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The Spartan Story- Part 2
Posted By: Digi7<NatPash.Digi7@hotmail.com>
Date: 23 February 2007, 10:52 pm
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Isaac-039 leant forward and looked through the windscreen of the Inglis at the surface of the huge ring-world the Covenant called "Halo". He had come here, along with his companion, Vinh-029. The Covenant believed that Halo was a weapon. One that would wipe out all unworthy species, and send the Covenant to live with their gods, The Forerunners, and the creators of this Ring. The Covenant believed that the Forerunners had left the Rings out in the galaxy, as a way to return to the afterlife, and cleanse the galaxy. The Great Journey. That was why they had to destroy it. They had to stop the Great Journey from happening... "200 miles from origin of distress-signal."
Deja said from the holographic-projector on the control panel. Deja was an AI. The AI that had taught him, Vinh, and all the other Spartans at the Spartan Training Facility.
When the Reach orbiting base was boarded by Covenant, the Spartans were all evacuated, with Deja left behind to oversee the evacuation. However, Joshua-211, an excellent hacker and technical "guru", had hacked her out of the system before the base was destroyed. He had escaped on his own in a Singular Occupant Exo-atmospheric Insertion Vehicle, onto Reach's surface. There, he had attacked a Covenant outpost and stolen a Banshee, but was shot down by Covenant air-patrols. He had escaped the crash, but the fighters that had followed him. He destroyed them eventually, but was mortally wounded in the battle. He had crawled up into a nearby emergency bunker and died, leaving Deja stuck in his MJOLNIR armour. Then Isaac and Vinh had arrived, and had found Deja in Joshua's helmet. She had modified the engines of a star-yacht, which allowed them to come this huge distance. Beside Isaac, looking over his shoulder, was a Grunt. His name was Biplak. He had been captured while spying on the Spartans. He had been sent by his commander on what he thought was a scouting-mission, but it was really a suicide mission. Biplak hated the Covenant for that, and had joined Isaac and Vinh in their mission to destroy Halo. "50 miles," murmured Deja.
"I'm getting a visual." On the display screen flashed a picture of a downed Longsword fighter. One of it's wings had been ripped off, and smoke and sparks were pouring from the wound. "It's funny," said Deja, "There aren't any life signs or power signatures." "Maybe they abandoned, or went for a walk?" suggested Vinh. "Hmmmm. Sound like Covenant trap!" Biplak squeaked. "Maybe," Isaac paused.
"I thought the Covenant didn't follow us!" said Vinh, shifting in his seat. "Let's move cautiously, all the same"
Isaac said.
.................................................................................................
Everything was going according to plan. The Shades were in place, and the false image had been emplaced to blind the humans of their presence. Now all they had to do was wait.
Into Vehumee, stood atop the hill of the valley in which they had set camp. Grunts were unloading methane tanks from the Phantom, Elites were patrolling the border. The Jackals were standing in a group, adjusting their Plasma Shields and hissing in their native language, and the pair of Hunters were a short way off, droning quietly to themselves in a meditation mode. Into's second in command, Rtas 'Vadumee, stood besidd him, waiting. "They will not take much longer," Into growled. "As soon as they are within range, open fire. They most likely are suspicious of our trap. Have the warriors ready for ground assault. I will lead. Only have the soldiers fire if I fall. This is my business." Rtas pressed a closed fist to his chest, and growled "Yes, Commander."
Rtas strode away, towards the Grunts and Elites, who were standing in a group, talking quietly to each other.
"Warriors. Prepare for battle!" Rtas barked. The Grunts jumped nervously at the sudden sound, and then scurried to the armoury. They each pulled a Plasma Pistol from the storage racks, and started to power them up. The Elites armed themselves with Plasma Rifles, and one of the Jackals
grabbed a Beam Rifle. The Hunters came over, Fuel Rod Guns glowing, and even Rtas had to admire their graceful strength. "Attention!" he yelled, and the Covenant formed ranks, Grunts and Jackals at the front, Elites in the middle and Hunters at the back. A worthy battalion of fine troops, thought Rtas to himself. Suddenly, Into Vehumee called to him, "The humans are coming! Make haste!" Rtas turned. "Man the artillery! Aim well, or you shall be fed to the Sharqoi!" Several Grunts, nearly tripping in their haste to obey, ran towards the Shades, climbed in, and powered up the cannons...
.................................................................................................
Isaac adjusted the engines into landing speed, and eased the Inglis into a slow hover. They were going to land about thirty metres from the crashed ship. There it lay, smoking and deserted. Isaac wondered how they had suffered such a crash, but then he saw something flicker. A part of the ship had faded out, then back in, as if it was a- "Damn! Don't land! Get us outta here Deja!" but it was too late. Suddenly the Longsword disappeared, to be replaced with a Covenant outpost. Three Shade turrets were pointing straight at them.
Vinh swore, Biplak screamed in terror, and Deja yelled "FLOOR IT!" just as the Shades started firing. Isaac slammed the throttle forwards as three streams of plasma bolts slammed into the Inglis' hull, burning through. The left thruster was blown off just as the ship accelerated, which sent it spiralling, straight over the outpost and into the grasslands beyond. "AIRBRAKE!" yelled Isaac, and four scoops unfolded themselves from the Inglis. But it wasn't enough. The Inglis slammed into the ground on it's side. It dug a ditch through the dirt, then flipped over onto it's top and came to a grinding halt. Isaac opened his eyes and murmured, "Status?"
"I'm okay," said Deja as she reappeared on the display board, upside down. "You?" Isaac's helmet had been off when they had crashed. He had a large gash over the side of his head and a bleeding lip from smashing into the control panel. "Fine," Isaac said sarcastically. "Vinh?"
"I'm okay," Vinh rose, his face confused. "How about you Biplak?"
"Me okay," the Grunt said, staggering to his feet. "Big crash! We go now! Covenant come!"
"Okay," Isaac said. "Deja, can you open the airlock?"
"Can't, sorry sir. Every single system is fried. We're trapped!" Isaac smiled. "Not yet." He stood, and went over to the back of the ship, where the door stood, three-inches of solid steel. Isaac put his ear to it, and ran his hand across the metal... There it was. The "sweet-spot" as Deja had nicknamed it. Isaac marked the spot, then summoning all his strength, drew back his fist and plunged it into the steel, with the combination of his natural strength and the augmentations in his body. When he pulled his fist away, he could see sunlight through a sizeable dent, then raised his foot and kicked. The door blew outwards, smashing it's mechanism and sending the door flying. "Woah!" Vinh exclaimed, coming over to inspect the damage. "I'm glad someone remembered my surface-and-physics training!"
Deja said. "Come on, let's get out of here before- Oh, hell."
Isaac spun to see an army of Covenant coming over the rise.
"GO!" Isaac yelled. Vinh and Biplak jumped through the hole and ran. Isaac sped to the control-panel, grabbed Deja's chip and the supplies, and ran out of the ship. The Covenant were closer, and were raising their weapons, ready to fire.
Isaac put his head down and ran to where Vinh and Biplak were taking cover behind the broken body of the Inglis.
"What we do?" Biplak asked.
"There's a forest some 100 metres from our position. We'll have better cover in there." Deja answered. "Let's go!" Vinh yelled over the plasma fire that had just started.
The trio ran out from behind cover, moving towards the nearby forest. The Covenant changed their fire towards them. They ducked and weaved. Isaac fired a random shot from his BR55. A Grunt fell to the ground. A bullet had punctured his methane tank, and he was slowly suffocating.
Looking back, Isaac saw an Elite in gleaming white armour shove the Grunt aside, crying out in his tongue: "Gelatt! Eyendil anhameiwa!"
The three reached the cover of trees. Isaac sprinted, just behind Vinh. Biplak was struggling on behind. There was a bank on the side of the path, and they threw themselves behind it, pulling out their SMG's as they did. It was then that Isaac noticed that the plasma fire had stopped. He looked up over the bank to see the Elite in white armour stalking along the path, a large Plasma Blade emitter in his hand. Three Elites strode warily behind him, Plasma Rifles at the ready. Isaac nudged Vinh, and pointed up over the bank at the Elites, first pointing towards his eyes, then drawing a finger down across the lower half of his face.
Vinh nodded.
Soon the Elites would pick up their scent, he had to do something fast. Looking back over the bank, he saw the Elites were parallel with them, and were slowly passing.
Isaac picked up a rock near his boot, and signalled to Vinh, holding up three fingers. He put one down, then another. On the last finger he stood up and threw the stone over the path. It hit a tree with an earsplitting CRACK! The Elites spun, looking away from the Spartans, and that was when they rose up. Isaac unclipped his last Plasma Grenade from his belt, and crammed it straight into the back of the nearest Elite. The alien felt the impact in his back, and the burning pain of plasma before the explosive detonated, ripping him in half and spraying blood all over his team-mates. From Isaac's view, the grenade had wiped out an Elite and deactivated the shields of another. He raised his SMG and fired twenty-seven 5mm Caseless rounds into the unshielded Elite's chest. The shots ripped through his body glove, spewing purple ooze over the ground. He choked in shock and pain, then fell, his Plasma Rifle falling with a soft thud onto the earth beside his body. The other armed Elite fired with his Plasma Rifle, forcing Isaac and Vinh to duck. The Elite snarled. His name was Elhu 'Gidasee. He was a highly trained Spec-Ops Elite, donning jet-black armour, now spattered with blood. He had expected this. The cowardly humans were so predictable, he thought to himself as he knelt to pick up the fallen Plasma Rifle in his other hand.
Beside him, Into Vehumee had roared in anger, and pulled out the Will of the Prophets. The burning white blade burst from the handle with the sound of lightning striking the earth, and as he swung it into combat position, white flame stood in the air where it had been. Elhu 'Gidasee was awed for a moment, then returned his mind to the task at hand. He must not shoot to kill, unless Vehumee fell. Those were his orders, and he followed orders. So he stood aside as Into Vehumee launched himself over the bank towards the Spartans. Isaac was crouching, reloading his SMG, just as a white blurr came flying in front of them. The huge Elite that was at the front of the group straightened, a burning sword in his hand, twice as long as the standard Plasma Sword, and most likely twice as powerful, Isaac thought to himself, as he rolled aside with a grunt as the Elite swung down at him.
The Elite pulled the blade from the earth, where it had reduced the dirt to ashes, then swung it lethally through the air behind him. Vinh ducked just in time. The blade hummed
inches from his head. Vinh aimed a kick into the back of the leg of the Elite, attempting to trip him, but the alien grabbed his foot and swung him over his head, slamming him into the ground. The alien rose the sword, about to plunge it into his chest. That was when Biplak joined the fray. He had thrown aside his SMG, and had run straight towards Into Vehumee, and with a tremendous leap, he fastened his little arms around the monster's neck. Into roared, and ripped the Grunt from his back, as Vinh rolled aside, and stood, pulling an M6D Pistol from his belt and shoving it through the Elite's shield, making the barrel touch his head. Into Vehumee froze, Biplak still dangling from his grip.
Vinh whispered, through clenched teeth, "Put him down."
Vehumee released his grip, and Biplak fell to the ground, moaning in pain. The sword was on the ground. Vehumee had dropped it in shock when Biplak had attacked him. It was still activated, burning into the ground, and hissing as rain started to fall, lightly soaking the ground.
Into Vehumee looked straight into Vinh's visor, then said in a voice as deep as Mars himself's must be, "Are you going to kill me human? I would have bestowed death already if I were in your position." The Elite stood, unshaken. Rain spattered on the top of his angular helmet and ran in rivulets down his armour. "Yes." Vinh said, squeezing the trigger nearly to firing point, just as a volley of plasma fire flew from nowhere, slamming into Vinh's shields and knocking him off his balance. Into saw his chance, and kicked, throwing Vinh off his feet. In one swift movement, he reached down, picked up the Plasma Sword, and ran. Isaac fired his SMG on the Elite, who ducked. Elhu 'Gidasee let off another stream of covering fire, forcing the Spartans to duck behind the bank. Then they both ran flat out, out of the forest. Vinh stood up, yelling. "COWARDS! FILTHY SPLIT-LIPPED COWARDS!" which was answered by another round of high-velocity plasma. Vinh swore, and ducked. The plasma flew over his head, scorching a tree and falling hissing into the damp leaves that covered the ground.
"We'd better move now!" Deja yelled into Isaac's ear, and he didn't need telling twice. The Inglis was gone, they would have to find another transport after they destroyed Halo.
This brought the ultimate objective back to his mind.
"Biplak, where would we go to destroy Halo?"
The Grunt shrugged. "Me no know..."
Deja cut in. "According to my analysis of the ring's landscape, there should be a Control Room not far from our position. If we hurry, we should be able to make it before the Covenant catch up."
Vinh was already running. "Let's go then!"
.................................................................................................
Rtas 'Vadumee looked up to see Into Vehumee and Elhu 'Gidasee running, panting over the rise. They crouched, and slid down the slope into the valley. Rtas strode forward, raising his hand in greeting as he did.
"Did you get them?" he asked. He paused. Four had went, two returned.
"No, we did not." Into said shortly. "The humans and the traitor escaped." Suddenly, Into hung his head. "I am not worthy for this task. I have failed."
Rtas put a hand on the Elite's shoulder. "Take heart brother. We shall destroy these blasphemers, and along with them," He said, raising his voice to the rest of the troops, "ALL OF THEIR PUTRID RACE!"
He was answered by a roar of approval by the Elites, cheers from the Grunts, and loud hisses from the Jackals.
He turned back to Into Vehumee.
"Where are the rest of our fleet?" Into asked.
"They are spread across the ring, Commander." Rtas replied.
"One is standing guard over the Interface, the other over the Sacred Icon."
Into nodded. "Contact the battalion guarding the Icon. Tell them to hunt and kill the two humans and the traitor. Promote Elhu 'Gidasee to their Field Captain. He deserves it after he saved my life."
He turned towards the forest. A huge piramid structure, the Control Room, rose above it, faded by distance. "They will not escape their fate that easily..."
.................................................................................................
The trio followed Deja's co-ordinates, heading North-East, towards Halo's Control Room. They met no Covenant for a while, which Isaac marked as strange. He had seen a Phantom in the Covenant base just before they were attacked, why had they not followed?
He didn't care, but it wasn't like the Covenant to let a human go, especially when they were endangering Halo...
They had come out of the forest, into a large, grassy valley, littered with large rocks and boulders. Isaac moved over to one and slowly rubbed his hand over it's surface. It crumbled into dust in his hand. He aimed a kick at it, but when his boot connected, it stayed intact. Interesting. Vinh, meanwhile, was observing several bird-like creatures soaring in the sky. They were large, over three feet wide, and their wings were divided into two sections. They seemed harmless, but Isaac kept his hand on his Submachine Gun all the same. Biplak was stumbling along in silence. They were almost halfway across the valley now.
Suddenly, Vinh stepped out from behind one of the stones, just as a purple streak flew across the sky, softly hitting the ground just next to his foot. He swore, just as another beam scraped past his shoulder. He ducked back behind the rock, panting, and turned to Isaac.
"There is a frikking sniper up there. About halfway up the slope, hiding his ass behind one of the rocks."
Isaac crouched to be sure no part of him was showing.
Covenant Jackal Snipers were lethal shots, and were one of the most feared enemies in the entire Covenant armada.
"What we do now? We pinned down!" Biplak squeaked.
"We have Battle Rifles. We might be able to take him out, if we hit him in the head." Isaac said doubtfully.
Vinh sat silent, looking thoughtful. "Wait," he said, interrupting Isaac. "I got an eighty-seven on the Sharpshot test in combat training. I have the most likely chance of hitting him."
"Are you sure?" Isaac said worriedly.
"I'll do my best." Vinh said grimly, shouldering his BR55 Rifle. He pulled out a magazine, slapped it into the bull-pup slot, adjusted the scope and turned to face the sniper.
He crouched, just behind the rock, with his rifle shifting around in his hands. Hopefully he would take the alien by surprise, Isaac thought.
Suddenly Vinh rolled out from behind cover, and raising his rifle. He fired a single shot, and, looking up, Isaac saw the Jackal fall, a three round burst straight in it's head.
Vinh waved his hand, yelling. "Go! There are Elites with rifles coming! I'll cover you! Get up close and mow them down!" Understanding, Isaac and Biplak stood up and ran from cover to cover, up the slope. Isaac heard rifle fire from behind him, and saw an Elite fall, his shields overloaded and a bullet in his chest. The other Elites opened fire. Green hit-scan bolts, flew over Isaac's and Biplak's head. The Elites didn't know they were there.
They were almost level with them now.
Isaac lifted up his SMG, and fired, riddling the nearest Elite with bullets. The Elite's shields shuddered, flickered, then disappeared, before SMG fire compromised his armour and ripped through his stomach. But not before he yelled a warning. The other Elites turned just as Biplak opened fire with his SMG, killing another Elite. The Covenant were in a panic now, they had two Spartans on either side of them.
One Elite, losing his head completely, threw aside his carbine and launched himself at Isaac. Isaac dodged, sending the Elite smashing into the boulder behind him, and knocking him out. The others, three left now, retreated up the slope, so they would have the high-ground advantage. Vinh wouldn't be able to get a clear shot.
Isaac turned and yelled down to Vinh.
"Vinh! Get up here!"
Vinh waved his hand in reply, then sprinted up the hill, his Battle Rifle in one hand, trained on the ridge the whole time.
When Vinh reached them, they moved up, slowly and carefully, to the top of the ridge. They were immediately greeted by a rain of fire from a Phantom. They ducked back under cover. The Phantom was hovering, and the Elites that had just escaped were halfway up the lift.
Suddenly, Isaac rolled out, and fired his Battle Rifle, hitting one in the chest. It keeled over in midair, came out of the gravity field and fell, slumping onto the ground. The other Elites heeded not to one of their comrades falling, and continued up the lift, into the belly of the Phantom, as it flew off at top speed, firing behind it. The last plasma bolts struck the ground, and the trio walked cautiously toward the Elite that Isaac had shot down. Carefully, holding his SMG pointed at it's head, he crouched beside it.
It was still alive, laying still with it's eyes closed. It's breathing was uneven and fading, and every time it took a strangled breath, blood flew from the wound in it's chest.
The bullets had punctured a lung. But still, sensing movement through it's pain, the Elite opened it's eyes, which were burning with anger, fading, as he died.
"Kill me now, human, and be done with it!" It growled, it's deep voice reverberating through Isaac's body.
"First, you will tell us how to get to the Control Room."
Isaac said, pressing the gun to it's head, his finger squeezing the trigger. "Why should I divulge that information?" the Elite sneered. "I am already dead. Soon I will pass into the paradise and live as a god for eternity! I will not taint my passing by assisting humans with my last breath!"
Isaac paused, looking into the Elite's eyes. They burned with hatred, and Isaac looked away. The Elite snorted.
"Your race is weak. We will wipe the galaxy of your foul existence! We will find your planet! You will all burn, with the will of the Foreru..." the Elite lay still, the breathing stopped, and a trickle of blood ran from the Elite's mouth. The eyes faded into expressionless stones. Isaac stood, clipping his SMG back onto his magnetic holster at his waist as he did so. He turned towards the Control Room, huge and majestic in the distance, mocking them, daring them to try and breach it's borders. He sighed. They still had a long way to go, but they would make it. How? He didn't know.
"Come on, let's get moving!" he called to Vinh and Biplak.
"The Control Room is still miles away!"
"12 miles, to be exact," Deja spoke into his ear.
.................................................................................................
Into Vehumee stood with Rtas, looking towards the huge Control Room in the distance. He had just recieved the news of the second squad's failure. As he stared over the huge plain in front of the Control Room, his mind burned for want of vengeance. I will find them, he thought to himself. On my blood, and the Covenant, I will hunt these demons until one of us lies at the other's feet, with the blood of defeat on his tongue..
Part Three Coming Soon!
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