Halo

Negotiations

Chapter One

The longsword fighter darted by the wreckage, barely able to get by without clipping a wing. The opposing ships had not seen them, yet. The pilot of the Longsword, Spartan 002, rocked back and forth in his seat, the adrenaline a bit much for him. Behind him, Spartan 143 watched as her superior dodged wreckage and stray plasma torpedoes.

"How we doing back there?" 002 asked. He flipped the fighter around, the Semi Powered infiltration plates on the outside began to mirror the surroundings around them.

Black space, Covenant and UNSC wreckage everywhere.

Back in the cargo area, Spartan 020 was prepping them for ground combat. Their mission had meant to be peaceful, but that could backfire. They had a two large crates full of weapons, with another for grenades and demolitions.

"We have enough firepower to take down a platoon, if that's what you mean!" He nervously laughed, hearing them pass by a Covenant cruiser. "ETA?"

002 glanced outside, watching as the Covenant surrounded the remains of a UNSC Frigate. The comm. blasted something that the Spartans could make out as the screams of the bridge crew.

"Mothers…" 002 said.

"Sir, ETA?" 020 asked.

"Two minutes, is everything ready?" 002 asked.

020 glanced up from loading a SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper rifle. "Yes sir. Advise you to gear up now." 143 stepped away from the pilot, and moved towards the back. She grabbed a MA5B ICWS Assault rifle, clipped it to her back, and then moved to grab one of the S2 Sniper Rifles. 020 grabbed an M6D Pistol, slipped it into his side holster, and then took a MA5B. He gave her to M7 Caseless Submachine Guns, and she took them forward to give to their superior.

"Were entering the atmosphere…"

Seconds later the radar flared. "What the…?" 002 said, but seconds later the remnants of a Plasma shot hit their wing, burning the entire thing. "Mothers!" 002 yelled, trying to keep the fighter balanced.

"Get ready for emergency landing!" 002 glanced to his right, and cursed. The shot wing was trailing smoke, giving any Covenant on the ground a clear look at them.

"Sonova…"

All went black.

Cory-020, was only awakened because the alarms on his Mjolnir IV armor beat in his ears, making his brain scream in pain. His first instinct was to get up, but as soon as he tried to move, he knew he couldn't. He glanced around, fire burned most of the cargo area, and he saw the foot of another Spartan. He couldn't tell if it was 002 or 143. His shielding recharged, very, very slowly.

He tried to get up, but felt something heavy against his back. He struggled for a second before being able to move it an inch. Suddenly it gave, and fell to the floor. It was a piece of the SPI plating; somehow it had come inside and kept him to the ground. He turned, looking to see why it gave.

A Marine stood above him, an old MA3 Assault Rifle clipped to his back. He motioned for someone that Cory could see to come over, and two more Marines appeared. One a man, the other a woman.

"Get him in a 'hog. Get the other, Kent says we got company coming." The woman said, rubbing the barrel of her M90 Assault Shotgun. The other Marine, the guy, held a S2 Sniper Rifle.

Cory's mouth opened, but nothing was heard. He tried again, this time able to moan. "We…weapons…" he said. The Marines just stared at him, confused. "Over…there…" this was the last of his strength.

All went black.

Stone-002 raised his M7, firing a quick burst into a trio of grunts charging him and another Marine. He reloaded the weapon, checked down the sights, and stood up. The crouched Marine beside him stood, an MA3 AR in his hands. Stone waved his hand, and the Marine followed. The two ran past the remains of a group of Jackals, and moved to the small convoy. Three LRV Warthogs sat next to the downed Longsword, two were manned, the other was not. Spartan 143 was loaded in the second, still unconscious. Stone watched as the XO stepped out, the other two Marines helped carry 020 out.

"Kent, get to driving!" the XO said, getting into the passenger seat of her 'Hog. Seconds later everyone was in their places, and the Warthogs were on the move.

Just as Stone thought they would be fine, the wail of an overhead Covenant Banshee flyer roared, passing them in a few seconds. "Take that thing out!" the XO yelled, beginning to fire her rifle.

All three M41 Light Anti Aircraft guns fired, the gunners screaming happily. Midway through this, Cory was up and running, beginning to look around. The Banshee, with over two hundred rounds hitting it, screamed one last time and slammed into the ground, exploding on contact. The six marines and two Spartans cheered, but it was all cut short as a group of Banshees dropped from the sky, with a Covenant Seraph fire trailing.

"Bitch!" Kent yelled, turning the 'hog to the left. He jumped a hill, and ended up in a tunnel, the other two Warthogs following. The tunnel was a series of turns; they seemed to be made by erosion from a river or something of the like. Two of the Banshees followed, the others veering off.

The XO turned, raising her rifle. "Evans! Take them out!" The trailing gunner turned, opening fire. The middle Warthog's gunner turned to help, but the trailing Warthog was blocking his shot.

"Damn, three! Move to the right!" The third warthog's driver turned the wheel, moving a bit to the right. The Second stayed on the same path, and was hit.

The Banshee had predicted the third to keep going, and fired the Fuel Rod Cannon on its bottom. The green blob fired, hitting the second 'Hog's rear fender. It flipped backwards, ending upside down. The gunner was dead, Spartan 020 in the Passenger seat was flung forwards, and the driver was pinned.

"Shit!" the XO yelled. She turned to the driver, telling him to floor it. Spartan 002, upon seeing 020 flung forward, jumped out of his vehicle, motioning for the Marines to keep going. Only one Banshee was left, and it began to drop, its fuel rod cannon charging. Stone watched it closely, and spread his legs apart, ready to jump. He timed it right, and was on the Banshee's frame, trying to pry the cockpit open. The Covenant Elite soldier inside wormed around, roaring.

Cory-020 was up, and flipped the downed Hog over. The Marine under it was pinned to the ground by the M41 Light gun, penetrating his chest. He moaned in agony, trying to free himself. Blood leaked down his mouth, his teeth were a glint of red. "Help…meee…" he said, grabbing at the barrel of the remains of the mounted gun.

020 knelt down, "Sorry, but I cant do anything about this…" Cory glanced over his shoulder, and saw 002 rip the Banshee pilot out, who fell twenty feet to the ground. Cory grabbed his sidearm, the only weapon he still had. He fired his entire clip at the elite, killing him easily. Cory turned back to the Marine, but the man was dead. "Damn." Cory said, pausing to grab the Dog Tags and then step over his body and to the flipped 'Hog. He looked up at 002, and waved. Stone opened a comm. Channel.

"Yea?"

Cory turned the engine, and began to inch forward. "Hop in."

"The Marines might need something like this. Judging from their weapons and their Warthogs, they look to be kinda old."

"So?"

"I doubt they have a working Longsword or Pelican."

Cory nodded, and floored the gas pedal. He lurched forward, flying over a bump on the path. He hit the comm. On the dashboard, "This is Warthog number Two, where are you guys?"

The comm. Replied quickly, the Executive Officer on Warthog One was at it. "This is Warthog One, I thought you guys were down. Over."

"Spartan 020 at the wheel, both of your Marines are dead. Spartan 002 is in a Banshee, so don't fire at any unless they are in a group. Over."

"Thanks, we're heading north; I'll wait for you if you want. Over."

"If you wouldn't mind…" Cory replied, almost forgetting standard radio procedure. "Over."

"Sure, over and out." Cory turned the wheel, dodging a large chunk of rock. Ahead, he started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The Banshee was clear, 020 could see it winding upwards and out of sight. He took a jump, and landed hard. The back end of the 'Hog was horribly disfigured and the center of balance on the thing was wrong, he had troubles with driving it. He saw both Warthogs sitting at the end, both Turrets manned and scanning the skies. Cory approached them, and then heard them. Three Banshees were coming through the tunnel, already charging their large Fuel Rod Cannons.

"Shit!" the XO yelled, pointing behind Cory. "Evans, Dawkins, fire!" the first and third Warthogs' turrets fired and taking out the first Banshee. Cory looked at his Warthog, scanning it. They had one of the Longsword's weapons crates in the back, part of the side was melting from the former plasma heat. A M19 SPNKr Rocket Launcher sat idle in it. Cory pressed on the brakes, turning to the right. He leaned into the back and grabbed the Rocket Launcher, priming it immediately. As soon as the Banshees saw him with the Rocket Launcher, they tried to peel back-

-And collided in midair, both Banshees exploded, and Cory still hadn't fired a Rocket. The Marines cheered, until they heard the final Covenant transport coming towards them. It was a single Seraph. Cory fired both Rockets out of the tunnel, expecting where the Seraph would fly. The first missed, but the second hit directly, and the Seraph began to trail smoke.

Cory grabbed another two rockets and reloaded in less than a few seconds. He fired at the Seraph, the first hitting but the second missed. The second had missed because the Seraph exploded upon hit by the first.

Cory smiled, and put the Rocket Launcher in the passenger seat. He turned the wheel, and followed the smiling and laughing Marines.

It took almost a half hour to get to their encampment.

It was actually quite small, only three buildings were outside, and by the look of it, they could only house the Marines that were still alive. Cory looked thoughtfully at it, thinking. The large building was in the center, with a long tent leading to the doors to the second and third building. Off to the East a cliff overlooked them, and a few vehicles were parked there. The entire camp was surrounded by cliffs and gigantic rocks, many small caves were seen, but Cory couldn't tell if anyone or anything was in them.

The Warthogs were parked next to another three Warthogs and two old Scorpion Tanks. The XO stepped over to Cory, now standing next to Stone. "My name is Lindsay Macy, Major." She shook hands with both. "Sorry I couldn't introduce myself earlier."

"Its alright, we really didn't have the time I guess." Cory replied, looking over her shoulder, he now saw a small group of people leaving a small cave; they looked to be a family. "Is…who all is here?" Cory asked. "Why…and how are you here? This area was wiped out by the Covenant almost thirty years ago."

Macy looked into the visors of both Spartans.

"Thirty years ago, the Covenant attacked Juarez IX, where we were. As soon as they appeared, all of the officers on the planet, there were almost a dozen of them, knew we were history. So they packed up a few officers, got about three hundred Marines and then their families onto the U.N.S.C. Jefferson, and we hightailed it out on the other side of the planet. After a month or so of random jumps, barely able to dodge the Covenant, we ended up nearly out of Fuel.

"So we drifted for almost a year, until we were pulled it by the gravitational pull of this thing. So we landed about thirty clicks to the south, and moved right away. We set up camps around for a while, until we found this Basin. So we set up a big camp, with Semi-Permanent buildings, and have been here for 28 odd years. Six officers made it here, but two died of disease. Around two years A.L., After Landing, we made a headcount. We had two hundred forty seven Marines, three hundred sixteen women and children, seventeen other men, and four officers. I was promoted almost three years ago, after the former senior officer died. Many people had died from disease, until Dr. Thomas had found a herb that is native to around here.

"That herb, which we called Thomasside, can be made into a paste that, if drunken every year or so, can prevent a person from getting any major disease or sickness. The occasional flu or cold gets by, but that would be it. So, in honor of the good doctor saving our little colony, we named this 'Town' Thomason. Since then, we have almost three hundred Marines, and have a grand total of seven hundred twelve people here.

"We've always kept a few people at the Jefferson, monitoring space and such. About a year ago, we began to pick up that the Covenant were beginning to show up on the end of the system, and since then we began to take down some of the smaller buildings, only keeping the ones we really needed. Over the years we had made caves on the cliffs, and the conditions inside have vastly improved. They are almost like Grade B houses, really nice.

"So, when we picked up you guys late last night, we began to get some parties together, and as soon as the crew at the Jefferson knew where you had crash landed, we sent in a search party. Now, since the Covenant are showing more activity, we could really use you." She smiled, and breathed deeply. She had talked now for almost five minutes, without much of a pause. She turned at the sound of her name, and moved towards the second building. By a cave towards the east side of the camp, Evans told a woman about one of the Marines that had died; she began to cry almost immediately.

Stone opened a private comm. Channel with Cory, and sighed. "It's the way of war, Twenty." He cut the comm., and moved down a path, towards the center of the camp. Spartan 143 was taken to one, six Marines taking her.

An hour later, both Cory and Stone both knew all their was to know about the camp. Their was really only two major things wrong.

One. The Marines were running low on weapons and ammo. Their weapons were over thirty years old, many were broken. Ammo was tight, with thirty years of hunting on their belts.

Two. The Covenant now knew Humans existed here, and were probably ready to launch a gigantic attack.

One thing confused them both, if the Covenant knew the Humans were there, then why not just glass them?

Cory slept on that question that night, hoping to find the answer on a clear head in the morning.