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John stood alone on the empty stage. It wasn’t often he felt nervous. He had been crafted into a living weapon, the pinnacle of human achievement, a Spartan-II. Despite having lived through nearly 20 years of continuous warfare and saving the galaxy on multiple occasions, he felt unprepared for his next mission. He struggled to believe how he had gotten here. With little warning or preparation he was issued an ultimatum, accept a non-combat position or a mandatory retirement. He remembered the shock he felt when he entered the office for the new Commander in Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence (CINCONI) to discover a long dead friend, and fellow Spartan, now wearing the stars of an admiral. Serin-019, now Serin Osmin, had inherited the position of CINCONI from her predecessor Margret Parangosky. Who had groomed her for the position from the day she washed out of the Spartan-II program. She explained to him that there were new laws being passed that would likely see the highly classified details of the Spartan-II and Spartan-III programs being released to the public. To get ahead of the inevitable backlash a program was created that would force all Spartan-II and Spartan-III’s into non-combat positions or aid in starting civilian lives for them.
He glanced down at his newly issued Spartan branch uniform and allowed himself a slight grimace. Part of the agreement that allowed him to continue to serve was that he was to be transferred to the Spartan Branch. A new position was created just for him (and for PR reasons). He was now officially the Master Chief of the Spartan Branch, only reporting to his fellow Spartans Jun and Musa. Musa 096, now known as Musa Ghanem, was the Commander in Chief of the Spartans (CINCSPAR). As a washout from the Spartan-II program like Serin Osman, his word was the law of the Spartan branch. Jun A-266 was a Spartan-III who served as the Chief of Staff of Spartan Operations (COSSPAR). John could feel the immediate tension between Jun and himself. This was most likely due to the fact that John would be taking over some of the duties Jun once held. Together the three would form SPARCOM, the central nervous system of the developing branch. John’s new position promised new responsibilities and powers. While not at the top of his priority list, new dress uniforms would need to be commissioned. The current ones were clearly just leftover surplus from the Corbulo Academy that had been dyed altered to fit the massive super soldiers. But for now he had to deal with the most critical task of his new job. Training the next class of Spartan-IVs.
He recalled his experience with the graduates of the first two classes of Spartan-IVs and new changes needed to be made. Unlike the previous generations that used exclusively conscripted children as trainees, Spartan-IVs were hand selected from currently serving UNSC personnel. The problem was that these recruits were almost exclusively all from some form of special forces units and couldn’t (or outright refused to) transfer to the mindset required of a Spartan. They would often behave like nigh unkillable gods of war taking ridiculous risks, jeopardizing their missions, and risking the lives of anyone who fought alongside them. Despite Jun’s protest John was able to change that for this class of Spartan-IVs. Musa allowed all UNSC service members to apply to be Spartans upon recruitment as a test. Any who fail or get rejected would be sent back to their original station. To reflect the experimental nature, this class would only consist of 100 trainees making it the smallest class of Spartans since the Spartan-IIs. Almost a million applications were submitted with the vast majority of them being rejected by dumb AI before they were even seen by Jun and his recruiting personnel.
A green mist appeared over the stage’s holotank and a ghostly figure wearing a United Nations combat uniform from the rainforest wars. Staff Sergeant Alexander Stone was a prominent figure in the classic book
A Soldier’s tale: Rain Forest War
. He was also this AI’s chosen avatar and namesake. “The recruit’s are ready and waiting outside Master Chief.” the phantom said with a crisp salute. John returned the salute even though it wasn't required to do so for AIs. “Thank you Stone, send them in.” He watched as the door opened and the room filled with the new trainees. As the last of the recruits took their seats John found himself unsure of what to say. He stood there for a moment and surveyed the audience when a rush of memories returned to him and he knew what he had to do.
“I am the Master Chief of the Spartan Branch John 117”. He paused and watched the realization of who was in front of them spread through the crowd. “In accordance with Spartan code 0745-95 you are hereby inducted to the Spartan-IV class number 3.” The entire room stood up just a hair straighter hanging on his every word. “Repeat after me.” All eyes locked on the Master Chief. “I have been called upon to serve Earth and all her colonies.” His words echoed through the auditorium and were repeated by his trainees. “As a Spartan I shall be the embodiment of honor, duty, and self sacrifice in the name of humanity.” again the trainees echoed in unison. “This place shall become my home. My fellow Spartans, my family.” John felt the crowd's words echo through him. John broke from attention and began to pace the stage.
“There will be unimaginable hardship on the road ahead of you, but you are here because I believe you will make it. Because of this you will be loaned the title of Spartan for the duration of your training.” John spotted a toothy grin creep across the face of one of the newly minted Spartans. “What you just recited was the Spartan oath of service. To help you understand the meaning of the oath I will be teaching you the history of the Spartan programs.” The blood drained from the face of several new Spartans as they realized they were about to be told one of the biggest secrets in the galaxy. And things are usually secret for a reason.
“In 2321 the Office of Naval Intelligence launched Project Orion. A precursor for what are the modern combat pharmaceuticals commonly used today. The project was quickly shut down within a year due to poor results. In 2491 Project Orion was relaunched under the CMA to combat insurrection. While these soldier’s proved effective they began to experience extreme side effects and the program was subsequently shut down.” He paused to allow the class to digest this information. John braced himself for what he had to say next. The fact that it was about to become public knowledge hadn’t made it any easier. He spoke slowly and deliberately. “In 2510 ONI re-examined the infamous Carver findings using more up to date information. The results were horrifying. Without significant intervention humanity was projected to enter a civil war that would most likely end in the extinction of humanity. In 2511 the Spartan-II program was launched to develop a super soldier capable of averting this disaster.”
John paused again. This time not to let his class absorb what he was saying, but because he realized the only way he could explain what he needed to. “On September 23rd, 2517 At age 6, I and 74 other children were conscripted for the Spartan-II program. We were kidnapped from our families and replaced with flash clones that died soon after.” John made eye contact with everyone in the room so they would know he meant what he was about to say next with every fiber of his being. “Of the initial 75 candidates only 33 survived the augmentation process to serve as Spartans.” Jaws once clenched in determination now dropped in shock. John began to wonder if he would be able to finish his crash course in Spartan history so he could deliver the true lesson of this lecture. “In 2531 the Spartan-III program was launched, recruiting from children orphaned from the covenant onslaught. The first class consisted of 300 Spartans. The majority of them were deployed on Operation: Prometheus to destroy a covenant asset that would buy time for humanity. The operation was a pyrrhic victory that resulted in no survivors.”.
John stopped at the center of the stage and spent several moments memorizing the horrified faces of the crowd. “The history of the Spartans, your history, is one of self sacrifice. Your missions as Spartans must be completed at any and all costs. Turn and look at your fellow Spartans, your new family.” All heads in the crowd turned to one side then the other. Most looked as though they never even noticed the other people in the room. “Could you sacrifice them to complete your mission? Could you watch them die?” Silence hung over the room like a specter of anxiety made manifest. “There will be points through your training that you will be allowed to quit. Once you quit you will never again be a Spartan. If any of you wish, now is the time to quit.” The room remained still. A full five minutes passed without anyone leaving the room. John couldn't help but smile at the sight.