Unseen Hope

by NnoDragonEclipse

Mission Failed, Redeployment in Progress

The sounds of gunshots ripped through the void to meet their final foe. Flashes of bright hot plasma returned fired in mass volumes. There was no stopping the unseen horrors that awaited me in death. I could see a marine's chest and armor pieces melted due a plasma pistol shot. I think his name was Gerald, a young seventeen-year-old draftee to fight in war for our survival. He knew nothing but war in his lifetime, all he saw was planet after planet burned and turned to glass. I'm not much better. I grew up much the same, but I was given a choice to get revenge on the bastards who murdered my family, who killed billions for their own sick religion. He didn't. He never had the choice.

I can already see the Covenant get closer to the power station. Their attempt to destroy the station to shut down the Orbital Defense Platform above. Bastards did this to many planets before and they're about to do it to Reach, the military backbone of the UNSC. I can hardly lift my arm with my pistol to get a few potshots in before they destroyed it. I should have listened to the lab boys on the protection part of the Mjolnir power suit rather than prefer the stealth SPI. It had stronger shields and better armor plating. Though I didn't need protection when I thought the planet was safe. How naive to think that with how ruthless the Covenant are.

I can already tell that the planet is about to fall, and it has hardly begun. I heard the fleet in orbit is one of the largest in the Covenant navy, led by their most competent commander. We had a hard time winning in space in the first place but with that commander we have no chance. I even heard the Spooks back at ONI were scared of him and I thought they weren't scared of anything. Once Reach falls, we have very little time left and time is our greatest resource that we have.

I hate everything they stand for. They think they are rightest for serving they're gods by exterminating us. I will not let that happen even till my dying breath. I will get up; I will fight back to give us just a little more time. My body and armor are failing me. I won't let that stop me. These plasma burns won't hold me down. I'm a Spartan, the best of the best of the UNSC's military. We are the demons that the Covenants fears. We haunt their nightmares and battlefields. Spartans never die and I won't die here. I WILL make them pay.

Getting up burns even with the augmentations I was given. The Covenant is getting closer. The ODSTs and the marines won't last much longer than me. I don't even see my team, my family. They did their job; we all make that one-way trip someday. I hear the panic over the radio, there is no coordination with this defense, everything happened so fast. I'm surprised that we were able to get here before the Covenant owned the sky. Not much ammo is left in my pistol, and I expect that there is not much left for anyone.

With pistol in hand, I won't let them destroy this facility. The ODP must stay active. Raising my arm to restart the fight. I began to run towards the right to a dead marine. He has the ammo I need and a rifle. The problem, the Covenant are quickly over running the position. The solution is to kill as many of them as possible. If the Covenant want to destroy humanity, they will pay for it in blood.

The barricade was almost overrun with only a few lizards brain grunts and they're split lip captain right next to my target. The poor bastards never knew what happened to them. The gas breathers went down first with a few quick shots to the head. The captain barely had time to look my direction before I was close enough to draw my knife and stab him right in the neck. With him down I get to cover where my next objective was.

Private Leo was his name. He was another young kid. He probably had a family too. You did well, I just wished you could have gone home to your family, to see them one last time. The covenant never gave anyone of us the chance to do so. Quickly grabbing his rifle and ammo I checked myself for damage. Armor plates fried so no active camo and same with the shields. Don't even have enough power for them even if I did. I had an assault rifle with three mags, a magnum with five and a blade. I have enough to take down a few of them. I look back to towards the brave soldiers who kept the defense strong. What brave men and women, if they only they could win. To go home and see their families, to go back and have their own families.

I won't forgive the Covenant for what they have done. For all the lives they have destroyed. They have created hell and they will die in the hell they created. Quickly getting up and stabbing a grunt that just so happened to jump the barricade. Lucky for me. Quickly looking over to take the rest on. Moving to close the distance between us, I've always love seeing they're looks of hate and fear. Switching targets one by one, reloading and stabbing was the order of the battlefield and Spartans are the master of it. Each Spartan worth hundreds of them. They went down fast, faster than some of them to react.

Though once they wised up to me, they focused fire on me. They got a few shots in, but I won't go down to them, I'll go down on my own terms. Duck, fire, reposition, fire, stab, reload, stab, and kill. They call us demons and monsters. They have no idea how right they are. I'm quickly running low on ammo, I never had enough to kill them all and they just keep coming. Our boys up there need help, they need this platform to survive. They won't last long against those carriers without it. An elite dropped plasma rifle; I think he has a present for me. How generous of him. Quickly picking it up I restarted my crusade against them.

There was just too many of them. Bolts of plasma and rifle rounds fired never changed the battlefield from its forgone conclusion. The Covenant swarmed the station with no regard to their lives. All of them fighting for their holy war of extermination. The bodies of their fallen stomped over as if they never mattered. My broken body failing to keep them away. The elites wised up and now focused on the lone spartan. I can't hold them off, never could. I trained for stealth and infiltration not defending a lost cause. Sword elite at seven o'clock, I must watch him on motion sensor while I deal with his buddies. Stab, fire, dodge, shoot, reposition and kill. All of it is just pattern I mastered though training. Their blood rained onto the ground.

Incoming contact seven o'clock fast and closing. Ducking under the swung energy blade. Damn I knew this bastard was going to be a pain in my ass. Turning around to return fire almost led me to a blade straight into my jaw. This was no regular elite; it was an ultra, one of the best. Fuck you, I'll take you down too. Dodging his blade and other plasma bolts was difficult. Some bolts landed and I'm surprised that my body was still working after all the abuse it has taken. I'm getting slower, it's getting harder to move. This led me to get shot more often slowing me down more. This elite ultra is getting on my nerves I need to take him done now. I began to change my tactics from dodging to rushing him catching him off guard. This small slip up in his guard allowed me to get within stabbing range. Two quick stabs right into his right leg and one into his chest.

He did not let my actions go unpunished though; He stabbed me right through the chest and slid the blade up to cut off my left arm. A devesating blow to even a spartan. I'll take him with me though, quickly stabbing him with my knife right into his neck over and over again. I even shoved it right up his throat straight into his brain. He won't live for long, and neither would I. I fell to the ground unable to pick myself back up. That fucker got me good. I don't know If I'll live to see the fear fade from his eyes.

An elite with golden armor showed his ugly head, an elite general. Taking him out is now my new priority. I can't get up. I have one grenade, one that could change this battle's conclusion. Arming and throwing the grenade towards the one who ordered this attack. He dodged out of the way and got to cover before it blew, taking some of his men out. I got his attention now.

He ignited his energy sword, ha his honor will be his downfall. He got close enough to where he was standing right above me. He lifts his arm to strike the final blow. Too bad he fell into my trap. The last thing he saw was my power pack overloading, killing him.
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It is said that you gain peace in death. I would have to say they are full of shit. I still feel the bitter hatred of the Covenant, a boiling hatred to kill them all. If that is so I have ended up in hell. Good, I'll get a second chance to kill them all once again. I would expect hell to be different. All I see is skyscraping mountain to my right and a never-ending dessert to my left.

I even see my helmet H.U.D. I thought I blew up the battery, how do I even have power. Thinking of the command to do a full suit diagnostic and activating it should tell men how much of the suit still survives. I'm not suspecting much. Getting up to check the area for dangers only ended up with some balance issues. That's new, I never had any balance issues before. It is even uncomfortable to stand up normally.

I looked down to check why. I was thinking I had some cybernetics but what I got was strange. My hands and feet were replaced with fat, stubby legs. Huh, that's new. Did the spooks somehow recover my body and get my brain into a computer before it died. I never expected to be turned into an AI. I would think I would get to choose what I looked like rather than them choosing it for me. I could be wrong as I never cared for the subject. I could be drugged too and hallucinating. Both are possible but highly unlikely. There was no chance of recovery and I distinctly remember having my arm cut off. Good the diagnostics are down, program read diagnostics.

User Status: functional, Unknown configuration.

SPI-ES armor: fully operational.

Active camo: operational, on standby.

Energy shields: operational, on standby

Energy cell power level: 99%

Location: Unknown

Mission: Unknown

Recommendations: Return to UNSC military installation for redeployment.

That is concerning, how is my armor not damaged and how does it not know where it is. There must be some signal for it to determine where it is. Even if from a damaged satellite, it should be able to determine where I am. I couldn't have left Reach. Unkown configurations of the status of the user, I have never seen that before. At least everything is still functioning for the most part. I need to get a better look at myself. taking off my helmet was harder and easier than expected. Easier due to somehow being able to grip it without having fingers but harder due to something on my head. It wouldn't allow me to take the helmet straight up, I had to angle it up to slide it along something long. Every time I hit this pole on my head it gave a slight sting.

I eventually got the black helmet off and used the golden visor to look upon myself. What I saw was different than what I expected. It had large lizard like eyes and a long holey horn. I could tell that my skin or whatever it is now is completely black. I had two large fangs on my new muzzle. I had stringy green hair on my head that was longer than it should have been. My ears were much like animal pointy ears. I looked down towards my body an found my tail scraping the ground. I also even see weird coverings on my back that weren't there before. Huh, that's new.

I'll figure it out later, first I need to find some shelter or a UNSC outpost soon. ONI would have a field day with my current condition. My best option is to scale the mountain to get a better view of my surrounding. Quickly reapplying the helmet, this time faster due to now knowing of my new horn and began my long trek up. Walking upright was a challenge but not impossible. I gave myself another look over. I seem to be an equine of some sort. Like one of the ones used in some of the early wars back on earth. I could try walking like one of them.

Taking a short walk in this orientation was unusual but I'll get used to it. Spartans are supposed to adapt to changing situations on the field and this is no different. It even feels natural to an extent. The journey was slow to the top, some of it because of my inexperience on walking on all fours but most cause by how steep this mountain is. It is almost a complete drop-off at some points. The view up here would give me some help in locating myself or any UNSC forces in the area.

The two sides of the sheer cliffs were complete opposites. While one was a dead everlasting desert the other was an ambush waiting to happen lush forest. Both routes were terrible for finding any forces. The desert could hold a UNSC shipyard or have nothing in it at all and the forest could hold a hidden bunker. There might be a chance for Reach if they haven't glassed this part of it yet. I don't even see any Covenant vessels or fighters. Wait what's that? Smoke rising out of the forest.

That means someone is out there, what a bunch of idiots, even if the Covenant are not in the direct vicinity doesn't mean they can't see it. I have to warn them before they ever get the chance or if I failed, kill all those who dared entered UNSC territory. Both Militaries know not to light fires in case of being seen, these must be civilians running. Let's hope I get to them before they do.

Comments

[Green-Venom]

Alright, definitely an interesting start, and a unique premise. Good writing style to add to it.

Overall it looks pretty promising so far, good job! 👍