Marines and Elites
Chapter 11: Organised Chaos
Ten minutes after Chapter 10
Marines
William waited on the balcony, thinking about the situation he was in.
He had hoped that he would have been sent to a squad where people fought on the back lines. He never really fancied a front line job.
Yet this wasn't a front line job. True, there were aliens on the other side of the canyon, but this job just seemed… odd. It wasn't a back line job, it wasn't a front line job and it wasn't really a middle line job. It was like he was set off to one side.
It was weird.
Howard came up to the balcony. "Sorry I'm late." He apologised. "I had to write down my questions."
"I know." William replied. "You told me."
"I know."
"Then why…?"
"I don't know." Howard frowned. "I just had this weird urge to state the obvious."
He shook his head. "Anyway, let's start. Question one: Did you graduate from Military School?"
"Yes."
"Obvious one. Question two: Can you wrap bandages?"
"Yes."
"Good, good. Question three: Can you deliver medicine?"
William hesitated. "Yes, but I don't have any with me."
"Great." Howard muttered. "Question four: Can you make medicine?"
"Sort of. I know how to make cough syrup, but that's about it."
"Well, that's something at least. Question five: How old are you?"
"…Twenty-two. Why?"
"Because sometimes, people fake their age to get into the army. Question six: Have you ever taken drugs?"
"Only once, when I was sixteen."
"Okay. Question seven: Can you perform surgery?"
"No. I actually have a Royal Decree never to perform surgery ever again."
Howard stared at him.
Slightly embarrassed, William muttered, "In biology class during high school, I tried to dissect a frog. It ended up as a bloody mess on my bench."
"…Okay, that's slightly disturbing." Howard said uncertainly.
"I was kicked out of biology that day. I was devastated, I always wanted to continue in that area."
"Yes, thank you William."
"Coincidently, that was also the day I tried cannabis. It was actually quite-"
"Thank you, William."
"Sorry."
Howard sighed. "Question eight: How have you been seen or represented by your superiors?"
"I don't know. They always kick me out of their squad before I get a chance to know them."
"Thought so. Question nine: Do you have any good contacts in command?"
"No."
"Alright, question ten: Are you a pacifist?"
"No."
"Good. You'll need to hold a gun in situations like this." Howard said gravely. "Question eleven: What kind of guns are you allowed to hold?"
"Pistols and assault rifles."
"…That's it?"
"Yeah."
"And question twelve: Are you a good shot?"
"Like, with guns?"
"Yes."
"No. The last time I held a gun I injured four people. Who were behind me."
"Worrisome." Howard commented.
"Are there any more questions like this?" William asked.
"Yup." Howard replied. "About thirty-eight more."
William sighed. This might take a while.
"How long does it take for Howard to interview someone?" Tim asked.
"A bit." Ed replied. "You're acting like it's been a long time."
"It has! By my standards anyway."
"And what are you standards?"
"Five to six minutes."
"For everything."
"Yes."
"Even for a lap around the planet."
"Yes."
Ed sighed. Sometimes, he just couldn't see the logic in Tim's thinking.
They were standing by the entrance, waiting for Howard to stop interviewing the new guy. It had been about ten minutes, and Tim was doing nothing but complaining. Already, Ed was wishing to strangle him to death.
He was already stressed, because odd explosions were happening near the base on the other side.
"Do we even need a medic?" Tim asked. "I mean, he's a rookie! He's probably useless!"
"Don't judge a person by his rank." Ed replied. "I once met a guy who never got a promotion in his life, yet he was a perfect shot."
"This guy looks like he's never shot a gun in his life." Tim said dismissively.
"Ten credits says he has." Ed dared.
"Done." Tim said, without any hesitation.
Ed chuckled. "Anyway, that's not what I meant. I meant that just because he's a rookie doesn't mean he's not a good medic."
"Yeah, still…" Tim looked for a way to continue his argument. "Well, we still don't really need him. Remember when I got crushed by the jeep?"
"How could I forget?" Ed remarked.
"Well, Howard used that weird gun of his! We can just use that to cure injuries."
"We try not to use it unless it's an emergency."
"How come?"
"You see, it's been sitting in an abandoned facility in the Mexican desert for hundreds of years, right?"
"Yes…"
"So, it's been breaking down over the years." Ed explained. "The radiation's been leaking out of it for that time, even when Howard partially fixed it. Whenever we use it, the radiation leaks into the holder and receiver."
Tim stared at Ed. "…It leaks radiation."
"Yes."
"…Into the receiver."
"And the base."
"…Seriously?"
"Yup." Ed confirmed. "And now you know why we have hazmat suits."
Tim looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged. "Well, that explains why I can see in the dark now."
"And why my pupils changed colour." Ed added.
Remembering his argument, Tim added, "But we can do medic stuff! All you need to do is give people medicine, right?"
"Can you perform surgery?" Ed asked.
"…No, but I'm pretty sure that the new guy can't as well."
"Here they come." Ed pointed out.
"Okay."
Howard and William walked up to them. "Okay." Howard began. "I've arrived at a conclusion."
"Can he perform surgery?" Tim asked.
Howard blinked. "What? No, he can't, he-"
"HA!" Tim shouted triumphantly, pointing at Ed. "Told you!"
"Anyway," Howard resumed. "I believe that-"
"Has he ever held a gun?" Ed asked.
Howard sighed. "No."
Ed turned to Tim, smirking. "Ten credits, please."
Tim grumbled.
"Anyway." Howard started up again. "I believe that William was sent here because of the same reason that the rest of us are here."
"Which is?" William asked curiously.
"You're a reject." Howard deadpanned. "All of us are."
"What?" William seemed surprised. "Really?"
"Yes."
"Seriously?!" Tim seemed furious. "They sent us another reject?!"
"Yup." Howard seemed mildly annoyed. "I'll be having a word with my cousin later on."
Ed didn't seem surprised in the least. "It makes sense when you think about it. I mean, we are a reject squad, command would only send us a rejected rookie."
"Yeah, but still…" Tim grumbled.
"Hey, I might be a reject, but I can do loads of things!" William said, trying to brighten them up. "I can make cough syrup, I can treat food poisoning, I can… uh…"
"Hey, William? Shut up." Ed requested.
William sighed. "You know, you guys could be a bit more polite."
"Shut up, William." The other three Marines said unanimously.
"No can do. Sorry," William apologised. "But I have to ask about the medical info about you guys."
Howard sighed. "Very well…"
"Good. Okay now…" William turned to Ed. "Anything I should know about?"
"Yeah. There's a gun in this base that leaks radiation." Ed said.
"I know about that." William replied. "I mean anything about you that I should know about."
"No."
"Ever smoked?" William asked.
"No."
"Taken drugs?"
"No."
"Have you ever undertaken-"
"No means no." Ed snapped.
"Okay, okay…" William turned to Howard. "What about you?"
"I've never been the one to take drugs or smoke or anything like that." Howard responded.
"Ever had an illness like cancer?"
"Yes. I had prostate cancer, but nothing in recent years."
"Okay." Finally, William turned to Tim. "Have you ever done something so incredibly stupid that it effected your health either mentally, or physically?"
"What?!" Tim spluttered.
"Howard said that you were the least intelligent member of your team." William said.
"Hey, I am not as dumb as the rest of my family!" Tim snarled. "Why, I'm actually smarter that my ancestors!"
"By one IQ point Tim." Ed pointed out. "One IQ point."
Tim muttered something under his breath. Then he sighed and said, "I've smoked cigarettes, weed and I've managed to get Type 2 Diabetes."
William raised an eyebrow. "You don't have Diabetes anymore, right?"
"Would I be here if I did?"
"Good point." William sighed in satisfaction. "Alright, seems that you guys are good to go!"
"Whoop de doo." Ed muttered.
"Alright, I need to talk to Ed for a moment." Howard said.
"Me? Why me?" Ed asked.
"Because my plan involves you." Howard responded. "It's nothing too major, it's just-"
KABOOM!
An explosion suddenly rocked the base in an explosion of green fire. The Marines stumbled, unprepared for the sudden force.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Tim shouted.
"Battle formations, now!" Howard yelled, pulling out his gun.
"What?!" William replied.
"Pull out your weapons!"
"Got it!" Ed shouted back.
They faced the other end of the base, waiting for the threat to arise, expecting the Elites to be storming in, firing at them.
What they didn't expect was that one of them was firing at his own teammate.
Elites
Utarz was terrified. He knew that Repora would react to his presence like this, but he was still terrified for his life. The Ghost was a lifesaver, he knew that he would be dead by now if he didn't have it.
Repora, meanwhile, was in a state of pure rage and hatred. He was going to kill Utarz, he was. Heaven and Hell were shouting at him to destroy him in a hellish blaze and the cocaine going through his system was destroying what shreds of rational thought he had.
It was proving to be tough though. Utarz's ghost was going faster than him, and he always managed to dodge his Fuel Rod bolts. It had taken them around the canyon and now he was nearing the other base. He had heard that there were three humans there. He kind of wanted to murder them as well.
Utarz looped around the base, going around the other side. Repora chased him, roaring, "Utarz! Come back here and die!"
"No!" Utarz replied.
"Oh, I'll get you." Repora growled, reloading his gun. "I'll kill you and then I'll kill you some more, and then…" He turned to his left, noticing the four humans standing there, watching him.
Immediately, his violent demeanour vanished, replaced by a cheerful one.
"Oh, hello!" He said brightly. "You must be the humans that we're fighting!"
A small silence followed his statement.
"…Uh…" The white one seemed nervous. "…Yes."
"Good! I'm Repora." He extended his hand for a shake. "What's your name?"
The white one stared at him blankly for a moment, before cautiously taking his hand and shaking it. "Howard." He said hesitantly.
Repora looked around. "That's funny. Command told me that there were only three of you. Why are there four of you?" He asked.
"I'm new." The purple one said nervously.
"Hey! Me too!" Repora walked over to him, extending his hand again. "What's your name?"
"William." He shook Repora's hand. "I'm the team doctor."
"Really?" Repora looked at him quizzically. "In my society, doctors are frowned upon."
William blinked. "What? Really?"
"Yeah!" Repora went over to the blue one. "So, who are you?"
This one seemed particularly afraid of him.
"Tim Hammerstrike." He squeaked.
Repora blinked. "Wait, Tim Hammerstrike? As in, the ancestor of the famous Zac Hammerstrike?"
"Yes…" Tim seemed uncertain.
Repora turned to the orange one excitedly. "Then you would be the ancestor of the famous Sam Whently?!"
"Um, yeah…" The orange one backed away.
Repora spun around to Howard. "So you are the ancestor of the famous Max Einstein?!"
Howard nodded slowly.
Repora stared at each of them in turn, in awe.
"Can I have your autographs?" He asked excitedly.
This statement was greeted with the longest blank stare period he had been given in this entire encounter.
"What." Ed eventually broke the silence.
"Your autographs!" Repora was close to jumping up and down. "Come on, it isn't a crime to give your enemies your autograph, is it? Wait, hold on." Repora paused. Then he looked up. "Hey Potato, can I get their autographs?"
Yeah, I suppose. I mean, it would add in a bit of comedic effect.
"Excellent." Repora said happily, pulling a pen and a notebook out of nowhere. "In order please."
Utarz just stared at the little situation, as each of the puzzled Marines got the pen and paper and signed it, as Repora jumped up and down happily.
"Repora!" Utarz yelled. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"
"Getting their autographs!" Repora yelled back. "Don't worry, I'll be back with you in a moment."
"Getting their- Repora, they're the enemy!" Utarz shouted.
"Hey, these guys are descendants of Sam Whently, Max Einstein and Zac Hammerstrike!"
"So what?!"
"So, they deserve some recognition!"
"Recognition?! The Forerunners have ordered their destruction, and we will deliver it! Now either kill them now, or go home!"
Repora took the completed paper. "Is there an option for your death?"
"What?! No, I-"
"Yes? Okay, TIME TO DIE!" Repora roared, taking out his Fuel Rod gun and running towards him, firing randomly.
Utarz shrieked and pulled out, retreating from the onslaught as Repora tried to murder him.
Author's notes
Right, back on schedule. This is a good feeling.
On holidays at the moment on the coast. Pretty awesome, barely any internet connection but I will not let that stop me from completing this fanfic! Unless it's something important.
(EDIT) I feel that I should explain something. I've decided that this story is set in an alternative universe. The events of Halo still happened, but before that, another alien set his sights on Earth. The characters Sam Whently, Max Einstein and Zac Hammerstrike are part of that. Hopefully, I can explain the events better some other time.
Thanks for watching.
Potato.