Guilty Sparks

by General Rage

Fleeing from the glassing of Reach in the belly of the Pillar of the Autumn, the crew of the SR-2 Normandy find themselves stranded with their UNSC allies on a strange Forerunner constructed ring world called Halo with the Covenant hunting them. But Halo holds a secret, one deadlier than both the Covenant and Reapers combined... and it's hungry.

36. Run Away!

Chapter 35: …Run Away!

Jacob looked down into the Communications Room from their vantage point. Grunt and Jack were working alongside Holland's men assisting the Jackals in breaking out of the Shuttle Bay. Thane was probably already inside the ducts. Now it was his and Zaeed's job, along with a mixed company of Marines and Army Soldiers, to take down Communications. He remembered Legion had to pull off something similar to this before, back on Reach with Noble Team. They had considerably more back-up than they had. Hopefully this would go a bit more smoothly than that mission.

"I got eyes on their head man," Zaeed informed Jacob as he peered through the scope. "One shot and he's done."

"Good," Jacob nodded, turning to the others. "Once EDI turns this shield off, take the shot and we'll all move in."

The Marines and Army Troopers were already setting up lines to rappel down into the room. They didn't have the luxury of zero gravity or jetpacks to cushion their fall like Noble Team had. They'd have to do this old school or not at all.

"Jacob," EDI suddenly radioed in. "I am preparing to lower the shield now."

"We're ready EDI," Jacob assured her. "Do it."

The shield dropped seconds later. Zaeed didn't waste any time before taking his shot. The disruptor round flew through the air, striking the Elite's shields hard. Zaeed fired a second shot right after the first, before the Elite could react. The shields gone, the bullet travelled clean through the Covie's skull and his body dropped to the platform floor.

The Marines and the Soldiers threw their lines down into the room and began to slide down them towards the floor. Jacob and Zaeed followed suit, falling down into the room as the Covenant filled their air with plasma bolts. The Marines and Troopers fired back as they slipped down their ropes, showering the room with bullets.

Jacob joined in the fray as he slipped down the rope, only he used his biotics at the start. He pulled a few unsuspecting Grunts forward and let them tumble down to the floor below as the aura dissipated. He then switched to his pistol in order to take aim at the Elites still among the living and trying to coordinate some kind of defence.

Zaeed, for his part, saw one of these Elites taking pot shots at the Marines and Troopers as they slid down. One of the plasma bolts hit a poor Soldier square in the chest and the man plummeted to ground like a sack of rocks. Zaeed swung himself on his line, unhooking himself as the momentum reached its zenith. He flung himself at the Elite, tackling him to ground from the sheer force of the impact alone.

The Elite clawed and punched, trying to get the timeworn mercenary off him. His terrible ferocity and strength gave him an advantage. He would've knocked the human off of him, were it not for the fact Zaeed was as stubborn as he was old. Massani weathered the Covie's blows and began pounding the butt of his rifle into the alien's face until the skull cracked open. Blood and brains pooled out onto the floor as Zaeed stoop back up on his feet and began firing shots at more Covies on the platform he landed on.

Jacob himself landed on the central platform, where the body of the first dead Elite lay. He took cover behind the central command console for the communication array and began firing on the Covenant. The other Marines and Troopers who had survived the trip down had also begun their assault. Jacob tried to provide them with as much cover as he could. His incendiary rounds set the Grunts and few Loyalist Jackals within the room ablaze as his assault rifle saturated the various platforms he took aim at.

Suddenly, Plasma Bolts flew out at him, hitting his shields. He quickly ducked behind the console for cover and searched for where the shots had originated. Another Elite one level down had him in his sights and was refusing to relent as his Plasma Repeater kept on firing. Jacob waited for a moment for the Repeater to start overheating and when he saw smoke he leapt into action. He rolled around to the other side of the console and fired a series of concentrated bursts on the Covie.

The Elite hurried to escape the barrage, jumping behind a piece of nearby cover to protect himself while his Repeater cooled. Jacob saw his chance, he curved a pull attack around the Elite's cover and managed to force him out of hiding. As the alien floated in mid-air he pumped several shots into him from afar. Even as the Covie Officer went down though, Jacob soon encountered another problem.

A shot struck him in the shoulder from above and he looked up to see a second Elite armed with a Covenant Carbine. Jacob went to get to cover, wary that the Elite still had him in his sights. However, as the elite was so focused on the human below, he did not see the second one creeping up behind him.

Zaeed fired a concussive shot that hit the Elite square in the back. They alien fell from the room's highest level, smashing against the ground. The fall not enough to kill the Covenant Warrior though and he turned his weapon back up on Zaeed's position. The mercenary pulled back and armed an inferno grenade.

"It could've been quick, but you had to be bloody stubborn," he grumbled. "Choke on it while you burn then."

Zaeed casually tossed the grenade down towards the Elite, the explosive detonating on impact with the downed Covenant soldier. The screams echoed throughout the chamber, terrifying what few Covies remained. Jacob, injured but alive, stood back up to see the Marines and Soldiers were starting to mop up what was left in the room. He got on the communicator to relay the good news to Retz.

"Communications is secure," he informed the Jackal. "We're going to regroup and rendezvous with one the entry squads. How are things on your end?"

---

"Oh fine, human," Retz sarcastically replied. "Like a leisurely stroll on the beach in fact. Now excuse me, I have a few people here that I need to kill."

Retz terminated the call and returned to the task at hand, shooting it out with a particularly stubborn sangheili and his squad of underlings. Retz was forced to stay behind the computer console as plasma bolts flew past him, only able to take wild shots at the opposition.

The human reinforcements had assisted in turning back the Covenant counterattack. They didn't waste much in the way of time when it came to breaking out of the hangar. As soon as they had turned back the first probing wave, the Marines pushed to follow the Covenant before they could regroup. Retz appreciated their aggression, if only because it was making up for lost time. They weren't very far away from the Shuttle Bay itself, but at least they were no longer sitting around and waiting. They needed to keep on the offensive, anything less and this mission would fail.

It was weird to see humans fighting alongside his crew. Kig-yar were holding their shields high as Marines advanced up behind them. Batarians kept a cautious distance as they moved forward, but they inevitably dug in beside the Holland's soldiers in the makeshift barriers within the hall. Retz would've thought it was mutual camaraderie towards a common goal, but really he knew better. They just invested interest in making sure this mission was a success.

Whether forced or otherwise, teamwork would only carry them so far. The entrenched Covenant forces blocking their progress was evidence enough of that. They had apparently stumbled onto one of their rallying checkpoints, as the large amount of Covenant defenders suggested. Breaking through would not be easy. There was a substantial number of sangheili and they weren't about to give up in the face of traitorous kig-yar pirates working with filthy humans. They'd need some extra muscle if they wanted to break this defensive position.

Unfortunately, the bald human with the tattoos and the giant war hungry krogan were already heading towards the armoury to take possession of some heavier armaments. They were on their own for now. He hoped his new human "friends" proved as resourceful as they were fierce.

He spotted one group of Marines huddling near a corner and decided to make a dash for them. He lifted his shield gauntlets up and raced across the hallway. Plasma bolts from sangheili flew towards him, but Retz managed to deflect them for a time before diving to the safety of the corner. When he got there, one of the Marines momentarily pointed his gun at him, but lowered it when he remembered they were on the same side. Reflex motion, Retz understood. So long as they never took the kill shot he'd tolerate it for now.

"We need to knock these guys out of the fight," he informed the humans. "Otherwise we're just going to be burning daylight. We should try flanking them."

"Since when did you become my CO, Jackal?" The Marine asked him rather curtly. "Just cause we're here to help you doesn't mean we have to do what you say."

Retz just grumbled slightly at the human.

"We're stuck in the same hallway with the same people trying to kill us," Retz reminded him. "Do you really want to make this an issue?"

The Marine just grunted as he looked at the opposition before them.

"Don't matter anyway," the Marine responded gruffly. "Covies got every corridor locked down it seems. Only way I see forward is through."

"Fine then," Retz declared. "We're doing this the hard way. I got an idea, just be sure to cover us and move up when we get close."

"I'm not taking orders from a Jackal," the Marine reiterated. "Why don't you just hang back and not get in the way?"

"Maybe because this is our mission and our plan," Retz sardonically reminded him. "You're only getting this ship if we actually manage to take it. So I suggest you pull that stick out of your ass, human, and give my people cover fire so we're not trapped in this corridor for however long we have left until Halo explodes!"

That seemed to put the proper perspective in the human's mind and he reluctantly nodded. Retz turned to a number of his crewmembers still waiting in the wings and motioned them up towards him.

"Barrier Formation, end to end," he ordered. "Advance, but do not fire. Ready energy cutlasses, this is gonna get messy."

It was old school, but in these close-quarters it would hopefully still be effective. On Retz's signal, the Marines opened fire all along the Covenant Line. The kig-yar quickly stood beside one another, end to end, creating a miniature energy wall that spanned the width of the corridor. They advanced slowly but surely as the Marines continued to lay supressing fire down on the Covenant. This was to ensure that the energy shields would not be overloaded by incoming plasma bolts.

When they got close to the Covenant lines, the kig-yar activated their energy cutlasses and charged the barriers. They cut down those up front first, mostly unggoy and their Covenant aligned brethren. The gas suckers were easy, they had no protection and went down fast. The other kig-yar quarreled with the pirates longer, protecting themselves with their own shields. Eventually though the blade found it mark.

Retz went right for the sangheili at the head of the line. He charged forward, using one hand to shoot and the other hold the cutlass. The Covie officer took the hits and lashed out to strike the kig-yar down. Retz managed to dodge the first strike and get on the eight-foot alien's left side where buried his blade deep into the sangheili's side before unloading a fully charged plasma bolt into him.

They had managed to breach the first layer of defences and before long the Marines, human soldiers, batarians and remaining kig-yar behind them were rushing up to reinforce their gains. There were plenty more sangheili blocking their way forward, laying down heavy fire on the entire group. Retz was forced to keep his head down again. If things kept going this way they'd be fighting for every inch of this ship for hours.

Suddenly there were two loud bangs from behind the Covenant lines, a gunshot. It cut one of the sangheili down with a bullet straight through his heart. Mere seconds later, bursting out of one of the vent covers overhead was the drell assassin. The reptilian alien landed in the middle of Covenant lines and began opening fire on everyone around him. He seemed to effortlessly move around their plasma bolts, ducking and weaving, using his biotics to shove his opponents into walls while using his gun to put the others down.

The drell delivered a biotic punch to one sangheili for example, right into his neck. He then fired point-blank into the Covie's gut as the sangheili choked. The drell then spun around and fired two more shots into the heads of some unggoy as they tried to avenge their dying leader. Without even missing a beat, the drell then turned to another sangheili and let loose a warp attack that incapacitated the Covenant warrior. He then delivered a few quick shots to his head to finish the sangheili off.

The drell didn't have to face all the Covenant defenders alone, for the other attackers were quick to lend their assistance. This was an opportunity they weren't about to miss. One batarian soldier fired his ballistic blades into a sangheili while he was distracted by the ongoing chaos behind him. The blades were upgraded with the explosives attachment so they detonated shortly after, spraying chunks onto a hapless nearby unggoy. Another batarian launched what looked to be some kind of electrified net that trapped one sangheili within it and began to shock him to death.

The humans played their role as well, although they opted to just stick to less flashy attacked than the drell or batarians. Concentrated fire from multiple on single targets was enough to take down even the stubbornness of sangheili. The Marines wasted no time in pushing forward once the enemy fell and the kig-yar followed suit.

As Retz passed one of his kin bashing his shield into a hapless unggoy, he aimed himself at a big target. One of the sangheili had smacked an upstart Marine to the ground and was preparing to finish him. Retz got in close, launching himself off the corner of the wall and rammed his fist into the sangheili's jaw.

The Covie returned the favour by smacking the kig-yar pirate into a corner while he was still in mid-air. Retz's armour was the only thing that managed to protect him for the impact. The sangheili rushed towards him, intending to smash his foot through the pirate's skull. Retz barely managed to avoid the stomping by rolling himself out of the way.

Retz, thinking quickly, then stabbed his energy cutlass into the Covie's knee cap, causing him to drop onto his injured leg. The sangheili turned fire off his plasma rifle into Retz's face, but several bullets hit his back before he could. Retz turned to see the Marine he had just barely saved and the drell had assisted him in his kill, their guns pointed at where the dead sangheili now lay.

"You got some good timing, Lizard," Retz informed the drell.

"I heard you and Jacob over the radio, it sounded like you needed help," he explained as he helped the down human beside him to his feet.

"Thanks, but we still got a lot of ship between us and the bridge," Retz reminded him. "We're gonna need to step it up if we're going to take this ship."

"I believe there are some Marines several corridors down on starboard side," the drell suggested. "They appear to be in need of assistance. If you can reinforce their position perhaps you can force your way through the Covenant defenders. I will see about flanking them through the maintenance corridors."

And with that, the drell was already slinking back into the duct he had popped out of. At least they were making progress now. That much Retz was grateful for. The lizard did bring up a point though, as Retz had clearly seen for himself. They needed to consolidate forces if they intended to break through Covenant lines. Cutting off the ship's defenders by crushing them between their combined efforts would probably be their best bet at this point. He radioed Holland.

"Colonel, I need the positions of your men," he informed the human officer. "I'm going to see if I can redirect my boys to help out yours."

"Relaying them to you now," Holland stated. "We have some heavy weapons coming in on the next Pelican as well. I'm going to try and get some men up with them so we can keep pushing."

"Good," Retz noted. "Now let's hope that giant humpback and the tattooed lady can add to that arsenal and soon."

---

Jack never expected they'd ever be working with these freaky birds. She certainly didn't expect Shepard to shake hands with a damn batarian. He did kill a shitload of them on Elysium after all. The only reason she was even going along with this was because she figured the Commander knew what he was doing. Or semi knew what he was doing, she could never figure out how his mind worked. Seriously, working with Jackals and batarian terrorists. And they said SHE was the crazy one.

She kept eyes peeled on the ugly looking featherheads, even if they were on their side she didn't trust them fully. Grunt didn't seem to trust them either, he growled at them whenever they even got close. She supposed sticking by the giant angry space-dino was a safe bet, just in case anything went belly up. He could handle these clowns mostly by himself.

In the back of her mind, she really hoped this worked out. She did not want to die on this shithole of a ring world. If they needed the Jackals to make sure that didn't happen, fine. They'd get to the bridge, kill all the Covenant fuckers on it and hightail it out of here. Maybe they'd even hold hands and sing some dumbass little song with the four-eyed freaks and these ugly little feather dusters. One big happy family or some shit. If it got her off this stupid ring, she was game.

Besides, her job on this mission meant she got to acquire some big ass boomsticks. She wasn't about to complain when the chance to get her hands on one of those Fuel Rod Cannons was on the line. Of course, getting the guns was a lot easier said than done.

The Elites had wasted no time in setting up something of a forward Command Post in the Crew Quarters of the ship. Between them and the armoury were at least three plasma turret emplacements, several Grunts, a number of loyalist Jackals armed with Carbine or Needler rifles and four Elites overseeing the entire operation. Breaking through those defences was the only way they'd get to the armoury. Jack pulled her head back behind the corner, grimacing as she tried to think of an attack plan. Suddenly she wished someone with more command experience was here instead. She wasn't much for planning.

"Okay, obviously those turrets are the biggest problem," she eventually reasoned. "We should take them out first and rush the line before someone else can use them. And the corridor next to us leads back into the same room, we could hit them from both sides."

"Just let me grab one of those turrets," Grunt declared, pounding his fist into his palm and chuckling softly. "It will be over in seconds."

Jack looked at the krogan with a bit of disdain. Normally she wouldn't mind Grunt's eagerness, but it just didn't sound like much of a plan. Shepard was a boy scout but at least his ideas felt like they had substance. She wasn't sure what was coming over her, maybe it was the turrets or the number of bad guys they had to kill. Maybe it just felt really awkward to her to be coming up with any sort of plan to begin with. Whatever, she was so far the only one taking charge so she might as well try to fit the part.

"You know, I love mindless destruction myself," she admitted to Grunt despondently. "But would it really kill you to try and think beyond the initial impulse? You know, so there's more to our strategy than basically smash and shoot everything?"

"You can't fault a tactic when it works most every time," Grunt informed her.

Jack shook her head, huffing at the krogan's simplicity. She looked to Jackals and the few Marines among their numbers.

"Anyone have their own contributions?" She asked. "Something more sophisticated than grabbing the biggest gun we can find?"

"We can toss a few grenades in to stir them up," suggested one Marine. "Few explosions always seems to help."

"I say we overcharge our plasma pistols all at once and fire them at the same time," one Jackal eagerly suggested. "Kill a few of those stupid unggoy and their asshole leaders."

If she was honest with herself, she did like those ideas. Perhaps she was just too addicted to explosions and destruction to care all that much about strategy after all. However, she cared enough about not dying to consider the possibility that perhaps they needed something else to pull this off. Like maybe a distraction or whatever they called it in military lingo.

Just then there was a crackling sound that pierced their ears. It must've been the ship's intercom, because the sound was soon followed by a voice, quite possibly the Corvette's Captain or whatever these aliens called the person who held that rank.

"Honoured brothers and warriors of the Covenant," the intercom screeched. "This is Shipmaster Orna 'Fulsamee. The traitors are pushing forward with their offensive. They cannot be allowed to take this vessel. Their alliance with the humans in their endeavour is an affront to our Covenant, a breaking of our sacred oath. Their leader committed heresy when they killed the Prophet of Empathy and now they continue their blasphemy by aligning themselves with our hated enemy. None are to be spared, silence their affront to our Gods and secure your place in paradise!"

"Ugh, as if I wanted to listen to that bastard while in the middle of a fire fight," one Jackal grumbled.

But Jack could only see a possibly opportunity in Orna's little importune oration.

"We can use this," she suggested to the others. "Let his loud mouth cover our movements a bit. Jackals down one hall, Marines down the other. You do your things the second I toss out a shockwave."

The two groups seemed reluctant, but decided to follow along with the tattooed ex-con's plan anyway. Besides, if Orna's speech allowed them to cover their approach and get closer to the line, why not take the initiative? They carefully waited for the defenders' attention to be torn away from the front line. Then, both Jackals and Marines made their way towards a small alcove both hallways possessed. Orna continued to speak on the intercom, masking their movements as he now spoke to them.

"To the Pirates aboard, know this and understand," he declared. "You have forfeited any chance for redemption. You are no better than the mongrels you now serve alongside. You shall be forever damned to whatever dark corner of the universe is reserved for your kind. By assaulting this ship you have sealed your fate. Our path is clear, but your journey shall end here and now. And as you die screaming, know it was arrogance and sin that led you to this path. My hands are clean of your deaths for you have killed yourselves."

"We're gonna get to kill him soon, right?" Grunt asked with a snort.

"Looking forward to it myself, big guy," Jack responded as her arm began to surge with biotic energy.

She looked over at both hallways and could see the others were in position, no sense in stalling now.

"And to the humans," Orna began to conclude. "All I have to say is this. You have walked into your own tomb. Your end will be agonizing. That is the only promise you deserve."

Jack let loose the shockwave at that moment. It rippled across the ground, flinging two gas suckers into the air. The Jackals, who had already charged their plasma pistols to full stepped out into the open and let their bolts fly. At the same time, the Marines chucked some of the grenades over into the centre of the room. The combined plasma blasts and explosions threw the makeshift Command Post into chaos.

The methane breathers were killed by either the grenades exploding or the powerful plasma charges hitting them. The loyalist Jackals sought cover, but without shields of their own they easy targets for both attacks. The Elites avoided the grenades best they could, but their shields took a beating from the plasma bolts. The tried to rally what was left of their forces, rushing to the barricades to stop the forthcoming attack.

Grunt was already rushing in before the last explosion sounded. He rammed the first barrier, busting it down with ease alongside the loyalist Jackal behind it. One of the gas suckers tried to turn the plasma turret on the krogan, but ended up getting punted aside by the giant reptile's foot. Grunt grabbed the turret, pulling it free from its stand and then fired it at the Covenant while laughing. He trailed plasma bolts up throughout the room, killing several of the gas suckers before taking direct aim at an Elite who was trying to fight back. The plasma bolts cut him down before he could any real damage.

While Grunt was having his fun, Jack made dashed to the opposite hallways where the Marines were charging the barricades. Her shotgun in hand, Jack fired continuous blasts at the frontline, trying her best to keep anyone from getting close to the now abandoned plasma turret in their path. As she did, some of the loyalist Jackals took shots at her with Carbine Rifles. She quickly activated a pull attack that lifted the two bastards into the air. After firing a warp and detonating them, she hurried over the barricades and took cover behind a small weapons crate.

The Pirate Jackals were inside the enemy lines as well, helping to squeeze the Covenant forces between the two attacking waves. Grunt's Plasma Turret barrage thinned their numbers considerably, and even caught another Elite as he tried to get to a better flanking position. However, not all their foes would go down so easily. There was one last Plasma Turret and it soon had a new gunner, one of the remaining Elites. Most of his men were dead, but he refused to even think of surrender.

Swivelling the turret from side to side, he raked the area with hot plasma bolts. A pirate Jackal was hit square in the face. Two Marines fell next against the onslaught. Everyone, even Grunt, was forced to duck behind cover against the barrage. Jack realised that things would go south quick if they didn't take care of that Elite. No one else seemed to be doing anything, so she might as well try.

"You jerks keep your heads down," she told the Marines. "I'm going around!"

She broke from cover and rushed to small table further up the line. She dove behind it as the Plasma Turret's bolts turned on her. Thankfully, the others did their best to cover her, forcing the gunner's eyes off her. However, there was one last Elite and he still had his sights on Jack. He fired a burst of bolts at her as she tried to stand up. Jack returned fire with a shotgun blast, but the Elite quickly ducked behind a nearby console.

"Damn it," Jack growled.

In an attempt to flush him out, Jack sent a pull attack towards the Elite's position. The alien, however, tucked and rolled before the shot connected. He dropped behind a weapons crate and continued to open fire.

"Double damn it," Jack hissed as bolts hit her table.

So brute force wasn't working, she'd need play a lot smarter if she wanted to get the Elite out of cover. She noticed one opportunity, a weapons locker to the left of the Elite's position. Using her powers, she sent a biotic throw attack towards the locker's side. It pushed the heavy object towards the Elite's position, forcing him to abandon it or be crushed. He continued to fire a relentless stream of bolts at Jack in response, but now he was out in the open.

"Time to fucking die, dipshit," she declared in sinisterly low tone.

Jumping out from behind her table, screaming like a mad woman, she let loose with her shotgun on the Elite while strafing the floor. The alien was far enough away to avoid some of the shots or at least not be too damaged when he got hit, but Jack wasn't about to let this eight-foot bastard show her up. She sent a shockwave rippling towards the Covie and this time it tossed him back into a wall. While he was dazed, Jack rushed and fired every last round she had right into his skull.

"How ya like me now, huh?" She asked as the corpse slid to the floor.

It was then she was reminded of her original target when her ears picked up the battlecry of the last Elite firing away with the plasma turret. He was really laying it into Grunt's position. Poor dumb krogan was trapped, Jack supposed she was going to have to save him now along with everyone else.

She was now positioned on the backside of the turret, giving her the perfect angle to shoot. She fired several shots from her pistol in the alien's back, catching his attention.

"Remember me?" She asked him loudly.

The Covie turned to grab his sidearm and fire, but Jack closed in enough to let loose with a close range biotic punch that knocked the Elite over the barricade where the plasma turret sat and onto the ground. Jack rushed over to grab the turret and then used it to fire on the Elite before he could get back on his feet.

Their objective now secure, the Pirate Jackals and the Marines set about acquiring the weapons from the armoury nearby. They would've waited for one of the Jackals to slice through the security lock and open the door, but Grunt opted for the more direct approach. He bashed it down with several hits from his shoulder. Once broken into, both Jackals and Marines began scrambling for anything they could carry. First pick and all that. They were on their best behaviour, no one fought anyone over the Fuel Rod Cannons for example. Besides, they all knew they had to save some for their friends.

"We've secured the objective, Jacob," Jack radioed in. "We'll wait for our pals to move up and keep moving to the Bridge."

"Good to hear, Jack," Jacob replied. "We're going to need those heavy guns in a bit. We're closing on the Bridge. Won't be long now."

---

Buck kept firing at the ODSTs, trying to keep them pinned down. They wouldn't stay down though. Using the debris around them, one of the troopers made a makeshift riot shield. Holding it up against his body he began to push forward. A fellow Trooper joined beside him, offering extra fire as they pushed ahead.

Dutch opened up on the shield, hoping that the gunfire would force the Trooper to drop the piece of bulkhead. The ODST held firm though, pushing forward despite the beating his roam cover was taking. Eventually Dutch aimed higher and to right so he could at least take out the Trooper who was firing on them from behind his shield carrying comrade. A clean shot hit the ODST in neck and he toppled over onto the floor.

"Hold on, I got him," Romeo called over.

Firing a string of shots from his pistol, Romeo aimed for the shield carrier's legs. Although the Trooper was keeping the space between the bulkhead and the ground as small as possible, it wasn't small enough. A stray shot got through and hit the Drop Trooper in the foot. He stumbled slightly, giving Dutch the chance to hit him as his shield dropped.

Even with that attempted assault halted, the Drop Troopers weren't about to give up. They continued raining down heavy fire on Buck's position. At this point they were completely saturated with bullets. They could barely stick their heads up. They would need to retreat soon or risk the ODSTs simply overwhelming them.

"Buck," Garrus' voice suddenly sounded over the radio. "You're gonna wanna duck!"

"What?"

The Sergeant's question was swiftly answered when the roof above them exploded violently. Bits of metal and debris fell down into the corridor. The attacking ODSTs stopped shooting and fell back. Buck did as well, running away as an entire section of the upper deck collapsed. They ran from the destruction and smoke that billowed out everywhere in the aftermath. When the dust settled the entire corridor had been blocked off. There was no way around the broken bits of flaming debris. Sliding down from the deck above soon after were Garrus and Jun to greet Buck's squad.

"What the hell did you two do?" He asked.

"We blew up a power line for one of the ship's weapons that ran through the corridor above," Garrus explained. "I figured if we destroyed it would cause the deck above it to fall and cut the hallway off from Silva's people."

"Quick thinking," Romeo complimented before his tone turned more disapproving. "Next time give us a bit more warning than just duck, okay?"

As they all picked themselves up, another explosion sounded further up the way.

"Was that another one of yours?" Buck asked hesitantly.

"I think it was my door mine," Garrus growled. "Come on, we gotta get up to the escape hatch, fast!"

---

Kat ducked around a corner as bullets flew into the bulkhead. She now had the sneaking suspicion Silva knew Spartans were going to come after him. The fact he had set up a machine gun nest in the middle of the corridor leading towards the bridge proper was evidence enough of that. Now the ODST behind the trigger was laying down a hail of bullets at her. Trying to assault the position directly was suicide. They'd need another angle.

That was Linda's department. She was a better sharpshooter than her. Kat only had to give her the opening she required to use those very skills. Currently, Linda was across from her, keeping tucked away in a small corner. McKay was behind her, ready to provide covering fire if need be. Linda nodded once to show she was ready and Kat prepared a grenade. The nest was too heavily protected with pieces of ship debris acting as makeshift barricades, but she wasn't counting on the grenade to kill anyone. She only wanted it to make a big enough boom that it would distract the Drop Troopers and give Linda her chance.

With a quick toss, the grenade flew over to the machine gun nest. As predicted, it bounced off one of the metal barriers and clattered to the floor at the foot of the barricade. The blast followed moments later and Linda immediately made a run for it. McKay provided additional cover, firing on the Machine Gun nest and trying to keep the gunner distracted.

The ruse worked, or at least kept the gunner from targeting Linda. The eagle-eyed Spartan made it to a small alcove along the side of the wall and kept her back pressed to it. This was a lot closer to an intended target than she was usually comfortable with, but that just meant this shot would be a bit easier. She readied her pistol and prepared to take aim. However, as she peered down the scope she found the metal protective plate of the turret in her field of vision.

"Damn, no shot," she whispered into her radio.

"Don't worry," Kat assured. "I'll get you one."

Kat had anticipated the need for a bit of an edge over any of Silva's men. So she checked out the armoury before she had linked up with Linda. She hadn't gotten much use out of her armour upgrades during their stay here, but the Holographic device was just what they needed. Activating the hologram a perfect copy of herself rushed out into the hallway. As soon as the gunner spotted it, he turned to target it instead of McKay. As he fired on the fake Lieutenant Commander, Linda saw her briefly chance. The gunner's head appeared in her sights, sandwiched with the space between the machine gun's shield along its aiming sight. Linda took the shot and caught the ODST between his eyes.

"Down," Linda called out. "Move!"

Kat didn't wait for another ODST to take over the turret. She rushed up to the barricade, McKay close behind. They slid into the makeshift wall just as a new gunner took up the turret and began opening up on Linda's position. Kat used her metal arm to grab the gun's barrel and jerked it upward. She then stood up and fired point blank into the nest, killing the surprised gunner and what was left of the garrison with sustained submachine gun fire. McKay tossed a grenade over the wall as well, just for good measure.

It took a solid minute for Linda to bash down the debris barricade, but it was no significant loss of time. It still showed that even though the ODSTs had set this up in a hurry, they had set up a pretty decent roadblock. It made Kat realise how determined they were. No Marine would put this much effort into stopping them if they didn't believe in the Major completely. The realisation of this made her worried.

"At this point, what's left of the ODSTs in our way are Silva's most loyal," she warned. "The bridge will be full of them."

"We have to at least try to talk them down," McKay argued. "They're not bloodthirsty fanatics. They just trust Antonio's decision. They're wrong, but that doesn't make them the enemy."

"I'm just warning you, McKay," Kat stated. "We may not be able to save them all."

McKay sighed, accepting she was right. She hated it, Kat could see that, but she wasn't going to live in denial.

"Let's just get this done," she growled, marching off ahead towards the bridge.

---

There were only a few Marines left at the escape hatch, but there were no Pelicans above still able to take them. With few options left, Garrus decided that if they couldn't escape the ship they could at least get out of the ODSTs' crosshairs. That meant waiting for the airlock to cycle again though. Once it was ready, they'd get out onto the roof and find a way back into the ship from above, preferably closer to a shuttle bay. They could make their escape from there with any luck.

The ODSTs didn't know the plan, but they were slowly closing in on them all regardless. He did his best to keep them at bay, firing off at them as they tried to make their way down the corridor. He managed to score a clean hit on one as he ran forward from his cover. These weren't stupid gung-ho mercenaries on Omega though. These were well-disciplined, hardened soldiers who just happened to be trained to launch themselves towards the ground from space. They were keeping each other covered, advancing in twos, hugging the wall and presenting as small a target as possible. Even with three of their own and a Spartan on his side Garrus knew this fight wasn't winnable. If the airlock didn't finish cycling soon they'd be done.

"One moving up right!" Jun shouted, firing his rifle at the offending ODST.

The Drop Trooper returned fire and quickly dropped into a small alcove for safety. While Jun covered the right of the hall, Buck handled the middle, keeping a pack of Drop Troopers pinned behind a broken piece of piping that had fallen. He finally managed to score a hit when one of the Drop Troopers tried to reposition along the cover. Buck caught him in the back of the head as he moved.

That left Garrus to cover the left. There was one tricky ODST that was using a corner. He kept blind firing, forcing Garrus to keep his head down. Eventually he took a chance to rush forward to a Covie Weapons locker along his route. Garrus tried to fire on him, but the Trooper slammed himself into cover before he could land a shot.

"Damn," he growled, quickly reloading his weapon.

He now kept his sights centered square on the locker. He would not let this guy slip by him again. When the trooper appeared though, he was tossing something at him. Garrus thought it was a grenade at first, which would've been dumb in these close-quarters. Instead it turned out to be a throwing knife. His armour and exoskeleton protected him from serious injury, but the action still threw off his aim. He let a shot off that pinged against the ceiling.

The ODST now rushed from cover, firing off his weapon like mad. Garrus dropped to his back. His shields were already weakened from before and now they were completely gone from the sustained fire. Garrus quickly picked up his rifle and aimed it towards the charging ODST. He wasn't able to look down the sights, so he just let off shots. He managed to score a lucky shot, hitting the ODST in the eye. The trooper dropped down just feet away from him. Another few inches and he'd have been on top of him.

The turian would have no time to catch his breath as an alarm bell sounded. It was the airlock, it was ready for them. Without even needing to give or hear and order, the rest of the team began to fall back. Garrus forced himself up and followed them. They rushed back around the corner and ran into the airlock. Buck slammed his fist on the button as Garrus rushed inside. The turian ducked to the floor as bullets whizzed over his head. The doors slammed shut a few seconds later, locking the ODSTs out completely.

"That was way too close," Buck stated as he helped Garrus to his feet.

The turian gave the airlock a quick scan to see the remaining Marines among them inside. They had managed to escape the onslaught, but not the ship. Their ordeal wasn't over, but at least it had been lightened.

"I should be able to get us to way back inside the ship that's close to the hangar," he assured them. "Just follow my lead when we're out."

The doors opened to the roof of the ship and everyone piled out. As they did though, Jun turned back and fired his rifle at the airlock's door mechanism. Once destroyed the doors ground shut, effectively cutting off any pursuit from the ODSTs.

"That should keep them off us for a bit," Jun suggested.

"At least until they figure out we're headed for the Shuttle Bay," Garrus noted. "Come on, we don't have much time."

---

The Maintenance Tunnels were indeed pretty cramped. You could only walk in single file formation. With as big as their little group was, that made getting through the passageways a bit more trying. Thankfully, they had the Master Chief's flashlight to help guide them as well as Cortana's comprehensive knowledge of the ship's layout. It didn't make being inside the darkened compressed corridors any less unnerving though. They still had to concern themselves with the Flood being in here with them.

"Couldn't you humans have put some lights in here?" Zek asked in a hushed whisper as they moved through the darkness. "I mean, how are your Engineers supposed to get anywhere?"

"Your fleet damaged the ship, if you may recall," Miranda informed him haughtily, trying to keep quiet as well. "You took a lot of subsystems offline in the process."

"Hey, my ship didn't fire on you guys, they were running support," Zek emphatically stated in his defence, still doing his best to not speak up too loudly. "I was part of the boarding crew. All I did was shoot at people while already inside the ship."

"That does not really make it better," Tali whispered back in a less than enthused tone.

The Master Chief cut the conversation short when her stopped movie and hushed back at the group behind him. It didn't take long for them to realise why, as the sound of plasma bolts and laser fire sounded from ahead. With the Flood about, no one could be certain of the exact nature of the firefight, so they proceeded cautiously ahead. They came to an exit, which Chief carefully approached in order to recon the outside hallway.

It wasn't Flood, thank God for that, but there were indeed Sentinels seemingly engaged with Covenant soldiers. There were a few Grunts and two Elites, but the biggest problem were the Hunters. The giant aliens were in the most direct combat with the Sentinels, trying to shoot them while blocking the laser beams the flying machines were firing back. It was both good news and bad, they did not have to worry about the Flood for the moment, but another Hunter fight was looming now. They didn't have any heavier weapons this time either, so this was probably going to be a bit more difficult. Chief reported back to the others.

"Hunters are trying to take out some Sentinels attacking a Covenant barricade," he explained. "It's pretty heated right now."

"Worse still, it looks like said barricade is blocking our way to engineering," Cortana added. "We need to deal with them."

"Well Elites and Hunters I can handle," Zek confidently assured the group, hefting his Needler Rifle into his arms. "Way I see it, all we need to do is get on their flank and take them down."

"Perhaps we can borrow a play out of the Flood's book," Miranda thoughtfully suggested. "These tunnels must have additional exits nearby. We can use them to our advantage."

"Good idea," Shepard concurred enthusiastically. "We locate an exit closer to the barricade and use to sneak up behind the Hunters as well as assault the Covenant defences from the side. We'll fan out, a few of us stay here and watch this exit while the rest will move further right down this corridor and find us an exit."

Because of their position in the tunnel, who went first down the passageway was less a matter of volunteering as it was just pure luck. Zek got put on point because of this, with the Master Chief close behind offering his flashlight to help guide the way. The Jackal kept a few inches in front of the Spartan, a bit wary of the infamous walking death machine that had slaughtered a lot of kig-yar like himself. He didn't hold a grudge, it was just his job after all, but that didn't make him looking over his shoulder any less unnerving.

"It's okay Zek," he tried to reassure himself within his mind. "He's only going to shoot the sangheili, worm giants and stupid gas suckers. You're in the clear."

However, the uncomfortable situation coupled with his prior concerns about Flood being in these tunnels made him a bit more jumpy than usual. So when something darted out of the shadows towards them and started screaming he answered in kind by firing his Needler Rifle at it. He hadn't even registered what he shot until the Spartan adjusted his flashlight. Zek breathed a sigh of relief when he saw what he shot.

"Oh, just a stupid scared gas sucking unggoy," he observed calmly. "For a second I was worried."

The poor Covenant foot soldier's head had been punctured by two Needle rounds that had exploded in his eyes sockets. Not exactly a pleasant death. Slightly more disturbing then the sight of the mutilated methane breather was Zek's nonchalant attitude about it. All his previous anxiety was suddenly gone and he almost skipped over the dead Covie with a new strange sense of confidence. Chief didn't pay it much mind other than the initial observation. He was just happy Zek had fired while one of the Hunters had shot off a blast from its cannon. He moved the dead body to the side with his foot to make more space for the others to walk by as they continued on.

It didn't take long to find the second exit of course, it was just a few feet down the passage. Looking out past the doorway, Chief could see a small alcove of sorts that twisted back on itself. The u-shaped corridor was just across the way from them, but it was impossible to reach it without getting spotted. Currently, Chief could see the backs of the Hunters to the left and the Covie barricade further right. It would take a little doing in order to defeat both. The Hunters were the more dangerous of the two currently, as well as the most exposed for the moment. They'd deal with them first before attempting anything on the barricade itself.

He didn't want to get into a long protracted fight with these Hunters again. Not with the Elites and Grunts nearby, putting them in the middle of the crossfire when they inevitably spotted them. If they wanted to deal with this quickly then the Master Chief knew he'd have to kill at least one Hunter by surprise. He did have an idea though, although it relied on Miranda's help. He turned to the Executive Officer as she stood behind him.

"You still have that M6D pistol on you?" He asked.

Lawson quickly upholstered the silver-tinted hand cannon, guessing at the Spartan's plan. She flipped the gun in her palm and handed it to him grip first.

"I hope your aim is still good," she informed him.

He didn't have to hope, he had a little extra help residing in the neural link in his head.

"Should be a clean shot," Cortana advised as she pulled up a few calculations. "Just place the crosshairs over the reticle. That should cause the most damage. One shot may be enough but go for two, just to be safe."

Chief looked through the scope of the pistol and took aim. The exposed orange worms that made up the gigantic alien easily stood out against the blue armour. The Hunter itself was too busy with the Sentinels to pay much attention to anything happening behind it. As the behemoth smashed his shield arm into one of the flying machines pestering him, easily destroying the pesky robot, Chief squeezed the trigger in rapid succession. Two shots penetrated the back of the Hunter, tearing at the creature's insides. The giant dropped to the floor dead.

Chief went to fire on the second Hunter, but the giant alien turned first. Chief's shot found itself bouncing harmlessly off the Hunter's armoured shoulder instead of hitting its intended target. The Hunter easily spotted the Spartan poking his head out from the Maintenance Tunnel and prepared to fire back. As it charged its Assault Cannon though, it took fire from behind. Shepard's team, still positioned at the first exit, were firing on the giant Covie in an attempt to distract him from the Chief's group. The Hunter stopped charging his weapon and turned to face parallel to the wall. Sidestepping away from Shepard's firing position, his exposed side was protected by his massive shield arm, denying the Master Chief another shot.

"Cheater," Zek grumbled aloud. "You hulking worm sacks aren't supposed to be smart!"

Zek's complaint was cut short when the Covenant soldiers at the barricade to their right opened fire on their position. They had to duck back in to avoid the incoming fire. Zek was quick to push back to the edge of the tunnel though where he aimed his Needler Rifle at the barricade.

"I'll try and distract them," He informed the Master Chief. "You guys finish off the Worm Tank."

"We can try getting a new angle at the alcove," Miranda suggested to the Spartan. "With any luck, Shepard can force it towards our position."

"We shall remain and assist Jackal Pirate with diversionary efforts," Legion offered in kind.

It was as good a plan as any, now that their hopes of resolving the Hunters quickly had been dashed. So when Zek and Legion opened fire on the barricade from the Maintenance Exit, Miranda and the Master Chief made a run for the alcove corridor across the hall. The Covenant at the barricades fired on the two, but when one of the Grunts took a hit from Legion's Widow straight through the head, even the Elite nearby backed off slightly. Zek's needle rounds helped keep the Covie officer stuck behind cover and gave Lawson and the Chief the time they needed to get to the alcove.

The Hunter shuffled slightly further right, trying to get away from the incoming fire from Shepard's position. He was still aiming with his Cannon, but this time it was at the first Maintenance Exit. Chief quickly got on the radio to warn the Commander.

"Shepard, you better move," he called out. "He's got you tagged."

The gunfire from the exit suddenly stopped and Chiktikka suddenly rolled out of the darkness towards the Hunter. The little drone blasted at the giant Covie for a bit, but none of its shots were enough to seriously wound the alien. The walking worm sack suddenly slammed his metal fist down on the little drone, causing it to vanish in a blind light of dispersing energy. The Hunter didn't miss a beat and fired on the exit where Shepard had been moments before.

Chief couldn't wait for confirmation of Shepard and the others' condition. He saw an opportunity to bring the Hunter down and he was going to take it. Rushing out of the alcove, Miranda behind him, he ran towards the back of the Hunter who was now just feet away from them. While the alien's shield was touching the ground, Chief used it as a step to get onto the beastly xeno's shoulder and began to scramble onto the giant's back.

Miranda, in the meantime, did her best to assist him by keeping the Hunter off balance. She fired her submachine gun into the alien's orange sinewy flesh, it was hard to miss now that she was so close. The Hunter roared and lashed out with arm shield, swinging it towards Lawson. The nimble woman ducked under the attack, part of her long hair being cut by the incoming shield. She rolled to the side and kept firing at the Hunter to keep its focus off the Chief.

It almost worked, the Hunter had nearly forgotten about the Spartan. Then the Chief's pistol touched his neck and he remembered. The Hunter threw his back into the hallway's bulkhead, slamming the Chief into it. Despite the hit, the Spartan kept his hold. As the Hunter lurched forward the deliver another slam, the Master Chief pushed himself up. Vaulting off the back as it slammed into the wall once more, Chief now turned to grab onto the gap in the alien's neck armour. His feet then came down and propped themselves up against the Hunter's chest.

The Spartan's visor was now close enough to touch the approximation of the walking Covenant Tank's nose. Realising what danger he was in and how little time he had to react, Chief took the pistol and fired it into the Hunter's neck. The monstrous alien roared in pain and shook the human off him. For whatever reason, that shot hadn't been enough to put this Hunter down. He was at least bleeding profusely though, as the streaks of orange goo dripping from the bullet wounds attested.

The Hunter attempted to raise his arm, only for Miranda to lay down more submachine gun fire. The shot hit the alien in his exposed torso and caused him to lower the shield to defend himself. He opted to just step on the Master Chief instead, but the Spartan rolled away before the massive foot could stomp on him. Then, still laying on his back on the floor, Chief fired two more pistol shots into the Hunter's exposed torso flesh. The Hunter groaned one final time and then fell against the side of the wall like a sack of bricks.

There was little time to celebrate the victory, as the Covenant defenders began firing on Miranda and Chief. Lawson fired back, sending a throw attack to knock a Grunt off his feet while the Chief got to his. They made a run for alcove once again, although at least this time it was shorter. Pressing themselves against the wall for protection, they readied to attack the barricade once more.

"Chief, we're all okay," Shepard's voice informed him over the radio. "We almost got fried by that shot but we all made it. Thanks for the heads-up."

He was relieved to hear that, Chief has been momentarily worried his warning had been futile.

"God to hear, we took down the Hunter," he told the Commander. "Barricade is all that's left."

As he informed the Commander of their progress, the remaining Sentinels moved up into the line of fire. They had been waiting for the Hunters to be dealt with it seemed. Now they were attacking the Covenant directly. The Grunts were little more than a minor obstacle for them, their laser cut the remaining methane breathers down with ease. It was the Elites who posed the most trouble, expertly marking the flying robots in their crosshairs and deftly blasting them out of the sky.

The machines were fast becoming scraps of burning metal, so that left the Elites as the only real threat left in the corridor now. Zek was keeping them at bay, but the Covies were quickly getting sick of the Jackal's constant fire. They still had Sentinels to deal with after all. So one of the two Elites tossed a plasma grenade in his direction. Chief could hear the Jackal yelling "Shit, Shit" as he ran away from the exit and back into the tunnels.

"We need to get closer," Chief told Miranda. "Follow the alcove."

"Right," Miranda agreed.

The two followed the u-shaped corridor to get closer for their flanking attack. As they did that, Shepard's team ran out of the exit and took up positions among the debris in the hallway proper. The Elites finished off the last of the Sentinels and turned their attention to the Commander's team. It was really just sporadic supressing fire, a way to keep the Covies distracted while Chief and Miranda got into position. The tactic seemed to be working, for the most part.

Tali's sabotage application could still only overheat the Plasma Rifles, not cause them to backfire. It at least forced the Elites to stay to cover lest they lose their shields. Varvok was a keen enough shot to take out one of the Grunts as it popped its little head up, cutting their numbers down further. Mordin tried to hit one of the Elites with cryo to freeze him, make him an easier target. The Covie's shields protected him though and refrained from revealing himself for too long. He knew who he was dealing with obviously and knew about their anti-shield tactics. Shepard did his best to coordinate the attack in order to keep the Covies guessing, thankfully he wouldn't have to keep doing it for long.

When Chief and Miranda reached the corner, he tossed a grenade towards the barricade. He didn't expect it to kill the Elites in one blast, but it would force them into the open. The explosion rocked the defensive positions and took out a Grunt. Chief now rushed out, Assault Rifle at the ready and Miranda close behind. As they moved another of the Grunts exploded in a pink cloud. Zek had returned to his position near the Tunnel Exit and was doing his part to keep the gas suckers off them. They needed to kill the Elites first and foremost.

One Elite had rolled out of the way of the grenade and was now exposed. Miranda caught him with an overload, draining his shields completely. Chief fired his Assault Rifle at the alien and managed to get him in the gut, but it didn't kill him. The Elite dove into cover and fired blindly at the Spartan and the Executive Officer. The two split up from each other to avoid the shots. Chief ran forward to flank the Elite in his cover, but the Covie Officer leapt up as he approached.

The Xeno shoulder checked the Chief into the opposing wall and unleashed his Plasma Dagger. Chief ducked as the alien tried to stab him through the head. Dodging to the side, Chief swung his arm in a chopping motion towards the Elite's now extended dagger wielding arm's elbow. There was a slight cracking sound as attack cracked the alien's bone. The elite growled in pain and the Spartan tried to follow up with a whack to the skull. The Elite grabbed the Spartan's fist and he raised his damaged arm to attack the Spartan. Chief quickly kicked the Elite in the groin, eliciting another cry of pain. Then with his free hand, delivered a haymaker into the Elite's face. The alien plopped to the ground and Chief fired his Assault Rifle into the Covie to finish him off.

"On the right!" Cortana cried out.

Chief turned to see the second Elite taking aim. The Spartan went to ground behind a small barricade as plasma bolts hit against his shields. Miranda tried to get the Covie off him by firing on the Elite herself, her pistol rounds slamming against his shields. He now turned to fire at her, forcing her to seek cover. Laughing at the human's feeble attempts to take him down, he turned back towards the Spartan.

And saw a small purple orb floating in his face.

"Go for the Optics, Chiktikka!" Tali screeched aloud from across the room.

Chiktikka fired a terrible energy blast right into the Covie's eyes. The Elite howled in pain as the drone's attack blinded him. He swatted at the air, trying to smash the stupid little ball of light that had sucker shocked him. The little drone was already gone, chasing after a Grunt who was now running in fear.

"Good girl!" Tali cried out in elation at her drone's success.

Miranda popped up again to hit the flailing Covie with her submachine gun, managing to take down his shields this time. The Elite was able to tell where the shots were coming though and suddenly rushed her. The Elite swatted her to the ground as she tried to dodge, a painful hit but the plasma rifle he was aiming at her would be far more deadly. Or would have been, if the Covie didn't suddenly freeze in place, literally. Mordin had finally connected a cryo blast with the Elite, covering him in ice.

Miranda crawled on her back out from under the Elite's frozen visage as the Master Chief sprung up from cover. He fired his Assault Rifle into the chilled Covie, breaking off pieces from the alien bit by bit. Eventually the alien was shattered in pieces on the ground and the barricades were finally clear of Covies. Chief walked over to help Miranda up to her feet with an outstretched hand.

"Is it a mistake to feel that one was a greater problem than the Hunter was?" She asked the Spartan as she dusted herself off.

"I suppose it comes down to perspective," the Spartan admitted.

"The Hunter did do a bit of a number on your hair though," Cortana was quick to add. "Not sure if you'd take that into account, just saying."

"Just because I sometimes work in heels doesn't mean I'm vain," Lawson stated rather defensively at the AI. "I just prefer it this length. Besides, it's not that much. It will grow back."

"You probably wouldn't have that problem as much if you tied it back you know," Tali mentioned as she and the others approached.

Lawson just grimaced at the quarian.

"Do you really want to start this discussion again?" She asked Tali haughtily. "It is unseemly and uncomfortable."

"And since when is combat supposed to be comfortable?" Tali asked back somewhat cheekily.

"Are you two females going to keep exchanging feather preening tips are we going to get moving?" Zek asked as he walked out of the tunnels with Legion in tow. "We're here to blow a reactor up, remember?"

The two dropped the discussion, Zek was right after all. Although no one would admit it aloud. Letting off some steam never hurt though. It was just how Shepard's team operated from what the Master Chief could see.

"We should head to the Armoury on this deck first," Cortana affably suggested. "We're going to need the weapons in there to pull this off effectively, specifically rockets and grenades. If the manifest is right it should have all we need and more."

"One stop shopping for all our explosion needs," Shepard stated with a nod. "Sounds good to me. You're on point, Chief. Lead the way."

The Spartan nodded and led the team down to the Armoury.

---

It was bad enough they were fighting for every square inch of this ship, but Kowalski didn't appreciate having some damn Elite constantly shouting about how they were all going to die. This Orna guy was a real dick with a major superiority complex. Right now though the worst thing about him, as stated before, was that he just wouldn't shut up even when the shooting was going on.

"Do not fear the human scourge aboard this ship. They are weak, brothers," the Elite declared over the loudspeakers. "They have no light within them, no place on the path. We are the chosen, those whose destiny shall not be denied! Crush them like the insects they are!"

No one was getting more fed up with the so-called Shipmaster's speeches than Ellingham, who seemed to firing his shotgun off at the nearest enemy in an attempt to relieve his stress.

"Son of a bitch needs a sock in his mouth," he growled to Kowalski. "Please tell me we're close to storming his bridge and killing him."

"The hell should I know," Kowalski asked in response, firing off bursts at some Grunts. "This is only the second Covie ship I've been inside in my entire life! I don't know the layout!"

Best Kowalski could tell, they were in some kind of weapons battery control centre. Probably one of many on this ship. Although the guns had been disabled, that didn't stop the Covies from defending it so fiercely. They hid behind pillars and small erected barriers to protect themselves against the onslaught of the Marines and the Army Troopers they had linked up with. They appeared to have the numbers, but the Covenant had the skill to match. They had taken a few casualties when they got in here and they didn't seem to be making a dent.

Thank God for Sergeant Johnson though, Kowalski hadn't know him long but his damn fine Marine. The man had no fear, almost like a Spartan but without the armour. When one trooper's leg got shot to pieces by a Carbine Rifle, Johnson wasted no time in running out to help him. He let loose with blazing fire from his assault rifle, as he ran out into the open. An Elite tried to take his head off with a plasma sword, but the Sarge just ducked and rolled right under the swing. He must've reloaded in the middle of the roll because when he popped up he fired a full clip into the Elite's backside, eventually killing the alien. Johnson then picked himself up and dragged the injured Army Trooper into cover, firing at the Covenant all the way.

Johnson wasn't the only asset they had, Samara was just as valuable. She was more than a match for Elites leading the defence of the room. She was above on an upper level right now, but Kowalski could easily see the battle unfolding from his position. The asari was currently firing her assault rifle back at a few Covenant soldiers who had pinned her behind a structural support. She then rolled out into the open to create a singularity that forced one Elite into the air. One reave attack later and the singularity detonated, killing another Elite with the blast.

Samara then jumped down and took up a crouching position behind another pillar. She continued to fire on the Covenant with her assault rifle, using a stasis attack to freeze one Elite in his tracks.

"The bridge isn't far," she shouted aloud, encouraging the others within the room. "Keep pressing, they will fall in time!"

Samara's determination and Johnson's bravery were enough to keep them all fighting. Agley, trapped behind a small console with Ramirez, did he best to fire back on the Covenant positions while Ramirez tossed a grenade towards them. Pearson was nearby Johnson himself doing his best to administer medi-gel and bio-foam to their casualties. However, Kowalski knew that they would need something more to break through this deadlock.

Suddenly, one of the doors on the level above slid open. Plasma fire erupted from it and for a moment everyone thought it was Covenant reinforcements. Instead, it turned out to be Jackals, their Jackals. They targeted the remaining Covenant troops up top and began firing down on those below them.

"Well about damn time," Ellingham laughed jovially. "And here I was thinking they weren't gonna pull their weight."

"Come on," Kowalski urged. "While they got the Elites distracted let's move up to that console over there."

They both got up from cover and began to make a run for a console further up the line. A few Grunts took pot shots at them, luckily Ellingham's shotgun proved more than effective at taking out the little aliens. Kowalski, still carrying his disruptor round modded pistol took aim at an Elite Major further up the defensive line. The shots managed to deplete the Covie Officer's shields and earned Kowalski the alien's ire. Thankfully they reached cover before the plasma bolts connected with them, but only just.

Kowalski now switched to his Battle Rifle and peeked his head over cover. The Elite was still shooting at them, but at this distance his Plasma Repeater wasn't nearly as accurate as Kowalski's rifle. He aimed at the alien right between the eyes and fired. Without his shields, the Elite dropped to the floor dead.

Other Marines followed the example and began charging the line. The defector Jackals aided the assault as well, forcing the Covenant back deeper into the ship. The final prize of the Bridge was within their grasp.

---

"The heretics are not true warriors, they are thieves, rogues, petty crooks thinking themselves greater than they are," Orna cried out across the intercom. "The fact they align themselves with the humans is evidence of this enough. Do not falter in the face of their obscene sacrilege!"

Retz was getting really annoyed with these proclamations. They were a distraction for one and nauseating to listen to secondly. Holland was already clearing out the lower decks, specifically the engine room, and their main forces were about to breach the Bridge. Yet Orna carried on with his rhetoric. He needed to shut him up, but he wasn't about to wait to get on the bridge to do that. Besides, if they wanted to clear this ship they needed a faster method than going room to room.

That was why he was calling up Kasumi.

"Ms. Goto," he radioed. "I require some… assistance with a personal matter."

---

Entering the Armoury, Chief soon realised that Cortana hadn't been kidding when she said this place was stocked with everything they needed. There was a lot of ammunition strewn about the place, mostly heavy calibre. There were even some thermal clips for Shepard's people. The most important thing though were the Rocket Launchers and the rockets themselves that the place was packed to the gills with. Chief traded his Assault Rifle to heft the large weapon onto his shoulder.

"Yeah, this will do the trick," he commented rather plainly as he inspected the weapon.

The launchers weren't only heavy weapon around though. When the Normandy had first hooked up with the Autumn there had been some trading, as it were. Shepard had given the UNSC crew some micro-replicated Heavy Weapons they had managed to construct. Nothing too special, they didn't want to use too many resources creating a Cain or anything. Just Missile and Grenade Launchers to help in the fight. A few had gotten back to Alpha Base when the Marines had first raided the downed Autumn. It turned out what was left was in here.

Shepard hefted one of the Grenade Launchers in his arms while Varvok took a Missile Launcher in his. They had also found some heavy ammunition for them, but not as much as there was for the Rocket Launchers. They only needed one shot on the reactor shields, so that wasn't the problem. It just meant they'd have to be careful with what they used these things on.

"We should only fire these missiles and grenades if we got a good shot at the reactor," Varvok advised. "We may need them more for any Sentinels that might make things difficult in there."

"Agreed," Shepard concurred with the batarian as he checked his launcher's ammo. "The Monitor will throw everything he has at us to stop us from detonating the Reactor. We can't hold back either, not with everything that's at stake."

As the two talked, Tali eyed her own Grenade Launcher quizzically. However her mind felt a bit distracted. It was a curious feeling, she couldn't tell why, but it felt similar to that she had felt on the Truth and Reconciliation. Not nearly as strong, but similar. She looked about the room, expecting to discern where this feeling of danger was coming from. At first she couldn't see, then she turned on faceplate's advanced targeting systems that she had installed way back on Reach with Halsey.

She scanned the room, expecting to see some kind of signature. For a while she saw nothing and then she saw a vague motion outline hovering behind Zek as the Jackal eyed one of the human rifles. An outline that bore striking resemblance to an Elite but not. Without even thinking, Tali grabbed one of the M90 Shotguns on the rack she was near to and pointed it at the outline. Zek looked up astonished, unsure what the quarian was doing until she shouted at him.

"Duck!"

Zek lowered his head just as Tali fired. Her shot ripped through the previously invisible figure, revealing it to be a Combat Form. The now dead body dropped to the floor, a he gash in its chest. Zek only got a moment to look at it before Tali shouted again.

"They're invisible!" She warned aloud. "The Combat Forms are invisible!"

Looking about the room, Shepard soon spotted the faint glimmer of an invisible enemy. He fired his own shotgun into it, setting the Combat Form on fire with his incendiaries. The Master Chief followed the sound of one of the screaming Combat Form as it rushed at him. He grabbed for his own Shotgun and began to lay into the invisible creature as it bounded at him. As the bodies piled up in front of the Spartan, he pushed forward to find the point of entry for the attackers. It turned out to be the secondary entrance at the back of the room.

The invisible Combat Forms were soon joined by visible ones, pushing their way into the room through the door. Varvok answered this intrusion with the same tactic he used before, he tossed an inferno grenade at the door to set the Combat Forms alight. This time the explosion of flame came with the benefit of revealing previously unseen Combat Forms flooding into the room. As flames began running about the room, screaming like mad, Chief took aim at them and shot them down. Shepard and Miranda did the same, targeting any and all Combat Forms as they tried to get inside. The bottleneck of the doorway made taking the abominations out a bit easier.

Finally, the room went silent again and the Combat Forms that had attacked all lay dead on the ground. The team, still wary from the attack, looked around the area for a moment more just to be sure. Shepard himself searched past the doorway into the hall the Flood had entered from.

"We sure we're clear here?" Varvok asked aloud as he stepped over a dead Combat Form.

"Yeah, I think we're good," Shepard said confidently as he pulled himself back into the room.

"I have nothing on Motion Tracker," Cortana added

The team gathered around one of the Combat Forms, looking at its dead form with puzzlement.

"They must've infected some Elites with cloaking tech," Miranda suggested. "An unsettling development to be sure."

"Well they've been able to use the guns of their hosts," Tali observed, trying to stifle her nervousness. "Why not their equipment? The real question is if they were even aware they had it activated or not?"

"Awareness possible," Mordin surmised. "Flood assimilation of host's knowledge already established. Understanding of advantages of stealth already factored into behaviour as well. Absolute certainty of this, however, would require further study."

"I really don't care about any of that," Zek was quick to note, before pointing at Tali. "So long as the Tech Wiz here is able to point out any more in the future."

"My tact-scan should be able to manage that," Tali assured him confidently. "We should remain focused on the objective. We have what we need, let's get to engineering before something else pops up."

On that they all firmly agreed. Gathering up what they had found, they left the Armoury behind and made their way to the Reactor.

---

Jack pressed herself into a small alcove in the winding hall, keeping her eyes peeled on the corridor ahead. She knew they were nearing the bridge. It wouldn't be long now until they blew the door and took the ship's controls. Hopefully Garrus and everyone back on the Truth and Reconciliation would be ready for pick up when they got there.

That was when the intercom turned on again. For a moment, Jack groaned at the prospect of listening to another damn speech from the Shipmaster. Instead she got something else.

"To all Covenant aboard this vessel," a scraggily Jackal voice stated. "I am Retz of the Fallen Serpent, First Mate to Shipmaster Zek. I've liberated the intercom system from the esteemed Shipmaster 'Fulsamee to deliver a message on behalf of Zek himself."

"What the hell is that bird doing?" Jack grumbled aloud, only to have her answer become clear moments later.

"I know Orna has been telling you what a horrible bunch of people we are," Retz continued rather casually. "Neglecting to mention how he screwed over us first by sending our crew to die behind our backs. Kinda like what he's doing to most of you now while he sits on the bridge acting tough. The thing is, we're not really heretics. We don't care if you think the Forerunners are Gods or not. We just don't want to die on this ring for something we don't believe in. And I imagine a few of you don't want to die like that either."

Jack was a bit perplexed and as she looked back she saw the Marines and even the friendly Jackals were a bit confused.

"I'm extending an ultimatum to you all," Retz declared. "Well, not the sangheili. I know better than to think they have any semblance of independent thought. They're just the whipping boys of Covenant Dogma. The so-called Prophets tell them to jump and they do, because they still retain all their presumed power while those of us lower on the ladder got none. So to my fellow kig-yar I offer this, put down your weapons and you may join the Fallen Serpent and her crew. The same goes for any remaining unggoy who don't want to die and I know you gas suckers REALLY don't want to die."

Jack was taken aback by the proposal. They never mentioned they were going to do this, offer amnesty to the assholes on this ship they were taking over. Jack supposed it could potentially make this fight over quicker, but how could they guarantee loyalty in that situation?

"Why take us up on this?" Retz continued. "For one, we can offer you a better percentage and we don't outlaw ichor drinking. Also, to the unggoy, Zek promises you won't have to fight anymore. Trust me, you're all still ugly little bastards, but we really don't want to rely on you in a fight anyway. So win-win there I think."

Alright, Jack had to admit that could potentially go a long way to keeping those freaks loyal. Although that part about the ichor drinking sounded gross to her. It was probably a Jackal thing.

"Just put down your guns when we engage and let those humans or my men kill the sangheili for you," Retz concluded. "Really, it's the easiest and safest thing to do at this point. Oh, and Orna, see you on the Bridge you backstabbing son of a bitch."

The message ended and Jack quickly refocused to the task at hand. She moved up along the hall, her shotgun pointed out. Then she spotted a pair of Elites rushing towards her. She fired off a shot as she ducked into another small alcove. The two Covies began unloading onto her position with plasma bolts a plenty. She was pinned, with nowhere to go.

Suddenly a vent overhead burst open. The covering hit one of the Elites in the head and he turned to see Thane swinging down from above and kicking him in the face. The drell wasn't strong enough to knock the alien down on his ass, but he did manage to catch his attention. The Elite activated a Plasma Dagger on his left arm and slashed towards the drell, who just barely avoided the attack. The second Elite began to take aim at Thane himself, ready to remove the assassin from the equation.

"Oh no you fucking don't," Jack shouted aloud, bringing her shotgun to bare. "You ain't done with me anyway!"

Jack fired a blast at the Elite, hitting him in the shoulder. The eight-foot alien turned and fired on the tattooed woman. Jack was quick to roll to side before launching herself at the Covie. She delivered a powerful biotic punch to his face, sending him into a twirl. She fired two more blasts from her shotgun, taking him out for good.

Thane, without the concern of having to fight two at once, fared well against his attacker. He was able to keep away from the Elite's daggers long enough to fire a warp at point blank into the Covie. Screaming in pain, the Elite tried to tackle the drell, only for the assassin to drop to his back and let the Eltie sail over him. As the he did, Thane fired his submachine gun at point blank range into the Covenant Soldier's stomach. The shredder rounds finished the vicious alien warrior quickly.

Getting back onto his feet he turned to Jack, now resting her smoking shotgun on her shoulder.

"Thank you for the assist," he said gratefully.

"Well, they weren't playing fair," she stated with a shrug. "Thanks for getting me out of that jam too, I guess. Although, I could've done it myself."

"I'm certain you could've," the drell assured her. "Come, the Bridge is near. We should get you and the others into position."

Now that's what Jack wanted to here. It was time to take this ship.

---

Orna readied his weapon and looked to his fellow soldiers. The enemy was near the gates now. If they took the bridge the whole ship would be under their control. He made sure his warriors kept their guns trained on the few unggoy on the Command Deck. He would not have their cowardice and the temptation of the Pirate's amnesty to disrupt their defence. If anyone was foolish enough to take the offer he'd have them shot.

As for the Pirates themselves, he admitted their numbers were great. He did not believe for a second though that they and the humans combined were enough to defeat his warriors. They would be triumphant even in the face of defeat. If they did die, they would take as many of the traitors with them, nevertheless.

Suddenly the door to the bridge exploded in a ball of green flame. The guards stationed near it were thrown back by the blast. Before the smoke even cleared an angry krogan charged out and batted one sangheili away. He was backed up with fire from several Jackals and a number of human soldiers. Another door was soon breached, this one on the ground level. Pouring out from it came more Jackals and humans, these ones accompanied by batarians. They charged with reckless abandon, shooting down any who stood against them.

"Hold fast," Orna ordered. "Slaughter these heretics!"

His call for a final stand was punctuated by one of his soldiers getting a bullet clean through his head from a human sniper. The unggoy under his charge scattered, dropping their guns and running towards cover. Orna would've shot the cowards, were it not for the explosion that nearly toppled him over. Some of the humans were armed with rockets, others with Fuel Rod Cannons they had no doubt stolen. Now they swarmed across the bridge, taking cover where they found it and outright slaughtering any proud sangheili that tried to fight back.

Orna fired on the humans above, managing to kill two. However, as he fought back, he was suddenly encased in what appeared to be an electrical net. It had been fired by a batarian soldier. Enraged, Orna forced his way out of the net and fired back on the batarian, forcing the four-eyed alien to duck behind a console.

"Worthless creatures," he cried. "We were lifting you up from the dirt and this is how you repay us!"

Orna took a shot in the shoulder from a human rifle and retreated behind a terminal for protection. He started firing as the horde advanced. He noticed the krogan firing a shotgun blast into the gut of one his soldiers, laughing as he did, before stomping his body into the ground. Another Elite tried to rush him from behind, only for the massive reptile to turn and head-butt him to the ground.

"I AM KROGAN!" The creature bellowed.

Orna aimed his weapon at the bloodthirsty monster, only to be struck in the chest by some kind of unseen force. Biotics, blast, as if the kig-yar had made this fight dishonourable enough. He turned to see the product of the attack, an asari in a tawdry outfit. He fired back, only for the blue alien to sidestep the shots with ease. She opened up with a blast from her assault rifle, draining his shields as he jumped to his feet.

Another human gunshot hit him in the arm, forcing him to drop his gun and a sniper round cut through one of his legs, forcing him to kneel. Orna tried to grab for his gun, only for it to somehow be pulled away from him and lifted into the air. A hooded female human suddenly appeared before him, holding the weapon in her disgusting fingers.

"Ah, ah, ah," she mocked, wagging her finger. "You've had enough fun with this today."

Orna growled at the human. He then looked around the room. His men were dead, overwhelmed by the sheer numbers brought to bear. The unggoy, the cowards, had put up their hands in surrender. The battle was lost, so why did they keep him alive?

"You will pay for this with your lives," Orna declared. "Today, tomorrow, it does not matter. My brethren will avenge this defeat."

"Can't you just show a bit of humility, for once, Orna?"

The Elite Shipmaster looked to the new voice as it approached. Retz, the Jackal Pirate who had led this attack. He now approached the injured Elite with a smug smirk upon his face. Everyone, human, Jackal, batarian or otherwise, gathered around to watch the spectacle, their guns raised at the Covie Officer. Retz finally walked up to Orna, looking down on him as he knelt to the ground.

"A mighty sangheili warrior brought low by common dirty pirates," Retz noted as he approached. "Kinda funny, ain't it boys?"

The other kig-yar laughed and snickered as they looked on. Retz just kept staring down at Orna with a condescending grin.

"I'm actually kinda glad I got stuck with this job instead of Zek," he admitted. "This has been a lot more entertaining than I thought it would be. Nerve racking, yes, but entertaining nonetheless."

"It matters not that you have won, I take satisfaction that it no doubt cost you dearly in any sense," Orna proclaimed. "My men at least fought with honour and did not besmirch themselves like you have."

"You sangheili and your honour," Retz chortled. "Honestly, it's all you ever go on about. Does it ever get tiring?"

"Mock if you will, Pirate," Orna decried back at him. "You are the one who required human filth and the infidels from the False Shepherd's flock to succeed. What possessed you to stoop so low as to seek an alliance with such scum?"

Retz just continued to smile, his eyes locked with Orna as kept circling about the room with his hands behind his back.

"I'll admit, it was unorthodox," the kig-yar shrugged. "But in the end it worked. And to be honest, while these humans are pretty damn ugly in their own right, we do share some things in common. For example…"

Retz turned to one of the humans in the crowd and pointed to him.

"You there, what's your name?" He asked.

"Private Ellingham," the human responded rather curtly.

"And what's your opinion of the sangheili, Private Ellingham?" Retz asked smugly.

"They've killed a lot of my friends," the Marine answered. "I don't much care for them to be honest. Even less so than Jackals."

Retz just chuckled at the response.

"Yes, quite, I certainly can relate to that statement," the Pirate laughed, next turning to Samara. "How about you, asari?"

"His kind cloaks themselves in religion as a way to absolve themselves of the evil they have committed," the Justicar proclaimed, although her eyes held a clear disgust for the Jackal speaking to her regardless. "Their attempts to place blame on a higher power for their deeds is shameless and cowardly. No belief can absolve one of their guilt. They deserve no quarter given."

Orna grunted momentary in disgust at the Justicar.

"Our path is a righteous one of salvation," he decreed. "All who die at our hands are stepping stones to a greater existence. The humans you coddle are abominations, affronts to the Gods. I feel no guilt for extinguishing their kind. We do not need absolution, we are already just."

The Marines standing about looked about ready to gun the Shipmaster right then and there, Ellingham especially.

"Let me just put a round through his junk," he demanded. "See how big he talks when he's castrated!"

But Samara put out her hand to calm him and kept stoic in her glare towards the Shipmaster.

"You seek to ignore the pain you cause to others because you see them as beneath you," she declared. "You see them only as stepping stones to a greater power. All I see is selfishness cloaked in righteousness, the destruction of innocents excused as an expression of spirituality. You spill the blood of children and burn countless worlds thinking it will lead you to salvation. The truth is that you are not warriors, you are a cult of murderers hoping to achieve something you do not deserve. Salvation is not yours to have, only judgement."

Retz chuckled again at the answer and turned back to Orna once more.

"Can't say I disagree there," the kig-yar claimed as he spoke to the sangheili. "So you see, they're not all that bad once you find some common ground. It just happens that said ground is that we really don't like you."

Grunt suddenly growled loudly at the whole display.

"Just kill the stinking pyjak already," he demanded. "We need to pick up Vakarian the rest of our krant before it's too late."

"Patience," Retz assured. "This won't take long."

The pirate approached Orna, activating his energy cutlass as he approached. He stuck beneath the sangheili's chin and pushed it up.

"You know, in a way I have to thank you," Retz admitted. "If it weren't for you killing our people, Zek would've been content to find another way of get us out of our predicament. Probably wouldn't have worked out in the end either. The second you and that stupid Prophet broke our contract you revived that sense of pride in himself that Zek's been missing for a long time. So, if nothing else, thank you for getting my friend to crawl out of the wallowing puddle of self-pity he had been stuck in for so long. That much I can appreciate."

"Your lives are forfeit," Orna decreed viciously. "There is nowhere you can run that the Covenant will not find and hunt you down like the vermin you are."

"We'll see," Retz replied. "But whenever the end comes, point is you won't be there to see it."

Retz seemingly issued the others to step back, which they did, ever so slightly.

"Zek wanted to do this part himself, but he passed that task onto me," Retz declared. "Sorry we can't all share in the fun, boys, but watching is just as good."

"Stop tarrying, Pirate," Samara shouted towards him. "The evil he and his kind have wrought has gone unanswered long enough. Deliver this justice swiftly or I shall do so for you."

"Sheesh, relax lady," Retz tried to calm her. "I'm getting to it. Just apologizing for the fact we can't all share in the pleasure."

Retz then pulled something off his belt, a plasma grenade. Orna's eyes went wide as the explosive was activated.

"Figured this was the best way to shut that mouth of yours up for good," the kig-yar declared.

Orna tried to utter a final word, but Retz had already stuffed the grenade into the sangheili's mouth.

"From Zek to you," Retz proclaimed. "He sends his best. Enjoy paradise, asshole."

Retz then forced himself away at the last second. Orna struggled to stand, attempting to scream as he did. Moments later, the grenade exploded. The kig-yar all laughed and cheered, everyone else just seemed to elicit an audible cry of disgust.

"Couldn't you have just stabbed him?" Kowalski asked as he wretched.

"I could've, but Zek really wanted to blow his head up," Retz relented. "Gotta do what the Boss wants right? Alright, floor show is over, people. We need to get this ship into gear! Let's roll! Radio the Serpent! We need to get her into position for the tow!"

---

Chief led the team into Engineering with his gun at the ready. Inside the room they saw the massive reactor standing over them and the various terminals, monitors and consoles strewn about the room. At the very top was a platform that surrounded the upper portion of the reactor. Surrounding said Reactor one level below were six large square-shaped exhaust couplings. They extended from the reactor to the walls of the room itself.

However, the sight of the reactor was offset by the sound of obnoxious humming. Guilty Spark was here as expected. Chief looked up to see the blue glowing metallic orb hovering about various consoles, extracting data from them as he had so cheerfully informed them he was. Chief couldn't see any Sentinels yet, but he imagined that would change pretty soon.

"Alright, Cortana," Chief spoke to his AI companion. "What's the play?"

"The Monitor has disabled command access," Cortana disappointingly relented as she finished scanning Engineering's systems. "We can't restart the countdown. So, we're going to have to go with your plan B, Chief. We detonate the ship's fusion reactors and the subsequent meltdown should destroy Halo. Don't worry, I have all the reactor's schematics and procedures on file. I can walk you all through it. First step is pulling back the exhaust couplings. That will give you a straight shot into the primary reactor. You can only open one at a time though, safety measure. The consoles for that are on the top level, I'll send their coordinates to everyone's heads-up displays."

Cortana was as good as her word and soon everyone had an idea of where they needed to go. As they prepared to head up though, a small problem made itself clear in the form of gurgling shrieks. Infection Forms scurried across the floor nearby and they could hear the squishy stomping of Combat Forms along with them.

"The Flood are here, this just got complicated," Shepard reasoned. "Alright, there's enough of us to pull this off within a few minutes if we do this smart. We need to get up to the top level and secure those consoles. Anyone with a rocket, missile or grenade on hand, use it to hit those shafts. The rest of us will try to keep any hostiles off your backs. Let's move!"

The team rushed up a nearby ramp onto a raised level as Combat forms lurched towards them, firing whatever weapons were in their hands. Cortana directed the team towards a doorway that would lead to a stairwell that would get them up to the next level. The Flood, however, proved a bit faster than they anticipated. When they got inside the stairwell, they hadn't made it up the first flight before Flood started streaming down at them.

"I've had about enough of these undead fucks," Zek growled aloud, putting away his Needler and activating his arm shield once more. He then hefted a human pistol he had taken from the Armoury into his hand to act as his sidearm. "Back to the grave with you parasitic sons of bitches!"

Zek charged up the stairs, his shield in front, screaming bloody murder as he charged. What Combat Forms he didn't shoot full of holes, he tried to knock off the steps. Realising the Jackal wouldn't be able to pull off this crazy run alone, Chief tried to back him up. He raced behind the angry pirate and used his shotgun to help clear his way. The others followed suit, offering what extra firepower they could muster as they charged up the steps.

Momentarily looking behind them, Tali saw a few of the Combat Forms that had been pursuing them shoot up the steps. Tali fired back, shooting down one of the abominations as they lumbered after them. She then sent Chiktikka down to keep the undead creatures occupied further while they pressed on.

Chief fired his shotgun one last time as they approached the exit to the stairwell. The blast burst open the Carrier Form standing there, killing a few more Combat Forms in the process. They finally got onto the second level, free and clear of the hostiles. They were still one level below though, the exhaust couplings right next to their current positon. To reach their destination they would have to go through a nearby corridor that would lead to some steps and onto the top platform. Expecting more Flood, Shepard and the Master Chief entered the corridor first, with Tali close behind.

When they reached the turn in the hallway they found the stairs and the Flood waiting for them there. Bullets lashed out at the corner and Chief ducked back behind it to avoid the shots. He activated a grenade and tossed it around the corner. The resulting explosion tore the undead defenders apart. Not wanting to waste any time, Shepard ran into the open with shotgun in hand.

One of the surviving Combat Forms shot at the Commander, pecking at his barriers with bullets. Shepard shot the abomination twice, taking him down. Of course, that downed hostile was soon replaced with more Combat Forms racing out of the door at the top of the steps. To slow them down, Shepard sent a shockwave rippling across the floor to knock the Combat Forms over. Some got hit, others avoided the shockwave began to fire, forcing Shepard into what little cover he could find nearby in a corner.

Shepard kept sequestered in his corner while the Master Chief tried to take out some of the attacking Combat Forms. Deciding to assist, Zek moved out into the open with his shield at the ready. Tali followed, hoping to use the shield as extra protection. As the Jackal fired off his pistol, Tali popped up periodically to blast the lumbering monstrosities down.

Miranda and Mordin moved up to assist as well, Miranda pushed the Combat Form firing on Shepard's position back up the steps to relive her Commander. Mordin sprayed the immediate area with pistol fire, taking out another Combat Form as it lumbered through the doorway at the top of the steps.

Legion sent off its Combat Drone to assault the Flood attackers, zapping at the Combat Forms as it moved up the steps. Shepard was finally able to return fire himself, blasting at the Combat Forms as they kept trying to force their way through the door. Bodies kept piling up across the steps, caking the area in gore. Finally, Varvok became fed up.

"Enough of this!" He shouted.

Rolling out into the open, Varvok fired his projectile blades, embedding them in Carrier Form that was trying to squeeze through all the chaos. When the blades detonated, so did the Carrier along with Legion's drone which erupted in a blast of energy that sent Combat Forms flying.

"Move!" Varvok shouted to everyone.

Shepard didn't argue with the order, he was about to give it himself. The team charged up the steps, shooting at any Combat Forms that were still alive. One jumped up in front of Tali as she past him. The quarian jumped back slightly before firing two shots into the corpse.

"Keelah, I hate it when they do that," she frantically grumbled.

The team finally emerged on the top level. Two of the exhaust coupling control consoles were nearby in the corners of the platform. The consoles were conveniently located right over the exhaust vents themselves, meaning they could use said couplings as they retracted to get into position to shoot the vents. They would've further admired this design choice were it not for the immediacy of their task and the fact they were quickly interrupted when they arrived on the top platform.

"Ah, Reclaimer and Non-Reclaimers," Guilty Spark cheerfully greeted as he floated down towards the assembled group. "I assume you are here to restart your attempt at destroying this vessel. However, you will find that is quite impossible. You would be better served simply surrendering the Construct and turning yourselves over for termin-"

"Oh for the love of God!" Miranda shouted as she stepped out from among the group. "Will you just shut the hell up!?"

Miranda fired her submachine gun into Monitor, to no effect of course as the miniscule lighting fast rounds simply bounced off the floating little blue eyeball. Guilty Spark seemed less than impressed.

"Did we not already establish previously that such an action was a futile gesture?"

"Don't care," Miranda stated plainly. "Felt good."

She then used her biotics to hit Guilty Spark right in the face. The force of the blow didn't damage of course, but it did send him flying off in another direction. No one really complained, it got the Monitor out of their faces for the moment. Zek did offer something of a compliment.

"Shit, you must really hate that eyeball," he observed. "Remind me not to get on your bad side, human."

"Coupling console, now," Miranda insisted. "I've just been reminded how much I want to blow this place up myself."

"Find the command switch labelled disengage," Tali informed them. "I spent a lot of time in here. If my memory is correct that should be the one we're looking for."

Shepard walked over to the closest console and searched he command keys. He found the one was looking for at last and flicked the switch on it. With a metallic groan, the exhaust coupling pulled back from the reactor ever so slowly. As it did, the shrieking cries of Combat Forms echoed through the chamber. Shepard could hear them approaching from the other end of the reactor platform and fast.

"Chief, ride the coupling," he ordered. "We'll hold them off!"

Chief rushed to the edge of the platform and jumped off. He easily landed on the slow moving coupling as it began to retract. Looking back, he saw Shepard and the others fighting off the Combat Forms as they tried to swarm the upper level. Tali expertly gunned down two as they charged through one of the access ways, while Shepard used warp attacks to injure his own attackers before shooting them.

"Just our luck every Flood Form aboard decided to stop by at the same time as us," Tali shouted aloud as two Combat Forms fired on her from the access way. She remained in cover until their clips ran dry and then turned around the corner to return fire, gunning them both down in quick succession.

"Keep them bottled up team," Shepard ordered. "We need to keep this level secure."

Mordin and Zek held the centre. The Jackal used his shield to block both bullets and blows from the attacking Flood. Mordin stayed behind him, trying to slow the monsters down with neural shock attacks.

"Bastards are almost as bad as Yanme'e," Zek shouted over the gunfire, blocking swat from a Combat Form before shooting it in the gut several times. "Let's hope they never learn to fly."

"Chance of that unlikely," Mordin informed him "So long as parasites do not infest organic being with aeronautical capability of course."

Miranda kept guard on the second Console with Varvok and Legion. Miranda kept the Flood back best she could with her biotics, sometimes even throwing them off the side of the platform. Varvok fired his Shredder rounds into them as they approached or attempted to fire back.

"Legion, stay on the console," Miranda ordered. "The second Chief blows that vent we need to open the next!"

"Affirmative," Legion declared, staying close to the console but still firing on the Combat Forms as they swarmed the area.

The Master Chief remained on the coupling, standing atop it as it moved back towards the wall. With the rocket hefted over his shoulder he aimed towards the now exposed shaft. Shutters across the vent opened and closed every couple of seconds, revealing the inside of the reactor now and again. Chief could see the red hot burning core beyond, its glow resonating like a beacon.

"We have a straight shot into it," Cortana told him confidently. "Fire when ready!"

Peering through the scope, the Master gauged the timing of the shutters. He didn't want to waste a rocket and miss after all. When he saw the shutters begin to open again he fired and the rocket propelled itself out of the barrel and towards the shaft. As the projectile slipped past the shutters by, Chief covered his eyes to protect them from the blinding explosion. The reactor shook violently and Shepard's team struggled to stay standing.

"Direct hit!" Cortana declared happily. "Now we just have to do the same to the next three reactors!"

But before Chief could even prepare to aim at the next shaft, lasers cut across his field of vision. A flight of Sentinels was moving in for the kill. He aimed the launcher to take them out, but ended up not having to waste the ammo. A missile hit one of the Sentinels and sent it crashing to the Engineering floor below. Chief looked towards the Reactor and saw it had been Shepard who had fired the shot.

"Take the corridor back up here, Chief," The Commander called down to the Spartan. "We'll take care of the second exhaust vent!"

Chief nodded, realising that he was too exposed out here. Turning to the left where the doorway to the corridor they had come through moments before was located, he jumped down from the coupling. Lasers traced the area as he made a run for the hallway. Thankfully, Shepard kept him covered, firing on the Sentinels with Tali in the hopes of keeping them off the Spartan's back.

Legion had already turned back to the console he was on to flick the disengage switch on the second coupling at this point. The exhaust vent was exposed and just waiting for another well-placed rocket. Shepard volunteered himself this time, running for the platform ledge before the coupling got too far. He managed to make it, rolling across the coupling before popping back up.

"Hurry, Commander," Miranda called out. "More Sentinels!"

There were indeed more of the flying Synthetics, moving in for the kill. Legion turned its Widow on them, firing two clean shots that passed clean through the central processors of the robots. As Legion reloaded, Tali and Legion hit the Sentinels with energy drain and overload before unloading their own rounds at the machines. Shepard just tried to focus on the task at hand, knowing his team had his back.

Gauging the timing of the shutters as the Chief had done, he waited for the bright red glow to shine through before firing. He fired two missiles at the vent, but one would probably have been enough. Both passed through and scorching flame burst forth from the vent like a sideways volcano. The coupling began to extend back into position. Two down, two to go. They were halfway to their goal.

"Shepard, behind you!" Tali's voice suddenly cried out.

A Combat Form was climbing up the side of the coupling, growling and roaring at Shepard as it scrambled towards him. The Commander shot the Flood form, but there were more following in its wake. There was no time for this, they had a mission to finish.

"Go!" Shepard shouted back to the others. "Get to the other consoles! I'll meet you there!"

"No, Shepard!" Tali screeched down at him. "We're not-"

"Go!" Shepard demanded ardently.

He turned from the advancing Flood and jumped to the next exhaust coupling beside his. The Flood followed, already a few had made it past the limited defences of the squad as the team reluctantly followed Shepard's orders and moved towards the next set of consoles. Shepard found himself surrounded on all sides as the Combat Forms raced to encircle him.

Firing his shotgun repeatedly, Shepard jumped to the third coupling, shooting at a Combat Form headed for him as he did. There was a second one coming up close behind as he jumped down. Its slashing tentacle aimed towards his head. However, it was suddenly shot out of the air as Shepard landed. The direct cause was the Master Chief still standing in the doorway of the nearby corridor.

"You were supposed to link back up with the others above," he reminded the Spartan as he ran to the corridor.

"Thought you could use the extra hand, sir," the Chief explained. "I don't like to leave teammates hanging."

Shepard grinned at the Spartan, lightly knocking a fist against his arm.

"Then let's get moving," he told the Chief. "The rest of the squad is waiting on us now after all."

Chief nodded and followed the Commander back down the hallway.

---

Holland entered the Command Deck with his entourage. Clean up was going seemingly smoothly. The Marines and Soldiers had taken up the controls and the bodies of the dead were being dragged into corners for later processing. The Fallen Serpent was currently being towed behind them as they made their journey back towards the Truth and Reconciliation.

All in all, the plan had worked. Even Retz's importune amnesty plea had helped out. There were few Jackals or Grunts left to accept the surrender by the end, but a number of them had dropped their guns. The rest had either been killed by the Elite Commanders when they tried to surrender, leaving them without troops to help them when Holland's people swept through the ship.

Holland found Retz standing over the Command Deck rather proudly. The Jackal turned to greet the Colonel graciously.

"Colonel Holland," he greeted. "Good to see you're still in one piece. I'll be honest, when you and your men arrived in the Hangar I didn't expect you to be kitted out in full gear. You certainly pulled your weight on this one."

"We all did," Holland replied, still looking and sounding rather gruff. "I'm just happy this is over and we can prepare to leave Halo behind. What's our ETA to the Truth and Reconciliation?"

"We're a little slow because we're somewhat carrying the Serpent along for the ride," Retz admitted. "It would be worse if her engines weren't working and she couldn't keep pace. But we're not too far now. We should be within considerable range of any stray dropship flights."

Holland nodded, but then turned to his communicator. A sudden message was being relayed to him… and it wasn't good.

"Damn it," he growled softly. "We're out of time. Patch me into communications. I need to send our people on that battlecruiser a message now!"

---

Tali moved towards the console, looking about to make sure there weren't any Flood trying to flank her. Instead, when she turned to face forward again she found the Monitor staring right at her. She jumped slightly, coming to an immediate halt. Her surprise turned to anger as she glared at the synthetic caretaker.

"You uncatalogued species are indeed becoming a nuisance," Guilty Spark commented. "Your opposition to protocol is most confusing of all. This is not your universe. Why do you persist in this foolish course of action?"

"Mainly because I don't like you," Tali declared, knocking the Monitor back with the butt of her gun.

The quarian moved to the console, but the Monitor quickly returned to pester her.

"You and the Non-Reclaimers are truly deluded," he stated plainly. "Not only in supporting the destruction of this installation and this record, but in your sense of superiority. We protected the galaxy for eons. What has suddenly given you the right to decide what is best when you're not even from said galaxy?"

"Your Forerunners are dead," Tali reminded the Monitor viciously. "They don't get to call the shots anymore."

"Such disrespect," Guilty Spark criticised. "Your universe could've benefited greatly with appropriate geas implantation."

Tali just ignored the Monitor, Talking with it was useless anyway. She kept hunched over the console as she looked for the disengage command. She eventually spotted it in the center of the display.

"Someone get ready to jump for the coupling," she called out across the room. "We're about to be one vent away from reactor meltdown

Guilty Spark didn't seem pleased with being ignored, but was suddenly distracted by the sound of gunfire coming from down an access way. It was Commander Shepard and the Master Chief, making a run for Tali's current position.

"Ah, Reclaimer," the Monitor announced as he floated over. "Your inadequate safeguards seem to be placing us all at risk. Please see reason. Surrender the construct and I will endeavour to make the necessary repairs-"

Chief simply swatted at the Monitor as it spoke, barely even acknowledging its presence. The synthetic tumbled over itself before eventually straightening out its flight path. It was again most displeased.

"Your behaviour has become increasingly unproductive to protocol," he declared. "I am starting to wonder if this is the result of a degraded mental state that is being enabled by the Non-Reclaimers. Do you require medical attention?"

Shepard groaned at the Monitor as it floated above them, but did his best not to engage it in more conversation. They couldn't have distractions at this stage. He and the Chief now approached Tali, who was elated to see them both.

"Thank the Ancestors," she stated in relief. "I was worried for a moment. Guess I shouldn't have been. You two alone could take on an army."

"I appreciate the confidence, but we're low on time," he reminded her. "Disengage the coupling."

Tali followed the command and the coupling began to retract from the exhaust vent. Chief jumped onto the coupling as it moved towards the wall, Shepard staying back to provide cover. Already Combat Forms were moving in on their position, along with Sentinels high above. The machines were already firing on the Spartan, forcing him to move back before the lasers cut him down.

"You have brought this on yourself, Reclaimer," Guilty Spark declared from on high. "I still have more of this fascinating record to upload. I will return to collect the Index from your Construct in a moment."

The Monitor was as good as his word, floating away from the fight and towards another console on a lower level. Chief wasn't sure if he could call Spark's departure a blessing as he still had to deal with his annoying minions, just sans the self-righteous lecturing. He turned to fire on the Sentinels above with his shotgun, managing to take one out as it barrelled towards him. The machine exploded and nearly took the Spartan's head off as it sped towards his head on fire and then crashed towards the floor below.

The other Sentinels decided to stay out of the Spartan's range to continue their attack. Their beams certainly made it a lot harder to aim for the exhaust vent. The Master Chief just kept dodging or letting his shields take the hits. Then suddenly one of the Sentinels exploded from a grenade, fired it seemed by Varvok who was holding a launcher in his arms.

"Don't just stand there, human," he called down to the Chief. "Shoot the vent!"

Varvok continued firing on the Sentinels high above. He was joined by Mordin, whose submachine gun raked against the shields of the flying robots, and Legion who was doing its best to target them individually. While Varvok was focused on the Sentinels, however, Chief noticed a Combat Form rushing up behind him.

"Varvok, look out!" He called out to the batarian.

The four-eyed alien turned just in time to see the Combat Form raising its gun to fire. The creature was too close to use the grenade launcher on, so Varvok grabbed at his sidearm. Firing shredder rounds from his pistol into the abomination, he was able to shoot off the arm that held the Flood's weapon. Enraged, the Combat Form tackled the batarian to the ground and tried to beat him into the grating with its remaining arm. Suddenly a shotgun rang out that blasted the Combat Form clean off the batarian. It had been fired by Tali, just a few feet away.

"A bit close," he said through panting breaths "Thanks."

Tali just nodded, before turning to the shrieking sounds of more Combat Forms scrambling through the access way. Varvok fired his grenade launcher at the passage and watched as an explosion sent pieces of the monstrosities flying.

The Master Chief in the meantime had taken aim at the third exhaust vent. Again he fired the rocket as the red glare of the reactor revealed itself once more. A plume of flames expunged outward from the vent and the coupling began to close.

"Three fusion reactors compromised," Cortana counted off as the room shook. "The engine is destabilizing, just one more to go."

Chief could see the final exhaust vent across the way. He'd just have to jump over a few couplings and he could get to it. He took a moment to reload the rocket launcher as the others on the consoles above prepared to open the final vent. Miranda was positioned on the console, activating the command, while Zek covered her best he could. He was firing his pistol at the incoming Combat Forms, using his shield to block their shots. However, he was still having a bit of trouble understanding the reloading mechanism on the human weapon.

"These guns kick like wild animals and are just as stubborn to reload," he grumbled as he fumbled about to eject the spent mag and slap a fresh one in. "I could really use some extra practice when we're out of here."

As he looked up from his reloading, he saw a number of Infection Forms streaming his way. In a panic he backed up at their advance. One of them actually leaped onto his shield itself. He flung the shield about to knock the creature off and then used it to bat the other little parasites away.

"Ugly annoying little bastards," he grumbled, before spotting one trying to scuttle off to the side. "There are who knows how many sangheili left on this ship, eat them!"

He stomped on the parasite before it could get anywhere at this point and flicked the disgusting goo that had spilled out onto his boot off as he wretched. Miranda in the meantime had pulled the disengage switch, opening the way for Chief to fire his final rocket. The Spartan was already bounding across the couplings when Cortana warned him about movement from behind them. The Flood were climbing up the couplings behind him in pursuit.

"Honestly, don't they have anything better to do?" Cortana asked in befuddlement at their single mindedness.

Maybe they know what we're doing, Chief postulated to himself. He quickly dashed the thought out of his mind. Even these things couldn't be that smart. At least he hoped they weren't. He fired on them as they crawled up onto the coupling behind him. Those with weapons returned the gesture, peppering the Chief's damaged shields further. All the Spartan could do was turn and make a jump for the last coupling. Lucky for him, he did not have to face these odds alone. As he turned to fire on the Combat Forms again a few grenades and missiles collided into the undead creatures. Both Tali and Shepard were the cause, doing their best to keep the Spartan's back covered.

With that problem off his mind, the Master Chief turned to the exhaust vent. The shutters opened wide once more, revealing the blazing red glow behind them. Steeling his grip on the weapon, the Spartan fired the rocket. A blazing trail burst forth from the launcher and keenly entered the vent just as the shutters closed. A horrific explosion of fire burst out of the vent. Debris and flames were sent hurtling towards the Master Chief and the Spartan was forced the leap off the coupling to avoid it. Pieces of the metal shutter slashed into the wall behind where the Chief had been. The Spartan in the meantime was getting back to his feet.

"That's done it," Cortana announced. "The engine has gone critical! I estimate at the current rate of decay we may have fifteen minutes until it blows, we need to get out of here!

"What's our fastest route?" Chief asked as he prepared his shotgun.

"Schematics show a service elevator at the top of the engine room," she frantically explained. "It leads to class-7 service corridor runs along the ship's dorsal structure! We need to head there and signal for pick-up! Everyone, move to the waypoint I'm marking it on your HUDs! Hurry!"

Chief headed through a hallway near where he had landed. He rushed through the cramped passageway, encountering only minor resistance as he ran. He shot down a Combat Form as it tried to riddle him with bullets but only found itself blown away. As he headed for the doorway at the top of the steps, one of the Combat Forms blocking his way was shot down by incendiary rounds. Shepard now appeared in the doorway ushering him forward.

"Come on, Chief," he ordered. "This place isn't going to be very hospitable for long from the looks of it!"

He was right, as they emerged onto the upper level, Chief could see the chaos he had created. The quiet engine room was now echoing with the sounds of warning alarms and small explosions. Fires were erupting out of the consoles and sides of the engine itself and the couplings were going haywire. The exhaust vents now spewed flames forth every couple of seconds. The whole deck was literally destroying itself.

"The others are around the bend waiting for us at the exit," Shepard told him. "Follow me!"

They rushed through one of the access ways to the adjacent platform, fire spewing up from a crack in the reactor. As they rushed through, a Combat Form jumped down from above. It was armed with its own Rocket Launcher and was aiming for them. Suddenly, there was a loud battle cry from the right and Zek came out of nowhere to pummel the Combat Form with his shield. The Flood Form was taken by surprise and his rocket fired off into the ceiling as he tumbled down. Zek followed that up by stabbing him repeatedly with his plasma machete in the chest. He then looked up at the two humans.

"What are you standing around for?" He asked them astonished. "This wreck is literally coming apart at the seams if you haven't noticed! Come on!"

At least he hadn't asked for a thank you. Shepard and the Master Chief followed the Jackal as they ran for the exit. When they got to it, Tali was bypassing the lock to get them through. The door clicked open and she ushered the rest of the group inside.

"Cortana, I hope that pick-up is close by!" the quarian frantically stated as they ran through.

"Don't worry, we just need to get to the evac point and we're golden," Cortana hurriedly assured her.

As they made their way down the hall, a group of Flood Forms charged at them. Varvok grunted at their presence and fired a grenade in their direction. The blast easily ripped them apart and gave them a clear exit.

"I'm not about to die this close to the finish line," he growled.

"That's a sentiment we can all share in," Miranda concurred.

They rounded the next corner and rushed through the next series of halls nearby. Eventually they found the door to the service lift staring them in the face. It suddenly burst open with an explosion, knocking them off their feet for the moment. Chief's head slammed back into the ground as his vision became clouded with flames. They all got to their feet, helping one another stand up.

"Backdraft," Zek grumbled as he grabbed his head. "Could've been worse I guess."

"Current favourable status may indeed be decreasing," Legion informed him, pointing ahead.

The lift was coming down to their level. When the large doors opened wide they revealed behind them a Shade turret pointed in their direction and a black-armoured clad Spec-Ops Elite sitting at the controls. He laughed and then began firing on the doorway like a madman.

"Taking defensive measures," Legion declared, firing back on the Shade as it moved into cover.

The rest of the team ran back into cover behind the corner of the hallway as the area filled with plasma fire. Chief barely got into cover before his shields failed. It would appear that fate had decided today would be the perfect time to throw every conceivable curveball at them. It didn't concern the Spartan, no Spec-Ops was going to hold them back. Halo wasn't going to be like Reach. This time, he and his team were escaping together. Damn anyone who tried to prevent that.

---

AN: Down to the wire isn't it? Happy 2015 everyone, may it bring us hoverboards and flying cars and all those other jokes you're probably already sick of. Well, sorry, but I was born in 1988 one year before the movie got released. I've been waiting most of my natural life to use these jokes and damn it I'm milking them for all they're worth. Just let me have it, please?

Before anyone asks, yes that is Zuka 'Zanamee on that Shade Turret just like in the novelization. How is his death gonna go this time? Well, significantly different, if only so I don't plagiarise Dietz's work. Interesting enough, with the way this Chapter has gone next one might be shorter. But we'll be getting an epilogue alongside it so it kinda balances out I think. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter, (I know it got split in two, but I still technically count it as one chapter) I hope you're looking forward to the inevitable behind the scenes author notes when the finale is complete, I hope you check out Hellfox's work which you can find links to in the profile page and I hope you all give a big hand to Crow for his editing of this work. He really pulled this one off here. Please leave a review if you can and thank you all for sticking with me this long.

Next time: The Conclusion!

PS: If there are any words in dialogue that look stuck together, that isn't entirely my fault. For some reason does that to them during the upload process sometimes. Please point any of them out so I can fix them.