User:BK Burger Boy/Rise of a Warrior: Act II

[img]http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/sloftus_covenantcruiser/images/cc_fleet.jpg[/img]

Act 2, Chapter 1
The Concealed Blade In orbit around Sangheilios

Niokiljolm' awoke to the pod’s auto-detector of exiting a slipspace vector. The pod hissed open and frosty air from inside dissipated into the warm hangar of the carrier. Niokiljolm’ stepped his hoofed foot onto the polished purple deck of The Concealed Blade. Sangheili soldiers ran from the Carrier’s launch bay into and out of the halls. A Major grasped him by the shoulder and pointed up the hall.

“Commander, we have entered Sangheilios’s vicinity. The Brutes are besieging our planet, and we can end this right here. Shipmaster Vadam request that you meet him on the bridge as soon as possible.”

The Major turned back into the hangar where phantoms were being prepared for deployment and Seraphs launched from the craft into the blackness outside. Hundreds of Elites, Hunters, and separatist Grunts stood in front of Majors and Commanders.

Niokiljolm’ ran towards the hanger. He navigated the violet, bulbous hallways with ease displaying the vast amounts of time he spent on these crafts. An Elite security team waved him into the secure perimeter around the bridge area.

“Make haste commander!” They exclaimed as the alarms began to ring. The fleet was going into combat preparation as the fleet headed towards their homeworld. Niokiljolm’ walked onto the bridge, lit by dim blue light produced terminals manned by Sangheili pilots. The Shipmaster turned in his chair and his golden armor shone in the scarce light. He appeared godlike.

“Commander. I have awaited your arrival. The Brute and Sangheili fleets are in a immense battle with each other. Apparently the remaining San’ Shyuun has elected a new leader and decided to rally and attempt to eradicate all who stood before them. They came to deal with us first, then to glass Earth and take their title as the last ones standing in this war.”

“If I get groundside, I will see to it that this will never happen, Shipmaster.” Niokiljolm said, his voice booming with bravado. He knew that this is what mattered most to his race. The eviction of the Covenant from their home, then the Universe.

“Let me show you what the brutes have brought with them.” The shipmaster activated the Holoterminal in the center of the bridge and an immense feed from the battle raging on ahead. Cruisers and assault carriers from whoever survived the Schism converged on Sangheilios for either defense or destruction. There had to be thousands on each side.

“By the rings…” Niokiljolm gasped “ How many survived the initial encounter with each other.”

“ The Prophets had deployed many large fleets to comb the outer colonies again for leftover humans.” The Shipmaster replied. “They got word and made haste to Sangheilios.”

“Sir, Two brute cruisers are breaking from the battle and heading for the Blade!” A crewman shouted.

“Show me.’” The Shipmaster steely ordered the optics officer.

The display screen showed two CCS class cruisers darting towards the fleet. A couple more began to break away and join with the other attackers. Plasma eruption flashed in the distance as projectile streaked across space like hellish fireworks. The ships began to enter attack range.

“I will assume you will show them we will not take kindly to this act of…ill-aimed aggression” The shipmaster hinted less than subtly. “Burn them.”

The Sangheili battle group fanned out in an aggressive cluster an their bows began to glow as the plasma cannons armed. The Shipmaster gave the command to fire at will. The ships launched blue and red contrails of plasma towards the Brute ships, as did they.

“Fan out and decrease velocity.” The shipmaster ordered. Sangheili were far superior ship handlers that brutes when they were unassisted by a prophet.

The ships broke away and dogged the brute plasma fire as their homing function felled right as the ships dipped below them and continued to open fire.

The first brute cruiser was struck by a volley of plasma and it’s hull boiled like water on a stovetop. Air vented out and the cruiser burst into flames as a plasma torpedo dissected to upper hull. The ship detonated and engulfed the craft trailing behind in flames, depleting it’s shield.

“Break off and attack the other two, I’ll deal with this one.” The shipmaster ordered the two CCS-Class cruisers in his fleet to engage the other two as the massive carrier sped towards the wounded cruiser. He ordered his crew to eliminate the ship. Plasma torpedoes jettisoned towards the craft and shredded many sections of the craft off in molten heaps of slag.

The cruiser tried to turn away and meet back with the massive Covenant fleet, but it was to late. Plasma conduits ruptured and burned intense red as the cruiser detonated, vaporizing most of the hull. Small meteorites launched forward as metal projectiles sped towards the planet.

“Twilight Compunction and Sanctous Light, report battle status!” Ordered the Shipmaster. A few seconds later a crackled response shrilled through the speakers.

“Both of us have eliminated the cruisers and awaiting orders” Replied the Shipmaster of Twilight Compunction

“Shipmaster.” Alerted the communications officer who turned in his grav chair “We are being hailed by the Elite fleet. The Shipmaster of the Fist of Sangheilios is leading the Elites”

“Fist of Sangheilios, this is Concealed Blade, call off offensive orders on the Sangheili fleet on the battle cluster near the moons!”

“Roger, Shipmaster, bring your fleet towards our fleet and integrate into us and send whatever forces you have groundside.”

“Aye, We will make haste to defend our planet to our dying breath!” The Shipmaster eagerly growled with the lust for blood. “He stood from his chair and ordered the bridge crew to regroup with the brute fleet. Niokiljolm saw the true size of the fleets as they lurched closer.

A Covenant Supercarrier sat nestled in the middle of both the brute and elite fleets. It was a 16 kilometer long craft that was bristling with the most advanced weaponry in the covenant fleets. It was majestic silver and was shaped like an arrowhead attached to a long oval body with a trio of thrusters on the back. The massive assault carriers looked pathetic next to the craft. Two Space Stations laid behind the fleets firing plasma beams through space.

The Brute fleet was similar in size, with a few hundred more ships at their disposal. They had one station behind the fleet, and the wreckage of another drifting in space. The Stations resembled two purple cones next to each other with tubing that extended downward. These were refueling and staging areas for fleets that provided a backbone for large assaults. The Unyielding Hierophant was a station that was destroyed and wiped out the surrounding fleet due to an unknown reason, but Niokiljolm could venture a guess.

“Niokiljolm, I want you to get to the hanger and get command of all the troops in the Launch bay. Load them into the craft and head planet side, I also need a Security detail if any honor guards are down there to hold off potential boarders”

Niokiljolm’ nodded to his Commander and friend as the battle cluster seamlessly slipped into the Elite fleet who were launching all they had at the brutes.

“I will make sure that these brutes’ taint is removed from out planet. This is all we have that symbolized our might in the Covenant. It will not falter to whatever lackey Truth had in mind to rise in the case that he was killed.”

“I have unyielding faith in you commander. I will await a report once you get groundside. I am now going to enter a tactical channel to communicate with the commander of The Fist of Sangheilios. I hope to see you after this small…scuffle with our hairy friends.” The shipmaster managed a sneer smile as the bridge doors sealed shut.

Niokiljolm’ proceeded through ornamental purple hallways until the vast open space of the Launch bay greeted him as white light flooded into the dimly lit purple corridors. All heads in the hangar turned as Niokiljolm’s commanding presence rallied all the disorganized grunts fiddling with machinery.

Niokiljolm’s onyx armor glinted in the light and the orange accents glowed a golden hue as he strode into the hangar.

“My fellow warriors, do you lust to retribute your fallen friends and family today!” Niokiljolm’s voiced boomed in the hangar.

A mass of cheers and growls shattered the nervous tension in the hangars as Niokiljolm’ hoisted himself onto a supply crate

“We will hunt down every brute on our planet and behead them! We will drive them off our land, and attack their planet, and spill their blood! We will burn their children, gut their brides, and glass their planet until the charred ashes of what they held dear float, forgotten, in space! We will seek an end to this war, breaking the mighty steel that was once our own Covenant and rid the galaxy of the menace we were duped into driving. Do it for the Sangheili, for humanity, for the fallen!” Niokiljolm hoisted his sword in the air, and ignited it.

A booming of a thousand cheers rang out as most of the Sangheili raised their swords in excitement and desire to end this right now. A soft blue glow lit the hangar as the lights dimmed for combat alert.

“Soldiers, load into the drop ships and ready for battle.’ Niokiljolm’ ordered.

The Majors took over, lining the grunts and Minor domos onto the Phantom dropships. Their gravity drives whined as the ship levitated upward. The Elite majors clad in crimson combat armor hoisted their long legs onto the graft and gestured the grunts to load on. They waddled over to the phantoms and climbed into the back hatch as the compliment of elite soldiers followed suit.

Niokiljolm’ walked towards the pod launch bay where a black-clad special forces team stood ready to drop, arms crossed. They toted energy swords and modified plasma rifles that were jet black with crimson accents, they had an energy sword on backup and highly upgraded stealth armor, with a far more angular and elaborate helmet that had extra plating over the face to give the wearer an eerie look. Their shoulder pads were bulkier and housed active camouflage generators.

“Commander, greetings,” Said the one leaning against a crate with his arms crossed “We are a Special Operations team assigned to this carrier. I believe we have not met. I am Yoro ‘Zarbanze, leader of the Shadow Stalkers, this collection of soldiers you see here. It is a pleasure being under your disposal, I have heard great stories of your conflict on earth.”

‘Thank you, Yoro, It is my pleasure to have such fine warriors under my command. I will not let you down. But know is not the time for compliments, let us enter the drop pods.

“Very well, Commander. Arm up and proceed when you are satisfied with your armaments.” Said Yoro who motioned his troops to arm up.

Niokiljolm’ latched open a bulbous purple supply crate and relieved it of a Special Operations plasma rifle. It hummed to life as Niokiljolm’ activated it. A this energy column zapped between the two sections of the rifle. Niokiljolm, holstered it and pulled a covenant carbine from the side of the compartment. He put the long purple rifle on his magnetic back plate and took five cartridges of radioactive metal projectiles that he clipped onto his utility belt. “I am equipped for the task at hand, let us drop into the atmosphere and cleanse our planet.” Niokiljolm’ informed the group of twenty soldiers, who were finished loading up on their gear.

‘Let us reclaim our planet, Commander.” Yoro said as his slender fingers tapped a code into the pod launch terminal.

Purple coffin-like pods ascended from the ground as the last phantom departed towards the planet. A few Sangheili remained in the hanger to repel boarders. The crammed pods hissed open and a holographic terminal rose in front of the seat.

“Warriors, assemble for drop!” Shouted Niokiljolm’. He climbed into the pod and crossed his arms. The terminal flashed red and the air-tight seal closed, entombing him in blackness.

“Prepare for hot entry!” shouted Yoro as the sound of latches disengaging clicked outside the pods.

“I’ve punched the coordinates for Zantalia, the capitol, good luck warriors. Carry the weight of blood spilled throughout this war as an instrument to further our cause, Shipmaster S’toream out.” The shipmaster gave the green light to go, and the terminals displaying the perimeter of the pod flashed to life. It was almost like not even being in the pod.

With that, a harsh clacking rang out as thirty pods descended towards the planet. Scattered radio chatter of the fleet was licking over the comm. The display showed the battle becoming a tangled mess as brute cruisers broke the Sangheili lines. Ships weaved overtop one another as they fired plasma cannons at each other in a deadly close encounter.

A wing of teardrop-shaped seraph fighters darting towards a frigate and sprayed plasma repeaters at the damaged craft. The fighters launched a salvo of plasma torpedoes at the front of the craft, which contorted and boiled at it lost control and was sucked in to Sangheilios’s atmosphere, trailing blue flames and thick black smoke.

The terminals faded to red swirling clouds as they entered Sangheilios’s atmosphere. The entry pod’s heat meter beeped as it climbed upwards. The pods pierced the cloud cover as the pods rained down like falling stars.

“Prepare for landing, the city is in sight!” Niokiljolm’ shouted as the purple gem of Zantalia sparkled next to the light blue sea it was nestled by. Plasma mortars detonated over the city’s airspace as they neared it. It was a truly massive city, sprawling across the entire state. It was surrounded by snow-capped mountains protected from sieges by most ground forces. The brute fleet managed to slip an assault carrier and a few cruisers over the city to deploy ground troops.

“Watch those cruisers!” screamed Yoro as they formed a blockade to halt the onslaught of Elite Warriors falling from the heavens. A handful of the pods slammed into the cruisers, puncturing them and not re-exiting.

“Divert designated courses, this blockade will get us killed!” Shouted Niokiljolm’ who raised his arm and erased the set course. The pod’s interior flashed red as it blew the thrusters. The pod rumbled as it slowed, swerving into the city’s south district, away from the center. A subsonic screech shattered the air as the pod left mach three and smashed into an Autonomous Storage warehouse.

Niokiljolm’ spat out purple blood that webbed across his four mandibles and he felt the thumping of a dozen other pods crash near his position. The rest must have broken off elsewhere or were destroyed by the blockade.

Niokiljolm’ swiped his finger across the terminal and disengaged the airlock. Light flooded into the cramped pod as the door launched upward and fell about five feet from the pod. Niokiljolm’s ears rang as the sudden change in pressure popped them.

He unfolded his arms and stepped gingerly from the pod and observed his surroundings as he kept his weapons unsheathed. The harsh sunset burned the darkness away as Niokiljolm’ entered the warehouse. It was bristling with decommissioned vehicles, military or otherwise. A spirit was stripped apart in the middle of the factory and civilian gravity cars lined shelves to the left.

Niokiljolm’ looked around for any signs of life. A pile of dead Unggoy were stacked haphazardly under a bulkhead that was leaning towards the ground. No pods have landed in here. Niokiljolm exited the large hole that his pod punched through the building and stepped into the industrial district. Plumes of grey smoke clawed for the sky as the hiss of plasma fire and the thudding of explosions drowned out the waves gently caressing the shore behind him.

Niokiljolm’ was lucky his pod landed where it did, or else it would have sunk into the ocean that was lit with an amber hue as the sun set behind it. Niokiljolm proceeded towards the street where a pod burst open, revealing a Spec-Ops Elite who stretched as he leapt from the pod. He unslung his plasma rifle and coughed as he looked at Niokiljolm’

“Commander! Good to see you are well. Can you attempt to establish a link with Captain Yoro?” He asked as he looked around the abandoned factory district. Dust clouds signaled where pods impaled the ground, both he and Niokiljolm’ figured.

“I will try to contact him. Hopefully he landed in this vicinity.” Niokiljolm pressed the communicator over his ear.

“Yoro, our pods have scattered about the industrial district. Can you respond?’ Niokiljolm broadcasted the signal in the are and got no response.”

“Yoro, please respond.” Niokiljolm asked futilely. There was no response, only static.

“Yoro, this is Niokiljolm’, please respond…”

A heavy crackle came over the speaker as Yoro’s deep voice rumbled over the COMM.

“We made it out of the pods, about fifteen of us have touched down about…a click from your position northeast. We are encountering hostiles by the highway, and could use your hand if you can make it from where you are.

“Acknowledged! Me and the other stragglers will regroup, Niokiljolm’ out” he assured Yoro as he readied his Plasma rifle and gestured his Sangheili comrade to follow him.

Their hoofed feet hit the ground with heavy clacks as the sprinted up the labyrinthine warehouse complex dotted with smooth purple buildings that hung low to the ground. The beacon in Niokiljolm’s ear began to beep at an increased ace as the sound of conflict broke out ahead. Blue plasma bolts painted the sky and spikes plummeted lifelessly to the ground like stell raindrops as they dropped and struck the street.

Niokiljolm’ peered through a large crack in the building to see a group of Sangheili hunkering behind an overturned specter sunk into the front of the building that has been torn open by some sort of detonation, presumably a wraith mortar.

Niokiljolm’ used his muscular arms the pry the two inch thick composite metal layers slowly apart as spiker rounds embedded themselves around him. He let out a roar as the two pieces of the wall budged, leaving an opening large enough for them to enter.

Niokiljolm’ rolled through as a green plasma bolt struck the elite behind him and dazed him. His shield lit up and deflected the energy bolt. He recovered, and slid through the hole as a beam few over his head.

“Hurry to our troops and assist them!’ Niokiljolm’ pressed the soldier as he ducked behind the specter and the pile of debris crowding the entire floor of the storehouse. Niokiljolm noticed that the roof was beginning to lean in due to the lack of support with the removal of most of the wall facing the plains where a handful of brutes fired spikers at the Spec-ops team residing in the building.

“Good to have you at my side, Commander! Now let’s see how experienced in combat you are…” teased Yoro as he blind fired his Plasma rifle over the jump seat of the overturned specter. The searing hot bolts struck near a jackal firing from behind his glowing blue energy shield, exposing him. Niokiljolm’ popped from cover and fired a burst at the fragile creature. A pair of plasma bolt’s struck the creature’s head, destroying it and splattering blood and a beady red eye still attached to it’s optic nerve all over the inside of the shield. The jackal slumped over and writhed around on the ground.

“Beautifully executed!” Laughed Yoro, emphasizing ‘executed.’

The remaining Covenant forces pushed back as they were overwhelmed by plasma bolts and carbine rounds. A phantom towing a massive Wraith tank drifted ahead, lowering altitude as it dropped the sleek blue tank in the grassy field. It began to slide towards them as it’s gunner rallied the retreating Covenant soldiers.

“Commander, we need to exit, the Wraith will surely destroy this building in one mortar blast!” warned Yoro. He was getting nervous at the sight of the vehicle. It’s gunner wildly fired the plasma cannon at the Elites who hastily exited out of the back hole of the warehoused pried open by Niokiljolm’.

As the Elites ran from the warehouse, a mortar screeched overhead and slammed onto the roof, melting metal and caving the building in. The elites did not look back as they followed the highway into the urban residences. Long purple spires spanned across the cityscape and clawed the blood-red sky ahead as a spider webbing of highways stretched in between them, the route Grav-cars took. The small pods laid abandoned in the streets as the Elites made their way down a lower highway, and paused when they saw a pack of brutes and a prowler crawling slowly across the bridge. A compliment of grunts waddled across the debris-spewn street.

“What do they think they are doing, violating our traffic regulations. Sangheili, show them some harsh justice!” Ordered Niokiljolm’ as he went prone.

The brutes stopped moving and began unloading a crate drug in by Unggoy slaves. They removed a large mount and placed an anti-gravity generator on top. He put a metal undercarriage on to and proceeded to lift a plasma battery from the crate and begin to wire it to plasma conduits. Niokiljolm’ saw this hazardous explosive as an ambush opportunity.

“Sangheili, remain quiet and deploy your carbines if you have one, everybody else await my command. Niokiljolm’ sighted his carbine and a reticule sprung open to a precision X sight. Niokiljolm waited for the captain to expose the Plasma battery he was about to install on the mortar they were construction. Niokiljolm’ fired a shot that hit home. The cell detonated and split the bridge in a blinding flash of plasma that was unleashed from the battery.

The unfortunate soul holding the canister was nowhere to be found and everyone else was flung over the bridge in flames and landed in gnarled heaps of charred flesh. A single jackal furiously jumped around and attempted to pat out the flames that encased it. Niokiljolm put a shot in it’s trachea that eased it’s suffering. It gurgled and flee over, sliding down the bending bridge into the gory pile of his comrades.

“Ahaha! Good work Commander!” Complimented Yoro, who led his men in a rush down the street. They vaulted over the debris pile of bodies and ruble and turned right to connect with the main highway to the capitol to reclaim it for the Sangheili troops fighting there. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________