- Sergeant Murph
- |
- Noble Legendary Member
Chapter 2
Frontline
The constant bickering going on in the Phantom was distracting, Elites expressing their personal feelings about Truth's broadcast. Of course, none of them had anything kind to say.
"Full responsibility? Isn't it the Honor Guards' duty to protect the Prophets? Why should we be the ones taking the blame? Our infantry was doing all we could to stop the Demon!" shouted the Ultra that had given me that strange look.
"Calm, Kovalee. All we can do now is show the Hierarchs that we are their greatest warriors," replied a SpecOps Elite. I noticed he said this very carefully, as if he was afraid to upset him.
Then, the one called Kovalee, shook his heads, and continued talking.
"Cowards, the Honor Guards were. If they're job was to protect the Hierarchs at all costs, why is Regret dead? Obviously they are not so honorable."
The instant I heard cowards and Honor Guards linked together, I was steaming, annoyed that this soldier would dare insult the Honor Guard of the Covenant in such a manner. What did he know?
Calm down, I thought to myself, taking a deep breath. Fighting would only get me into more trouble. I sat against the wall, drowning out all other voices, and waited.
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Hours later we landed in the snowy peeks of Delta Halo. It was an amazing sight, being so high up in the mountains, looking back at the lake.
Looking back at where the temple once stood. Four day old memories were brought back.
"My brothers, recently we have been unfairly blamed for Regret's death. But now, we shall regain our honor, and continue our quest to salvation!" shouted the SpecOps officer that had brought me to the armory. He looked around at all of us.
A battle cry came from every soldier there, except me. I remained silent, just as I always had. I looked ove
"We shall split up to find these outposts. They are the key to taking back our sacred ring," the officer stated, gathering us all together to split us up.
Every squad was made up of two elites, eight grunts, and two jackals. My partner just happened to be the one I hated most. The only one I hated for that matter. Kovalee, the Ultra Elite.
Immediately, he stepped up in front of us, giving us all a quick scan. I heard him grunt when he saw me. Apparently, he was the leader of our squad, and no one argued.
"We shall make a path southeast. I suspect the Humans are camping somewhere by the lake. There are plenty of forgotten ruins for the cowards to hide behind."
I saw him look over the mountain and sigh, as if he didn't want to leave. As if he wanted the Humans to come to him.
We parted ways with the rest of the crew, and began our march. Kovalee walked beside me, making me feel very short. He was at least a foot taller than me and was very broad shouldered. His legs were tremendously strong, as if they could jump across planets.
For a good amount of time we walked, all of us rather silent. Every once and a while Kovalee would shake off the pure white snow that stuck to his armor. My red armor was almost completely drenched in a blanket of white.
As if out of no where, the sound of unfamiliar voices echoed throughout the mountain, coming from the river right below us.
"Humans! We shall burn them all!" shouted Kovalee, drawing a handle off of his belt. He ignited his energy sword, sending out a burst of blue light. It seemed to fit his personality perfectly.
A grunt crept over to a rock and spied down towards the lake.
"Enemies! Enemies here!" he screeched, running back toward us. No sooner had he said that did I hear Humans yelling and guns being loaded.
I drew my Plasma Rifle, although I had no intent to shoot with it. I simply peeked just above the rock to catch a glimspe of hundreds of shots coming in my direction. I ducked behind the rock, breathing hard, sweat pouring down my face.
Kovalee leaped over both me and the rock. His giant figure soared over me with ease. "Engage!"
I lifted my head again to see all eleven of them running down the hillside. Grunts and Jackals shot furiously out of their Plasma Pistols, letting go of the green bursts rapidly. The Humans, however, used more advanced tactics, drawing away lesser fire so they could take down the important ones: Kovalee.
"God Dammit, that ones got a sword!" shouted one of them, cowering behind a ruin. I could just see the tip of his face, bright red.
I had never seen anybody fight as hard as Kovalee. In my eyes, it looked like everyone was shooting at him, but nothing worked. His energy shields glowed, but did not disapear. He slashed the sword witht the precision of a master, not swinging wildily, but calm and controlled.
"I got 'em!" yelled a dark skinned Human, aiming his semiautomatic weapon at Kovalee. He was too slow to get the shot off, though. Kovalee soared in, and felled the Human with one fatal uppercut, slicing into his flesh.
All the Unggoy had been killed, piled up by a pillar. There was one Human, a man that was short, but broad, wearing no head protection, revealing his brown hair, had killed them all with ease, using a human close-range weapon that I had become familiar with. The 'Shotgun'.
"Anderson, the one with the sword!" coughed the dark skinned soldier, laying flat on his back, completely drenched in blood. Sure enough, behind him Kovalee came sprinting from behind a pillar, teeth clenched. Only two more strides and the soldier would be in half.
"BEHIND YOU!" I shouted, not thinking at all. Anderson turned around, Shotgun ready, and caught Kovalee off guard. I ducked down so I wouldn't see. All I heard was the bullet leaving the weapon, and Kovalee screaming in pain.
"Alien scum!" Anderson shouted. I heard the sound of Kovalee's armor being kicked.
My heart started to beat incredibly fast, my eyes blurring. I breathed as if I was being choked, with each breath there was a pain in my head. I had aided in the death of my only partner.
I stood up and started walking backwards, hoping to be unnoticed, then broke into a full sprint the other way. I soon realized I hadn't even helped! All I had done was watch, just as I had last time. My Plasma Rifle's battery still read 100%.
What was I to do? That was a question I asked myself so many times. Now, I was stuck in the mountains, probably being hunted like an animal, and there was no where to go. My COM system was functioning, but who wouldmI contact? The officer, so I could tell him I was a traitor?
I stopped. Behind me, there was some sort of buzzing noise. It came closer and closer, getting louder as it did. I ran faster and faster everytime it sounded close, until finally, three Human vehicles skidded in front of me, turrets pointed at my face.
"Don't shoot!" I screamed, realizing it was the first thing I had said in a long time. Casting away my Rifle and Needler, I dropped to the snow.
I got down on my knees and waited. I didn't care anymore. I didn't care if I died At least I would finally be free from this war. In my mind, I knew this was the end.
A soldier got out of the drivers seat and stood in front of me. I didn't dare perk up to look him in the eyes.
"Thank you," he said. For moments I was stunned, confused. A Human was thanking me?
I slowly raised my head, deciding I would take the chance to look at him. Standing before me was the Human's leader, Anderson. He must have seen the hopeless look in my eyes.
"We're not going to kill you, but you're going to answer some questions," he said, stretching out his hand. I grabbed on to it and pulled myself up. It felt strange to be near your enemy, and not think of him as an enemy. The only enemy I had in this war were the remaining Hierarchs, Truth and Mercy, filling Regret's emplty void.
"Get in the Warthog. We've got some work to do before we get back to base," he told me, commanding the other 2 'Warthogs' to be on their way. Still unsure about the man, I was still frightened. I got in the vehicle anyway, my fingers trembling.
End Transmission
[Edited on 10.13.2008 12:45 PM PDT]