Chapter 2: Ghosts and Echoes
October 29, 2557
0618 hours
Asteroid Belt, Urs System
"On your left!"
The voice was loud through his comms as he rolled backwards, the sizzling swish of an Energy Sword swiftly cutting through the space that he'd occupied only moments earlier. He had rolled into a crouched position, swiftly drawing his M6S Magnum from the magnetic field on his hip. He expertly unloaded the clip into the Elite's chest, its energy shields flaring but holding. The fire briefly stunned the alien and the Spartan capitalised on the distraction, dropping the sidearm and quickly moved forward, fast as lightning. He grabbed at the outstretched arm of the Elite, spinning as he yanked himself up, expertly burying his elbow into the aggressor's stomach. Above his shoulder, a choked strangle came, with it a spurt of purple blood, all expelled out between the four jawed alien mouth. Finally, with a deft movement, the man tore the Energy Sword the Elite's vice like grip and spun, burying the blade through the Elite's stomach. The air was filled with the smell of sizzling meat as the blade seared its skin. The man deactivated the blade, letting the limp body fall.
"Chief you good?"
The Master Chief tossed the dead Energy Sword hilt to the side and turned to his team, wiping an armoured hand across the golden visor, splattered with the purple blood of the Elite.
"We're good, Fred. Set your trackers. They know we're here now"
"Never a dull moment." Fred remarked, knocking the shoulder of his Mark VII Gen 2 Centurion armour against the Chief's, pulling the bolt back and discarding the magazine of his M392 Designated Marksman Rifle. Another Spartan jogged out of a darkened hallway, the visor of her EVA helmet shining as the low light hit it.
"We've got a lot of armour between us and the artefact. Hunters, a few Spec Ops Elites, even a Huragok. Whatever that artefact is, they don't want us to get a hold of it."
The Chief nodded. Kelly...didn't even see her move...she was always the fastest of us. "It'll be tough to get through, even for us. But we'll be able to get through. Linda, any ideas?"
A figure dropped from the roof, silent even upon landing, cradled in her arms a silenced SRS 99-S5 Anti-Material Sniper Rifle which she'd lovingly adorned with many different accessories. She looked over at the Chief, the advanced optics of her helmet reminiscent of some kind of bug. She nodded once and began speaking "there's a vent system we can move through, all reinforced steel that should hold the weight of our armour. The noise, however, is going to be the real problem."
At this, Kelly spoke up, throwing her M45D Tactical Shotgun over her shoulder. Chief had almost smiled when he'd first seen it, as she'd lovingly adorned the weapon with paint in the form of a Rabbit. The gun was still as dangerous as ever, just in a lighter shade of death. "We've got a few explosives, Chief. Nothing that'll destroy the research station but enough that it'll distract them. We just need a way to get them inside. That's where I come in."
The Chief considered it. Even from their first training sessions on Reach years before the Covenant were even known, Kelly was shown to be the fastest Spartan. Now, fully augmented and kitted in Mjolnir armour, she was capable of running upwards of 62 miles per hour in bursts. The plan would definitely be effective, though rash and foolhardy, traits that Kelly had always shown.
Fred spoke up, slotting a magazine into his rifle and clambering a round, "We can't rush in there and we can't draw them out. However, we could force them out. Blow a few walls, vent the atmosphere. As long as our armour isn't breached, they'll die when the walls blow. May not even need the vents."
The Chief nodded, not for the first time wishing she were with him. Cortana... He shook his head, snapping himself out of his memories. "Check your suits. If they're not breached, we'll continue with Fred's plan. We have the blueprints, we know where to blow." As an addition, the Chief sent to the three members of his team the blueprints that Linda had obtained from the Infinity the last time they were on board. It was risky but, he'd reasoned at the time, the mission was far more important than the possibility of being caught. The worst they could have done was capture me...blame it on the fact that I'm an ageing Spartan. A malfunctioning machine... He cast his anger aside as the three other Spartans gave him the affirmative. Fred began to pass out breaching charges as they each chose a specific position for which to plant the explosive. The team then proceeded to move to their designated bulkheads, silently in the shadows. Chief moved to his own bulkhead, mere metres from a group of Grunts playing some sort of game with a Plasma Grenade and a UNSC helmet. He pressed the charge onto the cold steel and pressed the primer, which silently activated the charge. The charges were SLAMs, once mining explosives, now demolition charges that exploded outwards against a single point, crumbling rock or, in this case, ripping apart the steel like it were made of paper. Once the SLAM was placed, he moved back to the team's last position.
Fred, Kelly and Linda looked at him. The team, or at least, those three Spartans, worked perfectly in tandem. They were a cohesive unit, though, since being back the Chief wondered where his position in the team really was. The last time he had been a part of this team was the return trip after the events of Reach and Installation 04. They had been working together without the Chief for nearly 5 years, working together. Chief had begun to think he was an outsider now, within this small team, though he would never voice this out loud. If only Cortana were here...she'd understand. He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of the SLAMs detonating. The thump was deafening, but the real chiller was the sound of nothing. The Chief felt the familiar tug that came with having no gravity and spoke, "Enable Grav Boots."
The Chief activated his own and felt as his boots, which had floated slightly upwards, were pulled down onto the deck. He looked at his team mates who had done the same, and did not even have to utter another word as they drew their weapons. The Master Chief drew his own weapon from his back, an MA5D Assault Rifle, and led the team into the cavernous room. The room was in chaos. What hadn't been nailed down had been yanked into the cold vacuum of space, and whatever didn't suffer that fate was left suspended in the air. Most of the Covenant were yanked out of the room when the walls collapsed, with only a few remnants left to float, most dead, the air stripped from their lungs as their bodies flash froze. The team moved into the centre of the room, towards a glass case. The case was connected to many different devices and computers, diagnostics running across their screens, 3D designs of the object floating within the glass case. The object itself didn't seem all that impressive, a small disc made of the same material as many Forerunner installations, a grey metal which held many properties that had stumped scientists since the end of the war. However, the part that caught the Chief's eye was the sigil etched into its centre. The Forerunner sigil that Cortana had deciphered meant 'Reclaimer'. Fred moved to the console and typed in a command, making the glass case begin to retract. The Chief reached for the object and, as his hand made contact with it, a bright flash illuminated the room.
Suddenly, the Chief stumbled and stood, looking around. Wherever he was, it definitely wasn't the installation. The terrain was rough, a black volcanic rock that was hard to manoeuvre across. The sky was a dark blue, shadowy clouds covering the sky. As the Chief looked around, he noticed that his squad was absent. He activated his comms as dread began to settle over him like a shroud.
"Fred, Linda, Kelly, do you copy? Blue team, do you copy?"
All he heard was static. He deactivated the comms and took another look around, spotting a form, vaguely humanoid in shape. He began to move towards it, drawing his M6H Magnum and approaching slowly. While humanoid in shape, the Chief didn't trust the shadowy figure. After over 40 years fighting various different enemies, from lowly insurrectionists and corrupt militants, to alien alliances and, just recently, what would be considered one of the Gods of said aliens. The Chief didn't hold much trust in anyone anymore, more because of experience than anything else, although the creepiness and dread he felt in this situation certainly contributed. As he approached, the figure started becoming clearer to him, curiously familiar. And then a voice, destroying the uneasy silence.
"John..."
The Chief moved forward swiftly as the figure became illuminated. She was smiling softly, that knowing, smug smile that was always accompanied by an audacious plan or snarky remark.
"Cortana..." The Chief went to speak but Cortana cut him off, waving her hand.
"I wish we had more time, Chief. The Mantle is open but won't be for long. It is imperative that you access it before it seals or you won't stand a chance against the coming threat. You have three days, John. Seek out the Pallas Guardian at the birthplace of the warrior, the one you once called enemy then ally then friend."
The Chief spoke again, his voice as steady as ever, now within a few feet of her. "I don't understand, what threat? And you, I thought you were dead..."
She closed the distance between the two of them, gently placing a hand on his chest plate. The armour was battle worn, damaged from years of continuous battle. "All will be revealed in time. Just have faith. Use some of that legendary luck. Or have you gone soft since the last time I saw you?" She gave him that sly, knowing grin as she pulled her hand away, walking backwards. Her form started steadily becoming brighter, the Chief raising his arm to cover his eyes. "Good luck, John. Not that you need it." Suddenly another bright flash filled his gaze and he shut his eyes.
He stood for a few seconds before reopening them. He was back on the asteroid, his energy shield beeping before cycling and restarting, the object hot in his left hand, Assault Rifle hanging from his right. He suddenly became aware of his team, now floating around him, all groaning.
"What happened?" Chief asked quietly, pocketing the object. He'd decided not to speak of the visions he'd seen yet, though he wasn't sure if it was even real or not. Maybe I am a malfunctioning Spartan. But if that really was Cortana, then I need to complete this mission.
Kelly spoke, groaning, "that THING, whatever it is, overcharged your shields, knocked us all back." She reactivated her grav boots, the magnetic field pulling her back down onto the deck. "I am really getting tired of Forerunner technology not doing what the eggheads expect."
Fred nodded in agreement, "what happens, happens. We've got what we need so we should get off this rock." Chief went to respond only to be cut off as plasma fire sliced into the computer equipment behind him. He quickly readied his Assault Rifle, sliding into cover as the rounds melted the titanium around him.
"Contacts! Back of the room!" Linda shouted, crouched behind a small group of boxes. Kelly and Fred stood behind a bulkhead, peeping their heads out to fire at the group of Elites fanning out around the room, the visors of their EVA suits glowing purple in the low light. DMR rounds found a target, Fred's precise fire ripping through the energy shields and armour of the unfortunate Elite. Kelly, meanwhile, ran forward, firing her shotgun at an Elite. The pellets ripped through his armour, splattering gore all over the floor as he dropped. Linda out from her cover, firing her Sniper at a few of the elites at the back of the room with pinpoint accuracy, covering the Chief as he surged forward, bullets spraying from the muzzle of his Assault Rifle. An Elite rushed towards him, swinging an Energy Sword towards him. He deftly dodged it, swinging a monstrous fist onto the side of the Elite's head, caving it in. Once the Elite's were taken care of, the Chief spoke again.
"We've got a new mission, Spartans."
Fred groaned, speaking jokingly, "when are we gonna get a break. I'm coming on 60, you know."
"What do you call the last 5 years?" Chief started jogging back towards the Pelican, the three other Spartans looking at each other, Linda the first to speak again, "did Chief just crack a joke?"
Editor's Note:
Hey guys! First of all, thanks to everyone who read chapter one! I really hadn't expected so many views so its been quite a surprise! Secondly, chapter one has been given a few edits, the main one being fixing some editing mishaps as well as adding breaks and also changing it so that thoughts are all in Italic.
Now, the second thing I wanted to say is that I've started thinking about maybe creating a series of one-shots from the Halo universe, focusing on the smaller characters, smaller battles or just history behind the bigger characters that has yet to be shown. I'd like to hear from you guys what you'd like to see! Really, any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Lastly, please tell me anything that I can improve on or any advice for a budding young writer such as myself, it would honestly be greatly appreciated! I'm going to aim at getting a new chapter out every Friday, though being in my final year of High School doesn't offer me much free time so I'll do my best! Hope you're enjoying so far!
