Halo: Lost Brothers

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Prologue
Roy Koel surveyed the multitude of information surrounding him, the table in front of him covered in datapads, notepads, maps and all kinds of other ways he could learn about the situation at hand. His contact both within and without ONI had done well and provided him with more information that he could have imagined, more than he knew what to do with.

The situation was dire. Dragon Squadron was on the move, preparing for their push into action, just as Jim had told him they would. The questions were numerous, but more important than any were two: where would they target, and how would they do so? The former worried Roy the most, as for all his information, and all the understanding he had of Dragon Squadron and their allies, he had no idea where the hammer would fall.

Brandon had left earlier, after coming by to check on Roy’s progress and health. It had been two days now, so their wounds were healing, but that didn’t mean Roy was fully operational just yet. Even now, his ribs throbbed and the fingers on his left hand felt slightly numb. Brandon had clutched his shoulder once, but he was young and capable of ignoring the pain better than Roy who, despite his discipline and training, was unquestionably getting old.

Roy cursed under his breath, slamming his fist into the table as he did. A dozen reports blew off, and a pencil snapped, a third falling into a nearby cup of lukewarm coffee. “Blast it Jim, where are you?”

I will enact the REDIGER Contingency within seventy-two hours, he had said. And you know what will happen then. Think about it, Roy: would it really be so bad to be rid of these back-stabbing liars and their murdering allies? To help bring about a new era? Come on, Roy; you can’t tell me you’ve never dreamed about it. I –

Roy forcibly blocked out Jim’s last words. He couldn’t bear to remember them and the haughty irony they held in them. He didn’t have the luxury of recalling the past: it would only weigh him down.

His intercom toned. Roy pressed the button, and the small holographic screen sprang to life. It was Justin. “Sir, Delta Team has arrived per the transfer orders. They’ll be going with us as soon as we deploy.”

“Understood,” Roy replied, “Thank you.” With that, he ended the link. As nice as it was to know there would be more back-up this time, Roy had bigger things to worry about. Within approximately twenty-four hours, REDIGER would begin unless they could stop it.

Roy said a silent prayer to God, hoping He would hear him. As he prayed, his mind drifted back to Albert and Arnold, and he smiled. Maybe if God wouldn’t help him, they would.

Roy opened his eyes and looked over his notes again, but paused as he noticed several of the notes shift of their own accord. Pretending to continue, he watched the papers from the corner of his eye, and noticed them move slightly, as if blown by the wind.

Spinning, Roy threw out his fist, and caught his would-be attacked full in the arm, knocking the M6C Magnum from his hands and sending it sliding across the floor. The attacker recovered quickly, blocking Roy’s next strike and then gut-punching him as he extricated himself and slipped towards the gun.

Roy leaped to his feet once more and tackled the assassin, but as he toppled to the ground, the man managed to turn, causing them to land off balance. In a brief span, the attacker spun around, breaking one of Roy’s arms as he planted himself on top of Roy. Pinning the older soldier down and keeping his good arm trapped, the attacker grabbed his pistol and aimed it at Roy’s head.

“Goodbye, Koel,” said the man, “Martin and Jacques would want you to know they’ll enjoy seeing you in Hell.”

Then he pulled the trigger.

Chapter One
Two months earlier...