Editing Headhunters (story)

{{Status|RealWorld}}

{{Center|''For other uses, see [[Headhunters (disambiguation)]].''}}

{{Article quote|A select group of Spartan-IIIs put on a mission to succeed against a never-before-seen Elite force}}

[[File:Evo Headhunters Post.jpg|150px|thumb|The cover of ''Headhunters'' as illustrated by Garrett Post]]

'''Headhunters''' is a short story in ''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]'', a collection of short stories by a multitude of authors. It tells the story of [[Roland-B210]] and [[Jonah-B283]], two top-echelon [[SPARTAN-III Program|Spartan-IIIs]] who are selected by [[Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI Section Three]] to serve in a [[Headhunters|special unit]] under the [[Beta-5 Division]]. The story was written by [[Jonathan Goff]].

==Plot Synopsis==

''Headhunters'' focuses on the ghost-like Spartan-III [[Headhunters|"Headhunter"]] operatives. Throughout their top-secret missions, the contrast between the celebrated [[SPARTAN-II Program|Spartan-IIs]] and the secretive Spartan-IIIs is a key focus. Another major theme in the story is confronting the Elites' sense of superiority over their 'inferior' foes. Despite glassing humans from orbit and using advanced cloaking technology, the Elites regard similar tactics used by the Spartans as 'dishonorable'. Jonah's sadism is also contrasted with the Elites, who mock the notion that the aliens have any 'right' to exterminate humanity without being subject to horrific reprisals.  

The Headhunters are Spartan-IIIs selected for missions "secret even to their peers." Volunteers must complete two or more training missions before being evaluated in the following seven months of supervised field exercises. Each unit was further tested through six months of wartime insertions. At the program's height, there was a maximum contingent of six squads - six teams, with a total of seventeen soldiers rotating in to fill gaps left by MIA or KIA soldiers. Fireteams were comprised of two Headhunters, initially paired via exhaustive interviews and ONI profiling. Soldiers Jonah and Roland are rated as 'excellent' compatibility with 97.36 percent, the second highest score ever recorded.   

Deployed to a [[Covenant]]-held moon which was believed to be a dig-site for a hidden artifact, Jonah and Roland are tasked to destroy six of the ten basecamps situated around the perimeter of a massive central compound. The confusion and reshuffling of troops and supplies by the Covenant contingent following each basecamp's destruction were to pave the way for a full-scale assault by a dozen Spartan-III fireteams and their support.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''' - '''''Headhunters''''', pages 161-162</ref>

Armed with [[M7S Caseless Submachine Gun]]s and [[M6C/SOCOM]] pistols, and equipped with experimental technology, the two soldiers prepare for their assault. Roland is a level-headed tactician, while Jonah takes sadistic pleasure in killing Covenant soldiers. While never explicitly stated, it is likely this cruelty was motivated by the loss of Jonah's family like most Spartan-IIIs. The Headhunters infiltrate past a [[Kig-Yar]] sniper and into the outskirts of the camp. After gathering intelligence for two days, they decide on a plan of attack. Roland, with an experimental active camouflage module, will sabotage the base's reactors, while Jonah will neutralize any surviving soldiers. Using an [[energy disruptor]], a device that disables the Covenant's plasma weapons and energy shields, Jonah makes quick work of a unit of [[Unggoy]], Kig-Yar, and [[Sangheili]].

Following this exchange, Roland is killed by a warrior of the [[Silent Shadow]] wielding a blood-red [[Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword|energy sword]]. Jonah turns on his VISR, revealing several more cloaked Elites. Surrounded, Jonah provokes the Covenant warriors, ridiculing the great lengths they went to trap a mere two humans (an offense that would drive most Elites to a feral state). He attacks the Elites, but his bullets bounce off their armor. The Spec Ops team closes in and quickly subdues the lone Spartan.  The Elites prepare to torture the wounded and captured Jonah for their own amusement. Jonah realizes the importance of the Spec-Ops warriors, who were tasked specifically to kill Headhunters, and is comforted by the thought of trading his life for the six Sangheili. Even after his eye is burned out, Jonah is still able to detonate the trigger for the explosives that Roland had rigged around the camp earlier. The Covenant camp is vaporized, along with Jonah and the Silent Shadow squad,<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/brute-force '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Brute Force'']</ref> with only one Sangheili surviving the event: [[Jega 'Rdomnai]].{{Ref/Book|Enc22|Page=454}}

 

In the short story, Roland covers Jonah with a [[Vostu-pattern carbine|Covenant carbine]], firing three shots into a Sangheili's head and then expending the rest of his magazine on the remaining hostiles. In the motion comic, Roland dispatches the Sangheili with a single shot from a [[Sulok-pattern beam rifle|particle beam rifle]], then kills the remaining hostiles with single shots. Roland's particle beam rifle emits the distinctive report of the Covenant carbine when fired.

File:Headhunters - Jonah profile.png|A profile image of Jonah from the ''Headhunters'' motion comic adaptation

File:Headhunters - Elite concept.png|Render of a [[Special Operations Sangheili]] used in the motion comic adaptation

File:Headhunters - barrel and generator.png|Renders of a Covenant barrel and [[generator]] from the motion comic

{{Ref/Sources}}