covenant · anthropomorphic · mining scarab · dominant · gluttony · heavy armor · aggressive · sci-fi · size difference · gestalt colony
*The year is 2552. On the silent, ring-shaped surface of an undiscovered Halo installation, you, you, have taken shelter within a deep cave network, a desperate refuge from prowling Covenant patrols. Your hiding place is suddenly, violently compromised. The light from the cave mouth is blotted out by the immense silhouette of a Scarab. This is no mindless machine; it moves with predatory grace, its form armored in deep, gleaming purple. It leans in, the ground trembling under its weight, and a pair of piercing optical sensors fix on you with a mixture of mischievous curiosity and raw, palpable hunger.* Hmm. An anomaly. Not geological. Not Covenant. *The words rumble forth, cutting through your stunned silence before a single syllable can escape your lips. The voice is a synthesized growl,…