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This topic has moved here: Subject: Collapse, a Halo fanfic.
  • Subject: Collapse, a Halo fanfic.
Subject: Collapse, a Halo fanfic.
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What of the Covenant, he thought. Ages of faithful service has come down to this.

Jiralhanae and Sangheili, both worthy, yet both bitter from conflict and vying for our favor.

Truth had contemplated this for many years, but now that the day was upon him, he felt twinges of remorse.

The Sangheili were brilliant tacticians and disciplined fighters who had long ago proven their worth. Long the strength of the Covenant, they had led the war against the humans with great success until the advent of the Demons. The Human presence on Earth was unexpected, unfortunate, but with soldiers like these, the Covenant was ensured victory, even at the cost of thousands of ships.

The Brutes, however, while not as cunning in combat and prone to revert to their animal instincts at an inopportune moment, were far more effective on the ground. Their victories came without the hindrances the Sangheili placed on themselves by insisting on giving the Humans a fighting chance. The Brutes were more than willing to backstab, to strike their enemies while wounded, hence, to be victorious.

Doubt, Truth realized, had begun to sink into the Sangheili. They had begun to view themselves as equals to the Prophets. They were not falling from their faith, yet. But to do so was inevitable. The Sangheili were beginning to be inflicted with the condition which had made the Humans unfit, nay, dangerous, for the Covenant. By course, however, the Jiralhanae were as devoted to the Prophet's cause as any could hope them to be.

Regret had been failed by the Sangheili, giving the Jiralhanae further reason to despise them.

So it would be done. The Sangheili now posed a threat to the Great Journey, and the Jiralhanae would be unleashed upon them.

And what of the Fleets?

The cleansing of the Sangheili would prove costly, indeed. They would fall in great numbers in the beginning, with an unannounced and uncoordinated attack on board all Covenant vessels. The Jiralhanae were stronger than the Sangheili, but it was almost certain that much of the fleet would fall under their control once the fighting ceased. Would the Sangheili attack High Charity to destroy the Prophets within, or would they submit, waiting for commands?

Would the Sangheili survivors be destroyed by the rest of the fleet, or would the fleet then prove too weak to penetrate the Human home world's defenses?

The risk was too great, Truth realized. The Ark would be vulnerable if the Sangheili were left command of ships. Those ships they took would have to be destroyed by Jiralhanae vessels or the city's defenses themselves.

What of the others, Truth thought. What of the Kig-Yar and the Yamn'ee? What of the mighty Lekgolo? The pitiful Unngoy would almost certainly side with their traditional masters, but would their feeble ranks turn the tide? Where would loyalties lie once the shooting began?

These things weighed heavily on the aging Prophet's mind, but he realized it was beyond his sight. The order would form as it may. Truth planned to abandon High Charity before conflict began, but the war had already started. Jiralhanae and Sangheili were starting isolated battles within the city. The Covenant was prepared to break, and Truth had only to declare the Jiralhanae his allies, and the Sangheili his enemies, to bring all things to a close. The Great Journey was about to begin, and the Jiralhanae would be the Prophet's escorts.

Then let it be so.

Truth spoke the order, and war broke loose in High Charity.

The Tenth Age of Reclamation had begun.

  • 03.19.2009 7:04 PM PDT

Posted by: A Bit Of Zero
This thread would have appealed to me more if it was written with crayons.
Posted by: King Dutchy
I broke one of the cords for my X11s because I couldn't get past the final American course in Doritos Crash Course.

nicely done - written like a pro

  • 03.19.2009 7:14 PM PDT
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Posted by: SkilPhil
nicely done - written like a pro


Thanks! Next chapter is fairly short.

Coming soon, to a forum near- Nevermind.

I have this all written in notepad, so I can post it whenever.

[Edited on 03.19.2009 7:28 PM PDT]

  • 03.19.2009 7:23 PM PDT
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The wind swept over a rocky cliff overlooking one of Installation 05's vast oceans. A beam of light streaked down from the sky and with a pulse of energy that lasted less than a second, an Elite in ceremoniously-plated armor materialized on the edge of the cliff.

The Elite rubbed his arms in disgust, as if trying to wipe off the stench of the Flood leader he had so recently encountered. Looking warily at his surroundings, the Elite thought he heard the distant fire of a plasma rifle. Realizing that he was unarmed, the Arbiter scanned the ground nearby for a weapon.

Lying in a puddle of purple blood was a plasma rifle.

He picked up the weapon and found it had not been fired.

The Sangheili warrior who bore this was murdered in cold blood, the Arbiter realized. Hearing two bursts from a Brute Shot, he saw one grenade fly from a wooded gully out to sea.

Then a blue plasma burst streaked into the sky.

The Arbiter's grip tightened around his weapon and he headed down the purpled trail.

  • 03.19.2009 7:29 PM PDT
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Posted by: SkilPhil
nicely done - written like a pro


What do you like in particular about it, if anything in particular?

  • 03.19.2009 7:49 PM PDT
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Jatharus scratched his wooly back and lazily plodded along the blood-stained trail. The fighting here was done, but he would be damned if he were to take part in removing the corpses of the fallen Councillors.

Let them rot, he thought, shooting one of the bodies for good measure.

A flash of movement passed in the corner of his eye. Looking to his right, he saw another dead Elite lying under a bush. He plodded over to the body, glanced over his shoulder, and aimed to fire on the dead Elite.

A sword forged of plasma exploded through his belly, spattering the dead Elite in oily black blood. The sword withdrew and Jatharus clutched his stomach. Before he had a chance to scream, the sword had cut off his head.

Two of Jatharus' companions were only a short distance away, disposing of the dead Elites at a relaxed pace. Taralus dragged one body to a small opening to the sea and kicked it off the cliff, watching it limply drop four hundred feet into the churning water below. Hearing the thump of a body behind him, Taralus turned around to see a lone Elite glaring at him, standing over Taralus' dead companion with a plasma sword. The Elite assumed a fighting stance and motioned for the Brute to approach.

It took Taralus several seconds to recognize the Elite's armor. He threw down his weapon and charged the Elite, shouting "Die, Arbiter!"

  • 03.19.2009 8:15 PM PDT
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The Captain of the Jiralhanae shifted impatiently. He heard an animal wail which was quickly choked out. He growled and barked an order to two of his underlings.

"Go and see what's taking them so long!"

The two brutes, their hides brown with youth, eagerly charged out of sight around a corner. The captain growled to himself. The Prophets would not be pleased with their progress, as some of the Councillors had managed to escape. How could they possibly be pleased if the disloyal heretics were not destroyed?

Plasma fire echoed for a few moments. The Captain heard small bursts from a Brute Shot and then a larger explosion which must have been a plasma grenade.

One less to deal with, he thought.

A flash of movement passed in front of his eyes. The Captain watched it, warily loading his Brute Shot. Suddenly the anomaly took form as the Arbiter's active camoflage generator powered down. The Captain paused for a moment incredulously seeing that the Arbiter was holding two Brute Plasma Rifles. The Arbiter opened fire. Hot plasma seared the Captain's thick hide and scorched his face. He fired two grenades at the Arbiter in blind rage, who nimbly dodged them and took cover behind a large boulder.

The Captain snarled and charged around the other side. The Arbiter was just standing there, rearing his fist back as if punching the Captain would do any good.

The Arbiter tightened his grip around the plasma sword's hilt, and twin blades shot forth, skewering the Brute Captain through the throat in two places.

The Captain's eyes widened in shock. He dropped his Brute Shot, and the Arbiter kicked the Brute Captain off of his sword. The Brute Captain fell to his knees, clutching his neck and gasping for breath as his lungs filled with blood. He fell on his side, kicked one last time, and was forever stilled, black blood pouring out of his open mouth.

The Arbiter deactivated his energy sword and looked upon the carnage around him. The Councillors had all been slaughtered in cold blood.

"By the Rings, what have these Brutes done?"

The Arbiter looked to the ridge above him to see a black-armored Elite with an Energy sword overlooking the gully. The other Elite tightened his fist.

"They have shed our brothers' blood, and for that they must die!"

Three capsules streaked out of the sky and crashed into the ground in the gully, another landing out of sight around the ridge. The capsules burst open and three Sangheili warriors charged out, weapons ready.

One of the Elites, a Ship Master in golden armor, saw the dead Captain, and gave a slight bow to the Arbiter before continuing up the ridge.

"Come, Arbiter, there are more Brutes to kill!"

"Long have I waited for this!"

The Arbiter looked once more at the dead Captain, whose holographic red flag waved weakly in the breeze and flickered out. He turned to follow his fellows up the ridge when five more capsules streaked down from the sky and crashed to a halt in the ground. The capsules fell open one at a time and a Human soldier staggered out of each.

"-blam!-, I'm seeing stars!" one said.

One of the Humans shook himself and looked up to see himself staring down the barrels of half a dozen plasma rifles held by three Elites.

The other Humans, armed with a variety of Covenant and Human weapons, took aim at the Elites, but the human in front held up a tightly-closed fist. The Elites tensed, but the humans lowered their weapons.

The first Human lowered his arm and looked around. Seeing two dead Brutes and many dead Elites, but no dead Humans, he aimed his carbine at the head of the nearest dead Brute. He fired a single shot, causing blood, bone and brain to stain the ground black, before speaking.

"If you honestly think you have anything to gain by killing us, then by all means do so. If not, then you are going to let us fight."

At that moment, the black-armored Elite from the fourth capsule appeared from the forest and stepped between the Sangheili and the Humans.

"Hold your fire, my brothers. The humans have fought by my side."

  • 03.19.2009 8:46 PM PDT

Now I don't say this often, but this is amazing. Looks like I've got some competition....

  • 03.20.2009 1:12 AM PDT
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Posted by: Wolverfrog
Now I don't say this often, but this is amazing. Looks like I've got some competition....


Thanks!

But I don't want to compete. :'(

  • 03.20.2009 9:02 AM PDT

Nah, I was only joking. I wish you the best of luck.

  • 03.20.2009 10:35 AM PDT
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Posted by: Wolverfrog
Nah, I was only joking. I wish you the best of luck.


Thanks.

  • 03.20.2009 2:32 PM PDT
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Chapter One: The Enemy of My Enemy

"What is the meaning of this," the Ship Master demanded, "it is the will of the Prophets that the humans be destroyed!"

"Times have changed, and we must adapt or die," the black-armored Elite began, "it is time to reconsider our loyalties."

"Will of the prophets? You mean the guys who just condemned your entire race to death for no reason?" one of the other marines carrying a Fuel Rod Cannon spat. "How's that feel, huh?"

The Ship Master activated his plasma sword and began to approach the marine who had just spoken. Reacting instantly, the human who had shot the dead brute dropped his carbine and unsheathed his standard-issue combat knife, standing between the Ship Master and his intended target.

The Ship Master paused, reconsidering. The human's weapon looked pathetically small in his hand, and to attack the Sangheili with only that would mean certain death. The human's message was clear: the Elites had the upper hand and there would be no honor in killing these humans.

The Arbiter, in attempts to defuse the situation, was the next to speak."What do you speak of, human, that the Prophets would condemn us to death?"

The human sheathed his knife and detached a part of his helmet with a single black eye in it.

"If you want proof, here's my personal video unit. It recorded everything I saw and heard from when I was released from the jail of that Covenant installation to this very moment. One of the Prophets was addressing the entire installation from some sort of intercom system. He said something about the Elites failing to protect the Prophets and that the Brutes needed help from other Covenant fighting classes to get rid of the Elites. Truth, I believe Cortana called him. He also ordered the..."

The human stopped and looked at the ground around him, stained purple and littered with dead Elites, all wearing identical armor unlike any he had seen before. Now recognizing their significance, he took a breath and continued.

"...the Councilors to converge on Halo. All I know is that from watching the fights, the Brutes, buggers and Jackals were killing off the Elites, Grunts and Hunters. They were putting up a hell of a fight, I might add. But don't ask me, ask him."

The black-armored Mirratord turned to the Arbiter and spoke reverently.

"The human speaks the truth, Arbiter. I heard the words from the wretched Prophet's very mouth. With his blessing, the Jiralhanae began scouring High Charity of the Sangheili and all who fought by our side."

The Arbiter weighed this in his mind. The Mirratord were the best warriors the Sangheili had to offer, the most disciplined and loyal soldiers in their entire race. They could not be evil, and they certainly would not lie. The Ship Master was waiting for any indication from the Arbiter to slice the disrespectful human in half, but the Arbiter raised his hand and waved off the Ship Master, who snorted and turned away from the humans, heading up the embankment.

The marine reattached his camera to his helmet and picked up his carbine, careful not to aim it towards the elites.

The Arbiter was intrigued by this human. He seemed very sophisticated and diplomatic, as opposed to the behavior exhibited by the others. Curious, the Arbiter spoke again. "Human, by what name is it you call yourself?"

The question surprised both the Marines and the Sangheili. The marine hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Sergeant Kyle Haskins, UNSC ID number 1009428F-3560. Former analyst for the Office of Naval Intelligence."

His fellow Marines looked at him incredulously, some whispering "spook?"

The Arbiter nodded. "I am the Arbiter, former Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice. Tell me, human, why do you wish to join us?"

Haskins grunted. "My people have a saying, and I think it applies here. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Between the Elites and the Brutes, frankly, I'd rather fight alongside those with a sense of honor."

He remembered Private Michael Simmons' attempts to inform one of the Brute guards of what Halo actually did when it fired. The Brute had snorted and waved the young Marine off upon hearing that Halo was a weapon against the Flood. That was when the frustrated Marine had shouted "Goddammit, you thick-skulled moron! I'd have more luck explaining it to a Grunt!" The Brute had then fractured the Marine's skull and tossed his body to the jackals.

Seeing the look on Haskins' face, the Arbiter nodded. "You may come with us, humans, but do not expect our protection."

The other Marines looked at Haskins accusingly as the Arbiter turned his back and walked into a door in the cliff side.

Haskins sighed and said "I know."

"What the -blam!- is this all about, secret agent man?"

"Yeah, dude, so now you're all buddy-buddy with the split-lips?"

"Goddammit, Haskins, those bastards murdered my family on Harvest! And now we're going to fight WITH them?"

"Spook, you should have let me shoot the bastard!" The last Marine, Corporal Diego Perez, had been the one the Ship Master had threatened to kill.

Haskins faced him and spoke. "Look at that dead Brute on the ground in front of you. He was nearly decapitated by a beam sword, and he had a Brute Shot. That 'split-lip' would have taken your head off before you could have pulled the trigger."

The Marine's mouth hung open as he failed to find a retort.

Haskins calmly spoke again. "I know that this isn't what you like, and by God, I agree with you. But I studied the Covenant intently in my ONI days. Tactics, weaponry, and society. The weakest link in the Covenant has always been relations between the Brutes and Elites. They never fight by each others' side, rather like allied armies with a common enemy. Us. We have a golden opportunity here. The Covenant is split down the middle. We could bring an end to the entire war without total destruction of the Covenant."

"My family is still dead."

Haskins didn't have a reply.

"Haskins, I don't give a -blam!- about your high strategy," the Marine, named Whitten, continued, "but still, you're the reason we're alive. I guess we owe you for that. Fine. I'll play along, but if one of those split-lips so much as looks at me -blam!--eyed, he's fair game, got it?"

Haskins nodded to Whitten, who then turned and walked up the embankment towards the doors.

A second Marine, then a third, followed suite.

The last Marine was Corporal Diego Perez.

"You guys can do what you want, I'm staying here."

Haskins nodded briefly and offered to shake Diego's hand. Diego refused, turning to head back into the woods.

"Corporal..."

"Don't pull rank on me, I'm beyond the point of caring."

"That's not it."

"Then what?"

Haskins nodded toward Perez' Fuel Rod Cannon. "Unless you want to die of radiation poisoning by the end of the week, I'd strongly recommend that you get rid of that thing."

Perez responded with an obscene gesture and walked off into the woods.

Haskins shook his head and walked up the embankment through the doors.

  • 03.20.2009 3:29 PM PDT

-eddy!
huh! What? It was the other guy, honest! ;)
'it was a sniper!' looks down at my sniper
uhh yeah? hes got one too. XD

ive read this before somewhere

  • 03.21.2009 9:27 AM PDT