Hey Guys. So I had this idea, on where the Halo story can move on after Guardians without killing itself, while still staying close to expanded universe. Let me know what you think. If you guys like it, ill continue. Be sure to leave reviews, I love getting criticism. Thanks.
Planet Genisis
Unknown System
The two SPARTAN's shook hands. The old and the new. Chief smiled under his helmet, relieved and happy to be saved from the mad AI. Of course, his expression was completely hidden behind the cracked visor. One of the downsides and upsides of the bulky, intimidating armour. Both SPARTAN teams shifted uneasily, unsure of what was to come next.
"Do you think she'll come back?" Locke questioned the man that, just hours ago, he had been hunting down.
"Probably." The Chief replied stoically. "We should get going, before she does." Immediately back to crisis mode. How he had spent most of his life since he'd been 'conscripted' into the SPARTAN II program.
"Where?" Buck questioned flatly. He'd never been particularly fond of the old SPARTAN's, training and fighting as an ODST for most of his combat career.
"Exuberant," Chief called out to the monitor, ignoring the ODST-turned-SPARTAN. "We are going to need slipspace transport ASAP. and I need you to send an encrypted message to the UNSC Infinity."
"Right away." the courteous AI replied, prepping his requests. "Starting up one of the surviving Pelicans and preparing a slipspace node."
"Hey, we just saved your life." The hotheaded SPARTAN replied, impatient with the old soldier.
The Chief replied with only a single word: "Damascus."
/
UNSC Infinity
Slipspace
"Continue random calculated jumps, avoid major colonies." Captain Lasky ordered the Nav officer, an order reminiscent of the old orders on returning to Reach, before it was destroyed. The officer nodded. Everyone we on edge since they had their run in with Cortana. She seemed to be in control of a Guardian, and that was bad news, for everyone. All hands were on deck.
Then, Rolland broke the silence. "Captain, receiving an encrypted message via slipspace channels." He informed.
"Slipspace...Forerunner?" He questioned. The UNSC couldn't send messages to ships in slipspace.
"Not sure sir. The channel itself is Forerunner in nature, but the encryption matches old school UNSC encrypting. From our days fighting the insurgency."
"Can you decrypt it?" Lasky asked, on the edge of his seat. This was odd, but something felt familiar.
"Already on it sir." The shipboard AI replied. "Got it. It's from the Chief. It's a set of coordinates." He replied.
"Are you sure?" He questioned. With all that had just happened, they couldn't afford to walk into a trap.
"I think so." the AI replied.
"Then plot the coordinates." Lasky ordered, taking a seat in the pilot's chair. He hoped to whatever god was out there that this wasn't a trap.
/
Rouge Pelican
Low Orbit, Sanghelios
Once the 8 SPARTANs had fetched Dr. Halsey and Sarah Palmer, they made their way to their final destination. Most of Blue team was silent, brooding. They were kind of lacking in social skills. Meanwhile, Osiris was updating the professor and their fellow supersoldier on what was going on.
"And they still won't tell us where we are going." Tanaka finished, a slight taste of displeasement on her tongue. Could they blame her?
Dr. Halsey looked to the team of older soldiers in the back of the pelican, and recognized the slight movements in their otherwise frozen figures. To the untrained eye, they were brooding in silence. To someone like Dr. Halsey, they were actually having a private conversation. "John?" She asked, breaking the silence. "Where exactly are we going?"
John looked up, and the slight movements between the group stopped. "With Cortana in control of the Guardians, and all that forerunner tech, we need equipment out of her reach. Things she can't control."
The realization hit the old doctor. "You're taking us to Damascus" She whispered simply. It made sense.
"Im taking us to where the SPARTAN's war truly began."
/
Rouge Pelican
Low Orbit, Chi Ceti IV
"The Damascus Testing Facility." Dr. Halsey narrated to the newer SPARTANs. "This facility is where the SPARTAN II's got the first iteration of the MJOLNIR armor system. "It was the most advanced system at the time."
"It's still extremely powerful." Kelly cut in. This is also where we lost the first SPARTAN to the Covenant." Memories of their first fight with the aliens flashed through her mind, as did the rest of Blue Team. They all remembered the day they lost Samuel. Fred rested his hand on her shoulder, supportingly.
"I-Im sorry." Locke extended. He new what it was like to loose men. To lose friends. None of the SPARTANs replied. Only silence.
"Most importantly, they are old. And Cortana can't control them. Which means we will be able to fight her. You kids ready to climb into the big kid suits?" Fred asked the 5 SPARTAN IV's. The bay door of the pelican opened with a mechanical whirring, and wind swept into the cargo hold. The Jagged sides of Chi Ceti's canyons met the eyes of the occupants of the transport. Soon, the Pelican touched down on the darkened landing pad of the facility, hidden by the sharp cliffs. As the 10 stepped out of the ship, the Spartans instinctively took up combat formation. Kelly took point, as usual. Locke took the rear, the rest of the group taking file in between. The facility was dark, derelict. It didn't help that it was mostly hidden by canyon walls.
"Whats up with the spooky abandoned feel?" Vale asked, eying the facility. It was creepy. She didn't like creepy.
"Shortly after MJOLNIR was completed, this facility was shut down by Section 3." Halsey explained as the made their way into the darkened, dead facility. "But I'm positive what we came for is still here."
The group made their way through the upper levels of the facility, navigating via flashlight. Eventually, they reached a freight elevator. They crammed themselves in, and began the long trip down. The elevator was fast, but it still took 15 minutes to reach the bottom. The elevator slowly ground to a halt, and the bay doors slid open to darkness. By the light of flashlight, Dr. Halsey found a terminal, and powered it up. A few taps later, and the room they were in lit up as old lights flickered on. They were in what looked like a large hanger. Nearby, there were crates of weapons. The last time they were touched was the beginning of the Human Covenant War, many years ago. Osiris stepped forward, examining the rest of the facility. Further on were were a few old school warthogs. Finally, they came to the grand event. Several large, stoic power armours standing tall.
"Hydrostatic Gel, Liquid Crystal, Titanium nanocomposite." Halsey explained, stepping behind them. "The MJOLNIR Mark IV"
"No energy shields though" Palmer noted, sizing up the armor.
"No." Halsey replied. "But once the Infinity arrives, we should be able to to integrate shield units into these suits.
"Let's get started then" Chief said solemnly. With that, all 9 spartans began disassembling their armor systems, and dropping the parts on the ground. They weren't going to be needing them any more. THen, with difficulty, they climbed into the older suits. Luckily, the bodysuits of the GEN 2 MJOLNIR suits was compatible with the earliest units.
"Be careful." Halsey warned the IV's. "These suits are highly reactive to motions and movement. Unaugmented humans can't survive in these."
The 5 nodded, cautious as they took their first steps. "This...is weird. Tanaka was the first to say. The rest agreed. They wearily made their way to the testing area to get their sea legs.
Blue Team, however, remembered these suits. It was like riding an old bicycle. They immediately made their way to the dusty crates of weapons and began to gear up. They watched the IV's with humorous curiosity. They remembered figuring out how to walk and run and jump just like them.
"They aren't that much different than us. It's easier to see now that they look just like us too." Linda commented, saying what was on all of their minds.
Eventually, The IV's figured it out, for the most part. They made their way over too Blue team and the weapons. THe IV's had a newfound respect for the II's, already. These suits were hyperactive, crazy. They couldn't imagine being a teen having to wear these. "So whats our next move?" Locke asked Chief.
Before he could respond, their comms unit chirped to life. "Infinity to CHief, you there?"
"Captain Lasky, I hear you." he replied, heading towards the elevator.
"We are here in orbit above the planet, just like you asked." He said as the rest of the group followed suit.
"Good, we are coming to you."
"We?" Lasky asked.