User:Ahalosniper/Sandbox

May as well be the contents of the Chancer V's cargo hold. Your thoughts on anything and everything seen here are welcome on the talk page.

Articles To Consider for Nomination at the Awards Next Year

 * Halo: RED FLAG - Best Collab
 * Halo: Pursuit - Best Short Story
 * Melissa McKay - Best UNSC Personnel

Thoughts to Pursue

 * Expand Onyx for the purpose of making it a setting, like Ajax's Tyraxus Pack. Camp Currahee was on a peninsula, El Morro Point was likely a cliff at the end of that peninsula. Gregor Canyon was an onyx quarry that was likely depicted in the Birth of a Spartan trailer. Two Forks River was also a mentioned point of interest, and of course Zone 67 lay to the north.
 * Some sort of vehicle which was precursor to the Warthog, now used in limited backup roles by the UNSC and often sold as military surplus to civilian colonists for offroad vehicles. Perhaps "M10 Something LRV."
 * Human population and dispersal. At the start of the war, the total was around 40 billion human beings, and 800 or so colonies. Take away several billion clustered on Earth (7 today, but estimates of maximum capacity are around 8-10, we'll say 9) and .7 billion on Reach, and your average for the rest is just under 40 million per colony in 2511. Harvest, on the low end, had about 300,000. Inner Colonies like Skopje could be in the ballpark of 75 million.
 * Songs that need to exist, either find suitable ones or write myself:
 * A lullaby for Sepia's early life, among the stars.
 * A ballad for the Chancer V, something simple with one man and one guitar, something Gavin might play during a journey.
 * Potential lyrics: Faster than light; Take a chance;
 *  - The Covenant's device for finding Forerunner technology. From highest to lowest.
 * Reclamation-class: Best replication of the original on the Forerunner Dreadnought. Used only on fleet flagships and important scout vessels, and operated by Prophets skilled in their use.
 * Questor-class: Mid-level tool, standard for most ships in the Covenant navy and upper echelon ground forces.
 * Seeker-class: The basic required Luminary. Some ground unit commanders have an assistant carry these. The carried a Seeker-class.
 * RP: Operation: JAILBREAK - A roleplay about Gamma Company's training days on Onyx. The majority of Gammas escape Camp Currahee into the wilderness of Onyx in a mass breakout, probably a reaction sparked by a period of particularly harsh training, but some recruits may genuinely want to desert. Currahee's staff of Drill Instructors organize a search to capture and bring the escapees back, making for conflict that can either be the intense result of deep-seated grudges, or simply a way for the over-pressured recruits to blow off steam by shooting TTR rounds at their instructors. Either way, the story serves to establish who the characters, particularly the Gamma children, were at this time, and set up plot lines and changes that we'll see in them again later on.
 * Two factions pitted against one another: the renegade members of Gamma Company, and the Drill Instructors and loyal/already captured recruits chasing after them. Both are equipped with TTR equipment. The renegade recruits may ditch their armor so the DIs can't paralyze them, but the decision is weighed against the suits' protection from the elements.
 * Even those without Gamma teams may participate by bringing in characters who could reasonably be there as temporary/visiting instructors. They'd have the opportunity to interact with the canon characters hidden in that little ONI covered-up corner of the universe, such as Kurt Ambrose, Franklin Mendez, Deep Winter, and Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091.
 * 330 candidates / 5 = 66 teams, and a Freelancer-esque leaderboard could be worked out. Saber, Gladius, and Katana should be near or on top, and Machete for one would go pretty near the bottom. Also may create a cohesive roster for Gamma Company site-wide, but that thought's more like wishful thinking.
 * If a user is inactive for a while (say 1-2 weeks), their rebelling characters are declared captured. If they wish to rejoin, they may do so by having their team reappear on the Drill Instructors' side.
 * While most of the Gammas may see it as fun, real danger is present and driving the DIs to make haste. The candidates may be straying dangerously close to Zone 67, and the rumors of the "" are truer than most believe.
 * Team X-ray, whom some believed were killed by vengeful DIs, were actually killed by the "Ghost", which Ambrose would know. He hasn't figured out the planet's Forerunner (presence, origins? What's the right word?), but he is aware of the danger. Of course, no Gamma will learn the truth behind the planet, but it might not stop Onyx itself from effecting them.
 * Recruitment Part III - SPARTAN-III candidates have to be taken back to Onyx. How? By ship, obviously, but chartering a vessel to go all over the Inner and Outer Colonies would be expensive. What if the abducting ONI agents used civilian transport to Reach to gather? Keep the candidate frozen in cryo, perhaps? What if the crew finds out? That'd actually be a little like the first episode of Firefly.
 * Potential SPARTAN-IVs
 * - The way I see it, the Chief has three potential love interests. Cortana, for their complex and intimate relationship, although she'll never be a real girl, and some have brought up Kelly, though I don't really see it. And then there's Parisa. The child that John made a promise to, so long ago, and we all know how he handles promises. The obstacle is that she comes from a short story obscure to most Halo fans, but given that we're seeing a that some speculate comes from that story, I wouldn't put it beyond 343i for them to bring her in.

Language

 * "Stay sharp, (Saber, Machete, Xiphos, etc.)." - Gamma Company greeting/farewell.
 * "Bleep" - Reference to Piers Anthony's Xanth novels. Used by DIs and passed on to recruits to keep them from learning real bad language.
 * "Beep" - Less harsh version.
 * "Plebes" - Ghosts of Onyx, page 115. "They just made up that stuff [about the Ghost of Onyx] to scare plebes."
 * "Twitchy" - Kelly referred to Team Saber as such. Use as insult/compliment from a II to a III.
 * "Nicked" - Ghosts of Onyx, page 309. "Sir, I think I got nicked."; "You better not nick my armor!"
 * "Oh, for Stacker's sake." — Switching out for Pete.
 * "Snag" - Used by S-IIs to refer to an unexpected problem, Mendez/Kurt would probably pass it on.
 * "Pulling a Machete" - Doing something downright unexpected and likely foolish, as per the screw-ups of Machete Team.

Boxes
Which style of Jiralhanae do you prefer? The Halo 3-era wolf-like Brutes or the Reach version with thick hide? Halo 3; Wolfish, canine jaw. Reach; Rhino-like hide.

Demons of Hope Timeline

 * February 28th, 2557: UNSC Infinity is officially commissioned, and begins its voyage towards Requiem.
 * July 20th, 2557: Infinity arrives on Requiem. Halo 4 takes place.
 * February 3rd, 2558: Infinity returns to Requiem.

Unexpected Visitor
Dyne got up and stretched after having spent upwards of an hour on his hands and knees. With a sigh, he pressed the button on his earpiece to transmit and spoke into it. "It's alright, red alert can stand down, it's not a saboteur."

"Then what is it, Specialist?" Palmer answered in her usual impatient tone.

He couldn't help a private smile as he replied. "An animal."

"What?"

"Yeah, kind of a big lizard, with fur. Like a little dinosaur. Bugger must've slipped onboard when all those Prometheans were showing up everwhere."

On the bridge, Palmer was actually speechless for a moment before answering. "So what do you suggest we do about it, Spartan?"

"Catch it, eventually. Which is going to be a bit tricky." Dyne answered over the com.

"What's the problem?"

"Not really so much of a problem, but it's gotten into the air and electrical ducts, and those run the length of the ship. So it'll just take a while to track down."

"And what will it be doing in the meantime?"

"Oh, probably animal stuff. Stinking up the place, nesting somewhere, chewing through the wiring."

"Oh god." Roland interjected, and when Palmer turned to look at him, she could have sworn his yellow avatar had paled. "Please, get it out of there now!"

Harvest Campaign Red Team
Almost every Spartan's cycled through at one time or another, but the usual nine.
 * Vinh-030
 * Isaac-039
 * Douglas-042
 * Jerome-092
 * Alice-130

Crew of the Chancer V
In order of setting foot on my boat. Sort of an honorary thing. If it means something to you.
 * Gavin Dunn
 * Colin Davis
 * Rebeka Juhasz
 * Simon-G294
 * Zoey Hunsinger
 * Wings-D339

The Assembly
A collective of AI characters that've shown up on the Irk, perhaps usable in any future stories about the Assembly. Also a storage for AI ideas.

ZOD
Characters that play a significant part in the post-war side of things. {| border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4"
 * - valign="top"
 * width="50%"|

Themistocles Crew

 * UNSC Themistocles The ship itself. Named for the Ancient Greek general; Odyssey-class Light Carrier; other ships of the line include UNSC Odyssey and UNSC Iliad.
 * Daiichi Kimura Ship's captain, trying to rally the bunch.
 * Vinh-030 Trying to establish a relationship with her son, is distraught to find Erin has become Ion Team's surrogate mother.
 * Erin Coney Trying to keep ONI from pulling her back in or acquiring Ion Team.
 * Kodiak-G114 Trying to prove to himself that Stacker didn't make a rash, wrong decision recruiting him.
 * Dyne-G217 A lot going on around him, but not much himself apart from a relationship with Morgan.
 * Sepia-G330 Hurt over Sam's death/lied about death. Eventually goes rogue and is presumed dead.
 * Deep Winter At first struggling with the damage of rampancy and being left inactive for long periods. Departs to join the Assembly after finding a large network to spread himself thin and rejuvenate, a la Mack/Loki.
 * Themistocles Crew
 * Bridge officers
 * Bravo 029 (minor appearances if anything, no planned development)
 * Potentially old ODST characters. Reincorporate them into the 7th Battalion.

Other UNSC

 * Lord Hood Swept aside by ONI machinations, overseeing rebuilding of colonies and heads diplomatic efforts with Thel 'Vadam (who ONI doesn't believe in much). This would naturally put the Themistocles under his jurisdiction, and bring him into contact with Ion Team. Probably one of few officers Ion actually takes a liking to.
 * Pete Stacker He wouldn't be on the Themistocles, but there may be an opportunity for him to show up somewhere.


 * width="50%"|

Covenant Races

 * Prophet of ? Former, director of Covenant special forces. Makes some sort of bid to rebuild his race, but in practice is only a tyrant.
 * Seeks asylum from the UNSC. Command is suspicious, and sends Themistocles. They find the Prophetess' ship under attack by Kig-Yar pirates influenced by above Prophet. About 100 (10% of remaining San'Shyuum) are aboard, and the Prophet won't let them go. While Ion intervenes, the Prophetess is killed, and one of her attendants that Ion Team befriended becomes the refugees' leader.
 * Chur'R-Ren Jackal pirate shipmistress. May be the one hired to attack Prophetess, but later seeks to join with the UNSC's coalition because she recognizes they're stronger. Her kind's nature, however, will breed suspicion.
 * Attilus Brute chieftain, commands a few small ships separate from the Covenant Remnant and has devolved to brutal piracy. Attacks Sangheili and Human merchant and supply vessels, and occasionally a small colony. Though savage, he lacks the cunning or ambition to be a major threat to the galaxy.
 * Sidonus Brute Stalker. A Jiralhanae Agent, though not necessarily Attilus'. For a Brute, he's uncannily in control of himself, precise and smart. Doesn't seem to desire power or bloodshed excessively. Likely working for a yet unrevealed power. Eventually ordered to kill Attilus.
 * Minor Attilus-loyal
 * Tarbus - Foremost Brute Captain
 * Tor 'Lukom Elite Ultra during Human-Covenant War, captured Ion Team only to offer a truce at the outbreak of the Great Schism. Loyalty lies with Thel 'Vadam's allies, and might act as some sort of representative in addition to being a Shipmaster or other officer on the frontier.
 * Osmin 'Neret Part of the Light of Sanghelios, the finest of the Honor Guards, Osmin was opposed to a treaty with the humans, but outwitted by Tor during its review. Dislikes humans, but isn't a traitor. Probably a character to be killed off in the future.
 * Roran 'Konar Former Ossoona, Lance of Unseen Influence member, and Inquisitor. Holds the rank of Field Master not long after the end of the war, and leads his legion against the Covenant Remnant. Often finds himself opposite Parthius, but is frustrated by the Jiralhanae's success against him. Is humiliated when he dishonorably sends assassins to kill Parthius, which fails anyway.


 * Parthius An temporary friend and ally of Vinh, his attitude is different from the rest of his species, more tempered, but still dangerous. General in the Covenant remnant, but fights with a code of honor and respect for non-combatants that impresses even Sangheili.
 * }

Quotes and Such I'll Probably Never Use
"It seems everybody today's trying to run the galaxy, thinking they know the way it ought to be run. Me . . . I'm just trying to run from it."

- Gavin Dunn

""Irk Pub." What's an Irk?"

- Gavin Dunn, irony impaired.

"Aside from your intrusion breaking a dozen top-tier restriction levels,, forcibly bypassing me was rather rude. All you had to do was ask."

- Deep Winter

"The problem I have with Fours? Let me ask you this, Palmer, where were you when Earth was attacked, and the Covenant ready to activate the Halo Array? You were here, sitting on the hulk of a uselessly oversized and overfunded ship that didn't even work at the time. That's my problem, Palmer. You weren't there before."

- Kodiak-G114, synthesizing a character and a player's point of view rather nicely.

"Active camouflage can't hide them from me. See there, how the dew in the grass has been disturbed? We'll catch them before the day's out."

- Anton-044, the SPARTAN-IIs' best tracker, pursuing the Lance of Unseen Influence.

"Hey, that's great! I always wanted to be a Spartan. Um, one question, what's a Spartan?"

- Kasumi-G181 upon recruitment

"I loved playing hide-and-seek. Now we just call it search-and-destroy!"

- Kasumi-G181

"Am I the only one here who hasn't grown up yet?"

- Dyne, on Onyx. This one I probably will use.

"Thing about Leonid is, he wouldn't make threats to leave you in excruciating pain. They'd be death threats. But he doesn't make threats. He just kills you."

- Probably Dyne, about the dangerous one.


 * "Comin' atcha, Danica Pat . . . tricka . . . dammit."
 * Suzaku Kururugi, Code MENT


 * Kodiak - (male Noble 6)
 * Dyne - Raphael Sbarge (Scorch)
 * Sepia -
 * Erin Coney - Shelley Reynolds (Major Natalia)
 * Vinh - Grace Park (Sharon/Athena Agathon)
 * Attilus - Colin Murdock (Captain Kalus)
 * Jim Harris - Bill Pullman (Joseph Korso)
 * Ark Monitor - Michael O'Reilly (Jens)

RvB Shenanigans Stuff
 Ready?  Ready.  Let's do it.  Freelancer Power, Activate! * Aeolus is now known as Agent_Texas * Ladylaconia is now known as Agent_Carolina * Stel is now known as Agent_ York * Brodie-001 is now known as Agent_ North * ASniper is now known as Agent_Wyoming * Echowaffle8 is now known as Agent_ Michigan * Anon_ONI_Agent is now known as Agent_ Minnesota * Colin-142 is now known as Agent<font color=#00960F>_ Virginia * Auguststorm1945 is now known as <font color=#FFD800>Agent<font color=#4055CE>_ Missouri * APS is now known as <font color=#FFD800>Agent<font color=#A30000>_ Alaska * Nanosoldier is now known as <font color=#FFFFFF>Agent<font color=#BC4B00>_ Maine * Actene is now known as <font color=#A56542>Agent<font color=#727272>_ Georgia <ChanServ> Pointless, redundant background explosion for no reason.

* <font color=#FFFFFF>Agent_Wyoming scoffs a croissant. <font color=#FFFFFF>< <font color=#D6B883>Agent_York <font color=#FFFFFF>> No Reggie, that's French. <font color=#FFFFFF><Agent_Wyoming> You mean I can't eat anything but English food? I'm going to die!

Laying Her Keel
"Get a job. Get paid. Rinse and repeat."

- Mantra of the Chancer V's crew.

History

 * This could be fun. Have it start out in the hands of someone honest for a change.