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The Long Ride Home 12: Home Is Where The Heart Is
Posted By: Joshua Barreto<jrunfire@yahoo.com>
Date: 6 January 2003, 6:45 pm
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Luthos had just been updated on the status of VILO. It seemed the moonbase was beginning to collapse in on itself. To make matters worse, Cortana had tampered with the moonbase's systems to cause a self-destruct sequence. And yet, above all that, Master Chief reawakened the captured Spartan cyborgs. Luthos' picture of retaking the base began to slowly go up in flames. His own officers in command began to question his authority. "Commander, I must implore you. We all plead that you reconsider this campaign and lead us all back into good favor with the rest of our brethren. There is word that they have found the homeworld of the humans, and that a grand invasion is underway." "Yes, my Commander, it is truth from the knowledge that we speak. All we ask is that you end this foolish planning and reassure our admittance into the Covenant. The Kir'Dun will rise again in time, as a revered fleet within the ranks." Luthos turned to them, and let out a grin. He looked at the communication console that was used as a means to keep in touch to authority when the armies invaded a place. He then looked back at them again. The officers began to choke. "Foolish planning? You are calling me a fool then, are you not?" He walked casually to the officer." You are right." "Sir?" Luthos grabbed the Elite by the back of the neck. The others didn't know what to think, so they just watched in uneasy expressions. "I'll contact the leadership. We shall be off this place immediately." "No need for that Commander, I have already called upon them to come and assist our effort to be off. They should be here for talks at any moment." Luthos only smiled. He turned around and spoke to the other officers there. "This here, brothers, is one worthy of promotion. You shall all wait here until I order otherwise. As for you..." he wrapped his arms around the Elite. "...come with me. Because you have the qualities to lead this fleet, you shall be the first to witness dimplomacy in the airs." They both climbed aboard a Bandit. It began to ascend vertically, and then spirally, toward the flagship over the moonbase's structure. The officer was now becoming glad in all he had said and done. Luthos kept his grin. "So how much time has passed since you called upon the Covenant leadership?" "A few minutes before our discussion, Sir." "And when did you believe my plans became incompotent?" "Oh, sir perhaps when the human escaped our captivity and watch, sir. It has never been found for you to lose your watch on any of the humans, sir." Luthos' smile slowly faded away. It was replaced with a hateful snarl, teeth showing. He then grabbed the Elite, detached him from the seat and opened the hatch. "S-sir! Please, I do not understand!" The officer looked down, and saw the Covenant forces like little bugs now. The wind and height were both dizzying. "Oh, come now Velonius. You are a more suited leader for this fleet..." he bore all his sharp teeth at the other Elite. "...NOW LEAD!!" The other officers didn't know what was going on. But they knew that Velonius' ride up would be his last. They were at the main entrance to the structure. The huge arched doors were open to the sandy fields of the moonbase. "Do you believe the Commander shall indeed order our forces from this now wretched stronghold?" "I believe so, but Velonius shall not leave. I spoke with him before hand, and warned him to appease the Commander first." "Truth in its entirety, you speak well. But the commander has been in dire need of..." All of them became silent for a second. They could hear the sound of a loud, deep, screaming voice, coming closer, and closer... "AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!" SPLAAAT!! Velonius' body burst into a thousand pieces in every direction, just ten meters from where they stood. His left eye found its resting place on one of the officer's shoulders. Purple/lavender blood left its mark on the others. The officers stood there in shock. * * * Rajihn was awakened by the Council's voice. He was dazed and aching. He tried to focus, but the fog was thick now. He tried to come in contact with the rest of his crew. There were a few life signs left that were strong. All others had either died from the, or been wounded and caused their signals to slowly fade. The fall, he though. He now remembers yelling at the top of his lungs, along with the others, that fell when the floor caved in. "How far down are we?" "We are deep within the recesses of the base Rajihn. The creatures have begun their second phase of propogation. They are now beginning to poison the air with their vile spores, thus the cloud that hangs over us." He was finally able to see through the fog. They were all within a huge, cavelike tunnel, overhung with those bulbous growths now. The eerie glow from these 'trees' made a dim green light throughout the area. As zombies rising from the grave, the Elites and Hunters slowly began to stand up. "Ready your weapons. Slay our brothers who are susceptible to the blasphemous enemy, and save them from the fate that awaits them." Shots rang into his ears from every direction at once. He could also sense movement-and it wasn't his crew. "Prepare for battle!!" Just then a downpour of flood warriors dropped in on their parade. The bewildered Elites and Hunters could only retaliate once they were attacked directly. A flood warrior appeared from the fog and whipped Rajihn across his skull. Had he not been wearing his armor, he would have lost his head. He shot it quickly as he overcame his sudden dizzyness. Green beams of light streaked overhead, exploding a couple of meters from the group. The intense heat from the plasma burned through some of the fog, causing it to clear up a little. "My dear Hunters. Fire across the air, it is burning these 'spores' as Council has named it." Fuel-Rod guns went off, creating what seemed like a bubble of fresh air in the dense smog. One of the Elites growled as he was dragged into a crowd of the flood. Rajihn threw a grenade into the group. After what was about ten minutes, the last shots of the small conflict went off. As quickly as they had come, the flood receded into the darkness and hiding places within the cavern. Rajihn was able to get a head count. Only about 50 or so of them left. "As one body!" They all got into their formation. "We have our orders. Let us continue on and find the humans!" "The change in the air is evident. The flood have begun to grow their way of multiplying over our moonbase. We must find the 'heart' quickly, for it is near the end of our time here. If we do not find it, the human will, and then he will flee. We must capture the human, Rajihn." The flood had immediately begun work on their cavernous dwelling within the moonbase once the captured Covenant vessel, Mist, crash landed there. They honeycombed the moon, and then attacked the Covenant, easily overtaking the mere 2000 or them. It housed scientists and a few soldiers, but it was mainly a research base. It was so discreet that only a few fleets were to respond if any beacons dispatched to them. The Kir'Dun, headed by Luthos, was made entirely for them. But orders were orders, and Luthos' final orders from the leadership of the base, was to capture and return any of the remaining Spartans within the humans' army. Luthos instead had disobeyed them in returning, for his deep hatred burned, along with his ambitions, against the flood. He made it a personal obligation to return and wipe them out. Rajihn had no cares about Luthos' ambitions from the start. He had already been wounded on Reach, due to Luthos' insubordination in one battle. Now he was going to die, a renegade no less. It saddened him to know that his afterlife wouldn't be so grand because of this incident. This was only further proved by the presence of the vision he had, with the Angel of Death. WHACK!! A dull, metallic thud hit the ground. The party turned around, seeing one of the Elites, facedown with blood foaming at the mouth. Something moved. WHOCK!! Another Elite, down on the floor. This time Rajihn felt chills run up his back. "All Al'djurians, back to one another, lowered down now!!" The Elites got into a tight circle and crouched down, aiming their weapons forward. "Fire your weapons!" Shots fired in every direction. Some flood warriors materialized, as the shards blew on their chests. They had cloaking abilities. There was a loud explosion. "Rajihn! The 'head' has been destroyed. We are within the control room, and above us are...the humans!!" Humans? Rajihn tried to make sense at the last bit of information. They were supposed to be after one, not a whole crew. "Council, what other humans are with the Angel of Death?" "Continue on, Al'djurian. You are in the midst of battle. Let not these things trouble you." Just dim, the dim, eerie green glow, was being replaced by a bright, orange yellow light. A huge fireball feel down, and rolled, leaving a blazing trail of flames in its wake. Another downpour of the flood came a few moments later, and the two sides were back at it. The flames spread throughout the cave and onto the bulbous growths. Rajihn and his Elites began to get seperated. "VILO shall destroy itself within the next half hour! The human's computer has initiated it!" How was it possible? The human couldn't possibly manipulate Covenant technology that advance on this base. Rubble and metal beams fell down from the darkness above. Chunks of rock and granite pummeled and landed on characters at random from both sides. Rajihn ducked and rolled from one such, bomb. The Spartans fell, and didn't know for how long, because of the thick fog. Finally, one of them hit some slick, oily surface that covered soft dirt, and rolled down it to level ground. The others landed in the same manner, some of their shields flashed from the hard impact. Master Chief quickly reacquainted himself with his surroundings, hearing gunshots and seeing movement near and around the fire, just 20 meters from their position. "Chief! This place is crawling Sir! The covies are fighting, but their in our way!" The Master Chief looked in the directin Jake was pointing, and saw an Elite he recognized. Rajihn had just taken out a flood warrior and dodged some falling rubble. "Let's move! We haven't got any time before this place goes up!" He led the group, dodging falling debris and firing away at the oncoming flood. "Rajihn, take heed! The human walks with the others in the direction of the heart. Follow him, for their idea is that of escape." The Elite looked at the Spartans. He Shuddered at their presence. Two of them were bigger than him, and the others were quick, and nimble. They rolled, jumped, and dodged falling rubble gracefully. He could only imagine what seven Spartan warriors could do, if only one destroyed an ancient weapon, along with an armada. "All Al'djurians, follow me!!" His bellowing roar made the Chief and his Spartans look back. They saw the oncoming covies. "They won't kill us, they're intending on capturing us Chief." Jake's voice came on the comm channel. "Good, then let's kill some covies!" "No. Let them follow us. They'll keep our flanks cleared by doing so. Move out, DOUBLE TIME!" They sprinted on, passing falling debris and exploding bulbs of ooze and floodlings. They ran until they came upon a huge hole carved into the sandy subterrain of the moon. They instinctively switched on their headlamps as they ran through. Rajihn and his Elites and two Hunters chased them frantically. Flood fell on them from all directions. Whatever flood warriors didn't die from the Spartans, vented their frustration on the Covenant Elites. Rajihn and his crew punished them accordingly. Both sides emerged into another, huge cavern. It was aglow with the flood's trademark eerie green color. The source of the light came from the hanging pulsating sac, this time much larger than the others. It hung 20 meters off the sandy ground, and ascended to 100 meters high. It was at least 75 to 100 meters round, and oozing out a slick oily substance through its shiny skin. Every few seconds, a puff of a greenish-yellow gas would vent out from numerous holes on the upper half of the abherration. The seven Spartans, along side the Covenant Elites were frozen in awe for what seemed forever. Totally oblivious to each other, they stared at what they had finally been able to utter from their mouths. "The Heart." The pulsating started to become more and more frequent. It started to twitch and twist on its numerous vinelike tentacles that kept it suspended above ground. The Spartans and Elites were startled, and took a step back. The 'heart' continued its erratic behavior, until the tentacles ripped themselves from the cavern, and uprooted from the sands. The pulsating sac fell those twenty meters, landing with a loud, echoing, thump. Dust and gaseous fog flew everywhere from the epicenter. The shockwave threw the two other species flat on their backs. Immediately afterwards, the flood washed over them, whipping, clubbing, grabbing, thrashing and stomping them. "Chief!! Sir!! Our shields won't hold up much longer!!" He knew this was true. His shield gauge was going down rapidly, and they were low on ammo. The timer for the base's self-destruct was now at 18 minutes. He was running out of options. Then he saw where the flood were coming from. Rajihn was trying his best to kill the creatures, but they were overwhelming both him and his Elites. "Council! How are we to defeat these creatures? And what do you plan, on getting us from this place?" "Retrieve he human, Rajihn. That is your duty." He saw the Master Chief running full tilt toward the Heart. His Spartans weren't far behind. "All Al'djurians, capture those humans!" Master Chief leaped over a score of the flood warriors, and smacked into the awkward leviathan. Its pulsating waves caused him to move in unison with their rising and lowering crescents. The slick oily covering made it difficult for him to climb. "We need to get to those tendrils at the top. Once we destroy that, it'll die off. That area seems to be controlling it." He punched hole after hole into the thing, grabbing, then pulling himself up. Three of the Spartans stood their ground near where the other four had begun their ascent. Dana saw a body-sized, spiral shape, open up like a sphincter. Out of the opening came three flood warriors, covered in a mucous-like substance, crawling toward her sideways. The sight made her want to puke. "Chief, you need to hurry, we can't hold out much longer. The moonbase is going up whether we get out or not!" "Glenn, can you stand your ground for another ten seconds?" "-Sir!- Yes I can. But be informed, it's getting hot down here!-" "Acknowledged. Dana, Joshua, Jake and I are almost at the top. When I destroy its sensory organs, we're going to need a path leading out our 10." A blip went off in his HUD. He could see the writhing tendrils, hundreds of them each about a foot and a half thick, and ten feet long. They were tipped with a tint of red, and split at the ends into two. They looked like snakes' tongues moving about in the air, in search of their next prey. More of the yellowish-green fog hissed from its numerous pores. He was now about one good jump up from them. "Joshua, toss up your rocket launcher." The Jackhammer flew up into the Chief's right hand. "Cover me, I'm going to kill this thing." The other three clung at different angles, shooting at whatever flood crawled afer the Master Chief. The Chief set his sights on the area with all the sensory tendrils jutting out. He searched for its core. He found it, its soft spot, and now it was time to put it down for good. These flood creatures, as he observed were weak in that area. When they were shot there, a small spark would ensue, and the creature would go down. "There." He saw it, a large, oval-shaped spot pulsating rapidly and glowing a dim green light. He aimed, the retacle turning red. Two projectiles shot off. The creature sensed the danger, and placed a tendril in its path. It blew upon impact, rotted flesh and blood everywhere. The other rocket passed through, unscathed, and hit the organ. The oval wrinkled inward, then blew out, sending sparks, bone fragments and flesh, ablaze in all directions. The tendrils writhed for a few seconds more, then dropped limply against the sac. The rippling waves slowed to a stop. The glowing ceased, and the flood warriors that were in mid-exit of the spiral openings, became stuck. "Sir? Are you ready to leave yet?" "Let's get out of here." He slid down the side of the sac, blasting away at the oncoming flood. He and the three that climbed with him, landed beside Glenn and the other two. Then the heart began to move again. It began to swell up, and pulsate alot more this time. The vents sucked in air, then closed up, to then repeat the cycle, over and over again. "Oh no." Master Chief knew exactly what it was doing. The only other flood cerature that behaved this way were the infected grunts, that became carriers of the floodlings. When shot, they would swell up and explode. The heart was doing exactly that. "Let's get to the nearest exit point and hit the deck!" "Marked one already Chief! Only 80 meters from it." They bolted for the red nav. point in their HUDs. Jumping, flipping over and charging through tide after tide of the flood, the seven Spartans pressed on. Rajihn and his Elites just then, from nowhere, seemingly, intercepted them. "Humans halt!" Rajihn pointed his gun at the Chief. The Spartans raised their weapons. The Elites raised their weapons. A flood warrior jumped at the Chief. Rajihn shot it in mid-flight. From the corner of his eye, Glenn saw a score of the flood warriors about to pound the Elites. He killed them with a fuel-rod blast. The Spartans and Al'djurians stared each other still. The Elites snarling and snapping their jaws. The Spartans taking beads on their targets' heads, and then planning where to send the next shot immediately afer. Another flood warrior jumped toward an Elite. Dana stopped it in its path. The Elites and Spartans stood still, shooting at any flood that came within their range, saving each other's enemy. "Chief, we haven't got much time for this. Get us the hell out of here!" "I know Cortana, we'll be fine." "Rajihn, capture the humans, and let us return to the surface as victors." "Do not be foolish, Council. We are in no predicament to take prisoners. We need all the arms we can enlist." With that last phrase, came the sound of a thousand bones, flesh and stones, breaking, cracking and stretching. The Heart was almost near its breaking point. The ground began to shake. The Elites and Spartans looked up at it. "I'm leaving now. They're going with me. I'll leave you here to decide what to do." John 117 motioned to the others, and quickly took off, moving swiftly between the ranks of the Elites and passed them. Rajihn ran quickly to catch up with the Chief. "You are cunning, and I have seen your works, human. Give me knowledge, how do you plan on your escape?" Rajihn shot a flood warrior, clearing a path for the Chief. The Spartan was cautious in talking anything with his enemy. His instincts screamed to kill him. But he knew that his this group of the Covenant were a help for now. "That opening ahead leads up into the tunnels. We're going to ride the main elevator, once we get to it, up to the roof. From there, we're going to take Luthos' vessel." "-Very clever human.-" Master Chief recognized the voice. It was Council. "-Our forces up there are waiting to slay you and your brothers." Ten minutes were blinking on the Chief's HUD. Cortana spoke. "Phase 1 of the self-destruct sequence has been started Chief. The base's infrastructure is failing. We better get out fast, or we'll be entombed!" "Council speaks truth human. Luthos has begun the cleansing of our base, with the Kir'dun. They are thousands strong, and bent on your death. Do you reconsider, or have you lost your senses?" The Spartan looked at the Elite, without pause in pace. Rajihn couldn't understand how this human could simply face such a threat and...then again, he was the Angel of Death. The two parties reached the structure's main tunnels again, still being chased by the flood. An explosion shook the huge tunnel. "The Heart must've finally exploded." A metallic scratching sound of stress rattled the Master Chief's teeth. The tunnel floor began to twist and turn, popping apart the interlocking patterns of its metallic tiles. Rajihn saw his Bandits, still hovering in the place he and his Elites left them. "This way human! You are to follow me!" The Elites took the lead with Spartans close behind. Huge pieces of the tunnel began to break apart, due to the stress incurred by the heart's explosion. The many bulbous growths no longer glowed or pulsated. They boarded the Bandits, now only filling two. The Spartans all sat in the same side of one. "Let's get out of here." The Bandits lifted off, turned around, and flew up the network, blasting away any flood remaining. "Commander, the humans have destroyed the Heart!" "They live?!" "Yes, my Commander. The traitorous Rajihn and the Council have them in their Bandits, alive as well. They are on their way here." A grin shot across his face. He was pleased about something. "VILO is soon to be destroyed, Commander! Shall we withdraw our forces?" "No, Nilona, prepare a group to capture those humans, they have done us all a favor. Our forces may have been infected in any case. Council has done well, it is pleasing to have this knowledge." "Commander? The traitorous Council?" The two Bandits reached the lobby, and immediately took out the score of turrets that lined it. Four Banshees took flight, and rained white-blue blasts on the dropships. They dodged the shots and returned fire, blasting them out of the air. "Prepare for battle, Al'djurians!" Elites on the ground, twenty in all, along with four Hunters, began firing at the dropships. One of them were hit in the aft section, blowing the compartments apart. They hit the ground and lit up with blue flames. The Elites jumped out and began firing at the others, trying to fight them off. "AARRGGGHHH! YOU SHALL DIE LUTHOS!!" "-I believe not, my young Al'djurian warrior.-" "Chief! I'm picking up energy signatures on the seats." "-Luthos, the humans have been captured, initiating shackles.-" Energy bands held the Chief and the Elites on Rajihn's Bandit to the seats. "Council? What is this? You...you betray me?!" "-Tis a simple matter, Al'djurian warrior. You merely followed command. Of course, it was in a rebellious action. Therefore, you must pay your dues.-" "I WAS FOLLOWING YOUR ORDERS, COUNCIL! YOU ARE THE TRAITOR!" "-It is impossible for artificial Al'djurians to be a traitor.-" The Spartans all looked at Chief for their next line of action. They began to worry. Chief hated them being worried. "Cortana, what can you do?" "I've already begun hacking into their computer systems, Chief. The Bandit's been customized, and under control of the Council. Everything's incredibly encrypted. I have to go in. Wish me luck." She traveled into the Cov.net, through numerous alien data pathways, trying to make connections and disconnecting commands all at the same time. A virus began to upload into her programming, but she fought it off. She saw an opening in the communication program, and she went through until she hit a block, sent by the Council. She decided to lure him out. She opened up her databank, holding valuable information on Halo, then her findings on VILO. The Council became curious, and started a download/intercept program. She shot ahead, and saw him. Council was levitated amongst billions of Covenant symbols and numbers. Before he realized she got through, she initiated a rewriting of the download, filling it with the same coding used for VILO's self-destruct sequence. Because the symbol's were similar to what he had been downloading already, he didn't realize what she did. "What?! What are you doing here human?" He stood there, floating in this cyberspace. He had the body of three Elites and muliple heads, morphing in and out of his body. She sent the coding into him, with some miscellaneous information she retrieved on Halo. He tried to purge the download, but it was too late. He started to break apart, numbers and symbols going haywire, cyberspace turning into streaks of white and purple lightning. "Immm-poooosssiiiiblllle!!" He disappeared in a brilliant white flash. Cyberspace was now white with with two Covenant symbols, translated as saying: PROGRAM REWRITE? Cortana input:NO. She exited his now void program layout and started to break at his lock-up program. He had made sure it would be difficult, since each individual's codings were different and vastly encrypted. "Chief, I've got some good news and some bad news." "Spill it Cortana. We're getting close to elevator platform, can you get us out?" "Well...I defeated the Council AI. The bad news is that I'm only going to have enough time to unlock one of you Spartans." That last phrase struck at his heart. He promised himself that all of his Spartans would make it. He was helpless again. He thought long and hard. He chose Kelly, she was quick, the fastest one there. She could easily out manuever the Covies and board a Covenant vessel and make an escape. "Kelly, get ready..." "Sir..." She looked at him, hesitant of what she had to say."I can't go." "Blue-two that's an order..." They all looked at him. Glenn gave his mind. "Sir, you have Cortana. You can take control of an enemy vessel, and use it to track us. Remember what our mission objectives are. You have to go, sir." The energy bands around his arms and feet shut off. They all blipped on his HUD, signalling acknowledgement of what had to happen now. A rock built up in his throat. "I'm interfacing with the controls, we'll be by the elevator platform soon." Luthos saw the dropship make a sharp turn toward the elevator platform. "Council, speak to me. Why have you deviated from your course?" "-BEEEP. I'm sorry, the party you are trying to contact is no longer available." Cortana's voice infuriated him more than he already was. "The human construct. What have you done with Council?!" "Humans, Covenant, AI's, you boys are all the same. Easily wooed by a woman's touch. Too bad mine was deadly, in a matter of speaking." He saw a nearby Ghost, and hopped on it. He charged after them. The flood had resurfaced again, harassing the Covenant in the area. Elites struck blows on the creatures, Grunts flew about, and Hunters and Jackals attacked and peppered the viral subjects with bolts of intense heated energy. Luthos dodged a hot blast from a fuel-rod gun. His shield flickered from the intense heat. "I SHALL SLAY YOU HUMAN!" Foam built up at the corners of his jawas. With one hand piloting the Ghost, he activated his plasma sword and began slicing any flood he came across. He accidentally ran over some Elites, but he didn't care. The Bandit's side hatch opened, revealing the platform, covered with debris and dead bodies. Master Chief looked at his Spartans. He looked at Kelly. "Go sir. Win this for all of us." He jumped onto the platform, rolled and ran for the activation console. The Bandit immediately twisted around and resumed its course that Cortana broke for the moment. "Can you track where the dropship is headed, Cortana?" An explosion shook the elevator. "Yes. It's going to the Covenant cruiser, The Breeze of Zeal. Their going to be held in the brig of it. Maybe when we get off we could..." "No. We have to fulfill our mission. We must capture and bring back a Covenant ship to ONI." The elevator gave a screech and jerked. Just before it started to rise, he caught a glimpse of Luthos on his Ghost, flying toward him. The elevator started to ascend. Luthos rode his Ghost, until it was about ten meters from the elevator. He jumped out, momentum carrying him to its rim. He hit the edge and grabbed on. The Ghost continued on, flying beneath them into the darkness of the shaft. He pulled himself up and rolled sideways inward before the edge of the ceiling caught him. The Chief aimed his weapon. He pulled the trigger, and it gave a dull click. It was empty. He stood there, explosions ringing around him, huge chunks of stone and metal blowing off the walls, some landing on the platform. Luthos rose, staring ahead at the Spartan. Master Chief stared right back. An explosion sent a ball of flames and sparks to land behind the Elite. Huge chunks of rock landed behind the Chief, ablaze with bright orange flames. Luthos activated his plasma sword. Master Chief did the same. A blue-green color reflected off his visor as he stared down his enemy. Flames surrounding them, explosions shaking the platform and rocks and debris raining harshly upon them, they stood there. They both had an understanding. They both nodded their heads in this understanding. They both understood, that at the top of this structure, there was going to be only one, left standing.
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