Chapter Text
"Elio let me pick. Did I ever tell you that?"
Kafka's heels clicked against the space station's floor as she stared at the green suit of armor standing alone in the room. It was bathed in a faint yellow light as Kafka heard the alarms of the station echo behind her. But she paid it no mind.
"Choose whichever Trailblazer I wanted," Kafka continued, a small smile forming while walking past the suit, though there was the slightest hint of sadness in her voice. "You know me. I did my research. Watched as you became the soldier the script needed you to be-"
"How long do you think you need?" Silver Wolf cut in swiping past several holographic screens, sparing only a glance toward the object of Kafka's dialogue. "The Astral Express Crew should be arriving soon to wake him. We should avoid being seen."
Kafka frowned at Silver Wolf, barely resisting the urge to click her tongue as one hand rested against the suit's shoulder.
"I know, Silver Wolf. Give me another minute." The Stellaron Hunter looked into the suit's visor, the warmth from before returning in earnest.
She chuckled seeing her own golden reflection, before her gaze drifted off to the window. The Antimatter Legion was descending in full force upon Herta Space Station, but it didn't bother Kafka. Instead she directed her attention back to the armor.
"Like the others, you were strong and swift and brave. A natural leader. But you had something they didn't. Something no one saw but me. Can you guess?"
Kafka pulled her hand back, waving it nonchalantly as if she were expecting him to respond. But she knew better. The script required her friend's armor to be locked down, frozen to the rest of the world.
She gave a single nod to Silver Wolf, and the two of them made their exit. As they left for the door, Kafka looked back one final time over her shoulder, giving him her answer.
"Luck."
The room darkened, then suddenly flashed red as one of the blast doors began tearing open. Sounds of monsters were beginning to be drowned out by panicked researchers, followed by commanding voices of a young man and girl.
The door shut behind Kafka and Silver Wolf, leaving her friend behind.
"Was I wrong?"
0103 Hours, April 26th, ???? (Military Calendar) /
Herta Space Station, Location Unknown
"Nnnggh! What the heck?! The helmet isn't budging at all!" A young girl's muffled voice was the first thing the reawakening Spartan could hear. "Well, I guess that means CPR is off the table, heh!"
"Someone is in there," Now he could hear a young man's voice, much more stoic than his friend. "But, this armor doesn't match anything we've ever seen before. What's it doing here?"
The world around the Master Chief was still black, slowly realizing that his suit's visor had yet to come online. His bones and muscles ached, pain flaring through every single fiber of his body as the MJOLNIR armor began to recharge. Something that the people in front of him clearly noticed as the shields suddenly flickered back to life-
"W-Woah!"
"March, get back!"
The Master Chief could see once again, laying eyes on a pink-haired girl, and a black haired man kneeling over him. Suppressing his years of training to immediately stand and potentially harm them, he instead shifted one arm to the floor, giving the two ample time to step back. The rapid beeping his armor emitted quietly faded as his shields went back up to full, now standing upright and towering over the two who found him.
A few seconds of silence passed by, the Spartan taking that time to examine them closely. Definitely not soldiers. Civilians?...No, their composure told him that they had their fair share of experience, seeing as they didn't shrink back at all at the sight of him. There was a tinge of awe in their eyes, but not even hardened Marines could remain as calm upon first seeing a Spartan in person.
Meaning that they had met Spartans before, or...They didn't know what a Spartan was. Granted, seeing how unusual their outfits were, it was safe to assume he was in unknown territory.
"U-Um..." The pink girl stammered out, less out of fear and more concern from what the Master Chief could tell. "Are you all right? Can you hear us?"
"Yes," he replied with a nod. The girl tilted her head once she realized he planned to say nothing else.
"Do you know your name?"
"Master Chief Petty Officer, John-117," The girl's face twisted as he announced his rank.
"Geez, what a mouthful!-"
"March," her friend quickly reprimanded, offering a nod of apology to the Master Chief. "Please excuse my friend here, sir. My name is Dan Heng, and that's March 7th."
The Spartan's head shifted ever so slightly as he saw both of them offer a small smile. Before he could find a reply, his attention was drawn to the alarms blaring out in the distance. Dan Heng could tell by the shifting of his hands that he noticed what the situation was, gesturing his head to follow them.
"The space station is still under attack, were you injured during the attack, soldier?"
Master Chief shook the floor with each step, with March taking a wide step to the side, teeth clenching ever so slightly and taking careful note of where her own feet were. He couldn't help but be a little amused by the reaction, it wasn't really one he's seen before.
"Negative, I'm ready to engage the enemy," the Master Chief swiftly replied. "Do you have a weapon?"
"Uh, we got ours," March shrugged as a bow materialized into her hand. Dan Heng held a spear in his, with the Master Chief's systems failing to register how exactly it formed. "...Oh wait!"
She reached into her pockets and pulled out-
His M6G Magnum. In her hands, it was almost comically oversized, the Master Chief able to tell that she was struggling to hold it steadily in her one hand.
"We found this doohickey on a box outside this room we found you in!" March held it out to him, confidentially nodding. "Buuut...I don't think its loaded?"
The Master Chief took it with a quiet nod, letting the weapon sync to his system's visor. Not ideal, but he'd just have to find ammo on the way. Though, given current circumstances, that was going to be a difficult task.
Dan Heng opened the door, revealing a dark yet spacious corridor. This certainly was a space station, but unlike anything he'd seen before. The walls and decor were sleek and clean. With empty displays nearby, this looked more like a museum or research station. It didn't appear to be made by the UNSC or ONI. In fact, it looked far more advanced than anything humanity could produce by itself. At least, the humanity he knew.
As he holstered the magnum onto his side, noting both Dan Heng and March's surprise that it was able to magnetically stick onto it, he calmly asked them a question.
"Do we know the size of the Covenant force attacking this station?"
A pause.
"C-Covenant?" March's eyebrow raised so high that it almost hurt her. "No, it's the Antimatter Legion."
Master Chief stopped walking and studied their expressions. It was one of utter confusion at the name, though he didn't exactly know what an 'Antimatter Legion' was either.
"Forerunner?"
"I can't say we've heard of that one either," Dan Heng's arms crossed, studying the Master Chief in turn as his eyes narrowed. "Then my suspicions were correct, you're not from around here."
"I mean, duh!" March scoffed. "This guy is a green robot and the size of a car! You don't need to be a super genius like Herta to figure that one out!"
Pointedly ignoring his friend, Dan Heng exhaled quietly from his nose and spoke again.
"You don't have to fight if you don't know where you are. We can take you to safety and help the researchers ourselves."
The Master Chief stood upright at that, shaking his head calmly.
"My duty as a soldier is to protect humanity, no matter the cost." His answer seemed to please Dan Heng, as he was met with a single nod.
"Very well. Then we first should find Arlan from the Security Department. We lost contact with him shortly before we found you here."
"Yes, sir," the Spartan promptly replied. Out of the corner of his visor, he could see March begin to pout.
"Hey, how come he gets to be 'sir'?!"
March huffed as she stared jealously at Dan Heng, though he was less than amused. Though, she did bring up a good point.
"You don't have to call me that. But while we are on topic, what do you go by?"
"Master Chief will do."
"...Can I just call you Chief?" March's hands rested on her hips, her expression rather unimpressed. Though it shifted to one of relief when she saw him nod, and stuck a tongue out childishly to her friend as the three moved to the other end of the corridor. Notably, he was moving ahead of them.
"H-Hey! Chief, don't rush ahead of us! I gave you a gun with no ammo!" March frantically rushed to his side, not backing down even when his head shifted over to her.
Both March and Dan Heng noticed how the Master Chief's posture suddenly changed, facing the door as it slowly began to open, rearming themselves and standing ready.
His motion tracker was picking up several unknown signatures in the next room, and adrenaline began coursing through his veins. He braced himself, his fists clenching and knees bending downward, ready to leap into the fray at any second. Though, he had yet to reply new ally.
"Don't worry March," the Master Chief stoically reassured her. "It's enough."
Then, the door slid open.
