Chapter 37: Reclaimer
Noble Team sat in the dark interior of a Pelican dropship as it flew towards their objective. Kat threw a holo-projector on the floor, and Captain Del Rio appeared.
"Infinity to Noble Team. The air corridor to the gravity well is blocked by a network of particle cannons, and Infinity's shields are still down. Scans indicate that the cannons are controlled from a command post south of our position. Roll on that target."
"Captain, what's Force Recon's assessment of the terrain?" John asked.
"I know you've been off the field for a while, Master Chief, but this is a blowthrough op. sending in recon would just slow us down. Take out the gravity well, and we'll meet you on the other side. Infinity out."
The link cut, and the interior of the dropship darkened once again.
"I don't know about you, but I like a little more intel with my intel." Cortana told him.
"We'll make it work."
The door behind them opened, and the seven Spartans stepped out as the dropship landed.
"Chief. Spartan Sarah Palmer, Infinity CIC. Commander Lasky is waiting for you in the Mammoth."
Around the next curve was a gigantic eight-wheeled vehicle sporting a mini-MAC on the top.
"Well, someone's overcompensating." Cortana said as they boarded.
There were a few Warthogs in the main bay, and a few weapon racks filled with MA5D's, BR85's and Rocket Launchers. On the upper deck, they found a pair of Sniper Rifles, and Jun instantly had one in his hands. James grabbed the other and found Commander Lasky at the front of the deck.
"Chief. Unfortunately for us, we gotta manually take out a few of these cannons before we can hit the command center."
"We'll take care of it, Commander."
"That's what I like to hear. There are a few jetpacks onboard. You should grab them in case you need to go groundside."
"Infinity to Gypsy Company. We need those cannons gone now. Get to it." Captain Del Rio told them as the Spartans grabbed the jetpacks.
"Good?" Carter asked as everyone integrated the packs with their systems, except James, who already had one.
"Good." Kat said.
"Seamless." Jun reported.
"I'm clear." Emile told him.
"Little small, but it'll do." Jorge said.
"Good." The Chief said.
"Excellent. Let's get back to the front."
They returned to find that Commander Lasky had gone inside.
"Gypsy Company, locked and cleared. Moving out." Lasky reported.
The Mammoth began to move. It was a bit slow, but faster than an Elephant, and better armed. As it moved along a sheer cliff, three Pelicans flew in above them.
"Captain Del Rio, targeting Pelicans are in position near the particle cannons, waiting for the Mammoth's mini-MAC to take them out." Palmer told the Captain.
The Spartans saw that one of the Pelicans was a little too close to the first cannon, and sweet mother, that cannon was big.
"Seven-Six-Six, lose some altitude, you're inside the kill box." Palmer told the pilot.
"Almost got a lock. Just a little more…"
The cannon began charging up to fire as the Mammoth rounded a bend and got a good look at it.
"Pelican! Fall back!" Palmer ordered.
Too late. The cannon fired, wiping two of the dropships out completely and crippling the third.
"Damnit!" James said.
"Infinity! Pelicans down!" Lasky reported.
"Get to the crash site and retrieve that designator, Gypsy. You've got no chance of taking out those cannons without it." Del Rio told them.
"Covenant squads digging in on the ridgeline. Weapons free, people." Lasky announced.
The Chief jumped on the missile turret nearby and opened up on the Covenant. Jun snapped off two clean headshots, and Jorge took out three with his Battle Rifle.
"Eyes up, Gypsy. Dropships on approach!" Lasky announced.
"There's Gypsy Seven's Pelican. Down in the muck. Anyone still alive?" Palmer asked.
"We're here! We're alive. We've got the target designator." Someone said.
"I'll get to them and retrieve the designator." The Chief said.
The Chief took a running jump off of the Mammoth and used his jetpack to slow his fall. He broke into a dead sprint to get to the designator, and then painted a Phantom dropship for the mini-MAC.
"Target acquired." Cortana told him.
The MAC devastated the dropship.
"Alright, Master Chief. We're clear. Mini-MAC's at your disposal. Take out that cannon." Lasky told him.
He painted the target, and a second later, the MAC fired, destroying the first particle cannon.
"Target suppressed. Nicely done, Chief."
"Lasky to Infinity. First contact cleared, but no joy on additional targets. Gypsy moving on to secondary battle position, but requesting evac for casualties."
"I'm on it, Commander. Palmer out."
The ride was silent, or as close to silent as one could get with a gigantic engine roaring in the background, for a little while, until a Phantom dropship swooped in and opened fire.
"More Covenant." Cortana told them.
"This is why swooping… is bad." A Spartan-IV said.
"Force field, barricading the far side of this canyon. I'm seeing three power sources. Shut them down so the Mammoth can move through." Cortana said.
"Let's take a Warthog. Emile, Jun, with me." John said.
The three Spartans took a Warthog and quickly disabled the power sources.
"Shield's disabled. Mammoth, the path is clear." Cortana said.
"Mammoth holding position. Whenever you're ready to proceed, Chief." Lasky told them.
"Guess we'd better grab one, too." James said back on the Mammoth.
"Let's go. Jorge, keep the Mammoth clear." Carter told the II.
"I got it."
James, Carter and Kat went down and grabbed another Warthog and joined the Chief at the far side of the canyon as the Mammoth trailed them. They found a second cannon, and the Chief painted it for the Mammoth. As it fired, a Covenant ship rose up and flew towards them.
"All units, unidentified Covenant vehicle incoming!" Lasky announced.
"Shoot it down! Concentrate fire!" Carter told Noble.
"No good! Armor's too thick!" Emile said.
It shot a green beam at the Mammoth, and the huge vehicle stopped dead.
"Mammoth's hit! Forward traction offline! Primary power controls offline!" Lasky announced.
The vehicle flew overhead and stopped over a mesa nearby.
"The Mammoth won't last long out in the open like that! We need to keep the Covenant off of them." Cortana said.
The Chief noticed a Gauss Hog nearby and his team dumped their Warthog for the Gauss.
"That ship's settling in over the mesa. There's a grav lift into the belly of the ship, time it right and we should be able to ride it inside."
The Chief took his Warthog up to the ship, and the three Spartans rode the lift into the ship, a minute later, all three jumped out of the side as it blew up.
"Thanks, Chief. It was getting a bit dicey there for a minute. All hands, form up on us." Lasky said
"Lasky this is Infinity, status?" Del Rio asked.
"Mammoth's in pretty bad shape, sir. She'll make it to the objective as long as nobody starts throwing rocks at us."
"Not a chance we can take. I'm sending out teams to pull some of their fire off you so you can make it to the gravity well."
"This should be good." Jun commented.
"Roger that, sir. Gypsy, let's move." Lasky said.
"Shadow Company, Castle Company. Put some pressure on those other particle cannons." Del Rio ordered.
"Castle reading 5-by-5. On station, ready to assist."
"Shadow Actual to Infinity. Encountering enemy air! Significant EOF closer to the emplacements."
The Mammoth kept moving, with Noble and the Chief returning the Warthogs, only slightly used.
"Okay folks. Terrain's too rough around these tributaries. Assault force, back on the Mammoth, anyone not on is getting left behind."
A few seconds later, Lasky gave the order to seal up the Mammoth, and it kept moving.
"Mammoth is mobile."
"Why do I get the feeling this won't end well?" James asked when they got back up to the top deck.
"Because it won't." The Chief replied.
"They don't care about you. They replaced you! Blast it!" Cortana said.
"Uh… what was that?" Carter asked.
"…Shit." James said.
"It's been that long, hasn't it?" Emile asked.
"Yes. Cortana can hold out." The Chief said.
"We know that." Carter replied.
"Do you even understand what rampancy is? We don't just 'shut down'. Our cognitive process begin dividing exponentially according to our total knowledge database. We literally think ourselves to death." Cortana explained.
"You know we won't let that happen." James reassured her.
"And if it happens anyway?" She asked.
They never got a chance to respond, as if they would have been able to anyway.
"Noble, Lasky."
"Go, Commander." Carter said.
"We got significant blockage up ahead. I think this is about it for the Mammoth."
"The command post for the cannons is through that trench." Cortana told them.
"Sir, we can move faster alone." The Chief told Lasky.
"We'll see you back on Infinity, Commander." Cortana said.
The seven Spartans jumped off the Mammoth and proceeded into the trench, where they found a small UNSC weapons cache and a shitload of Covenant, led by a Promethean Knight.
"Oh, good. For a while there, I thought that the Covenant and the Prometheans were back to killing each other." Emile commented as he blasted a hole in a Jackal Sniper's chest with his shotgun.
"Don't jinx it!" James said as he stabbed a Grunt's methane tank and left it to die.
Jun slid behind a small rock and propped his Sniper Rifle on it, steadying his aim. Then came the shots. Two. One after the other. Two Jackal Snipers fell over, with holes in their heads.
Carter, on the other hand, snapped off five shots with his DMR, killing three Grunts and two Jackals with clean headshots.
The team pressed forward, coming to a small bridge with a lot of snipers at the other end, and plenty of cover on the Spartan's side. Jun and James slid behind a pair of crates and had a field day, snapping off shot after shot, killing Grunt after Grunt after Grunt after Jackal… wait… after Grunt. When the other side was clear, they crossed the bridge and came face-to-face with a Promethean Knight. It warped in close and staggered the Chief, but James delivered a kick to its chest which brought it down to his level. He grabbed its head and smashed it into his knee, which crushed it.
"Clean and simple."
They fought off more Covenant, and a few Prometheans, which garnered an interesting insult from Emile.
"God, the dog has more balls than you, Grunt." He said to a fleeing Grunt as he shot it dead.
"At least it turned and faced its death like a man."
They entered the structure.
"Cortana to Infinity. We're entering the Forerunner structure."
The transmission from Captain Del Rio was too garbled to understand.
"Breaking up, but coordinates received, Infinity."
As they entered, they saw their old friends, the Sentinels. Which didn't fire on them. The most distinguishing feature was that they had blue lights, not orange like the Prometheans.
"These must not be under the Didact's control." James said as he approached one.
The Sentinel's color changed to green and then shifted back to blue. It then sped off a ways, and looked back at them, almost wanting them to follow it.
"Huh?"
"It must have recognized your Forerunner genetics." Cortana explained.
"Okay. Lead the way, Mr. Flying Robot."
It took them to an elevator, and then left as the door closed behind them.
"This elevator should take us directly to the coordinates Infinity provided." Cortana said.
"This could be a trap." The Chief said.
"You say that like there's a second possibility."
They reached the bottom, and the door in front of them opened up to a large corridor, which took them another room like the one they entered the structure in. More Sentinels were in the room, and one opened a door for them. They entered into another room like the previous, and another Sentinel opened a nearby door, which led to the particle cannon network controls.
"We've reached the coordinates. This looks like the place."
"That console. That's the network controls." Kat said, pointing to a console at the far end of the room.
The Chief jogged up and placed Cortana's data chip in the terminal. In front of them were four holograms that looked like the cannons. Two were lit up, but two were grayed out, indicating non-operation.
"Definitely cannon controls." Jun said.
"The particle cannon network must use these arrays for targeting and guidance. It's an automated system, so it won't technically allow me to redirect the cannons to fire on one another… technically." Cortana explained.
"Cortana to Infinity. The guns should be offline. How's it look from up there? Infinity?"
"Cortana?" John asked.
"Something's in here…" She began.
A weird sound was heard, and Cortana looked noticeably scared.
"CHIEF!" She yelled as her avatar disappeared from the console.
"Cortana? Cortana!"
"Shit, shit, shit. I knew it!" James said.
"It's a trap." Emile said.
"We need to find Cortana. Move out." Carter ordered.
As they ran back to the door, a lightbridge appeared off to their right.
"Now, I'm really thinking this is a trap." Emile said as they crossed.
The Chief was already across the bridge and heading up a small ramp that led to a small corridor. The Chief was already a quarter of the way down the corridor, and at the end, the team was greeted by a Sentinel, which flew off when they approached. They jumped out into a room and tracked the Sentinel as it flew to their right and near a door. There were 4 other Sentinels there, as well, in perfect formation.
"Shit, shit, shit." James said.
"Jesus. You sound like a crippled helmsman when his ship gets boarded by aliens from a place that no one has ever gone to and survived." Emile said.
"Shut up."
The Sentinels stayed in rigid formation as the Spartans passed them, and then flew off as the door opened, revealing a large chamber with an energy beam in the middle. As the Chief and James approached side-by-side, they were pulled in.
"CHIEF! JAMES!" Carter yelled as they disappeared.
White. Everything was white. Then the light started to die down, and the two Spartans could see once more. They were standing near a Forerunner tower of some sort.
"Where are we?" James asked.
There was someone else here. James knew the face, but couldn't place it.
"Who are you?" John asked.
"I am what remains of the Forerunner once known as the Librarian." It said in a feminine voice.
"Librarian? The… Didact's wife." James remembered.
"Wait… how do I know that?"
"The Forerunner in you has established contact with the Domain."
"The cumulative knowledge of the Forerunners."
"Yes. My memories were retained to assist humanity on their path to the Mantle. Though sadly, that plan is now at risk. The Didact is leaving Requiem. Soon. You must not allow it."
"Leaving?" James asked.
"He seeks this- the Composer." She began as a hologram of an enormous device appeared behind the Spartans. "A device which will allow him to finally contain the greatest enemy ever faced by the Forerunners. You. Mankind spread into the stars with an unexpected, desperate violence. Entire systems fell before the Didact's Warrior-Servants rose to halt the aggression. When the Didact finally exhausted the humans, after a millennia, his sentence was severe."
"We had no way of knowing that the Forerunners were not your only enemy. Humanity hadn't been expanding. They were running. Weakened from our conflict, we were no match for the parasite which pursued you. The Forerunners made plans for a final, great journey. But the Didact refused to yield our Mantle of Responsibility. He would save all life in the galaxy, at a cost."
"In the Forerunner's quest for transcendence, the Composer had been intended to bridge the organic and digital realms. It would have made us immortal. But its results soured. The stored personalities fragmented, and our attempts to return them into biological states created only abominations. The Flood only assimilated living tissue."
"The Composer would provide the Didact his solution… and his revenge." The Librarian concluded.
"The Prometheans… They're..." James began.
"Human." Both Spartans said at the same time.
"They were only the beginning. He would have encrypted your entire race if we had not removed the Composer from his care and imprisoned him here. Reclaimers, when I indexed mankind for repopulation, I hid seeds from the Didact. Seeds which would eventually lead to an eventuality. Your physical evolution. Your combat skin. Even your ancilla, Cortana. You are the culmination of a thousand lifetimes of planning."
"Planning for what?" John asked.
A low rumble sounded off in the distance.
"He has found us." The Librarian said.
"Even in death, her meddling continues." The familiar voice of the Didact sounded as platforms rose in front of the Spartans, Promethean Knights on them.
"Reclaimers! The genesong I placed within you contains many gifts, including an immunity to the Composer. But it must be unlocked."
"How?" John asked.
"Relinquish your contact, essence." The Didact thundered.
"Screw you." James said, raising his rifle to the Knights.
"Your evolutionary journey must be accelerated."
"Can we defeat the Didact without it?" John asked.
"No."
"Then do it." James said.
"Prepare."
The Spartan's bodies glowed as they came back into the room they were previously in. They both went down to a knee and then stood up, alone.
"Where is everyone?" James asked.
"Chief! Up here!" Cortana shouted as Prometheans attacked the pair.
John ran to the platform and Cortana assimilated into the data chip. James eyed a Knight ahead of them.
"How do we get out of here?" John asked.
"Elevator. Back of the chamber."
The pair fought the Prometheans for every step of ground to get to the back of the chamber and to the elevator. As they got on, it started to descend.
"What happened to you two? Your bio readings are all over the map!" Cortana observed.
"Long story, but we know what the Didact is after." James said.
"I know that part. The Librarian filled me in when she snatched me from the system. But what I don't know is what she did to you two!"
At the bottom, they found a portal waiting for them. They stepped through, and found themselves back in the action outside the gravity well.
"I'm reading Sierras One-One-Seven and Zero-Zero-Five on-sensor. Everyone form up on the Spartans!" A marine reported.
"Sierra One-One-Seven to Infinity. What's our status?" John commed.
"We're taking a beating up here!" Del Rio reported as the ship came into view above them.
"Does Infinity have a shot on the gravity well?" James asked.
"Negative. We'll never be able to get a target lock with all the air traffic we're seeing."
"Captain, what if we can spot the target for you with the target designator?" Cortana suggested.
"Do it! TAC-COM, find the Chief coordinates for somewhere with line-of-sight!"
"First line clear. Check it off. Push forward. All eyes on the Spartans, they're lead dogs!" The marine leader said as the Spartans grabbed a tank and destroyed the first line of Covenant.
"Noble Six, this is Noble One." Carter said over the comm.
"Sir, where are you?" James asked as he blazed a Ghost with the Scorpion's machine gun.
"We're a few clicks north of your position. We'll meet you on Infinity."
"Roger that. Six out."
They pushed up, annihilating the Covenant defenders until they were blocked by a giant shield.
"Looks like we're blocked. Head down and find a way to disable that shield." Cortana told them.
"Two generators. Two Spartans. Split up?" James asked.
"No. Stay with me." John replied.
"Okay."
They quickly found the first generator, with an Elite with a fuel rod gun waiting behind the shield that cloaked the generator.
"Fire it! I dare you! I fricking dare you!" James taunted.
It never got a chance, because the tank ran the Elite over and destroyed the generator. The second was not as exciting.
"There's a clearing just past this ravine. We can get eyes on the gravity well up there." Cortana told them.
"On foot. Move!" John ordered as they jumped out of the tank.
They broke into a dead sprint as the pair raced for the clearing to give Infinity a shot at the gravity well. John got there just a little faster than James did, and scooped up the target designator that was lying in wait for them.
"Infinity, we're at the gravity well." Cortana reported.
"Then paint that damn target so we can get out of here!" Del Rio ordered.
"You heard the man! Line up the shot!" James said.
John aimed the designator at the gravity well and locked in the target.
"Target locked! Firing for effect!" Del Rio reported.
The lone MAC round flew straight and true into the gravity well, destroying it. James and John turned and walked off as the gravity well exploded.
"Nice work." James said.
John stayed silent.
Infinity Command Deck. CIC.
"Infinity cannot handle that kind of punishment. Not again!" Del Rio argued.
"This isn't about us or this ship anymore." Cortana shot back.
"Sir, we've seen what the Didact is capable of. If we let him leave this world, humanity will be at risk." The Chief said.
"Look… I understand what you think you saw." Del Rio began.
"THINK?" Cortana said.
"With all due respect, sir, we know what we saw." James said.
"And with all due respect to you, Soldier, I'm not willing to jeopardize my ship because of the hallucinations of a pair of aging Spartans and their malfunctioning AI!" Del Rio rebuked.
"Sir, what if they're right?" Lasky asked.
"Nav, as soon as we know we are airtight, I want a course laid in to Carinae Station. Comm, prepare a warning beacon."
The room began to shake. Everyone assembled saw Cortana flash red with anger.
"Oh, shit." Emile gasped.
"I will not… allow you… to leave… this… PLANET!"
As she finished, a pulse of energy was let loose.
"Cortana…" The Chief said.
"I didn't mean to… I didn't mean to do that…" Cortana said.
"Commander Lasky, pursuant to Article 55 of UNSC regulation 12-145-72, I am ordering you to remove that AI's data chip and retire it for final dispensation." Del Rio commanded.
"Don't… Please… Please. I don't want to… You don't want me to… Please."
"Remove the chip now, Commander!"
"Please… I don't want to…"
Lasky reached for the chip, but James cut him off as John took the chip.
"Give. Me. That. Chip."
"The Didact has to be stopped. If you won't do that, we will." John said as he put the chip in his helmet.
"I am ordering you… TO SURRENDER THAT AI!"
The Chief got right into the Captain's face.
"No, sir."
"Lieutenant! Arrest that man!" Del Rio shouted at Commander Palmer.
"Fuck you! He's a damned hero! If you touch him, I'll shoot you myself!" James yelled, pulling out his M6H.
"Colonel! Arrest them both!" The Captain shouted at Carter.
Carter took a step forward.
"Let's move, Noble Team. We're gonna stop the Didact. Master Chief, you're with us. And that's an order."
"Yes, sir." John said as the seven Spartans left the bridge.
"COLONEL!" Del Rio yelled after them.
"Get word back to Earth that trouble is coming. We'll do what we can from here." The Chief said as he followed Noble out.