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A Second Last Chance by Torch99
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A Second Last Chance: Book 1, Chapters 1-2
Date: 12 June 2002, 10:08 pm
FOREWORD
There is one small difference between this story and how it follows Halo. For the purposes if this story, 343 Guilty Spark is the leader of the Flood.
As a first time writer, I would really appreciate any and all feedback on what I have. Tell me what you like, and also tell me what you don't like. Thanks for reading!
Book 1: A Second Last Chance
Chapter 1: Contact
"...No, I think we're just getting started."
SPARTAN John 117 uttered these words and removed his helmet to see the destruction of Halo free of his visor.
"Chief, we should get you into hypersleep soon. You've been awake for over 36 hours, and those were some pretty stressful hours."
"Yeah, I probably should. We need to get the nearest colony, Cortana. It is absolutely imperative that the Flood—" started the Chief.
"I know that, Chief; I've already set coordinates for Sigma Amplon, the nearest colony. I've also already sent a subspace message to Moonbase Curtillian on Pluto. The fleet should get the message soon, and we should get out orders awhile after that."
"Okay, that's good enough for me," the Chief said. His training had taught him to go long periods of time without sleep to maximize his efficiency, but even super soldiers had their limits.
The Chief entered his chamber on the small Longsword and soon was in cryosleep. Cortana, plugged into the ship's computer, went about the business of maintaining the ship's systems. While she did this, she pondered. She pondered about humanity's chances. She pondered about the strength of the Flood. She hoped it was a moot point; they should've been wiped out by the explosion of the ring and the Pillar of Autumn.
She pondered for hours and hours. She lost track of the time, as she had no real use for it. But then the silence of her thoughts was interrupted by a small blue light shining systematically in the middle of the console. It was home.
"Longsword 71, 71, this is UNSC Moonbase Curtillian, we roger your distress. Is anyone there? Longsword 71, is anyone there, please respond."
"Curtillian, this is 71, I read your transmission," Cortana spoke.
"71, report your status, this channel is secure."
"Curtillian, I need to speak with the commanding officer of that installation. I have information for Level 5 Security."
"71, it is not the procedure of this base to trouble the commanding officer during this hour; he's sleeping. I will have to be sufficient. Proceed."
"You go tell your CO to get his ass on the link, because I have information that could quite possibly be vital to the long term survival of the human race," Cortana stated harshly.
Maybe it was the slow night, or maybe the Com officer believed her, but something enticed him to go wake Colonel Treeling. The Colonel was pissed, as he was never to be woken when he was sleeping. But with the "safety of the human race at stake", he rose to find out more.
"Hello, Longsword 71, state your business," he said gruffly.
"Colonel, does the word Peloponnesus mean anything to you?"
At this, the Colonel suddenly perked up and was no longer tired. He motioned to his Comm officer to get on a link with Earth. "Yes 71, I believe the Peloponnesus was where the ancient Spartans lived, was it not?" he said not too quickly.
Cortana then knew that the Colonel knew about the SPARTAN project, and was one of a privileged few. Her asking of the question let him know the same thing.
"Yes, it is. I assume you are the commanding officer there. I need a link to Earth, a direct one, and I need it now."
"Roger that, may I ask your designation?"
"Cortana will be just fine," she answered. "UNSC will recognize me."
The Earth link was established quickly, and many Military Council members were able to be present.
"Okay, Cortana, we've got you. We thought you were dead. I'm assuming you have good news then!" an older sounding voice cackled across the channel.
"Analyzing. I am speaking to Admiral Tock, is it not?" Cortana told more than asked.
"Yes, that is true, Cortana. I am here along with almost the entire Military Council. Please tell us what happened. The last word we got from that battle group was that the Autumn was the only ship left, and the last remaining SPARTAN. We were unable to ascertain the slip coordinates, and have heard nothing since, until now. We feared you and John dead."
"No, not dead, but not far from it..." Cortana said. She recounted the entire two days, beginning with the battle near Reach, and ending with the destruction of Halo. She left out a few details which were better suited to be revealed when they were talking face to face. There was something about talking on a link that made it so impersonal. The graphic details and extreme possible danger humanity was in somehow didn't reflect its true severity on an audio link.
Cortana finished. The Council didn't interrupt her at all for two reasons. One, they wanted to hear the situation as quickly as they could to start planning. Second, they were utterly astounded by what they heard. The sheer dynamics of it were mind boggling. They were completely silent for a minute after she stopped talking.
"Admirals?..." she interrupted.
"Yes, Cortana, we're still here; just trying to take it all in." Admiral Hacket said weakly. "Cortana, give us a few minutes to ourselves, would you?"
"Affirmative, Admiral; standing by."
The link was placed on hold while the Council members started talking. All of them had gathered now. Members from all branches of the military were present, including the all but obsolete Terran Air Force high commanders. Order was brought to the hustle and bustle by Brigadier Admiral Troy.
"Gentlemen and ladies, given the news just received, let us discuss possible plans of action."
All the officers looked around at each other. Since Cortana, the newest and most advanced breed AI created, was incapable of reprogramming, all information she provided was the absolute truth.
Tock, after glancing at all the men and women around him in their multi-colored uniforms and seeing the approving answer in their eyes, spoke first.
"I assume we are all in agreement that we all know what must be done." One by one they nodded in assent. Rear General Longtak spoke next.
"Do we want to wait for them to reach our outermost colony? Or do we act now, with them still out there?"
"They're still susceptible to Covenant. They're gonna want to know where their cruiser went, and they're gonna follow. I, for one, move to mobilize now," Lt. Col. McBride chipped in. He was well respected as a brilliant tactician, and he knew he held weight. He had commanded the UNSC fleet at the battle of Nuh-Grange where UNSC forces outnumbered 1.5 to 1 defeated the Covenant fleet. This was due in part to skilled pilots and tact, but also that the Terrans acted extremely swiftly, so much that the enemy was not able to react quick enough to form a planned retaliation.
Troy was silent, pondering, making mental lists of pros and cons of acting with swiftness. The pros outweighed the cons. He switched the comm signal on.
"Cortana...can you reach these coordinates I'm sending you?"
"......Yes, it'll take us a while, but we can do it within 24 hours. These Longswords don't have slip capability."
"Good. You just worry about getting there. We'll have some people there you and the Chief might be interested to meet...."
Book 1: A Second Last Chance
Chapter 2: Congregation at Martonis
22 hours later
Task Force: Tranquility
Orbit Above Martonis
Designate: Class III Ice Planet
Captain Sammons looked out the huge bow windows at the planet below. From space, it looked like nothing more than a white ball of ice. Space didn't lie. His battlecruiser Adonis was at the head of a massive fleet of destroyers, cruisers and battlecruisers. This task force had two assignments. The first was a predetermined one to recon a location where there was evidence of large-scale Covenant mobilization. The operation, coded "Blackbird", was not primarily seek and destroy. It was "loose recon", which meant they had orders to engage if necessary. The second objective was a recent assignment, very recent. Sammons had gotten orders direct from the UNSC Council Chief of Staff. Sammons was one of the only persons aboard that knew of it. He was carrying secret cargo.
As the SPARTAN program was coming to a close, the UNSC Council decided to store a small contingent of SPARTAN warriors on Earth. It was implemented in case of a situation like the one that befell Reach. Better safe that sorry.
Now with the threat of the Flood, these super soldiers were heated up and ordered to the front lines. There were eight of them. Together with the Master Chief, there were nine. However, that was not all. For the past two years, a select group of the finest colonial marines had been enrolled in a secret training program personally led by the UNSC Battle Tactic and Maneuver Specialists. These select few participants learned how to better fight the Covenant in all terrains and situations. Special armor was constructed for the graduates which was twice as strong as the standard marines'. It was also specifically designed to be more resistant to the energy weapons the Covenant wielded. Like the MJOLNIR armor, this type had an onboard computer that regulated various aspects of the armor. It had environmental settings, and a stronger metal alloy that allowed much better heat resistance than the standard issue. Their helmets had infra-red capability that could sense the heat signatures the stealth Elites left.
ÝThey had many test trials to prove their skill, and only the ones who had passed the rigorous tests remained. In the entire program, there were three full companies that were battle ready, and another dozen or so in the making, but they were not even approaching completion. For this mission, two full companies were traveling, with the third to remain on Earth, just in case.
The fleet made a stop to deploy the marines under the guise of intense training on the iceworld. In one of the Longswords sat the eight SPARTANs. The rest of the 288 marines came down in twelve Longswords, plus multiple cargo-modified Pelican dropships with mostly Warthogs and even a couple Scorpion Tanks. They arrived at a small base with minimal structures. A battered Longsword was present, and a 7-foot tall giant with camo green armor stood with arms crossed in front of it.
The Hoplites (the title of the graduated marines) gathered in front of the Chief and were silent. They recognized the supreme authority he held. After the ranks had been assembled, the other SPARTANs came up behind the Hoplites and stood. Cortana and the Chief had been told about the new super soldiers from the Council, and were expecting them, but in the deep ranks of Hoplites, their large statures were barely visible.
The Chief wanted them up there with him. "Would the following soldiers join me up here: Caesar-Diablo, Tiberius-Beast, Crassus-Spitfire, Brutus-Suicide, Claudius-Sinner, Titus-Icewind, Magnus-Warhawk and Clonus-Accipiter."
They walked up in a single file line. Caesar was first, clad in silver hued armor. Tiberius was visible in red, Crassus in blue, Brutus in black, Claudius gold, Titus was teal, Magnus had indigo and Clonus in purple. The purpose of the double name was simple. On an extended mission, the SPARTANs had been given two interchangeable names to confuse any enemy who was observing or survived. It was assumed that the Covenant were capable of listening in on all un-encrypted channels.
The Hoplites were to the point of stupefication. Nine super soldiers all assembled in their glory; how could this task force lose?
The Chief briefed all on the situation, getting right to the point. He must maximize time efficiency to curb any Flood threat. He had a bad feeling they were already on Basis from Halo, and he wondered if all of Halo had been destroyed by the blast from the Autumn.
The Hoplites numbered 288. One company was 144 soldiers. These were further divided into platoons. Platoons had 36 troops. Each platoon has three squads, numbering twelve. They boarded their ships with the promise of intense and perilous battle.
The SPARTANs were on the lead Longsword, and the journey had taken a little less than a day. Two days had passed since Master Chief left the ring world. He hoped they hadn't reached Basis, the moon orbiting Threshold. He hoped to God they hadn't gotten anywhere else.
He opened all channels. "This is the Master Chief. As we speak, Cortana is scanning for a beachhead location. When we land, even if cleared, assume that a shitload of Covenant or Flood will be there."
"Ready Chief, I found some coordinates. They aren't fully cleared; I'm reading the closest signatures less than a kilo away from it."
"Okay people, listen up! We have an LZ. It's got some cover, but it ain't fully cleared, so lock and load. The enemy might have some air support, so I will be going in first with my squad. Radio will come when it is clear," Chief transmitted. "Rogers" flooded the air back to him.
"Chief, do you think they really escaped?" Cortana asked.
"I don't know what the hell to think anymore. Could be Flood, could be Covenant. Could be goddamn animals! All I know is I got both weapons loaded and a full load of grenades."
"When we get down there, employ defense pattern Sigma." Chief said. The others nodded in unison. The ship began to rock violently as they entered the atmosphere. It wasn't long before the familiar zap-zap-zap of plasma was heard and felt hitting the ship. Luckily, the Terrans had not been expected.
The Chief shook his head, suddenly angry. "Fuck!" he exclaimed and pounded the wall next to him. Crassus, at the controls, yelled back to them. "Hold on fellas! I got multiple hostiles"—plasma streaks toward cockpit and melts most of windshield—"extremely pissed hostiles! Impact in ten, nine.........three...welcome to hell, SPARTANs!"
A Second Last Chance: Book 1, Chapter 3 - Beachhead at Basis
Date: 16 June 2002, 5:36 am
Chief was the first to jump down the ramp onto the greenish yellow grass. Claudius and Brutus were lightning quick out after him. Chief was kneeling checking three. Shining yellow Claudius checked nine and Brutus crept for twelve o'clock. It was very quiet. "Why aren't they firing?" he thought. The others deployed. The ship had their backs. This moon was odd. They noticed much awkward terrain, like forest, large boulders, and even grass. They quickly made subgroups of three. Chief signaled and spoke quietly. He knew they were here. If they were indeed Flood, why the hell weren't they attacking? Flood are mindless killers...this made Chief uneasy.
He made a rapid succession of hand and finger movements. Spar 3 (Tiberius, Claudius, Crassus) moved forward and sought refuge in a cluster of small boulders.
Tiberius popped up and aimed for the fringe of the trees only meters away. He turned and made a halo above his head to symbolize cover. Why not? Motion trackers said nothing, but all of them knew something was about to happen. It was at this point that Titus started hearing what sounded like the rumbling of an upset stomach. It was resonating from the other side of the Sword. He took a short peek around the right side of the ship. Through his teal visor, he saw swift movements in the cover of the shrubs only thrity meters away. Then something dirty-white poked its head up. It sure as hell wasn't a Covenant.
He turned back to his fellow warriors and got their attention by frantically shaking his head "no" and pointing wildly to his right.
"Chief, are you reading anything on your motion detector?" Cortana asked.
"No, and nobody else is."
"Something is about to happen....Ch-!"
"Chief! Multiple cont-!" Crassus had just seen what Titus saw, and now the mutated beast came out from its cover. He opened fire as Titus did, and the large warform fell. At the same time, the same kind of warforms charged from all sides. Most had nothing but their whip-like arms, but a few wielded MA5Bs and plasma weapons.
Chaos was all around them. The expert marksmanship of the SPARTANs proved invaluable as the fight progressed. Most of the warforms were shot down before either of the groups were reached. However, something was different Chief noticed. Then he saw the characteristic he had forgotten...
Brutus gunned down a warform six meters away with five short bursts. Then he shifted a few degrees and pulled the trigger on one three meters away. He wasted the clip on it, and it went down writhing its arms. He was reloading and took his eyes off his weapon. Two warforms were running fast towards him. "Shit," he said. Both Tiberius and Crassus were occupied with their twelve's, and Brutus was watching the six. He had to take them down. The Chief was watching and was about to fire...
Brutus lifted his weapon to fire and let off a burst, but his targets were no longer there. "Ohh Fuck me!!" he screamed. Both had leapt off the ground. With lightning reflexes, he grabbed his M90 off the ground. His arm was steady against the mighty kickback. One of the tendril-armed mutants was blown out about the chest, and it fell, lifeless. The other however, reached him before he pumped another round. As it descended, it drew back its arm and flung it forward on the land. Brutus' shield was overwhelmed. In his haste to retaliate, he frantically misfired, blowing only an arm off the creature. Using this advantage, the killer instinct in the warform slashed the black SPARTAN viciously. Brutus was dazed as he felt the deep and imprecise slash cut open his armored chest. He fell, unconscious.
Clonus, M90 in arm, took a fraction of a second to aim, then fired. The warform fell. Clonus ran out over the wide open gauntlet. Some AR fire caught him in his back, causing him to stumble, and he almost tripped over a dead Flood. He took a passing glance at it. It looked half human. He reached Brutus and knelt over him. There he stayed.
While this was happening on the right of the battle, it was a different situation on the left side of the Sword. Caesar, Chief and Magnus were absolutely leveling the Flood. Bodies were piling up under the barrage of bullets and shells from Caesar. Even in the air, the Flood got shot up. Because of their success, Titus was able to assist the isolated Spar 3's. At that location, only 20 meters from where the Chief was having success, the Flood had the advantage of superior cover. Plasma fire was coming from invisible locations. However, good grenade placement helped them out.
Chief took a moment to glance at Spar 3's. Awkward, it wasn't like the Flood to get into a firefight; they loved to melee attack. This opened up a whole new world of dread for Chief. Dangerous Flood? Expected. Dangerous and Intelligent Flood? Fucking scary.
He went back to killing. It looked as if this particular group of enemies was about done for. He was glad. He was getting low on ammo.
Suddenly, a beacon started flashing inside the Sword. "Chief, the comm beacon requires our attention. He quickly went in. "What?!"
"Sir, Covenant cruiser just slipped in a few thousand kilos from here. We request permission to come planetside."
A Covenant cruiser...that's great, just great. "Yes! Get the hell down here!"
"Roger that, commencing deployment."
Chief went outside to where the fighting had died down. It had died down so much, in fact, that Brutus was being attended to by Crassus. A Medkit from the Sword brought his health back up; he was as good as new. They all gathered up ammo once Tiberius put a shell through the head of the last Flood warform.
Chief spoke, "Good job, SPARTANs, now you've seen what these things can do. I got some more bad news. A minute ago, a Longsword radioed me and stated that a Covenant cruiser had entered a few thousand kilos out. They're on their way down now, so look sharp. We're just getting started. I bet this whole shithole is crawling with Flood, and in a few hours, it's gonna be infested with Covenant."
A few minutes later, the first Sword came down, and the Hoplites quickly streamed out. The SPARTANs picked up their weapons and filled up on grenades from the supply Pelicans and began to coordinate the soldiers into ranks to brief them and give orders.
Chief was the last one to head over to the rally point.
"A Covenant cruiser....great" he said aloud, almost chuckling at the irony. He loaded a full clip into his MA5B, and put it on his back. He loaded his M90 to the max and pumped it to load a shell into the chamber.
"Just fucking great..." he muttered.
A Second Last Chance: Book 1, Chapter 4 - Of Ruins and Independence
Date: 20 June 2002, 1:02 am
Along with the Hoplites had come heavy vehicles and supplies for a make-shift base. It would have some sleeping quarters, a medical bay, and an intel center. The Swords had hastily been covered up as best they could be--the ones that could be anyways. Only five were covered up. The rest were out in the open, and would be used for air support if needed. The 24 Hogs and 8 Scorpions were lined up ready for use. The vehicles had been organized in an efficient manner, and the base was erected in only an hour, with over half of the Hoplites assembling. The SPARTANs were there, directing traffic. When it was all finished, Chief addressed the crew. A few were not there, as they were on small perimeter patrols.
"Well, boys, we're here. Earlier, the SPARTANs had an engagement with the Flood, and they saw firsthand what these things can do. One of us..." he glanced at Brutus, "was almost killed." Brutus remained stone, his black shaded visor looking forward, glistening in the rapidly lowering sun. Chief proceeded to give his predetermined orders. He had assigned each SPARTAN a platoon of Hoplites, totaling 36 men. Caesar commanded the Alpha Unit, Tiberius the Beta Unit, Crassus the Gamma Unit, Brutus the Eta Unit, Claudius the Omicron Unit, Titus the Theta Unit, Magnus the Delta Unit, and Clonus the Omega Unit. The Chief did not command any units.
Chief spent a while talking to the whole group. He told them how the MA5B were not the optimal weapon against the Flood (unless at very close range), but the M90 shotgun and plama rifle were the best armament. He stressed the importance of staying with a group and covering each other's asses in combat. He went on and on, until a low rumble shook the ground slightly and a dull blue flash lit up the ever darkening sky. Some of the Hoplites instinctively pulled weapons off their backs and cradled them. The Chief stopped talking and watched for anything more.
The silence hung thick in the air, as the Hoplites were breathing steadily and quietly, even though the adrenaline had already started secreting. They perceived the silence to last longer than it did, for it was only a matter of moments before a single patrolman was seen sprinting over deadfalls and small bushes, darting back and forth between the trees.
He reached the Chief panting heavily. He took a few seconds to regain his composure. "Sir, a few minutes ago, my patrol witnessed a series of bluish explosions at an estimated 15 kilos to the north. They were fairly large. My patrol has not continued pattern and is awaiting your orders.
Chief looked around. Large explosions from 15 kilos off? Those had to be pretty damn big. Munitions plants maybe? He didn't know, but he sure as hell wanted to find out. He had a gut feeling the Covenant had engaged Flood forces.
"Double patrols!" he barked. "Magnus, you and Delta Unit reinforce perimeter. After standard shift, Gamma Unit, take over. I should be back by then," he said. "The rest of you Hoplites may busy yourselves for the time being, but be productive. If you need sleep, by all means, sleep. Even with beefed up patrols, don't feel safe."
As the men all broke rank, the SPARTANs other than Magnus were standing silent. He turned to them. "A couple of you will escort me to the point of question and perform recon. The Spar 1's will go (Chief, Caesar, Titus). The rest of you will stay behind. Go to it," Chief spoke fairly quietly. Clonus, Claudius, Brutus, Crassus and Tiberius all headed back for HQ. They would be the ears on the other end of the transmissions Spar 1 would give. That particular channel was well encrypted.
As Titus and Caesar prepped, the sky had gotten as dark as it would become. The moon would never achieve total darkness, but it tried. The SPARTANs would soon need to activate night vision. Chief got a Hog and revved it over to them. "Boys, this is our warhorse. Come and say hello." The glance by Titus was met by the silver sheen of Caesar's helmet. It reflected nicely in the lit darkness. Caesar got up and walked over, jumping into the driver's seat. Chief took the passenger seat. Titus looked at the open seat—the chaingunner's.
"Oohhh, baby." He hopped up, popping a sniper clip into his rifle.
A few minutes later, they had passed the last patrol. Magnus was there to see them off. "Good luck, sir," the 7 ft. 5 inch SPARTAN said, saluting. He got the same back threefold, then Caesar's foot found the floor with his pedal, and off they went.
The trio approached the vector, deciding to ditch the Hog a few kilos from it. At four kilos, they got off. Night vision had been activated, and all were battle ready. So far, Chief had really liked what he had seen from these two newbie SPARTANs. Caesar had already proved himself in the battle with the Flood earlier, and Titus had proved an excellent marksman.
Chief ran point five meters in front. Titus followed on left wing, Caesar opposite a little behind both. They jogged and jogged, until Chief suddenly stopped and crouched. The others followed suit, expecting jumping Flood erupting all around them. Instead, Chief motioned them up. Spar 1's had come to a cliff looking over a small chunk of buildings.
"We're only half a kilo from them, Chief," Cortana said.
The flashes of light were easily visible to their enhanced eyes. It certainly was a scene. Titus zoomed in with his rifle to survey. Flood warriors were launching themselves at the Covenant forces, decimating the ones they could whip. Bodies were everywhere, but mostly Flood. Covenant Bandit dropships were landing every minute, unloading more soldiers to pour into the battle. Their mounted Shade turrets lit up the ground with heated blasts of energy. As one would go up, more came down from the purple monster very visible up in space. Through the scope, he saw mostly Elite Covenant remaining; no surprise there.
"Give me that, Titus," Chief barked. Titus obliged while saying, "Jesus, the Covenant are crushing 'em! I see very few dead for them."
Chief was looking at a cluster of three dead Elites, all not more than a meter apart. He remained focused on them for a minute, all the while praying. They were not answered, however, as the Elites soon stood up on Flood legs. They had been infected. He muttered obscenities to himself as he looked for any other groups of dead Covenant. He found some and gave the scope to Caesar. "What do you think?" he asked.
"About what? I see dead Cov....ahh...I see....this has potential to be very bad," he said weakly. "I guess they probably know we're here, eh? I bet my left nut they'd be on us in a second if they weren't engaging Covenant right now."
"Don't put it past them, soldier," Cortana stated bluntly. She then sensed a different presence on the battlefield. "Chief! Down there, that blue orb! I think...I think it's...."
"—Gimme that rifle!" Chief shouted; he saw it too. He had seen a small blue orb floating in and around the battle. He looked and saw what it was. He jumped up off the ground. "Dammit! I thought for sure I killed his ass!" he said angrily. He had seen 343 Guilty Spark. Apparently, the little machine was coordinating the Flood. "If he's here, they know we're here for sure!"
The three remained, taking mental notes on how the Flood were attacking; what their tactics were. Covenant were still dropping forces all around, and it looked as if they might have a chance to turn the tide. Flood were giving ground. The Chief was not entirely happy however, for he wanted both sides to slaughter each other as much as possible.
"I'm reading a huge energy buildup in space orbit Chief," Cortana voiced into the action.
"Jesus, look!" Titus exclaimed and pointed towards the sky. A huge fleet of Bandits was approaching with all their lights flashing. Four waves were visible. Chief was scanning for any others when a brilliant white light screamed into his visor. Even the light refractor could not shield him from the light, and he was blinded for a few seconds. He regained his sight and looked around. All around him, small pieces of matter were dropping at great speeds. Then he noticed the fighting down below had stopped. Zoom showed that every single creature, Flood and Covenant, were either looking up or nowhere. Chief drew in this info and formed a conclusion. And then he looked up to prove his hypothesis. It was right on. The Covenant cruiser was nothing more than burnt shell in multiple pieces, all hurtling towards Basis or Threshold. It had been completely destroyed.
A Second Last Chance: Book 1, Chapter 5 - Unlikely Alliance
Date: 8 July 2002, 6:59 am
The Covenant would receive no more reinforcements. They were stuck. Luckily for them, the last Bandits had dropped significant amounts of troops, and the Flood were already falling back. Spar 1's saw the Covenant fight with renewed vigor as Elite roars could be heard from their position. Whole squads advanced behind Jackal shields, and plasma swords slashed even faster than before. In a few minutes, all Flood had been destroyed. By the look of it, at least 150 Covenant were left. Chief had seen 343 GS head out a while before, no doubt to get reinforcements. Chief realized this place was crawling with the things. A transmission cackled through on his comm. "Sir, our motion detectors are picking up massive movements out on the plains three kilos out to the south and west. Request orders." It was Clonus on the line. He didn't sound rattled, but a hint of nervousness shadowed his voice. "Clonus, form Hoplites into Squad-Phalanx Defense Pattern. They should've learned that one in boot. The SPARTANs know that one too. I want one man on the comm to me, but not a SPARTAN." His word was carried out, and then they headed home. They had to hightail it. Caesar and Titus left immediately, but Chief looked over his shoulder through the darkness. The Covenant were mobilizing towards the cliff. The attack came only a few minutes after the transmission ended. Crassus and Magnus had led their platoons to the outer fringe of the trees to head them off and get a few potshots in before the real battle began. Crassus had one squad specializing in the Jackhammer and Sniper Rifle. As the first wave approached, he ordered to open fire. Rockets exploded everywhere in a torrent of ground, dirt, and bodies. The Snipers picked off multiple targets. But the infinite horde soon got very close. "Alright boys! Here's where we show 'em why we're the best!" The last word was almost drowned out by his AR. On cue, 37 MA5Bs opened, spilling thousands of bullets. In three seconds, all clips were spent. They had time however, because at least fifty warforms fell. Magnus loaded another and fired. "Have at the bastards!" he yelled. On the west front, Crassus encountered a slightly different situation. His keen eyesight saw the hundreds of Infection forms from far away. He remembered Chief telling him about these. He cued his troops, "Listen up! We're about to fire on some little white shits! They're small, they're fast, they can jump. They're also weak. You bastards better kill all these things, cuz if you don't, you're gonna become one of them Flood! These little shits infect you, and then you become them!" That was enough incentive for his troops. They opened fire. The Hog of SPARTANs was quickly coming to aid. Chief took a moment to look through his field glasses. He glimpsed the first Elites coming over the ridge. They were heading in their direction. He put them away muttering, "Anything that can go wrong goes wrong," he muttered. The effective resistance on the southern front fell quickly. Magnus lost two Hoplites who were surprised at the leaping abilities of the Flood. He called a general retreat to the base. Brutus moved up to cover his flank. They successfully fell back, only losing one more Hoplite. All on the south perimeter fired at the adversaries, and all fell to the 50 gunners. It was then that Crassus came crashing through the woods with Gamma Unit close behind. Behind them were Flood of all kinds. The common warforms, the former marines, even the carriers, which scared the Hoplites more than anything. All the fire was concentrated on the west and south, and all the Flood coming from there were torn to shreds, literally. Bodies upon bodies stacked up of dead Flood. The SPARTANs got the feeling they were just testing their defenses, because they should have been attacking from all sides. The Hoplites started getting lackadaisical. The enemies were getting cut like butter, so some of the unwise soldiers began to slack off. At that moment, a surge of Flood jumped over the wall of bodies and into the ranks. Pvt. James was decapitated by a whip-arm, and then it turned to Pvt. Conley who screamed and fired. His shots went through the Flood midsection, blowing it backwards. The warform still had strength enough to lash out and sever Conley's left arm. He collapsed and started yelling for a medic. He was rushed into the medical bay. That incident put all of them on their toes the rest of the fight. Clonus was the only SPARTAN who had seen it happen, and he went about the ranks yelling at the Hoplites who had lost focus. One in particular gave him shit. Clonus stopped. He knew that sometimes emotions ran high in battle, but insubordination on Basis was unacceptable. The sun had surfaced along the horizon from the short night. The purple MJOLNIR armor shimmered like a reflecting amethyst. He turned to the Hoplite and grabbed his combat armor. Pvt. Hartson was lifted a foot off the ground. "What the fuck do you think this is? Do you see what that thing just did to Conley? Maybe you don't care, I don't know why though..cuz these shits are worse than the Covenant, and we've all seen what they can do. I don't need little Hoplites to tell ME that they don't need to take this shit seriously just cuz they ain't killin nobody!" Hartson was shaking terribly, seeking the anonymous eyes under the purple visor. Clonus went on, "This army doesn't need cancer." He placed his M90 on Hartson's chest. "And if you ever slack off in a battle again? You ain't gonna see me comin', you got that you little piece of shit?" Many Hoplites had seen this, and none were brave enough to "not care" anymore. Other than an occasional jump-fest, nothing extraordinary happened; the power of 250+ elite soldiers. The battle was over after forty minutes. Alpha Unit went out to start patrolling, while Chief gathered all the Hoplites and told them of the Covenant cruiser. "Expect company boys, and not any company, but the best of the best the Covenant have to offer. These guys fought off Flood in an almost barrier-less environments." Hoplites broke rank and went about, gathering ammo and weapons. Chief was about to settle down to a short catnap when Caesar himself appeared with Clonus and Tiberius. With them stood a tall, elegant Elite with glittering green armor, the color of Covenant royalty. Chief instinctively reached for the MA5B by his side. "What the hell is that doing here?" he yelled. Caesar spoke unsurely. "Sir, this is Lord Falshim, commander of the remaining Covenant forces on this moon. He wishes to discuss terms of surrender with you." The Elite stepped forward and extended his huge hand. "Master Chief, honor mine is to you be met. Hearing a proposition...interested you would be perhaps?"
A Second Last Chance: Book 1, Chapter 6 - 343 Guilty Spark
Date: 8 July 2002, 7:02 am
Most of the Hoplites had seen the Elite ambassador, and the ones who didn't heard it very quickly. "Is the Chief actually talking to one of them?" asked one "Must be; they've been in there for a few minutes. I thought for sure I would hear some gunfire," another answered. Small debates were going back and forth among the soldiers...all of them. Claudius and Clonus were alone in the medical bay, except for Pvt. Conley, who was in a deep, sedated sleep. The two SPARTANs had been ordered to the bay by the Chief for reasons of secrecy. They were having a discussion. "Yea, Omega Unit was on patrol, and then a convoy of Elites materialized a number of meters out in the open. It was luck that none of my Hops opened fire. As a show of peace, they sheathed their plasma rifles and swords. I ordered my patrol to stand by. Then that one me and Tiberius escorted in took a step forward and asked to speak with the Chief. I asked him his business, and he said that it was urgent. I allowed him to come unaccompanied into the camp. I called Eta Unit in for backup in case of deception," Clonus concluded. Claudius tapped his head saying, "Always thinking. So could you infer any info from him?" "Well, from what I gathered, all his troops were pretty rattled, and what looked like his bodyguards gave him quite a verbal battle about coming in alone. However, he silenced them and came in. I did notice that he had a bulge in his chest armor pocket though." "What the hell could they want with us?" Claudius wondered aloud. Falshim had been busy giving general details to the Chief, all the while with Tiberius' M90 muzzle on him. He told him the mission had originally been a rescue one, seeking info about the Truth and Reconciliation. They had not found it, but found life signatures on Basis. Then he stopped. "Master Chief, information I have...not for ears of underlings. Possible to alone talk?" Falshim said in his awkward English. Chief nodded in agreement as he saw the Elite pat his chest pocket and draw out computer readouts. The Elite sat down after Tiberius had disarmed him completely. "I'll be waiting outside, Chief," he said. "State your case, Covenant; I got bigger problems than you." Chief started. The Elite looked none too happy. "Indeed you do, Master Chief," Falshim started. He now talked in regular, perfect, and confident English. He saw Chief's confused head cock. "Hmm, don't look so surprised 'Chief'. Any good commander knows the power of deception. I know you have been doing it to me since I arrived, hiding some of your SPARTANs to hide your real strength-.now onto business. Before I left, our cruiser, Independence, was thoroughly scanning the moon. It showed an immensely massive concentration of Flood warriors, all over it. I decided to take some printouts to use on the battlefield; I thought it might give us somewhat of an advantage. I now show these to you," he handed over the papers and continued, "to illustrate the direness of both our situations. We read close 250 human warriors, not including odd signatures...SPARTANs. "The number of Covenant left now total one hundred-forty four. Alone, we stand no chance against countless Flood attacking from all directions. You, however, are in a much better situation than my brethren. You chose a wise location to establish a foothold. You have a full circle of dense forest all around you. You have excellent air support, and have many more men than I do. "But how long will you be able to hold out during a prolonged large-scale assault from all sides? Your Longsword ships force you to extend your border of defense." Falshim went on. "...Okay, Falshim. I understand. What is it exactly that you came here for?" Chief asked. "Master Chief, Decimator of Covenant, I propose that we fight alongside each other to combat the Flood scourge. Together, with the best of the best on both sides, we have a fighting chance against an enemy that will overrun the universe if not culled here on this moon!" Falshim exclaimed, making his final statement. The sun had been rising all the while, and it now poked through some cracks in the command center's structure. The rays illuminated the Covenant Lord's four-walled mouth as he prominently bared his teeth. Chief was already uneasy, and that sight did nothing to help his bad feelings. Yet there was logic in his argument. He looked back at the printouts. According to them, there were thousands of Flood, of all kinds inhabiting this place. How did they get there? That was a question Chief would've liked to know. "Falshim," he said, rising, "your argument has much merit. However, how I feel will not change the hearts of my men. Your kind have killed their friends and family. I doubt they will allow this alliance to take place, but I will assemble them and talk to them," Chief said solemnly. He called Tiberius in to escort Falshim out to his army. "I will come out personally and tell you what my men have decided," he said, waving his hand for Tiberius to take him. "One more thing, Master Chief," Falshim interjected. "The second my people lost contact with Independence, they started preparing another rescue mission. This time, they will send an entire task force. Once they get here, the Flood will be properly destroyed, and then it will be your turn. It would behoove you to have powerful people of my stature and that of my army that respect you and act on your behalf. We are much like you; we do not like to die. Your help will in turn help assure your safe passage off this moon. I don't believe you will leave this place before all Flood fall, and that means waiting for my Covenant brethren. Essentially, if you do not have my support, as a prominent Covenant Lord, high in our homeworld's hierarchy, you will be destroyed by my kin. Keep this in mind." Falshim slammed his hand into the middle of his green armor, the Covenant salute, and walked out to his forces. Suddenly Chief realized something he had meant to ask Falshim. "Falshim! Wait a moment! Did you perhaps see a round, floating object on the battlefield while fighting?" he asked curiously. The tall general turned and his four-walled mouth formed what looked like a frown. "A little blue object that spoke very arrogantly and appeared to be leading the Flood?" Chief stared back and formed a small smile inside his helmet. "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Can you recall anything he was saying? Anything at all would be helpful." "Well-let's see. He was saying that 'you're weapons will do nothing against these creations', a lot of stuff like that. Then when his forces lost, he fled. Why is it of significance?" "Oh, well, that thing, 343 Guilty Spark, almost tricked me into releasing the Flood onto the entire universe. It was Cortana who saved us. He basically oversaw the Flood on Halo. He probably led a few of them to this place, and because he's here, I'm sure he's looking for a way to get the Flood off Basis and into the rest of the universe." Chief shook his head. "I will alert my warriors," Falshim stated, with a glimmer of hope in his deep, growling voice. This time to talk to the troops, Chief used the comm system. He didn't want to risk bringing in his patrols. "Attention all troops: it has been brought to my attention that this moon is infested with thousands of Flood. I received evidence of this from the Covenant who have been stranded here. There is a possibility that it is staged information. However, I believe that is not likely, especially because their commander gave me the info after he knew that within this camp reside nine SPARTAN warriors, and we outnumber them two-to-one. Their commander, a Lord Falshim, has proposed that the Covenant and Terrans form an alliance to combat the Flood. I have been told that a Covenant task force will arrive here probably in a few days. The Lord has given his word that we will be granted safe passage once the threat has been eliminated. I told Falshim that I would leave it up to my men, and whatever they decide, I will follow suit," the Master Chief finished. Chief was surprised at the mixed emotion. Some wanted to leave the Covenant alone. Others wanted to form the alliance, and many wanted to kill the Covenant. The troops became an unorganized mass of arguing soldiers. Chief had had a feeling this would happen. He was about to call them to quiet when Brutus radioed in to Chief. "Sir, Lord Falshim has just made a suggestion. In my opinion, it is worth discussing," he said, rather excitedly. Chief couldn't help but be interested. Chief and Claudius made their way through the trees, which held the Terran camp secret for seventy-five long meters. Falshim stood there with what could be called a smile on his face. "Master Chief! I have some new information you will want to know. A few hours ago, I sent out a group of Special Op Elites to gather any info they could find. They arrived back a few minutes ago. Ajit! Gratyam froehouch, unab!" he authoritatively spoke. A silver Elite stepped forward to Chief. "Master Chief, my scout squad came upon the ruins of an old city roughly 20 kilometers from this position. It was heavily guarded, but the enemy was doing nothing, almost as if they had no reason to be there. They were not even patrolling! With the strength of our armies, victory would be assured!" "Hmm-interesting," Chief muttered. He couldn't help but wonder if it was a trap. "Oh, and one more thing," Ajit stated. "The one you call '343 Guilty Spark' was there as well." Chief perked up a bit. That was definitely worth investigating. He thanked the Elites for the information and went back to camp. Going back to camp, Chief called Spar 3 (Crassus,Tiberius,Claudius) and Spar 2 (Brutus,Magnus,Clonus) together. They would be the advance scouts to provide proof of the Covenant findings. They would travel on two Warthogs. That left sufficient men for camp defense, whether attack be from Flood or Covenant. An hour and a half later, the SPARTANs came back and reported the findings as affirmative. During this time, the camp had not suffered any attack. Chief began to get slightly worried about this. Nevertheless, he did not want to pass up this opportunity. Tiberius reported at least two hundred Flood present. Falshim again entered camp under Titus and informed Chief that the Covenant would be going as well. Chief was skeptical still, but if the Covenant proved themselves in this battle, he might have to make the alliance decision all himself. He quickly made plans and mobilized his army.
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