Orpheus
the tales of the Spartan IVs


Chapter 1. Prologue
0900 Hours, January 3, 2560 (Military Calendar) /
Tau Lambda System, City of Harshire

Ian saw the enemy approaching his position. He was well concealed, but he knew the Hunter alien would notice him as soon as he got close enough. He inched forward, rifle aimed squarely at the point of orange flesh barely visible under the impregnable armor. His shield bar flickered a hairsbreadth as his MJOLNIR combat armor scratched against a shattered combat knife. He stopped moving, and slowly his finger moved to the trigger of the sniper rifle. The Hunter stopped as well, he too aiming his weapon, at the barricade Charlie Company's marines had set up in front of the colonial administration building. The beam slowly charged up, as a group of Brutes prepared to charge as soon as the barricade was destroyed. The sun shone off their armor and the blades of their brute shots. Ian could see the helmet of their officer, a muscular Brute in the golden armor of a high-ranking captain. He gave a command to one Brute, who quickly drew a single grenade and looked for an angle. It was at that moment that Ian fired on the invaders, a series of four decisive shots which ended the battle.

The first shot hit the Hunter in his unprotected back, and he fell forward onto his own weapon. The weapon discharged through his 'chest' with a sickening crunch as it burned the Malekgolo to a black crisp and came right through the armored battle suit. The second shot hit the other hunter as he turned to face Ian. It hit the neck piece of the alien and he spun around for a moment and then fell sideways in a puddle of luminescent orange blood. Ian's third shot struck the Brute with the grenade in the unprotected spot where his eye had been. His head seemed to come apart in a gory spray of cooked flesh, and the just ignited grenade fell and hit another Brute in the boot, drawing blood and catching there. The final shot struck the captain in his neck, and while he collapsed, a section of his head was severed from the dead Brute. It had taken only ten seconds for Ian to defeat the attack his Covenant opposite had sent to defeat their small force of marines and colonists. The grenade detonated as he turned and walked down from his position to the base, strode past the four dead Jackals and past a file of Grunts in terrible, contorted positions of death, and back down to the building where his men waited. He'd done well this time.

Four other Spartans waited outside the base. He could also see Captain Kleiner and his mean waiting alongside them with their saviors. One of the Spartans opened a COM channel to Ian. "Pelicans and Albatross will be here in 60, we cleared out the local AA and all of the Covenant over the valley. We're done here." It was Serge, his CO and a man he respected for his courage, and disliked for his recklessness in battle. He nodded, and walked inside to pick up his single bag.


A minute later, he sat in the third Pelican as it quickly gained altitude and prepared to head into space. The small room that was available was packed with a medium squad of marine infantrymen who talked about the silent Spartan as if he wasn't there. "I saw it all, man. He was like pow, pow, pow, and those assholes just fell over like, real fast!" one marine told a friend, who kept repeating his compliments to the Spartan. Another marine, who sat across from Ian, was quiet and stared at Ian like a painting. He finally waved his hand briefly to get his attention, then said "Hey, how do get to be a Spartan? Where can I sign up?" He seemed content with his question. Ian looked at him, then he replied "You don't sign up. They choose you. Just hope you're not on their list." The marine thought over Ian's words for a moment, then trembled. "I don't want to know anymore, man, never mind.."

The marines' chatter continued until they reached the ship, the last Pelican to land, and were forced to wait as the enormous Albatross dropship lowered two warthogs and a single mongoose onto pads. The airlock doors sealed and the Pelican lowered itself to the floor. The marines piled out of the cramped interior and entered the ship. Ian was last. The marines all ran down a hallway and into the mess hall. But Ian slowly strode down the hallway, and into the Spartan's quarters. Janice and Serge were already there, and he nodded at them as he set down his bag. His teammate handed him a sack with a uniform and an M6G within. "What's this for?" he asked curiously. Janice shrugged and took out the same uniform from another bag. "ONI wants us to keep under the radar a bit. We have to blend in." She hurriedly removed her own helmet and her armor, and set them in an ammunition case. Serge and Ian did the same, and they were soon able to get the undersized marine fatigues on correctly.

As they left the quarters for the mess hall, they discovered Hugh and Tracy, their fellow Spartans, were already there. They sat down to eat with Charlie Company's survivors, opposite Kleiner and some of his marines. The captain nodded at them as they sat, and returned to his meal. They ate for a few minutes, then returned to their quarters to don their armor and head to the bridge, as per the request of a crewman who met them at their table. They soon arrived at the bridge to meet Captain René DeGalles, commanding officer of the Innumerable, a Marathon-class cruiser. With the UNSC in full rise, their cruisers could be built in large numbers once again. With their own fleet in disarray and now outnumbered, the Covenant could now be beaten as easily as they could on land in some cases. The officer greeted them, and shook hands briefly with Serge. "Spartans, welcome to my ship. It's going to take a few days to reach earth, so make yourselves comfortable." He gestured to the crewmen around him. "If you need anything, just ask one of my men. If they aren't busy, they can help you." Serge nodded "Thank you, captain. I'll make sure we get that down." He made a tiny signal to Ian. Ian nodded, and the Spartans returned to the quarters to wait out Slipspace, with only a table of ONI spooks waiting for their report.