Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my remastered Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover. Thank you so far for your support. I deeply appreciate any feedback that I can get.
By the way, I was wondering if y'all wanted me to create a codex of sorts. If I were to do that, you would be able to read on the advances the SLDF in this crossover made after the Succession War. If you want me to do that, let me know in the review section.
Also, even though this remaster is similar to the first one, I was wondering how you like the new version compared to the old one. What do you like about this chapter, and the others, that is different? Let me know in the reviews.
As always, leave a review and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or MechWarrior/BattleTech franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, Piranha Games Inc, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to it's original 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.
Halo
Near Control Room
September 20th, 2552
The tracks on the Patton began to move as Chief accelerated, with the vehicle quickly responding to his commands. Briefly stopping for a moment, he considered as to where he could go first. If I move to the right, he thought, I'll be sheltered from enemy aircraft that might be in the area, but the Covenant will likely anticipate that, and create an ambush. If I move forwards, I'll be more exposed to enemy aircraft, but I'll end up flanking the enemy.
It only took him a few seconds to mull over those options before he made his choice. Engaging the throttle, he drove forwards, taking the narrow ravine that led to the next portion of the canyon network. Just as he did, a Ghost moved forwards, with the driver quickly opening fire upon spotting the SLDF MBT. In response, Chief fired the main cannon.
While the M808B's standard cannon, the M512, 90mm autocannon, was powerful, it wasn't quite as powerful as the cannon that was mounted on the Patton. There was a loud KRA-THOOOM as the cannon fired, with the shell that was fired being little more than a yellow streak. Against a powerful Autocannon designed to destroy enemy 'Mechs and heavy Combat Vehicles, the Ghost didn't have a hope of survival.
One moment, Chief could see the enemy vehicle before him, the next moment, it was, quite literally, disintegrated. Pieces of nanolaminate flew everywhere as the shell tore the enemy Ghost apart. By the time the snow settled, and the debris stopped falling, there was little more than a crater where the enemy vehicle used to be, a true showcase of SLDF weapons engineering.
"Whoa," Cortana shouted, having been taken completely by surprise. "Did the tank gun do that?!"
"Did what," O'Connor asked. When Chief motioned to what little remained of the Ghost, he said, "Ah, I see what you mean. That's normal, believe it or not. I had the same reaction when I got to shoot my first A-AC/10 at an APC that we used for target practice. Certainly made an impression."
"I see," Cortana nodded, clearly surprised. "What gun does this tank use?"
"This tank? If my memory serves correctly, this tank uses a Defiance Killer Type T3 Advanced Autocannon/10. Basically, you're looking at a 105mm tank gun that can fire HEAT and APFSDS shells while making a mess out of lighter vehicles. Why do you ask?"
"The Scorpion MBT we use has a 90mm autocannon, and we only use tungsten sabot rounds, not HEAT shells."
"Ah, that would explain. We've always been working on improving anti tank round technologies, including the older HEAT shells. They work like a beaut, as you can clearly see."
"Anything else this tank has for a weapon."
"Oh, we've got an LRM-5, and a turret mounted ER Small Pulse Laser for dealing with infantry. Oh, and a good 15 tonnes of armor. That's about it, though. Anything else?"
"No," Cortana replied. Now that she knew the armament of the Patton, she had every reason to believe that, in a straight up fight, the Patton would easily defeat an UNSC Scorpion with ease. All the while, Chief had begun to drive forwards.
Their tanks are more effective than ours, he thought, having eavesdropped on Cortana and O'Connor's conversation. In a straight up fight, they would win, which means we would have to use numbers to neutralize them. Even though the SLDF was an ally, it was a chilling thought to have: that their ally could wipe the floor with them if they wanted to.
Moving forwards, they soon exited the narrow ravine and entered the next gorge ahead of them. Now that he was at ground level, he could see just how tall the gorge walls were, with each one made out of solid stone. Up ahead, he could see a few clumps of trees, a small mound here and there, as well as the cave exit, which had a small embankment nearby. A cliff at the back of the area was also present. Chief also noticed more Forerunner architecture in the area, with most of it being concentrated near the cliff.
The Covenant were present as well, as the tank's sensor suite began highlighting enemy targets. One such target happened to be a Wraith that was on the cliff itself, giving the Covenant a tactical advantage. In addition, the sensors picked up more enemy vehicles, as precise determination was impossible without LOS (Line of Sight), as well as smaller blips, which the targeting/tracking system marked as 'various mixes of infantry.' Driving forwards, he found that the other vehicles were Ghosts and Wraiths.
"Bloody hell!," a Marine shouted. "Enemy forces have armor support… it's time to earn our pay."
"Identify Wraith, dead ahead," O'Connor called out. "75 meters! Load Sabot! Fire at will!" Cortana, who was assisting Chief with the workload, quickly loaded in the required shell, with Chief pressing the firing stud moments later.
Again, the tank gun roared, sending one such KE shell flying through the air. Again, just like the Ghost from earlier, the Wraith stood little chance. The KE shell smashed into it's powerplant with unrivaled ferocity, utterly destroying the enemy vehicle with a superheated, superplastic jet of metal.
While Chief fired the main cannon, O'Connor went to work utilizing the anti-infantry weapons onboard the tank. Ruby colored pulses of laser light cut through the air, cutting down Covenant infantry that were stupid enough to venture out of cover. Even though the tank was sealed, Chief could hear the infantry that Shaw, Alex and the others commanded firing at the Covenant infantry outside. "Looks like that armor isn't so tough after all," a Marine remarked. "Let's mop up the rest of 'em."
Reaming the turret, he switched over to the LRM rack that was built into the tank. There was a brief beeping sound as the missiles locked onto the enemy Wraith, before said beeping became a continuous tone. On reflex, he pressed the firing stud, sending five LRM's flying directly at the enemy Wraith. Upon impact, the missiles tore holes into the Wraith, with pieces of nanolaminate torn off by tandem-charge warheads.
As the missiles reloaded, the Wraith fired it's Plasma Mortar. "Incoming," O'Connor shouted. "Move left now! Marines, clear the area! Incoming enemy ordinance!" Upon hearing the warning, the Marines immediately scrambled to get out of the way, while Chief drove the Patton to the left.
He was just in time, as the plasma bolus smashed into the ground where the tank had been at moments later. Even though the tank hadn't been hit, it shuddered from the shockwave, with the vehicle rocking slightly. "Fire main gun," O'Connor ordered. "Identify Wraith, 150 meters! Fire at will!"
Right on cue, Chief fired off another shell, with the KE round flying directly into the enemy Wraith. This time, however, the shell hit the Wraith at an oblique angle, with the round ricocheting off of the armor. "Ricochet," O'Connor shouted. "Fire missiles!"
Switching to missiles, Chief fired off another salvo, just as the Wraith fired. While he had changed position, the Wraith's gunner had anticipated his maneuver, leading the shot so that the plasma bolus hit the tank. There was a loud THUNK as the armor took a direct hit from the plasma bolus, with the vehicle being shaken around by the impact. Despite the blow, the Patton survived.
The Wraith, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. While the KE shell had ricocheted off it's armor, the blow had been powerful enough to strip off more armor, allowing the LRM's to deal maximum damage. Three of the five missiles tore into the front of the vehicle, while the other two impacted the powerplant. There was an explosion as the powerplant was penetrated, with pieces of nanolaminate flying through the air. Blue colored fire billowed out from the Wraith, a funeral pyre for the gunner and driver inside.
"Status," O'Connor shouted, coughing as he got his breath back.
"Still operational," Cortana reported. "Mild-moderate armor ablation on the top rear section of the tank. All weapons are fully operational still. We got lucky this time."
"Agreed. If we get hit there again, we'll lose the LRM racks, might even have an ammunition explosion, which will cripple the tank." Turning to Chief, he asked, "You good?"
"Yes, sir," Chief replied.
"Glad to hear it. Load HEAT and keep driving forwards. The ground inclines downwards, which might mean there's a tunnel ahead." Nodding, Chief selected the munition to load in before keying his COM. "Alex, Shaw, you good?"
"We are fine," Alex replied. "The Covenant is good, but they have to be better to kill all of us. We have taken casualties, however. We lost two people in the assault, and we have three more that are injured. We need to find a suitable LZ for any transports in order to get the wounded out and gather supplies. Beyond that, my armor is still good to go, and we are combat ready."
"Noted," Chief nodded. "Proceeding forwards." With that, he gunned the throttle, with the tank quickly accelerating towards the incline.
O'Connor's guess proved to be correct, as the incline led downwards into what appeared to be a tunnel of some kind. The walls were made of the same Forerunner alloy that was ubiquitous around the ring, with the surface of the alloy in the tunnel being cut into low relief symbols, markings and the like. Powerful lights provided ample illumination, though the headlights on the tank came on automatically.
The Covenant had stationed heavy firepower here as well, as two Hunters were present, Fuel Rod Cannons primed and ready. "Heavy infantry, dead ahead," O'Connor called out. "We're too close for the missiles, but the Autocannon will work."
"I've got an idea," Chief replied. Before O'Connor could ask what he meant, Chief gunned the throttle, with the vehicle racing towards the Hunters. The Hunters, realizing what was about to happen, tried to get out of the way.
It was too little, too late. With a loud, metallic CLANG-CRUNCH, the Patton rammed into the Hunters at high speed. 65 tonnes of Advanced Endo Steel and Ferro-Fibrous armor smashed into the Hunters, quickly knocking them over before driving over them. There was a loud, metallic squeal as the nanolaminate armor was crushed under the tank's weight, while each colony of worms was squished. When the tank drove past them, all that was left was crushed nanolaminate armor, as well as an orange smear on the ground.
"Damn," O'Connor remarked when he spotted the crushed Hunters. "That was a good move. Let me know when you're going to do something like that in the future, though. I'd hate to explain to the mechanics why the front end looks like a crumpled ball of paper."
"Understood," Chief nodded. Driving forwards, he turned left around the corner, only to find his way barred by what appeared to be a gate of some kind. It was sectioned into four panels, with each one being located at the corners of the tunnel walls, floor and ceiling. Nearby, he spotted a holographic panel that would likely open the door.
Apparently, one of the SLDF Marines had guessed this, as he approached the control panel moments later. "Alright, which glyph opens the door," he asked, his finger hovering over a glyph. "I can't make heads or tails of this at all."
"I will handle that," Chief replied. getting out of the tank a few seconds later. Walking over to the panel, he spotted another familiar glyph, before pressing it. After a second of inactivity, there was a loud, clunking sound as the doors unlocked, before retracting into a groove that was cut out for each panel. The Marine in question merely shrugged, while Chief went back inside the tank and proceeded forwards, with the Marines following along behind him.
The tunnel wasn't completely flat, as there inclines and slopes that broke up the flatness of the tunnel. Despite the bumpy terrain, the Patton drove over the inclines with little problem at all. Turning to the right, Chief proceeded forwards the full length before turning left, then performing another right handed turn.
Spotting contacts on the sensor suite, he brought the vehicle to a stop, before looking through one of the camera feeds. Two Elites were walking towards each other, presumably on a patrol shift change. Spotting an opportunity, he motioned to O'Connor to get ready, before driving forwards. Moments later, the ER Small Pulse Laser fired, cutting both Elites apart, their shields and armor unable to withstand the high powered laser beam.
With the hostiles neutralized, Chief drove forwards, entering the room that the Elites had been in. It was a massive underground chamber, with rock walls and Forerunner alloy everywhere. Large, rectangular blocks of the material were present on the left and right sides of the chamber, with the chamber itself cut in half by a large chasm. Two bridges connected both sides, though one had been destroyed in the past, as it only came out partway over the chasm.
The Covenant were present here as well, with a pair of Shade Turrets on both sides of the chasm, as well as what appeared to be Hunters on the other side. "More Covenant," a Marine shouted. "Damn, these guys are like cockroaches!"
"Cut the chatter," Alex barked out. "Engage enemy forces on sight! Chief, neutralize the Hunters! They are our biggest threat right now!"
"Affirmative," Chief replied. While the Marines eliminated the Shade Turrets and any infantry nearby, Chief took aim with the gun turret.
"Identify Hunter, 3 o'clock," O'Connor reported. "HEAT loaded. Fire when ready." With that, Chief turned the tank turret, lining up the targets before firing. The round traveled through the air at high speed; in fact, it was only thanks to his enhanced eyesight that he spotted the HEAT shell flying through the air.
The effect it had on the Hunters was nothing short of devastating. Since they were close enough together, they were both caught in the explosion that the round created when it impacted the first Hunter. A puff of smoke temporarily obscured what happened, before revealing two Hunters that had been ripped apart by the blast. On top of that, Chief noticed a crater that had formed on the Forerunner alloy, making the tank gun the first SLDF weapon to actually damage a tiny portion of Halo, even though it was little more than a slight dent in the material.
With the heavy infantry eliminated, he turned the tank before driving over the intact bridge, with the Marines following behind. The enemy infantry on the other side had been stunned by the force of the blast, allowing the squads to move forwards without being fired upon. Once they crossed, however, the Covenant infantry had regained their senses, and began to fire back. Without their heavy fire support, however, they were doomed.
As the last Covenant infantryman fell, Chief drove towards another tunnel gate, with the Spartan getting out long enough to hit the panel before getting back inside the tank. The gate opened to yet another tunnel, with this one being devoid of enemy personnel. Turning around to the right, he found that the tunnel now led to a rocky incline, which led upwards into the next area of the canyon network.
Just as he was about to drive forwards, however, he heard loud, chittering sounds. Before one could say 'knife', the entire air was filled with Drones that had been hiding just out of sight, with the small, chitinous Covenant creatures hammering at the tank, to little avail. "Buggers," Fire Team Zulu's Sergeant shouted. "Take them out!"
"Oh, hell no!," an SLDF Marine shouted. "I don't do bugs!"
"Don't let them grab you," a UNSC Marine shouted. "If they do, they'll tear you away from the others and rip you apart!"
The firefight that happened next was a little bit of desperation mixed with what tactics they had available. One SLDF Marine was promptly hoisted into the air by a Drone, only for the Marine to quickly pull a knife out before stabbing blindly at the alien, forcing it to drop him. Nearby, a squad of SLDF and UNSC Marines stood back to back, firing their weapons into the swarm of Drones that loomed menacingly overhead. The ER SPL turret on the Patton also fired, as O'Connor did the best he could to relieve some of the pressure.
After a full minute of desperate fighting and measures, the Drones were eliminated, but the surprise attack had taken it's toll. One UNSC Marine was lying on the ground, holding back a howl of pain as he self-treated deep lacerations on his arms and legs, while another was holding his hand to his neck, with blood seeping through his fingers. Corpsmen that were available quickly went to work treating the injured, with one helping the first Marine treat his injuries, while the other went to work on the other one.
"Ouch," the SLDF Corpsman that was working on the second Marine remarked. "That's a nasty wound. You're lucky it didn't hit any arteries or veins. One millimeter closer, and you would've been dead."
"Can you fix it," the Marine asked, speaking slowly so that he didn't exacerbate the injury.
"I can, but you'll need to visit a field hospital for more permanent treatment." Pulling out his medical kit, the Corpsman quickly stitched the wound closed, while applying antimicrobial medicines and packing the wound with gauze. "That'll do for now, but I recommend that you stay out of the fighting as much as possible if you want to survive."
"Thanks, doc," the Marine replied, a hint of relief in his voice.
"Don't mention it. It's the least I can do for you."
"Everyone ready to move forwards," Alex asked.
"Yeah," came the reply. "I stitched this guy's cuts closed, but we'll need to evac them when we find a suitable LZ. If we don't, they won't make it."
"Understood," Alex replied. "Corpsmen, carry any injured that you can. Leave any dead behind. We will hold a service for them once the mission is complete." Keying his MILCOM, he said, "Chief, O'Connor, we are ready to move out."
With that, the team advanced up the incline, checking the area for any incoming hostiles. Aside from the Drones, the rocky incline itself was free of hostiles, with the tunnel leading into another part of the canyon network. As they reached the top, Chief spotted a Spirit that was coming in for a landing. "Permission to fire," he asked O'Connor.
"Granted," came the reply. Without any hesitation, Chief depressed the firing stud, with a 105mm shell flying through the air at the Spirit. Moments later, the shell impacted.
The HEAT shell smashed into the Spirit just two meters above the turret the enemy VTOL used, with the superplastic liner smashing through the armor and into the internal workings of the enemy vehicle. The shell was powerful enough that the main power supply for the Spirit was critically damaged, with the enemy VTOL falling out of the sky moments later. The crew compartments shattered like glass, with Covenant spilling out of the compartments before being crushed to death. Only a handful managed to survive, and even then, they were severely injured.
"Nice shot," O'Connor remarked. "Granted, it was against a slowly moving target, but a nice shot all the same."
"You see something similar before," Chief asked.
"Yep. I remember this one guy, Patterson, that I worked with in basic training. He was a very quite and shy person, but put him in command of a Rommel or a Patton like this one, and he was the bomb. During one hidden war between the Capellans and Free Worlds League, he blasted an Igor out of the sky with a single shot from a Rommel. That is no mean feat, more so since the fucker was moving left to right at top speed, but he managed it. He's at Reach right now, probably doing what we're doing to the Covenant."
"He sounds like he's good at marksmanship."
"Oh, that he is. One of my instructors used to joke that if you gave him the firing controls for a Heavy Mass Driver, he could make the projectile land on the bridge of a WarShip every time, while said WarShip is moving left to right at maximum speed." Even Chief had to admit, if Patterson was that good, he might rival Linda in that regard.
Either way, all distractions were gone as they advanced forwards. Scans indicated that the only hostile presences were some Ghosts and a Wraith. The gorge here split into two paths due to a butte that was in the middle of the gorge. Covenant infantry were present, but they were of little concern. Moments later, Alex came over the COM. "Chief, engage the enemy combat vehicles. We will handle any infantry inside of the butte." He pointed at a door that he had spotted earlier.
"Affirmative," Chief replied.
"Got it," O'Connor nodded. "Identify tank, 200 meters. Load Sabot." After a series of whirrs and clunking sounds, which indicated a shell was being loaded, he said, "Fire."
Moments later, Chief fired, sending a KE shell directly at the Wraith. The shell smashed into the Wraith's right side at a near perpendicular angle, a dream shot for a tank crew. Moments later, the Wraith detonated, it's power plant having been fractured by the KE shell. Two Ghosts appeared around the bend, but a well placed HEAT shell tore both enemy vehicles apart.
Just as he was about to advance forwards, the tank was rocked by an impact. "Incoming missile,"the tank computer reported, with another impact rocking the tank.
"Enemy AeroSpace assets," O'Connor shouted. "One Banshee, directly above us!"
"I can't target the Banshee," Chief reported. "Cortana?"
"I got it," Cortana shouted. Spotting the enemy ASF, she locked onto the target with the LRM launchers. Her ethics programming screamed to her that she was about to take another life, even if it was a Covenant life. However, her logic core argued that Human life was infinitely more valuable than that of the enemy, with the logic core's argument winning out. After a brief instant of hesitation, Cortana fired the LRM launcher.
Five missiles streaked through the air, smashing into the Banshee just as it turned to begin another attack run. The enemy vehicle promptly detonated, with the shattered vehicle falling to the ground in pieces. Once they landed, Cortana relaxed, knowing that the Banshee was no longer a threat.
"Cortana, are you alright," Chief asked, jarring her out of her idle reverie. "Cortana?"
"I'm fine, Chief," Cortana replied. "It's just that…"
"You've never taken a life until now," Chief finished.
"Yes. How'd you know?"
"I noticed that brief hesitation before you fired. How do you feel?"
There was silence as Cortana felt the various emotions inside of her roiling around, before she said, "Disgusted, alarmed, but mostly shaken. Is this how a person feels when they've killed someone?"
"Most of the time," O'Connor replied, interrupting Chief. "I know how you feel, Cortana. It's OK to feel remorse and disgust at killing another life. It's basic human nature to feel that way."
"Will it go away?"
"No, but you learn to live with those feelings. I can say for certain that you're doing better than I did when I first killed someone during battle."
"How did you react?"
"I barfed inside the tank I was in. Knocked the radio out completely with some chunky, industrial grade puke. The others found my reaction to be a little disgusting, but completely understandable. Just remember, only kill out of survival, not out of any other emotion."
"I… got it. Thanks, O'Connor."
"Anytime, Cortana."
With that, Chief continued to drive the tank forwards. While he said nothing, he was relieved that O'Connor had helped Cortana through the conflict that she had felt moments before. He's a good man, he thought. He's been through war, and he knows how it feels to take another life. As long as Cortana remembers his advice, then all will be well.
Driving forwards, he drove into another gorge, this one having a switchback path that led down to a frozen river. Driving forwards, he spotted Marines that were down below. "I thought Fire Team Zulu were the only ones here," Cortana remarked.
"They are," O'Connor replied. "Those were guys that went ahead to perform some recon in order to find a suitable LZ for a DropShip. Looks like the Covenant cornered them as well. We've got Hunters up ahead."
Using the MILCOM transceiver, Chief was about to speak when a missile streaked out of nowhere, smashing into one of the Hunters, with another one destroying it's partner. "Need a hand," a voice asked moments later.
Looking around, Chief spotted the source of the missiles. Much to his surprise, a BattleMech was standing on the top of the canyon walls, with scans revealing that it was a Shadow Hawk. "Identify yourself," he asked.
"Jared Lancaster," came the reply. "SLDF MechWarrior. Sending ID now." Moments later, the man's ID came up on Chief's HUD.
"It's legitimate," Cortana confirmed. "O'Donnell sent him in the event that we needed BattleMech support."
"That, and I've scouted out a suitable LZ beyond this area," Jared replied. "Just move through that cave at the bottom of that frozen river, and you should enter the area I spotted. There's a Leopard that's ready to transport any wounded personnel back to Alpha Base."
"Got it," Chief replied as he opened a COM-link to Alex.
. . .
"Explain to me one more time, why the Humans defeated you so easily," Zealot 'Zortamee asked the cowering Grunt before him.
Said Grunt was currently under a lot of pressure, with a couple Jackals aiming their weapons at him, while a pair of Elite Ultras stood nearby, weapons at the ready, even with the blizzard that was raging around them. The Grunt in question, a Minor, was shaking out of terror as it spoke. "Big, u-ugly humans used large metal machine to blow up Kapkap's friends! Then large legged machine came and stomped on my other friends! They sent me away to warn Zealot!"
When 'Zortamee heard that, he sighed, pinching an area above his nostrils in an oddly human fashion. It is as I feared, he thought. The Humans have brought along their 'BattleMechs.' While he hadn't encountered a BattleMech himself, he had seen the A/V reports of the Humans towering, robotic war machines from the planet the Humans called Reach. As such, he knew that even the sight of one of their smaller BattleMechs was more than enough to break the morale of some Covenant infantry, more so given their armaments and armor.
Now that he knew what had happened, he knew he had to decide what to do with Kapkap, as he had just reviewed the combat footage Kapkap's armor had recorded. The Unggoy Minor hadn't deserted his post: he had been forced to leave by his other comrades to send a warning. After a moment, he said, "Warriors, stand down. This Unggoy did not desert his post. He came here to deliver a warning of the Humans in this area. Prepare the defenses. We must keep them out of the Control Room."
. . .
What the Zealot didn't know was that Chief and the others were already approaching the Control Room. Having gotten fresh troopers and ammunition, the SLDF/UNSC squad was quickly through another series of circular rooms, having crossed another pair of bridges before coming inside. "Resistance appears to be increasing," Cortana told the others. "We must be getting close to the Control Room."
"Tell me about it," a UNSC Marine remarked. "Those Hunters in the last room were a pain in the ass to deal with. If it weren't for the Elementals and you, Chief, we would've gotten our asses kicked."
"Thank you for your vote of confidence," Alex remarked. "But in all fairness, you are correct. Normal Marines have very little, if any chance, against a Hunter if they do not have an SRM Launcher." Chief nodded, having recalled that lesson from experience.
Reaching another door, Chief opened it up, and was promptly hit in the face with a blast of cold wind and a lot of snowflakes. Over the course of their journey, the weather had deteriorated, with the snowfall increasing, the wind picking up, and the sky becoming darker. Now, it was clear that a full blown whiteout was raging through the area, as visibility had been reduced to mere inches now.
Using his helmet, Chief cycled through vision modes, switching from visual to IR. Moments later, the raging white sheet of snow was replaced with the various false colors used by IR imaging systems. There were a lot of blue dots, which were the snowflakes, but he could see the outline of a stone bridge ahead of them, as well as faint heat signatures that indicated the presence of Covenant forces. Off to his left, he could faintly see the thermal outline of a massive ziggurat.
"Analyzing," Cortana remarked, using her suit's scanners to determine what they were looking at. "That must be the Control Room. Subtle. The entrance to the Control Room is at the top of that ziggurat. Bring me up there, and I should be able to get us inside, assuming that the Covenant don't kill us first."
"And that this snowstorm blows over," Shaw added.
"We can use it to sneak past the Covenant," Cortana added. If we're having trouble navigating through the storm, then it's likely the Covenant is having trouble as well."
"Noted," Chief nodded, before moving out into the whiteout.
"Chief, we will meet you at the bottom of the canyon," Alex informed him. "We will use our jump jets to get to ground level safely. We will clear out any Covenant resistance ahead of us, and wait for you at the entrance to the Control Room. Once you've rendezvoused with us, we will proceed inside."
"Copy that." With that, Alex and the other Elementals hopped off the stone bridge's edge, using their jump jets to land safely on the canyon floor below. That left Chief and the Marines to navigate across the bridge.
It was clear that the Covenant didn't want to be out in the cold, as the IR signatures he had spotted earlier were now no longer present. The Marines, working together, formed a human chain, with one Marine holding onto a part of Chief's armor to prevent them from getting lost in the whiteout. Progress was slow, but thanks to Cortana's expert navigation skills, they were able to get to the other side, where they warmed up and proceeded forwards.
Moving inside, they quickly found a large number of Covenant between them and their goal. "Take them out," Chief ordered, firing his weapon as he and the Marines advanced. The Covenant also fired back, though thanks to some improvisation, as well as some clever tactics, the squad was able to move through. Moving through the circular rooms, they quickly reached an elevator shaft before traveling downwards.
Eventually, they exited the indoor areas and moved outside. The whiteout was still going strong, though visibility had increased to a few meters at a time. Moving forwards, Chief spotted a ramp leading to a series of switchback ramps that led up the ziggurat's face. As he moved forwards, he spotted numerous dead Covenant, all indicators that Alex and his men had been busy. Eventually, they reached the top of the ziggurat, which was a wide, and flat, plaza.
Spotting an overhang over the door, the squad quickly moved forwards, with Chief spotting Alex and the others stacked up on the door. "Good to see you again, Chief," Alex remarked. "The whiteout is still going strong, but we made it. The Covenant are all inside. They must have breached the exterior door, but are unable to move any deeper."
"Where do you need me," Chief asked.
"Right side of the door, with the other Marines. We will toss in some flashbangs to disorient the Covenant inside before assaulting them. Once all the Covenant are down, we will move inside and secure the Control Room. Quiaff?"
"Affirmative." With that, everyone moved into position, with Chief and the Marines stacking up on the right side of the door, while Alex, Shaw and Ward moved to the left side. Once they were in position, Chief pressed a glyph on a nearby holographic panel. As soon as the doors opened, all hell broke loose.
As soon as the doors opened enough, Alex and Ward tossed in a pair of flashbangs, with a discordant cacophony of roars, squawks and squeaks following a pair of banging sounds indicating that the Covenant had been disoriented. Moving in, the SLDF/UNSC squad immediately opened fire, weapons blazing as they took down as many Covenant as they could before they could get their senses back. Instead of allowing the Zealot to engage them one on one, Chief and the others gunned it down, killing it before it had a chance to fight back.
"Scanning…" There was some silence as Cortana scanned the area. "Covenant forces in the vicinity have been eliminated," she reported. "Let's move on to Halo's Control Room."
"I will not argue with that," Alex agreed. Moving forwards, they opened up the other doors, until they entered the Control Room.
To Alex, the Control Room was, by far, one of the largest rooms that he had ever seen in his life. The room was massive, with the entire chamber shaped like a hollow sphere, with cylindrical shafts on the top and bottom of the room. The walkway they were on was made out of transparent metal alloys, which connected to a circular walkway that surrounded a holographic projection up ahead. A map of Halo was displayed for all to see, as well as a map of the planet it orbited. As they approached, he spotted a control panel that was before them.
"That terminal, try there," Cortana suggested to Chief. Nodding at that, Chief removed the chip containing her from his helmet and placed her inside of the terminal, noting a similar slot. Moments later, a life-sized image of Cortana was projected for all to see, with data streams running up and down her body.
"Wow," one SLDF Marine whispered to his comrade. "I didn't know Cortana was a hot lady."
"Oh, you porn addled idiot," his comrade growled. "Focus on the mission, not the lady." Turning away, he muttered, "Addled stud."
"Are you alright," Chief asked Cortana.
In response, she smiled. "Never been better! You can't imagine the wealth of information. The knowledge! So much! So fast! It's glorious!"
"So, what sort of weapon is it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Let's stay focused. Halo… how do we use it against the Covenant?"
"I have a better question," Alex asked. "Is Halo a weapon, or is it something else entirely?"
"A good question," Cortana nodded. "However, to answer your question, Chief, this ring is more than just a cudgel, you barbarian. It's something else… something much more important." There was some silence, then she said, "The Covenant were right… this ring, just as we suspected as well… it's Forerunner in origin. Give me a second to access… yes, the Forerunners, just as we believed, built this place, what they called a 'fortress world', in order to…"
Her talking cut off as she analyzed more information. "No, that can't be."
"What is it," Alex asked.
Moments later, Cortana's eyes opened wide, only instead of wonder, they were now fulled with an emotion that Chief had never seen in those eyes before: fear. "Oh, those fucking Covenant fools! They must have known, there must have been signs!"
"Slow down," Chief said to her. "You're losing us."
"The Covenant found something, buried in this ring, something horrible, and now… they're afraid."
"That is not good," Alex frowned. "Nothing makes the Covenant afraid; cautious, yes, but never afraid. If they are afraid, then we have good reason to be worried. As for what this 'something' is, do you know whe-"
"The Colonel," Cortana interrupted. "We have to warn the Colonel and the Captain!"
"Keyes and O'Donnell," Chief asked. "What do we-"
"The weapons cache that the Elite prisoner they captured told us about, it's not a weapons cache at all! The SLDF sent a salvage team, but we can't let them get inside!"
"What do you mean," Alex asked. Then, a moment later, he remembered the briefing he had before he left Alpha Base. Both eyes widened before he said, "Oohhh, SHIT! If it is not a weapons cache…"
"There's no time," Cortana shouted. "Get out of here, find that salvage team and stop them! Before it's too late!" With that, Alex and the others left the Control Room.
As they exited the entrance, Alex caught a MILCOM burst. Listening, his face paled when he heard a voice shout, "Mayday, mayday! This is SLDF Salvage Team Bravo 3-9. We have a Code Red! Repeat, we have a Code Red! We've encountered multiple Bravo Whiskey's at our coordinates. Coordinates attached to this distress signal. Send help as soon as you can! This message will repeat every five seconds." With that, the MILCOM link went dead.
Inside, Alex could feel his heart skip a beat. There were very few situations that a Salvage Team would call a Code Red, as well as a Bravo Willie. However, he knew very well what this one meant. Whenever a Code Red and Bravo Whisky were used together, it meant one thing: biological weapons. If Cortana is concerned enough to send us there immediately, he thought, then we are in for a really, really bad shitstorm.