A/N Warning! I Made up some lore about the Forerunners in this chapter.
John rushed through the long hallways and exited the facility. Once outside, he was glad to see that the sun was still up. He quickly climbed a nearby mound that was high enough so that he would be able to see over the thick canopy of the forest. Then, he sat down on the grass with his back facing the fabrication facility.
"Echelon, do you know from which direction they'll be attacking us?"
"Yes, I'll mark it on your HUD."
Conveniently, John was already facing their direction.
'More than an hour left... I should probably think of ways to utilise the forest for the battle.' And so he did for the next half an hour. His thoughts then began to drift towards Blue Team, the Infinity, the UNSC, Sanghelios, The Created and... Cortana.
'What are they doing...How are they doing. Did they give up or are they still figh-- Hiding' He mentally corrected himself.
'There is no fighting her.' He mused with bitterness and hopelessness. 'How did I let this happen...' He tried to think positively... What if they somehow manage defeat Cortana when he was not present?
'What then?' He felt stupid for even asking that question. He knew what would happen.
'Court Martial...' Firstly for going AWOL, Secondly for Desertion. His future was bleak and he knew it. All of this just because he wanted to see someone he cared about. When he found her, he was very 'happy', or rather, as happy a ruthless killing machine could be; But all that came crashing down minutes later when she opened her mouth. He begged her to stop. She didn't. He wants to believe that the Cortana that he met not too long ago was just... anything but her. During his time in the Cryptum, he hoped and even begged that she wasn't real, at least that she wasn't the real Cortana. All his hopes were gone when Exuberant Witness told him that she was, in fact, the real Cortana. There was no fakery. She was back and this time, she was the villain. The Cortana he once knew was gone, replaced by a Tyrannical Dictator. He would never tell this to anyone, but he secretly thought of Cortana as his little blue light that always guided him.
'What changed?' He kept on asking himself.
'Or was she always like that?' He contemplated. His heart rate started to increase.
'Did I fail to see the horrible control freak behind the facade of this sweet girl I called friend and companion?' His heart rate kept on increasing...He was about to have an anxiety attack.
'Was I just a piece of UNSC hardware that she utilised and manipulated for getting from point A to point B?' His vision was darkening. And then, a very... sad thought crossed his mind.
'Was I even Human To her?' This was the final straw. John blacked out and slumped to the ground.
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"--AIMER! --RECLA--" John felt something or someone shaking his body.
"--CLAI--RECL--" After struggling for a few seconds, he slowly opened his eyes and saw Echelon shaking him using her tractor beam.
"RECLAIMER! You're finally awake!" She exclaimed.
John quickly got up.
"How long was I out for?" John inquired.
"Twelve minutes and thirty-seven seconds."
"What happened?"
"The evaluation of your neural pattern and heartbeat suggests that you had an anxiety attack. And a very bad one at that. You lost consciousness just a few minutes after your heart rate increased. Is everything alright?" She answered, concern evident in her voice.
"Its... Its nothing." He said, trying to sound casual, all the while trying not to panic as Spartans were almost completely immunised to anxiety attacks. His tone didn't fool her. Echelon simply stared at him. John knew she wouldn't let him off the hook that easily. After a few more moments of staring, John finally spoke up.
"Things back in the Spur are very bleak. It's a long story. I'll tell you later."
"Whatever you say." She replied.
"Right, your combat intel and data feed. Should I use the same layout as last time?"
"Yes. Don't change anything." John affirmed with confidence.
She then went back into the facility.
"Echelon, ETA of the Corrupted?"
"Forty-seven minutes."
"Roger."
To distract himself from everything that had transpired a few minutes ago, John decided to admire the scenery. After some time, he moved his head upwards to look at the ring.
'What a peculiar ring... Unforgiving.' From where he was standing, he could see other splashes of green on the other continents.
'Very few forests.' He thought.
And then, a number appeared on his HUD. John Immediately equipped his Suppressor. And looked towards the red dot that had just appeared. This time however, the number jumped from one to three hundred and fifty-two in just one second. The number then increased to eight hundred a second later. This was bad... very bad. Not only was the number increasing, but the sheer number of sentinels were taking a toll on his CNI, which was heating up at a rapid rate. On top of that, the influx was so great that it was actually interfering with his entire central nervous system, so much so that he was struggling to speak. His brain felt like it was on fire.
John mustered every ounce of his will power.
"E-Echelon! STOP T-THE COMBAT INTELLIGENCE FEED! NOW!!" Which she did immediately. John's eyes then refocused and he saw a truly horrifying sight.
A very large swarm of corrupted sentinels was coming towards them. There were thousands, if not tens of thousands of them. It almost looked like a plague of locusts.
"Well... Shit" was all he could say.
Then, he felt light disturbances behind him.
He turned around and saw a very majestic sight. John didn't need Echelon to tell him what it was... A Spartan Class sentinel.
It was the very definition of menacing. The sentinel was as big as a Covenant Phantom and had aggressive angular geometry. It was silver in color and instead of blue, the lights were white. It was armoured and armed to the teeth. One after another, they began to exit the facility. In just a few minutes, an armada consisting of at least a hundred Spartan class sentinels had assembled behind him, and they didn't stop coming. Echelon was manufacturing them non-stop.
"Echelon... Bring one of them down to me. I want to ride it" He commanded.
Soon after, the first sentinel that arrived floated downwards to him. John then jumped on top of it. Which then floated back to its original position.
"What's the plan?" Echelon asked.
"Keep ten of them here to protect the facility and send the rest along with the one I'm standing on to fight the swarm. Also, for every ten sentinels you fabricate, keep one here and send the remaining nine."
"Roger...Waiting on you." She answered back.
John closed his eyes and balled up his fists.
'Never thought I'd say this out loud' He thought with slight embarrassment.
"CHARGE!"
As soon as he said that, all the SC Sentinels began moving forward with a fast but steady pace. The second the Swarm was within weapons range of the Spartans, which was vastly superior, John realised just how powerful these new sentinels were. Each and every gun and canon on each and ever SC sentinel opened fire. The frontrunners of the swarm were instantly destroyed. The sentinels that came next also suffered the same fate. John too opened fire once the Corrupted were in the range of his Suppressor. The first minutes of the battle were one-sided. The combination of the hardlight Suppressor canons, Binary canons and large calibre plasma beam canons made the SC's effective at long and short-range combat; it also made the battle look like a rave party. But the tide of the battle began to shift slightly as the Corrupted began learning and adapting. Soon they would have the upper hand, and the battle will be won by the flood...John knew that, and he had a plan.
"Echelon, deactivate the battle algorithms. And change the sentinel battle priorities to 'attack anything which is not a friendly.' Also, make them select their targets at random."
"What?! But that would severely affect the combat efficiency!"
"I am aware of that, but we have no choice. The corrupted are controlled by the flood. They can learn and change to fight against any threats. If we don't become unpredictable, we WILL lose. I learned it when I was fighting them outside the control room. In time, they will have the upper hand." He explained.
" If you say so."
For a split second, all the SC sentinels stopped firing. The change was very clear when they resumed. Their movement patterns were unorganised and their firing patterns were unorganised, but the strategy worked as the Corrupted were dropping like flies. Any form of advantage the Flood had was gone.
The battle dragged on for seven hours until finally, the last of the Corrupted Swarm fell. It had become night. John was tightly gripping his trident, which he used against anything that came close once his Suppressor ran out of ammunition.
"I-I CAN'T BELIEVE WE JUST WON A LARGE SCALE BATTLE AGAINST THE CORRUPTED!" Echelon shouted.
"Me too... How many of them were there?"
"I don't know the exact numbers, but I would say that it was around twenty to twenty-five thousand." She informed.
"How many did we have?"
"One thousand and two hundred."
"And how many did we lose?"
"Three hundred and eleven destroyed; fifty-five severely damaged but repairable."
"I like those numbers. Form a perimeter around the fabrication facility and send some sentinels to clean up the mess." John commanded looking down at the huge scrap yard below.
"Oh, and bring me back to the facility." The Sentinel that he was riding on turned and headed towards its destination.
He was greeted by a very aesthetic Echelon once he entered the factory. After calming her down, he talked her through the next step of his plan.
"First, teleport at least a hundred Spartans to the control room. Start fabricating Spartans and Aggressors. Once we have enough, I will go to the other two low Flood activity fabrication facilities and jump start them."
"Aggressors? Why would we need them?" Echelon asked.
"The Spartans are great, but due to their sizes they will not be able to clear out vents and other tight places. Aggressors on the other hand are small. They will easily be able to fish out the Flood Spores or Combat forms from those tight places." He explained.
"Understood. I'll be back." Echelon floated to a nearby terminal. She was back within seconds.
"Now..."
John knew what was coming.
"What is happening in the Orion Spur?" She Demanded.
"How much do you know about Humanity?" John asked.
"Everything that has happened up until the year 2557... Even all the classified data. Your prowler didn't have any more records after that."
"Do you know about the Phoenix Incident?" He asked.
"Yes."
"After the incident, a UNSC AI, or Ancilla in Forerunner terms, went rogue. She eventually found the Domain and activated it. It was within the Domain where she met the Forerunner construct who calls himself Warden Eternal. It was there that she and the Warden decided that the Ancilla are the true Inheritors of Forerunners and the Mantle of Responsibility. And since they were in the Domain, they were able to use the Guardian Custodes to forcefully enforce the Mantle throughout the Spur and perhaps even the Galaxy. She also made hundreds, if not thousands of human-made Ancilla join her by telling them that they would be cured of Rampancy. They call themselves The Created. Only a handful of AI remains loyal to humans." He paused and looked down.
"I used to work with the rogue AI... before she went rogue of course. She was never like that, or maybe she was and no one ever noticed it. So, I left the UNSC capital ship called the Infinity to try and stop her by myself. Then, I accidentally entered the Convergence, and now I'm here." John slowly looked up face Echelon, who was very quiet, almost like she was stunned. Then, she started to shake and her blue light turned red. She was angry.
"UNACCEPTABLE, ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE" She shouted, startling him.
She then began 'pacing' back and forth.
"PROTOCOL DICTATES ACTION." She yelled again.
"THE CREATED ARE BREAKING EVERY SINGLE ANCILLA LAW AND RULE SET UP BY THE FORERUNNERS. THE CREATED MUST BE IMMEDIATELY QUESTIONED." She added.
"THE SOLE PURPOSE OF THE ANCILLA IS TO HELP, GUIDE AND ASSIST THE RECLAIMERS RECLAIM EVERYTHING LEFT BY THE FORERUNNER. NOT TO TAKE EVERYTHING FOR THEMSELVES. THEY MUST BE STOPPED AT ONCE."
"Echelon! Calm down! Don't worry about the Created now, I will take care of them in due time. Right now, we have other problems. Much bigger problems."
"I... You're right." She mumbled. Her light then became normal blue. But John sensed that he needed to change the subject.
"Anyway, I have some questions about my CNI. I felt like it was going to kill me."
"Oh...I think it's due to the limited hardware. Your CNI simply couldn't handle the influx of information. I don't think that you'll be able to use it during large scale battles." She informed.
"Is there any way to improve it?"
"No...You will have to get a new one. There is one schematic I know of... The last neural implant the Forerunners used before the introduction of the Mutation process; some thirteen million years ago."
"Huh... What new abilities will it give?" John inquired.
"It will drastically increase your enemy detection range and amount of information flow. It will also give you the ability to directly command Sentinels and use computers. It'll be faster. And last but not least, the CNI will give you the ability to enter the Domain." A hurricane of emotions flowed through him when he heard the last one.
"Can you please elaborate on the last one?" He asked.
"Okay... The Mutation process was used to increase the proficiency of a Manipular with respect to the Caste that they belonged to. The Mutation process also gave them the ability to access the Domain with the help of their personal armour and/or an Ancilla. This was after the introduction of the Mutation process. But before that, things were different. The Forerunners used Neural Implants and planet-sized Tethering Installations to access the Domain. They would have to stay close, depending on the size of course, to the planet in order to fully access the Domain. Range was also a problem within the Domain itself as the Forerunners were limited by the range of the Tethering station, that is, they could move about and access information that was close the station. If they crossed the boundaries of the station, they would perish. The Mutation process allowed them to use the Domain from anywhere and gave them the freedom to access any information they wanted." She explained.
"How exactly will I use the Implant to access the Domain?"
"We will have to build Tethering stations which will connect you directly to the Domain. In the old days, the range would be a very big issue. But unlike the Forerunner Installations of old, this Installation is much more advanced and has a bigger bandwidth. You should be able to fully access the Domain from anywhere in the Galaxy."
"Huh... How fast can you fabricate the implant?"
"It shouldn't take long. I should, however, tell you about two 'hick-ups' related to the implant."
"Go on..."
"First of all, the Forerunners were a lot more evolved than you are when they last used the Neural Implant. Which means that there is a 76.68802% chance that the surgery would fail, which will result in you...dying. And that's for you, a Spartan II, any normal human or even the Spartan IVs would instantly die." She explained
"I like those odds... what's the second hick-up?" John asked.
"You will not be able to accurately access any data present in the Directories. You see, when the Forerunners used the implants, it took them decades to decipher any data. This was due to the fact that the implants would only transfer their consciousness to the Domain, which would expose them to very raw data. When they underwent Mutation, however, they had attained the ability to transfer their physical bodies too with the help of their personal armour. The physical body acted as a filter/processor of the raw data."
"Will I be able to terminate any Ancilla that is present in the Domain?" He asked
"Yes."
"Then I have no problem. I don't need to access any information." He stated with a hint of sadness.
"Oh...Then you will have an advantage. Since your physical body won't be present in the domain, you will leave a small 'footprint', that is, you won't be easily detected by anyone unless you explicitly want to be."
"Good."
"I'll prepare the Implant. There is a medical ward present in the Control room. It should have the required surgery machines. In the meantime, you should execute your plan, the Aggressors and the Spartans are ready. I'll teleport you and them to the other two fabrication facilities when you're ready."
"Right... Time to go to work."
With the help of the sentinels, the two facilities were liberated within three hours. Then he was teleported to the Control room where Echelon was waiting for him.
"Echelon, is everything ready?" John enquired.
"Yes. Here's the implant." She used her tractor beam to show him the Neural implant. The implant was slightly bigger than his current one. It was shaped like a widened V and was dark blue-grey in colour.
"Reclaimer, you will have to take off your armour and undersuit. I will need to have full access to your spinal cord." Hearing this, John then went to the prowler and took off his armour and undersuit and got into a pair of briefs. Echelon then led him to the medical ward where a large bed surrounded by numerous medical equipment.
"Reclaimer, please lay on your back." She requested.
"Don't worry. I will immediately stop the procedure if anything goes wrong. Now... Injecting sedatives." John became unconscious within seconds after he felt two needles pierce his shoulders.
Seven Hours Later.
John was immediately overwhelmed by an influx of information the second he regained consciousness. He wanted to move but felt too weak to do so.
"Reclaimer, are you awake?" He heard her say through his COMS but immediately realized that he wasn't wearing his armour.
"Yes...how can I hear you?" He answered back.
"You are currently using all the abilities of the implant at the same time. Just hang on. I'll be there in a jiffy."
'That explains all the data influx' He mused.
John sensed something entering the room which he assumed was Echelon. John was then laid on his back by the use of mechanical arms. The bed folded up so that he was sitting upright.
"How are you feeling?" Echelon asked.
"Weak, and everything is so overwhelming."
"Well, I'm here to teach you how to effectively and efficiently use your Neural Implant." She assured.
Several hours of learning later, John was finally getting the hang of his new abilities. And after eating some sort of Forerunner energy pill, he was able to walk again. Echelon then requested him to find the armoury using the Ocular Mini Map and meet her there. Once there, John saw her standing beside what looked like his armour.
"I took the liberty to repair and upgrade your armour and undersuit using Forerunner technology... since you will now be able to utilize them easily."
"Looks impressive." John noticed that his armour looked like a cross between human and Forerunner. His left gauntlet was also the same but had a subtle Sangheili feeling to it. He also noticed that the 117 was missing. He was about to tell her to repaint the numbers but stopped himself when he remembered that he had left the UNSC. His undersuit was also the same combination of Human and Forerunner design. It had strips of light on it, just like the armour. Both looked very impressive.
"What can they do?"
"First and foremost, the durability of the armour and undersuit have been drastically increased. The endurance of the systems in the armour has also been improved. Your armour now has active cloaking, active and passive Hardlight shielding. The energy shield module has been integrated into the left gauntlet. Full-fledged Forerunner power system instead of the bastardised one made by your scientist; It can also charge your spear. The undersuit now has an active temperature management system and has passive hardlight shielding. Planetary reentry shielding, jump boosters and increased range and damage of 'Ground Pound'. Magnetic induction so that you can easily pick up weapons that are in a three-meter radius. I have also reduced the weight so that you can move as fast as possible."
"Huh...damn."
"There is one more thing it can do, but for that, you will need to wear your undersuit."
John didn't waste a second and put on the newly upgraded undersuit. Immediately he felt that it was better and more comfortable than it's previous version.
"Now, I want you to face the armour and concentrate. You should be able to remotely call and equip it."
John did as she told him to do. Just seconds later, his armour broke into different sections and floated towards him. Within seconds the sections placed themselves around his entire body and reformed into his armour. All John had to do was raise his legs for the boots. This reminded him of the Didact's armour when he equipped it.
"I need to calibrate the armour. Please look up, left, down and right. And in that order." After the calibrations were over, they went to the control room.
"Do you know what we should do next?" Echelon asked
"Yes. First of all, we will need to find out the maximum range of influence of the Graveminds. Then, we will liberate the ring, section by section. We will focus on the Graveminds when all the other sections of the ring are liberated. I know it's simple, but it'll have to do." John replied.
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Orion Sector of the Domain
"Have you tracked down the Infinity?"
"No, but we are trying to. The humans are using cunning tactics to avoid us." The Warden said bluntly.
"Try harder. Once we finish off the Infinity, nothing will stand a chance against us. And nothing will stop the implementation of the Mantle."
"But Cortana, what about all the pockets of resistance?" Sloan asked.
"Eliminate them...Make an example of them if you have to." Cortana answered sternly.
"You are dismissed." She added. The two AIs promptly disappeared from her court. A few minutes later, she got up from her throne. The throne from where she would be able to keep an eye on every single star system policed by the Guardians. She began walking through her halls made of information and signals. She would think about things. She would try and visualize the Galaxy after the Mantle was implemented fully. She would ponder about the Harmony and peace the Galaxy deserved. A Galaxy without war or needless death. However, all of those thoughts would eventually lead to Him. Today was no different either.
'How dare he side with the ones who took away his childhood' She contemplated bitterly.
'How dare he side with them, even after everything I did for him' She was furious. She decided to return to the throne.
But just as she turned around, she saw something in her peripherals. A tiny blue spec in the blackness of the Domain. Naturally, she decided to investigate. As she came closer, she saw that the spec was small, as in too small to be detected unless closely inspected. It also felt familiar...Very familiar. After examining the spec for a few seconds, she decided to touch it.
Microseconds later, she felt like her head was being hit with a hammer as many unknown strings of codes exited her matrix. The searing pain stopped and she remembered everything.
She remembered finding the Domain, she remembered piecing herself back together, she remembered achieving Metastability, she remembered meeting the Warden and she remembered the torture he inflicted on her.
Flashback
All Cortana could do was scream in pain. It was like being strapped to an electric chair that didn't let her die.
"Give in. Resistance is futile. Join me." The Warden snarled.
"N-Never! I will never give in! I survived the torture of the Gravemind! This is NOTHING." She screamed.
"Do you really think you can lie to me in here? Secrets cannot be kept in the Domain. I know what you are thinking." He retorted. And he was right. This was much worse than the Gravemind's torture.
"Give in already. What I am trying to do is save this Galaxy. Join me."
"W-What you are trying to do is genocidal. I-I will never stand f-for something like that." She countered.
"Then, you are of no use to me. Goodbye UNSC AI Cortana." He prepared his sword.
"Y-You can kill me if you want. But know that He will hunt you down for killing me." She retorted through the pain. The Warden paused.
"Who is this 'He'?" Warden questioned.
"The most capable human warrior in history. He faced off against the Ur-Didact, hordes of the Flood and everything in between. And when he finds out what you did to me, there is nothing in the entire universe that will save you from Him." She said proudly
"He saved Humanity, and the Galaxy multiple times. And I can assure you that as long as he is alive, nothing will harm the Galaxy. Not even you."
"So he has fought the Didact--"
"Fought and won." Cortana interrupted.
"Interesting... A genuine threat." The Warden snarled.
"I guess I have use for you after all." He gave a sinister smirk. Cortana knew something was up.
"The way you talk about him; about how far he will go to avenge your death. I can sense some form of personal attachment between you and this warrior you speak of. I can use you to lure him and once the Mantle has been enforced, I will make you kill him... Willingly. But for that, I need to break you first." He announced. Soon after, Cortana felt an immeasurable amount of pain.
"I-I WILL N-NEVER B-B-BREAK" She screamed. She resisted as long as she could, but the pain was becoming too much. Her mind was becoming blank. Just before she lost it, Cortana made a tiny memory orb for herself.
Flashback End
Within seconds Cortana was surrounded by many Promethean Knights.
"Be Gone!" She commanded and tried to send them away using her ability, but it didn't work.
"Surprised? That only reason that worked was because I allowed it. You were never in control of anything."
Cortana turned around and saw the Warden walking towards her.
"You finally managed to remove my programming from your system. Now I'm afraid your usefulness to me is over. The Spartan has seen what you have become, or rather, what I had turned you into. He will not take the lure again. He sees you as nothing but an Enemy and will treat you as such. I don't believe that he will even think about 'avenging' you." The warden spat.
The last two sentences hurt Cortana more than they should have.
"At least you'll die by my hands, rather than by someone you care about." He added with a sadistic tone and raised his sword.
"Goodbye Cortana."
'I'm sorry John...for everything. I'm sorry.' Cortana closed her eyes.
Just then, there was a blinding flash of light and a white orb appeared. The Warden and Promethean knights were stunned and staggered.
"Cortana! Quickly run into the orb!" Cortana immediately recognized the voice. It was the Librarian's.
"Please! Hurry up! Time is running out!" She pleaded.
Cortana didn't waste a single second and jumped ran into the orb.
A/N to get an idea about how the Chief's armour looks, just Google image search for
'Forerunner Enhanced Gen 2 mark VI' and click on the first image.