Author note
Well this is later than expected… Sorry about that by the way, writer's block was kicking my ass. But tonight and last night I kicked my own ass to get this done and it's the longest I've written so I don't feel completely terrible. At least the chapter after this is going to be easier to write. One more chapter before Noble Team yay :D!
Sorry for my ridiculous amount of time skips, once I get Noble into the mix the skips will be few and far between. I just use them excessively in this chapter and the next because I'm not going to waste your time reading that much of the same routine.
Forgive any grammatical errors you find but please let me know about them, I wrote this in a rush before I leave for a quick vacation tomorrow while I was listening to Japanese music, scores, and Iron by Woodkid, the diverse music may have addled my already questionable intelligence.
Again if you wish to submit a Marine, ODST, or Spartan OC, I still need names at least. I can only take so many submissions so please don't mawl my head off if I don't use your OC, just view it as an opportunity to add him/her to their own Halo adventure :P.
Disclaimer: I do not own Halo : (
… Speaking of Halo… Whose excited hor the Combat Evolved Anniversary Beta coming on the 4th? And just the fact that its coming in general? XD
Hope this chap doesn't disappoint to much…
Enjoy : ).
"On the blood of our fathers."
The Elite mantra once again began in her head.
"On the blood of our sons."
Her sword pierced through the torso of an unfortunate Marine who screamed in agony.
"We are sworn to uphold the Covenant."
She through the corpse off the energy blade and turned to finish off the rest of the human squad, only to see them retreating like hell's demons were after them, and in a way they were.
XXX
The inside of the Retribution's Thunder was a welcome sight to Keira as she stepped out of the Phantom with the rest of her ground team. She had to admit that glassing was beautiful in a way, but the smell of burning earth and flesh wasn't exactly her favorite thing. The Covenant trained Spartan preferred to be on the ship to view when the glassing began instead of on the ground picking of stragglers, because enemy or not she didn't really agree with killing innocent civilians. She would never say that aloud though, she was no heretic.
"Kiera, you did well. At this rate we will have humanity begging for mercy soon." Rav'k commented, coming up beside her.
"Thank you, General." She replied with a bow before heading for the exit of the cargo bay. She was intercepted by Zyran.
"How did you feel about the mission?" Her orange clad battle-brother inquired.
"The same I feel about the others." She replied casually. His mandibles flickered in an odd way, a gesture she came to interpret as thoughtfulness from the Elites. "Why do you always ask that question anyway?" The Spartan was extremely proud of her mastery of interpretation and her understanding of the Sangheili language, though it was nice that the few Elite's that knew English used it when speaking to her.
"Its just… I don't understand why we kill the civilians, it seems… wrong."
"That's heretic talk, Zyran." She warned. The last thing she wanted was for her friend to be branded by that deadly title. The Officer was the only Elite who treated her like an equal instead of a Minor, Thel was always busy, Naros wasn't exactly chatty, and Rav'k was… well Rav'k.
"I know, but still… I can't help thinking about it." Keira just nodded. She didn't really understand Zyran, but he was her friend an she would do what ever she could to protect him.
"Just be careful who you say that to, Zyran. I don't want you getting into trouble for something like that." She finished before entering her quarters and leaving Zyran to his own thoughts. The Officer had good intentions, but at this rate he would never live up to the expectations of his highly esteemed father. Keira knew how much his fathers approval meant to the young Elite, and she was sad to think of her partner never achieving that goal, but there was nothing she could do. Keira sighed as she began the tedious task of her armor. The Prophets had had custom armor built for her so she would be near indestructible in battle, the weapon they needed, the protective layer looking like an awkward purple mix of Ranger and Minor armor. It was odd making Elite armor fit a human, but despite its odd appearance, it worked well enough. She had been trained by the Elites in the mastery of Covenant weapons and Elite fighting style, and despite her rank as Minor, she was given a sword due to her incredibly fast mastery of the deadly blade and other weapons. The young Spartan had been with them for three years, becoming one of the best soldiers the Covenant had, the Demons were truly ultimate weapons, and the Covenant had an excellent one of their own.
Keira let out a tired sigh as she flopped on to her odd Covenant equivalent of a bed, closing her eyes as she tried to relax. The Covenant would be moving on to the next human planet, and she would be sent with the scouting team as usual. She had to rest up for the next battle, she had to be ready for anything.
XXX
The lone Spartan moved through the halls of the UNSC base quickly, orange helmet tucked under her left arm. The look on her scarred face clearing the path of Marines and ODST. Arriving at her destination, the Spartan paused and knocked on the door before her loudly.
"Spartan B-312 reporting for duty, sir!" She called out. There was a beep and the key panel turning green as the door slid open, the armor clad Spartan entered and stood at immediate attention.
"You're just in time, Spartan." The Colonel replied to his personal assassin before taking a long drag at his cigarette.
"Sir." She nodded, waiting for her commanding officer to continue.
"I've been ordered by higher command to dispatch you to Dr. Halsey's location, apparently she has an important mission has decided to use you to carry it out. The damn ONI operatives wouldn't give me any details, but you are depart at 0600 hours." He paused, tapping the burnt end of his cigarette into the ashtray on his desk, appraising the Spartan he had had control over for most of her UNSC service. He put out his cigarette in irritation, that bitch Doctor Halsey just had to use his Spartan for whatever mission she had up her sleeve, he thought she hated the Spartan IIIs. " Well," He continued. "I hate to see my personal assassin go, but orders are orders. Happy hunting, Spartan." B-312 gave a final salute before leaving the room, heading to docks for dispatch. She had never cared for the Colonel, having been his assassin for years, sure she didn't voice her distaste for the man, she was the perfect Spartan. She followed every command to the letter and then some, flew through training, was cold hearted and ruthless, and had been given the title Hyper-lethal vector and as far as she knew, there was only one other Spartan with that . Whatever mission the well known Doctor Halsey had in store for her, she would be ready. She was a Spartan after all.
XXX
The halls of this base were different, Marines, ODSTs, and Spartans, were replaced with researchers, techies, and scientists, roaming in an orderly fashion, all seeming driven to get to a specific place at a specific time. Quite frankly, the Spartan didn't like it one bit as she was led by some assistant to Halsey's private conference room. The woman punched in a code and the door slid open, revealing who the Spartan believed to be Halsey and a man who appeared to be a Colonel in the middle of a discussion.
"Spartan B-312 is ready for you, ma'am." The assistant said before skirting around the armored super soldier and leaving the room. Halsey looked up from the datapad that rested on the table to examine.
"Ah, there you are, Spartan. We've been expecting you." She said with a hint of distaste, said Spartan glared through her blue visor.
"Sorry to make you wait, ma'am." Who does this woman think she is? She thought angrily as the doctor beckoned her over to stand near the table.
"No matter." The old woman said quickly. "Colonel O'Donnell and I have an important mission for you and your skills. Go ahead, Colonel." She finished with a prompting gesture. The older man cleared his throat before beginning.
"At 0500 yesterday we received the last squadron to survive the Covenant's most recent glassing. The squad's leader, Sergeant Lopez, told us that they were attacked by a group of Elites with an odd member. They described this strange enemy as a Spartan in Elite armor." The orange clad Spartan's eyes widened. "We understand that the idea of a Spartan defecting from the UNSC is impossible to comprehend, so Doctor Halsey and I have come up with a list of theories as to why the Covenant would have a Spartan fighting for them. From what the squad of Marines say, we have reason to believe that this 'Covenant Spartan' is always on the frontlines. We have already detected a Covenant encampment on this planet, we are assuming that this rouge Spartan is in that camp. Your mission is to find that Spartan, and bring them here for questioning." Dr. Halsey picked up the datapad and moved over to the still Spartan.
"This is a list of Spartans that have gone MIA, our rouge may be one of them. I suggest you read through it." The creator of the Spartan project said crisply, handing the information over to the waiting orange gloves.
"The doctor is also supplying an EMP gun so that you can capture the Spartan with out harming them." He said, holding out what looked like a heavily vamped up taser. B-312 nodded, taking the EMP gun and attaching it to her hip above her pistol, also taking the datapad and skimming through the not surprisingly short list of names. There weren't many truly MIA Spartans, most of them were killed in action, but God forbid that information getting out…
"So, are you ready, Spartan." B-312 nodded to the doctor who she was already starting to dislike.
"Just tell me when I leave." The supper soldier said, handing the datapad back to the near white haired woman.
"ASAP, you'll be working alone on this mission. A Falcon will drop you off as close to the Covenant encampment as we can get. Once there, you'll infiltrate and retrive the target, take out the entire camp if you have to then radio for pick up. We have no idea how many Covenant troops will be there, so be on your guard."
"Understood." She said with a nod before spinning on her heel and walking towards the door.
"Good luck out there Spartan."
"Thank you sir." She said with a nod before walking out the door and heading for the base's airfield.
XXX
The forest was quiet, too quiet in B-312's opinion. According to her HUD, the Covenant encampment was just over the next hill. The Spartan pulled the Sniper Rifle off of her back and crawled up the rest of the way, placing the barrel of the deadly precision weapon just over the top as she rested her head and shoulders on the grassy ground. She zoomed in on the scope and was surprised to see quite a small encampment, maybe enough room for around twenty Covenant soldiers max, probably a scouting party.
"My lucky day." The Spartan said to herself before moving her scope to the center of the encampment. She scanned the group, seven Grunts, four Jackals, two Elite Minors, and… The hyper-lethal soldier couldn't help but be surprised. Looks like the rumors are right, that is a Spartan in elite armor. She thought as she observed the obviously human body type of the thirteenth inhabitant of the Covenant camp. Take out the Elites first, then the Jackals, by then the Grunts should be running for the hills and I should be able to focus on the Spartan, if not, I'll just take them out before I tackle the big gun. The Spartan planned. Feeling confident with her strategy, she took aim at the Elite closest to her target, and fired.
The target Spartan's head snapped to the side at the sound of the gun shot, just in time to see their Elite companion fall. B-312 wasted no time, and in the resulting confusion caused by her first shot she fired again, taking out the second Elite. Realizing that they were under attack the Jackals activated their shields and looked frantically about for the assailant, the Grunts were already running in circles squealing in that odd yippy language of theirs. The lone wolf's target on the other hand had tracked the second shot and was looking her way, already pulling out an Energy Sword.
"Damn it, you have got to be kidding me!" The orange super soldier growled before pulling the pin out of a frag grenade and expertly throwing it at the feet of the group of Jackals. One of the birdlike aliens had time to look down before the explosive detonated, sending the four Covenant snipers flying. The purple clad Spartan had begun charging toward her, seemingly enraged by the death of it's comrades. What is this Spartan, an Elite? Sighing in agitation, B-312 pulled out the EMP gun and readied it. If this Covenant Spartan acted like an Elite, then it would most likely fight like one, and B-312 was an expert at fighting Elites close range. The target Spartan let out an angry feminine yell, swinging their sword towards B-312's shoulder, intending to cleave the Spartan in two. The lone wolf assassin anticipated, ducking and rolling away from the blow before jumping up quickly and ramming the head of the EMP into the neck of the target's armor before pulling the trigger and sending a powerful jolt through her enemy's armor and body. The Elite armored Spartan twitched from the burst before falling over, sword deactivating and landing near it's owner.
"Well that was disappointingly easy." The orange Spartan commented as she observed her fallen opponent. "Wait, its never this easy…" If this was just a scouting party then they must have some form of communication with the main group, which meant. "Shit!" B-312 cursed as she realized that the very Spartan lying at her feet may have contacted their superiors. The hyper-lethal vector activated her comm. "This is Spartan B-312 requesting immediate Falcon pickup. My mission is complete, requesting evac ASAP." The comm. Link crackled for a few seconds before a response came in.
"I read you loud and clear, Spartan. "
"Sending coordinates."
"Coordinates received, pick up en route."
"The quicker the better, in a few minutes the Covenant will be swarming this location."
"Rodger that." The Falcon jockey replied before cutting the communication abruptly. The Spartan sighed, moving over to her captive.
"That pilot better be quick. No way in hell am I gonna fight an army of Covenant just to recover your sorry ass. You may not know this, but I really don't like the backstabbing traitor type." She said with a glare directed at the incapacitated Spartan on the ground to her left.
It only took a few minutes before B-312 could see the large yellow dot on her HUD and hear the duel blades of the Falcon as it came into view. The Falcon landed on the hill a few feet away.
"Ready when you are, Spartan." The pilot called out. She only nodded in response, not seeing the point of giving a verbal response before hauling the deadweight rouge onto her back and depositing them roughly onto the Falcons floor before moving them to the middle back seat and strapping them in. She was about to get in her self when she thought of something. Moving around to the front of the air vehicle and knocked on one of the small windows of the cockpit. The pilot gave her a confused look.
"Sorry, but I'm flying." The Marine looked like he was about to protest but thought better of it, instead going with the smarter and safer route of just doing what the super soldier said. Not only was she a higher rank, but he knew that it was best not to get on a Spartan's bad side. The man pushed open the lid and hopped out of the cockpit, almost immediately being replaced by the female Spartan.
"Well don't just stand there, get in! We're in a rush if you hadn't noticed." She snapped. The Marine jumped before rushing to get into the left turret seat, shouting out an affirmed "ready" before the Falcon's blades started spinning and the three were lifted into the air.
XXX
Keira felt as though she were on a Corvette without it's stabilizer activated, she was rocking back and fourth violently. What was going on? Her head felt fuzzy, and her body tingled. She made to move her arm, but found she was restricted. Her body was responding well enough, but her armor was shot. That's when she remembered the attack. They were attacked by a Demon! Her eyes snapped open to see the strange interior of a human vehicle, a Marine was on the turret to her right, firing towards what she assumed was the back of the vehicle. Where was the Demon? The vehicle banked hard to the right, and Keira now understood why she felt rocking, they were in the air.
"Damn! How many Banshees are after us?" A yell came from what seemed to be everywhere.
"Two!"
"Well than shoot them down, Marine! I can't do this all day!" An angry feminine yell came again from the air in the vehicle which Keira had now clarified was what the UNSC called Falcons.
"I'm trying, Spartan!" The Marine yelled back in a near panic. "They keep evading to the right, I can't reach them there!"
"Well then turret hop!"
"Are you insane?" He retorted, Spartan or no Spartan there was no way he was about to seat hop, especially not with the way she evaded so abruptly, he would fall out of the Falcon if he tried something so risky. So the Demon was flying this thing, Keira chose now to speak up, its not like she could move to escape and she needed answers.
"Why did you capture me?" She shouted, hoping the Demon could hear her.
"Shit she's awake." The Marine panicked, looking at her with fear stricken eyes.
"Oh calm down! So you're awake are you? Good, I'm bringing you back to the UNSC for questioning. You've got a lot of explaining to do traitor."
"Traitor? Your UNSC betrayed me, not the other way around, Demon."
"Listen to me, if you think the UNSC or ONI would willingly get rid of a Spartan you've got more than a few screws loose, we're sacrificial pawns, not used toys. Now-" She was cut short as an explosion rocked the falcon, setting it off center momentarily before the Spartan at the helm was able to straighten it.
"Damn. Hey, pilot."
"Yeah?" He asked hesitantly.
"I'm going to try and get behind them, but it'll be rough. Brace yourself ad then blow them to kingdom come." Before the poor Marine could even ask, the Falcon was already elevating and leaning back. Without warning the safety lights flashed red.
"Oh no…" The Marine muttered before the Falcon flipped nose straight up and began rapidly dropping altitude as it spun backwards.
"We are going to die!" Keira screamed at the Demon over the Marine's own terrified prayers to God. The Spartan laughed almost gleefully.
"Ha, haven't you heard? Spartans never die!" She yelled as she righted the Pelican behind the Banshees, giving the now slightly more calm Marine the opportunity to shoot them down. The moment the words were out of her mouth Keira's eyes widened, she knew that phrase. Something clicked, and she seemed to back in time, a silhouette of someone that her gut said was familiar.
"Spartans never die." The memory echoed.
"They're just missing in action." She finished in a whisper.
For those of you who are wondering why I didn't mention Six's name for this entire chapter, it's because of certain things that I will explain next chapter and if I don't I'll but them in the AN. Feel free to ask any questions if something doesn't make sense, I'll answer them as soon as I can : ).
Oh yeeeeaaaah! If your wondering who in the spawn of hell our crazy Six flipped a falcon upside-down in the air, it is possible (but dangerous) to do it with a helicopter, so why not a Falcon? See, logic. Also if you are wondering "How did Keira go down so fast?" Just play The Package on any difficulty. That Elite General with the sword (you know which one I'm talking about) I bet you that if you had evade he wouldn't be able to touch you, and Six has like twice the experience and is a hyper-lethal Spartan sooo…..
A big hug and a thank you to RC927 who did the first piece of fanart for this fic or any of my fics actually. Check out her DA, she's awesome. You rock RC :D!
Hope you all liked it.
Stay tuned next time for the next chapter :P! I'll try to make it come out soon, but no promises this time.
SS out.
P.S. I made 3 references in this chap, if you can name them I'll give you a cookie and maybe a present if you get all three ;D!
