Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - Terminator crossover. Thank you for your continued support. I really appreciate the feedback you give, which has helped to improve my crossover considerably. Thank you for your support and I hope to see you in later 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.


Unidentified Star System

Unidentified Planet

November 2nd, 2552

The inky blackness of space was ripped open as a damaged Covenant Carrrier exited a portal out of Slipstream Space. Along with it were pieces of the ship, as well as portions of buildings that the Carrier had been pulled with the ship on it's journey. As it fully exited, another ship, with this one being smaller, emerged from the portal as well, coming to a near halt as soon as it exited. Inside the Bridge of the In Amber Clad, Miranda Keyes was nearly thrown out of her seat as the Frigate came to a near complete stop. She had weathered her fair share of Slipstream Terminations before, but this one was certainly one of the harshest ones that she had weathered. Looking around as alarms began to blare, she asked, "Status report?"

"Engine pods have spun to zero," an ensign reported. "We're drifting."

"Archer pods are cold," another ensign reported. "I'll need to re-key the system."

Damnit, Miranda thought to herself. She knew that their ride had been bumpy, but bumpy enough that it had disabled some of her ship's systems? That was cause for concern. "Do it," she ordered, "and find out where we are." Keying the PA for the SOIEV Launch Bays, she said, "Sorry for the bumpy ride. Johnson, you good?"

Inside one of the SOIEV pods, Johnson was casually examining his cigar as he heard Miranda's question. It had been a bumpy ride, but he was just thankful that he hadn't been killed thus far. Since the bumpiness had stopped, it was obvious they had arrived at their destination, wherever that was. Putting his cigar into his mouth, he said, "I'm good, Captain. Chief?"

"We're fine," Cortana replied over the COM. Inside another SOIEV pod, Chief merely nodded in assent. It was a bumpy ride, but he'd been through much worse before. "What about you, Parsons?"

"I am operational," was the reply.

"I'm good," William called out.

As the ship drifted along, Miranda felt the engine pods coming to life, with the ship shuddering as the engines began to push it through space towards wherever they had ended up at. Amid the debris and pieces of buildings that had been yanked along from New Mombasa, she thought she spotted something in the distance, a guess that was confirmed when an ensign said, "Ma'am, we've got something coming into view now." As some more debris cleared, she found herself looking at a massive, ring-like structure off in the distance. She immediately could tell that this was no natural object; this thing had been made by someone, someone that had a far better grasp of megastructure engineering than anyone in the UNSC did, or SKYNET for that matter.

"Cortana, what am I looking at," she asked a moment later.

The response wasn't long in coming. "That is another Halo."

Inside the SOIEV Bay, Johnson's mind was occupied by a single thought: WHAT?! He was so shocked that he choked on his cigar, causing him to cough hard enough to send it tumbling out of his mouth and onto the floor of the pod. "Say what," he asked after recovering.

"What the flying fuck," William shouted. Parsons, being the machine he was, didn't have any form of emotional outburst, but simply began to process the new information quickly.

Back on the Bridge, Miranda was shocked. Her father had mentioned that he had found something around the planet of Threshold, but he hadn't said exactly what it was, mostly because he was unable to since it was classified. Now she could see it, she realized what he had found. "So this is what dad said he found. I thought these things were some kind of superweapon. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Cortana replied. "If activated, these things will cause destruction on a galactic scale."

"Agreed," Miranda replied. "I want every piece of available intel that we have on the Halo's, schematics, whatever. I don't care if I have the clearance or not." Looking up at an ensign, she asked, "What's the status of Regret's Carrier?"

"The enemy ship has come to a stop, right above the ring," the ensign reported. "Huh, that's funny."

"What is it?"

"The Covenant are abandoning the ship," the ensign replied. "I've got multiple Corvettes that are escaping from the Carrier. I'm also detecting a massive heat bloom inside of the enemy Carrier. I think it's reactor is going to go critical." A half minute later, his guess was confirmed, as Miranda saw the enemy Carrier literally explode, with pieces of it flying everywhere as the Carrier's reactor went critical. The Corvettes dodged the explosion as best as they could, though some were damaged or destroyed in the process. Only eight had survived the detonation intact, while the rest were moderately damaged, or destroyed.

"Looks like the ODP's and ships we had did sufficient damage to destroy it," Miranda remarked. Turning her attention back to Halo, she said, "Given what we know about this ring, it's even more imperative that we capture the Prophet of Regret. Chief, you'll be heading ground side with the ODST's in order to capture Regret. Johnson, you'll be coordinating support and providing reinforcements until I need you for something else."

"Rodger that," Johnson replied, getting out of his SOIEV pod.

"Until I can fight, I'm going to lay low," Miranda decided. "Once we can fight again, I'll call for reinforcements and we'll begin securing this ring. I'm classifying this one as Delta Halo." While Miranda was talking, Johnson tapped Chief's SOIEV pod with a fist, with a returning tap indicating Chief's reply.

"Understood," Chief said to Miranda over COM.

"Ma'am, we're passing over the ring in five… four… three… two… one," an Ensign counted down.

As soon as the In Amber Clad passed over part of Halo, the SOIEV Pods were launched, sending each Pod flying towards the planet at extreme velocity. Chief felt the SOIEV Pod rattle and jolt around, as the pod began to enter Halo's atmosphere, with the camera feed showing the shields SKYNET had installed rubbing against the atmosphere, causing a plasma fireball to form just beneath his feet. "Hang on," Cortana cautioned him.

As they flew into atmosphere, Chief watched the fireball dissipate, leaving a beautiful vista for him to see. From up above, he could see the landscape that was below his position, though he couldn't make out any details. A sudden jolt indicated that the air braking systems on the SOIEV Pod had activated, with an alert coming up on the computer screen in front of Chief. "Mind the bump," Cortana remarked as SKYNET designed anti-gravity repulsors on the SOIEV Pod activated, further slowing down the Pod.

As they drew in closer to their target, Chief spotted what looked like a structure on a nearby cliff. The structure seemed old and primitive, as it was primarily composed of stone that had been carved and chiseled into usable structures. A path on the right side of the structure indicated that they could go further into the interior of the location they were at. The ground in front of the structure was split into two terraces, with a lower terrace ahead of the one the structure was sitting on. Trees and flowering plants grew in the soil, unaware of the violence that was about to happen.

The Covenant were here as well, as the video feed in the SOIEV Pod showed a Jackal teasing a Grunt with something. Apparently, it had spotted the SOIEV Pods that were inbound, as it activated it's shield gauntlet, while the Grunt hopped onto a Shade Turret and began firing at the SOIEV Pods. The energy shields easily blocked each shot, with the plasma bolts on the Shade Turret bouncing off the SKYNET designed shields for each pod. Moments later, each pod landed on the ground with a hard THUMP, with all of the pods making it safely down to the ground. Hitting the manual release, Chief kicked the pod hatch hard, sending it flying into what appeared to be a short rock wall. "Can we possibly make any more noise," Cortana asked. In response, Chief picked up an M42A4 SSR. "I guess so," she remarked lamely.

"We've gotta neutralize those Shade Turrets," Dubbo shouted,

"We've got a Shade Turret up top," an ODST reported at the same time. Looking around, Chief spotted the troublesome turret, only they were at a low enough angle that the turret couldn't fire. Moving up, he found a path that led to the upper terrace, just as a few Grunts came down said path. M7/20 PDW in hand, he immediately opened fire, spraying plasma bolts into the offending aliens. All of the Grunts toppled over as plasma bolts tore through their bodies, flash cooking organs and shredding armor in the process. Moving up onto one of the terraces, he quickly spotted the Shade Turret gunner and fired, killing the Grunt manning the weapon.

Suddenly, he felt himself stumble backwards, just as a beam of energy struck his shields. The beam failed to penetrate, as it ricocheted off of his shields, allowing him to throw himself into cover. Peering out of cover, he found a Jackal Sniper that was keeping overwatch on the area he was in. It was outside of the PDW's effective range, but Chief knew that a Spartan's effective range was usually much longer. He was about to fire when a plasma bolt tore through the Jackal's head, killing it instantly. Following the bolt's path, he found that Parsons had leaped up onto one of the terraces, before firing a single shot at the Sniper, killing it instantly. "Target terminated," the Terminator reported. Nodding in agreement, Chief moved forwards to where the Covenant were coming from.

Now that he was closer, he could see what the structures actually were. From what he could tell, it was either some form of a watchtower, or some kind of staging area. A number of tall booths were present in the area, with some being destroyed by time, while others were still intact, though it was clear that they were weathered with age and natural processes. There was a two story structure that was partially built into the side of the terrace they were on, and Chief spotted a stairwell moving up into the structure. He was about to move inside when Parsons entered the building, weapons at the ready as he advanced forwards. Moments later, Chief heard the sounds of weapons fire from inside the building, as well as a cacophony of surprised roars and shouts. After thirty seconds of weapons fire, he watched as an Elite Minor's smoking corpse was hurled out of the room on the second floor of the building, with the Terminator walking into view. Walking inside, Chief went up the stairs and to where Parsons was at. "I need your Missile Launcher," he said.

"Here," Chief replied. "I'll take the M6E that you've got." Nodding in agreement, Parsons handed Chief the M6D, while he handed the machine the M42A4 SSR.

"All contacts neutralized," he reported over COMs.

"Roger that," came the reply from the ODST's.

"Wouldn't be so sure," Cortana reported over the COM. "Phantoms inbound."

"Roger that," Chief replied. Hopping off the terrace, he set up position in one of the intact booths, weapons primed and ready for when the Covenant came for them. Up on the terrace, Parsons crouched down before aiming the Missile Launcher up at the sky, with the machine waiting patiently for it's target to arrive. It didn't have to wait long, as a Phantom soon came into view. Locking onto the target, the Terminator fired off a missile, with the projectile streaking through the air at the speed of sound. Moments later, it impacted the Phantom, blowing off two of it's underbelly weapons while severely damaging the armor. Firing again, the Terminator destroyed the last turret, though it was clear that the enemy reinforcements were going to make it.

Moments later, the damaged Phantom disgorged a number of Elites, as well as a few Jackals into the area. As soon as they landed, the ODST's and Marines, who had taken cover in the ruins, opened fire, sending plasma bolts directly at the Covenant personnel. Elites and Jackals tumbled to the ground dead under the immense fusillade of plasma that was hurled directly at them. Two more waves came along, with each one being destroyed in the matter of a couple minutes. Eventually, all of the enemy contacts were terminated.

A little while later, a Pelican carrying an upgraded Warthog flew into view.

"Area is clear," Sergeant Stacker, who was with the squad reported to Miranda Keyes."

"Affirmative," Miranda replied. "Pilot, did you spot anything unusual?"

"Yes," the Pelican pilot reported. "We've got Covenant forces landing all over this region, likely escapees from the destroyed Carrier. I also spotted some kind of structure in the middle of a lake that' in the middle of this region."

"I can confirm," Cortana replied. "If I was a megalomaniac, and I'm not, that's where I would be."

"Agreed," Miranda nodded. "Anything else?"

"Yes," the Pilot reported. "I spotted a path at Chief's position that leads further into the area. If what we know about the Forerunners is right, then there's probably a means of getting to the lake further down."

"I concur," another Pilot reported in. "Recon indicates a number of pathways leading down towards the lake. You'll need vehicles to travel to a series of structures we detected during our flyover. You'll have to travel on foot for a while, but you'll be able to reach some kind of structure that should get to to the one in the lake."

"Agreed," Miranda nodded. "Pilot, offload your Warthog as well as your new Terminator platforms." With that, the Pelican lowered, with the Warthog being deployed moments later. At the same time, four machines hopped out. They used similar materials as the REV-7 line of Terminators, but unlike the REV-7's, these were quadruped machines that looked like a cybernetically enhanced dire wolf. One came up to Chief before pawing at him, with the Spartan hesitantly patting it on the head. The machine apparently appreciated this, as it happily barked at him.

"What are those," Dubbo asked.

"REV-3 Dire Wolf Terminators," Parsons replied. "They were designed in response to the need for fast attack Terminators on recon missions, as well as special operations. They can move quickly enough to maintain position with a Warthog and are well armed and armored for combat."

"Indeed," Chief remarked. Looking around, he said, "Parsons, Dubbo, you're with me. William, you'll catch up on a second Warthog once it's been deployed."

William, who had been active during the fighting, said, "Roger that. Don't steal all the kills. I would like to have a few." Chief merely nodded before clambering into the driver seat, while Dubbo sat in the passenger seat and Parsons manned the turret. Gunning the engine, he drove the vehicle towards the pathway the Pelican pilot spotted, with the REV-3's in tow. Driving through, they emerged on the other side of the cliff, which was another sheer drop, with an earthen half-wall preventing any vehicles from accidentally flying over the edge. A few Grunts and Jackals were present, with Parsons opening fire, terminating most of them. One of the REV-3's tackled the last Jackal, growling as it bit down and tore out the alien's throat. Once it was done, they quickly caught up with the Warthog as it drove along

"Whoah," Dubbo remarked. "It's like a postcard. 'Dear Sarge, kicking Covenant ass and taking names. Wish you were here with us to enjoy doing the same.'"

Almost immediately, Chief heard Johnson say, "I heard that, jackass."

As they continued to move up, Chief quickly spotted the area the Pelican Pilot had informed them about. The area ahead was a large cliffside bluff that was split into two areas. The first area, where he was at, held a Forerunner structure that looked like a bridge control system, as he could see what looked like a deployable bridge that was currently stowed away. The second area was similar to the first, only it was backed by a cave system, with a tunnel that led into the interior of the cliff wall. The Covenant were here as well, as he spotted what appeared to be a Shade Turret, and a Ghost that was flying about. The other side of the bluff held a Wraith as well, and he wouldn't be surprised if a Banshee or two showed up. "Incoming Ghosts," Dubbo shouted. "Take them out!"

Moving the vehicle quickly, Chief swerved to the right, going over a bumpy area of the terrace that provided cover from the Ghosts. At the same time, Parsons and the REV-3's engaged, with the Terminator firing the V-95H mounted on the turret's frame. One Ghost was promptly destroyed by Parsons, with it's chassis tumbling end over end before it exploded, splitting the vehicle in half. The other was engaged by the REV-3's, which did something odd. Chief watched as the mimetic outer layer of the REV-3's flowed off of the skeletal REV-3 chassis and into the Ghost. At first, nothing seemed to happen, then the vehicle began to dissolve, with the vehicle, and it's unfortunate pilot, being quickly dissolved into a puddle of gray goo. Moments later, the mimetic outer layer of the REV-3's flowed out of the gray goo, before adhering once again to the REV-3 chassis. "Wow," Dubbo remarked. "That was surprising." Chief had to admit, Dubbo pretty much summed up his feelings at that moment.

With the Covenant vehicles down, he drove the vehicle to the entrance to the building and came to a stop , hopping out of the vehicle moments later. Moving inside, he took down a couple of Grunts, and a Jackal that was near the entrance. He quickly came to a room where a hologram of Regret was present, with the Prophet speaking in the song-like, melodic language that the San'Shyuum spoke in. He was about to move in when something struck at him, though his shields managed to block the blow. Rolling to the left, Chief spotted an Elite Zealot that had been hiding behind one of the walls, an Energy Sword in it's hands. Getting up, he quickly got inside of the Elite's defenses before plunging his knife into it's neck, killing the alien instantly. With all hostiles down, he pressed the button to deploy the bridge, with the massive bridge panels moving down the guide rails towards the other side. "Good work, Chief," Miranda Keyes said over COMs. "Sergeant Johnson, can you send them some heavier firepower? They'll need it for up ahead."

"Rodger that," Johnson replied. "Armor's on the way. Hang tight."

Walking outside of the structure, Chief waited for the armor that Johnson had sent to arrive. A few minutes later, a Pelican came into view, with a SKYNET modified Scorpion that was being hoisted by the transport. Flying overhead, the Pelican dropped off the tank, before taking off for other parts of the area. Walking over, he got inside the vehicle, with Parsons manning the pintle mounted V-95H, while Dubbo clambered onto one of the tracks. A moment later, a Warthog carrying William and the others arrived, with some of the ODST's hopping out of the troop transport variant and into the one he had used earlier. Once everyone was accounted for, they moved out.

Driving downwards, Chief spotted the enemy Wraith that was up ahead. The Wraith fired off a single shot from it's Plasma Mortar, but the Scorpion moved quickly enough that the bolus of plasma missed, falling into the gorge separating the two terraces. Taking aim, he fired the Railgun on the Scorpion, blasting apart the enemy Wraith with a single, well aimed shot. "Nice shot," Cortana remarked.

"Thanks," Chief replied. As they drove towards the tunnel in the cliff, he was about to drive in when an alert came up on his HUD. Turning the vehicle around, he spotted two Banshees that were flying towards him, weapons at the ready. The two Warthogs engaged immediately, with Parsons adding his own fire to the mix. The Banshees were good, but even they couldn't dodge supersonic bolts of phased plasma. It wasn't long before the smoking ruins of the Banshees fell to the ground, their chassis pitted and charred by plasma fire.

Continuing on, he drove the Scorpion into the tunnel, with the Warthogs and REV-3's following along. The interior of the tunnel, despite being dark, was rather pleasant to look at, as the stone walls were a light tan color. Up ahead, the tunnel split in half, with one half going up a ramp, while the other went into a small depression; both paths, however, led outside to where a waterfall was at. Spotting some Ghosts, Chief was about to fire when the REV-3's engaged, leaping onto the vehicles before tearing them apart with nanocomposite claws and teeth. One Grunt was unlucky enough to have it's head ripped off by the jaws of a REV-3, who proceeded to eat said head, as it apparently could do so. Smacking it's chops, it and the others regrouped with the squad, which continued onward. Spotting an enemy Wraith, he fired the main cannon, blasting apart the Wraith before it could fire it's weapon.

The rest of the trip proceeded in this manner, with Chief traveling through the tunnels and neutralizing any Covenant forces in his way. The tunnel network was short, but the narrow space meant that he had to keep his speed low in order to avoid smashing into or, goodness forbid, through support columns and beams that kept the tunnel from collapsing. This was because the new Scorpion was much faster than before, enough that he was having to get used to the speed. Eventually, they came to an open area of the tunnel network that led into a clearing, where he could see a few decaying fountains, large stone blocks, as well as ramps that led into the plaza, or the ancient equivalent of a plaza. The tunnel network continued onward, as he spotted the entrance to the rest of the tunnels on the other side. The Covenant were here as well, as he spotted some Ghosts, a Wraith, and infantry that were milling about, along with a couple Shade Turrets in the area.

"Chief," Cortana said to him. "Take the right hand path. The ODST's will take the left hand path. That should allow them to engage the infantry without risking drawing the Wraith's attention."

"Agreed," Chief replied. Turning right, he accelerated to a higher speed, as he now had more room to work with. Moving through the area, Chief came out to the Wraith's left, where it couldn't immediately turn to fire it's Plasma Mortar at him. Turning the tank's main turret, Chief fired off another Railgun shot, tearing apart the Wraith. At the same time, the ODST's and REV-3's engaged, causing terror and chaos to spread through the ranks of the Covenant forces. During the fighting, two more Ghosts appeared out of the other side of the tunnel network, only for the REV-3's to split off from the main group and engage. Once all the enemy contacts were down, they proceeded onward, with the REV-3's handling any Ghosts that came at them, while Chief and the ODST's handled any infantry and large vehicles.

Eventually, after traveling down a spiraling ramp, they exited the tunnels into another part of the area, which resembled a series of stone structures that surrounded a central stone structure. Covenant forces were here as well, with Chief neutralizing each one in short order. Driving up a ramp that was past a building with an tunnel underneath, Chief quickly terminated a pair of Elites, vaporizing them with the Railgun before reaching the top. Driving on, he crushed some Covenant Shield Barriers, killing any Covenant personnel he found before coming to a stop. Getting out, he heard another Pelican coming in. Reinforcements piled off of the transport, with the Pelican lifting off, but not before offloading some supplies marked with SKYNET's symbol. Opening them up, Chief spotted ammunition inside, as well as grenades and other equipment useful for a Spartan and Terminator.

As he did so, he heard some of the Marines commenting on the REV-3's. "Aw, that's a cut little dog," one Marine remarked.

"Cute?! Little?! Those things are bigger than a Great Dane that I used to own. Plus, if you make 'em angry, they'll tear you apart before you can say 'jack-knife!' What are you, dumb?" Any arguing that would've ensued was cut off, as the Marines and Chief heard enemy forces inbound on their position.

"Incoming," William shouted. "Enemy Covenant! Take them out!" Getting into formation, the large squad began moving out, weapons at the ready. Spotting incoming Covenant, they immediately opened fire, killing as many Covenant as possible before moving inside the interior of the building was a multi-tiered affair, with a lower tier that held a number of smaller structures, as well as a pothole that led down to where the Scorpion had driven through. The upper tier held no buildings, but it did have an entrance to a nearby cave. Covenant forces were present here as well, mostly Skirmishers and Elites. Charging in, the ODST's, Marines and Chief opened fire, with the Covenant returning fire immediately. Spotting a Skirmisher Champion, Chief nailed it in the head with a well placed shot, killing the alien before it could fire it's Beam Rifle. Moving up, he could hear more Covenant bodies falling to the ground dead, indicating that the Marines and ODST's were fighting back successfully. The occasional snarl and scream also indicated that the REV-3's were busy at work.

Chief found that was a complete 180° turn from how infantry engagements usually went in the UNSC. Before SKYNET's creation, it was common for infantry units to suffer losses upwards of 60% in casualties, if not higher, with some units even being wiped out. Now, thanks to the development of UNSC plasma weaponry and SKYNET's creation, that statistic had, effectively speaking, reversed, with Covenant units taking major casualties while the Marine and ODST units were taking much fewer casualties.

Eliminating the Covenant in this area, the squad moved upwards into the cave entrance, pushing past bushes, rocks and small trees. Moving slowly, the squad eventually reached a multi-tiered area of the area they were in, with water sloshing past their feet and down a waterfall ahead of them. Tall trees and shrubbery grew on multiple, earthen platforms that were accessible by rocky ramps and earthen ramps. A Jackal Sniper was standing in front of the squad, oblivious to the UNSC personnel standing behind them. Moving forwards silently, Chief grabbed the alien by it's beak before driving his knife into it's neck, killing the Jackal almost immediately. "We've got a lot of Covenant in the area," he remarked. Turning to Parsons, he said, "Recommended course of action?"

"We can use our stealth capabilities to ambush the Covenant," Parsons replied as he scanned the area. "The high grass in the area up ahead will disguise our movements until we are in position. Once we are, we can quickly take out the Covenant in the area."

"Agreed," Chief nodded. "The REV-3's will move up ahead and get ready to strike. Parsons, take half of the ODST's and move into position in those caves. William and I will take the other half of the area and move through the open areas that we can." Nodding in agreement, they began to move forwards, with the REV-3's 'skin' changing until it perfectly mimicked the surrounding environment, while Chief, Parsons and the others split up, moving into different areas The shrubbery in this area was so thick that the Elites had no idea the UNSC forces were present, as one walked not three feet away from Chief, as the shrubbery, combined with his armor's adaptive camouflage, disguised him almost perfectly. On top of that, a strong breeze was blowing through the area, which served to confuse and befuddle the motion sensors the Elite's Combat Harnesses used for spotting enemy forces.

It was when Chief and the others reached the middle of the area that the Drones arrived. At that same instant, Chief stood up and opened fire, killing the Elite that had walked right past him without knowing it. The Covenant were caught completely off guard, as a few Drones, Grunts and Jackals were neutralized before they began firing back. At the same time, the REV-3's attacked, with the Dire Wolf Terminators striking so suddenly the Covenant had no time to react. One Elite screamed as it's throat was ripped out by a REV-3, while a group of Jackals were immediately swarmed by two others, who leaped into their ranks before tearing them apart. At the same time, Parsons and the others engaged, with Parsons neutralizing the Drones in the air while the Marines and ODST's took on the ground forces. Within minutes, the battle was over, with some of the corpses smoking from the plasma fire, while others had been ripped apart by the REV-3's.

As he moved up, Chief found himself approaching another Forerunner structure. This one overlooked the lake that he'd seen earlier, and he could spot more Forerunner platforms that led to other areas of the lake. A small platform with a ramp leading downwards led to the Forerunner structure, with a number of UNSC weapon pods on the ground ahead of him. "I've just accessed the Covenant BattleNet," Cortana informed him. "They're ecstatic that they've found another Halo, thought they're tied up with something else. Apparently, they don't really view us as much of a threat. Boy are they in for a nasty surprise."

"Indeed," Chief remarked. "Any status on potential reinforcements?"

"Yes," Cortana replied. "Miranda was able to reboot the FTL COM Relay onboard the In Amber Clad and contact the UNSC. They're sending in reinforcements now that the fleets are ready for combat once again." Nodding in agreement, Chief proceeded to enter the Forerunner structure, with the others cautiously following behind him. Peering around a corner, he noticed that he was entering a room that held a walkway on the upper level, with ramps leading to that portion of the room that he was entering. The middle of the room was occupied by a Covenant holoprojector, which was currently displaying an image of Regret in his sing-song language. What really had his attention were the two Elites wearing ornate Combat Harnesses.

Behind him, Parsons immediately spotted the new threats. Analysis Complete. Covenant Honor Guards. Threat Level: Critical. Termination Priority: High. Terminate Covenant Honor Guards. "We must terminate the Sangheili Honor Guards," he told Chief. "They represent a critical threat to our objectives."

"Noted," Chief replied. Turning around, he said, "William, Parsons, you'll take one Honor Guard each. I'll handle the leader. Marines, ODST's, focus fire on the last one. DO NOT get within striking distance. They will kill you otherwise."

"Roger that," the others replied. Turning around, Chief and the others stacked up on the door. On a countdown from him, they immediately proceeded into the room, opening fire on the Covenant in the area.

One Elite charged at William, intent on ending his life right then and there. Having been in combat against Terminators at close range, however, he knew exactly what to expect. Dodging to the left, he used his combat knife to cut through the Elite's legs, severing tendons, ligaments and muscles in the process. The Elite tumbled to the ground, roaring angrily as William plunged his knife into it's head, ending it's life instantly.

While William had gone for the tactical approach, Parsons solved his problem using brute force. Foregoing the elaborate dodges, he charged forwards with the speed of a supercar, smashing into the Elite Honor Guard he was tasked with eliminating. Before the Elite could recover, he began pummeling the alien, smashing rents and tears into it's armor with his fists. Picking the Elite up, he began smashing it's head into part of the wall, repeating the process until it's face was nothing but a bloody pulp, after which it snapped the alien's neck and smashed it's head into the ground, sending blood and brain matter splattering all over the ground. "You are terminated," he remarked to the Elite. Looking around, he could see that Chief had eliminated his own Honor Guard, while the Marines and ODST's, having followed Chief's advice, had killed the last one before it could get close enough to engage. Covenant Casualties: 100.0%. Human Casualties: 0.0%.

With all hostiles down, Chief was about to check the upper level when Cortana spoke up. "Wait a minute, go back," she told him. "Put me into the holopedestal." Complying, he tapped the control panel, uploading Cortana into the system. Moments later, she appeared over the control panel. "I see. That's what I thought he said. The Prophet of Regret is going to activate Halo!"

"Are you sure," Chief asked.

In response, Cortana snapped her fingers while activating a translation program. Moments later, Regret, on the broadcast, said, "I shall light his sacred ring, release it's holy flame and burn a path into the Divine Beyond!"

Snapping her fingers again, Cortana disabled the translation program. "Pretty much," she remarked.

"That's bad news," Miranda Keyes said over the COM. "From what I can tell, though, the Prophet will need a Forerunner Device, known as an Index, to activate Halo. While you guys were fighting down there, I did a scan and I found a Forerunner structure, a Library identical to the one you found at the first Halo. If the rings follow both concepts, the Index should be inside."

"I'll bet the Covenant are thinking the exact same thing," Johnson added.

"Then we'd better beat them to it," Miranda agreed. "We'll have to be careful, though. Our scans detected Flood life signs down in that area, including a lot of Forerunner Sentinels."

"That is solvable," SKYNET, using the FTL COM Relay, replied. "I have loaded a Terminator based off of an earlier prototype onto the In Amber Clad. Once you arrive at the Library, deploy it immediately and find a way inside. Once you have gotten inside, retrieve the Index and deny the Covenant it's advantage. As for Regret, terminate him. His death will result in a destabilization of the Covenant command structure."

"Affirmative," Miranda replied. "Chief, your orders are to find Regret and kill him. He's given us all the intel we need."

"Agreed," Chief replied as Cortana uploaded herself into his suit again. Regret had unwittingly given them all the information they needed. Now, it was time to kill him, and severely disrupt the Covenant's leadership.