Disclaimer: I do not own Microsoft, Bungie, Halo, or any of its characters.
Halo 3: The Last Stand
Prologue: Starting at the End
Delta Halo Control Room
October 23, 2552 (Military Calendar)
"After exhausting every other strategic option, my creators activated the rings. They, and all additional sentient life in three radii of the galactic center…died, as planned. Would you like to see the relevant data?"
The Arbiter waited a second for Tartarus to comprehend the Oracle's words. "Tartarus. The Prophets have betrayed us."
The massive Brute lowered his head stared at the Oracle, refusing to accept the truth. Without warning he tossed the Oracle at the human Sergeant, knocking him off his feet. The Brute grabbed the female human and forced the Index in her hands into the Control Terminal.
Tartarus hefted his massive battle hammer with a snarl. Behind him, the Control Platform began to activate and a pillar of energy rose up in the center.
"No, Arbiter! The Great Journey has begun! And the Brutes, not the Elites, shall be the Prophets' escort!"
A bluish-white shield engulfed the Brute Chieftain as he jumped down onto the Control Platform. Several Honor Guard Elites entered the Control Room behind the Arbiter and charged the Chieftain's honor guards. Brandishing Energy Blades, they carved through the Brutes with ease and raced after Tartarus.
The Arbiter took his own Energy Sword off its mount and followed the Elites. The Honor Guards all swiped at the Brute, but Tartarus swung his hammer in an arc and the sound of snapping bones followed suit.
Tartarus leapt to the other end of the Control Platform with amazing agility for a creature his size as the Arbiter ran to the side of one of the dying Elites. With blood gushing from a massive wound in his chest, he whispered his last words, "Arbiter, for the honor of the Sangheili, kill that vermin."
The Elite fell back into a puddle of its own blood and let the last bit of life escape from his body. The Arbiter roared as stood up and saw the Brute slaughter three more Elites. "For the Sangheili!"
The Arbiter caught eyes with the human he had met earlier. The human had taken up a sniping position on the end of the balcony and was carefully following the Brute Chieftain.
"Don't worry about his shields!" he shouted while aiming his rifle. "Come on Arbiter, kick that guy's ass!"
The Arbiter activated his stealth camouflage and charged at the Brute. Three precise, purple rays of energy impacted on the Brute's chest, taking down his shields. The Arbiter let out a roar as he leapt through the air and activated his Energy Sword.
Tartarus swung his hammer at the Elite, but missed his head by an inch. The Arbiter landed in a crouch and thrust his sword up through the Brute's ribcage. Tartarus swiped at the Arbiter with his sharp claws, but soon let out a sick gargle mixed with purple alien blood before he fell onto his back.
The Arbiter stood up to his full height and eased his sword out of the Brute's chest cavity. He deactivated the blade and placed it back on its mount. The Control Room suddenly shuddered and the beam of energy disappeared from the center of the room. All the lights went out as the Arbiter looked around the room.
'The Sacred Icon!' he thought, suddenly remembering why he had came to the Control Room in the first place.
The Arbiter turned to the middle of the room where the female human was standing with the Sacred Icon in her hands. A hologram appeared in the center of the room and the female walked over to it.
"What's that?" she asked as the Oracle floated over to her with the male clinging on.
"A beacon," it casually replied.
"What's it doing?" she asked.
"Communicating at superluminal speeds with a frequency of-"
The female cut off the Oracle with another question, "Communicating with what?"
"The other installations." it replied.
"Show me."
"Fail-safe protocol: in the event of unexpected shut-down, the entire system will move to standby status. All platforms are now ready for remote activation."
"Remote activation," she asked. "From here?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
"Listen, tinker-bell," the Sergeant said with a threatening tone, "Don't make me-"
"Then where?" the female said while putting her hand on the male's shoulder. "Where would someone go to activate the other rings?"
"Why... the Ark, of course."
The Arbiter walked up to the humans, both of which stared at the Elite that dwarfed them. "And, where, Oracle, is that?"
The John, commonly called by his rank of Master Chief, fell to his knees as the Forerunner ship lurched forward.
'I haven't even left the Cargo Bay. There's no way we could've already exited Slipspace."
The Master Chief gained his bearings and overheard a frantic voice over his suit's Communication System. "We've got a new contact, unknown classification!"
Another, more commanding voice, came on in reply, "It isn't one of ours. Take it out!"
The Master Chief stood up and contacted the source of the communication. "This is Spartan one-one-seven! Can anyone hear me, over!"
Admiral Terrance Hood's voice came on in reply, "Isolate that signal! Master Chief, you mind telling me what you're doing on that ship!"
"Sir, finishing this fight."
The Admiral grinned, although only the men of the bridge of Cairo station could see it. "Clarify, Chief."
"Admiral, the last Covenant Hierarch is on this Forerunner ship. I intend on killing him."
"The last of their Prophets? And what do you mean by Forerunner ship? What's happened since you left Earth?"
"It's a long story. Do you have the time?"
"Not really, I guess." he said with a sigh. "This battle isn't going to well." Silence filled the comm. link before the Admiral said, "Chief, find Truth and kill him. It may be the only thing that can turn the tide of this battle. I'll scan the ship and see what kind of armaments it boasts, but other than that I can't help you too much."
"I understand, sir. I'll contact you again once Truth is dead or if something arises."
"Of course, Chief." He was silent for a minute before he added, "Good luck, Master Chief."
The Chief's comm. system crackled off and he checked the ammo counter on his Battle Rifle. He had a full clip and three more in his ammo pouch. The Chief held his rifle at ready and walked over to the end of the Cargo Bay. This might be his last chance to take the Prophet out and end this war. He couldn't mess this up.
Author's Notes - Yeah, there are a lot of Halo 3 fan fictions out there but I'd like it if you read and reviewed mine. This is just the prologue, and I plan on making the other chapters much longer. This is my first story, so don't be hard on my mistakes (Yeah, I'm covering my ass).