Prologue, Part One
December 25th, 2552
0630
South Chicago, Old Chicago, URNA
The sun had barely broken over the horizon when the sounds if gunfire and explosions rumbled forth. Buildings lay in waste, vehicles burning in the streets. There were bodies everywhere, lining the sidewalks, hanging out of windows, and laying on power lines. These were the remains of Old Chicago.
Goz Zhec watched as a the last Banshee squadron in the city tried desperately to prevent human reinforcements from reaching their position. The Jirlhanae, as stubborn as they were, could not realize that the battle was over. They had lost contact with the Prophet of Truth after he and his fleet disappeared into Slipspace in pursuit of the Ark. The remaining Covenant forces had done their best to hold against the Humans, but to no avail. It was hopeless.
The T'Voan major lept from his perch and down into the ruined streets. They were mostly quiet, save for the sounds of the occasional firefight. It wasn't unsual for small skirmishes to break out between small street gangs, local militia, and the Covenant along the front. Zhec knew it was only a matter of time before a full-out battle tore up the streets again.
He cautiously made his way past the ruins of a small bakery. The sweet scent of yeast and burning flesh made his stomach churn uncomfortably. The scope of this war was finally beginning to dawn on him, and every revelation sickened him to his core. He couldn't help but ponder if he and his bretheren, as well as the other client races, had been used to further the Prophets' own agenda. Were the humans truly an enemy of the Covenant?
Like any other Kig-Yar before the war, Zhec had no interest in the religion of the Covenant. He was simply a merchant trying to make to scrape by, despite his race's piratical nature. Unfortunately, it was piracy that introduced him to the military arm of the Covenant.
It was an average job; take x shipment of goods to y location and return for payment. It didn't seem like a difficult job at first. That was until his ship was captured by
The sound of a glass bottle shattering and a fire roaring to life just behind him snapped Zhec back into the present. He spun and saw the shards of the glass bottle that had missed him and a small gasoline fire. A nearby human must have thrown one of those "molten cocktails" at him. But he hadn't heard or seen any humans on the streets.
"Covie bastards!" someone cursed from a nearby rooftops. The voice was too young to be a soldier, possibly in their teens.
Zhec hissed at his own carelessness and ducked into a nearby building. He saw no reason to harm the human, but staying out in the open was not an option. In time, he hoped, the human would realize the danger and move on.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. Another bottle was thrown at the avian soldier, this time breaking a window and setting a nearby rug on fire. Zhec bolted out onto the streets again and dove into a nearby alley. Whoever this human was, they were certainly determined to kill him. He quickly grabbed the Carbine from his back and scanned the nearby rooftops for the human. He couldn't see anything from his position. Maybe they had gotten wise?
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Three gunshots went off on the roof above him. He looked up to see a bloody body plummet over the edge, hitting the ground within seconds with a sickening splat. Zhec flinched at the sight of the dead human. This was far from the first time he'd seen a dead human, but this was the first time he'd seen one murdered in cold blood.
Looking over the body, he saw that it was a young human, younger than what he was used to seeing. She was no more than a child, barely in her teens. She was carrying a bag, now soaked in her blood, full of bottles with rags sticking out. Zhec had barely come to the realization of who this girl was when a bullet whizzed by his head and ignited the bombs.
He leapt back, just dodging the flames as they roared to life. The child's body was quickly engulfed by the hungry inferno, turning a dark black. More shots rang out from the rooftops and Zhec found himself forced to flee again.
The gunfire followed him down the street, bullets whizzing and riocheting around him. He didn't dare stop to face his opponent for fear of him being cut down by the spray of lead. Zhec picked up his pace as adrenaline kicked in, numbing the pain in his exhausted legs. His lack of sleep was finally catching up to him and at the worst time possible. There was a husk of a burned out vehicle just a few yards in front of him. If he could reach it, he could catch his breath and counter his assailant. Zhec pushed himself to go faster, to get to safety. He had to do it!
A bullet ripped through his left leg, just missing the bone. He cried out in pain and tripped, sliding about a foot before coming to a stop. He looked down at his leg to survey the damage.
Sure enough, there was a decently sized hole just above his ankle. The bullet had passed through rather cleanly, allowing his thick purple blood to run freely.
Zhec mustered whatever strength he had left in his body and dragged himself to the car. Another bullet whizzed passed unnervingly close to his head, ricocheting off the frame. The shooter was trying to finish the job. Another bullet grazed his shoulder, lodging itself into the dirt a few inches away from Zhec's hand. A fourth bullet punched a hole in the tire just in front of Zhec, realsing the air with a loud hiss. Finally the shooting stopped.
Zhec didn't stop to look back until he had made it safely behind the car. His heart pounded like a jackhammer against his ribcage, threating to shatter it at any point. His situation was familiar, yet foreign at the same time. It was in the sense he was presumably close or even in enemy territory and being shot at by a hostile. The alien nature of the situation stemmed from the fact he couldn't identify whether it was a soldier or if it was a panicked civilian.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Pock. Pock. Pock.
There were three distinct gunfire patterns coming from down the road. It seemed that the humans had turned their weapons on each other in desperation, giving Zhec time to flee. Instead, he decided to watch for a bit.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
There were three flashes of light from the rooftop of the building on the left, almost a block away, where Zhec had briefly hidden himself from the girl. By the sound, that human probably had a Magnum pistol, which was standard issue among Human military and pilice units.
Crack. Crack.
Crack, Crack, Crack.
The second human was somewhere in about midway between him and the first shooter. Their weapon sounded more like a rifle of some sort, possibly an assault rifle or DMR.
Pock. Pock. Pock.
The third shooter was on ground level, shooting from a windowed storefront. Zhec could see them clearly from their position, black leather jacket, tattoos and all. He was using some antique pistol that Zhec had only seen in pictures from the black market.
He appeared to be a member of one of those street gangs he'd seen wandering the streets and looting. Zhec's blood boiled at the sight of this man. He reminded him too much of the pirates from his home. Grumbling to himself, Zhec pointed his Carbine and aimed it dead center at the thug's head. "Say your prayers..."
A shadow passed over Zhec, catching his eye. It was far too large to be one of the native birds, at least as far as Zhec was concerned. He focused back onto the human. Nothing was going to stop him from killing this scumbag. Nothing, except a large, metallic object just barely scraping his head and knocking him off his feet with a massive surge of wind.