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Chapter 3 The Covenant Wars

A/N: Because of the format complaints, I've decided to not indent at all.

If you Forerunners have so much technology, how did the ones on the ship loose all memory and go back to living a primitive life, Cortana questioned.

"That is still a mystery to even our scientists. And, it is what you will find out. You see, we have video records on every ship. They record the footage on each camera just in case. After we have dealt with the Covenant, you two will be transported to Earth. We have the exact coordinates of the video record but it would be unnecessary for us to show our faces to the humans as it would cause much unneeded commotion," the emperor explained. "John, I have arranged a room for you here in the UFC building. Go there and get some much needed rest. Tomorrow, we go to war."

The MC, still astonished, walked out of the giant room. As he exited through the door, he noticed another robed man.

"This way please," the cloaked man said. Master Chief followed him to a door that read "VIP guests". The door opened and an automated machine greeted him. It seemed to come from the walls but there were no speakers. Everything was so advanced. The MC had never seen anything like it. There were holographic televisions, pantries filled with what looked like an unlimited food supply and even self cleaning machines. The Master Chief was exhausted physically and mentally. The whole Human-Forerunner relationship was all too much to take in. Within minutes, he dozed off.

*          *          *

"Good morning John 117, I am General Duvall," the general spoke. "I can see that you are still tired but we are on a tight schedule. Our reconnaissance team has found out that the Covenant are headed towards Ezra. Their ETA is about six hours so we better hurry." Although the Spartan II was still tired and groggy, he was excited about another encounter with the Covenant. All the rage and frustration was bottling up inside the superhuman and he needed something to let it out on. The Covenant was his medium. "Follow me please."

Cortana, the MC and General Duvall walked into some sort of an armory. The walls were lined with odd looking weapons and there were boxes full of what looked like grenades and mines.

"Before we review the combat formations and tactics, I need to introduce you to the Forerunner arsenal. Unlike you humans, our soldiers carry weapons with solar ammunition. I'm sure that you are familiar with solar power back on Earth. However, these weapons don't use the energy for power, they collect the rays in the gun and when fired, the weapons concentrate the solar rays into one beam. The beam exits through the barrel and can basically pierce almost anything. This solar technology is a lot more powerful than the plasma ammunition that the Covenant use. Another advantage to these weapons is that they have basically unlimited ammunition. All one needs to do is place it where a star could shine on it," as Duvall explained about the advanced solar technology, the Master Chief began to examine each weapon. As he took a closer look, he realized that they were actually very similar to human guns. Each gun had a small solar panel at the back of the gun where one would cock a human pistol. There was no need to reload so instead, the ammunition canisters were replaced with solar containers. "Now that you know how these little babies work, I'll show you some of the types," Duvall joked. He grabbed a medium sized pistol from a table in the center of the room and fired at the floor. There was little noise but the hole that remained was gigantic. It was about ten centimeters in diameter but the barrel was barely three. "This is the M5 pistol. It packs a pretty powerful punch." He then took another gun off a rack. "Can't demonstrate this one for you. It'll shred the floor to pieces. In my hand is the S56 assault rifle. Very powerful, but watch the recoil." The General went on, introducing more rifles and pistols.

"What are those?" The Master Chief pointed at the boxes.

"Ahhh, I see you've noticed the grenades. The one in the green box are smoke grenades. They're perfect for escaping in a tight situation. The one in the white are your flash bangs: temporarily blinds and stuns the enemy. Last but not least, in the red box are the fragmental grenades. You can stick em or just throw em, works either way," the Forerunner explained. After the weapons orientation was over, Duvall led the Spartan II to the center of all Forerunner military operations, The Academy.

*          *          *

"Our sources have told us that the Covenant are advancing faster than normal. We have less than 3 hours before they reach our farthest moon, Jaix," Duvall lectured urgently. What used to be a gentle, calm tone now transformed into a panicked, urgent stutter. "OK, our forces will arrive on Jaix about half an hour late so I had to make some last minute adjustments. Now, once we land, the team will split up into three regiments. One of them will be led by you. Master Chief, you are in charge of the right flank. The others will go left while the last heads full force into the Covenant. If the timing is right, the two pincer groups will arrive first, flanking the enemy. Then, when those backstabbing scoundrels are preoccupied with them, the last force will enter into battle. Any questions?" The MC was familiar with this tactic. Although used many times, it never failed to work. There was an eerie long silence. "If not, let's get moving we're short on time."

*          *          *

On the transport toward Jaix, the Master Chief grew anxious. He was no longer scared. With the Forerunners on his side, he felt invulnerable.

"ETA is thirty minutes and counting," the loudspeaker rang.

Let's move chief, don't' have much time left. In the armory, the superhuman grabbed a M5 pistol and mounted a zoom onto it. He then picked up a shotgun and a few grenades, and then headed out the door with much confidence.

The minutes passed as the MC sat alone in a room waiting eagerly for some action, for vengeance, for Covenant blood. Finally it was time to saddle up. Adrenaline rushed through him as he bounded for the bay door. There was no stopping him now.

*          *          *

John was the first to walk out of the bay door, his armor gleaming in the sunlight. He immediately gathered his comrades and briefed them of the situation. Within seconds, they were off.

"You," the MC gestured, "take a vehicle and scout ahead!" The Forerunner quickly rode off without question. The rest of the regiment continued on, anticipating a fierce battle.

"Sir, There are about one hundred Covenant up ahead," the scout had come back.

"Only one hundred Covenant? There must be more."

"I checked, that's all there is." As he said this, a salvo of plasma screamed through the air.

"What the hell?" The Master Chief screamed. "Prepare for action boys!" The Covenant had surprised them. The pincer tactic had failed.

Swiftly pulling out his M5, the chief lead his regiment into the heart of the fighting. The Covenant force showed no signs of slowing as they too, charged into war. Master Chief could tell that most of the Covenant force was filled with Elites. That was strange since the forces were usually populated with Grunts. After a few moments in thought, the MC put it into the back of his mind. He was here to fight, not do a census. The Forerunners took out the first line of Covenants immediately with their high-tech solar arsenal. The Covenant answered right back by launching another salvo of plasma. Soon, the air was filled with the stench of Covenant and Forerunner blood. However, the Master Chief did not care. All the rage that had built up during his stay on Halo was finally able to come out. He dispatched the first Covenant he saw and continued on, not caring what he had massacred, just as long as he killed something. As the battle drew on, Hunters and Covenant vehicles began to appear. Some hunters spotted the MC and started to charge up their weapons. Knowing that they were incredibly slow, the Spartan II leapt into the air and landed right behind the foursome of Hunters. With little time to spare, his hands grabbed the shotgun and started firing. The cumbersome creatures didn't even have time to turn around as the enraged superhuman fired solar beams into the unshielded sections of the Hunters. All four fell onto the barren dirt with dull clangs. With no more immediate threats, he ran on, trying to find another Covenant to neutralize. The chief didn't' need to run far to encounter more aliens. This time, it was five elites, all Spec-ops. They quickly surrounded him but did not make a move. It seemed as if they were chuckling at the green human. All of a sudden, without warning, they rushed. Seeing that there was no way out, the MC threw a grenade onto the floor. In the few seconds before the explosive detonated, he whipped out his pistol, fired a few shots and jammed the butt into an Elite's head. The dead elite created a hole in the circle. The grenade exploded with a large blast and the Spec-ops were done for. Once again, the superhuman had escaped a touch with death.

The fierce battle raged on as tens, of hundreds of Forerunners and Covenant were being slaughtered by the minute.

Wow, the Covenant have gotten stronger. According to my previous calculations, the Forerunner technology should have eradicated those aliens in no time. There was some worry in Cortana's voice, as if the Forerunners were going to lose this battle. With a great deal of battle experience, MC knew that kind of attitude would not get anywhere. The mind had to be focused on victory. If one had the slightest doubt in their minds, it would just grow and soon consume the soldier's thoughts. He continued on, thinking only of winning and serving out vengeance. In the distance, the Master Chief saw a Commander Elite.

Just the kind I like, He thought. Shots of solar beams emitted from his pistol as he charged towards the golden creature. Surprisingly, the alien had blocked all of the MC's shots!

Holy Crap! Did you see that Chief? They have definitely gotten more advanced. Knowing that guns were useless in this battle, he threw down the useless solar pistol and found another powered down plasma sword. The plasma blade jolted to life with a low humming noise. MC and the Elite stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Suddenly, the Elite jump upwards, trying to slash at the Spartan. However, the superhuman backed up a few feet to dodge the oncoming slashes. Immediately after the Elite landed on the ground, MC retaliated with a strong cut from above. Amazingly, the Commander's quick reflexes blocked the other sword. The two were in a deadlock, each trying to push their sword toward their enemies. All this time, the war intensified. Forerunner soldiers were soon getting an upper hand. Although the battle was coming to an end, the fight for strength between the two didn't seem it was going to end any time soon. In a last attempt to overpower the elite, the MC exerted all his strength and pushed the other sword down. The Elite was temporarily stunned so the chief seized the opportunity and thrust his blade directly into the Commander. It instantly fell to the floor, lifeless.

Almost instantly after the alien fell, MC's radio rang.

"Mast Chief, where the hell were you?" a voice asked. This was clearly General Duvall. "Anyway it doesn't matter now. The Covenant were taken by surprise and our two forces were able to disengage them."

"Sir, our regiment was attacked by some Covenant. Apparently, they tried to surprise us."

"Do you guys have everything covered, or do I need to send in some reinforcements?"

"Nah, we can take care of it," the radio shut off and the MC continued on.

Whoosh! Master Chief had ducked just in time as a Ghost flew over his head. He slowly stood up just when the Ghost was making another run at him. This time however, the Spartan II jump up, landed on the ghost and punched the amazed Elite off.

All around him, the chief could see Forerunners winning the fight. So those Covenants didn't stand a chance after all. The battle had been won.