Story of Platinum

Chapter I: Reporting for Duty

"Where are your men!" the rebel screamed as he held a magnum to my head. He seemed pretty confident in himself, talking down to a Spartan-IV capable of crushing his skull with ease. "Tell me now, or I'll swear to God that I'll end your pathetic life!" he screamed again.

"I came here alone," I said as I stared fearlessly into the man's eyes. He put the magnum down and walked away to a corner where he started consulting with some others. I used my gracious time to scan the room, looking for any potential way of escaping. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a small knife. It was just the right size to free myself, but how would I secretly get to it? I couldn't move, otherwise the rebel would put a bullet in my brain. The rebel turned around and looked at me with anger.

"Look, I'll kill you slowly if you don't tell me where your squad is!". He didn't get it. I wouldn't say anything, why would I? I'm trained to face death in the eye, not to squirm my way out my costing the lives of others. Besides, I don't believe he could kill me, even with me constricted to this chair. The rebel signaled his friends over. He whispered something to them. I couldn't really catch what he said due to the sounds of the rusty pipes beneath us.

"Damn pipes, louder than a pelican taking off," I said as the rebel turned.

"You think you're fucking funny? I will savor the minute where I slit your throat". Now he really looked pissed. I could tell that I am starting to get under his skin. He had that flare of fire in his eyes.

"That's a good joke, I guess we're both comedians. Maybe I could fix those pipes if you would kindly untie me," I said as I began to laugh. The thug looked over his shoulder and seen that tiny knife. He picked it up and started to laugh maniacally.

"Oh, I'm gonna enjoy killing my first Spartan," as he slowly walked over to where I was tied.

"Come here sweetie, I'll make it a time to remember". He raised his knife, getting ready to plunge it deep into my neck. As he began to form the motion, I quickly got on my feet and spartan kicked him against the wall. I was still tied and his buddies were coming at me. I quickly located the knife, but before I could grab it, one of the thugs managed to get behind me. He tried to get me from behind, but I threw myself at him. As my armor and weight collapsed his ribs, the chair's legs were lodged into his stomach.

I quickly freed myself using the knife, and I delivered a swift punch to the last of the thugs. Crushed his skull. As I looked around the three men who tried to kill me, I noticed that the interrogator was still moving. I walked over to him and bent down to his level.

"How about you tell me where your weapons are, and I'll keep my end of the promise?" I asked while staring into the eyes of the rebel.

"Okay okay, just down the hall from here is the armory," he quickly responded.

"Thanks, now for my turn. Time to make this moment one to remember". I began to take off my helmet. "You know, not many people actually see the face of a Spartan. You'll one of the lucky few," I said as I completely removed my helmet. I looked into the rebel's eyes as he began to cry. "You're also one of the few that made eye contact with death," I said as I picked his magnum off of the ground.

"No, please don't. You don't have-" I cut him off short.

"Don't make this harder on me. Just close your eyes and everything will be alright". As I pulled the magnum up to his head, he looked at me in the eyes and nodded. He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry," I quietly said as I pulled the trigger.

I laid the magnum down on his chest, and began to make my way to the armory.

Chapter II: Neon

The corridors were dark and empty. Not a single patrol making rounds. I slowly approached the door to the armory. I took a deep breath and opened the door, not a single guard. Looking around the room for weapons, I found an M45 Tactical Shotgun with 6 shells. That was it, everything else was either destroyed or scavenged. Feeling confident with my newly found shotgun, I left the armory to continue down the long corridors with the hope of finding my men.

"Yeah, let me go check on the interrogation". I paused as I heard what seemed to be two people talking in the hall next to me. I slowly peaked my head around the corner, and to my surprise, found a member of my team. He wasn't tied up, he wasn't in trouble, he wasn't a friendly. He was talking to the enemy. I couldn't believe it, betrayed by a friend. I couldn't wrap my mind around this, why would a member of my team betray us? It doesn't matter now, he is a target. He is something that stands between me and finding the others. I had to...eliminate him to advance.

I steadied my shotgun, controlling my breathing waiting for the right moment to strike. I had to be careful though, the traitor is a hand-to-hand expert who could easily disarm me and break my neck in one movement. I had a close-range gun, so I have to get in close to kill him. I peaked my head around the corner again to notice that they were gone. I scanned my surroundings, checking for any movement in my radius. Nothing. I lowered my shotgun and took in a long, relaxing breath. I creep-ed around the corner, where the two men vanished, and continued onward.

I still couldn't believe what I seen. It shouldn't even bother me, but for some odd reason it can't escape my mind. I'm a Spartan, we're not considered to be humans. We're emotionless machines.

I heard a faint footstep behind me, and before I could even realize what was happening I was thrown to the ground. I turned to see the traitor grinning at me, laughing at my pain. I reached for my shotgun, but it wasn't there! That son of a bitch had it!

"You know, I thought you were never gonna hear me. You haven't had your weapon for quite some time." He had that look of insanity in his eyes.

"Neon, what did they do to you?" He continued to laugh hysterically.

"No Platinum, what did the UNSC do to you? We're just pawns in their big war game. We don't matter, we're not like them. Remember? We're machines."

"I can help you. Just give me the gun and I'll find the others. They have to be here. WE can fix this."

"The only thing that needs fixing is you..." He eyes were empty, and his expression was blank. He steadied the shotgun, aiming it directly at my forehead. I closed my eyes, ready to take my fate. I could hear him stepping closer, and closer. And the next thing I heard was - BANG.

Chapter III: Elements of War

I thought I was dead, and death was painless, but then I heard the sound of a heavy object falling. I opened my eyes to see that I was still alive and breathing, but Neon wasn't so lucky. His lifeless corpse stood there on the ground, with a bullet hole in the back of his helmet. I quickly got to my feet and jumped to the nearest cover. I began to convey the area for the thing that killed him. I didn't detect any life signals in my vicinity.

Realizing I would already be dead if the shooter was after me, I walked out of the cover with my hands high above my head. I stood there motionless for a few minutes, waiting for the shooter to come out of hiding. I noticed a small bullet hole in a nearby window. I steadily walked over and took a quick glance out the window, noticing the flash of a sniper scope. I put my hands down and relaxed. I walked over to Neon's body, reached down and grabbed his tags. By the time I had recovered his tags and my shotgun, Mercury was beside me.

"Thought you were dead Plat". He still had that damn tone in his voice.

"I thought the same for a minute until your ass showed up". He began to say something but stopped himself. He glanced over Neon's corpse and quickly looked back at me.

"Could ya give me a moment here?"

"Sure Merc. I'll be waiting outside if you need me."

Mercury walked over to Neon, bent down and recited some prayer. Mercury may be a killing machine, but he still believes in honoring the dead. He stood up and walked out without saying a single thing, his head lowered.

"So where is your sniper rifle Merc?" noticing that he wasn't carrying one.

He stopped and looked at me, "Sniper Rifle? Ha, I haven't carried one of those in a long time." I looked at him with confusion. "Wait, that wasn't you that shot Neon? Then who was it?" I began to worry, thinking that the shooter is following us.

"Plat, calm down. It was Xenon. She is finding our way of out here."

I took in a deep breath. "So where is ---" I was cut off by the loud roar from the overhead Pelican.

"There she is! Let's go Plat". I boarded the pelican thinking about Neon, how my squad knew where I was, and where we going. We were on our way to an inner colony to meet with our contact for our mission review. We were never given the names of the UNSC and the ONI operatives who gave us our orders, just in case we were ever captured. Special Forces isn't all fun.

"Almost at docking station" kept blaring over the damn intercom. I looked out and seen the beauty of the colonies. "Now Docking", the pelican shook at little as we boarded. We walked out and were greeted like gods, marines looked at us in awe as we walked to the briefing room.

The moment we stepped into the briefing room, we were welcomed by a black silhouette.

"Welcome back team. Barely managed to make it out of that last one...where is the fourth member, Neon?"

Both Xenon and Mercury looked at me. "He was a traitor. He nearly killed me. I have documented the report and his tags are in your custody".

There was a brief pause "What a shame. He was a strong one. Your next assignment is to eliminate a petty rebel station near Earth. You're the best we got, so we'll need ALL three of you to return"

"Yes sir". Transmission out. I turned to the others, "Alright Elements of War, let's do this".

Chapter IV: Blanks for the Memories

As we made our way toward the docking bay, I wondered why us, a group of Spartans, are being sent to take care of a petty rebel station. A group of marines could easily take care of such a small problem, with no casualties. A feeling of emptiness swept me as I stepped into the docking bay. It was empty of both men and supplies. My team and I made our way to our Prowler and readied up. we started up our Prowler, and began making our way toward our next objective.

What seemed like years finally came to an end when we located the rebel station. It was on a hunk of rock slowly drifting through the dark vacuum of space. When we got within a close enough range, we disabled our engines and floated toward the rock. I turned back to my team, and looked into their blank visors. There were four seats, and the fourth one wasn't occupied. The only thing that was in my mind was Neon, and his act of betrayal. I began to fade away from reality as my mind tried to comprehend what happened.

"Plat. Plat, you alright? Hey man, we thought you were having another one of your hallucinations."

I shook my head and readied my rifle. We were close enough to the rock, so I prepared my team. I checked our COMs and everyone's bio signs. COMs are ready, and bio signs are perfect. I flipped my COM on, "When we get in there, I don't want anyone to say anything. Speak, and you'll get us killed." Two acknowledgement lights flickered.

We landed on the rock, and began our mission on foot. I signaled my team to stop and get low. I scanned the area for anything that unusual. Nothing. There was nobody around the entrances of the rebel station. I signaled my team to follow my lead, and sprinted toward the nearest entrance to the base. Upon entering the compound, I noticed UNSC crates and supplies. I signaled Mercury and Xenon to make their way to the 2nd floor. Two acknowledgement lights flickered. As they disappeared from my sensor, I proceeded to search the first floor.

I made my way down a corridor littered with papers and plastic coffee cups. The halls started to get dark, so I turned on my low-light filters. I was shocked to my discovery as the filters turned the dark walls a shade of green. There were UNSC symbols marked on the walls. I realized that this wasn't a rebel base, but an abandoned UNSC research compound. I turned to my left to notice a small office. I shouldered my rifle and slowly crept into the room. Notepads and broken computer monitors were scattered across the tiny office. I searched the room for anything that could explain what is going on here. I came across a little journal that was spattered with blood. Most of the pages were either torn out or was unreadable.

Dear Journal,
Year -(unreadable)-

Operation Vertigo was a success! After many failed attempts to alter the memory of a spartan, we succeeded! Four spartans had their memories altered, but we fear that one of them will regain his memory while another will be effected mentally. The four spartans are Nate "Neon" Bridges, Will "Mercury" Sanders, Sarah "Xenon" Stanley, and "Platinum". Platinum's records were lost so we couldn't locate his name. We cleared their childhood memories. ...........---- (the rest was unreadable)

I paused and stared blankly into space. The only thing that ran though my mind was what Neon said before he was killed.

"No Platinum, what did the UNSC do to you? We're just pawns in their big war game. We don't matter, we're not like them. Remember? We're machines."

I began to have a hallucination where I seen my childhood self playing outside, having so much fun. Then people dressed in UNSC gear kidnapped me, and replaced me with a clone. The memories kept playing in my head again and again, but that wasn't all. There was something in the back of my head that feels as if it is locked up and can't escape. I came to my senses after hearing a large explosion from outside.

I switched on my COMs and blared "Xenon! Mercury! Did you guys here that!?". I was sprinting toward the door where I came in, and seen Xenon and Mercury with their hands up in the air. I stopped in my tracks and dropped my gun, and was shocked at what I was looking at....

Chapter V: The Royal What?

Our Prowler was destroyed, and a bright spotlight was focused on our position. My motion sensor indicated that there were at least 15 friendlies around us, but then why would they be pointing their guns at us? I still had my arms up and every second felt like a decade.

A man in a lab coat followed by a group of marines came into view. I've never seen the man before, yet there was something about him. The man turned around to one of the higher ranking marines and started whispering something.

"I don't like this" whispered Xenon over the COM. The marine looked at us, then back at the man. He began to shake his head, like he was refusing something. As the marine began to turn around to this men, he was shot by the mysterious man. He dropped to the ground lifeless and his men were paralyzed with fear.

"Do I make myself clear!?" shouted the mysterious man. The voice sound familiar...it was the man who gave us our orders! We were being betrayed, and as I slowly moved my head to my team, I noticed that they were already looking at me.

"It's that old bastard. He set us up," Mercury said over the COM. The marines nodded after seeing their leader gunned down in cold blood. The mysterious man looked back at us, smiled and walked away. The marines began to shoulder their guns. It looked as if it was over for us, but then there was an explosion. The pelican with the spotlight on us crashed down behind the marines causing them to look away. Just enough time for my team to get our weapons. Within a matter of seconds we dispatched the group of marines. However, we noticed that there were hundreds of UNSC ships around the base. We ran back into the base, not looking behind us.

We barricaded the front door, and settled down in one of the many offices. Xenon had her sniper leaning against the wall and was looking through a tiny window. Mercury and myself was counting our ammo. "Looks as if this is it, huh" I said in a doubtful voice.

"Nah, we've been through worse. I got 2 mags and a full clip in my assault rifle."

I looked at him, and shook my head. Xenon reached for her sniper, and pointed out the window. I got up to take a look and was amazed by the number of troops that were outside. There were at least a thousand, maybe more.

Xenon looked at me and said, "Well, we have elevation."

"Doesn't matter, we will be slaughtered within an hour."

It was quiet for a minute until we heard another explosion, this time it was inside the building. We heard a gunfight ring out on the first floor. Confused, I look at my squad and ask if they seen anyone earlier. Both shook their head. The gunfire stopped, and I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I peeked my head out the door and seen UNSC troops coming our way. I turn to my squad and put a finger up to my helmet, meaning them to be quiet. Two acknowledgement lights flickered on. We didn't move for at least 10 minutes, but those 10 minutes felt like weeks. After the footsteps died down, I slowly crept over to the doorway and peeked out again. It was clear, and nobody was in sight. I gestured Mercury and Xenon to set up in the hallway. They shouldered their guns and began to move out into the hallway. As I grabbed my assault rifle, I noticed something in the corner of my eye.

It was a propaganda poster for something. It was torn at the bottom and was affected by age and dust. The only words I could make out of it was Sign up Today! The Royal was all I could understand. There was a picture of a soldier dressed in army gear, but had a weird symbol on his shoulder, and it was red. I quickly shouldered my assault and rifle and headed out into the hallway.

As I entered the hallway, I noticed that Xenon and Mercury were set up on both stairwells leading downstairs. There was another staircase that led upstairs. I slowly walked over to it, with my weapon ready, and seen someone standing around the corner upstairs. He looked at me, and started making hand gestures.

He was doing sign language, You're Welcome...

to be continued