I'm doing this new story because there are an extremely low number of Halo/Borderlands stories. This takes place at the end of Halo 4/beginning of Borderlands 2. Chief thinks about what Cortana told him, about being a machine. Thus, he decides it is time for mankind to attain the Mantle and bring order and peace to this savage Universe. His first stop? The lawless planet of Pandora.
Chief POV
As I stood in the observation deck, gazing at our mother planet; I could hear footsteps. They were light and even. Captain Lasky had come to talk to me. He stood behind behind me, waiting for permission to come close. Respectable. I turned to look at him, he smiled slightly. "Mind if join you?" I couldn't believe this was the same cadet I saved back on Circinius IV.
"Of course not sir." being in the military as long as I have, old habits die hard, even in the presence of friendlies.
"At ease Chief. Feels kinda awkward having you call me sir." he stepped up and sighed while looking at the planet. "Beautiful isn't she? Don't get to see her often enough. Grew up in the outer colonies. Attended Corbulo Academy? Never got to see her until I was an adult, but, I still consider her home." he mused while observing the beautiful planet.
His past, I knew he attended Corbulo, after all, he was in his cadet uniform when I found him and his squad. It was rather hard to miss the Corbulo Academy for Military Science emblazoned in the material. When I hadn't made a sound, he sighed.
"You don't talk much do you?" again he got no response from me. "Listen, Chief. I'm not going to pretend like I know what you're going through. I mean, I lost friends, people close to me, but, never like what you're going through. She was your AI companion. Your closest ally." he was trying to make me feel better.
"We are soldiers, protectors of humanity. We must protect the innocent, no matter the cost." came my rather machine like response.
"You say that like soldiers and humanity, are two different things. I mean, we're not machines, we're just humans." he implied.
At this, I looked at him. He must have thought my sudden attention, was a sign for him to leave. He stepped back and nodded, "I'll let you have the deck to yourself." with that, he left.
Looking back out the window, my mind flashed back to earlier today, when she asked me to figure out which one of us was the machine. Ironically, it was I who was the machine. Though she was the construct, she acted more human than I have in the past 38 years of my life. We were made to protect each other. Though I feel as though I failed her. The Librarian was counting on me; she said I was a culmination of a thousand life times of planning. Had she been preparing all this time, for me to reclaim the Mantle? She had accelerated my evolutionary journey as a human, what else did I acquire when she did this? 'It is time. The Librarian, she was right. I am the machine no longer. I will reclaim the Mantle of Responsibility. It's time to correct the wrong in this Universe. Let us start with the worst condition colonies.' With that thought agreed upon, I headed to the main deck and stepped up to Captain Lasky.
"Hey Chief, feeling better?" he asked after halting his conversation with Commander Sarah Palmer.
"Yes. I have decided to take what the Librarian has gifted mankind with." came my less than informative reply.
"Which is?" he asked, prying for more information.
"The Mantle of Responsibility. It was what the Forerunners used to maintain peace and order in the Universe. It is our gift, our inheritance, and now I shall reclaim it. I need you to locate for me, the most hostile planet in known space." I requested.
"Um, alright. Roland, run a scan of all known and unknown planets in the UNSCs data banks." Lasky ordered the ship's newly acquired AI.
"Aye, aye sir. Just a moment Master Chief." the AI then went silent as he ran a diagnostics scan of the different quadrants.
"Alright, I found a source. Not a planet, but I believe it will help." Roland informed.
"What is it?" Lasky questioned.
"Some kind of interplanetary radio station. Never heard of it, but it's been around for a bit. It's called the Hyperion ECHO Radio Broadcast. Its signal is coming about 50 Light years from our current location. No UNSC have ever traversed the area because it's so far away from the national colonies. Would you like me to play its current broadcast? It's going live now sir." he informed.
"Yes please Roland." Lasky confirmed.
"Hey there guys and gals, Handsome Jack here! Looking for adventure? Not afraid to get a little, bloody and down and dirty? Well look no further than Pandora! This violent, and lawless planet needs to be saved! I, Handsome Jack, wish only to civilize the Borderlands and bring peace to this monstrous planet. So join me, and the Vault Hunters, as we hunt for the Vault! Not sure you wanna hunt for a mysterious, alien artifact? Here's a little nudge to help you in the right direction! According to myth, the Vault contains vast, and powerful technology and weapons! Wealth beyond your grandest desires! So come on down to Hyperion HQ, located in Opportunity on Pandora!" the broadcast ended.
"There you have it." Roland gestured.
"That guy sounds like a douche." Sarah muttered while leaning against the table.
"Well, he wants to do as we do. He wants to bring peace. Think you can drop me off on this Pandora planet?" I asked.
"You don't want us to help?" Lasky questioned.
"I need to do this on my own. If I sincerely need back up, I'll call." I wanted to do this alone, I made this more than clear.
"Alright Chief. If you really wanna do this. Roland, track that signal and give us a destination." Lasky ordered.
"Aye sir." with that, the AI began sifting through the ECHO transmission.
"Chief, what if this gets out of hand?" Lasky asked, he was being defensive on my account.
"Then I want you to intervene." was all I replied.
"I don't want to lose you, you're my friend. Just like Sarah." he said sternly.
"Fine, then stay on station over Pandora. If things get crazy, do whatever is permissible." I shrugged.
"Alright. I'll clear it with NAVCOM and FLEETCOM at Carinae Station." with that, he walked out.
I stood there and watched Roland sift through the coordinates, I noticed Sarah watching me before she finally said something, "you know, he's been wondering everyday if he'd see you again. You had a big impact on his life. You're his hero. His inspiration." she said.
"I never asked to be anyone's hero. It's just what happens when you save mankind." I sighed.
"Yeah, well most would consider it an honor to be loved by others." she glared.
"I don't. Not because I don't care, but because I don't want to let it go to my head. I'm stronger, faster, and more durable than other humans. I've saved millions of lives hundreds of times. However, I don't think it makes me better than anyone else." I informed, not wanting her to take it the wrong way.
"You're the symbol of hope though." she sighed.
"If anyone else was in my position, they could do the same thing." I looked at her through my faded, gold visor.
"No, they couldn't." she corrected.
"What do you mean?" I questioned.
"Think about it. Thousands have been conscripted into the ORION project, Spartan II, Spartan III, and Spartan IV programs. All of the first three programs Spartans? KIA. All except you. You are the only, and I mean ONLY Spartan II left. If anyone else could do what you did, they would have. They would be standing here with you." she had a bit of anger tinging her voice.
"You're standing here." I said.
"I'm an ex-marine. I managed to survive and get scripted into the Spartan IV program. I stay aboard the ship unless I am required for front assault." she countered.
"Hm, I guess I am all that's left." I realized.
"Yeah. You know, Tom always told me how he would have signed that release medical form back on Circinius IV in a heartbeat. Until you showed up." she muttered.
"Commander Palmer, please inform Captain Lasky when he comes back from the conference room, that I have located the planet Pandora." Roland brought up when he sensed the tension rising.
"Thank you Roland." she looked at me then walked out to find Tom.
"Spartan, we'll be initiating slip space jump soon. I would advise you get yourself prepared. A Pelican will be prepped to enter Pandoran atmosphere upon exiting slip space." Roland informed me.
"Thank you." I nodded.
"Armory is on the 13th floor of the ship. Elevator will take you right there." Roland pointed to the end of the hall where some Marines exited said elevator.
"Alright, let me know when the Pelican is ready to leave." was all I announced before heading to go to the armory.
The trip was short and easy, the armory being not too difficult to find in the least. Looking around, I saw weapons of various designs. From the standard M6H Magnum, to the basic M6 G/GNR Grindell/Galileian Non-Linear Rifle, designated "Spartan Laser". All were versatile, all were deadly. I didn't want to go in over powered, that was not my style. However, I did not want to go in unprepared. Scouring the equipment laying before me, I grabbed my standard BR85 Heavy-Barrel Service Rifle, the Battle Rifle as the Marines called it. Then, I grabbed two Fragmentation Grenades, I hooked them to the metallic clasp on my hip. I now needed just one more weapon, nothing over doing it, or leaving me defenseless. After thinking it over, I decided on the SRS99-S5 AM, the Sniper. It has seen some major upgrades since 2552. Attaching it to my back, I then moved to the abilities section. A Marine walked into the armory and over to me.
"Hey Chief, I was just putting some stuff away. Need any help?" he asked while observing the abilities.
"I need to decide which ability I'm going to take." I muttered while looking at the recent ones we got from the Prometheans.
"Well, the science geeks just made a prototype which allows the wearer to use every ability, however, there's a huge draw back to it. When you use it and let the timer run out, it takes a long time to reset. Like an hour or so. If you cut it off before it runs out, the amount that was left goes to the reset meter. Wanna take it for a test run?" he asked while holding up the small chip.
"Sure. Couldn't hurt." I shrugged and took it, though I was a bit hesitant to insert it into it's obvious spot.
Its shape and purpose reminded me of Cortana. For a minute, I almost expected her to pop up and give me the humor laced lectures she usually did. Nothing happened though. "Sir?" I barely heard him as the Marine stared at me with worry.
"It's nothing, I was just, thinking." I lied as I inserted the chip.
"Master Chief, report to hangar bay B, your Pelican is waiting and we are about to exit slip space." Roland called.
"Looks like I'm needed. Thanks again soldier." I nodded towards him and left.
Heading down the hall, I gazed outside the windows into the empty void that was space. The planet then finally came into view as we exit the jump. It looked similar to Earth, but, it looked dead. Like 90% of it was desert and ice. There was a moon, and some weird H looking satellite hung in the moons proximity orbit. Every now and then, it would shoot some kind of energy at the planets surface. COntinuing down the hall and into an elevator, I eventually made it to the hangar and boarded the Pelican. It took off for the planet and we soon entered atmosphere. The back opened and the dry, humid, desert air came rushing in. It made all the Marines cringe at it's heat and lack of moisture. "Man, that heat is killer! Glad you're the one doing this and not me." one Marine mumbled as the Pelican landed.
I stepped out and looked around, there was evil around me. Murderers, looters, hunters, and thieves. Some were not even human. Some alien species we did not even encounter. I stood next to a little woman, she had orange hair in two pig tails and she was non stop chattering into some device. Stepping up next to me, seemed to be a Commando from some army named Dahl. Behind him, was a woman with blue hair and tattoos. Then, a thin male (I assumed he was male by his physical appearance though I could not be sure because his/her face was concealed by a black helmet and their body was covered in a leathery suit.), was roughly shoved by some weird, insectoid looking female alien. It resembled a giant Drone, it even had wings. "Out of my way ASSASSIN! This is my spot in line!" she hissed as he was shoved into me after he bumped into some bulky, psychotic looking guy who pushed him away.
I held out my arms to keep him from falling, "you alright? Why didn't you defend yourself?" I asked as I let go when he stood up by himself.
"I do not wish to draw attention to myself." was all he said.
"I think you're wearing the wrong apparel then." the female with the tattoos said while crossing her arms over her chest.
He pointed up to a tower and then gestured around. We looked around and saw what he meant. There were multiple towers surrounding us. Electric fences kept us from leaving by any means, only allowing ships and trains to enter and leave. On the towers, were snipers. Their yellow and white armor glistened in the beating sun. Robots patrolling around looked like forces to be reckoned with for most. One of them walked up to the female that pushed the Assassin. They tried to get her to leave and she refused. This gained the defense forces attention and she tried to fight back. When they restrained her, she threw up an acidic substance which melted one of the bots. She tried to hack up more, but her head exploded as one of the snipers pulled the trigger. Purple blood and brain matter covered the immediate by standers. The speakers then screeched to life. "Hey there Vault Hunters. This is Handsome Jack. Please refrain from causing a disturbance or you will be executed. Like her. Also, if you are still alive and have not caused trouble, you will now receive an envelope from security. Inside the envelope will be one ticket to ride the Hyperion transport before you and a pass that will allow you to enter your DNA in Hyperions newly upgraded Regeneration Stations, or as those scum bag bandits in Sanctuary like to call it, the New-U station. This newly acquired technology will prevent you from dying. Should you fall in battle, cause, lets face it, you're all badass, but you're not THAT great; you will die eventually and be re-digistruct at a local 'New-U' station. However, each re-digistruct will cost you a sum of money. How much it costs depends on how much money is in your bank. Also, complimentary from Dahl, are these new digistruct backpack spaces. You can hold up to 12 weapons, artifacts, grenade mods, and/or ECHO recorders. Remember, you can also change your look at the Customization Station. Have a nice day and good Hunting!" with that, everything went quiet. Soldiers in yellow and white went around attaching some weird device to everyone, including myself.
The 20 Vault Hunters before us got into groups and got on the trains that stopped. As they got on, I noticed each one was handed an envelope, no doubt the one Jack had mentioned. Glancing up, I saw the Infinity hovering in Pandoras orbit. One final train stopped in front of me. As I got on, I received my envelope and took a seat. I noticed six others get on with me. The female with the tattoos, the thin Assassin, the girl with pig tails, the Commando, a short, muscular character and the tall psycho looking guy.
"This seat left vacant. Though you seem distant to us. Might I take a seat?" the Assassin questioned in Haiku.
"I don't mind. Though I would like to know who you are. All of you, as it seems we're to be in a team." I had noticed that the groups that left seemed to be discussing team work.
"So it seems. Well, I don't want any stupid name for our team. Let us just be called the Vault Hunters." the female with the tattoos announced.
"I agree." came the response from the Assassin.
"So, I'm Gaige. I'm a Mechromancer. I can summon my giant, home made robot, DT. I'm kinda on the run from Eden-5 because DT made one of my classmates explode because she pushed me and DT thought she was an enemy. So yeah." the excited female explained as she hopped onto the seat next to me.
"How old are you?" the blue haired female questioned with a raised eye brow.
"18." she answered with a smile.
"Uh huh. Anyway, I'm Maya. A Siren. I have some weird Mystical powers, which i have been exercising in my training. I have no idea where I was born, but I was raised by a cult called the Impending Storm on Athenas. They raised me to believe I was a protector, instead, they were using me to strike fear into the locals to extort money and power. I have no real knowledge about my Siren lineage, which is one reason I came here." Maya explained while leaning next to a locked door.
"I'm Axton, a Commando from the Dahl army. The army, was shit. It didn't have enough excitement. Yeah, there were wars waged, and won by us. There was money, but it all bored me. My wife sent to send me to death row and discretely told me to go AWOL as an alternative. I decided, why not? So I jumped into the back of a transport and traveled to a nearby planet. Started collecting bounties and such. Unfortunately, it started to get too easy. Then one day I heard this ECHO cast about Pandora. I was on the next transport to this glorious planet." he chuckled while tweaking something on his shoulder.
"Mi llamo Salvador. I'm a Gunzerker. I was born on this planet. I resided in the town of Ovejas near the desert plains. I have been charged for many things amigos; vandalism, public indecency, cannibalism, vulgarity, you know, the usual." the short, steroid enhanced man let out a hearty chuckle.
"Ew, you've eaten people?" Gaige asked with a disgusted face.
"Si. Tastes like chicken with a hint of paprika." Salvador joked, at this Gaige and Maya gagged.
"Never eating chicken again." Maya grumbled.
"My name, is Krieg, and I LIKE NIPPLE SALADS!" the psycho man shouted before shaking slightly and standing up fully. "Terribly sorry. He has been through a lot. Experimentation and what not. Indeed, his name is Krieg. He is a Psycho Bandit. However, he wishes to better himself. Please excuse his random outbursts." a calmer voice emitted from behind the mask.
"My name is unknown. Ninja to be hired. Assassin." was what the mysterious man inquired.
"Then what do we call you if you don't know your name?" Axton questioned.
"Those I have killed. They utter a name before, they die by my will." he recited.
"And that would be?" Maya pushed for an answer.
"Zero." he said simply.
"Zero? Why?" Gaige scratched her head.
"Because they are Zero challenge for me. As I am still here to tell the tales of my achievements." he was becoming annoyed at their questioning.
They all looked at me, expecting some gruesome story or outlaw redemption story. "Before you all even ask; no, I do not have a criminal history, I am not running from the law, nor have I gone AWOL. My designation is Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, Sierra-117. You may call me John, Master Chief, Chief, or S-117. I am a Spartan of the UNSC. I come here on a journey I must partake." I informed before they could ask me.
"Which is?" Maya asked.
"You would know if you had been affected by the war mankind has been facing for about 20 years." my response shocked them.
"There's been a war waged on humanity?" Maya asked.
"Hm, so the rumors are true." Axton mused.
"Rumors?" Gaige looked to him.
"I heard things while still in the army. Even on different planets, news travels fast. I had heard that on the far side of the Universe, a colony of humans were spreading amongst the Galaxy they lived in. This weird group of aliens tried to annihilate the colonies, they were searching for some ancient artifacts. Though not the Vault. Something else." Axton shared as much as he heard.
"The Covenant, they were hunting artifacts left behind by ancient aliens. They almost wiped the entire Universe clean of life. They believed in what they called The Great Journey. Which they believed to be their transcendence to immortality. However, the true ascendance to immortality was through the use of the Composer; which broke down organic tissue and fragmented the entities into metal abominations. The Composer is no longer a threat, I destroyed it with a Havoc Nuke. " I corrected his version of the explanation.
"A Havoc Nuke?! That is high end! They don't allow us to use those in even the most dire situations!" Axton stared at me.
"Try remotely detonating one 20 feet from the Composer." I checked my BR, making sure it was ready to go.
"You detonated it in close proximity too?! Holy Skagsacks!" he whistled.
"What kind of weapon is that? I've never seen anything like it." Gaige closely inspected it.
"My Battle Rifle? It's standard for UNSC soldiers of all tiers." I answered.
"Hey, you said you had some journey you had to go on. What journey? Why come to Pandora?" Maya asked.
"The ancient race that recreated all species in known space was known as the Forerunners. The Librarian, she encrypted me to be a savior of sorts. She told me, that I was the culmination of a thousand life times of planning. That man kind was to attain their rights of responsibility, they called it, the Mantle. She told me, that I was meant to reclaim it. By taking it, I assume responsibility of taming the violent and savage. I must maintain order amongst the planets. That, is why I have come to Pandora." I explained, though my throat hurt, Cortana usually did the talking.
"You kinda sounded like Jack, just, not a douche bag." Axton chuckled.
Suddenly, there were explosions. Looking out the window, the other trains exploded on their tracks, blood and body parts littered the snow as they had entered a new area. We looked to the front as two boxes fell from the ceiling. The sign with Jack on it that had been hanging fell away to reveal a more sinister one continuing the 'Welcome Vault Hunters...to your Doom! (Nothing personal.) the boxes unfolded and stood up on mechanical legs. "Target acquired, terminate!" came the deep tone of their robotic voices.
"Well, great. Alright everybody. Time to take out the trash!" Axton shouted and we all separated.
He ran back with Maya, Gaige, Krieg, and myself. Salvador jumped out the door and Zero went through the roof (literally). I used my armor clad body to cover Maya and Gaige from the oncoming fire as Axton threw a box in the air. It clung to the roof and unfolded into a turret, which began to tear through the robots metal hides. They collapsed and more stepped forward to replace them. Axton pulled a giant gun from seemingly no where and fired a burning shell, which flew passed the four of us and hit a group of fighters beyond us.
Maya flinched and growled before lifting her tattoo covered arm, the ink began to glow and one robot was lifted up from the ground in a sphere of energy. Gaige summoned a robot of her own and sent it in to maul the enemy bots to shreds. Krieg pulled out a spinning saw of some sort and lunged at the group, he began ruthlessly tearing through the enemies like they were paper. I felt my eye twitch when he began shouting, "I'M GOING TO EAT YOUR ENTRAILS! THEY'LL TASTE LIKE BACON!" as he then began breathing fire.
Maya threw the robot she had suspended through the side of the train and Salvador came swinging in. He crossed his arms then pulled out two assault rifle styled guns and began filling the bots with bullets. "THIS IS WHAT I LIVE FOR!" Salvador shouted.
I noticed as a barrage of bullets came flying towards us from one of the Hyperion Bots, they were heading on a path for Axton. Jumping in front of him, I activated one of the abilities in the module; the Hardlight Shield. The bullets bounced right off as Salvador wiped the last few out. "Wow! What was that cool blue shielding thing?!" Axton wondered while pointing at me.
"It's one of the abilities I can use. However, I have to wait a while for the module to reset. It will take a while." I informed while looking at the red triangle with the exclamation mark in it on my HUD.
"How long?" Gaige asked as we headed towards the back car.
I looked at the number in the bottom left corner of my HUD, "about 73 minutes and 20 seconds." I answered.
Axton opened the door and we saw the room was filled with dynamite and a man in a chair. He had the detonator on him, though he was dead.
"It's cute ya'll think you're the heros of this little adventure, but you're not. Welcome to Pandora kiddos!" with that, the explosives detonated.
I grabbed onto Gaige and leaned over her, my back to the explosives. This was to shield her from the explosions as we were flung through the air. I waited for everything to settle down as I could hear shrapnel hitting the ground around us. "Hey, Chief, could ya get off of me?" came her muffled question.
"Uh, sure." I rolled off of her and she shook the snow off of herself.
"Where are the others?" she looked around.
"I don't know. Maybe they're nearby." I looked around the snow covered landmass.
In the distance, a few figures were limping towards us, "hey! Over here!" Gaige jumped up and down, waving her arms in the air.
Salvador limped up with Axton, Maya, and Krieg. "Hola amigos!" he called out.
"Hey, where's the Assassin?" I questioned.
"We thought he was with you." Axton pointed as me.
Gaige slipped on a patch of ice and fell down, upon her rear hitting the ground, a small 'oompf!' as heard.
"Huh?" she got up and dug into the snow.
Eventually, she found Zero who was clutching his stomach. He had a tear face emoticon on his face plate. "Ouch." he grunted.
"Sorry Zero. You shouldn't have been sleeping in the snow." Gaige chuckled while helping him up.
"Hello Vault Hunters! Welcome to the Ice Shelf! I am the CL4P-TP Hyperion steward bot! You may call me Clap Trap!" it chirped before cowering as we all aimed our guns at him.
"Hyperion, we just got blown up by your corporate leader!" Axton growled while clenching his gun handle.
"Oh, yeah, the bastard known as 'Handsome Jack'. He's a jerk! He destroyed my entire product line! All my fellow Clap Trap's! Dead! You'll wanna get back at him I suppose? I know I do! You're going to need the help of the old Vault Hunters! Their leader, Roland, is located in Sanctuary. He leads the once Crimson Lance, now designated as the Crimson Raiders. Follow me!" with that, we followed the strange little bot to his ice covered home.
I fixed the chapter up a bit, adding a few more things. Also, in the summary, I gave the disclaimer that I DO NOT own Halo or Borderlands. They belong to 343 Industries (originally created by Bungie) and GearBox Studios (respectfully).
