Captain Keys sat in his cell and observed what was happening on the other side of the energy shield that kept him and the others locked up. If he was honest with himself, it looked like the Covent soldiers were getting twitchy. If such a thing was possible.
On the other side of the shield, he sighted on two Elite Minors guarding his cell in the prison section of the ship. Looking out further he could see a few Marines locked in the other cells. He also counted nine other Elites, six minors, two black armored spec ops with the last one in fancy yellow armor...and Judging on the armor design and structure it was a General.
"So." Keys began catching the General's attention." Anything else your masters want to try on me to get me to speak Split jaw?" Keys asked the General in a sarcastic tone...which the General picked up.
Before the General could punish the prisoner for speaking to him in that way, one of the Minors that was near the cell hits the shield with his fist and speaks in his language. If Keys had to guess, the Minor was telling him to be silent while in an annoyed tone.
The General decided to leave the prisoner alone for now. He needed to check with his officers and the Shipmaster on how goes the hunt for the Human borders. Turning on his com unit, the General reached for the line to contact the Shipmaster. But for some unknown reason when he tried to contact Shipmast, he did not answer his call. This left the General confused as to why is that?
"Something troubling you General?" One Spec ops elite asked as he walks up to the General after seeing his confusion.
"The ship's ShipMasters is not answering my hailing frequency. " The General replied to his subordinate as he tries again to raise the Shipmaster all for it to not be picked up.
With Master Chief and Ruby, they had slowly been traveling down the ship corridors killing Covenant soldiers as they move on their way to the prison area where they were keeping Captain Keys along with others prisoner.
While she fought, Ruby kept wondering about her inevitable meeting with Keys. How should she Act towards him? She would figure she figure it out when she meets him.
"The Captain's implant is getting stronger. We're nearly there you two but be Ready there are Multiple guards in the Room," Cortana warns the two.
"Got it Cortana," Ruby Replies to the Hologram women as she loads her assault rifle. When they Reached the prison section, the door opened to reveal...nothing.
"Holding cells," Cortona said. "The Captain must be in one of them.
The Spartan walked over to the far end of the room towards a raised platform with a terminal. Ruby looked at all the cells when the shields went down. Looking around on her side all revealed them to be empty save one.
"Oh, Oum," Ruby whispered in horror. Inside was the corpse of what had been a Marien judging on the body armor. But his head was melted down to a burnt smudge. Ruby had to breath through her mouth to avoid the smell. She was a little startled when the Chief walked past her and crouched over the body. Ruby watched as he retrieved a set of dog tags off the fallen Marien.
"Continue searching, the Captains signal is still active. Find another cell block," Cortona told them.
They two quickly doubled back into the corridors and down the halls, killing another patrol in the process till they stumbled upon another cellblock, this time with guards.
They had yet to register that the door was open ant the Master Chief saw an opportunity on high ranking Elite with its back turned on him and rushed forward.
The guards could only gawk in surprise as a demon appeared out of nowhere and rushed behind their General. Snapping his neck like it was nothing. That's when they reached and engaged their enemy only to be blindsided by bullets from the side to see a red cape wearing human.
One by one, each guard fell as the duo worked together. The Master Chief picked up the Generals fallen Plasma rifle to bring down the guards shields while Ruby brought them down to a permanent end.
Off in the cell, Marines and other crewmen cheered as their rescue had arrived to save them.
Seeing the last few enemies in the back part of the cell block, Ruby switches to her Sniper rifle and finish them off with a range of shots killing them all within a few seconds. When the gunfire ended she heard the cheering of the prisoners from in their cells and felt a little better about herself. She then walked over to where the Master Chief was at over by the cell control panel.
"So...which one here's captain Keys?" Ruby asks as she looks at everyone in their cells.
"You will meet him now," Chief answers as he goes to the control panel and it shuts down the energy shields to the cells, and he walks to the cell the Captain is in.
Then Ruby him, sitting on the floor in the cell.
He was battered, and bruised older man for sure with gray hair that was cut in a similar military fashin Ruby had seen other soldiers have. He wore a gray colored uniform with a few ribbons on his chest with a nameplate that said 'KEYS' Chief offered him a hand which Keys excepted as he was pulled up.
"Coming here was reckless, you two know better than this." Keys scolded but then he smiles. "Thanks."
He then began to leave the cell with Chief following him, and when they got out the cell, they saw the other marines in the cells were out as well as keys gave them an order. "Marines, lock and load your weapons. Let's be ready to move." All the Marines did what the captain told them ss they got the weapons of the dead aliens and when they were all armed. It was than Keys spotted Ruby. Keys had to blink a few times at her as he took in her appearance.
Despite what many other officers not bothering about recognizing everyone on their crew, Keys was different as he took the time to know the name and face of everyone on his ship. For it was he who handpicked them all for their original mission before the Covenant found Reach. He even took a moment to look at the files of the personnel they picked up from the evacuation.
This girl looking no more than fourteen or fifteen wearing marine body armor with a crimson red cloak on her shoulders was not one.
"And who might you be?" Keys asked in a neutral tone as he walked up to the little girl.
Ruby then raised her arm and did a salute as she speaks then "Hello, Captain! Sir!" Ruby says catching the Captain attention. "I am Ruby Rose Huntress in training...well used to be that and now a Marine to help however I can." Ruby finishes and by her look Chief, Keys, and Cortana could tell that she's probably feeling a little nervous.
"Okay...Chief." Keys says as he looks at the spartan. "Master Chief, when did a child get into this?"
"With what the Marines told me, she just came out of nowhere on the ship after we exited Slipspace," Chief told him. "Since finding her, she has been fighting alongside us every step of the way."
Keys Looks at Ruby who was still saluting but then he looks back at Master Chief. "And...she fighting too as well? Against the Covenant?" Chief nodded, Keys mind raced on this new info before asking another question. "How good is she...when she has to take a life?"
When Keys asked that Chief began to explain. "At first, she did not want to kill at all...but she got used to it she's uncomfortable still with taking lives and does not enjoy it, but she will take a life of one of the covenants if she has to she had killed a few. Also, recently on this mission to rescue you, Ruby was the one to kill the Shipmaster of this ship all on her own in CQC with a knife," he told them. The Marines that were locked up looked at the little girl in different levels of shock.
Keys was generally surprised at that and walk's up to Ruby. "I must admit...I am impressed by this miss Rose, as the Mast Chief isn't one to lie about these things if he can support this claim. You are a brave one that's for sure, and as a Captain of the UNSC, I thank you for your help. I'm also am grateful and in awe that you manage to kill a Shipmaster that's a hard feat to do." Keys said to Ruby in an impressed tone.
Ruby felt Honored that the Captain showed her so much respect she could hardly hold her excitement. "Well, I try my best to help however I can help sir, I know I might not be much but no matter what I'll do my best to help stop these aliens," Ruby says with a determined tone.
"Good to know." The Captain said before turning to the rest of the Marines. Keys began to speak on something important. "While the Covenant had us locked up in here, I overheard the guards talking about this ring world. They call it Halo."
Ruby wonder about that when they said halo she was thinking of a halo that was on a angels head...but that probably not what this halo is about.
"One moment, sir," Cortana said getting everyone's attention as she began to hack into the Covenants ships battle net to get info on this halo till she found it. "Accessing Covenant Battle net. According to the data in their networks, the ring has some kind of deep religious significance. If I'm analyzing this correctly...they believe that Halo is some kind of weapon. One with vast, unimaginable power."
Keyes nodded thoughtfully at this revelation. "The aliens who interrogated me kept saying that whoever controlled Halo controlled the fate of the universe."
"Now I see...I had intercepted a number of messages about a Covenant search team, scouting for a "Control Room." I thought they were looking for the bridge of a cruiser I damaged in the battle above the ring. But they must be looking for Halo's control room." Cortana now understood what the Covenant were currently doing in this unknown ring they were on.
"So it's a weapon then? A superweapon?" Ruby says as she was thinking on what was everyone's mind.
Keys had a very serious look now. "And that's bad news. If Halo is a weapon, and the Covenant gain control of it, they'll use it against us and wipe out the entire Human race."
Ruby paled at that thought. Her mind went to Remnant, of her family and friends along with everyone else she knew. Gone in a moment.
"Chief, Cortana. I have a new mission for you. We need to beat the Covenant to Halo's Control Room. Marines! Let's move!" Keys ordered the others before reaching down and preparing to pick up a needler before turning back to the Spartan. "Chief you on point, Miss Rose with me. I want to ask you a few questions when this mission is over." Keys ordered.
"OK sir," Ruby says seeing no problem with that.
The Elite Ultras and there superior the Elite Zealot. They were going through another route to get to the Bridge the Shipmaster was in. Since those doors, the humans used to escape from them locked out them out they had to double back and travel through several sections of the ship to get back at the humans that invaded their ship. They were now in the hanger and saw lots of bodies of their fallen brothers stain the floor.
"These vermin are weak! When we get to them, they will die by our hands." One Ultra said confidently eager to draw blood.
"Good, and the one I'll go after will be the Demon! His head will make a wonderful trophy!" Another ultra says.
"No," the Zealot says in a stern tone. "If you face the Demon you will die. They are the most dangerous foes the humans have to offer." The Zealot warns.
The Ultra speaks then. "Mraso'Haramai, demons can't be as powerful as you say."
The Zealot stopped and turns to the Ultra with a glare. "Have you ever seen what a Demon could do?"
"Ah no b-"
The Zealot Mraso'Haramai cuts him off yet again. "Have you SEEN one in person."
"No-no sir."
The zealot got close to him and looks at the Ultra still.
"I have seen what one can do. I've seen how many of us along with other forces one could be fallen alone by one Demon and I've seen what they're willing to do to when they have a mission to complete or cornered to survival." With that, the Zealot moves then as he continued walking to find the Humans. As he remembered his time when he saw last saw one of they're Spartan. The one he saw on the last world they fought on, Reach. She was all that was left, and the one killed many of his brothers on her own. It was unbelievable that the single Spartan survived for so long she did against so many.
There was also the female Human with the red cape. How she stood her ground against him and his blade. She had caught his interest, and he wanted to face her again.
Back with Ruby, they had just made it back to the bridge where she killed Shipmaster.
But when she walked in, she saw the rest of the rescue team of Marines lying dead. With a trio of silver armored elites there. Ruby saw that and leapt forward alongside the Master Chief firing her assault rifle and his plasma rifle at them. Their combined fire was soon joined by the others quickly silenced them.
"Cortana to Echo 419...We have the captain and need extraction on the double." Cortana said over the com.
"Negative Cortana! I have a flock of Banshees on my tail...and I can't seem to shake them. You'll be better off finding your own ride, sorry." The pilot's reply seemed to echo across the room affecting everyone in the room.
"Air support is cut of captain we need to hold here till she can move in," Cortana says to everyone on the room one marine panicked at this.
"Great! We're stuck inside of a Covenant ship...we're screwed man we're screwed!" As he said that Keys grew a little annoyed with the marine.
"Stow the bellyaching, soldier. Remember, you're a leatherneck. "He says as the soldier calms down then as he turns to Chief." Cortana, if you and the Chief can get us into one of those Covenant dropships, I can fly us out of here."
"Yes Captain," Cortana replied, "There's a Covenant ship docked below."
"Then what are we waiting for," Ruby said, much to everyone's grim amusement.
Before anything else could be said the doors then opened and out appeared several Covenant soldiers came rushing out, they were a security team that came to check in the shipmaster all to find him dead and the area having Humans in it that they tried to kill them then.
"Look out!" Ruby shouted as she pushes a nearby Marine out the way when the shot of a needle rifle shot almost hit the Marines head. "That was close you alright?"
"Yeah." The marine said gratefully." Thanks to you kid!"
There weren't too many of them as the UNSC group mowed them down before running through the door the security team came through. Another Covenant security team was about to go through to follow the Humans but was stopped when the Chief jammed the doors by ripping our the controls circuits, locking it.
"You knew I could have just programmed it shut, but you do live to do it things hard way huh?" Cortana says to the Chief who just shrugged.
They soon reached the troop bay, but it was heavily defended. Elites, Jackals and Grunts all were present at trying to kill the humans before they could escape. Ruby was going through clip after clip due to the number of enemies present. Even the Chief had run out of ammo in his stolen plasma rifle, having to pull out his pistol.
"If we're going," he called out, "we need to go now!"
Ruby used her semblance to do a teleport like effect to appear behind an Elite, who was guarding a holographic set of controls. She then grabbed him by the waist, and with a great heave with her aura strengthening her, threw him off the edge of the platform. She then noticed that the controls were in front of the freed dropship, which was connected to a clamp on the ceiling.
"Cortana!", she cried out, "do I need to press this to unlock the ship?"
"Yes! Great job", Cortana replied.
Ruby pressed the big marker on the controls, and the Dropship disconnected from the clamp. It then hovered towards her, opening its bay doors. Keyes, when he saw this, cried out, "Everyone mount up!", leading the Marines through the open bay doors.
"We're Home free!" One Marine yells as he ran to the alien ships and joins the other marine's on board. Ruby and Chief were about to board too, but before Ruby could she jumps away when a plasma blast almost took her head off. Both Ruby and Chief turn to see it was the Elite Ultras and Zealot that Ruby ran to earlier about to enter the room.
"Great! These guys again!" Ruby says agitated, she knows who these guys were she remembered when her team was almost killed by them an hour ago.
They saw the Elites were aiming at them, they also knew Keys needed a little time since he needed to a few moments to start the craft up.
"Wait I can help out with this!" Cortana Says as she access the door of the Covenant ship and she closed the door leaving the Zealot by himself and closing his Ultras were now locked behind the door. "There now you only have to kill one Zealot that should be-" before she could say more they heard the other door open and they saw two hunters run though. "Well...maybe not easy."
"Chief...I'll take care of the Red Elite you can handle the Hunters...since I think you have a better chance against them than me," Ruby suggested to the spartan he knows how dangerous Zealots were, but he had to agree her taking on the Zealot then the Hunters is a better choice.
"Very well but be careful, they are not to be underestimated," Chief says with concern for Ruby as she goes to face the Zealot.
Ruby only nodded before calmly walked in the direction of the Zealot.
The Zealot saw her and aims his weapon at her, but he did not pull the trigger. Looking with slight interest at what this little human would do.
It was then he saw the Human female slung her take over her back and pull out one of their energy swords.
Ruby was out of ammo in her other gun, so she decided to use the alien blade she took off the dead captain. Ruby wished she still had her scythe still. Even if she'd didn't have a way to restock her ammo it would still be useful as a close-range weapon and it was a weapon she was most comfortable with.
She did know the basics of how to use a sword, but the way this sword was shaped was going to throw her for a loop.
The Zealot looked at the blade for a moment before speaking. "Do you think this is wise Human?" He asked in an amused tone and speaking the language of the Humans. "Very well if you want to use a sword." He then takes out his energy sword he and Ruby glared at each other hard.
"Well good that there other aliens that speak Valeconien," Ruby says sarcastically.
The two then engaged each other with their swords. Their fight from a spectator standpoint looked like they may be equals, but the truth couldn't be far from the truth.
Ruby knew the Zealot was a better Swordsmen then herself but none the less was holding her own against the Zealot. Whenever the Elite was about to do a kill strike on her Ruby would use her aura to sidestep or jump out of the way. While this dragged on Ruby was feeling the days worth of fighting catch up to her. She may be fast, but her endurance was starting to reach its limit from all the fighting she's done for the last few hours.
The Zealot was about to do a kill strike on Ruby when she turned into Rose pedals then and was now behind the alien, and now tried to stab him.
Mraso'Haramai was stunned at what he witnessed but didn't let up as his instances screamed for him to block an attack from behind. The Zealot then blocks Ruby strike fast before following up with a kick her in the gut. Sending Ruby back sending her aura into the red. The Zealot then quickly ran at Ruby and reacted fast that she could to avoid his attempt to behead her. It seems that the Zealot wanted to kill her as quick as possible, but his next hit ruby blocks and now their blades were now locked.
Ruby was now pushing what reserves of aura she had left in this deadlock. She was built for speed! Not strength like Yang or Nora.
"You are strong for one so young, brave I will admit, and it's an admirable trait." The Zealot says as he slowly gained ground against Ruby as they were still glaring at the other while their blades were still locked.
"I don't need...A complaint from an enemy who only wants to watch a race burn." Ruby says gritting her teeth.
Ruby then broke the deadlock was about to attack the Zealot again with an underhand swing. But for the first time, she was too slow as the Elite delivered a sharp left hook to her chest. Ruby felt her sura shatter, and the air leaves her chest. Before she could react, the Elite makes another swiper with his sword at her chest. With her weapon out of the way and her aura down she could do nothing but watch as the stream of plasma ranked up her chest, through her armor and across her face, forcing pain the likes of which she'd never known before throughout her chest and body. It was even worse when the Zealot delivered another strong kick to her stomach making her fly back a few meters, sliding along the purple plated deck.
"In battle...always pay attention even when one speaks," Mraso'Haramai says as he then walks up to the fallen Rose, he was going to finish this...but was halted when a strong plasma blast was fired at him.
The Blast came from the alien Dropship keys got it to work. "GET HER IN NOW!" He ordered as two Marines jumped ship. They both took an arm of the down Rose and dragged her up onto the ship. With that said, Ruby held her wound on her chest, and she used her what little strength she had to move her legs up the dropship. The Zealot tried to shoot her but he missed, and they got in safely as the hatch closed.
As for Chief, he took care of the Hunters by making them fall off the edge one by one. When he tricked them into doing it by standing at the rim when he got them to make a melee attack on him before jumping out the way of there strikes making then fall to the bottom, with the Hunters taken care off he gets onboard the dropship. "Hang on!" Keyes said over the ship's internal radio.
As the dropship flew out of the hangar bay and into the open air outside the Truth and Reconciliation, Ruby collapsed against the wall before sliding down with a thud, exhausted physically and mentally from the entire mission. Twisting around, she saw the Cheif walking in her direction and crouched down to her.
Ruby could hear voices but couldn't understand what they were saying. She must be going into shock. She saw the Chief pull out a medkit and sat it down in front of her. Ruby smiled before closing her eyes and letting sleep overcome her.
As for the Zealot Mraso'Haramai, he watched as they Escaped, he knew there was right now nothing he could do to catch them now. Then an Elite Minor came as he was next to the Zealot. "Sir...the Shipmasters dead."
The Zealot did not mind that his superior was dead, he knew that his pride and his overconfidence would lead to his death But he was curious "Who killed him?"
the Minor checked the Recording before, so he knew. "It was the one with the Red cape...she killed him with a knife."
The Zealot was interested in this sure the shipmaster was not much of a fighter, but still, a little girl taking him down is very impressive. ...she might even in his opinion be as dangerous as a demon may be.
Note: hope you all like the chap! Also i like to thank Helljumper 206 for helping me edit this.