[UNTITLED HALO STORY]

The year is 2551.
Mankind has been engaged in a war across the stars.
With an alien race bent on their destruction.
We.
Are losing.

A marine screamed as he died.
Bullets fly through the air like rain
The enemies growled in the darkness
Cities burnt as its peoples lay screaming

To combat this threat of genocide.
The leaders of the UNSC.
Initiated a top secret program.
Dubbed.
The Spartan program.

A young man pierces an aliens head with a thrown knife
Teams of ten fight off armies of thousands
Aliens run in terror, their ships and vehicles lay in pieces.

Even the fearsome Spartan.
Could not stem the flow of destruction.
So three of these super soldiers.
Came together.
With the dreams of creating an advanced super soldier.
Capable of superhuman feats.
Beyond even the Spartans.

A Spartan lifts up a scorpion tank and breaks free from the containment cell
The last guard drops dead as the soldier walks down the hall
The alien elite claws at his throat, hovering in midair, as the Spartan leaves the room

Born in secrecy.
This special forces Spartans program
Fought behind the war.
Striking quickly from the shadows.
Before falling back to their hidden base.

Alien convoys lay in ruins
Ships just floating husks
Bodies drifting through the darkness of space

Fueled by their victory.
The leaders of the special forces grew arrogant.
Believing they hold the key.
To the Survival of Mankind.
A single Soldier discovered their dark plans.
And fled.
Taking with him a brother solder.
Wrongly framed for a death.

Two soldiers run down a hall
Bullets exploding around them.
A lone pelican leaves the planet base.
Disappearing into the dark beyond.
Three soldiers watch their escape.

"Special Forces Soldier Gamma"
The old man looked up from the data pad to face the soldier, ignoring his exclusion of a rank or title. I sat on the boulder behind him, leaning against the stone wall while my friend Bishop stood a little to my right, cleaning his gun.
The Soldier was A Spartan III, one of the failed attempts at recreating the doctor's results at a much quicker pace. The double gold stripe on his shoulder plate stated him as a Special Forces Agent, the rank above me. Probably didn't deserve it either.
Below the rank was a paint job, a bright gold trident or Sai blade. So this was the 23rd, I shot a glance at my armour's own ink, below the stripe for Apprentice was a bright red Triangle, marking me as the 4th.

"Yes? How can I help you #23?" Gamma, bearing the respected Triple stripes of the officer rank and the inverted Silver L symbol of the 3rd. Towered over the smaller soldier, even though he sat cross legged on a boulder the size of a tire.
Unfazed the Spartan III pulled out a small data pad and began typing on the electro glass surface, "It has come to the attention of the Supreme commanders of the UNSC Spartans program sub Division: SPECIAL FORCES. That you, Officer Joshua Nicolai O'Connell, have been in contact with Cadet 05138D17" Gamma snorted in amusement and tapped on his own Data pad, "The Supreme, Commanders?" I sat up, suddenly interested, 05138D17 was the serial number given to one of the first soldiers to join the special forces, a close friend of mine.
When did he contact the old man?

The agent continued on, ignoring Gamma and me, "It has also come to our attention that he passed onto top secret information from restricted files meant only for commander rank" he paused and looked up at the old man, "Is this true, Officer Gamma?"
Gamma didn't answer; instead, he got to his feet, now dwarfing the Spartan III. Gamma was a proper Spartan, handpicked by the doctor herself, like all the Spartan II's. I heard tales from my days under the Doctor about the infamous Joshua O'Connell, one of the top subjects, ranking 23th out of the top hundred.
"That's right, the boy did pass me top secret information, I know the Commanders plans" I wondered what he was talking about, when I noticed that the Spartan III, was not alone.
At a rough estimate, we were surrounded by at least five hundred men, all of them bearing a capital H on their left breast and shoulder. The mark of commander –
Something crashed into me, tackling me to the ground, I heard Gamma yelling for me to run, his voice loud enough to drown out the hail of bullets I heard erupting all around me.
Bishop grabbed me by the chest piece, and dragged me away, I struggled to escape his iron grasp, to help the old man, and I watched him, shredded into pieces under the bullets storm. Agent PSI standing over him as the Spartan II dropped to the ground.
Dead

"We can not stay here, or He will have died in vain" Bishop hurled me to my feet, still dragging me behind him, the bullets just seconds behind us.
I pulled out my pistol, and as I ran/got dragged along, returned fire. Every shot found its mark, the centre of the head. They died before they knew what hit them. Bishop continued to run, His long legs keeping us ahead by millimetres. My pistol ran dry, and I threw it down. Reaching for my second, I saw, out of the Corner of my eye. The 23rd, levelling a gun towards us. Gamma's Gun.
A single round exited the pistol, and time seemed to slow. The gunfire of the soldiers, like the crowd of Paparazzi. I felt a burning pain, burrow into the soft skin of my unarmoured head, in our haste; I had left my helmet behind.
The bullet exited, and pierced Bishop's upper arm, I heard my friend scream in agony. Yet the world seemed to have grown numb, colour drained, Sound vanished. The world gone cold.
In the last moments of my life, I saw her. And knew, in death I will meet her.
Once more in my Eternal dream

"FALL BACK, FALL BACK"
"WATCH THAT PLASMA FIRE"
"DELTA, PULL YOU'RE MEN BACK"
"MOVE IT, FALL BACK, ANGEL"
"YES SIR"
TANGO, GET BRAVO BACK HERE"
"OKAY"
"WINGMAN, NAIL THAT JACKAL"
"YES SIR"
Delta picked up a grenade from a dead marine and pitched it at the oncoming horde, several Elites jumped aside but a Grunt wasn't so lucky, the small explosive landed between his head and the methane tank on his back, going off like a Propane tanker, he took several of his brothers with him, adding fuel to the methane fire spreading through the Covenant ranks.
Plasma fire filled the air around him as Delta pulled out his 99 Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle, with four quick shots dropped several Drones with clean shots.
Behind him, his squad covered his retreat, three of his soldiers was dragging another back away from the battle, and the Spartan was still trying to charge the enemy, firing his MS47H Machine Gun. Hundreds of Covenant soldiers had fallen before this Juggernaut in past battles.
"SIR, MOVE YOU ASS" Delta turned and bolted for the drop ship, plasma fire and grenades were exploding all around him, he reached the wreckage of a Gauss Warthog when a plasma mortar exploded in front of him, knocking him down. As the dust and rubble cleared he saw the road between him and the Pelican was gone, replaced with a steep cliff edge. The ship hovered just beyond reach, his squad watching in terror from the safety of the hold.
Delta leapt to his feet, struggling with an injured Shoulder, he began to run. Undeterred by the cautionary shouts from the squad, he leapt into the air and reached towards the outstretched arms of his men, but missed.
Accepting his fate he continued to plummet to the hard ground beneath. Instead he crashed into one of the Enemy ships, grabbing hold of the wing; he turned his weapon on the cockpit, ready to kill. Instead he saw his salvation.
"HOW NICE OF YOU TO DROP IN DELTA"
"JUST SHUT UP AND DRIVE"

The Banshee landed on a UNSC pad to a very warm welcome, a full circle of Marines, three rows deep, armed with M392 Designated Marksmen Rifles and MA37 Assault Rifles.
Delta climbed off the wing and towards the marines, they parted to show his Lieutenant standing next to a Warthog, waiting to take him back to his squad.
The Marines suddenly stepped forward, Delta turned to see the Banshee cockpit opening, Delta started towards the Covenant fighter ship as the pilot stepped out, the Marines stood down as the two Spartan's came together.
"Thanks for the save"
"Any time Delta, you always were a bit, down to Earth" both soldiers laughed as the lieutenant ordered the Marines away, Delta extended his hand and the other Spartan took it, shaking it before heading off towards the base nearby, Delta turned and made for the Hog, The lieutenant was already in the driver's seat, waiting. Delta hopped into the side seat and pulled his helmet off
"Report"
"Falcon's ready to take us back to the ship"
"Good, Squad"
"Minor injuries, plasma burns, bruising from rubble, one death"
"Who"
"Private Lewis, Plasma Grenades to the back and neck, not pretty"
Delta looked up into the blood red sky, his frigate Vengeance sat lazily high above them, a pelican flew towards it, a mere dot compared to a ship, on the drop ship Delta guessed was the body of Private Lewis, being shipped home to his family.
The Warthog slowed to a halt and Delta brought his gaze down, A UH-144 Falcon gunship sat before them, ready for takeoff, in the hold sat his team, his Sergeant Major sat in the hold, clearing their rifles, the 2nd Lieutenant and the corporal sat on the gun turrets, Delta looked up at the Frigate and guessed the Sergeant was driving the Pelican.

"Ok, let's get the hell of this planet"