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  • Subject: Fanfiction - Chronicles of the Mirratord: Bravo Company
Subject: Fanfiction - Chronicles of the Mirratord: Bravo Company
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Hi. My name is Andrew. I'm Asian. Still trying to figure out who I am. Yup. That's it.

This is in the Halo universe, about a faction called "The Mirratord", an early alliance between Sangheili and Humans. Erm, that's all you really need to know to understand this....
It's also a screenplay, featuring all my friends in Bungie.net in it.
Don't ask to be in it, sil vous plait, because I find it hard to put a lot of people in it, but I'll try if I can. Anyways, I hope you'll appreciate it just for the writing of it, and I do need a lot of room for improvement. ^^
-----
CHRONICLES OF THE MIRRATORD: BRAVO COMPANY

Prologue

UNSC Destroyer – IN AMBER CLAD
In orbit over INSTALLATION 05, Halo


“Incoming Phantoms, twelve of them.”

The ODST, Acetylcholine, tensed. “What is In Amber Clad’s exterior defense systems comprised of?”

Big words, something that Ace spewed whenever he sensed danger approaching.

“We got one auto-cannon, a 50mm. It won’t warm up in time.” Came the reply.

“Can we execute any evasive maneuvers?”

The technician paled visibly. “No sir, engines are offline at the moment. We’re still repairing them after we pulled through the Covenant carrier’s slipspace trail.”

Ace cursed, “We’re all screwed if we stay here, and those Phantoms are probably packed full with Brutes.”

“Sir! Auto-cannon is offline, Phantoms just took it out!”

“Okay….” Ace muttered, sitting down on the deck, “Now we’re sitting ducks. Any Pelicans or anything we can use to evac?”

“No sir, the Commander and the Sergeant Major took all six of our Pelicans down to the surface. Two of them are KIA, lost contact with another two. The last two however are… wait. Incoming contact, it’s one of the Pelicans we lost.”

“Clearance?” Ace asked.

“Checks out, should we let them in?”

“It could be packed with Flood. Maybe we should….”

Below decks, there was an enormous explosion.

“Pelican just rammed through the hangar’s blast doors!”

“-blam!-.” Ace cursed, hitting the bridge’s COM. “Warning, all personnel… we got Flood onboard so suit up… we’re getting the hell off this ship.”

One of the bridge crew spoke up. “Sir? There aren’t any Pelicans so how can we….?”

“We got those Human Entry Vehicles (HEVs)… and a few escape pods. Should be enough.” Ace answered. “Order everyone to meet in the cargo hold, we’ll organize our forces.”

“Yes sir.”

“Meanwhile….” Ace started, upholstering his SMG. “We’ll do things the hard way.”
-----

The hull of the Human ship buckled under the Phantoms’ attack, literally using the first few as battering rams. Murpheous chuckled; the thought of Human flesh was a benevolent thought.

The minor Chieftain took a thoughtful look at the Sangheili Zealot standing beside him, Tru7th, sent by the arrogant Sangheili High Council to… monitor him and his forces. While Murpheous wasn’t at all intimidated by the Zealot and his twelve Ultras, the Chieftain did fear that they would get in the way of his soldiers.

“Jiralhanae.” Trut7h said.

“What is it?” Murphous growled.

“Your men are under orders to avoid collateral damage.” The Sangheili replied, impervious to the Chieftain’s obvious disrespect. “Standard routines, capture the ship’s NAV database and anything else that would aid us in this war.”

The Chieftain turned on the Zealot. “These are my Brutes, they answer to me. Not your Sangheili Council.”

“These procedures are under the most ancient of war conduct.” Tru7th challenged. “To deny these procedures would be heresy.”

Murpheous snarled, but turned back to the Phantom’s pilot. “Bring us about to the opening, allow the Brute minors to move in first and weaken the Humans’ defenses.”

“Yes Chieftain.” The pilot replied.

“Better yet, why don’t you lead the attack, Zealot?” Murpheous snidely added.

“I am here to observe.” Tru7th replied shortly.

“Indeed?” The Chieftain snarled, raising an eyebrow.

Meanwhile, the first of the twelve Phantoms hit the makeshift entrance in which they had unceremoniously created and dropped off a dozen Brute minors, all armed with Spiker pistols. Inside, Acetylcholine and a number of ODSTs to match their opponents had all opened fire with a solid fire of SMG. The first of the Brutes fell to one knee as his armour failed, exploding away in pieces, and was then finished by a final burst of machine-gun fire.

The Brutes opened fire, and white-hot spikes knifed through the air. Three ODSTs screamed and were thrown back as they were each hit by two or three spikes, one of them even getting nailed into the wall behind them.

“DAMN!!” Acetylcholine shouted, watching hopelessly as another Phantom dropped off another dozen Brute minors… as well as the Phantom after that. The Humans were getting hopelessly outnumbered with the Flood on one side and Brutes on the other.

But the Mirratord ODST wasn’t stupid; they needed time, giving In Amber Clad’s personnel ten more minutes to assemble in the destroyer’s cargo bay. He hoped that Flyer, fighting against hordes of Flood, was having better luck. But he wasn’t so sure.
-----

An SPI trooper ducked, rolled, and ultimately brought up his booming M90 shotgun, blasting away dozens of Flood combat forms, all mainly Sangheili and fellow Humans. Surrounding the SPI trooper were two dozen ODSTs and UNSC pilots, all wearing full-body protection that would be much more effective against the Flood than standard Marine uniforms. Ahead of the Human force was a Pelican dropship, and pouring out of it were innumerable Flood forms, swarming through In Amber Clad’s hangar.

“Flyer!” A COM came in. It was Acetylcholine. “Brutes have outnumbered us, maybe a trillion to ten.”

An exaggeration, to say the least.

But Ace continued, “I got the remainder of my first squad and a second squad of Marines holding them off, but just barely. Get back to the cargo hold so we can evac!”

Flyer hit the COM. “Right-O, we’re not exactly having much fun over here either.” To prove his statement, a pair of combat forms, who had been armed with BR55 rifles, stalked up and blasted two pilots to the ground. Flyer drew up his shotgun and fired, ripping apart their bodies in a bloody fray.

From the hangar, the Flyer and his team battled their way through winding corridors filled with Brute and Flood enemies, occasionally punctuated with a few Marine stragglers or two. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they made it to the cargo hold’s entrance where two Marines were desperately trying to hold off against a half-dozen Brute captains in their gold armour.

Flyer brought up his shotgun, fired off a shell, and one Brute fell. The remaining five spun around with their Covenant carbines up and ready… before they were ripped apart by a resulting hail of bullets.

“A Spartan?” One of the Marines asked, gaping.

“Couldn’t be farther.” Flyer replied. “Special Forces, UNSC. I presume your company leader has got all the evac plans set up?”

“That ODST? Um, yeah; he has. We’ve actually been waiting for you and your squad.”

“Great, let’s go.”
-----

Tru7th spun and brought down his energy sword… smashing through a Brute captain’s gold armour and ultimately killing it. The Jiralhanae had attacked without warning, heresy beyond heresy, and already two of Tru7th’s best warriors lay slaughtered.

However, the remaining ten Ultras had acted quickly, and the traitorous Chieftain’s men were silenced.

But, Murpheous was still out there, perhaps abandoning the Human ship now that the Parasite had taken over. Where the Chieftain was heading, that Tru7th did not know… but he intended to find out.

  • 12.01.2008 7:27 PM PDT
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Hi. My name is Andrew. I'm Asian. Still trying to figure out who I am. Yup. That's it.

“Betrayal.” Murpheous muttered, snow falling thickly onto his red and black armour.

“Revenge.” Came the replying chant of his twelve Brute captains, following in their Chieftain’s wake through the deep snow and frigid air of Delta Halo. Their destination? As far away from the Human destroyer as possible, f their Phantoms had been called to orbit as the Covenant Civil War had just begun.

Murpheous knew the threat that loomed behind him, past the rolling hills covered with snow, and the broken remains of Human and Covenant vehicles that stood from a past battle. The bodies that usually accompanied such events were long gone… now absorbed into the Flood forces.

“Chieftain!” One Brute snarled.

Murpheous turned, and didn’t say a word as he saw Tru7th dashing through and over the thick carpet of snow, his energy sword alight and mandibles spread in anger.

Instantly, the twelve Brute Captains spread out in a rough semi-circle; their Covenant carbines all aimed squarely at the Zealot’s head.

“Stand and fight coward.” Tru7th growled. “And I shall take your head.”

“Indeed?” Murpheous replied. “It appears that you are outnumbered.”

“Look again.”

Simultaneously, ten Sangheili Ultras appeared out of midair, their active camouflage fading and yet their white armour still blending in perfectly with the white background.

Seeing this, the Chieftain snarled maliciously. “So we are to make battle, then. Any last words Sangheili scum?”

Tru7th snapped his mandibles accordingly, and the Ultras moved forward. In response, each Brute captain drew their own energy swords, wider at the hilt and slightly shorter than the Sangheili energy sword. Technically, the Sangheili were still outnumbered, but each individual Ultra was several times more skilled than each of the Brute captains, so the battle between the two sides was quick.

But, in the Jiralhanaes’ favour, Murpheous was a master with his gravity hammer… and to even the odds, he had a powerful overshield mechanism that made even a Zealot’s shields pale in comparison.

The Ultras, meanwhile, had spread out around the Chieftain, each anxiously wondering who would start the attack… before Murpheous himself leapt through the air and brought his gravity hammer down on the Sangheili closest to him. From there, the Jiralhanae swung his weapon to his left and brought another Ultra down. Or, rather, up; for the force in which Murpheous had struck the Ultra had been amplified by hammer itself and sent the Sangheili, smashed and bloody, flying dozens of meters back.

The other Sangheili attacked, their energy shields scrapping at the Chieftain’s shields and slowly weakening them… but at a horrible cost. In seconds Murpheous smashed three more Ultras, and hit a fourth one so hard that the poor Sangheili’s body folded in half.

Only three Ultras remained, so Tru7th, bearing his energy sword, ushered them behind him.

“You; and I Chieftain.” Tru7th challenged.

“So be it.” Murpheous growled… before launching himself high into the air and bringing his hammer straight down….

Into the snow, sending the stuff all over and through the air to be joined by the already thickly falling precipitation. Meanwhile, Tru7th had leapt aside, and was now on the offensive. The Zealot swung his energy sword at Murpheous’s flank… in which he cleanly missed as the Brute threw himself to the side, brought up his gravity hammer, and thrust it outward.

Unable to stall his forward momentum in time, Tru7th was hit by the full blast of the hammer and was flung back to land in the snow, his energy sword spinning away in delicate arcs. But the Zealot was still alive, as Murpheous couldn’t have put all his strength into a one-armed attack. Both opponents slowly got to their feet at the same time, barely able to see each other through the densely falling snow.

In fact, there was so much snow that the two had a vague idea that they were standing on several dozen feet of it, and their theory was proven as Tru7th’s still active energy sword melted through and fell so deep that it was beyond reach.

Tru7th was weaponless… at the moment. Just meters away, still nestled near a trio of dead Brutes, were two inactive energy swords.

“You have fought bravely, Zealot.” Murpheous stated. “But you shall now DIE!!!” The Chieftain put all of his immense strength into his legs, and then thrust himself high into the air with his gravity hammer above his head.

Tru7th waited for exactly one second, as moving too early would allow the Chieftain to change his trajectory, and then thrust himself at the dead Brutes… and their fallen energy swords. Meanwhile, Murpheous had brought his hammer down into the thick snow, making its head sink several feet and covering him with white. But Murpheous wasn’t a Chieftain for nothing, and, using his immense strength, he dragged and then swung the hammer directly at Tru7th.

Ahead of Tru7th was a wall of snow, flailing through the air directly at him, and accompanying it was Murpheous’s hammer. Acting quickly, the Zealot brought up his two captured energy swords and brought them up like shields, thrusting them forward into the oncoming veil of snow.

The Zealot’s and the Chieftain’s weapons collided, and Tru7th felt his hooves sink so deep into the snow that his head was now level with Murpheous’s chest. But, the Sangheili was the faster, and his swords flashed outwards and cut through the Brute’s shields.

Howling in alarm, Murpheous leapt back to avoid another slash of Tru7th’s blades and brought up his hammer into a defensive position, watching as Tru7th kicked his way back up through the snow with his two energy swords sizzling as snow pelted it.

The two circled each other… and began again.

This time, however, the battle was quick, as Murpheous swung his gravity hammer in a horizontal arc the energy sword in Tru7th’s left hand was sent through the seemingly impregnable veil of snow. However, Tru7th’s second energy sword sliced cleanly through the hammer’s hilt so that the Chieftain was left standing with two sides of his weapon.

But the battle was a stalemate, for Tru7th’s remaining energy sword winked off; battery depleted.

“You have indeed fought well.” Murpheous said, smiling a full set of razor sharp teeth.

Tru7th brought up a hand. “I will avenge my brothers’ deaths on your blood!!”

“Another time, then.” Murpheous replied, before leaping backwards and out of sight through the thickly falling snow.

Tru7th stayed his feet; it would be foolish to follow his adversary. Instead, he joined his remaining three Ultras and then, they too disappeared through the endless white….

  • 12.01.2008 7:29 PM PDT
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Hi. My name is Andrew. I'm Asian. Still trying to figure out who I am. Yup. That's it.

High Charity – Mausoleum of the Arbiter

Mirratord High Councilor Lai Tasha stepped past a pair of dead hunters and dozens of slain Sangheili and into, ultimately, the Mausoleum of the Arbiter, where an enormous battle raged.

The battle appeared to have gone on for quite some time, as dozens of dead Brutes and Sangheili littered the area, peppered with Drones, Jackals, and Grunts while dead Hunters stood out like pillars.

And yet, dozens of Brutes and Sangheili still clashed, with the Brutes themselves winning for the Grunts, Hunters, and Drones had sided with them. But the tables were to turn.

There was a flash of light as Lai’s energy sword activated, followed by his two comrades’. Behind the High Councilor, on his left, was Spartan-09. On the Sangheili’s right, Folded Steel; and behind even them was a dozen SPI troopers, their green armour shimmering as the dim lights overhead reflected upon them.

“Help those Elites then?” 09 asked. “Do you think they’ll try to fight us? After all, we aren’t exactly allies with Covenant Sangheili.”

Lai cocked his head, “Well then… I suppose it’s time we started an alliance.” The High Councilor charged forward, followed by the Spartans with their BR55 rifles booming… and then the SPI troopers, all firing their MA5Ks methodically.

Unknowing, the pinned Covenant Sangheili watched as a Human squad, led by a Sangheili, charge through the fray of plasma and directly into the oncoming assault of Jiralhanae and their allies.

Lai’s wavering gold energy sword spun in delicate arcs, as though he was a performer rather than a warrior, but he was nonetheless effective. Drones fell, sliced cleanly in half. Grunts were cut apart, their methane tanks bursting. Jackals, ugly and grotesque, screamed as their shields ripped apart and their insides followed suit. Hunters, hulking and powerful, fell as their armour cleaved apart upon the Mirratord High Councilor’s blade. And the Jiralhanae, vicious and angry, couldn’t even raise their weapons before their arms were cauterized and their bodies sliced apart.

The Spartans’ attack was no less effective, both firing their rifles in one hand, and in the other they held Saber-class blades in which they swung at their enemies like knights in medieval times.

Following the Spartans were the SPI troopers, their MA5Ks making a seemingly impregnable wave of lead and making Drones fall like rain. Once the Drones had been dealt with, the troopers started to work on the Grunts, and then the Jackals, and by the time they started to work on the Brutes the battle had been won.

“Warriors.” Lai Tasha called out. “It is safe!”

“Safe?!” One Sangheili replied, raising his head barely above cover. “Humans and Demons!! We must slaughter them all!!!”

“Um… no.” Lai answered. “They are noble and proud warriors, who have come to our aid as you will come to theirs.”

At this, seven Sangheili emerged from their cover, their armour slick with blood.

The leader, a Sangheili Major, stepped forward. “As you wish, but at the slightest betrayal I shall have their blood.”

“You need not fear, brother.” Lai assured. “Come, we must head to the hangar, I am leading a Sangheili evacuation from High Charity.”

The Major looked up. “Why is that, Councilor?”

Lai Tasha shook his head calmly. “Flood.”

Originating, practically next to their position, the Flood would spread, killing and taking over the bodies of the fallen, until they had completely taken over High Charity. Soon, the Covenant Holy City would be covered with infected Humans, Brutes, and even Hunters; while the Grunts and Jackals would be turned into Carrier forms and the Drones. And then… the Sangheili… with their unnatural, red, glowing eyes….
-----
PORTAL – Forerunner Structure, Africa, Earth…. One year after the Battles of the Mirratord


The newly anointed Mirratord High Councilor Aozora stepped through the grand archway leading inside PORTAL, the Forerunner structure that was found under the remains of New Mombasa. The place was bustling with activity, Humans and Sangheili alike, occasionally punctuated with the presence of a Brute Politian.

Murpheous, the Jiralhanae Chieftain and one of the heroes of the Battles of the Mirratord, or, more precisely, the final battle of the Mirratord. No, fighting hadn’t died out yet, as the Covenant had retreated to the very edge of Human and Sangheili controlled space, dozens of skirmishes still raged on. Hell; there was still fighting going on in the Sol system, even as he thought about it.

No, the fighting had not died down.

“Hey, HIGH COUNCILOR!!!” A voice called, somewhere behind him.

Aozora turned to find Aardvark, followed by the newly promoted Warbirds… who now replaced Aozora in the rank of Imperial Admiral.

“Aardvark.” Aozora said shortly. “Warbirds.”

“What kind of greeting is that?” Aardvark chided.

Aozora ignored the comment, turning to Warbirds. “How was your mission?”

“More or less… a failure.” Warbirds replied.

Aardvark shook her head. “Don’t be like that Admiral... we managed to evac all the citizens on Mars, those “Sentinels” or something.”

“They weren’t Sentinels.” Warbirds cut in.

“Whatever!” Aardvark said, rolling her eyes. “Those four legged machines, they’re very Sentinel-like.”

“Except for the fact that they can take out one of our Sangheili warriors in one shot… from over a kilometer away.”

“I’ll submit your reports to the High Council.” Aozora stated… as though he hadn’t heard a word the two had said.

“Done.” Warbirds answered, turning away. “I have to file some after-battle work anyways.”

Aardvark grabbed Warbirds’s shoulder before he could take a step, eyeing the retreating form of Aozora; which quickly disappeared into the bustling crowd.

“What is it?” Warbirds asked.

“Hasn’t Aozora been acting a little… stiff, lately?” She sniffed.

“I would not know.” Came the reply.

“Just, here’s something I haven’t told anyone.” Aardvark said. “A year ago, after the Battle of the Mirratord and after Murpheous’s speech… I turned to Aozora and he had….” She turned to look around, and seeing nothing but rushed Humans and Sangheili: “Red eyes.”

“So you’re saying that the Flood strand has been active in Aozora?”

“Not like Spartan-249 active, he’s been toting it around like a toy… ran an entire kilometer in less than a minute.” Aardvark replied. “No, it’s like he’s keeping it in… for something. And he’s holding it a secret.”

Out of nowhere, a figure burst through the crowd… shoving a trio of Humans to the ground. On either side of the archway, Sangheili and Jiralhanae Honour guards tensed visibly.

“Urggg… sorry.” The figure apologized, before turning to face the two Strike Team members. It was Spartan-249. “Oy! Aardvark! Warbirds! I’d like to stay and chat but I gotta talk to Lai about something… maybe next time?”

The Spartan bustled off before Aardvark could even say hello.

“Seems like everyone is holding a secret somewhere.” Warbirds noted.

“Urggg, his yellow eyes freak me out.” Aardvark shuddered. “Not natural… for a Human at least. I’d better follow him, see what’s up.”

“Goodbye, Aardvark.” Warbirds said.

Aardvark turned, “And tell Folded Steel congratulations for his induction into the Strike Team for me, will you? I don’t really have the time to tell him myself.”

“It will be done.”

“Thanks.”

  • 12.01.2008 7:30 PM PDT
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Hi. My name is Andrew. I'm Asian. Still trying to figure out who I am. Yup. That's it.

Three days earlier….

The red sky above was unnatural, quite unlike any world that Aardvark had ever been to. The Strike Team member instantly realized why Humanity was cautious about settling such a Martian world. That and the oncoming cloud of dust that approached the habitation domes that she, Imperial Admiral Warbirds, fifty Mirratord Sangheili Majors, and twenty-five SPI troopers were protecting. At least, for as long as they could until all the civilians who had lived in the habitation domes could be evacuated. Already two entire platoons of UNSC Marines were gone, killed by the unknown menace that loomed ever closer.

It wasn’t the cloud of dust itself that Aardvark was worried about, more like what was creating it. They had appeared, at first in small numbers, on Mars almost immediately after the Battle of the Mirratord, amidst the wreckage of the unnamed Super-Carrier and the thousands of wreckages of accompanying ships. At first, everyone thought that were simple harvester drones, bearing the same structure: four long, metallic and flexible legs, a single sphere that hovered above the legs, and a single cylinder that was on the sphere and ultimately… could fire a laser that could still penetrate multiple layers of shielding a kilometer away.

The nature of their weapons made them appear to be a different model of Sentinel, though everyone was unsure… all they knew was that they started to attack Human colonies and started to multiply in number. To top it all off, zombies, quite like the ones who had been present onboard the Super-Carrier, started to appear in the habitation domes that had been destroyed. Aardvark wanted to know what they were, where they originated and why, but she doubted that they would find out. Their only lead was the voice that had boomed onboard the Super-Carrier, a robotic and metallic voice.

“Echo!” Warbirds called, saying Aardvark’s code-name. “Beam rifles, you lead Alpha Team. Try to cover Beta as we head into the dome!”

“Got it.” Aardvark replied, fiddling awkwardly in her Sangheili Pressure Armour. “Let’s try to get this over as soon as possible, I HATE this armour.”

“Roger that, maintain COM silence until I break it.”

Aardvark winked green, and then followed Alpha team (twenty-five SPI troopers armed with beam rifles) up to the top of the dome.

The lead SPI trooper motioned erratically: two fingers jabbing at the vague direction of the machines… targets nearing optimal range. Seconds later, two fingers changed to five… targets within optimal range.

“At your discretion shooter.” Aardvark muttered to herself… and then opened fire.

The Sangheili warrior was somewhat horrible at sniping… in general. So she was amazed as on of the machines toppled and fell, slowly freezing as its internal heating mechanism failed. The rest of the SPI force opened fire soon after, and more of the “Calvary” charge fell. However, the machines weren’t in the least helpless… and dozens of lances of energy lashed out, licking at the SPI troopers and damaging their armour.

The lead SPI trooper flashed out a four-fingered hand… retreat and regroup, and reengage with guerilla tactics. Instantly, the other SPI troopers back away to the other side of the dome just so that they were out of the machines’ view. Return fire slowed and finally came to a stop, so the SPI troopers poked their heads and weapons up, opened fire, and ducked back down.

This time, however, there was no return fire at all.

“Something’s up….” Aardvark whispered.

The leader motioned to the other SPI troopers… and then they simultaneously stood up at the same time. Just as quickly, twenty-five lasers shot out, penetrated individual helmets, and sent the SPI troopers tumbling down from their cover.

Aardvark was shocked… and angry….
-----

“Status on Alpha team?” Warbirds whispered.

“Alpha team is down, these machines seem to learn from previous tactics and find a way around them.” Aardvark’s voice replied.

“Sit tight then, Tru7th and Spartan-09 are moving in with a platoon of Sangheili Ultras. Wait for them to arrive before any further action.”

“Yes Admiral.”

Warbirds shut off the COM, and then looked around in the interior of the deserted dome. It was all but pitch black, only punctuated by the minute glowing of Sangheili armour. Then, something else contributed to the very few light sources… sparks, coming from the main entrance leading inside the dome. The machines were breaking in.

“Beam rifles, fire through the bulkhead the moment it blows, but then draw your blades and send them to eternity!” Warbirds hissed. The Mirratord Sangheili growled in acknowledgement.

The sparks started to intensify in both numbers and luminosity… and then stopped.

“Steady….”

The bulkhead blew apart, and the Mirratord force fired a total of fifty lances of plasma through the newly created entrance. Seconds later, nothing emerged.

Warbirds frowned… and then a thought hit him like a sledgehammer. “EVASIVE MANUEVERS! NOW!!!”

Rigid in discipline, the Mirratord Sangheili did not question their leader but instead rolled, ducked, and leapt in zigzag patterns all over the dome’s interior while the ceiling opened up as individual lasers rained down upon them. At the same time, the area around the bulkhead blasted apart and sent chunks of metal and atmosphere out into Mars’s surface just as the unknown machines trooped in with their lasers flashing. A dozen Mirratord Sangheili drew their energy swords but were shot down subsequently by dozens more lasers. The rest moved into locations that the enemy wave of fire didn’t reach, practically the edge of the dome, and they opened fire with their beam rifles.

“Warriors!” Warbirds called. “Blow sector 2-B!!!”

Immediately, the Sangheili opened fire on the ground just in the middle of the dome… and the floor exploded. Thousands of shards of metal and a pillar of fire raged from the area; shattering the top of the dome and sending the majority of the machines through the air as the rest of the atmosphere was sucked away with violent force. Meanwhile, the Sangheili stayed safe for they hung on with powerful magnetic soles.

Aardvark’s voice came in. “Tru7th’s here, same as 09. They’re currently engaged with a dozen of those machines outside the dome compound.”

“Tell them to move through, get to the evac point.”

“Right away.”
-----

Spartan-09 cursed as a particularly thick beam of energy flashed by his head, making his shields flare and practically blinding him… so that he accidentally smacked straight into one of the machines. However, the Spartan weighed two tons in his armour, so smacking into something was actually parallel to a full blown tackle. All in all, the machine was quickly smashed into Mars’s surface.

Meanwhile, Tru7th was fighting a raging battle with his Ultras, each and every one of them dual wielded plasma rifles which proved effective against the machines, melting their metal armour and disrupting the delicate wiring below. Instantly, the gold armoured Zealot and his Ultras carved their way through and were already heading into a large courtyard filled with machinery. That and the machines themselves which quickly opened fire.

“Moving into position!” 09 reported, running through hard earth and bringing up his beam rifle, which he fired multiple times and brought down an equal number of hostiles.

“Demon.” Tru7th replied. “Head through the compound and link up with the Imperial Admiral, get to the evac and await us there.”

The Sangheili’s voice was so freaking calm, and it made 09 slightly nervous. But he readied his beam rifle and prepared to finish his mission. Maybe afterwards, a couple of days of R and R. Now that would be awesome.
-----

Unknown Date/ Eiffel Camp: Planet A-200… Spartan-II/B training facility
Currently under attack by Covenant forces

Spartan-200, Folded Steel, moved into position with his S2 AM sniper rifle out and ready. Next to him was Spartan-249, also armed with a sniper rifle. They each lay on a large hill that overlooked Eiffel Camp, which had been the entire Bravo Company’s home for ten full blown years… nearly half their lives. But not anymore, a Covenant carrier hovered directly above Eiffel Camp, dropping down hundreds of Elites, Grunts, and Jackals.

All in all, everyone was evacuating as fast as possible.

  • 12.01.2008 7:36 PM PDT
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Hi. My name is Andrew. I'm Asian. Still trying to figure out who I am. Yup. That's it.

Folded Steel’s and 249’s mission was suicidal, a “lose one to save a hundred” type of mission. It was actually absurdly simple as well, simply cover the rest of Bravo Company with sniper fire while they moved to an extraction point just below the carrier’s field of fire. From there, Pelican dropships would pick them up, and then a UNSC cruiser would jump in system to evacuate the ninety Spartans. (Bravo Company started off with one-hundred, eight of which died in previous missions minus 249 and Folded Steel.)

“249, this is 283… over. We need a best route.” Came a voice over the COM. Spartan-283, Bravo Company leader with the rank of Commander.

“249 to 283, head due west of your position, proceed half a kilometer and then make a hard left into an alleyway.”

“Roger that.”

Far away in the middle of Eiffel Camp, a large group of Spartans were seen running through with their rifles flaring. All around them, Elites, Grunts, and Jackals fell in large numbers, aided and abetted by 249’s and Folded Steel’s skilled marksmanship.

Folded Steel hit the COM just as he nailed an Elite Zealot directly in the head, making it flop lifeless to the bloodstained ground. “Marine forces ahead of your position, they are under heavy fire I repeat: they are under heavy fire. Advise you come to their aid.”

“Negative, the Admiral’s orders are clear: head to the evacuation point as quickly as possible. They’ll just slow us down… I’m sorry Ford.” Came 283’s reply.

“Roger that.” Folded Steel said in a hard voice. He shook his head and muttered, “Poor bastards.”

249 continued to look through his rifle’s scope, eyeing one Spartan from the rest and bringing down any Covenant bastard that dared to open fire. There was no possible way that he was going to let any harm come to her… never.

Folded Steel, meanwhile, continued to snipe at the general flank of the Spartan team, clearing out roughly seventy percent of the hostile troops. “Proceed another half kilometer now; Pelicans are waiting at the landing pad... good luck guys.”

There was a pause over the COM. “Thank you both… we couldn’t have done this without you.”

249 hit the COM. “283, one favour… tell 255… ‘je taime’.”

There was silence over the COM once again. “Roger that 249… goodbye.”

Far ahead, with the setting sun in the background, five Pelicans rose into the air and cut through the A-200’s atmosphere, heading to the UNSC cruiser.

“Good luck everyone….” 249 whispered.

Then something went horribly wrong, the Carrier above started to head upwards… towards the UNSC destroyer. There was a lance of plasma and then a sick flash of white….
-----
PORTAL, Earth – Year 2554

Spartan-249 got up with a start, gasping for breath. It was the dream… again. Bravo Company’s last mission together… Bravo Company’s end. Only he and Folded Steel remained… and yet.

There was a nagging feeling in the back of 249’s head; he couldn’t tell if it was the Flood strand inside him… or instinct. Then he remembered all at once… a tiny voice that meant everything. For, as they had evacuated the Super-Carrier at the end of Battle of the Mirratord, a voice had come out of a terminal just as 249 himself passed it.


“Thank you for freeing me. Your brothers are alive. 25-09-555”

A message, from Ado Mormoslee… and stellar coordinates. 249’s mind roared as he stood up, donned his MJOLNIR armour, and headed out. High Councilor Lai Tasha… that was his destination….
-----

Aardvark passed through yet another grand archway and into the very center of the PORTAL facility, an awesome platform that descended kilometers below ground to the lower facilities where most Sangheili and Human envoys worked. That, and Lai Tasha’s office was there.

The Strike Team Councilor waited for the platform to rise, and it did so slowly. For lack of convenience, the platform took an entire hour just to descend to the lower areas, so Human and Sangheili technicians had quickly fitted it with many different facilities, such as one for working out, another with several plush and conformable chairs with a grand holo-panel in their midst that always showed the news. Other things included a snack area, a reference area, and even miniature offices should one be piled with work and needed a silent place to attend to them.

“Platform has reached top floor, all passengers please exit.” A Human attendant announced. A small crowd, maybe about thirty people or so, immediately filed out. Then, a final figure exited… it was Spartan-249.

“Euh, hey Aardvark.” 249 greeted. “Sorry I still can’t chat but um… I got to go. Au revoir then.”

He scurried off, leaving Aardvark to mutter to herself dark and suspicious thoughts as she boarded the platform and prepared the long descent down.

Luckily, a familiar figure entered along with her… it was Acetylcholine, his ODST armour donned, though his helmet was absent.

The Human smiled and said, “Hey Councilor, how’s it going?”

“Just going to see Lai Tasha, who seems to insist upon being holed up in his cave.” Aardvark replied. “How about you Ace? I hear that the construction of the new Super-Carrier has been quite a challenge.”

“That’s an understatement.” Ace chided. “Diamond coated titanium alloy… it’s hard enough mining the stuff from Mars without those god damn machine thingies. But this has been absolutely nothing compared to making three Normandy-class Corvettes, now that was a pain in the ass.”

“You’ve reconstructed the Normandy? How come I never heard about that?”

“Well um….” Ace scratched his head. “They were kept a big secret, but if you simply head to PORTAL’s hangar you should find the Versailles, the Midnight Paris, and the Bordeaux waiting… though I think the Bordeaux is the Supreme Commander’s personal ship.”

“Cool, can’t wait to see them.” Aardvark replied enthusiastically, but changed the subject to a much darker one. “Any luck with Aozora’s… “probleme”?”

“No.” Ace replied. “He’s refused to go into any diagnostic tests, and data from 249 won’t match up because… well, the species difference.”

“That’s great.” Aardvark muttered. “Maybe we should knock the High Councilor out and take some blood samples there and then.”

“Well it’s not that simple; I got to have Aozora in a concious state so I can get some brain activity readings and whatnot. Added to that, even if we forced the High Councilor into my lab, he’d probably kick my ass and ask questions later.”

“That’s true.”

“Yes it is.”

The two stood for a few seconds, contemplating their thoughts, until Aardvark said, “Well, I guess I’m heading to the gym, wanna come?”

Acetylcholine shook his head. “Nah, I need to catch up on some stuff, need an inventory list for the ‘Emerald Nebulae’… stuff like that.”

“The ‘Emerald Nebulae’???” Aardvark asked incredulously.

“Hey!” Ace protested, holding up his hands. “I don’t come up with these names!”

“No, just sounds pretty cool.”

“Great, because I made it up.”

“See you later Ace.”

“Goodbye, Aardvark.”

From there, Aardvark proceeded to the gym, taking one look at the time and realizing that her chat with Acetylcholine only took five minutes out of sixty.

“Damn.” Aardvark muttered, grabbing a set of weights and hefting them.
-----

“Platform has reached bottom floor, all passengers please exit.” The Human attendant announced.

Aardvark exited, going through yet another grand archway that glowed blue, even in the well-lit corridors that were no less magnificent. The Forerunners were great architects, that was for sure. The Sangheili strode through the hushed and bustling crowd, smaller Humans swerving to avoid her. Tensions between Humans and Sangheili were still high, Aardvark couldn’t blame them. Years of fighting and slaughter didn’t easily disappear.

Aardvark entered Lai’s office, where he sat on a gravity chair shuffling through files on his computer terminal.

But at the sight of the Councilor, Lai switched the screen off and said, “Hey Aardvark, what’s up?”

“Hi Lai.” Aardvark replied. “Nothing much, just came to see you about… oh, by the way, I saw 249 as I came here, where’s he going?”

“Nowhere much, just to get a ship.”

“For?”

“Um, he got a message from Ado Mormoslee saying that his Spartan company was still alive, or most of them.”

“WHAT?!!? And you LET HIM??!!”

Lai held up his hands. “I said ‘no’! But honestly, do you think he’ll listen?”

“No.” Aardvark answered, calming down. “But we got to stop him; he’s probably walking into a trap or something!”

“You’re welcome to do so if you want.”

“You don’t really care, do you Lai?”

“Honestly, he can take care of himself. Plus, Tru7th and Spartan-09 are coming with him.”

“WHAT?!!”

“Oh jeez.” Lai said, rolling his Sangheili eyes. “He took the Normandy-class Corvette, the Versailles. But actually, I don’t want you to go after him.”

“Why?” Aardvark challenged.

“Just don’t.” Lai calmly replied.

Aardvark turned, storming out the door just as Warbirds entered.

“Where is Aardvark going?” He asked.

“To get a ship.” Lai replied shortly.

  • 12.01.2008 7:41 PM PDT
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Hi. My name is Andrew. I'm Asian. Still trying to figure out who I am. Yup. That's it.

Aardvark entered the Midnight Paris, followed closely by Evil-37 and Folded Steel.

“Let me get this straight… you’re trying to stop 249 from getting himself killed?” Evil asked.

“Along with Tru7th and Spartan-09, but yes.” Aardvark replied.

Folded Steel strapped himself into the Midnight Paris’s pilot seat. “Well, I guess we’d better hurry then.”

-----

“I need you to come with me… on a mission.”

“What is it?” Warbirds asked.

“Well….” Lai started, turning to his terminal. It showed a map of the galaxy, and a single, beeping dot at the location of Installation 05. “Aozora’s jumped the gun, and I think we need to get him out.”

“He’s gone to the Flood?”

“More like to stop them, but yes. Suppressing that Flood gene made it take over him quite fast, faster than if he let it all out like 249 does.”

“It affects Sangheili different than Humans?”

“I’m afraid so, but… I’ll need you to get Murpheous; he’s had experience with the Flood. Tell him we’re heading to installation 05.”

“Yes, High Councilor.” Warbirds’s voice faded out of view….

~ CHRONICLES OF THE MIRRATORD: BRAVO COMPANY ~
-----
It's a collection of battles that'll eventually lead up to the main story.
A work in progress, but, as I said, there's always room for improvement. Merci beaucoup, if anyone reads this.

-forThida_249

  • 12.01.2008 7:44 PM PDT