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Order of the Seraphim Chapter 4
Posted By: Jehkoh<Jehkoh@aol.com>
Date: 3 July 2002, 3:31 am


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To stand on the side of the righteous is to do justice

- Broken Wings -

Date: 5/25/2558
Location: Underground Lab at coordinates 034-689-001
Time of Day: 6:04 P.M.

ÝÝÝÝÝThe ground before them lifted upward, forming a steep ramp which concealed a rectangular hole in the ground. "This is it," Wolfgang told former Lieutenant-Colonel McGrath and the Master Chief. Wolfgang lead the Master Chief down the hole, followed by McGrath and his marines as well as the other two Spartans. As they all walked down the ramp Wolfgang told John, "I couldn't find the others, Chief. Hopefully they weren't killed." John shook his head, relinquishing the thought of any of them being dead. Wolfgang went on, "Probably got caught up in battle with the Cov-Reinforcements that were approaching. Y'know, by the edge, on the fray." John responded logically, "If that were the case, and they had sought out refuge after the battle, they would have contacted us." Wolfgang was lost in his thoughts after that statement while John suddenly realized that what he said would hide a much deeper meaning.
ÝÝÝÝÝIt was nightfall by the time everyone had become situated to the underground base/lab testing facility. John had acquainted himself earlier with the other two Spartans whom he knew as Cyril and Adam. Darkness swallowed the room that John resided in, his body seated on the end of his bunk. The man's face was buried in his hands as his mind faltered for answers. He sat there for quite some time not making a sound, barely breathing, pondering why the betrayal of McGrath's Marines ever occurred. It seemed absurd to him to leave an ally behind; friends behind. John hadn't known any of the men, but he was damn sure they knew eachother. How could Krous have done that? he thought. A visual of the Grunts appeared to him, sparking another question in his mind. Why hadn't the Covenant just glassed the planet? Why send their forces down here for so long? John took note of the fact that the only other time this had happened was when the Covenant desired something for themselves, something critical; Halo. Another question formed from the depths of his mind. Do they want Earth? Too much to fast, he thought. John laid his body flat on the bed hoping to sleep so that his brain could come up with some answers to his questions.
ÝÝÝÝÝSilence filled the air. John noticed the silence, but why? He wasn't entirely asleep. Something felt off, but he figured he only felt that way because he was shaken up from today's betrayal. Then it hit him; literally. John was thrown from his bed and ended up rolling on the ground. His eyes opened as his hands felt over the smooth surface of the concrete floor, his skin clinging to the cold stone. Using his arms, John pushed his body off the ground. A knee nailed John in the center of his back just as he had risen to his feet, causing him to stagger forward into the arms of the stranger that was in front of him. John could see in the dark thanks to his genetic advancements, but light was still his favorite choice for when he battled against an opponent; especially two of them. The arms around him constricted, cutting off his air while causing his muscles to cramp.
ÝÝÝÝÝA vein protruded from John's neck as he summoned up strength, his face turning into a dark red. John's head went rearing back a bit then slammed forward into his aggressor's forehead; once, twice, and finally a third time, causing the man to loose his grip altogether. He had heard the crunch and felt the dent he made in the man's skull. The arms around John unfastened, allowing him to drop to his feet, where as he instinctively ducked, feeling the whoosh of air pass over his head. John glanced up to see a tensed arm and fist where he had just stood. The Spartan of lore let out a heavy breath as sweat began to appear across his body and face; not a flood of perspiration, but just enough to cool him down. John's upper body leaned closer to the ground to gain balance while he planted his palms on the floor. His hands stuck to the ground while his left leg, a mass of tendons and muscles, ripped through the air behind him, making contact with the sternum of the second aggressor. The man flew backwards without having his feet drag on the ground, giving John just enough time to back up from the both of them.
ÝÝÝÝÝLuckily for John there was enough space in the room that he wasn't against a wall. By the time John had regained his own posture the other two men had picked themselves off the floor. His eyes darted from the first man to the second man, sizing them up. He then recognized the second man; he was Adam. John still couldn't figure out who the other man was, knowing it wasn't Wolfgang, because their body sizes didn't match. Perhaps Cyril? John thought. He didn't waste any more time looking over his opponents; now John was going return the favor they had so willingly given him. John held his arms out before him, increasing the tension in his muscles, flexing them as he brought them closer to his body. He could feel the adrenaline coursing throughout his body as his breathing became faster and heavier. In an attempt to regulate his breathing, he drew air through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, allowing him to moderate his cardio. Muscles bulked all over his arms, his pecs stiffening ready to take any blows that they may receive. The veins on his entire body were poking through the skin, showing what great health he was in and the physical superiority he was about to unleash. Even though the two John were about to fight were Spartans as well, no doubt trained (to some extent) better than he was, John was positive he was going to win.
ÝÝÝÝÝHis feet lifted off the ground as he pumped his legs, his teeth gritting in fury, running for the stranger who had first attacked him. John raised his right arm, the muscles of the forearm well developed and bulking as well, a constant throbbing present in John's body as he continued to pursue his enemy, his digits closing tightly. He could hear Adam's footsteps behind him, knowing he would be caught in the back again if he didn't act fast. John had false intentions of making contact with the aggressor's upper torso. The other man brought his own arms up in an X-formation over his chest in hopes of protecting himself from John's blow. All the good it did as John suddenly dropped toward the ground in a crouching position, never even landing a hit on the stranger. The aggressive stranger looked down at John, blinking as he did so. What a mistake that was. John performed a sweep kick by holding his left leg out and above the ground a bit, pushing off the concrete floor with his arms into a spin, hoping to knock both of his opponents to the ground as he rotated. John's eyes caught Adam walking right into him. He felt two pillars fall, then another pair of hulking legs lose stability, giving him his cue. John's right leg sprung upwards, lifting him off of the ground, soon stretching fully as his left leg came close to his body and coiled. Two men laid on their backs on the floor wondering how they made the mistake of letting John get the upper hand.
ÝÝÝÝÝWhile John was in the air he raised his right hand above his head, forming his fingers into a fist, the knuckles turning white under the intense pressure John was holding in them as his body soon soared over Adam's. John descended toward the ground bringing his fist forward, anger turning into a scream as John roared at his prey, the veins became more pronounced, the skin stretching to contain the swelling muscles. He could feel a burning sensation run through his body as he fell toward his victim. John noticed that while he was going down, the stranger had lifted himself off of the ground. John landed on Adam with his coiled right leg, his entire fist passing through the center of Adam's body, penetrating the solar plexus. Adam let out a curdling scream, his limbs flailing in vain because he was pinned to the ground by John. John grabbed an end of the torn skin, ripping it downward toward the waist of Adam, exposing the stomach and a few other vital organs. He rose to his feet quickly, lifting up his left Greek column of a leg which all of his weight was forced onto now. There was a sudden blur that resulted in blood and other juices spouting from Adam's stomach that could be heard with a deafening crack as the concrete below the cowardly soldier split apart under John's foot.
ÝÝÝÝÝJohn was now coated in sweat, his breathing heavy because of the excess of adrenaline running through his blood stream. John pulled his foot from the mess he had just made of Adam, his chin tucked in as he stared at the stranger in the darkness with his eyes narrowed, setting his bloody foot back onto the floor. A blinding flash erupted around him causing light to fill the darkness. His hazel pupils narrowed as they took in the light. "What's goin' on!?" yelled a voice from a figure on the other side of the room who was soon followed by another man. John's eyes shifted from the stranger to the two men as they approached him and his attacker, realizing they were both Wolfgang and Cyril. So, this guy isn't Cyril after all... thought John gladly. "Holy shit, what the hell happened here, John!?" asked Cyril who was currently gawking at the mutilated corpse of Adam. The stranger must have been struck with terror, because he never attempted to flee while Wolfgang and Cyril were present. "These two attacked me in my sleep, Wolf. I don't know who this guy is," John shouted toward Wolfgang in a rather expressive manner of anger as he pointed to the other man, "but he tried double-teaming me with Adam." Cyril, who had finally picked his jaw up off the floor, came up from behind the petrified viewer, grasping his left arm and turning it backwards behind the man's head, forcing a small amount of weight onto the wrist and shoulder. "On your knees," Cyril told him. The man flinched in pain and let out a small cry as he was pushed to the floor, lying on his knees with his head down in humiliation and terror.
ÝÝÝÝÝWolfgang walked around the kneeling figure to face him, shaking his head in disgust. "I know who this is. His name's Janus. He's a Spartan, but it doesn't show, does it?" John replied, "Not a bit." Wolfgang drew closer to Janus, standing over him in a dominant manner. "Who let you in here? Did Adam let you in?" Janus, with his knees still on the ground and his head lowered, nodded. "Figures," Wolfgang said with a hint of anger in his tone. Wolfgang walked off, exiting through the door from which he had originally came. John looked at the man kneeling before him, now knowing that his name was Janus. John spoke inquisitively, "Do you know where Cortana's located?" Janus remained silent, his eyes and head lowered as not a single sound escaped his mouth. A long period of silence occurred. "I don't think so, buddy. You're gonna answer," Cyril boomed as he twisted his victim's arm, causing Janus to let out a scream. Janus gave in, only seeming to respond to pain. "She's at the base in Machakos," he exlaimed panting, "Where we were before the battle." John thanked Janus, saying "Good. But do you know how long she'll be there?" Janus lifted his head up, looking John in the eye as he said, "I don't know. A few days or a few months. No doubt ONI wants her." John saw Wolfgang enter the room once again out of the corner of his eye, but this time Wolfgang was holding something in his hands. John decided to end his little interrogation of Janus by telling the man, "Since you've been cooperative, I'll let you live." Cyril had already let go of Janus, yet he still remained on his knees on the floor. A loud bang went off that made John's ears ring. The body of Janus fell foward onto the ground making a soft thud noise and blood poured from the opened neck of the corpse. John couldn't see a head, much less look for one. Only tears and chunks of flesh laid on the ground where the head should have been. John's eyes raised from the headless body of Janus to the hand of Wolfgang, only to find the smoking end of a pistol's barrel. "There were only explosive rounds in it, so I used what I could," Wolfgang said to John casually. "If we had let him go he only would have returned. Besides," he remarked casually, "I know you weren't serious about letting him go." Wolfgang was right, John wasn't serious about letting Janus go, but he previously had a different way of getting rid of him in mind. Cyril was standing off to the side of the body. "Well, that's two messes we have to clean up now," he said.

author's note: This would have been submitted during the month of May, but I thought it was incomplete. I wanted to add at least another four pages of content. I held off writing those last four pages for months. I went over it tonight and decided I didn't need to add anything else. (Basically, my waiting for sparks of brilliance was in vain.) This is short, and could have been submitted along time ago. I feel it's incomplete, but I have to turn something in.
Hope you enjoyed it.





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