EliteCommander

Halo: Aegis Team

UNSC AI SHI 1203-8

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Right when requested, Shih’s avatar appeared next to Yalu as he observed the alien weapon in his hands. ”This weapon has been officially designated as the Z-180 Close Combat Rifle/Asymmetric Engagement Mitigator. Common vernacular identifies it as the ‘Scattershot’. It is a close-to-medium range weapon which fulfills a similar combat role to the UNSC’s M45 Tactical Shotgun. Based on our testing, it appears to fire a spread of hard light projectiles created from energy cells loaded through a breach-loading mechanism. It has a capacity of five energy cells and, like many Forerunner weapons, is capable of completely disintegrating the bodies of living beings, most likely for the purpose of denying them as assets to the Flood. The individual projectiles can ricochet off of hard surfaces and possess limited tracking capabilities. A single shot at close range can defeat any known armor system.” She explained. The weapon was not loaded at the moment, but there were a total of ten cells available, and she had instructions available for anyone who chose to take Forerunner equipment.

The Cradle

Vreta was not as familiar with the Cradle’s normal state to recognize immediately what was wrong, though Rhia was already drawing comparisons between current observations and saved data on both the Cradle and Object. Even if she could not draw any conclusions at the moment, she still needed to try and consider the possibilities. With so many unknowns ahead of them, any edge she could manage to give would be valuable. She supposed they could potentially see if Vreta’s idea about living things had merit, as they needed to cross through one of the parks to reach the entrance Freyr pointed out. Naturally, nothing would stop the Cradle beings from simply chasing them, but if the Cradle was unable to suddenly overtake the plant life, as it often did with inanimate materials, then that would provide at least some advantage.

Vreta quickly grabbed Freyr’s hand to encourage her to follow along as they stepped out onto the grass. He made sure to specifically grab the hand holding her weapon so she could only open fire when he allowed her to. His shields had recharged by this point, but he was growing more annoyed by his shields consistently taking…unnecessary damage in the midst of the fight. If they all made it through this, he was going to be quite insistent on her getting more practice in a simulator.

Keeping close together, the team started to move as quickly as they could to reach the headquarters. Whatever they found within, they needed to reach it as soon as they could.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

For a few moments, Meesei could only bring herself to slowly shake her head. As much as she had tried to fight it, she had seen this coming. She had made as much of an effort as she could with the portal, but she never felt it was likely she would succeed. Still, none of that made this moment any easier. What lay ahead for her would not hurt near as much as it did to look upon her family now.

“No…you wouldn’t be able to hold them long enough. None of us can, myself included. I…I cannot control the power that has been collected in the Staff, but…it doesn’t have to be controlled to be useful. The Staff can do what I cannot to give you the time you need, but someone has to release its power, and it is not going to be you, Sabine.” Meesei answered, her voice soft, but resolute.

Ahnasha had not reacted quite as quickly as some of the others, if only because she was trying to work out in her mind what plan Meesei had devised to escape. But, her words soon brought the reality of the situation to light. “You can’t be serious? You can’t…I…we need you, Meesei! Sabine is right! Hircine said it himself that his Champion will be the one to face Vile!”

Meesei took a step forward, reached her hand through the bars of the lift, and suddenly took Fendros’ hand in hers. She locked eyes with him for a few, long moments before pulling her hand back. “He will.”

When Fendros opened his hand, he would find in his palm the Ring of Hircine.

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai and UNSC AI SHI 1203-8

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Like most of the others, Vael first prioritized heading to the armory to equip himself for the mission ahead. It would still be hours before they were set to begin, but he wanted to ensure he would be ready at a moment’s notice. He could manage the changes to his team, though his impression of the new Human was not particularly positive. Most Humans were not like the Spartans, who were strong, capable warriors even by Sangheili standards. The average Human was…variable. During his time in the war, he had seen excesses of both cowardice and courage from Human warriors. Sometimes, they would flee like Unggoy as their will was broken, and at other points, they would fight against overwhelming odds to the last breath against superior foes, and sometimes even attain victory. Only time would tell how this Human would compare.

Vael was not a normal member of the ship’s crew, but he did not attract near as much attention as the Humans undoubtedly would, aside from the fact that the crew he passed tended to quiet down from their conversations when he was near. As a high ranking officer, that was not a fact he found strange. He only heard parts of conversations between a few Unggoy on the way to the armory, but even though he heard them perfectly clearly, he found what they said to be as incomprehensible as it was irrelevant.

All of the team’s equipment had been transferred to the ship, and Vael quickly found the crate containing it after he arrived. Given the mission parameters, he did not intend to arm himself differently from his standard preference. An energy sword, plasma rifle, and his carbine would be sufficient for what they would be facing. For his armor’s equipment, active camouflage would be the most useful for the first objective of dealing with the anti-air cannon. After that, they would be returning to the ship, so there would be a chance for the team to adjust their loadouts for the assault.

Vael was surprised when the hologram of the Human AI, Shih, appeared at the end of a table near to him, at the center of the room. Evidently, it had been given approval to interface with at least some part of the ship. Vael was not sure that he approved, but it was not his decision.

”I believe there is something I should inform you and your team about.” Shih announced to Vael as soon as she appeared.

Vael turned his head back and spoke calmly. ”Very well. You may speak, construct.”

”Right…if you bring your attention to those crates over there, there is some new equipment that has been approved for Aegis team’s use. It took a lot of…debate, but there are weapons and equipment recovered from Prometheans that both UNSC personnel, and your people, can you. I may have to do some work to interface the armor abilities with your harness, but I have been told it can be done. The modules are adaptable.” Shih explained.

The concession to allow Vael and his team to use the Promethean equipment could have been seen as an offering of trust, through Vael doubted ONI would be so kind. Likely, it was a decision driven by circumstance and practicality. Jul ‘Mdama’s forces were still working with Prometheans after the campaign on Requiem, so it seemed likely that the Swords of Sanghelios would be able to recover Forerunner equipment just as easily. Sharing it with Aegis team now simply allowed them to seem more cooperative.

Opening up the crates, Vael did find a variety of options available. Promethean enhanced visual sensors, hardlight shields, and autosentries were all available, as well as a small variety of Promethean weapons. There were multiple boltshots, suppressors, and grenades, two lightrifles, as well as a single scattershot, binary rifle, and incineration cannon. They were all powerful weapons, but ammo availability would be a limitation. If one chose to use one of the weapons, they would only have a single spare reload.

The Cradle

Vreta gripped his weapon tightly, continuing to press on towards the surface. The situation was hard to interpret from within. Once they reached their destination, they would have the tools to expand their perspective on what was happening. The voice was something strange; perhaps something from within the Cradle? He suspected there might be an intelligence within the Cradle, guiding its actions, but he hoped it was nothing from within the Object they had recovered.

I’ve lived long enough to see nature defied at every turn. Death is no different. Vreta thought with a distinct conviction as they emerged from the subway. He made a quick assessment of the surroundings the moment they came into view. The headquarters itself was now in sight, with just a park between them. The quickest route would be through a grassy, vegetated area surrounding a statue. Vreta was, at this point, inherently suspicious of the plant life, considering how the Cradle always seemed to work through organic agents. However, he had seen more than enough cases of the Cradle suddenly taking over artificial areas to realize that it did not seem to matter. Perhaps the fact that the park was already filled with living beings would make it more difficult for the Cradle to take their place?

“There are the headquarters. What area do we need to reach?” Vreta asked.

The Cradle

Vreta flicked off his plasma blade before both halves of the creature had even hit the ground. Since his weapon cauterized the wounds as it made them, he was spared at least most of the creature’s fluids, though not all of them. Regardless, he could not afford to waste time. Every second mattered, and they needed to get to their destination. He holstered both his knife and plasma blade, then picked back up his rifle off the ground before sprinting over to 595 and Freyr.

Silently at first, Vreta moved towards the stairway, then motioned for Freyr to fall in line just behind him. “We need to move quickly. I can sense them, more creatures on approach. These or…something else.” He informed them. Rhia had put up warnings of what she was detecting via echolocation before the second creature was even dead.

Vreta did not worry about any other concerns other than what was directly ahead of them. This time, he took the lead as he guided them up the stairs towards the surface, and closer to their destination. Regardless of what he might have done had he been in control sooner, there was no time for worry or doubts right now.

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai

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Vael simply observed through most of the altercation. His stance was that any problem between members of his team should be dealt with however they saw fit, on their own time. Indeed, he gave little restriction as to how his soldiers should behave, as long as they could perform well during their missions. The moment any of their issues started to affect a mission, however, Vael made it known that he would solve their problems himself. If necessary, he would have stepped in to remind Tar not to do anything that would prevent the Human from fulfilling his duties.

Ultimately, though, Tar decided to release the Human and go on her way. A merciful conclusion, overall; perhaps moreso than he deserved. In any case, Vael had made his own observations of the encounter, and drawn a few possible conclusions about this new team member. ”You do not carry yourself as most Humans around us, Petty Officer Flint. For most of your soldiers, we walk among one another, holding closed old wounds that beg to be opened, though we work to keep them sewn shut for the good of our futures. These wounds can bear anger and pain, or respect for some, but it is a history we have shared as enemies. I do not see that weight in your words. You are young, yes? And you do not know my people, not as enemies, and not as allies?”

With others approaching, Vael finally took the time to grab his datapad and confirm the new transfers to his team. Petty Officer Second Class Johnathan Flint, recommended for engineering expertise, and Infiltrator Comi ‘Masam, assigned by the recommendation of Spartan Ryker. The Spartan had proven himself a capable warrior during their time working cooperatively, but Comi would need to do the same, regardless of recommendations. At least her mettle would be easier to test than Flint’s. His reason for being among them were for skills that Vael was unfamiliar with, and that he did not truly know how to measure aside from seeing the results during the mission. ”The weight of words will only carry you so far. I still expect your merit to be proven in battle.”

The Cradle

In this position, the creature could not deliver a full-force blow with its legs, so their spikes merely scratched the surface of Vreta’s armor. Although, its tail proved to be more of a threat as it wrapped around his leg. Getting Vreta to the ground would go a long way to putting the creature in a position to do some real damage.

Underneath his helmet, Vreta was gritting his teeth. In the moment he had to react, Vreta dug his foot into the ground…quite literally. He jabbed a clawed boot into the platform itself, giving him a firm position to resist the pull of the creature’s tail trying to sweep him off of his feet. Rhia closely monitored the forces being applied across the affected sections of his leg armor, though the platform’s floor would likely give before that would, and indeed, that was precisely what started happening.

Vreta had not intended to resist forever. He only intended just to buy a few moments. Rhia tracked the plasma blade through the air during its flight and directed Vreta on when to intercept it. Without so much as taking his eyes off of the creature, he snatched the blade out of the air just before its tail jerked his foot out of the ground.

Vreta hit the ground hard as he fell onto his back. The beast wasted no time climbing onto him to pin him down, while raising one leg high up in the air to finally be able to get a good amount of force behind its spike. With Vreta’s blade in hand, though, it was already too late for it. As the leg started to jab downward, it was met with a swing that cut through the leg both in the middle of the spike, and father down close to the joint. Vreta wasted no time following through, using the momentum of the first swing to start a second cutting diagonally through the thickest part of its body to maximize the damage.

The Cradle

Rhia was not expecting its dexterity to be the unknown variable, but in any case, she worked quickly to adapt. She loosened the safeties on Vreta’s muscles to give him a better chance of taking this creature head-to-head. Luckily, its damaged jaw meant that it could not find much purchase biting down on his head. Teeth scraped against the armor, but could not get around his head to actually start concentrating the force. As far as grappling was concerned, the jaws that would normally be its main weapon were damaged. Being an animal, it may not have been creative enough to understand how to overcome its injury.

The creature was already grabbing a hold of him, so Vreta grabbed it right back in return. He got one hand on its neck, and another on the base of its left spike, then turned around and slammed it up against the column himself. A part of the column was crushed and crumbled under the force of the hit. From there, he released his grip with both hands and started to strike it in every way he could. Powerful, unrestrained blows to the bottom and side of the creature’s head came from one hand, while the other grabbed the knife from his magnetic holster and started to make quick jabs across any bit of soft tissue he could see. He kicked with the clawed boots of one foot, and even delivered a headbutt to try and smash in its teeth. He did not know its vital areas, precisely, but he could at least overwhelm it with attacks and give it enough injuries to make it reconsider wanting to be close to Vreta.

Halo: Aegis Team

Vael 'Virisusai

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Vael was aware of Human conventions for greetings. Many of the Humans who he had been working with as a part of Aegis team no longer bothered with them, since they all knew their customs were not shared. This Human, though, was clearly new. Vael did not know all of the UNSC’s ranks and roles, but the meaning of “engineer” was self-explanatory. If that implied the skills he possessed, then Vreta could see why he might have been selected to assist the team on this mission. They had objectives that would benefit from technical expertise. Vael did recall that some final changes to their team’s composition were being considered by their superiors in the days leading up to the briefing. He would need to check after this to see which had been given approval. These would ideally have been decided upon before the briefing, but logistical issues had been an irritating constant for Aegis team.

Tar ‘Mdalak’s interjection came uninvited, though Vael could not say the Human’s response was any more wise. On his part, Vael would not do anything to hold Tar back unless she threatened to prevent this Human from performing his duties. ”You have a great deal to learn, Flint.”