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This topic has moved here: Subject: [Story] Pact: A Tale of Brotherhood (Chapter Six!)
  • Subject: [Story] Pact: A Tale of Brotherhood (Chapter Six!)
Subject: [Story] Pact: A Tale of Brotherhood (Chapter Six!)

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

Time hadn't passed well inside HAUBERK Base for Sierra Company since they were called in. Eleven Marines had lost their lives in the short space of time they had spent fighting atop Mt. Arphos, as well as five ODSTs. The deaths ate at everyone, promising them yet more bloodshed on their return out atop the mountain. Grief welled inside a few of the soldiers effectively trapped inside the ONI base, but was quickly dismissed as they remembered that they had a mission to accomplish. Still, thought one Marine, there were so many killed our flyboys better take those Covenant bastards out soon. I need to shoot something.

HAUBERK Base's sudden shaking quickly brought the Colonel and everyone else who was lost in thought back to the present as they struggled to stay upright. The building had been rocked by a giant explosion from one of the wildly fired mortars that a dying Covenant siege machine had fired. After a few seconds, the shaking stopped, and soldiers looked around in a panic before calming down as someone began asking a question.

"What the hell was that, Colonel?" Captain Goodman asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "It felt like a damn Wraith shot at us!"

Colonel Thompson quickly stared at the security terminal's radar to see if his suspicions were correct. He was ready to head downstairs at any moment, but the fear inside him lost its ground as he saw that the 5 Type-49s had been neutralized, apparently, just in the nick of time.

"Not exactly, Captain. Although the information is currently classified, I can tell you that we were hit from a mortar of roughly the same design as the Type-26. However, from what I can tell on the radar behind me, the threat has been neutralized for now."

He turned back to the radar to confirm his thoughts, noticing something promising. "In fact," he continued, "it looks like two more GA-TL1s are arriving, as are the five AV-14s and the three AV-22s." Eyes widened around the room. It sounded to them like the battle for air superiority was turning in their favour.

A couple of minutes later, Colonel Thompson ensured that their hopes had ground to stand on. He turned to face them one last time, feeling as confident as the situation at hand could allow. "Men and women of Sierra Company, it would seem that we hold the sky for now. Enemy aircraft ranges are too far out at this point in time to be considered an immediate threat."

Despite his attempts to stay impassive, his face slightly softened as he looked the already battered soldiers over. "I understand how much of a beating you took before, but damnit, that shouldn't be enough to stop a fine bunch of UNSC troops such as yourselves." Faces started to pick up as he continued to rally the company before him, "If anything, it should make you want to get out there more and return the favour."

A couple of cheers rang out, followed by Colonel Thompson nodding. "Well, people? Get your rifles ready, and get out there. That's an order."

"Yes sir!" Sierra Company chanted as they started to head towards the stockpile of weapons that had been arranged for them. Seventy four sniper rifles lay in wait, along with an abundance of ammunition for several different weapons. By the time they'd readied their weapons, eight rifles lay unused, due to the deceased members of the company. Thoughts of them were quickly suppressed as they stood at attention, ready to leave.

On Captain Goodman's order, Sierra Company started to head out HAUBERK Base's entrance, onto the mountain it stood on. Marines donned jackets with arctic camouflage to protect them from the bitter cold of Mt. Arphos while the ODSTs were protected by their BDU's thermal layers, and the MJOLNIR Mark V armour of the SPARTANs used hydrostatic gel to regulate the temperature inside the mighty suits of armour.

As people began settling down upon the snowy ground beneath them, their mood showed no signs of lowering after the Colonel's few words of praise. Some even wore smiles upon their faces as they began to peer down the surface of the mountain, waiting for the Covenant to show.

After a couple of minutes, one or two Marines looked up at the still darkened sky, watching distant fighters swerve and roll as they evaded plasma bolts rushing at them. However, the almost tranquil scene was suddenly shattered. Slipspace portals started to appear out in space, large enough for the eye aided by VE-140 binoculars to more clearly see. Soon, at least ten Covenant ships began to appear out from them.

Jaws across the mountain dropped as people realized what was happening. Covenant reinforcements were arriving. And as a monolith supercarrier jumped into the ensuing chaos, almost discernable even from the soldiers atop Mt. Arphos, Sierra Company's confidence plummeted into the ground.



(Ha! You didn't get the hot topic post, Mushroom! You lose!)

[Edited on 09.14.2011 2:49 AM PDT]

  • 09.13.2011 6:46 PM PDT
Subject: [Story] Pact: A Tale of Brotherhood (Prologue is up!)

Do I get a cookie for getting the hot topic post?

Back to the story, I haven't read everything yet, and I'll be starting now! I have like three whole chapters. That's enough for like a week.

  • 09.14.2011 2:47 AM PDT

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


Posted by: S p h 1 n X O 7
Do I get a cookie for getting the hot topic post?
Yes. Yes you do. (::) <3
Back to the story, I haven't read everything yet, and I'll be starting now! I have like three whole chapters. That's enough for like a week.Enjoy!

I'm aiming to finish Chapter Nine within the next three weeks, so I'll be able to post it when the time comes. After that, I won't be posting every Wednesday (or Tuesday, if you live in certain parts of the world), but until then, I will be.

  • 09.14.2011 4:48 AM PDT

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

What time is it? It's chapter time.


Chapter 7: Revelation

The startling revelation above was already beginning to assault the minds of Sierra Company. Questions began to take form as men and women stationed atop the mountain looked to each other for explanations and support. But, to a few minds, conclusions were made, and the answer seemed to trouble them more then the problem that loomed overhead itself.

Rodney set down his rifle and stopped to think for a second. There's got to be something on this planet that the Covenant want. There's no other possible explanation for a fleet of that size to appear here. But what? He looked around, thoughts swimming through his mind as he glanced over at Baldemar, who had taken a spot beside him as his spotter. He, too, had put down his HUD-compatible binoculars, and turned his head just in time to meet Rodney's gaze before he turned away again.

"Is there something on your mind, sir?" he asked almost jokingly, having activated his team's comm. link. Upon hearing Baldemar's question, both the other two members of Team Theta also looked over at Rodney, hoping that he might have figured something out about the massive reinforcements that had arrived for the Covenant.

Rodney held in his comm. link activator and began to reply in a deadly serious tone of voice. "I don't like this, men. There's got to be something on this planet that the Covenant want, otherwise this planet would be a molten wasteland by now." He paused for a moment, his mind furiously working on producing answers. "If I were to guess, I'd say that Colonel Thompson might know what they're looking for."

"Not that he'll be likely to tell us what that is," Boris quickly added.

"Likely or not, Boris, I'm going in there and asking him. The more we know about this situation, the better chance we have of stopping the Covenant from getting what they came for."

"You are forgetting our priorities, Rodney," Baldemar replied, standing up with Rodney as he turned for the base's entrance. "Our current mission is defending this ONI base. If the Colonel wants-"

"I'll be damned if I let what the Colonel wants get in the way of saving this entire planet, Baldemar! If he's withholding vital information on what they're here for, then we need to get it out of him in order to create a plan for keeping what they want here away from them. Am I understood, Lieutenant?"

Boris and Henry had also risen as the three were left stunned by Rodney's outburst. Baldemar gravely nodded before replying, "Yes, sir." As Rodney headed towards the base's entrance, Baldemar added, "Do not be too hard on him, Rodney. After all, he may not even know why the Covenant have amassed on Atlas with such numbers."

"He's ONI, Baldemar. He'll know what they're here for." With that, he was let into HAUBERK Base, leaving the rest of his team to ponder the situation by themselves.

Colonel Thompson stood by the door, having deciphered the SPARTAN's reasoning for having returned indoors. But, of course, he couldn't reveal that to him, nor would he. Instead, he set to leading him on a different route.

"I guess you're here because you want to know why those Covenant ships have arrived here. Our best guess is that they-"

"I know why they're here, Colonel. Now tell me what they've come for."

"We haven't figured that out yet, Commander," he lied.

"Don't play dumb with me. I know damned well that you know what they're here for. Now tell me."

The Colonel sighed. I guess I'm going to have to play hardball with this one. He looked the giant before him straight in the visor as he rallied all of his authority in preparation. "Look, SPARTAN. Not only does the Intelligence Protocol A4-092 prevent me from discussing classified matters to non-ONI personnel, I also outrank you. Therefore, my orders overrule yours, and I order you to desist in your efforts to interrogate me immediately. Got it, soldier?"

Rodney wore a menacing scowl under his helmet as he persisted. "Colonel, the entire planet is at stake here. I don't think you understand-"

"Damnit, SPARTAN, look here. I've been at this game a lot longer than you have, so don't tell me what I do and don't understand! We are well aware of the situation at hand, and unlike you, demanding action without using your damn head, we are critically analyzing every piece of information we have at this point in time to make sure that we're making the best decision possible." The Colonel folded his arms in finality, wanting Rodney out of his sight. "My orders stand, Commander. Now get back out there, and don't even think about coming back in until you've dropped every last Covenant soldier on this mountain."

After a moment of bitter frustration, he willed himself to be calm."Yes sir," replied the fuming SPARTAN. He made his way back out onto the mountain none the wiser, his thoughts lashing out as he did so. ONI. The guy pulls a nice guy act over our eyes to keep us loyal, but he's no different then the rest of them. As he lay back down beside Baldemar, he looked over to see his worried companion staring back. Am I so different? he suddenly thought to himself, shamed by his earlier outburst.

His thoughts were cast aside for the meantime as Baldemar activated his comm. link. "Status report, sir. What does he know?"

Rodney looked up, his mind suddenly free to think again. "He knows something, Theta. But I get the feeling he'll tell us when hell freezes over." His team slightly chuckled at the joke, pleased their leader had calmed down. But Rodney didn't join in with them, for his mind was already at work again on the Covenant's objective.

After a while, Henry spoke up for the first time since the Covenant had attacked. "Forget ONI for a minute. What do you think they're here for?"

Rodney's already racing mind didn't have much answer for his teammate. "I don't know, Henry. Atlas is your typical Inner Colony world, no more or less defenses than most. From what I've been able to read about it on my tac-pad, there's really nothing of importance on it whatsoever. However, the fact that there's obviously something top secret here goes without saying." He paused for a moment, trying to select possible candidates. "But as to what that is, I just don't know."

Henry waited a moment before asking a second question. "How do you suppose the Covenant know whatever ONI is keeping hidden is here? They're too good to make a blunder like this." Henry's question startled Rodney. He hadn't thought of that. "Do you suppose that the Covenant have hacked into our transmissions?" Henry asked, trying to rule out possible occurrences.

"Well, there's no proof that there is. They would have hit us a lot harder than they are now. They'd have sent up all their troops by dropship instead of having them climb this mountain and risk fighting through all its defenses. Plus, they would have called in much more air support to take our guys out and hold the sky."

"Good point. But that doesn't mean that all their other available units are off somewhere fighting us. The UNSCDF on Atlas didn't have any spare troops for defending this mountain, seeing they're all spread out in different battles across the planet. Couldn't the Covenant run into the same problem?"

"Possibly. I'm not sure. That assault carrier looked set to hold enough troops for a serious assault. But now that reinforcements have shown up, your idea seems to hold itself up."

At the word reinforcements, Boris suddenly thought of a potentially disastrous possibility. "What of this place, men? The Covenant just showed up with more than enough numbers to turn this battle into a turkey shoot, how many more will they send to destroy HAUBERK Base?"

This was also difficult for Rodney to answer, but not for the lack of information at hand. "There's a good chance that they'll increase the numbers in their assault against us. If they do, then there's also a good chance that this base won't make it out of the battle. I'm hoping that all the newly arrived Covenant don't treat this as a target of great importance and concentrate on finding whatever it is they want on here."

"And if what they want is in this building itself?" Boris retorted, dread seeming to swoop out of the air and drench his words as they reached Rodney's ears.

"Then our chances of accomplishing our mission, yet alone surviving, are slim." Although Team Theta weren't usually bothered by odds, the thought of the entire newly arrived Covenant fleet attacking them at once wasn't an easy thought to think.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite all his attempts to think rationally, Colonel Thompson had begun to feel afraid, for the new arrival of Covenant ships greatly troubled him. His earlier confrontation with the SPARTAN had forced him to act like a true ONI operative. He knew that he wasn't able to discuss the matter with him, but it still ate at him. He's right. Damnit, he's right. I'm more concerned about this damned base than the entire planet it sits on. He only realized now that he was turning into the agent ONI had always wanted him to be. Stepping over to the intercom system ashamedly, he keyed into the surveillance unit's end of the line.

"Speak to me," Doland instructed, expecting the Colonel to have keyed in sometime soon.

"Anything deciphered about the Covenant's tactics, Doland? What are the new ones here for?"

"In all honesty, Colonel, it's almost as if they have no tactics at all. Their engagement patterns are highly erratic, at best. Either this is some brilliant move that will take us completely by surprise, or they've all lost their minds."

  • 09.20.2011 11:38 PM PDT
Subject: [Story] Pact: A Tale of Brotherhood (Chapter Six!)

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

"What will we be getting here?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that either, Colonel. At the most, we could be getting three battlecruiser's worth of fighters, dropships and soldiers, but their patterns aren't readable enough. The units being sent this direction may be split up numerous times before they reach our location. And as for everywhere else on Atlas, we've set up a defensive perimeter around everything that might be of their interest. When we've confirmed for sure what they're here for, we'll bring as many of our soldiers as we can from other battles to that sector."

"I thought we'd concluded that they'd be here for-"

"I said when we've confirmed for sure," Doland snapped back, the pressure of the new situation starting to get to him. "There's a high chance that they've come for that, but until they arrive over there with their entire army, we'll continue to track their movements."

"Understood, Doland." Colonel Thompson hung up the receiver, sighing in frustration. For once, the Covenant were engaging in ground combat with the upper hand. This time, they held all the cards, for even ONI's top surveillance and intelligence couldn't be sure as to their intentions. All they held was a slight clue, and although the Colonel wanted to grab at it, ONI were far too methodical to jump to conclusions without sufficient evidence.

Yeah, that's the logical choice, he thought in bitter acceptance. The ice forming in the pit of his gut told him that ONI was making a big mistake, but the true effect of his worries didn't hit him until the corner of his vision caught a glance at the security terminal's radar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What felt like days for Rodney had passed since he had rejoined his team out on the mountain. His mind wouldn't relent, despite his attempts to dismiss the currently answerable questions that echoed continuously throughout. He lay with his head gently resting on the snow underneath him for a time, unsure as to when answers would make themselves known.

Team Theta had stopped their brainstorm on the Covenant's intentions almost half an hour beforehand, due to the fact that they were getting nowhere. The complete and utter lack of information on their subject made it almost laughable that they had continued to dwell on it for so long. But, even though they had stopped discussing what was to happen, none of the four had stopped thinking. I almost wouldn't mind it if the Covenant showed up about now, Rodney mused to himself, then I might beat the information I need out of them.

It was the same for the rest of Sierra Company, alone atop Mt. Arphos. Tension had formed around the thin air that lingered around, tension due to the suspense of waiting for their foe to arrive. Roughly two hours of the cruel wait hadn't been good for them. And because of this, a few men and women jumped as HAUBERK Base's speakers came to life, the Colonel's voice coming through strongly.

"Sierra Company, be on alert," he gravely warned, "Covenant reinforcements are inbound. Expect the airborne firefight to be brought back much closer to your general area. 24th Weapons Platoon, you are to immediately report back to base and reequip your standard heavy weaponry, in case our air units are in need of assistance. Also, expect ground forces coming up the mountain to be within firing range in a few minutes. That is all."

At his command, the 26 Marines left in the platoon stood up from their snow-crafted sniper bunkers and trudged a short distance back up to HAUBERK Base, while the rest of Sierra Company stayed on alert, now more focused than ever thanks to the Colonel's announcement. A few moments later, the company was once again whole, but those in sniping positions paid no attention to the return of their weapons platoon.

"Targets sighted," almost all of Sierra Company's spotters announced in unison a couple of minutes later. Marines wearing oxygen masks had used the intercom feature built into them. Those armed with the SRS99C-S2 AM weren't at exact optimal range as of yet, the hordes of Elites and Jackals were still just a bit too far out of range for precise shooting. But that didn't stop a select few from selecting targets and opening fire.

Out of the nine bullets that were fired, six hit their targets. One Jackal was hit clean through the head; an incredible shot at such range. The second Jackal was also caught unaware, the bullet crashing into its body and sending it back into another Elite, who took the brunt of its impact and then swept it aside in bock shock and anger. Three Elites were hit in the chest with the force of a punch from a Jiralhanae, and all three of their shield systems immediately failed. The fourth took a speeding bullet straight in the head, killing it instantly.

A Zealot-class General cried out a resounding battlecry, prompting the rest of its noble race to quickly respond and charge up the mountain. In its native tongue, the Zealot marveled at the range of the humans' accuracy as it led its noble warriors at the helm of their formation.

In the time it took for the surging wave of Covenant soldiers to enter the SRS99C-S2 AM's maximum effective range of 2.3km, a few expert soldiers, including Rodney and Henry, had fired off a few shots. Aiming such a shot was a difficult task, and despite lack of such an exercise of downhill, mountainous, out-of-max-range sniper training, most of the shots connected. This would make for an interesting sniper drill, Henry said aloud to nobody in particular as he carefully set up his next shot.

As he slowed his breathing once more and prepared to make small adjustments to his trajectory to compensate for the length of his shot, he brushed his reticule over one of the charging Elites in case they'd come close enough to register as a target on his HUD. He smiled to himself as his targeting crosshairs lit up red. They were finally in range. Nobody would be missing any shots now. And sure enough, a hail of bullets rained down upon the coming wave of Covenant as everyone noticed their crosshairs turn red.

Firing off his fourth shot and retrieving a spare magazine chocked full of 14.5x114mm APFSDS bullets, Rodney reloaded his rifle in deep thought. Something wasn't right about the Covenant's battle tactics to him. And though he tried to push the nagging feeling aside so he could concentrate on aiming, the thought would not let him be. He let go of the trigger grip, bringing his hand up to his comm. link and holding the button in. The small sound the device gave off alerted his team that he was about to speak.

"Theta? Does something seem off to you about the Covenant's tactics?" he hesitantly asked, not knowing what to make of the situation.

"You mean the fact that they're charging us from one direction and walking straight into our bullets?" Boris replied, a puzzled tone in his voice.

"Yeah. That's exactly what I meant, Boris." He started to talk a little bit faster as a fear he couldn't place crept along the strings of his mind. "I don't like this at all."

"Maybe you should go see the Colonel. If they're planning something, then he and his ONI magic might be able spot something out of the ordinary."

At the mention of Colonel Thompson, Rodney started to scowl again. "Right now, I'm the last person he'll be wanting to see. But it seems we have no choice," he sighed. However, as soon as he had got up on one knee, the speakers came to life once again, except the voice emitting from them seemed far more worried than the voice that came through last time.

"Sierra Company," the Colonel ordered, his voice almost shaking with realization, "you need to split up now, on the double. We're being flanked from every direction. I want at least 30 men to each quarter of visibility. Go, now!"

"-blam!-," Rodney cursed under his breath. He held in his comm. link activator and quickly started dishing out orders. "Alright, team, we've got to be quick about this. Henry and Boris, you two stay together. I want you on the east side of this mountain for one minute, then you are to quickly relocate to the north side and continue with suppressive fire. One minute on the north quarter as well, then back to east. Go."

The two SPARTANs quickly took off after saluting while Rodney continued. "Baldemar, you're with me. Same deal as the others. We stay here for a minute, then relocate to the south quarter for a minute before coming back."

"Yes, sir," Baldemar replied as Rodney quickly lay back down in search of targets. The blackened sky above looked far more sinister and concealing than it did before. For a solid minute, Rodney calmly aimed his shots, trying not to let the rising panic of Sierra Company's situation affect his aim. But despite his complete and utter stillness in firing, the allocated time didn't go by as slowly as he thought it would. Baldemar quickly activated his comm. link, the small beep bringing Rodney to attention.

They both stood up, bounding through the snow as they made their way over to the south quarter of Mt. Arphos. Just as the routine was starting to become engraved in his mind, a beam of accelerated plasma from a Covenant beam rifle whizzed past his head, quickly bringing him back to flexible thinking.

"Hit the deck!" Rodney quickly yelled, and the two quickly dived into the snow as another shot barely missed him. Rodney didn't dare move a muscle from where he had fallen, but he had guessed they were only a few feet from cover that had been set up. Also not wishing to peer out from the large imprint he'd made in the snow, Baldemar began assessing the situation.

[Edited on 09.20.2011 11:40 PM PDT]

  • 09.20.2011 11:39 PM PDT
Subject: [Story] Pact: A Tale of Brotherhood (Chapter Seven! Yeah!)

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

"From the second shot's trajectory, I would estimate the target is somewhere between a 165 to 175 degree field. As quickly as he could, he looked up with his binoculars and scanned. He brought his head back down just in time to avoid two shots coming in from different directions. "Our first target is 41 degrees down, and 9.6 degrees left from true south."

Rodney heard a few shots from UNSC snipers as he slowly got his sniper rifle in line with Baldemar's reporting. He rose up onto his knees in an instant and took the Jackal down with almost no time to spare, for as soon as he ducked back down, another shot buzzed overhead. A hail of sniper bullets followed Rodney's down the mountain with astonishing speed and impaled themselves in other Covenant snipers as Baldemar signaled that it was time to move again. They got up with inhuman pace and quickly bolted back towards the west quarter of the mountain.

Baldemar wasn't really needed once Rodney lay back down, thanks to the innumerable amount of Covenant climbing up the west side of Mt. Arphos. He wouldn't have much trouble finding targets. Baldemar looked up to the still darkened sky, counting off seconds in his head as he noticed that the dogfight in the air had indeed moved closer to HAUBERK Base.

Two AC-220 Vultures were slowly hovering backwards, heading towards the base as two AV-22 Sparrowhawks and two AV-14 Hornets escorted them, protecting their three and nine from being attacked as the second Vulture watched their six and led them forward, having turned around in search of more targets. F-97 Skyhawks and GA-TL1 Longswords swooped and dived through the air, although the latter were much less nimble. Other Sparrowhawks and Hornets maneuvered around, evading enemy fire and returning fire when able.

However, by the time Baldemar had counted off 40 seconds, he had noticed that the UNSC aircraft above them had begun to group together. And what they did next shocked him to the very core.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colonel Thompson stood perfectly still, finding that he couldn't look away from the security terminal's faintly glowing radar in front of him, as if his gaze had been held in place by an unseen hand. The Covenant were getting closer, now that they'd spread out their forces. Now I understand why they didn't do it sooner. They've completely caught us offguard, although their losses must be somehow beneficial to us. But as he stared on at the screen in front of him, it almost seemed that the Covenant's numbers were limitless, and their assault on his base would never end.

Damnit, he thought in futility. "Damnit!"

The fear welling up inside of him was far more devastating than the army closing in outside. He tried his best to quell his rising terror, but it would not be so easily swayed. And as he noticed that the UNSC air units were grouping together, his fear of losing suddenly caught him in a death vice. He immediately assumed the worst. No. No, they can't be leaving. Not now!

But despite his desperate pleas, every UNSC fighter, save the two Vultures, two Skyhawks, two Hornets and one Sparrowhawk took off to the south, leaving the Colonel and Sierra Company to their doom. He looked around wildly, his hopes of survival shattering deep inside his blackened heart.

Suddenly, as his panic escalated, the intercom system buzzed. The Colonel quickly grabbed at it, almost dropping it in his sheer panic as he lifted it up to his mouth. "What the hell is going on?"

"You are needed in the surveillance quarters. Get down here immediately, Colonel."

Not even bothering to reply, he dropped the receiver, forgetting to hang it back up as he raced over towards the building's main set of stairs. Thoughts of total annihilation chased him down the stairwell as he made his way down the stairs, his adrenaline surging through him, laced with dread. Time seemed to stand still, allowing him no refuge on his way down before he finally made it down to the 2nd floor, violently opening the obstructive door that stood in his way. He rushed in to be greeted by Doland, who saluted his superior.

"Don't bother, Doland. Just tell me why all our air units have packed up and left."

Doland merely gestured to the room's main radar screen upon the wall that he faced, instructing the Colonel to turn around. On the screen was a bitter man, one who looked like he'd seen war his entire life. His alert and menacing stare almost made it too difficult for the Colonel to look at him, for he knew this man well, and he knew all too well that crossing him wasn't a very smart move.

Colonel Thompson saluted before quietly acknowledging the man dressed in a green, Army-commissioned suit with a three-starred insignia upon his breast. "Lieutenant General Wolfe."

The Lt. General looked him over before saluting back. "Colonel Thompson. I'd imagine you have questions."

Despite his fear of the man, the Colonel couldn't hold his fear, which had turned to anger, back. "You're damned right I have questions! Without that air support, this base is doomed, as well as the company outside who just happens to be defending it! What about us, Wolfe?"

Wolfe's face didn't waver in the slightest. His younger appearance gave him a look that suggested he could be out there on the battlefield himself, and turn anything that stood in his way into dust. "I am aware of that, Colonel. But there more urgent matters that need attending to."

"Like what?" the Colonel shot back, infuriated by Wolfe's calm state. How can he be calm knowing he's left us to die?

For an instant, Colonel Thompson thought he saw a flicker of dread in the Lt. General's face. But he dismissed it as Wolfe calmly began to speak once more, his quiet, yet utterly commanding voice effectively masking what the situation was doing to him. "The Covenant have found ONI Excavation Site JL-32C, and are pouring their entire army in towards it."

As if it was made of lead, the Colonel's jaw dropped. He couldn't hide the shock he felt as he tried to summon the rest of the fleeing courage he had left, just so he could utter a reply to the revelation that could potentially spell the end of humanity as they knew it. "You you mean"

"That is correct, Colonel. They have found the artifact site."


(Just when you thought this story was just about SPARTANs killing things for the entire story... now the question is, where does it go from here? I guess you'll just have to wait and see. Oh, and you'll have to enjoy the story and comment too. That is an integral part of the process... so, please.)

[Edited on 09.22.2011 11:15 PM PDT]

  • 09.20.2011 11:41 PM PDT
Subject: [Story] Pact: A Tale of Brotherhood (Chapter Six!)

Posted by: Commander GX
Bungie.Match.com: Our Johnson knows what the ladies like.

:D

You're a pretty good writer Bloody.

  • 09.21.2011 5:09 AM PDT

Hey, I've noticed you're an Intrepid member now! Congrats.

Reading now :P

  • 09.21.2011 5:33 AM PDT

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


Posted by: M94 Mushroom Man
:D

You're a pretty good writer Bloody.
Thanks, brochevski. You're a pretty good group runner yourself.
Posted by: S p h 1 n X O 7
Hey, I've noticed you're an Intrepid member now! Congrats.

Reading now :P
Yeah. I don't even have a linked gamertag... I guess I must post too much. :D

I appreciate your comments, also. And for sticking with this thing.

  • 09.22.2011 11:19 PM PDT

Posted by: Commander GX
Bungie.Match.com: Our Johnson knows what the ladies like.


Posted by: OfTheBloodguard

Posted by: M94 Mushroom Man
:D

You're a pretty good writer Bloody.
Thanks, brochevski. You're a pretty good group runner yourself.


Not really. They usually fail pretty badly. But you guys sure don't help...

  • 09.23.2011 7:31 PM PDT

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


Posted by: M94 Mushroom Man

Posted by: OfTheBloodguard

Posted by: M94 Mushroom Man
:D

You're a pretty good writer Bloody.
Thanks, brochevski. You're a pretty good group runner yourself.


Not really. They usually fail pretty badly. But you guys sure don't help...
D: it's not our fault we suck at making friends on the internet...

  • 09.24.2011 6:11 AM PDT
Subject: [Story] Pact: A Tale of Brotherhood (Prologue is up!)

One Love,
One Tru7h,
One Destiny.


Writer for TheGameFanatics.com

Oh look! Another chapter!

Yesh!

Great work, Keeps. =)

  • 09.24.2011 3:57 PM PDT

RaInCrY22 - Rain

I read a bit of the beginning, pretty good, I was debating on making my own storyline revolving my character and my friend.. Dunno if making a halo story is exactly copyrighting tho?

  • 09.26.2011 3:10 AM PDT

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

Posted by: King Nis085
Oh look! Another chapter!

Yesh!

Great work, Keeps. =)
Thanks, man. Glad you still got my back. :)

Posted by: RaInCrY22
I read a bit of the beginning, pretty good, I was debating on making my own storyline revolving my character and my friend.. Dunno if making a halo story is exactly copyrighting tho?
From what I can tell, the "MATERIALS PROVIDED TO BUNGIE OR POSTED AT ANY BUNGIE WEB SITE" section of the B.net Terms of Use covers this. Basically, if the web team or mods didn't like us doing this sort of thing, then it would have been gone by now. This was made under Bungie's supervision, in a sense, and since I'm not trying to make any profit from it, then it shouldn't be infringing any copyrights.

That's as good of an explanation that you'll get from me. Any corrections would be appreciated, as this sort of thing isn't exactly my forte. But thanks for reading, and I encourage you to step up and submit your own story to the Gallery.

  • 09.26.2011 11:20 PM PDT

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

Alright, guys. This is the last of my completed pre-written material.

Chapter 8: Getaway

To Colonel Thompson, it felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. For a moment or two, he was speechless; his mind unable to fathom even a single word to speak as the hope he had in humanity's survival started to seep out of him. Dark entities roamed free, deep within him, as a thought of bitter truth continued to scold him. I was right.

Wait. A realization hit him almost as hard as Wolfe's shattering news, despair once again turning into anger. I was right!

Looking up from the floor, straight into the Lt. General's eyes, he let loose all that he held within. "I was right, Wolfe! The Covenant have come for whatever is in that site! You didn't listen to me as I practically pleaded for additional reinforcements to be stationed there, and now, we'll lose far more men than we should have because of it! They might even get inside there because of it!"

Calm as ever, almost as if the Colonel was nothing but a mistaken pupil in his class of war, Lt. General Wolfe patiently gazed back at him, waiting for his anger to subside. However, after a few moments, naught had changed. He was still breathing heavily, his eyes almost dancing with flame as they burned a hole in the monitor he fiercely kept them on. "We are aware of the risks you name," Wolfe lectured, deciding to reply, "but you and I both know that we aren't the kind of people who act out on a whim. That would be foolish. The fact that you were right is irrelevant, Colonel. We could have lost a great deal many more men if we'd chose to send them all out to the artifact site and it turned out that the Covenant were seeking something else on this planet."

While he didn't want to admit it was true, Colonel Thompson had to face the fact that Wolfe was right, and that the risk he'd been aching to take may have cost the UNSC dearly if he'd been wrong. But I wasn't wrong, he thought to himself, misery and anger warring each other for supremacy in his head as the jagged, broken thought echoed without remorse. But as he felt he couldn't argue any longer, he finally let a bitter sigh of defeat escape him, looking up once more. "Your orders, sir?" he asked, misery finally taking hold.

"Whoever you have left defending your base will stay for as long as they can hold out. The minute that enemy numbers become too much to deal with, they will immediately depart to the artifact site. Pilots will be notified as such." He paused for a second, recalling the layout of the Colonel's building. "I'd imagine you will purge all data and escape when the time arrives, Colonel."

"Yes, sir."

"Very well then." As the Lt. General raised his hand to order for the feed to be terminated, Colonel Thompson quickly spoke out.

"Look, Joshua." Wolfe faintly reacted to the use of his first name, but stayed a hand to someone off-frame, signaling for the feed to continue. "I'm sorry. I acted completely out of order. You were right," the Colonel solemnly admitted, feeling rather foolish at his earlier outburst.

Lt. General Wolfe's gaze softened for a fraction of a second, but he quickly regained his hardened composure and betrayed no other reaction. "That will be all, Colonel." The feed cut, and the screen returned to its usual business of displaying tactical information with an overwhelming sense of finality, as if it had slammed a door shut on all the hopes and dreams that humanity had of surviving the Covenant's unending onslaught. For a while, all the Colonel could do was blankly stare at the screen that Wolfe had spoken to him through.

"Sir?" Doland quietly asked, trying to gauge the Colonel's reaction to what he had just heard. He didn't immediately respond, for he was busy trying to stop his mind from shattering. Not wishing to hear or feel the sickening cracks form inside, he almost groaned, knowing he'd have to answer Doland eventually. With an effort, he tore his vision away from the monitor that had foretold their doom, but despite his efforts, he couldn't bring himself to turn and face the man. His gaze crashed to the floor, and his now fragile mind bore the new strain of presenting a response.

"Doland? What does a man do when all his hope gives way?" Donald once again tried to gauge what was happening in his CO's head as the Colonel continued to stare down into a pit of utter despair. "What does he do when he has to face the possibility that all he's ever known could be wiped away from existence?"

A tinge of sadness made itself known to Doland as he stepped over to stand beside the Colonel. They stood together, side by side, in total silence for while before he responded. "He stands firm, Colonel."

At that, Colonel Thompson slowly lifted his gaze from the floor and weakly looked up at one of his top surveillance operatives in total awe. To say such a thing now, in the face of all that threatens our very survival. He smiled for a moment as another thought entered his mind. Hell, he should have my job. As Doland noticed his stare and turned to face him, he did the same.

Neither man seemed to have the words to say as they continued to face each other. The feeling in the air was surreal to them; the tide of the moment had turned, and hope that should have perished at the hands of the Covenant was now burning brightly. To all who were down in that surveillance operations facility, it felt to be an unconquerable force, the very thing that would fend off their savage enemy. And although it was not something they could wield in battle, their new-found hope seemed to promise that it would carry them on beyond their mortal limits, until every last foe that stood against them had perished.

But, although it felt that nothing could disperse his hope, a sense of urgency suddenly struck the Colonel as he realised where he would be required. Knowing he couldn't embrace the moment any longer, he stepped back a pace and turned for the door. As he neared it and placed a firm hand on its handle, he stopped for a second, momentarily overcome once again. Searching his corrupted soul for the right words to speak, he turned to his crew one last time, looking Doland straight in the eyes with the gratitude he'd never properly expressed before.

"Thank you," he said, the simplicity of his words completely overshadowed by the resonance of his gratitude. And with that, he left his crew to inform the soldiers up on Mt. Arphos of the crushing events that had transpired without their knowledge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Captain, we're getting hammered out here!" a Marine shouted as he and the few others left in his squadron leapt out of the way of yet another sickly green projectile screaming towards them. It crashed into the ground, searing snow and rock beneath as it dispersed into a seething pool of plasma. They barely had time to regroup before another projectile hurtled their way, forcing them to clear out once.

"Don't remind me, Sergeant!" Captain Goodman yelled back as he picked himself up from the icy clutches of the mountain. "Now that we've been left without air superiority for God knows what reason, we may as well present ourselves on a silver platter to those split-lipped bastards!" He, too, instantly put his oxygen mask back on. Despite the mask pumping a safe mix of oxygen and small traces of other gases for safe breathing without side effects, there was still more of a percentage of oxygen in the tanks that had been supplied to Sierra Company than in Atlas's regular atmosphere at sea level. But, even with this in mind, they had been advised to only take them off in periods of inactivity, for the thin amount of oxygen in the air around the peak of Mt. Arphos allowed very little stamina without the proper breathing apparatus. Even ten seconds of unaided running in such an environment would leave a regular Marine breathless.

"What about the Colonel? Shouldn't he have an explanation for why we've been left here?"

"Apparently, he's gone and left us as well! I suppose he thinks We can't get into the main entrance without his permission, and seeing he's not responding, we're all on our own!" Despite putting on a brave face, the Captain nearly choked on his words as he finished his sentence. Have we really been left to die?

Rick wasn't alone in his thoughts. The morale of Sierra Company was quickly fading as the realization hit, and as the Covenant continued to press onward towards them, they now found themselves pinned, unable to shake their assailants free. Those without heavy weaponry suddenly went in search of other soldiers who did, resulting in eight bands of men and women evenly spaced around Mt. Arphos who had each transported all available cover to their final holdoff positions, now determined to hold their enemy off until the bitter end. Despite the lack of solace that the thought gave, it would do for them.

HAUBERK Base's defence turrets picked up once more as Covenant aircraft decided to try their luck on another forward movement. The two remaining Skyhawks screamed past in yet another hit and run attempt, puncturing the hull of one Banshee and tearing the wing from another, sending both vehicles to their deaths upon the mountain below. If the overwhelming feelings of dread and anxiety weren't so commanding, the manoeuvre would have become boring after a while. But it was all they could do to hold the enemy back; two Skyhawks and a few other UNSC aircraft against an entire Covenant armada was hardly a fair match.

  • 09.27.2011 10:18 PM PDT

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

Closer and closer the Covenant came, the final kill just within their reach. In retaliation, Rodney got up from his position as something within him clicked and addressed his team. "Alright, Theta. Tangos have come in past optimal range, time to change up. Rendezvous at HAUBERK's entrance, now." Baldemar nodded as Rodney glanced his way, and all four SPARTANs now dashed towards the western side of the building in a last, dire effort to accomplish their mission and survive.

Arriving at their destination within a matter of seconds, Boris immediately stepped over to his team leader as Theta was reunited once more. "How are we going to play this one out, sir?" he quickly asked, awaiting further orders. The fact that the Covenant were in their sights, advancing towards Sierra Company's now ragged defences, and yet Rodney wasn't gunning them down gave him a feeling of suspense; the likes of which he hadn't felt in a long time.

Rodney looked over to him, waiting a couple of seconds to sort the words on his tongue in order. "We hold here until Colonel Thompson lets us in," Rodney ordered, a gravity to his tone. "We cannot let the Covenant breach this entrance. Once we're let back in, we are to help every last soldier capable of fighting get inside. As soon as everyone's in, we'll set up and resupply ourselves. From there, we wait it out. If the worst comes to be, and they do make it in there, then we'll be forced to retreat into the floors below, taking out as many as we can as we go."

"But, Rodney, what if we are not let in?" Baldemar hesitantly asked, not really sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"He has to let us in. We're done for if he doesn't, and I am not losing any of you here today. That was our pact to the Admiral, remember?" Rodney's voice was without fault. He meant what he had said. I won't lose you, his mind echoed the words again.

"I remember, Rodney. I just do not like the situation we have been placed in. Besides, I thought that the Colonel does not trust you. How can you trust him with your life? With our lives?"

"I have no choice, Baldemar. The ball's in his park now. He's in there, and we're locked out. All I can ask is that he chooses the smarter option and saves his men." A call to arms in the form of thunderous defence turrets made Rodney aware of his inaction. In one swift, fluid motion, he lifted his rifle up to a firing stance. His vision, aided by the BR55's scope, scanned the mountain side below in search of targets, and he was presented with an abundance of Covenant warriors to choose from.

Seeing Rodney ready his weapon, his team did the same. Finally, thought Boris, reinvigorated with purpose. The pause hadn't been good for any of them, for there was no logic to inaction on the battlefield, especially in such a situation as desperate as theirs. And as they began to pick off the massive force of Covenant, one by one, so too did the last of Sierra Company begin.

Bullets rained and explosions danced their way across the mountain; a spectacle as dazzling as it was deadly. Plasma raced back up in retaliation, and those in the way were forced to take shelter behind their cover; those not quick enough earned themselves an agonizing death as burning streams and bolts impacted flesh. And to the soldiers' horror, their teammates were dropping left and right. Sierra Company's efforts and pace immediately grew to try and compensate, but it seemed that the inevitable would finally catch up to them like time on an aged soul.

Emotion was swirling and bubbling as frustration grew. A few soldiers even started yelling out as the Covenant fell before their frantic defences, savouring what little courage it gave them. But, regardless of how many they could kill, the numbers advancing on their position weren't dwindling. The horde of Covenant warriors almost looked to be endless, and it was playing havoc with Sierra Company's minds. Even the most calm of soldiers were starting to become anxious.

"God damnit, sir, where the hell is the Colonel?" Boris asked, a trace of impatience discernible in his voice as his XM510 Multishot Grenade Launcher spat grenade after grenade down towards the seemingly unstoppable legion heading their way, each round going up in flames as it impacted against a solid surface. Unlike the M319 Individual Grenade Launcher, this weapon utilized a revolving chamber reloading system, allowing six grenades to be shot in multiple succession before any reloading was required.

"He'll be here, Theta. Don't you worry," Rodney replied assertively, although even he was starting to lose his tentatively-placed faith in the ONI operative who had the choice of either saving or sacrificing their lives.

Boris was about to acknowledge his team leader, but was abruptly cut off by the almighty impact of a Skyhawk crashing head-on into the mountain, straight into a large group of the attacking army. The force of the collision aggressively shook the mountain as a massive fireball erupted from the wreckage, incinerating all within its fiery radius. The devastation was breathtaking, it was almost as if their gods had swept every living being within the vicinity of the crater off onto the Great Journey itself, freeing them of their burdens and promising them salvation everlasting.

But, as miraculous as the disaster was, the event had Sierra Company looking up to the skies, and the war up above seemed to be the final nail in their coffin. Covenant aircraft were amassed around the mountain, darkened skies behind them only adding to the chilling sight. UNSC air resistance was a rarity around Mt Arphos now, everything save a Skyhawk, a Sparrowhawk and the two Vultures had either left the air space with the initial fleeing before or had been gunned down in an almost suicidal attempt to keep the tremendous enemy air force at bay. And with every kill added to the tally, the Covenant gained an inch of ground closer to their target.

All seemed lost. Any hopes that they would make it out alive had ruthlessly been crushed. Any enemy that fell had more to take its place. The only light still flickering was Team Theta's pact, for they had sworn to Admiral Ferguson that the battlefield wouldn't take them. But keeping such a pact was a true test indeed, for now, the insurmountable odds against them still hadn't ceased their growth. The blackened skies above only added to the shattered last hopes that they had dared to have.

A wayward plasma grenade soared through the air, its trajectory altered by the explosion of a carefully aimed rocket that had hit the group it had been thrown from. A marine helplessly watched as it headed towards their fortifications, almost mocking him as it glowed a radiant blue against the night's sky. It made a soft thud as it landed just beside the barrier that protected him. It quickly began melting snow around it as the grenade reacted to its landing and prepared for detonation. But the Marine would have none of it.

To him, in that one moment, that single grenade represented all of the alien bastards that had been taking humanity out, world by bloody world. It represented all the bloodshed and murder that they had inflicted, it represented all the helplessness that humanity had felt as it was systematically attacked and overpowered, able to do nothing but escape and watch as their world was turned to molten glass. In the instant it landed, he snapped.

"I won't stand for this anymore!" he yelled as he quickly scooped a hand deeply under the snow that the sizzling grenade sat upon, seconds away from going off. He hefted the pile of snow up from the mountain, and with a triumphant cry, threw it back. His words were muffled by his oxygen mask, but his sudden ferocity wasn't.

The grenade didn't make it back to the Covenant front lines, instead igniting in mid-air. His group stood stunned by the marine's act, suddenly grasping what he had meant when he threw the sticky back. All that he had felt was now shared by those boxed up at his placed cover. And with a yell, they took the fight back to the enemy before them, ready to go out fighting for their race's survival.

Sparked by a sudden rush of resilience, the squad came out with guns blazing. While still behind cover, the Marines and ODSTs were now spending far less time hiding, as if what spurred them on would disapprove of cowardice and abandon them. Within a matter of seconds, their effectiveness had dramatically raised; the squad no longer intimidated by Death's presence before them as they continued to deliver more and more firepower down to their now alerted foe.

A few crack shots answered the squad's challenge, instantly killing off four soldiers who didn't get down in time. More plasma seared through the air, seeking out anyone who dared to stand up to the Covenant again. The squad was aghast, their added bravery extinguished almost as fast as it had come to them. A few more bodies fell as they continued to reel, suddenly finding themselves on the receiving end of a massive retaliation.

They weren't alone. The Covenant's advance had been rather slow-paced, as if they were gathering to watch the gods sweep their heretical enemies from existence. But now, they'd shifted gears like a predator who'd caught a trace of wounded prey. Sierra Company could barely hold them off even before they'd begun their final assault, now it seemed that there would be no chance to survive.

But, without warning, a counter-blow arrived. Over the cries of death and agony, Colonel Thompson's voice prevailed, calling Sierra Company to action. "Inside, now! Do not stop for anything, or anyone! As soon as the last able-bodied soldier is through this door, I'm locking it tighter than a camel's ass in a sandstorm, and the only way you're getting out is via the birds you flew in on. Move, people!" His voice rang with urgency, trying to make up for as much lost time as he could.

  • 09.27.2011 10:19 PM PDT

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

The timing couldn't have been better. Without a moment's hesitation, Sierra Company disbanded their cover setups, took all necessary equipment and bolted for HAUBERK Base's entrance, cheering as they ran. Where they had all but lost the hope that they were going to make it out alive a few seconds ago, now their hopes had risen from the ashes of despair, drawing power from the Colonel's return. But while they celebrated on one hand, they knew that the risk of being gunned down on the way over to freedom was still a very real possibility. Out of desperation, soldiers took shots as they ran, hoping it would slow their hunters down.

As those who'd been spread out around Mt. Arphos started nearing the entrance, Team Theta fanned out, doing their best to keep it as safe as possible for anyone entering. They were now the last four who had their full attention fixed on the Covenant, saving everyone else was a higher priority on their list than saving themselves.

"It seems you were right, Rodney," Baldemar remarked, impressed by his leader's faith in someone he himself didn't trust in the slightest. "He did indeed make the better choice. But how could you have known that he would do so?"

"I didn't know."

Theta's awe for Rodney went unspoken, yet it was discernible to him as if it were a presence standing at his side. Ever since the fateful day where the team lost two of its members, they had changed for both the better and the worse. While their raw, almost unchallenged effectiveness had made them a tremendous asset to the UNSC, the team had grown more and more secluded, slowly losing the ability to trust anyone outside of their team. Their deaths had hit Rodney the hardest, as he still blamed himself, even now. And as a result, while he was a formidably capable leader, his ability to put the lives of him and his team in the hands of others had been deteriorating over time.

His team-mates had been noticing this gentle decline, as it had been affecting them as well, albeit at a slower rate. The fact that Rodney had been able to trust the Colonel to come back for Sierra Company stunned them, for it may have been that if they had been asked to do such a thing, they weren't so sure they could last as long as their leader had. But the thought quickly passed, for there was no time to spare. And so the SPARTANs continued to defend HAUBERK Base's entrance, their aim scarcely off as shot after shot continued to find its mark.

Despite their significant losses, there were still a lot of soldiers around the mountain, leading to a constant stream of Marines and ODSTs trickling into HAUBERK Base. And although the tension in the air was thick, Sierra Company's mood had brightened drastically. But, as Rodney glanced over at the entrance, he saw a lone ODST crouching over a fallen comrade just out of the line. Worried that he too would be killed, Rodney yelled a command at him, urging him to carry on. But the ODST gave no response, not even so much as a flinch.

Driven by urgency, Rodney sped over and crouched beside him, placing his BR55 onto one of his magnetic attachments and grabbing him by the shoulders.

"You in there, soldier? Get a move on!" he insisted, not wishing to leave him to the wolves. But once again, the ODST gave no response. He didn't firm up in the SPARTAN's grip, lolling as he was shaken, too far gone in his grief to acknowledge the shaking he'd been given. Even over the tired cries and cheers around him, Rodney could still hear a faint sobbing.

Although he understood the trooper's pain, pushing away the memories of his own team-mate's deaths as they came to him, there was simply no time to waste. Rodney hefted him up onto his feet, and then ran towards the entrance, dragging him by the arm. The ODST kept pace to avoid falling down and being dragged through the snow, but he still looked to the body, his arm outstretched to it in yearning. They made it to the entrance quickly, and Rodney quickly whipped him into the inflow. He immediately turned around, joining the fight once more as he reselected his BR.

Fortunately, by the time he had begun to fire, the majority of Sierra Company had made it inside. And after a few more soldiers reached the entrance, Theta departed from the battlefield, killing off as many as they could as they stepped back into the ONI facility. As soon as Boris had made it through, Colonel Thompson immediately closed the heavy entrance door remotely from his terminal. It almost shook the building as it slid over, giving hope to those inside that it would hold the Covenant off.

Everyone was exhausted. The battle had been ruthless and demanding, and as soon as they'd gotten inside, most of Sierra Company had seated themselves upon the floor, gasping for breath as their rest craving bodies finally getting what they had been needing. Even Theta, who'd been the people to moved the most around Mt. Arphos by far, felt the effects of the battle, which gave them a sense of scale in how big their mission had been.

The Colonel stepped to the middle of the room, surveying what was left of the company that had put their lives on the line for all that HAUBERK Base held within. A quick headcount put the total figure left at 88, minus the nine pilots who'd stayed indoors and Theta. They had suffered staggering losses, and the rest of Sierra weren't a pretty sight to behold either. Total fatigue shrouded them as if it were a cloud of fog, and injuries weren't rare. Some had even been burned by plasma, gaping wounds left as a remnant of the Covenant's untamed violence.

Disheartened by what he saw, guilt eating away at him, the Colonel couldn't help but feel responsible. While he'd been down in the depths of his base, the soldiers lying around him had been getting slaughtered by an army of thousands, perhaps even more. The fact that they had even survived, let alone racked up such a kill count was an extraordinary feat. And if I'd been sent a lesser team, I would be standing here with nobody to thank, he thought, thanking his lucky stars that Sierra Company had done as well as they had. But still, it was justified. I had no choice. They have to understand.

Wars still raged within his head, and even though he did his best to keep himself composed, what'd he felt in the surveillance operations facility had dispersed as a broken company made their way back into his base. It seemed that he just couldn't keep his hopes alive, even after all the support he had been given. But nevertheless, the Colonel had received his orders, and he had no choice but to see them through. Summoning every last bit of resolve he had left, he addressed Sierra Company for the last time.

"I have been in contact with one of ONI's highest ranking officers, who has informed me of an urgent matter that has come to the attention of our personnel here on Atlas. Although the details are highly classified, I am able to tell you that we have learned of the Covenant's reasoning for attacking this planet, and that you will be sent out to hold off their main army as soon as possible." His tone was matter of fact, almost emotionless, which was the near opposite of how he felt inside.

Sierra Company couldn't believe it. Although they made no audible protest, how they felt about having to fight an even larger Covenant force was plainly written across their faces.

"We are redirecting every possible soldier we can afford to take from around the planet to the site, and as we speak, we are amassing a main army of our own to counter their advance. This mission is of vital importance, far surpassing even this base in terms of worth to them. You will not let them get what they came here for, and that order is to be followed above all else. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Sierra Company replied wearily. Their bodies may have been broken, but their will to fight had not, even after all they had been through the last couple of hours. However, some injuries around the room were rather impairing and in need of medical attention. One of the company's corpsmen asked the Colonel for a quick moment to treat only the most serious of wounds, which the Colonel allowed.

While they worked, everyone else began to check their gear over. Extreme environments like the mountain outside were infamous for causing faults in weapons, and despite the rugged tenacity of most UNSC weaponry, some had indeed succumbed to the cold. Slight tremors were able to be felt as Sierra Company collected themselves and prepared for yet another mission, this was due to plasma impacting HAUBERK Base's exterior. This wasn't a good sign to the Colonel, for the tremors were becoming more and more frequent.

A few minutes later, most of the soldiers around had been treated as well as time constrictions would allow, and though the relief was not permanent, it would have to suffice. They were as ready as they could be to fight again.

As the coprsemen stood at attention, signalling that they had done all they could, Colonel Thompson nodded and asked Sierra Company to follow him up to the aircraft delivery bay, not wishing to take a look at the security terminal. He already knew what he'd see. As he led them towards the stairs up to the top floor, he continued speaking.

"By now, the rate at which we are able to defend this base will have significantly lowered due to your departure from the battlefield. As a result of this, our defence turrets and aircraft will have had to compensate by shooting at ground units as well as air units. This will likely mean that enemy units have closed the gap to a fairly close distance, and will be gaining more ground every second we waste. Also, this means that extracting you via D77-TC will be extremely risky." He motioned for everyone behind him to go forward without him once they arrived at the ramps leading up to their Pelicans up on the landing pads.

  • 09.27.2011 10:19 PM PDT

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

"The instant that you are able to exit this base, you will need to form up," he continued as he walked over to the activation terminal. At that moment, he was the only ONI operative in the building that wasn't standing by at a station deep within Mt. Arphos, at the very bottom of HAUBERK Base, where they would be escorted out of the mountain via a network of passageways that eventually took them down to ground level, so he had to extend the landing pads himself.

"Your pilots will have nine angles to cover, they will be using their dropship's armaments to clear a path large enough for you to escape without meeting impassable resistance. Once you've made it out of the immediate danger area, your pilots will instruct you on further details. They know only what we've legally been able to tell them, so critical matters will not be discussed with you. But you will be told enough to give you an adequate idea of what your mission will consist of."

Sierra Company made their way up to the faithful Pelicans that had brought them to the mountain that had nearly ended them all, and the Colonel watched on, trying to stay detached and indifferent. But the sight before him had the power to pluck even his old, numbed strings and produce haunting melodies of pain and atrocity. Here was what was left of the surviving company that had saved his life. Just over half of them remained, barely any of whom were fit to run another mission. And yet, they would not stand down.

It had been an interesting morning for the Colonel. His courage and his hope had been built up and broken more times than he could ever remember, just over the past few hours. But if I lose hope again, even after seeing these soldiers survive against all odds and keep their stride, then I may as well hang up my insignia and abandon my role in this war altogether. His train of thought continued as it came to Team Theta's turn to ascend the aisle up to their mad dash at escape. His eyes fell upon their black armoured leader, the one who had dared to defy him over his orders. It pained him to see such a warrior, one that was willing to do anything and everything for the good of his team and their mission. You should know better by now. If you weren't listening when they taught you to fight, then you'll learn soon enough. There are some forces in this world that won't break, no matter how good you are. You have to fall sometimes.

As if he'd said it aloud, Rodney glanced his way, unsure what to make of the man now. It was clear to him that the ONI operative didn't hold him in very high regards, and although he couldn't bring himself to respect the man, he had to acknowledge the fact that he owed Colonel Thompson his life. But, even though that fact was irrefutable, it didn't have any power over the opinion he'd decided upon of him. In fact, Rodney found that he almost resented having being saved by the Colonel, as if he feared that he might use it as leverage against his team and discredit their effectiveness as a proper unit.

Before his mind got too deep into that scenario, Rodney snapped himself back to reality. With a hand signal, he instructed Boris and Henry to take the middle platform, as was their usual custom of fireteam transport. Rodney chose the catwalk that lead to the platform on the right hand side, seeing it was the last one that had a craft with any sitting room left, and Baldemar followed tensely, awaiting their order for takeoff.

By the time that everyone had settled themselves into their dropships, the pilots were ready to lift off, and each one sounded off via their coms. The Colonel was standing by with a transceiver tuned to the frequency of the Pelicans, and acknowledged each pilot as they sounded off. Once he had confirmed that all were ready, he gave the order to start engines. All nine Pelicans came to life with an ear-splitting roar, and the Colonel started counting down to the moment when he'd extend the landing pads.

Colonel Thompson and the nine pilots had gone over their orders multiple times, and the pilots knew their escape plan to the core. Once the pads extended up to the exit shafts, the pilots were to immediately take off and head straight for their destination, cutting down everything in their extreme vicinity and only worrying about targets that were close enough to pose a significant threat to their dropships once they'd made a gap in the Covenant force large enough for them to escape.

The Colonel reached the end of his countdown. "Extending pads now. Assume your formation."

As soon as the ceiling panels started to slide down and the pads started to lurch forward, the nine Pelicans each lined up at a certain angle, creating a semi-circular formation in which there would be one of nine angles for each dropship to fire at. The pads had almost extended halfway by the time that the Pelicans had touched back down in their formation. Nerves were tightly wound, and everyone was on high alert as the pads took them inch by inch towards their only chance at escape. Where as the time hadn't mattered on their descent into the base, now the thirty second wait for the journey back up was insufferable. After what felt like years, the pads finally peeked out of their shafts and stretched out into a hellish night, and the pilots were sweating bullets as they proceeded to open up on the massive Covenant formation that hung in the darkened skies like a demon in black clouds.


(As of today, Chapter Nine is currently about 1/3 completed. I was hoping to have at least 2/3 of it done, but that doesn't matter. Hopefully, it'll be finished by next week, so I can upload it on time. After Chapter Nine is up, it'll be a long time before I get Chapter Ten done, because from what I can tell, it's going to be stupidly big. So, we'll see what happens from now until then. The cruisy part's over, and if you're prepared to stick with me while the long waits start to begin, then I'll be grateful.)

  • 09.27.2011 10:20 PM PDT
Subject: [Story] Pact: A Tale of Brotherhood (Chapter Eight!)

I'll be with you during the wait! I'll always be reading your story, although I might not always be posting.

The bit where the Colonel was getting whipped by Wolfe was nicely written. Great use of wording as well!

[Edited on 09.28.2011 7:41 PM PDT]

  • 09.28.2011 6:01 AM PDT

I was rereading some parts, and I stumbled onto the part with the Covenant Mortar ships and the Longsword bit.

Are they Covenant Air Artillery? The content that was cut from Halo Wars? You hit the description bang on, especially with how you described it to have two banshee hulls on the front. It formulated in my head straight away.

[Edited on 09.28.2011 6:25 AM PDT]

  • 09.28.2011 6:25 AM PDT
  • gamertag: [none]
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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"

Great job! Reading chapter 2.

  • 09.28.2011 12:32 PM PDT

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

Posted by: S p h 1 n X O 7
I'll be with you during the wait! I'll always be reading your story, although I might not always be posting.

The bit where the Colonel was getting whipped by Wolfe was nicely written. Great use of wording as well!
Thanks, man. I appreciate it.
Posted by: S p h 1 n X O 7
I was rereading some parts, and I stumbled onto the part with the Covenant Mortar ships and the Longsword bit.

Are they Covenant Air Artillery? The content that was cut from Halo Wars? You hit the description bang on, especially with how you described it to have two banshee hulls on the front. It formulated in my head straight away.
Indeed they were. Good eye, man. They cut some really awesome stuff from Halo Wars, like the Falcon, the Fox Cannon... the original demo for Halo Wars looked bloody awesome too.

So, I've just made the excuse that Atlas isn't a top-priority world, so while it has proper and up-to-date tech, it still has somewhat experimental vehicles like the Vulture and other things. Because, you know, who could pass up using the Vulture? :D
Posted by: Master Chief
Great job! Reading chapter 2.
Thanks, Chief!

  • 09.29.2011 11:19 PM PDT

So, any idea, roughly, on how many chapters you're gonna present to us?

Or is that a secret (;

[Edited on 09.30.2011 1:30 AM PDT]

  • 09.30.2011 12:34 AM PDT

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


Posted by: S p h 1 n X O 7
So, any idea, roughly, on how many chapters you're gonna present to us?

Or is that a secret (;
I... uh... well, let's see.

Chapter Eleven will mark the end of Act One. But as to how many chapters are beyond that, I don't know yet. Most of the plot is messily written in an unordered pile of notes that I keep in my room, so the finer details aren't especially clear as of now. Oh, and I really really need to finish Chapter Nine before Wednesday. It's not looking like I'll make the deadline, but I'll give it my best.

(Oh, and I heard that you might be submitting your own fanfic... eh? :D)

  • 09.30.2011 3:37 PM PDT

You got me. Is there a place in the Bungie forums you don't visit?

I started copying and pasting my story, and then when I went to preview post after all this effort of making words bold and then giving them italics... it wouldn't preview.

BLASPHEMY.

But yes, it was quite frightening. I had heard here and there about the forums not copying and pasting or something like that. When it happened to me, I was like, "Oh god, no!". I really didn't want to rephrase my story or type the whole damn thing again. Cause that would take an eternity.

But yes, it is completed. Fully. FINALLY. Hopefully I can get it posted in the coming day or so.

Now that you mentioned it...

I have a question. How did you get those two boxes framing the first two paragraphs of your beginning post? If you know what I mean? The boxes that contain the Foreword and Synopsis. They look quite nifty!

[Edited on 10.01.2011 4:14 AM PDT]

  • 10.01.2011 4:12 AM PDT