Sorry for the delay, I had finals to get ready for then get out of the way.
(CHAPTER 37) NEW MANAGEMENT
Brass shell casings fell to the metal floor of the firing range. Anna had been alone for nearly twenty minutes practicing with her pistol and was making progress. Her target at the opposite end of the range was showing a majority of her shots were concentrated around the torso area. She had managed a few head shots but she still wasn't the best at aiming correctly yet. She figured that instead of wasting her ammo on attempted headshots; that should the need arise she would offer her own support and aim for the main body mass.
She detached her spent clip from her M6 and loaded in a fresh magazine into the handle. She flipped the safety off and brought the weapon up to firing position. As she readied to fire another shot she felt her PDA vibrate. Anna sighed as she lowered her M6 and laid it on its side on the firing platform. She pulled out her PDA and opened it. She found a message from the bases A.I. Victoria. It read, "I apologize for interrupting your weapons practice but you are needed in Command sector 2 immediately." Anna quickly pulled up a map of the base and set her destination. She then put the safety on her M6 and placed it in its polished leather holster.
Not wanting to make someone else mad at her, she quickly resituated her uniform and headed for the firing range lobby. She exited the range and pulled her sound suppressors off and laid them on a small table. Quickly, she headed back out into the lobby of the firing range, ignoring the Lieutenant as she went, and then back out into the halls of the base.
The Command level was deep within the base and would require some walking to get too. Anna boarded an elevator that took her deep into the sublevels. When the short ride was over, she stepped out into a hall that resembled the interior of a starship. Unlike the concrete walls of the upper levels of the base, these one's appeared to be made of titanium. She checked her map once more on her PDA and found her current location and where to head next. She proceeded down the long dark hallway towards a door at the opposite end with a large UNSC emblem painted on it. The door was large and had kind of a bank vault style too it. This one didn't open from motion detection; a code was required to enter. Anna saw the small key pad attached to the wall next to the door and it read, "Please enter 6 digit code."
Anna again had to consult her PDA in hopes of finding her access code. She quickly searched through several different files on her PDA and eventually found what she was looking for. She memorized the number and then typed it in on the keypad. The red light above the door flashed to green and the door slowly slid open. She stepped into a long narrow hall. It led to another door that was guarded by ONI officers. She approached them and the one said, "State your business, Ma'am." Anna quickly replied, "Anna Kurauchi, Base Intelligence. I was instructed by Victoria to report to this area."
The guard nodded and then tapped a key code into the door behind him and it swung open. He saluted Anna and she returned the gesture. She walked past the guard and into the bases main command center. The massive room was lined with large monitors and countless workers at desks constantly monitoring the battle that was still being fought. She looked at one of the monitors and could see images of the pit. Plasma and automatic weapon fire flashed all around the massive hole in the city and black plumes of smoke were rising from within the hole. It scared her to death knowing that Devon was down there fighting.
Her trance was broken when she heard someone call out, "Hey, Bass Intel, over here." She quickly focused her attention to the source and saw that she was being addressed by a higher ranked officer in his dress uniform. She walked over to him and saluted, "Anna Kurauchi, Base Intelligence." The officer returned with a quick salute and replied, "Yeah, I know, save it for when you are approached by someone who has the time to hear it." He quickly lifted a sealed file from his desk and handed it to Anna. "Take this to Colonel Heartly in War Command on sub level 12." He told her sternly. "Get it there ASAP!" Anna nodded and replied, "Yes, Sir."
She quickly walked out of the Command room and headed back into the hall. "This was all crazy." She thought. Just because she was a palace maid with close tied to the Chancellor, the higher up's in the UNSC instantly assume that she should be their messenger girl. Still, despite it being a rougher line of work than what she was used too, it was helping her to pass the time. She stepped back into the elevator and headed down to sub level 12. As the elevator descended, she examined the file. It was a sealed envelope style file folder with a red line running down the left side of it with the word "URGENT" stamped on it.
The elevator doors slid open and Anna stepped out and headed towards her destination. She came to a door that again, required her access code to enter. She typed it in on the small keypad and the door unlatched. She continued through and found herself in a large room that looked like an entrance to a large corporate style building. She descended down a flight of stairs and came to a front desk where an older woman in an ONI uniform was busy typing at her computer. Her eye's looked up at Anna and she raised an eyebrow. "Quite an odd position for the Head Palace Maid to end up in." Anna was confused. "Excuse me?" She asked. The woman replied, "Not even forty eight hours ago, you were the Head Maid for Chancellor Izumi, and now here you are working as a Base Intelligence girl." Anna didn't know what to say. She didn't even understand why this woman cared about her situation. "I was assigned to this position by…" She was cut off by the woman, "Yes, yes, I know, Supreme Commander Drake assigned you this position to help keep your mind off of SPARTAN-69, am I correct?" "Yes." Anna timidly replied.
The woman stopped typing and pulled off her glasses. She looked at Anna and said coldly, "I know all about why you're standing here now in that uniform. You happened to stumble into a little girls fantasy of being the princess rescued by her knight in shining armor, am I correct?" "I-um…" Anna stammered. "I thought so." The woman said harshly. "You are in a bad position right now young lady. You are interfering with the UNSC's most valuable asset for this war. Your little crush on SPARTAN-69 is only going to hinder his progress and slow all of us down, much like how the Chancellor of this world is risking the life of SPARTAN-73 due to her capture." Anna was stunned, this woman was clearly not aware of how much Auroran's cared for their Chancellor, that, and the fact of her questioning Anna's feelings for Devon.
"Ma'am, if I may." Anna asked as she tried to hold back her own comments towards this woman, "Is this conversation necessary? I was instructed to bring this file to Colonel Heartly in War Command, and this conversation is slowing me down from completing my assignment." The woman frowned. "Not surprising for the Chancellor's right hand servant to show disrespect to a higher ranked officer. I guess you're only meant to show respect to the Chancellor and no one else." "I wasn't intending to show disrespect Ma'am," Anna replied as she fought to hold back her frustration, "I just want to complete my assignment."
The woman paused for a few moments before replying coldly, "Move along…" Anna felt frustration flow through her from talking with that woman; she wanted to lash out at her but fought to stop herself. As she walked she heard the woman say, "Don't expect to go back to your comfortable lifestyle anytime soon, the Chancellor is probably dead by now anyway." Anna slid to a stop and the heel of her polished uniform shoe squeaked off of the tiled floor. She slowly turned and while fighting to hold back her anger she asked, "What did you say?" The woman raised an eyebrow and replied, "My, such disrespect to a higher officer coming from a Base Intelligence girl…" Anna cut her off, "Answer me!" She yelled.
The woman frowned, "The Chancellor to your planet has been in Covenant hands for nearly twenty four hours, she is most likely dead." "She's not dead!" Anna yelled as she felt tears of frustration welling up in her eyes. "I've known Izumi my entire life, she's stronger than that! She's still alive and she will be rescued!" Anna approached the desk where the woman sat and she sternly said, "I'm not going to stand here and listen to some outsider, old hag tell me that MY best friend and Chancellor to MY planet is dead!" The woman slammed her hands down on her desk and stood up, she yelled, "I suggest that you change your tone right now or I'll have you escorted out of this base for showing such disrespect!" "I don't care how much disrespect you think I'm giving you right now!" Anna yelled, "I came down here to complete an assignment given to me by someone who outranks you several times over and here you are holding me up by telling me that because I happen to be with one of the Spartan's that our chances of winning this war are hindered and that the Supreme Commander is out of his mind for giving me this position."
Anna stood in front of the desk and slammed her own hands down on it and yelled out, "And I will certainly not stand here and be harassed by a stuck up ONI officer that hates my world and who doesn't have any concern at all for my best friend and beloved ruler of Aurora!" The woman didn't reply. She only sat back down in her chair and frowned. Anna regained her composure and replied, "Now if you'll excuse me, Ma'am, you're holding me up from my assignment." Anna quickly spin on her heel and walked off towards the War Command room.
She was flustered and needed to calm down before she went to see Colonel Heartly. Her cheeks were flushed with frustration and she wanted to scream. Anna assumed that repercussions would follow after that little outburst towards an officer, especially seeing as how that officer was a member of ONI. She didn't care; she wasn't UNSC even though she wore the uniform, she was only here because of a request. Her pace quickened as she headed towards the War Command room as she burned off some frustration. "Stuck up old hag." Anna mumbled to herself as she walked.
Anna rounded a corner and saw a guarded door ahead of her. A guard in an ONI uniform stopped her. "Ma'am." He said, "State your business." Anna was finding that she wasn't too fond of ONI. Every officer that was part of ONI had been exceptionally rude to her. She understood that the UNSC was far different than what she was used to working in but she found this to be crossing a line. Anna replied as she saluted, "Anna Kurauchi, Base Intelligence. I was instructed to bring this to Colonel Heartly." The guard quickly grabbed the folder out of Anna's hand. She gasped as it was torn from her grip. He quickly studied the file and read what was stamped on the front of it and then quickly held it back out for Anna to take. Anna took the file from his hand and without saying anything he quickly turned on his heel and unlocked the blast door leading into the command room.
Anna held the file in her folded hands down at her waist as she waited for the door to open. When it fully parted, she stepped inside War Command. This room was far different than any of the other command areas that she had been in. This room resembled a large conference style room. It was a circular room that was only illuminated by dull blue lighting and a large holo projector in the center of the room. Anna saw ten high ranking UNSC officers all standing around the large holo projector with a large map of the drill site projected on it.
She slowly descended down a small flight of stairs that led to the large holo projector. All of the men were talking amongst themselves about various troop placements as well as areas that were taking heavy enemy fire. As she approached, a man in a black uniform slammed his fists down on the edge of the holo projector in anger. Anna flinched slightly. Timidly, she uttered out. "Um, excuse me, Sir…" "What, god dammit!" He shouted as he turned. He saw the young Base Intelligence girl standing before him and she looked rather shocked and scared from his yelling. He realized that she wasn't a higher ranked officer and only someone who ran errands for other officers in the base and was most likely on the receiving end of the higher ranked troops harassment list. He knew the feeling all too well from when he had first enlisted and he sympathized. He sighed and said, "My apologies, Miss. What did you need?" Anna timidly saluted and replied, "Anna Kurauchi, Base Intelligence. I was told to bring this to Colonel Heartly, Sir." The man cracked a smile and pointed to the insignia on his uniform. "You found him." He told her as he took the file from Anna.
She stepped back while he opened it and read over what was on it. Several seconds passed before he finally snapped out, "Can no one in this damn Marine Corps come up with a decent troop position!?" He tossed the file aside and yelled out to the other officers, "I swear that their trying to get my men killed out there, this last troop placement list they sent me was utter bull shit!" He went back to studying the holo projector and looking over his troops. Anna over heard him saying, "This isn't playing well at all, within the hour that hole is going to completely belong to the Covenant." "What about the ODST's and the SPARTAN's down there Colonel?" One of the men asked. This caught Anna's attention. She looked up and heard Heartly reply, "The hell if I know. We haven't heard from them in hours, who knows if their even still alive."
Anna felt her pulse quicken. Curiosity began to get the better of her and she wanted to see just how overrun the pit was getting. Trying not to disrupt the officers, she studied the large holo map from behind them and saw where their troops were being placed and how they were being overrun by the Covenant. She could see that the Covenant drop ships were descending down form space from one of the many cruisers that were in orbit above the city. She could see UNSC troop placements near the outer parameter trying to keep the drop ships from going down. She saw exactly where their gun placements were located and how they were being used. The problem was that by the time that the Covenant ships neared the pit, the UNSC Anti Aircraft guns were losing sight of the ships to quickly as they descended down into the massive hole.
She took notice of the larger skyscrapers surrounding the pit and saw that most were heavily damaged but still intact. An idea hit her. She didn't know if it would work but she wanted to try and do her duty and help. She again slowly approached the holo projector and calmly said, "Excuse me, Sir but if I may, I think I have a solution to your problem." All of the officers looked at her. There was a tense pause before Heartly eventually replied, "Well get on with it." Anna walked up to the large holo projector and said, "I noticed that all of your fire power is located only around the outer parameter. That seems to be very effective against the ground forces but the drop ships are slipping past." One of the officers cut in and said, "We are more than aware of that, Miss. So unless you don't have anything else useful to point out can you please let us get back to work?" Anna continued, "I do have an idea that might prove useful." "Well, spill it." Heartly said. Anna pointed to the ground forced around the parameter of the pit and said, "The Anti Aircraft guns that you have set up are proving useful but only to a certain degree. They aren't getting enough time to lock onto the drop ships before they fly down and go too deep for the guns to aim." She then pointed at the holographic skyscrapers. "However, if you place additional Anti Aircraft guns on top of these surrounding buildings then you would be able to hit the drop ships from above and below. We used the same defense style at the Palace in case of aerial terrorism attacks."
Heartly looked back at the map and then called out to the bases A.I., "Victoria, run a simulation please." The A.I.'s proper voice replied, "Rendering simulation. Please stand by." Several seconds later the image on the holo projection changed with the new gun placements. Victoria simulated a Covenant drop ship flight and showed that the higher placed A.A. guns would do well for hitting the ships hard before allowing the lower placed guns to finish off the damaged crafts. Colonel Heartly immediately opened the rooms COM channel and contacted Command. He called out, "Colonel Heartly to Command, sending new weapon placements to you now." He quickly sent the simulation off to the people in command as well as the new A.A. gun placement areas and then looked to Anna. He said to her. "You know, for a Base Intelligence girl, that was a pretty bold move." She replied, "It was just an observation, Sir." Heartly shook his head and said, "An observation that could give us a nice upper hand and help the Spartan's get back to the surface." He paused and then said, "I think that has earned you a promotion in rank. I'm going to notify the Supreme Commander about this immediately."
Anna was slightly stunned. She didn't realize that such a small observation could earn her so much praise from higher ranking officers. She felt a smile come across her face as well as a feeling of satisfaction fill her. She quickly snapped herself to attention and saluted Colonel Heartly. "Thank you, Sir. I'm glad I could help out." Heartly returned the gesture and replied, "You're going to make one hell of a valuable asset to the UNSC, Kid. Keep up the good work."
(LOCATION) COVENANT HEAVY ASSAULT CARRIER, THE PURIFYING FLAME
NEAR THE OUTER DETENTION BLOCKS
The entire central hub of the Heavy Assault Carrier seemed to be dead in space. Mitsuki had vented the entire central sector of the ship minus the areas that were under the Prophet's control, and the cell blocks near Izumi's location. Kalder was floating freely in the lifeless halls of the ship as he floated towards the inner sector. The red emergency lights were flashing in the halls as he floated towards his destination. It was an eerie quiet in the corridors. All he could hear was his own breaths muffled from within his helmet.
"I have the direct path to Izumi under my control." Mitsuki told him. "I'll keep a NAV marker up on your visor to help guide you." "How close am I?" He asked. An instant later she replied, "The linear path is just under a half of a mile, however, you have to board one of the ships large transport elevators to reach her level." Kalder nodded. "Seems simple enough." Mitsuki replied, "Just be careful, the areas near her cell are still under the Prophets control. He has Honor Guards stationed all around that area. Even I can't override the area to deal with them so you'll have to manage on your own." "They won't stop me." He said calmly as he floated.
Nearly twenty minutes had passed of him floating through the lifeless ship. All around him were the dead bodies of Covenant troops that weren't protected with sealed environment suits. Countless Brutes, Grunts, and Jackals were floating through the halls. There were times when he was floating within inches of a lifeless Chieftain and was just waiting for it to jump to life and attack, but it never did.
He saw his NAV marker flash and point to a large door that was down a side hall. He turned and floated towards it. He saw a small flickering holo panel glowing on the wall. He reached out and rested his palm against it. The door flashed and parted revealing the elevator that Mitsuki was talking about. He floated inside and tapped his fingertips against another holo panel that was inside. Below him, the platform began to rise up towards the top of the ship. As the platform rose, he pulled his Sniper Rifle off of the back of his suit. He only had a few clips left so he would have to use the ammo carefully. He knew that Honor Guards were usually protected by energy shields on their armor and some even with temporary invincibility shielding. He would have to make every shot a headshot. Anything less would be a waste of a round.
The elevator reached its destination and the doors slowly parted. He found himself in a short hallway with a door at the opposite end. He floated out towards the door and heard Mitsuki call out calmly. "Standby, you're coming back to Prophet controlled areas of the ship." Red lights in the hall flashed and atmosphere began to vent back into his area. He felt gravity kick back in and his feet touched back down onto the metal floor. The door then parted with its low tone chiming as it opened. Cautiously, he poked his head around the corner and double checked his motion tracker. No one was around. His NAV marker updated itself and he quickly followed it.
He encountered several black armored Grunts as he navigated through the corridors of the ship. All were brought down with quick pops of his Battle Rifle. Mitsuki had done a great job of masking his presence. She had all of the security cameras set for her vision only and no one else's, even making it impossible for the Prophet to override. As of right now, the Covenant was blind in their own ship.
Kalder came to a door; this one was different from the others he had encountered earlier. It looked much more fortified and had Covenant symbols stenciled in red on it. "You've found it." Mitsuki told him. "This is the entrance to the ships primary detention area. Just be on your toes when you go inside, there's bound to be Honor Guards inside." Kalder nodded and waited for Mitsuki to hack the door open for him. She made quick work of the obstacle and the door slid open.
Inside the detention area was huge. Kalder found himself on an observation deck that spanned over a large multi deck chamber of holding cells. From what he saw, he quickly counted twenty decks worth of cells with at least forty on each row. The room was glowing a ghostly purple from the energy barriers that illuminated the room. His NAV marker again changed and showed that Izumi's location was near the top of the large room. He quickly looked around and saw a crew elevator at the opposite end of the detention area. The elevator however was near where two Honor Guards were standing.
Quietly, he approached the edge of the observation platform and pulled out his Sniper Rifle. He quickly sighted on the head of one of the Brutes and carefully judged his aim. In two swift squeezes of the trigger, he had taken out both Honor Guards, not even giving them time to react. He knew he had a short period of time before their bodies were discovered so he double timed his movement. As he ran, he passed several of the holding cells. All of which had rogue Jackal's, and Brutes held within. All were stripped of their armor and all were enraged to see him. One of the Brutes roared loudly and leapt at the energy barrier at the Spartan but was stopped short from the energy barrier itself. He ignored it and made it to the other elevator.
He quickly stepped inside and slammed his fist on the holo panel and activated it. The elevator quickly ascended away from the large room of cells to a new area. From out of the window in the elevator, he could see separate cells; all were separated from one another and seemed to be separate areas for both interrogation and holding. "This is the area that she is being kept in." Mitsuki told him. "Her cell is at the far end of the room and is being guarded by a large number of Honor Guards." Kalder's eyes narrowed as he popped the bolt on his Sniper Rifle. "Anything else I should know about?" He asked. "Only that I suggest you move quickly." Mitsuki told him. "Because I'm tracking the Prophet's movements and he's heading towards Izumi's cell."
That was all he needed to hear. Kalder quickly brought his weapon up to firing position and ran through the halls. He rounded a corner and saw an Honor Guard walking in the same direction as him. With lightning quick speed, Kalder quickly brought the butt of his rifle down on the back of the Brutes head and killed it. He didn't bother to stop to scavenge for grenades; he just kept moving. Around the next corner were two more Honor guards. These ones; however, did take notice of him. They both jumped in surprise and reached for their Brute Shot's. Their motions were again cut short as two quick pops from Kalder's Sniper Rifle quickly brought the two down before they could react.
"The Prophet is in her holding cell." Mitsuki reported. As she continued, he voice began to crackle and seemed to skip, much like a defective CD. "I s-s-s-suggest that you-u-u-u h-h-h-hurry!" Static flowed through his speakers and Mitsuki's voice stopped. He knew something was wrong, he quickly called back, "Mitsuki, come in." He heard no reply. "Mitsuki, report! What's wrong?" He only heard static. "Shit!" He cursed. He was now on his own. He still noticed that his NAV marker was active so it was obvious that a part of her was still functioning and with him.
He saw the NAV arrow turn sharply and point downward through an observation window. He slid to a stop and looked down. A line of six Honor Guards were marching towards the area of Izumi's cell. He quickly fed in a fresh clip into his Sniper Rifle and leapt through the window and fell with the shower of glass onto the floor below. The Brutes all jumped in surprise and turned as he began to pick them off with head shots. Four of the Brutes fell dead and the two remaining ones began to fire their weapons.
His shields quickly dropped from the one Honor Guard's Brute Shot rounds. He quickly rolled to the side and primed an Incendiary Grenade and tossed it at the Honor Guards. It landed in the center of the two and burst into flame. The one instantly fell over while the other, who was more quick to react, activated its Invincibility shielding. The Honor Guard showed evidence of burns on the left side of its body from the Incendiary Grenade but was obviously ignoring them as it pulled out its Gravity Hammer and charged. Kalder didn't even bother attempting to shoot, he knew better than to waste rounds on Invincibility shielding. All he could do was dodge the attacks until the shielding wore off. He quickly activated the Jackal shield on his wrist from his earlier battle and began dodging the angry Brute.
It brought its hammer back and quickly lunged forward bringing the hammers forceful blow at the Spartan. Kalder quickly held out the Jackals shield to absorb most of the blow. The shield instantly flared and died from the force of the Gravity Hammer. He knew it would react that way. Kalder flexed his legs and leapt into the air and jumped over the Honor Guard. As he vaulted himself over the Brute, he forcefully kicked the heel of his boot onto the back of its head making it stumble slightly. While still in the air, he pulled out another Incendiary Grenade and primed it. Before he landed he tossed the device and the Brute and watched it burst into flame. His hopes were that the Grenade would stun the Brute long enough for its shielding to wear off. He landed and watched as the Brute thrashed around in the fire with its bright Invincibility shielding flaring against the heat.
It did little to slow the alien down. Within seconds it was refocused and charging out of the flames. In a last ditch effort, Kalder quickly slapped his Sniper Rifle onto the back of his suit and pulled out the Plasma Sword that he had taken from his earlier battle. The blade flashed to life and he gripped its hilt tightly in his hand as the Brute charged. It was doing exactly what he wanted it too. With its Gravity Hammer raised high above its head, it roared loudly and brought the massive weapon down. Kalder anticipated this and he quickly leapt into the air once more and jumped over the Brute, just barely dodging the Gravity Hammer as it flew past him. He watched as he leapt through the air as the hammer impacted violently off of the ships metal floor. Almost instantly after the hammer hit the ground that the Honor Guards Invincibility shielding finally died. Kalder quickly landed and spun in his heel and with lightning quick speed, pierced the blade into the Brutes spine. He heard the ape like creature grunt loudly and then fall limp onto the floor.
He quickly retracted the blade and walked over to the dead Brute and took its Gravity Hammer. Even in his MJOLNIR armor, the weapon felt heavy. Still, his visor was showing its power to be at over half. He held onto the weapon and kept moving.
He passed through two more sets of doors and come to a cell where his NAV marker was leading him. He paused and looked at it. "This is it." He thought. He had made it to Izumi. The door was under a lock down and he quickly called out to his A.I. "Mitsuki, hack it." He only heard a static filled reply; he couldn't even make out what she was saying. He wanted nothing more than to get Izumi and Mitsuki off of this ship then let the other UNSC ships blow it away with their MAC Cannons. It took Mitsuki nearly four seconds to hack through the door before it made its dull chime and slid open. Inside Kalder found himself in an observation room that over looked a cell. Down below he could see two Honor Guards; these ones were in black armor instead of the usual red and gold; and in front of them, positioned in front of the rooms only holding cell was the Prophet of Redemption in his hovering throne.
There was no hesitation. He quickly pulled out his Sniper Rifle and aimed it at the Prophet through the open observation window. He sighted dead center in the back of its head and he squeezed the trigger. It was as if he could see the round leave the barrel of his gun and head straight towards the Prophet. His eyes widened. The round hit an energy barrier surrounding the Prophet and impacted harmlessly on one of the walls. The two Brute Honor Guards jumped and raised their Gravity Hammers. The Prophets throne slowly rotated to face him. He could see its large eyes narrow as he focused on the Spartan. The prophet frowned and said, "I knew it. I knew it had to have been one of you wretched Demon's, treading your filthy footsteps through my ship." He again didn't hesitate as he primed his final Incendiary Grenade and tossed it towards the Prophet. He watched as the two Brute Honor Guards leapt their bodies in front of it and allow the device to burn them alive, all to protect their Prophet.
He could see a golden force field of energy flicker around the Prophets throne from the intense heat. His throne moved forward out of the flames and he spoke with anger, "You may have gotten this far, Demon, but it is as far as you will tread in my ship!" The arms of the Prophet's throne began to glow with energy. Almost instantly, two golden beams of light that almost resembled a Hunters Fuel Rod Cannon shot at the Spartan. He quickly dodged the attack and leapt out of the way. When he was out of sight, the beams of energy stopped. Kalder saw his chance and quickly leapt down from the observation window and landed on the Prophet's throne. It shifted uneasily from the sudden weight change and nearly toppled over. Kalder quickly pulled his arm back and brought a force filled punch down on the Prophet's face. He watched as its head jerked unnaturally and its thick blood splattered from its mouth.
The Prophet quickly slammed its fist down on the holo panel on the arm of his throne and an energy pulse sent Kalder flying to the floor. He quickly looked up and saw the Prophet teleport away. Kalder frowned as he felt his adrenaline level lower itself. He thought he had the Prophet in the palm of his hand but like always, it managed to slip away. He quickly regained his footing and stood. He looked at the energy barrier and he could see Izumi lying back on the bed in her cell. She had a lock down collar around her neck. It was a device the Covenant used to keep their prisoners in a forced sleep until they were needed. "Mitsuki, deactivate this barrier." He only received the reply of her warped voice surrounded by static. He frowned. "Don't worry; I'm getting you out of here next." He told her reassuringly.
He walked into the cell and approached Izumi. "Send me her vitals." He told Mitsuki. He watched as his visor updated with all of her vital stats. He wanted to be sure she had no injuries before he moved her. He was thankful that she unharmed minus a few small cuts and bruises. He leaned down and carefully detached the lock down collar from her neck. He pulled the device off and threw it on the floor. He heard Izumi's soft groans as she regained consciousness. Her hunter green eyes slowly fluttered open and she saw before her a Spartan, clad in his Grey and Blue armor. Her eyes widened as she grasped her situation. "…Kalder?" She uttered out. He depolarized his golden visor so she could see his face. She saw his eyes staring back at her and she instantly cried out, "Kalder!" as she leapt into his arms and cried. "It's okay." He told her as he held onto her. "You're safe now."
In between her sobs she uttered out. "I was so scared. I didn't know what was going to happen to me." He picked her up in his arms and told her calmly. "You don't need to worry; I'm getting you out of here." He heard his radio click on and Mitsuki's voice, still filled with static came on. She was still hard to understand but he managed to hear her saying, "You need to get moving, the Prophet is alerting the ship of your presence and is sending reinforcements your way. I'm sending you directions to the nearest escape pods in your location." "Good," Kalder replied, "and show me the closest place to pick you back up too." Mitsuki sighed and said with worry in her voice. "That is not possible." "What do you mean!?" He shot back. Mitsuki replied solemnly, "I have to stay behind; I'm the only thing giving you the upper hand on this ship. The minute I'm out of the system, the Prophet regains control." "Mitsuki, I'm not leaving you behind." He told her sternly. "You have to." She replied, "If not then we're all dead, now I suggest you get moving, you fought so hard to get to Izumi, don't ruin all of this after you got so far!" Mitsuki instantly severed the COM channel.
Back in the Control Hub of the ship Mitsuki's hologram stood motionless. Her figure was fuzzed with static and her color was warping from its usual bright neon green to shades of yellow and red. She stood with a trembling lip knowing that she had to be left behind from her Spartan. She was no longer in safe hands. With her systems clearly in need of repair and her mind beginning to slip into thoughts of total power over the safety of her carrier she had to stand and bear the weight of the burden on her own. Tears streamed down her holographic cheeks as she could only stand and do her best to help her Spartan and Izumi escape.
Kalder re polarized his visor and looked at Izumi. He said calmly. "Just hold on, I'm getting you out of here." Izumi nodded and replied, "You came all this way, and fought off countless Covenant troops on your own, all to save me. Why?" As Kalder ran down the halls following Mitsuki's NAV marker he replied, "Because I swore an oath to the most important order I was ever assigned, to protect the most important person in the world to me. I'm not going to fail that mission." Izumi blushed as a silent tear trickled down her cheek. She had never felt so safe in her life and she wanted nothing more than to be in Kalder's arms.
As Kalder ran, he heard an alarm sound through the ships halls followed by the Prophet's voice over an intercom saying, "All Honor Guard's are to report to cell block D. A wretched Demon of the human forces has stolen what is rightfully ours! Stop him and hold nothing back!" He could see a look of worry fill Izumi's face. He calmly said to her, "Don't worry, we're almost out of here." His NAV marker was leading him to an area just shy of one hundred yards of his current location. It was an easy sprinting distance for him. He just had to take extra care to make sure that no harm came to Izumi.
A door ahead of him opened thanks to Mitsuki watching over him. From behind, he could hear the sounds of angry Brutes roaring their battle cries while firing their weapons at him. He felt several rounds from Carbines splash over his shields. Izumi jumped as she watched his battle suit flare gold from the impacts. "Are you alright?" she asked with concern. "I'm fine." He told her. "It's you that I'm worried about."
Up ahead he could see a long row of escape pods. He saw one of the doors automatically open followed by Mitsuki saying, "I have all of the other pods on lock down as well as all of the smaller ships in the hanger bays that could be used to hunt you down after you launch. You'll be in the clear once you are free from the ship." Kalder frowned and then replied, "I will come back for you." Mitsuki paused and then replied, "You shouldn't lie to a girl. It could break her heart." Kalder quickly sprinted inside the pod as plasma fire splashed off of the surrounding walls. Mitsuki quickly shut the hatch and Kalder told her. "I've never lied to you, and I don't plan to start now." He quickly set Izumi down and she strapped into one of the seats in the escape pod. Mitsuki didn't reply to him. She only said, "Standby, launching in 3, 2, 1, Mark!" Kalder held on as he felt the pod rapidly descend through the ship before hurtling out into space.
He quickly plotted a course in on the pods computer and then went to Izumi. He knelt down and said, "Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?" She didn't reply. She simply looked at him and said quietly. "You risked your life for me, Kalder." He looked at her and said, "It was a risk I was willing to take." She replied, "Words can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am." Kalder replied, "Everything is alright now, they won't ever get near you again." Izumi slowly reached her hands up and pulled Kalder's helmet off. She watched as his wavy, sandy blonde hair fell into place and she then stared into his eyes. She calmly said, "When I first met you and I was able to talk with you in person, I knew you would be the one to protect me. Obligation to the UNSC or not, I want you by my side forever." "Chancellor?" He asked. "She put her hands on the sides of his face and she said calmly, "I told you so many times, call me Izumi." She then slowly pulled her lips to his and the two kissed.
At that moment the war didn't matter. The Covenant no longer had control over her and the surrounding space battles seemed to be nonexistent, it was only her, Kalder, and the countless stars that flickered out of the escape pods front view port. The red glow of the atmosphere of Aurora began to spark across the view port and the glow of the planets aurora borealis began to fill the interior of the pod with color. Kalder slowly pulled from the kiss and opened up his COM to Command and said, "This is SPARTAN-73 to Command, the Chancellor is safe, I repeat, the Chancellor is safe."
(LOCATION) THE PROPHET OF REDEMPTIONS INNER SANCTUM
"The human and the Demon have escaped Holy One. We did all we could but it seems that we were informed too late to take…" "Silence!" The prophet yelled to a Brute Commander as it was trying to explain the situation. The Prophet continued with anger, "Your failure to safe guard the Chancellor of that world is unacceptable! A thousand hells await you and all who failed!" The Prophet severed the communication and then rubbed its slender hand over its jaw. The Demon in the special armor had failed to kill him but had indeed left a lasting mark. The Prophet knew its jaw wasn't broken but it definitely felt as though it was.
It took a piece of cloth from in a pocket of its robe and whipped a trickle of blood from its lip. Redemption knew that a recapture of the Chancellor was next to impossible; she would no doubt be kept within the confines of the human's strongest fortified area and guarded by an untold amount of forces. It cursed in its native tongue as it tossed the piece of cloth to the floor.
Still, aside from the matter of the failure of his troops to safeguard the Chancellor, he had one other matter to attend too. He tapped a series of commands in on the holo panel of his throne and a holo pedestal lit up on the opposite side of the room. His throne slowly hovered over to it and he watched as a figure appeared. He saw before him the figure of a dainty neon green human female, from what he knew of humans, this female was still only a child, not even in full adulthood. Mitsuki stood firm, she knew where she was and why she was there.
"So…" The Prophet frowned. "You are the one who has caused this chaos in my ship." Mitsuki's hologram filled with static and her timid look, along with her neon green color completely changed. Her color morphed to a deep blood red and her face went from its usual cute, timid look to an almost sinister, twisted smile. She looked at the prophet and replied, "You can go on and on all you want about the trouble that I caused you but know that I regret none of it." The Prophet again frowned and replied, "How dare you! You infiltrate my ship and tamper with its systems; you will be destroyed within the hour!" Mitsuki began to laugh. It wasn't a normal laugh but a laugh that seemed to be filled with a sadistic madness. She looked at the Prophet and replied, "I would watch what you say." She told him. "Because no matter what you say and no matter what threats you throw at me, know that this ship belongs to me!"