Ch. 6 - Railway
Tiberium was furious. According to one of his underlings a scouting party he had sent to observe the mountainside castle had been wiped out by the humans...those damned humans. He had dispatched a number of scouting parties but none had provided any intel, save the fact that one of his brutes had reported to him that a jackal had observed weapons' discharges from the top of the mountainside castle city. Tiberium sometimes wished he had the jackal's keen eyesight, being able to see things dozens of kilometers away was certainly an enviable trait. Their species was an asset to the Covenant but their want of money and general mercenary way of doing things made them somewhat unruly, especially after the Great Schism; he heard reports of them already dealing weapons with humans, even three months after the Heretic 'Vadamee had slain the Prophet of Truth.
His Phantoms were on patrol, as well, but the dense forests in the area would make ample cover for the humans. He had considered sending more scouts up to the palace but an enormous lightish red bubble had appeared around the entire mountain city. The two Phantoms he had sent to investigate had lost power once they tried to breach the bubble. The Phantoms had plummeted hundreds of feet and were ripped open on the crags. They didn't explode due to their lack of power but Tiberium couldn't imagine any of his troops surviving. Suddenly he was down dozens of soldiers, a pair of Phantoms, as well as two Hunters.
Tiberium was shaken from his pondering of recent events by the annoying blathering of a grunt. He picked up the squatty creature and seriously considered biting its head off but remembered how foul Unggoy tasted and thought better of it. Instead, Tiberium ripped of the grunt's methane mask and dropped the little alien to the ground, pinning it under his foot. The grunt gasped in the oxygen rich air and began to squirm without its life giving methane. Tiberium chuckled.
"Now, I'm going to give you ten seconds to think about whatever it is you were going to tell me, and if it satisfies me, I'll return your mask to you; if not, I'll remove your head and put your mask back on it." Tiberium waited the ten seconds then gave the mask back to the grunt's grabbing hands. "Speak."
"Boss..." The grunt gasped. "We found something. Long strips of metal that go on forever...looks like track for vehicle."
Tiberium grunted. He lifted his foot and the grunt scurried up and stood a few feet away. "Gather some grunts and be ready. You're going to follow that rail and see where it leads."
Tiberium let out a small smile. Surely this rail was a means of transportation. If he followed it he would find something. Perhaps the humans, perhaps not. Maybe they would find some of these new pony creatures...Tiberium always liked torturing a new species. Either way, something was sure to be found, and may hap something would die. He would definitely enjoy that.
~ ~ ~
Now we're riding a steam engine...wonders really will never cease.
The more he thought about it, the more it really felt as if he and his ODSTs had gone through a magical time machine. Magical ponies, unicorns, and pegasi all on an invisible planet that seemed to be in another, more primitive time, but had technology of late 19th century Earth. Now, his men were accompanied by the six ponies they had met over the past few days and were going to a town called Appleloosa to retrieve their weapons dropped by Captain Dare and the UNSC Prowler Fast and Loose. The train's mechanical hum helped them to get some decent sleep until they were awoken by an intercom message informing them they were about to enter Appleoosa.
It still amazed Buck how rural the ponies were despite having electricity. It was far too low tech for his tastes but Buck thought he could live out here given the peaceable nature of the ponies. They knew little of war, greed, or hate, and Buck had had enough of that these last two decades.
His ODSTs began to stir, all of which, of course, except the Rookie. He had assumed the Rookie was just able to turn on and off at will. Buck remember a story the Rookie told him, once. The Rookie had once ran several kilometers flat out and took shelter on the other side of a mountain, surviving a Shiva nuke being detonated in the process. Dirty ODSTs had been involved, something about stealing gold from a city vault that was about to be glassed and abandoning civilians...it had turned Buck's stomach, but Buck was most impressed with the Rookie's endurance, being able to run that far knowing a nuke was hot on your heels. Buck figured if you could outrun a nuke, not much could scare you, so the Rookie slept when he could and stayed frosty every waking moment.
The ODSTs had a train car to themselves and the six ponies had one of their own, and Applejack made her way to greet Buck. Mickey let loose a yawn that was instantly contagious; Buck yawned, followed by Mickey and Romeo, and AJ, too. The Rookie was the only one who showed no sign, still wearing his helmet. To Buck's fascination, the Rookie once told him it was cozy inside; he was rarely seen without it.
"So, I reckon y'all are gonna want to find your weapons, first?"
Buck rubbed some sleep from his eye. "Yes, ma'am. Our current arsenal in a joke. We wouldn't last five minutes if they sent a squad after us. Hopefully we can get outfitted and roll back to Canterlot within a few hours, then we can take the fight to them."
He noticed Applejack frowning. He cocked his head and shrugged, prompting Applejack.
"Well, its just all this talk about fightin' and killin'...Ain't there any other way to handle this?"
Romeo spoke up. "You've got to understand something. These things spent the better part of three decades trying to wipe us out. There isn't any reasoning with them." Romeo thought for a second. "Have you ever seen glass at the bottom of a fire pit or furnace?"
Applejack nodded.
"Well, the Covies can do that to ENTIRE planets. They've glassed dozens of worlds trying to kill us. I hate to shatter your perception of perfect little peaceful world, but we have to kill them..." Buck raised his arm to Romeo's chest.
"Alright, that's enough." Applejack was clearly shaken.
"Ah didn't know. That's...awful"
"Yes, it is." Buck said dryly.
"So, what is this Appleloosa like?" Mickey asked, ever inquisitive.
"Well, mah cousin Braeburn lives there. Its a humble little town that has apple orchards on the outskirts of town. Its pretty sandy and desolate all around but its a nice change a' scenery."
"From what Princess Luna showed us, it looks like something out of a western."
Applejack cocked her head at Dutch. "A what, now?"
"Oh, umm...back on Earth its a movie genre. You have movies here, right?" Applejack nodded. "Well, most westerns featured a town like this Appleoosa, and it usually involved cowboys and the like, fighting over one thing or another."
"Y'all humans sure do love fightin'..."
"I'll say they do..." Rainbow Dash fluttered over Applejack's head into the ODSTs' car. She landed, a small scowl on her face.
"Its in our nature, Miss Dash. We've been doing it for thousands of years." Dutch was rubbing the back of his head in apology. "Maybe at the end of this war we can finally make peace and do what the Good Book says."
Twilight poked her head. "Ooh, I love books! What's this one about?"
"Well, in the beginning, the Earth was..."
"Dutch, please don't start a theological discussion with the ponies. It would take too long and I don't want to see them arguing with you over your points of view."
Dutch slumped. "Okay, Gunny."
"We might not have to fight at all, thanks to my brother. He's the one that put the magical bubble shield up to protect Canterlot. Its practically impenetrable..."
Practically isn't completely, Buck thought.
It was still night thanks to Celestia's recovery but Buck had gotten used to it. At least the stars still moved, so he guessed Luna was still performing her nightly duties. In the hard pan of the the desert the night was a blessing, really. They wouldn't have to worry about heat should they be forced into a fight out here. Buck got back to the matter at hand.
"Are there any defensible positions in the town? I don't want to fight there if at all possible but just in case I'd like a layout of the town. Is it flat, is it hilly, are there any high positions we could get Romeo into so he can survey the area?"
"Well, gosh, lemme think...there's a clock tower near the center of town, at least there should be. When we fought the buffalo the last time we were there..."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa...you ponies actually FOUGHT something? Buffalo, you said? And here you are giving us a hard time..."
"You listen here, Romeo..." The cyan pony hovered in front of Romeo's face.
"Calm down, Rainbow. Yeah, we fought em, but we didn't kill any of em. We only used apple pies..."
Romeo frowned. "Really? Pies in the face as offense. Well, I must still be asleep. OOOOOWWWWW!!!"
Romeo clutched his cheek where Dutch had pinched it. Rainbow Dash chuckled and held out a hoof to Dutch who bumped it with his fist, his previous slight about humanity's warlike nature temporarily forgotten.
"Will everypony PLEASE keep it down? Fluttershy and I are trying to get our beauty sleep!" The purple maned unicorn poked her head into the ODSTs' car, startling them with her cucumber eyes and off blue revitalizing mask.
"If you wouldn't mind, that is..." Fluttershy's voice was barely audible over the low hum of the train. Buck wondered how anyone could be so shy, save his 3rd grade crush back on Draco III.
"You see? That one has the right idea." Rarity raised a hoof and pointed at the Rookie who was still asleep despite the bustling conversation. She slammed the compartment door and a collective sigh went out amongst the ponies and humans. How she could see through her cucumber covered eyes Buck could only guess.
"He sure does sleep a lot, doesn't he?" Buck turned around and was surprised to see Pinkie Pie examining the Rookie. He did a double take at the door Rarity had just closed and then jerked his head back to the pink pony.
"How..." He felt a nudge on his leg. Its owner was Twilight.
"Its best not to ask. I've done tests and well...I can't explain some of the seemingly supernatural stuff Pinkie can do. The best thing to do is just accept it."
Buck looked back towards Pinkie and shrugged. The pink pony had practically teleported from the next car and now held a marker in her teeth. She looked as if she was going to decorate the Rookie's VISR as the ponies had done to Romeo earlier back in Ponyville. She came within an inch of the Rookie's helmet and a hand whipped out and grabbed the marker. The other ponies gasped but Pinkie just smiled.
"Oh, you don't want me to decorate your helmet? Its so dull and black. It could use some color!"
"Sorry, Pinkie, but with it still being dark out those colors would just make us too noticeable. Its a wonder they didn't spot us on the way to the castle. You girls stick out like a sore thumb." Pinkie put a hoof under her chin and thought about Buck's statement.
"What's a thumb?"
Buck held up his hand and wiggled his digits and gave a thumbs up, pointing at it with his other hand.
"Anyway, Gunny's right. Bright colors get you noticed." Dutch added. Mickey thought so, too.
"Yeah, bright colors are a death mark at night." Romeo was grim but to the point.
"Eeyup." The Rookie agreed.
The ponies stopped, looked at each other, and started laughing like never before. The ODSTs looked at each other, wondering what had been said or done that was so funny. Sure, the Rookie didn't talk much, but he had just agreed with Romeo. Buck couldn't imagine what was amusing about that.
"I SAID TO KEEP IT DOOOOWN!!!" Rarity banged on the cabin from the next car. "You don't want me to come over there again, do you?"
"No..."
"Uh uh."
"No ma'am!"
"Nnnope."
The ponies rolled with laughter more than ever, and Buck was still at a loss. Once again the Rookie had just agreed with them. What was so damned funny?
~ ~ ~
The Rookie's first reaction was a surreal one. The town was straight out of a western, just as Dutch had said. While it was still dark out the town was lit up by gas lamps which adorned the "old" buildings. There didn't appear to be any shops open but the local saloon was raucous and a player piano could be heard billowing from its swinging double doors. He guessed that most of the town was in there by the sound.
The eleven companions departed the train station and made their way to the saloon, Applejack hoping to meet her cousin and his Sergeant hoping to get out to the weapons as soon as possible. The ponies entered first, a few wolf whistles could be heard, especially when Rarity and Fluttershy entered, the latter having to be practically dragged back in by Twilight with Fluttershy's tail held aloft by Twilight's magic. Greetings for Applejack were abundant and Pinkie ran over to the piano and hopped on and started to dance.
The ODSTs had lingered outside, waiting to see if Braeburn was, indeed, in the saloon. Applejack soon emerged with a pale yellow pony, complete with a what appeared to be a brown leather vest and hat. The Rookie wondered how the ponies harvested leather in the first place. Assuming it came from cows; they obviously weren't carnivorous so what would they do with the rest of the cow?
"C'mon, Rookie, time to mingle."
The Rookie was shaken from his pondering by his Gunnery Sergeant. As the ODSTs entered the saloon the only noise that could be heard was Pinkie's dancing and singing which, to her credit, the Rookie somewhat enjoyed. Her performance wasn't half bad. The other ponies were in awe of these strange creatures who walked on two legs and had digits where their hooves should be. Applejack's cousin broke the silence.
"Hey, y'all! These here are humans! They come from another planet and need to pick up some supplies. Apparently that meteor shower the other day was really some of their equipment that fell from their space ship!" A low murmur started up buy Braeburn continued. "Don't worry, none, they'll be packin' up and goin' back to Canterlot once they get all their stuff. In the mean time, let's give em a warm welcome! Whaddya say?"
Silence. Nopony made a sound. Even Pinkie Pie had quieted down. Dutch was the one who followed up Braeburn's speech.
"So...what's there to drink around here?"
The barkeep approached the counter top. He had a handlebar mustache, a comb over hairstyle and a monocle, complete with white cuffs at the end of his hooves and a nice grey vest and tie. He looked nervous but answered Dutch's question as though he were any other paying customer.
"We have apple cider on tap from Sweet Apple Acres, Applekjack's farm, some corn whiskey from Kenbucky, and water and soda, a'course."
Dutch looked at Buck who nodded.
"Alright, we can each have a little to drink and then we head out, clear?"
"Yes, sir!" Dutch turned back to the barkeep. "Gimme a shot of whiskey and a mug of Cider!"
The barkeep smiled. "Comin' right up!"
The other ponies were still quiet and watched in silent wonder. The wooden mug was filled to the brim and foam dripped down its side. Dutch slurped the excess foam and took the shot and mug in hand and raised it in salute to the patrons of the Salt Block Saloon.
"DOWN THE HATCH!" Dutch dropped the shot into the mug of cider and upended the mug and began to chug. The Rookie observed a transformation within the ponies at the bar. While most of their faces had been neutral to fearful upon the ODSTs' arrival, the act of Dutch chugging a whiskey spiked cider got them into a cheerful frenzy, and when the big man slammed the empty mug on the bar top and shouted "THAT'S GOOD CIDER!" the crowd erupted into cheers. The music started up again and the barkeep started filling mugs and taking orders.
The Rookie let go a rare chuckle, under his breath, of course. He noted Buck had quickly lost control of the other ODSTs. Mickey ran to the bar after Dutch's demonstration of his alcohol imbibing prowess and tried to copy the act, but coughed about halfway through, spilling the rest of his cider, raising laughs and guffaws all around the saloon. Romeo took a bourbon and soda and pounded it back in one gulp then had a cider to follow up. Buck helped Mickey up and walked his way through the crowd of ponies to where the Rookie was leaning.
"I guess with your helmet still on you're not going to partake in any of the festivities?"
The Rookie merely shook his head.
"I guess we really should get going to find the drop pods from Fast and Loose. Hopefully the Captain sent us some goodies. We could use em. You running low?"
The Rookie detached his pistol from his thigh and ejected the clip. Six holes with even ascending numbers two through twelve shown on the outside of the clip, with the '8' hole showing the brown metal of a shell casing. The Rookie held up the clip to Buck, gave a shrug, and slammed the clip home. He slapped the pistol back on his hip with a pop.
"Alright, I'll give the boys an hour or so to sober up and then we'll get going. I'm gonna go have a round." He paused. "I hate to ask but since you're not going to have a drink why don't you walk around town and have a look around? Scout out some defensible positions. Come back in an hour. I'll keep em in line...I hope."
The Rookie nodded. He went to Romeo and gather his sniper rifle, much to Romeo's relief. Apparently, he had had a few incidents with booze and weapons discharges, just one of his many violations of the codes of conduct he had racked up over the years. He also collected a pistol magazine from Mickey who had already seemingly passed out on the bar, from inebriation or hitting his head on the bartop the Rookie didn't know. No pony saw him leave the saloon and it was just as well. He enjoyed solitude and the night's (or day's) walk would be a good time to clear his head. So much had happened over the last few days, and he hadn't had a chance to truly think on the events that had occurred. As he made his way down the middle of Appleloosa's main road, he heard a small and shy voice.
"Umm...mind if I walk with you?" The Rookie glanced over his shoulder to find the pink maned pegasus pony following him from the saloon. After their first meeting, the Rookie was honestly surprised that Fluttershy actually trusted them. He had heard from the other ponies how much she cared for animals and seeing something get killed must have been very traumatic for her. The Rookie slightly snapped his head in the direction he was going, indicating that she could follow him.
In all honesty, the Rookie didn't mind if the pony accompanied him. Of the six, she was definitely the quietest, and he had a feeling that even if she talked, he would still be able to think. She trotted alongside him, no more than two feet away. The pony came up to his midsection so he would occasionally have to crane his neck to lock eyes with her, but she didn't speak much while he made the walk around town, and the Rookie appreciated that.
He was climbing the clock tower when he was truly glad she had accompanied him. There was scaffolding around the tower and the Rookie forgot to factor his extra kilos of body mass and armor he was wearing in comparison to the average weight of a pony. He had gotten to the top by climbing a rope and was up a good thirty feet. When he put his weight down a wooden beam snapped underfoot and he stumbled backwards. He missed the rope but instead grabbed Fluttershy's outstretched hoof. She had hovered around the newly built clock tower, thinking of something to say, but the snapping wood had broken her train of thought and she had acted quickly.
With effort, Fluttershy pulled him back to the rope and the Rookie made his way down. He had saved the clock tower for last and began to make his way back to the saloon after thanking Fluttershy. The scene he saw when he arrived didn't surprise him much. His Gunnery Sergeant, Mickey and Romeo were sprawled out on the side of the saloon, lying on the ground or leaning against the wall, all stone drunk. He peered through the window and eyed Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Applejack passed out at a table. The only unaccounted members of his band of humans and equines was Dutch, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash.
As if on cue the missing trio exited the saloon, Dutch and Rainbow Dash clanging mugs and whooping it up. Rarity followed, holding a martini glass with her unicorn magic, occasionally sipping at it. The Rookie slumped his shoulders and turned towards Fluttershy.
"Oh...my..." is all the yellow pegasus could muster.
"YO, ROOKIE!" Dutch boomed.
"Hey, Rook! What's up?" Rainbow shouted.
"Fluttershy, darling, I was worried about you! I was afraid you had gone off on your own..." Rarity eyed the Rookie suspiciously. "I hope he was a gentlecolt to you?"
Fluttershy blushed. "Of course he was, Rarity. We just went for a walk, that's all..."
The Rookie couldn't understand why she was getting embarrassed. Chalk up something else he had to think about later.
"So, Rookie, you get any good recon in?"
The Rookie nodded then motioned towards his three drunk comrades. Dutch, somehow, seemed totally sober, despite the Rookie's suspicions that he'd been drinking the whole time he'd been gone.
"Oh, them? They're out like a light. Romeo and Gunny got into an argument then got into a drinking contest. They got to eight shots of whiskey a piece before the bar keep cut them off, and then...get this..." He started to chuckle.
"Romeo fell forward and accidentally headbutted the other one! Classic! HA HA!!!" Rainbow Dash finished Dutch's statement, her laughter tinged with squeaks."
"Yeah! It was priceless! I dragged the two off them out here and Mickey soon after."
The Rookie pointed towards the outskirts of town.
"Yeah, I know we have to get the weapons, but can it wait? These three will be out for awhile. Look." He lifted Romeo's arm, shook it a few times then dropped it, the action causing the arm's owner to fall into Buck who fell into Mickey.
"Like big black dominoes..." Rarity ventured, taking a sip of her Manehatten martini.
The Rookie was sure that Dutch and Rainbow's laughter would wake his three squad mates but to no avail. He looked down at the ground, placing his hands on his hips. Even through his VISR, Dutch could tell the Rookie was giving him a serious look.
"Alright, alright, Rookie. I'll come with. My blood alcohol's gotta be 0.2 but I'm still coherent enough to walk."
The Rookie looked at Rainbow Dash and Rarity, next, giving the same impression.
"Yeah, sure, I'll tag along. I've drunk more than this before. I'll be good so long as I walk, too. As for Rarity, she's been nursing that same drink all night, so she can't possibly be tipsy."
"Moi, tipsy? Surely you wouldn't assume I'd ignore proper etiquette when drinking in public." Rarity sighed. "I suppose I'll have to teach the other girls the proper way to have a drink when one is out on the town. You, my dear Rainbow Dash are beyond my help."
"Help, schmelp. I don't have a drinking problem, if that's what you're getting at. Besides, the guys need our help, so are you in or out?"
Rarity let out a hmph and downed the rest of her cocktail, magically throwing it back in the bar. The Rookie saw the bar keep handily catch the flying martini glass with ease and begin to polish it. These ponies sure were something.
"Oh, all right, dear. If it will put your mind at ease I will accompany them. I suppose you'll want me to carry something when we get there?"
It was Dutch who blushed this time. "Well, it'll certainly come in handy, Miss Rarity."
Rarity smiled and started to trot, slowly veering towards the Rookie. It didn't look like doing so was her choosing. She had gotten tipsy from the last of her martini. She tripped and began to fall but the Rookie reached out and caught her, slowly standing her up and offering her a nod afterwards.
"My...you are a gentleman, aren't you?" She smiled up at the Rookie, turning red. "Well, girls, let's be off. Fluttershy, fly with me. I'd like someone to talk to on the way, and you're always such an excellent conversationalist."
The Rookie wondered if Rarity did most of the talking in those conversations, and quickly assumed she did. Fluttershy began to follow Rarity without a word of protest. Rainbow flanked them and Dutch and the Rookie brought up the rear. Soon the town of Appleloosa was at their backs and they were off to find the weapons that would help give them a chance against the Covenant should the fighting intensify, and with grim observation of his past experience, the Rookie knew it would certainly come to that.
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HUZZAH! I thought you were dead! I am now happily mistaken!
i wonder what kinda goodies there gonna find at the drop point
nothing like an armory full of explosives to make a soldier happy
WHY DON'T YOU UPDATE FASTER? ITS BEEN A MONTH!!!!
After a month I expected 20,000 words of awesomeness. All I got was 4,000 of filler.
Love it. Just one thing, Buck's from Draco III not Mars.
So the Rookie is Big Mac's long, lost cousin?
rookie... legend, as always
884270 OH...MY...GOD...I can't believe I missed that. I guess I spent so much time on Dutch's halopedia page and I knew 100% that he was from Mars. Guess I got my facts crossed. I'ma change it now. THANKS SO MUCH for pointing out my error.
884207 I gave myself a goal after finishing this chapter. I'ma try to wrap this up by the time Halo 4 comes out. That gives me four months...hopefully I can do it if I spend more than three days a month typing...
I wonder if Rookie ever did drink to Mr. Yevgenny
886659 I'd like to think so. I did take a small liberty saying the Rookie actually told someone about that incident (I honestly don't think he would have, I was just trying to give props to people who know their ODST history.)
I also mentioned Shining Armor's bubble shield was Lightish red for people who are fans of a certain cock bite variety.
Last thing: Next chapter I intend to have a Mel Brooks movie reference in the next chapter. Look forward to it!
886752 I was surprised to see that in there, it took me 5 minutes to remember what the backstory was and remember his name. I'm glad other people have a good knowledge of Halo history.
best story ever
This looking good and it had humor! Who care's if it's filler!
898257 LOTS of action next chapter. They get a hold of their goodies and there's going to be a SPACEBALLS reference.
898959 Oh boy!
898959 ...Oh dear...
Anyways, random thought of the moment, a comparison of the Human and Covenant infantry weapons and their purposes (brutes get their own section).
Human weapons, with the exception of small rapid fire weapons such as the M7 SMG and the MA5 Assault Rifle series, put them down hard and keep them down with the fewest shots fired. The Sniper Rifle (which could be considered an anti-tank weapon in today's conventions), Shotgun, and Grenade Launcher hold true to this simple rule as, when fired at their most effective ranges, usually, if not always kills their target, shielded or not.
Their other weapons are either designed to take down those shields (SMG, Assault Rifle, Battle Rifles) or are to be used against different opponents (unshielded opponents for the pistols, or vehicles for the SPNKr and Spartan Laser).
Now Covenant weapons, if they don't explode (Fuel Rod, Needler, Concussion Rifle) or pierce (E-sword, Needle Rifle, Carbine, Particle Beam Rifle), they seem more inclined for fighting Shielded opponents. The Plasma Pistol, Rifle, and Repeater all fire globs of plasma, and on impact would splash to give a wider area of damage. The thing is, this damage is on the surface only, and if the target can ignore the pain of having super-heated gas on his chest, could still fight back.
However, the less said about the Brute section of Covenant weapons, would probably be better, but hey, didn't get this far to bail out like a wuss now.
These weapons are designed for maximum pain deliverance, ignoring all other aspects of warfare beyond if it'll hurt. Take the Spiker for example.
A rail gun style, slow firing SMG that shoots out super-heated foot long spikes. If one of those don't kill you, I can easily imagine the thing passing right through your body, doing minimal damage, but leaving behind a lot of pain due to the near instant cauterization.
The Mauler seems really to be meant to tear apart the target when he's practically in your face. Any farther, and you either need to be shooting two at the same time or something else because it won't take him down otherwise.
The Gravity Hammer is downright disgusting. If Halo were closer to realistic representation, I'd imagine we'd see and explosion of blood and gore every time one is used to kill. Hell, even if you were standing on the very edge of it's blast radius, I'd still imagine the damned thing breaking multiple bones as it threw you back.
Now the grenade launcher... actually, I think that one's pretty normal compared to the others.
884004
I know, right?!!
I was all, like... "Did he died?"
But he was all, like... "*insert entire chapter here*!"
And I was all, like...
912676 Sorry I took so long to respond...but what was this comment in reference to? The only thing I know is that in the books that plasma weapons are NASTY weapons. While not having a lot of kinetic energy applied to them they cause instantaneous 2nd to 3rd degree burns to unshielded opponents. Most people, save Spartans, couldn't take that pain or muscle through it.
In fact, most nonplasma covenant weapons could kill ANYBODY with a single direct hit. Plasma weapons would take two or three to kill, but maybe one good hit to pass out from shock.
As for the gravity hammer, I'd say it creates a sonic boom type effect. I doubt it'd cause anyone to explode but definitely broken bones. It'd probably cause concussive damage similar to explosives, like those G-Force trippers they use on Mythbusters. 100 Gs is lethal, but 50 isn't. I suspect that you'd be banged up without a main hit but still survive. I have a feeling Grifball over-exaggerates the max damage it can do, considering Romeo blocked a grav hammer with his sniper rifle and was not the worse for ware...the spike hit into the punctured lung did more damage than the gravity swell.
950071 As I said, it was a random thought at that time.
Anyways, the plasma globs used for most of the stuff does cause 2nd to 3rd burns, but it's still surface wounds. Pain wounds. Watch this.
[youtube=5bLjqxYlZVM]
Those Marines were shot in the back with plasma shots and one of them still had the functionability to crawl away at a rather fast speed considering the nature of those wounds.
*Pause to yawn and check clock* Alright, tiredness is creeping in at 2 in the morning, so I'll continue this argument tom-... later today. Nigh-... mor-... Forget it, I'm just going to bed...
Can't wait till the next chapter.
1140330 Nah. I just took a Roman name, Tiberius, a guy who had a cliffside villa and he would bring his "unpopular" people there and threw them off said cliff, and tweaked the name. I thought Tartarus was the same thing, a tweaked version of an ancient name, but come to find out its a real place (mythological), and they even MENTION it in "Its About Time."
more!
1140504
You're in luck. I got about 2000 words of the next chapter done. I'll definitely have it up by the weekend. Probably going to finish it tomorrow and proofread it Friday.
*fluttershy voice* yay!