Requiem

Jungle surrounding Infinity crash site

Forerunner bunker

Chief relaxed his posture as the doors of the Forerunner building moved. The heavy reinforced metal parted and immediately three humans came out with weapons drawn. Chief didn't miss the fact that they wore MJOLNIR armor but ignored it for now. His gaze turned back to the entrance and saw an officer walk outside. The man's face looked familiar but obviously the officer recognized him.

"Afraid we're gonna have to give you an IOU on that welcome home party." The officer said with a friendly tone before reaching out his hand. Chief grasped it as the man introduced himself. "Tom Lasky, first officer of the Infinity. Never thought I'd see you again."

So he had met the man before. Before Chief could ponder on it further the unmasked soldier commanded loudly, "Seal 'er up."

Chief kept his attention on Lasky as the soldier slowly stepped back. From the side of his vision he saw her look him up and down as if assessing him. She finally came to a halt and smirked at him.

"I thought you'd be taller." She remarked which got a reaction from him as he looked at her with his own critical look. So far he didn't like what he saw.

Their short staring contest was interrupted by a long range communicator in the background that started acting up. From what Chief could hear a man that sounded to be in his late fifties was ordering all ground teams to return to the ship. The marine at the radio called out to Lasky who gave a nod and strode towards the soldier with the device. Chief and Palmer fell in line while the two other armored soldiers went back in as well. The bunker's doors closed behind them.

"Respond to comm…On what frequency? What frequency dammit?" The line had some static but by now the captain's voice was clearer. Chief noticed the frustration in the elderly man's tone which meant something bad was happening.

Lasky crouched next to the radio and reported immediately. "Infinity, this is Commander Lasky. Pelican recon teams are down. Repeat, all birds are down. We've got numerous causalities and require immediate assistance. Over."

"Finally… Did you get the coordinates to that gravity well." The captain said in way as if he didn't care whether they made it out alive.

"Affirmative, sir. But we're gonna need a bus out of here-" Lasky pleaded but Del Rio cut him off harshly.

"Make it happen!" The captain growled and ended the conversation.

Lasky sighed in visible dismay at their current situation and the lack of support. Palmer made a grunt that showed her own anger and disgust. Chief remained silent but Cortana spoke up breaking the silence.

"You were sent on a scouting run in the middle of an attack on the ship?" She questioned incredulously. While not showing it, Chief shared her thoughts at the rather poor tactical decision.

"The Captain thought Infinity could provide us cover and hold off the attack at the same time." Lasky dully explained as he tried thinking of a solution.

Palmer stepped forward as she approached her commanding officer. "Sir, we'll never get the wounded back to the ship on foot." She said grimly.

Lasky looked her in the eyes before averting his gaze knowing it was true. Many had died at the hands of the Prometheans and the wounded stood no chance. Then as if he reached an epiphany he stood up with hope.

"I don't know if it's too soon to ask you for a favor but we're going to run out of breathing room here real quick. I don't suppose you're any good at clearing LZs?" Lasky asked hopefully as he looked at the Master Chief's visor.

There was a slight tilt of his helmet as he spoke in reassurance. "On occasion. I'll send out an all-clear once the area's secured."

Lasky let out a sigh again but this time of relief. "Thank you. Aside from those machines we've picked up covenant signals and saw an imperial platoon with dropships fly around. Let's hope that we won't be meeting them any time soon."

"About these imperials, what do you know of them?" Cortana asked.

"Ah of course, you've been out for a while." Lasky said and a frown appeared on his face. "A couple of months ago we were attacked by a human civilization that exists in outer space. They call themselves the Galactic Empire and declared war on the UEG and its colonies. Their first attack was sudden and ruthless. Harvest fell and not much later our other outer colonies came under siege. We've been losing ground but around two weeks ago we managed to get a foothold. Doesn't really matter much since they keep throwing troops and ships at us but it gives us an opportunity to counter attack."

"Great. We just ended a war and now we're back in one." Cortana deadpanned.

"We'll deal with them once we get back to the ship. Let's move out." Chief said as he accepted the extra ammo a marine offered him.

Two marines walked with him to other side of the bunker as they reached the other door which was a lot smaller than the one in the front. It opened automatically as the trio stepped outside only to come under fire by a squad of Prometheans.

"A topographical scan of the area shows a break in the foliage north of here. Should be big enough to bring in a dropship for evac." Cortana spoke up over the gunfire.

Chief jumped down the small hill and kicked a knight in the shin. It stumbled and failed to block the armored fist that broke its skull mask apart. Chief placed a bullet in it before moving on, leaving the disintegrating corpse behind. The two marines provided cover fire from above while Chief carved his way through the small horde of crawlers. Their death cries echoed throughout the jungle expanse as they fell one by one.

"Damn he's good." A marine remarked as they fired upon a watcher. The smaller Promethean bursted apart under the combined gunfire in glowing orange embers.

"That's why he's the Chief." His friend replied with a grin as they saw the mentioned Spartan kill a knight from up close with lightning fast moves.

One of the knights roared and charged with two crawlers at its side. Chief unclipped a frag grenade and rolled it down the ground from his higher position. The Prometheans ignored it and kept on running. Chief fired his DMR at the knights face but the bullets pinged off its shields harmlessly. Finally the grenade went off blasting the two crawlers in pieces and shreding the knight's legs. It let out a screech as it crashed into the ground. With strained effort from the damage it took it slowly picked itself up only to die at the hands of the Spartan II who placed his last bullet in its face.

"Let's move up." He ordered as the two marines fell in line.

He had to slow down considerably so the marines could follow which always bothered him but after years of combat got used to it. By now only crawlers remained and as the little pests that they were they failed to even slow him down. At that time as they turned around one of the giant roots the radio came to life as Lasky contacted them.

"Chief, it's Lasky. We're getting reports of friendlies pinned down near your position. Can you assist?" The officer asked with worry. Clearly he cared about his men which was a trait that Chief could respect.

"Commander, this is Cortana. We're on our way." Came the response of his companion.

Chief could see the battle in the distance. Four marines were desperately trying to keep the Prometheans that assaulted them away. Their aim was steady and resolve was strong but the Prometheans had numbers as the crawlers took the front while the knights remained in the back. Chief sprinted ahead leaving the two marines to follow at a slower pace as he dashed forward towards the crates that were placed at the marines their position.

He ran past the startled marines and grabbed a fully loaded shotgun in his path as he jumped into the fray. The first crawler growled at him and opened its mouth but a shotgun shell split its small head apart. Chief rolled over the ground and fired another shell in a crawler that was firing from atop a tree. While he shot the remaining crawlers the marines looked on in awe.

"I thought he was dead."

"Holy mother of…"

"Who's that?"

"What. The. What?"

The two marines that came to their aid grinned despite the fatigue of their sprint. By now Chief had successfully killed every crawler in the vicinity leaving only a duo of knights.

"That's right, we got the Master Chief to save our asses." One of them said after a quick breather.

The four marines that were being pushed back cheered at the news and with renewed vigor they supported Chief. The knights never stood a chance against Chief but with six marines giving cover fire they made no difference at all. Within the minute the path was clear and even the two Promethean automatic turrets were easily disabled.

The marines spread out and took positions behind cover and turrets while Chief strode towards the passage door. It was sealed but the pedestal might unlock it. He took the AI chip out of his helmet and inserted it in the access port. Cortana understood as she went to work right away.

"These doors open into a cave system with space large enough for an LZ. Hold them off long enough for me to open the doors!" The rampant AI instructed.

They didn't have to wait long before the first wave arrived. Prometheans poured out of the bushes, their electronic war cries vibrating through the air. Chief paid them no mind as he unleashed a hail of high caliber bullets upon the shielded knights. Their defenses were overwhelmed by the sheer firepower of three turrets and four marines firing at them.

One knight teleported close to their position in a flash. It aimed its scattershot but got blown apart by a railgun that one of the marines sported. Its entire midsection was torn apart and it disintegrated soon after the deed.

"Woohoo! Take that you freaks!" The killer of the knight shouted as he reloaded the heavy weapon.

Another Promethean knight came into view while being protected by a watcher. It carried an incineration cannon that glowed bright orange before firing at their fortified position. Luckily it didn't kill anyone but it did wound an unlucky marine. Chief saw the knight march forward so he shifted his aim at the bulkier knight. As the first volley hit the knight he was soon joined by a marine with their only rocket launcher. It tried to dodge but its bulkier frame and the heavy weapon it carried made it impossible to do so. The knight went down as it was too damaged to continue the fight.

More crawlers charged but fell under the rain of bullets and frag grenades. One particular knight with visible modifications roared revealing its glowing skull. The other knights roared as well before they all crouched and teleported away. All remaining Prometheans gave their own cries as they practically turned around and fled the carnage.

"That was too easy." A marine remarked.

"They knew it was hopeless. The moment we took out their heavy firepower they deemed the battle lost." Chief explained as he grabbed more ammo. "Cortana? How close are we?"

"YOU DO YOUR JOB AND I'LL DO MINE, OK?" A very distorted and angry Cortana shouted in response.

Chief immediately marched up to the pedestal that glowed a soft blue. The marines gathered some supplies as he did so and prepared to hold the passageway. He stopped just in front of the pedestal but Cortana didn't materialize her hologram right away. Behind his helmet the Master Chief frowned in concern for his AI companion. The door suddenly opened and the chip ejected from the pedestal. Without saying anything he inserted her back into his helmet. He silently checked his ammunition before entering the cavern.

"I'm sorry about back there. That hatch's security was more difficult than I expected." Cortana said after a few seconds of silence.

"It's alright." Chief replied reassuringly.

Cortana however disagreed with him. "It's not alright. Nothing about it is alright."

Her somber tone was nothing like her at all. It was so strange to hear and unnerved Chief who was used to a confident Cortana. Her rampancy was taking its toll on her while growing stronger and stronger. Chief had to focus on the mission, they would stop the Didact and get back to Halsey.

It was the only way to save Cortana.


Procyon system

Orbit around Arcadia

Cardan-class space station mark II

Moff Talia waited idly in her chair behind her desk. It wasn't spacious nor grand but modest. There were a few decorations from her home planet such as the two statues of mythical beasts behind her. A banner of the empire hung proudly for everyone to see along with one of her home planet. She smoothed out her uniform for the umpteenth time to make sure she would look presentable. This was one of the most important meetings of the war after all. Gaining the support of the people she was about to meet was paramount to the success of the terran-imperial war.

Traitors to the UEG but valuable allies to the empire; the insurrectionists.

If there was one thing that the empire understood, then it was that rebels were a pain in the ass for those they tormented. As powerful as the UNSC might be they had their own backstabbers. All the information gathered so far had pointed towards them as their best options at getting the advantage on the front. Fear of the UNSC finding their own planets was greater than ever after the reports from the ISB. In fact every report became more frustrating. Their advancing troops were stopped, their ships caught in ambushes, raids on supply lines and as if it could get any worse one of their battlegroups was destroyed by a splinter group of the former Covenant. Moff Talia was one of the few to be privy to their plans in the milky way so she knew that another fleet was dispatched to follow the mad aliens and slaughter them for even thinking about picking a fight with the empire.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her comm that went off. She recollected her thoughts and stored them far away in the back of her mind. For this meeting she needed to be fully concentrated.

"Yes this is moff Talia." She said as she pressed on the answer button.

"Ma'am we are picking up a slipspace portal. The vessel has been identified as a Gladius-class corvette named the Marathon. Their codes match those that we were given by the insurrectionists." An imperial officer reported crisply.

"Send two of our light cruisers and a TIE escort. Guide them to the station's hangar but do try to be careful." She ordered firmly. The last thing she needed was an incident before the negotiations began.

"Yes ma'am." The officer replied.

The small insurrectionist corvette soon found itself flanked by two Arquitens-class light cruisers and multiple TIE fighters. They remained in a tight formation and made sure not to come too close to the other vessel. Together they made their way towards the space station where multiple star destroyers floated around and starfighters patrolled. For the special occasion they increased the patrols and brought in an extra amount of Imperial-class star destroyers to show their military might.

The corvette soon found itself landing in a spacious hangar bay that could fit two of its design. Rows upon rows of storm troopers, TIE pilots and other troopers stood in parade rest to both welcome and intimidate their guests. Moff Talia stood at the beginning of the columns of troopers and was flanked by two imperial officers; general Durame and admiral Koryn with the latter being the man in charge of the fleet above Arcadia which was now under their control, mostly. Four storm troopers with black pauldrons and heavy blasters were their guards along with two bulky sentry droids as additional security and intimidation.

Finally the ramp of the ship lowered itself and a large group of humans exited it. There were nine of them in total, if their attire suggested anything there were three diplomats and six guards, of which their guards were fully armed with various weapons.

The first man was in his sixties and a posture that demanded respect. Grey hair, grizzled face and nasty scars made him look quite frightening. He wore attire that hinted at a naval officer of sorts. The second man was considerably younger and less formal but looked cunning. The way he carried himself and the sharp looks he gave reminded Talia of an imperial officer. Lastly there was the lone woman of the group. She was shorter than the two but appeared to be their speaker since she took point.

Talia took a step forward and made a slight bow before she said, "Welcome aboard our station. My name is Nadine Talia and I am the moff in charge of this region. This is admiral Koryn and general Durame. They will be present during our negotiations."

The woman of the group stepped forward as well and bowed in the same way. The old man crossed his arms and had a stony expression while the younger man with combed hair clasped his hands behind his back with a friendly but devious smile.

"My name is Alexandra Conner and I am the representative of the New Colonial Alliance. This is captain Matthews Dubois and lieutenant Thomas McKinley. Captain Dubois is one of our best naval officers and lieutenant McKinley is part of our intelligence group. We are here to represent the NCA for admiral Mattius Drake." The woman introduced herself and her fellow rebels.

Dubois shifted his gaze to Durame before saying in a thick French accent, "You are the man that captured Harvest are you not?"

Durame only answered with a nod to which Dubois grunted. Neither of them were happy with meeting each other but their military careers formed at least begrudging respect between the two.

"You have a nice setup here miss Talia. I wonder how much more resources you have at your disposal." McKinley spoke up as he eyed the motionless troopers.

"I assure you that the empire's resources are vast. Now that we are speaking about resources I propose we take our conversation to one of the conference rooms onboard. Refreshments will be ready when we arrive. Your guards can accompany us if you want." Talia offered and gestured for the delegates to follow.

"Very well moff Talia, let us proceed." Conner agreed as they strode through the gathering of troopers.

As they made their way the insurrectionists looked at the various types of troopers and the two small bipedal walkers that stood guard as well. Their guards fell in line behind them and walked side by side with the troopers and two droids. The blast door opened revealing the standard imperial grey and made their way through the station.

At one point they came across a window through which they could see a star destroyer drift by almost lazily. Two Lambda-class shuttles departed from the underbelly and made their way towards the surface of the now occupied planet. Captain Dubois eyed the warship with great interest which did not go unnoticed by moff Talia.

"Have you ever seen a star destroyer captain?" She inquired.

"We've seen the vids that the UNSC made. However those were not in great detail nor could you properly see most of it." The captain responded curtly.

"They are the backbone of our navy." Admiral Koryn said with pride. "They have tremendous firepower and while the shields are… lacking against your MACs they do work very well against the usual energy based weapon. Be it a turbolaser or plasma they hold strong."

"If we were to join you, would you consider contributing them to our operations?" McKinley asked suddenly as he joined in on their conversation.

"It would depend on what you need one for. An ISD cannot be given away that freely. If your operation were to be profitable to the empire then our answer would be most likely yes and we'd have a task force ready to help you. We still do not know most of the UNSC's colonies. A fact that we would like to remedy with your help." Talia answered neutrally as she glanced at the intelligence agent.

"Nevertheless we need to dictate the terms of our alliance first. Our people might be willing to work with you but we do have our terms. Ever since this war began most people on the outer colonies have been growing angrier at the UEG for diverting assets to the planets they deem important. It is one of the main reasons that many colonists would rather negotiate instead of fighting. The outer colonies have never been big fans of the UEG but we want to be free of a government dictating our every move. That is however something you imperials do seem to be in certain aspects." Conner interjected with a firm tone.

That would obviously be a problem in the future. Talia knew what would be done once their goal was achieved; tighten their grip on the terran population and through manipulation, fear and intimidation they would control all worlds. It was something that the NCA would ultimately disagree with. But that was why Talia was there, as a moff she knew everything about politics.

"Why of course miss Conner. The emperor only wishes the best for those colonies. You will be part of the empire but retain many rights and power. Now please let us proceed." She said through the perfect sabacc face that any moff had.

They would be pawns to be used in the name of the empire and discarded once their conquest was completed.


Requiem

Infinity crash site

Southern battlefield

"Incoming!"

Commander Lux covered his head as another plasma shell impacted close to his position. His green armored helmet was covered in dirt and the hideous smell of burnt flesh was fresh in the air much to his disgust.

"Where is that damned air support!?" He demanded as he used his binoculars to see more and more Covenant troops flank him at one side while UNSC marines did the same on the other side.

"They're engaging hostile aircraft sir." The storm trooper with the comm unit at his side answered quickly.

"Blast it! Now I have no choice but to commence an all-out assault." The imperial officer said in frustration.

"As you should have from the beginning."

Lux felt shivers go down his spine as he turned around. The one person that everyone of their battlegroup had been evading was standing there, watching him with an inquisitive gaze. That man was operative Axis and was from the ISB. Two nova troopers were at his side followed by imperial navy commandos, some of the empire's best troopers. Just standing in the presence of the man and his soldiers was causing his nerves to go wild. Someone like operative Axis had the authority to dispose of anyone; people like him.

"Operative Axis, sending in scouts and a small force was the best course of option to see what kind of defenses they have-"

"Your attempt to save your own skin is not working out well for you. Commence your assault and cover our approach." The ISB agent interrupted as he and his entourage passed by the sweating officer.

Barely a minute passed before storm troopers swarmed the crash site. They all ran past the broken soil and burning wreckage with blasters firing at anything that wasn't imperial in an attempt to breach the UNSC warship. As they charged forward their backup made itself known as walkers of different kinds joined in on the attack. AT-STs, AT-DPs, AT-MPs and finally two AT-ATs shook the ground with their massive metal feet. A wave of white and grey was coming for both the UNSC and the Storm Covenant.

While the marines, ODSTs and occasional Spartan IV were in a fortified defensive position, the Covenant was not. Therefore when the imperials attacked they met the alien zealots first. Plasma and laser bolts were exchanged as both sides fired on each other. The Grunts stood little chance as the troopers carved their way through their ranks. The Jackals had better results and were on equal footing with the white armored humans. The Elites though were a much different story.

Storm troopers cried out as the warrior species ripped them apart. For every Elite that they managed to put down they lost at least three to four troopers. The vicious fanatics used their superior fighting abilities to take down the weaker storm troopers. Plasma tore away at the plastoid armor and the flesh beneath it as the Elites fired their storm rifles. The hail of plasma bolts effectively cut down any foolish trooper that charged right out in the open.

That was why the AT-STs were a blessing for the troopers. Their heavier laser cannons and protective armor took away the advantage that the covenant soldiers had. Grunts that remained in groups like they were ordered to were obliterated as the scout walkers launched concussion grenades. The explosions that ensured were enough to blast the smaller aliens into scorched limbs. Scared Grunts that tried to flee were trampled by the feet of the walkers. More than one Grunt's gas tank was hit by a laser bolt which caused more explosions and disarray in their ranks.

Even the Elites had to take cover from the walkers but they were more effective in their counter attacks. The few soldiers that carried fuel rod guns made sure to prioritize the walking vehicles that they had never encountered before. Green radioactive blobs flew through the hazy air and melted the walkers' armor away before igniting the fuel. Those that carried these heavy weapons soon found themselves being sniped by the multiple scout troopers in the vicinity.

A lone storm trooper squad ran back over one of the dirt hills in fear as two enormous aliens roared in anger. The other troopers at the base of the small hill stopped in their tracks as the armored alien tanks marched with thunderous footsteps. The Hunters gave another roar as they charged up their assault cannons. Two whole storm trooper squads were incinerated by the blasts of the Hunters' assault cannons that spat out radioactive beams of green light. Screams of agony filled the battlefield as the Hunters continued their onslaught.

"Take those things down!" An officer ordered firmly as he pointed at the two hulking aliens.

Troopers passed the officer and three AT-MPs followed from behind. The two Hunters saw the new prey coming towards them and unleashed roars of anger. The troopers took cover before blasting the Hunters with everything they had in their arsenal. With their immense strength at their disposal the Hunters raised their shields to block the laser bolts. A thermal detonator landed between the two and damaged their armor. Angered by the wounds they received they lined up their cannons once more and blew away a handful of troopers.

Suddenly a duo of missiles along with rapid laser fire slammed into one of the Hunters. The missiles tore away the armor plating and the continuous laser fire punched holes in the worm colony that made up the ferocious beast. Orange blood was splattered on every piece of armor as the covenant soldier died before collapsing in the dirt. The imperials cheered but fear was making their hearts beat faster when the remaining Hunter went berserk at the death of its bond brother. The large creature howled in frenzied fury as it attacked anything on sight.

A pair of Elites that were gunning down storm troopers suddenly found themselves being squashed by the rampaging Hunter. Storm troopers tried surrounding it but they were thrown away as the Hunter ran around with unleashed anger in its actions. The three AT-MPs fired their missiles again but the Hunter was already upon one of the walkers. It swung its shield at an AT-MP and actually cut off one of the walker's legs. It fell as it couldn't support its weight anymore and was caved in by the foot of the berserk Hunter. It roared one more time before succumbing to the combined firepower from the AT-MPs and troopers.

With the Covenant's flank all but collapsing as the troopers overwhelmed them they brought in their heavy armor to save their position. Three Wraiths hovered towards the advancing imperial lines as they unleashed mortar strikes of plasma shells. The storm troopers found themselves being blown away by the plasma barrage and once the plasma turrets joined in they were brutally slaughtered. More than one AT-ST was destroyed by the covenant tanks. The Elites were making their last stand to hold the line and it showed as they brought out all available vehicles.

A trio of Banshees soared in the air as they barraged the imperials as well. Troopers cried out as fuel rod bombs rained down from above. The AT-STs stopped in their tracks as the small missile pods at the sides of their heads aimed upwards at the sky. Targeting computers tracked down the Banshees as the flying death machines continued their assault. A couple of rockets were launched upon the flying menace and not long after the covenant air units fell down in flames.

The Wraiths were the imperial officers' biggest concern though. The Wraith tanks were devastating to their forces. Shell after shell kept falling and more troopers found their end as they kept on advancing. Luckily the two AT-ATs were very much functional and finally in range. The covenant soldiers quickly lost their advantage as the heavy laser cannons of the walkers opened fire on the Wraiths. Their powerful laser bolts were strong enough to break through the armor of the tanks and ignite them. To make things worse for them the intimidating sight of the AT-AT walkers was enough to send the Grunts panicking which ultimately led to the collapse of the covenant formations. The Jackals tried to save themselves and the Elites tried to bring order to their lines.

The playing field was once again changed though when the UNSC forces that held back made a move. Warthogs rode over the hills crushing anything beneath them; be it Covenant or imperial. With the third player making a move both imperial and covenant forces had to shift attention to protect themselves.

The ISB operative and his cohorts didn't meddle with the fight though. As the battle raged on they used the distraction to make a path towards their true objective; the engine deck of the UNSC Infinity.

As the troopers rushed by to the front, the elite soldiers arrived at the outside of the engine deck only to find the maintenance doors completely sealed shut.

"Open these doors." The operative ordered and pointed his blaster at it.

Two regular troopers strode forward and began applying explosives to breach the door. Once they were done the door was almost entirely covered by explosive charges with enough firepower to blow a hole in an AT-AT. The two troopers pulled out the detonator from a pouch and pressed on the device. A loud fiery blast occurred as they did so and after the smoke cleared a hole was punched through the doors.

"Forward men!" The trooper sergeant in command ordered as he and his squads rushed inside.

Axis opted to stay behind and let the troopers soften up any resistance inside as he waited. Minutes passed by before he gave the sign to move in. The nova troopers took point as they went in.

The engine deck was impressive, a fact that the operative had to admit to, but ultimately irrelevant. Blasterfire and gunfire sounded up ahead and without any delay he marched forward.

"Keep them away!" A marine shouted over the sound of the battle.

The marine soldiers were adamant in their resistance. They refused to yield and the storm troopers were feeling the pressure of the two automated turrets that stuck out of the walls. Fires were raging on in the engineering deck as smoke filled the air. Luckily for the troopers their filters in their helmets saved them from possible choking on the fumes. Some marines were not so lucky as a couple coughed when the black smoke filled their lungs.

"EMP grenades out!" A trooper grenadier yelled before aiming his modified grenade launcher.

A trio of EMP grenades, known as droid poppers during the clone wars, landed close to the turrets that spat out bullet after bullet at the imperial forces. After the clone wars the production of EMP grenades met a decline as interest in the type of grenades lowered substantially. That being said the empire that rose out of the ashes of a declining republic had a large stockpile of the droid poppers and therefore they were stored away. When the war with the UNSC began and it became obvious that the EMP grenades affected their tech the imperials distributed them again for the troops. The grenades went off as a trio of pulses of electromagnetic emissions washed over the marines and their equipment. The turrets on the wall sputtered and fell silent, their circuits damaged and nonresponsive.

"Covering fire, go!" A heavy trooper shouted to his fellow troopers as he spun around the corner with a rotary blaster firing.

With the temporarily stunned marines they all charged forward. Squads of storm troopers wildly dashed forward as they tried to overwhelm the marines recklessly. Their tactic did scare a couple of marines but the others had fought the Covenant before and were used to overwhelming numbers. They picked a target and eliminated it before switching to the next one.

As the slaughter continued on, no one saw the operative slip away with his cohorts as they cut through a sealed maintenance tunnel. He turned around and motioned for the navy commandos to go ahead.

His emotionless gaze then turned to the reinforcements of his own unit. "Your orders are clear. Spread out all over this deck and kill anything that isn't imperial. Remain hidden for a long period of time and if you're discovered then dispose of those that found you. Do not contact anyone else to keep radio silence."

"Affirmative." Came the unanimous reply of the group as their electronic voices spoke in sync.


Requiem

UNSC Infinity

Outer hull

Chief sprinted as fast as he could leaving the smoking Mantis behind him. His objective was in clear sight; the MAC controls. Del Rio told him that they were unable to fire remotely so he would have to do it manually.

The burning wreckage of a Phantom dropship blocked his path but he barged through the broken hatches of the dropship and simply barreled his way through the broken vehicle. More aerial vehicles were being torn apart by the ship's reactivated AA guns and missile batteries. Banshees and TIE fighters stood no chance against the powerful weapons installed on the warship and were forced to retreat unless they wanted a quick death. Some of the covenant frigates were already burning and the few ships that the empire had were already retreating as were their ground forces.

"Come on Chief hurry!" Cortana urged him on.

Chief jumped high in the air to shorten the distance and finally arrived at the terminal. A small interface was glowing and the activation command was waiting for him. He didn't delay as he immediately pressed on the interface. The screen flashed green and the large MAC gun in front of it began to move as it came online.

"That's it! MAC controls restored." Cortana spoke up soon after on the comms.

Del Rio quickly took action. "Forward MAC batteries, get that damn orb away from my ship. All cannons. Fire at will."

The numerous cannons shook the ship's hull as they fired away. MAC ammunition crashed into the Forerunner satellite as did the missiles that the ship's weapons launched. Explosions enveloped the satellite and the red shield that covered it began glowing as it held strong against the attacking force. The covenant frigates finally broke off and turned tail as the Didact's ship rose high up in the air before flying away in retreat. Cheering broke out over the comms as the Covenant and Prometheans were in full retreat.

"It worked. The Didact's leaving." Cortana confirmed as the orb finally disappeared from their sight.

"Del Rio to all hands, we are still condition red. Imperial forces are still occupying the engineering deck. All available units in the area are to sweep the deck. I want marines in there now!" Del Rio ordered over the comm chatter.

"There are more?" Cortana exclaimed in frustration.

"We'll deal with them." Chief tried to calm her down as he moved back inside.

"NO MATTER HOW MANY, THEY STILL KEEP COMING! IT'S HOPELESS!" Cortana's rampant side screamed in pure anger and frustration.

"Cortana." Chief pressed and stopped walking.

"I'm sorry Chief." She said quietly in defeat. "I try to stop them but it isn't working."

"We'll get back to earth and fix you. Now let's go to the engines so we have a chance of returning." Chief soothed.

He walked through one of the doors and broke out in a sprint back to the hangar bay. It was the closest place to the engineering deck and he was sure they'd find a way there. He passed the corpses of the covenant and imperial soldiers alike in his hurry.

"We'll see Chief. We'll see." Cortana replied quietly.

A squad of marines were in the hangar and at the door that led to the engineering deck upon his arrival. They were armed and full with tension. The squad leader noticed him approaching and stood at attention.

"Master Chief, it's good to have you here. Thanks for ridding us of those covenant and imperial bastards. I'd buy you a drink but we still have some resistance in there." The sergeant greeted in a Canadian accent.

"Any idea on how many?" Chief asked as he accepted the shotgun a marine offered him.

"Their initial assault caused many casualties on their side. Damned bastards overwhelmed us with their numbers but we took down a lot of them. Mostly just regular storm troopers that are holed up in there I think. Our lieutenant went in with the other squads. We're just guarding this exit." The man answered and ended with an indifferent shrug.

"Um sarge I just lost contact with squad five six." One of the marines spoke up.

The sergeant frowned and activated his own communicator. "This is sergeant Niko Defleur to all squads, report your status."

"This is squad five two, nothing yet."

"Squad five four, same as five two."

"Squad five seven here, we encountered storm troopers but dealt with them. We've sent two of our men back to the entrance. They sustained some burn wounds. We're linking up with squad five one."

"Lieutenant Martinez here, we're holding our position and are waiting for squad five seven."

"This is squad five eight, we encountered some dead engineers and marines on our way in. They seem to have taken out some storm troopers but they must have been beaten in the end. It was strange though, some of them were cut open."

Then the hail of comms stopped.

The sergeant frowned and said, "Squads five three, five five, five nine do you copy?"

No one answered on the comms. The sergeant tried again but the squads didn't respond which meant that they'd probably been killed.

"Security systems are still coming back online. I can't access the cameras in there." Cortana spoke up with worry.

Suddenly the comms came back to life and a terrified marine yelled, "This is squad five two! We're surrounded!"

"What are these things?!" Another marine spoke up in the background as gunfire erupted.

"Get them off me! Get them- aagh!" Someone screamed before being cut off.

The gunfire went on for a full second before the transmission was terminated, the marine with the communicator probably dead. The marine squad at the exit shuffled slightly in worry and uncertainty as they had heard what happened. Chief remained calm and immediately went for his own comm.

"This is Spartan-117 to captain Del Rio." He spoke up over the whispering of the squad.

"This is the captain. Are those storm troopers dealt with?" The captain answered in clear annoyance at the prospect that there were still enemies onboard.

"Negative sir. Whatever is in the engineering deck is not like the storm troopers. Requesting immediate backup." Chief said.

"Fine, I'm sending the IVs and Palmer down there. Get the job done as soon as possible Master Chief. We can't depart without that deck secured." Del Rio replied in frustration.

"Yes sir." Chief answered before deactivating his comm. "I'm going in. Don't let anyone out unless they're UNSC."

The sergeant wordlessly nodded. The man was still shocked by what happened to five two. Chief opened the blast door and went in with a fully loaded shotgun and assault rifle along with a few grenades that he stockpiled.

He turned on the flashlights on his helmet and kept the shotgun ready. The lights were still off and only the red dull emergency lights were working. He stepped forward carefully as he checked every crook and cranny of the hallway. Pipelines and machinery dotted the walls as he made his way deeper into the engineering deck. He came across an intersection and found storm troopers on the ground. They were all dead of course, having long since bled out. There was the occasional marine or engineer but most corpses were imperials.

Chief was about to move on but one particular engineer caught his attention. The woman was slumped against a tube and blood was splattered all over her chest. He kneeled in front of the corpse while observing it suspiciously. Imperial weaponry normally cauterized wounds but this engineer had a large cut that ran across her throat and left shoulder blade. It was a deep wound and had almost cut off her entire head.

"This is strange. She was cut open but none of these troopers have any weapon on them that could have caused it." Cortana gave her own observation.

"Indeed." Chief said and contacted Palmer. "Lieutenant, there is something down here that cuts open its foes. I advise extreme caution."

"Copy that Chief. Me and the fours have come across a similar thing. A marine squad that was torn apart. Not even the Elites are this brutal." The Spartan officer answered feeling disturbed as well.

Chief suddenly grabbed his weapon and aimed at one of the corridors when he heard a faint noise. The corridor was completely empty but his augmented hearing picked up the sound from tiny feet. He slowly got up and entered the corridor with measured steps. The sounds were getting louder and they echoed throughout the pipelines. Chief frowned wile checking his motion tracker. It blinked but according to it there were more than a dozen contacts.

"Something is definitely wrong here." Cortana remarked and checked their radar. "I'm picking up movement in front, above and below us."

Chief came to a halt and looked up to see a ventilation shaft. The sound was getting louder and closer by the moment. When it became incredible loud compared to before he aimed his shotgun at the shaft and fired. The ventilation shaft was torn open and a tiny machine fell out of it. It screeched an electronic pitch and tried crawling towards him.

"What is that?" Chief asked as he observed the machine.

It was smaller than a human and looked like a spider. It had four legs with sharp tips and the main body was made out of metal as well save for the yellow eye and the yellow glowing top. It crawled towards him but two of its legs were now partially torn off.

"It's not Promethean or Covenant which means some sort of imperial robot." Cortana answered in fascination.

"You said there were more." Chief spoke up and squashed the small droid.

As if on cue the sound of tiny feet became louder and around the corner a dozen of the droids appeared. Chief half-heartedly listened to what Cortana said as he brought up his shotgun and fired. Shot after shot tore the swarm of droids apart but just like the Flood they kept on coming. Their yellow light eerily glowed in the darkness and when a few came too close he had to resort to using the shotgun as a bat to fight them off. When the last one was reduced to scrap he inspected his weapon and found out that one of the little droids had torn apart the loading chamber.

"Are we clear?" Chief asked and threw the now useless gun away.

"Yes but I'm picking up the comm signal of squad five one up ahead. They're not responding to my hails Chief." Cortana answered.

Chief continued on carefully and listened closely to any sign of the small spider droids. As he did so he observed the marks of battle on the walls. Blood was splattered all over them and the occasional engineer or marine that they found was brutally murdered. Their limbs were either torn off or cut open. It truly was a morbid sight. The pure brutality reminded him of the Brutes but even then the way they were cut open was nothing like the Brutes. At least they crushed you quickly, these machines seemed to be specifically designed to create antagonizing pain. It truly was a prospect that inspired terror.

After a few minutes of walking through the dark hallways he heard gunfire. Without waiting for Cortana to say anything he was already sprinting towards the source of the gunfire. He barged through a partially closed door and found the marines in disarray.

Only four marines remained with the rest of them being dead and laying on the floor. The marines were firing blindly around them and almost hit Chief who dodged in time. The marine responsible immediately seized fire and hope sparked in him at the sight of the Master Chief. He reached out and opened his mouth but as soon as he did a masked man with a skull for a face appeared behind him. The marine didn't even get the chance to utter a word before the man, or droid, sunk his long, sharp metal talons in his neck. The marine went limp as he choked on his own blood before dropping onto the dirty floor.

Chief immediately raised his assault rifle and fired but the creature cloaked itself and disappeared. He checked his motion tracker and saw several dots but couldn't find the assailant. By now the other marines flocked to him since their CO was dead as well. More of the spider droids and occasional appearing masked man arrived and screeched electronic war cries.

For several minutes Chief fended off the droids while protecting the marines as best as he could. Nevertheless so another one of the masked assassins appeared in front of a startled marine who panicked in repsonse. The assassin was fast and with a swift strike he cut the marine's chest open. Chief reacted and filled the assassin's masked skull with bullets before it went down.

"Help is on the way Chief!" Palmer suddenly spoke up over the comms as she and three other Spartan IVs barged in followed by the remaining marines.

The spider droids their overwhelming numbers soon didn't matter anymore as they were systematically eliminated by the precise gunfire of the Spartans. The masked men screeched at them and went in without any fear or pain, as if they were not capable of feeling so. They charged in with talons ready to pierce through even the sturdiest armor and caused casualties among the marines.

Palmer grimaced as one of them jumped on her back and pulled its arm back to deliver a blow to her neck. She quickly dashed backwards into the wall dealing damage to the terrorizing assassin. The impact was strong enough to make him lose his grip on her allowing Palmer to throw him over her shoulder onto the ground. He screeched at her and his blank eye visors stared at her with murderous intent. Palmer snarled behind her helmet and stomped her boot on his head reducing it to a mess of organic tissue and machinery.

The Spartans performed admirably but the marines didn't have their reflexes so they were no match for the inhuman agility that the assassins had. More blood coated the walls as their onslaught was relentless. Chief and Palmer stood side by side as they downed more of the cloaking imperial terror units. After a grueling experience the last droid was crushed and the last assassin was terminated.

Palmer cursed at their losses with almost all marines dead but at least the Spartans got out alive. She walked up to a crouching Chief who was inspecting one of the assassins. Palmer actually winced at their appearance. The limbs were artificial and implants dotted what was left of the human part. Blood dripped down from the talons and the mask was partially cracked revealing intertwined metal and flesh.

"We've never seen these things before in our past engagements with the empire. Whoever came up with these things is sick." Palmer spoke up at last breaking the silence.

"They utilize stealth like the SpecOps Elites but are faster, more agile." Chief gave his professional opinion. "Their appearance and abilities are meant to not only kill but terrorize their victims. Those marines and engineers didn't stand a chance."

"I'm still picking up movement up ahead. Security systems are coming back online but these… terror units are gathered at the main engineering room." Cortana said as she accessed the ship's systems.

"We need to clear the place out and fast. The captain is apprehensive of staying grounded for much longer." Palmer told them.

"Which way?" Chief simply asked as he stood up.

"It's past that wall but we'll take the next corridor-"

"Hold on I'm picking up movement!" Cortana yelled in alarm.

The Spartans and the few marines tensed as they sprang into action. They all aimed their weapons and stayed close to each other. Seconds passed until suddenly something barged into the wall on the opposite side. They all took a step back as whatever was on the other side continued banging on the wall. The metal groaned and started to bend or twist as it continued. Then for a full three seconds it stopped until the wall gave in as a machine even larger than Chief barged through it.

It was broad and hunched forward on clawed feet and huge spiked arms. Its face was like that of the assassins only this time it had spiky mandibles of sorts and whereas the assassins had blank visors as eyes the thing had bright green optics. The sickly green light continued upwards in its massive frame. With tremendous strength it pushed the large slabs of metal that were in its way into the walls.

And then it roared. It wasn't the whiny screech of a spider droid or the murderous one from the assassins. This one was the electronic roar of an angry beast.

Chief and Palmer were the first to open fire followed by the fours and marines. The bullets harmlessly bounced off its sturdy armor as it protected its head with its huge arms before charging the human group. They all dove or rolled away but two marines were hit by the droid and broke their necks as it slammed into them like a bus. It raised its spiked arms and trashed around wildly killing another marine as she was flung into the ceiling before dropping down on the hard floor.

One of the fours fired at its leg joint with his DMR but all it did was divert its attention to him. It thrusted its arm forward and almost got the Spartan but when he dodged at the last moment it hit the wall instead. The arm was removed and revealed a large hole in the wall and a ruptured tube.

To make things worse more spider droids were crawling through the hole it created and went after the marines and Spartans. The last marine to have survived found himself trapped as four of the droids clung onto him before cutting him apart with their razor sharp feet. Palmer directed her anger to the smaller droids as she kicked and shot them to pieces.

Chief ducked again as the droid lunged at him. He fired at its head but the droid leaned away to protect itself. One of the fours unleashed his SAW upon the thing and started to actually damage it which caused the droid to roar at him. It lunged forward like a tiger as it actually jumped into the air before coming down again up close to the Spartan IV. He barrel rolled away but the droid stabbed its left claw in his leg and successfully pinned him to the ground. The Spartan cried out in pain as his leg was crushed by the claw but those screams were soon fueled by agony as it created lightening from its claw.

Palmer snarled once more as the body of her fellow Spartan IV went rigid before becoming limp. The armor was smoking from the high intensity of the electricity and no doubt that the flesh underneath was burned to a crisp. She tossed one of her frag grenades at the droid for vengeance. The droid still had to remove its claw and was unable to get away as the grenade went off. It limped away with a damaged knee joint and the armor on its upper body was coming loose.

Chief went on the offensive and slammed his weight into the droid. It braced itself on its knees but, just like the Master Chief thought, the damage that it sustained to its joint was too much and the droid collapsed on the ground. Even then it swung at him but Chief expertly evaded and climbed on top of the terrorizing machine. It roared defiantly but failed to get the Spartan off of it. Chief punched through the loose metal plating and ripped out a handful of circuitry. Some cables were still connected but Chief grabbed the pistol on his hip and fired at the exposed machinery.

The imperial droid's roars became weaker and weaker until the green glow finally faded away. It collapsed completely and with its power source hit it was now nothing but scrapped machine parts. Chief got off the immobile droid and assessed the situation.

All marines were now dead and one Spartan was missing a limb and electrocuted to death; a hard loss to these imperial droids.

"Damn it. Those imperial scumbags are too weak to fight on their own so they have to make these death machines." One of the fours cursed as he kicked an inactive spider droid away.

"There isn't much to find in its processor but I did find out what they're called. The spiders are terror droids, the assassins are terror troopers and that thing is a terror biodroid. But Chief, its objective was to protect the leader of sorts." Cortana spoke up quietly in respect for the fallen.

"What do you mean?" Palmer asked as she walked up next to the Master Chief.

At that moment another high-pitched electronic screech similar to the terror droids echoed throughout the engineering deck that came from the main room, only this one was louder and more intimidating.

"A terror walker." Cortana replied solemnly as they moved in.


So for those who don't know the terror droids, troopers, etc. they're from the force unleashed II game. I thought it would be interesting to have them crawl around in the Infinity. As for the next chapter, it's probably going to take a while again.