Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - Terminator crossover. Thank you for your support of this crossover and my other one. I deeply appreciate it and I hope you stick with me to the end. I've also written in a reference to a game franchise that I enjoy playing as well. I think that you will like it when you find it. Also, I've decided with my other crossover that I will end it at the end of the Halo 4/ME1 story arc. I'm doing this not only to start posting another crossover, but also to make it easier to read since I will be making a sequel to that one, which will cover the Halo 5, ME2, ME 3 and possibly the Halo Infinite story arc once that game comes out. I will also put that one into the Mass Effect crossover section, but it will be listed as a multicrossover still. Let me know what you think in the reviews down below. Either way, thank you for your support and I hope to see you in future chapters. 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, Carolo Pictures, Hemdale, Skydance Productions, 20th Century Fox, Lightstorm Entertainment, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective 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.
UNSC Cairo
Low Earth Orbit, Earth
October 27th, 2552
As soon as he stepped outside of the Command Center, Johnson pointed Chief towards a weapon rack that was on the wall. Inside the restraining bars were two MA5E's, a pair of the new BR55E's, which were the replacement for the BR55 Battle Rifle, designed for mid to mid-long range, as well as a pair of M7/20E PDW's. The PDW's were a SKYNET designed replacement for the M7 SMG, with the new weapons being more powerful, more accurate and much more reliable. Since they had just recently entered production, they were still quite rare, which prompted SKYNET to ship the new PDW's to esteemed military units, as well as any Spartans that were present.
Running over to the weapon rack, Chief grabbed one of the new PDW's, as well as an MA5E, while Johnson grabbed a BR55E. Moments later, Parsons and William grabbed their weapons as well, with Parsons grabbing the second BR55E, allowing William to use the MA5E, which was optimized for close to medium range combat. Once they were armed, they grabbed the Fusion Mags that were in the rack before proceeding forwards, following Johnson to the target location, a room that held a series of computer consoles that were near a blast door. As they moved forwards, Hood came over the COM. "Cortana, what's the status of the boarding ships?"
"SKYNET's anti-fighter systems are taking them out," Cortana reported. "The Covenant is relying on en mass deployment, though. Not all of the boarding ships will be destroyed, but they will be greatly reduced in number. In addition, SKYNET has ordered the UNSC fleet to retreat behind the debris field. I think it intends to use the debris field to further reduce the number of Covenant ships in order to give the fleets a better chance."
"I won't argue with SKYNET," Hood decided. "That AI knows more about strategy than even I do, and it's constantly evolving on top of that. If it thinks that strategy will work out some more, then I'm all for it." Looking outside, Chief watched as a series of missile batteries built into hull mounted hardpoints opened fire, blasting apart any Seraphs and Banshees that got too close to the station. A few Boarding Shuttles were destroyed as well, though the amount of enemy fighters and ships meant that they couldn't get all of them.
A moment later, he heard an automated voice announce, "Attention: Interior Defense Systems Online. Please Activate I/FF Tag if Inactive to Avoid Accidental Termination. Thank You." Moments later, Chief watched as rotary plasma turrets deployed from the walls and ceiling of the room, and small ports opened on the ground. Moments later, he watched as a series of tracked robots drove out into the room, each one sporting a Magnetic Grenade Launcher, as well as a Plasma Repeater. Those, if Chief recalled correctly, where the HK-35 Automated Defense Sentries, or ASD's for short. According to SKYNET, they were inspired by a 21st century video game franchise that had long since gone extinct, but many of the concepts inside proved to be viable, resulting in a series of new defense systems. Either way, they had proven to be effective during testing; now they were about to be put into the crucible of war.
Once he was in position, he knelt down behind a console, MA5E charged and ready, while Johnson began setting up a V-95H on a barricade behind him. Marines that were in the area also got ready, and Chief spotted a few others that he suspected were Terminators, though he wasn't sure if they were the new ones or not. "We've got incoming boarders," a UNSC Marine called out. "Standby… They're latched on!" Moments later, Chief heard a loud,echoing CLUNK as a Covenant Boarding Shuttle latched onto the station.
"What's the status on their entry," Chief asked.
"Taking a while," the Marine reported. "We've got them on camera. Looks like the transparent hyperalloy that SKYNET designed is proving to be incredibly tough." Looking at the camera feed on his HUD, Chief could tell that it was taking the Covenant a considerable amount of time to cut through the transparent hyperalloy material. Forty seconds later, the Covenant had cut a roughly 12ft diameter semicircle into the hardened material. Another forty seconds later, they broke through, but by then the interior defenses there had locked onto their heat signatures, firing away as soon as they came out the tube. In a surprising maneuver, the Jackals that were moving in used their arm shields to block the plasma as they advanced; it wasn't perfect, as some Covenant still fell to the interior defenses, but it was enough that the majority made it through to the bulkhead door. "Looks like standard formation," the Marine reported, "little motherfuckers in the front, big motherfuckers in the back."
"Field of fire on that door," Johnson called out, manning the turret a moment later. "As soon as that door opens, let 'em have it!" Moments later, Chief noticed a dull, red line that began to cut across the locking mechanism of the door. Normally, it would've only taken the Covenant ten seconds to cut through the door and enter the room they were in; that is, if the door had been composed of the titanium alloys the UNSC made widespread use of before SKYNET's creation. This time, however, the door was composed of titanium hyperalloy that was formulated for both strength and heat resistance. It was also blast resistant, an upgrade SKYNET performed after taking into account the power of plasma based explosives. As it were, the estimated breaching time had increased from ten seconds, to nearly fifty seconds, more than enough time for the Marines, Spartans and Terminators inside to get ready.
Moments later, there was a loud BANG as the Covenant used a plasma charge in an attempt to break through. Thanks to the new materials, however, the door barely even bent inwards, creating a 4.2cm gap between both halves of the door. After three more consecutive blasts, the door finally gave in, though it had cost the Covenant the element of surprise. As soon as they came inside, everyone that was on the other side of the door opened fire.
Johnson roared as he let loose with the V-95H, cutting through the smaller Covenant in the front as though they were so much confetti. The wall and ceiling mounted defenses immediately opened fire, spraying phased plasma through the air and towards the Covenant, while the ASD's on the ground immediately moved in and opened fire. Grunts, Jackals and Elites alike toppled to the ground, their bodies smoking and their internal organs flash cooked by the intense heat that only superheated hydrogen plasma could create. Soon, none of the Covenant that had entered the way they did remained, with only their smoking corpses being the evidence of the failed assault. "Move up," Johnson shouted. "Keep the momentum going! I'll catch up when I can."
"Roger that," Chief nodded. "Parsons, William, you're with me." Both men silently nodded as they advanced forwards with Chief, weapons at the ready. Moving inside, they entered the cargo bay where the Covenant had invaded, and were now getting an unwilling taste of what the UNSC was capable of, now that it had technological parity with the Covenant. Walking inside, he looked around to see that the UNSC and Covenant were now locked in a small scale war with each other, as both sides vied for supremacy in the narrow confines of the cargo bay. While most of the Marines were using heavily upgraded versions of the UNSC's BDU (Battle Dress Uniform), others were using the shielded armor that SKYNET had designed as a replacement for the old BDU, with the new being called the M55 SBDU (Shielded Battle Dress Uniform).
That was when Chief saw it, one of the new Terminator chassis that he had heard rumors of. Looking up, he watched as a Marine wearing the new armor gunned down a few Covenant, before engaging an Elite. To Chief's genuine surprise, the Marine split into two copies; one retained the original appearance of the marine, down to the new SBDU. The other half, however, was a skeletal Terminator that used a carbon nanocomposite based chassis that made use of upgraded artificial muscles, giving it a more organic appearance. However, like the older T-850L, it still had the skull face, as well as the red glowing ocular sensors.
The Elite was clearly surprised, but it couldn't have predicted the assault that was about to hammer it and it's comrades. Both new combatants opened fire, with the Marine combatant firing with it's MA5E, while the new Terminator chassis grabbed another weapon and fired as well, killing the surprised Elite in a few seconds. One Elite got too close and tried to kick the new Terminator chassis, only for the new chassis to expertly dodge the blow and retaliate with one of it's own. The attacking Elite was promptly hurled back by the force of the blow, impacting a crate with enough force that the metal curled around the Elite, with the blow killing said Elite instantly. Just like that, the two copies fused back into a single whole, though it still looked like a Marine wearing the new SBDU. "Whoa," Chief heard William gasp. "Was that the new Terminator chassis?"
"Yes," Parsons replied. "That is the REV-9 Combat Terminator Chassis. It was designed as a replacement for the T-850L's, though production is still increasing in order to meet the new demand."
"Are you one as well," Chief asked.
To his surprise, Parsons smiled and said, "Yes. I was uploaded into the new chassis two days ago. My programming and subroutines have been optimized for the new chassis." Chief had to admit, that was actually impressive.
As the fighting wore on, Chief and the others continued to engage any Covenant that exited the Boarding Shuttles. Parsons, showing off his new chassis, split into two different combatants, though both were exceptionally deadly. Firing the BR55 he had, Parsons blew apart a few Grunts and Jackals, while his REV-9 chassis tore apart the Elites that came out of the Boarding Shuttle, even going so far as to pull one in half with it's raw strength alone. Fusing back into a single whole, he continued to terminate any other Covenant with ease. Nearby, William gunned down a group of Covenant with his MA5E, killing a cluster of Grunts and Jackals before using a grenade to disintegrate the Elites that were leading them. Chief, being the efficient Spartan he was, quickly and expertly gunned down any Grunts, Jackals and Elites that were in the way, even going so far as to disembowel an Elite.
Soon, the cargo bay was completely devoid of Covenant, with the Boarding Shuttles having fully emptied. While there were no human or Terminator casualties, Chief could see that some of the HK-35's had been destroyed, though it was clear that this was because they were subjected to concentrated fire from the Covenant. The rest had their armor plating damaged, but were otherwise fully operational.
As the Mairnes regrouped, Chief moved up towards the viewport. "Hey check it out," Chips Dubbo, one of the Marines that had survived Installation 04, called out to him. "The Athens just repelled it's boarders."
"Athens, this is Cortana," the AI said over COM. "What's your situation?"
"I don't believe it," a Marine called out. "They're retreating! We've w-"
"All hands, abandon ship," the CO of the Athens ordered. "All hands, abandon ship." A minute later, escape pods shot out of the ODP, carrying it's crew onboard.
They were just in time, as seconds later, the Athens detonated in a brilliant burst of light. As the station was one of the few that hadn't been upgraded yet, it flew apart at the seams, with each component flying apart. Moments later, the light show faded, revealing the ruined graveyard that was formerly the ODP Athens.
"This is bad, real bad," Dubbo groaned. "I spoke too soon."
"Keep it together," another Marine said to him. "We're still alive and in one piece, which means we can still kick some ass!"
Moments later, Chief watched as a pair of doors opened, with a Marine walking inside. "Chief," he said, "we need some help pushing the Covenant out of our section of the ODP. The Covenant are breaking inside, and we have a VIP in there."
"Who," Chief asked.
"John Connor, sir," the Marine replied. "He was about to head to the surface when the Covenant boarded. He's been helping us out since then. The man's a lean, mean, Covenant killing machine."
Chief nodded at that. In the weeks following their return, John Connor had been busy helping the UNSC where he could, from suggesting changes in strategy, to helping shore up the defenses. While he wasn't UNSC, it was decided by HIGHCOM that John Connor had earned the rank of General, as he had not only prevented the extinction of his species in his reality, but had proven pivotal in helping Chief and Admiral Whitcomb return safely to Earth. As a result, he was given the same rank in the UNSC that he held in Tech-Com, and was put in charge of the ground forces on Earth. Apparently, the Covenant had attacked quickly enough that he hadn't been able to get off the ODP in time, forcing him to fight with the others as well. Without a word, Chief proceeded through the door and towards Connor's position, knowing that time was of the essence.
The hallways beyond the cargo bay were infested with Covenant forces, as Chief and the others found out soon enough. Spotting a Grunt hoisting a Plasma Turret, Chief opened fire with his new PDW, killing the Grunt within the first four round burst. A few Elites came around the corner, only for William to gun them down before they had a chance to fire back. With those forces down, the squad moved up through the hallways, gunning down any Covenant that were in the area.
They eventually came to one of the console rooms overlooking a series of gardens that were in the facility, with the plants held in small garden plots. The roof was made out of transparent hyperalloy, providing a view to the exterior of the space station for anyone that came to this area. The Covenant were present here as well, and were currently in the middle of a crossfire that the UNSC Marines had managed to trap them in. Looking around, Chief watched as a man wearing the new SBDU opened fire on some Elites, managing to kill them just as he was thrown out of one of the rooms by an explosion. Instead of letting it faze him, the man got up and opened fire on Covenant that had breached into that console room, killing them in a matter of seconds. Looking around, that man spotted Chief and said, "Here comes my double."
"General Connor, sir," Chief and William replied, causing the two to glance at each other before resuming what they were doing. Jumping down from the alcove, both men as well as Parsons moved to Connor's position: a barricade that was taking fire from Covenant personnel that were inside one of the hallways. "What do you need," Chief asked Connor.
"We've got Covenant infiltrating the rest of the ODP," Connor shouted as he returned fire on the Covenant in the hallway. "They're attempting to take the cargo bay beyond our position! Get in there and drive them out! I'll provide assistance until I can get a ride to Earth and coordinate the defenses down there! They haven't been attacked yet, but I don't want to take any chances!"
"Yes, sir," Chief nodded, before firing on the Covenant in the hallway beyond.
Parsons, having moved forwards, quickly began engaging the Covenant in the hallway. Using his new chassis, he turned one of his arms into a blade, before stabbing it directly into an Elite, allowing him to throw the alien into it's comrade, knocking them both to the ground. Reforming that hand, he opened fire on the Jackals and Grunts with the BR55E, killing them almost instantly. Pulling out a grenade, he shouted, "Frag out," before hurling it at a group of Covenant, blasting them apart a few seconds later.
With the enemy personnel in the hallway neutralized, they moved forwards and into the next cargo bay. The Covenant here had decided to use their better trained personnel instead of the usual cannon fodder, as there were only Elites in here, and high ranking ones at that too. Zealots, Ultras, Captains and Majors were firing their weapons at UNSC Marines and Terminators that were on the upper levels of the cargo bay, forcing some to take cover while others continued to fight with courage. ASD's were also firing as well, with some performing kamikaze charges into groups of Elites, blasting a few apart in the ensuing detonation. Moving inside, Chief opened fire on a Zealot that was near his position, surprising the alien and forcing it to take cover to avoid being killed; vaulting over cover, he smashed his boots into the Elite's face before gunning it down moments later, using the corpse to avoid being stabbed by another Zealot. William, coming to the rescue, blasted the alien apart with a M45E that he'd picked up earlier.
As for Connor and Parsons, both individuals were literal one men armies as they tore through the Covenant. Connor, taking cover behind a crate, fired a 40mm grenade over his cover, vaporizing a few Elites with the well aimed HE/P munition. Popping out of cover, he blasted a few Elites before moving up to another piece of cover, firing his weapon again. Spotting an Elite charging at him, he only had enough time to turn before the Elite tackled him to the ground, before stabbing at him with a Plasma Dagger. Dodging the blow, Connor lashed out with a fist, knocking the alien back before blasting it in the chest with his M6E, pumping the alien with the entire mag before getting back into cover.
Nearby, Parsons continued to be a lethal killing machine, as was expected from a Terminator. Splitting into two halves once again, he fired on the Covenant with both halves, taking down groups of Elites in the process. A few shots impacted the skeletal REV-9, but thanks to SKYNET's advances in materials science, the chassis took only superficial damage, while it dealt lethal damage to the enemy. Merging into a single whole again, he quickly got into cover before throwing a knife he found out towards an Elite, nailing the alien to the wall with the blade. "Stick around," he remarked as he moved forwards.
Eventually, all of the enemy personnel in the cargo bay had been terminated, with piles of dead Elites scattered throughout the area. Walking up to the viewport, Chief noticed that Covenant ships were fleeing the Malta. As they did so, he noticed that the hangar bay door on the ODP was opening up. As soon as it did, a massive gout of plasma tore out of the bay, with part of the ODP being sheared off of the main structure. The ODP was sent spinning through space, with it's RCS systems quickly working to stabilize the spinning structure before it could shear apart. A few seconds later, the Malta came to a halt, severely damaged and battered, but for the most part, intact.
"Cortana, status," Hood asked, having seen the explosion from the Cairo's bridge.
"That explosion came from inside the Malta," Cortana reported. "The CO of the Malta is reporting heavy damage, but they're still operational. A UNSC Heavy Cruiser is on it's way to provide assistance. I think the Covenant brought another piece of equipment with them: a bomb."
"And they sure as hell brought one here," Hood growled. "Chief, Parsons, William, find it. Connor, we've cleared out one of the hangar bays. Can you get down to the planet's surface?"
"Roger that," Connor nodded. "I'll get down to the planet surface and coordinate the defenses there. If the Covenant breach the defenses up here, the troops down below will need all the coordination they can get." Looking at William, he said, "This is where we part ways."
"It's been fun working with you, Connor," William nodded. "You were a one man killing machine."
"I can't take all the credit," Connor smirked. "Chief and Parsons did well too, as did you. You might make a good leader someday yourself. Should y'all get onto the ground, I'll see if I can provide some help, even if I'm not there in person. Take care now." Moving towards one of the doors, Connor moved through, exiting the cargo bay moments later.
"Exit stage left," William remarked. Looking around, he asked, "Cortana, is there a way we can get to the Super MAC? If I were the Covenant, and I'm not, that's where I'd place the bomb."
"Way ahead of you there," Cortana replied. "The Covenant have planted a bomb at the Super MAC Loading Mechanism. I'm sending a waypoint path to you now. Get over there and disarm it before it blows!" Moments later, ramps leading down into the sublevel of the room they were in opened up, allowing Chief and the others to move down below. There were only a few Grunts in there, nothing serious, as the team neutralized them before moving onwards.
Reaching the other side, Chief watched as the doors opened up, just in time to hear an angry Gunns shooting a M45E at unseen foes. "Get the hell out of my armory, split-lip," he roared. "This is UNSC property and you are not welcome in here! Get out, or I'll blow your ass out of here!" Moments later, Chief heard Gunns grunt as he picked something up, before a loud FWOOSH echoed in the room, followed by a concussive BANG. Moving inside, he found Gunns holding an M42A4 SSR, with a blast crater just at the entrance to the Armory. A pair of Elites, or rather what was left of them, were at the entrance, with only the hoof-boots of one remaining. Spotting Chief, he said, "About time you got your ass in here, Chief! The Covenant are in this area. If you need any heavy firepower, now's the time to ask for it!"
"Can you spare any heavy firepower or anti-infantry weaponry," Chief asked.
"Yes," Gunns replied. Pointing at some of the lockers, he said, "There's a few M42A4 SSR's in there, along with missile tubes for them. There's also a new M95 Defoliant Weapon in there as well, supposed to use some really hot burning fuel. Parsons should probably take that gun, given how strong he is." Nodding, Chief got over to the lockers, pulling out an M42A4 SSR, along with four, preloaded missile tubes. Nearby, Parsons pulled out the M95 Defoliant Weapon, along with some Compressed Fuel Tanks for the weapon. After rearming some of their gear, they moved out into the outside area.
Again, there were a lot of Covenant in the area, forcing Chief, William and Parsons to use a judicious amount of firepower to drive them out. Elites, Grunts and Jackals fell like ninepins as the Marines, emboldened by the appearance of the Spartan and Terminator, pressed the attack, forcing the Covenant to abandon the area entirely. Moving up, they passed through a number of hallways while climbing up staircases. Moving into a large room, they turned left around a corner, where three squads of UNSC Marines were opening fire on an invading force of Elites, Jackals and Grunts. The Jackals quickly formed a shield wall, only for Parsons to fire a 40mm HE/P Grenade, vaporizing some of the Jackals. "Ineffective defense," he observed as he pulled out the M95 Defoliant Weapon. Since they were well in effective range, he opened fire with the weapon.
Behind him, Chief and William watched as a thick and wide stream of blue-white fire erupted from the muzzle of the Defoliant Weapon, surging across the 50m stretch of station and into the ranks of the invading Covenant personnel. Grunts shrieked, Jackals screeched and Elites screamed as fire coated their bodies, consuming their flesh and melting parts of their armor while plunging them into the worst agony they had ever experienced in their lives. One Elite tumbled to the ground, screaming loudly as it batted at the flames in a futile effort to put them out, while a Jackal flailed it's arms about, screeching loudly all the while; there was a series of concussive BANGs as the Grunt's Methane Packs detonated, with shrapnel flying everywhere. The heat was so intense that Chief felt it through his armor, while the Marines at the barricades took cover to avoid being blistered by the heat. Within about thirty seconds, the Covenant in the hallway were dead, reduced to ashes by the intense heat generated by the Defoliant Weapon's high grade fuel, while some of the armor they wore bubbled and boiled on the ground. After another thirty seconds, the fire had gone out, though it was clear that the Defoliant Weapon had been effective, in a gruesome and horrific way.
Moving forwards, Chief and the others stepped over the ashes and melted armor that used to be the enemy combatants towards the airlock, since Cortana's waypoint path meant they needed to go outside. "Ugh," William remarked as he stepped over a puddle of molten material, probably part of the bodysuit of an Elite. "That 'Defoliant Weapon' is effective. It must've been as though a star had eaten them alive." In front of him, Chief nodded in agreement. The Covenant had now gotten a taste of what it felt like to be glassed.
Entering the large chamber, the squad moved in, with William making sure the seals in his armor were fully engaged as Chief followed a similar routine. Moments later, the doors sealed shut behind them, becoming airtight just before the airlock door opened. There was a loud gushing sound of air before it faded into nonexistence, with only the vibrations caused by the door opening being audible. Moving forwards, the team used their boots magnetic soles to move towards the door, before stepping outside moments later.
Outside, Chief could see what could be accurately described as a warzone. ODP's were firing on Covenant ships that were attempting to break through the defense and into Earth's atmosphere, only to be blasted apart by the upgraded Super MAC's that SKYNET had developed for the ODP's. Not all of the ships had been destroyed by the ODP's, however, as Chief could see some that had smashed into the debris field that SKYNET had created; in fact, the majority of the destroyed Covenant ships had been due to the debris field. Even in the future, debris is still the largest threat to a ship, he thought as they proceeded onwards. Longswords, Sabres and SKYNET controlled fighters zipped by the ODP, with plasma bolts and missiles tearing through the vacuum of space, creating a veritable lightshow. Beyond that, the sun gleamed brightly, casting the area into full noon daylight.
As he moved forwards, he spotted contacts on his Motion Tracker. Whirling around in Zero-G, he fired on an Elite that was wearing pressurized armor and a Jump Pack, killing the alien with a few well placed shots. "Elite Rangers," he called out. "They're using Jump Packs and pressurized Combat Harnesses."
"Copy that," William replied as he too stepped outside of the airlock. "Engaging." Firing his weapon, he nailed another one that was flying over to them, before launching himself off towards the next waypoint. Parsons reached out and helped Chief bet onto the deck, before both men proceeded towards the waypoint. Up ahead, they spotted William stabbing a Plasma Combat Knife into an Elite's neck, before slitting it's throat and kicking it away. Reaching the airlock, they walked inside, with the outer door closing and allowing the interior to pressurize. Once it had, the inner airlock door opened, allowing them into that part of the station once again.
This time, they were in a large cargo bay that had a lift built into the deck. The transparent hyperalloy viewport allowed Chief to see the Super MAC that the rest of the station was built around. The weapon moved downwards as it fired, sealing the fate of a Covenant Carrier that had gotten too close. Eight squads of Marines were inside the cargo bay, and were currently at barricades waiting for the lift to come up. "Shit," one shouted. "Incoming Buggers!" Right on cue, a swarm of insectoid creatures zoomed up from where the lift was coming from, chittering loudly as they fired Plasma Pistols and Needlers.
Using the Defoliant Weapon, Parsons expertly aimed and fired the weapon, sending gouts of blue-white fire into the air. One such gout caught a cluster of Drones off guard, with the aliens screeching loudly as blue-white flames licked and consumed their bodies, while others fell to the ground as Chief and William opened fire. Drones fell out of the sky as fire either ate and consumed them, or their chitinous bodies were ripped apart by phased plasma bolts. Within a few seconds, all the Drones were dead. "Covenant coming up the lift," a Marine shouted. "Take them out before they get up here!"
Looking down the incline, Parsons spotted the Covenant down below, including a pair of Hunters. Looking at Chief, he said, "I'll be back," before jumping off the edge, sliding down the incline and towards the Covenant. Jumping before he reached the lift, he slammed into the floor of the lift, denting it slightly before firing the Defoliant Weapon, immolating the Covenant infantry on the lift. The Hunters moved to engage him, only for Parsons to out maneuver them while setting them on fire at the same time. Each of the massive aliens screamed as their armor heated up, essentially acting as an oven in the process. Fortunately, they didn't have long to suffer, as he quickly terminated each one. Walking over to the lift controls, he accelerated the lift, allowing it to quickly reach the top. "Hang on," he warned Chief and William before pushing the down button, while accelerating the lift.
They quickly reached the bottom level, with the lift shaking slightly as it came to a sudden stop. Once the lift stopped, the squad quickly moved into the airlock ahead of them, moving outside once the inner door sealed shut and the outer door opened, allowing them to move outside. Now that he was outside, Chief could see just how impressive the Super MAC was. Just as he looked at it, it fired, sending a MAC slug at a fraction of the speed of light towards a Covenant Carrier. He watched as the Carrier detonated, exploding into hundreds of small pieces as the Super MAC reloaded and reaimed.
His idle reverie was interrupted when a group of Elite Rangers in pressurized Combat Harnesses opened fire, using their Jump Packs to get closer to the others. Opening fire, Chief jumped up towards the first one, tackling it and sending the pair tumbling end over end. Using his new PCK, Chief plunged the energy blade into the Elite's neck, killing it instantly before leaping off of it, using his armor's thrusters to land on the deck without bouncing off into space. Down below, Parsons neutralized his Elite Ranger by twisting it's head hard to the left, snapping it's neck, while William pumped his own combatant full of plasma bolts.
"We've got incoming," A UNSC Captain shouted. "Covenant Carrier inbound. It's headed straight for the Cairo!" Moments later, Chief watched as the Covenant Carrier came into view. It was clear that it was severely damaged, as it's hull was compromised in multiple areas. Instead of attacking, it zipped past the Cairo and through a small gap in the debris field, towards the planet itself.
"That's odd," Cortana remarked. "The Covenant Carrier blew past the Cairo and zipped through the area the Malta was at. It completely ignored us." Deciding that wasn't relevant to the mission, Chief proceeded onwards, entering the airlock at the upper part of the Super MAC's base moments later, along with the others. As the elevator doors closed and the car itself pressurized, Cortana said, "There's a group of Elites that are guarding the bomb, Chief. You might need to get creative. I also wouldn't recommend using the Defoliant Weapon in here as well." Parsons, who nodded in agreement, pulled out his BR55, making sure the Fusion Mag was fully charged before the elevator doors opened.
The Loading Bay for the Super MAC was filled to the brim with high tech equipment, from computers that monitored the status of the Super MAC, to the actual loading device itself, which loaded shell after shell with precision and efficiency. Another hyperalloy viewport looked out into space, with the vista being Earth's moon. On the floor of the Loading Bay, Chief could see Elite Zealots that were present, each one guarding an ovoid purple object that had a control panel on top, which was clearly the bomb.
As soon as they exited the elevator, the entire squad opened fire, being careful not to hit vital equipment or the bomb itself. The Elites snarled as plasma raked at their shields, with most taking cover and opening fire. One Elite began to circle around the group, drawing out an Energy Sword in the process. Spotting that one, Parsons moved to engage it, while Chief and William fired on the others. "Ah, the machine," the Elite snarled. "Too bad you won't be able to stop the Great Journey."
"I can and I will," Parsons replied. "You will be terminated." Just like that, the fight was on, though it was clear the Terminator was in a league of his own. The Elite's movements seemed slow and sluggish to Parsons, allowing him to immediately engage. Carbon nanocomposite fists smashed into nanolaminate armor, snapped bones and tore rents in flesh as the Terminator ripped the Elite apart. The Zealot could only scream before it's mandibles were ripped off it's face, with the Terminator snapping it's neck moments later, killing the Elite. Behind him, Chief and William efficiently terminated the other Elites.
Moments later, Cortana appeared on a nearby holo-pedestal. "Me, inside your head, now," she ordered. Complying, Chief held his hand over the holo-pedestal, allowing Cortana to upload herself into his armor before he ran over to the bomb. Placing his hand over it, he watched as Cortana disarmed the bomb, with the device's glowing components ceasing in their flashing.
"How much time was left," he asked.
"You don't want to know," Cortana replied.
"We had roughly 1.05 seconds before detonation," Parsons replied. Cortana made a sigh, while William's face blanched slightly. Chief could see why: they had almost run out of time."
"Admiral Hood," Miranda Keyes said over the comms. "We're in position to engage a Covenant Carrier. Permission to engage?"
"Negative, Captain," Admiral Hood replied. "Not against a ship of that size."
"Sir," Chief asked Hood. "Permission requested."
"For what, Master Chief," Hood asked, monitoring the controls on the Command Center.
"To give the Covenant back their bomb," Chief replied.
When Hood heard that, he immediately realized what Chief was intending to do. Instead of belaying the request, he said, "Permission granted."
With his idea cleared, Chief grabbed a hold of the bomb and began to pull, with William pushing while Parsons lifted the bomb up, his chassis more than capable of handling the weight. Moving quickly, they moved the bomb into the elevator that they had used earlier, before closing the doors behind them. "I know what you're planning," Cortana remarked, "and it's crazy."
"So, stay," Chief suggested.
"Unfortunately for us both," Cortana remarked. "I like crazy."
Laughing, William said, "I like that woman! She reminds me of another person I knew in Tech-Com. She was one crazy bitch that had a fetish for explosives. Boy was she fun to work with!" He continued to laugh until they arrived at a small loading bay, after which he grew serious once again.
Noting the battle outside, Chief positioned the bomb until it was in the perfect location, just to the left of the door override controls. "Just once question," Cortana asked. "What if you miss?"
"I won't," Chief replied.
"Hang on," Parsons said to William, who promptly clutched at the spikes on the bomb. Moments later, the Loading Hangar's door opened. Wind whistled and howled as the air inside the room was sucked out into the vacuum of space, with pieces of trash and debris zipping past the squad. William held on more tightly as the bomb shifted forwards, before it was suddenly yanked out by the last bits of escaping air. As it zipped past, Chief reached out and grabbed the bomb, with all three men hanging on for dear life as they began to descend towards the planet.
As they began to descend towards the planet, Chief watched as the Carrier flew underneath them, oblivious to it's impending doom. He watched as the Carrier fired it's energy projector, scoring a direct hit on a SKYNET designed Marathon-class cruiser. The shields held for a few seconds before shattering, with the armor taking a tremendous hit to it's integrity. Thanks to SKYNET's design upgrades, though, the Heavy Cruiser survived the attack, but it quickly maneuvered towards a nearby shipyard for immediate repairs. A pair of Longsword fighters zoomed past, using very low yield nuclear bombs and missiles to blow a hole into the enemy Carrier. Zooming inside, Chief watched as Parsons and William held on, even as flames swirled and zipped past them. Emerging out the other side, they entered the interior of the Carrier itself.
In the interior chamber, he could see the pinch fusion reactor that provided the Covenant Carrier with power, allowing it's crew to survive in the hostile environment of space. Beneath them was a large crack in the armor, most likely from a Super MAC that had punched a hole into it. Moving forwards, Chief watched as, on his signal, Parsons and William took off, while he reached forwards and armed the bomb, with Cortana putting it on a timer. With the bomb armed, he moved to the rear and launched himself off, zooming towards the hole in the enemy ship's hull.
As soon as he exited the ship, Chief saw the bomb detonate, with his HUD polarizing to protect his eyes. As he looked towards the planet and zoomed towards the others, the Covenant Carrier began to explode. Massive plasma conduit explosions ripped throughout the ship, with sections snapping and tearing away from the force of the detonations. As he zoomed past the minimum safe distance, the ship began to rip itself in half, with the nanolaminate structure failing to keep the ship together. Catching up to William and Parsons, he continued to fly onward, heading towards the ship that Miranda Keyes commanded, the SKYNET designed In Amber Clad.
Inside the Bridge, Johnson and Miranda looked up as the trio managed to safely grab onto the ship itself. "For bricks," Johnson remarked. "They flew pretty good."
"Indeed," Miranda beamed. Keying the COM, she said, "Chief, Parsons, William, head inside. We're going planet side. The Covenant are present on the planet now, but they're having trouble thanks to Connor." As they moved inside, William knew one thing. The Covenant was about to encounter one of it's worst nightmares: a human being that had stopped one genocide, and knew how to stop another one.
