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When the procedures had been completed, only thirty-three of the teenagers had ostensibly been augmented successfully.<ref name="HTFOR6"/> As far as John was made aware, twelve others had been injured during the operations so severely that they would be unfit to be Spartans and the remaining thirty had died.<ref name="HTFOR6"/> The truth, conversely, was that those pronounced dead were in fact cryogenically preserved in the hopes that they could be revived later, and some of those that were crippled would go on to be rehabilitated and join the ranks of [[Spartan-II]]s in the future.<ref name="DHPJM10">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''January 7, 2535''</ref><ref name="HW2PLA130">''[[Halo Wars 2]]'', [[Phoenix Logs|phoenix logs]], [[Phoenix Logs#Alice-130|Alice-130]]</ref> But at midnight at the start of [[2525#March|March 30]], John had been made to believe that forty-two of his people had become casualties.<ref name="HTFOR6"/> The thirty-three to have officially come through the procedures unharmed and the twelve to have been grievously injured both gathered together at that point within the missile launch bays of the {{UNSCShip|Atlas}}, an {{Class|Epoch|heavy carrier}} heading for the [[Lambda Serpentis system]].<ref name="HTFOR6"/><ref name="CF100">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/sweet-centennial '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Canon Fodder #100: Sweet Centennial'']</ref> Adorned in black dress uniforms, they bid farewell to what they thought were twenty-nine of their lost brothers and sisters as stainless steel canisters were ejected into space. John and the others saluted in unison. When orderlies began to wheel away the dozen who could not move on their own, John stopped them to ask where they were taking his men. At this, Mendez requested a moment with John and advised that he let them go, assuring him that the Navy would continue to care for them and offer them opportunities to serve as they were able. John relented and then asked what the orders Mendez had for he and the others. The Chief commanded two full days of bed rest to be followed by microgravity physical therapy aboard the ''Atlas'' until they had all fully recovered. The surgeries had been performed twenty days ago but John was still dealing with regular headaches, pain and bleeding in his eyes, aching bones, and general clumsiness as he adapted to his new physical form. Mendez also informed John that in the days ahead [[Déjà]] planned to run the teens through some dropship pilot simulations and to cover some more organic chemistry and complex algebra, as long as they were up to the challenge. Before they separated, John asked what he must have done wrong as Squad Leader to lose so many of his soldiers. Mendez walked with him to a view screen where they could observe the canisters as they vanished into the void and told him that a leader must be willing to send those under his command to their deaths. He made sure John understood that there was difference between ''spending'' lives and ''wasting'' them, however. John openly wondered whether the majority of the trainees' lives had just been spent or wasted and got no answer from Mendez.<ref name="HTFOR6"/> Sam joined him once Mendez had gone and guessed at what the Chief had said to him, surmising that it had amounted to telling John to accept his duty and "suck it up".<ref name="HTFORTAS"/> John angrily rebuffed Sam's suggestion, saying that it sounded nothing like Mendez, and when Sam invited him to go to the shooting range later, he instead went off on his own to hit the gym.<ref name="HTFORTAS"/> | When the procedures had been completed, only thirty-three of the teenagers had ostensibly been augmented successfully.<ref name="HTFOR6"/> As far as John was made aware, twelve others had been injured during the operations so severely that they would be unfit to be Spartans and the remaining thirty had died.<ref name="HTFOR6"/> The truth, conversely, was that those pronounced dead were in fact cryogenically preserved in the hopes that they could be revived later, and some of those that were crippled would go on to be rehabilitated and join the ranks of [[Spartan-II]]s in the future.<ref name="DHPJM10">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''January 7, 2535''</ref><ref name="HW2PLA130">''[[Halo Wars 2]]'', [[Phoenix Logs|phoenix logs]], [[Phoenix Logs#Alice-130|Alice-130]]</ref> But at midnight at the start of [[2525#March|March 30]], John had been made to believe that forty-two of his people had become casualties.<ref name="HTFOR6"/> The thirty-three to have officially come through the procedures unharmed and the twelve to have been grievously injured both gathered together at that point within the missile launch bays of the {{UNSCShip|Atlas}}, an {{Class|Epoch|heavy carrier}} heading for the [[Lambda Serpentis system]].<ref name="HTFOR6"/><ref name="CF100">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/sweet-centennial '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Canon Fodder #100: Sweet Centennial'']</ref> Adorned in black dress uniforms, they bid farewell to what they thought were twenty-nine of their lost brothers and sisters as stainless steel canisters were ejected into space. John and the others saluted in unison. When orderlies began to wheel away the dozen who could not move on their own, John stopped them to ask where they were taking his men. At this, Mendez requested a moment with John and advised that he let them go, assuring him that the Navy would continue to care for them and offer them opportunities to serve as they were able. John relented and then asked what the orders Mendez had for he and the others. The Chief commanded two full days of bed rest to be followed by microgravity physical therapy aboard the ''Atlas'' until they had all fully recovered. The surgeries had been performed twenty days ago but John was still dealing with regular headaches, pain and bleeding in his eyes, aching bones, and general clumsiness as he adapted to his new physical form. Mendez also informed John that in the days ahead [[Déjà]] planned to run the teens through some dropship pilot simulations and to cover some more organic chemistry and complex algebra, as long as they were up to the challenge. Before they separated, John asked what he must have done wrong as Squad Leader to lose so many of his soldiers. Mendez walked with him to a view screen where they could observe the canisters as they vanished into the void and told him that a leader must be willing to send those under his command to their deaths. He made sure John understood that there was difference between ''spending'' lives and ''wasting'' them, however. John openly wondered whether the majority of the trainees' lives had just been spent or wasted and got no answer from Mendez.<ref name="HTFOR6"/> Sam joined him once Mendez had gone and guessed at what the Chief had said to him, surmising that it had amounted to telling John to accept his duty and "suck it up".<ref name="HTFORTAS"/> John angrily rebuffed Sam's suggestion, saying that it sounded nothing like Mendez, and when Sam invited him to go to the shooting range later, he instead went off on his own to hit the gym.<ref name="HTFORTAS"/> | ||
[[File:JohnvODST.png|right|thumb|350px|The ODST who attacked John with an iron bar never walked again, having suffered a major spinal cord injury.<ref name="HTTS13"/>]] | [[File:JohnvODST.png|right|thumb|350px|The ODST who attacked John with an iron bar never walked again, having suffered a major spinal cord injury.<ref name="HTTS13"/>]] | ||
For the next three weeks, John and the others were put through a routine of stretching, isometric exercises, and [[Martial arts|light sparring]].<ref name="HTFOR7"/> They were also under orders to consume five high-protein meals per day, each followed by mineral and vitamin injections in the ship's medical bay. The ''Atlas'' was patrolling the Lambda Serpentis system by April 22 and it was on this date that John first meant to resume weightlifting. He visited the carrier's gym at 0430 hours to find it empty. John initially began with arm curls and then moved on to the leg machine, but in both cases discovered that they weights felt far lighter than they should have. In order to correct for this, he had to use all the machines on the side of the rotating conical space that [[artificial gravity|simulated]] two times Earth-normal gravity. When he moved on to use a speed bag, he found that it seemed to move far slower than it should from his perspective. In order to ensure it was indeed he that had changed and not various parts of the gym that were off, John took a pin from the locking collar on a bench press and dropped it where there should be one standard gee of acceleration toward the floor. Four [[ODST|orbital drop shock trooper]]s entered the gym after John's experiment and before long one whom had lay down to use the bench press had all the weights slide off one side of the bar. John apologized, since he had been the one to remove the pin, and was met in return with hostility from the men. Two on either side of him grabbed his arms and another moved to put him in a headlock from behind. John responded by breaking one of the ODST's nose and slipping away just as their sergeant called for everyone to stand down. The sergeant suggested that if they wanted to fight, they should do it inside a nearby boxing ring, so John climbed up and slipped through the ropes immediately. [[Langston|The largest ODST]] joined him there.<ref name="HTFOR7"/> By this point a number of other troopers had entered the gym as well and were watching.<ref name="HTTS13"/> John began by striking the man twice in the face and then breaking some of his floating ribs with a hook.<ref name="HTFOR7"/> He brought his heel down on the man's knee and after three more punches he was dead. Aghast at the shocking display, the three others who had come in with him all rushed the ring at once, one wielding an iron bar as a weapon. John wrenched the bar from its owner, breaking his wrist and shattering his spine in the process, and used a single kick to crush the genitals and break the pelvis of another.<ref name="HTFOR7"/><ref name="HTTS13"/> The last man was sent flying over the top of the ropes when John swung the bar at his chest, stopping his heart.<ref name="HTFOR7"/><ref name="HTTS13"/> All had been taken out in less than five seconds.<ref name="HTTS13">''[[Hunt the Truth]]'', ''[[Hunt the Truth Season 1|Season 1]] Episode 03''</ref> John heard the voice of Chief Mendez calling for him to cease. The Chief directed the bewildered sergeant to report to Ops for debriefing and then told John his workout was over for the day.<ref name="HTFOR7"/> Unbeknownst to John, the sergeant, or the ODSTs, the confrontation had been engineered by ONI as a test of his augmentations.<ref name="HTF5">''[[Halo: The Flood]]'', Chapter 5</ref> John let the Chief know that he had been confused as to whether he should treat the ODSTs as teammates or targets, but Mendez assured him that he had been right to neutralize what had been threats to his person. John had followed the chain of command and protected himself, and Mendez reiterated that these were to always be chief among his priorities. John retired to shower and rinse the blood from his body, not giving the two dead and two injured men a further thought.<ref name="HTFOR7"/><ref name="HTF5"/> | For the next three weeks, John and the others were put through a routine of stretching, isometric exercises, and [[Martial arts|light sparring]].<ref name="HTFOR7"/> They were also under orders to consume five high-protein meals per day, each followed by mineral and vitamin injections in the ship's medical bay. The ''Atlas'' was patrolling the Lambda Serpentis system by April 22 and it was on this date that John first meant to resume weightlifting. He visited the carrier's gym at 0430 hours to find it empty. John initially began with arm curls and then moved on to the leg machine, but in both cases discovered that they weights felt far lighter than they should have. In order to correct for this, he had to use all the machines on the side of the rotating conical space that [[artificial gravity|simulated]] two times Earth-normal gravity. When he moved on to use a speed bag, he found that it seemed to move far slower than it should from his perspective. In order to ensure it was indeed he that had changed and not various parts of the gym that were off, John took a pin from the locking collar on a bench press and dropped it where there should be one standard gee of acceleration toward the floor. Four [[ODST|orbital drop shock trooper]]s entered the gym after John's experiment and before long one whom had lay down to use the bench press had all the weights slide off one side of the bar. John apologized, since he had been the one to remove the pin, and was met in return with hostility from the men. Two on either side of him grabbed his arms and another moved to put him in a headlock from behind. John responded by breaking one of the ODST's nose and slipping away just as their sergeant called for everyone to stand down. The sergeant suggested that if they wanted to fight, they should do it inside a nearby boxing ring, so John climbed up and slipped through the ropes immediately. [[Langston|The largest ODST]] joined him there.<ref name="HTFOR7"/> By this point a number of other troopers had entered the gym as well and were watching.<ref name="HTTS13"/> John began by striking the man twice in the face and then breaking some of his floating ribs with a hook.<ref name="HTFOR7"/> He brought his heel down on the man's knee and after three more punches he was dead. Aghast at the shocking display, the three others who had come in with him all rushed the ring at once, one wielding an iron bar as a weapon. John wrenched the bar from its owner, breaking his wrist and shattering his spine in the process, and used a single kick to crush the genitals and break the pelvis of another.<ref name="HTFOR7"/><ref name="HTTS13"/> The last man was sent flying over the top of the ropes when John swung the bar at his chest, stopping his heart.<ref name="HTFOR7"/><ref name="HTTS13"/> All had been taken out in less than five seconds.<ref name="HTTS13">''[[Hunt the Truth]]'', ''[[Hunt the Truth Season 1|Season 1]] Episode 03''</ref> John heard the voice of Chief Mendez calling for him to cease. The Chief directed the bewildered sergeant to report to Ops for debriefing and then told John his workout was over for the day.<ref name="HTFOR7"/> Unbeknownst to John, the sergeant, or the ODSTs, the confrontation had been engineered by ONI as a test of his augmentations.<ref name="HTF5">''[[Halo: The Flood]]'', ''Chapter 5''</ref> John let the Chief know that he had been confused as to whether he should treat the ODSTs as teammates or targets, but Mendez assured him that he had been right to neutralize what had been threats to his person. John had followed the chain of command and protected himself, and Mendez reiterated that these were to always be chief among his priorities. John retired to shower and rinse the blood from his body, not giving the two dead and two injured men a further thought.<ref name="HTFOR7"/><ref name="HTF5"/> | ||
Once the Spartans were returned to Reach, it became evident that the facilities they had used up until that point would no longer be suitable for training.<ref name="HTFOR8"/> On the first day back, three trainers were killed during hand-to-hand exercises. On [[2525#September|September 10]] John and the thirty-two others were relocated to a [[titanium]] mine that had been used to store [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor#Armor generations|Mark I powered exoskeleton]]s. The teens were put through a number of exercises against trainers who now wore the exoskeletons for their safety. And though they hadn't left the cavernous room they'd been dropped into, by the next day they had somehow acquired a length of rope and black suits that made completing their objectives easier. In addition, they continually managed to locate hidden cameras to disable them. Halsey visited on the eleventh shortly after 0930 hours to observe their progress and got to witness John dropping into a bunker during a game of [[Capture the Flag]], where he sent one trainer flying eight meters with a kick and disabled another's exoskeleton with a flurry of strikes.<ref name="HFORBC"/><ref name="HTFOR8"/> John also managed to dodge a barrage of stun rounds fired at close range before ripping the 30mm minigun from the suit and using it against its owner.<ref name="HTFOR8">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 8''</ref> | Once the Spartans were returned to Reach, it became evident that the facilities they had used up until that point would no longer be suitable for training.<ref name="HTFOR8"/> On the first day back, three trainers were killed during hand-to-hand exercises. On [[2525#September|September 10]] John and the thirty-two others were relocated to a [[titanium]] mine that had been used to store [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor#Armor generations|Mark I powered exoskeleton]]s. The teens were put through a number of exercises against trainers who now wore the exoskeletons for their safety. And though they hadn't left the cavernous room they'd been dropped into, by the next day they had somehow acquired a length of rope and black suits that made completing their objectives easier. In addition, they continually managed to locate hidden cameras to disable them. Halsey visited on the eleventh shortly after 0930 hours to observe their progress and got to witness John dropping into a bunker during a game of [[Capture the Flag]], where he sent one trainer flying eight meters with a kick and disabled another's exoskeleton with a flurry of strikes.<ref name="HFORBC"/><ref name="HTFOR8"/> John also managed to dodge a barrage of stun rounds fired at close range before ripping the 30mm minigun from the suit and using it against its owner.<ref name="HTFOR8">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 8''</ref> | ||