Desolation

Crash and Burn (intro)

Disclaimer: I don't own halo, nor do I claim to, blah blah, you heard this all before! You get the point.

A/N: This is my first fanfiction. Reviews and criticism are greatly appreciated, I would love to improve any way I can.
Anyways, enjoy :)

Darkness and fog hung over the thick jungle like a heavy drape, smothering the ashen-gray bark on the trees and foliage with a wispy white blanket. Mysteriously, no life scurried among the lush undergrowth, the ground floor was unnervingly quiet. From the hidden foliage that carpeted the dry dirt, the canopy of the Jungle's trees was completely lost to view by a shifting sea of smoke which jealously guarded the leaves on the trees from any prying eyes below.

The dead jungle held a silence of three parts.

The first silence was common, the quiet stemmed from nothing causing noise. While the area was quite devoid of life on the ground, the thick canopy boxing the scene of the desolate area beneath let off no alarms to the Pelican and Phantom flying above the trees, the two ships intertwining and diving away from eachother as they each desperately tried to stay airbourne, counterattacking eachother meanwhile.

The second silence was that which was tarnished. The stagnant air held no sounds of birds chirping in the trees, or bugs scurrying among the decaying leaves littering the ground, it was the peaceful state of serenity that had settled over the area for so long. The two ships cut through the still air above the disapproving trees, desperately trying to outmaneuver eachother as the Jungle held its ears.

The third silence was far more difficult to detect. This was the constant act of the Jungle below trying to hush the meddling ships above. From a clearing ahead of the two invading vessels, a small array of dull gray columns slipped from the ground noiselessly, melting into the backdrop of the trees, patiently awaiting the arrival of the intruders. As the two oblivious ships neared the clearing, the columns sprung to action, flaring blue as they charged their powerful beams, ready to unleash upon the ignorant tresspassers above.

In a flash, the columns blasted the ships with powerful beams of energy, blue arcs flew from the heart of the Jungle to crash into their sides, illuminating the starry night sky with brilliant blue explosions. The impact completely caught the pilots off guard, and the ships started to spiral out of control. Unable to steer effectively, the vessels met the dense canopy head on, tearing a deep gouge through clusters of trees as they collided with the ground in a dramatic display of orange and purple fire.

After a mere thirty seconds, the two ships lay in ruin a thousand feet from one another, the twisted gray and purple metals of the Phantom and Pelican glared at eachother between the trunks of the massive trees.

As quickly as it had started, it was all over. The ships let out their last sputters and died, and the Jungle quieted down once more as the fog crept upon the scene, swallowing the destruction in a ghostlike curtain as the Jungle rightfully reclaimed its third silence.