About This Site
Daily Musings
News
News Archive
Site Resources
FAQ
Screenshots
Concept Art
Halo 2 Updates
Interviews
Movies
Music
Miscellaneous
Mailbag
HBO PAL
Game Fun
The Halo Story
Tips and Tricks
Fan Creations
Wallpaper
Misc. Art
Fan Fiction
Comics
Logos
Banners
Press Coverage
Halo Reviews
Halo 2 Previews
Press Scans
Community
HBO Forum
Clan HBO Forum
HBO IRC Channel
Links
Admin
Submissions
FTP Uploads
HTTP Uploads
Contact

True Purpose
Date: 27 April 2003, 8:50 PM

True Purpose
Flash of time


Location: Threshold System
Year: 2550

A flash of blue light emerged in the system, as Pvt. Nicholas tried to maintain hold of his Longsword.
"Mayday Mayday! This is Pvt. Chip Nicholas to any UNSC vessels in the area. I have made a blind jump to coordinates 77 mark 343. I am being followed by 2 Covenant Battle Ships and in need of immediate assistance!" He called out over the comm., unsure of his fate.

Behind him, 2 larger blue flashes appeared, as the two Covenant vessels went out of slipstream behind him. The comm. panel beeped as he received a message. For a moment, his heart rose and a smile dawned him, as he though Humans were hailing. He pressed the button, "This is Pvt. Nicholas, go ahead."

"Your destruction is the will of the Gods..." Came an eerie evil voice.
"Crap..." He said, pulling the throttle forward. The Longsword zoomed toward the gas giant, and just as he arrived, his computer noticed a foreign object. "What the hell..." He thought, as his ship approached it.

A flash came from behind him, and then a rattle, as the Covenant began to fire. Red sirens filled the ship, and his controls were shot. He couldn't slow down or change his course. He was heading straight through the ring shaped object.
He pulled and jolted his controls, but nothing would work. It dawned on him, that he wouldn't hit the ring, but simply pass through it. For a moment, he was reassured...


Location: Covenant Cruiser (Threshold System)
Year: 2550

"Sir, he's heading through Halo, he will not land on it." Came the Logistics Grunt, in his high-toned voice.

Commander Kang sat upon his seat, his lower-lower jaw tightened. He squeezed the sides of his chair, thinking of options. There was only one.
"Activate the Halo's Transporter. Let's play with him for a while..." He said in an evil grin.


Location: Longsword
Year: 2550


"Alright, once I get these controls fixed I can try to..." He began to say before he became in awe of what he saw. A purple ball of gas has formed in the center of the ring, and he was heading for it.
Closer and closer he got, it grew large enough to encompass his ship. "No!" He said, pulling pointlessly on his control. He approached it, and his vessel was lost in the purple mist.


Location: Unknown
Year: Unknown

Chip had blacked out in his seat once they passed through the gas. Once he came to, his ship had shut down. Behind him was the ring. The breathed a sigh of relief, "Phew. Looks like the purple gas just shut down my engines. I should be thankful." He closed his eyes and relaxed on his seat, gathering his thoughts.
He opened them, and his jaw dropped.
"Where am I?" He thought at first.
Ahead of him, were dozens of moons, circling an all blue planet, which was entirely made of water? Space was covered in millions of white dots; stars covered the sky. He knew he was not in his galaxy.

"Computer, calculate distance traveled in the past hour." He said. He watched as a white line, his course, flew through the Threshold system, and approached the ring. But as it went through the object, the computer stalled.
"Calculating... calculating... calculating..." It went on for a half hour, when the computer finally finished. The white line continued for a few kilometers beyond the ring, but his distance traveled was in millions of light years.

"My God..." He thought. His mind was a mess, and he couldn't think of what to do next. Would he go back through the ring, or explore the vast new space he could not traverse?
"But the Covenant will kill me if I go back."

His ships engines came back online, and his controls were operating. "A Planet of all water..." He said with a smile. "This could be a scientific marvel. I might get famous."


He powered up his engines and flew towards the dozens of moons that encircled it. As he got closer, his life seemed over. The computer said in an eerie tone, "Warning, Covenant bases detected." The monitor showed that each moon contained Covenant Instillations. It was infested.
Another beep hit his ears; this time it was the comm. He was afraid to press it, and listen to the dark and evil Covenant voices, but something inside of him wanted to.

"This is Captain Marshal of the UNSC Frigate "Columbia", please identify yourself." The voice said...

True Purpose(2)
Date: 29 April 2003, 2:44 AM

True Purpose
A world behind his eyes


Location: UNSC Frigate Columbia (Space Unknown)
Year: 2550


"So what you're telling me, is I can't go back?" Chip said as he sat on a container in the Loading Bay. His mind was in a mess, as Captain Marshal began to explain.

"No, I'm afraid not." He said in his reassuring voice. "But there is good news. The place you just left, is far worse than where you are now."

Chip looked up at him, his shoulders slumped. "And where may I ask are we, sir?"

The Captain looked nervous, and his voice was lowered. "This is what we call, the Halo System."

The Halo system? Huh? He thought to himself. "Halo sir?"

"The 'ring' you passed through was more than just unusual space junk. It was a gateway into galaxies all over the universe. Each one connected to another. When my Frigate had first arrived in the Threshold system on a blind jump, we had no idea what to do. The Covenant were chasing us, and the only safe haven was that Ring World. We landed, and had a 4-week long Guerilla war, almost costing us all our lives. They left, but we stayed. We had found artifacts, and secret chambers all throughout it. It was more than just debris; it was a research lab, a gateway, and so much more.

Finally the Covenant came back to finish us off, and we were forced to depart. But one thing we knew about the ring world, was its gateway technology. We activated it and came here. That was our mistake. They found out how to use it too, and they colonized the entire sector."

Chip took in the story, following every word. "How long have you been trapped here?"

The Captain seemed confused, "Trapped?" He said with a chuckle, "...we can leave whenever we want. We outnumber them 2 to 1. When we went through, we immediately went back through the gateway, and informed Reach. They sent an entire fleet of ships and supplies so we could colonize, and fight in this sector. You see those 13 moons?" He said, pointing out the windows.

"6 of them are ours. A 7th is under siege right now."

Chip was still confused, "How come I never knew about this operation?" He asked.

The Captain once again lowered his voice. "The secrets we found in that Halo, the ones the Covenant still know nothing about, could kill us all. A Special Operations fleet had to come in. But with that, we brought our secret weapon."

"Chief, come on out." Captain Marshal said in an upbeat voice.

A door opened, and through the darkness, out came a green suited trooper, with a gold visor. Its easy, relaxed walk showed off the suites mobility. Chip was almost afraid to stare, thinking it would strike. It came close, standing next to the Captain with its hands behind its back. "Hello." It said in a deep voice.

Chip almost fainted. Could the stories be true? It was a Spartan, something he was told of, but thought of them as myths. "Sir..." was all he could mutter out.

"This is Master Chief. His real name is Mark, but Chief will do him just fine." The Captain said tapping the green mans shoulder. "He will debrief you on your new mission, now that you're here. You'll be put on bombing duty, but the rest I'll let Chief explain.

"Come with me." The Chief said, turning and heading towards the door.

Chip was almost too scared to walk, but as the Chief stopped and waited, he had a rush of adrenaline, fearing what he might do. He took one last look at his Longsword, and headed for the door. "So uhh, Chief, where we headed?" He said in a nervous manner.

"Armory..." is all the Chief said. He appeared to be a man of a few words, serious, and emotionless.
"So how long have you been in this quadrant?" Chip said, trying to start a conversation.
"Three months. I've helped with the infantry division. I've helped take 'A' and 'C'."

Chip was confused, once again in this new place. "A and C?"
"We give each moon a letter, and once we finish off the Covenant, they'll get names."


They had arrived at the armory, with its steel door guarded by two marines. They saluted as always, and the door opened. Chip was amazed. It was a candy land of weaponry. Rocket Launchers, Sniper Rifles, even Covenant weapons. The Chief walked straight to the MA5B's, grabbing one and a few clips. He took the MA5B on the strap and put it over his shoulder, while adding the clips into a seamless belt that was attached to the suit.
Chip did the same, except taking only a pistol, the only thing he was certified for. As he put it in his belt, the Chief stopped him. "What are you doing?"

"Getting my pistol. Regulations say I can't have anything bigger."

The Chief chuckled for the first time, grabbing a Sniper Rifle and lobbing it to him. "I suggest for the time being, you lose the regulations."

Chip had a good laugh, when suddenly the deck plating shuttered. Red sirens went off, and the comm. came on. "This is the Captain, all hands to battle stations. Marine Force Delta to loading docks 5 and 6 Sierra. Master Chief and Pvt. Nicholas to the Fighter Bay."

"Looks like you're coming with me." The Chief said, sprinting to the door.

Chip followed closely out the door. As he passed corridor by corridor he watching the crew frantically grab pistols and defend the ship. An anti-matter charge blasted to his right, as a Covenant pod attached to the ship. Shots were fired, but he ran past it before he could see anything. A door was ahead of them, and once it opened, the grandeur of the ship was obvious. The ceiling to the Fighter bay seemed to go up miles. Only one fighter was aboard.

"Quick, get in!" The Chief said, closing the walkway ramp. It shut with a hiss of hydraulics and the ships engines powered up.
"Where are we goi..."? Chip began to say before he was flown to the back by the force of take off. When he shook it off, they were already above the Covenant Cruiser. "Alright, take the controls, and put your seatbelt on, and an oxygen mask!" The Chief said over the thud of plasma fire!

The Chief put him self where the walkway ramp would come down. "When I say so, open it, and fly immediately back towards the Columbia. Understood?"

Chip nodded, waiting for the signal.

"Steady... steady... NOW!" The Chief yelled.

Faster than he could think Chip opened the ramp, feeling the force on his seat as the air was sucked out. Chip tried to maintain control, while watching the Master Chief jump out of the ship, and landing on the Cruiser.
"Crazy SOB if you ask me..." He said in his mask. Once the bay was closed he depressurized the ship, and began to fly to the Columbia.

A large crash and thud was felt under him, and sparks flew from the controls. He once again could not control his ship, as it was heading on a nosedive to the Cruiser.

"Holy..." He began to say before the ship collided, erupting in a ball of flames...


To be continued...

True Purpose(3)
Date: 7 May 2003, 1:52 AM

True Purpose
Beginning of Ends


Location: Covenant Main Outpost (Planet G)
Year: 2550


The ground shook beneath Sergeant Collin's feet, as he watched 5 Scorpion Tanks open siege upon the final Outpost. Once it was gone, they'd have 7 of the 13 moons, almost sealing up the Human victory.

"General..." Collins said in a videophone "... We are wrapping up the Siege of 'G'. We'll have this planet by nightfall. But in the meantime, I need a Sniper Squad down here to handle any stragglers that survived the assault. Me and my men will head down the cliff towards the base, while you send the Sniper division where our tanks are now."

"Affirmative Sergeant, they'll be down within the hour." Came the old General, sitting in a desk with Planet 'G' behind him. The video feed cut off, and Collins placed it back in his pack.

"Ok boys, dismantle the camp." He said, pointing to the rickety little tent they'd placed next to the tank shells. The 10 members of Collins squadron were young; too young for Collin's standards. When he was just a Private, all his superiors were rough, broken in, seasoned from many years of battle.

"Yes sir! As soon as we're done we'll launch." A Private said, de-clamping a leg of the tent.

Collins thought again. They may have been young, but they were everything the war needed. Determined, fearless, and filled with honor. Collins and his squad had taken Planet 'G' almost without help.

"Move it out!" He called to his group as they assembled their armor. Once they finished, they headed down the hill, on their way to the base...


Location: Covenant Cruiser
Year: 2550

"Ahh, run!!" Called a Grunt to his fellows, just in time for them to see their aggressor before a spray of bullets headed their direction. Each one went down silently, allowing the Chief to continue undetected.

"This is Master Chief, to any UNSC, please respond!" He said in a loud whisper, as he looked into his belt, finding only a few clips left.

He got back up, cocking his rifle, and continued on, hoping someone would get his message...


Location: UNSC Cruiser Columbia
Year: 2550

"Alright everybody, Cole Protocol has been initiated." He said to the crew while taking out the AI. "I want you in escape pods towards Planet 'A' in 10 minutes, before the Covenant completely tear this ship apart!"

"What about you sir?" Came an orange shirted crewman.

The Captain looked at his feet, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'll be staying with the ship." He threw the AI disc to the crewman, "... I'll try to land her on... Planet 'C' appears to be closest at the moment. If you don't hear from me, give my regards to Admiral Whitaker."

He turned back to the command panel, as the rest of the crew left.


{2 hours later}


The Captain was sitting in his Command chair, looking at the Security Panel, watching little red dots get closer and closer to the Bridge. He looked out the front view window, and saw the desolate sand world that was Planet 'C'.

He had hailed the nearest UNSC outpost an hour ago, but they had yet to respond. As the red dots got closer, the pitter-patter of their feet against the burnt deck plating seemed like the toll of midnight, striking him with every blow of the clock.

He gripped his chair hard, his hands sweating from the arid heat of the desert. He looked at the Security Panel again. It was blue; he knew what was standing right behind him. He heard the high-pitched charge of the pistol, which was the very last thing he'd ever hear...


Location: Space
Year: 2550

The hiss of Private Nicholas's oxygen mask was all that was heard in the cockpit of the fighter. His weary eyes had watched as the Columbia took blow after blow of plasma torpedoes.
He had neither the energy, nor the ability to send out a distress call, and it seemed every breath from the oxygen mask, took a bit of life away from his heart.
It seemed, during the past two days, his entire world seemed flipped around, topsie-turbie and incongruent to what he knew as existence. The HALO, his death bringer, he could barely see, slowly turning innocently, waiting for the next victim to pass through its vortex, and end their lives.

Captain Marshal had said HALO had the ability to kill everything. He didn't believe him at first. Now that his life had been ended by it, it seemed all too likely it was true.

The Columbia was beginning to drift away towards a small brown dot, which was nowhere near the size of the Water-World that it en-circled. Explosions from the side of the Columbia were obviously escape pods, each one had the ability to pick up the cockpit signature, but they did not, or did not have the desire to, seeing he was next to a Covenant battle Ship.

As he looked upon the ship, he remembered the Master Chief. He wondered if he had lived, or had won. Maybe if he did win, he might be rescued. Suddenly the Cruiser began to turn, and faced the cockpit, it slowly crept forward, light a steam engine through a tunnel, and the eyes of the beast glared his eyes.

The comm. panel beeped, and Pvt. Nicholas pressed it with delight, knowing the Chief had done it. "Prepare to be taken in for execution." Came the dark voice of an Elite.

A small blue light encircled the cockpit hull, and it slowly moved forward towards the docking bay...


Location: Outside Docking Bay
Year: 2550

The Chief was out of bullets, now using the pathetic pistol to defeat his superior enemies. He was tired, and his shields were running low. His leg armor had been sliced by repeated hits of Plasma. It was bleeding down his foot, red and dark.

The door to the Docking Bay swung open, and the Chief pulled out an Elite's Rifle, shooting the Jackals that were controlling a Tractor Beam panel. The Chief rushed to it, finding Pvt. Nicholas's fighter being pulled in.

"Thank God for him. He must have ammo..." Said the Chief to himself, not thinking of the Privates health.

He waiting for the fragment to be pulled in entirely, and rushed inside, finding the Private dead. He checked the oxygen mask and heat generator; both of which were at 0%.

Laying Chip's body down on the Covenant ship, he took his Sniper Rifle and Pistol, shaking his head in remorse.

You died so that I shall live... thought the Chief, running out the door.


To Be Continued...

True Purpose(4)
Date: 13 May 2003, 2:40 AM

True Purpose
Battle of 'G'


Location: Covenant Primary Base (Planet 'G')
Year: 2550

The windows shuttered in the capital building, as round after round of tank fire toppled the buildings it stood next to. Prophet Furiek, a male, looked out the wide-open windows, watching small bursts of yellow come from a far hill, followed by the wisp and crash of the shell.

"Commander..." She said, raising her hand motioning an Elite forward.
"Yes my Lord?" He said saluting.

The Prophet turned away from him, "Have the base defenses been put up?"

"Yes sir, the Grunts and Jackals are patrolling the streets, and Hunters have secured the buildings as small artillery."

The Prophet smiled, "Excellent, prepare my Drop Ship."

The Elite looked startled, "Sir? We must stay and fight with the rest!"

"No. This planet is theirs. They may have won this planet, but Planet 'H' is one of our most guarded moons. The rich resources of water and steel make it a valuable target. Have your Elite squadrons transport to 'H' with us. There, they will see our true might!"

The Prophets hover chair lifted from the ground, while his nimble fingers controlled its movements. The large doors opened, only to find the two Elite Guards dead, with bullet holes all over the walls.

Suddenly, a clicking sound was heard. It got closer, and sounded like dinging noise, as if something was hitting a wall. The Elite looked to its feet, finding a dark yellow sphere explode, killing him and the Prophet.

"Ok Boys! Move in, secure the area! I want Snipers covering that window for any reinforcements." Sergeant Collins yelled, thrusting his hand forward through the door. He moved in slowly, turning left and right, AR steady. The room was clear.

10 more men stepped in, with 5 Snipers, each lining the window, cutting holes through the glass, big enough for their muzzles. Ahead of them, the Marines could see the tanks on the hill with white smoke lines hitting Covenant forces. The General's Sniper Team had arrived, just as he promised.


"General. 'G' is ours."



Location: Covenant Cruiser (Bridge)
Year: 2550

"Captain, HQ reports 'G' has been taken over by the Humans. They request we return to 'H' so we may fortify the defenses."

The Captain, coated in White armor, stood by the control panels, and turned to the Elite speaking to him, "Very well, tell them we'll arrive within the hour." He turned to the navigation controller. "Lieutenant, set a course for..." He began before a scream came from outside the door.

"What the hell is going on in there?" The Captain asked.

A group of Jackals crept up close to the door, before the force of a grenade that incinerated the door threw them back. Out came the Chief, guns blazing towards the control panels. The Elite's shields began to fail; they were defenseless.

"I don't think you're going anywhere!" He said to a Grunt heading for a security switch. Firing two bullets into its tank, the Grunt fell to the floor with a squish as it landed on its own blood.

The Chief moved up towards the panels, and started the self-destruct sequence. Alien numbers slowly began to count down, starting at 15 minutes. The Chief rushed out the door towards the Docking Bay, where, hopefully, he'd find a Banshee.



Location: Planet 'C' (Columbia Crash Site)
Year: 2550


Groups of Elites were aboard the Bridge, looking through file after file of the Human Data Arrays. Everything was wiped clean. Earth's location, Combat Movements, all deleted before the Humans left.

An Elite slammed the console, speaking alien curses. "It's all gone. We must leave immediately, for the Human Captain called for support."

"This support?" A Marine called, chucking a grenade.

The explosion rattled the already torn up bridge, covering it with purple blood. The rest of the Elites went down quickly to AR fire. 4 Marines were right outside the door while one, the Sergeant, stepped inside.

He walked into the Bridge, finding it completely desolate. The entire crew made it safely home it appeared. Searching around the Main Bridge, he found Captain Marshal, his head lying to his side; the burn mark of a pistol behind his head. He didn't bother to check a pulse, for he knew the answer.

A call came from outside, "Hey Sarge, find anything? The Drop Ship is waiting. There's a Covenant Cruiser heading towards Planet 'A' on a self-destruct sequence. We think it may be kamikaze! Anything you need help with in there?

The Sergeant turned towards the Captain. "No marine. I'm heading out. Tell the Drop Ship I'll be out shortly"

The Sarge patted the Captain on the shoulder, and began to walk away. He stopped suddenly, and turned around back towards him. He took the Captains body on his arms, and placed him in the Command Chair, putting his hands on the sides of the seat and gave a moment of silence. Taking his hat, he put it on his chest, saying in a deep silence,

"Gods Speed..."


To Be Continued...

True Purpose(5)
Date: 19 May 2003, 10:58 PM

True Purpose
Coming Together


Location: Planet M (Covenant Main Moon)
Year: 2550

Prophet Faze slammed his frail fingers on the comm. panel, hearing the news of 'G's loss. The Human's were like a plague to him, sucking away resources; prying into depths of space they had no right to.
They had activated the Ring's main abilities, analyzed the Flood, and found out secrets they should never have. The Covenant had closed all of the Rings millennia ago, hoping that the Humans would never pry. They failed.

"Prophet, sir!" Came his Elite Guard, Mogul.

"Update on 'H' defenses." He said. "We've re-routed all non-essential personnel and defense weapons to 'H'. 3 Heavy Cruisers have been called back as well, though one has not responded.

"Which?" Faze replied.

"The Gaza. It was assigned to attack the UNSC Columbia. Last transmission stated they had succeeded."

The Prophet looked worried, and came up with a quick answer. "Send a few Drop Ships with Banshee escort, I want to know what happened."

"Sir!"


Location: Covenant Main Base (Planet 'G')
Year: 2550

"Sergeant Collins, the Drop Ship is waiting. Sarge?" Came one of his men, sitting on a Drop Ship at the top of the Prophet Building.

"Huh?" He said, gazing at the green plains to the North. "Oh yes, thank you Private." He replied, taking his AR's strap, putting it around his shoulder and hopping in.

The Pelican began to lift, high into the clouds. Collins got a view of the entire green plain, with white-capped mountains beyond it, and a blue sea beyond that. Conceiving what he had just done, as he had always. He killed countless, just for him, for a view. It was just a view, nothing more. He'd never get to build a home by the ocean, or on the top of a mountain cap. He'd never cruise in a Warthog along the endless green valleys, the wind in his hair.

He was a Solider, nothing more. Retirement was decades away, by which time he'd most likely be killed. He turned to face the 10 Privates under his command, each cheering in celebration of the win. They'd never know true sadness.

The Pelican dove and swerved unusually, shaking strong. Collins was confused at first, but then he looked at the Privates faces, each looking out the back. Collins turned his head, finding 3 Banshees on their tale, firing their cannons.

"Hold on."



Location: Docking Bay (Covenant Cruiser Gaza)

The Chief sprinted quickly into the docking bay, sighing with relief upon the sight of a Banshee. He walked casually towards it, unwary of the enemy watching his every move.

"Going somewhere?" The deep voice said, coming from seemingly everywhere.

The Chief jumped at the sound, pointing his Battle Rifle around, looking for the enemy. Sweat ran down his forehead, looking hard at each area in his visor.

Suddenly a large push came from behind, knocking the Chief onto the ground. He quickly regained himself and began firing towards the direction he was pushed.

"Where are you?" He shouted in anger.

"What's wrong? All that technology buried deep inside you, giving you the powers of a God, and you can't see me? I'm shocked Mark."

"You know my name?"

"I know quite a lot Mark. For example, I know of the 3 Drop Ships and Banshees that are moments away. And of the Regiments of Jackals and Grunts on their way here. You want to know where I am?" The voice said.

In the corner of the room, an Elite slowly began to appear, holding a Plasma Sword in its right hand, laughing. "You think you'll escape now? Where will you go? Your precious cruiser is lying on the sand desert of 'C'. You remember 'C' don't you Mark? Where you slaughtered every Covenant you came across? You know where my family lived, not harming anyone? Remember 'C' MARK!?" He said in a fury, charging rapidly.

The Chief began to fire, with each bullet bouncing off the sword, which was aiming right at him. The Chief tuck and rolled, kicking the shin of the Elite. The Elite stumbled, roaring wildly, swinging the sword back and forth.

Mark was pushed into a corner, his Battle Rifle empty. It seemed hopeless to escape. The Elite charged him, just as Mark jumped up, and beat the Elite over the head with his gun. The Elite didn't die, but merely was dazed.

That was Marks chance. He sprinted over to the Banshee, and hopped in, just as the Covenant were flooding in. The Drop Ships and Banshees were a few kilometers ahead, so Mark turned it around, heading for HALO, the only place that was safe. Or so he thought...


Location: Atmosphere (Planet 'G')
Year: 2550

"This is Pelican Echo 112, to any UNSC Longswords. We are under attack by 3 Covenant Banshees, in need of assistance!" Came the Pelican pilot.

Collins was sitting in the back, firing his pistol futilely at the oncoming Banshees. They were so close; they could see the Elite legs from the back. A few plasma shots came very close to Collins head, while another struck a bright eyed Private in the forehead, killing him instantly.

Collins looked out over 'G' again, this time with renewed zeal. He wasn't about to let Covenant take the planet he worked so hard to take.

"Private Megan, you're in charge!" He said, grabbing the edge of the Pelican.

"Sir?" He replied.

Collins took a deep breath, and jumped onto the nearest Banshee. It shook back and forth violently, trying to shake him off. His fingers dug into the curves of the ship, as he tried to move towards the back. He crept slowly, as not to arouse any suspicion. He couldn't hold his breath for much longer, so he jumped again, while grabbing the Elite's foot. A roar came from inside the cockpit, as Collins pulled on him. Suddenly he released, Collins then let go of the foot, and grabbed the controls.

The other two Banshees were none the wiser, each still firing on the Pelican. Collins maneuvered towards one, slowing down to get behind it. He fired the cannon, sending the Banshee flying towards the ground in flames.

The other Banshee was now onto him, and began to chase him towards the Pelican. The Privates inside began to fire, except for one, who looked quite nervous. As the Banshee got closer, the Private leaped onto it, trying to kill the Elite. Collins couldn't fire now, so he immediately sped away.

He turned back to find the Banshee succeeded, and had thrown the Private off of him. It continued to fire on the Pelican, until it finally gave way, sending the large machine in flames.

Collins could go nowhere now, except for HALO. He couldn't go back or else be spotted, and killed. It was the only way.


To Be Contined...

True Purpose(6)
Date: 26 May 2003, 12:15 AM

True Purpose
Worlds Collide

Location: Planet C (Columbia Crash Site)
Year: 2550

Sergeant Baker finished his quiet prayer on the Columbia, then grabbed his AR and headed out. Walking down the dead black, quiet halls was eerie, knowing the evils that occurred aboard the ship.
He finally arrived at the Longsword Docking Bay, where a Pelican and the rest of his squad were waiting, chatting away.

"Alright boys, let's get a move on. What's the situation Private?" He said sternly.

"Sir! Command has located a Covenant Cruiser heading towards Planet 'A' at impulse. Sensors detected its auto-destruct was online. ETA to destruction about 6 minutes."

Baker nodded, putting his hand on his chin thinking.
"Do we have time to rendezvous with it? See what happened?"

The Private shook his head. "No sir, we're being dispatched to stop it, so it doesn't reach Planet 'A'."

"Understood. Let's move out!"



Location: HALO (Swamp)
Year: 2550

"Damn, I've lost altitude control!" Collins said aloud, red sirens going off inside the cramped cockpit of his Banshee. The purple of its hull began to become red as it entered the atmosphere of HALO. Below him, the darkness of the ground seemed to grab him, and pull him in.

The engines were failing, and the gravity of the HALO was too powerful for him to escape. He was just one mile above a small swamp, about to nose dive into it.

The crash of the Banshee could've been heard for miles. Its wreckage was strewn out for meters. Collin's body lay limp in ankle deep water, covered in lily pads. His head began to rise, as he coughed out the disgusting water.

"*Cough* Where... am I?" He said to himself, the small howls of birds in the back round. Mist was everywhere, and he couldn't make out anything around him besides the trees.
As he moved forward through the brush, two dim lights caught his eyes. He blinked a few times and rubbed his head, thinking he was hallucinating.

"WHO'S there?!" He called out from the trees. There was no response.


Location: HALO (Remote Island)
Year: 2550

The Chiefs Banshee faired much better, and he swooped down onto the sandy beach with ease. Hopping out, he immediately looked up at the beautiful site. 13 small moons, their surface easily visible circled a planet of water, as big a Jupiter.

As he gazed up, a small rustle of branches caught his ears, coming from the innards of the island. Looking in his pouch, he found only a few grenades, and no clips for his Battle Rifles.

Getting up the courage, he began to run into the trees.


Location: Planet 'H' (Covenant Military Base)
Year: 2550

"Commander, 5 Massive-class turrets are up and running along the gorge. Banshee Patrol Ports have been alerted, and will act the moment the Humans begin their landings. Intel reports they plan to land on the southern continent. We'll be ready for them."

The Commander nodded in agreement, sitting in his office, with a thick window behind him. There, he could see the vast emptiness of 'H'. It contained no water, and was only valuable from the troves of Iron Ore. All personnel were required to wear masks, as it contained too small of an atmosphere.

"Excellent General. The Prophets will be pleased with your work. Make sure you put Anti-Aircraft batteries near the turrets, as thy will most likely try to bomb them."

The General nodded in agreement, and threw a fist onto his armor in salute. He immediately walked out, allowing the Commander a view through his window. Grunts were marching back and forth in front of a large steel wall, preparing for the biggest battle they'd ever face.


Location: Swamp (HALO)
Tear: 2550

"HELLO!?" Collins was still trying to call out to whoever was there. Picking up his AR, he slowly moved towards the lights. Pushing a final branch out of his way, the location of the lights was revealed.

A large open passageway was all that he found, that led down into a large room, with an elevator in the middle. The lights were merely automated. The Sergeant breathed out in relief. "Thank God." He said, making his way into the structure.

A barely audible vibration could be heard, most likely the large HALO's power source. The Sergeant was not part of the search team that excavated the HALO, and was not told anything of what they found.

As he made his way to the bottom, something caught his eye that almost made him scream. In the middle of the elevator, a small splatter of red blood, with bullet holes all around the room.

"What the hell happened here?"



Location: Island (HALO)
Year: 2550

The Chief pushed his way through a small shrub, leading into a small pass of rock, leading into the center. The Chief had been here before, a few years ago. Walking through the dimly lit rocky pass, he stopped and looked around slowly, stopping and moved up to a small ledge.

There was a bullet hole from an Assault Rifle, covered in dust, seemingly many years old.

== Flash-Back ==


"Chief, you take point." Came Captain Marshal, standing in front of their Warthog.

It was only the two of them, the Captain had seen fit to bring along the best soldier when exploring the unknown island. "Yes sir." The Chief responded, cocking his shotgun.

Moving into a cave-like rock pass, they turned on their flashlights, and began to look closely at the unknown writing. The Captain, an explorer as always, stopped to decipher it.

"Hmmm, it says here: Warning to all begotten souls. Turn your path, or forever unleash your doom." The Captain shrugged. "These markings are all over the island. Our excavating teams have yet to determine what they're talking about."

The Chief nodded, then stopped suddenly, pointing his shotgun into the darkness of the cave. "Sir!" He said. "Something's coming."

Small sounds of footsteps, shuffling rather than walking were drawing ever closer. An eerie moan came from inside the cave, making the Captains hair stick straight up.
"HELLO?" The Chief shouted.

Nothing happened, but the shuffling of the unknown creatures feet began to increase. It came around the corner.

"Cap..tain..help....me." It said slowly.

"Private? What the hell are you doing here? I never assigned any..." The Captain stopped to analyze the Private. "What the hell happened to you?"

The Privates skin began to turn a darker green, his skin ripping in a few places, being replaced by stems of dark organs. "Stay back!" Came the Chief, pointing his shotgun.

The Private moaned louder, and began to run towards the chief, hitting him with the newly groan whips. The Chief fired straight into the Private's head.


== Present ==

The shotgun bullets had bounced off, and hit in a few areas. The dead body had disappeared when the Marines re-entered the cave. No one knew how it left.

The Chief shook his head and began to move farther into the island, towards the light at the end of the tunnel.


Location: Pelican en route towards Covenant Cruiser Gaza.
Year: 2550

Sergeant Baker stood at the back of the drop ship, marveling at the quiet beauty of the moon system. It seemed so innocent when he couldn't see the destruction. 'H' was becoming more fortified by the hour, and small lights could even be seen from where he was.

The Pilot came over the comm., "Ok Boys, I'm detecting a hellavu lot of Covenant sigs near the Docking Bay, you'll have to freefall onto the hull, and find the Bridge from there. Get your Grav-Boots on boys, you're going for a walk."

Baker snickered at the pilot's remark, while opening a compartment under his seat, and pulling out a mask and boots.
"You heard the nice lady boys, suit up. If this thing explodes near 'A', all hell's gonna break loose."

The Sergeant looked out the back again, seeing the small green moon of 'A', the Human Main Moon, they were unwary of the destruction it might face, if they failed...

True Purpose(7)
Date: 2 June 2003, 1:15 AM

True Purpose
Planning the Impossible


Location: Planet 'E' (Military Ops Base)
Year: 2550


"Gentleman, I think you know why I have asked you here." General Martin said to a table of Admirals and Military officers.

Each of them nodded their head and looked around.

"Well then I must tell you, this operation is going to be harder to plan then fight." The General said, tapping a button on a controller in his hand. The lights dimmed in the small room, and a CG program began playing, zooming in on the Covenant Capital City on Planet 'H'.

"The Covenant appears to have intercepted our plans. They are regrouping themselves on the lower continents. Seven Massive-class turrets have been placed, with AA plasma turrets as cover." Pressing on the screen, it zoomed in on a small part of the lower continent. "But, they've given us an advantage." He said smiling.


Location: Hull of Covenant Cruiser 'Gaza'
Year: 2550

"Alright boys, DROP DROP DROP!" Baker said over his comm. helmet, as each one free fell to the surface of the Gaza. The Sergeant hit the hull softly, as did the other ten marines. Each pulling out their AR's and Shotguns, they moved steadily along the surface.

"Lieutenant, anything?" Baker said, turning to a marine holding a small device.

"Affirmative, I'm detecting an access junction up ahead, but there are multiple sigs around it."

Baker chuckled, "That's why we have these!" He said lifting his AR. The Sergeant stepped right on top of the junction seal, pulling out a small device with a timer, counting down from 5.

"Fire in the hole!" He said, jumping for cover.

The explosion rattled the hull, while the seal ripped from its welds and opened up to the narrow passageway.

"That's one way to knock. All right boys, move in. The bridge is only a few hallways from here!"


Location: HALO (Swamp)
Year: 2550


Sergeant Collins reluctantly stepped onto the lift, analyzing the spot of blood. Finding the control switch, he activated it, sending the elevator down. All over the walls of the shaft, bullet holes, and dark green blood were splattered everywhere.

"Where did all this come from? No Covenant has green blood." He said to himself in his fear.

The lift stopped at the bottom, onto a similar room as before, with only one door. Getting off the lift, he stepped towards the door, its lights red.

"Looks locked. Why would they lock it? What are they keeping in there?"

Suddenly a push came on the door, sending Collins onto the floor. The pushes continued, with scratching, and an eerie moan. It continued for what seemed like forever, until whatever was doing it stopped. This was the last straw.

"That's it!" Collins said, chucking a grenade at the door.

The door immediately blew away, revealing the dead corpse of a twisted, mangled Human body, unlike anything he'd ever seen.


Location: Island (HALO)
Year: 2550

The Chief made it to the end of the cave, walking out back into the brisk sunlight. Trees swayed in the artificial wind. The place seemed so eerily peaceful. Even birds could be heard, singing a fine gentle tune.

Making his way around a turn, dusty, half buried bodies of a Pelican lie in the sand. The pilot inside could still be seen, rotting. The Chief shook his head with grief again, and went into the back of the wrecked ship. Heading to the front, he pushed the pilots body out of the way, and grabbed the radio receiver.

"This is the Master Chief, to any UNSC vessels or outposts. I have crashed landed on the HALO, and require immediate extraction. I repeat, I need immediate extra..." He said through the radio.

Suddenly he heard something from outside. The dusty window of the Pelican offered little viewing, so he made his way back outside.

He looked around, finding only the ocean, sand and trees. Looking to the ground, a small set of footprints that weren't there before.

He cocked his gun.


Location: LongSword Fighter (entering 'H' atmosphere)
Year: 2551

The New Year had arrived, and Pilot Ace Garrison steadied his LongSword, as the decent into 'H's atmosphere came to a completion. Lights were everywhere, as towering Covenant cities dotted the landscape.

AA batteries, the size of a small skyscraper were everywhere, and were beginning their assault on his LongSword. Ace had one mission, and plasma turrets weren't about to stop him.

On the controls was a picture of his family. He hadn't seen them in 20 years, and knew nothing if they were alive. Completing this mission meant early retirement.

"Foxtrot Echo, this is the MOAB, ETA to site in five minutes."


Location: Planet 'E' (Military Ops Center)
Year: 2551

"Foxtrot Echo, th---- is the MOAB, ETA ----- site in five min---utes."

General Martin was the only one in the closed Radio Room. Only he and a few other Admirals knew about what was about to happen.

"MOAB, this is Foxtrot Echo, last word confirmed. Radio silence, I repeat, radio silence."

He prayed the plan would work, but his heart knew he should pray for the Covenant.


Location: Planet 'H'
Year: 2551

The low mumble of an engine could be heard miles across the southern continent. Platoons of all kinds stopped to watch as AA plasma went up into the air. No one knew what was happening.

An Elite General stepped outside for a walk; to plan the next chess move of the army. Looking up into the sky, he saw the dim lights of the Longsword. The Elite smiled, knowing it would be shot down, and continued walking.

Two Banshees were flying high in the air, about to rendezvous with the LongSword and take it down. They were the only ones to spot a meter long, dark bomb fall from the Longsword's bomb bay.

The Elite General looked up again, hearing the city wide sound alarms go off. The screeching of the alarms was deafening, while the panicking Grunts ran away.

Then it all stopped. There was a blazing light, as small as the tip of a needle, seen in the distance. Everything seemed to slow down for a moment, and everyone was silent.

The tiny dot of light built up and glowed brighter. Then came the shockwave. The Elite General was pushed down to the ground, windows broke, and tall building close to the explosion collapsed like dominos. A mushroom cloud grew.

The entire city was gone.


To be Continued...

True Purpose(8)
Date: 4 June 2003, 3:30 AM

True Purpose
Retaliation


Location: Planet 'M' (Prophet Council Chamber)
Year: 2551


"We must strike now! The loss of an entire city has just been brought upon us. Either we act now, or we sit here, and wait for them to do it again! I cannot accept us to do nothing.

We have 18 Battle Cruisers in orbit as protection. In the next week, our orbit near Planet 'A' will be as close as it will ever be. That should be our next move. Wipe out their home-moon before they launch another attack."

The Council listened intently to the Generals words, nodding their head in agreement.

"We have heard enough from you. Thank you, you may go."

At that moment the front doors flew open, with a shocked Grunt running in. "Prophets! The Humans just launched another bomb on 'H'. About 12 thousand dead."

The General nodded his head, "You see? They've already begun again."

The Prophet lifted his hand. "I know, I know. I'm putting you in Command of the battle fleet General Maron. See to it that ever Human on that moon is dead."



Location: Island (HALO)
Year: 2551


The Chief looked around intently to find whatever was stalking him, slowly moving his sight on foot after foot of his view.

"I know you're out here." He said, more to himself than anyone.


"I never left you."


The voice came from behind him, and then in front of him. It seemed to be everywhere.

"You must be the Elite from the Covenant Cruiser. I should have known you wouldn't give up your search for me so easily."

While the Chief spoke to the Invisible Elite, he suddenly spotted a warp in the air, about 10 feet in front of him. Not to seem suspicious, he kept looking around.

"You killed my whole family." The Elite said again with more anger.

"How can you stand there and think that your hands aren't covered with just as much blood. How may I ask did your family get to 'C'? As I recall, it belonged to us first. Then you invaded."

"ENOUGH!" The Elite said. "I will have no more of your lies Human. You were asking for evacuation over that primitive radio of yours? Here it is." He said as a Covenant Drop ship entered the atmosphere.

"You think one Drop Ship will stop me? I've killed enough Covenant to fill a thousand of those, as you so quaintly mentioned."

The Elite chuckled. "You think I only asked for one Drop Ship? How little you know of my genius."

A second Drop Ship was just entering, and then a third, and a fourth. "You sent four Drop Ships just for me? Why am I so important." He whispered to himself.

The Elite answered Marks rhetorical question, "We don't plan to kill you dear Mark. We have much more important ideas for how to use you."

Mark could take no more, and began firing a barrage of bullets at the Elite. The shields dropped quickly, and Mark charged the Elite with a fury. He beat the Elite over the head again and again, until the Elite's head began to convulse inward.

Mark stopped and looked at his hands, the purple blood covering them. He stopped to think about what the Elite had said. He was a menace to himself. The four Drip Ships landed, each carrying eight Elites.

"I surrender." He said, laying down his gun.



Location: Swamp (HALO)
Year: 2550

Collins was analyzing the body for hours, finding the Human form had been mutated into a zombie. "Who or what the hell made you?"

Then it all sunk in. He had destroyed the locked door. Whatever had done this to the Human, could now escape. What had he done?

"I'm afraid I can't let you leave." Came a British sounding voice.

Collins lifted his AR and looked around. "Oh, you silly creature. There is no need to become agitated." It said.

A Blue robot came from the elevator shaft, and slowly floated to Collins. " I am 356 Guilty Spark. I am the monitor of this instillation. I assume you are Sergeant James Collins?"

Collins was speechless. "How... how do you know my name?"

The blue ball chuckled, "I have close ties with the UNSC. When your species was excavating this place, we had an unusual encounter. The Flood had escaped, just as you have done now."

"The... the Flood?"

"You cannot leave." Is all 356 could say.



Location: Covenant Cruiser 'Gaza'
Year: 2551

Baker and his team were slowly but steadily making their way towards the Bridge. "Lieutenant, ETA?" Baker asked.

"This things going to blow in about three minutes. The Bridge is right in her.." The Lieutenant said before looking up, finding the doors blasted open.


"Looks like someone already cleared the place out." Baker said, walking over two mangled Jackals. "The controls are right here."

Walking up the ramp, the only control pad that was online was the countdown timer, slowly counting from 50 seconds.

"Lieutenant..." Baker said with agitation in his voice.

"I'm workin' on it, give me a sec. Covenant security codes are a bit more complicated than ours. You see, they use..."

"While I'm sure their controls are fascinating, I'd really like you to focus!" Baker yelled.

30 seconds...


"Lieutenant!" Baker said angrily.

"Damn, they must have added a new security feature, I'm having trouble overriding it! I... I can't!"

"What the hell do you mean you can't!"? Baker screamed, pushing the Lieutenant out of the way.

20 Seconds...


"It's all jammed. We can't stop the countdown!" Baker said, slamming the Holo-Panel.

"But.. but sir! We're just about to enter Planet 'A' atmosphere. If we blow then everyone on the surface will..."

"I'm PERFECTLY aware of that Private." Over the radio, "Echo 523, this is Sergeant Baker. Mission unsuccessful. Contact the High Command on 'A' and tell them to order a moon-wide alert. This things blowin..."


5 Seconds...


"Roger Sergeant, I'll..."



0...



To Be Continued...

True Purpose(9)
Date: 8 June 2003, 12:38 AM

True Purpose
Clones

Location: Unknown
Year: 2551


Blackness surrounded the Chief, as his eyes had yet to open. The soft moan of ships engines gave him the clue he was still on board the Drop Ship, being taken to who knows where. His eyes opened.

It was obvious he was not on a Drop Ship, but a large, completely white room, with a table and two chairs. One of the chairs was occupied. By what, he did not know.

"Ah, our patient has awakened. I was afraid the anesthetics were a bit strong for a Human body." Said the creature in a friendly voice.

The Chief rose up immediately and tried to reach for a weapon, but he had none. "Where am I?" He said, squinting his eyes a bit. It appeared to be a Prophet, young and strong.

"I'm afraid my superiors have left some details to be unknown to you. Just know you are safe. I am Dr. Reran, Chief of Military Science of the Covenant Federation. You are very important to us. Did you know that?"


Location: Swamp (HALO)
Year: 2551

"What is the Flood? What are you?" Collins said trying to take all this knowledge in.

"I'm afraid there is no time for pleasantries, the Flood microbe has already escaped."

"Escaped?" Collins said. "How could a microbe escape that fast?"

"Through your body of course. I'm afraid that you are infected with the virus. Protocol does suggest you do not stand near Flood bodies for the time you did. You can see what that did to your colleague here." Guilty Spark said looking to the dead body.

"AH!" Collins said loudly, clutching his chest.

Guilty Spark nodded, "As you can see, the virus is a fast worker. It has already begun to manifest in your liver. I'm afraid I'll be forced to lock you in here."

Collins stood up and pushed the blue ball out of the way, heading for the elevator controls.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow you to run away. You will spread the virus. Please, simply step inside and I will replace the door."

"No, I won't die here from some blue ball!" He screamed, trying in vein to start the elevator.

Suddenly two dark metal robots came down the shaft, pointing their lasers at Collins. "My Sentinels will be forced to exterminate you if you do not enter the containment area. You have no choice."


Location: Planet 'A' (atmosphere)
Year: 2551

The explosion of the Gaza was a bright star during the dayside of Planet 'A'. Military officers that were running gazed up at the ship as it exploded. Large pieces of the ship were already about to crash to the surface.

The ringing of sirens was similar to that of 'H' before the nuke had fallen. It was a cold and ironic twist of fate. "ATTENTION ALL MILITARY PERSONNEL, PLEASE MOVE TO YOUR SHELTERS IMMEDIATELY. TIME TO FRAGMENT IMPACT: 2 MINUTES." Came a cold computer voice all over the moon. Panic had stricken the entire area, as small bits and pieces of the ship were easily visible, on the verge of colliding with the moon.

Then the impacts began. Each and every impact was like a giant bomb going off, sending a small shockwave, and killing many people. Fires sprung up all over the moon, and the once peaceful grasslands, became smoldering ruins.

Location: Fleet Admirals underground office (Planet 'A')
Year: 2551

"Sir, I just the got the latest intelligence. The last of the impacts are over, but the death toll is heading up into a few million."

The Fleet Admiral sat at his desk with a bottle of brandy, and poured it into a small glass. His eyes hung low, it was obvious he was awake all night.

"What's the status on the de-fusion team? Did they make it out of the ship?"

The Intel officer shook his head. "Sergeant Baker and his team were killed instantly when it imploded. Our cleanup and radioactive teams are heading to crash sites to salvage the wreckage."

The Fleet Admiral nodded his head and sipped the brandy slowly, taking it all in. The status of the Human occupation was at a breaking point.

"How about Planet 'H's nuking status? Has the third bomb been fired?"

"Affirmative sir, we're reading massive casualties on their side. Most large cities and turret emplacements are all but gone. Our ground assault will begin soon."


Location: Covenant Battle Fleet (orbit around 'M')
Year: 2551


"Gentlemen," General Maron said upon a tall pillar, overlooking an auditorium of Grunts, Jackals, Elites and Hunters. "I know you know what we have to do. The Humans have fired three large weapons on Planet 'H', killing millions. Will we stand here and wait for them to do it again?"

The large crowd grumbled and clicked their refusal to do nothing. General Maron nodded with a smile, "I thought so. Within the next few days, we will prep the destruction of Planet 'A', the Human home moon. Our 18 Battle Cruisers will attack on all fronts, wiping out their vessels and ground troops. Once 'A' has fallen, the rest will go down like dominos!"

The crowd cheered and fired shots of plasma up into the air. Behind the General, the main Prophet was sitting in a chair, and nodding with acceptance.

"Very nice speech General. I hope you can live up to it." The Prophet said.

"You can count on it sir. The Humans won't even put up a fight."

The Prophet grew a smile; "I have a proposition for you. How would you like to send only one ship to 'A', and win?"

"Sir?"

"Meet me in my office. I'll give you the details there."




Location: Unknown
Year: 2551

"Important? Why would I be considered important?"

The Prophet laughed, "Your cybernetic implants, your suit, all of it would make a valuable asset to the Covenant Empire. If we were to analyze your suit, we could make hundreds of them in no time at all, and fit them for our Elites."

It sunk in to the Chief. "You've duplicated my suit?"

Without a word, the Prophet looked behind the Chief, as the white covers of windows suddenly disappeared, showing a large bay of some kind. Hundreds of green troops were lined in perfectly straight order, holding Plasma rifles in their hands. A clone army was upon them.

"As you can see, our Elites responded much better than you Humans did during the SPARTAN project. We already have 200 Elite Troopers standing by for their first mission."

"What's their mission?" The Chief asked grimly.

"Why, the destruction of Planet 'A'. It will be an easy task for them. I'm afraid your race has lost. This galaxy is ours."


To Be Continued...

True Purpose(10)
Date: 13 June 2003, 11:36 PM

True Purpose
Battle of 'H'


Location: Briefing Room (Planet 'E')
Year: 2551


"Welcome gentlemen, please grab a seat and listen good, as I will only say things once." General Martin said standing next to a projector as Marine commanders stepped in.

"Alright then. Computer: Dim lights."

The lights dimmed and the projector began to activate.

"As you all know, we've launched three nuclear devices on key parts of Planet 'H'. Our job will be to mop up the lucky bastards that lived. Recon tells us there are still two Massive-class turrets guarding a large city in the north. Besides that, a few small bases and 'H' will be ours."

The entire room smiled and nodded their heads, when the General put up his hand sternly. "I didn't say this would be easy! The Covenant are now on a rampage since our nuclear attacks. Their zealous attitudes have only been sharpened. Since the first was fired, there have been dozens of small attacks, mostly kamikaze, on small outposts near Planet 'C'. They won't give up easily Gentlemen."

"Alright, I want all of you on your Pelicans by 0900 tomorrow morning. We'll have one strong push of ground forces, and send every Marine we have. Dismissed!"


Location: Unknown
Year: 2551


The Chief was watching on a monitor as the General was giving his orders to the Marines.

"How are you able to spy on us?"

The Prophet Doctor laughed, "I don't think my superiors would like it if I told you our secrets. We DO plan to let you go eventually. But do not be concerned, their home-moon will be decimated by 0900 tomorrow."

The Prophet pointed to the window again, and the Chief looked out, as twenty-five Drop Ships swooped in, and picked up each of the Elite Troopers.

"I cannot let you do that." The Chief said sternly.

"I'm afraid you have no choice. Please, sit down, and we'll discuss your future with us."

The Chief secretly reached into his pocket, and looked for a grenade. They were taken.

"Looking for these?" The Prophet said holding up a grenade. "Guards!"

Two Elite guards walked in with Plasma rifles. "Please take the Master Chief to Cell #117 and hold him until I tell you so."

The Elites nodded and went for the Chief. Acting as if had given up, the Chief slumped down. As they grabbed his arm, he swung around and threw each of them across the room. While they were dazed, he grabbed their fallen Rifles and shot them in the throat, severing the head. The Prophet was shaking frantically, not able to fight.

"Now, your majesty, I believe you have my grenade?"


Location: Swamp (HALO)
Year: 2551


"Just... take me back to my people. They... they can find a cure!" Collins said clutching his chest again, which was slowly becoming larger.

"I'm afraid there is no time to do that. In a few minutes you'll be fully infected. Flood spores have already begun to grow in you. Now please, I must insist you enter the containment room at once."

"Why... can't you just... kill me?" Collins said, feeling his neck come under immense pressure.

"That won't be necessary, the sensory organ is about to snap your neck, and after that you won't feel a thing. But please, for the safety of your people, enter the containment area." 356 said, as another two Sentinels came down the shaft.

Collins neck snapped, and a black stalk, with red tips sprung out of him. The body fell to the floor, and was stricken with 4 red lasers, piercing the skull.

"Tsk Tsk, such a waste. Sentinels, please transfer the body into the containment area and replace the door."

The Sentinels slowly pushed Collins body that was still alive, planning his next move, to free the Flood.

The connection to the Flood collective suddenly activated inside Collin's head, and the voices began.
"Do not allow them to replace the door. We will be to your area soon. The blue ball of light will die this day..."


Location: Planet 'H'
Year: 2551


Grunt troops were marching back and forth, sifting through the rubble and finding their mangled comrades. It was a sad and quiet day all over the moon. Suddenly the night sky was filled with tiny dots of light. There seemed to be a hundred of them.
A Grunt commander activated his comm., "Recon to Command, the Humans have arrived."

Over at the large, temple-like central Command building, the Elite Generals and Prophets were preparing their response.

"Affirmative Recon, a General announcement will alert our troops, stand by."

And as promised, the eerily familiar sirens began to ring, the klaxon echoing high into the clouds. The warning and alert message began, "Attention all Covenant forces, report to your battle stations, the Humans have come. Fire at will..."


Location Planet 'H' (Atmosphere)
Year: 2551


"Captain, the lead squad reports incoming AAA fire, they've ordered the rest of our ships five clicks east, to a small crater. It's a bit outside of town, but it's the safest way!" A Private called over the roar of the speeding wind and engine.
All around then were Pelican Drop Ships, hundreds of them swooping down on the final city.

"Agreed!" He said and turned to the Pilot, "Pilot, five clicks east, just follow the rest!"

"Aye sir!" She responded, and then suddenly a purple stream of plasma came upon them. The plasma turrets had spotted them, and locked on. There was no escape. The Pelican rocked back and forth, as troops began to fall out of the back, screaming for their lives.

"Evasive Maneuvers! We're going down, I repeat, we're going down!"



To Be Continued...

True Purpose(11)
Date: 17 June 2003, 3:12 AM

True Purpose
War of the Worlds



Location: Icarus (Covenant Troop Transport)
Year: 2551


"Doctor, wake up the Troopers, we'll arrive in Planet 'A's atmosphere in the next hour." The Pilot said over the comm., looking out upon the green moon.


"Yes sir." Came the response.

Inside the wide docking bay, 25 Drop Ships lay quiet, while 100 cryo tubes hum quietly, being sprayed with cold gases. Inside the command center up above, the Elite Doctors began to open each cryo tube.


One of the Troopers jumped out, quickly activated his light-sword and growled uncontrollably. The Elite Doctors were startled, and tried reassuring the Troopers.

"Calm down Elite! You have not arrived at Planet 'A' yet. The amnesia will wear off soon, then you will remember."

The Captain of the ship came over the comm. when all the Troopers were awakened and in their lines in front of the Drop Ships.

"Elite Troopers, this is the Captain, board your Drop Ships and prepare to obliterate the Humans. May the Gods be on your side."

The Drop ships engines powered up, and began flying towards 'A'.



Location: Underground Commander Center (Planet 'A')
Year: 2551


"Uhh sirs. I'm detecting 25 bogies inbound to our position. They appear to be Drop Ships, but their crew compliment doesn't register. I suggest we go to red alert."


The Fleet Admiral was still at his desk, rubbing his fists uncontrollably looking at the piles of paper work on his desk. Millions had died from the impacts, and now the Covenant were coming to finish the job.

"What's our compliment? Orbital Defenses? Ground Forces?"


The Intel Officer shook his head, "Most of our guns were taken out by debris, and our ground teams are too far away for any immediate action. We have a few hundred Marines here on base though. It's 50/50 sir."

The Fleet Admiral took another sip of brandy and nodded his head with a sigh, "Do it."



Location: Swamp (HALO)
Year: 2551


"Kill the blue ball...

Kill...
Kill..."

The voices inside Collins head were filling up his senses. His body seemed to be in control by another entity, but he could still move his eyes. It was like being inside a ship you couldn't control, but only watch. The Humans left a compliment of shotguns when the left the facility, and the Flood were using them to make an uprising against 356.

"Sentinels 423 - 465 please report to Sector 344 for Flood containment. Sentinels 232 - 244 report to Sector 117 for Flood containment."

The number of outbreaks was getting uncontrollable for Guilty Spark, who had to transfer even the most unmilitary Sentinels just to keep the one facility under control.

"Outbreak in Sector 117 uncontrollable, all Sentinels fall back."




Location: Unknown
Year: 2551


The Chief was still in the room with the Prophet, placing his hands all over the walls of the room, looking for an exit. He pointed the rifles at the Prophet, "How the hell do I get out of here?"

The once frightened Prophet Doctor now seemed overconfident, "Haha, you really think you can survive once you leave? Do you even KNOW where you are? I can assure you that you cannot escape here. The compliment of this instillation is in the thousands, and it is massive. The Fighter Bays are many decks and kilometers away.

"Fighter bays?" The Chief thought to himself. He'd never seen a Covenant instillation with more than one.

"I've faced worse odds. Tell me how to open the door, or I'll use you to pry it open!"

The Prophets flying chair activated, and he pressed his hand against the wall, making the wall disappear to reveal a long hallway of purple.

"Thank you." He said, and shot the Prophet in the throat.



Location: Planet 'H' (Atmosphere)
Year: 2551


"Sir, we've already lost 5 of our Drop Ships. We cannot make it to the scheduled LZ without more casualties. We should land here!" The Pilot said loudly over the howling wind.

The Admiral in charge of the operation was sitting on the side of the Pelican, and shook his head. "This is the most heavily defended parts of the cities garrison. We'd never make..." He was saying before the comm. officer interrupted.

"Sirs, I just got a faint call from Planet 'A', they're under attack by unknown Covenant forces. They say they have green armor, and possess unthinkable strength. A Large Transport is also in orbit, firing large phase cannons. The insist we cancel the invasion and report back!!"

The Admiral nodded his head, and signaled to the comm. officer to inform the others to leave. "Let's get out of here!"



Location: Planet 'A'
Year: 2551


The forest of trees made it easy for the Troopers to conceal themselves while the dark plated Marines ran towards the landing Drop Ship.

"Commander, the Drop Ship is this way, let's..." A Marine said before a plasma dart was launched into his throat.

The Sergeant screamed, "Enemy Snipers!"

Assault Rifles shells cut wholes in the trees, while the Covenant Troopers smiled and watched from a distance, picking off each Marine with ease.



Eight Covenant Ghosts were gliding along an extent of grassy hills, firing their cannons at the on coming Scorpion tanks. The Troopers inside maneuvered incredibly fast, dodging shell after shell of tank fire.


"Damnit!" The gunner of a Scorpion said out loud, trying to pin down a ghost. "This is the 8th tank division, requesting backup near Supply base 34 Gamma. Encountering multiple Ghosts!"

The Pilot was killed shortly after, as a Ghost's plasma hit him in the head. "Ground Teams to Icarus, target coordinates acquired for Plasma cannons."

"Roger Ground Team, waiting for coordinates." Came the comm.

Moments later from the sky, a large orange beam came down, and landed squarely on a Human base, incinerating it. As the Troopers walked up to the wreckage, one pulled out a Covenant flag, and pinned it squarely on the debris, growling with happiness. The Human Home Moon was taken, and now the other moons would have to fight headless.


Location: Underground Command Center (Planet 'A')
Year: 2551

"I've just lost contact with the last remaining base. The Icarus's Plasma cannons decimated it."


"What about their casualties?" The Fleet Admiral said tiredly.


"A Marine squad insisted they had been able to kill one of them, but it was hearsay conjecture. Reports of wounding a few also came in, none confirmed.

Some that had seen them up close and lived said they looked like SPARTANS but with Elite shaped armor.

The Admirals eyes widened. "Intel, what was the last known location of the Master Chief?"

"Uhh, last known location was aboard the Frigate "Columbia". It was destroyed a few days ago after a skirmish with the Gaza. The Chief was on the Gaza at last known time."

"My God. They have him somewhere. They... they must have copied his armor."

"Sergeant!" The Admiral said, "Evacuate this world."


To Be Continued...

True Purpose(12)
Date: 30 June 2003, 12:44 AM

True Purpose
The Flag is Raised

Location: Planet 'A' Capital City
Year: 2551


Prophets of all colors were sitting on their purple hover seats, looking out over the large balcony upon the beautiful wilderness. Smiles and laughing all around, while in the back round, fires from pillaged cities and burnt tanks send thick black smoke into the atmosphere.


Two Troopers were standing next to a door within the Capital Building, guarding something quite valuable. The first looked over across the door to the other. "What are they hiding in there? They've been in there for hours!"

The other raised his hand, "Calm your spirit, the Prophets told me of the value of the find."

The other Trooper had an anxious tone on his rough Elite voice, "What is it!?!"

The other shook his head, "They only told me it could turn the tides of the war in the blink of an eye. That it could wipe out the entire Human race, everywhere in the galaxy. No more, she spoke."

A Prophet was walking by, and each retook their post, and nodded kindly.





Location: Swamp (HALO)
Year: 2551


"Sentinels 1 - 345 fall back to emergency positions. Eliminate only the strongest Flood forms." Called a very nervous Guilty Spark, watching through his monitors as millions of Infection forms, and Warrior forms broke out from every seam.

All Sentinels with a weapon were sent around the ringworld. Half of it was out of bounds from over population of Flood.

The Monitor shook his head, and mumbled a curse to himself, and activated a transmitter. "This is Instillation 034 to Forerunner High Command, please respond. In need of tactical assistance..."

A large, dark figure, hodded with a brown robe came through the view screen, with large galaxies behind him, obviously outside of the Galactic Edge, where no galaxies could be found, the Forerunner Home.

"This is Forerunner High Command, what is your situation?"

"I am 356 Guilty Spark, Monitor of this instillation, the Flood have broken free, after a Human male opened a hatch. It was out of my hands. The Flood has spread across the ring, and there are a few dozen Sentinels left. Send a battle Cruiser, and destroy the ring."

"Understood 356, dispatching now."



Location: Unknown
Year: 2551



The Chief casually walked out of the white holding chamber, and suddenly found himself in a narrow white hallway. At one end, a Bridge that stretched across the mile long loading dock to the other side of the facility. At the end of the Bridge, a sign in Covenant had a list of locations at the other end:

Covenant Quarters 56-C
Main Battle Test Facilities 3 - 5
Molding Plant
Ghost Speeder recycling Plant
Elite Trooper CryoRooms

"CryoRooms?" The Chief said to himself. Suddenly a clicking sound was coming down the hallway, sounding very familiar. He realized a Grunt was coming down the hallway.

The Chief pulled out his plasma rifles and aimed them, waiting for the Grunt to come. The Grunt merrily turned the corner towards the Chief, but something was odd. The Grunt didn't seem shocked at all, in fact the Grunt was smiling, and began to run up to the Chief.

"A Trooper! Oh my sir, an honor to meet one of you!" It said in a high-pitched voice.

The Chief stared in amazement, and the laughed to himself. It thought he was an Elite trooper. Not to cause suspicion, the Chief nodded.

"Oh sir, I have a MILLION questions!"

The Chief was becoming frustrated not being able to speak, so he simply pushed the Grunt out of the way, and walked on. The Grunt still seemed merry.

"Nice meetin' you sir!" It said, and continued walking down the hall in a jig.

The Chief made it to the entrance of the Bridge, but at the other end, two Elite's were coming down the bridge, pointing at him and growling their teeth. He must have sounded an alarm.
Quickly he pulled out his rifles and began firing pop shots, hitting a few times, damaging their shields. The Lights of the white room suddenly became red, and a klaxon of alarms filled the silence. There seemed to be no way out...



Location: Underground Command Center (Planet 'A')
Year: 2551


"Admiral, we've got a lock on the Chiefs location, but..."

"But what son?" The Admiral interrupted.

The Intel Officer had a grim look on his face. "I'm locating him inside the Water Planet. About a mile under the surface, we're reading his body armor. Out sensors can barely identify him."

The Water Planet was a huge planet in which all the Moons circled, made entirely of water. "So the Covenant put a base there? Ingenious bastards I'd say."

"The Structure he's located in is massive! It's about three kilometers long, and a mile high in length. What could they possibly be making there?" Asked the Intel Officer.

The thought suddenly hit the Fleet Admirals mind like a battering ram. "Troopers..." Was all the Admiral said, getting querying looks from the officers in their cubicles.

"Troopers sir?" Asked a small, slender woman, manning the comm. station.

"The things that invaded here, Marines that lived from the encounter described impenetrable green armor." The Admirals eyes were ablaze, as if a light clicked in his head.

"The Covenant have captured him, copied his battle armor. My God, they may have hundreds more on the way." He said, and then turning to the Intel Officer, "I want..." He began to say, before his desk started to rattle, as did the entire underground officer.

"What's going on?" He said, looking up as pieces of dust fell from the ceiling.

"The Icarus has locked coordinates on our facility. I don't think it'll get through for an hour or so..." The Intel Officer responded, looking as if he'd suddenly become tired with stress.



Location: Planet 'A' (Atmosphere)
Year: 2551


"Corporal, tell the fleet of LongSwords to target that giant ship orbiting 'A'." Came the General of the Pelican Fleet, on their way back from Planet 'H'.

"And have the Pelicans drop off near the Northern continent, outside of the large city of Perul. We'll make our counter-attack against the Covies there."

The white bearded Corporal nodded, taking a radio in hand, giving his orders.

Location: Icarus
Year: 2551

"Sir, the humans are attacking us!" A Grunt said, running from his post on the Bridge in fear.

Suddenly the wide view screen in the front locked onto a hundred LongSword bombers, hurtling hundreds of bombs into the center of the Icarus. The explosions rocked the entire facility, until the entire thing gave way, and split in half, the beam of light discontinued firing on the Planet.

"LongSword Squad to ground teams, that laser thingy is out of order, awaiting orders..."




Location: Planet 'F' (Space Anomaly Monitoring Station)
Year: 2551

"Whoa, uh sir!" Said a Crewman, pointing to his screen.

An old, wrinkly man stepped up, and gave a quick look at the monitor. "My God, it's the size of a small moon! Crewman, get the Fleet Admiral on the line!"

"Ay sir..." He replied, tapping on his console. A light on his station flashed, acknowledging receiving the call.
"This is the Planet 'F' monitoring station, we're detecting a large object that just jumped out of transwarp with no Covenant warp sig detected, it's... Unknown. Roughly the size of Planet 'A', it's heading towards the HALO..."

The response didn't come, until the Fleet Admiral appeared on the screen. "Do your other systems report the same Crewman?"

"Yes sir."

"And it's not an asteroid?"

"No sir, I'm detecting weird energy readings from it, but I cannot penetrate the hull." He replied.

"Well..." The Fleet Admiral began, when suddenly the signal was lost.

The entire station went out, lights flickering. The backups came on, and so did a new communication. "Sir, I'm getting a message from the object."

He played it:

"Unknown Invaders, evacuate your worlds and exit through the HALO. Ask no questions, do not attempt to fight, or face destruction."

The message was text only, and the signature was in writing of an unknown language.

Suddenly a beam of light came from the object, and fired on the small asteroid sized moon of Planet 'F'. In seconds the light disappeared, the moon turned to dust, leaving nothing left, the Forerunners had arrived...

To Be Continued...

True Purpose(13)
Date: 9 July 2003, 4:33 AM

True Purpose
The 8 Ball Rolls


Location: Perul City (Planet 'A')
Year: 2551

Hundreds of Pelicans landed in the tall grassy fields just outside of Perul City, where there was very light patrol. Hundreds of Marines poured out of each ship and began running towards the burning buildings, AR's at their sides.

The Troopers were ready, each holding their own plasma rifles. There were only 22 of them, but it would be enough.

"Charge the infidels!" The Commander said, running towards the grass fields.

The battle ensued quickly; plasma fire hit dozens of marines before they could get a Trooper in their sites. Screams of agony fell across the blood stained fields. No one could find anyone; the grass was just too tall. Like Raptors, they snuck behind them quietly.

The Troopers had the advantage, activating their motion tracker, and beating each marine over the head with a growl of success.
Pelicans soared overhead, providing small amounts of machine fire to assist the battle, but many of them fell to the ground in defeat.

"Pelican Fleet, this is Sergeant Roberts, request immediate extraction!" He said over the comm., staring at his bleeding foot.

A Trooper stepped on his face hard before he could get an answer, the heavy armor squeezing ever bone to a pop. The Elite troopers took his foot off, staring into the eyes of the dead marine, and dug his fun into his brain, growling with pride.

The Marines and Troopers stopped suddenly, hearing a hissing noise from the sky, and looked up. Above them, hundreds of Long Swords were opening their bomb bays, each locking on to a Trooper. Each bomb had a mind of its own, tracking the Trooper like a cheetah, the back end blazing with smoke.

The Green Suited Troopers tried to outrun them to Perul, but made it short, each getting hit by their very own bomb. One after another, the bombs fell with a crash, setting the dry grass ablaze. It was a 6-minute battle, but already it looked like a long dead battlefield. Everyone was killed...



Location: Underground HQ (Planet 'A')
Year: 2551


The dank and dark Fleet Commanders office was in an uproar of chatter from every Human owned planet:

"—It destroyed 'F'!?!"

"—What do we do now sir!?"

"—The Covenant have contacted Central Command on Planet 'B'-"

"—do we fight?"

The Fleet Admiral, rubbing his temples suddenly yelled "ENOUGH!"

The office fell silent as the Fleet Admiral turned to the Intel officer.

"Now, what exactly happened?" He said slowly.

"An object, about the size of this world came out of an unknown type of transportation, we're thinking artificial wormhole. After analyzing our main computer, it sent us a message." He said, pointing to a large screen, showing the message.

"It is as we feared sir, the people who created HALO have returned. We've tried contacting Guilty Spark but we couldn't get a hold of him. The Flood have taken over HALO, so the Forerunners are here to exterminate."

The Fleet Commander's eyes widened, "But how will we get out of here?"

"They have ordered us to evacuate through the HALO within 48 hours. We responded with a simple question, which we were told not to do, and so they retaliated..."

"By blowing up Planet 'F'?" Fleet Admiral responded.

The Intel Officer nodded shaking his head afterward.

"What's the status on The Chief rescue?"

"We contacted our only Under Sea station, a research station, and they're sending one of their subs on a rescue mission."

"Who's Captain?"

"Captain Lathrup sir..."


Location: UNSC Sub Philadelphia
Year: 2551


"Steady as she goes Ensign, let's not arouse suspicion." The 60-year-old male captain said to his helmsmen, sipping a cup of coffee.

"Bridge to Barracks, everyone suited up out there?" He said through the speaker.

"Yes sir, just give us the signal and we're out!"

"Excellent. Helm, move us into that Loading Dock and bring up parallel to the station. We detect he's in there..."



Location: Covenant Under Water Station
Year: 2551


The Chief dodged shot after shot of plasma, shooting his own once or twice to bide his time to think of something. He looked down through the clear glass, and saw a Ghost speeding across the Loading Dock.

"This must be my lucky day..." He said, punching the wall with his fist, smashing the glass.

Waving goodbye to the Elites smugly, he jumped off the Bridge, careening to the ground 50 feet below.

Time seemed to stop; everything went slowly forward, like a Snail. He could see the Ghost below him, and he reached out with his arms to grab the end.

4 Feet...
3...
2...
1...

SLAM!
His hand hit the end of the ghost hard, his body hitting the floor. With all his might he swung around, kicking the Elite in the head, knocking him off and grabbing the controls. Ahead of him was the end of the Loading Dock, a liquid like force field keeping out the water.

"Chief... Chief please respond!" Said a voice in his head.

"Chief, head through the force field, we'll meet you out there." The Voice said, fizzing out at the end.

Doing as he was told, he set full speed towards the field, smashing through it, and suddenly feeling like a million pounds. He was sinking down farther and farther through the water, black as night and empty save a few small fish, the pressures on his suit becoming un-bearable.

Then he hit something, The Sub. Looking down, he saw he'd landed on the registry:


UNSC Philadelphia
Research and Scientific Vessel
Reg. # 7771

He stood up to see a hatch open at the top, with people in underwater suits signaling with their hands to get in. The Chief ran as fast as he could, when suddenly a burst of plasma hit the hull. 3 underwater Ghosts where coming at them at full speed. The normal sized Ghosts were given extra fins for mobility, and a stronger hull, impervious to pressure or bullets.

"Crap!" He said through the comm., running as fast as he could. He jumped inside with the rest, and closed the hatch. The Marines took off their helmets and greeted him.

"Welcome back Chief. Looks as if someone infringed on your copyright. That suite has helped the Covenant take 'A'." A Woman said.

The Chief looked astonished as he held on to a bar, feeling each pulse of plasma hit the hull.

"Other bad news as well. The Forerunners have arrived and ordered us all through HALO before they blow it up. To mean they were serious, they blew up Planet 'F'."

A tough looking black Marine pushed his way through the crowd. "The Admiral will be glad to have a chat with you about getting our home back."

"I'd be glad to help." He said raising his rifles. "I'm getting my suite back..."



Location: Planet 'M' (Prophet Council Chamber)
Year: 2551


"What do we do? Must we leave? Or do we fight?" A Green suited prophet said.

"You saw what they did to 'F', they could just as easily do it here! We must go for the sake of our children!" A Purple one responded.

"We've beaten them before, we can do it again!" Said a black one.

"Yes, but we lost our old home world in the process. Can't we try to negotiate? Tell them that we'll help fight the Flood?"

The Gray Leader nodded his head, "Negotiation is the answer, but not with the Forerunners."

A grim shock swept across the many Prophets.

"You don't mean the HUMANS!"

"It's mad I tell you!"

"I'd rather die!"

The Gray One raised his hand quietly, "There is no other choice. A temporary alliance must occur if we are to win." He said, emphasizing temporary.

A Monitor in the center of the room lit up, a Grunt appearing, "Yes me Lord?"

"Contact Planet 'A'..." He began, before realizing they owned Planet 'A', "I mean, Planet 'B'."

The screen went blank for a moment, giving the Prophets time to whisper about the nonsense of the plan.
A Human Admiral came on the line, looking quite disgruntled.

"Come to gloat you savages?" He said.

The Prophet smiled, "We're too evolved to express our grand victory in words. But no, we have not come to gloat. The Vessel heading for HALO, it must be destroyed."

The Admiral nodded, still with an angry look in his eyes, unsure of their motives.

"Any ideas? Down here we've come up with a few plans, none good enough, or stupid enough to work. Most of our civilians have packed up and have taken the first shuttle through the Ring."

"As have ours. But before you dismiss our idea, I must tell you I have met this foe before...


=== Flashback ==



"Commander, get this ship out of here!" The Prophet screamed from the back of the Drop Ship, green balls of light flying past in a barrage of explosions.

A group of 5 Drop ships were on their way back from the battle, the giant spherical enemy still lumbered towards their planet. The Forerunners had come to destroy everyone in the sector, after their Ring was disturbed. The Command Prophets had ordered them to enter the vessel through a small tunnel and destroy it from the inside out.

"Foolish plan. We've lost the entire armada!" The Prophet screamed, staring out the back as green bolts continued to be launched.

"Sir, we can't outrun it! We must ditch the planet and head to the Home World.

The Ship stopped dead in its tracks and turned 90 degrees to the right, shooting into warp like a bat out of hell.
Inside, the Prophet breathed a sigh of relief, watching the hellish black orb disappear from view.

"SIR!!! It's FOLLOWING!" The Elite Pilot yelled.

From behind, the plethora of stars disappeared, giving way to the giant ship, black as night.

"We've lead them to the Home World. My God, what have I done?" The Prophet said, dazed.


== Present ==


"What followed I cannot say in words. We came to a halt; the Forerunner Vessel passed us by and came in orbit of our Home World. A Large blue beam came out of its side, incinerating it. This cannot happen again."

The Admiral lost the anger in his eye, and listened intently. "If you're saying it can wipe out planets, what chance in hell do WE have?"

"Our Race was not prepared, our numbers far too few. We can stop them, together."

The Admirals eyes widened, "Together? An Alliance?"

The Gray Prophet nodded profusely, "Yes, yes! Your nuclear warheads, and our Troopers can wipe out the insides! Our fighter wings of Long Swords and Banshees can take out the defenses. It would be a grand attacks!!!!" He hollered at the scream.

"Together..." The Admiral was still chanting. "I - I'd have to go over this with the Fleet Admiral, but... together." He kept saying, closing the comm. channel.

"Then it is done..."

To Be Continued...

True Purpose(14)
Date: 11 July 2003, 9:49 PM

True Purpose
Shaking Hands With Guns


Location: Planet 'B' (Civilian City)
Year: 2551


"We have breaking news..." Said an announcer on the monitor.

The entire city hushed, arching their necks to stare up at the large screen that the whole city could see. A woman holding a stack of papers was the anchor.

"Planet 'M', the notorious home of the Covenant in this galaxy, has just contacted Military forces on this planet. No word yet as to what transpired, but sources theorize an alliance is being made, to counter the unknown alien threat. More coverage as it develops..."

Almost everyone in the city went into an uproar,

"They can't do it! Their scum!"

"—It's a trick, a god damn trick!"

"—We must turn to GOD at this time of crisis..."


The riot was becoming more and more dangerous. UNSC Soldiers were sent to stop the mob, picketing signs and throwing rocks into windows. Cars were flipped over, and fires were started.





Location: Planet 'B' (Military Center)
Year: 2551


"The damn fools..." Admiral Forrest said, watching a video monitor in his office, streets of people chanting their disapproval.

"It's as if we wanted the alliance. God knows the last thing we need is to lower our guns and shake their hands. Taking over Planet 'A', then asking for help."

"I wouldn't be surprised if that ship was theirs." The Admirals secretary commented as she stepped into his office, handing him a pile of paperwork.

"The News is calling it the '8 Ball'."

Before Admiral Forrest could continue, a video feed came from his desk. "Jo—jo -nanan -john! I- isssss th—that you? Thank God! The Forerunner Vessel has diverted to Planet 'C', which is where I am. Apparently they're getting frustrated with our speed of evacuation."

"What evacuation?" Forrest responded.

"Exact - ly. As it-t-t-t gets CACA Closer, -- we ke-eep losin-ggg powwerrrr. I don't know..." The screen went dead.

"What the hell happened!?" Forrest shouted, making his secretary jump.

A high-ranking officer ran into his office, sweat dripping down his forehead, "They've destroyed 'C'."

"My GOD! 'F' was one thing, it was small, but C! It was as big as where we sit now. What about debris? Any rocks headed our way?"

"No sir, it turned to dust!"



Location: Underground Command Center (Planet 'A')
Year: 2551


"You've got to be shitting me." Is all the Fleet Admiral could say.

"Good news is that we can finally get out of this office. The Troopers have stood down." The Intel Officer said. "Here comes one now."

A green suited Elite walked past quickly, throwing his fists onto the desk of the Fleet Admiral, making two small holes. "So this is where you were hiding? If the alliance had been commenced one hour later, you'd all of been DEAD!" The deep, shrill voice said from inside the suit.

"What a comforting thought. I would suggest getting to your Drop Ship, they'll be departing soon for the attack."

The Trooper turned his head in confusion, so did the entire office of Humans. "Attack? When was this announced!?"

"I just had a talk with Prophet Grey, your leader. We've discussed options, and have finished plans on the full scale attack on the Forerunner Vessel." He said, handing him a piece of paper entitled, "The Plan":


"Operation 1: All Elite Troopers Stationed on Planet 'A' and The Under-Water Construction facility will be deployed to Planet 'E' and wait for assignment.

Operation 2: All Human Nuclear Warheads will be stockpiled on Planet 'E', and loaded into 15 Proto-type Cloaked Long Swords.

Operation 3: All Standard Long Swords and Banshee fighters will be deployed to Planet 'E', and await further assignment.

Operation 4: Attack."


The final operation seemed plain and decisive, making the Trooper laugh in his armor, the visor shaking. "I praise your plan Human." He said, throwing his right arm over his chest in salute, walking away afterwards.

"What about us sir?" A comm. officer said quietly.

"We stay."





Location: Pelican Drop Ship (en route to Planet 'E')
Year: 2551


The news of the alliance finally caught up with the Chief. He hated the idea of the Covenant on his motion tracker being a yellow color. He wasn't trained all his life to fight Covenant for nothing.

"Sarge, why are we heading to 'E'? I thought Standard Attacks began on Planet 'C'?"

The black Sergeant shook his head in disbelief, his mind obviously still on the disaster, "You would be correct if it hadn't been incinerated." He replied bluntly. The Sarge took of his hat, revealing a baldhead, and put it to his chest and closed his eyes in prayer.

This had caught the Chief off guard, and now found himself not caring of the Covenant, but looking out the back of the Pelican, seeing the black ball, the Forerunner Ship, sit idly by HALO, as if to taunt him to fight.

"And fight I will..." He said in a whisper.



Location: HALO
Year: 2551


"Thank you for coming so quickly!" Guilty Spark said as a greeting to the cloaked and hooded figures that were stepping into an office-like chamber.

"Do not think of it as a sign of friendship you foolish piece of outdated hardware!" One hissed like a snake.

"We're only here because of your foolish mistakes. A single breached door, and you couldn't handle it. Now the Flood are covering the entire Ring, and all your Sentinels are gone." Another one, in a deeper voice said.

"But - but was it necessary to destroy the Humans' planets?" The Guilty Spark said in a nervous voice.

"They are an infestation. No better than the Flood. We allowed them to leave. Gave them 48 hours. Only the Civilians have gone through. The Military, if you could even call it a Military, is still there. We were forced to do it." The deep voiced one said.

"All part of the cycle..." All 3 of them chanted, including the quiet one. The repeated it religiously, "The Cycle.... Cycle... Cycle..."

"Yes, the - the cycle." Guilty Spark said in a sorrowful way.


"Commencement of the HALO cleansing will begin tomorrow, January 1st." The quiet one said, his voice in between the two others.

The high-pitched voice one turned to the deep voiced one, "I think it is time to bring him out. The Cycle will be complete soon."

The deep voiced one nodded, and they all vanished from sight.


To Be Continued...

True Purpose: The Finale
Date: 13 July 2003, 4:31 AM

True Purpose
The True Purpose


Location: Planet 'E'
Year: 2552


Lieutenant Marshal Walker sat in his cramped cockpit, his co-pilot Marcus Flen right next to him. The sat quiet in their Long Sword, watching outside as other Long Swords, along with Carts filled with nuclear warheads were being attached to the wings.

But worst of all, the sight of Banshees, hovering in midair, and Troopers, green clad demons were getting into their Drop Ships.

"I can't stand the sight of it." Marcus said breaking the silence.

Both Mark and Marshal had been in a squad together when the Troopers had first landed. They were the lucky ones; they survived.

"I keep telling myself it's for the greater good, but I can't seem to believe it. I've been out here since we first found HALO. Nothing would please me more than to shove these nukes up Planet 'M's..."

[Pilots...] Said General Ferguson over the comm., stopping Marshal's swears.

"Yes sir?" Marcus replied after a light chuckle at Marshal.

[You have your orders correct?] The General replied.

"Yes sir." Said Marshal, holding a green slip of paper. Usually their orders were pages upon pages, but this time, all they had was a sentence and a picture with an arrow.

The Picture was the Forerunner Ship, an outline with a few details, the only things sensors could get, being unable to penetrate the hull. The Sentence:


"Fire Nuclear Warheads."

An arrow pointed to certain spots on the ship, signifying their importance.

[You do? Excellent. The cloaked Long Swords will launch in 30 minutes, with or without you, gentleman. So stay on your toes, Ferguson out.]




"Here Chief, we got this Shipboard AI from one of the cruisers, she'll be keeping you abreast of communications and tactics." A Soldier in a white coat said to the Chief.

Mark was standing on the side of a long airstrip, along with some marine doctors and engineers. They made sure every program and nerve was working properly. Even he couldn't make out the things they were checking.

"Aerodynamic giga-drive auto-sequencer?"

"Check."

"Multi-Valve elastic join booster?"

"Check."


The doctor with the AI inserted the tiny chip into the side of the Chiefs head, causing a ringing in his ears.

"Well, doesn't really suite me, I'm a bit used to galactic starships, but this'll do." The woman said in his head.

"Don't get used to it missy, I don't plan to take long." Mark replied, shaking his head, as if there was water in his ears.

"Master Chief, I'm just trying to do my job. Eww!" She screamed.

"Ah!" The Chief said, "Not so loud! What's the problem?"

"When was the last time you cleaned your data processor? There's gunk all over it!"




"Troopers, to your post!" General Maron, chief of Covenant Strategy and Tactics said to a line of 8 Troopers.

Each of these massive green clunks of armor ran quickly from their chatter, mostly about ways to kill Humans once the alliance was over.

"The High Counsel, along with the Human Fleet Admiral have both created your orders. I hope you all have them?" He asked in a loud angry voice.
Each Trooper nodded their bulky helmet in acknowledgement.

One Trooper, named Sardok, looked at his palm that contained a small screen that was activated. On it, flashed his orders:


"Board Drop Ship. Once you have made it to your destination, eliminate all Forerunner forces."


Sardok chuckled lightly so General Maron wouldn't hear, and looked back up.

"Now, you know what you have to do, kill the Forerunners. The faster you do, the faster you kill these Humans!" Maron shouted, raising his rifle and firing a few bursts. The rest of them did the same, and then quickly strapped themselves in on each arm of the Drop Ship.




Location: Forerunner Battle Cruiser (Bridge)
Year: 2552


"Computer, zoom in, sector 22-32-2." Said a high-pitched voice, emanating from a dark robed and hooded figure.

The entire bridge contained no walls, or ceiling. It was simply all completely white, except whatever he wanted to appear.

A door appeared out of then air, and out came another hooded figure. "What have you found?" A deeper voice said.

"The Humans and Covenant have amassed a small army on one of the moons. Intercepted radio signals tell of an attack on us." The high-pitched voice said with a cackle of laughter, looking at a view screen that seemed to be floating there. On it was Planet 'E', with many Long Swords and Troopers walking on the surface.

"They don't actually think they'll win?" The deep voiced one replied in a shocked voice.

Everything fell silent, when a booming voice came from out of nowhere, his words spread across the entire plane of nothingness.

"DO NOT FORGET THE CYCLE. ODDS CANNOT ESCAPE IT."

Both hooded figures looked around anxiously, worry in their voice. " Y - yes master! Of course, the cycle!"

"I - I never forgot!" The other said.


"FORGIVEN YOU ARE. DO NOT MAKE SUCH WORRIES ARISE AGAIN."




Location: HALO
Year: 2552


"They will destroy us!"

"But how can we fight. We must kill. Death to them!"

"Lock us up for millennia, and now death! The scum!"


Even in a state of half death, Sergeant Collin felt his head pang stings and soreness. Too many voices filled his ears. The Flood voices would not be able to be sustained in a human body.

The parasite within him controlled his mind now. He couldn't move, or stop, or fight. It was a terribly painful ordeal. But still, he was tempted to listen to the hive mind.

One voice seemed to accumulate all of the opinions, and form words.

"We must find a way out. Search for a ship, shuttle, anything!"

The parasite that invaded Collins body was not taking good care of his body. Already he limped, his face torn and smashed. His entire body was a sick yellow, no hair on his head.

Even parts of his chest simply fell off, and no blood fell. It was hell inside his very own body.




Location: Forerunner Battle Cruiser (Bridge)
Year: 2552


The view screen vanished from view, while again like magic it re-appeared. The hooded figure seemed shocked when it happened.

On the screen in their foreign writing:

INCOMING TRANSMITTION FROM HUMAN PLANET #2


Intrigued, he activated it by simply thinking to.

A woman in a blue dress sat at a desk, the camera facing her with paper in her hand.

"Recent updates on the Human/Covenant alliance. Military activity on Planet 'E' has reached a critical high, while some witnesses from Civilian towns claim they saw Banshees being escorted by Human bombers. No word yet on the actual plan to stop the unknown alien."


The hooded figure hissed like a snake. "You cannot stop us." He said, closing the link.


A swirl of wind hit the hooded figure that made him shudder and turn around. A cage appeared, roughly 4 feet high with metal bars. Inside was a Human Marine.

"We'll fight you with our last ounce of strength!" The Private hollered in a raspy voice, obviously he'd been through a lot.

Right next to him, a very tall hooded man appeared from thin air, his hand on the cage. It was the booming voice man.

"Calm yourself Mr. Chip Nicholas."





Location: Planet 'E'
Year: 2552


Inside the cockpit, Marcus and Marshal watched as one by one, the 14 other Long Swords activated their cloaks, and shot off into space. They were second to last in line.

"Alrighty then, engage impulse engines." Mark said once #13 flew off into space.

"Engaged. Running 100% efficiency." Marshal replied.

"You sure do keep that exhaust valve clean." Mark commented.


"My girlfriend says I have a knack for it." Marshal replied, laughing.

Before they realized it, they were airborne. Mark still hadn't gotten used to the feeling, or the beautiful view he got miles above the surface. Everything was so peaceful, quiet and relaxing.

"Our 4 Warheads are armed and ready." Marshal said automatically.

That one sentence made Mark drift his head up from Planet 'E', and look at the giant black sphere that was dwindling in distance. The knot in his stomach tightened, his palms began to sweat. This is what he feared.

"You ready to save our asses?" Marshal said.

Mark nodded.




"And your joint enhancing systems, I've never seen so much residue and plaque! This is the dirtiest motherboard I've ever seen. You know I can recommend some excellent de-greaser for your..."

"CAN IT!" The Chief said to Mary, his AI.

"Chief?" General Ferguson said worried. "Whom are you talking to?"


"Forget it. When am I due to leave?" The Chief asked, changing the subject.


"The Pelican is waiting for you outside. It'll take you inside the Forerunner Vessel, and from there you can... negotiate with them." The General replied. The Chief knew was "negotiation" meant, and clutched his Battle Rifle tighter.

He said goodbye to the General and went out the door of the control tower. Ahead of him, a Pelican sat on a runway waiting for him.

No breeze touched him; the air was still, holding its breath for him. The hazy sky denied him a shadow, something he could do without.

"Something wrong Chief?" Mary asked.

"No, uh, nothing." He replied. He sprinted for the Pelican, grabbed a seat and gave the thumbs up to the pilot. The launched upward without another sound, and he found himself once again in space, on his way to "negotiate."




"Time to landing: One minute and forty four seconds." A computer voice said in the Covenant Drop Ship. Sardok sat, mediating in his straps, trying to block out the chatter of the other three in his arm of the Drop Ship.

"So then I grabbed a plasma grenade and chucked it over a hill, hoping to hit something. Next thing I see, this pitiful Human comes running toward him, and a plasma grenade on his head!" A Trooper said, rumbling the arm with his deep laugh.

"What about you Sardok, got any war stories? Or were you too busy mediating to fight?" A malice voice said, punching him in the arm.

Without a word, Sardok grabbed the arm and twisted it, causing the Trooper to scream for mercy. It gave everyone else a good laugh. "I prefer quiet before I enter battle." He said softly.

The others, not wanting a beating quieted.

The entire Drop Ship began to shake, and the dim lights within the arm flickered. Sardok tapped a console on the arm, "What is happening?" He shouted at the Pilot.

"I - I'm losing control! Energy loss is at critical! I'm reading the same on the other 5 Drop Ships. The cloaked Long Swords cloaking device just lost power."

"Can you fix it?" The Troopers with the hurting arm asked.

"This is exactly what happened before the planets were destroyed! Oh God! A light is coming from the Forerunner Ship!" The Pilot replied.

Sardok and the other three Troopers couldn't see a thing inside, and relied on Pilot descriptions for help.

"The - The light is getting brighter! The ship is turning to face Planet 'H'!"

Without another word the entire Drop Ship knew what was about to happen. "Oh no."



The build up gave way, and a wide beam of light struck Planet 'H', disintegrating it in seconds. Nothing was left.

"Entire cities. There were millions of Covenant forces there. When the Humans planned to attack, we moved practically everyone there! Their all dead!" Sardok shouted, making the arm vibrate.

The lights flickered again, and the Drop Ship was shaking harder than ever before. "Energy lost again. Life Support is failing!" The Pilot shouted.


"We need to eject the arms!" Sardok said.

"Activating decupling sequence."

Before anyone could protest, both arms shot off of the main body, retro-rockets firing.

"Now what Sardok?"





"Damn! I'm able to keep their cloaking shield steady, then another power drain hits!" Marcus said, hitting the controls with his fist. The glass on the screen cracked, and cut into his hand.

"God!" He said, clutching it with the other hand.

"Any longer in the Forerunner's energy field and we're gonna lose Life Support Mark!" Marshal said tapping controls so fast his hands were a blur.

"Energy losses up to 70%. We won't last much longer!"




Location: HALO (356 Guilty Spark Office)
Year: 2552


The door to the office flung open, revealing two hooded figures, both stepping in slowly, as if the floor was plagued.

356 was connected to the wall, receiving new data. He decupled from it, "Hello." He said. There was something wrong about how he said it. And his blue aurora was dimmer.

"Guilty Spark, you need to power down the Environment Simulation Processors before we destroy the HALO. If not it could cascade." The high-pitched voice one said with a hiss.

"Yes, the Simulators." 356 said dully.

The deep voiced one was the first to comment, "Guilty Spark, is there something wrong?"

"Wrong? Nothing is wrong." He said, "Would you please excuse me, I must release the locks on all the doors, so the Flood may be released into the open areas." He said dully, activating a computer terminal.

"WHAT? We have Research Teams down there to pick up rock samples before we destroy it! You can't!" The high pitched one said hissing.

356 did not respond until, "The doors have been opened."





"Rock sample 1121-D has been extracted, I'm heading back to the ship." Came a Forerunner Scientist over the comm. A single hooded Forerunner sat inside the ship, monitoring their progress.


"Excavation Party D, status?" He said.


He waited for a minute, but no response came. "Party D, come in please." He repeated.

Sighing, he activated the Party A comm. channel, "Party A, can you give me the last known coordinates of Party D?"

"Last time we saw them they headed into a rock tunnel near the cliff edge." A woman responded.

"Must just be interference then, Command out."

A knock came at the door to the small shuttle. "Yes?" He said. No one was supposed to be back yet except Party B, and they were miles away.

No answer came from outside. He opened the door warily. It was Party D. "Where the hell have you been?" He asked.

Giant tentacles came from the Forerunners chest, slicing off his head.





"Guilty Spark, I demand an explanation! We've lost contact with the Excavation Team! What happened?" The deep voiced one bellowed.


"I released the Flood. Is there a problem?" He replied in a one toned voice.

The high-pitched voice one took a scanner from his robe and shot it at Guilty Spark.

"The Flood has tampered with his logic sub-routines." He said, taking out a smaller version of what looked like a plasma rifle. He fired, and the blue ball disappeared into particles.

"We'll have to destroy HALO, with or without rock samples I'm afraid."






Location: Forerunner Battle Cruiser (Bridge)
Year: 2552


"Let me go!" Pvt. Nicholas shouted, shaking the bars of his cage.

The loud bass filled voice of the Forerunner Captain replied, "AS YOU WISH."

The bars vanished from thin air, leaving Pvt. Nicholas to stand full. He charged the hooded figure, fists flying. But like magic, a piece of wall appeared between him and the Captain.

Nicholas slammed into the wall, his nose was now broken.
"DO NOT FIGHT ME, CHIP. I WANT TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING." He said eerily.

The wall vanished, and suddenly the entire wide void disappeared. Now there was blackness, utter blackness. Chip couldn't see the floor below him, but his feet felt it. The blackness ceased, when a few stars could be made out. More and more appeared, until the stars began to form familiar patterns. He'd seen these before.

"When I was sitting in the cockpit of that Long Sword, my oxygen running low, I looked into the stars. We're in space, near the HALO aren't we?"

"WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER AFTER SEEING THE STARS?" The deafening voice asked calmly.

"I was - I don't remember. I guess I was transported here."

The hooded man nodded his head. "WE TOOK YOU FROM THAT COCKPIT, AND SAVED YOUR LIFE. YOU WOULD'VE RUN OUT OF OXYGEN OR HEAT SOONER OR LATER. THE MASTER CHIEF FOUND A CLONE OF YOUR BODY WE PLACED ON THE COVENANT CRUISER. HE THINKS YOUR DEAD."

"He does? But, how, why..." Nicholas stammered.

"Why me? Why'd you take me?" He asked.

"IT WAS YOUR TRUE PURPOSE." The Forerunner Captain replied.




Location: The Chief's Pelican
Year: 2552


"This is Echo 1-11 to Command, I'm getting some interference coming from the Forerunner Ship. I can't seem to maintain oxygen flow or thruster control. Please respond."

The Chief was eavesdropping in on the conversation when he began feeling the ship bob up and down uncontrollably.

"Echo 1-11, we ---- seem to ---- Forerun------ disruption in the -----." The signal fizzled out and died.

"Can you get them back Mary?" The Chief said to his AI.

"No, damn! The ship is emitting tachyon particles movie at a high velocity to..."

"I don't need a science review Mary, can you bypass the problem?" The Chief yelled angrily, making the pilots head turn.

Mary mumbled some numbers and words Mark had never heard before, "I - I might be able to. Hold on."

A sudden jolt struck the Chiefs suite, as his ears were filled with static. Slowly it started to turn clearer, a man's voice was apparent.

"Got it!" Mary said finally.

"Master Chief, do you read me?" General Ferguson said in a worried tone.

"Yes sir. What is the situation?"

"We're using Mary's technique to block out the interference from the Forerunner Vessel right now. So far, it's been a success." He said.

"Oh, yes thank you." The General said in the back round, talking to someone who just handed him some papers. "I just got word, all of the Long Sword Fighters are back in action. We'll relay this to the Covenant. Ferguson out."

"Now, on to battle." Mary said.





"Yes, it works! I got the cloak back online Mark!" Marshal said from the front cockpit. Mark was in the back fiddling with wires.

"You can stop trying to electrocute yourself now." Marshal snickered.

"Very funny," Mark replied, sitting back down, "I was TRYING to keep the Life Support on and save your sorry ass. Seems to be my job nowadays."

Marshal gave an insulted look, "Who pushed you out of the way of an oncoming Ghost on the Planet 'B' takeover? I recall it was me!"

"Oh please, I would've ducked, and besides, I..." Mark began before Marshal lifted his hand sternly.

"Wait..." He said in a whisper, staring out the front window, "Something's happening to the Long Swords up front."

Mark turned to look at what he was talking about. The Long Swords seemed to have slowed down once they were within firing range of their targeted areas.

"Tractor beam I'd bet." Mark said.

"Maybe we should head back so we're not caught in it."

But it was too late; the Long Sword shuddered, and began to slow. Strangely they didn't get repelled away, but they were slowly being pulled into a small hole in the surface.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!" Mark shouted, firing the frontal thrusters. "We're not stopping! We're heading straight inside along with the others!"

"How'd they see us?" Marshal shouted calmly.

"Something tells me their technology is a BIT more advanced." Mark replied.




Location: Forerunner Battle Cruiser (Bridge)
Year: 2552


The Bridge was no longer an image of space, but had returned back to its original white nothingness. Two chairs had been created, and a giant screen in front of them.

Pvt. Nicholas and the Forerunner Captain sat there, watching an image from the surface of the ship. There he saw the Covenant Banshees and Long Swords be pulled inside the ship.

"What are going to do to them?" Pvt. Nicholas asked in fear.

"EXAMINE THEM, BIOLOGICAL TESTS, SEE THEIR ORGANS IN DETAIL. WE ARE NOT SIMPLY MINDLESS KILLERS, WE ARE EXPLORERS AS WELL. AS WE HAVE NOT YET ENCOUNTERED HUMANS, WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO DO RESEARCH."

"Research!?" Chip shouted, standing up from his chair, "You're talking about killing innocent creatures, against their will, for the sake of simple interest! You can't do that! It is immoral!"

The Captain nodded, "WE ARE AWARE OF "HUMAN MORALITY" AND ARE QUITE FASCINATED BY IT. WE LOOK FORWARD TO LEARNING ABOUT, AS WE HAVE NO SUCH MORALS."

Pvt. Nicholas looked dumbfounded, "You don't understand! You must let them go! Let me talk to them! I can tell them to call it off and..."

"CALM YOURSELF YOUNG HUMAN, THIS IS THE WAY THINGS ARE MEANT TO BE. IT IS THEIR TRUE PURPOSE."

"True Purpose!? What does that even MEAN!? What is their true purpose? How would even know their true purpose?" Chip shouted, pushing his chair over, watching it vanish from thin air.

"WE ARE ADVANCED IN MORE THAN JUST TECHNOLOGY. OUR MINDS ARE FAR MORE COMPLEX. HALO WAS JUST SUCH AN EXAMPLE."

"Was?" Chip asked, more relaxed and intrigued.

"HALO IS A DEVICE OF THE MIND. IT IS BOTH SPIRITUAL, AND A TEST OF MENTAL STRENGTH. IT WILL ONLY REVEAL ITS TRUE PURPOSE, TO THOSE OF VAST WISDOM. ...US."

The screen suddenly shifted from the Long Swords to a glimpse of HALO. It was changing before their very eyes. The ring began to turn, faster and faster, until finally it was a gray blur.

But in the middle, a great purple vortex, like the one that sent his ship through from the Threshold system, emerged in a vivid flash of light.

"What in Gods name is that?" Chip asked.

"ITS TRUE PURPOSE. THAT WORMHOLE LEADS TO FORERUNNER SPACE."

"What will happen to the Humans... and the Covenant?"

"THE LUCKY FEW WHO DARE PASS THROUGH IT, WILL FIND THEMSELVES IS AN EXOTIC WONDERLAND OF HAPPINESS. THOSE WHO STAY WILL SADLY DIE. HALO SOONER OR LATER MUST BE DESTROYED. THE FLOOD CANNOT ESCAPE."

"Sir?" Pvt. Nicholas asked kindly.

"HMM?" The Captain bellowed?

"What's my True Purpose?"



"THIS... ALL OF THIS. IF YOU HAD NOT GONE THROUGH HALO, CAPTAIN MARSHAL WOULDN'T OF ALTERED COURSE. IF HE HADN'T, HIS SHIP WOULDN'T OF BEEN DESTROYED BY THE COVENANT. THE SPARTAN WOULD NEVER HAVE FOUND HIMSELF ON HALO, OR TAKEN TO HAVE HIS ARMOR COPIED. SERGEANT COLLINS WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN RE-DEPLOYED, THUS NOT RELEASING THE FLOOD, WHICH IS WHY WE ARE HERE."

Pvt. Nicholas's eyes widened, "I caused it all. It was I."


"IT WAS YOUR TRUE PURPOSE."



The End.

True Purpose: The Sequel
Date: 10 August 2003, 10:52 PM

      True Purpose
      The Sequel


We are a lost cause. The brink of our destruction is at hand. Our supply chain, destroyed by beings from another galaxy. HALO, the ring-world. It was our lifeblood, our airway into our own galaxy. But it also brought the Covenant, beings with the will to destroy us all, a reality becoming all too clear. At least, that is what I thought.

The Forerunners, the ancient beings, destroyed HALO, but not before creating a gateway into new worlds, a place where we would be happy and peaceful. Some went through, cowards not willing to fight for their race.

Now that the large Forerunner battleship has gone, we are all that is left, marooned on 13 moons, no ships, and no way to contact the other Marines on the other moons. We fought for our breath. But we did not fail. We never fail.

My name is Mark Hess, and I am a Soldier.





Location: Planet 'C'
Year: 2555


It was another hot day on the desert planet. The bunker, filled with rows of beds, began to steam by mid-day, the soldiers sleeping there, sweating. Mark Hess was one of them. Outside, plasma flak roared overhead, while Covenant forces began to get closer and closer.

"Copy that Recon." Mark said, a radio to his ear. "Say again, you have 3 Wraiths inbound with Ghost support? Roger. Moving out."




What we didn't know was the Covenant too was falling apart. Most went through HALO, and the ones that stayed were in the same struggle for life as we were, no supplies, and no way off the desert planet of 'C'.




"Ok boys! Wake up! We got Covenant hostiles inbound. Let's put petal to metal! GO GO GO!" Mark said, his Sarge cap strafed to the side. His dark brown skin was beaded with sweat, and his two strong hands, holding an AR, were sweatier by the second.

He heard the grumbles and moans of his exhausted officers. "Don't go sissy on me now! You don't get up and there won't be a bunker when you awake! Let's go! Warthog Teams to your posts! ST Manners, on the roof! The rest of you mutts, wipe the sweat off your face and arm yourselves."





Drang stood atop his now stationary Wraith, eyeing the small, one house base off in the distance.
"I see two Stationary Turrets on the roof. A garage to the side holding two of their Warthogs is opening. We should fire our Wraiths, and send our four ghosts in as cover fire."
General Maroon nodded, and patted Drang's back in salutation. "Very good Drang. Maybe they even have water." Maroon said, licking his teeth.




We were losing the war against the Humans. Neither them nor us knew it, but I did. I watched as the wretched scum destroyed what was left of our troops, and wipe out our deserted cities, plundering the water from our storages.
It was an ironic fate for our great Empire. We would look up during the night sky, and see the main planet, which all our moons circled. Entirely made of water, gleaming in the sun. We would look up and lick our teeth, grabbing stupidly with our hands.
Things would change, I thought. We would rise up, wipe out the Humans and build a spacecraft to retrieve water. I felt sorry for the forces on Planet 'K'. It was a totally volcanic world, no water at all on its surface. They must've been dead by then.
But late at night, I'd lay on the roof of my Wraith, and look up at the stars, thinking there was something more. Thinking that I had a True Purpose.








We were winning the war. I knew it, but no one else did. I thought that if I did, our morale would go through the ceiling, and our guards would be put down. I'd tell my men that if we died, it would be over. I knew there were hundreds more Marines, but I couldn't tell them.
It is a question that haunts my mind everyday. Should I have told them? Or did it not matter either way?
Still I remember them, all of them. When they died, and I lived, my world seemed over. But what they did, no, what humanity did on that fateful day in the year 2555, would save us all, and save Earth itself.


It was my True Purpose. It was their True Purpose. Humanity stood against the Covenant, and together, we all would come to peace.


To Be Continued...

We are NOT Bungie, Inc.! Bungie Inc. are bungie.net!
Halo © Bungie Inc., 1999-2012, Microsoft 2012-2024
Intellectual © halo.bungie.org, 1999-2024