Coin's Luck

Coin’s luck

Location: Unknown.
Date: Error! Internal clock failure. Date unknown.

He could vaguely hear the hiss of venting air, as he slowly regained consciousness. He could remember a dream of his childhood; playing with other children and showing he was the best, by winning all the time. He always won. He also recalled a woman, playing a game with him. He recognised her, but the name wouldn’t come to his groggy mind.

His eyes started to clear, as the stasis pod started to open. The room he was in was rather dark, with only minimal amounts of lighting illuminating the room. As his eyes adjusted to the gloom he noticed one bright blue light. It was then he heard a familiar voice calling to him.

‘Chief? Can you hear me?’ A concerned female voice said.

‘Yes, Cortana, I can hear you,’ he replied, shrugging off the last of his clouded thoughts.

‘Good,’ Cortana said in relief. ‘For a moment there, I wasn’t sure you were going to wake up. You’ve been out for quite a while.’

‘How long exactly?’ the Chief asked as he lifted his head to look at Cortana.

His companion for some of the hardest battles of his life, Cortana had been with him through thick and thin. Assisting him by gathering Intel and hacking into enemy systems, all within his suit of armour. Part of him had become fond of the AI, and he saw her as one of his greatest allies in battle, almost more than his own Spartan brethren.

He paused to think about them all. So many had been lost……… The Covenant had made sure of that. He’d seen many of his friends die, from Sam in their first engagement with the Covenant, to the massacre at Reach, and then more of the survivors on the Unyielding Hierophant. Though many years ago, he had learned that such sacrifices were necessary for humanity’s survival, it never had made their deaths any easier to accept. At least some of them were still alive, the Chief thought. Well at least if hadn’t been in stasis for too long.

‘I’m not sure; the internal clock on the Forward unto Dawn must have been damaged when we entered the portal. I have no idea how much time has passed,’ Cortana said, sounding frustrated.

‘So where are we?’ he asked as he started to rise from the stasis pod.

‘Again, I’m not entirely sure, I’m pretty sure we’re outside UNSC space. I’m not even sure we are in our galaxy anymore, but we’ve landed on a planet of some sort. From the external camera recordings it’s obviously of Forerunner origin. I’d assume we’re on a shield word,’ Cortana concluded.

‘Any sign of any other life besides us?’ the Chief asked.

‘None, the planet seems deserted. Though to be honest the ships sensors aren’t as good as they used to be, there may be life here somewhere, but again I’m not certain,’ Cortana replied.


‘You seem to be as confused as I am for once, that makes a change,’ the Chief said sarcastically.

‘Very funny John. If I had anything else I could tell you I would. I’ve just done the best I could with the instruments at my disposal,’ Cortana said defensively.

The Chief found it odd that Cortana called him by his name. He had become accustomed to being called by his rank; Master Chief petty officer. He assumed it was because they had become rather close. He trusted her with his life, and she trusted him. Which was one of the main reasons why he had braved the Flood infested High Charity to save her.

‘So what do you suggest we do next?’ John asked, as he grabbed his stored MA5C Assault rifle. He cursed when he read the ammo indicator. The digital readout, displayed two numbers; 28. He only had one half- full magazine left. If there was life on this planet, John hoped they weren’t hostile, or least they carried some weapons he could use, or he wouldn’t last long in a prolonged engagement.

‘We have supplies on the ship which should last for a good couple of months, and I’ve got enough power to last for a couple of more years. So we could set up here, and hope that the UNSC picks up the beacon I dropped, or we could go exploring,’ Cortana said.

John thought for a second and then replied,’ All right, I think I’ll explore this planet, I might find something we can use to survive.’

‘All right I’m coming with you, I’ll mark your HUD with the Dawn’s position so we won’t get lost,’ Cortana said.

John strapped the assault rifle to his back and pulled Cortana’s chip out of the holo terminal and placed it in the port at the back of his helmet. He could feel Cortana’s presence at the back of his mind.

‘Hmm...I leave home for a while and look what happens?’ Cortana joked.

‘Very funny, now how do we get out of here?’ John asked.

‘Take the door to the right and head down the corridor. It should lead you outside,’ Cortana answered.

John followed instructions and headed towards the exit. He could see sunlight at the end of the corridor.

He remembered the damage the ship had taken as they had escaped the rebuilt Halo and the Ark. Cortana had said the portal had collapsed as they had gone through it. It had cleanly cut the ship in two and transported them to two different locations. He assumed the forward section had made it back to Earth, but he couldn’t be certain.

He reached the edge of the ship and then stopped.

‘What is it?’ Cortana asked.

John was thinking about all the things he had seen and how many friends he had seen die over the years. After all the sacrifices over the years, the years of battles and the loss of billions to the Covenant, he had seen the war through and at last it was finished. The Covenant was defeated, the deadly Halo rings would remain inert and harmless for all eternity, and the Flood…they had been stopped before they consumed the galaxy.

The main thing that was getting to him, was whenever he had finished a mission, he always had a new target, a new objective to complete. But now that the war was finally over, he didn’t have anything to preoccupy his mind and he was thinking heavily about the past, how he was trained from the age of six to become the best of the best, the years of battle against the Covenant, Halo and then the battles that ring led him too. At least he had managed to help save Earth, and their species home world still survived, as did humanity itself. He couldn’t think of a better legacy to leave behind.

He pulled at a small compartment on his belt and pulled out a small metal object. It was sliver and was a small flat circle. On one side it had a bird holding arrows and a man with long hair on the other.

‘What is that?’ Cortana asked curiously.

‘It’s an old coin, like the ones we used to use as currency. Mendez gave it to me the last time I saw him, he said I had it when I first was conscripted into the Spartans, and that I put up quite a fight for it. He said I was like the bird; fast and deadly. I’ve kept it with me ever since,’ John explained.

‘I believe Dr Halsey showed me one of these coins once long before I met you. She told me that she gave it to you after you won a game for it,’ Cortana said.

‘Odd. I had a dream where I won this coin as a child, it’s possible. I don’t remember much of my life before the Spartans,’ He confessed.

He played with the coin, rolling it between his fingers then he decided to take action. He tossed the coin and caught it in his right hand, and covered it with his left before he could look at it.

‘What side do you think it landed on?’ John asked.

‘Well judging from the way it fell it’s a 50% chance either way, but I’ll guess it was the man with the long hair,’ Cortana guessed.

‘I think it’s the Eagle, let’s see which one of us was right.’
He uncovered the coin and sure enough, it was eagle was staring right back at him. He had won. He always won, sooner or later.

‘You are the luckiest Spartan, a skill that has keep you and me alive this long,’ Cortana said, in response to John’s victory.

‘Then let’s see if that luck holds. I’ll think we’ll need it.’

He leaped from the wreckage of the ship and walked out into the sunlight of this new world. Whatever awaited him and Cortana, he knew they could overcome it, together.

The End.