Yo everybody! I cannot get over the sheer number of reviews I got for my one-shot. So here's the first chapter of the first book of the series I have planned. There will be four books in total, covering Halo, Halo: First Strike, Halo 2 and Halo 3.
So sit back and enjoy Halo: Lone Wolf.
And of course, read An Altered Destiny first, for those who haven't.
Disclaimer: I don't own Halo, Halo: Reach or Halo: The Flood. Just Lucas B312.
Chapter One: AI Constructs and Cyborgs First!
He was alone, standing atop a small tower overlooking a dust and smoke covered battlefield. A couple of Banshees and a Phantom fly overhead. Noble Six raised his loaded DMR.
His fight wasn't over yet…
Six grabbed one of the two M247H Heavy Machine Gun turrets, pulling the gun off the tripod. Nearby, a group of Grunts and an Elite Minor emerged from a Phantom, advancing on his position. The Spartan squeezed the trigger, unloading a steady stream of bullets into the alien soldiers. Rounds shredded through the Grunts, staining the dirt and grass with their luminous blue blood. The Elite lasted a little longer because of its shields but it too quickly fell under the furious hail of bullets.
As the last warrior died, a Banshee swooped low, firing on the lone human. The Spartan backpedaled from the strafing aircraft, unloading the machine gun's remaining bullets. The rounds tore through the Banshee's hull, tearing it and its pilot apart.
Two more Phantoms appeared, moving towards him. Noble Six dropped the empty machine gun, sprinting towards where he had stashed a M41 Rocket Launcher earlier. Rolling behind a concrete barricade, he picked up the rocket launcher and took aim at the nearest dropship. Twin rockets streaked towards the aircraft, slamming into its cockpit. The front of the moving Phantom exploded, causing it to spiral into the ground, taking its passengers with it.
But as it crashed, the other dropship successful released its passengers, more Elites and Grunts. Six switched to his DMR, firing shot after shot as they rushed towards him. A bullet struck the head of one Grunt, another hit the methane tank of a second, causing it to explode, taking a third Grunt that was too close with it. A fourth pulled out a plasma grenade, igniting it just before a bullet tore through its arm. The alien dropped it and a second later it exploded, killing several Grunts with it.
An overcharged Plasma Pistol fired, the bolt striking Noble Six's face. The Spartan was thrown off his feet, slamming onto the ground. Six could see nothing but stars as the alarms sounded in his helmet. When his vision cleared, cracks in his visor were the first thing he saw. The second was a Grunt holding a Needler.
Six's hand shot out, ripping the breathing mask off its face. The alien squealed, gasping for breath. The Spartan shot up to his feet, pausing to kick the Grunt away. He drew his sidearm, firing at the rest of the enemy as he ran from them.
The Covenant soldiers fired back, sending plasma bolts, Needler shards and a single green glob of incendiary gel. Six frantically dove into a makeshift foxhole that had been created from a burnt out building.
One of them had a Fuel Rod Gun.
This was going to make things… difficult.
Six ejected the empty clip from his pistol and slapped in a fresh one. He had two other clips for the gun and single plasma grenade.
He needed another weapon fast.
The squawks and howls of the Grunts filled the air as they drew closer. Six rose from his foxhole, firing at the Grunts and Elites as he rushed towards more cover, dodging more shots along the way.
He reached another half-destroyed building, the bodies of several soldiers lying inside. Six grabbed one of their MA37 Assault Rifles, ejecting the nearly empty clip and grabbing a fresh one from the man's body, reloading the weapon and stocking up on as much ammo as he could.
Six pressed his body up against a wall, next to a gaping hole. He turned into the hole, throwing the plasma grenade at the Grunts, hitting the one holding the Fuel Rod Gun. The small alien shrieked as the others desperately tried to get away from it. A second later, the grenade exploded, killing some of the Grunts and detonating the cannon's ammunition.
A second and much larger explosion tore through the area, killing nearly all of the Grunts while those that survived were quickly gunned down by Six before they could recover.
Reloading, he cautiously emerged from his cover, searching for the Elites. He couldn't see where they gone in the fog. Elites weren't Grunts. If they weren't coming at him head on, they were planning on flanking him or ambushing him while he dealt with the cannon fodder. And in this smoke, they could be anywhere.
Suddenly, a fist erupted from a smoke, striking the Spartan's face. The cracks in his visor became a spider-web that covered most of his vision. But Six stayed standing and bashed his rifle into the Elite Minor's head as he drew his combat knife with his left hand. The Elite staggered back, its shields gone, a knife ramming into its mandibles.
Breathing heavily from exhaustion and injuries he had sustained over the weeks of fighting against the Covenant, Six fell to his knees, dropping his rifle before pulling off his damaged helmet. With his vision no longer obstructed, he grabbed his assault rifle and stood back up. An Ultra charged at him, firing off its Plasma Rifle. The Spartan roared as he gunned down the Elite. Suddenly, a gold armored General appeared behind him, an energy sword in its hand. Six spun around, driving his elbow with all of his might into the head of the Elite, killing its shields before the alien fell to the ground. He drew his pistol and fired two shots into its head.
But as he turned from the dead Elite, a barrage of plasma fire struck his body. Without his helmet, his shields were inactive, leaving him unprotected. Six cried out in pain as the plasma burned his body. He staggered back, firing his assault rifle and pistol at the Major and Minor that were advancing on him. Both quickly fell from his assault.
Another Ultra slammed into Noble Six, knocking him to the ground. The white-plated Elite drew an energy dagger, intending to gut the Spartan but Six kicked the warrior back. As the Ultra stumbled back, a Zealot with an energy sword moved to decapitate him.
Barehanded, the Spartan drove his left hand into the Elite's skull, throwing the blade from its hand. As the Zealot drew its own dagger, the Ultra returned, grabbing the Spartan's left arm. Noble Six struck back, punching the alien with his free hand. Breaking its grip as the Elite was knocked back.
At that moment, the Elite Zealot stood over him. "Your destruction is at hand demon," the maroon armored alien barked crudely in English.
The dagger plunged into his chest-
Lucas's eyes shot open, gasping for breath, the glass and metal of the cryo-tube surrounding him. He closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down. His breathing steadied and his heart slowed to normal.
He was no longer on Reach. The battle was over. Lucas mentally reminded himself that he had made it off the planet and was currently abroad the Pillar of Autumn. The Spartan-III had always hated cryo-sleep. It always gave him nightmares. Usually they were of the glassing of Jericho VII, his home. But this time, he was on Reach, fighting to his last breath.
Looking through the glass, he could see one of the ship's technicians standing before the console of the two cryo-tubes. "Both suits are showing green," he heard the man said, his voice muffled by the tube. "Cycle complete."
Lucas's cryo-tube as well as the tube next to his opened. The Spartan attempted to rise only to have his head start to spin, forcing him back down onto the tube. "Sorry for the quick thaw sirs," the Tech Chief said. "Things are a little hectic right now. The disorientation should pass quickly."
"Welcome back sirs," the technician standing in the observation room added with a wave. "We'll have you both battle ready in no time."
"Sam, bring up their health monitors," the Tech Chief, T. Shephard according to his nametag, ordered.
"Right."
Lucas watched as his vital signs appeared on his HUD, just below the shield integrity display. "Vital signs look normal," Shephard said as he studied his console. "Minimal freezer burn. Okay sirs, go ahead and climb out of the cryo-tube."
'Minimal?' Lucas thought, much of his skin irritated from being covered during cryo-sleep.
While this wasn't the first time the Spartan-III had entered cryo-sleep with clothes on, this was the first time his entire body was covered. His whole body itched like hell.
Lieutenant B312 stood up and climbed out of their cryo-tube, pausing to stretch out his stiff body. Next to him, Master Chief Petty Officer 117 emerged from the other tube.
"I gave you both a double dose of the wake-up stim," Shephard explained as the Spartans moved around, recovering the effects of their thawing. "Take a quick walk around the bay and we'll get your shields up when you're ready."
But just as he said that, there was a loud rumbling and the Pillar of Autumn shuttered. Both Spartans tensed, glancing at each other for a moment. They were under attack.
"We don't have time. Let's get this over with," the Master Chief said as they headed for the diagnostic station set for the shield systems of the MJOLNIR armor.
The station was a rather simple looking device. It consisted of an inverted L-shaped beam with a pair of metal arms hanging from it.
Tech Chief Shephard quickly followed after the two Spartans. "Alright then, we'll start with you Master Chief," he replied. "Step into the test station."
Lucas watched as the Master Chief moved in between the two arms, standing perfectly still.
Shepherd glanced up at his subordinate in the observation station. "Okay, bring his energy shields online please."
The station activated, the arms spinning around the Master Chief as the devices on the ends of the arms started to glow. The Chief's armor shimmered for a moment as its shields powered up.
"Alright. Shields read as fully charged," Sam reported.
"Okay, sir. We're going to bring them down to test the automatic recharge," Shepherd said, explaining the next phase as the arms slowed down.
The golden lights on the arms turned red and electricity surged from them. Master Chief's shields flared up for a second before dying. A few moments later, his armor shimmered briefly as his shields came back up.
"Recharging normal," Sam said. "Showing green across the board."
Shepherd nodded his head. "Good. Now if you'd step into the station, we'll get you taken care of."
The Spartan-II moved out from under the device, allowing Lucas to enter it. Once he was under it, Sam began to start up the process again. However, something unexpected happened. "Ah… Sir, I'm getting an error message here."
Shepherd turned to Sam, a confused expression on his face. "What?"
"I don't know what to make of it sir."
Clearly, his Mark V(B) Armor was incompatible with the diagnostic device. An annoyance, but not a serious problem. "I'll bring my shields up manually," Lucas replied before pressing chin into the small button within his helmet.
Like with the Chief's armor, the Lieutenant's shimmered as the shields came online. The shield meter in his HUD completely filled up. "Shields fully charged," he reported.
The Tech Chief eyed him cautiously for a second. "Bring them down Sam."
Again, bolts shot out from the device. Lucas blinked as lightning flashed across his visor, the alarm bell filling his ears as his meter emptied. Seconds later, his shields came back, fully recharging. "They're good," he said.
"Bridge to Cryo 2, this is Captain Keyes. Send the Spartans to the bridge immediately," the Autumn's Captain said over the intercom.
"Captain, we'll have to skip the weapons diagnostics and I-" Shepherd started to protest.
"On the double, crewman."
"Aye aye, sir." The engineer turned to the two Spartans. "The skipper seems jumpy, we'd better get moving. We'll find you weapons later."
Neither Spartan liked the idea of remaining unarmed as a battle played out around them. Of course, if it stayed a ship-to-ship battle, there would be little that they could do.
"Okay. I'll leave the self-diagnostics running at least," the technician in the booth said.
"Good idea. You'd better get to your evac group, Sam!" Shepherd replied.
Sam nodded, his hands dancing across his console. "Affirmative. Just have to reset the computer and I'm outta here!"
Suddenly, loud banging filled the chamber. It was coming from the door to the observation room. They all knew what it was.
The Covenant had come aboard.
"Oh God! They're trying to get through the door!" a panicking Sam shouted. "Security! Intruders in Cryo Two!"
But it was too late. The door was torn open and a crimson clad Elite emerged, firing its Plasma Rifle at the defenseless man.
"No, please don't-Agh!"
The dead technician collapsed while the Elite turned its attention to the other three men. It fired its weapon but was useless against the reinforced glass of the booth. The alien snarled and ran out, searching for another way into the cryo chamber.
"Sam! Sam!" Shepherd called out, vainly hoping against fate. There was no response. He shook his head before running to the door. "C'mon, we've got to get the hell out of here!"
Both Spartans followed after him into the corridor. The Tech Chief raced to a closed door at the end of the hallway. "This way!" he shouted back, hitting the door control.
At that very instant, an explosion tore through the door, throwing the man violently halfway across the corridor. He was already dead before his body came to a stop.
However, that wasn't all.
Fire and debris filled the doorway and the room beyond it. They weren't going to be able to make through there.
"Through there," the Master Chief said, pointing to an open service crawlspace that opened up into another hallway.
The Spartans ducked through the narrow space, climbing over some large pipes before reaching the next corridor, identical to the previous one. They sprinted to the nearby door and opened it. The sight that greeted them was of a firefight between three armed crewmen a small group of Grunts a large corridor. Both soldiers knew they could do very little unarmed as they were.
There was an explosion, sending a man's body flying. Decompression alarms sounded as the emergency bulkheads activated, separating the aliens from the humans. One of the two surviving crewmen rushed to his fallen comrade's side, checking his vitals.
The other man turned to the Spartans, looking pale and haggard. "There's nothing you can do here sirs. You better get out of here."
Neither said anything, continuing towards the Bridge. Along the way, the two encountered more desperate battles between UNSC personnel and the warriors of Covenant. Each of them ended with the aliens beginning pushed back but the fact that they had managed to penetrate as deep as they were into the Autumn, was both disturbing and troubling. If things continued as they were, the Autumn was going to be lost.
When they finally neared the Bridge, they found area a mess. The Covenant had come close, dangerously close to the command center of the ship. Barricades, both makeshift and otherwise, had been set up along the paths to the Bridge in an effort to hold the invaders back. The marines had succeeded in keeping the Covenant back but at terrible cost. Bodies were strewn about the hallway, their blood staining the floor and walls.
"Sirs!" a private yelled as the two super soldiers walked through the aftermath of the latest battle. "The Captain needs you on the bridge, ASAP! You better follow me."
The soldier ran into an armory station, both men following after him. Lucas took a moment to look any weapons still in the station. Unfortunately, it had been cleared out of weapons and was now being used as an emergency triage station.
"Sir, come on!" the private called out from the door at the end of the room.
Lucas nodded as he continued on. Minutes later, the two Spartans stepped onto the Bridge. All round them, grim-faced officers and crewmen were frantically manning their stations. Undoubtedly, they knew how exactly the entire battle was playing out. And by their expressions, it wasn't going well.
They continued onto the end of the Bridge where Captain Jacob Keyes stood before the main screen, studying the readouts that were being displayed. However, there was something displayed on the screen that caught both Spartans' attention. An odd ring-shaped object.
"Captain Keyes," the Master Chief said, announcing their presence to the commanding officer.
Keyes turned around, a slight grin on his face. "Good to see you, Master Chief, Lieutenant," Keyes replied, shaking their armored hands one after the other. After that, the grin slid off his face. "Things aren't going well. Cortana did her best, but we never really had a chance."
At the mention of her name, the AI appeared atop the holoprojector next to the main screen. "A dozen Covenant superior battleships against a single Halcyon-class Cruiser. Given those odds I'm content with three..." Cortana paused, closing her eyes. "Make that four kills." The AI turned to the two Spartans. "Sleep well?"
Lucas shrugged. "I've had worse."
"No thanks to your driving, yes," the Chief replied.
A smile spread across Cortana's face. "So you did miss me," she said to the older soldier.
Lucas briefly wondered what exactly Cortana meant by that but chose not to say anything.
Suddenly, the Autumn shook violently, forcing everyone on the Bridge to brace themselves against whatever they could. Both the Captain and Lucas supported themselves against the main screen while the Master Chief staggered but stayed standing. "Report!" Keyes yelled the instant the shaking stopped and he was able to stand up.
"It must have been one of their boarding parties!" the distressed AI responded. "I'd guess an Antimatter Charge."
"Ma'am! Fire control to the main cannon is offline!" Lieutenant Hikowa, the Autumn's Weapon Officer shouted from her station.
"Captain, the cannon was my last offensive option," Cortana pointed out.
The MAC Cannon was about the only effective ship-based weapon the UNSC had that could counter the energy shields of Covenant warships. Without it, they might as well open an airlock and start throwing rocks that them.
Keyes let out a sigh. "Alright then," he said. "I'm initiating Cole Protocol, Article 2. We're abandoning the Autumn. That means you too, Cortana."
"While you do what, go down with the ship?" the AI asked, annoyed tone in her voice.
"In a manner of speaking," the Captain replied, turning to the main screen, tapping it with his pipe. "The object we found, I'm going to try and land the Autumn on it."
Cortana shook her head. "With all due respect, sir, this war has enough dead heroes."
The Captain turned to the AI. "I appreciate your concern, Cortana, but it's not up to me. Protocol is clear. Destruction or capture of a shipboard AI is absolutely unacceptable, that means you're leaving the ship. Lock in a selection of emergency landing zones, upload them to my neural lace, and then sort yourself for a hard transfer," he ordered.
"Aye aye, sir," Cortana said, capitulating to the officer.
Her holographic body disappeared from its pedestal. With her gone, Keyes turned to the Spartans. "Which is where you two come in," he continued. "Get Cortana off this ship. Keep her safe from the enemy. If they capture her, they'll learn everything. Force deployment, weapons research... Earth."
The most closely guarded secret of humanity was the location of Earth. And the greatest fear of the UNSC was for Earth to be discovered by the Covenant. It would be Armageddon. The safeguarding of Earth was their highest priority. Everything thing else paled in comparison. "We understand," the Chief answered for both of them.
Cortana reappeared on her pedestal. "The Autumn will continue evasive maneuvers until you initiate a landing sequence. Not that you'll listen, but I'd suggest letting my subroutines handle the final approach," she said.
The Captain nodded his head. "Excellent work, Cortana," he replied. "And thank you. Are you ready?"
Cortana took a moment, looking around at the Autumn. She let out a sigh. "Yank me," the AI said, hanging her head and her eyes closed.
Keyes typed in a sequence in the keypad built into the holoprojector. Cortana's avatar disappeared just before he pulled out the chip containing Cortana's data crystal. "Good luck Spartans," the Captain said as he handed the chip to the Master Chief.
Upon receiving the chip, the older Spartan inserted it into the back of his helmet. Lucas shook his head as he watched. He would never stick something like that into his head, even if he was ordered to.
"Don't get any funny ideas," the Chief uttered.
"Excuse me Chief?" Lucas asked, confused as what he was talking about.
The Spartan shook his head. "Nothing."
Keyes drew his sidearm, handing it to the Master Chief who took it. "I don't keep it loaded, son," he said before turning to Lucas. "And I only have the one."
The Lieutenant reached up to his chest, pulling his combat knife from its sheath. "Don't worry about me, sir. I still have my knife."
"Alright then," Keyes replied with a nod. "Get going you two."
The two Spartans carefully crept through one of the empty corridors of the Autumn, the distant sounds of battles playing out around them. They had yet to come across any Covenant yet, which was fortunate considering all they had was an empty pistol and a knife.
Lucas had taken point, holding his knife up defensively while the Master Chief followed after him. The Spartan-III could feel the occasional glances the older soldier was giving him. He looked back at him. "If you want to ask something, ask it."
"I have several," the Chief replied.
He was expecting that. They hadn't really said anything to each other since the Autumn left Reach. And as far as the Chief knew, Halsey's Spartan-IIs were the only Spartans in existence. "Then ask."
"You armor, it's similar to the MJOLNIR Mark V but it isn't. What is it and what are its full capabilities?"
"MJOLNIR Mark V(B) Armor," Lucas answered. "Near identical to your armor but designed and constructed by a private contractor rather than the UNSC."
"Shield strength?"
"Not quite as strong as Mark V's. But it has some experimental features that your armor lacks."
Suddenly, the Spartan-II spun around while the Spartan-III stabbed his knife into a small alcove. A black armored Special Ops Elite appeared, staggering back from the Master Chief. In the alcove, another Elite appeared, the knife in its chest. Lucas pulled his blade out and rammed it into the alien's throat, twisting the handle as he drove it in. Nearby, the other Elite swung its Plasma Rifle down on the Chief but he sidestepped the blow, driving his elbow into its midsection and followed up with a powerful uppercut. The Elite fell to the ground and the Spartan stomped on its neck, killing it.
"You were saying," the Chief said as they both lifted up the Elites' Plasma Rifles.
"Grenade!" a marine shouted, diving for cover as a plasma grenade flew through the air.
Other soldiers scrambled out of the way as the explosive landed on the ground. But one wasn't fast enough and was caught in the blast while two others were gunned down by the Elites, Jackals and Grunts they were fighting as they moved for cover.
At that moment, Spartan B312 appeared, charging at the Covenant warriors. An Elite Major barked out an order and its squad fired on the Spartan. He took dozens of hits before flickering for second and disappearing altogether.
As he disappeared, a service tunnel hatch across from the Covenant troops opened and the Master Chief emerged, firing his plasma rifle at the aliens as his younger comrade rallied the surviving marines. Bullets and plasma bolts rained down on the aliens. A Jackal's shield overload and a second later it was struck down. Two Grunts fell while another's methane tank ruptured. The combined fire of several marines and the Master Chief killed the Major. A panicking Grunt pulled out plasma grenade and primed it, only to be hit by burst of fire from one of the marines. The grenade dropped from its grip and then exploded, killing almost all of the Covenant soldiers fighting in the confined space of the corridor.
Only an Elite Minor, its shields dead, survived. The blue clad warrior howled, racing towards the Chief as it blindly fired at him. Clearly, the warrior wanted to kill the Spartan before dying. But the Master Chief was not about to let him, unloading with his Plasma Rifle until it overheated. The plasma bolts tore through the charging alien's body. It stumbled as it reached him, its momentum throwing it forward. The dead Elite flew on top the Spartan, nearly knocking him down. But the Chief managed to stay on his feet, tossing the body to the ground.
"Here," Lucas said, approaching the other Spartan with a MA5B Assault Rifle and some clips in his hands. "I don't know about you, but I prefer to have something human-made in my hands."
The Chief took the offered weapon, ejecting the half spent clip before taking the additional ammo. "Thanks," he replied, reloading the rifle.
"Hologram projector. Nice trick," Cortana complimented.
Lucas nodded as he pulled out another assault rifle from the magnetic strip on his back. "It helped me out more than few times on Reach."
"Sirs," the sergeant leading the marine squad called out. "Thanks for the help."
"You soldiers better get to your evac station before they leave," Cortana said.
The NCO nodded his head. "Yes ma'am." He turned to his squad. "You heard the lady, let's get moving."
The marines turned and began running down the corridor, away from the Spartans. "Come on, we better get moving too."
More and more battles were raging across the Autumn and while the soldiers and crew members were putting up a valiant fight, the waves of Covenant warriors seemed to be without end. Every wave slowly wore down the UNSC forces bit by bit. Ultimately, the humans wouldn't win this battle. But they weren't seeking to win the battle, just by time for everyone to get off the ship.
Which included two Spartans and an AI.
"There! Lifeboats straight ahead!" Cortana exclaimed. "Hurry up before they leave without us!"
Neither man needed to be told twice, racing towards the three lifeboats in their moorings, firing on a handful of Jackals and Grunts standing in between them and their means of escape. Unfortunately, just as they reached a window that overlooked the lifeboats, they took off one by one. As they launched, the guns from one of the Covenant warships fired upon them. Beams struck the Autumn's hull and the third lifeboat, destroying it instantly.
"The Covenant are destroying the lifepods…" Cortana said as they watched the two remaining craft made their escape. "They really don't want us on that ring."
"All the more reason for us to get down there," the Chief replied, reloading his rifle.
Lucas said nothing as he slapped in a fresh clip. Dr. Halsey's words when she handed Cortana to him on Reach echoed in his mind. Was the ring what Halsey had talked about? Was it the game changer?
The only way to know for sure was, just as the Master Chief said, to get down there.
"Where's the closest set of lifeboats?" the Spartan-III asked.
"Not too far," the AI answered. "I'll set up a marker on your HUDs."
A moment later, a marker arrow and the distance to the point in meters appeared on the heads-up display of both Spartans' helmets. "Well then, let's get going," Lucas said, moving to head around the corner. "I'll take point."
Lucas rounded the corner, his rifle raised and ready. However there were no contacts, friendly or otherwise. The two Spartans continued on, moving past the empty lifeboat moorings.
But as they neared another corner, their motion trackers detected several enemy contacts advancing on their position. Lucas peered around the corner, ducking back as Grunts fired at him. "Just a bunch of Grunts," he said. "Easy pickings."
The Chief nodded and the two of them spun around the corner, firing on the aliens. Within a few seconds, all of the Grunts were dead.
But their motion trackers were still detecting movement. "Spec Ops!" the Spartan-II shouted as the realization hit him.
Just as he shouted, a cloaked Elite appeared in front of Lucas, kicking the Spartan-III's chest. He flew back, crashing to the ground as more Elites appeared around the two soldiers. The one that knocked Lucas down activated its energy dagger, moving to finish the Spartan off. But Lucas was faster, driving his feet with all of his strength into the Elite chest. While the warrior stumbled back and Lucas climbed to his feet, another Elite fired its Plasma Rifle, striking his shield. The Spartan-III threw his knife, the Elite howled as the blade lodged itself in its eye.
The first Elite tackled him, trying to stab the Spartan with its dagger. As they grappled with each other, there was an explosion. Warning alarms sounded and an emergency bulkhead activated. Lucas started pushing the Elite back, moving towards the moving bulkhead. Their struggles intensified. Neither seemed to be able to get the better of the other. Lucas managed to break his right hand from the Elite's grip before driving it into the alien's head. Its head shot back, under the moving bulkhead. He grabbed the Elite's neck, holding it down. The alien fought back harder but it was too late. It howled as the bulkhead sealed. There was a crunch and blue blood sprayed out on the Spartan.
Lucas turned to the wounded Elite. It pulled the knife out, snarling as it ran off, activating its cloak once more. He made no move to chase after the fleeing Elite. Instead he picked up his knife, shaking the blood off before turning to the bulkhead. "Chief, Cortana, do you read me?"
"We're here," the Master Chief answered. "You alright?"
"Took care of the Elites on my end. Can you get the bulkhead open?"
"Not from in here," Cortana said.
Lucas nodded. "Then go sir. You need to get Cortana off the ship. I'll be fine," he replied.
"What about you?" the older Spartan asked.
"I'll find my own way out."
"Lieutenant, the bulkheads behind you have also sealed. However, there is an access door to the service tunnels nearby. If you follow it down, it should end near the Engine Room," Cortana explained. "After that, it should only be a short walk to the hangers or where the SOEIVs are."
"Alright then," Lucas said, picking up his assault rifle before heading to the nearby door. "I'll see you on the ring."
He hit the door release button but it refused to open and he didn't know the override code. No matter. Lucas tore open the panel, revealing the wiring. While he may not have been as good at this stuff as Kat had been, the Spartan-III knew more than enough to get the door opened. After some quick hotwiring, the door opened, allowing him in.
Lucas's journey through the service corridors had been relatively uneventful. The passage were too small for Elites to effectively move around in, so they ignored the tunnels, sending in only the occasional Grunt patrol into them. And of course, most of those he encountered ran in fear without an Elite commander to keep them in line.
Eventually after going down half a dozen ladders and what seemed like miles of narrow corridors, the Spartan-III reached the end of the tunnels, picking up some comm chatter as he stepped out into a hallway.
"All right," a male voice said. "Listen up! Play time is over. Captain Keyes is tired of our company and wants us to this tub. There's a construct down there, complete with an atmosphere, gravity, and the one thing marines' love like beer, dirt beneath our feet."
It must have been a unit of marines that had been assigned to protect the Engine Room from Covenant boarders. Undoubtedly, they were preparing to leave in the drop pods. While the SOEIVs were primary insertion tool of the Orbital Shock Drop Troopers, all UNSC personnel were trained in their use as there plenty of instances in which other personnel would be forced to use them.
Lucas began walking towards the Engine Room, ignoring the bullet holes and plasma burns on the walls as well as the dead Covenant.
"Most of the crew, not to mention your fellow jarheads, will be leaving the ship in lifeboats. They'll ride to the surface in air-conditioned comfort, sipping wine and nibbling on appetizers."
Upon hearing those words he stopped. It couldn't be…
"Not you, however. Oh no, you're going to leave the Pillar of Autumn by a different method. Tell me boys and girls, how will you leave?"
Lucas shook his head, already knowing what they were going to say.
"WE GO FEET FIRST SIR!" the response came from dozens of voices.
Helljumpers… He was going to be dropping with the damned ODST.
His past encounters with the drop troopers had left him with a deep loathing for the ODST in general. They were loud, arrogant, and at least a little crazy. And most held the Spartan Program and their soldiers in low regard, if not outright hatred. Which were mutual feelings for the Spartan. In the past year, he had been on three ops that had gone awry due to the 'help' of the ODST. Only his skill had prevented the ops from becoming failures.
Needless to say, he was not looking forward to being around the Helljumpers when the fighting resumed.
The set of doors at the end of the corridor opened and dozens of ODST soldiers started leaving the Engine Room. Upon seeing the Spartan, they stopped with more than a few of them glaring at them, their commanding officer stepping forward. "Major Antonio Silva," the man said as he approached. "It's a surprise to see you here Master Chief. I assume you're here looking for a way off the Autumn."
"Sir. I'm not the Master Chief," he replied. "Lieutenant Sierra B312, sir. But yes, I am looking for a way off the ship."
The Major sixed him up for a moment before nodding his head. "Very well Lieutenant. We're about to leave the ship as well. You're welcome to come with us as long as you don't mind slumming with the ODST."
"Thank you sir," he politely answered, ignoring the arrogant tone the man used.
With that they were off, heading for where the drop pods were. Lucas could hear the insults some of the Helljumpers were mumbling about him. But as always, he chose to disregard them.
After a few minutes, they reached the large drop pod room. Ten rows of SOEIVs stood on tracks. A single pod would drop from each row before the track would move and drop another. Lucas headed for the closest SOEIV at the front of the rows.
"Hey! That's my pod!" an annoyed corporal yelled at the Spartan as he closed the hatch.
The Lieutenant secured his weapons and strapped himself in, waiting for the drop timer to reach zero. All around him, the ODST members did the same. Just as the last of the drop pods were boarded and secured, the timer went from one to zero.
The tracks activated, pulling Lucas's into launch position. As soon as it reached said position, the clamps released and the pods thrusters activated, pushing the Spartan into his seat. Drop pods began falling from the Autumn's belly, racing towards the massive ring construct that they had found, the blaring tune of the ODST anthem filling the comms.
Lucas leaned his head back, staring out that the construct.
Whatever it was, whether Covenant or not, it was important to aliens. Enough so that they wouldn't risk bringing their full weapons to bear against the Autumn out of fear of hitting it. Hence the boarding action against the ship.
And maybe, just maybe, Halsey's game changer would be there…
And done. As I've said before, this entire story will be from Lucas's PoV. Which means as you can already see that he won't follow the Chief through that he went through on Halo. This is his story, not the Chief's.
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