World of Warcraft Halo

by Freedom Guard

As the title states, this is a crossover with WOW and Halo, The Master Chief is now in Azeroth, how will the Alliance and the Horde deal with a warrior from the Stars and his A.I Companion? Story is now being Thawed slowly...

10. Chapter 10

World of Warcraft X Halo

Disclaimer: I don't own Blizzard or Bungie.

Chapter 7

Part 3

Rescue and Meetings…

( ): Thoughts

…

In the meeting hall of Darkshire…

Talia was surprised completely by what her friend Dana had just told her and the same could be said for Mayor Ello Ebonlocke and his daughter Althea Ebonlocke who was currently the Commander of the Night Watch along with several of the Night Watch who were there. They were not alone either as the Spartan, James Hansen, Kaelyn, Sandra, Erin, Jarrod, and White Claw were in the building as well. The Spartan was currently standing and making sure that his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and BR55 HB SR Battle Rifle were in good condition and were more than ready to work.

Apart from checking his gear, he observed the others to see how they were doing at the moment and he was sure that now that they knew the situation he was going to have to wait and see what they were going to about it all.

Talia then spoke.

"You mean that the reason the Defias activity here in Duskwood has increased was because they wanted to kidnap the Prince?"

Dana nodded at that and James then replied.

"Yes, we also have uncovered some very serious information concerning the activities of the Defias Brotherhood that deals with their intentions towards Stormwind, they no doubt would have used the Prince as a way to stop the Alliance from trying to halt their plans. So far none of them have any idea that the Prince has been rescued, so we plan to rescue the other members of my unit and then head back to Stormwind."

Ello rubbed his beard and thought over the information, like many in Darkshire, he was not very happy with the decision of Stormwind to pull away the Guards that they originally had stationed in Darkshire, but he was not blind to the situation and knew that this was deadly serious. The fact that this was the reason the Defias had been even more open in their attacks than before was a serious cause for concern.

The Mayor looked at his daughter was also deep in thought and he then directed his attention at the massive figure who was there with them in the Hall as well. This Spartan was unlike what he had seen before in his life. The being was certainly well armed and armored, but there was nothing that resembled any kind of guns, swords, or armor that he had seen before. The town he happened to run was usually a place where Alliance and Horde affiliated travelers and adventurers would appear. It was difficult enough dealing with the Horde forces that would appear occasionally from time to time, and keeping both the Night Watch members from getting into situations that would deplete their manpower, that was something he and his daughter wanted to avoid.

This Spartan however was neither Horde nor Alliance as well as he had never met any being like him before and he was not sure what to make of the being. The good news is that if the Prince of Stormwind trusted this giant armored being then he and his people should as well. He then looked at the weapons that the being had with it and he was quite curious what they were. They resembled guns used by the Dwarf, Gnome and sometimes human adventurers that passed by the town yet these looked very different that before.

(Who or what is this being?)

The same train of thought was in Althea as well as she glanced at the Spartan who seemed to be just standing there. She had no idea what to make of the stranger other than the fact that he was traveling with Prince Anduin, a group of Stormwind Royal Guardsmen, a trio of Night Elves and a Blood Elf as well. That was by far a sight that she never thought she would see, seeing groups of adventurers was one thing, but seeing this giant was another. Not in the sense that she was afraid, it was more in the sense that this was an unexpected sight.

Nothing in the Alliance arsenal was on this man, and without any information on him, it was natural that the female commander of the Night Watch was wary of the man if he even was one underneath all that armor and the golden face plate, even though he seemed to have earned the trust of the Prince of Stormwind and that of the Prince's personal guard as well.

The Night Watch Commander however decided to focus herself on the more important details on how to deal with the news of what the Defias had been up to in the lands she was assigned to watch over. They couldn't ignore any of this and she knew that by doing this, it would help give the Night Watch more support from Stormwind, not much in the long run, but any support was better than nothing.

Prince Anduin then spoke to both Ello and Althea.

"I know that this is a rather large request, considering the fact that many people here no doubt wish for more aid from Stormwind, but I promise you that if you can help us in any way possible, I will do my best to make sure that Darkshire will get whatever support you believe you need here to secure the town and keep the people safe, even if it is only token support at best."

Althea then spoke.

"This not something we normally do and we don't have the manpower to spare Prince Anduin, our Watchers are focused on protecting Darkshire from both the Undead, the Worgen, and the other creatures that make this place their home. But I will have to ask them what they think of this so at least if there are any of my group who are willing to help, then I will do what I can."

…

The Spartan on the other hand was currently scanning the people before him, the Mayor seemed to be very capable as an administrator and the fact that he was able to keep this town from falling apart was impressive to say the least. Something seemed to fill the and make this place be engulfed in some sort of effect that made this place feel like it was completely nighttime even though according to Cortana it was still day time outside of the area of Duskwood.

It was almost as if there was some sort of power that kept this land completely bathed in night, something that by UNSC science standards would have been impossible, but since he was in a world where magic was the norm, then he was not going to rule out the possibility that magic had something to do with this perpetual darkness that covered the whole forest. Though it had be very powerful magic in order to do this to an entire region.

Cortana naturally spoke to him in private as it seemed that the magic had no effect on their COM systems.

"I've been scanning this entire area for hours now and I still can't find out just what had happened to this place that made it impossible for the sun to shine through here. Whatever or whoever did this must have some serious power."

The Spartan agreed and decided to wait lot more to see just how far this discussion was going to go and just how long will it last.

…

Kaelyn looked at the Spartan who remained silent and wondered just what was going through the mind of the human soldier right now, she had no doubt he was taking this all in and working on something, and no doubt was getting help from that glowing female being of light as well in some way or another. But that was when she decided to try and ask him what was going through his mind.

"Chief, are you all right?"

The Spartan turned to look at the Night Elf and replied with a slight nod.

"I am fine, but we do have to move quickly, there is a chance that sooner or later, the Defias we are chasing might try to send a runner to get confirmation if the Prince had been delivered in their base of operations. We have to make a move soon before things get too complicated for a rescue effort to be made. If we can somehow distract them and make a rescue attempt while we have their attention, then we have a chance."

Sandra listened to that well and nodded in agreement.

"The Chief has a point, if we can distract them and rescue the prisoners at the same time, we have a chance to get everything done before the Defias even know what is going on."

Ello then decided to speak as well.

"Considering the situation that we have before all of us, and what is at stake, I suppose that helping you is our best option, but I will have to agree with Commander Althea on this matter, we do not have the manpower needed to help with the rescue and defend Darkshire at the very same time as well. So we have to wait and see just what will the other Watchers say."

It didn't take too long before Althea returned, having gathered the Watchers into their barracks and discussed the situation that was present before them, and some of the Watchers opted to help the Prince in rescuing the other remaining members of the Royal Guard, while others were not sure that they should get involved with the matter themselves as they were already stretched thin as is. It was an understandable stance since they had only to recruit villagers as well as adventurers as well, in the same way that they had recruit Talia to serve as their healer.

However, the Watchers agreed that they could give them information of the countryside that could give them the terrain advantage over the Defias since even though the Defias did operate in Duskwood, they didn't have the level of experience that the combined members of the Night Watch had under their belt as they had been doing this for years long before the Defias even set up shop.

As soon as the maps came to their hands the Spartan quickly checked them as he planned to use them to make a cross reference to the location of the group, thanks to Cortana using the Satellite overhead to keep track of the Defias group via thermal scanning systems. So far the images he saw through the visual package coming in from the satellite. As soon as he got the latest data, he then placed the TACPAD on the table and quiuckly spoke as the device came to life, much to the surprise of the people there with the exception of the three Night Elves as well as the female Blood Elf as they were more used to the kind of technology that the Spartan had with him already.

As soon as the images came online, the Spartan downloaded the recordings of the maps that the Night Watch had given them, he showed the images via the TACPAD and gave his plan as the images showed that the Defias group was currently in some sort of plain a good distance from Darkshire to the North and near the river that was the barrier between Duskwood and the rest of the northern forest, the same location where he and the others had freed the very first batch of the Stormwind Royal Guard. Seeing the terrain and the possible routes that were there on the maps of that belonged to the Night Watch, the Spartan was quick to come up with a plan, this plan involved a direct attack by those who were skilled in long range, namely Sandra, Kaelyn, and Anduin himself, though he made it clear that they were not going alone as Talia and Jarrod would be nearby to provide healing as well as some close range muscle alongside White Claw, they were to sneak up and fire several arrows at the Defias to get their attention. The shooters would then move back and allow the Defias to chase them.

As soon as that happens, the remaining Royal Guardsmen would spring out and attack, this would imbalance the Defias forces quickly and when they were engaged, he would move to the side and begin picking off as many as he could with his own weapons. To make sure that there was less chance of the Defias getting away scot free, those who were able to shoot at range were to pick them off quickly to make sure that they never got to escape or locate other Defias bands which would act as reinforcements. Once the battle was underway, Erin would move in and free the prisoners and then it would be a double attack from the front and back.

Once the plan had been outlined, it didn't take long for the others to agree with the plan, and it was a fairly sound one as well. Ello and Althea agreed and they were going to keep many of their Watch members hidden away to give the illusion that they had a decrease in man power which would make the Defias think that they were safe and would be able to operate without attracting too much attention to themselves.

Once the plan was in motion, the Spartan led them to the location where the Defias were, as soon as they arrived, he quickly gave silent orders to them groups to take their positions but not before going up and borrowing the binoculars that he had given James before. Once he was able to reach the high rise, he moved his hand up to look at the area without exposing himself, the binoculars were quickly connected to his HUDS and he spotted the Defias forces, a large number of them as well and there were the last of the prisoners.

With a full visual confirmation of the objectives, the Spartan moved back and signaled the go ahead to Kaelyn, Sandra and Anduin to begin, and as soon as the three of them spotted their targets of the…night, they took out their arrows and aimed…

…

In the Forest outside of the town of Darkshire…

The Defias Brotherhood had no idea what had just happened, only a moment ago, everything in their camp seemed to be all right and they were soon going to have the chance to get some extra revenge as well as leverage on Stormwind City, it's people, and most importantly, it's King and the Nobles that have deprived them of the true rewards for their services in the past to the crown. With the Prince in their hands, there would be no way for the Alliance to counter attack them, they could pillage Stormwind at their leisure and bring the city to utter economic ruin by taking down all of the trade ships that would come to port with their Juggernaut, their forces on the ground would continue to raid and pillage at will, attacking caravans and travelers, strangling the trade inland.

And they could even attack Stormwind and with the Prince as their hostage, the Army would not be able to fight back at all for fear of killing the Prince himself in the attack that they would launch, and with a mobile base of operations, the Brotherhood would be a force to reckon with.

But now it seemed that things were not going to go their way as several of their sentries were suddenly cut down by a barrage of arrows. Several of their fellow Defias tried to move in and attack the attackers when they spotted the direction just where the arrows had originated from, they were a large group as they were augmented by another two bands of their comrades but to their shock their comrades who had charged in as soon as the arrows stopped, were suddenly screaming in absolute pain and cries of death.

They had no idea what was going on but soon got their answer as their comrades came running back bloody and wounded as a large number of the Stormwind Royal Guard that they had attacked before came right at them. They were completely caught off guard by what they were seeing before them as the Stormwind Guard attacked them in full force with a Paladin leading the attack and soon enough a trio of archers appeared behind the attacking force with a Priestess and a Night Elf Druid among them. The three archers were very different indeed, two were female Night Elves yet they were wearing armor that none of them recognized. But what really got their attention was that the third Archer was none other than the Prince himself.

That was easily seen by the Royal Guardsmen as they cheered on at their rescuers, that was more than enough to anger the Defias forces as they turned to face them, but three of them paid with their lives as they were torn up by more of the arrows from the Archers as Kaelyn, Sandra, and Prince Anduin showed their skills, with both women admitting that despite his youth, the Prince was an excellent shooter as he aimed for the Defias who were in the firelight and carrying torches.

It was then that a blur of green and black came out from another side of the entire battlefield and began to unleash bursts of fire that were similar to a gun, but to the shock of the Defias members, this stranger in green and black armor with a golden visor seemed to not need to reload as several flashes came from it's weapon as it began to drop more of them with utterly unnerving accuracy. The ones who were attacked by this giant of a being fell to the ground with holes in their bodies and in their heads as well as they bled on the ground and the wounds even seemed to release smoke and steam as well.

As soon the weapon stopped, the being moved with supernatural speed, taking out something from the weapon that was hard to see, it then took out another item and placed into the back of the weapon and pulled something that sounded loud in the forest and quickly began to unleash more fire into the rest of their forces.

The Spartan looked at the forces before him as the Defias who were armed with close combat weapons were now drawn into combat with James' unit along with Dana as the Paladin swung her sword with exceptional skill while using her shield both as a form of defense as well as bludgeoning weapon at the same time. Talia was providing healing to the others while she was supported by Jarrod, Kaelyn and Sandra were more than able to pick targets of opportunity. This was more than enough for him as he then spoke to the COM system.

"Erin, move in, we have them focusing on us."

"I understand, I'm on the way."

The Blood Elf Rogue made her move, using the same planned route that John had given to her before they moved out on the plan. She readied her weapons and silently moved to where the captive Royal Guardsmen were held. She moved in and managed to sneak up to one of them and cut the female Guardsman's ropes, she smirked and told her to keep quiet as she began to cut the ropes of the other prisoners. Once that was done, the Rogue moved in and attacked the Defias from the rear, she was soon joined by the Royal Guardsmen who had been able to get their old weapons back and charged right into the ranks of the enemy. This attack from the rear completely caught the Defias off guard as they now found themselves in a vice of death.

A number of them tried to break and run, but they would wind up with arrows in their backs or bullets going through them as Kaelyn, Anduin, Sandra, and John picked them off easily while the Spartan's use of his BR55 HB SR Battle Rifle was as deadly as ever. A band of Defias focused their attacks on the Spartan and charged right at him, hoping to force him to go close combat and deny him the use of that gun, once they were close, they could outmaneuver him as there was a chance that his armor would slow him down.

"The idea would have worked had they dealt with a regular foe….but a Spartan II Commando was anything but a regular foe.

One Defias got a swift strike to the jaw with the butt of the Battle Rifle and the sound of shattering bones was heard as the man's head bent in a very unsightly angle, as he fell, a female Defias tried to attack but gets a kick right in the side of her ribs that not only creates the sickening sound of bones being broken, but sends her flying to the side into the rock face and the sound of her spine cracking as well as the back of her skull soon followed. The next got a powerful left hook that shattered his jaw and sent him flying back into the lower land dead. The next managed to force the Spartan to drop his Battle Rifle but that was not a good move as the Spartan leaped forward with right knee extended and hit the forehead of the attacker, that was enough to crush the skull and send the man back to the ground in a deadheap due to extreme blunt force trauma. The Spartan's action made him land into a group of Defias, and before they could react, the Spartan reached for both katanas that was on either side of his hips, with once deadly and efficient motion, the Spartan took out both swords and slashed around in a whirlwind of steel that reflected the light of the fires nearby, creating waves fiery gold around the Spartan.

Mere seconds after he stopped, all the Defias around him, at least a dozen all suddenly fell dead, their blood flowing out of their wounds as they were cut to pieces before they could even register that they were already dead. The Spartan turned to the other Defias who were looking on in abject horror and that moment of hesitation was going to cost them their lives as the Spartan moved in and attacked.

The results were just as bloody as several more feel, some of them were decapitated and others were falling down to the ground with gaping wounds on their bodies as well as some missing limbs as well. The end result was that over a dozen or so of the Defias were slaughtered by the Spartan as he used his katana swords on them with blinding speed. It was not long before the last of the Defias were cut down by the others and the mission was finally over as the Guardsmen were rescued and had also been given more than ample opportunity to have their revenge on the Defias Brotherhood. Once the fighting was over and not a single survivor was left, the group began to salvage what they could, Sandra, Anduin, and Kaelyn recovered their arrows, and the Spartan recovered his Battle Rifle and checked it for damage after placing both swords back into their sheaths. Finding that his Battle Rifle was in good condition, the Spartan quickly began to help salvage what they could get.

The supplies they salvaged from the Defias Bands were fairly useful, many of which included healing potions, coins of both silver and copper, as well as some gold ones, there were also several rolls of cloth as well as a number of jewels, no doubt pilfered from the convoys they had been raiding for some time. Their weapons were also fairly useful and would help the Spartan in terms of economy when he decided to sell them.

Once that was done, the group headed back to Darkshire to get some much needed rest while also tending to the wounded members of the Royal Guardsmen, namely the last group that showed signs of being beaten and injured by their Defias captors, it angered both Anduin and James when they each saw the injuries, but since the rescue had been a success, they were able to look past that and focus on the healing.

…

In Darkshire…

The Royal Guardsmen were finally taking the chance to have a good meal and have a good round of drinking after all that they had to deal with. The success of the operation was buoying the spirits of the Royal Guardsmen and while John would have preferred not to waste any more time in Darkshire but move out to Stormwind as soon as possible, he couldn't blame them too much.

At the moment, he and his own group were currently resting on the other side of the tavern with Kaelyn, Sandra, and Jarrod drinking some cool water and eating some food, while Erin, being the adventurous of the bunch was drinking some ale and enjoying the warmth of the drink. As for him, he was planning on staying stone cold sober until he got the Prince back to his father, the young man in question was back in the Town Hall, thanking both Ello and Althea for their support and planning to find some ways on how to give some level of support to the people of Darkshire as well as give the Night Watch some help as well in dealing with the Worgen and the Undead as well as the other dangerous creatures that called this place home.

The Spartan turned as both Talia and Dana arrived and both the Paladin and the Priestess made their way to their table and the Paladin walked over to the Spartan and spoke to him.

"I have to say that this was a rather interesting experience….Spartan, at any rate, what exactly do you plan to do now?"

The Spartan looked at the female Paladin and replied to her question easily.

"I'll be joining the Prince in his return to his father and the Capital, what about you and your friend Talia?"

Dana thought about the discussion that she and Talia had earlier, with the situation concerning the sudden spike in Defias Brotherhood activity solved, they were still going to have to remain here to help the Night Watch in dealing with what other dangers there happened to be in Duskwood, and there was no doubt going to be plenty of those soon enough. But for now, they were free to do what they could. Besides that, she had heard that Tirion Fordring was in the castle discussing some important matters with King Varian for the day so seeing the rise of the Knights of the Silver Hand would also be worth her time as well.

"I might go to Stormwind myself to take a look at some important matters as well, so if you and your group don't mind having someone else with you all, then I wish to join you."

The Spartan looked at his comrades and John could tell that this was something that had be considered, however he had admit that her skills were certainly welcome, and since they were all going at the same direction, why not?

"All right, you can come along."

Dana nodded with a smile and bowed slightly just as Talia arrived along with Anduin who looked to see that his Royal Guardsmen were finally able to relax somewhat before the trip back to Stormwind would soon start, he had no doubt that word of his kidnapping had reached his father and that sooner he was able to return to his father then all the better.

…

Later…

After bidding farewell to both Ello and Althea, and reaching on a trade agreement for supplies as well as armor and weapons, Anduin and the others made their back to the same route that was used to take them into Duskwood as well. In the lead were naturally the Spartan and his group as they were soon heading back to the city of Stormwind. It was going to take some time but after getting some much needed rest and refreshment, the group were more than ready to move out. The Spartan didn't have the time to have a proper meal, but that could wait.

For now Cortana was still back there in the Albatross which was still cloaked and she would be more than ready to de-cloak the heavy drop ship and take to the sky and reach them if needed, but for now, she was going to have to stay put inside the Albatross and keep an eye on things. As they moved on, they soon arrive in Goldshire and it was a quaint little place, a good place to slow down and have some time to relax. It was also an important trading town due to it's rather ideal location in the trade routes in the area. Many people called this place home and it was always bustling at any time of the day, the Lion's pride Inn is the most recognized pub there was and the most hospitable as well in all ways. The town was also well defended by Stormwind City Guards and the influx of adventurers ensured that there was plenty of muscle in the area to defend the place and it's population of seven thousand people.

However, Anduin had other ideas as he moved to speak with the current leader of Goldshire Marshall Dughan to ask if the others who had been rescued had arrived. While this was happening, a number of the present guards and some male adventurers were looking at Kaelyn, Sandra and Erin, wondering what was they were wearing as neither the clothes nor the armor they had on looked the least bit familiar to them. However the guards and adventurers were not very happy at the sight of Erin herself. She was a Blood Elf after all and her race were aligned with the Horde and not many people were in the mood to have a member of the Horde in their lands.

Erin herself knew that this was going to happen and she tightened her senses to watch out for danger. However the Spartan moved in and was next to her, silently sending the message to the guards and adventurers to back off right now or else. That was enough to convince most of the less courageous and experienced people while some decided to move away and glare at her in a much safer distance, away from the Spartan.

The female Blood Elf was more than happy for the action taken by her savior and while a practical part of her said that he was only doing it to make sure that she was still around to give her information, another part of her was happy that he was willing to go out of his way to make sure that she was in good hands and not in danger of any attacks on her person. Naturally she looked to see that her Night Elf rivals were not very happy and were glaring at her. She smirked at that and ignored them, gently pressing closer to the Spartan.

And even though she could only feel the armor that he was wearing, it was still rather comforting to her. She was going to enjoy this trip after all even if there was no doubt in her mind that the glares she got in Goldshire were just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Dana could tell that there was some level of competition between the two Night Elf women and the female Blood Elf over this Spartan, but she wondered just why that was the case, as she was still unsure as to whether there was a person underneath all that armor. Many would think that Paladins were not allowed to have families or even have romantic or intimate relations, but that was not true, while they were required to be followers of the Holy Light, Paladins were not required to be celibate, as they were warriors and the stress and hardship of combat was always there for them to deal with.

Paladins were not forbidden to marry and have families of their own as well, only those who had no contact with Paladins before believed such things. After all, in his life as a Paladin, Tirion himself was married and had a son, even the famous Lieutenant of Anduin Lothar Turalyon himself a Paladin had been known to have developed a loving and romantic relationship with Elven Ranger and Lead Scout Alleria Windrunner, the eldest of the Windrunner family.

It was not to say that she was in the mood to follow such paths herself, but she was not adverse to being around men, though she knew that her friend Talia was a bit more apprehensive around men, not due to bad experiences, but because she had been in the Priesthood all her life and had been an orphan while Dana had come from a large family in her youth.

Dana placed that aside for now though she had to admit that she did have some level of curiosity as to what the Spartan actually looked like without the helmet on, that way she could at least see what was it that made the three elven females be at odds over this armored being. Talia herself noted that and was wondering what was it that seemed to make the three elven females seem to be competing with one another over the armored being before them.

Once Anduin came back to the group, they hurried on and soon they arrived at none other Stormwind City itself, and as soon as they spotted the city, the Spartan had to admit that for a medieval fortress it was certainly very impressive to say the very least. He looked at the statues and quickly saw the names there on the plaques below each statue.

One statue was that of a young man with heavy armor, wielding a massive sword and the Lion emblem on both his shield and armor. There below the statue of the man was his name.

'General Turalyon.

Former Lieutenant to Lord Anduin Lothar, Knight of the Silver Hand. High General of the Alliance Expedition that marched into the Orc home world of Draenor…

Presumed deceased.

"Esarus thar no Darador - By blood and honor we serve."

"You were the right hand of justice and virtue, old friend. Your name will be honored in our halls always."

- Lord Uther the Lightbringer - Knight of the Silver Hand'

He directed his attention to the next statue and this was of an elven woman who wore the robes, clothing, and light armor, as well as carrying the bow that told him that she was a scout and an archer. The bow was in her left hand while a large eagle was on her right hand.

'Ranger Captain Alleria Windrunner

Renowned Troll Hunter of Quel'Thalas. Lead Scout and Intelligence Agent for the Alliance Expedition that marched into the Orc home world of Draenor.

Presumed deceased.

"Your heart flew straight as any arrow upon the wind, sister. You were the brightest of our Order. You were the most beloved of our kin."

- Sylvanas Windrunner - Ranger General of Quel'Thalas'

Looking at the names the Spartan was quick to guess that the two women may have been sisters in the same family, though he decided to do more research later on, though he noted that Erin seemed to be looking at the statue with a mix of surprise and understanding. This was enough to tell the Spartan that something was off a bit, but he decided to worry about that for a better time as he looked at the other statues that were there.

The next statue had a short humanoid that he quickly recognized as a Dwarf carrying a battle hammer and wearing plate armor. He looked at the plaque to see what this said about this statue.

'Kurdran Wildhammer

Renowned Dragon Fighter. Gryphon Master of the Aerie Peak. Commander of the Gryphon Rider Division attached to the Alliance Expedition that marched into the Orc home world of Draenor. Presumed deceased.

"We will hear Sky-Ree's calls upon the winds. We will hear your hammer thunder across the mountaintops. Ride hard into the hereafter, brother. The halls of our ancestors await you."

- Falstad Wildhammer - Lord of Aerie Peak'

This was enough to tell the Spartan that this one was a hero of the dwarven people, though he was not familiar with the Wildhammer name as of yet, but decided to do his research at a later date.

The second to the last statue was of a man who carried a large sword on his back and wore plate armor as well. He looked at the plaque to identify this person.

'Danath Trollbane

Militia Commander of Stromgarde. Tactical Advisor to General Turalyon. Force Commander of the Alliance Expedition that marched into the Orc home world of Draenor.

Presumed deceased.

"We honor your memory, nephew, and your sacrifice. Since the founding of our glorious empire, the path to valor has always been drenched with the blood of heroes."

- Thoras Trollbane, Lord of Stromgarde

The Spartan looked at this and decided to take his time to study more of this at a much later date as the group moved on the bridge and he directed his attention to the last statue.

The last statue was that of an elderly man who wore the robes that one would associate with a mage and carried a powerful and large staff. The Spartan directed his attention on the plaque that was there.

'Archmage Khadgar of the Kirin Tor

Former apprentice of Medivh. Supreme Commander of the Alliance Expedition that marched into the Orc home world of Draenor.

Presumed deceased.

"Never did one so selflessly delve into the dark heart of magic and warfare. We wish you well, bold wanderer. Wherever you are."

- Antonidas - Archmage of Dalaran'

The Spartan recorded all the names of these people and sent the data to Cortana and when she got it, she smiled and filed the information away for a much later use. For not the Spartan directed his attention to their arrival into the city itself. By all standards of the cities in Earth's medieval history in Europe, this city was very impressive and well constructed to say the least, The Spartan had to admit that it was somewhat hard trying to picture that the Defias Brotherhood had a hand in building this place at all. But for now he placed that aside as the Prince guided them to the castle as he was a better guide than most as this was his home city after all.

People naturally wondered just who they all were but seeing that they were being escorted by the Prince and his Royal Guard that they were not going to be much of a threat and they could actually be allies and friends of the young Prince.

…

In Stormwind Keep…

King Varian stood up from his throne with a happy smile on his scarred face as he waited for his son to reach him and when he did, he hugged his son. When he had been told by the members of Captain James Hansen's unit of his son's kidnapping, he was enraged by this, even more so when he was informed of what they had learned when they interrogated the Defias leader. Knowing that his son was taken by the same people that had taken him away from him and his people before was more than he could bear. He had never forgotten the parts the Defias played in Onyxia's plan to control Stormwind and the thought of what they intended to do to his son made him even angrier at the Defias Brotherhood.

He had planned to gather a force and personally rescue his son with his own hands and make the Defias pay with their lives for this kidnapping of his son, but when he learned from on the guards of the Keep that his son had returned with the rest of James' unit as well as some unknown beings, he waited and when he saw his son, he was deeply pleased to see his son safe.

At the moment, only his most trusted guards were in the throne room and had secured it from anyone who might intrude easily as members of SI:7 were also in the room to watch the area. Naturally both Bolvar Fordragon and Tirion Fordring were in the room as well. Once he had been informed by the members of Captain James' unit who came back about what they had learned, he ordered Noble Dunmoore to be under house arrest and all members of his servant staff, family, allies, and support were to be kept under surveillance as well to keep them from leaking out any information to the Defias network that might remain in the city.

He also ordered the surveillance of Stark's relatives to keep them away from finding out that his son had returned and any of their associates were watched as well to prevent them from getting a chance to inform the Defias leadership of the return of his son.

As he finished his hug on his son, he moved away and looked at Anduin and spoke to him.

"It's good to see you safe son, I'm happy that you are still alive."

Anduin nodded and replied.

"I am as well father; I would like to introduce the person who helped Captain James and his unit in freeing me from the Defias, though I have a feeling you have already heard of him."

Varian looked and his eyes widened a bit as he easily recognized the armored being who was there before him. It was the green and black armored being that Ambassador Durnhelm had spoke of in his trip to the lands of Kalimdor to meet with High Priestess Tyrande on what was told by the member of the 7th Legion that had gone to Kalimdor for a personal mission. The way the being moved was enough to tell the battle hardened king that this stranger was no ordinary person, he also looked at the devices that resembled guns, one of the back of the stranger, while the other was in his hands, along with the swords he carried on his side.

The green and black armor as well as the golden visor were very surprising to the King as he looked the Spartan over carefully, trying to assess this supposed human soldier in a way that would tell him more of whether he told the truth or not. After a minute or so of looking at the Spartan himself, he decided to speak to the Spartan in person, he walked over to the armored soldier and spoke.

"My thanks to you for rescuing my son, no doubt you know who I am and I also know who you are, but for formality's sake I wish to know who you are as well."

The Spartan nodded and placed his MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle aside and replied with a crisp military salute as well as a full military posture and stance, he might be in a medieval world, but that certainly didn't change his military upbringing and respect for those in authority, and from what he had already heard about this King Varian Wrynn, he deserved to be given full respect and courtesy, though he naturally changed the address he usually gave to people.

"Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117 of the UNSC Navy, you're Highness."

Varian was a bit surprised but relaxed, that short introduction had a great deal of respect and courtesy to it as well as an adherence to military protocol. This was more than enough to tell him that this Spartan was indeed a battle hardened soldier. He gave a slight glance to the side and saw that his old friend and advisor Bolvar thought the very same thing as well, and so did Tirion as the Paladin looked on with his own war hammer at his side.

The King then decided to give the same salute as he could see that it was the best way to respond to the Spartan's action. As he did so and soon lowered the salute, the Spartan did the same thing and that was when Varian spoke seriously to him, he needed to know what was it that made the Spartan come to the land as he didn't recall sending for an invitation of any kind to the Spartan.

"Spartan, Ambassador Durnhelm told me of your reluctance to siding with the Alliance, even though you happen to take residence with a member race of the Alliance, who you no doubt know as the Night Elves. Now I am not here to force you to side with us, considering the fact that you saved my son and those under Captain James' unit so I owe you a favor. What I want to know is that since you are neutral, why are you here in Stormwind of all places?"

Bolvar then walked over to the pair and spoke in a respectful tone, from one warrior to another and Varian didn't stop him either, another show that he saw Bolvar as more of a brother than a subordinate.

"I must agree with the question of my King, and I will introduce myself to you as well Spartan, I am Bolvar Fordragon, advisor to King Varian and I served as advisor to Prince Anduin when he took temporary leadership of Stormwind when his father was taken away from us until he returned."

The Spartan looked at Bolvar and quickly could tell that this man was a seasoned warrior and no doubt due to his role as advisor, was a powerful man in the circle of leadership in the city of Stormwind. However this human warrior seemed to radiate the aura of a person of integrity and honor, as well as experience and skill. The way that King Varian acted also showed that there was a great deal of respect and trust between the two men, showing that while they were leader and subordinate officially, they were much closer than that.

John decided to delve into more of that at a far better time as he responded to the question that was in the mind of both men.

"I came here to do just a routine study of the Continent and learn as much as I could as well as gather materials, resources, and more. I am also hoping to learn as much as I could about the history, culture, alphabet, traditions, and more of the residents of this continent, it was only when my group and I spotted Captain Hansen being pursued by the Defias Brotherhood that we intervened and eventually took part in rescuing Prince Wrynn. As to why, no amount of neutrality is worth the life of a child."

Tirion listened well to that and nodded in approval, this told him that this Spartan, despite his stance of remaining neutral cared for humanity and would aid his fellow humans for the right reasons. This was not lost to both Bolvar and Varian as the King of Stormwind spoke once more.

"So, that means that if you can help humans without being involved with in politics, then you would do it?"

The Spartan gave a nod and that was enough for the moment, however Varian and Bolvar were not entirely convinced as they wanted to learn a lot more about this Spartan and doing so would allow them to have a much better understanding of this human from beyond the stars. They had no idea as to who he really was and while they had been told a great deal of this Spartan by Ambassador Durnhelm when he came back from Kalimdor, both men wanted to know more for themselves.

Bolvar started the whole thing first off by asking the Spartan a simple question.

"Would you like to tell us your story once again?"

John was surprised by that and made that fairly obvious to both the King and Bolvar as he spoke.

"I thought that your Ambassador had already told you what I have told them about where is it that I had come from?"

Varian nodded at that.

"He has, and seeing your armor and those guns of yours does lend credence to what he has told us. But I prefer to hear this for myself, but only if you are willing to repeat yourself. However, that can wait for another time, what concerns me is what you managed to learn of the Defias' Brotherhood's plans for this…Juggernaut that they happen to be working on, do you have any idea if and when it will be completed?"

The Spartan shook his head at that.

"I am afraid not you're Highness, I have no idea of what are the exact dimensions of this ship and what it is capable of since I am not native to this world or this continent, though I have read on just how deadly they were in the Second War when the Alliance fought the old Horde years before."

King Varian nodded and replied.

"It's been years since I have seen one myself, but I still recall how much of the threat they were to both ships and for those on the coast, they had far better range than most of the Horde's fleet forces and were deadly when in good numbers against most threats. They were once built by the Goblins and naturally were expensive to make. After the Alliance won the War, we destroyed the foundries and refineries that supported the construction of those ships and while they were used still, the Goblins would only allow them to be used by either side for a price."

"Now that we know just what the Defias have been doing, this will present a considerable problem as it has been a while since the Alliance has been able to muster a strong enough Navy to deal with such threats, and while one lone Juggernaut cannot defeat an entire fleet on it's own, it is not to be taken lightly. We will need time to be able to rally a fleet that will be able to deal with the Juggernaut the very second it will reveal itself, but with the information we have now, we can be prepared for it. But first…"

Varian then directed his attention to Captain James and motioned him to come forward. The Captain did so and soon kneeled before his king and Varian spoke to him.

"You did what you could to safe guard my son, and your part in rescuing your comrades and then my son have given you a great deal of honor Captain, return to your post and know that you and your unit have my gratitude for you actions."

That was enough to make James relax and smile a bit more as he replied to his King.

"I thank you Highness, we will make sure not to let this happen again if ever we are on a mission for the crown."

Varian nodded as James stood up and moved to join the rest of his group and they headed out to return to their barracks to oversee to the other matters that they knew that they had to do, which naturally included honoring their comrades who were not so fortunate as they had been. As soon as that was done, Varian turned to speak to Bolvar and Tirion to discuss options on how to best deal with the Defias Brotherhood.

That was when John had an idea; he quickly spoke to Cortana privately via COM system and asked her to do a full scale scan of the area where the Deadmines were located as well as the abandoned town of Moonbrooke. It took only a few minutes for Cortana to relay the orders to the satellite above the world to locate the Deadmines and Cortana quickly did a very thorough seismic scan of the area to get a full view of what exactly was there. As she did this, she fed the information directly to John and afterwards, Cortana spoke to her long time protector.

"It seems that the Juggernaut is still under construction, judging by what the scans tell me, it's only partially completed in what appears to be a massive dock inside the mines. Must have taken the Brotherhood a lot of time and effort to even get the docks built, let alone the Juggernaut itself, if the Goblins made this type of ship, that would explain why the Defias kidnapped them to use their expertise in making them once more."

"Any suggestions?"

The female A.I replied to that question.

"Only one and it's fairly simple, we go in and deal with the problem, if we can hit them while they are still in the process of building the Juggernaut, we can blow it to kingdom come, and eliminate the Defias leadership while they're still in the dark about their plan of using the Prince as a bargaining chip being reduced to nothing but pipe dreams."

"You realize that we're not part of the Alliance right? We happen to be neutral on this whole affair."

"True, but that is what gives us the advantage, no one knows who we work for and we happen to be a complete mystery that they have no idea about as of yet. We can aid the Alliance while still not being part of it, all we need to do is offer our….services to them."

John frowned at that as he was quick to pick up on the meaning behind that particular statement.

"You mean you want us to be mercenaries for hire? That a gross violation of every UNSCDF regulation in the book, and you and I know that for a fact."

"I know, but we have to consider our options, this can help us prove to the Alliance that while are neutral we are willing to help them deal with some problems that they don't have the manpower, resources, and time to do themselves. We're not in the UNSC as well John so we have to adapt to the circumstances and environment we happen to be in. Besides, this can help us alleviate our financial situations well enough for the time being while we're here so we can have a small and workable economic base if we need to purchase supplies and materials. And since we're not affiliated to the Alliance or the Horde in any fashion, we have the advantage of being the wild card of the deck so to speak. Remember what you learned in history just how mercenary forces were used before? We're in that kind of situation now, besides, it'll be temporary at best so we might as well offer up the option for the time being."

The Spartan didn't like the implications of allowing himself to be hired, it went against every rule in the book, but he also was trained to be practical and flexible in the battle field. Besides that, the situation he was in demanded that he adapt to them, doing this would spare the Alliance the time, resources, and manpower to build the force needed to deal with the Defias Juggernaut when it was finally released from it's hidden dock. Not to mention that the attack which would kill the Defias leadership would shake them apart and shatter their momentum, plus hitting their headquarters could lead to valuable intel as well. As he mulled through the options and weighed them carefully, he decided to give the option that Cortana suggested, though not before talking to Cortana.

"All right, we'll do this, but I sure hope this does not come back to haunt us."

The A.I smiled at that.

"I know, but we're committed either way, let's get this over and done with."

The Spartan ended the conversation between him and Cortana and saw that both Bolvar and Tirion were discussing the options on how to build the fleet with Varian, though they admitted that building a fleet, even a small one was going to be a tough order and would take time as well as manpower and resources, and no doubt would attract a lot of attention from the Defias forces if they were not careful on where they would station the Fleet.

That was when the Spartan spoke.

"Begging you're pardon your highness, but I believe I can offer a solution to the problem if you and your advisors are willing to listen."

Varian raised an eyebrow at this and replied.

'I'm listening, what exactly do you have in mind?"

The Spartan then outlined the plan that he and Cortana talked about and when he was done, Varian, Bolvar, and Tirion were silent for a moment or two until Bolvar spoke to the Spartan.

"You wish to lend your aid in this matter by attacking VanCleef and his forces inside their own camp?"

"Yes, personally speaking I don't like the idea of working as mercenary, but this is the best plan that can help you're city if you need it. Since this is merely a suggestion you and your advisors can allow this or not, if you and your advisors agree to this then I will take this mission and deal with this in a manner that befits the situation. Since I have no ties to either the Alliance or the Horde and no one else knows about what or who I am apart from you and your advisors. In order to avoid that, I will have to go alone and do this myself."

Tirion was surprised and made that fairly clear as he spoke to the Spartan.

"You wish to take this mission alone? You already have very capable allies with you, why not take them along for this mission, surely you can use their support?"

"Normally I would, but my companions happen to be affiliated to both the Alliance and the Horde, if they are seen together with me, it will quickly alert the Defias and would tell them that this was an attack by the Alliance. If they see only myself, they do not know who or what I am and that will be to their undoing. Besides, since I have no tie either to the Alliance or the Horde, there is little chance that the Defias will be able to know which faction I happen to belong to, making it appear as something else entirely and neither side is involved. This way you can conserve manpower, resources, time, and also this will make sure that no one outside of this room will be the wiser. Either way, the Defias Brother's leadership will never know what hit them."

Kaelyn and the others were not quite happy with the idea of allowing the Spartan to go on this risky mission alone, though they also knew that considering the weapons and technology he had with him, he was more than able to take care of himself in any regard. However that didn't make the idea of letting him go alone into the very heart of the Defias Brotherhood any better than most.

But that decision on whether the Spartan went or not was up to them but to the King and his advisors as they mulled it over carefully, weight the advantages and disadvantages of doing things the way the Spartan had suggested to them.

…

To be continued…

…

Author's Notes:

Well, that wraps up this one, now that Stormwind has a very good idea just what exactly is the scheme of the Defias in the Deadmines, what are they going to do about it?

Will they build a small fleet and even include a Battleship or two, and dust up some old Gnomish Submarines so when that Juggernaut shows up, it is going to get a seriously nasty surprise once it leaves port?

Or will they resort to sending in a small strike team to eliminate the Defias leadership as well as the Juggernaut itself?

That decision I will leave up to you readers, naturally if you want the first option which I will call Option A, this will let the Alliance deal with this problem on their own and this will allow the Chief to do his work unhindered and also get to map out all the lands as well as gather supplies, resources, materials, information and the life, plus he will be able to socialize more with the group he's with as well as the residents of some of the towns he will be visiting in the story. Essentially, there's more time for the Chief to establish ties with not just the residents, but his group as well, but there will be little action that caters to combat to speak of.

Or on the other hand, if you readers decide that I go for Option B, the Chief and Cortana go alone and will make a direct strike through the tunnels in Moonbrooke and hit the Deadmines, cause all sorts of chaos for the Defias forces and eventually reach the Juggernaut, face off with VanCleef and company, gather huge loads of information on Defias activity in all of Azeroth and even in Kalimdor, and sink the Juggernaut with some very interesting high explosive materials to turn that jumbo sized ship, into the largest floating bomb in the history of Azeroth. Of course that will cut down on the socializing time and kind of shorten the whole arc so the Chief won't have enough time to do what he came there to do. But this naturally is a scenario that will seriously promise a huge amount of combat and for the Defias Brotherhood, a serious kick in the posterior that will take them a LOT of time to recover from.

And if you all have read how I do battle scenes in this work and my other works, you can bet that it will be…well you get the idea.

So send me your choices, if you want option A, then send me a PM or a review with your choice. And the same process goes for option B so there's no need to get technical about it all. The option that gets the most votes is the one I am going to do in the next chapter of this arc, all right?

As for the soon to come discussions for Varian and John, it will be interesting as John learns all about what the King of Stormwind went through. Naturally John will understand Varian's beliefs and his stance concerning the Horde, but remember, John is a neutral party in all this, he will not side with Varian and the Alliance and he will naturally make that obvious to anyone there who asks him on which side he is on.

The same can be said when he meets the Horde leaders as well, but that is under wraps for now.

…

Another thing I want to touch on is the standard couple route and the harem route, now if everyone wants the Harem route then that will be very interesting for me to work with in the long run. And naturally when the lemons come, we can have shades of the Naruto Dragon Champion Lemon section, only instead of Naruto we have the Chief and a number of fantasy females go at it in certain situations and circumstances. Most if not all of which should be fairly interesting to say the least.

But if we have the standard couple route then I will have to find a way to make the other female characters have their own partners. The choice will be for original male characters from the universe of Warcraft or from the Halo universe, now if we have the characters from the Halo universe, it's going to take some serious elbow grease as well as brain cell activity to figure out just how to introduce them without doing something that is totally cliché and that is something I want to have little of as possible in my stories unless the situation and events call for it.

At any rate, the end results in either choice on who will be paired with our Spartan should be worth all the hard work, brainstorming and good old fashioned elbow grease I will put into it. Also before I forget, the group of slaves that the master Chief had freed before in several chapters in the past will actually come back and be an aid to the Spartan himself, and as to how they will be of aid to the Spartan, that will be a personal surprise of mine in the coming chapters so don't ask me to reveal them just yet.

I will be busy doing more research in both Halo and Warcraft to make this story all the more effective and entertaining for all you readers, and I will taking a break since I have been having some difficulty sleeping at the moment so I will have to rest a bit more in the coming weekends apart from my personal rest day on June 21.

See you at the next chapter!