(David Pov)
The entirety of the Spartan-II population piled into three pelicans and headed for the surface of Chi Ceti IV. My team, along with John's Blue team and a couple of stragglers, including Dr. Halsey, were packed into one. Cal took over piloting along with Linda of Blue team; both were the quiet type, so I assumed that in the cockpit, they were getting along.
"We need to hurry when we land," Catherine told all of us in the cabin, but looked between me and John specifically, "Under different, better circumstances, I would prefer a week or so to get you acclimated to the Mjolnir system, but we are pressed for time as you can see,"
"Mjolnir?" John asked for both of us, as I had the same question.
The doctor took a deep breath, organizing her thoughts before beginning to explain, "Mjolnir is the second half of the Orion-II program," she said, getting the attention of everyone in the bay.
"The first half was you all, the Spartans, an unstoppable force in your own right, but with Mjolnir, you will be even greater. A perfect sword and shield, for the perfect soldier, it's better for me to show you and have you experience it than for me to simply tell you about it. As even now, all of you have performed beyond expectations," she said, a hint of pride touching her final words as her eyes seemed to land on me.
"Sounds like something to look forward to," Samuel S-034 said, sitting beside John.
I gave a simple nod, 'I need to see it first.'
John had a smile, hearing about the new "weapon" before turning to me with a more serious face, "That ship, what can you tell me about it. I caught a couple of glimpses, but I didn't see the actual battle."
I glanced over at Catherine, seeing if she wanted to explain, but ended up nodding for me to do it, "The ship is first and foremost highly durable. Between an energy shield of some design surrounding it as well as its hull. Archer missiles had little to no effect on the shield, but a second MAC round was able to penetrate the shield and ship in one go, but even then, it managed to survive being hit with a Shiva afterwards. We only survived because it pulled out to repair, probably because it knew that it could finish the frigate off at any time," I said, clearly remembering the earlier scene.
"Its weapons are more than capable of taking care of the Commonwealth with just a couple of volleys. In fact, the Covenant, as we are calling them, didn't have to take the second MAC round. My guess is that whoever or whatever is in command of the ship has personal reasons beyond just winning a battle. Probably tying into that "your destruction is the will of the Gods" message,"
"Meaning that the regular foot soldiers are most likely the same," John said, bringing a hand to his chi,n thinking.
"It also sounds like we stand no chance of destroying that thing before it crushes the Commonwealth," Kelly S-087 interjected from the other side of John.
"Then we need to grab whatever's down there and disappear before that ship gets back," Sheila said, getting sighs and nods of agreement.
I sat back in the seat of the Pelican, listening to the rumble of the ship, 'Let's just hope this Mjolnir is worth it.'
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When I first laid eyes upon Mjolnir, I was intrigued.
Never in a million years did I expect that Mjolnir was an armored suit, or at least not in the form we got.
With my team beside me, we stood up straight in one of the few similar rooms for them to suit us up. In the center of the room was a raised platform, and handrails ran along its perimeter. There were a few display screens mounted on the edge, and multiple white robotic arms hung from the ceiling.
On the platform were multiple tables with various segments and portions of Mjolnir strewn about them. Pieces of them were similar, and others were different. My eyes naturally settled on a table at the front of the platform. Four helmets of various sizes and specifications lay atop them. Their backs were facing me, so I didn't get to see what the front actually looked like.
The armors were all uniform in the fact that they were only in the color of army green.
All of us had already put on what the doctor called "The inner armor," and even now, I was feeling a major difference. The inner armor was something akin to a skin suit, dark and stitched with slots and areas for components to be attached to. I assumed that was what the metal pieces of armor on the platform were all about.
But the feeling of wearing it was far stranger than anything else. I felt light, as if I weighed less than I actually did, but was even stronger than I actually was. The suit itself felt… like flowing water tightly packed around me, similar to a wetsuit. But the thing that was most concerning was that it seemed by limbs, body, everything moved before I had finished the conscious thought to do it. I didn't know how exactly I felt about it.
A door opened with a hiss behind us, and the clicks of Dr. Halsey's heels grew closer as she closed in behind us, "We don't have much time, so I will explain the important bits of the armor as we hurry along," she said as technicians moved from behind her toward the platform, "141, you are first,"
Cal nodded and moved forward, marching up the stairs and onto the center of the platform.
"Please place your feet here, Spartan," I heard the technician ask, "Extend your arms out and remain steady for the duration, please." he sounded a bit anxious, probably intimidated by Cal's size.
Cal stepped into what looked like metal slippers, and in a moment, they expanded in segments covering her feet up to her ankles. The robotic arms began to extend and descend with armor components before pressing two pieces around her shin and calf, metal screws tightening, drawing the pieces around her lower leg together.
"The long and short is that the Mjolnir armor system was created to be an extension of yourself," Catherine began to explain as she watched the armor continue to be pressed on.
"Your physical abilities have already been forcibly raised and have exponentially increased due to the gene therapy and augmentations you all have received. With Mjolnir, every single physical ability will be enhanced," She paused.
By now, the titanium shell was interlocked around her thighs, and her knees had been covered by similar titanium armoring. The arms had equipped her waist and lower torso with armor and were now working on the gauntlets.
"Reaction speed, movement speed, strength, agility, and every other measurable physical metric are amplified by a factor of five," Catherine continued, smiling as she was witnessing the first union between Mjolnir and a Spartan.
"Now, the armor also has an outer shell, the titanium armor plating you are currently putting on is what this layer is composed of," Cal subtly nodded as the torso armor connected around her torso finishing the fitting, "It comes equipped with biofoam injection ports, magnetic weapon holding strips, impulse jets for manueverability in space, and many other tools,"
Cal moved from the center of the platform, and one of the technicians had taken the liberty of picking up one of the helmets and brought it to Cal. She received it gently before beginning to walk forward slowly and descending the stairs.
Once she got on the same level as us, I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, "You're taller than me," I noted aloud.
The difference wasn't much. Cal checked, raising a gloved hand to the crown of her head and measuring her's to mine, seeing that she was an inch or two taller than me in armor. I couldn't help but see a ghost of a smirk on her face when she confirmed it.
'She's enjoying this too much,' I thought to myself with no change in my neutral expression, "Cal, go get acquainted with the armor. I have a feeling you'll be using it sooner than you think," Cal nodded before putting her helmet on and heading out of the room.
I turned to face Catherine, "Who's next?"
…
..
.
Stepping down from the elevated platform, I was gripping my fists. I would clench them with different patterns at different speeds. I needed to get used to this… increased reaction time, the part where I moved before I had fully formed a thought. I felt as if I could punch through a foot of concrete and bend steel without breaking a sweat.
"Take this, Petty Officer," I stopped for a moment, grabbing the helmet one of the technicians gave me. I peered down at the man, my face indifferent, but I couldn't help but notice the discomfort in his posture. It seemed that besides Catherine, Chief Mendez, and the other Spartans, my presence would lead others, civilians, to feel tense.
I grabbed the helmet, peering into the visor for a moment, seeing a reflection of my face. I'd managed to get away with relatively few scars on my head compared to others, so it was easy to see the face that I remembered seeing while walking through the halls of the Reach training facility all those years ago.
I tucked my helmet between my chest and arm, moving toward the entrance, but before I could exit, the doctor, who had stepped out for a moment, approached me, stopping me in my tracks.
"By that look, I am guessing you've got some bad news, doctor," I said, noticing an anxious expression on Catherine, no matter how much she tried to hide it.
"The Covenant ship returned," she said, and I took a deep breath, my head already formulating a plan.
"The status of the Commonwealth?" I asked
"Alive-barely, the Covenant ship is heavily damaged but still remains twice as fast as the Commonwealth," I nodded
"You said earlier these suits are vacuum sealed. How much air do we have?" Catherine flashed a more nervous and guilty expression, understanding where I was going.
"No, I know what you're thinking. I have already given the green light for Blue team to go. I don't need to risk any other Spartans," she said earnestly.
"Not alone, they're not," I said firmly, "And there's no talking me out of this, doctor. You know as well as I do, we cannot risk the reality of all of us Spartans being stuck here or dead,"
I began to walk towards the entrance, but stopped when I felt a light pulling on my forearm. I glanced out of the corner of my eye, seeing that Catherine had grabbed me, "No. Please, don't." Throughout all of my years in the program, all the time I had spent with Doctor Catherine Halsey, I had never seen her show this much emotion.
Looking at her, I saw a face filled with a mix of things: guilt, regret, but above all else, fear.
That gave me pause.
I waited, thinking before I began to speak again. Not as an expression of feeling or emotion but as a statement of truth held together by logic, "I suppose in the unlikely chance that I don't make it back or if I somehow fail. Then I wouldn't get the chance to say this, and with our lack of interaction these past months, I've had enough time to think." I spoke in an even tone. Catherine seemed to brace herself, knowing what was coming.
"I forgive you," I said, no change in tone. The doctor blinked a couple of times with a confused expression.
I began to explain, "Without a doubt, you have done some wrong things to me and the rest in the Spartan program. For whatever reason, it doesn't change the evil that you have done. But now that I am here, at the end of the program, I forgive you for that. I forgive you for Benjamin's death, whether directly or indirectly caused by you. Even after everything you've done, I forgive you," I said. Catherine seemed to be looking away.
Strange, I think she is crying, but I've never seen her cry before.
"No matter what, you are still the person who pulled a young boy out of a muddy shoreline on the verge of death. You saved me then, so let me save you along with humanity now," I said, bringing my helmet up and placing it onto my head.
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Alright theres the chapter.
I hope that last bit with Halsey wasn't out of place. I had it planned and I think it is a nice place for her to exit the story for a bit. Obviously not completely but I think for what I have planned for her character in the future, as well as for David this was neccessary and a good course of action.
But I may be a dumbass and that might be contrived, so feel free to tell me.
Now for the moment you have been waiting for here are the armors of Alpha team and Jorge (which I will spoil, he is joining Alpha after the battle of Chi Ceti IV).
Tell me what you think about the armors bare in mind we have VERY little info on Mark IV appearances so I went into MCC and used Reach's armor customization for the armors.
Anyway I am thinking of a double chapter next time (if you are nice), and I'll see you then.