Blood and Vengance
Oh, wow, a Halo story, who could have possibly seen this coming?
I don't own anything that is actually Halo.
1# A setup of galactic proportions
High Councilor Dohl Scatozee was having an extraordinarily bad day. He had been sitting in his office deep within the holy city of high charity, when four of the filthy brute barged in unannounced. He was about to ream them for the outrageous breech in protocol, when he realized that the beasts where in the armor of Honor guards of the Prophets! He checked his speech with the gesture of puzzlement that they did not recognize. His anger shifted to the background as the politician of ten years took over.
"May I help you, Gentle Beings?" He said, coldly. The Leader, his mane shot with silver streaks amongst the crimson, let out a barking laugh,
"Are you not curious," he growled, "as to why we come here, in the armor of the protectors the holy ones?" Dohl could see the pride shining in the beady, hungry eyes of the brute. Pitiful, he thought, just the thought of knowing something that we might not makes the beast feel proud.
"I had wondered why you and your kin have taken to infesting our armor with the filthy parasites you carry in your fur, but was more impress that you have manages to say an entire line of speech without drooling or pausing to chew on yourself." He said it matter of factly and was actually a bit surprised when it roared and in a blur of motion unclipped a red plasma rifle from its harness and clipped him in the side of the head hard enough to send him flying into the wall, and swimming into blackness.
Indignant hissing and a mixture of excited and yelping was the first thing that greeted Dohl when he came to. A splitting headache followed quickly after.
"Miserable beasts…" he muttered as he opened his eyes and blinked away the fog clouding his consciousness. He slowly lifted his head, absorbing and banishing the pain from his awareness, but keeping the pain in his motions. No reason to show the animals that he was perfectly fine. He slowed his movements as he realized that his councilor's helmet was not in place. He rose to his feet, and glanced around. He was in a cell somewhere within the multi level detention center within the depths of the holy city. His Eyes widened as he looked to the back of the cell. "My brothers!" He called, and hobbled to a pile of three of other Sangheili, two in the silver armor of fellow Councilors, and one in the crimson of a sergeant. The two Councilors were dead, lying in a pool of drying purple blood, necks twisted and tore open. The sergeant, however, was not. His eyes fluttered at Dohl's words, and then widened. His armor was covered in dings and scratches and burn marks.
"Councilor! I thought the beasts had slaughtered you all!" he said, pride and astonishment washing through his voice.
"By the Prophets, brother what are the treacherous Jiralhanae done?" Dohl asked, as a series of explosions echoed across the city.
"This is indeed "by the Prophets," Excellency! The bastard Prophets have allied themselves with the beasts, and ordered the complete annihilation of the Sangheili!" In the still are Dohl heard the chieftain of the Jiralhanae say something about demons. Dohl patted himself down, checking for his rifle or energy sword, both of which he found missing. He reached around to his back, and pressed a hidden switch, a small hole irised open, and a foot long silver pole slid out into his hand. Hefting it, he turned to The Sergeant.
"Can you fight, Brother…? He left it open.
"Xhef, Excellency," he said, hopping to his hooves, "And I hunger to regain my honor!" He clicked his top mandibles in anger. "I am yours to command." He bowed deeply.
"Good," he would need this veterans support. "Where are we?"
"We are in the lowest cell block in the Chambers of Desolation. There has been numerous reports of a demon aboard high charity, and from what I can tell, many of are brothers are still fighting and killing the beasts." Dohl thought quickly, he was familiar with the energy barrier, and without his plasma blade, he had no chance of getting through. He glanced through the translucent shield, and noticed that the hallway held only 4 Kig-Yar, gathered around a table, squawking and chittering. Through a brake in their bodies, he saw that they were fighting over his helmet. Several plasma pistols and grenades were also lying about the table. A fifth Jackal stalked up and down the hall, orange shield ablaze. He turned back to Xhef. "Be ready, brother, for I have had a small explosive device secretly installed within my helmet, which the Kig-Yar are squabbling over." He tossed him the pole, and he deftly caught it and it grew another foot and a half from each end, into a full staff. "I will detonate it, and the magnetism from the plasma grenades should deactivate the fields. Take out the Major Jackal, while I finish the Minors." Xhef gave a short nod and crouched by the side of the door. The orange shielded Jackal walked past and then there was a brilliant sapphire flare outside the shield, then on the shield. It blinked twice, and then faded. Dohl was out the door and on the Jackals in less then 2 seconds after the door failed, and 6 seconds later, tree Jackals lay dead on the floor, burned and with their faces pointing backward, necks broken. One lost its head in the initial explosion, splattering the wall with blue-black gore. He turned to see Xhef removing the staff from the chest of the Major Jackal. He policed the Jackal's pistol and shield gauntlet, popped it on, and took up a position covering the entrance. Dohl liked that, and policed the other pistols and shield gauntlets, and went to join his comrade at the door. Half way, the deck shook and a sub-sonic growl shook his bones, and he turned to the cell to his left, to face his death stiff backed and head up. Not even the mightiest of Sangheili warriors took on a Mgalekgolo pair with just a pair of plasma pistols and lived. He stared directly at the head of the lead hunter as they halted just within striking range.
"My mate and I thank you for releasing us." It rumbled. "We would like the honor of joining you in battle, Sangeili."
"Myself and my brother would be pleased and honored for you to join us." Dohl answered carefully, "May our descendant's sing of our coming struggles in our family's war poems." The Hunters thrummed their pleasure at the honorific and the knowledge of their ways. "We head for the armory, and then to join our brothers in battle! Will your mate and yourself honor us by leading the charge?" The Hunters purred there approval so heartily that his bones shook, crouched behind their meter thick shield arms, and charged forward.
20 minutes later the hunters stormed out of the main grav lift and in to the atrium. The atrium was directly in the center of the city, 5 square miles of flora from grasses and trees, to water plants in the lake and streams. Following the Hunters came a wave of 16 Unggoy, who four rows of 4, with a red armored veteran grunt at the rear of each row. They took position between the pair of hunters, plasma pistols and needlers crackling with energy. Four blue armored Elites wielding plasma rifles took their places behind the hunters. Xhef hefted a Carbine and marched to the left rear center of the phalanx as Dohl took the right rear. He had appropriated a set of white special operations armor, and surveyed the raging battle. Drones flitted across the open space, flushing elites from cover, blue beams flashed as Kig-Yar snipers took targets. Blue, green, red and purple strobed the darkness as the species clashed, and Truths voice occasionally boomed updates and encouragements to the Jiralhanae.
"My brothers, and fellow warriors'" Dohl shouted at the assemblage, "The Parasite has tainted the city with its loathsome presence, so we are retreating. We shall march to the other side of the dome, cut straight down the middle, and burn anything that stands in our way!" A roar approval rippled through the phalanx. "We shall then take a ship, gather our strengths, and assault the treacherous Prophets and bastard Brutes!" he lit his plasma sword, roared, mandibles spread, and charges, as the rest charged after him.