HALO: RE-birth

Endzone

Day after day Cheza's body was put to the test. There wasn't a memory in her head that had to do with resting, or sleeping for that matter. Everything was starting to become hazy. Memories she was sure belonged to her seemed far away, as though they belonged to someone else. All she could think about was accomplishing the tasks set before her. If the scientist told her to shoot at the soldier that looked like Master Chief, she shot him. If the scientist told her to wipe out her entire team, she expertly dismantled them. She was becoming more and more like a trained zombie of war. "Thirteen is coming along beautifully Commander Westin. All that's left is testing her out on the field." Dr. Lee reported. Westin smiled greedily as he watched his project come to fruition.
"Commander Westin sir, Captain Del Rio of the Infinity has requested your company in the Communications Room." said a soldier.
"Damn, he couldn't chose a more inappropriate time." Westin growled under his breath. He left the research team and headed for the Communications Room at the other end of the ship. He passed Hawkeye and a couple of his former students whispering about something that was happening near Requiem.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Apparently there was a huge battle on the Infinity, and as usual, the Master Chief was at the center of it." a young female student answered.
"I heard Yards in Communication saying something about an ancient warrior attacking both the Infinity and the Forward Unto Dawn with massive gangs of both Covenant and Prometheans." Hawkeye gawked.
"And the Chief? Is he alive?" Westin wondered. Both the girl and Hawkeye looked at him curiously.
"Of course. He wouldn't be the Master Chief if he easily lost to a bunch of second rate hacks. Even if one of them is a "legendary warrior"." Hawkeye laughed. Westin left the children and continued walking to his destination. This was upsetting. If Master Chief was still alive, then he would be coming back to cause problems for him and the Spartan Rebirth Program. Finally he reached the Communications Room.
"Westin, D." he spoke. The room came alive at the sound of his voice. A screen popped up in front of him, and staring at him was Captain Del Rio.
"What do you want Del Rio? I'm in the middle of something important right now."
"I'm sorry to interrupt your work sir, but I'm sure you wouldn't be so dismissive of my report when you hear what I have to say."
Commander Westin snarled in annoyance.
"Fine. What is your report?"
"As you might know, my crew and I had discovered Master Chief adrift on the now destroyed Forward Unto Dawn. As we tried to collect him and his A.I counterpart Cortana from the wreckage, he mistakenly unleashed a Forerunner on our ship."
Daniel Westin took a step back.
"What did you say?"
"A Forerunner sir. It's called the Didact, and it quickly took control of enemy ships in the vicinity and turned them against us."
"How could the Chief unleash something so ancient? Was it a mistake? Did he release the creature on purpose?"
"No sir. Even he was surprised...or his rendition of surprise."
Commander Westin paced back and forth in thought. This changed everything. How did the Chief do something so...so god-like? John-117 was just a man underneath that suit of armor. Or was he? Either way, Westin figured he had to push Cheza to the same extent. She had to be just as powerful as the Chief, and do more than he could.
"What else?" he barked.
"Sir, I truly believe the Chief sees himself as a higher authority than the UNSC or ONI. As a soldier, he is to obey every order given to him, yet when he clearly saw his A.I malfunctioning, he disobeyed my command to hand over the failing program, and acted on his own. He also speaks of another Forerunner speaking to him and only him. He declares that the ancient civilization used humans in their quest to immunize them against the Flood, in turn mutating them into the creatures known as the Prometheans, using a device called the Composer."
"How does the last part mean he's higher than us?"
"He says he now is the only one immune to the weapon. He refuses to share any information pertaining on how to spread the same immunization to the rest of the human race."
Westin went back to pacing. This was another problem. Every time he thought he could level Cheza against him, Master Chief went and developed a new ability. How was he to duplicate this new genetic mutation? Suddenly an idea came to mind.
"Where is the Chief now Captain?"
"He and his screwed up A.I have gone down on Requiem to find and destroy the Didact."
"We need him back alive Del Rio. We at least need his blood. If he won't share this important discovery with the rest of the human race, then we have the obligation to take charge." Westin said seriously. Captain Del Rio nodded in agreement and the screen went black. This was going to be difficult, but if things went the way he was planning, then Westin would soon have the equipment to morph Cheza into the ultimate soldier. One better than John-117.
"All the soldier...none of his humanity." he chuckled evilly. It was all too late. Master Chief and Cortana were suppose to sabotage the Didact's ship, but they failed. The ancient warrior proved to be more resourceful than the Spartan thought. The Forerunner disembarked from Requiem, and lead the Chief on a merry chase through space, all the way past a third Halo ring, to the Ivanoff Research Station. By the time the duo caught up, the entire station was engulfed in war. The Covenant easily breached the walls of the research facility, and with them, the Didact. The legendary Spartan fought bravely to save the station, but the Forerunner already had what he went there for: the Composer. In the blink of an eye, the Didact used the weapon, and composed everything in sight. Everything except the Chief and Cortana.
"What do we do now John?" Cortana questioned in fear.
"We follow him. He's not getting away with this."