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The Road to Earth
Part One


John sat motionless, his assault rifle laid across his lap resting silently for the first time in three days, as he stared into the deep abyss of space, the black sheet only punctuated by pin pricks of light from distant stars. He sighed and rested his head against the foam padded backing of the cockpit chair. The seat, which had been personally fitted to suit the pilot, was now out of place and extremely uncomfortable, since he had taken the only Long Sword fighter left in the launch bay to escape the Pillar of Autumn. His suit was strewn across the floor, and was severely damaged from the fierce fighting, which had ensued on the alien ring world. The ships Auto pilot allowed him a chance to rest as it guided the craft to the nearest UNSC frigate, The Lone Wolf.
John stood and stretched, his whole body ached, the first time it had done so in ages. Looking at the monitor and gauge display he noticed that in 3 hours he would be docking with the Lone Wolf. Crouching down to exit through the shuttles Bombay doors, he entered the ships living quarters, two cryo chambers for pilot and copilot were on either side of the room, and small table with a built-in storage for supplies and food served as the base. Picking up the pieces of armor off the floor, he proceeded to remove a rag, and wipe the soot from the green armor plating, being sure to polish the finish.
Taking the black nomex body suit, he pulled it up, and strapped the green armor to it's assigned places on his body. Turning on the power supply, a surge of energy jolted through him, the artificial strength flowing through him, increasing his strength and reflexes even more. Removing his pistol from it's shelf, he loaded a new clip and holstered it along with more ammunition packs, to the supply pouches which lined his chest. In exactly five minutes from now, the Lone Wolf would be in visual and communication range. John walked over to the cockpit and once again took a seat. Removing Cortana's data chip from the ships recharge unit, he carefully inserted it into the side of his helmet, and was soon greeted by a familiar voice.
"It's about time," she stated in her sarcastic tone.
"I don't want to hear it now Cortana," he replied
"Where are we?" She asked.
"Hold on" he said as he peered out the window. Off in the distance the Lone Wolf appeared, The Pride of the UNSC fleet, the most heavily armed frigate, sat immobile parts of it's hull were charred black, and holes punctuated the sides.
"Oh my God!" he said, anger piercing through his voice. "What the hell happened." He yelled.
The speck on the horizon grew larger as the Long Sword approached. Vapors could now be seen leaking from the side of the craft, and hundreds of chunks of severed, twisted steel, floated in a near proximity of the ship. Several were bodies, which had been sucked out into the vacuum of space. John held back the vomit that was rising in his stomach. The lights inside the ship turned red, a warning light. John flipped several switches and took the craft off autopilot.
"What now chief?" Cortana asked.
John shook his head "We're going in he said.
The small craft was rattled by tiny pieces of debris as John maneuvered the nimble fighter through the wreckage. Docking bay 20, was now 50 feet away, and was one of 25 launch areas spaced strategically around the ship. Lowering the landing gear, he slowed the ship to a near stop, letting inertia lead it into the landing Zone. Swinging the rifle over his shoulder, John walked to the back of the craft and pulled a lever. An electronic hum sounded as the Long Swords hydraulics groaned and hissed as the pressurized seal was broken. The ramp at the rear end began to lower, more and more; John began to see the interiors of the LZ. The dark floors, which were usually a shiny polished Black, were now covered with a gray layer of exploded concrete from the pillars.
John disembarked the fighter his footsteps clanging across the metal grating of the Long Sword. Shouldering his rifle, he peered around all sides of the ship. Bodies littered the room and bloodstains were splattered onto the walls and floors. The lights that normally lit the room, as regulated by the UNSC doctrine for Frigates, now flickered on and off, some hanging just by wires from the ceiling.
"What happened?" Cortana asked.
"Covenant." John replied as he approached a small creature, which lay lifeless on the ground.
"Cortana do a scan for life forms, we have to find out where they are." He ordered. Several seconds passed as he examined the body.
"Sir" she said "I'm reading signals of life just beyond that room." John nodded, and crept towards the door to the far right of the room. Leaning against the wall he listened, on the other side he heard high pitch squeaks and screeches. He turned to face the entrance. Tapping his hands on the keypad, the door sprung open, quickly checking the room he saw two grunts and an elite, which towered above the other two. Squeezing the trigger, he unloaded three shots into each grunt before they even noticed him. The Elite barked and pointed before ducking behind a corned to evade fire. John ran in, flipping over a titanium table for cover as the hot plasma from the alien weapon splashed onto the surface. John waited, the Elite continued to rapidly fire it's weapon allowing the heat to build up inside it, when he heard a hiss he stood. The rifle had overheated, and was cooling down; John aimed his rifle and charged. The first ten to fifteen shots bounced off the personal shield system, but the next volley pierced the protective layer of the creature. Each new bullet that left the barrel was sent into the enemies' torso sending a mix of purple green blood to the wall behind it, sending the animal to the ground as it howled in pain.
John leaned over the dying creature as it groaned. He showed little pity, for those creatures were responsible for the deaths of millions worldwide. As it hissed and gargled for oxygen the chief took the end of his rifle and crushed it's skull with a crunch, ending one more threat to the human race. Wiping the blood from his visor he looked towards an elevator that lead to the bridge.
"An armory is on the 3rd level below the bridge Chief" Cortana said. John nodded, walking over to the large freight elevator which could easily hold more than 25 fully armed crew members at a time. Pressing the directional button he waited for a moment allowing the elevator travel from it's start position on E deck to mid C deck where he waited now, an near kilometer journey. The door sounded with and electronic buzzer and opened. Black burn marks and bullet holes decorated the insides along with a Navy officer who had two holes burned through his body. John stepped inside and checked the tags; the man was 2nd Lieutenant John Miller a Navy Long Sword pilot. The once vibrant face was now cold and white, and his eyes emotionless and gray. Miller's pistol was at his side along with a few shell casings but other than that he probable proved to be no obstacle for the invading covenant soldiers. John saluted him and removed a keycard from Miller's body before turning and facing the closing doors.
"A Deck floor 3" he said
"Negative, A deck is off limits for those without proper clearance, under UNSC code 5129, all personnel without clearance or a proper escort will not be able to access these floors. Please receive proper clearance, or chose another deck." The automated voice replied
"Damn-it" John said "Cortana get me access."
"Hold on" She said. John stepped back he was becoming frustrated, any moment Earth could fall under attack and he was there arguing with a security machine. The door pinged:
"3rd floor deck A, armory, staging area and security quarters accessed." The voice said
"Cortana what would I do without you?" he said
"Well you probably would be dead I believe along with all life in the Universe." She sarcastically stated.

The lift shot up traveling at around a constant 25kph, the floor signs imprinted on the walls blazed by. Eventually the lift slowed to a stop and the doors opened. Outside the hall was layered in a thick dust layer that hung in the air while the lights flickered on and off illuminating the entrance to the armory, which was pitch black inside. John Cautiously walked out, his rifle held tight to his shoulder as he scanned for enemies.
"Nothing" Cortana said.
"Don't be to sure." John replied as he came closer to the armory entrance. "I'll get some ammo and check the bridge before we leave." He said
"Sounds good to me" Cortana replied, "But I hope to God that...
Cortana's words were cut short as multiple sources of gunfire flew at them. John leaped against the outside wall for protection, as the shattering concrete pelted off his visor.
"Get that bastard!" a voice yelled
"Come out so I can kill you!" another called out. John stood up he now knew that Marines were inside.
"I'm a Friendly!" he said back
"That's what they all say!" the voice answered.
"No they don't, they can't even speak." Another Marine said.
"Well than, ok common in slowly." The one sarcastic Marine said hesitantly.
John walked in, switching on his shoulder flashlights he could see the 30 Marines who were badly beaten, a mixture of blood and dirt was caked on each ones face. One man stepped forward his rifle hanging by his side. He was older the others in the room, John estimated in his forties. He had short Gray hair, and a rigged face that was scared from numerous fights
"Sergeant Jake Farrell 1st Marine jump division who the Hell are you." He asked in his deep voice.
"Spartan 117 Master Chief." John replied. The men gasped when they heard that.
"Holy Christ, it's a Spartan," one said excitedly.
Farrell grinned at John "It's good to see you Chief, we've taken a hell of a beating." He said as he exchanged handshakes with John.
"What happened here?" John Asked
Jake sighed, "They hit us hard," he said "A covenant Armada had attacked Reach, our ship along with several others managed to escape the onslaught. The Pillar of Autumn and we ended some 50'000 miles apart, A Covenant carrier followed us through the wormhole and attacked." He paused, scanning the room of men who now stood silent. "Sixty boarding parties poured on, we did our best to fight back, but we failed. We took heavy casualties, 600 Marines In are division are un-accounted for and 2000 have been confirmed dead. My team held out up hear, it was our Alamo, we figured we had enough ammo and supplies to smoke the whole invasion fleet." He laughed "But for some reason they left, at least the large ships did. The Landing craft left their cargo behind, and went back to their ships before they went into hyperspace." He stopped and looked at his feet.
"Well where are they headed?" John asked
"We're not sure, but at the current trajectory somewhere in the direction of the Earth. They left in a hurry so it has to be something, but with no communication to the bridge and just a window to look from we can't be sure, hell they could miss by a several million miles." Jake looked up at the Chief waiting for a response
"That's not a risk we can take Sergeant."
"I know, but we're in no condition to fight."
"The hell you aren't." the Chief growled, "Earth may soon fall under attack and your whimpering down here, that's insubordination!"
"I know what it is Chief but I will not lead my men on a suicide mission on a hunch we did our part down here, but now we have help." Farrell stopped and waved some men over, calling out there names.
"Johnson, Church, Alan, Kowalski, Harrison, get your asses over here now." He waved at the men furiously "You and I are going to take a little trip up to the bridge, hopefully get some fly boys, and get this bucket of rust home." Jake grinned.
"That's crazy sir one!" One called out.
"Hush your bitch ass mouth Johnson before I have Church slit your throat in your sleep." Jake replied. The resistance was immediately extinguished.
"And I'll do it to." Church said looking at the Sergeant
"That's right, you're a good man Church." Jake patted him on the back "Ready Chief?" he asked. Heading towards the elevator, Jake turned around and spoke:
"Mouldoon, if anything comes in there that isn't human, blow those slimy sons a bitches straight to hell." A rough neck shouted out an OHHHHRAHHHHHH in response.
The Elevator doors slammed closed, and the electronic motor hummed as it started up.
"Chief are you sure about this?" Cortana said. John shook his head the elevator was slowing now, and God only knew what was beyond those doors. The familiar ping rang out as the lift came to a halt, and the doors slid open. The Bridge was a mess, human and covenant bodies alike littered the floors, their blood intermixed and pooled in the corners forming reddish-purple puddles. Johnson began to heave eventually vomiting up stomach bile.
"Holy shit what the hell happened." Church said nervously.
"Men spread out." John told them as he cautiously entered the command area. From the looks of things all hell had broke loose, the nervous center of a 2.5 trillion dollar craft had been shut down. John paused outside the locked down entrance to the cabin.
"Cortana, override it." He ordered
"Already done"
"Good." John watched as the security light turned green, and the massive steel door began to lift off the ground. The Marines had taken up position behind him, grabbing what cover they could incase of an attack, the lights on their Assault Rifles piercing the darkness ahead.
"Get back a voice." A female voice yelled back inside
"It's ok we're Marines." Jake reaffirmed. Silence ensued, John waved the men forward, the inside was untouched from the masquerade. The black tile floors still glistened and the walls were untouched by enemy or friendly fire. Although the room was almost entirely pitch black, John's sight was superb. Three men stood in the center of the room, two in full armor wielding riles the third towing a pistol, but in an officers field uniform. Two more female marines were crouched in the corner, guns raised pointing towards the entrance, along with one Marine in a doctor's outfit.
"Identify yourself!" one demanded
"Spartan 117, 1st Marine division B Company." John replied. Suddenly the lights flashed on, temporarily blinding him. The man in the uniform stepped forward, he was not noticeably different in age, yet he carried himself with a sense of pride and wisdom. Multi colored ribbons decorated his chest along several rank patches that were sewn onto his arm. His hair was black yet touched with gray tips, but for the most part he was in good shape for an officer of his rank and could easily pass as a roughneck.
"I'm Captain Samuel Thorn of UNSC Lone Wolf." He cocked his head waiting for a response.
"Sir we were trapped down stairs, until Master Chief cleared the enemy forces from our area Sir." Jake said
"Master who?" the captain questioned.
"That would be me." John raised his hand.
"Ah," the captain mumbled, "A Spartan, you survived Reach?"
"Not all of us sir, just I for all I know." John said sullenly.
"So where are the covenant forces now?" Jake asked. The Captain sat down and rubbed his forehead, he was obviously discouraged.
"We tracked their trajectory." He slowly stated "Their headed towards Earth." There was silence in the room. "We had lost communications in our shuffle with the covenant ship Iron Dagger, so we can't notify FLEETCOMM or receive long range messages, all we get out here is short wave signals so we at least intercepted this." Thorne darted his hands across a control panel, the audio speakers in the cabin kicked on.
"All, our day of reckoning has arisen, the enemies home world will be crushed once and for all, now we must do as planned immediately." The deep voice bellowed.
"That message was received 5 minutes before the Iron Dagger did a hyper jump, they found Earth." Thorn buried his head in his hands, and a young woman came closer. John was caught off guard, she was the type of woman found on calendars or modeling papers, not in uniforms carrying weapons. She was around 5'6 and in relatively good condition, her hair was cut to military length but still appeared to suit her.
"Corporal Sarah Young requesting permission to speak freely sir?" she asked in a nonchalant manner.
"Permission granted." Chief said in return, she shuffled he feet.
"Well If you allow your AI unit to pilot the Lone Wolf, and plot the course, we can be back to Earth within 2 hours, hopefully get a jump in on the fight." Sarah looked towards him expectantly.
"I agree." Cortana rang in, clearly surprised by that notion. John thought for a moment.
"But what if you fall into the wrong hands, you won't be safe up here." John replied
"If they've already found Earth what's the use?" Cortana was right. John nodded, and handed the chip to the Captain, who promptly put it into the ship's AI holder. Clicks began to occur rapidly, and displays began to light up.
"Ok, she's flyable, but decks F-J have been sealed and only 5 launch bays remain, with two pelicans." Her feminine figure shrouded in data appeared, she folded her arms over her chest. "Life signals are converging on A deck near the Armory!" she exclaimed in terror.
"Those are our guys." Farrell said
"Not unless their over 8ft tall." She shouted. Farrell's eyes grew large and worrisome
"Captain, you, and these men stay here, Jake come with me now." John pointed to the men before sprinting out of the room to the life, followed closely by Jake.
The Gunshots bounced off the walls around them as the doors opened two Hunters stood ready, aiming towards the Armory, their fuel rod cannons glowing green as they became charged. Two shots were released simultaneously along with corresponding fire form Marines trapped inside Removing his pistol Jake was able to take out one by hitting it's spinal cord in a single shot, the other however turned in a defensive posture towards Farrell and the Chief. Two Marines desperately charged the Hunter in an attempt to prevent an attack, both were cut down by a blast from its armor shield, one was crushed under it's feet his entire sternum was flat. John ran from the elevator, Farrell grasped firmly in his hands.
"Damn-it what are you doing, running down a locked hall way." Jake yelled. John stopped at the end and tossed him in the corner before shielding his body with his own. The Hunter Turned, and it's Gun began to charge. That moment two rockets streaked from the armory and blasted the hunter on side. The tremendous creature roared, before collapsing onto the ground. John pushed himself off the ground and dusted off his armor, Jake turned and sat up against the wall.
"What the hell was that all about." He groaned as he grabbed John's had to pull himself off the floor.
"I rocket pods being loaded, and quite frankly I didn't want to peel your body off the walls." Jake sighed and rolled his eyes. John picked up his rifle and went to the entrance to the armory. Groans echoed from the room men dead and dieing lined the walls, only 5 remained in well enough condition to continue the fight and tend to the needs of their fallen comrades.
"Sorry sir." A lone voice said in a thick Australian accent. "We tried our hardest but, we got bottled up, they ripped us to pieces." He frowned "Well at least you took out the force that was up stairs." He grinned "I bet you showed those bastards." He grinned, John Cocked his head.
"What bastards Mouldoon?"
"The forces that were A Deck level 3." He said
"We didn't find anything up there." John was puzzled
"There was about 10 elites, 3 with vibro swords, please tell me you killed them." Mouldoon began to sound worried.
"I'm afraid we didn't Mouldoon, I'm afraid we didn't."

Sarah leaned back against the radar display in the control room; she was beyond exhausted, as were the others. Church stood at the back of the room staring out at space as he tossed his shotgun back and forth. He was the youngest man in the room, and by far the hottest tempered, a stark difference between Sarah who was the caring non-confrontational type. Church ran a hand through his shaved hair, trying to keep awake. The ships coolant systems had all been diverted to the reactor room to protect the fusion generator from overheating while in subspace.
"Here Church, wake up." She said softly, as if trying to disguise her own exhaustion as she passed him her canteen.
"Thanks." Church smiled in return, before pouring the canteen over his face. Johnson bolstered his back up against the wall at the front of the room near the entrance. His eyes were heavy opening and closing every few seconds. Alan and Harrison sat back-to-back sleeping, while the captain downed his combat uniform. Bosko, one of the ships medics approached Sarah. He was around 5'5 and notorious for battlefield chivalry, once commandeering a Pelican drop ship to head back to an Invaded planet swarming with Covenant to save 4 Marines.
"Hey, you ok?" He asked
"Decent Bosko, why do you ask?" She said
"You look rattled, are you sure your fine."
"I'm positive." She assured him.
"Good." Bosko walked away swinging has back, back over his arms. Church turned around and looked towards the hallway, Sarah looked at him just in time to see his eyes grow wide
"Look out!" he screamed. Johnson was startled awake, and raised his gun to fire, but it was to late, the near invisible silhouette had already raised the energy sword, swinging the bright blue beam down, severing the mans waist in half, spilling his intestines onto the floor. Johnson let out a yelp, and continued to moan.
"Johnson No!!!" Church ran forward, Shotgun Aimed at waist level, he fired, the Elite roared and fell to its knees, Church Pumped another round into the chamber and fired exploding the head off the creature.
"Eat that you lizard son of a bitch." Church yelled out. He looked to his right 4 more elites had entered this time with blasters.
"You want some, do you, then come get it." He said mockingly. Sarah watched anxiously as Church disappeared around the corner. Alan and Harrison had taken up defensive positions around the room, as did the others in the room. Moments later an explosion rang out; chunks on rock dirt and Church fell to the end of the hallway. He coughed
"Got 3 of um," he said as he rolled into the room, "But there are at least 6 more." He curled against the wall, removing Shotgun shells from his pouch and placing them individually into his weapon. Harrison leaned around the corned to peek at the entrance, but a shot from the elites blaster rifle, slammed into his face, the hot plasma burning off his face. Bosko Ran forward, and lobbed a Grenade around the corner before pulling Harrison's body to the back of the room. Harrison moaned and his body was drug along the floor. The second grenade eliminated two more animals, but now three were entirely in the room barking and shooting. The other woman in the room crouched to one knee and began to fire, one elite growled and removed a plasma sticky grenade from his pouch throwing it onto her leg. The young woman screamed and ran towards a group of others pleading for their help. The explosion killed two others in the area in the area. Lt. James walker Page, head of Security Forces on the Lone Wolf stood ran towards Sarah and pulled her over a behind a Steel staging table.
"Get your head out of your ass and fight damn it," He demanded. Sarah looked at the man who was in his early thirties, A Titanium helmet covered his head, and dark protective goggles masked his eyes.
"Yes sir." She said in return. He patted her on the back and returned fire. The remaining five elites had entered the room, and now were wildly firing inside the room. Capt. Thorn raised his pistol and placed three shots into an elites head. The first two lowered its shields; the second pierced its skull killing the alien instantly.
"One for me." He laughed. Page sat up and unloaded a whole 60 shots on one,
"We're tied now." He said competitively. Two more elites entered. Sarah and Church quickly dispatched them, but the other three posed a problem, they had Gold armor plating symbolizing their rank as the best of the best. They had dug in behind objects, and they weren't going down without a fight.

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