Cyberpunk: Spartan Walker

Chapter 101 Pre-War Meeting
Aura surface, alpha base.

After the battle, Tommy set up his own "barrack" in the temporarily designated living area - a prefabricated memory plastic single room, which is the same concept as the ancient tent.The one he lives in is a special version designed for the Spartans who participated in "Operation Red Flag". The space inside is one-half larger than the ordinary version.

Tommy took off the "Thor's Hammer" armor and placed it in the corner, checked it over to make sure it was neatly arranged, and activated the armor's safety protection system.

He twisted his neck and stretched, and the fatigue caused by several battles suddenly disappeared.At this time, there was a knock on the door of his "barracks"
The door creaked open, and Aurora stuck her head in. "Sir, Rebecca asked me to help get this." As she spoke, she shook the medical bag in her hand.

Tommy touched his chest, where his ribs still ached.

"Thank you, Corporal." Tommy took the medical bag, "Go back and rest."

"Yes, sir." The door was closed again.

"Becca?" Tommy looked back at Rebecca, who was sitting on the camp bed with only a training uniform on her body.

She jumped out of bed, crossed over the ODST combat uniform that she had thrown carelessly on the ground, came to Tommy, grabbed the medical bag, tugged on his shirt, pointed to the camp bed and said, "Sit down, take it off!"

"What's wrong?" Tommy didn't know why, but he did as he was told.He took off his titanium nanocomposite tights, revealing his muscular upper body—as well as his arms and back, which looked like they had returned from a walk in hell. The burns and scrapes on them were shocking.

Rebecca frowned, with a bit of unbearability in her eyes, and muttered: "Really, why are you working so hard?"

She leaned over and looked at him carefully, but refused to let go of him, "If you ask me, your strength is only that much." She slowly stroked her small hand from his healthy part to the wound, and the touch changed from delicate to rough, " I originally thought you were capable of fighting, but I didn't realize it until that guy named Master Chief showed up." She gently touched the most severely burned area with her hand, "You are too weak."

"Hiss—" Tommy gasped in pain, and he immediately turned around and retorted: "John is only a little more agile than me with his fists and kicks, but I can't lose to him in other areas."

"You're still talking too much." Rebecca touched him lightly again, and Tommy trembled with pain like an electric current, "It hurts."

He nodded.

"Don't be brave if you know it hurts, idiot." She took out a can of biofoam from the medical bag and sprayed all the wounds. Tommy's tense muscles relaxed as the pain disappeared.

Rebecca then walked around to him and found several wounds on her chest and shoulders. "There's another Spartan now, don't rush so far."

After dealing with the wound on the front, Rebecca looked at Tommy Bai's temporarily chiseled upper body and couldn't help but swallow.She seemed to smell an indescribably alluring scent from the man in front of her.The smell was so tantalizing that when she came to her senses, she had her hands on Tommy's shoulders.

As if by magic, the little hand slowly touched from Tommy's shoulder blade to the bottom.

"Becca, are you ready?" Tommy was not having a good time either. The soft little hands made his heart tremble. A slight tingling sensation spread from the skin contact, not to mention her face was so red that it looked like she could squeeze out water.

Rebecca didn't respond and stared directly at his naked upper body.

Tommy leaned into her ear and said softly: "Becca?"

Rebecca retracted her hand as if she was electrocuted, then looked at Tommy with a feigned ferocity, stretched out her hand and pinched his face, "What, you are not allowed to touch?"

"Touch whatever you want." Tommy smiled ambiguously, her thoughts revealed by her pounding heart.

He looked toward the corner, where there was a semi-arched slope with a trench for water diversion below and a shower head hanging on the top - carefully crafted by the technical soldiers on the "Pillar of Autumn".

Each soldier's single room had a design like this. The water in the shower was brought from the ring world on site, and the heat was provided by a Covenant power plant that had not been blown up by the Marines.

"Wash together?" Tommy raised his eyebrows, with a sly arc at the corner of his mouth.

According to medical common sense from centuries ago, burn wounds should not be exposed to water, but modern biofoam has solved this problem.

"Your wound." Rebecca bit her lower lip lightly, her tone a little twisted.

"Washing and processing again."

"This room is soundproof" she gently hugged Tommy's neck.

"Look how dare you be dishonest," she threw the only clothes she had on Tommy's face, turned around and walked into the "shower room",
Tommy took a deep breath, and the youthful atmosphere on his underwear made him a little intoxicated.

"Uncle pervert!" Rebecca stared at him and cursed, "When are you coming over?"

"Here it comes." Tommy licked his dry lips, locked the door to the single room, then took off his pants and walked to the corner, turning on the knob under the shower head.

The hot water spurted out, hitting "Indescribable" and bounced into the air, then splashed on the ground, stirring up a mist of water. The single room was soon enveloped in a sour and sour atmosphere.

Although the bathing time was short due to the circumstances, and the wound was still a little stinging, the feeling of showering was really great. Tommy enjoyed every minute of it.

He dried Rebecca, who was already fast asleep, laid her gently on the cot, covered her with a blanket and tucked her in.He always had brushes with death on the battlefield, which caused more pressure than he imagined. He accidentally vented too much and almost made a noise several times - but it was worth it, he Now I just feel refreshed.

Tommy dried himself, treated the wounds on his body, found a brand new tool set, and was about to check his armor and do routine maintenance.

Suddenly there was a sound of footsteps approaching the door. Silva's guard asked him to come to the field headquarters for a meeting and asked him not to wear armor when he passed - obviously, he did not know Tommy's identity yet.

Tommy ignored his orders. It was dangerous to move without his armor in a war zone.He sorted out his belongings, took Ellie and set off.

He opened the door, and there was a heated scene outside: the Marines greeted each other, stripped the corpses of the Covenant men lying on the ground with holes all over them, and then dragged them to the edge of the lone ridge and threw them all away. Go down.They couldn't help laughing when they looked at the hill made of corpses at the foot of the mountain, and returned to their posts arm in arm.

Tommy stopped a passing Marine and asked, "Soldier, where is the field headquarters located?"

"You've asked the right person, please follow me." He said with a thick Australian accent, "My brothers call me 'French' Dub, you can call me that too." I."

Along the way, "French Chips" Dubbo chattered with Tommy about his experience fighting side by side with the Master Chief, claiming that he and the Master Chief were "best partners" and that the two of them often communicated in private.Tommy didn't refute him and listened quietly to his bragging.

The field headquarters of Alpha Base was located in the heart of the alien building at the top of Lone Ridge, and "French Chip" Dubo walked him to the building and left.He hurried down the hall and down a blood-stained passage.A fleet guard was watching warily as two shackled Grunt prisoners of war scraped the floor desperately.

Two Helltroopers stood guard outside the conference room door.

Both men performed very heroically in the battle.They rewarded Tommy with a look that was characteristic of being aloof - the attitude the Helltroopers had towards anyone and anything who was not part of their elite organization.The larger of the two glanced at the spot on his chest where his rank should have been—there was nothing there.

The paratrooper defaulted to him as the sergeant major, "Well, Spartan, what are you doing?"

Tommy looked at the closed conference room door. This guy had such a big air. "Silva called us to a meeting."

The smaller of the two looked at him, "I think the Major said you shouldn't come in armor."

Tommy smiled, "He doesn't have the right to order me around."

The two hell paratroopers laughed loudly, "Then you want to disobey the commander."

Just as Tommy was about to take out his ID card, John's voice came from inside. "Sir! Master Chief Spartan-117 has been ordered to report, sir!"

It seems John got there first.

There was a creaking noise from inside.Normally, most officers would say "at ease," but not Silva.Tommy stood outside the door with his arms folded, waiting to hear what Silva would say to John next.

The silence did not last long. Silva spoke, and every sentence made people feel as if he could read the Master Chief's mind.

"Well, you must be wondering who I am and what all this is about. Considering you are a Spartan and your close personal relationship with Captain Keyes, I can understand why you would have such questions. But I will tell you: Loyalty is of course a good thing, it is one of the well-known ethics in the military, and it is also a quality that I personally admire."

The creaking of chairs and the sound of pacing came from inside, "However, military command is clearly hierarchical, which means you have to obey me on the ground battlefield. Not Case, not Cortana, nor Not yourself."

The footsteps stopped, "I think it's best for you and me to clarify the relationship between superiors and subordinates. Well, the situation is like this: I am missing a leader, so Lieutenant McKay served as my combat commander. The two of us , no matter who says 'shit', I hope you can answer 'What color do you want, how much do you want, and where do you want to put it?' Do you understand?"

The Chief didn't answer immediately, but after a while came the voice that John would make when he gritted his teeth, "That's very clear, sir."

"Very well. One more thing. I know your profile well and admire it. You are a super warrior - that is to say, you are a freak, the ultimate product of a rather horrific experiment. Hopefully this kind of experiment will never be repeated again."

Hearing these words, Tommy's face suddenly turned ugly.He pursed his lips and turned his head to stare at the two guards at the door.They may also feel that the major's words went too far, and they looked a little embarrassed.

Silva spoke again.

"Select children from birth, twist their minds, and transform their bodies. This whole plan is a mistake. The first mistake is that the candidate children do not have the right to choose independently; the second mistake is that the purpose of the plan is to transform human beings Become a freak; third mistake, and the entire Spartan Project failed."

"Have you ever heard of a man named Charles Darwin? No, certainly not, because he had nothing to do with war. Darwin was a naturalist who created a theory called 'natural selection.' Simply put, he believed All species are survival of the fittest - the fittest survive, and other creatures that are not strong enough will inevitably become extinct."

"This is what happens to the Spartans, Master Chief, they're dead, or about to be dead - and when you and the other guy are done too, the Helltroopers take over. Helltroopers, you know. A temporary base camp was set up in preparation for taking this mountain, boy, not a bunch of freaks with enhanced surgery and wearing ridiculous armor.”

“When we defeat the Covenant—and I have every confidence we will—victory will belong to men and women like Lieutenant McKay. Strong, courageous, fierce, and thoroughly human. Do you understand me? ?”

Hearing such words, Tommy couldn't help but think of Anton-044, Grace-039, and all the 73 boys and girls who learned how to fight alongside him.Most of them were killed, all were labeled "freaks", all were written off by Silva as victims of a failed experiment.

Anger welled up in his head. He took a deep breath, took out his identification card and waved it in front of the guards' eyes. Before they could react, he pushed the door open with a bang and broke in.

"Silva! John won't understand your nonsense!"

Silva was startled and subconsciously reached for the pistol hanging on his waist.John didn't react at all. With his excellent hearing, he had already known that someone was waiting outside the door.

"Spartan-027, are you crazy? Dare you speak to your superiors like this?" Silva's eyes widened and glared at him, wishing to tear him to pieces immediately.

"Is this how you treat war heroes?" Tommy came to him, the identification card almost sticking to his face.He was really fed up with this tedious and boring repetitive actions.

"Sir!" After seeing the identification card, John gave Tommy a military salute.

"Take it easy, John."

Looking at the "Colonel" rank marked on it, Silva's face suddenly showed an incredible expression. "How is this possible?"

"As of February 2552, the Master Chief has completed 2 military operations, including 202 full-scale battles, more than any other UNSC personnel on record," Tommy said, looking at the data scrolling across the heads-up display. He said while controlling his anger.

"And you, dear Major Silva," he stretched out a finger and poked Silva's chest hard, his uniform tightening as a result, "have you experienced as many battles as he has?" A quarter?”

Silva's face flushed, and the hands hanging by his sides trembled.

"Answer me! Silva!" Tommy shouted at him.

"No, sir!" Silva yelled unwillingly.

"If John wants to be promoted, you are nothing in front of him!" Tommy said in a bad tone, "Do you understand me?"

"Understood, sir!"

He stared at Silva coldly, "Then do you need me to teach you how to respect war heroes? How to respect the dead Spartans?"

"No need, sir!"

John watched quietly from the sidelines as Tommy scolded Silva. This was the first time in so many years that he had seen Tommy get so angry.He knew why Tommy hadn't revealed his identity to him before—soldiers had to obey orders, and Tommy didn't want to cause any estrangement by revealing the superior-subordinate relationship between the two.

Tommy wanted to say something more, but the salutes and greetings of the guards outside the door interrupted him, and Case walked in. "Price, the Covenanters are still watching outside, so we can't fight inside each other." Case came to the two of them and said.

"You're right, Captain Case." Tommy glanced at Silva again and did not mention the matter again - he still needed the people under Silva to cooperate with the next action.

The guards outside brought in a few chairs dismantled from the lifeboat, and several people sat around a makeshift desk.

Tommy put his helmet aside and noticed that Lieutenant McKay was there and that she was still studying him furtively.

McKay's hairstyle is the standard Helltrooper style: a crew cut, and it's so short that the tattoos on his scalp are clearly visible.She has green eyes, a slightly flat nose and full lips.This face has both the heroism of a soldier and the charm of a woman.

Seeing Tommy's eyes glancing over, McKay responded with a bright smile, but then shrank his head because of Silva's gaze and stopped looking at him.

Keith glanced at Tommy and saw that he had no intention of speaking first, so he spoke first: "No need to do more analysis, we all know that the current situation is not good - trapped in this ring world by the Covenant people. So, if there's no other higher priority, I think we all know what to do next, which is to get out of here."

Case took a piece of paper and a pen that had been used on one side, turned the paper over and wrote and drew on it.He also hoped that there would be a tactical holographic display table here, but the conditions were simple and he had to be a "primitive" for a time.

"The scouts just reported to me that the Covenant cruiser 'Truth and Harmony' was anchored above the desert plateau about 300 kilometers to the north." Case pointed on the simple map he had just drawn with the pen in his hand. "Cortana severely damaged the Pillar of Autumn before we abandoned it."

"Escape from here by taking it?" Silva asked.

"exactly."

"But sir, now we still have an urgent problem," Silva paused, and everyone around him was attracted to him. "The supplies we already have are not enough to complete this task."

He looked at McKay, "Lieutenant, make a list of what we have on hand."

"Yes, sir." McKay took the paper and pen from Case, leaned on the table and started writing.

"We now have to replenish equipment and ammunition for a whole fleet of Pelican troop carriers," Silva explained. "In addition to the Helltroopers who brought extra supplies from the drop pods, there are also many naval members and ordinary marines. Team members, they didn’t bring much equipment and supplies when they escaped from the Pillar of Autumn.”

"Whether we can seize all available resources and whether we can complete the mission before the Covenant launches a general attack on Alpha Base will be the key to survival." Silva emphasized, "With this premise, we can concentrate all resources and defeat The bastards guarding the Truth and Harmony, get out of this damn ring world."

"Not only that, we have other things to do." Ellie's voice suddenly appeared in the communication channel, and everyone was stunned for a moment.

Tommy pulled out the chip and placed it on the table, and then her slim figure appeared.She rolled her eyes at Tommy and said "You're shameless", making him a little embarrassed.

"You seem to have missed one more question," Ellie said, "Why did the Covenant come to 'Halo'?"

She deliberately gave it up and waited until everyone's curiosity was aroused before continuing: "When I was on their cruiser, I used their battle network to get some information. According to the data on their network, this ring has Some deep religious significance, and if my analysis is correct, they believe the 'halo' is a weapon of immense, unimaginable power."

Keith and Tommy looked at each other, and both saw the solemn look in the other's eyes.

"Then we must not let them have the opportunity to control the halo." Keyes said, "If the halo is indeed a weapon, the Covenant will definitely try to use it against the entire human race, and the earth will be in crisis."

"Yes, Captain," Ellie added, "And they're scouting a place called the 'Control Room,' which I suspect is Halo's control room."

"Then it looks like we have to make a trip," Tommy said.

"My boys will gladly accept this assignment, sir," Silva said.

"We can do two missions at the same time," Case said, "but it's best to have a leader on both sides." He looked at Tommy and John.

The Pillar of Autumn is just a crashed cruiser. It can neither fly again nor fire at the Covenant; but the control room is the purpose of the Covenant coming here, and they will definitely deploy heavy troops to guard it. Stop the coming humans at all costs - the stakes are high and low.

"I--"

"Let me go, sir. Military Intelligence doesn't often carry out this kind of mission. You may be a bit inexperienced in this area." John interrupted Tommy in a strong tone, "And I have Cortana, her hacking ability is obvious to all. , especially suitable for such occasions.”

Tommy raised his eyebrows, wanting to say something.

"Don't fight with me, Tommy." John's expression was not obvious at this time, but his eyes contracted slightly and the muscles around his lips tightened.

This made Tommy even more convinced that John had not changed much - he still regarded the lives of his fellow Spartans as extremely important and even a little paranoid as before.Tommy knew that he could not persuade John no matter what.

"Okay." Tommy sighed softly, put his hand on his waist, removed the "Operation Invisibility Cloak" attachment of the "Thor Hammer" armor with a click, and handed it to him, "Here, this thing is here That’s more useful to you.”

John looked at the attachment and said, "Thanks, sir."

From then on until the end of the meeting, they mainly discussed the deployment of troops and tactical arrangements for subsequent tasks.

Tommy walked out of the field headquarters. It was completely dark outside, the temperature was a little low, and he could see obvious white mist when he breathed.Even so, when he looked up, he could still see the entire structure through the light from the silver edge of the halo. The peaks above his head stood tall, and a blue laser shot straight into the sky.

The air was a little moist, and he didn't know what substance was in the halo's atmosphere. There was a slightly sweet sticky feeling in his mouth, which reminded him of Kamano Nana.

He clearly remembered that before entering the jump space, the Yinchu was accelerating, so there shouldn't be any accidents.
He walked forward in the direction of his barracks. The Marines on both sides had already set up their own barracks. The lights in the room illuminated the metal floor here, and there was a plastic smell like a single room. Son.

Suddenly, a familiar rough voice sounded from behind him.

"Little devil?"

He turned around and saw that it was Avery Johnson!The black soldier was grinning and looking at him with joy.

"Corporal!" Tommy was very surprised. He didn't expect to meet him here.

Avery walked over in two steps and gave Tommy a bear hug. "Where's the corporal? Call me sergeant!"

27 years ago, they and the local militia worked together to save the residents of Harvest Planet.

"Okay, kid," Avery took the ID card from him, "You're already a colonel."

"General Osignin takes good care of me." Tommy said with a smile, feeling a little proud in his heart.

Hearing the name "Osigning", Avery's smile condensed on his face.His cheeks were a little red, but it was hard to see because of his dark skin.

He asked cautiously and somewhat worriedly: "Jilan. How is she doing now? Did she leave when Reach fell?"

Tommy smiled. Avery Johnson and Jilan O'Signin hadn't seen each other too many times since they parted ways on Harvest, but the relationship between the two had always been very good - so good that Tommy even guessed that the two of them Did you get married secretly?

"She and Paragoski left at the time of the fall, just on the last stealthy cruiser to leave."

Avery breathed a sigh of relief and took out a Sweet William cigar from his breast pocket.He lit the cigar, took an intoxicating puff, and then blew out a smoke ring with satisfaction.

He took out another one and waved it in front of Tommy, "Want a bite?"

Tommy shook his head, "I quit smoking a long time ago. Liga doesn't like the smell of cigarette smoke on my body. I haven't touched this stuff in more than 20 years."

He recalled that Lijia once described its taste as: "It's like setting fire to turds and grilling old shoes and socks that haven't been changed during the two weeks of marching."

"Ha, little Liga." Avery took another sip, "How is she now? I heard that you found her later?"

"Yeah, General Cole's X Fleet discovered her cryopod during the crusade against Harvest," Tommy shook his head, "I almost lost her."

This sentence caused Avery to fall into memories. He took a few puffs unconsciously, then came back to his senses and asked, "Where is she now?"

"Reach," Tommy quickly explained when he saw Avery's worried look, "don't worry, she's safe and staying with her new companions."

A drop of liquid hit Tommy's head with a "pop", and the coldness penetrated his scalp.

Avery also realized it, raised his head and stretched out his hand to feel it, and muttered: "Oh, this is a hell of a place." He put out the half-smoked cigar and carefully put it back into his pocket, "There is no UNSC supplement here, so I have to Save your money."

They chatted a few more words, but the increasing rain forced them to say goodbye in advance.

Tommy returned to his barracks and slept peacefully for several hours before the next battle.
-
No one can understand the strange weather in the ring world, let alone have the ability to predict it.Therefore, when the heavy raindrops poured down and landed on the flat ground on the top of the mountain, the hell paratroopers were caught off guard.The soldiers grumbled as the rain washed their faces, soaked their uniforms and began to pool in puddles on the landing platform.

However, McKay's perspective is different.She liked the wet weather, not only because it made her skin feel good, but also because bad weather might provide the landing team with more cover.

"Everyone, listen up!" Sergeant Lister shouted, "You have all received special training. Hurry up, put it away, run, and move!"

There wasn't much lighting around, just enough to keep the soldiers from bumping into each other as they ran around.But with Silva's poor eyesight, he was able to do this task himself, which shows that he can imagine things that his eyes cannot see.

The commandos carry all their military supplies with them. Their backpacks are stuffed with weapons, ammunition, grenades, flares, communication equipment and first-aid kits--things that, if not secured, will make noise, and the noise may cause They expose themselves in action and lose their lives.

That's why Sergeant Lister just asked every Marine to take action regardless of his or her rank.So everyone began rummaging for any gear that rattled, swayed, or came loose in the heavy rain, and then reinforced, strapped, or tied it down.

All commandos have been inspected, the Pelican troop carrier is ready for departure, and the Helltroopers will take a short flight to the site where the "Pill of Autumn" crashed.The Covenant had deployed guards around the crashed cruiser, so McKay and her Marines would probably have to fight hard to complete the difficult mission Silva had given her.

According to Wellesley, Napoleon I once said: “The work of generals is only made difficult by the necessity of feeding so many men and animals.”

Silva didn't have animals to feed, but it was a fact that he had to replenish equipment and ammunition for a group of Pelican troop carriers.

E419 rushed into the mountain top, interrupting Silva's thinking.The troop transport turned around with sparks and docked at the designated landing platform No. [-].

Sergeant Lister shouted: 'Stand to attention! "Then she made a beautiful turn back and saluted Lieutenant McKay. She returned a military salute and said: "Take a break. "

Silva walked into the pouring rain, raindrops hitting his face.He glanced at the ordinary soldiers with different skin colors, black, brown and white. They were all Marines.

"Most of you - if not all - will be familiar with my office on the Pillar of Autumn. I was in a hurry when I left and I seemed to have forgotten to bring a full bottle of scotch with me. It's in the drawer under my left hand desk. If one or more of you are kind enough to get it back for me, not only would I be extremely grateful, but I'd also like to have a drink with the guy who brought it back. Enjoy it as a reward."

The soldiers burst into cheers and cheers.Lister shouted to stop them. "Quiet! Corporal, call down the names of those who are yelling." The corporal, who received a direct order from his superior, couldn't decide whose name to take down, but he also knew that it didn't matter.

Silva knew that these hell paratroopers had all received the mission briefing and understood the true purpose of the mission, so he quickly ended the lecture.

"Good luck there and see you later!" Too bad he wouldn't see them again, at least not all of them.A good commander must love his troops like his own children - and at the same time, be able to decisively ask them to die when the situation calls for it.This is what Silva hates most as a commander.

The formation disbanded and the Marines each jumped onto the waiting Pelican troop transport.

Tommy stood by the hatch of one of the troop carriers and reached out to pull up Lieutenant McKay who had slipped on his feet.

"Thank you, sir," McKay smiled.

"You are the backbone of these paratroopers. You can't fall before the battle begins." Tommy said half-jokingly.

The spaceship soon disappeared into the endless black wall of the night.

Silva remained standing on the landing platform until the roar of the engine could no longer be heard.Then, he realized that if he wanted to win any war, he had to first establish it on paper before he could win in actual combat.

He turned and walked back to the field headquarters hidden in a low building.The long night had just begun - there was still much work to be done.

(End of this chapter)