Halo: Rise of the DREAD Virus

by Halo Writer Alpha

Updated and edited version of the past story I deleted earlier. 10 more pages than last time. Enjoy

Rise of the D.R.E.A.D Virus

Halo: Rise of the D.R.E.A.D Virus

By: Mark Joseph Blaschke

The sun was shining on a nice, bright day in New York City. A stretch Hummer rolled through the streets towards NYC's Microsoft building, where four lucky boys were going to receive their prizes for a contest they had entered. The four of them had known each other for awhile, which seemed to all of them pretty weird, since it's roughly a one in a million chance that the four of them would be the four winners of a contest that millions of people probably entered.

It didn't matter to them that much, though, because they were just happy that they had won the yet-to-be-released Halo 3 Xbox 360 Elite Console with free Xbox Live for a year, plus a Legendary Edition copy of Halo 3.

When they arrived at Microsoft, they stared in awe at how huge it was. Built on twelve acres of land, most buildings over ten stories tall and thousands of employees sitting in offices, in meetings, walking from building to building. They thought Bill Gates must be the luckiest guy on the planet, to be able to own all this. They walked into one of the small buildings on the edge of the compound. After checking in up front, the woman at the Admissions Office told them to take the elevator to the second basement floor, take a right and two lefts. The walked through wide hallways and the main lobby to get to the elevators.

When they stepped into the elevator, it was like walking into a teachers lounge, except that it was a bit smaller. There was a couch big enough for four people and two vending machines: one for drinks and one for snacks. They pressed the B2 button that would lead them to the second basement floor and sat on the comfortable leather couch. When they reached the B2 floor, they loathed leaving the warm elevator. It seemed a little cooler than it had been upstairs.

As the four boys walked down the hall after they turned out of the elevator, they couldn't help but jump and cheer because they had had won this contest.

"Man, this is sweet! I can't wait until we get our 360s!" exclaimed Justin Davis.

"I know! I was planning to save up for one, but winning one is way better than saving up just enough to get a Core." responded Brandon Ervin.

As they talked, a young woman, no older than sixteen, in a blue dress, with brown hair with blond highlights down to her shoulders, walked through a door to their left and… THUMP!

"Oof! Oh, sorry, I didn't know you'd be here yet. Sorry, my name is Brianne Foley. Sorry…err… what's your name?"

"My name's Mark Blaschke, and I'm fine. These are my friends Justin, Brandon and Will. You don't have to be sorry. I should have been paying attention to where I was going."

As soon as he looked up from brushing off his shirt, he fell head over heels for this Brianne girl. His cheeks turned a light shade of red, but no one took notice. Her features looked perfect to him. Red, rosy cheeks, lips to match, eyes you could swim in for hours, and her body, oh how fine she looked in his eyes.

"Anyway," said Brianne after escaping Mark's gaze, "my mother is the one in charge of our contest department, but she sent me to show you to your prizes. You get the Xbox 360s, but there is a much bigger prize. You have been chosen to test our Halo VRW 1 prototype."

"What's the VRW stand for?" asked Justin.

"It stands for Virtual Reality World."

At the sound of those words, the four boys, especially Justin and Mark, because they were the only two of the boys who had played any Halo game before, made ear-to-ear grins. Not surprised by their excitement, Brianne led them down the hallway, explaining to them how they were going to be sent to the Virtual Reality World.

"When we walk into the GR, or Game Room, there will be a pillar surrounded by five pods. Each one of us, I am coming along also to explain features of the game; will step into one of the pods. When you get in, put the helmets sitting on the arm rest on, and strap yourselves in. During the game, your body my have minor muscle spasms, but that's just a harmless side effect. This is a digitally created dream, so, like in a real dream, you won't feel any pain. If you are shot, depending on the weapon shooting, you will only feel light thumps from something like the assault rifle, or big thumps from weapons like the sniper rifle or shotgun. Explosions are different. You will feel the vibration of the impact, and, depending on how close you are to it, will fly through the air some distance. In each level, you get five lives. If you lose all five, the pods have a protocol that will start your waking process. It takes about two minutes for you to be aware you are back in reality."

"Alright." the four boys said in unison.

- - -

"Alright, we're here. Before we go in, we may each choose one weapon that you must keep at all times. This weapon will have infinite ammunition. And you need a serial number. I have already chosen the Magnum and my serial number is B13. What would you like?"

"This is awesome!" replied Will Withee, the fourth winner. "I'll take the Fuel Rod Cannon and G23."

"I call the Shotgun and B001!" exclaimed Brandon.

"Battle Rifle and M17 for me." said Mark.

"And I'll take the Sniper Rifle and J512." finished Justin.

"Okay, now you must choose a color for your MJOLNIR Armor."

"Blood Red." said Brandon.

"Onyx." said Will.

"White." said Justin.

"Camo Green." said Mark.

"And I've already chosen Midnight Blue. Alright, I'm sending the information to my mother in the control area. We can step into the pods now." said Brianne.

The five of them each stepped into a pod and did exactly as Brianne said. They first put the helmets on, and then strapped themselves into the pods. The doors on the pods slid closed.

"Hi, I'm Brianne's mother, Dianne Hoffman. I will announce each level when you reach it, so listen for my voice on your radios at all times. I'm starting the countdown. Five…four…three…two…one."

LEVEL ONE: THE COVENANT UNLEASHED

1330 hours, April 22nd 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar) Unknown Location

"This…is…AWESOME!!!" shouted all four boys together. They stared at each other MJOLNIR Mark V armor like they would at a mountain made up of pure gold. After test-firing their weapons, they heard a voice.

"Can you boys hear me?" Dianne asked from their radios.

"Yes, ma'am." they replied.

"Good. Now, I forgot to tell you. Each of you has a special ability that you can use any time throughout the game. Brandon, you're a mechanic. You can repair damaged vehicles by just touching them. It will also drain some amount of your shields, depending on the amount on damage done to the vehicle. You cannot do this if you are in the vehicle, you must be out of it. Will, you have the double damage feature on the Flood only. Justin, you have the double damage feature on the Covenant only, except for Hunters. Mark, you can say or think the name of any piece of equipment, and it will appear before you. And Brianne can fire any type of ammo from her pistol. Now you may begin the game. LEVEL ONE: THE COVENANT UNLEASHED."

The scenery around them was a desert. A few cacti were scattered about, and small rock formations jutted out of the ground in some places. In the distance, the five of them could just make out the familiar tear-drop shaped hull of one of the Covenants' frigates. Justin looked through the scope of his sniper rifle to get a better look.

"Oh, man… there's thousands of them!" he exclaimed.

"Thousands of what?" asked Mark.

"Grunts and Jackals. I've never seen so many! It looks like they have about… one- hundred forty or fifty Ghosts and… seventy or so Banshees. It's about an hours march for them to reach us. Anyone got a plan?"

"Already working on it." replied Mark.

He was calling up Deployable Covers and setting them up in a 1000 meter line and about three meters behind each one he laid a Trip Mine.

"See, the idea is to make the Ghosts come through first. After they shoot down or mow through the Deployable Cover, they'll run into a Trip Mine, therefore only leaving us with the Banshees and the Grunts and Jackals."

He then called five Power Drainers, one for each player.

"Hey, I found two Warthogs a little west of our position." said Brandon. "One's a Gauss, and one's a Passenger Warthog. Should I go get them?"

"Yes." replied Mark. "Take Brianne with you, so you can get both at the same time. Justin, climb on that rock over there and, as soon as the enemy is in range, take down as many Jackals as you can. Brianne, Brandon, do you copy?"

"Yes." they said in unison.

"Good. When you get back, have Brianne mount the Gauss Cannon and wait for the Banshees. After you destroy them, Brandon will drive to a position where she can concentrate on the Jackals. Will and I will take care of the Grunts. Only use your Frag Grenades as a last resort, 'cause we might need them later. Justin, if the Jackals get too close, fall back to Brandon's Warthog and get in the passenger's seat. Everybody to your positions and wait. Justin will give the signal when they're in range."

- - -

Almost as soon as Brianne and Brandon came back with the Warthogs about forty-five minutes later, Justin could just make out the enemy lines without his scope. On Mark's order, he fired the first shot. It echoed through the desert until the ear splitting battle cry of the Covenant forces rang through the scene. After he fired off several more clips of his infinite ammo, plasma fire spread across the Deployable Cover. As soon as some of the shields collapsed, the wave of Ghosts came through the cover. The light from the explosion from the Trip Mines blinded Justin for a few seconds, and his shield flickered as small pieces of debris flew past him. Only ten Ghosts survived, four without drivers.

"Yes! It worked!" cried Will.

"How's our status, Justin?" asked Mark.

"The Jackals are still pushing, but slowly. But the Grunts are almost to the remaining shields. Advised to aim for their grenades belts to do more damage. Banshees are being held back by Gauss Cannon." he replied.

Just as he finished that sentence, plasma fire erupted from the gaps in the Deployable Cover. Mark and Will took aim at the horde of Grunts pushing through and opened fire. This was no battle, it was a massacre. Even in their massive numbers, the Grunts stood no chance against Fuel Rods missiles, Battle Rifle fire and the occasional Gauss Cannon shot. Exploding methane tanks and plasma grenades sent Grunts and many of their severed limbs flying through the air. Pretty soon, Mark and Will had pushed through the wall of cover, attacking the Covenant instead of defending their make-shift base.

"Will, there's a group to your left!" yelled Mark as he chucked a Plasma Grenade off towards the Jackals. After he looked back, all that was left of the group of Grunts was a couple limbs and a few Plasma Pistols. "Brianne, how's our Banshee problem?"

"I have thirty down, no, thirty-one, and there's one headed straight for Justin!" she responded.

"Will, hold off the Grunts, I have to help Justin!" yelled Mark.

"Affirmative. You're just a nuisance anyway." he replied as he sent his Power Drainer towards a formation of six Banshees.

As Mark ran towards Justin's location, he looked up to see if he could see the Banshees location. It was approaching Justin from the east. He ran with all the speed he could muster. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of blue. A Plasma Grenade! With all his strength, he jumped into the air, over the rock Justin was behind, and threw his last Plasma Grenade. Everything happened in a blur. As soon as he let go, the Plasma Grenade he saw a second before stuck to his left leg. The grenade he threw met its target. It hit right in the center of the Banshee. With great speed, he called forth a Bubble Shield and activated it. Just as the shield ripped the grenade off his leg, it detonated with enough force to drain his shields and sent him spiraling into the air. The next thing he knew, he was sprawled out on the ground next to a Scorpion Tank. He looked back to Justin's location, to see the wreckage of the Banshee a good ten or fifteen meters from him.

"Hold on guys, the cavalry has arrived. I found a Scorpion Tank! Status on enemy Banshees?" he said over the radio as his shields slowly recharged.

"Brianne has forty down, and we've drained at least fifteen with our Power Drainers." replied Justin. "Will needs help through, the Grunts and Jackals are just about to push back through the cover."

With one final effort, the Covenant forces ran through the Deployable Cover, giving it their all to kill the five of them.

"Will, Brianne, center your fire on the lead grunts. Justin, switch to your side arm. I don't think your Sniper Rifle will be good at that range. Brandon, move the Warthog, I'm coming through."

After Brandon drove away, Mark brought the tank up and just kept on driving through the Covenant's forces. The Grunts and Jackals stood no chance against a tank. As they accepted their defeat, they started to retreat, firing blind shots behind them as they ran. The five players kept firing until they were out of range.

"Guys, said Justin. "We haven't won yet. About five hundred Brutes are coming. There are about twenty-five Choppers, fifteen Prowlers, and fifteen Banshees, as well as the eight surviving Banshees from the first wave. I had Brandon repair some of the Banshees we powered down. We should have a fighting chance if we use them."

"All right." replied Mark. "Justin, you, Brandon and Brianne take the Banshees. Will, get in the passenger Warthog and stay behind me. Only steer with one hand and try to get some of the Choppers and Prowlers with your Fuel Rod Cannon. I'll take care of the ground infantry and some of the vehicles. As soon as the Banshees are down, Brianne, Justin and Brandon try and take out the rest of the ground vehicles. Will and I can handle the infantry. Everybody, charge!!!"

With that said, the five soldiers drove out into the battlefield. Almost instantly, Justin, Brandon and Brianne had their hands full going up against the twenty-three enemy Banshees. Mark and Will weren't having the time of their lives either.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Will. "Every time we kill a Brute, five more take its place!"

"I know, just keep shooting! They'll end eventually… I hope." replied Mark as he shot a Prowler. "Justin, how are we doing up there?"

"Brandon's taking some pretty heavy damage. Brianne's trying to get them off his tail. They have better evasive maneuvers than that last batch they sent. They must be better trained or veterans. I haven't received much damage, but neither have the Brutes. We've only taken down six or seven… nope, make that eight Banshees. Brandon just hit one broadside with his Fuel Rod Cannon. We've also taken down the rest of the Prowlers and four Choppers. We should be able to take down the rest soon enough. How you guys doing down there?"

"Oh, we're doing fine. Every time a Brute gets through my line of fire, Will takes them out no problem with his Fuel Rod Cannon. We're about half done."

"Well, we better get done soon; we have a Phantom about ten kilometers out headed straight for us."

As the battle raged on, Brandon's Banshee was on the verge of falling apart.

"Fine… if I'm going down, I'm taking a couple of you bastards with me. Justin, I'm going to ram a Banshee head-on. How much damage will that do to it?"

"It should destroy both Banshees." he replied.

"Okay. Mark, what do you want me to do when I respawn?"

"Go back and get the Gauss Warthog and drive it around the battlefield to where the Phantom will be. I'll send the coordinates to your suits computer. It should appear on your Heads-Up-Display. If any enemy troops come out of it, blow them into oblivion."

"Understood… here I go. RRAAAARRRGHHH!"

With a crunching of metal and a bright blue explosion, the team took their first casualty. To Brandon's surprise, he respawned right at the Warthog. According to the coordinates Mark had sent, he was a mere five minutes from his objective. He immediately drove off. In the distance, he could see the air battle. It looked like Justin and Brianne were doing better, because there were only five Banshees left in the fight, and two of them were theirs. When he arrived at the Phantoms location, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Hey guys, there's a group of about… eighty Hunters coming out of that Phantom. What should I do?"

"Eighty! They must have used the teleportation technology from Halo. Don't engage them by yourself. Stay hidden, and don't let them see you. When they come towards us, radio me, and then see if you can get a shot at the Phantoms propulsion system. If the auto turret gives you any trouble, two or three Gauss shots should get rid of it." replied Mark.

"Alright, and the last of the Hunters are actually getting off right now and starting to head in your direction."

"You hear that, guys? Make short work of these Brutes, we have a party of Hunters coming. Justin, see if you can take out some of them from the air. Brianne, are you gonna be able to take care of the rest of those Banshees?" Mark asked with concern.

"Oh, they won't be a problem." she replied as she shot one out of the sky with a barrage of plasma.

"Will, how many more Brutes do we have left to blow up?" he asked.

"Not many, maybe about twenty-five or so."

"Abandon the Scorpion. It's taken too much damage. We can take the rest easily with your Fuel Rod Cannon and my Battle Rifle."

"Mark," radioed Justin. "I can't even get near the Hunters. They have an Anti-Air Wraith. The Phantom must have dropped it where Brandon couldn't see. I'm heading back. Warn Brianne about the Wraith."

There was no time to warn her, for right after Justin's transmission ended; out from behind the rock formation behind them, a mess of Anti-Air Plasma Missiles collided with Brianne's Banshee in a magnificent explosion of green and blue. Mark and Will had just finished off the rest of the Brute infantry. Will shot down the last Banshee just as Brianne's crashed to the ground with a loud screech of metal.

"Brianne, meet Brandon at the Phantom. Bring the Gauss Warthog and attack the Anti-Air Wraith from behind. Justin, stay out of the Wraith's range until it is destroyed, then hit the Hunters with everything you've got. Will, you and I will concentrate on attracting the Hunters fire. Now would be a good time to use your Frag Grenades. Eighty Hunters is no laughing matter. If they get a good shot off with their built-in Fuel Rod guns, there won't be much left of us. I'll try and draw their attention while you get as many as you can with your Fuel Rod Cannon. Everybody go now!"

Will and Mark charged in, dodging Fuel Rod shots and throwing grenades left and right. Justin flew in circles behind the rocks, helpless until Brianne got the Anti-Air Wraith down.

- - -

Brianne, mounting the Warthog's Gauss Cannon, gave Brandon the signal to drive out towards the Anti-Air Wraith. Three quick shots to the exposed engine gears on the back of the Wraith caused it to explode with a bright blue explosion while the Wraith fell apart.

- - -

"The Wraith is down! We're heading to your position." said Brianne over the radio.

"Justin, Brianne just radioed me. The Wraith is down. Come join the fun."

"It's about time! Yahoo!" he screamed as he did a sweep of plasma over the roaring Hunters.

The Hunters were now surrounded on all sides. Two determined soldiers on foot to the west, a Banshee in the sky, a Gauss Warthog at their backs and a mountain of rocks to the east. They stood no chance. In a fog of smoke, bullets ripped through armor and skin, explosions drained out every other sound, and dead bodies and body parts littered the ground and flew through the air. The massacre was over in minutes.

"It's finally over." said Brandon. "What do we do now?"

"From the looks of things, I think we should repair the Phantoms propulsion system, take it back to the frigate, and give whoever is left on that ship a warm, bloody welcome and take the ship to the coordinates it was last at." said Will.

"All right. Sounds like a plan. Let's go!"

The instant they got into the Phantom, the propulsion system and the auto-turret repaired themselves.

"I guess my touch can repair even drop ships." said Brandon.

In a short time, they were in the gravitational beam being pulled up towards the launch bay of the frigate. After the Phantom landed in the launch bay, Dianne's voice sounded on their radios.

"Very well done, guys. I thought you would have received more casualties than that. I put you on Heroic mode, and I think I should have put you on Legendary! This is the next level in the game. The frigate shall stay in orbit until you reach the bridge. There's also a surprise somewhere in this ship for you guys, so be on the lookout. Talk to you later. LEVEL TWO: REGRET AND CONSEQUENCE."

LEVEL TWO: REGRET AND CONSEQUENCE

1840 hours, April 22nd 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar) Unidentified Covenant Frigate

The launch bay was deserted. Only one damaged Banshee lay on its side, near the doors. Several Covenant tools and vehicle parts littered the floor.

"Does anyone know how to navigate through this thing?" asked Mark.

"I know the layout of this ship like the back of my hand." replied Brianne. "This is one of the ships my mom let me design, so I can guide you through it no problem. I don't know how many enemies are on it, or what the goal is, but I can bring you wherever you want."

"Okay… first, we should check the brig for any captured marines, because if we have to fly this thing, we're gonna need a lot more than the five of us to fly it. Then, we make our way to the bridge and knock out the Brutes in command of this thing."

"Sounds like a plan." Justin replied. "I'll scout ahead, just tell we which way leads to the brig."

"It is in the western part of the ship, so go through those doors over there." replied Brianne as she pointed to a set of doors to their left.

Justin walked to the doors and got into a crouch, sniper rifle at the ready, as he opened the doors.

"All clear. Come on guys, let's go."

As the group walked through the ship, it started to seem that there weren't any more Covenant aboard. They were gravely mistaken. As they rounded a corner, a group of Elites stood not even ten meters away. Without thinking, Mark opened fire on them.

"Wait!" screamed one of the Elites. "We're on your side! Stop shooting!"

Embarrassed and ashamed at what he had done, Mark apologized to the Elite he had shot, and called forth a Regenerator to recharge its shields.

"Why are you here?" asked another Elite clad in blood-red armor.

"We were attacked by the Covenant forces on this ship. We destroyed all their troops. Now we're heading to the brig to see if they captured any Marines. What about you?"

"We are here for the same reason as you. We were also attacked, but we were attacked in the middle of the night, so they caught us by surprise. If they would have attacked us during the day like honorable opponents, we would have won. Most of our squad was murdered, and the survivors were captured and brought here. We are on our way to the brig as well."

"A small piece of advice, and no offense to your customs, but the point of war is to win, not to be honorable. Sorry if that offends you, but it is the truth."

"You are right, young Spartan. I should have thought of that when I realized we were going up against these Brutes."

"Thank you for understanding... I didn't catch your name. Mine is Mark, and this is Brandon, Brianne, Will and Justin."

"My name is Sork' Chonchiyo. This is my second in command," (he gestured at the Elite in the blood-red armor) "Nihai' Tuyokee."

"Well Sork' Chonchiyo, would you like to go with us? After we check the brig, we planned on following the coordinates the frigate was at last to see where they've been."

"No, I am sorry, but we cannot. We must go back to our own ship and prepare for an assault on one of the Covenants main fleets. If you choose, you may join us."

"But if we go with you, we won't know where this ship last was."

"You can find out. On the bridge, go to the navigation controls, and they will say the coordinates of the last location of this ship. I've seen soldiers like you in that armor before, so it should have a translator for their language."

"What do guys think?" Mark asked to the rest of the group. "Spy mission or space battle where we will probably outnumbered and most likely, killed?"

"Do you even have to ask?" said Justin sarcastically.

"I guess we go fight with you. Now, let's find the brig."

As they traveled inside the massive frigate, they ran into little trouble. Small packs of Grunts walked through the hallways, chattering in their confusing language; Engineers passed by them countless times, but never seemed to notice them; and now and then, a small swarm of Drones flew by, shoving each other out of the way to try and make more room to fly. After what seemed like hours of navigating, they finally reached the brig. The doors were guarded by two gold armored Brutes.

"What's the plan?" Mark asked Nihai' Tuyokee.

"This…" the Elite replied as he suddenly turned invisible and disappeared from their radar screens.

"Active Camo." whispered Mark to himself.

Two thumps sounded from the other side of the wall. When he looked to see what it was, the Elite stood over the two dead Brutes, without a hint of blood anywhere. It was a good, clean assassination.

When the doors to the brig opened, everyone one of the group, including the Elites, stood frozen in place as though they had just seen a ghost. Inside the first cell, sitting with no weapon and only his MJOLNIR Armor, was Spartan 117, the Master Chief. In the other cells were at least seventy Marines and thirty or so Elites.

"Who are you?" asked the Chief to the four guys and Brianne.

"No time for introductions now. We have to get all of you out of here and get to the Elites' fleet. Help us free these other Marines and Elites." replied Brianne as she destroyed the lock of the cell with a Shotgun slug from her Pistol.

After all the Marines and Elites were free, they opened the closet that held their confiscated weapons. One Marine approached Mark. He was at least a head taller than most of the other Marines, and had many weapons. From what Mark could see, this Marine had two Rocket Launchers slung across his back, two sidearms in his inside vest pockets, two Assault Rifles in a large holder on the inside of his vest, a belt of maybe ten Frag Grenades, two energy swords attached to his wrists by leather straps, and a Battle Rifle in his hands with a combat knife above the barrel. A makeshift bayonet.

"Are you the leader of these Spartans?" asked the Marine.

"I guess so. We don't really have a chain of command, but I have been the one giving most of the orders. My name is Spartan M17, Mark. I take it you lead these Marines, yes?"

"Yes, I do. My name is Master Sergeant Robert Canon. My Marines and I are at your command. A Spartan once led us before he sacrificed himself to let us escape a massacre at our camp. He was one of the bravest soldiers I have ever seen. He personally trained me with every one these weapons I am carrying. Though my reflexes aren't nearly as fast as those of a Spartan, I am the quickest, strongest soldier in the history of the UNSC."

As he finished talking, a Marine Lieutenant walked up to them.

"Lieutenant Angel Carlton, requesting permission to speak, Master Sergeant."

"Permission granted Lieutenant."

"Where do we go from here, sir?"

"Ask Spartan M17. He's the one running the show."

"Same question, Spartan M17."

"We are going to split into groups and kill every Covenant soldier on this ship, then head to the bridge and travel to the Elites' fleet to attack a fleet of Covenant ships."

"May I make a suggestion, sir?" she asked.

"I'm all ears, Lieutenant."

"My marines are tough. They can handle a lot under stress and harsh conditions, so I think we can get this done faster if we split into groups of four or five."

"Not a bad idea, but we're only going to split into three groups. You will go with Master Sergeant Canon and go through the eastern passageways of the ship with half the Marines. The other half will traverse the western passageways with Brandon, Will and Justin, the other Spartans."

"Brianne, Master Chief and I will take the Elites through the main center passageways. We will probably get to the bridge first, but we'll wait as long as we can. Master Sergeant, get your Marines ready and head out. Tell Will to get Justin and Brandon with the rest of the Marines and go. I'll get the Elites and Brianne."

"Yes, sir." replied the Master Sergeant.

Both the Master Sergeant and the Lieutenant walked off to gather their Marines. As Mark went to get Brianne, he thought about what she had looked like back in reality. Her face was gorgeous, with her sparkling blue eyes, her dazzling smile, and... just everything about her. She was smart, her mother had an awesome job, she had a great personality, he liked her quietness, her shyness and everything about her. He also thought that she had a great body, with the perfect shape. His heart started pounding at the very thought of her real-world appearance. He wished that she was his. He would treasure her forever; love her and no one else. Every time he looked at her, even through the MJOLNIR Armor, he could picture her smiling face. Just thinking about this made him blush. He was glad that no one could see through his faceplate.

But he had a job to do here. To get her through the game unharmed. He walked up to the Elites and told them to get battle ready, then went to where Brianne was talking to one of the few female Marines.

"Brianne, we're going with the Elites to the bridge. You all set to go?"

"Yeah, I was just talking to Privates Love, Jamaycka and Tops. I'm just gonna grab an Assault Rifle. I'll be right with you."

- - -

After she grabbed and Assault Rifle out of the closet, she ran to the door, where the last of the Marines were heading out to follow Justin, Will and Brandon. Elites stood next to the Master Chief, waiting for Mark and Brianne to finish getting ready. They didn't have to wait too long though, and the two came to the door together, carrying a few extra weapons, just in case anything went wrong.

"Everybody move out. Have weapons at the ready at all times. You never know when we'll run into some Covenant flunkies." Mark said.

- - -

As Justin looked around the corner with the scope of his Sniper Rifle, he spotted three Brutes walking down the hall, followed by five Grunts.

"We have company." he whispered to the others.

"Here, take this silencer. Just shoot them quickly so they won't know what hit' em." said Sassy Tops, one of the many Privates in the Marine group Justin, Will and Brandon were with, and one of the Marines Brianne was talking with before they left.

"It's the wrong size." replied Justin.

"You have to be shittin' me! Here, let me see it."

"No way! No one touches my Sniper Rifle!"

"Give me the fuckin' weapon! I'll make the goddamn thing fit!"

By now the Brutes and Grunts had heard the yelling from around the corner. When they looked around, they saw Justin and Private Tops arguing and tugging at the Sniper Rifle.

"Shoot them!" yelled one of the Brutes. But before they could pull out their weapons, Private Tops pulled up her Spartan Laser and killed all eight of the aliens with one shot.

"Woah..." said everyone there in unison.

"Now, let me see that Sniper Rifle, or you'll be the next person I eradicate."

"Okay..." said Justin nervously.

After he handed it to her, she started to examine it. She looked at it from many angles and kept looking back and forth between the rifle and the silencer.

"Yep... it doesn't fit." she said after examining it.

"No shit Sherlock! I already told you that!" yelled Justin. "Well... never mind, let's just keep going. The bridge shouldn't be much farther."

With that argument behind him, he led the way down the passage, carefully looking out for any Covenant that might see them.

- - -

"I told you we were going the wrong way!" yelled Master Sergeant Canon to a private by the name of Eliot Jameson, as he kept shooting the hordes of Grunts coming at the group of Marines.

Private Jameson had relayed the directions wrong, so the group ended up in the Grunts' barracks, and were now surrounded by hundreds of Grunts. Plasma fire, bullets and grenades flew through the air at amazing speeds. After running out of ammunition for his Battle Rifle, the Master Sergeant pulled out his two Rocket Launchers and started blasting small groups of Grunts apart like a tossed salad. Lieutenant Carlton continued to mow down every Grunt around her with her dual SMGs, and the other Marines tried their best to hold back the swarm of Drones that sped through the air like gigantic mosquitoes as well as the Grunts on the floor.

Even though the Marines were outnumbered, the Grunts and Drones were heavily out gunned. While they only had Plasma Pistols and Needlers, the Marines possessed Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles, SMGs, Rocket Launchers and Shotguns. Most of the Grunts never got off a single shot, but the Drones got off many, since they could fly over the Marines' heads. They hadn't taken many casualties, but some of the Marines had gotten some nasty plasma burns. As they continued to fight, they could only imagine what the fighting on the bridge was going to be like.

- - -

Almost right off, Mark, the Chief and Brianne met a platoon of Brutes, most of them in gold armor. They were led by two red head dressed Brutes carrying Gravity Hammers. Mark had called up a few Bubble Shields and Trip Mines so they could fall back and make a plan. Half the Brutes had Brute Shots, while the other half had Spikers.

"What do we do?" asked Mark. "I'm open to suggestions."

"It is simple." said Nihai' Tuyokee. "I will take some of the Sangheili, and we'll turn on our camouflage, slip behind the Brutes, and assassinate them from behind. You could distract them just so they don't catch the bends of light our camouflage produces."

"Sounds good to me. Let's do it."

Fifteen Elites turned on their Active Camo, and then the other non-camouflaged Elites went around the corner with the three Spartans and started shooting at the Brutes. A few seconds later, Brutes just started dropping like dead flies. But the red armored Brutes caught on to that quickly. With two swift strokes, three of the Elites flew through the air, struck by the powerful force of Gravity Hammers. After that the camouflaged Elites started shooting at the red armored Brutes. They were the biggest threat. The Spartans and the remaining Elites took care of the rest of the gold and blue armored Brutes with no problem. When the battle was over, they had lost seven Elites and Mark had died once from being to close when a Spike Grenade went off. Among the dead Elites was Nihai' Tuyokee.

"We should not have lost so many." said Sork' Chonchiyo. "These are some the best fighters we had."

"We shouldn't be standing here, grieving over them, brother." said another Elite. "That is the way a Sangheili should die, on the battlefield. Let us move on, we have to get to the rest of our kin over Halo Six."

"Halo Six!" said Mark and Brianne in surprise. "What does the Covenant want with it? The Ark has been deactivated, so none of the Halo rings should be functional, right?"

"Yes and no. When the Ark was deactivated, it made it so that the Halo rings could not be activated all together, but they can still be activated manually in the control rooms of all the rings. The Covenant plans to send forces too all the Halo rings that are still functional and activate them. The first three are non-functional, but the fourth is, so some of your colonies are in peril. Earth is safe, and our planet is in danger from the fifth and sixth Halo rings. Our main fleet is over Halo Six, and we have a small fleet over Halo Five. Our intelligence reports have told us that the Covenant plans to activate Halo Six, which will swallow up Halo Five in the explosion and cause what you humans call the Domino Effect on the last two rings. If we can prevent them from getting on the surface, than we won't have to worry about a ground mission, but we are also prepared if they do get on the surface. There are already eight squads of Sangheili guarding the entrances to the control room. We are one of the Banshee squadrons that are supposed to take out the Brutes' Plasma Turrets and Banshee squadrons. When we get back, you may choose to stay on the frigate and operate the Plasma Turrets, or you could fight in Banshees or our other fighters. It is your choice."

"Wow… let's just concentrate on getting to the bridge right now. If we want to get to Halo Six, than we need to…"

A small scraping noise made Mark stop talking. Wondering what it was, he popped his head around the corner to see if it was any Covenant. It wasn't. The noise slowly became louder. Then the ships alarm sounded. Just as it sounded, the walls around them exploded in algae green smog. Hundreds of Flood infection forms crawled out of the smog. Without thinking, every Elite, Mark, Brianne and the Chief opened fire. The infection forms exploded into tiny fragments of tissue. After getting her wits together, Brianne radioed the other two teams, hoping that they had not been attacked yet.

"Teams one and two, can you here me?"

"Yes." replied both Master Sergeant Canon and Justin at the same time after a short period of static.

"We're being attacked by the Flood. If you haven't been attacked, keep your guard up. I can't talk, we're being overrun. Brianne, out."

- - -

"Did everyone hear that?" asked the Master Sergeant to the Marines.

"Yes, sir!" they said in unison.

"Weapons at the ready; they could come from anywhere." he said as he pulled out his two Rocket Launchers from behind his back. The other Marines all held up their Magnums, SMGs, Assault Rifles, and other weapons as they slowly advanced through the passageways. The Master Sergeant had fought against the Flood before, and he knew that can could literally appear anywhere at any time, so he looked all around until they got to the next corner, where the Marines would run into a deathtrap from the Devil himself.

- -

After telling the Marines in their group Brianne's transmission, Justin, Will and Brandon all brought their weapons up, expecting anything to happen. Around the corner, the group heard the familiar sound of screaming Grunts and the deep voices of shouting Brutes. When Will looked, he saw hundreds of infection and combat forms quickly mowing down the Grunts and Brutes.

"Everybody stay put, and make a line wall to wall; we can take them out easier. First row on your knees with Assault Rifles up and second row rest Battle Rifles on their shoulders. When they come around the corner, open fire."

After the screaming stopped, the first combat forms walked around the corner to a wave of bullets. Infection forms started crawling on the walls and the ceiling, so the Marines had to scatter their fire, allowing some of the combat forms to get close enough to grab a couple of the Marines weapons and start fighting back. Slowly, the Marines were driven back to the end of the passage. In a final attempt to drive the Flood back, Justin, Brandon and Will jumped over the Marines and threw their entire grenade belts into the middle of the Flood. Even though the explosion was immense, it was the shrapnel from the grenades that did the trick. It shredded though infection forms and knocked combat forms over, making them vulnerable to the bullets from the Marines.

"Wow, all that fighting made me hot and sweaty." said Private Tops as she unzipped her vest and showed her cleavage to the other Marines and Spartans. Many of the male Marines blushed, and Brandon and Justin turned away. Will was the only one not fazed by it. Private Tops smiled the kind a smile that told everyone that she enjoyed doing this in front of large groups of men.

"There are more of them!" yelled Will as he fired a few Fuel Rod shots towards a group of combat forms.

The fighting continued on, becoming seemingly endless, but the Marines gained the advantage quickly by having all the Marines with Assault Rifles use shrapnel rounds, which tore through the Flood like tissue paper.

"Are there any more of them?" asked Private Tops.

Brandon looked around the corner, just to get his eyes off her cleavage.

"Not that I can see… and there's nothing on radar."

"Good." She said as she unzipped the legs off her camo pants and unzipped her vest, revealing most of her legs and a lot more of her cleavage.

"Uhh…" said Justin. "Let's just get to the bridge."

Their faces as red as the blood of some of their fallen comrades, the Marines hurried ahead, trying not to get close to the half-nude private.

As they walked, a low moaning sound came from a nearby hallway to their left. When the Marines looked, they couldn't believe their eyes. Master Sergeant Canon, with deep cuts on his arms and legs, led Lieutenant Carlton on his shoulder. All the Marines had a look of awe on their faces. One of the privates ran to them to help the Master Sergeant with Lieutenant Carlton.

"What happened?" asked Brandon.

"One of my soldiers gave us the wrong directions...'cough'... and we ended up in the Grunts' barracks. We were doing well, but then swarms of Drones poured into the barracks, so we were taking fire from all sides. 'Cough'... We were holding them back with few casualties; then we noticed that some of the Grunts and Drones were purposefully shooting in other directions. Before we knew it...'cough'... the Grunts and Drones were replaced by hundreds of Flood. The captain and I managed to push through to the back entrance of the barracks, but with some battle scars as you can see. We don't know if any of my Marines made it. We can't reach them on our radios, but it could just be interference."

"We have no time to look for them; we have to meet the others at the bridge. Hopefully, they survived and think to meet us there."

- - -

"What do we do now? We're at the bridge doors, we have the Flood attacking from the front, and the doors are locked." asked Brianne.

"We wait for the other groups to show up, then we…"

Before the Chief could finish his sentence, a combat form leaped onto his back and clung to him as more infection forms poured out of the walls. Just before they reached him, a Fuel Rod Cannon fired from the west hallway and killed almost all the infection forms.

"Don't think you're starting the party without me, do you?" asked Will sarcastically.

"Will! If only you knew how glad I am to see you. How many casualties have you guys suffered?" replied Mark.

"We lost eight men and six more are injured. Master Sergeant Canon and Lieutenant Carlton are both injured; the Lieutenant's unconscious and has internal bleeding near her intestines, and the Master Sergeant has a few deep gashes that need to be disinfected. We don't know if any of his men survived; they were attacked by the Flood after accidentally going into the Grunts' barracks."

The fighting continued some more until the Flood backed off, probably to regroup.

"Alright, we've lost seven Elites, and one has some minor injuries caused by a Spiker shot to his wrist. Does anyone know how to get these doors open manually?" asked Mark.

"Yeah… like this." said the Chief as he used his inhuman strength, plus the help of his MJOLNIR Mark V armor, to kick in the door and send it flying into the room in two pieces.

A huge battle was being waged inside. Brutes, Grunts, Jackals, Drones and a few pairs of Hunters battled against hundreds of Flood infection, combat and carrier forms. Infection forms popped as they were hit by Spiker shots, Fuel Rod Cannon shots and plasma fire. Grunts and Drones squealed as they were being taken over by Infection forms, carrier forms launched themselves at Brutes who would just take them out with one swing of a Gravity Hammer or a shot from a Brute Shot.

"We need to get to the navigation controls and get to Halo Six. We'll get the coordinates, then take as many Phantoms and Banshees as we need. We can't take the frigate; it's too risky with the Flood on board. Everybody, charge!"

Twenty-two Marines, Twenty-two Elites and the six Spartans charged into the battle. Plasma fire, rockets, spikes, and bullets flew through the air in every direction. At first, the Flood and Covenant didn't take much notice to the Marines and Elites until they were shot by them, but pretty soon, a three-cornered battle was going on. Mark, Brandon and the Chief were separated from the other three Spartans as they tried to get the navigation computer. Brandon's Shotgun worked wonders against the Flood, while Mark and the Chief mowed down Grunts, Jackals, Brutes and Drones with a Battle Rifle and Assault Rifle. When they reached the navigation controls, the Chief took the coordinates of the ship's last location.

"Justin!" yelled Mark. "Take this grenade belt and throw it into the ships Fusion Reactor and meet us in the launch bay. There will be a Banshee ready for you when you get there."

"Alright, but don't wait for me if I'm not there in four minutes."

"Fine."

Mark then sent a signal to all the Marines, Elites, and the other Spartans to fall back. As he looked back, he saw that the Covenant troops were protecting a door on the far side of the room. He caught a glimpse of the ships name on the navigation controls: The Regret and Consequence. He wondered if the Prophet of Regret was on the ship. Before they could reach the doors, a pair of Hunters stepped over to stop them. A rocket fired by a Marine killed one of them, and as the second raised its massive shield arm to crush Mark, an Energy Sword nearly cut it in half. As the humongous creature fell, Mark saw that it was Sork' Chonchiyo who had saved his ass.

The survivors ran through the passageways towards one of the full launch bays. No one stopped for anything, unless a comrade needed help from being shot. The back line of Marines hurled grenades over their shoulders to slow down the advancing Flood.

As they reached the launch bay, the ship's self-destruct alarm started to go off, signaling that Justin had succeeded in destroying the Fusion Reactors. He almost ran into to them when he rounded as corner. The sixteen remaining Marines, the eighteen remaining Elites and Mark, Brianne and the Master Chief all took Banshees, while only Justin, Will and Brandon took a Phantom.

The thirty-five ships launched into space. As they started up their Slipspace generators on their ships, a bright blue explosion occurred when the Regret and Consequence's self-destruct sequence blew the Plasma Reactors in the frigates engine room, which caused all explosives on the ship to form a chain reaction blowing the ship from bow to stern.

"You guys have yet to cease to amaze me." said Dianne's voice. "Just to let you guys know, I found a small glitch in the program I didn't see before. Watch for something unusual or out of place. I added a pause feature, which, when paused, I can talk with you. So if you find anything unusual, pause the game and tell me about it. LEVEL THREE: THE PRIDE AND CONFIDENCE."

LEVEL THREE: THE PRIDE AND CONFIDENCE

Space-Time Anomaly (UNSC Military Calendar) Slipstream Space

Traveling through Slipspace in such small ships was like trying to squeeze a horse through a cat door. Each pilot had to constantly monitor their vital systems and make necessary repairs. They had to travel through Slipspace for two hours before they could reach Halo Six. The Elites were used to traveling in frigates and carriers, so they had as much trouble as the new Spartans finding and taking care of the Banshees systems. The Master Chief, however, had done this once before, so he was always one step ahead of everybody else.

After an exhausting trip, they finally reached their destination and activated their Slipspace drives. What they saw after they entered normal space was beyond magnificent. Nearly two hundred of the Elites ships orbited Halo Six. Squadrons of Banshees and Phantoms flew in different formations, patrolling the bigger ships' blind spots.

The Elites led the Spartans to the biggest carrier in the fleet, which was named Pride and Confidence. As the Spartans and Elites walked towards the bridge of the ship, many of the other Elites had a look of awe and relief at seeing their missing group. At the bridge, the Spartans weren't all that surprised to see the Arbiter in charge of the fleet.

"Spartans, you have my deepest thanks for helping Captain Sork' Chonchiyo rescue the rest of his squad." said the Arbiter.

"Your bravery will be commended with the highest honor we can bestow on others outside of our race. You will be given the top secret Slipspace codes that will lead you to our home world, Sanghelios. You will be welcome among our race anytime you wish to visit our remote planet. Guard this secret with your lives, and do not let it fall into the hands of the Covenant, lest disaster befall our home."

"By your command, Arbiter." replied the six Spartans.

After Sork' Chonciyo's team of Elites was debriefed, the Arbiter went and pulled Mark aside to the main hall to talk.

"My Sangheili tell me you are the one charged with these Spartans. Is this true?" asked the Arbiter.

"All of them except for the Master Chief, Arbiter."

"They also say that you and your Marines want to fight along side us. We have plenty of Phantoms and Banshees and Seraph Fighters, but I, along with some of my top engineers, have created a new two occupant flier named the Apparition that is invisible to all detection technology. It is armed with four plasma turrets, two Fuel Rod Cannons, and holds one bomb equivalent to one of your atomic bombs. My Sangheili say that you are all better fliers than they, so I want two of your Spartans to take it. By my review, Spartan J512, Justin, is your best pilot, and Spartan B13, Brianne is your best shooter. If you allow, they may take it into battle."

"Sounds great. The rest of us will take Banshees. And I have one question: have my injured Marines been tended to yet?"

"Yes, they are currently in our infirmary. The Lieutenant and two of the Marines are in critical condition, and will take some time to recover, if they survive; but the rest should be fine in a matter of hours. According to what my spies have reported, the Covenant shouldn't be here for at least another twelve hours, so you may tour the ship and visit your sick and wounded."

"Thank you." replied Mark as he turned to walk out the door.

"Wait… I have a gift. This is one of the newest models of our camouflage. It doesn't make the light bend like the others, but it only lasts a short period of time, maybe two minutes at the most. I hope you make good use of it."

"Thank you, Arbiter." Mark said as he bowed his head. He looked at the small device and studied its make-up. After examining it, he attached it to his grenade belt.

He first went to tell Brianne and Justin that they were flying the new spacecraft, but was caught up when something caught his eye. A room at the end of a narrow passage was guarded by two Elites. His MJOLNIR's computer translated the words on the door: HIGHLY DANGEROUS, AUTHORIZED ENTRY ONLY.

He walked through the narrow corridor and asked the two guarding Elites what they were keeping in there.

"This is one of our labs where we try to create new weapons and vehicles. This lab works specifically on body enhancement. We have two Sangheili who have taken a new vaccination. They are a total success, except that their tempers are easily triggered. They are kept in here until they are needed in battle. All they care about is fighting, and pretty soon, their going to get it. They're everything that a fighter should be: strong, swift, analytical and are able to make quick decisions despite the amount of stress they are under."

"Can they tell friend from foe, or will they attack anything that moves?"

"They will not attack other Sangheili or any ships with our specific signals, so you will also be safe from them when they are in battle with you."

"What about shielding? A head-on fighter needs a good amount of strong shielding."

"We have also developed an energy shield three times as durable as a normal Sangheilis, plus it recharges twice as fast, but is more susceptible to malfunction if it becomes damaged."

"Am I allowed to go in and talk to them? I have experience dealing with people with very bad tempers."

"Only the higher ranked officials are allowed to enter."

"Well, the Arbiter gave me permission to explore any part of the ship that I please. So I think this is part of the ship."

After a moment of hesitation, the guard said,

"Fine, you may enter, but if they look like they're going to attack you, back out the door slowly. They're armed."

"They're armed?! Why would you arm them? They're highly dangerous! What did you give them?"

"They are each armed with a Beam Rifle, two Energy Swords and two Plasma Rifles."

"Thanks for letting me know." Mark replied with a hint of sarcasm that the two Elites failed to catch.

As he walked into the room, the two Elites quickly looked up and activated their Energy Swords. Mark reasoned that it was a precaution, just in case they thought it was an enemy.

"I mean you no harm. I am a guest of the Arbiter's. I helped rescued one of your squads from the Regret and Consequence. I just came in here to talk."

They slowly put down the Energy Swords, deactivated them and put them back in their holders.

"We are sorry for thinking you an enemy, young Spartan." said one of the enhanced Elites. "As you can see, we're not normal Sangheili. What is it you wish to talk with us about?" he asked.

"You and how you came to be in here. What's your story?"

"Before we tell you, first understand that we did this of our own free will. The Sangheili are a race where there is no slavery or anything of the sort." said the other Elite. "We were both working on our home planet as weapons specialists, testing new weapons and equipment. When the Covenant attacked, we were trying to protect a bomb capable of destroying this ship one hundred times over. The guard of the weapons plant was beaten fast. We were taken prisoner and sent up to their ship.

"As we were sitting in the brig, we heard a Brute Captain tell the Chieftain that a massive bomb went off and destroyed the entire city. We were at first overjoyed to hear this, because all the Covenant ground troops had been wiped out, but then we realized that our friends and families had also been eradicated in the blast. When we were rescued by the Arbiter and came aboard this ship, we overheard the scientists talking about this vaccination. We volunteered to take it, so that we could be stronger, maybe strong enough to go find the ship that attacked our city and make the Brute Chieftain in charge of it pay for his crimes.

"The name of the ship was Rage Unto Power, and we have vowed that we will find it and make the crew pay."

"I grieve for your loss." replied Mark. "I understand your pain." Mark lied. "One of my best friends was killed in battle, but I guess it's how he would have wanted to die. He always liked getting into the action. I'll miss him. Anyway, I have to go to the infirmary to see how my troops are doing. I can't wait to fight along side you in the upcoming battle. You will make great allies."

"Thank you, Spartan. But, we were never properly introduced. I am Voro' Kinvhol and this is Rha' Arshnok."

"I am Spartan M17, Mark."

"Well met, Mark. You also will be a valuable ally in the battle soon to come."

As Mark opened the door, the two Elites guarding the door held their weapons up. When they recognized him, they immediately lowered their weapons. Mark stopped right before he turned the corner and said to the two guards,

"You might want to try and talk to them... their not as bad tempered as you think. Just keep your weapons away and they'll keep calm."

- - -

When Mark reached the infirmary, he first went to check on the Master Sergeant and the Lieutenant.

"The Master Sergeant is fine," said one of the medical Elites. "But he just needs to do a little less physical activity for a few days. He can still fight, he just needs to carry less weaponry and not throw too many grenades. The Lieutenant, however, needs to stay on the ship. She cannot fight; she needs her medication every hour on the hour, to help with her internal bleeding. It is minor, but she will need to stay on the medication for ten to twelve days."

"What about all the other injured Marines? How badly are they injured?" Mark asked with concern.

"There is only one in critical condition. He received plasma burns to most of his face and some Needler shrapnel in his legs. I don't think he will be able to walk for a while... probably a month, at the least. All the others should be either on their feet now or will be in the next few moments."

"Thank you for the information. It helps to know that they'll all make it."

As Mark walked around, talking to the Marines, he heard all their stories of what happened to them on the Regret and Consequence. He also ran into the other Spartans, who had also been exploring the ship. He told them about the two enhanced Elites that he had met. Apparently Will and Master Chief had also visited them, with the same success that he had.

After they had finished talking, an alarm went off, sounding that the Covenant were only a short distance from them. The six Spartans and the remaining Marines save for Lieutenant Carlton and another critically injured Marine, ran to the launch bay. When they arrived, they wished each other good luck, saluted the Spartans and went to their separate ships.
"Let's get this party started!" Justin said over the radio on an open channel. All the Marines responded with an enthusiastic "Hoorah!!"

"Initiating systems check." said an Elite over the carrier's intercom. "Weapons systems, Life Support, Anti-Gravity systems, Propulsion systems, Slipspace generators, shields and Flight Suit check."

No one said a word in response, signaling that everybody's ships were in working order. As the launch bay doors started to open, Mark contacted the rest of the Spartans on a private channel.

"Spartans, Brianne and Justin are operating the Apparition, so they should be safe from any detection technology, but I want to take a precaution. I want everyone to fly in a loose formation around them, so as not to allow the Brutes to tell we are guarding something.. Make sure to give them plenty of room to fire their weapons."

"Also, try to attack the bigger ships and take out their weapons. When these ships prepare to fire, they have to drop their shields for the plasma to get into space. In this limited amount of time, fire as many shots as you can.

"Good luck to us all. Hopefully no one dies in this battle."

As they launched out into space, the five players noticed a tiny splotch of something peculiar on the hull of one of the fleet's frigates. None of them paid much attention to it, as they were about to enter a huge space battle between the Covenant's main fleet and the Elites.

Over their radios, they could barely make out Dianne's voice. All the heard was, "Guys, we fou...tch...the syst...we can't...ing you ba... you... ave to find the bug...estroy i..."

A look of worry spread across each of the kids faces underneath their face plates. They had understood at least the last half of the message. They had to destroy the bug in the game to get out.

CHAPTER FOUR: THE GLITCH

1145 hours, April 23rd 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar) Halo Beta System

Through the Slipspace portal, hundreds of Covenant carriers, frigates, Seraph Fighters, Phantoms, Banshees, and all other sorts of ships flew into view. The Elite commanders didn't want the Covenant to get the upper hand by numbers, so they gave the order to attack them as they were coming out of Slipspace.

The six Spartans, along with thousands of other Elites, flew into battle. At first, the Banshees proved to be the worst threat. After the Elites took over the Banshee fight, Mark, Will, Brandon and the Master Chief led Brianne and Justin, who were flying the Apparition, a new Elite Stealth ship, to the vast number of Covenant ships coming out of Slipspace. They had a plan to knock a few of them out.

"You guys ready?" asked Justin over their private channel.

"Ready." replied the four Spartans in Banshees.

The four of them flew off, leaving the Apparition behind. They started shooting at a large carrier that was exiting Slipspace. As it starting charging its array of plasma missiles, Brandon yelled, "NOW!" to Justin over the radio.

A small missile flew past them and into the carrier's shields as it released a barrage of plasma missiles. While dodging these deadly projectiles, the six Spartans retreated away from the carrier. As they flew, a bright flash consumed the carrier and five other ships. The small projectile was the Apparition's bomb with an explosion equivalent to an atomic explosion.

The debris of the consumed ships blocked some of the larger ships from entering normal space, so the portal closed, leaving only around forty Covenant ships against the entire Elite armada. It was over in a matter of minutes. After the larger ships were destroyed, only a few Banshees and Phantoms tried to break for Halo Six. None made it.

The Elites had won the first part of the battle, but the Covenant fleet would find another exit through Slipspace soon, so all of the ships started charging weapons again, waiting for another portal to open.

While waiting, Engineers and Elite maintenance crews made fast repairs on ships that had lost or damaged major systems. Two ships were completely destroyed, with only four surviving Elites pulled from the wreckage.

The six Spartans docked on the Pride and Confidence to get the Apparition fitted with another two bombs; the last two the Elites had. The first one they had used was just a test bomb. These two had double the power of the first, which kind of scared Brianne and Justin.

As they left the launch bay, three portals opened, letting more Covenant ships through. The six Spartans decided to split up. This battle was just as short as the first one. Justin and Brianne took out two of the portals using the two super bombs, and the Elite armada destroyed every ship coming out of the third. By now, the Covenant had lost at least one hundred and fifty vessels.

A radio transmission came from the surface of Halo Six from one of the Elite squads guarding the control rooms.

"We are being attacked. Send reinforcements immediately. We have never faced anything like this before. It is neither the Covenant nor the Flood. It isn't in any of or databases, but it is extremely dangerous. We are being overrun. Please send reinforcements imme…" the transmission was cut off.

In the short pause after the transmission, another Slipspace portal opened and a huge barrage of plasma missiles came through.

"Evasive maneuvers!" yelled the Arbiter over the radio.

In her peripheral vision, Brianne saw a plasma missile. As she tried to tell Justin to move, it struck their starboard hull. The Apparition spiraled down towards Halo Six in a stream of fire and smoke.

Brandon saw what was happening and radioed Mark, Will and the Chief. The four of them chased after the falling ship as fast as their Banshees could fly. As Mark looked back, hundreds of Covenant ships poured out of the Slipspace portals. The Elites were being overrun. On a private channel, the Chief told all surviving Elites in Banshees to follow them onto Halo Six.

When the Elites' Banshees, Phantoms, Seraph Fighters and escape pods started coming down towards the ring, the enemy fleet started sending their own Banshees towards them to make sure none made it to the surface alive. Plasma soared past the six Spartans' Banshees. A sudden impact made Mark's Banshee start spiraling out of control. As he fell, he saw more Banshees falling towards the surface. He could only hope that the Elites and the other Spartans were strong enough to handle the hard impact that was to come.

The ground came into view. It was coming at a speed of which Mark thought he couldn't survive. When the impact came, his life count dropped to four. He respawned by his wrecked Banshee. When he checked the status of the other Spartans, only Justin and Brianne escaped without losing a life. That meant that the Apparition didn't make a hard impact. He was thankful for that.

When he was looking around, the game paused suddenly. A face he had seen before appeared in front of him. It was Cortana!

"What are you doing here?" asked Mark.

"I am not the actual Cortana. Dianne created me to help you fight the glitch in the game. It has infiltrated the main database, and is eating the game up. It adapted to any anti-virus we could send at it.

"Then it started 'talking' to us. It told us that resisting it is futile. It said that nothing in our world could defeat it, which means that you will have to destroy in from within the game.

"While we were researching for similar occurrences, we came across a paper about a virus that eats computer programs. They called it the D.R.E.A.D Virus. After it finishes eating a program, it divides and tries to find another program. The scientists who discovered it thought they had isolated it, but apparently one escaped. They said that they hadn't found a way to destroy it from outside the program it was eating.

"It also is controlling small parts of the game, like the communication with Dianne, and some of the small events in the game. We can still input small programs to help you, which I will help you with whenever one shows up." explained Cortana.

"What else is it controlling? Anything vital?"

"It is controlling the program that gives you your lives back at the beginning of every level. Now, you must be extra careful, because you won't be getting any lives back now, unless you find the hidden extra lives we've hidden in every level. Apparently, the virus is trapped in the last level, so it can only influence small parts of the game outside its level. It will have almost complete control of its surroundings by the time you reach it, so be extra cautious when facing it."

"What does D.R.E.A.D stand for anyway? By the looks of it, it can't mean anything good."

"You're right. It means Data Retrieving Energy Altering Demolisher. It steals the energy from the program its in, alters it to match the energy it needs to survive, keeps the information from the program it infested, and finally destroys the program after it feeds off its energy." explained Cortana.

"Alright, then; what little programs has Dianne made to help us through this glitch?" asked Mark.

"Well, she has only made one as of now. The program allows you to make different combinations with the different weapons, equipment or both. For example: if you combine the Rocket Launcher and the Needler, after the rocket explodes Needler needles with propel forward and home in on a new target. It's kind of like killing two birds with one stone, depending which weapons you choose.

It's the same with equipment, like if you combine the Power Drainer and the Trip Mine, any vehicle that comes near it will trigger a small explosion; big enough to kill the gunner, if there is one and flip the vehicle over; and then the Power Drainer part of it will completely immobilize the vehicle, so, even if it is flipped back over, it will be useless. And you can combine weapons and equipment to make even more deadly combinations."

"Is all that I need to know?"

"For now, yes."

"Alright, computer, deactivate pause mode, I have to go find the others and stop this... D.R.E.A.D Virus... thing."

As he walked around the forest he had crashed in, he saw signs of something that had traveled through the area. Twigs were snapped and there were claw marks on some of the trees. What he found the most interesting though, is that there were no footprints anywhere on the soft ground.

As he walked in another direction, a yellow blip appeared on his radar screen. It was a friendly. He sighed out of relief. As he walked around a large tree, he met up with an Elite, crawling out of a wrecked Phantom. He didn't look too badly wounded, except a deep gash in his left forearm.

"Do you need any help?" asked Mark as the Elite pulled out a strip of cloth and a tube of bio-foam.

"No, I will be fine, but can you see if there are anymore of my crew still alive in there, including the Engineers. We'll need them to fix the Ghosts if they didn't get too badly damaged."

"Okay, give me a few minutes to search." replied Mark.

As he searched the crashed Phantom, he found two more live Elites and six live Engineers. As he led them out of the ship, he saw that two of the Engineers had large pieces of shrapnel in a few of their sacs, causing them to slowly float to the ground as gases and droplets of liquid oozed out of them. There was only a small chance that they would survive without immediate medical treatment.

"Do we have any medical supplies? These two Engineers are badly wounded, and we may need them later."

"I have enough supplies to cover their wounds, but I don't dare waste the bio-foam on them. I only have three tubes left."

"I guess that will have to do. You two okay over there?" he asked the Elites he pulled out of the Phantom.

"Yes, we're fine. I'm just dizzy from the crash and have a few cuts and bruises." said one of the Elites.

As Mark tended to the Engineers, the three remaining Elites took count of what weaponry and vehicles they had left. They had six Carbines, eight Plasma Rifles, three Plasma Pistols, four full Plasma Grenade belts and four Ghosts. It was just enough to split between the four of them. After they were done passing out weapons, they boarded the Ghosts and drove off to one of the control rooms on Halo Six.

- - -

Justin was relieved when they landed in a small lake. The impact of the crash wasn't enough to kill them, but it knocked out their shields, so they sat, waiting for them to recharge. Brianne, on the other hand, wasn't relieved at all.

"This wasn't supposed to happen! We were supposed to win the space battle! Mom wouldn't have changed the program without telling me! We need to find a way out!" screamed Brianne as she panted from self-inflicted exhaustion.

"Just calm down, we'll find a way out. Remember what Cortana said when she paused the game. The virus can change events in the game. From what I'm gathering, the Elites who sent the distress signal were attacked by something the virus created. We should find whatever attacked them and try to get some information out of them, plus we have to save any surviving Elites. We'll need as much help as possible."

"You're right… I'm sorry, I just overreacted. Okay, where are we?" she asked she looked at their surroundings.

"Get down!" said Justin in a loud whisper. "There's a Brute Banshee patrol coming this way!"

"Hmm... I have a better idea." she said as she climbed on top of a boulder so the Brutes would see her.

"Are you crazy!" yelled Justin as the Banshees turned towards Brianne.

"Maybe." she replied as she dropped a Grav-Lift and jumped towards the leading Banshee.

She landed on top of the Banshee, ripped a rampaging Brute out of the cockpit and threw it to the ground. She then took the Brutes place inside the Banshee. As she turned to fight the other Banshee, Justin combined a Rocket Launcher and a Power Drainer and shot the combo rocket towards it. With Its power drained, the explosion sent it spiraling towards the ground. When the Brute inside jumped out, it came down almost right on top of Justin, swinging its Gravity Hammer as it came down.

The impact drained a quarter of his shields. Before the Brute could bring its hammer down again, Justin took out his Sniper Rifle and laid three perfect head-shots in the center of the Brute's face. It fell face forward into the dirt. Justin heard some rustling behind him. As he turned to look, a Fuel Rod Cannon shot flew over his head and crashed into the bushes behind him. A Brute flew through the air and landed with a heavy THUD a few yards from him.

"Thanks Brianne." he said.

"No problem. What are team mates for?" replied Brianne.

"I don't know. Most of the time they're for target practice, but in this case, they're life-savers. Where do we go now?" he asked as he smiled at his last comment.

- - -

As Will looked around the area where his Banshee crashed, he noticed smoke above the tree line. Through the trees, he could also see a portion of one of the few doors into Halo's interior. It didn't look to be too far away, so he gathered up his supplies he had brought from the Pride and Confidence, sent a distress signal with his homing beacon and headed towards the smoke.

- - -

When Brandon respawned, he got his senses together and gathered up his equipment. On his radar he noticed a single red blip. That meant there was an enemy nearby. He held his Shotgun at the ready and went around to the other side of the Banshee where the thing was. When he walked around the corner, it lunged at his face. One blast from his Shotgun caused it to drop dead at his feet. One question buzzed in his mind: "What the hell is this thing?"

- - -

When the three Elites and Mark saw Brandon walking through the forest, they shouted to get his attention since the radios were down. When they caught up with him, they noticed that he was carrying a small sack slung over his shoulder about the size of a large Grunt.

"What's in the bag?" Mark asked.

"I don't know, but you have to see this. I think this is what was attacking the Elites when we received their distress signal."

When he opened the bag, the corpse of a creature fell to the ground. It was completely black, but it had the outline of a Jackal.

"What is this creature?" asked one of the Elites. "It looks like a Jackal, but it has a completely different interior." he said as he scanned the body.

"It tried to attack me after I crash-landed. I have no idea what it is, and I think we should examine the body more before we start guessing. It could just be a new trick the Covenant has created."

They examined the body for hours with no help as to what it was. As they started to dispose the body, some kind of transmission came from the creature and spread about ten miles in each direction.

"What the hell was that?" asked Mark.

"I don't know..." replied one the the Elites.

In an instant several red blips appeared on their radar, indicating an attack on their make-shift base.

"We're under attack! Everyone, protect the base!"

Brandon boarded one of the Ghosts to head the counterattack, the three Elites took cover behind the other three Ghosts, and Mark headed towards the trees.

"Okay, here's the plan: Brandon, go around about two hundred meters behind them to flank them. Don't attack until I say so. I'll let them go by me, so you Elites will have to hold them until Brandon and I can attack them from behind, okay?"

"Affirmative. We'll give them a fight to remember, if they live to remember it." replied one of the Elites.

As Brandon started to go around, Mark caught the first glimpse of them. It was more of the black creatures, except they had taken the forms of Grunts, Elites, Hunters and even a few looked like they were human shaped. Only a few carried weapons, while the rest just walked towards the base. They acted almost exactly like the Flood, except for the way they walked. They walked exactly like the species they were imitating.

When they came within view of the base, they charged towards it at full speed. Plasma fire from the three Elites mowed down the first wave and the second wave. By the third, the creatures started using the trees for cover and dove from tree to tree, getting closer to the base.

"Brandon, are you ready yet?"

"Yes, I'm waiting. Should I go?"

"Yes... go, go, go!" shouted Mark as he jumped out of the tree onto one of the creatures. They were everywhere. Seven of them turned to fight him when a barrage of plasma cut through the trees and demolished the creatures. Brandon sped past and killed all the creatures between Mark and the base. But they wouldn't stop coming. In a matter of minutes, Mark, Brandon and the three Elites stood back-to-back defending themselves from destruction. The Ghosts had been destroyed and they were running low on ammunition

Out of the corner of his eye, Brandon saw a Banshee flying towards them. But it didn't look right. As he looked closer, he saw someone on top of the Banshee holding a Sniper Rifle. It was Justin and Brianne! The mysterious black creatures dropped dead as sniper rounds, blue plasma and fuel-rod cannon missiles came from the sky. Realizing that they couldn't win, the remaining creatures fled back into the forest.

Rather than let them escape, the small group charged toward them as Justin and Brianne flew through the trees. Small explosions threw the creatures off their feet. As they tried to get up, they were ripped apart with plasma and bullets. After the bloody massacre, the Spartans and Elites had taken three prisoners and only two escaped.

They cautiously walked backed to their annihilated base, where Brandon used his ability to fix the Ghosts that the black creatures had destroyed. Afterwards, they briefed each other on what they had seen and done since they crashed on Halo Six, now being called Halo Beta.

"What we should do now is go and look for survivors of the space battle. Some of their ships must have made it back into Slipspace, so we have to try to have at least one ship come back and pick us up here, but we would need a way to get a message into Slipspace." explained Justin.

"I agree, but where on Earth, well… in this case, Halo… are we gonna even start looking for survivors?" replied Mark.

"I already have a plan. Here's how it's gonna work…"

CHAPTER 5: ^*&$&%^ (Encrypted)

Time, Date and Location of Transmission Classified Top Secret

- - -

SLIPSTREAM SPACE TRANSMISSION PRIVATE CHANNEL # 059171

FROM: SANGHEILI CARRIER: PRIDE AND CONFIDENCE ON EXIT VECTOR 280 FROM HUMAN HOMEWORLD ALPHA (EARTH), 13 LIGHTYEARS OUTSIDE HALO BETA SYSTEM

TO: ALL SURVIVING SANGHEILI AND UNSC MARINES AND SPARTANS ON HALO BETA.

SOUND FILE GAMMA (Classified Above Top Secret -0965) "OLY OLY OXEN FREE"

- - -

CHAPTER 6: SIV

2137 hours, April 26th 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar) Beneath Surface of Halo Beta

Exhausted from days of fighting and looking for survivors, all the Spartans had found each other and had found twelve Marines, including Master Sergeant Canon, and sixty Elites. Among the first they had found was Sork' Chonchiyo. They had made camp in one of the many Forerunner facilities on the ring.

"So tomorrow, we head for the closest control room and shut own the ring." said Will.

"Yes." replied one of the Elites. "We will keep the Black Clones at bay while you Spartans and Marines head into the ring to deactivate it."

"Alright. Everybody get some rest. I'll take first watch tonight. Sork' Chonchiyo, I'll wake you for the second watch. Good night.

- - -

Through the morning, they all moved underground through the tunnels the Forerunners had built to get to the closet of the control rooms. When they reached an opening to the surface, Justin and three Elites with Beam Rifles scouted ahead to make sure there was no opposition. When they gave the all-clear, the rest of the humans and Elites moved up and surrounded the door that would lead them back inside Halo Beta to the control room.

The Elites made a makeshift base with plenty of cover and planted mines and turrets all around the entrance, making ready for the Black Clones or Covenant that would surely come. After saying good-bye and good luck to each other, the Marines and the Spartans moved into Halo Beta. The control room was four kilometers from their current position and three hundred meters down.

- - -

The Jiralhanae Chieftan of the Covenant Cruiser Rage Unto Power watched as the disbanded Sangheili armada entered normal space again.

"Back to finish the fight I see. I guess the Sangheili aren't total cowards after all. Get me a target solution for their lead Carrier... all lines." he said to the weapons station.

"All lines powering... solution found. Plasma coils at 38.2% and climbing at 2% a minute."

"Reroute all power to coil chargers except thrusters."

"Power rerouted... coils charging at 13% a minute. Coils charged at 42.4%."

"Good. Keep us out of range until coils are at full charge."

"Aye, Chieftan."

Rage Unto Power moved behind a defensive line of ships to wait for its plasma lines to charge. As the lead vessels started charging their weapons, a blinding white flash consumed three of them. After the explosion receded, all that remained of the ships was molten chunks of metal. The lead Sangheili ships opened fire on the ships whose shields had been weakened by the explosion.

"I've seen this tactic before. Scan the Sacred Ring's atmosphere for any landing craft." ordered the Chieftan.

"Scan in progress..." replied another Jiralhanae. "Twenty Phantoms and forty Banshees detected heading towards the surface."

"Order the fleet to launch all fighters to intercept them."

"Communication sent, Chieftan."

As thousands of fighters moved towards Halo Beta to intercept the small Sangheili invasion force, ten Sangheili frigates turned to face the fighters and opened fire. Pulse lasers and Plasma incinerated almost all the fighters. As the Jiralhanae prepared to fire on the Sangheili battle group, a humongous Sliptream Space field opened. Hundreds of human ships poured through, at the same time firing their MAC guns (Magnetic Accelerator Cannon). In a matter of minutes, the Jiralhanaes' fleet was reduced to one ship, Rage Unto Power.

"We are being boarded, Chieftan!" yelled a rather large Jiralhanae.

"How many invaders?"

"Scanning..." replied another Jiralhanae. "Only two, Chieftan..."

"What? Why would the Sang..."

The doors to the bridge suddenly exploded inwards. One door slammed into the navigation controls, crippling them. Two Sangheili stood in the doorway, each with an Energy Sword and a Plasma Rifle.

"This is for the thousands you killed on our home-world the day that bomb went off." said one of the Sangheili

"Wha..."

Before the Chieftan could even get that one word out, the two Sangheili charged into the room, firing their rifles at the Grunts and Jackals trying to flee, and slicing and/or stabbing the Jiralhanae before they had a chance to reach for their weapons.

The Chieftan brought his Gravity Hammer to bear, but by the time he was in a ready battle-stance, every single one of his crew was dead and the two Sangheili stood in front of him, Plasma Rifles and Energy Swords leveled at his head.

"Drop your hammer, Brute." ordered one of the Sangheili

"How dare you use those humans' foul tongue to name me!" screamed the Chieftan as he swung his mighty hammer. Before it struck the Sangheili on the left, the one on the right cut through the Chieftan's armor and severed his arm. A quick blow to the back of his head knocked him out.

- - -

The Arbiter watched as Rage Unto Power exploded as its self-destruct sequence blew the plasma reactor core. The Chieftan of the ship howled as he watched, from his cell on the Pride and Confidence, his ship light up and start floating away to drift in space for eternity.

"Status on our fighters heading towards the surface." ordered the Arbiter.

"A communication was just received from them. They have located the Spartans position and are en-route to deliver the package."

"Good. Maybe we can end this war faster with them helping us. Human Frigate, Dawn of the Horizon, do you read?"

"Affirmative. This is Spartan 006, what do you need, Arbiter?"

"Jai, take your Spartan IV's down to Halo Beta and retrieve the others.

"Already on our way."

CHAPTER 7: AN EXTRAORDINARY RESCUE

1400 Hours, May 2nd, 2544 (UNSC Military Calendar) Surface of Planet X19

Spartan 006, Jai, watched as he was being surrounded by Grunts, Jackals and Drones. He noted that all he had left for ammunition was three full clips for his M7 Submachine gun, two full clips for his MA5K Assault Rifle, four Frag Grenades and one Flash Grenade. He also took a few moments to remember his fellow Spartans who had perished in orbit during the long space battle over X19, Adrianna and Mike. They were part of Gray team, the oddest Spartan group that came out of the Spartan II project.

Mike was the best pilot and their computer specialist, who never followed any order the right way. Adrianna was always the tough one, first to enter a fight and the last to leave. She also only rarely wore her helmet when donning her MJOLNIR Mark IV Armor. Now only he, Jai, was left. The team leader, who had always wanted to escape the camp when he was first brought there. Over forty attempts, no success. He had made it as far as the edge of the forest before CPO Mendez would send out Pelicans filled with battle-hardened Marines with tranquilizer guns. Now, he would try escaping this impossible situation, but this time…this time he had guns.

Before the large group of Covenant forces could finish getting into formation, Jai threw his Flash Grenade and blinded all the Covenant forces. In these few precious seconds, he booked it west towards an old mine shaft and jumped in. He placed two of his Frag Grenades on either side of the entrance and caved it in. He turned on his MJOLNIR Armor's built in lights and started walking down the long tunnel ahead.

He navigated through the mine until he found another exit. The only problem was that it was fifty meters above him. He looked around and saw no rope or wires he could use, so he did the next best thing, he used his inhuman strength to dig his hands and feet into the rock and climbed that way. After getting to the top he headed north-east to his extraction point.

The six kilometers he had traveled was pretty uneventful. He had run into small patrols of Jackals and Grunts, and had easily taken them down. When he reached the extraction point, his mission clock still was timed for two hours. He turned on his radio to call the pilot who was supposed to pick him up.

"Spartan double-oh six to Private Delgado, do you copy?"

Only static responded to him, so he sent a distress signal on the UNSC E-band, hoping somebody would get it.

- - -

Three hours later, while sitting on a rock, just waiting for someone to get his signal, Jai suddenly heard a voice through his radio, but the static kept him from hearing the message clearly.

"Jai, this is...atio Delga......I'm inbound to your posis...hold tight buddy...m on my way...ETA thirt...ive minu....orry I'm la…buddy." the transmission was cut off.

No more than two minutes after Delgado's transmission, Jai's radar picked up about two hundred enemy contacts. Bringing his Assault Rifle to bear, he saw one hundred Grunts, fifty Drones, thirty-five Jackals and fifteen Elites. As he dove behind the rock for cover, plasma literally melted the ground where he stood a moment before.

For what seemed like an eternity, the Covenant and Jai exchanged plasma and bullets. After spending his last clip of ammo for his submachine gun, he threw his last two grenades into a group of Jackals, killing five and wounding one. He pulled out his combat knife and went into a crouch, waiting for the last of the Covenant forces to come behind the rock.

A lone Elite walked around, Energy Sword in hand. Jai waited for the Elite to make the first move. As they both stood, the seven foot tall alien did something Jai din't expect; it turned on its Active Camoflouge.

"Shit..." said Jai as he turned and ran.

"Jai, it's Ignatio. ETA is thirty seconds. I got you on radar... why are you moving?"

"Covenant forces found me. I have a camouflaged Elite on my tail. Be ready for a hot extraction."

Jai kept running. He glanced up at the sky and saw Delgado's Pelican coming in fast.

"Delgado, fly up beside me. I'll jump."

The Pelican roared towards Jai's position. Delgado positioned it so that he was flying in front of Jai. He then opened the hatch. Jai jumped and landed in the troop bay of the Pelican. As he stood up, a Plasma Grenade flew past his faceplate and stuck to the cockpit door. Jai ducked as the explosion shattered the door and sent small pieces flying everywhere. He immediately went to the cockpit and saw that a rather large piece of the door had hit Delgado in the head. He checked for a pulse and found that he was still alive. Jai moved his body to the co-pilot's seat and took over the main controls.

He brought the Pelican in an arc had headed back to where the Covenant had set up base. When it was in sight, he released all the remaining Missile Pods and activated the twin chain-guns on each wing. Explosions ripped the Covenant forces apart. The survivors were killed by the chain-guns.

Satisfied that he had done enough damage, Jai angled the Pelican upwards towards space so he could dock with Vice Admiral Cole's ship, Beacon of Liberty and get ready for his next assignment; training a new group of Spartans for Project Spartan IV.

- - -

CHAPTER 8: A FOUR-SIDED SKIRMISH

0725 Hours, April 27th, 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar) Halo Beta Surface

The Spartans and Marines had walked for hours without any luck finding the control room. The next room they entered was like all the rest. It was a small maze of high, gray walls covered with Forerunner symbols. They had encountered no enemy contacts, although Justin swore he saw a red blip pass over the edge of his radar screen.

They worked their way through the maze, marking the walls with scratches to know where they had been if they got turned around. When they reached the next door, Justin's long-range radar picked up hundreds of signals at once. There were three main groups, and every few seconds, a couple blips would disappear off the radar.

"I told you guys I saw something!" exclaimed Justin.

"Okay, you were right." replied one of the Marines, Corporal Shane Bernier, who had become a fast friend of Justin's because of their shared likeness of violence.

"All right, let's see what's behind these doors." said Brandon as he walked to the control panel to open the doors. When they opened, the humans were witnessing a three sided battle. The Covenant had gotten here before them, and had made a base underground, which was now being attacked by the Flood and the Black Clones, who were also attacking each other. And now the humans were part of the now four-sided fight. Humans vs. Covenant vs. Flood vs. Black Clones. The battle was intense. Explosions from grenades ripped apart the Flood. Grunts and Jackals were ripped in half by Flood combat forms and larger Black Clones. The humans were held back near the doorway being barraged with plasma fire and weapons stolen by the Flood.

As the battle went on, Master Sergeant Canon moved through to the front of the doorway with his dual Rocket Launchers. As the explosions held back the Flood and the Black Clones, the rest of the Marines and the Spartans charged for the Covenant base. While the Marines dealt with the Grunts on Shades and the Jackal Snipers, the Spartans tracked down the commanding Brutes and killed them. They had control of the base in less than two minutes. As the Master Sergeant came running into the base, firing over his shoulder, the Marines in Shades and mounting Plasma Turrets open fired on the oncoming Flood and Black Clones. After twenty more minutes of continuous fighting, the last of the enemy was brought down. The fighting had finally stopped.

"Casualty report." ordered Mark.

"One KIA… me," replied Will. "and four wounded Marines. Only minor injuries though. No broken bones or lost limbs."

"Okay. Will, watch yourself. Remember what Cortana said. We can't get our lives back anymore, which means that you're down to three."

"Alright, I'll be more careful."

"Good. I'm gonna call the Elites and have them meet us down here. We'll hold this position until they get here. Sork' Chonchiyo, do you copy?"

"Yes. What is it that you need, Spartan?"

"Pack up base, we need you down here. We've captured a Covenant base and are holding off the Flood and Black Clones. Get down here as fast as possible. We marked the walls where the correct turns and doors are. Watch your backs while coming down. Expect a lot of activity from the Flood and BC's."

"Affirmative. We'll be there as soon as possible. Do you want us to leave anyone to guard the entrance?"

"Yes. Leave four of your Elites. If they are attacked and know that they can't win, have them cave in the ceiling inside the door and have them meet up with us after that."

"Alright. We will see you soon, Spartan. Sork' Chonchiyo out."

As the radio went silent. Mark brought up the Spartans life count on his Heads Up Display (HUD). Justin and Brianne still had all five of their lives, Brandon and himself had four and Will was down to three.

After checking on the wounded Marines, he helped the others place anti-tank mines all around the base, at the same time retrieving all the weapons dropped by the dead Flood.

- - -

The humans had waited for hours deep underground, waiting for Sork' Chonchiyo and his Elites to arrive. There had been small attacks by both the Flood and the Black Clones, but they had been driven back easily. During the long wait, the medic, Private Jeremy Corinth, tended to various small injuries.

"Okay, let's get a weapons and ammo check." ordered Mark.

"A fourth one?" replied Brandon. "Okay... every Marine has the standard issue sidearm, and each have divided their ammo so they all have five clips plus one full in the pistol. Three have Assault Rifles with four full clips each and one in the rifle. Five have SMGs, and each have five clips and one in. Two have Shotguns, sixty shells each, and one has a Sniper Rifle with twelve clips and one in.

Master Sergeant Canon has his Battle Rifle, two clips, one in, his two Rocket Launchers, six shots each, his to Assault Rifles, two clips each, one in each, two Energy Swords, one 87% capacity and the other at 72%, and his two sidearms, four clips each and one in each.

And us... my Shotgun, your Battle Rifle, Will's FRC and Brianne's Magnum, all infinite ammo. Chief has his Assault Rifle, six clips and one in, and his Shotgun, forty shells. And we each have our sidearms, three clips each one in each. Everyone has three Frag Grenades, four Plasma Grenades and one Spike Grenade and everyone is carrying at least one combat knife.

Plus, we have four undamaged Shades, five Prowlers (four occupants each), eight Choppers (one occupant each), two Phantoms (up to twenty-five occupants), six Ghosts (one occupant each) and five Banshees (one occupant each). Enough vehicles for us and the Elites no problem."

"Good. The Elites should be here shortly. Pack it up, Marines! Load that Phantom with those Shades. As soon as Justin gets back from his scouting patrol and the Elites arrive we head out!"

"Hoorah!" replied all the Marines.

The Marines immediately started working. It was no time at all before they had loaded the Phantom and boarded their own vehicles, leaving the five Banshees for the Spartans. As Will was inspecting the base for anything that was left behind, Justin came sprinting at the base, screaming at the top of his lungs, "There's tens of thousands of them out there! They saw me and their on their way here!"

"Who?" replied Mark and he ran up to Justin.

"The BCs! They're coming out of some sort of portal, and they're coming this way! They're not hurrying, but they'll be here within the next two hours."

"Well, we can't stay here, which leaves us going forward, right into them. We have to take down that portal."

"But Mark, after we go through the exit, it will lead us to a huge open field. They'll have the advantage of numbers and the space to use them."

"Well, if we stay here, they'll just keep coming through the portal. We have to try. Marines! Change of plans, we leave now! You all heard Justin. We have a battle to win. Move out!"

"Yes sir!" they all replied in unison.

"Sork' Chonchiyo, do you copy?"

"Yes, go ahead Spartan."

"The BCs have a small army out there. We're leaving to head them off. Follow immediately when you get here, okay?"

"I'm right behind you Spartan."

"Thanks friend, and good luck to us all."

"No, I'm standing behind you."

Mark turned to see Sork' Chonchiyo and his sixty Elites standing battle ready and eager to spill some blood. Together they roared a mighty battle cry, ready to kill.

CHAPTER 9: CHANGING THE STATUS QUO

1701 Hours April 27th, 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar) Underground Forerunner Complex (4.8 kilometers from exit), Halo Beta

Twenty-six vehicles roared through the tunnels of Halo Beta towards the army of Black Clones that waited just across the field Justin had told the others about. The ride through the tunnels seemed to last an eternity and was completely silent save for the engines of the vehicles. Everyone there knew that they couldn't handle that many enemies. It wasn't a matter of toughness; it was a matter of ammunition. Master Chief had done the math, and they didn't have nearly enough ammo to do the job, which is why they had to make sure that they had to deal the first blow.

The two Phantoms and five Banshees would fly out into battle first and do a sweep of the back lines of BCs while the ground vehicles would devastate the first lines. And from there they would have to push back the hordes of BCs until they could get to the portal. There was almost no chance that this would work, but it was the only plan they had.

The exit came into view. Will flew his Banshee ahead and opened the large doors that would open the humongous doors. All twenty-six vehicles parked in a line out in the field. Everyone's heart-rates spiked when they saw the enormous black wave of BCs that moved slowly towards their position.

"All right everybody!" yelled Will. "This is it! We have to-"

"What is that!?" yelled a Marine, interrupting Will's speech.

Hundreds of small black dots appeared in the sky, falling very close to their position.

"No effin way!" exclaimed the Master Sergeant.

"Those are ODST pods. The Hell Jumpers have arrived Marines. The cavalry is here! Hoorah!"

The Marines cheered as the drop pods crashed to the ground. One hundred forty-seven ODSTs came out of their pods and some pods burst open revealing Mongooses, Ghosts and weapon crates loaded with weapons and ammo.

"Spartan M17," an ODST said to Mark. "I am Lieutenant Dante Yurof. My ODSTs are at your disposal. You have a special package inbound with more reinforcements, ETA one hour. So we'll have to hold off these bastards until then. Out of all 147 of us, we have twenty snipers, eighty heavy weapon carriers, who will all be on Mongooses, and the rest are machine-gunners."

"That's awesome, Lieutenant. Let's get to work. Get your ODSTs ready to fight."

"Yes sir. ODSTs! Get ready to kick some ass!"

"Marines, Elites, move out!"

All two hundred twenty-five Elites, Marines and ODSTs charged into the battle. Hundreds of rockets impacted on the front lines of the BCs. The snipers in Gillie Suits picked off the larger, more dangerous BCs. The Choppers and Ghosts were the first to puncture the front lines. Covering fire from the two Phantoms prevented any BCs from boarding the vehicles. As soon as a large enough hole was made, the Phantoms lowered forty battle-hardened Elites, all dual-wielding Energy Swords. They charged into the front lines, roaring like madmen.

All the machine-gunners ran through the left flank, only stopping to reload their guns. BCs were pulled under the giant blades that made up the wheels of the Choppers. Fuel Rod Missiles from the overhead Banshees tore apart the right flank of BCs. Not long after the start of the battle, Mark could see the portal and the generators keeping it open.

"Dante, this is Mark. Have your snipers go around the take out that portals' generators. We'll cover them."

"Affirmative."

"Spartans, protect those snipers. Form two groups. Will, Chief, you're with me."

As the snipers slowly crawled towards their target, the two Banshee squadrons kept any BCs from getting too close. This continued on for almost an hour, and then one of the snipers radioed Mark on the UNSC E-Band.

"Spartan M17, this is Sniper One, the target is in range. Should I shoot?"

"Fire at will, Sniper One."

All twenty snipers shot four rounds at the generator. The rounds struck hard. The generator shook under the pressure, started to smoke, and powered down. The portal collapsed in on itself and the ten thousand BCs paused and turned to see what had happened. In that moment, Mark saw hundreds of Longsword fighters, Pelicans and Hornets screaming towards the surface.

"Spartan M17, this is Spartan double-oh six. Retreat to the tunnels, we'll take care of the rest of these bastards."

"We…who's we?"

"My Spartans, sir."

"Threes!?"

"No, fours. Kurt was in charge of the SIIIs, remember?"

"Oh yeah, on that planet, Onyx. Marines, Elites and ODSTs! Fall back to the tunnels! Let's move!"

As they retreated, the BCs were barraged first by the heavy weapons of the Longswords, then rockets and chainguns form the Pelicans and then the rest were picked of by the Hornets and the snipers at the doors to the tunnels.

"Casualty report Brianne." said Mark.

"Seven dead Marines, three wounded, eighteen dead Elites, thirty wounded. Sork' Chonchiyo is among the wounded. And only eight dead ODSTs, fifteen wounded. Brandon, Justin and I all lost a life. Life count for us:

Me, three;

You, four;

Will, three;

Brandon; four;

Justin, four.

And the Chief has three broken ribs and a fractured collarbone."

"Marines, get the wounded, including the Master Chief, onto the Pelicans and dock with the ship with the best medical staff. The other Spartans and I are going to dock with Spartan 006's destroyer."

"Yes, sir." they all replied in unison.

As the Pelicans lifted off the surface, Mark looked at the mass of dead bodies littering the ground. Over fifteen thousand BCs, and only at the cost of fifteen dead Marines and eighteen dead Elites. But was it worth it?

The Pelican roared through the atmosphere towards Jai's destroyer, the UNSC's Feelin' Lucky Punk?"

CHAPTER 10: A SECONDARY OBJECTIVE

2130 hours, April 27th 2552 (Military Calendar) Hangar Four of UNSC Destroyer, Feelin' Lucky Punk

The Pelican's ramp lowered and the five Spartans walked out of it and into Hanger Four of the destroyer. They were greeted by Spartan 006, Jai, and two hundred and five Spartan IVs, who all saluted in unison. Mark noticed that the armor they were wearing was MJOLNIR Mark V, the same as themselves and the Chief.

"Jai, why are they wearing Mark V armor and not SPI armor or an upgraded MJOLNIR armor?"

"Well, these Spartans were selected and trained exactly the same as the Spartan IIs, so I thought it fitting that they had the same armor. It has been tweaked a bit in the power cell and energy shields, but is otherwise exactly the same. Come to the bridge with me Spartans. I would like you to meet my bridge crew."

The six Spartans made their way to the bridge. Every marine they passed stopped, moved to the side and saluted. After navigating and saluting back to the marines for seven minutes, they reached the doors that would lead them to the bridge. As they entered, they saw Dante Yurof at the weapons station, who stood and saluted with the rest of the crew.

"Spartans, I would like you to meet my crew; Lieutenant Dante Yurof on weapons, Second Lieutenant Ira Yumagachi on navigation, Corporal Hector Smith on engines and our newest member, Private Kyle Newmann on communications."

The Spartans saluted back. After a short briefing of what had happened on the surface of Halo Beta, Jai straightened up in the captain's chair and deeply inhaled.

"Spartans, I know this is a lot to ask of you, but there is a lot of Covenant activity in the area where Onyx used to be. I think they're looking for something in the rubble. And if it's important enough for the Covenant to send almost half of their main fleet there, it can't be good news for us. I need each of you to captain one of my ships, because I know and have seen what you are capable of, and I know that you'd all make damn fine captains."

"I'm in." replied Mark.

"I'm not letting Mark show me up. Count me in." said Will.

"Me too. Don't think that you're gonna out captain a woman guys." said Brianne

"What the hell, I'm in." replied Brandon.

"Hmm, let me think…um, duh, I aint missin' this!" exclaimed Justin.