Keyes to Survival: Part 1

As the Pelican carrying Master Chief and Foehammer faded into the distance, heading to their new objective, Ken sat in the cockpit of his own craft as Echo piloted it up towards the Nyota.

He was battle-weary, slouched in his seat with his eyes closed. Aches and pains all over his body kept his pain receptors firing, while his mind was slightly conflicted with what amounted to his execution of a neutralised enemy. Had it been the right thing to do? He let out a tired sigh, fists clenching as he thought of what he'd seen and done since his arrival on Reach.

His fists eventually relaxed as he rationalised. 'Peace will have its time, but for now, all I can do is leverage my missions to save as many human lives as I can until that point. There is nothing I can do about true unity though. I guess humanity just isn't evolved enough for that yet.'

He sighed again, thinking of the enormity of his potential impact on this new world he was now a part of. "It's not so fun when it's no longer a game." Echo silently took note of the emotions roiling out of Ken's heart, and for once wished for enough omnipotence to guide Ken to an answer on their purpose but knew no one would answer.

___

Ken went directly to his captain's quarters accompanied by Up And Away and the two other Huragok lifeworkers. They had been eagerly awaiting his bloodied return for a chance to ply their trade and they weren't disappointed! Ears, lungs, burns, tiny kidney rupture, intestinal ischemia, shrapnel impact, blunt trauma, fractures, mild radiation exposure... Ken couldn't help but laugh as he realised what it would take to keep his new friends entertained and fulfilled! "They'll turn me into a masochist for their sake!" Up And Away patted his shoulder, bobbing up and down with his friends in excited agreement.

"Well, it can't be helped, Ken 17" Echo said over the comms. "You are the only true organic on board and this is what they were made for. It is a shame your injuries are so unexpectedly light, however, your quickening should provide them with quite a show." Ken felt the mocking underlying those words. He carefully undressed to his briefs, wincing at the many pangs of pain the movements caused and got onto his bed and narrowed his eyes to a piercing squint. He didn't say a word but Echo got the message. It was on!

Somehow, someday, Ken would get his payback! Echo kept silent but Ken could feel Echo scoffing at him. As ultra fine glowing cilia brushed away his injuries, Ken's mind, inspired by the feelings he perceived from Echo, recreated a scene from a cartoon show from his childhood of a black man in parachute pants dancing energetically as he sang 'U can't touch this!'1 and laughed a true belly laugh! "Alright Echo, I accept my defeat this time".

"Whatever do you mean Ken 17," Echo said over comms. "I was not aware we were in an altercation."

Ken only shook his head as he turned his attention to the lifeworkers. He had been unconscious the last time around, so he made sure to carefully observe how they worked. His eyes widened in wonder as the ultrafine glowing cilia at the ends of the Huragok tentacles moved over him, feeling as if they were barely touching his wounds. Yet, to his eye, they had clearly penetrated deep into his flesh, repairing the damage at a cellular level as they passed over.

As the vessels and flesh beneath his skin were woven back together, they appeared like a red map, illuminated beneath his skin by the cilial glow, rivers and tributaries of blood flowing with life.

"Up And Away, you guys are beyond amazing! I'm really glad you chose to come with us". Up And Away merely bobbed up and down, every last injury vanishing before Ken's eyes.

Echo's voice came over comms. "Well, now that this is done, let us begin the quickening." The lifeworkers shivered in excitement as they apparently knew to expect something remarkable. Today, it seemed, would be a big step.

Ken laid still, a little apprehensive and excited. Suddenly, an ache, dull and deep began to rise in rhythm with his rising pulse. The dull ache soon morphed into a white-hot inferno from one beat to another. Ken's body convulsed, almost curling into itself as his back arched like a drawn bow, a scream threatening to rip from his throat.

His muscles, familiar and comfortable moments ago, felt like overinflated balloons, tight against his skin and screaming for release! His hands cupped his face, fingers digging into his brow as searing pain lanced through his eyes as a disorienting kaleidoscope of iridescent lights filled his vision.

His breathing was heavy, he balled his hands into crackling fists, nails digging into his palms, the normal pain a welcome distraction from the firestorm within his body! Why was he still awake for this? Why was today different?! He gasped for air, his lungs filling like bellows, feeding the furnace of his body.

His bones felt as if they were red hot irons being quenched in his blood! "Ken 17, just hold on. Your growing fortitude has made it so you will not fall unconscious. Persevere!" Echo's voice was lost in a whirlwind of pain, but the sentiment reached him. He could do this! Ken could only hang on, a whimper escaping his mouth as his body shuddered.

His lungs, tight and burning, felt like they were trying to force themselves out of his chest and then, just as abruptly as it began, the agony subsided. Ken flopped back onto the bed, just fighting to get his breathing under control. 

Eventually, he tentatively opened his eyes. His vision was…different. Sharper, somehow. He could see the fuzz on the individual threads in his bed cover, the dust motes parting around the excited lifeworkers as they pushed through the air to get to him, illuminated by the artificial lighting in his room.

Before his tired mind could ponder further changes, all three lifeworkers touched his head, sending him into a deep, dreamless sleep.

___

Ken awoke several hours later, consciousness gently returning to him. His ordeal felt like a half-remembered distant dream. As he sat up, he felt his body was vastly different. A tingling sensation ran through his limbs, a thrumming energy that pulsed beneath his skin. It wasn't apparent at a glance, but when he hesitantly flexed his arm, the muscles bunched smoothly, responding with a controlled power he'd never felt before. "Echo," he asked, his voice quiet. "What exactly is this award?"

"To put it simply Ken 17, you are now the peak representation of what a successful ORION Program candidate could be in terms of training and physical capability. You now exhibit increases in strength, speed, agility, vision and reaction times. You also possess a modest healing factor, enhanced with fast wound suppression and near-instant clotting with a reduced probability of those clots detaching and causing strokes. Extended lifespan is also expected due to near-perfect cell division, overcoming the Hayflick limit of your cells thanks to your enhanced telomeres. It is almost at the level of effective immortality, given the right conditions.

The internal conductivity of your nerve myelin sheaths have been augmented, boosting Cyclosynthetic neural transmission while eliminating crosstalk. Your intelligence and cognitive markers have been improved, leading to much faster learning, and better abstract and creative thinking.

It goes without saying, your organs have been enhanced to cope with and support all these changes and emulate what would have been done with Bionic implants."

"Naelewa. I'm essentially a SPARTAN-I." Ken said. All this information would have confused him before, but thanks to resurfaced knowledge casually glanced at in Wikis and watched in Installation 00 videos, Ken and his enhanced faculties were able to quickly piece it together with recall and context.

He smiled wryly, thinking how easily he could have diversified his skills into UX and web design if he'd been like this back on his Earth. He was far from a genius compared to this world's standard bearers like Dr Halsey, but given time to study, he could become a subject matter expert with some effort.

He drew in a deep, easy breath and gingerly stepped off the bed. His movements felt fluid and coordinated in a way they never had been before. He paced his quarters, the enhanced muscles hardly registering the effort. A smile touched his lips. "Looks like the only things missing are a camo cap and a cigar to chew on!"

"We do not have those, but..." As Echo spoke a light enveloped Ken then faded, revealing him in a new set of armour.

Ken wiggled his fingers, feeling the strange, responsive material encasing his hands. He looked down at his armoured form, the sleek, matte black full-body shell starkly different from the ODST combat suit he'd gotten used to.

"That is SPI armour, an enhanced Mark II, to be precise," Echo continued. "Think of it as a step up from your previous ODST gear."

"SPI?" Ken said, the acronym causing an imaginary itch in a couple of neurons. He had heard of it before. "Semi-Powered Infiltration armour," Echo explained. "It is lighter and more flexible than the Mjolnir armour Spartans use, but it packs a punch in terms of mobility and stealth. Perfect for recon and infiltration missions and tight spaces."

Ken focused on his raised hand through his HUD, taking in the articulated glove as it and the rest of the suit began to blend with his background. He flexed his hand, surprised by the responsive feedback from the armour.

Tentatively, he crouched, then burst upwards with about a fifth or so of his strength, his head almost striking the ceiling. The unfamiliar weight of the armour surprisingly easy to manage. He moved his arms and legs, performing swift katas, the suit moving with him fluidly, almost as if it were an extension of his body.

"Seems like a good fit," Ken said cheerfully before he sobered up. "Though, given the usual pattern of things, I'm not likely to enjoy using it for what comes next, am I..." Echo did not answer back. 

___

Not much one can do when real life sucker punches you in the back of your head, gives you a straight hook and a 'Sparta' push kick for good measure! But sometimes, it will pick you up, give you a warm pat on the back and a small mint candy before disappearing to the next ambush point! That mint was a lifesaver lol!

I won't be back to near daily posts, but since this chapter was getting messy and starting to trend towards 4000 words, I split it into two to give the second part some proper attention. It should be up in 24hrs or so. Check out Installation 00 on YouTube for some incredibly nerdy deep dives into Halo lore. The guy is building his own freakin' functional Mjolnir armour for crying out loud! 

Thank you for the patience🖖🏾