Okay, obviously you are all asking some questions by now if you've read the chapter and its ending. Sad to say, I will not be dicuss that here. There's a ton to go over and it's probably better to do it in the next chapter notes entry I write. For now, we'll focus on the battle that was the central focus of this chapter.
I like cornfields as a setting, fields in general actually. Maybe I just like the idea of a classic defense of the homestead sort of deal. I always get the image of fighting off aliens or zombies or something in a field on a farm. It's a cool setting, evokes a lot of atmosphere. Like, you're combining westerns and another genre. So that's basically the impetus for where the attack place, New Teteocan's farming fields. Plus, given Zek's pursuit of sugar cane, it was a great way to get him on the front lines without him being forced to go there. No, his own greed gets him stuck in firefight. The life of pirate is frought with danger.
I wanted to showcase as many characters as possible in this fight while keeping the action well paced and constantly flowing. That gave the proceedings a chaotic feel, like you're in the middle of everything and just running from foxhole to foxhole as the bullets and plasma fly around you. Zara was my favorite to write, she's this sweet, kindly lady farmer who just wants everyone to get along so they can get the harvest in and they can all make a nice apple pie. But threaten her family and she will frickin kill you! I made sure to make it clear that she is a nice person... but to beware her early on. That's why she promised to make our heroes scarecrows if they misbehaved. So having her go shotgun buck wild on Lurz's raiding party was good fun.
Another standout was Boz of course. A lot of people were thinking he'd start screaming and acting cowardly, probably because of what happened with Tali. You need to remember, he's still a pirate, he's just not as much of a fighter as the other Jackals. Plus he was really buzzed that night and in no condition to really put up a fight. He's not that kind of drunk. Really though, he just needed a gun... real bad. There will be a proper chapter for the Radio Series starring him and Zapap, his beleagured Grunty Intern. But what happens during the broadcast involves some major spoilers so, don't expect to see that until we get there. Like I said before, Boz is here to make sure you know he's not forgotten and it's nice to have him out of the station for a bit. Exercise is good for ya, even if it involves running from plasma bolts.
The side story battle in this was Chief and his Spartans, systematically tearing through a Forerunner Outpost filled to the brim with Sentinels, including one of the biggies from Halo 2, The Enforcer. Although I hear they prefer to be called Spaghetti. (If you get that reference, you watched the same immature TV as I did and bless you for it.) I do like showcasing the Spartans teamwork, even with so many of them around it can feel a bit crowded. Expect this to increase in frequency as we draw closer to the finale. They do have a whole Space Station to take out as well as a battle in Slipspace to deal with before then. It was important to me to showcase their individual skills as soldiers. Kelly and Kat being the techies, Linda and Jun are the marksmen, Anton and Fred the DPS aggro drawers and Chief their foundation as their leader. As much as I love teaming up Chief and Shepard, it's great to see them all go to work. I always want them to feel like together they can do anything. Hell, with Shepard backing them up they're near unstoppable. The only thing worse for the Covies is if I threw the Doomslayer in there. Chief and Shep plus him would probably kill the Reaper threat in a few hours actually, so if any of you want to ask, no. We're not going to make this a three way crossover, tempting as it may seem.
A more personal fight was Lurz and Zek. While he might not talk much, I want to make it clear that he's not mute. Lurz just doesn't have much to say, he prefers to act. Despite his more muscular than normal physique from most Jackals, and even Ibies like himself, he isn't stupid either. He's a very cunning hunting, it's his background. Which is why he isolates Zek and tries to tear him down, piece by piece. Zek in the meantime tries to use his usual wit and dexterity to keep one step ahead of the bruiser. Sadly he's not up to Lurz's level and he is distracted by the real threat that he soon deduces. Zek isn't the strategic genius Retz is, but he knows a good scheme and he knows how people like Lurz and Zhoc think. Probably because he aspires to be a lot like Zhoc in terms of power and prestige, and he's known him long enough to understand him, or at least think he does. So it doesn't take him long to figure out what's really going on when he bothers to talk it out and think it aloud. That's how Zek processes information, talking too much for his own good.
I think the best part of the scene is the bit of very dark comedy where Zek keeps trying to bargain his way out of having his eyes gouged out. It just shows how much he considers himself an smooth talker that he thinks he can get out of this. Mostly though he's just trying to stall and hope the others are almost at his position. He knows how this goes after all, he's seen enough vids at this point. It's a nice character moment and I like that once he's saved, his first clear thoughts are about the lab and Taq. He's still a selfish dick, but Zek is a team player, even if its mostly because of his own interests.
Speaking of the lab, the nerd brigade kicks some ass! I wanted to show the brains of the bunch pulling some badass stunts and the like. I didn't want them left out so I had the advanced infiltration team attack them. It was nice to see them use their knowledge of the Forerunner facility against the Pirates and come up with some unconventional ways to defend themselves. Plus it meant I could essentially do Home Alone in an ancient alien temple lab. Always good fun there. I hope Rowan's little battle taunt at the start of things went over well, I do like watching her let loose. I know some people have compared her to the new Entrapta from the Netflix She-Ra. If I've mentioned this before, that might have been an unintentional influence on things. The welder's mask at least came into bigger play as a result of Entrapta. I just really like masks and battle headgear, despite covering the face they can actually display a ton of of personality.
That's most of everything I had to say. Other than it was nice to have Brant show what his Cyclops suit could do. I really like those suits, I wish Halo had more mechs in their games. And Maisey and Haverson getting along more was needed. It was kinda getting really heated and I needed them to finally stop complaining and get on the same page if I'm going to make the end of this arc in any way believable. So, this is a nice start towards the possible reconciliation of both views.
So, thanks for reading the Chapter then, and I hope you enjoy next time as I will promise to answer most of your questions about the actual big thing you're probably all screaming about. Please, hold them until later. I promise you, we won't leave you hanging.
Hope you are doing well.
ReplyDelete