#oni-burn

“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?”