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  • Subject: [FF] Halo: Rebirth (Chapter Three Up)
Subject: [FF] Halo: Rebirth (Chapter Three Up)

There once was an ugly barnacle. He was so ugly that everyone died.

The end.

SCFH

Halo: Rebirth is a Halo Fan Fiction story taken place in the 2552's and concurrent to events during the Human-Covenant War. It takes palce on the UNSC colony Rebirth (known as the unidentified human colony that "Deliver Hope" was taken place on). The events, characters, weapons, and locations are not all entirely cannon.

Rebirth is home to one of the most important UNSC headquarters, and is the location of the Special Operations Warfare Project (SOW). The SOW is a major project of UNSC soldiers to be highly advanced in training and combat skills and abilities for high-priority missions. The soldiers in this program are sometimes compared to Spartans.


Chapter One - Operation: Temptest
Chapter Two - Every Legend Has a Beginning
Chapter Three - To War


Halo: Rebirth
Chapter One - Operation: Temptest
April 2552, Compass Point Mountain Range
SOW Gunnery Sergeant Jason Crosby and Company sent to infiltrate a major Rebel base

"Crosby, get down, now!" Ordered silently Captain Michael Jacobs

Jason Crosby shot down to the ground and buried himself in the cold, snow-covered ground, completed hidden from any living thing. Seconds later he heard the roar of a Pelican's engine flying above. The freezing terrain nearly embedded him in ice. The strong winds made matters even worse.

"Don't move Crosby." Jason heard faintly.

Soon the engine's roar was loud and clearly directly above him, piercing his ears until the sound was well away. Crosby slowly got himself up from the hoary land. He saw the Pelican, a Rebel aircraft surely, fly away in the aloofness.

A wall of hard-falling snow nearly separated him from his Captain. His boots were lost within the snow. Crosby lifted his hand to meet his freezing face, yet did not feel anything.

"Okay Jason, let's move. The base is near."

Jason lifted his leg, a heavy load of snowfall he took up with him. He did the same thing with every step, and went along slowly, making sure to stay close to Jacobs, as even standing a few yards away could cause him to lose sight of him.

Captain Michael Jacobs was a veteran of war, a true soldier. His face was aged by countless battles, but his skills and intelligence were acceptable. A large scar covered his right cheek. Jason Crosby was a rather small solider height wise, but his skills on the battlefield spoke for itself. At the age of 26 he has been apart of the SOW Program for 8 years now, 8 years of hardships and experiences that could never be forgotten.

Soon he ran into Michael, who had his hand out, signaling for him to stop. The Sergeant looked closely into the coldness to see the dim sight of two Rebel Soldiers, weapons in hand and ready, walking along the icy path.

"Let them go. This path should lead us to the base."

The Captain put his hand back on his weapon, a M7S Caseless Submachine Gun, same as Jason's, and continued on their way. Jason stayed closely behind, with his weapon directed down the trail, his finger pressed on the trigger.

The two moved side-by-side towards the base, both constantly wiping the snow off their faces. Soon Captain Jacobs came to a stop again, holding his hand out to signal Jason to stop too.

"Jason, we're here."

Jason saw a Rebel bunker down the hill, with a pair of Rebels, the same they just recently spotted, walking in.

"Dallas, this is Captain. We're here. You guys reach the base yet?" Michael said through his TEAM/COM radio.

"Damn right we're here. We just spotted some Rebel activity too, some bastards going into a bunker. Fools looking for some warmth."

"We're looking at the same bunker as you are Dallas. You, Gonzalez and Xavier get your Asses down there, we're meet you there."

"Copy that, Dallas out."

Jacobs turned off his speaker and looked back at Crosby, nodding his head towards the Rebel stronghold.

"Let's go. Stay silent." He simply said, and ran down the hill, with Jason cautiously following. They soon met the entrance to a small haven where the two Rebel soldiers went into. They looked across the landscape to find Dallas and Company approach from behind the hill with weapons directed at them. Captain waved his arm in the air to show it was they.

"Dallas, it us. Move it, son." Said Jacobs through his radio.

The three moved quickly to the entrance. The Captain and Dallas met with a handshake and a shoulder bump. Dallas Jones was a big man with muscles on his arms almost the size of Crosby's head. A tattoo of a cobra snake ran down his arm. His ego was huge but his great ability made up for it. He had a smack-talk, up close and personal personality, that had gotten him a few demotions in his career.

"Let's get out this snow covered hell, sir." Said Andruw Gonzalez, who was shivering himself to death. He was the smallest of the bunch.

Crosby himself opened the large metal door, and lead the way for the others to walk in. The warm air felt lifesaving.

"Commander Bryant, this is Captain Jacobs of Team Echo 343. We are in the Rebel stronghold and are preparing for our attack." Captain said through his communications radio.
"Excellent Echo One. Keep up your progress. Make your way to the Control Station and cut off all power in the base. I'll send in the Longswords after that to deliver you guys some fireworks."

"Yes sir, Echo One out."

The 5-man strong squad made their way down the first hallway, a short one. A corner ahead led them to a long hallway, one filled with nothing but pitch-black darkness.

"Damn. Captain, check this out." Dallas requested. Jacobs and the other came over to find the dead body of a Rebel. Blood splattered the body and the floor around it, and the intestines of the body had fallen out.

"Friendly fire it looks like." Crosby suggested.

"Maybe the Covenant?" Dallas said.

"Here? On Rebirth? Dear god, no." Captain stated. He had seen far to many soldiers, far to many civilians, far to many colonies lost by the hands of the Covenant to bear another loss.

The 5 soldiers looked stared into the darkness of the hallway, failing to see anything beyond it. An uneasy sense went through the team.

"Xavier, check it out." The Captain ordered.

Xavier turned on the flashlight mounted on his weapon and aimed it down the hallway. He walked ever so slowly down the hallway, ill at ease. His light revealed two doors and another small hallway.

"Nothing here, boss."

Suddenly a disruptive noise was heard down the other end of the hallway at the entrance. It was thunderous and demanded for trouble. The team was startled and jerked their heads down the hallway to meet the noise. And at the same time a quick and faint scream from was heard from behind them. They all looked back to find nothing. Xavier was gone.

And the darkness had returned.

"Xavier? Xavier, respond! Damn it Xavier!" Yelled Michael in fear.

Gonzalez started to walk, slowly, to where Xavier once stood, with the rest of team behind and weapons at the ready. His wide-opened eyes pierced the blackness, and sweat ran down his face.

And swiftly out of the black jumped a Covenant Soldier, an Elite, and pummeled Xavier to the wall. The team jumped and ran back as a Squad of Elites opened fire on them. The last thing Crosby saw of Gonzalez was the Sangheili warrior impair him with a sword to the chest.

"Covenant! Fall Back! Fall the hell back!" Yelled Jacobs demandingly. The remaining three soldiers dashed down the hall back towards the entrance, blazing bullets at the charging Covenant force. They could feel the heat of plasma fire narrowly miss them from behind. They were in awe to find that the door had been slammed shut, being the loud startling noise that they had heard earlier. Dallas wasted no time and ran into the door like a raging bull, forcing it wide open as he hit into it. The three ran out of the base, with the door closing shut again immediately after.

"-blam!-! Where's Captain?" Crosby screamed in dismay as he soon realized that their Captain was not present.

They both looked at the door, and realized that Captain didn't make it out. The two stared at each other for a long time in sorrow, trying to get their minds to work straight after what just happened. Gunshots were heard concurrently in the distance, and Covenant banshees were seen racing above, firing onto to Rebel base. A huge explosion combining of covenant plasma and flames was seen not to far away.

"They're dead. They're all dead. Let the damn Covenant take care of the Rebels, we need to get the hell out of here." Dallas stated. Crosby nodded his head and the two raced off away from the station back to where they came from to be escorted back to base and inform the Commander of the Covenant Invasion.





[Edited on 04.14.2011 1:10 PM PDT]

  • 03.23.2011 12:54 PM PDT
Subject: [FF] Halo: Rebirth (Chapter One Up)

There once was an ugly barnacle. He was so ugly that everyone died.

The end.

SCFH

"Field Marshall, there is a strangler. I shall send him to hell."

On that note a Sangheili warrior, by the name of Erpa 'Ahtumee, came out from around the corner. He wielded two Energy Swords, one in each hand.

"No, you will not. He will die by my hands."

His fellow soldier looked at him in disappointment, and stepped aside from Erpa's path. In front of him was Captain Jacobs, crawling on the floor, struggling to survive. He left a trail of blood in his path. Soon he saw the shadow of the Field Marshall rise above him. Jacobs knew he wouldn't make it out alive. He would inevitably die, but he accepted his near death. He turned himself over, with pain assured, to meet the eyes of Erpa 'Ahtumee, standing noticeably taller then the other Sangheili.

Michael drew out his magnum. It wasn't his last chance at his survival there would be no survival, and he knew it but it would just stall his demise. He held it up to Erpa and fired away.

The bullets seemingly did nothing, as they simply deflected off 'Ahtumee's chest plate. He continued to fire until Erpa stood directly above him. Erpa 'Ahtumee merely stared at him, and as Jacobs simply let his weapon fall to the ground, and allowed his superior to end his pain for good.

"Well, you got me. I'm right here. Go right ahead. Kill me." Captain bravely said with all the energy he had left.

The Elite reared his Sword back, ready to attack.

"Your death is the will of the Prophets, and I am their herald."

"Don't flatter me with your meaningless words."

Erpa looked down upon the helpless human in pure hatred but also admiration for his notable courage. Erpa respected his foe, but he had to attend to his business.

"Message from the Prophets: You will all die."

Those were the last words Captain Michael Jacobs heard as Erpa swung his deadly blade down. The two blades of his sword impaired his chest. The Captain gave a screech of fatal pain, but slowly became silent as his eyes gradually closed, showing he was certainly dead.

Erpa pulled out his sword from his foes chest. Blood dripped off from the tips, and 'Ahtumee laughed cruelly in victory.

"Ahtumee, there is a Brother down." Said another Sangheili from down the hallway. He stood above a dieing ally, who had been shot by Jason Crosby, with blood spread around the ground around him and on his body. The dieing soldier was coughing and spitting up blood, gasping for air.

Erpa looked at him emotionless. "The Great Journey must wait for no one. Leave him be. Let us go."

The Elite leader walked away and continued to lead his soldiers farther into the outpost as the rest followed. The Sangheili who stood above his dieing brother looked down at him in sorrow.

"I am sorry, brother."

Those were his final words as he followed his fellow warriors, leaving him there to die.

****

To sum up to First Chapter, the team of SOW soldiers were sent into a major Rebel base to destory it (Operation: Temptest) but instead found the Covenant, who proceeded to slaughter all remaining forces. Crosby and Dallas, the only two survivors, escaped in a Pelican and returned to base.

[Edited on 03.23.2011 1:01 PM PDT]

  • 03.23.2011 12:54 PM PDT

What a waste....

It's spelled Tempest, not Temptest, I think.

  • 03.23.2011 8:45 PM PDT

The tide is turning, brothers! Let us take our kingdom back!

Pretty interesting so far. You've got a couple of errors in your work though, especially the punctuation and capitals around your speech marks.

Other than that, not bad.

  • 03.23.2011 10:03 PM PDT

There once was an ugly barnacle. He was so ugly that everyone died.

The end.

SCFH

Halo: Rebirth
Chapter Two: Every Legend has a Beginning
April 2552, concurrent to events in Chapter One
Ashton Villa, a civilian a few miles away from New Harlem

"You know son, when I was your age, my father never treated the way I do to you. He seemed to never pay attention to me or even care about me. And with my mom dead at an early age, I had to learn to take care of myself. Your 19 now, and I wont be alive forever, ya know." Stated Ashton's father, staring up beyond the trees of the woodland that blocked view from the sky, remembering his miserable childhood.

"I know. But you have years to live, father."

"But someday you'll have a family, and you'll be the man of the house. There won't be me or your mother or anyone to hold your hand when times get tough."

Ashton looked down at his Huntington's A-Class hunting rifle placed in his hand, looking into the future, wondering where time will take him. Some many years ahead of him, and no idea what to do with them, Ashton thought. Lost in thought, he unexpectedly heard a rustling of leaves a few yards away from his current spot.

"Father, you hear that?"

"Don't hear nothin'."

"I'll go check it out. Probably a wild turkey or something good like that."

"I'll stay here, setup a base camp. Go find us some dinner, boy."

"We'll be eating just fine tonight!" laughed Ashton as he followed to sound of the rustling. His father laughed too and he took the large bag off his back to start preparing.

Ashton Villa took silent steps along the rocky path, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of wildlife that he could kill on sight.

"C'mon meat, I'm not gonna hurt ya." Whispered Ashton to himself.

Suddenly he heard a loud scream, back from base camp, that interrupted his sincere concentration. The scream had must of came from no one other then father, the young adult thought. Along with the scream came a wild deer, running quickly away out of sight.

"Damn!" Ashton said abruptly

He looked deep into the woods where the deer had ran, then looked back towards the direction of his father. Without hesitation Ashton took off full speed back to camp.

"Dad! You alright?" yelled Ashton as he jumped into the circular campsite. Nothing was present except for the backpack that his father had.

His father was gone.

"Dad? Where are you? Don't play games here."

Ashton received no response except for the light breeze that flowed along the trees., and the leaves that fell slowly to his feet. Ashton felt terrified.

As he stood there confused, he heard another rustling sound among the bushes directly in front of him. Ashton put his rifle in hand and aimed directly at the bush that continued to move, then slowly approaching it, never once daring to look away.

"I swear to god dad, this is stupid. This isn't funny." Said Ashton, trying to calm himself, but fear overcame him and doubt filled his thoughts.

His body trembled and his grip tightened, ready to fire. And while he was only a mere few feet away from the bush, a colossal creature jumped out like a speeding bullet and dived onto Ashton, pounding him to the rocky ground. The weight of the monster nearly crushed Villa's body.

The two beings met eyes for a few seconds, seconds that felt like hours for Ashton. Then the creature roared, sending spit all over Ashton's face, and pulled out a sharp knife-like weapon from its holster, and attempted to strike Ashton down. But Ashton's combat instincts set in finally, and he rolled over to just barely dodge to incoming attack. He quickly jumped to his feet, grabbed his rifle that he had dropped, and ran to cover. He reached a tree that stood a good 60 yards away.

Ashton regained his control over his emotions and calmed himself, looking back towards the creature. After getting a few seconds to truly examine it, a terrifying realization dawned over him.

The monster was a Covenant Elite.

The Elite soldier stood up tall and menacing. He held his Energy dagger tightly in his grasp, and began to charge at full speed. Ashton immediately re-aimed his hunting rifle and began to take fire. The bullets made clear impact, and did penetrate the armor's shields. The Sangheili roared in pain but never lost a step.

With only a little space between Ashton and his opponent he remembered the combat switchblade he had equipped. But it was too late to take it out, because Ashton was now within striking distance of the Elite. The Covenant fighter has once again swung his sword at Villa. Ashton made another life saving maneuver by falling to the ground. He rolled back on his feet while attaining his switchblade, and before his enemy had a chance to recover from his attack, he made his strike.

Ashton injected his dagger into the Elite's neck. Blood squirted out and onto both of their bodies. The Sangheili howled in utter pain. The young hunter stepped back from his foe to watch him die. The Elite managed to grab the blade in his neck, and threw it out to the ground. Another loud scream of pain followed.

The Elite's attempt at survival was futile, and soon he lost his conscious, falling hard to the ground. Ashton, for a long time, simply gazed in shock at the motionless soldier. His heavy breathing turned into a relaxed inhalation.

And then it hit Ashton. His nearly forgot about his father.

Ashton Villa reequipped his switchblade and again picked up his rifle. He redirected his attention to the bush where his dead enemy had first attacked him. Ashton ran over to the bush, but didn't immediately go through it. He stood with his hand on it for quite awhile, with his heart beating wildly. He stood strong though, and finally went through the bush.

His heart stopped. He breathing stopped.

At the feet of Ashton lay his father, with a huge gash on his stomach revealing his entrails. Ashton could not think, but only stood staring.

Soon he kneeled down to meet his dead father's face. His eyes were turned over and completely white. Ashton screamed and cursed to the heavens, raising his fists to the sky. Tears ran down his face, but anger dominated his sorrow. Ashton took his hands and touched the eyelids of his father, and closed them shut.

"Rest in piece." Mournfully said Ashton.

He had little time for pleading when he heard the roar of a Covenant Banshee overhead. He faintly saw it through the heavily covered trees, but noticed it was heading straight for his village, less then a mile away.

Ashton jumped up and ran as fast as his legs would allow back towards his home, knowing he had to inform his mother and make sure they get out safely. Driven by rage, he never lost speed.

A minute later he could hear the sound of gunfire coming from the direction of his large community. It only motivated him to never slow down. With every step the gunfire became louder and clearer.

In only four minutes he reached the end of the forest, following a path that led him right to the backyard of his house. Screams of civilians, gunfire from the Covenant forces. Hell had broken loose. The once fresh blue sky had turned into a skyline of flames and smoke. Ashton ran through his yard into the back door of his house.

The first thing that came to his mind was to make sure his Mother was all right.
****

[Edited on 03.28.2011 2:31 PM PDT]

  • 03.28.2011 2:30 PM PDT

There once was an ugly barnacle. He was so ugly that everyone died.

The end.

SCFH

*****
"Mom? Mom, where are you?" Yelled Ashton in desperation.

"It's me, Ashton! Its okay to come out!" He yelled again.

Still no answer.

The boy assumed, at least prayed to god, that his Mother had left the town and escaped. He decided to grab his Cell phone and dial up his Mother's number.

His phone rang for a few seconds. "Please pick up, please pick up. Dear god, please pick up!"

Then Ashton suddenly took his phone away from his ear, trying to hear something else. He realized that there was another ringing upstairs, from another phone. Villa canceled the call and took out his blade, which still had a layer of purple blood on the tip. He ran upstairs and down the main hallway until he reached the door of his Parent's room. The door was open fully, allowing Ashton to sprint right in. He turned the corner of the doorway, nearly loosing his balance and falling to the ground.

And all of Ashton's hopes had been shattered.

Resting forever on his Parent's bed laid his Mother. Similarly to his father, two gaping holes penetrated her chest, symbolizing the blades of an Energy Sword. Ashton approached the bed, thoughtless. He stood above his mother's carcass. But no tears came out. No sadness struck him. But instead was filled with rage. He pounded the bed, swearing revenge.

"They killed my Family." Ashton said softly, but anger was easily distinguishable. "They killed everything. But I'm still alive. Their deaths will not go unanswered."

On that note he walked back towards the exit. On the dresser he saw a Family photo, taken three years ago. There was his Mom, his Dad, and he. All of them were smiling, enjoying the good life they lived. Ashton was an only child, and the best child a parents could have, his parents would always say with truth. Ashton didn't want to think about it. So much happened so fast, he couldn't take it. He had to take action.

Ashton put the portrait in his pocket and marched down the stairs with only one thing on mind: Revenge.

He slammed the garage door opened and took the keys to his truck off the rack. He went over and opened the door to his truck, a 2522 Dodge pickup truck. Dodge trucks were still in popular demand. As he stepped in he heard a sudden noise. Ashton naturally quickly grabbed his blade and turned around, but sighed a huge relief to find his dog, cowering in fear with his tails between his legs, whimpering and shaking. It was a young hound dog named Chance bread on Rebirth.

Ashton patted his hand on the seat, and his loyal companion hopped in the truck and moving to the passenger seat. Ashton climbed in after him and started the engine. He opened the garage door from a button on his key chain. Slowly the door opened, revealing the horrid scene outside. He could only see a little but it was enough to tell getting out of there was not guaranteed. He saw a group of friendly forces moving down the street. Local Militia warthogs and soldiers already on the scene to fight.

Ashton held the steering wheel strongly and securely, knowing that a mistake could cost him his life. He looked over to his pet and gave him a quick stroke on the head.

"Here we go."

Ashton smashed his foot on the gas pedal, and they roared out. Ashton couldn't help but notice the Covenant forces down the street, blocking his way out. His only chance was to go the long way around the circular neighborhood, a mile away until he reached the exit. Since the whole district was surrounded by a forest, there was only one way out.

He made a sharp turn around, and again put the pedal to the metal. Full speed the truck raced through the neighborhood. Even as they just came out, plasma fire penetrated the windshield. Ashton noticed a Grunt, standing near on the side of the road, firing at a group of Militia soldiers. Ashton directed the truck right towards the covenant force. The grunt turned around, but it was far too late as Ford splattered the cowardly foe. Blood splattered over the windshield, and a menacing smile came across Villa's face. Revenge felt sweet, he thought. But the life of one Grunt was not near enough to satisfy his thirst for Vengeance. He wanted to kill them all.

"Ah! I got blood all in my grill!" laughed Ashton.

Ashton looked into his side mirror and saw a Banshee fly directly behind him. He peeked out his window for a better look, and instantly saw plasma coming right for him. He ducked back inside and felt the fire hit the bed of his truck. Ashton maneuvered his truck on the other side of the road, but the attempt was useless. The Banshee came right back at him with a plasma launcher. The rocket the road and sent a blast right at the side of Ashton's truck. The impact sent the truck tipping over, with only two wheels to support.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Screamed Ashton in frustration.

After driving on two wheels for a few seconds the truck finally started to tip over completely. Knowing that there was nothing he could do, Ashton grabbed on to Chance tightly, covering him under his stomach, and clung himself to the seat, with his eyes closed shut.

The truck flipped upside down, skidding down the road for yards on his top. Finally the weight of the truck forced it to flipped back over on two wheels. Ashton, who stopped breathing for the horrific ride, opened his eyes to see what just happened. They were only 200 yards away from the only exit. He was in pain for he had slammed into the interior hard. His forehead ached greatly. Chance, however, seemed to be perfectly fine, only motionless from absolute dismay.

Ashton looked out his window, all of which had been shattered, to see the Banshee still looking to kill him. Ashton tried to ignite the engine, but it only stuttered and would not start.

"C'mon, damn it, c'mon!" Ashton screeched in anger at the engine. He looked back at the window to see the Banshee just about to send one more blast at them, a blast that would undoubtedly kill him. He turned away, held onto to Chance again and for one more time closed his eyes, preparing for the inevitable.

But then he heard a large explosion. He opened his eyes and looked back out the window to see a large ball of fire in the air where the Banshee once was. Debris from it fell to the ground. Ashton noticed a squadron of Militia to the right off the street, but after saving his life they immediately drew Covenant fire. Ashton attempted to turn on his engine one last time, and this time it did work. His spirits were lifted as he took hold of the wheel again.

"We're getting out of here. I ain't dieing today." Merrily stated Ashton, patting his companion on the head. He put his feet on the pedal and the drove off out of the neighborhood.

Ashton drove down the highways in haste, going well over the speed limit. He had one choice, and that was to get to New Harlem, and to meet with his Brother, David, to find a way out off of Rebirth.

  • 03.28.2011 2:31 PM PDT
Subject: [FF] Halo: Rebirth (Chapter Two Up)

There once was an ugly barnacle. He was so ugly that everyone died.

The end.

SCFH

Just to clarify things, New Harlem is a huge City, home to a large ONI and UNSC Headquarters. The home of the SOW project is just outside the City. It is one of the most laregest populated cities in the UNSC colonies.

  • 03.28.2011 2:38 PM PDT

There once was an ugly barnacle. He was so ugly that everyone died.

The end.

SCFH

criticism is welcomed, good or bad. Just wanna know if the story is good, keep doing what im doing or good but needs improvement, or just plain bad i should just stop.

  • 03.29.2011 1:00 PM PDT

There once was an ugly barnacle. He was so ugly that everyone died.

The end.

SCFH

Halo: Rebirth
Chapter Three: To War
Soon after events of Chapter Two
City of New Harlem

Ashton roared along the main highway, still going well above the speed limit. He looked miserably at the cars he sped by, wanting to tell them all that the Covenant was on Rebirth because at that moment they had no idea. Ashton took out the family photo again, staring at it for a long time.

"I'll avenge the bastards for your murder." Said Ashton to the photo as if he was talking to his parents. He put the photo away and continued to drive.

"I'll make them pay."

Ashton soon arrived into the City streets, making his away through the rush of city traffic to the apartment where his Brother David lived. He parked his truck into the parking lot outside, and rushed out into it, with his dog following. He went up the elevator, up a sky of levels until they reached level 12. The two raced out down the hallway to Room 343.

Ashton pounded on the door until he received an answer.

"Calm down with the knocking please! Who is it?" said David in an annoyed tone.

"Its your Brother, Ashton."

"Ah! Ashton, c'mon in! he responded, now in a excited voice.

Ashton walked himself him to see his Brother sitting down at a table, which had a stack of papers and books and files. David stood up, revealing that his other arm was gone. David Villa was once in the UNSC, for a few years until he suffered a near life-threatening wound. One could see that the right side of his face was slightly disfigured.

"Good to see ya!" David said as he got up to meet Ashton. He put his only arm out to give a welcoming, brotherly hug to Ashton. However Ashton did not hug back, simply staring at him with a sincere face.

"Sit down, David." Ashton said sympathetically as he nodded his head toward the couch and recliner next to a large window, revealing the huge city. David's smile turned into confusion as he did as told.

"What's on your mind, Little Bro?"

"Ashton did not answer at first, simply staring out at the city, staring in anger that all the civilians had no idea that the Covenant were about to kill them all if they remained in the City.

"Listen, David. I want you to pay attention to me. I don't know how you're going to respond to this, but please, be Strong." Ashton said in the most genuine voice he had ever said.

David looked at him, eager to know what was wrong. Whatever it was, he could sense the sorrow in his Brother. "What's going on?"

Ashton looked down at his hands, then back out the window as if he was looking for something, some way to get out of this.

"Mom Dad." He hesitantly said. David simply looked expressionless at him, waiting for more. Ashton could barely get the words out of his mouth, and he could feel his eyes water.

"They're dead."

David eyes widened in disbelief. He simply looked at Ashton, like something was beyond him.

"The Covenant. They killed them. They're on Rebirth." He continued.

David wanted to cry but then got himself together. War had changed him. He felt a great pain emotionally but looked beyond that. The two sat there, thinking to themselves of what to do, what to think.

"We have to get off Rebirth." Stated David, "Our parents are dead, we can cry about it later. But if the Covenant just attacked not to long ago then they're going to be here soon." And on that statement they heard the sound of aircraft outside. They looked out the window to see Banshees and Phantoms commanding the skies. Explosions were heard soon after as they began their invasion on the city. The cry of the city's emergency alarm system sounded and went across the town alerting everyone, and immediately UNSC personnel were ready to counter their attack.

Ashton stood up tall and put a hand on David's shoulder. "You have to get off Rebirth. You and Chance." Ordered Ashton.

"What about you? You can't stay here.."

"I'm going to join the UNSC. I'm going to go to war against these aliens, to get Revenge. They killed our Parents. They killed billions of others. I can't just let them continue now."

"What? Ashton, that's ridiculous. That's insane! You'll die before you get a chance to fire a bullet."

"No, David. I made up my mind long before I got here. I'm not going to sit here and let the Covenant destroy us."

"Revenge is not the reason to get yourself killed."

"Any reason is good enough for me at this point."

"Ashton, you're blinded by rage"

"No! Rage has allowed me to see! We are fighting a loosing battle. Who knows if humanity will even survive? I want to be apart of this, to stop the Covenant, to be able to say 'Hey, I helped ended this war.' Even if I die, at least I know that I died for something important. That I died for my parents."

"You poor bastard, this isn't hunting in the woods of your back yard, shooting defenseless turkey and animals. This is freakin' genocide! You're going against a seemingly unstoppable alien force. Your fighting for a force that is nearly diminished and fallen. Its not worth it, Ashton! Look at me! Look at what they did to me! I should be dead right now, and I was only fighting for a few months."

"Damn it David! Why? Tell me why you truly don't want me to fight for humanity like you did! Tell me why you don't want me to take action and be a man and do something about this instead of cowering back and watching them kill us all!" Screamed Ashton once more in rage, now at David. Tears were running down both their eyes.

David's voice was soft now but still in anger, "Because, you're the only thing I have to call family now. Mom's dead. Dad's dead. I couldn't live with myself if the Covenant killed you now."

Ashton looked down on himself now, not knowing how to respond. But no words from David could make him turn back now.

"I'm sorry, David. Take Chance and get to cargo ship. It's the only way off Rebirth." Said Ashton. Ashton, with that said, made his way towards to he door, only to be stopped one last time by David.

"I know I won't stop you. I understand that. I respect that. But if I can't stop you, then the least I can do is help you."

Ashton smiled and so did David, but for different reasons. David nodded his head to follow him, and they went to his bedroom. All there was were a bed and a closet. David opened the closet, one he hasn't opened in years, to reveal just what Ashton needed.

"Its my armor, that I was issued during my service in the UNSC. Probably not standard anymore, but it got me through.

There was full body armor inside, of which was once David's.. Ashton grinned to himself in delight.

"Hell yea!" said Ashton. Ashton proceeded to take off his clothing and put on his brother's armor. It fit just right, but was heavy indeed.

"I need a weapon." Remarked Ashton, and David smirked as he opened a large box. Inside were grenades, ammo, and a nice supply of weapons.

"Here, take this." David said as he handed his brother a fully loaded BR55, a magnum, two grenades and plenty of ammo. "It should do."

"This isn't a standard Battle Rifle." Ashton quickly noticed a variation in the BR he held.

"I put a few personal customizations on it. It has an optical full-auto fire capability, which does decrease accuracy significantly though. It's also designed for better handling and comfort. You're welcome."

Ashton examined his new toy, admiring what he called its bad ass-ness. Soon Ashton remembered that it was time after he again heard the Covenant fire across the city. Ashton kneeled down and called over Chance. Chance ran over and jumped on him, licking his face while Ashton laughed.

"You know the plan. Get to an evacuation ship. Wherever it takes you to, stay there for as long as you can. When I come back." Ashton looked up form his dog up to his brother. " If I come back, I'll contact you immediately."

Ashton stood up to give David one last good-bye hug. They patted each other on the back and Ashton headed towards the door. He opened it and stood in the doorway and looked back at David, who was standing there with Chance staring at him until he's out of view. Ashton nodded, and David nodded back.

And Ashton was gone.


  • 04.14.2011 1:08 PM PDT