(A/N): Sorry for the lack of update but I had a ton of problems I had to deal with. My dog who's been at my side for 14 years has passed away which put me under a lot of stress and it didn't help that school started to kick me in the face as well.
Anyway, I'm back now and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
Shout out to my mate and fellow writer zipscool. Thanks for the props mate!
This chapter is dedicated to Malon, my Pekingese who's helped me through more hurdles than I can count and been there for me whenever I needed her. Rest In Peace my dear old friend.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Halo but if I did, Master Chief would get his own version of MJOLINIR GEN-2 Armor.
The Planet Of Death
The UNSC Eagle's Shadow- Gym
"Not bad kid but you got a lot to learn,"
"Isn't that the point of this?"
Corey chuckled as he helped Van to his feet after yet again besting him in a friendly sparring match.
"Thanks for the talk the other night man...really helped me out," said Corey.
"Likewise," replied Van.
Corey glanced toward the treadmills to see Abby and Claire still hard at work running, each with a music player drowning out the world around them. Corey couldn't help but look at the golden-haired soldier he now called his "main squeeze". She wore a traditional sports top with slightly more than modest shorts that revealed enough of her glorious thighs to make most men focus on her. Next to her, Claire was virtually identical in her focus though she seemed to be going at a faster pace than her teammate. Van took pleasure in looking at her; he managed to convince her to be a little more open with everyone and much to everyone's delight, she began to train avidly with them.
"So how's ghost girl been?" asked Corey.
"Isn't that supposed to be confidential?" asked Van.
Corey chuckled.
"Just wondering how it's working for you man," remarked Corey with a shrug.
It was roughly a week since Echelon Team returned to space. They awaited the arrival of Thel'Vadam before setting off towards Sanghelios to pick up the selected team of Elites that would work with them in taking down the Flood in the Urs System. Thel decided to remain on Earth to help decipher the Covenant codes before setting off deciding it was for the better that he took a week to finish that to allow the UNSC to prepare defense forces. Van immediately thought back to the memories of John seeing Thel'Vadam again. For the entire week, it was well known around Halberd Base that John was continuing to degenerate and lose more and more of his mind over the loss of Cortana. Everyone was for the most part glad to see the Chief back on his feet and returning to active duty.
"I'm glad that Thel helped John get his mind off of everything," said Van.
Corey rolled his eyes, much to Van's surprise.
"Something wrong?" asked Van.
"Not holding John on that kind of pedestal," said Corey.
"Because of what happened to Cortana?" asked Van.
Corey looked at him, astonished at him being able to deduce the reason.
"You don't look like the type who respects someone who leaves another behind," said Van.
Corey nodded as Van put a hand on his shoulder.
"With a reputation as legendary as his, I seriously doubt that he would leave Cortana like that unless he had no alternative," said Van.
Corey nodded as Van stepped off the floor before turning to leave.
"Where you going?" he asked.
"Getting some sleep...haven't gotten much in the past few days," he replied.
"Why?" asked Corey.
Van's eyes narrowed.
"My sister's sick," he replied.
Corey's eyes widened.
"What's going on?" asked Corey.
"The doctors aren't sure what's going on...she's been in bed for the last four days," said Van.
"Is that why you disappeared for that time?" he asked.
Van nodded.
"So ghost girl followed you?" asked Corey.
"She came to meet her once but apart from that I was at home taking care of her," he replied.
"How's your mom?" he asked.
Van nodded, indicating that she was doing just fine. He turned to leave.
"Get some rest man...you look like crap," said Corey.
Several Hours Later- Van's Room
Claire entered the room after knocking several times with no response. To her surprise, she found Van fast asleep. She quietly approached him before gently rubbing his cheek, causing him to stir.
"Thel's here, Sarah sent me to get you," she said.
He nodded before rising from the sheets, showing his shirtless body. His eyes were heavy and red showing just how little rest he had gotten in the past few days. She caught a glimpse of his immensely toned body. It wasn't large in comparison to Corey or Rick's but he made up for size with overall tone; she could plainly see that he had an eight pack and a well built chest, something that ordinarily didn't show behind any clothing he wore. She turned away shyly, feeling a gentle heat build in her cheeks. Almost as if he sensed her discomfort, he stepped into the bathroom before dressing himself appropriately.
"Sorry about that," he said.
"It's ok...shall we go?" she asked.
He nodded but as he stepped out to leave, Claire's hand shot out and grabbed his, freezing him in his tracks.
"You still haven't been sleeping," she said.
"I'm trying but it's not working and there's no way I'm turning to those enhanced drugs that only work on us SPARTANs," he replied.
Much to his surprise, she moved closer and placed a hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes before turning away.
"You're not going to be very useful to the team in this state," she said.
"I wish I could help that but you know how much she means to me," he replied.
She looked at his face, noticing it was no longer devoid of emotion but was replaced with clear worry.
"She hasn't improved?" she asked.
Van shook his head slowly before she pulled him into a reassuring embrace.
"She'll be fine; her mother is one of the most brilliant minds alive in the UNSC," she said.
"Fenrir died yesterday too...so that didn't really do anything to help," said Van.
"The wolf hybrid her boyfriend bred for her?" asked Claire.
Van nodded.
"It seems no matter how much I try to help you always have some horrible event to add to the pile," said Claire.
Van looked away feeling disgusted; his life hadn't really been going for the better and Claire was probably the only saving grace he had besides his mother. The loss of Fenrir really hurt him as well; the dog was a valued friend who had saved him on more than one occasion during hunting trips.
"But I'll be here for you...whenever you need me," she whispered.
Van looked at her, very much appreciative of her words. He smiled slightly.
"Thanks...I'll do my best to come up with some good ones," he said.
Much to his surprise, she gently kissed him. They walked out of the room, him holding her hand and leading the way much to both her chagrin and joy.
"I'm going to start staying in here at night," she said.
"Why?" he asked.
"To make sure you fall asleep because if you don't, I'm going to knock you out so you'll have no choice but to," she replied with her own version of an evil smile.
The UNSC Eagle's Shadow- Rick's Room
"Thel's here," said Selina.
Rick rolled his eyes and shoved a pillow over his face as she closed her phone.
"We have to go to the briefing room now," she said.
"I'm really not in the mood to hear this guy tell us that we need to wait for his lackeys to get here so we can take care of something I'd rather us do ourselves," he replied.
"You're not open to the fact of having them work alongside us?" she asked.
"I appreciate the fact that they're nice enough to want to send backup but honestly we're the best of the best for a reason...that and I still don't trust them," he replied.
Selina rolled her eyes.
"You realize how stupid you sound don't you?" she asked.
"I'm being realistic; aliens are aliens, Thel is different because he actually helped John but I don't know any other name that's significant," said Rick.
He rose from the bed before clothing himself appropriately.
"Let's get this over with," he said.
The UNSC Eagle's Shadow- Briefing Room
"We've managed to decipher all of the data you retrieved from the base so we now know exactly what their program consists of," said Thel.
"What about the planet?" asked Corey.
"The council has not agreed to supply the team as promised as none of the candidates have completed their training," he replied.
"What if we had someone with experience against the Flood?" asked Sarah.
Thel smiled.
"Which is precisely the reason I personally assembled a team of volunteers myself," he replied.
"Where are they?" asked Crystal.
"They are at a small outpost we have managed to establish on the planet and await our arrival," replied Thel.
"Good so that's our next stop," said Abby.
He nodded.
"I also asked a friend to accompany us," he said.
Much to everyone's surprise, the doors opened to reveal none other than The Master Chief.
"He and I have fought the Flood before and we thought it best that we accompany you on this mission," said Thel.
Corey looked at him with distaste but no one seemed to notice it. Kyle immediately lit up upon sight of the legendary commando.
"You kids have a lot to learn about fighting The Flood," said Sarah.
The Chief pulled up a chair before sitting.
"Here's a crash course in Flood killing," he said.
Sarah pressed a button on the remote in her hand to bring up a picture of a Flood Infection Form.
"That little thing is the most feared organism in the galaxy?" asked Crystal.
"This small thing as you call it is capable of wiping out an entire species on it's own," said Thel.
"These are the most basic form of the Flood, they attack is large numbers and will attempt to kill their target before infecting and reanimating the corpse," said The Chief.
Sarah clicked again.
"They are however very fragile and the standard issue shields are more than capable of withstanding an assault from several of them but they self-destruct which can eventually weaken the shields until finally, they get at your flesh which is something you DO NOT want," said The Chief.
"So the key to surviving is to not let our shields get depleted?"asked Claire.
"Precisely but that is much easier said than done when they have their infected hosts attacking you as well," said Thel.
"The Flood will always have the numbers advantage so the only thing we can do is destroy the Gravemind which is the collective intelligence of the generation of Flood, once we take out the Gravemind, the rest of the infection will die out quickly," said The Chief.
"...But that's also easier said than done," said Van.
"The Gravemind is extremely intelligent and it guarded by an uncountable number of Flood which brings us to the greatest threat the Flood have," said Sarah.
She clicked once more to reveal the Pure Form.
"This is the Pure Form, it is capable of shape-shifting from a creature that fires razor sharp needles from it's back to a hulking beast that can end you in a single blow," said Thel.
"You do not engage this form alone; it will win and you cannot stop it," said The Chief.
"I take it there will be an uncountable number of these things," said Selina.
"The Flood create these forms to back up whatever they've already infected so expect them to form the backbone of their forces," said Thel.
"The best chance you have is to destroy the brain and the infection form present in the body, otherwise you DO NOT engage," said The Chief.
His tone was deathly serious.
"They attacked Earth didn't they," said Corey.
The Chief nodded.
"I saw many people get infected...I'll be damned before I see it happen again," said The Chief.
Thel leaned over the table.
"We'll rendezvous with the team tomorrow morning as they are still in transit from Sanghelios, I suggest getting some rest," he said.
The Chief then looked at Sarah.
"The best weapons you can use against the Flood are the shotgun and the SAW, everything else will do little to nothing unless you've got precise accuracy," said The Chief.
Selina and Claire smiled to themselves which caught the attention of the Chief. He smiled to himself behind his helmet.
"Dismissed, get some rest because we're in for a long day tomorrow," said Sarah.
The Next Day- The Sanghelli Outpost
"Thel'Vadam...it is an honor to have you here with us,"
"At ease my brother, no formalities are necessary," said The Arbiter.
Corey smiled at the respect the other Elites had for Thel; he was roughly the equivalent of what the Chief was to the human race or more. The Elite who greeted them then gestured to follow him. After a short walk, the team was greeted by the sight of five Elites.
"This is the team you handpicked Thel?" asked Sarah.
"They are our most capable fighters," he replied.
One of the Elite's immediately walked up to the Chief and eyed him.
"This is the one known as The Demon?" he asked.
Thel smiled at his comrade.
"Indeed he is young one but be warned; he is much more resilient than he appears," said Thel.
"Voro, it's impolite to stare," said one of the others.
The one known as Voro was smaller than the rest of the team but did not lack even remotely in the muscle department. There was a large criss cross scar above his eye but apart from that sole physical difference, there was no way to distinguish him from the rest without their armor on. The one who called to him approached the Chief.
"My apologies for our comrade; he is very eager to begin our mission," he said.
The Arbiter approached him before laying a hand on his shoulder.
"A quality not often seen amongst a team whose task is so vital," he said.
The Elite bowed.
"My name is Alei'Lhenat, I am the leader of the team," he said.
Alei was definitelly one of the largest members of the team, standing at a staggering seven and a half feet tall that was backed up by a massive amount of muscle. Another Elite soon approached.
"Vaz Turian at your service," he said also with a polite bow.
Thel immediate turned around to see what seemed to be the youngest member of the team followed by an intimidatingly large female.
"I am T'kina Maxim, this is my son Thal Moram," she said,
The voice of the female sent chills down each of Echelon's members' spines.
"I'm grateful for your participation," said Thel.
"Anything to rid our system of these abominations," she said.
"We have a general layout of the area inside," said Alei.
The soldiers entered the building and looked towards a large deck with a gigantic hologram being projected from it.
"This outpost is one of a few uninfected parts of the planet, our scouts have indicated that the Gravemind's most likely position is two hundred miles south of this location," said Alei.
"Sounds easy enough," said Corey.
"It would be if they did not infect the majority of the populace of this planet, including the wildlife which is notoriously dangerous," said T'kina.
Thel looked to the floor.
"They infected the Weltids?" he asked.
"That and virtually everything else on this planet," said Vaz.
"Wel-what?" asked Corey.
"A Weltid is one of the rites of passage for our males to take on during growth," said T'kina.
The desk shifted to the picture of a large creature. It stood at least ten feet tall and was very muscular. It had four claw like appendages jutting from the back of each hand and it had razor sharp teeth.
"This animal is considered to be one of the greatest accomplishments for a male to slay as it is amongst one of the most vicious beasts in the galaxy," said T'kina.
"With a creature that massive under the control of the Gravemind...I think this mission just became three times as difficult," said Kyle.
"This is why this planet is known as The Planet Of Death; not many of our warriors get through this rite of passage and many die during the hunt," said Alei.
The Chief looked outside the window.
"How quickly can we reach the location of the Gravemind?" he asked.
"Within an hour," said T'kina.
"The Gravemind probably knows we're here," said Claire.
The Chief nodded in agreement.
"Considering that almost all of the planet has been infected, the Gravemind probably has an uncountable number of soldiers at it's command but I have an idea that may work...but it's incredibly risky," said Alei.
He pressed a few buttons and the hologram shifted to the area where the scouts determined was the Gravemind's location.
"We create a distraction for a team to enter the cave and destroy the source of the infection," said Alei.
"You mean we have to be bait for the majority of their forces?" asked Corey.
"It is very risky...but there's no way we will be able to penetrate the defenses without some alleviation of the pressure," said Vaz.
Corey immediately stepped up.
"Abi and Crystal, I want you two to be a part of the insertion team," said Corey.
"What? You expect me to go in while the rest of you fight an almost hopeless battle?" she growled.
"You're probably the best chance we have at clearing the whole cave of them considering you're so good with all things that go boom and Crystal can patch you up if things get hairy," said Corey.
"I agree," said Kyle.
The Chief stepped up and approached Corey.
"I suggest you take two more with you, Van and you would do well in a close quarters situation like that," said the Chief.
Van nodded as did Corey.
"The rest of you will remain with the outside forces that will draw their attention, I will take T'kina, Thal and Voro with me for the rest of the inserion team," said Thel.
"Yes Commander," said the Elites.
Thel then turned to the Chief.
"You must keep them busy for as long as you are able; we will get it done," said Thel.
"Count on it," said The Chief.
"You have your orders, move out!" said Sarah.
"Yes ma'am!" said Echelon Team.
The soldiers scrambled to their vehicles, Echelon Team taking a Pelican while the Elites took a Phantom. The operation had begun.
Again I apologize for the long wait. Hope I didn't lose any of you all. Hope you guys enjoy this.
