Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect multicrossover. Thank you for the reception that I got for the chapter I uploaded for my Halo - Terminator crossover. Having read your reviews, I'll be doing some tuning of any chapters that have censoring or incorrect grammar, mostly the removal of any censoring that's there. Either way, 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, MechWarrior/BattleTech or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Electronic Arts, BioWare, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs and Piranha Games Inc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers 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.
Deep Space
SLS/UNSC Pillar of Autumn II
June 15th, 2576
The interior of the SLS/UNSC Pillar of Autumn II was silent as the ship prepared for another K-F Jump, with the crew inside of the WarShip going to work making sure that everything was working normally. Up in the Bridge of the WarShip, Captain Keyes was looking at a holographically displayed map of the region of space they were in, both of his eyes focused on their next destination: a star system identified as HD-894015. As he looked at the holographic screen, he idly tapped his chin with a small pencil, a small relic of Earth's past.
It had been about eight hours since the Star League had begun an official investigation into the tragedy that had occurred at Fuchida IVb, where the Star League had been attacked by a terrorist group that was being supported and funded by the Storm Covenant. When the attackers were chased off by the reactivation of the defense grid on the planet, the Star League had discovered the culprit, as well as their supporters. Apparently, Tarak's forces were being funded and supported by Jul 'Mdama, the leader of the Storm Covenant, who apparently saw the Star League as a threat to his plans. As a result, the Star League had charged him with multiple violations of the Ares Conventions, as well as an unprovoked assault on a Star League colony. By law, they were obligated to hunt down Tarak, Sovereign and 'Mdama and bring them to justice for their crimes.
In order to increase the speed of their search, it had been decided to split up the search for all three individuals between two groups. Lieutenant Commander Shepard and his crew would pursue Tarak and the sapient WarShip known as Sovereign, while the UEG, which had recently become a member of the Star League, had agreed to hunt down 'Mdama, with the Covenant of Sangheilios providing assistance in this regard. Given his experience in the war against the Covenant, as well as a number of other factors, the Star League and UNSC had chosen Captain Keyes for this honor.
Right now, the Captain was focused on finding out where 'Mdama's forces had gone off too. According to SLIC intelligence data, Storm Covenant forces had been present in this sector of space about two hours ago, as a SLIC Surveillance Probe had detected Cherenkov radiation bursts in that area, consistent with Slipstream Space Drives used by the Storm Covenant. About fifteen minutes ago, however, the Storm Covenant had left this sector of space, but not before the Surveillance Probe launched a tracker drone that attached itself to the hull of one of the enemy WarShips, witih the probe being designed to send an FTL burst of information identifying where the enemy 'Ship was at that time.
If only they didn't take so damn long, Ebon thought as he waited impatiently for the drone to send off an FTL burst. Then again, it's not the drone itself that's the problem, it's the FTL method used by the Storm Covenant. That makes me really thankful that the UNSC now uses the Compact Advanced K-F Drive. It's much faster and certainly safer than Slipstream Space travel.
He was about to grumble again when a crew member walked up to him. "Sir," the officer said to him, "we've managed to catch an FTL COM burst from the tracker drone. We now have the location of the Storm Covenant WarShip."
"Excellent," Keyes nodded, just as the Bridge officer handed a datapad off to him. Looking at the contents of the 'pad, Keyes noticed that the Storm Covenant had stopped in a star system that was located roughly 200ly from Earth. What got his attention was that it was the same star system he'd been looking at on the map: HD-894015. I wonder if the two are interconnected somehow, he thought. It wouldn't surprise him, as he knew that the Forerunners used to have an empire spanning the entire galaxy. Handing the 'pad back to the officer, he said, "Carry on with your duties." Turning to the AI o the ship, he asked, "When will the Compact K-F Drive be fully charged up?"
The AI of the ship, which was modeled and named after the famous Confederate General Robert E. Lee, said, "Around one minute remaining, then we can safely perform a jump. Sir, if the tracker drone's information is correct, we might be heading to a staging point for a Storm Covenant fleet. We will need assistance should that possibility be true."
"A good idea," Keyes nodded. "Inform UNSC FLEETCOM that we might need assistance, as we have determined the location of a Storm Covenant fleet."
"Yes, sir," Lee replied. "Transmission has been sent. We will be expecting a reply right about… now."
Moments later, a COM burst from the UNSC's Fleet Command, or FLEETCOM for short, came in. "Request Confirmed. Continue FTL Jump to HD-894015. UNSC Fleet ETA: 8 Minutes."
"That confirms it," Keyes decided. "Lee, you have permission to engage the Compact K-F Drive. Inform the crew we are jumping."
"Aye, sir," Lee nodded. Keying the PA, he said, "Attention all personnel: FTL Jump commencing in ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one… now." Moments later, the Compact K-F Drive activated, with the ship glowing blue white before jumping into the multidimensional version of normal space known as Hyperspace. Stars and nebula whisked past the WarShip as it flew through the Hyperspace Wormhole at tremendous velocities, far faster than the speed of light. After just a few seconds, the 'Ship exited the wormhole, it's momentum and velocity matching that of the Jump Point it had arrived at. Thanks to Advanced Inertial Dampeners built into the 'Ship, the deceleration went unnoticed.
Looking around, Keyes could tell that they were at the Zenith Point of an object that was located in the star system they were at. According to scans, HD-894015's star was a middle aged, G1 Type star that was about as old as Earth's sun, an age of roughly 4.5 billion years old, with normal solar emissions and standard trace elements that were typical of a 2nd Generation star, rather than being pure hydrogen and helium like a 1st Generation star. There were a number of planets that scans indicated were in the star system, as well as an asteroid belt. What got Keyes' attention, however, was that an anomalous reading was coming up on the ship sensors. According to the scans, there was a large, metallic object that was located inside of the star system, consistent with a Shield World that the Star League discovered: Onyx, which was also known as Star League Research Facility Delta. Looking at Lee, he said, "Lee, are the scanners detecting what I think they are?"
"Yes," the AI replied. "The ship's sensor suite appears to be detecting what I believe is a Shield World, similar in design and architecture to that of Star League Research Facility Delta."
"I see. If that's the case, then the Storm Covenant are undoubtedly interested in that facility."
"That's a reasonable assumption."
"Alright then," Keyes decided. "I want the ship brought up to full alert status immediately. Begin charging the Mass Driver capacitors and use the Alcubierre Module to bring us closer to the Shield World. Should we detect a Storm Covenant fleet nearby, we will wait until reinforcements arrive. Also, inform FLEETCOM that we've found what the Storm Covenant are interested in and to send the reinforcements to our position."
"Aye, sir," Lee nodded, sending off the HPG transmission moments later. "Any further orders, sir?"
"Inform the Master Chief that we've got company," Keyes nodded. With that, the AI began dutifully carrying out it's orders.
. . .
Inside one of the crew quarters scattered throughout the Pillar of Autumn II, Chief was performing some much needed maintenance on his MA5D, the latest AGR designed by Misriah Armory. His hands flew over the compact, but powerful weapon, cleaning off any corrosion, dirt and grime that had accumulated onto the weapon in the span of a heartbeat. Once he was done cleaning it up, he fully reassembled it, putting every component back into place, all the while performing sit ups to keep his body in good shape. As he did so, his mind began to drift to the events of the past two decades. After the war with the Covenant had ended, he'd been assigned to searching for any factions that wanted to continue the war, while the Arbiter had gone back to help reform the Covenant into a better, and more ethical, version of it's former self. The initial four years after the war, known to the Sangheilians as the 'Blooding Years', were hectic, with Chief going on numerous ops in order to stop factions like the Servants of The Abiding Truth, as well as Insurrectionists that were performing terrorist actions against the UEG and Star League.
Once all of the chaos had settled down, Chief found that he was being retired from active duty in the UNSC, having ended the war that had taken so many human lives. While this would've been a good thing to any soldier, there was a problem in that regard for Chief. He had spent most of his life training for war, and to find that he wasn't needed in one was a strange feeling, one that he didn't like at all. The transition to civilian life would've been a difficult one for him to handle, even with Cortana's help. Fortunately, Clan Wolverine's Warrior Caste had come to the rescue, with Khan Sarah McEvedy IV welcoming him to the Clan with open arms.
Living in Clan Wolverine was an interesting, and welcoming, experience in Chief's opinion. The Warriors of Clan Wolverine were in a constant, friendly competition with each other, with many trying to see how good they were compared to their peers in regulated and monitored duels and matches. He had participated in a number of these duels and matches himself, pitting his combat experience and training against the finest that Clan Wolverine had to offer. Surprisingly, it was the first time that he found himself legitimately challenged, as the nanotechnological and genetic augmentations that the Warrior Caste received put them on the same level as Spartan-II's. More than once, he'd gotten KO'ed during a fight, but to be fair, he had done the same for most of the Warrior Caste; he also studied each defeat that he had suffered during those matches and had quickly learned valuable lessons in how to counter and defeat a Clansman in battle.
It wasn't just fighting matches and duels between Clansmen, however. Chief had learned that underneath the nanotechnology, genes and muscle, the Warriors of Clan Wolverine were people as well, with many having families, friends and loved ones that were from all walks of life, from the Laborer Caste of the Clan, to people that were outside of the Clan. Chief had learned that Osman Conners, who was arguable the best Battle Armor Elemental in the Warrior Caste, had married a woman from the UEG, Alexandria Wright if he recalled correctly. While the initial few months of the marriage he learned were rocky due to differences in culture, the two had eventually become inseparable, with Alexandria quickly showing that she was a capable Warrior as well.
That reminded him of his current relationship with Cortana as well. Over the next twenty three years, he and Cortana had become close, with the latter attempting to help Chief better understand, and even appreciate, civilian life. As time went on, he found that Cortana was doing this because of something she had observed: due to his mostly military life, Chief had, in her opinion, lost a good portion of his humanity, until he was almost an unfeeling machine. The observation stung, but he knew that Cortana wasn't being mean or condescending, she was just making an observation she thought was true. That had given him the odd motivation to go out and enjoy life, making the most of each moment; this was helped more so by Clan Woverine's Warrior Caste, with each member encouraging him to enjoy life, to seize the moment. Oddly enough, it had helped him cope with the reality of life after the war, even enjoy it.
Still, with what happened at Fuchida IVb, he knew that war was about to arrive once again. When he'd gotten the call from the First Lord of the Star League to assist in the operation, he had immediately accepted, with the SLIC assigning him to the SLS/UNSC Pillar of Autumn II, the newest Autumn-class Light Cruiser in the UNSC and Star League. Currently, they were searching for a fleet that the SLIC had identified as being responsible for helping Tarak's forces bypass the Star League's warning systems so easily.
He frowned slightly at the thought of the Reapers. From what he could recall, once he had gotten the assignment, he'd been briefed on the Reapers, from their size and weaponry, to the history that the SLIC had learned thus far. The Reapers reminded him far too much of the Flood, with the only difference being the Reapers were techno-organic beings, rather than fully organic beings like the Flood. Either way, he thought, we'll defeat the Reapers, just as we defeated the Flood. The only difference is that they now have access to Forerunner and Storm Covenant technology. That will make it more challenging, but not impossible to defeat them.
As he completed his sit ups, he heard a familiar voice say, ".239 seconds. Not bad Chief. That's actually a new record."
He smiled as he looked at the person in question. Cortana had come along on the mission as well, but not before a mandatory checkup by the Star League for any signs of Rampancy. While the Advanced Rheinmann Matrix gave an AI a lifespan of roughly 150 years, it was still limited in the number of connections it could make, prompting the Star League to institute mandatory checkups to catch Rampancy before it became a problem. Cortana, being roughly 31 years of age, had just undergone her mandatory examination, before being pronounced fit for duty. Currently, she was sitting on one of the benches, her presence possible thanks to holographic projectors that were strategically placed in every part of the ship. He also heard rumors that the Star League was creating robotic bodies for each AI, but those were just that: rumors at best.
Walking over to his Nighthawk-M Powered Armor, he placed his feet inside of the armored boots, before a command from his Advanced CNI Implant prompted the armor to reassemble around him, fully sealing up in around twenty seconds. This was possible thanks to the Star League's discovery of perfectly preserved suits of Forerunner Powered Armor, known by the Euceme as a 'Combat Skin.' While they had only recently scratched beneath surface of what Forerunner Powered Armor could do, the advances they had made thus far allowed Star League Powered Armor to assemble around the user's body, eliminating the need for an Armor Assembly Rig. In addition, the study of Forerunner Powered Armor had allowed for improved formulations of Advanced Armor, along with more advanced electronics, Myomers, Energy Shields, and many other seamless innovations. When it came to that, 343 Guilty Spark had been quite helpful in that regard as well, as he'd shared much of what he knew about Forerunner technology with Great House and Star League scientists and engineers, further accelerating the Star League's technological progression.
Once his armor was on, Chief heard his suit's COM pinging him. Opening the link, he found that the AI of the ship, Robert E. Lee, had requested his presence aboard the Bridge, as they had found something. Looking at Cortana, he said, "Looks like we're needed once again. You ready to get back to work?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Cortana replied, extending a hand to Chief. Taking the hand into his own, he watched as she disappeared, having actually uploaded herself into Chief's armor. The sensation was like that of cool water flowing down his back as she uploaded herself into his suit's systems, using the highly advanced crystalline computational matrix that the Star League designed for the Nighthawk-M Powered Armor. Once she was inside, he made his way to the Bridge.
After proceeding through the hallways of the newly manufactured WarShip, he entered the Bridge, spotting Keyes moments later. Keyes looked the same as he did during the Battle of Installation 04, thanks to the Star League's advanced, life extending technologies, from the buzz cut hair he had, down to the uniform he was wearing. The only differences was that his uniform was armored, rated to take a full salvo from a MPL rifle before failing, along with a miniature shield generator that had recently entered production. He also heard that Keyes had been given offers for a promotion, only for him to turn them down, as he wanted to be with his ship and men for the remainder of his military career. As soon as he was on the Bridge, Chief asked, "What's the situation, sir?"
"This is," Keyes replied, motioning to the object that now lay outside of the viewport. "I'm getting a strange feeling of déjà vú now that we've arrived. According to Lee, the object we've found is a Forerunner Shield World. Apparently, the Storm Covenant is interested enough that they've sortied a whole fleet to claim the Shield World for themselves."
"Do we have reinforcements inbound?"
"Yes. FLEETCOM has sent a joint Star League/UNSC fleet to our position. They'll be arriving in about three minutes. Once they've arrived, we'll be pushing the Storm Covenant out of this sector before we secure the object. Once we have, the UNSC and Star League will send their finest scientists to determine what we're looking at before heading inside. Should all go well, we might have another research facility built here, like the one we do at Onyx. You'll be part of the first team into the artifact, given your experience with Forerunner technology."
"Understood," Chief nodded.
"Sir, the SLDF/UNSC fleet is arriving now," an officer informed Keyes. "Looks like the UNSC just brought it's latest ship." As soon as he said that, Chief watched as roughly 250 WarShips came out of Hyperspace.
At the leading part of the formation, was the newest WarShip designed by the UNSC: the SLS/UNSC Infinity. Built roughly twenty years after the Interuniversal War, the Infinity was designed to be the most advanced WarShip designed by the UNSC, Star League and Covenant of Sangheilios, with all three factions contributing their finest scientists and engineers to the project. It also utilized the latest scientific breakthroughs, from hyper-advanced materials, to similarly advanced computers, weapons, Impulse Engines, and other things necessary for a WarShip of this size. The K-F Drive installed onboard the ship was a truly unique design, with a combination of Forerunner inspired technologies giving the Infinity a truly tremendous range of roughly 10,000 light years per jump, more than twice the jump range of a standard Star League Advanced CK-F Drive. On top of being a test-bed for the most advanced Star League technologies ever devised, Infinity was the namesake of the newest class of UNSC WarShips, the Infinity-class. In terms of size, the Infinity was also .6km larger in length, width and height compared to the Federated Commonwealth's own WarShips, such as the Guardian of Liberty. Either way, it's size and truly impressive armament was more than enough to make even the Storm Covenant's greatest military leaders piss their pants out of fear and awe.
In Chief's opinion, the Infinity was, perhaps, one of the more beautiful WarShips he'd seen in his life. It wasn't due to it's aesthetics, which were pleasing enough; it was due to the fact that the Infinity was more than capable of dealing enough damage to wipe out an entire Storm Covenant fleet. Any enemies of the UEG and Star League would fear the Infinity not due to the possibility of capture, but rather the inevitability of defeat and capture. Even though this was the WarShip's maiden voyage, she was still a foe to be reckoned with.
"Beautiful," Keyes whispered. "Now that… is a WarShip."
"Sir," Lee said to Keyes, "Captain Lasky is requesting that you enter formation with the rest of the fleet."
"Affirmative," Keyes nodded. "Begin maneuvering to join the rest of the fleet." As Lee and the Navigation Officers complied, Keyes remembered what he read about the Infinity's captain. Captain Thomas Lasky, according to his dossier, was one of the more prestigious Captains in the UNSC and the SLDF. Having graduated from an academy during the Covenant-UNSC War, long before the Star League discovered the Interuniversal wormhole, Lasky was familiar with the war between the Covenant and Humanity. Having gained invaluable experience over the course of the war, he'd participated in a number of operations, including the Battle of Installation 00. After the war, he had participated in an officers exchange, where he commanded a fleet of WarShips in the Star League. During a hidden war between House Liao and House Marik, he had quickly shown that he was highly inventive, creative, and had an unusually brilliant strategic mind during the conflict. Not only did the swift termination of the hidden war earn him a promotion to Captain, it had also won him the respect and fear of his men and his enemies.
As they flew closer, Lasky came in over the COM. "Captain Lasky to Captain Keyes, do you read me?"
"Go ahead," Keyes replied.
"We'll be engaging the Storm Covenant fleet soon," Lasky replied. "You'll handle any Storm Covenant WarShips that are your weight class, as well as any that are smaller. We'll handle the flagship of the enemy fleet." A moment later, a massive, 20km long Storm Covenant WarShip was highlighted on the Bridge readouts. "Once we've gotten rid of the enemy WarShips, we'll proceed with landing ground troops inside the Shield World, that is if it doesn't open up first."
"Understood," Keyes nodded. "We'll begin the attack on your order." With that in mind, everyone waited until the order to attack was given.
It wasn't long, as immediately, the Infinity surged forwards, the powerful Advanced Impulse Engines shoving the massive WarShip towards it's target: the enemy flagship in the Storm Covenant fleet. "Storm Covenant WarShips," Lasky said over the COM, "You are in restricted aerospace. You are ordered to stand down and power down your weapons immediately. Failure to comply will be punished in accordance with the Ares Conventions of 2850. Any acts of aggression will be seen as an act of war, and we will respond accordingly. You have been warned. You now have twenty seconds to comply."
Instead of a verbal response, the flagship of the Storm Covenant fleet fired off an energy projector, aiming for the Infinity's own weapon systems. Instead of penetrating, the beam bounced off of the Infinity's energy shields, ricocheting off harmlessly into space. "All ships, begin the attack," Lasky ordered as soon as the beam deflected off his ship's shields. "Roland, send attack orders to the rest of the fleet. Update them as the situation changes."
Roland, who was the AI for the Infinity, said, "You got it, Captain. Sending battle orders now. Time for the fireworks." Moments later, Keyes watched as a pair of Storm Covenant WarShips winked red, indicating his job was to take them out.
"Helm, get us to the enemy WarShips and open fire," Keyes ordered. "Blast those ships to hell!" With that, the Pillar of Autumn II surged forwards, zipping past the other ships before joining the Trident, Houston and Belfast. As soon as they were close enough, all hell broke loose.
As soon as the Pillar of Autumn II was close enough, the Mass Driver built into it's hull fired, sending a superdense, ferro-osmiridium slug directly at one of the targeted WarShips. The round smashed into the Storm Covenant Cruiser, bouncing off the shields, but not before significantly depleting their strength, allowing a pair of NPL-45's to take them out, flickering greens beam of energy cutting through the void at the speed of light. Once they were in range, the Advanced Naval Gauss Cannons opened fire, sending more ferro-osmiridium slugs at the enemy WarShip. Ferrous slugs tore through the hull of the enemy WarShip, while Naval Pulse Lasers cut long gashes into the hull and the decks below. Firing off a pair of Barracuda-V missiles, the Pillar of Autumn II banked to the right, just as the missiles tore through the bow of the enemy ship, with concentrated nuclear fire penetrating deep through the hull. As they flew alongside, the other weapon hardpoints opened fire, sending laser beams, missiles and ferros slugs at the enemy WarShip. Moments later, one such laser beam cut into the pinch fusion reactor inside of the enemy WarShip, causing it to detonate spectacularly. While the shockwave and resulting shrapnel was enough to impact the shield strength on the Pillar of Autumn II, it wasn't enough to completely drain it, with the armor plating taking only superficial damage.
At the same time, the Houston and Belfast engaged the other enemy WarShip, with the two ships flying in an lopsided formation, allowing them to move past the enemy WarShip without risking a hit on each other. Naval Gauss Cannons and Pulse Lasers tore through the vacuum of space, silently impacting the shields and hull of the enemy WarShip, with both joint WarShips dishing out as much damage as possible. The enemy WarShip managed to get a shot off at the Houston, only for the Houston's energy shields to block the attack, though some minor damage was noted to the armor. In retaliation, the Beflast fired off it's own energy projector, smashing through the enemy Cruiser's shields and into it's hull, where it scored a lucky hit on the pinch fusion reactor. The enemy WarShip detonated moments later, with debris bouncing off the Belfast's energy shields.
The biggest fight, however, was being duked out between the Infinity and the enemy flagship. Despite being half the size of the Storm Covenant flagship, the joint SLDF/UNSC WarShip was hitting comfortably above it's weight, with Energy Projectors, Mass Driver Slugs and Great White Capital Missiles tearing into the shields of the enemy WarShip. Moments later, those shields failed, with the enemy flagship suffering horrendous hits to it's hull. Large sections of the hull plating were ripped away by the Naval grade Gauss Cannons, Pulse Lasers and Capital Missiles. Moments later, one Gauss slug managed to penetrate the main Bridge of the enemy WarShip, killing most of the command personnel onboard the WarShip. Despite having it's leadership crippled, the enemy WarShip continued to fight on, with the surviving command personnel using the secondary Bridge to keep fighting. About two minutes later, a Capital Grade missile tore into the hull of the ship, spearing through vital systems necessary for the enemy WarShip's function. Moments later, the enemy WarShip was ripped in half by a spectacular explosion, with both halves being flung away from each other. Enemy personnel were sucked to their deaths in cold, hard vacuum, while the Infinity moved to engage a WarShip that was the same size it was.
The battle continued like this for a good fifteen minutes, with the finest in the Storm Covenant battling it out with the finest the UNSC and SLDF could bring to the table. Despite the Storm Covenant's efforts, however, the joint SLDF/UNSC fleet was tearing them apart, with more Storm Covenant WarShips being ripped apart. It wasn't a one sided battle, as Keyes was quick to spot. The Trident, one of the Autumn-class Cruisers that was with the Autumn II was forced to retreat, with most of it's armor ablated and moderate damage to it's superstructure. Another 'Ship, the Concordant, was dead in the water with massive rents in her superstructure and hull. Just then, the escape pods and DropShips on the Concordant fled the ship, filled to the brim with the surviving personnel onboard. As soon as the escape vehicles cleared the ship, it began to detonate, exploding into a brilliant fireball as soon as the smaller ships were away. "Hangar Crews," Keyes ordered, "make sure those escape pods get onboard the ship. Those personnel will need as much help as we can get them." Looking at Lee, he said, "Lee, what's the status of the enemy fleet?"
"They're down to just fifteen percent strength," Lee reported. "The Infinity single handedly took on the enemy flagship and ripped it apart, in addition to a Carrier."
"What's the status of our ship?"
"Armor integrity at 80%. Shield integrity at 15%. Munition Levels at 40%"
"Activate shield capacitors."
"Activating… Shield strength at 95%."
Just as Keyes was about to order the ship to head to a YardShip to resupply, something happened. Keyes heard a loud, cacophonous sound that emanated from the speakers in the ship, prompting him to plug his ears as fast as he could. Looking around, he watched as an orange beam of energy swept through the ship, causing some minor electronics disruptions, but nothing more. "Ouch," he shouted. "What was that?!"
"Sensor scan," Cortana, who was still in Chief's armor, reported. "High intensity! Doesn't match any known records!"
"Sir," Lee added. "The scan came directly from the Shield World. I believe it was determining who we were."
A moment later, Lasky came in over the COM. "Infinity to Autumn II, status?"
"We're OK," Keyes replied. "Something scanned us just now. Lee believes that the Shield World was scanning us to determine our identity."
"I figured as much," Lasky remarked. "The same thing happened to us. Roland thinks that we're near an entrance to this Shield World, which is why the scan occurred when it did. The enemy fleet's regrouping near the Shield World, but their weapon systems seem to be disabled. I'm ordering all WarShips to pull back immediately. Keyes, your orders are to get closer and investigate what's going on. If anything happens, the Houston, Belfast, Marathon and MacArthur will move in and provide assistance. I don't want to risk losing the Infinity."
"Understood," Keyes replied. He could tell that Lasky didn't want to issue this order, but he had no choice until he could determine what was happening. "We'll resupply and repair at a YardShip, then we'll head inside. I don't want to go in partially damaged and nearly out of ammunition."
"Understood," Lasky agreed. "Rearm and repair, then head towards the Shield World. We'll cover you." With that, the Pillar of Autumn II turned around, zooming towards a nearby YardShip. Moving in slowly, the WarShip docked to the YardShip, allowing automated drones, repair arms and work teams of Engineers and SLDF Personnel to move in and begin repairs, while others brought fresh munitions in order to rearm the ship. The process took just under fifteen minutes, as the damage was quickly repaired, while the munitions took the longest to restock. Once the Autumn II was fully loaded, the moorings were released, allowing the 'Ship to fly forwards through the channel and away from the YardShip. Once it was clear, the 'Ship turned to the left and flew towards the Shield World.
As they got closer, Keyes could feel a sense of unease as they drew closer, as though they were intruding into forbidden territory. There's something off about this Shield World, he thought as they got closer and closer. I don't know how or why; I just know. While it seemed to be just nerves, Keyes knew that he always got that feeling before something happened. It was how he had survived the Covenant-UNSC War for so long, even before the SLDF arrived at Threshold. That feeling proved to be prophetic, as another orange beam of energy shot out from part of the Shield World. Instead of just scanning the ship, Keyes watched as it scanned himself, Chief, the Bridge Crew and probably everyone that was onboard the WarShip. "What's going on," he asked Lee.
"I don't know," Lee replied, the Civil War styled AI shrugging his shoulders. "It seems to be scanning you and the others, probably for identification purposes. It could also be determining if there are Reclaimers onboard the ship."
That was when it happened. Suddenly, a large portal opened up, with wedge shaped sections of the Shield World pulling away into recesses that encircled a bright white portal. As soon as that happened, Keyes felt the ship shudder, with massive amounts of stress being put on the hull of the WarShip. Thanks to advanced Star League and UNSC engineering, however, the WarShip easily took the stresses in stride, with the ship being pulled towards the opening. "Now can we worry about the giant metal planet," Cortana asked, concern and worry in her voice.
"Lee," Keyes asked, shouting as he did so.
"It's a gravity well, Captain," Lee shouted. "The planet is attempting to pull us inside. The ship should allow us to get inside without injury, but expect shields to be down temporarily. It seems as though the enemy WarShips are worse off than we are." As soon as he said this, a Storm Covenant Corvette was ripped in half, with the contents inside spilling into the Gravity Well.
"If that's the case, move us forwards now," Keyes replied. "I have a feeling we've been invited in."
"Aye, sir," Lee nodded. "Ship is accelerating towards the gravity well. Huh… apparently, the Shield World is sensing this, as the Gravity Well has now gained a slightly repulsive effect, as though it's slowing us down to a safe speed." Keyes had to agree, even as they drew closer to the portal. Debris and spaced Storm Covenant personnel smashed against the shields, which still held despite the pounding they were receiving. Moments later, there was a brief increase in shuddering as they passed through the gravity well, the Inertial Dampeners in the WarShip working at overdrive to make sure the occupants weren't jostled around or suffered extreme G-forces. Moments later, the shuddering stopped, with the WarShip coming to a stop moments later.
Looking around, Keyes found out where they were at. To his surprise, they were hovering over what appeared to be a jungle, with large mountains forming a valley at their location. The sky was blue, and Keyes could see what he thought was the sun, though he had a feeling that this was an artificial sun, rather than a real one. "Lee, what am I looking at," he asked.
"We appear to have entered the Shield World, sir," Lee observed. "From what I can tell, we're currently inside of an altered Slipstream Space field that is expanding the interior of the Shield World, making it larger on the inside than the outside would suggest. Our CK-F Drive is currently offline as is our shields, but the Impulse Engines are fully operational. I am also detecting a number of computer network nodes that I believe I can access."
"Do it," Keyes replied. "Find out where we are."
"Already have," Lee replied. "According to the computer network below us, we're currently inside a Shield World designated as 'Requiem.' However, I've detected something else in the system, so I'm keeping my interactions at a minimum. I suggest that we use this location as an LZ for now. If we have to, we can move to another section of the Shield World should we be attacked."
"Sounds like a good idea," Keyes nodded. "Can we still contact the Infinity?"
"No," Lee replied. "I am working on a solution to this problem. In the meantime, I recommend exploration of the Shield World as our top priority."
"Good," Keyes nodded. "As soon as you can, inform the Infinity of our situation. Keep the ship stationary for the time being." Turning to one of his officers, he said, "Begin landing ground troops and get an FOB set up as soon as possible." Turning to Chief, he said, "Chief, I want you on the ground with the Clan Elementals onboard the ship, as well as the new Spartan-IV's. Understood."
"Understood," Chief nodded. While the Spartan-IV's were inexperienced, he knew that this would be a good opportunity for them to cut their teeth. Saluting the Captain once, he proceeded off of the Bridge. It was time to get to exploring.
