DISCLAIMER

The following is a fan-based

FICTION

All Installations of Halo are all owned by 343 Industries and Xbox Game Studios.

Please Support the Official Release!

"Banished"

December 4 2527 - Hour 1522

SGT Alba

Alkan Planes, Perseveria, Planet of Algolis

P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c
Pxtreon: P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin

Alba had been upset when the original group in Balmung had been purposely decentralized.

Part of her had grown quite attached to the banter she held with other members of the first team, but she could understand why she had been given command of a squad made primarily by Jiralhanae like her. All males, but all understand the values her leadership warranted first through rumors and then through displays of strength and understanding within battles.

Was Alba as aggressive as a normal Chieftain should be? No. That bit was pretty much ruined by the notion that she couldn't match up that brutality. And she didn't seek to even come close to it. She was ruthless, yes, but not foolish enough to ruin efficiency for the sake of self-boasting. Four missions had gone by, both going through a few small colonies that required some 'wall-busting' efforts from her team.

The Demolitioners, as they were called by the Marines and other troops of the UNSC, had a simple job: may it be a wall, a fortification or a large army of troops that needed to disappear, Alba and her group would be there to use explosive-grade weaponry to clean the areas they were assigned to.

Her squad had tame personalities: Kroseccis 'the Grenadier' with a fixation for all sorts of throwable explosives, Grunobbus 'the Bomber' which specialized in setting up explosives and both would be covered by Lipuion 'the Blaster'. Lipuion's nickname was one assigned by Log himself, mentioning that her subordinate had a tendency to 'blast away' whenever he had a rocket launcher or a HMG with explosive rounds in his grasp. Not a wrong depiction of the crazed brute, and it drew a peculiar and strange smile from Lipuion himself which never came up after that interaction.

Battles came, but none were as intense as the one on Algolis. That's where their traits showed the most as the Covenant had deployed a large number of troops to try and overrun the UNSC Garrison. Mostly Marines, but all well-equipped to last for hours. Most squads did put up a fight, but some groups were quickly decimated by large arrivals in the form of fellow Jiralhanae. The battle was quite bloody and it wouldn't be a lie that the worry of running out of explosives started to manifest after less than twelve hours of having free reign with that sort of mess.

Despite some troubles in handling that intense fighting, the skirmishes lessened around lunchtime and ultimately switched to squads of Sangheili and Grunts. It was quite an unexpected 'diluted' offensive, but it further drew attention when the battle came to an end and reports reached her.

First thing that got her attention and got the squad a bit disappointed was that Serin's squad had been assigned to provide assistance and retrieve some advanced battlesuit with high-explosive capacity; but what really had them perplexed was the reason why the squadrons of fellow Jiralhanes had suddenly retreated from active skirmishes.

Makeshift prisons were found and taken over, with several dozens of Brutes having been detained for potential 'insubordination' towards the leading figure in this battle. Their motivation to put them behind bars? One of the Brutes which was in charge of the frontline attacks in another section of the planet had been successful in holding off some assaults from Felicia's team.

As the invasion was finally thrown off and Algolis was freed by any threatening Covenant influence, Alba was asked to take care of an interrogation which would potentially help the UNSC if handled correctly. She didn't need to know who she was going to face, but from what she could garner from the urgency she got from that call, she knew that it was going to be the runt that gave the excuse.

And she was right as she soon sat down in front of the chained Brute that had been in charge of a rebellion against the Covenant forces. He was young- despite his size being close to Alba's in proportions, the fact he was on the smaller size meant he had to be quite young. Roughly a 'rookie' if she had to throw out a guess, but he seemed battle-hardened enough to hold up against her gaze as she removed her helmet.

"Do you know why you are here?"

The question passed unanswered for a few seconds, but then the young Jiralhanae nodded.

"Your name- the one you provided to those you surrendered to... it's Atriox. Correct?"

"Yes."

Progress, he was willing to talk.

"And you were responsible for a rebellion."

The glance he gave her was somewhat unnerving.

"I acted, others mimicked my example," Atriox admitted. "They wanted to execute me."

"And you defied the order. Others joined," Alba guessed the rest, more nods coming from the younger Brute. "Why did you surrender to the UNSC?"

"The Covenant had all left. They wouldn't take us back. It was either to gamble our lives or die for a cause that is no longer ours to push forward."

That response surprised Alba. She remained silent for a moment, thinking of the meaning that sentence bore and then threw her assumption regarding it.

"You don't believe in the Great Journey?"

"I don't believe in the Prophets. Many no longer accept their wisdom as their sudden push aside from the military has allowed for successes to come. This loss? It wouldn't damage anyone but those that tried to make it monumental."

"The large deployment of troops-"

"The Prophet of Regret was behind it."

...

"And what do you want to do here and now with this circumstance? Would you embrace the worst circumstance?"

Atriox's gaze lowered to the table and he sighed.

"I welcome death."

"Do you welcome a chance to inflict death to those that used you?" Alba inquired, sparing herself no hesitation on the matter. "Would you be willing to give it to your own pack-members and those that look up to you?"

"...They don't look up to me," He muttered, looking at her with an odd look. "They look up to you."

...

"We all do."

"Why would you look up to an enemy?"

"Not an enemy," He corrected. "Someone that has found a worthier cluster of allies."

Alba frowned. "Worthier?"

"You stand by them, we stand under others due to the fact we are not Sangheili or San'Shyuum," Atriox elaborated. "You- your men... anyone that joined humanity's faction. None of them has been undervalued beyond ranks."

"You want to join the UNSC," Alba confirmed and he smiled.

"We all do. We here and those beyond this planet."

Alba leaned back on her chair, and it became clear what was going on. Despite the military successes within some parts of the war, the political crisis within the Covenant was worsening with each month. And it was clear the Prophets were slowly faltering in keeping the power they spent centuries to keep and increase.

But as she looked at Atriox, she had a little hope that more people would accept mutiny in the Covenant and... bring the war to an end faster than some predicted it to last.

AN

I believe some in-lore explanations are needed: 1) Atriox is currently 17. He may gain some support through his daring and bold actions, but he is not a proper leader yet, nor he has the ambition to want to create something as vicious as the Banished;

2) Despite the Prophets holding a lot of power around the 2550s, there was still a degree of leverage the Covenant Council had over them around this part of the timeline. And this is starting to bite their butts since many members are resenting the major losses their races are suffering. This will be a factor for something big which soon will happen within the Covenant.

Also, I started two stories recently, a Lore Olympus and a Cyberpunk Edgerunners/2077 ones. Links are in the Discord Server.