Halo: The Smoldering of Coral by Sameer Azimi azimisameer8888@gmail.com All rights belong to Microsoft and 343 In black screen, the title of the game is displayed. The title fades out and this date appears: September 21, 2552. Ext. Coral city outskirts - Day Local police and marines fight rebels to gain control. This is all a cutscene. Everything should be shot in Note first person. CUT TO: The camera cuts to muffled gun shots. CORPORAL LEE WATCH THE SNIPERS OVERHEAD! TAKE OUT THESE REBELS! The player/camera dashes from cover to cover making forward progress. A rocket zooms passed the camera, and explodes a nearby offscreen car. PRIVATE KARINA THERE'S MORE OF 'EM TO THE RIGHT. Rebel soldiers emerge from an alley to the right of the camera, and start shooting at the marines. RANDOM MARINE (Screaming) AHHHH! I'M HIT! The random marine goes down behind his cover, grimacing from his wound. Private James dashes behind you. The camera turns to see who it is, as he is approaching. RANDOM MARINE (Screaming) MEDIC! PRIVATE JAMES (Panting) I CAN'T GET TO HIM! THERE'S TOO MUCH HEAT! We notice a group of ODSTs past James, making their way into the battle field. DEREK CORMIER "D" GET MOVING PRIVATE! HE'S NOT GONNA SAVE HIMSELF! The team of ODSTs advance further, and take new positions behind cover. They provide counter-fire. Private James quickly darts to the downed marine's position, and slides next to him. 2. DEREK CORMIER "D" BASHER! COVER HIM! THE REST OF YOU MOVE UP! TWITCH! WATCH THE FLANK! Twitch moves to the right alleyway. The others proceed to the next cover location. We push forward with Private Karina to the left of us, and the ODST's in front. Everyone advances to a building larger than the others around it. DEREK CORMIER "D" BOYS! STACK UP! Buzz and Sparkplug position themselves on the sides of the entry way. D stands at the center, aiming down his sights. D kicks in the door then proceeds to enter. Buzz and Sparkplug follow right after him. They begin to dispatch enemy targets within. A vehicle with a light turret on its back swerves into our view. It starts firing at us. Private Karina shoots at the turret enemy, but gets hit by a rebel on the roof. While the turret had its attention diverted to Karina, we shoot at the roof soldiers. Then the turret focuses its attention back to us. Twitch enters the alleyway, and emerges from the other side. She is flanking the vehicle, and kills the turret enemy. Just as we return our attention to the roof, a grenade errupts nearby, sending us flying backward. CUT TO: The camera cuts to black. A couple seconds pass in black screen. FADE IN: We are getting dragged back to safety all while hearing more muffled gunfire. DEREK CORMIER "D" FALL BACK! FALL BACK! GET THE WOUNDED! DEREK CORMIER "D" (Over the radio) CORPORAL LEE! RADIO A PELICAN WITH YOUR LOCATION! WE NEED AN EVAC! WE'RE COMING TO YOU! 3. CORPORAL LEE (Over the radio) ROGER! ON IT! FADE TO BLACK FADE IN: We wake up in a stretcher being pushed into the pelican. We watch as everyone else boards in. CUT TO: INT. PELICAN - SPACE We cut to another pelican, while the warning sirens go off. PILOT Hang on to something boys! We are nearing a minor asteroid belt. We might take some licks. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 (Looking at Oscar) Just another day in the office, right? The Spartans brace themselves as the pelican gets hit by some debris. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 Do you even know where they're shipping us to Oscar? OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 A planet called Coral. They did not tell me much. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 Its very "UNSC" of them to keep dropping us from location to location; wanting us to fix their screw ups. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 Did it ever occur to them that maybe I wanted to be dropped off at a calm beach with some palm trees, or something? OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 C'mon Joseph. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 You're right. Who am I kidding? I was always a mountain guy anyway. 4. The pelican gets hit with its second wave of debris. The Spartans once again brace themselves. Oscar makes his way to the cockpit. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 What does our LZ look like? PILOT We're heading the UNSC frigate "Horizon" sir. Commander Noor Mecia is expecting you two very soon. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 (Teasing) Soon enough to risk going through an asteroid belt, huh? CUT TO: INT. PELICAN - CONT. Still a cutscene but no longer in first person. Note PRIVATE JAMES (Confused) I don't understand. They were ready for us. I don't get it. It's like someone slipped them our plan. CORPORAL LEE Cut it right there James. We got crew worrying about whether they'll still have limbs or not. CORPORAL LEE They don't need your jabber on top of that. PRIVATE JAMES Yessir. CORPORAL LEE Plus, they were ready because we were in their turf, not because some S.O.B. leaked information. Corporal Lee walks over to D, making sure to grab onto any handles he could get a hold of in order to stabalize himself through the turbulant flight. CORPORAL LEE Did you get everyone out? 5. DEREK CORMIER "D" (Disappointedly) Everyone we could. We didn't have enough hands, so we had to prioritize. PILOT (Over the intercom) We're nearing the Horizon. Two minutes out. Be sure to be seated as we approach, unless you want to see your lunch again. CUT TO: INT. HORIZON HANGAR BAY - SPACE The camera is facing large metal doors that look to be very dense. After a couple seconds, an announcer begins to speak over the intercom. HANGAR BAY AI CONTROLLER (Robotic) Attention crew. There are two vessels preparing to dock. The large door then begins to open, revealing a shimmering force field behind it to keep the frigate pressurized. We see the two pelicans enter into view, from inside the frigate hangar bay. The pelicans land side by side and begin to open their rear doors. The frigate crew rush to help offload the injured soldiers. HORIZON MEDICAL CREW LEAD Get these three to the ICU now! The medical team rushes Karina's,the random soldier's, and the initial player character's stretcher to the ICU. HORIZON MEDICAL CREW LEAD Check their vitals! Gimme anyone who hasn't flatlined! The camera pans to the ODST team as they get off their pelican. They make their way to the section of the hangar that's designated for rest/"decompression". The helljumpers start taking off their helmets, and unloading their personal gear. FADI HAWAN "SPARKPLUG" (Looking down at his chest plate) Dammit. Looks like I got tagged pretty bad. Fadi unhooks his chest plate and holds it out. 6. FADI HAWAN "SPARKPLUG" You think its salvageable? MESAH (MEZAH) WALLER "BUZZ" If you're trying to use it as a party costume? Sure. MESAH (MEZAH) WALLER "BUZZ" If you're trying to stop bullets with it? Not so much. AMY PERISH "TWITCH" (Looking towards Basher) Woooo! Looks like you're deep cleaning my stuff this time! FADI HAWAN "SPARKPLUG" (Confused) Wha.. FADI HAWAN "SPARKPLUG" You two bet on whether I'd get shot or not? AMARI COLE "BASHER" (Laughing) No. AMARI COLE "BASHER" We bet on whether you'd damage another piece of your equipment. AMARI COLE "BASHER" Someway or another, you're always coming back from missions with less gear than when you first left. FADI HAWAN "SPARKPLUG" Well...At least I didn't piss myself! Basher looks down at his crotch and notices a wet substance. AMARI COLE "BASHER" AHHHHHH! AMARI COLE "BASHER" Ha. Ha. Looks like my temperature regulator got punctured. It's leaking fluids. FADI HAWAN "SPARKPLUG" Suuuurreee. We'll go with that. AMY PERISH "TWITCH" You want me to take a look at it? I can try to seal the hole and rewire it. 7. AMY PERISH "TWITCH" I think I have some of the necessary components. AMARI COLE "BASHER" Nah. Save your components for another malfunction. AMARI COLE "BASHER" Besides, I was due for some new gear. DEREK CORMIER "D" How'd you're armor hold up, Buzz? MESAH (MEZAH) WALLER "BUZZ" (Teasingly) Better than Basher or Sparkplugs'. MESAH (MEZAH) WALLER "BUZZ" I got some new scratches, but nothing it wasn't designed for. MESAH (MEZAH) WALLER "BUZZ" Its been a few weeks since we've been in a good fight. Is that the most solid skirmish you've been in D? DEREK CORMIER "D" As of recent? Sure. But I was part of some of the big rebel battles that turned the tide. DEREK CORMIER "D" Hell, I even got down with Spartans. MESAH (MEZAH) WALLER "BUZZ" (In awe) You trained with Spartans? You some sorta failed super killing machine we don't know about? DEREK CORMIER "D" (Chuckles a bit) I wish. They threw me and other well adorned soldiers against them. We were THEIR training. DEREK CORMIER "D" This is when they were fairly young and still getting used to their new abilities. ONI wanted to test their new toys. 8. FADI HAWAN "SPARKPLUG" So, did you whoop some ass? They must have been like 13 or 14--right? DEREK CORMIER "D" Not even close. DEREK CORMIER "D" They were around that age, but by the time we saw them, they were already as big as us. They were bred to be weapons. I was one of the lucky ones who came out of those trainings alive. Corporal Lee and private James walk over to Derek and the rest of his crew. CORPORAL LEE Hey Derek. I just wanted to thank you and your team for getting as many of my squad as y'all did. CORPORAL LEE I don't know if most of the heavily wounded will make it, but at least their families will have a body to mourn. CUT TO: INT. PELICAN - SPACE The camera goes into first person as the Spartans near the Horizon. PILOT Alright, we are here. Setting down in 30 seconds. The rear pelican door opens as the aircraft nears the hanger. We look out into the vast beautiful void filled with trillions of stars and colorful gas clouds. CUT TO: INT. HORIZON HANGAR BAY - SPACE We are back in the viewpoint of the ODST squad who were joined by Corporal Lee and Private James. Mid-conversation, the frigate AI speaks over them. HANGAR BAY AI CONTROLLER (Robotic) Attention crew. There is one vessel preparing to dock. The Spartans' pelican lands, and the passengers exit. 9. The group of helljumpers and marines briefly stop their conversations to see who walks out of the pelican. To their suprise, the two Spartans make their way out. DEREK CORMIER "D" Speak of the devil. PRIVATE JAMES Woah. Spartans. Never seen them in person before. AMY PERISH "TWITCH" Geez, I knew they'd be tall but, They're much...thicker than I thought. DEREK CORMIER "D" They've been on record to weigh around 1,000 pounds sometimes. FADI HAWAN "SPARKPLUG" Ya but thats mostly armor weight...right? We begin our first playable portion. A Horizon crew member runs toward us (Oscar). HORIZON CREW MEMBER We've been expecting your arrival. The commander is this way. Follow me. Oscar and Joseph walk through the Horizon's many corridors and rooms to get to the Command Bay. The Command Bay is near the front of the frigate. Its room is tiered, with the top section full of staff monitoring their respective duties. The bottom is made up of glass that extends to the front facing wall, so that everyone can see outward. At the center sits a holographic table flanked by computer consols at the wall. Two assistants operate the consols on each side of the table. HORIZON CREW MEMBER Here we are. The commander is waiting for you two in there. INT. COMMAND CENTER - SPACE Oscar and Joseph enter the room, and everyone turns their attention to them in awe. The commander awaits them near the center hologram table. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA Captain Oscar, first lietenant Joseph, welcome to the "Horizon". COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA My name is- 10. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 Commander Noor Mercia. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA (Waits a second) Precisely. It's good to have you two on board. Oscar and Joseph walk down and meet the Commander at the hologram table. The camera pans to an over head shot looking down at the table, the Spartans, the Commander, and the planet Coral in the background. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA We've been having insurrection problems the last couple days. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 I thought we wiped out the insurrectionists? COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA We did, for the most part. When we won the war, we managed to take out a large number of their forces, but stragglers made their way into the shadows of the outer colonies. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA Looks like we poked at a hive much bigger than we anticipated. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA We had an operation today that was botched. Our intel was off. There were too many rebels for the amount of soldiers we sent in. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 It sounds like you have a serious problem on your hands, but I saw a team of seasoned Orbital Drop Shock Troopers along side other numerous soldiers that can get the job done. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 We would be better utilized on more trying tasks, wouldn't you say? OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 Seems a little trivial to usher Spartans to fight a rogue rebel group. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA I agree. That's why I requested your help. 11. Commander Noor gives a nod to one of the assistants on the upper deck, and the hologram table comes to life. It aides the Commander in her debrief. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA A couple days ago, our infrared systems picked up unkown heat signatures 50 miles out from Coral City. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 Who do you think it is? A large insurgent group preparing to take over Coral? COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA No. It's the Covenant. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA Their location has made it difficult for us to make out their numbers, and force, but we were able to capture these images. A satelite picture of grunts, and jackals appear on the table. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA They haven't attacked anyone and their activity seems to be concentrated around the cliffside. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA We need you two to go do some reconing and find out what their up to. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA We think their appearance might be related to this metal structure ONI unearthed near Coral City. At first we figured it was part of the planet's rock formation, but the more we dug, the more engravings emerged. An image of a mostly buried forerunner sructure gets displayed on the table. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 We will get it done. Oscar and Joseph begin to turn and walk out, eager to begin their mission, but get interrupted by the Commander. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA Gentlemen. No one outside of this room can know about this. 12. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA This is too close to Earth. If any word gets out about the Covenant on Coral, more panic will ensue. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA Cameras and reporters will want to know why there are two Spartans on their planet. THAT is why you need to help with our rebel problem. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA Ideally, we find out what the Covenant are doing, and stop them without a peep reaching the civilians. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 Understood. COMMANDER NOOR MERCIA (Gesturing toward the private) Private will give you two further instructions on your way to the Hangar Bay. Joseph nods, and the the two Spartans head out of the Command Center. Gameplay: Note Players walk through an empty corridor to get to an elevator that will bring them back up to the second floor. RANDOM MARINE So, as the Commander said, your task will be to help the fireteam take care of the insurrection problem. RANDOM MARINE You two will need to dispatch all remaining insurrection members, or locate crucial material that will aid in their extinction. RANDOM MARINE Once that's done, a set of pelicans will exrtact you and your team. They will fly north, and drop you two off with a warthog. From there you need to drive up, and make your way to the coordinates. RANDOM MARINE When you're ready, you can send us your signal and we'll pick you up. (MORE) 13. RANDOM MARINE (cont'd) Fireteam Havoc has already been gathered in the hangar, and are awaiting your orders. They reach the elevator, and the Spartans get in. RANDOM MARINE Good luck. The elevator doors shut. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 You are never this quiet. What is it? JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 It's just odd. All of it. Why is the Covenant this close to Earth, yet they show no interest in us? Why haven't they attacked anyone? Why are they being covert? OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 It is the Covenant we are talking about. All of their behavior is uncommon. Still, it's not in their blood thristy nature to ignore humanity. We need to be extra vigilant when we get out there. The Spartans exit the elevator. They make their way through the second floor of the frigate to get to the Hangar Bay elevator. Cutscene: Note OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 So, you're giving the debrief speech to the fireteam, right? JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 Oh, now you got jokes? OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 Rock, paper, scissor you for it? JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 You give me your rank, and I'll start doing all the barking that you want me to. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 We all have to take responsibility one day. Oscar nudges Joseph with his arm. CUT TO: 14. INT. HORIZON HANGAR BAY - SPACE The camera faces the elevator doors awaiting the Spartans to emerge. The Spartans walk out, and the camera cuts to the fireteam already gathered and getting ready to depart on their mission. DEREK CORMIER "D" (Noticing the Spartans) Hey, eyes up y'all. The fireteam halts what they're doing, and begin gathering in a half circle. They bring their attention to the Spartans approaching them. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 Greetings everyone. I do not know how much you've already been told, so let me get you all caught up. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 I'm Captain Oscar. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 (Pointing to Josehp) This is First Lietenant Joseph. We have already been briefed on your skirmish with the insurrectionists. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 I'm sorry for the ones you have lost because of it. And I know it is tough to ask you to get back out there so soon. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 But our objective is clear-either eliminate the rest of the rebels or find key intel leading to their demise. MESAH (MEZAH) WALLER "BUZZ" Sounds all good and well, but why send Spartans to deal with a rogue rebel group? Oscar and Joseph look at each other for a couple seconds as silence falls the group. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 We believe this is one of the last insurrectionist strongholds. It's better to attack when they're on their heels, and not expecting another strike. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 Exactly. 15. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 Plus, we can't afford more casualties this time. Mesah nods. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 We have a couple more minutes before we depart. Make your last minute adjustments and be ready to take off. The fireteam disperses to gather their final belongings. Oscar and Joseph walk to the weapon rack to pick up their equipment. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 The teams already questioning our presence here. You don't think the veil will fall apart? OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 No. Hopefully our little speech quenched their curiousity. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 Or at least put them at ease. The helljumpers might be wary, but they are good soldiers. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 They know to put duty over personal gripes. Oscar and Joseph make their way back to the pelican, as the rest of the fireteam are nearly finished boarding. The same hangar bay sirens go off in the background, signaling their departure. THE CAMERA IS IN BETWEEN THE SEATING SIDES OF THE PELICAN DEREK CORMIER "D" (Facing the Spartans) We didn't get a chance to introduce ourselves. I'm Derek, team leader of Havoc. The pelican lifts off the ground, and begins its exit into space. DEREK CORMIER "D" (Gesturing to Twitch) This is Twitch. Our equipment tech. DEREK CORMIER "D" We also have... Derek's voice gets droned out by the silence of space. We watch the pelican head toward Coral from Horizon. 16. FADE TO BLACK CUT TO: EXT. CORAL CITY OUTSKIRTS - DAY We view the pelican from outside. The pilot looks determined, and there is a beautiful backdrop of the atmoshphere and space behind them. The camera cuts back inside the pelican, which has its hangar door open. From inside, we see Coral City as we fly by. The powerplants, the highrises, then the wall all pass by. AMY PERISH "TWITCH" Walls got your attention huh? JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 Never seen anything like it before. DEREK CORMIER "D" Coral was initially constructed as a mining city. Things picked up fast, so people looking for work followed. FADI HAWAN "SPARKPLUG" Only problem was where they built the damn thing! DEREK CORMIER "D" Being near the water is picturesque, but this planet is susceptible to record breaking tsunamis. AMY PERISH "TWITCH" They had to build the wall to stand a chance. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 Looks like they did a hell of a job. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 And yet, there are still dwellings outside the wall? FADI HAWAN "SPARKPLUG" Not everyone coming here for work finds it. Some were desperate, some unqualified, others just unlucky. One way or another, they found themselves unable to contribute to society, so they fend for themsevles out here. 17. DEREK CORMIER "D" Well. We are just about where we need to be. Let's get to it everyone! The camera is at ground level, looking up at the pelican land. The pelican begins its descent to their landing zone. Not much is heard besides the pelican's jets growing louder as they approach. Gameplay: Note Our rifles come up just as we touch down. Everyone gets off the pelicans. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 Just a reminder everyone-We need intel on the whereabouts of the rebels. Keep it subtle. DEREK CORMIER "D" There are a lot of options, so pick a building and start asking around. AMARI COLE "BASHER" Radio if you get into any bar fights. The fireteam diverges into smaller teams, and begin looking for citizens to start questioning. Joseph and Oscar's objective is pinged by a marker on the HUD. They need to flank the rest of the team and check a building off to the side. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 So, I've been thinking. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 Uh oh. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 Hear me out. The Covenant haven't attacked, and they're doing work near the city. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 I think they've been covertly abducting civilians, and doing tests on them. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 What, like probing them? 18. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 Sure, sure. But not like the stories say. Not through the back door. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 Actually, maybe thats their kink. Who knows. Anyway, they could be taking humans, and studying our biological make-up. Trying to find a bioweapon, you know. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 Could be, but the commander did not mention any cases of missing people. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 Look around you. It's like the helljumpers said, these people are down and out. No one's gonna miss them. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 Hm. We will have to ask the locals. Looks like this place is empty. In the background, there is muffled commotion. JOSEPH-SPARTAN 122 (Looking at Oscar) Looks like it's your time to shine. FADE TO BLACK EXT. CORAL CITY OUTSKIRTS - CONT. Cutscene: Note AMARI COLE "BASHER" (Banging on a door) Hello! We're looking for rebels! You know, the people walking around with smiles and spreading joy! MESAH (MEZAH) WALLER "BUZZ" Real subtle, huh. AMARI COLE "BASHER" Who are we kidding? These people like us as much as they do the rebels. Especially after yesterday. The same commotion heard last time occurrs behind them, but louder. Amari and Mesah turn their backs to see Twitch, D, and Sparkplug arguing with locals. 19. CIVILIAN WOMAN (Peeking from behind her door) Listen I can't help you! AMY PERISH "TWITCH" Please miss. All we need is information. Anything. CIVILIAN WOMAN (Speaking loudly to exaggerate incase anyone is listening) I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY! She tries closing the door, but Sparkplug puts his hand on it. CIVILIAN WOMAN (Angry) Get your filthy hands off! Unlike you, I don't get to leave this place. The camera takes the civilian woman's point of view. We see Oscar and Joseph approaching them through the ODSTs' shoulders. The camera cuts back to view the woman's face. CIVILIAN WOMAN (Shocked) Spartans? OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 Everything alright? DEREK CORMIER "D" We were having a chat. She hasn't denied knowing about the rebels, but she's insisted on us leaving. OSCAR-SPARTAN 129 Ma'am, we are here to help. If you know were the rebels are, you need to tell us. CIVILIAN WOMAN (Gesturing to come in) Come inside. DEREK CORMIER "D" Buzz, Basher, stay here and keep an eye out. Everyone makes there way into her building, and see some kids hiding behind thin metal parting.