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Halo: Left Behind

Chapter 1: Homecoming

Harvest Colony 2527

High orbit

October 8th

ONI Prowler Solomon's Pride

Liam stood in the small bridge of the ONI prowler. He was in his LORICA battlesuit, as he had been routinely wearing for the last three days. He took the time for their ship to reach Harvest to accustom his body to the radical improvements it had been flooded with. It was extremely abnormal for him now. He could hear clearer than he ever had before and he could spot the individual hair on a man's scalp from a mile away. What was more unnerving than that was his dramatically increased strength. No longer could any regular weight machine prove to be sufficient in his standard exercise routine, and no treadmill had been capable of meeting his newfound standardsIndeed, nothing was good enough for his workout so he had taken to lifting the cargo loads in the small hanger of the ship, while the crew watched on in awe. Still, it was not enough for him; they would have to create custom equipment for him and the others Centurions that they planned on creating. The power he felt was intoxicating at times...and he was terrified.

It was so easy now. All he had to do was lightly punch and he could shatter a man's bones...dent steel. He had to be careful that he did not hurt someone who did not deserve it. For the rest of his life he would have to hold himself back, it reminded Liam of superman, incredible strength that had to be kept in check at all times. Liam wondered how the Spartans handled it, but then again they had been like this far longer than he. He supposed that they would have adapted by now.

Liam shifted his helm to monitor the crew of the ship as they worked to bring the vessel down to the planet's starport, near the Utgard space elevators. He had been a tall man before the augmentation, but now he was truly massive, especially in the suit. Most of the people aboard the ship did not even reach his upper chest. It made Liam feel out of place....a world apart. He was no longer someone you could lose in a crowd, someone that blended in, someone that could be normal. He was no longer ordinary. And even though it had been a few days since his fundamental transformation, he missed his ordinariness.

The stares were what really affected him. Every single person he had seen gawked at him brazenly, as if he was some monstrous creature lumbering among them. At one point when he had been eating in the mess hall the looks had become so stifling, so oppressing, that he had almost stood up from his table and shouted at them....but due to his condition he was unable to do so. Couldn't they tell that he was just like them? Couldn't they see that he was still human? They stared at him as if he was a cornerian, an odd alien from another system.

That was the last time he had eaten in the company of others.

The only one aboard the ship that did not treat him like some sort of oddity was Samus. Surprisingly the ONI man treated him like anyone else. And it may be true that he was rough at times, but Liam appreciated his candor nonetheless. Samus was the only person he could stand to be near for any extended length of time.

Liam always wore his armor now; it made it a little easier to ignore the looks, hiding underneath his shell of titanium and its slitted visor. It was a barrier from humanity, a truth that made him grunt. The irony was sickening.

The Centurion buried his troubled thoughts under his dedication to his duty. He was still a protector of mankind, and despite the fact he was no longer thought of as one of them he would fulfill his oath. Nothing would stop him from pursing his duty and reuniting with his friends. Yet even as he thought that, his thoughts were stayed by hesitation, would they even accept him now? Or would they ostracize him as he had been now?

Considering that, he felt a deep unease in his stomach, churning with apprehension and fear. What would Krystal think of him? He did not know what he would do if she shunned him. He might just give up on life.

But Liam dropped that thought. If she truly loved him then what he was would not daunt her. She would stay by him no matter what happened just as he would do for her. The man looked up, having lowered his heads in his thought, and noticed that the ship was in the process of landing, guiding thrusters leading the prowler into the spaceport.

Outside the viewport was a vista of green. Over the walls of the starport were the fabled bountiful fields of Harvest, plentiful meadows that supplied the colonies with a large percentage of its fruits and vegetables. It was also the place Liam had called home for most of his life. His family still lived here. In fact their home was not far from Utgard, a few kilometers travel southwest and he would be at the door of the farmstead they lived in.

No doubt his two wonderful sisters were even now helping his mom till the fields in preparation for the next planting cycle. If he did not have a serious obligation to ONI and this augmentation, he would have bolted out of the ship and sprinted over there, eager to see them all again after years of separation. But at the moment it was best to keep his distance, until he was ready for such an encounter.

Feeling the tapering shuddering of the prowler's deck, Liam turned away from the bridge to thunder down to the ramp that would take him and Samus off the ship to meet with the two leading men of the colonial defense force. From what he had heard from Samus, ONI had deployed them a few months ago when the first reports flooded in. Both of them were S-I's. Members of the failed project ORION, but they were still excellent soldiers and better than ODSTs.

He joined Samus on his way down, the man appearing suddenly as he walked into the bay. The ONI commander was wearing custom armor, courtesy of the office. It was an affair of smooth formfitting plates that were made of composite titanium and steel, infused with the same compound that was in his armor. It was semi-powered and had a smaller shield system. Samus had a Magnum strapped to his thigh and no other visible weapon. "Lieutenant Callahan." He greeted the Centurion formally before walking in step with him. Liam had slowed down to walk at a slower more manageable pace for his superior.

Liam nodded in return and headed for the ramp near the front of the chamber. He slowed once more to give Samus the lead, choosing to hang back. As Samus lowered the ramp, The Centurion used this chance to go over his equipment to make sure it was in fighting condition. There was probably not going to be a firefight in the port but it paid to always be ready for any contingency.

On his back was his GRENDAL hybrid assault rifle with the ACOG, and he had ten clips in compartments built into his armor. On his thigh was his modified M6 Magnum with the EXCALIBUR energy sword on the opposite side connected to his waist. The bandolier he was wearing had canisters of every type for his launcher and a few spare clips for his weapons. Everything was perfect, having serviced his gear continuously over the course of his voyage. It was a better way to spend his time then being ogled by the crew.

With his gear stowed and ready for action, he stepped down the ramp where Samus had been waiting. As his metal boots hit the port's concrete tarmac dully, he automatically scanned the immediate area with his sensors and he began to task things on his HUD to alert him of threats. So far nothing untoward pinged from the vast array of white buildings and ground crews that covered the complex. But the group of moderately dressed militiamen to the left of the ship was shown as friendly and formed a bright yellow phalanx on his tracker. In front of the group, two men were highlighted in green, one a large African American man, and the other looked to be of European descent, both were wearing slightly dismantled ODST battleplate.

The black man was wearing an army cap and sunglasses with his lighter form of armor. All he had was a breastplate and a long sleeved green undershirt. He had a square jaw and looked like the standard tough no-nonsense drill sergeants he had in boot. From what the Centurion could tell, he had no distinguishing features that showed he had been an S-1.

The other man was slightly smaller than his friend and had a buzz cut. He was wearing the same garb as the dark skinned man with the exception of the sunglasses and hat.

As usual, he noticed with a hidden frown. All eyes were on him, staring at the ebony behemoth of armored plate. The militiamen, who looked more like militia boys, gawped and relaxed their military posture, much to his dissatisfaction. It spoke of a lack of training and discipline, and if they were indeed facing another threat, the absence of these traits would kill them all.

Thankfully the two older men in the front of the group were indifferent in his presence. The black man only casually glanced at him as he puffed at a large cigar sticking out of his lips. The other man simply gave him a brief look and returned to staring straight ahead.

The dark skinned man saw that his underlings were out of form and gawking and so turned to correct that. "What's the problem nancies, never seen a soldier before!?" He barked gruffly taking the cigar out of his mouth; in response the men stiffened and shaped up to some semblance of order. He nodded in satisfaction, returned his rolled up smoke to its rightful place, and turned back to face the approaching ONI party.

Samus walked over to greet them. "Staff Sergeants."

Liam moved to stand aside his superior, hulking over all present. He brought his helm down to get a better look at the militiamen and went over their faces, most looked to be no older than twenty, with the exception of a handful of older rougher men. The Centurion's eye stopped abruptly at one of the younger guys. He had short brown hair and a familiar facial structure and his eyes reminded him of someone he knew from a very long time ago. Wallace Jenkins, a friend of his that he had known for most of his childhood. He was an almost exact older duplicate of his friend and could only be him. Liam had never thought to see him again, and was surprised that he had joined the colonial militia. If he remembered correctly he always wanted to see the galaxy and was eager to get off Harvest. But he had not seen him in ages so it was safe to say that many things could have happened that shifted his plans.

He must have been looking in the direction of Jenkins for too long because he shifted his gaze to the Centurion and looked at him awkwardly. After another moment of reflection Liam turned away from the observation of his old friend and tuned into the conversation occurring next to him, dismissing that topic for now, to address at a later time.

"What brings an ONI rep in person and with a spartan no less?" The cigar chomping man inquired bluntly as Liam tilted his helm to watch the conversation.

"I am more than a rep Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson and Staff Sergeant Byrne." Samus replied equally straightforward. "My name is Samus Haraden and I am in charge of a new project for the intelligence office, and my partner here is not a Spartan." He stared hard at both of the men in front of him, unwilling to be played with.

Johnson looked to his compatriot before turning back and replying. "Okay then...Haraden, what are you here for with your...not Spartan friend?" Johnson eyed Liam stiffly which the Centurion returned with an obvious shift of his helmet.

"ONI has vested interest in defending Humanity's colonies just like every other branch of service, does that not offer a sufficient explanation?" Samus replied simply, expression blank.

Johnson and Byrne shared a look before Johnson shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Now, what can you tell me about the situation? I would prefer to hear it from the source." Samus inquired swiftly as he turned on his heels to walk deeper into the spaceport, the group of militiamen marching alongside them.

This time it was Byrne who spoke; the man walked near the militia and had a slightly less intimidating voice then Johnson. "Recently cargo ships have been disappearing in the verge and those that have not, reported strange ships on their sensors, with the occasional sighting. And since the Lylatians are on the metaphorical opposite end of the galaxy, it cannot be them. We were supposed to head out on a freighter and hide in the hold, but the mission was postponed due to your arrival." He frowned, clearly unhappy with that.

"Well plans have changed." Samus interjected. "The 3rd fleet will be in system by the day's end and reinforcements are not far out."

"The entire 3rd fleet?" Johnson asked in surprise.

The 3rd fleet was the second most heavily armed in humanity's arsenal and was responsible for protecting most of the inner colonies. It had fifteen destroyers, ten of the Paris class heavy frigates, twenty stridents, and ten marathon heavy cruisers supported by thirty corvettes. It was a veritable invasion fleet, and most would think, overkill.

"Yes, the entirety of the 3rd is being mobilized. Additionally a Spartan team is en route and elements of the 1stand 3rd army divisions, 15th artillery brigade, and 8tharmored core are jumping in with the fleet to support the militia. We are not taking any chances gentlemen. The possibility that these contacts are real is extremely high." The assembly stopped outside a huge building, the administrative spire. Samus stood in the door way and shifted to face the two men. "Your new objective is to get the militia prepped for an attack and to bolster the fortifications in Utgard. Prep the civilian populace for evacuation procedures and pull a draft for the reservists."

"You can't be serious!" Byrne growled in disbelief. He thought that there was no need to go to extremes. Not to mention it would not be easy to be enforcing the draft. They barely managed to get this many volunteers.

Samus flipped around to face the staff sergeant and replied coldly. "I am deadly serious, and you will do as I command. Harvest is vital to the perpetuation of humanity and the colonies. That means that we must take great lengths to defend it, whether the threat is tangible or not matters little. Now go, the faster you work the better fighting chance we have. I want a report on the situation at the day's end. As of now, I am in command of the militia. You both will report directly to me or my cohort, Lieutenant Callahan." He gestured to the Centurion towering next to him.

Then he briskly shifted around and walked into the administrative building without a backwards glance. The Centurion gave the dissatisfied men a sympathetic glance that they could not see and followed after Samus. He knew what it was like to work under ONI. Although Samus was significantly better than most he had worked for...like that bastard Voorhees. He had not seen that loathsome prowler captain since he arrived on Reach. He only hope that he was gone from his life forever, otherwise he just might use his newfound abilities.

Inside the administration building, Liam followed Samus around as he gathered information about the local terrain and other statistics that The Centurion did not care to worry about. He knew more than enough about his home. He had walked its surface for eighteen plus years. It was all in his head. The only thing he concerned himself with is the upcoming battle if their fears were realized. But he was certain that when the time came to fight he would be ready. No matter what came at them, he would defeat it....for his family and for his home.

As Liam stood beside Samus, who was scrolling through public records, his mind wandered to Krystal and his friends. It was constantly prodding the back of his thoughts and kept him concerned. He was still nervous that his reception upon meeting them again (If he got the chance), would not be a joyful reunion.

But thoughts like that were not conductive to a healthy mindset and could prove to be a lethal distraction. So giving it only a little more serious consideration he once more hefted it to the back of his mind to address at a later date, or perhaps when he had some time to himself.

Corneria 2527

Capital Building

October 8th

Briefing Room A-2

Krystal sat at the back of the table, watching as her friends talked with Prime Minister Sanders. She scratched her left ear idly with a claw and leaned back into the chair she reclined upon. They had been called in for an important mission or something. She didn't really care at the moment. She had been apathetic to the going-ons around her for a while.

The past twelve months had been grueling for the vixen. Liam had been taken by some clandestine intelligence bureau from his own race. From what Matthias had been able to tell them. This...ONI, is responsible for gathering information to protect humanity's assets. They are important, but sometimes their operations can be...unsavory.

It also came to her attention that it was they who influenced the mission that had most likely damaged their relationship irrevocably. It went without needing to be said that she now had a firm distaste for them.

But it mattered not, what was important was that they had taken Liam for gods know what and from what she was told he was no longer in the Lylat system. In fact there was little chance that he would ever comeback. That was a serious blow on the vixen's morale. If it was true that she would never see him again, and they had ended on such bad terms. She did not know what she would do with herself. In the beginning before all of this she had been content on living alone.

But now that she had met Liam and he had brightened her life with his own, she could no longer go back to living that way. She needed to find him, and get him back. And she would fight for him, even against this ONI group.

Her inner reflection was stopped when her ears twitched, recognizing words that she had just been thinking about. She brought her sparkling emerald eyes up from their contemplative gaze at her lap and to the conversation brewing around her. Krystal curiously studied the group and rotated her ears to hone in on their voices.

"That is the mission I have for you all." Sanders spoke from the far end of the table, winged by his ever present security team. "It is undoubtedly not what you are used to be. But seeing how Venom is kept in check by the human fleet over Eladard. I have nothing really to offer besides this assignment. And it doesn't even come from us." He laid it all out for the team that had been listing, which left Krystal out of the loop. She looked to her left and her friend Miyu and nudged her furred shoulder.

"What's going on?" She inquired under her breath, leaning her muzzle over to whisper into her friend's gold hooped ear.

Miyu glanced back at her and replied in an equally soft tone. "The humans have asked for help. And seeing as we are a famous mercenary team, Sanders offered it to us."

"What's the job?"

"The humans are having trouble in their part of the galaxy." Miyu's already quiet voice dropped lower. "It's Liam's home planet, Harvest."

Whenever anyone mentioned anything about him, Krystal reacted in either a sad or distant way. They all missed Liam, but no one was as close to him as Krystal. Miyu wished that she had been, he had been an awesome guy, but she never really spent any time him.

Krystal hummed gently in consideration.

"Yep, they already have stuff in route, that new fleet they were building over Eladard. So if we agree, we just have to meet up with them before they leave." Miyu filled her in and looked back to the team.

"Oh and Krystal, I have something for you. The man who asked for the job was very insistent that I make sure this ends up in your care." She looked up in surprise at Sanders who passed a datapad to Fox, who distributed it down the table to her. The vixen grabbed the little thing, a curious boxy device. There was a button on it and she placed a padded thumb over it and the thing lit up to display a little electronic note. Her eyes looked it over in interest.

Krystal,

I have pulled in all my favors and influence and uncovered somethings that are of interest to you and myself. I cannot guarantee the veracity of this information, but I do have something to show for my efforts. One of my friends in the office was a doctor working on an enormously secretive project, while I can't tell you what it is as I do not know myself. She did tell me that it was to use for a soldier...Liam. I also was told that he is being moved to Harvest as part of some test for a program. When I heard this, and was subsequently asked to transit half of the prototype fleet to Harvest, I asked your Prime Minister for help, knowing that he would go to your team and by extension, you. I have also conjectured that my godson means a lot to you. And it would do both you and him good to see each other again. All that I ask is that you take care of him. He is more fragile then he likes to believe. Please, if you do take this job....and I hope you do. (It was not easy to convince the admiralty to allow your people to help us). Watch over him.

-Matthias Earhart

Krystal's muzzle was numb as she read the contents of the device. The wave of emotions crashing down on her was so intense that she could not form a smile or even a frown. It was all so overwhelming. After twelve months of separation, there was a chance that they could see each other. She could see Liam again and reconcile with him.

"Krystal, are you okay?" Fox inquired worriedly as he watched her blank expression begin to intensify.

She looked up and for the first time in a year, smiled broadly. "Yes Fox, I think that I'll be just fine."

She would not tell them why her mood had brightened until they accepted the mission and headed out immediately. As they walked out of the capital building and to the starport she finally divulged the information she had been gifted.

Peppy nodded as they walked down the paved crosswalk to the starport. "So, our dear friend Liam is supposed to be where this Harvest world is?"

"Yes." Krystal said exuberantly, tail blazing away happily behind her. Her eyes were shinning with happiness and her muzzle had a permeant grin. "Matthias was confident enough to give me a message. And I have a feeling that he is right. We will find him on that planet."

"Well then!" Miyu yowled, clapping her paws together with a grin as she looked at her friends.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Krystal gave her friend a smile.

Fox, who had been watching Krystal, was glad to see that she was starting to return to her old self. She had been unhappy for a very long time. The orange furred vulpine missed his friend to.

"What do you say guys?" He asked, turning to the others. "Are you ready to go find Liam?"

Falco nodded, giving a rare smile. Slippy bobbed his head rapidly and Fay replied with a double thumbs up.

"Right, let's get going. We don't want to be late." Fox commanded, turning to head off with his team in tow. They were quick to head back to the Great Fox and launch the ship from its birth. From there they input the coordinates to rendezvous with the human fleet and head to Harvest.

The entire time they were on the move. Krystal maintained her smile, glad to be heading to see Liam again. They had a lot to talk about and she was eager to get started.

But not all was well with the universe, for a plan had been set in motion three days previously, a plan for the extinction of mankind. And the harbingers of this event were closing in on the first world in their galactic genocide.

Soon...destruction would be at hand, and it would be up to the brave defenders of Harvest to prevent the demise of 300,000 men women and children. But they knew not that such doom was even now bearing down upon them.

**********

Liam sighed as he stood in the small office that Samus had commandeered for his own use. The man had been standing there for the past seven hours as Samus poured over countless documents and reports that were routinely updated and dropped off on his desk. The defense of Harvest was already in action, the roads leading into every major city had been fortified with elements from the newly arrived and deployed 1st army division and 2nd armor core. The infrastructure for Harvest's cities had been secured by squads of soldiers and weapon emplacements. The planetary militia had been mobilized to bulk up the army division and support armored units and recently erected artillery installations, each squad was led by an experienced vet that would keep them alive if worse came to worse.

The 3rd fleet moved into defensive position in direct orbit above the planet and the prowler force had been assembling a thick field of moray mines on the perimeter of their defensive huddle. In addition havoc tactical nukes have been authorized if necessary. As for reinforcements, they could expect the Spartan Blue Team to arrive in the next 48 hours. And the fleet from Eladard should arrive a little after them.

This was the single most colossal deployment of military might since the rainforest wars. Liam just hoped that they would not need all that they had done. But if these contacts on the verge were indeed real, and not friendly, judging by their first conflict with cornerians and their energy based tech, it would not be an easy fight. It was selfish to think, but Liam wished that this was all taking place on some other world, not his home.

Liam's helmet lowered to watch as Samus continued to read over reports and statistics. The man was certainly dedicated. He was in charge of the militia, and both of the Staff Sergeants reported to him and Liam. But it was more for Samus, seeing as he was mute. So he just directed them to the man and they filled him in on the progress of the men.

The Centurion had to hand it to those two men. They did a fine job with what they had. He had seen a marketable increase in their effectiveness. The Centurion had stepped outside and to the fields for a moments peace and saw heard the sounds of gunfire on the wind. He had been alarmed and rushed over to the small compound a few kilometers from the starport. But when he used his armor's enhanced vison, he saw that it was a training exercise. He spotted Sergeant Johnson on the outskirts of the field, lying concealed in the underbrush.

From his place on a hill he watched the battle take place. And while the militiamen may have lost against the two S-1's they still put up one hell of a fight. That gave Liam a little more confidence in the fate of his home.

The doors to the office opened and in strode Johnson and Byrne. Both men looked tired, probably from all the training they had been doing throughout the day. The two soldiers walked to the edge of Samus' desk and placed their attention on the man.

Samus shuffled through a stack of papers before acknowledging the two men's presence, looking up back at them. "What is it?"

"Everything is set up as you directed. The main force of militia has been deployed with reserves on standby." Byrne replied.

Samus removed all of his attention from the papers on his desk and transferred it to the Staff Sergeants. "That is good news because it has just come to my attention that the prowler monitoring the verge went silent hours ago. The only reason that a prowler would have done so is if they have either been forced into running silent or they were...destroyed. This can mean two things, both of which are unpleasant." Samus rose from his seat to stand by the window, looking down at the port outside and all the ground crews and workers. "One, they deemed what they saw as dangerous and took precautions in keeping themselves safe from harm, in which case they should have sent a data burst-transmission back to me or one of the other ONI operatives. Or two...they were taken down by whatever it was they found."

Byrne's face flushed white and he looked concerned. This was serious business. "What happens then?"

Samus faced them slowly, for the first time his face showed unease. He may have been a merciless ONI operative, but he was still human. "The prowler was 24 hours out from the system by slipspace jump. If these aliens have the same level of galactic transportation as we do, we have that much time to prepare. But I think it is best to ere on the side of caution and ready for an immediate attack."

His response had the effect of making all in the room deeply worried. It would seem that everything in place would be needed after all. Johnson suggested that they prepare for an attack, coordinating their forces with those of the other units. Samus agreed and they were quick to get down to brass tacks.

But Liam dismissed himself; he would not be any use to them considering he could no longer talk. It had been difficult to do so before the procedure and now afterwards it seemed that he could not at all.

Walking out of the room, Liam headed for the field outside the port and found a familiar place. Just a klick from the port was a small cliff like hill that faced a prairie of cornstalks and beyond them far in the distance was a farmstead. Liam sat down at the edge of the cliff heavily, a puff of dried dust floated into the air when his armored weight hit the ground. The man zoomed in on the ranch and saw two women with hair like spun gold, sitting upon the veranda and talking to each other.

Their names were Sarah and Maggie Callahan...his sisters. He watched them as they smiled and talked, completely unaware that their brother was so close by. The homely wooden door beside them slowly opened and an older, but no less beautiful women stepped out with raven black hair and dark blue eyes. Anna Callahan.

She sat down beside his sisters and they began to talk. Liam sat at the edge of the overhang and gazed longingly at his family. They were so close, but ultimately it was he that was too far away. Dread coursed through his body as he contemplated the fate of this world and all of its inhabitants. If their worst fears were realized, this world would become embroiled in a conflict whose winner is uncertain.

The unknowns far outweighed the certainties, whether an attack was imminent, or another race of aliens would soon be uncovered. It would seem that the galaxy was making up for lost time. Humanity had been alone for the entirety of its existence up until this point, and now inside the span of a year and a half it would seem that aliens were popping out of the galactic woodworks.

With a sad sigh Liam grabbed the back and chinplate of his helmet with both gauntlets and snapped it to the left, there was an explosion of compressed air and he lifted the helm off his head to feel the air and smell the scents of his home, placing it in his lap.

His scarred skin was warmly caressed by the soft breeze that brought with it the smell of greenery and freshly cut grass. As he absorbed the setting with uncovered eyes for the first time in almost seven years, a single tear fell softly down his marred features to trickle down to his gorget.

This was his home....

And yet....it wasn't.