'Hey Marcus' called a tall weather beaten man holding a slab of beer under his arm 'come join us' 'can't' replied a tall man with a scar across his left cheek sitting at a small desk 'sure ya can' called the man walking over 'all you do when we get back from missions is file reports and sleep it's like your back in the Corps' 'you know what your right it is like I'm back at the corps' said Marcus getting up, Marcus was a very strange looking man his had tattoos on his arms and scars on his face his eyes could only be called steel grey if not colourless, they showed no emotion to those who first saw them but to the people who got close to Marcus could see that they had a warmth to them not a good warmth that you would find in a father looking at his children playing but a warmth that hid what ever nasty thought passing by in his brain. Marcus settled himself down amongst a ring in a large mess hall; Marcus noticed that most of the men and women's eyes were on him. 'What' said Marcus looking up at the man who invited him 'we were wondering if you could tell us your story' said the man 'this is what you drag me away from my paper work for me telling you a story' chuckled Marcus opening his can of beer 'Ah good Australian beer, straight off a supply ship' whispered Marcus to himself 'please boss' said a Hispanic man with puppy dog eyes 'fine' said Marcus 'My story begins on a small farming planet far out on the reaches of UNSC space…
My mother was a hardy woman who never took anything for granted, she never trusted anyone and always carried a pistol by her hip she taught me how to kill a man when I was six, she also taught me how to count, read, do maths. That's probably why the UNSC came to our planet one day, a man and a woman both looked out of place in civilian clothes and that's what drew my mother to them, she told them to get inside as soon as possible, she hated the UNSC but she wasn't about to see two innocent people get killed for nothing "are you doing here" she barked pulling out her gun on the man "Whoa look lady we're here to find a kid" said the man slowly pulling his own gun out of it's holster but he didn't notice me until I had a gun pressed to his butt "shoot my mum and I'll kill you" "hello are you Marcus" said the lady turning around to face me "shut up lady" yelled my mum moving towards the woman "your not turning my son into one of those freaks" "one of those freaks?" asked the man slightly confused "how did you know about the Spartans" asked the woman turning back to my mum shocked "I know a lot about the UNSC" screamed my mum stepping closer to the woman until her nose was touching the woman's forehead. "Uh mum we have a problem" I said looking out of the window "Oh shit they've found your ship" said mum running to the window and looking out of it "who has" said the man joining us at the window "rebels" spat the man looking back at the woman "Dr Hasley we must leave now" "no I won't leave until we have Marcus with us" said the woman firmly "what" snapped my mum looking back at the woman her eyes burning with hate "do you want your son to have the best future he can" asked the man looking my mum in the eye "yes" replied my mum "but not with the UNSC" "if your son doesn't join the UNSC he'll be a farmer then a rebel soldier with no training, he'll die the first time the goes against the UNSC, he'll be forgotten forever and never will be able to amount to nothing much" said the man walking around the room we were in "if your son joins up with these Spartans he'll be known as a Spartan forever he'll be a warrior of earth, a guardian of humanity' said the woman standing beside me "fine" said my mum crying "Marcus come here". My mum got down on her knees and held me by my shoulders "Marcus your going to go with these people and I want you to remember that you're a rebel and if you ever believe the UNSC are trying to stop your beliefs I want you to come home okay" "okay mum" I said sniffling "and take these" my mum pressed two pistols into my hands on the sides were engravings of a sword with two wings coming out of it's hilt "these are the pistols of the Valkari" said my mum through her tears "okay" I said. My last memory of that day was watching my mum disappear as the ship I was on shot out of the atmosphere.
Marcus stood up from the group that had grown in size as he told the first part of his tale 'that's enough for now' said Marcus as the crowd groaned 'aww come on boss tell us some more' said the Hispanic man standing up 'yeah come tell us some more' called the crowd 'not now tomorrows a bust day we need to get ready' said Marcus 'now go to bed'. Marcus finally stepped into his room and locked the door to stop anyone getting inside, sighing to himself Marcus sat down at his desk and continued to write on the piece of paper he was writing on before he left, 'three hundred against forty' said Marcus muttering to himself 'we have six scorpions their bound to have lots more we might have to do this differently then what was proposed' Marcus stood up and walked to a enormous mahogany wardrobe 'I might have to go myself' said Marcus opening the cabinet 'I might just have to go'.
'When was the last time the general came with us to a fight?' asked a tall black woman as the small rebel ship came into low orbit around 'two months' said the navigation officer 'how do you remember that stuff' said the fire control officer swing her seat around 'I dunno' said the nav officer shrugging 'shut up you two we need to focus' said the black woman watching the amount of traffic going in and out of the planet 'sure did pick a busy one he did' said one of the pilots watching a large transport ship leave the orbital MAC gun ring 'the general says this spots a good place to pick up some hogs and a new ship or two' said the black woman 'a ship' exclaimed the fire control officer 'he wants to steal a ship' 'no' said Marcus dressed in a long black leather coat stepping onto the bridge 'I want to exchange this one for a bigger one' 'what' yelled the bridge crew 'your joking' yelled the nav officer 'your crazy' yelled the fire control officer 'No I'm not joking and yes I am crazy' replied Marcus calmly 'your going to give up my ship' said the black woman 'not give it up because you'll be getting a UNSC battle cruiser instead' said Marcus leaning against a wall 'what ship' asked the black woman 'currently dock in the UNSC ship repair bay is the UNSC's pride and joy the Atlantis which took a heavy beating in a battle against four covenant frigates and still came out on top' said Marcus smiling slightly 'you want to take the largest ship in the fleet are you nuts' yelled the black woman 'my dear Keisha you think that I will be standing on this ship while our men and women die trying to take the ship' said Marcus removing his coat to reveal black Spartan battle armour underneath 'no I will be taking the ship with them and I will make sure that the MAC guns and defences of this planet are down long enough to give us time to escape before the covenant arrive' 'you are going to give the planet to the covenant' yelled the nav officer 'come on I know you hate the UNSC but giving up an entire planet to the covenant is a bit much don't you think' 'who ever said that' asked Marcus his eyebrows raised 'what I meant was that we would be shutting the guns down for a moment or two and then we would start them up again once we are clear' 'and how are we going to do that if we are going to be gone from here' asked Keisha looking positively outraged at the idea 'I'll stay behind' said Marcus pulling a pack of cigarettes out of a pocket in his coat 'and who will be in charge until you return' asked the fire control officer 'who do you think' said the nav officer 'Keisha of course'. Keisha looked at Marcus as he nodded his head 'no' she said shocked 'I can't lead' 'yes you can' said Marcus taking a puff from the ciggie in his mouth 'and you will' Marcus picked up his coat 'you'll be in charge of the best human ship and also one of the best military forces if I don't make it back' 'you make it sound like your going to die' said Keisha 'there's a lot of Spartans on that planet I not make it to the ship to help the soldiers' said Marcus softly 'come on general you're the best you've kill twelve Spartans by yourself something no other humans done before' said a pilot sitting up in his chair 'yes but what about the many that the covenant have killed over the years' asked Marcus 'what I've done is nothing compared to what they have done' 'sir with all due respect your ten times worse then the covenant when you want to be' said Keisha looking Marcus straight in the eye as the people in the room nodded in agreement 'sir remember that PPC569 thing' said the fire control officer 'you wasted that entire planet so that the covenant wouldn't get the people and the ruins they found their, now did the covenant ever think of destroying an entire planet to achieve victory no they didn't the bombed the cities to kill us humans, you instead killed everything from the plants and animals to the humans and covenant'. Marcus sighed 'fine lets just get us a new ship' 'you heard the general people get back to your posts' yelled Keisha turning back to the bridge crew 'captain tell all crews to get ready or we're leaving them behind on the ship' said Marcus walking off the bridge.
When Marcus stepped into the armoury fifty soldier were surrounding a priest as he said the finally rites 'you coming with us father' asked a young man to the priest 'no child I'm much to old to go on such a reckless mission' said the old man looking around at the young men and women 'but I will be ready for your return so that we may all have a good party afterwards' all of the soldiers cheered at hearing this and continued to get ready for the mission 'and what of you Marcus' asked the priest looking Marcus in the eye, the priest was a tiny man who only came up to the bottom Marcus's chest but he had an aura of a much taller man 'I'll be walking with giants father McGanhy' said Marcus placing a hand on the old man 'why with giants Marcus why not with angels' asked McGanhy looking around the room 'these young men and women cannot be angels if they have fallen from the light' replied Marcus 'ah but you have not answered my question' chuckled the old man turning back to Marcus 'they are not angels because their strength suggests them to be fifty feet tall' said Marcus fishing out another cigarette out of the packet 'I thought you quit' said McGanhy taking the cigarette and the packet away from him 'so did I' replied Marcus handing over his lighter as well 'no you keep the lighter' said McGanhy smiling 'you'll never know when you'll need it' Marcus laughed and sat down on one of the benches by the wall 'you better tell them' said McGanhy sitting down next to Marcus 'yeah' sighed Marcus standing up. 'People listen up' yelled Marcus 'I'll be joining you down there today' all the people in the armoury suddenly paid attention to what Marcus was saying 'I want all to know that the planet we are about to go to has a high number of Spartans on it and I'll be trying to draw them away from you' Marcus stopped to give people time to understand what he just said 'but if you do encounter a Spartan remember to call for back up and run never take a Spartan on by yourself, we all remember what happen to Frankie Delaigo don't we' said Marcus loudly as everyone nodded their heads vigorously 'but if there are about three of you use armour piercing bullets or explosive rounds and you should be fine unless of course there are two of the fucks then you run like crazy, so travel in groups of four, oh and remember to load the ship we're taking with everything you can Longswords, hogs, scorpions and pelicans make sure you get as much as you can before we leave' 'what about the MAC guns and orbital defences' asked a soldier from the back 'leave that to me people' said Marcus 'okay another thing Intel has told me that the covenant are planning to strike this planet in the next four hours so expect the ship to be fully loaded with weapons but because it's in the repair bay it won't have anybody on it' 'how are we going to get close to it' asked a small female soldier up near the front, Marcus smiled a toothy grin 'why do you think we've got such a beat up ship for people, I've booked the spot right next to the target so that no other ship can come in for repairs or pelicans can drop men in' everyone in the room smiled except for father McGanhy who asked 'Marcus how long have you been planning this' 'six months now why' said Marcus 'no reason' replied father McGanhy opening his bible 'well now's the time for orders people and hear they are' yelled Marcus 'Mercenary squad you guys will be taking the engineering and cryo rooms and hangars fifty four to sixty, shock troopers you guys are the biggest squad so you get hangars one to fifty three and the storage rooms, infantry you guys get the mess hall and armoury and finally the guerrillas will be protecting the bridge crew from harm and helping any other squad that needs it' 'who's going with you sir' asked a tall soldier in black fatigues 'nobody I'm on my own for this one people' replied Marcus 'but sir' objected a female soldier in black 'no buts people what I'm doing is not only dangerous but suicidal and if I tell you you'll most likely try to follow me so the answer is no' said Marcus 'you have your orders you best get ready to carry them out'.
Marcus stood on the bridge again as the tiny ship the rebels were on flew past the large buildings of the planet. 'Have you got the Longsword ready' Marcus asked Keisha 'yeah it's fully loaded I also told the guys who were loading it to put some nukes on board' replied Keisha watching the horizon for any sign of a UNSC pelican or police craft 'they think we're a trading ship that met some problems whilst in slipspace' said Marcus noticing Keisha's uneasiness 'that's not what worries me' said Keisha curtly 'what does worry you' asked Marcus watching a couple of police Longswords fly past slowly 'you made it sound easy' replied the fire control officer turning around 'yes she's right' said Keisha turning to Marcus 'don't worry I'll get the guns down' said Marcus smiling broadly 'this is not a joke Marcus' snapped Keisha frowning at Marcus 'Keisha remember when I saved your crew' said Marcus seriously 'yes' 'and you remember when I was joking to you over the radio but when I got to business I was serious' 'yes' laughed Keisha 'trust me on this one I've only ever failed something in my life once and I'm not about to let you, McGanhy or anybody fail because of me' said Marcus 'now would somebody kindly escort me to my ship' 'I will' said the fire control officer standing up quickly 'why thank you my dear'.
All of the rebels looked in wonder at the massive ship they were about to board 'holy shit would you look at that thing' comment someone looking out of the starboard windows 'that's blasphemy' said someone else smacking the offending person across the head 'Jesus Christ' shouted Father McGanhy causing everyone to look at him in amazement 'what can't I swear' he said shaking his head 'it's huge isn't it Father' said a young man in white fatigues 'huge isn't the words I'd use my son' replied Father McGanhy 'what words would you use' asked someone 'well I'd use bloody fucking enormous' said Father McGanhy causing everyone to look at him again 'everyone to their stations we hit the dirt in five' said Keisha over the speakers 'Father McGanhy your to join the bridge crew on the bridge immediately'. Keisha stood beside her ship as all of the soldiers raced towards the massive ship; the ship in question was at least a kilometre long and eight hundred metres tall, huge cannons formed a ring around the bridge Keisha could count sixteen small cannons and four large ones as well as two MAC guns, she also could count the individual missile pods, she got up to fifty before she was interrupted by a Sargent in black fatigues with a set of night vision goggles strapped to his head holding a large gun 'Ma'am we have made sure the path is clean it looks as if everyone who was here had to leave in a hurry most likely the General's doing' Keisha looked back up at the ship before replying 'very well Sargent lets go' Keisha followed after the Sargent as he set off in a brisk walk 'Have you seen the bridge captain' asked Keisha looking up at the ship 'yes ma'am I have' replied the Sargent glancing around 'and how does it look' the Sargent stopped and looked around again before replying in a low voice 'ma'am this ship was made in earth' 'what' exclaimed Father McGanhy from behind Keisha 'but that would mean that this ship has is a flag ship' said the nav officer slowly, the Sargent merely nodded 'shit Marcus what have you gotten us into' yelled Keisha kicking at a barrel lying on the floor 'well lets hope he gets hurt' said Father Mcganhy following after the Sargent who had continued to walk towards the ship.
Twenty minutes before the rebels had walked aboard the Atlantis, Marcus was making his way through the narrow corridors of the power plant the only resistance he found was a couple of sleeping guards who he left asleep. Marcus finally got to the control room to find it manned by four men, two of which had pistols by their hips, Marcus pulled his helmet on and tossed in a couple of gas grenades putting the men to sleep, stepping into the room Marcus did a little dance number for the security cameras before walking over to the controls Marcus tied the four men together with clip ties he fished from his coat. Marcus hacked into the computer link and slowly worked his way around all of the firewalls surrounding the Orbital defences power grid and the planetary defence stations power grid. Marcus notice the same red dot slowly approaching him from behind but pretended not to notice until the dot was right behind him 'step away from the control panel' said a voice obviously young and obviously trying to sound large and scary 'no I don't think I will' replied Marcus not bothering to turn around 'I said' began the person again this time stepping closer 'I know what you said and I also now that you've got a stun baton in your hand' said Marcus continuing to type away at the computer 'if you know that I have a stun baton then you'll also know that I can send two hundred volts of electricity into the back of you neck' replied the person his voice sounding a bit unnerved by the conduct of the intruder 'you could try' said Marcus turning in his seat to see the young man before him who was shocked to see a Spartan sitting in the chair before him 'but you probably would live long enough to make such an attempt now scurry off and bring back some reinforcements' Marcus turned back to the computer he was at and listened as the young man raced off yelling into his radio 'the fucking intruders a Spartan'.
Marcus didn't have to wait long for the sound of heavy boots hitting the concrete floor, this time Marcus watched them coming from the chair, there were about twenty marines with assault rifles and shotguns one of the marines was carrying a megaphone 'alright you listen up you freak' barked the marine with the megaphone 'we will open fire on you if you do not disarm yourself and walk slowly towards us' the marine look happy with himself at what he had said all of the other marines seemed to agree with him 'your not all that smart are you soldier' Marcus yelled back 'what did you say boy' yelled the marine 'I said your mother was a good fuck last night' yelled Marcus crossing his arms and sinking lower into the chair 'what the' yelled the marine 'you fucking listen you turd I'm a lieutenant and I out rank you' Marcus laughed before replying 'you a lieutenant come on your just some red neck marine who's fathers also his sister' the marine's face grew a brilliant shade of magenta 'listen to me you piece of shit I will kick your arse around that fucking room if you insult my papa again' 'who your sister' yelled Marcus his smile growing bigger and bigger 'I said me papa' 'your sister' yelled Marcus 'no my papa' yelled the marine, one of the marines stood up and whispered in his ear 'he says your sister is your dad' 'what well that's it' yelled the marine 'here hold this' shoving the megaphone into a marines hands, the lead marine pulled his pants up a bit and marched off down the corridor towards Marcus who was calmly sitting in the chair 'you are one dead mother fucker' spat the marine his face an impressive purple 'well actually you're the mother fucker considering your mother is your wife who is also your daughter' said Marcus slowly pulling a knife from his coat 'NEVER INSULT MY FAMILY' roared the marine swing at Marcus, the blow never even came close as Marcus threw his knife at the marine without lifting his arm into the mans head. All of the marines down the other end of the corridor mouths hanged open as they watched their leader fall to the ground the knife protruding from his head 'anyone else wants a knife to the head' yelled Marcus to the Marines who all shook their heads 'then fuck off' yelled Marcus making a shooing motion which the marine promptly did.
Five minutes later the marines returned in stronger number this time they had one Spartan with them, 'ah I see you've brought in an even bigger idiot to that of this man' said Marcus nodding to the dead marine 'soldier you will relinquish any weapons you have on yourself and deactivate your shields and remove you helmet' said the Spartan who was holding a battle rifle, Marcus thought for a second before replying 'hmm no I don't think I will' if the Spartan seemed a bit shocked at this response Marcus couldn't see it through his helmets visor 'soldier I am the squad leader of the Spartans you will obey my commands' 'no I won't' said Marcus stretching 'your not the squad leader of my series' all of the marines behind the Spartan looked to Marcus then to the Spartan then back again 'You will obey my commands or be court marshalled for disobeying a direct order' said the Spartan, Marcus could tell he was losing his cool 'why I'm not under your command and I think you should be taking orders from me' 'for me to take orders from you you'd have to be a higher rank or a series two Spartan' slowing his speech when he got to series two 'impossible there's only one series two left alive' he said 'really' said Marcus leaning forward and speaking in a dangerous voice 'and who would that be' 'the master chief' 'name and serial number stupid' yelled Marcus, all of the marine chuckled 'uh john one seventeen' murmured the Spartan slowly 'shit' spat Marcus standing up and placing the room 'fuck fuck fuck' Marcus muttered to himself 'is he on the planet' Marcus asked the Spartan 'I do not know sir' replied the Spartan 'hmm well I'll just have to take a risk won't I' muttered Marcus unclipping a tube from his belt and tossing the tube in the air with one hand 'what's that' asked a marine 'I'm glad you asked' said Marcus 'and this is it', Marcus twisted the ends of the tube and threw it at the Spartan and marines who all ducked as it hit the ground before them and started to play twinkle twinkle little star 'ha that's it' said a marine picking up the tube 'no' said Marcus as the tune ended and a blinding flash filled the corridor and a huge explosion ripped through the corridor 'that's it'. Marcus watched the smoke as the Spartan limped out of the smoke of debris, Marcus waited until the Spartan lifted his gun before speaking 'you do realise that the small bomb killed your shields and has injured your leg quite severely so attempting a fight would be most ill advised' 'you're a traitor' hissed the Spartan through his pain 'yes I am but at least I'm living a life unlike you' snapped Marcus pulling out his pistols 'now either you walk away or I kill you here' 'never' spat the Spartan lifting his gun higher 'suit yourself' said Marcus shooting the Spartan in the chest who hit the ground with a thud, Marcus walked over to the Spartan and stood over him 'now a normal pistol couldn't do that' he said 'but my pistols aren't your standard pistol' the Spartan tried to reach for his gun but Marcus kicked it away 'no gun for you' he said softly 'you'll just have to lay there'.
Marcus scavenged off the dead marines for anything he needed, he took a radio and hooked it up to his own suits communication systems, walking back to his chair Marcus listened to the chatter that was going on "has anyone heard from that squad we sent to get that Spartan" barked a gruff voice 'no' said Marcus opening his com channel "where are they" asked the voice 'their dead' said Marcus 'well not the Spartan but he will be soon' "who is this" said the voice slowly 'me oh nobody' "I asked you a question" Marcus laughed coldly 'everyone seems to think they can control me' "I'll handle this commander" interrupted a cool female voice 'really you will' said Marcus "yes I will Spartan" said the female 'ooh you know what I am' teased Marcus "yes I do and I have extensive knowledge of the entire Spartan series" 'well may I have two guess to who you are' asked Marcus "very well" replied the female 'your either Dr Hasley or an AI' said Marcus watching his motion tracker "so which is it" asked the female 'you're an AI' said Marcus pulling his pistols out "very good" 'and you can stop right there soldier' said Marcus shooting at the ground down corridor "how did you know" 'shut up' barked Marcus 'come on out' he called into the shadows of the destroyed corridors, out of the shadow step a large Spartan wearing beaten up armour riddled with bullet marks and plasma burns holding a battle rifle 'hello' said the Spartan slowly 'hello' said Marcus standing up 'let me guess you have the AI with you' 'that's right buddy' said the female voice from before 'I am Cortana and this is' 'no Cortana we already know each other' said the Spartan holding up his hand 'Marcus' he said nodding at Marcus 'John' replied Marcus nodding in reply 'you two know each other' said Cortana surprised 'of course we do' said John stepping closer 'yes we do' hissed Marcus shooting the ground at John's feet 'no closer' 'alright' said John sitting himself onto the ground 'I won't come any closer' Marcus sat back down in the chair and removed his helmet 'you look well' remarked John who did the same and removed his helmet 'so do you' said Marcus fixing John with a hard stare, an awkward silence filled the air before John finally spoke 'what have you been doing all this time' 'killing' said Marcus softly, john looked around at the Spartan and marines lying on the floor, john crawled over to the Spartan and checked his vitals 'he's dead' whispered John 'a shot in the chest can kill you know' said Marcus arching his fingers together 'what sort of weapon made that much of a hole in the new armour' said Cortana 'a Valkari pistol' said John looking back at Marcus 'but there are no Valkari alive any more' said Cortana 'are there' John stood up and walked to his helmet 'there's one' he sighed looking Marcus in the eye 'so what have you been doing for the past eight years Marcus' Marcus stretched and slide back into the chair 'I've been busy' replied Marcus rubbing his chin 'very very busy' 'really' chuckled John leaning against the wall and stretching his legs out 'busy doing what', Marcus chuckled 'fighting for some people' 'you've become a mercenary' stated john sounding disgusted 'no' said Marcus 'I've been with my mothers people john' john looked at him dubiously 'oh really' 'yes really' said Marcus sarcastically 'might I interject' asked Cortana from John's helmet 'no' snapped Marcus and John together 'well I'm going to any way' said Cortana huffily 'you claim to be Marcus or Spartan one thirteen' 'did I say that I claim to be me think not' said Marcus leaning back in his chair his elbow on the keyboard behind him 'well if you really are who you say you are then you'll know proper Spartan operating procedure' said Cortana waspishly 'does she have an off button' Marcus asked John moving his elbow on to the enter key 'I haven't found one yet' said John picking up his helmet 'so shall we begin' said Marcus sitting forward and picking up his own helmet 'do we really need to' asked John slowly putting his helmet on 'I think we do' replied Marcus putting his helmet on 'want to know what I think' said Cortana 'no' yelled John and Marcus jumping to their feet 'should be a good fight for you john' said Marcus straightening his coat 'and for you' replied John stretching his arms 'oh no I've had practice killing Spartans' said Marcus stretching his legs, john looked at the dead Spartan on the ground 'oh no not him he was to young' said Marcus following john's gaze 'I'm talking about the twelve of PPC569' Johns head snapped around, Marcus could tell he was shocked at this news 'you but ONI said the soldier who did it was ruthless and evil' Marcus took a dramatic bow 'oh yes that works' sighed john picking up his battle rifle 'why do you use that thing' asked Marcus pulling out a couple of stun grenades. 'It's much more efficient then the standard assault rifle' replied John patting the gun 'what's with the stun grenades' he asked 'oh I'm not actually going to kill you I'm just going to knock you out until the covenant arrive' said Marcus 'chief we have a problem' yelled Cortana 'what sort of a problem' asked John 'the Atlantis' said Cortana 'she's leaving the atmosphere' 'well she is a ship' said John confused until he looked at Marcus 'you son of a bitch' Marcus laughed long and hard slapping his knees 'I wish I could see you face' he laughed 'it would be brilliant' 'your stealing the flag ship of the navy' yelled John pointing at Marcus 'are you crazy it will get shot down' Marcus rolled his eyes and shook his head 'john where are we standing' he said examining his gloves 'in the power plant' said John slowly 'oh shit' said Cortana 'you shut down the orbital defences' Marcus shook his head again 'no I shut everything down from the power in the hangars to the MAC guns' 'but you said the covenant are coming' yelled John 'your just going to give them this planet' 'john if I was going to do that I would have gone on that ship now wouldn't have I' snapped Marcus 'so your staying behind to' said Cortana slowly as if trying to process a large amount of information quickly 'turn everything back online' finished john slumping against the wall, Marcus nodded as a light flashed from his suit 'ooh I have a call' said Marcus 'yes oh hi Keisha hang on I'll put you on the speaker' 'General we have a problem' said Keisha's voice over the speakers in Marcus's suit 'what sort of problem captain' replied Marcus 'the covenant sir' yelled Keisha over looking the large covenant cruisers that suddenly appeared 'their early' Marcus sighed 'leave captain' 'but sir' yelled Keisha as everyone on the bridge raced to their posts 'I gave you an order captain either you follow that order or I place someone else in command' barked Marcus angrily 'yes sir' said Keisha softly switching off the connection 'you heard the general people lets get out of here' she said softly as a slipspace hole appeared and the Atlantis disappeared away from the planet.
'Excuse me while I put the guns back online' said Marcus turning away from John and typing something on to the computer 'there' he said when he was done 'now are we going to fight or are you going to do your duty to the people of this planet' turning back to John pistols out and raised 'we're both going to get the covenant' said John his battle rifle raised 'well I happen to have two nukes in the Longsword parked outside do you want to make good use of them' said Marcus lowering his guns 'how did you get nukes' yelled Cortana 'I have powerful contacts' replied Marcus walking down the corridor past john 'shall we' he said gesturing to john to go first 'no you first' said John stabbing Marcus with the barrel of his gun 'oh no I insist' hissed Marcus pressing his pistols into john's neck 'how's about you both go first' said Cortana 'yes capital idea' said Marcus looping his arm in john's and marching off. 'Ooh look at that' said Marcus pointing up at the large covenant ship above them 'shall we go for that one' John looked up at the ship then to the beat up Longsword sitting on the landing pad 'why don't we wait for a pelican' he said uneasily 'what no' exclaimed Marcus marching off towards his Longsword 'they take to long and besides my Longswords been with me ever since I left Reach' John shook his head and followed Marcus 'oh dear' said Cortana 'what' said Marcus looking back 'look there just above the generator tower' she said 'oh shit' said John spotting the drop ships coming in slowly 'oh goodie their coming to do what I did' said Marcus unclipping some tube bombs 'here take some of these' and chucking three to John 'what are they' he asked turning them over 'EMP pipe bombs' said Marcus pulling out a shotgun from his coat 'they kill the shields then explode sending two small grenades out handy for killing anything with shields but watch out for the ones that play pop goes the weasel' john looked from Marcus to the bombs in his hand 'they play music' he said 'yeah' replied Marcus loading his shotgun 'I had to find a timer that worked well and would confuse the enemy' 'well you've succeeded in confusing the big guy' said Cortana 'oops here they are' said Marcus as a group of elites and grunts hit the ground followed by two hunters 'lets get to work shall we' said John taking aim at the squad that moved towards the two of them 'yes lets' replied Marcus tossing a pipe bomb at the group who stop to watch it land and play Baa Baa black sheep, one of the elite's laughed a picked up the bomb and turned to his buddies as the tuned ended and the bomb engulfed him and his squad in a shower of white light and shrapnel, the explosion left a small crater littered with dead bodies all that remain were a couple of grunts and the hunters who had stayed well back from the main group, Marcus stood there as john took aim at the grunts and fired upon them killing them, 'now for the hard bit' said Marcus running towards the hunters 'No Marcus don't' yelled John 'aww shit' John gave Marcus cover fire as one of the hunters lumbered forward massive shield raised ready to swat the charging Spartan 'bye bye' yelled Marcus ducking down under the shield and shooting the hunter in the gut, the massive creature stopped dead in it's tracks and began to fall forward, Marcus got out from underneath the creature just in time. 'You crazy son of a bitch' yelled John firing a short burst at the other hunter who charged off after Marcus who was promptly racing away 'cover me' he yelled as he ran past john who watched Marcus disappear into the Longsword, John only just remembered the hunter until it was right on him 'down in front' yelled Marcus from behind John duck in time as a large rocket collided with the hunters head knocking it back twenty feet the rocket bounced on the ground spluttering 'what the' said John staring at the rocket in shock 'it's a dud' yelled Marcus walking over to john with a rocket launcher and some ammo 'here your going to need this' he said handing john the rocket launcher and the ammo 'thanks' he said taking the weapon 'now where do you want me to drop you off at' said Marcus waling over to the doors of the power plant 'uh I dunno' said John stupidly 'how about the forward command post' said Cortana 'righto' said Marcus putting some explosives onto the doors and ceiling of the entrance 'what are you doing' asked John running over to Marcus 'sealing this place up can't let the alien freaks get inside can we' said Marcus stepping away from the doorway 'you might want to move' john stepped back beside Marcus as he pressed the button, the doorway crumbled on top of it's self sealing the corridor up 'that should give them a little challenge' said Marcus dusting off his coat 'why do you wear that thing' said John as they walked over to the Longsword 'have you ever tried to carry everything you'll ever need on that suit' asked Marcus 'yes' said John walking up the ramp 'then you'll know that you never have enough room for all the grenades or small guns' 'I see your point' remarked john 'that and I can walk around a city with my armour on underneath the coat.