Here's Chapter 25. Things start diverging. And yes, I know I'm probably portraying the Elites as smarter and more open-minded & accepting than they are in canon.
-CHAPTER START-
Halo Installation 05
Subterranean complex deep below the Library
November 4th, 2552
Consciousness came quickly, as Teana realized that she was still in her armor, still had Cross Mirage clipped to her hip in pistol form, and was being held up by… something, which was wrapped around her torso. The thing holding her moved, pulling her through the air, and she caught sight of the Master Chief to her left, also held by… a tentacle? So that's what it was. And Teana had the feeling that this was not going to turn out like that adults-only anime she saw on TV once (and then watched again. And then downloaded and added to her computer's private files). Sure enough, the tentacles pulled them forward, and they came face-to-something with a bizarre, massive thing… a thing that Teana could tell just by looking at was a Flood form. A big one.
"What" Cortana said "is that?"
"I?" it responded telepathically in a deep, rumbling bass."I AM A MONUMENT TO ALL YOUR SINS."
Just then, a third figure was brought forth, struggling futilely to escape the Flood King's grasp. It was an Elite, clad in ornate silver armor and a black-and-blue bodysuit.
"Relax" the Chief told him. "I'd rather not get this thing angry."
"Demon?" the Elite spotted the Spartans, recognizing Regret's killer. The three suddenly felt their minds – their surface thoughts and memories – being gazed upon, and the massive Flood creature held them aloft, analyzing them.
"THIS ONE IS MACHINE AND NERVE," he said, looking at the Chief, "AND HAS HIS MIND CONCLUDED."
The creature turned to look at the Arbiter. "THIS ONE IS BUT FLESH AND FAITH, AND IS THE MORE DELUDED."
It looked at Teana. "THIS ONE IS YOUNG, LACKS THE WISDOM OF THE FIRST, BUT HAS THOUGHTS CLEARER THAN THOSE OF THE SECOND. AND SOMETHING ELSE… AH! A MAGE, WITH A SEALED CORE. AND YOUR STYLE OF MAGIC – 'MIDCHILDAN' - LOOKS TO HAVE BEEN DERIVED OR DESCENDED FROM THE FORERUNNERS'. INTERESTING…"
"Either let us loose or kill me and be done with it, parasite," the Arbiter said, "but do not waste my time with talk!"
"THERE IS MUCH TALK," the thing responded to the Arbiter, "AND I HAVE LISTENED, THROUGH ROCK AND METAL AND TIME. NOT I SHALL TALK, AND YOU WILL LISTEN…"
Two more tentacles came up. The thinner one was wrapped around a red-eyed Monitor, and the thicker one had the horrible sight of a Prophet seemingly partially absorbed into it.
"Greetings!" the Monitor said. "I am 2401 Penitent Tangent. I am the Monitor of Installation 05."
"And I am the Prophet of Regret!" the not-technically-alive other said. "Councilor most high… Hierarch of the Covenant!"
"Reclaimers? Here? At last! We have much to do! This facility must be activated if we are to control this outbreak!"
"Stay where you are! Nothing can be done until my sermon is complete!"
"Not true. This installation has a successful utilization record of 1.2 trillion simulated and one actual. It is ready to fire on demand."
"Of all the objects our Lords left behind," Regret turned to speak to the Arbiter, "there are none so worthless as these Oracles! They know nothing of the Great Journey!"
"And you know nothing about containment!" the Monitor snapped at him. "You have demonstrated complete disregard for even the most basic protocols!"
"THIS ONE'S CONTAINMENT," a shrug of disgust, "AND THIS ONE'S GREAT JOURNEY ARE THE SAME."
The two were pulled out of sight, Regret screaming as he was fully absorbed. For the next several seconds, the Prophet's voice could be heard as part of the Flood King's, fading out as the last of him was absorbed. He turned to the Arbiter.
"YOUR PROPHETS HAVE PROMISED YOU FREEDOM FROM A DOOMED EXISTENCE, BUT YOU WILL FIND NO SALVATION ON THIS RING. THOSE WHO BUILT THIS PLACE KNEW WHAT THEY WROUGHT; DO NOT MISTAKE THEIR INTENT, OR ALL WILL PERISH AS THEY DID BEFORE."
"This thing is right" the Chief interjected. "The Halos are a weapon. Your Prophets are making a huge mistake."
"They're a sterilization array" Teana continued, "meant to starve the Flood by killing all sapient life in the galaxy."
"Your ignorance already destroyed one of the Sacred Rings, demons. It shall not harm another!" The Spartans could hear the hesitation in the Elite's voice; seeds of doubt had been sown.
"IF YOU WILL NOT HEAR THE TRUTH," the Flood King – now identified to the Spartans by Cortana's Halo-found data-tracks as the Flood's central commanding super-intelligence known as the Gravemind – said, "THEN I WILL SHOT IT TO YOU. THERE IS STILL TIME TO STOP THE KEY FROM TURNING, BUT FIRST IT MUST BE FOUND. YOU TWO WILL SEARCH ONE LIKELY SPOT, WHILE YOU WILL SEARCH ANOTHER. FATE HAD US MEET AS FOES, BUT THIS RING WILL MAKE US BROTHERS!"
The Gravemind tapped into Halo's teleportation grid. While he was too large to be teleported, he could still send others through the grid. The trio disappeared in rings of golden light.
-SCENE BREAK-
Covenant Holy City High Charity
"We are, all of us, gravely concerned."
The masses were borderline rioting, as Brute Honor Guards stood between them and the Council Chamber, where Truth & Mercy currently were, the forming broadcasting over a city- and fleet-wide comm. channel.
"The release of the Parasite was unexpected, unfortunate, but… there is no need to panic. In truth, this is a time to rejoice, a moment all the Covenant should savor, for the Sacred Icon has been found! With it, our path is clear, our entry into the Divine Beyond guaranteed! The Great Journey is nigh, and nothing, not even the Flood, can stop it."
Just as these last few words left Truth's lips, two pillars of golden rings appeared, and faded out to reveal two Spartans. The Chief looked down at a Grunt next to him.
"Boo."
The Grunt screamed, running away as the Chief stole his needler. Teana switched Mirage to Shotgun Mode, and the two Spartans aimed at the Prophets. The Brute Honor Guards crossed their staffs between the Prophets and the intruders, as Truth activated an energy shield built into his hover-throne. "Kill the demons!" he ordered, as the platform he & Mercy were on descended into the floor.
Inside Job
The two Honor Guard Brutes tossed aside their staffs and drew red plasma rifles, and opened fire. The bolts of these rifles were red, and their rate of fire was faster than the Elite model. The Chief fired the needler at the guard on the left, and nine needles stuck in and blew the beast's torso apart. The other one dropped its rifle and charged them at surprising speed, but Teana waited until it was within four feet and pulled the trigger, the 8-gauge buckshot tearing through the Brute's skull. Three Grunts came out from the side doors and were quickly dealt with, not expecting the reported intruders to be a pair of 'Demons'.
"The Demons have infiltrated the Council Chamber!" A Brute's voice came over the intercom. "Protect the Hierarchs; seal the exits!"
"Oh, I don't think so…" Cortana said, highlighting a terminal by the far door on the Chief's HUD. Before he could head over there, though, three more Brutes came out from the upper levels. One jumped down and was killed by Teana. The Chief grabbed a dead Grunt's needler and dual-wielded, quickly taking down the other two Brutes. The platform/elevator at the back of the room re-emerged, carrying two gold-armored Brute Captains, one with a plasma repeater and the other with a carbine. A plasma grenade took out the one carrying the repeater, and Teana shotgunned the carbine-wielder; the Chief took the carbine and four spare clips of ammo for it from the body. They walked over to the locked exit, and the Chief placed Cortana into the terminal.
"The Prophet of Truth has the Index" she said. "We have to take it from him. Let me get these doors." The red doors turned purple and slid open. They looked at Cortana. "Go" she said. "It'll be easier to track Truth if I stay in the network."
They moved through, reaching a room with five Grunts (one manning a plasma turret) and three Brutes. The Chief used his carbine to kill the turret-gunner, while Teana switched Mirage to Rifle Mode and fired a 40mm grenade into the Brutes, stunning and wounding them; a few single shots to the heads finished them off. The last Brute tossed its weapon down and was about to charge when a carbine bolt took its life. Through the next door, they reached a long platform overlooking the city. A Brute Captain with a concussion rifle was waiting for them, and they barely dodged a trio of plasma shells. A plasma grenade from Teana stuck to the weapon, and the Brute tried to toss it aside; however, the detonation set off the plasma remaining in the gun's current ammo clip, and the resulting compound detonation roasted the Brute. They killed a few Jackals, a few Grunts, and a gold-armored Skirmisher in the area, and then a trio of Brutes – two in partial blue armor and one in shiny gold – emerged from the gravity lift ahead. The Brute Minors fired their needle rifles, while the Captain lobbed two Brute Shot grenades at the Spartan pair. The Chief used his needlers to kill the Captain, while Teana used Mirage Rifle to gun down one of the Minors. The remaining Brute charged, and as it pounced the Chief deliberately dropped onto his back and spring-kicked the Brute past him and over the edge. He got back up, and walked over to an ammo crate to stock up on carbine rounds. Teana picked up the Brute Shot, which only had three shots in it. They then walked over to the gravity lift, where Cortana was waiting.
"Truth is moving through the lower levels of this tower" she said. "I'll reverse this grav-lift; drop down and try to cut him off."
The hatch opened, the swirling patterns now heading down instead of up. The Spartans stepped in and rode it down, Teana firing a Brute Shot round to kill the two Jackals and two Grunts that stepped out through the next doorway. They entered the quiet, empty room.
"Reinforce all approaches to the holding pens" a Brute said over the intercom. "Slay the Demons on sight!"
"They're beefing up their patrols" Cortana reported. "Stay sharp."
They moved through the next door to a hallway, the Chief tossing his only frag grenade to kill a trio of high-rank Jackals. They moved in, Teana firing a rifle grenade from Mirage to kill the two remaining Jackals, and then opening fire on a Brute. The Chief used his carbine to kill the other Brute in the hall, just as Teana brought her target down. Three Grunts and a Brute Minor came in from the door at the end, and the Grunts were quickly head-shotted by the Chief while Teana took out the Brute.
"Wait a minute!" Cortana radioed. "I'm reading UNSC marine IFF transponders! The signals are originating somewhere below your position."
"Good" Teana said. "Now we can find some distractions- er, I mean 'backup'."
The Chief glared at her, but said nothing.
They entered the next hallway, killing a few sleeping Grunts and a drowsy Brute, and moved through quietly until they were spotted by another Brute, who opened fire, waking up the five other sleeping Grunts further down the hall. They blasted their way through the Covenant, reaching the next room, a larger two-leveled room with a gravity lift in the middle. The duo killed the Brutes and Skirmishers in the room, Teana grabbing more ammo for her Brute Shot while the Chief gathered three spike grenades. Another wave of Brutes and Grunts came through the side doors, but a few plasma grenades cleared them out. They went to the lower level and stepped into the gravity lift.
"There are two groups of marines in this detention block" Cortana reported as they were carried down. "I'll zero their locations; you two neutralize the guards… quietly."
They reached the prison complex, landing behind a Brute. The Chief drove his knife through the beast's neck, and they quickly ducked down out of sight. Teana had Cross Mirage scan the immediate area: two patrolling Jackals, and multiple sleeping Grunts. The two Spartans split up, successfully stealth-killing the Jackals and then rendering the Grunts' sleep permanent. They met up at the lift and rode it down to the second level. They assassinated another Brute guard, and entered the only unlocked prison chamber. Inside were a Brute Captain and two Jackals. Teana killed the Brute with two Brute Shot grenades, while the Chief used his carbine to kill the Jackals. With the way clear, Cortana opened the cells, and four marines climbed out, grabbing various Covenant weapons (namely, a plasma pistol, two plasma rifles, and a needler).
"Listen up, marines!" Cortana said. "The Spartans are hunting a Prophet! And you're gonna help 'em kill it! Chief, Lanstar, come to the lower level. One more group of marines to go."
The team exited the chamber, killing the Grunt and two Skirmishers that came up from the lower level, and rode the lift down. They fought their way through more guards, though one of the marines wielding a plasma rifle was killed, several plasma bolts from a Jackal burning through his head and neck. They reached the next detention block, and the Chief snuck in and assassinated the lone Brute, while the marines dispatched the sleeping Grunts. Cortana opened the cells, and three marines joined the party, grabbing a carbine, a needler, and a brute plasma rifle.
"That's all of the marines, Spartans" Cortana said. "Good work. Now let's go chase down that Prophet."
The team of two Spartans and six marines headed up to the top level. Suddenly, Cortana radioed them: "Hostile reinforcements, coming down the lift!" Three Brutes, four Skirmishers, and eight Grunts arrived, two of the latter setting up plasma turrets. The squad fought their way through, aided by the Chief's dual needlers and Tia's grenade launcher, killing the Covenant but losing the plasma-pistol marine. They all got aboard the gravity lift and rode it up. At the top, there were two dead Elites, one of them an Honor Guard with silver armor instead of red. The Chief scavenged the Elite's plasma sword, clipping it to his right hip.
"Fear not, my brothers," Truth broadcasted over the intercom, "the Sacred Icon is secure. It was Tartarus and his Jiralhanae who secured the Icon from the Flood. For that they have our thanks."
"Excellent" Cortana said. "Truth is broadcasting on the move. That'll make him much easier to track."
Just then, three Elite Minors and a swarm of Drones came through the door ahead. They were all killed, though one of the needler marines was as well. During the battle, something odd was noticed: the Drones and the Elites were shooting at each other as well as at the humans. What's more, when the team of seven entered the next hallway, they found three more dead Elites, along with two Elite Honor Guards trading fire with another group of Drones. The Chief signaled the rest of the squad to hang back. The Elites managed to kill the Drones along with two interrupting Brute Minors, and then moved on, hanging a left in the next inter-hallway connection and locking the door behind them.
"What the hell?" a marine asked.
"Recent data suggests that the Covenant is seriously unstable politically as of late" Cortana answered. "Maybe the Spartans' actions have set something in motion…"
"Which is why if we find any more fights," the Chief continued, "we'll hang back and let them tear each other up before we jump in."
They passed through the door, and the door ahead opened to reveal a Drone swarm… that was torn apart by automatic fire from Teana's device/rifle as they funneled through the small connecting room. The squad moved on to the next hallway.
"The Sangheili have failed to protect the Prophets," Truth broadcasted, "and in so doing put all our lives at risk. Let no warrior forget his oath: 'thou in faith shall keep us safe, whilst we find the path'."
"I've got a fix on Truth just outside this tower" Cortana radioed. "There's an exit nearby; hurry."
Ahead, Jackals and Brutes did battle with three more Elite Honor Guards. The Elites on, though one of them was killed, and move on. After about half a minute, the human squad followed. They entered another room, and three of the marines moved forward, scouting ahead… and were promptly vaporized by an explosive fuel-rod shot from a Loyalist Hunter. The two Spartans and two remaining marines promptly dove into cover. Teana switched Mirage to Sniper Mode, as the Chief readied his carbine.
Five minutes later, the Hunters were dead, but so were the last of the marines. The Spartan pair, alone again, moved on. They came to a large, rocky area, where Elites & Grunts fought Brutes & Jackals.
"With my blessing, the Jiralhanae now lead our fleets" Truth broadcasted. "They ask for your allegiance, and you shall give it!"
"You wouldn't believe the number of kill-systems the Covenant are throwing down around me" Cortana reported.
"Can you handle them?" Teana asked.
"Don't worry, it's pretty sloppy stuff. I guess they never expected a hostile intelligence to penetrate their networks from the inside."
A little while in, a Separatist Hunter pair entered the area to support the Elites, followed by a Drone swarm assisting the Brutes. Teana took out the Jackal Snipers, and the Spartan pair then found a seat and watched the carnage. While they waited, they and Cortana discussed their options. Eventually, they came to their decision.
The battle finally ended, the Brutes victorious due to larger numbers (though there were only two left now), and the Spartans leapt in and killed the hostile pair. They crossed the rocky area, killing three more Brutes that emerged and passing through their next door, finding a long, downward-sloping hallway.
"The Covenant just destroyed six of their own ships!" Cortana reported. "And I'm getting countless reports of small-arms fire throughout the fleet! I knew the Covenant was unstable, but I didn't see this coming…"
"So what do we have?" the Chief asked.
"Truth has betrayed the Elites. Sides have been chosen amongst the other species. Reports from out-system have confirmed it: the Covenant has descended into a full-scale civil war."
The Spartans mulled this over as they exited the hallway to find a horizontal gravity-lift. As they approached it, there was a flash of light to the left. A slipspace rift opened, and from it came a UNSC frigate: the In Amber Clad. It soared overhead, flying left and disappearing from sight.
"Be glad!" Truth broadcasted. "A reward for all your toil and sacrifice is near at hand!"
"Hailing… no response" Cortana reported. "She's crashed into another tower ahead of our position. I'll keep trying to make contact, but I'm not registering any human vital signs."
They took the lift-bridge across, and hid behind cover as Brutes & Elites emerged and starting killing each other. Afterward, the lone survivor – an injured Brute – was taken down by a skull-shot from the Chief, and the Spartan pair went around the tower to a large, long area, where Elites & Brutes did battle. Following their earlier decision, the two Spartans started picking off Brutes… while leaving the Elites untouched. At the end, the five surviving Elites (an Honor Guard, a Major, a Minor, and two Rangers) spotted the Spartans walking toward them, weapons away. The Elites kept their guns trained on the armored humans, but did not fire.
"Well," the Chief said after several awkward seconds, "since the Covenant has split, we decided that we might as well pick a side. Besides, you Elites actually have some morality and honor, unlike the Brutes who slaughter everything in sight. Plus, you're smarter, so you'd be more valuable as allies."
"Plus there's the whole thing with you guys being the only ones to think that we humans are worth something besides target practice or food" Teana added in.
"What is your business here on High Charity, humans?" the Honor Guard asked, now a bit more cordial.
"We're hunting the High Prophet of Truth," Cortana said as she appeared from a nearby holo-terminal, "to stop him from dooming us all."
"We, too, plan to pursue Truth," a Ranger said, "for he and his Jiralhanae have committed a most unforgivable betrayal against us. What's more, he plans to start the Great Journey while leaving our people behind."
"Yeah, about that…" Cortana said.
For the next few minutes, Cortana outlined the truth of the Halos, erasing the Elites' doubt by showing data directly from Halo-04's core. The Elites were horrified.
"Our Covenant… is based on lies?"
"Not lies, necessarily" Cortana replied. "The Forerunners' written language is multi-leveled and very complex, and the Covenant have made countless translation errors. The Covenant is built on mistranslations, not lies. We humans have something called Hanlon's Razor: 'Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity'. The Prophets weren't technically lying, since they didn't know the truth either."
"But why would they order humanity's destruction?" the Major asked. "Quite frankly, I cannot see how a mistranslation could lead to that."
Cortana let out a sad sigh. "I don't know. Perhaps Truth found something in Forerunner records that mentioned us; something that worried him, that made him consider us a threat to him… or, more likely, to his power and influence."
"…And he would've falsely decreed you as heretics to protect himself" the Elites were now quite angry, both at Truth and at themselves.
"I just remembered!" one of the Rangers said. "Some time ago, shortly after the destruction of the Sacr- …of Halo-04, the Arbiter captured that Halo's Oracle… Monitor, rather. Truth most likely will have learned the truth from it by now. But why would he seek to activate the Rings if he knew what that would do?"
"Perhaps he means to rid the galaxy of his enemies – including humanity and us – while somehow keeping himself safe from the effect."
The Spartans stood back, thinking about the – rather sensible and likely – possibilities that the Elites were coming up with. Teana, in particular, had already been angry enough that the war that had killed Noble Team was some religious crusade. But the possibility that it was actually all because of one person's greed and lust for power… she was so angry that she was starting to shake. The Chief wasn't faring much better, though he kept a tighter leash on his anger, turning it into cold, silent hatred toward the High Prophet.
After much deliberation, the Elites made their decision. The Honor Guard would head back the way the Spartans came and find a broadcast terminal (Cortana uploaded a map to the closest one to him), and inform all the Elites and those who sided with them, all across High Charity and Halo-05, that the Demons were allies in their vendetta against the Prophets. He would then broadcast the truth of the Halos, in the form of a copy of the data given to him by Cortana. Lastly, the Elite Major would accompany the Spartans while the rest of them went with the Honor Guard, so as to ensure that their brethren did not attack the human pair before the broadcast could be sent.
As the HG and the three other Elites went off, the trio moved forward, rounding a corner and finding another fight between Elites & Grunts vs. Brutes & Jackals. The trio assisted the Elite Special-Ops team in fighting off the enemy, and the Major explained the situation to his comrades. The two Spec-Ops Elites and the lone surviving Grunt decided to accompany the mixed-species assault team in pursuing Truth and killing those loyal to him. They crossed the horizontal grav-lift, passing through a hallway (killing a trio of Drones) and entering a chamber where three blue-armored Elites and two Elite Rangers fought against a trio of Brutes and a half-dozen Drones. The Elite Major and Teana gunned down the Drones, while the Chief and the Spec-Ops dealt with the Brutes. By now, the Honor Guard had gotten the 'humans are allies' message across, though he had followed Cortana's last-second suggestion to hold off on the truth behind the Halos until after Truth was dealt with, so as to avoid causing a loss of morale in some of the Separatists from having their world-view shattered.
"At this moment," Truth broadcasted, "the councilors gather on Halo, to see the Icon safely placed."
"Rise, pack-brothers!" Tartarus pitched in. "Cast down the Sangheili!"
"There are those who said this day would never come. What have they to say now?"
"Once the towers are clear, we'll drive them from the lower districts!"
The team gathered in the center (one of the Elite Rangers had been killed in the fight). A force of three Jackals stepped through the door nearby, only for the one at the rear to suddenly draw his knife and kill the other two. He identified himself as a member of the Ikrut Clan, the clan that Chen S'Yar belonged to. After about a minute of planning, the friendly Jackal accompanied the Grunt, the Ranger, and two of the blue-armored Elites down a separate path, to link up with another Sangheili force progressing toward one of High Charity's armories, while the two Spartans and three other Elites continued on after Truth. They passed through a hallway, reaching another gravity bridge. They crossed it, finding a strangely empty area.
"I have listened to the Oracle," Truth broadcasted, "and he confirmed out deepest hope: the Great Journey begins with Halo."
One of the Elites scoffed; Truth was still telling lies to lead his followers.
"The Sangheili are falling back to the Mausoleum" a Brute Chieftain added in. "Fools! Their Arbiter can do nothing for them now."
"Wrong!" Teana said aloud, catching the Elites' attention. "The Arbiter is the one wearing that skimpy silver armor, right? We saw him alive less than three hours ago."
This bit of news raised the team's Elites' spirits, knowing that their Arbiter still lived. The team rounded the corner, finding two Brutes chasing down a pack of terrified Grunts. One of the Spec-Ops Elites dashed in and used his sword to slice apart the nearest Brute, catching the attention of the five surviving Grunts, who immediately ran to the Elites' side. The other Brute charged, only to spot the rest of the assault team waiting for it; the Chief ran forward and tackled it, knocking it over the edge. They continued on, reaching another grav-bridge. The Elite Minor volunteered to stay behind and prevent any pursuing Loyalists from passing; three of the Grunts stayed with him, while the other two accompanied the assault team across the bridge.
They entered a hallway/slope that went upward; from the door at the top came three Brutes (two Captains and a Minor), who were quickly sniped by Teana. The team made their way up, reaching another large, rocky area, where down below three Elites and a half-dozen Grunts were engaged in battle with four Brutes. The assault team quickly killed the Covenant forces (including the two Jackal Snipers), and when a second wave of Brutes came out they also met a quick and brutal end. The team made their way up the rock slope and to the other door, where five Elites (a General, two Spec-Ops, and two Ultras) and a green-armored Grunt carrying a fuel-rod cannon came out to meet them. The Ultras stayed behind, as did one of the lesser Grunts, while the fuel-rod Grunt, the two Spec-Ops Elites, and the General joined the assault team.
(Trying to keep track here: the Master Chief, Teana, an Elite General, an Elite Major, an Elite Ranger, four Spec-Ops Elites, and two Grunts – one fuel-rod and one needler)
They moved on, linking up in the next room with an Elite Ultra, another Spec-Ops Elite, and four Spec-Ops Grunts. They all chose to remain here as an obstacle to the Brutes, though the Ultra did hand the Chief a fuel-rod gun with three spare five-packs of ammo, while the FRG Grunt picked up two extra packs. They reached another gravity lift chamber, though Cortana mentioned that they needed to move on through the door on the other side rather than take the lift. Two Spec-Ops Elites and two Grunts guarded the room. From the other door suddenly came three Brutes and two Skirmishers. They were brought down by the overwhelming firepower brought to bear on them, and the assault team continued through, reaching the pathway that led to a large, unique-looking structure.
"If we're going to catch Truth," Cortana radioed, "we'll need to take a shortcut, straight through the Mausoleum."
A trio of Brutes and a Jackal were killed before they could even turn fully around to face the newcomers, and the team moved to the center, finding two Elites – one red-armored and one blue-armored – and a Shade turret. A swarm of Drones attacked and were quickly killed. Further down, another group of Separatists – three Spec-Ops Elites, four Spec-Ops Grunts, and a Hunter pair – came out of the Mausoleum, engaging another, larger Drone swarm in battle. The assault team rushed in to render assistance, and the swarm was quickly swatted, though two of the Grunts were killed by the buggers.
(The Master Chief, Teana, an Elite General, two Elite Majors, an Elite Ranger, seven Spec-Ops Elites, an Elite Minor, two Hunters, and five Grunts)
The now even-larger force entered the Mausoleum, to find a quartet of Brute Captains engaging three Elite Ultras (one with a fuel rod gun, one with a plasma repeater, and one with a concussion rifle) in battle. One of the Hunters fired an explosive round, which destroyed one Brute from mid-torso up. Teana sniped a second Brute and then switched Mirage to Rifle Mode, wounding a third that one of the Ultras then finished off.
"Alert!" Cortana reported. "Multiple waves of Covenant Loyalists approaching the Mausoleum! Everyone, get ready!"
The assault team hunkered in, finding cover and readying weapons. Half a minute later, a pack of 15 high-ranking Brutes rushed in from the side passages, and the assault team opened fire. When 6 of the Brutes had been taken down, friendly reinforcements arrived, in the form of another Hunter pair. The four Hunters helped greatly in killing the rest of the Brutes. By the end, three of the Grunts, an Elite Major, and a Spec-Ops Elite were dead. The remainder of the squad moved on, linking up with two more Spec-Ops Elites and an Elite Honor Guard Captain.
"Hang on" Cortana said. "I'm picking up two more transponders. It's the Commander and Johnson! They're closing on Truth's position! They'll need your help!"
As they approached the door, a Brute Chieftain stepped through, wielding a gravity hammer. The Master Chief charged in, igniting his plasma sword, and locked it with the hammer's shaft, stopping its swing. He rolled to the side and swung, draining the Chieftain's shields almost completely. The Chieftain roared and swung the hammer blade-first at the Chief; the strike clipped him, draining his shields by ¾. He thrusted the blade forward, and it punched through the weakened shields and stabbed the Brute through the shoulder, causing it to drop its hammer. Another horizontal swing cleaved its head in half above the upper jaw. The Chief then picked up the hammer and gave it to the most muscular Elite – one of the Ultras. "You have the physical strength to do the most damage with the least amount of effort" he reasoned, and the Elite nodded. The group moved through the door and started crossing the final pathway.
"This isn't good" Cortana said. "I'm getting confirmed reports of Flood leaving In Amber Clad's wreckage. Let's get the Index and find a way out of here, before things get really ugly…"
-SCENE BREAK-
The Covenant group moved toward the Phantoms, their two prisoners being pushed along.
"Split them up" Tartarus ordered. "One in each Phantom."
One Brute Honor Guard shoved Johnson along, while Commander Keyes walked along in as dignified a manner as she could muster. She spared a glance at her ship, half-buried into the side of a tower. Tartarus walked toward Truth and kneeled before him.
"The hopes of all the Covenant rest on your shoulders, High-Chieftain" Truth said, handing the Index to the Jiralhanae Alpha.
"My faith is strong" Tartarus replied. "I will not fail."
Just then, a pack of Infection Forms pulled themselves up onto the platform and charged the group. The two Brute Honor Guards tossed aside their staffs. They punched, swatted, kicked, and stomped, killing most of the Flood forms. But one got through, leaping through the air and digging into the Prophet of Mercy's neck. The elderly Prophet screamed, falling from his throne and grasping at the foot-tall abomination trying to chew into his neck. Tartarus bent over and reached down to pry the thing loose.
"Let him be."
Tartarus stopped, surprised at Truth's sudden order to abandon a High Prophet to death. Truth looked down at the still-struggling Mercy.
"The Great Journey waits for no-one, brother. Not even you."
As Truth & Tartarus boarded the last Phantom, Mercy continued to feebly struggle, the Infection Form still trying to eat its way into him.
-CHAPTER END-