User:SPARTAN-08BLAM!/Halo: A Universe Untold

Halo: A Universe Untold is a collection of stories, poems etc. centered in the Halo universe.

=Forgotten= A story about a Spartan who reminisces about the death of his team on their final mission to kill a covenant Prophet.

Forgotten A short story based in the Halo universe

A cold, heavy rain fell upon the smoldering plain that no more than a day ago served as the stage for a bloody and vicious battle. Peregrine, and the rest of his team, engaged in a do-or-die assault on a makeshift Covenant stronghold. Everyone lay dead, except for him. Just how it always was. Peregrine was cursed with witnessing all those around him die. First it was his parents, and now his Spartan brothers and sisters. Peregrine sat atop one of the tall structures the Covenant forces had setup while investigating the planet’s odd alien ruins. He could see Kylie’s body laying in a shallow puddle, the muddy water slightly tinged red. Surrounding her were tattered Sangheili bodies. She died, but she died with honor. Dignity. Peregrine’s class of Spartans were overpriced cannon fodder. Sent on suicide missions to hinder the Covenant’s slow but inevitable destruction of Humanity.

Kylie was an interesting Spartan, she rarely talked, and when she did it wasn't of battle or death. When she spoke she reminisced of her home world. She would describe vivid scenes of rolling plains covered in golden grains, great puffs of white dotting the sky, and not a soul around for miles. It made Peregrine’s heart pang, but he didn’t know why. Perhaps, it was the way Kylie so lovingly described her home world, or maybe it was how much he missed his own home. Home...what an alien word. He hadn’t been there for so long. The last time he’d seen it, it was wreathed in flame. Burned down to mere cinders by the Covenant war machine. His memories of the place were slowly fading. However, he could always pick out one.

''It was a perfect day. Autumn. The leaves wore their vibrant golds, reds and oranges with pride. The sun shone brightly down, and he was with his parents. It was a day in the park. Playing. Laughing. Smiling. His mother’s auburn hair waved gently in the autumnal breeze. His father’s bright teeth revealed themselves from behind a bold mouth.''

The memory burned in his mind. Brighter than the surface of Vigilance on that day. Although it was little more than a black smudge, Peregrine still felt a longing for his home. But even more than that, he wanted belonging. He had almost had it, here with his fellow Spartans. Alas, they lay dead now on this forgotten world.

Peregrine climbed down the curving stairs that hugged the interior of the tower. The prophet’s body was pinned to the purple wall of the structure. A combat knifed driven straight though his chest. It was Yusef’s knife. His team leader. Peregrine glanced down to the bottom of the tower. In the center lay his commander’s body. The limbs bent unnaturally. He had fallen to his doom, but only after he had sent the Prophet to whatever God’s waited for him.

He was a good leader. He tried everything to get to know Peregrine, but he just wouldn’t let him in. He knew Peregrine had issues, they all did. They were all orphans of a war none of them really understood. However, he had to power through it. That’s what his father would have done. “Yusef, my boy. Tuck your chin, tense your shoulders and arms, and run. If you know just where to hit, you can shatter the mightiest of walls.” That’s what his father would always say. Yusef and Peregrine were the last of the team to make it to the top of the tower, where they encountered the Prophet and the best of his Honor Guard. There was only the Prophet and two of his guards when Yusef fell.

''Unless you were apart of it, the melee was a complete blur. Lightning fast shadows of olive green and bright red battle for dominance. Suddenly, the Spartan landed a powerful kick and sent the Honor Guard captain flying into the purple curved walls. Yusef took this opportunity. He lunged at the Prophet, tackling him out of his seat and onto the floor. Yusef rose, grabbing the Prophet by his narrow neck. He could feel the vertebrae click beneath his steely grip. He brought him against the wall, drawing his blade. Just then, the Prophet kicked forward both of his feet. Caught off guard, Yusef stumbled back, but at the last second drove his blade deep into his enemy’s chest. The screech of metal could be heard, albeit muffled by the body. A flash of red, and the Honor Guard captain tackled Yusef just as the blade came to a dead halt. The two went tumbling off the top of the tower and down it’s hollow exterior. Yusef kicked his opponent’s body down and away and watched it crumpled lifelessly against the stairs. However, nothing could be done to save Yusef. He collided with the bottom of the tower at terminal velocity. With such force, his helmet came flying off, the faceplate shattering against a nearby wall. Blood oozed from his nose and ears. Peregrine had only finished single combat with an elite to witness his friend’s death.''

Peregrine respected Yusef. He fought to the very end. A hero’s death, just as he would have wanted it to be. Yusef’s father would be proud.

The long Spartan slowly descended the stairs down the tower. He passed the mess that remained of the Honor Guard captain, his armor, flesh and blood had all crumpled together. It was a gruesome sight. Once at the bottom, he dragged Yusef’s body out side and laid it next Misha’s corpse.

Misha was a bear of a man. A tall, broad and angry Russian with a softspot for fine chocolate, and Kylie. Misha was a full head taller than any of the other Spartan, and nearly twice as broad at the soldiers. Because of his enormous stature and strength, he was in charge of the heavy ordinance. Spartan LASERs, Rocket Launchers and the like. He was also a hell of a fist fighter. His preferred martial art was Judo. There was no one who could beat Misha in hand to hand combat. However, he was taken out by an equal or, perhaps, a lesser enemy. A sole Hunter. The gargantuan beast had lost it’s bond partner in the recent battles and was incredibly blood thirsty.

''There it stood, a full 12 feet tall. The massive armor clad Hunter was the only obstacle between the Spartans and the tower. With Kylie dead, Misha was more than ready for revenge. “Go on ahead, guys. I’ll handle this.” Then, in an almost imperceptibly fast motion, Misha rushed forward latched onto the Hunter and brought it to the ground. His fist slammed into the “head” of the Hunter, wrenching it’s neck back and forth. After multiple hits, the Hunter slammed it’s great shield into Misha’s side, knocking him away. He rolled on the ground and came to a stop some 20 feet away. The Hunter rose and in no time, was above Misha rearing back it’s shield to guillotine Misha. Just as the great hunk of metal came down Misha rolled out of the way, grabbed on of it’s legs and once again brought it to the ground. In a motion as smooth as mercury, he rolled forward, drew his sidearm and straddled his grounded opponent. He rammed his pistol into the beast’s chest and squeezed off multiple shots. The Hunter again swung it’s great shield at him, but this time he ducked down, just enough to avoid the blow. With each shot of this pistol the great beast unleashed a deep and rumbling roar. Once out of bullets, Misha tossed away his sidearm and began pulling at the worms that composed the body of the Hunter. Tearing and pulling he disembowled the beast, until it roared no more. Painted in the orange blood of his defeated foe, he rose to see his comrades engaging the front guard of the tower. Misha rose slowly, and started jogging towards his comrades. He was removing his helmet when Peregrine turned towards him. However, unbeknownst to Misha, his freshly fallen enemy used it’s last ounces of life to raise it’s cannon and get revenge. However, the fuel rod failed to fire, it simply emitted green sparks and made a low wooshing sound. Misha turned and laughed at the creature. He kicked it in the head and walked back towards the battle. But, just as he was turning the cannon sparked to life and fired the fuel rod into Misha’s back. The fuel rod bounced off his back, sparked again and exploded 7 feet from Misha. The blast snapped his neck and sent him careening off in the opposite direction. With his last few breaths he outstretched his hand towards Kylie, and slipped into lifelessness as cardiac arrest took it’s toll.''

Peregrine looked fondly upon Misha. Despite being consistently snappy, he always looked out for his teammates. Especially Kylie. Kylie was like his little sister, he would have sacrificed himself a million times if it meant saving her. However, he couldn’t and she was taken out by a sniper. A single particle beam through the heart. Her death reflected her demeanor, quick and quiet.

Peregrine proceeded to bury his 3 teammates. He scratched their names into hunks of the purple alloy he found laying about and placed them above their graves. He also dug a grave for the 4th member of Spatha Team; Ty. Ty was obliterated in a Banshee strike. A single fuel rod shot left nothing but ash and glass left. Ty was a smart and capable Spartan, as they all were, but he stood out. Yusef often deferred to his judgement when it came to double checking tactics. Ty was also in charge of intelligence. He was in constant communication with the rest of the team, calling out targets and relaying other valuable information. He was also the teams designated sniper, using the scope to put Spatha in the most favorable position. He was quickly and brutally killed by the sole Banshee flier the Covenant forces had in their possession. Misha was quick to return the favor and annihilated it with a single LASER shot.

Peregrine was stuck on this planet. The enemy in a last ditch effort to destroy the UNSC smashed their cruiser into the Frigate that brought the Spartans there. The collision overloaded the slipspace drive and the entire frigate and most of the enemy cruiser were jumped into oblivion. Their atoms all sent to random locations across the galaxy. So, Peregrine had to wait. He launched one of the emergency distress beacons that was aboard every UNSC spacecraft, and simply waited. He would spend the next two weeks alone. The only person for millions of miles.