Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - Terminator crossover. Thank you for your continued support of this crossover. Without the feedback, I would've stopped posting chapters a long time ago. Again, thank you for your support, and I hope this crossover continues to receive good feedback. As always, leave a review and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or Terminator franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Carcolo Pictures, Hemdale, Skydance Productions, Lightstorm Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their original developers, producers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
Forerunner Installation
CCS Battle Criuser Truth and Reconciliation
September 19th, 2552
Lying on the floor of the prison cell that was holding him, Keyes couldn't help but shiver slightly, his military uniform doing little to keep him warm. Nearby, he could hear other Marines that had been captured alongside him, doing their best to pass the time or to prepare for when they would be interrogated and possibly killed. The voices of the Marines were hushed, as they knew that if they talked too loudly, the warden of the prison, a male Elite with a nasty temper, would come over and shock them into silence with a baton.
Not that it mattered to Keyes, as he had no intentions of divulging any UNSC secrets to the Covenant. I'd sooner kill myself than allow the Covenant to learn Earth's location, even from my CNI lace, he thought, a frown on his face as he felt some of his fresher wounds. The Covenant interrogators had not been gentle in their efforts to divulge any information that they could from him, as he had a number of welts on his body, as well as a few cuts here and there, all of which were designed to inflict the greatest amount of pain possible without killing him. So far, it was having little, if any effect, as it only emboldened him to remain tight lipped.
Even so, I won't be able to keep silent forever, Keyes thought to himself. Eventually, they'll break through my shell and they'll find out what they want to know. I could give them old, outdated information, but even then, that's tricky. I just hope that someone will come to rescue me and the others. Curling up a little more, he knew that the interrogators were going to try again and soon. What he didn't know was that they would never get the chance to try again.
. . .
Chief felt the Pelican being jostled around somewhat by turbulence as they zoomed towards the location of the Covenant Battle Cruiser that the Eagle UAV's had detected some time ago. Around him, Chief could see a number of ODST's that had volunteered to join the mission, as well as Noble Six and Emile, both of whom had training in infiltration tactics. The Terminator was nearby as well, with a number of T-850L's that had a living tissue sheath, though this was hidden under more ODST body armor. Beyond that, they had a number of HK Arachnid drones that were ready to deploy once they had gotten into the ship.
Before they had left, Carter had given them one last briefing so that their memories remained fresh on the matter, after which they visited the armory to prepare for the mission. Due to the nature of their mission, they couldn't use phased plasma weapons, as those weapons not only produced a lot of noise, the plasma bolt and the discharge were extremely bright, and the plasma would show where the shooter was. In order to counter this, SKYNET had designed advanced Gauss weaponry that could be silenced using suppressors, specialized programming and special ammunition designed for subsonic use. Most of the ODST's had chosen the M7G PDW, a bullpup Gauss variant of the M7 SMG/PDW, while Chief had picked out an MA5G, the Gauss variant of the MA5D, as well as an SRS-99G, the Gauss variant of the SRS-99c Sniper Rifle. Once they had gotten outfitted, they had loaded up onto a Pelican at roughly 0830 hours and left for the ship they needed to infiltrate.
As they approached the area, Chief heard Cortana speaking to them. "The enemy has Captain Keyes, and are holding him aboard one of their Cruisers, the Truth and Reconciliation. The ship is currently holding position 300 meters above the far end of the plateau." Moments later, the Pelican banked as it approached the plateau, turning around as they came in for a landing.
The area they were landing in was next to the edge of the plateau, with trees and grass growing at the back of the area they were in, while it sharply terminated in a sheer drop to the right of the Pelican. Nearby, Chief could see what he knew was an entrance to the rest of the plateau, as well as a small embankment on the other side. Engaging night vision, he found that his guess was correct, as he spotted the small path easily enough.
He could also see the Covenant Cruiser that was holding position above the plateau. Apparently, the plasma weaponry that had been retrofitted onto the Pillar of Autumn had done a considerable amount of damage, as Chief could see large pits and craters on the ship's hull, even from this distance. A few Spirits and what appeared to be an alternate form of troop transport were present outside of the ship, with most delivering technicians and repair crews in order to fix the ship and make her spaceworthy again, if she wasn't already that is.
As they came in for a landing, one of the Marines spoke up. "So how do we get inside the ship if it's in the air," he asked. "The Corps issued me a rifle, not wings."
Johnson quickly replied. "There's a gravity lift that the Covenant are using to ferry troops and supplies to the surface. That's our ticket in."
"Agreed," the Terminator replied. "The Covenant Gravity lift will allow us to get inside and find the Captain. The T-1000B inside the ship will ensure that we can get to the rest of the ship without unnecessary delays."
"Once we're inside," Cortana continued, "I can lock onto the Captain's CNI Transponder and find out his location from there. If Kalinda is still aboard, and she will be, she can also update Keyes' current whereabouts so that we can more easily locate him."
Moments later, the Pelican came in for a landing, coming to rest on the area with a muted thump. "Get out ODST's," Johnson shouted. "Go, go, go! The Corps ain't paying us by the hour!" Almost immediately, the ODST's burst out of the Pelican and got into position, with the Terminator, Chief, Six and Emile hopping out as well. Racking his M45G, the Gauss variant of the Tactical Shotgun, Emile gave Six and Chief a nod before taking up position near the entrance to the rest of the plateau.
"Stick to the high ground," Cortana told Chief. "We'll have a better chance of sneaking up on the enemy without being detected. I'm picking up a number of Covenant units in the area; use your Gauss Sniper Rifle to take out as many of the Covenant as you can. I recommend eliminating any gunners first." Pinging the other's COM's, she said, "ODST's, the Master Chief is going to scout ahead and eliminate as much of the enemy as possible. Don't open fire until you hear the enemy return fire on us. That should allow us to keep the element of surprise."
"Roger that," one of the ODST's replied. "We'll hold position until we hear gunfire, then we'll come in and clean out house." With that, the COM channel went silent.
Moving up onto the embankment, Chief got down onto his chest and began crawling forwards, keeping his noise to a minimum as he moved up. The embankment that he was on had a number of large boulders present, as well as a lot of shrubbery that made it easy for him to hide. Getting into position underneath one of the bushes, Chief took out his SRS-99G and aimed down the sight, with his suit creating a Smart-Link to the scope.
The area beyond Chief's position was a large pocket that was located below a series of towering rock walls, with the pockets and channels of ground being the only way through. Ahead, Chief could see a number of trees that were growing in the area, as well as a lot of thick brush, prompting him to use thermal vision to see where the enemy was at. In addition, he spotted a series of tall boulders and rocks that interrupted his line of sight, creating blind spots where he couldn't see any Covenant.
As for the Covenant, there were quite a few of them, as Chief could see a number of thermal signatures moving around. Scans indicated there were some Elites, Jackals, Skirmishers and Grunts that were in the area. Looking around, he spotted a number of Covenant Shade Turrets that had been deployed in the area, with gunners sleeping next to each one. Taking aim, Chief settled into a more comfortable position before squeezing the trigger.
There was a muted pop as the suppressed sniper rifle fired, sending a 14.5mm HEAP shell directly at a Grunt sleeping by one of the Shade Turrets. There was a slightly louder pop as the Grunt's head exploded, sending blood, bone and brain matter into the wall behind the alien. Chief held still for a moment as the thermal signatures in the area held still for a moment, having heard the sound. Fortunately, the Covenant must have decided it wasn't worth investigating, as they continued on their guard patrols. With the Covenant remaining unalerted, Chief reaimed and began to pick off the Covennat one by one.
Eventually, there were no more Covenant remaining, as Chief silently neutralized the last Elite in the area, it's head exploding as a HEAP shell tore through its skull. As soon as they were eliminated, Chief pulled out his MA5G and began moving up, getting into the thick brush as soon as he was off the embankment. As soon as he landed, he could feel the brush impeding his movement, though it mattered little as his armor assisted in helping him get through the brush. The Terminator and the T-850L's were similarly unaffected, and began making paths for the ODST's to get through without any trouble.
Moving up, Chief rounded the corner and spotted more enemy contacts on his Motion Tracker, getting into a crouching position as a result. Using his thermal vision once again, he spotted more Covenant that were milling about the area, with a squad of Grunts and Jackals approaching their position. Further ahead, he spotted Elite thermal signatures that were walking around on an embankment that was above their position. Taking aim, he pulled the trigger of his rifle four times in a row, neutralizing the Jackals and Grunts, while the Terminators took aim and neutralized the Elites that were walking around on the upper portion of the embankment ahead. With all enemy contacts down, they continued to move up silently, making sure to keep their noise level minimal.
As they moved up, Chief noticed that they were approaching another open area, with this one being larger than where they had landed. Much to his surprise, the brush sharply ended here, with only rocky boulders providing any form of concealment from the enemy. A singular tree grew at the back of the area, with some brush lining the base of the cliff wall. To his left, he could see a sharp drop off.
A few Covenant were present here as well, mostly just a few Grunts and an Elite. Moving up silently, Six pulled out his knife and, running up silently, used the Elite's digitigrade legs as a ladder before plunging his knife into the alien's neck. Blood spewed from the wound as the Elite collapsed to the ground dead, it's spinal cord and the arteries in it's neck severed. Before the Grunts could react, Chief silently neutralized each one with precision shots to the head.
"Looks like there's a small path up ahead," Six informed Chief, pointing at what appeared to be a narrow pathway that snaked around the corner, leading to another part of the area. "If we take that path, we can get to the rest of the plateau and find a way into the interior of the plateau. That will allow us to get to the Gravity Lift."
"We'll have to be careful," Emile cautioned the two. "The Covenant are not going to make this easy. We'll need to be silent and quick if we're to get through undetected."
"Agreed," Chief replied. Getting up from his crouching position, Chief continued to move forwards, hugging the cliff wall to his right as he and the others moved up. Reaching the pathway, Chief and the others proceeded through single file, carefully navigating the thin pathway. It wasn't easy, as erosion had caused a number of rocks to become loose, with small rocks falling off the side of the pathway. One ODST nearly fell off the pathway when his foot slipped on a particularly large rock, only for a Terminator to grab him and haul him back onto the path. After giving the machine a nod of appreciation, the ODST's continued to move up, with the Terminators making sure no one else fell off.
Eventually, they reached another area that was just up ahead, with the pathway becoming, thankfully, much wider than before. Another embankment was up ahead, with more Covenant present in the area. "Covenant forces up ahead," Cortana informed the others. "The pathway up ahead should allow us to sneak around them." Nodding quietly, Chief continued to move up silently, using the pathway to navigate around the Covenant on top of the embankment.
That was when he noticed something. In addition to the path that circled around the place, there was another path that led into the middle of the embankment, which would allow any heavily armed and armored personnel to take out the Covenant by performing a head on attack. The ODST's could use the path that circled around to flank the Covenant from the left, allowing them to neutralize the Covenant before anything else would happen.
Cortana had seen this as well, as she said, "The path in the middle will allow us to directly engage the Covenant, Chief. The path around the left side of the clearing should allow the ODST's to flank the enemy from the left. We'll be able to split them up."
"Agreed," Chief replied. Turning to the others, Chief said, "Here's the plan. Emile, Parsons, Six, you're with me; we'll attack the enemy using the middle path. The ODST's will attack the enemy from the left flank, which will allow us to split up the enemy forces and neutralize them quickly."
"We will most likely be detected by the Covenant forces," the Terminator informed Chief.
"Don't worry," Cortana replied. "Kalinda has informed me that she will jam local COM's so that the enemy can't send out an alert. She's already jamming their signals in preparation for the attack."
"Good," Chief replied. With that, Chief and the others got into position, with the Spartans getting ready to engage from the middle, while the ODST's moved around to the left side of the clearing, silently eliminating any Covenant that were in the lower portion of the clearing. Once in position, Chief watched as one of the ODST's sent him a green light on his HUD, meaning that they were ready.
As soon as the ODST's were ready, Chief and the others moved forwards, removing the suppressors from their weapons before charging in. The Covenant were taken completely by surprise, with a couple Elites being gunned down before the Covenant shook themselves out of their stupor, returning fire moments. At the same time, the ODST's charged in from the left, catching more Covenant off guard with the tactical maneuver.
Now that they were on the embankment, Chief could tell that the clearing was much larger than he had thought. The clearing was large, with a number of trees and brush growing near the cliff walls up ahead. A stone bridge connected the embankment to another one that was further up ahead, with a small ravine beneath the stone bridge. A clump of trees grew nearby, while a few small embankments were located on the walls of the clearing they were in.
The Covenant here, while thinned out, were still numerous, as Chief spotted more Jackals, Skirmishers, Grunts and Elites in the clearing. Taking aim, Chief quickly gunned down a couple Skirmishers, while Six pulled out his M392G DMR and began terminating any high value Covenant that were present in the area. Emile, being the CQC expert, charged in towards the Covenant, firing his new shotgun at any Covenant forces that were dumb enough to stick their heads out of cover.
At the same time, the ODST's and Terminators were also moving into the clearing, taking out any Covenant that were in the immediate vicinity. An ODST fired his M7G PDW at a Grunt, pumping the alien full of 5mm HEAP shells while another ODST terminated a Jackal in a similar manner. One Skirmisher attempted to leap onto an ODST, only for one of the disguised Terminators to grab the Skirmisher and smash the alien's head into a rock, it's foot crushing the alien's skull while flattening it's brain in the process.
As for the Terminators, they were, unquestioningly, the deadliest combatants in the firefight. Moving forwards with fluid precision, the Terminators quickly began targeting and terminating any HVT's that were in the area. An Elite charged at a Terminator, only for the machine to grab the Elite and squeeze, snapping the alien's neck in an instant before letting the limp body drop to the ground. Another Terminator hurled an Elite into a nearby rock, with a loud CRACK indicating that it's spine had been shattered by the impact.
Eventually, all enemy contacts were down, with the squads regrouping to focus on their next objective. "We'll need to find out more about the area up ahead," one of the ODST's remarked. "I'm sending out a UAV." Pulling out a small, rectangular object, he pressed an icon on his arm computer, with the rectangle deploying into a UAV that had a camera and four, anti-gravity emitters beneath it. Moments later, the drone zipped high into the air, coming to a hover just above the next area.
Looking at the camera feed, Chief could see what the next area ahead was. According to the UAV camera, the area ahead contained the platform/anti-gravity emitter that was connected to the ship's Gravity Lift, as Chief spotted the distinct distortion of the graviton beam in the center of the area. The clearing ahead of them had some trees, brush, as well as a few boulders that were sticking up from the ground. The right side of the clearing had an embankment which ended as a sheer drop off the side of the plateau.
The Covenant forces up ahead were even more numerous than the ones they had just dealt with, as Chief spotted what appeared to be a Wraith, as well as Shade Turrets located at strategic positions in the clearing. Looking more closely, he spotted some Elite Zealots, as well as high ranking Grunts, Jackals and Skirmishers in the area. The Wraith will be a problem, Chief thought as he looked at the camera feed. The Zealots are also going to be a problem.
Moments later, Emile voiced what Chief was thinking. "Those Zealots are going to be a problem," he remarked as he looked at the camera feed. "The real problem, however, is the Wraith. That thing can take us all out with a single shot, and it's watching the entrance into the area. How are we going to get past that?"
"I have a solution," the Terminator replied. "I have found a Covenant Active Camouflage emitter. I can use it to get close to the Wraith and place an explosive charge on it. Once you give me the signal, I will detonate the explosive charge and destroy the enemy vehicle."
"Good plan," Chef replied. "Myself, Emile, Six and the other Terminators can handle the Zealots while the ODST's clear out the remaining resistance." With their battle plan decided, Chief watched as the Terminator became invisible, with Chief and the others taking up position near the entrance to the other area: a singular path that cut through the canyon wall and into the next clearing.
Moving through the canyon path, the Terminator silently passed by the Covenant forces, highlighting them and sending the relevant data to the others. Moving along, the Terminator planted plasma charges onto each of the Shade Turrets, before doing the same for the Wraith. With the charges in place, the Terminator waited for the signal to come.
It didn't have to wait long, as Chief sent the signal almost immediately. Acting on it, the Terminator hit the detonator, causing plasma spheres to erupt in the entire area. The Wraith simply fell to the ground with a CLUNK, as the expanding plasma sphere vaporized the power plant for the machine, cutting off any power that it had. The Shade Turrets, and their gunners, were promptly vaporized, with the only sign of their existence being the bowl shaped depressions that marked where they once stood.
The resulting chaos meant that Chief and the others immediately moved into the area, with Chief, Emile and Six engaging the Zealots while the ODST's flanked to the left and right, killing any Covenant that had survived the initial bombing. Moving quickly, the Terminator caught up to Chief and the others.
Before it could assist, it was promptly kicked in the chest by a Zealot that had been cloaked, causing the machine to land on the ground near a crate. Moving quickly, the Terminator dodged a blow from the Zealot's Energy Sword, with the alien's sword becoming stuck in the cargo crate. Struggling to retrieve it's weapon, the Elite Zealot was totally unprepared for the beating it was about to receive.
Grabbing a hold of the Zealot, the Terminator pulled it away from it's weapon and began to deliver a vicious beatdown. The Zealot's head snapped to the right as the Terminator smashed it's fist into the Elite's face, shattering it's facial mandibles and crushing part of it's facial bones. The fists of the Terminator continued to pound the Zealot, shattering bones and crushing organs in the process. Eventually, a particularly powerful blow crushed the top of the Elite's helmet, sending shards of nanolaminate into the Elite's brain, killing it instantly. "You are terminated," the Terminator observed dispassionately.
As soon as those hostiles were eliminated, more came down from the ship itself. Caught off guard by the presence of Humans in the area, the Covenant forces were nearly slaughtered by the ODST's, Spartans and the Terminators before they reacted, with the last survivors being quickly terminated. A second and third wave came down as well, with the results being similar. After terminating the recent wave, Chief said, "We need a resupply."
"Roger that," Cortana replied. Keying Chief's COM, she said, "Cortana to Echo-419, requesting a resupply. We're running low on ammunition."
"Roger, Cortana," Foehammer replied. "Echo-419 en route."
That was when a final wave of Covenant forces arrived. Two Hunters immediately descended from the ship, roaring loudly as soon as they spotted the ODST's. Charging out of the Gravity lift, they began firing their Fuel Rod Cannons, forcing the ODST's to take cover behind anything solid enough to stop the powerful munitions.
It was here that the Terminators really came into their own. ALERT: Covenant Hunters Detected, the internal systems of the Terminator's reported. Threat Level: Critical. Terminate Covenant Hunters. Moving as one, the Terminators immediately dove into the fight and got to work.
Chief watched as the Hunters were, practically speaking, disassembled by the Terminators. The Hunters were large, bulky creatures which, while this made them strong, also made them slow, meaning they couldn't react in time to counter fast moving enemies. As a result, they were practically helpless against a squad of T-850L's working in concert to take down a larger enemy. Worms and nanolaminate armor flew through the air as the Terminators, numbering 15 individuals, tore the Hunters apart. Parsons, in particular, was ripping worms out the back of one of the Hunters, while a Terminator used brute force to tear off some of the nanolaminate armor. Eventually, the Hunters had been completely torn apart, with the worms scattered around the place while the armor was lying on the ground, with some of it in pieces.
"Daaaaaammmnnn," one of the ODST's remarked. "Those Terminators ripped apart the Hunters before I could say 'jack knife.' Remind me not to get on their bad side."
Moments later, the Pelican arrived, dropping off supply crates that opened up to reveal phased plasma munitions and plasma weapons inside. Taking a hold of the weapons, the ODST's, Spartans and the Terminators got ready to board the enemy ship. "All hostiles eliminated," one of the ODST's reported. "ODST's, prepare for boarding action." Grabbing their newfound weapons and ammunition, the squads loaded up onto the Gravity Lift, waiting for Kalinda to get them inside.
For a few seconds, nothing happened, then Chief felt himself becoming lighter as the Gravity Lift activated. "Whoa," one of the ODST's shouted, with others cheering or whooping loudly as they were drawn up into the ship. Moments later, the Terminators and Spartans followed suit, flying up into the ship, where they were deposited into a large room that had crates scattered everywhere. Doors were present on all sides, including a large pair of doors on part of the interior. "We're in," Cortana reported. "I've got a lock on the Captain's CNI transponder. Hhmm, that's strange; no Covenant forces detected."
"What," an ODST asked. "No Covenant? Maybe there's nobody home."
"Incorrect," the Terminator replied. "The Covenant are present onboard this ship." A moment later, the Terminator spotted one of the doors opening, with a shimmer of air exiting the door. Acting immediately, the Terminator grabbed the ODST in question and threw him to the side, firing it's M12E at the Elite in question. The alien roared as plasma bolts tore through it's armor, killing it and causing it to become visible.
"Covenant," an ODST shouted. "Incoming!"
"No Covenant," another one remarked. "You had to open your mouth."
"I stand corrected," the ODST in question conceded. As soon as he said that, Chief's Motion Tracker picked up more enemy contacts, with more doors opening to disgorge Grunts, Skirmishers, Jackals and Elites. Acting fast, the team quickly neutralized each wave.
Suddenly, one of the large doors opened up, with both halves retracting to reveal a number of Covenant personnel, including Zealots. Chief was about to fire when a quiet BLOOP echoed in the cargo bay, with something whizzing past his head. Moments later, Chief watched as the Covenant reinforcements were vaporized by a sphere of expanding plasma. Turning to look at Parsons, Chief said, "Nice shot."
"Thank you," the Terminator replied.
With the Covenant terminated, the ODST's moved out. "We'll take that large door and get to the other side," Johnson informed Chief. "If you can find the door controls for the other side, we'll be able to get inside and get you reinforcements. Move out people!" With that, the ODST's moved forwards, while Chief, the Spartans and the Terminators moved through one of the smaller doors.
Moving down the purple hued hallways, Chief and the others continued to move through the area, terminating any Covenant that were too close to their position. "I've got good news, Chief," Cortana informed him. "Kalinda has pinpointed Keyes' location. He's currently being held in the Brig of the Cruiser we're inside. We'll have to move fast, as he's scheduled to be interrogated in roughly fifteen minutes."
"Can Kalinda rescue Keyes while we move to his position," Chief asked.
"Yes," Cortana replied. "She's already moving to his position."
. . .
While this was going on, Keyes continued to wait for someone to come rescue him and the others. As he idly scratched at a wall, he began to listen in to one of the guards. So far, they had been fairly chatty about the Forerunner Installation they were on, which the Elites called 'Halo.' According to one, whoever controlled Halo directly controlled the fate of the entire universe, or galaxy for that matter.
That only confirmed to Keyes what he had been theorizing all along, as he heard them mention something about a 'Control Room' of some kind. If the Forerunners built this place, he thought, then it's likely that they have a local control room on the station that they could've used. If that's the case, we have to deny the Covenant access to the Control Room, otherwise they could wipe out the human race in one single blow.
As he thought this over, he thought he heard one of the doors open. Looking around, he watched as a female Elite walked into the room, her movements fluid and graceful as she walked inside. As soon as he saw her, though, Keyes realized that there was something off about her. As a result, he decided to watch and wait to see what would happen.
Kalinda moved towards the Elite with a fluid grace that few could match, her mimetic pollyalloy chassis perfectly imitating the movements of a female Elite's muscles and skin as she walked forwards. Looking around, she took note of where the warden was, the Sangheilian that was talking to him, as well as the location of the Captain in this part of the Brig. I have only one shot at this, she thought to herself.
As she approached, the Brig's Warden turned to face her. "Venora," the Warden said in his deep voice, "I thought you were assigned to the hangar bays."
"I was moved to assist in watching the Humans," Kalinda lied smoothly. "Others have the hangars handled."
"I see," the Warden remarked. "There's always room for one more, I suppose. We'll have to-" In an instantly, both of Kalinda's arms morphed into long, metallic blades, piercing through the faces of the two Elites, killing them instantly. Both Elite's bodies jerked and twitched as Kalinda downloaded some of their memories before allowing them to drop, their bodies hitting the ground with muted thuds. Turning towards the console, she input the code to open the cells before walking over to the Captain.
Keyes had to admit, he was deeply impressed and a little frightened by what he just saw. As Kalinda walked over to him, Keyes took the hand she extended towards him and got up. "That's some scary shit right there," he told the T-1000B. "How'd you manage to get onboard?"
"It's easy to do when you're a T-1000B," Kalinda replied, her mandibles and facial expression indicating her amusement at Keyes' question. "I managed to get onboard by using my cyber warfare skills to create a falsified dossier, allowing me to get aboard without raising suspicion. Since then, I've been spying on the Covenant here and, recently, working on a way to get you out of here."
"I see," Keyes remarked. "What about the…"
"Ship Master," Kalinda interrupted. "Don't worry, the others have him handled. The Master Chief and the others were sent here by Carter to rescue you. I provided them the information they needed to get into the ship. They'll be here shortly."
Shortly turned out to be roughly fifteen minutes, with most of that time spent waiting for Chief to arrive, while making sure that no more Covenant came into the room. Eventually, Chief and the others did arrive, blowing down the doors with a well placed plasma charge. Spotting Chief, Keyes walked towards him and said, "Coming here was reckless. You two could've gotten yourselves killed." After a moment, his tone lightened up and he said, "Thanks. What about the Ship Master?"
"Right here," the Terminator replied, hauling out an unconscious Sangheilian into the room. "I have incapacitated him for the time being. We can interrogate him once we are back at Alpha Base."
"We can," Keyes asked.
"More specifically, I can," Kalinda replied. "I can use the nanites in my pollyalloy chassis to sift through his memories and find intel that we need. Once that is done, we can keep him imprisoned while we come up with a strategy based on what we learn."
"Agreed," Keyes remarked. Looking at the men that were captured with him, he said, "Marines, lock and load. We're getting out of here." Turning back to Chief and the others, Keyes said, "While I was trapped here, I overheard some of the guards talking about the Forerunner installation we are on. They called it 'Halo.'"
"I know," Kalinda replied. "The Covenant revere Halo, calling it 'a divine tool of the gods, one of vast, unimaginable power.' I also found out that they are looking for Halo's Control Room, which they believe will allow them to ascend and become divine beings. They call this ascension the 'Great Journey.' They also believe that Halo is a powerful weapon as well."
"That's bad news," Keyes decided. "If the Covenant get their hands onto the Control Room, they can wipe out the entire Human race! We can't let that happen." Turning to Chief, he took an M7G that had been handed to him and said, "Chief, take point. Kalinda, you stay in the rear and disguise yourself so that the Covenant don't know they have a mole in their ranks. The rest of you, follow Chief. He'll get us out."
With that decided, the group began to move out of the Brig and towards the Bridge of the ship. Getting inside, Chief spotted cloaked Spec Ops Elites, as his thermal vision immediately picked up the thermal silhouettes of each one of the Elites. Just as he was about to act, the Terminators fired their weapons, ending the lives of each of the Elites. Moving inside some more, Cortana said, "Cortana to Echo-419, we have the Captain and are proceeding to the hangar. Requesting EVAC. Over."
A moment later, Foehammer came in over the COM, and it wasn't good. "Negative, Cortana, negative," Foehammer replied. "I'm being engaged by a half dozen Covenant Banshees and I'm having a tough time shaking them off. You'll have to find a way out on your own. Sorry."
"Acknowledged, Foehammer," Cortana replied. Cutting the COM, she said, "We'll be in a tight spot if we can't get EVAC out of here."
"Oh man, this is it," one of the Marines moaned. "We're screwed! We're screwed man!"
He was about to bolt when Keyes walked over and punched the man in the face, knocking him to the ground in the process. "Stow that bellyaching, Soldier," Keyes growled, "you're a leatherneck. Cortana, if we can commandeer one of those Covenant transports, I can fly us out of here."
"Yes, Captain," Cortana reported. "There's one that's still docked in the hangar bay."
"I know the codes required to release the transport," Kalinda told the others. "Once the Covenant are eliminated, I can undock the vessel and Keyes can transport us out of here."
"Agreed," Chief replied. "Let's move out." As soon as he said that, the door to where they needed to go opened up, unleashing a swarm of Covenant units. Plasma fire rang out as the troops fired back, while Kalinda made sure that Keyes was behind her and the other Terminators at all times. Once all the Covenant were eliminated, they began making their way towards the hangar bay.
It didn't take them long, as the Brig was close to the hangar bay, a design flaw on the Covenant's part. Either way, resistance was fierce, as the Covenant were fully intent on keeping the Captain locked up. Plasma bolts rang out as both sides struggled for control, with the Covenant's forces being rapidly whittled down by the firepower the ODST's, Spartans and Terminators had brought to bear on them. Eventually, the upper level of the hangar bay was clear. Walking towards the console, Kalinda punched in the codes required, unlocking the transport from the clamp. "That's it," Cortana reported. "The Dropship's undocked.
"Alright," Keyes ordered. "Everyone, mount up!" Taking a running start, Keyes leaped onto the Covenant Spirit, landing next to the hatch for the pilot. Getting inside, he quickly figured out the controls before opening the troop bay doors, allowing the team to load up.
"Give me a minute to interface with the controls," Cortana told Keyes.
"No need," he replied. "I'll take this bird out myself."
"Captain, Hunters," Cortana shouted.
Looking up, Keyes watched as two Hunters took up position on either side of a nearby column, intent on using their Fuel Rod Cannons to shoot down the VTOL. "Hang on," he told the others, gunning the throttle moments later. The drop ship surged forwards, with the ends of the troop bay smashing into the Hunters, sending them flying into the wall, their lifeless bodies crushed and dented by the force of the imapct.
"Hah! Nice one, sir," one of the Marines remarked.
"Time for a little payback," Keyes remarked, guiding the Spirit out of the ship. Chief had to agree. The Covenant were about to have a really, bad day.