Hello again, everyone, and welcome to my remastered Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover. Thank you all for your feedback. I greatly appreciate any that I can get.
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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 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.
Earth
New Mombasa
November 21st, 2552
The interior of the Pelican's troop bay shuddered as the VTOL flew away from the In Amber Clad, it's engines thrumming powerfully through the air. Inside, Chief was looking out over the city of New Mombasa, one of the larger urban centers on Earth. Behind him, UNSC and SLDF Marines were preparing for one of the must grueling aspects of war: urban combat.
Looking around, Chief could see other alterations that the SLDF had made in the two months of time they had. From what he had learned as they headed for Earth, the SLDF had managed to get a handful of ground based Naval weapon platforms online. This allowed them to engage the Covenant fleet from Earth, and reduce the chances of a successful invasion.
Looking at a video feed, he could see the Covenant assault carrier that had made it through. While the enemy WarShip had made it through, it had come at a very high cost. Large tears and rents were present in the hull, and he figured that a lot of crew had been lost in the initial fighting. Now, the carrier was hovering over the center of New Mombasa, it's gravity lift having powered on recently.
Cortana was currently speaking with Commander Keyes, having picked up a repeating signal from the carrier, which she identified as the Solemn Penance. "The message just repeats," Cortana informed the Commander. "Regret. Regret. Regret."
"Catchy," Miranda Keyes remarked. "Any idea what it means?"
Johnson, always the patriotic badass, threw in his piece. "Dear Humanity… we regret being alien bastards. We regret coming to Earth. And we most definitely regret that the Corps just blew up our raggedy ass fleet!" Moments later, the Pelican pilots whooped their own approval.
"Regret is a name, Sergeant," Cortana explained. "The name of one of the Covenant's religious leaders, a 'Hierarch' according to Xhov's informants. He's on that carrier and he's calling for help."
"Then we have to move fast," Admiral Hood, who was on the line, decided. "General Norman, can you move your ground assets quickly enough to engage the Covenatn on the ground?"
"Yes," the SLDF General replied. "Our soldiers on the ground are more than ready for this kind of urban warfare. If you want Regret's head on a silver platter, we'll clear the way for your guys to get onboard."
As he said this, Chief looked towards one of the highways in the city. He spotted a few Badger IFV's, as well as some SLDF APC's that were driving at high speed, moving towards their target destination. Behind them, a single Annihilator IV 'Mech was advancing. Despite it's size, it moved fast, far faster than it's ancestor design could've moved.
As the Pelicans flew overhead, a Marine recon team reported in to the Pelican Johnson and Chief were on. "Immediate: Grid Kilo 2-3 is hot. Recommend mission abort."
"Roger recon," one of the Pelican pilots replied. Turning to Johnson, he said, "Your call, Sergeant."
"We're going in," Johnson decided. "Get tactical, marines!"
As the others prepared, Hood contacted Chief. "Master Chief, get aboard that carrier, and secure the Prophet of Regret. This is the only place on Earth the Covenant either decided to, or were able to, land at. That Prophet's going to tell us why."
"Thirty seconds out," the pilot reported. 'Stand by to – ah SHIT!"
As soon as that happened, the Pelican was thrown into a hard left bank. Chief was about to ask what happened when a brilliant green beam of energy whipped past the Pelican. "SCARAB!" Cortana shouted. "Dead ahead!"
"We can't land at the LZ!" the pilot shouted. "I'm setting her down in a courtyard just to our left. You guys'll have to hoof it from there!"
"Got it," Johnson replied. "Marines, change of plan. Damn Scarab's got the air locked down. We'll let the 'Mechs handle it! We're landing now!" As he said this, the Pelican came down in a small courtyard, it's engines flaring as it came to a stop.
With that, everyone piled out, weapons at the ready as they advanced. Rifle in hand, Chief moved through a small doorway into an alley that led to what he guessed was a larger plaza further beyond. A single Grunt Minor was walking up the steps, stopping when it saw Chief. The Grunt let out a single screech of fright before turning tail and running. It barely got one meter away before it's body exploded as bullets detonated inside of it.
Exiting the small alley, he looked around at where they had arrived at. Despite the SLDF and UNSC's best preparations, some parts of New Mombasa had been hit by bombs from Covenant fighters. Up ahead, Chief could see the plaza, which held a single, bombed out building. Pieces of polycrete had been scattered everywhere. Besides that, it was as though the place hadn't been hit, as there were planters, palm trees and vehicles that had been abandoned.
The Covenant had claimed the area already, as there were Elites that were on the upper balcony of the two story building ahead, while a smattering of Grunts and Jackals were present on the ground. Apparently, they had heard Chief's weapon firing, as the moment they spotted him and the others coming out, they opened fire.
Ducking into cover, Johnson said, "Well, if they didn't know we're here before, they do now." Looking around, he spotted Jackal snipers that were on the rooftops. "Yep, here they come! Up high!"
"I'm on it," an SLDF Marine replied. Using her laser rifle, she blasted one of the Jackals in the chest, the pulsating laser cutting through it's armor quickly. The Jackal barely had time to scream before it's chest exploded outwards, the result of water in it's cells flash boiling into steam.
As the Marine dealt with the enemy snipers, Chief and the others advanced forwards, clearing the structure ahead. Moving inside, he sighted an Elite and fired, the rifle in his hands barking loudly. The shields on the Elite's armor failed just as it got into cover. Unfortunately, for the Elite, this did little good, as the bomb dropped on the building had compromised the polycrete's integrity. Combined with the HEAP rounds fired by Chief's rifle, and the cover it had might as well have been tissue paper.
As such, when Chief fired, he was rewarded with purple blood splattering on the far side of the room, before the Elite slumped over, dead. Spotting an Elite Major on the upper floor, he was about to fire when it did something he didn't expect: it raised it's hands in surrender. "I surrender," the Elite spoke, his voice deep and resonant. "I have no desire to die by your hand, Demon!"
Instead of replying, Chief walked over, tore the rifle out of the Elite's hands, before forcing it down on it's knees. "I've got it," a Marine replied, with another coming to stand guard over the alien. As Chief moved to clear the rest of the building, the Elite's wrists were restrained by cuffs, while a modified neural inhibitor collar was placed around it's neck, a safeguard should the Elite attempt to kill a Marine.
It wasn't long before the rest of the area had been cleared of hostiles. The Covenant had only recently gotten there, and they weren't expecting an assault by joint SLDF/UNSC forces. As they secured the area, Johnson looked towards the left, just as his armor's sensor suite detected incoming blips. "More on the street, left side!" he shouted.
"On it," Chief replied.
At the same time, a Marine shouted. "More coming from where the Pelican landed! Chief, we'll handle this side!"
Chief merely nodded in reply before advancing. It was clear that the Covenant intended to attack from both sides at once, in order to gain the upper hand. Unfortunately, they didn't expect a Spartan to be part of this particular group of Marines. Spotting incoming Grunts, he fired his rifle, gutting a few while causing the head of one to explode in a gory mess. When the Elite came out, Chief made short work of him.
At the same time, the Marines on the right side of the courtyard were opening fire as well. Pulse lasers and bullets tore through the air as the Marines fought viciously for survival. "Watch it!" a Marine shouted as an Elite Major came through the doorway into the courtyard. "Elite Major! Take him out!"
"I got it!" someone shouted. Moments later, there was a loud BLOOP, then an explosion as a mini-grenade detonated, blasting the Elite Major into dozens of pieces. "HVT neutralized!" With the loss of their leader, the Grunts and Jackal's cohesion fractured, making it easy pickings for the Marines.
There wasn't much peace for long, as moments later, Chief heard the sounds of wings in the air. "Ah, fuck me running," a Marine groaned. "Fucking Drones!"
"Oh, hell no!" another Marine shouted. "I don't do bugs!"
"Just shut up and kill 'em," an SLDF Marine growled, just as the offending bugs came into view. As soon as the Drones spotted the Marines, as well as Chief, they immediately began chittering and screeching, firing their weapons all the while.
One swooped down quickly enough that it snagged an SLDF Marine, lifting the man up off the ground. Acting fast, the Marine grabbed his combat knife and stabbed the alien in one of it's compound eyes. The Drone screeched in pain and anger, dropping the man as it cupped the wound with one of it's limbs. It never got the chance to find help, as it was promptly speared by a laser beam, it's chitinous body exploding within milliseconds.
Up on the second balcony, Chief used his rifle to gun down as many of the Drones as possible. Johnson, who had anticipated this, used a modified shotgun he brought along to blast the Drones out of the sky. As the last one fell, he said, "Huh, like shooting ducks in hunting season!"
"You hunt, Johnson?" Cortana asked.
"A friend of mine took me huntin' once," Johnson replied. "Caught us some waterfowl and made some good food out of 'em. Now, where are the other buggers?"
"That's all of them," a Marine reported. "No more hostiles, though I wouldn – FUCK!"
"What is it," Chief asked.
"Phantom incoming! Get to cover!" Right on cue, a Phantom flew overhead, firing it's weapons at the ground team.
"Anyone have any anti-tank weapons," Cortana shouted.
"No, but I've got this!" shouted another Marine. There was a BLOOP, followed by an explosion right next to one of the Phantom's turrets. The explosion wasn't powerful enough to tear the turret off, but it was powerful enough to disable it, rendering it useless.
As the Phantom lowered, it's gravity lift deployed, with Elites and Jackals deploying moments later. It was a grave mistake, as the Marines had turned that area in to a kill zone. It wasn't long before the Elites and Jackals had been ripped to shreds by bullets and laser beams. Moments later, the Phantom flew away, disappearing out of sight.
Just as it did, ten missiles streaked through the air, with the missiles following the trajectory the Phantom took. Within seconds, a Pelican appeared overhead. "Whiskey-395," the pilot called over the COM, "on station. Need a hand, sir?"
"Can you evac us out of here?" Johnson asked. "We're trying to get to the carrier."
"My bird's a little big for that couryard, Sergeant," the pilot replied. "I think I see a larger area further ahead. I'll meet you there. Over."
"Roger that," Johnson nodded. "Somebody get a satchel charge on the gate!"
"No need," Cortana reported. "Incoming contacts. Looks like Hunters! They're gonna breach the gate!"
"Got it. Somebody man the turret. I saw one on the balcony. Probably got dropped off earlier!" Looking around, Chief spotted the weapon in question.
"Looks like a Support Small Pulse Laser," Cortana remarked. "Against that weapon, the Hunter's armor'll be nothing but tissue paper." Nodding, Chief manned the Support Pulse Small Laser, the weapon humming slightly as he powered it up.
As soon as he was in position, the gate doors suffered a powerful blow, with the metal denting inwards. A second blow further damaged the doors, before a final blow ripped them off of their hinges. Moments later, two Hunters advanced into the courtyard.
The Marines took that as their moment to open fire, blasting the Hunters with whatever weapons they had. At the same time, Chief took aim and fired.
A pulsing beam of ruby red light cut through the air, hitting the first Hunter's gun arm. The powerful laser beam, meant for cutting through tank armor, cut the alien's Fuel Rod Cannon in half, with the weapon exploding from the intense heat. That killed the Hunter, allowing Chief to target the second one. This time, the laser beam cut through it's shield arm, before piercing through it's chest moments later. It too fell dead, it's body thumping hard against the ground.
"All targets eliminated," Johnson called out. "Chief, move up!" With that, they advanced out of the courtyard and into the streets of New Mombasa's outskirts. It was easy going, mostly due to the fact that this part of the city hadn't been completely bombed out. As such, they were able to reach the second courtyard ahead.
One Marine was about to move to cover, only to be forced to duck down as an energy beam cut over his head. "Shit!" she shouted. "Covenant snipers!"
"Any long range weapons?" Chief asked.
"Here," an SLDF Marine said to Chief. "Take my rifle." Moments later, the man handed Chief his M96IV, which had been modified with a scope.
Taking the rifle, Chief leaned out of cover, his HUD smart-linking with the optic. He almost immediately spotted the Jackal sniper, or rather snipers, as he spotted one in the shadows further ahead. Pulling the trigger, he killed the first Jackal sniper, before doing the same for the second. While he wasn't as good a marksman as Linda was, he could tell that both hits were lethal. "Snipers down," he reported. "Move up."
"Copy that," the others replied. The remaining Kig'Yar in the area were of little issue, as they had lost their long range fire support. Within half a minute, the area had been cleared.
As they moved forwards, a Pelican came in for a landing. At the same time, Commander Keyes came in over the COM. "Sergeant, I need you on that bird," she told Johnson.
"Ma'am?"
"My Pelicans, as well as Norman's forces, are going to start airlifting armor and reinforcements into the city. They'll need an escort that's not afraid of a little ground fire."
"Understood. I'll keep an eye on 'em."
"Also, I have objectives for Chief as well."
"Go ahead, ma'am."
"We need you to get onto the carrier as soon as you can. You're going to have to move through the outskirts of New Mombasa towards a major highway. Once you find it, you need to take it to the city center. That's where the Solemn Penance is located at. Once you're there, get into the carrier and secure the Prophet of Regret. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good. And Chief... good luck." Nodding at that, Chief advanced forwards, while Johnson boarded the Pelican, with the VTOL moving out moments later.
From here on out, Chief knew that the fight was going to get more intense. Now, they were really in the thick of New Mombasa's urban jungle. The outskirts in particular, where they were at, were not only dense, they were, at times, confusing. Thanks to Cortana, however, they were able to navigate the blind maze of alleys, pedestrian streets and buildings.
On top of that, the Covenant wasn't making things easy. As they advanced, Chief found himself and the others engaging small groups of Covenant ground forces that had moved into the area. He was about to enter an alley when an energy, likely from an impatient sniper, cut through the air before him. Easing his rifle out of cover, he used the scope to see where the shot came from.
Thanks to this technique, which he'd learned from Linda, he spotted the offending targets. Two Jackal Snipers were present, both of whom were taking cover inside of what appeared to be a partially destroyed building. In addition, he noticed his armor's sensors detecting two more blips, aside from the Grunts and Jackals that he could see. SpecOps Elites, he determined.
With that in mind, he made his decision. "Two Snipers and cloaked hostiles," he told the others. Handing the M96IV back to it's original owner, he said. "Long range personnel will target the snipers. I'll target the Elites while the rest of you handles the others."
On the count of three, he and the others advanced. Pulse lasers cut through the air, targeting the Jackals that were equipped with long range weapons. At the same time, Chief fired on the two cloaked Elites. The first one fell quickly, it's body fading into visibility as bullets pierced it's armor. The second one drew an energy sword and advanced forwards, roaring as it did so.
Dodging a swipe, Chief plunged his knife into the alien's chest, before sharply jerking it to the side. Blood and gore splattered the area as the Elite held it's guts inside with both hands. Before it could react, Chief drove his knife into it's head, a loud metallic CRUNCH filling the air.
Looking up, he could see that the others had killed all other hostiles. It didn't come without cost, however, as a Marine was lying on the ground, dead. Another was nursing his leg, which had been severed by a Jackal sniper below the knee. The wound, despite being cauterized, was an ugly sight to look at.
"He can't go on," the corpsman informed Chief. "His leg's been severed, and he's in a lot of pain. Until we fit a prosthetic or a cloned limb for him, his fighting days are done." As she said this, the Marine looked at Chief with pain filled eyes.
"Get him to safety," Chief ordered. "We'll continue ahead." Looking at the Marine, he said, "Soldier, you did well."
"Thank you sir," the Marine replied, pain straining his voice. "Give those tough bastards hell for me, eh?" Chief merely nodded, before he and the others advanced onward to their destination.
Eventually, they reached an open plaza, where a roadway cut through the area. Palm trees and planters were present on one side of the plaza, while a building, likely a motel, was on the other side. Currently, it was the sight of a massive brawl, as Covenant forces were engaging a squad of ODST's and Marines that were on the other side.
"Marines, move to assist," Chief ordered, firing his rifle at the leader of the enemy team: an Elite Ultra. The Covenant were so fixated on the ODST's that they were caught off guard by Chief's team, with more than half of the enemy squad being wiped out before they realized they were being flanked. Instead of getting within melee range, he merely dumped the entire mag of his rifle into the Elite Ultra, pumping it full of bullets once it's shields failed.
As he reloaded, a Sergeant walked up to him. "Staff Sergeant Stacker, Chief," the man said to him. "Glad you could make it. We were pinned down by Covenant forces, as you can see."
"Any intel on the area ahead?"
"Our Pelican landed near some trashed buildings and took off. Just after it left, we were ambushed by Covenant forces. We had to hole up here and wait for reinforcements."
"Understood," Chief nodded. With that, he and his team moved into the motel. The interior was dark, likely due to bombing runs that had hit power lines. As he and the others moved forwards, Covenant forces began to move inside, forcing Chief and the others to engage. Fortunately, resistance was light, allowing them to advance into the area beyond.
Instead of Covenant forces, Chief found that the area was deserted. "What happened here?" Chips Dubbo, who'd come along for the ride, asked. "Look at these blast craters. I think some giant tank gun blasted them apart."
"Looks like it," Chief nodded. Just as he said that, two Covenant Ghosts appeared, with the vehicles quickly driving towards them. He was about to order the team to move off the pedestrian walkway when two shells, likely HEAT shells, flew through the air, blasting the two Ghosts apart.
It wasn't long before the source of the shells became apparent, as Chief felt the ground shaking as something advanced forwards. Looking to the right, he watched as a BattleMech, a Rifleman IVb according to his HUD, walked into the area. From what he recalled the IVb was the lighter variant of the IVa, and had lighter class weaponry. "Hey, Chief," a voice remarked. "Need somethin'?"
"Who's that?" Dubbo asked.
"I think that's one of Alex's men," Cortana remarked.
"You'd be right, ma'am," the MechWarrior controlling the 'Mech replied, his southern-styled drawl coming out. "Deckard Gardner Wolf, at your service. Anythin' you need, Chief?"
"We're heading towards the gravity lift for the Covenant carrier," Chief replied. "Can you assist?"
"Sure thing, mister," Deckard beamed. "I can help ya blast them Covenant sumbitches into shit. The other's 'll need ground transportation, however. This here 'Mech can only fit one person."
"That won't be a problem," Cortana replied, just as an APC rolled into view. Moments later, the loading door opened up.
"Get yer ass in here," the driver shouted. "We've been ordered to help ya by any means necessary!" Nodding, Chief and the others moved down the debris riddled slope, before getting inside the APC and strapping themselves down.
Once they were onboard, the APC driver said to Deckard, "We'll let ya get ahead of us and blast them Covenant sumbitches. We can handle some heavy vehicles, but not all of 'em. This here APC ain't designed for anything bigger than a Revenant."
"We'll keep 'em safe," Deckard nodded. "Time to move out. Stay behind me. I'll handle them big mosquitoes on the other side." With that, the 'Mech began to move forwards, while the APC remained behind the 'Mech.
Inside the APC, Chief was looking at a video feed of what was going on. While it was a Heavy 'Mech, the Rifleman IVb was fairly fast, with a top speed that roughly equaled that of a Warthog. As such, it was able to quickly move ahead, while the APC remained behind the 'Mech at all tines.
"Oh, man," a Marine remarked. "I love the beach. Wish I could go swimming at some point."
"I hope you packed a suit, mate!" Dubbo beamed.
Moments later, however, things began to heat up. Several Ghosts came into view, along with a Revenant, all of which intended to halt the 'Mech and the APC. Instead of engaging them all at once, Deckard engaged the Revenant, allowing the APC driver to engage the Ghosts.
Pulsing, emerald green lasers cut through the air as the APC driver swerved to avoid enemy fire. "Woah!" Dubbo shouted as he was forced into the restraints. "Watch it!"
"This APC's got good armor," the driver replied, "but it can't withstand too much firepower! You want me to drive all stately for yer tenderfoot ass?"
"No…"
"Then let me do my job. You just keep yer ass in the seat!" Dubbo frowned, but he knew that the driver was right. While SLDF APC's were well armored, they weren't designed to take on anything larger than it. As such, he bore the harsh turns and swerves as the driver did what he did best: keeping his passengers alive while getting them to their destination.
Deckard smiled as the APC destroyed the incoming Ghosts, while he blasted the Revenant into pieces with a single hit from an A-AC/5. This thing's designed for swatting flies out of the sky, he thought, but it does well for ground support too, 'specially 'gainst these annoying Covenant pests. They're like cockroaches or something, 'xcept they're not bugs.
As they drove the Covenant back, Chief, monitoring the situation from inside the APC, could see a number of Covenant artillery pieces, as well as watchtowers. They're fortifying the area, he thought as Deckard's 'Mech stomped on an artillery piece, flattening and shattering it. Reaching an archway, Chief thought Deckard would move around it, only for the 'Mech to smash it's way through the polycrete tunnel, emerging out the otherside undamaged, if a little dusty.
As they moved on, Commander Keyes came in over the COM. "Deckard, the carrier just launched a wave of drop pods. They're inbound on your position!"
"Got it, ma'am," Deckard replied. "Thanks for the head's up." As he said this, they emerged into a wide open area. There was a small building where they were at, while further up ahead was what looked like a tunnel. Said tunnel had been cracked open by a bomb blast, revealing the interior roadway. Covenant forces were present here as well.
Just as they arrived, he watched as Covenant Drop Pods landed ahead, deploying high ranking Elites. In response, he fired his A-AC/5's, along with the ER Medium Pulse lasers on his 'Mech. It wasn't long before he transformed the debris riddled area into a mess of craters. "Well, how'd that plan turn out for ya dummies?", he remarked as they advanced. Moments later, they entered the tunnel.
The 'Mech was short enough to enter the tunnel, but it was a tight fit. "We'll need to pick up the pace," Cortana informed Deckard. "Also, I've been analyzing the Covenant's tactical chatter. They're surprised, even confused… I don't think they expected any of us to be here."
"You mean me and the others?" Chief asked.
"No, not you and I," Cortana elaborated. "All of us… humanity, on Earth. Odd, but it does explain why they came with such a small force."
"That don't make sense," Deckard remarked. "I read about what happened, with the Unyielding Elephant, or whatever it's called. If the Covenant got that close to this bright blue-green jewel, then why'd they come with such a small force? It don't make sense."
"I agree," Cortana nodded. "Something else is at play here." With that, they continued on, weapons ready as they advanced into the tunnel.