#halo: divine wind

[magellanicclouds]

Personal Journal (Theodore Srivastava, MBBS-MD) / Entry 0864 / 2559-10

>>: The recovered individuals had required extensive medical care on arrival, and a battery of diagnostic testing to understand their biology enough to successfully deliver treatment and establish a safe continuity. Commander Mallah had offered to loan me a few techs from the Xeno lab for consultation. For humans.

Their rate of healing has been extraordinary however, and there's blessedly no signs of preliminary rejection to organ tissue, structural implantation, or soft tissue grafts. Primarily just scattered ecchymosis for two out of the three. It's remarkable. Examination is on-going, several rounds daily, and expected to continue for a series of weeks to establish more reliable trends.

They'll be with us for the duration of course.

There's nowhere else to go.

We've learned that the individuals represent a third generation of Spartans, and their...atypical lab results have been casting long shadows to say the least. More of the UNSC's deeply forbidden secrets are filling our charts in waves and creating a lot of unease regarding this sub-category's uniquely dangerous mutagenic traits. These features are remarkable for organic changes in their brain tissue and gross manipulation of the endocrine system. Even considering the total divorce of human ethics that the Spartan programme already represents, this seems a startling escalation.

What is happening back home to have prompted such a chilling devaluation of human life?

The discomfort amongst my staff is overwhelming their fascination.

It's not yet clear if the Spirit's limited facilities can even maintain the critical needs of these new and terrifying soldiers. What is the margin for error on the consistency of their 'smoother' dosages? How short exactly is the fuse on their hormonal detonators? Could a scuffle in the mess hall lead to a massacre?

They're bracingly young, but noticeably removed from the common traces of youth. The scars between them are enough to trade away for decades of warfare.

Myself and other providers have found their temperament similar to the Spartans of Red Team at least. Polite. Professional. Human certainly, though most of my staff have remarked negatively on their atonal general expression and significant lack in sense of social familiarity.

Truthfully, after the hell they'd undertaken groundside (and surely horrors years before now), I find it callous to hold 'being withdrawn' against them. They do not shy from eye contact, and when one looks back with not the eyes of a provider, but the eyes of a man, it is clear that these Spartans too know fear and sadness and heartbreak.<< //

[poisonheadcrabsalesman]

ISABEL POV THIS IS NOT A DRILL

[holyshonks]

Alright, nerds. I'm moving and have extra Halo books I have no use for. I have one hardcover copy of Halo: Initiation, one softcover copy of Halo: Initiation and Escalation, and one copy of Halo: Divine Wind.

They are all second-hand finds so might show signs of wear.

Free to a good home, I'll even pay shipping (inside the contiguous US). I gotta get rid of em.

Do not ask me how I accidentally bought two extra copies of a comic I already own a gigantic version of.

[halo-smashorpass]

[halobirthdays]

Happy birthday to Inslaan 'Gadogai!

Today is his -465th birthday!

Born Azl 'Lamoul, he was the eldest son of his keep and the incumbent kaidon. While on tour of the client keeps, he met and fell in love with a woman named Olabisi. They quietly pledged to marry, but when Azl returned to his keep, a woman from the Varo clan had already been arranged to be his wife. Seemingly without consulting Olabisi, he rejected the match, exposing their relationship.

The Varo family retaliated and killed everyone in his family but Azl. A kaidon was chosen from the Varo family, and Olabisi was put in the precarious position of being the keep's matriarch. Azl was thwarted, because attacking the Varo clan would mean killing Olabisi. Instead, he decided to join the Covenant, dreaming of the day he could slaughter the keep and win Olabisi back. However, when he finally returned, everyone had moved on: the Marshal and kaidon were either dead or off fighting the war. With them gone, Olabisi became the Marshal in their absence, and was thriving. A deflated Azl rejoined the Covenant, growing resentful of Olabisi. He excelled, which led to an invitation to the Silent Shadow, where he took on the alias Inslaan 'Gadogai. He stopped wearing armor and often remained unarmed under the premise that as a Silent Shadow, he was the weapon.

More pragmatic than loyal--unusual for a Sangheili--his allegiances were flexible. He joined the Banished following the Great Schism, but quickly defected and joined his Keeper Jiralhanae dokab friend Castor when it suited him. However, he nearly let Castor destroy the galaxy by activating the Halos as revenge against Olabisi, before changing his mind and convincing him to defect from the Keepers. Now, it is just Inslaan and Castor against the factions of the highly-contested Ark.

In canon (~2560), he is turning 71!

[monitorchakas]

So we finally got a semi update on whats up with the san shyumm in current lore

Ok so they practically disappeared from the galaxy... I mean I don't remember seeing them anywhere else in current lore so I guess it checks out.

But look this one is WALKING !! Is this like the san shyumm from forerunner times that according to UrDidact are sensual?

Let's keep reading:

Physically augmented san shyumm?????? Excuse meeee??? Wouldn't it be smarter to do that with elites or brutes?? That sounds so stupid I'm sorry... just no

Thats just goofy, that rubs me the wrong way

Ok anyway begrudgingly accepting this new lore into my halo rot brain

[argentumcor]

Notes About the Halo Ferret Trilogy

If you are reading this and haven't read Halo: Last Light and Halo: Retribution, you should because they're good.

Apparently, Troy Denning (of Star by Star fame, much is explained) said that he had to rewrite the ending of Shadows of Reach because Infinite was getting delayed. The Ferrets were supposed to get away with Blue Team and go back to the Infinity, not go off to the Ark. This was done last minute, as in the book was formatted and sent to be printed when the word came down. I would just about kill for the part that got switched, but 343 likely shredded it.

Knowing this now, I reread the book to find where the patch job likely was...I think it started when John and the girls go to grab the stuff they were on Reach to snag. It's not a really Denning Halo climax- all the Spartans are injured and their armor damaged, which in his books is usually a prelude to a final fight for somebody if not them. Instead, John does leg day and says hi to fragmentary AI and Fred has a too-brief encounter with Veta. There's no fight to get out, the mission just kind of ends. It's well written for sure but it just...the pace is off. A patch job.

I can see the set up for the original ending, too, I think. Fred keeps talking about blowing stuff up, which doesn't really get a pay-off. The Ferrets watching and waiting is set up for them needing Blue Team to do something, and delivering a message seems like a lot had to go just right for that move to work the way it did, rather than the easier task of getting the message to the horde of UNSC personnel now on the planet. Also it doesn't matter? Atriox is back and...I mean everyone would know soon enough, he's not a shadowy sort of guy, Atriox.

Also, I was certain that the mining equipment would not make it to the excavation site after all this effort was put into protecting it and it was really useful for doing war.

How, exactly, Infinite's delay necessitated the existence of Divine Wind specifically I'm not clear about. Atriox is back from the Ark, okay, there are a lot of portals to the Ark, or he could have got through regardless of what Blue Team did (making the mission a su success and failure at the same time is on-brand for Halo novels). Nothing in Divine Wind comes up in Infinite- not any of the stuff with the Prophets, not anything to do with the Banished's humans, not the Spirit of Fire. I get needing a book to fill in the schedule gap for the franchise, and Denning being slotted for that, but have him write another Ferret and Blue Team book, no one would mind...Blue Team is barely mentioned in Infinite, and their specific status except alive and busy elsewhere isn't said.

I'm pretty sure there was meant to be one more Ferrets book after Retribution that did wrap up a lot of the plot points wrapped up in Divine Wind, but perhaps with more finality in a few cases.

The three Ferret books were all about facing off with Intrepid Eye and Castor...and the first two had a lot to do with Gao. Intrepid Eye got brought down of course, and Castor while alive is in a different spot. Veta should be the one to off Castor, or at least set him up, considering what he did to her team. Arlo Casille needs justice for his part in that and worse, too.

Of course Blue Team, and Fred specifically, is a highlight of the first two books, too. Fred is my favorite Spartan so I'm biased. Not having the Ferrets working with him again seems like a mistake, and not just because of Fred/Veta, but also because it gives him something distinctive to do. Otherwise he's just a guy on John's team, which is unfortunately what Halo 5 did to my boy.

The first two books also made use of Veta doing CSI stuff, not just spy stuff. It's such a cool bit of both books and gives her a really unique skillset in the Halo roster that makes for some entertaining reading. It is not utilized in Divine Wind.

Divine Wind introduced a lot of interesting things, don't get me wrong, mostly on the Covenant side. The Ferrets...well, poor Mark died horribly. The survivors are on the SoF in a situation where spying isn't going to count for much (the Banished are killing their human members pretty freely), so maybe Ash and Olivia will be back to combat ops leaving Veta to...?

On my list of projects now, I guess, is to write my shot at the original climax of Shadows of Reach, then maybe try writing the third Ferrets book set on Infinity- an underutilized setting, may she rest in peace (if she is dead? I like that ship...she was beaten and evacuated, so she's gone...right? Why is the fate of so many people and places in Infinite not clarified?! Where is Blue Team?!?!)

[doom-dreaming]

I'll probably make a more coherent and long-winded post about this as I keep compiling notes about the Gammas, but I think it's interesting how Mark (quietly) eclipses Ash as the "leader" (for what that's worth in a team that's pretty balanced anyway) over the course of his character lifespan.

[she-bear18]

Random Freta fanfic

Veta Lopis x Fred-104

Okay, first of all, ENGLISH ISNT MY FIRST LANGUAGE, I accept constructive criticism, but pls be kind :)

Secondly, this is my first time writing a Halo fanfiction, more specifically a Veta x Fred fanfic. There aren't enough of them out there, so I have to take the matter in my own hands !!

Thirdly, this is SHIT, no thoughts, no plot, warned you lol

MESSAGE 

Veta was still getting used to this new lifestyle. Missions back to back, little to no rest and endless paperwork. Sometimes, she longed for home back on Gao, her tiny appartment, her lovely neighbours, her remaining family...She wondered what happened to them, do they miss her ? Is her little cousin Arnie still hoping to become an investigator like her ? Does aunt Pattie still bake her famous pumpkin pie ? So many questions, no answers.  She shook her head refusing to dwell on the past, she had a report to write down, and Baby Dragon  wasn’t a very patient woman.  

She was seated in a room on a prowler (whose name she forgot as soon as her feet landed on the deck) that ONI kindly lent to her. It was small and dusty, its grey walls were tinted with some kind of whitish product that smelled like paint. There were only a desk and a chair in it, which was more than enough for Veta to write her report.  

Her ferrets were down the corridor organizing their gear and getting ready for their next assignement. A little smile crept on her lips at the thought of them. She grew pretty close to Ash and Olivia, bonding over some of their “non-classified” stories (which she found pretty terrifying considering their age). Mark was an another story. He was still very wary of her, and did’nt seem to accept her as a part of the team. Less than a few months ago, she suspected him to be a serial killer, so she understoood his reluctance towards her, but she hoped things would change for the sake of the team’s dynamic. 

She was chewing on the bottom of her pen, deep in thoughts, when her mind wandered on Blue Team. Several of her past missions involved both her Ferrets and Blue Team, it was always an honor to work alongside them.  

She continued to tap her report on her borrowed laptop when Fred’s face suddenly popped in her mind. She blushed, they grew pretty close during their short time together.    

She dared to say she missed him.   

This wasn’t an inappropriate thought...was it ? He was one of the only constant thing in her life at the moment, except for her Ferrets. They came from different worlds, and very opposite upbringings : she grew up on an insurrectionist planet who longed for its freedom, while Fred is the ultimate representation of the UNSC authority. Never in her life would she have dreamed of becoming friend with a UNSC thug. But there she was, missing him and his dry witted humor, and wondering if he was safe. 

She grabbed her commpad, oppened a private channel and wrote the following message : 

Dear Lieutenant, 

 I sincerely hope that you are having “fun” on your current classified adventure. On my part, the Ferrets are doing good. I was thinking about you lately, I dare to say I miss you.

I've got a lot to tell you, don’t go MIA until then.  

Take care, 

Inspector Lopis 

[crowcryptid]

Ok I have finished outcasts

Spoiler under the cut

I was wondering “what is the point of this book” because they’re doing all this to stop the guardians but we already know they’re gone so like who give a shit! ohhh it’s the funny dust. I see.

Mmm asbestos 2.0 for everyone not wearing a helmet/filter but it’s ok it’s funny dust you’re fine it’s good for you put it in your mouth now

But then oh The Not Flood totally Not the Flood at the end. Hmm.. wow.. was that.. idk… hrm.. surely not more funny dust. Is it a different dust or is it the same one though. That’s the question.

At the very end of the book I mean

I don’t think the voices on the planet were meant to be the flood. But that’s just me.

The dust on the planet obviously isn’t spores (maybe not YET..) cause everyone stuck there was fine for all those years. I mean the elites inside got special treatment and weren’t “inhaling it” (is being covered any better??) but if it were spores then surely the people outside would have gotten at least some of it in them. Not enough for the funny armor it seems. But it could just be waiting till the right moment. Perhaps for someone to take some samples with them OWO (sorry)

Unless the planet’s dust is not related and the end is talking about a different dust? Dust, powder, spores, dirt, whatever, don’t inhale that. Bad.

Also didn’t that elite lick it. Fun dip. Or did he just do that so it stuck to his finger I don’t remember. (Sowwy I’m listening at work and can’t pay 100% attention)

Since I have an audiobook I can’t just go back and find a specific part.

Guys this is why you have to clean your room. You can’t let the dirt sit there, it will start talking.

Don’t you see this is why the new armor core is a hazmat suit. ☣️ Funny dust incident ⚠️

[halopedia]

Does the Spirit of Fire know that Atriox is on Zeta Halo?

As of right now, we do not know if the Spirit of Fire crew even know why Atriox left the Ark. Their intel would be whatever the Ferrets brought them, and they didn't at the time know.

To add: As Atriox wasn't as forthcoming with his plans, only saying what was needed. This means there are likely very few Banished members who know the full extent of them also. We see this clearly with many Banished during the events of Halo: Divine Wind, where many had no idea what was going on.

TLDR: Right now, no. But that could change pending future releases/media.

[eschatonjudge]

ooh my goodness i only have 4 more halo novels to read

[dougielombax]

I do find it oddly cathartic how the last true remnant of the original Covenant is nothing more than a few hundred clueless brutes, Kig-Yar and a prelate living out of an abandoned forerunner starship.

[halobirthdays]

Happy birthday to Warlord Pavium!

Today is his -502nd birthday!

Pavium "the Unbreakable" joined the Banished with his younger brother, Voridus, after the fall of the Covenant. He was sent on a salvage mission to the Flood-infested High Charity with Voridus by Atriox. The two were met by resistance from the Flood and discovered and destroyed a proto-Gravemind that formed in High Charity's remains.

Pavuim was also present for the Battle of Epsilon Clarion, a conflict on the Ark between the Keepers of the One Freedom, the UNSC, the Banished, and Dhas Bhasvod's Covenant loyalists. Pavium assisted Banished forces in stopping Bhasvod and the Keepers from activating the Halo rings from the Ark.

In canon (~2560), he is turning 34!

[monitorchakas]

Please clap reblog the polls to spread the outreach numbers

[argentumcor]

Read Divine Wind finally.

So this...

...there was a remote possibility that the note she had slipped to Fred would convince what remained of the UNSC that a rescue mission was in the works...

...is what I think Blue Team is up to during Halo Infinite. There aren't really any other hooks being as the only other thing for them to be doing is hunting down Atriox, who is clearly for numerous reasons Chief's specific problem.

Well, there's whatever is going on during Empty Throne, we don't even know who is in that, but there's a lot of suspicion it's Locke. They mention new heroes which I assume is going to be the colonists at the planet they're going to, maybe some Spartan-IVs. It could be Blue Team but there's not enough to go on, plus I just don't see the Infinity sending Blue Team after AI stuff after Halo 5, but who knows.

It seems to me the Spirit has decided Anders' mission was a failure. Unless she links up with Rion Forge- there are a lot of reasons for that to happen, a lot of potential- I'm not sure she'll be seen until Halo Wars 3, if that ever happens. Anders spending the intervening time doing research and trading barbs with a Created AI would be about right. It would be an interesting story to look into the other Created after Cortana and also what that looks like at a low level. I am inclined to think Anders will show back up in the Spirit's storyline, but I'm not entirely sure. It would be nice to have a scientist who isn't Halsey in the Milky Way.

Assuming 343 decides to stick with its existing storylines anyway. One never knows. I suppose it could just wither away into nothing given the state of the industry.