The Private holding great knowledge of Covenant technology had done some excellent work. Generators were offline, the engines had died and been drained, the shielding system taken offline, and the main guns disabled. After a short study, he had even locked the weapon distribution systems in the armory. By now, the Elites must be going crazy, the Major thought to himself. He paced around the bridge as the Marine worked through the Covenant databases.
"Sir," he said suddenly, breaking the uneasy silence. Daren stopped and turned on his heel. "I've found a databank full of information on the Human forces as of… a week ago!"
"What?" The Major jogged over to the display.
"I'm going to attempt to translate it to English so that we can read it easily." He depressed a few of the glowing, holographic buttons on the control panel, and the English text began writing itself across the screen.
The Human race has been battling our Covenant for years, and until today we had not been able to find the jump coordinates of the filthy race's planet. The Prophet of Regret has just discovered the coordinates of their home world, this planet 'Earth,' and is currently making his way there with a small invasion force. It is our belief that he jumps into Slipspace blindly; there are no records of how many Humans could be awaiting the Prophet when he finally arrives at the coordinates listed. After we purge a Human-bound planet, Genalsus VI, we intend to jump through Slipspace and aid the Prophet of Regret in his hasty, yet remarkable, attack upon Earth. We shall forever be held by our Covenant; let us make our Prophets proud in our ability to exterminate the Human threat! We shall reactivate Halo!
"That's all I can get that's useful, Sir. The rest is just weapons schematics and information about an AI construct dubbed 'Cortana.'"
"Can you tell me if information has been transmitted to another ship?"
"Yes, the system log is right… here."
"Tell me if the information on the construct has been transmitted." Daren leaned over the chair and memorized the translated words on the display before they disappeared.
"Uh… Shit. There's a Covenant construct on the system. It's dormant, but if I access the part of the log that contains information on the UNSC construct, it'll activate and we'll lose control over all of the system."
"Damn it," stated the Major loudly, slamming his fist on the control panel. It beeped and flashed several times, then returned to normal. "We need Thor. Activate a private comm channel with the station. Tell them to start storming the cruiser, and to try to avoid collateral damage. If we're lucky, we can use this cruiser to activate a Slipspace opening and travel to Earth for help."
"Yes, Sir." He depressed a few more buttons and began to relay the message. Daren turned around and motioned to Private Chase.
"You, me, hangers."
Chase saluted smartly. "Yes, Sir!" Daren picked up his shotgun and headed toward the doorway; the Marine at the console opened it briefly for Daren and Chase, and then locked it, creating a comm link with both men.
"We've got to do this carefully. I don't care if I kill Covenant, but if something poses zero threat to us, we ignore it, understood?" Chase nodded. "We're making a beeline for the hangers and such so that when the Pelicans get here from the station they'll have a clean way to the bridge and we can guide them as necessary."
They made their way down the hallway, silent save for the slight metal pling sounds their boots made upon the pale purple floor. They rounded a corner and came face-to-face with a group of Grunts. None of them were armed and they scattered and waddled away. The Major switched his shotgun hand and reached for his pistol, cocking it by pulling back the hammer on one of the edges of his armor. He aimed carefully and got six headshots, the Grunts flopping to the ground with little squeaks in a huge pool of blue blood. Private Chase kicked them out of the way and stormed down the hall, pumping two shotgun shells into an unsuspecting Jackal and continuing on. Daren continued to walk, looking on from behind with admiration at the Marine's willingness to go charging deep into the unknown annals of the ship.
Suddenly, the Marine came running back, waving his arms. "Sir! Run for your life!" Chase charged past him and Daren turned back to the hallway. He started; coming down the hall at full speed were four Elites, armed with plasma swords in each claw. Daren's eyes widened behind his metal faceplate and he turned on his heel and sped back the way he came. He accessed the comm channel with the bridge.
"Open the door! Now!" He rounded the corner and chanced a glance over his metallic shoulder. The Elites were hot on his trail and closing in fast. He dodged through the doorway and shouted out. "Close it!" The doors slid shut just as an energy blade hissed through the opening, grazing the Major's shields. Static washed over his display and he stumbled back a bit. The heavy titanium doors sliced through the energy and it popped off, disappearing into thin air with a small flash. Private Chase fell to the deck and attempted to catch his breath.
"Where the hell did that come from!" he shouted at the Marine manning the Covenant control panel.
"None of the doors have been forced open. All I can think of for an explanation is that they were in the hallway when I shut the doors down and they were armed," he responded.
"Yeah, we noticed that!" responded Chase.
"Calm down, Private," stated the SPARTAN standing behind him. "We're not dead, therefore there's no reason to worry." Private Chase sat rigidly with his legs sprawled out and checked his shotgun tediously. Daren moved over to the control panel.
"Sir, the station's sending five Pelicans in."
"Give them a heads up; I don't want those Marines to go in there without a clue as to what they could encounter. Tell them to set up a secure comm link with the bridge as soon as they land in the hangers." He turned to his men, who were no longer crowded around the doorway, as if it would open like a black hole and eat them alive. "We have to get rid of those Elites. It's dangerous, yes, but if we can hold them back with gunfire, I think I've got a plan that just might work." The Marines filled into single file lengths-way in front of the doorway and readied their shotguns. Daren leaned his shotgun upon a control panel nearby and left the holster for his pistol undone; he had a feeling he might need to gain access to it quickly. He then detached four frag grenades from his lower back and pulled the pins on two, holding the caps down.
He nodded to the man at the control panel and the door zipped upwards. The Elites, who had been standing directly across from the doorway, engaged their plasma swords and shrieked bloody murder. The line of Marines began to shoot and pump used shells from their shotguns faster than anyone had ever done before. The Major tossed the grenades over their heads and then pulled the pins on the others, doing the same with them. He shouted and the doors slid shut. Two dull thuds, followed closely by a third and a fourth, echoed through the door and the Major pulled his pistol from its holster. He looked back to the man at the controls, and the door slid open once again. Daren raised his pistol instinctively, but no Elite came charging through the door. He slipped past a soldier and stepped lightly forward.
An unarmed Elite suddenly rounded the doorframe and ran, knocking him over, into the Major. His breath knocked from his chest and stomach, Daren hit the ground with tremendous force with an Elite's ugly mug pushed against his faceplate, roaring in rage. With his pistol still in hand, he shoved his metal boots into the Elites gut and kicked him off, scrambling up. He raised the pistol and two rounds burst from the backside of the beast's skull, causing a plinking noise as they thudded into the floor. The alien lay motionless on the floor and the Major grabbed a giant glob of blue blood that had attached itself to his chest armor, slanting his gloved hand sideways, allowing the goop to drop to the floor.
Behind him, a Marine exclaimed, "Aww c'mon Major! Us Marines never get to have any fun!"