Yes! Yes! It's awsome!!! keep it up!

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The Eayn Tribute: Read about the life of a jackal, who fights back during a rebellion against the covenant, and must struggle to remain alive as the Covenant fight the small group of rebels.

http://www.halowars.com/forums/thread/804296.aspx

Thanks belac, I just wish this had as many reads as Insurrection gets :D

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"This one has forgotten whether it's heatsink is over capacity. It wonders whether the criminal scum considers itself fortunate" ~ Blasto, the only Hanar Spectre.

I think it does...

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Spess mehrens

Just read every chapter....

 I LOVE THIS FIC!

Decided to ease up on the Insurrection; build up the tension, and work on this. Enjoy.

Part 36 - Hell's passage

I leaped through the shield, feeling like I was going to smack into it. The Jackal corpse I held, however, pulled through, and I emerged safely on the other side...

...and nearly tumbled off a icy cliff. I swore, and felt my foot lose it's grip, my body propelling me forward. I flailed my arms wildly, knowing that there was no way I'd survive the fall. Suddenly, I slipped, and began to fall.

Before I went more than a metre down though, a strong grip grabbed my belt, halting my descent. I looked up, and saw the gleaming visor of Blade looking down at me.

"You're just full of bad luck aren't you son? Ever heard the term: look before you leap?" the ODST Sergeant asked, and I couldn't reply. How could he be spouting proverbs when I was dangling off a cliff edge?

He finally got around to hoisting me up with a grunt, and I flopped onto the solid edge of the cliff, panting, adrenaline coursing through me. Blade was also lying down, likewise short of breath. I turned my head to look at him.

"Thanks." I gasped wearily, unable to say more.

"Don't...don't mention it lad." Blade replied, wheezing. Rook, Switch and the two Spartans stepped through the shield calmly, discarding their Covenant 'entry passes' and looking at us both with an odd look.

"What happened to you two?" Switch asked, hand on hips, leaning over us.

"Don't ask Switch. Just don't ask." Blade ordered, scrambling to his legs. I followed suit, still feeling sick.

"Big drop." Rook remarked, peering over the edge. It was a big drop. I didn't want to think about it. Still, I felt complied to look, and saw it: the Harvest commerce centre, situated right within an artificial canyon in the centre of the bubble.

It was huge. Colossal. As big as fifty Football fields; which made sense, considering it was the centre of all trade and produce on the planet. Not any-more though. Even from this height, I could see the battle below. It wasn't going in our favour. The Covenant were wiping the UNSC defence out, with Hunters and Elites swarming in. This was going to be hard.

"Right, we're going down there." Blade remarked, taking a grappling hook from his belt. He affixed it to the cliff, wedging it firmly behind a rock. He threw the other end of the rope over the edge of the steep drop, where it flew down, "Keep up. Spartans, you find another way down and meet us in the centre. Divide and conquer is the best policy here."

Then the ODST Staff Sergeant grasped the thick cord, looped it threw his belt, and jumped off the edge with a grunt. I ran over the edge and saw him abseiling down the rocky face of the cliff, perfectly in sync.

I, Rook, Switch and Mains looked at each other nervously, and then drew out our own grappling hooks.

"I hope we're getting paid double for this." Mains muttered, spearing the ice of the cliff edge with the sharp hook. I and the others did likewise.

"Paid? We haven't been paid in months Mains." Switch replied, chuckling. I threw the end of my cord over the cliff edge, and, after threading it through my belt, jumped off the edge.

The completely weightless feeling was eerie, until the mechanical cord slowed me down and I managed to dig into the ice of the cliff with my boots. Immediately I stopped, and heard the rest of my squad hold fast at a similar place.

"This is dodgy..." I stated, looking down. Rocks crumbled and tumbled deep into the valley below.

"Keep jumping you big girl, you'll get there eventually." Blade insulted, and I scowled, and continued to move down at a slow, steady pace.

Eventually, I reached the bottom, and unclasped the release on the rope. I feel a few feet into the snow at the bottom, and activated the heater of my VISR, which melted the snow. I stumbled to my feet, and withdrew my huge Covenant rifle, which was purple and had a long nozzle. It seemed to be more of a sniper than a rifle actually. I'd looted it from one of the dead Jackals. I noted with some satisfaction the it had a zoom, with two settings, which interfaced with my helmet. Not as good as a human sniper, but it was the next best thing.

The others dropped down next to me, and drew out their own weapons. Blade had a Covenant Carbine, looted from the other Jackal, and the others had Plasma pistols, with the exception of Switch, who had a Needler rifle.

"There it is." Rook said unnecessarily, pointing north towards the huge commerce centre.

"Thanks for the heads up Rook, we would have completely missed the thing otherwise, despite the fact it's the only thing in this valley." Switch taunted sarcastically.

"According to Intel, there should be an underground supply tunnel somewhere near here." Blade told us thoughtfully. I looked at the sheer amount of snow covering the ground, metres high.

"And how are we supposed to find it? It's a small entrance, covered by mounds of snow!" I cried, exasperated. Bladed hummed in agreement.

"You're right son. It could take us hours to find, maybe even days. Eventually, we may be forced to try a desperate, frontal assault on the commerce centre, where we may all lose our lives. To come this far, only to be thwarted by mother nature. Oh the irony, we're trying to save this planet, and the planet is preventing us from doing--" Blade began to ramble depressingly, until he was cut off by a shout 100 metres to the right.

"Hey guys, I've found the entrance to the tunnel!" Mains crowed at us, and I looked at Blade, depolarising my visor so he could see the satirical smile I was wearing. He coughed, embarrassed.

"You see Farm Boy? I told you there was nothing to worry about. You need to stop being so pessimistic, it ain't good for ya'." Blade lectured me with a completely straight face, and then he sprinted through the thick snow towards Mains. I sighed, shook my head in disbelief, and followed suit. Rook and Switch followed, laughing.

"Nice job mate." Rook congratulated Mains as we drew close to the green ODST, giving him a friendly punch on the shoulder. I patted his back, and took a look at his discovery. A large set of double doors were embedded into the ground. They were ajar, and the locks looked to have been melted; by plasma weaponry.

"Looks like we aren't the only ones try to sneak from behind." Switch remarked, and we all nodded. The Covenant were down there.

"It's times like these when I miss my shotgun. Well Rook, lead on." Blade ordered, indicating the entrance. Rook did a double take, and cried out in protest.

"What? Why me?" he exploded, looking like he was going to smack Blade one there and then.

"Because," Blade growled, "you're the Close quarters combat expert, and also, you're the one I hate the most in the squad."

"You do?" Rook asked, hurt.

"Nah, I'm just kidding. But you are the CQB specialist. So get your ass down there, before my foot connects with it." Blade replied, chuckling.

"Yes sir..." Rook muttered glumly, bending down to pry one of the double doors away from the staircase it was resting upon. He flipped it onto the snow, and, taking a deep breath, descended down. The rest of us followed after him nervously. Mains was the last to enter, and he shut the heavy steel door behind him, plunging us into darkness.

Moisture leaked from the ceiling, adding to the tense atmosphere. It looked like a pretty old tunnel, brick rather than modern steel. The whole of Harvest seemed to be like that at times; traditional.

"Bloody hell, it's dark." Blade remarked, bumping into me as he said so. He didn't apologise.

"Should we go into VISR sir?" I asked.

"No, for all we know the whole commerce centre could be powered down. We should save the battery charge. Just use the flash lights on your pistols." Blade told us, and we nodded, bringing out our armour piercing side arms, the only human weapons with us. I activated the light on the bottom of the gun's shaft, and bright white light filled the narrow tunnel. The others did the same, and soon, the once dark environment was as light as day.

"Stay sharp, there could be all kinds of nasties in here." I warned.

"Good call." Blade replied for no apparent reason, crouching and moving forward.

Graffiti littered the walls of the tunnel, probably drawn by teenagers on field trips. Pipes leaked even more water onto the already sodden ground.

After five minutes, we ran into the first sign of the Covenant.

Three Grunts, accompanied by a lone...thing. The unknown alien was ape like in appearance, and looked to be even taller than an Elite. It had brown, shaggy fur, sharp canines, claws protruding from it's hands, and what looked to be primitive armour. Strangely basic for the Covenant.

"What's that thing?" I whispered, forgetting that there was no need to: I was on a secure, soundproof channel.

"Hell if I know, but it doesn't look to have shields, thankfully. Take 'em out lads. Farm Boy, you take the first shot." Blade commanded in a normal level of voice. I brought out my Covenant sniper rifle, and went prone, crawling through the shadows to an elevated spot. The ape like alien was squatted upon it's haunches, and seemed to be eating. I realised with revulsion that the meat it was gnawing on was a human leg.

***. I raised the sniper's scope to my eye, and took aim, targeting the ape's unguarded mouth. It opened it's maw, preparing to take another chunk out of it's meal.

I fired, a single shot of wavy energy, which snaked towards the creature. The shot hit the Covenant ape in the back of it's mouth, and carried on through to it's brain, where it emerged out of the other side of it's skull. The gorilla alien gasped, dropping the human leg it held. It thrashed around wildly, catching one of the startled Grunts with a clawed paw, killing it. Interesting, it seemed that the creature's body had yet recognised it's brain was mince meat.

The ignorance didn't last long though, for a moment later, it fell to the ground, and my squad opened fire with plasma streaming at the Grunts, who melted into a puddle of flesh. Lovely. I hopped off the ledge, and strolled towards the creature I had killed, bending down to inspect the corpse.

"Nice shot man; the look on that things face when it felt it's brain pop - precious." Switch congratulated, coming up behind me.

"Yeah thanks, but what was it?" I replied, turning my gaze up to the ODST Techie, who shrugged.

"An escapee from the Harvest national zoo? I don't know, but whatever it is, it's new."

I rolled over the corpse onto it's back, and took a look of what was left of it's face. It did indeed, even close up, look like an ape. It was pretty scary, and not something I'd want to meet without a gun in my hands.

I noticed the rifle it had at it's hip, and removed it, lifting it up. It was surprisingly heavy, metal, with what looked like a bayonet underneath. I aimed the nozzle at a nearby wall, and fired. The kickback nearly sent me flying to the ground, as huge spikes ejected out of the end, spearing through the brick wall. This was a world away from standard Covenant weaponry.

"That's some nail gun." Mains breathed.

"Well, I'll keep it, use it, and then maybe after this I'll pass it over to ONI." I replied, attaching the weapon to a hook at my hip.

"That's if we survive." Rook mentioned.

"Shut up Rook." Blade snapped, "let's focus on getting out of these tunnels first and inside the commerce centre."

"Roger that boss."

I lifted my pistol again, using the flash light, and continued down the tunnel, wary after the previous encounter. I heard a rustling at my feet, and yelped, jumping back. I looked down and sighed in relief, it was just a common brown rat.

Before this mission was over, I had a feeling I was going to become very paranoid.

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"This one has forgotten whether it's heatsink is over capacity. It wonders whether the criminal scum considers itself fortunate" ~ Blasto, the only Hanar Spectre.

Good work Wolver, keep it up

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I detest farmyard animals

What ever Wolver I guess I'll start reading this FF, I just never cared for ODST FF's but I'll give it a shot, starting tomorrow.

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xxgpo3xx:

I like men.

Offensive Bias:

firefox234:

i cant read so this fails

Oh my god you are an idiot. I'm requesting you get banned for purposely trolling and flaming.

This is a special ODST FF Nate; you'll see. And I just might write Part 27 of Insurrection tomorrow, so don't lose all hope.

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"This one has forgotten whether it's heatsink is over capacity. It wonders whether the criminal scum considers itself fortunate" ~ Blasto, the only Hanar Spectre.

Pay attention to Ras, he's more important than you think. Enjoy this, perhaps it will sate your ODST hunger. Perhaps.

Part 37 - Ras Mai'ee

I reached the top of the ladder, and lifted up the steel hatch above slightly, just enough so I could peer through to the surface. What I saw nearly caused me to fall in shock.

Scores and scores of Covenant. And not just mere Grunts, and Jackals, but Elites too, as well as the huge creatures, which I now knew were named Hunters, which had caused the death of Det. Two of the Elites, garbed in golden, splendid armour, barked orders.

"Spread out. We must pillage this temple for holy relics and information." the first golden Elite cried, and the crowd of Covenant obeyed, spreading out in different directions, down through corridors and up stairs. I could faintly hear Grunts complaining. They vanished, and all that remained in the foyer of the commerce centre was the golden Elite, sneering.

Holy temple? I looked at the cracked walls, ash covering the floor. It certainly didn't look holy to me. I slowly shut the hatch, and dropped back down into the tunnel below, where my squad awaited me.

"Well?" Blade demanded, cocking his head.

"We've got a lot of Covenant up there sir, but they've gone to search the place for information." I reported, stretching my arms. Holding onto the rungs of the ladder for so long had been rather painful.

"How many are up there now?" Rook asked, excitedly.

"Just the one. But he looks tough, he was commanding everyone else, he's got golden armour, and a sword." I replied, cautionary.

"Just him?" Blade asked, wanting to confirm what I said. I nodded slowly, "I'll be right back, stay sharp."

Blade clambered up the ladder leading to the meta hatch, and opened it. A moment later, he lunged, grasped something, and fell down.

"Got ya' you ***!" he cried, and I realised with horror what he was grappling with on the floor. Blade had pulled the Elite through into the tunnel below. The ODST Staff Sergeant was on top of the golden Covenant officer, reigning down punch after punch. Ever blow was deflected by energy shields. The Elite roared, and threw Blade off. It stood and faced us angrily. I looked at my squad and nodded, thinking along the same crazy lines as them.

The five of us, me, Rook, Switch, Mains and Blade charged the Elite, and slammed it against the brick wall. It cried in pain, lifting it's head up.

"Pin it's arms!" Switch shouted over the chaos, but before I could lunge for the Elite's left, powerful biceps, it had already reached down to it's belt and ignited a weapon. It looked like an energy sword, but smaller. More of a dagger.

"Oh crap!" I screamed as it swiped at me, jumping back just in time. It kept moving forward with the dagger, causing me to nearly fall over. It swept the rest of my squad out of it's way with it's now free arm, pursuing me with a dogged intent.

The burning knife sailed towards my neck, and I wasted no time. I spun, somehow grabbed the thing's arm, and managed to hold it's arm in place. The Elite roared, and kicked me off, where I landed in a corner, dazed.

It loomed over me, about to finish me off. I drew out my SOCOM, shooting it. The golden warrior merely shrugged the shots off, and continued towards me. The Elite drove down with the dagger, and I rolled out of the way. Not fast enough though, for the blade embedded in my leg, and I screamed in pain.

Suddenly, a huge bolt of green plasma sailed towards the Elite, and impacted, taking down it's energy shields in a blue shimmer. It cried out in surprise, turning around, and I took the initiative, scrambling to my feet and wrapping an arm around it's neck. Before it could twist me off, I pressed the cold steel of my pistol against it's head, and realising it was bested, the Elite stopped struggling.

"Excellent work Farm Boy, keep tight hold while I tie it up." Blade congratulated, bringing out garrotting wire. He didn't strangle the Elite with it though, rather he bound the Covenant Warrior up with it, the wire cutting into it's flesh, purple blood oozing from the wounds. Once satisfied it wasn't going to escape, I released the Elite, and it tumbled to the ground in pain, immobilised. Blade bent down and roughly seized it's neck, turning the gaze of the creature towards him.

"Striking from the shadows, how very like humanity." the Elite rasped spitefully, and Blade laughed, although it was a cold, empty one.

"Very funny. Now, who are you?" Blade questioned.

"Your subordinates and you, you fight well together. Would it that my Unggoy possessed the same companionship as you." spoke the Covenant soldier, completely ignoring Blade's query.

"Bloody hell, it sounds like it's from the 12th century!" Rook remarked, "noweth split lip, wouldst thou be as kindest to telleth us what thy title and purpose in this domain doth be? Lest mine dagger curiously find itself buried in thine satanic heart."

Switch looked at Rook dryly.

"What the hell was that?" the ODST tech specialist asked.

"That's how they spoke back in the 1200s or whatever right?" Rook replied, upset by his friend's taunt.

"No, they didn't. You've been reading too much King Arthur."

"Do you mind? I'm trying to interrogate a prisoner here, and you two are monkeying around!" Blade shouted, and the two bickering ODSTs flinched, muttering an abashed apology, "Farm Boy, pass me the thing's dagger would you?"

I complied, and hefted the surprisingly heavy energy weapon, tossing it to Blade, who activated it somehow. He held the knife to the Elite's neck, and the Covenant officer grimaced in pain as it's flesh began to sear.

"What's your name and rank?" Blade demanded, pressing in a little harder. Purple gas began to sear from the cut, and I realised with a lurch that it was evaporated Elite blood.

"Ras Mai'ee, 1st Zealot of the Fleet of Holy Embarkation." the Elite gasped, and Blade relaxed the dagger slightly.

"Ras eh? Okay then, what are you doing in this building?"

"Searching...for information. We know this is not your only world human, we will find them all, and raze them to dust."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere scum. Whose orders are you here upon? Your own?" Blade asked, once again digging the burning dagger into the Elite's neck, who's eyes grew wide and mouth began to pant. I realised the plasma was probably dehydrating the thing.

"No...not mine...the Prophet of--of Regret's. I'm but--but--but..." Ras had begun to go pale, and it's mouth was drying up. I noticed it's head bean to sway back and forth.

"Blade, I think it needs water. Unless you feel like eating crispy Elite for dinner." I suggested, bringing out a water sack, and tossing it to the Staff Sergeant, who poured it down the Zealot's throat.

"My thanks to you." Ras called over to me, and I turned away, guilty that we were probably going to kill the Elite soon.

"Don't you be getting all chummy lad, this worm is a ***. Now Elite, where are the UNSC survivors in this base?" Blade asked, his voice a whisper.

"My scouts report that they have fallen back to what you call the conference room. It is well fortified. Before you attacked me, I had dispatched several lances to wipe them out. They will no doubt nearly have reached the room." Ras explained, and Blade swore, punching the Elite Zealot in the mouth.

"What was the point of that?" I asked in disbelief, looking at the Elite who spat out a sharp tooth.

"It made me feel better. Right Ras, you're going to lead us to the UNSC, and you're going to tell your troops to stand down." Blade intoned, hoisted the bound Elite off the floor, and dragging him towards the ladder.

"Never! I would rather die!" Ras cried out in protest, although even I could tell it was all false bravado.

"Would you now? Because let me tell you freak, that can easily be arranged." Rook shouted, marching up and placing the shaft of his pistol upon the the Elite's forehead. Ras flinched.

"No! No, I do not wish to die. I shall take you." the Elite admitted, defeated. It hung it's head in shame.

"Good, good. I thought you'd see it my way. Now, I'm going to unbind your legs, but if you try anything, my sniper will shoot you in the neck quicker than you can pray to your heathen Gods." Blade told the Covenant Officer, who nodded meekly. My sniper. I guess he meant me.

I moved, and felt the heavy bayoneted weapon I had taken from the ape like alien smash into my side. I winced, and removed it. The Zealot Ras spotted it, and it's eyes widened.

"Where did you get that weapon human?" It asked suspiciously, looking at my spike rifle I'd looted.

"This? I uh, got it from an ape thing further down the tunnel. It wasn't an Elite, it had pretty thick fur." I replied, looking at the rifle and the Elite, who looked troubled.

"The Brutes should not be here. This is a Sangheili operation. This is indeed disturbing." Ras muttered, and Blade clobbered him on the head.

"No split chin, what is disturbing is the fact that you're held prisoner, with a gun pressed into your temple." the ODST Staff Sergeant growled, and the Elite nodded meekly.

"Now Rook, Switch, you climb up and dangle a rope down. I'll tie it around the prisoner, and hoist him up." Blade ordered, and the pair nodded, ascending the rungs.

"One would think it would be wiser to merely untie me and allow me to climb up myself." Ras spoke.

"One would think you'd be wise enough to shut up, but I guess that person would be wrong. Now quiet down. Lad, keep your sniper trained on it." Blade barked back.

Switch and Rook had evidently reached the top, for a moment later, two thick ropes were lowered down. Blade affixed them to each of the Elite's arms.

"Pull now!" Blade called up, and the two topside ODSTs began to yank, and the Elite Zealot rose of the ground. It was quite a funny image.

Blade hopped up the ladder after the Covenant Officer, climbing up the ladder. Mains followed suit. He hadn't spoken much. I realised this was the first time he'd seen a Covenant soldier up close. I took one last look around the tunnels, sighed, and clambered up myself.

"Lead on Elite." Blade ordered as I reached the top. Ras sighed, and plodded sadly along the corridors, it's head hung in shame. I continued after it, as did the other ODSTs.

The corridors were silent, empty. Our footsteps echoed. Blade kept a pistol attached to the base of the Elite's neck constantly as we walked.

We ran into trouble a little further along. Big trouble. Two Hunters stood guard before an elevator, and seeing the human squad, they moved into action, locking their shields and raising their weapons. Blade wrapped an arm around Ras' neck, and dug the pistol into his head.

"All right Ras, you tell those things to chill." Blade muttered in the Elite's ear.

"Let them pass H'rai, J'rai. My life is at stake here." Ras ordered, and the Hunters reluctantly stood down.

"Yeah, you move to the side, where you can't reach us. Or your leader's head gets blown off!" Blade cried, and the Hunters immediately complied, rumbling as they did so. We marched calmly towards the elevator, and just before we reached the sliding metal doors, Rook seemed to stumble on thin air, and crash into the wall with his arms out. He withdrew, and walked into the small box with us.

"Be more careful Rook..." Blade muttered, "which floor is the conference centre on Elite?"

"Third, human." Ras revealed bitterly. I hit the button, and the doors slid shut, and we rose. Rook laughed, drawing something out from his belt.

"What's that?" Mains asked.

"A little present for those Hunters. You didn't think I crashed into the wall by accident did you? I attached C4 to the wall. Listen." Rook replied, pressing down upon the detonator in his hand. An explosion crashed beneath us, and I whistled in appreciation. Ras cried out in horror.

"Smooth move..." I praised. Rook bowed dramatically.

"That was murder." Ras croaked, grieving.

"No, that was revenge. A close friend of mine was killed by two of those things. That's payback. And fitting payback it is too, kill 'em with an explosion. Det would have been proud." Rook replied, serious for once.

"*** straight." Blade agreed.

The doors slid open, and we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a firefight. Covenant soldiers were trading fire with UNSC ones. We swore, and ducked out of sight. Blade grabbed Ras by the scruff of his armour.

"You said the UNSC was pinned down!" he growled.

"They were! They must be pushing back. I don't see how though, they were severely undermanned." the Zealot explained.

"Dammit. Rook, tie this *** up, we're going out there, and I don't want the Elite going anywhere." Blade ordered.

"We could just kill him, save us the hassle." Rook suggested, and Ras whimpered.

"No, he's more valuable to us alive. Just tie him up, and toss him in a corner. I'll come back for him later." Blade replied after some thought. Rook nodded, and bound up the Elite.

"Nothing personal mate, except I don't trust you as far as I could throw you. Just sit tight, we'll be back for you soon." Rook taunted.

"Lock and load boys, this is going to get hairy." Blade rallied, loading his Covenant Carbine with ammo.

We charged out, leaving Ras behind us. The Covenant suddenly found themselves flanked, and cried in surprise. I hung back slightly, firing shots from my Covenant Sniper.

The Covenant forces began to thin as Grunt after Grunt, Elite after Elite, and Jackal after Jackal fell to the UNSC fire, and eventually an Elite in crimson armour shouted over the carnage.

"Fall back, we'll deal with these infidels later!" cried the Elite, and the Covenant wave began to retreat to the west, walking through an energy barrier.

"*** it, they've gone running!" a marine on the other side of the corridor shouted. Me and my squad walked over to the resistance, "we can't get through that barrier. Lucky you Helljumpers showed up when you did, we would have been screwed otherwise."

"It was a pleasure." Blade greeted, shaking the lead marine's hand. I noted he was a Staff Sergeant; a higher rank than any of us. He had dark skin, and was smoking a cigar.

"Yeah, well, we've set up a little camp of sorts nearby. Come on, you can rest and relax, for a little bit anyway. The name's Avery Johnson. Pleased to meet you fellahs." the marine replied in turn.

"I'm Blade. To the right of me is Switch, to the left is Rook, Mains is the quiet, efficient one just behind me, and the one hanging back with the sniper is Farm--Archer." Blade introduced, and I did a double take. Archer? Who the hell was that?

"Well, just follow me, we've got med supplies and ammo you can stock up on. You smoke Blade? I've got a box of Sweet Williams at back." Johnson replied, and Blade shook his head.

"I don't smoke. Terrible habit."

"Heh heh, and I don't I know it. Right, let's get moving. No telling when those uglies will come back." the Staff Sergeant walked off, and I ran up to Blade.

"Who's Archer?" I queried, muttering.

"You. I'm fed up of calling you Farm Boy, not mention it's undignified, and now you're our designated Sniper, I feel you need a better name. So from now on, you're called Archer." Blade answered, and I smiled, pleased. Finally, a name I didn't have to be ashamed of.

"Hey, can I get a cool new name? Only 'Rook' kind of--" Rook asked hopefully.

"No; Shut up. Now come on, I'm hungry, let's go follow that Johnson guy. Mains, would you hurry back and fetch Ras for me? Keep a pistol trained on him at all times."

"Right sir." Mains replied, saluting. He ran back towards the elevator. I followed after Blade, who had begun to in turn, follow Johnson.

I needed a drink. Something strong.

---

"This one has forgotten whether it's heatsink is over capacity. It wonders whether the criminal scum considers itself fortunate" ~ Blasto, the only Hanar Spectre.

Bravo my friend, good to see the FF's are still going on. (Mine is dead however, I killed it)

---

Design a Faction

http://www.halowars.com/forums/thread/795978.aspx

I love it!

Part 38 - I know what the troopers like...

"I'm sitting next to an Elite, and he's not dead. Can someone tell me why?" Staff Sergeant Johnson demanded, looking suspiciously at the manacled Ras Mai'ee bound next to him. We'd finally been able to get him proper handcuffs. Ras didn't seem to appreciate the sentiment.

"He's a prisoner of war Johnson - can I call you Avery?" Blade began, cutting off, Johnson shook his head, and Blade grunted unpleasantly, "well, whatever. Anyway, I don't kill POWs, especially when they've been co-operative. I didn't do it in the Insurrectionist war, and I won't do it now. Besides, he could still be useful."

I looked around the small room we were in. It was hard to remember that we were in the middle of a hot zone when we were sitting in cushy chairs, and drinking Coffee.

"What's the plan sir? Every moment we waste is a moment the Covenant spend trying to gain access to the systems." I asked Blade, worried.

"You're right. We've rested long enough, we've gotta blow this place so high, it will knock on heavens door before falling back down to hell. Johnson, I advise you tell your men to exit the building, the way we came is clear. You should go too." Blade nodded, standing up.

"Rested long enough? Blade, we've been here for fifteen minutes." Rook protested.

"That's fifteen minutes too long!" Blade barked, and Rook instantly shrunk back. We sighed, and stood up. Ras looked at us curiously.

"What do we do with the split chin?" Switch asked, "it really would be easier to kill him Blade, maybe this once we should do away with the concept of fairness."

"No, I gave my word to him that as long as he did what we said, he'd survive. He's complied, and so he'll get passage out of here." Blade snapped back.

"Yeah, but how? I'm no more endeared to killing...Ras in cold blood than you sir, but we can't take him with us to set up the bomb. He'll be dead weight." I reminded the squad leader, who turned to Johnson.

"Could you escort him out? Drag him up to a cliff or something, and light a flare. The Covenant'll find him soon after." The ODST Staff Sergeant asked of Avery, who thought.

"I don't know if I can do that Blade. I mean, who knows how many humans he'll kill in the future?"

"We're living in the present Johnson, so just listen to me please? Just take him out of this dome, and then dump him, alive. That's all you need to do." Blade pleaded back.

"Well I'm not taking him." Johnson stated with a finality to his voice. Blade's shoulders dropped.

"Why not?"

"Because," Avery began to say, "I'm not leaving right now. I'm gonna escort you ladies to wherever you need to go. My Junior Sergeant can evac the rest, and take the Elite with him."

What the hell was a Junior Sergeant? It sounded made up. I didn't comment on it, Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson looked to be the sort of man who would kick my ass even quicker than Blade.

"Serious? It's gonna be dangerous Johnson." Blade warned, and the marine Staff Sergeant frowned.

"I can handle a helluva lot more than you and your little troop of girl scouts can Blade. Don't worry about me, I'll be the one watching your back."

"Cocky ***. All right Sergeant, you seem crazy enough to come with us. I just hope you've got the balls too." The ODST Sergeant shook the hand of the marine Sergeant in agreement.

"*** straight. Now what are your men like? They ain't gonna cry when a Grunt shouts 'boo' are they?"

"Don't you worry about my men; finest ODSTs I've ever worked with." I felt a slight satisfaction as Blade said that. I guess we weren't that useless after all."

"I hope so." Johnson grunted, and then turned around, "hey, Drake! Get your ass over here, I've got a job for you!"

A man in a Sergeant cap like the one Johnson wore came over, wearing thick black sunglasses, and smoking a Sweet Williams. Was there a rule in the Sergeant handbook which demanded that you had to be stereotypical?

"What is it Johnson?" Drake asked wearily.

"That's Staff Sergeant Johnson; sir." Avery reprimanded, and the other Sergeant sighed.

"Whatever you want sir. I'm really tired, and I've got a bunch of equally tired marines behind me. I don't know how the heck you keep going sir, but we're shattered." Drake explained.

"Well you'd better tell those boys to keelhaul some serious ass, because I, and this fine squad of troopers, are going to level it to the ground. You hearin' me soldier?" Johnson instructed, his voice raising, as well as his body. Wow, he was pretty tall. Looked to be around 6"5. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was a Spartan.

"Serious sir? For Christ's sake, is there anything else you need me to do?" Drake uttered in resignation.

"Since you're offering, yeah. I want you to take that Elite out of this place, through the bubble shield outside, leave him on a cliff, and light a flare."

"You want me to escort an Elite out? I've got a half loaded pistol at my belt sir, I'm sure I can spare one bullet on the ***."

"No, he's not to be killed marine." Blade ordered, standing up. Drake stared at the ODST with scorn.

"Where do you get off ordering me around trooper?" Drake asked impudently.

"Because I'm a Staff Sergeant, and you're not. And if I find out that you haven't complied with Johnson's order, a court martial will be the least of your worries. Understand?"

"Right sirs, I here you." Drake replied bitterly, and then muttered under his breath, "-blam!-s."

"What was that Drake? You wanted to say something to me?" Johnson called after him, and Drake shook his head, grabbed Ras roughly, and walked him back towards the marines, talking to one. I saw one give us the evil eye.

"Charming fellow." Mains commented brightly.

"Ignore him, it's not his fault really. He's tired; we all are. Been holed up here for days." Johnson told the Irish ODST, who nodded sympathetically.

"Well, that's everything wrapped up nicely. Grab your gear people, and let's move out. Johnson, you want to take command on this mission?" Blade questioned politely, although I knew he hated it when someone else ordered him around.

"Nah, this is your op trooper. You're in charge." Avery Johnson replied, loading what I guessed to be an MA5K Carbine.

"Thanks. Alright marines, you get ready to move out of the base. Get as far away from it as you can." Blade shouted at the worn out soldiers.

"What about you guys? You got an escape plan?" an unknown private called back.

"We'll improvise, don't worry about us. See you on the other side boys. Oorah."

Our squad and Johnson left the room, ready to follow out the Cole Protocol.

---

"This one has forgotten whether it's heatsink is over capacity. It wonders whether the criminal scum considers itself fortunate" ~ Blasto, the only Hanar Spectre.

Johnson's kind of an ***...

 Great new chapter.

Here it is. The finale of book one. My first completed fan fiction...I'm so proud. To all those who have read, and stuck with the series, thank you. Without you, I'd never have been able to do this.

Part 39 - Where heroes fall

The Elevator door opened, and we raised our guns, in preparation to fire. I sighed in relief; no one was there. Blade spoke over the secure intercom.

"We need two people to stay here, cover our retreat. Any volunteers?" the weathered ODST asked, and we all looked amongst one another.

"Well; I need to arm the bomb, so I've got to go with you sir." Switch told us, and we nodded. He was the only one with the skills necessary to rig the explosives.

"Ah hell, I'll stay with the FNG." Rook said, indicating Mains as well, who looked taken aback. Blade gave the two a pat on the pack.

"Good stuff you two. Don't let anyone near this elevator, it's our only way out." Blade stressed, repeating the words several times. "We'll meet back up with you soon. Stay frosty."

And so, leaving Rook and Mains behind, we proceeded down the rough, irregular tunnel; Blade, Switch, Sergeant Johnson and I. At a signal, we fanned out in standard UNSC marine formation, Blade up front, Johnson and Switch three metres behind them, and I a further three metres back, sniper in hand.

We were all officially in the hot zone now, with caution being the priority over speed. One careless action could cost them all their lives.

"Do you think the Covenant could be waiting for us?" I whispered, as we approached a sealed blast door. Blade indicated for Switch to hack it open before replying.

"If there's one thing I've learned about the Covenant lad, it's that they never expect the obvious." Blade lectured, and I nodded, reassured. At that moment, the blast door unsealed, lights flickering from red to green, and the heavy steel slid aside.

As it turned out, the Covenant were waiting for us, but they certainly weren't ready for us. They were sat inside a room, weapons holstered at their hip. As one, we all fired, at the various Grunts, Jackals and Elites. The fight would have been over there and then had it not been for the Jackal shields and Elite energy shields. As it was, we only wiped out half the enemy force. The other half were still standing, weakened but not beaten, and now they had draw out their weapons.

We immediately flew into cover, I posted myself behind the concrete of the blast door doorway, and felt Johnson take up post next to me. He stood a full head taller than myself. On the other side of the doorway, Switch and Blade took cover. I could hear the Covenant preparing to search for us, and dug out a plasma grenade from my belt, priming it. The flashing lights of the grenade activated with an eerie screech. I chucked the plasma ball overhead, where it landed in the centre of a doorway, just as an Elite was about to walk through it. The Elite jumped back, but not far enough.

"Look out, grenade--" was all the blue armoured alien was able to say, before the grenade exploded in a cloud of plasma, sending the Elite flying past us, where it hit the floor, dead. We took advantage of the turmoil to storm into the room and clear out the rest of the Covenant. I caught a black Elite with it's shields down, holding no weapon in it's hand. As it tried to lunge at me, and take me down with it's large, tapered hands, I quickly removed my machete from it's holster and drove the large knife into the alien's stomach, felling it. After a few moments of frenzied fighting, the room was clear. I wiped my blade on the dead Elite's leg, and the purple blood of the alien slid off sickeningly.

We decided to take a quick breather in the small room, it looked to be around five metres by six metres. I sat down in one of the chairs, rolling a Grunt corpse of it first. The rest of the small team did the same, Johnson bringing out a cigar. He turned to Switch.

"What about you trooper, fancy a Sweet Williams?" Johnson asked, and the ODST Techie shrugged.

"Yeah, sure why not? You got a light--" Switch began, before Blade knocked the cigar Johnson had passed out of the shocked trooper's hand. The tobacco stick landed in a pile of Elite blood.

"None of my soldiers are gonna smoke on duty." Blade growled, and Switch nodded meekly, although I could tell he was rolling his eyes or scowling inside his mirrored helmet. Johnson wore the ghost of a smile on his face, looking at Blade with a sceptical expression. The ODST scowled loudly, and stood up.

"Enough resting, we've got a job to do." Blade ordered, and we all sighed, reluctantly standing up. "Switch, unseal the other door."

"It's kind of hard to do this without a laptop." Switch grumbled, bringing out a screw driver and preparing to unseal the metal hatch covering the override command board by the electronically sealed door.

"When I joined the corps, we didn't have any fancy shmancy--" Johnson began to say inspiringly in response to Switch's complaint, before Blade cut him off.

"Just hush it Sergeant." the ODST ordered, despite the two men both being the same rank. Johnson turned away, and it was his turn to scowl. A few seconds later, and the lights on the door changed to green, indicating we could move forward.
Twenty or so metres in, the ravaged corridor turned sharply to the right, and Blade held a hand up, indicating for the team to hold. He posted himself at the corner, peeking a head around. All seemed to be clear, for he gave a signal for us to move forward.

Beyond the corner, the passage went on for another hundred yards or so before we encountered yet another locked blast door; locked. Blade stopped outside it.

"If the Covenant are locking doors behind them, they must have codes. Reckon they've got help from a prisoner?" I remarked, and Blade folded his arms speculatively whilst Switch got to work hacking the door terminal.

"It's possible, but our priority here is to destroy this centre, so the Covenant can't get their hands on the data. Everything else, including rescuing a possible hostage, is a secondary objective." he instructed firmly, and I nodded. "Get ready to flash and smash."

The door slid open, and I and Blade chucked in two flash grenades, where they bounced on the floor of the larger room twice before detonating, blinding anyone on the other side. We charged in, only to find the room empty, save for a pile of UNSC marine corpses.

"Bummer." Johnson said, striding in the room. "Guess the Covenant all further down the road."

"Too right. Take some ammo; these people won't be needing it where they are." Blade intoned, indicating the human corpses. It felt disgusting to be touching to cold, clammy bodies of the marines to merely loot some ammo, but I cheered up slightly when I found a human sniper rifle, and a battle rifle too, the latter of which I was still a little unsure with, but fairly competent.

The door on the other side of the room was already open, or rather, blown off it's hinges. Evidently, we were drawing closer to the main data centre, and the last bastion of humans in the building.

I proceeded down the dark corridor, the lights were out and I considered switching my VISR mode on. I decided against it; it was still temperamental and I didn't want to risk it malfunctioning in a fight.

The squad moved up ahead of me, in the same formation. We soon reached another blast door; this one the biggest yet. A pile of marines were lain down by the door, blood on their shirts. Whist Switch worked on overriding the lock; Blade and Johnson checked the pulses of the marines. They shook their heads: they were dead. I grimaced, and waited patiently for Switch to finish hacking the door, walking up to it, intending to be the first one in.

It opened, and suddenly, a pistol was pointed at my head. A human pistol. I blinked, and looked at the wielder, and gasped.

"Michael?" I questioned, frowning. The Spartan realised who we were, and lowered his weapon, looking over my shoulder. He ushered us all inside, and then hit a button, sealing the door once again. Fin and James were standing around in the background, dragging Covenant corpses off to the side, and dragging marine corpses out of site too. What were they doing?

"It's good to see you troopers. We could do with a bit of help." Michael told us. Blade shoved past me.

"How did you get in here before us?" Blade questioned of the Spartan, who shrugged in his one ton armour.

"We came up from the sewers underneath. Got the jump on the Covenant who were trying to hack the terminals. CCTV shows more are on the way; so we're planning a little ambush for them." Michael informed us, pointing a thumb back at Fin and James.

"Ah, I see; you're gonna make the Covenant believe that they're the first ones to arrive. Nice. Where's the bomb?" Switch asked, and Michael turned around, indicating a huge explosive device.

"It's right there. The marines got killed before they could arm it, and the Covenant were disassembling it when we arrived. Fin managed to piece it back together, and arm it. We were about to leave when we saw those Covenant approaching. They should be here in a few moments." the Spartan replied, turning around and ordering Fin and James to hide. Blade told us three to do likewise. I crept up a flight of stairs, taking cover behind a computer terminal on the third floor of the huge data centre. I poked the barrel of my sniper rifle between a gap in the terminal, ready to fire. The others took up similar positions.

Less than three minutes later, a horde of Covenant entered the room from the same blast door we'd entered. I felt my heart constrict; if we'd been any slower moving towards the data centre, that huge convoy would have caught up with us.

There seemed to be around thirty, at first estimate. Five of them were Elites, the rest Grunts and Jackals. The lead Elite wearing gold seemed to sneer as he entered the room, oblivious to our presence up high.

"Huragok! Scour these terminals for intelligence on the infidels!" the Elite ordered, and three floating gas bags glided towards the computers, working on them with tentacles. Michael's voice spoke over the secure communication link.

"Don't worry, those are just tourist information terminals about Harvest. There's nothing about the other colonies or Earth in them. Those files are stored in the computers on the fourth floor." the Spartan assured us, and we nodded.

"When do we open fire?" I asked, finger resting lightly on the trigger. I had my scope trained on the head of the golden Elite.

"Not yet. I've set some charges beneath the carpet in the middle, wait until they walk onto it." Fin replied back, surprising me. He very rarely, if ever, spoke.

"Affirmative." I replied, waiting, breathing. Then trouble started. One of the Grunts shrieked, and it dragged out the body of a dead Elite. Crap.

"We're not alone in this chamber! Stay sharp warriors!" the golden Elite cried, looking around warily.

"Ah, hell..." Fin muttered, before I heard the click of a switch over the link. Suddenly, the ground in the middle of the room ripped itself to pieces, taking out multifarious Grunts who had been unlucky enough to stand on what was now essentially a crater. I guess that meant our cover was blown. I aimed my sniper at the head of the Elite, and fired. The bullet flew towards the alien, but with lightning fast reactions, the Elite sidestepped out of the way in time. I fired a few more shots, but the Elite was onto me now, and evaded the .50 calibre shots with ease. The Covenant Warrior then fired his own rifle up to where I was hiding, and I jumped back with a curse as the terminal I was hiding behind melted, along with the barrel of my sniper. I tossed the now useless weapon aside, drawing out my battle rifle.

The rest of my squad leaped into action, standing up and firing upon the Covenant forces below. I began to run, cursing again and again as the golden Elite, or Zealot as they were named, kept firing at my, missing by inches.

"Spartans, take out that Elite!" I ordered, despite the fact they were a higher rank than me. They didn't seem to mind though, for the three dropped down three floors to the ground like fallen angels, landing right in front of the startled Zealot. There were a blur of hand to hand combat, and when the Spartans drew away, the Elite was on the floor, it's neck snapped. I sighed in relief.

The rest of the Covenant, angered by the loss of the leader, pressed forward, and we fell back a little bit, taking cover behind whatever we could find. I found myself next to a panting Blade.

"You all right son?" the ODST Staff Sergeant asked me, firing his battle rifle over the top of the steel crate we were cowering behind. I dug a fragmentary grenade out from my belt, pulled the pin, and threw. A moment later the small grenade exploded, taking out three shield gauntlet wearing Jackals.

"Just peachy sir." I grinned. We seemed to be winning the battle. Until two pairs of Hunters stormed into the room. One of the giant beasts fired it's weapon at the crate we were hiding behind, turning it into ash. Blade was thrown to the floor by the blast. I lifted him up, and intended to take him towards another crate.

Before I could though, the worst thing that could have possibly happened, happened. A Jackal sniper was up on the fifth floor on the other side of the room. It had me in it's sights, and was about to fire. There was no where to take cover. The Jackal squeezed the trigger of the sniper, and time went slowly.

I saw the finger of the bony Jackal press down on the trigger, saw the end of the beam rifle expand due to heat and shoot out a beam of energy. The snaking trail of plasma flew towards me, aimed at my beating heart. Suddenly, Blade pushed me out of the way, and stumbled into the shot. I cried out in horror as the plasma stream entered Blade's chest, and emerged out of the other side. The ODST Staff Sergeant collapsed to his knees. The Jackal raised the sniper again, intending to finish Blade off. I felt a rush of adrenalin, and managed to bring out my Battle rifle, loosing a round. The impossible shot careered into the side of the Avian creature's small head, and it fell to the floor forty feet below with a squawk. I threw the rifle aside, running over to the bleeding Blade.

"Blade? Blade! Answer me!" I cried, lifting up the downed squad leader. I ripped Blade's helmet off, and winced when he coughed blood into my visor. I set to work taking the rest of the ODST Staff Sergeant's chest armour off, and felt dread as I saw a dark circle of red blossom on his white tee-shirt. Blade was breathing heavily, a wild look in his eye.

"Lad...biofoam..." Was all Blade croaked, coughing up more blood. I cursed, knowing I should have thought of that before. I reached down to my belt, and drew out the small canister, squirting the healing foam into Blade's wound. The ODST began to breathe lighter, and sat up. He was still coughing up blood however. Around me, the battle was over, all the Covenant dead.

"Blade, hold on. We're getting you out of here, you'll be fine." I assured the ODST leader, who shook his head, an amused smile on his lips.

"No...no I won't. I'm dying, Archer. Don't pretend otherwise." Blade told me, suddenly wheezing. Hot tears leaked from my eyes, splashing onto Blade's chest.

"We can get you to a hospital, we can--" I wailed frantically, knowing deep down it wasn't going to happen. I broke off, weeping.

"It's okay lad; I'm not afraid to die. Set me down...by the bomb." Blade instructed me, and I followed out the request, lifting Blade up. Blood leaked onto my armour, I didn't care. The rest of my squad, the Spartans and Johnson then noticed what happened.

"Oh my God, Sarge! Are you all right?" Switch cried out, running down the steps. I nodded sadly.

"What does it look like genius?" Blade said sarcastically, although a look of happiness was on his face.

"He got shot by a Jackal. The shot punctured his heart. He's...dying." I told the ODST Techie, who for once had nothing to say. I reached the bomb, and set Blade down against it. The ODST Staff Sergeant smiled, wheezing.

"Holy crap. Blade, we need to get you out." Johnson said, and Blade shook his head.

"There's no point Johnson. I'm gonna die in ten minutes." Blade told the marine Staff Sergeant, who shook his head, and apologised for Blade.

"I don't mean to seem heartless here, but more Covenant are on their way, with a huge army of over 100. We need to blow this place up." Fin called down from the terminal he was on.

"Toss me the detonator Fin." Blade ordered the Spartan, who hesitated.

"...What?" Fin asked, confused.

"I want to see the look on the Covenant's face when they get blasted into smithereens. All of you, get going. I want to go out with a bang." Blade told Fin, who tossed the detonator for the bomb down. I caught it, and passed it gently to Blade.

"Blade, I-- you can't stay here." Switch insisted, his visor depolarising to reveal a look of uneasiness on his face. Blade frowned.

"I can stay where I want Switch. Now get going; all of you. Except for Farm Bo-- Archer. I need to speak to him. He'll catch up to you." Blade commanded, and everyone hesitated. "Now!"

Reluctantly, the others left the room, heading through the blast door. Blade chuckled, and sighed at the same time. He turned to me.

"I want you to lead the squad son." Blade told me, ripping the Staff Sergeant lapel from his shoulder and pressing it into my hand. I blinked.

"Me? But...I'm not experienced enough." I protested.

"Archer, you're a *** good ODST. Switch doesn't have a commanding bone in his body, Rook wouldn't handle authority well, and Mains...well, I don't fully trust Mains. You're the best man for the job, a brilliant soldier and leader. Just like your father was." Blade told me, and my mouth opened in shock.

"My father? What do you mean--" I was cut off as I heard growls from underneath me. Blade started at me.

"That'll be the Covenant. Go son, there's no sense in you dying now. Talk to Admiral Cole, he'll tell you everything. Now go! And keep the squad together." Blade ordered me, and I didn't move, reluctant. I could hear the Covenant drawing closer though, and realised Blade was right; there was no sense in us both dying.

"Blade, you've been like a father to me...thank you." I whispered, turning my back on the dying ODST, who grinned.

"No son, thank you, for filing the void left when my son died. These past few months with you have been some of the happiest of my life. Give Cole my regards, would you? Now go. You've got five minutes to leave." Blade replied, and I felt my eyes grow wet. I shook my head, and moved towards the exit, where the others were waiting. The three Spartans were stood by a wall. Rook and Mains had rejoined us.

"He was a good man." Rook breathed, his voice cracking. He then turned to the Spartans. "We need to leave, before this whole place goes up in smoke."

The Spartans nodded, and, as one, smashed against the concrete wall, breaking through it to the outside. We ran, putting distance between us, and the soon to be destroyed commerce centre.

He was a good man. Rook had said. Yeah; he was. One of the best.

***************

In the data centre, Blade sat by the bomb, laughing as the waves of Covenant walked up the stairs arrogantly. An Elite ordained in golden armour with silver t-blam!-s stood over him.

"Not so fast, Elite. I've got this detonator on a spring mechanism. If I release it, the bomb behind me goes boom." Blade warned, and the Elite drew back from him, a wary look on his face.

"Human...do not be so hasty. You are injured, we can heal you if you release that device to us." the Zealot bargained slowly. Blade laughed, struggling to his feet. The others should be out by now. Time to have some fun.

"Lying bastards. You'd take the detonator and kill me. No deal. Now all of you, drop your weapons!" Blade ordered, enjoying the power he held thoroughly. The room was suddenly filled with the sound of over a hundred Covenant weapons hitting the floor. Blade took a deep breath, and began to walk painfully.

"The Covenant killed my sister. You killed my friend. You killed marines under my command. And I swear to God, you will not kill me." Blade promised, holding the detonator up high.

"And when you bastards arrive the gates of hell...tell ol' Lucifer that Richard 'Blade' Cole was the one who sent you." the ODST growled, releasing his grip. The Covenant horde cried out in fear as the detonator crashed to the ground. Blade collapsed to the floor, content. He heard a surging noise behind him, and then saw a rush of white light, followed by inexplicable heat. There was no pain. Only satisfaction, in knowing he'd dealt a blow to the Covenant, even in death. And knowing that he'd left his squad in the hands of a capable soldier.

EPILOGUE

Two weeks later, Reach cemetery for fallen soldiers.

The rain bounced off my black umbrella as it fell, adding to the already depressing mood as the casket was lowered into the grave. Of course, the coffin contained no body; it was just a symbol. I stood by watching in my black funeral suit, shivering, but not because of the cold.

The casket hit the floor of the grave, and the undertakers began to fill it in, whilst the Roman Catholic priest taking precedence over the funeral closed the bible he held. I turned around, tears running freely down my cheeks. I was not ashamed of them.

Eventually, everyone fanned out of the cemetery; most of the people random marines and navy crew, who had never even seen Blade before. The only ones who remained were I, Switch, Rook, and Mains. Sergeant Johnson had wanted to come, but hadn't been able to get leave from duty. And so, us four ODSTs stood there in the rain, silent and mourning. Rook was the first to speak.

"Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I need a drink. Something strong." the young ODST told us, and we all agreed on that.

"You coming Sarge?" Switch asked me. Me. The new Staff Sergeant of our little squad. Of course, it was highly unorthodox for one as young and green as me to become such a high rank, but being friends with the now Admiral Cole how it's advantages.

"I'll catch up. I just want to stay here...for a little bit." I replied, and the rest of my squad nodded, walking off in the distance towards the venue of the funeral wake. I stood beside the grave on my lonesome, lowering my umbrella and allowing the rain to soak me.

I hard footsteps sound behind me, walking towards the grave. I turned around and saw a man in a thick long coat walking towards the grave.

"Admiral Cole." I noted with surprise, saluting. The Admiral nodded, and lay down a bunch of flowers on Blade's newly dug grave. I hadn't spoken to Cole at all really since Blade had destroyed the commerce centre; he'd been busy fighting the Covenant still at Harvest. I was surprised he'd managed to get off duty. "What are you doing here?"

Cole sighed, and stood next to me, staring at the grave sadly.

"I've come to pay my last respects to my brother." the Admiral told me, and the implications of that hit home. His brother?

"You mean Blade was your--?" I asked, and Cole answered before I finished the question.

"Yeah, my younger brother. We both enlisted in the UNSC at the same time. He went in the corps, I went in the Navy. Richard 'Blade' Cole, my ODST brother." the Admiral explained.

"Wow. That's a big surprise. How come he was only a Staff Sergeant if you were his brother, a Vice Admiral?" I questioned, confused.

"Oh, I asked him dozens of times if he wanted to be a higher rank; he was certainly eligible for it. But he didn't want to, said he preferred commanding a single squad to an entire battalion." Cole replied, sadly.

"I can understand that. Sir, can I ask you something?" I remembered what Blade has said to me before ordering me to leave him.

"Fire away son." the Admiral intoned, not taking his eyes of the grave.

"Back in the commerce centre...before he...you know; Blade said I was as good an ODST as my father had been. What did he mean?" I questioned. That was something I was really confused about. As far as I had known, my Dad had been a banker all his life. Cole blinked in surprise, and for the first time turned to face me.

"He told you that?" I nodded. Cole ran a hand across his face, sighing once again. "Well then, I'd advise you to sit down, but you'd just get your ass wet, so I won't. Just prepare yourself for a shock."

"You see, your Father used to be in Blade's squad. They were as thick as thieves. Your Dad was his second, they named him Eagle, because of his prowess with a sniper...like you. Eventually, your Father retired, much to Blade's upset. Said he wanted to start a family with someone, said he was tired of the fighting, of the killing. He met my sister, and Blade's, at his retirement party. They got on rather well, and were married within the year. Eventually, they had you. " Cole told me, and I was speechless as the words sunk in. My Mom had been Blade's sister? That meant...

"Blade was my Uncle?" I asked, horror and pride dawning upon me. Cole nodded, a grim look on his face.

"He was. I'm your Uncle too, actually; come to think of it." the Admiral added as an afterthought, looking at me as if I was a different person.

"Uncle Admiral Cole...wow." I said bluntly, staring once again at the grave. Another thought came to me.

"Blade was at Harvest when the Covenant attacked. Was that a coincidence?" I asked, and Cole shook his head.

"No, he was there to visit your Mother and Father; for the first time in nearly 12 years. He hadn't seen you since you were 3 years old. Told me he got a shock when he saw the name you wrote down on the enlistment sheet later."

"Why didn't he tell me I was his Nephew?" I asked, dismayed.

"Maybe he never got around to telling you. Maybe he was afraid you'd become too attached, and it's never good for an ODST to become attached. Whatever the reason, I'm sure he still loved you son." Cole told me, putting a warm arm around my shoulder.

"Now, I don't know about you, but I think we should get out of this rain, and go have a drink together, Uncle and Nephew bonding time eh? I'll introduce you to the other officers." Cole told me, and I nodded mutely, too stunned to protest. I thought I was all alone in the world. Turns out I wasn't after all. And even if Cole wasn't there, I'd still have my squad.

Life wasn't so bad after all. I took one last look at Blade's grave as we walked away through the marshy field down towards the distant town. I then took a silent vow.

I'll avenge you Blade. The Covenant won't win. I'll make sure of it.

************

Covenant Cruiser Eternal Sundance.

"The humans destroyed the centre, noble one." the Sangheili Major reported, kneeling down. The Imperial Admiral Xytan wheeled around angrily.

"Destroyed? Did any within the centre survive?" Xytan asked, folding his arms.

"Two, noble one. Protected from the blast, by a prototype bubble shield. Only one is Sangheili." the Major told the Imperial Admiral, who nodded.

"Bring them both here."

Thus ends book one of Memoirs of an ODST

---

"This one has forgotten whether it's heatsink is over capacity. It wonders whether the criminal scum considers itself fortunate" ~ Blasto, the only Hanar Spectre.

ive got to say your a very dedicated ff writer.

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just call me R!zZle BiZzl£, it was my '08 account... i joined on 09-19-2008.
WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?.....YEEAAH!

I smoke a fat pound of grass, and fall on my ass,
faster than a fat ***, who sat down too fast.

GLORY GLORY MAN UTD!