(A/N This will be a short chapter)
Flood... Flood everywhere. Combat forms consisting of Grunts, Brutes, Jackals and Skirmishers was all he faced as he marched towards the core of the facility, where the station computer would be located. John couldn't thank his sixth sense enough for helping him as he kept going deeper into the synthetic electrical underground of the facility. Natural walls made from rocks and soil changed and turned into Forerunner walls made of metal. John was extremely grateful as not only did his sense give him intel about the Flood in the next room or hallway, but it also allowed him to be aware of things that were hiding in the shadows, waiting to pounce on him. There was not enough light for him to see exactly from which direction the Combat Forms would attack. Most of the lights were disabled when Echelon reset the facilities, with the exception of the dim red fluorescent light on the ground, which only lit up the ground and not the ceilings or the walls, and his helmet lights were directional.
"Echelon, how close am I to the station computer?" He enquired.
"Very. Keep going forward and you will find entrances to two hallways. You can choose any as both of them end at the same place. After which, keep walking forward until you find a wide but short ramp which will lead you to an elevator. Once you reach there, press the activate button. You'll have to wait for a few seconds for the elevator to come online. The elevator will bring you down to a flower shaped platform with eight hard light bridges. Take the second one to your immediate left. Make sure you are facing the door of the elevator. After crossing the bridge and going down a long ramp, you will see a large, by which I mean fifty meters, hexagonal circuit board flanked by two small rectangular ones, which is the station computer. You should also be able to spot a terminal. Simply insert the chip and the facility will come online." She replied.
"Roger... By the way, why aren't any Corrupted sentinels present here?" John asked as he followed the directions.
"The sentinels, along with the Pure Form Flood remain close to the Graveminds."
"And what about the combat forms?"
"They are left to rot. The combat forms are only necessary up until the Gravemind has absorbed enough organic matter to spawn Pure forms. This is because the Pure forms are more versatile and are able to directly receive nutrition from the Gravemind, where as Combat forms are not able to receive nutrition due to the difference in biology. Combat forms have to consume local fauna to survive. On top of that, Pure forms are stronger and better." She explained.
After a few minutes, John finally reached the station computer and seconds after inserting the data chip, the whole place came to life. Sounds of machines moving and electrical humming could be heard as all the lights turned on.
"Echelon, the Facility's up." He said through the coms.
"Reclaimer, I have good news and bad news." Echelon sounded distressed. John immediately equipped his Suppressor.
"There are a lot of Combat forms blocking the main assembly line. Until you've cleared them out, the fabrications can't take place." She informed.
"And the good news?"
After a few seconds of silence, Echelon finally answered.
"That was the good news..."She replied.
John internally groaned.
"Alright,so, the bad news?"
"The activation of this facility did not go unnoticed by the Flood. There is a large number of sentinels heading towards the facility as we speak. They will reach within two hours and forty three minutes...maybe even less."
"Alright. Transport me directly into the main assembly line." He commanded.
"Are you sure? There are a lot of them there." She asked for confirmation, to which he simply replied.
"Yes. Yes I am."
In a flash of light, John immediately found himself on a small platform overlooking the assembly line, which was swarming with Combat forms.
Smooth was the only word that could be used to describe the 'cleaning up' of the combat forms, now that John knew he could push his body much further; and the lights being back on helped a lot. John was able to clear out the main assembly line in just fifteen minutes, although this time he was panting a little.
"GREAT JOB! I have never seen anyone fight this fluidly in the entire 101893 years of my existence!"
"We're not out of the woods yet" John replied in between pants.
"Right! I will start the fabrication process of Aggressors and Protectors immediately." She stated. But yet again John had other plans.
"No. I have a better Idea. How many types of sentinels are there?" He asked.
"Fourteen. There are more, but they are not present within this Installation's library due to Anti Flood measures." She replied as the different sentinel variants with their names and respective abilities (Translated) appeared on a display, which John observed very intently.
After three minutes of John intensely staring at the display, Echelon finally spoke up.
" Uhhh... Reclaimer? We don't really have much time. The Corrupted sentinels are coming."
"And we'll be ready for them." He finally replied.
"Echelon, I want you to combine the Aggressor, Protector, Enforcer and Super Sentinel variants; Increase their dimensions by 77% and give them full hardlight and energy shielding." He commanded.
"That's... Imaginative!" She replied, clearly a little excited.
"Oh, and for what it's worth, give them as much shielding from the Domain as possible. I'm going to go outside and defend this facility in case they decide to show up early. Like last time, close all the entrances. Also, I want a few Sentinels teleported here from the control room and I want them to look at every crevice of this facility and eliminate any flood forms still present in this level or the lower levels." Just as he was about to leave, Echelon asked him a good question.
"What should I name this new class of sentinels?"
After thinking for a few seconds, he answered... with a small hint of pride in his voice.
"Spartan Class sentinels..."