Fall of Reach - Post Aug 2

“I’m not sure I see the connection between this place, my Spartans, and the exoskeleton projects,” Dr. Halsey replied, frowning, “but I’ll play along a bit further. Yes, I know all about the Mark I prototypes. We had to scrap the concept and redesign battle armor from the ground up for the MJOLNIR project. The Mark Is consumed enormous energy. Either they had to be plugged into a generator or use inefficient broadcast power—neither option is practical on a battlefield.”

Mendez decelerated slightly as he approached a speed bump. The Warthog’s massive tires thudded over the obstacle.

“They used the units that weren’t scrapped,” Dr. Halsey continued, “as dock loaders to move heavy equipment.” She cocked one eyebrow. “Or might they have been dumped in a place like this?”

“There are dozens of the suits here.”

“You haven’t putmy Spartans in some of those antiques?”

“No. Their trainers are using them for their own safety,” Mendez replied. “When the Spartans recovered from microgravity therapy, they were eager to get back to their routine. However, we experienced some —” He paused, searching for the right word. “ . . . difficulties.”

He glanced at his passenger. His face was grim. “Their first day back, three trainers were accidentally killed during hand-to-hand combat exercises.”

Dr. Halsey cocked an eyebrow. “Then they are faster and stronger than we anticipated?”

“That,” Mendez replied, “would be understating the situation.”

- Halo: The Fall of Reach, Chapter 7