What If…

Master Chief and the Arbiter landed safely on Earth after their actions on 04b?

Let's find out!

The Master Chief strained to keep the Warthog under control as a mob of flood crowded the pathway across the numerous platforms, most of which were breaking apart as the Halo Installation 04b rapidly destroyed itself. He could just barely see the UNSC Frigate Forward Unto Dawn through the smoke and explosions as it floated by the destruction, waiting for him. The Chief pressed harder on the accelerator and turned a pair of combat forms into paste under the massive wheels. He made a sharp right and glanced quickly at the Arbiter, who pointed to something ahead. John looked through the windshield and saw the frigate was directly ahead of them and pushed the vehicle as fast as it would go. He heard Cortana shout something about a ramp at the end and jumping into the hangar, although it didn't register until moments later when the Hog was flying through the air towards the ship. The Chief willed himself not to look down, and although he couldn't be sure at the time, he thought he heard the Arbiter praying. How the Arbiter could pray after all they had been through was a complete and total mystery to him. A Separatist from a corrupt religion, praying to whatever god he has left The Chief mused. I never thought I'd see the day.

This thought was quickly forgotten as the warthog crashed on the front bumper within the hangar and threw the pair of soldiers free, the Arbiter landing in a pile of crates and Chief hitting an access terminal. "Let's get out of here." He muttered as he grabbed the terminal and plugged in Cortana.

"That sounds like a great idea!" She shouted over the sound of the ship's rumbling engines. The frigate slowly ascended through the atmosphere of 04b, and it was clearly going to slow to escape the carnage below.

"Chief, I'm picking up on a structural weakness forming near your current location. I advise you and the Arbiter to make your way towards the front of the ship, that section seems to be more structurally intact."

"On my way." The Chief replied before gesturing towards the Arbiter, who nodded, picked up his plasma rifle off of the floor, and strapped it to his hip holster. The Human and Sangheili warriors sprinted down a seemingly endless corridor leading out of the bay and hooked a right to an elevator. The Chief punched a button and was rewarded moments later to the doors opening and the elevator car waiting for him. He quickly turned to the panel and pressed CR. The elevator doors closed, and a gentle tug of acceleration pulled at the two soldiers. For five heartbeats, all that could be heard was labored breathing from the sprinting and the gentle thrum of the elevator. After what felt like minutes, the door whispered open and Arbiter and the Chief continued their dash. As they entered the control room, John tapped furiously on a set of controls. "Nice work John, slipspace matrix engaged. I'm going to try and get us out of here." The Arbiter tapped a button twice and an image appeared on the forward screen. It was a camera positioned on the prow of the ship, and I showed the Shaw-Fujikawa drive working it's magic. A wormhole tore itself open, and the ship slowly made it's way inside. But just as the ship was halfway through the portal, Installation 04b violently exploded. This broke down the wormhole, and the results were catastrophic. The Chief couldn't see the effects, but he could definitely hear and feel them. The sound of metal scraping over metal made him cringe, but after a few seconds it suddenly stopped. "What was that?" Asked the Arbiter in a concerned tone.

"Well… It appears we lost something."

- End of chapter 1-