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| "The Law of Sin & Death" (ffic, 1/5) | |
| Posted By: Xian | Date: 2/12/00 5:11 p.m. |
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The Law of Sin and Death
My first attempt at a Halo fanfic, written before the release of Halo, so please forgive anything that is not canonical. Anything here is, of course, my own expression and extrapolation from what information Bungie has given us. This story is told from the unique perspective of a character who is not the main character of Halo nor a Marine. Relating the setting takes a while so please give it time as this story is longer than most of the ones I've seen so far. There's plenty of action and plot, just be patient! This story is best read after absorbing as much Halo (and possibly Marathon) information as possible. Some biblical scholarship may help but is hardly necessary. Check the Author's Notes at the end for additional info. Feedback is welcome! Well, then... on with the fanfic! DISCLAIMER: Halo is Bungie's brainchild, but this plot and these characters are my own and I would appreciate those not appearing in anyone else's fanfics. This story is in no way attempting to infringe upon the continuum of any other fanfic authors. THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH A Halo FanFic by Dave Huang I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.
-=*=- Moss. Green moss, brown moss, orange moss, yellow moss. "Ah, two in one.", Xian commented as he picked up a mineral spotted with red moss and a trace of slime mold. He put it in a container and let out a contented sigh. The man in grey clothing was collecting botanical specimens and soil samples... and he enjoyed it. Despite the depressing never-ending overcast and the impending eradication of humanity, it was actually kind of nice. Here, he could forget. This habitat, while artificial, was beautiful and for Xian, who had not been "outdoors" like this in years, it was a pleasant change of pace. The last few years had all been spent inside enclosed colonies, confined space stations, and cramped starships during which he had developed a mild case of claustrophobia. So as long as he breathed deeply of crisp rocky mountain air and ignored the landscape of the ring as it reached up into the sky... he could temporarily forget about the hostilities. Xian had settled into a comfortable routine even as a war raged over their very right to exist. Three weeks on this alien construct and things were remarkably quiet. Xian ran his hand over his bald head and slung his rifle over his shoulder as he prepared to head back. His rifle was a pretty ancient thing... electronic ignition, the design originating way back from the 21st century. Lock times of 27 microseconds versus an abysmal 3.2 milliseconds after trigger breaks. Could you believe that at one time in human history, firearms had a trigger-sear connection which used the inertia of a heavy cocking piece and firing pin, and an expanding mainspring, all contributing to gun movement?! The shooter-induced dispersion must have been terrible! On the upside, the integral silencer reduced the sound of a shot to a quiet "pock". The "optics" (modern targeting had little optical components) were pretty dated as well, but a little better than the polycomposite semiautomatic rifle. The firearm wasn't military, of course, but then neither was he... anymore. His Asian face was ageless as he could seem like a youthful man in his 30's... but other times he could seem 45 going on 100. Right now, his face took a deliberate appearance. Hmmph. His nose tilted upwards. Ozone... upwind. Ionized air meant energy blades. Energy blades meant The Covenant. Great. He unslung his rifle and edged carefully to the ridge in the upwind direction. Preliminary analysis of Covenant autopsy indicated they had enhanced thermal sensory organs as well as the ability to "hear" lower frequencies through the smooth armored part of their heads. Their senses were not as good as our electronically complimented ones, but good nonetheless. No olfactory sense... but then, neither did we in our armor. Xian was glad for his lack of armor this moment as it let him smell and move more quietly as he tried to survey the area below. Prone, looking over the edge, Xian spotted the lone Covenant scout immediately. He wasted no time scoping the scout. The range-finder spit out range, windage, and elevation info and adjusted his targeting reticle automatically. Xian's breathing was perfectly even, his aim true. He targeted the neck of the foreign element as the autopsies revealed this to be a weak point. His ferro fibrous hunting round would drop the Cov with a single shot. His eyes narrowed and his index finger tensed. The rifle trigger crept back a fraction.... Xian relaxed and drew a deep breath as he got up and slung his rifle back on his shoulder. The scout had headed back down the mountain... killing it would only draw attention to this safe haven. When they first came here, they realized their fantastic luck in discovering this site. The valley trapped a permanent overcast overhead to make orbital observation difficult. The elevated terrain was rocky and sparsely populated with trees making it painful for mobile armor to navigate. The mountains and low visibility provided some risk of collision for aerial units, too. For their needs, Greymalkin was too good to be true. Admiral Isaac had dubbed the refuge Greymalkin. Who knows why? But Greymalkin must have been Heaven sent. When 77 marines and 147 exhausted others crawled into Greymalkin they found an artificial cave carved into the mountain rock with room for them all. The cave was wealth of alien technology almost undecipherable... but with in a week the scientists had developed an interface that allowed them to draw power. With power to spare on computers and communications, the research scientists from the 147 began to analyze everything they possibly could. Including indigenous flora studies... explaining Xian's excursion. Well, not really. Xian simply hung around the scientists and did their bidding so everyone, including the scientists, assumed he was a research assistant... which he wasn't. Greymalkin was the largest of the three known surviving parties. When they had gotten power, they had tried to use communications but Halo's resonance wave configuration affected long distance transmissions... and the mountains further reduced their effective range to no more than a mere five klicks. So the only way to find other survivors was to send out military search parties. All such groups were given very explicit instructions not to engage the Covenant if at all possible. They were seriously out numbered, totally in the dark in terms of intel, and the last thing they needed was to attract unwanted Covenant attention. So the parties went out, careful to remain completely unseen. Finding Never Never Land had been pure luck. Greymalkin's scouts came back saying they had a sizeable population of 113 of which 25 were military. They also reported that they had power but no alien relics to decipher beyond the power outlets. Never Never Land had its back to the towering mountains of Greymalkin, its face viewing an expanse of rolling hills. Finally, there were the Warrens. Fate had bound their recon unit together even after the Pillar of Autumn was attacked. Their amazing tracking skills allowed one of their search parties to find the Greymalkin survivors. These hearty marines were glad to report that all 16 of them had stayed together and were giving the Covenant Hell on the dune desert side of Greymalkin. They also managed to keep 5 civilians alive all this time in a network of tunnels they dubbed the Warrens. Upon questioning, it was apparent they had no power, but did find some alien relics. Greymalkin would send some scientists as soon as they had finished their work here. Until then they would rely on small recon teams to relay information between the three outposts on this alien world. Greymalkin would also regularly send out troops to aid in the raids on the two other fronts. Everything was done with extreme caution... their survival depending on them not being reckless. Attacks were spread out evenly and in a semi-random fashion to prevent the Covenant from pinpointing their base of operations. Given how little they knew, this was the most rational way to fight back without seriously compromising themselves. Not to say it was easy. Between the three of them they had only 2 jeeps and 4 transport/supply trucks... all which could be easily spotted. No, almost all movement had to be on foot. Returning to Greymalkin from a recon patrol could take a week... coming back from the warfront no less than two weeks. And they had only been there for three weeks. It was slow and tedious, but it was safe and rational. Rational. In a struggle for survival it is possible to lose one's humanity. Xian was grateful for the crewmen, scientists, and evacuated civilians that made sure the warriors remained grounded in reality. It reminded those proud soldiers that they were servants... protectors for the civilian way of life. Protecting gave those men a sense of honor, duty, and humanity... when it was so easy to lose that all in a haze of bloodshed and hatred. No, that would not happen to these men who returned to women and children, friends and family... to something other than the ugliness of war. The 147 had a calming effect on the troops... not letting them turn into dogs of war but instead, dangerous cool and calculating tactical commandos, fighting to protect the human way of life. And in fact the higher brass realized this, amazingly. In times of war, martial law reigns supreme, however, Admiral Isaac realized the need for civilian input to ensure they had a voice and that they stayed true to their purpose. The 147 outnumbered the military almost 2 to 1 but the leadership was the reversal of that. The trio of Dr. Hartman, Admiral Isaac, and Captain Jacob handled every major decision. It was a great system. Non-military people provided research, support, and sanity to the military while the marines provided protection and survival... usually. As Xian rounded the mountain to the entrance of Greymalkin, he saw the approach of three marines who had come back from the front. Their armor was scorched and stained with dried gore, their faces weary, their lead was missing his helmet- but they were missing something more important... the fourth man. The tired soldiers were greeted warmly by the entrance guards and those passing by the opening. The helmetless leader's eyes seemed glazed over as he failed to respond to their salutations. A thin woman stared intensely at the dazed marine. She stood in his way, anger beginning to show on her frail face. "ANIMAL!" Suddenly everything in the hall went quiet. The dozen or so people there, Xian included, all froze and stared. The lead marine focused his eyes on the woman, returning to reality briefly. Now with his attention, the woman began to scream at him. "You filthy animal! You bloodthirsty beast! You fight and kill and murder and destroy all so you can satisfy your bloodlust! All so you can have your precious war and prove your stinking manhood. You're not a man but a disgusting savage! Isn't peace an option? Isn't surrender? All for your rotten pride... your insufferable self-righteousness! Why did you drag us from our colony? You bastard... why did you drag my daughter- my baby, my child- here to die! You couldn't have left us alone, you scum? My darling, my little girl is dead! Dead because of this damned ringworld and because of you!" The hysterical woman was sobbing at this point. Her ten year-old daughter had gotten sick during that first stormy trek to Greymalkin... and never got better. And she was blaming every marine that had ever lived. Ironically, she probably didn't realize this was the very same marine that had picked up the sick girl and carried her the rest of the way up the mountain. The lead marine's eyes reflected shame before they were lowered once again into their haze. As he started to move around her she slapped him across the face... hard. Everyone tensed. He turned his head back, straightened his shoulders, and shoved her out of the way with one arm. Chain reaction. He hadn't pushed her hard, but her heel caught her dress, making her lose her balance and fall. A green entrance guard who was jumpy reacted by reaching forward to grab the marine's arm. The marine violently shook of his grip causing the guard to bark out, "Hey!" and move for his sidearm. The veteran reacted on two levels. Instinct and experience made him spin around, and remove his combat knife in self-defense. Outrage over his lost comrade and this injustice made him lift the rookie by the throat and slam him to the ground. All in the span of three heartbeats. He was angry. Angry? Goddamn furious! His thoughts were racing a thousand miles per second as he recalled his squad mate's sacrifice and this woman's accusations and the extinction of humanity and his exhaustion and this jerk's interference... and on some level, he was thinking, "Animal? I'll show them a friggin animal!" as he prepared to plunge his knife through the prone guard's faceplate. *KA-CHING!!!* The sound of his combat knife's blade being shattered by Xian's expertly placed shot rang through the entrance hall of Greymalkin. Xian lowered his rifle and looked the distraught marine in the eye. He spoke evenly with no condemnation in his voice. "You're not an animal." The marine climbed to his feet and Xian helped the other one up. During the awkward moment while they dusted themselves off, Captain Jacob entered the hallway followed by four marines. The Captain was the most respected and experienced officer still in active duty at Greymalkin- Admiral Isaac was technically retired. Although he had never technically been in a war, Captain Jeremiah Jacob had been in two "conflicts" and logged hundreds of combat hours as the leader of a counter-terrorist task force. While humanity had been at peace with the universe, it had never really been at peace with itself. His counter-terrorist unit had doubled as covert operatives making the guerrilla tactics used here, second nature. He was also fairly young for the amount of experience he possessed. He had always lead by example, fighting alongside his men. He was charismatic and a natural born leader, though he humbly submitted to the authority of the retired Admiral. Partially out of respect for the Chain of Command, partially because he wasn't used to being in charge of so many souls, and partially because he had a great respect for those more experienced than himself. Captain Jacob had olive colored skin, slicked back raven black hair, and black eyes... which, at the moment, were centered directly on Xian. His words were addressing everyone, but they seemed to direct themselves straight at Xian. "What's going on here." He didn't ask it. He said it. Xian didn't flinch and responded without missing a beat. "Nothing serious. We got a little carried away. We're all overjoyed they've come back." Xian didn't even bother making the lie sound believable. This was up to Jacob. The Captain's eyes traveled from the broken knife to Xian's rifle to the tousled guard and resting, finally, on the thin woman with the stain of tears on her face. Xian stepped in. "She was moved to tears. Like I said... overjoyed.", Xian said as flatly as before. "Of course.", his voice equally deadpan. Xian could feel Captain Jacob judging him, trying to gauge and measure the enigmatic man before him. This was the first time Jacob had ever noticed this man and so he tried to size him up. Either he figured it out or he gave up, but his facial expression didn't betray him. He gestured for Xian to come to him. "Well carry on... and you, come with me I'd like to talk to you." The began to walk deeper into Greymalkin with no particular destination in mind. If his four marine escorts could hear their conversation, Captain Jacob didn't seem to care. "What's your name, soldier?" "Xian. I'm not a marine." "Really? With your build, I thought you were simply one of our marines out of armor." "You were mistaken." "Yes." They were walking fairly quickly in very measured steps. Xian could see Jacob was testing him. He was testing his breathing, his discipline of movement, and how carefully guarded his speech was. Clever man... a good tactic. "I want you to know I'm grateful for what you did back there." "It was nothing." "You say you're not a soldier, Xian?" "I said I wasn't a marine." "Right. That's what you said. Well. I'm glad we had this little chat." The stopped walking and Captain Jacob shook Xian's hand... holding it for a moment. Firm grip, steady hand, but he could not detect any shooting or armor calluses. In fact, Xian's hand was completely smooth. Strange. He was so sure.... "Thanks again, Xian. Take care." Xian nodded and headed off to Dr. Lynch's lab. Well, not so much a lab as a corner of Greymalkin where he could do his analysis of foreign minerals and flora and their affect on humans. The elderly scientist's field was not very useful in any military specific role so he was allowed to do his own research. Xian entered Dr. Lynch's lab and placed the most recently gathered samples on a table and stood silently waiting for the scientist to notice him. Dr. Lynch was so absorbed into his work it was a good ten minutes until he saw Xian patiently waiting. "Ah, good morning to you, Sean!" Dr. Lynch said "Sean" because that was the best he could manage. Xi'An ended up sounding something like Shee-Ahn which Dr. Lynch could never pronounce correctly given his heavy accent. He took "Shawn" into his Irish "Sean" which was similar to the Gaelic "Cian". Xian didn't mind, so Dr. Lynch's nickname for him stuck. Xian smiled and looked over the scientist's work. "So what are you working on now?" "Hm, nothing exciting. I've basically confirmed that the dirt on this- this 'Halo'... if you will- is the same everywhere else. Boring stuff." "Not at all, Doctor! Your work is important stuff, it's always good to check. For all we knew upon landing on- Halo did you say?- the ground was toxic or problematic to our electronics." "Sure, sure... thanks for cheering up an old man. Actually, I did find something very interesting in that last batch of flora you brought back! Apparently, the wide bladed grass you found contains many pain killing properties. It would be good to have the marines learn to recognize the plant by sight in the field." "That's great, I'll be sure to let them know." "Ah, thank you. Also, a somewhat less thrilling discovery... evidently, those coniferous seeds from two trips ago are edible and quite nutritious- if bland. However, they're quite likely to cause indigestion... and a bad case of gas. But I suppose you should pass that along as well.", Dr. Lynch sighed as he passed Xian his findings. "Very good!", Xian chuckled, "I get it to them right away. I'll see you later, Doctor." -=*=- | |
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| Replies: |
| "The Law of Sin & Death" (ffic, 1/5) | Xian | 2/12/00 5:11 p.m. |
| Re: "The Law of Sin & Death" (ffic, | Louis Wu | 2/12/00 7:12 p.m. |
| Re: "The Law of Sin & Death" (ffic, | Xero | 2/14/00 5:57 p.m. |
| Thanks | Xian | 2/15/00 10:56 a.m. |
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