Level 2: Of Ribs And Reclaimers
"Holy shit…" Dennis stammered as he stared at the Sentinel Major turning to target them. It was not a comforting sight. "Whatinthebloodyhellisit!" the exclamation was spoken so fast it was produced as a single word.
"It isn't friendly." Chief told him. It was a fair description, if not somewhat short. "Avoid it and find me some damn guns; the bigger the better. Keep on the move."
"Ok, can do." Out of nowhere he had produced another attachment for his SPR4. The Flame Thrower Unit was gone and he was replacing it with a Grenade Launcher Unit.
Handy, that. Cortana commented.
Chief was about to ask the man how many grenades he actually had when they both had to part and dodge separate ways to avoid a carefully aimed energy beam.
The Chief kept moving so as not to be a sitting cyborg duck, taking a stand every so often to throw a hail of rounds into the Sentinel Major. He could only hope that Dennis was doing the same. Glancing around before leaping away from a mortar blast, he tried to spot him but could see him nowhere. The Sentinel Major, however, did not seem all that interested in the Chief…it would defend itself and attack if he managed to get too many good hits in but otherwise also seemed preoccupied with locating Dennis.
Chief found that he had just let loose the last bullets of his SMG and doubted he was going to be able to grab anything else. He had ditched his last two empty lighter guns ages ago but had found that the majority of corpses in the room were I-forms and unarmed Combat forms (C-forms), thus holding no bounty for him to save his armoured hide with. The Sentinel Major came in for the kill…and was struck from behind by a grenade that exploded neatly on impact. While it struggled to recover, Dennis sprinted forward. "Hey, helmet head, catch!" and threw Chief a Plasma Rifle and a Plasma Pistol that he had randomly snatched up while running.
He really did come in handy.
The Sentinel Major still seemed more interested in the new marine and seemed to be trying to follow him now that it had managed to find him. This did of course mean that Chief could hit it from behind but it still didn't stop the great lump of a thing from doing whatever the hell it wanted.
Dennis didn't have the opportunity to fire back; he just had to keep running or would have had it right in his face. But it turned out that he just wasn't quite fast enough; the Sentinel Major swept over until it came to hover above him. It was now far too close to use explosive rounds against it without blowing his own head off in the process, so in desperation Dennis simply held down the trigger and used automatic gun fire against its underside in a last ditch bid to keep himself alive. The claws of the Sentinel Major, usually used for snatching up vehicles and reducing them to twisted metal fragments, snapped down to crush against the Sergeant's midriff. It didn't kill him but the pain from having bones, muscles and organs being pushed together in the vice grip was excruciating. Dennis screamed out and shot at it aimlessly as though it would help. His clip emptied out against it but by then all of the air had been forced from his lungs and the rifle slipped from his numb fingers as he passed out.
The Sentinel Major carried him away too fast for the Chief to follow but it didn't take a genius to work out where it was most likely taking him. He was being kept alive…that meant someone or something wanted him that way, and what was the only thing here with a use for a human and that could also direct the Sentinels?
We carry on with the plan then? Cortana asked.
"Yes." Chief agreed, picking up Dennis' fallen SPR4.
On to find the Monitor
"Exactly. If the Monitor wants Riley alive that badly then so do I."
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The Control Room…god it was ages away. But he was just going to have to get there. It meant going outside again first, which could come in useful; it meant he could stop by the marine patrol waiting for him to get back and take them with him. Six extra pairs of eyes and hands would definitely do him the world of good.
Problem was it was going to take a shit load of trekking. It was ages away; out of this entire structure, across open land and somehow flying to get there.
"Damn." He sighed.
On his way through the building the Chief encountered a good deal of Sentinels and Flood but they were all relatively quickly dispatched even if it did take a bit of backtracking to pick up ammo and weaponry.
As he wandered he was fortunate to come across one hall in time to see the Monitor leading Dennis along. Though leading wasn't the right term. Dennis was holding his sides in pain and had a Sentinel following behind him as a threat to ensure good behaviour on his part. He had the Index jammed into his belt…and the Monitor was saying something to him. The Chief followed at a distance and kept out of sight so he could listen in. It would help to know just what the Monitor was up to before he stormed in guns-a-blazing.
"What the hell do you want from me? I feel like I've been stuck in a meat grinder." Dennis complained. "Will you get that thing out of my face; I'm not going anywhere fast in this condition."
"I apologise for what must seem to be extreme methods but it is to protect you. You are needed. You are a Reclaimer and you have an important purpose to fulfil."
"What?" his voice sounded strained. He was clearly injured internally from the encounter with the Sentinel Major.
"You have seen the Flood, yes?"
"Yeah."
"You have had it explained to you and understand the threat they pose?"
"…" during the pause he made a wincing, grunting sound. "Yes…ow."
"Then you must activate the Installation and wipe them out. You are a Reclaimer and as such you have the capability. You must use the Index and destroy them all. That is what this entire Installation is for."
"What, this Halo thing the big green guy was talking about?"
"Indeed. I will take you to the Control Room and you will insert the Index into the Control Panel."
"Index? This thing you're making me carry around? It's a key?"
"Yes, yes, yes. Now you must use it as I have instructed to activate the Installation and exterminate the Flood."
Chief you have to stop him! He doesn't know what it will do; you never had the chance to say! Cortana yelped loudly in the back of Chief's head.
'I second that motion' and with that thought Chief promptly stormed around the corner to find the Sentinel was still there with its laser trained on Dennis who had one hand wrapped about himself and was studying the Index by turning it over in his other.
"You again!" Screeched the Monitor as it saw Chief's approach. "You're not supposed to be here! Go away!"
The Sentinel moved to hover between the Chief and Dennis and then two more emerged from an adjoining corridor.
If the Monitor had had a face, it would have been showing a furious expression. "Don't you dare try to meddle. He will complete what you could not."
"He might not." Dennis said, referring to himself in the third person. He winced before speaking up again. "It all depends on what you mean by 'exterminate'. I've heard that kind of phrase before and last time it didn't go well."
"Activation of the Installation will cause the death of all Flood within 25,000 light-years."
"That's right." Chief agreed "It causes their death by wiping out their food source, namely all sentient life forms. It'll kill everything self aware so that the Flood will starve."
Dennis absorbed all of this. "That right?"
"Well…yes…it is the only way." The Monitor said as though it was the most obvious thing in the universe.
Dennis sneered. "All sentient life? To kill a bunch of bugs? Bastard." He drew back his arm, though it caused him great pain to do so, and tossed the Index across the floor. "Screw you!"
Cortana gave a sigh of relief. He's not as dumb as I thought.
"Don't be so stupid! You must!" The Monitor yelled.
"Shut up. There's no 'must' about it. I'll do what I want. Is this why you brought me here? To crush the life out of me and then ask me to bring about Armageddon? Thanks but I think I'll pass."
"It is the only answer. The Flood must be destroyed. They cannot be reasoned with and they consume all in their path. They have to be stopped. You must think of the bigger picture."
"I won't commit suicide and genocide just because you ask me to, you sick metal freak."
I think it might be time to get rid of those Sentinels and get out of here, don't you? Cortana suggested.
'I want Riley sent back to where he came from. I'm not going to baby sit a lost marine.'
Well, whatever you decide to do will you please do it now?
The Sentinels were moving and charging up. It was all Dennis could do to stay out of the way, wounded as he was and without a weapon, so he just kept moving and in the end found a place to hide. Chief took care of the Sentinels with calculated efficiency. This was what he was for and he was damn good at it. It took a little while but he won out in the end. The last Sentinel fell with a localised explosion of broken parts. By this time though the Monitor had pulled another disappearing act, leaving Chief alone except for Dennis who had reappeared from where he had been crouching.
The marine still had cracked ribs and bruised muscles but was determined not to let it get in the way. "Sorry I couldn't help." He apologised.
"You did something right." Chief told him whilst picking up the Index and squirreling it away. "You made a good choice there, Riley."
Chief offered him back his weapon and he gratefully accepted it, discarding the empty clip and slamming a full one into place.
"What am I going to do with you?" The Chief wondered out loud. "I still don't even know where you're from or how the hell you could get back there…and I really doubt we'll be finding the Monitor again any time soon."
Dennis shrugged and groaned as the action pulled on muscles that would have rather been left alone to attempt to heal. He couldn't think either. His poor confused mind was drawing a bucket load of blanks.
He said he was from the US marines, so I think we can safely say he's from earth. But, there is still no such thing as the Red Light unit…I would know…I'm positive that I would know.
"Where did the Monitor take you from?"
Dennis gave him a sideways look. "Classified, and you know it."
"Honestly though; what the hell am I going to do? You're not exactly helping with all your confidential bullshit."
Dennis began to move away, one hand holding his gun while the other held his aching chest. "Since when did I become your responsibility? I'm capable of looking after myself, thank you very much." He was stopped by a heavy hand on his shoulder.
"I owe you." Chief said surprisingly calmly. " I don't want to admit it but you did me a favour back there with the Grunt and again with the Sentinel Major before it snagged you. I can't just let you stay here and get infested or bullied into doing something highly unhealthy. I'll take you to the rendezvous site outside and we'll work out a way to get you home to earth from there."
"Home to earth, what do you mean by that?" Dennis asked with worried eyes. "Where the hell am I then?"
"Not sure really; we blindly followed the Covenant here…but we're pretty sure that we're still in the same galaxy. It may take some time to get you back though, as we can't risk leading the Covenant right back to earth…hmm…looks like you could be roped into this war, Riley. Hey, are you cold? Oh...well why are you shaking then? You look a bit pale. Don't tell me you're sick; I'm not clearing it up."
"Not…on…earth?" Apart from that, all he did was blink in utter disbelief.
"Course not. Well…where did you think you were then?"
"Another god damned crazy government facility in the middle of nowhere…" he said in a quiet voice.
"Will you please just tell me where the hell you were and what you were taken from; everything about you is completely wrong. Throw me a bone here."
"Look…I'm having trouble taking all of this in, ok? Tell you what; you go ahead and do…whatever it is you do…and I'll go my own way and pretend that I have some small clue about where I am and how I'm getting back to Fort Ste- Ooh, forget that bit."
Ah ha! We nearly had him there.
'We? He did it all himself.'
Well…still…we're getting closer to some answers.
'Hmmmm.'
Dennis rubbed his ribs. "I think I'll just go find that blue thing and have it send me on my way. Thanks for he help."
This time he was stopped, not by a hand on the shoulder, but by having his collar firmly grabbed hold of. He produced a choking sound before backing up a pace or two to free his airway. "What did y'go and do that for!"
"You're too much of a mystery for me to just let you wander off into oblivion. Plus, you'd be dangerous if you ever became a Combat form Flood. You're sticking with me whether you like it or not. You got that, marine?"
"I don't take orders from you. I don't even know you. And what the hell is with that suit, honestly?" he said while squirming to try and get the Chief to let go of him.
"Listen up, Riley. Wherever you're from, you're a long way from it now. Your rules don't apply here. There's the Flood, the Covenant and then there's me. Pick a side. One will infest you, one will kill you and the other can tolerate your existence and find you a way home."
Yeah, you tell him Chief.
"So basically, I don't have a choice." Dennis sniffed.
"Sure you do. Be a host, be a corpse, or be alive."
"You sure do drive a hard bargain." He said with a sneer. Being option-less made him feel trapped…more so that he already was, stuck out in the middle of nowhere…in space, according to the big green metal man.
Chief let him go and pointed to a door. "Go. March. We are out of here in a rapid fashion. I'm not staying here any longer than is strictly necessary. So, move."
With a stoic expression Dennis moved on, following the Chief's instructions and directions. Their path, as per usual, was impeded by the never-ending supply of Flood interrupted by the odd few lost and, previously, surviving Covenant.
Chief noticed that the fight seemed to have gone out of Dennis; it was as though something had died inside him and being told he was light years from everything he recognised was what had killed it.
Getting out of the building turned out to be easier than expected; after a while there were no more Sentinels' showing up, and the Flood seemed to be a little on the sparse side too. Everyone seemed to be taking a breather, including the Covenant who were keeping to themselves.
Dennis followed in a deep silence that echoed the bleak pattern of his own shocked thoughts.
To be continued……
Author's Note – Wow, I've never taken this long to do a short chapter before. I promise that there will be a distinguishable plot soon, honest. I know it's a mess right now but there will be a point to it. At least now you know why Dennis was there. The 'how' will soon come to light. If you like this fic let me know coz there's not much point in continuing unless someone's reading. Ican't see a hit count for my pages so reviews are the only way I know if its being read or enjoyed.
Big Thanks to Yomiko the hellbunny slayer and to chicken-chan for reviews thus far!