A/N: This is a story that has been a long time in the dreaming process. Unlike Wolverine Redemption, this particular Halo story will have completely original characters and storylines. While Redemption is by no means dead, it is going on ice as I flesh out a bit more of my writing skills here. John-117 is incredibly hard to write, the inevitable result is for most writers (myself included) to humanize him when he is superhuman. With that said Redemption will be going through some edits and rewrites but don't you worry, for the Halo junkies out there, I have a new present for you, so relax and enjoy! -Outreach117
"Were it so easy."-Arbiter Thel 'Vadam
Prologue
Human settlement Persephone, 0223 hours March 19th, 2565
Sounds at night were hardly a new thing around the fledgling human outpost, and Kenneth Day was hardly concerned. There were many ambient lifeforms that prowled the dusty and barren streets of the colony of only a hundred brave pioneers, that is if one could really call Persephone a colony. The streets were really nothing more than dusty well-beaten paths, and the colony was nothing more than a band of escape pods linked together in a fashion of a campsite.
It was more of a beautiful accident really. A science vessel named Daedalus, badly damaged in the Human-Covenant war, had made a blind jump to escape certain destruction by a pair of Covenant corvettes in the wake of the Battle of Reach. The jump deposited them in an uncharted system that was approximately 126.2 light-years away from earth. Not that it mattered since the ship had suffered irreparable damage in both the one-sided fight and the jump, and with no communications, navigation or FTL, returning home was impossible, so the crew abandoned ship on a marginally habitable world that was the 5th planet in the system. Warm and arid, yet it had life and a sustainable biosphere. It was enough, but only just.
Kenneth looked back at his still sleeping wife Tessia from across their makeshift bed, and their newborn son Boyd sleeping soundly in the middle. Kenneth had always been a light sleeper, a consequence of too many years fighting and running from the Covenant onslaught. He was a former UNSC marine and had seen it all: ground fights, zero-gee battle against boarders, and had even nearly lost his lunch doing more than one drop with ODSTs. Tessia had been part of the science staff onboard the Daedalus, and when it was apparent that returning home and to the fight just wasn't going to happen, they just sorta fell in together suddenly finding they had all the time in the world for love and decided to bring new life into the world. It was only when he heard a blood curdling scream from outside and the distinctly alien roars of jackals and brutes that the hair rose on his back and he found himself groping for the well-worn M90 shotgun he always kept at his bedside. Some habits just never died.
Orbit
Zinto 'Antra paced relentlessly back and forth on the bridge of the Sangheili Corvette Dawn's Retribution, anxiously waiting for the report to come in, the young Sangheili Ultra eager for battle again. Noticing a motion coming towards his direction from his left, Zinto turned at the form of his father, the veteran Zealot Crtas 'Antra, who was also the Shipmaster of Dawn's Retribution, approaching him.
Both father and son were veterans of many battles. Crtas had seen action on the human world Reach during its conquest, Delta Halo, the human homeworld, the Ark along with countless other battles against the Jiralhanae, Kig-Yar and the Prophets. Zinto was also an experienced fighter, and the youngest of Zinto's three sons, and also the last alive. His eldest son Rango 'Antra had perished on the Alpha Halo, killed by the great human Demon himself onboard the Truth and Reconciliation, a glorious death worth praise and remembrance. His second son Vonten 'Antra fell in battle defending the Councilors on High Charity, another glorious death. Crtas felt anguish at the loss of his two sons as any father world, but also felt great pride that they met their ends in ways that many Sangheili dream for, but rarely achieve. Even deeper down still though he dreaded losing Zinto. The house of 'Antra, while not as large or influential as some of the others on Sanghelios such as 'Vadam, 'Moram or 'Vadum, had been a steady producer of some of the greatest and most skilled Zealots and Ultras for the Covenant and now the Sangheili Hegemony for centuries, and what good was a house if all of its sons were dead with no children to follow on?
Saluting his father with a fist to the chest, Crtas looked past his son and at the holographic projection of the planet below, analyzing the situation and deciding on a course of action. The Retribution had tracked a lone Jiralhanae frigate to this world, both of their arrivals having not been a coincidence. Since the end of the Human-Covenant war, the Sangheili had nevertheless continued their campaign to collect Forerunner artifacts along with beating back the Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar. There were literally thousands of relics scattered throughout the galaxy, and this barren planet was supposed to be host of several. Unfortunately that was seemingly not the case, although the Jiralhanae frigate in system had the same idea. It was the last mission for that frigate though, as the Retribution had swiftly and efficiently tore the frigate apart, but not before the frigate had launched several Phantom-class dropships filled with Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar troopers. Surprising still was the presence of a very small human settlement on the northern hemisphere of the world.
"The frigate is destroyed, father. There are no relics here, shall we set a new course?" The elder 'Antra's non-response was enough to provide the young Ultra his answer. "But why, father? There is nothing here but a barren world and a few worthless humans and dirt! Surely you do not intend some kind of rescue mission?"
The elder eyed the display for a bit longer before speaking. "My son, how can you be so skilled yet so foolish at the same time? Our objective has been to win the war. There are Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar down on that planet which we have failed to extinguish, and humans are not as worthless as you give them credit for. They are sapient and adaptable, and their Demons have killed many times their number, your brother among them." Zinto opened his mouth to speak but his father cut him off and kept on going. "They are far more capable than you and indeed many of our brothers give them credit for. You are still young Zinto, you have never really seen humans fight before, much less one of their Demons. You also forget that whether you approve of it or not, they are the children of the Forerunners like we are, and as such are drawn to the relics as well. Perhaps the have already found something."
Crtas paused and looked back at the barren world, still considering although his mind was made. There was another mission at hand though, repentance. He was a Zealot, indeed most of the house of 'Antra was composed of Zealots, but Zealots were created to serve the Covenant and be the hands of the Prophets, and were the most fanatical of fanatical followers of the Prophets perverted religion. With the dissolvement of the Covenant and their "religion" completely washed away, most Zealots were unsure of their purpose. Some opted to fight and serve in other areas of the Sangheili military, or retire from the military completely. Others felt great shame at embarrassment and opted to take their own life, and others that were the age of Crtas, too old to start life anew and too young to consider retiring instead opted to find another purpose, and something told him that he would find his purpose on that planet.
Standing straight up to his imposing 8 foot, 9 inch height, Crtas gave his orders. "To the pods!" As one the sangheili crew roared, eager for battle and made their ways to the drop pods. Crtas would kill every last Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar on that planet, and if he was able to find penance in saving the humans, then perhaps he might be able to sleep soundly for the first time in almost twelve years.
Persephone Colony
The sounds of screams and death became louder and louder, and Kenneth felt that black ball form in his stomach, knowing what the end probably would be but he also knew one thing for sure, at least a few of those Covenant bastards were going to die. His door flew open and a Jackal pair entered into his small dwelling, their circular shields illuminating their birdlike features along with the darkened pod. Cocking his M90 the first of the two went down with a head full of buckshot, the second squawked in surprise followed immediately by a combat knife in its throat, and fell to the deck gurgling. Kenneth deftly pulled the combat knife out just as a massive Brute captain burst into the dwelling, spraying spikes around the confined cabin. Kenneth cocked his M90 again, but only to have the weapon ripped from his hands by the immensely stronger alien in power armor. Drawing his knife he charged the Brute and plunged the blade to the hilt into the beasts chest right between the armor plates. It wasn't enough as the massive brute had simultaneously impaled Kenneth all the way through the back with the twin blades on the spiker.
Tessia was hardly powerless however, and from a covered position behind the bed and putting herself between the Brute and her baby, she let out a burst from her BR-55.
Her shot was accurate and the first two took off the Brute's helmet completely, the last shot ventilated its skull and the giant beast fell to the ground in a blood heap. Tessia followed suit, her abdomen having been ripped open by a quartet of spikes, the only thing having kept her alive long enough for the shot being adrenaline and the unshakable mother's drive to protect her child. Boyd wailed loudly and alone at the noise and the gunfire, but was drowned out by the sounds of screeching Covenant pods that landed throughout the settlement.
Pods
Zinto unslung his plasma repeater has his pod blasted open, rolling out and to one knee as his aimed down the sights and let out a long and accurate burst at a pair of Kig-Yar, their shields flaring and failing, and then their bodies falling to the ground peppered with plasma hits.
Spinning rapidly to his left he let out another long burst at a Jiralhanae minor, the unarmored beast needing only a few well-placed shots to go down. A roar to his back caught him by surprise, but not so much as the blade that now jutted out from his chest from the brute shot in the hands of the Chieftain that had just ran him through, and everything went black.
Crtas saw his son go down, and in a blood rage roar charged the damned Chieftain head on. Crtas ignited his two energy swords as he sprinted, an unstoppable force of death and anger. The Chieftain deftly yanked the giant blade from Zinto's unmoving body and brought the business end of the brute shot around and took aim at Crtas, but he was not nearly fast enough. Crtas crashed into the Chieftain, knocking the brute shot away while simultaneously dismembering the Chieftains legs with a pair of skilled swipes from his dual glowing blades. The alien went down with a howl in pain that was quickly extinguished by another decapitating blow that left the Chieftain without a head.
Crtas fought the desire to check his son's body, emotion telling him one thing and rational thinking telling him that he was already dead and not focusing on the battle would only lead to more deaths. Slowly getting to his feet he re-ignited his blades and charged off towards the sound of battle.
Aftermath
The operation had been a success one part of Crtas's mind told him. A combined kill of over sixty Kig-Yar and Jiralhanae with only a handful of losses. No, it was a tragedy, a failure as he walked past the inert bodies of his fallen brethren, his son being among them. The Sangheili had arrived too late, the Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar had already killed all the humans in the settlement. The bodies were laid out in a row awaiting retrieval on a pair of Phantoms that had been launched by the Retribution to recover the warriors.
A strange noise caught Crtas's attention from the primitive dwelling a few feet away from where the bodies stood. It did not sound lethal, but it was a wailing of sorts, clearly human in nature. Igniting one of his two swords and unsure of what to expect, he entered the dwelling. Before him was a sight of carnage. Two dead humans and a pair of dead Kig-Yar and a Jiralhanae Captain with a combat blade still sticking out of its chest where the human male had impaled him. A losing fight, but brave. They deserve respect, Crtas absent-mindedly mused as he made his way closer to the sound. Nearing the noise he found the human's mate, also dead with spikes jutting out of her body, still grasping her primitive projectile weapon. Next to her, a human infant and the source of the sound.
It cried loudly, and Crtas for the first time in his life felt genuine confusion. Extinguishing his blade he walked back outside, the bodies of his dead comrades still at his feet. He looked back at the dwelling, up to the stars, back to the human home again and once more up to the stars. They displayed courage and strength and resolve. Could it be? Glancing once more at his son's body he looked at the sky again and there was a wink from the sky as the star he was staring at twinkled brightly. A sign, this cannot be ignored! Walking back into the dwelling, Crtas scooped up the human infant into his arms which almost immediately ceased crying, and he instinctively knew what he had to do. This human would be his penance, his future. Wrapping the child in some blankets, the old Zealot stepped out into the cold, dark night.