Another chapter and we're reaching the halfway or quarter point of this story. There are still surprises yet to come so hang tight and enjoy. Rate Read and Review and as always have nice day

Spartans of the Ring Chapter 9: No time for sorrow

The fellowship was running further and further from the bridge of Khazad-dûm. They ran out into a clearing on the side of the mountain. They were welcomed by a beautiful day as if it was mocking them.

The company collapsed in exhaustion and grief. Gimli was filled with rage and a lust for vengeance. He had to be held back Boromir who was letting his sorrow show freely. The Hobbits were shuddering as silent tears cascaded down their cheeks. Legolas's face remained dry and stony but the grief in his eyes showed. Aragorn shared the same expression.

Master Chief walked to a solitary spot from the group and looked up at the clear sky. Cortana appeared on his HUD.

"Chief" She said sadly

"Not now Cortana" He told in his gritty voice. Cortana looked at John sadly before nodding and disappeared. Nathan sat down against a rock and removed his helmet. He rubbed his eyes and began to take deep breaths of fresh air. B312 sighed and placed his helmet back on.

Jun was silently grieving when he saw something unbelievable. It was Gandalfs scorched hat. The rifleman walked over and picked up the hat delicately. He found it still held together quite well and it was compressible. Jun stuffed it into his chest piece and turned to the others.

Aragorn approached the hobbits

"Let's get out of here, this place will be overrun with orcs by night fall"

"Give them a moment of grievance Aragorn" Boromir exclaimed. Chief returned to the group and backed Aragorn up.

"No he's right, we can't let Gandalfs sacrifice be in vain"

"How could you handle this so easily?!" Legolas questioned incredulously

"We've been on the fields of war our entire life, as much as this is painful we must go on" Nathan said strongly. The others looked at the Spartans with awe and were inspired by their fierce determination. Aragorn gave them a grateful look and Jun decided to break the moment.

"Come on guys like Chief said, don't let Gandalf's sacrifice be thrown away"

The Fellowship quickly descended down the mountain side. John and Aragorn led the group with Legolas, Jun and Nathan covering the back. They soon found a place to rest and nurse their wounds.

Leaving refreshed, the Company started again towards the golden woods of Lothlórien. Even though they had made good progress, they still had a ways to go before reaching its safe borders. After several hours of trudging through the wilderness, they finally reached the first trees of Lórien by sunset. The Fellowship eagerly ran into the woods, glad to be shielded by the high boughs from unfriendly eyes. But soon after they entered, the atmosphere of their surroundings changed. The air was heavy and the forest floors were clean, which was unusual for a mid-January wood. They saw, when they looked up, that the leaves were still on the trees but were a bright golden color.

Gimli had his hand at his axe and he quickly summoned all the hobbits to him, muttering, "Stay close, young hobbits! They say that a great sorceress lives in these woods: an elf-witch of terrible power."

"Witch?" Jun said with a laugh "Ha after that Balrog I don't think anything else will surprise me"

A few minutes later of travelling a dozen arrows were pointed at the fellowship

"CONTACT!" Nathan shouted as he, Chief and Jun held up their guns and surrounded the company in a triangle. Legolas also managed to draw out his bow and arrow. Legolas quickly saw that it was fellow elves.

An elf made his way through the crowd surrounding them. He came to the front, and looked upon all of them with mistrust and doubt, especially when his eyes fell upon Gimli.

"Your mortal companions breathe so loudly that we could have shot them in the dark," the elf said to Legolas.

Legolas' eyes slightly narrowed and he quickly spoke to the other elf in Sindarin while Aragorn stilled his tense companions.

The lead elf's eyes fell onto the Spartans who were still gripping their guns.

"And who are you 3?" The Elf demanded "Three beings I have never seen before appear from the darkness I presume"

"No" Chief stated in his gritty voice still moving his gun between the elves. The elf archers were surprised to hear the common tongue spoken.

"But if you are wondering what we are" Jun said and he reached for his helmet. A216 removed it and revealed his face. Most of the elves eyes widened to see a man underneath that armor. The lead elf shared equal shock and astonishment.

"Who are you?"

"I believe you should first tell us who you are and lower your arrows" Nathan stated "Then we shall tell you who we are. You probably know some of the company but if you give us a reason to you'll be taken down by something you cannot defeat"

The elves were amazed and intimidated by the Spartans bravery in the face of danger. The lead elf narrowed his eyes

"I am Haldir one of the guardians of Lothlórien"

"Good manners" Jun said coyly. He placed his helmet back on, drooped his gun to his side and saluted Haldir

"Spartan A266, warrant officer Jun"

Nathan and Chief copied Juns movements

"Spartan sierra 117 Master Chief petty officer, John"

"Spartan B312 lieutenant Nathan"

The elves tilted their heads in curiosity as to why the Spartans made that pose. Finally Haldir told the elves to lower their weapons. He then spoke in the Common Tongue once more. "Come," he said. "We will rest in the telain for the night."

"What's that?" Jun asked

"Telain," Legolas repeated. "Platforms in the trees. According to Haldir there is a large band of orcs approaching Lórien from the mountain, and they thought, at first, that we were orc spies."

"Yes," Haldir said. "But when I saw one of my own kin within this group, no less than Legolas Thranduilion at that, I knew that you did not work for the Enemy. But come, we must leave the ground before the orcs come this way. You will sleep in the trees tonight, and tomorrow you will face the Lord and Lady of Lothlórien."

"So you trust us already" Nathan said

Haldir looked over to the clad black armored soldier

"Not quite, after all even though you seem to be men, I can't exactly trust ones who no one has ever seen and has threatened my kin" Haldir glanced at the odd weapons "And what are those odd contraptions?"

"Don't know can't tell someone whom we don't trust" Nathan shot back. Haldir smirked at the Spartans quick wit. He may seem like a threat but Haldir couldn't help but respect him.

"Then how about we do something to gain your trust" Came a feminine voice from Chief. All the elves glanced around and their attention was caught by Chief waving his hand at them. He unclipped his AI unit and held it in the palm of his hand. Cortana appeared and all the elves except Legolas leapt back in amazement. Cortana laughed and merrily waved at the bunch.

"Hi there I'm Cortana, Artificial Intelligence"

"By the Valar what is that?" One of the elves exclaimed

"Did you not hear her" Jun laughed at the faces of the elves "She's an Artificial Intelligence"

"Not now Jun" Cortana said to the Spartan in a motherly tone. She turned back to Haldir "I was just wondering if there was something that we could do to gain your trust, like oh take out those approaching orcs"

The elves stared the Spartans and at Cortana. These newcomers who they have never seen have just volunteered to fight the oncoming orcs.

"How can we trust that you can handle these orcs"

"I vouch for them and join them" Legolas said up front.

"And I shall as well" Aragorn standing firmly beside Nathan.

Haldir was staring at the scene bemused and amazed.

"Why would you help us?" Haldir asked, regaining his composure with narrowed eyes.

"With all due respect sir we just came to this world and we don't want to make the wrong enemies and" Nathan paused for dramatic effect "We three would like a little payback"

Haldir stared in disbelief.

"Follow me" He mumbled leading the Spartans through the forest. Aragorn and Legolas followed behind, while Jun managed to convince Gimli and Boromir to stay behind and look out for the hobbits.

The group soon arrived at the edge of the forest. Use their keen eyes, the elves spotted the orcs coming down the far hill and coming straight for Lórien. The Spartans used their zooms and also located the orcs. There were hundreds of them.

"How much do you estimate Jun?" Chief asked the rifleman.

Jun tilted his head "About 2000, maybe more no wait 5000"

"5000!?" Haldir said in shock "You honestly don't intend to attack that many orcs?"

"Please, where these guys are from, they've taken down armies single handedly" Cortana bragged from Chiefs helmet. Nathan chuckled darkly and made a quick plan.

"It will take them an 20 minutes to get here"

"Perfect time to set up some mines, lucky I brought some" Jun said enthusiastic to get into the fight. Jun pulled out a small duffle he brought along and pulled out some C10's explosives.

"How many do we have?" Chief asked while checking his clip for his rifle. Jun made a quick count.

"12"

"More than enough" Nathan stated as he grabbed 4 as well as Chief leaving Jun with four as well. the Spartans leapt out of the trees, with the elves and their friends calling out for them

"ARE YOU MAD?!" Haldir shouted

"GET BACK HERE" Legolas shouted.

The Spartans completely shut out all other sounds, besides the voices of each other and the thrilling heartbeat of a battle. The trio threw all the C10's into various positions covering a wide range. They then stood in a horizontal line facing the oncoming orcs. They still had 10 minutes to spare.

"Have you guys ever sang this song that I once heard?" Nathan asked casually in the face of danger "It's from the 101st air division"

"What the one from WW2?" Cortana asked

"Yeah that's the one"

The trio fell into a comfortable silence. 9 minutes until the orcs were close enough to the C10's. Jun tapped his finger nonchalantly against his DMR. He was humming and then he sang (Don't judge me, I've always wanted to do this)

He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright,

He checked off his equipment and made sure his pack was tight;

He had to sit and listen to those awful engines roar,

"You ain't gonna jump no more!"

Nathan and Chief smirked and joined into the chorus

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

And he ain't gonna jump no more!

Nathan took the next part

"Is everybody happy?" cried the Sergeant looking up,

Our Hero feebly answered "Yes," and then they stood him up;

He jumped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked,

And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

And he ain't gonna jump no more!

From afar the elves were listening in bewilderment. Aragorn also heard their singing.

"Are they really singing?" Haldir asked in disbelief

"Listen more closely to what they are singing. The group listened just in time to hear the chorus once again

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

And he ain't gonna jump no more!

John picked up, which truly surprised Cortana

He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock,

He felt the wind, he felt the cold, he felt the awful drop,

The silk from his reserve spilled out and wrapped around his legs,

And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

And he ain't gonna jump no more!

Jun laughed and continued

He hit the ground, the sound was "SPLAT", his blood went spurting high;

His comrades, they were heard to say "A hell of a way to die!"

He lay there, rolling 'round in the welter of his gore,

And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

And he ain't gonna jump no more!

The trio used a high and low pitch

There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute,

Intestines were a-dangling from his paratrooper suit,

He was a mess, they picked him up and poured him from his boots,

And he ain't gonna jump no more.

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

And he ain't gonna jump no more!

And at the gates of heaven, to Saint Peter he shall tell a tale,

One more soldier reporting sir! I've served my time in hell,

Saint Peter will just smile and say you have served your country well,

And he ain't gonna jump no more.,

The trio finished slowly as the orcs were two minutes away

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die,

And he ain't gonna jump no more!

They all laughed as they lifted up their hand detonators. The orcs were right above their C10s as they clicked the switches. 12 simultaneous explosions went off that completely obliterated the first wave of charging orcs

The elves eyes nearly fell out of their eyes when the explosions went off. They watched as the Spartans casually un-holstered their rifles. They began to slowly walk towards the army of orcs bit by bit picking up speed.

Soon the three warriors were on a full mad dash at the orcs, their eyes with a roaring fire of battle. Chief unloaded his entire clip, taking out more orcs than the bullets contained in the one magazine.

Jun tumbled and landed into a crouching position. He aimed, breathed out and shot down a dozen orcs with one shot. He quickly whirled a 180 and shot down another dozen orcs.

Nathan shoved Down an oncoming orc and instantly stomped on its head. He took out both his assault rifle and magnum and blasted the guns away destroying as many Orcs as the bullets could pierce. He quickly holstered both guns and activated his energy sword. B312 mercilessly slew orc after orc, impaling the monstrous heads of the orcs.

The elves just couldn't believe how the Spartans were holding their ground so easily. Legolas used his keen ears and eyes (This might seem a little exaggerated) to hear their movements and heart rate. The prince elf was in total shock to find they were steady and peaceful and their body movements were swift and were acting as if they had minds of their own. The elves looked on as already more than three fourths of the orc army had been killed.

The Three soldiers were in a triangle shooting down and cutting down every orc they saw.

"Cortana how many orcs do we have left" Chief asked while stabbing an orc in the head

"A couple hundred" Cortana said quickly scanning all the shields "Looks like your shields are still strong, only 8% lost"

"Nice to hear I can still up hold that hyper lethal status" Nathan joked grimly, shooting at another wave of orcs. He un clipped a grenade and tossed it at an orc who caught it. Jun saw this and yelled at the orc who caught it.

"Hey Hold onto that and you can beat us" The orc looked expectantly at Jun before it blew him as well as a couple dozen orcs around him away. There were now a 200 hundred left. The lead orc was standing with his fellow 200 behind him. His mouth was agape in horror and unreadable expressions of every negative emotion. His army had just been reduced to smithereens.

The Spartans all reloaded and pointed their guns at the orcs. The creatures staggered back in fear and then was hit with a barrage of metal. Soon there were only a few dozen left. The remaining orcs turned tail and tried to run as fast as possible

"Oh they are not trying to run away" Cortana laughed. The 3 Spartans crouched and reloaded.

"Not on my watch" Chief growled. The 3 broke into one final dash at the orc army. They were already on them and swiftly gunned down the rest of them. Only one was left.

The pitiful orc was trying desperately to crawl away but was stopped when Jun placed his foot onto the creatures chest. The Spartan pushed it down with his boot and kneeled close to it.

"Hmph, thank god for this helmet, cause I could see your disgusting odor radiating off you" Jun said in his monotone voice.

"What do you want from me?" The orc stuttered with fear. Jun tilted his head and turned to Chief and Nathan who had just finished scanning and knowing that all the orcs were dead.

"Hey guys glad you can join the torture session" Jun said humorously "Ugly here asked what are we going to do to him"

"Simple" Came Cortanas voice "We let him live and let him spread fear that we are Saurons biggest problems but don't mention anything about the ring"

Nathan shook his head with a chuckle and Chief had a rare smile. The orc was looking at the giants with terror and confusion.

"What are you? Gods?! Demons?!"

Nathan looked dead at the orc. He removed his helmet to reveal his face. The orc's jaw dropped when he saw a human underneath that armor.

"We're not just men, gods, or demons. We're Spartans, and now your worst nightmare" Nathan said dangerously and he placed his helmet back on. The orcs eyes widened before his bravery but mostly his hatred for men and insanity cause him to spit on Juns visor. Jun twitched and wiped it off.

"You shouldn't have done that" Jun said in a calm voice holding back his deadly tone. The Spartan stood up to full size and pointed his magnum at the orc

"So long" Jun shot the orc right between the eyes, making a loud echo. The Trio turned back to the forest without looking back. The elves and Aragorn were watching the Spartans walk back towards them. They could not believe their eyes as they made a quick scan of the battlefield. Every single orc was slaughtered and destroyed there were a dozen craters. Aragorn and Legolas saw how well they could handle themselves in Moria, but this new revelation takes it to an entirely new level. The Elves of Lothlórien held even more shock. Never had they thought men can handle such a feet, and the fact that 3 accomplished this.

"What are they?!" Haldir asked in a whisper turning to Legolas. Legolas looked down and shook with fear, awe and amazement.

Legolas trying to choose his words properly "I thought I knew their story but this is something incredible"

"Are they truly men?!" Aragorn asked in disbelief. He thought so in the beginning as well, but now he wasn't sure what they were. One thing was for sure. They were immensely grateful for having such allies. The Spartans were finally upon them and the elves of Lothlórien stood straight with pride and bowed in respect.

"You have our eternal gratitude and allegiance" Haldir said with pride. The Spartans stood straight and saluted the elves in their military fashion.

"We hope to work well with you sir" Chief replied. Haldir shook his head.

"Come you must be tired from that battle"

"Actually" Nathan interrupted "We will keep watch tonight until the dawn of tomorrow"

The elves just couldn't take it anymore and one shouted out "HOW ARE YOU ALL STILL STANDING AFTER THAT BATTLE?!"

Master Chief stared at the elves before replying "We're Spartans, it's what we do". The trio went back to find the other members of their company and re-stock for the night. Nathan stopped and turned to the elves

"And by the way, that battle was just practice for us" Nathan said with wit.

That night

Spartan-117 and Spartan-B312 were patrolling the forest floors with Spartan-A266 high up in the trees, sniper rifle in arms. Jun was crouching on a branch, his zoom and night vision active. Nathan and John also had their night vision on and kept taking turns on who would scout the farthest then return to their original post.

"You see anything Jun?" Nathan asked through their private comms

He heard Juns bored sigh, then his accent "No just a lot of leaves"

"Hmm I don't think we'll be expecting anything tonight boys" Cortana sighed

"Well that seems rather relieving as it is boring" Jun said in his lazy tone.

"Let's just be glad we don't have to waste our ammo" Nathan stated

"Who said we need to use ammo" Jun countered with a laugh

They fell into silence, hearing the silent chirps of insects and small animals in the night. John then remembered something bothersome

"What do you think happened to Gollum?"

"Good question" Jun said rubbing his chin "We never did find out whether he survived the caves or not"

"Well we shall find out soon enough" Nathan said with a tone of finality

The next dawn came with the company awakening from a long night of slumber. The company soon gathered themselves and found that they were 3 men short. Suddenly Nathan and chief appeared from the trees and Jun jumped down from above making most of the company jump back and draw their swords. They all sighed in relief to see it was their comrades and put their blades away

"Ah I see you have all awoken" Came a noble voice from behind which turned out to be Haldir along with a unit of elves

"Come the lord and lady of Lothlórien are ready to see you"

The company followed Haldir through the forest of Lorien and stopped at a gap between the land. Two elves stood on the other side. The company recognized the two from the day before. They were Haldir's brothers Rúmil and Orophin. The duo threw ropes across and formed a thin bridge. Legolas being an elf, easily walked across the bridge with perfect balance. The elves were equally surprised on how the Spartans hoisted the hobbits onto their backs and easily walked across the thin bridge. The others slowly joined across and the brothers took the bridge apart and went off to their positions in Lorien

By sunset, the Company reached the middle of Lothlórien. There was a wide, treeless space for a long while, but in the middle of this treeless gap, there were trees higher than any that they had ever seen beforehand. The branches were lit with gold, silver, green, and blue lamps that shined dimly in the sunset light.

"Caras Galadhon, the heart of Elvendom on earth. Home of the Lord Celeborn and of Galadriel, Lady of Light," Haldir said with obvious pride.

By nightfall, they reached the city of Caras Galadhon. They met no elves to hinder or to greet them, but instead heard voices above their heads, and knew that the residents of the city were within the tall mellyrn bordering the pathway. Even though the voices were loud and numerous, they could see no one.

The Spartans in particular felt all eyes fall onto them. They could tell and feel the many questions and murmurs from the hidden elves. Jun being a wise-ass

"What's everyone staring at?"

His UNSC companions snorted and chuckled. Some of the odd tension the fellowship didn't know about, relieved itself from the group as they continued to follow Haldir. Haldir had to smirk at Juns wit.

Soon they came upon the greatest mallorn tree within the forest. The Company, lead by Haldir, tread a long staircase that wound around the tree and led to the highest and largest talan in Lórien. After several minutes of climbing up the twisting stairs, looking upon the majestic and mesmerizing forest as they rose higher and higher, they came to the talan at top of the tree. They were finally to meet the Lord and Lady.

The Fellowship approached a small flight of steps where two of the fairest elves that any of them had ever seen were sitting. It was obvious to all of them that they were the Lord Celeborn and the Lady Galadriel. Hand in hand, the two elves stood up and lightly descended the stairs to greet their guests. Half of the Company bowed their heads in respect, while the others were too amazed by their beauty to move. Celeborn had the lightest color of hair; so light that it could have been silver. He wore fair garments of silver-gray and white. His face showed no signs of age, unless it was his eyes. Galadriel, however, had golden hair to her waist and was clothed completely in white laces and silks. She also showed no signs of age other than her eyes, which were a deep blue with stars glittering in the depths of the pupils.

Celeborn greeted each member individually with name and respect. He spent some time with Aragorn and Legolas who he seemed to know quite well. he moved through the hobbits and Boromir with equal time. He smiled at Gimli's tense state and calmed the dwarf informing him he was amongst friends. Then the high elf approached Nathan. Celeborn actually showed signs of overwhelmed emotion. The elves present in the vicinity, widened in shock.

"Such powerful will power and unbreakable resolve" Celeborn whispered. He then smiled warmly "I am truly grateful that someone like you is on this journey"

"You don't have to be sir, I'm just doing what's right"

"And for that if you ever require aid, Lorien shall evermore be in your debt" Celeborn said with great pride. Nathan stood in attention and saluted Celeborn. Celeborn nodded and saluted in return. The elf turned to Jun and found him curious but also showed an overwhelming feeling.

"Please sir, I only model every other day, and today's my day off" Jun quipped. Celeborn smirked then chuckled. "An expert marksman, I could tell by your build and stance"

"Well then your record precedes you sir" Jun complimented

"Like to your brother in arms, Nathan, Jun, warrior of the Spartans, Lothlórien is eternally in your debt"

"Thank you sir, I'll make the most of it" Jun joked. Celeborn chuckled as he finally turned to John. Celeborn felt his aura equaled Nathan's.

"My my, it is truly a gift that the fellowship has such a powerful ally"

"I am grateful for having strong companions sir, I trust them with my life" Chief spoke in his gritty voice

"You got that right tin-man"

All the elves looked around to find the source of the voice. Chief silently reached the back of his head, pulled the chip out and held it out in his palm. Cortanas holographic avatar appeared and waved merrily at Celeborn. Every elf nearly fell onto their back when they jumped back in shock.

"Greetings to you lord Celeborn and lady Galadriel, I am the artificial intelligence Cortana" Cortana finished with a courteous bow. Galadriel smiled and bowed her head in return. After the pleasantries were finished Celeborn faced the Spartans

"Lord Elrond informed me of the arrival of 3 individuals who just might be the last hope for middle-earth" Celeborn paused o scan the Spartans "It seems as though that was an understatement. With the 3 of you aiding the fellowship I know middle-earth can be saved"

Celeborn observed the group then spoke in a grave tone.

"Thirteen there are here, yet fourteen set out from Imladris. Tell me where is Gandalf, for I much desire to speak with him. I can no longer see from afar."

Galadriel looked upon Aragorn's face and she knew the wizard's fate. "He has fallen into Shadow," she whispered. Most of the Company looked at her with amazement; how could she have known?

"He was taken by both Shadow and Flame," Legolas spoke gravely. "He met with a Balrog of Morgoth, for we went needlessly into the net of Moria."

"Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life. We do not yet know his full purpose." She turned to Gimli, who was now crestfallen by the mention of Moria. "Do not be troubled by the emptiness of Khazad-dûm, Gimli, son of Glóin." He looked up at her as she continued, "For the world has grown full of peril, and in all lands love is now mingled with grief." She then turned to Boromir, who immediately looked away from her glance.

"What now becomes of this Fellowship?" asked Celeborn to them. "Without Gandalf, hope is lost."

"The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail to the ruin of all," Galadriel said solemnly, looking upon all of them slowly. "Yet hope remains while Company is true. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest, for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight you will sleep in peace." She stopped speaking and looked at each of them, some for a longer time than others.

Suddenly Jun stated "Nah Gandalf, ain't dead. He's just missing in action. He'll come around"

Everyone stared at Jun beside Nathan and John who chipped in.

"We just had a feeling is all" Nathan said casually

"Gandalf wouldn't die so easily" Chief reaffirmed in his strong voice. Galadriel stared before breaking into a wide smile

"Then we shall wait for his inevitable return"

"You got that right my lady" Cortana laughed

Finally they were dismissed