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Halo the Fall - Part One
Posted By: Ruben Gonzalez<appstudios@hotmail.com>
Date: 16 January 2007, 6:50 pm
Read/Post Comments
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HALO THE FALL
by
Ruben Gonzalez
Based on the Book by
Eric Nylund
HALO THE FALL of REACH
FADE IN:
EXT. 0500 HOURS, FEBRUARY 12, 2535 (MILITARY CALENDER)
LAMBADA SERPENTIS SYSTEM, JERICHO VII THEATER OF OPERATIONS
Behind a three meter high stone ridge several SPARTANS in
full MJOLNIR armor (A marine green metal suit of armor)
covering them from head to toe, hold position. SPARTAN 117
The MASTER CHIEF snakes a fiber-optic probe up and over the
ridge as the other Spartans comprising blue team stand
absolutely silent and immobile covering his back. Once in
place he links the probe to his helmet. On the other side a
valley with eroded rock walls, a river meandering through it
and the enemy.
MASTER CHIEF
Contact, enemy Contact my position, all
teams stand bye.
Camped along the banks as far as he could see were easily a
thousand GRUNTS, wearing armored environmental suits,
spanning a meter tall, these stocky aliens looked like
bipedal dogs who speech is comprised of high pitched squeaks,
guttural barks, and growls. Each grunt carried ether a plasma
pistol or needler, and they weren't with out support with
four stationary plasma cannons( purple, four legged, one man
three torrent guns). The Chief detached the optic and took a
step back. He then proceeded to pass the information to his
team over a secure COM channel
MASTER CHIEF (CONT'D)
Two problems, there's four plasma
cannons, two here, along the middle of
their position, one covering their six,
the other there twelve.
BLUE THREE
How many.
MASTER CHIEF
HUD's (Heads up Display) of the chart,
more than a thousand easily, each one
with ether a plasma pistol, or needler.
BLUE TWO not shifting position responds.
BLUE TWO
(Whispers over the link)
Four of us and a thousand of them? Piss
poor odds for the little guys.
MASTER CHIEF
Blue two.
BLUE TWO
Sir.
MASTER CHIEF
I want you up that ridge with those
jackhammer launchers. Take out the
cannons and soften the rest of them, blue
three and five your with me, were on
crowd control. Blue four you get the
welcome mat ready, understood.
Four blue lights winked on inside his heads up display.
MASTER CHIEF (CONT'D)
Move.
In all of three seconds Blue Two leaped gracefully atop the
ridge, straight up, landed with sheer silence, hefted one of
the launchers and ran along the ridge and in quick
succession, Blue Two emptied both of the jackhammer tubes,
dropped one launcher and then fired the other rockets just as
fast. The shells streaked into the grunt formation and
detonated.
BLUE TWO
Guns Clear.
The Chief, Blue Three, and Five leaped up to the top of the
ridge. The Chief switched to infrared to cut through the dust
an propellant exhaust just in time to see the second salvo of
jackhammers decimate the grunts front lines and the last
plasma cannon.
MASTER CHIEF
Fire.
The Chief and the others open fire with there MA5B assault
rifles. A full automatic spray of fifteen armor piercing
rounds per second tore into the grunts, breathing there
environmental suits sparking the methane tanks. Gouts of
flames traced wild arcs as the wounded grunts ran in
confusion and pain.
BLUE TWO
Taking bate sir.
Realizing what has happen the grunts regrouped, and in masse
charged the Spartan position.
An earthquake vibration coursed through the ground and shook
the porous stones beneath the chief. They continued to fire
until exhausting their AP clips.
MASTER CHIEF
Reload.
In unison the three Spartans switched to shredder rounds
stemming the tied of creature just a moment longer as they
surged over. Suddenly the Chief saw the flash of a plasma
bolt side stepped and heard the air crackle were he once
stood.
BLUE FIVE
Inbound Covenant air support. ETA two
minutes.
MASTER CHIEF
Roger that. Blue Three, and Five maintain
fire for five seconds and then fall back,
MARK!
The grunts just about to over run their position The Master
Chief tossed two grenades and he Blue Three and Blue Five,
stepped backward off the ridge, landed, spun and ran. The
Chief and his team sprinted up the half kilometer sandstone
in thirty seconds flat. The hill ended abruptly, a cheer 200
hundred meter drop into the ocean.
BLUE FOUR
Welcome mats laid out Chief, ready when
ever you are.
MASTER CHIEF
Roll out the carpet.
The hill exploded as plumes of pulverized sandstone, smoke
and fire hurtled skyward along with hundreds of grunts
mangled body's. Sand and bits of metal pinged off The Chief
helmet. The Chief and his team open fire again, picking off
the grunts still clinging to life and struggling to stand.
MASTER CHIEF (CONT'D)
New contact.
Suddenly his motion detector flashed a warning, incoming
projectiles high at two o'clock. Five Covenant Banchees(a
purple one man elongated flying craft) appeared over the
ridge.
MASTER CHIEF (CONT'D)
All teams open fire.
Bullets pinged from the fliers their armor holding. The
Banshees returned fire as lances of plasma slashed from the
Banshees gun ports. The Chief dove and rolled to his feet,
sandstone exploded were he once stood. The Banshees screamed
over there heads and then banked sharply for another pass.
MASTER CHIEF (CONT'D)
Blue Three, Blue Five, Theta Maneuver.
Both gave him the thumbs up and they re-grouped at the edge
of the cliff and clipped onto the steel cables that dangled
down the face of the rock wall.
MASTER CHIEF (CONT'D)
Did you set up the fougasses with fire or
shrapnel.
BLUE THREE
Both.
MASTER CHIEF
Good, cover me.
The Banshees formed a flying V and swooped towards them
almost brushing the ground. The Spartans open fire as
superheated bolts of plasma punctured the air. The Chief
dodge left, right, then ducked, and he shook his head. The
banshees were closing the gap unable to fire as their cannons
recycled. The Spartans jumped backwards off the cliff guns
still blazing, and as The Chief jumped he hit the detonator.
The ten fougasses (steel barrels) filled with napalm, and
spent AP and shredder rounds berried a few meter from the
edge made a shrimp kabob out of anything in it's way.
EXT. LAMBADA SERPENTIS SYSTEM, JERICHO VII THEATER OF
OPERATIONS - CLIFF SIDE - AFTERNOON
Blue Three, Blue Five, and the Master Chief slam into the
side of the cliff their steel cables twanged taut. Suddenly a
wave of heat and pressure washed over them. A heart beat
later five banshees hurtled over their heads, leaving trails
of black smoke as they arced into the water. They splashed
down and disappeared beneath the emerald waves. The Spartans
hung there a moment, waiting and watching, their assault
rifles trained on the water.
BLUE THREE
No enemy contact all clear.
The all clear given they repelled down to the beach and
rendezvoused with Blue Two and Four.
BLUE TWO
Red Team reports mission objective
achieved Chief, they send their
compliments.
Blue Three kicked the sand and muttered.
BLUE THREE
Not like those grunts when they
slaughtered the 105th drop jet platoon.
They should suffer just as much as those
guys.
The Chief looked over but didn't reply.
MASTER CHIEF
Blue Two get me an uplink.
BLUE TWO
Aye, aye, patching you into SATCOM now.
MASTER CHIEF
Mission accomplished Captain de Blanc,
enemy neutralized.
CAPTAIN DE BLANC
Excellent news, but we're pulling you out
Chief.
MASTER CHIEF
But we're just getting warmed up down
here sir.
CAPTAIN DE BLANC
But it's a different story up here, move
out for pickup ASAP.
MASTER CHIEF
Understood sir. Looks like the party's
over, dust off in fifteen.
The Spartans take a ten kilometer jog to their LZ.
EXT. LAMBADA SERPENTIS SYSTEM, JERICHO VII THEATER OF
OPERATIONS - OCEANSIDE - PELICAN DROP SHIP
The grey dented battle harden craft sits silent in the sun.
Just ahead the Spartan team arrives, boards the craft and
it's engines wine to life.
INT. PELICAN - LAMBADA SERPENTIS SYSTEM, JERICHO VII THEATER
OF OPERATIONS - OCEANSIDE
Settled in Blue two takes her helmet off and scratches the
stubble of her brown hair as she looks out the porthole.
BLUE TWO
It's a shame to leave this place. There
are so few left.
The Chief stood by her and glanced out as they lifted into
the air. Just outside wide rolling plains of palm grass, the
green expanse of ocean, a wispy band of clouds in the sky and
a setting red suns.
MASTER CHIEF
There will be other places to fight for.
BLUE TWO
Will there?
EXT. LAMBADA SERPENTIS SYSTEM, JERICHO VII THEATER OF
OPERATIONS - SPACE
Breaking orbit the Pelican carrying the five Spartans
maneuvers to it's battle group, were dozens of battle weary
frigates, destroyers, prepare to break orbit.
PELICAN CAPTAIN
(Over COM)
This is Striker One to UNSC Destroyer
Resalute requesting dock prep in four.
UNSC RESALUTE COM OFFICER
This is The UNSC Resalute Striker One,
you are clear to land.
The pelican makes it's way through the battle group and docks
port side of The UNSC Resalute.
INT. UNSC RESALUTE - LAMBADA SERPENTIS SYSTEM, JERICHO VII
THEATER OF OPERATIONS - DOCKING BAY
The Pelican docked in it's own personal docking bay, The
Chief exits, his team just behind him. Four more Pelicans
came in and began docking sequence.
MASTER CHIEF
Have all the gear stowed away.
BLUE TWO
Aye sir.
The Master Chief took to the elevator taking one last look at
his team and the arriving Pelicans as the doors shut. On his
elevator ride up the Chief takes the time to look over his
team after action report in his HUD. Spartans BLUE, RED, and
GREEN Teams, augmenting three divisions of battled harden
UNSC Marines, had stalled the covenant ground advance.
Casualty figures in the hundreds then scrolled through his
screen.
INT UNSC RESALUTE - LAMBADA SERPENTIS SYSTEM, JERICHO VII
THEATER OF OPERATIONS - BRIDGE
Captain de Blanc stood firm before his view screen displaying
Jericho VII's four silver moons. The elevator at the adjacent
end opened and The Master Chief stepped onto the rubberized
bridge deck. The Junior Officers couldn't help but stare. The
Chief snapped a crisp salute at Captain de Blanc.
MASTER CHIEF
Sir, reporting as ordered.
The Captain waved the Chief over as he continued to look out
to the stars and the rest of the battle group.
CAPTAIN DE BLANC
It's happening again.
MASTER CHIEF
Request permission to stay on the bridge
sir... I want to see it this time.
The Captain hung his head looking weary, and glanced at The
Master Chief.
CAPTAIN DE BLANC
Very well Chief, after all you've been
through to save Jericho Seven we you
that. Were only thirty million kilometer
out-system, not half as far as I'd like
to be.
He turned to the NAV OFFICER.
CAPTAIN DE BLANC (CONT'D)
Bearing two one zero, prepare our exit
vector.
He then turned back to the Chief.
CAPTAIN DE BLANC (CONT'D)
We'll stay to watch but if those bastards
so much as twitch in our direction were
jumping the hell out of here.
MASTER CHIEF
Understood sir. Thank you.
Resolute's engines rumbled and the ship moved off. Suddenly
three dozen Covenant ships, big ones, Destroyers and
Cruisers, slick and silvery, looking more like sharks than
space craft, winked into view. Their lateral lines brighten
with plasma then discharged. Raining down fire on Jericho
VII. For the next hour The Chief stood unflinching as lakes,
rivers and oceans vaporized, fields and forest turned to
glass.
CAPTAIN DE BLANC
Make the ship ready to jump out system.
Ten years of this is one year to many.
Our vast network of colonies whittled
down to a handful of strongholds. You
have shot them, stabbed them, and broken
the enemy with your own two hands. The
Spartans cannot be beat on the ground,
but up here the story is totally
different. If this keeps up, soon there
will be no more colonies, no more human
settlements, and nowhere left to run.
The Chief does not reply, he simply continues to look out to
Jericho VII as it's turned from a sprawling paradise to hells
playground.
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