CABIN OF SPARTAN AARON KYLE JENSEN

UNSC CORVETTE: PONY EXPRESS

5/12/2558 UNSC MILITARY CALENDER

0300 HOURS

While catching up on some quick rest after a long and very busy day of running Pelican flight simulations onboard the Pony Express, Aaron was having a very strange dream. The only thing is that this dream was not very pleasant. While you're serving as a soldier and seeing plenty of death and conflict, the dreams you have rarely contain a peaceful atmosphere or picture for you.

--

In this dream, he could hear the sounds of civilians screaming and gunfire from UNSC weapons, and the shots of plasma and crystalline shards echoing through the air with the sound of a supercombine explosion following. It was obvious that it was the noise of combat from Covenant forces with civilians being in the center of it. It was the worst type of combat situation that all members of the UNSC faced throughout the entire Human-Covenant war. This also happened with Innies on a few occasions.

Aaron then heard his own voice along with others that belonged to people that he didn’t even know. His vision was too clouded to actually make out who or what he was conversing with, but he assumed it to be any other person.

“C’mon take my hand! We need to get out of here now!” he heard himself yell over the civilian screams, and the droning of engines of what was presumed belonged to a Type G79-HTC Pelican dropship.

“Ah don't know if Ah can!” replied a female voice with a clear southern Missouri Ozarks or Texan accent.

"Yes you can, AJ. Trust me."

There was a quick moment of hesitation as if the girl was thinking things over.

“Okay. Ah trust ya.”

Aaron then felt what he presumed to be the hand of the girl in his own hand and he pulled her up. The odd thing was he didn't feel any fingers.

“Everyone’s aboard pilot! Get us the hell out of here!” Aaron yelled over to the direction of the Pelican’s cockpit.

“Aye aye sir!” the voice of the pilot replied before closing the hatch and taking off.

Aaron then felt his hands begin to rub his two eyes as if he was trying to clear out whatever was obstructing his sight. He didn’t hear anyone speak, not even the southern girl.

After what seemed to be about fifty-five seconds into the Pelican’s ascension, a sound of an explosion severely rocked the cabin. It seemed to originate from the port wing of the Pelican. The sound of the emergency alarm went off and the pilot began shouting into his headset.

“Mayday! Mayday! This is Pelican dropship 383! One of our engine's has been hit! I’m loosing her! I repeat! We’ve been hit and are quickly losing altitude! Over!”

Aaron now heard the frantic and panicky screams of the passengers onboard. He even made out the screams and sobs of the unidentifiable and unknown AJ.

Nothing was more heart wrenching than to hear the cry of a person who knew they’re life was about to end in such a horrible and terrifying way. It was just enough to make a tough Spartan like Aaron begin to shed tears.

The Pelican was in a nose dive while spinning wildly out of control. After about twenty-five seconds of pure terror, Aaron heard the sound of glass breaking and water rushing in as the Pelican collided with a body of very deep water presumably killing him, and everyone else onboard.

--

Aaron shot straight up from his cot struggling to catch his breath while sweating profusely. That was the third week in a row for having that terrifying dream; or nightmare to be put in proper terms.

One thing that is strange is that this nightmare only began occuring when he became acquainted with the corvette, UNSC: Pony Express and not when he was a SPARTAN-IV fireteam member aboard the Infinity.

The second reason being is that it’s an event that hasn’t even happened during his time serving with the UNSC. It’s a fact that most human beings have recurring dreams or nightmares about events that have already happened to them. The most common place is in their past. In that case, Aaron would keep reliving the time when he discovered his family slaughtered by Insurrectionists, and killing the Innie trooper that camped out in his house.

The third thing being is that it only happened at 0300 hrs; the witching hour.

It made no sense to Aaron that he was experiencing a life event that hasn’t happened to him at all, or at least not yet anyways. He knew no one by the name of AJ, except one of his fellow Spartans and friends by the name of Adam-Joe Harrison (00415-01133-AH).

Obviously this was someone else who went by the name of AJ because the voice was feminine, and she sounded like she came from the southern or western regions of some planet; possibly Harvest.

It was then that Aaron theorized that he was having some kind of premonition for a future event. Crazy as it was, it seemed very logical, but Aaron knew he wasn’t gifted with any psychological powers that allowed him to see an event that was bound to happen soon or eventually. If this nightmare meant something, he knew he would have to stay alert and keep his guard up.

After calming down and regaining a normal breathing pace, he wiped sweat away from his brow and forehead. The crevices between the abs of his bare chest have collected and released some sweat as well. What’s worse is that he drenched his sheets with sweat.

Groaning, Aaron got himself off of his small bed and went over to a small sink to wash his face and eyes out. As usual he looked weary and disoriented from the sudden wake up.

This was starting to become unbearable for him, but Spartans like him were highly disciplined for fighting off the urge to rest while in combat, or performing other tasks. They were not meant to behave like worthless Unggoy.

After cleaning himself off, Aaron decided just to go back to sleep. Thankfully this nightmare only happened once a night, but it seemed to grow slightly more terrifying each time it occurred because Aaron wasn’t in control of it. It was just like watching a horror film that you can watch, but can't do anything to intervene in a certain scenario.

All he could do now was to as least resume sleeping, and put this mysterious nightmare aside. A soldier’s duty is to not let their imaginations get to them, whether they seem real or not.

***

0921 HOURS

The very next morning, Aaron woke up smoothly this time, but he still felt very groggy from his nightly nightmare ordeal. It seemed like his body just couldn’t really adapt to his new wake up/sleeping schedule, but as usual he didn’t let it get to him.

He showered, got dressed up in his usual plain white t-shirt and baggy military pants, then casually brushed his teeth.

After he took care of his hygienic needs, he got down on the floor doing one-hundred reps of pushups and situps to keep his body in good shape.

Since the Express didn’t have any War Game simulation rooms to train Spartans like him, he had to rely on self-training instead.

There was even a special small crimson punching bag dangling from the ceiling in his cabin to keep his arm muscles strong. Apparently the punching bag was designed with a tougher skin and stability because a regular one would easily falter or explode from a Spartans’ superior strength.

After finishing up his daily workout, Aaron left his cabin and proceeded to the ships' mess hall for some breakfast. It was there he would be meeting his fellow Spartans and friends, AJ and Spartan Zeke Fredrickson (00763-10274-ZF).

AJ was close to Aaron’s age hailing from the planet of New Harmony. He was a white caucasian male like Aaron and Zeke. He had dark brown eyes and very short brown hair.

Zeke was in his early thirties and was born and raised on the planet of Mars. He was slightly more buff than Aaron and AJ because he specialized in heavy weaponry. His head was completely shaven so you couldn’t tell what color hair he had. His eye color had a slight green hue to them.

Aaron had very short dirty blonde hair and deep blue eyes.

The only thing that Aaron needed right now was a good meal, and at least a laugh or two with his buddies. At least that ought to put him in higher spirits.

MESS HALL

0926 HOURS

The breakfast menu that was planned today was scrambled eggs and green beans.

The diet for all UNSC personnel consisted of fruits and vegetables, along with entrees that contained high protein and other sources of nutritious vitamins and minerals that would keep soldiers alert on the field of battle.

After Aaron got his servings, he walked over to the table to where AJ and Zeke were waiting. They already appeared to be in a conversation.

“....and then I was like to this one squid-jaw freak,“If you don’t get your ugly split-lip face off of this rock, I’m going to find your house back on Planet Jackass, and screw your wife till she’s dry and empty,” joked Zeke. It was his usual thing to be a bit vulgar and graphic when telling his wild stories.

“Why would you say or feel like doing that in the first place? We don’t even know what Sangheili females even look like. As far as I know, we’re killing their husbands for making the mistake of messing with bad ass Spartans like us,” AJ said chuckling. He wasn’t as bad as Zeke, but still found his jokes amusing. He also knew that Zeke was making this all up.

“I’ll have to say that the females are probably smaller and have a more slender figure like most women have. Who knows of hinge head chicks are sexy just like human chicks though.”

“I’d rather not think about it,” AJ shuddered.

“I would,” Zeke cracked.

“Hey guys,” Aaron said as he sat down. “What’s going on?”

“Oh hey Jensen, you just missed Fredrickson tell the most bullshit story ever,” AJ said.

“It wasn’t bullshit. It was...uh...witty,” Zeke retorted.

“Witty my ass,” AJ said rolling his eyes. “So what’s new with you?” he asked Aaron.

“Well I had that strange nightmare yet again. As usual I can’t seem to control what I’m doing or saying in it,” Aaron replied. “I would think by now I would be able to do such a thing considering it’s the exact same one every time. It begins, flows along, and ends the exact same way without a single or small change.”

“Well at least it’s not about having sex with a female squid-jaw,” AJ bluntly said.

Aaron raised a brow.

“Why the hell would I dream about something like that?”

“Oh nevermind,” AJ said with his eyes now shifting nervously.

“Well, at least it couldn’t be as worse as the one I’m currently having,” Aaron optimistically said.

“That’s the spirit kid,” Zeke said grinning proudly.

“So you believe it’s some kind of vision of the future?” AJ asked.

“That’s what I’ve always theorized because it’s something I don’t remember from the past. What I can’t figure out though is why my vision is blurred severely so I can’t see what’s really happening and how to prevent it?”

“Maybe it means you have to figure it out for yourself when it’s actually happening, or sometime before it,” Zeke guessed.

“That’s really reassuring, Fredrickson,” Aaron remarked sarcastically.

“Why thank you!” Zeke beamed with ludicrous pride.

“You know, Jensen. Fredrickson may be correct. As unfair as it may seem, you may have to rely on portions of your memory to help solve or prevent this disaster. Better yet, avoiding it,” AJ explained.

“I just hope both of you are right,” Aaron said doubtfully.

“Just think about it man. What key points are in this nightmare of yours that could prove to be useful?” AJ asked.

Aaron took a second to think.

“Well what I can hear is the sound of engagement with Covies while civilians are in the middle of it because there is screaming. Apparently there’s this voice of a southern belle that seems to have the same name you do Harrison,” Aaron explained indicating to AJ.

“What kind of chick has a guys name?” Zeke asked laughing his ass off.

“Shut up,” AJ said to Zeke rolling his eyes.

“AJ can be a girl’s name to. I suppose its initial could be something like Amelia-Jane or Anna-Jem,” Aaron stated picking the best suitable names for a southern belle, or cowgirl at least.

“If her name was CJ, then that would mean she would be Calamity Jane,” Zeke stated.

“Anyway,” Aaron continued ignoring Zeke’s rambunctiousness, “I’m getting the impression that I’m helping out with evacuation by helping civilians onto a Pelican. The girl named AJ is unsure about getting on the Pelican with me, but she does once I give her some reassurance. What I don't know is which planet is being invaded."

“Do you have a theory?” AJ asked.

Aaron took another second to think.

“Well I’m guessing if she’s some sort of farmer, I would have to guess Harvest maybe.”

“Covies don’t invade the same planet twice,” Zeke stated.

“I wouldn’t be sure about that Fredrickson. They returned to Earth that one time remember?” AJ reminded Zeke.

It was a true fact that the Covenant invaded Earth once, but they only seemed to have their sites on the African metropolis city of New Mombasa. After the battle of Delta Halo (Installation Zero-Five), the Covenant returned to Earth, and the same site to uncover a Forerunner device that would open a portal that lead to The Ark.

“Of course I remember you heathen! I’m just a bit skeptical as to why they would go back to a planet they’ve already destroyed,” Zeke said now getting a bit defensive.

“Relax you two. I was just making a guess. It could be any planet really. Hell maybe it could be a planet we’ve never come across before,” Aaron said.

AJ and Zeke now looked at Aaron with confused expressions.

“What do you mean by that? The UNSC has come across and colonized civilization on several known planets throughout the years. We’ve even found out where the Covie homeworlds are located,” Zeke said.

“Yes, but this universe can still be expanding, or very slowly collapsing.  Either way we may have been so busy protecting humanity from Covies and Innies, that we seem to have no time to explore every last corner of this universe in hopes of making contact with unknown civilizations that are not acquainted with the Covenant," Aaron explained.

Both AJ and Zeke looked at Aaron quizzically for a moment to process what he has told them.

“You make a valid point Jensen,” Zeke said. “I can find anything to argue about.”

“The big question is can the UNSC develop such technology to pull off such space travel one day?” AJ asked.

“Of course it could Harrison! We live in the frickin twenty-fifth century! Anything’s possible!” Zeke stated with strong enthusiasm.

"It was a rhetorical question," AJ sighed. "That's what slipspace travel is for. Journeying to unknown and uncharted sectors of the universe without having to wait light-years to do so."

"So are you trying to say you asked a super obvious question just to get on our nerves?" Zeke asked clearly annoyed.

"If you want to put it that way, then yes," AJ replied with a small smirk.

"Guys can we please stay focused here?" Aaron interjected.

"Right. Sorry," AJ apologized. "Do you at least have any clue of what this nightmare means?"

“I don’t know what it means, but I don’t know if I’m willing to find out,” Aaron replied. "Plus I don't even know how to stop it."

“Well if this nightmare keeps occuring, it has to mean that someone or something is trying to tell you or warn you about something, and it’s not going to stop until you find out why it is happening,” AJ explained.

“Well if that's the case, I just hope I find it and quick. I just don’t know how long I can stand this anymore.  Sometimes I think I’m slowly going insane,” Aaron fretted.

“War does that to you Jensen. You come in with a full piece of mind, and as you continue your service, parts of it start to get away from you,” Zeke said without a care.

“That makes me feel so much better.”

“Glad to oblige.”

It was really hard to tell if Zeke was really a stranger to sarcasm, but that was just him.

“Anyway I can’t let it get to me. I have to report to the hangar at fourteen-hundred to test out the Pelican slipspace test run. At least the adrenaline I’ll get from it will hopefully take my mind off this bizarre nightmare,” Aaron said.

“We wish you luck,” AJ said with a confident grin.

“You’ve got balls kid,” Zeke said while giving a wink and thumbs-up.

“Thanks guys,” Aaron said smiling.

Aaron was both excited and a bit nervous about testing out this new kind of slipspace technology, but he knew it was for the benefit of the UNSC Navy, and to see if the possibilities of slipspace technology was limited. He didn't fear death at all, even through his death in his nightmare was horrifying, but he couldn't let false realities get the better of him.

He had a responsibility and a task, and no Spartan like him could refuse it.