Disclaimer: I own no franchise mentioned in this work. Halo belongs to 343.

Just figured I'd write this as a little aside, as I saw nothing like it when I looked. It's really short, really simple, and was really easy to write.

Fairly straightforward. I don't like how 343i depicted the fight between Master Chief and Jameson Locke in Halo 5. Anyone who has ever read my ME/Halo fic probably knows this, from the AN or story itself.

This is a oneshot. There will be no other chapters or anything like that. At least that's what I want to say with confidence.

Instead, I must say PLEASE, for the love of whatever you want, let this be a oneshot. Let 343i NOT screw up their lore so badly that they think that a Spartan IV could ever touch a Spartan II.

At the end of this piece I will have a comparison on Spartan-IIs vs. Spartan-IVs by way of augmentations and general numbers. All of that will be drawn from canon, so if you wish to argue about something, make sure you understand the lore first please and thank you. :)

As Chief emerged onto the last platform in front of the massive Forerunner Guardian, he immediately noticed the Spartan-IV holding the rest of Blue team at gunpoint. While he did feel a slight hint of amusement at the notion of an S-IV against three S-IIs, Chief was mostly irritated.

Cortana was waiting at wherever the Guardian would take them and any delay was unacceptable. Why the UNSC thought that he wouldn't be the one to find her was still confusing, but ultimately not a consideration in the mission. Blue team would reach Cortana using this Guardian, and the UNSC could find their own way to get any other assets to their location.

"117, stand down!"

As much as he didn't care to hear what the S-IV had to say, Chief wasn't about to initiate combat with allied forces over such a thing. Thus, he simply listened as Locke told him, "Sir, you are absent without leave. This is your one chance to come home peacefully."

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at that, Chief tilted his helmet very slightly in the direction of his team, foregoing any overt gestures. With decades of combat experience together, the other Spartan-IIs easily understood the signal and turned to trot through the Forerunner personnel portals that would let them aboard the Guardian.

"Blue Team, stand down!" Locke shouted uselessly as the three other Spartans exited the platform. Not one of them gave any indication of hearing the order before they disappeared in flashes of light.

Tired of the charade, Chief began making his way to follow them as he announced, "I have a job to do."

"Cortana's our concern now, Sir."

Chief came to a stop at hearing that. While the tone had been respectful, it was obvious that the individual was fully prepared to stop him from fulfilling his mission. Whatever orders the UNSC had given, however, were irrelevant to the Chief at this point. It was his duty to protect Cortana, and anything that stood in his way would be quickly dispatched.

Rather than saying anything to give away his intent, Chief snapped his right arm back, easily ripping the battle rifle from the IV's grip. As the other soldier began to process that he was suddenly lacking a weapon, the Spartan-II halted his motion and brought the misplaced firearm back to its owner.

Considering that UNSC weapons were made to stand up to the enormous stress placed on them by Spartan fireteams, the hail of debris that appeared as the rifle shattered on the IV's helmet displayed how hard the hit had been. It was easy for the Chief to tell that the blow had been felt due to the staggering step that the Spartan took to keep from falling back.

Tempting as it was to simply throw a haymaker to end the fight right there, years of training prevented 117 from presenting such an opening that such an attack would allow. Anyone with any experience in close quarters combat knew that leaving openings meant a death sentence, and considering that the Spartan-IIs were considered some of the best CQC specialists in the UNSC, not one of them would use such a sloppy tactic.

Instead, Chief stepped into his opponent's compromised guard followed by a quick flick of his arm to bat away the attempt to restrain his elbow. This left the Spartan-IV in the rather unenviable position of facing the ground while his superior opponent had a free range of motion.

In a normal fight, the Master Chief wouldn't even hesitate to simply snap his opponent's neck if given the opportunity. Unluckily, since this was an ally and fellow UNSC soldier, he once more restrained himself.

A step forward and he had the IV's leg locked, unable to move or bend in any manner. While the Spartan could have activated the magnetic functionality on his boots, such a move would leave the two facing in opposite directions. As such, Chief braced himself and twisted, allowing him to plant a strike in the back of the IV's helmet.

This had the predictable result of slamming the Spartan's visor into the Forerunner alloy and giving Chief the time to back off slightly. After two hard strikes to the head, the Spartan-IV would be sloppy and attack hastily or wait for his team to assist. The first would result in an easy win while the second would let 117 easily exit the area.

Apparently the IV was confident in his ability as he got up and pulled a small device from the back of his armor. With his enhanced eyesight, Chief had no issue in seeing the armor restraint.

How the IV was planning to get that on him he had no idea, as the device used a concept similar to that of armor lock, except that instead of internal control, it was external. When the Spartan-II's were equipping the old MJOLNIR Mk. IV suits, the device had been much appreciated as it froze the bodysuit so that the engineers could equip the metal plates.

At the moment, however, Chief saw an opportunity rather than an actual threat. If he could gain control of the device, it would be easy to immobilize his opponent and leave before the other three Spartan IVs above could interfere.

With that plan in mind, 117 waited patiently while the S-IV recovered his bearings. Eventually, the opponent approached, broadcasting his intended attack far too obviously. In the back of the Chief's mind, a small note was made to instruct the IVs on how to actually fight when at a disadvantage. Mainly, when to attack, when to hold, and when to retreat from the battle.

When the two Spartans closed within an acceptable distance, Chief reached out with nearly contemptuous ease and halted the IV's arm. With 117 once more in control of the fight as he restrained his opponent, it was a simple matter for Chief to throw the haymaker he had held back earlier. As his fist made resounding contact with the opponent's helmet, the Master Chief twisted the Spartan's arm back, causing his hand to relax.

Chief caught the armor restraint before it could fall to the ground and stepped back. At this point, the Spartan-IV was no longer any sort of threat. Three vicious strikes to the head from the Chief had taken their toll as he stumbled back.

As impressive as it was that the IV remained standing, Chief wasted no time in slapping the restraint on his chest. The device activated, locking the MJOLNIR armor that the Spartan-IV wore and halting his rather precarious swaying.

Confident that he had dealt with that issue without killing his opponent, 117 calmly turned and jogged into the teleportation field that led to the Guardian. Behind him, all four Spartan IVs watched silently, suddenly aware of the impossibility of bringing down not just one but four of their far superior comrades.

These augmentations have actual names on the Augmentations page of the wikis, however, I'm just simplifying the effects to less fancy terminology.

Augmentation Comparison:

Spartan-II

Neural Implant

Bone Reinforcement

Vision Improvements

Increased Muscle Mass

Increased Growth

Increase Muscle Endurance

300% increase in reaction time

Better Memory Gene therapy

Increased Intelligence

Spartan-IV

Neural Implant

Bone Reinforcement

Ligament Reinforcement

Muscle Reinforcement

Organ modifications

Increased blood circulation

Tracking devices

Better reaction time

It states on the Spartan-IV wiki page that, with armor, a Spartan-IV in MJOLNIR Mk. VI GEN II armor could match a Spartan-II in regular MJOLNIR Mk. VI armor. Without armor, a Spartan-IV would be far outclassed by a Spartan-II.

Now, that's all great, but we can see in Halo 5 by the Chief's use of the same abilities as the Spartan-IVs that the IIs have been equipped with MJOLNIR Mk. VI GEN II armor, which makes sense since the IIs are extremely High-Value Assets for the UNSC.

Considering that MJOLNIR armor multiplies its users base abilities, a Spartan-II in GEN II would outclass a Spartan-IV in GEN II even further than without armor.

This is merely statistical comparison, but another thing to consider is that the IIs have been fighting and learning their limits for the last 30 years, whereas the IVs were commissioned in 2553, giving them a mere 5 years of experience by Halo 5. They would have more experience as ODSTs and the such, but that's a lot different that Spartan Ops.

If anyone would like to discuss the differences between S-IVs and S-IIs, feel free to shoot over a PM and I'll respond when I can.

Thank you, GL and TC!

-evevee