Hello dear escapist!
Recently I have been working on a piece of fan fiction set inside the Halo universe but involving Xenomorphs, mostly on a whim.
But as Extra Credits once said, "You are always the worst judge of your work.". Now with that in mind, I want to really go to town on my story. Rip it to ity bity shred if you see fit. I just need some imput before I am going to go any further with the project.
And for added disscussion value, post any fan fiction you wrote, and post some of the worst so I know what not to do.
Enjoy! And be careful, its a really long story so make sure you can handle a wall of text.
Recently I have been working on a piece of fan fiction set inside the Halo universe but involving Xenomorphs, mostly on a whim.
But as Extra Credits once said, "You are always the worst judge of your work.". Now with that in mind, I want to really go to town on my story. Rip it to ity bity shred if you see fit. I just need some imput before I am going to go any further with the project.
And for added disscussion value, post any fan fiction you wrote, and post some of the worst so I know what not to do.
Enjoy! And be careful, its a really long story so make sure you can handle a wall of text.
Prologue
Thel 'Vadam sat comfortable on the ship masters chair nestled deep within the walls of the ship Shadow of Intent. He still donned the silver armor of the Arbiter, a title now made worthless by the destruction of the Covenant eleven months earlier, but he still wore the armor. He told himself that it was really as a way to remind him that blind devotion could be his undoing, but the real reason that he kept secreted away deep in his mind was that he missed the days of direct combat. For him, sitting here, stashed away from the nirvana he reached during combat, was almost a fate as terrible as death.
Still, the sangheili needed a leader, and along with the consult of ship master Rtas ?Vadum, the alliance with the UNSC had come to fruition. Perhaps one day he would reenter the fray of combat by the side of his brothers, but for now he was needed in human relation talks. During the intervening months following the destruction of Truth?s armada at the Ark, the remaining shadows of the Covenant had gone into hiding. The last sighting of any activity was a carrier that had been abandoned by its jiralhanae owners to float dead in the water of space. Still, the treat posed by jiralhanae, the kig-yar who still got fed from their pocket, and the uggnoy who remained by their side exclusively out of fear could not be ignored. But many of those who suffered defeat by the hands of the UNSC and the sangheili fleet had chosen the route of joining their opponents. The entirety of the mgalekgolo had joined the new alliance between human and sangheili, as did the huragok, who eagerly sought new technology to inspect. Even the yanme?e saw their only future was with the new alliance. And for every uggnoy that was pressed into service by the jiralhanae, ten others flocked to the alliance, seeking their long fought freedom. And the kig-yar?s allegiance was easily won, simply bribing them worked just as well currently as it had previously. Each species now had a representative at the council formed between the races, and diplomacy was, for the most part, working.
Thel had his musing interrupted as an honor guard entered the otherwise empty control room. He hurried to the podium used to address the presiding officer of a ship and knelt. ?Speak? Thel uttered in an apathetic voice. The guard arose and spoke ?My lord, there has been a sighting of a ship still controlled by the jiralhanae in an unexplored region of space? Thel shrugged his lower mandibles, the equivalent of a shrug. ?Why do you need my authority on this problem, it is well within the right of any one of us to stamp out what little resistance remains of the jiralhanae, you must have other news for me, speak? ?It is their location sir, they hide within a forerunner instillation, the scale of which we have never seen before.? The honor guard reached for the holographic panel to his side and brought up a 3-D image of the installation. At 1st Thel was unimpressed, he had seen many forerunner shield and fortress worlds before, but then he noticed the sheer size of the instillation. It was several times larger that his own home planet of Sanghelios, several times in fact. ?How large is this world?? ?By early estimates, 100,000 miles across, but the interesting thing, my lord, is that scans reveal that the planet is hollow and there is a huge source of energy being produced within is shell.?
As he sat there, pondering the information that had been given to him, a thought appeared in his head. He straightened his back and looked at the honor guard, ?Prepare this information, for use at the next meeting of the council between the species.? The honor guard readied himself for orders as he transferred the data onto a personal data disk. He handed it to Thel with pride that he had given his leader information that was felt needed. ?You are dismissed? The honor guard knelt once more, collected himself and departed.
Thel saw opportunity in this last speck of resistance. He knew, and the majority of sangheili knew, that humanity as a whole still held them in contempt, and really he could not blame them. After all it was the sangheili who had led the strike on the planet Harvest, the preemptive strike that sparked the two decade long plus war between humanity and the Covenant. In this final ship, he saw a political olive branch. He planned to offer the idea of a desegregated unit, half sangheili half human. Perhaps this could be used to smooth over the road of human sangheili relations, and at worst there would be no change but 1 more destroyed pocket of resistance. Thel brought up the image of the unnamed planet on the bridges main projector. It, like many of the forerunners creations, was impressive. Beneath thick layers of foliage, a skin of the super strong metal that the ancient race that built it used could be seen. As he sank deeper into his seat of power, a smile split his mandibles apart. This was going to be easy.
Thel 'Vadam sat comfortable on the ship masters chair nestled deep within the walls of the ship Shadow of Intent. He still donned the silver armor of the Arbiter, a title now made worthless by the destruction of the Covenant eleven months earlier, but he still wore the armor. He told himself that it was really as a way to remind him that blind devotion could be his undoing, but the real reason that he kept secreted away deep in his mind was that he missed the days of direct combat. For him, sitting here, stashed away from the nirvana he reached during combat, was almost a fate as terrible as death.
Still, the sangheili needed a leader, and along with the consult of ship master Rtas ?Vadum, the alliance with the UNSC had come to fruition. Perhaps one day he would reenter the fray of combat by the side of his brothers, but for now he was needed in human relation talks. During the intervening months following the destruction of Truth?s armada at the Ark, the remaining shadows of the Covenant had gone into hiding. The last sighting of any activity was a carrier that had been abandoned by its jiralhanae owners to float dead in the water of space. Still, the treat posed by jiralhanae, the kig-yar who still got fed from their pocket, and the uggnoy who remained by their side exclusively out of fear could not be ignored. But many of those who suffered defeat by the hands of the UNSC and the sangheili fleet had chosen the route of joining their opponents. The entirety of the mgalekgolo had joined the new alliance between human and sangheili, as did the huragok, who eagerly sought new technology to inspect. Even the yanme?e saw their only future was with the new alliance. And for every uggnoy that was pressed into service by the jiralhanae, ten others flocked to the alliance, seeking their long fought freedom. And the kig-yar?s allegiance was easily won, simply bribing them worked just as well currently as it had previously. Each species now had a representative at the council formed between the races, and diplomacy was, for the most part, working.
Thel had his musing interrupted as an honor guard entered the otherwise empty control room. He hurried to the podium used to address the presiding officer of a ship and knelt. ?Speak? Thel uttered in an apathetic voice. The guard arose and spoke ?My lord, there has been a sighting of a ship still controlled by the jiralhanae in an unexplored region of space? Thel shrugged his lower mandibles, the equivalent of a shrug. ?Why do you need my authority on this problem, it is well within the right of any one of us to stamp out what little resistance remains of the jiralhanae, you must have other news for me, speak? ?It is their location sir, they hide within a forerunner instillation, the scale of which we have never seen before.? The honor guard reached for the holographic panel to his side and brought up a 3-D image of the installation. At 1st Thel was unimpressed, he had seen many forerunner shield and fortress worlds before, but then he noticed the sheer size of the instillation. It was several times larger that his own home planet of Sanghelios, several times in fact. ?How large is this world?? ?By early estimates, 100,000 miles across, but the interesting thing, my lord, is that scans reveal that the planet is hollow and there is a huge source of energy being produced within is shell.?
As he sat there, pondering the information that had been given to him, a thought appeared in his head. He straightened his back and looked at the honor guard, ?Prepare this information, for use at the next meeting of the council between the species.? The honor guard readied himself for orders as he transferred the data onto a personal data disk. He handed it to Thel with pride that he had given his leader information that was felt needed. ?You are dismissed? The honor guard knelt once more, collected himself and departed.
Thel saw opportunity in this last speck of resistance. He knew, and the majority of sangheili knew, that humanity as a whole still held them in contempt, and really he could not blame them. After all it was the sangheili who had led the strike on the planet Harvest, the preemptive strike that sparked the two decade long plus war between humanity and the Covenant. In this final ship, he saw a political olive branch. He planned to offer the idea of a desegregated unit, half sangheili half human. Perhaps this could be used to smooth over the road of human sangheili relations, and at worst there would be no change but 1 more destroyed pocket of resistance. Thel brought up the image of the unnamed planet on the bridges main projector. It, like many of the forerunners creations, was impressive. Beneath thick layers of foliage, a skin of the super strong metal that the ancient race that built it used could be seen. As he sank deeper into his seat of power, a smile split his mandibles apart. This was going to be easy.
Chapter 1
Lieutenant Rick Latherferd awoke to the sound of chanting. As the thick sheets of sleep fell from around him, he remembered where he was. He was aboard the ship Argo 2, the 1st ship to be manned by a combination of human and elite military units. He groaned and the chanting faltered as the speaker realized his awakening. Being on the second level of the bunk bed he shared with the elite Sesa ?Vadam, he could oversee what he was accustomed to seeing his bunkmate do, and another session of his prayers were not uncommon. He knew better than to ask him to stop, when an elite gets going with their morning self sermon, nothing short of their god?s intervention can stop them.
Apparently he had joined the session just as it was coming to a halt, as not half an hour later the rhythmic words stopped. As Rick expected, the elite ended his prayer with the words ?and may your divine blessing shine upon my kin and I?, knelt motionless for a few seconds, cut off power to the small holo-disk that projected a glyph, and began to collect his uniform. Rick never considered himself a religious man, and he sure as hell didn?t trust the gods of the split face alien that slept beneath him, anymore than he trusted the thing itself. How could humanity be so ready to forget their losses at the hands of these things? Still, the political masterminds that be had gotten a cease fire through, and he had orders to play nice with the nine foot tall lizard man, and he couldn?t take the thing on in a fight, it could crush him with minimal effort. Groggily he looked at the watch on his wrist, 4:47 am. Less than a quarter hour until the mess hall opened and he could get his standard issue slop for breakfast. Still, the early bird gets the worm, as the saying goes.
Three beds away, gunnery sergeant Joshua Mercer slept soundly, un-phased by the sounds of the early awakenings happening around him. Across the barracks slept a sergeant grade 2 by the name of Austin O?Brian, adjacent to him was sergeant major Drake Reynolds. All together they made up the human half, and for all Rick was concerned, the only half worth a damn, of one of the 1st interspatial spec-ops team. The other 4 members of the team were Sesa ?Vadam, a relative of the current sangheili leader, Voro 'Mantakree, Bero 'Kusovai and Toha 'Sumai. How they were adressed by their human counter parts were, Sean, V for vendetta, Borris and Tobie, much to their displesure.
Almost fully awake now, Rick ran into a few friendly faces and a few split ones on his way to the mess hall. By the time he arrived the general wake up call had sounded throughout the ship. Say what you will about military mystery meat, at least it was warm early in the morning. His mind shapened by the infulx of nutirtion into his system, Rick began to make his way to collect his gear, they were scheduled to arrive at their destination later in the day and he wanted to have a hold on his gear when it was time to borad the phenoix he was assigned to. Back at his bed, he saw Sean attaching his armor with the same ritualistic pride that he always did. ?Hey Sean-? Rick began, but Sesa cut him off. ?You know that name agrivates me, and I know you only address me like such because you know that it annoys me. Will there ever be a time that you will stop this stupid routine and address me by my true title?? Rick knew the motions of this dance like the back of his hand, ?It may be eaiser for you to call yourself that mr four faced, but I only have 1 tounge? Sean didn?t reply to the taunt, but instead put his helmat on and tested his shield. Rick began to suit up as well, and the 2 regarded each other with mutual silence for the remainder of the time.
Lieutenant Rick Latherferd awoke to the sound of chanting. As the thick sheets of sleep fell from around him, he remembered where he was. He was aboard the ship Argo 2, the 1st ship to be manned by a combination of human and elite military units. He groaned and the chanting faltered as the speaker realized his awakening. Being on the second level of the bunk bed he shared with the elite Sesa ?Vadam, he could oversee what he was accustomed to seeing his bunkmate do, and another session of his prayers were not uncommon. He knew better than to ask him to stop, when an elite gets going with their morning self sermon, nothing short of their god?s intervention can stop them.
Apparently he had joined the session just as it was coming to a halt, as not half an hour later the rhythmic words stopped. As Rick expected, the elite ended his prayer with the words ?and may your divine blessing shine upon my kin and I?, knelt motionless for a few seconds, cut off power to the small holo-disk that projected a glyph, and began to collect his uniform. Rick never considered himself a religious man, and he sure as hell didn?t trust the gods of the split face alien that slept beneath him, anymore than he trusted the thing itself. How could humanity be so ready to forget their losses at the hands of these things? Still, the political masterminds that be had gotten a cease fire through, and he had orders to play nice with the nine foot tall lizard man, and he couldn?t take the thing on in a fight, it could crush him with minimal effort. Groggily he looked at the watch on his wrist, 4:47 am. Less than a quarter hour until the mess hall opened and he could get his standard issue slop for breakfast. Still, the early bird gets the worm, as the saying goes.
Three beds away, gunnery sergeant Joshua Mercer slept soundly, un-phased by the sounds of the early awakenings happening around him. Across the barracks slept a sergeant grade 2 by the name of Austin O?Brian, adjacent to him was sergeant major Drake Reynolds. All together they made up the human half, and for all Rick was concerned, the only half worth a damn, of one of the 1st interspatial spec-ops team. The other 4 members of the team were Sesa ?Vadam, a relative of the current sangheili leader, Voro 'Mantakree, Bero 'Kusovai and Toha 'Sumai. How they were adressed by their human counter parts were, Sean, V for vendetta, Borris and Tobie, much to their displesure.
Almost fully awake now, Rick ran into a few friendly faces and a few split ones on his way to the mess hall. By the time he arrived the general wake up call had sounded throughout the ship. Say what you will about military mystery meat, at least it was warm early in the morning. His mind shapened by the infulx of nutirtion into his system, Rick began to make his way to collect his gear, they were scheduled to arrive at their destination later in the day and he wanted to have a hold on his gear when it was time to borad the phenoix he was assigned to. Back at his bed, he saw Sean attaching his armor with the same ritualistic pride that he always did. ?Hey Sean-? Rick began, but Sesa cut him off. ?You know that name agrivates me, and I know you only address me like such because you know that it annoys me. Will there ever be a time that you will stop this stupid routine and address me by my true title?? Rick knew the motions of this dance like the back of his hand, ?It may be eaiser for you to call yourself that mr four faced, but I only have 1 tounge? Sean didn?t reply to the taunt, but instead put his helmat on and tested his shield. Rick began to suit up as well, and the 2 regarded each other with mutual silence for the remainder of the time.
Chapter 2
The past thousands of years that had been spent in cryogenic stasis had taken a toll on his mind. Even in his dreamless sleep, he was aware of the passage of time, the slow trickle of the sands of time, had he not had the hive mind to guide him, he would have fallen to madness long ago. But sometime ago, his long isolation from his queen had become a conscious one once again. As he flexed his body, which had grown creaky and a shade of milky white with age, he familiarized himself with his form once again. As sensation returned to his claws and tails, he began to recall his life before the long cold of forced sleep.
He was still within his cell, the only room he had ever seen, but only a small portion of what he knew. The one who held him here all these long millennia had come to keep tally on him before, but he knew that even when his jailor was absent, its gaze was ever turned upon the prisoners, the walls themselves held within them his adversaries eye. He had not seen the masters of the warden at all however, which meant that perhaps the other force had succeeded in its goal of consumption.
He knew one thing for sure, that his reawakening must mean that something had arrived, and that meant new hosts and meat for the queen. The time of waiting was almost concluded, the time for action was about to begin. Far away, in an isolated cell guarded by the metal monsters that shot fire, the cry of the queen began to grow louder.
The past thousands of years that had been spent in cryogenic stasis had taken a toll on his mind. Even in his dreamless sleep, he was aware of the passage of time, the slow trickle of the sands of time, had he not had the hive mind to guide him, he would have fallen to madness long ago. But sometime ago, his long isolation from his queen had become a conscious one once again. As he flexed his body, which had grown creaky and a shade of milky white with age, he familiarized himself with his form once again. As sensation returned to his claws and tails, he began to recall his life before the long cold of forced sleep.
He was still within his cell, the only room he had ever seen, but only a small portion of what he knew. The one who held him here all these long millennia had come to keep tally on him before, but he knew that even when his jailor was absent, its gaze was ever turned upon the prisoners, the walls themselves held within them his adversaries eye. He had not seen the masters of the warden at all however, which meant that perhaps the other force had succeeded in its goal of consumption.
He knew one thing for sure, that his reawakening must mean that something had arrived, and that meant new hosts and meat for the queen. The time of waiting was almost concluded, the time for action was about to begin. Far away, in an isolated cell guarded by the metal monsters that shot fire, the cry of the queen began to grow louder.
Chapter 3
Bero ?Kusovai sat inside the Argo 2?s briefing hall, they were about to receive the mission. He began to ponder the past in his mind, it didn?t matter to him that he no longer served the Covenant; he would serve the new alliance just as eagerly as he had the san ?shyuum in the past. He found his thoughts disrupted by the arrival of a human that he knew to rank colonel, from what he understood a rather high ranking official.
?Good morning gentlemen! I hope you slept well because we have a job to do today.? As much as he regarded the humans as inferior in both strength and mind to himself, he admitted that the speaker had a certain air to him, as though he had done this before and knew the steps to the dance. ?52 hours ago, one of the few remaining brute controlled carrier class ships was seen entering this system and docking at this structure? A large holographic image of a massive planet appeared, green foliage surrounded the surface but if one looked with enough of a prying eye the super dense metals of forerunner construction could be seen. The colonel took this moment to clear his throat before continuing, ?They were observed as hastily entering through one of the external access points, and have not been seen exiting the structure following their arrival by any monitoring equipment we have set up in the area. Our job here is to smoke them out, go in hard, fast, crush all resistance, secure priority locations, and prepare this place to get a looking over from our scientists?
Bero thought of all the pathetic forces that must be half starved by now and near the ends of their ropes, it almost wouldn?t be an honor to destroy them, almost. The colonel continued as the image faded into oblivion and ceased to be. ?This goes for everyone here, regardless of what species you are, play nice! The powers that be want this to be a friendly little romp, which means you focus your sights on the enemy, not each other. Report to your commanding officers for information on your own special little part to play in the oncoming show and be ready to drop in 15! DISSMISSED!? The colonel headed to the left and disappeared behind the bulkhead of the ship. Finally, Bero thought to himself, we get to fight something.
Bero ?Kusovai sat inside the Argo 2?s briefing hall, they were about to receive the mission. He began to ponder the past in his mind, it didn?t matter to him that he no longer served the Covenant; he would serve the new alliance just as eagerly as he had the san ?shyuum in the past. He found his thoughts disrupted by the arrival of a human that he knew to rank colonel, from what he understood a rather high ranking official.
?Good morning gentlemen! I hope you slept well because we have a job to do today.? As much as he regarded the humans as inferior in both strength and mind to himself, he admitted that the speaker had a certain air to him, as though he had done this before and knew the steps to the dance. ?52 hours ago, one of the few remaining brute controlled carrier class ships was seen entering this system and docking at this structure? A large holographic image of a massive planet appeared, green foliage surrounded the surface but if one looked with enough of a prying eye the super dense metals of forerunner construction could be seen. The colonel took this moment to clear his throat before continuing, ?They were observed as hastily entering through one of the external access points, and have not been seen exiting the structure following their arrival by any monitoring equipment we have set up in the area. Our job here is to smoke them out, go in hard, fast, crush all resistance, secure priority locations, and prepare this place to get a looking over from our scientists?
Bero thought of all the pathetic forces that must be half starved by now and near the ends of their ropes, it almost wouldn?t be an honor to destroy them, almost. The colonel continued as the image faded into oblivion and ceased to be. ?This goes for everyone here, regardless of what species you are, play nice! The powers that be want this to be a friendly little romp, which means you focus your sights on the enemy, not each other. Report to your commanding officers for information on your own special little part to play in the oncoming show and be ready to drop in 15! DISSMISSED!? The colonel headed to the left and disappeared behind the bulkhead of the ship. Finally, Bero thought to himself, we get to fight something.
Chapter 4
A phoenix, in terms of military hardware, is the equivalent of locking a phantom and a pelican in a room for a few days and taking the babies to be trained as dogs of war. Austin had ridden in them before, but he never quite got used to the never ending hum of the shield generators that surrounded the ship in a protective bubble, but that was a small knit to pick when they gave him more protection from anti-aircraft fire.
They had been given a rather small role in the operation to take the forerunner insitlation, that is to say they were given the all important task of heading to the exact opposite direction from any actual combat to secure a ?high priority target?, really though they were just meant to make sure that none of the brutes had gotten into the control room of this place, that could be very bad for them if they somehow got any defenses going.
But he wasn?t concerned, if it really was that concerning to ONI they wouldn?t be sending in only 8 soldiers, and they sure as hell wouldn?t put the elite leader?s cousin into the fray. Either way, if this mission turned out to have nothing to do with the ability for the job to be done, Austin did not care. He loved everything about the forerunners, from how they built mighty worlds to how they tried to protect all life in the galaxy from the flood, to their last words with the firing of the Halos, he loved every second of it and he enjoyed the company of Guilty Spark while he was on the ARK. When everyone was working, he would often ask Spark to share information on the forerunners.
He looked up momentarily to see the eyes of V looking at him, or at least he thought that they were, it was hard to see past that polarized helmet. He shivered with the thought that barely a year ago, being this close to an elite would have meant almost certain death on his part. He felt a shutter go up his spine and saw V?s head cock slightly to the left, now he knew he was being watched. The knowledge that he was may have quelled his uncertainty, but he still felt uncomfortable looking at a distorted reflection of himself rather that someone who he would be working with not 10 minutes in the future.
V broke the silence of the troop hold, ?Does my appearance disturb you human?? Austin found it hard to talk to elites, mainly because he knew their feelings for superiority were second to none, and the fact that he had seen the things they did to prisoners of war and didn?t want them done to him. He still had nightmares about the grunt prisoner he saw cross an elite on the ARK, they had to search for 10 minutes to get all the pieces together. He responded with only a slight quiver in his voice; ?Uh no, not at all. I just couldn?t see your face underneath your visor, reminded me of a Spartan I once knew?? He stopped mid-sentence as he saw what could only be described as a wave of anger wash over the form of the elite that sat before him.
?Do not mention that name to me; everything that Spartans were is everything I strive to destroy. Facelessness, uniformity, a lack of honor, everything that I hate you just used to describe me.? V got up and Austin cringed back into his seat. ?No no no no? that?s not what I meant at all. I simply said that?? ?It doesn?t matter what you meant to say, what you said was stupid and insulted me, I am half ready to gut you??
In a moment the occupants of the machine had moved with lightning speed, Drake had loaded his shotgun halfway through V?s response, and had the safety off and the barrel pointed right at his head. Sean had pulled out an energy sword, Tobie had drawn his beam rifle and Borris had a plasma rifle in hand while Rick had pulled out his pistol and Josh was scrambling to ready his assault rifle.
After what seemed like an eternity, Sean broke the silence. ?Bero, Toha! Hold your blades!? Borris and Tobie glanced at him, as if unsure of what they had just heard, before they lowered their guns. Matched on the side of the humans, Drake said ?at ease troopers??, while he lowered his shotgun from V?s neck. Still V remained tense and ready to strike. ?Voro! Be at ease and stand down!? Finally V relaxed his muscles and Austin felt the last drop of adrenaline fade from his system and he almost blacked out.
After minutes of silence the pilot broke the silence. ?We are arriving at our rally point, prepare for touch down.? Austin was still so shaken that he barely heard the words over the loud speaker. The fact that he would be entrusting his life into the hands of the things that had almost gunned downed him down had shaken him to his core.
A phoenix, in terms of military hardware, is the equivalent of locking a phantom and a pelican in a room for a few days and taking the babies to be trained as dogs of war. Austin had ridden in them before, but he never quite got used to the never ending hum of the shield generators that surrounded the ship in a protective bubble, but that was a small knit to pick when they gave him more protection from anti-aircraft fire.
They had been given a rather small role in the operation to take the forerunner insitlation, that is to say they were given the all important task of heading to the exact opposite direction from any actual combat to secure a ?high priority target?, really though they were just meant to make sure that none of the brutes had gotten into the control room of this place, that could be very bad for them if they somehow got any defenses going.
But he wasn?t concerned, if it really was that concerning to ONI they wouldn?t be sending in only 8 soldiers, and they sure as hell wouldn?t put the elite leader?s cousin into the fray. Either way, if this mission turned out to have nothing to do with the ability for the job to be done, Austin did not care. He loved everything about the forerunners, from how they built mighty worlds to how they tried to protect all life in the galaxy from the flood, to their last words with the firing of the Halos, he loved every second of it and he enjoyed the company of Guilty Spark while he was on the ARK. When everyone was working, he would often ask Spark to share information on the forerunners.
He looked up momentarily to see the eyes of V looking at him, or at least he thought that they were, it was hard to see past that polarized helmet. He shivered with the thought that barely a year ago, being this close to an elite would have meant almost certain death on his part. He felt a shutter go up his spine and saw V?s head cock slightly to the left, now he knew he was being watched. The knowledge that he was may have quelled his uncertainty, but he still felt uncomfortable looking at a distorted reflection of himself rather that someone who he would be working with not 10 minutes in the future.
V broke the silence of the troop hold, ?Does my appearance disturb you human?? Austin found it hard to talk to elites, mainly because he knew their feelings for superiority were second to none, and the fact that he had seen the things they did to prisoners of war and didn?t want them done to him. He still had nightmares about the grunt prisoner he saw cross an elite on the ARK, they had to search for 10 minutes to get all the pieces together. He responded with only a slight quiver in his voice; ?Uh no, not at all. I just couldn?t see your face underneath your visor, reminded me of a Spartan I once knew?? He stopped mid-sentence as he saw what could only be described as a wave of anger wash over the form of the elite that sat before him.
?Do not mention that name to me; everything that Spartans were is everything I strive to destroy. Facelessness, uniformity, a lack of honor, everything that I hate you just used to describe me.? V got up and Austin cringed back into his seat. ?No no no no? that?s not what I meant at all. I simply said that?? ?It doesn?t matter what you meant to say, what you said was stupid and insulted me, I am half ready to gut you??
In a moment the occupants of the machine had moved with lightning speed, Drake had loaded his shotgun halfway through V?s response, and had the safety off and the barrel pointed right at his head. Sean had pulled out an energy sword, Tobie had drawn his beam rifle and Borris had a plasma rifle in hand while Rick had pulled out his pistol and Josh was scrambling to ready his assault rifle.
After what seemed like an eternity, Sean broke the silence. ?Bero, Toha! Hold your blades!? Borris and Tobie glanced at him, as if unsure of what they had just heard, before they lowered their guns. Matched on the side of the humans, Drake said ?at ease troopers??, while he lowered his shotgun from V?s neck. Still V remained tense and ready to strike. ?Voro! Be at ease and stand down!? Finally V relaxed his muscles and Austin felt the last drop of adrenaline fade from his system and he almost blacked out.
After minutes of silence the pilot broke the silence. ?We are arriving at our rally point, prepare for touch down.? Austin was still so shaken that he barely heard the words over the loud speaker. The fact that he would be entrusting his life into the hands of the things that had almost gunned downed him down had shaken him to his core.
Chapter 5
426 Keeper felt the shudder of the alien machine on the roof above his installation. The forces of the new coalition had arrived at his sanctuary and whether they would be hostile had yet to be determined, but initial hostility would not be considered. Still it was better to be safe than to be sorry, as his creators had learned in the finally years of the war with the flood.
As he floated toward the holding cell areas, he issued the call to activate the defense sentinels, and checked on the security cameras in the holding cells to make sure that the specimens were still there.
When he floated towards cell 75, he knew what to expect on the camera feed, and sure enough the crested head of the milky white of the creature that had been held there for millennia still remained in its restraints. But something was different this time. The creature looked into the camera and spilt his lips into a cruel sneer. 426 felt something that would have been equivalent to the human feeling of being unnerved.
Despite being locked within its cell, 426 could have sworn that it knew of the aliens outside, and that it was planning an escape. The creature then opened its mouth and let out a screech of what seemed like pleasure.
426 Keeper felt the shudder of the alien machine on the roof above his installation. The forces of the new coalition had arrived at his sanctuary and whether they would be hostile had yet to be determined, but initial hostility would not be considered. Still it was better to be safe than to be sorry, as his creators had learned in the finally years of the war with the flood.
As he floated toward the holding cell areas, he issued the call to activate the defense sentinels, and checked on the security cameras in the holding cells to make sure that the specimens were still there.
When he floated towards cell 75, he knew what to expect on the camera feed, and sure enough the crested head of the milky white of the creature that had been held there for millennia still remained in its restraints. But something was different this time. The creature looked into the camera and spilt his lips into a cruel sneer. 426 felt something that would have been equivalent to the human feeling of being unnerved.
Despite being locked within its cell, 426 could have sworn that it knew of the aliens outside, and that it was planning an escape. The creature then opened its mouth and let out a screech of what seemed like pleasure.
Chapter 6
The plan was to land at the control center, eliminate any threats that may be within the perimeter and to secure the position and radio their success. It would be Sesa?s chance to prove that this fancy armor he wore wasn?t just because of how he was related to Thel. He was sure to make this mission would run without a hitch and the incident on the phoenix had almost ruined his plans. For to long had he been in his family members shadow, even the fall from grace of his cousin had not been enough to earn him any respect in his clan, and Thel?s re-ascension to the position of arbiter had only made things worse for him
All of these thoughts raced through his head as he approached the door to the control room with the rest of the squad. It was now or never and he was in control of the situation. He addressed his soldiers over their helmet radios, ?once we go in, move in groups of 2, clear the hallway and keep in contact, on three. One, two, three!?
No sooner than he said three than the ancient door silently slid open to reveal the blue lights and holographic glyphs of the ancient forerunners lining the hallway that seems to stretch out infinitely before them. After a moment of indecision from his troops, they proceeded into the complex and began to move down the passage.
?Wait!? Sesa ordered his troops to halt. He selected the option to speak only to his fellow sangheili, ?did you hear that?? Voro responded before the others, ?Yes, I know that sound, the guardians awaken?. ?Heh!? The human named Rick asked over open coms, ?Why have we stopped, mind filling us in??
Before Sesa could respond to the human, the familiar blue eye of the forerunner warriors began to blink into existence. ?They have awoken human, form a circle and get ready for a fight, these things might attack us, but do not attack them or they will respond with force.? As his soldiers prepared for a conflict, another figure began to levitate among the others. ?It can?t be?? Sesa was staring at a monitor, and it was ready to speak to them.
The plan was to land at the control center, eliminate any threats that may be within the perimeter and to secure the position and radio their success. It would be Sesa?s chance to prove that this fancy armor he wore wasn?t just because of how he was related to Thel. He was sure to make this mission would run without a hitch and the incident on the phoenix had almost ruined his plans. For to long had he been in his family members shadow, even the fall from grace of his cousin had not been enough to earn him any respect in his clan, and Thel?s re-ascension to the position of arbiter had only made things worse for him
All of these thoughts raced through his head as he approached the door to the control room with the rest of the squad. It was now or never and he was in control of the situation. He addressed his soldiers over their helmet radios, ?once we go in, move in groups of 2, clear the hallway and keep in contact, on three. One, two, three!?
No sooner than he said three than the ancient door silently slid open to reveal the blue lights and holographic glyphs of the ancient forerunners lining the hallway that seems to stretch out infinitely before them. After a moment of indecision from his troops, they proceeded into the complex and began to move down the passage.
?Wait!? Sesa ordered his troops to halt. He selected the option to speak only to his fellow sangheili, ?did you hear that?? Voro responded before the others, ?Yes, I know that sound, the guardians awaken?. ?Heh!? The human named Rick asked over open coms, ?Why have we stopped, mind filling us in??
Before Sesa could respond to the human, the familiar blue eye of the forerunner warriors began to blink into existence. ?They have awoken human, form a circle and get ready for a fight, these things might attack us, but do not attack them or they will respond with force.? As his soldiers prepared for a conflict, another figure began to levitate among the others. ?It can?t be?? Sesa was staring at a monitor, and it was ready to speak to them.
