Here’s something that’s been on my mind for a long while, but everyday-life stuff has kept me from getting to it until now. The official trailer for Season 2 of Halo dropped recently and that gave me the nudge I needed to finally get around to this. So, at least this is kind of relevant again.
A lot of this came from discussions and brainstorming sessions with a friend, which started off with me making a joke about how I would’ve handled certain things in Season 1 and continued the story from there. And it’s just so cool when a throwaway joke can evolve into an actual story.
First off, I should make clear again that I’m just a casual fan of the games. I’ve only played the first two because they were the only ones I could play on a PC until the Master Chief Collection came out a few years ago, and even then I didn’t get around to playing any of the games after Halo 2. Haven’t read any of the books either. So I’m okay with the Paramount+ series and the liberties it took with the characters and lore. If I were a more hardcore fan, maybe I’d have a more negative view of the show, but I went in without many preconceptions and evaluated it on its own merits while watching. And while I enjoyed most of it, there are some things I didn’t like, and I can see where there’s a lot of room for improvement.
I did grow really attached to Cortana in the first two games, though … and I read some spoilers for the following games because, at the time, it looked like I’d never be able to play any of them unless I forked over the money for a console, which I wasn’t willing to do. And Halo 5 pretty much ruined Cortana by turning her into a villain. Then Halo Infinite put the final nail in the coffin by having her cross the genocide line and become irredeemable.
From my perspective, that’s pretty much full-on character assassination. So I was fine with the TV/streaming series not retelling the same story that had already played out in the games, and instead show us an alternate timeline. Even if the games hadn’t shafted Cortana, I would’ve been fine with it simply because it wouldn’t be a retread of the games.
I remember enjoying the first episode even though I did have a few issues with the storytelling. One thing I absolutely loved was Kai-125‘s development. First off, that scene in which she sprints after Halsey’s ship and outruns other troops and Warthogs running at full speed to get onto it … well, that was just plain sexy. Moments later, when she killed Halsey’s creepy little motherfucker of an assistant with an inverse pile-driver into the ceiling, was even better. Granted, she made a lot of mistakes, such as taking off her helmet so that weird little bastard could clobber her with a wrench, but I can’t exactly blame her for not thinking clearly in the moment. I’m guessing she wanted Halsey to see her anguished expression and look her in the eye, no doubt expecting some basic humanity from Halsey and not expecting to get only an infuriating platitude right before the creep tried to whack her.
In an earlier episode, there was a really cool moment with Kai that totally surprised me. When she saw Master Chief removing his emotion-suppression pellet, I fully expected her to rat him out and get him thrown into the brig. But moments later we saw her taking her own pellet out … and from that moment on it was just awesome to see her coming to life. A whole new world opened up for her and I enjoyed seeing her take that journey.
Of course, suddenly having emotions caused a fair number of problems right away, and not just the one during the confrontation with Halsey. The next battle she was in went all pear-shaped because she panicked and couldn’t function. Which made me think the Spartans should’ve been given upgraded pellets — ones that they could switch on and off whenever they wanted to. Then they could’ve been emotionless badasses in combat and then turned the pellets off and felt like actual people during their downtime.
Anyway … as the rest of the season played out, there were still some glaring issues but there was a lot more I liked than disliked. One of the biggest problems I had was Dr. Halsey. In the first episode she appeared to actually care about Master Chief and told the rest of Silver Team to assist him rather than hunt him down as they’d been ordered previously. She seemed to be on his side.
Well, was I ever wrong about her, I saw as the rest of the episodes unfolded. She turned out to be manipulative and full of shit, and her appearing to care about Master Chief was driven by her own agenda and nothing else. I’m told that the version of her in the games and the books is very different and actually does care about the Spartans because they’re basically her children.
That version did appear to be older than the one in the Paramount+ series, from what I saw in a couple of clips from Halo 5 a few years back … so one of the course corrections I’d make if I were given the reins would be to gradually morph the show version into the games/books version. But I’ll get more into that a bit later.
Another thing that bugged me was the way Master Chief treated Cortana after she was implanted. I could understand some initial reluctance and nervousness because she’s a person he’s just met and she has access to his thoughts and can take control of his body whenever she wants. So, yeah, some trepidation there would make sense. But his antagonism toward her went way too far. He treated her like shit and she really had no reason to be loyal to him. Just about the only reason she had for sticking with him was that moment when she was talking with Halsey and Halsey tipped her hand. You could see it in Cortana’s face — that moment when she realized Halsey was up to something shady and decided to side with Master Chief.
But beyond that, there should’ve been more of a rapport between Cortana and the Chief. As my friend pointed out, she should’ve been brought into the story much earlier and Master Chief should’ve been able to immediately see the tactical advantages she’d give him, among other things, and been more willing to accept her. I would’ve also given him some curiosity as well, had I been able to write the episodes. For instance, I’d have him wondering if she could feel the same sensations he felt, if she could smell things he smelled, and so on.
“Can you feel it when I shave? Or when there’s a breeze on my face? How about the kick when I fire the Magnum?” For a bit of humor, I’d have him ask, “Could you smell it when that guy in the elevator farted and it could’ve made a coroner vomit? Because I don’t want to suffer alone.”
And if she could experience all of those, I’d have him occasionally run his hand over the bark on a tree or pet a kitten (and come on, the image of Master Chief cuddling a little kitten would be wholesome AF) or take in the aroma of a mug of coffee so she could share the sensations. From her end, I’d have her make a request every now and then. For instance, “I’ve been curious about what cotton candy tastes like.” Or ice cream. Or different flavors of coffee. And all those things would be new to him as well, since he’s only recently removed that pellet thingy. So when he’s off duty I’d have him doing things like walking past a backyard barbecue, noticing the aroma, and stopping for a moment to take it in so he and Cortana can both enjoy it. It’d be kind of adorable, which would help break the tension of the show’s overall grim tone every now and then.
Something else that grated on me was the character of Makee and how she was handled. Also, the turn her relationship with Master Chief took in the last few episodes. That in particular came across as really shoehorned into the plot. It might’ve worked better if it’d had time to grow at a more natural pace, but that’s probably down to the limited number of episodes. By the way, I really miss the days when TV series had twenty or twenty-two episodes. Even fifteen or sixteen episodes, which shows like Leverage and Doctor Who used to have, would’ve likely been enough for the Chief’s relationship with Makee to be at least a little more believable. But no, we got nine episodes, so a lot had to be crammed into it. As a result, things like this romance seem forced and just kind of come out of nowhere.
I’ll have more to say about Makee later, but for now … she was annoying even though it was clear that she was being manipulated by the Prophets. By the way, the CGI on the Prophets was so good, especially the one who had the most dialog with Makee, the Prophet of Mercy. You could see in his expressions exactly how full of shit he was from the very beginning. Just from the way he smirked while talking to her, you could tell he was manipulating and using her. So, good job on that.
Anyhoo, Makee only became interesting much later, when she discovered they’d been using her. Then, as soon as she got interesting, she was killed off — and that kind of came out of nowhere, too.
But again, I’ll have more later on. For now, on to the next issue I had with the show.
The other really big problem the series has, for me, is Kwan Ha. Also, what happened to her father during the Covenant’s attack on Madrigal, but that informed Kwan’s behavior and actions, so my main issue there is with her. I figured she was reasonable enough at the beginning because she had no idea what the hell was going on, she’d just seen her friends brutally murdered right in front of her, and only a few minutes later she saw her father killed by one of the aliens. She was quite obviously horrified and grief-stricken, so I could cut her some slack for a while.
But she continued acting bratty and spiteful long afterward … though, granted, at least one bit of that business was the fault of Miranda Keyes. Instead of just being straightforward and leveling with Kwan, Miranda tried — quite clumsily, to the point where even a bratty teenager like Kwan could see through it — to manipulate her into being a mouthpiece for the UNSC. I’ll give that one to Kwan, too. She was still grieving her friends and her dad because it’d been only a few hours since the attack, and here was this tool in an enemy uniform being totally blatant about wanting her to tell everyone that the UNSC had nothing to do with the attack on Madrigal.
Had I written the scene, I would’ve had Keyes recognize Kwan as a terrorized and grief-stricken teenager, and would’ve had her take a completely straightforward approach with her. Something like, “Here’s everything we know about the aliens that attacked your settlement. I’m sorry about what happened to your dad and your friends, but we didn’t do it. What we need to do now is warn all the other colonies about the Covenant so, hopefully, they won’t be taken by surprise, and they’ll probably accept it more easily if the warning comes from you instead of us. Will you help us get the word out before it’s too late?”
In other words, I would’ve had Keyes be better at her job.
Another thing I would’ve changed is Jin Ha‘s death. First of all, as I’ve mentioned many times already, that kind of thing happens in stories like this all the time. So many stories have a main character’s parents either already dead before the story starts or killed off during the beginning of the story. Because of that, it’s so obvious that Kwan’s dad is about to be bite it that you can see it coming from twelve parsecs away. Also, Jin came across as a much more reasonable person — for instance, that moment when he thought Master Chief was going to attack him, but then the Chief went after the aliens instead. You could see in that little nod Jin gave him that he understood immediately what was going on and could be reasoned with afterward.
So I would’ve kept him around and sidelined Kwan after a while by having him send her some place where she’d be safe — and where she could get some therapy for the PTSD that she likely had from being in the middle of the Covenant attack on her home. Her father would’ve made for a better liaison or partner or whatever, because he would’ve been able to see the bigger picture and maybe use this as an opportunity to negotiate with the UNSC to get them off the colonies’ backs. Whereas his daughter simply wasn’t equipped mentally or emotionally to handle the clumsy attempt to manipulate her. She was a good audience surrogate in that opening action sequence because we were finding out what was happening at the same time she was. And the brutality of the attack and the sheer horror of it from Kwan’s point of view was incredibly effective.
But I would’ve kept her father around for the reasons stated above, as well as maybe preventing some of the mysticism crap that happened in Kwan’s final episode. If Silver Team had saved his life just before that Sangheili could stab him, and then helped him fight the rest of them off, it could’ve been the start of some fence-mending between the rebels and the UNSC. Probably would’ve helped Kwan be less of a brat later on, too.
But that’s not how things played out in the show, sadly. And near the end of the season, Kwan fell into some mystical bullshit that came out of nowhere and hinted that she might be a “chosen one” or some goddamn thing. It’s possible that I’m being too harsh on it because I’ve always hated mystical mumbo-jumbo crap in any form. It’s just too much for me to continue suspending my disbelief enough to enjoy a story. But when things went in that direction for Kwan, I rolled my eyes so hard that their momentum transferred into the rest of my head and almost dislocated my skull.
This is what kicked off the brainstorming session with my friend. It started with me making a half-joking remark and evolved into an actual story after we bounced ideas back and forth for a while. The joke I made was about how, instead of that mysticism stuff, I would’ve had Kwan get caught up in the antics of a crew of outcasts from both the human side and the Covenant side.
And I only just now thought of this, but I would’ve had it happen shortly after Master Chief introduced her to Soren-066 at the Rubble. By the way, Soren is another character I liked but didn’t get to see enough of, so I’m hoping he’ll show up again in the second season. To fit him into this ever-evolving alternate timeline my friend and I came up with, I would’ve had someone on the ragtag team of outcasts bump into him and Kwan after John-117 left her there, or maybe even have Soren know at least a few of the outcasts directly, and maybe toss Kwan off onto them just to be rid of her. At this point in the story, Soren may or may not know a whole lot about the outcasts beyond a few basics …
Anyway. They would’ve been a ragtag bunch of goofballs who didn’t want anything to do with the Human-Covenant War and just wanted to do their own thing (which may have occasionally included bushwhacking ships on both sides, boarding them, and stealing their supplies, though without actually killing anyone). I remember thinking of them in terms of the humor mixed with drama in Red vs. Blue, particularly the flashbacks to Project: Freelancer in the ninth and tenth seasons, and would’ve poked fun at UNSC ship-naming conventions by having them rechristen their stolen ship the Whore of Babylon. Their antics would’ve had Kwan looking around at everything with a permanent “Oh shit, what the hell did I get myself into?!” expression.
My friend pointed out that this idea wouldn’t fit into the timeline of the show or the first couple of games, given the overall situation in the setting. That early on, the war was still fresh in everyone’s minds and there hadn’t been enough time for anyone to either become jaded by it or take a moment to see anyone on the other side as anything but “the enemy.” At first I had a massive brainfart and thought he was talking about the tone of the show and the games, which would make an even slightly more comedic group of characters too much of a mood whiplash. After he clarified, I finally got it — yeah, it was just too soon for anything like that to happen without some extraordinary events lining up just right.
My brain kept chugging away on it and cranking out scenarios that might make it possible. I figured at least a handful of people on the Covenant’s side might be able to see through the holy war they’d been fighting, and on the human side, the UNSC had already been up to some shady stuff — for instance, creating the Spartans to slaughter the rebels like those on Madrigal. So that’s one motivation for a small number of people on each side to decide that they didn’t want anything to do with the war anymore and take off somewhere to do their own thing, and not immediately open fire when some of them finally encountered someone on the other side who felt the same way.
One character I had in mind was a Jiralhanae who’d had to put up with a tremendous amount of abuse because she was born with a condition that prevented her from growing to full size. Granted, she’s somewhere between six and seven feet tall, but if I remember correctly, full-size Brutes are something like nine or ten feet. Because of how runts are often treated in the animal kingdom, I figured she’d gotten bullied all the time, both verbally and physically, until she finally couldn’t take it anymore and left it all behind. Another Brute character I had in mind was her father, who’d never felt right about the holy war against humanity and after seeing what his daughter had to go through every day, he decided that her life was more important than sticking around to support a war he didn’t see as just.
All of which gave me the idea that quite a few of these outcasts might’ve gone through some severe trauma, either from their experiences fighting in the war or something they’d endured from their peers, like the Runt described above — and their somewhat goofy antics might be a defense mechanism to avoid having to face the trauma.
For instance, one idea I had was a Sangheili who had a stolen hovertank, and at some point he’d installed a clown horn on it. On the surface it’s just funny … but looking deeper into it, it could turn out to be either an attempt to appear less threatening to the humans or a way to avoid facing the horrors he’d been put through. Or both.
Another ex-Covenant or two could be someone who found out early on what the Halo actually does, tried to warn the higher-ups, and no one listened. They were all too indoctrinated and too hell-bent on continuing the holy war to even consider the possibility that they might be wrong. So they pack up and leave, hoping to find someone — even on the “enemy” side — who might believe them and help prevent a galaxy-wide extinction event.
As for those who came from the human side, given the shady stuff the UNSC was up to, there could be any number of motivations for walking away from it all. One possibility is a sniper who’d helped quell rebellions like the one on Madrigal, and one of his shots missed the target and hit a small child far in the distance. It really screwed him up, but the UNSC continued sending him on missions anyway, until finally, one day, he just broke. Now he’s plagued by nightmares and can’t sleep without taking pills or drinking himself into a stupor.
Another potential character is a rebel who saw her husband’s head get blown off right in front of her, and pieces of his skull and brain splattered her because she was standing so close to him. After which she left the battlefield, picked up her kids, and never stopped running until she fell in with this group.
Well, there’s no shortage of horrible stuff to put in these characters’ backstories, but you get the point.
I started thinking that maybe those on the Covenant side had to suddenly run like hell without any time to prepare, and didn’t realize how much trouble they were in until they started running low on supplies and had no way to get their hands on more without being shot down. Probably due to speaking out against the war instead of falling in line with everyone who’d been indoctrinated into believing that the holy war was truly righteous …
An idea popped into my head while at work for a character who might’ve helped bring some of these characters together. A mysterious benefactor who somehow knew who these individuals were and had more than enough money to throw at whatever he wants. Someone who has that much money would very likely have some nefarious purpose in mind, but I’d want to avoid that trope here. Still, the idea is probably too similar to the Illusive Man in Mass Effect 2 or Mark Holcroft in gen:LOCK or that guy Robert Vaughan played in the final season of The A-Team, or any number of others. The trope has been done many times, but I still found it interesting enough to consider.
My friend suggested Dr. Halsey for the mysterious benefactor role, and it made perfect sense. It seemed like exactly the kind of plot the Paramount+ version of her would come up with, and could also serve as a way to guide her development in the direction of the games/book version. She seemed like exactly the type of person who’d have escape routes and safe houses and supply caches set up in advance, and contacts who could help her out without knowing what she was really up to. The motivation could be her knowledge of Master Chief’s and Makee’s ability to use Forerunner artifacts and technology. This would give her a reason to want to acquire more Forerunner tech before either side of the war gets their hands on it, which would motivate her to find more individuals who have the right genetic markers. And the desire to grab these artifacts for herself could gradually change into a need to prevent all life in the galaxy being wiped out by the Halos, once she learns what those enormous structures actually do.
My original idea for Runt and her father lamming it out of Covenant space was that her dad got fed up with the way she was constantly abused and spoke out against it — and against the holy war. This led to both of them being charged with blasphemy which caused them to pack up their stuff and get the hell outta Dodge. At that moment their lives were in severe danger because they were viewed as apostates and even their friends and family turned on them.
Something my friend suggested was that Runt and her father were condemned to death because they had the genetic markers that would allow them to use Forerunner tech, which the Prophets felt was blasphemous for anyone outside a select subspecies in their cult. A perfect example of which was their plan to execute Makee as soon as they were done with her. This is a fantastic idea — better than the one I’d come up with — and it makes perfect sense. It could even be the way Halsey discovers that there are aliens who can use Forerunner artifacts. She could either have a contact who notifies her when these two Brutes enter human space, or she just hears it through the grapevine due to the … less than stealthy way they arrive.
I figure that could be the Prophets’ main motivation for hunting them down, and they’d just use Runt’s dad speaking out against them as an excuse to avoid letting anyone outside their circle know that the “wrong” people can activate Forerunner artifacts. And while I’m thinking about it, the Runt and her dad need actual names. So … let’s see … Runt’s real name is Baekeum (someone will nickname her “Becky” later on) and her father’s name is Kalledium.
Okay, now that’s been taken care of …
I’m thinking Baekeum and Kalledium were being pursued by several Covenant ships, enter human space in a desperate attempt to escape, and are finally shot down over a distant colony world similar to Madrigal. They manage a crash-landing and climb out of the wreckage with relatively minor injuries, but are quickly spotted by their pursuers and a battle ensues. The humans in the nearby settlement are horrified because they’ve heard the rumors about alien invaders — or, even better, they received the warning from Jin Ha mentioned way up above — and now those aliens have found their home.
The two Brutes manage to take out their attackers after a long battle, but both of them are exhausted and seriously injured. Then they notice the humans approaching them. The humans would likely have a whole range of reactions, from “We need to evacuate before the next wave comes!” to “Something’s weird about this — the rest of the aliens were trying to kill these two…” to “These two brought the rest of them here!”
One thing I discovered while reading up on Halo lore is the berserker rage Brutes have a tendency to go into during battle, and that’d be the last thing Becky and her father need at the moment. One possibility I thought of was that the condition that prevented Baekeum from growing to full size might also lessen the chances of her going completely wacko during a fight. I’m also thinking that she might have other issues such as needing corrective lenses or surgery, which she never tried to get back home because it would’ve been a sign of “weakness” and would’ve caused more trouble for her than it was worth. But now that she’s free of that world and its pressures, she’s able to get glasses made for her later on … and the mental image I have of a Brute wearing glasses is too amusing not to use.
As for Kalledium, he may simply be naturally more level-headed and able to control his emotions, which may have helped make him an outcast in Jiralhanae society. In fact, the reason he and his daughter and the other people in the team that’ll come together later on work so well together is because their brains are wired up differently from everyone else’s, allowing them to think outside the box and not succumb to indoctrination or peer pressure.
Other ideas I had for controlling the berserker rage included medications developed specifically for that purpose — possibly something similar to the pellets the Spartans used to shut off their emotions, except this version would only switch off the uncontrollable rage — and illicit drugs such as weed. I wasn’t sure if pot would even have any effect at all on a Brute, or if it did, how much would be needed. A thought that I found amusing was that Becky might try weed, barely feel any effects, and keep trying increasing amounts. Finally, she’d give up on it, remarking that she’d need so much of it that she’d have to fight all of her battles from inside Spicoli’s van.
Another idea my friend came up with was that she could discover Yoga or Tai Chi or some other meditation techniques, and would be amazed that nothing like them exists in her culture. Also, she’d discover that Benzos would work in a pinch, but she’s worried about how addictive they can be.
Both of them manage to remain in control of themselves as the human settlers close in on them. Becky tries to assume a nonthreatening posture and offers her plasma rifle to the nearest human, then attempts to communicate via hand gestures. They’re able to get a rudimentary conversation started and are taken in by the colonists, who recognize the need to get their hands on Covenant weapons and other gear. They know from the assault on Madrigal that human weapons aren’t very effective on Covenant troops and they’ll need any advantage they can get their hands on.
I’m thinking that Halsey could hear rumors about aliens on this colony world or she has a contact among the scientists there, and this is how she learns about Baekeum and Kalledeus. In fact, the whole purpose of the settlement might be to investigate artifacts that were found there, which would give her a solid reason to be in contact with someone stationed on that planet. And at some point, one of the newly-arrived Brutes could accidentally activate a piece of tech that was excavated, revealing their possession of the proper genetic marker.
Another suggestion from my friend was that Becky might scavenge pieces of armor from various battlefields and use them to hide her identity so she could navigate human space without being shot at. Maybe even go full Mandalorian with it and insist on never removing her helmet aside from when she’s alone with her father or the humans who befriended her while recovering from her injuries. And with someone like Halsey backing them and others who join the team later on, they could gain access to better ways of disguising themselves, such as adapted Forerunner hologram tech to change their appearances from planet to planet.
This instantly made me think of her playing the role of the silent badass who never speaks unless there’s something important to say, and that could be all kinds of fun to write.
As the brainstorming continued, my friend also pointed out that this could be used to great effect once the team’s assembled and have been working together long enough to trust each other. There might come a point when Halsey decides the time is right to turn off their holographic projections — and the team would suddenly realize they’re not all the same species and they’ve been working with “the enemy” and helping people rather than simply waging war. This could be prompted by a bit of character development for Halsey, evolving her from the manipulative asshole she was in Season 1 into someone who knows the Flood is a danger to everyone and is tired of dealing with the usual politics. At this point she’d know that both sides will need to unite to stop not only the Flood but also the doomsday weapons that are the Halos, and maybe the sudden reveal when she turns off the holograms will shock both sides awake.
There’s also the possibility that a few of the team members figured it out long before Halsey turned off the holograms. Kai, for instance, by noticing things like body language, vocal mannerisms, and so on. She’d already removed her pellet and had enough time to adjust to having emotions, so she figured out what was going on and liked the idea, and never told anyone about it to maintain the illusion.
An amusing thought I had was that, even though the reveal would shock most of the members of the team, one of them might have a total non-reaction. Probably the Sangheili who put the clown horn on his tank. He’s repairing something, the disguises vanish, everyone gasps or lets out a startled yelp … and he glances up, takes a look around at everyone … then mutters, “Huh,” and goes straight back to work.
Probably wouldn’t take long for the lesson to sink in for the rest of the team. They’ve already become friends and trusted each other with their lives multiple times, and all that’s changed now is a slight shift in perspective.
Now we can move away from the team for a moment and get back to one of the show’s biggest missteps — Makee. As I said earlier, she had just begun to become interesting when she was killed off. I’d probably keep that in the story but modify it a little bit to keep her around and continue her character development. Instead of Kai being the one who killed her, I’d make it a Covenant soldier, probably an Elite who spotted her while she was mentally linked up with the Halo along with Master Chief, and he seized the opportunity while she was distracted and carried out the Prophets’ execution order.
And because it happened while Makee was linked up with the Halo, her body died but her consciousness remained stuck in the structure’s computer system. She’d have a moment or two of confusion and fear and then anger as she realized what happened to her. I’m thinking she caught a glimpse of the Sangheili who killed her a fraction of a second before he pulled the trigger, so the need for revenge might help her keep her focus. She manages to calm her mind and begin exploring the system, intent on finding a way out of here so she can track down the bastard who did this to her.
At some point she discovers the Monitors, decides to inhabit one so she can explore the physical part of the Halo while still being able to interface with its computers, and gradually learns what the structure is capable of. From what I remember of the first game, 343 Guilty Spark was the only Monitor on the Halo, but we’re pretty much going full-throttle Alternate Universe here, so let’s say there’s a set of “empty” Monitors to serve as backup units. Also, Guilty Spark would be somewhere on the Halo, so it’s only a matter of time before he discovers Makee and they end up having a confrontation. Possibly multiple encounters resulting in a continuing battle for control of the Installation.
What Makee finds during her exploration horrifies her. This is the Prophets’ endgame — activating these weapons that will wipe out all life in their blast radius just to starve the Flood to death, leading to mass extinction all over the galaxy. The Prophets believe the Halos are just massive weapons that they can use against humanity exclusively and don’t have a clue what’ll really happen when they push the button. With this knowledge, she continues exploring and learning so she’ll be able to deal with the Covenant when they land … or warn the humans if they arrive first.
An ongoing feud between her and Guilty Spark during all this could be fun, but could take a really dark turn if he keeps trying to activate the Halo. She’d have to find a way to lock him out of the system sooner or later, or sabotage the firing mechanism severely enough that it can’t be repaired, but do so without destroying the entire ring. She might just be able to hold him off until Silver Team and the ragtag bunch arrive, then lock him out permanently with their help.
After a few encounters with Guilty Spark, I could see Becky nicknaming him “Cunty Spark” …
Anyway, I figured this would be an interesting way to keep Makee around and also keep her compelling as a character and give her an actual purpose aside from being a tool used by the Prophets and then thrown away. Also, for some reason, I just found the idea of her floating around in a Monitor kind of hilarious.
Something else my friend suggested was that Makee would eventually build a humanoid robotic body similar to the one EDI had in Mass Effect 3 that she could either download into or inhabit while still residing in the Monitor. Possibly the body could be built in a way that would let her Monitor “dock” with it, perhaps in a slot in its back that would allow it to carry Monitor!Makee around like a backpack. She’d probably float around to get from point A to point B more efficiently most of the time, but at least this would help her feel like something approaching human again.
Also, once Silver Team and the ragtag outcasts find the Halo and land on it, we could have the irony of Cortana teaching Makee how to be human.
Speaking of the ragtag team, another suggestion my friend made was that Halsey had a contact in the Covenant, a scientist who knew about Becky and her dad and put Halsey in touch with them. It’d make sense for a scientist not to buy into the Prophets’ holy war or their ideologies regarding the “wrong” people having the ability to use Forerunner tech. He also suggested that the scientist might be a super smart Kig-Yar (or Jackal) or Unggoy (Grunt). Aesthetically, he preferred the Jackal, but the idea of a brilliant Grunt scientist was more satisfying in a comedic sense.
I absolutely loved this idea. I couldn’t decide which would work better for this character, so I figured, why not go with both? So it’s a pair of scientists, one Unggoy and one Kig-Yar, both of them equally brilliant. I figured they ended up working together in a lab or science facility because their thought processes naturally went against the grain of their culture, and being smarter than everyone else around them made them instant outcasts. It probably started with them being more interested in learning and solving mysteries than fighting, and getting bullied constantly for it, and at some point each of them independently decided to sneak off the battlefield while the Spartans were mopping the floor with Covenant forces. They met up later, discovered they were kindred spirits, and found a place to hide. At some point they made contact with a scientist on the “other side,” maybe Halsey herself, and their instant reaction was, “Ah-hah! Finally, someone we can talk with!”
Something my friend suggested was that at some point these two discovered an ancient human satellite or space probe from the beginnings of Earth’s space program, adding that the whole thing would have to be based on the Forerunner-tech angle because that’s the only thing that would hide and protect them and Halsey, and also provide the resources that would allow the whole team of outcasts to function at all.
This gave me an idea for an abandoned Forerunner facility that the Jackal and Grunt scientists discover, most likely by finding a clue on a battlefield or some place they hid briefly after going AWOL. They followed a trail of bread crumbs that eventually led them to this facility where, among other artifacts, one or both of the Voyager probes had been captured and brought there for study. While exploring the base, they access its record archives and find out that an automated Forerunner probe encountered the Voyagers and brought them back to be examined, but the Forerunners stationed there were long gone by then. All the base’s systems remained operational, waiting for a crew that would never return.
I figured the two scientists would learn a lot about humanity by studying the Voyagers, figuring out how to play the golden record, and so on. And at some point the realization would dawn on them: “They wanted to meet alien species just to get to know them … and when they finally did, we started a war with them. Shit.”
Oh yeah, these two guys probably should have names, huh? Okay, the Grunt’s name is Fizis, and he’ll eventually get stuck with the nickname “Fizzy.” The Jackal’s name is Jic Dath … and the same culprit will nickname her “Jack Deth.”
The next thing that popped into my head was that the facility would have a Monitor who’s still running everything, and she’s friendly. I was partially inspired here by 031 Exuberant Witness, who’s so positive and wholesome that she’s probably the best thing about Halo 5. It was hard to resist the urge to actually put Exuberant in this facility, but she’s canonically on the Genesis installation … and that facility and her role there will probably be important to the story later on down the line, so we’ll keep her there and go through a variation on the plot with the Didact and the Promethean Knights … but without Cortana going insane and starting a whole new war.
So this Monitor will be a new character named 161 Inquisitive Spirit. Since this outpost is dedicated to pure scientific study, she’s curious and wants to learn about everything that comes within her vicinity. She’s overjoyed to find new aliens to speak with, not to mention thrilled to finally have companionship after being alone for so many thousands of years. She quickly learns to communicate with the new arrivals and eagerly answers all of their questions. When they ask her about the Voyager probes, she tells them everything she knows and adds her own commentary.
“Oh, isn’t this amazing? The species that built this device had barely taken its first step off its planet of origin when they launched it! They didn’t even know anyone else was out here, but they recorded information about their world and greetings to whoever might find it anyway! They wanted to contact us even knowing it wouldn’t happen for thousands of years, but they still did it in hopes of their descendants getting a reply! Well, we found it sooner than they expected, but still — ahhhh, they were magnificent! ^_^ “
Which would be the point where Fizzy and Jic glance at each other and come to the same realization at the same time: “And now we’re at war with them …”
Here’s where I started wondering if Inquisitive Spirit was one of Halsey’s contact, possible via a “someone who knows someone who knows someone” type of situation. If she got in touch with one of Halsey’s intermediaries, that person might not know the Monitor is an alien AI. If Halsey spoke to her directly, she might’ve picked up on Inquisitive’s vocal mannerisms and figured it out within a few seconds, but chose not to bring it up and instead treated the Monitor as she would any other colleague — perhaps as a first step on the road to making amends for her missteps in Season One. Besides which, the canon version of Halsey would be open-minded enough to accept new ideas without forcing them to fit her own narrative, which is another difference between her and the TV-show version.
Heh, an intermediary might even decide to call Inquisitive “Sheila” as a joke, and also because it’s easier to say than her full name, and the Monitor just rolls with it. I’m thinking these kinds of references would come out of the back-and-forth trade gradually becoming a thing between the outside-the-box thinkers on each side. Part of it would be exchanging educational and entertainment media, which would include tons of old sci-fi video files dating all the way back to 20th century Earth. I’m thinking the ex-Covenant characters would find all of this intriguing because their “news” was always just reports on the war and their “entertainment” is nothing but propaganda meant to keep everyone brainwashed into supporting the Prophets’ holy war. And that would explain how various ex-Covs know who Spicoli and Sheila even are …
Anyway, that might be a good start to Halsey learning about the Flood and making the decision to find more remarkable individuals from both sides of the war and figure out how to get them to work together.
Speaking of characters, another idea my friend had was a really badass “ninja” Sangheili character who’d gotten fed up with all the posturing going on back home, since Covenant culture is all about war and sex is something they do just to procreate. Which could make for some hilarious moments because she and Becky and other ex-Covs would speak matter-of-factly about sexual matters and cause a fair amount of pearl-clutching among the humans. For instance, Becky ended up becoming quite close with a guy who helped her learn some of Earth’s languages after she and her dad crashed on that colony, and when someone makes a comment about it, Becky just nods and says something like, “Well, we’ve been fuckin’ for a couple of years, so …” Then she’s amused at the way the guy nearly choked on his coffee …
Better yet, she first noticed something happening between her and the guy on the colony when she saw him watching her do her morning Yoga or Tai Chi or whatever other exercises … so she decided to take all of her clothes off before starting the routine from now on just to see what his reaction would be, and was delighted when he appeared to become even more interested. Then, at some point, someone else walks by and tries to warn her that she’s being watched.
“Yeah, I know. Why do you think I started doing this naked?”
“Uh … well, uh …”
“By the way, you’re gonna need to give us some privacy in a few minutes. I wanna see how far he’s gonna take this.”
“I, uh, should leave now. There’s something I just remembered I need to take care of.”
“Okay. I don’t mind an audience, but I don’t know how he feels about it. And since I’m hoping he’ll be balls-deep in me in a few minutes …”
“Oh god! I don’t want that image in my head!”
“Ha-hah! 🙂 “
Anyway. Heh.
So when this “ninja” Elite joins the team … we’ll call her Kasa ‘Ludumee, I guess … she discovers that human social interactions are often more romantic than anything she’s ever seen back in Covenant space, and she’s smitten with one of the Spartans, partly because he’s a physical match for her. So I immediately imagined her enduring another Elite’s boasting and showing off for the millionth time, and she just scowls menacingly at him until he runs out of steam and visibly deflates, then she turns and walks away in disgust.
And the Spartan she’s smitten with? The one that sprang to mind instantly was Edward Buck because of the hilarious expression I imagined Nathan Fillion pulling when Buck realized that she was into him. And since this is an AU spun off from a story that was already an alternate timeline, what the hell, there’s no reason Buck can’t be brought in. After being in so many battles, I imagine he’d either be kind of bewildered by the more laid-back atmosphere of the team of outcasts in the Forerunner facility, or he’d find it a breath of fresh air. As for Kasa … I’m sure he’d be taken aback at first, but after seeing her kicking ass a few times, he might actually consider it.
“Huh. Y’know, suddenly, I have the weirdest boner …” And then he shrugs and decides to go for it. “Sure, what the hell. She seems nice enough.”
And the description of her being a “ninja” gave me another idea. I thought it’d be fun as all hell if no one ever sees her enter or leave a room. They just notice her standing or sitting there, and it startles the crap out of them until they eventually get used to it. Then, after a while, they look over where she was, expecting to see her, and she’s just gone. I figured she’s even able to sneak up on 161 Inquisitive Spirit. I had this specific moment in mind of Spirit discussing a new discovery with Jic and Fizzy and several others, and she turns to address one of them and notices Kasa standing nearby. This actually startles the Monitor and she does a sort of weird bobbing motion and exclaims, “Eeeep!”
Holy shit, I just realized how long this post is. There’s more I’d like to get into, such as the kinds of specific missions the team pulls off once they’ve banded together, plus some shenanigans they get up to during their downtime, as well as another new character or two, plus how the team eventually deals with Cortana’s rampancy once it starts … but yeah, this has already gone on and on and on. So I’ll save that for another, hopefully much shorter post.
For now, I’ll wrap this up with an amusing moment I had in mind for when Buck gets his own Warthog. He installs a horn on it like the one in The Dukes of Hazard. And Kasa can’t stop laughing when he honks while jumping the Warthog over an enemy troop, tagging him with a plasma grenade, and going, “Yee-hawwww!” while racing away before the grenade pops.
More to come soon …
Fred T. Kerns, Sci-fi Writer 