117: part 1, Descent To Hell
Posted By: Andrew Russell<spartan_117@iprimus.com.au>
Date: 8 October 2005, 1:04 pm
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He was known only by his rank, the Master Chief, SPARTAN-117 of the Spartan II program. He sat in his quarters awaiting his briefing. Spartans were the pinnacle of modern military technology in the year 2552. They stood seven feet tall and wore armour that glistened with olive green colour in the light. They had flawless field records as well, never beaten in battle. The military stronghold, Reach, had been invaded by the Covenant, a gathering of alien races bent on humanity's destruction. The Chief and his squad of Spartans were on a mission; to infiltrate a Covenant camp, and capture an artefact that may lead to their home world.
All twenty-six Spartans were placed on a Pelican transport ship and set off for the landing zone. The Chief settled into a seat of the cargo hold and observed his fellow Spartans. They were scared and the Chief knew it. They sat in their seats twiddling their fingers and adjusting their helmets, their eyes overflowing with fear and uncertainty. But he knew these were only pre-operation jitters, and they would subside once they landed. The Chief opened a secure COM-channel so his team could talk without 'eavesdroppers'. The pilot of the ship warned of a rough ride ahead as the Pelican would start evasive manoeuvrers from incoming Covenant patrols. The Chief acknowledged immediately. It came just as he expected, a massive shudder ripped through their ship like an earthquake through a city. The Pelican must have impacted on something. For once the Chief was afraid, he blacked out.
The Chief awakened to find himself in the middle of a dense forest. He had been thrown roughly two hundred metres from the crash site. He checked his team's vital signs. Nothing, he was the only one alive, the sole survivor. He looked around gazing at the never ending darkness that lay before him. He concluded that he was just a bit shaken up from his hard landing. He gave his head a slight knock to clear his head. It worked. Ahead he could see the abstract architecture of the building in which the Covenant had been housing this sacred relic. He was surprised of how close he was to it considering that the prescribed landing zone was a lengthy distance away. He got up, raised his BR55 Battle Rifle and inserted a new clip that locked into position with a crisp snap. He crept forward carefully so he would not alert his presence to the Covenant camp that was sure to be nearby.
The Chief's motion detector flickered to life as he enabled it, and much to his surprise, it displayed two enemy signatures closing in on his location. Fast. He looked around and out of the corner of his eye saw the distinctive light-bending technology known as active-camouflage. Two Covenant Elites, the most fearsome and brutal species of the Covenant armada rushed towards him plasma rifles drawn, outnumbered two to one, the chief did what would he wouldn't normally do, run. Knowing that the Chief had learnt of their presence the Elites materialised out of the forest, their camouflage dissolving. They diverted the power to their personal energy shields. Now that the Chief could see these reckless beasts he turned left around a tree and ducked behind a large granite boulder. The Elites had lost track of him and came closer for an inspection. The Chief watched his motion tracker carefully as the dots moved around like little lost ants. They moved to the left, then to the right, left, and right then stopped. One of the Elites foolishly came closer. The Chief crept around the opposite side of his cover. He was now behind the Elite, he heard its accomplice scream and yell in its foul alien tongue, trying to warn it of the fatal danger that lie behind him. But it was too late; the Chief threw his arm around the Elite's neck and turned him to face the other just in time to shield the Chief from the incoming fire. The Master Chief pushed the Elite in front of him and brought his left knee up to his chest and unleashed a heavy kick that connected with the Elite's chest plate with a loud crack of bone and flesh. He raised his Battle Rifle and shot a quick three round burst into the back of the creatures skull. A purple haze of blood spewed out of the wound as the Elite dropped to the ground with a thud, it twitched twice and died. The Chief then saw an object on the ground that could be of his advantage, a Covenant plasma grenade, which stuck to enemies when thrown. He snapped it up in his hand, activated it and lobbed it straight at the second Elite's face, it stuck. Three seconds passed as the alien howled knowing that its time was up, and then it exploded in a furious aura of turquoise plasma. This time there was no corpse.
The Chief then realised that this was the only Covenant resistance guarding their precious artefact. So, he strode toward the structure thinking that it was over. Once he got to the pedestal he removed the relic and he grasped it tightly. The Chief then called for evacuation. He released his helmet and removed it. He took a huge sigh, relieved that this mission was over, but, this was only the beginning…
To Be Continued...
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