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Halo 2 Rise of a Hero by CovieKilla
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Halo 2 Rise of a Hero
Date: 1 November 2003, 5:30 AM
AUTHORS NOTE: Okay, heres how it goes. My previous fan fic, Resurrection of the Chief, was really craptacular, but gimme a break. Most writers first fan fics really do suck. But everyone can change can't they? So please dont compare my first fan fic to this new one. I am not going to post further chapters of Resurrection of the Chief, but instead begin to post this story, which is yet to be completed. So please give me your input, and dont be so harsh, just informative, and point out spelling errors, sentance errors, and other things. Now chapter 1 may be a little boring to some of you, but i guarentee, that when reading chapter 2 and so on, you'll like this Halo 2 series. And I am going to make this, the best god damn Halo 2 series ever! So read it, and enjoy!
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CHAPTER 1
01536 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 6th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER) Long Sword, Space, Co-ordinates unknown.
The Master Chief glanced outside of the view port of the Long sword and let out a long sigh. Two whole months, and nothing. He looked into the darkness of space, into the distance. Billions of stars scattered the galaxy. One could possibly be Earth, or even the Covenant's home world. He could only hope, that someday, he would return to Earth, before it was too late.
"Chief!? I've got an incoming transmission. Its...Its Earth." She whispered.
"But it doesn't make any sense...We're not even close to Earth."
"Play it." The Chief barked.
"Yes sir." Cortana acknowledged.
A burst of static blared over the Long Swords speakers. Then, a panicky voice could be heard.
"This is Sergeant McPetterson. Does anyone copy!? I repeat, this is Sergeant McPetterson, does any UNSC personnel copy!?" The voice pleaded.
"Sergeant, this is Cortana of the Pillar of Autumn. We read you loud and clear. What seems to be the problem?" Cortana gestured.
"Its hell down here. Covenant.... They're everywhere!" the voice responded.
Suddenly, the transmission was cut off. The Chief rubbed his forehead. Another life lost. He wouldn't stand for this.
"Cortana! Put thrusters at full capacity. We're gunna get to Earth, even if we die trying." He ordered.
"Yes sir." Cortana replied.
The Long Sword shuttered as its engines ignited and blasted the ship at full speed. Suddenly all the little stars became a blur in the Chiefs vision. He turned around and strapped himself into the pilot chair. He gripped onto the armrest.
He saw something in the distance. Something large. He tilted his head in confusion.
"What could it possibly be"? He thought.
They came closer to the object and saw it. There it lay. Earth, or what was left of it. A battle torn planet. They've done it. The covenant, they've landed. But in orbit, a UNSC frigate sat in the way. A voice appeared on the COM channel.
" This is the Gryphin, come in."
"This is Cortana, and Master Chief, the remaining survivors of the downed Pillar of Autumn. We request permission to board." Cortana asked.
"Permission granted. Welcome home." The voice welcomed.
"Pull in docking bay two. Over." The voice ordered.
Cortana guided the Long Sword towards the frigate. She slowly boarded and locked it onto docking bay two. The Master Chief got up and calmly walked towards the exit. He heard a hiss of the air lock, and hopped off.
"Sir, we have a special visitor on board." A marine chuckled.
"Who is it soldier?" Admiral Cole asked.
He could hear the clanking of armor as it tapped the floor.
"Who could it be?" he thought.
Suddenly a large figure appeared. He wore armor that glinted green when light bounced off it. He stood roughly seven feet tall. The Admiral gazed at his faceplate. He could only see his reflection staring back, not the man on the other side. The person looked more machine than man. He finally realized it. It was, a Spartan.
"Hello Admiral." The Spartan greeted.
"I thought all you died out?" Admiral Cole pondered.
"They did, except for one." A voice said out of the armor.
"Cortana? Is that you?" Admiral Cole asked.
"Yes Admiral, and this is Master Chief, the last remaining Spartan." Cortana said.
"Ahhh...Master Chief. I remember you now. How is the Pillar of Autumn and Captain Keyes?" Cole asked.
The Master Chief looked down. The Admiral didn't understand the gesture, and cocked an eyebrow.
"Gone." Cortana muttered.
"Gone?" The Admiral said.
"All of it. The fleet, the Covenant armada, everything." Cortana stated.
"How? How is that possible?" Cole asked again.
"Sir, we encountered a mysterious ring world known only as Halo. It was some sort of religious artifact to the Covenant. They were planning to use it against us. The Master Chief and I prevented them from using it. But then, we learned the true reason for Halo's existence. To prevent the release of what we call, the Flood." Cortana explained.
"The Flood?" Admiral Cole asked.
"The Flood is a species that latches on to any leaving or dead thing, and takes control of its body. In this case, humans and the Covenant. We found the Pillar of Autumn, and used her to destroy Halo, and prevent the spread of the Flood. We succeeded, but we're the only survivors."
"Hmm." The Admiral grunted.
"So you two are the last of the entire crew, and marines?" Cole added.
"Yes sir." The Chief finally said.
"Well, at least we have you." The Admiral gestured towards Master Chief.
The Chief smirked.
"Well, lets get you ready, we have some armor developed for you. Get suited up, grab some weapons, and then, your going down there." Admiral Cole ordered.
The Chief saluted, and followed the Admiral to get suited up. Then, he was headed to the battlefield below, to support his race,humankind.
Halo 2 Rise of a Hero Chapter 2
Date: 2 November 2003, 12:55 AM
CHAPTER 2
01858 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 7th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER) Pelican, Over New Mombassa East African Protectorate.
A pelican's loud engine roared over New Mombassa's skies. The Chief gazed below, and saw a thick mist. He could hear the sound of plasma fire, and wild fire. Blue streaks of plasma fire flashed brilliantly in the fog. The Chief gripped onto the handle of exit.
"It took two in the nose and dropped into the atmosphere." Cortana informed.
"Who was its first contact?" Master Chief barked.
"405th under Diego Garcia." A scruffy voice bellowed out of the Cockpit.
"But don't expect a big welcome. The Covenant wiped most of them out before they hit the ground." The voice continued.
The Chief turned around for a moment as the pelican swiftly shifted its angle, and tilted towards the battlefield. Sergeant Johnson that gave him the Intel.
Corporal Monte wiped the sweat forming on his brow, and peered into the scope of his S2 AM Sniper Rifle. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat and fired an armor piercing round into a grunt. The metal slug pierced its methane gas tank and it squealed as it suffocated. He slapped a new clip into the weapon and took another gander. Two Jackals slid into view, and Monte took very little time to take-out the animals.
"How's it look recon?" A voice blared over the COM channel.
"Reading grid thirteen by two is hot. Recommend mission abort." Monte replied.
"Roger recon." The voice acknowledged.
The pelican pilot glanced over at Sergeant Johnson. He clicked a view buttons and said,
"It's your call Sarge."
"We're goin' in! Get tactical marines!" Sergeant Johnson said trying to lift the soldier's spirits.
The Chief turned around and took a seat. His armor clanked as it hit the bench. His new armor was comfy, even better than his previous one. He turned to the marine next to him, adjusting his weapon to his liking. The marine picked up the helmet next to him, tossed it on, and clipped it shut. He wore something similar to the Chief's. The Chief turned back and began to fiddle with his weapon. The techs called it a "Battle Rifle." The Chief took a test drive on the firing range before he was positioned on Earth. It had a slower firing rate, but had zooming capabilities. He liked it.
The pelican began to glide swiftly, and then turned toward a landing pad. It slowly set down, and landed with a thud. The Chief got up, along with the rest of the marines. He waited for his comrades to hop off, then he did the same.
The Master Chief examined his surroundings. The sky was purple from down here, and an orange silhouette sat in the sky. A building concealed the position of the landing zone.
We'll evac the wounded. Keep me posted Cortana!" Sergeant Johnson ordered.
"Of course Sergeant." Cortana saluted.
"Sir!" A voice said
The Chief refocused his attention, and saw a lone marine waiting. He walked up to him, and the marine began,
"Corporal Perez, A Company, CP is this way!" The marine said as he turned to sprint down the ramp next to him.
The Chief turned and followed the marine down the ramp. He turned to his left and saw a medic covered in blood, resuscitating a marine. The monitor went into a flat line, and the medic struggled to bring him back. The Chief continued on ahead, and passed a tent with two marines and a corpse.
"No tags!" One of the marine's exclaimed.
The Chief continued on, and finally stopped in front of Corporal Perez. He gazed next to him and saw a man lying on a blood soaked stretcher, missing his stomach.
"I'm calling it in. It's 1900." The medic declared.
"The Lieutenant got hit as soon as we dropped in." Corporal Perez said.
"Whose in charge now, Corporal?" Cortana requested.
"Sergeant Banks, ma'am. His pinned out up front. Come on, I'll show you!" Corporal Perez said as he dashed towards the Sergeant.
Corporal Perez rotated on his heel and sprinted into the tunnel behind him. Master Chief tailed close behind. It was dark. No light at all. He almost stumbled over the staircase, if it wasn't illuminated by a small light fixture. The Chief climbed the stairs and noticed a marine's corpse. He didn't bother grabbing his dog tags, he figured someone already did. He saw two marines peering out of a crack in the wall, returning fire to Covenant. One was stationed at a fixed gun placement.
"Over there!" One of them screamed.
"No no! Behind that SOB!" He screamed again
"Yeah, Yeah! I'm runnin' low man!" The other replied.
The Chief turned and took cover with Corporal Perez who was screaming at a marine nearby.
"Parsons!?" He asked.
"Yeah?" The other marine shouted back.
"He's over here!" Perez replied.
Suddenly an explosion cut off the conversation. Perez looked back in amazement to see the marine still there in one piece.
"I don't know!" The marine said.
"Ughhhh!" Perez grunted.
"Move out! Covering fire!" Perez jumped out of his cover.
He fired his battle rifle at the Covenant below. Master Chief did the same. He zoomed in at 2x, and fired two rounds and a pair of grunts. They died under the power of the weapon, crumbling their weak armor. A Jackal attempted to return fire at the Chief. Master Chief adjusted his aim and fired. A bullet entered its chest cavity, and exploded in its heart. It shrieked and collapsed on the floor, dead. The Chief saw some Hell Jumpers ahead, and reloaded his battle rifle.
He regrouped with his comrades, and saw a group of grunts exiting from a crevice below him. He tossed a frag grenade and watched the blood splatter as the screamed in fear. The Chief pulled his Battle Rifle back out. He flipped to 2x again, and put a few grunts into view. The grunts were firing their plasma pistols at the Hell Jumpers and felt dominate. The Chief changed that. He fired and the bullets cut ones respirator system, and hit the other on its life support system, immediately downing both. He zoomed in on the mortar gun emplacement across the city. It fired a large plasma round towards his position. It's trajectory was too great, and hit the building behind him. It instantly shattered the glass, and put a large hole in it.
The Chief saw a man lying on a blood-drenched floor next to a corpse. He crouched and approached him.
"I asked for re-enforcements.... I never thought they'd send a Spartan." Sergeant Banks whimpered.
"We gotta take that thing out, Cover Me!" Sergeant Banks ordered.
Master Chief stood up and fired his battle rifle at a Jackal. Its shield flickered on and off, then depleted. The Chief quickly put a bullet through its weak body. He turned and locked onto a grunt. The grunt noticed the Chief had him on his sights. He jumped behind a nearby car for cover as the Chief fired his Battle Rifle. The Chief tossed a frag grenade next to the vehicle. The grunt looked at it and barked. It erupted and killed the puny alien with its blast.
The Chief could hear Sergeant Banks behind him.
"Tech HQ, this is Sergeant Banks. Requesting immediate assistance, over.
"I repeat, this is Sergeant Banks, does anybody read me!?"
"God Damnit HQ! Can anyone copy?" He screamed
"Sergeant, this is Major Heasly, Hang tight, we're inbound." a voice blared out of the radio.
The Chief turned to his right and noticed a fixed gun placement. He hopped onto it and fired at the enemy below. He noted that it was exactly like the M41 LAAG gun found on the old warthogs. He swiveled to his left and put an end to the life of a grunt and Jackal. A voice blared over his COM channel.
"Hostiles right!" voice informed.
The Chief swiveled the weapon towards his right and noticed several Jackals. He fired the weapon and it destroyed several of the walls that were providing them with cover. He flanked the enemy, forcing them to withdraw from their hiding spots, and fight head on. But the Chief had the upper hand. He blasted the Jackal's shields offline, and filled each of them with lead.
Suddenly a load roaring of an engine came from behind the Chief. Three Long Swords soared into view. The Chief looked at them for a second. They swooped down and dropped several bombs causing the mortar emplacement to erupt, and then a mighty blue explosion followed. The smoke cleared and the mortar placement was completely destroyed.
"Verify delivery of ordinance on target." Major Heasly asked.
"Dead on Major! Threats neutralized!" Sergeant Banks confirmed.
The Chief turned towards Sergeant Banks.
"Take my weapon! You'll need it!" Sergeant Banks exclaimed.
The Chief snatched the sub-machine guns from Sergeant Banks' hands. He looked at them for a moment, then hopped down a ramp following another group of Hell Jumpers. He fired wildly at a group of grunts. He entered a scrap area, illuminated by fire, and filled with grunts. He fired the weapons at the savage beasts, and heard them scream in agony and pain as they suffered the consequences of the bullets entering their alien skin. Master Chief exterminated the Covenant in the area, and it was littered with spent casing shells, and his fallen comrades corpses.
He walked through a pile of scrap metal, and saw a group of marines trying to flank out some grunts. He peered over the corner. Six of them sat there. He glanced across the alleyway, and nodded. The marine screamed out,
"Frag, and clear!"
And tossed the round canister towards the unsuspecting bunch. A loud explosion could be heard, followed by squeals. The Chief hopped out from his hiding spot, and saw all six still standing, just temporarily stunned. He shrugged and let his guns do the talking. The bullets penetrated their armor, and tore up there insides. Once he took out his foes, he continued towards the inner city.
He climbed up a ramp to discover a pack of Jackals and a Creep exiting behind. He quickly whipped out his battle rifle and opened fire on the group. They all fired their plasma pistols at the Chief at the same time, as the Creep made a quick getaway. The Chiefs rounds bounced off of their blue shields. Suddenly two warthogs pulled up and ran over the group of Jackals.
"We could use a gunner sir!" The driver called out.
The Chief smiled at the men who just saved his behind. He leaped from the ramp and just clung onto the back and hoisted himself up as the engine roared. The Master Chief saw another Creep trying to escape. It fired the Warthog's weapon. It startled him as it sent his shoulders back and took out the vehicle in one hit. He shook it off and continued. Must have been some new projectile-based weapon. He saw another two Creeps on the landing below. He fired at one and took it out in two shots, but the other one escaped with one shot under its belt. The two warthogs split up; one went left, the other straight. The Chief's 'hog met up with the attempted escapee, and put an end to its rally.
"Over there!" A marine in the passenger seat screamed.
The Chief swiveled the weapon, and fired at a car being used as cover. Two dead alien corpses soaked in purple blood lay there, motion-less.
"Ghosts! Makin' a break for it! I got 'em!" The driver maneuvered the Warthog to tail the two hovering vehicles.
The Chief quickly fired at one of the Ghost's and took it out. He turned to face the other and destroyed it. He looked in the distance and spotted another two headed his way. He adjusted the position of his aim, and took out one, the other one quickly turned, and the grunt pilot squealed. It swerved around before crashing into a wall, and fired at the Warthog. The Chief fired once, causing the alien craft to explode. The driver made a right on the boulevard only to encounter another Creep. Master Chief did as usual, and fired twice, and watched the limp body of the pilot fall out onto the cold pavement.
"More over there!" The passenger said.
The Chief took out one Ghost as the other fled the battle. But it drove straight into the other warthog that departed before. The Chief launched a blue beam at it, as it toppled on top of a small building, and exploded.
The Warthog swerved to evade the explosion, and followed the road ahead. The driver slid as it made a left turn, and witnessed a Phantom pull up ahead of them, and fire its powerful plasma volleys. The Master Chief turned and fired at the vehicle, but didn't even put in a dent. He kept firing. He turned around and saw another Phantom up ahead hovering in place.
"This can't be good." He thought.
"Brutes!" Cortana exclaimed with curiosity.
A Brute hopped out of the Phantom and landed directly on top of the Warthog. It smacked the passenger and driver out. The Chief bailed.
The Brute remained on top of the Warthog, so the Chief had to lure it out. He fired his battle rifle to get its attention. It hopped off, and fired at the Chief. The Chief sprinted towards it and smacked it in the chest. It took a deep breath in, and went back to normal. The Chief never really encountered a Brute before. He never even saw one in person, he only heard about them. He shot out a few rounds of his battle rifle at the Brutes chest. It coughed and collapsed in a pool of its own purple blood. The Chief saw plasma fire flash by his visor. He spun on his heel to see another three Brutes. He looked into his scope and fired at a car next to two of the animals. It exploded and sent the two to their fiery deaths. The other tried to run for cover, the Chief popped it in the head.
"Ghosts!" Cortana warned.
The Chief quickly turned in time to see two Ghosts head in his direction. He watched as one sped by, but he took careful note of the second.
"Steady..." Cortana guided.
The Chief bent his knees, and hopped up into the air. He calculated his landing, and quickly hit the wing of the Ghost.
"Nice!" Cortana congratulated.
The Brute piloting the vehicle was not as happy though. It bellowed out a loud war cry, but the Chief kicked it out of its seat, and took control of the vehicle.
"The marines wont make it if those Phantoms double back. See if you can lure them away." Cortana suggested.
Master Chief fired plasma at the remaining Brutes, and then fired upward towards the Phantoms. The Phantoms returned fire, and the Chief quickly rotated, and sped towards the highway. The Phantom's tailed closely behind. They fired their plasma volleys at the Chief, but he quickly turned the Ghost and evaded the attacks. One of the Phantom's was foolish, and began to fire plasma towards the New Mombassa entry sign. It burned the metal, causing it to separate, and slowly fall towards the pothole infested road. It hit the same Phantom, and made it smack the floor hard. It's engine ruptured, and exploded ahead of the Chief. A blue and white flash developed, and bits and pieces of debris rained down onto the high way as the Chief just passed the downed vehicle.
He guided the Ghost into a tunnel, not realizing the flashing sign above the entrance.
"Uhhh...Chief?" Cortana began.
"Hang on!" Master Chief warned.
The exiting door was slowly closing on the two. The Chief leaned to his right, and tucked in his legs and hopped from the vehicle as it smashed into the door. The Chief hit the ground hard, and sparks were flying as he skidded to a halt. Behind him two brutes in Ghost's were chasing him, but didn't notice the blast doors sealed. One looked ahead and snarled. It hit the door, and killed itself on impact. Blue plasma streaked and flashed on the other side of the door. The Chief checked his shield monitor, dead. He crawled up, and looked towards the purple-blue sky.
"Now all we have to do is...." Cortana stumbled.
Pods. Lots of them. Headed their way. The Chief looked a little lower and witnessed seven pods crashing onto the highway. He gazed towards one. It startled him as the front flew off and an Elite emerged out of the mist. Six others followed. They all looked at each other and barked in their foreign tongue. Each of them stared back at the Chief, and they ignited their plasma swords. A blue flash quickly glared off of the Chiefs helmet. The Chief yanked out a plasma grenade he stowed away from before. He clicked the little circle, and it grew into a blue ball of explosive.
"Bet you can't stick it." Cortana joked.
"You're on!" The Chief chuckled.
He lobbed the grenade at the farthest Elite. It snorted and attempted to rip off the little weapon. It exploded putting an end to his series of events. One of the Elites looked at the blood soaked area of his fellow soldier. It bellowed out a loud war cry, and charged at the Chief, caught up in its rage. The Chief saw the beast headed his way, and quickly stepped out of the way, and smacked it in the back. Breaking its spinal cord, killing it instantly. Two down, four to go. The Chief took out his battle rifle and took aim at an Elite. He locked the mighty Covenant warrior in his sights, and fired the weapon. A bullet pierced through the Elites shield, and entered its skull. It hit the floor, and smashed its head on the concrete. Without wasting a second, Master Chief took out a frag grenade, pulled the pin, and whipped it in between two of the last Elite's. Both turned and once they realized the little canister, it was two late. The grenade exploded with a mighty ruckus, sending the two flying. One left. The Chief turned to the Elite, and squeezed the trigger of his Battle Rifle. Empty. He pulled his sub-machine guns out. He took aim again, and squeezed the trigger. Empty. He was in trouble. The Elite began to laugh. Suddenly, 150 rounds pierced through its skin, exploding inside its alien body. The Chief turned around and saw a pelican. It began to drop, and land right next to him.
"Need a lift?" Sergeant Johnson chuckled as he stuck out his hands.
"Anytime." The Chief laughed as he grabbed the Sergeants hand and pulled himself aboard.
Halo 2 Rise of a Hero Chapter 3
Date: 8 November 2003, 1:14 AM
CHAPTER 3
01501 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 8th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER) Pelican, Over Amazon Jungle, Mexico II.
The Pelicans burners ignited as it began to levitate, and take off from the landing pad. The Chief got a good rest from his return from New Mombassa. He rose from the green bench he once sat on, and calmly walked to the edge of the Pelican. The view was beautiful. He examined the Jungle he flew above, and a smile crackled onto his face.
"Nice view from here, isn't it?" Cortana said happily.
"Yeah." The Chief grunted.
"Get ready marines. Covenant patrols own this territory. We'll be dropping you off hot." Sergeant Johnson announced.
Suddenly, the beauty of the Jungle faded, into a smoldering pile of bitterness. This part was ugly. Burnt to a crisp, fires surrounded the area, and smoke exited from the ever-burning flames. The Chiefs smile, turned into a glumly frown.
"What happened?" He thought.
"The Covenant, that's what." Cortana's voice bellowed out of the speakers.
The Pelican glided swiftly, and swerved at the edge of the Jungle. The Chief gripped the top bar at the Pelicans exit, and patiently waited for it to close in on the ground. The Pelican gently hovered a foot above the ground, and the Chief released his grip on the bar, as he hopped off.
"Pile out. Go, go, go!" Sergeant Johnson ordered.
The Chief waited for his instructions and his fellow soldiers.
"Hold you position Chief. Foe Hammer will be here in a moment to deliver the vehicles and equipment." Sergeant Johnson barked.
"Foe Hammer?" Master Chief asked confused.
"Foe Hammer Junior! We better get moving." Johnson shouted as the Pelican roared away.
The Chief shrugged and turned to a marine. The marine stared. The Chief nodded and kept his eyes peeled at the Jungle ahead. Who knew what adventure lie in the wake. Suddenly, a roar of engines came from behind. Master Chief and the marines all turned around. It was a Pelican, three to be exact. But these ones were a little larger than normal, the Chief didn't see a troop transport at the back. They must've been delivery Pelicans. It softly decreased in altitude, and hit the ground.
"Chief! I've got a special delivery for you!" A voice screamed over the COM channel. It was Foe Hammer Junior.
"Where do I sign?" The Chief chuckled.
The Pelicans all hovered above the ground, and dropped their cargo. They rose up again, and flew away within a blink of an eye. The Chief glanced towards the cargo, and eyed it delightfully. He liked what he saw. Two Warthogs, Eight ATV's, and a crate of weapons.
"Yeeeee Haw!!!" A marine screamed.
The Chief walked towards the crate, and picked up a weapon.
"M10 Shotgun." He mumbled.
"Latest of it's kind. Fires explosive shells, has an ammo counter, and can reload on its own." Cortana stated.
"I think I'm gunna like this." The Chief said as he laughed.
The Chief grabbed some ammo and loaded the gun. He popped in a few shells and cocked the shotgun. He put the barrel of the weapon in front of his vision, and began to aim. He lowered it, and took another peek into the crate. Guns galore. He reached in and pulled out a new a huge weapon.
"RL650..." He whispered.
"Another new weapon. ONI has been up to a lot lately. They've added a farther zoom in range. And they put in an ammo gauge, a faster firing rate, and it can launch grenades." Cortana explained.
"This should come in handy. How do you know all this?" Master Chief asked curiously.
"I have my ways." Cortana said suspiciously.
The Chief shrugged, he set the M10 Shotgun down into the crate and picked up his Sub-Machine guns. He turned towards his comrades.
"Everyone!"
They all stopped chit chatting and turned towards Master Chief.
"Lets roll." He said without a hint of fear in his voice.
He turned and hopped onto an ATV and clicked on the engine. It sparked and let out a loud buzz. He revved it twice as he waited for his fellow marines to get into their vehicles. Two warthogs full, Eight ATV's boarded. He turned to face the Jungle, and exploded into the mysterious brush, Sub-Machine guns in hand, locked and loaded. He swerved at the sight of a fallen tree, and regained control of the vehicle.
He saw a pack of Covenant ahead the path, with his enhanced vision. He slowed down and ordered his squad to stop. He heard the click of the other ATV's go offline.
"I need a sniper. Any snipers come in." The Chief said into his COM channel.
A lone marine creeped up towards the Chief and saluted.
"Private Jones reporting for duty sir." The marine whispered.
The Chief returned a salute.
"Take out the Elite in the group, the rest will cower away." The Chief ordered.
"Yes sir." Private Jones replied.
Jones withdrew his S2 AM Sniper Rifle, and screwed on a silencer. He drew his eye towards the scope, and peered in. He stared closely at the Elite, and when the opportunity arose, he fired. The bullet exited the barrel of the weapon, and ripped its way into the Elite. It pierced the flesh on its neck, and it gurgled out its purple black blood. Like the Master Chief said, the rest of the group attempted to flee the scene. But the Chief had it all planned out. He hopped from his cover, behind another fallen tree, and whipped a frag grenade directly at the group. It landed directly ahead of them. But their stupidity cost them dearly, the grenade went off, and all of them walked into it. The Chief nodded towards Jones, and sprinted down along the path towards the corpses. And there they lay, six brutally damaged corpses missing legs, arms, organs, heads blown off even. The Chief had a stomach for it, but another marine didn't. He dove off into a thick bush at the sight of the recently deceased and vomited.
The Chief sprinted back towards the vehicles and told the warthog drivers to go onto a path leading left, and the rest off the marines on the ATV's to go straight with him. He hopped aboard his ATV, switched the engine online, and sped down the path. He saw another group of Covenant approaching ahead, but this time had a new plan. He sped towards them, Sub-Machine gun in hand, and fired as he drove over the aliens. He continued along, unchanged after the spectacle. He saw something up ahead, something different. He slowed down. He slowly drove to the edge of what was supposed to be the forest, and stopped. He looked out, it was a battlefield. Covenant and Humans everywhere. He realized that the Jungle was no different from New Mombassa. He drove out, and stopped as he approached a marine. He hopped off the ATV.
"Master Chief, reporting for duty." The Chief saluted.
The marine returned a crisp salute and said,
"Sergeant Kosack."
The Chief looked down the battlefield. Wraiths on the ground, Banshees in the sky, Phantoms coming down by the dozen, and Ghosts on the Covenant's ground patrol. The Chief gazed towards his end of the battlefield. Scorpion tanks, Warthogs, 3 Pelicans, over a hundred ATV's. This, was definitely war.
"The Covenant....They have the upper advantage." Sergeant Kosack said wearily.
"Not for long." The Chief grumbled.
Kosack looked at the Chief puzzled, and cocked an eyebrow.
"You have a plan?" He asked.
The Chief stood silent. Then opened his mouth.
"Yes..." He said.
01548 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 8th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER) Battlefield, Amazon Jungle, Mexico II.
The Chief stood there, thoughts rushing through his head. This plan may have been the craziest and most suicidal one yet, but he had faith, as always.
"Sir, the entire army is at your disposal. We await at your command." A Corporal said.
"Thank you. Return to your position, and await on my mark." The Chief said.
"Yes sir!" The marine said, as he sprinted back to his position.
The Chief stared around at the war torn battlefield, and at the army that was he was about to lead into battle. He hoped no casualties would arise from this event. He looked away from the group, and turned to face the enemy. He opened up his COM channel.
"Now!" he screamed.
He charged into battle, with over one hundred ATV's, fifty Scorpion tanks, one hundred Warthogs and three Pelicans soared ahead. The Chief and two hundred marines were on foot, and they had over fifty soldiers in the hills sniping. But, the Covenant had caught on, and charged towards the army. The Chief began to count in the distance. One...Two...Three hundred Grunts, One hundred Elites, Two Hundred Jackals, seventy-five Brutes, and ninety hunters. This Battle may be over soon.
"All Snipers, focus on the Hunters and Brutes. We can handle the rest." Cortana ordered.
The clock was ticking, and time was dire. Every step felt like a mile in the Chief's boots. He finally realized that the Covenant were only several feet away. He was about to open fire on a Hunter, when a shot cracked over his head. It startled him, but then he realized it was a marine and smiled. He opened fire on a Brute and saw the beast collapse. Weapon fire and war cries were all that could be heard on the barren battlefield. The M41 LAAG gun sawed down three Elites, and ten Grunts each minute.
"Ahhhh! I'm hit!" A marine screamed as a sniper round pierced through his arm. He squeezed the wound and collapsed. The Chief eyed him quickly, but forwarded his attention back to the battle.
Master Chief un-slung his R650 and loaded it with a frag grenade. He pulled the mighty weapon onto his shoulder and launcher the grenade laying inside. It smacked the floor and exploded instantly, sending seven Jackals to their pitiful deaths. He turned and fired a rocket towards three Elites ready to attack a Scorpion Pilot. They screamed as the rocket detonated at their feet and exploded sending them to a whole world of hurt. The Master Chief turned to withdraw his Sub-Machine guns, but tripped and fell. He stared in amazement as a Hunter hobbled over towards him and began to charge is fuel rod gun. The Chief panicked and fumbled to get back onto his feet. The Hunter had a sparkle in its eye like it knew Master Chief was as good as dead. But, little did it know, it was it's own misfortune, that it had thought of. A bullet whizzed into its exposed orange flesh, and erupted in its vital organs. It staggered as it fell to its knees. It stared at the Chief innocently, and then its eyes slowly closed, and it died. The Chief knew, that it was truly a miracle. But it was the same marine, that saved his life.
The Chief opened up the COM channel and shouted,
"Toss all grenades!"
Like an instant, over two hundred little metal canisters were lobbed into the air, and hit the floor awaiting their presence. They exploded with a mighty ruckus, cutting the Covenant army into half. The Scorpion tanks had already taken out the Wraiths, and the Pelicans were working on taking out the Banshees. They Chief just caught it though. Two marines died in the spectacle. Friendly fire. He frowned. How could such a plan go wrong? One marine didn't toss his grenade far enough, and killed his fellow soldier with him. Both of them plummeted towards their graves. The Chief said a silent prayer and continued to fire.
The Chief fired his Sub-Machine guns at a pack of Grunts. Their inaccuracy was perfect for taking out multiple enemies. He shifted his view and fired wildly at an Elite. The Elite snorted and began to fire its Plasma Rifle rapidly, bringing down Master Chief's shields. The Chief staggered, but came back fighting, literally. He tackled the Elite and punched it in the face before it could even attempt to fight back. After two hits, the mighty demon was dead. The Chief got up, he saw few enemies left. A hunter, two Jackals, two Brutes, three Elite, and six Grunts remained. Amazed at their military training, the remaining warriors didn't attempt to run. They stood and fought with power and bravery. But they were the enemy, and orders were orders. The Chief tossed a grenade at the Grunts. They barked in their barbaric tongue, and died under the pressure and fire of the grenade.
"All snipers, take out the remaining Covenant now!" Cortana urged.
Fifty rounds fired towards the remaining Covenant, and took out the Jackals, a Brute, the Hunter, and two Elites. That left one, a Brute stood there, a lone warrior on the battlefield. He growled at the Chief, and the rest of his race. He aimed his weapon upward, toward Master Chief. The Chief sighed, and new that this Brute would end up facing it's certain doom. The Chief looked towards the ground and whispered,
"Take him out."
A sniper adjusted his aim and fired at the Brute. It hit the beast in the chest, and it sputtered out its blackish-purple blood. The Chief turned around to walk back. He was saddened to see that a quarter of his troops, were killed.
"Congratulations Chief! We did it!" Sergeant Kosack said.
"No we didn't." The Chief grumbled.
"Sure we did! We took out the Covenant!" the Sergeant replied excitedly.
"We lost Sarge." Master Chief said.
"What are you talkin' about!? We won!" Kosack said.
"Look at our casualties. How can you say we won?" The Chief said.
The Sergeant stared at the Chief and stood silent. He couldn't answer the question.
Halo 2 Rise of a Hero Chapter 4
Date: 17 November 2003, 1:44 AM
CHAPTER 4
01729 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 8th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER) Battlefield, Amazon Jungle, Mexico II.
A Long Sword swooped below the clouds, and landed into the middle of the war torn battlefield of Mexico II. It paused in the air, and dropped onto the burnt grass. It slowly shut down, its exit ramp lowered, and the pilot walked out. He sprinted towards the Master Chief.
"Sir. You are needed on the Gryphin ASAP. Admiral Cole needs to speak with you dearly." He saluted with his British accent.
"Lead the way." The Chief saluted.
"Yes sir." The pilot said wearily.
The pilot ran towards the Long Sword, and the Chief walked calmly. The Chief finally reached it Long Sword and hopped aboard. He clicked a button on the side panel, and it shuttered as it closed. The Chief pivoted on his foot and took a seat on a chair near the back. He peered out the window as the Long Sword soared away from the land he was once fighting on. He wondered what Admiral Cole wanted. The Long Sword began to tremble at the power of exiting Earth's atmosphere. They broke the cycle and closed in on the Gryphin.
01803 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 8th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER) UNSC Frigate The Gryphin, Space.
The Chief bit his lip as he approached Admiral Cole's office. He has never been nervous about a meeting before.Never. He stood silently next to the office, and puffed in a deep breath. He let it out, and entered.
"You requested to see me sir?" The Chief asked.
"Ahh yes. Master Chief. I've been expecting you." The Admiral said happily.
"So why did you call me up sir?" The Master Chief inquired.
"Well, our situation on Earth, its dire. I was wondering if you and Cortana can think of something possibly. A battle plan. Something." The Admiral said as he began to ponder.
"Hmmm..." The Chief said as he thought.
"Wait." The Chief grumbled as an idea hit him.
"Cortana, you mentioned something about more Halo's on our return from one of them." He asked.
"Yes." Cortana replied.
"Can you possibly locate one." The Chief inquired.
"Of course sir." She replied again.
"Any chance of using it against the Covenant? Similar to them attempting to use it against us on Halo Installation 04?" The Chief wondered.
"Sure is." Cortana said like she was expecting the question.
"I assume you have a plan?" Admiral Cole asked.
"Damn straight sir." The Chief stated.
"Fill me in, Chief." The Admiral ordered.
"Well sir. Back on the original Halo we hit, the Covenant were attempting to use Halo as a weapon towards humanity. But we overpowered them. If we can use harness another Halo's power, we may possibly, wipe out the Covenant race. The only problem is, we haven't located the Covenant's home planet." The Chief explained.
"Hmmm... You may have something there Chief. Any way you can get the location?" Cole asked.
"Sir, I can answer that." Cortana directed.
"If we board a Covenant battle cruiser, I believe that I can locate the Covenants home planet location, from their mainframe. It's a long shot, but it should work." Cortana said.
"Chief, I would like you to carry this mission out. Do you need anything?" Admiral Cole asked.
"To get the co-ordinates of the Covenant home world, all I need is some weapons, and my fists. For the Halo mission, I'll need a ship, a few Long Swords, Several Pelicans, Warthogs, ATV's, some Scorpion tanks, and a hell of a lot of marines and fire power." The Chief listed.
"Consider it done." Admiral Cole replied.
"And Admiral..." The Chief asked.
"Yes?" Admiral Cole replied.
"We'll need Shotguns.Lots of 'em." The Chief stated.
Suddenly the ship rocked as a plasma torpedo hit the side.
"The Covenant." Cortana whispered.
"Chief! Get your ass to the shuttle bay. Your mission begins now!" Admiral Cole ordered.
"Yes sir!" Master Chief saluted, and he marched out.
01837 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 8th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER)UNSC Frigate The Gryphin, Space.
The Master Chief stormed down the flashing hallway. His strides long and full of fear. He knew what he was to do, he had a mission to complete. He passed by an opening rack of Battle Rifles and stole one from the plenty. He looked ahead and could hear words on the COM channel.
"Sir, We just flew in...Inside our formation. A voice panicked over the radio.
"Son, I need you to come down." Another voice inquired.
"Eight digital contacts..." The voice said as static screeched over the rest of the sentence.
"Admiral, You can't let them maintain orbit." One voice argued.
"I'm trying General, but we've lost advantage of the maintaining perimeter!" The Admiral said as anger flushed through his body.
The Chief stepped onto the lift as the doors began to close. The lift lowered into the belly of the Gryphin towards the shuttle bay.
"Live records to combat are in effect with the fighters. They don't have enough guns to take out a Covenant assault carrier." The Admiral explained as the lift began to lower.
"Your private's let up. And down here, it's the God damn apocalypse." The General grumbled.
"I'm asking you to re-target the orbits!" The General barked as the Chief watched the lift doors open.
"And let more of them swept the kill zone!? That's insanity! There's nothing more I can do!" The Admiral screamed.
Master Chief stepped out of the lift and calmly walked towards the center of the shuttle bay. Lights were flashing red and the emergency alarm was triggered. He stood ahead of a pillar and peered out towards the Earth below. Explosions, flames, and smoke plumes, covered the planet.
"Admiral, tell your men to hold their positions. Reinforcements are on the spoke." Cortana ordered.
"The whole fleet is engaged Cortana. With all do respect, what the hell kind of reinforcement do you got?" The Admiral asked enraged.
Cortana stood silent.
The Chief had to take back what was his. He turned around and stood behind the pillar and glanced upward. He saw what he was looking for. He reached up and laid his hand upon it.
"What if you miss?" Cortana joked.
"I won't." The Chief reassured.
The Chief pulled down the lever, and saw the wind fly in. Space sucked out anything not strapped down. The Chief inched towards the edge of the pillar, and leapt. And there he was. Earth's last hope. Earth's last savior. Earth's hero. A one man wrecking crew.
The Chief zoomed down through space and saw a Covenant cruiser come into view. He knew that this was going to hurt. He ensured his shields were online, and gripped onto his Battle Rifle.
WHAM! He smacked the hull of the purple pin shaped Covenant cruiser. His shields dropped instantly, and his bones ached. He slowly crawled onto an opening vent. He tore it off and hopped inside the ship.
He hit the ground as he punched his way into the ship itself. He got up and loaded his Battle Rifle. He heard some Elites barking around the corner. He tore a frag grenade from his belt and ripped the pin out of its home. He tossed the baby quickly and heard wails of pain as the grenade exploded. He peered around a corner and saw tossed limbs in a pile. He smiled and continued along.
"Cortana, can you locate the mainframe?" The Chief asked.
"I'm unsure. But I'm pretty sure I can just let me get a feel for the ship." Cortana said.
"Almost....Got it!" She exclaimed in her usual fashion.
An orange NAV indicator popped onto the Chiefs heads up display. He turned around a corridor and saw a group of Grunts approaching him. He smiled evilly as he began to open fire on his unsuspecting foes. They screamed as he unloaded two rounds into each of their frail bodies.
He continued along towards his mission objective. He had reached the shuttle bay, and knew that it was here, that he would have to commandeer a Covenant vehicle. He gazed at the door across the shuttle bay, and knew that this was a high-risk situation. He saw the door across from him slide open, and an Elite step out. Master Chief examined its weapon through his scope. It was different from the others. It looked like a Covenant Sniper Rifle. The Chief had a sudden flow of an idea. He zoomed in on the Elite's head, and fired two rounds towards it. It collapsed under the pressure of the bullets. The Chief charged towards the corpse and policed its sniper rifle. It may just come in handy. He dashed through the door the Elite emerged from and checked the NAV point. He was closing in.
"Chief? You're almost there. Only a few more meters!" Cortana urged.
The Chief sprinted down a corridor, and twisted down another. He made it finally. There it was,the mainframe.
The Chief crept in. He looked to his left, and then right. It was clear. He charged towards the terminal. Cortana sent herself through the Chiefs speaker system, into the mainframe. She appeared on something similar to a holo-tank. The Chief stared at her eyes, she looked like she was reading something.
"Scanning...." She informed.
"Got it!" She exclaimed.
"You have the co-ordinates?" The Chief asked.
"You bet ya!" She exclaimed proud of her work.
"Alright. Then lets get out of here!" The Chief exclaimed.
Something must have happened, because the Chief suddenly heard an Elite barking on the ships COM channel. What ever it was, it wasn't good.
The Chief sprinted out of the door and retraced his steps. He didn't realize his own speed. As he sprinted, he trampled a group of Grunts, two Jackals, and plowed straight through an Elite. But now came the hard part, getting a lift. He gazed below and saw a group of Elites discussing something, most likely himself. The Chief had an idea. He took out a newly created remote mine, and dropped it below. While it was in the air, the Chief detonated it, and killed the group. He checked below again and saw two Hunters storming in, followed by three Brutes.
The Chief withdrew the Covenant sniper he had taken from the dead Elite that he stood beside. He examined the weapon.
"Any idea how to use this thing?" He asked Cortana.
"Try flipping the tiny switch there." Cortana suggested.
Master Chief followed Cortana's suggestion and flipped the tiny switch. Suddenly a triangular thing popped out of the top, and the weapon began to make a buzzing noise. He took a peek into the triangular object that came out of the top. It was a scope, just as he expected. He zoomed in on one of the Hunter's orange flesh and squeezed the pink trigger. The gun let out a purple blast so silently, that only the Hunter itself realized the plasma inside its exposed flesh. It fell to its knees holding it's stomach, let out a loud groan, and fell deceased.
The Chief didn't think twice about his next move, he fired at the second hunter. Its armor burned away the blast, and it collapsed as another plasma ray hit its exposed flesh once covered by the armor. The Brutes growled at the sight of their fallen comrades, and fired their weaponry at the Master Chief. Blue rays flew by the Chiefs head as he tossed a frag grenade towards the bunch. The canister exploded and sent three burning apes to their deaths. The Chief saw one of several vehicles to choose from. A Phantom or a Banshee.
"Take the Phantom. They are designed for space travel." Cortana suggested.
The Chief climbed aboard the Phantom. He walked towards the front, and eyed the controls. He had a lot to learn. Over three levers, two joysticks, foreign gauges, and tons of buttons.
"Little help?" The Chief chuckled.
"Only this once!" Cortana implied.
Cortana used the Chief's speakers again to broadcast herself onto the Phantom's control CPU. She guided the Phantom out of the Covenant shuttle bay, and flew towards the Gryphin.
"Cortana?" Master Chief said.
"Yes Chief?" Cortana replied.
"Do you have the co-ordinates of the closest Halo?" Master Chief inquired.
"Halo Installation 07? Yes, I do. It's the closest in this vector. I already have a calculated jump to ensure us a safe visit, and return." Cortana said.
"Good." The Chief said.
The Phantom inched back towards the Gryphin. And only there, will their future come to life. Their next mission,Halo Installation 07.
Halo 2 Rise of a Hero Chapter 5
Date: 17 November 2003, 2:31 AM
CHAPTER 5
01902 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 8th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER)UNSC Frigate The Gryphin, Space.
The techs on board the Gryphin stared as a Phantom pulled up to dock. They stared puzzled and called in for some marines. Six marine guards followed orders and came down to the docking bay. They approached the Covenant vessel, guns pointed at the exit door. The doors suddenly began to buzz, and unlock.
"This is it, be ready." One marine whispered as the six took their positions.
The hatch slowly began to slide away and an armored figure marched out. He walked right by them and laughed. The marines hopped up, and let out a small chuckle at their stupidity.
"Ahhh, sir?" One marine asked.
"Yes?" The Master Chief replied.
"Admiral Cole wants you. It's regarding the mission." The Marine said.
"Thank you. Carry on." The Chief saluted. He turned away and began to think.
"What lies on Halo Installation 07? Definitely something, un-human. Something, different. And definitely, the Flood." Master Chief thought.
He walked onto a lift and smacked the button to head upward. It shuttered, and slowly shot up. He stared upwards and thought some more as he hummed a tune.
"Something didn't really fit with 343 Guilty Spark back on Halo Installation 04. Why did he call me 'Reclaimer'? Just another piece of an unfinished puzzle."
The lift came to a halt, and its doors slid open. The Master Chief marched out, and turned into another corridor. The Admiral's office was just a few feet away now. He stepped up to the door, and knocked. He made a crisp, clean salute, as he addressed the Admiral.
"Sir! A marine downstairs said you requested my presence." The Master Chief said.
"Yes I did. Your mission, on what you call Halo Installation 07, is well on our way. All we need is you." The Admiral said, gazing into the Chief's visor.
"Thank you, sir. When are we to leave?" Master Chief asked.
"As soon as we hear from the UNSC ship yard. Shouldn't be long, most likely by the end of the day." Admiral Cole said.
Suddenly his phone rang.
"Excuse me." He said as he turned to answer his phone.
"Yes, sir." Master Chief recognized.
"Thank you very much. Okay, bye." Were the only words the Master Chief heard.
"Well, a strange coincidence, but our ship is ready."
The Master Chief cocked an eyebrow.
"Ready sir?" He asked.
"Yes." The Admiral replied matter-of-factly.
"Get your equipment together. It'll be in our orbit within 24 hours. Dismissed." Admiral Cole said as he nodded.
"Yes sir!" The Chief saluted again, and marched off.
01200 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 9th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER) UNSC Frigate, The Gryphin, Space.
The Master Chief yawned as he hopped aboard the Pelican transporting him to the ship known as the, "Apocolyptica." He took a seat and looked to his left. The Pelican was stocked full of marines, all going to the same place as he was, Halo. The Pelican exited docking bay 2, and flew towards the Apocolyptica.
"Anyone know who's the Captain for this vessel?" Master Chief asked.
"Captain Tatti, sir. He was fighting the Covenant up here in space, and single-handedly destroyed over four of their ships!" A marine screamed with his British accent.
"Thanks." The Chief grumbled.
The Pelican was pretty close now. The Apocolyptica wasn't as far as the Master Chief presumed.
"Apocolyptica, come in. This is Pelican 02368 of the Gryphin. Come in." The Pilot buzzed over the COM channel.
"Roger, Pelican 02368. Pull in at docking bay 4." A voice replied over a burst of static.
The Pelican slowly turned, and adjusted its angle to line up with docking bay 4 of the Apocolyptica. The Pilot stared at a lone marine waving two glow sticks. He made them intersect to signal the Pelican to slowdown. The Pilot pulled back on the lever, and it began to slow. The Pilot pulled back hard, and the Pelican screeched to a halt.
"Alright everybody off!" The Pilot ordered.
The Marines hopped off, and stared at the shuttle bay.
"Nice isn't it?" Cortana joked.
"Yeah." The Chief grunted as usual.
The Chief strode around the bay, and eyed in mindfully. He turned as an old man wearing a Captains uniform cleared his throat. The Chief quickly formed a salute, and stood straight up.
"At ease Soldier." The Captain gestured. The Chief slouched a little.
"I'm Captain Tatti. The Captain, of the Apocolyptica..." The Captain began. The Chief nodded.
"We're going to leave for what you call 'Halo,' as soon as I'm on the Bridge. I'll need Cortana for the trip, she said she has the Co-ordinates for the jump.
"She stays with me." The Chief grumbled.
"But, Master Chief, I'm your superior. Orders are orders." The Captain replied calmly.
The Chief stood silent for a moment as he gathered his thoughts.
"Just let him Chief. A few hours wont kill you." Cortana whispered.
"We'll have to check on that." The Chief said, as he reached for the back of his helmet, and yanked out Cortana's chip. He turned to the Captain, and handed him the chip.
"Thank you." The Captain said politely, as he gently pulled the chip out of Master Chief's hand.
"No problem." The Master Chief saluted. The Captain returned the salute, and turned to the exit shaft.
01335 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 9th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER) UNSC Frigate, The Apocolyptica, Space.
"What the hell is going on over there!" Captain Tatti exclaimed as he stared towards the moon the Apocolyptica was passing.
"That's our moon sir, the Covenant must be attacking our bases there." Lieutenant Anderson replied.
"Damnit!" He cursed in anger. "We better do something. Deploy some of our troops. We'll sit in space if we have too."
"Aye sir. Deploying troops." Lieutenant Anderson replied.
01359 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 9th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER) Pelican, Orbit, Moon Base.
The pelican swooped down towards the pale moon below. Mushroom clouds covered half of the land.
"Almost there Marines!" The Pilot shouted.
The Master Chief gazed towards the back of the Pelican, and onto the destroyed land. The Covenant were getting worse by the minute. The Pelican began to lower, and levitate about a foot above the ground.
"Alright marines! Secure the base, then we can get our asses outta' here!" The Pilot ordered.
Each marine hopped of the Pelican, and slowly drifted to the ground. Each wore a thin, space battle suit. But none were similar to Master Chiefs.
They all hopped up and down, adjusting to the zero gravity.
"Covenant! Up ahead!" One of them screamed.
The Chief pulled out his battle rifle.
"I wonder how this will work." He thought.
Two Elites, Six Grunts, and Four Jackals came into contact with the group. The Elites were the first to notice, and opened fire. Their plasma volleys from their plasma rifles were traveling very slowly. The Master Chief kicked up his right foot, and spun sideways slowly to evade the attack. He landed toe on toe, and returned the fire. Six, slow slugs traveled through the thin air, and collided with one of the several Grunts. It squealed as the air in its armor was sucked out, and it ran out of breath.
This was going to be tougher than the Master Chief assumed. He suddenly had an idea. When he first tried on this armor, the tech's told him about small thrusters in his boots. He quickly stared the palm of his hand, and clicked it in. A small control panel slid out, and he tapped a red button. A quick rush tossed him into the air. He was hurled 50 feet up, and slowly flew down. He landed on an Elite, and he punched it from behind, killing it instantly. The other snorted in disgust as its fellow soldiers purple blood splattered onto him. He turned and gazed up. The Master Chief gave him a whoop to the face with the butt of his Battle Rifle. Taking it out too.
The remaining Covenant cowered away in fear of the mighty soldier, afraid of their own doom. The Master Chief took out his Sub-Machine gun, and spayed the group with lead. Each bullet slowly trudged towards the targets, and hit their mark.
The Chief slapped a new clip into the weapon, and stared ahead. He squinted to adjust his razor sharp eyes. A gray cloud spewed from the moon base as something exploded. The Chief had to get there fast.
"Company! Lets glide!" He screamed.
He hurled himself forward in zero gravity as he approached the base. He hit the button to his thrusters, and veered upward above. He soared above the base and peered down into the glass ceiling. He tried to stop in the air, and shifted around to head downwards. His shadow was cast onto the floor below, where 4 Elites sat, tormenting a group of marines, defenseless. The Master Chief was to change that.
He slammed through the glass, and the air was sucked out rapidly. The Marines choked, but the Chief grabbed them two in two, and tossed them into the corridor, closing the door behind them.
He spun on his heel to confront his foes. He stared each of them in their beety little eyes. They each snarled. He began by kicking up his feet, and locked them onto one Elites hips, and flipped it over. It landed on its skull, and it cracked like a brittle crayon.
The Chief leaped up like he was doing advanced kung fu, and jammed his elbow into another Elites rip. He pulled his Battle Rifle upward, and squeezed the trigger. The bullet tore through the Elites head, beginning with the Manibles from where it started. It screamed in agony, began to look a little dazed, and hit the floor. The Master Chief turned to the remaining Elites. Two of them. He smiled as he heard two clanks of armor hit the floor, and a mirage of bullets hit the last foes. He turned to see two Marines stand there, smoke exiting the barrel of their weapons.
"Nice work." The Chief motioned.
"Always a pleasure sir." One of the two chuckled.
The Master Chief turned to the air lock he tossed the marines he saved into. They screamed as the door opened, expecting an Elite.
"You! Where is the platoon stationed here?" The Master Chief demanded to one marine.
"They...they ran sir. They couldn't have gotten so far. Probably half were mowed down by Covenant." The marine stuttered in fear.
"Which way were they headed?" He grumbled.
"South, sir. Towards Delta 019, another base stationed here." The marine replied again.
"Hmmm..." The Chief pondered for a moment.
"Call evac for Delta 019, we'll take care of the rest of the soldiers." The Master Chief ordered to one of his squad mates.
"Yes sir!" One shouted and began to fiddle with his radio.
The Master Chief turned and began to walk down a corridor.
"Chief? There's a garage down this hall, a believe a Jaguar should be in there." Cortana informed.
The Master Chief continued along and hit the garage. He opened the door and gazed around, he flipped a light switch, and just like Cortana said, a Jaguar sat in the middle. Only one of them.
A Jaguar was the stander UNSC moon rover. Equipped with boosters for when the going was tough, and a mini M41 LAAG, called the M41 RG which was self controlled using the steering wheel.
The Master Chief hopped aboard and clicked a few buttons and here a slight roaring noise as the engines ignited. He pulled down the parking brake, and stepped on the gas. It didn't go as fast as he anticipated, but was good enough for now.
"Cortana! Get Me some Pelicans ASAP!" He ordered.
"Can do Chief." She said delightfully.
He saw something in the distance. A Crater. He was going to have to use his thrusters for this zero gravity jump. He approached the edge of it, and hit the button. Immediately, the thrusters blew up, and rocked the Chief across the crater. It was a huge crater also. He looked out of the Jaguar, and saw little figures slowly running across it.
"What the hell?" He muttered.
"Chief! Those are Marines!" Cortana said.
The Chief eyed the figures. He saw another switch, and knew that it would send the Jaguar down, but maybe he would crush on of the thousands of marines there. What could he do?
"All UNSC Forces positioned here, copy." Cortana inquired.
"Copy that, whose asking?" A voice replied.
"This is Cortana. The Master Chief and I are atop of you guys. Look up for yourself!" She said as she laughed.
"Holy Moley!" The Voice said over the COM channel.
"Hold your positions. Evac is on the way!" Cortana ordered.
"Roger Cortana. Holding." The voice replied.
An idea suddenly hit Master Chief like a baseball bat. He flipped off the Jaguar, and leapt out from his comfy seat onboard the land rover. He swiftly, yet slowly, plummeted towards the pale ground of the moon, and began to slow as he hit the thrusters equipped on his boots. He hit the ground, and a clear, smoky fog came out of the moons ground as he smacked it.
He un-bent his knees and stared behind him. Thousands of marines were trudging towards his position, some wounded, some carrying wounded, some well. Either way, this wasn't another victory for Earth, or humanity. This mission on Halo better do something for this war, or it may very well be the end for humanity.
"Where are those damn Pelicans!" The Chief hissed at Cortana.
"They're closing in. Should be here soon. ETA 2 minutes." Cortana replied calmly.
The Chief stood silent awaiting the Pelicans to swoop down, coming to the rescue. The Chief kicked the dirt for a moment in boredom, and then heard a loud rumbling. He gazed up into the black sky filled with stars, and his jaw dropped when he saw Banshees headed their way.
"Oh Dear God." He mumbled.
"They're Here!" Cortana screamed in joy.
The Chief looked towards his left and saw some Pelicans soaring into few. They opened fire on the unsuspecting Banshee's with their M41 LAAG's and ripped them a new one. The Covenant may not have one this time. They swooped down in their usual fashion, and the Marines loaded onto each one. Looks like the marines were coming to Halo with the rest of the Apocolyptica.
Halo 2 Rise of a Hero Chapter 6
Date: 29 November 2003, 2:03 AM
CHAPTER 6
01109 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 10th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER) Apocolyptica, Space, Co-ordinates unknown.
Captain Tatti glanced out of the main view port on the bridge of the Apocolyptica and gathered all his thoughts together. He was a little nervous about the Halo operation. He knew it was just a phase, but couldn't really get over it.
"Sir? We're approaching Halo Installation 07..." Lieutenant Anderson warned. The Captain snapped back into reality in which he had drifted away from.
He cleared his throat. "Approach with caution. We're going to sit in space as the Master Chief and the rest of the troops carry out the mission. We can finally get some well-deserved R&R. The crew all sighed in relief and exhaustion.
"Call in the troops. Tell the Pelican pilots to ready their Cargo, and be ready to deploy our forces." Tatti ordered as he eyed the mysterious ring.
"Aye sir." Lieutenant Anderson acknowledged as he nodded.
01120 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 10th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER) Apocolyptica, Halo Installation 07 Orbit.
The Master Chief climbed aboard the nearest Pelican, and puffed out a long breath. This was going to be a deep decent. They were finally going to Halo, and finally, this could mean the end of the Covenant. The end of the war.
The Pelican engines roared as they ignited in fury, and it soared away from the Apocolyptica with the rest of its flock. The Master Chief tried to get a view of the ring-world from up here, but had no such luck with the rest of the crew onboard.
"Entering the atmosphere!" The Pilot shouted as he flipped a few switches inside the cockpit.
The Pelican shuttered as it exited zero-degree conditions, and into the Earth-like atmosphere of Halo Installation 07. The Pelican pilot regained control of the ship, and gently forwarded her to the ground. Soon, the other Pelican's reunited with the Master Chief's, and all the marines hoped off, and the cargo was unloaded.
The area they landed on was a golden sandy beach. It looked much like the Silent Cartographer back on Halo Installation 04. As soon as everything was unloaded and the marines were all off, the Master Chief stood up onto one of the Cargo crates, and began to explain what was to be done by certain group of marines.
"I need all commanding officers to set up base camp. All ODST's, take the Warthogs and secure the LZ to insure we're not in any serious danger, and I need all Corporals to work together to unload all of the cargo from each crate." He ordered. Each marine saluted and went straight down to business. The Marines sang an old army song they had heard when they were recruits, and helped each other unload the chestnut-brown crates full of weapons, ammo, and gadgets, all necessities for the Operation.
In no time whatsoever, all the current objectives were completed, and the Master Chief could finally get to the mission. He turned around and looked for something to stand on. He quickly noticed an orange rock and stood on top of it, ready to address the chatty marines nearby. He cleared his throat as a notion for silence, and began.
"While on this ring world, you may encounter something you would never even dream about. Something that feeds off of your frenzied fear. And also discover someone that may be your best friend or your worst enemy. What I am talking about, is the Flood, and 343 Guilty Spark. The Flood is like a virus; they take control of body, and use it against you. And 343 Guilty Spark is something you can't trust. He's an AI much like Cortana, and will use all his trickery against you. Never trust him. Ever."
An eerily silence struck the crowd. Each Marine gawked at the Master Chief still trying to compute the information that overwhelmed their minds. They could never understand it. The Master Chief hopped off of the rock he was standing on and calmly headed towards the crate as the marines gazed at him. He reached in and pulled out exactly what he wanted. An M10 Shotgun. He turned again to address the silent crowd once more and looked at each marine deep into the face. He quickly cocked the gun as a wasted shell flew out of it.
"Its hunting season."
01335 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 10th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER) Halo Installation 07, Near Silent Cartographer.
"Chief? We'll need to get to the Silent Cartographer of this Halo to locate the Control room." Cortana said. "We're actually pretty close. I already have a good feel for this place."
"Good." The Master Chief grumbled.
"Its up the hill towards your left. Inside that temple-like structure." Cortana said.
The Chief turned to his left and eyed the temple-like structure. He pointed at five marines and signaled them to follow him in. They followed the orders and tailed him.
He climbed the grassy hill, and stared at the structure. A purple haze glared off of the reflective walls. The five-some approached the gray ramp at the entrance to the structure with weird symbols on it. The Master Chief charged in, expecting the worst. He flicked on the flashlight connected to the gun and pointed it into every crevice of the area. The place was quiet, too quiet.
"Be ready..." He muttered.
They surprisingly found nothing. They quickly reassured their assumption and continued along. They headed down a shaft that was illuminated by tiny artificial lights the Forerunner created, deep into the belly of the beast. The Master Chief tried to examine the hieroglyphs etched onto the wall, but quickly continued along, ignoring the tiny inscriptions. He headed forward and came across a door. He clicked the panels and opened the door ahead, expecting something, but as always, nothing happened. This was beginning to become scary, very scary. The Master Chief didn't like it. The corridors stretched on for an eternity, and the soldiers never encountered a single soul. As the group kept heading down another twist of corridors, the Master Chief squinted as he gazed ahead, and caught a glimpse of a glowing control panel. The Silent Cartographer. He looked into the room to make sure nothing was lurking around waiting for someone like him to walk into the trap, and after he confirmed that nothing awaited his presence, he slowly approached the panel that sat in the middle of the fine-lit room. He slowly crept forward, all senses heightened. He stopped at the sound of something familiar. Something he recognized. Something, he had heard before. He heard it again, but this time, louder.
"Hello Reclaimer." A voice echoed out of the shadows and pulsed throughout the room..
"Who said that!?" The Master Chief hollered.
Suddenly a small silver cube drifted into view. It had a blue light in its center, and it flickered every now and then.
"It is I! 343 Guilty Spark!" The Cube announced before the Soldiers.
"But...But we destroyed you!" Cortana stuttered.
"So you thought. But little did you know, I endured the blast, and escaped undamaged. I fled here, and resided here with my brother AI, 344 Guilty Spark." 343 Guilty Spark explained.
"But! But..." Cortana stumbled to form a sentence, knowing she couldn't argue with the alien AI.
"What do you want from us?" She managed to ask.
"Its not what I what....It's what they want." Guilty Spark swiveled as if he was sitting in a chair.
"Who?" The Master Chief mumbled in curiosity.
A group of men wearing gray cloaks entered the room. They each turned to face the soldiers, who were now all gasping for breath in fear. One of the men looked up and looked the Master Chief in the eye as he removed the hood that concealed his face. Behind the hood was a feeble old man. Easily in his eighties. He continued to stare at the Master Chief, as the Master Chief returned the expression with a stern look concealed by his Golden visor.
"These are my creators. These, are the Forerunner." Guilty Spark introduced.
The Forerunner looked exactly like humans. The Master Chief examined one closely. They were human.
"What kind of games are you trying to play Guilty Spark!? These are clearly Humans!" Cortana argued.
"The Forerunner are human. They..."Guilty Spark was cut off by one of the Forerunner.
"We are human." He Grumbled. "We are from the future, after this Covenant war, and we've been pushing you along the right paths to this very moment."
"How the hell is that possible!?" Cortana cursed.
"We are undetectable. We have the technology to rift through parallel universes, and egg you onto the right paths, and steer away from the wrong choices in life. Reclaimer here has been on our watchful eyes this entire time. Ever since he was back on Halo Installation 04." The Forerunner explained.
"And what are you doing here?" The Master Chief asked.
"We have come to tell you about the Prophecy, and your fate." The Forerunner said gesturing towards the Master Chief.
Thought rushed through the Chief's head.
"What are these people talking about?" He thought. He finally thought of the question he needed to ask.
"Who the Hell are you?" He inquired.
The Man stared back at the Master Chief, and opened his mouth with the answer the Master Chief longed to hear.
"I'm...I'm you." The Forerunner whispered faintly.
"That can't be!" he said, still shaking his head reassuring himself. The figure walked forward, approaching John, who looked up and went to grab his shotgun. However, the person calling himself the Master Chief leaned forward.
"Look into my eyes John." he said. "Just look."
Master Chief stared deep into the mans eyes and suddenly, everything slid into view. All the events of his life. His kidnapping, the battles he had fought in... his life. He looked away, trying to gather the thoughts that pulsated inside his head. He turned back and stared at the figure before him.
"Why are you here?" The Master Chief said as he gazed back into his future-self's eyes.
"We are here to tell you about the Prophecy. A warning to which the action you are about to commit." John replied.
John stood silent, awaiting the tale of what was to come.
Halo 2 Rise of a Hero Chapter 7
Date: 5 December 2003, 12:37 AM
AUTHORS NOTE: This is the second last chapter to my fic guys. I'd like to thank all of you that have been supporting me, and I know that you will enjoythe next chapter. This one is also pretty good, so please leave comments. Thanks, and enjoy!
01406 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 10th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER) Halo Installation 07, Silent Cartographer.
"Me and the other Forerunner standing before you are the last of the human race. All of this was due to one event that was caused by me, and is about to be caused by you." The Future John explained as he looked into the Master Chief's eyes. Master Chief nodded as he continued to listen to the tale.
"Back during 2553, or this year to you, I came with a large group of soldiers to Halo Installation 07, in hope to use it against the Covenant. But upon activating this Halo to wipe out the Covenant, I caused the rest of them to activate. This started a chain of disturbance across the galaxy. A murderous march of destruction struck each planet in the galaxy, wiping out all life on each. The only survivors were the crew with me, and us standing before you. Most died because of starvation or diseases not yet known to us. Fortunately we adjusted over time, and repeated the evolution of man. We surpassed known technologies today, and survived. We now have pushed you along, directly to this precise location. The location where humanity came to an end. Let me tell you this once. The Fate of humanity lies in your hands. No other human here posses' the power that you do."
The Master Chief stood silently for a moment and looked somewhat bewildered.
"Wait...If you were on this Halo, then surely you can't be the Forerunner." Master Chief argued.
"Ahh...Well...I, I had just presumed..." Future John stuttered as he attempted to form a sentence.
"So then you aren't the Forerunner." Master Chief said as his voice echoed through the room.
"No, no, we are. We created 343 Guilty Spark, and the Flood, but we never built this ring."
"But if you didn't....Who did?" Master Chief inquired.
"I... I don't know." The Future John replied solemnly, his face deep in thought, as silence overtook the conversation.
"Why did you create the Flood in the first place?" Master Chief exclaimed as he broke the duration of silence.
"The Flood was to help protect us if Covenant tried to attack us as we were stranded here, but we ended up creating something utterly terrible. We immediately trapped them, and built 343 Guilty Spark to ensure they don't get out, or that no one unleashes them. I could get into details but we have no time. You must go." The Future John explained.
"Why must I go?" He asked cautiously as he cocked an eyebrow, which was hidden under his visor.
"It's the Covenant. They've landed." Future John said faintly. "We need to take out these Halo's along with the Flood inhabiting each of them. To do this, I need you to sacrifice one of your ships and me and the remaining Forerunner will be able to set a chain reaction, thus destroying the other Halo's spanned across the universe." He added, this time will a loud voice reverberating of the barren halls of the Silent Cartographer.
"Hmm..." The Chief thought for a moment.
"We must hurry. The Covenant are going to unleash the Flood. They're sacrificing their own troops to do so." The future John stated firmly.
"Cortana...What should we do? I can't do this... Any other idea's?" Master Chief whispered into his COM channel and sweat dripped down the side of his head.
"Negative. We'll have to do what they say and put our faith into their hands." Cortana replied, knowing nothing else could be done.
"Okay..."The Chief muttered back, regretting not much else could be done.
"Fine. I'll set our ship onto a crash course for here. But what is to happen with you, and the rest of the Forerunner?" The Master Chief inquired.
"We'll be fine... Just go." The Future John encouraged. Master Chief grinned at the bravery of himself fifty-years from now. But his recollection came to a halt as he heard an Elite bark down the halls.
"Go." Future John said, nodding gently, and egging him on at the same time. The Master Chief pivoted on his right heel and put on his game face. He cocked his shotgun and prepared for some action. He charged into the corridor and came into contact with the mighty Covenant Warrior, which snarled at the Master Chief's incompetence. Master Chief didn't like the behavior of the beast, and shoved the butt of his shotgun into the Elites face. Its shields dimmed and Master Chief fired the weapon once. The Warrior snarled and hit the ground with a loud thud, and spilling its dark purple blood onto the floor, staining it. Behind the Elite were two Jackals, and four Grunts, all fleeing in terror at the wrath of the mighty human soldier.
Master Chief plucked a frag grenade from his belt and tore out the pin. He lobbed the little canister down the light-yellow hall and it pinged off one side in front of the Covenant group. The Grunts squealed, the Jackals hissed, and all six of them died, smearing their purple, and light-blue blood on the walls. The Master Chief backtracked and sprinted out the Forerunner structure. He stood at the edge of it alone, standing tall on the structure platform. He gazed down below. Covenant drop ships were touching down on the ground, and bombarding the human troops.
"Not this time." He muttered in his blind rage. He dashed down the hill in fury, ready for whatever wanted to challenge him, all the way to the frontlines of battle. A quarter of the troops were already injured, or even dead. Master Chief wasn't going to stand for this. No more human casualties, no more battles lost, no more innocent people murdered. This time it was the Humans turn to laugh at the Covenant, their turn to avenge their fallen brothers and sisters, this time, it was personal.
The Marines were screaming as they fired controlled bursts from their Assault Rifles. The Master Chief ran towards the weapons cache and quickly picked up and loaded a RL650. He joined his comrades, and fired at a drop ship nearby. BOOM! The rocket exploded on it with a mighty ruckus, and caused it to crash on the ground, spilling its passengers out, and crushing them underneath. A pool of blood dribbled from underneath the downed ship. The Chief grinned evilly, and took aim at another drop ship unloading its troops. He fired the rocket towards the ground they were touching down on, and it blew up all of the forces that were just deployed. The drop ship was charred on the bottom, and flew topsy-turvey. It couldn't maintain its balance and crashed onto the sandy beach, killing whoever was left. Another drop ship was about to unload its troops, and Master Chief was out of ammo. He quickly dropped the mighty weapon he used to conquer his foes and un-slung his M10 Shotgun.
As he was loading several shells into his weapon, he noticed something odd. Something different. A little balloon looking creature was soaring through the sky towards the drop ship.
"Flood." He muttered, as he face filled with tension about the new enemy they were going to have to face. He knew that he wouldn't be able to fight off the entire group of Flood. He turned to the soldiers still alive and good enough to help out.
"Load the crates into the Pelicans. Secure all vehicles to the Pelicans. We're moving out." Master Chief ordered. With no second thought, the marines loaded all of the weapons into the crate. The Chief quickly grabbed remote charges out of a crate and place them ahead of the Pelicans. He looked at the where the drop ship was touching down about a kilometer ahead of the marines. Bodies lay everywhere, and the ship was stuck on the ground. A swarm of Flood was feasting and taking control of the dead Alien bodies.
"Cortana!" Chief grumbled. "Call the Apocolyptica and tell them they're in for a rude awakening."
"Sure thing Chief." Cortana acknowledged.
Master Chief knew that time was short and that they wouldn't be able to get away from the Flood at this rate. He pivoted on his right heel and grabbed a crate. He hoisted it onto the Pelican and picked up another next to it. The Marines stared in shock and awe and the strength of the Spartan. He had loaded the remaining crates onboard and now had to restrain the final Warthog. He pulled down the main piece that would hold the Warthog up, and snapped it on. He secured its bolts and gave each Pelican pilot a thumb's up. They all switched their engines online, and the marines hopped aboard in exhaustion.
"Go, go ,go!" Master Chief screamed. The Pelicans dusted off, being tailed by several Flood infection forms. Master Chief hit the detonator held in his hand and set all of the charges off. The Flood forms down below exploded and were all lying dead on the floor. The airlock doors hissed as they closed and the Pelican entered the zero gravity it was in not too long ago.
The Pelican flock soared towards the Apocolyptica. Master Chief's was the first to dock, and he quickly hopped off, heading for the Bridge to explain all that was happening to Captain Tatti, and hope for the best.
Halo 2 Rise of a Hero Finale
Date: 11 December 2003, 12:25 AM
01538 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 10th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER) Apocolyptica, The Bridge.
"You want me to do what!?" Captain Tatti cursed at the Master Chief, forming a ball with his fist.
"Sir, if we don't do this, the whole universe will suffer." Master Chief attempted to convince, yet frustration tensed on his face.
"I can't. How can we sacrifice this ship in order to save the rest of this universe? You have no proof of these so called, 'Forerunner' and if they are the actual race themselves." Captain Tatti paused for a moment. He took in a deep breath and then slowly let it emit from his mouth. "I could get kicked out of the UNSC for a stupid act like this!" He cursed once more, losing his cool.
"Sir, I will make it my personal duty, that if this gets out, I'll take the fall, because it is my plan." Master Chief re-assured. Captain Tatti tilted his head for a moment; he was looking up at the light above the group.
"Captain, please, for the sake of humanity, we must sacrifice this ship. If you don't, I will ensure you are stricken from Captain position, and stationed at a Janitorial job out of this nebula!" Cortana interrupted.
"Are you sure there isn't any other way to destroy Halo!?" He screamed; engulfed in his frustration. The Master Chief shook his head, and the Captain sighed as he turned and crossed his arms, staring out of the bridges view port. "This ship... It was my life...I'll surely miss her..."
Captain Tatti obliged, realizing that there was no other way. "Lieutenant Anderson!" He shouted, making each word crisp and clear now. "Make sure all the Marines are in the Pelicans ASAP. Set a crash course for that ring at 01600. We got a world to destroy, and a race to keep alive."
"Aye Captain." Anderson replied as his fingers raced around and tapped something onto his keyboard.
01559 hours (MISSION CLOCK)/ January 10th, 2553(MILITARY CALENDER) UNSC Ship, Apocolyptica.
The alarms began to sound as the red lights twirled, and the Marines hustled onto the crowded deployment Pelicans in one of the several docking bays. Master Chief waited with the Captain and the crew on the bridge before they left. The group calmly walked through the halls, taking a last look at the newly developed ship.
"We didn't even break her in..." Captain Tatti sighed. The group stood silent, feeling the sorrow of the Captain, and continued to walk through the barren halls of the Apocolyptica. Only the sound of footsteps clacking on the cold floor could be heard, due to Lieutenant Anderson switching all of the sirens offline after the Marines had departed for Earth.
Suddenly, the ship was rocked, as if a missile had hit them.
"Shit!" One of the crewmen screamed as he stumbled onto the floor.
"Anderson! Get me feeds to what just hit us now!" Captain Tatti exclaimed as the look of relaxation flushed off his face, and a now more serious look was chiseled on. Anderson charged towards the bridge. Soon he shuffled back down towards the Captain and panted out the words, "Covenant."
"Damn!" Captain Tatti cursed under his breath. "Where are they?"
"Directly below us, sir." Replied Anderson. Captain Tatti stood for a moment as he always did, and game up with a scheme.
"Then lets take them with us." Captain Tatti replied, a victory grin now on his face, as if he had already won the war.
The group began to jog down the large, metal and steel halls, a dead silence made its presence known.
"Are you sure there isn't another way, Cortana?" Captain Tatti pleaded.
"Positve..." She uttered back, causing the Captain to shut his eyes for a moment.
Soon the group hit the docking bay, and there stood a Pelican; only one. The group all sighed; knowing one marine would be left behind was to be left behind.
"Chief? There's a Longsword docked at docking bay 4, let the Captain and the rest go on the Pelican and you and me will take the Longsword...Just like old times." Cortana gestured.
"Heh...Good ol' times." Master Chief chuckled.
The Master Chief rose his hand to attract the Captains attention. "Sir, you and the crew take this Pelican, I can manage." Master Chief insisted, as the group stared down the Spartan. Anderson nodded at the Chief, and his bravery to stay behind.
"You're one helluva soldier Chief. Good luck." He dubbed as he climbed aboard the ship. The Master Chief gave him a salute as he watched the Pelicans airlock doors slide shut, and watched it exit the docking bay.
"Now, lead the way Cortana." Master Chief said, and then stumbled as another Plasma salvo hit the ship. "Hurry." He added faintly.
An orange NAV point blinked on his HUD, and he quickly jogged up the open halls of the ship he was rarely on. His face drew a blank expression. He had no feelings anymore. He was alone on the ship, only Cortana, and an eerie silence followed. He looked around the Apocolyptica, a ship of majestic beauty. Many areas's he jogged by, were some he had never even taken the time to go into, or even have a chance to look at.
"Look out!" Cortana warned, as a blast door blew open. An Elite, a pair of Jackals and a trio of Grunts emerged from the once concealed area.
"The last stand..." Master Chief muttered. "Not today."
He sped by the group, a picked up a pistol lying on the floor just in case things got intense. A plasma volley hit him in the back and knocked his shields down by a quarter. He spun on his heel and continued to run backwards as he fired at the group. The explosive shells tore up the Covenant soldier's insides, and left a pool of blood toned in rainbow colors.
"Hurry! More should be on the way!" Cortana ordered. Just after she had said that, another lifeboat door rocked open as if on queue, and this time a Golden Elite stomped out.
"I always love a challenge." Master Chief chuckled sarcastically. A flash of blue light shimmered off the Chief's armor as the Elite ignited its plasma sword. Master Chief took aim at the warrior with his pistol, and fired. Three bullets sped at the demon, and hit it. Its shields merely flickered, and it snarled in anger. It charged directly at the Chief and rose its Plasma sword; leaving its chest open for attack. The Master Chief took little time to comprehend the opportunity, and swung his fist at the beast's chest. It collapsed backwards, still alive, but unconscious. Master Chief put a bullet through its skull, ensuring its fate. With time to spare, the Master Chief continued.
He jogged up through the open halls until he hit docking bay 4. He gazed around the empty, and open metallic silver space, and only a lone Longsword sat in the middle. He squinted his eyes, preparing to board the ship. He trudged towards it, and opened its rear doors. They hissed as the lowered to the floor, and the Chief climbed up the black ramp, and then sealed it tight again. The Apocolyptica shook as more missiles and lifeboats hit and boarded the ship.
"Cortana, if you please." He said sly-fully.
"With pleasure." She returned delightfully. The Longsword's engines started, and the ship shook and tugged as it powered up a little more.
"Strange..." Cortana whispered, only loud enough for someone within range to hear her.
"What?" Master Chief asked.
"This ship, along with all of the Pelicans, have small re-incarnations of slip space engines. I wonder why that is. But at least we can actually get home a lot quicker this time." She stated matter-of-factly.
"You don't say?" Master Chief replied, although he did not add a chuckle, nor a laugh, but let another eerie silence sit between him and Cortana.
The Longsword shook as it rose from its position on the cold and bitter floor, and exited docking bay 4, it's once known home. Master Chief said a silent prayer for Earth, himself, and mainly, for Humanity. He turned to gape out the view port of the Longsword, and witness the spectacle of Halo Installation 07 being destroyed. He thought to himself, that this was much alike the destruction of Halo Installation 04.
"Déjà vu..." He said incoherently.
The Covenant ship collided with the bottom of the Apocolyptica, and began to be pulled down with it. The ship slowly entered Halo's gravity, and was dragged down into its depths. Not much more could be seen, except the silhouette of a large explosion, and then a blinding white light. The Master Chief closed his eyes at the mystical light, as it caused his eyes to ache. Not even his visor could adjust to that. The Longsword jittered, and shot back as the explosion shook the ship. Master Chief stumbled and slipped hit the hard floor hard. The explosion calmed down, and settled after several seconds, to which the Chief thought, was an eternity. He hoisted himself back up and grunted as he landed on his feet. Bits and pieces of debris from Halo, the Apocolyptica and the Covenant ship brought could be made out; most were sent twirling through the unknown parallels of space. Master Chief let out a long sigh.
"Cortana Buzz the other Pelicans and make sure they're alright. Set slip space thrusters to 120%. Lets go home." Master Chief ordered.
"Aye Chief." Cortana calmly replied. Master Chief turned away from the view port and strode towards the Pilot seat. He sat down on it, and exhaled, as if relieved this was all over. He clicked off his helmet, and a bead of sweat ran down his forehead. He wiped it off, and sat still for a moment, thinking about all that happened on Halo Installation 07. Another silence slowly settled itself in.
"Where do we go from here?" Cortana asked in relief.
The Master Chief forwarded his attention to the main view port and gazed out towards the never-ending blackness of space. He bit his lip, and then muttered out the words,
"Only time will tell..."
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