#lieutenantcomet

The two Spartans stood behind the shielded door to the map, ready to move out as soon as the match started. Six was examining her rifle, making sure it was ready for Combat when Taggart walked over to her.

"Y’know, I don’t think we’ve played a war games match together before."

The Spartan III was silent, still checking her equipment and inventory. It didn’t seem like Six was very social when it came to war games, or combat in general. Taggart, on the other hand, didn’t always take the “War Games” too seriously.

"You know the other team doesn’t stand a chance, right?"

This time, the Spartan III did respond, looking over at Taggart, her un-tinted visor showing her pale eyes.

"Being overconfident helps nobody."

"Hmm. Right. Here, can you hold this for me?"

He unslung his assault rifle from his back, checked to make sure it was fully loaded, then held it out for her. She only glanced down at the rifle for a brief moment, before looking back up at Taggart.

"I mean, I’m going to need it when you catch up with me eventually."

She didn’t move at all, especially not to grab his rifle, so after a few moments, Taggart shrugged, and leaned the rifle against the wall.

"I’ll be coming back this way anyway. I’ll grab it when I score."

And with that, the game countdown started.

ODDBALL

3

2

1

ROUND START

Taggart took off running up the ramp, quickly taking in his surroundings to get his bearing. He was on Ragnarok. Perfect. He immediately turned back, to start running up the second ramp, leading onto the gravity lifts. He jumped into the side lift, and was immediately flung through the sky, using his jet pack for extra propulsion. He found himself landing in the upper branches of a tree, and waited for only a moment, before lunging out of the tree, breaking his fall by landing on the back of an unsuspecting enemy spartan. Wasting no time, he kept moving towards the hill upon which the oddball rested, slowing down only to unclip a frag grenade from his belt. He ran up a small incline, past a machine gun turret, pulled the pin, and jumped for the edge of the rocky face of the hill top. Mid jump, he dropped the grenade into a warthog passing underneath, and grabbed the edge of the hill, quickly pulling himself up. Not looking back to see if the grenade had gone off, the effectiveness of his barely thought out maneuver was confirmed as he heard a distant explosion. 4 enemy spartans down, and he had only been on the ground for 30 seconds. He casually walked over to the oddball, and kicked it up to his hands, smiling to himself. He turned to face his team’s spawn, and held the ball up.

"How’s that for overconfidence, eh Six?"

He didn’t get to enjoy his minor victory for very long. He felt something heavy hit his back, sending the ball flying out of his hand, and his body tumbling down the hill. As he fell into the small stream that flowed around the hill, he saw the source of his downfall.

A unoccupied mongoose.

He slowly looked back up at the hill, only to see the oddball fall back out of the sky, into the hands of an enemy spartan.

Wait, he recognized that armor…

Oh no.

"Thanks for the ball princess!"

And with that, Comet jetpacked back towards his own base, ball in hand.

Taggart’s armor was locked from the “lethal” strike to his spine, and the best he could do was wait to “respawn.” He heard several comments over the comm about “costing them the round” and “being an over showy dumb ass”, but nothing from six. He didn’t wonder where she was for very long, before a shadow was cast over his frozen body.

"Idiot."

She dropped his assault rifle on his chest, and kept moving.

vipertorres13

freelancer-dysfunctional-family

bellatorservus

askagent-connecticut

shockemanddropem

agentvtandzeta

wakeupchief-ineedyou

shieldoftheheavens

british-unsc-marine

animus--invictus

lotsofpeoplehavethename

lieutenantcomet

spartan-g067-leo

   "Yes, hello. Damn, there I thought that bloody paperwork was going to keep me occupied for the rest of my life..

((I have a 3 obsession as well.)

“So where does that leave us?”

Taggart’s grip on his pistol tightened, his finger hovering over the trigger. He had the sights trained on his fellow Spartan’s head, ready to drop him. And yet, the other Spartan was still standing.

“You know I can’t let you leave here alive Taggart. You’ve got a kill order on your head.”

Comet had Taggart at gunpoint as well. It was quite a bit of a standoff. Comet had been ordered to track Fireteam Reaper down a week ago, and had been on their trail for the entire time, following the signs from planet to planet, until he finally found Taggart on some god forsaken moon. They had fought, hand to hand, but that only resulted in both Spartans being tired out. Eventually, they both got a hold of a gun, and now here they were, Comet having Tag at the business end of a shotgun, and Tag having a Magnum sighted at Comet’s forehead. 

“I wasn’t asking for permission Comet. You either let me and my team leave, or I’ll drop you.”

They both started to circle around each other, keeping their guns trained on each other, refusing to let the other get the advantage. What was once a friendship that was as close to family as either one really knew had turned into a bitter rivalry in the time that Reaper had gone rogue. Taggart was on his crusade to bring down ONI, and Comet, the ever faithful soldier, felt betrayed. Taggart couldn’t blame him. He’d read a bit about the heavy indoctrination Spartans went through, in some of the ONI files he had come across. It would be damn near impossible to break through that.

“What the hell are you doing anymore James? Killing UNSC soldiers? Executing ONI agents? Destroying a Space Station?!”

“It’s in self-defense.”

“Self-defense?!” Comet asked incredulously. “You’ve killed a lot of good soldiers! You practically wiped out that recovery team when you went rogue!”

“Recovery team? Hah!” Taggart scoffed, shaking his head. “You’re really buying what ONI’s selling, huh? That was a Hit squad. ONI wanted me DEAD.”

“Why the hell would they go through that much trouble? And For what purpose?”

“We started asking too many questions. We opened our eyes. And you should too.” Taggart let out a tired sigh, his words heavy. “Please don’t make me do this Comet. Join me. We can take down the corrupt bastards in ONI together! Finally break humanity out from underneath this fascist state the UEG has created!”

“I can’t do that. I can’t turn my back on everything I believe in.”

“This IS what you believe in Damn it! Open your EYES David! You’re here to execute me! Look around you man! What am I doing here? Why do you think I’ve been hitting supply lines? For fun? These people on these terraformed colonies are starting to be forgotten! Again! Just like it was before the Covenant showed up! Am I still the bad guy Comet? Am I still this traitor that ONI has made me out to be?”

“You’ve killed a lot of innocent people James. And-“

Taggart scoffed, interrupting him. “Innocent! Yeah.”

“AND I’ve seen you do some good too. I know you’re not too far gone. Come back with me. We can try and figure this out. We can talk to some friendly faces, and sort this out. Get you proper representation. Let you stand trial for your crimes.”

“Crimes? I’m finally fighting the right fight! The only Crimes I should stand trial for are for all the people I’ve slaughtered that were fighting for their families! All under the orders of the Office of Naval Intelligence. God damn heartless spooks, All of them.”

“Taggart… please. Just… put your gun down.”

“I’m just… trying to do the right thing…”

“I know James. It’s okay.”

“I’m so tired of fighting… I want to rest. Why do I have to carry this weight? Why do I have to fight against the entire god damn universe to right a few wrongs?”

“It’s okay man… just … put the pistol down. Drop the weapon, and we can talk.”

“The way I see it… You’ve got two options here. You can either shoot me now… and end all of this…” Taggart holstered his pistol, and raised his hands above his head, surrendering. “Or you can try and take me in. Prove your loyalty to those snakes. Just walk away from the truth that’s staring right at you. But I won’t stop. I can’t stop. I will continue to fight against ONI until my dying breath. If you try and take me in… I will try and escape. Would you rather me do that here? Or in the middle of a Military base, where the casualties will be high.”

Comet kept his weapon trained on Taggart for a few brief moments, before sighing and lowering his weapon slightly, and started walking towards him.

“Turn around, and keep your hands where I can see them. Just… try and trust me on this James. We’ll sort this out. You’ll get a proper defense.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alri-…”

Before Comet could react, Taggart unsheathed a knife concealed in his chest plate, turned around, and attacked Comet. He forced the shotgun downwards, and stabbed the knife into his chest, slipping it between the armor, right into the Spartan-III’s heart. He coughed out in surprise, blood spraying from his mouth, as he started to bleed from the hole in his chest as well. As a knee-jerk reaction, his finger twitched, firing the shotgun, the rounds penetrating the floor.

“Shhh…”

Comet struggled with words, attempting to speak, but the only sound that came from his mouth was the gurgling gasps of a dying soldier.

“L-look… “He coughed, more blood spraying from his mouth, running down the sides of his mouth.

“Look at me…”

Taggart froze, his grip still on the blade buried in Comet’s chest, his other hand holding Comet’s back, keeping him upright.

“Look at me damn it…”

Taggart loosened his hold on Comet’s back for a moment, leaning back slightly to look the Spartan in the eyes. Comet’s fading eyes searched Taggart’s face, his expression a mix of shock, betrayal, anger, and sadness.

“W-who… who are you?”

Taggart’s expression froze, Goosebumps rising on his skin, concealed by his armor. His jaw clenched, and he pulled Comet close again, forcing his face into his shoulder. He twisted the knife, silencing the Spartan, and pulled it out slowly, the blade coated in crimson.

“I’m a dead man walking.”

He dropped the knife to the floor, the clatter of metal hitting concrete filling the hangar with noise, it seemed. Everything felt different… colder… Taggart lowered himself, grabbing Comet’s lower body, and lifting it up off the ground. He turned and started walking towards the exit of the hanger, carrying the deceased soldier’s limp body.  His comm sparked to life as he walked outside, the rain pouring down on the Spartan.

“Everything okay Prophet? What happened in there?”