Chapter (9) The Night Before (1)

[Author's note: Quick note before you begin reading. According to the Halo wiki, the Spartan-II trainees and regular UNSC cadets used two different types of paint rounds. Though they both seemed to work similarly, I am unsure if the Spartan-II rounds had any tranquilizer elements. For the sake of this fic I am going to implement them as shown in Halo: Forward Unto Dawn. If you think this is a stretch for the capabilities of the 8-10-year-old child soldiers then consider them as a lower dosage tranquilizer]

July 11, 2519

Reach FLEETCOM Military Complex, Military Reservation 01478-B

Strategic Studies and Observations Group Area

(Alpha Pov)

"It ain't looking good Alice,"

"Yeah….I wonder whose idea it was to give Jorge the machine gun on the other team,"

"I don't know but whoever did really has it out for us,"

Alice let out a small giggle from the trench we both sat in. Currently, we had lost both Jerome and Douglas when we got ambushed by Black team who had constructed a makeshift pill box with their prep time. Even now Jorge continued firing the red paintballs marking the entire back of the trench with maroon blotches wherever Jorge aimed.

"I can't believe this war game went so terribly so quickly, honestly," Alice said with an apologetic smile.

'War Games'

A newer training exercise Chief Mendez had implemented a month or two ago. The basic idea is that there would be two teams, sometimes it would be one team attacking, and the other defending, sometimes it would be both attacking, or something like capture the flag. Anyway for today's war game, it was the Red team (us) attacking while Black team defended with prep time.

Our goal was to have at least one team member put their hands on the replica tactical nuke in the defending team's base.

"Shit time is running down," I said looking over at the giant digital clock that read only 7 minutes remaining, "Alright Alice we got to make our move otherwise they will just keep stalling," Alice nodded in agreement.

I pulled up my paint gun, an MA5B replica, "I think I saw a makeshift cliff on the right. Do you know of any straight shots into enemy territory and close to the objective?" I asked while keeping an eye on the suppressive fire continually raining down on us.

"Yeah I think there is a drainage pipe just big enough for me to crawl through," Alice replied sternly.

"Alright hand me your MA5B and keep your pistol. I am going to take both of these," I said while raising both carbines in my hands, "I'll draw their fire on the cliff and hopefully pull Jorge out of his fortification due to the firing angle. Meanwhile, you get to that bomb,"

"Sounds like a plan," She said with a determined expression before turning to move in the opposite direction, "Good Luck," and with that, she began to run in a crouched form so as to not draw attention. She kept close to the trench wall and followed it snugly and judging by the fact that Jorge's fire didn't follow her I guessed she had gone unnoticed.

I in turn got up to barely show the top of my head and ran towards the cliff. I held the twin rifles firmly in hand. The far wall of the trench slowly began to become painted with blotches of red with every step I took. I was running with as much effort as I could but was struggling. It wasn't easy to stay slightly crouched while running with two carbines that span most of your own height while also being shot at.

After running for the length of the trench I had almost reached my position. All that was left was the most dangerous and the difficult part. The back of the cliff was at least 5 meters away from the trench and out in the open.

'Well… here goes nothing,' I thought to myself before throwing the rifles to the back of the cliffside and vaulting onto the top of the trench.

The first sight I was greeted with after coming out of the trench was the combination of machine gun fire and accurate burst fire. Seeing the incoming rounds I immediately dove to the side and rolled over my side before standing back up and taking off into a short sprint.

*SNAP*

"Motherf-..." I let out as I pulled my body around the cliffside. Looking down I saw that a stray shot nailed me in the ankle.

The paint from what Déjà had informed the class was a tranquilizer type ammunition, also known as stun rounds. The training rounds are the closest thing to actual bullet trajectory and flight for simulated combat in the UNSC. Once hit with the stun round the target would find that they had lost the ability to move the limb, as was the case for most UNSC trainees according to the round's data entry.

Not for my class, however.

Us Spartan trainees needed at least 2-3 shots to take us out with multiple needed to take out even a single limb. According to Catherine, it was caused by our bodies' increased capabilities when it came to processing chemicals and fluids. Still, one thing that did carry over was that any shot to the upper vital areas was enough to incapacitate even Spartan candidates for a brief time. Not me though. After getting shot in the limbs I would feel a stinging pain while others would have them go slightly or completely numb. I tended to shrug off hits for the most part before my injury. I was practically a tank in every war game and was the first pick on the rare occasion the team captains could pick their team.

Sadly before my return to the physical portion of training, I was warned that I would be more susceptible to the tranquilizer due to the pre-existing medicine in my system. My teammates were disappointed that they would not be getting handed an easy win. I however relished the challenge.

I began my hike with my injured ankle and carefully took each step. It was only last month that I fell off this cliff and broke a rib. In fact, this was my first game since then, and I asked to join this one so that I could get one more war game in before the wilderness survival training tomorrow.

Eventually, my climb was complete and I had finished hoisting my body onto the flat peak of the cliff. I slowly snaked my body along the rock and once I had gotten to the edge I began firing in long bursts. From my position, I could see Margaret and Roma watching the trench while Jorge seemed to be lugging around the large weapon trying to set up again.

My initial bursts were all focused on Margaret. Something Chief Mendez had taught us was our target values. Within each engagement with the enemy, the target priority went: Commanders, comm techs, counter snipers, high mobility operators, heavy weapons, and then everyone else.

Which was a tough break for Margaret because my bursts didn't miss. I heard a pained yelp as I watched Margaret's upper torso become instantly covered in red blotches. I watched as Jorge panicked and ran from his position to assist Margaret as she lay on the ground not moving. Honestly, I had to admire him for his actions but-

"That sentimentality is going to get you killed Jorge. It has no place on a battlefield," I said under my breath. Seeing an opportunity present itself I stood up leveling both rifles at my hips and began to let out a spray of pellets towards Jorge.

"Mmmpf!" I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. Looking at my arm I see red painting my right shoulder. Roma had taken cover and began to fire accurate single-shots from her Moc M392 DMR. Feeling a twitch of anger inside I turn and focus my attention on Roma, hoping to mow her down.

Roma looked like she wanted to jump out of her own skin once she saw that she had caught my attention. I couldn't help but adopt a devilish grin as I fought through the pain to buy Alice some time where she wouldn't be swarmed by the entirety of Black team.

"F-Fuck!" I stumbled forward. This time my left thigh had been nailed by, '...Margaret? Seems she is still kicking. Because of course why wouldn't she be?' I thought to myself while berating myself for not being thorough enough. Margaret had always been one of the toughest in the class like me, so it was a rookie mistake for me to believe that she would just stay down the entire time.

Due to the sudden jolt that caused me to trip, I had dropped forward catching myself with my hands that had let go of my dual rifles. One of which slid off and down the rocky face of the cliff. I tried to grab it just before it left my range but to no avail, "I swear John took all my luck," I mumbled to myself before picking myself up with my remaining weapon.

At this point, I had been hit in my left leg twice and couldn't feel much of anything within it, so I opted to stay in a crouched position. I jerked my finger intending to finish Margaret.

The first volley found its mark on her shooting arm, while the second impacted into her chest creating a dinner plate-sized circle of red once combined with my previous bursts during the initial engagement. Jorge saw as I mowed Margaret down and I'd like to think that he had come to realize that he let his emotions get the better of him and dragged him out of position. Because the next thing I knew Jorge began hauling ass back to his machine gun.

"Too little, too late Jorge," I muttered under my breath as I took aim at his fleeing back. Splats of paint landed around me as I began to trace the path he would follow. I knew that Roma would take this time to counter-snipe me from my position but it didn't matter. Alice was taking far too long and I needed to go on the offensive otherwise we would lose to the time running out.

*𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬*

The light vibrations of the paint gun reverberated through my injured shoulder as I poured out the red shots that pursued their target as if they had locked on. Jorge was nailed right in the back of the head causing him to fall forward and get a face full of dirt.

My celebration for eliminating my second target was cut short as another round of paint found its way to my torso smashing into the bottom of my rib cage, 'Son of a-!' I thought to myself in exasperation and lowered my weapon placing a hand on my rib, 'I swear torso shots are meant to only cause pain in these suits,'.

I dropped down to my back and pushed myself away from the ledge of the cliff. I then reached down and opened my suit to check the bandage wrapped around my waist. The pain in my ribs

By now I had been hit twice in the leg, one in the shoulder, and took one straight to the ribs. The effects of the training rounds were beginning to make me feel a little woozy, to say the least.

I slapped my face to keep myself awake, using the pain as a further stimulant of adrenaline, to little effect. I sighed before securing the paint gun to my person and then crawling forward. I smiled as I approached the edge and was thankful that my luck had done something helpful for me.

In front of me was a buckle firmly fixed into the cliff face with a strong and thick rope descending down the rocky slope. Chief Mendez had taught us how to fast rope down any surface months ago, and the black woven nylon rope that was nearly as thick as my head appeared to be more than desirable for my quick descent options.

As I began positioning my legs toward the edge of the cliff I took out my side arm and fired a couple of potshots at Roma's last known position. My goal was to keep her behind cover long enough to give me a sliver of a chance to get down this rope seeing as I would need both hands to make sure I don't fall….

I shiver, 'Yeah I definitely don't want to try fast roping while firing from the hip again,' I instinctively feel my ribs pulse with pain from just the thought of trying it again.

After a couple more shots and I confirm that Roma is behind cover I drop a quick prayer and hold the rope tight before sliding down it.

I begin to hear the wind whistle through my ears as I begin plummeting toward the earth. I can feel my heart in my throat as I tighten my fingers around the cloth-like snake in my hands. Even through all of the sensation and the heightening heart rate in my chest I keep my eyes open and watch the ruined stone wall outcropping that she continually hid behind throughout our entire gunfight.

*𝐳𝐳𝐳𝐳𝐭!*

The muffled friction caused by my gloved hands and the rope stopped as I reached the bottom and dismounted. My feet hit the ground with a bit of a shock that ran through my ankle, but before I could even shrug off the pain I heard footsteps from around the rocky bottom of the cliff and my eyes shot open wide in surprise.

Roma had seen through my suppressing fire and had used it as a cover to reposition closer and surprise attack me. I saw her smirk as she saw the horror of realization appear on my face.

My mind immediately shifted into overdrive to figure out a solution to this ambush Roma had perfectly executed. Firing my rifle was off the table, it was still strapped around my back and Roma would have blown me away the second I reached for it. Therefore I went with option B.

A Quick Draw.

Almost as if time had slowed down, my hand fell like a thunderbolt to the sidearm in the holster on my hip. Without taking time to think anymore I brought it up and according to muscle memory, I shot at what I believed to be head level.

*𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬* *𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬*

Before I could process if I had eliminated Roma I felt a harsh impact on my forehead. I stumbled backward and fell onto my back. Landing onto a convenient patch of dirt I heard a mirror falling sound just a little ways away from me.

My eyelids suddenly felt extremely heavy. I looked up into the bright lights of the indoor compound and couldn't help but let out a small yawn. Just as my mouth closed the resistance I had put forth to keep my eyes open was squashed and they slowly began to shut like the shutters on a cruiser.

"War Game simulation Complete," I heard a robotic woman's voice ring out in the darkness, "Winner: Black Team, by method of total Elimination of Red team,"

And with those words, I drifted off.

…

..

.

*FWOOOSH*

*cough* *cough* "I am up! I am up!" I said snapping up from the cold current that had crashed into my face.

Looking around in my now drenched clothes I found the culprit. John was standing by Chief Mendez with a bucket in one hand while the other covered his mouth as he attempted to not burst out laughing. Chief Mendez seemed amused as well, and a rare smile even threatened to break out onto his face.

Taking one hand I swatted the excess water off my face whilst leveling a glare at the pair, "You know you could have woke me up like a regular person right?" I asked as I wrung out my wet training shirt.

"Well we tried…but you didn't even stir. So we had to come up with something that would definitely wake you up!" John said with his ever-present grin.

"Uh Huh… and for some reason I am certain I know whose idea it was," I said with a wry look at John. John hid the bucket behind his back while whistling and looking away.

"Easy trainees, 117 go ahead and return to your barracks. I have some business with 017 here," Chief Mendez spoke looking down at John with his hands crossed over his chest.

"Understood sir," John said nodding at the chief before turning to me, "I'll see you back at the barracks Alpha,"

"Yeah, we'll also go over what happened during the war game with Linda and Fred," I said leaving out Kelly because I doubt she would participate in anything like that. John nodded in response and retreated towards the exit with his bucket in hand. I watched as his back retreated and left through the arena's automatic doors. Once he was gone I turned back to Chief Mendez, "I have a question, but what do you need from me first?"

"Dr. Halsey wants to examine your injury one final time before the wilderness expedition tomorrow," He said in his gruff voice, "Now what is your question?" he asked

"Before I lost consciousness I heard Déjà announce that we had lost. What could I have done better to win next time?" I asked with seriousness. Over the past two years, it wasn't common for me to lose or fail in exercises and training, but I wasn't willing to have the same issues repeat.

The Chief looked at me with a thoughtful expression, "Hmm, walk with me," he said before leading the way out of the arena for war games. I began to follow him along with my sloshing wet clothes. I shivered a little due to the cool air and wet clothes mixture but remained determined to listen to his critique nonetheless.

"Firstly," he called out as I caught up and walked beside him, "This war game was slightly skewed in favor. I am certain you already know why this would be," he said glancing at me.

"To depict true battlefield factors," I said answering him, "It's as you said 'There is no such thing as a fair fight in war'," I finished

"Right," he said nodding at my response, "Black team was given a somewhat already set up defensive line as well as better equipment. Combine that with the prep time given and any team would find it difficult to penetrate through to the target, no matter who was a part of it,"

He turned his head to look forward as we walked, "Your team leader's first mistake was splitting up,"

Hearing his words I couldn't help but give a confused look to Chief Mendez. I agreed with what Jerome did in splitting us up. Our goal was to scout the defensive area and scout for any weak points or 'goat paths' as our class had begun to call them after learning of our ancient predecessor's defeat. I couldn't help but feel more intrigued by what we should have done considering our lack of intel.

"By splitting up you decreased your manpower significantly. Had any one of you been caught you would have lost a team member without any gain from their sacrifice," he paused, "In this instance, because you split up you fell for your enemy's trap. As you already know the other team baited you into a kill area by giving the illusion of a small gap in defenses but kept 052 in position waiting,"

I nodded in agreement. I see now where he was coming from. It reminded me of the lessons on a famous general from over a millennia ago that we had studied extensively over the past year.

The late Sun Tzu for all his ancient thoughts was truly a trailblazer when it came to battlefield tactics. For this lesson, my team should have grouped up and attacked Margaret and Roma who appeared to be guarding the main and side path, instead of trying to find a path straight to the objective. In that case, we would have caught Jorge out of position forcing him to adapt and relocate while also using our superior firepower to eliminate both the team leader and teammate. Then we could have used our surplus of time to pick off the other two remaining enemies.

"I see what you mean," I nodded with appreciation of Mendez's insight. He nodded along with my words before continuing.

"I won't go into detail about how the firefight went, but know that the best outcome would have been to never walk into that trap, to begin with," he said with a somewhat tired expression, "Instead we will focus on your actions with 130. To skip ahead what you should have done was swap your roles,"

For the second time, I couldn't help but become confused, "I don't understand between the both of us, I would have the best chance at keeping the three up front distracted. Besides, the drainage pipe Alice crawled through was too small for me to fit," I said with my head tilting to the side, speaking while also trying to figure out what I wasn't seeing.

The Chief nodded at my assessment, "Correct, but you are still thinking too close-mindedly. Though it is true that you couldn't fit in the drainage pipe, what would have happened if you doubled back through the original ambush location?" he asked rhetorically, "You may not have the acceleration that 087 has but in a drawn-out sprint you have a higher top speed. You would have made it to the objective before the time ran out, meanwhile 130 would have kept the frontline busy long enough for you to get close to position,"

"Do you really think she would have kept their mind off me long enough?" I asked uncertainly

"Yes, I do. Your version of buying time is more of an all-out assault instead of delaying enemy actions that it should be. While your strategy has shown results it only works well for you and your abilities," We then stopped at a door to which he peered down at me, "Based on the fact that only one member of Black team was defending the objective, and also seeing that quick draw you displayed at the end of the match. I can confidently say that you would have achieved victory,"

He then motioned towards the sign that displayed [Medical Center-A] on the door, "We have arrived, does that answer your question?" he asked, examining my features.

"Yes, thank you Chief," I said, nodding my head in gratitude.

I then turned and walked into the door to see the good doctor and hopefully get this wrap off of my ribs.

…

..

.

"I heard you went back up that cliff face. Is that true?" Catherine remarked passively while feeling around my chest.

"I did," I confirmed without hesitation

Catherine sighed while shaking her head, "I swear you never learn,"

I crossed my arms, "Fortune favors the bold, haven't you always said that?" I remarked with a grin.

"And abandons the timid," she finished the slogan before relenting, "At Least you know it's risky. I guess I will have to settle with that for now," she then instructed me to stand in front of an X-ray machine.

After taking the X-ray she walked over to grab the picture while I sat back on the medical table, "How's the good Lieutenant doing?" I asked out of curiosity.

Catherine stopped examining the sheet and seemed to freeze for a moment. I raised an eyebrow at her action, "...Do you miss him?" she asked calmly while still turned away from me.

"Not exactly," I said looking at the ceiling while having my legs hang off the table, "More like I want to make sure he is still in good shape for our rematch. Because there is no merit in beating a cripple, and I don't want to hear a single excuse when I avenge my previous loss," I declared with a smirk while gripping my fist tightly.

Catherine chuckled at my antics before resuming her work, "We have kept in touch. According to him, he is stationed aboard the UNSC 'Hook, Line, and Sinker' around Harvest. He said the only thing he has been doing is monitoring corn fields for any insurrectionist beliefs they might harbor," She laughed before turning around and adopting a thoughtful expression while looking at me, "He asks how you are doing every time we talk,"

I thought for a second about what she said before I was struck with a lightning bolt of realization, and adopted a teasing expression, "So dear old 'dad' cares about me that much huh?" I asked rhetorically, "It sounds like he misses the days he was hanging out here with us and training me….but I don't think he is the only one," I said before looking at Catherine with my patented 'shit-eating grin'.

Catherine immediately knew what I was insinuating and I could see her cheeks light up bright red for a moment. I couldn't help but laugh at her reaction, while she slowly began to show a more annoyed expression at my teasing, "In all seriousness, it's good to hear that he is still kicking," I said with sincerity. Even though I had only met and interacted with Jacob for a few weeks I could tell he was a genuinely good guy. He took time to instruct me in some hand-to-hand combat techniques, and in my book that goes miles.

"Yes I suppose it is," she agreed, "It seems your ribs are fully healed. Honestly, I am continually baffled by how quickly your natural healing works, it only took you four weeks to heal both the broken rib and subsequent punctured lung," she said in some disbelief. I just nodded along; this wasn't the first time she mentioned my unique abilities.

Hearing the all-clear I began to get up and walk towards the door, "Alpha make sure to be careful. You won't be watched or observed on the expedition tomorrow and things have a tendency to go south in the military setting," Catherine said with concern written on her face.

"Don't worry we will all make it back safely," I said, easing her concerns, and walking through the automatic door.

…

..

.

"So how was it Alpha?" Fred asked from his bed as I walked toward Blue team's bunk area. After about a year of training the entire barracks was rearranged to group up teams together, but with the fact that teams were still shifting around it seemed like an oversight to me.

"Well… we were kinda fucked from the beginning, I took out three but we lost in the end," I said giving a short synopsis while plopping down onto my bed in my sleepwear.

"He also got nailed right in the forehead by Roma," Kelly said with a smirk from the bunk in front of me.

"Roma said that he shot her in the throat as well, so technically it was a draw," Linda said inquisitively while lying in bed reading a book.

"Yeah so that's basically how it went," I said to Fred, "How did it go against the Green team?" I asked. This morning Blue and Green had a capture-the-flag match and I wasn't able to find out the result.

"We won by the skin of our teeth," Linda said putting down her book

"Yeah we struggled to get past Anton and Kurt for the first ten minutes because Fred got flanked by Malcolm through the brush," John said while jabbing a thumb in Fred's direction.

"Hey! That was because Linda missed him crawling while she was doing overwatch," Fred said in outrage

"I said I was sorry!" Linda tried to defend herself, "Besides I took out Malcolm and Anton, that has to make up for it!"

"Sure it does. Just make sure to tell that to Fred's dead body when it happens in real combat," Kelly said matter-of-factly, making Linda pout.

"Settle down you two," John said while leaning against my bed before turning back to me to finish the story, "Anyway after Linda took out both Anton and Malcolm, I noticed the lack of Solomon in the engagement. So Kelly ran back to check on the flag only to get caught and taken out by Solomon with 4 shots to the abdomen,"

"Which hurt like hell by the way!" Kelly pointed out from her bed

"Right, then Solomon got cocky-" John said

"-Like usual?" I asked. Solomon was always one to rush head into things without thinking everything out.

"Like usual," John nodded, "So Linda pinned him down with shots, even while being suppressed by Kurt. Once he was pinned down I outflanked him and made him drop the flag. To which we did the same to Kurt now that he didn't have support," John concluded

"Damn sounds like it wasn't much better for you guys than it was for me," I said

"I'll say, at least you didn't get taken out first and had to lay unconscious until the match ended," Fred said with a wry look on his face.

"Anything else noteworthy happen?" I asked while pulling out a book that I had been reading titled, 'Blood Meridian' by some guy in the 20th century named Cormac Mcarthy.

"Yeah, actually Jai, Michael, and Adriana tried to escape again. They actually got pretty far this time before they were caught, but this time they mysteriously were summoned by Halsey afterward," Kelly said with a hint of intrigue in her eyes, "When they came back they seemed different and only said that they were put into a new team designated with the color Grey," she added

"What's that the 5th? Or is it the 6th time they have tried to escape?" I asked

"Dunno but I have the feeling it's the last," Kelly said which made me give her a questioning look. She just shrugged, "Call it intuition but I think Halsey said something to them and convinced them to stay,"

I also shrugged in return and began to read my book, "Hey what do you guys think will happen on the expedition tomorrow?" Linda asked in concern

"Well, Chief Mendez said it's all things we did in the S.E.R.E (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape) course. So it will probably have a lot to do with navigation," Fred said, taking a good guess at the main purpose of the exercise.

"I agree," I nodded, "But I wonder who, and what will the punishment be for who makes it to the rendezvous point last," I contemplated aloud

"Probably something like leaving them behind, or they will go a week without lunch," Kelly said while showing a disgusted expression at the possible punishments.

Linda rolled over in her bed to face Kelly, "He wouldn't," she said in disbelief

"He would," John said nodding

"Oh he most certainly would do it," Kelly said seconding.

"Without a doubt," Fred said in agreement

"I could see it," I also nodded and ended the team's confirmation

Our collective affirmation resulted in Linda's face going pale, "A whole week?" she mumbled in disbelief just loud enough for all of us to hear. That caused us to laugh at her priorities.

"Hey what if we all gather at a natural landmark?" John interjected

"Like a lake or a mountain?" I asked while raising my hand to my chin, "That could work. I guess we will meet on the north side of whatever we decide is our meeting point,"

The rest of my teammates also said some words in agreement, "I think we should also clue in the other teams on the plan and all come into the rendezvous together," John added

"Never leave a man behind huh?" I said before shrugging, "I am fine with that," the others also agreed.

Another half hour of ironing out planning details passed and eventually, the time for lights out came. We all went to bed infused with anticipation for the early morning beginning we would inevitably have.

=================================================================

So here is the long awaited chapter. It is currently sitting at a fat 5000+ words and I am going to put the entirety of the events of the expedition in the following chapter.

I know some may be dissapointed that not much happened but I personally like these kinds of chapters. They aren't so much filler but are instead the chapters that add realism and depth. So I hope you enjoy it.

Anyway if all goes well the next chapter should come out relatively soon and by soon I mean this week hopefully.

If you have any questions drop on a paragraph

I hope you have a blessed Labor Day and I will See You Star Side