Matt-038 (Halo Fanfiction)

Chapter 32: Rude Awakening

Author's Note: If you have any tips writing tips, please feel free to comment.

Again, I gratefully accept constructive criticism as a means to help me develop my skills further as a writer.

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Chapter 32: Rude Awakening

Location: UNSC Pillar of Autumn, Location Unknown

September 19, 2552

0127 hours (Ship's Time)

He was floating in the never-never land somewhere between cryo and full consciousness when the dream began.

It was a familiar dream, a terrible dream, and one which had nothing to do with war. He was on Earth—the colony world he'd been born on, which haven't been destroyed the Covenant yet. He heard screaming all around.

He turned and saw three very familiar people. All of them covered in blood. His dad, his mom, and sister, Rachel. The screaming slowly stopped then change to a chant.

"This is all your fault," they chanted. The chant started out quietly then slowly grew to an almost unbearing level. Matt wanted to scream, but when he opened his mouth to do so, no sound came out. Matt closed his eyes and tried to block out the sound, but that didn't help whatsoever.

The dream started to fade, and light appeared in front of the Spartan's eyes. Vapor vented, swirled, and began to dissipate. A voice came, as if from a great distance. It was male and matter-of-fact.

"Sorry for the quick thaw, Commander—but things are a bit hectic right now. The disorientation should pass quickly."

A second voice welcomed him back and it took the Spartan a moment to remember where he'd been prior to entering the cryotube. There had been a battle, a terrible battle, in which most if not all of his Spartan brothers and sisters had been killed. Men and women with whom he had been raised and trained since the age of six, and who constituted as his real family. Men and women who he possibly sent to their deaths.

With the horrible memory, plus subtle changes to the gas mix that filled his lungs, came strength. He flexed his stiff limbs. The Spartan heard the tech say something about "freezer burn," and pushed himself up and out of the cryotube's chilly embrace.

Matt heard a sound next to him. He looked to his left and saw possibly the only Spartan besides himself that was left, John-117. The Master Chief.

The tech in front of the Spartans turned to him and said, "Commander, please look around the room. I need to get a calibration for your battle suit's diagnostics."

As the techs were doing their diagnostics, he heard a familiar voice on the COM an announcement was made.

After the announcement, Matt opened a private COM channel to John and said, "You ready for this, Chief?"

"Yes, Commander. I'm ready," John answered, confidently.

The neural interface which linked the Matt to his MJOLNIR armor was working perfectly, and immediately fed data to his helmet's heads-up display on the inside surface of his visor.

It felt good to move around, and Matt quietly flexed his fingers. His skin itched and stung, a side effect of the cryo gases, but he quickly banished the pain from his awareness. He had long ago learned how to disassociate himself from physical discomfort.

The Spartan duo had both heard Cortana's announcement. The Covenant were on their way. Good. Matt scanned the room for weapons, but there was no arms locker present. The lack of weapons wasn't of great concern to him; he'd taken weapons away from Covenant soldiers before.