User:Actene/Sandbox

Sandbox
Here I test out templates and publish small excerpts that don't have a place in an official work yet.

Excerpt 1
''This excerpt will eventually be used in an Against All Odds work. If I ever get around to writing more. And if I remember this is even here when I do.''

The Sangheili--no, the Elite, because Simon could never associate the creatures that had saved and trained him with scum like this--glared at him from across the room with that imperious contempt that its species was so good at. It paced slowly towards the ex-Spartan wearing the battered, defunct armor who had the nerve to challenge him with just a pair of energy swords. Every inch of its body was quivering with indignation. How dare this lowly human assume that it could fight with such weapons?

Simon's enemy was at least two feet taller than him, possessed far more strength, and most likely had years more training with its own energy sword. Its armor was shielded and it hadn't just fought its way through several other warriors. The odds were ridiculously stacked against him, and Simon had spent his life running like hell whenever that happened.

But this time things were different. An odd, unfamiliar sense of clarity and purpose was coursing through him now, one that would not let him retreat or back down. Just as when he'd looked upon his dead friends on the battlefield of Mamore and resolved to fight the UNSC to the bitter end, he now felt as if all of the cowardice and fear that had kept him running away all his life had been stripped away from him. It was like a crushing weight had been lifted off of his chest and now he could breath freely again.

This creature and those with it had hunted him across the galaxy, had killed the noble family that had saved him, and had butchered scores of innocents just to kill him. They had risked and lost plenty of their own to do this, to accomplish a goal that had no real value to them.

And they had tried to kill Cassandra.

Such wanton destruction could not be working towards some strategy or greater goal. It could only be called revenge.

And Simon knew plenty about revenge.

In fact, it was time to get some of his own.

He reached up and slowly removed the damaged helmet from his head. His dark hair was drenched in sweat and clung to his moist skin like vines on a tree. He allowed himself a moment to run his gauntleted hand through the hair while his prosthetic arm discarded the helmet. It fell to the floor with a clatter.

The Elite paused, as if it was surprised by his youth or his complete absence of fear--or possibly both. This wasn't how young humans normally reacted to its approach.

A sudden twinge of pain in his lungs reminded Simon that he didn't have much time left. He was out of medicine and the disease would overcome and kill him very soon. But that concern was barely registered as he took in his opponent: the stance, the way it held its energy sword, the way its eyes were shifting across all parts of his body.

The path before him was clearer than it had been in a long time; everything seemed so simple now. If the death that he'd cheated and fled from for so long was finally on him then he'd be sure to take this bastard with him. The only way to go now was forward.

He reached up and, with a single tug, tore the bandages around his head off. As the fell, he ran his prosthetic fingers across the savage scar across his forehead that he'd hidden with them. His badge of shame, the result of his cowardice, would be bared for this fight. Then, he looked up and met the Elite's flaming eyes and matched its sneer with a deep one of his own.

"Alright, you squid-headed freak," he said, unclipping the twin sword hilts from his chest piece. "You wanna talk to your gods? Let's go see 'em together. "I've got nothing better to do."

The blades activated in his hands, and he felt the jolt of their awakening course up both of his arms, organic and prosthetic alike.

The Elite's eyes widened and, in a flash, both it and Simon lunged simultaneously.

Excerpt 3: Tuka's Prophecy to Simon
'Conceptual writing for the end of Avenger's Quest. Spoiler alert for anyone who cares about spoiling a slow moving fan fiction story for themselves.

And then it happened.

Suddenly Tuka realized that he was swaying; his focus kept snapping in and out as though he were dozing off a hundred times over. He could feel his mandibles moving and something was issuing forth from his mouth, but he couldn't seem to hear the words...

The next thing he knew, he was sitting on the floor, his back leaning against the smooth wall behind him. Simon was leaning over him, looking both confused and (to his credit) concerned as well.

"You all right?" he asked. In the haze that he was still stumbling out of, Tuka realized that his human friend was speaking the Sangheili language itself rather relying on their translators to sort things out.

So maybe he isn't as contemptuous of all that as he said he was, a voice in his head noted distantly.

He rubbed his head and blinked slowly. "What... what happened?"

Simon straightened and stood back as Tuka rose to his feet. He shook his head. "You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

TBC

Excerpt 4 (Halo: Descent)
"Ryan's got a trace on two of them, sir," Cody said. "Humans, both of them. Either Insurrectionists or mercenaries."

"Show me," Felix said.

"One moment, sir." Cody accessed the video footage Ryan had sent him, and transmitted it to the Lieutenant Commander. The senior Spartan watched as the sniper scope tracked the two humans, but didn't fire.

One of them was a tall, muscular man with silver-grey hair, with a medium-armoured jumpsuit and a rifle strapped across his back. For a large man, he moved very easily through the forest. Felix watched as the scope turned to his companion, who was—

"That's him," he said. "The rogue Spartan."

"Affirmative, Commander," Cody said. "The muddy footprint we found matches the armour configuration."

"They're definitely mercenaries. You got an identity?"

"Negative, sir. The UNSC had a lot of Spartans on their MIA list, and that's not counting the ones ONI's covering up. We don't have access to the full records on our ships either. Looks like we're going to have to do some research when we go home."

"I think I can help you out there," Ebony said. "If SPARTAN-D1120 can go over the recording again with bio-scanners enabled, I can narrow down the list."

"Basilisk Three?" Felix said.

"Transmitting," Ryan replied. Fifteen seconds later, Ebony said, "Hmm, looks like it won't be so easy after all."

"What do you mean?" the Lieutenant Commander asked.

"That rogue is definitely a SPARTAN-III. The bio-monitors have detected massive amounts of 009762-OO in his bloodstream. It was an illegal drug added by SPARTAN-051 to all subjects of Gamma Company alone."

"And?"

"And...well, the majority of Gamma Company had been listed as MIA since 2552."

Felix thought about this for a moment. Finally, he turned on his COM again, this time accessing all Spartan channels.

"Saber and Katana Teams, do you read me?"

"Yes, sir."

"We're here, sir."

"Ash, Joey, drop whatever you're doing, and regroup at my position. I need to talk to you guys."

Excerpt 5
David Kahn prided himself on his ability to keep his cool even when someone--usually someone with a very low life expectancy--tried to provoke him, but this A.I. seemed to specialize in pissing off just about everyone she came into contact to. Even he wasn't completely immune to her unique skill.

"I thought I told you," he said, pronouncing each word slowly so that they wouldn't come through gritted teeth. "That you aren't allowed in my ship's systems. Ever."

Diana did a small twirl on the holotank as she grinned up at him. "Whoops," she said, raising her hands in an innocent shrug. "Guess I forgot about that rule. My memory files can get so messy sometimes."

Kahn couldn't help but find it disconcerting that he was being talked back to by a schoolgirl. A small, hologram of a schoolgirl to be sure, but that didn't make it any less surreal. "Did Mordred upload you?" he demanded, though he doubted that the kid would have had the nerve to defy him, even behind his back.

The A.I. waved a pale, translucent hand dismissively. "Oh, please. It's not like I need that dumbass for everything, you know."

She stared up at him expectantly for several moments, and Kahn knew exactly what she was after. And as much as he didn't want to give her any sort of satisfaction for sneaking into his ship, he couldn't just pass up an opportunity to learn about whatever flaw in his security that Diana had exploited.

He sighed and gave in. "How did you do it?" he asked wearily, wondering how Mordred managed to put up with her on a daily basis.

Diana smirked and casually smoothed the front of her skirt. "Oh, it wasn't too difficult," she said loftily. "I just piggybacked a signal off of one of the transmitters you had us set up on the perimeter and followed it back here. I've done it a million times with the dumbass, it really isn't that big of a deal."

She frowned and cocked her head, lifting a hand to gracefully part her blonde hair. "But the thing is," she said, letting out a sigh of mock regret. "With a reputation like yours, I was expecting something a little harder to crack. I've run into drug stores with better firewalls on their computers."

Kahn resisted the urge to empty a clip into the holotank, if only to shut her up for a few moments. But then she'd be jeering at him over the intercom and he'd waste time and credits installing a new one later. As things were, he'd already need to purge the Starkiller's computer as soon as possible now that this insufferable A.I. had been able to root around in it, and that alone would take several hours to complete. And right now, Kahn didn't have several hours.

He sank into the pilot's seat and opened a secure channel that he'd set up between himself and Ro'nin. The Elite took a moment to respond.

"Kahn," the mercenary's voice rumbled over the speaker. "What is it?"

"We've had contact with the UNSC. Nothing major and I'm pretty sure they didn't i.d. either of us, but I'm moving the schedule up regardless. How quickly can you and Kenpachus get us that intel on the Path Walker compound?"

"Not long," Ro'nin replied. "They think I'm still working for them and I've already got a good look around the place, so it should only take me another day to get you a more complete picture."

Kahn did the math. Another day of waiting, plus the hours it would take to plan the assault added to the time it would take to approach the compound and actually capture their target, then factoring in the time they'd spend evacuating and packing up the basecamp...

Two and a half days, give or take a few hours. And that was assuming that nothing else went wrong.

"Fine," he said into the radio. "Get me that data ASAP. And I want you and Kenpachus ready to cover our escape once we get what we came for."

"Of course," said Ro'nin. "We wouldn't be late to a fight like that for anything."

"Well, feel free to do as much damage as you like," Kahn replied, moving to cut the transmission. "Just wait till we've gotten our mark out of there. He's no good to me dead."

Diana had generated an armchair to seat her avatar in and was steepling her hands in front of her face as if she were a detective in some second-rate mystery e-novel. "You two've certainly gotten yourselves in a bit of a hole, haven't you?" she asked cheerfully. "I don't think any of us want the UNSC goons to come give us a taste of their exceptional hospitality, and now we've got to pull off an assault right under they're noses. Y'know, if Mordred had known this would happen I don't think he'd have taken the job."

Kahn snorted, half at the A.I.'s comments and half at himself for even lowering himself to conversing with her. "He'd have taken it. Four million credits is a lot of money, and he's not good at hiding the fact that he's desperate for some cash."

Excerpt 7
Final quotation for Halo: Indelible Past

"Watch the buggers dance, Watch 'em 'till they drop, Keep your wits about you and you stand on top! Masters of the land, Always get our share, Clear away the barricades and we're still there! We know where the wind is blowing, Money is the stuff we smell! And when we're rich as Croesus, Jesus! Won't we see you all in hell!"

- M. and Mme. Thenardier, "Les Miserables: The Musical"

Children of the Avenging Blade
The organization dedicated to lashing out at both the Sangheili government and the UNSC. May or may not appear in AAO; depends on how my personal narratives within the community project go.

Member List

 * Shinsu 'Refum--The Children's founder and leader. Served both the Fallen and Path Walker movements in the hopes of exacting savage revenge on both the Vadam clan for the death of his father, Sesa, and the Interspecies Union for the suffering he and his friends endured while opposing its designs on Sanghelios.
 * Pula 'Mortif--As a girl, Pula saw her entire clan wiped out during the fighting on Sanghelios. A young Shinsu found her and took her under his wing, promising that he would allow her to have a part in the vengeance he planned. She is devoted to Shinsu and is his most loyal and trusted lieutenant.
 * Fer 'Prelen--Acknowledged by all as a "freak of nature", this massive Sangheili was an outcast due to his large size, strength and an innate thirst for violence. Shinsu discovered him and gave him a place to belong while also feeding his lust for slaughter. While tactically unfit for command, Fer is still the most formidable warrior in the organization and is considered to be the principle enforcer of Shinsu's orders.
 * Umbra 'Vesic--A veteran of the Human-Covenant War, Umbra's extensive experience as a special operations officer were put to use for the Fallen cause once the separatist movement began opposing the Sangheili government. Cast adrift after the Fallen's destruction, Umbra eventually found his way into the Children of the Avenging Blade and commands its division of skilled assassins.
 * Redmond Venter--Although many Sangheili within the Children balked at accepting humans as comrades, Shinsu found Venter's assets and bloodthirsty nature to be assets to the organization. For Venter, joining the Children meant finding a new outlet for his desire to keep the fires of war alight in the galaxy. He commands the small remnant of the Humanity Liberation Front that remain loyal to him while putting his skills as a pilot to work for the Children's air and space operations.
 * Ro'nin--Though not motivated by any particular cause, the Sangheili mercenary known only as Ro'nin found himself drawn to the organization all the same. He is a skilled field commander and is more or less loyal to his employers.
 * Kenpachus--A friend and companion of Ro'nin, Kenpachus goes wherever he has the opportunity to wield his massive blade against a worthy foe. This Jiralhanae swordsman sees plenty of opportunities to test his skills in the war that Shinsu wishes to kindle.
 * Simon-G294--This infamous young traitor finds himself attracted to the opportunity Shinsu promises to provide him for revenge against the UNSC that he has hated for so long. Whether or not he has any deeper intentions within the organization remains to be seen.

Known Gamma Spartans

 * Jake-G293
 * Mary-G130 (KIA)
 * Terrence-G150(KIA)
 * Ralph-G299
 * Simon-G294
 * Cassandra-G006
 * Vincent-G270 (KIA)
 * Nathan-G235 (KIA)
 * Alex-G014 (KIA)
 * Benjamin-G015 (KIA)
 * May-G210
 * Julian-G209
 * Amos-G028
 * Cesare-G177
 * Graham-G101
 * Alric-G040