LORC:ReturnToStandardAct.I pt1

_{Being Rewriten}

All Alone

As it begins over 100,000 years ago, just a few months before the activation of the Halo array, a Forerunner Scientist put the finishing touches on a Device. A Device that could change the user's very species.

She sat hunched over a table as she carefully carved her symbol into the back casing. A faint explosion rocked the room and small particles of dust fell from the ceiling. The Scientist lifted the Device from its cradle and it was released with a soft hiss. "System charged" flashed on its screen. She slowly walked over to a vault and set it inside. The lights flashed red and the vault closed sealing the device away. Another explosion shook the facility she was in, small tools and other items fell off the table. The Scientist quickly walked out of her lab and bumped into her 17 year old daughter Marissa, she was badly bruised on her face like she had fallen down a ramp.

"Mother- the Flood is here! We're beginning orbital bombardment! And there's only a few more evacuation shuttles- We need to leave. NOW!" Marissa screamed at her mother.

"Don't worry- We'll make it." She replied calmly and sealed the door to her lab.  

The Scientist pushed Marissa back up the hallway and an explosion shook the facility, this time much closer. A holographic control panel fussed out of existence and they lost their lighting. Marissa was pushed out in to the light and the chaos of the evacuation zone. Other scientists and civilians rushed into waiting ships after they were screened for Flood contamination. Marissa and her mother were promptly screened and pushed into a group heading for the nearest shuttle. She looked back and watched warships fire their main guns at the planet surface, the ground shook moments later. Finally Marissa was sent through the airlock of the shuttle. When she looked behind her... her mother was gone.

The shuttle lifted off and sped full speed off the planet. Marissa searched the shuttle for her mother but could not find her anywhere. She was deposited on board a larger transport ship and run through another bio-scan. She asked one of the ships stewards about checking the ships manifest for her mother but was informed that she was not on board. Marissa sat in the corner of one of the ship's cargo holds and cried for her mother. She was sure her mother was lost on that planet, and there was nothing else that she could do to help.

A few weeks after living at a refugee camp on a planet in another system Marissa was approached by a group if scientists that claimed to be colleagues of her late mother. They told her that her mother was part of a fall back plan. Marissa didn't know the exact details, but she did know but from what she could understand it was wired to her Mother's DNA and that she was the closest match. Marissa contemplated what to do then finally she decided to go with them. The next thing she knew they took her to a planet, and she didn't even know if it had a name.

Marissa sat in a shuttle as it entered the planet's atmosphere. The outside of the hull heated red and the windows darkened. She gripped the sides of her seat as the shuttle began to shake, her restraints tightened to keep her steady, then all of a sudden the shaking stopped. When the windows depolarized Marissa glimpsed a beautiful landscape. However the view did not last long, for the shuttle plunged into an ocean.
Marissa jumped at the sudden flash of water rushing over the window. She looked around at the other passengers and felt relieved that they seemed nervous too. The shuttle drifted down to the sea floor and started to glide over the reefs until they came to a submerged cliff face. Marissa could see the edges of what looked like a hangar as the shuttle entered through a shield. The ship settled in the hangar and the passengers were instructed to disembark.
Marissa stood up and walked down the ramp. She was met with a group of scientist in hazard suits as soon as she stepped off. They quickly ran a scanner over her head and she could just make out some of what they were saying.

"Her brain waves are syncing up fine, same with her DNA," One of them said.

"Good, I was worried that wouldn't happen, anyhow she's still too young we'll have to-" He turned away before Marissa could hear the rest. She was left standing in the hangar wondering what they were going to do to her if she was too young for whatever they had in mind.  

The Scientist stopped and glanced back at her, "Marissa- follow me."

Marissa followed the Scientist down a corridor and came to a T-junction with a window. She had thought that the facility was closed and buried underground but now she was looking at a massive open interior. It looked like it was a shield world, only smaller for she could see the faint outline in the distance. The window she was looking out of was nearly at the top of the facility, and if seen from bellow it wouldn't even be a speck. There were some clouds further off near a bright spot and it looked like it was raining bellow. The Scientist tapped her shoulder ant motioned for her to continue on.
They walked to a teleporter station at the end of the hallway. There she was taken to ground level in an instant. She looked around the platform she found herself on and saw she was protruding over a snow covered gorge filled with structures. The rooftop on a far building caught her eye; her Mother's symbol was carved into a large access port. She suddenly had a strange feeling to jump, and join her mother, but a stronger feeling told her to stay, that things would get better soon. Marissa took a step away from the edge and followed the Scientist into the facility.

The interior was a maze of corridors leading to labs and the few rooms that connected to the main hall just held a few cots nothing much else.

"Your quarters are up the lift," the Scientist said nodding to a lift embedded in the wall. "We'll begin tomorrow. Until then you are free to wander."

Marissa nodded and took the lift up to her quarters. She found that the room only held the basic furniture, a bed and a desk with a console. She looked out on the balcony and saw a breath taking view of the gorge and the mountains to the ocean on the other side. The air was refreshing and cool. Marissa sat back and enjoyed the view in a chair until sleep descended upon her. In the morning she woke to darkness. She was confused; it was not possible for facilities with a micro-star to have a day-night cycle. She stood up on the balcony and looked to where the sun was, there was now a bright full moon. Marissa went down the lift and jogged through the corridor looking for a Technician. Eventually she found one in the lower machinery levels.

"Excuse me sir, but I am wondering how you simulated a day-night cycle with a micro-star. Let alone make it a moon." Marissa asked him when he saw her.

"Well, this facility does not have a micro-star. It is a large holographic projection that simulates the light and radiated heat of a star at a normal distance from habitable planet. That's why it can change to a moon." The Technician told her.

"Ah, thank you for letting me know, I was confused."

"No problem, glad I could help," he said.

Marissa strolled back up to her room and went back into her bed. However, before she could fall asleep again the Computer console beeped. She looked up and saw a Monitor sphere floating blankly at her. She got up and sat at the console. A message on screen said the project lead would be up in an hour to begin and that he would like her to customize the Monitor sphere. She opened the application she was shown and saw a Monitor just like the one that was floating next to her. It had a variety of colors and options which she chose blue for the base and red for the secondary finally gold for the details. She wrote her name along the edge and a call sign just for fun 'M-004'. After a few more tweaks she was satisfied with the design and she pressed apply. The Monitor sphere immediately changed to match the one next to her. It looked good and she pulled it out onto the balcony to see it in the light.
* * *
Marissa paced back and forth in her room, the Scientists were on their way to explain what her mother was part of on this planet. She still had no idea what she was for. She stopped and looked over at the work station, the Monitor sphere floated with quiet hum staring blankly in to the distance. Quickly she walked over to the console screen. Marissa opened a folder and glanced at the documents. It was full of her mother's research. The topics ranged from accelerated aging to traveling between dimensions. Behind her, the door opened. A few Scientists walked in and stood by the door.

"Marissa, it's time to begin." The project lead said. They took her down to a lab room very similar to the one she had last seen her mother in. "Your mother was involved in a project to transfer the mind into the AI matrix in case of the Halo array activation. Afterwards the mind would be transferred back into a cloned body..." He took a breath and looked at his colleagues. "We are asking if you would take her place."

Marissa understood why they were asking, everyone knew the Flood were starting to escape containment. What had happened to her and her mother were direct examples of that. Also any programs to try to preserve all the different species from the destruction the Halos would unleash were too important to be scrapped. She nodded and said yes.

"Excellent, the only problem is that the in order for the experiment to work, you need to be at least twenty years old... Your mother designed a device-"

"That can accelerate ageing." She finished for him."

"Yes, we would like to use one of them on you."

"Alright, it's for the greater good. Go ahead." Marissa said.

The Scientists moved her to a bed and placed a small object on her wrist. It clamped down and she winced as something poked through her flesh. The Scientists moved over to a console. Moments later she felt a tingling sensation traveling up her arm followed by the area becoming numb. She could feel her skin begin to stretch and her hips widen to child bearing capacity. She clenched her jaw as small shots of pain jumped over her body. Bones broke under stress and realigned, but the pain quickly faded into the numbness. Then finally the numbness itself retreated back into the object they had placed on her wrist. The Scientists came back to her side and removed the object. She sat up and swung her legs off the bed.
'I'm definitely taller' she thought while placing her hand onto her head.

"Are you alright?" one of the Scientists asked.

"Yes, I believe so... it's just a head rush."

One of the Scientists ran a scanner over her and nodded to the project lead. "Congratulations Marissa, you are now twenty years old."

They ran a few more tests to check if her genetic composition remained greatly unchanged, and then took her up to her room. When they left, she had found someone had replaced her wardrobe with clothes to fit her new body, a few moments later she felt tired and slept for the rest of the day.

Three days later Marissa walked along the 'road' it was just a long power conduit cutting across the landscape lined tall trees and mountains. She presumed the other subjects were all being prepped for the final stage, she had slipped out to go for a walk, and it may be the last time she may be able to walk for a long time. She eventually took a telaporter to the facility in the Apex Station and was met by the Science team.

"Are you ready to begin Marissa?" The Project lead asked.

"Yes, I am. The walk was relaxing."

They led her to a room with a few pods. "This is a relatively painless procedure, but please lie back in the pod and relax." Marissa sighed and stepped into an open pod. She leaned against the padding and the Scientists closed the pod hatch. "We are beginning in three...two...one."

Marissa's arms and legs were forcefully clamped down and a bright white light went slowly down the side of the pod. Through the small window she saw the scientists nod at a screen that showed her and press another switch. The machines pitch changed and her mind started to fade. It was like drifting off to sleep but there was a raging headache. Her body spasmed and strained against the restraints. The headache intensified but the spasms lessened and she lost muscle control. Marissa cried out in pain with the last ounce of energy. Then it was dark. The headache was gone, and she couldn't feel her head. In fact, she couldn't even feel anything. There was a series of clicks and a beep and the words 'Transfer Complete' flashed in her vision. Strangely words like 'System diagnostics' and 'Sensor readings' were present on the black background. Suddenly Marissa's vision lit up and she saw the Scientists moving around the pod she was in a moment earlier. Something clicked and she seemed to drop down a little. She thought about moving forward and she move closer to them. They looked up and stared at her; the Lead took a data-pad off a table and walked up to her.

"How do you feel Marissa?" He asked.

Marissa pondered the question for a moment then replied. "I don't feel anything; my sense of feeling is gone."

"That was expected," he pressed something on the data-pad and then tapped her shell.

Oddly she felt the tap resonate through her shell. "I felt that..." She said.

"Good, alright he-" Everyone dropped. Marissa just stared. An eerie silence filled the room. She quickly flew out of the Apex station passing bodies lying on the ground. Their life signs were flat, they where all dead. The facilities official AI sent out a flash bulletin that said, "HALO INSTALLATIONS HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED"

She couldn't believe it. They had activated it and killed everyone... She couldn't cry, it wasn't physically possible, but she whimpered as she soared over her region heading for the hangar. She wanted out, to get away from the death. Although deep down she knew it was the same everywhere else, if not worse. She had understood why they had done it, but it was just too much for her. At the hangar she stared out into the deep ocean. She wasn't leaving. Suddenly the AI made an announcement. "Attention- Inbound Shuttle. Prepare for docking procedures."

Marissa didn't understand. The Halo's should have killed anything... unless it was Flood. Marissa called the other subjects and informed them on what happened. A detachment of Sentinels arrived a few moments later and prepared for the shuttles arrival.

The shuttle came to a halt smoothly. The others had arrived and waited in the control room. The shuttle settled and the Sentinels approached the door.


August 22 2552 (human calendar) 2115 hours
UNSC Decommissioned Weapons Storage Facility 2, Standard IV
GSGT. Eric Green
______________________________________________________________________________

Gunnery Sergeant Eric Green rode a Warthog through a deep tunnel. The tunnel didn't look much different from a natural tunnel, except for the occasional support beam or check point. The driver swerved to avoid a pile of rocks from a large cave in. Eric looked up and saw the calm afternoon sky. The Hog slowed at a large door. On either side Scorpion tanks were buried up to their access hatches. A Marine walked over to a switch and opened the massive door. The door slowly creaked over rusty rails and revealed a cement tunnel. At the end of that, the Warthog pulled into a humid motor pool and parked near an elevator. Eric hopped out of the passenger seat and walked toward the Armory. As he passed a pillar he was ambushed from behind.

"Eric!" A woman yelled into his ear.

"What Alex?" He replied while turning towards her and twisting free of his wife's grip. She was wearing the usual UNSC Technician Jumpsuit but with the top open.

She stepped back and shifted her hips. "The Captain wants to see you in the Ops center."

"Tell him I'll be right down." He said.

"Yes sir." Alex replied and headed down the stairs.

Eric removed his helmet and whipped the sweat off his forehead. He entered the Armory and handed his DMR to the attendant.

"The scope got hit by some rocks, can you check it out to see if there's any problems with it? It won't stay zeroed in," he said.

"We'll get right on that Sergeant Green." The Attendant replied taking Eric's side arm as well.

"How long until they get the air vents fixed?" Eric asked glancing at a thermostat on the wall.

"Well Maintenance crew is busy fixing up some Vultures, but they hope to fix it next week."

"Ah, alright."

"We're low on ammunition though. Fire team Zulu had to pull out so fast they left their Scorpion and four crates of ammo behind." The Attendant sighed.

"Fire team Zulu... weren't they in the suburbs of Lowry?" Eric asked.

"Yeah... Well I'll get on your weapons."

"Alright thanks." Eric left the Armory and walked over the stairs, but just as he opened the door the elevator dinged open. Two Server Technicians rolled a cart of computers into the elevator. Eric stepped on board, "You guys going down to the Ops center?"

"Yes Sergeant," one replied.

The elevator doors closed and they plunged into the dark. They passed the two levels of civilians; almost half a million people were able to evacuate the bunker system that used to be surplus vehicle storage. The elevator stopped on sub-level- 4 and opened to reveal the Ops center. The Techs rolled the computer cart out and into a computer room. The Ops center itself was pretty empty except for a large screen and a few portable computers. Eric walked up to a man standing by a Tech on a computer.
"Captain." Eric saluted.

"Sergeant Green, good to have you back. I need you for a recovery mission." He picked up a data-pad and continued. "I take it you've heard about Zulu?"

"Yes sir, I have."

"Alright, I need you and a squad to go recover the ammunition. They left behind a Scorpion, but that is a secondary objective. We'll need that ammo son, with no contact with HIGHCOM or any ships heading in this direction, and the fact that the Covenant bastards seem to be stranded here as well, means that the only way to survive here is to wipe the other out. This mission is of high importance so your team will be mostly made up of the Spartans."

"Sir, the Spartans? Are you sure you want me to command them?"

"Yes Sergeant I am, I'm sure you'll do fine. By the way, latest recon shows the Covenant have moved Scarabs into that area."

"Oh...Shit... When do we leave sir?"

"As soon as possible. Your team is waiting on Pelican Bravo four-three-five, good luck Sergeant." The Captain saluted and went back to work.

Eric returned the salute and walked over to the stairs. He stepped on to the hangar deck and watched the Mechanics work on the various air vehicles. Eric found Bravo 435 in the prep zone and saw the Spartans looking over their weapons. There was only two other Marines in the Pelican, Williams and Alex. They both looked very small compared to the Spartans. He nodded to Alex then climbed aboard and walked into the cockpit. He tapped the Pilot's shoulder and the Pilot turned around.
"Eric?"

"Mike," Eric replied.

"Man- I haven't seen you for a while."

"Yeah. Two weeks of ground ops." He sighed and rubbed his neck.

"That would do it. I take it you're the one leading the mission?"

"Yeah," Eric said. "Come out and I'll brief everyone." Eric walked into the troop bay and got the Spartans attention. "We're being deployed to recover some ammunition and a Scorpion tank left by Fire team Zulu in the suburbs of Lowry. Aerial recon reports that the Covenant have deployed heavy armor in the area along with a Scarab."

Eric heard one of the Spartans sigh. The Covenant Scarabs were not the common ones the UNSC has been fighting. These were tougher and their main cannon could down a Pelican in one shot. The rear hatch closed and the Pelican eased up and flew out of the Hangar. Eric sat in the corner and hear metal clanging against each other above him. He looked up and saw two Mongooses hanging from the ceiling.

"Mike- Who the hell put Mongooses on the roof?"

"Oh, sorry didn't tell you yet. It's the only way to get the all the ammo in the back."

"Well is it safe?" Eric moved into the Navigators seat.

"Yeah, that's what the Mechanic said when she welded on the racks."

Eric had a sudden realization. "Fuck- I forgot to pick up my weapons from the Armory."

"Don't worry," Mike said calmly. "Alex dropped them off for you before you showed."

He flipped a switch and a weapon rack extended out bellow Eric's seat. His DMR and M6D pistol sat there. He picked them out and placed them in their places.
The Pelican roared over the ocean and approached the shore across the continent. The beach came up fast and the Pelican initiated a fast 180 degree turn 15 feet above the sand. The hatch opened and the Spartans launched themselves out of the troop bay and set up defense positions. Eric hopped out and ran up a sand dune.

"Stay safe guys- I'll be waiting for you. Out."