23 Chapter (20) Ain't that a kick in the head? (4)

[So I changed the cover do you guys like it?]

(Mc Pov)

"Hmpf….ahh…ahhh" Sounds leak out of my mouth from the pain I feel caused by the crash landing, "Hmpf…"

I can hear ringing in my ears and it's quite loud. To add onto the ringing in my ears my vision is similarly fucked up. Everything is spinning and I have a bit of double vision. If I had to guess I probably have a concussion and major bruising…All in all…. Not too bad seeing as anyone short of a Spartan would have fractured their skull and died before even landing.

'Is this what a hangover is like?' I think to myself, holding my head trying to at least fix the vision issues.

"Tex come in!"

*RING*

"Tex please respond!"

*ring*

'Oh great, a new sound is slowly taking the place of the ringing. Great, I honestly don't think my luck can get any worse. I say that knowing full well that I just raised a flag, but DAMN.'

"Come just say something, give me anything. We can't lose you-humanity can't lose you!"

'Wait that sounds like Miranda….Shit,' I began to finally understand the voice and its owner. Then I was able to put the puzzle together and realize she had no way to check my status, 'Damn it. I was kinda hoping I was dead and in purgatory…Though it would suck if my limbo was this drop pod and I was stuck with permanent tinnitus and a concussion,'

I took a second to fully regain my hearing before I responded, "Yeah…I am here…and in one piece surprisingly,"

"Thank god! I thought we lost you in the crash after you didn't respond. How are you? Do you have any serious injuries that require immediate medical attention? We'll need to link your vitals now that you are on solid ground." Miranda released a sigh of relief and anxiously started to fire off questions concerning my well-being.

'Here she goes again. I better answer quickly before she really starts going,' I think to myself hearing her begin an interrogation, "I am fine, some bruises and a minor concussion are the extent of my injuries. At least from what I can tell. So don't worry about it, I am going to go ahead and link my status with your console,"

After answering I looked down to my tactical pad or TACPAD located on my left wrist guard and began setting up the connection.

A few minutes later…

"Alright, the link is good. You seem to be in a decent condition….The Captain has given the all-clear you are free to continue should you choose to…It's your call." Miranda says in an uneasy-sounding voice.

"Roger. Proceeding with the mission," I say without hesitation to Miranda.

Of course I could and probably should call off the mission, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I would regret it if I did. Besides this is supposed to be a UNSC scientific research post meaning that there could be survivors and for them every second is precious.

Looking around the pod to find the release latch I eventually find it thanks to my increased vision. I pulled the lever but got nothing in response, no sound, no movement, nothing.

'Ok switching to manually priming the explosive bolts,' I say in my head as I pressed on the 4 buttons meant to arm the backup hatch release.

…

'And nothing…Great I am stuck in my pod. How ironic is that?' I think to myself after the backup plan for getting out of this falling casket has also fallen through. I sat there contemplating my next course of action and somewhat wanted to call this mission off. Seeing as everything just keeps getting worse. That was until I told myself to "Stop being a bitch" and did the only thing that came to mind that could get me out of this box.

"...Fuck it"

*BANG*

What came to mind was the most logical option in my current situation. I cracked the knuckles in my right hand, pulled back, and punched with all of my strength. The result? I am now free, the hatch could no longer take any more damage and fully came off. Though now my right-hand stings, I consider this an absolute win.

"Tex what was that sound?" Miranda asked through the comms.

"...Don't worry about it…" I said suspiciously and cursed the fact that my action made so much noise.

"..Ok?.." Miranda says suspiciously

I climb out of my pod and scan my immediate surroundings to make sure I am safe. I first activated my active camouflage on my TACPAD to blend in with the surroundings. After pressing to enable the photo-reactive panels on my armor I was greeted with a notification on my wrist.

{Active Camouflage: Unavailable}

'Fantastic. State of the art they said. It Costs a ton of money. They said' I lament my current situation further before shaking my head and refocusing on taking in my surroundings. Doing my best to make out any possible hostiles in the darkness.

My pod seemed to be located in a somewhat dense forest a couple of hundred yards from the facility which becomes evident by the large Biodome that I can see through the canopy. It's night time and I do not hear animals or insects nearby, most likely they ran away because of my landing. Though, strangely, there are completely no animals, usually there would be one or two stragglers, but there is nothing. I even scan it on thermal.

I sigh to myself thinking, 'I have a bad feeling about this,'. Walking back to my pod I pulled out my battle rifle and shotgun, thankfully neither of them were damaged in the crash, probably by the grace of god. I slung my belt of shotgun shells around my armor and chambered a shell and rounds in my weapons. Then I set off in the direction of the biodome.

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(3rd Pov)

As Sam walked through the forest on alert scanning his surroundings. He was unaware of the horrors occurring within the facility…Nor was he able to identify the Covenant Special Operations kig-yar marksman hidden in the tallest tree 200 yards to his east.

The sniper was on high alert and was scanning the area around where the loud boom was heard from. It hadn't radioed to the other forces that were located inside the building because meteor strikes in the area weren't an uncommon occurrence. However, it was cautious and had heard the news from soldiers that returned to high charity and had come into contact with 1-2 man teams assaulting Covenant-affiliated buildings critical to the war effort.

It stood crouched near the crown of the tree making little to no movement. Looking through the scope of its Beam rifle prepared to fire at a moment's notice.

Eventually, its patience was rewarded. The sniper spotted what looked to be a tall human in heavy armor crouched by a tree looking around. The human then got up and made its way to another tree further along in the direction it was heading. Completely oblivious to how death stalked it from just above the treeline.

The kig-yar didn't think twice. It fired the sniper rifle aiming for a clean headshot. The plasma bolt fired would certainly kill the human, even elite field Marshals, and Brute Chieftains would drop from a single shot to the head.

*BING*

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(Still 3rd Pov, Back at Sword Base)

"The next item on the agenda is a request from Admiral Hood. He has requested for a new Anti-ship fighter to begin development," Admiral Parangosky says while looking between the meeting's discussion list and Terrance Hood.

"Very well thank you Admiral Parangosky. I have requested a new fighter for multiple reasons. As you all know the Navy has been struggling in any stellar conflicts due to the technology gap," Admiral Hood said with gestures to convey how bad the state of the Navy was, "Therefore I think we can all agree that we need to research and find a way to catch up and turn the tide against our alien aggressors. This sentiment is something we have agreed upon since the beginning of the war."

Hood continued, "Because of our research into forerunner technology as well as Covenant technology we have made great leaps to close the gaps. According to some sources scientists have been able to replicate shielding technology for some interstellar ships. So far they have only been capable of smaller ships. Many of you also know that the latest Anti-Ship fighter was the MSRF-S-777 "Golden Eagle", similarly you have in front of you the effectiveness and casualty rate of pilots," The officials at the table began to read the figures Hood had prepared before the meeting. As they read further down the page their expressions hardened and Kingsley even winced at a couple of points where the survival rate was in the single digits.

"I do not believe I need to elaborate more on those figures. I believe that now more than ever is the best time to change and upgrade the Anti-Ship role in the Navy. With this new technology, some battles could very well turn in our favor," With those final words said Lord Hood made a couple of closing remarks and silence took the room.

After Lord Hood's speech, it wouldn't be farfetched to say that he had made a positive impression on everyone in the room. As a great orator, Lord Hood could easily inspire the entire UNSC Navy, even Admiral Parangosky had to admit that she felt a little bit of hope stir from within her.

Margaret decided to check the budget and then have a vote (which would most likely be in favor of the project) in either favor or opposition to the request.

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(3rd Pov back on 19 Draconis)

While a long important meeting was going on within a top-secret site on the UNSC fortress world Reach, and while Spartan B-312's status was currently unknown. Inside the research facility on 19 Draconis, there were 2 survivors huddled together hiding from the invaders of the building and underground area.

"B-Big sister I am scared," said a young boy around age 6.

"Don't worry Dante, I am here. As long as we stay hidden and don't move from here, like mom and dad said we will be fine," An older girl around age 8 comforted her younger brother.

"B-But it's c-cold Luna and I am hungry. Also, mom and dad have been gone for a while. Do you think something happened?" Dante asked his older sister in a shivering and worried tone.

"I am sure they are fine, Dante. They wouldn't lie to us unless it was REALLY important, so don't worry I am sure they are probably just pranking us," Luna said, continuing to calm down her younger brother.

The two young children were currently sitting in a refrigerator used to store kitchen items. Thankfully their parents had the foresight to gather some thermal blankets before making their kids go hide in such a cool environment. However, their fates remain unknown along with the other scientists that worked within the facility and their children.

The children had been waiting in the refrigerator for around half of a day now without any contact from the outside, and only god knew what their fates would be at the end of this ordeal.

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Another chapter down we hit the big two zero guys.

So just to let everyone know Dante is canon you can tell who he is if you read the ghosts of Onyx, but his older sister is not.

Oh yeah the Anti-ship fighter is also canon. Probably one of my favorite looking vehicles from Halo. Any guesses to what it might be?

Not much to say I hope you all like the new cover. I got it from pinterest and will be changing the cover frequently. To be honest I love looking at the fan art and will be extremely eager to change the cover so be prepared.

As for the Star wars fic I decided to wait a while before I start it. I don't wanna take time away from this story, plus I have a lot of sources to comb through. If anyone has some interesting events or ff's from star wars during the clone era please feel free to comment them. I also will have to rewatch the whole animated series because it's been years since I have seen it. Also will need to look at some legends content seeing as I plan to throw some of that in.

Song of the day is "Public Enemy No. 1" by Megadeth

And that's about it I hope you all have a blessed day and I will See You Star Side.