Some things you should know. The setting of this collaboration takes place on a Gas Mine in the far reaches of the Solar System. Unlike the Gas Mine in orbit of Threshold *the planet Delta Halo orbited*, this Gas Mine will be planet-side.
The objective is this:
Posted by Bad John:
First, regarding the setting. Unlike the Halo 2 Gas Mine in which the Heretics made their stand, I think maybe this mine could be terrestrial, based over a massive canyon on an inhabitable planet. The initial approach to get in would involve ground transport, and punching through the enemy's small vehicular armada, since they have anti-air wraiths on deck. So, right of the bat we'd have some Mad Max action.
Second, the boss. He's referred to by a name that's somewhat incompatible with human language, but translates loosely into bullfighter. Thus, the operation itself could be called something along the lines of "Operation: TOREADOR." Sounds pretty good to me.
His name is Tuk Nitram. He's known for being particularly charismatic and strong, the descendant of a famous sangheili game hunter. Even without all his fucked up upgrades, he's a deft swordsman, and has killed at least four Spartans in single combat with his unusual, unpredictable and potent swordsmanship. He's very large for a Sangheili, and was blessed with sharp reflexes and intelligence. He commanded Jiralhanae and Sangheili alike, and was quite respected.
His fall from grace came when he made an attempt on the Arbiter's life. The Arbiter, aided by Usze 'Taham, was able to subdue him, and ordered him put to death. However, his head never made it to the chopping block. He was rescued by Jul M'dama's forces. Swearing loyalty, he fought on Requiem, where he led a devastatingly effective response team, killing several marines. However, he abandoned Jul's forces with a large following of Sangheili, believing Jul to be incompetent and beneath him.
He waged his own largely futile war against the UNSC, using hit and run strategies, and ducking or eliminating Marine and Spartan squads sent to kill him. He recruited pirates, Jiralhanae raiders, a rogue colony of spacefaring buggers, and eventually performed his greatest feat; he located and killed a San Shyuum who was sitting on a small cache of forerunner artifacts. He modified his armor, and revealing his new, terrible power, he gained the undying loyalty of his soldiers.
He staged a heist on ONI property, kidnapping a human allied Huragok, and took refuge in a Forerunner gas mine, nearby the wreckage of a Covenant Supercarrier of unknown origin.
Nitram is said to have located something of particular interest to the UNSC; a pod containing a single, living UNSC asset. A relic from Operation: UPPERCUT. Jorge-052.
At some point he *Tuk* fucks up and unleashes the Flood, and it's a scramble to take the artifact away him. A sorta three way struggle, with this Elite as the final boss of sorts. He could have Merg Vol's abilities, possessing multiple holograms, dual wielded energy swords, and the ability to attract and repel matter similar to the Didact as a side effect of his integration of Forerunner Combat Skin tech into his own combat harness.
The mission is simple. Eliminate Nitram and his lieutenants, retrieve the Forerunner artifacts installed in his Combat Harness, rescue the kidnapped Engineer, and locate Jorge's cryo pod.
Oh, and kill literally everyone there, if it's possible.
We are also going to be trying a few new things with this Collab. These are some basic rules and guidelines we're setting into place to hopefully get this project off of the ground, in the air for a while, and touch back safely into completion.
- Absolutely NO Planet Cracker nuclear ordinance drops!
*Blaine will deny any and all requests, and likely bitch slap your ass from Jericho VII to Reach and back.
-Minimal Vehicle Usage.
While I know everyone loves to drive Pumas, Scorpions *6 pedals and 4 directions... whaaa.*, and UFOs, we'll be limiting the Vehicle usage to a few isolated moments. Which will be used at the DM's discretion. For now, assume that we are using drop pods to enter the combat zone, perhaps a singular Scorpion to cut through the Anti-Air Wraiths.
If lady Luck is on your side, I may even allow for the occasional air strike.
-There will be a DM/GM *Dungeon Master/Game Master* for this collab.
It's pretty straight forward. The DM/GM of the collab is the one that helps move it along in whatever way possible. If you require a break from writing in the Collab, the DM is at liberty to post in the place of you to help progress the story.
This will help stop any and all road blocks. One of the largest killers of our past Collabs have been from members needing a break from the story. Hype is killed and the story is dropped faster than a sick beat from Eminem. For this Collab *and perhaps future ones* I will be your DM/GM. Know that my only 'power' in this collab is to post in your stead to keep the ball rolling.
At no point am I allowed to tell you how to post, where to go, or anything of that sort. Likewise, I will NEVER compromise your character in a way that tries to undermine their abilities whatsoever.
-Breaks will be allowed.
I understand everyone that hopes to participate will be busy as all hell. This is why I introduced the idea of the DM/GM. If you need a break, just mention so in this thread and I will gladly find a way to advance your character's progression.
-Inventory system is a MUST!
If our team of soldiers is going to take this sum bitch down, we need to work as a unit. Therefore, at the end of every post we will be required to post an inventory for our characters *as the DM will most certainly be required to for when he takes over*. This small segment at the end of each post will give your character's current status in the battle.
There will be color coding attached to this segment. Primary necessities will be as follows:
Name: Blaine-115
Health: Perfect*Color=#009966* , Wounded*Color=#ff9933* , Near Death *Color=ff6666*, Unconscious *Color=0066ff*.
Weapons and Ammo:
Primary: DMR: 20/20 Clips , 19-6/20 Clips, 5-0/20 Clips. *15 rounds each clip*
Plasma Rifle: Full Charge, Moderate Charge, Low Charge *1% Charge depletion after every four rounds. It is to be assumed that anything below 40 percent is a low charge*
Frag/Plasma/Forerunner Grenades: 2 Frags, 2 Plasmas, 2 Forerunners.
Some things to keep in mind: If your character is unconscious, another character will need to either manually revive them *Halo 5 Campaign style*, or the Author will skip their next turn. We don't need filler posts about John day dreamin' about Lucy's chest in the middle of the collab. Neither do we need Manuel doing that same thing .
You are also welcome to have a character die, however, keep in mind that, while I'm the king of Necromancy on this site, I will NOT permit bringing dead characters back for this. So I hope you brought a backup/not your main character.
If you wanna feign death and skip a couple of turns, just to have a dramatic entrance. By all means, feel free to do so. I'ma crack the whip hard on this one, even if I have to type the whole damn thing myself, we WILL see this collab done!
Right, so every post beyond this one will be set for discussion, and character sheet. May the final stages of conception for this project COMMENCE!
EDIT: Blaine will be briefing the lot of you for the first post of the actual collab. So please bear that in mind.