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Halo: The Long Road Home by Jack Monroe
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Part 1: The Long Road Home
Date: 9 August 2006, 11:26 pm
Author's Note: I've used the Halo novel's location and time identifiers, and any information here I have gathered from the Halo novels I do not own John, SPARTAN 117, Bungie does.
0500 Hours, August 16, 2552 (Military Calender)/
Covenant Frigate, unknown coordinates
John, the 35 year old Spartan, sits with his helmet off in the cargo bay of a Covenant frigate. Five Marines he had found while escaping from the Flood had hitched a ride with him, they had snuck aboard by hiding in a cargo crate at a gravity lift used to load and unload Covenant ships. The Marine Sergeant looked up to the Spartan, "Chief, what were those things? You know, the mutated looking guys..."
The Spartan put back on his helmet and handed the combat knife back to the Marine sergeant after shaving. No response came from John. He sat up from his leaning position and checked his clip, it was full and he replaced it, pushing the bolt forward. "The Flood," he finally responded looking around the Cargo bay. The Marine just nodded, leaving John to is wanderings.
"Chief, I'm detecting lots of motion on the motion detectors, we're surrounded!" Cortana said. "Wait, something is wrong, according to the Covenant's latest communications message...oh no, this is bad!" she said, she had opened a communications channel with the rest of the Marines so they could all hear. "What is it?" John asked, now on full alert, along with the other Marines.
"Its the Flood, somehow they managed to board the Covenant frigate, John, I don't think we can win this one..." He nodded in agreement. "LETS GIVE THEM HELL!" yelled the Sergeant, the Marines gave a hooraah in acknowledgment. "I suggest we take a drop ship and head back to Earth as fast as possible." Again, John nodded, and got up. "What do we do now sir?" asked a Private. John stopped in his step and looked at the Marine, "We give them hell."
Following John, they listening with all ears, heading for the door in front of them. The lighting reflected off the blue walls of the Covenant ship, making it look more like an inside of a building than a ship. John had been amused of the insides of a Covenant ship, its passage ways were easier and there not being so many doors made it easier to kill the enemy without them coming from your blind spots. John being the leader of the team, he gave the fist...the signal for halt and lowered to his knees with rifle raised.
The Marines followed suit, and made an arc, covering all sides of John's back in case any Flood or Covenant forces tried to sneak up on them. "What is it Chief?" asked the Sergeant. John didn't respond as he was listening. He was hearing what sounded like movement in the cargo bay...or directly outside that door. It sounded like it was some type of creature with tentacle like legs, creeping around like brainless bugs. The others couldn't hear it, it was faint, and the Chief's super-human hearing and his uniform made it possible for him to hear it as if it was right behind the door.
The sounds got louder and louder, he was now certain that the others could hear it. "What the hell is that sound!" the Sergeant yelled, the Marines now interested what was behind that door. They got up as John stood up, and lined up in a not so perfect line with rifles at the ready. Looking at his motion detector, he noted that their were more than a dozen of those creatures out there. "The Flood," John said. He had recognized the sound from when he had fought them off on the ground.
Deployment time + 00:20:15 (Spartan Mission Clock)/
Covenant Frigate, unknown coordinates
The Marines waited for what seemed like an eternity, they were going to have to find another way out. "Cortana, get us out of here!" he yelled, blood thirsty, but he knew that if he opened that door, his yearning to kill would get the Marines killed, they didn't exactly have super-human powers and shields like he did. He had seen what happened to countless Marines who had gotten attacked by Flood forces. Staring at the door controls, he wondered how long they could actually hold off the Flood, and what would happen.
"Got it Chief, the door behind you, it has a few grunts behind it, nothing you can't handle," Cortana said slurring the words nothing and you as the said door hissed open. A platoon of grunts came running through the door, with a few elites. "You ant gettin' through Big Daddy you alien bastards!" yelled an uptight, motivated, young arrogant Private Jenkins. The Marines and the Spartan ripped right through them with their assault rifles and shotguns. John finished the last grunt with a butt with his rifle. The Spartan lead the way into the corridor, sticking a plasma grenade on a left-over elite, the Marines took cover as the grenade sent the elite flying. John continued the way, the Marines in a scattered formation for one particular reason. In tight-quarter combat, one grenade could finish off the team, of course maybe except the Spartan if he wasn't sticked. Cautious, the team advanced forward keeping an eye on the motion detectors. The Marines were surprised to see bodies of all types on the floor.
"The Flood must have been here," said a Marine closest to John in which no response came. The bluish light made the green blood splattered on the wall clearly noticeable, but pretty. From a distance it would look as if it was a greenish glossy paint job. John kept his eight senses, the seventh and eighth being the eyes and ears of Cortana, for any trouble. The Spartan immediately stopped, the Marine behind him bumped into the Chief. "What the hell dude, you could have warned me first!" he said. "Quiet and listen," John said stoically. The same sound he had heard in the cargo bay came into play, along with what appeared to be a low growl-like dialect. John had raised his rifle aiming down the corridor. Several targets had appeared on the Marines' motion detectors, they raised their rifles as well.
What seemed like a big blob of red was coming at them...fast. Soon they could see their targets, coming from a corridor adjacent to the group. The Marines lit up as soon as they were in sight, "I want to see a Flood head on my wall by tonight boys!" Sergeant O`Reilly yelled, and then cheered as he took out a human warrior form of Flood.
What seemed like a long battle, it had finally ended after John and the Marines made sure each one was dead by shooting the chest cavities. A Corporal leaned down next to a fallen mutated Marine and frowned, "Poor bastard, I wish there was some way we can save them..." he said. "Doubtful, the host is dead, its the Infection Form that is taking over their body by controlling their motor functions..." replied Cortana through the Marine's com unit.
"Cortana, I need a map of this frigate, and are there any prisoners in the brig?" John asked Cortana. "Processing," she replied, a few seconds later she came back on, "Map downloading to your HUD, and positive, there are currently a platoon of Marines in two of the brigs..how did you know?" John turned his head to the Marines standing around, guarding his six, he then turned his whole body towards them. "Let's just say their idea to hitch a ride on this frigate wasn't exactly a split decision."
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