My Whole Life Has Been Nothing But Nightmare Fuel Part Two
December 20, 2525
UNSC Point of No Return
Braden did not like this ship. He did not like it at all. Everything about the Destroyer- sized stealth prowler felt wrong. He felt as though spies and assassins were hiding everywhere, just waiting for the opportunity to stab him in the back with a knife.
He brushed that thought off. "I'm just being paranoid."
Braden, Richard, Ashley, James, Rose, and Kenny were currently in a waiting room of sorts. It was extraordinarily plain- looking, and almost felt like a sterile lab. The door to Braden's left led to the rest of the ship. The door to his right led to the people who wanted to see him and the others. But, why? He leaned back in his chair, causing it to give a creak. "What does ONI want with us?"
Seriously, the hell? There's a war going on with Al Qaeda aliens and suddenly these black- operations jerkoffs pull six of their best soldiers off the battlefield?
The door to the right opened, revealing Halsey. She had come aboard the ship with the SPARTANs, and was asked to enter the meeting room before the SPARTANs. She stepped forward and-
Okay, please hold up for one paragraph. I'm getting tired of spelling SPARTAN in full caps lock acronym form. From now on, lets spell SPARTAN as "Spartan", okay? Cool? Good.
Anyways, Halsey stepped forward into the room. "They are ready to see you." She said. She sounded flustered and agitated.
The Spartans stood and followed Halsey through the door. They entered a surprisingly large coliseum- like room. It was dark, the only lights being the three in the middle that formed a sort of walkway for the Spartans. At the end of the last light Braden could make out a lone figure: a small, harmless looking old woman. She was seated at a desk. Braden looked around. He could vaguely see the outlines of other people in the shadows, all of them seated in the coliseum rings. As to how many there were, Braden could not guess. There might have been as many as fifty or as little as five. He never found out.
"Walk forward." The old woman said to the Spartans.
The Spartans and Halsey walked forward.
"I told them to walk forward, Halsey." The old woman sharply said to Halsey. "Not you."
Halsey stopped and glared at the elderly bitch.
The Spartans were now just ten feet away from the old woman. "Stop." She said. The Spartans stopped.
Braden waited as the old woman looked over them, silently judging them with cold, icy eyes.
"I am Rear Admiral Margaret Parangosky, and you are here so that we may decide your final fate." The little old lady said.
Braden stiffened and straightened his pose. "THE Parangosky? THE single highest power in the UNSC? THE head of ONI? Shit, this won't end well."
"Permission to speak, ma'am." Richard said.
Parangosky glared at him. "...Granted." She said.
"What do you mean by "decide" our fate?"
Parangosky straightened up slightly and laced her fingers. "Well, it is why you are here, so I might as well cut to the chase. Now while there is no denying that the Spartan- II project was a phenomenal success, you six are not... up to our standards."
"Are you saying we aren't good enough for you?" James challenged.
"Thank you for proving our case," Parangosky coldly said, "You six are not like the other Spartans. You speak out of line, your performances have no consistent pattern, you twist your orders, and you don't take your jobs as soldiers seriously enough. All of you are different than your other Spartan brothers and sisters. You're inferior. And quite frankly, I cannot bother myself with inferior, failed experiments."
"Which is exactly why you are dealing with us right now, right?" Braden shot back out of nowhere.
The room went dead silent.
"...Did... you just talk back to me?" Parangosky said in a mix of disbelief and rage.
"You're damn right I did, ma'am."
Shuffling was heard in the shadows. "I, uh, I think I left my sink running..." A deep, gruff, manly voice said.
"Stay where you are, general." Parangosky icily said without taking her eyes off Braden. The unseen general gave an "Eep!" and sat back down in his seat.
"How dare you disrespect me," Parangosky seethed, "I am the highest authority in the UNSC. I could easily have you ordered to be executed, right here, right now."
"So you would off one of your best soldiers, who took eight years and god knows how many billions of dollars to train, just because he talked back to you? In the middle of a war against a race of aliens who are demanding our extinction, mind you? Ha. Fat chance."
Had Parangosky been smoking a cigar at that moment, she would have looked like this.
"In fact, that's what you're doing with all six of us. Just because we "aren't up to your standards". Oh pfft, as if you ONI spooks have standards. I bet you're just on a power trip and looking for an excuse to be evil."
Parangosky looked like a nuclear bomb had just went off inside of her. "I... I am going to do everything in my power to see to it that you suffer a horrible, painful de-"
"Alien war, rear admiral. Alien war."
"YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITY!!!"
"I lost all respect for your authority as soon as you began insulting my Spartans for no legitimate reason."
"Oh really now? Well then, let's see how your lack of respect fares against the firing squad!"
"Admiral wait!" Halsey called out. "You're missing out on a great opportunity here."
Parangosky paused, and slightly calmed down. "And what might that be?"
"You want these six Spartans dead, or at least out of the picture, right?"
"Very much so."
"Doctor, what are you doing?" Rose whispered to Halsey.
Halsey ignored her. "But, they're Spartans, and it would be such a waste to simply get rid of them during this war..."
Parangosky slightly raised an eyebrow. "...Go on..."
"So admiral, what if, hypothetically, ONI suddenly gained its own private team of Spartans for any... exceptional missions? I mean, if you send them out on a test run, and they all die, then you get what you want, no? But, if they all survive, or at least most of them, then you have your own reserve team of Spartans you can send out anytime you like. And in this war, we can't afford to waste precious resources for such petty reasons."
Parangosky simply stared at Halsey for a few seconds, and then began rubbing her forehead in frustration. "Damn you, Halsey. This is why you're still alive. ...Ugh, fine. We will consider your offer. Take your Spartans and leave, we will notify you when we have made a final decision."
"Thank you for your consideration, rear admiral," Halsey said, "We'll be waiting."
Halsey and the six Spartans turned to leave the room. But as they walked to the door, Parangosky had one last thing to say.
"Do not think I will forget this, Spartan."
Three guesses who she was talking to.
They exited the ominous room and closed the door. Halsey turned to Braden. "What the hell was that?! You're lucky she so much as bothered listening to me!"
"My apologies ma'am," Braden replied, "But I figured she was gonna kill us all regardless, so I decided to go out defiant to the end."
"That was pretty badass, sir." James said.
"More like suicidal." Richard snarked.
Halsey gave a heavy sigh. "I just hope you know what you got yourself into."
Braden gave a small chuckle. "I look forward to finding out."
**********
January 26, 2526
UNSC Outer Colonies, Generic Garden World
Braden stood in the cockpit of the Pelican next to the seated pilot. Said Pelican was in space flying towards a small blue and green planet. As the dropship drew closer, it began to rumble.
"We're entering the atmosphere." Carol Rawley said.
Braden nodded to her and turned to enter the back section. Kenny, Richard, James, Ashley, and Rose were in their seats, fiddling with their weapons of choice. "I trust that we all know the stakes of this mission, correct?" Braden asked his team.
"Yeah, yeah," James casually said, "Kill all the alien bastards, blow up their base, gather any intel we can, and get the hell out. Piece of cake."
"Don't get so cocky, James," Ashley chided, "We know next to nothing about these "Covenant" and how they work. Remember that we're technically only on this mission to see how their ground forces operate."
"Oh come off it. From what John told us these things are supposed to be bird- lizards with piss- poor armor. Y'know, like something out of that Star Trek crap that Kenny watches."
Braden noticed Kenny adjust himself in his seat with an annoyed grumble.
**********
Braden and the other five Spartans silently sprinted through the alien jungle, brushing past gigantic fern- like plants. The ground was covered in a thick green moss. The trees stood sixty feet high and blotted out most of the sun with their leaves, allowing only a few rays of sunlight through the dense canopy. Unseen animals barked and whistled to one another.
They had left the Pelican and Carol in a small clearing five miles behind them.
One mile ahead of them was their objective.
Braden stepped out from a thick bush, and almost walked over a ledge. He stopped and held up a hand. The other five stopped. "Hold up. Cliff." He said.
Rose walked up next to Braden and looked over the edge. The cliff had many smaller ledges jutting out of its face and dropped down at least four- hundred feet. She whistled. "Damn. That's a long way down."
"Sir, look." Richard said, pointing to the distance.
Past the cliff and a mile of jungle Braden could see a purple fortress poking out of the treetops.
**********
Braden slowly crouch- walked his way through the underbrush, not making a sound. The team had split up just an hour ago to cover different positions around the base. Braden was covering the north.
*snap*
Braden froze, and silently leveled his sniper rifle.
Just twenty feet ahead of him, a creature emerged from the foliage to his left. The creature had not seen him yet, and appeared to be simply on patrol. It looked like a bald and tail- less velociraptor standing upright. Braden took note of the shield device it carried on its wrist. It was also carrying what looked like an alien pistol. He set his rifle's scope on the alien's head.
"HIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSS..."
The noise had come from Braden's left. He moved his head just enough to see the culprit while keeping the other alien within his sights.
The new creature was similar to the first one, but unlike the other one, this alien flat out WAS a velociraptor standing upright. Still, no tail.
"Clever girl..." Braden whispered.
And then he whirled his rifle toward the alien. However, the creature knocked the rifle out of his grasp before he could pull the trigger, and tackled him. "SHREAAAAAAAWWWWW!" It roared.
It began biting on Braden's visor while clawing at his torso. Braden reached for his combat knife, pulled it out of its sheath, and stabbed it into the creature's head. Its body instantly went limp and slumped over him. Braden pulled the knife out of its head and rolled the corpse off him. He stood up.
Suddenly a green blast whizzed by his head, and hit a nearby tree. "Whoa!" He took a second to look at the impact. The bark was completely scorched away. He turned around to see where it had come from. The first alien with the shield was staring at him, snarling. The alien pistol in its hand started to glow green.
Before it could pop off another shot Braden chucked his knife at the creature. The blade inserted its mouth and pinned it to the tree right behind it. The alien dropped its gun and weakly reached for the knife's handle to pull it out, but then it went limp.
Braden approached his second kill, and quickly pulled out the knife. The alien's body slid down and sat there slumped against the tree trunk. Purple blood drooled from its mouth.
**********
Braden was sitting in a bush looking through his rifle's scope.
What was he looking at you ask?
Kenny, James, and Rose just outside the Covenant base. On their knees. With their hands bound behind their backs. Surrounded by a bunch of scaly chimp- looking midget things that were wearing gas masks and some kind of tank on each of their backs.
One of the midget things slapped James.
"You're my BITCH now!" It said in a hilariously high pitched tone.
James responded by growling and briefly trying to shake free of his restraints, to which the scaly chimp responded by giving a frightened yelp and running away.
Braden gave an exasperated sigh. "Just... HOW did this happen?" He thought. "Wait, how did that Covenant know how to speak English?"
As I and just about any other die- hard Halo fan reading this story would know, the answer to Braden's question is the Unggoy demand on the Covenant Black Market for human sitcoms, and that the mentioned Grunt above had watched a few seasons of How I Met Your Mother.
Which he stole during the confusion of a sting operation.
But that's a COMPLETELY different story.
Anyways, right after asking himself that, Braden received a call.
"Sir, can you hear me?" Richard said.
"Copy that Richard. Where are you?" Braden replied.
"I'm sitting in a tree watching James, Rose, and Kenny. Sir, the Covenant have them."
"I know. I'm watching them from the ground."
"Wait, so you're watching them from the treeline?"
"Yes. Why?"
"...Sir, I don't see you anywhere. Wait a moment- AH!"
"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"
Braden looked up. A Spartan was falling towards him. Said Spartan landed in front of him with a *THUD*.
Braden crouched next to the Spartan. "Richard?"
"Yeah?"
"Please don't make a habit out of falling from great heights."
"Yes, sir." Richard got up.
"FREEZE!" A high pitched voiced screeched.
It had come from one of the scaly chimps, who was now pointing his gun at Braden and Richard.
Scratch that, it had come from several scaly chimps who now had their guns aimed at Braden and Richard.
"Weapons down! Hands up!"
The two Spartans complied.
As they did this, Braden noticed that this was the same group who were keeping an eye on Kenny, James, and Rose, and that they had left just one of their own to stand guard.
And, oh, who is that sneaking up behind the lone guard? Why it's Ashley!
Oh, and what's that that Ashley's doing right now? Why she's silently breaking the guard's neck of course!
And now Ashley's trying to free the other three.
Thinking of a way to buy Ashley time, Braden decided to play kiss ass with the aliens. "Tell me, great warriors," He said in the most completely sincere tone ever, "How did you ever capture us in such a clever manner? Surely you such be a strategic master."
An alien in white armor, the leader, Braden presumed, spoke to him. "Well shucks, thanks. Hear that guys? We're finally getting some respect!"
And then the alien's head asploded. Everybody turned to see Ashley with a smoking pistol, accompanied by Kenny, James, and Rose.
**********
"Well that was fun." James said as he pulled his knife out of the neck of a scaly chimp alien. The blade was covered in blue blood. He wiped the blood on the grass and sheathed it. "So, now can we enter their base?"
"Yes," Braden responded, "But stay on your guard, we don't know what else the Covenant have to throw at us."
The group of six approached the door. It was big and purple.
But it didn't open.
Braden leaned forward, inspecting the door. "Hm... maybe we have to-"
The door suddenly opened, and Braden was face- to- face with the lovechild of a Predator and a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Their faces were literally inches away from one another.
Before the Preda- rex could react Braden punched it in the face. A blue field shimmered around the new alien as it staggered back.
"WORT WORT WORT!" It yelled at them, which as we all know is Elite for: "OW! You stupid ass human cracker I'm gonna kick your heretic ass!"
The alien raised its gun. Braden whipped out his pistol and shot the weapon out of the alien's hand Clint Eastwood style. The creature's shocked expression gave Braden enough time to fire two more shots. The first hit the shield that seemed to surround the creature, and the second destroyed the shield, which *popped* out of existence.
Braden lined up one more shot -
*BANG*
- and capped it in the face.
**********
Amazingly, after several minutes of touring the halls of the base, the Spartans had not encountered any more Covenant. It was quiet. Far too quiet. They passed through another set of doors and entered a large room. A ramp led up to a platform with what looked like a holographic interface.
"It looks like a control room." Kenny mused.
"I'm gonna have a look." Rose said. She jogged up the ramp and up to the controls. "Beginning recording." She said as she activated her helmet's built- in video camera. Rose took a moment to observe the alien symbols, and then began randomly touching different ones.
"What are you doing?" Braden asked, slightly alarmed. For all he knew one of those "buttons" activated the base's self- destruct.
"I'm documenting as much intel as I can," Rose replied, "We don't currently know what any of this means, but in the future we may be able to use this for reference."
"Well, now's as good a time as any to set up Fatboy." James said, reaching behind his back.
"Fatboy?" Ashley quizzically asked.
"A little nickname I gave the nuke ONI gave us." James said as he pulled the nuclear device off his back that was clamped onto him during this whole mission.
What are you talking about, of course I mentioned that earlier! I didn't? Huh, I guess the nuclear bomb must have slipped my mind.
James planted the nuke on the ground, and pressed a few buttons. "Don't worry guys, this thing can only be set off by a remote detonator."
"And who has the detonator?" Kenny asked.
James took out a small device with a red button on the top. He flipped it up in the air and caught it. "Me."
"Okay I'm done recording," Rose announced, "Let's get out of here."
"Agreed," Braden said, "Spartans, move out." He activated a com link. "Foe Hammer, we're ready for extraction. We'll see you outside the base in five."
Kenny moved for the door. He pressed the side panel to open the door. The doors opened...
Revealing a blue armored titan with a cannon on one arm, a shield on the other, and spines sticking out of its back. The titan stood at least twice as tall as Kenny. Its neck and mid- section were unarmored, revealing orange flesh that looked as if a bunch of worms had decided to form together to create a walking hive and- oh wait that's exactly what it is. A second titan stood directly behind it. The two giants reeled back slightly in surprise of Kenny for a moment, but then they serioused up and roared at him.
"HOLY SHIT!" Kenny yelled as the foremost titan raised its shield to squash him.
Kenny whipped out his pistol and randomly fired a shot. As it so happened, that shot was fired at a trajectory that allowed the bullet to tear through the exposed mid- sections of both titans. The walking tanks instantly fell dead.
"Oh." Kenny said, sounding disappointed about the anticlimax that he caused.
**********
"Well... this isn't good." Braden said right after they exited the Covenant base. Just thirty feet ahead of them were ten Elites, fifty Grunts, twenty Jackals, fifteen Skirmishers, and two Hunters. The aliens growled at them in their own languages and brandished their weapons.
Braden looked to the sky. He could see the pelican flying toward them off in the distance. "Spartans, clear a landing zone for Foe Hammer."
Each of the Spartans chucked a grenade into the crowd.
*BOOM*
For a moment, the surviving Covenant were in a disoriented and confused state. Braden and Richard took out their battle rifles and began popping headshots. The first thing that James did was get out his rocket launcher, and fire two blasts into the crowd; he quickly reloaded. Kenny, Rose, and Ashley all took out their assault rifles and unloaded into the enemy.
The Covenant finally regained their senses, and retaliated. They fired their plasma weapons. A lucky Elite managed to break Rose's shields, and hit her in the legs. "AH!" She fell.
Kenny crouched in front of her while continually firing at the Covenant. "Cover me covering her!" He yelled. The other four Spartans charged and leaped into the crowd of aliens, distracting them.
Braden and Ashley continued fighting guns blazing, dodging physical attacks and plasma fire. Richard unsheathed his dual combat knives and tore through any Covenant in his way, slicing off limbs and tearing out necks as if he was an 1980's slasher villain. James replaced his rocket launcher with his shotgun and fired away with amazing speed and accuracy.
James came upon the Hunters. He fired a shot, hitting one Hunter in the chest. He pulled the trigger again.
*Click*
He had to reload.
The two Hunters fired green blobs of searing hot energy at James. He rolled out of the way, switched his shotgun for his rocket launcher, and fired two shots at the nearest Hunter. The rockets connected and killed the Hunter. The other Hunter charged James, roaring madly. James tried to quickly reload, but the Hunter hit him before he could succeed. James was sent flying and hit a tree.
The Hunter pinned James to the ground with its foot and aimed its cannon at his face. As it charged its shot, Richard jumped onto the giant's back and dug both of his blades deep into its neck. The Hunter roared and reared backwards, trying to throw Richard off. As it did so it unintentionally released James. With the Hunter distracted, Braden rushed to James.
Braden skidded to a halt next to James. "James! Are you alright?"
"I feel like shit," James replied, "Just take that bastard out already!"
Braden propped James up against the tree trunk, and returned his attention to the Hunter. Richard was repeatedly stabbing the Hunter in the neck while trying to not be thrown off. Ashley was taking shots at the mid section whilst dodging the Hunter's spastic attempts of smashing her. Kenny had rejoined the fight; Braden could see Rose patching herself up a way's off; and was doing the same thing as Ashley.
"WHY. WON'T. YOU. DIE?" Richard demanded out of the Hunter. The Hunter began shaking even more violently, and finally tossed Richard off. The Hunter calmed down a little, allowing Braden to get a good look at the damage Richard caused. Half of its neck was torn out and the head was hanging loosely off to the side. It let out a pained grumble and staggered forward.
Braden decided that he was going to put the beast out of its misery. He primed a grenade, dashed forward, and punched the explosive device into the Hunter's exposed guts. The Hunter hit Braden with his shield and he was sent flying to a safe distance.
The Hunter exploded, which was followed by a brief shower of orange gore.
Braden groaned as he got up, his sides hurt, and looked around. All of the Covenant were dead, and all of the Spartans were alive. Richard was helping up a limping James, Kenny was carrying Rose pieta- style, and Ashley was inspecting the dead.
The pelican finally made it to their location.
**********
The pelican was flying straight upwards into space.
"We're at minimum safe distance," Carol said, "You can set off that nuke now."
"Understood." Braden said. He left the cockpit and entered the back section. He and James made eye contact. He nodded to him.
James gave a dark chuckle. He took out the detonator, flipped off the safety-
"Yippee ki yay..."
- and pressed the button.
**********
February 5, 2526
UNSC Point of No Return
"I hate you... I hate you so much," Parangosky fumed as she glared at Braden and the other five Spartans in front of her, "But it would appear that you have all proved your usefulness and efficiancy. Welcome to the black ops."
"Gee, I feel so honored." Ashley sarcastically whispered.
"Now let's get some things straight," Parangosky continued, "First of all, each of your designated ranks. We reviewed the footage of your mission from your built in cameras and have decided who will be what." She then pointed to Braden, Richard, Ashley, James, Rose, and Kenny in respective order. "Colonel, Major, Warrant Officer, Sergeant, Corporal, and Private. Those will be your ranks for the rest of your lives. End of story."
Braden and the others were all a little bit uncomfortable with these unorthodox promotions and demotions, but whatever.
"Secondly, if all six of you are going to be a team, you need a name. Now I'm not in a very creative mood right now and I'm sick of your presence so let's just get this over with. ... X Team. The six of you are now X Team. NOW GET OFF MY SHIP!"
**********
July 7, 2526
Generic Colony World
Braden was perched on a cliff edge. He was looking down the scope of a sniper rifle at a rather interesting scene. Just fifty feet away on the ground below him were three mutant wookies who looked like they had been beaten ten times over with a fugly stick. Buzzing around the air and skittering along the ground were several man- sized praying mantis/ dragonfly hybrid abominations. All of the aliens seemed to have their attention focused on a device that was projecting a holographic image of some weird looking douche with chin balls wearing red robes and a golden crown sitting in a floating throne. The hologram and a wookie in very ornamental armor seemed to be holding a conversation.
Braden fired. The Brute Chieftain's head exploded. The hologram reeled back in surprise and disgust. The other two Brutes twirled around to face Braden, but they two were quickly sniped. The Drones buzzed angrily and made a b- line for Braden. He quickly cut them down with one whole clip of assault rifle ammo.
The immediate threats neutralized, Braden leaped from his perch, and approached the hologram. He stopped when he was in front of it. The alien pope glared at him, his fingers laced. Braden returned the glare.
"You dare make your presence known to me, Demon?" The Prophet said.
"I'm sorry, do I know you? I don't believe we've met." Braden said with totally not fake sincerity.
"I am the Prophet of Tr-"
"Blah, blah, blah, listen asshole, the only reason I'm dealing with your ugly- as- sin face is so I can deliver you a message on behalf of humanity."
The Prophet growled. "And what message from you pathetic heretics could possibly be worth my time?"
"Sooner or later, Prophet, humanity is going to kick. Your. ASS."
Braden then flipped the bird at the Prophet, and delivered a vicious kick to the hologram- creating device, destroying it.
The Prophet of Truth's hologram fazed out of existence. He never got the chance to get back at Braden.
**********
March 3, 2536
Generic Colony World
100 Hours
Ashley's signal was just up ahead. Braden ran through the jungle trees and ferns towards her. It had been hours since she and the marines she was with had been separated from the main battle, and only now had her signal been tracked.
He found her.
She was on her knees, her arms limply hanging to her sides. She was covered in alien blood. The flaming debris of a Wraith, three Phantoms, and six Banshees sat behind her. The splattered remains of countless Covenant surrounded her.
"Ashley!" Braden yelled out. He opened a com channel. "This is X 1, I found X 3! Get over to my position NOW!"
Braden rushed up to her and kneeled next to her. "It's okay Ash, I'm here." He looked around at the carnage. "Damn, looks like you put up a hell of a fight. What happened?"
Ashley remained silent.
"Answer me, Spartan."
Silence.
"Ashley?"
"... No more..."
Ashley suddenly grabbed Braden's shoulders. "NO MORE! NO MORE FIGHTING!"
He grabbed her arms. "Ashley! ASH! Get a hold of yourself soldier!"
Ashley began hyperventilating. "I- I can't do it anymore." She then drew Braden into a tight hug. And started crying.
Braden did not know what to do. He... he just never saw this coming. He felt a strange emotional feeling in his chest. He didn't like it. A thought passed through his mind that at any other time he would have NEVER dared to think. "What if ONI was right? What if... what if we aren't fit to be Spartans"
"P- Please... no m- more..." Ashley took a deep breath, and screamed to the heavens. "RAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!"
**********
September 20, 2538
Generic Colony World, Museum of History, Ancient Japan Section
The Elite Zealot kicked Braden into the exhibit window, causing it to shatter. Braden collided with a samurai suit that had one of those big top hats and silly mustaches.
Braden was lying on his back amidst the glass shards. He groaned. He looked up and saw the Zealot jumping through the hole head first towards him. It held a glowing lightsaber energy sword.
"FOR THE GREAT JOURNEY!"
Thinking quickly, Braden blindly reached to his side for something to defend himself with. He felt something and grabbed it. He pointed it towards his aggressor, hoping that it was something that would save him.
It was a katana. He was holding the handle. The blade was pointed at the Zealot.
The Zealot impaled itself through its chest when it landed on the blade. It froze up, in shock of what happened. It made a choking sound and blood began to spill from its mouth. The tip of its own sword was an inch away from Braden's visor. Its grip loosened as it finally died, deactivating the energy sword.
Braden let the body fall to the side. He got up, and pulled the katana out from the alien's torso. He stared at the blood smeared blade.
"Hmm..."
**********
October 10, 2538
Some random ONI lab
"Hello, my name is Doctor Oc, I presume that you are the Spartan called Braden?"
"That would be correct."
"Excellent. I have your package right over here." Doctor Oc motioned to Braden to follow him. They crossed to the other side of the generic lab that I am too lazy to describe. Oc walked up to a secure weapons locker, punched in a secret password(it was 133769101), and opened the doors. "Aha, here we are. I must say that this is perhaps the most unusual request I have ever gotten, but I like a challenge."
Oc handed Braden a sheathed katana. The sheath itself was grey and the handle was reddish brown. Braden stared at it for a moment.
"Well go on, take it out." Oc said.
Braden grabbed the handle, and slowly drew the blade out. It was light grey. He could see his reflection.
"You like?"
"Very. Thank you, doctor." He gave it an experimental slash through the air. "So, anything I should know about my new toy?"
"Besides the fact that it is sharp enough to cleanly cut down a tree with one slice, is almost as hard as diamond, and when sheathed can automatically magnetize to the back of your armor while only taking up minimal space? No, not really."
Braden gave the sword another experimental swing.
"Although, I recommend that you take some fencing lessons first."
"Oh, uh, sure."
Oc rubbed his chin. "Hm, you know, there's something else that I think you might be interested in. Wanna see?"
"What is it?" Braden asked.
"A few years ago back in '36, there was this little company called RKD that worked on a project codenamed "Hayabusa"..."
**********
May 1, 2540
On some UNSC Cruiser
Braden was bored. He was sitting in the lounge on a cushy chair next to a window that had a rather good view of space. He had already spent a few hours in the weight room and sparred with Richard and James, so exercise was out of the question. All the books in the room were about boring stuff like military protocol and playboy, so he was really bored.
Braden looked out the window.
Space.
He looked away.
...
Braden looked out the window. And then he looked away.
...
!!!
Braden looked back out the window, both hands against the thick glass and his face almost pressed against it.
Space.
He plopped back into his chair and sat there for a few moments, thinking.
...
"Another hour in the gym wouldn't hurt."
**********
August 4, 2541
ONI Facility
Braden and Richard were both sitting on a bench in a waiting room. Their postures were straight and professional.
"Sir," Richard said, "Permission to speak, sir?"
"Dick, you don't need to talk like that to me when we're not on the battlefield," Braden responded, "But, yes. You may."
"Why again does ONI want us to meet these "Spartan Three's"?"
"Because they're putting together another team, like us, just with a bit more military discipline. ONI just wants us to take them on a small- scale suicide mission, and show them the ropes of not getting killed."
"So we're taking a bunch of kids on a field trip? Great."
"Don't be so pessimistic. And they're not kids."
A door opened. A man stepped through. Both Spartans suddenly stood up and saluted him.
"Colonel Urban Holland, SIR!" They both said at the same time.
"At ease, Spartans," Holland said. Braden and Richard both relaxed. "Follow me, they're waiting to meet you."
Holland turned and reentered the room. Braden and Richard followed him. When they got inside the small room, they found a table and five chairs. Two of the chairs were occupied, one by a young man, and the other by a young woman.
"Spartan III's," Holland said, "Meet the leader of X Team, Braden 007, and his second in command, Richard 046. Spartan II's, meet the leader of Noble Team, Carter A259, and his second in command, Catherine B320."
Carter and Kat stood up and saluted. "It's an honor, sir." Carter said.
"The honor is our's." Braden replied.
**********
December 8, 2541
Generic Colony World
Braden, John, and three Marines were pinned under heavy fire from Brute forces. They were hiding behind a wall of rubble, which weakened as the Brutes continually bombarded it.
"I'm scared." One of the Marines said.
"Easy there, Caboose," Braden said, trying his best to assure the frightened private, "You'll make it out alive."
"He's right Caboose," another of the Marines said, "I mean, look at him! He's a freaking samurai! AND we've got the Master Chief himself with us! Trust me, the moment we get outta here, we'll all get laid! Especially me."
"You are such a pig, Tucker." The third Marine said.
"Hey don't be cramping my style Church!"
"You two aren't helping," John deadpanned, "Now, we need to focus on... wait a sec..."
"What the hell is that music?" Braden asked.
Indeed, there was music playing in the distance, and it was getting closer. Everyone, even the Brutes, gave pause to whatever they were doing at the moment to identify the sound.
"Never thought I'd be happy to hear that song." Church said.
"Wait, what's going on?" Braden asked.
Suddenly, a Warthog came flying over the top of a nearby hill, and crashed into the pack of Brutes, with the music playing at full blast.
The Warthog's dynamic entry killed several of the Brutes. The gunner and the passenger- who was armed with a shotgun- finished the rest off.
Church, Tucker, and Caboose stood up and approached the Warthog. Braden and John hesitated for a moment, confused(with good reason), but soon followed suit. Three Marines occupied the Warthog.
The passenger hopped out of his seat, shotgun in hand. "Simmons!" He barked to the gunner. "Keep an eye out for any Covenant."
"On it, Sarge!" Simmons replied in the most kiss- ass way possible.
"Grif!" Sarge shouted to the driver. "Don't fall asleep. Or eat any snacks. Or drive off without me. Or continue to be lazy and stupid."
Grif gave a frustrated sigh. "Dammit."
"Hooray for the abuse of the command of chains!" Caboose cheered.
Braden and John were more or less speechless.
**********
???, 2544
UNSC Interrogation Room
A UNSC interrogation room. The half of the room with the door to the rest of the facility was well lit. The other half was pitch black. A table was in the middle of the room. Well, mostly in the middle. The majority of the table was in the light, but one end was slightly in the dark half.
Anyways, an Elite Minor was sitting in a chair at the end of the table that was slightly in the dark. He was weaponless, but unrestrained. However, he was one of those rare "life before honor" types, so he was smart enough to not try anything suicidal so far. He was also quite short for an Elite, he stood at a measly 7' 5".
The door opened. The Minor looked up and clicked its mandibles with curiosity.
Avery Junior Johnson closed the door, walked over to the table, and took a seat opposite the Minor.
"A while ago, there was a battle on a planet called Miridem," Johnson explained to the Minor, "During that, while our ships were evacuating, your friends stole a very important package from us."
The Minor remained silent.
Johnson leaned forward. "You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"
The Minor crossed its arms. "And if I do?"
"Now you listen here, I'm going to give you one chance, just one chance, to give me a straight answer to my question, or things are going to get ugly," Johnson suddenly stood up and slammed his fists on the table, "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"
The Minor gave an arrogant huff. "As if you could ever make me talk."
"Answer my question, squid head. Where. Is. Halsey?"
"I may hold little respect for my own people's tradition for honor, but I dare not imperil the Great Journey."
Johnson blankly stared at the Minor for a moment. He then stood up, and returned to the door.
"So how does this work," The Minor asked, "Bad cop first, good cop second? That is strange, even for you heretics."
Johnson raised an eyebrow as he opened the door. "Pardon?"
"You are the bad cop, are you not?"
Johnson cracked a smile. "Nope. I'm the good cop." Johnson exited the room, and closed the door.
The lights for the back half of the room suddenly turned on, revealing Braden, who had been standing right behind the Minor this whole time.
Braden grabbed the back of the Minor's head and slammed his face into the table.
"GAH!" The Minor snarled. Braden circled around to the other side of the table so he could properly face the Minor. "Cowardly human filth! Of course one as dishonorable as you would strike a foe from behi-"
Braden backhanded the Minor in the face. The blow forced the Minor's head to turn away from Braden and face the floor. The Minor took a moment to let the action sink in. He returned his head to its proper posture and glared at Braden. He stayed silent.
"A friend of mine was killed during that battle," Braden said, "Her name was Sheila. She was a Spartan."
The Minor clicked its mandibles.
"She died trying to keep Halsey out of the Covenant's grasp. So the fact that you killed one of my friends and kidnapped another makes this little interrogation between you and me very personal."
"I did not kill your Demon friend," The Minor calmly explained, "Nor did I abduct Halsey. Both of those honors belong to Major 'Lodamee, that shameless bastard. But I will admit, before he sent me away to scout a section of your planet's atmosphere- where you caught me- watching him gut the Demon was most satisfying. Her screams were music to my ears."
Braden grabbed the Minor by the neck, simultaneously stood up, and drew him up to his face. "Where's Halsey?" He growled.
"You honestly think I will sell out the Covenant under the threat of pain?" The Minor was clearly not impressed.
"You seem like the type." Braden then pulled the Minor over the table and pinned him against the wall. "This is your last chance. Where's Halsey?"
"I will not imperil the Great Journey, and the blood of mankind shall-"
Braden flipped the Minor upside down and slammed him onto the table. The Minor gave a pained groan and rolled off. As he struggled to get up, Braden grabbed him by the back of his head and smashed his face into the room's obligatory one- way mirror, creating a spiderweb- shaped crack in the glass.
"WHERE IS SHE?"
"You're gonna have to try harder if you want-"
Braden punched him. "WHERE IS SHE?"
"The Great Journey-"
*PUNCH*
"WHERE IS SHE?"
The Minor gave a chuckle. "You know what the problem is with you humans? You don't know when to just quit. Your Halsey is beyond your reach now. You have no hope of retrieving her."
Braden grabbed him by the neck again and pulled him up to his face. "How about we cut a deal?"
The Minor raised one of his scaly brows. "Go on..."
"You tell us where Halsey is, and you live. Don't tell us, and you die. Simple as that."
The Minor shifted his eyes, his mandibles clicking with consideration.
"You're going to die here and you know it, the least you can do is buy yourself some time. So tell me, what's more important to you," Braden asked, "Your own life, or your religion?"
The Minor looked to Braden. "... I will talk..."
Braden pulled the Elite closer. "Halsey's location. NOW."
"She is currently being held by the Third Fleet of Glorious Consequence, the fleet that attacked your planet. You should be able to discern which ship she is on by tracing her "cryo pod's" signal. Under normal circumstances the fleet would have been long gone by now and this entire episode rendered moot, but they are currently trapped in a stellar magnetic field, thus preventing them from using Slipspace. Temporarily, anyway."
"So this is our only chance to act then?"
The Minor nodded.
"Thank you for the information. Oh, and remember what I said about letting you live if you told us what we needed?"
"Yes?"
Braden quickly unsheathed his katana and swiftly decapitated the Minor with a single stroke.
"I lied."
Braden moved for the door, opened it, and stepped through. He opened a com link.
"John, it's me. I have what we need. Tell Captain Jiron to get the PRO ready..."
As Braden left, Johnson took a moment to take a peek inside the room. He grimaced at the bloody mess.
"Can someone get Frankie the Janitor down here to clean this mess," Johnson called out, "Please?"
**********
April 22, 2552
Fumirole
The Elite Ultra pinned Braden to the ground with its foot, pressing down on his chest. The Ultra raised its sword and was about to finish Braden, when Carter leaped onto its back and stabbed his combat knife into its neck. The Ultra gave a pained roar and fell over dead. Carter offered a hand to Braden, who grabbed it and hoisted himself up.
"Thanks for the save." Braden said.
"Don't mention it." Carter replied. Carter's com suddenly activated.
"Noble One! Carter, are you there?!" A static voice said from Carter's helmet. It was Jun- A266.
"What is it Noble Three?!" Carter yelled over the explosions and chaos around them. Braden provided cover fire for Carter as he talked. A Skirmisher managed to get close to them and jumped at them, its toothy maw wide open, but Braden promptly gunned it down.
"Noble Two has been hit by a Banshee and dropped Hope! I repeat, Kat is down and she dropped the armed nuke!" Jun yelled.
"WHAT?!" Braden and Carter exclaimed at the same time.
They both looked in the direction Kat had gone when she ran past them. A way's off, just across the battlefield, they saw Kat lying on the ground, immobile, with the nuke beside her. They ran to her.
However, another Spartan beat them to her.
It was Thom- 293.
Thom looked at Kat, then at the nuke. Thom picked up the nuke. He looked upwards to the Covenant Cruiser that floated menacingly in the sky. He activated his jet pack and flew off towards the ship. Seconds later Braden and Carter finally reached Kat.
"What the hell is he doing?!" Braden rhetorically asked as he watched Thom fly away.
Carter was crouched next to Kat. Her right arm was burned and broken. "Kat! Kat can you hear me?" He asked.
Kat gave a pained groan. "Commander... I'm sorry..."
At that moment James, Emile- A239, Kenny, and Jorge arrived.
"Oh shit! Kat!" Emile yelled.
Jorge kneeled next to Carter and Kat. "Sir, she's not gonna make it if we don't amputate her arm. The burns are too severe."
"I KNOW!"
"Wait, who just flew up there?" James asked. "And where's that Hope nuke?"
"That was Thom," Braden said, "He took the nuke and flew into the ship."
"He's up there?!" Kenny exclaimed. "I- but- what- he's gonna make it, right? I- I mean, Thom's gonna get out of there in time, right guys?"
"Of course he is!" Emile said. "He's Thom for crying out loud! Any moment now that cowboy's gonna come flying back to us shouting "YEEHAW" or something with a blaze of glory behind him. Just wait and see."
The Covenant Cruiser suddenly exploded, and crashed into the ground. There was no sign of Thom.
**********
August 13, 2552
The Red Shirt
Braden and Captain Johnson Head were on the bridge of Head's ship, The Red Shirt.
Captain Johnson Head scratched his chin in deep thought. "HMMM... What do you think, Colonel?" He asked Braden as he stared intently at his personal vending machine. "Coke, or Pepsi?"
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Braden screamed at the Captain. "For the past two months that my team and I have been under your command, you nearly botched six missions, almost killed two thousand civilians, barely avoided crashing into a nuclear power plant, and here you are, literally half a minute after we just received A GODDAMN DISTRESS CALL FROM REACH SAYING THAT THE PLANET IS UNDER COVENANT ATTACK, taking your sweet time deciding what GODDAMN SODA YOU WANT TO DRINK!!!"
Head looked shocked, as if he suddenly had an epiphany. "My god, you're right, Colonel! Why not have both Coke and Pepsi at the same time?!" Head then put two quarters into the vending machine, pressed two buttons, and a can of Coke and Pepsi dropped out at the bottom. Head grabbed both cans and chugged them down at the same time.
Braden facepalmed. "How... how are you still employed?"
Head gave him a coy smile. "It's simple, Spartan. All you have to do is know how to please the ladies in High Command. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink."
"... Captain."
"Yes?"
"Get us to Reach, now, or I will stage a one- man mutiny and throw you out the airlock."
Head paled. "... Uh, navigator, get us to Reach, asap."
"Aye, Captain." The navigator, a young man, replied. "Preparing slipspace."
"I'm going down to the hanger to check on my team," Braden said as he turned to leave the bridge, "And we had better be at Reach in forty- eight hours."
"Relax, Spartan," Head said, a bit calmed down now, "We'll get there." Just before Braden was out of earshot, he heard Head say something to himself. "Heh, I'm totally going to survive this war."
After a few lefts and rights in the halls, Braden finally found the elevator to the hanger. The doors opened. He entered. The doors closed. He waited. The doors opened again. He stepped out.
Braden looked around the hanger. Richard and Rose were both examining The Red Shirt's sole Longsword. Kenny, James, and Ashley were hanging around some crates just across the hanger. He took a deep breath to calm down from his little episode on the bridge. He decided to question Richard and Rose about the status of the Longsword that they were going to be using.
Braden calmly walked up to Richard and Rose. "Is everything set and ready?" He asked.
From here on out you know the rest of the story.
**********
The mental connection between Celestia and Braden snapped like a cord. Celestia gave a pained scream and fell backwards, writhing in pain on the ground. Braden just silently laid where he was.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight yelled. She moved to assist her mentor, but was stopped by Luna.
"No, do not go near her! She is disoriented, and very dangerous." Luna explained.
Twilight reluctantly obeyed, but was clearly ready to bolt the moment she was given the ok. After a few tense moments, Celestia finally stopped squirming. She was hyperventilating, her hooves to the sides of her head, her eyes frantically darting all around the room. She was shaking uncontrollably.
Twilight looked to Luna. Luna nodded. Twilight sprinted to Celestia and stopped when she was by her side. "C- Celestia? Are you alright?"
Celestia looked at Twilight. Her breathing slowed down. "Twilight... my most faithful student... I have seen... horrible, terrible things... GET THEM OUT OF MY HEAD!"
"It's okay Princess! We're all here to help you and-" Twilight stopped. She was looking above at something behind Celestia. Fear dominated her face.
Celestia dared to turn her head around. Braden stood over her, his katana held in his right hand, breathing heavily like a deranged lunatic.
"You... you just don't know when to stop being a problem, do you?" Braden said in a tone darker than any he had ever spoken in before.
Celestia held up a hoof in defense. "S- Stay away! Please!"
"You are too dangerous to be left alive."
Braden raised his katana.
"HAVE MERCY!"
And brought it down upon Celestia.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"
Kenny dashed forward and grabbed Braden's arm before he could smite Celestia. "NO COLONEL!"
The blade stopped just a few inches short of slicing Celestia's skull in half down the middle.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING PRIVATE?!" Braden yelled with supreme outrage.
"No blood needs to be shed!" Kenny said. "We are free from the dungeon and have made our point! You don't have to kill Celestia!"
"And why not?! So she can trouble us again? What if she ends up killing you, Kenny!"
Kenny looked to Celestia. For a moment, he was tempted to let Braden kill her. This was not the Celestia he had seen on the cartoon. This was...
"Wait..." Kenny thought. "Of course... but that shall be dealt with later."
Kenny looked back to Braden. "Colonel. Braden, let it go."
Braden continued to glance between Kenny and Celestia.
...
He sheathed his katana. Kenny, and everybody else, sighed with relief. Braden began taking steps toward the main door...
... Then suddenly scooped up Celestia by her neck with one arm, holding her up to his face. The Mane Six(and Lyra) gasped, Luna's horn glowed, and the rest of X Team took ready stances. Kenny held his hands up in an attempt to keep Braden calm.
"Sir, please, don't-"
"I did not give you permission to speak, Private."
Kenny flinched.
Braden returned his attention to Celestia. "Now you listen to me, and you listen to me now. I don't care who you are. I don't care what you want. You have seen my past, and thus you know that I have a very particular set of skills. You saw how I got those skills. You saw what I have used those skills for. What you experienced during our fight? I was holding back, and only slightly annoyed by your actions. You don't want to deal with me when I'm not holding back, and angry. If you do not bring any more harm to my Spartans, I will not look for you, and I will not pursue you. But if you do, I will look for you. I will find you. And I will kill you."
Celestia simply stared at Braden, horrified.
Braden released Celestia from his grip. She dropped to the floor in limp shock. He made his way for the door. The other ponies, shocked as they were, still had enough sense to move out of his way.
"Spartans, move out," Braden ordered with a no bullshit tone, "We're returning to base." He then continued calmly walking down the hall.
Richard, Ashley, Rose, and James followed him.
Kenny followed too, but he stopped as he passed the other ponies. He made a quick glance to his teammates, then motioned to Luna to come nearer. Luna, surprised, took a tentative step toward him.
Kenny whispered something into Luna's ear that the other seven ponies couldn't hear. At first Luna looked confused, but she nodded to him. He nodded back. Then he ran after the rest of X Team.
The Spartans were gone.
The ponies stood there(or in Celestia's case: laid on the floor in a fetal position) silently for a good three minutes, trying to take in what the buck just happened.
And then Cadence walked in. She gave a yawn. "Hello everypony," She awkwardly said as she looked around. "So, what did I miss after I got knocked out?"
Stats
Page generated in 0.033 seconds
Total duration
1,071 users online
2,094,008 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Cadence ruins the moment
Cadance
just go away for now and come back later.
>mfw
RvB ftw
April 22
MY BIRTHDAY!
ha! that's what you get for looking into a spartan-II's mind, Celestia!
...
what are the Blues and Reds doing here in this chapter?
just six chapters to go? oh well
just be sure not to rush it too much, okay?
awaiting the next chapter. Ace out
Frankie is best pony and needs an increased salary.
XD RvB Caboose: Hurray for the abuse of the command of chains
I just love how you break the 4th wall and all the references you insert!
2439517HA MINE IS THE 21st and im turning 18
2442864 15 here, you American? if so then we have a birthday on the same day :)
244383780% German but ya i live in springdale AR you
2443837 80%
v
Honestly, I was surprised you hadn't been spelling it "Spartan" the whole time.
"...the lovechild of a Predator and a Tyrannosaurus Rex."
^That was both accurate and beautiful.
In fact, you really know how to wax poetic with all of these Covenant descriptions.
Good god That was awesome....
Braden to Celestia:
RED VS BLUE FUCK YEA!!
webmemes.org(allthe)
Since when did the Samurai become the Batman?
2777478 Combo?
YYYYYYYYYYEEEEEESSSSSSSS!! I love refrences.
Wait...did this continue onto another chapter?
.........
WHY? This is MLP crossover, I don't want to read two chapters of UNSC stuff that's only due to a spell cast on the mind of the leader.
I still enjoy the fact that it's on it's own chapter, where as I will skip it without regret and will NEVER be convinced to read this backstory, because I don't think it's necessary. Maybe it would be necessary near the beginning of the story, but now that all the characters are developed, It's unnecessary. I do however worry for the later chapters where they're back at the throne room or whatever. When you rebuild relationships like this, you can sometimes get some small unnoticeable detail off.
If I don't comment about it later then you've done good, if I do however, it's probably because I'm mad.
And frankly, I hate a lot of things in your story. I just don't care to point them out because they're mostly part of the theme you've got going on, and regardless of if I like it or not I can't touch it without critiquing your entire story as a whole. But the fact that these subtle and major issues exist in harmony with the writing style keeps me at bay.
I'm more pissed with your shoddy characters, plot, and mediocre detail work. I'm just glad that they're so minor that I can point at them and honestly say it's acceptable with the way you're delivering it. Nothings just too far out there, and at all times it shows me that this is the best of your ability and only encouragement is really appropriate.
You still suck though.
Oh look, a snit bit at the end of the throne room! Finally it's over :D
"Two chapters of backstory that could have been summed up as 'So you've seen my past and you know what I am' without any explanation. It would also look better if that happened." - BioChemicalWolfGear
Well you gave me a good ending statement that I could answer. So I thought "Why the fuck not?" and ran with it.
I'm happy.
Reds and Blues, Master Chief, And Noble team! How much better can this get?!
instafaved
Whoa,
I vanquished that salad...
3770236
The new creature was similar to the first one, but unlike the other one, this alien flat out WAS a velociraptor standing upright. Still, no tail.
"Clever girl..." Braden whispered.
It gets better by using this reference........
So... many... REFERENCES!!! I love it!
I love all the movie references! Xd
Especially the movie "taken". Lol
Actually, Lord Hood is. He is literally the head of the UNSC. By claiming that you have higher authority than him and acting on it you are guilty of sedition and possibly treason. The Spartans in front of you, thanks you to your big mouth and actions, now have every legal right to kill you.
I always thought it was kind of awesome that Halo took the opposite path in terms of time-space with Slipspace. Instead of it just skipping distance, time inside slipspace moves fast enough to be problematic, so they have to use cryo-sleep. Obviously, judging by Covenant ships, this is due to humanity's inefficient method.
You should have broken her horn to ensure she wouldn't be able to attack personally again.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Actually it means go,go,go.