I don't own Halo, and I should, we all should! Anyway, these will be some of the more... violent chapters, but it's still ACTION, so enjoy it!
Chapter 13, "Depending On Circumstances…".
Normally the trip to High Charity would be an uneventful and quite frankly boring trip, but when you have crossfire from Destroyers shooting to kill at each other and us, it's more than you expect from afar. "By the Rings Frenirn, why are you driving?!" I rambled at the Grunt as he swerved through an array of different…stuff…flying through our path. "It not my fault; you can't avoid anything out here!" he replied, and I could tell I'd annoyed him. "How is the Commander faring?" I asked out T.A. Elite. "Not much better, possibly worse. He's stuck in the middle of it." he said. "Brace yourselves. Frenirn, open the hatch." I called. I expected horrified expression from my men, but instead they understood. "Right; brace for decompression!" he yelled. They sealed their harnesses and prepared. Atmosphere exploded out as I jettisoned myself from the dropship, and thrust myself towards the nearest damaged Carrier. Grunts and Hunters are the only soldiers able to survive in space without equipment, as it was already built in. I got to the Carrier, but apparently my luck had run out for today; I scraped the smooth side, and flew away via its engines. I could only hope I wouldn't get rammed by anything. That would also be one of my unlucky moments…
I awoke several…I don't know, maybe hours later. I was actually alive. I remembered being slammed into by a Seraph fighter, and the rest was blank. Anyway, it might have been a lucky hit-and-run, because I lay in a ridge on top of a Brute-controlled Destroyer. It was bound for the religious planetoid city as a result of heavy damage. "This ought to be fun." I muttered to myself as the ship approached Port 0378 on the lower half of High Charity. I wished I could go in guns blazing the second we docked, but I had to keep a low profile. If I was to secure a TAC. System data drive INTACT, I would actually have to creep around and avoid contact. What a pain. I slipped in through an air vent, not an easy feat when you're a Hunter…it took a good half hour too, but I did it. The second I had stepped in, I was stormed by two packs of Brutes. Six were carrying the standard Brute Shot, two had Carbines, and one had a human Shotgun. I fell of a Shotgun wound, but not before catching the Captain in the Groin. He fell, and I struck him down again. They jumped me, so I tossed a plasma grenade randomly and clipped it to the face of the nearest by accident. It got messy from there.
"Take him down!" Garjk' screamed to his Brutes, but the Hunter just kept plowing through. 'I should have expected this…the Hierarchs! He's after the TAC. System so he can run a Destroyer and take out the Prophets. I won't let this be so' he thought as he fired his Brute Shot. And then, out of pure luck, he struck the Hunter right in the stomach. It dropped to the ground, lifeless. "We actually did i- I mean, we did it perfectly. Secure that body and take it to the detention center. We'll interrogate him later." He said. "Of course, Commander Garjk'!" his soldiers replied, and they transported the body through the ship to question it.
'Uhhh…where…where am I? How did I get… the Brutes! I must be in a detention center.' Was the thought that ran through my mind. Instead of the usual bars, I was locked in by massive steel doors, and they had policed the shield and cannon from my unconscious body. My only option was to ram through with my body, but how many were on the outside? I had no time to think about it, my only concern was the TAC. System. I made numerous attempts, but none made a dent
in the two meter thick wall. If only I had a thinner wall, I…of course! That would be my only chance out, and I'd have to make it quick before I got grenaded again.
"Status on our model prisoner?" the Brute Commander asked his minions. "Commander Garjk'! He made a few attempts to break out, but that cell is completely reinforced! Well, except for…the…bottom…" Was what he squeezed out after realizing what the Hunter could do. "Open it! NOW!" Garjk' yelled, and they punched it the authorization codes. Even as the doors began to open, they heard a sickening thud and felt a shudder in the ground beneath them. "It's empty, sir!" his commanding officer stated. "Give the red alert to the lower decks. Seal anything that could be used for an escape." Garjk' ordered. They left, but there was more to be seen; if they had inspected that cell, they would've noticed the gaping hole in the side. And the Hunter Klez broke through the thin bars of the next cell.
"Status, Commander?" Frenirn inquired over a private COM channel. "I'm fine, although I was found out and captured." Klez replied. "Captured?! They know we here!" the Grunt screamed, but Klez calmed him. "No, they have the wrong impression of where I am, and now I can practically walk to the Command Center undetected." he replied. "Well, whatever you do, be ready for pickup. Frenirn out!" he said before closing the channel. Klez wished he could walk anywhere, but those words had only been meant to stop Frenirn from panicking. I truth, it was the exact opposite.
Depending on circumstances, this could be either a good or bad thing: I was at the entrance to the control room, surrounded by Jackals, Brutes, and Drones. It was good because it meant I was finally to the objective, and obviously bad because I was surrounded. Just then, the Brute Commander Garjk' entered the room. "You've come a long way, but you will die here. There are hundreds of my soldiers on board this scrap heap, and you can't take them all on alone." He snarled, and his men grunted their agreement before closing in on me. "Oh, I can assure you that he's not alone." The Commander said as he waltzed into the room, along with an armada's worth of Elites and Grunts. And there, among the crowd, was Karn! "Looks like you finally got what I meant! Now let us eradicate these Brutes and take High Charity!" he yelled. What I consider as the greatest battle in my life began there. Two armies charged each other, and battle cries filled the air. Weapons fire dominated the air around us, and it was every man for himself.
"Hall breach: an Elite controlled vessel is plowing through the upper decks toward the control room!" a voice alerted over the ship COM. Frenirn's Phantom blasted through the wall right into the fray. "Hunters, assemble into a defensive position!" I ordered to my entire race in the room. We formed a defensive line before the Phantom, allowing the High Commander time to secure the TAC. System data drive. I swung my shield and crushed a Jackal in the forehead, which shattered on impact. I fired on the next three packs, and charged them. Four of my Hunters, and then myself, fell to the ground from Beam Rifle shots in our necks. I was wide awake, but paralyzed. I was actually scared; not for myself, but for all of my comrades. I felt like I was letting them down. I struggled, and stood, but was overwhelmed by the Drones. They swarmed through the air, taking shots at anyone foolish enough to stand around and let them. Rage filled me, all of us, and we began tearing them apart…. literally. We grabbed nearby Drones and ripped their wings off before stomping them into the ground. I smashed Jackals in the legs and tossed them over the edge of the platform, and shot Brutes in the face with my cannon. Dead bodies littered the ground and amongst them were many that had served in the Honor Guard before the recommisioning. The Brute Commander stood among those still fighting, and it was time for revenge.
I charged the beast with every bit of strength I could muster. I tackled him, and began carving his body with my cannon fire. He threw me off and proceeded to slice my stomach with the bayonet of his weapon of choice. I spun and ran him into a wall with my spikes extended, but not before he stuck me with a plasma grenade. It exploded on my chest, stunning me to the core. He took the opportunity to shoot at my exposed spots with the Carbine, but instead Karn charged in and took the shots with his armor. "Forerunners be praised! Once again we fight to slay the blasphemers!" Karn said, as though nothing before had happened. I recovered from the grenade, and we fired at the vile monster at will. He was thrust through the steel of the door, where the bridge officers panicked. The High Commander was infiltrating the authorization codes to release the TAC. System, but that Brute had other things in mind; he activated the self-destruct code, and all systems on the ship immediately stopped. "Lets see you try to use it now." He said as he gave the order to seal all of the decks. "Those will be your last words, Brute." I said to him, and brought my boot down on his skull.
"We can still use the Phantom to escape!" The Commander stated. "Yes," I replied, "but first we must solve how to penetrate the seals." We had a decision to make, and we finally took the last option; the ship would self-destruct in fifteen minutes, so the Hunters would stay behind and cut an exit. Myself included. What awaited us was something we had never expected.
I will write shortly! I may not own Halo, but I own this story, and it's GOOD, so take that Bungie! Also, disregard the end of the last chapter. I misread the Trial package, and I can write until the 31st of January. So there will be more to come. READ IT!