Author's Notes: Hello and welcome to what will likely be the most intense story in the Blaine Harlowe Saga.
I know that over the past couple of years, his story has been all sorts of wonky. Whether it be constant shoe horning of new characters, or an unclear plot that is constantly changed. This story will be the game changer. No more redacts, no more shoe horns, no more confusing plot.
Some backstory before we dwelve further into this story. If you haven't read it yet, the story: GoldenHeart Returns takes place after the events of Orion, and before this story. If you haven't read that yet, close this page down and read that first.
I know the narrative behind it is strange and confusing, but without prior knowledge of what happened there, you will be confused with this story. Without spoiling anything about that other story, there will be some events that, obviously, should not exist within the timeline of this story. You'll know what I mean if you read it.
Without further delay, our story continues.
Prologue:
June 30th, 2583
New New Alexandria, Espoz, Reach
"Settle down now children!" the Teacher tried to hush her students, as they bustled in their seats. "I know Summer vacation is only a few more hours away, but this final lesson is very important."
Pacing back and forth in the front of the classroom, the young woman turned to her students, her arms gently placed behind the small of her back.
"Does anyone here know who the man depicted in that statue is?" she asked, pointing out the window to her right, where a Spartan was displayed.
"Isn't that the Guardian of Reach?" one of her brighter students quipped, raising his hands. "Spartan Blaine Harlowe?"
"Very good." the teacher nodded. "Our lesson today will follow Mr. Harlowe's life, and teach you all some things about the UNSC's history. Many of you have learned about his time as a Captain, when he saved Reach, but not many people know of the events that followed."
"What page do we turn to in our textbooks, ma'am?" one of the pre-teens asked.
"There isn't a textbook." the teacher smiled. "Instead, I have a holo-log that will SHOW you everything... especially from Mr. Harlowe's perspective."
Opening her hand, a small globe of blue light floated into the center of the room, as the teacher turned off the lights in the room, closing the blinds. With a flash of blue, the room became a giant 3D projector. The young teenagers stared in awe, as the scene unfolded before them.
--------------------------------------
July 23rd, 2559
Two years after the attack on New Phoenix
"Daddy?" the young girl asked, shuffling her feet.
She sat on the floor, playing with a pair of sewn Grunt dolls her mother had crafted for her. Alongside them, was a lone, weathered rabbit doll, with stitches around it's neck. To her right was the massive, flawless metal desk that her father sat at.
Running a hand through his salt and pepper colored hair, the man's icy blue eyes momentarily flickered from the tablet on his desk to the young girl in front of him. Smiling at his daughter, the man sighed for a second, as yet another notification blipped onto it's screen.
"Just a moment, sweet heart." the man replied kindly, running his finger along the hologram that appeared. "Daddy's pretty busy right now."
Ever since the events that took place between the UNSC Infinity and the Forerunner shield world; Requiem, things had gotten pretty busy for the soldier. A Forerunner military leader, the Ur-Didact, had risen from a millenia old slumber, and instantly declared war on all Humanity.
Humanity suffered severe casualties, on numerous research stations, and even on their home turf; Earth. His friends in ONI had been working day and night since he tragedy to find out more about the Forerunner, and why he had done what he had. Of course, with such sustained losses, numerous families cried to the military for help.
While he had rathered take the fight to the Forerunner and the Covenant Loyalists that had taken up arms with him, he was stuck behind this very desk, on board the Infinity, confirming or denying supply shipments. For the first time in a long time, he was bored, completely and utterly.
"But... Fluffykins is hurt." Dawn frowned, pushing the old rabbit toy to the floor. "He needs Super Dad to rescue him."
Her father chuckled at his daughter's innocent words, swiping his hand against the holograms again. Shaking his head, he placed the tablet down, and walked around the desk to the little tea party that was set up there.
Hoisting the rabbit in his right hand, he gingerly lifted his seven year old daughter in the other.
"Is that so?" he smiled, as his daughter wrapped her arms around his neck, firmly planting a kiss on his scruffy cheek.
The past couple of years had not been kind on him either, while many people don't seem to recall the event, the man and two others helped him take down some strange... demon thing. That hadn't even been the worst of it, the terrible truth is that, he, along with the other two, were acolytes to an all powerful being.
Separately, they were insanely powerful, especially when surrounded with reminders of the ones they loved. But combined, they could fix entire strands of time that had been altered. They were, in essence, destined to be the heroes of the Universe.
That, however, didn't make them invincible. Wincing for a moment, he recalled the time Famine, a member of the Legion, had brutally killed the young girl in his arms. The emotions that coursed through his veins, the sheer anger he felt. He had become a Husk of his former self, and had shown no mercy to anyone in his way.
He had frightened himself, and as a result, he made it his mission to spend as much time with his family as possible. Not only to keep those events from happening again, but for his own ease of mind.
"You know Daddy's not much of a doctor." he chuckled. "That's Mom's job, remember?"
"Mommy heals ouchies." his daughter shook her head. "Daddy heals hearts."
The man smiled at his daughters words, as he handed the stuffed rabbit to his daughter. Just in time for a beautiful woman, around his age, to enter the room. Sauntering over to him, she stepped on her toes, planting a kiss on his lips momentarily. His wife quickly took their daughter out of his hands, hugging her tightly.
"C'mon kiddo, Uncle Darryl's gonna visit with you for a while. Daddy and Mommy have to talk."
"Fluffykins can stay and talk, he's good with people." the girl smiled, handing the rabbit to her dad.
The girl's mother chuckled, before handing her daughter over to her half brother-in-law. When the man and their daughter cleared the room, the man and his wife hugged for yet another moment, the rabbit squeaking as it made contact.
The man chortled, before placing the toy on his desk.
"You're on lookout then, Private Fluff."
Sitting in the desk, he picked up the tablet for a moment, as his wife pushed it back down.
"Right, sorry." he shook his head. "Jesus Autumn, it's been two years now. Things aren't getting any better, either."
"On that, we agree." Autumn frowned. "You'll want to see this Blaine."
Pulling up an onyx black tablet, she swiped across the holograms for a second, before flicking it at his tablet. Blaine's tablet flickered for a moment as it received the encrypted file.
"What is it?"
"Blue-prints, and a list." Autumn nodded towards him to open it. "Something about your family."
"What?!" Blaine barked, looking down at the tablet.
Pressing a few buttons, he locked the door to his room, disabled the cameras, and initiated a full viewing of the data held within. The room around them darkened, as a multitude of holographic videos and images appeared around them.
Standing, Blaine walked over towards one of them, where an unknown Marine stood. His arms were locked into a strange metal machine, which trailed down his back and down his legs. If Blaine didn't know any better, this was an exoskeleton. Beside this image, was the blueprints to said exoskeleton, and the logistics of it. Flicking the two aside to a personalized thumb drive, he pocketed it, before searching.
"Autumn, what did you do?"
"It's not what I did. It's what ONI is doing." Autumn shook her head. "Keep looking."
Following her orders, Blaine found a video, where a Marine in distinct green camo sat on his knees before a crowd of people. Blood trickled down his forehead, his eyes cast down to the floor.
-------------------------------------------------------
Centuries ago
The Marine coughed, crimson liquid streaming down the sides of his mouth to the cold concrete beneath him. He wasn't sure the reasons exactly why he had been attacked, but he had been successful in saving his wife, and that's all that mattered to him anymore.
"This court shall now come to order." a man in dress clothes sat above the Marine.
Shaking his head, the Marine knew that the likelihood of his survival was slim. But he would play their game for a while, try and find an opening.
"We, the Admiralty of the newly formed UNSC, will see to your charges, Lieutenant, for acts against the UEG and her government." the man continued, his voice unwavering.
"You are accused of numerous charges of friendly fire, many of which have attributed to the death of your entire squad. Along with that, you are charged with espionage, and general anarchy against the UNSC and the UEG."
"I-I didn't do any of that." the Marine coughed. "For fuck's sake. I took out the terrorists so the UEG didn't have enemies to fight. You want someone to blame? Blame Edward DeWinter! He's the backstabbing cocksucker that shot those men!"
"Yet you did nothing to stop him." the man replied.
"Hard to stop someone when you're knocked fucking unconscious." the Marine growled. "Sir. Besides, what acts of espionage am I charged with? I shoot people, I don't gather intel!"
"We know that's a lie, we know you offered Abdul Muhammed with intel against the UNSC."
"No, I offered him the chance to have a free trial!" the soldier scoffed. "He may have been a terrorist leader, but he lost his son for christ's sake. He has just as much rights to a fair trial as anyone else!"
"This court refuses to believe a word you say, Lieutenant." the man's eyes flickered red for a moment. "Angus Harlowe, you are hereby ordered to immediate execution, for acts of treason against the people you once fought for. May God have mercy on your soul."
In front of him, his once best friend, turned hated rival stepped forward, a grin on his face.
"Ian." the Marine growled.
"Morgan." Ian grinned. "It's Edward now, remember? Just like you're Angus... although... not for long."
"You bastard!" Morgan growled, as Edward raised his pistol to Morgan's head. "I'll kill you!"
"No you won't." 'Edward' grinned. "Once I'm done here, I'm searching for that bitch wife of yours, then you two can be together in the deepest pits of hell, where you belong. So long... friend."
"Bugger o-"
-------------------------------------------------------
Blaine paused the video there, the Marine on the floor, Morgan/Angus, had looked just like his own father. Shaking his head in confusion, he read the file beside it. Nodding, he began to understand. Angus Harlowe, the man depicted in the video, was Blaine's grandfather. The name Morgan was passed to Blaine's father, as a sign of respect from his Grandmother.
Clenching his fists, he wasn't sure what to believe, had Angus been an early insurrectionist, like the court suggested? Or was he a scapegoat, and it had been Edward who had done those acts? Remembering the search for Darryl's adoptive father years back, he realized that Edward had betrayed his grandfather.
"Why did you show me this?" Blaine asked. "I mean, it's nice to know my grandfather died peacefully, like every other fucking Harlowe."
"Something happened at the Office today, Blaine." Autumn shook nervously. "Director Osmin approached me with this directly... before she..."
"What?" Blaine turned.
"She was assassinated, shortly after passing this on to me." Autumn stared at the wall blankly, her facade completely diminished. "That's not all I wanted to show you, though. Look at that file there."
Pointing to a folder's hologram, it opened instantly, several hundred pictures spilling out into the room's airspace. Each one showed a different person, most of them children, though a select handful were adults. The majority of them, almost all of them children, with a few of the adults, had massive red 'X's through them.
Stepping through them all, a chill ran down Blaine's spine as he recognized the majority of them. Stopping after the first hundred, his fists clenched. There was no mistaking it, these images all had one thing in common.
They were Spartan II's.[/quote]
Last edited by Shad0wChas3r on April 1st 2015, 5:36 pm; edited 2 times in total