The Least Appreciated
Disclaimer: I own nothing Halo related except for my own characters.
(chapter start)
'Zakamee stood in front of his men arranged in their ranks. A rank happened to be the Covenant term for squad and each rank, in this case, consisted of six Grunts, one of them the Sub-Rank Commander, and an Elite, the Rank Commander. Yarna, Orine, and 'Jasakee stood in front of their ranks with their newly painted armor gleaming. If they had been doing this on a parade ground or during an official ceremony they would have fitted right in. Of course, 'Zakamee frowned, they weren't fitting in because they were in parade formation inside of a human space station with its eye sore gray color and sharp angles. Completely different from the soft purple coloring and curved lines of a Covenant vessel. Grgra made a small coughing noise and 'Zakamee glared at him. 'Zakamee wasn't really mad at the diminutive Grunt he just glared out of tradition at the fact that he was interrupted.
The idea of repainting the Oathbreakers armor had worked out reasonably well. A few Grunts had gotten a little carried away, one of them painted his skin instead of his armor for the Forerunner's sake! But the majority of the troops colored 'within the lines' as a Marine said in relation to this. 'Zakamee had painted his thicker armor plates the gold colors that normally only Zealots wear. 'Zakamee offset this brash heresy a little by painting the more flexible under armor a black color. 'Jasakee had painted his armor a deep purple, the color of an Elite's blood, and so 'Zakamee worried a little bit about the hotheaded Elite. But if that was all he would do, then the rest of the group could live with it.
Yarna, Orine, and Rurut had painted their armor a uniform dark green color, much like what the human Marines wore. Grgra kept his armor white while Cacar gave himself the black coloring of a Spec Ops Grunt. The other Grunts looked like a rainbow that had landed in the room and it made an ache start just behind 'Zakamee's eyes. He rubbed in between his eyes and straightened up.
"Alright everyone. You've all done a good job at distinguishing ourselves from the regular Covenant ranks. I have a reward for you all in commemoration of this event." Said 'Zakamee at length.
The Oathbreakers looked at each other and then back at 'Zakamee, who had a huge grin on his face.
"Today, Lord Admiral Hood approved our trip to the firing range. We will also be provided with live ammunition. Now this represents a huge trust put in us because I'm sure that all of us with guns, even human weaponry, could cut a bloody swath into this station's security force. I would prefer to let this burst of faith to not go unfounded so let us try to limit any enthusiasm we might have. Our normal escorts will bring us down to the firing range and then we'll be left more or less to our own devices."
The Grunts looked overjoyed, they'd get to do something interesting for once! The other three Elites, however, looked less than pleased. 'Zakamee understood his brothers' concern. Human weapons were considered to be below them in any shape and form. Even if using a human weapon would save their life they would instead throw themselves at the enemy with their bare hands. 'Zakamee gave them a stern glare.
"We are no longer with the Covenant. And no matter how we feel about human technology we must learn how to use it. At the very least it will surprise our former brethren."
'Jasakee stiffened and nodded slowly, Yarna and Orine looked at each other and nodded as well. Just then a knock sounded from the door and a voice came through from the small speaker installed next to the door.
"Hey guys. Heard all your talking. Your time at the range begins in about five minutes and it'll take about that long to get down there. Come on out and I'll lead you down."
'Zakamee motioned for his men to fall in and then hit the door release. A Marine Sergeant and six other Marines were waiting outside. 'Zakamee nodded to the Sergeant and stepped out into the hallway. A quick glance showed that the marines assigned to guard the Oathbreakers were about equally split between humans friendly to the defectors and those you hated them for any number of reasons. 'Zakamee understood their reasoning. The Covenant had destroyed dozens of human colonies and killed millions, billions, of humans. In their eyes the only good Covie was a dead Covie.
As the group of former Covenant and their guards journeyed down the passageways of the Cairo Orbital MAC station the alien soldiers were met with the typical reactions. There were those that merely stepped aside and continued on their own tasks, those who looked ready to pound in the skull of any Oathbreaker that blinked wrong, those that glared daggers at them, and those that stopped and watched the Covenant troop past with no expression at all. 'Zakamee had learned to watch the quiet ones, for one such human had managed to kill the Emissary of the Prophets, the honored Jask 'Somamakee. The human had stepped up to the Elite and calmly put a bullet into his unshielded head. Needless to say, that particular human did not live long to ponder his success as 'Zakamee and the other three Elites had broken his body like so much try kindling. Some of the humans protested after that display, citing it as proof that the defectors would only turn upon humanity given the chance. Thankfully, the human generals had accepted, albeit reluctantly, 'Zakamee's explanation that the Emissary was a revered personage and that their actions were undertaken due to the many cultural taboos that had been broken in that instant of death.
'Zakamee cut off that line of thought with a huff of irritation. The human's paranoia remained a mystery to the Covenant, even though 'Zakamee believed he understood where they were coming from. Still, a race this paranoid might have even have started the war against the Covenant like the Prophet's had said at first. Perhaps the Prophets were as guilty of paranoia as the humans. 'Zakamee stopped thinking again. All of this internal arguing was making his head hurt. No wonder his father had made sure that 'Zakamee was enrolled in a military academy as soon as possible. Everything was much more black and white in the military. Although it was hard to re-label the humans as allies and his entire race as the enemy.
"Alright boys." Said the Sergeant, 'Zakamee noticed that he knew this human, it was the same one that had promised revenge on Cacar the night before. "Through this door is the firing range. All of us will stay outside the door here, if you need anything just hit the buzzer on your side and we'll answer whatever question it may be. Also, ignore the camera's that are lying around. The folks at Xeno-biology want to study your reflexes, our some bull like that." The Sergeant laughed. "They just want to make sure you guys aren't as good with our toys as you are with yours." The Sergeant waved them through and as soon as the last Oathbreakers were on the other side, he shut and locked the door.
The firing range was something like a miniature armory. There were racks of human weapons on the wall to the left of the door 'Zakamee had just entered and to his right were fourteen small cubicles for a shooter to stand in. The targets at the far end of the right wall looked as though they were Elite shaped and 'Zakamee heard Orine smother a chuckle. There were also directions on how to load, reload, and fire the various different weapons placed next to that individual weapon's rack. The several buttons in the cubicles were also clearly labeled and there were human shaped earmuffs for protection from the sound. 'Zakamee looked at his troops and stepped in front of them.
"Alright men. We can fit one semi-file at the range at a single time. Orine's and 'Jasakee's ranks up first and mine and Yarna's will follow after a suitable amount of time. Maybe, a sixth turn of the clock per round. Pick and choose what weapons you want to try but remember, Grunts only take what they can hold in one hand and Elites focus on two handed weapons first. After we've all gotten a handle on the human weapons we'll try different combinations. Get to it." Said 'Zakamee.
'Jasakee's and Orine's ranks swooped in on the weapons racks and snagged their choice of human weapons. The Grunts decided to try out the human pistols first as they were closest to their frequently used plasma pistols. A few of the more daring Grunts, including Cacar from Orine's rank, took an SMG and moved to the range. 'Jasakee grabbed one of the shotguns, which 'Zakamee approved of, and Orine took a battle rifle. As the first semi-file opened fire on the targets, after puzzling out how to load (What a novel concept!) and fire the new weapons.
'Zakamee watched how things went while his semi-file choose their own weapons. The thing that the former Covenant had to get used to was recoil. Since Covenant weapons were energy based they had no recoil but their own disadvantage, overheating. Only the massive fuel rod gun had recoil but that was an anti-vehicle weapon and so recoil was to be expected. But the recoil from the human weapons put pressure on different muscles, and Grunts who had braced themselves as though they were firing fuel rod guns quickly weaved off target and, in one instance, fell over backwards. The unfortunate Grunt at least managed to take his finger off the trigger of his SMG as he toppled over and hit the deck. The Grunts nearest to him helped him back up while several others laughed at his misfortune.
Soon enough it was 'Zakamee's turn to test his new weapon and 'Zakamee hefted the battle rifle with a slight bit of uncertainty. Orine saluted 'Zakamee as he turned over his own cubicle to the Oathbreakers commander. 'Zakamee saluted back and stepped inside. There was a slot to hold ammo and another, deeper slot for used cartridges. There was also a button that 'Zakamee could press to bring the Elite cutout closer to him for inspection of his shot placement. 'Zakamee hefted the battle rifle and shifted it around a little until he got a proper feel for its weight distribution. The human rifle reminded the Elite of the carbine he practiced with back in his academy days. 'Zakamee grinned, his upper two mandibles moving apart, as he recalled his high marks in marksmanship class with the semi-automatic weapon.
'Zakamee brought the sight up to his eye and sighted at the target. He pulled the trigger and a trio of bullets shot from the rifle and tore through the target's head. A few more bursts and the head had been shot off at the neck. He emptied the rest of the cartridge into the chest and then swapped the empty cartridge for a new one. A press of a button exchanged the beaten up target for a new one. As 'Zakamee continued firing and getting the feel for this new weapon he heard the rest of the fire drop off and replaced by the steady pam pam pam pam of rapid pistol fire. 'Zakamee put down his weapon and stepped back from his cubicle. A crowd had gathered around Grgra as the little Grunt used two pistols to reduce the target to systematic shreds. Another Grunt hit the button while a second gave Grgra new, fully loaded pistols to replace the empty ones and soon the steady fire was resumed once again. Despite the fact that Grgra had disobeyed an order, even if it was a mild one, 'Zakamee was impressed at how far the white armored Grunt had come from the cowering, quick witted medical lab assistant that he had been on the Ascendant Justice.
'Zakamee looked around him and realized just how few Elites were here with him now. Just four representatives of the strongest race in the Covenant and twenty-four of the weakest, or maybe just the least appreciated.
Review Responses:
Red Ninja – It's the new chapter! Hope you like it as much as the first one.
Warrior – Funny thing that. I actually switched my PS 2 and games for a friend's X-Box and games, including Halo 2. Unfortunately I had to trade back so expect chapters to be a bit slower, although it may be hard to believe that I could be slower. (
Contention – Ooooo, flattery. Me likes.
Jimmy-San – I think we already worked out the my character/your story thing so that's good. You should update too!
Crow T Robot – I like compliments. See above comment about the X-Box and Orine's name really is Orine. Although I don't do the fancy thing with the 'e'.
Aznricechink54 – Awww, you don't like the inner machinations of the Grunts? I like writing bits about Grunts and making them look special. Glad you like me though.
BtBMM – Hey, it's my old constituent the mob guy! Glad you like.
Nightdragon0 – Oh it will, my young friend (you are young?) it will. The Arbiter shall change a great many things although, sadly, 'Zakamee won't be there to see many of them.