Episode 1: Espionage and Assassination (Open Side RP)

[BasedGoody]

Episode 1

"Espionage and Assassination"

Starring

Elijah A124 and Sasha A201

Guest Starring

The Lesser Prophet of Hegemony

Brute Chieftain Tarnuius

The Covenant Army

Featuring the Talents of
Unggoy Ultra Yaddap

(PM Me and Arby for entrance if you want to join)

BRIEFING ROOM, UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
0645 HOURS

The room was dark, cold, and had no discernable personality to it. The purpose of the chamber wasn’t for leisure or relaxation, it was for the explanation of missions. Calculated details describing the legal practice of murder and espionage. Sitting around a table were three people, an older male adorning officer’s clothing on one side and two young supersoldiers on the other. The male soldier sat up straight with crossed arms, looking at the superior across from him. The female soldier slouched slightly, stifling a yawn. Both had their armor on, with their helmets carefully placed in front of them on the table.

“Alright, listen up.” The ONI officer slid a manilla folder towards the two SPARTANs. Both of them reached for it at the same time, but the girl pulled back at the last second.

“We have a small amount of information on our hands, and we’re attempting to throw a hail mary with it,” he continued, lifting a mug of coffee to his mouth and taking a large, slurping sip. The male supersoldier thumbed the folder open, finding a topographical map of a forested landscape. It showed severe elevations, highlighting both peaking mountains and a deep canyon. The paper behind it was a physical map, presenting what appeared to be a jungle with a thick canopy of trees. Cutting through the canyon in the center was a winding river. The female soldier plucked this image from the folder and studied it intently.

“There is confirmation about a Prophet overlooking the construction of a Covenant outpost on a lost UNSC colony,” the officer finished, as if this alone was enough information for them. The SPARTANs shot a quick look towards each other. After a moment of silence the superior sighed and continued.

“We’re going to need you to kill him.”

The male soldier pulled the paperclip off of the following pages and laid them out on the table. Two detailed a scouting base in the canyon, the rest were pictures of a large spire farther up at a clearing in the jungle. It was not complete, shown by the multitude of Covenant soldiers working on construction.

“We lost this Outer Colony a while ago, and honestly we’re surprised that the Covenant are attempting to set up an operating base here. Our lack of understanding for their reasoning is exactly why we need to deal with this as fast as possible,” the older man leaned back in his seat, raising the warm drink up to his mouth again.

“There is no exact location of your target, but multiple convoys going to and from this scouting base,” the man pointed towards the picture of the outpost in the canyon, “suggest that it may be your first clue into finding him. As such, we’ll be dropping you a few miles south of the location to avoid detection.”

The female supersoldier moved a picture to reveal a blurry photo of a hulking Brute with a hammer. Without saying a word, she raised an eyebrow towards the officer. He paused momentarily, running his fingers through his black and gray beard.

“Chieftain. The Prophet’s being guarded by a Brute battalion,” he nodded, as if it was supposed to garner a happy reaction from the SPARTANs.

The two soldiers studied the papers. They were silent while they did it. A minute passed with the only sound in the room being the loud slurping of the officer drinking his coffee. After another moment, he narrowed his eyes and placed his mug down.

“Elijah. Sasha. Time is of the essence here, you’ll be able to review these documents on your HUD. We’ll finish the briefing on your way down. Get to your drop pods, dismissed.”

The supersoldiers stood up and nodded towards their superior. The one named Sasha organized the papers and put them back in to the folder, handing them back to the older man with a smile. Elijah picked up both of their helmets from the table, handing the girl’s back to her as they left the room.

The door closed with a clean metallic hissing sound, leaving the officer sitting alone at the desk. He rifled through the papers one more time before grasping the mug of coffee. Lifting it up to his mouth, the man found it to be empty. Sighing, he stood up and left to fill it again.

---

MISSION GOALS:
TOP PRIORITY:
Assassinate Prophet overseeing construction of Covenant base
LOW PRIORITY:
Infiltrate scouting outpost in the canyon to acquire further information about the Covenant force and their whereabouts.
Find evidence of what the Covenant is planning to do with planet this far away from combat
Destroy the incomplete Spire

APPROXIMATE TIME OF LANDING:
0730 HOURS
LOCATION:
Jungle in the northern hemisphere of fallen Outer Colony

HUMAN FORCES:
SPARTAN Headhunter Elijah A124
SPARTAN Headhunter Sasha A201

KNOWN COVENANT FORCES:
Brute Chieftain led battalion
Prophet
Possibly more unknown forces

---

SASHA A201
0707 HOURS

The SPARTAN hummed a tune to herself as she affixed her MA5B Assault Rifle to it’s holster in the drop pod. It set into place with a satisfying click. Continuing her melody, she eyed the cramped space she would be hurtling down towards the planet in. The Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pod was a moderately new addition to the UNSC arsenal and was outfitted with Stealth Coating, allowing for the soldiers to slide into the jungle undetected.

Confident in her assortment ability, Sasha sat down on the bench next to her helmet. Her eyes shot up to the clock above her on the wall. It was digital, and she caught the exact moment it switched from 7:07AM to 7:08AM

Two minutes.

The supersoldier leaned back against the wall and lifted her combat scarf up around her ears, which had gotten particularly cold aboard the ship. The trainees in her program would often remark that she must be cold-blooded, due to the fact that she appeared to always be shivering. It was an accurate assessment, as ‘chilly’ was how she most often described herself. Yet the characterization was ironic, as cold-blooded also insinuates a cruel and unfeeling personality, which Sasha certainly did not have.

This early in the morning, Sasha would have been asleep in a past life. Now she was used to being tired. The bags around her eyes never left, and yet she rarely felt fatigued. No, on this morning she only felt excited. This was another opportunity for the SPARTAN to prove herself on the field. The massive, lumbering Brutes did not intimidate nor frighten her, rather she felt well-prepared to deal with them.

And what a mission - assassination of a Prophet. I can only imagine the accolades.

Without realizing it, she had begun humming again. In fact, her right foot was tapping a high-hat rhythm along to it. Before she could get caught up in the music, the soldier shot a look back towards the clock. 7:09AM.

Sasha stood up, stretching her back as she did. She grabbed her helmet in one hand, walking around her drop pod and over to the divider between her and her partner. Pulling it aside, she smiled towards the other headhunter. Elijah and her had worked together before, multiple times in fact. Only recently had she been promoted to the same position as him, and this was a change they were both still getting used to. This mission would test the two SPARTAN’s ability to work together with little-to-no management. They would be alone on the ground, with no reinforcements to back them up. There would be little room to make mistakes.

“Ready?”

[Arbiter124]

"Ready?" 

The word shot out of Sasha's mouth in a way that caused some far off distress signal in his mind to light up, bright but too far out of his normal psyche for him to grasp. Her usual smile and hyperactive essence backed up the word, possibly the context mixed with the attitude gave Elijah S-A124 a strange but subtle unsettling feel. Both of their body counts were about to skyrocket for the um-teenth time. It was a strange thing to think about if one was to ponder for too much time, but Elijah's training kicked in naturally like always and he gained hyper focus on his partner. He liked Sasha. She treated their field like a sport more than any of them, and to Elijah that was not necessarily a bad thing. She was able to keep her outward actions lighthearted but still operate at a laser focused level. She had proven reliable as a fast and nimble foil for the bigger, badder SPARTAN.

And she could kill.

Oh, how she could kill. 

They were iron angels of death.

"I am ready." Elijah responded with a big, toothy smile and a big eyebrow raise. Like they were two little kids being taken to the carnival. Elijah was leaning on the back of his pod, which jutted over its exit hole in a slanted fashion that allowed Elijah to utilize gravity and create a sort of standing metal hammock. His arms clutched two of the pods upper safety rails, but he could barely field the ice cold steel with his hands covered in the most flexible ballistic spandex money had to offer. His SPI helmet was tucked tightly in a notch toward the bottom of the pod. Truth be told, he hated his helmet and if he didn't have to be further locked down in a box during the drop then he damn well wouldn't be. His weapons were already loaded and placed inside his pod long ago, before the briefing occurred. A BR55 marksman battle rifle and M7 sub-machine gun, versatile but ultimately most effective at a medium to close range proximity. That was his sweet spot. Even so, the final weapon loaded into his pod would be a SRS99-AM sniper rifle, good for at least 2,000 meters.

That would be just in case.

Elijah knew that this would be a mission of the utmost difficulty. Prophets were big fish to fry, and they themselves are all too aware of this fact. No doubt hundreds of enemy soldiers would be standing in between the two SPARTANs and the Prophet of Hegemony. The two would need to use stealth to their utmost advantage and evade as much combat as possible. Brutes were stupid, for the most part. If they could slip by a good portion of the first lines of defense then Elijah had confidence that they could succeed in getting the job done. Most of the mission involved recon and investigation anyhow. It could be done.

"SPARTANs A124 and A201, green light."

Elijah shot one final confident smirk at Sasha before reclining back into his seat. He worked the straps and lowered the steel safety rail in front of him before punching the button that closed his pod. The hatch hissed and steam shot out in a few rapid bursts before the glass doorway began to lower towards him.

"Time to go."

[BasedGoody]

Unggoy Ultra Yaddap
Like soldiers, but dumber

“I hate scouting duty…” the Minor Unggoy named Judded moaned. Yaddap glanced over to him, shooting him an unseen glance of annoyance behind his masked face. Judded was proficient at complaining, and Yaddap had known him for too long to attempt to verbally fight back. The three Unggoy under his command weren’t the smartest, but they made for good company most of the time.

It’s true, none of them liked scouting duty. Especially in this hot, muggy, and foggy jungle they were deeply posted in. It had been a week since they were added to Chieftain Tarnuius’ roster. The group was kept in the dark about the reason for transfer, but Yaddap assumed that they needed an immediate influx of forces to protect the construction going on a few miles away. However, this was irrelevant to them as they had been manning at the outpost in the canyon for the whole week. Occasionally, on days like today, they were sent out to scout the surrounding area.

But for what reason? There hasn’t been something out here other than critters this whole time.

As if on queue, a small ratlike creature scuttled in between the legs of the Unggoy. Wasting no time, the other Minor Kayab leaped onto it with all of his force, crushing the thing’s bone structure. Sometimes Yaddap worried about Kayab, he wasn’t ‘all there’ except for when there were small things to kill.

“Another one! Third today! Hey, Yaddap? What are these little things called again?” The excited soldier asked as he held the corpse up to light.

“Gograts,” The Ultra answered in a monotone voice. Gograts, Jaunton Giant Wasps, Clentots, and a million other creatures inhabited this planet. He was briefed on all of them, as apparently some could prove deadly. Again, this information was useless as they hadn’t seen anything but Gograts and the monkey-esque Megumods swinging from the trees. Neither posed a threat.

Tabban kicked a rock, sending it off into a puddle ahead of them. He was the one that Yaddap shared the most in common with. Both were go-getters, willing to fight and lay down their lives for the Covenant. Yet it was clear that Tabban was bored of scouting duty as well.

Overall, four files were sent out per shift to patrol the surrounding area. Three were Unggoy led, such as the one Yaddap provided over. The one that stretched the farthest from the outpost was led by a low ranking Jiralhanae. By this point they had since left the canyon in which their forward base resided, and now enjoy the cool breeze in the air. The climate was damp, wet, and hot during the daytime. However at night it got quite chilly. In the early morning, as it was now, the group enjoyed a nice mix of the warm sun and breezy winds. The sun was barely peeking past the treeline.

“Hey, hey Yaddap,” Judded began, clearing looking for entertainment.

“What?” Yaddap responded, unphased.

“What do we do if we see some humans? Do we kill them?” The Minor bounced with moderate excitement.

“First we report back to base with the communication device-thingy I have. That way, if we all get slaughtered, they at least know that humans are coming,” the Ultra responded, deadpan. That depressing note shut up Judded, who resumed making moaning and whining noises.

---

Sasha A201
Drop

“Time to go”

Sasha was fit snugly into her drop pod, checking her equipment last-minute to make sure everything was done correctly. The commando loved drop-pods, to her they felt like large scale roller coasters. Of course, she hadn’t been to a real theme park in about 15 years. Even that memory had faded into a mere recollection of places and events. Souvenirs of a life that could’ve been. The child of a middle-class businessman, taken around the world to see the various walks of life that humanity had to offer. Sometimes the supersoldier wondered what would’ve -

FFFSSSHHHHHHH

Suddenly the pod shot out of the ship, launching downwards towards a planet that the two soldiers had yet to explore. These specialized Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pods could be fired from a great distance, which assisted the human’s necessity to remain as unknown as possible.

Sasha plastered a goofy smile on her face as she stared out of the main window, seeing the literally infinite number of galaxies and stars fly by her face. She sat in a moment of purity, almost disregarding the fact that the objective of their mission was murder. Instead, like the soldier often did, she got lost in her own mind.

“A201, A124, do you copy?” A voice masked by static and reverb announced in the pod. The SPARTAN paused before responding, continuing to stare in amazement at the Picasso-painting-esque scene laid out for millions of lightyears in front of her.

“A201, do you copy?” The voice continued, causing Sasha to come back to reality.

“Copy,” she said, pressing in on the button that operated the microphone in the vessel.

“You have about 3 minutes until splashdown, let’s take this time to review,” the voice continued. She recognized it to be the ONI operative they spoke to in briefing. Her stomach was adjusting to the high speed quickly, resisting the urge to flip over like it did during training.

“You’re dropping directly adjacent to the canyon, nearing it’s entrance. It can be assumed there will be Covenant forces posted around the area, do not let your cover get blown. If we lose the element of stealth this early, we're as good as a fish out of water,” the voice stopped momentarily. The commando could’ve swore she heard the sound of him slurping coffee over the intercom.

“Understood,” Sasha nodded as she spoke.

“We don’t know what the Covenant has established on the planet so far. We cannot risk them intercepting our communications. As such, we’re leaving you in the dark once you enter the atmosphere. If you can get to their outpost in the canyon, you might be able to find out if they have these devices set up yet. You two can only open communications with us if you have definite information that our channel will not be seized. Got it?” The officer finished, expecting a response.

“Got it,” the supersoldier nodded again, multitasking listening while stargazing.

[Arbiter124]

Elijah A124
HEADHUNTER 
Dropping Zone

Nothing terrified Elijah like the big drop. Being hurtled through a vacuum of airless death was more than enough to even put a super-soldier like himself in a position of fearful humility. At a moment's notice, a simple mistake in the machinery could mean a terrible a gruesome death by the gods for Elijah. A powerless victim to death's vice. It was the only thing that he could think of that gave him that kind of fear. He was strong enough to be confident with even just one hand free. Not out here though. He took this time of isolation to let out a quick but violent shudder that sent cold chills throughout his body. There it was. He was back in it.

His pod ejected with the rough and forceful speed provided from the ship's machinery, but he was propelled into a mute, endless void. The ship spit him downwards, toward the planet's surface. They were closer than the average drop to the orbital pull of the planet, which meant a quicker drop. His pod slowed almost instantly once he reached the terrible space between ship and world. One would expect violent shaking, but Elijah knew that he had at least twenty seconds of still floating longer before he would transform into a fiery iron cage catapulting across the tropical skyline. He clicked his screen on and flipped to a picture taken of his target. God. They were revolting to even look at. Eli took one quick glance outward to see his whole window filled by green and blue, then flipped his radio on.

"Hey. Sasha."

"Hello. Elijah."

He thought for only a moment, "This is the most important thing we might ever be a part of."

Only a moment passed, "Then let's do our best!"

Elijah eased his tension and reclined in his seat as it started to shake wildly, "Yes. Let's do our best. Disengage."

Suddenly everything was too bright for the SPARTAN to see at all, so he shut his eyes tight. The shaking increased and his instincts told him that he was gaining speed rapidly. All part of the procedure. Still he clenched the rails so tight he felt like his hands might pop off. And for whatever reason besides the mission he did not know because he did not care if he died. Yet still, he felt immeasurable fear.

His inner tangent seized him in his vulnerable isolated state, and Elijah was not prepared for the impact of surface. His whole pod ceased momentum instantly, cemented wedged deep into the ground. Even a seasoned ODST would feel excruciating shock from such an event, but physical pain was not a concern harbored inside of Elijah-124. He counted two seconds internally before vouching to start movement, a safety precaution pause to allow his ligaments to adjust to the new and foreign gravitational state. After that, strong hands and legs moved with purpose, unstrapping straps and punching in emergency ejection codes. His door hissed and flew open and he was behind it in an instant, with a sawed off grip M90 poking towards his direct front path. He hopped out and landed in an ankle deep current that pushed softly against his frame. No threats on his head pivot scanning the perimeter. A treeline to the jungle that appeared to go uphill some ways before reaching a horizon. Cliff side drop to the canyon outpost, maybe a click's worth away. Eli spun back towards his pod and began to retrieve the rest of his equipment.

He dialed his radio again, "A124 clear, lighting a beacon on the HUD for you. Call back, confirm, then come to me." He did so and didn't wait for a response, instead he began unpacking, starting by pulling out the massive sniper rifle he was forced to bring as insurance and dismantling it, leaning against his pod for support.

They had arrived to kill everyone.

Buzi 'Muramai
Ultra Class Officer
Hegemony's Quarters

"Call me that again."

"I'll call you whatever pleases me, you unembellished behemoth. You can't even say it." Buzi's spit was flying in the faces of the three Jiralhanae in front of him. They wanted to gang up on him while he was the only Sangheili on the entire gods-forsaken planet. He would not have it. Times seemed to be spiraling out of control, and to Buzi it all started to increase when his Uncle passed only two months prior. These Jiralhanae were gaining a confidence that they did not deserve and now they sought to strip Buzi of his. His eyes stayed locked on the center Brute with white hot fury. He would kill all three of them right here, right now. Or die doing so.

"Buzi 'Muramai. It is honor." A terrible, scenile voice rasped from the door to his left. There, from the darkness came the helpless body of the Prophet of Hegemony, gurney-ed along by his floating throne ball. His long, worm like fingers waved off the three gorillas surrounding Buzi, as if Hegemony possessed some sort of otherworldly power. Buzi scoffed to himself.

"Why am I here?" 

The San Shyuum pursed his lips and flicked his big, beady eyes over to his Jiralhanae peons, who needed no words to know that it was time to let out their frustrated grumbles and clamber out of the room. Buzi gave them a wild glare as they left the room, and they returned it three-fold. Once they exited, Buzi's attention redirected back to his commander. He had instantly developed a distaste for him, and the Sangheili had only been on the surface for an hour. Only with this fool for an incredibly brief moment. 

"I'm sorry about your Uncle. I know these are hard times for you and your clan." Buzi did not expect that, and some of the fuel for confrontation subsided inside him. Not entirely, but it was good to hear it from the source that the San Shyuumm observed Sangheili traditions. Buzi gave a downward nod, eyes to the floor and then looking past his commander's shoulder when he looked back up.

"Tibur was my father."

Hegemony let that sink in, smiling towards the Sangheili. He stayed on his guard. This man wanted something, Buzi was just lost as to what. He was summoned here to meet with the Prophet in regard to what was being harbored deep underground the Human facility. And while Buzi had garnered his own mythos among Covenant ranks, he was still an Ultra class Officer responsible for no more than a Creche. Why was he here? Why was this San Shyuumm speaking to him about Tibur?

He would soon find out.

[BasedGoody]

Sasha A201
Stuck the Landing

Sasha lifted her left foot, making a disgusted face as the crushed giant bug turned into an adhesive that bound her foot to the ground. Shaking her head, the soldier pivoted to a rock and scraped the sole of her boot on it, wiping the alien insect off. She had landed only moments before her partner did, and heard his landing two hundred yards away. 

"A124 clear, lighting a beacon on the HUD for you. Call back, confirm, then come to me."

The SPARTAN turned toward the direction of her partner's landing, watching a small blip appear on her HUD representing the beacon.

"Yeah, I see you. On my way," Sasha said, turning to her drop pod. Out of it she removed her MA5B Assault Rifle, wrapping the sling around the back of her neck and letting the weapon dangle in front of her. She liked to travel light, as she worked best when not encumbered by multiple heavy weapons. The soldier retrieved a few grenades, along with a backpack. Probably the heaviest item in her arsenal, and one that she adamantly declined bringing. However the coffee-drinking officer insisted she bring a large sum of plastic explosives with her. 

'Just in case' we can eliminate the Prophet and destroy the spire in one swift motion, Sasha sighed, as if this wasn't enough of a suicide mission already.

Their officer didn't list this part as a requirement, rather an optional side note slipped in a few minutes before they dropped.

With all her equipment attached to her person, the SPARTAN turned back towards the beacon and began walking. The environment around her was intriguing, seemingly a mix of a redwood forest and a rich jungle. The largest trees shot up hundreds of feet in the air with thick trunks, and they were covered head to toe in vines. She was surrounded by low hanging vegetation as well. Each bush was damp with condensation, and a thin layer of mist covered the floor of the biome. Creatures scattered as she walked by, save for a few brave monkey-looking creatures who stared her down from a few feet away. However, they were monkey-looking in bone structure only. Their skin was covered in deep green scales, which blended them in with the leaves they hid behind. 

Sasha had only gotten a hundred yards when she heard the sound of multiple pairs of feet splashing into mud. Quickly, she dropped down to one knee and raised her rifle in the direction of the noise, growing deathly silent. The soldier scanned the horizon, which at points seemed completely blocked off by the amount of trees. Looking back and forth for what felt like minutes, she saw nothing. However the sound of movement grew louder.

Unggoy Ultra Yaddap
Investigating

"I swear to the Prophet. I heard something. Two somethings, from this direction!" Tabban waved his arms dramatically as he spoke, looking in anger at Judded. The minor merely shook his head and shrugged his shoulders in response. The two had been arguing for the last minute, as Tabban claimed to have heard two loud noises and Judded did not. However Yaddap knew that Tabban was correct, two distinct noises had certainly vibrated the ground close to them. 

Yaddap held the radio tight in his grubby hand. In his gut, he felt like the two noises were a bad sign. However, if he were to radio back on the emergency line and it turned out that the noises were simply caused by the wildlife? He would probably get reprimanded for causing a panic over nothing.

So we have to investigate. Make sure it's nothing.

"Hey! Shut up!" Yaddap angrily growled at the two, who were still arguing with each other. The Ultra shook his head, understanding the gravity of the situation. The others didn't get it, but Yaddap knew that their team was a living security alarm, not expected to actually repel a human attack.

"What?" Judded asked, as if he was surprised he was told to stop.

"We've already strayed from our normal patrol pattern. This area is uncharted, we could find anything here," Yaddap explained, surveying the area. Suddenly his foot sank into the ground beneath him. Shooting a glance downwards, he found himself shin deep in mud.

"Yeugh! This is nasty," Judded moaned as he walked deeper in.

"I think it feels good," Kayab spoke for the first time in a few minutes.

Yaddap shook his head in disappointment with his team. In front of them, a skinny stream flowed by. It opened up into a larger body of water farther down the muddy trail, and a felled tree in that direction revealed that they may have found a clue.

"This way."

Sasha A201
Threats found

There they are. As the four Grunts walked out into the stream in front of her, they turned North. Directly towards Elijah's pod. Sasha remained hidden in the thick foliage as she spoke into her comms.

"Yo. I don't mean to alarm you, but the most adorable strike force ever assembled is heading in your direction," she smiled, slowly standing up and moving forward, keeping her Assault Rifle pointed towards their threats. She walked with nearly complete silence, expertly avoiding the smallest sticks and branches, stepping only on damp leaves and patches of moss to mask her approach.

They would have to dispose of the four Grunts before they could radio back to their base, or risk blowing the mission before it even truly began.

[Arbiter124]

SPARTAN-III

Elijah A124

Headhunter

Elijah was already making his way towards the treeline in the direction of the canyon when his partner updated him on their situation. His movements quickened to a jog with such ferocious speed that one could only call it superhuman. His gear jangled like a million wind chimes on his frame as he redirected for the closest cover; a large pillar-like rock plotted some fifty more yards from his jungle destination. He slapped his shoulder alongside the west side of the rock in order to block himself from Sasha and the advancing covenant infantry. 

"I'm behind a boulder on the coast of the river, towards the jungle. I'm going to need a visual."

"Poke your head out."

"Ha-ha."

"They see your pod. They're in a run now. Thirty feet from your fortress."

"Thanks pautna'."

"Ha-ha."

Eli pivoted to circle around the boulder so that he faced north, facing the treeline. His enhanced armor's reflective plates camouflaged him neatly into his backdrop, but even still he clung to the rock's wall with his shoulders, heels dug deep into the dirt. From his new perch he spotted all four of his newly tagged targets, one of which was no where near his fellow troopers, instead crawling on all fours after some smaller creature like a simple minded baby. Two followed tightly behind what Elijah was instantly able to recognize as their squad leader. He brandished a faceplate and higher grade ballistic plating, and approached the threat with a quick but cautious strut that the supersoldier could tell came from some years of experience getting shot at.

It mattered not.

He would stop them before they called in the drop pod, because that was what he had to do. This meant getting rid of their chain of command first, for he would be the only one who would even attempt such an action over simple self preservation.

"Sasha, gametime. I'm getting the group of three. Make sure that straggler doesn't make it out of here, please." He did not wait for a response, instead leaping from his closed position and into a monstrous charge toward his enemies, no more than fifteen feet away now. He closed the distance in a second, not even coming out of his camouflaged state until he was practically on top of the Ultra. He lifted his left leg and barreled his boot into the small creatures temple, a charge sprint kick from the side that busted the top half of his facial protection off, shattering into several different pieces of shrapnel. Terrible screams from three different animals rose around the SPARTAN, but he was now in a blood frenzy and quickly silenced them. His brutish left hand surged forward and grabbed hold of one's respirator, crushing it with ease as he tore it from it's mouth. His combat knife was already plunged deep in the throat of the third Grunt. Elijah let go of the crushed mask and gripped the collar of his stabbed victim. He heaved him high into the air and then twisted fast, smashing the creature on it's back. It's gas task cracked in several places. He pulled his weapon from the Grunt's throat, neon blue blood proceeding to spray like a wild hose all over the monster's chest.

Elijah stepped back, taking a breath.

The officer caught his attention, twitching and moving as if possibly going for it's alarm still. Elijah did not take the time to assess, instead delivering a savage soccer styled kick directly to it's head from the right side once again. 

This time the head flew off and skipped madly until it found a home inside the shallow water of the river.

Elijah took another step back, and another breath.

"Finished up, pautna'?"

[BasedGoody]

Sasha A201
Geneva

"Finished up pautna'?" Elijah's words rang out in Sasha's ears. She did not respond instantly, instead she stood motionless, towering over the final surviving alien. The creature cowered on the dirt, laying on it's orange backpack and gripping it's leg, which had been snapped by a leg-sweep. Moments prior she had caught the Grunt as it tried to run away from the slaughter going on a few dozen feet away from it. 

"Yeah, one sec'," she muttered, pulling a knife out of the holster on her chest. The alien flinched at the action, turning on to it's stomach and attempting to crawl towards his fallen allies. Sasha narrowed her eyes, watching as the injured creature tried to move directly towards his decapitated leader and Elijah. She followed closely behind.

The Minor got halfway to it's destination before the super-soldier noticed the communications device, released from it's previous location and thrown a couple yards from the hands of the Ultra when he died. Suddenly Sasha understood. She sauntered over to the piece of equipment, picking it up moments before the Grunt could get to it.

The SPARTAN pursed her lips as she studied it before launching it like a baseball into the jungle. Looking down again, Sasha saw the alien's hands drop down in defeat. With animal-like quickness, she plunged the knife down into the back of the creatures head, ending it instantly. Equally smoothly, she pulled it out and flicked it downwards, getting the light blue blood off of it.

"Okay, now I'm done," she turned to Elijah, removing her helmet. Suddenly her glance shot down to the bloodbath in front of her, and then back up towards her partner.

"Jesus," Sasha laughed, "classy." 

She smiled and shook her head, sheathing her knife, "The forward operating base isn't too far. But we have to get into the canyon first, we're directly adjacent to the side of it now. We can either go around and down the natural decline, or climb down the canyon wall in front of us."

Unggoy Ultra Yaddap & his team - Deceased

[Faclan]

(That's an F from me)

Yun and his sniper file.
Covenant FOB, preparing to patrol
Shaky food.

It was always hard to try and integrate a new person into your little squad. But it was hard to snipe without a spotter even if you were good. More so when you were not fully competent at your job unless under the influence. Of both combat and narcotics. Yun was doing his best to keep his hands from shaking too much as he ate his morning ration. Sitting alone as his file sat around a small heater further away. Both to keep away from him and bring their new file member up to speed.

"Sisterhood? The Hells that?" Tog, the new spotter grumbled as his Needle rifle jostled over his shoulder. Mogl and Hap eye rolling as their long beaks glance at each other.

"An interspace empire of drug runners and slavers. Yun used to be one of them I imagine not by choice. But he doesn't like to talk about it. I highly suggest you don't bring it up." Hap commented before Mogl took over as she pointed at the trembling sniper.

"You can see the results of it even from here. And don't try to touch him. He will lash out. Just pay attention when he hears or sees something. His time with them made him very observant."

Gap didn't seem too impressed as he watched the Ruuthian use two hands to steady the spoon before he poured the stew into his beak. "That's supposed to be our leader and my sniping buddy?"

The two shield bearers just nodded. "You'll see mate. When the adreline comes, what he had to live on for years, starts up all those jitters will be gone. Plus a little extra if needed." Mogl turning her beak to the side and backhand scratching her lower jaw. A common sign of 'hush hush' which soon turned out to be smart to have done as a Jiralhanae in a fancy hat walked over and pointed out into the dawning forest.

"Hurry up scum! Or it is you that will be the food and your bones will form some mortar for the tower!" Nodding at his own declaration he turned and walked off. The three security of the file giving rude gestures before they went back to talking. Already bonding over their dislike of their position on this planet before five minutes later the four Kig-Yar were moving out into the forest. To do a sweep and then return.

(If they survive may make them a more permanent characters :>)

[Arbiter124]

Elijah A124

Elijah and is partner moved through the jungle to the canyon wall with a silence and grace that could not be replicated by even the most accomplished natural athletes. They practically resembled deer in the way that they sailed through the air in leaps and bounds, only touching the ground for mere moments. Even as they touched the jungle floor, they did not make any sound. Every twig and every branch was carefully observed by the two assassins as they sprinted. They're carefully conditioned minds were each able to instinctively cut out a route that would concretely benefit their need for silence. Only their incredible deal of gear would give them away, as it rattled wildly on both of them. That they could not fix, though. 

Still, they were also granted the benefit of their active camouflage systems. These kept them practically invisible to the naked eye, especially at their speed. With too much bodily movement, however, the stealth system newly equipped to their armor would fail out and they would be forced out of their chameleon state. Elijah had observed this weakness early on in their briefing, and had made arrangements to adapt the equipment in order for it to operate cleanly while they moved over great distances. These moments would be the moments when the stealth systems would be of greatest use, and as such Elijah had instructed himself and Sasha to compromise as much natural speed as they needed to in order to minimize their body movements. They had practiced this many times in the two days prior to this mission, and it was paying off now. They both closed distance at about half their normal run speed, Sasha in front and Elijah covering their rear. He had initially called point, but it was clear that Sasha had mastered the technique of sprinting and maintaining camo even better than he had. As such, she was maybe ten yards ahead of him, carefully making sure to not go too far ahead.

Suddenly, raspy calls coupled with a familiar whiff in the air caused Elijah's adrenaline to spike up and send him into alert mode. He stopped movement in one step and dropped to one knee, suddenly in ankle deep swamp water among the trees. Their was a yellow fog that very lightly permeated from the surface of the muddy water. 

"Sa," Elijah whispered into his communication unit while he scanned the perimeter with vicious vigilance. "Covenant are around. I don't see them though. Get low, spot em." 

Suddenly a sharp barking sound came from directly behind Elijah. He froze, and did not turn. His head displayed two bright red dots at it's edge, which maxed out at about twenty feet. It was obvious to Elijah that he was dealing with at least one Brute. Probably one. It must be a patrol, nothing more than that. He did not dare gain any ground, for that would put him at risk of coming out of his chameleon state. It was easy for him to deduct that the Brute must have not noticed him yet. Brutes had itchy fingers. He had time.

Maybe ten seconds.

[BasedGoody]

6 Months Ago
Sasha A201
Battle of New Constantinople 

“Why'd ya pick me?” Sasha asked to break the silence. The two SPARTANs moved down the sidewalk with haste, aiming their weapons at every nook and cranny along the block. The two were en route to breach and clear a small building that acted as a Covenant forward operating base.

“Hm?” Elijah responded, momentarily looking towards his partner before back down the sights of his weapon.

“I’m the newest member of the team,” the female soldier whispered, quickly swinging her assault rifle to the left as they rounded into an alley, “is this supposed to be a test?”

“No. I chose you because-” his answer was cut off by a rustling on the opposite end of the alley. Sasha stood up straight, peering over a dumpster to find two Grunts wandering towards them, distracted by their own conversation.

“I’ll take left,” Sasha said quietly as Elijah held up a hand. His closed fist extended into three fingers being held up. The three fingers turned into two, and then into one as he signaled for the super soldiers to open fire. One silenced shot from each of them dropped the two aliens without a sound.

“I chose you because you can think on your feet,” Elijah finished, walking over to the corpses.

“Can’t we all?” Sasha murmured back, raising an unseen eyebrow.

“No. Most of our allies think based on a set track of orders. For an operation like this, I need someone who can think outside of the box,” the male soldier explained, crouching by one of the Grunts. Sasha nodded happily, accepting the answer.

“Not confident in your own orders, huh?” She joked, placing a hand on her hip.

“That’s another reason,” Elijah sighed, but Sasha could tell from his inflection that he was smiling.

“My insubordination?” She questioned.

“Your ability to remain calm and joke under pressure,” he turned to the female SPARTAN, “I can’t have someone getting nervous and freezing up in the field. I don’t think that would happen to you.”

---

SASHA A201
On your six

Sasha dipped down into the swamp water below her, nearly completely submerged on her stomach. Silently, she turned around onto her back and craned her neck to see the situation behind her. About five yards behind Elijah to the left, a lumbering Brute angrily walked across the jungle floor. To his right, two Grunts plodded along. They were closer, maybe three yards. Aiming her weapon towards the two smaller hostiles, the SPARTAN narrowed her eyes. Elijah had probably eight seconds left to make a move, and Sasha’s command of his actions could mean life or death.

They had two options. Either go loud now and kill the patrol before they could radio back to base, or Sasha could direct the cloaked Elijah to a safe position and let them pass. To do so, he would need to move five paces to his left, avoiding the keen eye of the Brute. However, in thinking of these two options, Sasha had already wasted five seconds.

“I’ll take the little ones, big dude on your right, 5 o’clock. On my go,” she began, getting the orders out as fast as possible.

Sasha flicked her assault rifle into semi-auto, zeroing in on the head of one of the Grunts.

“Now.”

[Faclan]

Yun and his sniper file.
Forest outside the FOB
Looking for ghosts and nothings.

Now out of the safety of the base the four Kig file would start combing their assigned path through the forest. Following after an Unggoy patrol that went out before them. Just to make sure the little bastards didn't miss anything or if they found something great and didn't report it. Checks on checks and all that. By the time they were roughly halfway through the patrol the Unggoy should be back at base too. So if they got the call that there was no Unggoy they knew something had happened.

Hopefully just a nice fruit tree or some warm mud or something.

Tog still looked annoyed that he had been assigned to all this as he walked behind the two females. At least he got a decent view of their bottoms and thighs from here as he tried to focus on the actual forest and not the goods trotting ahead of him. But it was a forest. Not a whole lot to see. Hed been told there wasn't any dangerous animals here. At least none that would directly attack him. Granted that had been told to him by a Sangheili but the two females had confirmed it as they had been here longer. He just needed to try and get away from Yun. Who was walking in the back. Using a stick for support and for something to hold onto to stop the twitching from being too bad. Tog had a hard time believing that anything good could come from that wreck but if the Sangheili still allowed him to walk and fight then he must still have some skills.

At least the gals were better to look at and they seemed very competent with their shield generators and plasma pistols. As well as several knives and grenades each. Maybe if he played this right hed get a mate out of this. That would be a nice bonus for this damn forest.

Their ear holes picking up the distant growls and barks of a Jiralhanae as he screamed about 'another marshy hole for shitting!' not that they heard that clearly. Just background noise except for those closer.

[Arbiter124]

Elijah A124

Elijah's whole body jumped to life once he heard his partner's call. He used his kneeling position to spring into the air, throwing his body backwards toward his Brute aggressor, all the while twisting his frame to face the alien like some mad gymnast. Sasha had made his goal very clear. He could feel the tide of the battle turn before it even began as Elijah landed directly in front of the immense creature, forcing both into a close quarters brawl. 

The Beast screamed in panic as Eli virtually materialized in front, throwing his right hand and butt of his rifle up into the Brute's throat. His screams were instantly silenced and it clawed wildly at it's neck. It's face contorted into displays of twisted pain as it backed up from the SPARTAN, forced to from a half a dozen strikes to it's abdomen that Elijah delivered in a rapid flurry. Eli refrained from using his gun in fear of at the very least alerting other nearby patrols. There mission could not be slowed by repeated distractions, and that was a fact all too obvious to both of them.

Elijah reached up and grabbed the disoriented creature's head, pushing downwards as he surged his knee into the air to meet it's skull. He heard a sickening crack as the power absorption helmet worn by the Brute shattered and hissed as it feel from it's head. It toppled over onto it's back and Elijah straddled the monster in the swamp water. He fumbled for his knife as he struggled with the Beast, who was quickly coming to realize that it's demise was on the horizon. In order to literally block out the screams for help, Elijah shoved his hand into the monster's throat, using his left hand to plunge his knife into it's collarbone at the same time. The Brute was muted in this moment, as was his ability to bite down at full force decreased.

Elijah left his hand deep in the creature's throat as Blood pooled into the swamp water beneath them. Elijah's eyes were furious, too focused on getting rid of this sole threat in complete silence. 

Sasha would handle the little guys.

[BasedGoody]

SASHA A201
Speedbumps

Elijah leaped into action at a moments notice, causing both grunts to jump back in shock. They stood in bewilderment for a mere moment, which was enough for Sasha to jump up to both feet. She tossed her assault rifle to the side, unsheathing two knives. One in each hand. With inhuman speed, she charged forward and uncloaked. Both grunts had since raised their weapons to fire at Elijah, but Sasha had closed the distance by then. With five feet between her and the first grunt, she launched a knife directly into it's chest. It stuck out from the beast's orange armor as it yelped and grabbed at the injury. 

Sasha jumped up as she ran, placing one foot on the wounded grunt's head and the other on the knife hilt sticking out from it's breastplate. She rode the alien like a skateboard as it crumpled onto the ground. By now the other grunt had noticed and turned to the new, looming threat. Realizing it had no chance of winning, it spun around to run away. 

As the female super soldier landed, she tucked into a roll and sprung out of it into a leaping tackle on the final target. The two tumbled for a few feet before Sasha raised the other knife up and stabbed it down three times. Each strike hit nearly the same place, the base of it's neck. The grunt died after a few seconds of struggling.

Sasha stood up, taking a few deep breaths to regain her normal heartbeat. She sauntered over to the first grunt, now dead, and removed the knife plunged into it's ribcage. 

"Ahh," the SPARTAN began, "hey Elijah?" 

Her partner was putting the finishing touches on his side of the threat.

"What did the alien bullet fodder do when he was told to go on patrol all day?" Sasha asked, smiling.

Without waiting for a response, she finished the joke.

"He grunted," she said as she picked up her assault rifle, laughing at her own joke.

[Faclan]

Yun and his sniper file.
Forest outside the FOB
Not all is right.

Yun had stopped. Head tilted to the side as he stared at the ground. The talking of the three about what shitty Covenant mandates had gotten to them drifting away as they walked on. But also quieted down as he focused. He had learned long again cowering in Sisterhood ambush positions with a needle of poison poised to stab into his neck from a slave collar to not ever write off a noise as not important. And that had been a Jiralhanae scream. And then nothing. If something had happened to them like a branch falling on their head they would have continued to scream. And the Unggoy would wail in panic too. But there was nothing.

The other three finally noticed he had stopped as they turned to look back. And just as Tog opened his mouth to ask what the hold up was his beak was clamped shut by both females as they tapped the end of their beaks. It was time for Tog to learn. Yun turning to face the origin of the cry as he nodded. "Something has happened to our ally." Already with his small radio from his belt in his hand. "Your most Supreme Leader of our base. I believe something has happened to Patrol three. I suggest you try to contact them. And make ready the basic defenses. We will skirt their route and look for them." The Jiralhanae just grunted in response as he ended the conversation with that.

Yun returning the radio to his belt as he started to walk off. Breathing totally normally as his heart rate started to increase. Finally, something to give him some kind of high. Not heading directly for the scream. Instead at a tangent of roughly forty degrees between it and the base. If it was an attack force they would likely head toward the base.

---

The Sneaky Spartans would hear a crackle from the dead Brutes helmet before a voice sounded out from it. "Cassios, check in. The drug chicken says he heard something. Found anything fun?"

[Llau]

Let me know if you guys want this moved out of archives so you can continue your RP, since the recent post was last month. Just need to know which era, and I'll move it to the appropriate board.

- Llau