PROLOGUE
"EMP device activated. Power turbines up and running. Excellency, we have the planet under control. Delivery of the plasma will commence in three days."
"Excellenct! Keep the electromagnetic pulse device stable."
"General Zaran, we have word of the arrival of humans in the area. What shall we do to stop them?"
"Let them come, Colonel, and if they try and stop us, we will break them in half!"
CHAPTER 1
0937 Hours, August 12, 2553 (Military Calendar)/ UNSC battle cruiser Pillar of Winter, Orbit around Earth
"Captain, we've got a problem," Lieutenant Sellers said, holding up a report disk. The Captain of the ship Pillar of Winter, a strong, diligant man, turned to face his small Lieutenant. "On the planet Raiek, we've spotted some signs of life. Although we're not exactly sure what it is, we think it is more of the Covenant forces."
Captain Hank Moores was suddenly interested. He snatched the disk from the frightened soldier and read it quickly, beaming the text onto his retina. "I've been waiting for this ever since the Pillar of Autumn went down!" the Captain said, remembering his friend, Captain Keyes', death.
A year ago, the Pillar of Autumn found a structure called Halo. The one Spartan soldier they had left, Master Chief aka John 117, single-handedly obliterated the entire ring-shaped hula-hoop planet, with only the help of his AI partner, Cortana.
Since then, the UNSC had worked to find the rest of the Covenant forces and completely destroy them. They had also used this time to train quite a few more Spartan soldiers for UNSC use. Also, instead of kidnapping them from childhood as they originally did, they took willing and able Marines, transforming them into the Spartan soldiers. Their work was called the 'SPARTAN-III project.'
Jacob Keyes was the Captain of the downed Pillar of Autumn. Master Chief John 117 used the Autumn to blow up Halo. However, the Marines and other groups constructed another ship, called Pillar of Winter, with the same honeycombed structure to give it extra resistance in battle. Both ships could take a heck of a punishment. Also, with the generators they had on-board, their MAC gun could fire three shots per charge instead of just one.
"How many Spartan soldiers do we have on-board the ship?" Captain Moores asked, turning to face his Lieutenant.
"We have six, I believe," the scared troop responded.
"Excellent! Read their names to me!"
"Master Commander James Carser; incomparable fighting skills, has done some of the best combat stunts ever seen!"
The Captain nodded. "I'll use him!"
Lieutenant Sellers continued. "We also have General ranked soldier, who goes by the name of Alex Daufel; Outstanding driving and incredible tactics. Master Chief Bryce McClain; has the best climbing skills out of the entire group!"
"Yes. They'll do great! Continue."
"Um...let's see..." Sellers checked his files once more. "Oh, yes! Colonel Jason Lent; holds the farthest jumping record, and has excellent strafing ability! He's also the quickest person, followed closely by James and Bryce. We also have Lieutenant Jarrett Daufel, Alex's brother; has the longest throw of a grenade we've ever seen! Lastly, we have Sergeant Brent Ashley; marksman skills are outstanding." The Lieutenant looked up, smiling. "I think they will do fine."
"I believe so. We'll sent them in first, and have them parachute from Foehammer. The one we rebuilt. Then, they land and take out the main defenses. Later, we dispatch Marines and a Scorpion to mop up the remnants. And, plant a bomb that will destroy Raiek once our forces are off of it. Those plans are, of course, subject to change."
"Excellent, Captain," Sellers said, turning to give them their orders.
"Oh, and Sellers..." the Captain said, waving his hand.
"Yes?"
"Wish them good luck."
Dropship Foehammer, named for the brave pilot Carol Rawley, aka Foehammer, that had aided John 117 in his Halo conflict, flew in low over Raiek, ready to dispatch the Spartan soldiers. James, Alex, Bryce, Jason, Jarrett, and Brent. They all had their orders, and they were all ready to go. Each was equipped with a pistol, an assault rifle, and four Frag Grenades. All except Alex and Brent. Alex had a sniper's rifle strapped to his back, replacing the pistol, and Brent had a Jackhammer launcher (essentially a rocket launcher), replacing the assault rifle.
The jump director Patrick O'Hara stood up, as the soldiers unbuckled from their tiny seats next to the hatch and grabbed their parachutes. The jump director grabbed the door handle and slid it open, as Foehammer moved slowly above the base.
"Now," he began, yelling over the roar of the engine and the whipping wind, "you will drop down approximately two-hundred feet. I'll tell each of you when to trip your chutes. Just try and get in and out in one piece! You think it'll be hard?"
"Just a walk in the park," James said, strapping on his gear along with everyone else.
"Good luck!" the jump director shouted.
James gave a thumbs-up. He neared the edge, and back-flipped out Alex came up and front-flipped out. Bryce and Jason went together, each doing side-flips out the door. Jarret and Brent went, falling backwards.
In the air, Alex checked his monitor. "All right, everyone, we've got one-hundred-and-fifty feet until we pop our shoots. Just be ready!"
"Just stay with the course map and we'll be fine!" Jason shouted back.
"Back in no time!" Bryce said, giving a thums-up sign.
"Be in and out!" Brent said.
"Just like the good old days!" Jarret yelled.
The jump director's voice came in through their mics. "All right, trip your chutes!" Each soldier let loose their chutes. Suddenly, Bryce heard Brent cry out.
"It won't open!" he yelled, struggling to free the chute. Bryce spun and saw that Brent's chute was caught in his life-support system backpack! Thinking quickly, Bryce grabbed a knife and raised it, ready to cut his line and try to save Brent.
"Bryce!" James yelled when he realized the situation. "Bryce, cease and desist! That's an order! Besides, even if you get to Brent, what will hold you up?" he yelled as Bryce's chute fell away and he began to plummet faster.
"I'll use Brent's chute!" Bryce called back.
Flattening his arms and legs to his body, and angling downwards, Bryce quickly caught up to Brent. Grabbing the caught chute, he managed to free it from Brent's pack. It silently caught the air, and they slowed dramatically. Every Spartan soldier above cheered with happiness!
Alex was the first to touch down on the rim that outlined the entire base, as it was built over a void. Surrounding the compound was a large chasm, and the thing was built on the center island in the middle. Far down below, in the chasm, there was water, that led to who-knows-where. The compound itself was a large ring with an open area in the center, along with other open areas scattered around. There were mounted guns all across the top, manned by either a Grunt (small, weak alien that wears light battle armor) or an Elite (large, cat-like warrior that weilds a Plasma pistol and has blue, red, black, or gold armor, depending on rank).
Recently, the Covenant trained new Sniper Elites. They wore green armor and were armed with the new Plasma Snipers. They were perched atop the base, or on ledges built on the other side of the void the base was built on. They would fire down quickly and then hide before they were spotted.
Working quickly, Alex cut his chute and let it fall. He'd landed on the other side of the void, but that was the plan. Somehow, they'd have to find their way across. If they'd landed too near the base, their chutes would have been torn by the Elites firing up at them. Then, James and Jason landed softly next to him. As they cut their lines, James pulled out a tracker device, while Jason and Alex whipped out their assault rifles. Jarrett landed soon after, his pistol already out.
All of them looked into the sky for Brent and Bryce. "Over there!" Jason said, pointing. Everyone followed the direction of his gaze. Brent and Bryce's awkward fall had left them quite a ways away, atop a row of cliffs. They landed much higher than the others, and with more of a thump! As they were both surviving off one chute, they landed rather hard as they hit the ground in the cold, snowy haze.
Now, they had to find a way to quickly get across. As the commander, that was James's job. He quickly scanned the area with his scanner, the readings coming out on the inside of his covered face, on the glass part of his helmet.
Jason and Alex looked across the void, searching for any hidden Snipers. Jarrett watched as Bryce and Brent slowly climbed down the side of the cliff.
Suddenly, Jarrett shouted out. He'd spotted something with his own scanner. "Guys! There's a Sniper over there!" James quickly spun around. The sniper was aimed right for the rope that was holding Brent up, with Bryce leaning over, lowering him slowly down. James's visor zoomed in. The Sniping Elite's finger was squeezing the trigger. Then, the gun fired!
Past the Commander and his group, half a mile away, Bryce slowly let Brent down.
"Don't worry, Brent!" Bryce called. "We'll be back to the others in no time." When he looked up, he saw James and Jarrett looking their way, with Alex and Jason shifting uncomfortably. He thought he could hear Jarrett yell. Then, he heard a gunshot!
"Brent, look out for the - " he was cut off when he heard Brent yell out.
"Bryce!" he yelled up.
Bryce looked down in time to see that Brent's line was snapped, and he was hanging by a thread. As fast as he could, Bryce reeled Brent back up the side. There was a second shot. But this time, it was not the Sniper. It was Alex, firing his own sniper's rifle. The Sniper Elite was hit right in the head. Without a sound, the Elite tumbled over the side of his ledge, and hit the ground...hard. He was undoubtedly dead.
"Hey, pull me back up!" Brent yelled.
"I'm trying!" Bryce screamed back down. The MJOLNIR armor was useful, but it did have its faults. One being that it was heavy.
The cord was just barely holding together now. James, Alex, Jarrett, and Jason were all running at full speed towards the pair of soldiers. Jason was in the lead, easily outrunning the rest. Suddenly, Brent's line snapped. He screamed as the ground came rushing up at him. He figured it was all over.
"EMP device activated. Power turbines up and running. Excellency, we have the planet under control. Delivery of the plasma will commence in three days."
"Excellenct! Keep the electromagnetic pulse device stable."
"General Zaran, we have word of the arrival of humans in the area. What shall we do to stop them?"
"Let them come, Colonel, and if they try and stop us, we will break them in half!"
CHAPTER 1
0937 Hours, August 12, 2553 (Military Calendar)/ UNSC battle cruiser Pillar of Winter, Orbit around Earth
"Captain, we've got a problem," Lieutenant Sellers said, holding up a report disk. The Captain of the ship Pillar of Winter, a strong, diligant man, turned to face his small Lieutenant. "On the planet Raiek, we've spotted some signs of life. Although we're not exactly sure what it is, we think it is more of the Covenant forces."
Captain Hank Moores was suddenly interested. He snatched the disk from the frightened soldier and read it quickly, beaming the text onto his retina. "I've been waiting for this ever since the Pillar of Autumn went down!" the Captain said, remembering his friend, Captain Keyes', death.
A year ago, the Pillar of Autumn found a structure called Halo. The one Spartan soldier they had left, Master Chief aka John 117, single-handedly obliterated the entire ring-shaped hula-hoop planet, with only the help of his AI partner, Cortana.
Since then, the UNSC had worked to find the rest of the Covenant forces and completely destroy them. They had also used this time to train quite a few more Spartan soldiers for UNSC use. Also, instead of kidnapping them from childhood as they originally did, they took willing and able Marines, transforming them into the Spartan soldiers. Their work was called the 'SPARTAN-III project.'
Jacob Keyes was the Captain of the downed Pillar of Autumn. Master Chief John 117 used the Autumn to blow up Halo. However, the Marines and other groups constructed another ship, called Pillar of Winter, with the same honeycombed structure to give it extra resistance in battle. Both ships could take a heck of a punishment. Also, with the generators they had on-board, their MAC gun could fire three shots per charge instead of just one.
"How many Spartan soldiers do we have on-board the ship?" Captain Moores asked, turning to face his Lieutenant.
"We have six, I believe," the scared troop responded.
"Excellent! Read their names to me!"
"Master Commander James Carser; incomparable fighting skills, has done some of the best combat stunts ever seen!"
The Captain nodded. "I'll use him!"
Lieutenant Sellers continued. "We also have General ranked soldier, who goes by the name of Alex Daufel; Outstanding driving and incredible tactics. Master Chief Bryce McClain; has the best climbing skills out of the entire group!"
"Yes. They'll do great! Continue."
"Um...let's see..." Sellers checked his files once more. "Oh, yes! Colonel Jason Lent; holds the farthest jumping record, and has excellent strafing ability! He's also the quickest person, followed closely by James and Bryce. We also have Lieutenant Jarrett Daufel, Alex's brother; has the longest throw of a grenade we've ever seen! Lastly, we have Sergeant Brent Ashley; marksman skills are outstanding." The Lieutenant looked up, smiling. "I think they will do fine."
"I believe so. We'll sent them in first, and have them parachute from Foehammer. The one we rebuilt. Then, they land and take out the main defenses. Later, we dispatch Marines and a Scorpion to mop up the remnants. And, plant a bomb that will destroy Raiek once our forces are off of it. Those plans are, of course, subject to change."
"Excellent, Captain," Sellers said, turning to give them their orders.
"Oh, and Sellers..." the Captain said, waving his hand.
"Yes?"
"Wish them good luck."
Dropship Foehammer, named for the brave pilot Carol Rawley, aka Foehammer, that had aided John 117 in his Halo conflict, flew in low over Raiek, ready to dispatch the Spartan soldiers. James, Alex, Bryce, Jason, Jarrett, and Brent. They all had their orders, and they were all ready to go. Each was equipped with a pistol, an assault rifle, and four Frag Grenades. All except Alex and Brent. Alex had a sniper's rifle strapped to his back, replacing the pistol, and Brent had a Jackhammer launcher (essentially a rocket launcher), replacing the assault rifle.
The jump director Patrick O'Hara stood up, as the soldiers unbuckled from their tiny seats next to the hatch and grabbed their parachutes. The jump director grabbed the door handle and slid it open, as Foehammer moved slowly above the base.
"Now," he began, yelling over the roar of the engine and the whipping wind, "you will drop down approximately two-hundred feet. I'll tell each of you when to trip your chutes. Just try and get in and out in one piece! You think it'll be hard?"
"Just a walk in the park," James said, strapping on his gear along with everyone else.
"Good luck!" the jump director shouted.
James gave a thumbs-up. He neared the edge, and back-flipped out Alex came up and front-flipped out. Bryce and Jason went together, each doing side-flips out the door. Jarret and Brent went, falling backwards.
In the air, Alex checked his monitor. "All right, everyone, we've got one-hundred-and-fifty feet until we pop our shoots. Just be ready!"
"Just stay with the course map and we'll be fine!" Jason shouted back.
"Back in no time!" Bryce said, giving a thums-up sign.
"Be in and out!" Brent said.
"Just like the good old days!" Jarret yelled.
The jump director's voice came in through their mics. "All right, trip your chutes!" Each soldier let loose their chutes. Suddenly, Bryce heard Brent cry out.
"It won't open!" he yelled, struggling to free the chute. Bryce spun and saw that Brent's chute was caught in his life-support system backpack! Thinking quickly, Bryce grabbed a knife and raised it, ready to cut his line and try to save Brent.
"Bryce!" James yelled when he realized the situation. "Bryce, cease and desist! That's an order! Besides, even if you get to Brent, what will hold you up?" he yelled as Bryce's chute fell away and he began to plummet faster.
"I'll use Brent's chute!" Bryce called back.
Flattening his arms and legs to his body, and angling downwards, Bryce quickly caught up to Brent. Grabbing the caught chute, he managed to free it from Brent's pack. It silently caught the air, and they slowed dramatically. Every Spartan soldier above cheered with happiness!
Alex was the first to touch down on the rim that outlined the entire base, as it was built over a void. Surrounding the compound was a large chasm, and the thing was built on the center island in the middle. Far down below, in the chasm, there was water, that led to who-knows-where. The compound itself was a large ring with an open area in the center, along with other open areas scattered around. There were mounted guns all across the top, manned by either a Grunt (small, weak alien that wears light battle armor) or an Elite (large, cat-like warrior that weilds a Plasma pistol and has blue, red, black, or gold armor, depending on rank).
Recently, the Covenant trained new Sniper Elites. They wore green armor and were armed with the new Plasma Snipers. They were perched atop the base, or on ledges built on the other side of the void the base was built on. They would fire down quickly and then hide before they were spotted.
Working quickly, Alex cut his chute and let it fall. He'd landed on the other side of the void, but that was the plan. Somehow, they'd have to find their way across. If they'd landed too near the base, their chutes would have been torn by the Elites firing up at them. Then, James and Jason landed softly next to him. As they cut their lines, James pulled out a tracker device, while Jason and Alex whipped out their assault rifles. Jarrett landed soon after, his pistol already out.
All of them looked into the sky for Brent and Bryce. "Over there!" Jason said, pointing. Everyone followed the direction of his gaze. Brent and Bryce's awkward fall had left them quite a ways away, atop a row of cliffs. They landed much higher than the others, and with more of a thump! As they were both surviving off one chute, they landed rather hard as they hit the ground in the cold, snowy haze.
Now, they had to find a way to quickly get across. As the commander, that was James's job. He quickly scanned the area with his scanner, the readings coming out on the inside of his covered face, on the glass part of his helmet.
Jason and Alex looked across the void, searching for any hidden Snipers. Jarrett watched as Bryce and Brent slowly climbed down the side of the cliff.
Suddenly, Jarrett shouted out. He'd spotted something with his own scanner. "Guys! There's a Sniper over there!" James quickly spun around. The sniper was aimed right for the rope that was holding Brent up, with Bryce leaning over, lowering him slowly down. James's visor zoomed in. The Sniping Elite's finger was squeezing the trigger. Then, the gun fired!
Past the Commander and his group, half a mile away, Bryce slowly let Brent down.
"Don't worry, Brent!" Bryce called. "We'll be back to the others in no time." When he looked up, he saw James and Jarrett looking their way, with Alex and Jason shifting uncomfortably. He thought he could hear Jarrett yell. Then, he heard a gunshot!
"Brent, look out for the - " he was cut off when he heard Brent yell out.
"Bryce!" he yelled up.
Bryce looked down in time to see that Brent's line was snapped, and he was hanging by a thread. As fast as he could, Bryce reeled Brent back up the side. There was a second shot. But this time, it was not the Sniper. It was Alex, firing his own sniper's rifle. The Sniper Elite was hit right in the head. Without a sound, the Elite tumbled over the side of his ledge, and hit the ground...hard. He was undoubtedly dead.
"Hey, pull me back up!" Brent yelled.
"I'm trying!" Bryce screamed back down. The MJOLNIR armor was useful, but it did have its faults. One being that it was heavy.
The cord was just barely holding together now. James, Alex, Jarrett, and Jason were all running at full speed towards the pair of soldiers. Jason was in the lead, easily outrunning the rest. Suddenly, Brent's line snapped. He screamed as the ground came rushing up at him. He figured it was all over.