Chapter 10: Back to Earth
"TAILS!" The two AIs yelled in John's helmet.
The Spartan was forced back as the Flood attacked. It screeched loudly and ran forwards. He moved out of its way, running into the wall in the close quarters.
"What the hell is that?" He asked the AIs.
"I don't know yet." The AI was trying to figure out what the creature was as it responded. "It was Tails," the other AI said. "But now he's turned into some sort of Flood creature. Tails must have been infected."
"Damn it..." John said. He had to try and defeat it. If not, he could be killed by the parasite. He watched the creature as it came after him again. "Any suggestions?"
The Spartan rolled out of the way as it attacked again.
"Either kill it or get it off of the ship," one AI said as it appeared on John's HUD. "It is no longer the captain."
John put some distance between himself and the creature, readying the weapon in his hands. He turned and took aim, firing at it. It roared in pain as he hit the Flood Tank but it did nothing. The creature was too powerful. A few minutes later, it had pinned John up against the wall and turned its arm into a tentacle, piercing the neck of the Spartan's armor. John could feel it digging ito his skin and tried to pull the tentacle out. Suddenly, he felt a bust of energy from his suit and his energy shields dropped to zero as the tentacle suddenly moved away. One of the AIs must have done something. It came up on his HUD and he asked what it did.
"I used the energy in your shields to attack the creature."
"Thanks," John said. "It's too powerful to be destroyed. We need to get it off of the ship."
Shadow's AI spoke up. "Is there any way to turn the creature back to normal?" It asked.
"I doubt it." John looked around for a way to get it off the ship.
He then saw a console and put the two AIs inside. They came up in their holographic forms.
"See if you can get this thing off the ship," he said.
One of them nodded. It took control of the ship and opened the cargo hold. "Now we just need to get him out of it."
The ship started to take off as the Flood screeched, trying to hold onto the door, but it flew off into space. John frowned. Flood could survive in space. He had a feeling this wasn't the last they'd see of it. Suddenly, the ship's thrusters maxed to their full power and started to destroy Halo.
"Get us out of here," he told the AI.
The AI nodded and did so, blasting away from Halo as the door closed. The Master Chief watched as Halo was destroyed.
"That's it," the AI said as it saw the destruction. "Halo...it's finished."
"No. The Covenant and the Black Arms are still out there. This was is far from over."
"Back to Earth we go."
The AI nodded and set coordinates for Earth, and they blasted off. "What are we going to do once we reach Earth?" John asked the AI. "I'd rather have a plan when we get there."
"We're working on it," the AI said. "Most likely the Covenant and the Black Arms will be there."
John nodded. "Maybe we should see what the situation is before coming up with a plan."
The AI nodded. "Scanning..." it said.
John waited for the AI to finish. "What did you find?" He asked it.
"They're everywhere. I can pinpoint their bases once we get there."
The Spartan nodded and put the two AIs in the holotank. They came up in their holographic forms and looked at him.
"How much longer until we get there?" he asked.
"We're 25,000 light years away from Earth. It will take us a few years to get there."
John sighed and sat back in a seat. "You don't suppose they'll have control of the planet by then, do you?"
"Most likely they will," one of the AIs said. It began to falter. "I can try to make the jump to slipspace but that might not work."
"What are the chances?"
"40 percent. The slipspace engine is damaged, however."
"I don't like that. Don't bother."
The AI nodded and looked at the other. "What shall we do?" It asked Shadow's hologram.
"You mean to pass the time?"
"Yeah."
Shadow's hologram thought over it. "I don't think there's much we can do."
The AI nodded, still looking at the other. "Alright," it said. "Once we get back to Earth...we'll have five years left."
"What do you mean?"
"Tails said we'll only have seven years until we die."
"I see what you're saying," the other AI said.
"How do you want to spend all that time?"
"We could help in the war," the first AI said. It looked at John and back to its AI partner. The hologram of Sonic looked at John as well. "How long do you think the war will last?"
John shrugged; he didn't know.
"Earlier, I calculated the war would take seven years or longer," Shadow's AI told them.
Sonic's AI frowned. "I hope it doesn't take that long."
The other AI shrugged. "I hope not," it said. "But we need to help John and the others any way we can."
"Of course." Sonic's AI looked at John again. "Are we going to stay with him the entire time?"
"Most likely. Unless the Commander wants us to do something else." It turned to the Spartan. "What do you think, Master Chief?"
"Sounds good to me."
The AI nodded and vanished into their holotanks. John sighed again. Without trying, he easily thought up things that could happen to the ship over the years it would take to reach Earth. He just hoped none of them happened. The Spartan saw a cryo tank and crawled inside it, knowing that the AIs would defend the ship. By the time the Pillar of Autumn reached Earth, they would probably arrive in the middle of a battle. John closed the cryo tank and closed his eyes.