Author's Notes: Ok, finally, an update! w00t! Anyway, I've begun the long process of overhauling my old chapters, while thinking up new ones. Thank you everyone who has reviewed thus far. Soon, I will post my revised chapters (I feel that some characters were a little OOC and the chapters, especially #3, could be a little more drawn out), and don't worry- I'm nowhere close to finished!
Ch VII
Express Elevator to Hell
The Master Chief clicked his armor shut; it hissed silently, the suit sealing itself up. Suit up time elapsed; fifteen minutes to fully don and test his armor's systems.
Next to him, the other SPARTANS were dazzled by their new suits. Like the Chief had only two days previously, had received their superior armor units; the Mark VI armor suit. The Chief, of course, had noticed the immense difference between his old Mark V armor systems; for one, the Mark VI allowed him to run faster, and jump higher. The suit also allowed the Chief to hit harder, and to hold two weapons, like Covenant Plasma Rifles, in each hand, something the weaker systems of the Mark V system didn't allow for. It also made him quicker, and able to withstand massive shocks, like the impact of a slow moving Ghost or the impact of a fall. This was handy for quickly side-stepping and kicking the drivers of Covenant Ghosts out of their vehicles, or even jumping on top of Covenant Wraith mortar tanks to disable its unfortunate driver.
On the other side of the armory room of the Column of Solstice, the Lieutenant, Ellen Ripley, silently prepared for battle. She had briefly introduced herself, and warned them of their supposed doom, before being dismissed by Dr. Halsey two days previously.
"If you go off to fight these things, you're all going to die".
Fred stiffened.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" he asked, confused. Ripley had smiled, a sadistic, twisted smile, and replied;
"You understood me, soldier. You will all die. If the human race allows one of these things to escape to Earth, we're all doomed. They'll completely take over. Just like the Nostromo and LV-426. I've seen what these things are capable of; even if you kill the hive mind, the Queen, another will spring up in its place" she said.
"So, ma'am, what exactly happened the last time you tried to fight these things? You won, didn't you?" the SPARTAN Luke asked.
"Well, I, or Ellen Ripley, died to stop the Xenomorphs. I am Ripley 08, a clone of Ellen Ripley. Your boys at ONI did a fantastic job; I truly feel like I'm Ellen Ripley. I also have every one of her memories. I remember the Nostromo and the terror just one of those things caused. I remember the Sulaco incident on LV-426. A team of elite Marines, the SPARTANS of their age, all died, fighting against these things. And finally, on Fiona 161, I died, to stop the spread of the Xenomorph species. Then, I was brought back, only ten years after the start of the Covenant- Human war. They thought that by resurrecting me, the ONI spooks could find a new weapon to use against the Covenant- this, of course, was all top- secret, and everyone behind the project is dead, save one. I don't know who he is or even if he is still alive, but I do know that he was also very interested in the SPARTAN II project. The smuggler who saved me, Call, died when we ran into a Covenant patrol cruiser about one parsec from Reach. I was able to escape, and then the UNSC intercepted the drop ship I stole two months before the fall of Reach. Since then, I've been re-assigned here, aboard this ship, as a NOCOM petty officer. Supposedly, ONI has new intelligence about where and why that Prophet, Regret, attacked Earth. Why he only attacked New Mombassa, Kenya. Master Chief, John 117, you were there when that Prophet escaped, no?" she asked, sighing after her long speech. The Chief nodded his head in assent.
"Yes, ma'am. Regret attempted to escape once we took down one of their walkers, the Scarab, but the crew of the cruiser In Amber Clad and I followed him to Delta Halo" he recounted.
"We think that these things," Ripley began, pointing at the Alien specimens in their test tubes, "were always on Earth, since the beginning of recorded human history. Based on recent archeological finds, and old documents from before even the Jovian Moons campaigns, the boys at ONI believe that there is a hive of these creatures, buried five thousand meters, below the Earth's surface. That's what the Covenant were after this entire time; based on religious broadcasts Regret's ship was screaming before it left, their 'Holy Warriors' and our Xenomorphs are one in the same, and are on Earth, and have been, lying dormant for centuries," Ripley opened her mouth to continue, but Dr. Halsey cut her off.
"That will do, Ripley. Go to the armory and send word that the new Mark VI suits are to be sent up from Engineering immediately; all the SPARTANS are here".
Dr. Halsey sighed and watched Ripley leave. John saw she was tense; as if she was expecting Ripley to retaliate with some stinging remark, or even a physical attack. But the woman…no, clone, continued to walk away, until the doors sealed shut behind her.
The Chief knew something was going on, something between Halsey and Ripley. He had no idea what exactly had happened between the two, but he suspected it had something to do with these new creatures, these "Xenomorphs".
Walking over to the weapons rack, the Chief strolled casually down the long rows of weapons, looking them all over. Standard issue Battle Rifles, five sets of M6C Pistols, SMG's, Shotguns, Sniper Rifles, and even two Rocket Launchers adorned the weapons racks. John selected a Shotgun for in close work, and a Battle Rifle for all targets in between. Linda, of course, strode up and down the lines, and eventually picked out a pair of M6C's, and her customized sniper rifle. The SPARTANS Rebecca and Luke were already set to go; Rebecca was carrying her dual SMG's, and a Battle Rifle was slung over her shoulders. Luke, of course, had his old M6D Pistol, Covenant Plasma Pistol, and a Shotgun at his back. Fred and Will carried a Battle Rifle and Shotgun, respectively, and were hauling the Rocket Launchers.
"Let's go. The Pelicans are ready for us," John said, picking up his gear and striding towards the door. On his way out, John also picked up a quadruplet of frag grenades, and attached them to his belt. The other SPARTANS did the same on their way out.
Ripley fell in line with the SPARTANS. John was surprised that he didn't recognize the weapon slung at her hips; it looked like an antiquated M5AB Assault Rifle. What looked like a shortened shotgun was mounted under the rifle's barrel, and a small ammo counter adorned the side of the rifle. She carried a pouch, obviously full of clips, a small motion tracker, and a bandolier full of what looked like silver shotgun shells.
Approaching the Pelican bay, John noticed several technicians hastily mounting what looked like miniature Archer Missile Pods on the wings and undersides of the Pelicans.
"It looks like it's gonna be a rough drop. Get ready, people" John said. The other SPARTANS flashed the acknowledgement signals via the team COM system, and boarded the three waiting Pelicans.
Ripley climbed into John's Pelican and took a seat near the cockpit. Five Marines boarded the drop ship after John, and sat down. One of them, to John's surprise, was the female Marine who had attempted to aid him in the docking bay. She looked normal- she had recovered quickly in two days, after what seemed then to be a mortal wound.
John knew the Covenant were still lurking out in space- they had pulled back their forces to somewhere beyond Saturn. The Marines on the ground were slowly and efficiently mopping up the remaining troops and preparing for the second wave of enemies. The Covenant wouldn't give up this easily.
"Ok, people! Listen up! This is gonna be a quick drop- this here pelican will be bringing us to Mombassa, where the last pockets of Covenant squid-headed tontos are hiding! Yes, hiding! The cowards know they don't stand a chance- and we're going down there to give them a good reason to fear us!" Sergeant Stacker, who was in the second Pelican, bellowed over the intercom.
"Remember, though, we're going to find out why the Covenant only landed in Mombassa. Get ready, Marines!" the Corporal, next to the Chief, said to his squad. The Marines nodded, and loaded their weapons.
"Ten seconds to drop, repeat, ten seconds, people. Get ready!" called the pilot. The Pelican began to rumble beneath John's boots. The Marines looked tense, on edge. The marine sitting across from John, the one from the ship bay, though, looked grim and determined. She noticed the Chief staring, and nodded at him. The Chief nodded back as the Pelican nosed towards the bay doors.
"Five seconds. On my mark. Four. Three…" the Navy pilot droned. One marine grinned and shouted;
"We're on an express elevator to hell; next stop; DOWN!" he yelled.
"Two. One. Mark" the pilot said emotionlessly as the Pelican rocketed out of the bay.
"YAHOOOOOO!!!" the marine yelled as the Pelican picked up speed, burning through the Earth's atmosphere. The Pelican zipped past floating chunks and remnants of Covenant and UNSC ships; bits of grey and purple quickly flashed by the view port as the Navy pilot skillfully piloted his Pelican down to Earth.
The temperature inside the cabin began to rise; the Chief's suit kept him cool enough, but the Marines began to sweat a little in their armor. They were in Earth's atmosphere; landing time wasn't very far away.
"Heads up, people. Thirty seconds to dirt!" the pilot yelled, confirming the Chief's suspicions. The Marines shifted uneasily, adjusting their armor, checking their weapons, and fidgeting with their grenades. The Chief sat still and stared out the window, reflecting on the last time he had come here, to Old Mombassa.
"The message just repeats. Regret. Regret. Regret" Cortana said.
"Catchy. Any idea what it means?" Keyes asked.
"Dear humanity. We REGRET being alien bastards. We REGRET coming to earth. And we most definitely regret the fact that the Corps just shot up our raggedy-ass fleet!" Sergeant Johnson bellowed a massive smirk on his face.
"Hoo-rah!" the Marines and Navy pilots chimed in. Sergeant Johnson had smiled his usual, insane grin.
"Regret is a name, Sergeant. The name of a Prophet. He's on that cruiser and is signaling for help," Cortana said.
The Chief smiled; Johnson was nuts. The Sergeant was one of the only marines who had survived Installation 04, the first Halo. The Sarge had come through a lot, from the Siege of Paris IV, the Fall of Reach, Installation 04, and the Covenant invasion of Earth. It was a shame that he was now missing, or dead, back on Delta Halo.
"We're here, marines! Go! Go! Go!" Sergeant Stacker yelled. It was true; the Pelican had landed in the remnants of what looked to be a small courtyard. The Chief cocked his Battle Rifle's firing lever, and took point.
"Fall in, Marines. Dispersion formation Alpha. Go, go, go!" the Chief barked into his COM. It was usually Cortana that had given orders to the marines on their missions, like the assault on the Covenant cruiser Truth and Reconciliation back on Installation 04. Now that Cortana was gone, though, the Chief was on his own.
The two other Pelicans roared overhead; the Chief knew their objective was to sweep the area Regret's forces had staked out, and begun drilling in. The Prophet had been looking for something; the Chief needed to know what it was he was looking for.
Walking up several flights of stairs, it was only when he saw it did the Chief recognize his location. The remains of a battered Covenant walking assault vehicle, a Scarab, stood at the end of the long canal. This was the area where the Master Chief had boarded the said Scarab, and taking it and it's occupants out before pursuing Regret to Delta Halo. The remnants of the Scarab stood tall, almost like some kind of monument. Passing by the huge, imposing machine, the Chief noted the deck of the walker was still littered with the remains of multiple Covenant Grunts, Jackals, and Elites.
"This is SPARTAN -058, does anyone copy? We have made successful landfall and are now at the rendezvous point. Repeat, any other UNSC forces respond" Linda called in her normally stoic voice.
"Roger that, Linda. It's John, I'm on my way," the Chief said as he and the Marines pressed forward.
"John, get over here! There's something I think you should see" came the voice of Fred over the Chief's intercom. A NAV point appeared on the Chief's HUD.
"Linda, I'll be there in a second. Fred needs me for a moment. I'm sending my Marines on ahead; they'll be with you shortly" the Chief said, waving the Marines forwards. The Marines looked at the Chief quizzically, before shrugging and continuing on their way.
The Chief, rifle at the ready, walked briskly towards the point marked on his HUD. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, very wrong, with the situation. Gripping his rifle tighter, the Chief walked faster. The NAV point steadily grew closer, going from 5.3 meters to a mere 1.1 meters in a matter of seconds.
"Chief! Over here!" came a voice to the Chief's right. Fred was crouched over a low balcony; his Rocket launcher lay next to him, both rockets gone. The ends of the launcher still smoldered; he had been firing at something.
"Come look at this. These looks like the things that Ripley was talking about," he said, pointing down below. The Chief looked downwards.
Two craters adorned the small pit below. A small hole in the wall extended into darkness, revealing nothing of it's contents. And next to this hole, were five dead bodies. Obsidian black, with massive, insectoid heads, and huge claws and a massive tail, these things looked exactly like Ripley said they did.
"These things came out of nowhere. I told the Marines to keep going; they're at the rendezvous site, Linda just told me. I heard something, and when I went to check it out, these things attacked. I dispatched them, and then called for you, thinking that Ripley person was with you. Where is she?" Fred asked.
"She's at the rendezvous site. We should report back, especially if more of these things are loose" John said, turning to go. Fred stood up slowly, but then recoiled in surprise.
"John! Look out!" he yelled, tackling the Chief. The Chief grunted and rolled with Fred, going forwards. A low hissing noise came from his right; turning, John saw a large, dark mass, leap into the shadows.
"It's another one of those things. Go, Chief. I'll be right behind you" Fred said, unsheathing his shotgun. The Chief fired his Battle Rifle at the moving shadows; it screeched, and leaped at Fred. Fred kicked the creature in the gut and blew it's head off with his shotgun while it was distracted. A loud screech echoed through the deserted alley, and more creatures began to rise from the shadows.
"Go, Chief! Go! I can handle them! Go!" Fred yelled over the din of the screeching creatures and the booming of his shotgun. The Chief hesitated for a moment, and turned to run. After he had rounded two corners, a loud explosion rocked the ground John was standing on. It had come from the balcony…the balcony Fred had stood on.
Turning around, John stood at attention. Raising his arm in a salute, he silently stared at the rising column of smoke, Fred's final work. The loud screeches of the Xenomorphs, however, broke the Chief's reveille, and he turned, and sprinted away.
