Fandom Halo Spartans: Unexplored Space

[GhastlySquash]

Psych turned to the ODSTs, seeing them with their precision weapons, but noticing that only one of them had her preferred precision weapon. Shaking her head, she decided that it was better that they have something precise than nothing at all. Although that little switch a roo with Church did not go unnoticed.


But before she could pry further into this weird switch up, the doors opened and the battle had begun. Grabbing her squad, she immediatley began to pick off any heads she could see on the ledge. Taking her squad, she gestured towards the high rises, making a note to shoot at any glints they may see or the familiar green glow of a Covenant Carbine.


Distance and lead was necessary for the few stragglers that didn't stay absolutley still. She could feel the heat of combat and the sounds of gunfire and Covenant troops being spread throughout her brought a smile to Psych's face.


She wondered how the others were fairing.

 

[Never]

Chris leaped away from the door, letting it close behind him, he ran out onto the street. It was a lot different from the other as there were so many abandoned vehicles on this one, however the Covenant still weren't faltering, they are spreading fast and there were some already in this street. A couple covenant members were dispatched before Chris even fired, but when he did along with the rest of the Marines the Covenant had a tough time keeping up.


"Use the Cars, get to the next building, don't stop for nothing!"


He fired control burst into the enemy crowd, it mainly consisted of Grunts and Elites. He sidestepped throughout the maze of cars to the building on the otherside. See if the Marines had managed to bust inside the premises.

 

[1stLt HChurch]

When I look out across the street, I am relieved to see that it isn't a really wide one. A wide street would have just made it more dangerous to traverse. I also see that the street is littered with abandoned cars, almost as if people literally just stopped driving right then and there to evacuate without hesitation. And that could have actually been the case, I dunno. All I know is that Chris is giving us orders to get our asses across this road, we have some cover along the way, and we need to hurry before the Covies also swarming the street have enough aim and sense to pop us before we get across.


After a moment to pause, I sprint out into the street. I stop at one car in the nearest lane to where we started, and peek out a moment later to make sure it's safe to make a run for the next car. When I do, I see one of the Elites aiming right at me, and I duck back just in time to keep my head from being blown off as a bullet whizzes past the car. After a moment of pause, I quickly look back around the car through the sites of my Battle Rifle. My crosshairs find the face of the Elite not a moment later, and my finger pulls on the trigger in response. The trio of bullets pelt for the Elite before ripping into his armor. Due to him being way closer than the Brute from earlier, and because he doesn't appear to be a very high or important rank, these three bullets collapse his shields on the first go. He stumbles back from the force, and I use that moment of his hesitation to pop him again. One set hits his throat, causing him to raise a hand to it as dark blue-purple blood spurts from it. The second set cracks through his skull from where it enters between his eyes, causing his body to fall in a heap as the life is zapped from it.


All of that only took up about five to six seconds, and I end up taking out a couple Grunts as well for good measure. Then I reload and sprint for the next car while the coast is clear.


After diving behind another car and glancing back to make sure Chris is advancing fine, I am close enough to the next building to just run straight to it. The Marines are in front of the door, shooting from behind a smoking car. Two appear to have acquired some sort of injuries during their run, probably burn marks from some plasma, but they are still outside the building with only the car for shelter. Due to the door being locked, they can't get inside. So, after capping a couple more Grunts from behind my car, I run to the door of the building.


"Cover me!" I yell to the Marines, positioned at an angle in front of the door. A couple glance at me, then continue to mow the Covies down. When I get to the double doors, I see that they are locked in the center. In response to that knowledge, I ram the butt of my rifle into the lock. After the third hit, it breaks, and the doors open..only about a couple inches.


"Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding me," I murmur in annoyance. Then, after a quick sigh, I latch onto the doors and try to pull them apart from the middle. They don't want to budge at first, but they eventually slide open after a couple seconds of me slowly moving them apart. Once that is completed, I grab my rifle off my back, and turn to the Marines behind me.


After ducking to dodge a couple blobs of plasma and clusters of needles, I yell to the Marines to get their asses inside. They gratefully oblige, and run into the establishment. I instead crouch and walk to the car. Might as well continue to take out some Covies until Chris gets here, especially to cover his advance.


@LonelyAssassin

 

[Never]

He checked again, to see Church successfully get the Marines inside the building. He forgets about the covvies since he was basically the last one out here and ran across the street, jumping and sliding across the roof of a car he taps Church on the shoulder as he runs passed her and enters the building. He quickly ushers the marines further into the building that had no working lights at the moment so it was pretty dark.


He turned his flashlight on and the marines did too from their weapons whereas chris has helmet lights. He made sure Church was in before going further into the building, glancing back only for a second. He went in front of the Marines after that to make sure they wouldn't be ambushed first. Too bad.


After further making his way inside the was a quick sharp humming sound followed by the sound of a screaming marine from his left as he was launched towards Chris, it made him stumble as more shouts were heard, gunfire and a light green glow in the corner of his eye. He looked around to see another couple marines die or get sent flying. Hunters.


Before he could act he was swiped out of the way, he rolls across the ground as his shield breaks completely. Though he had managed to leave two grenades in his original spot which would explode and cause some damage to the hunter that hit him.


"CHURCH! Help the Marines!" He struggled to get up, he felt a pain in his left side where the shield's edge had caught him.


(Guess I'll reply)

 

[GhastlySquash]

(Sorry about that, was a bit held up with stuff)


Psych was too busy taking shots that she missed the brute who had sneaked up upon them. Without any warning, she watched as the helpless rookie of an ODST was slammed into a wall, his helmet coming off and his last look of despair as the thing clawed him to death.


Grabbing her axe, she returned the favor before turning around and noticing a flash of green light.


"Everyone! Get down!" She saw that the Hunter was already taking names himself, and carefully aimed her rifle at the monster's weak spots, hoping to disrupt the organism's odd body structure with enough punctures to the stomach.

 

[1stLt HChurch]

I soon see that Chris is making his way over just fine, skirting the cars and not stopped to check for Covenant soldiers trying to take him out. He quickly makes it to me, where he slides over the hood of a car - points for style - and taps me on the shoulder to signal me inside. Used to his ways now, I take one more look around the other side of the car, then walk backward into the building, my rifle still up to my eyes. Once inside, I lower it and turn my back to the door.


"Damn, it's dark in here," I mutter to myself, then lift my hand from my rifle to my helmet in order to switch on my flashlights. They light up the area, making me feel safer. After doing so, I scan the Marines around me for any major injuries. It appears that none of them received any major wounds, with only a couple having minor plasma burns to their arms. Almost like the plasma just skimmed off of them. Even the newbie is alright, looking around the gloomy room with heightened adrenaline, his hands gripping tightly to the Assault Rifle I made him switch with a different Marine in the room for. Good. I hope the kid makes it. It would suck to die on your first mission, no matter how common it is.


After my quick glance around, Chris gets us all moving farther into the building. He takes the lead to guide the Marines further in, and I stay in the back to watch us from behind. The gloomy corners and crevices making my nerves sharpen, and I keep my rifle trained to my eye to make myself feel better.


Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see a glint of burnt orange, as well as a few green lights. My eyes snap over in that direction, expecting it to be some equipment in the building but nothing more. Some of the Marines look over as well, nervous about the whole thing. At first, nothing happens, but then the orange and green colors shift. I jump a little, and almost pull the trigger of my rifle- before I see a bolt of green from another part of the room and a Marine go flying. His body thumps into Chris, throwing the Spartan off, then all hell breaks loose.


The room becomes full of the sounds of shouting and gunfire, as well as the light from both sides of gunfire. There is also a deep, animalistic roaring and growling filling the room, coming from the same places as the bolts of light. Between those lights and roars, it makes my temporarily confused mind conclude on what our enemy is: Hunters. A breeding pair of hunters who snuck up on us in the dark.


"Oh, shit," I say aloud, drowned out by the cacophony of noise. Of all our enemies, Hunters are by far the ones that scare me the most. They make me very scared, and that one signature scream of theirs makes my blood run cold.


As I think about this, about to fire only seconds after the first Marine was blasted down, I see one of the beasts lumber out and smack the surprised Chris with its shield while he is distracted. Chris goes flying, and then the Hunter that hit him turns to the rest of our little group. I pause for a moment, stunned a bit by fear of the Hunter in front of us and that Chris could be dead. If he is, we are royally fucked. But he then yells for me to protect the Marines, which gives me some hope that we might survive this. As he finishes talking, a blast rips through the room from under the Hunter in front of us. The beast gets badly damaged, but doesn't die yet. Guessing that it was caused by Chris leaving a few cooked grenades behind, I reach for my grenades at my hip. I would use a frag since I have more of them, but I instead grab my favorite style of grenade: the plasma grenade. They may be alien made, but they are so nice to use, latching onto the enemy they are thrown at and making a huge amount of damage. I love using them, especially for Hunters. So I push to the front of the group after I grab and prep the grenade, throwing it as hard as I can at the "abdomen" of the beast. It tries to block the grenade with its shield, but it is too slow, and the grenade sticks true.


"Get back!" I yell to the Marines, getting out of the blast radius. The grenades blows as the last Marine scrambles back. The room fills with light for a moment, the Hunter flying up and roaring. Then the body falls with a heavy thud, the beast dead and orange blood bleeding from the millions of worms that make up the nasty bastard.


I stare at the thing for a second, surprised that we already managed to kill it, but glad nonetheless. I am then ripped from that thought by the mate, which I momentarily forgot about, as it roars in rage at the death of its other half. The Marines and I back up as a group, then I dive to the back of the group.


"Keep it distracted, but do not waste your bullets on it," I yell to the weaker soldiers. "And only fire at the exposed spots. If it blocks itself, stop firing. Move around a lot so it can't aim as well."


As I finish talking, I duck around the back of the group, shrouded in shadows. The Marines make some protest when they see that I'm gone, but I ignore it and switch to one of my Needlers as I dance around behind the beast. The Marines do as I instructed earlier, keeping the enraged beast occupied by firing somewhat controlled bursts and dodging around.


Once behind the monstrosity, I grab my last plasma grenade. I chuck the now activated grenade at the beast, quickly fire exactly eight needles into its back for good measure, then scramble out of the way as the beast turns in confusion at what is behind it. While turning, the grenade detonates, making a large explosion when added to the similar force of the needles. The blast shoves me a bit, as well as makes my ears fuzzy for a few seconds and showers me with some disgusting orange worms and the blood that accompanies them. I glance down at the shiny orange shit on my armor, dusgusted by it. But, hey, at least all of us that entered the fight with this Hunter appear to be okay, other than shaken up. I'll just need to clean it off later, cause..just fuckin' gross.


My mind remembers Chris then, and I clip my needler to my thigh before jogging over to him. All of the surviving Marines follow me, glancing around the shadows with a new eye sharpened by fright.


"Keep a good watch around," I sternly order all of the Marines, then turn to Chris. "You okay, sir?" I ask, noticing that he is favoring his side.


@LonelyAssassin

 

[GhastlySquash]

(Ummm it has been a while, so I hope you don't mind me jumping in)


Psych adjusted the camera connected to her helmet. This was just too good not to record. The whole battle may have cost a bunch of marines, but the footage was priceless. Church had made quick work of the Hunter with a few grenades and some fairly acrobatic moves considering the situation.


By the time Psych does get there, she notices Chris on his side. Hovering a few inches above Church, she asks quietly "How bad is it?"


To be fair, it wasn't anything that Psych wasn't use too. War had a funny way of messing with people's minds if you let it. If you accepted the carnage and the altogether savagery of your opponent, you would never be shocked nor surprised. And if of course, you showed more ferocity, your opponent lost their resolve.


Still, that didn't make her entirely heartless. She tried to sound a little sympathetic, if for anything to simply reassure the other remaining marines in the area.


"Can you walk, sir?" Psych asked, strapping her gun to the side and leaning down.

 

[Never]

(Sheeeet sorry guys, didn't get a notif, passed my mind to check.)


He heard a lot, didn't see much, he was too focused on trying to recover from his wound. The Fighting did seem to die down, with the death of the hunters, he was glad they managed to beat them, the sound of humans still living. Though suddenly Church was beside him, he managed to flip over and sit up.


"I just need Biofoam, then we can move forward. But otherwise, yes, I can walk" His side was punctured but his Overshield took most of the damage, he probably would have been cut in half if not for it. He slowly stood up, shaking his leg to make sure it was definitely working. He kept one hand over his bleeding side and the other on his gun. He didn't want to ask how many they lost straight off the bat, he just wanted to get out of this building first.


"Psych, could you lead our Marines out of here? After this building I kinda don't want us risking another manoeuvre like that, the covenant seem to already be scavenging for survivors inside them. We'll move through the streets this time, but it seems like no matter where we go we'll run into the alien bastards." He then looked at Church, "Good Job."

 

[1stLt HChurch]

(Dammit. I did a dumb and didn't realize that Psych could actually see the fight with the Hunters. I guess that's what happens when I read a post too fast. Sorry..uh, Squash, if that's what you want to be called as a nickname.)


After I ask if Chris is okay, he starts to shift and flip over before sitting up. I also catch the sound of someone walking up, and even though my trackers read the thing as a friendly, I still tense up out of adrenaline. I relax when I glance over to see that it's only Psych, glad to have the interesting woman back to help. The more, the merrier. While thinking on that, I nod at her in acknowledgment.


I don't say anything when Psych asks Chris if he's okay in her own respective way. Instead, I just look away from her and back to Chris. Through the gloom, I can spy a slight glint of blood on his side, mostly guarded by his hand. That sight makes me tense up, worried for him and that the shield hurt him more than initially estimated. When he asks for biofoam, I nod silently and turn away. Personally, I don't have any on me, but the Marines might.


Stopping a few feet from the jumpy group of people, I ask, "Do any of you have biofoam by any chance? We need it ASAP."


Some of the Marines look back and shake their heads immediately, not wanting to take their eyes off the darkness for long. Others pause for a moment to check their things, but find none. Then one Marine, who appears to be carrying other medical equipment as well, hands me a canister of biofoam. I quickly grab it and turn away with a nod of thanks, then walk back to Chris and Psych.


While walking to them, I catch Chris giving orders to Psych for the next part of our run. Thankfully, I hear all of it, now knowing how our next maneuver will go. I also hear Chris giving me a "good job," due to the fight with the Hunters, I guess. Caught off guard and bad with compliments, I pause for a split second before catching myself and giving Chris a silent nod in thanks, which seems to be my custom in moments like this. I then take a couple steps forward until I reach where I was a minute ago and extend the canister to him.


"Do you need any help applying that, sir?" I ask, guessing that he could do it himself but still asking anyway. I've been taught that its always better to ask than assume when it comes to situations such as this.


@LonelyAssassin @GhastlySquash

 

[Never]

(Short & Cheeky post)


Chris looked up at Church, smiling under his mask he lifted his now bloody hand off his wound and nodded back at her, "Sure." He tilted his head slightly, wondering whether or not she expected him to take the offer, it was quite amusing and cheeky, but he couldn't help it.


@1stLt HChurch

 

[GhastlySquash]

(Hey, a bit out of the blue, but do any of you guys still play Halo Reach?)


Pysch just gave a low chuckle at the friendly little conversation these two schoolgirls were having. "Would you also like me to help you apply some biofoam?" There was really no such thing as bad timing for Psych.


However, she did acknowledge her leader's command. "I was doing some scouting here, and figured our best route would be through the sewer systems. This city has a large maintenance shaft for most of the cable guys to go through and work on maintenance. The walls there are pretty strong too and we can move freely without being spotted by aerial Covenant patrols."


Psych turned at the remaining marines left. "But the problem is I don't know where it leads and how we can get there from here. We could spend some time digging a tunnel here to the maintenance shaft, but it would take time. Or we can risk going outside and looking for another exit."

 

[1stLt HChurch]

(Chris, you cheeky little shit.


And I wish I was still playing Halo Reach. The problem is that the copy I could play was somehow "stolen" from my brother a couple years ago (I think he broke or laser burned it and didn't want to tell me that), which pisses me off. And the only Xbox that I could play it on - which was also the Xbox that got me started with Halo in the first place - is currently across the state from me in my brother's college apartment as of this fall, because the 360 was his more than it was mine and he would probably die if he had to go without his 360 and One for more than a week. So, sadly, no, I don't play Reach anymore. I really wish I did, though. All I do now is read the books when I get the time.)


Chris' "sure," overlaid with a tone that makes him sound like a smiling trickster, catches me off guard. My shoulders sag slightly and my head cocks a bit to the right, that small change in my posture being the only outward indication of my mild surprise. My face says more of it, but that's guarded by my helmet. What it doesn't show is my slight nervousness at having to do this task, which is the main cause of my minor surprise. Because, to be honest, applying biofoam sucks.


God, I hate applying biofoam to another soldier's injury. In fact, I'd rather do it to myself than be the one to inject it into someone else. When you do it to yourself, at least you know exactly where to apply it, you know if you've hit a bad spot or not, you know where the worst of the injury is, and you know how to channel the pain - mainly because you know when it will actually be applied and where. And when it hurts, you don't feel bad for someone else because that's you doing it to yourself. Those are just a few things that make it easier to apply it to yourself. On someone else, though? Oh, boy, that is a whole different ballgame.


I know that you should just stick it and foam it like everyone else does, get it done as fast as you can to save the person. But - for me, at least - I can't help but be cautious, careful, and thoughtful about how I do it due to the fact of how much that shit stings when it is first applied. It sometimes hurts more than the wound itself. While applying it to someone else, my mind always reminds me of that, and that just makes me more apprehensive about the whole thing.


Psych's snide remark and snicker is what makes me come out of my second of hesitation, causing me to now look over at her sharply and glare at her. Of course, that is not seen from under my visor, but I bet it was at least somewhat communicated. My posture tends to say a lot.


"Hey, I'm just asking to be polite," I snipe back, guessing from her tone that her comment was not meant in a friendly way. Stubbornness and slight emberrassment are what fuel me to walk over to Chris and get this shit done while Psych discusses her thoughts on our next plan. I stay out of it and keep my mouth shut, leaving the positions of Alpha and Beta to them.


After a moment of hesitation, I open the canister of biofoam and inject the now-mixed components into the wound in Chris' side while I stand at his hip. I just stare straight at it, forcing myself to not worry about the stinging it might cause and just letting my mind rest on the training I've done with this piece of medical equipment. Once done with applying the foam to the bloody wound, which took a few moments, I lift my head and walk backwards, stopping in my prior spot next to Psych and across from Chris.


Not knowing what to do with the now useless can, I look down at it in my right hand, turning it over a couple times. Then, thinking it is the best option to do, I just toss it aside. The metal container smacks a wall, creating the sound of hollow metal being struck and clinking together before falling to the ground. I look over for a moment at the shadow where I suspect it came from, then I look back to Chris, giving him a nod. After glancing sidelong at Psych, I reach for my BR off my back and clasp it in my hands. I also see the few shiny splotches of Hunter grossness on my armor while doing so, make a face at it behind my visor, then look back up to listen for when the next part of our plan will be acted upon.


@LonelyAssassin @GhastlySquash

 

[Never]

Chris waited for Church to come over, seemed like she had gotten flustered up from the comments Psych made, though he did instigate it, he didn't mean it in any bad way. He kind of regretted it now, he didn't want to see any kind of confrontations in his squad, especially times like these. She did eventually get over to him though, he hadn't had biofoam in ages and it surprised him when it was injected. His hand went to Church's shoulder to keep him up right, his grip was pretty tight, but she was a spartan. It hurt like a bitch.


He felt better though, his movement came back to him, he was glad they managed to find some already or else he'd have trouble. He readied himself, picking up and Assault Rifle for the fight ahead.


"We're not staying to dig here. We're going to keep moving." He did like the idea of the sewers though, "If we find an entrance to them, we shall go through it, Sewers go right to the UNSC HQ of this city, we'll be able to get their quickly as well - so it's a good idea Psych. We just don't have the time to dig here. Not with the Covvies on our ass."





He walked over to a nearby wall, the otherside of the room they nearly managed to reach without getting ambushed by orange worm colonies. He found the door and opened it into a new room, it looked like a receptions area, the doors to the outside were surrounded by big windows, but it seemed all clear outside. Outside the door there are stairs leading down to the road, it was a nice looking building entrance, with plants flanking the stairs.


"Okay Marines, Spartans, Lets move. Psych take point."

 

[GhastlySquash]

(Awww well who knows, maybe you might be able to find an xbox for sale and another copy of Reach hopefully!)


Psych nodded, taking out her rifle as she loaded a round in. "Copy that sir."


Carefully peaking her head out, she could see that for the time being, the Covenant was nowhere to be found. She supposed, however, that this was a good thing.


Gesturing for her comrades to fall behind her, she quietly peeked her head out the door of the reception room. "Hug the walls and we split into two groups. Cover your opposite sides."


She pulled out her axe, giving a low, dark chuckle. "I'm going to collect some squalls.


-------------------


Meanwhile, Nap-Nap was just unloading crates at this point, grumbling about his stature in life. Why was he the one being forced to fight this war. Why wasn't somebody else doing it? He'd heard about the Grunt Rebellion. The day they had fought back and paid for it with their planet nearly being glassed.


Either way, he wasn't ready to die...not yet.

 

[1stLt HChurch]

(Thanks. I'm hoping to buy a used 360 from Gamestop once I get the money, along with a copy of Halo 3, ODST, and Reach. And hopefully 4 if I can afford that many games. Halo CE and 2 are a second priority, but I definitely want to buy them someday as well. I just hope I will be able to buy all of that sooner rather than later, because I want my own Xbox so bad. And, hell, I want to actually play Halo again real bad since I haven't in a few months, and that amount of time will only grow. I am also aiming to buy an Xbox One sometime during or after college so that I can play Halo 5 and any other Halo games that might come out later that I find worth buying.)


When the squad starts to move, I go as well. Naturally, and since Psych and Chris are already up front, I stay on our tail, guarding us as best I can.


A beam of surprisingly bright light filters into the dark room we're all in once Chris opens the door. Really, it isn't all that bright, but compared to the darkness we were in, it is pretty bright. My visor adjusts to make up for the change, the tint changing so quickly that it is very obvious to me.


I look around the Marines once the room is visible, soaking up as much of the room as I can. From here, all I can gather is that it looks like a professional business area, probably for receptionists and clients of some sort. The far wall housing the entrance is mainly made from windows, and the street can partially be seen through them from where I'm standing. From here, I can't completely see the exit, but I will in a moment.


When Psych instructs us on her plan, I give a respectful nod of acknowledgement to her. The Marines file into the room before me since they are ahead of me, splitting halfway into a neat group. Due to it being my good side, I diverge to the right when I enter the room. My stance is half way between a crouch and a walk while I trail along behind the Marines on my side, staying upright but leaning low. I hug the walls closely, my eyes keeping a watch on the windows just in case any little alien bastards enter the building while we sneak through it.


My group soon gets to the windows across the room from where we entered. The Marines crouch low and wait below the windows themselves, concealing all but the very crests of their helmets. I stay back and stand in the shadowy corner, gripping my rifle tight and keeping my eyes out for anything. Psych is also in my eyesight as I wait for her to give us the signal to keep moving.


@LonelyAssassin @GhastlySquash

 

[Never]

Church had her side, Chris had the opposite, Psych was in front. They made it over to the Window no problems, and now started to file through the building, Church kept his group behind, becoming the covering fire group whilst Church's should have exited second after Psych. Once The Marines were through he also went through, making sure to look around.


"Beware of Enemy Snipers, The Red Glowing Dot in the Distance is more than likely to be a Jackal, so call it out if you see one."


He moves down the stairs, his group keeping to the cover of the decorative plants that run along them, at least they had some other use than looking pretty. His fingers tapped in the Assault rifle he was carrying in waiting of something to happen, though enough had already happened and he had become injured as a result of it.


@GhastlySquash @1stLt HChurch

 

[GhastlySquash]

(Sorry I lost track of time! But hopefully there are still people interested!)


Psych just continued to follow, single file as she held her axe close. She was humming some tune, she didn't remember what exactly. Either way, she looked down, seeing the collection of heads she'd gathered. They might make a good distraction when the time was right.


Keeping her eyes out, she could see some movement, and gestured with her fingers. "They haven't spotted us, but I bet you they're moving somewhere. Don't know where."