Ny'Kle
The clouds of darkness pulled back from around Thel.
Around him, Spartans were shooting at unseen enemies.
The group huddled behind the upside-down crashed Pelican.
Suddenly, the Spartans stopped shooting.
Thud.
The ground shook beneath their feet.
The air was filled with the clacking of the Spartans reloading.
Thud.
The pieces of fallen rock and spent bullet casings rattled and jingled on the ground.
Up ahead, a tall and ominous shape loomed out of the shadows.
Thud.
Thel looked to The Spartan, the Master Chief. The Spartan was silently directing the lesser Spartans to take cover behind the towering stone columns that lined the cavernous passageway.
Thud.
The shape materialized into a figure: a giant, four armed, two legged creature, covered in overlapping, bony, armored plates.
Thud.
The creature was over 80 feet tall. The creature stopped barely 500 yards away from the Pelican.
Suddenly, the world was filled with the roar of the Humans automatic weapons, spewing hot metal at the creature… which it ignored.
Thel added to the thunderous noise with his Carbine, firing its radioactive bullets.
Ny'Kle, Thels cousin, let loose streams of white hot plasma from his Plasma Assault Rifle.
From one of the Spartans, a rocket rode a lance of fire as it leaped up at the creature, staggering it. The Spartan stepped out from behind a column, and let loose a seemingly never-ending hail of heavy caliber machine gun bullets from his 50 caliber mini-gun.
Nothing stopped it.
The Human bullets simply bounced or glanced off the creatures bony plates. 'It's built like a tank,' Thel thought.
"Spartan, we need heavier weapons," Thel shouted over the din of gunfire.
The Spartan nodded in reply, set aside the mini-gun, and pulled a heavy weapon from his back, a shoulder fired version of the Humans four wheeled vehicle-mounted anti-tank weapon. By now, the creature had reached the group.
It swung an arm, but the Spartans rolled under it. In a rage, the creature back handed, reducing 8 of 21 Spartans to red smears on the ground and walls.
Bishoom!
The creature staggered back, a chunk of its face blown away.
Bishoom!
Another chunk, blown away. "Arbiter, get the others out of here, now" yelled The Spartan.
Thel turned to a Storm Elite-Major Domo Rezo. "Get the Spartans away."
"Yes Arbiter." After hearing the reply, Thel turned back to The Spartan. The Spartan had moved in front of the upside down Pelican. The creature and Spartan glared at each other.
Ny'Kle separated himself from the retreating Spartans. He passed Thel a spare Plasma Assault Rifle.
Ny'Kle strode up to stand next to The Spartan.
"Go back into the shadows," Ny'Kle called out to the creature.
The creature roared in defiance.
Ny'Kle snarled back and drew his Energy Sword, a seven foot long plasma blade.
The creature huffed, and leaped forward, smashing Ny'Kle into the floor.
Thel and The Spartan dodged out of the way and regained their feet in time to be staggered by the impact of its hands. A blurr of movement, a flash of Ny'Kles sword, and a scream of pain from the creature, revealed that Ny'Kle had sliced off the creatures' hand.
Bishoom!
The Spartans shot caught the creature in its open mouth. In an act to flee, the creature sprinted through a 50 foot thick stone wall.
Sprinting to keep up, the two Elites and The Spartan followed.
Thel looked around the courtyard. They were in part of the debris field from when The Spartans ship, the Forward unto Dawn had come crashing down. All around them, the ground was littered with chunks of burnt, twisted, and broken metal. And sitting in the middle of the courtyard, was a tank.
"Spartan, get the tank," Thel called out. The Spartan nodded, walked over to, and activated the tank.
"Still works."
Ny'Kle trotted over to the entrance of the courtyard. Holding his Plasma Assault Rifle in front of him, he peeked around the corner.
"Looks all clea-uff!"
Thel looked in horror as Ny'Kle- Thels cousin-was flung across the courtyard, smashing through chunks of metal, and smacking into the far wall, causing chunks of stone to fall and cover him.
The creature rose up, towering above the wall, and stepping over it.
Kabam-Bieoom!
The creature was knocked off its feet by an explosion against its chest.
Thel turned to the source of the shot. The barrel of The Spartans tank was smoking.
"Darn, didn't penetrate. Reloading."
Clang-Cling.
The creature righted itself, lowered its head and roared, charging.
Kabam-Bieoom!
The next 90mm shell struck the creatures shoulder, nearly ripping it off.
Clang-Cling.
The creature threw itself forward, throwing itself to its knees, swiping at the tank. Its hand caught the corner of the tank, lifting the 66 ton tank high into the air, shoving it across the yard, and leaving the tank upside down.
Thel spared enough time to see The Spartan start to crawl out from beneath the tank, before turning his attention to the creature, which had rolled on its side, and had nearly regained its feet.
Seeing his chance, Thel primed one of his few Plasma Grenades, and threw it.
Thels aim was straight and true. The flaming sphere of self adhesive plasma flew through the air, arced, and landed on the creatures head, near its eye.
Beepzzz-Bangoom!
The creatures head was engulfed in electric blue flames.
It flopped on to the ground and moved no more.
Thel stumbled back, bone weary. Hearing a groan, Thel turned to the shifting pile of rubble that had fallen on Ny'Kle.
Thel ran over to the pile, and pulled his many time larger cousin out of the rubble.
Ny'Kles armor cracked and shattered, with his purple blood seeping through. Ny'Kle coughed, blood coming up. Thel could hear the fluids in Ny'Kles lungs.
"Did… did we get it?" Ny'Kle coughed out.
Thel glanced back at the unmoving form of the creature.
"Yeah, we got it."
*Cough*"Good"*Cough**Cough* Gasp.
"Hang in there. I'm going to get you out of here."Thel ordered.
Ny'Kle sucked in a breath, looking at something behind Thel. Thel followed his gaze, only seeing The Spartan.
Then Thel saw it.
Thel pointed a shaking hand at it. The Spartan thought Thel was pointing at him. "What…?"
The creature rose up behind him, rising to its full 85 feet tall.
Thel looked for a weapon. Ny'Kles was smashed, wrapped around his shattered chest.
"Help me up cousin." Ny'Kle gasped. Groaning, Thel pulled Ny'Kles 12 feet of broken body off the ground.
Ny'Kle activated his Energy Sword.
The creature stumbled forward. Thel and The Spartan leaped clear, but Ny'Kle was too slow.
Thel watched in rage as the creatures' bulk hide Ny'Kle from his sight, but Thel heard the sounds of an Energy Sword swinging and slicing, and the creature roaring.
Then Ny'Kles yelling as Thel saw him being picked up and brought up to the creatures' mouth. Ny'Kle slashed its face.
Thel heard a loud clang off to his side and then…
Kabam-BOOM!
The creature stopped, pulled Ny'Kles mangled but still in one piece and still living body out of its mouth, and looked to where the explosion was.
Then the cliff wall collapsed.
*Gasp*
Thel Vadam eyes shot open. He scanned the moon lit room.
Being sure not to wake the sleeping form of his wife beside him, Thel made his way to the balcony window.
Thel stared into the night sky.
Thel thought back…
The cliff wall collapsed. A rock caught him in the head, and all was black.
Thel had awakened to find himself being pulled by The Spartan. The other Spartans and Elites were there, shooting at hostile Forerunner security drones.
After that, Thel had blacked out again, only to awaken in a medical ward. After that, Thel had gone to the ships command and control center. Thel had activated the ships scanners, and provided the Spartans and Elites information and directions.
The Spartans and Elites had fought through to a sealed room. Inside, was a Forerunner.
The Humans, Spartan, Elites and Forerunner fought their way back to the ship.
The Forerunner activated Requiems' outer shells doors, and they managed to break free.
After the trip home, and The Spartans' (Whose name Thel finally found out) and Thels parting of ways, Thel could finally rest in peace.
Then the dreams began.
Almost every night, he relived a part of that horrible mission.
That had started 6 months ago.
He had to end this.
He decided right then and there what he would do.
He would relive the experience. He would face the dangers again. He would face the past, and find peace in it.
First, he would go to Earth…
End Chapter One.