Futuristic Rapture: a Halo fan roleplay (18+)

[Foster]

Rapture was, as far as the public knew, a barren pebble alone on the outskirts of UNSC controlled space, the kind of place that nobody in their right minds would want to visit. No valuable ores, no ancient artifacts, hell it was far from the kind of place you’d want to set up a holiday home. What these ONI-scrubbed files hide from prying eyes are the lush forests and mountainous terrain, the near perfect replica of Earth’s own gravity and the beautiful sunrises courtesy of the nearby star RTE-2.


The fact that he was bearing witness to one of the most safely guarded sunrises in human history was lost on Dean Z-013 as he stood with his fellow project Ares candidates on the well used green outside the Camp Gilgamesh barracks, one hand over his mouth as he fought to contain a yawn attempting to escape him. It only took a quick glance for him to note that the other ten year olds looked just as weary as he did, all sixty of them roused from their sleep half an hour ago for a surprise training exercise. Despite a few complaints the group of sixty children had arranged themselves into twelve groups of five with a swiftness and efficiency that would put most marines to shame. Of course these were no ordinary children. Standing beneath the creeping orange fingers of the encroaching sun was Rapture's best kept secret, the next generation of the infamous Spartan super soldier project and the most powerful weapons at humanities disposal in the wars that threaten to destroy it. Or at least they would be by the time William Graves was finished with them.


William emerged from his quarters in what he referred to as his “Sunday best”, but what most UNSC personnel would recognise as a full set of gen 2 Mjolnir armour, the ‘Operator’ variant to be specific. Striding out across the grass he cut an intimidating figure, sixty pairs of weary eyes locking on to the sight of a fully armoured death machine walking toward them and remaining there even when he came to a halt before them. It wasn’t the first time Dean had seen the Lieutenant Commander dressed for war but the sight quickly dispelled the last vestiges of sleep from his mind, Graves didn’t suit up unless something important was going on.


“This is it cadets, the day we’ve all been waiting for. Your road to becoming a Spartan begins today and with my help I truly believe that each and every one of you will be able to reach the end of that road.”


The Spartan IV’s voice was carried easily across the clearing by the speakers built into his helmet, his tone a calm mixture of gravel and bass that demanded absolute respect from his trainees. Even the most rambunctious bunch of ten year olds would have been stopped in their tracks by his words.


“It will not be easy. You can rest assured that I’ll see to that. For too long Shattered Sky has sheltered you from what your fate as Spartans will demand of you but she assures me that each and every one of you has been doing well on her training regime, that you’re as ready as you’ll ever be to start training like real soldiers.” Although it was impossible to see through Graves' polarised visor Dean could tell from his voice that the Lieutenant Commander’s all too familiar cold smile was plastered across his face. “Do try not to disappoint her.”


A chilling sense of apprehension crept down Dean’s spine as his mind raced in an attempt to conceive all the ways that Graves had concocted to literally beat them into shape. But underneath the fear was something else, a warmth that fought against the cold lump of fear that had settled in the young boy’s stomach. Excitement? This was what he’d always told himself he’d wanted after all, the chance to be just like the brave heroes that Sky showed them in class. Time and time again his naive head had been filled with hope as he studied the best of the best, looking on in awe at the mighty warriors standing tall in their glittering armour.


“Today’s training exercise takes place at Alpha site, a lovely clearing we prepared for you about 10KM from here. I’ve got no time to babysit you so I don’t want to see any stragglers.”


And with that Graves was off, his armoured body moving at an incredible rate as he began jogging down the well worn track that led out of Camp Gilgamesh and into the forest. Dean, along with most of the other candidates stood there in surprise, their leaders' words not quite registering. Did he say it was a 10km run to the training exercise? Their usual run was a round 5km, Dean had no idea how he was meant to complete anything after a trek like this. But as the first candidates fell in behind Graves the rest were forced to shake off their sluggishness, forming up into their regular groups as they joined the snaking line of people along the track.


Dean soon found himself in the middle of his group, not being as fast as either of the girls. Besides Paige had a competitive streak in her so he didn’t see the harm in letting her lead the way. They soon found their rhythm, eyes forward and locked on to the head in front, feet pounding against the dirt road as they pushed deeper into the forest, leaving the relative safety of Camp Gilgamesh behind.


“I always hate it when he puts that armour on, asshole gives me the creeps.”


The words had come from Kurtis Z-009, pushed out between heavy breaths as he kept pace behind Dean. Z-013 was glad that his friend had broken the silence, it had been starting to weigh a little too heavily as they were left to march alone with their thoughts.


“I guess. Honestly I always thought he looked kinda cool, like a killer astronaut or something.” Came Dean’s warm reply, his eyes never leaving the back of Blair’s head as it bobbed up and down before him even as his feet skirted around a particularly large rock their path.


“I don’t think he’d appreciate you calling him that buddy.”


Dean smiled at Kurtis’ dry response but said nothing, not wanting to be overheard by the Spartan in question. He was easy to see from here, standing far taller than the parade of ten year olds behind him but despite the distance between him and Dean he couldn’t quite shake the feeling that the super soldier had just heard every word he’d said.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



The sun was well and truly up by the time the Ares candidates arrived at the clearing, the sound of panting and heavy breathing as 60 children practically collapsed on the grass. Graves on the other hand might as well have just woken up from a midday nap for all the shit he seemed to have given about their run over here. He stood hand on hips before some sort of huge obstacle course, a pelican full of support staff to his left. Great. More trainers to add to today’s fun.


Under the influence of a few barked commands from the trainers the candidates were whipped into their now ragged formation, a few particularly worn out kids leaning on one another for support. From his place in line Dean had a wonderful view of the obstacle course, 300 feet of pain and suffering from the looks of things. The site of a set of monkey bars was almost enough to make him sick as he wiped sweat from his brow. And there was Graves, standing proudly before his twisted creation as if he’d just brought them here for a pool party.


“This is your first real task. 300 feet of obstacle course that you are to complete as fast as your worthless bodies will allow. There is one catch however. You will be competing against each other in teams, into which you are already divided. The slowest over all team gets the pleasure of running back to base with me, the rest of you get a nice comfy ride back in the pelican.” The Lieutenant Commander explained, a genuine undertone of malicious glee in his voice. “You get five minutes to pull yourselves together. Don’t waste them.”


Dean immediately turned to Kurtis and shook his head.


“You were right, I’ve changed my mind. What an asshole.”​

 

[GhastlySquash]

It was rare for Cadence to dream, but this one was special. She was dancing on a shimmering lake. The night sky provided ample light, but no horizon to show where the reflection turned into stars and satellites. The lake was quiet, calm, with only the gentle swish as the water parted against her feet.

But there was a call. A wail that sounded hypnotic. Haunting as she glided across the water.

Before she could investigate further, however, the words "get up" echoed in her mind and Cadence was back at home. Her eyes felt heavy, but perhaps it was just from the dream. The cadets went through their usual morning routine before assembling on the green.

When Graves showed up, Cadence could almost feel a change in the wind. She wasn't kept in suspense for long as Graves outlined his plan. Today was the day. No more training with Sky. It appeared they were starting the long journey ahead to become the titans she'd seen in the videos.

Perhaps her dream wasn't such a coincidence after all. Shattered Sky had shown all of them the videos of what it meant to be a Spartan. And since birth, that was all she had to look forward too. That was what their training was for. Or at least, that was what their training had been like.

But Graves said what was to come was different. It would be different. No more gliding against the water. The coming weeks would be a new tide. A new current.

-----------------

Cadence always kept her pace behind the team. In the beginning, when she ran in the middle, a few of the other kids challenged themselves to see who could sling up more mud or a rock over her head. Sometimes they'd even make bets. It was fun at first, but Cadence found it rather bothersome to be pelted during her jogs. Running behind her group also helped her keep tabs on Sasha, who no doubt was one of the more...smaller candidates that had come out of their batch.

Cadence never found herself much of a talker. It felt weird to talk, especially when she'd look down at her smaller brothers and sisters. And the looks they gave her, she often wondered if they hated her. At least they never said it. So she never said anything back.

Sasha on the other hand, was the complete opposite. A head shorter than her peers, Sasha was the resident midget at their camp. Cadence would often eat with her. Lunch was usually peaceful, especially since she preferred listening to Sasha or Rebeckah talk. It gave her more time to finish her food. And besides, they always had more interesting observations on the videos than Cadence could ever come up with.

Runs like this often had a numbing effect on her mind. Focus on her breathing. Focus on her pace. Keep an eye on her surroundings. Those were the problems of the world. Today, that mysterious tune was added to the list.

It sounded so wonderful in her dream. If only she could re-create it. Quietly, she began to hum. Just a little. Enough to get the gist of it.

By the end of their run, Cadence wondered how far they'd really ran or if Graves was lying to them. But what was the point in questioning the motives of their trainers? This is what everyone did. It was only instinct and second nature.

She was still humming her tune as the trainers assembled them back into their groups. Today's challenge was an obstacle course. And on top of that, they'd be competing. With the losers running back. Cadence silently took in what she could see from the course. Monkey bars, ropes, a few things she'd never seen before. If there was anything that was true about Spartans, it was that they prepared for the best, and often got the worst. And most of the time, the worst wasn't even something anyone had prepared for.

A more mischievous side of her wondered if Paige would once again try to be the first to get on the monkey bars and activate any traps in store for them. That nearly caused Cadence herself to giggle.

Managing to stifle her laugh, Cadence resumed standing at attention.

 

[Fluffy-Kat]

Paige: Z-044​

The morning started like any other. Bright eyed and bushy tailed as soon as the sun had risen over the mountains that encircled Camp Gilgamesh. Paige usually had no problem getting up early, by now she had grown accustomed to waking up at such ungodly hours, however, there was a wind of change in the air today that seemed rather off-putting. The young soldiers in training were asked to meet promptly on a green pasture with in the perimeter of the camp. Not the usual route but she had no say in the matter. She had to admit her curiosity got her up earlier than usual, and made it almost impossible to sleep the previous night. As a result, she was struggling to wrestle the drowsiness that lingered after getting up and ready today. Paige clenched her jaw tight as a yawn attempted to force its way and escape the depths of her throat, her eyes watering in the process but remained unwavering in allowing it to release. A true reflection of her will. Soft chatter fluttered amongst her peers and team mates while she stood silently at attention. The voices had enthusiasm, but the volume was kept at a hushed tone so as to not awaken the rest of the facility and its staff. Although in such a large clearing, Paige was almost certain the voices echoed at a distance the children were not aware of. A little ways away, the sun-glint of a shiny visor caught the girl's blue eyes. Her gaze shifted and upon seeing the familiar armor her stance became more rigid. In a snap her chest was puffed and eyes pulled forward. When the chittering failed to cease, Paige scowled and let out a loud SHHH as a warning signal for the other children to quiet down. It seems the excitement in the atmosphere had everyone leave their discipline back at the barracks. The gossiping hens grew silent as a fully armored Spartan drew closer, his presence demanding attention, which he rightfully earned.

The Lieutenant Commander Graves spoke with clarity and purpose. His voice was projected and his words articulate. He seemed to imply that the Ares children were having it easy, until now that is, and put the blame on Shattered Sky, an AI that was the closest thing to a mother for all 60 children in the project. Paige cocked an eye brow, if the training so far was supposedly easy then this "surprise exercise" was not going to be fun at all. The experienced Spartan before them instructed the children to rendezvous at training site Alpha, and with out another moment wasted, was off at a paced jog, fully expecting the group to follow closely behind. Paige took off almost as soon as Graves did with haste. Ten kilometers was double than what the children were used to and she went wide-eyed when the Lieutenant Commander announced the distance. This was going to be no easy feat.

Paige's arms and legs pumped as she moved, long black hair that barely reached the small of her back, swished to and fro with the motion, and she quickly regretted not putting up like she usually does in the morning for the usual activities. Paige was competitive, and always aimed for the top, but nearing the end of the 4th kilometer, fatigue started to weigh her down. She noticed herself falling further behind the armored Spartan, and she began to lose control of her breathing, "In through the nose, out through the mouth. In through the nose, out through the mouth." She wasn't the fastest of the bunch but at least she challenged herself to try and keep up with those who were. Two or or three more children filled in the gap that was beginning to grow bigger between her and the towering Spartan. Unacceptable. Paige used the disapproving thought of letting anyone else pass her as fuel to keep her going. She distanced herself some ways from the others and the temptation to talk. Talking made her lose her breath much more quickly than she liked, and in turn made her grow tired a lot faster. Her mind began to wander onto useless and menial things as she came to realize that the more she focused on something else the less her legs and chest hurt. Mind over matter I suppose. The familiar voices of Dean and Kurtis reached Paige's ears between labored breaths, breaking her efforts to keep distracted. She briefly turned her head to the side and gave the two a displeased look over her shoulder.

When the children finally arrived at their destination, Paige slumped over with her hands on her knees, panting heavily. The red on her cheeks were more saturated as blood surfaced closer toward her skin, her innocent rosy-ness now replaced with a visible network of blood vessels firing at max capacity underneath for fair complexion. Her hair was tied in a long pony tail that she somehow managed to put together during the run, baby hairs sticking to the nape of her neck from moisture. Her legs quivered and begged for a moment to sit and rest but Paige knew that if she gave in to the cries of agony from her muscles she probably won't be able to get back up. Paige grasped a handful of cloth from the bottom hem of her shirt and raised it to wipe the drops of sweat from her forehead, nose, and eyelids. The worst part was knowing that this was just the warm-up for what was truly in store. A large obstacle stared Paige in the face with a cheeky grin. Now this was more like it. Paige hated running, but activities that tested mettle and strength was something she had fun with. Five minutes was all that was given to them, and immediately she began to stretch. She pulled each leg to stretch her quads, crossed her arms across her chest to loosen her biceps and triceps, and flexed and wiggled her fingers and wrists to prep for those monkey bars. Paige raised both arms above her head to expand her lungs and regain control of her breathing. Her stomach felt a little queasy from the previous vigorous activity, but she tried her best to ignore it and pretend it wasn't even there, though in reality, she truly felt like just bending over and spilling out what ever contents may be in the lowest pit of her stomach.

Paige faced her team wearing a stony-faced look, already thinking about what shed do to each of them if their team lost. "I don't want to lose," she stated plainly, "and I'm sure neither of you want to run all the way back, so losing is not an option." The girl mimicked Graves' posture putting her hands on her hips as well. It wasn't much of a pep talk, but at least she was honest?



(sorry its so long guys D: my first posts are usually lengthy Im not sure why)

 

[Mineczka]

First, there was silence. An endless void wrapped itself around the once visible terrain. An empty feeling lingered, as a figure stood within the silence and shadows, only illuminating the world just slightly at their feet, they seemed lost, and perplexed. Where were they? Let alone what was this place? Was anyone else here? Turning around, it was fair to think the entity was a child, standing a stout height, and with raven black hair. Though, quickly enough, the area illuminated further, as a bed of glowing white flowers began spreading from the feet of said child. It felt relaxing, that a light source had come, yet, it felt sorrowful, recognizing the flowers, the child knew why. A flowerbed consisting of what the child knew as Io's Heart, for it was first created on the space colony upon Io. It was her favourite, representing Strength and Resilience, as it's first grown instance, was upon the moon of Io. Yet, the dream was not to last, as the flowers soon faded...

Waking to the bright lights of the barracks, Z-001 quickly rose from her bunk, due to her positioning, she was the closest to the door, and oft the first one roused by the soldiers in charge of waking the sixty cadets, 'Why did I have to be 001?' Said child thought, as she pulled herself out of the warmth of her bed onto the cold metal floors. No matter what season it was, that damned floor was like walking on ice with your bare feet in the cold of winter. The next step was to dress and make her bunk. First done was the bunk, as her blankets were pulled tight to the corners, one of the few things she was quite good at was fixing her bunk. Next was the uniform. A simple black tank top, which read 001 on the left breast, with green pants which was tucked into boots. Dressed and ready, the girl known as "Shortstack" jogged out to the parade ground, falling into her normal formation, placing her at the front, the first in the line.

Stepping out into the rising sunlight, was a man in his Sunday Best, their drill officer, William Graves. Sasha could already tell he was going to be trouble, and deep down hated that feeling in her stomach. As he spoke, his voice came off condescending, and that drove some up a wall, Sasha however, bit her tongue. She wasn't going to piss off someone in Mjolnir armour, however, when it came to the Ten kilometer run, the slowness of her body attempting to wake was shrugged off. Jogging along with the team, she hung back towards the rear of the formation, while she could've kept pace with Dean and Cadence easily, Sasha wasn't going to allow a straggler to die on their own.

As several of the trainees began to fall and collapse under the pressure, Sasha was there, often taking them onto her shoulder to carry them forward, oft saying to them "Nobody is falling behind. That includes you." As per usual, she was one of the last to arrive, while aiding another recruit to the grass, before setting them down, before glancing at Graves, expecting some sort of action to be taken against her. However, none came, Sasha fell back into formation, her body burned from the run, as the muscles tried to figure out what the hell just happened. As several recruits leaned on another for support, a glance to the obstacle course gave Sasha all she needed to know with how screwed she was, monkey bars, ropes, and other tall objects. Gods the designers must hate her. As the five minutes ticked by, she could hear Paige announcing she did not want to come in last, nobody did. However Sasha put her gaze back on the obstacle course, trying to figure out how to deal with the obstacles in the most efficient manner with as little effort....

 

[Viper Actual]

Determination. Ambition. Compassion.

Determination. Ambition. Compassion.

Determination. Ambition. Compassion.


Rebeckah recited the words to herself over and over. What might be a routine for some was a holy ritual for the young candidate and as she recited the words to herself five times more her curious and sharp eyes darted between her peers and the on-site personnel. She gently elbowed Dean as he yawned; a gesture of kindness as such a thing could earn a scolding remark at best and additional physical exercise at worst.
She didn't blame him however as she was sure that he wasn't the only still half-asleep considering the hour of the day and the nature of their rigorous and, often, exhausting training program.

Reb was perhaps odd in regards to that. The physical exercise, the routines, the orders. She liked it. To her it was structure and safety. Granted there were always days when she hated parts of it or when she felt like she couldn't give more than she already had but overall the military hierarchy offered something unique.

One could argue that such an environment was ill-fit or even directly harmful for a child but how would Reb or the others know that? This was their life, always had been. There were no "normality" to compare with. No such thing as "civilian". All they knew was Rapture. Ares. Graves.

Graves.

Almost as if on-demand the gigantic instructor appeared. Dressed in his suit of armor he was surely even more imposing and frightening than he usually was. Not to Reb.
Graves was the sheet and template of what Reb and her siblings were destined to be- if not better.

She observed his armor with great interest. She always did. Reb's ambition had already driven her towards and interest and novice aptitude for things electronic. Through that very same ambition she had managed to find a couple of short clips and photos of Spartans in action. Terrifying, yet exciting. She was sure that their superiors knew about her virtual trespassing- they knew about everything that happened on-camp. Perhaps they encouraged her behavior or perhaps they were simply watching to see how far she'd go?

Rebeckah's train of thought was broken as Graves barked out new instructions. A 10km sprint? Something was surely afoot for the day to start like this.

In Reb's case Graves' speech fell on deaf ears; While not nearly as competitive as some of the others- like Paige for example- Reb always did her best. She didn't know it yet but in the future she'd enjoy long-distance sprints even more. For now however she was cautiously optimistic and, being the team-player she was, readying herself to help some of the others. After all they were a team and if it was anything that Sky had taught her it was that unless the circumstances demanded it then no one would be left behind.

As the sprint started Reb's hair, currently tied into a bun, bopped up and down. Her strawberry-blonde hair would adopt a much more dark red color in a few years time. For now however it remained bright and shiny as a myriad of sweat-drops attracted the ire of the sun. Throughout the sprint she was keeping a close watch on the candidates that were the closest thing she had in the way of actual siblings and friends; Dean, Duke, Paige, Conrad, Cade and Sasha.

Once the group had reached their destination Reb had come close to her limit. She tried to mask her exhaustion and support the others. Reb gave a curt nod towards Sasha whom had gone out of her way to help some of the other candidates. Knowing this she hoped that Sasha hadn't overworked herself and made a mental note to keep a closer eye on her. Graves' additional instructions and the arrival of the additional staff made Reb purse her mouth.

While daunting, she was sure that she would be able to complete the obstacle course as long as she and the rest of her team cooperated properly. Like always communication would be key and Paige's competitive lack of it might cause some issues towards the end of it all. Still, the padded passenger seats of a Pelican did sound incredibly good- even if Reb much more preferred staying on the ground.

"Just stay focused," said Reb in response to Paige's remark. "If we work together and communicate we can beat this."

 

[Midrick]

9.5x40, 7.62x51, 12.7x40, 5x23, 8 gauge, 14.5x114, 40mm...

Conrad continued listing off the multiple calibers of ballistic projectiles used by the UNSC, he did this whenever he couldn't fall asleep early in the morning. Conrad wasn't well liked by most of the children, and that was fine by him, that damn machine always chastised him and told Graves about the things he did during training to the other trainees. It had earned him his share of verbal beatings and extra training. Threats, foul play, excessive force etc. He didn't see a problem with how he did things. If the lessons that the old man taught held any water, results were all that mattered, how you got them was of no consequence.

Conrad heard the call to wake, he had been awake for the past hour, some of the trainees complained, Conrad filed out of the barracks with the rest of the trainees to await the old man's instructions for the day. When Graves came out in full armor is when Conrad woke completely. Shit. Was all he could think he half payed attention to graves speech, whenever graves wore Mjolnir armor it was bound to get interesting. The physical training that had dominated the trainees on rapture never really bothered Conrad, sure it was a pain but he could at least show off what he was capable of. If there was one thing that Conrad craved subconsciously it was attention, alienation was a hell of a motivator. Speaking of motivation he caught the tail end of Grave's calling for a 10 klick run. Conrad kept to the middle of the pack before he slowly dropped back towards the stragglers, it wasn't that he couldn't keep up despite his lungs burning and muscles protesting, it was to preserve himself for whatever came after it, for all the grief he gave Graves, the man was crafty, something Conrad simultaneously respected and hated about him.

He noticed one of the other trainees, Sasha, helping the stragglers who were falling behind. He couldn't for the life of him understand why she would do that. No reward as well as being slowed down in return for helping someone as well as most likely incurring the wrath of Graves. It was a dog eat dog world in Rapture, Conrad and most of the trainees knew this, there was no point in sticking your neck out for someone when they would step on it the next chance they got. He just shook his head and focused on keeping a sustainable pace.

---

They finally came to a halt after a grueling 10 kilometers, Conrad squatted down, trying to steady his ragged breathing, despite his considerable stamina he was still feeling the effects of the 10 kilometers. What he saw made him frown, an amalgam of ropes, bars, and obstacles lay in the middle of the greenery. Conrad ran his hand though his brown hair and swept it over the right side of his otherwise shaved head. His frown turned into a grin when he heard that they would be competing against each other, it lessened slightly when he heard they would be working in teams. Still, it would give him the opportunity to give some unfortunate trainees a long run home.

Conrad turned over to the trainees who were on his team and spoke his first words of the day. "Time to go to work boys. " He said as he walked over to his teammates. "Let's send these losers back the long way." a savage look beginning to appear in his ice blue eyes as he spoke.

 

[Foster]

After growing up side by side with these kids since birth Dean liked to think he’d gotten a pretty good grip on most of their personalities. Paige had launched predictably into one of her classic “motivational speeches” or as Dean usually thought of them, thinly veiled threats. It's not that she was cruel, just competitive to a fault and as she stood there mimicking Graves’ stance it was easy to see who may have lit that particular fire under her. In one way or another ONI had managed to convince every last of them to want to become the fiercest warriors of humanity the galaxy had ever known.


“We’ll be fine Paige, don’t sweat it. Besides if we lose at least you’ll get a chance to try and beat me on the way back. You know, when I actually try.” Z-013 chuckled, giving Paige a light punch on the shoulder as he made his way over to the front of the gathered candidates. His tone was light and playful, obviously he’d never be able to beat the fastest member of his group back to camp but with any luck the joke would stop her from stressing about victory too much. Not that he had any intention of losing. If that pelican was taking any of them back he was determined that one of those seats was going to be reserved for his ass.


Looking past Graves so that he could assess the obstacle course Dean couldn’t notice that the Spartan’s polarised gaze was fixed on Z-001 who had made the risky choice of dropping back to help a few of her teammates from falling too far behind on the run here. As much as Dean respected her commitment to her comrades that was a risky move and had almost certainly put her on the drill sergeant’s radar. On the bright side if Graves was mad at Sasha that may be enough to let Dean avoid his shitlist all together.


Letting his eyes drift over the equipment that had been arranged for them the young boy made a mental note of each one as they appeared in the course. Starting off was a row of rather simple see-saw like contraptions followed by a large wooden wall for them to scale. From there things got a bit more interesting. Wooden poles for them to jump across sticking roughly 3 meters out of the vibrant grass, a pyramid shaped web of thick ropes, the aforementioned monkey bars, a low mesh of barbed wire over a shallow ditch that they would be forced to crawl through on their hands and knees, an oddly vacant stretch of grass leading up to a cluster of instructors padded out in protective gear wielding large poles and finally a row of metal poles that would allow the exhausted Spartans in training to hit the finishing button. For a drill sergeant it was a dream come true, for the already weary Ares candidates it was just today's military approved nightmare.


Thinking back to the run here Dean thought it wise to employ a similar tactic of allowing Paige and Blair to go first, for one thing they were still the fastest and for another even Paige might allow Blair to help her out if need be. With the ever quiet Mark in the middle of the group that would allow him and Kurtis to bring up the rear and assist anybody who gets stuck in front of them. It wasn’t a complicated strategy but it had seen their little group through previous trials successfully.


The sudden piercing shriek of a whistle signalled that their brief break time was over. As was so often the case when Graves was about it was time for action. Speaking of the devil…


“Move, move, move! If I see a single one of you maggots not giving this your all you’ll be answering to me personally!” The Spartan IV’s voice was almost as deafening as the whistle had been, his words enough to stir even the most exhausted candidates into following their groups onto the course.


Dean was no exception and quickly fell into place behind Mark as their group made it onto the first obstacle. The see-saw went without incident as expected but up ahead Dean could already see some of the faster groups struggling with the more difficult obstacles. The young boy’s gaze burned with determination as he set his eyes not on the challenges looking to stop him but the finish line hidden away behind them.​

 

[GhastlySquash]

Cadence groaned when she saw why Sasha had fell behind. A small part of her wondered why Sasha was given number one, and in the young girl's mind the only answer that made sense was that the one signified she was going to be the first to get scolded by Graves for doing something stupid. Then again, a small part of her also understood. Sasha knew what it was like to be picked on. She wasn't the strongest, but if her heart had any say it certainly had a say right now.

On the other end of spectrum was Paige. By now, Cadence had figured out what Grave's strategy was. There were only three ways they could survive this training. Be First, Be Smart, or Cheat. She wasn't a cheater. Most of them were fairly smart. But for Paige, as much as those two other options existed, believed in only the first. To be the first, or die trying.

Her light brown hair was also tied in a bun, similar to Rebeckah. Turning over, she overheard Conrad explaining his strategy to win. In a way, and she'd never mention it, she actually enjoyed some of the ruthless and cut-throat tactics Conrad had to give. Conrad was one that strives for violence. He'd kill Graves with his bare hands if he could, but she knew Graves would always be one step ahead of him.

When the drill started, Cadence fell in with her team. She wasn't yearning for first place, nor was she going to fall behind. For now, part of her focus was on Sasha. Sasha, for all her weaknesses and big heart, was going to be the weak link that broke the chain. But she was also smarter, faster, and had a few tricks that even Cadence had to lend to her.

"I guess that means go, girls." Cadence whispered to Rebeckah and Sasha. "What's our plan?"

 

[Viper Actual]

"Let's roll," said Reb as the course officially started.

Holding steady the girl kept an even pace with Cadence and Sasha. Unlike some of the others Reb saw no advantage in being so competitive to the point where teammates left one another behind. From a tactical standpoint such a maneuver went against the little military knowledge Sky had given them.

As the trio pushed forth Reb glanced over at Cade and Sasha. "We don't slow down but we don't over-extend ourselves either. Focus on keeping it even and work together."
She shook her head slightly as some of the other times went into reckless sprints. "If we tire ourselves now at the start we won't have anything left to give by the end of it all."

 

[Fluffy-Kat]

Paige: Z-044

​

Paige rolled her eyes and cracked the tiniest smirk after turning away from Dean's remark to face Graves again, beating him would probably make her feel better, but she didn't want to think of that now. Right now, there are no other options but to finish the course and not come in last. If they did lose, and Paige had already decided it would be a hard if, she was to make damn sure it wouldn't be her fault. With previous exercises Paige always aimed for the top of her class and almost always achieved it. Always focused, always had her eyes fixed on the goal dangling in front of her, that was her drive. In this situation, already tired from the 10km jog, she would push her self to unconsciousness before giving up, even then with the strength of Paige's strong will (some call it stubborness), she probably wouldn't allow herself to collapse that easily. Shattered Sky aint raise no little bitch.

In the corner of her eye, Paige noticed Sasha coming up in the rear with deadweight...oh, actually, it was just another kid. Oops. She scoffed and shook her head, "At least that frees up two more spots for the rest of us on that pelican," she said while jutting her chin toward Sasha's direction, "That makes it a lot easier for us so please, for the love of God, don't screw this up." However Paige was no dummy. 'Never underestimate the competition' was practically her daily mantra. She knew better, and had seen first hand how quickly people can turn around and do the unexpected. Every ten year old here had their strengths and weaknesses. Some were strong, others lacked speed but excelled in endurance, some were all around more agile and stealthy, others had great intelligence to replace their physical challenges. For Sasha, Paige couldn't really figure out her strength, and she hated it. Paige was attentive and observational, she had a prodding and scientific mind. Always wanting to find how things worked, looking for patterns, solving puzzles, really taking things apart before just jumping in. She relied on this trait to figure out her peers' weaknesses and use that to come out on top (or close). Of course, she wasn't always right, and sometimes her competitor would reveal that they have some underlying strength that would help them one up Paige in the end. She made sure to store that info in the back of her mind and use it to motivate her self to be, well, just better the next time around.

Paige hated being unprepared, and thats exactly how she felt at the moment. Since infancy there was always structure and routine. The children always did the same things at the same times and were notified when activities and courses would occasionally change. But today was kept a surprise and she felt blind sided with the big reveal. An obstacle course that seemed so...much. With the next few moments, the young Spartan in training visualized herself at each part of the course, mentally prepping and putting together a game plan. Most of it comprised of challenges she had already done before: the scaling wall, the monkey bars, and her least favorite, the barbed wire crawl. However, there was one part of the course that rubbed her wrong. Before reaching the finish line was a long stretch of open grass. Either Graves expected the troop of children to push and claw at each other to make their way toward the end and fight for their right to ride the pelican, OR, something else was up his sleeve. And judging by the 10km run, and this new course before them, Paige was willing to bet he had another "surprise" in store. Its was a logical option that she was not yet ready to rule out, but prayed she was wrong for once. Additionally, Graves and Sky seemed to have their differences in raising the kids. Sky as motherly as an AI could be, and Graves well, he liked to push their limits.

Before she knew it, the whistle had blown and Graves began to bark at the "maggots" once again, initiating the start. Paige would keep the suspicion to herself under any other, normal circumstance, but this was a team effort, and if she wants to win they all have to cross that finish line with out being last. As they rushed toward the beginning of the course Paige offered some advice to her team at a hushed volume, "Keep your eyes peeled in that clearing, it looks too easy." With that, she took her usual place at the front of her small group and began the trial. The see-saw was simple and after instructing Mark to give her a boost with the wall, that was a breeze too. Paige was quick, but lacked in strength compared to the others. She knew the boys in her group wouldn't struggle with the wall the way she would've if it wasn't for that small jump start thanks to Mark. The small, split-second difference it took to pull herself up against Mark's strength was enough for them to hop over the wall at the same time and put them at equal standing. However Paige regained the lead when she nimbly jumped across the wooden poles with effortless balance. Past the labyrinth of ropes were the dreaded monkey bars in clear view, to which she was reluctantly growing closer to. Her forearms and biceps ached from the wall that seemed...larger than usual to her, but it wasn't enough to deter her and in fact fired up a greater fire of determination with in herself.


Foster Mineczka

 

[Mineczka]

Finishing as one of the last might've been the worst idea Sasha could've had. Watching the visor of Graves turn her way felt like a pit opening from within the back of her mind, Shattered Sky had taught the sixty or so children many things, but, three were nearly inscribed in their skulls, Determination, Ambition, and Compassion. While Sasha lacked the Ambition more often than not, due to her self-sacrificial nature, she had the compassion to put herself in harms way for others, and the determination to see any mess she got herself through. However, holding the number 001 was a trial of it's own, as one would expect the first to be the best, which, Z-001 was not. She lacked in many places, size being the most glaring of the places she'd fall short in, as she stood at least half a head shorter than everyone else, and with that, some of her physical scores lacked due to that lack of size. However, she made up in her intellect, and willpower. No matter how many times she'd be knocked to the dirt, Sasha kept getting back up, gritting her teeth and pressing forward, learning from her previous failures.

A voice cut her thoughts off, as the voices of her teammates filled Sasha's ears, glancing past them, Sasha looked at the obstacle course, a seesaw began their trek, if done right, the downhill can be used to give an extra running start to the wall that rest past that, if timed right, one could use their momentum to get a better reach up past the wall. Past that, the Shorter Sasha couldn't see. Though from what she was hearing, several instructors were further down with some sort of pole, that was what worried the young girl, whose words cut through the voices of the other trainees, Reb had mentioned that they keep from overextending themselves, mentioning to pace themselves, an even-headed plan, though Sasha added on,

"Pacing ourselves will help. However, don't forget there are enemies past the obstacles. Striking at the back of the knees should slow them if one of us can get behind them. Otherwise, keep away from the packs of the others, as a cluster of bodies will slow us. Cadence on point, Reb flank left, Max on the right. Gregor you position behind Cade, if she's overwhelmed, you back her up. I'll bring up the rear, as I can squeeze through crowds better alone. At the wall, the order will go Cade, Me, Max, Reb, Gregor. I'll guide through the poles, routing out a path based on the position of the other cadets, the same will apply to the Pyramid. The Monkey bars, we'll go in any order possible. As for the battlefield. Reb, Max, you two will be the vanguard, as you two both are quite good at hand-to-hand. Gregor, Cadence and I will back you up, we're not to engage unless necessary. Deflect their blows and break through their lines. Cadence you will go up the metal pole first, followed by Gregor, both of you aid in getting the rest of us up." Her plan was formed within what felt to be a moment, as Sasha kept her eyes towards the cluster of instructors, picking out which one could be the weak link, though her eyes turned to the first obstacles soon after.

And then, the whistle blew, the break was over. The teams lined themselves up, as Sasha stood with hers, her mind raced for a few moments, wondering what kind of bloodbath was to await her and the team she was with, keeping pace with her team, Sasha looked to her teammates, it was apparent to her what their thoughts were, that the she was the weakest link physically. Which wasn't wrong, though she still had some surprises left in her. Watching the squads ahead of her, Z-001 kept a keen eye on that clearing, what was there? Was there something there? She couldn't let anything happen to her squad, not without a plan in place to eliminate that threat... The only thing she could do, was watch the others, and figure out as she went...

 

[Midrick]

"I'll go first, stay close behind, if anyone knows the old man's traps it's me." Conrad said to Ryker and Max. Ryker was taller than Conrad and Maximus was much more muscular, something he taken notice of just then. One thing he knew is that they too didn't have many friends or other trainees that they were on good terms with. Ryker stepped forward with a sneer. "What makes you think you're gonna lead?" He said as he clenched his fist. Conrad barely acknowledged his display and sighed. "Because I'm faster and have quicker reactions than you, as well as a higher pain tolerance." Ryker was about to respond when graves signaled the start Conrad bursted forward and balanced his way up to the tipping point of the see-saw with Max and Ryker hot on his trail, a few other teams were approaching them and Conrad saw monkey bars approaching, he saw Ryker pull up beside him, he got his attention with a hand signal and motioned to the base. "Give me and max a boost-" Ryker prepared to argue with Conrad before he was cut off. "-Max goes first, I'll pull you up." Conrad said. Ryker begrudgingly ran ahead and took a knee, he knit his hands together and boosted up Max. As soon as max made contact with the bar, he yelped, but kept his grip. "What happened?" Ryker asked as Max held by one hand. "Electrified." Max responded with a gasp. Ryker looked at Conrad. "What do we do?" He asked.

Conrad relished the look of fear in Ryker's eyes. He had never heard of a spartan being afraid of pain, but he would muse on that later. "Follow me." He said as Ryker boosted him to the bar behind Max's. Conrad was jolted by the electric shock, but due to his muscles clenching he was able to keep his grip. He shook it off and did a semi pull up, looping his legs over the bar and hung upside down. Ryker jumped up and grabbed Conrad's hand, he went to grab the bar behind Conrad's but he pointed to the one before it. "What the hell is up with this thing?" He asked as he hung, Conrad executed a sit up and tried surveying the bars. Max was already half way across, and he had his fair share of zaps. "Mark seems to be powering through we should ask hi-" Conrad was cut off by a literal shock, as he fell forward and caught the bar that was previously electrified. "My ass!" He yelled as he dangled, Conrad looked back Ryker's snickering face. Ryker then had a realization. "I think the currents change every three seconds!" He yelled. Conrad would have berated him for giving away that information, but he didn't want to experience any more unwanted shocks. He counted the time and went to the next bar as his previous one became charged. Now all he needed to do was get to the other side where Max waited.

 

[Foster]

Blood surged in Dean’s ears as he pumped his weary arms and legs furiously, his body running on empty as he reached into the depths of his energy reserves to keep up with the other candidates. His breath was still ragged, young lungs not yet recovered from the run to Alpha site. Up ahead he was surprised to see Paige accepting a hand up the wooden wall from Mark but once it was looming over him he could see why. Damn thing was huge. Easily the biggest one they’d ever been asked to scale. Still these last few months had been kind to the boys and with the help of a recent growth spurt Dean was able to hook his fingers over it’s lip after a jump, muscles straining as he pulled himself atop the obstacle. Done.


Allowing himself a brief moment to check up on Kurtis behind him he twisted round, shooting his friend with a concerned glance as the lankier lad began pulling himself up as well. Z-009 couldn’t waste time or energy with words but Dean knew full well that the look in his eyes was a ‘Yeah, yeah, I’m coming’. Satisfied with the non verbal response Dean flashed a smirk and a cheeky thumbs up before jumping down to the first wooden pole jutting from the dirt, wobbling for a moment until he corrected himself and nimbly crossed the others without missing a beat. So far so good. But nobody else had been held up yet either so he couldn’t afford to become complacent. The last pole juddered under his foot as he jumped down into the grass with a thud, tucking himself into a roll from which he came up running. He’d spent ages practicing that technique with Blair and was actually pretty pleased with himself for finally making use of it in a training exercise.


The pyramid of webbing already supported several struggling candidates on it’s frame but Dean felt a knot of worry form in his stomach when he realised that none of them were his team mates. Clearly Paige’s desire to place first had been infectious, all three were off like a bullet. Gritting his teeth Z-013 began wrestling with the loose tangle of webbing, an obstacle designed more to wear out and slow people more than stop them. It was pretty effective, moving with any kind of speed wasn’t easy and the coarse ropes dug into his hands, leaving the palms red and sore by the time he managed to cross it.


"I think the currents change every three seconds!"


The words had come from the next obstacle along, the monkey bars. Ryker, the tall boy who’d shouted out about the booby trap, was watching his teammates Conrad and Max attempt to tackle the bars with mixed success. So they were electrified? A personal request from Graves no doubt, the man was prowling along the edge of the course like a lion surveying a herd of wildebeest, just waiting for one to show weakness so he could pounce on it.


“He didn’t say anything about getting creative did he?” Dean asked Kurtis as he arrived, jerking a thumb toward Graves, his murky green eyes analysing the structure in front of them as his mind tried to come up with suggestions. “Because I’m thinking we take the high road with this one, I’m in no mood for my first taste of electrotherapy.”


Kurtis mulled it over for a second, panting as he stood bent over, hands on knees. Taking a deep breath he straightened up and gave a little nod of agreement. A smile played on his lips, this is how it often was between the two of them, Kurtis was the academically gifted one in the duo but Dean was better at thinking on his feet and together that made them a pretty effective team. “Good idea. Give me a push up and I’ll pull you over once I’m on top.”


Taking a knee in front of the monkey bars Dean laced his fingers together and gestured to Kurtis that he was ready, the taller boy wasting no time in using the platform to worm on to the support beams of the obstacle.

“I really hope it’s just the bars that shock you…” Kurtis muttered as he laid flat and pulled Dean up, his face red with exertion.


Dean was pretty sure he didn’t look much better but he was on a temporary high as they crossed above the bars, a little smug that he’d figured out a way to bypass it. Provided Grave’s didn’t decide this was cheating later and bury them both 6 feet deep. Best not to think about that, there was enough going on right now without worrying about the endless punishments that guy could dream up.


Moments later he was worming his way under the canopy of barbed wire, body and clothes caked with mud as he fought to make good progress despite his limited mobility. Spitting what might have been a small bug from his mouth he fixed his eyes on the group of instructors batting away kids up ahead, the last real obstacle before he could slap down that button and get some well earned R and R. An almost tangible rush of determination surged through his veins, forcing tired muscles to push and pull. They wouldn’t come last. Not a chance.


Then he was free! Squirming out of the barbed wire he started to break into a sprint, staring down the closest instructor as he ran head on towards them. Sure they were bigger and stronger than him but he knew for definite that he wanted to get past far more than they wanted to stop him. It was all a matter of willpower.


WHOOSH


Something sailed by Dean’s face and before he even had a moment to turn and look in the direction it had come from his world was turned upside down and he was sent crashing to the ground, mud spraying up in his face. It was Kurtis, he’d tackled Dean from behind and was now laying prone, groaning in pain. What the hell had been fired at them? The culprit revealed itself once other kids began running past them, some sort of turret gleaming in the bushes off to the side of the clearing. Shit. It couldn’t be firing live ammunition but judging by how Kurtis barely seemed able to move Dean had no intention of getting shot by it.


With the other candidates drawing fire Dean was able to pull Kurtis to his feet and drape one of his arms over one shoulder for support . Bloody fool had taken a hit just for him, there wasn’t a chance he was leaving him behind now. Besides they were friends, in his heart Dean knew he would have done exactly the same thing for any of his team mates. Speaking of which…


There. All three of them were already standing on their podium, looking back out across the struggling candidates trying to reach the finish. He made eye contact with them and waved them back, clearly struggling to support Kurtis as they edged closer to the scrum of instructors clashing with candidates. Mark was the first to act, jumping down from the podium and barging into the action from behind, trying to work his way back toward them through the fray. Good, their situation had just gone from fucked to dire, provided Z-028 could actually reach them.


“Dean, look. Shock rounds.”


Kurtis’ voice was quiet and pained but somehow Dean picked it out above the noise around them. He was holding out a small dart, about an inch long and painted bright blue. ‘Shock round’ was printed on the side in bold lettering, an explanation for why such a tiny device had managed to knock Kurtis flat. Just how strong were these things? He had no intention of finding out the hard way. A red hot surge of anger surged through his neck as he caught sight of Paige and Blair still on the finishing platform, apparently content leaving them to suffer. If they’d just waited for them they probably wouldn’t have been in this mess in the first place! Assholes. And now with the last of the other stragglers pushing past them that finish line suddenly seemed awfully far away...
​

 

[Viper Actual]

As Sasha laid out the plan for the respective obstacles Reb nodded. She clasped her hands together. "Let's do this."

She followed the others closely and did as ordered; bringing up the flank here, pummeling through there, waiting on one end and supporting on another end. When the battlefield came Reb exhaled and inhaled twice to pump herself up. Then, like the Legionnaires of Ancient Rome, the group formed up into a close formation. Blows, shoves and even the rare blow from a baton were exchanged back and forth as Reb and Max spearheaded the assault into enemy territory.

They were almost in the clear when something came flying through the air. Reb widened her eyes and raised one of her arms in an effort to shield herself from the incoming shock round. While successful, Reb's defense made her arm twitch and go limp as the shock round sent a sudden jolt of electricity throughout her body.

Stumbling, Reb appeared to have lost her footing and was on the verge of collapsing then and there.

 

[Mineczka]

Without much hesitation, the plan sprung without much of a hitch, as the literal battering ram of the rest of Sasha's squad led the way, she trailed behind, skirting around and past several of the other cadets. While her stature wasn't the biggest in the world, Sasha made due with what she could, even if that meant using her smaller frame to weasel her way through a crowd. First came the wall, gods how much Sasha hated climbing them. They were an average height for a person of average height, not someone considerably shorter than everyone else. Watching Cadence go over the wall, Sasha began up next, her smaller frame made reaching the top alone more difficult, however, it made her frame lighter, and gave her that extra half-step up the wall, gripping that edge, the girl brought her leg over, before swinging onto the other end, and eating the dirt.

Her knees crumpled at the drop, which she was not ready for, ending in Sasha having to support herself with her hands as to not utterly faceplant. Scrambling to her feet, Sasha began to look at the poles, and soon she began to glide herself over them, with the familiar sound of her footfalls matching her movements. It took some time for most cadets to traverse the poles, as they took a wide stance and watched their steps, allowing Sasha to rush past, while her physical power lacked, her speed and agility became her focal point. Waiting for her team, her next step was the hardest one at that time, the wire pyramid thing. Her eyes glossed over the structure, 'I see. There's a current running through the wires, alternating every three seconds or so...' She thought, before looking at the other recruits, watching the intervals for just that moment. Gathering as much knowledge on the obstacle as she could gather, before moving quickly, and then stopping, giving the signal of a halt, and moving again.

Next was the monkey bars. Nothing abnormal, as both Sasha and her team crossed over the gap without much problem. But, that was the last of her thoughts, watching the first set of cadets charge into the training officers. It was a slaughter. As her squad began their charge, Sasha watched Reb deflect an attack, the stun baton didn't need a direct hit to get the intended effect. Veering her course, Sasha took to her temmate's defense. First, she struck at the back of the knee, get him down to her level, then Sasha would take the bony part of her elbow to the side of his head, being as willowy as she was, her elbow was the best thing to hit with, as she wasn't going to overpower the man. Her mind blanked, instinct kicked in, nobody is left behind, and by God Sasha was not going to allow Rebeckah to be attacked without a rebuttal. Yet, a thought occurred, if she could get one of those stun rods, it would mostly even the playing field for her team... But first, the threat ahead of her needed to be handled first.

 

[Fluffy-Kat]

Paige: Z-044
​

The wild tangle of cords and ropes stood between Paige and her seat on the pelican. For a few seconds she stood outside looking in, scanning for the easiest path to conquer the course. But when others began to catch up and jump in head first, the idea of losing the lead was enough to prod her ego into just going for it. Paige wiggled and wrestled her way through the rope trap, sometimes choosing to hang onto a horizontal rope and swing ahead if there was a big enough opening and it actually helped her gain some distance from some of the cadets that were hot on her heels. Upon completing the challenge Paige tripped when her foot hooked on a low, taut rope, but she caught her balance and clumsily launched forward onto the next part of the course at a sprint.

Face to face with monkey bars, Paige pulled her lips into a tight line and exhaled through flared nostrils with disapproval. She dreaded anything that required upper body strength. Although the children were groomed to be more fit than most civilian adults, for some reason it seemed like upper body exercises made her fatigued the most and were harder for her to accomplish. Paige being Paige, she despised what ever made her feel incompetent but usually found some sort of way to apply her strengths to counter act her weaknesses. Gymnastics, tumbling, anything that had to do with flexibility and agility and the young spartan was all over it. She had powerful legs for her age and often relied on them more than any other muscle group in her body, but luckily her arms aren't too tired just yet. Paige lunged herself toward the first bar, and immediately after grabbing onto it her nerves twitched involuntarily, her muscles tightened then released causing the bar to slip from her fingers. Paige fell and landed on all fours, scraping up her palms with a hard impact on her knees. "What the hell was that," she growled, a little pissed off now, and looked up at the bars above her, squinting her eyes from the harsh sun light beating on them. Paige stood up and went back to the start, she looked down at her hands and flexed her fingers open and closed, 'Was that.....a shock?' The strange and sudden tingle definitely suggested that the bars were electrified. From yards away, Paige glared at Graves and cursed him under her breath, "Asshole."

The shock wasn't painful, but definitely uncomfortable for anyone who came in contact with it. With a deep, reluctant breath, Paige used one hand and held onto the bar for as long as she could to test it out. There was a constant interval of time between each shock. 'So its timed,' she could reach the second bar with the other hand and did the same. On and off, on and off, the current switched between the bars, 'They're staggered.' With out wasting any more time, She grabbed hold of the first bar and swung her legs to skip the second bar and hang upside down on the third. She had to time this right, she could skip every other bar and hang on as best as she could with her legs. She was willing to take those odds. The shock came, and she clenched her body but took it with gritted teeth, and as soon as it ended it was time to repeat the process. Paige continued and finished by skipping every other bar. When she finished, her legs felt numb and loose, wanting to give under the weight of her torso. But that was not an option for her. She pressed on anyway and after a few paces there was feeling in her legs again.

Paige dove onto her chest and wiggled on her forearms to clear the barb wires. Halfway through the fabric of her shirt got caught on one of the barbs at her shoulder. Panting and frustrated she carefully raised her head and looked over her shoulder. With one hand she reached and tugged at the shirt to gain freedom. When the barb lost its grasp, the wire rebounded and flew for her face. She turned quickly to avoid a potential eye injury, but gained a cut on her cheek bone below her eye, "Ugh! Dammit." There was no time to cry about it, and it was small, nothing serious.

Up ahead, Paige scanned the suspiciously open clearing. It was... too calm, to say the least, and too tranquil, and honestly it went against Graves' character. 'You disappointed me old ma--' a sharp and too familiar rattle of projectiles being launched from their chambers rang out into the clearing. Paige dropped down, head, chest, and hips pressed flat against the ground and objects whizzed above her where she previously stood. She turned her head to the side, loose hairs clinging to the sweat on her face, she could see the faint silhouette of a turret between the trees. With a wide-eyed gasp, Paige got up and sprinted. No point in being a sitting duck. With the last of her energy, Paige spent it all on something she relied on the most: her speed. There was nothing to hide behind, nothing to use as protection, she was all on her own and the finish line was so close she was desperate to reach it. She could hear the turret spitting out a barrage of...what ever it was shooting, she didn't want to find out. To her advantage turrets weren't exactly precise and just sort of sprayed all over the place. Add that to her swiftness and Paige just sort of left reaching the end to luck. To her avail, thats exactly what happened. She reached the end, luckily with out getting hit, and was out of breath. Her face was beet red, sweat drenched her shirt and rolled down her face and neck, and her arms quivered and that feeling of wanting to throw up came back. Maybe it was from over exertion, but she felt it was from the stress that she just faced from wanting to avoid those mystery shots.

Regardless, she made it, and she was more than content with the out come. She remained on the podium, hands on her knees, huffing and puffing, with Blair at her side. Oh crap, Paige forgot she was with a whole team. She looked up and could spot the familiar shapes that were Dean, Kurtis, and Mark. Catching her breath now she straightened up and crossed her arms proudly, looking down at them and mentally kicking their asses for not keeping up.

By the time they neared the end, Kurtis took a nasty hit. Which made Paige worried, not for his sake but for the fate of the team. Dean stood with him to get him to move, but the others were quickly passing them or catching up. Paige scowled, "Dammit guys," she turned her head to look at Blair, watching for a reaction. Should they help? Was that even allowed? When she turned to look at Mark, he was already gone, rushing off to help the two below. 'Well at least he went to help too.' A burning fire of anxiety swelled in her gut, itching to figure out a solution to the victory that was evaporating before her very eyes. With Mark's help, if he can get to them with out getting him himself, they should be okay.....right?


Foster (sorry I took so long :'o)

 

[GhastlySquash]

Cadence on point. Heaving a small sigh, Cadence nodded and prepared herself for the course. The wall was rather easy for her. Not a lot to scale for someone of her height. However, by that time, she noticed Sasha dipping in and out of the poles and maneuvering like an agile cat scurrying through the brush.

Perhaps the mouse had more merit than she originally thought. The electric pyramid structure caused Cadence to flinch. She loved technology and electronics, but she was just as easily humbled by them. She saw Sasha once again take point, and, to her own slight relief, follow her cues. The pain was minimal, and certainly not as bad as it would have been if it wasn't for Sasha. Cadence kept her head down. Her annoyance towards Sasha felt less and less like annoyance and more like...leadership?

It wasn't possible. That the shortest among them was the fastest or the strongest. But she was rather the quickest to read danger and adapt. And best of all, communicate that danger to her and Reb, who followed the commands within their ability.

By the time they hit the monkey bars, Cadence was beginning to wonder what exactly her size gave her? Maybe the ability to go past that wall. But that was it. In the end, there was nothing else that she had. Sasha was the stronger one. It was Cadence that was weak.

When they reached the instructors with stun batons, Cadence saw Reb get striked and saw Sasha take out the combatant by going for his knees. For a second, she watched, observing from a distance as the fight continued in front of her. And then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the second combatant raising his baton, right over the two.

But he was looking down. Cadence quickly sprinted towards their position and tackled the second combatant, using his momentum to propel themselves in a roll before using her legs to pin him down...and attempt to grab a baton herself if it was successful.

 

[Foster]

“I need you to pull it together mate, we’ve gotta make a move before we get left in the dust.”


Despite the way he was hanging limply off Dean’s frame Kurtis flipped him a thumbs up and took a tentative step forward. After a few missteps they settled into a decent rhythm and built up a decent speed, just about keeping up with the slowest candidates. Dean’s analyzing gaze raked across the scene in search of a weak spot, a crack in the wall of armed instructors looking to halt their progress. No such luck, they’d simply have to aim for the thinnest spot and hope for the best. Mark had long since vanished into the rear of the crowd and amongst the thrashing limbs it was almost impossible to spot him.


With a defiant growl building in the back of his throat Dean put on a burst of speed and shouldered into the first instructor he came across, getting a sharp jolt from a stun baton for his troubles. Despite this the combined weight of the two boys had been enough to cause the burly instructor to stumble backwards and before he even had a chance to recover the two had slipped past him, his fingers clawing at the empty space they’d been in seconds earlier. It was even more chaotic once you broke past the first line, arms and legs everywhere as the push for the finish grew ever more desperate. But with chaos came opportunity. With the kind of slipperiness that was usually reserved for bars of soap they managed to maneuver their way around a further three instructors only to suddenly have a pair who’d spotted them come rushing in to stop them. One of the pair came in swinging, a stun baton narrowly missing Dean’s face as he jumped backwards, almost toppling over Kurtis as he did so. The next time the man lashed out Kurtis managed to latch on to his weapon arm, restricting his movement enough that he had no way to block the open palm strike to the nose Dean delivered his way. The man fell to his knees howling in pain as blood streamed down his face, his nose making an odd whistling noise that told Dean it was probably broken. Opps.


The remaining instructor moved forward to exact revenge for his fallen comrade only to suddenly be yanked back by a pair of arms wrapping around his neck, his legs kicked out from behind as Mark appeared on the scene. The red haired boy planted a foot on the back of the kneeling instructor and Dean gratefully took the opportunity to kick the man in the gut, leaving him wheezing on the ground.


“Fancy seeing you here.” Dean said with a grateful smile, punching his teammate gently on the shoulder.


Mark, ever the strong and silent type, simply returned the smile with a “you’re welcome” grunt before taking his place on the other side of Kurtis so they could carry him between the two of them.


With the three of them the final sprint was easy enough but it was with a sinking feeling that Dean realised they were almost dead last. Even with all of them moving as fast as they could they weren’t able to outrun the other candidates rushing across the damp grass to the podiums, Kurtis’ unsteady legs unable to keep up. Once they joined Blair and Paige at the finish he didn’t even have to look to know that Grave’s cold gaze was pointed his way. Fuck. He could feel his face flush red as his hands balled into fists. Dean was angry, not at Kurtis, not at Graves, not even at himself. The venom building in his throat was aimed solely at the two sorry excuses for teammates that stood next him. If they’d simply helped from the start he wouldn’t be in this mess! At least he could take some cold satisfaction knowing that they’d be forced to walk back as well, maybe it would give them time to reflect a little. Or maybe he’d get a chance to push them into a bush, either way he’d be happy.

 

[Mineczka]

Feeling the man begin to topple over under the combined efforts of Sasha and Cadence, as Sasha struck at the man's knees, Cadence began to tackle him, twisting his body violently, bending his knees out of position and twisting him down. Reaching for his hand, the smaller of the three children reached for the stun baton in his hand, twisting his thumb first, gaining the upper-hand to pry it from his hand, especially now that Cadence had handled his chest, leaving one arm with the baton, the other free, but blocked. It took what felt to be several minutes to pull the damned baton from his hand, but, once she did, Sasha did what she needed to protect her companions, striking hard with the blunt end of the baton to the man's head, in a frail attempt to at least stun him for but a moment, turning to Gregor and Max, her voice issued further commands, "Get Rebeckah out! Cadence and I will bring up the rear!"

As her orders filled the air, Sasha then looked to Cadence, while she hadn't doubted anyone's skills, she had a mild skepticism of Cadence's abilities, she seemed to lack the physicality that Paige or Rebeckah had... But had something Paige despised her for, teamwork and compassion. Sasha had doubts that some of her fellow cadets would've backed her up in attacking the Marine, but Cadence? The girl leapt upon the marine like it meant her life, offering a hand to her blonde teammate, Sasha spoke with a casual tone, "Thanks, Cade. I knew you had my back." While she hadn't thought Cadence would've protected her in the way she did, Sasha either had the instinct that her team would watch her back much like she did for them, or was just plain stupid and was lucky this time.

Moving from her thoughts, Sasha looked at the baton, before handing it to Cadence, "Here. You're better at fighting than I am. Keep them safe." Her words felt kind, she wanted to build confidence in those around her, one part to see them do well, after all, she was a part of their grouping, whether she wanted to be or not. Running along, she began to catch up with Gregor and Max, while her plan wasn't going as she wished, it worked for the most part, and while not going to land them first by most means, it would land them at a decent rank of the teams, likely around the middle of the pack at the minimum, or so Sasha hoped....

 

[Fluffy-Kat]

Paige: Z-044​

When Paige turned to her side and saw that Mark had already taken off to help the others there was a deep sense of relief that filled the pit of her empty stomach. As cold-hearted as she was (for a 10 year old), she did feel a sliver of guilt, but they had Mark now and her guilt quickly subsided with that fact. I mean... is she right to feel that way? The pair, now trio, raced as fast as their slowest member. Paige couldn't help but wonder, if this was a real situation, going back for a team member would just intervene with the objective at hand. Its a liability. A risk to the outcome of the task. Paige felt....confused. Sixty percent of her felt the way she normally did, competitive, serious, and wanting to win. Thirty-five percent felt ashamed for leaving them behind, but she wouldn't dare admit to that. The remaining 5% was something she couldn't quite comprehend. It was a feeling that maybe, she should apologize for leaving them to fend for themselves, to go out there and help them to the finish, despite her burning pride.

No.

"They have to learn," she thought, maybe to make herself feel better, "Out in the real world, there may not be time for saving and second chances." With a sigh, the brief concerned look on her face evaporated and reverted back to it's disapproving scowl. Paige looked to Graves for any slight sign of a reaction, then back to Dean and the others. Paige, standing on the raised stage/podium, took a step forward as the stragglers raced against the other left over candidates and crossed her arms. She was growing tense as those who were once far behind her team, were now quickly catching up. If they ended up last, she wasn't even sure if she'd give them an earful or just keep her mouth shut and wallow in her own anger in complete silence. Paige's social skills were about the only skills that were inept, she was terrible at making friends and didn't really care to make any now. And after this, well....she wasn't delusional to the fact that Dean and the other's may very well be upset with her decision to stay put and the chance to even attempt such a relationship could be over before it even started. She had to make a choice now, allow her self to be influence by their emotions toward all this or, continue to see them as nothing more than team mates and leave it at that, she had to do what had to be done.

Dean's eyes met hers and and she could see from where she stood that they burned with a rapidly swelling rage. He looked like he wanted to hop up there and strangle her, and it made Paige's posture straighten into a stiff one. Her own blue eyes peered down to return his gaze and her own fury wanted to meet his. But upon second thought, she had to keep her cool. According to the young spartan in training, emotions were a waste of time and a distraction of logic. With out yet making a conscious decision, her feelings were already disposed of and forgotten. Her mind was conditioned that way. She was ready to face Dean's wrath, or Graves', which ever came first, either way she was ready, ready to abandon the emotions that make one human, and face the music with out being fazed. She had her reasons for her choices and she was going to stand by them.



(sorry idk if this post made sense, Im tired lol)

 

[GhastlySquash]

Cadence turned when Sasha offered her thanks, and gave a small nod. The man was on the ground, whether he had been hurt beyond repair or not, it didn't matter. He was no longer a threat. That was the victory. That was what they were taught. Even if Cadence found herself wishing for the end of this, she still had to run.

She could see Sasha was faster than her on grabbing the stun stick. For a second, she wondered if Sasha would leave her here before she handed the stun stick to Cadence. Handling the device, Cadence looked at her in confusion. Trust only yourself with the weapon. Not anyone else. And yet, Sasha was so trusting and willing to give it to her, the words coming out of her mouth suggested such kindness.

Without waiting and further, Cadence stowed the weapon and took off, swinging it madly at anyone that tried to get in the way of her team before they reached the hopeful end of this race.

Cade still wasn't sure what to make of the ending. Her legs were slightly bruised. Her lungs were pounding, trying to catch air wherever it could. To be tired, as tired as she was now. For now, there wasn't much to think about accept getting water, getting air, and getting through whatever came next.

 

[Viper Actual]

Barely hanging on to her teammates a bruised, injured and exhausted Reb tried to regain her focus and, with it, her footing. Whatever it was that had hit her left the young Spartan dizzy and pissed off.

My team needs me! I don't have time to be out of the action!

Yet despite all her strong-willed thoughts whatever power she could muster wasn't enough as Reb clumsily fell in line behind her team. As confused and dazed as she was it was a miracle- or perhaps a testament to Spartan strength- that she was standing at all.
Silently Reb followed her peers, clinging on to some while motivating others with short sentences and brief gestures.

From her point of view however the final race to the finishing line might as well have taken an eternity based on just how slow she processed it all.

 

[Foster]

“Look alive Spartans, we’re planet-side in five and we can’t be late for our first date with the Militia.”

Dean’s voice cut through the noise of the drop pod bay as he entered through it’s pneumatic doors, his bulky armoured frame blotting out the light from the corridor beyond. He paused for a moment, his impassive visor lingering for a moment on each member of fireteam Mercury as he surveyed his team. Sitting around the bay in their Mjolnir armour they were a terrifying sight for most but he knew the truth, that there likely those among them who were just as nervous as he was about their first official mission as active Spartans. There was a lot riding on their shoulders tonight, not just their own pride but that of the entire Spartan 0 project. Billions had gone into each and every one of them. This mission would test whether they were worth the investment.

Dean sat down heavily on the bench beside Reb, a loud metallic clunk echoing around the bay. They all knew the plan for tonight's op like the back of their hands, they’d read it forward and back until every detail was engraved on to their frontal lobes. He had no intention of insulting Mercury by asking them if they knew their positions and roles, of course they did. It was relatively simple as all good plans should be anyway. He and Reb were on infiltration and extraction of the primary target, Sasha and Paige got the pleasure of destroying the bases air defences and Cade was their omnipresent eye in the dark, ready to step in from a thousand yards away if needed. Once their goals were completed they could call in a little help from the Blindness and stomp the base into submission.

All the equipment Dean would need for their venture to Drahlbor was stashed neatly under the bench where he’d left it earlier and it was with extraordinary efficiency that he went about fitting each component to his Mjolnir in preparation for the jump. It was a surprisingly short list. Suppressed DMR and magnum, one combat knife, one tomahawk, a pair of frags and something a little special. No spartan laser today sadly, not on a stealth op, instead he’d opted to bring a sticky detonator from the Blindness’ personal armoury. It never hurt to bring a little extra boom.

1:00

A subtle beep caught his eye, the digital readout on his tac pad letting him know they were down to a single minute before launch. Great, a full minute to dwell on the unsettling dread flitting about his head. Mjolnir helmets were damn near impenetrable but even the best armour the UNSC had to offer could do anything about that. Thankfully a distraction showed up.

“Fireteam Mercury.”

A soft light in the middle of the room flickered and solidified into the familiar shape of Shattered Sky, a warm smile on her face as she looked around at the children she’d raised. Lab grown killers, every one of them.

“I just thought I’d stop by to see you off, it’s against protocol I know, but what Graves doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” She said with a nervous laugh, her holographic eyes settling on Cade’s sniper rifle. Sky was putting on a brave face now but Dean had a sneaking suspicion she was more nervous about this mission than they were.

“Your secret’s safe with us Sky. Just make sure Alfred doesn’t catch you in here, you know what these ONI prowler A.I are like when it comes to their ships.” Dean replied, standing up and making his way to the door of pod one.

Sky huffed at the ridiculous notion of Alfred finding her hiding in his systems.

“Really Dean. I was infiltrating more complex systems than this while Alfred was still a donor brain sitting in a cryo-jar! Besides, it’s Mercury’s first real mission, I couldn’t just let you go without a better send off than an empty drop bay.”

Now it was Dean’s turn to scoff. He could see right through that flimsy excuse for her stowing away aboard the Blindness, she just wanted to be able to survey their performance directly from the prowler so she could step in if necessary. Which it wouldn’t be, he’d see to that.

“We'll be fine Mum, really. Just make sure the kettle’s on for when we get back.”

He made a ‘time to go’ gesture to the rest of Mercury as he settled into his drop pod, a smirk on his face as he watched Sky react to her least favourite nickname. It was hard to be certain but he thought he glimpsed the ghost of a smile on her lips as the pod door clamped shut.

“Ten seconds till launch” A robotic voice droned through the pod’s speakers as a four way screen winked into existence before him, each other member of Mercury displayed via their own pod’s camera system. Paige, Reb, Sasha and Cade. Each one of them was a talented Spartan in their own right, the right mixture of ingenuity and lethality that would see them through pretty much any firefight. He had no idea why he’d been designated the leader of this fireteam but he had no intention of letting them down now.

A sudden jolt informed Dean that they’d been launched, each Spartan encased in a shell of metal hurtling towards the surface of Drahlbor. The moment they hit the atmosphere there was a sudden spike in temperature on the readouts, the hull of the pod ablaze as it tore through the night sky. Were it not for their climate controlled Mjolnir armour keeping them cool things would be pretty toasty right about now. It was madness that ODST’s did this on the regular without it.

Of course the five pods were going to be picked up by the militia’s sensors but Alfred and Graves hadn’t gone into this half cocked and had prepared for exactly that. Over the last month or so the Blindness had been launching groups of rock to the surface at seemingly random intervals, meteors that were easy to pick up once they got below cloud level. The militia had rushed out to the site of the first group. And the second. Then the third. By the time the fourth had been dropped only a single soldier had been deployed to check it out. After that these space rocks were entirely ignored, the militia weren’t exactly astronomers after all. Tonight's meteor shower was more than a pretty light show however and if anybody was deployed to check it out they wouldn’t be coming home.

 

[Viper Actual]

"Armor seals holding. Shields calibrated. Communications online."

As Dean seated himself Reb glanced over to him. She gave him a friendly elbow to the side before tapping her helmet twice- signaling that she was ready. "Ready for our trial by fire, brother?" Before Dean could respond Reb inserted a fresh magazine into her MA5K and slapped the loading mechanism into place, causing the weapon's interface to light up as the weapon made an updated calculation on available ammunition.

When Sky appeared before the team Reb offered her a curt nod before continuing to go over her personal equipment. Her sidearm- a M6C/SOCOM, often referred to as 'Automag'- was loaded and holstered on her leg. During the chit-chat with the AI Reb remained silent. Granted, Sky was the closest thing to a mother but she was still an AI. Reb didn't mind the lack of 'normality' though- there was nothing normal about her nor about her siblings. They had been bred for war. To fight. To kill.

Once the call came to deploy Reb gave Sky another nod before she calmly collected her gear and made her way to her assigned pod, allowing its alloy carapace to encase and surround her with its cold metallic touch. Reb closed her eyes and braced for impact just as the pod was shot downwards towards the planet below.

 

[Fluffy-Kat]

Paige: Z-044​

"Look alive Spartans, we’re planet-side in five and we can’t be late for our first date with the Militia.”

The all-too-familiar voice that echoed following the hissing of pressurized doors caused Paige to lift her helmeted head when Dean walked in. She sat on a small (for a Spartan), empty, ammunition cargo crate that had the UNSC logo stenciled on it in white and was shoved off to the side of the room. The swish of the blade of her combat knife leaving her finger tips filled the silence as she flipped the weapon over repeatedly while impatiently waiting for Mercury's leader to arrive. With a huff, she scooted off the crate, a loud clang of metal on metal rang as she touched the ground. "'Bout time..." Paige muttered while aggressively forcing her knife back into its sheath out of annoyance. Although she herself wasn't even sure if she was referring to the timing of Dean's arrival or the fact that the clock had now reached a mere five minutes. Maybe both? Taking a few steps closer the new fledging Spartan crossed her arms and watched the clock count down painfully slow. It was torture...

All she had left to do was wait. Paige was one of the first to arrive at the launch bay. Her weapons were already thoroughly inspected and ready for any action they may face. She ran diagnostics on her TACPAD to ensure everything was working properly and effeciently, and her HUD was configured and synced to said data pad. Everything checked out. Impatient Paige hated waiting, it worked against her efforts of blocking all the anxiety and anticipation that came with any mission. This one in particular, however, made her extra jittery. This is where all her training, all her drills, all the knowledge that was pounded into her head over the years was put to test. This was the real deal, and every decision they'll make will amount to something and have consequences. Good or bad. A mix of anticipation and nervousness made her shakey underneath the weight of the high-class armor. However she wasn't fearful, just a little nervous at the realization that these small missions all count toward the victory of the UNSC -one part of the big picture- and now Paige gets to be a part of it. She was ready, and the adrenaline was prematurely starting its course and made her exciteable.

There was a deafening silence among the team, which surprised her completely. Dean, she felt, always had something to say, but still, Paige held a certain amount of respect for him, but only because shes grown alongside him since childhood....and it helps that hes the team leader so...much to her dismay, she has to respect him. Sascha, it seemed like, always wanted to be on everyone's good side, she was always motherly and a little too friendly at times for Paige's liking. Reb never really did anything to annoy Paige so she was okay. And Cade....well...actually Cade was always quiet, and as much Paige favored someone with a shut mouth, this time it wasnt helping. All in all, knowing that the others were nervous, made her even more so...course she would never admit, and that fact will follow her to the grave.

A light flickered and reflected against the haunting, black visor of Paige's helmet. She turned her head, and was actually relieved at the sight of Shattered Sky materielizing before her. A comforting distraction. The A.I. glanced at the fully armored bodies in the room, and when Paige met her smile, she returned a small nod in greeting with a tiny fragment of a smirk under the helmet, but made no other movements.

Their artificial mother figure bantered back and forth with Dean until he signaled it was time to ready-up in their assigned pods. Finally. With out another waiting moment, Paige entered her pod, happy to be doing something at last. Once again the doors hissed shut, and a series of mechanical clicking and clanks with in the doors announced that the pod was pressurized and sealed tight for their descent. "Ten seconds till launch" Ten seconds was nothing but yet felt longer to pass than the wait in the launch bay. A light green counter from her HUD reflected in Paige's blue eyes underneath the helm, and when she saw it hit 00:00, she held her breath.

The pod rattled and shook as it detattched and hurrled for the planet's surface, and as they grew gloser, she could hear the blaze of heat grow as their speed picked up. Bits of debris burning up from the bottom of the pod sprinkled and snapped as they bounced off the pod's outer shell. It was a wonder really, how only a few layers of metal kept them from burning to a crisp and cushioned their fall....but Paige didn't want to think about that. Ignorance is bliss.