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The Wrath of Heaven
Posted By: Caleb the Jackal<sttrooper87100@yahoo.com>
Date: 6 March 2005, 8:00 PM
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This is the story of two Spartans. Little is known about them because their orders were not something that the UNSC was proud of. They were sent to do the jobs that no one else could handle. They were sent to do the work that was reserved by the cosmos for hell itself. They were sent as a two man army of death. They are the Wrath of Heaven.
After the augmentation process Trainee-002 and Trainee-007 were the quickest to recover next to Sam.
Caleb-007 and Kevin-002 had been best friends since their first day of recruit training. Kevin had been upset that he was taking from his Mother and Father whom he had been very close to, and Caleb had gone to comfort him. Caleb was an orphan on the streets when he had been found by Dr. Halsey. He was the only Spartan to be recruited from Earth. Kevin on the other hand, came from a loving family that cared for him. His mother and father had only one child and all of their love was devoted to him. From that day on the two were closer than brothers.
"Caleb, you and Spartan-002 are being sent to Cyprus VII. You are to stop the rebellion against the UNSC forces that are stationed there. They are led by a man named Jonathan Trevors. He has a veritable army at his disposal." As the Master Chief said this a dark look crossed his face. John felt horrible having to send his two fellow Spartans to fight an enemy that they thought to be no threat. He would much rather have them at his side fighting the Covenant.
"Sir, with all due respect... I think that Spartan-002 and I could do much more good fighting the Covenant."
John felt the same way but could not voice his opinion. It was important that he let them know that he felt this mission was important.
"Caleb, you and I have fought alongside for a long, long time. You know that I would not send you to do something that I thought could be done by someone else. Lexicus and Chuck are doing the same elsewhere. Admiral Luck feels that this is a real threat. His orders were to send the best Spartans for the job. Naturally that was you two."
"Yes Sir... Kevin and I will go and halt the rebellion," said 007 coldly. Caleb and John saluted each other and Spartan-007 walked toward the door. Turning he said, "Don't die before we come back John." With that he turned on his heel and left.
Striding along the hardened steel deck beneath him a multitude of things ran through Caleb's mind. Reaching out his hand he stroked the green backlit panel and knelt down in front of the retinal scanner.
Why had John picked them? They were good but were they really the best for the job? Or were they just the best that John was willing to let go? Were they not good enough to fight the covenant? All of these things ran through the large Spartans mind as the computer scanned his retina with a blue beam.
"Access granted. Welcome Master Chief zero, zero, seven. " said a smooth, clean, feminine voice. The doors slid apart to a buzz of activity. This was the room that the Spartans spent most of their time in. It had weights that no normal human could touch and a sparring ring. There were hanging punching bags and speed bags and various other types of equipment spread throughout the room.
Kevin and Sam were wrestling a few meters away and Caleb watched patiently. The latter was almost ten centimeters taller than the former but Kevin was stronger. They were moving so fast that it would be hard for a normal human to follow their motions. Sam would grab Kevin and Kevin would counter, then Kevin would grab and Sam would counter. Finally Kevin spun behind his mock opponent and gripped both of his forearms. He flexed the powerful muscles in his right leg and his foot swept Sam's legs out from under him. Sam's faceplate slammed to the mat and Kevin's bulk held him there. Then Kevin saw Caleb watching and immediately released Sam from his grip.
Kevin reached down and took Sam's hand and pulled him up off of the mat. They shook hands and then Spartan-002 walked over to his closest friend.
"We have a mission. We are going to Cyprus Seven."
As the drop ship descended toward the dark foreboding surface of Cyprus VII, the pelican cast an eerie shadow over the deadened landscape as it quickly and silently passed over. The barren forest below gave Spartan-007 a feeling of death. None of the trees had any leaves and the bark was an iridescent white. Finally pealing his gaze from the graveyard of trees below Caleb slipped a fresh magazine into each of his M6D's. Two metallic snaps announced a bullet sliding into the chamber of each of the powerful pistols.
Kevin prepared his S2-AM rifle with silent reserve. He selected a silencer that suppressed flash and contrail and screwed it onto the end of the jet black barrel. His hand grasped a case of S2 magazines and placed it in the supply box that he and Cabe were to take with them. He continued to place various ammo and weapons into the box and then locked it.
Just before leaving on this mission all of the Spartans were fitted with new MJOLNER armor. Most of the Spartans were fitted with the olive green armor, but Caleb and Kevin had specially requested, upon hearing that she was working on a better version, that Dr. Halsey make their suits black since they worked mainly on special ops and stealth. The suits of armor were nothing short of beautiful. They glistened opalescent black, and made the Spartans look as if they were medieval knights.
Caleb thought back to before the augmentation when they were just "normal humans. Kevin was strong back then. Really strong. Caleb was willing to bet that he could even have made CPO Mendez cry with one of his crazy submission holds. Now with MJOLNER armor and enhanced strength and reflexes he could probably crush a plate of titanium A with his hands.
He on the other hand was master with a knife. He was born on the streets of Rotterdam, on Earth and was homeless when Doctor Halsey had found him. At only six years old he would throw knives to impress a crowd into tossing him a few coins. After the augmentation Caleb was willing to bet his life that he could take on and Elite with a plasma rifle, and come out unscathed using only his knife.
Now would be their big chance to prove themselves. They had done countless ops before, but none quite as dangerous as this.
Grabbing his thick black belt that held three, twelve inch, razor sharp knives, he latched it around his waste. Two large hands reached down and hefted his two M6D pistols that fired high gauge HE rounds.
"So Kev, you ready to do this thing?" asked 007 as he watched Kevin slide a fresh clip into his modified S2-AM sniper rifle.
"We're about to find out aren't we?" Laughed Spartan-002 chambering a round. "Let's go kick some rebel ass," yelled Kevin over the roar of the pelican engines, as the blast doors opened.
Together they silently dropped to the soft forest floor carrying the crate of weapons and ammo between them and disappeared into the night.
The first thing that the two giant soldiers noticed as they made their way through the dark dreary woods was that there seemed to be no animals or sounds of animals anywhere. They found a secluded cave and hid the strongbox there. Caleb placed a tracking device on the box incase it happened to get found. Then the two Spartans walked back in the direction that they had been heading. There wasn't a sound to be heard in any direction.
Holding up his hand and sliding one finger down the side of his black helmet, Caleb gave the signal for radio silence, then knelt and started to scratch in the dirt. Kevin came up alongside him and looked at the ground where Spartan-007 was crouching. There were thick black bloodstains on the dirt and leaves that blanketed the forest floor, where Caleb was pointing. They led away north. The lead Spartan motioned that he would scout ahead and for Kevin to follow at a distance and watch his back. Kevin fell back and disappeared without Caleb even noticing. When he looked back to give the go-ahead Kevin was gone.
The twelve inch double edged dagger that was gripped in Caleb's hand glistened in the moonlight as Caleb crept forward, silent as a shadow, which is an amazing feat for someone weighing nearly two hundred kilos. Turning without a sound he looked around for his teammate. There, he saw him about twenty meters behind him. All he saw was a shadow upon shadows that seemed to barely move against the wind. No one that didn't have enhanced vision could have seen it. He turned back and kept going. Finally after many minutes of creeping he saw what he was looking for.
In the clearing ahead was a site that sent a shiver down Caleb's back. Hanging eerily in the silver moonlight, blood dripping from their naked corpses, were three men. He stood there surveying the scene not knowing what to think of it. Once the lead Spartan made certain that they were alone he motioned for Kevin to come out.
The two Spartan stood not knowing what to do about the dead soldiers. Kevin seemed to come to his senses first. The men still had their UNSC issue dog tags around their necks. Kevin took each of them off in one swift motion without touching their skin. Who the hell had done such a heinous act? Anger rose up in Caleb and he could see it in Kevin too.
After taking the men down and burying them, Caleb and Kevin ripped all of the branches off of the trees nearest the clearing. They laid them in a cross pattern over the grave. They marked the cross at the east, west, and south point with the men's blood. Then Caleb covered his dagger with blood and drove it up to the hilt in the larges beam of the cross right at the top. Finally they wrote this message on the ground in the crimson red of death.
As their blood flowed God shed tears, as your blood shall flow God will shed none. We are sent by God as he pours out his wrath upon you. The lives you have taken will be avenged.
I will come upon you like a lion,
Like a leopard I will lurk by the path.
Like a bear robbed of its cubs,
I will attack them and rip them open.
Like a lion I will devour them;
As a wild animal so to will I tear them apart.
As Joel and his men surveyed the huge, blood covered cross he could tell that his troops were getting uneasy. His men were shifting their weight from side to side and glancing around as if they were about to be attacked. He could sense their unease growing by the minute and knew that if they didn't leave soon that panic would break out.
They had used this clearing many times to execute UNSC soldiers. Why now had someone come and buried the men and left this gruesome message in blood? And the trees... How could anyone have the strength to break those limbs? They each had to be at least a foot thick. Finally there was the knife. It was buried up to its hilt in the wood. After countless tries, no one could even budge it. What kind of man had the power to do such a thing?
What the leader of the men didn't know, as he got lost in his own thoughts, was that the ones that were responsible for the message, and the dagger, were hiding in the forest watching them.
Caleb gripped the wooden club that Kevin had fashioned for him in the night. It was about a meter long and weighed over forty kilograms. He stepped out into the clearing from his concealed position and cleared his throat loudly. Stretching to his full height he spoke. The rebels turned but were not ready for what they saw. A titan in black armor with a blood red cross smeared on his chest plate stood before the startled men.
"You will all be made to pay for what you have done. The blood you have spilt will be avenged," growled Caleb in a voice that could chill a demon. With that he charged into their midst, swinging the club with deadly accuracy. The sound of metal on metal instantly made Caleb turn. His hand shot out like a hardened steel piston. He smashed the man's sternum and blood flowed out his mouth. A powerful hand grabbed the shotgun from the man's hands as he fell forward and died. The huge Spartan fired one shot into the midst of his enemies and stormed from the clearing flashed the acknowledgement light on Kevin's HUD, to let him know that he was unharmed.
The men were shocked and were not about to follow the giant that had so recently killed five of their comrades without firing a shot and injured three with one blast from a shotgun. Everyone was turning in every direction, trying to figure out where he had come from and why he had left. Before they even had a chance to get their bearings a giant log flew threw the air hitting no less than six men, and smashing the air from their lungs. Their ribs snapped like twigs and they were dead before they hit the ground. The log crashed to a stop against the thick trunks of several trees that stood in a line.
Roaring Kevin broke from his hiding after tossing a huge log as if it were a toy. It took six of the men with it and smashed them to the forest floor. Kevin raised his club and swung it with the speed that only a Spartan can attain slamming it into his closest enemy. The man flew ten meters and landed in a heap. There were only two men left now and Spartan-002 killed the farthest one by hurling his club. It connected with the man's chest and threw him into the trunk of a tree. The tree splintered and the man was suspended on the severed trunk.
Kevin reared back to finish the final man but just before his fist connected Caleb appeared and grabbed 002's wrist.
"Wait... This is the leader." Caleb could barely contain his anger... Now that he saw the man that was responsible for the dead UNSC troops.
"Why did you kill those men?"
"P-please d-don't kill me," the pitiful man sputtered. "I was just following orders. I s-swear."
"Did you have orders to hang and gut the men too!?" yelled Kevin.
At this the man just wailed piteously. Spartan-007 closed his hand around the man's mouth and nose, stopping his breathing, and lifted him up so that he was eye to eye with the giant warrior. With one hand he took off his helmet so he could look the man in the eye.
He had dark rings all the way around his eyes as a side effect of the augmentation. His face was pale from being inside a helmet for so long and his hair was as silver as moonlight.
"Say hi to your buddies in hell," said Caleb in a voice so soft and so filled with hatred that it made Joel close his terror filled eyes. Spartan-007 tightened his grip and twisted his forearm. With a sickening pop Joel Etters' neck snapped.
Dropping him to the ground the two Spartans walked away into the forest, leaving the quickly dying man to stare blankly at the sky.
"Why haven't my men returned? I think my orders were clear enough!" yelled Trevors slamming his fist down on the wooden table. "I sent Joel and his men out three hours ago and they're still not back yet? Find them!"
Striding over the course grass and dirt toward the parked Warthogs James felt a lump rising in his stomach. Something was not right and he knew that whatever had happened to Joel and his men couldn't have been good.
James' men were already loading the warthogs. They were only going to be gone a half hour or so and they would not need a lot of supplies.
"Where we going Jim?" asked one of his greener men, who had just joined up with the rebel faction.
"To find Joel and his men," said James. He left it at that and got into the drivers seat. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was heading toward certain death.
"Buckle up." The tires of the warthog spun and shot earth from beneath it as it shot out from the complex.
"Do you hear that? Sounds like a Warthog..."
"Yep, I think they've finally figured out that their men are not coming back."
"Kevin, when they get here try to kill all but one of them. I want them to go back and tell their brass what they found at the clearing. "
"Alright, I'll leave one alive. Who should it be?"
"Go for the leader. If you can't tell who it is then just randomly pick someone."
"Roger that."
Kevin and Caleb left their hiding place and stopped at either side of the clearing. Caleb drew his hardened dura-steel knife from the black sheath at his side. As he brushed the thick brambles that were blocking his view from his face, he could see Kevin on the other side crack his knuckles and ready himself. He would be doing things the old fashioned way... Hand to hand.
The warthog slid to a stop and the four men jumped out. The leader yelled something about being careful and having a bad feeling. Well Spartan-007 was about to make that bad feeling come true in a big way. There were four men on foot and one that stayed in the turret of the 'Hog.
Caleb pulled the big, perfectly balanced, throwing knife out and threw it end over end. It hit the man that was in the gunner seat of the warthog, in the forehead, killing him instantly. Out of the corner of his eye Caleb could see Kevin leap three meters straight up. He came down with tremendous force and landed on the shoulders of the man that held a shotgun. The man hadn't even known that he had left this realm before he was crushed beneath Kevin's mighty blow.
Shooting his hand out to the left Spartan-002 went for the man on his rights head. The head twisted with the impact and his nose was pushed strait up into his brain. Blood slid out the mans eyes nose and mouth and he fell forward.
Caleb heard the report of an SMG and felt his armor taking countless hits. His armor would not stand up to too much continuous fire. He dove toward the man with blinding speed. He jammed the knife through the thick black body armor and pierced the SMG wielders hand.
Taking the man by the neck Kevin lifted him off his feet. "Go back and tell your leader what you have seen here today. If he does not end his little rebellion then he and all who follow him will share the same fate.
"Sir I swear... They were Spartans, two Spartans! Why would I lie about something like that?! They were like Titans of Steel..."
"Fine if what you say is true, I want you to never return to that clearing again. Do you understand? Never," Jonathan Trevors said in a whisper of malice. "James... Gather your best men. I want double the guards tonight. Kill anything that moves outside of our gates."
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