"We're Spartans. What could possibly go wrong?" Fred-104, First Strike

ToC

-Updates-
-Who is EmF?-
-Story Info-

-Updates-

17 December 2014

Well, the holidays are on rapid approach. I thought I'd take this opportunity to wish everyone well.

Writing has stalled due to reality. Much the same with my partner in crime, Mr. 125. We're still working on our collaboration, though slightly hampered due to life events. All in all, optimism prevails. Cheers!

-Who is EmF?-

A little about me...
Name's Jeff. If you want a last name from me, you'll have to provide a full name of your own, a valid state ID, and credit card numbers. And of course the obligatory five-day waiting period in order for me to...um...verify these credentials. I enjoy the HALO universe. It started out as I'm sure it has for many others here: a cool video game. It turned into so much more when I quite by chance stumbled upon the triple box-set of the first HALO novels. Gave them a read and realized not only how awesome the books were, but how much potential in the HALO universe they opened up. It was a true shock to me when I later learned that The Fall of Reach published one month before HALO: Combat Evolved was released for the Xbox! Since I first discovered the vastness of the HALO novels (2005), not much has passed me by since. What else to say about myself without being a bore to you, the curious onlooker? Not a whole lot. I usually pursue activities that involve high-HP motors and exhilarating speed. Gotta release the adrenaline once in a while, ya know? Gaming and writing would also be the obvious pastimes as well as gear head types of hobbies. Other than all that, I consider myself a pretty average dude in my off-time. Take that for what you will.

-Story Info-

Ten Days in Mombasa - Status: pre-launch - Co-authored by Mr. 125 and featured under the banner of our collaborative profile, named, Minds' Eye.

To be released very soon. Combines six of our stories:

See our repertoires for synopses of these tales if you have not already read them. Their timelines and characters all converge inside this unforgettable epic.

Aim High, Dig Deep - Status: Complete (the story continues with Ten Days in Mombasa)

I was fascinated by the pre-HALO 3 alternate reality game, called IRIS. It was unique. It was mysterious. It was the first time something other than a quirky Monitor of an "Installation" was initiating contact with us humans like in the first two games. Many would say that IRIS raised more questions than it did answers at the time it was unveiled. But I think that was the hidden intent at the time. IRIS, looking back, was just one half of a larger mini-plot - the later part revealed at The Ark during HALO 3's gameplay (specifically the messages we saw in the terminals). Each of the terminals look like an iris, right?

To think...something more was going on than just the Covenant saga. Something that would seem small in volume compared to the hours of gameplay we'd take part in, but there was that notion in the back of my mind that, "This tiny, little ARG goes far deeper than the last two games we've played...because the last two games we played didn't even scratch the surface of Forerunners themselves." Again, looking back, IRIS (combined with the terminals in HALO 3) essentially paved the way for the next trilogy!

Ultimately, the IRIS mini-campaign was deep. Some would say too deep. In order to decipher everything while on the hunt for some truth, you had to be dedicated to HALO, to say the least. The amount of work you had to put in to be at the very forefront of the discovery of each clue was somewhat monumental. But ultimately, it had to be a community of fans that could hope to unlock the summer of 2007's secrets, not just one or even a handful of fans. Me...I was definitely not at the forefront. I would check into that website everyday after work and wait for the next server to be unlocked, largely unaware of what the super-hardcore people had to go through behind the scenes to get it that way.

Really, just to be able to observe everything unfold and view the video transmissions and everything else was very cool.

I never thought I could shoehorn IRIS into one of my stories, but here I am doing it. I look back on the summer of 2007 and I genuinely miss being able to access that website and poke through those odd Forerunner informational terminals and scour over the wealth of lore and knowledge they stored. It's sort of comparable to ILB (I Luv Bees, the HALO 2 ARG), although I'd say this one has a bit more depth to it and is surely presented to us in a different fashion. Anyways, if you want your mind to be sort of blown (and to receive some very interesting background info), go to these places for brief summaries on what I've been talking about so far: IRIS Youtube Synopsis Synopsis 2 Most Comprehensive Archvie Archive Sound Sample The HALO 3 Terminals A Convenient Bulletin Board for IRIS Mendicant Bias Transmissions And for interest, Believe

Alone - Status: Rebooting - Part of the "10 Days in Mombasa" integration. A young enlistee is transferred from Reach to a forward assignment at Zaragosa Prime, where he's embedded into a unique fighting unit: Lima Company. There, the newly-arrived Marine befriends others and quickly thinks of this new world as home and his new unit as family. Very soon after his in-brief and integration into Lima Company, a night mission commences that sends them battling toward a nowhere spot in the middle of a nondescript valley infested with Covenant. Here, at a remote mining station, they witness extraordinary events unfold which bring them deeper to the bottom of a wonderful mystery.

The Call to Arms - Status: In-progress - Part of the "10 Days in Mombasa" integration, this is a story dealing with Spartan-062, Maria. She is featured in the "Halo Graphic Novel". Her character is somewhat of a mystery and a very intriguing prospect in creating a story for. It's definitely a challenge, but definitely one I'm working on!

Underworld Trilogy - Status: In-progress
-Underworld - Status: Complete - It's a story about the bleak outlook on life from the eyes of five mishappen colonists set in the HALO universe, yet no Covenant zealots show face and there are no one-thousand pound supersoldiers wielding revolutionary armor and the setting does not feature some exotic, alien ringworld whose glyphs and runes spell galactic doomsday. No, this story is essentially de-HALO'd. You might be asking yourself, how the hell is that interesting?!
Unfortunately, I cannot give you an explanation. It's better explained by simply taking a chance and reading.
-Underworld: The Calling - Status: In-development - This will be the sequel to Underworld, detailing certain significant events in the HALOverse and the exploits of the survivors of Traxus IX.
-Underworld: Apocalypse - Status: In-development - This story is the prequel to Underworld, detailing the events of Emigration Day (E-Day) and leading up to the battles that re-shaped the planet of Traxus IX into what it became during the original tale.

The Halo Genesis Trilogy - Status: On-hold
-The Argo - Status: Complete - We make first contact with the Covenant. This was written pre-Contact Harvest as a submission to a Nylund-hosted writing contest and does violate HALO canon accordingly.
-The Last Drop - Status: On hold (removed for now) - Sequel to The Argo.
-OPERATION: ZENITH - Status: On hold and facing a much-needed reboot (removed for now) - Sequel to The Last Drop and the final chapter in the Genesis Trilogy that sheds light on the aftermath of the clandestine operation.

The Yankee White - Status: On hold (removed for now)

Countdown to Doomsday - Status: On hold (removed for now)

Believe - Complete - This is a touching Memorial Day tribute gone HALO-style for 2008.

Starry Night, Fateful Day - Complete - Based on the HALO 3 TV commercial back in December of 2006.