Halo: The Nameless War
Chapter 9: Stand Proud
When the Omega Team were able to move again they looked around. Williams was the first to speak.
"The Monitor took us, it left the Beta Team to die, why?"
"Right now that doesn't matter," called Miller, "it may sound cold, but right now we have more pressing matters."
"We're in the clearing beneath the Truth and Reconciliation," said Jerkin, looking to the ground, "Covenant blood is here, but there's another type of blood. My guess is it's Flood type. And Marine blood is here too. Why would the Monitor send us here?"
"What can we do from here?" exclaimed Gainer bitterly, "it knew we would hold the Control Room unless it pulled us away. That's why it left Beta Team, they wouldn't have made it anyway!"
"But we can do things from here," replied Jerkin, "the Truth and Reconciliation will be under attack by Flood, but there'll be one hell of a fight between them and the Covenant. They'll have called everyone back to guard the place. We should be able to slip in and take a transport home. We fucked up that ship, we just have to take advantage of that now."
They moved quickly, Jerkin leading by trails of blood, occasionally giving an update like, "The Flood lost here," or "they had real trouble with a Hunter here." All the time they knew that the Master Chief was fighting for his life where they had just been warped from. Eventually they came across a battle between the Flood and the Covenant.
On the gravity elevator, groups of Covenant were stood in a wide circle blasting outwards at hundreds of oncoming Flood. Hunters stood at the back, blasting with their huge weapons, while Elites from all colours stood in front of them, even Gold Elites stood there, bearing Plasma Swords and looking evil. They swiped over the heads of the Grunts in front of them, which were blasting randomly and throwing grenades at their enemies. Jackals were at the front, their shields raised and hardly shooting. Whenever they did shoot they shot overcharged bolts that scattered the Flood's stolen body parts.
The team watched from a hilly cliff nearby. Luckily, the Covenant were doing very well. The Flood were being held back, but there were so many Flood that they were slowly advancing towards the elevator. A selection of Elites and Hunters were out on the cliff face, using Plasma Swords and blasting with their weapons, but they were also doing well. Jackals and Grunts defended them also. Omega Team waited, the Master Chief was likely to be thinking what they were and come here himself, so they waited for him.
The battle raged for a long time, Flood were massacred but the Covenant held strong, but suddenly, everything went wrong.
One of the infected Flood leapt over the ranks of grenadier grunts and Jackals and whipped itself at a Black Elite. The Elite fell forward, crushing two grunts and disabling a Jackal. The Flood broke through the small gap onto the lift. A hunter fell when the hand of a Flood closed around it's throat and the heads went to work transforming it. The end result, as the entire team watched carefully, was more putrid than anything they had ever seen. When they looked back at the battle they saw that the teams of Elites and Hunters from the cliff face were charging towards the lift, which the Flood were beginning to slowly clear with amazing precision. The Covenant were soon assimilated.
The Flood gathered themselves together on the elevator. The Covenant had failed to stop them, but had taken down more than half, including those that now joined the ranks. It took six trips to get the bulk of the Flood up, and, while only one load was left, Omega Team began their attack.
A string of grenades of both types, accompanied by two Rockets, one by Reid and one from Thyme which she was holding when warped, went flying at the Flood troops stood on the elevator. It cleared the bulk of them, scattering pieces of Marine and Covenant across the ground. Omega Team moved in, blasting with overcharged Plasma Pistols once before raising their Assault Rifles and shooting down at their enemies. The Flood with weapons had already gone up and these couldn't get up quick enough before they were torn apart by Assault Rifle Rounds. Most of the Flood there were only heads, but near the front were a few combats and a sickly looking bloated Flood that had come from a Hunter. One near the back stopped and cried out in a bone-chilling scream. The Flood there were finished off.
In the distance came an answering call, a shriek that tore the air. Then came the sound of hasty, mashed up feet. The Flood were coming. Omega Team raced for the elevator, and rose into the air as they looked down on hundreds of Flood descending into the clearing.
A blast came from behind them and they raced forwards, to one of the many crates they had hidden behind before. In the loading bay, the Flood had been met with great force. Battles raged across the bay, in the doors and out, but the Flood had pushed forwards so as there were many hiding places uncovered near the lift. Before long, more Flood had entered and joined the fray. In the far corner the hanger doors opened and two Blue Elites charged forwards, scrambling the Flood before them. Just to their left came three Grunts, two Orange and one red. They ran in, blasting their Plasma Pistols and anything they could get at.
They moved for the door nearest to them on Miller's orders. Miller and Gainer led them at a run. They made it through the door unnoticed, but walked into a Black Elite running to the battle there. Miller and Gainer blasted with their Shotguns, taking it down from about six shells. Back in the battle, a few Covenant turned towards them and began forwards. The team turned, Reid and the older Williams brother throwing down grenades. They caught three Grunts and one Elite, but the rest continued forward. Jerkin raised his Pistol to his eye and took three shots, taking down two Jackals and hitting the shield on an Elite. Miller and Gainer opened fire with their Assault Rifles, taking down the remaining grunts and Jackals, but the Elites opened fire. A rocket met them as they began, fired by Thyme.
"We need to save those Rockets!" yelled Jerkin back at her.
"Then you can take it," replied Thyme calmly, "because I will do anything to get rid of it.."
They began moving again, James Williams constantly stopping them to hack into panels. As they moved towards one of the engines they received a communication from Cortana.
"Omega Team, the Chief and I are nearing your position, but we are still near the control room of Halo. We advise you to look out for an enemy known as the Flood. They are slowly killing off the Covenant and all of the Marines from the Pillar of Autumn. In the meantime, we need you to get to the Truth and Reconciliation. It seems the Covenant has taken the captain from the Flood and keep him in their ship. We know you will not be able to break him out with battles all over the ship for him. He is the key to the extinction of the human race for both the Flood and the Covenant. We want you to take out the Engines, keep them grounded until the Chief and I can get there. Unfortunately, we have run into more problems, the ones that were battling the Flood with us have now turned on us. We advise you to shoot down anything that looks like a small solver Banshee. Cortana out."
"She honestly thinks we don't already know," said Gainer, reloading her Shotgun from shooting an Elite they had just ran into, "we shouldn't have much trouble, everything they have is concentrated on keeping the Flood contained in that docking bay. My guess is they're waiting for reinforcements before they get out of there. They can raise the Lift at any time from the control room can't they. They want a fight."
"No they don't," replied Jerkin, "but they won't abandon their kind, they're waiting for every alive Covenant they have. Well, the Elites and Hunters anyway. Then they'll raise the elevator and get a bit higher so the Flood are only those inside and they can contain those. But they have to wait for their Engines to be repaired. Serge, can I speak to you all?"
The team stopped.
"We shouldn't take out the Engines."
"What?" cried Miller, "that's our orders!"
"But how can we get away from Halo if this ship doesn't. The only way to stop the Flood is to leave them here and destroy Halo. The Chief will have realised that by now, he'll be aiming to do that, I think the Covenant are too. If we can hitch a ride from here, get to the Control Room and set a course for a nearby planet we should be able to contact the Chief as he escapes and hitch a ride back home."
"I won't hear of it, although I'm pretty sure we should head to the Control Room, that won't be protected that well either."
They moved towards the Control Room quickly, only stopping to let Covenant run by them towards the battle with the Flood. The corridors were all but deserted and Williams had easy access to the Electronic panels. The fastest route to the control room was through a docking bay so that way they went. Walking on the third floor however, they came across a Covenant assault team guarding the entrance to the control room.
Quickly, the team hid behind the crates of weapons and parts from banshees around the third floor. The assault team ran forwards and were hit by a frag from Gainer. The team pushed forwards, Jerkin punching a Grunt that came in front of him before hitting another with a barrage of Assault Rifle bullets. Miller blasted down an Elite with his Shotgun while Gainer needed two shots to take down hers. Liam Williams swiped at a Jackal, taking out it's legs before he clubbed it in the face. Thyme shot into several Grunts with her pistol, while Reid and her Needler claimed a Jackal near the back of the party. The team continued forwards, but as the door opened, a horde of Covenant came at them.
They ran backwards towards one of several Dropships that were docked. Diving into one the Covenant continued towards them. Now they were trapped.
A great cry out came from the Covenant army, before there came the unmistakable squelch of flesh crawling forwards. The Flood had moved forwards. Using the monitor, James Williams activated the camera and they watched a huge battle taking place. Neither side was making much headway. The team assembled near the doorway, occasionally throwing in a grenade or two if their enemies were getting a little too close for comfort.
"We don't have time for this," complained Jerkin.
"Omega Team, this is Cortana, the Chief has arrived."
Chapter 9: Stand Proud
When the Omega Team were able to move again they looked around. Williams was the first to speak.
"The Monitor took us, it left the Beta Team to die, why?"
"Right now that doesn't matter," called Miller, "it may sound cold, but right now we have more pressing matters."
"We're in the clearing beneath the Truth and Reconciliation," said Jerkin, looking to the ground, "Covenant blood is here, but there's another type of blood. My guess is it's Flood type. And Marine blood is here too. Why would the Monitor send us here?"
"What can we do from here?" exclaimed Gainer bitterly, "it knew we would hold the Control Room unless it pulled us away. That's why it left Beta Team, they wouldn't have made it anyway!"
"But we can do things from here," replied Jerkin, "the Truth and Reconciliation will be under attack by Flood, but there'll be one hell of a fight between them and the Covenant. They'll have called everyone back to guard the place. We should be able to slip in and take a transport home. We fucked up that ship, we just have to take advantage of that now."
They moved quickly, Jerkin leading by trails of blood, occasionally giving an update like, "The Flood lost here," or "they had real trouble with a Hunter here." All the time they knew that the Master Chief was fighting for his life where they had just been warped from. Eventually they came across a battle between the Flood and the Covenant.
On the gravity elevator, groups of Covenant were stood in a wide circle blasting outwards at hundreds of oncoming Flood. Hunters stood at the back, blasting with their huge weapons, while Elites from all colours stood in front of them, even Gold Elites stood there, bearing Plasma Swords and looking evil. They swiped over the heads of the Grunts in front of them, which were blasting randomly and throwing grenades at their enemies. Jackals were at the front, their shields raised and hardly shooting. Whenever they did shoot they shot overcharged bolts that scattered the Flood's stolen body parts.
The team watched from a hilly cliff nearby. Luckily, the Covenant were doing very well. The Flood were being held back, but there were so many Flood that they were slowly advancing towards the elevator. A selection of Elites and Hunters were out on the cliff face, using Plasma Swords and blasting with their weapons, but they were also doing well. Jackals and Grunts defended them also. Omega Team waited, the Master Chief was likely to be thinking what they were and come here himself, so they waited for him.
The battle raged for a long time, Flood were massacred but the Covenant held strong, but suddenly, everything went wrong.
One of the infected Flood leapt over the ranks of grenadier grunts and Jackals and whipped itself at a Black Elite. The Elite fell forward, crushing two grunts and disabling a Jackal. The Flood broke through the small gap onto the lift. A hunter fell when the hand of a Flood closed around it's throat and the heads went to work transforming it. The end result, as the entire team watched carefully, was more putrid than anything they had ever seen. When they looked back at the battle they saw that the teams of Elites and Hunters from the cliff face were charging towards the lift, which the Flood were beginning to slowly clear with amazing precision. The Covenant were soon assimilated.
The Flood gathered themselves together on the elevator. The Covenant had failed to stop them, but had taken down more than half, including those that now joined the ranks. It took six trips to get the bulk of the Flood up, and, while only one load was left, Omega Team began their attack.
A string of grenades of both types, accompanied by two Rockets, one by Reid and one from Thyme which she was holding when warped, went flying at the Flood troops stood on the elevator. It cleared the bulk of them, scattering pieces of Marine and Covenant across the ground. Omega Team moved in, blasting with overcharged Plasma Pistols once before raising their Assault Rifles and shooting down at their enemies. The Flood with weapons had already gone up and these couldn't get up quick enough before they were torn apart by Assault Rifle Rounds. Most of the Flood there were only heads, but near the front were a few combats and a sickly looking bloated Flood that had come from a Hunter. One near the back stopped and cried out in a bone-chilling scream. The Flood there were finished off.
In the distance came an answering call, a shriek that tore the air. Then came the sound of hasty, mashed up feet. The Flood were coming. Omega Team raced for the elevator, and rose into the air as they looked down on hundreds of Flood descending into the clearing.
A blast came from behind them and they raced forwards, to one of the many crates they had hidden behind before. In the loading bay, the Flood had been met with great force. Battles raged across the bay, in the doors and out, but the Flood had pushed forwards so as there were many hiding places uncovered near the lift. Before long, more Flood had entered and joined the fray. In the far corner the hanger doors opened and two Blue Elites charged forwards, scrambling the Flood before them. Just to their left came three Grunts, two Orange and one red. They ran in, blasting their Plasma Pistols and anything they could get at.
They moved for the door nearest to them on Miller's orders. Miller and Gainer led them at a run. They made it through the door unnoticed, but walked into a Black Elite running to the battle there. Miller and Gainer blasted with their Shotguns, taking it down from about six shells. Back in the battle, a few Covenant turned towards them and began forwards. The team turned, Reid and the older Williams brother throwing down grenades. They caught three Grunts and one Elite, but the rest continued forward. Jerkin raised his Pistol to his eye and took three shots, taking down two Jackals and hitting the shield on an Elite. Miller and Gainer opened fire with their Assault Rifles, taking down the remaining grunts and Jackals, but the Elites opened fire. A rocket met them as they began, fired by Thyme.
"We need to save those Rockets!" yelled Jerkin back at her.
"Then you can take it," replied Thyme calmly, "because I will do anything to get rid of it.."
They began moving again, James Williams constantly stopping them to hack into panels. As they moved towards one of the engines they received a communication from Cortana.
"Omega Team, the Chief and I are nearing your position, but we are still near the control room of Halo. We advise you to look out for an enemy known as the Flood. They are slowly killing off the Covenant and all of the Marines from the Pillar of Autumn. In the meantime, we need you to get to the Truth and Reconciliation. It seems the Covenant has taken the captain from the Flood and keep him in their ship. We know you will not be able to break him out with battles all over the ship for him. He is the key to the extinction of the human race for both the Flood and the Covenant. We want you to take out the Engines, keep them grounded until the Chief and I can get there. Unfortunately, we have run into more problems, the ones that were battling the Flood with us have now turned on us. We advise you to shoot down anything that looks like a small solver Banshee. Cortana out."
"She honestly thinks we don't already know," said Gainer, reloading her Shotgun from shooting an Elite they had just ran into, "we shouldn't have much trouble, everything they have is concentrated on keeping the Flood contained in that docking bay. My guess is they're waiting for reinforcements before they get out of there. They can raise the Lift at any time from the control room can't they. They want a fight."
"No they don't," replied Jerkin, "but they won't abandon their kind, they're waiting for every alive Covenant they have. Well, the Elites and Hunters anyway. Then they'll raise the elevator and get a bit higher so the Flood are only those inside and they can contain those. But they have to wait for their Engines to be repaired. Serge, can I speak to you all?"
The team stopped.
"We shouldn't take out the Engines."
"What?" cried Miller, "that's our orders!"
"But how can we get away from Halo if this ship doesn't. The only way to stop the Flood is to leave them here and destroy Halo. The Chief will have realised that by now, he'll be aiming to do that, I think the Covenant are too. If we can hitch a ride from here, get to the Control Room and set a course for a nearby planet we should be able to contact the Chief as he escapes and hitch a ride back home."
"I won't hear of it, although I'm pretty sure we should head to the Control Room, that won't be protected that well either."
They moved towards the Control Room quickly, only stopping to let Covenant run by them towards the battle with the Flood. The corridors were all but deserted and Williams had easy access to the Electronic panels. The fastest route to the control room was through a docking bay so that way they went. Walking on the third floor however, they came across a Covenant assault team guarding the entrance to the control room.
Quickly, the team hid behind the crates of weapons and parts from banshees around the third floor. The assault team ran forwards and were hit by a frag from Gainer. The team pushed forwards, Jerkin punching a Grunt that came in front of him before hitting another with a barrage of Assault Rifle bullets. Miller blasted down an Elite with his Shotgun while Gainer needed two shots to take down hers. Liam Williams swiped at a Jackal, taking out it's legs before he clubbed it in the face. Thyme shot into several Grunts with her pistol, while Reid and her Needler claimed a Jackal near the back of the party. The team continued forwards, but as the door opened, a horde of Covenant came at them.
They ran backwards towards one of several Dropships that were docked. Diving into one the Covenant continued towards them. Now they were trapped.
A great cry out came from the Covenant army, before there came the unmistakable squelch of flesh crawling forwards. The Flood had moved forwards. Using the monitor, James Williams activated the camera and they watched a huge battle taking place. Neither side was making much headway. The team assembled near the doorway, occasionally throwing in a grenade or two if their enemies were getting a little too close for comfort.
"We don't have time for this," complained Jerkin.
"Omega Team, this is Cortana, the Chief has arrived."