The Intergalactic War

By Chief Ratchet

(A.N: Hello again everybody! Sorry about the super long wait for the last chapter. I hope that this one didn't take as long as the last one. This chapter is about 'Novamee's past. It will range from Halo, to maybe after the war. Also, 'Novamee's full name is Mir 'Novamee. The reason why the whole chapter is Italiced is because the whole chapter is about 'Novamee's past. Happy reading!)

Reviews:

Star wars 2136: Thanks for the review and encouragement. Sorry about the long wait. Keep the reviews coming!

brian: I'll try to update faster. Oh, and about your 'threat' (puts a Nova down and runs to a place where I can't be found), beat that! And thanks for the review.

pwned123123: Thanks for that. Sorry about the misspelled words, though.

richard9311: Thanks. I'm glad you like it!

FATDUDE: Umm, thanks, I guess.

Chapter 7: Remembrance

Young Mir burst in through a door, full of life and energy. The fuel for the energy and excitement became known almost immediately. "Father's coming home today!" young Mir shouted as he ran into the kitchen where his mother was preparing a meal. His mother smiled at him, the top mandibles moving apart.

"Yes dear," she answered. Mir was becoming so much like his father already, and he was only half his father's age. Mir then practically danced away, looking forward to meeting his father. Because of the war, Mir's father had to fight away from home. He had recently sent them a message about him getting a leave to come home. He was to arrive very soon, so she was preparing a meal for him.

That early evening, Mir was sitting at the table, doing his work that had been set in the education centres that he attended, when the door slid open, and a tall, broad shouldered Elite walked into the room, with a great big smile on his face.

"Guess whose home?" the Elite said in a sing-song voice. Mir jumped up, and upon seeing his father, leapt into his arms joyously. He hugged his father, and was still in his arms when his mother walked in from the adjacent room. She smiled at him, and the father returned it.

After their meal, when Mir was sleeping in his room, his father and mother sat down to talk. The father sighed heavily. His mood had changed drastically from the happier mood earlier on. "You know, Mir is just a few years away from being old enough to be placed in the Academy, right?" stated his father. His mother sighed as well, equally sad. She only spoke two words. "I know."

The Academy was the military training centre, where all male Elites at the age of twelve annual units (or twelve years) were required to enrol. Failure to do so was considered to be a disgrace to the family. Mir was now ten annual units, so in two short annual units, Mir would be leaving home, only returning after the graduation. After only a month, Mir would be whisked away to the army, and after that, who knows? Mir could be killed. The mere thought of it was too much to bear, and Mir's mother broke down in tears. His father pulled her in close.

It was the worst part of being an Elite mother. All the sons in the family who reach twelve are taken to the Academy. If they fail, they are forced to do it again and again until they graduate. The courses were five annual units long, so when they graduate, most would be around seventeen annual units, perfect for the frontlines, now that there was a war going on.

Within a week, Mir's father had left again for the battle, leaving the two of them. Then came the day when Mir's mother decided to tell Mir about the Academy, and what will happen. Mir's eyes were wide with shock, fear or excitement-she couldn't tell. "Does that mean that I will be like Father?" he asked.

His mother smiled and rubbed his head affectionately. "Yes dear, it does."

Two annual units passed like a blink of an eye, and before Mir's mother had knew it, he was on the way to the Academy. She shed tears for a long, long time.

At the Academy, Mir stood in line with many other young Elites. There were about one hundred of them, and all of them, like him, were scared. They had never been in such a situation before. Then, an older Elite walked up to them. He looked at them, and finally said "You will not last one unit in battle against the human soldiers, even if they are not supported by their...archaic armoured vehicles. Well, we are here to change that. This Academy will train you to be the greatest warriors to ever live. Each of you will be trained in the ways of the warriors gone by, upholding tradition, and learn to use the generous gifts that the Forerunners have provided for our safety to the Great Journey. Every single one of you will be divided into five different groups." After dividing them, he once again started another speech. "This group will become your family from now on. You will train in your groups. You will eat in your group. And most importantly, you shall fight with your group."

At hearing the last statement, one of the Elites in Mir's group raised his hand, indicating a question.

"Yes?" barked the instructor.

"Umm, when you said fight with our group, do you mean we will stay in the same group after graduating from here?" questioned the Elite.

The instructor laughed. "No, will fight another, different group in war games and mock battles. After graduating, you will be split into different battalions for the war. Any other questions?"

No-one raised their hands. "Good. Let us begin your training!" announced the instructor. For the next few weeks, Mir and the other Elites in his group trained to increase their physical stamina, and their strength. They also started learning about military tactics, and about the humans and their ways. It was in the fifth week that the fun began. Mir and his group started to train with weapons.

It quickly became obvious that Mir was gifted, for he could shoot at a far longer distance more accurately than his other Elites. They started to train in obstacle obstacles, sometimes carrying weapons and firing and at drones. Mir and the others performed admirably, much to the satisfaction of the trainers. While they were not the best group, they were far from the worse, because the hundred recruits he had seen at the beginning were only one of many batches. At last, they were subjected to a three mile long course littered with traps and drones that fired back. While the plasma fired couldn't kill, it stung, and none of the recruits wanted to get hit.

After this came the most fun part of all the training. They were to participate in a mock battle against another group of trainees in park designed for this purpose of training specifically. The aim of the game was to capture the other group's flag, while not losing their own. The first was the greatest, and Mir remembered it well. Mir stood with his team mates. All were holding plasma rifles that were toned down to cause only a sting if one was hit. Their amour had shields, but once it was gone the Elite was out, or in real life, dead. Mir was not the leader of the group. A large Elite was, and his name was Muko. All the Elites looked up to him, as he was a fearless leader. He was drawing a picture on the dirt that they were standing on. It was a crude drawing of the base where the other team's flag was kept. He had most of the base, although he wasn't sure if it was accurate enough. He stood up.

"OK, I have a plan. We will leave ten of us here to protect our flag. The rest of us will take the enemies flag. We should go in different directions to maximize our chance for success. Remember, if the entire group is out, we lose. So if the attacking team is out, the defenders go in. everyone agree?" There was a murmur of agreement. "Ok, let us go! For the glory of our family!" There was a roar, and the team ran off, to find their positions.

Mir ran to a high outcrop that he had seen earlier. It was taller than the other outcrops, and it had a large boulder that would come in handy if he was seen, and if the other team started shooting at him. He scanned the opposing team's base, and spotted some of the warriors, foolishly exposing themselves, exactly unlike what they were taught in training. Mir fired at them, and knocked two down without much of a problem. The problem was the third one, who started shooting wildly at Mir's general position, unknowingly giving away his position to Muko and Svaier, who then promptly shot him.

Unfortunately, Zuka and Rtas ran into a crossfire from the opposition's defenders. Mir didn't notice the Elite creeping up on him, until his shields was suddenly at zero, knocking him out of the exercise. He slumped down in defeat, and his shoulders sagged. His first time in this exercise and he was already defeated. He slumped down against the rock, and waited for the defeat of the rest of his group. Unknowingly to him, Rtas and Zuka had survived the crossfire, and were making their way to the base. The infiltrated, and stole the flag while the defenders were busy with an all out offensive launched by the remainders of the assault team.

With a shout, they ran off towards their base, splitting in different directions so to confuse anyone who was giving chase. As soon as they reached home base, Rtas threw down the flag with a triumphant shout. A siren blared, signalling the end of the exercise. The instructor walked in. he gave much criticism about teamwork, as well as congratulations to Mir's team. All the Elites then tramped off to the dining hall, as the sun was setting down. He had no idea of how quickly time could pass.

The rest of the annual unit passed quickly. As they approached the end of their first annual unit, they were treated to a battle simulator. As they stood inside, the walls seemed to come alive, and they saw a group of humans charging them. All of them instinctively ducked down, and started shooting. The humans went down quickly. The Elites all started cheering, but they failed to notice a small round ball. "Hey, what's this?" asked one of the Elites as he picked up the strange object. All of them started to crowd around, and just as Mir reached them, the device exploded. The explosion caused many of the closest Elites to be 'killed' and be removed from the simulation. Mir was merely thrown on his back, as well as a few other lucky ones.

Just then, the chatter of weapons-human weapons to be exact, filled the air. Three Elites went down in the barrage of bullets. Things were looking bad now, as they had now lost over half the group, and a much larger group of humans were charging them. Mir started to shoot them and was still firing when his rifle overheated. "Hold positions!" shouted Rtas "Stop the advance!" the remaining Elites looked around, unsure, but when another Elite came crashing to the ground, they all but hurled themselves to the ground and started firing. They at last wiped out the group, but at the cost another three Elites. Mir looked around, and only saw six Elites remaining, counting himself. He was proud to be one of the few left.

Just as Mir finished his mental thoughts, the simulation was terminated, and they found themselves in the room again. More berating from the instructor followed, and they were free to go around for the afternoon. While the others went outside to play, Mir went to his quarters to write a letter to his mother. It was what he did at most of the time. He wrote most of the time for two reasons: he wished to keep in touch with his family, and two, he was shy. He didn't like running around as much as the other Elites. Family was more important to him.

All the rest of the annual units passed quickly, and before Mir knew it, he was standing on a stage, being presented his badge, and ushered into a new battalion of Elites. Because of the war, he was being moved out immediately, to a battleground; the human colony of Paris IV.

He was standing inside a Shadow, one of the many in a convoy inbound for the main evacuation centre in the capital of the planet. He and many other Elites were nervous-this was their first true battle. The Shadow suddenly halted. There was shouting outside, as many of the Elites wanted to know what was taking so long. Mir, now christened 'Novamee, peered outside, and saw what the problem was-a roadblock. The lead Shadow then rammed its way through. It was from there that the whole thing started to go wrong. Halfway through the roadblock, the Shadow exploded. Instantly the gunners started swivelling to locate the targets. The driver of the second last Shadow in line backed his Shadow into the last Shadow in panic, ramming it.

A smoke trail suddenly appeared, followed by another three. Mir watched in fascination as they made their way to the last two Shadows. When the first one struck, it rocked the Shadows, but when the other three hit, the two Shadows exploded into flames, taking the other one with it. Mir then realised that they were trapped. They couldn't go forward or back, so he leapt out the side of the Shadow. "Follow me!" he shouted. It was good advice, and everyone else followed him. Then, the rest of the Elites followed, including those from the surviving Shadows. He led out and just in time, as a human fighter, losing control, plunged into the column of Shadows, and Elites, Grunts and Jackals that had been staying near the Shadows, firing at the humans above with an explosion that wiped out the entire column.

Mir looked at the group, and only about twenty Elites, and thirty Grunts and Jackals remained. "What we do now?" asked a Grunt.

"We continue to the evacuation centre, and destroy it!" announced 'Peramee, who was obviously aiming for a promotion. Mir was inclined to disagree, taking a more conservative approach. "Why are we taking an approach like this where we could easily lose?" asked 'Novamee. "We have lost half our number, hardly suitable for a mass charge. We should approach them carefully." The other Elite didn't listen.

"We charge, and that is final!" declared 'Peramee. 'Novamee was overruled by him as almost everyone was agreeing with 'Peramee. "Very well," 'Novamee said. "You have signed our deathwish." 'Peramee shrugged, and promptly started to run towards the centre of the city, where the evacuation centre was. The entire group rushed forward, with Mir bringing up the rear. Soon they began to hear shouts, as well as human gunfire. They could also hear the roar of engines, as the humans started to evacuate the city and well as their soldiers. A human fighter plane flew by over them suddenly, and they all realized that they had lost the element of surprise. Things were going to be a lot harder now. The fighter flew by again, except that it blasted the road with its weapons. Grunts, Jackals and even Elites fell beneath the devastating effect of four cannons. Mir dived for cover, and was rewarded when the plane flew past, clearly regarding everyone as dead.

Mir emerged from cover, as did the survivors. Mir made a quick count, and counted only ten Elites including himself, five Grunts and fifteen Jackals. Most of the Elites had died when they defied the aircraft, and started shooting, only to get cut down seconds later. To his dismay, 'Peramee had also survived, though his shoulder was bleeding. There was no doubt that the wound had been caused by shrapnel, as Mir could see small craters dotting the street. 'Peramee, oblivious to the fact that only thirty of them remained, and continued to charge down the street. Mir followed him, albeit reluctantly.

When they got there, they found a human with dark skin, and wearing a ridiculous helmet, holding a plasma grenade. He ignited, and threw while yelling "No Covie bastard is getting into this party!"

The plasma grenade stuck onto a Jackal who had been too eager to get at the human. Seconds later, the grenade exploded, taking the Jackal with it. "Alright! Who else wants some? Come and get it!" the human was shouting. He then threw grenade after grenade into the approaching Covenant. Mir knew it was not wise to charge in, so he waited.

After what seemed like forever, the human's taunts and the explosions had ceased. He peered around the corner, and apart from all the dead bodies, found nothing. He walked carefully around, and saw no trace of the human. The patter of feet made him whirl around and point his rifle in the direction. He relaxed when he saw the crimson red armour of a Veteran Elite, followed by a group of Minor Elites. He breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't alone now. "Your Excellency," said Mir as he walked over to the Elite, "I am glad that you are here. The rest of the warriors were wiped out."

The Veteran turned towards him, and suddenly, a blow sent Mir to the ground, his vision growing hazy. The Veteran stepped over him, and ordered the Elites behind him to advance. All of the Minor Elites followed him, also stepping over him. They had just started leaving when Mir stumbled to his feet and started to follow them. Just as the group of Elites passed underneath an archway, Mir who was only a few metres behind them, saw something glint within the disappearing haze of his vision. He ran to catch up, to stop them, but before the words left his mouth, there was a sharp crack, and a lethal, but mysteriously enchanting blue explosion ensued as three crates of plasma grenades were detonated by the human grenade.

The explosion hurled him onto his back, and he saw the human transport fly up and out of the atmosphere as the darkness slowly overtook his vision as he blacked out.

Several months in a recovery centre saw him miss the events of Halo, though rumours were running rampant through the Covenant about a group of humans in special armour destroying legions of Covenant with ease. There were reports of a single human destroying the gateway to the Great Journey, or the Sacred Rings.

After those months in recovery, Mir was sent to even more battles than before. Before long, he was given the armour of a Veteran, which pleased him greatly. He went off to battles, won battles, or lost and watched as plasma burned planets to nothing but ash.

One evening, he was approached by a pair of SpecOps Elites. The noise immediately dropped, though there was still the occasional whisper. The Elites approached the table where Mir was sitting. They gestured at him to follow them, and he did so without complaint. He followed them until they were out in the hallway. When they did so, the pair remarked to him. "Silence is a great way of greeting old friends."

Mir looked closer at them, and realised in shock that the pair was no more than Zuka and Rtas, though their last name was 'Zamamee and 'Vadumee, respectively. The three started to trade stories, and rumours. Mir thought that Zuka was killed in the battle for Halo, though when he mentioned it, Zuka merely laughed. Rtas had also changed; most noticeably both of his left mandibles were missing.

After exchanging festivities, Rtas looked at Mir. "You know that we didn't pull you away from the hall just to talk to you," with a fairly sombre tone. The mood had quickly changed from light-hearted chit-chat to military matters. "We have been told that you are now an official member of SpecOps Team 4. Well done," said Zuka.

"What? But I'm still a Veteran." Objected Mir.

"Not any longer, Mir. You're in our team now," Said Rtas. In reality, Mir didn't mind, though it was going to be different from now on.

Several months had passed and Mir was getting used to being on Zuka and Rtas' team. The three often traded jokes, and their relationships. Before long, they were called to a meeting where the new weapons of the Covenant were officially announced. Mir was definitely happy when the Beam Rifle was introduced. It meant that he could finally have an effective weapon at long range, as plasma did minimal damage at long ranges.

Tensions were running high throughout the Covenant, as all races took a 'side'. Before long, civil war broke out among the Covenant. Mir and his team, excluding Rtas and Zuka as they were reassigned, had to defend Dock 9 on High Charity against the Brutes and Jackals as they Elite and Grunt civilians were evacuated. Mir was nearest to the Dock as the height and distance to the entry was sufficient for him to snipe. The rest of his team set up barricades and plasma cannons to halt the tidal wave of Brutes that was to come. The first wave that broke in consisted of mainly Jackals.

Mir easily shot the Jackals in the head with out much of a problem. The Brutes that poured in was the main challenge. Every gun was lighting up to hold them back while the civilians boarded the Phantoms that would take them to the capital ships for safety. Mir found that two headshots were needed to kill a Brute, mainly because of the helmet that they wore, but several times he scored lucky and the beam went beneath the helmet. Before long, all the civilians were evacuated, and they could get off High Charity. However, getting off the dock was harder to achieve. Brutes, Jackals and Drones were still relentlessly attacking, so they couldn't get out through the entry doorway.

"What are we supposed to do now?" yelled Mir over the plasma fire. "We can't get out through the way we came in!"

"Maybe we can when they stop attacking!" yelled back 'Hajamee, one of the plasma cannon gunners.

"If they stop, not when they stop!" fairly screamed 'Asnamee.

They continued to fire, and the bodies piled up higher and higher. Eventually, salvation came in the form of a human dropship that smashed through the walls of the dock and fired missiles at the entry way, collapsing the doorway. They stared at it in shock until Zuka poked his head out of the troop bay. "What are you waiting for? Get in!" he shouted.

Not wasting a second, they all jumped in, relieved that they were away from the chaos. It was soon that a Grunt asked how Zuka had procured a human dropship, which he explained. He was patrolling around, when a human capital ship had crashed into High Charity. He went to investigate, but only found the Flood. He had fought his way around, until he found the launch bay by accident, with a dropship still there.

Closing the blast doors to stop the Flood for now, he clambered in, and played around with the controls until he understood them. He then flew around, until he heard a transmission to kill the Elite defenders of Dock 9. He then blasted his way through to rescue them. Mir sat back on the uncomfortable human backrest and fell asleep, as did many other Elites and Grunts.

Many months later, after so much fighting against the Brutes and Prophets with the strangest of all allies, the humans, they were preparing to fight the battle that would win them the war, or cost them it. It was the battle for the Prophet's homeworld. Mir had never seen such a battle before, as he fought alongside humans. The human leaders had decided that if they lost this, they would lose the war, so everything they had was sent to fight.

Eventually, they succeeded, at the cost of many warriors and machines, though it was something that with time, they could rebuild. A truce was called for with the humans, and on Earth, in an open stadium, the truce was signed by the Elite Councillors, and the human Admirals and leaders. There was celebration throughout the Covenant, as more than twenty annual units of war, peace was finally about.

Mir stayed around on the human MAC platform Cairo for sometime, doing nothing but view human culture, and maybe glimpse the ever reclusive Demons. One day, at the firing range, being so engrossed in shooting at paper cut-outs of Brutes with a Beam Rifle, he didn't notice someone come up behind him.

"Nice shooting for a split-lip," said a voice behind him. He whirled around to find himself staring at a golden visor. He instinctively backed up a little, and stared at the Demon in front of him. "Demon," he muttered. The Demon cocked its head to the side quizzically, and said "I'm not the Demon who destroyed Halo. He is elsewhere," it said.

"Then who are you?" he hissed.

"I am one of the remaining Demons. If you hadn't attacked Reach then they-" the bold voice started to crack a little "would still be alive." Said the Demon.

"I am, sorry for your loss then. I had no part of it."

Without a word the Demon pulled the Sniper Rifle off its back. "No matter. What's done is done. Hmm, how about a little contest? You and me."

Mir contemplated the challenge a bit, and then accepted. They both settled their rifles up, and decided on the targets. A computer would issue the go order. In the end, the Demon won by a single bullet. Mir grumbled, but decided to make friends. If they had a mission together, at least they won't be concerned about plotting each others demise. "My name is 'Novamee. Do you have a name, Demon?" he asked.

"First of all, it is Spartan, not demon. And yes I do have a name," she answered.

"Then what is it?" questioned Mir.

"Why should I tell you?" replied the Spartan.

"Because it makes no sense for allies to be at each other's throats all the time."

"Fine. If you must know, it is Spartan-058."

"Surely you must have a real name, or at least a nickname." There was a moment's silence.

"You do know that names are personal. Only the ones I trust know my real name."

"How about a trade. I will tell you my first name, if you tell me your's." Mir hated to tell a human his first name, but he would if it meant a sign of trust.

The Spartan was standing there, looking at the ground. Finally, it spoke. "If you tell me your's, and I tell you mine, it means a sign of trust, right?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Since you're a sniper as well, we might get along quite well. My name, is Linda. Happy?"

"Yes. My own first name is Mir, Spa- Linda," answered Mir, now happier.

Linda then, much to Mir's surprise, removed her helmet, revealing a pale face underneath, with shoulder length blood red hair. "How about another round, Mir?" she asked smirking. "No visors and no scopes?"

Mir, not one to back down, accepted. Linda handed him a human pistol. He looked at it uncomfortably. She won without question. Mir glared at her, and muttered something he had learnt from a Marine. "Bitch."

"Split-lip."

He launched himself at her, though it was more of a friendly spout than an 'I will kill you' one. Then, another Spartan walked in through the door, and stared as Linda wrestled with Mir. "Linda! What in the world is going on here?" Needless to say, both of them blamed each other.

When the Spartan left, Mir turned to Linda. "So are we friends?" he asked.

"Some friend you are, blaming me," joked Linda.

The jolting of the Pelican pulling into the hangar bay shook 'Novamee from his remembrance. As soon as he jumped out, multiple medics pulled Linda out and rushed her to the infirmary. When the other Pelican carrying the other Spartans arrived, Fred said "Why is it always Linda who ends up in serious life-threatening situations?" in an attempt to lighten the situation. Everyone else shrugged. They were too busy imagining a team without Linda, though there was a chance that she might survive.

A medic poked his head in. "Sir, I have news on Spartan-058." Everyone took a sharp breath as the medic delivered the news…

(A.N: Hahahahaha I'm evil, aren't I? Now, don't go clicking the 'Back' just yet. I have another chapter for you all! Think of it as a Christmas gift, to all you fans out there. So the real note is in the next chapter. Enjoy!)