Halo: The Installation
I'm back! It took a while to play through the level enough times and to split these bits up, but it's finally here! The beginning of the big battle! But it was quite annoying sometimes, trying to get this done – especially with the terrible Marine AI. It's only ever good when you drive a vehicle, because they are very good shots.
The Ark
Blue-rimmed ripples of white light flashed in space as the Separatist cruisers and Shadow of Intent carrier arrived at the other side of the Slipspace Portal.
A colossal structure was below them, shaped like the head of a flower, with a cross shape, and then another, smaller cross beneath it, forming an eight pointed star shape. The circle in the center could easily house a Halo ring. Ocean, desert and grassland covered the structure's surface, in the same manner as Halo, with massive cloudbanks obscuring the structure's surface.
The Brute fleet straight ahead began to close in, with thirty powerful ships bristling with weaponry.
On the bridge of the Shadow of Intent, the crew looked over the sensors warily.
"Brute ships. Staggered line!" called an Elite Major, turning to Rtas 'Vadum. "Shipmaster, they outnumber us, three-to-one!"
"Then it is an even fight," said 'Vadum in satisfaction. "All cruisers, fire at will! Burn their mongrel hides!" he snarled, slamming his fist onto the arm of his throne.
In the Forward Unto Dawn, ODSTs and Marines boarded a Pelican with the Master Chief. There was no room or time for a hell-jump – something that the Master Chief didn't mind too much. The two ODST's were a tough-talking fellow, Kojo "Romeo" Agu and another silent type who was known as "the rookie".
The voice of Commander Keyes rippled over the COM. "Truth's ship isn't taking part in the attack. He must've gone to ground!"
"Roger that, Ma'am!" replied Sergeant Johnson, hoisting himself up into the seat above Hocus. "We're on him!" He turned to Hocus. "Kick the door."
Hocus reached up and flicked a few switches, and before her, Pelicans began to drop out of the bay. Then their Pelican dropped out of the Dawn with five other Pelicans total.
As they breached through the Loyalist Fleet, one of the Pelicans was shot and destroyed by teardrop shaped Seraph fighter-interceptors, but the rest made it through unscathed, and the two fleets began to engage each other.
As they entered the atmosphere, the Chief checked on Johnson and Hocus in the cockpit, then returned to the back, where several Marines and ODSTs sat, readying themselves for battle. The Spartan could see the nerves in their faces, but there was a fierce determination as well. They knew that this was what the war had been building up to.
"We good, Hocus?" asked Johnson.
"She's a little cooked, Sergeant Major... But she'll hold," Hocus reassured him.
The Master Chief reached into the weapons locker and pulled out a sniper rifle.
"Alright. Pop the hatch!" called Johnson over the COM.
Sunlight flooded in as the Master Chief slammed a mag into his rifle. The opened hatch revealed a massive desert on the surface of the structure.
"That's some view," remarked Romeo.
"Enjoy it while you can, Marines," called Johnson over the COM. "Soon as we land, we're right back to it. Priority one: Secure a landing zone for the Commander's frigate. Keep your eyes and ears open. We need all the Intel we can get... on wherever the hell we are."
The Pelicans touched down on a rocky platform.
"Stand to, Marines!" ordered Johnson.
"HOO-RAH!" replied the Marines.
"Go, go, go!" called the Sergeant Major.
The Master Chief and two ODSTs jumped out of the Pelican, while the Marines remained on-board. Another Pelican landed, dropping off two more troopers. As the team moved on, Romeo spotted what looked like the center of the Milky Way galaxy in the sky.
"Hey, check it out. In the sky. Is that-?" he asked in awe.
"Hey, focus!" snapped another ODST. "We got a job to do."
The group of Marines followed the Chief and the ODSTs. They threaded through a sandstone overhang, and took up positions behind some boulders on a ledge overlooking a Covenant encampment.
An ODST with a red armor trim, Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck, turned to the Chief. "Chief, eyes on," he cautioned patting his assault rifle. "Got a good angle," he remarked as he led the team up the hill. "You take the first shot."
The Master Chief took a deep breath and zoomed the scope in on a crouching Brute Major with the 10x setting. The Brute was listening to a sermon that the hologram of the Prophet of Truth was about to give. The Spartan swiveled between the Brute and a pair of Grunts, and fired. A booming retort sounded as the bullet shattered the Brute's helmet, and a second shot sprayed a fine mist of blood over the area.
Before the shocked Grunts could react, the third rookie ODST opened fire, headshotting three within a few seconds. Blue blood splattered the sand.
"Good sniping!" called Buck, pumping bullets into a Grunt from the ledge.
By then the other three Brutes had opened fire. The Chief ducked behind a boulder after emptying the clip of the rifle into another Major, and chucked a frag grenade over the boulder. There was a surprised yelp from a pair of Jackals, followed by an explosion.
A roar tore into the Master Chief's ears. The Marines cried out as a brute shot grenade sailed past, knocking several of them down. Another Brute, stripped of his power armor and berserk, charged down the half buried ring structure and up the path. Buck coolly whirled around and hosed it with 7.62mm AR fire, piercing its throat and dropping it in a wheezing heap. "How do you like the taste of lead?" he asked.
The Chief put three sniper rounds into the Captain Major, but he managed to get one last grenade volley off that drained the Spartans shields, forcing him behind cover, and killed a Marine.
The Spartan waited for the blue bar to fill up, and scavenged more ammo from a sniper rifle in a weapons case, and then threw the rifle to the rookie, who caught it with a nod. He proceeded to brain another Captain with a sniper round as it tried to track Buck.
The sound of bullets ceased as the last Grunts fell with high pitched screams.
"All clear!" called Buck. The squad leapt down from the rocks – only one of the Marines had died, but everyone had minor injuries. The Chief headed past the Prophet of Truth's hologram, and grabbed battle rifle ammunition and sniper rounds from the deployed weapons cases, and then tossed the rest to the ODSTs.
"My Dreadnought cannot rise," said the Prophet's hologram."Even now it is engaged; turn death into war for this new world. Do not relent until the heretic ships are smashed!"
Buck reloaded his assault rifle, and then spoke up loudly. "We got more enemy contacts ahead, move out!"
The team headed through a cave, where the lights placed by the Covenant cast a purple glare over everything.
A Phantom was assembling a Mantis on the other end, with Jackal Snipers clutching carbines posted on the structure. A pack of Brutes and a few assorted Jackals and Grunts climbed out of the Phantom, ready to patrol the area.
"They're setting up an AA battery," whispered Buck. "That thing'll tear the Dawn apart... We'll wait for you to take the shot."
The Master Chief nodded, and directed Romeo and the rookie over to opposite sides of the half ring platform. The Jackals hadn't seen them yet, so Buck and the Marine both took aim.
A squawk went up from a Sniper, and all five UNSC units fired. The Snipers fell in spurts of purple blood, and two Brute Minors and a Major hit the dirt facedown.
The Grunts panicked. "We're doomed!" they screamed. "Flee!"
The remaining Brutes charged, firing their brute shots. The Master Chief threw a plasma grenade down at them, sticking to one of the weapons. The Brute threw it aside, but unfortunately the weapon landed next to a knot of Grunts and Jackals. There was a flash of blue light and a piteous scream, and the Covenant soldiers were no more.
The Brute fell in a storm of AR fire, but the last pair had dodged the shots consistently. The Master Chief jumped down to the ring, pulled out his battle rifle, and fired three bursts as the Brutes launched grenades his way. One struck the Spartan's shoulder, and though the shields stopped most of the impact, it certainly left its mark. The bursts had torn open the Brutes armor, and another from the Marine put the Brute down. The last Brute threw a spike grenade, and though it missed, the impact from the explosion knocked both Romeo and the Marine down the edge and into the center of the rocks beneath the Mantis.
A sniper round from the rookie prevented the Brute from dealing further damage.
Suddenly the Master Chief heard the whirl of Phantom engines. "Get behind cover!" he warned as it deposited more troops uphill. He scooped up and deployed a cover, the blue energy field flaring out before him.
The Marine grinned. "We can take whatever comes around that corner!" he boasted.
A steel blue colossus rounded the corner, and charged. Romeo dived out of the way in time, but the Marine didn't have a hope in hell of dodging the Hunter's swipe. The massive shield shattered his bones and killed him instantly, launching his body into the wall.
"Hunter pair!" yelled Buck.
A booming retort followed before the Hunter could turn to Romeo, and the Hunter dropped to the ground, a sniper round having penetrated its exposed neck.
The other Hunter howled as it saw its bond brother fall, and swiped a crate out of the way as it headed for Romeo. The ODST had regained his footing by then, and ran for the cliff where a Brute Captain Major and a Lance of Grunts had remained. The Hunter pursued him, and the Chief fired twice, the rounds ripping into the worm colony that made up the alien, and it groaned, toppling to the ground from the trauma.
"Thanks man," replied Romeo. The Chief nodded, and tossed the sniper rifle to the ODST, and picked up the dead Marine's assault rifle.
Keyes' voice crackled over the COM. "Chief, I'm giving the Brutes all I've got...but this is a heavy-weight fight! The Dawn's only got the tonnage to last a few rounds. Find me a place to set her down. Over!"
Buck looked like he was going to chew Romeo out for not referring to the Chief as 'sir', but decided against it. "The area is secure, let's move ahead," he said. He waved the group over to the cliff, and they threw spike grenades up the cliff. Grunt screams echoed through the air, followed by three explosions.
The Master Chief and the team headed through the structure at the top of the hill. Coming out on the other side of the structure, they saw a burning Longsword roar through the canyon.
"Thrusters are gone, I can't control it!" cried the pilot in terror.
The Chief heard muffled rumble a few seconds later as the Longsword crashed, and bowed his head in respect.
A few Marines revealed themselves, Chips Dubbo among them.
"Flak got our Pelican too, sir," whispered Dubbo. "But before we went down, we spotted a good LZ. If we can get to our vehicles, we'll lead you to it."
The Chief and the others took look at an area at the bottom of the ledge they were standing on. Several Grunts and Brutes were guarding the crashed Pelican and the two Mongooses which presumably had fallen out when the Pelican was shot down.
The Spartan moved toward the Pelican, and heard twin booms as Romeo and the rookie opened fire. The two Brute Captain Majors went down quickly, and the remaining Brutes tried to rally the panicked Grunts – unsuccessfully.
The Chief stayed by the downed Pelican, picking up radio transmissions of the ongoing space battles above them, while picking off Grunts with the battle rifle.
Hit them again! And again! And again!" he heard 'Vadum roar.
"Got a lock! Fox, Fox!" yelled a Longsword pilot.
"Negative, protect the Pelicans!" ordered Keyes.
The Chief agreed with that statement – they needed all the help that they could get down there.
"Now, close for the finish!" snarled 'Vadum.
In the cockpit of his Longsword, Lieutenant Graeme Hawk twisted and turned the fighter through the wreckage of a Covenant ship. "Negative, get out of there!" he yelled into the COM.
"Let your cannons roar," declared the Shipmaster, before suppressing a snort. "Broadside! What fools to face our guns!"
"Fire pods one through twelve. Archers away," ordered Commander Keyes to her bridge crew."Two contacts at point two-three-eight!"
"Affirmative," said Hawk."I see it..."
The Shipmaster's voice interrupted him. "No, I will handle those myself."
"Seraphs, on my six!" yelled another pilot over the COM.
"Stay away from those cruisers!" roared the Elite Shipmaster.
Hawk wasn't too happy about the split-lip ordering them around, but when Commander Keyes agreed, he had no choice but to follow. "Understood. Engage those Seraphs!" ordered Keyes.
Hawk lined up a Seraph in his sights and fired the machine guns of the Longsword. The bullets drained the Seraph's shields before the teardrop-shaped fighter could dodge, and Hawk kept up the fire, puncturing the ship's hull and killing the Brute pilot instantly."Scratch one, coming about," he said coolly.
"Let the Elites take care of those cruisers," said Commander Keyes.
"Full shields! Ramming speed!" boomed the Shipmaster.
Laser blasts began to strafe past the Longsword's cockpit. "Point laser fire, break off!" yelled Hawk, twisting out of range of the Seraph's fire
"I'm hit, I'm hit!" screamed another pilot, Joshua Dunn. Hawk finished off the Seraph pursuing Joshua before it could destroy his Longsword, but the fighter was in a very bad way by the looks of things.
"Watch your fire, watch your fire!" warned Keyes.
Joshua sighed."No sign of the Elites, moving to the carrier. Goodbye, guys," he said.
Hawk's gut tightened. "All squadrons, form up! Form up!" he ordered. He was determined to give Joshua the time he needed to do what he had to do.
There was an explosion underneath one of the carriers, right at the energy projector. The impact of Joshua's Longsword in the primary weapon of the carrier had triggered a chain reaction that tore through the Covenant ship, detonating it in a series of violent explosions.
Hawk bowed his head for a few seconds and settled himself back into the fight.
"I give an honor for that kill," said the Elite Shipmaster, sparing a moment to honor the pilots sacrifice. "Suppress with me, point laser batteries," he said, back into the battle. "Forward lasers, draw their fire," he said,before remarking with relish "...burn."
"Affirmative, that's a hit," confirmed Keyes, as they watched another cruiser explode in gouts of plasma.
"They have been gutted stem to stern," remarked the Shipmaster. "Look at it blister and burn."
"Charge the MAC. Give me a firing solution," Keyes ordered the bridge crew.
Hawk spotted a Space Banshee and pursued it, tearing through it with the Longsword's machine gun fire. Tears ran down his cheeks as the ship exploded.
The Master Chief flattened himself down in the rocks where the Marines were huddling. Two Brute Prowlers had shown up, and the Marines were engaging them with little success. The Brutes had gone down, but the Prowlers – basically Wraiths without the mortars, were proving very difficult to stop, pelting the area with plasma fire that looked to have no signs of stopping.
The Chief sprinted for a dead Grunt, and grabbed its plasma pistol, overcharging it into the nearest Prowler. The silver armored tank slowed to a halt, giving the rookie time to snipe its gunner. The Master Chief took out the driver with a few well-placed battle rifle bursts, thankful for both the rookie's sniping, and the distraction that it provided.
One down, thought the Spartan.
The other Prowler (and the two Brutes accompanying it) was focused on the Marines. The Chief crept through the sand, and leaped out, overcharged the pistol into the tank, and leapt on top, yanking the Brute out of the turret and stabbing him in the neck with his combat knife. The Brute gurgled and hit the ground with a dull splat.
Turning in rage, the other Brutes fired their brute shots at the Prowler, sending it cascading through the air. The Chief leapt off just in time, and landed in a rather exposed position, his shields taking a large hit. Fortunately, the distraction had provided the remaining Marines – Dubbo, a woman, and the ODSTs – with the opening needed to kill the Brutes with some well-placed spike grenades. The Prowler didn't fare as well, and the Chief heard an explosion from behind him, the shockwave spiking his shields a bit.
"Mount up," said Dubbo, despite the fact that he was of a lower rank than most of the soldiers present. No-one argued though, Dubbo was known for his sensibility. "Let's find that LZ. Follow us sir, all the way down this canyon."
The Chief handed a rocket launcher to the female Marine, and hopped on the Mongoose. Dubbo and the three ODSTs boarded the Prowler, Dubbo taking the turret, and quickly figuring out how to work it, and Buck driving.
The two vehicles drove over the hill, sailed over a survivable gap, and down a sandstone slope. Buck stopped the Prowler for a few seconds, allowing Dubbo to destroy the two Ghosts on the rise with the Prowler's plasma cannon, and the two snipers to take out a Brute Captain Major, though he managed to get off one grenade from his brute shot. It sailed past the Prowler, and the Chief gunned the engine of the Mongoose just in time, avoiding the deadly projectile. The Marine sitting behind him took careful aim and let loose a rocket at a Chopper, blowing both the vehicle and the driver in half.
The three Grunts, helpless and remaining, primed a pair of plasma grenades each, and then ran at the Prowler, shrieking madly. Dubbo coolly hosed them with plasma, and there was a gigantic explosion of blue light as the grenades detonated. "Take that ya bastards!" he crowed.
They headed up past the wreckage of the Longsword that had crashed earlier, which had evidently managed to take a Phantom with it. The few Grunts remaining by it screamed and fired their weapons – one Grunt Heavy having the surprising presence of mind to jump behind a plasma cannon and start firing. Dubbo returned fire as the bolts began to scorch the Prowler's silver armor, splattering the Grunt into the wall, while the rookie used an assault rifle to finish off the Grunts from his pontoon.
The voice of the Brute Commander echoed from the Phantom's radio "Nooooo! Hit the Carrier! Kill the Half Jaw and his crew!" he bellowed. "Keep their backs at fraud. Drive the heretic ships back to the Portal!"
And a few minutes later he roared."Their cruisers mixed with ours! Watch your fire!" The other Brutes must have hesitated a bit, because he soon snarled. "Do not fear the Prophets' wrath, because if you fail I will have your hide!"
The Chief headed into another canyon with a large Forerunner wall built in between the cliffs. The Chief led the Prowler around the left side, and blanched as he rounded the corner to see a troop of Grunts – and two were black-armored SpecOps Grunts, armed with fuel rod guns. A Captain Major also led them, but they all vanished in two explosions of flame from the Marine's rocket launcher.
She tossed the empty launcher off the back. "Can you get me to those fuel rods, sir?" she asked.
"No problem, Marine," reassured the Master Chief. He gunned the engine, and reached out, snagging the fuel rod guns from the ground. He handed one to the Marine, and removed all the fuel rods from the other, handing them up separately.
She grinned in thanks, and then her face twisted. "Whoa!" she cried, letting loose with the fuel rod gun.
Two Choppers had managed to dodge the fire of the Prowler, although one was in very bad shape. The Marine's wild fuel rod shots brought it down, and flipped the other Chopper into the rocks, wedging the Brute pilot's leg between the Chopper and the cliff.
The Spartan turned the Mongoose towards door of the wall –and braked to give the Marine some steady aim. She let loose at a Shade turret and a Brute Captain Major, and then she too stopped at a shocking sight.
A fleet of steel-gray robots drifted from the doors, with two arm-like appendages, a central "head," and a curved undercarriage, with a laser weapon attached to it.
Sentinels, thought the Master Chief grimly. The Forerunner robots had tried to kill him several times under the orders of 343 Guilty Spark on the first Halo ring, built specifically to monitor Flood outbreaks – though both had had varying degrees of success.
Fortunately, they seemed perfectly happy to roast the living daylights out of the Covenant troops than pay attention to the Marines.
"Careful, sir! Brutes must've tripped a defense system," warned Romeo, as the last Grunt was burned to a crisp.
Sergeant Johnson's Pelican flew over the wall and hovered above them."Ma'am, Hocus almost got her wing shot off," said the Sergeant Major."But we spotted a structure on the other side of this wall. It matches Cortana's description of the map room from the first Halo ring."
"A Cartographer," confirmed Keyes as the Chief looped around and down to the canyon leading to the next wave of Covenant undoubtedly waiting around the corner, ignoring the painful stab in his heart at the mention of Cortana."Good. Should help us fix Truth's location. Secure the LZ, and we'll push through that wall."
"Roger that," said Johnson."Follow my Pelican, Chief! The LZ's this way."
The Marines and Sentinels followed Hocus' Pelican. The Marines were pretty nervous about the presence of the Sentinels.
"Tidy bastards," remarked Buck. "Hope they never decide to clean us up."
"It's like they don't even see us," said the female Private, clutching her fuel rod gun.
Buck shook his head. "Oh, they see us. They just haven't decided what to do with us yet," he said. His face twisted under his helmet. "Ghost!" he warned, as the purple one-man vehicle glided around the corner.
The Marine fired two fuel rod blasts, blowing the Ghost to pieces and propelling the Grunt Heavy from the driver's seat. Another Ghost chose the moment that she was reloading to zoom around the corner, and the Master Chief reacted just in time, twisting the Mongoose away from the Ghost, and driving up the canyon. The Ghost, ignoring the Prowler, pursued them, streaks of blue plasma whistling past their heads. The Marine twisted around and fired a fuel rod, flipping the Covenant vehicle wildly, exposing it to plasma fire from the pursuing Prowler.
"How 'bout that, Covenant scum?!" crowed Dubbo.
Leaving the Ghosts behind, the, they found two Marines pinned down by a large assault group of Covenant. Four Jackals, backs turned to the vehicles, kept up a steady rain of plasma bolts on the Marines cover.
This ended when the Marine on the back of the Chief's Mongoose let loose a fuel rod that sent all four aliens flying, and completely bewildered the rest of the Covenant. Buck gunned the Prowler and sent it hurtling for the three Brutes and the group of Grunts that remained, with Romeo providing small arms cover, tearing through a pair of Grunts with efficient, well-placed battle rifle bursts. Dubbo kept up continuous fire on a War Chieftain carrying a fuel rod gun, allowing the Master Chief to get close enough for the Marine to fire, finishing the Brute off. The Brute had managed to destroy the other Covenant vehicles, though, leaving only the Mongoose, the now extremely battered Prowler, and a Warthog.
"The LZ's through this cave, sir," said a stocky Marine. "Watch yourself; they've got Covenant heavy armor!"
The Master Chief dismounted from the Mongoose. "You two, come with me," he said to the new arrivals. They headed for the Marines Warthog. The Chief picked up the War Chieftain's fuel rod gun and handed it to the stocky Marine. "You ride shotgun, I'll drive, and you shoot," he said to the other Marine. He turned to the Prowler. "Rookie, I need you to take over on the Mongoose."
"Yes sir!" the Marines replied. The rookie nodded, and leapt off the Prowler, heading for the Mongoose.
"On my mark!" called Buck from the Prowler. "Three, two one…mark!"
The force headed through the cave and engaged the armor. The twin fuel rod guns made short work of the Wraith on the hill and the Shade turret beside it. Buck looped the Prowler around to the left, where a group of Brutes was arrayed along with a Grunt Heavy firing from a plasma turret in a sniper's nest. Another Grunt was doing the same from a nest directly behind the burning hulk of the Wraith.
For his part, the Master Chief focused on driving the Warthog, allowing both his gunners to dish out chaos among the Covenant troops. The gunner in shotgun destroyed the sniper nest, and then, as the Chief swung the 'Hog around, focused on the pack of Captains inside a thick sandstone structure. The Captains returned fire; their brute shot grenades only missing the Warthog by inches. Meanwhile, out on a sandy plateau, two Anti-Air Wraiths were filling the sky with fuel rod fire.
By then, Buck's Prowler had slain the group of Covenant troops in the second nest, and curved around the corner to distract the Captains. The Chief's gunner had destroyed one of the Anti-Air Wraiths, but the other had taken notice, and was now filling the air beside the Warthog with more fuel rod blasts.
There was a massive explosion as the rookie's Mongoose soared over the sandstone, the female Marine unleashing her fuel rod gun on the second Anti-Air Wraith. The gunner tried to bring the turret to bear on them, but a well-placed round of Vulcan fire put a stop to that.
The last Brute Captain fell in a burst of plasma fire from the Prowler, but he got off one last grenade. Buck, Romeo, and Dubbo launched themselves from the Brute vehicle, rolled, and came up running as the battered machine finally succumbed to the damage it had taken and exploded.
The Master Chief pulled the 'Hog up, and jumped out, collecting fuel rod ammo for the Marines armed with the weapons. He picked up a brute shot to complete his own arsenal.
The Marines were ecstatic over the victory, and the female Marine cheered as the rookie pulled the Mongoose up by the Warthog. "We did it!" she cheered. "We lynched those Covie bastards!"
"That did it. LZ's clear," added Sergeant Johnson.
Buck nodded. "OK. Tell us what you need," he said.
"Commander? Bring her down," called Sergeant Johnson.
"Roger that," replied Commander Keyes."Beginning my descent."
Dubbo squinted into the clouds. "Look! Up high! Here she comes!" he called.
"Is the Dawn rated for atmosphere?" asked the Chief's gunner.
Dubbo shrugged."Guess we're gonna find out...hey! Take cover!" he yelled, sprinting for the sandstone structure.
"On Dubbo, Marines!" yelled Buck, following him.
The Master Chief and the rookie drove the vehicles into the relative safety of the sandstone dome as the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn swooped in dramatically, kicking up dust and sending the vehicles, corpses and debris from the previous battle tumbling and flying across the plateau with powerful gusts.
Commander Keyes' relieved voice cut across the COM. "Thanks, Chief. I wouldn't have lasted much longer up there. Come to the back of the frigate."
"C'mon, Chief!" chimed in Johnson, as the Spartan drove the Warthog out from under the structure. "Let's see what the Commander has in her arsenal..."
The Dawn's hangar lowered, revealing three Scorpion tanks and a Warthog. 343 Guilty Spark descended as well.
"Did the Elites get a fix on the Cartographer?" asked Keyes.
"Yes, ma'am; just on the other side of that wall," replied Sergeant Johnson."But it's surrounded by Brute heavy armor".
"Don't worry; I've got a plan," said Keyes reassuringly."If we can't fly over the wall, we'll go right through it. Chief, take one of the tanks, lead the way. If you find any locked doors, Spark will be happy to pry them open."
The Scorpions and Warthogs rumbled down the ramp of the Hangar Bay, and Johnson's Pelican dropped off Gunnery Sergeant Stacker and a few of his Marines to pilot the vehicles
Spark nodded. "I will certainly try my best, though I am unfamiliar with this facility."
"Alright then, you heard the lady," barked Johnson.
The Monitor hovered near one of the Scorpions. "Shall I help you choose a vehicle, Reclaimer?" he asked."This one seems in very good condition, primitive armor notwithstanding."
"A tank's a tank, light-bulb," remarked Sergeant Johnson."Pick one, Chief. Get back to the wall. I'll help the Commander secure the Dawn. Then we'll meet you at the Cartographer."
The Chief hopped in a Scorpion while the rest of the Marines and ODSTs mounted up.
"Mount up - let's roll!" ordered Johnson.
"Oo-rah!" boomed the Marines in unison.
No sooner had the echo of their cry faded, Ghosts and a Prowler poured in through the cave in the cliff.
The Scorpions immediately fired back. Explosions began to ring up around the cliff, and the Prowler was the first to go, flipping up as a tungsten shell punched a gaping hole in the vehicle.
"Hey, how does 90 millimeters of tungsten strike you?" roared Stacker.
The Chief fired the Scorpion's cannon at a Ghost. The Rapid Assault Vehicle exploded, parts flying off in all directions. The Marine sitting in the turret strafed another, blowing off the Grunt pilot's methane tank and bringing the vehicle to a halt. The Chief moved down the hill, past the burning hulk of the Wraith, and fired again, and there was another explosion as the targeted Ghost fragmented in front of them. Stacker's Scorpion took out another and the Chief heard the wild shout of a Marine echoing across the COM. "Tank beats Ghost!"
A Hunter pair popped out from the cave, but the Scorpion took them out with no trouble before they could fire their assault cannons.
"Tank beats Hunter!" crowed the Marine that had spoken earlier. The Master Chief had to fight the urge to chuckle at his comments, reminding himself of the importance of the battle.
While the Scorpion's had travelled through the cave, a Phantom had set up a support tower. The Scorpions shot the Phantom down and the Chief destroyed the tower:
"Tank beats everything! Oh, man!I could do this all day!" cried the Marine ecstatically.
The Chief actually did chuckle slightly at this.
The Scorpions made their way back to the wall where a locked door prevented any entry into the Forerunner facility. Armor resistance of Wraiths, Choppers, and Ghosts along with various Covenant infantry were defending it, though not without opposition, as the corpses and Sentinel hulks strewn across the ground suggested.
As soon as the Scorpions saw the Wraith, they all fired, and the Wraith exploded, though it managed to get off a plasma mortar. The Choppers raced towards the Scorpions, taking advantage of their momentary distraction as the tanks dodged the mortar as best they could, the impact jolting the Master Chief's Scorpion up a few feet. He fired the massive cannon, and a Chopper exploded, while a Grunt fell from the back of its Ghost, minus its head, courtesy of the Marine in the Chief's Scorpion's turret.
The rookie, manning his own Scorpion, blew a Chopper in half. Romeo, somehow with rounds left in his sniper rifle, picked off a Grunt from the seat of his Ghost from his spot on the side of the tank.
Stacker's Scorpion blasted a Ghost to fragments, and pulled up at the lower door."All armor, form up on the lower doorway," he ordered."Chief, get upstairs; have your robot pick that lock!"
Spark was a little affronted. "I beg your pardon? I am 343 Guilty Spark, Monitor of Installation 04."
Stacker cut him off. "Yeah, well...you're also our ticket through this wall. So if you don't mind?"
"I will gladly aid the Reclaimer's progress," said Spark.
The Master Chief drove the Scorpion up around the area's left side again, and fired at a Wraith as it emerged from behind the rocks. He pushed down hard on the throttle to avoid the plasma mortar, and fired again, generating a massive explosion in the Wraith, destroying it.
"Reclaimer, come to the upper doorway, the others can take the lower one," said Spark from beside the doorway.
While the Master Chief stormed the upper level, the other two tanks and other vehicles met up at the lower door, clearing resistance along the way.
With the top floor secured after a few tungsten shells, the Chief disembarked and picked up a Sentinel beam. "Take over the Scorpion, get it down the bottom with the others," said the Chief to his gunner, who nodded, and took the driver's seat.
Hefting the Sentinel beam the Chief followed Spark alone.
"Please, use caution; avoid collateral damage!" warned the Monitor."While this facility appears quite durable on the surface, no doubt there are delicate facilities below the facade." He paused as he reached the large door. "Odd, for a door to require such brute-force security protocols. One moment, Reclaimer."
Spark projected his energy beam, and opened the door."There we are. Please, follow me," he said.
The Chief followed Guilty Spark into the Security Wall, while the Marines took the Scorpion down to the lower doorway.
Sentinels stared at him as he passed by. The Monitor opened another door, the escorting Sentinel followed.
Spark hovered over a pad. "Here, this panel will activate a bridge. Allow your companions to cross below. Place your hand on the pad, Reclaimer."
The Master Chief lowered the Sentinel beam, placed his gloved hand on the pad, and activated the panel. The bridge immediately lit up. The tanks and Warthogs moved across; Guilty Spark had another door opened for them.
"Excellent. This way!" said Spark happily. He looked at the Sentinels, studying their differences in behavior and the odd high security levels. After humming for a bit, he bobbed happily. "Sudden clarity! These Sentinels were trying to deny access to the lower levels of this facility. A wise decision, given the Meddlers' preference for...destructive acquisition."
Keyes' voice came in through the COM channel. "Good work, Chief. Link up with our armor on the far side of the wall. Make your way down to the Cartographer."
As the Chief continued on, the building shook and trembled violently. Guilty Spark opened the door with his laser, but as the Chief walked out, a massive leg slammed down, as a Scarab walked right over him.
"Heads up, Marines!" Johnson warned the Scorpions."We got trouble."
A Warthog with an M68 Gauss Cannon appeared from the rocky area before the Cartographer, so similar to the one on the first Halo ring. Ghosts were trailing and killed the gunner with a lethal barrage of plasma projectiles, his body falling limply to the ground, and splattered by the Ghosts. The Warthog driver angled towards the Chief and pulled over. "Sir, Hog's all yours! Let's hit that hostile armor!" he cried, hopping out and hoisting himself into the turret.
The Master Chief mounted up, and directed the Warthog back down through the rocky area, encountering vehicular and gun emplacements.
The Scorpions and Warthogs emerged from the wall."All armor, form up! Hit 'em where it hurts!" ordered Stacker gruffly, firing the Scorpion's gun. A Ghost exploded as the shell punched a massive hole in the front.
The UNSC force pushed down the hill. Wraiths, Choppers, Ghosts and a Phantom fought the Platoon back.
"Target those Wraiths!" yelled a woman.
The Scorpions fired, taking out one Wraith and disabling another. The Chief's gunner fired the Gauss cannon, punching a small hole right through the Wraith. Plasma mortar material thundered on the ground behind them. The Warthogs made short work of the four Ghosts, ripping their pilots to pieces and flinging their corpses from the vehicles.
"First line, clear! Move up!" roared Stacker as the Phantom retreated before the Scorpions could take out its engines, depositing another Wraith.
The tanks moved on to the next line of Wraiths, assisted by Ghosts and other heavy weapons. The Chief's gunner blasted a Ghost, and the machine came to a dead halt, sparks erupting over its shell. The newly deposited Wraith began firing its plasma turret, and as soon as one of the Covenant sighted the armor of the Demon, they concentrated their fire on his Warthog. Of course, this just opened them up to the Scorpions, and three booms sounded, destroying both Wraiths, and a pair of Ghosts. Stacker's Scorpion then destroyed a Chopper, flinging the Brute Ultra pilot howling from the cockpit. "Second line: clear! Push forward!" ordered the Staff Sergeant. He saw a War Chieftain taking aim with a fuel rod gun, and fired. The Brute's shields and armor prevented his corpse from being mutilated, but his body was thrown several feet and ended up in an awkward heap.
The Scarab crawled down the side of the Cartographer building and onto the battlefield.
"Scarab's back! This time it means business!" warned the Chief's gunner.
Stacker took charge. "Bravo, flank and cover! I want everybodysupporting the Chief; he'll take it down!"
The Master Chief moved in on the Scarab, while the tanks provided long range fire. A pair of Choppers tried to assist the Scarab, but the tanks had superior firepower, and blew them to pieces as the Chief drove under the Scarab. His gunner kept up fire on the Scarab's legs, while the Chief dodged both the Scarab's legs and the pair of SpecOps Grunts in a small building firing fuel rod guns at him.
Then he heard a final explosion, and warning signals began to sound as the Scarab lowered. The Chief drove out from under the Scarab, and headed for the back. His gunner took out a Brute Captain that had emerged to try and strafe them with his brute shot.
The Chief jumped up, planted his foot on the seat of the Warthog, and leaped inside the Scarab, his gunner scrambling into the driver's seat, and getting the Warthog out of there. The force on the hill had lost a Scorpion to the Scarab's main weapon, though most of the Marines had gotten out of the way before the Scarab could get them, and the Scorpions had wisely retreated behind what little cover they could find.
The Master Chief picked up a plasma cannon, hearing a sermon broadcast by Truth inside the Scarab.
"I opened the portal to this hallowed place, this shelter from Halo's fire, in the hopes that more of our Covenant would join us," intoned the Prophet."Alas, save for a rabble of Heretics and their Demonallies, we are all that remains on this new world. So we must temper joy and sorrow in our hearts, for those who were left behind."
The Chief coolly blasted a Brute Minor and Major with the plasma cannon, shattering their power armor, and scorching their hides. They fell with twin groans, dropping their spikers.
Dropping the plasma cannon, the Chief drew out the Sentinel beam, and walked up the ramp to the core. Two Jackals accosted him, firing their plasma pistols, and the Chief triggered the beam, blasting a continuous stream of amber energy at the gaps in their energy shields, knocking them off balance, and then firing the beam through their heads, one after the other. His shields dropped and attempted to recharge. Fortunately, there were no more enemies left to take advantage of that, and he emptied the beam's battery into the Scarab's core, followed by a spike grenade.
That did the job, and the Scarab began to shake violently. The Spartan fled before the Scarab detonated with a deafening explosion.
The Shadow of Intentwas entering the atmosphere at extreme distance."Not bad, Spartan," remarked 'Vadum."I saw thatexplosion from orbit. Truth's fleet lies in ruins. Find where the liar hides...so I may place my boot between his gums!"
"We'll know soon enough, Shipmaster," Keyes reassured him.
The Master Chief headed up the spire, grabbing a carbine from a dead Brute Ultra.
"Infantry on the spire! Mop 'em up!" barked Johnson.
The Chief scoped out two Jackal Snipers, and fired a few carbine shots at each, dropping them before they could threaten him. The real threat was a Sniper with a beam rifle, and the Chief was only saved by the lucky deploying of a bubble shield to prevent the three Brutes that were attacking him from hitting him with grenades. They charged into the shield, one after the other – only to find three grenades, all primed and waiting. There was an explosion, and dust obscured the Sniper's vision, leaving him vulnerable to the Spartan's carbine fire. He fell with a splash of purple blood, dropping his beam rifle down the slope and into the Chief's waiting hands.
With 343 Guilty Spark following him, the Master Chief made it to the top, where Kilo 023 arrived with the Arbiter and two Marines.
"Well done, Spartan," said the Arbiter, nodding in respect.
343 Guilty Spark opened the entrance door, and the team entered the facility.
I finished this while watching the rugby, and all I have to say is GO THE BLUES!
Sorry for the long wait guys, shouldn't be too long between this chapter and the next, and thank you for continuing to read this story.
Please review guys, cause you're all awesome!
