Title: The Future Repeats Today
Rated: M
Genre: Adventure/Horror
Category: Halo
Disclaimer: I do not own Bungie, Microsoft, Halo or any affiliated companies. All characters are the exclusive property of Microsoft/Bungie, and are being used without permission for entertainment and for No monetary gain. The title of the story is also used without permission from the band In Flames and Nuclear Blast Records.
Summary: The war is over and peace between the Elites and Humanity has brought a new generation of safety and security, but once more something threatens the peace of the galaxy. An old foe, risen up once more to attack a weakened Elite caste. The Arbiter must call on an old friend to help…before it's too late.
Notes: This fanfiction is exactly that—a work of fiction. I don't need anybody reminding me that the Chief and Cortana were stranded in another galaxy—I'm well aware of the facts surrounding the end of Halo 3…so please, just sit back and enjoy the story with an open mind, and if you don't like it, shove it.
Characters: Master Chief, Cortana, Arbiter, Lord Hood, Half jaw/Fleet Master, Spartans: Fred, Linda, Kelly, Ash, Olivia, Tom, Lucy, Senior Chief Mendez, Dr. Catherine Halsey.
Timeline: Five Years after Halo 3.
Enjoy Everyone
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Part One: End of the Road
"Wake me…When you need me." The last words Cortana had heard from the Master Chief, her companion through some of the most intractable tactical situations that the UNSC had ever faced. She had managed to keep the Forward Unto Dawn's reactor hot for nearly five years now, filtering just enough power through the wreck to keep herself and the Chief alive. There wasn't much power left. The ship was low on fuel and life support was totally burned out. She ran another diagnostic, channeling a little more power into the cryo pod that the Chief was encased in.
She reset her emotional subroutines, the electronic equivalent of a sigh, and ran through the ship's systems again. She had been bored for far too long, and the boredom was beginning to tire her. She waited five seconds, thinking over her options once more. The engines were destroyed. They did not even have an operational MAC to fire in the opposite direction to give them a solid drift in the right direction.
She recalculated her spatial coordinates. The rift had closed when they were partway through, instead of depositing them into or near Earth's atmosphere; she calculated that they were on the far side of the galaxy, seventy thousand light years from Earth. Even if they had an operational Slipstream drive, it was a 70 year journey, and without, it would be eons until anyone found them…
Wait.
Cortana stopped her musings and listened very carefully. The distress beacon had burned out a year ago, but she distinctly sensed a ping off the hull. Humanity had long ago accepted the idea of alien life…even if first contact had nearly exterminated them from existence. Was it possible that further alien life existed this far from known space? It was entirely probable, but Cortana could not even fathom the random chance in which another sentient species would wander upon the Dawn.
Another ping sounded off the hull, much louder this time. She stretched her awareness, trying to find a single operational Radar or Sensor on the ship. She found neither, but she did find an operational communications array. She rerouted power from her core processor, shutting off her holographic interface, and heard a faint signal.
"….master…seeking…Spartan."
Spartan. This ship was looking for the Master Chief. She rerouted power once more from her spatial calculations. As long as this wasn't a Covenant Cruiser filled with Brutes, they should be all right…she hoped. She warmed the cryo-tube and began waking the Chief. He would be sleepy but healed and ready for a fight. One way or another, she needed him awake. If this cruiser was here to kill them, maybe they could steal it and take it to Earth. If it was here to rescue them, it would be even better.
She brought up the communications again as the cruiser hailed again. "This is the Sangheili carrier Relentless, hailing human vessel…we are looking for Spartans."
She froze her everything. Sangheili was the Elite name for their race, this was true, but the voice was unmistakably human. Humans, looking for Spartans? On a Covenant ship? Did the end of the war bring a powerful alliance between Elites and Humans?
She powered up her communications subroutines and began slowly. "Sangheili cruiser, this is UNSC MIL AI Serial Number: 0452-9 aboard the Forward Unto Dawn. We are badly damaged and…"
"Cortana?" A human female's voice resonated through the channel, striking Cortana to the core.
"Dr. Halsey?"
---
Part II: Shield World
The Chief wanted to groan. He hated cryo-sleep, not that he would ever express that to anyone, even Cortana, He felt the last of the effects beginning to wear off, and he felt oddly healed. Rebooting his armor took quite some time, so he decided to just lie there until it was complete. The ship was probably nearing a power loss, or Cortana had found them a nice, quiet place to live the rest of their lives…or maybe they were under attack.
His HUD snapped to life and several displays were still filled with static, so he decided not to bother opening his eyes yet. Then his neural implant picked up something he didn't think he would ever feel or hear again. His eyes snapped open and looked at the panel of acknowledgement lights that had been reserved for Blue Team. Kelly, Linda, and Fred's lights each were blinking in union, amber, three flashes. A status request.
He raised his head and peered out of his visor. "Rise and shine, Chief." Cortana quipped. Blue team, and several younger people stood crowded around the cryo-pod. He recognized his team immediately, as well as Dr. Catherine Halsey, and Chief Mendez, the man who had trained the Spartans. This was impossible. He was certain his team was dead.
"Cortana?" He asked, his voice a harsh rasp.
"Yes, Chief?"
"Am I dead?"
The Doctor and Mendez chuckled softly, and he heard two heavy footfalls. He glanced up over the heads of his gathered comrades, and saw another face he never expected.
"Were it so easy," The Arbiter intoned, with the Elite equivalent of a smirk. "Enough rest, Spartan. There is much to discuss."
---
The Spartans of Blue team had fought in nearly every major engagement of the war since the initial battle between Admiral Cole and the Covenant. They were recruited from various worlds, trained and drilled until military protocol was as much a part of them as their own beating hearts. Then, they had been genetically altered and given the most powerful technology the UNSC could come up with—and sent to fight in places that no man or woman would dare to go.
John, Linda, Fred, and Kelly were all that remained of Blue team now.
The Master Chief sat patiently in the equipment room of the Relentless, listening to the stories that had been forged since his separation from Blue team, following the siege at New Mombasa. He was surprised to learn that Fred was now a Lieutenant, granted a battlefield commission by SPARTAN-051, moments before Kurt had sacrificed himself to save the SPARTAN-III's and the survivors of Onyx. He gazed absentmindedly at the four youngest Spartans, the results of Colonel Ackerson's SPARTAN-III's. They stared at him with something close to awe, and he felt nearly the same way. He heard the tales of Pegasi Delta from the older two, and the story of Onyx from Ash, and Olivia.
He turned Dr. Halsey and tilted his helmet. "Doctor, how did you know?"
"Educated guess," She responded absently, still staring at her laptop, as she had been for several hours.
"While all of this is completely fascinating," Cortana broke in. "I'd like to know how you escaped Onyx, and furthermore, how you found the Chief and I." John noted the annoyance in her voice. Apparently, the strain of being alone for five years was wearing on her.
"Of course." The Doctor closed her laptop and gazed over her glasses, pushing a lock of grey hair out of her eyes. "We did not escape Onyx. Based on your logs, Master Chief, and my own calculations, I believe the shield world re-opened and released us as soon as the Ark was destroyed."
"There were thousands of sentinels when we were attacked on Onyx," Fred said quietly. "When we returned to the control room, there was nothing except dead Elites." He turned to the Arbiter, who stood near the door with his long arms crossed. "No offense."
"It is possible that with the flood eliminated, the shield re-opened to allow us, the "reclaimers", to escape, presumably to repopulate and search for survivors. " Halsey concluded for Fred.
John nodded, still trying to take in the scope of all that had happened. Although five years had passed for these people, it felt like only hours for him.
"And what about us?" Cortana asked, a challenge in her voice. "What brought the Elites across the galaxy to find us?"
The Spartans, young and old, inhaled quickly. Even though John could not hear them, he sensed he wouldn't want to hear this news.
At this, the Arbiter stepped forward. "For that, Spartans, you must accompany me."
---
The bridge of the Relentless was as large and imposing as the Ascendant Justice that John had captured from the Arbiter, then a Fleetmaster, some years ago. He noticed immediately that there were dozens of humans mixed in with the Elites and even towering Hunters worked side by side with those they had been mortal enemies of, five years earlier.
John immediately saw the white armored figure of a shipmaster, those that UNSC Marines had often called "Ultra-Elites" due to their prowess on the battlefield. The shipmaster turned and stood, strode towards the Spartans, and extended a hand. He recognized Half Jaw, the leader of the Sangheili.
"Spartans," He said in his growling voice. "It is an honor to have you share our bridge."
"The honor is ours," John replied, shaking the hand of the Shipmaster. It dawned on him that the others were not yet ready to be companions with the Elites as John was, since they had last been hunted and killed by the Sangheili race. "But why?" He asked, knowing it would sound rude. He was a soldier, not a diplomat.
The Elite turned with a slight sigh. "Spartan, our races face a great danger."
"The flood?" Halsey asked.
Nausea gripped John's stomach. He thought he had eliminated the flood.
"No," The Shipmaster replied. "Thank the Gods for the destruction of the parasite. No…we face a far more…brutal enemy."
"The Brutes," Cortana said flatly.
"Indeed," The Arbiter replied. "We returned to our world after the destruction of the Ark, to find it besieged. We fought for months against the Brutes…many of our brothers and sisters were killed.
An amused thought popped into John's head: He wasn't sure Elites even had females.
"That is why we asked your leaders to find you, Spartan." The shipmaster continued. "Our race is powerful, but many of our finest warriors were killed…fighting you." John smirked behind his visor, knowing none of the others could see him. While he was a professional, he was not above keeping score. Mendez had taught him that.
"And I suppose you have a grand plan to attack the Brute homeworld?" Cortana asked.
"No," Arbiter replied. "We are planning on defending yours."
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End of Chapter One. Feedback is welcome, flames will be deleted.