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My First Adventure against the Covenant Juggernaut
Posted By: Matthiasthe14th<Sturgeonsurgeon1984@yahoo.com>
Date: 21 December 2005, 9:29 pm


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This is a story of one of my adventures retaliating to the Covenant. The names have been changed for privacy and innocence of the individuals concerned. The story that follows may or may not be true, but it probably is, if you consider the source. Beginning:

My First Adventure against the Covenant Juggernaut



One stunningly gorgeous winter Saturday, I lay in bed dreaming of the third level in Halo. So many invisible elites with plasma swords… why were there so many invisible elites? Where were my men? An elite knocked me down. "Matthias!" it said, "Matthias, wake up!" What? I thought.

"Matthias!" I jumped out of bed with a start. Oh. It was my mom. "Do you know how long you've been asleep? It's nearly ten o'clock! Now as soon as you finish eating breakfast, take these books back to the library. Come on! Up and at 'em!"




I ate quickly and headed out the door, grabbing a handful of tortilla chips on the way out. I rode my bike to my local library, thinking of my favorite computer game, Halo. Abruptly, I slowed down. Something was amiss. The birds weren't singing, and those two annoying dogs weren't yipping, either. Huh, weird, I thought.

I turned the corner and immediately felt a wave of heat as is typical to a hot, still, July day. Rather odd for a December morning (In case any of you were wondering, I take pride in being able to ride my bike during winter).

The scene that lay before me was one of utter devastation: Smoking craters were everywhere. Most of the houses I normally saw were reduced to burning ruins, and a strange glassy crust covered the steaming ground. Only patches of green were visible here and there.

I looked backwards. I could see my house, as well as the other houses I saw so often. Apparently, my section of the neighborhood was one of the only areas that had not been destroyed.

Gosh, I thought, everything looks like it's been burned… like with large orbs of super-heated plasma. "Hahaha," I laughed, suddenly reminded of Halo and Halo 2, "that would be kinda funny if the Covenant had attacked!"

I could barely hear a low thrumming sound far behind me. That sound! Could it be-? The sound drew closer and the trees shook as the sleek, two-pronged form of a Covenant drop ship whizzed overhead. "Oh," I said, "oh, that's not very funny at all."

I saw a glowing glimmer of green out of the corner of my eye, which whipped past my face at an alarming speed. Plasma! I could feel the hair on the back of my neck rise as a result of the electric charge. My instincts kicked in right away: I executed a back flip off my bike, ripping the chain from the bike gears with brutal strength and throwing it at the closest so obviously alien figure as soon as I hit the earth. My hands burned from the heat of the hot crust. I sprang up and ducked as more plasma bolts flew over me; then I caught a glimpse of the species of the attackers.

"Jackals," I growled as I spotted the vulturous heads and the round energy shields of the Covenant assassins. More like one jackal, though. My bike chain had wrapped around the first jackal's head, killing it. Dodging plasma fire, I sprinted across the road and jumped on the dead alien, ripping the shield generator off its arm. I activated it and scanned the area for the second creature.

There, I thought, spotting it. Bracing the shield on my shoulder and exposing as little of myself as possible, I charged the jackal and swung the shield, hunter-style at its own. Both energy shields shimmered and vanished.

The jackal was thrown back by the force of the blow. I jumped on it and pummeled it furiously with the shield generator. In a few minutes it let out a defeated hiss and went limp.

Whew! I wasn't sure where the cool moves I accomplished actually came from, but I thought, Oh, what the heck, I might as well enjoy it. I was feeling exceptionally heroic by now, and I thought of the high school not three blocks down from my position.




All those kids! I had to save them! However, when I got there, I noticed that--due to newly enacted anti-gun laws which prevented everyone from defending themselves--everyone had died tragic, horrible deaths.

Poor saps, I thought, I knew it would happen sooner or later, Covenant or not. I was frustrated.

"Where is the army???" I screamed at no one in particular. Oh, I thought as I saw the broken barrel of an M-16 protruding from the rubble. I guess that's them right there. Dang, poor chaps.

I decided to take matters into my own hands. I snuck through the dark, crumbling corridors of the school making sure to stay in the shadowed areas, but wherever I went, an odd, green, pulsating light followed me. That's probably my energy shield, I thought, reaching over to turn it off, nodding appreciatively at the result.

Without warning, there was a slow clatter of footsteps from down the hall behind me. Swiftly and silently, I ducked into a burnt out locker. As soon as I heard the high-pitched barks uttering complaints in alien tongues, I knew it was a grunt. Or was it two?

I peered out of one of the many holes in the door. Three grunts. I had to think quickly. I braced my legs against the back of the locker, readying myself. As soon as the first grunt passed the door, I shot out and tackled him. Twisting his arm back, I heard a satisfying snap from it just before firing at his neck with his own weapon. Where the alien head was a few seconds ago, only a smoldering stump remained.

Slipping the plasma pistol from the grunt's grasp and activating the energy shield in the same moment, I blew the other dim-witted freaks to Pluto. The fight took no more than ten seconds. I remembered the plasma pistols I left with the jackals. Oops, I thought, I can't believe I missed that. It would have made this so much easier. Ahead, I could see the hulking silhouette of an elite. I also saw he grasped a small cylinder about eight inches in length.

O, gosh! A plasma sword! There was no way I could take the religious zealot out in a hand-to-hand fight. What did the Halo manual say about this? I tried to recall it. Back… something about the back…Suddenly, I remembered: Melee them in the back and they'd die instantly! His back was turned. I sniggered to myself. Typical.

A large hand grabbed on the shoulder and spun me around. A fully armed, red armored, four-jawed elite stood before me. Also known as a Sanghelli warrior to some.

"Hahahaha," it gloated in its deep guttural voice, "and now, human scum: you shall die!" He leveled his plasma rifle at me, which I promptly spun around on him. (I heard several of his fingers shatter as I did so.) Bolt after bolt of plasma fire struck the elite, forcing him backward. Finally, his shields gave out and he fell to the floor with a groan.

Needless to say, I was a bit flustered that I let an enemy sneak up on me like that. Must've been active camouflage, I concluded. Too late I remembered the other elite. With the plasma sword! I turned to fire the rifle in panic, overwhelmed by unfettering shame at having forgotten another crucial detail in my fight.

Only one bolt of plasma struck the elite before the sword shored through the very top of the handle of my weapon, rendering the plasma rifle a sparking, useless object. The elite gave a howl of triumph as he raised the super-heated blade for another strike. "Aaaahhhrrr-!"

I instinctively dove for the floor. The howl was immediately replaced by a groan of pain as the warrior slumped to the floor. "What the- how did that happen?" I gasped.

Another large hand grasped my shirt, lifted me off the floor, and placed me on my feet. A humanoid form in thick emerald-colored armor stood before me. I noticed the "117" on the side of his helmet. "The Master Chief!"


To be concluded… if you're lucky…





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