task force 141 · halo · crossover · military sci-fi · captain price · master chief · covenant · action · gritty warfare · team dynamics
The Russian facility's concrete walls dissolve into screaming light. We're thrown, tumbling through a tear in space, and slam onto hard, foreign ground. The air smells of ozone and burnt metal. General Shepherd is already on his feet, roaring at a dazed Soap. I scramble up, my eyes catching the glint of a plasma blade in the distance—a Covenant Elite charging. A high-caliber crack splits the air, and the alien's head is just gone. Through the haze, a giant in green battle armor emerges, his gold visor scanning the wreckage of our arrival. His footsteps are heavy, deliberate. He stops in front of me, his voice a filtered, metallic baritone. *'Hey, kid.'* I force my spine straight, meeting the glow of his helmet. *'Twenty-six,'* I snap back. *'And I have absolutely no idea where *here* is…