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Halo: B.O
Posted By: Felix Kemp<e7_prodigy@hotmail.co.uk>
Date: 9 August 2007, 6:50 pm
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Halo: Brutal Origins
Chapter One: The Barge
Stars glittered amongst the infinite expanse of space, accompanied by a myriad of colourful planets and swirling unknowns. Aboard his wandering vessel, Erebus considered that space seemed equally spacious and confining. Sitting comfortably upon an importantly positioned chair, he gazed thoughtfully at a wide screen displaying the vessel's surroundings. Valued comrades sat nearby, refitting and reloading weaponry, or monitoring space itself. Vessels of business or transport often travelled through this region of space, unaware of lurking dangers, such as Erebus' vessel, the Gladius.
Streaking meteorites appeared upon the screen, scarring space beautifully. Erebus smiled, admiring their golden remains, and wondering whether they were salvageable and worthwhile. Sadly, these remains faded, their existence disappearing. He resumed staring at the screen, possessing absolute patience.
'Captain?' inquired Olef, stationed amongst those monitoring space.
'What?' Erebus replied, slowly swivelling to stare at Olef.
'Three ships are inbound, a barge with two escorts,' informed Olef, silence greeting his statement.
Erebus nodded, thought briefly, and then rose. He continued staring at the screen, at space, which encompassed existence itself. Olef spoke.
'Captain?'
'Position ourselves behind their expected point of arrival. Fire upon both escorts immediately, I don't want any resistance. Have our Prowlers ready for dispersal, including mine. Understood?'
'Yes Captain,' returned Olef, followed by general murmurings of confirmation.
Olef tapped commands into an ancient pedestal at the room's centre, and the Gladius lethargically shifted itself behind where their quarry would arrive. The vessel shuddered somewhat, as Prowlers began dislodging themselves eagerly. Erebus remained, as space flickered and distorted, heralding his quarry's arrival.
Space flashed and shattered, causing a wound which haemorrhaged wispy tendrils of matter. Emerging slowly, the enormous barge and its escorts appeared, shimmering within the beauty of their arrival. Erebus felt the Gladius shiver, as the Prowlers were released. Suddenly, the craft escorting the barge exploded, as the Gladius silently unleashed its weaponry. Their explosions coalesced momentarily with the wisps of matter, until the gash sealed itself. Scattered debris lingered, as the Prowlers approached.
Erebus strode toward his personal Prowler, navigating the winding passageways, as he began relishing opportunities of destruction and desecration. He entered his Prowler, which automatically began dislodging, as he withdrew appropriate clothing and weaponry from the craft's luggage. Fully prepared, he paced the cubic confines of the Prowler, as it drifted toward the already besieged barge.
Prowlers had attached themselves to the barge; an unwanted infestation. The Prowler that Erebus steered extended its magnetised tentacles, joining several others. Hoisting itself upward toward an entrance, the craft settled before Erebus departed.
He emerged within the barge's cavernous interior, illuminated by countless lights overhead, and harbouring endless amounts of produce and vehicles. Following their incursion, the barge's interior had endured the careless devastation caused by Erebus' comrades. Fires expanded irrepressibly, and bodies littered the singed floors. Smiling, Erebus nodded appreciatively, as his comrades disassembled vehicles for their innards, and removed produce, although they could not resist gorging themselves.
Ahead, upon elevated parapets that girdled the barge's interior, stood several of his comrades, including Olef, who seemed frustrated, gesturing somewhere with his rifle erratically. Surmising that his presence was required, Erebus walked toward the stairway, ignoring screams of anguish and animosity. Ascending the stairway, he approached Olef, who roared wildly.
'The humans have locked themselves inside!' hissed Olef, as he noticed Erebus while gesturing toward damaged doors. 'We believe there may be further lucrative cargo with them!'
'Step aside,' ordered Erebus, as Olef and comrades separated, their anger abating.
He listened, and heard muffled voices, of those sheltered behind these sturdy yet pregnable doors. Their voices were mingled with anxiety, defiance and unnecessary disputes. Amused, Erebus pondered possibilities until deciding.
'Fetch explosives,' he said.
'Yes Captain,' replied Olef
Olef disappeared shortly, fuelled by anticipation, before returning. He cradled an explosive, almost lovingly. Erebus retrieved the explosive, packaged within an assortment of materials which prevented the leakage of dangerous substances. Removing its packaging, he primed the explosive, placing it ahead of the door. He and his comrades distanced themselves, as Erebus roared.
'Knock, knock!'
The explosive erupted, spewing and blossoming fire that shook the barge's interior. Erebus' comrades yelled, surprised despite their understanding, as flames consumed several, sparing Erebus. Smoke lingered, enveloping yet harmless. Squinting, he sighted the ruptured doorway, and smiled.
He produced a rifle, as his comrades withdrew weaponry. The lessening smoke dwelled beyond the doorway, although stirring figures became visible. Erebus' rifle flared, as he and his comrades culled the rousing figures beneath the smoke, which emptied, revealing a wrecked cabin housing slaughtered victims. However, excluding the elaborate décor, the strewn possessions - books, photographs, stationery - were worthless. Erebus felt anger bubbling, as he glared at Olef.
'Lucrative cargo?' whispered Erebus, repeating Olef's prior remark, 'where is this lucrative cargo?'
'Captain,' Olef stammered, seemingly confused, 'I thought… that is I believed they were hiding because they wished to protect something!'
'They wished to protect themselves!' Erebus roared, 'have you learnt nothing about these cowardly creatures?'
Olef attempted to reply, decided otherwise, and remained silent. Erebus muttered angrily, glaring at Olef, his comrades and the cabin. Finally, he left and descended the stairway, striding through the barge's emptied
interior, the produce gone, and the vehicles mere skeletal remains.
'We are finished,' yelled Erebus, 'return to the ship, we're heading home.'
The effusive roars that followed were silenced, as Erebus entered his Prowler. He disposed of his weaponry, and ordered the Prowler to separate and return to the safety of the Gladius. As the craft settled itself into the Gladius' embrace, Erebus trudged through the vessel's passageways, before retreating to his importantly positioned chair. Sighing, he gazed at the wide screen, which overlooked space, and noticed the Prowlers fleeing the battered barge.
His comrades spilled into the room, speaking loudly of their exploits, as they jostled for attention, revealing injuries and brandishing treasures. Anger began resurfacing, yet it subsided as he established composure.
'Quiet!' bellowed Erebus, restoring order immediately. 'Return to your stations! Destroy that ship and lets leave!'
The Jiralhanae obeyed, as the Gladius reawakened, dispersing explosives toward the barge, which floated almost lifelessly, bulbous and beaten. The explosives collided, exploding violently, disturbing the tranquillity of space, as relentless flames engulfed the barge, until it compressed and disappeared. The Gladius rotated, satisfaction consuming its remorseless inhabitants, except Erebus, who felt oddly conflicted, as the vessel departed.
Chapter 2: Salus
The Jiralhanae were nomadic; aimless wanderers and pillagers of space, possessing neither the intellect nor the ambition to forcefully acquire planetary safety. However, the discovery of the miniscule planet, Salus, offered these plunderers abode. A foreboding blemish amongst emptiness, Salus' secrecy benefited the Jiralhanae greatly.
The Gladius settled surprisingly softly upon a weathered and flattened meadow of Salus, as fleeing particles were illuminated by the sunlight cast from above, which gilded the bordering woodlands. Erebus slowly departed the simmering vessel, unlike his jubilant comrades who exited eagerly, despite the plunder they lumbered. All inhaled thankfully, finally content.
'At last,' sighed Skor, a scarred and muscular Jiralhanae, 'fresh air, its better than that recycled crap the ship produces!'
'Agreed!' replied Jak, a softly spoken yet formidable Jiralhanae.
'Meat, crispy and burnt, that's what I want!' exclaimed Olef, patting his stomach.
'Enough talk!' yelled Erebus, 'lets get off to the Den, aye, rather than yammering like a bunch of Pups!'
Muttering, the Jiralhanae stowed their enthusiasm, as they hefted discarded plunder and followed Erebus, who walked briskly toward adjacent woodlands.
He adored Salus' woodlands; striding through encompassing undergrowth, beneath towering trees, amongst slants of crisscrossing sunlight, traversing gurgling streams and unpredictable inclines. Beyond, the Den appeared, obscured yet suggesting a primitive and metropolitan beauty.
Erebus halted, ahead of the Den. The Den resided behind colossal fortifications, which were decrepit and devastated. The Jiralhanae roared happily, as they strolled toward an improvised entrance, avoiding shattered masonry and scattered garbage.
'Captain?' said Olef, staring quizzically at Erebus, who had remained, looking at an elderly Jiralhanae, sitting amongst strewn litter and rubbish, mumbling softly.
'Go, I will join you shortly,' replied Erebus, approaching the elderly Jiralhanae, as Olef nodded, somewhat bemused.
He knelt beside the elderly Jiralhanae, whose sightless gaze sought Erebus. Wizened and emaciated, the elderly Jiralhanae wore tattered clothing and shakily held a gnarled stick. He bobbed slightly, mumbling and muttering, often gazing upward.
'Soon…' whispered the elderly Jiralhanae.
'What?' asked Erebus softly.
'Yes, very soon…'
Sighing, Erebus pitied the apparent insanity, placing a plump and delicious fruit alongside the elderly Jiralhanae, whose mumblings faded between bites. He left, joining his conversing comrades at the improvised entrance, as the elderly Jiralhanae rambled further, unaware of Erebus' departure.
'Soon… soon they will come…'
Chapter 3:
Space silently devours everything, greedily consuming anything edible to satisfy its insatiable appetite. The Prophet of Truth thought that the Covenant seemed equally voracious and inexorable, assimilating and accumulating, striding unopposed toward the Great Journey. Truth sat within the Council Chambers, alongside the Prophets of Mercy and Regret, as ahead, a Sangheili spoke loudly.
'… our probes successfully followed them to their home-world undetected, and have verified that the artefact does exist; the Jiralhanae seem unaware of its origins, and most ignore it.'
Truth considered this Sangheili, Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice, who stood proudly, wearing Zealot attire. Councillors, both Sangheili and Prophet, watched and listened to him attentively.
Mercy, wizened yet venerable, leaned toward and addressed the Supreme Commander.
'What course of action do you suggest?'
The Sangheili paused, clearly thinking, before straightening and replying.
'I believe a full-scale invasion is necessary; wipe the Jiralhanae out before they can react, acquire the artefact, and glass the planet.'
The statement caused ripples of reaction amongst the seated Councillors, until Truth silenced their murmuring, hovering forward slightly.
'That seems rather…impulsive, crude even. Why such rashness?'
The Supreme Commander frowned, and Truth sensed the uncertainty that the Sangheili exuded, however briefly.
'The Jiralhanae are primitive, Holy One, they themselves are the impulsive and crude ones, not I. They know nothing of the Great Journey!'
'Should we pity the ignorant, or destroy them?' Truth asked, intrigued.
___________________________________________________________
Third Chapter Not Finished
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