Hello everyone. Theo here for a brief yearly reappearance. (Or has it been longer than a year since I last uploading something on this site? Can't remember)

Anyway, let me start by saying I have purchase Halo 4 and I enjoy it immensely. I have been playing a lot of multi-player, which is something I am NOT used to. During one game of "Capture the Flag" on the Ragnarok map, I managed to defend my teams flag from an onslaught of three enemy units almost at the same time. I recorded that session, as I was quite proud of my accomplishment. So proud in fact, that it inspired me to write this short story.

BTW this is my First Halo fanfiction, so if you don't like it, please be easy with the flames, I burn rather easily...

DISCLAIMER- I do NOT own Halo or any of its characters. This story is not meant for profit and no money was involved. I only own the idea for this fiction, nothing more.

888

RvB My Best Defense

At a simulated alien landscape called Ragnarok, my squad and I waited at the tower that marked the site of our flag. I was participating in a wargame the drill sergeant passionately called "Capture the Flag". The objective to this exercise is to keep the enemy team from obtaining your flag and transporting it back to their site, while at the same time, your team is to capture the enemy's flag and return it your base. It was a game children often played, but it's still a fine teaching process. It was meant to promote teamwork, but right now, it caused only arguments between the squad leader and me.

"We should just take the hog and rush them. There is no way they could defend against a frontal assault."

Said squad leader Jason, thrusting a thumb towards one of the two Warthogs that was provided for this exercise. There were several vehicles to choose from, but many Spartans often chose the Warthog. Despite his rank, I disagreed with his strategy.

"And leave our base unprotected? Are you nuts? Whose to say they won't try to attack while we're gone?"

"Whose to say they won't? They'll be too busy defending against us."

Said Marks, the second-in-command of this rookie squad. I looked to Rita, perhaps the only other member who had any senses that mimics my own. However, she stayed silent.

"It's decided. Mount up. Steve, stay here if you're worried, but I strongly suggest you get on with the rest of the team."

Jason said as he, Mark, and Andrew mounted the closest Warthog and sped off down towards the enemy encampment. Rita, paused, but then got on one of the left behind Mongoose ATV's and motioned for me to ride behind her.

"I'm still not sure about leaving the flag undefended."

I told her. She gave me a look that I couldn't really make out under her visor, but I had to guess it was disappointment. I could tell by her body language she agreed with me, but she was a good Spartan, and good Spartans followed orders.

She too sped off towards the opposite end of the enclosure, leaving me behind in bewilderment that she would so readily abandon our charge.

888

I may still be inexperience, but my instincts instructed me to fortify the position should it become under siege while the rest of my team was away. I went to the second Warthog and drove it up one of the ramps that led to the platform that was home to our flag. I wedged the hog between the two concrete barriers that ran the edged of the ramp so that the vehicle served as a barrier, and if I needed to, I could use the gun turret at the rear to ward off any would-be intruders. This left the ramp at the opposite end open, but it also meant one less way for intruders to slip past.

I had on me in terms of equipment, the standard MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle, the M6G Magnum, two imitation Plasma Grenades that exploded out paint as opposed to explosive ordinance, and an Autosentry which had it's ammo replaced with paint bullets. This is an exercise, and that meant all ammo was replaced with paint to avoid any fatal accidents. And instead of combat knives, we were issued simple marker pens (the kind found in office supplies).

I just about to deploy my Autosentry at the opening of the unblocked ramp when my motion detector registered three red dots, which meant three enemy units were inside my sensor range. I panicked. I ran back to the flag and immediately deployed my Autosentry above it. The drone would hover for a time and fire at any hostile in range, but just as I finished setting it up, a Spartan in blue armor rushed past me to make a grab for the flag. I rushed him first out of reflex.

I threw my elbow into his visor and his MJOLNIR suit registered the hit as a kill because the systems that allowed him motion suddenly froze up. I did not have a chance to gloat my victory before a second blue Spartan penetrated the defenses and was able to grab the flag. I wasn't even thinking at this point, but chased after him. Just as he got to the bottom of the unblocked ramp, I lunged at him from behind, tackling him to the ground. I withdrew my marker and was about to mark him dead when he suddenly threw me off of him. Within an instant, I drew my Assault rifle up and started firing at him just as he was about to the do the same to me. Luckily, I plastered his armor with red paint before he had a chance to accurately aim at me. His suit seized up and he collapsed to the ground.

During the confusion, I did not realize the two blue Spartans were the passenger and gunner of a Warthog, which the third blue Spartan was currently driving. He drove towards me, but in my heightened adrenaline, it was a mistake. I can only guess he meant to ram me, but as he drew closer, I leapt onto the driver side portal, grabbed him by the back of his neck, and roughly forced him from the seat, which I promptly took over. I maneuvered the hog to ram him like he had attempted with me, but as I backed up to get the distance needed to acquire ramming speed; he had attached a sticky bomb onto the front of the vehicle. Again, reacting on instinct rather than rational thought, I shifted the hog forward, gunned the gas, and leapt from the driver seat as the vehicle sped onward, right for the blue Spartan. He stepped aside, to let the hog pass, but as it did, the bomb he attached to the front, went off, showering both the hog and him in white powered indicating that he had just become a victim of his own attempt.

"Damn it!"

I heard him curse as he too collapsed to the ground. I let loose a sigh of relief, but I was startled when I noticed Rita running back around the corner of the tower structure, her sniper rifle firmly in her hands. I didn't even notice her on the motion sensor, which meant she had her Active Camouflage engaged while on her return to base.

"Steve! Three of the Blue slipped past us and-"

She started to explain, but then stopped herself when she finally noticed three of the blue Spartans laid in heaps on the ground; one covered in red paint, a second dusted in white powder and the third one was down on his back with a cracked visor.

"Never mind."

I pointed my assault rifle at her and sneered. It must have startled her because she gasped and took a step back from me.

"DON'T"

I snarled, out of breath

"EVER"

I was so tempted to shoot her for leaving me behind the way she did. The only reason I hadn't pulled the trigger was because of the fact that she came back.

"Leave one Spartan to guard the flag!"

I lowered my rifle, feeling disgusted with myself for snarling at her. She wasn't in command of the squad, so why should I take my anger out on her? It must be the adrenaline.

"I'm sorry."

I told her. I recovered the flag from the second blues hand and replaced it back on its mark. No sooner had I finished, I noticed a Mongoose fast approaching. I smiled at the irony at the various spots of blue paint that covered it. As it drew closer, I could see Jason driving, and Andrew seated behind him, holding the blue flag. As it skidded to a halt near the on-ramps, I took note of Jason. His armor was splattered with droplets of blue paint, but not enough to trigger the systems into thinking they were fatal hits. Andrew looked spotless. But then again, he was the only one of us that deployed a Hardlight Shield and was well experienced in its use.

"We got their flag!"

Jason cheered, as though the prospect of winning this wargame was his sole purpose. I frowned at him. This exercise was to encourage teamwork, not hotshot antics. However, since I am the greenest of this squad, I held silent my opinions. Jason glanced at the three blue Spartans and whistled.

"You two were busy."

He said in a whimsical tone. A tone I did not like. I was about to object, but Rita spoke up first.

"This was all Steve. I just got here."

At the time, I was too busy trying to keep our flag safe to notice it, but the Warthog the blues rode in on was spotted with blue paint. Why pepper their own vehicle? But then I realized something.

"The blues stole your hog while you were at their site."

I stated. It wasn't a question. The disappointed look on Rita's face confirmed it. She must have left the Mongoose for them to ride back while she hoofed it, perhaps to intercept the blues while they tried to return to their site with our flag. However, I somehow managed to take care of that for her.

"Mark got marked?"

I asked. Jason didn't seem to want to answer, so Andrew answered for him.

"Sniper shot to the visor as soon as we were over the ridge."

He pointed out towards the stream that ran through the location. There was a rock formation that created a type of ridgeline along the stream for a short ways roughly halfway between our camp and the blues camp and I could see a fait red figure lying out among the grass. As soon as Andrew placed the blue flag next to ours, a loud chime rang over some hidden loudspeaker. That was the signal to indicate the end of the exercise. At that moment, all suits that were seized release their restrictions and allowed the Spartans to move again. The three blues around us rose unsteadily and I could still see their embarrassment, even through their visors. I glanced towards the ridge and I saw another Warthog with two blue Spartans splattered with red paint drive towards Mark, paused to pick him up and begin to drive towards the rest of us.

"One damn rookie!"

I heard one of the blues curse while they waited the arrival of their teammates.

"The three of us brought down by one damn rookie!"

The three blues gathered to nurse their wounded pride, and to be honest; I couldn't help but feel smug about it. Of course I was too nice to openly admit it out loud. Jason, on the other hand...

"Not so bad now are ya?"

Jason taunted them. The three blues regarded him silently. Regardless, I felt all Spartans deserved respect, even sore losers.

"Squad leader?"

I asked, he paused his boosting and turned to acknowledge me.

"What?"

"Shut the hell up."

888

I hope you enjoyed it, but before you start arguing about it, let me say that some details have been augmented for the sake of storytelling.

First, I do not believe Spartans would behave like this, but I gave them a more player like personality, as it was actual gamers I was playing with. And I am not 100% sure how a Spartan would behave.

Secondly, I did not include the Spartan's armor shielding and made them bit more vulnerable because as I wrote this, I imagined this taking place during a real-world paintball match (or of equal equivalence).

Third, a scene of what happened in the game was slightly different from what I wrote. The Spartan I tackled to the ground did not actually knock me off before I scored the kill (I have yet to see a Spartan escape on their own when tackled from behind in game). Instead a third blue Spartan, who rammed me with a Warthog, yet somehow it didn't kill me, forced me off of him. I wasn't sure how to story tell that, so I just winged it. Also, only the scene of the flag defense was from the game, the rest of the story (like the beginning part and the ending part) was completely made up.

And finally, I know that "Capture the Flag" sessions usually runs for quite some time, or until a team scores a certain amount of points, but I didn't want to tell the whole game in its entirety, so I figured one point was enough.

If you liked it enough, I may be encouraged to expand on it, but I not sure at how to go about doing so at this time.

Until Next Time ;-)

Theo ~