Halo: If I were your Hero

by soulguard

Book 2: The Mysteries of the Halo Universe collide in this tale. Join Eric Raynord, Rose Santos and Wesley Williams as they learn secrets of ONI and the mysterious Halo ring worlds. Familiar faces return in Book 2 of the trilogy.

21. Offense… Get out of my way!

Stage 21: Offense… Get out of my way!

Location: Unknown
Time: 17:51 October 25, 2552
Transmission Origin: Unknown
From: -ONI Section III; Research and Black Operations;
Major Elizabeth Rawlings: Head of Artifacts and Forerunner Technology Research Committee
Recipient: Colonel J. Ackerson

"Under your advisement I put Eric Raynord, or Black Op 19, in command of this operation. Reactivating the Black Ops and using them for the FTR Committee's use was your idea. I would have rather seen him put before a firing squad, but I digress. I see now that his options in the lab were limited.

"I am concerned that this operation is a complete failure. Siren has not made any transmissions, nor has Captain Monroe, since they left Martian orbit five days ago. This mission to retrieve the Seed Installation from the elite home world was a desperation attempt to save us all. Cortana's data logs contained thousands of years of Forerunner history, but the data was fragmented similar to the Ark data. The forerunner's purposefully split their information so that the flood would not have access to everything.

"Colonel, I should not have wasted our resources on a fool hardy mission. While the idea of using the Seed against the Covenant was brilliant, it's implications could have a lasting affect on humanity. I am beginning to see now that I was too hasty in agreeing with this operation. If your Spartan III project had not failed than perhaps we would have taken control of Charlie Halo. We should have destroyed it when we had the chance, but now your Spartans will prove to be an even worse enemy then the flood and the Covenant.

"Earth is overrun. Admiral Hood is already looking into options of using tactical nuclear strikes on the surface in order to slow down the flood threat. And the Covenant forces are rapidly overwhelming the Ark. We are safe here at Camp Eden so long as the location of the Ark is still hidden, but if the Covenant finds our location, which will be soon, then we will not be able to hold back their onslaught.

"The Arbiters forces are holding the covenant at bay, and the Spartan Ibis are doing their job defending the Ark, but for how long. I searched your S-III files and noticed that you had troops deployed on several missions. Obey Admiral Hood's orders of an 'All Military Return' call. Get your troops back to Earth. For God's sake, do one noble deed in your life before it ends. James, do something."

End transmission.

Colonel Ackerson closed the display screen and clasps his hands under his chin. The room fell into an eerie darkness as he contemplated his next action. He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow and leaned back into his chair. He stood up and began to pace around the room. He was fidgeting with a nervous influx of what to do. Earth was in danger, and they needed his help. He lied on his report, saying that his mission on Charlie Halo had failed, but in truth he was successful. He had lost a few Spartan III's to the flood, but still he had accomplished his goal of retrieving the Index on Charlie Halo, Installation 02. By lying about the mission he was able to protect the location of his troops and keep his remaining Spartans under his supervision. That was all but pointless now.

He turned toward a dark corner of the room and softly mumbled, "What is the status of S-III Squads 3-9?"

A soft female voice responded, "Squad 3 is MIA. Squad 4 is active on Basis. Squad 5 is confirmed KIA. Squad 6… as you know sir, they died after their augmentations. None lived. Squad 7 is reporting in from High Charity's debris field…"

"Hold it!" Ackerson shouted into the com. "Did Squad 7 find the crystal that the Covenant took from Earth?"

After a moment the women replied, "Yes sir. However… they believe that the flood escaped Delta Halo by taking over Regret's ship, meaning that the flood have the crystal."

"That explains how the flood found earth. What of High Charity?"

"The Covenant city is still forty percent intact. A lot of the flood survived the Arbiter's attempt to destroy it."

Finally beginning to relax, Ackerson sat back at his desk and continued, "What about the other squads?"

"Squad 8 confirmed KIA on Echo Halo. And Squad 9 is MIA near Pluto; we believe they met Covenant forces."

"Damn it. Only two squads left in less then a month." Ackerson cursed. He had let the project slip out of his hands while in transit to Halo. Ackerson was running from the covenant and he was hoping to hide because the ONI spooks were getting to close to his affairs. It was all because of that damn Halsey and her AI, making him look like a fool. The base on Charlie Halo was his only safe haven from ONI and the Covenant. His guards could handle the occasional flood attacks. "Tell Squad 7 to finish the job. Destroy High Charity with a nuclear strike, and then tell them to meet up with Squad 4 and get to Earth. I want them to report to Camp Eden as soon as they have finished off High Charity." There was no longer any need to hide or keep his Spartans a secret. This was an opportunity to show the world that his Spartan III program was indeed a success. The UNSC brass would marvel at his accomplishments and forget all about Halsey's Spartan II. He would finally be given the praise he justly deserved.

"There is another option, sir." The woman added as she shuffled a stack of papers on her desk.

"Still haven't learned your place, have you? Very well, I don't have all day. Spill it!"

"The research soldiers that escaped from Troy, Major Rawlings sent them…"

"I know all about that stupid Seed operation. Chances are they're dead. It was a fool's errand to go after a ship that has no military uses, and I'm thankful that Rawlings didn't know about my Spartans or else she would have demanded I send them to the elite home world."

"In the last ten years of active service we had never failed a mission, with the exception being Troy. I don't think we can't count them out just yet. Rawlings does not truly understand the words 'Black Ops'. We send them out to do a job, and they are not to report back until the mission is complete. We could use their assistance, and Black Op 19 is leading numerous platoons."

"Still, they aren't Spartans! What can they possible do to help? They merely paved the way for my Spartan research. You know that better then most."

"Black Op 19 is one hell of a soldier. It was a shame we lost 04 in combat, but none the less her mind is still at the head of this mission. Together they have an incredible list of completed Black Op missions. They are quiet, deadly, and have never let us down."

"04…" Ackerson sat back in his chair and massaged his chin in thought. He recalled the transmission after Troy had fallen and what needed to be done in order to save 04's brilliant tactical mind. They weren't Spartans but they were the next best thing. And if they succeeded in their mission to capture the Seed then perhaps it could still be useful. Surely his Spartan III's would have done a better job, but he wasn't going to waste them on a pointless task. "Send a message to the Rogue Fantasy; Make best speed to Mars orbit once you have captured the Seed Installation. If the mission fails, notify me immediately. End message."

"Message sent."

Ackerson pressed the pager on his desk, "Clear out the base and prep my Regiment for deployment. Notify all captains to prep their ships to head back to Sol System and lay in a course for Mars." He released the button and waited for a response.

"Yes sir." Was the reply from the speaker on his desk.

Ackerson then looked to the women again, "Tell my Spartan squads to finish their missions, nuke High Charity, and then rendezvous with us in Mars orbit. I am going to hope that you are correct on your assessment. Let's hope Eric Raynord is everything you think he is, Dr. Smith. Your repertoire with those test subjects is the reason you are in my indebted services. You had best hope that they do not jeopardize my Spartans, as I don't intend to forgive you twice."

Doctor Carolyn Smith ignored Ackerson's threat and began to gather her papers and data pads into a briefcase. As she stood up she noticed that Ackerson was secretly staring at her legs. Her skirt was barely military length, and the only women on Charlie Base were soldiers, she was the only civilian and that made her available. She let him look. So long as he was fascinated with getting into bed with her, she was safe from his punishment. She had taken his Black Ops away from him and told the UNSC brass and ONI about the secret research she had done. Ackerson vowed to kill her fourteen years ago, for betraying his project, but when ONI ordered the Black Ops into action she immediately joined them; she was safe with them. But Kim Peters' death changed everything.

- - - - - - - -

Elite Inner Sanctum
08:40 October 26, 2552
Jogrennilee

The Tram motioned to a stop and the last of its riders filed out. The last of the marines were silent, deathly so, and were shocked at what they were seeing before them. The elite Inner Sanctum brightly shined before them with all of its wonder and beauty. The cavern was so massive that a thin haze of clouds could be seen floating above, and beyond the thin whips of pressure controlled clouds was their target, the glowing ball of crystals which was the Seed Installation.

Eric walked through the crowd of marines with his Black Ops following closely behind. Things were going to get tough in the next few minutes, but no matter how the elites reacted he had to make sure the flood did not get their tentacles on that ship. He stepped to the front of the mass of soldiers and then began to push his way through a sea of congested grunts, all sitting and looking toward the massive door that would allow them access into the Inner Sanctum. Eric had yet to notice that the Ranger elites where following him as well and they were also slack jawed at the marvel of the Inner Sanctum. It had been so long since any of them had seen it during the trials of their youth.

"Sergeant Raynord." An elite elder stated as he approached. A few days had passed since Eric had seen Elder Bortello, but his face was one of the few that Eric could distinguish.

"Why haven't we been let in, elder?" Eric softly questioned, whispering so that only Bortello would hear.

"Despite all that has happened, there are still those that will not welcome the grunts, and to let so many of them enter the Inner Sanctum would cause in uproar."

Eric looked to his left at Palab, the grunt leader was ferociously gazing at the elder as if he was waiting for the right moment to strike. Eric placed a hand on Palab's shoulder, in a calming tone, but Palab did not back down.

"We stay here, flood creature come. You know, but not care if grunts and humans die." Palab snarled. His words caught the attention of his Mirratord grunts and they also began to fume; feeding off of Palab's emotions.

"Sergeant Palab, we have granted you and your Mirratord grunts access into the Inner Sanctum, but until High Elder Vornaldea returns from the Sacred Hall the other grunts and humans must remain here. This includes you Sergeant Raynord."

"Me not leave grunts to die!" Palab barked in return. Eric looked at his watch; his operation was already five minutes behind Zero hour. There wasn't much time. He turned to Melanie and nodded his head sharply. Melanie frowned slightly, but she understood, there was no more time. She quickly put on her helmet and the other Black Ops followed suit. In an instant, the mood of the Black Ops had changed. They were now in combat mode and they all knew that the next five minutes would be crucial. They all divided amongst the crowd of grunts and positioned themselves at striking range of the honor guards. Eric then turned and looked over the grunt's heads at Wesley. Eric didn't have to be close to him to tell that the young man was nervous; his body posture told his tale. Wesley was sweating frantically and nervously gazing back at Eric, waiting for the signal. Wesley knew his job, but still he was scared. Eric had told them all on the Tram what the plan was, and his was simple: Get to the phantoms and load up as many grunts and marines as he could, while the Black Ops and the Grunt Mirratord held down the Honor Guards. But he had to wait, he had to wait for the signal, but waiting was hard.

Eric turned to face Elder Bortello, "Elder you know that thing is coming."

"Sergeant, Vornaldea is on his way. I beg you to be patient. We have given you much respect and honor in these last few cycles. Do not do anything foolish." Bortello was not as blind as the younger Honor Guards were. He was very much aware that Eric's soldiers had positioned themselves into an attack position.

Chess is a game of planning ahead, adjusting to an opponents move and counterattacking. Sometimes chess can be played two or three moves ahead of the current positioning of the pieces, and in Eric's mind he was already three steps ahead of Bortello. The elite elder would never see it coming.

"Elder…"

"I beg of you Sergeant Raynord. I spared your female aboard our ship and returned her to you unharmed. Let that deed hold your hand for just a moment longer. I will not let you or your kin die at this door, but you must respect our ways. Do not do anything until Vornaldea has come. The other elders are waiting nearby in defense. If something were to happen then I will not have any control and nothing will stop it."

Sammy 13 cut into Eric's helmet communicator, "19! Snipers at 9, 12, 3, and 5! We've been made. They'll take us down before we cross the door." Eric slowly lifted his eyes, and in the distant windows of a nearby building, he could see the shadows of several elites holding Particle beam rifles.

Bortello followed Eric's gaze, "There are more of them, Sergeant. As I said, do not do anything foolish. We have been betrayed once today, we will not let our guards down so easily again."

Eric loudly sniffed twice.

The Black Ops all stepped to the front of the grunt refugees and stood within ten feet of each other. Bortello gazed in confusion, but his honor guards showed no restraint and powered on their energy swords.

Eric looked to the group of Ranger elites at his side, "You have a choice. Go over there with the other elites, or stay here with me and the Black Ops."

The elite squad leader looked at Eric with curious gaze and stepped forward, "If battle comes, we stand with our brothers. It is duty and honor that binds us and we must obey the will of the High Council." The rangers then pushed through the grunts, passed the Black Ops and joined the line of honor guards that protected the Inner Sanctum doors. The rangers stood behind the Honor Guards and Bortello. Bortello could only shake his head in disappointment.

"Do not force your hand, Sergeant." Bortello sighed.

"You made your choice. I have to make mine." Eric pulled down his helmet visor and each of his Black Ops responded by pulling back the hammers on their battle rifles, but they still held them low.

Bortello stepped forward, "You would betray our honor …" but his words were cut short. From behind, he was gripped by one of the Ranger Elites, and a hiss of energy roared from the ranger's hand. The energy sword sparked as it came up to Bortello's neck and the honor guards roared in disapproval.

"Traitor!" Bortello roared as he lifted his head away from the blade, but the Ranger held him tightly, keeping the massive energy blade at the elder's neck.

"Forgive us elder, but if we are to befriend the humans then we must trust them now. And the same goes for the grunts." The ranger squad leader turned to the honor guards and roared in their native tongue. The honor guards lowered their weapons and powered off their blades. "Signal the snipers to stand down, elder. We do not have much time."

"How?" Bortello questioned toward Eric.

"You always have to plan for every possible move, even the most unlikely one." Eric had used his second option, taking a prisoner. He then turned to Palab. "Get the grunts to secure the Phantom docking ring until we signal for them. Ready your Mirratord grunts to join me and the Black Ops. We're heading to the ship." Eric then yelled to Wesley, "Move it!"

Palab quickly turned to his grunts and began barking something to them. The grunts and marines began to sprint ahead toward the docking ring as the Inner Sanctum door began to close behind them, sealing off the Tram Tunnel.

Eric then turned to the Ranger squad leader, "Hold the elder hostage until you hear from me." Eric and the black ops then ran toward the Phantoms, with the Mirratord grunts racing at their side.

"How could you have done this?" Bortello questioned with a sigh of disapproval. The ranger released Bortello and powered down his blade. He quickly lowered himself to a knee and his fellow rangers joined him.

"Elder, Honored warriors, forgive us. But we did not betray you blindly. We are trying to help save us all. You did not see the creature with your own eyes as we have, and it is digging toward us. The honored human Sergeant is correct. If peace is going to last we must trust one another. If we do not leave, we will surely die and the flood will use the seed to conquer everything. The Sangheili must not die here."

Eric and his squad tore through the city, passing by elite females and young in a flash. Close to their side sprinted the remaining four Mirratord grunts and Palab. The Phantom docking ring wasn't far but they had to hurry. Wesley would soon begin loading up the Marines and ODST and following them to the Seed ship, but they had to clear the path first.

"Good thing you had a back up plan, 19." Melanie softly said through a closed channel. "I didn't want to fight them, but if we hadn't seen those snipers it could have gotten ugly."

"Just be thankful that the elites agreed to side with us." Eric and the Black ops followed the grunts and they all were pulled upward by the purple light of the phantom's gravity lift. Once on board, Eric walked to the cockpit. He passed the Mirratord grunts as they fastened themselves to the center bench as his Black Ops relaxed by sliding up their helmet visors'. Eric looked them over and then continued to the front of the phantom.

Justin 14 lifted his wrist and gazed at his watch, "Nine minutes passed zero hour, 19! Damn we're cutting this operation close."

"Can't cut it any closer then we did on Myst." Sammy 13 added, always the one to lighten the mood. "I thought we were going to bite the big one back then."

Mathew 08 laughed, "We would have if those Jackals hadn't started fighting each other. Those elites didn't know what to make of that."

"Yeah, Kim threw one hell of a pebble at that jackal." Sammy chuckled. "Hit him in the back of the head. He thought the other jackal did it, and their whole patrol gave up looking for us and watched the two of them fight. God that was funny, except the part where we were wounded, chased and nearly caught, thing." The black ops again shared a brief laugh. They knew the importance of not worrying too much about the operation, they had to relax and avoid combat stress. Years of working in hostile battle situations, mostly behind enemy lines, had taught them that stress would only increase their chances of mental fatigue. All marines learned to harness stress and use it during battle. The body would use stress by sharpening their reflexes and rising adrenaline, but the side affect was the overwhelming mental crash when the moment passed. The Black Ops had trained beyond this. Much like the Spartans, the black ops had learned to mental push pain away and focus on whatever their task was.

"19." Roy 02 shouted from the pilot's chair. "Phantom inbound. It's on an intercept course."

"Probably Vornaldea's ship." Eric gazed out the front view port as the phantoms sped toward each other.

"They're transmitting." Roy sighed.

The deep bass of an aged elite reverberated on the com speaker, "This is elder Vornaldea to incoming Phantom. Follow my Phantom back to the docking ring..."

"Elder, this Sergeant Raynord, I'm afraid we can't do that right now. Have you spoken with Dr. Halsey about leaving Jogrennilee?"

After a slight pause, "Sergeant? Yes. I spoke with the Doctor and she informed me of an option to leave this world. How did you get into the Inner Sanctum?"

"We had help. No one was injured and no blood was shed, but that flood creature is getting closer every second. We don't have time to…"

"I have notified all honor guards to begin loading civilians aboard Phantoms, however it will take time. My commanders are now forming a defensive around the city perimeter and the Inner Sanctum doors have been reinforced. Our females and young will be the first to board the Seed ship, then your human marines. I am going to the docking ring to oversee the evacuation."

Eric and Roy gazed at each other with shocked expressions. They had hoped Vornaldea would agree, but the High Elder had already taken all the steps necessary for a complete evacuation of the planet.

"Elder, I am glade to see that you are doing what is right and …"

Vornaldea interrupted again, "Bladra was overrun and soon the cave entrance will be breached, Sergeant. While my forces oversee the evacuation and protection of the city, I ask that you and your team take command of my teams near the cave. Make haste, Sergeant. We have more then three million civilians to evacuate."

"Three million!" Eric gazed downward at his feet, and attempted to look through the bulkhead of the phantom at the city below. He knew there were a lot of them, but it hadn't dawned on him that every civilian on the planet was now hiding within the Inner Sanctum's city. "How many phantoms do you have at your disposal?"

"Sixty. It will take several hours to complete." Vornaldea sighed. He knew that it would take more then a few hours to evacuate all of the civilians, but he had no other options.

A burst of static cut through their lines, "Elder, Sergeant, this is Halsey. I need Sergeant Raynord to come to the Seed ship for a moment and to pick up Kelly. She is willing to help defend. It is rather pointless for her to sit here. The elite honor guards are more then enough protection."

"Very well, but make haste." The communication ended and elder Vornaldea's phantom sped toward the city below. The aft camera aboard the Black Ops phantom then showed dozens of phantoms speeding toward the Seed Installation.

"Get us up there, 02." Eric sighed. They climbed higher into the sky and as the gravity around the Installation altered, so did the phantom. It rolled over automatically as it adjusted to the force of the new gravity.

"Jesus. This ship must be huge if it's putting off such a strong magnetic field." Roy 02 whistled. Eric agreed. All they could see was a giant dome of light sitting upon one large cylinder tower. The rest of the ship must have been buried within the ceiling of the Inner Sanctum, which was now the ground they were landing on. On the forward view port Eric could see Kelly dressed in her full MJOLNIR armor and Dr. Halsey, but there was no sign of Rose. Dozens of Phantoms were landing and elite females and children began to quickly run into the massive door of the seed ship. Eric and his squad exited the phantom, and were soon followed by Palab and his Mirratord grunts.

Catherine quickly approached, and began gasping for air from her short jog, "Sergeant, I found a cure to the flood spore. It will protect you from the spore infection, but the flood can still kill you. I am working on a way to turn it into a weapon against the flood, but that will take more time. It can not kill a flood combat form, but it can prevent the spores from infecting your body. I need to treat you all, including the grunts." The two medics that were assisting her during Kelly's surgery, stood at Catherine's side. They quickly began to screw injection bottles filled with a pink tinted serum, into their needle guns.

"Roll up your sleeves." Catherine stated as she also picked up a gun. "You'll feel the affects immediately." Catherine placed the steel nozzle on Eric's forearm and injected him, followed by Roy, while her medics injected Sammy, Melanie and Mathew. She then tossed the empty bottle and screwed in a second, but this time the liquid was more of a blue tint. She approached Palab and he seemed nervous.

"It different." Palab noticed the different tint.

"Your blood makeup is different, and if I used the same serum on you that I gave the humans than your blood would boil." Catherine's words seemed to appease Palab and he extended his wrist. She proceeded to inject him and two others, while her medics assisted. She then approached Kelly and gazed into her golden visor. "No telling how long we'll need to prep this ship, but if things get hairy down there, pull them out."

"Yes ma'am." Kelly's words came from her external monitor and each of the black ops looked at her with pure glee. They were finally going to be fighting along side a Spartan.

Melanie grabbed her stomach and fell to her knees. Every muscle in her body quickly tightened, cramping at an alarming rate. She groaned as Roy and Sammy came to her aid. Shock quickly overcame everyone as they pondered what was happening.

"Doc!" Eric stated as he ran to Melanie's side.

"Medic!" Catherine screamed at the nearest medic as she ran to Melanie. The medic gave her a stethoscope and she pulled open Melanie's chest armor. Melanie was shouting uncontrollably, screaming and struggling to regain control of her body. Catherine slid the scope under Melanie's shirt and listened to her heart, while the medics quickly removed their med kit and bio-stat monitors.

Catherine drowned out the screams and listened closely, "Her heart rate is skyrocketing. This shouldn't happen. Blood pressure is also…" Two more screams filled Catherine's ears as she turned and watched Eric and Sammy crumble with the same symptoms.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Kelly stated as she caught Roy before he also fell. One of the medics quickly ran to Justin and caught him mere moments before he also tumbled over in pain. All five of the black ops were yelling as intense pain filled them. Eric was struggling not to yell, but the pain was excruciating.

Catherine looked at them and then to Palab and his grunts. Palab was terrified. Something was happening and he felt that it would soon affect him as well.

"Bio-stat monitor!" Catherine yelled. The medic tossed the small device and Catherine caught it. She quickly found Melanie's battle armor connection and plugged in the monitor. All of her life signs were in the red, and by all logical terms she should be dead. Catherine then whispered, "I've seen this before."

Palab suddenly collapsed as he reacted in the same fashion that the black ops had. The other grunts panicked but quickly became angry at the human woman, believing that she had injured their leader. They began to growl and slowly circled around Catherine and Melanie.

Catherine ignored their advanced and reflected on Kelly's surgery. The black ops were showing the same symptoms that Kelly displayed when she was introduced to the flood infection. But why now? Catherine looked up as two grunts snarled at her ferociously.

"You kill Palab, we kill you!" The grunt barked. Kelly heard the threat and instantly reacted. She sprinted toward Catherine, but Melanie had already pressed her sidearm to one of the Grunts temples. Kelly saw the speed of which Melanie used to draw her magnum from her hip guard, and realized it was nearly equal to her own natural speed.

"Back off, little guy. I'm starting to feel better, and so is Palab." The grunts turned to see that Palab was starting to stand up. His pain was not as bad as the black ops, and he was only down for a few moments. The grunts raced back to Palab's side. "Doc, I don't want to do that again." Melanie groaned as she slipped her sidearm back into her holster.

Catherine looked at her vitals on the bio-stat monitor, "All green. Blood Pressure is stable, heart rate is starting to regulate, and body temperature is lowering." Catherine gazed at Melanie's eyes and pulled a pen light from the nearest med kit she could find. She quickly checked Melanie's pupil dilation and gasped. "Fast. Extremely fast." She looked over her shoulder and the other black ops were also relaxing again. "Check them. Make sure they are alright." The medics scanned each of them and gave Catherine a positive head nod. She turned back to Melanie. "How do you feel?"

"Better than I've felt in a really long time." Melanie stood up, reconnected her chest armor and began to stretch. "I feel like my body is back to normal… no, not normal. More like, better."

"What happened to them?" Kelly questioned as she helped up Eric.

"I have no clue, but it surely has something to do with their muscle enhancements." Catherine pondered. "Ackerson's research cloned muscle tissue from several of you and implanted them onto the black ops."

Eric stepped forward, "When we first received these muscle enhancements, we were much stronger. But in order for us to live we had to have fallow up treatments. We lost most of our strength because of it."

"Perhaps the DNA structure of your muscle augmentations, combined with the cure, returned your muscle strength to normal. I'll need to run further tests later, if we survive. But what is really making me curious is why Palab reacted to the injection, yet the other grunts didn't?"

Palab looked to the other Mirratord grunts at his side, and he also pondered the question.

Eric looked over his group, "Alright, we'll worry about it later, but for now let's get moving. The flood won't wait for us. Move out, Dogs!"

"Sir!" Everyone turned and sprinted back to the phantom, eager to test their speed. Kelly, the fastest of the Spartans, led the pack, assisted by the additional strength of her Mark V armor. The black ops were only a few steps behind. Palab quickly out paced his grunts as everyone began to board the phantom.

Eric looked at Catherine, "How's Warrant Santos?"

"She was a valuable asset in fixing Kelly's armor. It was only luck that you had her on board. Good thing you pulled her out of New Mombasa. She is now with the Honor Guards going into the engine room and making sure everything is in working order. We've had some small set backs, but nothing we can't handle. She is quite resourceful, but I assume she is not the most dependable in combat."

Eric simply nodded his head in agreement, and without a further word he ran toward the phantom. He could see that more and more phantoms were landing and unloading civilians, but that wasn't his concern. Rose had found something she could do to help, and she would be out of harms way so long as the flood didn't make it into the Inner Sanctum. Now he had to do his duty; combat. He pushed himself in mid stride to see how fast he could move. Eric marveled at his own speed and quickly jumped into the phantom's gravity lift. The ship turned as it lifted into the sky, speeding back toward the ground and the cave area below.

- - - - - - - -

"Damn it!" Rose cursed as she kicked the case surrounding the power conduit. There were certainly more prophets running around the ship, and they were causing a ruckus with every small system they could. Most likely they were trying to sabotage the elites escape plans, but that didn't make much sense to Rose. If the flood got aboard the ship, the prophet clones would surely be in danger as well. No, there had to be another reason why the prophets were causing damage to the ship. She calmed herself and powered down the energy flow to the conduit and then reached inside and began to repair the severed lines.

"Human!" Belmaeda shouted from the opposite room.

"I said my name is ROSE!"

"Rose, I just received word from our other teams. No other prophets have been found." Belmaeda entered the room and found himself staring at Rose's backside as she laid head first into the wall panel. "But more damaged systems were found on lower level."

"We can go there when I'm done here." Rose released a heavy sigh. "Or you can get more engineers in here."

"The engineers, as you call them, are not from our world. They only abide on our capital and flag ships. We have none available at the moment."

"Great." Rose pulled herself from the wall panel and wiped the sweet from her forehead. She walked to the panel and reactivated the energy flow. A calm hum filled the room and then faded as power began to flow normally. "Amazing how quiet these systems are. That was the last one on this deck. If Mercy did this himself he must have been working for a long time. Where to next?"

"I have several warriors assisting on repairs ten decks below. They should be fine. We will need to go down more then thirty decks in order to begin the next set of work."

"Damn this ship is big. Are the civilians being brought aboard yet?"

"Yes, and we have more than enough room for everyone."

"Lead the way to the next area."

Belmaeda led Rose toward the center of the ship where several gravity lifts lined a circular drop off. In the center Rose could see the massive size of the ship's interior. The decks were layered toward the bottom, but the ships size made it impossible for her eyes to see the bottom.

"How many decks are on this ship?" Rose was amazed at the sheer size of it and she wanted to grasp its size with a number.

"So far, my scouts have counted more then one hundred levels. And each deck is easily the length of one of our capital ships. The smallest decks are the command area, which we believe to be the Sacred Hall area." They stood upon the gravity lift and began their decent to the lower levels. They passed deck by deck with blazing speed as they were engulfed in a blue-purple light.

Filled with questions Rose looked down to Belmaeda as he floated beneath her, "Why did they make this thing so big? It was simply supposed to carry DNA samples, right?"

"We have yet to answer many questions about this ship. Not until you humans arrive did we even know of these lower decks. But the prophet clone will answer, when we have time."

Their speed began to slow and Rose felt a small sense of motion sickness, but it quickly passed and she found herself hovering. She stepped off the gravity lift and saw several elites working on a small access panel.

"Elder Belmaeda." The elite nodded. "We finished on the other decks and we came here to assist you and the human."

"Good, continue here. We will venture forward. The report said that there were ten damaged systems here."

Rose hefted her bag of supplies and followed Belmaeda as the elites continued to work. There was a lot of work left to be done, and no time to do it.

- - - - - - - -

ONI Stealth Cruiser: Rogue Fantasy
08:56 October 26, 2552
Dorenth Orbit

Captain Monroe sat back at her desk and pondered the transmission. What the hell was Ackerson thinking? Mars? She looked at the transmission again as she cupped her hand over her mouth.

Location: ONI Stealth Cruiser Rogue Fantasy
Time: 22:41 October 25, 2552
Transmission Origin: Unknown
From: - Colonel J. Ackerson
Recipient: Captain M. Monroe

"Make best speed to Mars orbit once you have captured the Seed Installation. If the mission fails, notify me immediately."

End Transmission.

It was a very clear and simple order. But why bring it to Mars and not Earth? Admiral Hood had sent an emergency communication two days ago; 'All Military Return'. The order was clear to return to Earth, but Ackerson was telling them to make best speed to Mars. What the hell was he planning?

Captain Monroe was always suspicious of Ackerson's orders, especially when he picked her as the Commanding Officer of her own ship. She was fresh from the Naval Academy in Sydney, had only completed forty hours of simulated piloting of a frigate and had never been in command. Everything the man did was backwards. Of course Captain Monroe knew that he was simply gathering as many young officers as he could because none of them would surpass his rank. Everyone around him was damaged goods, average soldiers with low determination, or completely incapable of following direct orders. Luckily, Monroe was smart enough to know the meaning of the word 'Family'.

With Kim Peters, Black Op 04, and Eric Raynord 19, she had established a well knit group of dependable soldiers, and once they entered combat they each began to bond and excel in their duties. She found a hole in Ackerson's attempt to keep himself surrounded by stupid sidekicks that would make him look good.

"Siren, mission time?"

"Forty Minutes past Zero hours. I've been monitoring that… thing. It's still digging into the tunnel. I estimate they have less then an hour before that creature's tentacles begins to reach the Inner Sanctum doors."

"Are we ready to send the package?"

"Yes ma'am. I uploaded a copy of some basic subroutines into a Phantom. I can pilot it anywhere and detonate the package when needed."

"Very good. Keep your ears open for the signal. Something tells me that thing won't let the ship escape with trying to get aboard it. We're going to have to fire the package earlier then we thought."

"I've already made calculations, captain. We need to drop the package two hundred and thirty kilometers north by north east of Jogrennilee. There is a fault line beneath a canyon system that will put the Nova more then eight hundred feet below the planet's surface. This will slow down the speed of planetary decay on the surface and give thermal expansion more time to decay anything above ground. The creature will be destroyed mere minutes before the Seed ship breaks free from the planet. The Seed ship should be able to break free from the planet before any severe damage is caused."

"If you say so, but I hope you are correct."

"Ma'am, I can't afford not to be correct." Siren paused for a moment as she accessed the elite battle net. "Captain, the Knight and Piercing Arrow's battle fleet has picked up all of the above ground survivors and they are pulling out of orbit. Ship Master Timnaldee is quite an efficient leader. He organized his fleet and pulled out the elite and grunt survivors from cities all over the world, in less then two hours. No wonder the high council placed him in command of the fleet."

"That's good to know, Siren." Monroe sat back in her chair and turned off her desk lamp. Her quarters were quickly saturated in darkness, with the exception of the few emergency floor lights that glowed beneath the deck, but she had adjusted to the odd glow long ago. She folded her arms across her lap and closed her eyes. "Keep me informed of any changes. Wake if there is an emergency. Other then that let me sleep for ten minutes."

"Yes ma'am." Siren softly stated into the captain's desk speaker, but Monroe was already asleep. The crew was exhausted, as was everyone on the planet as well, but they had to push on. Siren quickly began to monitor all incoming communication's traffic across the elite and UNSC frequencies. She also monitored the Rogue Fantasy's systems as well as the crew's status. She split herself even further by listening in on the Black Ops channel, monitoring their communications to each other. They had just landed on the Seed ship to pick up Spartan 087.

Even though Siren was stretching herself with so many activities, she was only using sixty percent of her resources; well within normal processing range.

"A cure?" Siren questioned within herself. She overheard Dr. Halsey's brief explanation and marveled at the possibilities. She continued to listen as the medics and Dr. Halsey began to administer the serum. But she suddenly heard Melanie scream in pain.

"Mel?" The tone in Siren's voice was that of uncontrolled shock. She couldn't see what was happening, but she knew Melanie's voice. She then heard Eric yell to Dr. Halsey, but more screams began to flood into her mind. She could hear them all, screaming in pain.

"Mel!" Siren shouted. Her voice filed every speaker aboard the Rogue Fantasy, startling the crew and waking Captain Monroe.

"Siren?" Monroe struggled to focus and she turned on her desk lamp gazing around the room with complete confusion.

Dr. Halsey's words began to fill Siren's digital mind as the Doctor began to scan Melanie's vitals. Then, in the background, Siren heard the grunt of human male. The simple grunt turned into a groan and then a sudden scream of agony.

"…Eric…" The soft words filled the speakers of the Rogue Fantasy again, and Captain Monroe raced from her room and ran to the bridge.

"Siren, give me an update!" Monroe received no reply. "Siren, what's going on?" Captain Monroe ran onto the bridge and looked to her command crew. "Contact Black Op 19."

"…Eric…" the words echoed again across the ship wide intercom.

"Ma'am, all frequencies are down. I can't contact any of the black ops."

"Siren, what's going on? Get me in touch with 19!" Monroe shouted, as she gazed at the empty holo-tank near her command chair.

"Captain, stability thrusters are firing! We're moving!"

"Helm?"

"Ma'am, I'm not doing it! Coordinates have been set for… my god!"

"Captain, we're entering the atmosphere"

"Jesus! It's Siren! She's locked us out of all systems!"

"Helm, what's the heading!"

"Jogrennilee, ma'am!"

"We're going in hot! Too fast! Damn it, too fast!" The Rogue Fantasy began to rumble as they impacted Dorenth's atmosphere. The ships bulkheads moaned with the stress of forcing its way into the planets protective layers of gasses. Monroe was tossed to and fro and she slammed against the wall. One of the command crew raced to her aid, but she waved him off as she clumsily staggered to her feet. The constant rumble filled her ears as her crew began to yell out critical alarms.

"Cut out the main line! Get control of my ship back! Siren, release control of my ship! That's an order!"

The bridge speakers burst with static, "Mel and Eric… I can't let them die!"

"You are putting this ship in danger! Release control, now!"

"Captain, the hull is buckling. Fractures detected all over the place! There's too much stress and we're going in too fast!"

"Siren!"

"Engine pressure is redlining! Core breach immanent!"

"Ma'am, she uploaded herself into the ships main processor. I can't cut her out!"

"Jesus, can she do that? Damn it!"

"I've got helm control! I'm leveling off!"

"Engines online and returning to normal. Reducing power."

"We got the ship back…"

"What the hell? Helm, bring the ship about, before the city defenses start taking shots at us again."

"I… I'm sorry." Siren sobbed through the speakers.

"Lock Siren out of the system. Upload her back into her own mainframe and then pull the hard line until we find out what happened."

"Ma'am, I reached 19, he and the other are on a Phantom heading to defend the Inner Sanctum. He says everything is okay, now."

"Let me speak to him."

"Channel open." A burst of static filled the speakers.

"Captain." Eric stated over the channel.

"19, what happened down there?"

"We worked out everything with the elites and Dr. Halsey had a cure. We had a minor reaction to it." Eric replied, but in the background there were outcries at Eric's poor choice of words. "It had something to do with our augmentation."

"We have a bit of situation up here." Monroe sighed. "We lost control of Siren, she must have been monitoring your chatter."

"Is the ship in danger?"

"Not at the moment. We are rejoining the elite fleet in orbit, but as long as Siren is running Rampant…"

"Rampant, ma'am?" Eric questioned.

"She took over the ship and nearly tore us apart trying to get down to the city. I have no idea what she was planning, but I can't trust her at this moment. Also, she deleted our original AI when she came on board, so we do not have a backup to remotely pilot the Package."

"Other options?"

"Still working on that. I'll notify you when I have a solution. How much time before the elites are ready?"

"A few hours, maybe more, but I'll keep you posted. 19 out."

The channel closed and Monroe slouched in her command chair, "Status."

"We're holding orbit with the elite fleet. Tech officers and crewman are beginning repairs."

"Siren, what the hell were you doing?" Captain Monroe shouted at the holo-tank at her side. Siren's image phased into view and she lowered her head in shame.

"Captain, I…"

"Nearly crashed my ship into a mountain of flood and flood spores, or gotten us shot down by the flood controlled city defense grid? Pick one!" Monroe fumed.

"I … I wanted to help them."

"How? They're ten miles underground!" Captain Monroe placed her hand to her head, furious. But she was even more bothered that she was yelling at a computer. Aries never had this problem, but then again Aries didn't have half of Siren's power.

"My emotional subroutines, I… I sometimes loose control of my actions." Even though she didn't visually need to use her eyes to see, Siren still turned her head away from Captain Monroe. Shame completely consumed her.

"Then you should have shut down your emotions. Never mind the fact that you don't need them."

"There's an error in my subroutines, and I can't repair it. It is causing me to not be able to shut down my emotions. It has been getting worse sense I came online for this mission."

Monroe sat back in her seat again and gazed at the tiny figure floating at her side, "You should have told me this when you first came on board. Shut down Siren. In your current state we can't use you."

"What about 19 and the others? Only I can remotely control the Pelican and detonate the NOVA."

"We will have to find another option. Shut down." Monroe rubbed her fingers together in thought and then notice that Siren was still gazing at her.

"Ma'am, please. I made a mistake, and I reacted rashly. I was worried and my emotions affected the ships systems. I won't let it happen again. Please let me finish the mission."

Captain Monroe sat in awe of what she was seeing. Siren stood upon the holo-tank, gazing at the captain and was on the verge of crying.

"Affected the ships systems? Siren, you took us directly toward the city. We didn't fall from orbit; you took us out of orbit. Your actions were deliberate." Monroe leaned closer to the tank. "Shut down! That's an order."

Siren slowly faded and her hands clasped to her face as she vanished, "Yes… captain."

For a moment Monroe thought that she saw a tear role from Siren's eye. It was a hologram, but a tear none the less. She stood from her chair and gazed into the eyes of her command crew. They all felt the tension. Without Siren it would mean that delivering the package was going to be much more difficult.

- - - - - - -

Elite Inner Sanctum
Cave of the Prospects

Twenty elite warriors waited. Twenty warriors that craved combat and action, but all of them felt some form of apprehension at the constant shrieks that echoed throughout the cave. Their only protection was the massive door that protected the Inner Sanctum from the unrelenting parasitic horde, but could it hold from the constant strain of weapons fire. The flood had made it to the Inner Sanctum, and only a few inches of metal and stone held them at bay. Numerous explosions could be heard on the other side, the flood were using plasma weapons, mostly the same weapons that the elite ground troops possessed before they were defeated.

An elite approached the door, placing his palm on it cautiously. As he had feared, the door was getting hot, and he was barely able to touch it. The doors temperature was warming rapidly and eventually it would not be able to hold. The super structure would weaken from the heat, and then crack from the strain. The walls around the door would be the first to give out, and then the door would crumble from the force of its own weight. The elite warrior turned and looked to his newly formed team and shook the warm sensation from his palm. Behind him were four specters and one wraith. It was all that was left after the watchman had attacked earlier, and the elders refused to give him any other vehicles because they needed them to defend the city.

The elite lifted his head and thought on the best way to defend the cave once the flood breached the door. The ceiling of the cave was high, much higher then the door itself. Useless, but it would give the wraith a better firing arc to lob plasma onto the parasites. He pointed to the wraith and motioned for the tank to maneuver back several yards. The wraith tank was slow and useless in close combat with such a large number of forces. It would be best used at a distance and fired over the specters. The blue-purple wraith tank hovered backwards until it was clear of the front line of specters. The cave was tall and wide, and if the flood was able to get through the door then they would also be able to take cover behind any of the numerous cavern walls.

"Hopeless." The elite grumbled. His fate had already been decided. He would fight to the death, hoping that he could stall the parasites long enough so that the civilians would escape. He volunteered for this assignment, to lead this team, to do something that would bring honor back to his name. He was a traitor that was looking to regain the honor he once held so proud amongst the Mirratord ranks, but in a moment of revelation he lost it all.

Gridolee twisted the hilt of his single blade and looked at it with a heavy heart. The motto of the super secret elite order was engraved therein.

"For the Honor of the Mirratord."

He honored those words more than any he had ever learned in his days at the academy, but now the words burned within him with a stabbing pain. Had he not met Simyaldee, the Mirratord second, he too would have fallen with his watchmen kin; slain by the more experienced Mirratord warriors. Gridolee thought that he was the best amongst the Mirratord. He thought that the high council was weak and he thought that the prophets were right. Signs had lied to him, tricked him and used him against his brothers. Gridolee gripped his hilt firmly in his hand. He was ready to accept his fate. High elder Vornaldea was the only one that knew of his error, but hopefully his death would restore his respect.

"Lieutenant, a phantom approaches!" One of the elites shouted from the cave exterior. Gridolee turned and watched as a phantom hovered beyond the cave exit and began to drop several grunts and humans. In the distance another Phantom was on approach and it quickly dropped five elite rangers before speeding back toward the city. The first Phantom powered down and landed.

Gridolee walked through his line of specters and elites and approached the cave entrance. He looked the humans over, quickly recognizing them as the human sergeant's team, but behind their masks he could not tell them apart. He came closer and quickly glanced at the green armor of the Demon, but didn't give it much thought.

Eric stepped forward, "Gridolee?"

"Sergeant, why have you come?" Gridolee asked as he looked over the group of humans and grunts. The ranger elites quickly joined the group and examined the cave instinctively looking for defensive positions.

"Vornaldea told me to come and take command."

"Has my honor been reduced even further?" Gridolee mumbled softly, but he was easily overheard by Eric and the Rangers.

The ranger squad leader stepped forward, "There is no time to discuss. The parasite will breach the door soon. Lieutenant your defense is well made, but we will need to move some of the warriors…"

"Do as you will." Gridolee interrupted. He turned and walked toward the door. "I will be with the front line."

Eric thought for a moment, but there was not time to dwell on Gridolee, "Sergeant Palab, move your grunts and stationary guns to flank the door. But not too close, that wraith will do the majority of the work. I need your grunts to take care of stragglers. Rangers, assist Sergeant Palab. Divide your squads accordingly. "02, get back to the Phantom and be ready to lay down cover fire if we need to retreat from the cave. You'll have to cover us until we can regroup."

"Roger that." Roy 02 saluted as he turned and ran toward the Phantom.

"Always the easy stuff for little 02." Sammy 13 laughed.

"Can't help it if I'm the best pilot." Roy returned.

"Cut the chatter." Eric barked. "05, barrow some grenades and set up a 'Lettuce Patch' outside the cave, in case we have to run."

"A 'Lettuce Patch'! I haven't done that since field training." Melanie giggled. She raced toward the front line and began asking elites for their plasma grenades.

"Spartan, you and I will join Gridolee on the front line." Eric stepped forward, but Kelly grabbed him by the shoulder.

"How can you join them so easily?" Kelly stated through a closed channel so that only Eric could hear.

"Who said I'm joining them?" Eric replied. "We have a common enemy right now, and the only way off this planet of theirs is to work with them. Everything I've done has been so that I can protect my men." Kelly looked around the cave, taking notice that the Black Ops were in the best positions to retreat if the battle became hopeless.

"Then why do you want to go to the front line?"

"Because if any of my men are going to die, it'll be me."

Kelly released Eric's shoulder and followed him. Kelly thought that Eric reminded her of John 117, despite the physical differences. The Master Chief and Sergeant Eric Raynord had similar leadership qualities and personalities when it concerned protecting the squad. She was finally beginning to understand Eric a little better, but the more she began to understand Eric, the more she thought of John. The Master Chief had done so much on his own doing these last few months of the war, and even though they fought together for a few days she was quietly pulled away from the team.

Eric stood next to Gridolee as Palab gave orders near the left side of the door. Kelly stood at Eric's side and raised her M90 to shoulder level.

"Tell me something, Demon. Why do you fight in this war?" Gridolee questioned, but he didn't look at Kelly.

Kelly released a simple sigh, "Call me Spartan. And I fight to protect humanity."

"I see. I dreamed of facing you in combat, when I heard that the male… Spartan… had destroyed the Ring world. I could not wait to slay you." The door began to glow a solid pink as the heat began to build within it. It would only be a few moments before the door would give.

"You and every other covenant bastard in your fleet probably thought the same thing."

"It was our blindness that drove us to such thoughts. Such hatred and so many lies." Gridolee activated his twin blades and lowered his posture. The specters behind the front line came to life, as the gunners and drivers prepared for the first wave of parasites to leap through the door. Eric and Kelly followed suit and stooped down to one knee.

Kelly turned and looked around Eric at Gridolee, "Humanity, never crossed you. You were committing galactic genocide for no reason. You were following your prophets' orders without remorse. At any point did you ask yourselves, why?"

"As I said, Spartan. We were blind." Gridolee lowered his head in shame, yet again. Kelly turned her head and could see that all of the elites nearby heard their words, and they all hung their heads in shame. The elites had lost so much in the past few days, all at the expense of the prophets' treachery and lies. Their world was dieing, the next generation of their young warriors had been killed and soon they would be left without a home.

"Somehow, I still have no pity." Eric added. Gridolee turned his head slightly and looked into Eric's reflective mask.

"I would not ask for your pity, Sergeant Raynord. You gained my respect many days ago, and all that I would ask from you is a chance to repay my debt to your kin." Gridolee returned his focus to the door as it began to glow white hot. "I can not speak for my brothers, but until the traitors have been slain, I will honor you humans and do whatever it is that my life beckons to make a mends for the deeds we have done. If I die in battle today, know that I died for my honor."

Eric chuckled, "Why would you want to die at the hands of the flood? No, Lieutenant Gridolee, you won't die today. If you want to die, then die with your hand around a prophet's throat. Only then will you gain any honor in my eyes."

Gridolee let the words seep into his mind. Sergeant Raynord was right; this would not be the honorable place to die. The prophets did this, ruined him, disgraced his kin and used them throughout history. The door exploded sending stone fragments scattering across the ground. The blue haze of wraith mortar blasts continued to impact the door, widening the gap. Soon the door had completely collapsed and the mortar blasts ceased.

Gridolee raised his left handed blade, "Hold! Let it come out to us!" The small platoon of humans, grunts and elites patiently waited for the call to battle, as wails and shrieks filled the cave with an impending since of doom. Combat forms by the dozens began to flow through the door as everyone waited for the word to attack.

"… a little closer." Eric softly mumbled. Gridolee, with his left blade still in the air, waited for Eric to give the word. "Closer…" Eric mumbled again. Palab, on the other side of the door waited with eight elites and two of his Mirratord grunts positioned on plasma turrets and he gazed at Gridolee's hand with eagerness in his mind. The flood were charging both groups, dividing their forces and rushing the lines fast.

"Now!" Eric pulled the trigger on his shotgun and aimed at the chest of the closest combat form.

Gridolee lowered his blade toward the oncoming line of flood combat forms and wave after wave of plasma tore across the heads of everyone on the front line. Palab and his squad also began to fire their plasma turrets and lobbed grenades into the mass of creatures. Soon the wraith tank began to lob tones of molten hot plasma onto the door area of the flood, scattering their decade mass across the cave floor. The fire power of the specter's turrets and the grunt plasma turrets made short work of the front line of combat forms, but more was coming. The flood gates had truly been opened.

"They just keep coming!" Gridolee roared. One of the parasites leapt toward him and cut the creature in half with his right handed blade, disintegrating the body before it could land.

"We can't fall back yet!" Eric roared over the constant hum of plasma and human weapons fire. But then bursts of plasma began to graze pass him and the front line. "Damn it!" Kelly shifted and placed herself partially in front of Eric to help shield some of the fire.

"Sergeant Palab's squad is being over run. They are relocating!" Gridolee roared as he pointed toward the left side.

Eric looked across the decay of flesh and raining mortar and saw the rangers step up and join Palab as they fired their plasma rifles into the oncoming lines of combat forms. They were guarding the other Mirratord grunts as they displaced the plasma turrets to another position.

"Don't worry about them! They've done this before! Maintain fire!" Eric roared as he took down two more combat forms, but three took its place.

Of all the warriors fighting the flood within the cave, Palab was clearly the most experienced. From Delta Halo to the streets of Jogrennilee, the grunt leader had seen his fare share of the parasite and survived each encounter. With the quickness and grace of his ancestors, Palab let the flood come as close as possible before he fired his plasma rifle into the creatures chest. The parasite was drenched in pound after pound of super heated plasma, and the infection form buried within its chest quickly popped from the heat. The combat form tumbled to the ground and Palab averted his attention to the next target. He quickly dodged the off target plasma shots from a nearby elite combat form and tossed a fragmentation grenade into the pack. He began to back peddle closer to the ranger squad behind him and grunted as the grenade propelled three combat forms into the air. Their lifeless corpses crumbled upon the cave's sandy ground.

At Palab's side stood the elite ranger's squad leader in his smoke-grey armor. With dual plasma rifles he cut down several of the creatures with little difficulty, but a combat form landed in front of him and slapped him across the chest with a tentacle. The power from the fragile creature was more then he thought possible. He tumbled backward and released an echoing roar, but his cry of pain was unheard over the constant mortar explosions. His shields burst into static, thankfully saving his life, and he tossed his plasma rifles to the ground. With one upward swing of his right arm, he gripped his energy sword hilt from his hip and cut through the parasite's chest. It exploded in a mist of green decay. He released a battle cry that every nearby ranger could hear, and they all pulled swords from their hip mounts. He began to charge into the mass of flood combat forms but Palab quickly cut into his path; stopping them from charging.

With one eye on the flood advance, Palab yelled, "You not attack! You be hit by friendly fire!" The elite looked up and calmed his aggression. His call to battle was driving him to sear the flesh of the parasite upon his blade, and his squad was eager to follow, but the mortar blasts from the wraith tank would have made his attack futile. He cut down a combat form that wondered to close and ordered his men back, denying them their glorious charge. They regrouped and took their plasma rifles in hand.

"I'm out!" Justin 14 yelled from his perched position beside a specter. He dropped his battle rifle and pulled up his side arm; cursing under his breath as the magnum popped its small armor piercing rounds. He quickly whipped through twelve rounds before he finally took down one of the flood combat forms. He cursed again that he didn't have a more powerful weapon and he reached down to grab his spare clip from his boot. He flipped the magazine release and slammed the fresh clip into the handle. "13 please tell me you have a spare 55 mag?"

"I'm on my last clip… these bastards need to stop before we run completely out!"

"19, we're running low on ammo back here!" Justin yelled into his com.

"Use harsh language!" Eric yelled back.

"Die you motha'fuckers!" Sammy shouted over the com.

"That was really lady like, 13!" Justin returned. His last clip ran dry as a nerve rocking click escaped his magnum's chamber. He stood and threw the empty sidearm at the first thing he could see. The five pounds of forged metal soared across the room with the speed of a fast ball, and then impaled itself into a combat forms chest. The creature's fragile skin tore and the infection form popped.

"Hell of a throw 14." Sammy cheered. She stepped up to his position and leveled her rifle. "Get back to the phantom and see if that floating raison has any weapons on board." Her rifle barked as she let loose more rounds into a distant set of combat forms. "And bring me back something to eat, this girl is hungry… ahh" Sammy dropped to her knees and gripped her shoulder. She was flailing madly as she tried to dig at her on own skin. Her rifle clanged off the side of the specter and the elites quickly turned to see what the problem was.

"Hold on!" Justin shouted as he grabbed her. As he moved her he could see the problem with shocking results. He grabbed the green infection form and it popped, scattering decay across his visor. Justin pulled the tiny pincers out and tossed them to the ground.

"The parasite is above!" An elite shouted as he looked upward. Several elites then turned their eyes up and began firing at the infection forms that were crawling along the ceiling. As they fired, they infection forms dropped upon their heads and began to overwhelm them.

"Shit! 19, 13 is down I'm pulling her out to the phantom. We've got infection forms above us, dozens of them. The elites are dropping fast!"

Eric cursed beneath his breath, "fall back to the exit! Move, move, move!" Eric's words were heard by everyone in his group and they all began to fall back. "Dogs, lay down cover fire!" Eric then turned to see that Palab and the rangers were still fighting hard. "Sergeant Palab, get your men out of there! Retreat!"

Palab heard Eric's shout and turned to his team, "Retreat! Leave guns, get out!" The rangers pulled out there energy swords and dashed ahead, cutting through the combat forms. Two of the elites died in the initial charge, but the others made it through and caught up with retreating front line. Palab and his Mirratord grunts sped through the swarm of flood forms, sprinting on all fours. One of the grunts was overrun by a hive of combat forms and his screams were quickly silenced. Palab wanted to go back for him, but there was nothing that could be done. Even with the cure in his body, he was still beaten to death. Palab dodged and followed his other grunts as the specters fired into the mass of creatures behind him. Dead elites began to rise ahead of them, their bodies taken over by the flood infection forms, and Palab dashed ahead of he grunts. His elbow spikes extended and he lunged at the deceased elites before they could fully stand. He stabbed, slashed, and tore the infections out before the bodies could do any harm to his grunts. Two elite combat forms stood to their feet and Palab prepared to attack but powerful explosion of a human shotgun tore through the creature. The Spartan waved for Palab to come on as Eric killed the other combat form. The last three of his Mirratord grunts ran past him and he followed to the cave exterior.

Eric tossed grenades over Palab's head as his communications channel came to life, "19, I just got a call from Vornaldea. Evacuation is complete! He says to get back to the seed now!"

"Already?" Eric questioned. "That wasn't even an hour." Eric looked to the group and did a mental count of the numbers. There were too many to fit on one phantom. Another ship was needed, but there wasn't enough time. "02, get off the phantom. Gridolee, take the phantom and get your elites to the ship."

"You are staying here?" Gridolee questioned.

"Until you come back to get me and the grunts. We're going to take the specters and make a run for the city. Pick us up there." Eric hated the plan, but it was the only option. He turned and tore a hole in a combat form with his M90 shotgun. "Get going. Dogs, load up the specters. Sergeant Palab, you and grunts take point." Gridolee cautiously ran toward the phantom, grabbing Sammy 13's unconscious body, and was the last to board. Eric and his team mounted the specters and sped off behind Palab and his three grunts.

"Stay alive Sergeants, I'll be back to get your teams with haste. I have the injured one; she will only slow you down." Gridolee said in the com. Eric couldn't help but feel some form of reassurance at the elite's words, but he couldn't depend on Gridolee coming back. He had to fend form himself. He had yet to put his trust in any of the elites and he wasn't about to do it now, even though he grabbed Sammy without being told to. Aboard Eric's specter were Justin and Melanie, while Mathew drove separately to get better speed out of the craft. Kelly was riding with Roy, and Palab was ahead with his three grunts. They sped across the field as the combat forms gave chase, but the specters speed was just enough to put them out of harms way.

"13, set off the Lettuce Patch!" Eric ordered.

Melanie flipped the switch in her pocket and a detonator exploded near the cave exit, and that in turn set off a chain reaction of explosions from the well placed plasma and frag-grenades. The explosion sent a plum of dust and rocks in all directions destroying hundreds of flood combat forms, but still more continued to run out of the cave.

"It was small, but affective I guess." Melanie sighed as she looked back at the explosion. "They're still coming, but at least we slowed them down."

"Let's hope we slowed them down enough." Justin 13 added.

"Rogue Fantasy, this is Black Op 19. We are prepping to evac the Seed. Get ready with the package."

Captain Monroe sat forward in her command chair and rubbed her temples, "Understood, 19. We'll be ready."

There were too many options and not enough time. Captain Monroe needed to get the NOVA planet side, and without risking the life of anyone in her crew. "Helm, set a course for the fault line that Siren selected as the delivery point. We'll take the whole ship down there and drop it ourselves." The crew turned and looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "Now, gentlemen."

"Yes ma'am. Entering orbit. Co-ordinates set." The helmsman turned and looked at Captain Monroe. "Should I prep an escape trajectory?"

"By all means. I don't plan to be down there any longer then necessary." The Rogue Fantasy casually accelerated toward the canyon system and hovered directly over the package delivery spot. "Juggernaut, change in plans. Take the NOVA to the nearest door and be ready to push it out. We'll get as close as we can before we drop it."

"Yes ma'am." Juggernaut replied over the com. The Rogue fantasy leveled out as it approached the monstrous series of Canyons beneath its hull. The sky was thick with flood spores and it created an eerie green and yellow glow everywhere.

"Ma'am, we're over the target with only a .002 percent chance of error."

"That'll have to do. Juggernaut, are you ready?" Monroe said into her communicator.

"We're ready captain. Bay doors are open and the package is ready to fall."

"Start the timer on my mark."

- - - - - - - -

Eric looked up with hopes of seeing a phantom descending toward him, but there was no sign of it. He then found himself speeding into the city, heading toward the center but something ahead of him gave him a chill. Palab's specter ahead stopped and the four grunts were gazing into the heart of the city with shock written across their faces.

"Very bad thing!" One of the grunts shouted as it hopped nervously on the back of the specter.

"Oh shit!" Melanie cursed. In front of them were long winding tentacles that were all beginning to wrap around the buildings and streets.

"It's already here!" Justin shouted.

"What the hell is that?" Kelly gawked as she peered into the city. "Is that the creature?"

"We'll have to form up on the edge of town." Eric ordered to his squad. "I'd rather face the flood then that thing. Palab, turn around and follow us."

"Roger." The command crew unanimously replied. Roy and Mathew had already turned around and Eric quickly followed. Palab's specter was close on his tail.

"Tentacle not move. Creature not follow." A grunt stated to the group.

"Fall out and hold that rooftop." Eric pointed to the last building on the edge of town and they quickly jumped out of the specters. With speed, grace and power, all five black ops sprinted up the winding ramps without breaking a stride. Kelly fell in line and the four grunts pulled up the rear. It was five flights to the top and Melanie kicked open the door. She quickly scanned the rooftop as she walked toward the edge of the rooftop and looked toward the field. There was a sea of oncoming combat forms.

"There has to be thousands of them." Melanie mumbled.

"Check ammo, Tango formation D." Eric's orders went without a response and they all checked their weapons. Roy and Justin held Carbines that they gathered from the specters, while Melanie and Mathew held their BR55's tightly. Kelly stood at Eric's side, while the grunts took position between the humans. They then fell into an arrow formation with Eric and Kelly at the point and everyone else fanning out from behind him. Eric and Kelly had the heavy weapons, M90 shotguns, which meant taking on the close range attack.

Palab began to sniff the air, "Parasite come!" His words were unnecessary as the stampede of flood combat forms could be heard, but the constant screams and wails also began to fill the air. "Grenades!" Palab shouted to his grunts. They each took grenades in hand and waited for the order to launch them into the door. The building itself began to shake from the charging mass of dead parasites running up the ramp. Eric lowered himself to a knee and pulled his shotgun to eye level. Kelly then took notice of her motion sensor; they were close and the numbers were off the scale. A combat form rounded the corner of the top floor and ran toward the door leading to the roof. Once it crossed the threshold it was cut in half by carbine projectiles. Roy, Justin's job was to take down anything that came in sight. While the stronger weapons would be for the creatures that got too close.

More combat forms filled the hall, and Palab launched his grenades into the door. His grunts did the same. A concussion of repetitive explosions followed and the shrieks of the combat forms faded for a moment. But then they flowed through the door as if unaffected by the explosions.

Round after round escaped every weapon as the black ops let loose with every amount of determination they had. Green carbine rounds soared over Eric's head as he cautiously picked his targets. He only had twelve shots before he would need to reload, and he knew that he couldn't waste his shots; the creatures had to be close. Kelly was also aware of her situation, eyeing the carnage and tumbling bodies as they fell at her feet. She fired one round at a combat form that was only two feet away, tearing the body into a pile of remains.

They pressed on, unrelenting, unforgiving, unconcerned for their own safety and determined to feed upon the living bodies ahead of them. Soon Eric found himself shooting more often and keeping a mental count of how many rounds he had fired. He had six shots left, and he didn't have time to reload. They were pushing closer and closer and piling up at his feet as his team mowed them down. This was it. No were to run too, no were to escape to. No more falling back; the last stand. His ears filled with the nervous retort of Melanie, cursing with every shot she made. She was loosing control, becoming angry and agitated at the assault. Roy was also panicking, loosing his calmness. He was the youngest of all the black ops, but he was still a black op. His team was loosing there edge, and Eric couldn't stand it.

Eric hopped back, reloading his shotgun as he put a small amount of space between himself and the flood. Kelly kept firing; she knew there was nowhere to run to. With every shot she pumped the chamber and fired again, but then her chamber clicked; no more rounds. Out of the corner of her eye, Eric charged into the mass of Flood combat forms. His right shoulder held low, and he plowed the first five parasites over with his own brute force. His squad gasped for a second, but continued to fire and reload. Kelly quickly reloaded her M90 and stood up and followed Eric into the fray. Two shotguns discharged at an alarming rate as Eric and Kelly fought the creatures as they came into the door. Eric planted his foot on one of the parasites and kicked it, sending it tumbling backwards into the other combat forms. Plasma flowed over his armor and he gritted his teeth to fight the pain. He raised his weapon and took down the combat form that had shot him.

"Eric, fall back!" Melanie nervously shouted, but Eric didn't heed her plea and continued to fire. A tentacle wiped across his back and tumbled forward, groaning as his shoulder dislocated from the blow. He looked up and saw Kelly slam the butt of her shotgun against a combat form, and then kicked it. Eric turned over to face the creature that hit him in the back and raised his shotgun. He pulled the trigger… nothing. He was empty. The creature stepped forward and brought its tentacle down on him but Palab wracked his elbow spike across the creature's chest, killing the infection form within. Palab bobbed and weaved through the numerous combat forms, stabbing and slashing with his elbow spikes. His eyes filled with determination and unrelenting aggression he took down a combat form and then another. But a tentacle crashed across his chest and sent him tumbling backward. He staggered to his feet and charged again.

Eric punched his shoulder in frustration, reached into his pocket and pulled out the gift he had received from Captain Domadree. His twin Mirratord blades exploded outward and he cut down three combat forms with one swing. He then ran to Kelly's aid, and raised his blade through the back of a combat form that was hovering over her as she tried to stand.

"Eric!" Melanie shouted. Eric turned to see what Melanie was screaming about and beyond the edge of the rooftop he could see that the tentacles were quickly moving toward them.

A burst of static filled Eric's ears, "Sergeant Raynord, the south side of the roof. Get onto the gravity lift!" Eric turned and saw the purple light of a gravity beam just off the side of the building.

"Go!" Eric pointed to the light as another tentacle cracked across his chest. Kelly was close to the lift and she began to open fire on the combat forms with her freshly reloaded M90; her last twelve rounds. The grunts quickly divide into the light and were cheerfully pulled upward, but they couldn't see the phantom that was lifting them. The black ops quickly followed but Melanie and Kelly both spotted Eric being beaten by two combat forms. They both launched themselves at the creatures and Melanie grabbed Eric, dragging him toward the light. She tossed him over the ledge and watched as the gravity lifted him upward. She turned and Kelly was back peddling toward her. Melanie lifted her rifle, firing into the overwhelming numbers of the combat forms that were charging Kelly. Kelly pushed Melanie into the gravity lift and she then jumped in. She kept her gun trained downward as she was pulled frantically fast into the sky. The light beneath her began to fade and she looked up to see where they were going.

Upward into the sky they climbed, but there wasn't a phantom above. Faster the sped through the thin clouds and toward the glowing ball of light ahead. The gravity lift was coming from the glowing rays of the Seed Installation. Kelly looked around and zoomed in on a green tentacle that was rising toward the sky. It was far from reaching the seed ship and moving very slow, but then Kelly noticed that the boulders were falling from the sky. The ceiling around the seed ship was crumbling and smashing the tentacles that attempted to reach toward it. The ship was breaking free of its prison and preparing to launch. Within a few moments Kelly found herself turning right side up and landing firmly on the floor of the Sacred Hall.

"We have them!" Vornaldea shouted to the rest of the high ranking elites surrounding him on the sacred hall, which was now the command deck. "Engines to full, break us free from the planet." The elder crossed the pedestal at the center of the massive dome and approached Eric as Melanie examined him. "How is the sergeant?"

"Not good, just back off, I'll take care of him." Melanie frantically replied as she tossed her helmet to the side and examined Eric.

"Why didn't you tell us you had a gravity lift on the ship?" Kelly sternly questioned to the elder.

Vornaldea gazed at Kelly, but maintained his calm demeanor, "We discovered it not long ago and it took some time to maneuver the beam toward your position. But there isn't much time. We must remove him from the command deck, it must be done. And whatever plan you humans have for destroying the flood, now is the time to use it."

Kelly stepped closer to Melanie and Eric, "Private, we should clear him…"

"Not until I know he's okay!"

"05, stay calm." Justin 14 placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke softly. "He'll be fine once we get him to a med area. You're in command of the squad. You have to contact the Rogue Fantasy, or all of this is for nothing."

Melanie calmed herself and picked up her helmet, "Rogue Fantasy, this is 05. The seed is launching, deliver the package! I repeat; deliver the package!"

- - - - - - - -

"Message confirmed, 05!" Captain Monroe pressed the com channel on her arm rest. "Juggernaut… set timer for two minutes and deploy!"

"Captain, it's Siren… she's…" The com died in a burst of static.

"Juggernaut?" Monroe stood to her feet and gazed at the empty holo-tank at her side. "Juggernaut, answer me! Juggernaut?"

To be continued…