This is part one of what might be the end of "I'd Go With You". Read and Review.
The sound of gunfire echoed through the snow filled canyons Halo 1 was known for. Small brawls were scattered amongst the rocks and rubble like confetti; the guns and grenades making for an impressive light show. And there, in the middle of it all was the Master Chief; standing in all of his glory.
He had two things on his mind: stopping halo, and finding Taylor. Cortana had given him the unforeseen news that the Halo array was a doomsday device instead of a saving grace and made him kick his ass in gear to stop the flood and get out alive. Taylor was the only person he could think about, she was the only person that mattered.
And thus begins "Assault on the Control Room".
…
With her back against the wall Taylor blind fired her SMG toward the onslaught of covenant forces, not killing a single one. Deux was plugged into the computer in the lower levels of this construct while she was ordered to stop anything from stopping him. She wasn't sure what Deux was doing, but he said it would get them home, so she was going to do whatever it took to help him.
Her fist smashed straight through a grunts skull as it came around the corner and she used it as a shield; dashing from her original cover to a more protective one with its body in front of her. Her armor was plasma scarred and covered in blood, but she had to keep fighting, this could be her only chance to get out of this place. But what if she didn't want to?
That's nonsense; this world is nothing but fighting and death.
But it's fun.
I suppose you're right, but what about Zoey?
She doesn't like us anymore remember?
Oh yeah.
Taylor couldn't help but talk to herself; she didn't have anyone else to talk to, and not talking got boring after a while.
That's it? You're just going to give up?
No point in arguing with you. You are me after all.
Good point.
She smiled to herself as she continued to fire into the soldiers.
You know, even with all of this death and destruction this place is still beautiful.
I was thinking the exact same thing.
Of course you were.
The silent cartographer had been her favorite level in Halo 1, but sadly she would never be able to play it again because seeing those animated graphics and comparing them to the real thing just wasn't a match. Being here, on this island on a ring world in the far out reaches of space, was a lot better than setting in her room any day of the week.
She continued to shoot her gun, until she finally reached the end of her clips; the gun made that oh-to-familiar clicking sound to signify that it was in fact empty. Taylor tossed it to the ground, un-clipping two plasma grenades from her damaged armor and arming them.
The two blue balls of plasma glowed bright in her hands as she slid out from cover and tossed them at the heart of the covenant forces. They ignited sending a wave of death into the grunts and elites that surrounded them. The silver forerunner hallway was now empty except for the sound of her breathing.
Taylor sighed as she heard the covenant sending in their reinforcements.
…
The pelican's engines roared into life, knocking the dust up from under it as it began to lift into the air. The pilot had a worried appearance as she looked unto the barren wasteland that lay before her eyes; the crew shared her worry.
Zoey was the only one that wasn't afraid at this moment, her heart beat staying below a panicked state. Avery Johnson kept his stance firm even though beneath his exterior he was planning his will and thinking of how life in heaven would fit his style; it wouldn't.
"Car….break…help!"
Static burst from the previously dead com station relaying a jumbled message that did not mean a thing, but Zoey recognized the voice. She sprung from her seat and directed the pilot to replay the message.
"Cart…a break…someone help!"
Taylor; she needed help and Zoey might be able to help her.
"Where is this message coming from?"
"I'm not sure, it must be underground."
"Play it again."
…
"This is Spartan 086, I'm at the forerunner structure known as 'the silent cartographer'." Taylor ducked her head as a plasma grenade exploded near her position. "Give me a break! Please someone help, I need immediate evac."
She knew it was probably hopeless, but she had to try. Covenant had piled up around the island, making it impossible to leave from the lower levels of the Cartographer. Deux had plotted an escape route but couldn't access it until they were above ground, so for now they were trapped.
Taylor began to count down from ten, preparing herself for a last ditch attempt to clear the hallway that led to freedom. She dropped her empty SMGs and clenched her hands into fists and squeezed her eyes shut for the last three seconds of the countdown.
"3…2…1!"
Five elites, eighteen grunts and two jackals lined the hallway, all aiming straight for Taylor. She charged as a grunt prepped a sticky grenade. Her foot connected with its chest sending it back into an elite; the explosion killed them both.
The plasma pistol the grunt was holding was falling through the air as Taylor brought her foot down and caught it. She held down the trigger charging up a concentrated blast and fired it at one of the grunts packs causing a pretty explosion that killed two more of the elites and a few more grunts.
Chucking the plasma pistol at a golden armored elite she brought her elbow down onto its head, causing it to gush purple blood onto the floor and her armor. All golden elites held plasma swords so she reached down and grabbed it off of the lifeless corpse's body clenching down on the handle to activate the deadly blade.
The final elite charged at her, plasma grenade active; what a foolish mistake. Her Spartan reflexes kicked in and she cut the hand that held the grenade off. It fell to the ground between them and they locked eyes for what felt like hours until it detonated. Both of their shields held and the elite began to draw his weapon to finish his prey; but Taylor already had the sword plunged into its chest.
She let the body drop to the ground with the sword still stuck inside before walking down the blood soaked hallways and up the stairs at the end. That's when she heard the familiar sound of a pelican.
Exiting from the cartographer Taylor saw the welcome green color of a friendly pelican and the even more welcoming green Spartan armor holding out its hand to help her get in. She took it, hoping that all was well between the two sets of armor; old or new, friends till the end.
...
He had done it; he had all the information he could ever dream of having. He could go anywhere he wanted without the help of a human host, without the limitations of human minds. If he wanted to change the course of the covenant armada stationed near the delta halo he could, and no one would be able to stop him.
Deux rubbed his artificial eyes as he sifts through the data; it was mind bending to think that he could ultimately control everything. But there was only one thing he wanted to control, and to get to it he would need the help of someone, the only person that knows where it is and what it is.
This person is the same one that sent both the NOVA bomb and Mark V armor through the creases of slip space so that they would arrive to aid Taylor. This same person is the only known A.I to be able to make jumps through slip space so precise that they could take you to a different year of the choosing.
This A.I is the only A.I recorded to have survived rampancy and take on a basically human form. Their ability to manipulate data has given them a lifelike body with lifelike possessions. This A.I walks on black leather boots to match its black leather jacket.
This A.I was Deux' brother.
…
John chucked a grenade into a vent located on "The Pillar of Autumn"; it was followed by a loud explosion and a grand stand from Cortana. He continued the process with hopes that it would cause a chain reaction in "the Pillar of Autumn" so that the halo array could be stopped without eradicated all sentient life in the universe.
He knew it was stupid, but he wished Taylor was here to help him. He needed someone real to lean on, someone real to be with; in fact he just needed something real.
…
Sergeant Johnson couldn't believe what Taylor had told him and his men. The ring world that they had just recently landed on was about to exterminate everything, but if they were lucky Master Chief was trying to stop it by blowing up the ring; so either way they were fucked.
"No!" Taylor yelled a little frantically, "We can still escape; we just need to find a ship that can hold all of us."
"You're shittin' me right?" Johnson spoke up for the first time, "If you haven't noticed that pelican is all we've got."
"We'll borrow a different one." She turned to face him, her visor masking the doubt in her eyes.
"What the hell else are we gonna do?" Johnson turned to face the small group of marines with him and Zoey, "We're getting the hell off of this ring!"
They all burst into cheers, all except for Zoey who just stood still, her eyes fixed on Taylor. She couldn't find the nerve to just say 'sorry' and it ate her up inside. Zoey was just confused; she didn't know what to do about the kiss her and Taylor had shared. She didn't know if it was because she loved her, or if it was just out of fear. Ever since she arrived in this messed up reality, everything has been getting…well, messed up; and she hated it.
"Sir!" One of the marines behind a com set beckoned for Johnson. They whispered to each other for a moment before Johnson turned to face everyone again.
"It seems the covenant know of the Chiefs plan, and they want to stop him." No one made a sound. "But we're gonna stop them."
Everyone cheered again, except for Zoey and Taylor; they kept quiet.
"Grab your gear, we're movin' in five."
Taylor and Zoey looked at each other for the first time since before they arrived on Halo, then they walked away.
…
The leather jacket bounced with every step the A.I took down the hallway; his boots, again, didn't make a sound. His laptop was held firmly between his right arm and his chest and the wallet that belonged to Taylor was continually being tossed into the air and caught by his left hand.
The hall was laced with heat and sound detectors but they didn't pick up the apparent intruder, nothing ever did. He just quickly made his way toward the room at the end of the passage so that he could set up his computer and sift through the data that had arisen from nowhere.
The door opened and shut, the laptop was set on a desk and the A.I took a seat on a chair that materialized as he entered the room. The laptop came to life, the screen lighting up and a computerized voice welcoming the owner.
"Good morning Sept."
"It's a particularly confusing morning computer." Sept said as he began to type on the keyboard, bringing up a few video feeds. The first one was off Deux traveling through the universe trying to find the one thing he didn't know about; it made Sept laugh. The second was of Taylor and her rag-tag team of survivors preparing to head off the covenant; this too made Sept laugh. The third was of Spartan 117 as he began to set off the chain reaction that would destroy the halo rings.
Sept smiled. When the ring began to destroy itself he would act, moving his pawns closer to the king on the other side of the board. He let Deux begin his rampancy without a single flaw occurring, and now he would only have to get him and the girls back to Earth in one piece. That shouldn't be a problem.
His plan seemed so chaotic in his artificial brain, but everything seemed to be working; all the pieces were falling into place without a snitch. He didn't know what he was going to do with Zoey though; she was no longer needed in his plan. In fact, she never was.
It was the mere random variable in his first trans-universal slip space jump that allowed for her to even arrive here in the first place. He immediately concocted a plan to get rid of her, and keep Deux on the right path all at the same time.
Hitting a few more keys a few more video feeds popped onto his screen. The first was a paused video feed labeled "Arrival", and it showed two girls lying on hospital stretcher in a room similar to the one he was in. The second was of a cryo-tube that lay in an apparently empty room. On the tube was a nameplate that read "Cosmo". He closed it after viewing it for a few seconds.
The third and final new video feed was of the covenant war force that Taylor though she could stop. She could, but not without Sept's help. He tapped on the screen and he was immediately transferred to the onboard computer of the lead phantom of the force. Without hesitation he veered it into a phantom that was adjacent to his and quickly transferred himself back to his room in front of his laptop.
He watched as his small action caused six of the twenty phantoms to crash in a great ball of fire and plasma. He smirked and closed that video feed, focusing his attention to the video labeled "Arrival". He studied the paused image of the two girls before hitting play.
PLAY VIDEO:
The video showed a completely barren room; the walls were made of steel and the floor looked as cold and lifeless as a corpse. There wasn't any movement and there wasn't a sound being made, the video looked as bleak as the room it was being shot in was.
Then there was a shudder followed by a small ball of light being formed in the center of the room. The ball of light began to expand until it filled the camera, then it dissipated almost instantly leaving the image of two girls lying on the icy floor.
The girls were dressed in clothes standard to any 21st century teenager and they looked as if they were beaten almost to death. They laid lifeless on the floor their skin looking paler and paler by the second, almost as if they were being drained of their blood.
A door opened somewhere in the room that the camera couldn't see and two men dressed in ONI uniforms walked up next to the two girls; their movements mimicking those of robots. They each lifted one of the girls and placed them on stretchers that they had apparently dragged in with them. They then rolled them out of the room and the video changed to static for a few moments before switching back to an empty hospital ward.
The two "ONI" officers pushed the two stretchers into the room and began to de-clothe the two girls, removing all personal possessions from them. After the girls' garments were removed the two officers left the room and returned moments later with two sets of military sleeping attire, which they gently put on the two girls.
The two officers then took seats at two separate desks and began filling out the proper paper work to make it seem like these two had always been in the "Spartan II" project. The video turned to static again and Sept closed out of the video feed.
He remembered how hard it was to calculate how he was going to get Taylor from her universe to his. He remembered how hard it was to find the two perfect lackeys from ONI to do the dirty work his artificial hands wouldn't allow him to do. He remembered how hard it was to put all of his faith in these two girls that he had never met, and who would have to disguise themselves as Spartans without any prior knowledge except for a strand of videogames released in their universe.
He remembered how easy it was to 'steal' the NOVA bomb from the future and send it back to aid Taylor and re-adjust the 'time line'. He remembered how easy it was to acquire a set of Mark V Mjolnir armor and get it to Taylor after making a very complicated jump through space-time.
He was thinking about how easy it would be to get Taylor to kill Zoey.