Heyo!
So it's no secret that the Mass Effect/Halo Crossovers are pretty popular, so I decided I should give it a try! There are a lot on Noble Six, one of my favorite characters in the Halo series, but I want to give my Noble Six a proper adventure. Potential romance is in the balance, but I want to get Six's character right. Anyways here's the first chapter hope you'll enjoy!
PROLOGUE I
Watching from a sizable viewport, the sight of asteroids, varying in size and formation, have always made Ella Ortiz somewhat unnerving. It's mostly likely paranoia, but she just doesn't feel comfortable that Sanctuary is surrounded by millions of rocks orbiting around each other in a stable axis. All it takes is one rogue rock or something outside the belt to disturb this fragile belt and almost certainly wipe out the entire base.
Thankfully, that hasn't happened so far. And it's not like this belt had its uses. While it's possible for the asteroids to be an immediate danger, they have absolutely shielded them from much more sinister dangers. Dangers with motives, ships, and unimaginable firepower. And right now, that is what is worrying Ella right now, especially after hearing the most recent reports from Reach. Reports she got mere hours ago.
Her hazel eyes flutter close and expels her breath quietly. "Ajax, don't beat around the bush. Are these reports true?"
Ella never trusted the reports outside this rock. ONI has a big mouth, but their known for spewing a lot of bullshit. Sometimes, however, bullshit turns out to be true. And given then rumors running rampant across Sanctuary, it never hurts to have an AI's verdict on the situation.
"ONI isn't lying this time, Ella." The disembodied voice of a young boy responds. "Reach is toast."
Ella feels a chill run down her spine. One that causes her arm to twitch. "Jesus..."
"Please don't swear." The voice pleads lightly.
Ella's eyes soften. She knows that Ajax is not a fan of any kind of language no matter how mild.
"Sorry, kiddo." She says quietly. "But just a heads up, when this gets out, a lot of these people are likely stressed out. So don't be calling them out like a tattle tale, okay? It's only going to make them angrier."
"Okay." Ajax replies.
Ella growls. "This was the-" She's quick to watch her language for the AI's sake, "Flippin' fortress world of the UNSC. How were they this stupid to-"
"Give themselves away?" Ajax's voice beat her thoughts to the question. "The Covenant are always on the move. As for the UNSC messing things up, one of their destroyers on course to Reach most likely sealed the deal."
"So much for the Cole Protocol." Ella mutters. She breaks contact from the viewport and turns towards the stairs directly behind her.
"At least they don't know our location. That's gotta count for something, right?" Ajax assured her.
"Yeah it does. Point taken, kiddo."
Ella smiles. That's the only good news that she has heard all morning. She hops onto the railing and slides down to the lower levels. She crosses the path of a two-man patrol. These riflemen are adorned with makeshift armor with red paint or pieces of cloth to identify their allegiance. Both of them offer Ella a curt but respectful nod before carrying on their patrol.
"I feel kinda lazy right now, Ajax." Ella jokes. "How're we doing with the preparations?"
"The artifact is still on stand by until we bring it out into orbit, so no worries there. As for the caravan fleet, everything and everyone is accounted for. Colony ships, transports, even those two freighters from Harmony are outfitted with weaponry. In short, we're good to go. All we're waiting for is your word, boss lady."
Ella nods. "Yeah, I get the feeling people are getting a little antsy." She mutters before speaking out loud. "Well good news, given on what happened on Reach, bring the whole rock on full alert. I want everyone ready to go in the next eighteen hours."
"Hold up! You mean it's almost time to go?" Ajax sounds excited, like someone who's eager to go on an adventure.
"Mmm-hmm." Ella nods. "Time to get the heck out of dodge, my good man. Spread the word, I want everyone out of here in the next hours."
Ella begins to pick up the pace and jogs down a large corridor. Suddenly a rapid alarm blares echoes all around signaling that the whole station is on high-alert.
"Attention all personnel: Please prepare to scuttle the station within eighteen hours." Ajax's innocent tone shifts to a monotone one as he makes the announcement. "All essential personnel please begin final procedures for the Caravan Fleet. All non-essential personnel, remain in residential sections until preparations are complete. All Security teams maintain standard procedures. All combat personnel, please report to your action stations. Please note that the threat assessment is minimal."
Ella makes her way into a tightly compact quarters with dim lighting providing what light there is. She notices the staff here are working tirelessly through the tight derelict conditions. They're possibly motivated by the fact that they're not going to stay on this rock for much longer and are eager to speed up the process. Everything that they've worked on this rock, from self-sustainability to cloaking their location, all of it is about to go offline and fully committed to the caravan fleet.
Ella scrunches her eyebrows. Just thinking of it sends shivers down her spine. It's an incredible risk altogether, but then again, so is staying here. If she wants to save these people, her people, they all have to embark on one of the most ambitious space colonization expeditions ever. The sooner the better.
Ella makes her way an isolated quarter of the section where a lone individual sits criss-cross on the floor with various sets of scavenged computers huddling around her. Ella watches as her friend's hands coordinate each computer at lightning speed.
"You're hovering behind me." She calls in an annoyed and preoccupied voice. "Whatcha need, Ella?"
Ella kneels next to the young woman looking at her while the favor is not returned. Her features are mixed between Caucasian and Asian with sweat and dirty stains pasted to her cheeks. Her hair is mostly blanketed over her Robo-Pittie beanie, she's still wearing the same dirty tank-top from two-weeks ago.
Bringing her attention to the screens, Ella scowls seeing that her friend is view information, surveillance, and all updates on Reach. What remains of it.
"I doubt there's anything we can steal on Reach, girl."
"Uh, hello! This is Reach! Crown jewel of the UNSC? Tech hub? Weapons? Classified projects, ect. ect."
"Jelli." Ella chastises her with her name. "Hate to rain on your techno parade, but anything that was on the Reach is pretty much glassed at this point."
Jeli shakes her head and points to one of the computers displaying Reach's glassy atmosphere. "Nonononono! Not of all of the planet. Look? See? Covenant ships are ignoring these spots on purpose. My guess? The Covenant sees some value in these regions. Mostly around here: Eposz, in the Viery."
Ella already knows these facts. Covenant have been known for sparing some sections of planets from the glassing campaign. But not for an act of mercy obviously.
"They found any alien tech?" Ella queries.
Jelli shakes her head. "If they have, it's most likely underneath lots of rubble." She chuckles. "Even in defeat, ONI still manages to have the last laugh. Can anything take them down."
Ella shakes her head. "Shockingly, that's the one time ONI has ever made me feel better." She mutters, referring towards the secretive agency outsmarting a highly technological and fanatical alien empire hellbent on humanity's genocide.
"Yo, Jeli," Ajax's voice chortles through from the moniters. "Oh... hey Ella."
Ella smirks. "Yo, little dude."
"I thought I told you not to bug me unless it's something big." Jeli growls.
"Umm..." Ajax stammers, hesitant to continue.
"What's up, buddy?" Ella encourages him.
"So... I think this counts as critical?" The AI's voice explains sheepishly.
He remains silent, as if he's waiting for permission to speak.
Ella rolls her eyes but smirks. She can't be mad at him no matter what. "Go ahead, dude. Whaddya got?"
"Well..." Ajax carries on, more confident than before. "I was looking over the live feeds on Reach... You guys gotta see this."
Ella and Jelli glance at each other, both curious to see what the AI has discovered.
"Bring it up." Ella commands.
"One sec."
All of the screens burst into static, the volume jolting both women. A few seconds pass before everyone is displaying the same feed that's currently live right now. And what Ella and Fairy are seeing shocks them to their cores.
Through the barren wasteland with dusty winds and massive dirt clouds, Four Elites move fluidly up a ramp that leads into a torn building. With flawless teamwork and efficiency, the red armored Elites pin themselves against the wall while one tosses a plasma grenade inside. With a faint boom, one eagerly takes point with an energy sword raised, only to be thrown out of the building like a rag doll.
Ella's mouth drops in amazement and Jelli blurts out what she's been thinking.
"Did that zealot... just died?"
There is no response, but none is needed as both women keep their eyes fixated on the screens.
The three remaining zealots attempt to move in, but the next one is blasted back with its energy shields bursting. The remaining Elites unleash their swords, and Ella assumes that whatever is killing these zealots is up close and personal now. She couldn't see this mysterious killer, but she witnesses one of the vicious alien's arms brutally bent. It's split mouth stretching out as if it's crying in pain before being silenced with a knife to its neck. Through the engagement, the lone Elite seizes on its advantage and grabs it's enemy, raising it into the air, revealing the enigmatic grim reaper.
Adorned in black armor, the helmet identifying as one of the notorious Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, it's dark blue visor is cracked but still functional. Ella cocks her head to the side, sensing there is more to this man than meets the eye.
The surviving elite brings out its sword ready to deliver the killing blow, but the lone soldier thrusts his hands around the alien's neck and twists it sharply in a sharp 180-degree angle. Both combatants drop to the ground with the human being the sole survivor of the fight.
"Did that helljumper just killed four zealots?" Jelli murmurs, almost quivering from the footage.
Ella shakes her head. "I think it's obvious that's no ODST."
"This is somewhere around some dry dock in Aszod." Ajax breaks the silence. "I'm not seeing any humans though. Just... a whole lot of Covenant. Guys..."
Ella cuts Ajax off. "Lock onto the exact coordinates."
"One sec."
Some of the screens fizzle only to be shown a series of numbers.
"I couldn't find any satellites in the region. The best I could do is give the coordinates through longitude and latitude. Uploading it to your HUD."
Ella nods. "That'll do."
Jelli looks up at Ella. "Uh... HUD? As in a helmet HUD? Whadya planning on doing, boss?"
Ella shrugs. "Oh, y'know. Just... gonna go pick up something... somewhere."
Jelli's eyes grow like saucers. "Oh no you are not! No! No friggin' way you're going down there!
"Hey, be glad you're not coming along for the ride."
With an abrupt departure from the room, Ella dashes down the corridor and makes a sharp left that leads into an armory overflowing with a variety of weapons, armor, and a few improvised gadgets.
She brings her attention to a high-quality set of armor displayed before her. She yanks the chest piece off the stand and begins equipping it.
"Yo, Ajax?" Ella calls, looking at table close to her.
From a makeshift table intertwined with wires, the surface particles the avatar of Ajax. Colored in a Turquoise coating, Ajax has the appearance of a young boy with midlength hair, a plain t-shirt, and sweatpants, as if he's in pajamas. His round face has an adorable look to Ella and that curious smile makes him all the more precious.
"Yeah?"
"You're gonna have to stay behind, 'kay?" She passively orders the AI. "I gotta go down there by myself."
The AI is taken aback. "What?"
Ella uneasily purses her lips. She had a feeling Ajax wouldn't take that well.
"Buddy, I need you to help with scuttling this whole place. We can't do this without you." She reasons. "You're mad multitasking is what's keeping this whole show going, and I need my number one guy organizing everything."
Ella can see Ajax becoming more and more distress with each passing second. The lights begin to flicker, some of them started erupting sparks.
"Ajax!" Ella rushes over to the projector and kneels before Ajax, "Hey, look at me, buddy." She repeats again softly. "Look at me."
Ajax brings his head up, his expression shows a great deal of anxiety.
Ella offers him a warm smile to soothe him. "I promise you I'll be back. It won't take long I promise. Remember: This isn't my first time going solo."
Ajax reluctantly nods and lets out a distorted exhale. "I'll be monitoring you while your down there."
Ella shakes her head. "Nope." She shuts him down. "You're going to trust me on this. Just like I trust you to help everyone while I'm gone. Can you do that for me?"
Once again, after some hesitation, Ajax nods. "Okay, Ella. I trust you."
Ella's smile brightens, feeling better now that Ajax has calmed down. The flickering lights stabilized and settled.
Ella brings her arm up over the projector and makes a fist in front of Ajax. Ajax grins and copies Ella's moves. Both of them 'touched' fists before imitating an explosion.
"Now, go be the big boss and speed things up."
Ajax nods, more eager now. "Yeah!"
With that Ajax's avatar vanishes, leaving Ella to finish putting on the armor that is given to the UNSC's most classified set of soldiers. It's not the main reason why she's on ONI's top wanted list, but breaking into one of their facilities and stealing their equipment certainly boosts her infamy.
She now hopes that ONI doesn't find this place before the Covenant do. Luckily for her, she's taking every precaution with her on her trip down to Reach.
Planet Reach
Plasma fire echoes through Reach's barren air as piles of Covenant litter the dirt, waiting for the roaring dust to sweep their bodies away. Those few who survived, blood-drunk and in a state a frenzy over the loss of so many of their brothers charge towards their lone enemy.
Battered and outnumbered, the lone human seems like easy prey, but as one young warrior roars and charges blindly ahead, the Spartan delivers a precise stab to his two hearts, easily piercing through his shields and armor. His reflexes are quick and his will strong, even though he remains hopelessly outnumbered, Spartan B312 knows right now, survival is his only objective.
One of the Elites screams, more than anger in his cry. The Spartan turns sharply and sees another blue armored Elite rushing towards him, wildly firing his blaster rifle. Blinded by rage, the Spartan seizes the moment and hooks the Elite's arm in his own pulling them close. With a free arm, the human flashes his arm over the alien's jaw, and soon the warrior howls in pain as part of his mouth has been ripped off.
The more veteran Elites stand their ground but are stunned by such ferocity. As if in all of their years, perhaps decades of fighting the humans, they never witnessed such barbarity from a single human.
One the elites, a Zealot, a warrior who had the honor of engaging the humans from the very beginning, finds himself completely immobilized. He watches as his young warrior is savagely butchered to death by the black armored human. He feels an uncomforting tightness in his chest and a sharp chill down his spine. He could not move, he could not direct his man, it's as if his armor malfunctioned and locked him permanently, or as if this demon can do more than harm him physically. All he can do is watch powerlessly as his enemy engages two of his more seasoned warriors.
The Spartan gracefully dodges an energy knife aimed at his neck and retaliates with a knife to the neck. The second Elite has more success in his attack as he slams the human down to the ground. Feeling empowered, the Elite dives forward to finish him off with an energy sword, and a brother comes forward to assist. But the Spartan's reflexes remain sharp and pushes the alien away with a strong kick, diminishing his shields. The Elite falls to the ground and his sword lost. The other one carries his sword and lines up his shot to kill their ominous grim-reaper through his chest, but the human rolls away, penetrating only his shoulder.
Grunting in pain, the Spartan violently pushes his foe away, dropping his sword close to the Spartan's side. A weapon the Spartan clearly sees. Before he could fish it into his hands, the Spartan sees the other Elite coming back towards him more primal in his offense this time. With such poor aim, the alien's energy dagger misses him and the human bashes his neck in with his elbow, more out of annoyance this time. With no time to lose, the Spartan becomes snatches the sword and unsheaths it into the second enemy across his neck, decapitating the alien. With a quick backroll, the Spartan easily finishes off the other one.
With each death, the zealot becomes more frigid. His legs are now locked and his eyes have not blinked for some time now. All he can do is watch as the Spartan comes towards him with his sword raised. With one side swing, his vision spirals out of control until it gradually settles. The last sight he sees is a zealot falling to the ground without a head.
Standing over the dead zealot, Spartan B312 rapidly glances around searching for enemy squads coming towards him. No sign of any immediate danger.
The Spartan watches as the dust grows more volatile making visibility dangerously low. Thankfully, his MJOLNIR armor is designed to protect him from any elements, both natural and artificial. And yet somehow he can't but feel very unsettled by the swirling dust. He cocks his head from side to side, uncertain where to go. There is no clear direction, no rendezvous point, and no Covenant to kill. And with his HUD damage, thermal scans, picking up signals, anything that could help him just puts him in the dark.
Acknowledging that fact sends a sharp chill down the Spartan's spine. With his armor severely damaged, he's concerned that he's bound to be in it for life if he can't get find the proper equipment to remove it.
But the Spartan wisely decides to put his concerns aside and find a way to contact any friendly forces left on Reach. If that doesn't work, evacuate the planet and retreat UNSC space. And if he can't rely on technology, he'll have to rely on the terrain.
With a sense of direction restored, the Spartan turns back to the ruined complex where swarms of Covenant failed to overwhelm him. Ignoring the pain in his shoulder, he jogs back to the complex ignoring the gruesome sight of suffocated grunts, twisted limbed jackals, and brutally smeared elites. Making his way up the hill and back into the building, the Spartan quickly recaptures the sight of the tower and makes a mental note that behind it is an indirect path back to the courtyard.
Taking one last look of the structures that gave him a fighting chance, and holds the few dead Spartans, he leaps out of the building and structure and calmly strolls near the tower, threatening to vanish into the storm.
A Few Hours Later
The Spartan finds shelter from the storm within a small rock path. He examines the ground to discover that they're prints in the dirt that don't resemble a human. Given that all of the wildlife has been wiped out in the glassing, the only logical conclusion is that the Covenant may be here. Thankfully, the small prints indicate that they're mostly grunts.
Easy pickings for the lone wolf.
Keeping his newly acquired energy sword sheathed, the Spartan creeps down the rocky terrain spotting no enemies. However, after finding solid ground, the Spartan discovers a promising target overlooking a relatively flat piece of land: A minor shipyard that's been reoutfitted as a large Covenant outpost.
Finding a new objective, the Spartan scans the outpost, trying to devise a plan on how to proceed.
There are several Elites present. Zealot Class from the armor configuration. It'll be a challenge, but the Spartan's objective can still be accomplished. He'll need to rely on stealth for the time being until the odds can shift in his favor conventionally. As with any outpost, the Spartan catches a few turrets erected on the outskirts of the outpost and within. Not to mention that they're operated by Grunts. Another option to unleash mayhem. While examining one particular turret upon high elevation, the Spartan studies the terrain to see that it's connected to a narrow path he's currently on. Not to mention, it's lightly defended with grunts and jackals. The Spartan has found his way in.
With his plan in place, and ignoring the burning pain plaguing his body, the lone human fluidly moves against the rugged terrain. His movements are nearly silent although wearing half a ton of damaged armor.
Little did he know, someone is watching him at a close distance. But fortunately, the observer does not look alien.
Although in deep within Covenant territory, Ella is perfectly safe that her reliable SPI armor cloaks her to blend her with the barren environment. Surveying the black armored human through her beam rifle, Ella watches as he stealthily makes his way down the narrow path where a turret and a squad of grunts and jackals are waiting.
"Okaaaaay..." Ella quietly draws out. "Sooo... you just gonna go in all gung-ho B312?" She sighs saying his callsign. "Geez just saying it makes me sound like a fucking nerd."
Much to her surprise, as B312 becomes dangerously close to the enemy, he nimbly slides over the rocky barrier to the side and begins climbing to the side completely undected by the Covenant.
"Clever boy." Ella breathes out in relief.
When she brings her attention back to the squad of Covenant, she's shocked to see the Spartan leaping onto the turret throwing the grunt at the rocks. By the time the rest of the squad recognized him, the Spartan is on a lightening kill spree with nothing but his hands. The remaining survivors didn't even fire, mostly due to shock, but they too are brutally killed. Ella jolts slightly, witnessing the Spartan ripping the mask from the sole surviving grunt before carrying on leaving the poor little bastard to suffer a slow agonizing death.
"Fuck me, dude..."
Ella loses sight of the Spartan, causing some mild concern, but she remains hopeful that he's fine. When glimpsing into the interior of the reoutfitted shipyard, Ella grins when she sees a couple of plasma explosions and a few jackals fly across the room. Ella sees a Zealot and has her sights at its head, but is easily cut down by the piercing of the energy sword of the Spartan. As blaster fire is directed at the Spartan, he unleashes a surprised defense with an energy shield he most likely looted off of a jackal by the entrance.
Ella watches with amazement as the Spartan quickly disposes of another Zealot, but she can see he's slipping somewhat. Seeing a shimmer directly behind the Spartan makes Ella gasp and fires two burst from the beam rifle. The first round misses and the shimmered figure is revealed to be another Zealot with an energy sword, ready to deliver a killing blow from behind. However, the second round hits the alien's head and falls to the side in an amusing side pose.
The Spartan notices the dead Elite behind him and gazes out the window, knowing someone is watching over him. He may not see Ella due to her cloaking, but she can tell that he's looking right at her and rewards her with a thumbs up.
Ella lets out a satisfied chuckle and returns the gesture. "Get moving, Grim Reaper."
The Spartan, B312, starts sprinting down the stairs where more enemies are waiting. Ella decides to amuse herself with a few head shots and begins to eliminate the most obvious targets: the turrets.
She snipes the one on the first floor where B312 is currently and quickly shifts to one to the left. In a state of disarray, The Covenant desperately try to muster a defensive. However, the Zealots are having a hard time forcing the numerous grunts and jackals back in line as they flee in all directions. A few find their courage and join their leaders, but it fizzles away as the Spartan zooms in on them.
In a few minutes the majority of the Covenant outside are dead, with some falling back into the main complex of their makeshift outpost. As the Spartan finishes off the few stragglers, Ella breaks position and slides down to the bottom nearly falling flat on her face. She rushes over to the Spartan's location.
"Good guy coming in!" She calls out. "Hold fire!"
She makes her way into the compound where B312 calmly waltzes over to her position.
"Well looks like someone's no longer a virgin." She teases, mentioning the dire outlook of his armor. "But fuck it. End of the world or no, it's always good to see a Spartan."
Ella unpolorizes her golden visor to reveal her face to the battared Spartan. "Names, Ella. And before you get curious, no. I'm no Spartan. I just happen to be wearing the armor."
She knows it's a risky move to give that much information away. But her gut tells her that if she's not openly honest with this one-man-army, worst case scenario is that she'll basically kill her. This Spartan III is ONI's most trusted and most notorious agents. Just thinking it in her head is making her think that working with him alone is a bad idea. But it's too late to back out now, and overall she doesn't want this Spartan to die on Reach.
"Can I trust you right now?" B312 queries. His smooth voice is low but youthful. Something Ella would expect from a Spartan III.
"If you mean to fight the Covenant and having your back. Then yes."
B312 nods. "Stay close. This complex is going to be cleaned out."
Ella frowns. "I don't see how this is going to help us get off this Glassball."
"I'm sure this outpost will point us in the right direction." He rationalizes, unsheathing his sword and calmly moving toward the main building in front of him.
"Fucking better..." Ella grumbles.
Orbit of Reach
Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadam watches the glassed planet with a grim look. Once again his forces are victorious against the humans, as they always are. However this victory, for the first time in his service to the will of the Prophets, brings him a sense of weariness.
How could he be so careless? How could he have underestimated the humans' defenses? It was because of his recklessness that the majority of his fleet was obliterated in over a month. Too many seasoned warriors, invaluable commanders, and distinguished vessels have perished during their sacred crusade.
Twenty-seven years have passed and Thel cannot help but wonder how much longer can this war drag on? How many worlds do the humans possess? It feels as if it does not matter. No matter how many they vanquish with their holy wrath, there is always more of them.
Were he only to go after the one ship that slipped through his grasp, he may not have been preoccupied from these dangerous thoughts. But his duties were to assist in finding sacred relics left behind by the gods. However, he cannot but help that this is the Prophets way of passively punishing him to bring down that damned human ship. No matter, what's done is done, and his duty is clear. Besides, with a separate fleet already chasing the fleeing ship, it should not matter. They'll be punished for their cowardice.
"Supreme Commander!" A subordinate calls out to him. "We're receiving a dire message from the Field Marshal!"
The boys warning snaps Thel from his thoughts. Something that he welcomes despite what Field Marshal Rtim 'Lodun has to deliver.
"Bring it through!" Thel orders.
"At once!"
As if he's preparing for an engagement, Thel arches himself in his seat and stares directly out of the view in front of him. In an instant, a holo projector of Field Marshal Lodun appears with a blaster in hand.
"Supreme Commander!" 'Lodun greets, his tone somewhat frantic.
Thel nods. "Field Marshal 'Lodun. What is your status?"
"Our fortifications have been breached! Significant losses!" The Field Marshal glances to his side and catches a fallen subordinate before dragging him backwards firing his plasma rifle. "We barricaded ourselves in the control room! I don't think we can hold!"
"Stand fast, warrior!" Thel's commanding voice counters the Field Marshal's frantic tone. "I'm dispatching forces to your post! Hold out until they arrive maintain communication!"
'Lodun looks away barking orders to his remaining men before returning his attention to the Supreme Commander. "Belay that! They'll breach the doors soon! We'll ensure that our post does n-"
The signal fizzles out following a loud explosion.
"Field Marshal, report your status!" Thel barks. No response. "Field Marshal, respond!"
"I cannot hail them!" His subordinate informs him. "What is your command?"
Thel's gut warns him that this may be no mere human warriors. This appears far more sinister.
"Dispatch local forces to those coordinates." Thel calmly instructs. "No human is to escape our grasp!"
The boy nods. "At once!"
Thel leans in his command chair and growls quietly. He let the humans slip through his grasp before, but he's not planning on making the same mistake twice.
Planet Reach
With the doors blasted open, B312 bolts in through the burst of blue and zags to the left behind a rusty pillar. He fires rapidly at the closest Elite diminishing its shields but retaliates by throwing a grenade.
B312 sees the incoming projectile and rolls away from his cover. Upon exploding, the pillar destabilizes and causes a portion of the roof to fall. B312 rushes forward at the Elite raising his energy shield.
Meanwhile, Ella eliminates three Elites from a distance before they spot her. They soon open fire pinning Ella behind the wall one of the blasts hit her shoulder and cries out from the pain, but she keeps her grip on her weapon.
She glances over at the Spartan who is violently bashing the Elite with his shield. The impact forces the shield to give out leaving him vulnerable. As the two brutally struggle, the Elite starts to get the upper hand and slowly pushes the Spartan closer to the ground. Ella's throat locks think that she'll need to make a calculated risk to fire on the Elite while risking being fired upon. However, Ella watches with amazement as B312 swings his leg around the larger alien's heel, slamming it to the ground. The Spartan finishes it off with an energy blade through its chest. Soon afterwards, however, B312 staggers back as blast fire hits him square in the chest. His shields are no longer functioning.
Ella breaks from cover to support the wavering Spartan. She slides towards a dead jackal and snatches up its needler. With rapid smooth clicking, several dark pink bolts sway in the air before locking to a charging Elite. All of the bolts land within close proximity around center mass before bursting its chest open, and huge spouts of blue liquid fly across the room.
"Fuck!" Ella exclaims. "Never get used to that fucking thing!"
A remaining Elite fires on B312 with a plasma turret locked to his hip. His armor resembles that of the Zealot class but the helmet identifies him as a high ranking official. A primal roar breaks through the blaster fire as the Elite fanatically prepares for a fight to the death.
With B312 pinned, the berserk Elite trudges towards the Spartan with a plan to overpower him with firepower. Little did the Elite know is that its energy shields have overloaded from a beamshot to the shoulder. The crazed alien shoots a menacing glare over at Ella, who boldly steps out of cover and fires again. The Elite pivots fluidly to the side and fluidly rushes the exposed human.
Ella freezes somewhat as the Zealot closes in on her, but her instincts allow her to raise her rifle to shield herself from blunt impact of the alien's powerful arm. However, it wasn't enough to send her flying against the wall. Grunting on impact, Ella feels the air was knocked out of her body, forcing her to inhale desperately for air. She looks up, expecting the Elite planning to finish her off, but is shocked and relieved to have it turned to face the Spartan.
M/H
'Lodun is rammed by the black armored human, sending him to the ground. He unsheathes his plasma daggers from his gauntlets and flawlessly slashes through the warrior's chest. The human cries out from the hit and staggers away from 'Lodun, but keeps footing. 'Lodun observes this and is impressed by the boy's discipline. Out of all the humans he has fought against since the beginning, this battered black armored warrior may be his most warrior opponent.
The duel will be legendary.
With seeing many of his dead brothers lie dead on the floor, 'Lodun's pride and admiration in the human is overshadowed by all of the unyielding rage. At this point, 'Lodun is more than willing to cast honor aside and fight like a mindless Jiralhanae.
"Come at me, boy!" 'Lodun venomously growls. "Come! I won't be insulted petty waiting!"
But 'Lodun just watches as the Spartan stumbles to his knee. He can hear the pitiful panting of the warrior as his helmeted head is crane to the floor. The floor stained by the blood of his comrades.
'Lodun's head twitches to the side in disbelief and rage. "You dare quit?!" The Sanghelli's upper jaw trembles from the fuming anger. "YOU PITILESS PIECE OF TAINT! GET UP! GET UP!"
'Lodun's patience has been used up and marches towards the downed human with his daggers out to the side. "So be it. And I hope you understand me, because you are without a doubt my greatest disappointment."
'Lodun raises his blade, poised for the kill. Suddenly, he feels himself being lifted off the ground and being flown into the air. His landing is a painful one as his body crushes his arm. Before he could rise to his feet, he feels his free arm disobeying his body and finds it being jabbed to his head. He then feels an excruciating burn in his neck that freezes him in place and all he can think of now is praying to the Gods that he just passes out to avoid feeling any more pain. He hears a fleshy shredding noise and slams his head on the floor breathing heavily. 'Lodun can see his own blood fleeing his body at an alarming rate, but is not alarmed by this sight.
"So this is how my path finishes." 'Lodun chuckles, content with his fate. "Clever trick, boy..."
He spots the black armored human rushing towards his comrade and admires the boys care for his ally. An admirable trait he's seen among his foe, among many others.
He exhales sadly. "If only the Prophets saw you... worthy... I hope they..."
Darkness overtakes him eager to join all his brothers who perished in this Crusade. His last hope was that the Prophets would see this species worth to the Great Journey before it was too late.
M/H
"Status?" B312 calmly asks, lifting Ella to her feet.
"Aside from a few bruises, think I'll live."
The Spartan merely nods and walks over to a set of terminals displaying footage of the wasteland that is now Reach.
"Yeah... yay me, too. Hurray." Ella mutters sarcastically.
She glances around to see what this base to see what could be of use to get them off Reach. But what she's seeing frustrates her because there is nothing here!
"Well this was fun and all, but I don't see anything that's going to get us off this rock!"
The Spartan glances back at her and waves her to come over to her. Although irritated, Ella complies and strolls behind B312 to see an alarming sight.
"You idiot!" She violently shoves the Spartan. "You think they weren't gonna let this go? Those Phantoms right there means we're basically fucked! GOD DAMMIT!" She lets out a furious cry and yanks her helmet off her head and throws it against the dead High-Ranking Elite. "ARRGGHH!"
As she looks back at B312, possibly to berate him more, he simply walks towards the exit of the base with a plasma rifle and sword in his claim.
"Oh no! I'm not done with you yet, Kamikaze!" She marches towards her partner, each step louder than the last. "If I'm going to die here in this clusterfuck of a goddamn mess, you are going to give me the common-fucking-courtesy of hearing me fucking ran-"
A millisecond has passed, and Ella's brain still has not registered the fact that she's pinned against the wall by B312.
"Wait. Here." His voice is cool but deadly. He releases her and glances at her SPI helmet. "And put it back on, now."
With that, the Spartan exits the building leaving Ella alone with the piles of dead Covenant surrounding her.
"Goddamn, no wonder we lasted this long..."
Now feeling that the Spartan does has some desperate plan in motion, Ella races back over to the barely functioning terminals to catch a glimpse of the Phantoms slowly coming into view. She counts three in total and they form a loose triangle formation, like some form of a holding pattern. Her throat locks seeing the doors slide open and Covenant soldiers leaping from the glistening purple crafts. All she can think now is that she may most likely die here, all because she wanted to go an collect one Spartan. Even her faith in B312's mysterious plan is overshadowed by this grim feeling of hopelessness.
She sighs hopelessly and bites her lip to stave off the tears. Suddenly, she remembers one thing that she's forgot to do: Put her helmet back on. She sludges over to the other side of the room, holding onto the hope that her people will carry out their plan and be on course to somewhere much safer. Far beyond the reaches of the Covenant where they can begin a new life. She stretches a small but content smile, feeling a tiny measure of peace that soon that will be a reality.
Humanity will live on, and it's all thanks to her.
"I guess there are worse ways to go out." She tells herself, resting the fishbowl helmet back on her head. She fishes a needler off the ground before returning to the terminals.
"The hell..." Ella watches with shock to see the far left phantom behaving in a bizzare manner.
It's blaster turrets are mercilessly gunning down the other two phantoms. Completely off guard, the two dropships are quickly dealt with and much of the Covenant ground troops are caught in the explosion. Ella watches as the remaining phantom slowly twirls to its side, somewhat shakily and remains hovering in place.
"Holy mother..." Ella begins cackling ecstatically. "Oh, Heeeeellllll Yeeeaaaahhhhhh!" She rushes out the structure where B312 is waiting to pick her up.
Ignoring the carnage of the wreckage and dead bodies Ella leaps on board the ramp, nearly slipping on the second step. The phantom's uneven hovering is messing with her balance. Ella soon falls on her face with her helmet sparing her the brutal impact of the fall. She flips on her back and bangs the floor of the craft.
"Punch it! Get us spaceborne now!"
"Might want to hold onto something." The Spartan evenly calls back.
B312 feels his body shift upwards as he rapidly elevates the phantom in the air. He can hear Ella whopping like a child on a joy ride as the atmosphere shakes the craft.
The violent vibration ceases as they clear Reach's atmosphere and into it's orbit.
"Hahahahahaha! LATER FUCKERS! WOOOOOOOOO!"
B312 keeps silent but shakes his head having mixed feelings about his new partner. Hopefully, once he gets to UNSC controlled space he'll no longer have to work with her.
Although they made off the glass planet of the fallen planet, there is still the issue of trying to evade an entire Covenant fleet. Through the stoic exterior of his worn out helmet, B312 wearily watches through the viewscreens of the bloody aftermath of possibly humanity's greatest defeat. Wreckage and debris of warships, defense platforms, and space stations clutter the vacuums of space. Invaluable assets that humanity can never regain. The only thing that brings the Spartan comfort is the savage remains of Covenant ships, but it's not enough to stave off the fact that all is lost on Reach.
At least there is no Covenant nearby to threaten them.
"This spot taken?"
B312 glances back to see Ella hovering behind him. With hesitation, he gestures her to join him before returning to the controls.
"Quite a view huh?" Ella says again, trying to start a conversation. "I gotta admit, I don't think the Covenant expected for you to last this long." She scans the Spartan to see that his armor and himself are barely holding on.
"You're not looking so good." She bluntly tells him. "When we get back to base, I'll have you prep for surgery."
B312 looks over at her. "How long will that take?"
Ella shrugs. "Depends on how bad your wounds are. But the fact you're still alive it's a freakin' miracle."
"I aim to please." B312 replies smoothly.
Ella scoffs. "Do they let Spartans flirt now?"
She feels the microgravity of the phantom violently pushing her to the left. She yells as rams into the side before gravity slams her back to the center. She growls looking up at the Spartan who just jerked the controls.
"Jesus, can't take a joke?"
"Can't take a little fun?" B312 counters cooly.
Ella rolls her eyes. "Point taken." She hops to her feet and surveys the screens, keeping an eye out for familiar landmarks to let her know their close to Sanctuary. "Head for those rocks. Port side."
B312 obeys her command and shifts the phantom to the left towards small belt of asteroids far beyond the reaches of the Covenant.
"Stop here." Ella orders. "We're close enough."
Again, the Spartan does as he as told and brings the craft to a complete stop over a large asteroid.
"Hold up." Ella starts. "I'm gonna call in our real ride home."
With the neural interface within her helmet, Ella does very little to get into contact with her people. "Sanctuary Central, Scout 44 here. Come in, over?"
"Roger, Scout 44, Central here. We read you. You okay, Ella?"
Ella can't help but smile hearing Ajax's voice. Already she misses that virtual twerp. "I'm good to go, Ajax. Hey, buddy, listen. Get a team together with heavy gear. It's a Puma Situation."
"Puma?!" Ajax sounds alarmed by the code word. "Wow... roger, Scout 44. I'll have a team out there soon. ETA five minutes."
"Got it."
"Ella? You still got that collar on you?"
"Yeah, dude. Don't worry. I'll see you soon okay?"
"Roger. Central out."
"Scout 44 out."
The connect is severed leaving the duo alone on the phantom.
B312 suddenly starts to feel somewhat dizzy. It may be from the loss of too much blood.
"My guys will be here to pick us up soon. We'll need to ditch this purple thing though. Can't have the Covenant trace us back to base."
B312 tries to glance over at Ella, but his neck does not obey him. It remains locked in place. He grunts silently feeling the woozieness intensifiy with each passing second. This is more than grave wounds, it's an abduction.
"You're..." He slurs his words. "You're an innie."
Ella shrugs casually. "Guilty. Well... kinda." She slowly strolls in front of the Spartan with stern look on her face. "And you're Spartan B312. ONI's personal Grim Reaper. Sorry to say this, but I don't feel comfortable with someone like you in our base without some kind of insurance policy."
B312 says nothing but exhales heavily feeling his eyelids sinking down.
"Don't worry though. You're no good to me dead, buddy. Au contraie, you're gonna help us do the impossible."
B312 chuckles. An indirect way saying that is never going to happen. His chuckling dies down to a weary sigh.
Ella frowns expecting some answer like that. "You will once you see what we're working on. But right now, get some sleep."
It doesn't take long for darkness to overtake the Spartan, leaving him standing there motionless with a neurological collar locked onto his neck.
Orbit of Reach
Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadam received the report not to long ago of 'Lodun's assassination. Another gifted commander lost in this war. Even in defeat, the humans remain just as dangerous.
His death has had an impact on the crew, mostly among the unggoy, but he can feel it among the younger bretheren. 'Lodun was a legend throughout the war. To have him die at the hands of the enemy, not even in battle... 'Vadam is thankful that his crew maintains true to their duties.
'Vadam hears the graceful ringing of the door, signaling him that someone has stepped onto the bridge. Someone he's expecting. The Supreme Commander turns to see one of his most trusted commanders standing before him.
Adorned in shimmering white armor, Rtas 'Vadum's presence catches the amazement of the young blood on the bridge. Stopping in front of the Supreme Commander, 'Vadum greets his superior with a curt but respectful nod.
"Supreme Commander."
'Vadam nods back to his subordinate, but can't help but notice a dark blue gash across his shoulder. "Commander, you are bleeding."
'Vadum shakes his head. "A minor flesh wound I gained in training. These new warriors are progressing faster than I expected."
The Supreme Commander chuckles darkly. "By the grace of the Prophets it is fortunate they are. Given how many we lost."
'Vadum lowers his head in sorrow. "Too many." He mutters before gazing back up. "Is it true? 'Lodun is dead?"
"Regrettably so." 'Vadam replies quietly. "Assassinated by what remains of the humans. Along with his warriors."
"Treacherous bastards!" 'Vadum growls spitefully. "One should think that they must accept their fate!"
The Supreme Commander gives 'Vadum a long thoughtful glare before saying, "Would you were you in their place?"
"No..." 'Vadum says quietly. "None of us would."
"Hmm..." 'Vadam nods. "While 'Lodun is no longer with us, we may have a chance to avenge him, and put an end to the resistance in this system."
This grabs 'Vadum's attention. "Name our destination, Supreme Commander, and my men and I will wipe the scum out!"
The Supreme Commander shakes his head. "It's not that simple." He gestures 'Vadum to the center of the bridge where a hologram of the glass planet sits and twirls. "Recently, reports of one of our craft entered the planets orbit and vanished from our grid." He jabs a finger on the outskirts of the planet. "I have suspected that they've settled here. Along small grouping of asteroids."
"Clever." 'Vadum says.
"I hypothesize that somewhere within that sector is one of their strongholds cloaked during our assault." The Supreme Commander turns to 'Vadum. "See if you and your men can pick up the trail. If you do, you mission will be to assault the stronghold with my support."
"It will be a challenge. But my men and I will see our mission through."
The Supreme Commander nods and pounds his fist against his chest. "By the Will of the Prophets."
'Vadum returns the gesture, knowing his duty. "By the Will of the Prophets."
Long Chapter, but hope you guys enjoyed it. There's no specific ETA on the next chapter, because of school, studying, other projects, and me editing the second chapter over and over again. Thanks again guys!
Noble Six before Master Chief. Sorry Chief lovers! XD
Oh, and quick info for the Mass Effect Universe:
Commander Cameron 'Cammie' Shepard
Gender: Female
Origin: Colonist
History: War-Hero
Specialization: Vanguard
Alignment: Paragade