"Categorization has sped since the improvements were announced, but there are many hurdles. The indexing of sentient species may have irreversible effects on the surviving insentient species. We will have extinction events and irreparable environmental harm on at least 18 worlds. Current projections estimate post-archival cataclysm on as many as 31 worlds. The paucity of sentience has been a blessing in this regard."
-Librarian
Be Hybrid
Chapter 10: Arcadia War Part 1
LOCATION: Arcadia. DATE: 2/9/2531. Military Time: 14:59
The Arcadia Colony Tournament, a prodigious effort by both human and saiyan kind as a means to further share cultural differences with one another. It was a large, seventy by seventy meter square arena that featured a grand entertainment of martial artists duking it out for the championship. It was during the midst of one such tournament match in which the Covenant invaded, evacuations toward the safety areas were made but a sizable portion of civilians of both human and saiyan were unable to make it there. The martial artists and local militia took it upon themselves to defend this location and hold out until UNSC forces arrive.
It is a futile effort.
The Covenant is a large coalition of species, a united foe with a nearly overwhelming technological edge. Arcadia militia stood no chance against such odds, for their alien foes held a sheer unrelenting tenacity and overbearing numeral advantage over the human defenders.
One might believe that the usage of Ki energy for saiyan martial artists might turn the favor.
In one universe, that energy source would be a powerful factor with the ability to destroy whole planets. It's potency unquestioned with such raw strength behind it. Where being able to destroy an entire one thousand meter sized moon is considered a practical joke.
But the origins of Ki energy within this universe cause this potent force to be considerably weaker. The closest achievement to such planet busting capabilities a saiyan could achieve through hard work, disciplined training, and decades years of practice would only result with the ability to destroy a UNSC M808B Main Battle Tank, commonly referred to as the Scorpion.
It explained why technology could be devastating towards a member of the saiyan race. The same bullet that would bounce of a saiyan's forehead, would reduce him to a coma in this universe.
But given that UNSC military-grade weaponry holds further advancements, it would kill with little ease. Let's not even talk about Covenant plasma arms.
*BOOM*
*TSSSHABOOM!*
*NOT A GENERIC EXPLOSION*
The blue flames erupted forth, burning though poor militia police armor with little resistance. The human within it had little time to scream before his life was cut short by it reaching his organs. But his presence had acted as a body shield for his fellows around him.
"God damnit, shit, shit, shit!" Another poor militia repeated the word, gripping a slightly outdated Assault rifle tightly. His body couched behind what remains of the ticket station into the tournament ring.
"Shut up and keep firing!" The militia just across said, decked behind cover but occasionally lifting his weapon to fire off a couple rounds. But poorly missing them all the same. He ducked once again as green bolts impacted against the hard surface what made up their protection between them and the enemy.
"I don't want to die, I don't want to die!" The other one cried, not daring to move let alone shoot back.
"Be a man for once Frank, and do something for once in your life!" He said, turning and returning fire at the alien covenant, managing to score a grunt as the rounds went right through the methane gas tank, causing a chain reaction which exploded the grunt's back in a show of rushed air and green bursts of energy.
"Got one!" The 'brave' one stated proudly, before he was hit on his left arm by a bolt of green plasma. "Shit!" He exclaimed, grasping said appendage with his right hand as he delved into his cover. "F- It hurts like hell, crap, ugh!"
"Oh man, oh man, oh man!" The coward said continuously. "Don't die Tin!"
"Shit, Frank, call me Tin one more time, shit, and I'll shove one of their freakin green bolts up your ass!"
"You're the only one I got left, everyone else on our side is dead! Our saiyan died half way through, what am I going to do alone?" Frank questioned as he grew enough courage to rush out of cover and roll into his comrade's own, his back roughly thudding against it as he was at his friend's side. "Do we got anything to treat it? It looks like laser burn or something!"
"Hell I know?!" Tin answered, "We got any Bio-Form?" He asked as he flinched due to a bolt whizzing overhead their defensive position.
"No, all medical supplies is within the tournament area!" Frank exclaimed, the militiaman glanced over at the Covenant forces closing in onto them. "This is it… We're done for…"
"How many rounds?" Tin asked.
"What?" Frank replied in confusion.
"I said how many rounds you have left Frank!" Tin shouted.
"Uh, um," the coward of a man glanced at his weapon, eyes trailing over the ammo count. "Twenty six, no more clips."
"Heh, you have less than me… Where the hell did you put them?"
"Inside one of those huge blue armored ones…"
"You kidding me, you got one of those splitt-mouthed freaks? Screw you, making me look like I did shit!"
"Sorry, sorry! Look- Who is that?" Frank said suddenly as he looked towards the direction of the enemy. Frank raised an eyebrow as he heaved his way towards the side to see what his companion saw.
"Sweet merciful mother of god…"
A giant, standing seven foot tall, rushed headlong riding a mongoose into the midst of enemy forces. It was alone, with only a Magnum pistol in hand, against a dozen alien units. The four jackals, seven grunts, and one Elite opened immediate fire upon the incoming enemy. The giant armored man leapt out of the vehicle, left hand grasping a M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose grenade, or simply, a fragmentation grenade.
The giant threw it harshly ahead of the speeding empty vehicle, it hit the ground, bouncing a bit upward at just the moment the mongoose began passing overhead into the middle of the Covenant forces. The grenade exploded into a mass of high velocity shrapnel and red-orange flames, destroying the UNSC terrain vehicle into a mass of fire, blowing parts of it all around it.
Five grunts and two jackals died instantly, while the Elite's personal energy shielding flared in response.
The armored man practically smashed onto the earth, standing back up as the burnt gold armor gleamed in the sun and the green visor looked emotionlessly at the world.
"Wargh!" The Elite roared in challenge as it sheathed its plasma rifle and drew forth a blade of energy, forked in a strange pattern. It charged at the giant, swinging its arm with inhuman strength.
It dodged the Elite's swing, firing a couple of pistol rounds into the armor's shielding, whittling away its defences as the even taller alien swung with ferocious and powerful strikes.
"Kill it!" The remaining two grunts screamed as they aimed to fire.
The coward militia gathered up whatever courage, bringing his old MA3 Assault rifle to bear he aimed and fired at the two small aliens, rounds bursting as the counter dripped until marking zero, but it was enough. The 7.62x51 armor piercing rounds tearing through their frail bodies as purple blood gushed out in response.
The human giant brought his fist to bear, and hit straight at the body of mass of the Elite. The shield flared and sputtered out as the melee attack broke through, before the fist opened up and a blast of blue Ki came out from one end and through the chest of the other.
The body was then grasped and used as a shield from jackal fire, the pistol aiming and killing the remaining aliens with little contest. Once having finished eliminating the threat, he dropped the Elite corpse and reloaded his weapon.
"Holy shit…" Tin said.
Frank blinked, "We were not ready for today…" He trailed off.
The armored man turned to face him, the men tense, but relaxed when seeing UNSC and SSA markings upon it. A young masculine force came out of the helmet's speakers.
"Are you Arcadia militia guarding this tournament area?" He asked.
The two only nodded.
"I am Hybrid-315, designated to this place to help quell Covenant forces and allow safe evacuation of civilians." Sierra-315 glanced down at Frank's injury, "You are wounded, unfortunately I do not have any medical supplies."
"There are some inside the Tournament area, but we have combat on two other fronts." Tin said, seething through the pain. "I'll live, though I'll probably never use this arm again."
315 nodded, "Alright, stay close to me and I'll get you there." There was a slight emotion to that voice, one of concern, it was not hard to pick up when the same person had spoken quite militaristically.
Frank and Tin stook up, one helping the other. The latter grasped hold of the vastly outdated MA3, and handed it to the Hybrid.
"Take it, I can use it anymore." He said.
The Hybrid took the weapon, looking it over and figuring out the difference in models within seconds of inspection. He took his magnum pistol, handing it to Frank who no longer had a weapon due to the previous running out of ammo.
"Keep yourself armed, I can't always protect you…" The Hybrid trailed off just for a brief moment before bringing the MA3 Assault Rifle up in a combat ready position, and walking cautiously towards into the building.
LOCATION: Arcadia Ancient Forerunner Ruins. ERA: Ninth Age of Reclamation. Fleet of Glorious Interdiction.
An large, eight foot tall, Sangheili wearing ancient silver-cased hued armor marched forward with ferocious, yet prideful, steps. This individual was titled the Arbiter, Ripa 'Moramee, who gripped the sheathed energy sword in his hand as he followed the religious covenant leader, the Prophet of Regret.
"Prophet the human settlement is being purged by our forces, but instead of having me lead them into glorious battle, you have me follow you into ancient ruins." The current Arbiter voiced his complaint to Regret as he walked by his side.
"Arbiter, these past six years against the humans have been most revealing…" Regret began as floated upon his high chair into the strange, advanced looking ruins. "At first glance, it had appeared though we were only facing them. But the signs are there, if you can perceive them."
Ripa 'Moramee closed his eyes briefly, before reopening them and replying. "The non-humans and their Warlocks…"
"Indeed," Regret continued. "These different beings look human, but it is but an illusion to their true forms. Through meditation and prayer, we have discovered there names, Saiyans."
"Saiyans…" The Arbiter rolled it off his tongue, it was a human word, a distasteful language. "Prophet, does this new foe give us challenge?"
The Arbiter and the Prophet of Regret stopped just short before a strange console. The youngest of the High Prophets turned his hover chair towards his elected commander.
"They are a weed, and if left alone, it will grow into thorns. It will surround the humans, and give them strength to threaten the covenant, and through that, The Great Journey."
The Arbiter ignited his twin Type-1 Energy Swords, "Then I will cut the weed before it spreads!" He roared in anger at the prospect of those humans and saiyans threatening The Great Journey.
"Patience, Arbiter, first we must follow the path in which the ancients left us." Regret said as he turned toward the orb-like device, pressing his hand against it as it lit up in response. "The Ancients foresee many things, and they will give to us, the means to destroy both the humans and the saiyans. Providing to us the path into The Great Journey!"
Ripa 'Moramee took a step back as a great hologram detailing coordinates showed itself, revealing the next location in which the Fleet of Glorious Interdiction would travel.
LOCATION: Arcadia. DATE: 2/9/2531. Military Time: 15:41
Trunks-315 cautiously moved through the halls of the Martial Arts Arcadia Tournament, the vastly outdated MA3 Assault Rifle pressing against the shoulder of the SVALINN Mark III armor. The Hybrid's minorly enhanced eyesight granted him excellent night vision capabilities.
As one would remember, especially Doctor Catherine Halsey, project HYBRID's main augmentations happened during early age. The transition from full blooded saiyans into half human, half saiyan hybrids. Other than that, they experienced minor augmentations during the same time their Spartan counterparts got their own. While not in the same league of increase as the Spartans, the natural saiyan biology provided its already own physical ability. With that combination, provided a Ki energy boost, they could accomplish feats equal to the Spartans.
And sometimes, given if they sacrifice enough Ki, exceed them.
Of course, Ki energy is a precious resource when considering long term combat.
Hybrid-315 caught the sounds of a firefight ongoing, facing its direction he said towards the two militia behind him. "How close to the medical supplies?"
Frank looked up to the green visor, "Almost there, should be just around the corner. You go ahead and help, I'll take care of Tin!"
"Ugh…" Tin groaned, in annoyance or pain is up for debate.
The Hybrid nodded, immediately sprinting down the hall, the surrounding walls becoming a blur at the sheer speed he traveled by despite the armor year close to a thousand pounds. His vision didn't even flinch, his helmet diming the sudden sunlight as Trunks-315 aimed the MA3 towards the nearest threat.
He almost brought his weapon down from its aim as he spotted two massive, hulking, Hunters.
He rushed to the right, avoiding a bright green plasma round from nearly incinerating him. Trunks' sight scoured the area, spotting two saiyan martial artist, three human militia, and half a dozen civilians. The latter in which took cover in a somewhat secure defensive position while the former two had tried to take down the formidable Covenant units.
Analysis of his newly acquired allies indicated that the martial artist were exhausted, most likely due to Ki drain. Burnt marks upon Hunter armor explained the reason, probable they had tried Ki techniques to destroy them, but were unsuccessful in damaging beyond the armor plating. The local militia fired uselessly against that same plating on the Hunters' forms.
Reviewing his current inventory, an MA3 Assault Rifle with sixteen rounds and one extra clip, one UNSC-grade frag grenade, and his own personal Ki reserves half full, his mind rushed through a dozen possible scenarios and plans.
He's got one.
Trunks-315 rushed toward the militia, avoiding two consecutive plasma rounds directed at him. He stopped abruptly, behind cover, and told the local defense.
"Cover me, I'm going to use a Ki technique, it requires a few seconds of still concentration to execute. Then, I will charge them, and attempt to implant a fragmentation grenade into one of them." He stated, getting only nods.
Taking them as a go, he stood out of cover.
The militia engaged immediately, firing full clips into the frontal armor of both Hunters. The covenant heavy infantry brought up their shields in response, refocusing their massive integrated cannons toward their location.
Trunks arms and hands moved at breathtaking speeds, before placing right in front of himself in a triangle shape. "Burning Attack," He said.
A flaming ball of raw Ki energy formed quickly in front of him before launching with the speed of a missile. It soured through the sky, glowing brightly and casting shadows on all it crossed by. Before impacting against the frontside of the first Hunter.
The front armor and shield blew apart in many shards as the strange worm-like creature roared in what could be pain. Trunks ran forward, equipping his MA3 and firing off its remaining rounds which penetrated the exposed flesh. His hand removed the empty clip, tossing it to the ground before putting in another and flicking the trigger. The Hybrid unleashed another full clip as he was now within just three feet of distance.
He jumped off the fall corpse of the Hunter, using the momentum to go overhead the second. The Hybrid super soldier turned, grenade primed in hand, before smashed it within the disgusting orange flesh of the Covenant unit.
Trunks quickly rolled away as an explosion of flesh, armor, shrapnel, and fire occurred. The SVALINN's chi shielding flared in response as it took the kinetic force behind the attack. Trunks fell to the ground on his backside, breathing heavily for a moment before standing back up.
'I'm so going to brag about that to Red Team,' Was his first initial thought.
Author note: I'm not dead! I've extended this chapter to be roughly 800-1000 words longer. I hope you guys have taken notice how my writing has been improving for this story! I've been doing lots of studying and research into Halo. Though nowhere near the amount I'll like it to be.
If you guys got any question, ask in a review. Or just say stuff in general! I'll reply via PM or my next chapter.