Chronicles of Crimson

by Necro-Knight Nate

[SYOC] Fireteam Crimson; a team shrouded in mystery. Their exploits are known throughout Infinity; and now we have a record of their events. SYOC form inside!

1. Infinity

Chapter 1: Infinity

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The U.N.S.C Infinity. A marvel of modern engineering. I stand looking out of the window inside the pelican and just admire the ship before. It's so much more...bigger than I was expecting. My eyes glide over each piece of the enormous spacecraft, and they eventually stop on the ship's engine's. They tend to stand out from the rest of the entire ship, mainly because they seem more metallic than the actual ship, and send out a dim blue glow, even when not in use.

"So that's the Forerunner engine, huh?...Strange. I always imagined it to be more...complicated looking." I say to myself, still staring out the window. I sigh, running a hand through my short, dark red hair, messing up my usual clean look. I turn from the window and take a look around the empty cabin of the Pelican.

A feeling of loneliness slowly creeps over me; the actual quietness of the cabin is unlike anything I'm used to. I've been an army man most of my life, and to be somewhere so...quiet is unnerving to me. I shake my head, looking back down at the red rubber - like material covering nearly my entire body, save my neck, head, and hands. They told me it's the inner layer of armor needed to fully co-operate with the new Spartan VI's; something about how it integrates the body with the armor. Damn eggheads, they never really give us simple explanations.

I turn my attention away from the stuff covering my body and turn my head back up to the holo-glass, which is still showing the coverage of New Phoenix. Damn, it's brutal. The entire place looks like it's been ransacked, or worse. Fires can be seen just from the video alone; must be one hell of a blaze. I even heard rumors that one of the invading Sangheli tried to detonate -get this- a Havok nuke. A damned nuke! What the hell are those Covenant bastards thinking!?

I sigh, running a hand down my olive skin and rubbing my dark blue orbs. It's been a helluva day, but in a way I'm thankful for it. The attack on New Phoenix has finally kicked the U.N.S.C into full gear; they're finally bringing Spartan, Marine, ODST and whatever kind of military they can find and bringing them together on the Infinity. We're taking the fight straight to the Covenant this time; and they don't know we've got a ship like the Infinity on our side.

The Pelican begins to slow and turn, and I don't even need to look up to know we're starting to dock. Butterflies begin to fill my stomach. I may have alot of experience in the military, but cut a guy a break, okay? It's always nerve-wracking heading off to be positioned somewhere else, and it's even more intimidating when it's a ship as large as Infinity, and even more so when you're a Spartan; everyone expects you to be this stoic warrior straight outta a storybook. Granted I do look like one, being around six foot four and all, it's still a lot to live up to.

After a few more minutes of nerve wracking silence, the Pelican finally sets down inside the hanger with a bump, and the loading doors open for me to exit. The pilot leans out of his seat and turns his head to me, flashing me a thumbs up.

"Welcome home, Spartan."

I flash him back my own thumbs up and carefully exit the Pelican. The first thing I notice about Infinity is that it is bigger on the inside! Even the space for just the hangar is immense, and I instantly feel smaller than I really am. Doors, walkways, soldiers carrying cargo, Pelicans coming in and out...it's a real hub of a place.

"Greetings, Spartan!"

I turn my head forward to see what appears to be a miniature hub for terminals and the like, and a yellow A.I floats out above one of the many terminals. It appears to resemble a thirty year old man, wearing some rather odd clothing. If I were to guess, probably some sort of fashion from the old Earth times; alot of A.I's seem to be programmed to look that way. I cautiously approach the A.I, looking down at him.

"Um...yes?"

"Good to meet you, Spartan! My name's Roland, and I'm the ship's Artificial Intelligence. I run pretty much everything around here."

Roland looks behind me at the Pelican I arrived in, then nods his head.

"Ah, so you're Crimson Leader, right?"

I look down at him with a face of genuine surprise. Crimson Leader? They wanted me as a Leader?

"Pardon, did you say Crimson...Leader? I was told I was being moved to Infinity to join a fireteam, but they didn't tell me anything else."

Roland moves around some minature holograms in front of him, then nods his head again.

"Yup. Commander Palmer gave specific instructions that Pelican 1337 -your pelican- would contain only one person, and that person would be delivered to Infinity to assume command of Fireteam Crimson." He moves around a few more holograms as he speaks as I just stand there, my head spinning.

"Do you mind telling me your name, I.D number, and callsign, Spartan?" Roland asks, looking up at me. "Man, you're tall."

I ignore the last comment and nod my head at him.

"Sure. Orion Tennecks, I.D OT88, Callsign: Tortoise."

Roland nods as he swipes through more hologram datapads.

"Give me a sec, looking up your file."

We both stand in silence for about thirty seconds, my eyes still wandering around the hangar, until Roland snaps me out of my reverie.

"Ah, here we go. Sergeant Major Tennecks, twenty seven years old, six feet four inches, one hundred ninety eight pounds, short red hair, blue eyes, olive skin, part of the Spartan VI program, and is in the Stalker division. That sound about right?"

Roland looks up at me with a blank face. Geez, if he already had that stuff on file, why did he need me to confirm it? All the clues were already there, but nonetheless I nod without saying a word. Roland snaps his fingers and the hologram data pads dissapear, and he looks at me with a friendly expression.

"Alrighty. Commander Palmer will be with you after she's done chewing out Majestic."

I raise an eyebrow at Roland.

"Who's Majestic?"

Roland points to a group of about five Spartans in a line, dressed in those suits but are colored blue, saluting a woman in front of them in a silver suit. That must be Palmer; the rest seem to be Majestic. She speaks to them for a minute or two, then she dimisses them, and they all walk past her and into a large doorway marked 'MESS' above it in rather large orange letters. Roland then appears on a terminal near her and points in my direction, saying a few things I can't hear from this distance. Palmer nods at Roland and begins walking my way. I quickly do all I can to straighten up and I put my hands behind my back respectfully. However, she saunters over rather casually, and when she reaches me she extends her hand.

"Sergeant Major. It's good to finally meet you. Commander Sarah Palmer."

I look at her hand for a second a little confused, but I quickly take her hand and give it a firm shake.

"Commander."

A small grin climbs onto her face as she let's go of the handshake, and takes a datapad from a Marine who hands it to her and returns to his post. She begins tapping on the datapad as she paces in front of me.

"So, I assume you must have lots of questions, huh?" She says without looking up from her datapad. I nod my head, even though she doesn't see me do it

"Yes, ma'am. Well, really just one at the moment, ma'am. Why does Roland say I'm...Crimson Leader?"

She looks up from her datapad and crosses her arms.

"Because you ARE Crimson Leader. Hand picked, too."

"But...why me, ma'am? I'm sure there were plenty of other candidates, others better suited than I am."

She let's out a short laugh, raising her eyebrow.

"Tennecks, you're the ideal Leader. I know why they call you Tortoise; it's because you've got the patience of one, and that's probably why your Stalker Ops go so well. You have the patience and wisdom to lead, and I have no doubts you'll do just fine. Trust me."

I sighed, a small smile creeping onto my face.

"Yes, ma'am. I guess I'll...do my best then."

She nods her head and points to the door labeled 'MESS'.

"Alright, go ahead and get some grub, then you can see yourself to your quarters."

She hands me the datapad she was using before I can even take one step, and looks me dead in the eyes.

"Your team members are on here too. After you've stuffed your face and found your room, you should probably find them and introduce yourself to them. The Team is going to want to know their Leader."

I slowly take the datapad from her hand, and nod slowly.

"Alright, can do, Commander."

She nods her head again and begins walking away to another door marked 'BRIDGE'. As she walks away, I can't help but notice her...figure. I'll admit I stood there for a second and just stared, until she shouted back to me without even turning around:

"And quit staring at my ass!"

I shake myself out of my stupor and blush bright red, then quickly start walking towards the mess hall. As I walk, I look down at the datapad she gave me and start flipping through it. Man, it's going to be a long day today...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hey guys! Necro-Knight here with a new story Idea! In case you couldn't tell, it's about Fireteam Crimson. It'll follow their day to day, as well as missions. I hope for this story to be a blend of action, story, and maybe even a little bit of romance. Also, this story is SYOC! If you haven't heard of what this is, I'll explain. SYOC stands for Send Your Own Character, and basically what this means is that the readers (you!) can make a character using the template below and send it to me for moderation. If I like it, your character will become a part of the story! Right now, I'm only accepting three, and they can be any Gender you like. If this story catches your fancy and you'd like to send a character, please use the template I will provide and send me it! But before you do, I have a few rules I need to list.

1) Please no Mary or Gary Sue's please. I realize Spartans are pretty tough by themselves, so putting an overpowered OC in is just no fun.

2)Anyone who sends an OC must include the phrase 'Play the Xylobones' somewhere in the template so that I know you actually read the rules.

3) Be creative! I'm open to pretty much any idea besides Gary and Mary Sue, so don't be afraid to unleash that creativity!

4) Be sure to send your OC with the subject as CC: [OC Name Here] so that I remain organized.

Well, with that out of the way, here's the template! I look forward to seeing some OC's.

Name:

Nickname:

Callsign: (Can be pretty much anything, but nothing vulgar please. Try to have it make sense with your OC!)

Age:

Gender:

Height:

Weight:

Skin Tone:

Ethnicity:

Hair Color: (Any color is accepted!)

Hair style:

Eye Color: (Go crazy with it!)

Face shape: (Y'know, is it oval, more chiseled, etc.)

Voice: (Please try to describe how they sound to me.)

Body type: (Describe how their body is. Is it rather skinny, is it buff, etc.)

Bust Size: (Females Only)

Extra: (Any accessories, tattoos, piercings, facial hair, etc.)

Casualwear: (Basically what they wear around Infinity. Not limited to the Jumpsuits you usually see people wear. Can have multiple outfits.)

Armor: (PLEASE be descriptive with this. I need to know what pieces of armor they are using. It's not restricted to one set. This includes the Head, shoulders, chest, forearms, and legs. Remember to put armor color as well as any patterns!)

Armor Variant: (Is it just Spartan VI, or is it Wetwork, Pioneer, Stalker, etc.)

Battle Tactics: (Do they go in guns blazing, or do they make a plan, etc.)

Weapon(s): (A max of two, please. Can be customized, so describe it if it is. Is not restricted to being a main weapon and a sidearm; can be two main weapons.)

Preferred Weapon: (Everyone has a preference. What's the weapon they like to use the most?)

Grenade type: (What's the type of grenade they like the most?)

Armor Ability: (Such as Armor Lock, Jetpack, Evade, etc.)

Personality: (DETAILS! I CRAVE details for this. The more the better please. I need to get a good feel of your character.)

Background: (What's their story? How did they get aboard Infinity and how were they selected for Crimson? I would also LOVE backstory before that.)

Sexual Preference:

Romance?: (Do you want your OC to have romance? If so, please describe their ideal partner.)

Likes: (At least five please.)

Dislikes: (At least five.)

Hobbies:

Quirks: (Do they do anything strange or unusual?)

Strengths: (At least three, and must be lower than or equal to weaknesses.):

Weaknesses:

Opinion of Orion: (What do they think about Orion?)

Extra (Anything I missed you'd like to add?)

By the way, please delete the words in the parentheses when you send it. Thanks.

-Nate.