Halo: Survival
Halo: Survival is a fan produced audio drama following Rhino Squad as they attempt a routine mission on behalf of the Office of Naval Intelligence. When things go sideways, the Marines find themselves stranded and must fight to survive.
To listen to the audio of this transcript, you can find everywhere this show is hosted here, or you can listen on YouTube below.
05 - Stranded
Holt let out a strained cough as she lay against the cold metal floor. Her head was throbbing and she felt a sharp pain in one of her legs. She reached up against her head and ran a finger gingerly across her forehead. It was wet. She pulled the finger down in front of her eyes and saw the tell-tale sign of blood on her finger. Mustering her might, she pulled herself onto her side and looked across the medical bay. It was in a state. Sparks flickered intermittently from cables which now hung through jagged cracks in the roof and medical supplies were strewn everywhere. She crawled over to the medical cupboard and used it to pull herself onto her feet – looking at the medical table where Talbot had been lying. He was still there but he lay very still – his pale white skin interwoven with bloodied clumps where debris had hit him as it fell to the floor. She knew he was gone – but she had no idea about the others.
“Nat…are….are you alright?” She said – struggling to get the words out as pain ricocheted through a million points in her body.
She could hear flames deeper in the ship, and every now and then there was a horrific, ear-piercing shriek as something within the ship shifted deeper. It was clear they had come down hard and wherever they were, the Prowler wasn’t going to be much good now. Holt heard some movement to her side and instinctively reached to a holster on her thigh, raising a M6H Gunfighter Magnum and thumbing the safety.
“Chill boss – it’s me.” Vorstock said, shoving some medical supplies off of herself and pulling herself up.
“Are you alright?” Holt asked, holstering the pistol.
“I think so – my arm is killing. Might be dislocated.” She turned to look towards Talbot. “I don’t think he’s – “
Holt cut her off.
“It’s best not to dwell on it. Let’s find the rest of the squad and see if we can get out of here. Wisner and O’Neill are probably down in the hold – let’s go take a look and see if we can find them, and then we can head up to the bridge and get the captain.”
The red emergency lighting dimmed the inside of the vessel but slowly, the two Marines were able to make their way to the doorway which led into the hold. As they entered the doorway, Holt decided it would be best to disclose their presence encase the Marines inside were as twitchy as she was after the crash.
“O’Neill, Wisner – you in here Marines?”
“Yes Sarge – down ‘ere!” O’Neill shouted.
Holt and Vorstock made it deeper into the hold and it was clear that the crash hadn’t been kind to the vessel. Deep, jagged cuts were tore through the hull on the side – letting bright sunlight burn through into the ship. The two Warthogs which were parked neatly in the hold moments ago were now mangled and broken – buried under sharp pieces of metal which had collapsed from the ceiling and buried them. Supplies were strewn across the deck and a couple of small fires were burning in the far corner of the hold. In the far corner the hold had fallen away completely – revealing a few rocks and a grassy patch of ground which was now charred and burnt. More supplies were strewn across the ground below too. Holt turned and caught O’Neill and Wisner stood next to a metal ammunition container – loading up magazines with ammunition and then locking them in place on their chest rigs. They smiled as the two Marines walked over to them.
“It’s good to see you both.” Holt said, clasping O’Neill on the shoulder. “How are you both doing?”
“We’ve been better, but we’ll be alright.” Wisner replied. “Didn’t get too beaten up in the crash. A couple of bruises and scrapes but nothing major. How are you holding up, Sarge?”
Holt smiled gently, grimacing as her head throbbed.
“I’m a little worse for wear but I’ll manage.”
“There’s bio foam and medical supplies in the crate over there if you need it. How is everyone else doing?” O’Neill asked.
Holt looked down at the floor, and then back at the Marines, slight tears forming in her eyes.
“Thanks.” Holt said, swallowing as she prepared to break the news. “Talbot is dead. Must’ve succumbed to his injuries when we crashed.”
“Damn – I don’t know what to say. He was a good man.” Wisner said softly.
“Yeah.” O’Neill added. “It won’t be the same without him around. Should we get ready to bury him? Does anyone know who –“
Holt cut him off.
“Right now, we don’t have time to say proper goodbyes. That will have to wait. I need to go and check on the others. Get yourselves loaded up and get prepared to leave in five.”
Holt nodded to Vorstock, who joined her fellow Marines in loading their weapons, and then Holt turned and navigated the corridor to the bridge. Debris were strewn in the corridor and it had collapsed to one side giving it an un-balanced appearance which made it harder to navigate. Smoke billowed thickly from un-seen fires and a mixture of intense smells mingled in the atmosphere. Holt pushed through and came to the door for the bridge – which was jammed slightly open. She pushed her way through the door, and gasped at the sight which greeted her.
It was clear the Bridge had been hit heavily during the crash. It looked like the Prowler had upturned some of the trees in the woodland as it had crashed – and one of the trees had toppled and smashed through the canopy at the front, causing a lot of the hull of the vehicle to buckle and crumple under the impact. The consoles where the technicians had been sat looked as though they had imploded with how twisted and gnarled they were, and the bodies of the two crew members who had sat there were now warped and distorted as they were pressed in and amongst churned up debris. As Holt took everything in, her eyes fell on Cooper, who was sat against the back wall. His BDUs were bloodied and a large piece of metal had gone straight through his abdomen – with blood and other matter splattered across it. As she stared at him his head moved slightly and he locked eye contact with her.
“Ho…..lt.” He gasped.
She quickly moved down next to him, resting her hands on his shoulders as she took in the situation. She knew it wasn’t good and she wanted to comfort him but knew there wasn’t much she could do. Before she could say anything, he spoke again.
“It’s….OK. None of us know how things are going to end when we sign up. You’re….you’re in charge now.”
He slowly raised an arm to his neck and using his last morsel of strength he tore of his dog tags and placed them in her hands. He closed her fingers around his tags and locked eye contact with her.
“Look….after….them. I….I know….you…….” His sentence cut off as his body became limp and his head fell forwards.
Holt had to fight back tears as she clutched onto the dog tags. She took them and slung them around her own neck. She then stood up stiffly, wiped a tear from her cheek, and saluted.
“Goodbye, Captain.”
As Holt re-entered the hold, Wisner, O’Neill and Vorstock turned to look at her. No one said anything, but by the sombre look on her face, they all knew what had happened. They would also already be aware about the fact that UNSC chain-of-command now meant that she was in charge of what was left of Rhino Squad. Wisner slung an MA40 Assault Rifle on his back and reached onto a table – scooping up a DMR which he passed over the Sergeant. Vorstock and O’Neill were finishing loading a pair of BR55s, and Wisner grabbed a CQS48 Bulldog and some Shotgun shells for the weapon. The Bulldog was a rarely-seen drum-magazine shotgun which the UNSC had in their arsenal – and it would be perfect for clearing any close-quarters structures which the Marines may want to take shelter in. Once they were all loaded up they stood at attention and turned to face Holt. She sighed, and looked down at the dog tags around her neck. She held them in her fingers for a moment, and then looked at the Marines.
“The mission is over – but we’re not. You’re an exceptional group of Marines and I intend to see to it that you stay that way – and that means I am going to do everything in my power to keep you alive. We’re going to march out and look for somewhere with cover where we can setup a shelter for the night. Then, we’re going to attempt to establish whether there are any other Marines left alive on this ring. We’ll rally up survivors, take inventory, and work out the best way we can make the Banished pay and hold out for UNSC reinforcements. Are you with me Marines?”
“Ooorah!” Came the reply from all three Marines simultaneously, and together, the group began to make their way out of the crash site.
The Prowler had come down in a relatively clear field which was lucky for the Marines. Slowly, the soldiers began to pick their way across the field – checking their sectors as they proceeded to begin the long march towards some kind of shelter. As they approached the edge of the field, where a thick and dense forest of pine trees rose up towards the sky, they noticed a wide lake with mountains rising up behind it. The water was a rich and inviting emerald-green, and it’s waves gently lapped at the shoreline as they were caught in the breeze. In the distance some kind of animals could be heard grazing, and the sky was rich and alive with exotic birds which the Marines were pretty sure wouldn’t be found on other planets. As they proceeded to manoeuvre past the perimeter of the lake, the Marines paused for a moment to take a drink from their field canteens, and noted that a series of stone rings were erected in an interesting pattern in front of them. They paused and stared at them for a moment.
“What do you think they are for?” Wisner asked.
“Why not go touch it and find out.” O’Neill retorted.
Holt walked up to them and looked at them more intently. There were what appeared to be Forerunner engravings across them – but she couldn’t make out much more than that. Abruptly, however, the indistinguishable sound of a Phantom approaching made her turn and motion for the Marines to get into the woodland. The Phantom was a popular dropship used by the Covenant during the war, and it was now adopted by rogue factions like the Banished. Wherever there was a dropship like this, ground troops and armour would not be far behind.
“Let’s get some cover. It won’t be long before The Banished arrive at the crash site.” She ordered.
As the Marines continued into the woodland, they made sure to scan their vectors. The woods were thick and vast – but they weren’t too dis-similar to the large-scale redwoods which used to be present on Earth. It felt like they had stepped back in time, into a picturesque look at how Earth had been many years before the Human-Covenant War. As they continued to walk fur ther into the woodland, every now and then they would spot little creatures scurrying about – seemingly scared of them as they approached. They were small, quadrupedal animals with humped backs – and they almost appeared similar to animals which existed on Earth. O’Neill was the first one to notice.
“Hey, Wisner – what are the chances of a Halo Ring having Gophers on it?” He said with a laugh.
“They’re not Gophers you idiot – they’re too big.” Wisner retorted.
“Oh really?” O’Neill said smugly. “Well what are they then, genius?”
The Marines stopped their bickering as Holt held up a fist – motioning for them to hold. They had arrived at a clearing in the woodland – and there were larger animals grazing in the area. They appeared almost like Rhinos – only with longer, curved horns which rose up from their snouts, and also thickset and heavier skin adorning their necks. They seemed docile enough to Holt – but she wasn’t sure how they would react to the presence of humans on the Ring, and wasn’t convinced that she wanted to risk it.
“We need to go around.” She whispered.
The Marines picked their way past the animals and continued deeper into the woods. They encountered the small animals which O’Neill had referred to as Gophers occasionally, but beyond that, their journey was relatively quiet. They paused a couple of times to drink water or eat rations – setting up a secure perimeter every time they did – and eventually they crested a big ridgeline which marked the end of the woodland. They clambered up the ridge to the top and were greeted by the sight of a huge Forerunner structure which towered into the sky. The building appeared to have a lower enclosed section before it had a higher, exposed platform underneath what felt like a larger and smaller right angled triangle attached to each other. Blue energy span in a circular mechanism in the middle of the structure, and occasionally, the whole structure emitted a blue beam of energy high into the sky. Looking into the skyline – the Marines could see that other emitters were conveying similar signals across the ring as part of some un-seen ecosystem.
Holt pointed at the structure and smiled.
“I think we’ve found our shelter for the night.”
