Halo New galaxy Ch2 Bad decision

19th June 2554

UNSC space, Shanxi colony

Echo base

Mira removed her helmet and put it down on the bench. After she took a gentle breath she put the helmet inside the locker she stood in front. She had auburn short cropped hair and a pair of sharp yellow eyes. Her body had a slight tan.

She definitely preferred fighting the Former Covenant to this. Guarding a negotiation was her least favorite assignment to date. She didn't join the Spartan III program to watch diplomats play their games, but to defend humanity from the hostile aliens at the gate.

As he removed his own armor, Nomad looked at her.

"This kind of thing makes me miss the Brutes," he joked and sighed for added effect.

She smirked.

"Amen brother," she murmured. But, if this is where the high wigs need us, we am I to argue?"

Nomad tilted his head and cracked his knuckles.

"I prefer letting my sniper talk, but yeah. Gotta make a good example for the kids, right?" He nudged his head towards the Spartan IVs.

"Oh, ha ha," a Scottish man commented dryly. "Funny Nomad."

He wasn't wearing his black armor with red stripes anymore, and worked on taking his M90 apart and putting it back together while he sat in his cot. He had an armory locker on his side. Finishing up with the shotgun he quickly checked the time.

"Seventeen," Mira informed him, having kept count.

"Fuck," the Scot berated himself. "I'm off my game together. Guarding top wigs threw me off."

"Because it was so stressful, yeah?" A feminine voice with a British accent cut in. "That it Evans?"

The scot, Charles Evans chuckled dryly. "Funny girl, Lizzy."

She cracked a small grin. "Did learn from the best."

Spartan Charles Evans was a man in his thirties with red hair and a fitting mustache attached to his face. It was quite thick, like a large larva crawling under his nose. His eyes was a mixture of dark blue and emerald green. He was wearing his under-suit. Turning his eyes back to the shotgun.

"Alright baby, gotta take in those seconds. Come on." He started the counter and began to disassemble the M90.

In her own cot, Lizzy was reading a good book. Elisabeth-or Lizzy to her friends-McKenzie was the youngest in Fireteam Crimson. She was in her late twenties. Twenty-seven to be exact. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail. She had hair as white as snow and her skin was pale, not sickly but simply unusually pale. She had a gentle and soft voice, but don't be fooled. She was as good a killer as everyone else in the barrack.

"Did you guys here about the documentary?" Lizzy asked casually.

"The what?" Mira asked, looking back at her.

Lizzy raised her head and lowered her book.

"Some bloke back on Mars is making a documentary about the whole freakin' war. Now when UEG got somethin' to say again, they approved for some military records to be made available for him," Lizzy filled the rest in.

Nomad snorted. "Who the fuck would watch a documentary after living through that?" He asked.

"That's the point, I think," Lizzy answered. "It's probably for the next generator. We can't let 'em forget about the Covenant war like that. Not after we almost got wiped."

"Not saying that," Nomad retorted. "But it…I don't know. Seems like a dumb idea to me. I don't wanna talk about everything I went through to a camera or whatever."

"You won't have to," Lizzy assured him. "No way UNSC will let some civvie interview Spartans. We've all got a big off limit sign on us." She shrugged. "Sure he wants to but, fuck I can't figure out any reason they'd led him near us."

That earned a chuckle from the corner of the room.

Lizzy turned and looked over to the fifth Spartan in the room.

"Got something to say Locust?" Mira asked before Lizzy could say something.

For a moment the black haired Spartan was silent. He scratched his ebony black goatee.

"Nah. Just found it funny Lizzy knew so many words at ones." He grinned slightly.

Lizzy rolled her eyes.

"Best you got?" She countered flatly.

"Not even close," Locust answered her.

"Don't try starting something Marshal," Mira commanded. "Got to the shooting range if you need to blow some steam."

Richard Marshal got out of his cot and walked over to his weapons locker. He got his BR85N out and put it on his bed.

"Something I like about this setup," he began. "Is that we get all our stuff right here."

"You always did like when they let you be lazy," Evans said.

Locust snickered.

"I've killed more Covies than I can count in this way, think I've earned some laziness, don't ya?" Without expecting an answer he continued looking around in his locker.

His armor was the 2nd gen Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor, Rogue variant. It had a dark blue color scheme with a golden visor.

The sixth and last member of Crimson was John Cooper. Like everyone except Nomad and Mira he was a Spartan IV. Mira and Nomad were both IIIs. John was in his early thirties with a black messy style and an unshaved chin. His light blue eyes looked at Locust while he put his armor on. Since he didn't have anything to add to the conversation, he was just quiet and kept to himself.

20th June 2157 CE

Krogan DMZ, Aralakh system

Corvette Lingering Serpent

As the Corvette approached the lone Freighter orbiting the arid planet, Captain Reb the Slick grinned and clapped his hands tougher.

"Oh, look at that dung heap of a planet boys," Reb said. "Reminds me of Sanghelios."

His first mate turned his head to him.

"I didn't know who've been there," Sax said inquisitively.

Reb shrugged and let a grin on his beak again.

"Long time ago, I was young and stupid." He raised a talon. "Never raid a Sangheili ship. Bad idea."

"I knew that already," Sax said. "Who'd be dumb enough for that?"

Reb waved him off and focused back on the Freighter.

"This is it gentlemen," he said. "We are the first Kig-yar to raid…whoever's on board that tug called a ships. It's a floating wreck to me. Looks barely flight worthy." "He turned to the Kig-yar responsible for the comms station. "Tell them we're going to board them."

"Got it Captain."

"We're about to be famous, Sax," Reb told his first mate.

"Shouldn't we be more cautious then this?" Sax asked.

Reb laughed and jumped out of his command chair.

"You need to learn to live a little, Sax old boy!"

"No answer from the Freighter, sir," the comm officer said.

"Well then, move in and dock," Reb commanded.

The Corvette maneuvered up to the Freighters side and prepared to dock. Reb sent fifteen of his men down to the airlock to charge over and assume control of the puny Freighter.

"Docking in ten. Nine. Eight…" a crewman counted down. "…seven. Six. Five. Four."

Reb grinned eagerly. He could barely wait to see what that airlock had on the other side.

"Three. Two. One, opening airlock."

Reb clapped his hands together. He could hear a fire fight over the comms. Sounded like the Freighter crew put up some kind of fight. He chuckled at the adorable attempt.

When a horrified crewmen turned away from his console to stare at him.

"Captain, we've been boarded!"

"What?!" Reb exclaimed. "But we're the pirates, we're boarding them! They can't board us!" He turned to Sax. "Sound the alarm, get everyone to the armory!"

Sax nodded and activated the ship wide alarm. He took half the bridge crew and rushed to the armory. They ran through a certain amount of purple boring corridors until the armory was only a corner away from them. When Sax turned it, he stopped dead in his tracks.

Seven dead Kig-yar littered the floor and two Saurians stood there. They turned their attention to them.

"Cover!" Sax shouted.

He jumped behind the corner as the Saurians started firing shotguns at them. Three men weren't so lucky and was hit. Two died but one was merely injured. While Sax and the four remaining crewmen ran for it back the corridor. One of the Saurians shot the wounded Kig-yar in the head. Splitting it in a million bloody pieces.

"Who the fuck are these guys!?" One of the men asked scared.

"I don't fucking know!" Sax answered. "We gotta get some weapons somewhere and-" he froze when he heard shooting inside the bridge.

For approximately four seconds Kig-yar screams filled the air, but it quickly died away, like the ones screaming. Was the Captain dead? He wasn't sure but it sure as hell sounded like it.

"We need to get the fuck off this ship," Sax told his fellow pirates.

There was no argument.

"To the hangar," he whispered and they hurried along, hoping to avoid any of those terrifying Sangheili 2.0.

If they could get to the hangar they could take a Phantom and escape. Unfortunately their only option was to land on the planet but well down there they might be able to steal a ship and get out of this damn system. Sax knew he should have trusted his gut and tried convincing Reb better. This wasn't what he expected. He'd never seen alien warriors like these before. Sangheili or Jiralhanae was the closest, but these guys looked scarier than your everyday Sangheili.

"Hey, boss!" A Kig-yar in their path shouted.

Sax stopped in front of him and accepted the Needler pistol he offered. The rest if him crewmen got plasma pistols and Needler pistols between them. It was the backup weapons from the Kig-yar gathered here.

"Can you tell us who these bastards are boss?" The crewman asked.

"I got no idea," Sax answered helplessly.

He looked at the group. There were twenty-six of them in the junction right now.

"Me and the boys," the crewman pointed at some of the others behind him. "Shot at one of those giant lizards. They had shields but our shots went right through. Seems they have no defense for plasma."

"Ya killed one?" Another asked.

"No, he shrugged us off and killed five guys with his bare hands. We had to run for it."

Sax shivered to his hollow bones. It wasn't a shock to him though. During the war with the humans he had been a mercenary and seen Sangheili charge through hails of bullets and rip enemy soldiers apart. But what were the odds that the first ship they raid in this new space was one owned by Sangheili-like aliens. Just without the mandibles and thicker armor.

"Sir, we got incoming!"

Sax turned and spotted two of the Saurians walking towards them. They had large grins on their faces.

"Fire!" Sax shouted.

They barely had time before the aliens powered up their biotic charge. In seconds they were in the midst of the pirates. The carnage began as they unloaded their Claymore Shotguns into them. They splattered purple blood on the purple ship walls and floor. A panicked Kig-yar fired his Needler pistol, hitting the aliens arm and even hitting a comrade in the back. The detonation caused the alien to roar loudly and splattered the Kig-yar's body in pieces. Both explosions wounded or killed half the people in the cramped junction.

The other alien blasted the Kig-yar twice with his shotgun.

"Idiot," he muttered.

Sax was lying on the floor, fine, but he had been thrown back in the explosion. He was confused as to how they could understand each other. But he wagered that these aliens had something that help translate other languages. When the aliens stared right at him with toothy grins he thought he was dead for sure.

When one of them leveled his shotgun at him, the other slapped it away.

"Warlord said to take most of the crew alive," he reminded the other male.

"Hmff. Fine," the first grumbled.

Sax was forced to the hangar where dozens of crew members had been forced together. But he didn't say long until one of the soldiers grabbed him and pulled him with to the bridge.

The bridge was littered of the dead crewmen. Including Reb the Slick. All dead. Everyone hwo had been on the bridge was apparently dead. He realized how lucky he had been. If he had stayed, he would most certainly be dead too.

"Remind me to thank that Salarian for fixing the Omni-tools translator with these guys," a massive Saurian told another.

It earned a grin from him. He then pointed at Sax.

The first turned around staring Sax down with a toothy grin.

"I've been told by some of your crew that you're the first mate."

Sax swallowed. "And you are?"

"Valid question if ever I heard one," the alien agreed. "We are Krogan. Me, I am Khatarun Vezk. Warlord of Clan Khatarun!"

Sax studied the giant 'Krogan'. He was a bit over two meters tall, got a brown crest on his head and wore strong silver armor. His amber eyes studied Sax right back.

"My Salarian…" he thought about a good word for it. "…friend, says you are…" he thought what he'd actually said. A lot of boring scientific stuff was involved so he didn't actually pay attention.

"Kig-yar," Sax felt a need to inform him.

"Kig-yar, yes that's it," Vezk said in agreement. "Either way, I'm taking your ship and your people have a choice. You may join my merry Warband of warriors and pillage the galaxy." He walked closer to Sax. "Ever wanted to become famous? As a pirate I assume you do, so…swear loyalty to me, teach us your technology and I grant you the same rights as the Krogan in my Warband."

"And option number two?" Sax asked

"We kill you all for sport."

"Err, after careful consideration…on the behalf of my crew, I accept your more than generous offer."

Vezk grinned. "Ha ha ha." Then slapped Sax in the back. "Welcome to the team Turian-rip-off."