This is a halo fanfic I came up with a long time ago. Alot of characters from the main Halo universe won't be appearing, but a number of them will be mentioned or appear in flashbacks. The best I can link this to the rest of the Halo universe is as existing within it. It's sort of one an island outside the rest of the Halo universe. The events of the games aren't directly affecting this story, but they do have their connections to it. If it were to be a part of it, it wouldn't be part of the main line of games. It would be more like Halo Wars, where the events in the story don't affect anything else in the Halo universe.

I don't own anything in the Halo universe. I do own the plot, and characters with in this fanfic.

Richard's narration

It's been almost 5 years since the Covenant attacked. In 2547, Olympus, one of the inner human colonies, first encountered the covenant.

The UNSC countered with the deployment of Spartan teams as quickly as possible. We were able to win ground victories, but we still stood no chance against them in space. Our ships weren't powerful enough. It wasn't long before we were trapped on this planet. No way off. No one left to help us.

In a last ditch effort, we launched an attack on their ships. We hijacked a Phantom, and infitrated a cruiser. We used it to destroy most of their fleet. But they retook the ship just after we wiped out the rest of their fleet.

All of the survivors came to the ground. We put so much into the attack on the cruiser, once they launched their drop pods reached the planet, we could hardly do anything to save ourselves.

Now, there's hardly anyone left on the planet. Civilian, military, or otherwise. We're all scattered, uncoordinated, and surviving on whatever we can find.

...

Saved by the bell

Leslie's POV

I wish something would happen so I could leave the goddamn diagnostics. Normally, we go to the armory guys, but we don't have any of our technicians still alive (Other than James who's "not that kind of technician"), so we have to make do with Doc. I hate him. Why do I even need to do the diagnostics? Seriously, it's not like they're important or anything. It's just basic controls, for fucks sake. Does it really matter if they're inverted or not?

Suddenly, my wish was granted when an alarm went off. Thank whoever is responsible! I ran out of the med-center, to immediately be shot at by plasma fire. This is still way better than the diagnostics! I grabbed a plasma pistol out of a grunts hands, and shot him with it. I used a overcharged shot to take out an elite's sheilds, before punching him in the face. He kicked me into a wall, so I shot him with my plasma pistol again.

Some grunts were coming down the hall, so I threw a plasma grenade at them. They scattered, as one of their friends panicked when he got stuck by the grenade. I punched one of them that leaped in my direction. As the rest tried to flee the way they came, I shot them with my plasma pistol. None of them died, but I'll bet it scared whatever crap they had left after the grenade out of them.

"Does anyone read me? This is James." I am so glad to hear him right now. "James, what's going on?" I asked. "Obviously, the Covenant got inside the base." James said. Yes! We're under attack! That means we get to kill aliens!

"How'd they get in?" I asked. "How the fuck should I know?" He asked. "Well, you did call the spartan for something earlier." I said. I figured Richard was with him. "Then shouldn't you be asking him. He's near your area." James said. He's kind of a dick sometimes, but we deal with it. "I didn't know that. I thought he was near YOUR area!" I replied.

"Do you honestly think your fucking funny?" James asked. "Well, yes." I answered. "Well first of all, your not!" He yelled back.

...

I walked towards the waypoint he added on my helmets visor thing. The Hud! I walked to the waypoint, and found some dead elites. They were wearing silver armor instead of the normal Red, White, Blue, or Purple.

"James, he's not here." I said. Unless he's invisible or something. His armor can do that, I think. "He's somewhere nearby. Something seems to be screwing with our tracking, so I can't pinpoint his exact location, but he should be somewhere close." James said. My motion tracker is messed up too. It thinks I'm surrounded.

I can hear the sounds of an elite screaming. Or someone yelling because they got impaled. Or a Wilhelm scream impersonation. I have no idea what it is, but it's close. I followed the sounds of plasma fire to find Richard shooting at a wall with his SMGs.

"What are you doing?" I asked. "Keep your eyes open. They've got active camo." Richard warned. The fuck is active camo? "So why are you shooting a wall?" I asked.

Did he just shoot me? "Ow, what the hell?" I asked him. He doesn't usually shoot me. Unless he's REALLY bored. Richard fired again, and an Elite appeared out of nowhere. Oh, active camo means their invisible. I thought only that-one-armor-worn-by-those-guy-ONI-says-we're-not-supposed-to-talk-about could do that. Then again, the Covies usually get the good shit before we do. I should've known they had some invisibility up their sleeve.

An elite pulled out a sword and charged at me. Richard trip kicked him, and shot him while he was down. I fired my plasma rifle blindly, until I hit something. Richard shot the invisible elite to death before it could get away.

"James, I found Richard." I reported. "We've got people scattered all over the base that need help. You two have to save them." James ordered. Now we have to save everyone else. Awesome!

"James. Can you access the Covenant battle-net?" Richard asked. "Of course, but unless you know someone that speaks alien, it won't do us any good." James replied. "See what you can pull up, and try to decode it." Richard ordered. "Are you even listening to what I'm saying? It's not coded, it's alien!" James repeated. He probably has a plan we don't know about. "Let's move, Leslie." Richard began our search for the others.

...

We moved towards the nearest area with other marines. They were in battle, and needed our help. "Guys! It's the spartan!" Ash yelled, when Richard was immediately noticed by his special armor. Ash is a hellbringer, which are these guys who use flamethrowers. She also happens to be a pyromaniac.

I gave some support fire with my "borrowed" plasma rifles, but Richard cut through the aliens like they were nothing. Seeing Richard in action made me start to think about if I could be a spartan. The power. The speed. They're a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

"Thanks for the help spartan. That's another one we owe you." Ash said. I wonder if he keeps count. "What's your status?" Richard asked. "I'm fine. I just gathered everyone I could. Everyone else is outside making sure no one escapes." Ash reported.

"This is Corporal Jenkins! I need backup!" Someone was yelling in our radio. I remember his name, but I don't know from where. "Covies are trying to take out the armory! Send support ASAP!" Sounds like he's in trouble. "We can't lose the armory. Let's move, double time!" Richard ordered. Time to go be a hero!

...

At least I have Chicken

We fought a couple of the aliens on our way to the armory, but there was almost no resistance. When we got to the armory, we realized, they were fortifying the area outside it's entrance. They had turrets and snipers above us, and a higher ranking elite than usual in charge. This one had a reddish-purple armor, and he was holding a plasma sword. "Don't move in until I give the signal." Richard ordered. He turned invisible, so I can't see what he's doing.

"LETS DO THIS! LEEEEERRROOOYYY JEEENNNKKKIIIIIINNNSSS!" I remembered where I recognized him from. That was Leroy. He's known for ruining other people's plans by charging in guns blazing. Usually, because we somehow fail to tell him the plan before he tries it, and so he doesn't even realize that he's screwing it up. It doesn't always end badly, but we hate it when he fucks up a good plan.

And he just did. The aliens began firing at him, so Richard quickly assassinated the new elite, and began shot at the snipers with his SMG. Once they were dead, he took out the turrets with some grenades while we charged in to give him back up. The plan worked great, but Leeroy sort of rushed everything.

"We still got weapons and ammunition in the armory. Although, you might want to get someone to reorganize it." Leroy explained. I doubt he realizes what he's done. But he did one thing right. He saved a lot of guns and ammo in that armory. We were running low with all the fighting we had to do while they just hid in there, trying to hold out.

"James, are there anymore soldiers in need of assistance?" Richard used the radio to contact James. But he gave no response. "We need to get to the coms center and check on James." Richard ordered.

...

We moved towards the coms center as quickly as possible. We need to find out why James stopped responding. When we got there, we saw plasma fire on the walls and doors outside.

We entered, to see some fighting was still going on. "You mind killing these guys before they can kill us?" James asked. He was covering behind a computer, fending of the aliens with nothing but his magnum. He managed to kill a few of them already. We killed the rest in less than a minute.

"Anymore of them?" Richard asked. "Reports from outside tell us that a few tried to escape, but they weren't too lucky." James reported. "We aren't detecting anymore contacts inside the base, so we should be fine. Probably." I don't feel reassured.

"Did you find out what they were doing here?" Richard asked. "I pulled stuff of their battle-net, but I can't break the alien language barrier." James said, projecting his findings on a screen. "So where can we get a translator?" I asked. "Only AI have been able to translate this crap, dumbass." Leroy explained. "We'll have to find one." Ash said. "How the hell are we going to find an AI on an abandoned planet?" James asked.

While they were talking, I watched the screen translate itself. I have no idea if I'm going crazy, or if that really happened. "Guys, it's translated!" I yelled. When they looked, the screen was already finished translating. "Leslie, what the hell did you do!" James yelled. Not in his usual angry yelling voice. More of a surprised voice. The kind when you see someone do the impossible.

"I didn't do anything. It did it by itself, while you were talking." I said. "Bullshit." Leroy replied. "I'm serious! It happened. I have no idea what the fuck it was." I swear, that's what happened.

"Apparently the Covenant were trying to find out how to access something they in the city. They seem to think we know how." James explained. So the Covies want something in New Athens? Well we're about to go find out what.