John-117/Post-War: Difference between revisions

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[[File:H4 John-117 Didact first encounter.jpg|thumb|left|250px|John is overpowered by the recently awakened [[Ur-Didact|Didact]].]]

[[File:Didact John comparison.png|thumb|300px|John-117 and the Ur-Didact fighting inside the ''Mantle's Approach''.]]

{{Main|Skirmish on Installation 03}}

Blue Team was able to make it back to Earth by [[2557#July|July 28]], where John met alone with Admiral Hood seventy-two hours following the [[New Phoenix Incident|attack]] on [[New Phoenix]] to discuss the fates of Installation 03 and the Didact.{{Ref/Reuse|HE10}} Before this meeting John's Mark VI armor was repaired and upgraded to bring it into the [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (GEN2)|second generation]] of Mjolnir.<ref name="CF28">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/canon-fodder-conventional-warfare '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Conventional Warfare'']</ref><ref name="Easterling2">[[Jeff Easterling]] on Twitter [https://twitter.com/GrimBrotherOne/status/782402924353757184]</ref> John made it clear to Hood that neither he nor the others on Blue Team knew where 859 Static Carillon had disappeared to and that it was probably best to only consider the Didact "contained", not killed.{{Ref/Reuse|HE10}} When the section of Gamma Halo had crashed into Clinquant, there had been five Composers present, after all. The impact seemed to have activated them somehow, which would have reduced the Didact to a digital essence.{{Ref/Reuse|HE10}}<ref name="WaypointDidact">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/didact '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Didact'']</ref> Hood asked if the Chief was okay given everything that had happened since [[Fall of Reach|Reach]], to which John answered in the affirmative. Regardless, Admiral Hood ordered he and the rest of his team to take some time off in order to rest and relax. When John met back up with Kelly, Linda, and Fred, however, he lied, telling them that Hood had cleared them for to head back into the field. Sometime shortly following this, John underwent a psychological evaluation wherein it was determined that he was unlikely to stop repeatedly taking on missions anytime soon. Without informing Hood, the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] subsequently assigned Blue Team to its backlog of high-priority missions.{{Ref/Reuse|HE10}}{{Ref/Reuse|HM185}} These classified operations included diplomatic escorts through hostile territory, counter-[[piracy]] efforts against [[salvager]]s, and strikes against [[Covenant remnants|Covenant]] outposts, as well as uncovering and combating forerunner technology.<ref name="HM185">''[[Halo Mythos]]'', ''page 185''</ref> During one of these missions John found himself at a certain point to be the only member of Blue Team that had not taken up Forerunner weaponry to fight with.{{Ref/Reuse|HE10}} During another mission that took John to what had once been a [[Covenant]] world, he faced down a [[Type-1 energy sword]]-wielding [[Sangheili]] named [[Monn I'zar]] armed only with a combat knife.<ref name="CUBF">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/brute-force '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Community Update: Brute Force'']</ref>

On [[2557#September|September 26, 2557]] John met for an interview with an operative from ONI's [[Beta-5 Division]] with the code name of [[Sapphire Three]].<ref name="lootcrate9">''[[Halo Legendary Crate]]'', ''[[Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #9]]''</ref> They met to have their discussion at the terminus of the [[Borneo Space Tether]] far above the [[Wikipedia:Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] [[Borneo|island]] of the same name.{{Ref/Reuse|lootcrate9}} At just after 0721 hours, the conversation turned toward John's recovery of [[Cortana]] from the stasis vestibule within ''[[High Charity]]'' in [[2552#December|December of 2552]]. Sapphire Three asked John to describe what sort of state Cortana had been in when he found her, to which he replied that she had been functional in spite of potential defects. John further explained, when prompted, that these defects included problems with her response times, synchronization confidence, diagnostic alerts, and a few other things. The operative inquired as to whether she had told him beforehand that she had held on to the [[activation index]] from [[Installation 04]] and John had to admit that she had not. Sapphire Three pointed out that this would have qualified as a violation of Article 2477-6 of the [[UNSC Charter for Xenoarcheological Artifact Recovery and Quarantine]], to which John had nothing to say. When the line of questioning broached the subject of the possible "[[Character interludes|residual interface anomalies]]" John experienced after leaving Cortana behind on the Covenant city, John simply reported what he'd been told concerning a Software Trauma Analysis that had looked at the anomalies. According to the report, what had seemed like messages from Cortana were actually just echoes of her personality matrix in his neural interface and may have been been caused by her extensive data consumption in Installation 04's [[Control Room (Installation 04)|control room]]. John told the operative that he never brought the issue up after he and Cortana reconnected and when asked whether he agreed with the STA's conclusions, said that he didn't see why it was important.{{Ref/Reuse|lootcrate9}}

When the Spartans reappeared, they found themselves within a vaulted hallway.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GTB}} John attempted to ask Cortana where she had brought them but received no response. As he and the others cautiously moved forward the [[Warden Eternal]] suddenly materialized and used a [[constraint field]] to hoist them into the air. It was then that Cortana's voice was heard, commanding the Warden to leave and making his component pieces fly apart and vanish. She apologized, claiming that she didn't think the Warden could access their location. John was insistent that she give them some answers, demanding to know why she'd brought the [[The Guardians]] to Genesis. Cortana explained that she intended to use them to keep troublesome worlds in line just as the [[Forerunner]]s once had and then urged John to come to her quickly. Fred asked where he he thought she was leading them, to which John could only say "Closer to her". Beyond a door at the end of the hall Blue Team found itself facing a long series of walkways and ramps seemingly placed far above an endless expanse: a fragment of the [[Domain]].{{Ref/Reuse|H5GTB}}<ref name="HM198">''[[Halo Mythos]]'', ''page 198''</ref> The Warden announced his presence for all to hear as [[Promethean Crawler|Promethean crawler]]s began to [[teleport|spawn]] ahead of them, so John recognized right away that he wanted a fight. As the Spartans pushed forward the crawlers were joined by [[Promethean Soldier|soldier]]s and [[Promethean Knight|knight]]s. Past another door a floating platform assembled as Blue Team approached. John and the others stepped onto it and found themselves then being carried forward and up to another level of structures. Cortana's voice returned at this point, congratulating John for showing his fighting prowess against the Promethean constructs and saying how good it was to see him back together with his team. John recognized the psychological tactics she was employing, however, and called her on it before demanding that she tell them how many people had been killed by the awakening of the Guardians. She did not deign to answer. After the platform reached its destination Blue Team found itself facing down [[Soldier Officer|soldier captain]]s and more crawlers and upon pushing through to a higher level, [[Z-510 focus turret]]s. When Fred asked John how he planned to stop Cortana he unconvincingly promised she would listen to him. When the Warden eventually appeared in physical form once again, she sounded her disapproval for his antics and he had soon vanished as quickly as he had appeared, leaving only other Prometheans for Blue Team to battle. John plead with Cortana to talk with him, to which she said she would once they reached her. Even having been halted from attacking the Spartans directly, the Warden continued to speak for both Cortana and the Spartans to hear. He addressed John specifically, asking if he would stand against Cortana should his [[Human|own species]] rebel against her. John pointed out Cortana already knew the answer to that. After another group of attacking constructs had been cleared Cortana spoke up to remind John of their partnership and tried to make him understand she was still herself and this time it was he that responded by saying they'd talk once Blue Team had reached its destination safely.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GTB}} As the team was carried upward and forward by another platform, the Warden's booming voice recounted humanity's [[Battle of Installation 04|discovery]] of the [[Halo Array|Halo]]s six years prior, and how it marked the long-awaited arrival of the [[Reclaimer]]. Rather than identifying humans as the [[Librarian]]'s chosen Reclaimers, however, both the Warden and Cortana claimed that role belonged to she and other human-made [[artificial intelligence]]s.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GTB}}

Disheartened by Cortana's exalted claims for herself, John continued to lead his team through successive waves of attacking Prometheans.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GTB}} Kelly dared to ask if they were fighting a losing battle but he assured her that would only happen if they planned on losing. John also pushed back against taunting from the Warden, letting him know that [[Gravemind|far worse]] than he had tried and failed before to kill him. Following a fight against [[Knight Commander|knight commander]]s and [[Soldier Sniper|soldier sniper]]s, among other constructs, John led him team past a door to an exceedingly large chamber. Within, a dozen copies of the Warden suddenly appeared to stop them from advancing further but all but three were quickly removed by Cortana. Blue Team fought and destroyed two of his remaining bodies before the final version summoned focus turrets. Once they and he were finally destroyed as well, a ramp formed leading to a central bridge above the Spartans. As they walked up it Kelly asked John what he planned to do but got not response. They traversed a final hall and beyond the door at its end could see a blue light floating atop a plinth in the center of a round room. A [[light bridge]] spanned a chasm separating the entrance and the room's center. John hesitantly said Cortana's name, wondering if the glowing blue light represented her, and had his said by her in kind. As soon as they had crossed the [[light bridge]] deactivated behind them and the doors they'd entered through slid shut.<ref name="H5GTB">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[The Breaking]]''</ref> Cortana's [[avatar]] likewise vanished from the plinth before them as the Warden appeared to take control, manifesting three more bodily forms within the space. John called for Blue Team to focus fire as even more versions began to appear and advanced toward the Spartans. At the last moment before Blue Team could be attacked Cortana intervened, making all but one copy of the Warden vanish along with everyone's weapons. The Warden looked to be forced to his and knees and the plinth behind him began to spark, making John cautiously step forward to see what would happen next. Then, astonishingly, Cortana herself appeared as a full-size human figure and walked forward to meet John. At a touch she dissolved the Warden's [[hard light]] form before greeting her friend and saying it was good to see him. For his part, John merely commented that she had changed. Cortana began to make her argument for what she was doing but John cut her off straightaway, pointing out the brazen authoritarian nature of her plan. He furthermore compared her to [[Catherine Halsey|Halsey]], something Cortana angrily rejected by claiming that she was offering everyone a gift. John finally told her to stand down, urging her to leave with the four of them and forget about her grand plans. Despite his plea, however, she told him that her work was too important to stop. At that the chamber began to shift and change and before John could ask what was happening he and the rest of Blue Team were lifted up and encased in relatively immobilizing energy fields. Cortana then revealed they were inside a [[Cryptum]], where she planned to preserve them. John could do nothing but slowly reach out a hand whilst calling her name as Cortana walked away before her disappearing.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GTB}} She planned to keep John imprisoned in stasis for ten thousand years in the hope that once he saw the peace she had ensured he might agree with her decisions.<ref name="H5GGU">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Guardians]]''</ref> To facilitate this she made preparations to leave [[Genesis]] with the Cryptum. It was only thanks to [[Fireteam Osiris]] and [[031 Exuberant Witness]] that control of the it was wrested from her so that when her [[Guardian]] departed it did not take the Cryptum with it. When they were finally freed the four of them walked out to meet Exuberant Witness and Osiris on a bridge the monitor had hastily assembled. John's first question was about Cortana's present location, to which [[Jameson Locke|Locke]] coolly replied that she was gone.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GGU}}

031 Exuberant Witness informed Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris that though there were no Forerunner vehicles which could carry the eight of them away from Genesis, a number of other vehicles which had been brought to the planet recently could serve to do so.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB1}} She would only have to open a portal through which one of these available crafts could be flown through. As multiple waves of [[Promethean Soldier|Promethean soldier]]s assaulted the Spartans, the monitor took off along a path which John then led them to follow. Both teams took out soldiers as they moved forward after Witness. It wasn't until Linda, from her vantage point atop an ice-covered peak, pointed out [[India 127|a]] [[D79-TC Pelican]] about six kilometers from their position that John turned himself and the six others in its direction. The Chief was convinced that even if the bird wasn't an option, they needed to avoid being pinned down in one location. Asked by John whether any others were attempting to claim it, Linda only replied with a succession of three shots with her [[Nornfang|personal]] [[SRS99-S5 AM sniper rifle]] and the statement that there weren't anymore. The Spartans sprinted through a hail of fire as [[armiger]]s continually attacked them, returning fire of their own. Linda provided covering fire,at one point taking out two soldiers with one shot, which earned encouragement from John in the form of urging her to keep up the good work. The subject of the portal was soon broached again by 031 Exuberant Witness, to which John stated that they would prefer it take them somewhere with a [[UNSC]] presence. Locke, conversely, advised that Sanghelios would be the safest option if it was possible to return there, seeing as Cortana likely had UNSC-heavy places covered and they still might have [[Sarah Palmer|allies]] [[Catherine Halsey|trapped]] there. Witness confirmed she could get them close to where Sanghelios' Guardian had been located so John agreed to go with Locke's idea and asked what they needed to do. Witness said that once they had secured the Pelican she would signal them to indicate the portal was ready. As the two teams of Spartans (minus Linda) drew near to ''[[India 127]]'' they soon became completely surrounded by hostile armigers. John charged aboard the dropship, ordering Kelly to take its controls and for everyone else to get strapped in. Kelly was able to get it in the air with no trouble so John then directed her to pick up Linda. Once she was aboard with the rest of them, Kelly piloted ''India 127'' directly through the glowing blue disk Exuberant Witness had summoned for them.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB1}}

The portal had deposited them relatively near the [[Sangheili]] city of [[Sunaion]] off the coast of [[Qivro]].{{Ref/Reuse|HBB1}} [[Olympia Vale]] guessed that the [[Swords of Sanghelios]] were likely still camped in [[Nuusra]], from which they had recently staged [[Battle of Sunaion|an attack]] on the remains of [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant]] just days prior. Locke said that he wouldn't leave before finding Commander [[Sarah Palmer]] or confirming she was KIA, which John agreed to. Before long, fires were spotted that indicated the location of a Sangheili encampment where they expected the Swords to be. John told Kelly to take them in to land. He and Locke lined up at the ramp and exited the dropship together after it touched down, coming face-to-face with Palmer, [[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]] and a group of his Sangheili, and Doctor [[Catherine Elizabeth Halsey]], whom John had not seen in over six years. As surprised to see him as he was to see her, Halsey told him that it had taken him long enough. As the rest of Blue Team revealed themselves as well, John introduced them to Thel, who proceeded to invite the new arrivals to join in a celebratory meal commemorating their victory over the last of Jul 'Mdama's Covenant. Halsey revealed that she had gotten a message from [[Roland]] on the ''Infinity'' and that it would be appearing off of the far side of [[Suban]] the following day at 1800 hours. Now that they had transportation, they could be there waiting for it when it showed. Buck expressed skepticism regarding Roland's allegiance given [[Created Conflict|recent events]], but Halsey insisted they'd already be dead if Roland was compromised. John nodded at this. Taking off his helmet, he said they'd be staying there for the night and flying out first thing tomorrow. From there the humans joined the Sangheili in dining on [[colo]] and [[kuscatu]]. John, Kelly, Fred, Linda, and Halsey went off on their own for a time to talk. When John rejoined the rest of the gathering, he asked Palmer what had become of the [[Guardian]] which reportedly had arrived to disrupt the power across large regions of the planet. She admitted she wasn't entirely sure. Later, John took part of the night to reminisce and catch up with Thel, who told him that he had received reports of it and [[Promethean Soldier|Promethean soldier]]s pacifying cities on the other side of Sanghelios that were proving to be openly hostile to Cortana's ultimatum.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB1}}