The Lost (prologue)
Posted By: A Halo Fan...natic
Date: 22 October 2004, 11:16 PM
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I'm sorry it took me so long to write this. I've been grounded from the computer and... yeah. Anyways, Hope you enjoy!
Srg. Williams ducked under a plasma bolt as it whizzed by his head. Tanj! He couldn't afford to get hit now! The Pelican was only two hundred meters away! He dodged another shot, this time, much closer. He spun around to fire his strakkaker. A burst of glass and Teflon needles issued from the gun. The grunt he had been aiming for ducked and a nearby boulder became suddenly sandblast smooth as the hyper velocity rounds struck it.
He turned back around and suddenly felt a burning agony in his left arm. He fell to his knees and looked up. A hideous creature in golden armor stood over him holding a glowing blade, and a low laugh came from it.
The Sergeant heard voices as if from a long way away, but he didn't care. Pain and the eight-foot creature standing over him took up his entire world. The thing raised the sword again, this time lining it up with his head. He knew he was going to die. He closed his eyes, waiting for the glowing blade to end his existence. But the blow never came. Instead, there was a loud bang and the sergeant opened his eyes. The elite was bent over double with the remnants of a vapor trail going through its stomach. There was another bang and the creature suddenly stiffened and fell to the ground.
Sergeant Williams knew he should be relieved that he didn't die, but he couldn't. His vision was going black and he could feel his mind going. The pain in the remnants of his arm was increasing, and he started to fall forward. He could hear cries of "He needs a tourniquet!" and "Get a him a stim shot!" but those voices were fading.
Suddenly he was back to full awareness. He could feel a stim hypo being removed from his neck. He sat up and saw the faces of his fellow marines. Pvt. Edwards, Corporal Richard with the sniper rifle, Pvt. Thompson, Lt. Emerson... Suddenly he felt a burning up his spine and he fell on his face with green plasma crystallizing on his back, and all faded to darkness and chaos...
But chaos was not empty. Out of the dark, a fleet of ships appeared. Slowly, a blue and green planet orbiting a yellow star also came into focus. The fleet converged on the planet and...
* * *
Former marine sergeant Ryan Andrew Williams woke up sweating. He'd been having that dream for seven years now and it still scared the shit out of him. He stretched his right arm out until it cracked, and then pressed a tiny button and his motorized prosthetic arm came to life.
Williams was forty-two years old, and well past his prime. He was 7' 8" raised in belter gravity, and had hazel eyes, and brown hair that was starting to go a little gray around the edges.
Seven years earlier the Covenant attacked the colony at Fomalhaut. Williams had been a guard on one of the larger asteroid mining facilities, and when the Covenant landed, Williams had been sent planetside to try and stop them. He had been drafted into a squad of eleven other soldiers. After three months of fighting, it became clear that the Covenant were going to win. All marine forces were ordered to evacuate the system
When he was wounded, the rest of the squad had been able to get him to an autodoc soon enough to save his life; but the plasma sword had cauterized as it cut, and the limb couldn't be replaced without damaging much of his torso. The doctors had given Williams a choice: receive a prosthetic arm to replace the limb, or undergo an operation that might damage his lungs. He chose the former.
Williams yawned and stood up out of bed. He walked over to the coffee maker and put in some Folger instant mix. Amazing that that company still existed... He sighed and turned on the radio. He winced at the loud rap blasting out of the thing and changed the station. He stopped when he heard the opening part to Rhapsody in Blue.
Ryan closed his eyes and let a wave of blissful non-thought wash over him. Suddenly, instead of Gershwin's masterpiece coming over the radio, there was burst of static and white noise. He reached over to turn it off when the signal stabilized.
"- report to your duty stations now! Repeat: all civilians to the emergency bunkers immediately! All active, reserve, and former military personnel report to your duty stations now! If you do not have an assigned station then report to the nearest UNSC outpost to-"
The broadcast suddenly cut off and more static ensued, but Williams didn't need to hear the rest. He new that the emergency override would only be activated in extreme emergencies. And only one emergency would call out all military forces. He reached under the bed and took out the case with his old strakkaker. He then went over to the closet and took out some magazines for the heavy weapon as well as a 9mm parabellum. He didn't have his old armor anymore but that couldn't be helped.
The newly reinstated sergeant raced down the steps of his apartment building and outside. He looked up in the direction of nearby Cincinnati. There were great plumes of smoke going up and every now and then an explosion would go up. Williams stood and stared at the destruction. Even as he watched, a familiar shape was illuminated against an explosion.
Oh my god, he thought, they're really here... He watched the covenant dropship disappear then shook out of his reverie. He needed to get to the city. That was where he was needed. He could see other people coming outside now. Going to the bunkers, but those won't stand up to the covenant. If they want to get in, then... He shook his head to clear his thoughts, then walked over to his civilian warthog. I have a purpose again... he thought as he started up the car, that's why I've been feeling so empty recently. But my god... this...
He looked at the city again as he pulled out of the driveway. He knew what his purpose was now. To kick ass until he couldn't kick it any more. And then to charge into battle and die in one last blaze of glory. He slammed the accelerator and headed for the city. Cincinnati, here I come...
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