-COVENANT FLAGSHIP: PRE-ORDAINED VICTORY {Chachar} -
[Wow. The Prophets really want to take Earth.] Chachar gazed in reverence at the thousands of commando class units in the loading bay. During his walk to the Prophet's chamber, Chachar had seen an uncountable number of top-class units. Now, as he reached the door, three black skinned and armor- less Elites activated the door control, and Chachar could see the outlines of a pair of stealth Hunters.
[Why do you guys always come in pairs?] His query was answered by silence, making him wonder if they were really there.
The giant door rose slowly, stopping at the point where Chachar could walk through, about 3.5 [feet]. He went through on all fours, and heard a sharp command.
[Stop.] He obeyed. [You are the Grunt known as Chachar?] Chachar nodded. [Your report implies that you escaped the destruction of Halo. How?] Chachar remained silent, having not been ordered to speak. [Ah, good, you know the protocols one must observe when speaking to a Prophet. You will now answer my question.]
Chachar explained how he had taken a Seraph, and the Prophet nodded in approval.
[You show a strange initiative. Judging by our reports, all of our other Grunt troops simply ran around in circles. The council will now confer.] The Prophet left Chachar alone in the audience chamber, and retreated to a private section of the ship. After five long minutes, he returned.
[Due to your decision-making skills and ship piloting abilities, you have been chosen to lead a special task force of Commando class Elites. You will pilot a camouflaged frigate, and take this task force to the Earth with the expressed purpose of finding a sector for the main Covenant invasion. You are dismissed.]
As soon as Chachar left the audience room, he let out a disgusted sigh. All he'd wanted after the very stressful escape from Halo was a nice bed, and a few [days] of rest. Instead, the Prophets had given him a suicide mission. Chachar knew what a task force was: sixteen Elites. Sixteen, against everything Earth had to offer. In Chachar's mind, 'rest' was not synonomous with 'suicide'. However, the Prophets had given their commands, and, like it or not, Chachar was [religion]-bound to follow them.
-EARTH {Spartans}-
When we finished the introductions, Lieutenant Hernandez walked over to me.
"I didn't know there even was a SPARTAN III program."
My response was nothing but the truth. "It's top secret. The SPARTAN IIs got Dr. Halsey, the scientist leading the project, off of Reach just before the Covenant began glassing the planet. After that, she came to Earth, and initiated a second Human Upgrade Project. This HUP used more subjects, all of which were volunteers. They used 200 men and women, instead of the 80 used in the original experiment, but only 84 survived the initial upgrades. 38 of these went insane from being able to think at each other through the IM (Instant Messaging, or Telepathy) system, and 8 more died or went into comas when their brains grew into the IM power supply.
William, our bomb specialist, is the only survivor of an extra strength augmentation, performed on 9 of the survivors, that lets him beat a hunter at arm wrestling. However, it completely destroyed his speech capabilities. He can still think in words, but he can't speak them.
"Right now, the 30 SPARTAN IIIs that survived the entire procedure are spread over the Earth covering covenant invasion points."
Lieutenant Hernandez took a few moments to think about what I'd said, and decided to take my word for it. "I believe you, but would you put the sword away? You're starting to scare my men."
I pressed the smaller of the two buttons, and the glowing blade dissipated.
Aegis looked up at me. "How did you get out here, anyway?"
"We were fighting in an abandoned town, but when we wiped out most of the enemy troops, the covenant decided to set off a bomb. William smelled it, and told us to evacuate. After that, we left town and began to search for someone who could show us where to get supplies.
"We met and killed a hunter pair, which is where William got his weapons. Shawn ripped the camouflage off a gold Elite, and I took it's sword. I think it's obvious enough where I got my shield."
Aegis checked his ammo belt, and then started speaking again.
"We have learned of a nearby landing. There have been no reports of Earth ships being called down in this sector, so we have to assume it's covenant. Judging by the size, it's frigate class."
I cut him off, already knowing what he would say. "You need it destroyed, and we seem to be the only ones available who have more than one one-thousand of a percent chance of success." I looked at William, and he nodded, while Shawn gave a double comm-click. "You can count on us."
He nodded, looking relieved. "All right, then. Here's the deal: Through a canyon you can get a clear view of. . ."
[Wow. The Prophets really want to take Earth.] Chachar gazed in reverence at the thousands of commando class units in the loading bay. During his walk to the Prophet's chamber, Chachar had seen an uncountable number of top-class units. Now, as he reached the door, three black skinned and armor- less Elites activated the door control, and Chachar could see the outlines of a pair of stealth Hunters.
[Why do you guys always come in pairs?] His query was answered by silence, making him wonder if they were really there.
The giant door rose slowly, stopping at the point where Chachar could walk through, about 3.5 [feet]. He went through on all fours, and heard a sharp command.
[Stop.] He obeyed. [You are the Grunt known as Chachar?] Chachar nodded. [Your report implies that you escaped the destruction of Halo. How?] Chachar remained silent, having not been ordered to speak. [Ah, good, you know the protocols one must observe when speaking to a Prophet. You will now answer my question.]
Chachar explained how he had taken a Seraph, and the Prophet nodded in approval.
[You show a strange initiative. Judging by our reports, all of our other Grunt troops simply ran around in circles. The council will now confer.] The Prophet left Chachar alone in the audience chamber, and retreated to a private section of the ship. After five long minutes, he returned.
[Due to your decision-making skills and ship piloting abilities, you have been chosen to lead a special task force of Commando class Elites. You will pilot a camouflaged frigate, and take this task force to the Earth with the expressed purpose of finding a sector for the main Covenant invasion. You are dismissed.]
As soon as Chachar left the audience room, he let out a disgusted sigh. All he'd wanted after the very stressful escape from Halo was a nice bed, and a few [days] of rest. Instead, the Prophets had given him a suicide mission. Chachar knew what a task force was: sixteen Elites. Sixteen, against everything Earth had to offer. In Chachar's mind, 'rest' was not synonomous with 'suicide'. However, the Prophets had given their commands, and, like it or not, Chachar was [religion]-bound to follow them.
-EARTH {Spartans}-
When we finished the introductions, Lieutenant Hernandez walked over to me.
"I didn't know there even was a SPARTAN III program."
My response was nothing but the truth. "It's top secret. The SPARTAN IIs got Dr. Halsey, the scientist leading the project, off of Reach just before the Covenant began glassing the planet. After that, she came to Earth, and initiated a second Human Upgrade Project. This HUP used more subjects, all of which were volunteers. They used 200 men and women, instead of the 80 used in the original experiment, but only 84 survived the initial upgrades. 38 of these went insane from being able to think at each other through the IM (Instant Messaging, or Telepathy) system, and 8 more died or went into comas when their brains grew into the IM power supply.
William, our bomb specialist, is the only survivor of an extra strength augmentation, performed on 9 of the survivors, that lets him beat a hunter at arm wrestling. However, it completely destroyed his speech capabilities. He can still think in words, but he can't speak them.
"Right now, the 30 SPARTAN IIIs that survived the entire procedure are spread over the Earth covering covenant invasion points."
Lieutenant Hernandez took a few moments to think about what I'd said, and decided to take my word for it. "I believe you, but would you put the sword away? You're starting to scare my men."
I pressed the smaller of the two buttons, and the glowing blade dissipated.
Aegis looked up at me. "How did you get out here, anyway?"
"We were fighting in an abandoned town, but when we wiped out most of the enemy troops, the covenant decided to set off a bomb. William smelled it, and told us to evacuate. After that, we left town and began to search for someone who could show us where to get supplies.
"We met and killed a hunter pair, which is where William got his weapons. Shawn ripped the camouflage off a gold Elite, and I took it's sword. I think it's obvious enough where I got my shield."
Aegis checked his ammo belt, and then started speaking again.
"We have learned of a nearby landing. There have been no reports of Earth ships being called down in this sector, so we have to assume it's covenant. Judging by the size, it's frigate class."
I cut him off, already knowing what he would say. "You need it destroyed, and we seem to be the only ones available who have more than one one-thousand of a percent chance of success." I looked at William, and he nodded, while Shawn gave a double comm-click. "You can count on us."
He nodded, looking relieved. "All right, then. Here's the deal: Through a canyon you can get a clear view of. . ."