Mami's flashbacks are complete, and the fighting moves to earth. What threats and action could possibly be in store for Homura now?


Homura spent an incredibly brief slipspace journey hiding out aboard the repurposed forerunner dreadnought. The ship departed from High Charity and almost immediately transitioned to near-Earth orbit. Homura's suit-embedded radio crackled to life, causing her a brief moment of surprise before she addressed fleet command.

The plan had been to stop the dreadnought with concentrated fire from Earth's remaining orbital defenses. This ancient alien spacecraft took multiple barrages without stopping. Homura made her way through the ship on a mission to claim the Covenant's flagship and decapitate its leadership. Resistance soon became too great even for the puella machinae, and she was forced to improvise an escape.

Homura fell from the edge of Earth's atmosphere clinging to a dislodged piece of Forerunner debris as it streaked through the atmosphere. Fire raged against the blast shield as Homura lay safe behind it, her suit protecting her from both heat and vacuum. She came to a hard landing in the jungles of Africa, forming a crater several feet deep. Her armor broke the fall.

She was rescued by one of many disparate firesquards patroling Eastern Africa. From here she was transported to an underground regional command center, the Crow's Nest. Nestled into a mountain on the Kenyan savannah, Crow's Nest was a remnant of a much older conflict. Its facilities were antiquated, but the base itself was off the books. They operated with impunity, striking back at alien invaders throughout the region from this hidden, central point.

The Master Chief was joined by commanders in charge of the entire theater of war. Her old friend, Sergeant Major Avery Johnson, was present, as were representatives from their new alien allies. Fleet Admiral Hood, commander of all remaining human forces in the system, joined in via a large projector.

"All Covenant forces in the region are coalescing around this central point," the Fleet Admiral said. Graphs and maps indicated seismic activity coming from the last known point of that Forerunner keyship.

Force assessments and troop movements graced the command center's many screens. The Master Chief took in all the information as she stood silently.

A great excavation effort was underway by their alien nemesis. The UNSC's only goal was to interrupt this operation before the aliens discovered whatever they were looking for.

More detailed battle plans were about to be drawn when the connection and power both were cut suddenly. The admiral's video feed was replaced with the sneering visage of a squat and angry alien.

Homura recognized the Prophet of Truth, leader of the alien armada and commander of the flagship Homura had left mere hours before. The alien open his mouth to speak:

"You are, all of you, vermin," the creature said in human tongue, untranslated. "Cowering in the dirt, thinking... what, I wonder? That you might escape the coming fire? No. Your world will burn until its surface is but glass! And not even your Witch will live to creep, blackened, from its hole to mar the reflection of our passage; the culmination of our journey... Your destruction is the will of the gods! And I...I am their instrument!"

The feed shut off abruptly, and Crow's Nest was theirs once again. The humans were left in silence. Sergeant Johnson was the first to speak up.

"Cocky bastard. Just loves to hear himself talk," the Sergeant put a cigar in his mouth.

Homura stood there and cocked her head. "Does he... always mention me?"

Johnson nodded his head to confirm in the slight lull period before Crow's Nest began bustling with activity, bracing for the inevitable attack. While their commander's pre-battle orders seemed oddly vague, the soldiers soon found themselves rushing through dark and ancient halls to repel Covenant attack forces.

"Soto, get down to the vehicle bay and prep our extraction," Johnson said.

A short marine, obviously a recent conscript, saluted the sargeant. "Yes, Master Sargeant!" he stammered, too loud for the narrow, echoing halls, and ran off.

"Soto'll secure our way out, Chief," though they walked as if equals, Johnson towered over Homura's diminutive frame.

Alarms rang through the bunker. The enemy had breached their exterior hangars.

"You'd best get going, Chief. I'll get this brass to safety."

Johnson and Homura went their separate ways. The Puella Machinae followed marines through the cramped corridors of the base until the sounds of battle grew closer. An antiquated door slid open to reveal the plasma-scared hulk of a burning warthog. From out of the smoke emerged the hunched form of seven grunts clambered through smoke and fire. The Master Chief summoned her trusty magnum and dived in, leading a charge to retake the base.


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