Hi there! 你好! I am a Halo fan from China, brand new to English fan fictions(I have done some Chinese ones though). If no one likes my work then I can at least practice my English haha
I used grammar checker but still it may be not perfect.
I plan to do a series of stories about a group of young Spartan IVs(my OCs), how they fight the rebels, the remaining covenants and other threats after the great war, become proper Spartans and trusting comrades(or maybe even further?I have a female Spartan OC, but I am not sure about……?)
This chapter is like a prequel for two of them(there will be a fire team of four in further part, hopefully), they are former ODSTs and have been partners for a long time, experienced hell jumpers, but rookies as Spartans.They got a easy task, but accidently discovered the dark side of post-war human society. Hope you enjoy.
It's quite tiring for me to write in all English. Please give your comments as you can!
April 9th 2554
Mars orbit
A black, dart-shape object quietly floating above the Spartan IV HQ on Mars, it's one of the ONI's winter-class stealth prowler, Swordfish. The crew was preparing for the next flight. Meanwhile, two Spartan IVs, armed with black, ODST style Gen2 Mjollnir, were receiving their briefing from commander Sarah Palmer through a transmission.
"Target: minister of oblation. Not many prophets escaped from the High Charity after the civil war, that's probably why he self described as a chosen one, and now became the head of his own religion. He attract believers from all former covenant race by promising a new covenant without classing system, where everyone who pursuit the great journey is equally seen as brothers and sisters: even humans.
Yep, he did say humans are welcome to his great journey, and he said that in English. After that, an anti-UNSC cult stormed 12 colonies in several months. It's legal in most of them. Kid you not, you can find the minister's blog on the net with all his English speeches.
The cult group lore in those people who are living tough life, tell them it is all UNSC's fault, and the great journey is the only cure. They launched hunger strikes, sniff drugs, burn themselves, do whatever a cult will do. It's time for the UNSC to sort this mess out."
"If those losers want to kill themselves, that's their freedom isn't it."
Spartan Isaac Cohen said scornfully. He got an M99 Gauss rifle on his back, and special lens on his helmet. It's not hard to see he's a sniper.
"You sure that requires a Spartan op, ma'am?"
"Intel shows a group of them has stolen a cargo ship and heading towards where their Sage lives," Palmer responded, "they may return with tons of covenant weapons in their boot. Besides, the prophet is challenging us publicly, he said he has no fear of Demons. Are you interested now, Spartan?"
Cohen swapped a glance with his partner, Spartan Andre Frost, although they both got their helmets on. Frost was carrying a M45D shotgun, a custom-made battle knife on his shoulder showed he's an expert on close combat.
"We have intercepted the cult group's transmission," Palmer continued, " the prophet will personally welcome his very first group of human believers in front of his Holy temple on former covenant colony Sakuya, at exactly 4:26PM tomorrow. Swordfish will drop you outside the enemy territory, you will reach a high ground nearby the temple on foot, take the shot, and then, Swordfish will go pick you up. An easy job for rookies like you to get familiar with your business."
"Rookies?"
Before Cohen could say anything else, Frost stopped him.
"I don't care how bad-ass are you in the past. Now as Spartans, you are rookies. Am I clear? "
"Yes ma'am."
Frost confirmed their obedience loud and clear, although Palmer can still hear some unyielding from it.
Well, have some backbone is not totally bad.
"Godspeed, Spartans."
The briefing ended.
"How dare she calls us rookies?" Cohen complained with anger.
"Let's prove her who we are then. Don't miss your shot, rifleman." said Frost.
"You know I never miss!"
Frost responded with some laughter. Cohen is always a bit bad-tempered. He's from a poor colony, grew in street violence, and joined military to avoid jail. He blended in ODST perfectly, while Frost wasn't as son of a high-ranking navy officer, which makes him a toff. They were never pals until the mission which killed the rest of the entire team. Since then, they served as a two men squad, hunt down high-value targets deep inside the enemy territory.
They delivered some astonishing victories during the most desperate days of the war. However, as commander Palmer said, they are all gone since the very day they became Spartans. Here, they need to prove their values all over again.
A prophet's head will be just enough.
Ground of planet Sakuya, on the top of a snow mountain, Cohen set up his sniper nest nearby a cliff, while Frost being an assisting observer at his side. Two Kig-yars who were the sentinels here were quietly shot by M6S pistols before they are able to launch warning.
Spartans looked down to the valley in front of them, an enormous structure was covered by the hillside on the left, leaved only a corner of it outside. That must be the so-called Holy Temple. It's indeed some relic of that super advanced ancient civilization,which is covenant's god. The existing of this thing was keeping all those massive fools loyalty to their sage.
Square in front of this temple is apparently wide enough for a small or mid-size ship to land. There, a squad of honor guards lined up in two rolls, wearing their iconic red armor, with lances in their hands. Zooming in, it was able to see there were elites and brutes together in one unit. That's something won't appear elsewhere.
"Here it comes." said Frost.
Silence of the wilds was interrupted by the sound of engines, the stolen cargo ship has arrived. Cohen pointed his rifle towards the door of the temple. Finally, escorted by two honor guards, this creature who became a part of his floating wheelchair showed up.
In covenant, there are hunters which are piles of worms, brutes which are mad, ugly, and unpredictable, and those cunning, jumping Kig-yars. But none of them is as hateful as prophets. It's shocking that these clumsy ostriches with their creeping necks are able to ordering mighty elites and brutes about like puppets.
Cohen didn't take the shot immediately, for the air flow causing by the landing cargo ship could interrupt the ballistic. He was waiting for the ship's engines completely shut. Deadly crosshair kept locking the prophet's head right in the middle. But what the Spartans didn't know was, another human's lens was pointing at the sage's noble face at the same time, and behind it, were hundreds and thousands of crippled souls. On that cargo ship, the cult believers were live broadcasting their great journey to all of their comrades.
They have no clue that their sage only need humans to unlock all the parts of his holy temple, for some taboo reasons, only humans are able to do that. As for the fate of those dirty pagans after used, the prophet was still considering slavery or execution.
But it's not important now. Not anymore.
The "full of wisdom" head of the sage was just shot through by a high-velocity AP bullet from Miles away.
Spartans couldn't hear the terrifying screaming of the cult believers, which was about to penetrate the whole galaxy. The cargo ship immediately escaped. Elites in the honor guard squad howling to the sky with their four jaws wide open, brutes furiously hit the ground with their lances.
"Red fox to swordfish. The target is down." Frost reported.
"Good work, Spartans. We are coming in for the evac."
Swordfish leaved the orbit and started to entering the atmosphere ASAP. But the Captain immediately received another transmission.
"Hurry, swordfish! we got company! "
"We are going in at full speed. What's the situation? "
"Engaging!"
Spartans picked up six targets approaching from above by their radars, that was an elite ranger squad dropped straight away from a patrolling phantom. With the jet packs holding their dropping speed, they unleashed devastating firepower towards the demons from the sky. Four of them was equipped with two plasma sub-machine guns each, the other two with plasma grenade launchers. With the bubble shield dropped by the Spartans vanished, they immediately overran by the storm of shining blue flames. Nothing left but dust. Or is it?
The ranger squad has landed, Sangheili warriors were enjoying the taste of honorable victory. Meanwhile, right behind them, two black shadows emerged out from nowhere.
Stealth is no longer covenant's trick only. As for what disappeared in the plasma flames, those were holographic images.
Frost fired his M363 GPD, a sticky bomb immediately landed on a ranger's back, took out one of the significant threat: grenade launcher. In the same half of a second, another grenade launcher got its barrel shot through by Cohen. Two explosions wiped out the majority of the ranger squad, one survivor was knocked down by Frost's shotgun fire right after he managed to stand up again, 15 lead shots fiercely punched through his internal organs. The last of the Sangheili warriors pulled out his energy sword and dashed towards Frost, but his sprint was suddenly ended by Cohen's one clear shoot.
The rangers which were on the numbers by there times were annihilated by the demons. But the fight is not over yet. The phantom which dropped the rangers earlier has arrived and ready to send in reinforcements. But the demons got plan for it.
It's gun at the front was immediately sniped and out of function. When the hatch opened, the door gunner was shot as well. Just before the infantry on board were able to drop off, Frost fired right into the hatch with the plasma grenade launcher he picked up. With the screaming of grunts and the explosive sound of their methane tanks mixed together, the phantom was going down in flames.
But just before the Spartans clap for their sweet victory, a roaring brute jumped out from the phantom's scrap, waved his hammer straight towards the demon's head. That unfortunate demon, was Cohen. In haste, he tried to block the hammer by his sniper rifle. When Frost realized what happened, he only saw the glow when Cohen lost his energy shield, the rifle ended up in a piece of scrap metal, and the armor was damaged quite badly.
With nasty laughter, the brute continued his attack. But now, he's up againsting a furious demon.
Six buckshots fired towards this ugly creature on insane rate, but he refused to fall even with dozens of lead shots tearing his body apart. Just before he waved his mighty hammer again, Frost pulled out his blade in lighting speed, streaked the enemy's throat with fierce force, and then kicked him out of the cliff.
"Was that serious?" Frost rushed to his injured partner.
"What do you think……urrgh!"
At this desperate moment, covenant's reinforcement of three more phantoms has arrived. This time, they decided not to send in any infantry, but simply blow the demons back to stone age as gunships.
With their hatch opened, large group of grunts with fuel rod cannons rained down hell fire towards the demons. Frost deployed his last bubble shield to protect himself and Cohen, who was clearly unable to maneuver. Ground was shaking, glowing of the green flame and the bang of explosions never stopped for even one moment, he wasn't able to think. Just when he realized they may not be able to get out of this one, his cavalry finally arrived.
"Sorry we are late, Spartans."
Swordfish rushed into the battle field, and quickly shot down all three Phantoms.
"What holds you, captain?"
Frost was intended to question with anger, but he was too exhausted to sound serious.
"We were slightly off course when entered the atmosphere."
After Cohen was dragged into the hatch of Swordfish, it immediately took off and rushed into the orbit before any more covenant could intercept.
Cohen was treated by a medic, he is able to walk again. The two Spartans took out their helmets, let their sweat dried out in the air.
That was seriously close. They slipped through the Death's fingers once again.
It took them a while to realize that was a job-done after all.
"A beer when we come home?"
"For sure."
That's when they noticed the ship is not on its way back yet. Turned out, Swordfish still have some final clean-up to do.
When they arrived the bridge to check out what was holding Captain again, they saw that stolen cargo ship floating on the orbit powerlessly. With all the lights off, it looked like a metal coffin: indeed it was.
Looked closer, a hatch on the top of it has been opened from inside. Some dead bodies were rushed out by the air flow. A squad of ONI agents was there investigating.
"No one lives, sir." one of the agents reported, "all killed by asphyxia and cold."
"This is collective suicide."
Cohen and Frost has seen so many bloody battle fields, but none of them was as horrible as this. Helmet camera videos of the agents were live broadcasting on the major screen of the bridge, faces of painfully dead showed up one by one. Some of them were teenagers, or even children.
"What's wrong with them?!" Even the cold-blooded sniper couldn't watch anymore.
"What's this……? A camera?"
The agent took out the memory card from the broken camera he found, put it into his helmet to play the videos.
"People who pursuit the great journey in the whole galaxy!" a young male voice full of passion, "This is a great step on our way to godhood, we have arrived the home world of the Sage, a place we can wash our souls! There is no tax, no unemployment, no exploit, no discrimination, no capitalism, no rich and powers from the Solar system to squeeze out every drop of our blood, no UNSC oppressors with their dirty boots and evil guns!"
The camera looked around, showed the faces of the believers on board the cargo ship. There were young and old, males and females, and different colors of skins. Drugs and hungry turned them into living skulls. But right now, they looked so happy and satisfied.
"Look at that! " The camera man rushed to a window, "The sage's holy ride! Look how he floats in the air, this is a living miracle! And look at his mighty honor guards!"
With the cargo ship landed, the camera pointed at the opening hatch."Celebrate, people who pursuit the great journey! We are about to see the Sage himself! Jesus, I mean forerunners, I am about to pass out……"
Sound of gun shot. Apparently, that was Cohen doing his job.
Then, the highly-trained military men and women who were watching the video have heard the horrible crying they never heard before. Not from any alien creatures, but from human beings just like themselves.
With the crazy and messy shouts teeming with words like demon, satan, and cursed, the camera was dropped and kicking around by the lost-control crowds. Sound of the engines re-started.
And the video ends here.
Disturbing silence covered the bridge. Although the ship was immediately on its way back home after the agents returned, the atmosphere of victory has been washed away by the unpleasant event. How disappointing.
The Covenant isn't the only one shattered after the war. The tough victory didn't lead human into a golden era. Instead, UNSC is now facing a deadly puzzle with the remaining Covenants, the un-trusting colonies and the mystery ancient relics mixed together. That's a precious lesson for the young Spartans today.
It's hard to imagine how many lethal threat against humanity are yet to come. But no matter who they are, where they are, and how many are there, UNSC always has one loud and clear answer.
That answer, is called Spartans.