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  • Subject: [Story] Halo: Headhunters -- Chapter One as of May 7th
Subject: [Story] Halo: Headhunters -- Chapter One as of May 7th
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Be gentle, please. Feedback is largely appreciated. I initially started this fan-fic differently, but I went back and revised it and changed it up so... yeah. Anyways, go crazy and enjoy. Thanks.

ONE - "But the Admiral . . ."

Spartan Heather-A066, Lieutenant 2nd class, emptied the rest of her MA5B into the elite minor before her, watching as his shields flared and he stumbled backwards, falling into a pool of his own, purple blood. She looked down at the body, rifle trained on the corpse to ensure that it was just that--a corpse. Seeing that the Covenant superior wasn't moving, she slapped a new clip into her weapon and aimed it downward, the battle having ended.

"So that's the last of them?"

Static crackled over her headset as it came to life, receiving the message of Spartan Keith-A067, Captain 1st class. She nodded to herself. "That's the last of 'em," she replied assuredly, looking over her shoulder to see 067 slowly approaching in the distance, a BR55 rifle within his grasp. The similarly armored man, dressed in almost alien-looking, olive green armor with a golden visor plastered across his helmet stopped beside her, looking down at the crumpled alien as well. Heather looked from it to the rest of the battlefield, which was also covered by Covenant forces, splintered trees and scorched plants before down at the elite again.

Long moments passed until he spoke up again. "We should inform the Admiral," he suggested, glancing at her sideways through his helmet. She hesitated but nodded, stepping over the corpse, proceeding on toward the waypoint on her HUD in the distant jungle. Keith blinked at this.

"Uh, Heather," he spoke up a bit awkwardly, remaining where he was. "Didn't you hear me? I said we should inform the Admiral," he repeated, frowning.

The Lieutenant didn't stop, though she did allow herself to glance over her shoulder, mirrored gaze meeting his own. Returning her eyes back in front of her, she shrugged nonchalantly. "Then tell him," she replied simply,maintaining her speed. Keith sighed deeply, turning to look behind him at the distant COMs array outpost that could relay a message to Admiral Westerdfelt before staring off at 066 again. Normally, they could have made the call to the Admiral from where they were standing, though their COMs were only transmitting short-distance frequencies, which the two found a little odd. But he couldn't just let her go alone; and she was stubborn, he knew. Sighing, he trudged off after his twin sister, grumbling to himself.

Sure, the mission was important--the latest and best intel suggested that the Covenant were after something big, but what? And surely Heather didn't plan on finding out alone? The Captain sighed. She did, he realized, but she wasn't alone--not entirely. Though he didn't want to admit it, he knew he'd be tagging along with her every step of the way. And in a way, he understood why she wanted to go in alone rather than call in the reinforcements. If the Covenant packed up and left, or found what they were looking for; before it was too late, things would go bad--and fast.

Finally catching up with her, he tilted his head to the side, gazing at her, and while she was obviously aware of his presence, she didn't do the same. Keith grunted at her reaction (or lack there of) before simply matching her pace, the two walking in silence through the thick, tropical rain forest. The sounds of wildlife sang throughout the entire ecosystem, creatures severely obscuring the pair's motion sensors as they went, leaving them to rely upon their eyesight.

Nearly half an hour of endless marching passed as the twin Spartan III's quietly and efficiently made their way through the vast jungle before finally spotting movement ahead through the dense forestry. Balling up her fist, the Lieutenant instructed her brother to stop before making her way toward the clearing in a slow and low crouch in order to avoid detection. Successfully, the two Spartans pressed their backs against each their own trees before peeking around the bulk of their cover, eying the few Covenant within the area of the clearing.

Heather counted two stationary ghosts as well as two elite majors guarding what appeared to be one of the "Forerunner" buildings, in which the UNSC had limited intel of. All that was known was that the Covenant often visited them for "holy relics" of their religion, which usually turned out to be pieces of technology, albeit important ones.

"Alright," the female spoke to her brother over COMs. "I'll get the one on the right. You got left."

Spartan-067 blinked, staring at her like an idiot from beneath his helmet. "Are you serious? We're not even supposed to be out here!" he growled. "The Admiral said--,"

"Do you always do what the Admiral says?" 066 snapped, narrowing her eyes. He didn't reply, simply glaring at her through his visor. Shaking his head, Keith leveled his BR55 as a way to say 'I'm ready' and his sister nodded in satisfaction.

"On my mark," she instructed. "Three . . . two . . ." And the first shots were fired from her MA5B, slamming into the shields of the first elite has he staggered, the second turning in surprise, only to be caught by Keith's shortly-followed hail of bullets from his BR55. Without effort, the two were taken down, spread out across the jungle floor.

Keith turned and pointed an accusing finger at the Lieutenant. "What was that?"he demanded. She faced him, tilting her head as if to say she was unsure of what he meant. He growled. "You didn't even say 'mark'! This isn't a game!"

"Whoops," she said innocently, taking the first steps toward the building, examining it. It ran up nearly two stories, though the slope of the way it was built suggested it ran underground. She stopped before the entrance, peering at the set of double doors. Her brother was right beside her.

"That's . . . that's one of those Forerunner structures . . . isn't it?" Keith asked, disbelieving.

"Looks like it," his sister admitted ponderously.

Kieth made a face and said, "What's it doing here? On Tribute?"

The Lieutenant's eyes didn't leave the structure. "Damned if I know."

"We should stop here," he suggested, sounding a bit paranoid. "And I mean it."

"No. We're going in."

"But the Admiral--,"

"What about him?" retorted the other Spartan evenly, making her way inside as the doors parted with a low hum, allowing her entrance.

"Not to be rude, Captain," a voice ringed within Keith's head, almost completely devoid of human emotion. "But your sister is disobeying a direct order from the Admiral himself. That's . . . not wise."

Spartan-A067 hesitated. "Yeah," he replied to the artificial intelligence known as Nadir, watching his sister. "I know." His tone of voice suggested that he would have rather left the subject untouched, and the artificial intelligence, having picked up on it, said no more. Sighing, Keith had no choice but to follow his fellow Spartan through the double doors and in to the mysterious structure.

And he didn't like the situation one bit.

[Edited on 05.07.2011 9:06 AM PDT]

  • 05.07.2011 9:00 AM PDT

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

Looks pretty good so far. The characters are pretty distinct from each other, good to see. I'll keep an eye on this.

  • 05.08.2011 12:28 AM PDT

~I blame Stosh. Why? .......Dunno either.
XLS Thunderstom--
Legendary Spec Ops
-- Godz of Tactical Combat

I am a Lone Wolf of Reach's Ruins. I am in a Team, and I will listen; although when I can, I go my own way, and lead my own way. When the situation calls, I will do as ordered.
Only when I must.

It has dragged me in and left me wanting more.
That is a good thing.

  • 05.09.2011 4:29 PM PDT

I hate Heather. She's so disrespectful, arrogant and ignorant.

Guess you're pretty good at conveying the personalities of the characters!

  • 05.12.2011 1:11 PM PDT
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Bungie.net member Since 2001

"A hero need not speak. When he is gone, the world will speak for him"
"You are the last of your kind: bred for combat, built for war. You're the master of any weapon, pilot of any vehicle, and fear no enemy"

Very nice. Keep it up.

  • 05.12.2011 2:18 PM PDT
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Thank you for the positive feedback, all. :) I will try to have part 2 up this weekend.

  • 05.13.2011 4:48 PM PDT