they would be worth nothing. The scientists wanted to see how the new "Spartans" as they came to be known, reacted to all situations including moral ones.
The cover up operation back on Earth was begging to fail, people were asking more and more questions and were getting more upset. They wanted to talk to their families on the outer colonies but of course there were no outer colonies not any more. Finally it wasn't just the conspiracy theorist that suspected something when military recruitment went into overdrive. They were accepting more and more, and investing millions into the development of war-class ships. Leaving a definite lack of good soldiers. They needed men that could command and lead otherwise the rookies were cannon fodder. They needed Master Chiefs.
He was guided to his new amour and given a quick briefing on its use and capabilities, each were able to choose there suit all were the same in all but colour. Green he chose the suit and the technician entered his measurement in to the computer, the suit spasmed into shape that mirrored his body. This would be the last suit he ever wore.
With the 10 men he had grown up with, they stood in a line, equal before the scientists. John heard two things he never heard before, one the air conditioning, it was loud but he had been here for his entire existence, he shouldn't even notice it. The second was so loud he almost said something but just as he was going to he realized what it was, his heart, he wasn't panicking his heart thumped at a super slow 40BPM. But he could hear everything if he concentrated he could here the valves in his body flap open and closed. Yet things of normal decimal level didn't strain his ears. It was then he noticed another thing. His eyesight was now much clearer, with better colour saturation and contrast. This suit had enhanced his sense and even his intuition.
"The first test" said the un-locatable person. At that precise moment time slowed, a small hatch opened in-front of each of the amour clad men, a ball shot out, it was rotating with several spikes jutting out at different angles, the task was clear, catch, the execution wasn't as simple. But before he could contemplate the task and even the consequences of not catching the object correctly (it would surely take his arm of) it was already in his hand. He looked to the left the blue figure (he couldn't recognize his friends anymore) was on the floor clutching his hand that was lucky to still be there (this suit did more than he thought). Three of the others were walking towards the door, as private orders of dismissal were issued, the rest stood, stunned with the object in their hands. John was upset; the people he had grown up with had been rejected because they didn't catch a ball. But before he could dwell on the situation he was being ferried on to the next task.
This was the last thing he expected, but the worst that he feared, each of his companions dismissed without trail. He dreaded this, for they were singling one of them out. Only one would for-fill their dreams to fight for mankind. They would discover which one was best for the job and clone him into an army. For all of the variants that were left had slight differences in their genetic structure, only one was good enough. He would have to fight for it, his dream.
The second task was much more conventional, an assault course, the 6 remaining variants, stood on the dotted line. "Go," said the unidentifiable voice, the 6 ran faster and faster, the first piece of the course was a 500 meter run around the perimeter of the arena, they all finished with world standard times, John was in 2nd place and confinesd he would be dismissed at the line. Wrong only the person in last place quietly walked to the door. The remaining 5 walked to a monolithic structure, a 50ft high climbing wall. They all knew how important it was to reach the top first. But not all will make it, nor will the ones that do, for-fill the task.
They started climbing, they all flew up the structure, with Red and Blue in the lead, Green, Yellow, and Black were lagging behind. Red and blue were not winning because of their athletic ability, they weren't being careful. They didn't look at the holds, and sure enough red slipped, and fell. John caught a glimpse of him as he fell, he hit the ground with a sickening thud, and with a flash of yellow light, his suit started glowing, within seconds, he was standing, amazed at how he had survived the fall. He walked.
John was behind, Blue was at the top and the others were close behind. He had to do something special to catch up, even it wasn't clear if he would still be in the clear. He had to try, he summoned all of his strength, all of his determination and leaped, 15 ft he soared threw the air, up and over Yellow and Black, and they stopped dead in their tracks. Amazed what he had done, he took second place.
The third trial, sharp shooting. Blue, picked up the sniper rifle, zoomed and put 4 shots perfectly into the moving target. In fact it looked like one hole, when they realized that he had put the other two bullets through the initial shot hole.
John repeated.
4th trial, morals. He entered an isolation area while Blue tried his luck at the new test. He walked out, dejected. John tried his luck. He sat down and looked at the monitor in front of him. This was undoubtedly the most uncomfortable room he'd ever been. I small room, only big enough for a small, a monitor, and his chair. He stood be the chair until he was told to sit. Make a good impression he thought.
The monitor flickered on and told him politely to sit. The sweet voice sounded familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it. He answered a series of questions, math, English, science, philosophy, and field medics. He did well. Then it came, the money shot, the big one the one that would decide his fate forever. The image on the monitor cleared from the last question to reveal Jenny. His mother. She looked at him and told him....
"John you have a choice, stay with me. Or become a solider and have your family here at Reach erased from your memory along with the co-ordinates of Earth. To protect it if you are captured. A family and a happy life to remember is a distraction, in times of real battle, you must never dream, or lose concentration, becomes someday or lives may depend on it. What will it be John"
Without hesitation he spoke with a cool sense of regret.
"Do it".
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