Post by SgCombine on Mar 9, 2014 19:08:26 GMT
Alright, so this is long overdue, this issue came out almost 2 months ago. But since I just got my little paws on it yesterday, might as well review it now.
RECAP
Okay, so in the last issue the Spartan IV's of the UNSC starship Infinity are tasked with providing security for a meeting on a neutral planet between the leaders of the UNSC, Sangheili, and Jiralhanae. Negotiations don't go very well when the room they're in explodes and a faction of Storm Covenant attack the ambassadors. Cut off from their ships, Captain Lasky, Commander Sarah Palmer, and the surviving security forces lead the ambassadors to a large facility to hide in while Storm Covenant forces surround the building.
Issue #2
Date: March 5, 2558
Location: Ealen IV -Plasma Refinement Facility-
Continues right where we left off with the main characters holed up in an old Covenant facility waiting for Infinity to extract them. Unfortunately, their comms are being blocked so their stuck planetside for the time being. Admiral Lord Hood suggests they bunker down and wait for reinforcements, Lasky however decides to send the ambassadors with a team of Spartan IV and Palmer to the Redoubt, while he and "Comm Specialist" Spartan Ray try to establish radio contact with the fleet. Now things switch over to the Storm faction. Shipmaster 'Gajat watches as multiple dropships surround the facility.
Now this is the part that gets interesting, besides the fact that we see our first cyborg Sangheili (I have a little fan-theory about him I'll get to later), 'Gajat has human conspirators by his side! Apparently he's double crossing Jul 'Mdama and working with another human faction that aren't insurrectionists. 'Gajat berates his subordinate Tek(a Skirmisher Champion judging by the armor) for letting the ambassadors get away. The human conspirator (who looks hilariously like a Star Wars senator) reveals that they succeeded in blocking the comms channels however it won't be long before the Infinity retaliates and that they need to "pick up the pace".
Back in orbit the Infinity bridge crew are debating whether or not to drop a battalion of ODSTs to find out why comms are down planetside. Both the Jiralhanae and Sangheili fleets are starting to get aggressive towards each other. Meanwhile 'Gajat and his forces blow through the facility's entrance, only to find it empty. 'Gajat once again scolds his subordinate and this time holds an energy sword to his face telling him if he doesn't produce results soon his bounty will be divided among others more competent. After dramatically slamming the Kig Yar into the ground he orders his all his forces to deploy.
Back at the Redoubt Commander Palmer is asking the Arbiter if the Storm faction will find them there, the Arbiter believes that the traitor that leaked information about the meeting probably also gave them data on the planets infrastructure, so it won't be long before they're found. Palmer orders Demarco and fireteam Bailey to secure the area, while sending Spartan Scruggs with fireteam Jackknife and Lydus's bodyguards. A Covenant Lich spots them and starts to drop off troops. Palmer quickly reacts by ordering everyone to put their grenades in her helmet, I... I really just... *sigh* rule of cool I guess. Anyway, she charges towards the Lich and hurls her uber expensive helmet that's magically holding everyone's grenades into the Lich, resulting in a large explosion. She then get's surrounded by an Sangheili and four Unggoy.
Back at the refinement facility, Lasky and Ray have entered the "Administrative wing" and plan on using the old Covenant network to communicate with Infinity. They're suddenly ambushed by a Sangheili Warrior, who Ray drop kicks then throws a knife at. The Warrior dodges the knife and mocks Ray but then gets smashed in the face by Lasky with an assault rifle. Ray kills the warrior with a shot to the head with her sidearm. Some side conversation, then Ray finds out that the entire network on the planet is jamming their transmissions, and the only way to stop it is to take out the power grid. Ray smiles, confident that she can track it's origins. Back to the ambassador group: The Lich Palmer blew up is falling on the bridge they're standing on. The group makes a run for the gravity lifts. A Storm Sangheili grabs Palmers foot, taunting and strangling her. Just as he's about to kill her, Spartan Hero Scruggs comes to the rescue, slicing the Sangheili's spine.
Lord Hood checks the body and finds a UNSC tablet with stolen data on it, confirming the existence of a traitor among their ranks. Lasky and Ray fight their way to the main comm tower and discover that the Storm faction is converging on the ambassadors positions. Palmer contacts Scruggs asking if it's all clear. Scruggs, motherfucking Spartan Hero Scruggs answers "the redoubt is secured". To be continued.
Shipmaster 'Gajat Theory
Yes, after upon 'Gajat I screamed with excitement and started rolling on the ground in glee. He's the first Sangheili in Halo canon to have robotic replacements. This would also lead us to think, hey even though most Sangheili would rather die than let a doctor cut them with an energy scalpel maybe the Covenant medical field isn't as bad as we thought right? Well... I don't think this is Covenant tech at work here. Two reasons, first, the metal appears to be Titanium, not the usual Covenant purple/blue alloys. Secondly, the human comrades. Why would this proud Sangheili shipmaster want to work with humans? Perhaps they rescued him and outfitted him with a back brace and a cybernetic arm. That's what I think, maybe I'm completely wrong though. *shrug*
Observations
- First, the art seems to have improved a bit, especially when it comes to facial expressions. The cannon fodder aren't boring single color cut-outs anymore. The artist included multiple versions of armor/vehicle variants from the games for the Covenant forces. We see Halo: Reach and Halo 4 hunters, as well as Halo 3, Halo Reach and Halo 4 banshees.
- Palmer is still a terrible shot, she fires her pistol point blank at an eight foot tall Sangheili and misses. Lydus is still naked.
*Will continue with issue #3 soon*
