Cath

Halo: Aegis Team

Tar 'Mdalak

Paxopolis Simulated Training Centre

Just as he was ordered, Ryssa was the one to take the lead, storm rifle in hand with a needler at his side. “Move forward.” He said aloud through their comms to those behind him. He had neglected to give any specific instruction as to the order in which they should move, so it was the Major that was just behind him. He wielded a storm rifle as well, with an energy sword at his side. Jurna, as he always did when given the choice, was armed with a carbine and needler, while the silent Sangheili just in front of Tar held a plasma rifle in his right hand, and a plasma pistol in the left.

Ryssa moved straight ahead down the hall towards the fork at the end of the corridor. He, and the rest of the recruits, had night vision enabled, though that by itself would not reveal stalkers using active camouflage. As they moved, he was paying more attention to his motion tracker than he was his own eyes, and he did not order to clear the side rooms as they passed them by.

The recruits obviously hadn’t absorbed the room clearing exercise Tar had put them through two days ago in one of Paxopolis’ crowded storage facilities. She shook her head - not a good start.

They quietly passed two doorways, which Tar looked through as a reflex. She saw base workers slumped over the workstations, their seats and the floor covered in blood. The Brutes hadn’t even given them a chance to fight back.

Footsteps, fast approaching from another doorway to her right. She pivoted as quick as her feet would allow, brought her Mauler to bear and fired.

The blast impacted a Stalker’s shield barely a metre away before the now half-visible Brute crashed into Tar.

She was lifted off her feet and propelled backwards through another doorway where they both clattered to the floor.

Her Mauler blast had evidently damaged Stalker’s shield, because it fizzled out with a loud ‘pop’. In the dim, light Tar found the bright red beam of the Stalker’s single helmet lens a few inches from her face. Huge tombstone teeth gnashed at her as the Brute wrestled past Tar’s raised arms and got his hands around her throat. She spluttered as her windpipe instantly closed with the Brute crushing the life out of her. She knew she only had seconds to react as dark spots danced in front of her vision.

Halo: Aegis Team

Tar 'Mdalak

Paxopolis Simulated Training Centre

Tar had tested this particular scenario before the class, to get a general idea of what was involved. But she knew the combatant placements were randomised, as well as each fighter’s individual skill level. There were thousands of different variables, which made the outcome wholly unpredictable.

She pointed to the Sangheili on the far left of her - the good soldier. “You will take the lead. The rest of you, form up behind him. Remember what i taught you.” This was a good opportunity to exercise the ideal recruit’s decision-making, while gauging how easily the rest followed his lead.

Combat had not yet even begun and already there was friction with the Major. He stopped where he was, straightening up his posture and looking down on Tar, literally and figuratively. “Do you not see our armor? I outrank Ryssa.” He objected, gesturing to the Sangheili Tar appointed to lead them. “I should lead this mission.”

Tar looked up at the Major from the sim start countdown on her wrist interface and growled. “Make no mistake - I am the team leader on this mission. In this combat zone, you belong to me.” Tar thumped his armor with the bottom of her fist before pointing to herself. “And if I say you’re to follow close behind, you do so.” She thumped his armor again before turning away. “Besides, if the highest rank always entered dangerous rooms first, we’d have a leaderless military.”

The two Sangeheili who had so far stayed clear of Tar’s attention let out a small laugh at this remark.

The “good soldier” himself, Ryssa, appeared briefly nervous, though he said nothing to question his superior’s orders. While he was praised for his ability to follow orders, he had never been given anything approaching command before.

Tar assumed a ready stance at the rear of the formation as they faced the sim room’s pilot light. This was so she could observe each of them in action, and offer corrections easily. She’d only given them basic close combat maneuvers to try; for this first sim she didn’t want to confuse them too much.

The lights in the massive room went completely out, and Tar knew this was the sim loading up. A few moments past in pitch black before dull red emergency lights flickered on, much closer to their heads than before.

They were in a dark, narrow corridor, with one of the entrances to the Command complex behind them. A few Sangheili and Human bodies littered the floor nearby; blood pooled around Tar’s feet.

Ahead of them, shadows flickered in the long, straight corridor and collected in a few doorways on either side. About fifty metres away, a slightly stronger light at the end of the corridor revealed a fork to the left and right.

Tar pulled her Mauler from it’s holster and brought it up, cradling it in both hands close to her face, sights just below her eye line. The recruits did roughly the same with their weapons. She quickly looked down and confirmed her energy sword and grenades had spawned in - she was ready for battle.

Halo: Aegis Team

Tar 'Mdalak

Paxopolis Simulated Training Centre

The combat sim control panel was of Human design, like most of the equipment in Paxopolis. This meant Tar needed several tries to get the settings correct; none of the preset scenarios tested the skills she was instilling in the recruits. She growled in frustration as even the smallest digit on her hand still entered the wrong enemy combatants.

Starting again, she skimmed past the human configurations like ‘Insurrectionist hijackers’ and ‘angry urban mob’ to access Covenant-era hostiles.

Sangheili Zealots <- No
Mgalekgolo Pair <- No
Yanme'e Swarm <- No
Jiralhanae Stalkers <- Perfect

She locked them in, selected the number and overall skill level, then checked the rest of the settings before confirming. Lights shining from the high ceiling switched from amber to green, another Human design which meant they were ready to begin. Satisfied the simulation was ready, she turned back to her recruits.

Four young Sangheili males stood awkwardly in the centre of the cavernous, empty sim room. They clutched their energy swords and stared suspiciously around as Tar walked quickly over to join them.

Among recruits to Paxopolis’ defensive garrison, there were few who were truly “green”, as the Humans would say. Among the UNSC, it was a secret facility, so they intended to insist upon soldiers with proven loyalty and ability. However, that did not mean that new recruits could simply be integrated right away. They still needed to be evaluated and trained to perform their duties. For some, it could be more difficult to train them than fresh recruits, as some had just enough experience to be stubborn.

As Tar drew closer, she could see the four Sangheili recruits were awaiting the start of the simulation with varying degrees of eagerness or irritation. The farthest to the left, from Tar’s perspective, was considered by some to be an ideal recruit. He strictly adhered to hierarchy and would obey any order from a superior to the letter, without question or hesitation. However, he also seemed to lack much creativity himself. He was actually the most experienced among the recruits, but not the highest rank.

The second in line was one who generally received little respect among his peers. Or at least, not from other Sangheili. He was often hesitant to fight, and though capable when motivated, he seemed to have little drive to improve himself.

The third was the one among them who had ascended to Major rank. He was quite tall and strong, even for a Sangheili, and he already had proven skill in combat, but he was far from humble. He had already openly shown disdain for this extra training he was being put through, and he seemed to be somewhat dismissive towards Tar.

The last in line was a recruit who was easy to forget about. He has no special experience nor accomplishments, though also no overt flaws. He tended to speak only when spoken to, and generally only said the bare minimum of what was required of him.

All four of them drew up to their full stature as Tar entered their space, as she’d noticed was usual for young males. She returned all of their stares to make sure they were listening before briefing them.

“Brute Stalkers have infiltrated the base. Their objectives are unknown, but they’ve infiltrated the Command room and deactivated our defenses. They’re contained within the Command complex, but the lights have been disabled and they’ll fight hard to break free. Our mission is to insert and kill or capture them all. Any questions?”

After a few moments of silence, the second Sangheili, the young warrior named Jurna, started to move his mandibles to speak, but the Major soon spoke over him, loudly and with no shortage of confidence. “I require nothing more than a target. We are not helpless younglings who have never gripped a plasma rifle. We shall slay these mongrels quickly and be done with this nonsense.”

Jurna did not continue his original thought, and neither of the others spoke up as well, for differing reasons. In any case, each recruit did seem to be ready to enter... They would be armed with simulations of their chosen weapons once the scenario had begun.

Tar chuckled at the Major’s arrogance. She moved closer, until she stood within an arm’s grasp. “Stalkers do not present targets - they are ghosts. Move too quickly, and they will tear you limb from limb. Split from your team, and they will slaughter you. Follow my instructions, stay in formation, and protect your unit, and you may all make it out alive. If you put your team at risk, I will kill you myself, am I understood?” She moved closer still, her head tilted slightly back to meet his gaze fully.

The Major just growled, exhibiting a string of body cues that spoke volumes about his displeasure.

Tar smiled and looked at the other recruits before hitting a button on her wrist interface. The amber lights above them began flashing.

“Prepare yourselves, the simulation starts in thirty seconds.”

Halo: Aegis Team

Tar 'Mdalak character sheet

Name: Tar ‘Mdalak

Rank: Swords of Sanghelios Commando

Species: Sangheili

Appearance:
Tar (right) practices CQC tactics with an energy lance

Skills:
Experience of piloting Banshees (Type-27 & Type-54) and Type-57 Phantoms
Covert infiltration
Sabotage
Close quarters combat
Military administration & combat training
Application of non-standard weaponry

Preferred Weapons/Equipment:
Type-1 Energy Sword for hand to hand combat
Type-52 Mauler for closing with targets
Type-57 Carbine for medium/long range engagements
Commando Harness (halopedia.org/Commando_harness) with propulsion unit
Type-2 Spike Grenades and Type-3 Firebombs, if available

Background:
Tar ‘Mdalak was born on Brissekh, a pristine frontier world, in the 2520s. Her father was Tarkr ‘Mdalakai, old swordsman and kaidon of the planet’s largest settlement.

Her homeworld was heavily tapped by the Covenant for fighters, with nearly all Tar’s numerous siblings conscripted into the military.

Tar was desperate to earn glory along with her brothers, but the Sangheili ranks wouldn’t have her. The place of females was to guard their home keep, and a lot of the Covenant traditionalists preferred it that way. So instead she served as the captain of the guard for her father’s keep.

Frustrated with the relatively small scope of her responsibilities, Tar put all her effort into modernising her troops. She expanded their training far beyond basic guard duties, incorporating asymmetric warfare tactics and mechanised detachments.

She also supplemented the traditional energy lances favoured by traditional guard units with the latest Covenant weaponry, like Carbines and Beam Rifles.

There were lots of opponents to her reformist vision, especially seeing as she was a female wielding significant influence over the old kaidon. This often resulted in skirmishes between would-be dissidents and Tar’s well equipped militia. It was in danger of boiling over into all out civil war until the Brutes attacked.

The Sangheili-Jiralhanae war hit Brissekh completely by surprise. None of the Keeps received warning of the raid until Brute RCS class cruiser was in low orbit. Before any of the Keeps could react, they’d destroyed the space port and bastion compounds before deploying two companies of heavy infantry to kill as many citizens as they could find.

With the distress signal sent, Tar deployed her troops to the large city outside the Keep. With everyone behind the fortifications, maybe they could hold out until friendly ships arrived.

However, her father wasn’t content to cower behind walls while Sangheili across Brissekh were slaughtered. Despite Tar’s protest, he struck out for the landing zone with his retinue, seeking a duel with the War Chieftain. They found each other, but survivors say Tarkr ‘Mdalakai was separated from his bodyguards during the fight and captured by the enemy.

When Tar found out her father had been imprisoned, a much worse fate than death for Sangheili, she went mad with rage. Abandoning her position near the gates of the Keep, she plowed into the marauding Brute hordes. Her vigorous training and agility let her use the Brute numbers against them, with the weight of bodies allowing her to get in close and butcher them.

When her Energy Sword expired from overuse, she took Maulers and Spike Grenades from eviscerated Brutes and pushed forward. Whipped into a frenzy by their commander’s raw fury, her troops set upon the Brutes with a cruel precision. The narrow streets of Brissekh’s main city ran with Jiralhanae blood.

Such was the ferocity of the Sangheili counter attack that the landing party never even reached the gates. And when a nearby Swords of Sanghelios battle cruiser arrived to help, the Brutes fled the system, taking Kaidon ‘Mdalakai with them.

Upon meeting the rescue ship’s commanders, Tar immediately invoked the right of release, an intention to rescue her father from a shameful life of capture. In the spirit of Thel 'Vadam’s liberalisation of the Swords military, the cruiser’s captain granted her passage and enlistment aboard.

The cruiser gave chase to the Brute ship, but it got away. They searched for the aggressors, but the trail went cold. Tar vowed never to give up, but accepted that she needed to contribute.

She quickly fell in with a squad of Brute hunters that were formerly part of the Silent Shadow division of Covenant crack troops. They were operating from the battle cruiser and had learned of Tar’s plight. When they realised her ability in combat, they offered her a place on missions slaughtering any Jiralhanae they could find. Tar gained a reputation for exceptional cruelty when it came to Brutes, often appearing to exact personal revenge on each combatant.

It took three long years of searching before Tar got a solid lead. Some of the Brutes they’d interrogated had heard a rumor Sangheili kaidons were being held on Brute ships near a Forerunner construct known as Sarcophagus. Her squad tried to convince her the intel was shaky at best, but Tar didn’t care.

She parted ways with Silent Shadow and set out on her own. Finding passage aboard a military vessel, she gained access to the Sangheili-Human facilities on Sarcophagus by joining the colony’s defensive contingent.

However, despite searching for months, Tar could find no trace of the Brute cruiser. To make matters worse, she couldn’t stray far from her unit for fear of being tried as a deserter. Many of the assignments on Sarcophagus were for life, but Tar certainly wasn’t planning on staying that long if she could help it.

Halo: Aegis Team

Tar 'Mdalak character sheet

Name: Tar ‘Mdalak

Rank: Swords of Sanghelios Commando

Species: Sangheili

Appearance:
Tar (right) practices CQC tactics with an energy lance

Skills:
Experience of piloting Banshees (Type-27 & Type-54) and Type-57 Phantoms
Covert infiltration
Sabotage
Close quarters combat
Military administration & combat training

Preferred Weapons/Equipment:
Type-1 Energy Sword for hand to hand combat
Type-52 Mauler for closing with targets
Type-57 Carbine for medium/long range engagements
Commando Harness (halopedia.org/Commando_harness) with propulsion unit
Type-2 Spike Grenades and Type-3 Firebombs, if available

Background:
Tar ‘Mdalak was born on Brissekh, a pristine frontier world, in the 2520s. Her father was Tarkr ‘Mdalakai, old swordsman and kaidon of the planet’s largest settlement.

Her homeworld was heavily tapped by the Covenant for fighters, with nearly all Tar’s numerous siblings conscripted into the military.

Tar was desperate to earn glory along with her brothers, but the Sangheili ranks wouldn’t have her. The place of females was to guard their home keep, and a lot of the Covenant traditionalists preferred it that way. So instead she served as the captain of the guard for her father’s keep.

Frustrated with the relatively small scope of her responsibilities, Tar put all her effort into modernising her troops. She expanded their training far beyond basic guard duties, incorporating asymmetric warfare tactics and mechanised detachments.

She also supplemented the traditional energy lances favoured by traditional guard units with the latest Covenant weaponry, like Carbines and Beam Rifles.

There were lots of opponents to her reformist vision, especially seeing as she was a female wielding significant influence over the old kaidon. This often resulted in skirmishes between would-be dissidents and Tar’s well equipped militia. It was in danger of boiling over into all out civil war until the Brutes attacked.

The Sangheili-Jiralhanae war hit Brissekh completely by surprise. None of the Keeps received warning of the raid until Brute cruiser was in low orbit. Before any of the Keeps could react, they’d destroyed the space port and bastion compounds before deploying two companies of heavy infantry to kill as many citizens as they could find.

With the distress signal sent, Tar deployed her troops to the large city outside the Keep. With everyone behind the fortifications, maybe they could hold out until friendly ships arrived.

However, her father wasn’t content to cower behind walls while Sangheili across Brissekh were slaughtered. Despite Tar’s protest, he struck out for the landing zone with his retinue, seeking a duel with the War Chieftain. They found each other, but survivors say Tarkr ‘Mdalakai was separated from his bodyguards during the fight and captured by the enemy.

When Tar found out her father had been imprisoned, a much worse fate than death for Sangheili, she went mad with rage. Abandoning her position near the gates of the Keep, she plowed into the marauding Brute hordes. Her vigorous training and agility let her use the Brute numbers against them, with the weight of bodies allowing her to get in close and butcher them.

When her Energy Sword expired from overuse, she took Maulers and Spike Grenades from eviscerated Brutes and pushed forward. Whipped into a frenzy by their commander’s raw fury, her troops set upon the Brutes with a cruel precision. The narrow streets of Brissekh’s main city ran with Jiralhanae blood.

Such was the ferocity of the Sangheili counter attack that the landing party never even reached the gates. And when a nearby Swords of Sanghelios battle cruiser arrived to help, the Brutes fled the system, taking Kaidon ‘Mdalakai with them.

Upon meeting the rescue ship’s commanders, Tar immediately invoked the right of release, an intention to rescue her father from a shameful life of capture. In the spirit of Thel 'Vadam’s liberalisation of the Swords military, the cruiser’s captain granted her passage and enlistment aboard.

The cruiser gave chase to the Brute ship, but it got away. They searched for the aggressors, but the trail went cold. Tar vowed never to give up, but accepted that she needed to contribute.

She quickly fell in with a squad of Brute hunters that were formerly part of the Silent Shadow division of Covenant crack troops. They were operating from the battle cruiser and had learned of Tar’s plight. When they realised her ability in combat, they offered her a place on missions slaughtering any Jiralhanae they could find. Tar gained a reputation for exceptional cruelty when it came to Brutes, often appearing to exact personal revenge on each combatant.
It took three long years of searching before Tar got a solid lead. Some of the Brutes they’d interrogated had heard a rumor Sangheili kaidons were being held on Brute ships near a Forerunner construct known as Sarcophagus. Her squad tried to convince her the intel was shaky at best, but Tar didn’t care.

She parted ways with Silent Shadow and set out on her own. Finding passage aboard a military vessel, she gained access to the Sangheili-Human facilities on Sarcophagus by joining the colony’s defensive contingent.

However, despite searching for months, Tar could find no trace of the Brute ships. To make matters worse, she couldn’t stray far from her unit for fear of being tried as a deserter. Many of the assignments on Sarcophagus were for life, but Tar certainly wasn’t planning on staying that long if she could help it.

Wow it's been a while, but hello again!

Welcome to the Guild!

The Fall of Outremer 1x1 [Ozy x Cathy]

Serin & Clara

Was that a dog barking at her? Clara vaguely remembered the family dog, Titan, dying in his sleep a while ago, so it couldn’t be him. The yapping growl sounded angry and stressed. She tried to open her eyes but found it an impossible effort. Her mouth tasted of metal and her tongue hurt. She smelled smoke and something else; a chemical from her science class days?

As recent memories of before the crash started to reemerge, Clara’s heart jumped into her mouth. She wasn’t back at home on the farm. She was on Outremer. Giving it everything she had, Clara groggily opened her eyes. Colourful shapes danced and blurred together; she blinked a few times to focus them.

Eventually she made out the cargo bay of the drop ship she’d left the Galahad’s Glare in. Smoke filled the open space, swirling around the mount created for the asset. Flames licked through the crumpled door into the cockpit and from service panels in the floor.

The dog started yapping again to her right, closer this time. Clara tried to turn her head toward the cargo bay doors, but couldn’t move at all.

“Impact lock is activated. Do you want to disable?”

“Y--y-yes.” Clara managed to stutter.

She immediately slumped forward against her seatbelt and her arms shot in front of her face. She realised the ship was on it’s side, with her and Serin now sat facing the ground.

Serin!

Clara awkwardly tilted her head to see if she was okay. Serin’s arms and legs were hung in front of her as well, and blood dripped from her lips.
“Serin!” Clara choked. She saw the ONI agent’s fingers twitch inside her suit.

Behind Serin, light spilled in from the cargo bay opening. A shape Clara’s mind thought was a big shard of metal let out a piercing shriek and rushed forward.

Through the smoke she made out a short, stocky creature with beady eyes, encased in an unwieldy exo suit. It looked up at her as she hung in the air, then let off several energy bursts from a device it held.

Clara screamed as the burst splashed against her overshield, vibrating her whole body and setting shrill alarms ringing in her ears.

“Shield depleting. Please find cover.” Her suit announced levelly.

“Someone help!” Clara shouted on an open channel, frantically kicking her legs and struggling with her harness.

The thing below her let out what might have been a laugh, and carried on firing.

It let off three more shots before a much louder report sounded outside the crashed ship. The alien crumpled over sideways, it’s weapon now firing on repeat into the cockpit door.

Clara looked up from the clasp of her harness and saw another shape in the cargo doorway.

“Anyone alive in there?” A voice shouted.

“Yes, please help us!” Clara called.

The shape slowly came towards her through the smoke. It was a man wearing a bullet proof vest over a black business suit. He had his hand over his mouth to protect from the smoke but Clara could see a shock of blond hair. He briefly surveyed the damage around him before seeing her on the ceiling.

“Hold on, i’ll get you down.”

“Get her first, she’s unconscious and needs to get out of this smoke.” Clara commanded, pointing to Serin’s limp form.

“Yes ma’am.” The man replied sheepishly, obviously grinning beneath his hand.

New Member, Veteran Roleplayer

Welcome back! What genres are you interested in?

Dark Dagger

Heyy, is this still open?

Song Reference time

Can we fast-forward till you go down on meee?