@i_like_swords: I was wrong about 1 thing. It wasn't Mark 2 Power Armor, it was Mark-1.
Mark I Prototype Exoskeleton
Initiated in 2512 the Mark I was one of the Navy's first experiments with powered exoskeletons - more human-powered defense structures than suits, the Mark I took 10 years to develop, but was bulky, unwieldy and needed to be tethered to a power source due to the extraordinary amount of energy needed to power it.[4] This was the downfall to the system as it required a connection to a fusion generator which hindered movement. The Mark I Prototype Exoskeleton improved the strength and stamina of the wearer and allowed a user to lift two tons (4,000 pounds) and run at 32 km/h (19.88 MPH) for extended periods of time.[5] The Mark I contained a cutting edge on board computer that could assist the wearer by transmitting tactical and communications information to the standard neural implant issued to a soldier, the suit however did not possess the ability to carry an A.I on board. The armor could also be equipped with motion sensors, infrared scopes, and could be mounted with a 30mm mini-gun that fired on self-targeting armatures.
Research and development for the Mark I was carried out at Section Three's headquarters in the CASTLE facility on Reach, however the final assembly of components were done at the Damascus Testing Facility on Chi Ceti IV. At least forty Mark I suits were produced and although they never saw deployment on the battlefield they were later used to carry heavy equipment in docking bays, and dozens of others were dumped into Reach's titanium mines. The Mark I Exoskeletons were later used by trainers of the SPARTAN-IIs to protect themselves when training under Chief Petty Officer Mendez's orders. Otherwise the training could have killed them, as evidenced by the first day back at Reach when three trainers were accidentally killed during hand to hand combat exercises.[6]
Now let's take a closer look at these incidents.
Halo: The Fall of Reach Pg89-90
The road wound down in a spiral, deeper into solid granite. Mendez said, "Do you remember the Navy's first experiments with powered exoskeletons?"
"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 I's 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 put my Spartans in some of those antiques?"
No. Their trainers are using them for their own safety.," Mendez replied. "When the Spartans recovered from their microgravity therapy, they were eager to get back into 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. Halsery cocked an eyebrow. "Then they are faster and stronger than we anticipated?"
"That," Mendez replied, "would be understating the situation."
To put it bluntly, a bunch of 14yr olds had exceeded their expectations and were so dangerous during practice their their trainers had to wear protective armor to keep from being killed by accident. The exoskeletons which gave them 2tons of strength and doubled their speed, with auto-targeting systems, infrared and movement sensors, were all almost useless in taking on these Spartan-II's.
And John-117, who is not even the physically strongest of them, could still do things like this without really trying.
Halo: The Fall of Reach Pg 90-92
Floodlights snapped on and illuminated a section of the cavern the size of a football field. In the center stood a concrete bunker. Three men in the primitive Mark I power armor stood on top. Six more stood evenly spaced around the perimeter. A red banner had been planted in the center of the bunker.
"Capture the flag?" Dr. Halsey asked. "Past all that heavy armor?"
"Yes. The trainers in those exoskeletons can run at thirty-two KPH, lift two tons, and have thirty-millimeter miniguns mounted on self-targeting armatures--stun rounds, of course. They're also equipped with the latest motion sensors and IR scopes. And needless to say, their armor is impervious to standard light weapons. It would take two or three platoons of conventional Marines to take that bunker."
Mendez spoke again in the microphone, and his voice echoed off the cavern walls: "Start the drill."
Sixty seconds ticked by. Nothing happened. One hundred twenty seconds. "Where are the Spartans?" Dr. Halsey asked.
"They're here," Mendez replied. Dr. Halsey caught a glimpse of motion in the dark: a shadow against shadows, a familiar silhouette.
"Kelly?" she whispered.
The trainers turned and fired at the shadow, but it moved with almost supernatural quickness. Even the self-targeting systems couldn't track it.
From above, a man free-rappelled down from the girders and gantries overhead. The newcomer landed behind one of the perimeter guards, quiet as a cat. He punched the guards armor twice, denting the heavy plates, then dropped low and swept the guards legs out from under him. The guard sprawled on the ground.
The Spartan attached his rappelling line to the trainer. A moment later the writhing guard shot upward, into the darkness.
Two other guards turned to attack.
The Spartan dodged, rolled, and melted into the shadows.
Dr. Halsey realized the trainer's exoskeleton wasn't being pulled up--it was being used as a counterweight.
Two other Spartans, dangling from the other end of that rope, dropped unnoticed into the center of the bunker. Dr. Halsey immediately recognized one of them, although he was dressed entirely in black, save his open eye slits--Number 117. John.
John landed, braced, and kicked one guard. The man landed in a heap...eight meters away.
The other Spartan jumped off the bunker; he flipped end over end, evading the stun rounds that filled the air. he threw himself at the farthest guard and they skidded together into the shadows. the guard's gun strobed once, and then it was dark again.
On top of the bunker, John was a blur of slashing motions. A second guard's exosuit erupted in a fountain of hydraulic fluid and then collapsed under the armor's weight.
The last guard on the bunker turned to fire at John. Halsey gripped the edge of her chair. "He's at point-blank range! Even stun rounds can kill at that distance!"
As the guard's gun fired, John sidestepped. The stun rounds slashed through the air, a clean miss. John grabbed the weapons armature--twisted--and with a screech of stressed metal, wrenched it free of the exoskeleton. He fired directly into the man's chest and sent him tumbling off the bunker.
The remaining quartet of perimeter guards turned and sprayed the area with suppression fire.
A heartbeat later, the lights went out.
Mendez cursed and keyed the mike. "Backups. Hit the backup lights now!"
A dozen amber floods flickered to life.
Not a Spartan was in sight, but the nine trainers were either unconscious or lay immobile in inert battle armor.
The red flag was gone.
And these are still 14yr olds, only six months after the augmentation procedure. Furthermore...
"Your Spartans can run at bursts of up to fifty-five KPH," he explained. "Kelly can run a little faster, I think. They will only get quicker as they adjust to the 'alterations' we've made to their bodies. They can life three times their body weight--which, I might add, is almost double the norm due to their increased muscle density. And they can virtually see in the dark."
Dr. Halsey pondered this new data. "They should not be performing so well. Their must be unexplained synergistic effects brought on by the combined modifications. What are their reaction times?"
"Almost impossible to chart. We estimate it at twenty milliseconds," Mendez replied. He shook his head, then added, "I believe it's significantly faster in combat situations when their adrenaline is pumping."
"Any physiological or mental instabilities?"
"None. They work like no team I've ever seen before. Damn near telepathic, if you ask me. They were dropped in these caves yesterday, and I don't know where they got the black suits or the rope for that maneuver, but I can guarantee they haven't left this room. They improvise and improve and adapt."
"And," he added, "they like it. The tougher the challenge, the harder the fight...the better their morale becomes."
These are things John is capable of at 14 and he only got stronger and quicker as he got older and adjusted further. Then you add in 30-odd years of combat experience fighting the Insurrection, Covenant, Flood, and Renegade Forerunners.
All things considered, as tough as the Fetts may seem, John is just in an entirely different league. Their armor may be tougher, but it's not going to save them from a 6'10", 300lb fighting machine. He ain't just the Goddamn Master Chief. He's the freaking Reclaimer.
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