Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story.
A/N: Sorry for the delay, folks. I had alot of crap goin on lately and I just couldn't find the time to update. Now I have!
Best of the Best
Chapter 14: The Flood
"Cortana, can you take this thing to the Covenant home world or not?" The Master Chief asked, impatiently.
"I'm working on the co-ordinates as we speak, Chief. Take it easy." she responded.
The rest of Team Omega were keeping themselves busy during the wait. The team had been informed about eh Covenant, but now with the sentinels, and this new race, the Flood, they began to worry.
"While Cortana is working on that, I think i had better tell you about the Flood." The chief told him team. "The Flood was a parasitic life form that we ran into on Halo. When they were released, they ran amock both Humans and Covenant, devouring them both. Oncec eaten, the bodies become an attack unit for the Flood, after which the body eventually turns into a carrier, which harvets the Spores, tiny spider-like creatures used to attack and impant themselves into other living things. By all means nececssary, do not let them get on you."
"Spiders!" Marle shreeked, "I hate spiders!"
"You'll hate these little bastards ten times worse," Sergant Johnson began, "they're the most vile creatures in the universe, next to the Covenant, that is."
"The Flood are extreamly powerful. Though they are blind, they have exceellent senses of touch, hearing, smelling and taste. They can jump extreamly high and very long distances. They can use any weapon they get their filthy appendages on. If they do not have a weapon, they will strike at you mercillously. Sniper Rifles are innefectiv against the flood, the bullets pass right through their bodies. Don't attempt to hit them either, they are severely resistable to direct physical damage. A few well-placed pistol shots or rounds of a shotgun will do them in. Assault rifles and plasma weapons are not the best choice against the Flood, but if there isn't anything else to use, they will do." The chief said.
"Chief, I got the co-ords to something here...but I don't think its the Covenant home world."
"What is it then, Cortana?" he asked. Cortana opend up a holographic figure. The chief stared in disbelief. The huge ring-like object hovered a few centimeters of the holograph displayer.
"What is it?" Samus asked.
"It's...Halo..." Johnson said in disbelief.
"Is it possible that that little robot thingy made another one?" Raynor asked.
"No..." the chief said, "it must have already existed. It would take eons to build something like that. That's probably what the Monitor intends to use on the Covenant..."
"So, the little tin can wasn't bluffing?" 47 asked.
"I guess not..." Cortana said, still trying to imput this new information.
"Cortana, get us there, now." The chief said. The craft suddenly hurled into outer space. The ship used its SlipSpace ability to make the time seem to go exreamly fast on the way there. The team was getting prepared for anything. Covenant, Flood, Sentinels, anything. One thing they didn't expeect, however, was a Covenant ship heading towards them in SlipSpace.
"Cortana! Use evasive manuevers!" The chief yelled.
"Chief, what if there's Flood on that ship? It could be headed to earth!" Sgt. Johnson said. The chief thought about it.
"Cortana, forget that last order. Make contact with the ship so we can board it. We need to clear it out."
The Invader soon made contact with the Covenant ship. There were transmissions coming into the control room from the ship...they seemed to be distress calls. There was definately something on the ship that didn't belong. Soon after the two ships connected, the Chief was well aware of the problem. Sgt. Johnson was right, it was the Flood. He could tell by the torn apart bodies of grunts and some jackals lyring around the main chamber on the enemy ship. One by one, Team Omega jumped down into the ship from the one above. A disgusting stench filled the air, a familiar one to the chief. Light blue and purple blood stained the hallways of the Covenant ship. The team stood close together, all of which had their fingers on their triggers, except for Crono, who gripped tightly onto his sword. The team amde it to the extraction room where they found their first opposition. There was a band of Flood on the bottom floor shooting at a grroup of Covenant on the level above.
"Remember what I told you about these Flood! Let's get to work!" The chief shouted.
The team opened fire on the aliens. Some Flood kept their attention on the floor above. The rest turned and charged at team Omega. Scattered groups of spores crawled quickly toward the team. Some Flood warriors stood back and fired while others charged. There was also a group of Carriers slowly making their way toward them. Kang shot off his assault rifle, clearing away the spores. But three fighter forms made their way up to the team. One of them struck Jack, knocking him at least ten feet back into the wall behind him. The second attacked 47, knocking him into a Covenant communicator more than twelve feet away. The third one smacked Marle and sent her hard into the door where they had entered. Crono witnessed this. He grasped tightly onto his sword and yelled out as he sliced off the former Elite's head. The head hit the floor with a squishy noise, but something wasn't right. The body was still standing. It raised an arm and stuck Crono across the face, sending him the the floor. Lucca shot off her gizmo gun into the creature, causing it to hit the floor and stay down.
"The Flood do not need the head to live! You have to be careful!" The chief said, helping Crono up.
Jack blew a round of shotgun shells into the Flood that had hit him, knocking it down. The first Flood was knocked back as Samus fired a missle at it. The chief looked surprised.
"You have other weapons?" he asked her.
"Yes I do, quite a few in fact. Check this out." she said, pressing a button on her arm cannon. She aimed toward the Flood who were shooting at them. A purple engery beam shot out at them, killing one of them. "That was the Wave Beam. And this..." she started, firing another shot, this time a large chunk of ice flew out of the cannon, nailing one of the Flood, causing it to freeze solid. It hit the floor and crashed into pieces. "...is the Ice Beam."
"Wow," Max commented, "thats pretty good." A plasma bolt flew by his head. There were still a band of Flood shooting at them, and Covenant on the landing above them. 47 knelt down and concentrated his sniper rounds on the Jackals and Elites. He could see that there were about five elites, three spec ops and two majors. Max dove ahead and fired off his two pistols into the Flood. Another combat form fell to the ground. Two carriers slowly made their way to Team Omega. Tommy unpinned a grenade and threw it.
"No...don't!" The chief yelled. But it was two late. The grenade set off behind the two carriers, sent them flying into the air. They landed behind Team Omega, then burst. Spores flew out of the large sac and crawled toward Team Omega, all the while the other combat forms were still shooting at them. The chief turned quickly and fired his assault rifle at the spores, managing to kill them before they reached the team. "Do NOT use explosives on carrier forms! They have no affect."
One armor-piercing bullet after another, 47 finished off the last of the Covenant on the landing above while Nick and Jack cleaned up the remaining infection forms.
"We have to destroy this ship..and continue on to Halo" The chief said. "Cortana, could you set off the self-destruction of this ship and we can back to the Invader."
"Sure thing chief, find me an import." She said. He ran to the wall and searching for an imput. When he found one, he inserted her chip for about ten seconds, then put her back into his helmet. "We've got an hour before this thing goes off. I suggest we move to the armory, grab what we can, and get the hell out of here."
After salvaging everything useful (Covenant weapons, plasma grenades and such), the team reboarded the Invader and continued their way to Halo. As they began to travel oncee again, Samus removed her helmet. She looked out of one of the many windows on the Invader back onto the ship they were just on. It was quite a ways away already. Suddenly, there was a bright flash, causing Samus to turn away and close her eyes for a second. When she looked back, there was just reminents of the ship, it almost completely disintegrated. When she turned around, the chief was standing there looking out the same window. He startled her.
"Chief...I didn't see you there." She said.
"The last time I saw something like that happen, it was to one of our own ships..." he said.
"I'm...I'm sorry..." she said, sympathetically.
"Millions of men died for no good reason. This time, I'm going to make sure none of those bastards ever get out of this war. The human race will prevail. I'm not going to let the Covenant, the Flood or the Monitor stop us from winning this war. I can't. This is my purpose to live, to win."
Samus put a hand on his shoulder, and smiled. She knew it was going to be a long time before she had the chance to smile again.
A/N: Sorry for the delay, folks. I had alot of crap goin on lately and I just couldn't find the time to update. Now I have!
Best of the Best
Chapter 14: The Flood
"Cortana, can you take this thing to the Covenant home world or not?" The Master Chief asked, impatiently.
"I'm working on the co-ordinates as we speak, Chief. Take it easy." she responded.
The rest of Team Omega were keeping themselves busy during the wait. The team had been informed about eh Covenant, but now with the sentinels, and this new race, the Flood, they began to worry.
"While Cortana is working on that, I think i had better tell you about the Flood." The chief told him team. "The Flood was a parasitic life form that we ran into on Halo. When they were released, they ran amock both Humans and Covenant, devouring them both. Oncec eaten, the bodies become an attack unit for the Flood, after which the body eventually turns into a carrier, which harvets the Spores, tiny spider-like creatures used to attack and impant themselves into other living things. By all means nececssary, do not let them get on you."
"Spiders!" Marle shreeked, "I hate spiders!"
"You'll hate these little bastards ten times worse," Sergant Johnson began, "they're the most vile creatures in the universe, next to the Covenant, that is."
"The Flood are extreamly powerful. Though they are blind, they have exceellent senses of touch, hearing, smelling and taste. They can jump extreamly high and very long distances. They can use any weapon they get their filthy appendages on. If they do not have a weapon, they will strike at you mercillously. Sniper Rifles are innefectiv against the flood, the bullets pass right through their bodies. Don't attempt to hit them either, they are severely resistable to direct physical damage. A few well-placed pistol shots or rounds of a shotgun will do them in. Assault rifles and plasma weapons are not the best choice against the Flood, but if there isn't anything else to use, they will do." The chief said.
"Chief, I got the co-ords to something here...but I don't think its the Covenant home world."
"What is it then, Cortana?" he asked. Cortana opend up a holographic figure. The chief stared in disbelief. The huge ring-like object hovered a few centimeters of the holograph displayer.
"What is it?" Samus asked.
"It's...Halo..." Johnson said in disbelief.
"Is it possible that that little robot thingy made another one?" Raynor asked.
"No..." the chief said, "it must have already existed. It would take eons to build something like that. That's probably what the Monitor intends to use on the Covenant..."
"So, the little tin can wasn't bluffing?" 47 asked.
"I guess not..." Cortana said, still trying to imput this new information.
"Cortana, get us there, now." The chief said. The craft suddenly hurled into outer space. The ship used its SlipSpace ability to make the time seem to go exreamly fast on the way there. The team was getting prepared for anything. Covenant, Flood, Sentinels, anything. One thing they didn't expeect, however, was a Covenant ship heading towards them in SlipSpace.
"Cortana! Use evasive manuevers!" The chief yelled.
"Chief, what if there's Flood on that ship? It could be headed to earth!" Sgt. Johnson said. The chief thought about it.
"Cortana, forget that last order. Make contact with the ship so we can board it. We need to clear it out."
The Invader soon made contact with the Covenant ship. There were transmissions coming into the control room from the ship...they seemed to be distress calls. There was definately something on the ship that didn't belong. Soon after the two ships connected, the Chief was well aware of the problem. Sgt. Johnson was right, it was the Flood. He could tell by the torn apart bodies of grunts and some jackals lyring around the main chamber on the enemy ship. One by one, Team Omega jumped down into the ship from the one above. A disgusting stench filled the air, a familiar one to the chief. Light blue and purple blood stained the hallways of the Covenant ship. The team stood close together, all of which had their fingers on their triggers, except for Crono, who gripped tightly onto his sword. The team amde it to the extraction room where they found their first opposition. There was a band of Flood on the bottom floor shooting at a grroup of Covenant on the level above.
"Remember what I told you about these Flood! Let's get to work!" The chief shouted.
The team opened fire on the aliens. Some Flood kept their attention on the floor above. The rest turned and charged at team Omega. Scattered groups of spores crawled quickly toward the team. Some Flood warriors stood back and fired while others charged. There was also a group of Carriers slowly making their way toward them. Kang shot off his assault rifle, clearing away the spores. But three fighter forms made their way up to the team. One of them struck Jack, knocking him at least ten feet back into the wall behind him. The second attacked 47, knocking him into a Covenant communicator more than twelve feet away. The third one smacked Marle and sent her hard into the door where they had entered. Crono witnessed this. He grasped tightly onto his sword and yelled out as he sliced off the former Elite's head. The head hit the floor with a squishy noise, but something wasn't right. The body was still standing. It raised an arm and stuck Crono across the face, sending him the the floor. Lucca shot off her gizmo gun into the creature, causing it to hit the floor and stay down.
"The Flood do not need the head to live! You have to be careful!" The chief said, helping Crono up.
Jack blew a round of shotgun shells into the Flood that had hit him, knocking it down. The first Flood was knocked back as Samus fired a missle at it. The chief looked surprised.
"You have other weapons?" he asked her.
"Yes I do, quite a few in fact. Check this out." she said, pressing a button on her arm cannon. She aimed toward the Flood who were shooting at them. A purple engery beam shot out at them, killing one of them. "That was the Wave Beam. And this..." she started, firing another shot, this time a large chunk of ice flew out of the cannon, nailing one of the Flood, causing it to freeze solid. It hit the floor and crashed into pieces. "...is the Ice Beam."
"Wow," Max commented, "thats pretty good." A plasma bolt flew by his head. There were still a band of Flood shooting at them, and Covenant on the landing above them. 47 knelt down and concentrated his sniper rounds on the Jackals and Elites. He could see that there were about five elites, three spec ops and two majors. Max dove ahead and fired off his two pistols into the Flood. Another combat form fell to the ground. Two carriers slowly made their way to Team Omega. Tommy unpinned a grenade and threw it.
"No...don't!" The chief yelled. But it was two late. The grenade set off behind the two carriers, sent them flying into the air. They landed behind Team Omega, then burst. Spores flew out of the large sac and crawled toward Team Omega, all the while the other combat forms were still shooting at them. The chief turned quickly and fired his assault rifle at the spores, managing to kill them before they reached the team. "Do NOT use explosives on carrier forms! They have no affect."
One armor-piercing bullet after another, 47 finished off the last of the Covenant on the landing above while Nick and Jack cleaned up the remaining infection forms.
"We have to destroy this ship..and continue on to Halo" The chief said. "Cortana, could you set off the self-destruction of this ship and we can back to the Invader."
"Sure thing chief, find me an import." She said. He ran to the wall and searching for an imput. When he found one, he inserted her chip for about ten seconds, then put her back into his helmet. "We've got an hour before this thing goes off. I suggest we move to the armory, grab what we can, and get the hell out of here."
After salvaging everything useful (Covenant weapons, plasma grenades and such), the team reboarded the Invader and continued their way to Halo. As they began to travel oncee again, Samus removed her helmet. She looked out of one of the many windows on the Invader back onto the ship they were just on. It was quite a ways away already. Suddenly, there was a bright flash, causing Samus to turn away and close her eyes for a second. When she looked back, there was just reminents of the ship, it almost completely disintegrated. When she turned around, the chief was standing there looking out the same window. He startled her.
"Chief...I didn't see you there." She said.
"The last time I saw something like that happen, it was to one of our own ships..." he said.
"I'm...I'm sorry..." she said, sympathetically.
"Millions of men died for no good reason. This time, I'm going to make sure none of those bastards ever get out of this war. The human race will prevail. I'm not going to let the Covenant, the Flood or the Monitor stop us from winning this war. I can't. This is my purpose to live, to win."
Samus put a hand on his shoulder, and smiled. She knew it was going to be a long time before she had the chance to smile again.