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Buried Treasure: The Finale
Posted By: Frensa Geran<frensageran99@hotmail.com>
Date: 29 September 2003, 5:19 AM
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Buried Treasure
Taking Down the Horsemen
Once the Elite Warrior was down, John knew the decision he had to make was upon him. He had to leave Marla.
"Marla!" John said, throwing the Plasma Rifle. "Take it, and use it if you run into trouble."
John closed his eyes just so he couldn't see the stricken look on Marla's face. When she began to ramble about why he needed her, he tried to make himself def. The idea that he actually cared for her appalled him. He was a Soldier, how could he even think of caring for someone?
"You can't go. I can't let another Human die in what appears to be their darkest hour. Go; go back to your ship, fly away from this planet. Avoid the Covenant and head back to your Father. I'll take care of this ship, and save this planet." John said, walking away.
He didn't dare turn around, but simply looked around for the purple orb ship. He found it in seconds, nestled in the thick brush surrounding what once was Hundrid Colony.
Getting inside the ship was easy, but with so many controls, he might not get off the ground. He tried the first lever, and pulled it forward. Nothing.
The Second lever he pulled to the left. A low rumble was heard outside the ship. Then he tried the first lever again, and he was launched in the air at lightning speed.
It appeared the ship was automatically heading to the city-large complex orbiting the planet. It was exactly where he wanted to go.
"Prophet, the countdown has begun. The Planet will be destroyed in one half hour." The Jackal Assistant said, cowering in the shadow of the Prophet.
"Excellent work. Prepare the engines for hyper-speed. I don't want a fragment of the planet to hit us." He said.
"Y-yes Master." The Jackal replied, waddling out the door.
The comm. of the purple orb automatically activated as John came into sight of the massive station: "Pod 112, please identify." A rough voice said.
Time passed, while John thought of his very grim options.
"Pod 112, I repeat, Identify yourself." It said again.
John's mind was racing, but the best thing he could think of was far-fetched, and doomed to failure: "I've come from the Planet." He said.
"Checking the crater for survivors." John said in a deep voice.
The comm. was silent for a few moments. John began to sweat. Did they believe him? "Pod 112..."
"Proceed to Docking Bay Section 132." And the comm. clicked off.
John sighed, and his yellowy glass eyepiece fogged. Time was of the essence, and there wasn't much of it left.
Klang sat at his station, still pondering the odd behavior of Pod 112. He dare not report a hypothesis to the already over-stressed Prophet. He decided to let it go for the time being.
But he wouldn't let it escape his mind...
From that point on, the Pod drove itself, landing square in the middle of a large open bay, with a forest of other pods. He had no idea how he would make it 4 feet without being spotted.
Looking around this futuristic Covenant vessel, he noticed a few changes. Almost ever part of the ship was no longer hull, but thick plasma. If he touched the floor, it would ripple like water. It fascinated him, but not being a scientist, he didn't know what to make of it, and moved on.
He moved like a cheetah, from one pod to the next, avoiding groups of Jackals, each covered from head to toe in shield plasma. It would be utterly impossible with his 1000 year outdated weapons to kill them. Stealth was his only option.
Moving closer to a double door, he spotted what looked like a sinkhole, or maintenance shaft of some sort. He lifted the lid and looked down into it. All he could see was a single ladder, going down into the bowels of the ship, covered in darkness. It was exactly what he needed.
Klang had personally watched the arrival of Pod 112. Strangely, as it landed, something jumped out quickly that did not look like an Elite. The green armor was familiar, possibly a Wraith Captain, he thought. But something about the way it moved confused him. Its stride was more like a man beast.
"Security to Pod Chamber 4, we have an intruder."
The ladder seemed to go on forever, and darkness encroached him as ever step led him closer to the bottom of the ship. If Cortana taught him anything on HALO, it was the layout of a Covenant Ship. He only hoped it still was the same 1000 years later.
After an eternity of decent, he finally felt his feet touch the gel-like floor of the ship. Activating his flashlight helped a bit to see around. He was in a small, cramped room, covered in controls. There were three entrances: The ladder and two opposite entrance hallways. He'd remote mine the hallways, and listen carefully for someone coming from the ladder. But first, he needed to finish his job.
The first control he saw was only 3 Covenant numbers, counting down:
6:45 - 6:44
Next to it was the word countdown, and the word "destruction." He wished Cortana was here now, and do all the work for him. But he had a responsibility to Marla, and to Humanity.
"It appears this shaft was entered. We have no maintenance teams scheduled." Security Elite Darmok told Klang.
"So it is an intruder?" Klang asked, his anger growing.
"I spoke personally with the Prophet. He seemed shocked by the news. Mumbling about green Gods if I remember. We'll send Jackals first and investigate, sir." Darmok replied.
"Excellent. Carry it out."
Ever time of Covenant Computer splicing trick he ever was taught, no longer worked. He didn't know what it meant, but after every command, a red symbol appeared, and a siren went off, reverberating off the plasmatic walls.
"Damn, there's nothing I can do!" He said, thinking as hard as his brain would let him. "I could throw something in the generator of the weapon but I don't know where it is!"
The moment he shouted that, the computer bleeped, and directions appeared on the screen. Perfect, he thought. It was two floors below him. He grabbed the rails of the ladder, and skidded down.
"We've found remote weapons of some sort, but the perpetrator is nowhere to be found." The Jackal security commander said through the comm. "We'll continue the ship-wide search.
"Affirmative Commander, good luck. The firing will take place in 2 minutes."
The Chief was already looking at the generator by the time the Jackals had arrived to the floor above him. It looked similar to the HALO generator, but green, and much larger. The walkways around it were very thin, and a computer console rest just off the entrance to the catwalks. It would've been completely dark if it weren't for the eerie green glow of the Generator.
He pulled out a plasma gun he didn't recognize that he took from the purple orb ship, and fired a shot at the Generator. An invisible shied caught the plasma, and nothing happened.
"GLENOK. DERON LARGH RACHIIIN!" A computerized voice said. Whatever it meant, it wasn't good. The Jackal security party made it down the ladder, firing shots at the Chief. He dodged them, and hid behind the Generator.
All the Jackals were completely covered in shields, and there was nothing he could do to stop them. Everything seemed hopeless. He pondered something.
Would he of cried? If Dr. Halsey never took him in, if Chief Mendez never taught him crying was a sign of weakness, would he of cried? He looked up at the daunting green stream of energy. He knew it would only be seconds before it fired. He put his hands forward, and saw his hands slip easily beyond the shield. Before he could even think of the proper course of action, time froze.
He was a boy. He was standing on top of a hill, pushing boys off of it, dominating it. In the distance, a pretty girl and a man were sitting on a bench, watching him. He remembered this day clearly, but there was someone else there.
A man walked up to him, and shook his hand. His voice was faint, but he could hear it.
"Hello John." The voice said.
He responded, "What's happening?" Chief asked. He couldn't see the mans face, as it was covered by a Marines hat.
He took the hat off, and smiled like a mother to her young. "You are back where it started. You are here because I have something very important to tell you."
John gasped. Chief Mendez stood right in front of him. The man that taught him all he knew. The Man... the Father he loved.
"You know what you must do John. It is right in front of you."
The image changed. He was on the hill in summer, and on a catwalk, staring at the Generator. "This is the end of your journey SPARTAN-117. You are dying to save Humanity, just like you always knew you'd die. When you do what you must do, a change of power will occur. The Human armies hiding in the shadows will emerge with new confidence. They'll repopulate the Earth, and destroy their Covenant enemies. All because of you John.
I must go now."
"Sir! No! Stay!" John screamed. But it was too late, and the plasma fire continued.
He stared blankly into the Generator. As if his bodily suddenly went limp, he fell into the stream.
It felt good. He was letting go. He could hear the Covenant scream as the entire ship imploded. He smiled, for the first time in 1000 years.
Marla watched from below, the explosion glinting her eye. "God." She said.
"John."
The End.
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