"The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The Pessimist fears it is true"- J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Chapter 2: When Worlds Collide.
Earlier that day. 2628 days left.
A sprawling green plain stretched all the way from the edge of the lush green forest to the bottom of a mountain range which separated a peninsula from the mainland, uninhibited by either Orks or humans during the long millennia since they both first arrived.
In the sky was something that didn't seem to belong in this world, a machine which seemed to fly with two horizontally placed windmills spinning with such power they lifted the machine.
The machine landed at the edge of the forest with a soft 'Thump' and the soldiers inside of its hull unloaded themselves. They scanned the area with practiced precision then relaxed slightly when they knew the area was clear. Some of the members of the squad turn their backs to the forest to look at the plain with the mountains in the distance.
"Man what an amazing sight." said private Jenkins the newest member of the squad. He turned to his squadmates and asked. "You think I'll be allowed to build a house here when all of this is done and we've settled in?" He asked enthusiastically.
"Baby steps Jenkins." Replied fellow private Forsell. "Let's try completing today's mission without any major screw-ups."
"How exactly is there supposed to be any major screw-ups?" Ask Jenkins. "All we're doing is installing some cameras."
Before Forsell could tell Jenkins he probably just jinxed it, the leader of this operation spoke up.
"Alright people listen up," said Sergeant Fenix, an as by the book soldier as they come. "Just in case some of you didn't listen during the briefing, I'm going over the mission parameters one more time."
"Yesterday the drones found a middle ages village on the other side of this forest," he explained as he gestured behind him. "and more settlements are being discovered every hour. As you all know we need to colonize this planet if our civilization is going to survive, but it'll be better if we avoid repeating the more unsavory aspects of our past, we also don't know anything about these people and only an idiot makes any big decisions before he knows as much about the situation as possible."
There were some smirks at the last statement
"Fortunately for whatever reason, the natives speak English, so all we have to do is listen to learn." With that Fenix pulled out a small camera from out of his backpack to show everyone.
"So we have been sent here to gather intelligence on the situation and we're going to do that by splitting up into fire teams of 4 troops sneaking in and around the forest installing these little beauties in order to learn more about these people," he explained as he put the camera back.
"Once each team has finished placing their cameras in the designated places will rendezvous here to return home. So does anyone have any questions?"
Someone in the group raised their hand and after being given me to speak he asked his question. "Sir, I noticed that we have soldiers by the names of Johnson, Jenkins, Forsell, and Mendoza in one of the fire teams and we also have a sergeant by the name of Marcus Michael Fenix."
"Your point Soldier?"
"I'm just wondering, when's the Master Chief and Commander Shepard going to arrive?" The man asked with a smirk.
Snickering was heard throughout the squad at the question and in retaliation, Mendoza sent a gesture at the soldier who made the remark.
Sergeant Fenix shook his head and continued. "Alright people we have a job to do and we're not getting paid by the hour, move out." With that order, the Squad split into fireteams of 4 designated Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie and begin their treks into the forest.
Several hours later.
After placing their hidden cameras around the forest Johnson, Jenkins, Forsell, and Mendoza (designated Bravo Team) began to head back to the rendezvous, idly chatting as they went.
"You think maybe somebody put us all together as a joke?" Mendoza bitterly asked. "I mean seriously, what are the odds of a group of people with the names of a video game characters naturally forming?"
"Boy, I don't know or care what the odds are and neither should you," declared Johnson. "Personally I kinda like the comparison, those men got to fight against some of the most badass enemies in their universe, and it's kind of fun to pretend to be someone else every once in a while."
Before and those I could continue the conversation the Bravo team heard a noise and took cover behind the trees. There was still no telling what sort of dangers this planet hosted, so it was better to be safe than sorry.
It was then a little girl appeared. She was wearing a yellowish white blouse tied up with a belt around her skirt which was a nice purple color, but it didn't look like it had been washed recently. She was carrying a picnic basket and heading back to the village with a satisfied smile on her face.
"Switch to radio and keep your voices down," Johnson whispered.
All three of his men complied.
"It looks like one of the children from the village... and it looks like she's heading home," Jenkins whispered.
"Let her pass, our orders are to observe only," Johnson ordered.
His men acknowledged his order and counted their observations, "Any idea why she's so far out here?" Forsell asked. "I don't think she's old enough to be sent out this far."
"Maybe she was she just got lost and now is trying to get back home," Jenkins suggested.
"It doesn't look like she's lost," Mendoza observed. "I mean look at her, you think she would be more scared if she were lost, and it's like you said she's heading home which means she clearly knows where she's going."
"Mendoza, are you suggesting something?" asked Johnson.
Before anyone could ask Mendoza what he was getting at the girl looked over to the trees where they were hiding, and she called out "Hello?"
The four soldiers were shocked into silence, they weren't that far away from the girl but being as quiet as they were, she shouldn't have heard them. After a moment of the soldiers hardly even daring to breathe the girl seemed to have lost interest in the trees they were hiding behind and continued on her way. The four soldiers looked at each other and came to an unspoken agreement, wait for the girl to leave then start talking again.
The girl was just about to leave and Johnson was just about for orders when four tiny creatures wielding crude knives appeared from the same place the girl first came from. They looked like goblins with their green skin, small demeanor, long beak-like noses, and vicious red eyes looking straight at the girl.
"What the hell?"Johnson thought to himself. As the four creatures started to speak to each other in a cockney accent.
"Wots dis? A humie Gretchin? Yum yum!"
"Da Boss wud luv to eat it up!"
"I wanna get its lag!"
"Yu's going to eat Squigs, not humie Gretchin! Da humie Gretchin is for the Boss."
"Which boss? Da Big boss or the us boss?
"Da Big Boss, yu idiot! Da Warboss luv eating humies!"
While the four creatures argued among themselves as to who should deliver this tasty morsel to their 'Warboss', the girl used their moment of distraction to slowly walk away, she almost successfully escaped in silence, but then one of the creatures saw her.
"Oi, did we orda dis dinna ta go?"
"Yes yu idiot, it's gonna go to the Big Boss, why yu's asking stupid questions?"
"Kus dere it goes! Not to da Big Boss!"
The girl broke into a run, and the Creatures let out a howl and ran after her. "Bravo squad prepare to fire on the Goblins, be careful not to hit the girl!" Johnson ordered, and his men moved with practiced efficiency.
As they prepared it looked like for a moment the girl was going get away, but she slipped on a tree root and fell. She cried out in pain as her ankle was sprained, and then her scream became that of terror as the four Creatures were almost upon her.
"Somebody help!" She cried out in desperation.
It was then Bravo squad took the opportunity to opened fire.
*Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*
"Graagh!" cried the goblins in protest and pain but they were still standing, while Bravo could see the creature's wounds even from this distance the wounds in question were just barely-bleeding-scratches across their backs, which were now turned away from the soldiers as they saw the burning anger in the eyes of the Goblin-like creatures.
"Look ova dere!" Said the one closest to the squad, pointing at them as it spoke. "Dere's four humies with shootas tryin ta hide behind da trees!"
"Whot? Dese humies don't use shootas!" Said the one in the middle of the group, which was now looking at the direction the closest one was pointing. "Da ones with da shootas are-"
*Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*
After getting over their shock of the resilience of the creatures Bravo squad opened fire again and more wounds were being inflicted on the creature's most of which were now appearing on their heads.
While three of them were expressing anger at the now continuous fire harming them and appeared to be preparing to charge at the source of the noise, they notice the one in the middle talking about shootas was lying on the ground motionless. The remaining three panicked when they realized their leader was dead and ran for nearest thicket, never to be seen again.
After a minute of silence, Johnson ordered the squad forward to investigate the seemingly dead creature. Forsell approached the body cautiously until he was standing over the body and he told the others what he saw. "It looks like this.. the creature was killed when we shot it through the eye socket." He said struggling not to stammer.
"What the hell man!" Shouted Mendoza. "Do these goblin things have bulletproof skin or something?" he asked borderline hysterical.
"Beats me." Said Johnson, somewhat more quiet than usual. He looked over to where the girl was hiding and called out. "Maybe you can help us out?"
The girl peeked from behind her hiding place to see her rescuers with curiosity on her face.
"Who are you?" The girl asked in a small voice.
"My name is Johnson, and this is Jenkins, Forsell, and Mendoza." Each nodding their head as he was named. "Are you alright?"
After a few seconds, the girl rose up and said with a small smile. "Yes… thank you for saving me from the Gretchins."
Johnson took his head and replied." Think nothing of it, I became a soldier to help people anyway." He looked back at the dead creature on the ground and back to the girl. "So what can you tell us about these Grechen's?" He asked, "For example are they known for being very tough?"
She looked down with a subdued expression on her face. "Sorry, but nobody is allowed to tell the stories of the Covenant who isn't a proper storyteller."
Johnson frowned at her answer and the other men shifted uncomfortably. "Ok, now what is the Covenant?"
She shook her head and said. "Explaining the story about the Covenant is one of the stories of the Covenant, " suddenly her face lite up and she held her head height. "My father is the proper storyteller in my village, you can learn from if you help me get back home... if you're interested of course," she said with a hopeful smile.
Johnson seemed to contemplate the girl's words for a second. "Ok... Well, we'd be happy to help you get home but are you sure we'll be welcome there?" Johnson gestured at himself and his squad. "I think we'll get some funny looks."
The girl looked thoughtful for a moment. Then she looked at Johnson and his men and replied. "You'll be fine, I'll introduce you," she reassured them. "Are you ready to go?"
Johnson was just about to say yes then he remembered he was supposed to report on any significant changes from the original plan.
"I just need a minute to make sure my people know what we're doing, is that okay?"
The girl shook her head. "That's all right," she said and held her hands behind her back indicating that she was waiting.
Johnson went a small distance away and contacted his superiors and brought them up to speed on the situation the girl, the Gretchen's, Bravo's intervention, and the girl's invitation to the village.
"So, requesting permission to accept the girl's offer." He stated to his superiors.
After a moment the response came through. "We're not going to get another chance like this… permission granted, will send a team to pick up the body."
"Understood, over and out," said Johnson, and he returns to where his men and the girl were waiting.
"Good news everyone, they said yes." He turned to the girl and said. "Lead the way miss… I just realized we never learned your name."
The girl's eyes widened at the statement. "I completely forgot about that, my name is Alena and It's a pleasure to meet you." She said both formal and sweet at the same time.
The Alena waved at them to follow. "This way." She said as she led them back to the village.
Once the journey began, Jenkins whispered to the other three. "Well at least we know there's no conspiracy to make us a 'Halo Team'... unless this whole world is in on it too."
The trek through the forest was mostly an uneventful journey, but it was not an unpleasant one. The warm late summer air and sun were both extremely enjoyable, and Bravo squad was finding the smells of the forest were causing them to relax to the point where the encounter with the Gretchins now seemingly forgotten as they continued on.
After several hours group of five reached the edge of the forest and the village came into view. The sun was beginning to set and all five could see a crowd of dozens of people carrying recently lit torches. In front of the crowd was a man with his back to the forest, addressing the crowd with his voice on the edge of extreme worry.
"... So she cannot have gone far." He said after what sounded like a speech describing the situation.
"Don't worry Elric we will find her." Said a man in the front of the crowd.
Alena stopped and gestured at Bravo Squad to stay behind and let her revealed herself first.
"Hey, what's that?" Someone in the crowd asked.
The men turned to see Alena coming out of the forest alive and unharmed before anyone could react Alena rush over to the man called as Eric and called out, "Father!"
He kneeled down to catch her and they hugged tightly with Elric whispering in a hoarse voice. "Where have you been Alena? When I found out that you were missing, I was so terrified."
Alena smiled wide and kissed her father on the cheek, and Alena quickly told her story.
"I was going to surprise you with a picnic father," she held up the aforementioned picnic basket to emphasize then continued her story, "but I got lost so I began to head home. Then I was ambushed by a few Gretchins, but I was rescued and escorted home."
At first, everyone was relieved to see her safe, but then they began to worry about the Gretchins she mentioned.
One of them, the man in the front of the crowd came forward and knelt down next to Elric and Alena.
"Alena."
"Yes, uncle Hargen?"
"Are you sure you were ambushed by the gretchins?" Hargen asked.
Alena paused for a moment to look around the gathered crowd.
"Well… do we know of any other creatures which are green, short, have big pointy noses and 'speaks with da funny accents'?" She asked adopting the aforementioned accent for the last sentence, and the crowd let out a round of nervous laughter at the little jest.
"No." Hagren finally replied. "I simply needed to check if I heard you correctly. That is all."
Alean seemed to look almost apologetic. "I know they weren't supposed to return for at least five more years, but It seems I must be the bringer of bad news."
"Its okay Alena, no one is blaming you for anything," her father said with a smile. "Now you said you were saved, by whom? Was it one of the Long Riders?"
Alena shook her head back and forth "No, they were four men who came out from the trees and fought the gretchins with these metal… things that made very loud noises like thunder, they killed one of the gretchin and scared off the other three. Afterward, they asked me if I was ok, then they helped me get back home."
She continued her explanation. "I asked them to stay behind so I could show everyone I was ok before I introduced them.
Elric turned to look at Hargen who had a surprised look on his face which Elric returned in earnest, he then returned his attention to Alena. "Well, I suppose we had better meet these men, can you call them here?"
Alean nodded and looked back to the tree line she first appeared from and called out for her rescuers to reveal themselves.
And reveal themselves they did, four strange men appeared wearing clothing that bore a camouflage-like pattern that could be very useful for remaining unseen within the forest. They carried what looked like metal instruments strapped to their sides and held themselves like soldiers.
After a moment of hesitation, Elric steeped fourth with the flowers still in his hands and introduced himself. "I am Elric, to whom am I speaking to?"
The man in front of the group responded. "I am Sergeant Avery Johnson. This is Jenkins, Forsell, and Mendoza." Each man nodding his head as he was called just like they did with Alean. "We are soldiers of the United States Marine Corps."
Both men looked suddenly puzzled and then Hargen replied. "I am afraid we are not familiar with the United States Marine Corps."
Johnson smiled and chuckled warmly. "I would have been well above surprised if you were because we're new around here."
Contrary to what Johnson expected, the puzzled looks on Elric, Hargen, Alean, and the crowd didn't seem to grow, in fact, some of the people turned to each other with knowing looks. Then Elric asked his next questions. "Where exactly are you from then?" he glanced up to the sky which had some early stars coming out. "Did your people come from the stars?"
Johnson was now the one with to dubious look on his face. "What exactly do you mean when you asked if we're from the stars?"
Hargen was the one to answer. "Many of the stars in the night sky are suns much like our own, several of those suns have worlds orbiting them. Some of those worlds have humans living on them who look up in their night skies with our sun appearing as one of their stars. While this world hasn't had contact with the other worlds for a long time, some of the worlds are capable of building ships to travel between the stars and their circling worlds."
Johnson took a moment to get over being stunned. "Well so much for not being surprised… to answer your question, no we're from… Well that's a long story and frankly, my men and I have been hiking for most of the day and we would like some rest before we tell our story if you don't mind waiting."
Elric thought about it for a moment then nodded. "Very well. We can tell each other's stories during the evening feast."
Sounds like dinner Johnson thought to himself. "That sounds good, thank you for your hospitality," Johnson replied as it occurred to him that this was going to be interesting. "Lead the way."
Author's note: First of all to anyone who served in the military and knows for a fact that in a situation where the army needed to gain information on a new civilization on an alien world the military would not send ground soldiers to install hidden cameras around the nearest village I'm just going to say… I'm just a fanfiction writer/reader and an RTS player, not a real-life military expert.
You know I recently reread my first draft of this story and I got to say, I'm amazed people decided to keep reading it even when I made so many mistakes even if it was a fanfiction, to which I say thanks all who read the original.
Again thanks to my unofficial beta reader ChronoEntente who gave the name Marcus Michael Fenix to my undecided Sargent."
