The Homecoming Saga
Book 1: Spartan
Chapter 1: A Rude Awakening
Running through fields of green, laughing, shouting, jumping, not a care in the world. This, the boy thought, must be what peace really is. The sun was warm, the sky was clear, the breeze was, well, breezy. He could see a hill in the distance, as could the others. They had a race. The boy knew he would win, he always did. Winning was everything. If you didn't win, you lost, and the boy could never, would never, lose. He couldn't afford to.
He ran as fast as he could towards the hill, quickly leaving the others behind. The boy couldn't help thinking something wasn't right. The sky was getting darker, the grass was getting thinner, even the boy himself seemed to be changing, getting taller, older, and bulkier.
The 'boy' slowed to a halt, he'd won anyway. Coming over the brow of the hill, he spied a town in the distance. Flames engulf entire streets as what seemed like purple flies dipped and bobbed in the sky above, spitting blue bolts down into the town. All the 'boy' could think of though was how hungry he was.
Turning around, he noticed that his companions had caught up. They too, seemed to have changed, although the 'boy' couldn't quite put his finger on how. "They're coming," one of them said, and the 'boy' noticed the huge crowd running up the hill towards them. "Let'em come," grinned another. The 'boy' did not quite know what was going on, but he knew something was nagging him, something important. The crowd coming towards them looked odd. He noticed how some of them seemed to be disfigured, and pasty, like rotted flesh. He saw others that were big and tall, and their mouths looked funny, like an octopus. Others were made entirely of metal.
He suddenly noticed a crowd had gathered behind them. "Knuckle up Marines!," someone shouted. "All you green horns who wanted to see the covenant up close, today is your lucky day!" What does that mean? The 'boy' thought, and why does everyone have guns? "What do we do sir?" One of the girls asked him. He noticed she was wearing the same green suit he was.
Someone handed him a gun. It was another girl, although this one looked normal, except for the fact that she was purple, and seemed slightly opaque slightly, like a ghost.
"It's been a pleasure serving with you John," she said.
John turned to face his enemies, and then the sky collapsed with a shuddering roar.
"...John? John! Wake up!...CHIEF!"
Master Chief Petty Officer 'John', Serial number 117, awoke with a start, smashing his helmet into what was left of the cryotube's front window.
"Thank god," Cortana said, "I thought the quick thaw had killed you!"
"What's the situation?," The chief asked as he rose groggily from the battered unit.
"I'm not sure." Cortana said as she materialised on the terminal across the room, crossing her arms in thought. "I was preparing to enter a partial stasis routine when the spectrographic readings in the area went haywire, and then something slammed into us."
"Something?," The Chief was having trouble moving. In fact, he realised there were a lot of things he was having trouble doing.
"A ship of some kind, but I'm not sure. My data is limited as most of the sensor equipment was in the other half of the ship. I'm using what I can, but I managed to get a glimpse of it. Doesn't match any known configuration I've seen, human or otherwise, and there's an entire fleet of them."
"Great." The Chief was still a bit shaky, but he managed to float over to the weapons rack and pull out his MA5C. The fight is never finished, he thought.
"Your life signs appear to be stabilising, but you're very close to being in shock. When the 'ship' collided with the hull, your cryotube was sent flying and it smashed into the bulkhead. You were thawed so quickly that I thought it'd killed you…"
"I'm still here." The chief reassured her. Something stirred within him at her concern, but he couldn't tell what. "What's happening now?"
"I don't know, it appears the smaller ships have backed off, but a massive one has come along side and has launched what looks like small landing craft."
"You're sure it doesn't match anything?"
"Positive, although the frame work does look vaguely familiar, and human too."
"How long have I been out?"
"A couple of months, not long enough for the UNSC to develop an entire new class of ship, and definetly not long enough to have received the beacon and launch a rescue."
"Why didn't you detect the slipspace fields?," The chief had moved to a gap in the bulkhead, the hull of the massive ship dominating the view. Magnifying his HUD, he saw two small landing craft making their way slowly to the other end of the ship. He thought they looked like smaller versions of the pelicans, just without the wings.
"That's the thing, there weren't any," Cortana's eyes began to flicker as she reviewed the data. "One minute nothing was there, and then this fleet appeared out of nowhere, and the energy readings spiked for a few seconds. It must be an unknown method of faster-than-light travel"
"Fascinating," The chief moved away from the opening, and wedged himself in the remains of the cryotube. "What now?"
"Well I'm picking up radio chatter between the landing craft and the ship, but I'm having trouble hacking into it, the signal seems almost… Antiquated." Cortana's brow deepened as she concentrated. "One more thing, whoever they are, they definitely know you're here. I picked up what seemed like radar scans about 10 minutes ago."
"Right," The Chief un-slung his MA5C, checked the ammunition, and flicked off the safety. "Let's go see what they want."
He could hear them up the corridor, the sensors on his suit amplifying the sounds as they rebounded from wall to wall. At least the lack of gravity will hinder them just as much as me, he mused.
"I can't tell what they're saying," Cortana whispered in his ear, "they're using personal com units to talk to each other."
"That makes two of us," The Chief kept picking up the odd word, which sounded like English, but he couldn't be sure. "They could be human."
"Could be, new data I received when they entered the ship tends to suggest they have a humanoid form, but it's hard to tell because they're all in EVA suits."
"No kidding," The Chief shifted slightly in his MJOLNIR armour, which was still battered and cracked from the events on The Ark. "Smartarse," Cortana said, almost testily.
"Sorry," The Chief could see them in the reflection of the piece of glass he placed at the junction. Three of them were drifting slowly up the corridor, flashlights on and guns that resembled the BR55 Battle Rifle covering the way ahead. They did in fact look humanoid, and wore EVA suits, but none like he'd ever seen. The Chief slowly pulled a stun grenade from his belt…
"Easy now, this place is wrecked enough as it is."
"Put it on my tab," The Chief threw the grenade as hard as he could. It bounced off the wall opposite the newcomers, and sailed towards the interlopers, detonating just in front of the 'point man'. He heard a cry and several shouts of alarm, and a volley of bullets sprayed down the corridor.
"That got their attention," Cortana commented dryly. "I think you got one with that grenade, although two more a coming up the corridor."
The Chief braced himself against the wall, grabbed a handle and poked his MA5C round the corner, firing a volley. More cries and shouts followed.
"Well, that evened things up a bit," Cortana commented as he slammed in another round. "You're getting better."
"Thanks," The Chief carefully poked his head round the corner, and then quickly withdrew it as another flurry of shots came from the newcomers.
"I think they're pissed." He let go of his MA5C, grabbed another grenade, and picked up the shotgun he had taped to the wall. So far, so good, he thought.
"Wait, Chief! Don't rush them. I've just hacked into their signal. One of them is broadcasting into the open. I think you'll want to hear this"
"What is it?," The Chief paused and put a hand to his helmet, straining to hear through the static of Cortana's hacked signal.
"*static*…*crackle* Frak! Get the medic up here! *Static*-over that corridor! It might try and rush us-*crackle* Ground team, this is Actual, what's your status, over? *Static* Galactica, this is Apollo. We have a situation down here!"
He paused. Well, that was unexpected...
Cortana sighed, "I can't take you anywhere."
Author's Note: Hello and welcome. This is my first Halo fanfic, in fact my first fanfic ever! Please read the first chapter and tell me what you think. (I am also open to plot suggestions.) The second chapter is already underway, but it's never too late for creative input. A little background: I'm a major fan of both the Halo and the Battlestar Galactica franchises, and I thought I would do my first fic as a crossover between the two because A) I wanted to do something different, there is currently only 1 or 2 fics based on this idea as far as I'm aware. And B) as i said, big fan, so I have alot to draw upon. The story will, for the moment, be from the POV of the Master Chief, although as the story progresses I may change to different view points, depending on what happens. Again, input is appreciated. No idea on how long it is going to be, but I do have a vague idea on how I want it to end. That's all from me, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Keep an eye out for Chp 2! Thanks.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Halo of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. Non of this is officially endorsed, and is just a fiction created by myself based on the two worlds. I also realise that "Homecoming" is also a series of books written and concieved by the legendary Orson Scott Card, and I apologise for effectively nicking his title. This work does in no way reflect upon his.