Author's note:
A change to Halo canon I forgot to mention: In my version, Tom and Lucy will be 16 years old in 2546 instead of 14, this will make the story more appropriate after all this is a romance fiction. Other than that I am trying to stay as close to canon as possible.
This chapter introduces some OCs but I hope it's not a big problem.
Chapter 1
0856 HOURS, DECEMBER 18, 2546 \ BRUNELS SYSTEM, NEW LLANELLI, THE CITY OF BÉLIOT
". . . wake up Clifford, wake up Goddammit, there is a bloody battle going on out here!"
Corporal Natalie Clifford awoke to her lieutenant shouting in her face while she was lying on the ground. She did not know why she was there or what happened before she became unconscious, the only thing she remembered was an explosion and then everything went black.
"I'm . . . I'm okay sir, just a bit lightheaded," she said trying to sit up while brushing the mud and half-molten snow off her visor. Natalie scrambled for her SRS99 sniper rifle, but couldn't find the weapon. She must have lost it in the blast.
She looked at Lieutenant Miller, confused, "Sir I . . . I think I got a concussion would you please tell me what the hell is going on h—."
Before she could finish her sentence a Covenant Seraph fighter whizzed over her head releasing its plasma charges. Flames erupted only a few meters away from Natalie and burning heat flushed over her. Her instincts kicked in and she immediately sprinted towards the nearest cover. From where Natalie stood it somewhat resembled a foxhole. She stumbled on the edge and fell into it, splashing down headfirst into a pool of mud.
Now she remembered everything. The 33rd Marine Regiment was trying to fend off the Covenant attack on Béliot since the beginning of their invasion on the planet. They were successful so far but the attacks grew stronger and stronger as time went by. The unit sustained heavy casualties over the days of fighting and munition was running low. Natalie's company took the brunt of it, after all, they got tasked with one of the hardest missions: to hold the southern main road that entered the city.
Only now did Natalie realize that she was not alone in the foxhole. "Graceful landing as always Nat," said her squadmate, Corporal Shawn Cowden, laughing "It's good to have you back, you were out cold for a few minutes." Right after he said that Shawn popped out of cover to fire a quick burst of his MA5B assault rifle.
"Just shut up and tell me already what the hell is going on," shouted Natalie over the gunfire "I don't even know what happened to me, the only thing I remember is the Lieutenant shouting at me to get my ass up."
Shawn plopped back down into the foxhole and started reloading his weapon. "Well the Covvies launched another attack at 0600, this the biggest one yet, we have been getting our asses kicked for the past few hours," he said, in a surprisingly happy tone for the current situation. "But at least EVAC is coming and we are finally getting off this godforsaken planet." He finished reloading his assault rifle and was about to fire again but he turned back to Natalie, "We only have to hold them back for like 4 to 5 hours," he told her with a nervous laugh.
"Great," Natalie thought to herself, "now I only have to find a weapon."
0832 HOURS, DECEMBER 18, 2546 \ BRUNELS SYSTEM, ABOVE NEW LLANELLI, UNSC ALL UNDER HEAVEN
Spartan Tom-B292 woke up to the feeling of his body warming up and blood going back to his limbs. The door of his cryo pod opened exposing him to the blinding lights outside. He stumbled out and almost fell to his knees. Tom had always hated cryosleep he felt disoriented and weak after waking up.
Tom looked around himself and his heart sank. He saw 300 cryo pods, 300 empty cryo pods, and no one else in the cryo bay. Memories started to gather in his head. He recalled Pegasi Delta: the landing, his comrades falling beside him while trying to take the factory, the order to execute Omega three, team Foxtrot's attack on the reactor, Adam, Min and he remembered . . . Lucy. A slight bit of happiness reached his mind.
Tom knew Lucy had survived all this mess and that gave him some relief. He wasn't alone. He had a friend with him, his best friend and maybe they could get through this tragedy together.
To be continued . . .
Thanks for reading the first actual chapter of the story! This turned out a little bit shorter than I thought it would, I'll try to make the later chapters longer.
If you have any questions, ideas or advice on how to improve my writing please tell me.
Reviews are always appreciated. :)