The Machine - A Gears Fan Fiction

[LocustTheron05]

Welcome! After almost after a year of role-playing, I finally decided to make my first full length fan-fic. Thank you for viewing my thread, and enjoy the story.

I should usually have a new chapter up every other two days. Im also working on biographies for my characters.

I would like feedback when possible.

Prologue
Chapter 1: Hotel Squad
Chapter 2:"The Queen's personal army."
Chapter 3: "Contact!"
Chapter 4: Man Down
Chapter 5: Cancelled
Chapter 6: Perched Above My Chamber Door

Character Profiles

NOTE: I am sometimes vague on appearences of characters, and it is one thing I am working on.

Private First Class James Haughter: Recently transferred from Baker to Hotel squad, James Haughter has proved himself worthy to be part of the COG Army's special forces. He is the main character in the story, and talks rarely. He is the squads scout, along with Sergeant Mar. His kit consists of a Lancer assault rifle, a gnasher shotgun, and a silenced snub pistol.

Sergeant Sean Mar: A stealthy, quiet man, Sergeant Mar usually keeps to himself, but always tells teammates about changes during a battle. He does not think of anyone on his squad as friends, but more as brothers. He is best friends with Captain halifax and takes control of the men that are issued to him. He is a very valuable soldier when it comes to stealth and reconnaissance missions. His kit consists of a COG combat knife, a Lancer assault rifle, and a silenced snub pistol.

Captain Halifax: A great leader, Captain Halifax has fought in hundreds of battles, including some from the Pendulum Wars. He has known Sergeant Mar for a majority of his life and prefers to fight side by side with him. He is usually always shouting orders during a firefight and always whispering them through the radio during a stealth mission. He is the squad’s leader, and knows a lot about Private Haughter's history, the Locust outpost he took single handedly, and what he found there. His kit consists of a COG combat knife, a Lancer assault rifle, a Longshot sniper rifle, and a Boltok pistol.

Private Second Class Tyrique Hurley: A large, muscular man, he makes the Locust run in fear. He is considerably larger than most Gears and he is Hotel squads demolitions expert. He has been best friends with Corporal Perry since they first met when they signed up for the COG. His kit contains a COG rocket launcher, a modified Locust Hammerburst-1, a few bolo grenades, and a boltok pistol.

Corporal John Perry: The squad’s marksman, Corporal Perry has seen many battles and has been well trained with every weapon. He usually uses his Longshot rifle though, because he is better trained with the sniper than any other weapon. He is a great shooter, and prefers to stick with Private Hurley on missions. Even though Perry’s and Hurley’s personalities are completely different from one another, they have been best friends since they joined the COG. His kit contains a Longshot sniper rifle, a silenced snub pistol, and a gnasher shotgun.

Spoilers Start

Technician Grade 3 Tyler Karsky's health report

Sergeant Sean Mar - Status: KIA - Health: KIA - Location: N/A

PFC James Haughter - Status: Alive - Health: Good - Location: Handsel, Tyran

Corporal John Perry - Status: Alive - Health: Good - Location: Handsel, Tyran

PSC Tyrique Hurley - Status: KIA - Health: KIA - Location: N/A

Lietenant Baker - Status: MIA - Health: NA - Location: NA

Joeseph Dunphy - Status: KIA - Health: KIA - Location: NA

Paul Duggan - Status: KIA - Health: KIA - Location: NA

Spoilers End

Prologue
James Haughter
Echo Squad
3:15 PM

“I shall remain vigilant and unyielding in my pursuit of the enemies of the Coalition. I will defend and maintain the order of life as it was proclaimed by the Allfathers of the Coalition in the Octus Canon. I will forsake the life I had before so I may perform my duty as long as I am needed. Steadfast, I shall hold my place in the machine and acknowledge my place in the Coaliton. I am a Gear.”
-Oath sworn by Gear recruits.

PFC James Haughter was now a piece of the machine. A Gear, locked in place, no choice in whether he wished to move forward or backwards. He was to do his part, and never question his superiors orders.

It was just about three in the afternoon when a small squad of Gears had arrived near a locust outpost. This had been Haughter’s first mission, and he didn’t have any combat experience. Lieutenant Baker removed his binoculars from his hip and looked across the small grassy field they were sitting in and saw the small shack. Locust were moving around, as if they were guarding something. Joeseph Dunphy, the squads sharpshooter, looked through his scope.

The lieutenant whispered to Joe “Officer, right there,” he said pointing at a large Theron scanning the field.

“Permission to fire, sir?” The squad’s explosives expert, Paul Duggan, asked. The lieutenant looked at him, then pulled him over next to him and handed Paul the binoculars.

“Those propane tanks there. How many do you count?”

“I count five, sir. Looks like theyre going to destroy that building.” Paul smiled.

The lieutenant nodded and began again.

“I don’t want you to hit any of those.” He said. Paul frowned, and handed the binoculars back to the lieutenant.

“James, Chris, I need you to get those propane tanks away from that building and neutralize all Locust surrounding. Dunphy and I will cover you with the snipers.” He said, looking back and nodding at the sniper who nodded back.

“Get moving.” The lieutenant said before unslinging his own sniper.

[Jonesybites]

Is this a prologue or a chapter?

[smurf plastic]

It's probably a prologue.
Seems good. I wonder what's in that building? Try to describe the situation more (environment, look of characters what building they're looking at).

[Jonesybites]

It's probably a prologue.
Seems good. I wonder what's in that building? Try to describe the situation more (environment, look of characters what building they're looking at).

Hence the reason I asked...it's pretty short.

[LocustTheron05]

Chapter 1- Hotel Squad

James Haughter

Hotel Squad

12:45 PM

14 years after E-day

Private first class Haughter readied his lancer for the upcoming battle. He had proven himself worthy, and he was placed in Hotel squad, one of the best in the COG army. Baker, Dunphy, and Duggan were nothing but memories to him now. Hotel squad was made up of a mix of people. First, Sean Mar.

Sergeant Mar was experienced in the ways of battle, he spoke very little, and he often preferred to wear a helmet. He was just 5 feet and 11 inches, and was one of the shortest men on the squad. He was very quick, and very quiet. No one knew his age, because no one ever asked, and he never told. From his voice, they guessed in his thirties. He usually used his combat knife to sneak behind locust and kill them. Next was Tyrique Hurley.

Private Hurley was the demolitions expert on the squad. He usually carried a few grenades, a rocket launcher, and a modified Hammerburst. He was 6 feet tall, and had a lot of muscle. He was only 23 years old. People did not expect him to get far in the military, because they thought he was too big, a bullet sponge. He had exposed himself to enemy fire many times but was never hit. Once.

Next was Corporal John Perry, the squad’s sharpshooter. He was about 6 feet and 2 inches tall, and was relatively thinner than the other Gears. He was very smart, and knew almost everything about the Locust. He was young, about 25, and usually stayed back while others charged into battle.

And last, was Captain Halifax. Captain Halifax was a man in his mid-thirties, and was the most experienced in the squad. He would never leave a comrade on the ground without helping them up, even if it meant exposing himself to enemy fire. He usually carried a sniper rifle and a lancer, like Lieutenant Baker. He was just about six feet and used stealth as much as Sergeant Mar. Him and Sergeant Mar were friends since they were born, and they knew each other very well.

The sound of the King Raven’s chopper blades crackled above James as he studied the map of the area he was dropping into. Handsel was a large city in Tyran, and it was also very large in business. Many people lived there, about 50 thousand, and now they were all gone. Their bodies decomposed into the ground, only living through the withering plants scattered across the ground. Sergeant Mar patted Haughter’s shoulder and passed him a few ammo clips. James took them, embarrassed that he didn’t check his ammo belt before he got into the helicopter.

The Captain called for everyone’s attention. “Alright Hotel, were going to be dropping into Handsel. You’ve all heard of it. Our mission is to eliminate all the Locust in the city and set up radio communication with Jacinto base, so they can move in and repopulate the area. This should be an easy mission, there should be little opposition force and the weather looks to be good. Just in case, check alleys and windows. You never know when a sniper is aiming on you. Ready your weapons, Hotel.” The squad inserted ammo clips and un-clicked safeties. “Wel be dropping here.” The Captain said, pointing at the top of a building on the map. The Raven slowly approached the top of the building and set down.

[LocustTheron05]

Chapter 2- "The Queen's personal army."

James Haughter
Hotel Squad
1300 Hours
Handsel, Tyran

“Were good pilot.” The Captain said after the squad piled out of the Raven. “Acknowledged Hotel. Good luck. KR-57 out.” The squad moved farther away from the Raven as it lifted off in a cloud of dust. “Hurley, get that door.” The Captain said pointing at the “roof access” door. Tyrique quickly shuffled to the door, surprisingly quiet. “Mar, get the door open. James, cover Sergeant Mar.” The Captain whispered. “Perry, look for Locust in the windows.” He said, pointing at a long apartment building. “Room take-down. You know the drill.” Mar said. He quickly opened the door and James, Hurley, and then the Captain moved in. “Clear.” James said quietly on the radio. “Clear.” Hurley said after he checked his corner. “Good job. Perry, get down here.” The Captain said, lowering his weapon.

Perry glided down the stairs three steps at a time without making a sound. “Keep moving.” The Captain said, bringing his Lancer’s sight back up to his eye. The squad moved down the dark, dusty hallways of the two story building. Captain Halifax quickly stopped, lifting up his hand, signaling the others to stop as well. “Grubs. Nothing can be easy.” The Captain said, pointing under a flight of stairs. He then nodded at Sergeant Mar. The Sergeant automatically knew what he meant.

Sergeant Sean Mar
Hotel Squad
1316 Hours
Handsel, Tyran

He removed his combat knife and snub pistol, crossing his knife hand under his pistol hand, using a stance that hadn’t been used in the military for at least five years. He attached a silencer to the front of his pistol and returned to his original position. He slowly moved down the stairs and moved up behind the Locust. His armor didn’t seem to slow him at all. He was as quick and quiet as a spider, and just as deadly. He lunged at the large Locust Theron, reaching his knife around its neck. He quickly pulled the knife across the throat. Only the dim noise of scuffling feet could be heard. “Patrolling alone isn’t common.” The Captain said as he strolled down the stairs. The Locust twitched and kicked for only a few moments, and uttered a few strange sounds before bleeding out. “Its one of those tough ones. You see?” Hurley said, removing the Theron’s helmet. “The Queen’s personal army.” He continued, wiping the blood off the V-shaped visor.

[smurf plastic]

Try not to have paragraphs dedicated just to description. As your writing improves, you'll be able to intertwine description with action. Also, when a a different character begins to talk you start a new paragraph. Look at other FFs for examples. You can check out my old FF in my sig. (Outside the Steel Walls of Haven)

[Jonesybites]

These chapters could do just as well, if not better, combined...and I wouldn't bend over backwards trying to post daily, take your time.

Also, when a a different character begins to talk you start a new paragraph. Look at other FFs for examples.

I have to agree with smurf on this one

[LocustTheron05]

Thanks guys.

[Jay the Arbiter]

You hated the V shaped helmeted Locust? I knew it!

Or are you using a different kind?

[briansmith]

Well, don't be surprised. A business has priorities dictated to it by the need to maximize profit. Epic will not make the Linux port a priority - that's up to the gamers to do. Linux client still has not been released. Up to this point we have been told by Ryan Gordon (the one porting over the game and engine to Linux) that it is still being worked on and Epic Games has similarly told us for that.

[LocustTheron05]

Well, don't be surprised. A business has priorities dictated to it by the need to maximize profit. Epic will not make the Linux port a priority - that's up to the gamers to do. Linux client still has not been released. Up to this point we have been told by Ryan Gordon (the one porting over the game and engine to Linux) that it is still being worked on and Epic Games has similarly told us for that.

Saaaay whaaaaa?

[LocustTheron05]

Sorry for the long wait, been busy lately.

Chapter 3- "Contact!"

Sean Mar
Hotel Squad
1325 Hours
Handsel, Tyran

Private Hurley showed the helmet to Perry.

“Yep, this is the real deal.” He said, lifting the heavy helmet so he could see inside it.

“You’re lucky you got him by surprise.” He continued, smiling. Sergeant Mar looked up, his helmet hiding his emotion.

“You won’t see another go down that easily.” Perry finished, tossing the Locust’s strange head gear to James.

He caught it, looked at it, and stared for several moments with beaming blue eyes.

“You’ve seen it before, Haughter.” The Captain said in a low voice.

James looked at the Captain and placed the helmet in his gloved hands before walking away. The Captain tossed the helmet on the ground and ordered the squad to keep moving. The squad all travelled together, shoulder to shoulder. As they exited the building, they were greeted with the bright light of the sun, and they slowed down for a moment to let their eyes adjust. They continued down the muddy, shadowed streets of Handsel. Cracks in the road made way for overgrown weeds growing towards the sun. Small animals scurried across the streets and through alley ways, keeping the squad on-edge.

As they moved down the road, Sergeant Mar stopped and looked left down an alley way. A stray dog kicking over some empty food cans was walking near a dumpster in the alley way. The rest of the squad continued, not noticing the Sergeant had stopped. Sergeant Mar crouched down, slung his weapon, and whistled to the dog. The dog’s ears shot up, and it looked towards the large man. The Sergeant continued to try to coax the animal closer, but it just walked side to side, watching what his every move. He finally gave up, and turned around to see the squad moved about twenty yards away from him. He sighed and continued moving, before a loud crack stopped him in his tracks. Sergeant Mar flinched from the burning pain in his left upper leg.

The squad turned around and looked around for any hint of where the noise came from.

“Perry, check for snipers!” the Captain shouted.

“Yes sir!” Perry said, dropping to one knee and scanning the rooftops.
Sergeant Mar was holding his leg and limping closer to the squad. Private Haughter approached him and checked the half-dollar sized hole in his leg.

“Looks good.” He lied.

The Sergeant mumbled and cursed under his breath as Haughter poured a small bottle of saline on the wound, then wrapped it up.

“No Locust here, sir!” Perry said, making the corresponding hand signal.

“Stay off it for a bit, we’ll carry you.” James said, lifting the Sergeant’s arm over his shoulder.

“Contact!” Perry yelled as he fired his sniper rifle. A barely audible “pop” erupted from the rooftops.

“He’s down!” Perry said with relief as continued sweeping the rooftops with his sniper scope.

“Good work Hotel.” The Captain said, taking the Sergeant’s other arm and picking him up.

“Hurley and Perry, you guys move up ahead, but stay close.” The Captain called to the two men reloading their weapons.

[LocustTheron05]

Makes me sad to see my thread on the second page.

Il post again soon.

[Jonesybites]

Much better...alot easier to read when you put a space in between dialogue.

[LocustTheron05]

Sorry for the long wait.

PFC James Haughter
Hotel-8
1423 Hours
Handsel, Tyran

The Sergeant’s one-foot-hops made small puffs of dust rise into the air as the two men carried an opposite arm.

“I didn’t even see him…” The Sergeant said to himself, looking at the ground.

Tyrique stopped suddenly, and looked up at the building to his right. Locust filled the windows, and Tyrique’s blood ran cold.

“Locust Drones, in the windows.” He whispered, hoping that they hadn’t seen them.

“Open fire!” the Captain yelled out, sprinting torwards a nearby dumpster. The rest of the squad followed behind, and the Sergeant’s feet dragged across the ground.

“Haughter, Il stay here with Mar, take out those locust in the windows!” Captain Halifax said laying the injured soldier down on the sidewalk.

Private James slowly moved to the edge of the dumpster, watching the windows closely. He moved a little further out of cover and shot several bursts towards the building. Perry and Tyrique were on the other side of the dumpster, Perry firing his sniper rifle and
Tyrique tossing grenades as far as he could into the windows across the street.

Captain Halifax
Hotel-8
1431 Hours
Handsel, Tyran

The Captain moved towards the downed Sergeant and grabbed his shoulder.

“You need to walk on your leg again, it’s the only way were getting out of here alive.” The Captain said, shaking his friend to awareness.

“No, sir. I’m not ganna be walking for a while,” he moaned quietly.

“What’s it going to be, Sean?” The Captain said, peeking around an angle of the dumpster and narrowly missing a shot.

“I’m staying.” He said, looking at the Captain with expressionless blue eyes.

“Sean, you’re sure?” Halifax said, worried about his old friend.

“Yeah, just get moving, ill call for the Raven.” The wounded man said painfully, lifting his radio to his ear.

The Captain looked at him sorrowfully, and finally gave the order for the squad to move into a nearby alley-way.

“We’ll come back for you.” He said as he himself retreated into the alley-way.

Rushed. Taking my time again soon.

[LocustTheron05]

My new chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Captain Halifax
Hotel Squad
1534 Hours
Handsel, Tyran

“This is Raven Echo-683, come in Hotel-8.” The Raven operator said calmly into the radio.

“We are here Echo-683, awaiting pick-up.” Halifax said back into the radio.

“Roger Captain, we need a sitrep to get closer to the city, over.”

The Captain brushed his hair and replied. “We are good on supplies, no visible nemacyst in the air. Moderate enemy presence, about twenty to thirty drone infantry on the edges of the city. Sergeant Mar is wounded and MIA. Request you circle the streets a bit before you come to pick us up. Over.”

“Copy Hotel-8 be advised we are low on fuel and will not search for long. Over.”

The Captain sighed, looked behind him in the Sergeants direction, and looked up in the cloudy sky before replying.

“Copy Raven-683. Where is our exfiltration point?”

“Uh, did you see a large office building somewhere near “C” street, back from the way you came?”

“Affirmative Echo-683, is there anywhere closer we can go?”

“Negative Hotel. We can’t move too far into the city.”

Small sounds of the squad members complaining were heard behind the Captain. He glanced back and threw his hands in the air.

“Ummm, I repeat, moderate enemy presence, no nemacyst in the air, copy.”

“We are aware Hotel, we can’t take any chances.”
The squad completely stopped and moved to the exfiltration site.

“Acknowledged. Hotel out.”

“Raven Echo-683 out.”

“****!” Tyrique immediately yelled out right after the Captain put his radio away.

“They’re too scared to come in here?” he said with a look of disgust on his face.

“It’s military procedure Hurley.” Perry said with a heavy exhale.

“Why do you think the Sarge stayed back, man?” Tyrique said, slinging his weapon on his back.

“It’s honor.” James said quietly.

The rest of the squad moved silently for the rest of the long trek to the exfiltration site before the Captain’s radio beeped.

“This is Sergeant Mar, you read?” The Sergeants voice said, blasting through the radio in an exhausted and wheezy voice.

The squad all smiled and softly talked to each other while they waited for the Captain to respond.

“We copy Sean. What’s your status?” Captain Halifax replied.

“My leg feels better.” He said, jokingly.

“That’s good to hear Sergeant.” The Captain replied, smiling.

“Has the Raven contacted you yet?” The Sergeant asked.

“Yeah, they’re on their way. The missions been called off.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Yeah, really. Were moving back to “C” street. We’l meet you there.”

“Yes sir. I’m almost there already.”

“Good. See you soon.”

[SKORGE]

Very good, I'm liking it. But try and not dedicate whole chapters to duologue. For example, the above chapter is all duologue and no descriptive paragraphs explaining the story, situation and happenings of the world.

Try and (like Smurf said) incorporate them into one. Have a paragraph explain the situation and details, and the duologue mixed in to add a feel to the story. That way, it's not just details, detail and then duologue. It'll be details and duologue, details and duologue. You understand?

[LocustTheron05]

Thanks Skorge. Havn't seen you for awhile.

[SKORGE]

Thanks Skorge. Havn't seen you for awhile.

Your welcome, and yeah. Been busy with life.

[LocustTheron05]

Yes. That does happen.

[LocustTheron05]

Back.

123456789

[SKORGE]

Back.

123456789

Been hell of a long time no? Well, with Gears three announced, no surprises here.

What's up with the Matrix tag?

[LocustTheron05]

Sorry guys. Back now. Im sure none of you minded the wait.

Chapter 6: Perched Above My Chamber Door

Hotel Squad
1700 Hours
Handsel, Tyran

The sun was just beginning to set in Tyran. They sky began to turn into a depressing grey, a color the squad had seen much of before. Sergeant Mar was already at the rooftop, waiting for the rest of his squad. He had lost his helmet along the way during several firefights, and actually succeeded in bashing a wretches head in with it before discarding the cumbersome piece of equipment. His Lancer blade was filled with dried blood and skin. He sat against a vent, his lancer laid across his knees.

“Sergeant Mar, come in.” The Captains voice came through the radio. Yelling and roaring and gunshots were heard in the background.

“Yeah?”

“We have found a large group of Locust. Some… weird new type, different guns. Were…
Were at “G” street now, see you soon.” He said, pausing at times to shout orders.

“Good luck.” The Sergeant replied, tiredly.
The Captain loaded another magazine into his Lancer as he ran with the rest of the squad. Perry had the most difficult time reloading, fumbling with the bullets as they made a broken trail across the muddy road for the Locust battalion to follow.

“Last mag!” Tyrique yelled as he struggled to remove a clip from his belt. He finally removed it and jammed it into his weapon. Just as the slide went forward, he felt a burning sensation in his right shoulder. He shrugged it off and continued hip firing into the following mass of bodies. Perry rarely fired, but when he did, the effect was noticeable. Three locust dropped from a single sniper rifle round, their skulls exploding and showering their friends in blood and brains.

“All out!” Haughter cried as he took his snub pistol from his side and fired at individual Locust. He saw bullets exit through Tyriques’ stomach and his right shoulder with little pieces of bone coming out with each round.

“This is Raven Echo-683, moving over Locust movement.” The Raven pilot said as a large helicopter came over a building and positioned it’s side toward the roaring crowd. The mini-gun revved up and spat fifty-caliber rounds through the bunch. The bullets tore through the bodies, disfiguring them instantly and sending bodies and body parts through the air. Dirt and sand kicked up, blocking the Locusts vision. Chunks of the road flew in different directions; some bullets ricocheted and made sparks on the pavement.

“Im hit!” Tyrique screamed after the third Locust round hit him. He dropped to his knees, slid, and waited with his chainsaw ready to mow down any Locust that came his way. Blood ran down his chin, and several holes could be seen in his armor. He stayed there, kneeling, with labored breath. The first Locust came without a weapon, but instead two stubs were his hands used to be. The large Theron attempted to skirt around Hurley, but the large, muscular leg was caught in Tyriques chainsaw bayonet. The Locust fell over, trying to pull itself across the ground. The large man released his grip on his lancer and climbed on top of the creature, removing its helmet and smashing it in the face repeatedly. The Theron yelped with every other blow, until it became limp and bled out through the injuries in its leg. Tyrique looked up to see a drone aiming its Hammerburst II at him. It fired a single shot, and it hit the warrior in the middle of the chest. The drone then scurried away, eventually being torn to bits by the Raven’s guns. Tyrique sat there, next to the dead Theron. Blood flowed from the hole in his chest, and his eyes slowly began to close. Sound became muffled, and his senses were distorted. He sighed and fell backwards on the cracked road, sand brushing over his cold, pale face.

The Raven’s guns finally ceased, and all that was left was total carnage. The darkened sun reflected off the crimson pools of blood, and maimed Locust crawled and rolled in pain as they searched for their missing limbs.

[The Night Watchman]

Locust, your story was very good, especially after the gradual improvement :P I like your characters as well!