Halo: Shrike

Plot Summary
''The Great war has been over for several years now, but humanity is nowhere near achieving peace. Throughout the remaining and rebuilding human colonies, Insurrection is rising up once again, and the struggling UNSC needs it dealt with swiftly and effectively, using the best soldiers they have: Spartans.''

''Meanwhile, a wayward soul with no real purpose in life finds friendship and family within one of the most dangerous professions in the galaxy: that of an Insurrectionist. The ends, however, may not always justify the means, as loyalty is pulled into question.''

However, in a world where treachery, secrets and murder are the norm, the SPARTAN-III's of Shrike Team and their rebel foes may face an even greater danger than their previous Covenant foes as they venture into the darkest corners of the galaxy.

Dramatis Personae
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Prologue
//AUGUST 12th, 2556\\

//ASTEROID WT-95, CORVUS SYSTEM\\

//1340 HOURS\\


 * LhlHqANcKjU

It had been nine hours since the distress beacon had been picked up from the remote ONI outpost. Six figures trudged across the rocky surface of the asteroid, clad in high-tech pressure suits and wielding a wide assortment of weapons. The team had been dispatched on the Prowler, UNSC Agnus Dei to investigate the situation.

"Not bad for a first mission, eh Verensky?" called the group leader, Agent Yang. He was a balding, middle aged man, and had obviously seen a great deal of experience in investigatory missions such as this. Like most ONI agents, his appearance was deceptive. He probably knew a thousand different ways to kill a man.

"It's fine, sir" replied John Verensky. At the age of 21, he was the youngest person sent out on the mission. He guessed that his superiors were testing his mettle in the field. A veritable prodigy, the young man had attained extraordinarily high marks on his examinations and had entered the Intelligence community after graduating from university. Yang was probably some form of final examiner.

"Got a view on the facility. It's totally dark"

"Keep moving, sergeant" Accompanying Yang and Verensky were several ODST's, just in case. The station had been constructed back in 2534, and had been used for weapons development throughout the Human-Covenant War. Fortunately, it was one of the few not to have been found by their alien foes. As the group neared the large steel airlock, something else came into view. It was a ship, matte black and roughly five hundred metres in length, a little shorter than a UNSC Frigate. No lights could be seen coming from it.

"What the hell is that thing?" asked the ODST sergeant, Erikson. The ship wasn't human, but it lacked any distinctive Covenant features. It didn't even match the classifications of any Forerunner ships that had been recently discovered by ONI. It seemed to blend into the blackness of space perfectly; they had not seen it while coming in to land. Yang strode forward, one hand holding a recording device as he documented evidence of the unknown ship. He then motioned to the ODST's, who ran to the airlock and began bypassing it with their portable 'hackers'.

"Agent Verensky, what do you think of this?"

"I think..." The young man cocked his head to one side, gazing at their new find. "I think that we may be encountering a new kind of foe, sir. Other than that, I have little to go on" Verensky made no attempt to disguise the wonder in his voice.

Yang grunted. "Fair enough. Let's get inside"

The airlock slid open, and the six men entered the facility. After checking the oxygen levels within the facility, the two agents removed their helmets. The ODST's immediately raised their weapons, utilising their armour's VISR systems to check for hostiles. Erikson waved his men forward, and they crept along the dimly lit corridor. After rounding the first corner, the first signs of a firefight were spotted. The metal floor was stained almost black with blood, and patches of the wall had been melted. Erikson ran his hands over the scorched metal.

"Plasma damage, I've seen this before. Guess your student was wrong, Yang"

"Maybe. Some excitement is natural for the boy, though we need to classify the ship before we-"

The rest of his sentence was cut off by the sound of clattering metal from the next room. Two of the troopers immediately sprinted for the door, and kicked it open, levelling their rifles. There was a short burst of fire and the sound of running feet. The rest of the group followed suit, chasing the fleeing figure.

"Corporal, what was that?"

"Might have been a split-lip Sarge, sure as hell moved like one!"

Verensky and Yang followed the troopers, drawing their submachine guns as they did. Though they lacked the intense training and body armour of the helljumpers, the two of them could handle themselves well enough. Looking up at a flickering sign on the ceiling, Verensky saw that they were heading for the Operations centre of the facility. Something told him that this was a bad idea. He slowed his pace down to a jog, allowing himself to fall behind the others as they sprinted onwards. Calling them over wouldn't do him much good at this point. He moved away, down a darkened side corridor.

Lighting the way with his weapon's flashlight, Verensky eventually came to a flight of stairs that overlooked the Operations centre. Below, the others were caught up in an intense firefight with a group of Sangheili. He hadn't seen the creatures up close before, but had, like so many thousands before him, lost his parents to them in the war. Verensky calmly walked to a control panel. One of the troopers went down screaming as a burst of plasma hit him full in the face. Yang managed to take down two of his foes as the humans advanced on the aliens. Looking down, Verensky noticed a large red button, bordered with yellow and black markings. Usually, buttons such as this did very interesting things.

He placed his helmet on, and tapped the button. The airlock in the operations centre below him juddered open, immediately sucking out the room's oxygen. Debris and corpses shot towards the cold vacuum of space. Smiling, he pressed it once more, and the door closed. The fighters, disoriented and confused, staggered around, looking for their weapons. Then, he arrived. Verensky watched in fascinated horror as a dark shape, roughly the same size as the Sangheili, cannoned into the room, a single blow sending Sergeant Erikson flying into a steel girder. He did not get up. Yang, still dazed, looked up at the young agent in the control booth, the fear evident on his face.

"Verensky, for God's sake, help us!"

John Verensky crossed his arms, giving the older agent a wry smile as the shadow pummelled another trooper to death. Yang cursed, and dived for a discarded rifle. He never reached it. Having killed off the last soldier, the shadow picked up Yang by the throat, throttling him as it turned to look up at Verensky. It was human-shaped, though abnormally tall. It's face was obscured by a round, spherical helmet. Verensky tapped the airlock button again, watching the explosive decompression once more. The figure stood stock still, not being moved at all as the mangled bodies and several surviving elites were pulled outside to their doom. Yang was released, and immediately pulled towards the airlock, reaching outwards, his eyes still on Verensky. The figure began to walk forwards. His blood turned to ice as he looked for another button on the panel.

"I don't think so, Human" a guttural voice came from behind him. An alien hand closed the airlock, while another lifted him into the air. He kicked and struggled, but to no avail. The large Sangheili, clad in armour the colour of human blood, chuckled as another entered the room, closely followed by the dark figure.

"Magnus, what shall we do with this one?" the elite holding Verensky asked in clear English. He seemed to be treating the other as a superior. 'Magnus' removed his helmet. He was, or at least appeared to be, human. He was quite pale, and bald except for a goatee beard. His eyes, however, seemed to be a dark red colour, emotionless and cold. He gently removed Verensky's helmet, and peered into his face. The young man didn't flinch, looking back into those inhuman eyes unblinkingly.

"Why did you knowingly kill your comrades, human?" he didn't so much ask as demand an answer, speaking in a high, clear voice.

"Aren't you human too?" replied Verensky. Magnus snorted, turning away from him for a few seconds before facing him again.

"Once, maybe, but don't insult me. I'm a superior form of life now, far above homo sapiens on the evolutionary scale. Answer my question"

Verensky found himself fighting the urge to laugh. Whoever this Magnus person was, he was clearly arrogant, with a hint of God Complex about him. Still, he saw a way out of this. "They were not my comrades. To be honest, I was more interested in ways of getting out of this dull mission" He answered truthfully. In his mind, Yang and the others had underestimated him. Hadn't forgotten the comment about him being 'excited'. Magnus paced the room, the two Sangheili standing guard.

"Sur, release him" The elite dropped Verensky to the floor. He picked himself up and stood still, arms behind his back. Magnus motioned for the elites to leave the room. "Rol, Sur, collect the bodies. I want evidence of a fight here, one from which out friend here was the only survivor" The two left without a word.

"So, am I free to go?" Verensky asked.

"You know, you and I may have something in common. What is your name and profession?"

"John Verensky. I'm an agent for the Office of Naval Intelligence"

Magnus smiled at this. "Are you now? That is good. Well then, John, what is your opinion on the United Nations Space Command, and the government that you serve?" Verensky shrugged. They had never meant anything much to him. He had joined ONI so he could test his own skills, not out of any sort of loyalty to humanity.

"They don't mean anything. Just a means to an end"

"So, what do you think about destroying it?" This came as something of a shock. The UNSC and UEG had always been there, like a huge, impenetrable beast. The largest threat it had faced was that of the Covenant, which had essentially ceased to exist as an effective force a few years ago. While declining the offer would probably be bad for his health, there seemed to be something attractive about it, corrupting and slowly destroying an organisation from the inside. Verensky knew his capabilities. He would probably be assigned to something important, secret. He could use that to his advantage.

"I think that would be a lovely idea, Magnus"

The huge cyborg grinned again and patted him on the back. "Well then, I suppose we have a lot of work to do, my friend" He looked down at the two elites, who were suiting up for retrieving the bodies. He spoke to himself in a soft, almost loving tone. "It finally begins..."

In the Dark
//UNSC HELIOS STATION, MARS ORBIT\\

//OCTOBER 29TH, 2556\\

//0900 HOURS\\


 * 0Sx3iKZjfLI

Martin-A136 climbed down the metal steps of the transport ship, and found himself in a large hangar bay. Several Pelican dropships sat side by side next to the ship, crates of supplies scattered about. Otherwise, the area was totally deserted. He had been remotely woken from cryosleep to find himself on an empty ship, with his MJOLNIR armour missing. He didn't see the point in panicking over something like this. ONI had a habit of doing bothersome things.

"Nice to see you awake, Master Chief" He knew that voice. Turning, Martin saw a woman, dressed in plain black navy fatigues, striding towards him. She was a good seven feet tall, with chin-length black hair. On her uniform, the words ELENA-071 were stencilled next to the silver leaf representing the rank of Commander. He saluted.

"Nice to see you again, ma'am. Been a while, hasn't it?"

"Four years, actually. Sorry we didn't get acquainted back then. Genocidal alien attacks are real conversation killers" She shook her head, smiling. Martin hadn't seen her out of the jet black armour she had worn during the Human-Covenant War. He knew he couldn't get too friendly with her. Even back then, she had been totally focused on her mission, and had disappeared the moment she had what she wanted.

"So, what has ONI called me for this time?" He was no stranger to the Office of Naval Intelligence and it's unsavoury methods. Martin himself had been part of one such program that created an army of child suicide soldiers. There were only a handful left now, unsurprisingly. Elena beckoned to him, turning away into a side corridor. Helios Station had been built barely a year after the war, and was officially used for 'sensory purposes'. Several men and women walked along the corridors of the station, barely casting a second glance at the two supersoldiers. Martin had a feeling that he was about to be given a suicide mission. Good. He didn't exactly have anything to live for, having signed on at the age of six to kill aliens.

"I hear the mission was a success then? Brute enclave slaughtered and tech recovered. Nice work, Master Chief"

That was when it hit him. "I think you're mistaken, ma'am. I don't hold that rank" Elena shook her head knowingly, giving him the wry smile that ONI agents usually carried. It usually meant that they knew something you didn't. Martin hated it. They came to an elevator. Elena pressed the button before responding. "We promoted you while you were in cryosleep. You deserve it with all you've done, anyway"

The elevator arrived and the two Spartans stepped in. They stood in silence for almost a minute before Martin spoke. "There's a reason behind my promotion, isn't there?"

"Whatever do you mean?" That smile was back.

"Well, for one, I don't need a rank to fight. Took the promotions I was given in the war, but other than that, my only purpose was to kill aliens"

"Purpose? You're a Spartan, not a machine, Martin"

He found himself frowning, and wished the elevator would hurry the hell up. "You wouldn't understand. You guys were abducted. I chose to become what I am" He recalled his first night on Onyx, the SPARTAN-III training ground, seeing the monolithic SPARTAN-II and wishing he could be like him. Twenty Six years later, and he was practically living the dream. The elevator came to a halt. Martin began following Elena again.

"'You guys', huh? I thought you were friends with Marco and the others. You're being disrespectful to a superior officer, too"

Martin straightened up, the obedient soldier once more. "I apologise, ma'am. Didn't mean to cause any offence" He wasn't sure if Elena thought he was mocking her with the sudden mood change. If she did, she wasn't showing it. The two came to a door, flanked by two bored looking ODST's. They stood to attention at the sight of the Commander.

"In there, Martin. They're waiting"

He wasn't sure who 'they' were, and didn't really want to find out, not that he had any real choice. He took a deep breath, and allowed the door to slide open before sliding in. He was in some kind of Operations room. Various computers and electronic devices were scattered around the place. On the metal benches, eight others sat, some reclined and at ease, some straight-backed and alert, and some looking slightly wary and even nervous. At first, he thought they were marines on the same assignment, but then he began to notice the telltale signs. And the nametags. He read the two nearest to him. Leandra-B031, Graham-G101.

It all made sense now. The promotion, the secretive nature of his transport here, the way that Elena was being all mysterious (or, moreso than spooks usually are) and the fact that he didn't recognise a single face from Alpha Company in the room. Almost all had been killed during Operation: PROMETHEUS, nineteen years ago, but there were still a handful alive and kicking. For a moment, he wished he had just been sent on another suicide mission than have to deal with this. The SPARTAN-III's of Beta and Gamma Company had shifted to face him

''So now I get a team. ONI's screwed me''.

"Shit" Martin muttered, to no one in particular.

Introductions
"Ah, Master Chief, glad to see you could finally join us"

Martin turned to see a man in navy attire entering the room behind him. He saluted upon seeing the captain's insignia pinned to his uniform. The man nodded, and strode to the front of the room, beckoning for Martin to follow. He did so, feeling slightly embarrassed as the other SPARTAN-III's turned to face him. He stood behind the Captain as he cleared his throat.

"It's good to see you here, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Captain Ryan Samson. I am an agent of the Office of Naval Intelligence, and your new operational commander. Each of you has been chosen for this team because of your unique skills, and because it has been decided that working as a coordinated group will be something that you need to work on"

Martin knew what that meant. He was getting a bunch of misfits who didn't play nice. Great. He recalled how Alpha Company had been when they had first arrived for training years ago: wild, angry. They had been beaten into shape over the years. He hoped that Chief Mendez had trained them similarly. They had arrived broken; war orphans who wanted revenge. While they hadn't been 'fixed' exactly, they had been trained to kill and taught some discipline. Hopefully, they would be disciplined well enough to function effectively as a team. Samson leaned forward and continued.

"You will be our seek-and-destroy team. You report only to me. When you are in the field, you will have no reinforcements, no outside support, and virtually no accountability to anyone but ONI. If you die, you die. Your deaths, should they occur, will be unpublished and unrecognised. Your accomplishments and achievements will be known to no one outside this room. Welcome to Shrike, ladies and gentlemen"

None of the Spartans in the room so much as blinked after this. Their program had been founded in secret anyway, what was a few more classified missions to them? Samson smiled, glad to have gotten his point across. He gestured to Martin, who was standing next to him, arms clasped behind his back.

"This is Master Chief Petty Officer Martin-A136. He will be your field commander. You will follow his orders at all times, clear?"

A chorus of affirmatives responded around the room. Samson took out a datapad and handed it to Martin. "Check these when you have a chance. I'd get to know your team now. Report to deck nineteen when you're done with the meet and greet, we need you suited up for your first mission" Martin nodded. Samson made his way to the door without another word, and exited. The others eased up a little at this. Martin wondered how the hell he was supposed to do this.

"Well then" he began, his eyes slowly roving over the eight attentive Spartans. "We'd better get to know each other before we head out. I want names, ranks, and proficiency, now!"

He'd added a lot emphasis on the last part. They stood up immediately. Martin may not have had the voice of Chief Mendez, but he'd seen enough to know how to command respect from his troops. He approached the first Spartan, who saluted him.

"Grantley, SPARTAN-B130. Chief Petty Officer. I'll be your XO. Tactical Assault, Recon, Demolitions, I'm your man" Even for a Spartan, he was heavily built, a noticeable scar running down one side of his face, tracing over his unshaven chin and the beginnings of a moustache. Martin nodded and moved on.

"Julian. SPARTAN-G209. Petty Officer First Class. Most of this lot-" he gestured at some of the others. "-came from my team in Gamma. I'm good for scouting, Chief" This one was younger, and definitely had some cockiness about him. It wasn't a bad trait, though he had a feeling that this one would have a mouth on him. He had been a leader before, though, so he must be reasonably competent.

"Amos. SPARTAN-G028. Petty Officer Second Class. I specialise in EOD and Demo Ops, sir" He looked slightly nervous, his eyes darting around at the others. Martin kept going.

"I'm May. SPARTAN-G210. Petty Officer Second Class as well, everyone else is. Mostly good as a grenadier and for assault work. Nice to be working with you, Chief" She seemed to be more at ease than most, smiling at Martin as he made his way past.

"Cesare. Gamma One-Seven-Seven. Same rank as the others. I'm the heavy weapons guy. If it makes a nice 'boom', it's mine" He was another one who looked like he was a bit too laid back. Martin made a mental note to keep an eye on him as well.

"Leandra. SPARTAN-B031. No, I never participated in TORPEDO. I've had extensive training in computer hacking and electronics under ONI. I've never worked as part of a team, and I'm ranked as a Petty Officer Second Class. Nice to meet you, sir" Leandra spoke in short bursts, releasing small amounts of information at a time. She seemed to have the markings of a spook, and by the way she looked at the others a little apprehensively, might have trouble fitting in.

"Graham. Gamma-101. Petty Officer. Marksman" This one seemed to be quite laconic, looking bored at their current inactivity. He seemed to fit the typical 'cold sniper' routine, at least. Martin would make sure to get through to him at some point. If he was to be a team leader, he would have to get to know everyone as well as he could. Last one.

"Alrik-G040, reporting for duty. Petty Officer like the rest. I'm good for EVA combat and piloting as well as the usual stuff, sir" This one was in a surprisingly good mood, a malicious grin on his face as though he was plotting something. Other than that, he appeared to be fine. That was everyone. Martin would get to know them in the missions to come. Since Upsilon had been all but wiped out on Reach, and Sigma had disbanded at the end of the war, Martin had been working solo. Now, with his own team to command, things would be different. He had never been one for change, but this was quite exciting. As he began to move towards the door, a familiar voice spoke up.

"Well, Chief. Nice to see you've introduced yourself to your subordinates"

Martin turned to see a ghostly blue image of a robed and hooded man, a dagger dangling at his belt. Only the lower half of his face was visible, revealing a devious smile. "Armand" he replied. He had met the AI at the end of his previous mission, only a few days before. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm the support AI for this new 'Shrike' Team. Seems that after our first encounter, ONI thought that you would need my vast array of skills to assist you so, here I am"

Martin sighed, and strode out without replying. He should have really seen that one coming. His chance meeting with a UNSC-affiliated AI couldn't just have been a happy coincidence. He made his way to the elevator, followed by his fellow Spartans, and mentally prepared himself for whatever assignment they were about to receive. With any luck, he'd get the hang of this 'leadership' thing.

"I think he's perfect for the job"

"Why is that, Commander?"

"Aside from knowing what he is doing, the Chief is a quick thinker and knows exactly what's going on around him"

"What's that supposed to mean, exactly?"

"He has a conscience, Captain"

"Huh. Well, if I know ONI, Shrike will be dispatched into places where a conscience is a liability. No offence, but you Spartans were trained to be ruthless killing machines"

"None taken. Listen, one of the best Spartans I know is also one with a pretty heavy conscience about his actions. Martin will do fine in the field, sir. Anyway, after ASHES last year, I know that although you have to do whatever it takes to win, following orders can be...difficult, to say the least"

"Ah, you're referring to the assassination mission, correct? At least you got something, or rather, someone out of there. How is he?"

"Still recuperating. He was gone for a long time. Jax is getting him up to speed. He'll be combat ready very soon"

"That's good to hear. We're giving them a sort of 'trial run' on Circumstance. We've got a whole hive ready to be shaken up down there, and ONI wants to make it clear that we're sending the best we have against the innies"

"Is our intel solid? I don't want to send them in only to have a Mamore-type attack. They're all combat-tested. Martin was on Reach, for God's sake"

"There's nothing to worry about, Commander. We've got Alex the Red down there now. Believe me, once he's got in there, Spartans will be the least of the innies' worries. We've looked over this"

"Redford is one of the best. Can't say I agree with his methods, but if he gets the job done he's fine by me. Where is Shrike now?"

"Coming up the elevator now. Let's get this briefing done with so we can hand out some of the new toys the guys in R&D have been developing"

Rising Up
//KUIPER, CIRCUMSTANCE\\

//OCTOBER 30TH, 2556\\

//0230 HOURS\\


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