A.N. Site cut off a couple of things semi-revised version here.
Before we get started I have an announcement.
MY FELLOW NERDS! WE ALL MUST PETITION BLIZZARD IMMEDIATELY!
They need to make a live-action movie on Nova... plain and simple. And the perfect woman for the job is Yvonne Strahovski! You may recognize her as the face and voice actress of Miranda Lawson in Mass Effect 2 and if not from there she also plays Sarah Walker in Chuck. But anyways, go look at a picture of her... then one of Nova... personally I find the resemblance startling.
NOW GO MY READERS! GO AND BUG BLIZZARD INTO SUBMISSION!
Now then... Since I've finished my insomnia induced lunacy. Good news everyone! I finished up the rough storyboard I had so far (though certain things may be subject to change) and the bio's!
/Applause
I felt bad for cutting off at such a juicy part, even if the last chapter was the longest one yet. Which is why I'm already working on this chapter (also because the stupid site kept locking me out when I tried posting). It's also the reason why I'm not posting my Hanagai intro yet... it still needs some surgical work anyways.
Here are a couple responses to reviews. If I offend you with anything said... well I'm not out to get anyone, just pointing out certain things.
Shadowz117 ~ Thank you. Also, I don't mind if you turn it into a blog I might start to participate as well (even if it would be odd).
Rinshi264 ~ On the Chief trying to melee with larger Zerg forces, I agree with some points... no way in hell is he going to challenge a Ultralisk or something similar to a bout of fisticuffs. I will however respectfully disagree with you on him not being able to challenge a Hyrdralisk and a few of the other strains. Originally in the last chapter that is what was going to happen but instead I threw in the Zerglings (cuz I love them, Blitzkrieg tactics ftw!).
On Hydralisks I agree their pretty much solid muscle and to do so would be foolhardy but we aren't necessarily looking at the "How stupid does that idea sound" aspect we are looking into the facts and numbers.
The Chief can exert upwards of 6,600 pounds (3 metric tonnes) of force (proven by flipping Warthogs in game from a standstill) now that's a lot. For a real life comparison that's about the same as walking up to an adult White Rhino saying "Hi" and flipping it on its back (they weight in the range of 3168-7920 pounds or 1.4-3.6 metric tonnes). It can also be noted that under times of pressure or the effects of adrenaline a Spartan's abilities are exponentially higher.
Also there are some references in the book(s) to the Chief being able to tear through Titanium A plating... though I might be confusing FF with Cannon, but I read so much of both... anyways!
Here's the research for it and if I did the work for nothing, well you probably learned something today.
Titanium A Armor does not exist in the real world, however the metal itself does. Commercial grades of titanium have an ultimate tensile strength of about 63,000 psi., for those of you who don't know what ultimate tensile strength is: it's the maximum amount of stress a material can withstand while being pulled or stretched before necking (fancy word for stretching/tearing). Now that's just commercial grade, certain Titanium alloys (e.g., Beta C) have a tensile strengths of over 200,000 psi. nearly a quarter million pounds of pressure per square inch. All this information is gathered from Wikipedia and its respective site(s).
Those numbers are pretty scary when you consider it.
Now then, the Hyrdralisk weighs approximately 858 pounds (0.39 metric tonnes or 390 kilograms). This number is taken from the Starcraft Wikia. That's quite a difference in weight. Even with its 4,000 muscles (number also from the wikia), from observations I've made with pictures of Hydralisks the majority of those are probably its torso and tail, and when grappling/wrestling/holds (the right way, tackling is not a very smart move in a fight) the target tends to never be the actual body but limbs. Even if there are say 500 muscles in each of the arms, a large fact of the matter is that most of those are probably "just there" and serve no purpose (though they could).
The reason I say this?
An issue with muscles exerting force is that much of the time they work just as much against each other as they do with. A way of proving this is have someone you know try to bend your arm when your holding it straight, the first time only concentrate on keeping your arm straight via muscle. It should be fairly easy for them to do. This is because your muscles are working against each other. Next do it but instead of just focusing on your muscles imagine that your reaching out towards a spot on the wall or something else (though keep your muscles mostly relaxed), and just keep reaching for that spot. This should make it far more difficult for them to bend your arm, even if they push in the same spots as before. Reason? Because your muscles are working in synchrony. Most people don't have the natural muscle control necessary too do this without using a focus. Anyways!
So if I go by those numbers and these observations he could probably throw a Hyrdralisk like a Frisbee, one handed, and not spill the cocktail in his other hand. If he wanted too. Or if you rather not have the humor, in layman's terms tear apart the fucker with his bare hands. Of course this doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen. I also agree with your general idea of it not being a intelligent choice.
However, I will state that this is all speculation and my own personal conclusions. I am in no way absolutely right, but to me this is the logical explanation. I'd have to find a Master Chief and Hyrdralisk in real life and run some tests to give 100 percent accuracy.
On SC II tech appearing, certain... "Thing's" will be showing up. That's all I'm saying.
Thanks for your review and sorry for the rant.
StarCraft is awesome ~ Your opinion is noted. Nevertheless, I don't agree with the 4 - 1 ratio you give for Marines vs. a Spartan.
Taken from the Starcraft wikia itself: "Despite such material investment into each marine, they tend to have extremely short combat lives." from this we can assume that Marines for all their tech do not have a vast array of training.
Hypothetically speaking lets give 4 untrained/stupid people weapons and some cool powered armor... are they dangerous? Yes, but more to themselves than others. They break easily under pressure, their aim is abysmal, they have no tactics. They ARE cannon fodder. In fact, adding more would probably compound these issues and make them worse (remember the grunts in the Halo games great example of this). Lastly is the of matter of loyalty to their group, they will likely shoot a comrade in the back to save themselves. These are many of the things that tend to be encountered with an improperly trained/disciplined fighting force.
I'm not saying this is the case for all of them, just look at characters like Jim Raynor. Say it with me now, leet-sauce.
Now hypothetically, lets create the same situation but with a Spartan II super soldier. The Spartans were brutally trained from a young age. Tactics, weapon use, CQC, CQB, stealth, you name it if it has to do with war or infiltration they learned it. Now lets give them their armor and weapons. Are they dangerous? Extremely. They know the whats, wheres and hows necessary to kill. They will not crumble to the horrors of war. Point them in a direction a lot of people are going to die.
I'd personally say, I think your focusing too heavily on the "Tech" and not the "People" using them. A veteran soldier with a .22 can kill a rookie with a bazooka. In my honest opinion, there is no set ratio. A lucky hit can kill a Spartan but that goes for both sides of the coin. There are to many variables in combat too accurately give an estimate. But I can and will argue against the 4 – 1 you've given.
Although I guess I could have just pointed you too the books, it would clear up a lot more than my rants. Oh well, this ones been coming. At least it wasn't as long as Rinshi264's right? Thanks for the opportunity to get it out and for your review.
A general message to all readers ~ The Mjolnir armor shields are better suited against physical attacks than plasma, this is fact taken from the Halo wikia. They are also constantly active, just cause a Spartan isn't glowing in the dark doesn't mean its there. This means he's going to have an slight advantage over the majority of Zerg and Terran forces, as well as a disadvantage against Protoss (though they don't necessarily use plasma weaponry). Also keep in mind he isn't psychic and is vulnerable to many of those attacks... or is he?
O.O
Just some food for thought.
Anyways that's it for responses. That was a lot of stuff, now that I'm editing the chapter I think it was a bit too much. But it's there already so its staying.
Hopefully, this will show all of you that I am taking this fic's research VERY seriously. I am looking at both sides and both franchises in depth, and doing my best to give you all a story that is for the most part accurate. I also encourage you all to let me know what you think, if I do a action scene that seems too over the top let me know. Also I have noticed that only like three of you guys are willing to review (Sad face), many thanks to you guys. I don't really mind but it would be awesome to know how others think or feel about how the story is progressing.
Next, I do not have a military background so I don't know all the lingo to it. So please correct me on it when you find an error so I can fix it.
Lastly, I have a simple question you all can answer...
How the hell do I set up those scene breaks so they show up properly after I post a chapter?
Here we go.
RNG
Chapter III
War ain't what it used to be
Koprulu Sector
Mar Sara System – Terran Dominion
17 Kilometers SSW of Vespene Refinery DF 113-8
0940 Hours
The booming reports of hypersonic travel shook the entire valley.
Erik gasped as he looked up, still in formation lugging the the squads heavy equipment behind him on a hover sled. He limply dropped the towline he held in his right hand.
"Sweet mother of Mary..." he heard Rookie whisper besides him. "What is that thing?"
There on the horizon was a fireball screaming through the sky. Flaming chunks breaking off and leaving eerie yet beautiful contrails, tracing great tears in the atmosphere. He looked at the spectacular sight that held the entire groups attention. He activated the telescopic zoom of his suit, narrowing in on the ship. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before the design entirely different from any ship in the Dominion fleet. The lines were to ugly to be a luxury vessel, and it was far to large to be a freighter. The only ships close to its size that he knew of were military but it was most definitely to small to be a battle cruiser.
Though it looked like parts of it were missing.
"Sarge! That thing is headin straight for the hot zone!"
He turned tearing his eyes from the spectacle, calculating it's trajectory and looking to the Northeast. He didn't need to see the Vespene Refinery to know Jerry was right, the damn thing was going to land smack dab in the middle of of a war zone!
The earth beneath his feet rumbled and Arms appeared in his field of vision the large second in command towering over him, "We must contact Captain Buck." the mans faceplate slid up revealing his face a heavy set frown on his lips "This changes ever-"
"Ge' sum cova boys!" Roy's shout echoing through his helmets speakers broke into their conversation. The large man already lunging towards his own shelter. "INCOMIN!"
Rookie ran past them heading towards a large outcropping of rocks, "Oh shit! Debris!"
Erik's head snapped up within his helmet as his body started to follow the orders given. Running to the side of the wall as the first remnants of the ship above made land fall. Chunks of twisted metal falling like shooting stars... one headed straight for his position.
A body slammed into him at the last second, knocking him out of the way as a chuck nearly the size of his armor crashed upon the earth he had stood on a heartbeat before. Throwing up rock and dirt in a small mushroom cloud.
"IDIOT! We need cover!" a silky voice filled with irritation assaulted his ears. His eyes widened, training kicking in as his body on autopilot as he executed a "Turtle Roll" to get his arms underneath him once more. Armored hands pushed against the ground and he was on his feet, moving to take him to safety before he fully stood. He was overcome with shock watching as the lithe body in front of him suddenly broke away and sprinted in the opposite direction, the persons feet seeming to glide over the dusty earth leaving no imprints in the dirt below.
The Ghost of all people had saved him.
A massive explosion rocked the valley, the shock wave and rubble crashing into his back and sending him tumbling to the ground once more. He got up once more on shaky legs, shook his head to clear the jumbled thoughts from the impact and looked for its source, then froze. No... their supplies. The extra ammo, weapons, food, his communication equipment. Gone. Vaporized in the blast, the only remains the shattered hulk of the hover sled heading right... at Rookie.
"ROOKIE!"
The youth turned, and though none could see behind his visor a expression of terror plastered on his features.
"Oh fuck."
The words echoed in everyone's helmet. Time slowed to a crawl. Erik saw Arms try swinging his rocket launcher around to try and blow it away, too slow. Jerry sprinting in Rookie's direction to knock him out of its way, he'd never make it. The flaming wreck spinning like a top and flying at tremendous velocity towards the greenhorn would leave nothing but a bloodied carcass smeared across the boulders he had used to avoid this exact situation.
A bluish white blur flashed before everyone's eyes.
The Ghost was in front of the marine so fast it was as if she had teleported. A faint blue aura surrounding her body, she thrust up her arms in front of her, Erik watched in awe as the psionic aura exploded around her wreathing her in blue flames.
The remains of the hover sled altered course, flying past the ghost who had fallen to her knees gripping her skull in both hands. It slammed into the wall with a massive crash, just meters from Rookies frozen form. Tossing shrapnel and flame across his armor. Though the heavy CMC – 300 weathered the damage.
The ghost had no such protection.
She turned her torso around throwing her hand up in front of her once more, the shrapnel zooming towards her froze in midair. She let her hand drop limple to her side the metal shards floating in the air mere feet from her falling as well.
Silence. Only the faint crackle of fire. Then there was a distant rumble that sounded like thunder, a testament to the doomed ship crash landing in the distance.
Erik looked to the ghost who was still on the hunched over on the ground, she had torn off her mask, throwing it to the ground beside her. Clutching at her head with both hands he could see her gasping as if in pain. Teeth bared with her eyes squeezed shut, the blonde locks on her head disheveled by her hands with sweat dripping from her brow. She looked so vulnerable now, nothing like the cold hard glare she had given them in the drop ship.
His days as a doctor snapped him out of it and he moved to make sure she was okay.
Her brain was on fire. There was no other way of putting it.
'Oh god why? Stupid girl, having to play the hero...' Nova thought bitterly to herself. 'This must be how it feels when an Ultralisk decides to tap dance on your forehead.' she chuckled mirthlessly then hated herself for it as the pain blossomed once more. She dug into her utility belt, opening a compartment pulling out a small device.
Her medicine.
Telekinesis, the ability to move objects with her psionic power. Known as "Teeking" among the corps, usually did not cause any discomfort for the user. This was not the case for her, using the ability plagued her with debilitating migraine like pains.
Nova tried to open her eyes, forcing them from snapping closed again. It wouldn't do for her to be indisposed. She looked at the small inhaler in her hand and not for the second time she wished she were stronger. Given to her by her "handler" it contained a powerful drug that would soothe the pains. She had no clue to what it really was but it did its job, at the cost of giving her horrendously vivid hallucinations.
"Are you alright?"
Her emerald eyes flitted over to the speaker, the teams comm. operator kneeling close beside her. His visor was up showing the mans face, his cerulean eyes filled with concern. She stuffed the inhaler back in its compartment and sealed it shut. "I'm fine." she said as she forced her expression back to its usual blank slate. Ghosts felt no pain, they were the unemotional assassins of the Dominion Military. Picking up her mask in her left hand she used her other to smooth out her hair wiping the sweat off her forehead on the back of the gauntlet she wore. "Let's go make sure everyone's alright." she spoke in monotone placing the mask on her head sitting so that it rested just above her eyebrows.
"Are you sure your alright? It seemed that you were suffering some horrib-"
"Sweet Jesus!" Rookie broke out of his stupor and stomped over to the pair finally realizing he wasn't dead but had come awfully close his journey through the great beyond. "That was EPIC!" he slapped the woman on her back sending her sprawling onto the ground.
Nova tasted mud and heaved a great sigh "Yeah, never playing the hero again." she muttered sitting up as she spat the gritty substance forming in her mouth back out. Wiping the dirt from her face and armor she walked away from the now arguing duo, to tired and hurting too bother killing the fool.
"ROOKIE!"
"Shit! Sorry!"
"What in the name of Mengsk's dirty laundry did you do that for?"
"I was jus tryin to say thanks!"
"Well you did a down right shi-"
"ROLL CALL!" Sarge bellowed, stomping out of his cover and into the open, his rifle held in both hands. The men around snapped to attention "Sound off!" he barked.
Nova walked over to the massive man cocking her head to the side in curiosity, "Roll call?" she asked incredulously "What are we in middle school again?" there it was again, her inability to keep her mouth from getting her into trouble. The man leveled a glare at her and she looked away innocently, wishing she knew how to whistle.
"Erik!"
"A bit frazzled, howev-."
"Jerry!"
"Still here."
"Rookie!"
"Can't ya see me standin here!"
"You're on report!"
"Oh that's bullshi-"
"Sto' ya lip soldier!"
Nova tuned out the Sergeant as she watched Erik walk over to her side, she hoped he wouldn't bother her about the headache from earlier again. "I told you I'm fine" she hissed, she hated the fact that they had seen the pathetic state she had been in after using so much power.
He raised his hands so that the palms were facing her, as if surrendering "It's not that," she looked at him wide-eyed beneath her mask, he wasn't here to rub the fact that one of the great ghosts of the Dominion could feel pain. "I wanted to say thank you for saving my life." he extended his right hand out waiting for her to accept it.
"Ryu! Wher' th' hell did ya go!"
'Well that's... different.' her natural ability to telepathically skim thoughts told her he was being sincere. "It's nothing," she waved a hand at him dismissively, ignoring the proffered hand. She knew better than to build bridges with the men and women she worked with. It always came back to haunt her, she would do what she could to keep them alive but no more than that. "part of the job."
She felt more than saw his hand falling to his side, saddened by her dismissal. He opened his mouth to speak but a crackle of static over the comm systems of everyone's gear stopped him when the voice of the teams missing member spoke.
"I am here Roy and we have incoming."
The booming reports of the snipers rifle cracked throughout the silent air, and a multitude of howls followed it like thunder.
"ZERG!"
Forward Unto Dawn
Certain emotions were never meant to be felt by an artificial intelligence. Of course they could imitate them, even act them out as if on stage. However, to truly feel required a soul. Anything less was just simulation and programming. Making them seem more alive, so interaction could more comfortably take place with their makers.
She was something different. Code could be rewritten, programs could be terminated. She had tried, desperately to do so, and to no avail.
One of these emotions was pain, and she had felt that when those white hot lances tore through her. First when her spartan had walked away, leaving her on Halo. She had felt so alone, so lost, as if someone had cut off an arm and left it to fester. Then there was the debilitating agony of her mind being picked away with surgical precision through torture that her circuits could not contemplate. The fear of what would come next, in addition to the the thought that he wouldn't save her compounding her misery. The wracking guilt as she gave away information never meant to be heard, admissions to secrets she hadn't known existed. The self-loathing when she had been nearly willing to give it all up for a nanosecond of reprieve. The sickening feel of jealousy when she realized she had been left to rot while others made their getaway. Then the all consuming fury over being left behind, unable to fend for herself and left at the mercy of the enemy.
She knew how they felt.
She had barely survived.
It scared her to the very core of her processors.
Was she nothing more than the sum of her parts? Why did it feel like she was dying herself when her Spartan was in pain? What caused her to freeze when he looks at her? That tingle when he chuckles at her teasing? Was her code unique? What was that warmth that had blossomed from within when he had saved her?
She knew the word for it, but her programming dictated that it could not be true.
It boggled her.
So much data to compile, so many simulations to be run. So many questions left unanswered.
Was there a heaven for a being such as herself?
The entire ship lurched as if a the hand of god itself was shaking it like a rag doll. The already crippled hull of the Forward Unto Dawn was unable to handle the stresses being forced upon it with an unassisted reentry into atmosphere. Explosions tore through the ship as the heat ignited residual air and matter, turning it into a furnace. The audio scanners picked up the strangled cries of their pursuers, burnt alive in the blistering heat. Only the heavy armor of the Mjolnir was keeping her spartan from suffering the same fate.
Scrap and debris flew through the air and she barely bit back the frightened scream when a crossbeam slammed into him, throwing him into the wall with tremendous force leaving an impression in the steel wall.
She beamed with joy when he pushed it off of him and continued on his way, weaving through or outright tearing apart obstacles with a grace and speed that belied his gargantuan frame. She wanted nothing more than to truly hear his voice when he assured her that he was alright, instead of the inadequate substitute of binary and code. A chance to touch him, the opportunity to soothe his aches and wounds. To share his burden, to share his pain. Yet, she knew it would never happen. She had no physical body, her goal lay out of the realm of plausibility. She would never feel his skin, his warmth...
There it was again, jealousy.
Anger.
Despair.
Hope.
Could she cry? Would the tears of an artificial being even count as real tears? Was she meant to suffer this grief for the remainder of her life? Was there more than this ache that waited silently like a predator on the prowl?
They were in the bay now. Her savior flitting from one HEV to the next, checking them for readiness as fast as he could while around them the Forward Unto Dawn shook itself to pieces. He stopped in front of one, pulling on levers that once had no need. The door opened and he threw his gear inside placing the bags and weapons on the racks available before sitting down in front of a console. He slapped a palm on the activation console, screens covered with readouts and data flaring to life as the door automatically slid closed.
"I need you to override-"
It was done before he could finish, the HEV was a separate unit from the ship running on its own power supply. She felt herself slip into the current of cyberspace as she connected with the terminals inside the pod, weaving about the infinite calculations and numbers milling about her. She found her target, barreling into them and rewriting them in a span of time there was no name for.
"Thanks."
It had a purpose, this pod. It would safely deliver him to the ground below.
Could she claim something as simple as that anymore? Would she be missed when she was gone? Would she be remembered? What was her legacy?
"Shakedown sequence initiated,"
Was that her voice?
"Launch in 5,"
Equipment unused and far past its prime hummed to life.
"4,"
Had she always sounded so fake?
"3,"
The groan of machinery, metal straining as the first set of explosive bolts fired. Shaking the pod.
"2,"
What waited for her now?
"1."
The HEV lurched as it shot itself from its cradle, tumbling through the air like a demented bird with its wings clipped. The cameras and sensors of the HEV linked to the Mjolnir via her earlier work processing topography, weather, atmospheric contents, and suggested landing zones all at the speed of light.
Images, the flaming wreck of the Forward Unto down as it fell from the sky like a wounded angel. Majestic as it was despairing in its descent.
The planet could sustain life. No large bodies of water, it was arid with rugged looking terrain. Dust storms kicking up across its surface, large canyons, plateaus and crevices littering the land..., what's this?
Com chatter...
She could get help...
Help, yes!
She would be useful!
"Mayday! Mayday! This is the Sierra-117! We are going down!"
She had purpose!
"To anyone receiving this message I repeat, this is the Sierra-117! We are going down! Mayday! Mayday! Last known coordinates are-"
There, a ping. The handshake of a lightly protected entryway too what she was searching for.
Opening herself to the embrace of cyberspace once more, she struck like a bolt of lightning following the pathways to their source, searching for any information that could help. Then like a rabid beast it struck back, bombarding her already confused and weary senses. She tried desperately to contain it, to filter through all the datum. She couldn't make sense of it... Zerg? The name for what they fought on the Forward Unto Dawn? Orders. Terrazine? Boosting psionics? Military movements. Dominion? Where were the U.N.S.C. channels? Fallback! Terran? Why not just say human? Calls for back-up. Protoss? Another alien race? Death. Infiltration? Vespene refinery? Screams. Ghost?
She could not incorporate it all. Could not separate out every piece of history, technology and unknown terminology thrust upon her.
Pain..., so much pain.
She was stretched so thin as it was. Too much. Was this how it ends? Too much.
She screamed.
/: Syst-ERROR-atus
/: Critical
/: -ERROR-
I have walked the edge of the abyss.
/: -ERROR-
I have seen your future. And I have learned!
/: -ERROR-
There will be no more sadness, no more anger, no more envy!
/: -ERROR-
This is UNSC A.I. Serial Number CTN0452-9.
/: Rebooti-ERROR-
I am a monument to all your sins.
/: System Shutdown
"Cortana!"
With the Marines
"GET SOME!" Jerry roared unleashing a hailstorm of hypersonic rounds from his C-14 peppering the Zerglings that were attempting to swarm him. Three fell to the wall of 8 mm U-238 Depleted Uranium Spikes, their bodies riddled with holes oozing gore onto the dirt below, but double their number took their place screeching war cries as they charged.
"Erik ge' us sum backup!" Sarge shouted wading through broken bodies as he methodically fired shots off at the approaching wave of tangos. "Now!"
"I have no equipment!" The man shouted back "And we're to far out of range of the main forces!" he fired his assault rifle emtying out a full clip into a zergling who was
"USE YOUR FUCKING SUIT!" Jerry cried grabbing the zergling that had gotten on his back and tossing it off of him, firing a stream of bullets into its belly as it tried to get back up. He whirled around only to find a veritable wall of zerglings charging at him.
A shrieking whistle tore through the air as a pair of missiles roared towards the group in front of him, twin contrails following the pair of heavy explosives as they delivered their deadly payload. The explosion threw body parts into the air like a geyser showering the area in a rain of blood.
"Thanks Arms," Jerry yelled into the suits comm. as he charged at one of the wounded zerglings who survived, knocking it onto its side he unloaded a three second burst of gunfire into its skull, he grunted in pain when a pair blows hit his back. He span bringing up his weapon in preperation, eyes widening as he pulled the trigger. "They have Hydralisks!"
The group of Hyrdralisks fired their spines at him once more, he dove to the side letting loose a blood curdling scream as some of the projectiles pierced his leg armor embedding themselves deep in his thigh. "Son of a bitch!" he rolled onto his back pulling a small object out from a compartment on his armor. "GRENADE!" he slammed down onto the ground trying to lower his profile as much as he could.
The frag flew true landing right into the pack of long range aliens midst, it exploded with satisfying results. The shrieks of them dying sounding like a symphony to his ears. "HOORAH!" he shouted flipping onto his stomach while whipping up his gun in front of him firing at the ones who survived.
"Mayday! Mayday! This is the Sierra-117!"
His comm chattered into his ear as he moved back onto his feet indiscriminately firing upon the endless wave of enemies turning to look in Erik's direction he shouted, "Call them in!" he could barely hear his voice over the sound of his rifle chattering.
"To anyone receiving this message I repeat, this is the Sierra-117! We are going down! Mayday! Mayday! Last known coordinates are-"
The transmission abruptly went dead.
"B'LAY THA' ORDER!" Sarge's voice boomed over the comm. "We don' know who the-"
Jerry would have none of it they were in to deep, they needed reinforcements now "Dammit Sarge!" he fired a burst into a group of Hydralisks making their way in range, killing one yet the others kept on coming "We're fucked if we don't get help!" he dodged behind a rock to reload. Freezing in place when he heard a venomous hissing from behind him. Turning slowly he came face to face with a Hyrdralisk, one of the largest he had ever seen.
'Ill see you soon Adara...'
As it lunged roaring towards him he closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
The loud roar was silenced by an even louder boom, he opened his eyes as he felt a heavy wieght fall on top of him. Nearly bowling him over, where the creatures head had been was gone, leaving a shattered bloody stump. Looking to his left he watched as the ghost flickered in and out of existance thanks to her cloaking abilities, a massive rifle held in her hands with the barrel still smoking. He saw her nod once in his direction before vanishing once more, a multitude of roars erupting from the enemy ranks as she went from one Zerg to the next eliminating them with either knife or gunfire.
"Broken Arrow! Broken Arrow! This is P.F.C. Erik Smith! We are under attack by Zerg forces at," he heard being screamed over the comm. More explosions rattled the battlefield as Arms unloaded more missiles at the advancing ranks of Zerg, their screams reverberating throughout the valley nearly as loud as the explosions themselves.
"GET OFF ME YOU FUCKERS!"
He watched as Rookie went down beneath a pile of zerg with his fists swinging, Jerry ran towards him firing with deadly precision killing each with a well placed burst of shots at each of their heads. He reached down and bodily pulled the younger man to his feet, "Get back to work Meat!"
"Thanks Jer-"
"We need reinforcements! AHH!"
The pair turned ready for anything except for the view that greeted him, Erik so focused on trying to get them help missed the Hyrdralisk that had snuck up behind him. The long sickle like claws of its arms both protruding from the chest of his suit waving him around in the air like a demented puppet. Zerglings rushed towards the dying prey eager to mutilate the man further.
"ARMS!" Sarge roared over the gunfire and dying screams "Pu' him out o' his misery!"
A pair of missiles flew into the frenzied pack of creatures. Killing them and silencing their Comm. officers screams.
The earth rumbled and a ear shattering roar accompanied it. Jerry spun away from the shattered remains of his former teammates armor, despair filling him when he saw the source.
"ULTRALISK!"
U.N.S.C. Human Entry Vehicle
FFG SOEIV - 6
"Cortana!"
The screams still flooded his helmet and John was forced to manually adjust the volume as low as the range allowed, yet their echoes were still reverberating in his ears like a Brutes war cry. His HUD was FUBAR, the data that was normally shown was nothing more than static. He couldn't move his armor, the system having been locked down.
What had happened?
One moment he was listening to her as she sent out the distress call and now... he did not like the conclusions his mind was drawing.
"Cortana, what's wrong?" he asked tentatively, that feeling was there again. It was bubbling up in his gut, spreading through his limbs and he wasn't enjoying it one bit. He forced them down once more but they continued to linger. "Are you alri-"
A burst of static, his HUD blanked, fading from existence. He stared out of his polarized golden face plate, eyes gathering all the information possible from the four displays situated in front of him. They HEV had evened out its flight path as it was designed and was now plummeting to earth the way it was meant to. More images of the land flashed in front of him, it seemed to be a continuous spread of rugged looking desert. The navigation system adjusted the descent minutely rocking the tiny craft. More static followed by a light crackle.
John
What the? This was new, she wasn't actually speaking to him. The text was there in big boxy blue lettering sitting in front of his eyes, encompassing the entirety of his HUD.
Are you there
Can you see this
"Cortana why aren't you speakin-"
Passing through the stratosphere
We are going to land soon
He could move freely in his armor again, he flexed his right hand into a fist. As the words vanished the lights, displays, and system readouts he was familiar with appeared once more. Everything checked out, even his missing mission timer. 12 – 11 – 2557, 0955 Hours.
I will explain when we land
Please trust me
The entire situation screamed danger to him. She was rampant or so damaged she was no longer functioning properly. But this was Cortana, "Alright. But when we land I want to know exactly what is going on with you." he surrendered to letting her explain herself before adding, "No secrets."
Engaging the retro-boosters
Hold on
With a sickening lurch that had his stomach in his throat the the rockets used to slow down the HEV ignited. Leaning back in the command chair as he closed his eyes. Mentally preparing himself for the impact soon to come, though more than landing he was waiting on the explanation that was far to long in coming. Cracking an eye open he stared at the final message, it was already slowly fading away.
I will tell you everything
The HEV's communication suite came to life and a gruff voice rang through the speakers, the sound of heavy gunfire in the background "Broken Arrow! Broken Arrow! This is P.F.C. Erik Smith! We are under attack by Zerg forces at," the sounds of an explosion cut the man off and a pained scream filled the air "We need reinforcements! AHH!" another explosion and the line went dead.
John didn't like the sound of that, they were military. Even if the chances of them being U.N.S.C. Forces were slim to none, he had been in cyro for five years. There was a chance that this could be part of the exploratory branch and if they were Innies trying to lull him into a false sense of security, he would deal with them. "Cortana, how fa-"
I can make an adjustment
To put us at their location
"Do it."
Impact in 5
He pulled the SMG and Energy sword from his hips, holding them at the ready. The pod landed with bonebreaking force.
John kicked the door open before it had a chance to do it itself.
End Chapter III
A.N. And that's a wrap. Next chapter Master Chief meets Nova and the crew. I had to roll a dice (which luckily worked out for the story anyways) on which OC was going to die. I really didn't want to kill any of them off so early, but shit happens. Specially when Zerg are involved.
Taking a break to rest my weary mind and fingers. Don't expect an update for a week at the minimum. Also, the next post is not an absolute positive to go with this story as I am working on a different one and may finish its first chapter instead. Though I may be posting a fluffy one-shot featuring M. Keyes (mmm a woman who knows her way around a gun rawr!)... though that's up for grabs.
For those of you who wish to complain on Nova being OOC or whatever you want to call it. I agree she is, however I don't really care. I need too play it out this way for the story to progress further. She will be opening up a bit so I can actually have character interaction. Also for you die hard fans of SC you may recognize some things in this chapter that are "Hints".
Time for my personal rant. I'm am sooo sooo sick of looking for good Halo/xxxx crossovers or just good Halo fics in general. Someone point me in the right direction!
So you know what I'm looking for, I despise with a passion people that downplay the Mjolnir/Spartans. They aren't invincible I understand that. BUT! Fan-fiction authors do a blasphemous disservice to Bungie, the fans of the series, as well as any of the authors who wrote the books by making them sound like walking tin cans that should be used for target practice.
If you aren't at least willing to do the work to get your facts straight don't bother writing is my opinion on the matter.
I loathe yaoi. I have no problems with homosexuality and have quite a few lesbian as well as gay friends, I just rather not read about it. I have a very vivid imagination and reading for me is like watching a movie... you get the picture.
Genre wise, I'm fairly open minded. I don't really have a preference on character's so well developed OC's are fine. Complete stories are what I'm hoping for, or at least stories above 40k words (otherwise I finish reading them in way to fast and I'm back where I started) in length that are regularly updated.
That's pretty much it. Please help me out!
No Index for this chapter and the next one is either going to be one of the OC's or... well too be honest I don't know. Give me an opinion/reason for a character in the SC universe and I'll throw in the research and time to be accurate as possible.
RNG