[Sangus Bane]

Hey guys, and girls,

This is the thread in which I will post a piece of Halo fiction which is also a deeper look at the background for the character I created for HOGGLORD's great Halo RP, Risen from the Ashes. The story follows my character during his turbulent military career and the events leading to that career.

The story is getting quite long (Nearing novel length really.) and thus I decided to start posting the three episodes of Chapter 1.

Chapter 1.1 serves as an introduction to the character and the style, little more.

One final note: This is the way the story is written: The main character keeps a journal, occasionally we get to see one of those journal entries, after which the story follows him and his many companions.

I hope you like it.
----------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1: Pre-military
Episode 1: An Introduction

Welcome, user.

Thank you for purchasing and using the Pear Universal Personal Data Manager Generation VI, or UManager 6.

No doubt you would love to get started with your journal or notes right away but first you will need to make an introduction recording, a message which tells something about you.
This way other will be able to find you when they find your product after you lost or misplaced it.

Let’s get started, shall we?

The recording will commence once you tap the ‘Record’ button on screen, you can do so when you are ready.

Entry of Introduction:

‘’Hello, my name is John Lancaster.

I was born on the fourth of February, 2506, which marks this day as my nineteenth birthday.
I live in New Rotterdam, The Netherlands on Earth.
Currently I live here by myself, after my sister left for military duty last year and my parents died two and a half year ago.

Not quite sure what else to say, I think it would be weird to sum up all my hobbies or my life story right now.
My contact information is on a file in the UManager, you won’t have any trouble finding it, or me.

Thank you, and good bye.’’

Well done user, now it is time to set some settings, such as time, date and preferences.

Entry- 1, date not set yet. -Please set the date and time for reference in future entries. (Please consort the manual or contact the Pear customer support service if you are having trouble setting certain settings.)

‘’Today is my 19th birthday and my sister gave me this recorder so I can get my head straight. It’s been well over two years since mom and dad died and she thinks I’m still troubled by it. I am, but is that really so strange? A sixteen year old who loses both his parents and is never troubled by it again, that is strange.

Anyway, I’ll try to make entries on this thing on a regular basis, who knows, it might help.’’

-End of entry.

I put down the recorder, put my hands behind my head and slowly fell backwards, onto my bed.
It had been a good birthday; my friends showing up and, of course, the fact that my sister came home without notice.

Maria, my sister, had returned from her first tour. She was a soldier, always had been. When our parents died she took over without question. She finished college and signed up for some military program, the funds generated from that enabling me to go to boarding school for a year.

‘’Why are you still awake?’’ She asked, suddenly showing up in the doorway. Her brown hair was short, military dress, of course. She wore a white tank top and sweatpants, no shoes.
I sighed and got up from my bed.
‘’Not tired…’’ I said casually.
‘’Johnny,’’ She began, but she didn’t go through with the sentence, I didn’t ask her why.

My sister and I were close, closer than most siblings, we had been ever since our parents died. We had to be close, otherwise it would have been even harder to get through the day with just each other. We didn’t have any relatives, not in the Inner colonies at least, nor did our parents have any friends that we knew of. It was strange to suddenly realize we didn’t know a thing about our parents or their lives.
We survived however, and it only made us stronger.

‘’I’m going to bed, ‘kay?’’ Maria announced. ‘’Try to get some sleep.’’
I smiled at her, put up my head phones, wished her a good night and got back into bed. The moment she closed the door and I could hear the music through my headphones I fell asleep.

 

[Sangus Bane]

Chapter 1: Pre-military
Episode 2: Contact Harvest

Entry- 7, Date not set yet. -Please set the date and time for reference in future entries. (Please consort the manual or contact the Pear customer support service if you are having trouble setting certain settings.)

''Yeah, so, Pear customer support isn’t really being supportive at the moment. I have set the time and date on this thing a dozen times now but it just won’t save them. Each time I start recording, the time and date are set back to ‘Unknown’.
Right now I’m making a few extra recordings to see if that will help. I don’t know how that would help, this software is a mystery to me, but who knows?

*Phone rigns*

Duty calls, I gotta go.''

-End of Entry.

‘’Dammit woman, I’m busy.’’ I said jokingly as I picked up my phone. The display had already told me it was Maria.

‘’John, listen to me, and listen carefully.’’ She said. She spoke fast, I knew something was wrong by her tone.
‘’What’s wrong?’’ I asked, sounding panicked, which I was.
‘’Get to my bedroom.’’ She said and I immediately got up and made my way through the hall, doing what she said.

‘’On the nightstand is a key, take it and use it to open the footlocker underneath my bed.’’

Again I did as she said. The footlocker was heavy and I was sure I scratched the wooden floor of her room by dragging it from underneath her bed.
I unlocked the thing and was amazed at the contents of the locker; her dog tags, lots of military supplies and a gun, a pistol.

‘’It’s open.’’ I said once I had found my phone in the sheets of her bed.
‘’John, take the pistol, the gray envelopes and head downstairs.’’ She said. I could hear a car horn on the background.
‘’I’m almost home, John. Just head downstairs and watch the news for me, will you?’’
I didn’t reply, I just did what I was being told.

I took all the gray envelopes I could find, the pistol, which was much heavier than I expected, and headed downstairs to switch on the TV.
Once it was on I saw nothing but destruction and felt an anxiety creep up and down my spine.

I was stunned, silenced in disbelief by what I was seeing; a world set ablaze, flames and pillars of smoke all across its surface.
‘’For all the viewers who just tuned in; these are images made by the crew of an unknown freighter, the images are now confirmed to be of the planet Harvest, in the Epsilon Indi system.’’

‘’Fuck.’’ I said, really not knowing what else there was to say.
‘’The UNSC has not yet released a statement on what has happened at Harvest but speculations are that a series of terrorist acts have been committed by Insurrectionist terrorist forces.’’

The front door flew open, Maria ran towards the living room and grabbed the remote control from my hands.
She turned up the volume.
‘’What did they say? What’s going on?’’
‘’Harvest got hit hard.’’ I replied hastily. ‘’They think the rebels did it.’’
‘’Fuck.’’ Maria said shocked. ‘’A whole planet?!’’

Maria moved her hands through her hair as if she was looking for a solution.
‘’Did you get my stuff?’’ She finally asked.
I kept my eyes fixed on the screen and pointed to the coffee table behind me.
Maria picked up the envelopes and the pistol and slipped them in her purse.

‘’Maria, what are you doing?’’ I asked her.
No reply.
She was going through some messages on her phone and strode around the living room before she even closed the front door.
I noticed she had turned down the television volume after a news bulletin that a force of marines was being assembled to investigate what had happened at Harvest. Was her unit part of that task force?

‘’Maria!’’ I said, louder this time, and she seemed to snap out of her trance.
‘’John, last time the Innies did something big they struck again shortly after, making things worse when people thought it couldn’t get any worse.’’ Maria told me.

Then I understood, she was afraid the Insurrectionists would strike again, maybe even on Earth, maybe in New Rotterdam…
It was a large port, both for space faring craft and ordinary ships, it also had a large UNSC recruiting center and two ONI offices.
New Rotterdam was a better target for a terrorist strike than most other cities.

Then again, what were the odds?

I knew it was ridiculous to expect a terrorist attack to occur nearby, yet I felt a certain anxiety, a fear which had nestled itself in the back of my mind, ready to grow.

I walked to the kitchen.
‘’Where are you going?’’ Maria asked me while biting a nail.
‘’I’m going to make some tea.’’ I said, realizing I was on auto-pilot.
I couldn’t see Maria’s reaction but I always imagined it to be a nervous chuckle which would make her look like she was about to burst out in tears.

‘’Why is this happening, John?’’ Maria asked me from the living room. Her voice slightly raised to get over the sound of the water running from the tap. ‘’Why can’t they just leave us alone?’’
I had thought about that several times, sometimes even hours straight and I always came to the same conclusion; Because they see it differently.

‘’You had history as a subject throughout high school,’’ I said. ‘’You know how it has been for millennia now; One party wants one thing, the other wants something else.’’
‘’You’d think we’d learn from our past.’’ Maria sighed.

‘’We’re a doomed species.’’ I said, immediately regretting the words.
‘’Don’t say that, John!’’ Maria said annoyed. ‘’Whether you mean it or not, now is definitely not the time to say that sort of thing.’’
I agreed with her, but I also meant what I said…

 

[Dave T Hobbit]

Cunning use of QUOTE tags.

 

[WaLkAwaY]

‘’We’re a doomed species.’’ I said, immediately regretting the words.
‘’Don’t say that, John!’’ Maria said annoyed. ‘’Whether you mean it or not, now is definitely the time to say that sort of thing.’’
I agreed with her, but I also meant what I said…

Pretty good. Also did you mean to write this or did you mean "now is definitely *not* the time..."?

 

[Sangus Bane]

Pretty good. Also did you mean to write this or did you mean "now is definitely *not* the time..."?

At first I intended to make it sarcastic, but then I changed that, seeing how it would not fit the situation.
Seems I forgot to to add the 'not'. Well spotted.

 

[Sangus Bane]

Chapter 1: Pre-military
Episode 3: Loss

Entry- 11: 27-03-2525, 17:56

‘’Maria just heard she is shipped out to Harvest tomorrow, part of a military fleet which has been assembled over the past three days.

Nobody has any clue on what happened at Harvest thus far, and beyond the initial report and the images nobody knows anything, it might be a hoax for all I know.
I sure hope it’s all one giant, sick joke…

But this is reality, so I guess it will be worse than I hope.
*sigh*

Maria and I are going to spent the night together, spending as much time together as possible until she has to report at the local UNSCDF* center to catch a ride to the UNSC Liberty Redeemed which will take part in the recon mission of Epsilon Indi, the system Harvest is located in.

Honestly? I’m scared, scared of being alone again and scared of losing her.
I got used to having her around again, even if had only been a week or two, and now she is shipped off again.

*13 seconds of silence*

-End of Entry

[*United Nations Space Command Defense Force]

Entry- 20: 13-4-2525, 12:03

…
…
She’s, dead.

End of Entry.

John Lancaster, Amsterdam, 12-4-2525

We are deeply saddened to report the loss of the UNSCDF combat frigate the UNSC Liberty Redeemed, which was destroyed during a mission in the Epsilon Indi system.

Much to our regret we have to inform you that the ship was lost with all hands, including your sister Pvt. Maria Amy Robin Lancaster.

We are further saddened to report that there are no remains to be buried.

We hope you take comfort with the knowledge that she will be missed dearly and will be remembered for her accomplishments and her service to the UNSC.

A ceremony will be held in honour of the dead on the seventeenth of March, we hope you will attend the ceremony. Specifics will be sent to you shortly.

Please know you have our deepest sympathies and if the UNSC military can be of any service you can contact us through the contact information supplied on the backside of this notification.

We wish you luck and strength in these dark days.

-Colonel Richard Ackingson , UNSCDF Marine Corps




I didn’t know what I felt.

When my parents died I felt sadness, grief, like I was supposed to.
But now…

Anger? Yes, that’s it.
But at who? The Innies for one. I wanted to kill them, all of them.

The saddest part was that I realized this while they were reading me her will.
She directed it to me, the entire will.

I now officially owned everything she owned, used to own…
The house, the car, everything, I now had access to her bank account. I cared for nothing of those things.

What troubled me most was the message she included in her will;

John, if you ever get to hear this it means that I died whilst on tour.
I hope you never get to hear this off course but there are things I need to ask of you.

The first is this: Please don’t sell the house, keep it, it was the only place we ever felt at home and I want you to grow old there, you will be the only person in our entire family to get that chance.

Secondly: Don’t do anything stupid, live your life, don’t spend it fighting.

Third: Please forgive me. I have the sense that when I die I will abandon you, leave you all alone. The though makes me cry, it truly does. I’d understand if you blamed me.

I love you Johnnie, never forget that.
-Mary

Mary...
That's what I used to call her when we were around the age of four. She hadn't been called that in fifteen years now…

I hated myself for what I was about to do, as it was not what Maria had asked of me;

I walked into the New Rotterdam UNSCDF center and enlisted for military duty, created a plan in which the UNSC would keep my house until my service ended and I was shipped to a training center in the Ukraine right away.

All of this in a flash of rage and sadness, though I never regretted it.
I don’t even remember most of it...

 

[son of azurman]

Looking good so far sangus

 

[Santaire]

Hell, now I'm tempted to do one for the Spartans mate.

Give you all a look into them, as you're giving us a look into Lancaster's past

 

[son of azurman]

I might start doing these kind of things but it won't be for this rp

 

[Sangus Bane]

Hell, now I'm tempted to do one for the Spartans mate.

Give you all a look into them, as you're giving us a look into Lancaster's past

I might start doing these kind of things but it won't be for this rp

I can recommend it, it gives you the chance to really motivate the actions of your character.

I tend to go a bit overboard with these sort of things however, what was supposed to be 6000 words is now nearing 20.000 words an not even done yet... Curse my creative mind...

I just finished chapter 2 and already have large sections of chapters 3, 4 and 5 finished, plus a small part of chapter 7.
Once I upload parts of chapter 2 the Halo fans are going to see a lot of references.

 

[son of azurman]

Once this is done I hope hogglord continues these rps and let's us keep the characters.

 

[Sangus Bane]

Once this is done I hope hogglord continues these rps and let's us keep the characters.

As do I. I would love to have my character command a spaceship one day, only sanctioned by the UNSC this time.

Just wait till we get to chapters 5 and 6.

 

[son of azurman]

cant wait for more,i wonder who he will meet

 

[Sangus Bane]

cant wait for more,i wonder who he will meet

I have six pages of short character sheets in a separate Word file, there will be plenty of interesting characters making an appearance, you know some of them.

Chapter 2 starts Friday 25-01.

 

[Sangus Bane]

Sorry I'm late, it has been a busy few days lately.

Here's the start of Chapter 2, this Chapter will be ALLOT more lengthy that Chapter 1.
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Chapter 2: UNSC Army
Episode 1: News from afar.

Entry- 59: 8-08-2525, 15:21

‘’So, here I am again, almost at the end of basic now. It’s been hell so far, I mean, I knew what I was signing up for, but still.
I’m thinking about Maria allot lately, just thinking she did all this, right here, just like I am, is keeping me going.

This is my last chance to make a recording for now, all cadets are being shipped to Mars for some sort of special training exercise which will make up for the last two months of basic training.

Yesterday I received top marks for sniper training, which I’m honored to add to the list of scores I’ve set over the past months.
Sniper training, hand-to-hand combat, tactical-

*Background chatter*

Hold on, something’s happening.

*All cadets and personnel report to the main auditory.*

This can’t be good.’’

End of Entry.

‘’Shaw, what’s happening?’’ I asked my room mate as I tucked the recorder into the sheets that lay in the footlocker beside my cot.
‘’Don’t know.’’ Shaw replied as he pulled on a shirt, not noticing it was backwards in his haste. ‘’Nothing good though, that’s for sure.’’

‘’Cut the chatter and report to the auditory, cadets, right now!’’ A staff member shouted into our quarters before continuing to check the other rooms.
Shaw followed me out onto the hall and towards the auditory, we walked fast, keeping the pace with the rest of the cadets on their way to the auditory.

I recognized some of them; Zita, Alan, Carter and quite a few more who I had to fight in all sorts of combat training rounds.

When we entered the auditory it was already crowded, full with cadets and staff members who were discussing the reason for this gathering.

‘’Lancaster! Shaw!’’ A cadet yelled out, the man waving us over. It was Cadet Thom Charles, a senior who had enrolled in the officers’ training and was assigned to lead our squad.

‘’Sir.’’ Shaw said as he pulled me out of the walking crowd and into an empty spot reserved by the rest of Triarii Squad.
‘’Don’t suppose they told you what this is about?’’ I asked Thom.
‘’Not a single word.’’ Thom replied, trying to spot other members of our squad.

There were seven of us now. Me, Thom, Shaw, Colt, Berring, Chaim and McAllister. Which meant we were still missing Nero, Schoener and Kim-An.

‘’Officer on deck!’’ A marine notified the cadets as Colonel Greyson stepped onto a small dais at the far end of the auditory.
‘’Ladies and gentlemen,’’ the colonel began. ‘’last Tuesday around zero-nine-hundred two ships returned from a patrol in the Epsilon Indi system, investigating the on-going situation surrounding Harvest.’’

I felt my heart skip a beat hearing the name Harvest, instantly reminded of Maria’s death.
‘’The UNSC Siren’s Bosom and the UNSC White Dwarf were heavily damaged after being engaged by hostile ships.’’
The colonel paused, considering his words.
‘’Intelligence they recovered confirm earlier reports and testimonies that the damage inflicted on Harvest and earlier scouting parties might not have been caused by Insurrectionist terrorists.’’

All around the auditory cadets started to cry out and yell questions.
The colonel beckoned for silence and slowly the crowd became quiet again, settling down after officers and seniors ordered them to.

‘’I can hardly believe that I’m saying this.’’ The colonel said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. ’’ONI has just confirmed that Harvest was in fact attacked by an extra terrestrial force which calls itself ‘The Covenant’.’’
The gathered cadets remained silent, stunned in disbelief.

‘’Cadets, we have just received word that negotiations with this so called ‘Covenant’ were fruitless and that they have declared war on all of mankind and her worlds.’’
Whispers went through the auditory but died out the moment the colonel continued.

‘’Initial reports say that the Covenant is highly advanced and well armed but not numerous. HIGHCOM wants to turn this into our favor by striking quickly and without mercy. For that reason a large combat group is being assembled as we speak.
This combat group will take to Harvest and several other colonies which have gone dark, amongst which Arcadia, Bright and New America.’’

It didn’t make sense. How could all those worlds have gone dark in a few months, yet the enemy wasn’t ‘believed to be numerous?’
I already had several theories shooting through my mind as I considered this.
Either the UNSC had known longer than they made us think, the enemy was numerous, or both.

‘’Combat training on Mars next month has been canceled as some of you are to deploy to Arcadia.’’ The colonel said. ‘’Lieutenant Cross.’’ The colonel concluded as he gave another officer the chance to speak.

‘’Squad leaders of the following squads are to remain here;
Calgati
Velites
Equites
Evocati
Triarii
Socii

The rest of you will return to their quarters until further notice.’’ The lieutenant said and the gathered cadets slowly made their way out of the auditory, whispering and wondering.
Triarii squad was mentioned, were we to be pressed into service? That would mean the squad was going to be split up. Most likely to fill gaps in other squads, such things had happened many times during the war with the Innies.

Thom gave me a nod as I exited the auditory with Shaw. He didn’t look happy at all.

Entry 60- 4-08-2525, 17:58

‘’Alien live exists, and not only does it exist, it is hostile towards mankind.

I still can’t believe it. Colonel Greyson said that they were behind the attack on Harvest, is this ‘Covenant’ responsible for Maria’s death?

Thom is currently being informed what will become of our squad. I hope we’ll get sent out to a planet to kill those alien bastards.’’

End of Entry.

Half an hour after I made the recording Thom entered the quarters I shared with Shaw.
‘’Grab your stuff, we leave for Reach.’’ He said, nothing more.

 

[son of azurman]

ha white dwarf
were did you get all the squad names from

 

[Sangus Bane]

ha white dwarf
were did you get all the squad names from

In Forward unto Dawn the squad at Corbulo Academy was called Hastati.

The Hastati were the Roman empire's least fortunate infantry, they had the lowest pay and were deployed at the front of the line.

Triarii are the exact opposite of that, they were the wealthiest members of the cavalry and they were rarely seen in the front line..

The other squad names are also based on Roman infantry and cavalry types.

 

[son of azurman]

nice so you did your research

 

[Sangus Bane]

nice so you did your research

I sure did.

 

[Sangus Bane]

Chapter 2: UNSC army
Episode 2: ‘’Welcome to Baker 2-12, the Roughnecks.’’

Cold. That damned, fucking cold.

I opened my eyes, breathing hard and feeling pain in my muscles as I woke up.
I placed my hands on the glass of the cryo-pod and felt my stomach turn on itself.

The pod opened and I fell forwards, unto my knees.
I coughed and gagged as my body was still coming to grips with the fact it had come back to life.

I suddenly vomited whatever it was that I last ate before I went into cryo, I couldn’t remember, nor did I really feel the need to remember.

After that it went better, I was still a bit dazed and sounds seemed a bit distant, but it wasn’t even half as bad as the first time I got out of cryo.

‘’Private John Lancaster?’’ A voice said. ‘’You alright, lad?’’
‘’Fine.’’ I said as I spat on the floor.
I looked up, still panting and on my knees. I saw a man in combat dress, holding a set of dogtags in his left hand. His right hand was extended, offering to help me unto my feet.

‘’Thanks.’’ I said as I took his hand and he helped me up.
‘’No sweat.’’ The man said smiling. ‘’Private John Lancaster, right?’’
‘’Cadet, actually.’’ I said as I spat on the floor again.
‘’Not anymore, son.’’ The man replied. ‘’Staff Sergeant Jason Brolie, I’m your new CO.’’ He said as he put the dogtags over my head, hanging them from my neck, apparently they were mine.

‘’Welcome to Baker 2-12, the Roughnecks.’’ He said as he escorted me to my locker.
‘’Where is the rest of my squad?’’ I asked. ‘’Sergeant.’’ I added at the last moment, realizing my position all of a sudden.
‘’Your academy squad has been split up a few days ago, before you came to Arcadia.’’ He explained. ‘’A lot of things can happen while you’re in cryo, boy.’’
I didn’t follow his story, my brain still warming up.

I opened my locker and got out an uniform.
Sergeant Brolie kicked a heavy metal case towards me across the deck.

‘’Your new combat dress, everything is in there; torso armour, pouches, helmet, shin guards, you name it.’’ He told me. ‘’Put them on and meet me at the armory, through those doors.’’
‘’Yes, sir.’’ I said, saluting.

Sergeant Brolie shook his head, laughing as he walked through the doors he had pointed out.
I got my uniform on and then opened the case the sergeant had given me.
I took out all the gear and put them on the way I learned at the academy.
It took me a while as some of my muscles were still stiff and sore from the cryo.

When I was ready I went the way Sergeant Brolie went, my helmet tucked securely under my arm.

‘’Sir.’’ I said to Sergeant Brolie as I came to stand next to him.
‘’What weapon do you prefer, Lancaster?’’ Brolie asked as he handed me a magnum, telling me to put it in my holster.
‘’MA37, sir.’’
‘’Assault rifle it is.’’ Sergeant Brolie said smiling as he took an MA37 from a weapons rack nearby and handed it over to me.

We signed for the weapons with the requisition officer and I received some ammunition before we got on our way to a hangar bay.

‘’Lancaster, what have you heard about the Covies before you went into cryo?’’
‘’Covies, sir?’’ I asked him, never having heard of such a thing.
‘’They didn’t tell you?’’ He asked me surprised as he stopped in his tracks.
‘’Tell me about what, sir?’’ I asked confused.
‘’The damn aliens!’’ Sergeant Brolie replied.
Then I got it. Covies was short for Covenant, off course.

‘’Sorry, sir.’’ I said. ‘’I wasn’t aware what the term ‘Covies’ meant.’’ I said and Sergeant Brolie continued walking.
‘’Well, we’d best get you up to speed then.’’ He said as the doors to the hangar bay opened.

It was busy in the hangar, deck crews, marines and other ship crew were going in all directions, Pelican dropships came up or went down on large lifts and a Cyclops Mech was lifting crates unto an Albatross dropship.
‘’Is this him?’’ a pilot asked Sergeant Brolie.
‘’Yep.’’ Sergeant Brolie replied as he got into one of the Pelicans.
‘’He’s a bit green.’’ The pilot said.

I wasn’t offended, I agreed actually. I hadn’t even finished basic training but here I was on a warship orbiting Arcadia, a colony light-years away from home.

‘’John Lancaster.’’ I introduced myself to the pilot as I offered him my hand.
The pilot didn’t shake it, he just stepped into the Pelican and made his way to the cockpit.
‘’Sit.’’ Brolie told me as he secured his harness. ‘’We have lots of things to discuss.’’

I sat down across from the sergeant and secured my own harness.
The Pelican’s engines flared and the rear hatch closed as the Pelican was lowered on a lift.

The light disappeared from the small viewing port in the rear hatch and the cabin lights came to life, casting an eerie red glow over the craft’s interior.

‘’Lancaster, since the day we discovered the fucking split jaws, or Elites, one of the main infantry types fielded by the Covenant have had us running.’’ Sergeant Brolie said.

‘’First on Harvest, but other colonies are becoming awfully silent as well, thinning the UNSC navy and the Marine Corps as they have to check everywhere at the same time.’’

‘’I was told Arcadia is one of those planets.’’ I told the sergeant.
‘’They had gone dark, yes.’’ He replied. ‘’Later it turned out however that Insurrectionists had disabled several communication relays and satellites, trying to disrupt order.’’ He told.
‘’So no aliens here?’’ I asked, just to be sure.

‘’Not a single one.’’ That’s why our company is being shipped out tomorrow, so we can guard a planet which has been reported to be scouted by Covenant ‘Jackals’ a recon type warrior they field.’’
‘’Sir, how many ‘types’ do the Covenant field?’’ I asked, not knowing anything about the aliens.

‘’Elites, Jackals, Grunts, Brutes, Hunters, Drones and Skirmishers.’’ Sergeant Brolie said plainly. ‘’Each on serves a specific role;
Elites are the leading caste, commanding squads and making up the majority of spec. op. teams. They carry a variety of weapons and are shielded by a power field and some have the ability to become completely invisible.’’
‘’Invisible?’’ I asked in disbelief. For a moment I thought Sergeant Brolie was joking.

‘’Well, nearly invisible. If they move quickly you might spot them.’’
‘’I see.’’ I replied, not quite sure what else I could say.

‘’Jackals are marksmen and agile infantry, often using combat shields made from plasma to shield themselves against incoming fire.’’ Sergeant Brolie explained as the Pelican jolted forward, being launched from the ship.

‘’Grunts are pesky little creatures, nervous too.’’ Sergeant Brolie continued. ‘’The most common type of infantry they field and also the least effective, sometimes they just serve as cannon fodder.’’
‘’Hence ‘Grunts’, I guess.’’ I said.

Sergeant Brolie nodded before continuing.
‘’Brutes are a real pain in the ass. Giant apes who serve as storm troopers, rivaled only in size by the Hunters, heavily-armoured-canon-wielding-walker-tank-things is what we called them first, that has a reason. There’s always two of them, never a single one.’’ Sergeant Brolie told me. ‘’And get this; they are made up out of orange snakes, you can’t make this shit up.’’
‘’I know I wouldn’t be able to, sir.’’ I told him.
Sergeant Brolie chuckled.

‘’Last are the Skirmishers, beefed up Jackals who take great pleasure in stabbing you to death.’’

‘’What about the Drones?’’ I asked, not having heard a description of the creatures.

‘’Sharp, Lancaster, very sharp.’’ Sergeant Brolie said, sounding impressed.
‘’Drones are flying menaces really, insects who come crawling and flying from all directions, guns blazing.’’

The sergeant tried to display the scene using his hands, but it didn’t really clarify the situation for me.

‘’All of these creatures make up the F-ing Covenant, a religious bunch of alien fuck ups who seem to hate humanity.’’

Entry 63- 14-08-2525, 14:09

I woke up twelve hours ago from cryogenic suspension. I still feel odd.
I just met my new squad, Triarii has been completely pulled apart to fill gaps in active squads.

Baker 2-12, my new squad, is a frontline squad renowned for being tough and durable. They’re nicknamed the Roughnecks for a reason.

I still need to learn most of the names in the squad, though I know the sergeant’s name; Staff Sergeant Jason Brolie. He seems alright, a bit traditional maybe, but alright none the less.

Speaking about learning. I have just been told a few things about the aliens, the Covenant. It turns out they consist of multiple species, each one taking on a specific role on the battlefield.

I’m not really looking forward to fighting with them, which will happen about two weeks from now, when the squad is redeployed to a colony not far from Arcadia.

We leave five days from now, aboard the UNSC Tears on the Mausoleum Floor, an Everest class battle cruiser.
It is without a doubt the largest ship I have ever seen with my own eyes and you can see the cannons in the stem of the ship from miles away.

Untill then Sergeant Brolie wants to drill me and make sure I am fully integrated into the squad.
Not much more to say right now, you’ll hear from me again soon,

Private John Lancaster out.

End of Entry.