Haylo: Among the Stars
by MarineMarksman
First published
Follow the crew of the U.N.S.C. Equis in their desperate struggle against the Covenant.
-WARNING: Contains shipping and clopscenes. A warning on chapters with clopscenes will be posted in the chapters title.-
Note - Happens right before the events of Haylo 2.
The year is 2569, and the U.N.S.C. is once more on the verge of collapse. With only a handful of colonies left, hope seems lost. On board the U.N.S.C. Destroyer Equis, the crew must live with the horrors of war on daily basis, seeing friends die, and ponies and humans alike get slaughtered by the Covenant. To make matters worse, the Covenant have found a new Halo ring, and are attempting to activate it.
But, even in these dark times, there is hope...
As a joint special operations task force, named Task Force Omega, which is made up of several Special Ops Elites, ODST's, Spartan-IV's, and Freelancers, is deployed on the ring to observe the Covenant, and to wreck havoc behind enemy lines, before the rest of the UNSC forces are deployed.
Chapter One
Backdraft and Nova walked through the ice covered remains of a small town. A few days ago, they were deployed to this colony to defend it against a Covenant attack. Now, only their squad was left, and the planet was enveloped in nuclear winter. Barely able to see through the blizzard they were trapped in, Nova and Backdraft trekked forward, hoping to find some form of shelter, or maybe some survivors.
"Sarge, where's everypony else?!" Backdraft heard Nova call out to him. He pulled up the status of his squad on his H.U.D. Apart from him and Nova, everypony else was K.I.A.
"Dead!" Backdraft replied coldly. He continued to look around, hoping to find a building that was still intact.
"Backdraft, I think I've found some place we can take cover in." Nova called out. Backdraft could scarcely make out her hoof pointing towards a building, which was relatively intact.
"Good job! Let's move!" Backdraft replied. The two ponies galloped up to the building.
"I got your six." Nova said, shouldering her BR85. Backdraft nodded and readied his own firearm, a BR85HB SR with a plasma grenade launcher attached to its barrel. In recent times, the U.N.S.C. developed multiple new weapons, such as the the MA6B, MA6 SAW, and the MA57 Assault Rifles, the M7A1 SMG, the M392A1 Light Weight Carbine, the M90A2 Tactical Shotgun, and the BR85, and it's variant, the BR85HB SR. Sadly, this wasn't enough to change the tide of the war, as the Covenant continued their wave of destruction through the colonies.
Backdraft gently nudged the door open, his battle rifle ready to fire at a moments notice. He slowly crept in, Nova in tow.
"Clear." He whispered to Nova. She nodded and closed the door behind them.
"We can get extracted once the storm clears... if it clears." Nova stated. The two looked around the room they were in, obviously what used to be a living room. The furniture was overturned, the windows were broken, and there was a few holes in walls.
"Shit!" Backdraft called out as he tripped over an unseen chair. Backdraft's eyes widened as he looked in front of him, seeing the severed hand of a small child.
Backdraft awoke and suddenly sat up, sweating and breathing heavily. He looked around his room, a small, but comfortable room the size of a one bedroom apartment. He rolled out of his bed, yawning loudly as he grabbed a cup of coffee.
"Another bad dream?" Backdraft heard a voice ask. He looked over to his bed to see Nova leaning up, her cyan mane unbraided and messy, concern showing on her face. Backdraft nodded, pouring the coffee into two small mugs. He felt Nova brush up against him as she trotted up next to him, snatching her mug and downing it, before wrapping her forehooves around him.
"Was it Equis?" Nova asked.
"No. It was Griffith IV." Backdraft replied. Nova shook her head.
"Covenant bastards..." She muttered, refilling her mug.
"We ended up killing the bastards responsible, remember?" Backdraft stated.
"That won't bring back all those innocent civilians that they slaughtered." Nova pointed out.
"Good point..." Backdraft muttered.
Nova hugged him tightly. "I'm sure they are in a better place."
Backdraft allowed himself to smile and looked at her. "You should really keep your mane like that. You look much sexier than usual." He said with a wink.
Nova hit him playfully on the shoulder. "Give it a break, Casanova."
Before Backdraft could say anything more, Luna's voice boomed over intercom system. "ODST Fireteam Delta, head to the bridge immediately!"
"Grab the M7's!" Backdraft ordered. Nova nodded and tossed Backdraft a nearby M7A1 SMG. He slammed a magazine inside it and slung it over his shoulder, galloping out of the room with Nova in tow.
Nova and Backdraft ran into the bridge, their SMG's raised in the air.
"What's the problem, ma'am?" Backdraft asked. Luna sat calmly in her chair, looking over the two ODST's. She calmly took a quick sip of her tea and set it aside.
"There is no problem. Stand down, troopers." Luna said calmly. Backdraft and Nova slowly lowered their SMG's and set them aside.
"Then what is it, Princess?" Nova asked.
"I understand you need some replacements." Luna said.
"Yes ma'am, we lost everypony else on Griffith IV." Backdraft stated.
"Then may I introduce you to your new squadmates." Luna said, as three ponies decked out in ODST armor walked in. She pointed her hoof at the first pony, a mare with a dark gray coat and a black/silver mane, who was armed with a SRS99E-S2 AM Sniper Rifle. "This is Lance Corporal Octavia, your new marksman."
"Sir!" She called out, saluting Backdraft.
"This is Sergeant Lyra, your new vehicle expert and medic." Luna said, pointing to a mint colored unicorn holding a suppressed M7A1 SMG. Lyra nodded to the two.
"And finally, this is Private First Class Berry Punch, your new demolitions expert." Luna stated, pointing at a pink pony with a mulberry mane, who was clumsily clutching a M90A2 with a holographic sight and a laser sight attached to it.
"Hmm?" Berry asked sleepily.
"Don't worry, they know what they are doing. Even if their styles may be a little... unorthodox."
"What do you-" Nova began.
"Check the files." Luna quickly interrupted.
Berry stumbled forward and leaned against Backdraft. "Hey there sexy... wanna head back to my room and give each other a warm welcome?" She asked with a suggestive wink.
"Back off, he's mine." Nova ordered, stepping forward threateningly.
"You heard the Sergeant Major, Berry. I don't think she's somepony you want to fuck with." Lyra stated sternly.
"And besides, the only pony who gets to fuck with her is me." Backdraft said, stepping away awkwardly from Berry and leaning up against Nova. A bright blush appeared on Nova's cheeks. "Alright squad, let's go down to the range and see what you mares can do."
"I'm afraid that is not possible, Gunnery Sergeant." Luna stated, handing him a large manila folder, labeled 'Above Top Secret - Eyes Only'. "We have a mission for you and your squad. Briefing is at 1900 hours."
"Yes ma'am. See you then." Backdraft said, before walking away. After he walked out of the bridge, he carefully opened the envelope and pulled out a small photo. The photo was of a large ring floating through space, labeled Beta Halo.
Announcement
Hey people, there is a glitch going on with the new stories thing, so I will be releasing Chapter Two when it's done. Sorry to disappoint. But the good news is that the next chapter is ready to go, and I think you will enjoy it.
Oh, and, enjoy this pic that BIG MAC made.
Pink camouflage... I know it's Pinkie, but come on! You're going to stick out so much! Also, those are the beta images for the weapons of Halo: A New World, and the fics that come after it. The current models of the battle rifle and the assault rifle has rail systems, the new SMG has an extended magazine and longer barrel, as well as a rail near the end of the SMG's body so you can mount a red dot sight or holographic sight to it, the new shotgun... well, it's pretty much that, just has a tactical flashlight mounted on the side, and the color of the ironsights is purple instead of red/orange. The sniper rifle and the magnum (the SOCOM model) is spot on, though the sniper rifle would look a little more similar to the sniper rifle in Halo 3. As for the LWC, if you have played the game Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, think of the MR-C, just bigger and black/grey instead of multicam.
Chapter Two
1851 Hours,
Nine minutes before the mission briefing
"So apparently we got Spartans involved in this op." Backdraft said to Nova, as they walked through the halls of the U.N.S.C. Equis.
"Aqua Team?" Nova asked.
"Not only Aqua Team, but Crimson Team too." Backdraft replied.
"Holy shit... this op just got real hot." Nova muttered.
"Hoo rah." Backdraft agreed, moving aside for a squad of Marines that were jogging down the halls. Backdraft nodded to one of the Marines as they passed, a friend of his from boot by the name of Midnight Sun. He nodded back and saluted the Gunnery Sergeant. Backdraft returned it as he and Nova continued down the hall.
"Backdraft, Nova! Wait up!" They heard a voice with a southern accent call out from behind them. They turned around to see Applebloom galloping up to them, clad in her olive drab MJOLNIR Mark VII armor.
"Hey Applebloom, heard you and your team were involved in this op, too."
"Eeyup! Ah can't wait." Applebloom said, smiling slightly. It was good to see ponies smiling in such dark times.
"What do you think this is all about?" Nova asked.
"You will find out soon enough, Nova." Backdraft promised, as they walked into the briefing room. Luna was waiting for them to arrive.
"Take your seats!" Luna ordered sternly. Everypony in the room sat down in their assigned seats. "Before we begin, ponies, I want to make this very clear. What you are about to hear, is beyond top secret. None of this can leave this room. Any questions?"
Nopony said anything.
"Good, let's get started." Luna said, activating the hologram projector behind her. "A week ago, the UNSC Dusk, an ONI Prowler, discovered a ring world known as Halo." The picture that Backdraft had seen earlier appeared on the screen, although much bigger. "The Halo rings are weapons of destruction on a galactic scale, able to wipe out all the sentient life in the known universe. I was thought that there was only seven Halo rings, but recently, we found an 8th ring, which we nicknamed Beta Halo. Not even the builders of the rings knew about this rings existence, as the remnants of the Forerunners claimed that the five other rings that existed were destroyed by the flood.
"The Dusk observed a small Covenant presence on the ring, with a small fleet made up of one CSS-Class battlecruiser and two SDV-Class heavy corvettes. We want you guys to go in and scout the area, as well as create havoc behind enemy lines, before our fleet moves in. We have a team of Special Operations Elites waiting for you guys on the ring. We will be deploying you, as well as a few Freelancers, via pelican dropships. We will be deploying our forces in a week or so, so take everything you need. Good luck, and God speed. Dismissed."
Everyone in the room saluted as the Captain walked out the room. Backdraft soon followed suit, his squad right behind him.
"What now, Gunny?" Lyra asked, struggling to keep up with the Gunnery Sergeant's pace.
"We're heading to the armory to get ready. Grab anything you need." Backdraft said, as the squad entered the armory. "Come to me once you are done so I can take inventory."
Several minutes later, everypony had at least thirty pounds of gear. Backdraft picked up a holopad and started entering everyponies loadout.
Master Sergeant Nova:
Primary firearm: MA6B with a suppressor, laser sight, and a tactical flashlight.
Secondary firearm: M7A1 SMG with a holographic sight and a suppressor; Two M6E SOCOM's.
Extra gear: Multiple magazines for each weapon, extra ammo, several fragmentation grenades, a M301 underbarrel grenade launcher.
Lance Corporal Octavia:
Primary firearm: SRS99E-S2 AM Sniper Rifle, with an extended magazine.
Secondary firearm: M412 Designated Marksman Rifle with a suppressor and a scope with a 12x zoom; M6E SOCOM.
Extra gear: HE rounds for M6, a couple fragmentation grenades, extra magazines and ammo, binoculars.
Sergeant Lyra:
Primary firearm: M7A1 SMG with a suppressor and a holographic sight.
Secondary firearm: MA6C with a M301 grenade launcher; M6E SOCOM.
Extra gear: A suppressor for the MA6C, extra magazines and ammo, medkit, toolkit.
Private First Class Berry Punch:
Primary firearm: MA6 SAW with a holographic sight and a grip.
Secondary firearm: Two M6E Magnum's; M90A2 Tactical Shotgun.
Extra gear: Multiple explosive devices, fragmentation grenades, extra magazines and ammo, components for making IED's, several trip mines, toolkit, shiva class nuclear warhead.
"Berry, what do you need a nuke for?" Backdraft asked.
"Dunno, might need it." She said with a smug smile on her face. Backdraft turned back to his holopad and continued entering the loadouts.
Gunnery Sergeant Backdraft:
Primary firearm: BR85HR SR with a suppressor, extended magazine, tactical flashlight, laser sight, and a grip.
Secondary firearm: A MA6B with an underbarrel plasma grenade launcher, a laser sight, a suppressor, and a red dot sight; Two M6E Magnum's.
Extra gear: Suppressors for Magnum, several fragmentation grenades and flashbangs, a headset, extra ammo and magazine, HE rounds for the Magnum's.
"Ready to go, Blankey?" Nova asked, a smile spreading across her face.
"Blankey?" Octavia asked, an eyebrow raised. Berry and Lyra giggled a little.
"It's her... pet name for me..." Backdraft muttered.
"Why, because you are a blank flank?" Berry asked, smirking at him.
"No, he has a cut- stud stamp. I call him that because of what happened on our first night together."
"Oh shi-" Backdraft began, before Lyra and Berry cut him off.
"Tell us the story!" They called out in unison. Octavia remained quiet and watched the others.
"Well... I was getting cold, so Backdraft here climbed on top of me and said he was going to be my blanket, before running his hoof in between my flanks and-"
"Nova! Seriously!? Stop! That's an order." Backdraft stated coldly, a deep blush covering his face.
"Ugh, fine! You're no fun." Nova said, pouting playfully.
"I'll make it up to you later, Nova. Come on squad, let's go." Backdraft ordered, waving the squad to follow him.
The next day
0400 hours
Hanger B
Backdraft looked around the hanger. In front of him was some of the best soldiers the UNSC has to offer. His eyes were drawn to four humans, wearing MJOLNIR Mark VI armor of varying colors. One was dressed in pitch black armor, another was wearing black armor with a yellow trim, another one was wearing gray armor with a black trim, and the last one was wearing a light blue variant of the Mark IV, with a silver trim.This variant was similar to the famous Recon variant, but the Freelancer was also wearing a Rogue helmet variant. These guys were obviously the Freelancers, the only soldiers in the UNSC who could truely go one-on-one with a Spartan.
His eyes then moved onto what Backdraft guessed was Crimson Team. In a mission where its primary mission was to wreck havoc behind enemy lines, you would have to be foolish not to include them. He first noticed the infamous Artemis, or Spartan-013, who was sitting on a crate, cradling a heavily customized DMR. She was wearing her trademark custom armor, pitch black MJOLNIR Mark VII armor with a crimson trim. Standing next to her was Spartan-893, or Squirt (formally known as Rookie), on account of his smaller stature. Unlike his counterpart, he wore the standard armor for Spartan-IV's, Mark VII armor in olive drab, but also had a crimson trim. Next to them were two ODST's, known as Ghost and Widow, who wore the standard ODST armor with a crimson trim.
Backdraft's eyes then fell upon Aqua Team, made up of Sweetie Belle-053, Scootaloo-132, Applebloom-083, Surprise-231, and Firefly-332, all of which were wearing olive drab MJOLNIR Mark VII armor with an aquad trim. Backdraft also noticed Isaac Colt sitting next to Sweetie Belle, holding her hoof.
"You guys can do what you want, I'm going to go talk with Aqua Team." Backdraft said, walking away from his squad. Nova ran up next to him, cracking a smile at him. He shot a smile back at her, as Applebloom and Scootaloo walked up to welcome them.
"Howdy!" Applebloom called out. She was starting to look like a spitting image of her late sister, Applejack.
"Hey Applebloom." Backdraft said, resisting the urge to salute his friend.
"Hey!" Scootaloo said, hugging Nova. Nova and her were good friends ever since the aftermath of the Nightingale.
"Is Isaac going with us or something?" Backdraft asked.
"Yeah, Luna said we might need an engineer. Isaac seemed like the most logical choice." Sweetie Belle said, walking up.
"Among other reasons..." Scootaloo muttered.
"Shut up, we all know you are jealous." Sweetie Belle stated, smirking at Scootaloo. Scootaloo slugged her in the shoulder.
"Alright Omega, mount up!" Luna ordered, walking into the hanger.
"Guess it's time, see you guys on the surface." Backdraft said, before he and Nova trotted away. They quickly jumped on board their pelican, where the rest of their squad and two SSEAL's were waiting. The passengers of the pelican watched as a Cougar Armored Fighting Vehicle was attached to the pelican, before the pelican bay doors closed. A dim, red light lit up the interior of the pelican.
"Exiting slipspace in fifteen seconds!" Luna's voice reported over the radio.
"Here we go..." Backdraft muttered.
"Five... four... three... two... one! Deploy! Good luck, Task Force!" Luna's voice stated, as the pelican lifted off and accelerated out of the hanger. Backdraft looked back to see the Equis quickly enter another slipstream portal, disappearing seconds later. Backdraft exited his seat and climbed into the cockpit, looking out at the Halo ring that was quickly becoming closer and much, much larger.
"We will be landing in five minutes. LZ may be hot. Recommend you and your team get prepared." The pilot said. Backdraft nodded and walked out of the cockpit, facing his squad.
"Lock and load, team!" Backdraft ordered.
"Hoo rah!" They all chanted, sliding a magazine into each of their firearms.
Chapter Three
[Authors note - I have BIG MAC drawing up some diagrams on the new weaponry, such as the MA6B, the BR85HB SR, and the M7A1 SMG. I will be releasing them as soon as possible, with a description of each firearm.
Thank you,
~Double M.]
For those who don't know, this is what a Cougar A.F.V. looks like, which will pretty much the only human vehicle involved in this:
Open this on a different tab, then play the video. It will make this chapter much better.
"We are taking heavy fire!" the pilot called out from the cockpit. Backdraft looked out a nearby window to see multiple bolts of blue plasma passing by the pelican.
"LZ is hot! Get ready!" One of the SSEAL's called out. Backdraft chambered a round into his battle rifle and held it at the ready, as the pelican descended to the surface, hovering a few feet above the ground and dropping the Cougar it was carrying.
"Go! Go! Go!" Backdraft shouted as the pelican's bay door lowered. The squad jumped out and sprinted towards the Cougar, taking cover by it as the pelican lifted off.
"Clear the area so we can land." The pilot called out over the radio. A lance of brutes charged out of the nearby forest, their weapons lifted in the air. One of the SSEAL's rose up, shouldered his assault rifle, and fired a long burst at them, killing one of the brutes. Another brute raised its carbine and fired off two quick shots, both of them hitting the SSEAL in the head.
"Man down!" Lyra called out, reaching out and catching the limp body of the SSEAL.
"Lyra, get inside the Cougar and start it up, we'll cover you!" Backdraft ordered. Lyra nodded and started climbing on top of the Cougar. The brutes noticed her and aimed their weapons at her, before Backdraft rounded the corner of the Cougar, his assault rifle at the ready, firing off a plasma grenade from his underbarrel grenade launcher. The plasma grenade stuck onto the head of one of the brutes.
"Get it off! Get it off!" It pleaded, trying to rip off the plasma grenade out of its fur to no avail, before its upper half of its body disappeared in an explosion of blue plasma. The other brutes roared in rage at the ODST.
"Get some!" Backdraft called out, as he shouldered his assault rifle, firing off his entire magazine into the brutes, killing two and injuring a few more. The brutes returned fire, firing off a storm of plasma and spikes at him. Nova pulled Backdraft away and behind the Cougar, narrowly saving him from disintegration. Suddenly, Cougar's engine roared to life, as it's main turret rotated towards the Covenant.
"I've got it from here, boss." Lyra said over the com. "Cover your ears!"
The Cougar rolled forward slightly, firing its dual M909 75mm autocannons at the Covenant, ripping them to shreds. Several other lances charged out from the forest, only to meet a similar fate at the hands of the Cougar.
"All clear!" Lyra reported over the com.
"LZ is clear! You are clear to land, Zulu 3-3." Backdraft said over the com.
"Roger that. I'll be with you shortly." The pilot replied.
"Banshees! Hold on!" Four Seven Niner called out to the Freelancers in the pelicans cabin.
"Great..." Washington grumbled to himself. He looked up to see Agent Tex rising from her seat and picking up a nearby rocket launcher. The pelican bay door lowered as she balanced the rocket launcher on her shoulder.
"Shit! Cover your ears!" Agent California shouted as Tex locked onto the nearest banshee. She fired a single rocket, which launched out of one of the rocket launchers tubes and streaked across the sky, ramming right through the banshee. The crippled banshee shuddered and veered into the other banshee.
"Nice shot!" California called out.
"That's not all! We got more incoming!" Four Seven Niner called out as two more banshees screeched past the pelican, before turning around and firing their plasma cannons at them.
"Close the doors!" Washington ordered.
"You got it!" Four Seven Niner called from the cockpit, as the pelican's bay door closed. A barrage of plasma hit it a split second later, the door seeming to bubble and melt where it was struck by the plasma.
"Shit! We're hit! Thrusters are gone, I can't control it! This is Four Seven Niner, we are going down!" Four Seven Niner called out desperately, as the pelican began it rapid descent towards the ground.
"Brace yourselves!" Agent Carolina shouted, as the pelican crashed into the forest below.
"Sir, I've got something on my motion trackers," Lyra called out from the cobra. "Six- no, seven unknowns coming from our east!"
"Be ready for anything, get ready to fire!" Backdraft shouted, shouldering his battle rifle. Nova and Berry ran up next to him, crouching slightly and holding their firearms at the ready.
"Can you see anything, Octavia?!" Backdraft shouted up to Octavia, who had climbed up a nearby tree earlier.
"That's a negative, Gunny!" Octavia shouted back. Backdraft's attention was drawn back to the east, as he heard some nearby bushes rustling. Before he and the rest of the squad could open fire, Applebloom-83 stumbled out of the bushes, soon followed by the rest of her team. With a sigh of relief, Backdraft lowered his weapon and walked up to the Spartans.
"Damn, it's good to see you guys." Backdraft said, a smile spreading across his face.
"Yeah, our pelican crashed two klicks from here... so we thought we would just trot on over here." Scootaloo said, shrugging. "Any word from the Freelancers?"
"Not a thing." Nova responded, shrugging.
"What about Crimson Team?" Scootaloo asked.
"They landed about fifteen klicks from here, and are on their way."
As if on cue, Crimson Team's Cougar screeched into the open, its main cannon blazing, as five ghost appeared behind it, firing their plasma cannons wildly.
"Shit!" Backdraft called out. Lyra's Cougar lurched forward, opening fire on the ghosts. Isaac Colt galloped up in between the two AFV's, steadied his rocket launcher on his shoulder and quickly fired off two rockets, both hitting and destroying a ghost. The remaining ghosts started fall back, as the Cougar's lurched forward, continuing up their fire and taking out the remaining ghosts.
"Good kill!" Scootaloo called out.
"Gunny, I have eyes on multiple lances of Covenant infantry heading this way!" Octavia shouted from the treetops.
"Alright ponies, let's get ready for them! Find some cover and get your fields of fire set. Let's move!" Backdraft ordered.
Washington's eyes fluttered open, momentarily blinded by the light entering through his visor. He shook his head, clearing his blurry vision and stumbled out of the pelican, where the rest of the team was waiting... or what was left of it. The three Marines on board the pelican were killed in the crash, and the pilot had a broken leg and several broken ribs. Apart from that, everyone seemed okay.
"Bout' time he waked up." Carolina said, before walking up to the pelican and helping Washington out of it.
"You alright, Wash?" California asked.
"Yeah... just a rough landing." Wash stated, cracking a small smile under his helmet.
Tex chuckled to herself. "More like you fainted."
"Alright guys, knock it off. Even though we all know Wash fainted, we still have a bit of a situation." Four Seven Niner stated, before taking off her damaged helmet and tossing it aside. "The Marines are dead, our transport is down, I'm injured, and our Cougar is no where to be seen. Not to mention we're a good... fifteen to twenty klicks away from the rally point. So Wash... what are you orders?"
"We need to get walking. Plain and simple." Washington stated, picking up a battle rifle from one of the dead Marines. "Tex, you got point. California, you take up the rear. Carolina, you have to carry the pilot... don't worry, I got your six."
"Great..." Carolina muttered, scooping up the pilot with a single arm and gripping one of her SMG's with her free arm.
"We both don't like it, so quit your whining." Four Seven Niner stated.
"Alright, let's go. Tex, get moving."
"Yeah, yeah..." Tex muttered, before walking into the dense brush, the rest of the Freelancers right behind her.
Chapter Four
Authors note - Looking for new pre-readers. Contact me if you are interested.
The Freelancers quietly trekked through the forest, scanning around for Covenant using their thermal vision. Tex came to a halt and held her hand up, signalling the rest to stop. The other Freelancers halted and crouched low to the ground, as Washington slowly walked up to her.
"What is it?" He whispered quietly. Tex pointed to their east, before Wash peered in that direction, noticing two brutes on his thermal. Wash nodded, pointing to her and pointing at the brute on the left, before jabbing his finger into his chest and pointing at the brute on the right, before running his finger along his neck. Getting the picture, Tex nodded, as they slowly crept up behind the brutes.
"What is this I hear about demons being on this ring?" The one on the right asked the other.
The one on the left shrugged. "The prophet won't like this one bit."
"At least we get some fresh meat..." The one on the right muttered, rubbing his stomach.
"Wait a second..." The one on the left muttered, sniffing the air.
"What is it?"
"I think I have a fresh sce-"
Before the brute could finish its sentence, Tex jumped up and dug her combat knife into the brutes spinal cord. The other one raised its spiker and unleashed a storm of glowing spikes in Tex's direction. Tex jumped out the way, activating her active camouflage. Confused, the brute started firing its spiker wildly. Suddenly, it felt something grip its shoulder.
"Hi there." Washington said to it, digging his knife into its neck. The brutes eyes widened, as it fell its knees and falling face first into the ground, a defeated groan escaping its lips.
"A prophet... do you think he could be on this ring?" Wash asked Tex as her form slowly uncloaked. She answered his query with a simple shrug.
"We should probably find a member of the Covenant and interrogate it..." Wash muttered to himself.
"A grunt would crack easily." Tex stated.
Washington nodded in agreement. "Good point. Team, regroup." Wash ordered over the COM.
"That the last of them?!" Backdraft called up to Octavia.
"One second!" She called back, before the air was filled with the deafening crack of Octavia's sniper rifle. "Alright! We're good!"
"Celestia damnit!" The larger of the two Spartans in Crimson Team shouted, who Backdraft immediately identified as Artemis. "This thing won't shut up!"
"What's wrong with you, Artemis?" Ghost asked, his concerned face covered by his helmets visor.
"This A.I.! It won't shut the buck up!" Artemis shouted, shaking her head wildly. Widow and Squirt stood idly by, leaning against their Cougar and watching silently in grim amusement.
"I don't know how many times I have to say this..." A new voice muttered as a life size aperation of a cobalt Spartan clutching a sniper rifle appeared in the middle of Crimson Team, "I am not a freakin' A.I.!"
"Oh yes, because the explanation that you are a ghost makes so much sense." Ghost said, rolling his eyes.
"That's exactly what Washington said." The Alpha stated.
"Wait... they gave us an A.I.?" Backdraft asked as he trotted up, flanked by Spartan-053 and Nova.
"Oh my God..." Alpha muttered angrily to no one in particular.
"Not just any A.I.!" Ghost stated excitedly. "They gave the Alpha A.I. that was used by Project Freelancer."
"He's a smart A.I." Widow stated.
"Listen, I'm not an A.I., I'm a ghost. A spirit. Geist. Phantom. Whatever you want to call it." Alpha stated in an annoyed manner.
"Is he rampant?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I'm not sure." Widow replied with a shrug.
"Hey, Ghost, why wasn't he put with those Freelancers? Why me?!" Artemis asked, glaring at the Alpha.
"The Alpha kind of has a... history with some of them..." Ghost replied.
"Listen, guy, my name isn't Alpha, my name is Church."
Ghost ignored him. "So pretty much, Command decided it would be better to give us The Alpha."
"But why me?!" Artemis demanded.
"Probably thought you two would get along." Widow stated. Ghost chuckled a little, but an angry glance from Artemis shut him up.
"Kiss my plot..." Artemis muttered.
Widow was going to say something, but decided against it. "Backdraft, right?" She asked, as Backdraft replied with a nod. "Do you know what the plan is?"
"Luna said we needed to secure a base of some sort after regrouping. Scans of the ring located a spire not far from here, with a great vantage point and room for our remaining pelican, as well as a little surprise Luna left us in orbit."
"What kind of surprise?" Nova asked.
"Oh, just five pelicans carrying three warthogs, two scorpions, and two platoons of ODST's, as well as two albatrosses, each carrying an elephant." Backdraft replied, a smile spreading across his face.
"My God... this is so boring..." Heat Streak muttered. "How long does it take to secure a base of operations?"
"Heat, they landed like ten minutes ago. No one can work that fast." Xavier pointed out. Heat shrugged his wings.
"But still... this is so boring!"
"Stow it, Marine." Lieutenant Buck ordered, "They're contacting me."
"Buck? This is Backdraft. We've landed and are heading towards a large spire two kilos south of our current position. How copy?"
"I read you, Backdraft. Need some armor support?" Buck asked.
"That would be very helpful, Lieutenant. What can you spare?"
"I can give you a scorpion and a warthog, as well as two squads of ODST's."
"Thanks Lieutenant. I'm sending you the coordinates where I want you to land."
After a short delay, a stream of numbers and letters appeared on Bucks H.U.D. After sending it to his pelicans pilot, as well as another pilot, he got back on the COM. "Coordinates received. We will be there shortly."
"Alright, we are beginning our assault as we speak."
"Copy, Buck out." Buck said, switching of his COM. "Alright team, we're heading to the surface to give our fellow Helljumpers and Spartans some support. Lock and load!"
"Hoo rah!" The ODST's called out.
"Wash, I have eyes on a lance of Covenant infantry. One brute, six grunts in black armor, and a grunt wearing what looks like an orange tunic. Probably a deacon." California's voice said over the COM.
"Good work. Alright guys, I want that deacon alive. Take the others out as fast as you can."
"Can we go for non-lethal shots?" Carolina asked.
"Too risky. Save it for later. Team, spread out and surround the Covenant. Go for headshots, take them out before they even get to fire off a single round. Remember, I want that deacon unscathed."
"No problem." California stated.
"I've got dibs on the brute." Tex said.
"Tex, you got the sniper?" Wash asked.
"Yeah." She replied.
"You know what to do. Brutes hers, guys."
"Dammit..." Washington could hear Carolina mutter over the COM.
The two Cougars screeched to a stop in front of the spire, mowing down a few brutes and brutes guarding the entrance with their main cannons.
"Dismount!" Backdraft shouted as the Cougars door lowered and the squad ran out, followed by Applebloom and Firefly. Crimson Team and the rest of Aqua Team ran out of the other Cougar.
"Downed phantom, six o'clock." Nova stated. Backdraft looked in the direction Nova was talking about and saw the remains of a green phantom.
"That's one of the Elites phantoms. Must have tried to secure it before us." Lyra stated.
"Obviously, they failed. Hopefully that took a few of them prisoner." Backdraft said.
"Since when do brutes take prisoner?" Firefly asked.
"There is always a first for everything. Aqua Team, you go first. Crimson Team, back them up. We've got your rear. A couple pelicans are on their way to give us support. Let's secure this area before they get here." Backdraft said.
Aqua Team galloped inside, LWC's raised in the air. Surprise's energy shield flared as a few bolts of plasma rained down on them. Crimson Team walked up behind them, as Artemis quickly shouldered her DMR and firing off a single round, hitting the grunt that was shooting at them in the head.
"You guys got pinned down by a single grunt? Seriously?" Artemis asked.
"Who said we were pinned?" Sweetie Belle demanded, gritting her teeth.
"Guys, we have no time to bicker! Secure the spire, we'll cover the entrance." Backdraft stated.
"Ya herd teh colt, move in!" Applebloom shouted.
"Charge!" Scootaloo and Artemis shouted in unison, charging ahead of the other Spartans. Scootaloo pulled out her shotgun, while Artemis activated two energy swords.
"Dammit! Scootaloo, Artemis, you're breaking the line!" Sweetie Belle shouted.
"What? Can't hear ya!" Scootaloo shouted back, as she and Artemis ran up the ramp leading the higher levels. A squad of grunts wobbled in front of them, plasma pistols at the ready. Artemis leaped forward, slicing the heads off of two of the grunts, as Scootaloo stuck the bayonet attached to the barrel of her shotgun into the neck of one the grunts, before blasting its head off with a single shot from her shotgun. The other two grunts froze in fear, as Artemis cut them both in half with a single swipe.
"Slow down!" Widow shouted, as the rest of the Spartans struggled to keep up. But they ignored them and sprinted up the ramp, cutting and shooting down any Covenant in their path with ease. As they reached they top of the spire, they met a frightening sight.
"Chieftain!" Scootaloo called out, as the two Spartans dove out of the way to dodge a swing from its gravity hammer.
"It's mine!" Artemis called out, charging towards the Chieftain.
Announcement
This story is officially being put on hold. The reason being is that when I release the new version of Haylo: A New World later this year, the Hayloverse will change drastically with it. However, this story will remain, but will be changed to fit the new canon set up by the first installment.
I estimate that I will continue this story sometime in late 2014/early 2015, after I finish with Haylo: Boot Camp (which will be renamed Haylo: Project PONY) and Haylo: Dark Abyss.
