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The Old Enemy by pest/swingamajig
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The Last Halo
Date: 9 April 2006, 1:38 pm
The Last Halo
Part 1
Prologue
It is fifty years after a peace treaty between Humanity and the collection of soldiers formally known as the Covenant was passed. UNSC personnel have been working furiously with their new allies, utilising their combined knowledge of weaponry and war tactics and assisting each other in all manner of battles to fight a war against a common enemy, the Flood. Humanity has since created the Spartan 3s, but the last Spartan 2, John 117 still exists. He no longer fights on the battlefield due to old age but commands troops as a wise leader of the UNSC.
Over this half-century, these allied soldiers, now known as the Peacekeepers, have found and destroyed all trace of the Flood they have come across, as well as the rings that held them. Leaving behind a flood-free Delta Halo as a last resort against the Flood should things take a turn for the worse, the Peacekeepers searched the galaxy for the final ring that would harbour the last of the Parasite, so they could finally be destroyed for good. This story begins as they find the last elusive Halo:
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"We're above the ring now, sir."
"Well done, Corporal, retain position and prepare for troop deployment." John sighed and returned to his seat, breathing heavily. His hand gripped the chair until his knuckles turned a ghostly white. With his free hand, he pushed the buttons on the panel to his left and breathed in deep whilst turning on the loudspeaker. John's voiced echoed from every room, hallway and hangar abroad the ship called 'Trial and Tribulation' and every human immediately stopped what they were doing and listened intently. The Admiral never commanded the respect he was given, but they all knew that without his heroic efforts fifty years ago, humanity might not have been around now, so everyone shut up and listened to what he had to say.
"This is the moment we have been waiting for people. The last Halo has been discovered and it's our job to destroy the hornet's nest that awaits us. We all found out the hard way that just destroying halo is not enough; we first kill off the Flood. Make your family's proud people. 117 out." With a rasping cough, the speaker crackled and on came the voice of the AI Cortana.
"Okay you heard the Admiral. Pelicans, load up your men and follow in the assault squad. Spartans, each join a Pelican and minimise casualties. Good luck, Cortana out."
Back up in the bridge, a small pillar next to John flickered and Cortana appeared, giving out a radiant blue glow. The AI appeared in her usual human form and motherly asked, "How you doing, old friend?" to the tired Admiral. She observed him, calm and peaceful in comparison to the majority of the crew abroad the Trial and Tribulation, although it could be put down to pure tiredness.
"Not so much of the old, Cortana. I've still got it turning upstairs, you know", John remarked surprisingly alertly." She crossed her arms and lent to one side with a little smirk on her face. "You know, I never really thanked you for rescuing me from the Flood on Delta Halo."
"Have the asault squad landed in their pods yet, Cortana?" he asked, completely avoiding her last remark. They both knew full well he would avoid it and they got straight back to business.
"Yes, sir. The LZ is secure and the Pelicans are close behind. Oh and the Elites ships will be here momentarily, they seem eager to get this war over with."
"As do we all, Cortana. Then a new era of peace can thrive." John waved his hand over the stand Cortana was on and she disappeared in a flicker. Sighing once again, he called the head pilot, Corporal Higgins: "Bring up a visual of the LZ at Halo's surface. A Spartan is preferable." John never could get used to most of the new Spartans arrogance. Each thought they were better than each other. A competitive nature was common amongst them, which John thought was useful on the battlefield, but continued elsewhere, which mostly caused havoc.
"Okay sir, I'll patch you in with Evans", he's the only one not showing off his new weapon. A good new one that…"
"Fine, Higgins, bring up a visual."
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The last dropship hovered a little way above the ground, dropping off the last of the troops. Spartan 201, Kayleigh, jumped down from the hull and basked in the bright sunlight, coming from the nearby planet Elevon, of which the ring orbited. It shone on the beach and made even the black armour of the Marines from the pods that landed beforehand look shiny. The collection of human soldiers gathered around the beach, centring around the head Spartan, Evans.
Evans stood on a fallen pillar on the beach and raised his arms, commanding silence. He saw half a dozen Spartans; each leading a group of three marines huddled around them. The black armoured marines stood away from the rest, clutching their battle rifles, but still focused on the leader of the group. Kayleigh and her squad assembled, just as the Pelican took off, leaving them all on the beach. Evans took it as his cue and gave his orders, knowing full well the Admiral could hear and see everything he could, so he better be on best behaviour.
"We shall strike quickly and efficiently against these monsters in an organised manner. Each Spartan shall lead his or her group into the centre of the island from different positions and we shall flush out this parasite." Evans pointed to the raised hilly centre of the island. "Cortana has the co-ordinates uploaded into you, Spartans. Once the doors are open, it's your job to clear out the area inside. It is probable the containment area will go deeper than sea level, so prepare for a long battle. Now, you lot…" he remarked, pointing to the black armoured marines, "shall go in groups of twos to assist the Spartans to the middle of the island and will hold position once the doors are open. We don't want any Flood escaping from this place do we? We are to rendezvous here at 21.00 hours for pick up. Now go and blow those sons of bitches sky high, marines."
With that, Evans jumped down from his position and rallied his group towards him. "Omega team, move out!" His group followed him up the beach, each holding a shotgun, apart from Evans himself, who held two new Plasma/SMG cross weapons the others appeared so pleased with. The gun sprayed the enemy with a hail of tiny plasma coated bullets that impacted and then burned the enemy. It was the most recent creation from the Peacekeepers and was nicknamed the SC, considering PK Sidearm Creation III was too long for most Marines' vocabularies.
Kayleigh reluctantly ordered her team to move out, the opposite way to Evans, who she secretly had a crush on. Clutching her Shotgun, her and the rest of Alpha team moved down the beach.
As well as the two black armoured marines, she had with her a couple of worried looking guys, who she thought looked no older than 18. They each had an SC. The other guy trailing the pack was Barkley, who she had talked to before. He had a shotgun, and made sure to bring plenty of ammo by the looks of it, because he had a whole belt full of tin can sized pockets. Kayleigh was a little downhearted she had been given two so inexperienced Marines. "What are your names guys?" she asked mainly to pass the time for their long trek.
"I'm Tom", said a frightened little guy.
"Martin, ma'am" replied the other, even more nervously than the first.
"Lloyd" and "Hector", the two HellJumpers answered. "We got your back."
Kayleigh didn't really care what those two were called as she was leaving them soon anyway. "I'm Spartan 201, pleased to meet all of you. Barkley, keep an eye on these two will you?"
"Yes ma'am" he answered in a low, gruff voice.
The six of them made their up a hill into the centre of the island, just ahead was another group. Progress was slow, because the marines appeared weighed down by their SCs. Kayleigh thought they were very light, but that was because she was a powerful super warrior, engineered by the Peacekeepers. She had highly absorbent shielding that normally resided in Red Elites, and the armour of Hunters that repelled all small arms fire. That is, if anything got past the shield, so in short, she was strong enough to withstand a direct hit by a rocket.
One Alpha Team reached the hill summit; they descended to the left, watching the other team disappearing to the right. They kept walking until they reached a large elevator. The red arrow in Kayleigh's HUD disappeared and so she gathered the five of them around her. "Right, this is it, you two stay here, and guard the elevator, right?"
"Okay ma'am" the guy named Lloyd answered.
"Good, now you three, follow me," Kayleigh said, circling round to face the controls. They were exactly the same as on the last Halo she had been on so she knew how to work them. All survivors of the last halo onslaught were to keep quiet about the mass casualties inflicted last time, and she was one of the people who appealed. All but her from her squad had died there, including her best friend, Jack, who had famously held the control centre himself against at least a hundred Flood warriors only for his escape Pelican to get shot down. Under his orders, they blew up Halo with him still on there still protecting it from the Flood and he was never seen again.
Kayleigh, Barkley, Martin and Tom all boarded the lift and it descended into near darkness, so they turned on their flashlights.
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Back on the Trial and Tribulation, John, Higgins and the rest of the crew on the bridge kept watch over the events happening on the island.
"How's it going, Evans?" the Admiral called on his radio.
"So far so good, sir", Evans replied. "All other groups have entered the structure, and are now out of contact. We are awaiting your orders."
"Proceed, Marine. Good luck."
"Thank you, sir, Evans out."
John relaxed in his chair, viewing the overhead shots of the island given to him by the circling Pelicans, making sure no Flood were getting past the Marines manning the Lifts.
A blue flicker on the pedestal just behind the screen signified to John that the AI Cortana was arriving: "There are twelve others watching these pictures, Admiral", she told him, "You don't have to do so as well, sir." John did not reply, but continued to watch the cycling pictures. "They probably haven't unlocked the Flood doors yet, you know." Still no response, the Admiral continued to watch his computer screen. "You work too hard." she said and flickered away.
"Is she gone, Higgins?"
"Yes, sir", he replied.
"Then come watch, Higgins, I'm on level five."
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The Last Halo part 2
Date: 15 April 2006, 4:59 pm
Firstly, may I say just how pleased I was with the response for the first part of this series. I plan it to be a three or four part series.
The Last Halo
Part 2
In a remote part of the galaxy, a human cruiser lingered above a giant ring world called Beta Halo. The nearby planet Elevon dwarfed these two space anomalies and watched as the UNSC personnel deployed there readied to set loose the deadliest of enemies that it had seen conquer a glorious species 10,000 years ago. The internal failsafe carefully watched and waited, handpicking a reclaimer strong enough to fight against the Flood successfully and would activate Halo.
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Kayleigh and her team cautiously descended into the hellhole that awaited them. She could hear the faint whimpers coming from the frightened marines around her. The one named Tom appeared more focused now, but nevertheless remained as close as he could to Kayleigh and she didn't think it was because he liked her Red armour. The fourth member of the party, Barkley, faced the other way, clutching his Shotgun tight. Even though Kayleigh, Evans and the other Spartans were not set to unlock the doors until 18.00, they all nevertheless checked all dark areas, checking for any stowaway Flood.
After what felt like eternity, the large lift came to a halt and the four of them walked off. They faced a small door that opened as she approached it. She entered cautiously, despite knowing there would be no Flood yet and beckoned the two young marines forward to cover her. Barkley kept a watchful eye on the rear.
The door led into a large room, with two levels of which they entered onto the top floor. A ledge parallel to them met theirs with a light bridge. The bottom floor had a dip in the bottom and had two doors at either side, which was a very similar layout to the last Halo Kayleigh visited.
"Anything on the HUD ma'am?" asked Barkley.
Even though there was no movement, Kayleigh eyed the room carefully for any Flood infection forms hiding in the room. "Negative marine, now get across that light bridge you three. They did as ordered and as they were halfway across, she realised there were controls on either side of it, evidently for turning it off. She bared it in mind for future reference. She made sure it could carry her half-ton of weight before crossing it, and then did so.
They now faced another door. It opened as they approached it and led them to a crossroads. Kayleigh ordered Barkley to escort one of the young marines to the right, while she headed off to the left with the other. She did not know what one it was, as she thought they both looked the same.
"Wait a moment, marine" she said, turned to face down to the young Marine she could now see was Tom. "Take my Shotgun."
"You sure, ma'am?" he replied, having the gun basically thrust into his hands.
"We need minimal casualties in this mission, marine," she said in a very matter-of-fact manner, whilst taking his SCII and complementing it with the SCI that was previously strapped to her hip. The SCI was essentially an upgraded version of the Plasma Pistol, which could fire much quicker. It was also the only weapon supplied by the Peacekeepers that could stun Flood warriors as well as damage them. This was surprising, considering they had had fifty years to prefect this. However, it had a tendency to overheated quickly. They continued forward but to their surprise, the narrow passage led to a ramp leading down the way they came. Following it, they met up with Barkley and Martin again.
"Sorry for the parting, ma'am," Barkley called at her. "Miss me?"
"Enough of the small talk soldier, now is this the door?"
"Yes, we're awaiting the synchronised opening. T minus 4 minutes", he told her as he reached into one of the pockets on his belt and pulled out a whisky bottle. Taking a swig, he noticed the disgust in the others faces. He wondered what was wrong with having pockets not just being filled with ammo. "Sorry, anyone else want some?"
Kayleigh ignored him and turned to face the Flood containment door. It was locked from their side and appeared like any other door at first, safe of the eerie squelching sounds exerting from it. The training simulations the others had run of the Flood were going to be nothing compared to the real thing.
Kayleigh prepared to make her speech but did not really know how to motivate them for what would surely be their untimely deaths in a matter of minutes. She could only think but to give them advice.
"Shoot the closest target, marines. If not, aim for the largest group of them, there's no cowardice in backing away from them. Just make sure you don't get eaten alive or else I'll be forced to shoot you. We need as few Flood buggers running around here as we can. Same goes for you three, if you see me with a load of those buggers over me, don't try and save me. Shoot me and save yourself."
As of yet, even the combined knowledge of the Peacekeepers fighting the Flood could not produce armour strong enough to stop infection forms from getting through, which meant that when her shields dropped, Kayleigh would be just as vulnerable as the others, save for a couple more seconds that the Flood would take to bury into her armour and slowly mutate her.
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Safely onboard the Trial and Tribulation, John 117 reluctantly turned off the modern video game he was playing on the side panel.
"This is serious, John, stay focused", the AI Cortana told him. "How many times have I told them? Don't install Xbox ports on space ships. As many soldiers have died in battle as have been corrupted by video games."
"Relax Cortana, like you said, the Flood containment doors aren't even open yet", the Admiral replied in his usual deep, solemn voice, checking his watch.
The bridge of The Trial and Tribulation was quiet, in observation of the task at hand. They carefully monitored the status of the Marines holding the elevators on the island. There were seven locations, each with two marines guarding. Sentinels, or worse escaping Flood at any moment could ambush any one of them. That was why Pelican air support was standing by.
"Sir, the Elites have arrived and are standing by for deployment, they have brought Jackals and Grunts for support", Corporal Higgins told John, breaking the silence in the crowded room. Everyone hoped they would leave the cannon fodder in the dropships this time, but the Grunts insisted in taking part in the ground battles. That was why the last attack on Halo number six was so brutish. The Grunts had been quickly killed and mutated, greatly lowering the chances of survival for the Elites and Humans.
"Understood, Corporal. At the first sign of Flood movement, send them in."
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"Okay, it's time."
"Very well, Barkley, put the devise on the door" Kayleigh told him. Sweat ran down her face, but her battle suit masked it. She stared at the door that was going to beep and then open any second, thanks to Barkley cracking the code. "Remember, you two", she called behind her. "They're just infectors so they will have to reach you to kill you, that's why we shoot the closest one."
She didn't have time to check a response because the door opened without the devise beeping a warning. A whole swarm of Flood poured out of it making loud squelchy sounds. Barkley blasted the group of them with his Shotgun and they popped, spitting them with the green Flood goo. But still they came.
Kayleigh's heart raced but her mouth managed to shout "Stand back guys" and closest to the door, Barkley, backed off. She coated the threat with fire from her SCII. The plasma-coated bullets shot straight through them so destroying them. Nearby ones were burned to cinders by the Plasma. The group was significantly reduced and the spores tried to retreat and regroup back in the room they came from but met an end with Kayleigh's superheated SCI, which consequently overheated.
Reloading the SCII, she crept into the room side by side with Barkley, who now looked a little shaken at the surprise attack. They entered a large room with three raised platforms in a line in the centre. It was dimly lit, but Kayleigh detected no movement on her motion tracker.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, I couldn't stop him. He just ran."
"What Tom?" she asked while her SCI had stopped venting plasma.
"Martin, he just ran as soon as those things…" the young marine shivered "…came at us." Kayleigh wheeled round and saw the marine appearing more scared to tell her bad news than face the Flood itself. "We both agreed it was safer to stick with you ma'am but I guess he just snapped."
"Alright, we make sure this room is secure, and then we head out to another to look for him. Looks like this door has led to a dead end. Remember we can't leave now because it's a whole three hours until the dropships land for us," Kayleigh told Tom bluntly.
"Ma'am, movement!" shouted Barkley's gruff voice and Kayleigh and Tom spun round to see Flood pouring down the walls, from the left and the right. Acting quickly, the Spartan pointed one gun to one threat on the right and the other to the left. She pulled both triggers, checking each side for ones she missed, but the Flood kept coming. Suddenly her shield flashed as one collided with her.
"Keep them off me!" she shouted while constantly firing and her two escorts started shooting their shotguns. It seemed to be going steady until the two continuous Flood onslaughts started making their way along the walls, around the bullets and the Kayleigh's SCI overheated. "Retreat! Get back to the doorway you two."
They didn't hesitate carrying out her order so Kayleigh reloaded her SCII, threw a grenade and backed away. Nearby Flood exploded and those close enough popped also. A few that escaped the explosion followed her to the doorway. She let her shield catch them and quickly reloaded her weapon.
"Aaaahhhh! Get it off me!" came a screaming voice behind her. Tom was lying on the floor of the doorway, Barkley unable to help because he was backed in a corner of the room, about to get surrounded by the surviving Flood.
Kayleigh now faced a split second decision that would affect both the others lives. Who should she help? She fired blindly at the chasing pack about to surround Barkley and heard several pops and darted straight for Tom who was struggling with the infection form attached in his back.
"Lie still, I'll shoot it off!" she shouted but the marine continued to struggle. Another infection form snuck past Kayleigh and dug deep into Tom's neck. Knowing he would certainly die now; she turned her attention to Barkley, who was holding his own against the Flood, since Kayleigh had distracted them a lot by her shouting. Her shield flickered again when some tried to latch onto her, as she fired her weapons at the remaining ones. With Barkley's help, the rest were destroyed and both turned their attention back to Tom, who was struggling with the two parasitic creatures latched onto him.
They reloaded, preparing to put him out of his misery. Tom was not screaming with agony though; he was shaking, jolting and frothing in the mouth. His hands were green and his hands were mutating to have long tentacles. His head was becoming lop-sided and a green fungus started to grow over his stomach. Kayleigh had seen her fair share of Flood warriors before and wondered how the Flood was mutating him so quickly; because the reported time it took them was at least 10 hours. Perhaps this was the mutant thread of Flood that Cortana had been so fearful of – part of the final Flood virus that was more lethal than that had been encountered before. Apparently, it appeared this was the last ring. In short, they had had less time to starve than the others and so were less worn down and more efficient.
What was left of Tom was left in his face. His horrified expression made him vile to look at and his legs began kicking in the air to find footing.
[inent]"Kill it now, Barkley" ordered Kayleigh.
The shotgun blasted at the Flood but didn't kill it. Tom's armour flew off and it made a large hole its stomach but it survived nonetheless.
"Fire again!"
"You don't have to tell me twice" he said and pulled the trigger yet again. This time the bullets tore through it and it fell over dead, torn in two pieces. Green Flood goo spattered against the wall and the stench of the thing rose into the two survivors' nostrils.
"Next time, we won't wait for it to mutate, got it Barkley?" she told him with a stern expression on her face that he couldn't see anyway. With sweat dripping down his face, he nodded and reloaded again. Kayleigh stepped over the Flood corpse and picked up the Shotgun Tom dropped before being overwhelmed. She attached her SCs to her sides and picked up his grenades. She wondered for a moment if these Flood were also stronger or faster, and not just better at taking over host bodies. "Need one marine?" she asked, tossing a grenade up in the air and catching it.
"No thanks, ma'am, I've already got four", he said whilst taking another swig from his bottle. "Me and my shotgun have got your back."
They left and went up the left ramp. They carefully watched for Flood, and now that there might be Flood warriors walking around, they were extra cautious. Kayleigh led the two of them out the narrow hallway and back into the large room with the light bridge. She checked her HUD and detected two dots to their right. She turned to see an absolutely terrified Martin running past them, chased by a mutated Flood warrior. Kayleigh blasted it away with her shotgun and it collapsed in a heap on the floor. The young marine kept running past them and ran through the door to their left, arms flailing, apparently he could not hear Barkley's reassuring words that he was safe. Kayleigh heard a growling and looked round to see the Flood struggling to return to its feet. She gave it another shotgun blast in its stomach to keep it down. Checking its nametag, it read "Tang" of whom she didn't know.
Beckoning her companion along, Kayleigh followed Martin's path through the door to her left. They entered a relatively small room with two levels of which they entered on the top. Bullets raged about the place, SCII shots ricocheted of the walls, making a dent in them and further burning it with the plasma. On the bottom floor of the dimly lit room was at least a dozen shadows all exchanging gunfire, coupled with grizzly screams and the menacing growls of the enemy.
Kayleigh quickly turned on her flashlight and jumped down into the fray.
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"Contacts, guys! At points Omega and Charlie!" Higgins shouted.
The whole bridge crew flicked their screens to the elevators Omega and Charlie team were holding. The Pelican film showed the two marines at Evans' team - Omega - engulfed in a wave of Flood infectors. Their numbers were in their dozens and they quickly fanned out, forcing the two to retreat. They fired their battle rifles at the little buggers. The rapid three-bullet weapon allowed them to accurately pick off the targets but one of the marines was quickly latched on by an infection form. The creature punched its tentacles into his leg and he stumbled. Desperate to save himself, he fired his rifle at it, popping it, but as a result leaving a gaping wound in his leg.
Just then, another one jumped up and got him in the neck. The marine stood no chance as the wave of Flood caught up with him and he fell, covered from head to toe in the creatures.
Just then, a mutated Flood warrior lunged out of the fray, past the marine being eaten alive on the floor and heading straight for the other one. It had evidently been the one who pressed the elevator and let them up. The zombie creature leapt at least ten feet to land right in front of the marine and it thrust its long whip-like arm at the helpless guy. His feeble attempts to block it led him to break his arm and the Flood stabbed the marine right through the torso. Coughing up blood, he reached with his unscathed arm for a grenade. He faintly murmured, "Eat this, bastard", which the Pelican witnessing it could hear over the radio, and he pulled the pin. The Pelican from above saw and heard the explosion. It swayed a little to avoid a dead Flood corpse flying up and hitting the hull.
Meanwhile, John, who had only turned away from his screen for a second to talk to the Elite ship commander, saw the devastation at Charlie team. A small group of Flood had taken them by surprise and attacked all at once, overwhelming and killing them. The group was now heading straight for one of the other nearby elevators.
"Order all ground teams to retreat to the evac point. Get all Pelicans active for air support, now!" John ordered the lead Pelican pilot, who got on the radio to all the others. "How are there already Flood corpses running around out there?" he asked Cortana.
"It is as I feared, Admiral",she replied. "This is the final ring, the one that the Forerunner, I mean us, last contained them on. This species of Flood has been here much less time comparatively than the others, and they appear to be much more efficient at mutating their zombie warriors."
The monitor showed the black armoured marines abandoning their posts and fleeing to the beach. Several were pursued by Flood.
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"Get down!" Kayleigh screamed at the marine in front of her. He ducked and she shot the Flood combat form's head behind him, the bullets forced it down to its grizzly death. The marine's thanks could wait, as she advanced to shoot a group of infection forms coming towards them. Her shotgun fired and they popped, smearing her armour with Flood blood but she just wiped it off and continued. Running forward she saw a combat form jumping high in the air, about to whack someone in the back. She steadied her aim and shot the monster. The short-range weapon still hit it and it collapsed on the floor just short of its target and let out a long gargle. By now, the battle seemed to be dying down, save for another swarm of little Flood crowding in the corner of the room. Even with her flashlight, it was hard to see what was happening but she did manage to see two slumped figures on the floor, one of which was getting back up with two of the bastards stuck to it.
Not hesitating, she pelted it with her shotgun and it stumbled back clutching its chest. Just then a SCI fired and the stunning effect forced it backward and into the corner of the room, dead. She heard SCIIs firing from her right and the bullets tore through the other infection forms gathered in the corner. Just then the other corpse stood up but the combined shots from around her forced it back down.
Finally the shooting ceased and Kayleigh turned to survey her new companions for the first time. There were two men holding SCIIs on her right and a Spartan to her left. Her heart leapt as she saw it was the light blue armour of Evans. He held out his hand in thanks but Kayleigh instead rushed forward and hugged him.
"I never thought I would see you again", she said squeezing him tighter. A wave of happiness swept over her, quickly followed by embarrassment. She let go quickly and blushed inside her red armour. "You haven't seen a scrawny little marine running for his life have you?"
"Yes, he ran through that door", Evans replied, pointing to door at the far end of the chamber. "Is he yours?" Evans asked her, pointing to a marine knocked cold on the floor. The large facedown marine was easily distinguishable by the amount of satchels on his belt. Kayleigh rushed over to him but he was already getting up, rubbing his head.
"Sorry ma'am, the jump. I…"
"It's okay Barkley, rest." Kayleigh knelt down on the blood-spattered floor. "We'll hold here for a while." she reassured him by putting her hand on his shoulder. Her eyes wandered over to the ledge that they came from. It was too high to climb back up they would have to find a different way out. Looking back down she saw yet another Flood corpse and a dead marine lying a little further back from them she felt a wave of anger rush through her. "How many more will be lost to these bastards?" she shouted, banging the floor with her fist. The others around her sighed in agreement.
It was only Evans who had the courage to try and change the mood. "It's time to get out of here then. Screw the evac time and let's save our sorry asses. To the beach. It will be easier to survive in a more open area anyway."
Kayleigh, who was still on all fours perked up and answered him. "Agreed let's get the hell out of here."
"Easier said than done" Barkley exclaimed.
With that, the five of them gathered together their supplies and headed through a door to the unknown...
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Meanwhile, somewhere in Beta Halo's library a hysterical floating orb named 426 Closed Circuit floated around the giant structure and hummed to himself, whilst analysing the data given to him by his Sentinels:
"Bring me the red armoured reclaimer."
The Last Halo part 3
Date: 26 April 2006, 9:02 pm
Firstly, a big thanks to the fans of the series and I ask them to keep reading!
Secondly, if virgins to the series do not understand phrases such as "Peacekeepers" or the relevance of certain incidents then I ask them to read the previous parts of the series to understand fully what is happening before slating my story!
The Last Halo
Part 3
Onboard the glorious cruiser Trial And Tribulation, a ninety-two year old man surveyed the events unfolding around him. Despite old age creeping up on him in recent years, John remained one of the Peacekeepers finest tacticians and motivational leaders. His knowledge of the Flood and extensive battle experience made him a natural choice to lead the assault on Beta Halo.
"Cortana report!"
"All survivors have fallen back to the beach. I count three human signals."
The main screen flickered to the beach and showed three lowly marines huddled together back-to-back, frantically looking around for contacts. The casualties appeared to have been extensive despite air support and these were the only survivors of the groups posted at the elevators. A pair of Pelicans circled overhead with rear mounted chain guns at the ready.
The Admiral sighed and shook his head. "This is not my kind of war."
"Support is on the way so all we have to do is hold the beach until the Spartans return and then blow this island sky high," Cortana replied optimistically.
"But there is no guarantee all the Flood will be destroyed by simply blowing it up from a distance. We have seen what can happen before…." John stood up, putting all the weight on his shaking legs. "The whole point of this war was to remove all trace of that hideous race of monsters so how can we just assume they will all die from the blast?" he asked Cortana. "It would be living a lie!" The Admiral became very out of breath at his sudden passionate outburst and collapsed back into his chair.
The image of Cortana stood on a small pedestal next to the Admiral. Her head was stooped in shame. "We will have a clean up op after then. For now too many people are losing their lives. This is the best option."
John composed himself. "Okay, Cortana. We can't waste anymore time so let's give them until 8 to return."
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Meanwhile, in a Flood-infested underground maze, a group of UNSC soldiers advanced cautiously towards what they hoped was the exit of the installation. The group had only formed a few minutes ago but now depended on each other to get out of the mess they were in. Evans led them through an unlocked door and they fanned out into yet another room. It had a drainage line running down the middle and a light bridge above. The door eerily shut behind them and left them completely alone and in familiar territory.
"I've been here before", Kayleigh stated. "Up and to the left should be an elevator," she hoped. There was no guarantee this was the same spot she and Barkley had been before but it did look like it. Her visor turned to a stack of boxes. "Perhaps we could climb them?" she questioned, pointing to them.
Evans checked his HUD and waved them on. Barkley followed, keeping his shotgun facing up on the ledge above the whole time whilst his other hand dived for a bottle to calm his nerves. The two others with SCIIs watched the flanks and Kayleigh was left watching the rear, her Shotgun poised. She made sure to keep up with the huddled group but at the same time watched the door they came from intently.
Kayleigh's heart was beating faster with every step as she felt her feet tilt and her body descending into the dip in the floor. The floor around them was not coated with Flood goo thanks to this drainage system but she wondered how often the Forerunners had to use it during their study of the Flood. She gradually made her way under the light bridge. The sound of her feet clomping on the floor became distant and her eyes wandered up to the ledge above. Her brain fell into deep thought as she imagined her ancestors huddled around up there, studying and then killing the Flood infection forms below with their ancient weapons. The remains of the parasite were being swept into the drain.
Suddenly the Flood remains she was imagining running down the drain turned to blood and the sound of gunfire and shouting became clearer in her ears. She looked down to see a long mutated Flood arm sticking through her torso and the last thing she remembered was the drain rushing towards her and her trail of blood covering her visor.
"Kayleigh! No!"
Evans fired both his SCIIs at the Flood zombie that had jumped and impaled Kayleigh. The creature let out a long growl and fell backwards with a dozen holes in it. Another landed next to him and Evans swung round his weapons to meet the new foe. The creature was recovering from the drop but still managed to swing its whip-like arm at Evans and knocked his weapons out his hands before it suffered any damage. Acting quickly, Evans remembered his combat training and swung his heavy armoured covered arm at the creatures face. The head was ripped clean off. Any other creature would have died instantly but the Flood warrior stumbled backwards. Evans took his advantage and high kicked the creature's arm. The whole arm disconnected and it swung its whole body to its side from the force of the impact. Pleased with the results, Evans kicked out with his leg again at the top of the creature's remains and it fell over dead next to its comrade.
"Don't die on me, Kayleigh!" Evans shouted. Satisfied there were no more red dots on his HUD, he ran to Kayleigh who was lying facedown in the drain with a gaping hole in her back. He turned her over to see Kayleigh's visor stained with her own blood. He ripped off the health pack on his hip and knelt down to tend to the fallen Spartan.
Behind Evans a wounded soldier nursed his bloodstained leg whilst another checked the pulse of the third sprawled out on the ground. He put his ear to the mouth of the downed human and felt no breath.
"Barkley is dead, sir," he reported.
"Kayleigh might be too if you don't shut up, Josh."
Josh nodded and knelt down to rip off Barkley's belt. He found several shells for the shotgun but several more whisky bottles too. Throwing his empty SCII aside, he picked up Barkley's shotgun and reloaded it. He pondered over the bottles sitting happily in their satchels. The curious liquid rolled around inside. "No! It won't be the death of me too," he shouted and slung the belt back on the floor. The bottles shattered, spilling their contents.
The second marine, apparently not startled by his friend's display, tied up the bandage on his leg and steadily regained his feet. "You ready yet guys?" he asked.
"Almost, marine," Evans answered and carefully lifted Kayleigh up and placed her over his shoulder. He was careful not to touch her wound. "She should be fine as long as we don't run into anymore trouble," he stated happily but he had a bleak expression on his face that the others could not see behind his visor. A single tear rolled down his cheek. He pushed his sorrow aside and shouted at the marine crawling on the floor. "Josh! Stop crying over spilt milk and climb those stack of boxes over there."
"Okay, sir" he answered, jokingly about to lick the remains of the whisky off the floor. "Come on Steven, let's go."
Evans approached the boxes whilst the two marines clambered up them and reached the top floor. From there, they could see the exit and a light bridge between them and their destination. Even with his super strength, Evans had difficulty lifting Kayleigh's half ton up onto the ledge but he managed it. Below them, the alcoholic liquid joined the stream of blood and ran down the drain.
The three of them made their way across the light bridge and darted though the door on the other side. The doors closed behind them with a faint click. Josh, Evans and Steven gladly acknowledged the elevator that was now staring them in the face and with that, they rode it to freedom from that cursed place.
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As the moving elevator made so much noise, it could be heard from far away in the underground Flood containment area. Its sound even reached a lonely and frightened marine who was huddled up in the corner of a pitch-black room. Kayleigh would have known him as the marine who fled; Martin. The sound of his heavy breathing was momentarily drowned out as the noise echoed around the stinking Flood smelling room. He was exhausted after all the running he had been doing.
Then movement. A shadow flickered across the ledge above. The marine hurriedly held his gun up and pointed it into the centre of the room. Any of those monsters could ambush him in the brief time he couldn't hear clearly for the noise. Martin knew he had to get out of there sometime soon for the evac time but by waiting he could let the horde of Flood be lured out into the open first and his escape could be much easier. The shadow had soon disappeared but so had the elevator he had heard, which left him feeling totally alone again.
Suddenly a gurgling noise interrupted the tranquillity along with the sound of glass smashing. What little light there was vanished and the marine squealed as he sat on the cold floor in a pitch-black room.
Martin felt the floor shake and a strong force flung him straight into he wall behind him. He smashed into it hard and then fell to the floor. He felt blood seeping out of the back of his head. Nevertheless he found the strength to fire his SC into the darkness.
"Come on you bastards!" he shouted, pulling the trigger tighter. His last minute heroics were effective and the attacker could be heard falling to the ground with a dull thud.
Martin's celebration was short lived as he heard horrifying squelching sounds coming from every corner of the room. He knew he had absolutely no chance now so remembered Kayleigh's words. "We need as few Flood buggers running around here as we can." Not wanting to be like them in the slightest, Martin raised his SC to his head and pulled the trigger. But death didn't come. The gun clicked as it was out of ammo and he frantically reached for more.
But he was too late as he felt masses of Flood infection forms scrambling up his leg. They dug in deep and immediately started infecting him. Martin screamed with pain and dropped his gun as a cloud of Flood latched onto him. Trembling, he reached for his grenades as his last resort but there were too many to fight past and he succumbed to the onslaught, trying not to think what he will become.
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In the mean time, three marines reached safety:
"Right guys, let's head to the beach." Evans ordered, as he hauled Kayleigh up a little over his shoulder as she was slipping off.
Just as they were about to set off, a whooshing sound came from above them. Eight flying robots appeared that Evans recognised as Sentinels. Floating in the crowd, a small orb-like object spoke to them:
"You have released the Flood. The only way to stop their inevitable spreading is to activate this ring. We must take this reclaimer."
"I'm not going anywhere. I know what this ring does you know, " Evans replied. He raised his SCII using his free hand. "I won't be your tool."
The orb appeared unthreatened and simply carried on talking."Don't worry, she will be returned to you safely and you shall all witness the spectacle and final preparations yourselves." With that, Kayleigh vanished from Evan's shoulder and so did the Sentinels in a brief flash.
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Miles away, Kayleigh awoke flat on her back. Feeling no pain she sat up and checked her chest. There was oddly no gaping hole left from her last battle with the Flood. Scanning her environment she saw an object gliding down to meet her. The floating orb greeted her.
"Hello. I am 426 Closed Circuit."
Part 4 to come…
Thanks: Lemming for providing the ultimate dictionary, his brain, and also for saving Pest's sorry ass on many an occasion.
The Last Halo part 4
Date: 11 May 2006, 8:24 pm
I'm really pleased with this one. Hope you are too.
The Last Halo
Part 4
Evans, Josh and Steven crept through the darkening grassland. Evans fumbled a new clip into his SCIIs and flicked on his built-in flashlight, even though it only just started to grow dark. His mind was racing, thinking about the hideous task the monitor of Halo had just assigned his Spartan companion, Kayleigh. Trying to put it aside, he saw a Pelican zooming overhead. Its magnificent streamlined shape made it a beautiful sight compared to recent events. His eyes followed it to the horizon as it flew out of sight and fired its chain gun. He took notice of the broken fragments of the surrounding structures and fallen trees that would provide cover should they come across hostile fire. Evans thought the Flood would still be contained in the structure but he was not taking any chances after hearing that Pelican fire its weapon so he was prepared for conflict.
"Sir", Josh called, dislodging Evans from his thoughts, "Maybe we should contact the evac crew and arrange a new time. At this rate, we will be at the beach by eight and the time was not until 9."
Evans knew full well they were going to be early, but it was surely worth the reprimand by Cortana as long as they were as far away from that place as possible. But then it hit him; Cortana! He should call for conformation of the Flood's escape. He immediately attached one of his guns to his belt with a metallic click and brought his hand up to the side of his face. With two fingers, he tapped the side of his helmet and spoke "Cortana". A faint crackle could be heard and Cortana's voice rang in his head.
"Evans? What are you doing outside the structure?" she asked.
"I'll explain later, Cortana. We need conformation of the Flood's escape from the containment area. We must do what we can against them."
"Just a minute marine."
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Onboard the Trial and Tribulation, John watched his screen, displaying the events happening on the island. A gathered group of Peacekeepers witnessed a marine, by accident or design, falling from the back of an out of control Pelican. He crashed into the sand fifty metres below him. As the Pelican came closer, the Peacekeepers saw the Pelican's hull was bearing a large hole and the wings had blown off. Those nearby managed to evade the impact by diving out of its path as it smashed into the sandy beach with an almighty crash and exerted black smoke and flames. Brave Elites could be seen diving into the cockpit and rescuing a severely shaken Pilot. The group of Peacekeepers of all different races fled from the wreckage and almost on cue, it blew up, sending shards of glass and chunks of metal flying everywhere.
The explosion shook the ground a few slow grunts were killed. An unlucky Elite was caught by surprise as he felt something piercing his back when he was running from the Pelican. The high-speed metal shard slammed into his spine and flung him forward. The metal landed in the sand with the Elite impaled on top. He slid to the bottom leaving behind a trail of Blood on the metal fragment. John cursed as he watched the nearby Marines desperately trying to save the doomed Elite who was spitting up blood.
"Sir, a small group of soldiers have made it out of the structure. Should we let them know about the rearranged evac time?" Cortana asked John. She turned to face him. She saw his solemn face with a grim expression. Coupled with an array of wrinkles. She thought he's never looked older.
The Admiral looked sick at the disastrous events he was witnessing. He finally acknowledged Cortana, "They will surely be furious we were going to abandon them, Cortana. I'm sure they will not see it as exchange. Some lives for many more. They will not understand our reasoning…"
John and Cortana had agreed previously to blow up the island at 20.00, an hour earlier than the original evacuation time because of the increasing Flood threat. They had not anticipated there being such a strong Flood resistance here so the more troops deployed there the more potential Flood hosts there would be.
"Let the Elite Commander tell them", were the Admiral's last words to Cortana as he was called away by Lieutenant Higgins. Cortana left the Admiral's side to report back to Evans' team.
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Cortana was not willing to disobey John's orders so told Evans what she could: "Yes, Spartan 302. Conformation, the Flood have escaped from the containment zone. We suggest you make your way to the beach; there are reinforcements on site."
"Roger Cortana. Evans out." He tapped his helmet and Cortana went from his radio. He took his spare SCII from his hip and brought it up close to his other one. The two made for devastating short to middle range fire that was excellent against the Flood. He had the choice before the mission whether to bring a shotgun or a sword instead but was willing to be a guinea pig for the testing of this new weapon and so far they were proving to be excellent. Nevertheless, he still kept an old SCI in reserve. The old ones are the best ones he thought, proving his point he noticing his two companions had Shotguns. "Cover me guys!"
With that, Evans ran from cover behind a fallen tree and sprinted out into the open. Keeping his guns aimed at likely spots in which he could be attacked, he reached a downward slope with rises on each side. It looked a risky route to him because at any time a group of infection forms could come down either side and ambush him but it was the quickest route to the beach and safety.
Josh and Steven did their best to keep up with the half a ton Spartan. His superior reflexes and speed made him very hard to keep up with. Standing behind him, they watched the flanks. It was nearing sunset now so both the marines turned on their flashlights and eyed their surroundings carefully. They had been under Evans' command for only a short while but having witnessed how good of a warrior he was; they felt like they mustn't let him down.
"Okay, follow me," Evans ordered quietly. Last time they did a member of their team, Barkley got killed, so they were apprehensive at following his order. They moved down the slope at a steady speed, all the time watching for movement. Luckily, there was none all the way down and they had all made it safely. From here they could just about see a crashed Pelican on the beach in the distance with several Elites, Grunts and Humans huddled close by. Evans zoomed in with his visor and noticed a huge mass of green moving towards them from the other side of the Pelican.
"Time to kick some guys, let's go." Evans told them and with that he sprinted to the scene in front of him. Every second Evans got closer he could see the sea of Flood getting nearer and nearer to the group, stopping just behind the remains of the Pelican, out of sight. There were too many to handle if the Flood surprised them first. The group hadn't seemed to notice them yet so Evans fired one of his SCIIs into the air. Luckily one of the Elites heard it. Seeing the long neck of the Elites turn to his direction, Evans waved frantically and pointed to the mass of Flood about to ambush them. Luckier still the Elite understood him and gave a long war cry that Evans could hear it was so loud.
The group fanned out, forming a defensive line and pointing their weapons to the threat that they still couldn't see. A fast thinking Marine threw a grenade over the wreckage and it made a huge explosion. The damage seemed to further the extent of the smoking Pelican and it erupted into flames, burning most of the infection forms behind it. Those quick enough escaped the carnage and poured around the sides. Although most had been killed, there was still enough left to overwhelm them all. As Evans ran he got closer and closer, watching the battle unfolding, but he was still too far away to accurately fire his weapon.
In front of him, the Elites had formed a line, protecting the minors should any get close enough to latch onto them. They fired their Plasma Rifles and SCIIs at the little blighters. From behind them, the Grunts and Humans fired their weapons too. In not much time the threat subsided and the group survived without any casualties. Just as the lead Elite wearing Golden armour declared victory, Evans arrived, closely followed by exhausted Josh and Steven.
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"No way you floating scrap heap. I'm not going to help you kill all life!"
Kayleigh had just woken up in Halo's library only to be greeted by the monitor of Halo who wished her to activate the ring. She knew it would want someone sooner or later but she never guessed it would choose her. "Take me back to the island."
"If you are not willing to help, I will simply…"
"Find another? You won't find one because we are all wise to what your ring does," Kayleigh contradicted him.
"My creators discovered this was the only solution, Reclaimer, you will simply find the same." At this time several sentinels floated down from the roof and approached her, obviously to threaten her.
"Are you sure?" she retaliated, "We have now removed all trace of the Flood on the other installations. And check your records, the Flood aren't completely indestructible."
"Impertinence, you cannot possibly have done this."
"Monitor, we have a common enemy here. Fight with us and we won't have to use the final weapon. You must see my reasoning."
"No-one can tamper with my programming. If you will not see the answer, you must die." The Monitor floated upwards, allowing the Sentinels a clear shot at their unwilling Reclaimer.
Kayleigh felt around for a weapon of any kind around her but there was none. This was the end for her. But was it? In her haste she had forgotten about the active camouflage she had had installed just days ago that would give her a five second window. The Sentinels would have no clue where she was because they had not got motion sensors. Hoping they didn't have night vision, she pressed a little white button on her arm and became one with the dark background.
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"Thank you for the warning Spartan, they said there may be one or two of you still around," the Golden Elite said as he greeted them.
"And we were told you needed assistance," Evans said, raising a hand for the Elite to shake it. The Elite deactivated his sword and shook the hand. For the briefest of moments, the scene was majestic and tranquil with the setting sun behind the assorted Peacekeepers. This was quickly dashed as a grunt screamed and ran around with his hands flailing. Evans turned to see what the Grunt was so frightened of and he jaw dropped at the sight.
The hill in the distance, once peacefully surveying the crash site and the previous battle now had a green carpet moving across it. Evans zoomed in and saw the largest group of Flood he had ever seen, led by half a dozen mutated human and Elite warriors.
"Peacekeepers! We stand firm. United as one, we can beat these monsters!" the Elite told the others whilst activating his energy sword.
Evans respected the Elite's bravery but they were viciously outnumbered and without many real short range weapons victory looked unlikely. They needed a plan. Without really noticing he began saying his thoughts out loud.
"Marines! Fire your battle rifles on my command. When I say retreat to our position..." Evans thought back to the Pelican exploding earlier. "…And we shall put the Pelican between us and them, throwing a few grenades to blow them up as soon as they're close enough. That should even the odds a little. Now go!"
The three marines with battle rifles knelt down and zoomed in on their scopes. The three round burst of fire withered the Flood's advance as the front warrior fell to the ground. Meanwhile, the rest of the troops backed off twenty metres or so from the crashed Pelican.
"Grunts, we need you so don't do something stupid like getting yourself killed." They were noticeably unnerved by this but more eager to do their part. Evans saw Josh was in front of him and had his Shotgun up to eye level. He returned to watching the other Humans' progress.
The Flood were very close now and one marine had already retreated back to the Pelican with a Frag Grenade clutched in his hand, he activated it and threw it at the Flood. It exploded, making a large dent in the infection form carpet sweeping the floor and killing another of the infected Flood warriors. The other two marines followed suit but were less successful. One Flood warrior was hit though and flew up and through the air. It flew so far it was heading straight for one of the Marines. Only an exploding grenade hadn't hit it as Evans saw it land the leap and swing its giant arm towards the hapless Marine. Evans was horrified as he saw the Flood arm go straight through the Marine's helmet. Through the neck. Through the head. The bloody head landed on the sandy beach and the lifeless body soon followed it.
The other two retreated, firing their battle rifles to empty behind their heads but another was struck by the attacking Flood warrior, this time in the back and he fell with a large gash in running all the way up his spine. The last marine made it back though and just in time.
"This is it!" Evans yelled and threw a grenade at the smouldering remains of the Pelican. Four other grenades thrown by some of the others followed it and a couple hit the target. The explosion was strong and nearby infection forms immediately popped. Through the chaos the last Flood warrior jumped forward, straight for Josh. He fired his weapon and it back flipped in mid air, landing in a messy heap in front of them, so he ruthlessly gave it another shell for good measure.
There were still hundreds of infection forms scrambling over each other, each trying to be the first to eat someone alive, but the Peacekeepers were not ready to give up yet. Josh quickly reloaded and led Evans and the Elite commander up by his side. They dug into the sand and roared "For glory!" The Grunts shouted in response and with that they charged the enemy.
Blood. Flood and Peacekeeper alike clashed in a bloody massacre. Elites collided with the Flood, using their physical strength rather than their weapons to shatter their enemies. Evans did his best to keep the infection forms off the unshielded creatures but inevitably; they were falling to the Flood like ants drowning in a river. Blood was being sprayed everywhere, so much so it was hard to distinguish friend from foe. A flash of Gold armour passed Evans by and a huge weight landed on his legs. He discarded the empty SCIIs and hurriedly picked up the sword the fallen Elite commander had dropped and chopped him in two so he would not become one of them.
Just as he did, a large amount of Flood collided with Evans' shield, killing themselves but reducing the shield to 30%. No time to let them rechargeEvans thought and dashed forward to slice a mutated Human Flood.
Despite Evans' initial beliefs, they were winning. Most of the infection forms had been killed but there were a few Flood warriors running around now. Evans shield sustained heavy damage when one swung its long tentacle-like whip at him and made his shields completely fail. Now accepting he was almost as vulnerable as a Marine, he swung his giant sword, disintegrating the Flood in front of him. He spun round to see where there was a nearby threat. His shield was gone but so appeared to be the enemies. He could see a small group of Peacekeepers further over, beating down the final mutated Elite. It fell just as Evan's shields began to recharge.
But that was not the end.
He didn't know what made him do it but Evans turned around to see a Spartan walking towards him from over the hill. It had grey armour and he recognised it as Adele, one of the other female Spartans. Only she was walking oddly with her Shotgun held to the side. Evans scoped in on his visor and to his horror, saw an infection form buried in her side. He remembered back to his last encounter with a Flood Spartan. It wasn't pretty and he had the scars to prove it. However he thought the Peacekeepers had issued all Spartans with self-destruct units should their brains be taken over by the Flood? Evidently, Adele had no such devise or at least it didn't work well.
He looked around for a battle rifle on the floor. Yes! One. He checked it for ammo 24 bullets, that would mean 8 shots. Evans carefully zoomed in and got a headshot on Adele, but the shielding system was still operational. It flickered, bouncing off the three bullets and absorbing the damage, so Evans fired for a second time. Noticing it was under attack, the Flood Adele was sprinted towards its new target: Evans. The three shots yet again got a head shot; he fired again and again and again until her shields finally dropped. By now she was very close so Evans had to get this right. "This is it", he mumbled and got the final rounds through her head. The Spartan flipped up in the air and dropped to the ground dead. Empty, he chucked aside the Battle Rifle and deactivated the sword. Feeling no remorse for killing his fellow Spartan, he looked up to congratulate the other survivors.
"What a kick-ass battle, well done," remarked Josh.
Evans couldn't believe he survived, having no shield generator, bit evidently; he was a better Peacekeeper than most. The other survivors were two red armoured Elites, one of which was being tended to by the other.
"Not bad yourself, marine," he acknowledged and looked at the Elite lying on the floor.
"His skull is fractured, I don't think he will survive," the other remorseful Elite stated.
The three of them rested on the beach until 20:00 hours, when a sole surviving Pelican arrived to pick them up. Hoping there wasn't any Flood left in that place, Evans and the other two clambered on board, leaving behind the heroic Elite who had died just moments before. Evans waited briefly to see if Kayleigh would turn up, but no such luck. Evans kept his watering eyes on the beach until the Pelican took off and flew them back to the Trial and Tribulation.
Where is she? he wondered…
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And yes, there will be a part 5…
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