Halo: Humans vs Covenant [Side Story] Welcome to the Roughnecks

Dallas shrugged at Kira before grabbing a pistol mag from the unconcious Derrickson's ammo harness. He then replaces the one that he had used up earlier before heading towards the base with Kira. The base was in a state of disrepair, with most of the buildings crumbling ruins and the walls pracically falling apart. From the looks of it, this place had been a research facility for testing the planet atmosphere, wildlife, and soil for habitation way back when. Now it is mostly shot full with bullet holes, purely used as a training ground. Kira would also know that the other team in the base would be scanning for any radio signals outside, so the duo went radio silent.

As they approached the base, Dallas moved to a door that leads to the other side of the walls. Once the two line up, he held out his hand, telling Kira to wait. He then pointed behind her. Once she looked back, she could see a large crack in the wall, which could easily be punched or kicked down to make a new entrance. Dallas then pointed to himself then the door followed by a point to Kira to the crack.

Dallas waited for Kira to move to the crack before keying his mic just once. The result was a quiet, but audible click that told her to 'Go.'

Dallas kicks in the door but ducks behind the frame once more as the doorway gets peppered with gun fire from three. One was a silenced SMG, one was a shotgun, and the other was a sniper rifle. After Kira punches her way through the wall, she would have a clear line of sight on the one with a shotgun. She could see the one with the SMG on Dallas's left from the door. The one with a sniper rifle was up on the building.

She could easily fire on the one with the shotgun, but as soon as she does so, she would find herself in the sniper's sights.

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With her shotgun at the ready, Kira waited for Dallas' signal, then as soon as he gave the order, her prosthetic arm grasped the crack in the wall and yanked open a nice big chunk to give her a nice big hole to shoot to enter through. In true ambush fashion, she took advantage of the momentary confusion to loose a single shot right at the torso of the closest man, then quickly drew her pistol, leaving her shotgun hanging from her on its sling.

To give the Captain at least a bit of reprieve, she fired a few three-round bursts upon the sniper's location. Even if she didn't hit him, she'd at least make him uncomfortable enough to not want to stay fixated on Dallas. She'd then take cover behind the wall on the other side of the new entrance.
 
The three enemy ODSTs smirked as they heard the duo approach. They were all young, cocky, and a little over eager. If only their captain had not decided to conduct his ambush, and maybe they would have succeeded in defeated Dallas. Unfortunately, they forgot the number one principle in warfare:

The hail of fire they put out on Dallas's position was briefly halted as they were surprised by the large portion of wall that just came down. The one with the shotgun was turning towards Kira when he goes with a cry of pain as his armor is peppered with the TTR shell, leaving his armor covered in the red paint. The sniper would duck behind cover as his position is peppered with pistol shots, though there wasnt much of it since he was prone on a roof. After Kira gets off a few shots and ducks, the sniper pops out and sets up to shoot her if she comes out of cover. The enemy with the SMG would stop firing, waiting for Dallas to pop out as well. It was a Mexican standoff.

Meanwhile, Dallas just sat behind the door frame as the cover around him is rittled with bullet holes. When the firing stops, the solidly built Captain simply mutters. "Three... two... one... bang."

Right when Dallas said "bang" there was a loud crack, the sound of a distant sniper rifle going off. The sniper is struck straight to the head, his helmet covered in red paint and being knocked out from the force of the TTR round striking him.

The one with the SMG panicked, popping out of cover before trying to run into the building. Dallas popped out of cover before shooting the man in the back a few times, causing him to go down with a yelp.

"Nice shot Li." said Dallas over the radio.
"I aim to please." said a voice over the radio with a thick Chinese accent.

Dallas chuckles before motioning Kira to follow him into the building. True to ODST and Marine training in him, Dallas stayed alert while entering the building. Dallas and Kira then quickly searched the building, clearing it room by room. After a brief search, the duo found the flag inside what remains of a kitchen. It was the standard ODST flag on a solid metal pole. Dallas grabs it and places the metal rod against one of the magnetic strips on his ructsack. It activates and Dallas gives Kira a thumbs up before saying outloud. "Lets move."
 
Kira stayed planted in place behind her cover. She knew the enemy sniper would have a bead on her, ready to shoot her if she so much as peaked out. Though her helmet hid it, she smirked, rather pleased, when Li counter-sniped the guy and promptly took him out. At almost the exact same time as Dallas, she would compliment the impressive accuracy. "Excellent shot, Corporal." Making her way up to the sniper's perch, she grabbed his long-range rifle and slung it over her shoulder. "All of North Team is down, so that just leaves 5 other hostiles, whose positions are still unknown. Keep an eye out, Corporal."

Holstering her pistol again and switching back to her shotgun, she performed a full sweep of the building in search of the flag. Once that found it and Dallas claimed it, she accompanied him back to the entrance of the base, keeping alert and staying close to cover. "The other team can't be too far, given the time we took to fight off these buggers, Captain." She didn't leave the base, staying behind the wall until hearing an all-clear from Li.
 
As soon as Dallas and Kira approached the front door to the building, Li comes over the radio.

"Captain, company." said the Chinese man.

As soon as he heard that, Dallas motions Kira to move out the door. He quickly takes point, moving out the door and looks around. He takes note of the two destroyed buildings nearby and the debris everywhere.

"Talk to me." said Dallas as he clicks his radio.
"Jenkins here, I encrypted our communications more. You have the south team approaching the base. Do you want Li and I to provide cover fire as you make a break for it?"
"Negative, stay hidden and don't fire unless ordered. Keep us updated on their positions as they attack." Dallas then looks at Kira. "Any suggestions, Watson? I know you have background in guerilla tactics."

Kira would then get the sense that the teams are chosen, not randomly assigned, for Dallas had to have had access to her files. It would explain how he knows her general background in guerilla warfare, though the specifics would be classified. She also got the sense that he was testing her ability to be a leader, a vital trait for a commisioned officer such as herself.

The map below is of the base. The red is mostly destroyed or debris. The black is debris big enough for cover, though the two destroyed buildings could be used for cover as well. The two blue stars are Li and Jenkins on the cliff.
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After the sniper team informed the assault team of incoming hostiles, Kira checked how much ammo she had for her looted sniper rifle. Two magazines, plus two shots in the current one. Recalling the layout of the land on their way up, she quickly thought up a plan. She glanced around the base, and stated "Being holed up in this building against superior numbers will put us at a grave disadvantage. We will need to make a tactical retreat into the forest." She opened up the comms to the rest of the team. "Corporal, keep a lookout for their sniper. Only fire when you've got a clear shot on him, then give us sniper support. Private, I'll need you to watch the enemy's movements as move through the treeline. Keep us updated on their positions in relativity to ours."

Then she turned to Dallas. "Captain, if I may take the flag, I'll lure the enemy to where we want them. I'm faster and more agile than you are." She motions to her sniper. "While you open up another exit for us, I'll open fire upon them, perhaps take one or two down in the process." She glanced out the door, keeping an eye out for the approaching team.
 
Dallas watches Kira. Though he could not see her face, he could tell she was confident and in her element here.

She may be ONI, but she is a hell of a soldier. Dallas thought as he listened to her. Her plan was smart and well thought out. I made a good choice picking her on my team. he continued None of the other Captains wanted her, but she was my first choice. I still don't trust her overall, but she is competent, which is more than I can say for the North Team.

When she suggested that she should be the one to carry the flag, Dallas shook his head. "Negative, Lieutenant. You are superior in silently taking down targets while I am better at making myself a target everyone wants to shoot. Its elementary, my dear Watson."

Kira would consider the options for a short moment. She considered shooting him herself, tired of his sass, but kept her emotions in check.
Dallas grins under his helmet, having seen her hand twitch near the trigger "Point in case."
Knowing there was no time to argue, Kira sighs then says "Fine, but your primary focus will be fleeing from the enemy, and leaving them to me."

Dallas nods, thinking Dallas: 2, ONI: 0. He then begins checking his ammo. Seeing he is short a clip for his SMG, he goes over to the unconcious man Knowing he needed to keep their attention on him, he removes the silencer on the barrel of his SMG.

After he checks his weapons, he moves to the crack in the wall. He then waits for Kira to be ready as he leans on the remains of it while holding a TTR grenade in his right and a smoke grenade in his left hand.

After she gives him the 'ready,' he chucks both the grenades over the wall. Soon as they explode, he dashes at a 40 degree angle into the treeline, way from the path and towards the cliff Jenkins and Li were on. As he runs, he fires a few shots randomly to attract the enemy's attention.
"OH FUCK!" he yells as bullets wizz by him. Sounds like his grenade did not take any of them, but it served his purpose. He continues to run and duck through the treeline.
 
Once the argument was settled, Kira took her sniper and swapped out a fresh mag, stowing the half-full one in a pocket on her belt. She laid prone, using the various bits of debris, the darkness of the inside building, and the walls to conceal her position. From here, she was able to see the South Team approach the base. She lined up a good shot on the pointman, accounting for bullet drop and wind, using the blades of grass as a reference. She loosed her shot, planting a sniper TTR round right in his center mass. He promptly dropped to the ground. Taking advantage of their initial confusion, she let loose a volley of three more shots, hopefully at least grazing some of them.

"Now, Captain!"

She sprung from her cover, and planted herself against the still-solid part of the wall that Dallas just busted through, reloading the sniper rifle in the process. She let loose another burst of sniper shots at the South Team, giving the b̶a̶i̶t̶ Captain some fire support in the way of suppression. Again, she was hoping some of her shots would land, potentially disabling some of them. Mist then sprinted out of the building after Dallas as quickly as her legs would carry her. Like the team leader, she too would vanish into the thick underbrush.
 
CENTER TEAM
The South Team was far more competent than the North team. As soon as their man goes down with a sniper shot to the chest, they immediately scattered and took cover, rendering Dallas's grenade ineffective. However, the smoke grenade proved effective, though it was a boon to both sides. The smoke obscured Kira's vision enough to render her shots ineffective, however the suppressive nature of the cover fire was enough to keep the enemy team from moving in fear of being hit. With the aid of the smoke grenade, Mist was able to disapear into the... mist of smoke.

SOUTH TEAM
"Status?" asked Captain Holt, leader of South team.
"Specialist Doyle is down, sir. Of course they take out our medic first." replied Sergeant Davis, the assault. "Seems the ONI bitch is a good shot, she got him straight to the chest."
"Understood. The flag carrier seems to have ran into the forest with the ONI bitch gone. Bishop, any sign of either?" replied Holt
"Dallas has the flag and is moving west though the forest. ONI bitch is gone." replied Warrant Officer Bishop, the south team sniper.
Holt snarled under his helmet. "Move out, double time. We are NOT going to lose to that uncouth bastard, an ONI spook, and two misfits."

South team moved out of cover, quickly moving out. There were three of them left moving together, with the sniper hidden in the brush somewhere. They moved fairly quickly at a brisk pace, but stayed alert to their surroundings. Holt was first, moving forward with his DMR scanning in front of them. To his left was Sergeant Davis with his battle rifle along with Sergeant Ricker on the right with his assault rifle. Following far behind them was Bishop, who quietly stealthed behind them roughly 20 yards behind them with his sniper rifle.

After 10 minutes of following Dallas's trail, the South Team froze in place as Holt holds up a hand. He points to a tree, roughly ten yards out. They could see a tiny bit of the flag sticking out from behind the tree.
Holt motioned them to move up and set up firing positions.
The three moved up, spreading out. Holt moved in the center, moving straight for the tree while Davis and Ricker come from the sides. Davis sees a helmet sticking out from his perspective and fires off the trademark 3 round burst, striking it straight to the faceplate.

All three of them hear an audiable 'thump' as if a body fell.
"We got him!" said Davis as he impulsively moves up. Despite Holt telling him to stand down, the man continues and walks right up to the tree....
 
The moment that Davis moved in to confirm the shot, his foot snagged on a thin wire. It was stretched taut, then the sound of a sniper shot was heard nearby... impacting right into the man's side. With the close proximity of the gunfire, not only was he promptly dropped by the TTR round, but he likely also had a few broken ribs from that. Holt and Ricker immediately spun to open fire in the direction the shot came from, the smoke trail from the sniper round still visible.

Once they stopped firing, they would realize they just spent an entire magazine on nothing. It was a wire-trap rigged up to a sniper rifle, likely set up by the ONI operative. Ricker started to freak out. "Wh-what the shit.. That bitch is using these cheap-ass tactics. I'm gonna kick the shit out of her when I find her."

"Calm down. " Holt commanded for his remaining teammate to get his act together. "So long as we stay in control, we'll beat these idiots. They're not as good as they think they are." He accessed his comm to contact their sniper teammate that was shadowing them "Okay, find the ONI bitch. That rancher idiot isn't gonna outmaneuver us.." Wait. Something was wrong. He accessed the comms again. Static. "Bishop, report." More static. "Damn it, Bishop, respond!" Even more static.

Things were bad for the South Team. Their sniper and medic were down, and there were only two left standing. Holt's heartbeat started racing as he tried to think of a way to salvage this situation.
 
As if even the planet was against them, the night began to completely set in. Due to being high on the mountain, there was a healthy amount of mist begning to set in, obscuring their vision even more. The remaining two gathered their wits about them and grabbed the nearby flag.

Holt puts the flag on his rucksack as Ricker covers him. They then move out towards the extraction point, moving at a fast pace. They moved through the forest, making sure to keep vision of where they were going obscured.

"TWELVE O'CLOCK!" yelled Holt as he ducks to the left. Ricker wastes no time ducking to the right right as a grenade goes off where they were before. Holt lands in a roll before aiming towards the treeline where he saw movement. He cautiously moves forward, keeping his assault rifle steady despite his rapidly beating heart. He barely manages to jump backwards on his back as he passes a tree, narrowly dodging a hail of SMG bullets. He sent a burst of lead at where he saw the figure from before before rolling to behind the tree.

He then leans on the tree, wondering where the hell Ricker was. No matter, I can finish this fucker off myself. Holt thinks before peering around the tree to look for the figure. He points his rifle forward, circling around to fi- His gun is grabbed by the figure coming from the left. The lack of helmet reveals it is Dallas. Dallas easily pushes the rifle away before the power of his left arm practically crushing the assault rifle as it pushes the gun to Holt's right. Dallas tries to pull up a SMG, but Holt manages to knock it to the side with his left.

Dropping his rifle, Holt attempted to draw his pistol, but was tackled to the ground before he could. Holt managed to roll with the tackle, planting his foot on the other man's stomach and pushing him off. Holt drew his pistol and fired a few shots off, but Dallas was too fast; he landed and rolled to behind a tree. Holt rolled behind one himself, quickly reloading his pistol.

The men then began to trade fire with their pistols, neither getting a clear shot from their angles. The exchange continued for at least half a dozen shots, their respective trees becoming riddled with bullet holes.

Ricker had chosen to bide his time, and was approaching from Dallas's flank. He leans against a tree, taking aim with his SMG to shoot Dallas in the back....
 
As Ricker's finger closed upon the trigger, a blade collided with the barrel causing a loud bang and a bright spark. Movement from the side as an armored fist came rushing at his face, he managed to avoid it and attempt to fire upon his assailant. All that earned him was the rifle horribly misfiring and utterly ruining the weapon, rendering it useless. His fear turned to anger as he realized he was facing off against Mist. His hands balled into fists, and he rushed at the woman, ready to go to town.

Then Ricker was sent flying and sprawling into the leaves. His attack was swiftly countered with a one-two punch, the second feeling like he got struck by a hammer. He couldn't even properly catch his breath, though he managed to scramble back to his feet and attempt another charge at the ONI operative. He aimed a punch right at her ribcage, which was promptly deflected. Her counterattack was fast and precise. A back-fist strike to his own ribs, her leg sweeping him off his feet, then her robotic hand once again launching him through the air and sending him tumbling.

At this point, Mist was just taunting him. She didn't move in for a finishing strike, albeit she advanced on him slowly. Ricker backed up more and more, until he realized that he was in a meadow. The woman then flipped him off, and gave him a mocking salute as a farewell. Confusion and anger don't mix well, although Ricker wouldn't have to worry about that, as a sniper shot landed square in his back, promptly dropping him and knocking him out.

"Target down, excellent shot, Corporal." Mist then gave Li a two-fingered salute, knowing he would be able to see it through his scope. Then she dashed off through the trees, heading towards Dallas to give him support.. if he even needed it.
 
Dallas smirked as the reloads his pistol, hearing the sniper shot from Li. "Holt, its over. Soon Lt. Watson and my team will be here and have you surrounded."

Hold's answer was another two shots, one of which very nearly went through the tree Dallas was using as cover. Dallas spun around the other side of the tree, firing off a half dozen shots as suprressive fire as he rapidly closed the distance. He reached Holts tree, circling around it to aim at Holt. Unfortunately, Holt saw this coming and hit Dallas's gun away, using his left to try and aim at Dallas with a pistol.

Dallas quickly dropped his gun and quickly drew his knife from the back side of his hip from his right hand. As he does so, Dallas uses his left forearm to block the first shot from Holt's hand. The combination of armor and robotic arm protected Dallas, and the strength of the arm made the nano-fiber useless. Dallas then used his knife to stab through Holt's hand, through the gun's grip, and into the tree, pinning it there.

Holt screams a barrage of curses at Dallas as he tries to pull out the knife, but not before he receives a knock out punch from Dallas's clean right hook. Not wanting to mangle his hand, Dallas quickly catches the man, removing the knife before it did too much damage to his fellow ODST. He quickly pulls out his standard biofoam, applying it before grabbing his pistol and knife, likely right when Kira showed up.
 
"Well, judging from the man's unconscious body, I see that you were able to handle things quite well without me, Captain." Mist remarked dryly as she approached him. With both her weapons holstered, it was apparent that she expected as much. She rolled her arms and quipped "It's been some time since I've been able to practice my CQC, I'm a little disappointed that your opponent didn't last longer." She walks off to secure the flag, and attaches it to her back.

Mist radios the rest of the team. "Flag is secured." She heads back to Dallas, and gestures for him to take the lead. While on their way to regroup with Li and Jenkins, she comments to Dallas. "Don't take this the wrong way, Captain, but I've had to endure some terrible commanders on some of my past missions. I'm fortunate that you lead your squad so well."
 
Dallas sensed Kira coming as he finishes up grabbing his SMG and pistol. He chuckled a bit as she wished for the fight to last longer "I see. Well next time, I'll hold back so we can further embarrass them." he then winked at her before grabbing his helmet, which had red paint on it. "Ugh. This is going to need a thorough scrubbing." he sighed. After putting it back on, he lead the way back to Jenkins and Li.

Along the way to the Bravo Team, Dallas listened to Kira's comment. Dallas nodded "A good leader knows how to pay attention and hone in on their teams' individual strengths. I don't know if I consider myself a good leader, but I try to be the best I can." he said, with remarkable seriousness. "I knew Li is a hell of a shot, even if he lacked interpersonal skills. The other teams avoided him due to being 'creeped out' (sarcastic voice here) by his silence. Jenkins is a damn good medic, though we didnt need that area. However, his file remarked he was excellent in noting details and he was originally on track to be a logicstics division, but his medical talents outweighted his logistical ones. Hes a green kid, hence why no one else wanted him, but he has some good potential as he proved a bit today."

Dallas then stops and looks at Kira straight in the eyes, his faceplate not polarized and his face clearly visable. "I selected you for my team first, because underneath that thorny ONI exterior is a hell of a warrior spirit and a trustworthy fighter to have at everyone's sides. I saw that, during training, everyone else hated you despite you constantly having their backs. It takes some serious fucking balls to stick with the program when everything is against you. I hate that you are ONI, but your skills and respect for command have earned my respect."

He then smiles "Not that anyone will believe you if you told them I said that."

He then walks away chuckling.
 
While Dallas made some surprisingly wise remarks, Kira was certainly glad that her helmet never showed her face. It felt odd that someone for once in her life genuinely complimented her on her skills, rather than focusing on the fact that she's a mercenary, or ONI operative. Though Dallas did seem to take issue with the latter, he didn't let that get in the way of his judgment. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she actually felt good about today's exercise. "I.." She lets out a small cough. "I'm glad that you can look past certain.. characteristics, and care about what's actually important."

She couldn't help but let out a weak laugh at last comment regarding her affiliation with the shadowy organization. "Often times, so do I."

And in response to his final snarky remark, she sassed back "Oh, I don't think anyone else needs to know about this conversation anyway, Captain." The knowledge that she, by some great stroke of luck, had come across a commanding officer that wasn't going to give her grief over every little thing was enough for her. She followed along, watching their six. The other teams may be down, but the exercise wasn't over yet. And Reach did have some rather violent fauna.

Regardless, the regrouping with the rest of their team, then trekking to the extraction point was rather uneventful and tiring.
 
The extraction was rather uneventful and the team was transported back to the main ODST training facility on Reach, not the orbital station.

There the three were swept away to begin preparations as Dallas was sent back to his duties off world, as he was only there to help conduct the final test. Li and Jenkins had lost their dislike of Kira, quickly becoming something resembling friends, though they still didnt like that she was ONI. After graduating from the ODST program, and a week long leave/vacation, everyone received their orders and were shipped off to where they were to be stationed.

Kira's orders were remarkably vague, but this could be passed off as her being sent her orders by ONI rather than military command. She was sent aboard a rather impressive ship called the Breaking Dawn, commanded by a tough-as-balls Captain Jane Fredrickson. The captain welomed her aboard, quickly stating that she didnt give a damn if she was ONI, Marine, Colonial Milita, or the goddamn President so long as she follows orders while serving on the Breaking Dawn's ODST forces. After giving her welcome speech to both Kira and 10 other ODST transfers, she sent them on their way to the quartermaster followed by their living quarters.
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As soon as Kira stepped into the Breaking Dawn's living quarters, she was greeted a number of rough and uncouth ODSTs. They were all cussing, flirting, quipping, and a few playful fights were happening in the large, unisex, living quarters. She would be given time to stow her personal effects in her locker and bunk before being sent to the briefing room down the hall. Once Kira and roughly 34 other ODSTs (she could see Jenkins and Li sitting on the front row) were seated, the doors opened.

In walked Dallas, walking down the row that split all the desks in the ready room.
"ATTENTION ON DECK!" yelled Jenkins, which made everyone stand at attention.

Dallas was uncharacteristically silent as he gets up to the podium at the front of the room. He stands at it, giving everyone a menacing glare that could freeze the tits off a polar bear "I am Captain Dallas. This meeting is for all you new people. I only have three rules: 1. Everybody fights, no one quits. If you don't do your job, I'll kill you myself. 2. Leave no man behind. A man who abandons his comrades is worst than trash. 3. When we meet the enemy, we will give them a belly full of lead. If we cannot do that, we will rip their spines from their bodies, and beat 'em to death, laughin'! DO YOU GET ME?"

Immediately, everyone would scream at the top of their lungs: "WE GET YOU SIR." at the same time, though a few of the newcomers would say it half-heartedly.

Once everyone said that, Dallas smirked. "Welcome to the Roughnecks."
 
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