Halo Legacy

She groaned, shaking her head as she looked around her pod. Right side and slanted slightly forwards... getting out going to be interesting.
"Hey Cap? You there Mike?"
A cough came through her earpiece. "Fuck... yeah I'm here."
"I might need some help getti..." Her pod shook violently, a plasma mortar hitting the ground next to it.

The pod fell over and rolled, taking damage from blast.

She held on tight as her pod started rolling down a hill. Catching a glimpse of a river through the hatches window she screamed. "Fuck! Mike where are you? Anyone... I repeat anyone on this channel respond! This is Lance Corporal Serina Daniels... my pods heading for the... fuck... I'm in the river and this fucking coffin is sinking!"

She yelled into her headset, hoping that someone heard her.

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The pelicans tore through atmo, heat-shields blazing brightly.
"Shit, those troopers are in for a rough day already." Opting to take a new pelican, Matt sat in back with Phoenix team.
He chuckled slightly at the pilots comment. "That's there job... now do yours and get us down there in one..."
The Pelican rocked. "...piece"
"I'm doing the best I can sir but..."
An anti air plasma mortar ripped the cockpit of the pelican wide open.
"God fucking... Fuck! Alright Spartans... time to see how well a brick can fly."
He motioned for Phoenix team to head to the back hatch, the pelican spiralling towards the planets surface.
The hatch opened half way before stopping. "If you want something done right..."
Ramming the hatch open, the four Spartans jumped out, locking there armour as they fell to the surface.

I noticed one of the drop pods that had landed; we all sprinted for it, but it started to roll before diving into the water. The humming of a ghost came near and I turned to spot it towards me. Throwing the grenade the purple death hit and flipped over my head before crashing into the ground. The elite jumped out in time and charged me, weapon raised.

I pulled the trigger of my shotgun, but it only popped it's shields cause of the range. In that same amount of time it tackled me, taking us down a spiral down the hill. We hit a rock, but I used the elite as a cushion fortunately. Getting up, I rammed the butt of my shotgun into it's throat, but it got up and rushed me. Using all my strength, I picked it on the charge and used it's momentum to spin around and throw it into the river. my shotgun finished business, changing the clear covered water into a tinge of purple.

Nicole ran to my side, "how did you manage to pick him up? You don't have an-"

"any augmentations? Hehe, I have a lot in my history miss, I'll tell you about all that later, but for now we need to open that drop pod."

The two spartans jumped into the river and threw the pod out. The pod slowed to a stop; cautiously we paced ourselves towards the "coffin" to give the trooper inside some space.

The pod rested at the bottom of the river, water slowing coming in around the hatch. The pod jerked suddenly, she cursed to herself as it started moving slowly before it was launched clear out of the water.

She held on tight as it flew through the air, hitting the ground with a thud.
Blowing the emergency gas pins, the hatch launched forward from the pod, smacking against a tree.
She fell out, landing on her stomach hard, gasping and coughing for air as she spat some water from her mouth

"Fuck... I hate atmo breaching..." she groaned, pulling her helmet off and tossing it towards her pod as she sat up and looked around. Explosions going off in the distance, heavy foot steps coming towards her.
She drew her side-arm and held it high as the steps came closer, a large shadow looming over her. She gasped and turned and pulled the trigger but nothing happened. Water, she cursed to herself.

Getting a better look at who was behind her, she gasped again... it was a Spartan.


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Matt and Phoenix team hit the ground hard, there armour taking the impact as from being locked.
He looked around. "Sit rep now, comin Spartans on your feet... This is Spartan X double zero, our bird was hit on the way in, any friendlies out there respond."

He motioned for Phoenix team to set up a perimeter around there landing zone, each Spartan vanishing against the battle scarred terrain as they waited for a response.

I stepped in front of Charlie, and looked down on the ODST. She looked a bit blindly or surprised.

"Let's go trooper, time to get down to business. Whats your situation here? Your 'mission' I should say"

"For now, it's to defend this planet."

"Well, now your with us, your radio is busted; time for you see how the Army does it!"

I held out my hand to help her out.

She nodded, taking his hand as he helped her up.
Grabbing her helmet and putting it on, she grabbed her gear from the pod. A suppressed DMR, two grenades and a med pack with bio foam in it.

She turned to him, snapping a quick salute as she introduced herself.
"Lance Corporal Serina Daniels, Sir"

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He glanced over at Frank, his soft green outline on his HUD showing where he was.
"Anything?"
"Negative Matt... just static."
He nodded. "Switch to the open channel and try."

"Channels all yours."

"This is MCPO Spartan X double zero, are there any friendlies out there able to do pick up respond."

"This is MCPO Spartan X do-....friend-.....pick up"

listening to the radio I turned to the Lance Corpral, "looks like we're picking up a few more soldiers, by the way, I'm 1st Lieutenant Jackson Abraham; these are Spartan fours: Charlie and Nicole," I said pointing to them.

We started making our way towards the Spartan Xs checkpoint.

"More Spartans? How many were deployed here? I was told we weren't expecting any at all... just supposed to be us ground side."

She followed in back as they took a diamond formation, the two Spartans to her left and right and Abraham in front of her.
"We should look for the Captain... he hit harder they I did and I haven't heard anything since my pod rolled into the river."


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"Hey Matt... picking up something on radar, four dots in bound in a diamond formation."
He nodded. "Get some eyes over that hill... Jennifer that would be you."

Her green shadow moved across his HUD, heading to the top of the hill.
"Well... that's odd... two Spartans fours, an ODST and that Abraham guy... about a click out to the north of us."
"You heard her, we got friendlies in bound so stay for any enemy activity on there flanks"

He switched his camo off, the others remaining invisible as he waited for the four friendlies to come over the hill

Charlie pointed up ahead, "over the hill."

As we came over the hill, we noticed Matt and more signals around him...probably the Spartan Xs. As we were making our way down a Phantom swooped down, firing upon the hill. Matt took cover and I motioned to the Lance Corporal, "get down to Matt right now! He's the spartan down the hill, go! Nicole and Charlie your with me."

With that I took off with the jump pack, as did my other spartans. We shot the grunts piloting the turret; from then on we'd thought it'd be easy boarding, but as I was thinking that Elite Rangers flew out of the sides, coming to collide with us mid-air. Charlie collided with one of them, taking the fight to the ground as they slid through the dirt. Nicole shot through the Elite in front of her before she landed inside the Phantom. As for me, the Elite in front of me grabbed me and threw me towards their ship.

I skid to the edge of the roof, before getting on my feet. The Ranger was flying towards me, but whipping out my shotgun I shot him in the face , ducking from his dead corpse as it landed back into the ground. My heartbeat raced, my adrenaline pumping. I went to the ledge and fell off to land inside the Phantom. Nicole was fighting an Elite, but another one was sneaking behind her for a kill shot. Making my move, I took out my knife, jumped onto the Elite and gutted it's neck with my knife.

After we cleared the inside, the phantom was in our control. Charlie flew back up into the ship and took the pilot controls; slowly hovering the thing above the rest of our allies.

The Pelican shuddered, waking James from his snooze.
He sat up, the other soldiers inside looked up at him, as though admiring him.

"What're you looking at?" James snapped, not in the mood for being "looked up to". "I can't sleep with your prying eyes..."

The soldier sat up, looking straight forward and away from the Spartan.

"Sorry Sir" His voice was shaky.

"Don't call me that again."

James leaned back against his seat, listening to the gently hum of the engines. Suddenly the Pelican shook violently, and James steadied himself as the pilot's voice echoed through.

"We're hit!" The Pilot's voice seemed obviously distressed, scared even to Jame's sensitive ears. "Zeta 319 is going down!"

James clutched the handles by his seat, knowing full well what was coming next. He felt the Pelican buckle and drop, the others looked like they had butterflies in their stomaches. Suddenly he heard a sickening crash as the Pelican hit the ground. The dropship hit the ground, crumpling and rolling as it's momentum carried it farther than it should've. It finally came to a sudden stop as it crashed into a large boulder, smashing in the front half completely.
James awoke with a sudden start.

"All right, now I'm awake..."

She stared at the Spartan, the one that Abraham had called Matt... her brothers name... the same brother she hadn't seen since she became an ODST... before Reach fell to the Covenant.
Thoughts and emotions ran through her mind, distracting her clouding her judgement.

She felt her arm get tugged hard as she hit the ground, a Phantom roaring overhead. "Stay down trooper, we'll handle this." Matt yelled to her... it was him... her brother. She knew that voice anywhere.

He rolled into a crouch, a DMR held up, scanning for hostiles as Abraham and the two Spartan fours fought the Elite Rangers above her.

All went quiet, the Phantom hovering above them.
"Lets go trooper... we got a flight to catch." he chuckled as he helped her to her feet. Three other Spartans in the same armour appeared behind him.
"Move out Phoenix... Frank I need you to try and get us a line to the Mail Man."
Frank nodded as the boarded the Phantom.

"Not bad Lt. not bad at all... didn't know they trained you army boys to fly like that." Matt chuckled.

"Well, I didn't know they taught you ONI kids to hide and watch as we 'Army Boys' did all the fightin'" I retorted back with a grin.

Charlie flew the Phantom through the desolate area, it looked like this place had already had it's fair share of fighting.

"Keep your eyes peeled for anything important soldiers..."

"We know when we're needed... you guys handled yourselves pretty well, didn't want to cramp your style Lt." He chuckled, sitting down across from the ODST.

"Uhh... sir?"
"Go ahead Frank."
"I'm picking up a signal... ODST from the looks of it, vitals are weak and his comm is wide open."
He didn't answer.
"Sir?"
"Abraham... get this bird down there now... I'm not leaving that trooper to die alone." There was a slight coldness in his voice as he spoke.

"It might be the Captain sir... we're the only two from the one oh six to survive atmo."
That voice... he knew but he didn't know from where. It had been awhile since he heard it, the high tone of her voice reminded him of someone he knew, someone close.
He nodded. "Just get us down there."

"Sir, should we go down?"

"Yes, I'm getting signals from other Army Troopers anyway."

The Phantom hovered slowly to the ground before stopping.

"Make it quick, we ain't stopping for a funeral, this planet and it's people need all the solders we can get."

James stood up slowly, stretching his sore joints. He felt his back crack and he grabbed an undamaged Assault Rifle.

"That's the last time I nap on the job..." James chuckled behind his helmet.

He looked up, his smile fading as I he saw all the dead soldiers, most were torn up brutally by the crash. Poor guys He thought, no soldier should die that way.

He walked over and forcibly kicked the Pelican's door open, seeing the open battle raging around him. He fed a magazine into his rifle and stepped out, seeing a Phantom fly overhead and stop nearby. He looked back ay his crashed Pelican.

"Hate flying, I much rather keep my boots on the ground..."

He nodded, motioning for Phoenix team to set-up a perimeter around the Phantom as he and the trooper ran for a drop pod nearby.

The pod was wedged between two rocks, obvious plasma damage. Burn marks covered the pod, blood inside it.
He looked around, seeing the trooper on the ground near a burnt tree. He ran over to him, the trooper right behind him.

"Trooper get over here, he's one of yours."
She slid to a stop beside him.
"Cap... come on we gotta go, we need to get you out of here now"
He opened his eyes slowly, looking at her.
"Ser...Serina? That you kiddo?"

Matt put his hand against the tree, holding himself up as his knees nearly gave out... it couldn't be.

"Its me Cap... now come on... I'll help you up but I'm not doing all the work, can you walk."
He nodded as she helped him up.
"Who's the tall dark and metallic one... friend of yours?"
She nodded.

They made there way back to the Phantom, lying the injured trooper down on the floor inside.

Vrenn 'Tailon

The phantom exited my ship, Ghosts of Fury, following the other phantoms in suite. The Forerunner planet loomed in front of us, a certain glow of majesty surrounding it. The phantom started entering atmosphere, shaking and shuddering as we past through.

I turned to my squad, "This is a gift from the Forerunners, we will see the true art of these heroes!" The Ultras and Officers roared in agreement and then got ready to debark the dropship. Once we came to a full stop, they all jumped out followed by me. My eyes caught the rest of our brothers, including Soren and Anno.

Sgt. Jackson Abraham

The phantom lurched from side to side, signs of battle damage clearly showing. We started heading towards the heat of battle, an uneasy fog of war was always around no matter the situation.

"How's your Captain doing? Pull out the health kit and give it to the lady," I said pointing at the new ODST trooper we found. "We'll have to get him up and healthy...never leave a soldier behind."

Nicole took out her pack, diving her hand quickly into it before pulling out the red cross in a box. She tossed it to the ODST before sealing her bag again.

Anno 'Rhcul:

I surveyed our landing site. It was rife with natural beauty, but the far more intriguing signs of Forerunner technology showed. It was a few pillers, not what we were looking for. But it was a sign of such glory, first-hand.

"Are we all assembled?" I asked my Lance. They nodded. Of my comrades, there was Vera, two other Elites, and a number of Grunts.

There was a general motion of asset.

"Good," I stated.

Soren 'Kairom:

I observed the small group we had. There was the Zealots and myself, Anno and a couple of his brethren, and we even managed to obtain the services of a General. It was a well mixed grouped, and we had an army of reinforcements should anything happen.

I leapt onto the soft ground, the forest was still damp from a previous rainfall. I could still taste the mist, but it was unmistakable we were close, there were many forerunner structures surrounding us already. I walked over to the group we had assembled.

"We are truly blessed, brothers, to walk on this sacred ground. To follow the very steps the Forerunners did during the final moments of their mighty sacrifice!" I turned to Anno and Vrenn. "We're assuming the ways of unlocking this sacred place are kept inside some kind of temple. With the help of the Oracle Anno has brought for us, we should be able locate it quickly. This is our moment of glory, brothers. This is where we leave our mark, and they will sing of our ascension!"

I glanced at Vrenn. "Now is when we erase past sins and failures"

Using the scanner in hear helmets visor, Jennifer did a quick scan of the ODST.
"Matt... sir it doesn't look good... punctured left lung, looks half full... mostly blood. Also seeing alot of internal bleeding... kidneys are borderlining on failure as is the liver, multiple fractures to the lower body from impact... he's not going to make it... I'm sorry but with the equipment we have on board... there's not much I or any of us could do."
She looked over at the other ODST.
"I'm sorry."

Serina nodded slowly, thankful for the visor on her helmet as tears filled her eyes. The second captain... second squad... all dead except her.
"Cap... its been an honour sir." She said quietly, voice shaky as she held his hand.
"Like wise kiddo... give em hell for me alright?"
She nodded.

His eyes slowly began to close, heartbeat slowly fading until it stopped with one last thud.

James had his pace set at a light job, his senses alert for any signs of Elites. He'd spotted a damaged ohantom in the distance, watching it as it swayed side to side. Easy target..., he thought to himself, then unslung his Assault Rifle as he moved towards the heat of battle.

"Damn basterds are always so far away..."

James switched on his helmet's comm, unsure if communications were still up. He had nothing to lose anyways, so popped a flare and tossed it to the ground.

"This is Spartan-0026 broadcasting on all open UNSC channels, requesting... Uh... Evac? No, Um... I need someone to- Uh... You know what, screw it. Somebody come pick me up and show where the fights at All right!?"



((OCC: Assuming communications and all that is ok, could I get a pick up?))

Vrenn

"If only some of our brothers had more honor than become cowards."

With that I brushed past him, followed by the rest of my squad. I was eager to discover the arts of the Forerunners.

Regerus

The last jackal gurgled as my and Titanus wiped the blood off our weapons. We scanned the area for the monitor, the time was near, and we would hold a prophet of the Gods.

Soren 'Kairom:

I watched as Vrenn rejoined his troops, unsurprised that the leader stayed near the ones he lead. I watched as three Zealots that had joined me on this quest suddenly all turned invisable and scouted out into the jungle. I turned to Anno.

"Brother, we need the Oracle's knowledge to seek out the temple we need to unlock this holy ground" I motioned my head towards where my Zealots had been. "My troops are scouting the jungle as we speak, they'll make sure it's safe before we all press on"


Titanus:

I wiped the last of the Kig-yar brain matter off of my hammer, chuckling wickedly to myself. I glanced over at Ragnerus.

"Such a pity we did not find a more worthy foe, I'm almost ashamed I used such a powerful weapon to dispatch these weaklings..."

Vrenn

My brothers turned invisible as they walked past me to scout the jungle, as my troops and I continued forward. The sound of our footsteps mixed the wet dirt creating a pattern until we waited for the right directions from Anno.

I nodded.

"Indeed."

The oracle suddenly emerged from seemingly no where.

"I am most overjoyed that I allowed that small individual to install such a device on me!" it said cheerfully. Upon it, there was a small active camo generator that it had been using.

I turned to it. "Oracle, we need you to seek out the nearest temples."

"Certainly," responded the Oracle. "Although, I am unfamilar with this installation, I will do my best to find the mainframe."