Line #92 Fanfic/EnemyOfMyEnemy


1	->''"Go, passer-by, and tell the universe\
2	That we perished in the cause,\
3	Faithful to our orders."''
4
5	''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4305125/1/ The Enemy of My Enemy]]'' is a ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' fanfiction written by Katsuhiro.
6
7	It is late November 2552, and the [[EnemyCivilWar Covenant Civil War]] is in full swing. But the people of the [[SingleBiomePlanet desert world]] Crassus don't know that. An out-of-the-way, strategically-unimportant UNSC colony, the human settlers eke out a living, mostly clustered around the planet's only real city, Horizon. Consisting of a few million civilians and a few thousand marines, they try to eke out a living in the harsh climate, living in relative peace. But all that changes...
8
9	The Sangheili/Elite battlecruiser ''Pride of Sanghelios'' is shot down over Crassus by the Jiralhanae/Brute assault carrier ''Implacable Duty''. The Elite ship crashes on Crassus, and with Horizon having no functional ships the human & Elite factions are stranded with no way to call for help, while the Assault Carrier, led by High-Chieftain Torikus, settles in to start an attempt to wipe them off the map. The Elite forces, led by Shipmaster Vtan Arume, must forge an at-first uneasy alliance (well, uneasy on the humans' side; the Elites have no problem with it) with the humans of Crassus, and the two forces must work together to save their city and themselves from utter annihilation.
10
11	This fic is a rare golden example of how to do a truly superb story. All characters are well-rounded and [[CharacterDevelopment develop]] believably over the course of the story, the tale is filled with suspense, well-done battle scenes, and HopeSpot after HopeSpot, with neither side showing any long-lasting advantage over the other. Spelling errors are also rare (though it has a lot of British-English spelling). This is definitely a must-read for Halo fans.
12
13	The author's description of the story as found on his page: "The first in a series of inter-connected events, this account sets out the events on the remote Outer Colony Crassus. While ultimately deemed inconsequential in the selective eyes of history, to the combatants involved it was anything but. Indeed, the Crassus campaign was significant for a number of precedents, most notably the willingness of Sangheili ground forces to allign themselves with UNSC personnel. Chaotic, bloody and protracted, the battle itself dragged on for some seven days prior to grinding to a crushing, unexpected halt. Even by the bloody standards of the First Covenant-Human war, the Siege of Horizon remains a well documented conflict, notable for its savagery, even to this very day."
14
15	Now has a sequel of sorts (though it only features cameos from ''Enemy of my Enemy'' characters): ''Fanfic/HaloChimeraRising''.
16
17	----
18	!!'''Examples'''
19	%%* AcePilot: Zuka, Perry, Santos.
20	* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: [[spoiler:at the end]].
21	* AlienArtsAreAppreciated: The Elites compliment Sarah on her artistic skills, and comment that artists are revered in their culture.
22	%%* AnyoneCanDie
23	* ArmCannon: The Brute Ripper, basically two Spikers (minus the blades) mounted on the forearm, with a palm-squeeze trigger.
24	%%* BadassBiker: The ''Jiral'han'' Brute siege-breakers.
25	* BadassNormal: The [=ODSTs=] are frightfully effective despite being mere humans compared to the superhumanly-tough Brutes.
26	* BadassCreed: Arume & Torikus each give their own when squaring off toward the end.
27	-->-- "High-Chieftain Torikus, Shipmaster of the ''Implacable Duty'', Lord of all Covenant forces on the world, Faithful Servant of the Hierarchs, blessed be."
28	-->-- "I am Vtan 'Arume, of the Clan 'Arume, Shipmaster of the ''Pride of Sanghelios'', and I have come to end this conflict, through victory or death."
29	* BattleInTheRain / EmpathicEnvironment: As the story nears its climax, Horizon experiences a rainstorm for the first time in over a decade. Helps the UNSC/Separatists in more ways than one; not only does it help them refill their water stores, it also helps [[spoiler:put out the enormous fire that felled the second Scarab.]]
30	* {{BFG}} - Several, including [[spoiler:the repurposed gun from the grounded UNSC Frigate ''Anchises'', and the Super-Scarab's ''[[MoreDakka three]]'' main guns]].
31	* BerserkButton: The Hunters ''do not react well'' when they learn the Brutes are targeting the children.
32	%%* BigBad: Brute High-Chieftain Torikus.
33	%%* BigGood: Two of them: Administrator Jennings and Shipmaster Arume.
34	* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:The Hunter pair [[DynamicEntry busting in]] to slaughter a pack of Brutes that had stealthed their way into where the human children were hiding]].
35	* [[spoiler:BittersweetEnding: The UNSC and Separatists win, but at an enormous cost.]]
36	* BlingOfWar: Torikus's helmet is very fancy.
37	* BloodierAndGorier: Unlike the games, the effects of weapons on both sides are described and shown in all their gruesome detail.
38	** In keeping with the novels, wherein Covenant plasma weapons routinely vaporise arms, legs, and ''entire bodies''.
39	%%* BoisterousBruiser: Zuka 'Ornon.
40	* CasualDangerDialogue: Characters mostly save talking for the all-too-brief lulls, but this shows up now and again. Shipmaster Vtan, alone with a jammed weapon, hears the enemy charging at his position and absently remarks, "Disconcerting."
41	* CharacterDevelopment: Everyone, even minor characters who are dead within three paragraphs, are given good characterization, and the main characters develop smoothly throughout the course of the story, especially Flight Officer David Perry's trek from a pilot with no combat experience to speak of and more than a hint of cowardice, to an experienced soldier as his time on Crassus rolls on.
42	* ChildrenAreInnocent: Little Sarah Jennings, who wins the hearts of the Separatist Grunts and a Hunter pair.
43	* ClickHello: [[spoiler: NotQuiteDead Ferikus does this. He's promptly shot by the also NotQuiteDead Murphy, who scolds him for not shooting first.]]
44	* [[spoiler:[[ClifftopCaterwauling Scarab-Top Caterwauling]]: Vtan lets out a triumphant roar after slaying Torikus]].
45	%%* ColdSniper: The Kig-Yar Yik, for the Brutes and the Sangheili Zerat Omdolo.
46	* CombatBreakdown: As the siege reaches its end, both sides find themselves short on ammo and falling back on improvised weapons. Comparisons are made to ''medieval'' tactics.
47	* DeathByLookingUp: [[spoiler:Yik looks up in time to see Zerat about to drop a boulder on him.]]
48	* DefiantToTheEnd: Perry faces this early on, when Traeltarus threatens to use Perry's bones to pick his teeth. Subverted, because that's when [[BigDamnHeroes Vtan and company show up.]]
49	-->'''Perry''': [[RegretEatingMe Well then I hope I give you indigestion. Prick.]]
50	* DirtyCoward: [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Director Cauldwell]].
51	* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Murphy has two: escaping the firestorm used to kill a Scarab, and saving Perry from a Brute onboard the Super-Scarab after seemingly being shot down]]
52	* DistantFinale / WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Among other tidbits, it reveals that [[spoiler:Sarah Jennings was the author of ''The Crassus Campaign - A History'', which the fanfic was based on.]]
53	* DyingMomentOfAwesome: Several. [[spoiler: Rukth and his forces all dying during their YouShallNotPass, Zuka's HeroicSacrifice via RammingAlwaysWorks, and perhaps most memorably; the friendly Grunts ''all'' get one, when they rush the Brutes in a TakingYouWithMe move once their methane runs out.]]
54	* DynamicEntry / SurprisinglySuddenDeath: [[spoiler:The two Hunters defuse a hostage situation by bursting through a wall and taking out the offenders.]]
55	* EnemyCivilWar: why the Elites and the Brutes aren't on the same side. Also, some Brutes conspire against other Brutes.
56	%%* EnemyMine: Obviously.
57	* EyeScream: One of the Elites has his eye ''burst open'' during the initial crash. Also, when a Warthog is under attack, and the windscreen gets shot in, one of the marines gets a facefull and eyefull of shrapnel. His frantic clawing at the wreck of his eyes only serves to drive the glass deeper in.
58	** [[spoiler:Zerat]] also gets an eye shot out.
59	%%* FireForgedFriends: On a grand scale, between the Humans and the Elite-led forces.
60	* FluffyTamer: Little Sarah, who befriends a Hunter pair and doesn't find them scary in the least.
61	* GeniusBruiser: It's noted several times that Brutes aren't all DumbMuscle.
62	* GoombaStomp: [[spoiler: Vtan saves Perry by crushing a Brute skull under his feet while dropping from a zip line.]]
63	* GroinAttack: There's a brief mention of someone taking a Spiker round to the groin.
64	* HandicappedBadass: Rukth lost his left eye in the initial ship crash. [[spoiler:Zerat later loses his against Yik.]]
65	* HeroicRROD: [[spoiler:During the entire battle, the commanding officer, Major Gregor Abelev, kept himself awake ''for the entire week'' by massively overdosing on combat stims. The result is that his body collapses and he spends most of the rest of his life bedridden after the war ends.]]
66	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Zuka Ornon, his Banshee heavily damaged and his body heavily wounded, says a fond farewell to his new friend Perry and [[TakingYouWithMe flies his banged-up craft directly into a hostile Scarab's exposed core]], saving the city]].
67	** How the [[spoiler:YouShallNotPass ultimately ends. As the story puts it: "And yet war is a fickle thing, and all too rarely does it show mercy. The Elites fought courageously, but heroism can only last for so long in the face of unstoppable brute force."]]
68	* HeroKiller: Yik, who manages to kill [[spoiler:Brambley]] devastating morale. [[spoiler:He also nearly kills Zerat. Pity for him it was only nearly.]]
69	* HiredGuns: The Jackal/Kig-Yar Yik, "Slayer of Men", as well as the rest of the Kig-Yar.
70	%%* HopelessWar: For the vast majority of the story.
71	* HopeSpot: Every time it looks like the humans & Elites are starting to get the upper hand, something happens to tip the balance back towards the Brutes' favor.
72	* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Little Sarah becoming a close friend to the Hunter pair, to the point where [[spoiler:they're willing to abandon their post to save her from Stealth Brutes]].
73	* HumanShield: Near the beginning, a Brute takes Sarah as one, infuriating the Elites ("Honorless cur! [[KickTheDog Hiding behind a youngling]]?!"); the Brute is promptly sniped by Zerat, and Sarah is unharmed.
74	* ImprobableAimingSkills : Zerat Omdolo is pretty much the Sangheili counterpart to Spartan-II Linda-058. His calling card is to shoot enemy snipers [[ScopeSnipe right through their optic-mounted scopes]]... from over a kilometer away.
75	** Also shown by Brambley during his scene with the ObstructiveBureaucrat.
76	* ImprobableInfantSurvival: Despite countless close calls, Sarah makes it out of the campaign unscathed, and gets the last line of dialogue.
77	-->'''Sarah:''' [[spoiler:That was some adventure, mom!]]
78	* InvisibilityCloak: The Elites make very good use of their active camo.
79	* IronicEcho: [[spoiler:"You should have finished what you started".]]
80	* ItHasBeenAnHonor: Last words of [[spoiler: Commander Song.]]
81	** Also spoken by [[spoiler:Zuka 'Ornon]] before his [[spoiler:kamikaze run.]]
82	** Also invoked by Rukth 'Kilkar before the climax of the war.
83	* {{Jerkass}}: ODST Specialist Smith is shown to be a minor one. Also a DeadpanSnarker.
84	* KillItWithFire: Improvised flamethrowers are used to great effect. [[spoiler:Later, the Humans kill a Scarab by luring it into a fuel refinery and then setting a few charges]].
85	* LargeAndInCharge: Torikus; a marine who sees him toward the end thinks that "If the Brute's society ensured that only the largest and strongest took power, then surely this monster was an emperor".
86	* LastStand: [[spoiler:When Rukth is overwhelmed and killed, he takes countless Brutes with him before finally going down]].
87	* MajorlyAwesome: Major Gregor Abelev.
88	* McNinja: The Spec Ops Elites, their Exiled[=/=]Outcast cousins, and the Infiltration Brutes.
89	* MoreDakka: The Sangheili outlander Marikos ''loves'' human chainguns.
90	* MythologyGag: "Combat devolved."
91	** This segment from Chapter 21 should sound familiar to anyone who's played around with Theater Mode.
92	---> ''As the adrenaline coursed through Rukth's system, the entire battle slowed to a crawl. It was as though the entire universe had been recorded, and then played back at half-speed.''
93	** One of the [=ODSTs=] in Chapter 25 is named Mendoza, after the unfortunate Pvt. Manuel Mendoza from ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved''.
94	** The phrase "Were it so easy". Used in Chapters 16 and 28, the Arbiter says it in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'''s [[{{Bookends}} beginning and end.]]
95	** A hologram of the Prophet of Truth is playing on the bridge of the ''Ubiquitous Triumph'' in "End Game", saying lines from ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}''.
96	** Being a story based on a Bungie game, there are numerous references to the number seven, i.e. the battle lasts seven days.
97	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Most Brute names qualify, but Malwrekus deserves specific mention.
98	* NighInvulnerable: The Super-Scarab takes a lot of punishment and keeps going.
99	* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: The reaction to [[spoiler: seeing the Scarab that gets immolated by the refinery... Moments before Murphy's Warthog emerges.]]
100	* NothingCanStopUsNow: Brute Chieftain Malwrekus feels this way as his Scarab punches its way through the city's defensive wall... [[spoiler:and gets blasted point-blank by artillery cannons]].
101	* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler: Murphy]]. ''Twice.''
102	* NonActionGuy: Perry, when he's not behind the controls of an aircraft.
103	* ObfuscatingStupidity: 2LT Joseph Brambley, first seeming to be Major Abelev's spineless YesMan, soon reveals that he's actually an experienced Badass and a superb leader.
104	* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Traxus Terraforming director Michael Cauldwell. Scared in compliance [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome AWESOMELY]] by 2LT Brambley.
105	* OddFriendship: Between Flight Officer Perry and Sangheili Helmsman Zuka 'Ornon.
106	* OffhandBackhand: Rukth barely notices [[spoiler:his killing of Jiral'ja Captain Relgar.]]
107	* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler:The UNSC and the Separatists win, but over half the colony and less than a dozen Elites survive. Horizon itself is no longer economically viable and is eventually abandoned, and with it Crassus itself seems to be written off. The only hint at life continuing there is an email in the semi-sequel ''Fanfic/HaloChimeraRising'', which talks about "an exciting new investment opportunity on some backwater colony called Crassus"... and WordOfGod eventually clarified that this was just a spam email, inspired by the old spam trick where the sender claims to be an exiled third world country nobleman who will reward the recipient for their generosity in the future if they send money now.]]
108	* PottyFailure / BringMyBrownPants - The above-mentioned Director Cauldwell pisses himself in fear after Brambley scares him into submission.
109	** He does it again [[spoiler:when a pack of Brutes finds him.]]
110	** Perry struggles with this throughout the story. He manages to hold it in.
111	* ThePowerOfFriendship: [[spoiler:According to Vtan, this is the reason why the Separatists and humanity has won instead of the Covenant.]]
112	* RammingAlwaysWorks: The opening space battle, where the Duty gets a face-full of the ''Sanghelios''' engines. Then then engines explode, ''inside the Brute ship.''
113	** [[spoiler:Zuka does this against a Brute controlled Scarab]]
114	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Two of them: Administrator Amanda Jennings and Shipmaster Vtan Arume. The latter was very quick to propose an alliance with the humans, and the former was (upon seeing that they'd saved her daughter) quite willing to accept.
115	* RedBaron: Rukth Kilkar becomes known to the Covenant Loyalists as "The Black Sangheili".
116	** The two Hunters become known by their human allies as "The Hammer and The Anvil"... in addition to little Sarah's nicknames for them: "[[FluffyTheTerrible Jib & Jubb]]".
117	** Yik "The Slayer of Men".
118	* RockBeatsLaser: [[spoiler:Literally; Zerat kills Yik by sneaking up behind him and crushing him with a huge rock]].
119	* RuleOfThree: There are three Scarabs attacking the city once the battle gets going in full force. One of them is basically a Super Scarab.
120	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler:Towards the end, Bralterakus abandons Torikus and his forces on Crassus, taking their ship with him]].
121	* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Bralterakus takes the Brute ship with him and becomes a dread warlord. The fate of Vtan and his Elites is never mentioned; "that's another tale entirely..."]]
122	* ShootTheMessenger / YouHaveFailedMe: Torikus has a bad habit of killing underlings who displease him or bring bad news.
123	* ShoutOut: The author has read more than a little of Literature/GauntsGhosts. In particular, Charlie Platoon's last stand, and Tactical Response 23.
124	** The whole thing reads like Necropolis, about the Siege of Vervunhive. But despite that, it deviates quite a bit: the walls are to prevent sand storms, the citizens are trained by the [=ODSTs=] instead of just plain fighting back, and there is a MAC cannon hardmounted inside the city. Dan Abnett never used jump pack equipped infiltrators, or bloodthirsty bikers, or an orbiting spaceship that could easily obliterate the city. But even with these variations, it is still very reminiscent of Necropolis and other Gaunts Ghosts novels. The Scarabs replacing the crab-walker-tank-things from Necropolis, Yik the Man-Slayer replacing the Sniper from Sabbat Martyr, Rukth mixing Mkoll and Mkvenner, and other things. One notable deviation is that there is no arrogant Nobles trying to take control (well, at least after [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Brambley convinced them otherwise...]] ) and no real enemy on the inside. The whole city is devoted to surviving. While this doesn't detract from the reading, it does kind of take out that extra edge.
125	** The following phrase should be familiar to anyone who's read The Guns of Tanith (Just replace Rukth with Mkvenner):
126	--> Rukth... Rukth was terrifying.
127	** [[spoiler:Rukth's]] LastStand and his statue at the North Gate is VERY reminiscent to a certain [[VerbalIrony Spartan]] [[Film/ThreeHundred King]]
128	*** The inscription at the base of the statue (the page quote) is a modified version of Simonides' epitaph for the Leonidas and his 300.
129	* ShroudedInMyth: Rukth becomes a legend to both sides as the Black Sangheili.
130	%%* TheSiege: Pretty much the entire story.
131	* SingleBiomePlanet: Crassus has been stated to be pretty much one big desert.
132	* SniperDuel: Between Yik and Zerat natrually. [[spoiler:Yik uses a decoy gun to get Zerat to reveal his location, and apparently kills him. Zerat survived, and promptly crushes Yik's head with a rock.]]
133	* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:Brute Chieftain Bralterakus.]]
134	* SuperPrototype: [[spoiler:The Brute Super-Scarab, armed with ''[[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill three]]'' [[MoreDakka main]] [[{{BFG}} guns]].]]
135	* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:When the allied Grunts run out of methane, some of them activate grenades and leap into the enemy numbers. Also, Zuka's sacrificial destruction of a Scarab]].
136	* ThereWasADoor: How the Hunters play the BigDamnHeroes while rescuing Sarah from Brute Infiltrators. Made even better in that [[spoiler: nobody ordered them to rescue this human girl- they decided to rescue her on their own.]]
137	* ToServeMan: It is implied several times that Brutes eat human captives.
138	** Heck, it's outright stated when Torikus goes about figuring out the logistics of [[spoiler:surviving on Crassus long enough for the Covenant to come and retrieve them after Bralterakus takes the ''Implacable Duty'' and leaves]]. He mentions in an offhand comment that they would use the humans as both slave labor and a food source, [[FridgeHorror so they've clearly done it before.]]
139	* TrainingThePeacefulVillagers: "Murphy's Militia."
140	* TranquilFury: [[spoiler:Vtan goes into this after Rukth is killed.]]
141	** Torikus goes into this after the first attack fails. ".... it betrayed his barely contained primal rage. His voice, however, was unusually calm, restrained even. This was Torikus at his most deadly: not as a mindless berserker, but as a calculating murderer."
142	* UrbanWarfare: It begins with a four day battle outside the city. When the Covenant Loyalists breach the city on the fifth day, Perry realizes that none of that prepared him for "the horrors of urban warfare".
143	%%* WarIsHell: This one should be rather clear by the end.
144	* WaveMotionGun: There are Scarabs; many Scarabs. [[spoiler:And the Super-Scarab, which has ''three''.]]
145	* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Asked (Why not just glass the colony from orbit?) and answered; pride and a lust for glory.
146	* YouShallNotPass: Rukth and a squad of Elites do this to numerically ''far'' superior Brutes. [[spoiler: It results in every Elite and every Brute dying]].
147	* ZergRush: At one point, a huge wave of Brutes tries to push through a wall of Elites wearing Jackal shields, in a scene akin to soccer hooligans rushing a fence. But in this case, the fense pushes back, holding strong, and the humans fire down on the Brutes, killing dozens. It's stated that the Brutes were so tightly packed and were trying so hard to push through, that many Brutes were dead on their feet because there wasn't room to fall over once they were killed.

Context Fanfic / EnemyOfMyEnemy