Well, I figured it was about time that I upload this. I've stalled long enough. [b]Foreword[/b] [quote]To those of you who have read this before its arrival here, thank you so much. Especially Nis, you were there from the beginning, when my story was at its worse. To those who haven't, well, this has been going for about eight or nine months now. I figured it was time to finally step up and put it where it could be more critically judged. Don't get me wrong, this would be long dead if I'd had no help, but I haven't really had any criticism on this. So, why not put it here, where more people can judge it? Be warned, the prologue is pretty long. This is necessary, but I just thought I'd warn you, it's longer than any chapter I've written so far. Though, I'll be pleased if this changes. So, yeah. Please, tell me what you think.[/quote] [b]Synopsis[/b] [quote][i]The year is 2551. The Covenant war machine has trampled through world after world, driving the human race to its knees. And despite humanity's best efforts to strike as one, not every allegiance is pure. Dr. Catherine Halsey, under the watch of the UNSC's shady intelligence service ONI, has given life to the SPARTAN-II project over the course of three decades, producing some of the most elite soldiers ever seen through mechanical and biological augmentation. Even though these SPARTANs have lit a beacon of hope for the survival of the human race, there are those within ONI who do not believe they are enough. Starting their own project behind veils of secrecy and deceit, they have created their own SPARTANs, with far greater numbers and more cost-effective methods, sacrificing quality for quantity. The losses suffered to the SPARTAN-IIIs have been devastating. Learning from their mistakes, ONI have started to employ different operations throughout the project, choosing select units and issuing them with far greater equipment to use, in hopes of creating far greater weapons than Halsey ever could. One such unit is Team Theta, who were the last survivors of their last mission in an attempt to assassinate a key Covenant figure. Despite their incredible losses, they still refused any replacements of their team, catching ONI's eye in doing so. There seems to be something about them that no other unit has ever possessed, and ONI is keen to exploit this to its fullest advantage. Their effectiveness is raised considerably, with the help of advanced armour and other necessities, and soon they are considered one of the UNSC's most efficient and effective units, sent on as many missions against the Covenant as they can handle. But the hands of fate work in mysterious ways, and soon, Team Theta will be fighting for more than they ever thought possible.[/i][/quote] [b]Pact: A Tale of Brotherhood[/b] [b]Prolouge[/b] Behind their cold, lifeless visors, six SPARTANs stared at each other in numb horror. Their hopes of killing off a Prophet and severely crippling an attacking Covenant fleet had been snatched away from them as they realized what they'd gotten themselves into. Their mind's eye saw the Covenant laughing at them, their sickening and barbaric cries adding to the incoherency of the situation. Either the Prophet in question was on a smaller craft, and not the main flagship they'd just worked their way into, or wasn't even there at all. Whatever the case was, it was obvious that the Covenant had this planned all along. Which only meant one thing: "Ambush," stated Jess-198. Mark-316 sighed, knowing full-well what was about to go down. "That's affirmative. How many do you spot in there?" "Approximately 50 on first glance. Searching for sniper nests now." While Jess hunted for any hidden foes, using her thermal imaging system to look through the wall between them and the control room, the leader of the team pondered the situation, not finding everything adding up. "Guys? Do you really think this is an ambush?" suggested Rodney-257. "What do you mean, Commander?" "Well, think about it. We've encountered a lot of resistance on our way over here to this control room, furthering suspicion that there was a Prophet aboard. We've barely made to this point alive, not to mention the fact that every single member of Teams Rapier and Xiphos are dead." He paused, reliving each of the 12's brutal demises aboard the Covenant supercarrier. Although they weren't part of the team he'd grown to be so close with, he still felt a pang of guilt at their loss. "There just seems to be Covenant around every damn corner on this ship. I figured that everyone would just be lying in wait here, ready to blow our heads off the second we step foot in there and defend the Prophet that they should have had hiding in there. But 50? That doesn't exactly seem like much, does it. And to boot, I'm quite willing to bet that Jess doesn't find any snipers hidden around." And with that, Jess turned around, bewildered. "You're right, there aren't any that I can detect. And the rest of them don't exactly look like they're set to kill a team of SPARTANs, with an exception to the eight high-ranking Elites I can see from here. But what are you trying to get at here, Rodney? Are you saying this isn't actually a trap set for us?" Rodney nodded, finally gaining clarity over the situation. A plan was forming in his head, much faster than before now. "I do believe we've gotten here undetected, and they have absolutely no idea we're here. That is really quite dumbfounding; you would think at least one of the squads we fought would have signaled the control room to alert them of our presence, considering the numbers we've faced. But that doesn't change a thing, if we're to get out of this alive, we're going to have to treat this with utmost precision and care." Suddenly, Baldemar-216 spoke up. "But surely this still does not feel right to you, does it? These Covenant bastards are cunning, and this is their main flagship! It should be packed to the ceiling with the vermin! Where have they all gone? I do not like this." His German accent flared as he expressed his concern to his team-mates. "To be honest, Baldemar, I can't say for sure. What I'm hoping is that their most prized warriors were aboard, to later be flown off to where the action is at its peak." Baldemar eyed his Commander, fearing the worst. "I hope you are right, my friend. For all of our sake." "Heh. Don't you worry, Baldemar. These punks won't know what hit 'em. Or at least, they won't if we initiate a plan effectively. Jess, give us some stats. How many of each?" Jess fiddled with her visor for a second before complying. "Right, there's the Shipmaster. And what looks to be a Zealot-class Field Marshall, if I remember correctly. Six Zealot-class Generals, and... 23 Ultras. 31 Elites all up, for those lacking the brain power." "Very funny. And the other 19?" "16, to be precise. I'm cou-" "I thought you counted 50?" Boris-081 interrupted, wondering how Jess could have over-counted. "That was an approximation, Boris. I do that before I take head counts, you should know seeing I told you it was only at first glance just before. You sure you SII's can keep up with us, and that you're not starting to rust away there?" Evidently unimpressed with her remark, Boris shook his head. He would've laughed, if it weren't for the gravity of the situation at hand. "Ease up, Jess," joked Rodney. "Continue, if you would, please." "Ten Jackals, six Grunts. That makes up our total, sir." "Thank you. Anyway, as I said before, we need a plan. Jess, can you take a sweep of the room and upload it to our HUDs?" "Able and willing, sir." Jess scanned the room, highlighting choke points, possible cover and positions of enemies, then fed the data to the HUDs of the rest of Team Theta. "Damn," commented Mark, "I gotta get me one of those tactical hardware kits." Rodney nodded in agreement. "To be honest, I don't why we haven't yet, we should all have them installed. That way, Jess won't have to be our pack mule for data. But that'll be later, we should focus on the situation in front of us. Gather round, Theta, I'll hopefully be able to get a floor plan of a Covenant supercarrier here on my tac-pad." Team Theta gathered around their leader, eyeing him with the respect that he had earned from them over the months of war they had fought. Rodney couldn't help but smile. Although the Covenant had nearly overrun them at every possible opportunity, they'd gotten this far alive, and it was all thanks to their skill in operating as a team. He was glad to be their leader. After a few quick button presses and a bit of searching, Rodney came across the floor plan he desired. He brought it up on the screen and held his wrist out for all to see. The screen showed an oval room with the main ship controls at the opposite end, and nine control panels directly ahead of the entrance. There was one panel in the center and four on either side, curving with the shape of the room. Directly in the middle of the room was a large hologram of the planet they were intending to invade. Between the hologram and the main controls was a large pillar that rose out of the ground, running parallel until it came out, rising at a 45 degree angle back the way it came, like a giant other-worldly crocodile's mouth attempting to engulf the entire planet before it. This, along with the hologram itself, would provide good cover for the Elites piloting the ship. "Alright, here's what we do. This control room's a fairly crowded place, so weapons with larger areas of effect will be the most effective. Boris, you're our heavy weapons specialist here, so you'll be key in securing the positions we need to take cover with. Use everything you have, don't bother reloading until we've got our cover locked down." [Edited on 05.17.2012 1:14 AM PDT]