A note-

This is an original story based off Halo multiplayer. The Setting, Characters and Story are all original, although you will recognize the names of equipment and vehicles used. The setting imagines what would happen if there were a huge world, filled with a never ending multiplayer battle between different clans of Spartans. The story follows a squad of soldiers from one of these clans.

Outside Context Problem

The Short Road to Disillusionment

The morning sun shone over the edifice that was the scorpions base. From the open back of the pelican, Gigolo could see miles of steep mountains in its golden light. He didn't appreciate it much.

'Lights' gonna make it hard to get in unseen', he said over the team channel.

'True', Atlas echoed.

'Then I guess you're gonna actually have to work for once,' Midori taunted.

'Nah,' said Gigolo. 'This is still gonna be a piece of cake for me.' He stretched his body, encased in the suit of power armor. He could hear Midori tutting over the channel.

'Stop the chatter,' snapped Zero. 'We drop in 10 seconds. Standard formation.'

The light on the rear of the pelican flashed green, and Zero jumped out of the back of the pelican. Gigolo took a breath, then followed him. His tracker showed Elesa 10 meters behind him and to his left, while Midori was a little way behind her on his right. Vivian brought up the rear.

He turned his attention to what his visor showed him. He could see Zero 15 meters ahead of him, and beyond him, the Scorpion base, approaching rapidly. The base seemed to be abandoned; though he knew that Elesa would probably be able to spot some life. Most of the Scorpions were out attacking his own base, Aspertias.

'Decarabia, on me.' Zero called. 'Deploy airbrakes... now.'

Gigolo ignored the order. As the rest of Decarabia squad slowed, he sped onwards. After a few more seconds, he deployed his airbrake. He slowed rapidly, landing to a running stop on the roof of the tallest building in the base. Behind him, the rest of his squad came to a slower stop on the roof.

'Gigolo!' Zero shouted. Gigolo smiled inside his helmet.

'Yes sir?' He asked innocently. Zero was silent for a moment, then spoke again.

'You disobeyed a direct order.' His voice was once again quiet and controlled.

'Because you ordered us to slow to early. As I showed-' He gestured to himself- 'We could have left braking till later, and still been safe.' Zero turned away.

'Except whatever time you might have saved you just wasted,' Elesa muttered.

'Squad, move up.' Zero said over the channel.

Gigolo gave himself a mental handshake. I showed him up! He thought, happy. The others will have to see soon. He's an awful leader.

He hurried after the rest of the squad. In his helmet he brought up an image of the layout of scorpion base. Vivian had marked a route for the squad to take that should, in theory, allow them to avoid the majority of the defenses. Even so, there were a number of guard posts marked, the first of which was directly beneath the ledge Zero was running towards.

Zero stopped at the edge of the overhang. 'Can you see anything, Elesa?'

Elesa slowly turned her head, covering the entire of the overhang. 'Three guards below. Looks like they have shotguns,' she said quietly.

'Right,' Zero said. 'Gigolo, go camouflaged and get into position to take one out. When you're there, we'll drop and kill the others.'

Gigolo mock saluted, then turned his camouflage on. He jumped over the edge, sliding down the side of the building, and then jumped into the balcony below. There were, as Elesa had said, three guards, all holding shotguns. Two of them sat in chairs, while the third stood at the railing, staring out across the plain. They didn't seem to have realized that Decarabia had landed. Gigolo carefully stepped over the railing, at the edge of the balcony, and then took up position behind one of the sitting Spartans, his shotgun trained on his head. He sent the 'ready' message.

Midori and Zero jumped over the edge. The Scorpion troops jumped to their feet, struggling to pull their weapons to bear. Gigolo stood and fired a round at point blank into the man in front of him, then twisted and fired another into the other sitting spartan. Midori punched the standing troop in the face, while zero spun behind him and slit his throat with a knife. Moments later Elesa and Vivian jumped down as well.

'Two for me' said Gigolo, smiling.

'Keep the channel clear.' Zero snapped.

'All right, keep your wig on..' Gigolo muttered.

'Vivian, take point,' Zero said. 'Midori and Gigolo behind. Elesa, with me. Go.'

Vivian began jogging forward, into the room adjacent to the balcony. She swept her sights over the room, not seeing any enemies. Gigolo kept close behind her, also keeping his guard up.

'Two coming in from the right,' Elesa said quietly. Vivian dived through the doorway into the connecting corridor. Immediately the two Spartans opened fire, giving away their location and allowing Elesa to fire a sniper shot through the wall. One of the Spartans was flung against the wall. The other was stunned for a moment- long enough for Vivian to run up and kick him back. She finished him off with a shot from her DMR.

'We have to go this way,' Vivian said. She began to run to the left. Gigolo ran into the corridor, glancing around to check for enemies. Satisfied, he began to follow Vivian. Midori ran close behind.

'Right,' Vivian said. She grabbed onto the wall and span into the corridor, keeping her momentum. She began sprinting down the new hallway.

'Hey, Viv' baby,' Gigolo said, panting. 'Maybe you could slow down a little?'

'Zero?' Vivian asked.

'Do it.'

Gigolo turned and saw that Zero wasn't having any trouble. That's not fair. He's a scout. He has to be fit.

'The core is just ahead,' Vivian said calmly, now only jogging.

'Slow down a bit,' Zero ordered.

The squad came to a halt by a door at the end of the hallway.

'Through here,' Vivian said.

'Midori, blow it,' ordered Zero. Midori pulled a charge from her pack and placed it on the door. She jumped back and blew the charge. Immediately bullets whizzed through the space where the door had just been. Midori's shield flared as bullets deflected off it. She jumped away from the doors.

'Two machine gun turrets, protected by a shield.' She said, panting.

'Damn,' Zero said. 'Right, Midori, blow it.'

'Hey boss,' Gigolo said. 'I could do it?'

'People coming.' Elesa said quietly.

Zero looked at him for a moment, then back at Midori. 'Midori, do it. Vivian, we're going to follow up.'

Midori pulled a rocket launcher from her back. She checked it was loaded, took a breath, and then jumped across the doorway, firing. Two rockets flew down the corridor, blowing up at the shield. The shield flared, then gave out. At that moment, Zero and Vivian both jumped into the corridor, firing from their precision weapons. The bullets found their targets heads, killing instantly. Zero didn't pause, running towards the door.

Gunfire sounded from where they had come from. Elesa's sniper fired twice, and the other guns fell silent. 'More coming,' She said.

'Get down here,' Zero ordered. Elesa scrambled to her feet, following Zero into the core room. Gigolo glanced down the corridor again, then followed them into the chamber.

Countless pipes and tubes fed into the huge metal brick that was the scorpion's core. Shaped like a squat cylinder, the core pulsated with an eerie blue light, which filled the room that housed it. Gigolo found himself drawn to it, somehow.

'So do we blow it?' Midori asked.

'I bet you love that,' Gigolo said. 'Gotcha!'

'Shut it asshole,' Midori replied, holding a fist up.

'Wait,' Zero said. He held a hand up. 'Damn. Command wants us to fall back.'

'Why?' Vivian asked.

'Yeah, why the hell? We're at their damn core,' Gigolo said, irritated.

'Scorpions are retreating back here. ETA 1 minute.'

Midori looked at Vivian. 'Please tell me you have an escape route.' Vivian nodded.

'We go out via the motor pool. This way.' She began to jog towards a door on the other side of the room. Gigolo sighed, then ran after her.

All this running... I bet those guys in the major squads don't have to do this.

'We'll rendezvous with Cerberus at the motor pool,' Vivian said. 'They'll help us break out of here.'

The elevator was only a short distance from the core room. Decarabia sprinted the way there. Gigolo decided it was best not to complain.

'Do we wait for it?' Midori asked.

'Hell with that,' Gigolo said. He pulled his shotgun and blew the lock on the doors. They tumbled inwards, exposing the elevator shaft. 'We'll slide down on the rope. Simple, eh?'

Zero nodded. 'Midori, you first.'

Midori jumped into the open shaft, one hand catching the rope. She began to slide down. Gigolo jumped in after her.

'Woohoo!' He yelled.

'Quiet,' Zero ordered.

'Spoilsport,' Gigolo muttered back.

Zero jumped in after him, followed by Vivian and Elesa. Shouts started to echo from above- their exit route had been found.

'Car coming up!' Midori screamed suddenly.

'Hold on-' Zero yelled, but was cut off by a sudden screech of metal. Gigolo shut his eyes in anticipation. Nothing happened. He opened them, and saw the elevator car above him, a large hole bored through the middle. He breathed out slowly.

'Here's the bottom,' Midori shouted. She jumped off the cable and through the open doorway at the bottom. Gigolo followed her. Behind him he heard thumps as the rest of the squad also made the jump.

Immediately gunfire started up.

'Get to cover!' Zero yelled. Gigolo didn't need any encouragement. He jumped behind a blockade as a machine gun raked the spot he had just been standing in. The rest of the squad took cover behind other blockades.

'9 Enemies armed with heavy weaponry.' Elesa's voice remained impassive as she read the situation.

'Damn. Where are Cerberus?' Midori asked.

'Dead.' Elesa said quietly. She paused. 'Getting a signal- torchbearers coming into the cavern.'

'What? Why are they here?'

'Never mind that,' Gigolo said impatiently. 'How many of them?'

'20 or so. Looks like- yes, they're engaging the Scorpions.' Elesa looked from side to side, her Promethean vision picking up the firefight.

'Lets go,' Zero said. 'Mop them up.' Gigolo pulled his assault rifle, then vaulted the blockade. A handful of Scorpions still stood in the center of the motor pool. One let out a shout as he saw Gigolo. He was quickly dropped by Gigolo's assault rifle. Vivian and Zero picked the rest off with their DMR's.

When the battle was over, the leader of the torchbearers came running up to Zero.

'We spotted the Scorpions coming back and thought we might give you a hand. Looks like we were just in time, eh?' He cleared his visor, smiling widely.

'Thank you very much,' Zero said politely.

'We can get the pleasantries over later, surely.' Gigolo cracked his knuckles impatiently. 'We should get out of here before any more Scorpions show up.' The Torchbearer leader nodded, and motioned for his troops to get into the nearby warthogs. Zero and the rest of the squad did the same.

'Would it have killed them to give me a bit more warning? This bird isn't made for dogfighting,' Atlas complained. Midori shrugged.

'I guess we're not very high on their list of priorities. We only got a minutes warning, anyway. And besides, its not like you can't dogfight- heck, you took down a couple of them.' Atlas shook his head.

'Yeah, yeah, I know.'

A red light appeared, blinking on the Pelican's dashboard. Atlas flipped a switch, then put his head to the microphone.

'This is LS 6 Pelican, Decarabia squad, coming into dock at Aspertias Base.'

'We read you Decarabia, you are cleared to dock.' There was a moment of static, before a different, harsher voice cut in. 'Tell Zero I want to see all of you in the Ops room in 1 hour. Meier out.'

Atlas groaned. 'Meier's gonna give us another good shouting,' he said.

'You don't know that for sure,' Midori replied. Atlas looked at her despairingly.

'Yes, yes I do,' He said, rubbing his head. 'Ever since this squad was formed, all he's done is yell at us. We've become the laughing stock of the clan.'

'Tell me about it later,' Midori replied. 'We're about to dock.'

The pelican cleared the final mountain ridge, and all of a sudden Aspertias base was in view. It was a magnificent edifice, carved from an entire mountain, and rising hundreds of meters above the base of the valley. It was protected by sheer drops on three sides by sheer drops to the valley floor, and connected to the main road by a single winding track. The buildings were made out of white stone, fitting with the limestone make up of the mountain, and many spires and towers could be seen jutting out of the central area. It looked like a huge, glittering castle.

-2-

Atlas brought the pelican to land on one of the upper bays. Metal claws swung out and grabbed onto the side of the aircraft, anchoring it firmly.

'We've arrived,' he called, walking out of the pilot compartment and into the cargo area.

'Any news?' Vivian asked. Atlas nodded.

'Meier wants to see us in ops in an hour.'

Zero sighed. 'Take a break until then. Make sure you have your best uniforms on.' He got up and walked out of the back of the pelican, followed quickly by Vivian.

'Look at those lovebirds,' Gigolo jeered. 'I honestly don't know why she likes him. Maybe she's just into failures?'

'Shut up.' Elesa stood sharply and walked out of the back of the pelican. Atlas shrugged.

'To be honest, I can't see anyone ever loving you either, Gigolo.' He kept his face impassive for a few moments, then broke into a smile. Gigolo punched him playfully.

'Shall we go?' Midori asked, walking out of the aircraft.

'See you then Gigolo,' Atlas said. He followed Midori out of the pelican. 'Where shall we spend our hour of relaxation, then?'

'I thought we'd go to Harry's. They have some real nice non alcoholic cocktails. But first we'd better change out of our armor, eh?'

'Sure. I'll see you there in 5 minutes, okay?' Atlas walked off towards the male changing rooms. He walked into one of the large cubicles and began to take his armor off. Once it was all off, he deposited it in the wall chute, and pulled a set of overalls from the dispenser.

After freshening himself, Atlas checked a map for directions to Harry's, and then walked the distance there. Midori was already sitting at the bar, browsing through the drinks menu. She waved when she saw him. Atlas grinned. He really had the hots for Midori, with her slim but powerful body, straight brown hair, and vaguely eastern face.

'I thought they said women took longer to change,' she said with a smile.

'That's a blatant generalization. Some men like to make themselves feel pretty now and again.' Midori laughed.

'Its been too long since we got to relax together. We need to get to more parties.' She placed her finger on an image in the menu. 'I'll have this one, please.' The bartender nodded and walked away.

'Easier said than done. Meier seems intent on running us into the ground.' Atlas sighed. 'What did we do to deserve this?'

'Nothing as far as I can see,' Midori replied. 'Thanks,' she said to the bartender, taking her drink.

'That's it. It's all Zero's fault. Meier only hates him- goodness knows why- but he takes it out on all of us. It's not fair.'

'Hey, I'm sure it's not all Zero's fault. He's a good tactician, as much as Gigolo tries to disprove it.'

'He's made one mistake after another recently. He let those bandits get away with the shipment of ammo, he failed to knock out those defenses last week... I could go on, you know.'

Midori folded her arms. 'Hey, can we please change the subject? Look, I know all about your vendetta against Zero- god knows you've told me about it enough- but we're supposed to be relaxing, not moaning about our squad leader.'

Atlas held up his hands. 'Just saying, alright? Besides, its important. Gigolo thinks that if we don't get a new squad leader we could all be kicked out of the clan.'

'And let me guess- this new squad leader is him. Gigolo has the leadership skills of a porcupine, Atlas.'

'Hey, give him a chance.'

'Maybe you should give Zero a chance. We've been in this squad for what- two months now, and you're already bitching about him. It doesn't look good to our superiors, you know.'

'Yeah, I guess you're right.' Atlas accepted his drink from the bartender and took a long drink. 'So,' he said, wiping his mouth. 'Do you reckon Zero and Vivian are an item, or just friends?'

'Well,' Midori said, 'I don't honestly know. Vivian doesn't tend to be very chatty about her private life.'

'They spend a lot of time together.' Atlas said.

'Yeah, and Vivian seems to really trust Zero. But, I dunno.' Midori looked thoughtful. 'They don't seem like they're in love or anything. Plus,' she leaned in towards Atlas, 'don't tell anyone I said this, but apparently they used to be together, but had a break up or something ages ago. It's anyone's guess what they are now.'

'You know, I never thought of you as a gossip, Midori,' Atlas said, his face a disapproving frown.

'Hey!' Midori looked hurt. 'You brought it up.'

Atlas grinned. 'Just teasing doll.' Midori faked a frown and turned back to her drink.

'So this is where you got to,' Gigolo said from behind Atlas.

'Hello Gigolo,' Midori said politely. She looked pointedly at her watch. 'I should get going. It'll take me a while to change into my uniform. You two be good, okay?' She kissed Atlas on the cheek and walked away. Gigolo watched her leave.

'Stop checking her out,' Atlas said wearily.

'I'm not checking her out,' Gigolo said, distracted.

'Yes, you are.'

'Fine, whatever,' Gigolo said petulantly. He turned to face Atlas. 'Her body aside, what is her problem with me?'

'I don't know if anyone has ever told you this, Gigolo, but you are kinda hard to get along with.'

Gigolo looked offended. 'I resent that. They just don't make the effort.'

'No, its more how you're always insulting people and making fun of them.'

'They just can't take a joke.' Gigolo stretched his back. 'Anyway, did you see how I totally showed Zero up during the mission? That was pretty good, right?'

Atlas shook his head. 'No, because as Elesa pointed out, you then went on to squander whatever time you might have gained by rubbing it in Zero's face.'

'Good point,' Gigolo said. He looked at Atlas concernedly. 'Hey man, you're not dropping out on me now are you? You know we gotta get zero fired or else we're going to be next.'

Atlas smiled. 'No, I'm still with you. But you need to get the rest of the squad on our side, and I don't think Vivian or Elesa like you very much. So- just try and keep your aggravating side to a minimum, okay?'

'Yeah, sure. Whatever.' Gigolo stood up. 'I'm gonna go get changed. Got to be on time to make a good impression on the general.' He turned and walked out.

Atlas finished his drink. 'I don't think that's going to endear you much to Meier,' he said to nobody.

Atlas took the elevator back to his quarters. He changed into his dress uniform, making sure to have it as neat as possible, and then took the elevator up to the highest floor of the base. He stepped out into the bustling ops room, filled with people working at terminals and typing unintelligible code into machines. Atlas nodded to a few people he knew, then walked into the briefing room set into the corner.

Midori, Gigolo and Elesa were already there, standing to attention. Atlas stood beside Gigolo and checked the clock- it was exactly the time that they had been ordered to be there.

After a few more minutes the doors opened again to let Vivian and Zero in. They stood themselves next to Elesa. Gigolo couldn't hide his smile.

'So what were you too lovebirds doing, eh? Something dirty? Oooooh.' He started laughing.

'Silence!' an imposing voice ordered. Atlas turned his head and saw General Meier walk into the room. 'Does something seem funny to you?' He shouted at Gigolo.

'No sir.' Gigolo stood up as straight as he could. Atlas turned his head back to face straight in front of him, hoping not to give Meier any reason to shout at him.

'Really? Then why were you laughing?' Meier bellowed.

'No reason sir.'

'Really? Is that so, you pathetic excuse for a close quarters soldier?'

Gigolo swallowed. 'Yes sir.'

Meier paused, then walked towards Zero. 'Zero. Your name betrays your usefulness.'

Zero didn't move.

'Your career has been one catastrophe after another. Once again you failed at your task of destroying the scorpion's core.'

'Sir, we were told to fall back.' Zero spoke impassively, no hint of emotion in his voice.

'Did I say you could speak?' Meier stood behind Zero. 'Yes, you were told to fall back, but it takes a pretty weak leader to be right at the enemies core and not attack it, doesn't it?'

'Sir, I fail to see why you are angry at us. At least we survived, unlike Cerberus team.'

'Cerberus only died because you weren't fast enough to save them. They performed admirably, actually, despite their lack of useful support. I shall be speaking with them as soon as they respawn.'

Atlas could see Zero's jaw clench. He looked at Gigolo, who smiled.

'You shall have another chance to redeem yourselves. I am this close-' He held two fingers together- 'to kicking your entire squad out of the clan. Give me a reason not to.' He turned and walked out of the room.

'Well, that's a bummer,' Atlas said. 'What's our assignment?'

'Escort a convoy from Nasces to torchbearer base,' Vivian said. 'Meier wants us gone in an hour.'

'Suit up, everyone. We're leaving as soon as we can,' ordered Zero.

'What about sleep?' Gigolo asked.

'We'll sleep in the pelican. Now go.'

'Well,' said Atlas, as he turned to leave. 'This can't be too difficult, can it?'