CHAPTER 2
Teleporting rings vibrate up and down thought the impeccable Monjinor armor. The Armor is a metallic green reflecting the surface of the landscape, yet was the landscape blue? Master Chief finds himself looking at the ground as he falls upright. "I thought you knew what you were doing Cortana?" Said Master Chief with a touch of sarcasm. "I do, but that is a quirk I yet to find how to fix." Master Chief finds himself in a lush forest terrain covered with green mosses and birds singing happily in the trees. The Chief turns abruptly as a Scream wrenches through the air. He seems to know what has happened before the thought shots through his mind. A plasma bolt. A plasma bolt is a super heated ball of energy shot through a purple metallic rifle. It burns through flesh and bone peeling away at your vital organs. Another form of a Covenant weapon is known as a needeler. A needeler fires pink heat sinking darts at unaware marines lodging itself firmly into the skin. After it finds a human to lodge itself into, the dart explodes ripping apart flesh and bones a like. "The yell came from the north Master Chief. I suggest we get their ASAP. It seems that the human facility, Preton, is under heavy fire from an assortment of Covenant beings." The master chief sets a waypoint in his heads up display showing the exact distance and good vantage points to acquire. To get to the base Preton quicker, the Chief starts running in a half ton of armor. The master Chiefs heart pounds like a drum and his mind races furiously to the upcoming battle. Fatigued, The master Chief stops and rests on top a log. More yells and screams pierce his ears sending a shiver down his spines. As if a hundred billion people who have been murdered by the covenant cry out at the same time, he pulls out his remaining energy and double times it to the base.
* * *
"Good after noon Sir." Says 1st Sergeant. Wilcox of the 105th airborne division, "Bullshit Sergeant. I'll tell you when it's a good after noon, and its not now." Replies Lieutenant Marbalo. "Sir yes sir." "Dam straight." "Sir, Permission to speak freely sir." "Go ahead private." "Sir, the men, well, they seem bored just sitting around waiting for the covenant to come to them. They wish to fight them, but if they stay chained like a dog for too long, we might have some. problems." "If MY men have a problem, then they can come to me. Since they seem to like to complain, I have a surprise for them. Intel back at HQ has informed me that there are 7 Covenant drop ships on their way. Each holding 10 Elites and 20 Grunts. That is a total of 170 covenants. That is only 6 of the drop ships. The 7th ship, from Intel's information seems to be moving slower then the rest. Do you know what that means?" Said Lieutenant Marbalo fiercely. ".Sir, that means, oh my god, they have hunters?" replies Pvt. Wilcox horrified. "Precisely. Just as you and I know that station will be hard to control, we need a plan. Tell the men to have four Jackhammer missile launchers on the four corners of the base. Send out three scouts to relay information. Get all able personnel to the walls with M5A1s. Plant some Spider Mines and hold up your positions. Please relay my orders." "Sir" Private Wilcox snaps to attention. "Go top side Private, and god help us."
"Ok men. You heard my orders directly from the LT. Get your butts in gear. Go go go." Men scramble around the base gathering ammo clips and other essential gear. Private Robert, Private Albert, 2nd class sergeant Thomas, and 1st class sergeant malarkey each grab a Jackhammer missile launcher from the armory and continue to their designated locations. "You, you and you. Get out of the base and scout out the LZ for the Covenant. The rest of you good for nothing apes, take up prepared position on the walls."
Minutes seem like hours as then men sit, guns ready. The outlying forest is quiet with a few birds flying overhead. The sun beats down upon the marines. A shout comes from in front of the base. One on the scouts carrying a mangled body on his shoulders collapses on the ground. Sergeant Wilcox and a few of the men near by rush to his aid. "What happened son." Said Wilcox with worry. ".I. they everywhere.too many.there not like normal.Escape!!!" Said the wounded scout gurgling on his own blood. "Calm down. The medic teams on its way." "Theirs no time... get away.far away.they come. but one.is different." The scout stops abruptly. Plasma fire from the outlying forest catches the scout in the side burrowing into his chest. His scream is muffled from the yells coming from the marines on the wall. "They're here!!!" "Get this man into the base and move to the walls. Inform the LT it has started." The sergeant gazes up at the sky thinking of the lives that will be lost. He snaps back to alertness as a single grunt pops out of the forest sending out a war cry. The Sergeant easily pops the grunt in its personal methane tank. The grunt explodes into a ball of fire. "It has started."
* * *
Master chief finds his way to the top of a hill covered in lush grass a foot high. He activates he binoculars and scans the area. He sees the marines fighting for their life atop the bases walls. Scores of Jackhammer missiles streak across the sky hurtling into the horde of covenant. Plasma and needle fire tear through the new marines as the veterans find cover. The chief slowly descends the hill and heads for the base not being noticed due to the crossfire. "Master Chief, Find LT Marbalo and ask for your assistance." Said Cortana. Master Chief finds his way into base watching the marines at the wall sending volleys of armor piercing rounds at the incoming covenant. He spots the uniformed man with a bar on his shoulder representing a lieutenant. "Sir," Said Master Chief tapping the LT on the shoulder. "What in the blazes do you.? Master Chief, I am sorry. I did not know that HQ sent a Spartan." "That's ok. I'm here to help defend the base. What can I do?" The Lieutenant looks at the Spartan with humor in his eye. "We have a couple hunters on the way. We want to stop them before they start to bombard our base." "Sir yes sir. I will need a Jackhammer missile launcher and explosive missile rounds!" "What the hell does this Spartan think he is? It takes a whole squad to take down a single hunter. Let along two". The Lieutenant thinks to himself in his mind for a brief moment. "Ok. You're a go Master Chief." "Thank you sir." Master Chief heads down to the armory passing the medical facility where marines are being treated for superheated plasma burns that were shot by the Covenant. He arrives at the Armory and finds a long silver Jackhammer missile launcher and inserts explosive rounds into the long tube. Speed now impaired by the weight of the weapon; Master chief slowly trots his way to the exit of the base.
Carrying the weapon was an ordeal for the Master Chief even though he was very strong. "Master Chief. Slow your progress. I detect enemy movement right over that ridge." Said Cortana with worry. Master Chief acknowledged and proceeded to the ridge slowing down so he would not be spotted. He slowly looked over the ridge with his M5A1 in hand. 5 grunts, 2 Elites and 2 Jackals. Poor sorry piss odds for them. Master Chief chuckles to him self- thinking about the odd shape the Covenant take. The grunts are small round, about 3 foot high creatures with no sign of a nose. There eyes are wide and their heads are slim. They live in a life preservation suit because they can only breath methane. The Elites on the other hand are 8 feet tall, have a muscular carved body. They come in different colors representing rank. The normal Elite is blue, then red and finally gold. The Jackal is a little smaller then a grunt but more powerful. They come with a hand held shield and an energy pistol. Their bodies are thin and very agile. Master Chief points his weapon at the first Elite. Three shots, Three Elites go down thundering to the ground like trees. In the confusion, Master Chief picks off the rest of the Elites except for the gold one who, with the highest rank, finds cover. The grunts charge with Plasma pistols and needeler. Master Chief leaps upon a rotted log standing in ready position. The needles simply ricochet of his Monjinor armor landing into the ground. Due to the Chief enhanced reflexes, he side steps a Plasma pistol shot. The air to the right of him sizzles and pops. Master Chief lowers his M5A1 at the charging Grunts. The shredder rounds slice through the grunts like cutting hot butter ripping apart bone and flesh. Igniting the methane tank on one of the grunts sends the jackals skyward and crunching to the ground with the faint sound of bones cracking. Silence. Crack, a branch cracks behind him. Master Chief but it is too late. The golden elite stands directly behind him that he neglected to remember. The Elite looks down upon the Chief with disgust. A faint translation comes through his translation COM. "Your races doom is imminent. Our prophets are the will of our gods. Our gods wish you destroyed, and we, are their instruments."
Teleporting rings vibrate up and down thought the impeccable Monjinor armor. The Armor is a metallic green reflecting the surface of the landscape, yet was the landscape blue? Master Chief finds himself looking at the ground as he falls upright. "I thought you knew what you were doing Cortana?" Said Master Chief with a touch of sarcasm. "I do, but that is a quirk I yet to find how to fix." Master Chief finds himself in a lush forest terrain covered with green mosses and birds singing happily in the trees. The Chief turns abruptly as a Scream wrenches through the air. He seems to know what has happened before the thought shots through his mind. A plasma bolt. A plasma bolt is a super heated ball of energy shot through a purple metallic rifle. It burns through flesh and bone peeling away at your vital organs. Another form of a Covenant weapon is known as a needeler. A needeler fires pink heat sinking darts at unaware marines lodging itself firmly into the skin. After it finds a human to lodge itself into, the dart explodes ripping apart flesh and bones a like. "The yell came from the north Master Chief. I suggest we get their ASAP. It seems that the human facility, Preton, is under heavy fire from an assortment of Covenant beings." The master chief sets a waypoint in his heads up display showing the exact distance and good vantage points to acquire. To get to the base Preton quicker, the Chief starts running in a half ton of armor. The master Chiefs heart pounds like a drum and his mind races furiously to the upcoming battle. Fatigued, The master Chief stops and rests on top a log. More yells and screams pierce his ears sending a shiver down his spines. As if a hundred billion people who have been murdered by the covenant cry out at the same time, he pulls out his remaining energy and double times it to the base.
* * *
"Good after noon Sir." Says 1st Sergeant. Wilcox of the 105th airborne division, "Bullshit Sergeant. I'll tell you when it's a good after noon, and its not now." Replies Lieutenant Marbalo. "Sir yes sir." "Dam straight." "Sir, Permission to speak freely sir." "Go ahead private." "Sir, the men, well, they seem bored just sitting around waiting for the covenant to come to them. They wish to fight them, but if they stay chained like a dog for too long, we might have some. problems." "If MY men have a problem, then they can come to me. Since they seem to like to complain, I have a surprise for them. Intel back at HQ has informed me that there are 7 Covenant drop ships on their way. Each holding 10 Elites and 20 Grunts. That is a total of 170 covenants. That is only 6 of the drop ships. The 7th ship, from Intel's information seems to be moving slower then the rest. Do you know what that means?" Said Lieutenant Marbalo fiercely. ".Sir, that means, oh my god, they have hunters?" replies Pvt. Wilcox horrified. "Precisely. Just as you and I know that station will be hard to control, we need a plan. Tell the men to have four Jackhammer missile launchers on the four corners of the base. Send out three scouts to relay information. Get all able personnel to the walls with M5A1s. Plant some Spider Mines and hold up your positions. Please relay my orders." "Sir" Private Wilcox snaps to attention. "Go top side Private, and god help us."
"Ok men. You heard my orders directly from the LT. Get your butts in gear. Go go go." Men scramble around the base gathering ammo clips and other essential gear. Private Robert, Private Albert, 2nd class sergeant Thomas, and 1st class sergeant malarkey each grab a Jackhammer missile launcher from the armory and continue to their designated locations. "You, you and you. Get out of the base and scout out the LZ for the Covenant. The rest of you good for nothing apes, take up prepared position on the walls."
Minutes seem like hours as then men sit, guns ready. The outlying forest is quiet with a few birds flying overhead. The sun beats down upon the marines. A shout comes from in front of the base. One on the scouts carrying a mangled body on his shoulders collapses on the ground. Sergeant Wilcox and a few of the men near by rush to his aid. "What happened son." Said Wilcox with worry. ".I. they everywhere.too many.there not like normal.Escape!!!" Said the wounded scout gurgling on his own blood. "Calm down. The medic teams on its way." "Theirs no time... get away.far away.they come. but one.is different." The scout stops abruptly. Plasma fire from the outlying forest catches the scout in the side burrowing into his chest. His scream is muffled from the yells coming from the marines on the wall. "They're here!!!" "Get this man into the base and move to the walls. Inform the LT it has started." The sergeant gazes up at the sky thinking of the lives that will be lost. He snaps back to alertness as a single grunt pops out of the forest sending out a war cry. The Sergeant easily pops the grunt in its personal methane tank. The grunt explodes into a ball of fire. "It has started."
* * *
Master chief finds his way to the top of a hill covered in lush grass a foot high. He activates he binoculars and scans the area. He sees the marines fighting for their life atop the bases walls. Scores of Jackhammer missiles streak across the sky hurtling into the horde of covenant. Plasma and needle fire tear through the new marines as the veterans find cover. The chief slowly descends the hill and heads for the base not being noticed due to the crossfire. "Master Chief, Find LT Marbalo and ask for your assistance." Said Cortana. Master Chief finds his way into base watching the marines at the wall sending volleys of armor piercing rounds at the incoming covenant. He spots the uniformed man with a bar on his shoulder representing a lieutenant. "Sir," Said Master Chief tapping the LT on the shoulder. "What in the blazes do you.? Master Chief, I am sorry. I did not know that HQ sent a Spartan." "That's ok. I'm here to help defend the base. What can I do?" The Lieutenant looks at the Spartan with humor in his eye. "We have a couple hunters on the way. We want to stop them before they start to bombard our base." "Sir yes sir. I will need a Jackhammer missile launcher and explosive missile rounds!" "What the hell does this Spartan think he is? It takes a whole squad to take down a single hunter. Let along two". The Lieutenant thinks to himself in his mind for a brief moment. "Ok. You're a go Master Chief." "Thank you sir." Master Chief heads down to the armory passing the medical facility where marines are being treated for superheated plasma burns that were shot by the Covenant. He arrives at the Armory and finds a long silver Jackhammer missile launcher and inserts explosive rounds into the long tube. Speed now impaired by the weight of the weapon; Master chief slowly trots his way to the exit of the base.
Carrying the weapon was an ordeal for the Master Chief even though he was very strong. "Master Chief. Slow your progress. I detect enemy movement right over that ridge." Said Cortana with worry. Master Chief acknowledged and proceeded to the ridge slowing down so he would not be spotted. He slowly looked over the ridge with his M5A1 in hand. 5 grunts, 2 Elites and 2 Jackals. Poor sorry piss odds for them. Master Chief chuckles to him self- thinking about the odd shape the Covenant take. The grunts are small round, about 3 foot high creatures with no sign of a nose. There eyes are wide and their heads are slim. They live in a life preservation suit because they can only breath methane. The Elites on the other hand are 8 feet tall, have a muscular carved body. They come in different colors representing rank. The normal Elite is blue, then red and finally gold. The Jackal is a little smaller then a grunt but more powerful. They come with a hand held shield and an energy pistol. Their bodies are thin and very agile. Master Chief points his weapon at the first Elite. Three shots, Three Elites go down thundering to the ground like trees. In the confusion, Master Chief picks off the rest of the Elites except for the gold one who, with the highest rank, finds cover. The grunts charge with Plasma pistols and needeler. Master Chief leaps upon a rotted log standing in ready position. The needles simply ricochet of his Monjinor armor landing into the ground. Due to the Chief enhanced reflexes, he side steps a Plasma pistol shot. The air to the right of him sizzles and pops. Master Chief lowers his M5A1 at the charging Grunts. The shredder rounds slice through the grunts like cutting hot butter ripping apart bone and flesh. Igniting the methane tank on one of the grunts sends the jackals skyward and crunching to the ground with the faint sound of bones cracking. Silence. Crack, a branch cracks behind him. Master Chief but it is too late. The golden elite stands directly behind him that he neglected to remember. The Elite looks down upon the Chief with disgust. A faint translation comes through his translation COM. "Your races doom is imminent. Our prophets are the will of our gods. Our gods wish you destroyed, and we, are their instruments."