Eyes of the Enemy
Disclaimer—Halo is property of Microsoft and Bungie studios.
AN—Hey everyone. Eyes of the Enemy is simply a series of short stories from various Covenant perspectives. I hope to one day do a chapter for each of the Covenant species, and I'm sure I'll be revising the hell out of this thing when Halo 2 comes out. Until then, at least try to enjoy this (it's my first fanfic, god damn it). Happy reading!
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His bond brother was dead.
Dead! His beloved brother taken from him...taken away from him! No! He would not believe that quickly silenced howl of anguish had truly been his precious brother, nor would he believe he truly saw Inlo Yana Vaji fall under the hail of human projectiles—not until he saw the body with his own eyes.
He threw himself forward, using his shield to toss aside all those in his way—Covenant, human; he no longer cared. Hearts aching, he approached the place where he had seen his brother fall, and with the sight of orange blood seeping into the dirt, knew the truth.
The raging battle faded from his consciousness.
Vaji's motionless body contained none of the humor and liveliness Gannu remembered his bond brother for. The orange and green fibrous muscles that lay painfully visible was riddled with holes from the primitive projectiles the humans used and slowly paling to a bleak, colorless white. His bond brother had died fighting. He had died honorably, and for this small blessing in his shattered and broken world, Gannu was thankful. Yet he nearly screamed in protest when he realized it had been a mere four Cycles. Four Cycles ago—Had it truly been that short of a time?—with the blessing of the Prophet, Eyo Gannu and Inlo Vaji had pledged themselves brothers of mind, spirit, and body until their lives ended, and the Prophet bound them forever with the name of Yana. They had destroyed, butchered, and killed for four long Cycles in a war that was supposed to have ended before they were born. They did as the Gods decreed. They listened to the Prophets and obeyed the Elites.Shouldn't that have been enough?Gannu had once promised his bond brother what seemed like an Age ago, that when the humans were dead and nothing but ashes remained of their worlds, the two of them would return to the blessed Homeworld together. Both of them would shed the heavy, unwieldy armor of war and truly live, just as the Ancestors did; slinking among the treetops, feasting on the green leaves of Warmtime, with nothing but the Gods, females and life itself in their minds. Vaji had agreed heartily and they had laughed. But now...now...
He cried out again in pitiful sorrow, a tumult of emotions churning sickeningly inside of him. Why? Of all the trials the Gods could have made him endure, of all the torture and evils of life, why—Bullets pinged off of Gannu's shield.He spun, enraged, and raised his shield to shatter, pulverize the human that dared to intrude upon his misery, too livid, or perhaps too desperate, to wish death upon himself to realize that he was exposing the weak flesh of his stomach to a human behind him.
She aimed her weapon perfectly. Gannu felt it shred his fragile stomach, felt himself spin and fire a plasma shot at the filthy primate and felt a harsh laugh escape his throat as she screamed when her legs vaporized.
Now...he felt relief as his armor weighted body hit the mud and spattered it on the blue alloy, as blood pooled out of him, as the rain poured down upon his dying form. Gannu embraced the fact of his death, no matter how painful and long it was bound to be. He eagerly awaited it.Vaji wouldn't be waiting long, now...