<div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Prologue</div><div class="spoiler_body"> "They don't <em>die</em>. Everybody knows that. Spartan Kain-295 is just...missing in action." He'd been sent down planet side to a settlement called New Falujah; a place on a remote planet that humanity had really just gotten around to colonizing. Overseeing the military construction were a few high level VIP's, so when the Covenant found them, it was all hands on deck. The fighting was horrible as always, but the UNSC had the advantage of terrain knowledge as well as the numbers advantage. But the Covenant were always damn hard to fight. <br/><br/>That's why they sent him in. He'd been in a training simulation when the orders came down. "Lieutenant, your orders are to travel to colony designation "New Falujah", rednezvous with our ground troops, and evacuate the high level personnel on the planet. At any cost. Do you understand?" He looked down at his commanding officer and nodded his head. "Affirmative."<br/><br/> The entire flight to the planet was silent, right up until they broke through the atmosphere and immediately into heavy combat on their way to the rendezvous point. "Sir, the LZ is too hot! We can't land! We'll get blown to shit if we go any lower, and we'll sure as hell get blown to shit if we stay here!! Orders?!" Standing up, he walked to the bay doors and opened them. "Strafing run. Low and fast. Let me out on the way and I'll help clear things out. As soon as I'm out of these doors and your last salvo is away, you hit the afterburners and find somewhere safe. I'll radio you once it's okay. And then you get back here ASAP so we can get the VIP's out. Understood?" <br/><br/>He got salutes from all his men in the Pelican, then braced himself against the portal between himself and open air. He waited for his pilot, then he heard, "Beginning attack run." The guns began spitting gigantic slugs of hot lead and the missile bays opened, launching hellfire down on the Covenant. The Pilot kept the bird steady until they were about twenty feet above ground. Then Kain jumped from the aircraft, flailing his arms and legs in a controlled fashion to manipulate his descent. He hit the ground and rolled, not even pausing as he stood up and brought his rifle to bear. <br/><br/><em>BRRAT-BRRAT-BRRAT</em> A three round burst dropped a Jackal advancing on a downed soldier with three neat holes in his back and carnage out the front. After helping the soldier up, Kain joined the battle in earnest. Several hours later they'd turned the tide and earned some rest before the next wave. He stood in the command room above all the others as they spoke back and forth. Finally they looked at him and asked what to do. "Command wants you all gone and safe.<br/><br/> I don't know if they consider this planet lost, but you four are the reason I'm here. You're getting ex-filled as soon as we have a clear window of opportunity. I've got a gunship on standby a few klicks away. As soon as I give the word, they'll be here, and then they'll leave with you on them." It sounded so easy when he said it, and he said it that way to make them feel safe. If any of these men or women had been soldiers once, they were desk jockeys now and forgot what real combat was life. The next few hours would be hell.<br/><br/>Three Hours Later the entire op was FUBAR. The Covenant had gotten reinforcements and were overrunning everything they had. It wouldn't be long before they got into the main base and killed everyone inside. Rushing in covered in blood of both enemies and friends, he contacted his pilot. "Jefferson, get here <em>now</em>. I'll be on the base's main gun and I'll provide cover, but get up to the roof, and get the VIP's out. The base is lost, but losing them is not an option."<br/><br/> Hustling the VIP's into the cargo elevator that led to the roof, he went about destroying the consoles so no valuable information would fall into Covenant Remnant hands, but when he found the communications log, for some reason he looked at it. He nearly dropped his rifle when he realized the Brass had knowledge of New Falujah being unsafe for long term habitation due to CR presence in the area. And they knew that if they attacked, they'd attack in force. Their troops wouldn't stand a chance. And finally, the last part, the part about him. He played the audio log and stood in silence as he listened and the battle raged outside. <br/><br/>"Admiral, the Covenant Remnant are here! Now! What's going to happen to us?!"<br/><br/> "You're going to get rescued." <br/><br/>"With all due respect sir, how?! No one can get through this!!" <br/><br/>"A Spartan can, and a Spartan will."<br/><br/>"Is your Spartan good enough to pull this off?"<br/><br/>"Any Spartan is good enough. That's why they're Spartans."<br/><br/>"Can one Spartan turn the tide of this battle? Can they stop the Covenant."<br/><br/>"No, but they can get you to safety. And that's what they'll do."<br/><br/>"What about the personnel here?"<br/><br/>"You know the answer to that; they're expendable...you aren't."<br/><br/>"And the Spartan? Against these numbers there's no way he would survive the fighting."<br/><br/>"That's the point. He's going to give you the chance to escape."<br/><br/>"But sir...he'll die."<br/><br/>"Spartans...they don't die. They're just missing in action."<br/><br/>-Communication Terminated-<br/><br/>"They knew?! They knew I wasn't coming back from this?!" For one of the few times in his life, Kain felt angry and while he wanted to leave the entire base as scrap, he still had a job to do, and if he was going to die in the process...well, an old saying came to him. "So others may live." That day he fought. And he fought and he fought and he fought. He fought like a Demon possessed, and that's what the Covenant called him. Up until the VIP's were away; up until he was the last man standing. Up until he signaled the base's self destruct. But that's the thing about Spartans. They don't die...at least that's what people say.<br/><br/></div></div><br/>Those words still echoed in his mind, and they always would. He'd known them before he even went into active duty, but to experience that treatment first hand...it hurt. He and his brothers and sisters; they'd known this, but still to fully realize it was a shock that was nearly impossible to overcome. That entire day was forever burned into his memory, and sometimes he'd wake up in a cold sweat, panting hard, just like he was now. Getting some water, he looked at his small apartment.<br/><br/>One bedroom, one bath, a living room if you could call it that. He made enough money for more but he liked it here. He liked the people near the port. They were hard working and most were honest. But he wouldn't stay here forever. Looking outside, he figured he couldn't stay in all day so he threw on a black tanktop, a skullcap to hide the scars on the back of his neck, cargo pants and boots. As well as his favorite fingerless gloves. No work today so he'd have to find something to entertain himself, but that wouldn't be much of a problem. Before he left, he checked the secret compartment he'd built that housed his armor.<br/><br/>Still locked, still primed to go off if anyone tampered with it. Satisfied, he slid a knife onto the small of his back and went outside into the weather he'd become accustomed to in these long months here. To this day he still couldn't believe that a scrap collector had stopped by New Falujah after the Covenant had left. But any Spartan who survived basic...they were damn lucky, so maybe he still had some to spare. The main road through town had shops and kiosks set up all along it, but none really caught his eye today. He got a bit of food, but aside from that he was just wandering. Until finally he found a booth that was recruiting for a ship. It wasn't for the UNSC, so his rank as Lt. meant nothing, and he was glad for that. He'd been gone for a while, and he wasn't honestly sure how the Brass would react to finding one of their invincible throwaway weapons alive and well. But he was restless here; maybe it was time for a change.  Walking up with no hesitation, he stopped in front of the booth and looked at the man and woman on the other side. "So just how is this supposed to work?"