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Halo Movie Fan Script p.1-24 by Matthew Kimble
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Halo Movie Fan Script p.1-24
Date: 2 February 2010, 11:19 pm
Just an introduction first. A lot of what happens in this script will make allusions to events that take place in Halo 2 and 3. I enormously appreciate criticism and suggestions. Anyway, enjoy. I'll have the next 25 pages in a week or two.
HALO: THE FILM
Screenplay written by: Matthew Kimble
CAST
Older man/Captain- Mark Harmon
Sgt. Murphy- Michelle Rodriguez
Adams- Shemar Moore
The Voice of Captain Terrence Hood- Ron Perlman
The movie opens with a space-themed opening credits sequence.
These words are digitally typed onto the screen: Date: 11.23.2525 Location: Harvest
Then the screen goes black.
Red lights flicker in front of the screen. The words "initialize" appear, then "deploying".
(Heavy breathing is heard, then the lights begin to show a face. A fast series of flash backs occur: the man standing before a United Nations flag reciting an oath along with many other people, telling his mother goodbye, and his little sister runs to him and hugs his leg, sobbing and asking him not to go. He replies and says,"I have to." Another flashback takes him to boot camp, where he is being yelled at and crawling through mud. It then shows a scene where a man of higher rank is saluting them and telling them they are shipping out the next day. All contact has been lose with the planet Harvest, and the largest battlefleet in human history is being organized to investigate. The flashback ends with a bassboost type sound, and the man's face bathed in red light becomes visible again. Loud, roaring rockets are heard, then a thud. The man utters a quick prayer.)
The door opens, and the man runs out into battle with a rifle.
The scene is absolute chaos, explosions and dirt are heaved into the air. Men are screaming and shouting orders, and the wounded are being dragged away into pelicans. The battle is taking place in a field. Stalks of plants are all around them. In the distance, large, towering buildings are seen. The city that those buildings are in is on fire, and a type of light or laser is seen coming down on it from orbit. Intense smoke rises from the city. Covenant fire hits a pelican, which goes down in the midst of the battle. The explosion lifts men into the air and slams them against a warthog. The gunfire continues for several minutes, views are switching from gun cameras to turret gunners to soldiers firing from pelicans.
The soldier runs past an older man, clearly higher ranked. The view centers on the high-ranked officer, who is shouting "prioritize your targets and hold what you've got!" He has a long scar extending from his ear to his mouth. He is firing towards the covenant forces with a battle rifle.
A squad of ten soldiers are firing from the cover of two destroyed warthogs. The view zooms toward the advancing covenant forces. A small grunt lights a plasma grenade and throws it. It sticks to one of the warthogs, and the soldiers dive for cover. Three soldiers are blown into the air, and another one sits on the ground, clutching his stump where his leg used to be.
Soldier: Kill that son of a b****!
Two medics race to the legless soldier while the remaining soldiers return fire, killing the grunt. The rest of the grunt's unit retreats back into the field, and the gunfire stops momentarily.
The viewpoint zooms out to a birdseye view of the warthogs. Men start pulling the wounded away, and a warthog arrives.
The view centers on the older man, now armed with a battle rifle. He is looking into the brush.
Soldier: Where the hell did they go?
Older man: Shut up and keep your eyes peeled, they're regrouping like we are! Guard your sectors!
A soldier lying on a cot looks up at his IV drip bag. The liquid begins to shake every few moments, as if explosions are going off in the distance.
The soldiers advance forward, stepping cautiously over the dead covenant grunts. A wounded jackal is trying to drag itself away but is shot in the head by a soldier.
An electrical sound is heard far away, repeating two or three times.
Soldier 2: What the hell is that sound?
Older man: Mouth shut, eyes open Barbarosa!
The radio on one of the destroyed warthog starts squawking "Something very large is coming! Evac all units now! (a different voice)What the hell is that thing? Scorpion battalion, engage!"
In the distance, an odd electrical sound is heard. Screams begin coming over the radio. "Get the hell out of here! Go!"
The soldier at the warthog begins saying into the mic "Castle Bravo 2-6 come in! What's going on?" A harsh mechanical sound is heard, then the transmission stops. "Castle Bravo 2-6, come in!"
A large amount of smoke is seen in the sky.
Another transmission comes in on the radio: All Castle callsigns, this is Hotel Alpha. Be advised, a large unknown covenant unit is converging on your positions. Conventional weapons have zero effect, I repeat, zero effect. We authorize pelican evacs immediately, alert them to your positions ASAP, over.
Older man: You heard the man, we're getting the hell out of here! Adams, get Walker on the horn and get us a ride out of this hellhole!
Private Adams: Yes sir! (turns to radio) Ranger 4-1 come in. Ranger 4-1, come in!
Voice: This is Ranger 4-1.
Private Adams: This is Castle Delta 2-7 requesting priority evac, over.
Voice: Roger that 2-7, what are your grid coordinates?
Private Adams: 73 klicks east of Tango Mike, Alpha 140.7, Bravo 65.3.
Voice: That's a negative on pickup, 2-7. Command has deemed that area too hot for dustoff. They're telling us to advise you to proceed farther east to grid coordinates Alpha 12.5, Bravo 40.6.
Older man: Roger that. Gather your gear, ladies! We're walking!
The scene cuts away to the squad walking down a road bordered by plants. The jungle-like vines and trees overlap at the treetops, making the road dim, even during the daytime. The luminescent road warning barriers light up as the sun goes down.
The view centers on the older man and a marine walking behind him. Both men have their weapons at rest and are walking down the road slowly.
Soldier: Hey Captain, are we there yet?
Older man: You tell me, Mr. Caplan. Adams, how close are we to the evac zone?(Turns around)
Adams: I'm not sure, sir. The jungle's screwing with the locators. If I can get to higher ground, I can-
The older man holds his hand up, and the squad of six men stops.
Older man: You hear that?
Older man: GHOST! Into the trees!
The men all run into the foliage, stop and turn around about 15 or 20 feet in. The soldiers kneel and try their best to blend in with the moderately dense brush.
The view centers right above the helmet of a soldier pointing his weapon towards the road. Heavy breathing is heard.
Older man: (Whispers) Douse the lights!
The soldiers turn off the flashlights on the weapons.
Two ghosts come down the road and stop. The Elites exit the vehicles and look into the woods.
The view centers on a soldier's face. His eyes are wide, and is trying to control his movements and breathing.
The two Elites hold their plasma rifles, looking into the woods. They begin to talk.
The language is unintelligible, and subtitles are provided.
Elite 1: Why have we stopped here?
Elite 2: This is the last road out of the city. Two human squads were never accounted for. It is reasonable to assume they are nearby.
Elite 1: Our orders were to continue to the city. Reinforcements are needed at the large tower. The humans are being stubborn.
Elite 2: (Groans loudly) I tire of this planet. I wish Truth would give the order to glass the remaining cities.
Elite 1: Soon, we will hold all the human colony planets, and we will bring them to extinction.
Elite 1 boards his ghost. Elite 2 takes one last look into the woods.
The view centers on Elite 2's face. He grunts.
Elite 1: Don't be so concerned. The Scarab will find them if they are still alive.
The view zooms out as Elite 2 boards his ghost and they continue down the road.
The squad, still in the trees, all breathe sighs and get up.
The view centers on a side view of the old man, who clearly looks relieved.
Older man: That was too close.
The younger squad members let out nervous laughter for a moment, one of the them says "Thank God!"
Older man: All right, we need to get out of here NOW. Adams, get to high ground and get a fix on our location.
Adams: Yes sir. (He turns and heads up the hill that borders the road, which has no trees at the top)
The view centers on Private Adams.
He is looking down at his wrist unit, which has a screen with a map on it. He is fiddling with it, and plotting things on it.
He yells down the hill: Captain!
Older man: What do ya got, Adams?
Adams: We got about another 10 klicks to go, sir! Due east!
Older man: Roger that, we're moving out!
The camera follows the squad as they move away.
The view cuts to the squad walking along the top of a hill, the noonday sun silhouetting their moving figures.
The view zooms in on the squad slowly, the older man leading them.
The squad comes upon a ruined highway. Many cars and vehicles are crowded on it, long abandoned.
The squad walks by a ruined Scorpion tank.
Older man: All right, take a break. If you gotta piss, make it quick. I wanna get as much distance between us and the capital. Those Elites were onto us.
Several of the marines hop onto the burned out tank, climbing onto the turret and sides.
The older man leans up against the side of the tank facing away from the evening sun. He takes out his canteen and takes a long drink. He then splashes the rest on his head and wipes the dirt and grime from his face.
Private Adams comes up beside him and they begin to talk.
Adams: Long day, Captain?
Older man: I never thought I would get tired of the 13-hour days here. I can't sleep anymore.
Adams: Heh.
The conversation pauses for a moment. Adams turns away for a moment, looks over his shoulder then turns back to the Captain, a look of desperation, confusion, and annoyance on his face.
Adams leans forward a bit, and speaks in a hushed but loud manner.
Adams: All due respect, sir, but why the hell are we running away from the Covenant?
Older man: (Turns towards Adams, a look of angry annoyance on his face) I don't like your tone, Private. We are not running, we are pulling out of the area!
Adams: Really? Because all I've heard over the radio are explosions and guys screaming get the hell out of here! What the hell is happening?
Older man: (Gets in Adams' face) I don't know any more than you do, Private Adams! You are an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. You will do your job, or I will have you shot!
Adams: My job? MY JOB? My job is to drop into battle and be one-hundred percent combat effective against the most powerful enemy the UNSC has ever encountered! My job is not to run away from them and hide my head in the sand!
The Older Man steps back and punches Adams in the face. At this point, the entire squad has been watching the quarrel. Adams stumbles backwards into the side of a car. His impact on the car cracks one of the rear windows. He drops to the ground, clutching his jaw and moaning.
The Older Man turns to the rest of the squad.
Older Man: All right, break's over.
The man turns back to Adams, who is attempting to get to his feet.
Older Man: Get your sorry ass up, Private.
Adams: Go to hell.(He is spitting blood, so it sounds gurgled).
Adams reaches into his holster and pulls out his pistol and aims it at the Older Man.
The Older Man sees this coming and kicks Adams' wrist. Adams cries out as he drops the pistol and the older man kicks him in the stomach with his other leg.
The Older man grabs a ziptie out of his belt and cuffs Adams' hands behind his back.
With one foot on Adams' back and one hand on his cuffs, he drags Adams off the ground and slams him up against the side of the tank.
The Older Man leans in close to Adams' head. Adams' chin is covered in blood and he is bleeding from his nose, mouth, and cuts on his face.
Older Man: Consider yourself under court martial, you son of a b****.
The Older Man looks back at the rest of the squad.
Older Man: That goes for the rest of you. The next person to pull this s*** won't be so lucky. And this insubordinate jacka** never leaves your sight. Move out, NOW.
The view goes to a montage of the squad continuing to walk along the highway. They eventually come upon a small crater. It is now sunset.
The Older Man goes up on a hill near the crater and talks into his wrist unit.
Older Man: (speaks while tentatively looking out at the landscape). Ranger 4-1, Ranger 4-1, this is Castle Delta 2-7 requesting immediate evac from grid site Alpha 12.5, Bravo 40.6.
Voice: Roger that, Delta 2-7. Pop IR flares and activate your beacon, we will be there one-zero minutes.
Older Man: Roger. See you in one-zero minutes, confirm.
Voice: Confirm.
The Older man lowers his arm, turns around, and talks to the squad. Adams is sitting down.
Older man: Our ride's coming! Check your ammo and secure a perimeter!
Soldiers scramble around and say "Yes sir!"
The view zooms out to the hexagonal view of a beam rifle held by an Elite, which appears to be the one that was suspicious at the road earlier.
The Elite grunts loudly.
Elite 2: You see? They did survive.
Elite 1: Come, we must warn the others!
Elite 2 stores his weapon to a holster on his back. They both board their ghosts and ride off into the woods.
The view now switches to a pilot of a pelican. He is talking to his copilot, muttering instructions and flight-related jargon.
Pilot 1: Keep a lookout for those flares.
Pilot 2: Hold on……got em!
Pilot 2: (points at screen) over there, by the southern edge of that crater.
Pilot 1: Get em on the radio.
Pilot 2: Castle Delta 2-7, come in. 2-7, do you read?
Viewpoint switches to the older man on the ground. He speaks into his wrist unit.
Older man: We read you loud and clear, Ranger 4-1. We're good to go for pickup.
Voice: Roger that, 2-7. What are your casualties?
Older man: (pauses and speaks softly). Minus one-one.
Voice: (pauses) roger that, we will be there momentarily.
The pelican flies over the edge of the crater and sets down in the midst of the soldiers. Dust and debris are hurled into the air. The men run into the back of the pelican. The older man is yelling "Go, go, go!".
There are already several men in the back of the pelican. The older man goes over to one of them, points to Adams, and yells over the din "He never leaves your sight!"
The soldier nods. "Yes, sir!"
The pelican waits as the rest of the men run into the back.
The camera centers on Adams, who nervously looks around. The camera then goes behind his back, where it is revealed that he has nearly cut through his wrist restraints with a piece of the glass window that he broke when the Captain hit him. The wrist restraints are cut, and Adams immediately punches the man next to him in the throat. He grabs the man's rifle and stands up, intending to jump out the back of the pelican. The older man, who is busy talking to the pilots, turns around immediately.
The older man and Adams lock eyes for a moment.
Older man: Adams! (The older man runs toward him and Adams begins to swing his newly acquired rifle around to fire)
The scene where the older man runs towards Adams and tackles him is played in slow motion.
The older man gets to Adams before he can fire. They tumble out of the back of the pelican wrestling with each other. (The pelican is already 10 feet off the ground) Several men run to the back of the pelican and look out into the crater where Adams and the Captain fight and struggle with each other.
The camera goes back to the cockpit, where one of the pilots looks back into the cargo bay.
Pilot: What the hell is going on back there?
The other pilot looks at a display screen. His eyes widen.
He turns to the other pilot.
Pilot 2: BANSHEES!
Pilot 1: Oh, s***! Hang on!(Said very harshly)
Two banshees appear from the forest's treeline and fire on the pelican, and one of the engines is visibly hit. It explodes, and the pelican begins to spin out of control. There are camera views of the interior as the men inside desperately try to hold on to anything they can. Warning beeps and klaxons are going off inside the aircraft.
The camera then centers on the older man and Adams, who have stopped fighting for the moment. They watch the pelican spin out of control into the forest, and a large explosion is seen.
The older man gets up and taps his wrist unit.
Older man: Ranger 4-1, are you still there? Ranger 4-1! Is anyone there?
Adams: Dropships! Into the woods!
The two men dash into the nearest treeline and watch as a covenant dropship(later model) floats over the clearing, headed for the crash site.
They stop about 20 feet in. The Captain leans up against a tree trunk as the view centers on him.
The Captain hears a voice in his wrist unit.
Voice: Captain….(the voice sounds weary, and pained coughing and moaning is heard)
Captain: 4-1, what's your status? Are you there? 4-1, respond!
Coughing is heard, then moaning.
Voice: They're all around me, sir. I'm the only one left.
Static and noise are heard on the other end of the radio.
Captain: Ranger 4-1, come in!
Voice: (Pained, sarcastic laughter is heard) Smile, you son of a b****! (Gunfire from a pistol is heard on the radio, followed by a pained yell from an Elite. A burst from a plasma rifle is heard, and the radio is cut off harshly).
Captain: Ranger 4-1, come in! Ranger 4-1!
Adams: (He steps up to the captain)He's dead, Captain. And so are we if we stick around here any longer.
Captain: (His face slowly contorts into one of anger. He then grabs Adams by the shoulders and slams his against the trunk of the nearest tree) YOU BASTARD! (The captain pulls his knife out of his boot and puts it against Adams' throat.) Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you right now!
Adams: (He has a look of shock and surprise on his face, his eyes staring down at the hilt of the knife) I…I….(He stutters)
Captain: (He leans in closer to Adams' face, a look of complete anger still on his face) Speak up, private. I CAN'T HEAR YOU.
Adams: (He begins to gurgle and stutter and look past the Captain's face.)
The view looks through Adams' perspective, and a grunt is revealed to be standing behind the Captain, its plasma pistol held up.
Grunt: Don't move, human!
The Captain slowly comes away from Adams and drops his knife on the ground.
Adams is still standing against the tree, pure fear now written all over his face.
The Older Man gets down on his knees, still facing away from the grunt. His hands are still out at his sides. He spins fast and activates one of the plasma grenades on the Grunt's belt. The Grunt realizes this and begins to run away screaming.
Captain: (Gets up, runs towards Adams and tackles him to keep running.) GO!!
The two leap behind a large downed tree trunk.
The view cuts to the suspicious Elite from earlier. He is overseeing grunts and other Elites combing the wreckage of the Pelican. He hears the explosion, and immediately looks to the source of the sound.
Other grunts and elites also hear the explosion and walk quickly to the Elite's side.
Elite 2: Versheiri, take your Grunts and investigate.
The Elite named Versheiri roars and his grunts follow him into the brush.
The view cuts to Adams and the Captain, who have survived. They are just regaining their senses. They are covered in twigs and debris.
Adams: We gotta go. It won't be long before the search party gets here.
Captain: Come on, let's get out here.(He grabs Adams' hand and hauls him to his feet. The two dash off into the underbrush)
The Elite named Versheiri arrives at the scene. He finds what is left of the Grunt and contacts the suspicious Elite.
Elite Versheiri: Honorable Leader, we have arrived at the location of the detonation.
Elite 2: Have you found the humans?
Elite Versheiri: No, Honorable Leader. It appears they have escaped.
The view cuts back to Elite 2, who is standing on the wing of the Pelican.
Elite 2: (He roars loudly) FIND THEM!!! (He grabs a grunt and throws it against the cockpit window. The view then zooms in on his face, which shows pure anger and heavy breathing).
The view cuts to Adams and the Captain walking through the forest. The angle of the camera makes it about 10 to 15 feet above them slowly lifting upwards through the jungle canopy. It is night, and the two moons of Harvest are shining through light cloud cover. The view then cuts to a side view(like the famous abbey road beatles picture, a side view of the two walking. There is matter in the air, and the light beams that come through the canopy are visible. Wildlife can be heard, bugs and the occasional animal noise.
Adams catches up to the Captain. He appears tired. The Captain, however, has a bit of a bounce in his step.
Adams: Hey, Captain. Where exactly are we going?
Captain: Back when I was a regular puke, the government made it mandatory to build bomb shelters to hide the higher-ups after the insurrections. I was privy to their locations for a short time. There's one close to here, and we should nearly be there.
Adams: Good. I'm looking forward to some rest.
Captain: (smiles) Bad news for you, you've got first watch.
Adams: (sighs heavily)
They march for another forty to fifty feet and come upon a sign. It is old and eroded, and the plants have taken a liking to it. Several colorful vines are growing on it.
Adams brushes the plants away. The sign reads: SHELTER HOTEL BRAVO.
The Captain looks up at the vines, which have overtaken the entire structure, which looks like a small cube(approx. 10'x10')
Adams: (Also is staring at the vine-covered structure)You sure this is it?
The Captain: Yep, this is it.
The Captain steps forward to the cube, and uncovers a door. There is a keypad next to it. He takes a wire from the keypad and plugs it into his wrist unit. He taps his wrist unit, it makes a few noises, and the keypad beeps.
The door slides back reluctantly with a mild groan of metal and slides into the wall.
The two walk inside. There is a dim halogen light that activates, and their surroundings become clear. There is a yellow service elevator to their right, and a puddle of water near the wall on their left.
The Captain: That service elevator goes down to the tunnels. If this place hasn't already been sacked, there's food, water, even some weapons down there.
Adams: It doesn't look very safe.
The Captain: Well, you have two choices. Go back into the forest and be killed by the covenant, or take the elevator.
Adams: (Sighs) He walks over to the elevator and opens the doors. The Captain enters the elevator, then Adams. The Captain finds a panel with a thick black wire leading out of it. It has 2 buttons, one with an up arrow, the other with a down arrow. He hits the down button. With a loud metallic groan, the elevator begins to descend. Every few floors, they pass a red light on the wall. The elevator finally halts in the dark. The old man opens the doors. He reaches for the light switch on the wall and turns it on.
A woman is standing there, in combat fatigues, minus a helmet. She is holding a battle rifle, which is trained at Adams and the Captain.
The structure of the tunnel is about 10 or 12 feet tall by 15 foot wide hallway of solid concrete. A fading yellow stripe with the seal of the United Nations is painted every ten feet or so, within the stripe. There are small lights at ground level, the type you would expect to see in movie theaters. There are random UNSC boxes scattered everywhere.
The Captain draws his weapon, his pistol. It is his only weapon. He made no attempt to retrieve his knife earlier, when the Grunt had him at gunpoint. He aims it at the woman.
The Captain: At ease!
The woman lowers her rifle, but keeps it trained on Adams and the Captain. The Captain re-holsters his pistol.
Sgt. Murphy: Identify.
The Captain: (He pulls a chip out of his wrist unit and tosses it to the woman. She inserts it into her wrist unit. )
Murphy: You guys are from 2-7? Sgt. Claire Murphy, Castle Bravo 2-6.
Murphy lowers her weapon. Adams and the Captain exit the elevator.
Murphy: You guys hungry?
The scene cuts to the three soldiers gathered around a gas cooker with a metal pot on top. There is a pallet of what appears to be soup cans, with the plastic ripped open in areas. There are four open, empty cans strewn on the ground. The room is full of boxes, and what appears to be crates of food.
There is a soup simmering, and The Captain pours it into 3 metallic cups. During the following dialogue, all 3 soldiers sip the soup periodically.
Adams: So how'd you stumble across this place?
Murphy: 2-6 was pulling back. We had already lost most of the platoon. There were about 15 of us, and we were marching south out of the city. The scorpion battalion had been wiped out. When we passed through their staging area, it looked like the tanks had MELTED. They were big hunks of melted metal. We couldn't figure out what could do that to a tank. Anyway, we got ambushed by a whole covenant squad. Jackal snipers took out most of our guys, and the rest of us fled into the woods. The covenant brought in some sort of weapon. The ground started to shake, like there were giant footsteps or explosions nearby. There was a bright flash of light, it looked like a laser. There was this weird electrical sound too.
Adams and the Captain look at each other for a moment.
The Captain: We heard the same sound right before we got orders to pull back.
Adams: Yeah.
The Captain: But(he rotates his hand in a gesture)…..continue.
Murphy: While I was running, I tripped over something and fell into a creek bed. When I looked up, all the trees were getting cut in half. I had to haul ass to keep from getting crushed by the falling trunks(While she is speaking, a flashback recounts her experience. She lands on her back in the creek bed. She looks up, dazed. She hears screams and yells as her men are vaporized and the trees are cut in half, and the stumps smolder. Explosions are going off as the high-pitched whine of the laser cuts back and forth. She stumbles to her feet, grabs her rifle, and runs along the creek bed. She's glancing over her shoulder as she runs. Suddenly the ground gives way, and she falls through a vent.)
Murphy: There's miles of tunnels down here, and I eventually found an old stockroom. I've been hiding here for 3 days.
Adams: That doesn't sound like any weapon I've ever heard of.
Murphy: I know, right?
The Captain: That doesn't sound like a weapon I've heard of either. You said it cut the trees in half?
Murphy: Yeah, and everything caught fire after that.
The Captain: Where exactly was this?
Murphy: I've got the coordinates recorded on my Gauntlet(she points to her wrsit unit, tapping the screen twice).
The Captain: Good. I'd like to see this place tomorrow. For now, get some sleep.
As the Captain gets up, Murphy and Adams stay seated. The Captain puts a genuine look of confusion on his face.
The Captain: That's an order.
Adams and Murphy both sigh and get up. The Captain walks through a doorway out of the room.
The scene then cuts to the view of a UNSC destroyer flying through space. The lettering on the side reads: UNSC-113 AIGAION.
The view cuts to the ship investigating a strange reading. The view cuts to the bridge, where the following banter is heard: our sensors are overloaded! The data is suggesting that it is an anomaly bending time and space! How is that possible? Theoretical mathematics…..
It now becomes obvious that it is a dream, and the storyline becomes accelerated. There are several bright flashes and sounds of explosions, and screams are heard.
The following banter is yelled: Multiple enemy hostile ships approaching! They're firing! What the hell are they! Those ships aren't in the database! Return fire, activate all batteries!
The dream ends, and the view immediately cuts to an eye opening, with a moderate amount of light being reflected on its surface. The pupil flits left and right. A loud sigh is heard.
Sounds are coming from the next room(talking, the voice are Adams and Murphy). As the voices are heard, the view cuts back a few feet. The Captain gets up from a cot and rubs his face. He is clearly disturbed from the nightmare. The nightmare will have greater implications later.
He gets up and walks into the next room. Adams and Murphy are sitting on boxes next to a portable cooker with coils, which has a coffee pit on top of it. Adams grabs it and pours it into 2 cups.
Murphy: Good morning, sir.
The Captain responds with a low grunt.
The Captain: Have you plotted the course we need to take to get to the battle site?
Murphy: Yeah. We need to avoid the roads between here and the I-49A, the covenant are probably still crawling all over this place. It's about 22 klicks east of here, through the woods.
The Captain: Alright, let's go.
The view cuts to the three soldiers walking through the woods. They walk over large boulders, past large trees, dead tree trunks, and more forest foliage. They come up to the top of a low ridge(approx. 30 or so feet above the rest of the forest floor)
Murphy: There(she gestures a wide berth with her left arm).
The scene cuts to the solder's point of view. The trees below are all cut in half. Fires are still smoldering. Anything above 5 feet tall has been cut in half.
Adams: Woah. (He looks in awe at the scene below).
The Captain: Look. (The Captain gestures to the forest). The damage radiates from a central point over there.
They all walk down into the battlezone. There are deep, cylindrical impressions in the soil where the damage radiates from)
Murphy: They look like firing stabilizers for tanks, but bigger.
Adams: Way bigger. (He kneels to inspect them). I could fit two of me in here!
The Captain: Sssssshhhh. (He motions with his arm for the other two to be quiet) You hear that?
A faint voice is heard, gathering in intensity very slowly.
The camera cuts to a soldier walking through the burned-out forest. His battlesuit is missing, is not wearing a wrist unit, and is holding several wounds all over his body. He is covered in blood, sweat, dirt and grime.
Soldier: (Speaks heavily as he walks slowly through the battlefield) Hello? Is anyone out there? Hello?
Murphy: Oh my God. That's Morton, one of the Scorpion drivers!
Murphy begins to run towards Morton. They are about 30 yards apart. After a few moments, the Captain runs towards Murphy and tackles her to the ground quietly.
The Captain: (The following is whispered harshly) Adams! Get down!
Adams, who is about 20 feet behind the Captain and Murphy, ducks prone behind a large tree. The Captain and Murphy slowly slide behind a fallen tree trunk, which has split into 2 sections. As Murphy is fighting his grip on her body and mouth, they slide to the small gap in between the 2 sections and look down into the clearing where Morton is walking.
The Captain: (Murphy is still fighting his grip and trying to yell at him, but he has his gloved hand over her mouth). Sssshhhh. Look into the trees, 10 meters to his left and right.
The view pans up and zooms in on the trees. Jackals with beam rifles become visible, standing up in branches.
Murphy's eyes go wide and she stops struggling.
The Captain: They're using him as bait.
Morton continues to call out.
The angle of the camera during the following scene puts the camera right above Murphy's and the Captain's heads.
Several Elites come out of the treeline into the clearing. Among them is the angry and suspicious Elite. They walk up to Morton.
Morton turns around, sees them, and stops walking.
One of the Elites, the angry and suspicious one, draws and activates a plasma sword. They walk closer to him.
Morton stumbles backwards and then gets to his knees as the Elites continue to advance.
Morton: No, wait! I bet they're still here! Don't do this!
He begins to run away. One of the Elites snarls to the Jackals, and they blow off one of his legs with a Beam Rifle. As this happens, The Captain puts his hand back over her mouth. She begins to cry, and tears are streaming down her face. She begins to softly moan through his glove. The Elites catch up to him.
Elite 2: Your time is up. (Spoken in English)
Elite 2 impales Morton's chest with his plasma sword, and he dies. As this happens, the Captain's glove slips, and Murphy cries out.
Murphy: No!(She immediately stifles herself and a look of fear is on her face, looking wide-eyed at the clearing)
Elite 2 immediately looks up to the treeline where Murphy, Adams, and the Captain are hiding!
Elite 2: (turns heads towards other Elites, points to treeline) The humans are here! Find them!(Turns back to treeline)
A few squads of Elites and Grunts come out of the woods and run toward Murphy and the Captain. (The ratio of elites to grunts is 1 to 6)
The Captain: (gets to his feet quickly, hauls up Murphy with him) Move!
They stay down and run away from the advancing covenant forces. Plasma grenades are thrown, and the explosions make several trees fall. Plasma pistol and plasma rifle fire is heard and hits the trees and plants around them as they run away. Beam rifle fire comes very close.
Murphy: (talks into her wrist unit as she runs) Adams! Where the hell are you? Those snipers are gonna eat us for breakfast! We have to get out of here!
Adams suddenly jumps out from behind a tree, and throws several grenades.
Adams: No they won't.
A smokescreen pours out of the three thrown grenades and Adams starts to run backwards quickly while tossing fragmentation grenades into the smoke.
As the smoke spreads, the viewpoint changes to right beside a jackal looking down the scope of a beam rifle, who looks confused and frustrated. It squeaks and whines.
The view switches to the viewpoint of Elite 2, also known as the suspicious and angry Elite. The smokescreen is covering the edge of the small ridgeline at the edge of the clearing where the humans were hiding. The Elite and Grunt squads advance into the smokescreen. The explosions from the frag grenades are seen, and many grunts come flying out of the smokescreen, driven by the explosions.
Elite 2 roars in frustration.
The viewpoint now switches to Adams, who is holding a battle rifle while backing quickly away from the smokescreen. The viewpoint now changes to the edge of the smokescreen. An elite and a few grunts advance out of the smokescreen, firing their weapons. Adams fires back, killing the grunts in a spray of blue blood. The Elite is hit and roars, and while firing, retreats back into the smokescreen.
Adams, Murphy, and the Captain continue to run away from the smoke.
The viewpoint switches to a side view of the group running. Adams, still holding the battle rifle at the ready, catches up with the Captain and Murphy. He is looking behind him every other second while he is running. They are all breathing heavily.
The Captain: Thanks, I owe you one. Let's get out of here.
Adams: Roger that.
The viewpoint stops and films the group as they run past the camera and out of sight over a hill.
The view now changes to the Elites dragging away the wounded and killed down the ridge where the smokescreen was. It is now darker, say 10 percent darker.
A group of Elites are now standing together near the bottom as a scout Elite team joins them.
Elite 2: Did you find the humans?
Elite 3: (hesitates) not even a body, honorable leader.
Elite 2: (roars loudly, steps forward) you are useless!
Elite 2 knocks Elite 3 halfway up the ridgeline and into the stump where Murphy and the Captain had used to hide.
As Elite 2 walks up the hill towards Elite 3, he draws and activates his plasma sword. Elite 3 attempts to get up and fight, but the Elite that had ridden a Ghost with Elite 2 suddenly steps forward and tackles Elite 2. He wrestles the plasma sword from his grasp and holds it at him.
Elite 1: Moroot! Killing our own will not locate them faster!
Elite 1 turns to the rest of the Elites while still holding the plasma sword to Elite 2, now known as Moroot.
Elite 1: What are our losses?
Another Elite steps forward and speaks.
Elite 4: We've lost most of our grunts, and Narakh is badly wounded.
Elite 1: Very well. Call for a transport for Narakh and dispose of the dead.
Elite 1 deactivates the plasma sword and Moroot returns to his feet. Elite 1 returns to the sword to the still-seething Moroot.
Elite 1 begins to walk away, and Moroot calls out to him.
Moroot: You dare hold me under the sword?
Elite 1 stops and turns to Moroot.
Elite 1: You may be in command of this squad, but in my eyes you are not fit for that position. You let your anger control you. We must stop and regroup. If we continue, we shall surely perish.
While Elite 1 is speaking, Moroot obviously grows more angry, due to his increased and audible breathing and increased limb movement.
Moroot: We must pursue them before they slip away!
Elite 1: No! I will not send my brothers to be slaughtered! You've lost them twice, let them go!
Moroot: You coward! You have disobeyed me for the last time, R'tas Vadumee!
Moroot charges at Elite 1, now known as R'tas Vadumee.
Moroot brings about his sword, and R'tas brings up one of his two plasma rifles to defend himself. The sword slices through the rifle easily.
Moroot crashes into Vadumee, and they go sprawling down the ridge to the bottom. They land about ten feet from each other. Moroot is the first to recover and moves towards his still-active plasma sword, which landed about two feet from Vadumee.
Vadumee sees this, grunts loudly and gets to his feet in time to deactivate the sword and toss it a few feet away. Moroot roars very loudly and the two become involved in a fistfight/wrestling match. It last for a few minutes until Moroot gets a lucky punch in that disables Vadumee's energy shield. The shield deactivates in a shower of sparks and electricity is seen on Vadumee's armor. Vadumee cries out in pain and stumbles backwards onto his knees. Moroot seizes this opportunity and grabs his deactivated sword. He activates it and speaks while standing in front of the wounded Vadumee.
Moroot: You drove me to this, you arrogant fool!
Moroot raises the plasma sword and cuts off the left side of Vadumee's jaw. (This is a reference to the Rtas Vadumee seen in the video game Halo 3. Vadumee inherits the title of shipmaster after Moroot is killed in this film. He inherits Moroot's ship, the Shadow if Intent, which is also seen in Halo 3. Vadumee is seen missing the left side of his mandible during the game, so this fight was created to serve as a backstory to that character's wound.)
Vadumee screams extremely loud and clutches his face. Moroot turns to the rest of the Elites and remaining twelve grunts, who have been watching the fight with great interest.
Moroot: Pursue and kill the humans! They must not know of our operations in this area! Truth has issued a decree that killing all humans who escape with knowledge of the Scarab to be of the highest priority! The human leadership must not learn of its existence! Do not fail me, or his will be your fate! (he points to Rtas Vadumee with his sword)
The view now cuts to Murphy, the Captain, and Adams walking through a dark forest. It is now obvious that night has fully fallen.
They come upon the building that the Captain and Adams used earlier, and open the door.
The Captain: (motions for the other two to get inside) Come on.
The door closes, and the view cuts to inside the elevator above the three soldiers. Every few floors they pass red lights. The elevator arrives at the tunnel, and they get out.
The scene now cuts to the three soldiers sitting around a pile of weapons and other things.
Adams: That's it, that's all we got left.
Murphy: (laughs sarcastically) You think we can take on a whole covenant division with a battle rifle, a pistol, and a couple of grenades?
Adams: You're forgetting the kitchen knives.(smiles sarcastically)
Murphy: (Smiles with half her mouth) Not to mention we're really low on ammo.
Adams: (sits down on a crate) Yeah, that was my bad.
Murphy: No, don't worry about it. You did what you had to do. You saved the Captain's life. You saved my life. (a sincere look crosses her face) Thank you.
Adams: (Smiles briefly and reluctantly) You're welcome.
The view now slowly creeps up on the Captain, who is asleep in the next room, his pistol at his side. It now begins another part of his dream.
The storyline accelerates again with more flashes, explosions and screaming.
The following banter is yelled: Get to the longswords and evacuate! We have to get out of here!
More yelling and screaming is heard. The Captain is now seen, visibly younger and without his scar. He is running down a hallway in the ship, there are fires everywhere. Sparks are flying and wires and pipes are sticking out of the ceiling.
The storyline accelerates again. The Captain, along with several other Marines, are now in the ship's hangar. They are running up into a longsword when an explosion occurs beneath the Captain, sending him flying against the side of the aircraft. His face is bloody, and the gash that produced his scar is now visible. His head rolls to the side, and he now appears unconscious. Two marines pick him and hand him to a Marine leaning out of the open entry hatch on the longsword. The entry hatch has a small makeshift ladder made of straps and metal tubes coming out of it. The Captain is pulled inside.
The Captain sits up in his bed quickly, breathing heavily and sweating. He wipes his face with a rag on the floor.
He then walks into the next room, where Murphy is sleeping on a long crate and a scavenged pillow and blanket. Adams is sitting Indian-style in the corner, checking and assembling the battle rifle and his pistol.
He looks up as the Captain enters. He puts a finger over his mouth, gets up, and motions for the Captain to follow him to the tunnel hallway. They step out into the hallway.
The Captain: How's our situation?
Adams: (puts a look of slight confusion and major concern on his face) Me and Murphy were a little more worried about you, Captain.
The Captain: What for?
Adams: You were tossing and turning, moaning in your sleep. We thought something was wrong, but it eventually went away. I convinced her you weren't sick or dying, and she went to sleep. Are you OK?
The Captain: Yeah, I'm fine. (He looks away and over Adam's shoulder, struggling to maintain eye contact, adding fuel to Adams' suspicion that something was wrong.) The 13-hour day is still messing with my head. It'll pass.
The Captain moves past Adams back into the room where Murphy is sleeping. Adams doesn't follow, but turns as the Captain walks away, a look of concern and doubt still on his face.
The dream now continues. The longsword fighter manages to exit the bay. As it passes away from the Aigaion, the Aigaion explodes. The young version of the Captain has now become conscious. The viewpoint is of a rectangular rear window that he is staring through at the Aigaion. The window reflects a large covenant fleet behind the Aigaion as it explodes. The young Captain winces as the explosion brightens the area. The dream fast forwards what seems to be several months. The longsword is shown being picked up by a large UNSC fleet. The crew steps off the longsword and is greeted by a young looking Captain. He says,"Captain Terrence Hood, commander of the UNSC-283 Jackson. Welcome aboard."(Captain Terrence Hood later becomes Vice Admiral Lord Hood, and is portrayed in Halo 3 by the voice of Ron Perlman. The same will be done here.)
The story accelerates to the group of survivors, including the Captain, sitting in a room in front of a large display. The view centers on the young Captain's face. He is seated next to Captain Terrence Hood. When Terrence Hood comes into view, for a split moment, the face of Hood over 25 years later as he appears in the Halo 3 game is seen. This repeats twice.
This voice is heard while the glow of the display in the dark room illuminates the two men. (For a note: The young Captain(not Hood) is seen with a bandage and sealing aids on the gash on his face)
Voice: It is of the utmost importance to not speak of any of the events that transpired on the Aigaion. The UNSC command has been informed of the incident, and the attack has been classified as above top secret. The official report will state that the Aigaion was destroyed by rebel insurrectionists attempting to gain a foothold in unclaimed space. It is imperative that you never speak of this incident with anyone until the UNSC makes these events public knowledge. You are dismissed.
The dream ends to the Captain shaking violently in his bed with Adams standing over the top of him(the camera angle is a top view, like a fly on the ceiling). The Captain stops shaking as he wakes up. The camera angles changes and shows the Captain and Adams staring at each other for a moment. Adams has a look of surprise, conviction, and concern on his face.
The scene cuts to the Captain and Murphy sitting against a wall near where Murphy is sleeping.
The Captain puts on some soup on the portable cooker. He then sits back against the wall with Adams.
The Captain begins to talk, and he pauses every other sentence, as if recalling the events is painful to him.
The Captain: Everyone thinks the Argo was the first combat loss in this war. (He smiles nervously and looks up, as if recalling something) I was part of an experimental unit to test new weapons designed to clear asteroid belts and other hazards. I was assigned to a destroyer called the Aigaion. We….we were in some system, I forget the name. We deployed radar arrays to watch for movement in our sector, it was only months after the rebel fleet had escaped from Echo Shepherd. After successfully testing the sonic weapon, we picked up an enormous anomaly near one of the planets, a gas giant. When we arrived, the techs started talking about it like it was a hole in space and time, like a portal or something. As we got close to investigate, an entire covenant battlegroup came out of the hole. And of course, we didn't know what they were. Someone was screaming that the ships weren't recognized in any database. After the first hit, we got the order to evacuate. The plasma bolt hit the engine room, knocked out our warp drive. We returned fire as best we could, it was before the MAC gun was miniaturized and all we had were railguns. We might as well have been throwing rocks at them. I don't think we scored a single successful hit. The next thing I know, I'm on some destroyer in the inner colonies, shaking some Captain's hand. Everyone on that destroyer, us included, were ordered under penalty of execution to not speak of the incident.
Adams has been listening silently the entire time, and his facial expressions indicate he is clearly interested.
Adams: You knew about the covenant before the Argo was lost?
The Captain grunts and nods slightly.
Adams: What year was this?
The Captain: 2498.
Adams: (Adams gets up and paces, clearly confused and frustrated. He grabs and rubs his head in pure frustration. He then stops, turns, and looks down at the Captain. The following is whispered harshly.) You knew about the Covenant this entire time and you didn't tell anyone?
The Captain: (Looks up, a tired expression on his face) Yeah.
Adams: Well, that's just great. One secret kept and we've lost 35,000 men and billions in equipment.
The Captain: Tell me about it. (Looks up, directly at Adams) But listen. Get some sleep yourself, I want to try and get in contact with the fleet tomorrow.
Adams: All right. (He goes into the next room, and still looks agitated).
The scene now cuts to Moroot and two Elites walking down a hallway of covenant design. The doors open to another room, and they step inside.
The room is very large, with a high vaulted ceiling. Elite guards in ceremonial dress line the walls with spears in their hands. They stand with their backs to the wall, at the ready, almost resembling the guards at Buckingham Palace.
At the other end of the room are throne-looking seats. Three Elites sit in them, their armor different and strange-looking.
Moroot approaches them, still flanked by the Elites from the hallway.
The following is spoken in the Elite's language, and subtitles are provided.
The Elite in the highest chair speaks.
Elder Elite 1: Moroot Ataar, you have been called before this council to review the injury of Rtas Vadumee, a fellow Elite under your command. It seems his face was severely wounded by the sword given to you. Please explain your actions.
Moroot: Honorable Elder, he attempted to disobey my command. (steps forward) I ordered my remaining grunts and elites to follow the humans. We must not-
Elder Elite 1: I realize the depth of the situation with the humans. But many under your command say you rule by brute force and anger.
Moroot: (Looks peeved) My record is impeccable.
Elder Elite 1: Be that as it may, the council has decided to suspend your operations pending a formal investigation by the Prophet Guard.
Moroot: Elder, surely you jest-
Elder Elite 1: Enough! You have lost command of your soldiers for the time being, Moroot Ataar. Do not make me persuade Truth to strip you of the Shadow of Intent. You are dismissed.
Moroot steps back, and the two Elites escort him out of the room.
While they walk down the hallway, Moroot glances left and right. A squad walks out of what appears to be an armory. Rtas suddenly bolts for the door, and before the guards can react, he slips inside. Once there, he punches a keypad display. The light inside the door turns off, and sparks come from the doorframe. A red warning light now flashes in the hallway. One of the guards turns to the other and speaks.
Prophet Guard Elite 1: Go warn the Elders! He must not be allowed to escape.
One of the guards runs back into the council chamber. The Elites are out of their chairs and are walking toward an exit.
The Elite runs toward them and stops.
Prophet Guard Elite 2: My lord, Moroot Ataar has barricaded himself in the armory.
Elder Elite 2: Find him! He must not be allowed to escape! Pursue at all costs!
Prophet Guard Elite 2: Yes, my lord!
The Elite runs back out of the room and into the hallway.
The scene is horrifying. Blue and purple blood line the walls like paint. Bodies of grunts and a couple of elites lie all over the place. The Prophet Guard Elite runs to his fallen partner, who is spitting blood. His partner looks to be waving him away. He speaks softly and painfully.
Prophet Guard Elite 1: Go! He is here! Run!(His head droops over as he dies)
The view centers on the face of Prophet Guard Elite 2. He has a look of slight surprise on his face. Then a figure falls from the ceiling and lands behind him.
Moroot: May the gods have mercy upon your soul.
Moroot is revealed to be the figure that dropped down from the ceiling. He activates a plasma sword and kills Prophet Elite Guard 1. The dying Elite roars, then goes limp on the blade.
Moroot deactivates the sword and steps back. The red light and alarm are still going off, and he runs down an adjacent hallway. There are no grunts or elites in sight. He then runs inside another room, this one clearly a laboratory of some kind. He slowly walks among the illuminated vats of organisms until he finds what he is looking for. He types in something on a holographic display, which brings up a map. He flits through the holographic display, and then grunts in satisfaction. He leaves the laboratory in a hurry.
The scene now cuts to a hangar bay, several banshees and dropships lay around in formation. The view now centers on Moroot, who peers around a corner. Several jackals are in the middle of the banshee formation, watching a holographic display of the elder elite speaking about Moroot's escape. Moroot quietly makes his way up behind them, then slaughters them with his plasma sword. He looks at the elder elite's face and roars angrily. A beam rifle round suddenly impacts a few inches from his head. He ducks and looks up at a Jackal on the second story balcony. Its rifle is now jammed and it is desperately trying to make it work. Other grunts and elites have heard the shot and enter the door to the second story balcony. They begin to fire down, and before more time is wasted, Moroot opens the cockpit of the nearest banshee and gets inside. The engines activate and he takes off out of the hangar bay. The ship he was in is stationary over the city that was seen at the beginning of the movie, supposedly the capital of Harvest. The elder elite comes onto the balcony seconds later, angrily looking out at the escaping banshee.
He grunts, and another elite comes to him. He speaks softly.
Elder Elite 1: Pursue him with aerial units. He must not escape. He will jeopardize our entire operation here.
The other elite grunts in agreement and walks away.
The view now cuts to Adams, the Captain, and Murphy going up in the elevator. It stops at the top, and they get off. They exit the cube and go outside. It is now dawn, and the sky is a pale blue. The three soldiers sit on a large boulder as the sun finally comes up. All three look exhausted mentally. They slowly get up.
Murphy: So, what's the plan?
The Captain: We need to get back in contact with fleet.
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