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The End of a War - Chapter 8
Posted By: Mr. Clark<mrclark84@hotmail.com>
Date: 14 February 2005, 5:44 AM
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The End of a War
Chapter 8
Guns are for Sissies, a Real Man uses Nukes
"There is a high probability that they will shoot us instead letting us dock," Cortana pointed out as their damaged dropship continued floating towards Honor Without Mercy at an agonizingly slow pace.
"If you are perhaps bored Construct, than might I suggest finding something more worthwhile to do than pointing out the different ways we might die?" the Arbiter replied as he sat slumped in the copilots seat, exhausted. It had been several hours since they had started their dreadfully long run towards the Covenant flagship, and he was beginning to feel the fatigue. His actions from the past few days were finally catching up to him.
Honor Without Mercy, which had started out as a tiny blip in space, had grown slightly in size but certainly not large enough where he was beginning to feel safe about their futures.
"I can pilot this ship fine on my own you know," Cortana said as her image appeared on a pedestal located in between the pilot and copilot seats. "If you'd like to rest then go right ahead."
The Arbiter didn't respond as his gaze slipped back out the front where the other ship waited. In truth, he really did need the rest, but something held him back. The vision he had before, even though he had written it off as a simple dream it had shaken him deeply, and he was in no hurry to relive it were he to fall asleep.
"I suppose we won't have to worry about that anymore," Cortana said. The Arbiter turned to look questioningly at her but she was staring out the front of the ship. Following her gaze the Arbiter glanced back to where the other ship waited.
It took him a moment to spot them, the squadron of Seraph fighters that detached from Honor Without Mercy and sped towards them. The wave of relief that washed over him was quickly replaced with worry as he saw them approach in a strafing formation.
"Do you think they'll shoot first and ask questions later?" Cortana asked as she continued to watch them approach. The Arbiter merely grunted and watched as the imposing fighters streaked towards their damaged dropship.
"Have they tried hailing us?" the Arbiter asked, not removing his eyes from the ships.
"Yes, I can intercept their messages; though the ships communications were damaged in such a manner that transmitting is next to impossible."
"Then all we can do is wait," he said, almost to himself. Silence filled the cockpit as both occupants waited as the fighters grew closer, breaking formation and moving into a pincer attack.
"They are requesting we respond, to prove that we are not Flood," Cortana informed him. "I don't mean to critique but, the Flood is capable of using the voice of the infected host, so merely requesting a voice transmission isn't very safe. I believe a visual confirmation check would be more efficient."
"I will be sure to correct that the moment we get aboard Honor Without Mercy, Construct," the Arbiter paused, then corrected himself. "If we get aboard Honor Without Mercy."
"Were about to find out," Cortana said. The fighters were within range now.
Several tense moments passed as they waited for the barrage of plasma that would destroy their dropship. It came as quite a surprise when one of the lead Seraph fighters disengaged from the attack pattern and drifted close to the dropship. The front of the fighter was facing the cockpit now, and the Elite piloting the ship was gazing intently inside the dropship.
"I think you should wave," Cortana suggested. When the Arbiter turned to stare at her, she shrugged. "Unless you have a better idea."
The Arbiter raised his right arm and waved at the Seraph pilot, who seemed surprised somewhat before making a few motions with his hands.
"I believe he is offering to tow us back to the ship," the Arbiter said. As if to prove his point, the Seraph fighter drifted closer, turned around slowly, and revealed an Elite with a cable.
"At least we didn't get shot," Cortana said as their dropship was hitched together with the fighter.
"Yes," the Arbiter responded simply.
-----------------------------------
Huff...hah...huff...hah...
Johnson watched with hooded eyes as Gravemind struggled to pull itself back together. His breath was hitched and he had one arm wrapped around his chest, trying to stop the intense pain that was reverberating inside his chest cavity.
The fuel rod gun he had picked up from one of the downed Hunters was in his only free hand, radiation spilling off it in waves, burning his arm yet he paid it no heed. The Flood leader had somehow disabled all the access ways into the chamber, which cut off any reinforcements that were coming to his aid. He had lost track of how long their battle had been going, but he knew it felt like hours.
The regenerative properties his body possessed came at a great price. The damage he had received from the fight was great, and the healing process was excruciatingly painful.
I'm just about out of juice, but this bastard looks like he's just starting to feel it.
"You possess strength human," the Flood leader's voice filled the room. "But this battle is in vain, your death has been predetermined."
Johnson looked up and scowled as he saw that the Flood leader was back together again, no sign of the injury he had just inflected upon it.
"Predetermined or not you dirt sucking parasite, your going down with me."
Gravemind wasted no time replying as it lashed out at Johnson, the tentacles slammed through the pillars decorating the room, collapsing them and causing the resulting debris to slam into the ground.
Taking off at full sprint, Johnson fired on the run keeping his aim steady while avoiding the Flood leader's attacks. The radioactive rounds shot forth from the fuel rod gun slammed into Gravemind, ripping through it and melting it's body in the process. A roar of outrage spilled forth from the creature and a tentacle swung sideways, intending to slam him into the far wall. Johnson let his legs give out and fell to the floor, watching as the tentacle flashed by above him.
What!?
Johnson let out a startled shout when another tentacle appeared above him and wrapped around his waist, hoisting him up into the air. The air escaped his lungs as the tentacle's grip increased tenfold, nearly crushing his ribcage.
Reacting on instinct, Johnson fired the fuel road gun, the last round the gun held. The shot was wild, and he grimaced as it impacted the ceiling above Gravemind. As the weapon began to grow hot, Johnson remembered this particular Covenant weapon had a fail-safe protocol when it ran out of ammo. Giving as best a throw as he could, Johnson tossed the weapon at Gravemind.
The Flood leader paid no attention to the weapon, deeming the final act of defiance by the human to be beyond his notice.
"Heh," Johnson smirked as the fuel rod gun sailed uninterrupted, hitting the ground and sliding to rest before the Flood leader. The radioactive weapon's fail safe activated detonating the small reactor inside. The floor was torn asunder as the explosion sent shrapnel and concentrated radiation spilling through the air. Gravemind bellowed once more, the tentacle that had held Johnson suspended in the air was severed, dropping the sergeant several feet to crash heavily upon the ground.
Getting painfully to his knees, Johnson cast a hurried glance around him. It would be only a few moments before Gravemind was back in the fight and he needed a miracle if he was going to finish the creature off.
His eyes settled on one of the Hunter's corpses. Specifically the fuel rod gun it had been carrying. Struggling to his feet, Johnson limped his way to the fallen Hunter, wrenching the weapon from its grasp.
The first one did a number on the bastard, but not enough.
A discarded plasma grenade a few feet away caught his attention and he nearly laughed as an idea popped into his head.
Gravemind had begun to pull itself back together, it's tentacles flailing wildly, crushing more of the columns. Johnson activated the plasma grenade, slapping it onto the fuel rod gun fusing the two weapons together. Gritting his teeth against the pain the movement brought, he reached back and threw the improvised weapon at the Flood leader. His eyes never left the device as it sailed across the chamber.
Despite trying to pull itself together, Gravemind was still capable of batting the improvised weapon up above itself. Johnson cursed loudly and was turning to find another weapon when the grenade detonated.
The grenade did what Johnson had expected it to do, detonating the small fusion reactor in the weapon without having to deplete it's ammunition. What followed he had not anticipated.
Johnson's earlier wild shot had damaged the ceiling above Gravemind, and the damage Gravemind itself had inflicted from destroying the many columns positioned around the chamber had weakened the structural integrity of the room. While the Flood leader had knocked the weapon far enough away from itself where it would not do much harm, it was close enough to the ceiling to do sufficient damage.
Neither Johnson nor the Flood leader were prepared when the ceremonial chamber began to collapse.
Shit! I gotta get out of here.
He had taken only a few steps when something wrapped around his leg and dragged him to the floor. Glancing back Johnson saw that it was one of Gravemind's tentacles that had a hold of him.
"This will become both our graves human."
Johnson had only enough time to scream his frustration before the chamber collapsed in on itself.
-----------------------------------
"Keep your eyes on the access ways," John ordered as he scoured the docking bay, looking for some kind of control panel. He had to find something that would give him an idea of where they would find the ship's engines. Without Cortana inside his suit he doubted it would be as simple as punching a few buttons on one of the Covenant's access panels.
Jan was standing firm, keeping her eyes glued to the many different doors that led into the cruisers docking station. To her credit, she wasn't showing many of the regular signs of a soldier heading into combat for the first time, but John could tell most of this bravado was for show. Whether it was for him or her own personal relief, he couldn't tell.
The cloaking device the techs aboard Cairo station had fastened to their Longsword fighter had saved their lives, as it had allowed them to move into the docking bay unnoticed. That is, until the Spartan had emerged from the cloaked ship and began shooting up the place. Since the split in the Covenant, it seemed that the normal role of guards had bee shifted from the Grunts and handed over to the Jackals, as they were all that filled the bay aside from the engineers.
John was certain their presence had already been announced over the Covenant tactical network, but he was counting on the general state of disorder among the fleet that they would be given a few moments of respite. At least enough time to find out where they needed to go to plant the Fury nuke and get the hell off the ship.
"Uh Chief, I think we've got company," Jan's voice rang out. John quickly turned and saw her pointing out across the bay, where a squad of Brutes had entered. It took them only a few moments to locate the two humans.
John was about to order Jan to find some cover when she dumped the pack of Fury tactical nukes to the compartment floor and dropped to a prone position. The BR55 Rifle in her hands began firing short three-round bursts at the Brutes. John watched, captivated, as the teenage girl seemed to follow the normal operating protocol for firing the weapon. She was even taking in a full breath before releasing it halfway before firing, ensuring a steady and calm stream of fire.
Shaking himself from his stupor, John swung his rifle off his shoulder into his hands and began firing, though he fired from a standing position. Their combined rate of fire forced the brutes on the opposite end of the bay to seek cover, lest they be torn apart.
"Grab the nukes and head out those doors!" John shouted. Jan glanced briefly at the Spartan before nodding. She slung her rifle, picked up the discarded bag, and dashed to the access way he had pointed out. Once she was safely through the doors, John tossed a fragmentation grenade at the hidden Brutes and followed after Jan.
"Where to now?" Jan asked from behind him. John started and turned around; surprised she had managed to sneak up behind him.
"We've gotta find the engine room for now," John said, frowning slightly as several plasma shots hit the door from the other side. Turning back, he powered down the shields around his right fist and slammed it into the control panel next to the door, short-circuiting it.
Wordlessly he continued down the corridor, Jan close behind. Their moment of respite was over now, and they were going to have Covenant breathing down their necks. Completion of his mission was his primary concern, but as he heard Jan shift the bag of tactical nukes on her shoulder he knew that their was something else he would be fighting for.
-----------------------------------
"How long has it been since you left the chamber?" the Arbiter asked the collection of Elites. He stood before the sealed doors that led into the ceremonial chamber and was fingering the energy sword that was attached to his waist.
"Several hours, Arbiter. The human requested we go retrieve reinforcements, but the moment we stepped from the chamber the doors sealed. Communication with the human has not been possible."
Frowning slightly, the Arbiter turned away from the other Elites and looked at the sealed door. The chamber they led into was where the Prophet of Mercy had delivered sermons and as such, the entries were reinforced. If there was time they could eventually break into the chamber, but the Arbiter was loath to let the human be torn apart by the parasite leader.
"Construct are you into the ship yet?" he asked over the ship's com.
"I'm in," Cortana's voice filled the room. "Give me a moment and I'll get the door open. Be warned though, I reviewed the ship's schematics and it seems there were several explosions of sufficient size to register."
As if on cue, the doors slid open allowing the group of Elites access to the chamber. The Arbiter stepped in first, and was taken aback by what he saw.
The far section of the chamber was covered in debris. The above deck had collapsed through the ceiling, and that appeared to have caused the chamber floor to cave in on the lower deck. There was no sign of life; the only occupant in the chamber was the twisted metal that had been destroyed.
"Is there any sign of life, Construct?" the Arbiter asked as he took a few cautionary steps forward.
"Scanning," Cortana said. "I've detected one signal, though there is still interference from the Flood leader, and I cannot determine if the subject is still alive."
The Arbiter turned and looked at the other Elites.
"Start digging through the debris, there may be a survivor."
As the Elites began to lift and pull away much of the collapsed ceiling, the Arbiter walked further on through the chamber, towards the section where the deck had collapsed. He stood upon the edge of the broken deck and peered below.
No sign of the parasite. Should I be relieved or worried?
The Arbiter jumped down to the below deck, and pulled the energy blade from his side, activating it. The silence was deafening as he took several steps towards the collapsed section.
"You sure took your time."
The voice had come from behind him, and the Arbiter spun around swiftly, fully intending to dismember the speaker. His arm was stayed however, when he identified Sergeant Johnson, who was slumped against some debris. He lowered the blade and stepped towards the human.
"Where is the parasite leader?" he asked. Johnson coughed heavily, his hand coming away from his mouth covered in blood.
"Dead," he ground out. "The bastard pulled me down through the deck with him when the ceiling came down."
"You are certain?"
Another coughing fit hit the sergeant, and the Arbiter was worried for a moment that he might pass out.
"I've been sitting here for the past hour watching, waiting for the sonofabitch to poke his raggedy ass out of that pile. He hasn't yet, so I'm starting to think he just might be dead this time."
The Arbiter looked over his shoulder to the pile of debris. The yellow liquid that was so prominent from the parasite was layered on the floor, lending credence to the human's observation.
"We will burn the remains just to be sure," the Arbiter said. "For now though, we should inform the others. Your Construct was curious over your condition, as was the commander."
"The Major's dead," Johnson said suddenly, and the Arbiter felt himself wince. "By the time we arrived his team had already been taken down by that thing, we couldn't do a thing."
"I understand," the Arbiter said, as he gave a silent prayer for his comrade. "If you are able, then I believe we should leave now."
Johnson laughed roughly, surprising the Arbiter.
"I think your going to have to get me some help," the human soldier said. He used his left arm to indicate the area where his right arm should have been.
The Arbiter cast his gaze downward, and saw the sergeant's dismembered limb lying close by.
How can this human still be conscious? Let alone speak? The pain must be unbearable.
"We will get you some assistance then hu..." the Arbiter stopped himself before he said 'human'. "Sergeant."
With care, the Arbiter retrieved Johnson's right arm, and walked over to help the Sergeant to his feet.
"I had thought that I would need to help you fight the parasite leader," the Arbiter admitted as they climbed the debris. He nearly felt the smirk that spread across Johnson's face.
"So sorry, the next time we find one I'll let you take the first stab at it."
The Arbiter felt the urge to smile, for the first time in a long while.
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