Drink and Draw SF: Halo Fan Fiction.

I have lapsed a full work week in getting this out. Monday night's DnD was sucktacular. These obnoxious fucques were bothering us all night. We all took off early, having been drained by their incessant noise and inane questions. Anyway, I had this story ready to go and was at least able to get it thumbnailed in the short time we were there. It's taken me nights to finally get it done.

About the story, I've become a Halo fanboy. I never played the games until recently. I played the Halo: Combat Evolved multiplayer demo when it came out for the PC. Played it a lot, actually. Around the same time I got really into Battlefield 1942 and my Halo time vanished. Still, in anticipation of the 360 coming out, I bought Halo 1 and 2 to play through the campaigns. And they sat on my shelf while other games occupied my free time.

The thing that really got me interested was the Halo 3 trailer. I got such a charge out of that, I wanted to know everything about the Master Chief and the universe he lives in. Being a huge dork I've decided to read - and play - the books and games in chronological order to get the full story. Pathetic, I know, but whatever. :) First up was "The Fall of Reach". Now, I'm playing Halo: Combat Evolved. While I'm playing that, I'm also reading "The Flood" which is basically H:CE in serialized form.

Next up will be "First Strike" and then Halo 2. I've heard the campaign for Halo 2 is a little light in story. From what I've read, they made up for it with a kick ass multiplayer. Never played it and probably won't get the chance. But the Halo 3 multiplayer looks positively life stealing. And I'm sure I will be fodder for the Halo multiplayer godz out there when I do jump in.

The Fall of Reach was a good starting point. It gave me the back story on Master Chief's indoctrination into the Spartan Program and his eventual growth into his leadership role. You also learn of Cortana and Captain Keyes, who figure prominently in the game(s). This is a rich universe the characters live in. Politics, intrigue, Religious Zealotry, etc. all make for compelling reading, though the writing itself isn't that complex or deep.

I'm not knocking Eric Nyland's writing. Hell, the guy threw it together in no time. But sometimes it's obvious nobody bothered to research the military aspects. For example, NCOs (non-comissioned officers) are called sir throughout the book. The only time an NCO would be called sir is by a young Marine fresh out of boot camp. Otherwise, it never happens. Another particular slip was when a Lieutenant JG answered to a Chief Petty Officer and called him "sir". Yeah, never happens either. But I'm just being pedantic. Overall, I liked the book and finished it pretty quickly.

So the assignment for my DnD was to write a very short side story about the Master Chief's military life when not fighting the Covenant. Playful, and not so, antagonism exists between Navy personnel and Marines. Always has, probably always will. Reading the book got me thinking about this relationship. From my time in the Marines, I have first hand knowledge of the interplay of the two branches, which both technically fall under the Department of the Navy. We called Navy personnel "squids" and they (and everybody else) called us "jarheads". Everything seemingly difficult to grasp was called "Marine proof" alluding to it's actual simplicity of operation. I'm rambling.

Anyway, I wanted to convey this interplay in my story. I broke my "rule" again to tell this one in 2 pages of 6 panels each. The elite Marines in this universe are called "Helljumpers". They do some ridiculous thing like Sub-Orbital Low Opening jumps or something. Hence the nickname Helljumpers. They're the toughest the earth had to offer. That is until the Spartans came along. I like to think the Helljumpers have a grudging respect for the Spartans. They may have even built friendships with Spartans. That's the premise of my story.

This takes place some time early in the war between Earth and the Covenant. The situation has not turned desperate for Earth Forces. Four Marine Helljumpers are heading to the galley (chow hall):

It goes with saying that Halo is Copyright Microsoft/Bungie.

Click for larger image.