Normally I yearn for field deployment, but right now my killing spree was keeping me happy in the holodeck. I found this little hide on one of the Ragnarok bases that let me see far and wide. The SRS99-S5 AM barked like a mad dog, but from this range no one can hear it.

A Red helmet poked above a rock on the the central hill, and with the sun to my back (plus a minuscule profile), I know he couldn't see me. I lined up the shot. *BOOM*

Sniper Spree

The 14.5mm casing rang out on the floor to me side... it sounded like a bell. As I scanned my sight lines, no new target presented itself. The Blues' Mantis marched along the river, towards the Red base by the waterfall.

So far it looks like we have thoroughly pushed their shit in. It looks like this is going to be another easy win. Wait... there's another Red guy. *BOOM*
“Joe, shotgun-Mongoose?” Andrew says as he worked the pump. I met him many years back, before the Infinity. Now, we're the best of buds.

“I don't have anything else to do. Let's give'em Hell.” Shotgun-Mongoose. Always unexpected.

I hopped onto the quad as Andrew climbed onto the back. I drove straight into the man cannon. As we soared, the gods of awesome knew that we were too rad and had us do a barrel roll.

With a splash we found ourselves in the river at the base of the hill. I drove against the stream on the same path as the Mantis earlier. When we rounded the corner we found eight different forms of Hell waiting for us. Eight Red forms of Hell.

Luckily the Mantis was getting the shellacking... at least for now. A red beam seeming to be from Thor himself tore into the Mantis, setting it alight. It still walked, it still shot and it still didn't die, so naturally a swarm of blue spiders decided to swarm it like the plague. Many pretty little explosions later... I have no idea what happened, I had already gotten the hell out of there.

Looping around Red Base, Andrew jumped out to grab their sniper rifle. Only the enemy sniper was still using it. He drew his blade and crept slowly up after the marksman. He raised the blade, ready to pounce for the assassination. *BOOM*
Yoink!

“Dammit, Joe! Not again.”

“Any kill's a fair kill, Pizza.” I still do not know why the other Spartans have taken to calling him Pizza, not even he knows. It's just his name, as much as Joe is to me, or Betsy is to my breech-loaded grenade launcher with trigger-delay EMP rounds and a max range of 450 meters... don't judge me!

With their rifle, Pizza set up his hide near the Reds' side man cannon, similar to how I was set up at Blue Base. I moved into the rock ridge behind Red to cover him. This is going to be fun. Pizza went to work with the sniper rifle.

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *click*

Apparently their sniper had been a busy little bee before we “relieved” him of his duty. The rifle, however, barks like a mad dog. The enemy though, is much closer now. And thus, the swarm commences. I suddenly knew how that Mantis felt.

“Bad guys, incoming!” I radioed to my pepperoni friend.

*BOOM* *BOOM* Killing Frenzy *BOOM* *BOOM* Sharpshooter
I could only kill a handle full at a time; Pizza, a fistful. But these were Spartans. They learned, adapted, became better killers. Faster, more efficient. More lethal. Despite this, these guys just kept on running into my sights. Around now I was wishing I was running the Ammo Support Upgrade. *KABOOM* Or Explosives. Explosives is nice. *KABOOM* Frags flying, I’m leaving. Time to go!

“I'm routed, heading inside. Check your fire, Pizza.”

I poked my shiny blue cranium out of cover. *BOOM* *BOOM* *click*

Both missed. I switched to my Magnum. The Mighty Magnum! All shall fear... *KABOOM* or shall learn to fear it. Did I mention I hate the Grenadier Tactical Package? Honestly, frag spamming is something even a greenhorn Marine can do, why would a Spartan need to stoop so low as to- *KABOOM* oh yeah, because it's damn effective! My shields, or lack thereof, seem to agree.

Normally, having no shield is a death sentence in the holodeck sims, but I have my big blue buddy, the Hardlight Shield! *froowm* Wait... aren't we supposed to use frags to defeat a Hardlight Shield? Yeah, I didn't think this through... *BLAM*

Oh sweet gods of awesome, the Splazer Spartan's an idiot! The red ray of death deflected off my shield into baddie #2 (right), and baddie #1 (left) was either just as stupid or out of grenades. Either way, his bullets just deflected off my Shield until Pizza poked his head out.

A pirouette and a stabby-stab later, Pizza finally got his assassination. “That was close,” I said, turning to fire on Mr. Splazer on the central hill. Pizza ran back into the baddy's base.

*BAP* *BAP* *BAP* *BAP* *BAP*
Splazer keeled over and I ran into the red base. Pizza was already getting work done with his 8 gauge. *BOOM* shckshck *BOOM* shckshck *BOOM* shckshck
“Howdy!” I called out to him, walking into the little chamber beneath the top level. All of a sudden my radio cut in.

“Fireteam Crimson, assemble in the ops center immediately. We have a mission for you,” it was Commander Palmer.

Game over. Victory!

“You called us?” I asked as Pizza and I walked up to the holotable. It was depicting a planet.

“Nice of you to join us. We need you two to do a long range recon of this planet here. You'll stay put there and keep an eye out for Jul 'Mdama's fleet. Send word only when you find him, we'll swing by to pick you up... if we don't catch him first,” Palmer laid out the mission for us.

Pizza spoke up, “Commander, why did you choose us for the mission. I believe Fireteams Forest or Avalanche already have experience with lengthy deployment, sir.”

“I have called upon you two because not much is known about this world and some of the eggheads would like to learn as much as possible about it. All that the long range probes have returned thus far is that it should be teeming with life. And frankly Forest is a bunch of stuck ups and Avalanche tends to refuse backup too often. Either of them would be liable to try to take out 'Mdama before calling in the cavalry. I still have a score to settle with that hinge-head...” Palmer responded.

My turn, “Sir, what kind of equipment should we pack, and what will we be allowed to bring?”

“Anything that isn't bolted down, so long as you don't pack the entire ship. We’ll be passing close to the planet, you will be using a Pelican to get ground side. Bring whatever you want, but keep in mind that we don't do deliveries.”

Ok. Seemed straight forward. Hunker down, keep eyes peeled... profit! “We'll go get set, sir.”

“Dismissed.”

Pizza and I were seeing how much stuff could fit in a Pelican. We had weapon containers attached to the sides, a Warthog in the back passenger area, a Mantis held on the tail, and somehow we still managed to fit our food and water stores as well as the comm gear into the bird as well. It was stuffed more than a Thanksgiving turkey, but it could still fly... barely.

Roland got on the comms, “Okay, Crimson, this show's on the road. We're nearing your planet soon, so get ready to launch. Good luck out there, things always seem to get exciting wherever you wind up.”

“Thanks Roland. It almost sounded like you were gonna miss us. Oh, and sometimes things do get a bit too exciting. We've already lost some members of Crimson because of that, so let's hope things are uneventful. I might want to write a book when I'm down there,” I said.

“Yeah, Joe's got a point Roland. I'm gonna miss those sons-of-bitches. Anyways, see you 'round!” Pizza added.

We grabbed the last of the items that wouldn't fit in the back and climbed aboard the Pelican. I was going to be flying this thing, and Pizza got the heavy gun up top.

After a short pause, the lift started to descend. In a few moments, the exit tunnel was visible. I keyed the ignition.

With a surge of speed, the Pelican rocketed down the tunnel. When we left the Infinity, I could see the blue and green planet on my 11 o'clock. I checked the nav ball and pointed us retrograde. The engines hummed softly in the vacuum of space (or rather through the structure of the Pelican). Looking back, I saw the Infinity for one last time as it slipped into the dark of slipspace. This was going to take a lot longer than we thought, wasn't it?

The atmosphere burned a bright red as we began our descent planetside. I made sure to get the nose pointed forward, and once the reentry effects cool off I'd start maneuvering for a landing. Until then, a little ditty ran through my head from back when I was doing some training exercises with the 105th.

I keyed the mic, “Helljumper, Helljumper, where have you been?”

“Feet first into Hell and back again!” Pizza responded.

“When I die, please bury me deep!”

“Place an MA5 down by my feet!”

“Don't cry for me, don't shed no tear!”

“Just back my box with my PT gear!”

“'Cause one early morning 'bout zero-five!”

“The ground will rumble, there'll be lightnin' in the sky!”

“Don't worry don't come undone...”

“It's just my ghost on a PT run!”

We shared a laugh as the Pelican's reentry effects started dying down. I kicked it into auto-hover to help slow down. “Pizza, start looking for a good LZ. I'd like a place with plenty of cover, foliage, and preferably a nearby water source.”

We scanned the ground below. “How 'bout down there?” A waypoint popped up on my HUD. It was in the middle of a forest. The plant life was a vibrant green. The trees would provide good cover. I would bet that there would be plenty of foliage and a good water source down there, too. I found a clearing nearby and set the bird down in it.

We climbed out of the Pelican, both of us toting our own loadouts for this kind of mission. I had a BR (Arctic camo, because awesome), the Mighty Magnum, a pair of frags (always frags), a Thruster Pack (weeeeeee!), and Mobility and Ammo Packages.

Pizza had a DMR, a Bolt Shot, Plasma grenades, a Hardlight Shield, and the Shielding and Ammo Packages. Looks like we were set for a Grunt birthday party. Too bad there was no Covenant.

“Alright, Pizza. I'll grab the 'Hog and do some recon of the forest while you continue unpacking everything.”

“Okay. I'll see if I can establish some defensive positions by the time you get back.”

With that I hopped into the Warthog and drove it out of the pelican. The trees here were spaced far enough apart that I could typically drive through them.

The foliage seemed to do a nice job of concealing our LZ, I wasn't even fifty yards outside the perimeter before I couldn't see any bit of it. Luckily Pizza and I had IFF tags active. A blue triangle pointed his position out to me. At least I wouldn't get lost.

I continued to drive through at a leisurely 15 mph. So far nothing to report. I activated my audio recorder so that the eggheads could get their report when they came back for us.

“This is Lieutenant Joe of Fireteam Crimson. This planet seems to be teeming with life, or at least of the plant variety. So far, I haven't encountered signs of animal life. This is the first-hour report, I'll be back soon.” I ended the recording.

Once I came across a small lake at the Eastern edge of the forest I got out of the Warthog. Just past this lake was acre after acre of rolling hills, all populated by equally spaced apple trees. Something was up.

I started the recording again, “Addendum: it seems that there is an apple orchard just past the forest. I would continue reconnaissance, however I believe I am more needed at the LZ. I'll be doubly sure to check it out after I see how Ensign Pizza has fortified the LZ.”

Once I got back, I was fairly surprised at how well Pizza had dispersed our supplies; weapons and grenades on pallets, barricades in a rough perimeter, and turrets set to lock down the area. He was even using the Mantis as a barricade that he could quickly man. The Pelican was a little ways off to the side of the base.

“Wow. I didn't know you were so good at fortification. Were you with the engineers at some point?”

“Nope. I've been fighting behind cover for long enough to know what's good and what's not.”

“Well, I saw an apple orchard to the East, just beyond a lake at the edge of the forest. I think we should check it out tomorrow.”

“Sounds good to me. Do you think our stuff will be here when we get back?”

“It should. I don't think there's anything around here that would take it or want it, aside from whoever built that orchard. My money's on it being an Innie from way back when who came here to get away from the UNSC. You?”

“Maybe some ONI spook team that we don't have the clearance to know about. Or what if it just formed naturally there? My money's on either one.”

“So you get two bets and I only get one? That's hardly fair.”

“Think of it more like splitting in blackjack. It's just some more casino BS to put your money on the table. Speaking of casino BS, wanna play?”

That deserved a chuckle. I sat down and joined Pizza at a makeshift table. I got the camping stool and he got the folding chair. He pulled out a deck of cards and started dealing onto the crate/table.

The cards went 'round. Me, then him, then me. It finished with him showing a King of Hearts. I had a Queen and Seven of Clubs. Seeing how he didn't have a blackjack, and myself feeling lucky and dumb, I took a hit. Five of Spades. Damn 22... so close, yet too much. He revealed he had a Ten of Spades.

I dealt next. We didn't shuffle the cards in, we do that to mark the end of the game and the start of a different one. I had a Four of Spades, he had a Six of Diamonds and a Nine of Hearts. 15. “Hit me.” Six of Clubs, 21. Looks like I am going to have my work cut out for me. I flipped the Two of Spades, then started drawing. Four of Hearts. 10. Six of Spades. 16. Eight of Hearts, a bust at 24.

His turn. Jack, Six of Hearts. I'll stand this time; lots of low cards last hand. He reveals a Jack, Four of Clubs. Now a Five of Diamonds. His 19 beat my 16. Damn, I'm oh for three now. Normally it's the other way around.

My deal. King, Seven for him, deuce for me. He stands. Flip a Ten, draw a Two. Again. Eight... bust at 22. His win.

His deal. Ace, Eight off-suit. Soft nineteen, I'll stand. He has a Nine, then a Queen of Hearts. Push.

My deal. King, Jack for him, a Jack for me. I check and find an Eight. No way I'll throw him off. He stands. He wins.

His turn. Pair of Threes for me, a Five for him. I split. 3/5, 3/9. I hit on both. Ace left, Four right. Totals now at 19 soft and 16. I stand left, hit right. Deuce. Hit. Three. 19 left, 21 right. His move. He reveals a Queen, then draws a nine. Dealer bust. The win has been doubled!

My deal. Nine cards left in the deck. Queen, Three him; Ten, King for me. He doesn't know that I have 20. He hits. Ace, 14. He hits. Ten, 24. He busts, I win.

“Joe, there are only three cards left. What's the next game?”

“Let's try Anaconda, my luck should fair better there.”

He shuffled and dealt us both seven cards. I got K/J/3 of Spades and 9/6/5/2 of Clubs. I passed on my K/J/3. He gave me a Four of Hearts and a 6/2 of Spades. I was really hoping for the flush. We showed our cards. Me: Two Pair, Sixes and Twos, Nine kicker. Him: Two pair, Jacks and Threes, Ace kicker. Shit. Maybe I could pressure him somehow...

“You got me. Maybe we should find something to actually bet with?”

“What did you have in mind? We've got dirt, trees, foliage, and everything we brought with us.”

“Ammo?”

“Alright. Ante at Five rounds of 7.62?”

“Sure.”

Rounds clinged in the middle as I dealt. I got a rainbow of A/K/Q/10/8/7/7. I passed on the 8/7/7. He gave me 7/9/5. Nothing. Time to bluff! I grinned like a mad hatter and tossed a SAW mag in the middle. He paused. “Joe, I just gave you two diamonds, and you gave me none. I swear you've got the flush, I'm out,” he laid down his Full House (Eights over Sevens) to my Ace high straight draw. I was all grins! Honestly, if his armor wasn't red before it would be now.

His deal. Before we saw our cards I said, “Let's try seven-card No-Peaky.” He flipped one more card, the one to beat, a Five. I flipped my Jack. He flipped a Four, then a Queen. I flipped a Six, then a King, besting his Queen. He flipped a 3/10/8/10. Pair of Tens. My turn. Jack. His last card was a two, I win. My other cards were a 2/K/7.

I was about to deal when a guttural roar shook our souls. “Joe, it sounded like it came from up North.” I set down the deck and drew my BR.

“We can play later. On me,” I gestured for Pizza to follow. I was at a half-crouch gliding more than inching towards the edge of our LZ.

We trekked through the forest, maintaining a heading of 000 until we heard screaming at 035. We turned and ran towards the screaming, it sounded like a man's. Maybe it was the Innie? Either way it sounded like a lion was after him.

We pushed through the trees, winding up on a small dirt road. I motioned for Pizza to follow me from the other side. Another roar told us to go East along the road. We stayed off the road, following just behind the trees to either side.

Eventually we found the source of the roaring and screaming. It was a lion... and a bat... and a scorpion all in the same package. Did this thing come with cup holders, too? Those eggheads would just love this guy if I wasn't about to kill him. I motioned Pizza to halt and hold fire. A let loose a burst. *BAM BAM BAM* The bullets bounced of his skull... and caught his attention! The beast charged me and swiped a massive, clawed paw at me.

Me shields flared, registering one-quarter left. The hit also knocked loose my BR. This thing tried to strike me again, this time I ducked... right into the scorpion tail! The medical suite in my armor registered no puncture. Maybe that's were my luck went? I drew my knife and plunged it seven inches deep into this beast's throat before he could attack again.

He didn't go down. Instead, he started thrashing side to side, knocking me away. How strong was this thing? Mjolnir weighs a thousand pounds! Literally! Pizza's DMR rang out. *BAP* *BAP* This time, the rounds penetrated the beast's ass, literally. He turned 180 and started to charge after Pizza. I ran up and grabbed the beast's mane. I drew the Mighty Magnum and shoved it into his ear. *BAP* *BAP* *BAP* *BAP* *BAP* *BAP* *BAP* *BAP* *click*
The semi-explosive rounds blew open the left side of his head. He was finally dead, and just in time seeing as Pizza was wearing his brains. My shield recharged in a golden shimmer.

“This is why my armor's red, I can be lazy about the clean up,” Pizza joked.

“Let's just make sure everyone's alright. It's clear we aren't alone hear.”

“Agreed.”

My right shoulder ached a little. Damn that thing was strong! I looked around, reloading my magnum. I spotted some clothing and baggage on the road... and blood. I walked closer, grabbing my BR en route and started looking more closely.

Looked like a bunch of dead horses. Maybe cavalry, or a caravan? Probably just some farm animals. By my count I shouldn't be that far from the apple orchard. Either way, they were all dead. No Innie though, he probably made a run for it. Smart thinking.

Looking through the saddlebags though, I noticed a lot of OD Green supplies. Some sabers. A trio of shields. Hell, even a halberd! Ok, that farmer was either an archaic Innie or an antiques collector. Why would an antiques collector be this far from UNSC space? ...Probably just an Innie.

These weapons were of high quality, but what interested me more was the bags. They were labeled “Royal Canterlot Guard”. Never heard of the outfit. “Hey, Pizza! Have you ever heard of the 'Royal Canterlot Guard'?”

“No, why?”

“All of this cavalry has it stamped on their saddlebags. And on closer inspection, even their weapons and armor. Come to think of it, who would outfit cavalry horses with golden armor? It'll just slow them down, and is probably why they got killed.”

“I don't know, maybe a Drill Sergeant they really pissed off?”

“I don't think so. They aren't fitted like any military unit I've ever seen.” I opened the bags on what seemed to be the commander's horse (the one with the most stripes on his armor). Inside I found a note.

Sergeant Berserk,
Manticores have been encroaching in the Whitetail Wood from the Everfree, north of it. We'll need you and your men to take them out. Additionally, report any findings you discover about why they're entering the Whitetail. It would be nice to prevent this problem in the future.
Happy hunting,
Captain Cupcake

“Interesting. It seems that that thing we just fought is called a 'Manticore'. This cavalry unit was sent to exterminate it and others like it in this forest, which apparently is called the 'Whitetail Wood'. North of here is a forest called the 'Everfree' were it seems these manticores come from.”

“So, Joe, what do we do now?”

“Now, we RTB. This unit will probably be back to get their things. We would be wise to be gone when they return.”

We marched back South. I knew we were probably off target to get back to base, but we would get close. I made doubly sure to turn on the Pelican's beacon once we got back. It would make things like this easier to deal with.

“Hey, Joe. Tire tracks,” Pizza gesture towards the ground at our front.

“Looks like Warthog treading. I think this was from my recon trip earlier. Head West from here, following the tracks. We'll be home free soon enough.”

When we got back we decided to bunk up in the Pelican's troop bay. I activated the beacon and a waypoint showed up on my HUD. I laid down on the bench across from Pizza. His snoring confirmed I was by my lonesome self here. I started recording.

“This is Joe, with an after-action report. Hearing screaming and roaring, Pizza and I went north to investigate. We encounter a creature called a manticore, who appears to be indigenous. It seems to have taken out a cavalry unit from the 'Royal Canterlot Guard'. The manticore is some sort of lion-bat-scorpion thing. The Royal Canterlot Guard is a complete unknown. Their weapons and armor aren't UNSC nor Covie, and definitely not Forerunner. I guess I'll be checking out the site of the manticore encounter tomorrow instead of the orchard. Guess you can't win 'em all.”____________________________________________________________________________________________

"Spartan, we are recording your account of these events for historical records. I would not recommend making up erroneous lies to cover your tail."

"Admiral, this is the truth of the matter. Telling it any other way would be a lie and a betrayal of history."

"Yet you are the only one who can account for this."

"My wings should be evident of the truth, Admiral."