The Fight for John
Chapter 2
"You know how expensive this gear is, son?"
John was home again; he was back in armor, and not just any armor – he was wearing the new Mark VI Mjolnir armor. Sure, the damage assessment on his previous Mark V Mjolnir suit was not pretty, but the damage he had inflicted on the enemy was far worse. He smiled grimly at the technician as he fastened his new helmet with a hiss of air.
"Tell that to the Covenant."
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Not long since receiving the Mark VI armor, John was showing it plenty of action. The award ceremony had been cut short due to the sighting of nearby Covenant ships breaking slipspace. Nobody had yet expected the Covenant to find Earth, and to add to the surprise, the fleet was tiny compared to the forces that had glassed Reach. The Master Chief was busy driving the Covenant off the Cairo when Cortana, who was in the ship's computer system, detected that they had brought a bomb on board. John fought his way to the bomb, and after transferring Cortana to his Mjolnir suit he touched his hand to the bomb, allowing her to disable it. And not a second too soon, according to the AI. John, however, wasn't finished just yet.
"Sir, permission to leave the station," he said over the com channels.
"For what purpose, Master Chief?" the Admiral replied.
"To give the Covenant back their bomb."
John was satisfied, only minutes later, to see the remains of a Covenant ship flying past him as he propelled through the air toward another UNSC ship, Commander Keyes' In Amber Clad. The bomb had worked.
"Chief, get inside, gear up," Miranda hailed him after he landed on the ship's hull. "We're taking this fight to the surface." Once inside the Chief learned that a convoy of Covenant ships had made it to the surface, somewhere in Africa, and were infesting the streets of New Mombassa. Clearing the vermin out was not a problem, but when a Scarab showed up, he knew this would be more of a challenge. Nonetheless, the huge 4-legged transport toppled with John strolling off the top as the remaining Covenant ship turned to flee. And this was no ordinary ship – this ship carried one of the three Covenant leaders, the Prophet of Regret. Nobody knew exactly why he had arrived here with such a small fleet, or why he had specifically targeted New Mombassa, but Commander Keyes was not going to let him get away.
"Sir, the Prophet is bugging out," she said over the video com. "Request permission to engage."
"Negative, Commander," the Admiral answered. "Our vector's too heavy for starside intercept."
"Ma'am!" a crew member called. "Slipspace rupture off the target's bow. It's gonna jump – inside the city!"
"There's no time, sir," Miranda pressed over com, brushing a strand of black hair out of her face.
"Green light!" the Admiral ordered. "Green light to engage!"
The slipspace hole widened further as the In Amber Clad closed with the Prophet's ship. Both ships were bathed in a white light as the hole began to close behind them. Miranda's ship shook violently as if by torrential winds, and suddenly everything went black. They had made it into slipspace. Nobody was certain how much of New Mombassa was left, or where they would arrive when this trip was over, but everybody on board knew, somehow, they were mankind's last hope.
