Comments for 'This is Suicide: Chapter 1'

This is true.

However, the Covenant are likely briefed on 'How to kill your friendly neighborhood SPARTAN' when they started kicking Covie ass.
The Jackals might still smell the attacker, but also- vision comes into play. I'm not sure if that rifle has any muzzle flash or not, but if it did they'd sure as hell see it. The Chief is sitting in the bushes over 400 meters away?
Pssh. The bushes, for one, don't offer very much cover. If he crouches or even sits, as you imply-
He's still going to be a pretty big target with 'kill me' pasted on his face in big, bright orangy letters.

Be aware that its not the QUALITY of the story I'm disputing, its the Covenant's apparent lack of brain power and co-ordinated tactics. They see a comrade drop they're going to find cover and return fire to where the sniper might have set up.

Sounds great, I'm interested. Say, I had this idea that you could put more specifications in your story if it was the Covenant looking up the stuff, for instance, if an Elite found a UNSC manual on the Warthog and learned all this stuff while trying to drive the vehicle. Just a thought.

It could also be said that of ALL things JACKALS DO NOT USE MOB TACTICS.
They are some of the most intelligent warriors the Covenant have to offer, with superior senses, yet great physical weakness. They could form into a shell, keeping in close and overlapping shields in the fashion that elephants or other herd animals do.

That situation though, is highly unlikely, seeing as how Jackals are usually caught in teams of at least two, and prefer to take a staggered formation and spread as the combat gets thicker. In this way thay have the ability not only to catch the attacker or defender off guard, but they can also maintain a general superiority with the entire thing.

No Jackal is out of range of the other Jackal, able to provide support should the team member need it; and those Jackals are likely not to be caught in the blast radius of any grenades and such because of that spacing.

They'd be a bit more agressive too. They have no phsycological restrictions, and they don't give a damn WHO they kill. This goes for all Covenant. Humans are mere prey to be slaughtered.
Seeing this, they're more likely to act agressively, turning in the direction of the shooter and laying down supressing fire. Its important to note- Jackals have great noses, and might try to smell stuff a mile or so off, suspecting ambush. Yes, the Chief has speed on his side (40kph is like... a jog to this guy.) However, unlike human weapons plasma weapons have no recoil whatsoever; allowing a Jackal to keep up a more sustained rate of fire. If just ONE overcharged shot hits, the shields are gone.

On to grunts, though they may be used as cannon fodder they are by no means stupid. They are sentient beings with a high survival instinct, and they can either cower or just plain get pissed off and help attack. Remember, they think they've got the advantage of numbers, therefore they might see a muzzle flash or ascertain that the squad has triangulated the location of the attacker and needs them to perform a flanking maneuver or something. Like Jackals, grunts could overcharge their pistols. Grenades also have a tendancy to be hurled at close ranges, possibly confusing or deafening the attacker- Not to mention the Jackals or the grunts themselves.

Imagine trying to carry out orders when all you can do is nod and say 'Yessir!'
Squads, unless they're totally stupid- have a tendancy to work together. Thats what being a unit is all about, a tightly-knit, highly effective, lethal fighting force equipped to deal damage on a high scale. Covenant likely don't give a rat's arse if they're pinned down or intimidated, because a lot of them are hell-bent on crushing humanity. Ever see that one part in the book where the grunts didnt CARE about the lotus mines?

All they wanted was Spartan blood.

If anyone wants to argue, or annoy me over my annoying rant- feel free to do so... Unless it's got NOTHING constructive.

So I think you are saying that you would have liked to see the MC get hurt a little or at least be a bit more challenged by the Covenant. I would agree, but then I remembered that this is only the first chapter, setting up the mood for the rest of the story -- Let's not discourage this talented writer.

BTW Knightmare, post your next story so I can write a comment on it. ;)

I wonder, are you going to get into that much detail with the Covenant weapons and equipment -- that would be very cool.

Not much more I can say. On the other hand, I hope that the Covenant get a bit more intelligent, the game AI doesn't really do them justice, Halo 2 should be better at showing the Covenant taking cover and noticing when snipers are around, etc. The story reminded me a little too much of the game, not that that is bad, but even if the Grunts are super dumb (which they aren't), the Covenant would have some standard tactics to deal with snipers that the Grunts should follow. I would think they should at least be taught to take cover, call in an air strike or something. However, that's just my thoughts, keep up the writing, looking forward to reading more.