Disclaimer: I do not own Halo nor any of the characters or story-line belonging to it.
Prologue:
1331 Hours, October 22nd, 2526 (Military Calendar). Outskirts of the City New Coeur d' Alene located on Scorpio IV in the Alpha Aurigae System
The humid air of the jungle climate clouded the front of Staff Sergeant Peck's visor and he wiped it away with a gloved hand. The filtered air that seeped through his helmet's filters didn't betray the heat that clouded the forest. The incessant buzzing of several large fly-like bugs was the only noise. Peck slowly raised a fist and made a forward motion with two fingers.
A dozen ODST's rose from the jungle foliage as if from a grave and stepped silently forward into a scattered formation. They made no noise, silent as ghosts as they made their way through around the gargantuan trunks of trees hundreds of years old.
Suddenly Peck raised his hand again, maintaining a fist, the sign to stop immediately. The ODST's melted into the brush, leaving no sign of their presence. As soon as they were no longer visible, a column of brutes, 20 strong, pushed their way through the thick underbrush. They grunted and snarled at each other, frustrated at their circumstances and oblivious of the warriors feet from them. Only the Brute major in the front and vanguard appeared to be alert, spikers at the ready position. The rest could care less, sensing no danger and worrying more about the emptiness of their stomachs. Their primarily grey fur picked up countless leaves and bugs as they forced their way through the dense brush, but they barely seemed to notice, only taking note when a bug was large enough to eat. The heat was making them miserable, none of these low ranking brutes had environment controlling armor. This contributed to their lack of awareness, and soon following, their deaths.
Staff Sergeant Peck waited for the line to make its way three quarters of the way past the hidden Troopers and then made the signal. The ODST's triggered their weapons with the effectiveness of angels of death.
Only the leader and Vanguard had their shields on, none of the rest had been expecting nor worrying about an attack. The humans were not supposed to be this far behind lines. The 9.5X40 M634 rounds tore through grey fur and red flesh with ease, obliterating several skulls in the process.
The brutes' response was delayed at best. Most just clutched their mortal wounds as they fell gurgling or without a sound into the mud. The major's shields held for a split second and then collapsed before he had a chance to react, riddling his fur with fist sized holes. The vanguard suffered a similar fate as they met their deaths without firing a single round. Half were already dead or dying before the rest knew what was going on. With a roar the final two brutes succumbed to the hail of bullets and fell silently bleeding onto the ground. Blood and water mixed as it began to rain, the heavens crying over the bloodshed.
