Tasuma rose its head, seeing that Aviza glanced to the Sergeant, it followed her gaze to the Sergeant. It knew the ODSTs were a stubborn bunch, he would never verbally say an apology. The Sergeant finished grilling the guard, and moved back to escort Tasuma. More humans appeared, and there was even a number of Spartans, from the humans warrior-clans. It heard tales from Iteyi, of the 2nd Clan, and 3rd Clan. The 4th, "Gen IV"s were the latest, and the most numerous. As the group began to move, Tasuma and the ODSTs followed, and Tasuma continued to ponder about the humans. It knew some of the IV's, the squad who had protected its bond-brother were elevated into the 4th Clan, but even then they fought alongside other human warriors, with support from vehicles and aircraft. The tales that Iteyi spoke to Tasuma of told of green armored, golden eyed demons, who mostly fought alone. They caused terrible casualties on their own, and more than a few pairs of Mgalekgolo were felled by their hands.
The group stopped outside of a room with double doors, and the ODSTs caught Tasumas attention by lightly slapping his arm. It was the Sergeant. "Alright Tas' this is where we split. We gotta grab our orders from somewhere else. Remember Tas', you end up in trouble, give us a call. We'll find a ride to you." The Sergeant said, patting Tasuma on the helmet. The other ODSTs patted the Hunter similarly, and then the five humans left the group. Shortly after, an Elite next to him spoke up in Sangheili, "Your rapport with your human friends bodes well for this venture, mgalekgolo. Perhaps the rest of us are able to win their trust as well." Tasuma looked to the Elite and nodded slowly. Perhaps. Even they, the ODSTs who regarded it with much affection, hated it at first. How could they not? It took months and years to reach where they were with their friendship. When the doors opened, and the humans inside began to file out, Tasuma waited. Thinking. Now that the ODSTs were gone, it was truly alone. Even surrounded by other humans, and the aliens that the Lekgolo regarded as allies, alone. It would take time for it to get used to these new allies, it was among the last to get into the board room, and it was easily apparent that the seats weren't suited for a Mgalekgolo. So it opted to stand in the back of the room, as to not block anyone.
The Sergeant looked at Spartan Aviza as she addressed him, and he inhaled as she continued. His shoulders rising in tension. The other ODSTs glanced at each other, and at the other Spartans, but stayed quiet. As soon as she finished, the Sergeant retorted. "Now listen here Spartan," he began, all playfulness gone from his voice, "Tasuma saved my life and the lives of my boys by throwing us onto his back. And if I have to look a fool and incompetent leader in front of Lord fuckin' Hood and The Arbiter him fuckin' self, to stop some fuckin' greener than grass guardie who's never seen a lick of real combat," he shot a dirty glance at the HQ Guards, "from freakin' out and shooting Tasuma, I'll do it in a heartbeat. If I have to- h-hey!" The Sergeants tirade was cut short. Tasuma had lifted its arm and grabbed the Sergeant by the breastplate, lifting him off of its back and placing him onto the ground next to him. All of its spikes lowering to a more relaxed position.
"Tas', I was talking." The Sergeant said sternly. In reply, Tasuma placed an armored finger on the Sergeants chest, then his forehead. The Sergeant shook his head. "Fine. When we move, we keep it tight troopers." He said to the rest of his ODSTs, who nodded, he turned to the HQ Guards, "If anyone throws a potshot at Tas', we'll throw hands and someones gonna get punched into next week." The Sergeant pointed an accusatory finger at them.
Tasuma turned to face Spartan Aviza, slow and lumbering. The Hunter lowered its head towards her, which went lower, then lower, low enough that the back of his neck was exposed to her. And then he remained motionless. "He's uh... apologizing. He did this to everyone in the platoon not long after we picked him up." One of the ODST Privates explained, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Don’t bring that… thing in here! It’s going to give a civvie a heart attack.” One of the guards scolded. The Corporal was the closest to the HQ Guardsmen, and he tilted his head in confusion. Who in the armed forces didn't know about the Hunters? Tasuma itself was silent, and slowly moved its head to face the frantic guard. Before the Sergeant could knock the guard down a peg, the Grunt stepped up to do it instead.
Meanwhile, behind the Hunter, the three ODST privates saw the Spartans disembarking their transports and walking towards them. They tapped each other with their elbows and pointed at them. One of the Privates gave a friendly wave. Usually Spartans and ODSTs had a fairly tense relationship, but these troopers accompanying the Hunter didn't seem to mind the genetically enhanced super-soldiers.
Grik, as the group learned from his rebuttal, even pointed at a Spartan and declared that he wasn't afraid of them. The ODST Sergeant laughed loudly and slapped Grik across the shoulder. "Ha! Grik? I like you!" The Sergeant proclaimed with equal volume. The Corporal leaned over to the Sergeant, "If scaring civvies is a concern why don't we do that thing we did on Sonov III? With the... well without the guns... yeah you know. Cuz' when you think about it, it's pretty absurd." The Sergeant put his hand on the chin of his helmet, thinking for a second. "That's a good idea." The Sergeant grinned, "Tas'?" The Hunter finally spoke, of a sorts. It was more like a short thrum. Tasuma leaned forward, placing both of his fists on the ground, his spikes rising from his back slightly more. The right forward most spike rose to be completely vertical. The Sergeant grabbed its cape and draped it over one of Tasuma's spikes, to ensure it didn't drag on the ground, then he climbed up Tasuma's arm and sat on the Hunters back, using the single vertical spike as a pole to grab onto. The Sergeant turned to the guard, "You ever see an ODST get a piggyback ride from a Hunter?" He said smugly, the trooper turned to Grik, "You wanna ride too? Tas' here once carried five of our sorry asses on his back, so I know he could carry you too." The Sergeant looked back at the Spartans, everyone could practically hear his shit-eating grin, "Sorry Spartans, your squad ain't official yet and Battlebus Tas' is invitation only!" Tasuma thrummed again in agreement, moving an arm closer to Grik.
Tasuma was... happy. That is what the ODSTs said. Yes, it was looking forward to it, and it felt pride, when the medal was pinned to its breastplate. Like it felt when Iteyimeyokosa, its bond brother, taught it the traditional meditations and poems. This pinning of the metal was also traditional, to humans, and the Lieutenant told him the history of it and the meaning. Pinned to the breastplate of the black and grey camouflaged armor was a silver winged parachute, with a large golden star in the middle. Five plus combat drops with the ODSTs. The Lieutenant said Tasuma had earned it, and there was a celebration. Then Tasuma had to leave, and go here, to Australia. Though, the platoon he had fought alongside with for so long strong armed their way into ensuring Tasuma had an escort there.
Tasuma had already been in the city for a week, and the UNSC kept it and the five ODST escorts in a nearby base. But today was the day. The truck Tasuma was riding in was dark, with no windows, and the driver went slow. Its companions sat in hastily mounted seats, and they conversed casually, talking about the local food and booze. Some of what they were talking about seemed appealing to Tasuma. Soon the truck halted, and the door opened, revealing the building surrounded by walls. The five fully armored ODSTs quickly unbuckled, one picking up a satchel, and filed out of the truck. Tasuma followed at his own, slow, pace. There were other humans there with a forklift, presumably to transport the box containing Tasumas equipment, one was talking to the ODST Sergeant with a clipboard in hand. As soon as they saw it, they stopped what they were doing, and the man dropped his clipboard. The Sergeant promptly shook the shocked mans shoulders. "I said, do not even scratch the paint," The Sergeant pointed at Tasuma, "of his Assault Cannon and shield!" The Corporal chuckled, and then walked over to the Hunter. He opened his satchel, "So Tas', me and the boys got you a lil' somethin'!" He pulled out a crimson bundle of cloth, and unraveled it in front of the Hunter. It was a shoulder cloak, meant for his right side judging by the leather shoulder pad, and emblazoned in the middle of the large cloak was the symbol of the Swords of Sanghelios in ivory. Tasuma stared in silence. "Alright, alright now don't get all teary eyed on us, you gotta look your best for your new boss." He said, he approached the Mgalekgolo and the other ODSTs helped the Corporal clip the leather pauldron onto the massive colony. The Corporal rubbed some grime off the Hunters helmet before turning to the Sergeant, who was standing with his arms crossed. The Sergeant nodded with approval, and they began to move towards the tower.
The people in the courtyards of Bravo-6 gave the Hunter a wide berth, and the five ODSTs surrounding the Hunter ensured it. It wasn't long until Tasuma stopped in its tracks, and the ODST escort halted with it. The six spikes lifted slightly from its back, then it turned and began walking in a separate direction. The ODSTs followed without question, and it became rapidly apparent as to why. As the group rounded the corner of the building, they saw that they were walking towards an Unggoy and a Sangheili.
Appearance: Tasuma is an imposing form, standing near the upper limit of recorded Mgalekgolo height, he is 12 feet tall and 4 inches, and capable of hunching down into a comfortable combat stance of 7 feet, 4 inches. Tasuma itself looks just like any other Lekgolo colony, a mass of orange worm like aliens clustered together into a form. Where it begins to differ in appearance is in its armor. Having worked alongside UNSC scientists and engineers, it's Covenant issued armor has been given a new coat of paint, from blue to the ODST's black and grey BDU camouflage. Tasuma is also rarely seen in the field without camo netting draped over its back and head, further providing concealment. Seemingly to further the idea that Tasuma has adopted the human method of warfare, its armor and assault cannon has been modified with additional plates to cover the glowing eyes and exposed incendiary fuel ammunition tubes. These plates can be retracted to allow the glow of the weapon and eyes to be seen again. Even on its back, between its spikes, the humans had managed to affix an array of four smoke grenade launchers. Tasuma itself is a fairly submissive Mgalekgolo, often crouched over disguising its true height, to make itself as small as possible. In the day to day, Tasuma is often just under its combat stance height. The spikes on its back are often relaxed and limp, and it can be seen walking using its shield as a third leg occasionally, almost like crawling.
Skills: Fighting things, smashing things, looking at things. Preferred Weapons/Equipment: Tasuma prefers its Pavise Shield and Assault Cannon, and has found use for the smoke grenade launchers on its back. But the UNSC Engineers and Scientists that work with Tasuma have come up with all sorts of things. Explosive-Reactive-Armor plating for its shield to make it more resistant against HEAT rockets and missiles, fitting fragmentation grenades in its smoke grenade launchers, an experimental active protection system that disrupts the electromagnetic field of incoming plasma fire, (at the cost of disrupting all outgoing weapons that use electromagnetic fields in someway, and unshielded electronics, and it may possibly cause health issues) and more. Tasuma tries to let them down gently.
Background: Tasuma is a fairly young Hunter, having been born from its Bondbrother, Iteyimeyokosa, only ten years ago. Iteyi was a warrior on the Lekgolo homeworld of Te and the other Lekgolo colonies for over a hundred years, settling disputes, keeping the peace and fighting aggressive wildlife. When Tasuma was born, the bonded pair gained the attention of a Sangheili Commander. The Commander personally requested that Tasuma and Iteyi join his unit as Hunters in the Covenant military, and the two accepted. During the Human-Covenant War, Iteyi was a ferocious soldier, while Tasuma was the more meek. However together the Hunters were a force to be reckoned with.
During the Great Betrayal, Tasuma and Iteyi were on Earth fighting alongside Sangheili when the Jiralhanae suddenly began to attack the Sangheili. The Hunter pair quickly reacted by rushing to their commanders aid. With the Hunters aid, the Jiralhanae were fought off, and the group of Hunters, Elites, as well as several confused Unggoy fled. It wasn't long that they stumbled into a firefight between a battered UNSC forward operating base, and a large contingent of Covenant forces. The Sangheili Commander acted quickly, forming a plan to strike at the rear of the Jiralhanae. The Hunters and Sangheili broke the back of the Brute assault, stuck between the Elites and the UNSC, the Covenant attackers were destroyed. There was a tense pause between the UNSC and their rescuers, a pause that was broken by the appearance of a second wave of Covenant. The Elites immediately opened fire, a response good enough for the humans, and together they manned the walls of the UNSC base. Tasuma and Iteyi held the entrance when Iteyi was struck by an enemy heavy weapon, felling the Mgalekgolo. For Tasuma it was as if time had stopped, its elder brother had been felled. Then a squad of ODSTs ran from the walls and formed a perimeter around the fallen Hunter, their team medics working frantically. Tasuma was struck by their decision to move to save an alien who just hours before was invading their world. Tasuma roared, slammed its shield against the floor, and backed up to become a living shield for the ODSTs. It wasn't long after until another UNSC element appeared, the rest of the ODST's platoon. Bolstered by reinforcements, the Covenant attack was fought off, and they were left with the awkward question as human and alien looked to one another. What now?
Tasuma dared not leave its wounded brother, as the Elites spoke to the Human officers. More than a few ODSTs surrounded it, watching it, as it watched the medics. When the medics finally finished, Tasuma could feel a sliver of life from its brother. The Humans had saved its bondbrother, and with that, Tasuma had formed new opinions.
Later, the group was united with the Fleet of Retribution. As the Elites and Grunts joined with their brethren, Tasuma again refused to leave its brother. Iteyi was moved to a secure UNSC facility, Spatha Base, and Tasuma followed. As security, the platoon of ODSTs followed closely behind them. As Iteyi began its slow heal, hours rolled into days, and days rolled into weeks. The ODSTs became bolder and bolder, approaching Tasuma, who stood no more than ten feet away from its brother at any time. Tasuma and the ODSTs eventually began to converse, it learned the names of the ones who saved its brother. It took a whole year for Tasuma to trust the humans with its brother, even with Iteyi's assurance that the humans meant only well. With the relationship between the ODST platoon, now dubbed "The Worm Wranglers", and the two Hunters being well, the UNSC expanded the scope of the project. From ensuring Iteyi's survival and continued healing, thus ensuring a good relationship between Elites and Humans, to now include societal research, weapons development, and more. Over the next few years, Tasuma would fight alongside the ODSTs against pockets of Covenant resistance on Earth and her colonies. Tasuma and Iteyi would pledge their allegiance to the Swords of Sanghelios, though it would take Iteyi decades more to fully recover from the attack. Over the years, the six person combat team that had rushed down from the walls to defend Iteyi would be offered the position of Spartan-IV, and they would accept, becoming Fireteam Knifefish.
Tasuma, Fireteam Knifefish, and the Worm Wranglers Platoon of ODSTs would regularly be deployed alongside Swords of Sangheilios units for joint operations. Meanwhile at Spatha Base on Earth, the team surrounding Iteyi's recovery had easily tripled in size, now encompassing both Human scientists and engineers, and Sangheili medics-in-training and weaponsmiths. The Iteyimeyokosa Recovery Project now included cross training, education, as well as research, becoming one of the larger joint UNSC-Swords of Sanghelios projects in existence.
Tasuma would be approached by its old commanding officer once more, now a political leader supporting The Arbiter, and he would ask the battle hardened Hunter to join the newly formed HSSO Aegis Team. Under the advisement of its friends in the ODSTs, Fireteam Knifefish, and its bond brother, Tasuma would accept.
Includes misc things as well as details about the characters important in Tasuma's history.
2nd Platoon "Worm Wranglers", Lt. Donovan Horn. An expert tactician, is able to balance his platoon of ODSTs, Fireteam Knifefish, and the Hunter Tasuma to play to their absolute strengths. 6 person strong Fireteam Knifefish, works very closely with ODSTs 22nd Battalion's "Worm Wranglers" platoon. Considers themselves subservient to Lt. Horn. Comprised of Spartans Alonzo Villa (Leader), Everett Peters (Medic), Angie Summers (Medic), Malcolm Riggs (Automatic Rifleman), Joseph Boyd (Grenadier), August Hayes (Marksman).
Aro'Dahom. Sangheili, former Field Master of the Covenant. Currently a political leader in the Swords of Sanghelios advocating for the core ideals of the group and a deeper alliance with the Human race.
Mgalekgolo Speculations and Observations Bonded Pair Iteyimeyokosa and Tasumameyofaxre Section 6: Neural Net Connectivity
Unofficial Document for The Iteyimeyokosa Recovery Project by Dr. Clint Bonneau
I would like to preface this section by saying this is mostly speculation and observation, talked about in an unofficial manner quite literally in the facility cafeteria most of the time between researchers and even the ODSTs posted here. All of the information in this document is pending peer review but seeing as we are the only ones with a Hunter pair, it may stay pending for quite a few years. As such this document has been written up as a quick crash course for any new members of the Project. Keep in mind almost all of the information in this document is unproven speculation and observation. We all agreed that we would do everything in our power as to not anger the Mgalekgolo with invasive tests, seeing as they can break every bone in our body with a single swing of an arm and trash the entire facility in maybe an hour. We here at the Project expect you to conform to this agreement. Now to begin.
There have been many rumors surrounding Hunters stemming from the War. The rumor this section is related to is the rumor that you can never sneak up on a Hunter. There are several 'because' explanations. One explanation from the troops is that because a Hunter is comprised of many eel/worm like creatures, they have eyes and ears surrounding their body. Another 'because' is that they can smell fear. There are several more, but they are far fetched and this is a document about scientists speculating, not soldiers speculating. Suffice to say 'smelling fear' is as close as the soldiers have gotten. From the years working our Hunter Pair we have observed that the Lekgolo possibly have a sensitivity to neurological activity, while we haven't taken apart a Lekgolo to confirm that they have an electroreceptor organ, we have all agreed that they probably do have one, or something similar. The spikes on the back of a Mgalekgolo are actually Lekgolo worms, but with a higher sensitivity. Both Iteyi and Tasuma have these spikes. While the body itself has this effect of detecting, the Hunters appear to rely on the spikes for communication and detection.
Both the Hunters can and will communicate wordlessly, presumably using their sensitivity to neurological activity. Troops have never observed a singular Mgalekgolo, they are always deployed in pairs. And Tasuma took a whole year before moving away from his brothers side. Close social bonds appear to be incredibly important to the Mgalekgolo. Interestingly, we have observed a sort of 'adoption' with the pair.
The entirety of the 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, 22nd Shock Troopers Battalion, 65th Division, appears to have been adopted by Iteyi and Tasuma. The decision appears to have taken the better part of two years, and we have missed the cues that may have clued us in on what was going on. Tasuma paid more attention to the ODSTs, began to follow the largest group of ODSTs around, etc. When we noticed, we requested for the construction of a War Games facility, and we got a small one. Incredibly, the platoon of ODSTs and Tasuma were working in concert during the War Games training. We even observed that same wordless communication, albeit somewhat different, in the training. Through body language and hand signals the ODSTs were able to communicate with Tasuma much the same way we suspect Iteyi would. We credit Lt. Donovan Horn with devising this method of communication, and we suspect that it's Lt. Horn's presence over his ODSTs that helped cement the Platoon as a potential brother in Tasumas mind. The unit works incredibly well and in sync, Tasuma and Iteyi possibly found parallels.
When the 2nd Platoon and Tasuma agreed to be deployed in combat, several of our researchers went with them to keep an eye on Tasuma. Looking over their documents, we found that even with the 2nd Platoon as Tasuma's adopted brothers, he exhibited tendencies aligning with depression, suicide, and irritability, six months into deployment. To help alleviate this issue, we constructed a long range holographic, real time, communication device (See Section 10: Armor and Equipment). While there may be a time lag, we discovered that using this device while the two hunters are resting can extend Tasuma's stability to nine months before he shows those negative emotions again. Between most missions Tasuma and the 2nd Platoon returns to Earth to the Facility anyways to 'recharge' Tasuma.
The next section is an analysis of Tasuma and Iteyi's behavior concerning their new adopted brother, the ODST 2nd Platoon of Charlie Company, 22nd Shock Troopers Division. And the section after is an analysis on the combat tactics of Lt. Horn incorporating a Hunter into traditional ODST tactics, and how Tasuma works with said tactics.
Following the hypothesis of an Electroreceptive Organ, we have offered Lt. Horn's daughter, Dr. Marie Horn to join us. She has PhD in shark biology. If you know anyone else who would like to work with a Mgalekgolo, bring it up.
Changelog >6/24/2020 - v1.0 release >7/5/2020 v1.1 - Added "Mgalekgolo Speculations and Observations" to Notes
Yeah I purposely tried to make it as small scale as possible while making sure there were a few NPCs lying around in the background to make it seem like a big planetary invasion. The decision to team up would have been left to something like platoon commander to platoon commander. The unintended benefit of this is that if Aegis is ever going into a big battle and we’re gonna need backup, you don't have to pull random faceless mooks from out of nowhere.
And thanks for the heads up about Colony, I did see them referenced in my research but I didn't think too much of it. And I never got around to playing the two Halo Wars games either, Windows Store doesn't do well on my computer. I’ll go check out their voice lines right now.
Appearance: Tasuma is an imposing form, standing near the upper limit of recorded Mgalekgolo height, he is 12 feet tall and 4 inches, and capable of hunching down into a comfortable combat stance of 7 feet, 4 inches. Tasuma itself looks just like any other Lekgolo colony, a mass of orange worm like aliens clustered together into a form. Where it begins to differ in appearance is in its armor. Having worked alongside UNSC scientists and engineers, it's Covenant issued armor has been given a new coat of paint, from blue to the ODST's black and grey BDU camouflage. Tasuma is also rarely seen in the field without camo netting draped over its back and head, further providing concealment. Seemingly to further the idea that Tasuma has adopted the human method of warfare, its armor and assault cannon has been modified with additional plates to cover the glowing eyes and exposed incendiary fuel ammunition tubes. These plates can be retracted to allow the glow of the weapon and eyes to be seen again. Even on its back, between its spikes, the humans had managed to affix an array of four smoke grenade launchers. Tasuma itself is a fairly submissive Mgalekgolo, often crouched over disguising its true height, to make itself as small as possible. In the day to day, Tasuma is often just under its combat stance height. The spikes on its back are often relaxed and limp, and it can be seen walking using its shield as a third leg occasionally, almost like crawling.
Skills: Fighting things, smashing things, looking at things. Preferred Weapons/Equipment: Tasuma prefers its Pavise Shield and Assault Cannon, and has found use for the smoke grenade launchers on its back. But the UNSC Engineers and Scientists that work with Tasuma have come up with all sorts of things. Explosive-Reactive-Armor plating for its shield to make it more resistant against HEAT rockets and missiles, fitting fragmentation grenades in its smoke grenade launchers, an experimental active protection system that disrupts the electromagnetic field of incoming plasma fire, (at the cost of disrupting all outgoing weapons that use electromagnetic fields in someway, and unshielded electronics, and it may possibly cause health issues) and more. Tasuma tries to let them down gently.
Background: Tasuma is a fairly young Hunter, having been born from its Bondbrother, Iteyimeyokosa, only ten years ago. Iteyi was a warrior on the Lekgolo homeworld of Te and the other Lekgolo colonies for over a hundred years, settling disputes, keeping the peace and fighting aggressive wildlife. When Tasuma was born, the bonded pair gained the attention of a Sangheili Commander. The Commander personally requested that Tasuma and Iteyi join his unit as Hunters in the Covenant military, and the two accepted. During the Human-Covenant War, Iteyi was a ferocious soldier, while Tasuma was the more meek. However together the Hunters were a force to be reckoned with.
During the Great Betrayal, Tasuma and Iteyi were on Earth fighting alongside Sangheili when the Jiralhanae suddenly began to attack the Sangheili. The Hunter pair quickly reacted by rushing to their commanders aid. With the Hunters aid, the Jiralhanae were fought off, and the group of Hunters, Elites, as well as several confused Unggoy fled. It wasn't long that they stumbled into a firefight between a battered UNSC forward operating base, and a large contingent of Covenant forces. The Sangheili Commander acted quickly, forming a plan to strike at the rear of the Jiralhanae. The Hunters and Sangheili broke the back of the Brute assault, stuck between the Elites and the UNSC, the Covenant attackers were destroyed. There was a tense pause between the UNSC and their rescuers, a pause that was broken by the appearance of a second wave of Covenant. The Elites immediately opened fire, a response good enough for the humans, and together they manned the walls of the UNSC base. Tasuma and Iteyi held the entrance when Iteyi was struck by an enemy heavy weapon, felling the Mgalekgolo. For Tasuma it was as if time had stopped, its elder brother had been felled. Then a squad of ODSTs ran from the walls and formed a perimeter around the fallen Hunter, their team medics working frantically. Tasuma was struck by their decision to move to save an alien who just hours before was invading their world. Tasuma roared, slammed its shield against the floor, and backed up to become a living shield for the ODSTs. It wasn't long after until another UNSC element appeared, the rest of the ODST's platoon. Bolstered by reinforcements, the Covenant attack was fought off, and they were left with the awkward question as human and alien looked to one another. What now?
Tasuma dared not leave its wounded brother, as the Elites spoke to the Human officers. More than a few ODSTs surrounded it, watching it, as it watched the medics. When the medics finally finished, Tasuma could feel a sliver of life from its brother. The Humans had saved its bondbrother, and with that, Tasuma had formed new opinions.
Later, the group was united with the Fleet of Retribution. As the Elites and Grunts joined with their brethren, Tasuma again refused to leave its brother. Iteyi was moved to a secure UNSC facility, Spatha Base, and Tasuma followed. As security, the platoon of ODSTs followed closely behind them. As Iteyi began its slow heal, hours rolled into days, and days rolled into weeks. The ODSTs became bolder and bolder, approaching Tasuma, who stood no more than ten feet away from its brother at any time. Tasuma and the ODSTs eventually began to converse, it learned the names of the ones who saved its brother. It took a whole year for Tasuma to trust the humans with its brother, even with Iteyi's assurance that the humans meant only well. With the relationship between the ODST platoon, now dubbed "The Worm Wranglers", and the two Hunters being well, the UNSC expanded the scope of the project. From ensuring Iteyi's survival and continued healing, thus ensuring a good relationship between Elites and Humans, to now include societal research, weapons development, and more. Over the next few years, Tasuma would fight alongside the ODSTs against pockets of Covenant resistance on Earth and her colonies. Tasuma and Iteyi would pledge their allegiance to the Swords of Sanghelios, though it would take Iteyi decades more to fully recover from the attack. Over the years, the six person combat team that had rushed down from the walls to defend Iteyi would be offered the position of Spartan-IV, and they would accept, becoming Fireteam Knifefish.
Tasuma, Fireteam Knifefish, and the Worm Wranglers Platoon of ODSTs would regularly be deployed alongside Swords of Sangheilios units for joint operations. Meanwhile at Spatha Base on Earth, the team surrounding Iteyi's recovery had easily tripled in size, now encompassing both Human scientists and engineers, and Sangheili medics-in-training and weaponsmiths. The Iteyimeyokosa Recovery Project now included cross training, education, as well as research, becoming one of the larger joint UNSC-Swords of Sanghelios projects in existence.
Tasuma would be approached by its old commanding officer once more, now a political leader supporting The Arbiter, and he would ask the battle hardened Hunter to join the newly formed HSSO Aegis Team. Under the advisement of its friends in the ODSTs, Fireteam Knifefish, and its bond brother, Tasuma would accept.
Includes misc things as well as details about the characters important in Tasuma's history.
2nd Platoon "Worm Wranglers", Lt. Donovan Horn. An expert tactician, is able to balance his platoon of ODSTs, Fireteam Knifefish, and the Hunter Tasuma to play to their absolute strengths. 6 person strong Fireteam Knifefish, works very closely with ODSTs 22nd Battalion's "Worm Wranglers" platoon. Considers themselves subservient to Lt. Horn. Comprised of Spartans Alonzo Villa (Leader), Everett Peters (Medic), Angie Summers (Medic), Malcolm Riggs (Automatic Rifleman), Joseph Boyd (Grenadier), August Hayes (Marksman).
Aro'Dahom. Sangheili, former Field Master of the Covenant. Currently a political leader in the Swords of Sanghelios advocating for the core ideals of the group and a deeper alliance with the Human race.
This is me taking up the DM's challenge of playing a singular Mgalekgolo. cs wip, don't look
💣 Name: Tasumameyofaxre "Tasuma" Rank: Hunter Species: Lekgolo - Mgalekgolo Colony Appearance: Tasuma is an imposing form, standing near the upper limit of recorded Mgalekgolo height, he is 12 feet tall and 4 inches, and capable of hunching down into a comfortable combat stance of 7 feet, 4 inches. Tasuma itself looks just like any other Lekgolo colony, a mass of orange worm like aliens clustered together into a form. Where it begins to differ in appearance is in its armor. Having worked alongside UNSC scientists and engineers, it's Covenant issued armor has been given a new coat of paint, from blue to the ODST's black and grey BDU camouflage. Tasuma is also rarely seen in the field without camo netting draped over its back and head, further providing concealment. Seemingly to further the idea that Tasuma has adopted the human method of warfare, its armor and assault cannon has been modified with additional plates to cover the glowing eyes and exposed incendiary fuel ammunition tubes. These plates can be retracted to allow the glow of the weapon and eyes to be seen again. Even on its back, between its spikes, the humans had managed to affix an array of four smoke grenade launchers. Tasuma itself is a fairly submissive Mgalekgolo, often crouched over disguising its true height, to make itself as small as possible. In the day to day, Tasuma is often just under its combat stance height. The spikes on its back are often relaxed and limp, and it can be seen walking using its shield as a third leg occasionally, almost like crawling.
Skills: Fighting things, smashing things, observing things. Surprisingly good at being stealthy. Preferred Weapons/Equipment: Tasuma prefers his Pavise Shield and Assault Cannon, and has found use for the smoke grenade launchers on his back. But the UNSC Engineers and Scientists that work with Tasuma have come up with all sorts of things. Explosive-Reactive-Armor plating for his shield to make it more resistant against HEAT rockets and missiles, fitting fragmentation grenades in his smoke grenade launchers, an experimental active protection system that disrupts the electromagnetic field of incoming plasma fire, (at the cost of disrupting all outgoing weapons that use electromagnetic fields in someway, and unshielded electronics, and it may possibly cause health issues) and more. Tasuma tries to let them down gently. Background: Tasuma is a fairly young Hunter, having been born from its Bondbrother, Iteyimeyokosa, only ten years ago. Iteyi was a warrior on the Lekgolo homeworld of Te and the other Lekgolo colonies for over a hundred years, settling disputes, keeping the peace and fighting aggressive wildlife. When Tasuma was born, the bonded pair gained the attention of a Sangheili Commander. The Commander personally requested that Tasuma and Iteyi join his unit as Hunters in the Covenant military, and the two accepted. During the Human-Covenant War, Iteyi was a ferocious soldier, while Tasuma was the more meek. However together the Hunters were a force to be reckoned with. During the Great Betrayal, Tasuma and Iteyi were on Earth fighting alongside Sangheili when the Jiralhanae suddenly began to attack the Sangheili. The Hunter pair quickly reacted by rushing to their commanders aid. With the Hunters aid, the Jiralhanae were fought off, and the group of Hunters, Elites, as well as several confused Unggoy fled. It wasn't long that they stumbled into a firefight between a battered UNSC forward operating base, and a large contingent of Covenant forces. The Sangheili Commander acted quickly, forming a plan to strike at the rear of the Jiralhanae. The Hunters and Sangheili broke the back of the Brute assault, stuck between the Elites and the UNSC, the Covenant attackers were destroyed. There was a tense pause between the UNSC and their rescuers, a pause that was broken by the appearance of a second wave of Covenant. The Elites immediately opened fire, a response good enough for the humans, and together they manned the walls of the UNSC base. Tasuma and Iteyi held the entrance when Iteyi was struck by an enemy heavy weapon, felling the Mgalekgolo. For Tasuma it was as if time had stopped, his elder brother had been felled. Then a squad of ODSTs ran from the walls and formed a perimeter around the fallen Hunter, their team medic working frantically. Tasuma was struck by their decision to move to save an alien who just hours before was invading their world. Tasuma roared, slammed his shield against the floor, and backed up to become a living shield for the ODSTs. It wasn't long after until another UNSC element appeared, the rest of the ODST's platoon. Bolstered by reinforcements, the Covenant attack was fought off, and they were left with the awkward question as human and alien looked to one another. What now? Tasuma dared not leave his wounded brother, as the Elites spoke to the Human officers. More than a few ODSTs surrounded it, watching it, as it watched the medics. When the medics finally finished, Tasuma could feel a sliver of life from its brother. The Humans had saved its bondbrother, and with that, Tasuma had formed new opinions. Later, the group was united with the Fleet of Retribution. As the Elites and Grunts joined with their brethren, Tasuma again refused to leave his brother. Iteyi was moved to a secure UNSC facility, Spatha Base, and Tasuma followed. As security, the platoon of ODSTs followed closely behind them. As Iteyi began its slow heal, hours rolled into days, and days rolled into weeks. The ODSTs became bolder and bolder, approaching Tasuma, who stood no more than ten feet away from its brother at any time. Tasuma and the ODSTs eventually began to converse, it learned the names of the ones who saved its brother. It took a whole year for Tasuma to trust the humans with its brother, even with Iteyi's assurance that the humans meant only well. With the relationship between the ODST platoon, now dubbed "The Worm Wranglers", and the two Hunters being well, the UNSC expanded the scope of the project. From ensuring Iteyi's survival and continued healing, thus ensuring a good relationship between Elites and Humans, to now include societal research, weapons development, and more. Over the next few years, Tasuma would fight alongside the ODSTs against pockets of Covenant resistance on Earth and her colonies. Tasuma and Iteyi would pledge their allegiance to the Swords of Sanghelios, though it would take Iteyi decades more to fully recover from the attack. Over the years, the four person fireteam that had rushed down from the walls to defend Iteyi would be offered the position of Spartan-IV, and they would accept, becoming Fireteam Knifefish. Tasuma, Fireteam Knifefish, and the Worm Wranglers Platoon of ODSTs would regularly be deployed alongside Swords of Sangheilios units for joint operations. Meanwhile at Spatha Base on Earth, the team surrounding Iteyi's recovery had easily tripled in size, now encompassing both Human scientists and engineers, and Sangheili medics-in-training and weaponsmiths. The Iteyimeyokosa Recovery Project now included cross training, education, as well as research, becoming one of the larger joint UNSC-Swords of Sanghelios projects in existence. Tasuma would be approached by his old commanding officer once more, now a political leader supporting The Arbiter, and he would ask the battle hardened Hunter to join the newly formed HSSO Aegis Team. Under the advisement of its friends in the ODSTs, Fireteam Knifefish, and its bond brother, Tasuma would accept.
