Author's Note: Stay sharp, HALO 3 spoilers ahead!
The whole point of this story is me getting salty about Miranda and Johnson dying in HALO 3, so I wrote this story. I am not expert on HALO lore, so feel free to point out any problems with that. It goes without saying that this story is not canon. :P
Skies were clear, with only a couple of clouds passing by every now and then. And the occasional Banshee. Pelicans were flying in formation. As they approached their target one thing became clear – this is it. They either do it right, or die trying. Echo 2 were ready. In the end they were ODST and everyone knows that ODST are born ready.
"Alright people!" Michael - the commander of Echo team said as all eyes fixed on him. "This is it! We're going in to ensure that Master Chief and Arbiter get to the… thing before Truth and his goons do. Pick your targets carefully there are friendlies on site."
"When you say friendlies you mean?" Asked Hudson, squad's engineer, servos of her right arm hissing quietly as she adjusted the position of her Spartan Laser.
"It is possible that Sergeant Major is held hostage by the Truth."
"Johnson?! Well it just keeps getting better and better, isn't it?"
"Yeah well, deal with it Jackson. Remember what they taught you?" Hudson said. "Mess with the best, die like the rest."
Michael's attention shifted to his sniper – James "Foresight" Foley. "What about you Foresight? You seem to be absent?"
"I'm good Serge."
"Something tells me, that you're going to miss Truth and his Apes." Hudson jested at the man.
"Not at that range, I won't." He smiled in return.
"You two can laugh all you want, but guess who's going to be plugging holes in you when you get shot? That's right – me." Vasquez looked from one to the other and then got back to checking her rifle.
"Vulture, stay in formation, I'm going in." It was the voice of Miranda Keyes, or Commander Miranda Keyes to be specific.
"What do you mean by 'going in'…" The answer came quickly as Miranda's Pelican dove through the window of the tower.
"Well… shit." Hudson said, jovial tone gone from her voice.
"That the best you can do?!" Johnson said with venom in his voice as Brute's fist connected with his face. The Brute raised his fist for another hit, but stopped mid-punch.
"Wait!" Truth's voice was filled with a mixture of confidence, authority and arrogance. "He wants you to kill him, but we need him alive."
"Yes my lord."
"What, can't start your own party?!" Despite the situation Johnson kept his signature "resident badass" attitude as Brute dragged him toward the console.
"As sad as it is, you are correct. Have no fear, you'll die as soon as I get what I want." Truth said looking Johnson in the eye. Suddenly he heard something and as he turned his head towards the window he saw the Pelican flying directly at him.
"What in the name of…?!"
They were out of time. Johnson was not at the third tower and that could mean only one thing – he was with the Prophet of Truth. And there was a literal gauntlet to go through. Chief slammed into the Brute at full speed, Arbiter almost dancing between angry Brutes cutting them with his energy sword. Funny, how quickly deep hatred can be set aside in the face of immanent doom. But for Chief it didn't matter now, Arbiter and his Elites understood that activating Halos will lead only to destruction of their own kind and they were more than willing to stop it.
The Flood was the entire different story. In her message Cortana claimed to know the way to destroy it once and for all, without firing Halos. As good as it sounded, they had other priorities now – they had to stop the Truth, or there would be nothing left to save. And now they found themselves surrounded by the very thing they wanted to destroy, reanimated bodies of the Brutes they killed rising as twisted abominations, fighting their way through the gauntlet side by side.
Thoughts for later. All that matters now is getting to the control room.
Miranda managed to stop the Pelican right before it feel into the chasm, Forerunners had an odd tendency for not installing safety railings… not that they would hold against a Pelican slamming at them in full speed. She moved to the back, grabbed a shotgun and lowered the ramp.
Brutes were already waiting for her, but it did not matter as she jumped out of the back applying buckshot to their faces. She saw Johnson standing couple of meters form the console.
"What the hell are you doing here ma'am?!" He asked.
"Saving your ass. Come on, we have to go!" She yelled putting down another Brute, but there were too many of them. Time was against them and soon enough they were standing behind her, between her and the Pelican. She reached for her pistol, trying to hold her shotgun in one hand.
"You know what to do!" Johnson yelled. "First me, then you!"
She hesitated. Could she really just shot him? Even if that was an only option to stop Truth? She had to. "I'm sorry Sergeant-Major." She was about to pull the trigger, when she felt spikes of pain and something wet on her leg. She felt on the ground with a single thought. "I failed."
"Your misguided mercy will be your demise." Truth said looking at Miranda lying on the ground, blood soaking her uniform. "This is why you were left behind". He continued as he walked toward her with a spiker in his hand. He aimed the weapon at her, ready to end the life of this arrogant human himself.
"No!" Johnson tried to close the distance between them, but Brute grabbed him with one hand. He was staring at the Prophet as he took aim at Miranda's head… and then all hell broke loose.
"Get down!" Michael yelled as Foresight took his shot, Jackson and Vasquez started hosing Brutes by the Pelican with bullets. Johnson ducked down as Hudson hit her mark sending the Brute holding him flying backwards with a big scorch mark on his chest. Their Pelican came closer to the edge and Michael and Vasquez immediately jumped towards Miranda lying on the ground in constantly expanding pool of blood.
"How is she?!" Johnson yelled as Vasquez put a tourniquet on Miranda's leg.
"Bleeding out. We have to get her out of here fast!" He yelled in replay, trying to be heard over the gunfire. "Help me get her to the bird." Vasquez said as he and Johnson grabbed her and moved back the their Pelican.
The door to the room slid open, revealing two figures – one clearly human clad in green armor stained with alien blood and an Elite… and a whole new dose of troubles behind them.
The door slid open and Chief saw ODST troopers carrying a woman in a dress uniform towards the Pelican hovering outside the window. Little to the left, holding his bleeding hand was the Prophet of Truth. Arbiter wasted no time and closed the distance between them.
"Traitor!" He yelled at the Prophet drawing his energy sword.
"I am the voice of the Covenant." Prophet said, his usual tone mixed with anger and pain.
"Then you must be silenced." Arbiter said as he drove his sword through the Prophet.
Pelican took off, barely avoiding Gravemind's tentacles.
"Chief! We can't land unless you deal with that thing!" Johnson yelled over the radio. "You must find another way out!"
"Just go! We've got this!" Chief replied.
"What's with her?" Johnson turned to Vasquez pulling spikes out of Miranda's leg.
"Unconscious, but stable. I've stopped the bleeding, but we should get her to the Dawn, fast."
"You heard that pilot?"
"Roger that sir!"
"I am fine."
"With all due respect ma'am, you are not."
"My leg is a bit numb, so what?! I don't need a leg to shot a gun."
"You almost died! If those troopers would come few seconds later…"
"But they did not! They made it in time. I'm not just going to sit here when you go out there putting your lives on the line!" Miranda was sitting in the Dawn's medbay, angry. Angry at herself, that she almost got herself killed that easily. Angry… but also grateful, grateful that she hadn't pulled the trigger when she could. "You're taking me with you and that's an order Sergeant!"
"Damn it ma'am! Getting yourself killed won't help anyone!" Johnson was simply tired. Arguing with Miranda Keyes was like arguing with Master Chief – you technically could, but there was no point. Seems like those two were on the same page when it came to being stubborn.
"With all due respect Sergeant-Major she… I mean Commander has the point." Michael said, correcting himself. "If those… things find her in here, which we have to assume they will, they'd just eat her. No offense ma'am."
"Non taken."
"Damn it, you too against me?!"
"Look sir, I'm not saying we should let the Commander go around wrestling down Brutes." He looked at the bandages on Miranda's leg. "But we could sit her behind a gun on a Pelican."
"And what if the Pelican gets shot down?"
"And what if you trip over a body and brake your neck?!" Hudson was clearly past the point of giving a damn about properly addressing her superiors. "She'll be fine."
"Fine! Have it your way! Go gear up, see you in the bird in five!"
"Yes sir!"
Johnson turned to Miranda looking her in the eyes. "But you'll stay IN the Pelican. There won't be any time to argue down there. So…"
"I know Sergeant-Major, in combat, what you say, goes." Miranda said without irritation. "I just… I won't be left behind, I'm sick of being the damsel in distress."
"Nobody said anything like that."
"I know… but how many is that now? Second, or third time you had to pull my ass out of the fire?!"
"If you want to count, let's say we're even., just wear armor this time, ok?"
"Yeah, ok."
"AO is hot Sergeant! Too hot to land safely, this ii going to be a touch-and-go!" Pilot said.
"Copy that." Johnson turned to Echo Team. "You know the plan – make sure that Chief and Arbiter make it to the control room!" The Pelican drastically launched forward almost knocking everyone off their feet. "Pilot, what the hell is going on?!"
"Insertion Pods! It's raining Flood Sarge!"
„I'll cover you from above!" Miranda said sitting behind her machine gun. "Give 'em hell guys!"
"This is Pelican 307 to Master Chief. Reinforcements are en route."
"Glad to hear it, there's plenty for everyone!" This wasn't Chief's voice, it was female, which could only mean one thing – Chief succeeded, he brought Cortana back.
"Glad to hear your voice again ma'am." Johnson said.
"30 second!"
"Let's get tactical marines!"
Reinforcements were a welcome sight. Especially with the Flood coming out of the woodwork… or raining form the skies, to be specific. Chief felt relieved that Commander Keyes was still alive, especially after what happened to her father on Installation 04. This time will be different. This time they're all coming home. Together. ODST troopers moved with them inside the control room, Guilty Spark almost singing from excitement.
"I have estimated that this installation will be ready to fire within next couple of days." He said floating around Johnson, while Arbiter and three troopers watched the door.
"We don't have days, we're doing it right now." Johnson said walking towards the console.
"But… that will destroy this installation!"
"Well, deal with it Spark!"
Spark's eye socket thing turned red. "I WILL NOT LET YOU DO THAT!"
Shots rang through the chamber as Michael, Hudson and Foresight opened up on Spark, before anyone else could react, sending the little flying ball into the chasm behind the console.
Johnson stood there, rooted to a spot for a while then yelled. "What the hell you think you're doing?!"
"With all due respect Sergeant, that thing was about to zap you." Michael said swapping magazine in his assault rifle.
"He's right." Cortana said over the radio. "Guilty Spark is… very sensitive, when it comes to maintaining the installations… or was, rather."
"Keyes here. We've got to pull out for now, AO is getting too hot! You've got multiple hostiles, they're going to break through the door! Whatever you're doing, do it fast!"
"This day just keeps getting better and better." Jackson sighed.
"Commander, is you're Pelican armed with a rocket pods?" Cortana asked.
"Pilot here. We have them."
"Good idea Cortana. We're clear the doorway and pick you up. See you outside, Keyes out."
"Do it." Chief said and Johnson activated the ring.
"Commencing strafing run." Pilot said as she obliterated rotten-green mass outside the door. Couple of second later, Chief, Arbiter, Johnson and ODSTs came running through. Pilot lowered the Pelican, ready for a quick pick-up, while Miranda was picking off Flood forms that came to close. Johnson was first aboard, then came the ODSTs. Arbiter was just about to step onto the ramp, when Pelican made a sharp turn, avoiding missiles fired by one of the Flood forms. Arbiter ducked down. "It's too hot! Take down those missiles so I can pick you up!"
"No time!" Cortana said. "We've stashed a Warthog nearby. Go and prepare Dawn for take off! We'll see you there!"
"Copy that Cortana. Good luck!" Miranda said.
"Thanks. Now go!"
Chief and Arbiter made their way towards the Warthog, cutting through seemingly endless waves of Flood.
"Just like old times, right?" Chief asked.
"You have an odd sense of humor John." Cortana replied.
Everything around them was either collapsing, or exploding.
"We have no time to waste Spartan!" Said Arbiter.
"FASTER!" Arbiter screamed as they drove through another massive wave of Flood. They were driving on a very unstable ground, bits and pieces of it exploding, or falling down into the abyss below.
"It can't go any faster!" Chief replied. They saw Dawn in front of them, cargo bay doors open, but the road to it was non-existing. They'd have to jump. "Hold on!" Chief said, and gunned the engine.
"Come on, come on! Faster you big pile of scrap metal!" Johnson yelled strapped in his seat as UNSC Forward Unto Dawn was flying as far away from Halo and The Ark as possible. The ship made a slipspace and then… then there was the light.
"Damage report!" Miranda yelled. "Cortana, give me a damage report!"
"Ma'am…" Hudson freed herself from her chair and looked on a monitor. "You're going to want to see this."
She looked at the monitor and froze. It was showing the aft section of the ship. No, what used to be an aft section of the ship. Now it was just a gaping hole. The ship has been sawn in half. And Master Chief was in the aft section when they jumped. Shit.
"Commander!" Arbiter addressed Miranda. "We're going down!"
"Tell me something I don't know!"
Hudson monitoring sensors for the time being turned to her. "At least we know where we are."
"Could you possibly be more specific?!"
"Earth. And we're falling into the ocean. Brace for impact!"
Lord Hood was standing next to the monument on the barren hills near what used to be a city of New Mombasa. Miranda Keyes, Avery Johnson and Echo Team were standing nearby, all silently staring at the monument. There were many pictures of both soldiers and civilians that lost their lives during the Battle of Earth and Battle of Installation 00, but one element of the monument was standing out like a sore thumb. Three numbers written by chalk. One. One. Seven.
Lord Hood approached them. "It's good to have you back, all of you." They didn't replied. How could they. How could they replay for that, knowing that it was a lie. Not everyone came back. And those three white numbers on a monument were the evidence of that.
"There are Covenant forces still loyal to late Prophet of Truth. Now I know that you all probably want nothing else than hot shower and soft bed…"
They quickly looked at each other and Miranda stepped forward. "Where do you need us, sir?"
Miranda walked down the corridor of her new ship. It was by no means 'Forward Unto Dawn' or 'In Amber Clad', but to was good to be back. It was her new ship - Paris-class heavy frigate 'UNSC Northern Star'. At least it had a nice ring to it. Marine standing next to a door saluted her and she saluted back. From the opposite side of the door came Michael. He snapped to attention and saluted.
"Ma'am."
"At ease. Fancy seeing you here Sergeant." She said. He was wearing his ODST armor, but it had some words written on the left side of the chest. Two names. One was 'Forward Unto Dawn', the other was 'Northern Star'. Ship names. "You're staying?"
"Of course ma'am. After all we've been through?" He smiled. "Someone has to be pulling our asses out of the fire."
"And likewise Sergeant-Major." Now she smiled.
Miranda finally made her way into the bridge, she sat in her chair and opened comm channel.
"This is Captain Miranda Keyes, prepare for slipspace jump."
And they jumped into the unknown. They jumped forward unto down.