Print 

Author Topic: A Spartan By Any Other Name - Chapter III - Mistakes  (Read 2091 times)

Offline jokerman

  • Junior Poster
  • **
  • Posts: 185
  • Connecting.......
A Spartan By Any Other Name - Chapter III - Mistakes
« on: September 22, 2009, 07:25:35 PM »
<boring stuff>
The following story is copyrighted material and all rights belong solely to the author.  Any reproduction or republication of any or all of this publication without the explicit and expressed written consent from the author is strictly forbidden.
</boring stuff>

The compound was just a cave in a rocky formation that jutted out of the planet like shards of broken teeth.  It was surrounded by hills that eventually grew into what looked like mountains in the distance.  The horizon seemed much farther away on Purgatory, the cadet thought.  Maybe it was the atmospheric gasses; maybe it was because Purgatory was larger than Earth, he didn’t know.  He had always been curious about things like that, but it didn’t seem to matter much right now.  His mortality had just kicked him square in the gut and his curiosity had taken a back seat to an overwhelming urge to crawl into a corner and throw up.

At the entrance of the cave, stood a Spartan with dark charred armor that appeared to be standing guard over the secure part of the compound.  Two other Spartans were just inside and looked in the cadet’s direction.  They then looked at each other and nodded.  One Spartan walked outside and up to the young cadet while the other went deeper into the cave and out of sight.   In the early alien dawn, the cadet saw this Spartan’s armor was dented and scratched.  Some pieces of the armor seemed scuffed more than others and looked to be made of other suits pieced together as one but the cadet couldn’t quite tell.

“Who do we have here?” the deep voice said through the communication unit in his ears.  The cadet began to salute without thinking.  The sound of cocking assault rifles stopped him cold.  “We don’t salute out here, cadet.  Saluting tells the enemy who is large and in charge.  Your saluting paints a target on me tells the Covenant who to shoot first.  And cadet, I don’t plan to be first in line at that barbeque.  Just keep your hands down and answer the question.”

“I’m…” the cadet stopped and looked at the Spartan that had explicitly explained to him, in no uncertain terms, who he was not.  “I’m… new”, he finally said.

“Good, you’re a fast learner and you listen.  She can certainly make a point, can’t she?”  He continued not waiting for an answer, “Out here, we have designations.  I tell you what you will be called and you will respond to nothing else.  But before we know what to call you, we have to know you.  And before you know us and who we are, you have to know yourself.  Give me your weapon.”

Without hesitation, the cadet surrendered his weapon.

“First mistake, never disarm yourself”, the battle scarred Spartan barked.

“But sir, didn’t you ask me for my weapon?” the cadet stammered.

“Second mistake, never question my orders!  Take him!”  To the cadet’s left the dark armored Spartan that was standing guard came at him without hesitation.  The cadet was so concerned in reporting to the commander that he again had not paid attention to his surroundings.  He jumped and dodged what he could.  The melee attack was fierce; the guard was almost a blur.  The heavy gravity meant nothing to this one as the cadet struggled to deal with having to move as if he were trying to stir a very large vat of thick oatmeal with a tennis racket.  

The cadet took some licks and was surprised when he got one in to this quick opponent.  Then he got another and another.  This guard had moves that the cadet had never seen.  None of his street fighting, martial arts training, basic training, nothing was like this.  The movements were with such ease and grace that the cadet felt like someone on ice skates for the first time while an Olympian twirled and skated circles around him.  

He heard none of the yelling that he was used to when he sparred with the others in basic training, no taunting, no cheers, nothing but a strange whistle.  At first he thought it was someone whistling as if saying, “Wow”.  But then he realized it was almost like a song, like someone waiting for a bus.  He was giving the best that he had and they were toying with him.  By no means did he beat this impressive Spartan but he definitely did not lose.  The cadet would not surrender.  He remembered the words of his greeter and the commander was right, she could make a point.  

Finally, the commander called off his master of hand-to-hand combat.  The cadet, breathing hard onto the interior of his visor made an effort to stand straight after being pummeled to near exhaustion.

“So, you can dance”, said the commander.

“Yes sir, I can”, the cadet said breathlessly.  “Bring in another one, let them whistle their song too.  I can dance to any tune.  I can dance all night long”, the cadet said almost with an attitude but then quickly checked himself.

“You do realize that the nights here are several Earth days long, cadet.  Be careful what you say you can and cannot do.  That is your third mistake.  If you say you can do something, you had better be able to do it or it may be your and your team’s life.”

“Yes sir.  Sorry sir”, the cadet replied beginning to catch his breath.

“Number four, never apologize to me!  It means absolutely nothing to me!  Actions are all that I demand.  You are making mistakes left and right, cadet.  Watch your step because no one out here is going to do it for you”, the commander said with a hint of exasperation.

“Yes sir”, the cadet said hoping that the commander didn’t see the grimace on his face through his visor.


« Last Edit: September 23, 2009, 06:09:29 PM by jokerman »

Print