BraK3R's A/N: Hey guys sorry for not updating as promised but i've been sick the past couple of days. I'll try to update as much as possible when I can. If you are also wondering, I plan to keep all of DelVarO's original A/N's just because. I also altered some stuff in this chapter from the original since I found some story-related issues with it. It should be all set now. Enjoy and review please!
DelVarO's A/N: Hello there! Thanks a lot for the reviews! I hope that i didn't make you wait for too long but the chapter is herenow! I had a few issues with this chapter and i hope its as good as the last one. ^^ Correct me if you spot any flaws or the likes, suggestions are always welcome as well :) Now, Enjoy this chapter, leave a review and have fun!
Chapter 2 – Introductions
0530 Hours, February 7, 2563 (MILITARY CALENDAR) / UNSC Frigate New Age / Orbit / Planet Venatio
Damian took out his lighter and lit another cigarette as he continued inspecting his gear. They were in the HEV bay, preparing for their rather early mission. Ever since they'd received new engine upgrades from their new alien allies, traveling in space had become a lot faster. Damian was used to the long journeys, and the long hours of sleep that accompanied them. Now, at this early hour of the "morning", when most of the crew was still asleep, the ODST's had a mission to do.
Damian had finished inspecting his BR55 and turned his attention to the rest of the team. PFC Akira was sitting next to him, cleaning her sniper rifle and greasing the barrel. She was in her early thirties, of Japanese origin, with smooth skin, and raven-black hair tied into a ponytail that also complemented her bangs. She was the friendliest person Damian ever met in his life, and he'd sworn that he'd never seen her angry throughout their time of service together. She was a little shorter than him, about five and a half feet tall with a slim body. She noticed that he'd been looking at her and flashed him a warm smile and a wink from her dark brown eyes. Though now, she was looking a little displeased.
"Hmm, you look a little… disturbed this morning." He asked her. She raised her eyebrow at the question and looked around to see if anyone was listening. This motion raised Damian's curiosity. "Well, last night Brass had a little… too much to drink. Let's just say that I had to use my fist to change his priority of interests." She said with a frown and gave an angry look at Brass' direction. Damian laughed out loud, causing Akira to launch a large scowl in his direction. He released a puff of smoke and gave a look at Brass. It looked like he was giving all his effort just to avoid looking in Akira's direction, which made Damian chuckle even more. Even though Akira was very friendly, everyone knew that if they brought Akira's wrath upon themselves, it would be the last thing they would ever do.
On a crate of weapons nearby sat Cpl Jake, also known as Brass. He didn't know why or where he got his nickname, but it was his. Jake Niles was the biggest asshole in the universe, but he was loyal and sometimes, even a good friend. He stood almost seven feet tall, with battle honed muscles and an unshaven chin. The rest of his face was a little scarred, a scar on the left side of his face, said to be from a straying plasma projectile that had almost hit him square in the face. Near Jake sat the Kids.
Unlike the rest of the team who'd fought together for years, the "kids" were new recruits; joining Echo squad only recently for a few brief months. The kids, Privates Kyle and Jimmy, had joined the ODST Core only a year ago and this was about
to be their first real mission. Neither of them looked older than 25, and that's where the nickname came from, they were still kids. Kyle was almost five feet tall and he was nearly as slim
as Akira. He had short blond hair and green eyes, a nose that looked like it had broken several times and a small scar above his eyebrow. Jimmy was dark haired and about six feet tall with a fit body build. His face was young and his blue eyes gave him a boyish look. The three of them were having a conversation and he overheard a fraction of it.
"I'm not saying that I want another war but seriously, aren't you bored?" Jimmy said. The other two were looking at him, scowling.
"Yeah, it's a little boring but it's not a reason to hope for another war. I lost family in that shit…" Kyle said, loading a clip into his SMG. Brass just shook his head and stared at Jimmy, as if he felt sorry for him. "Sarge, can I slap the stupid out of this idiot?" Brass asked Sgt William Leone "The Grey".
He was called the Grey because of his age. Standing six and a half feet tall, he had years of battle scars lined up across his entire body from head to toe. Just one look at Sarge, and anyone could immediately see that he was a seasoned veteran. His face was a little wrinkled and his neatly trimmed hair was steel grey. His dark blue eyes had something frightening in them, something dead inside. If to believe rumors, Leone was over a hundred years old and Jake once said that he'd found out that Leone had joined the UNSC back in the late 60's of the 24th century. Damian and the others knew otherwise however. Leone perhaps looked old, but they all knew that when it came to fighting, Leone could beat all of them with a single hand if he wanted. And if anyone could rely on someone during a battle, it was Leone.
"Listen kid, billions of people died in that war; many of my friends too. So if I hear you saying shit like that again, you'll be joining them too." He growled, his tone leaving no room for debate. Jimmy scowled but said nothing. "Don't worry Jimmy; I'll help you out if it does happen. I'll shoot you first so you won't have to suffer when Sarge gets to you." Sean added, drawing a chorus of laughter. Jimmy mumbled something that sounded like "Assholes" and said no more.
Damian put out his cigarette on the ashtray placed near him and looked at Sean. Sean was an odd Helljumper. Whenever he could, he would grab the closest available Covenant weapon. He was holding a Covenant Carbine and Damian knew that Sean was in love with that particular rifle. Sean was in his forties, the battle was visible on his face and head. He was completely bald, with countless scars all over his head but his face had much less scars and his bright green eyes shone with life. PFC Damian was six feet tall with a muscular body build and battle-honed muscles. He was in his early thirties but he looked much younger. He had short light-brown hair and grey eyes and his nose was a little bent from an old fracture. Damian finished attaching his armor, left with only with his helmet and the UNSC wrist-shield. The wrist shield was the human version of the Jackal shield. More powerful, more efficient, and more coverage in order to protect larger areas. Rumors said that the UNSC wrist shield could handle a shot from a fuel-rod cannon, but it was a rumor that Damian wasn't hoping to disprove. He attached the gray metal bracelet-like device to his wrist and tried it out. A shield appeared on his hand, fully covering his head down to the knee. If he crouched, he would be fully protected. The only downside of this device was that it wasn't rechargeable, so if the energy ran out, the gauntlet would become totally useless.
"All right, let's go through the operation again." Leone barked, drawing the attention of everyone in the HEV bay. Everyone looked at the Sergeant, some groaning in protest. Leone had gone over the plan three times already. "I'll explain this simply and quickly because some of you aren't looking too happy to hear this again." Leone said with a scowl. "About a month ago we got a distress signal from one of the facilities on this planet. As far as I know it's a scientific lab. This planet is first contact, meaning that those science geeks were the first to arrive here." He said with a shrug. "We don't know what happened or why they sent a distress signal, so we're here to find out." "The signal is about 2 months old, so let's hope we are not too late." He continued. "I don't know what we're up against, this place is neutral territory, so the chances that we could meet brutes or rogue sangheili here is small, but it's still a possibility. As far as I know, we lost contact with all three planetary facilities when the Ark was destroyed, no contact from them ever since, not until now." "Sir, I read the mission log... wasn't there a garrison of marines stationed here alongside the scientists in each facility? Over 30 marines each if I remember, and an entire armory in each of the facilities too. So why send us?" Brass said. "I don't know Brass, they could be having issues with local wildlife or some shit, but they called and we answered. Listen everyone, we go down there, get to that lab, see if we can help them and if we can't, we get those scientists out of there!" He yelled. Some nodded, some looked a little disappointed. Damian was suspicious… why would someone send a full squad of ODST to check up on a science lab? And for help against the local wildlife? This seemed weird… unless there were chances of brutes or other dangerous creatures.
The war had ended almost a year ago, but the brutes had never given up. They weren't a massive force now, and they couldn't mount any massive attacks, but they still attacked small planets and trading stations. The Elites had done most of the cleanup work by waging their own personal war against them, but encountering them here was possible. Considering that this planet had been here a long time and that it hadn't been glassed could mean that the brutes had long ago seized it… but then why had the distress signal come only now?
Damian donned his helmet but after a second he heard a knock. He turned his head to see PFC Mary Herman. She was in her late twenties, with shoulder length blond hair tucked into her helmet. She was a little shorter than him and her blue eyes sparkled with eagerness. In her hand was a bottle of beer. "Want a drink?" She asked him, offering a second bottle. "No thanks, I prefer to be sober if we encounter anything when we land." He answered. "As you wish, there's just no way im getting down in these pods on a fully clear head." She mumbled and went on to offer the second bottle to Brass. A moment later he chuckled as Leone confiscated the bottles. The next few moments passed in silence as everyone gathered their equipment and prepared for the mission ahead. After a few minutes Leone, now in full battle gear, his face hidden behind his helmet's visor, cleared his throat. "Alright boys...and girls," He nodded towards Akira and Mary. "We're going out in 5 minutes…" He said and climbed into his HEV pod.
Nik'ah'kum silently climbed on the tree, taking care that his prey would not notice him. He was cloaked and was practically invisible, but the cloaking generator did not block sound, and if he made too much noise, his prey would escape. His prey, a large beast that ran on four legs with a large horned head and a thick hide, silently ate a small dead animal beneath the tree. Once the hunter climbed on the tree, he silently crept to the branch that was above the beast. He would have to be careful, if he missed the initial strike; the beast could easily skewer him with one of its three horns or simply run him over.
It was night, and the shadows would give him additional cover. He silently unsheathed his spear and prepared it for an attack. The beast was oblivious, for now. This would be the last hunt of this night. Nik'ah'kum jumped down, but the beast heard him and started to run. The spear stopped it however. Even though the spear had partially missed, it had stabbed through the back instead of skewering the head. The beast roared, revealing blood dripping razor sharp teeth and turned around to face its attacker, red eyes filled with rage aimed directly at Nik'ah'kum.
This was what Nik'ah'kum had feared. Leader had told them about these beasts, that they could become berserk and would never stop until their enemy was dead. But he wasn't ready to die. He had faced the Hard Meat and lived, this large beast was no match for them, and so it wouldn't be a match for him either. The beast charged, putting the three long and sharp horns in front of it, but the hunter jumped high, away from the beast's reach. The beast missed him but kept on charging, eventually colliding with the tree and tearing it out of the ground.
He was amazed for a moment; it had been a long time since he'd seen such a feat of strength. If this animal were to hit him, he had no doubt that the many bones in his body would break instantly. But he also noticed that the momentum was the animal's enemy. The beast turned around and charged again; seemingly not caring that it had just torn a tree from its roots. The hunter leapt to the side, throwing his spear at the beast while in the air.
The spear hit it's mark, tearing through the hide and ribs and ripping apart internal organs and dark red blood flowed through the wound. The animal howled, whether from rage or agony Nik'ah'kum couldn't tell, but a moment later, the beast charged again!
He was left without a weapon, except for one. A pair of three foot long blades, slightly curved and rugged on the inner side, came out of the wrist guards he wore. He stood ready, the beast about to crush him. At the last moment he leapt to the side again, slashing with the blades, tearing two long gashes on the animal's side. The beast howled again, blood flowing out of the wounds, leaving small puddles on the ground. Nik'ah'kum roared, challenging the animal, taunting it. The horned animal turned around and charged again, more slowly this time and with an apparent limp in its charge. The hunter chuckled, this battle was over.
When the beast was close enough, he leapt again, but not to the side, but forward. He grabbed the largest horns and swung himself around it, coming to land on the animal's back. The beast squirmed, trying to drop the hunter from its back but the hunter's grip was firm and the animal would not succeed in its attempts. Nik'ah'kum raised his hand and drove the blades into the beast's skull, again and again. The beast toppled to the ground, already dead. The hunter lifted his bloodied hand above his hand and let out a victory roar that echoed throughout the jungle. He grabbed the horn once again and slashed at its base with his armed hand, easily cutting the bone loose. He was first to kill this creature, he would bring this horn and show it to Leader. He would show the other ones… they doubted him, speaking that even the furred hunters would easily kill him but they were wrong.
He looked at the small net filled with this night's trophies. He placed the horn and spotted the pair of fangs that belonged to a furred hunter. None of them had ever killed a large beast such as the one before him, he was first to do so. Next night, he would kill a dozen of the furred hunters and a dozen of these large animals… that would teach the others who was better. He looked up at the sky. It began to change color, slowly becoming brighter and the number of stars decreasing as the clear skies started to decrease. Dawn was closing. He kept musing at the thoughts of their faces, the realization that they were wrong until he heard something and spotted movement at the corner of his eye. He quickly took out the spear out of the dead beast's side and stood ready for battle. But battle didn't come. Instead he spotted Leader, Nichire.
"You fought well." He said with a glimpse at the dead beast. "You are the first one to kill such a beast in this hunt." Nik'ah'kum bowed his head in thanks. Not many were given such compliments, especially from Nichire. Only by looking at Nichire, it was obvious why he was Leader. He was a seasoned fighter, a veteran of many hunts. Many called him Queen Slayer, since as it was told, Nichire had killed three of them. His mask was covered in markings, markings of honor, courage and experience. Tales were woven about Nichire, tales that Nik'ah'kum listened to when he was a young suckling. This made him wonder how old Nichire really was. And realization also hit him that in front of him, was standing a living legend. Someday, Nik'ah'kum thought to himself, he would surpass Nichire. He was about to ask him about the next hunt when suddenly he noticed that Nichire was not paying attention to him.
In fact, he was looking at the sky. Curious he looked as well but a moment later, he was confused. Eight balls of flames slowly dropped to the surface of the planet. None of them said anything for a few moments, they just watched the fireballs drop down until Nik'ah'kum decided to break the silence. "Rocks?" He asked Nichire. Rocks falling on a planet could ruin the hunt for a long time. "No." Nichire answered simply, rather calmly. "Then what is it?" He asked after another moment, being unable to find an answer by himself. "Soft Meat." He said and Nik'ah'kum could almost smell the anxiety in Nichire's voice. "Oomans."
Nik'ah'kum considered the options. If he could hunt an Ooman, and be the first one to kill one… the others would be forgotten, and only he would be remembered in this hunt, except, well of course, Nichire."Are we to hunt them?" He asked Nichire, eagerness in his voice. "We are not here for them." He replied calmly, as if not caring. "But we still must warn the others." Nichire said and walked away, leaving a very dumbfounded Nik'ah'kum behind him.
