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Halo: Last Stand
Posted By: Draganos<extreme_goalie@rogers.com>
Date: 30 June 2005, 7:15 pm
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Halo : Final Stand
- Prologue -
Halo Control Room
Installation 05/Delta Halo
The burning sizzle of plasma energy searing though bear flesh buzzed as the disgraced, but undefeated Elite, The Aribter, thrusted his bluish-white energy sword into the chest cavity of the Brute Chieftain, Tartarus. Red liquid slowly began to run down from the mortal wound between the beast's two pecks as the energy sword was pulled out in a swift motion, stunning both the Arbiter and Tartarus.
"This… ca-cannot….b-b-be!" the massive brute grunted as he dropped to his knees, his mighty gravitational hammer fell to the ancient metallic Forerunner floor, creating a warping effect and sending shards of metal flying in every direction. The white and grey haired ape-like creature clutched his wound tightly, as if trying to somehow stop the unstoppable follow of his own blood. He was used to seeing the blood of his enemies splatter to the floor below, not his own. Tartarus' brilliant tall-standing mohawk had been reduced to nothing more than a white sag of matted hair. His breathing went from steady grunts and whistles, not a gasping struggle for air, as a result of a popped lung. Sensing unbeatable odds, he released the grip on his wound and let the blood rush out.
"Tartarus," the silver armored Elite spoke as he stood over the fallen brute, "You would not believe me or the Oracle when we told you that the Prophets have lead us down a path of lies and misbeliefs. The Prophets all along have known of the powers of these rings, and they have told us otherwise of their capabilities. They have betrayed us, Chieftain, and you failed to see this. All along, their goal has been to eliminate every race but themselves. Halo was meant to kill every being in the universe so that the flood would starve, the Great Journey was a path into death. Thanks to you transgression, you have betrayed every race in the universe just as the Prophets did. You've shown ruthlessness and absolute disregard to our Covenant as the Prophets have. You will suffer the same fate as those who have broken our Covenant and betrayed our universe will receive.
With that, the Elite raised his energy sword in the air as the Chieftain looked up in shock. He tried to yell, "NO!" but the words would not come out. His last feeling was an unpleasant burning as his spirit made transcendence to the life beyond.
Tartarus' detached head bounced off the metallic floor that the Arbiter stood on, and the hard –clank!- Tartarus' steel like skull made with the floor sent a slight tremor of echoes inside the gigantic control room. The echo caused the Arbiter to look up at the massive structure, and he gasped in awe. As soon as his eyes met the large facility in the middle that he was standing under and saw a bright blue beam of light, he remembered.
"No! The key must be stopped from turning!" the Arbiter bellowed, remembering the flood leader Gravemind, as he turned to see the human female rush past him to the control center and rip the green and black Index from pedestal in which it was inserted. She grabbed it and examined it for a moment, before smirking and tossing it over the edge of the platform under which they stood, and the key-like objected tumbled down into the darkness below.
Suddenly, the blue light that had been ignited from the center of the control room was cut off. A huge earthquake-like sensation shook the massive control room and knocked both the human female and the Arbiter off their feet. Suddenly, a blinding light burst through the open top of the control room, causing all to cover their eyes or risk blindness After several sections, the shaking abruptly stopped as did the bright light and left an odd feeling of complete silence.
The Arbiter released an exasperating sigh, as Halo's firing sequence had been stopped and all life in the galaxy had been saved. His relief of the situation turned to sadness and remorse as he looked around at the area where he sat and beyond. As the Arbiter rose to his feet he saw the brutality of his latest battle. Purple and red blood soaked the floor of the control room; the bodies of his fallen brother Elites and Brutes lay scattered amongst each other.
'This did not have to happen,' the Arbiter thought to himself, 'If it were not for the Prophets, then no one, humans or covenant alike would have lost their lives.'
The Arbiter's moment of remorse was cut short from the high pitched voice of the human female, Commander Miranda Keyes, as she called out, "Sergeant! Come Quick!"
The Arbiter rushed over to see the human female greeted by a short black man, with a straight black mustache, a heavily scared face from extreme plasma burns and a short-stubbed cigar in his mouth. The man came in riding the spherical Forerunner AI, The Oracle, or by his terms, 343 Guilty Spark. He wore full camouflage gear including a cap with a slightly bent beak. He was known as Sergeant Johnson, and his reputation was unmatched by almost anyone in the Marine Corps. He had escaped Installation 04 when the Demon, as the Arbiter called him, set fire to the ring by detonating his ship's fusion reactors. Covenant Intelligence reports had also indicated that due to a run-in with a box of plasma grenades, Johnson had suffered 3rd degree burns all over his body and was diagnosed with a mysterious disease known as Boren's Syndrome. This syndrome came in handy however, according to reports that he was immune to the infectious parasite, The Flood, that had claimed the lives of hundreds amongst the human and covenant side. This human, however, had survived it and was considered a major threat by the High Counsil, but not as much of a threat as the green-armored Demon. The Sergeant, with a Covenant beam rifle in hand, saluted the Commander.
"What can I do for you ma'am?" the Sergeant said while grinning at the defeat of the Brutes. Miranda Keys did not respond, as she was fixated on the 7 foot high lizard-like being that stood before the. The Elite looks at Miranda, who took a step back, and then to Sergeant Johnson and titled his head. "Nothing to be afraid of ma'am," Johnson said reassuringly, "He's on our side."
"I see," Keys said unsurelingly.
"I assure you human, I have given up my will to harm humans," the Arbiter said, nodding his head, "I have only recently been made seen that my Prophets have told nothing but lies to myself and my fellow brothers of the Covenant. Together, the Elites, Grunts and Hunters have broken from the Covenant and we now wage war against the Prophets and their followers. We may have started as enemies, but this new war has made us allies."
"Then so be it," Keys said, extending her hand to the Elite.
"Let us defeat the Prophets and bring order to the universe," The Arbiter responded and took the human's hand and shook it, while nodding in approval.
Suddenly, a spherical shaped hologram appeared in front of Keyes that had a denser object in the middle. Puuzzled Keyes asked, "What's that?"
343 Guilty Spark humbling replied, "A beacon." The large, round construct of Forerunner metal with a blue orb of light at the center was quite an odd personality to the Arbiter. He remembered the AI from the human ship, The Pillar of Autumn. He had fled before the fusion reactors had been set ablaze, but he remembered the constant arrogance of it always gloating about it's intellect. It must have survived the detonation of the first Halo, because it was recovered when he killed the Heretic leader. That was something the Arbiter regretted immediately as soon as the thought crossed his mind. He was blinded by the Prophets false promises. First he thought of the Oracle as a holy object, now it was a valuable source of information. Ether way, the Arbiter felt he needed the Oracle.
"What's it doing?" Miranda replied.
"Communicating," the spherical AI replied, it's blue light flickering with each syllable, "At super luminous speeds with the frequency of-"
Keys cut 343 off, "Communicating with what?"
"The…other installations," 343 replied, puzzled that he had to release this information.
"Show me."
"Failsafe protocol," 343 explained as the dense center of the hologram broke up into six diagrams of Halos as Guilty Spark continued, "In the event of unexpected shutdown, the entire system will move to standby status. All remaining platforms are ready for remote activation."
"Remote activation?" Keyes replied in disbelief, "From here?"
"Don't be ridiculous"
"Listen Tinkerbell," Sergeant Johnson interrupted, "Don't make me-"
"Then where?" Keyes interjected, "Where would someone go to activate the other rings?"
343 Guilty Spark paused a moment, looked at all three standing there and replied, "Why the Ark, of course."
The Arbiter decided it was his time to step forward,
"And where, Oracle, is that?"
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