Chapter Text
00:00, 6, 12, 2544, The Midnight Coup medical bays
Two black suits walked the empty corridors of the Midnight Coup. Their fine shoes making resounding clangs against the metal plates. The deep Mombasan accent being the only other sound echoing through the halls. Ozich continued to ask about the procedure.
"Are you sure he will... make it?" The doctor in a dark suit next to him nodded reassuring as he had for the past hour as the operation was prepared.
"He will become the strongest soldier humanity can make." They walked in to the theater room outside of the medical office. There on a table in the center of the room lie a fourteen year old boy. His chest would rise and fall slowly. The sedative had taken him fully now. The brevity of the situation finally hit Ozich. The last of the Kaiser bloodline, his friends' only remnant, lay on a medical table like some sort of experiment. His mind began to race wondering what his friends would think of what he was doing to their son. What he had done. Lindley had been put through so much at such a young age. Than his mind drifted to what had lead him here. The insurrection that had stolen his life away. Lindley deserved a chance at vengeance. The doctors eyes looked to Ozich anxiously as he awaited the final approval.
"Make him the best, doctor." The doctor nodded and smiled as he activated a pad and walked out of the theater. In minutes doctors filled the room and worked meticulously over the child.
09:25 9, 13, 2544, Aboard Pelican 13354 en route to The Midnight Coup.
Miles sat with his back fully against the crew seat. The dull roar of the pelican thrusters reverberated through the walls and rumbled through his aged S.P.I Armour. He was looking out of the small window in the back hatch as they departed from his last deployment aboard "The Menagerie". The new ship, "The Midnight Coup" was aptly ominous. an O.N.I. black-site vessel captained by an admiral from section III of the Office of Naval Intelligence. Miles' did not even know this admiral's name and the change request had been issued so abruptly. Miles felt his place was out there in the stars, fighting the Covenant, not whatever this O.N.I. agent had in mind. the thrusters quieted out into silence and then the sounds of the ship's landing gear settling down into he hangar of the Stalwart class frigate filled the troop bay. Miles undid his restraints and came up to his feet. He grabbed a cloth rucksack, and his SRS99-AM anti material rifle, before stepping out the lowering hatch and into the hangar bay. It was pristine. very few crew members standing around making sure the pelican was clear to land then take off again. 'Was this place running on its bare essentials?' Miles thought to himself as he walked towards one of the doors near the Back of the hangar to head up to the bridge, and report to the C.O. as he did the door hissed open and out stepped an older looking black man dressed head to toe in formal admiral attire, his chest adorned in an array of denoting rank badges. Miles pushed the butt of his rifle to the metal floor and saluted the admiral at once. He nodded and stood with his hands behind his back before speaking finally in a deep African accent.
"At ease Lieutenant" He said before approaching and offering his right hand, covered in a black glove. Miles took the hand and shook it. 'Off to a good start' He thought. "I am admiral Ozich M'Dulani. I have requested you because you have a reputation that precedes you. And my situation is quite urgent. Folllow." The admiral turned and walked back to the doors he had entered the hangar from with the spartan in tow.
Miles took small strides in order to keep up with the much shorter than him naval captain. Miles would've thought he was being brought into some assassination league, but the captain didn't strike him as the O.N.I. spook type. He was direct and implored that Miles spoke freely unless the question was above the spartan III's paygrade. They were walking through the halls of the Midnight Coup. As pretentious a name like that sounded Miles was sure if he went missing here no one would come looking for him. As they approached the man spoke again, his voice was deep enough to rumble your chest, and the accent was dissimilar to anything Miles had heard.
"Now to this point I may have mislead you on your purpose here. You see, spartan I needed your range of expertise not for killing... not primarily anyway." Miles tilted his helmeted head quizzically towards the captain. He watched as the man put his black gloved hand on the input opening the sliding door with a mechanical hiss. Miles turned his head back forward taking in the white training room the sound of a heavy blow connecting with a punching bag.
The only person in the room was what most people would've assumed was a body builder in their twenties, but Miles knew better. This was a spartan, a young one too, presumably fresh out of recovery from his augmentations. The young spartan caught the bag on its way back before bringing his hand up in a salute, his face was still so young, and his blonde hair was cut short. "At ease." The captain said as they took steps forward. Miles hesitantly took steps towards the kid as well keeping his eyes trained on him. The kid was staring back at him, it was hard to guage his emotions. They didn't seem surprised to see him, but all the while their expression still gave off a sense of awe. "Miles this is Lindley, you could consider him a rather off the books passion project of mine. And Lindley, this is Marksman, Head Hunter Lieutenant Third Class Miles-Z682." Lindley stuck out is hand, Miles extended his arm too taking his hand. They both gave each other a firm shake.
"Well met, where do we start?"
The first few months of post augmentation training proved to be difficult. Lindley at many points would find himself breaking down against the overwhelming difficulty that Miles put against him in physical training. Lindley was getting stronger physically, yes, but Miles’ ruthless advantage of experience was overwhelming. In all actuality it was a great lesson, Lindley would be stronger than many of opponents, whether that be the Covenant, or insurrection, but it was not strength that he would need to beat overwhelming odds like those, it would be experience. And credit where it was due, he was determined. He continuously persevered in the face of what Miles threw at him. There now remained two hurdles before Ozich deemed his training complete. Lindley would undergo a mission in which he and Miles would assault a small covenant post that held a human prisoner in compliance with the Cole protocol they would either need to deny the asset or retrieve the prisoner. With excellent resolve they did rescue the captain and made it back alive, then would come his final step before he was officially a spartan. The mission was a grueling test of Lindley’s resolve as a soldier. He was placed in charge of how he would carry out an operation against the insurrectionists responsible for his parent’s death. He would choose to endure the mission alone. Miles and Ozich were left to watch the Operation from the coup. Miles remembered the distinct feeling of terror at the idea that Lindley may fail alone on the mission, it had been a long time since Miles had come to care about someone enough to fear for their safety. Though his fear for Lindley would turn to fear for his opponents. The insurrection had not the smallest chance of hope. Lindley had fully decimated their forces and left none of them to tell the tale of it. It had scared Miles that he was not only capable of such brutality to humans, but that he wanted it, craved for vengeance against mankind in a time like this. Eventually Miles had found that he simply needed to close his heart to it. It was what he trained the kid to do, he knew that it had to be that, to make things right for him. It was not too dissimilar to what he had been put through as a Spartan III trained to use his hatred against the Covenant, as his greatest weapon. After what admiral Ozich deemed a stunning success Lindley’s training as a Spartan was complete. Miles was given a choice, to remain as Lindley’s binary squad mate or he could go his separate ways. But to Miles, it wasn’t much of a choice at all. Lindley had steadily went from the boy he trained to be a soldier into his brother, fully and completely. From that moment there was nothing that could stand in their way, until finally seven years later the war would come to a head, and their bond as soldiers, as brothers, would truly be tested.
01:39, 7, 10, 2546 Chiral station boarding on to The Leonin .
Holly stood at the bay looking out into space. The empty black dotted with pin pricks of colour and light. Worlds out there she would never know. A million different lives she could have lived, replaced instead by this. The guilt of being a survivor, knowing that a majority of the Spartan IIIs she trained alongside were dead. Three hundred of which were lost in a single mission. She would’ve given anything to be there among the dead, but instead she was out here, traded like a prized possession, a killer up to the highest bidder. Not a soldier, or a person really, just the killer she was raised to be. With all the time she didn’t spend being sent to hunt down whoever her commander wanted dead, she spent studying humanity's enemy; The Covenant. She had only fought the forces of the Covenant on a few occasions. But all the while they intrigued her. A hegemony of many different alien races so well organized under one goal, and even with that humanity still found it necessary to kill each other. And it was in that way she respected the Covenant, and continued to study all she could, even going so far as to decrypt O.N.I. documents to attain the information she so desired. It was for that reason she was where she was at now. A UNSC captain had requisitioned her for her knowledge of covenant technology and cryptology. Essentially, as always, she was deemed an Essential Asset . Finally after what felt like an hours long wait an ONI prowler ship designated “The Leonin” boarded itself onto the hangar bay. It was a large vessel, larger than most she had been aboard. She began to approach the hatch where the prowler had docked on to. She stood there, bag across her back and helmet under her arm. The door had hissed open and out stepped a taller spartan III in red and black S.P.I armour. The spartan paused as they looked over her, finally they spoke up in a deep but unmistakably familiar feminine voice.
“Ain’t the time or place for pleasantries the captain would like to meet you.” Holly tried as hard as she could but couldn’t match a face to voice, but she could swear she remembered the voice from her childhood. She followed closely behind The other spartan up to the bridge of the prowler, which had already begun undocking and moving out from the station. Holly stood at attention as the captain greeted her.
“Captain Hartfield, pleased to make your acquaintance.” And before anymore pleasantries were exchanged he had already set her to work examining and decrypting covenant tech and networks. Though there were some benefits, she wasn’t being ordered to kill, she had her own room and work station and was under the command of someone who found her skills and abilities invaluable, it was safe to say she had a nice place to make home for now. Just as she had gotten to work on her latest assignment, there was a knock at the door. She didn’t answer it but they seemed to let themselves in. she lifted her head up from the covenant nano-laminat she was was picking through up to see the same red armour clad spartan III again.
“It is good to see you again, Halsey ” It had been only a select few who had known Holly’s full first name and finally the voice and face connected. She spun her chair to face the other spartan fully now.
“Ruby!? Y-You???” Before she knew it Holly was up to her feet and standing right in front of her. Ruby took her helmet off and held it up under her arm. It was definitely her, she was exactly as Holly remembered her from the spartan III training, with the addition of a prominent scar up her chin and through her lips.
“In the flesh Holly-blue” Her old nickname for Holly, they had spattered Holly with a blue paint ball during one of their first training exercises and never let Holly live it down. Holly couldn’t help but reach a hand out and feel up her face to make sure she wasn’t dreaming or imagining something in some sort of delusion, but Ruby was as real as ever.
“What happened? I thought the spartan IIIs were deployed in Torpedo?” Holly dreaded to think that ruby was put through the same thing she was. She wouldn’t wish it on anyone, especially someone so good as her. Ruby nodded before she responded, a bit of scarlet running across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose as she felt Holly’s hand on her face.
“They were, but before training was fully finished, sometime after you disappeared, they came to a select group of about a hundred of us, said we was the best and made us into the head hunters. But what happened to you? It’s like you just disappeared one day!” Holly simply shook her head as her arm drew back to her side. She didn’t want to go through it now, if ever. Ruby seemed to understand and set her helmet aside and brought Holly into an embrace. “That’s alright. Hell, I’m just glad you’re back, that you’re okay” Holly stifled the emotions winding up in her chest tighter than she had ever felt. She wasn’t okay, not really, but this was better than things had ever been, and now she was just happy to be here too. She embraced her friend and they stayed there for a good while in disbelief of their luck to have each other again.
The next six years aboard The Leonin would be among the best that Halsey had ever gotten to experience. Under low stress working on her studies of the Covenant, making discoveries about their technology and language that would help the UNSC make better armaments to fight against the Covenant. One of the most important works was the reverse engineering of the shield gauntlet used by Kig-Yar troopers known formally by the UNSC as Jackals or Skirmishers.Her work helped exponentially in the development of the UNSC’s own shield generator tech. Shield generator tech that her and Ruby would get to test in the Mjolnir MK.V [b] test bed suits. They would undergo special augmentation to be able to take on the suits. Their results made in the suits would lead to UNSC HIGHCOMM to develop a relatively small batch of Mjolnir MK.V [b] for other spartan IIIs in service. Two suits of which would end up in the possession of Miles and Lindley aboard The Midnight Coup Lindley would stay alongside Miles during his procedure to ready his body to handle the powerful systems of Mjolnir. When Miles awoke from his procedure and donned his suit of Mjolnir alongside Lindley who’s augmentations were that of a spartan II’s, so he had always been ready for this moment, the news was broken to them.
07:17, 8, 14, 2552 The Midnight Coup, Orbiting planet Reach
Ozich turned to the sound of heavy bootsteps against the titanium floors. He turned around to face the two fully Mjolnir clad Spartans. Lindley stood in brown and green armour next to Miles in his inverse green and brown. Miles adorned in his specially up-armoured Pilot helmet. And Lindley in his JFO helmet. The both saluted the admiral and he returned the gesture, proud and nearly awestruck by the sight of them. He finally addressed the two.
“I’m afraid the armour isn’t going to be just for show this week boys. As you may already know The Covenant are on Reach. They have the largest ship we have ever seen hanging above the planet ready to move at any moment, as they attempt to take the planet in a ground invasion.” Ozich tapped a tac-pad on his forearm that instantly displayed a route through the mountains outside of New Alexandria in both of their helmets. “In your first ground deployment you will help troops near New Alexandria push the Covenant back to continue evacuating civilians. You will use a specially built warthog and push through the highway to clear the command towers they’ve set up along that route” Miles spoke up after Ozich finished his command.
“Not to dissent and all, but how exactly will this help against the great big git they got?” Ozich went to speak but Lindley responded first.
“Colonel Holland has his Noble team front lining a mission called uppercut. We clean up their ground forces and Noble gets rid of the trump card” Miles didn’t miss a beat:
“And if that fails?”
“If that fails then may god help us all” Ozich said sternly but adorned with that award winning O.N.I. smile. “Now get ready for deployment, those hinge-heads won’t kill themselves!”
Miles and Lindley made their way to the hangar to board the pelican that would take them down to Reach.
“Ye’ of little faith Miles” Miles simply shook his head. “Noble team are good Spartans, possibly the best they can handle it.” Miles checked his rifle and pistol before responding.
“I don’t like it is all, seems too easy, and what happens when we get their ship? They found Reach already, they will find it again, that’s to say if they don’t already have a fleet on the way.” Lindley grabbed up his shotgun, his magnum, than a SPNKR Jackhammer rocket launcher just for a little more firepower.
“True, but getting rid of that ship is a win no matter what, so we’ll take what we can.” They both Approached the pelican. Lindley turned back and surveyed the hangar one last time, he did not know whether or not they would be back. Miles spoke up softly and put his hand on Lindley’s shoulder.
“It’ll be alright lad, it’ll be like we never left when we get back.” Lindley nodded before finishing the climb up the pelican’s ramp. The ramp closed up into the hatch before hoisting up the warthog and lifting up off the hangar and out into the blueish greed atmosphere of Reach to help against the Covenant on the heart of the UNSC.”
06:15, 8, 13, 2552 The Leonin , Orbiting planet Reach
Ruby had just awoken from her sleep and barely stretched her limbs to wake up fully. She liked to be up early enough to train a bit before Holly was awake. Though on this particular morning she had only made it a couple steps to the door before she noticed the tac pad on the wall glowing with the ping of a new message. She started to read the message, it was from the captain. It read:
“To Holly, Ruby.
It is with heavy heart and in light of the current events on reach that I must present an ultimatum. In full seriousness one of our spartans are required to deploy to Reach’s surface from orders of UNSC HIGHCOMM. I insist the decision be made before 00:00 tomorrow as to properly inform the UNSC which of our assets are being deployed.
-Maywether Hartfield”
“ What the fuck!? ” Was all Ruby could think for a long time. She then started to feel wave after wave of different emotions. Panic was the most common denominator though. She was so scared, she knew that no matter what with the way that the fight on Reach was going, the way that the war had gone on every other planet up to this point, that no matter what, she would never see Halsey again. That ate at her, it felt like she had just gotten her back. Six years together and now it had felt so fast, she couldn’t stand it. She thought long and hard on it, if she let Halsey go, that outcome would be what was, death for sure. And if she went? At least Holly would get to live, get a chance to have the life that she deserved back. And when she put it that way she could at least justify a choice. She finally dug her heels in her head. She had to take that burden. How could she possibly expect Halsey to sacrifice herself for Reach, the place that had orchestrated the hell her life had been. “ It had to be this way ” Now Ruby thought as She wrote a simple response to the captain.
“Take me instead, I’d rather not see her off alone.”
07:17, 8, 13, 2552 The Leonin , Orbiting planet Reach
“ A notice on the tac pad? That’s it?? ” Holly though to herself as she barely threw her fatigues on to go tell Ruby the news, but as she got to the door Ruby was already there. Holly jumped, a little startled as soon as the wave of surprise washed over she started to rant. Ruby simply shut the door behind her and listened.
“...And does he even have the manhood to just tell us face to face? No! He sends some shitty virtual message telling us to just choose and get over it! This is impossible!” Ruby simply let her finish and as Holly did she finally took in Ruby’s grimm expression. “Oh come on don’t give me that look Ruby, you’re not just gonna throw yourself into this! I’m not gonna let you!” Ruby tied her reddish brown hair up into a ponytail, something she frequently did when she wanted to be taken seriously, when she was stressed.
“No, but I didn’t give you that choice, captain sent that message out an hour ago, I’m already the volunteer Holly.” Holly stopped fidgeting, going still and pale. She shook her head.
“Ruby no, you can’t just go into that! We need to be leaving Reach! The Covenant will send a fleet and there isn’t anything down there worth your life Ruby! You can’t do that to me!” Ruby shook her head and started to open the door.
“I’m sorry, Halsey, but Reach is the last line of defense before Earth, I have to fight, and I’d rather know you’re safe up here. My life is worth that.” She said finally as the door slid shut behind her. Holly laid there trying not to cry, the feeling tore at her gut, she couldn’t do anything. She laid there for a good while. Until finally an idea brought her up to her feet and onto her data terminal. She started working methodically a UNSC net code. She had done it before, she had cracked Covenant battle net too. Finally she found herself in Ruby’s data terminal. She was able to undo Ruby’s message and replace it with her own, to make it as if Ruby had never even so much as seen the original message from the captain. As Holly hit the confirmation key she leaned back and exhaled deeply as if she had been holding her breath the whole time. But now would come the hard part, remembering to be awake and suited before Ruby could be, and make sure she said goodbye. She eventually made her way out of her room and into Ruby’s quarters. Ruby was lifting weights as was typical for her. She set the weight bar aside and sat up. She seemed so sad to even see Holly now.
“I’m sorry it was the only way I could keep you safe, you have to understand that.” Holly embraced Ruby for what would be the last time. She finally let herself feel it, come to terms with this, if she was going to die, die defending humanity of all things, she would let herself feel for once. Holly simply said
“I know, I know, It's the only way” She said through shaky breaths and tears rolling down her cheeks, and onto Ruby’s shoulder. Ruby pulled her close and didn’t cry but wanted to so badly. Ruby couldn’t let herself breakdown now, she had to be strong and push through this, because if she broke down, Holly would really know just how goddamn scared she was right now.
“Thank you for teaching me to love Holly-blue, you’ve been too good to me” Halsey hung on those words for a long time until she finally found herself in her room staring at an empty piece of paper. She simply wrote one sentence now and tucked a temporary tattoo that Ruby had snuck into training and given to Holly on the first day they met. She stayed up all night to prepare herself. And by o’five hundred she was gone before Ruby had even gotten to wake up.
05:30, 8, 14, 2552 The Leonin , Orbiting planet Reach
Ruby rose slowly up out of her bed and stretched, slowly waking her body out of the atrophy of sleep. She hadn’t made two steps to the door when she noticed the folded slip of paper under the door. She knelt down and picked up the paper, in red ink was Holly’s delicate hand writing that spelled her name. Ruby opened the letter and caught something that flung out. An old temporary tattoo. She remembered that moment like it was minutes ago. But what she had remembered more than anything, was Holly’s smile, and then her eyes looked to the note, reading simply:
“I wish the universe could be big enough for the both of us.”