"Halo 4: The Spartan-IV Project" RPG - Season 1 IC

[Soulstrifer]

Lily had gotten her food and settled down at a table in the back of the room, away from others. At least as far away as she could get. While she didn't mind other company... she preferred to pick her company wisely. Sitting here she could watch the whole mess hall. Two Spartans entered and grabbed their grub.

Of course they would spot her at the back of the hall and chose to sit only a few tables away. Or maybe they didn't see her and they were just trying to keep away from the few regular's that were hanging around. She chose the former because the leaner of the pair flashed her what she figured was meant to be a dashing smile.

She turned her head down, not seeing the other Spartan, Bennett wave at her as he came in. She didn't want to deal with the two next to her so she focused on her meal. When she was finished she leaned her back against the wall and stretched out. It was good to have real food in her belly again and not just MRE's. She let out a quiet sigh and allowed her gray eyes to close for a moment so she could just listen. The two Spartans not far off were muttering between themselves about their previous run in the simulator. Seemed they were having some struggle, being new on the ship and adjusting to how things were done here.

She was briefly aware of Bennett, judging by the gate of his step and the sound of his foot fall, sitting down a little closer to her than the other two. For a moment all was silent, they must have been sizing Bennett up. Or perhaps they were gauging how touchy he would be if they perhaps decided to whisper about him. Funny creatures humans, they do love their gossip. She tried to keep her distance from that sort of thing. Their conversation had gone from women to practice to the recent MAC strike. She cracked an eye open and watched them. They were definitely new. Irritating little thing that was.

Lily heard Bennett speak and she glanced over at the two men. They suddenly seemed cowed into a corner. A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth and she caught the smile Bennett returned to her. She let him get a few strides away before standing and picking up her tray.

"You boys really should learn to keep your voices down... don't want the whole place knowing you're a bit slow on the uptake," Lily stated as she stood. They of course looked at her with blank expressions as if they didn't understand.

" I do believe you have gone right over their heads Lil," Vincent snorted in amusement in her ear.

" Shame really..." she chuckled as she put her tray up and followed after Bennett.

She caught stride with him, though... being a bit shorter she had to work a little harder to keep up. " Smooth sailing then?" She asked him casually.

[Baconn96]

Bennett heard Fairchild's footsteps increasing to catch him. He struggled to decide if he should sigh or laugh. Her file showed that she leaned towards being alone, not a big surprise. Psychological problems almost seemed issue. Than again, he had problems before the Spartan IV program. He had heard her rebuke though, sot hat earned her at least a short conversation. He stopped and pivoted his head back. It wasn't exactly a smile she wore, but neither was it the half-grimace he hid behind. There was a measure of happiness there.

"Nick, you can't control who I go out with anymore, I'm twenty-three."

Bennett gently grabbed her arm. "Oh really? Not like you've ever had issues with an ex-boyfriends...Hmmm...Not like any of them have ever stalked you, or caused a scene in public. It's not like I've had to pull a gun on the past five just to get them to leave you alone. You have great choice in guys, what am I thinking?" He said it all with a cocky smile that showed he was right.

She smiled back, just as sarcastically, and put a hand on his. "Right...What was I thinking? I'll just forget about the two previous girls that broke your heart. Remember them? Ashley, she was cheating on you in your bed. Kiara, didn't she sleep with your best friend?"

Bennett sighed. "You can't control who I go out with." They both descended into loud laughter.

​"Smooth sailing then?"

Bennett blinked. "What?"

"Smooth sailing? Everything go good down there?" Her voice had an interesting accent.

"Managed hurricane, but, I'm here, no complaints." He gestured for her to go first. He matched her pace.

"Shut up," Fairchild said and then looked back at him, "My AI."

Bennett nodded and looked off across the mess hall. "No offense, but the doctors are probably going insane trying to find me. I'll go calm their asses down...Maybe see ya' round?"

Without waiting for a response, he headed out the closest door. Her steps followed, but were lost as he turned the corner. He hopped in an empty rail car. The trip across the three and a half mile ship took two minutes. Three doctors ambushed him as he walked in. They ran more tests. they apparently required three blood samples, one from his back and two from his gut. They were measuring for dangerous particles or something like that. Then they put him in a scanner, which showed very clearly every organ and bone. They pointed out to him, with a laser pointer no less, where his intestines had been severed and repaired. Like he couldn't see that they were an odd shape. He left before he got angry.
He decided to check up on his armor. He located the dented, scored, and mostly destroyed MJOLNIR set. He tried to worm his way into the ship's maintenance records to find out when it would be fixed. A yellow hologram of a WWII aviator showed up. Bennett quickly put Roland down.

"Listen, Red Baron, I just need my armor fixed up so I can go back to work."

The AI looked at him.

"Want that in binary? Zero-zero-one-one-zero-zero One-one-one-zero-"

"That's alright Spartan. Your armor will be fixed by tomorrow morning, ready to go."

"Need it before than, I need to rip out what I don't need."

"Sir," The AI started, "I have a record of what you changed and added. I can see that it gets done how you like."

"Fine. Do it." Bennett didn't asked how he had found out. Most of what he did to that suit violated several protocols. He was just angry someone had known. He walked away from the station and to the armory. A Spartan gave him an odd look as he stuck the M6C-SOCOM into his waistband. He had a box with a reflex sight and laser in his left hand. The range was a time of solitude. He fired two magazine sot make sure the irons were sighted right. Than, he spent another four getting his reflex sight and laser pointer dead on. The pistol went in his waistband again. Someone would miss it, but it was his now. He attached a new electronics suite to his MA5D and sight that in as well. He didn't notice the group of fully armed Spartan IV's watching him as he drilled round after round where they needed to go without the aid of a HUD or armor.

[Baconn96]

Bennett walked into the briefing in civilian clothes. He was a few minutes late, so everyone stopped with the introduction and looked at him. He ignored them and sat towards the back. He was wearing a holster now, his M6C-SOCOM resting there openly. The Spartan IV's turned back towards Commander Palmer. She was wearing all of her white armor except for her helmet. A M6H was on either thigh.

"Bennett, I don't appreciate you being late."

"Ma'am, I don't appreciate being told what to do by people who can't do my job. Life's a bitch." The words would have gotten anyone else sent to the brig for insubordination. Palmer nodded and then walked back to the front of the room.

"Devil's Jaw is ours," She told the room, "But the Covenant and Promethean forces are still strong. We have several objectives for this deployment. Recon teams, you're heading into the edges of out control and destroying anything worth the bullet. Security teams, you'll be guarding the placement of the first structures of Newton Base. Assault teams, roll on any mass formations of the enemy." The briefing went like that for a while, very boring. Palmer gave the order to deploy. Everyone passed Bennett, giving him odd looks. He heard someone make a wisecrack about him not being in uniform. He gave them the bird. When everyone left, Palmer addressed him. It was normal for him to get his briefings separate. Even in the elite rank of the Spartan IV project, there were the special units. Bennett knew he was in the one ONI called Wolf Pack. It was a badly stressed name, focusing on each member's 'Lone Wolf' tendencies.

"Bennett, Requiem's teleportation grid is not under control. The Covenant use it to harass our bases and units. We've lost several recon teams, not Spartans, Marines. I'll have the coordinates for AO-DJ's node put on as a waypoint. I need you to-"

"Blow it up, kill ever'thing."

"No. We need you to disable it, with help of course. We can use it later to get more Wolf Pack operatives where we need."

"I'm not escorting some scientist."

"No. You're taking an AI. Meet Monitor." Palmer had just stopped speaking when a hologram flickered to life in the front of the room. It was of a man in his late thirties. He had black hair and a trim goatee. When he spoke, a Czech accent dominated his words.

"Greetings Spartan Five-Five-Six, I've been informed that I am to accompany you on you mission. I am specialized in Forerunner technology as well as Covenant. I believe I could greatly assist you in-"

"Fuck off," Bennett told the hologram. He looked to Palmer. "I'm not taking that thing, much less plugging it into my suit."

"Bennett," Palmer said, "Just this once. We're not even considering pairing the two of you. Monitor can access the teleporter node and disable it. You are the only one Captain Laskey and I trust with this important of a mission. I told him that you wouldn't like it, but it's the only way."

Bennett fumed for a second. He walked over heavy footed and looked at the AI's avatar. "Few conditions. You listen to me. I say to cut off command, cut 'em off. Stay out of my mind, I've got enough voices in there as it is. Don't comment on my fighting, you can't hold a gun. Any time you fuck up, I pull you and drop you in the sand. Understand?"

"I hardly think that threats are the basis of a trusting relationship-"

"Understand?"

"Yes."

Bennett pulled the chip from the podium. Palmer told him just before he left the room to pack heavy, there would be a lot of resistance.

"No one's every accused me of packing light, Commander."

[Blacklight]

"REGICIDE!" The Simulation Hall Computerized Announcer blared as the Hall soon digitized and in it's place, a holographic construct of the map codenamed "Haven" had taken form.

Taking his place at the spawn point, Battle Rifle in hand, Jase Rogers stuck his extra ammo clips to the magnets on his waist, just opposite his two Plasma Grenades. On his right thigh, Jase's Plasma Pistol.

C'mon, Rogers. You can do this. One more win, and you got yourself a spot on a Fireteam. Then, the Slayer division... Rogers thought to himself, sweat trickling down his brow inside his helmet, as he carefully adjusted his grip on his gun. His muscles involuntarily tensed as he made his initial spawn, thrust into the game that was going to change his life. From here on out, this was war. No more child's play. This wasn't practice or drills anymore. It was war.

After taking a deep breath, a red blip was coming up on the south side of Rogers' motion tracker, so he immediately turned and fired. In a few headshots, his first opponent was down. 10 points.

Then after that... That's when the real action starts.

After his last kill respawned, Jase saw a camper creeping forward, trying to stay hidden in the right wing stairwell. Jase made a rush for him, using his unlimited sprint to catch up in seconds, and before the Spartan had a chance to turn around and fire a few rounds off from his Assault Rifle, Jase had him in a half-nelson, and shoved his combat knife right through his victim's helmet. Another 10 points.

"WE HAVE A NEW KING!"

Jase then stood at the ready, and took a second to reload.

"Now comes the fun part..." Jase said under his breath with a chuckle after taking his early lead, because as the Spartan knew, now his opponent's would come to him. making his job all the more easy.

* * *

[Baconn96]

The air was hot and warm, the ground soggy. He didn't want to be here. The swampland of Georgia was hell, but it made it hard for the Covenant to move in as well. They sent in recon parties. They never came back. Bennett and his rag-tag rebels were not going down without a fight. They were armed with M6-magnums, MA5's, and the occasional M45-shotgun. Some Brutes were trudging through the muck. Bennett nodded slightly to the two behind him. He glanced across the way, seeing a pair of eyes. The teenager wanted revenge for her family, he was happy to help. He raised his right hand into a fist. He dropped it and gunfire started.

The Brutes were slaughtered almost instantly, except for one. His shielding glowed under the barrage of projectiles. He raised a Type-25 carbine and fired into the swamp opposite Bennett. He saw the kid's face wince as the shards of metal hit her. She fired the rifle though, emptying her magazine. The Brute fired another volley at her. Bennett ran from cover with his pistol. He fired time and time again. The alien's shields flared and failed. Bennett fired twice, knocking it on its back. He dropped the pistol.

"Kaylee! Come on Kaylee, it's okay." He said, trying to convince himself. He knew it to be false. The shards were deep in her gut, the skin around each impact charred. "Don't die! Don't you fuckin' Die on me! Kaylee! Kaylee!"

"Nick...She's gone," One of the others said. A hand was on Bennett's shoulder.

A low, rumbling laugh filled the quiet swamp. It was the downed Jiralhane. Bennett tore the rifle from someone's grip. The bastard laughed when Bennett put a boot on its chest and aimed the rifle at its face. No, too good. Bennett swept the gun lower and fired. The laughing went to moaning. One of the others came up to finish him off.

"Leave him. He deserves it."

Bennett handed to rifle to its owner. He carried Kaylee home. The thought of the Brute laying there with half a magazine in his groin was the only thing stopping him from ending it. This is why he fought, not to survive, not to regain what was humanity's; For revenge. He would go, but not without his weapon exhausted and his enemies' blood on his hands.


​"Spartan, are you alright?" Monitor asked.

Bennett traveled from the swamp to the desert. He blinked. "What is it?" He asked in anger.

"Your brain wave activity spiked. Are you alright?"

Spiked.

"What did I say about keeping out of my head?"

The AI remained silent. Good. The door to the node was guarded heavily. Towers, entrenched guns, and a pair of Hunters barred all entrance. The node was twenty stories up the tower. The tower was hidden, except for the door, by a pillar of stone that rivaled most skyscrapers. The SRS99-S5AM sniper rifle tucked to his shoulder was his solution. The technical name for the rounds he was using was MK300 tungsten-penetrator armor-piercing high explosive fragmenting incendiary anti-material tracer. In short, anything he shot would die.

"Command, Bennett. I'm on location, ready to engage."

"Copy. You are cleared."

Bennett cut the channel. He already had the rifle lined up. The round hit the left most Hunter in the neck. The round penetrated an inch. The Hunter's head flew off, the body collapsed. The blast of the rifle was muffled by the sound suppressor he had attached. He pivoted the rifle slightly and took out the second Hunter. This time, a basketball sized hole was blown out of its middle. The MK300 rounds were damn near magic. A third round was placed in the operator of a Type-55 Shade turret. Bennett haphazardly placed the forth and final round in the gut of a Sangheili.

"One hundred percent accuracy," Monitor informed, "Drift appears to be point-three-five-nine meters at this range."

"Shut up."

Bennett ran along the cliff line. Covenant snipers fired at him, but missed. The range was extreme, over a mile and a quarter. He ducked behind a smaller pillar and reloaded. Three mags left. He placed the empty magazine on his waist where the now loaded one had been. He laid back down and moved to the side of the rock. He had to fold the bipod for movement, so he was just going for hits now. He fired at an Elite. The round went wide to the left and turned an Unggoy into hamburger.

"Eighty percent accuracy."

"I know!"

He fired again. The Elite's left leg was blown off with half of its pelvis. He would die. Bennett led a running Jackal. The Kig-Yar ceased to exist a second later. Like shooting squirrels with a .30-caliber. A Promethean Knight started to teleport. Bennett fired at the assembling killing machine. There was a bright flash. A shock wave knocked over several Covenant troops and the top of a guard tower. It reached Bennett, too stunned to do anything but watch. Sand and pebbles shot at him.

"What the fuck?"

"Sir, I believe that is what happens when you interrupt a short range slip-space jump. You have achieved a short of miniaturized nuclear detonation."

"Shoot teleporting bad guys, receive nuke. I like it."

Bennett saw several Jackal snipers on ridges up and down the spire, ones he hadn't seen before. There were a lot of them, and he only had eight rounds.