Partners In Crime Studios is a Halo 2/3 Machinima Company that has been creating machinima since 2004.
This story takes place 10 years after the Battle over the Rings where the combined Spartan and Elite army defeated the Covenant and rendered the Rings unable to sterilize the universe.
In the time after the battle, the elites, now free of the Covenant, feared their alliance with the humans would lead to another religious coven and spilt apart away to form their own nation. This elite nation had its own government and opened trade with Earth only after fierce negotiations. Even though this new nation was on friendly terms with the humans, renegades and rebel groups sprang up within it who were still hostile toward the so called "Demons" or Spartans who had killed so many of their comrades in the war.
Meanwhile, on earth, without a need to sink massive amounts of money to defend against the covenant, a new chapter of Spartan soldiers appeared. With ample funding a Spartan Academy was founded to train future Spartans. The price to get in was steep but anyone with enough money was allowed in, causing Spartans to become more and more common. To control and supervise this new academy, The Spartan Referee Organization was formed, a group of Spartans who taught all the subjects and oversaw all the skirmishes the new Spartans would have to go through before graduating.
The academy was set up thusly; a new recruit would spend three years studying various weapons and vehicle as well as combat training. If a recruit made it this far, they would then receive their custom made Spartan Armor. They would then spend one year training in their suit before being given one final test to prove they were worthy of the title Spartan. All the recruits of a given year were spilt up into teams ranging from two to four people and then set against another team at random. The team would then have to work together to defeat the other team and capture their base/flag. All Spartans are instructed to only use deadly force if absolutely necessary, and all the Spartan suits are now equipped with bullet and plasma resistant armor to further keep the number of casualties down.
Once a Spartan team has passed this final challenge, they are free to either join the UNSC or the Army as Specialized Foot Soldiers or go into the open market as Freelancers. A select few of graduates stay at the academy becoming Spartan Referees and train other Spartans. Because the Covenant War is over, enrollment into the army is few. Most Spartans who graduate become freelancers, getting jobs as body guards and mercenaries. Those who do join the army usually serve for a short time guarding far off outposts on the edge of the galaxy and then go on to other things.
The academy is now in its 8th year with a new crop of Spartan Recruits ready to begin their final challenge and prove they are ready to be worthy of the Title "Spartan". Will they make the cut? Or be sent back to the academy? And is that what this story is really about?