The Man-Kzin-Covie Wars I: Larry Niven meets Halo
Posted By: A Halo Fan...natic
Date: 17 August 2004, 7:40 PM
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Rrihgt-Captain looked at the data analysis screens displaying lines and lines of information about the black hole. His ears twitched and his tail whipped back and forth irritably. He closed his eyes and then looked again. The screens showed the same thing. Rrihgt-Captain slashed at the screen in rage.
Rrihgt-Captain was a Kzin, a two hundred kilo nightmare of teeth, muscle and orange and sienna fur. He stood about eight feet tall; average for a Kzin though some of the larger could reach ten.
Currently however, the felinoid captain was in a crouch, ready to spring onto the bank of monitors. What they were showing was impossible! A black hole did not have two ends! But when he had finished tearing apart the display and the backup had come down, it showed the same thing. One side of the black hole, the side pointing towards the galactic southwest, was ordinary, detectable only through the Gutting Talon's graviton measuring devices.
But the other side, ah, that was something completely different. The northeastern side was shooting matter out into space. And it wasn't the same as the matter going in. This was something unheard of in known space.
Unfortunately, the warriors of the Hero's race on board the Gutting Talon didn't have time to find out the military potential in this. When the Human ship had shot their hyper-drive (yes I said hyper drive, you'll find out why later), it had gone into a spontaneous failure and launched them at 5.8 C towards the galactic center. Finally they had come close enough to a mass large enough to bend space to the degree required to pull them out of hyperspace. It was quite unfortunate however, that the mass was a black hole. Even though they had fixed their hyper drive, they couldn't make a jump this close to a space bending mass.
Rrihgt-Captain contemplated this as Sraff-Navigator attempted to find a way to get the Gutting Talon away from the black hole.
"Sir!" a voice said from behind him.
Rrihgt-Captain spun around preparing to disembowel the one who dared disturb him. He saw however that it was merely Second Engineer. He controlled himself with enormous effort and finally managed to say: "What Second Engineer?"
"Sir, those chrowling Monkey's disabled our main gravity polarizer! We have no means of moving ourselves other than by the backup reaction jets!"
Rrihgt-Captain let loose a stream of Kzinti curses. "How much DeltaV do we have?"
"1.5 C, sir."
"Sraff-Navigator! What are the chances of us escaping the gravity well of the black hole with 1.5 C of DeltaV? Be quick about it!"
"Right away sir!"
Rrihgt-Captain already knew the answer though. They were doomed to perish in the black hole...
* * *
Click.
"Waaaiigh!"
Click.
"Rearrhrarr...gruuuh..."
"Wort Wort!"
Click.
"Wor-Weaarrrr...!"
Walker scanned the area for more targets. He had to keep shooting or the rest of the squad was dead meat.
"Walker! Covie Jackal on your 2'!"
He swung the barrel of the gun spotted the Jackal only 50 meters away.
Click.
"Werah! Ruuh gurgle..."
Walker and his spotter Jensen lay prone at the top of a small ridge amidst a small amount of desert scrub. The harsh Korhal sun beat down on them like a hammer, burning their skin.
Click.
The Elite he had been aiming at stumbled suddenly, its left leg a red sodden mess. The thing let out a long low cry of pain. Walker silenced it with another round.
Walker and his squad had all been issued new experimental weapons for this mission. Most of the squad had been issued new EM SMG's. The weapons somehow used magnets to propel projectile at high speed and had enormous rates of fire. Walker himself, the squad sniper had been given an EMR or "ElectroMagnetic Rifle" The thing was ridiculously powerful. The tiny 2-mm rounds tore through covenant shields like a Scorpion's cannon through tissue paper.
Click.
A grunt's head exploded.
Click.
A Jackal fell, the right side of it's torso missing.
Suddenly, Jensen cried out.
Walker turned to see a floating bluish sword swing down, severing Jensen's head from his body.
Walker rolled to the side and pulled out his ratchet knife. It was a meter long, blade shaped loop of wire with a battery attached at the handle. Walker wasn't clear how it worked exactly but it was able to cut through almost anything.
He swung wildly at the floating plasma sword but it moved away every time. He noticed that it always moved down the ridge; in the direction of where his squad was repairing the damaged Pelican.
"Oh no you don't.", he whispered. He charged towards the thing, swinging from the left. The sword moved to block it not seeing until to late that it was a feint. When it saw the blade coming up from below it's guard, the Elite dodged quickly aside. But not quickly enough.
Corporal Walker grinned savagely as he heard the sound of breaking machinery. He spun looking for the floating sword, finding instead the Elite. It was visible now and looking at him with a look he guessed was pure hatred.
Then suddenly it spoke in rough Interworld: "Yooh wihhll diieh Hyooman. Yorrh distrructenh ish the whill ofh the gohhds and weeeh arhh the instermints." It charged forward, plasma sword raised.
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