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The air was thick with smoke from the plasma falling from the sky, like the heavens waging a war with the planet known as Harvest. It was happing again, the Covenant were glassing another UNSC world. The process of glassing was destruction on a scale that was far beyond anything humans have ever seen, oceans were evaporated, mountains were severed, and cities vanished as if they were never there, and the same applied for the poor souls that were stuck on Harvest while this happened. Many people died that day, including the parents of a very young boy named Randall. He never witnessed that day, but in reality, he would see it again…


1830 HOURS, NOVEMBER 6, 2552 (MILITARY CALENDER) 111 TAURI ORBIT ABOVE UNSC PLANET "RELIC" ABOARD UNSC MARATHON CLASS CAPITAL SHIP "REGIL"


Alarms were sounding off in the halls of the Regil, warning that the Covenant have been located within firing range of the Marathon class vessel. The Covenant was an alien race that the UNSC made contact with nearly two decades ago on the now desolate planet known as Harvest. They consisted of many different species united for a common goal, activation of an intergalactic weapon known as "Halo". Halo to them was the pinnacle of there religious beliefs, stating that activating it would lead them to the "Great Journey" of salvation. Little did they know, Halo is actually a weapon that was made to destroy all sentient life in the galaxy, a weapon of last resort. However, there is one other thing about Halo that the Covenant and the UNSC did not know about, and the planet Relic would explain that…


The bridge of the Regil was hectic, officers and crew members alike were not too sure about what exactly was going on, and only the captain was keeping a cool head. Captain John Hartford, was a older man, in his late forties with graying hair and a battle scarred expression, was observing the Covenant ships around Relic and was surprised to see what was happening. "I don't believe it" said one of the officers on the bridge "They…they are attacking each other!". He was right, about thirteen Covenant Battleships where opening fire on each other in random patterns, showering a rain of neon blue plasma souring in space, colliding with the shields of other ship. "Amazing…" Captain Hartford said out loud watching the light show ahead of them. "They must be in a Civil War or something" a female officer said, "Or maybe they are dealing with a rebel group perhaps?" said the other man on the bridge. Data from the ships engagements flashed on the screen and read like books to the Captain and the two officers. "Captain, they are sending planetary invasion troops to the surface of Relic, both sides, what should we do? " said the female officer hastily. The old Captain began thinking to himself, should he engage the Covenant fleet in its state of disarray? On the other hand, should he wait until they finish and attack them after they have suffered losses? Both did not seem too favorable. A Marathon class ship was barely a match for a single Covenant ship, let alone thirteen. "Why are they sending troops to the surface?" asked the Captain. "We're not sure, it seems one side of the Covenant has troops on the planet, and are planning to get rid of them." "Or they may be trying to take something from them, a religious artifact maybe?" After a period of silence and observation of the battle, the lighting of the plasma and the eruption of the countering ships shielding, the Captain broke the silence and with a stern expression, he began to speak. "Send the Spartan-III Delta Company number 3, all available marines, and armor support to the planet surface, we are taking Relic back…"


"Blast the Brute scum!" shouted the elite Onde 'Abeod, a recently appointed Zealot Commander of the Covenant ship Transient Light and wore the traditional gold armor to prove it. The bridge of the Covenant ship was filled with anger that the Brutes took the Elite's rightful place of Honor guards and protectors of the Covenant Hierarchs. This revolt caused the Elites and other members of the Covenant to break away from their Hierarch leaders and caused a massive Civil War within there own fleets, targeting namely their Brute processors in the Covenant armies. "Ship Master, the Brutes are sending their planetary conquest teams on the planet, which is owned by the humans," growled Zealos 'Simam, a major that was stationed on the bridge of the Transient Light. The ship jolted to one side as visual screens flickered, confirming the shields broke and hull damage was sustained. Onde was discussed with their ship failing to combat a Brute ship, on equal terms. "Get the phantoms ready for an orbital drop, we are landing this ship on the eastern hemisphere of the planet, away from the Brute's landing points." "Should I amp the Special Ops teams?" Zealos questioned, facing the Zealot. "Indeed, the Special Ops teams could use the exercise, and I will prepare to drop the armor and supplies to their locations."


Onde then heard a voice from the entrance to the bridge and turned to face it, and saw a pair of Elites sanding in the doorway. "The Supreme Commander wishes to have a word with you, Onde." The one said with nobility in his voice, and at that moment, an Elite wearing a deep violet colored armor and a dark black cape around the chest armor section walked passed the two guards and stood in front of Onde. Onde and the entire Covenant command crew on the bridge stood up and bowed their heads in respect for the supreme Commander of the fleet, possible one of the last ones remaining alive after the rebellion. "It's an honor to have your presence on my ship Commander," Onde said as respectively as he could muster. "Where are my manners?" said the violet armored elite, responding to Onde. "My name is Shde Xar 'Kiros, I'm taking command of this fleet you have here armed against the brute blockade." After everyone on board took their positions at the numerous consoles and holopads, returning controlling the ship against the rival brute formations in front of them, Shde began specking to the zealot Commander. "It pains me to see this unfaithful insubordination against the Covenant, we deserve better than rejection," he then clenched his four fingered hand into a fist and said louder so the rest herd his words. "And for this they must die! I look forward to fighting them on the surface of this barren planet." Onde was surprised at his wishes to fight on the surface, Supreme Commanders rarely ever participated in military ground operations, but he dare not raise question to his superior. "We are landing on the planet shortly, you shall have your desires granted Shde." Onde said proudly to his superior. Shde nodded in response and walked off the bridge with the two guards, a war was just over the horizon…



The air was tense inside the Regil's hanger bays as the equipment was being suited and armed. The S-III troops and the marines alike were going to Relic to destroying the Covenant menace. They were not afraid of dieing, for most of them death was just a word that meant "giving up" and they most certainly were not going to let that happen. D171, a Spartan III super soldier by the name of Randall was checking his equipment, a Mark VI MJOLNIR Armor, the V variant model. It resembled the MJOLNIR armor the other Spartan-II's had, but made for different roles in battle. Randall's particular armor was the EVA type, or Extra Vehicular Activity, made mostly for use in areas like space or ones with low atmosphere, which he often preformed tasks in those instances. The majority of the armor resembled the others, except for the helmet. It vaguely resembled the original Spartan-III helmet and the old astronaut spaceman helmet used many years ago. He was not the only Spartan going to Relic; the other members of Delta3, one of the largest S-III military group still alive since Onyx, were going to hell as well.


"Hey Randall, are you done yet?" A familiar voice called out. Randall brushed his uneven black hair out of his face so he could see who said his name; it was their leader, Sam. Sam had short, spiky brown hair and eyes, and was a respected and well-trained Spartan III, and Randall's best friend. They knew each other since they enlisted and they were both the youngest in the group. "Don't rush me Sam, I can't finish with you standing there watching me." Randall said. "Sorry then, I'll leave you two alone." Sam replied sarcastically and rushed away towards the loading platforms. Randall could not help but smile at his friend's remark as he walked away, it was true, Randall was very protective of his gear and such, it determined whether you lived or died when dealing with the Covenant. He began to put on the EVA armor over his cloths when another one of his fellow Spartan friends walked in. "Hey there! Sorry if I'm disturbing you." A female voice said cheerfully, it was Jane. Jane also had EVA armor and was always in a good mood and never afraid to say so. She was also very headstrong and would often rush into things without thinking too carefully about them. She must have just woken up because her short pale red hair was a mess and her dark brown eyes looked tired. "No problem Jane, just getting ready for launch, you better get ready too." Randall said to her, fixing his shoulder armor into place. Jane put her hands on her hips and smirked, "I'll work at my own pace thank you very much." Randall smiled, "Yeah, ok Jane, just make sure they don't leave without you this time." Jane stuck her tongue out at him and ran off towards her quarters. Randall fixed his helmet on and walked towards the loading platforms to where Sam headed a little earlier ago.

Along the way, he saw Jason and Vergil, two other Spartan IIIs. Jason was insomniac driven and the only real good driver of the bunch; his skill with the Warthog was unparalleled to anyone. Vergil was the quite one, rarely spoke to anyone, and if he did it was in a cold manner, but was a very reliable team member. He was very enigmatic and never talked about his past, but then again, not many of them did. He was a skillful sharpshooter and was proficient with Covenant weaponry. After awhile he found Sam at the loading platforms inspecting all the weapons, vehicles, and equipment, as well as arguing with nearby crewmen. A man by the name of Tybalt was among them, standing to the right of Sam. Tybalt was a Spartan mercenary and the oldest member of Delta3. He was the most problematic and foolish of the team. Even though Sam was the leader, he made orders and commands on the field without Sam's approval, and poor ones at that. One time, during a training session he almost got Jane killed by forcing her to advance on a combat turret without cover to distract its fire in order to allow him to escape unscratched. Jane hated Tybalt for this, and stayed as far away from him both in and out of combat as possible, which everyone but Tybalt got the hint. Randall didn't like him either; it was just something about him…


"Slowpoke" Sam said to Randall as he looked over to him. "Slow? I'm already geared up and you aren't, tell me who the slow one is again?" Randall said, grinning at his long time friend. "Save it, there is more to be done, and if I don't get these people in order, we will never get this done!" Sam was obviously frustrated with the speed and progress of the crew and went off on some random crewmen. The Scorpion Tanks and the Wolverine Half-Tracks began to be lined up and loaded into large, armored ships called Albatrosses. After awhile Tybalt spoke up and said in his naturally deceptive voice, "I'll check the progress, besides I need to do something to pass the time." Tybalt was in his armor Justas well, but he had a different kind. It was the MJOLNIR Mark VI "C" variant made exclusively for close quarters combat and was built with thicker armor plates. After Tybalt walked away, a silent man appeared behind Sam and Randall.

"Need some help?" Vergil said in his usual silent manner "We got most of it under control Vergil, but thanks anyway" Sam said, "By the way, this is the first time Ill get to see you in combat, I look forward to see your skills." Vergil nodded his head and left them both to wonder around the ship. Vergil was the newest member of the team and no one had seen him often in training. He often times just walked around the ship, observing everything about it, down to the last bolt. Vergil had some features hard to forget, he had a young, stern face with silvery hair and deep grey eyes, which was odd for someone as young as he looked. Sam watched him go "Man, we got almost every personality on the chart, right?" Sam said while turning back to the charts in his hands, not paying attention to his surroundings again. "Yeah, you got that right. Hey, I'm going to check up on Jane, need anything?" Randall said hastily. There was a long silence as if Sam didn't hear, and then he replied without looking up. "No, I'm good, but tell her to hurry up; it's been nearly an hour" Randall shrugged and went to find Jane; he wanted to talk to her before they departed to the planet surface. Sam could be heard yelling at the crewmen to hurry up, yet again. Good old Sam Randall thought to himself as he hurried along.



The Elites were onboard their drop ships, called Phantoms, with a couple other Covenant species who stayed loyal to them and not Brutes. Onde was more than ready to battle the Brutes and claim their superiority; he felt it was necessary to do so in order to show the Prophets that they were always false and no better than a common Grunt. Shde was on another Phantom approaching the planet along with a couple dozen others. An Elite with bright white armor and a tall, ceremonial white helmet with a mouth guard to cover the four mandibles the Elites had, was on his ship and was actually higher in rank than Onde, but allowed him to lead. Onde was honored by this and respected the Councilor's judgment. His name was Anst 'Diros, one of the High Councilors of the Covenant. Most of which were executed by the Brutes after the Great Schism. Anst was a master in the art of combat and his ability even surpassed Onde's, whom was a gifted warrior just the same. "I grow weary, Onde" Anst said across the hull of the small ship, even with all the other troops listening. "What would be the cause of this, noble councilor?" Onde replied respectively, as custom with consulting with higher ranked individuals. "The battles soon to set in play before us, I feel a terrible storm is approaching, as if a unseen enemy is closing near, one that can result in our glorious victory, or our utter defeat." Onde pondered the Councilor's words and though upon them. "Do not fret Councilor; we will be ready for any short comings both by which may include our victory or our defeat. But I wish for my first option to become reality." Afterwards there was a short silence, until Anst responded, "As do I Onde," Anst said with increasing confidence. "But even if the worst happens, I will fight to the death, it is my oath." The rest of the time spent of the Phantom was silent, all the Elites onboard started to think about the truth in the matter, of whether or not a new enemy or ally would reveal itself, and they had no idea what was in store for them…


Randall walked down the barracks halls inside the midsection of the large ship trying to find Jane; he had to tell her that Sam had scheduled her to be in Vergil and Randall's group. The Spartans usually functioned in different teams of three on a planet or on a mission, just in case things went bad. After a while of searching, he found her in her room sitting on the same type of bed Randall had, which everyone had. He guessed she didn't know he was there in the room and he briskly said to her "Sam says to get ready, were leaving in a few minutes." Jane did not look at him as she fastened the green EVA helmet to her head and walked up to him with distain in her voice, looking up at him for she was shorter, "Tybalt is coming with us, right?" Randall knew she hated Tybalt for many reasons in the past, and some he did not know about. "Yeah, but your assigned with Vergil and me this time, I think Kayla and Spyro are stuck with him this time." Randall said to her esuriently, trying not to upset her. "I hope they don't get killed because of him." Jane said shakily, for she was good friends with Kayla and Spyro. Randall placed his hand friendly on her shoulder pad, trying to comfort her, Jane placed her hand on his hand that was on her shoulder, but only for a moment, and she walked out of the room towards the docking bay. Randall shook his head "If only it was on better circumstances" then he followed her out, a Planet was waiting for them.

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