The Ark
The Arbiter gracefully landed up the hard metal floor. Raising his head, he saw an older looking human in a white uniform decorated with numerous medals. On the balconies to each side, dozens of armed marines stood at guard with their BR55's across their chests, poised and ready to open fire at the least provocation. What he didn't expect was to see was the golden armored elite by his side with several other members of the exiled covenant behind him. The elite zealot exclaimed with joy, "Impossible! The Arbiter, he still lives! Brother, I am sorry that we did not heed your advice earlier. It may have given us the edge over the Jiralhanae."
"Dominuee! It warms my heart to see you made it off High Charity before the flood were able to overwhelm you," the Arbiter happily responded. He instantly recognized the elite commander the second he saw him. The elite had been faithful and remained a great friend even after he was branded with the mark of shame. Characteristically, Dominuee's posture was not as slouched as the standard elite when at rest. He easily stood at a full eight foot six except when needing to duck under low pathways.
Sergeant Johnson ran over to the side of the Arbiter and exclaimed, "Sweet mother of God it sure feels good to be home!" Then remembering he was in front of a superior officer, he cleared his throat and respectfully saluted the admiral.
Admiral Hood smiled as he looked at Johnson. Miranda followed behind the sergeant and 343 Guilty Spark eagerly hummed around the room absorbing every little detail.
Answering the sergeant's salute, Hood gave one in return and said, "Soldier, it is good to see that you and Commander Keyes are in good health. I didn't know what to think after you followed Regret's ship as it bugged out. Although the ship's jump destroyed much of New Mombasa, there is no more Covenant presence on Earth. As you can see, I think that those new upgrades that they built onto Earth's defense forces are now more than capable of halting any Covenant fleet."
Miranda spoke up after remembering the sight of so many ravaged covenant ships floating around in space among the victorious UNSC forces. "Sir, with all due respect, how did we win the battle here? I mean, from the looks of it, the size of their fleet rivaled that of the one destroying Reach."
Just as she finished he question, the far door opened up and John walked in. "I can answer that, 'mam. Let's just say that there are some people around who really know their sciences." He neatly saluted Admiral Hood and walked over to the group. "Sir, I received orders to come here."
"Yes, Master Chief. I thought you might want to be here and see this," the admiral firmly answered.
The Arbiter was distracted for a moment watching the monitor hovering about and muttering things to its self. However, the familiar voice of the Spartan drew in his attention. "Demon! It appears that we were fated to meet again."
Johnson looked at the Admiral and commented, "Yeah see, those guys over there have that whole new nickname for the Chief. Guess it must be kind of frustrating when one genetically enhanced soldier manages to kick their asses again and again. I like 'Chief' better though."
Ignoring the sergeant, John smoothly replied back to the elite, "Yeah, except things are a bit different now. Now that you know the truth, maybe you can find humanity a bit more … bearable."
The ceremoniously armored elite nodded his head slowly before answering. "Yes. After all these years, I finally see the truth for what it is. Although we have rarely seen it, when peace is brought to this galaxy, we will do all that it takes to amend for our sins and return the honor we once possessed."
Finally deciding to express its thoughts, the monitor hovered down to Master Chief and cheerfully said, "Ah, the reclaimer! I am pleased to see that you finally contained the flood back on the installation, although I found your method to be highly unorthodox! Your species, humanity you call it, looks strangely familiar to my creators except for the lack of the genetic augmentation that many of them experienced."
Admiral Hood raised an eye at 343 Guilty Spark. "Is this thing covenant?"
Miranda quickly answered, "No, it was on the original halo my father found and was created by the forerunners. The Covenant managed to capture it and used it to almost activate the second halo. It's what will help us in finding the ark down on Earth."
Nodding his head for understanding, the Admiral replied, "Very good, Cortana, come to the bridge with this machine so that we can begin searching for this so called ark. We will have transportation ready when it arrives. Until then, I want you, Commander, as well as Sergeant Johnson, and the Master Chief to assemble an assault team and go to the coordinates when available. Arbiter, you are welcome to assemble your own assault team with us. Let this be the first cooperative assignment of our races."
The Arbiter signaled to Dominuee to load up his team on the phantom. He answered affirmatively to Admiral Hood. "Yes, I am very eager to find the truth behind the prophet's lies. I believe that the ark will be a start in the right direction. We will be ready upon signal." He nodded to the human admiral and followed the rest of his team into the phantom. Seconds later, the alien craft roared to life and left the docking bay.
Admiral Hood faced John. "Chief, you know what do to." Taking the data chip containing Cortana from Miranda, he gestured the monitor to follow as he walked out the door. Johnson paced over to the Spartan and smacked him on the shoulder.
"It's good to see you alive and well, Chief. Lets go get find this ark." Walking towards the exit, he turned around and jovially commented, "Com'mon! Don't tell me I'll have to hold your hand!"
John grunted to himself. It was good to see the sergeant again, even if he had to put up with his marine style humor. Regardless, he'd rather listen to a thousand of his bad jokes than have to go into combat without him. Following the marine out the door and with Miranda beside him, he exited the room along with the other marines standing guard. For one not knowing the preceding events, no one would guess that the very beginnings of a new era between the exiled covenant and humanity had just taken place in that very spot.
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Adam Mitchell had sat back in his declinable chair and had fallen asleep. It had been over two whole days before he could have a chance to rest, and sleep gladly surrounded his consciousness. The blackness that clouded his sight sent him into a deep, deep sleep, but something inside of his mind remained active.
Although the Lieutenant was deep asleep, a bright light grew in his closed eyes and the form of a large figure covered in a dark black cape appeared. The bright light illuminating from behind the figure prevented Adam's mind from getting an accurate glimpse of the apparition's face, but it looked surprisingly human. The hooded figure walked a little ways towards him until it appeared that it was about ten yards away. Without notice, a booming voice rang through Adam's mind.
"You have done well, my son. Thanks to your efforts and the guidance we provided to others, humanity has been giving the last lifeline it needs for survival against the alien horde. Remember, the blood of the forerunners flow through you. Although you may not realize it, you will understand the truth soon. My son, you've made us proud. The grand cannon you created fits our designs perfectly, but the second item we told you to make, the weapon for humanity's chosen one, you must give it to him before he leaves the installation. Move, my son, go! Time is of the essence!"
Adam woke up drenched in a cold sweat. He had experienced such dreams before, but he could never make sense of why he had them. They came every now and then, usually when he faced a great problem or before something big was about to happen. It all started when he was six and was playing in the street. A voice commanded him to stop moving and to immediately step back. He did so without consciously complying. Nothing seemed to happen until he looked up. A great metal beam fell in the exact spot he was standing before. It would have crushed him like a bug if he hadn't moved. Every since that day, the voices came every now and then, but he could never explain why he had them.
Go! The chosen one must have that weapon if they are to survive!
Panicking, Lieutenant Mitchell threw open one of his lockers, picking up what looked like the breeding of a BR55 Battle Rifle and M90 Shotgun which was then fed steroids. It was a bit too big and awkward for a marine to use it, but it would be perfect for the seven foot tall Spartan. Powering up the internal hydrogen fuel and grabbing several thin canisters containing a very densely compacted hydrogen solid, he ran out the door to meet the Chief before it was too late.
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The bridge of the Cairo was a flurry of action as 343 Guilty Spark quickly analyzed thermal and microwave images of Earth to find the location of the ark. Looking at an hour worth of data, the monitor finally chimed a great laugh and exclaimed, "Found it! Oh I am just so good aren't I? You see, numerous volcanic eruptions of the past millennia had covered the site with several thick layers of rock and ash. I am most certain that the ark's main entrance is at a desolate location only a few kilometers outside of the city you call New Mombasa. Yes, I am certain that's it. Now you just need a way to burrow through about a mile of dirt and rock!"
Admiral Hood scratched his chin for a moment in deep thought and finally asked aloud to Cortana, "Do you know of any way we can quickly burrow through that much of the ground?"
Taking a moment to analyze all of the potential scenarios Cortana replied, "Sir, conventional drilling will take about two days to cover such a depth and make the hole wide enough to transport personnel and equipment. A few rounds from the MAC cannons might be able to do the job quicker, but it could potentially damage the site."
Deep in though, Admiral Hood finally sighed, "We don't have such a liberty of time. I wasn't planning to go back to Earth for another twelve hours, but this must be dealt with immediately. Cortana, send a message to the Arbiter and ask if they have anything that'll work."
"Yes sir …. Message sent."
About ten seconds passed and Cortana announced that the Arbiter was hailing back and requested connection to a live video feed. Complying the request, Admiral Hood ordered that the elite's ship was to be connected to the Cairo's video feed. The image of the Arbiter covered the screen as he proposed an answer to the problem.
"Admiral Hood, although this method has not been used for a long time, it has previously worked. Our scarabs can be retrofitted and a large drill can be mounted onto its main gun. Although it worked successfully during an operation during the grunt rebellion, such a method was not repeated after failure to secure the tunnel led to its collapse killing an entire division of our Sangheili. If you can provide structural support, we can drill to such a depth in less than an hour."
Cortana jumped into the conversation commenting, "Sir, there is a large steel refinery about two hundred kilometers from the drilling site. I'm sure that we could get the metal beams needed for the tunnel's integrity there."
Admiral Hood thought over the idea and replied, "That will have to do. How long until you will be ready to begin?"
"We will be ready in thirty minutes," the elite answered. All I ask is permission to enter Earth's atmosphere so we can drop the scarab with our gravity lift."
Admiral Hood nodded his head over to the holo display Cortana was on. "Notify the Master Chief and Sergeant Johnson that an assault team is to be sent to Earth on the double. They need to be ready to go in thirty minutes." Facing the Arbiter, he concluded, "Very well, we'll be ready when you are. Hood out."
The communications link was closed and both parties prepared to go to Earth.
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Sergeant Johnson and the Master Chief paced the hallways catching up on lost time. Johnson proceeded to boast how he took out nearly fifty flood combat forms in the quest for delta halo's activation key. Of course, when John recanted his epic tale of traveling through the entire city of High Charity alone, Johnson simply grunted. Although one might think that there was a competitive rivalry between the two marines, by looking deeper, the brotherly bond that only two soldiers can share would become obviously apparent.
In the middle of their conversation, the comm. speakers blared out Admiral Hood's order. "Assault squads alpha through epsilon, report to pelican bay Charlie for immediate departure to Earth. Master Chief and Sergeant Johnson, please escort the troops to the Earth bound destination."
Johnson away from the speaker and simply said to John, "It's show time Chief."
Turned around, the two soldiers began to jog towards the pelican bay. They passed the movement of many marines as they geared up for departure. Turing around one corner, John nearly ran over Lieutenant Mitchell as he gasped for air.
"Master Chief! I need to give this to you. You might need it."
John looked at the weapon with an inquisitive look. "What is it?"
Johnson impatiently snapped, "Look son, we don't have time for this! Chief, grab the man and bring him with us to the pelican bay. As we head towards the surface he can tell us what exactly this monstrosity is."
Although Adam was hunched over trying to fill his lungs with oxygen after sprinting all over the Cairo searching for the Master Chief, John effortlessly scooped up the scientist with one arm and continued the quick jog with Johnson to their destination.
Arriving in the pelican bay, the three men were greeted by the scene of five pelicans revving their lift thrusters as they prepared to take off. One of the squad leaders already on board shouted above the din, "Chief, Johnson, jump in the closest pelican! We have to get moving now!"
Obliging the request, they leapt into the nearest pelican already full with marines. Squeezing together to make room for the extra boarders, the Chief let go of Adam and Johnson filled in behind them. The pelican doors shut and they roared out into space, greeted with the looming figure of the Faithful Blessing, en route to the location of the ark.
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The sky was dark at the coordinates laid out by the monitor. Smoke, dirt, and dust from the destroyed city of New Mombasa were carried by the wind and blanked the sun's rays giving a kind of eerie feel for a typically sunny day. The pelicans dropped off the soldiers as well leaving behind construction equipment for setting up the metal supports in the tunnel. Sergeant Johnson and John began to collect the teams of marines and the leader of team alpha walked over to the Chief with a data chip in his outreached hand.
"Sir, Cortana is on this. The order to leave the Cairo came so suddenly, that we didn't have time to give her to you before we left."
John took the chip, inserted it into the side of his helmet, and he was once again graced with the presence of Cortana.
"Hey, it feels good to be back in here. How're things going for you?"
John gruffly responded, "Fine, thanks." Despite the apparent sound of apathy, the Spartan felt much more comfortable as they prepared to journey to the ark.
Master Chief grasped the weapon that Adam had given to him on the pelican. It felt different than the other weapons he had previously used. All of the weapons he used were specifically designed for either marine or covenant use and they all took time getting used to. However, this new rifle felt like it perfectly fit into his hands.
Walking next to the Spartan, Adam reminded the Chief, "Remember, this weapon should not be used near you for the blast resonates an EMP and will deplete your shields. Oh, and please let me come with you into the forerunner structure. There is, uh, a personal reason why I need to come."
The Spartan only looked at the weapon again and nodded. "Just don't get in the way."
343 Guilty Spark had traveled with team beta and was hovering about the location it claimed was the entrance to the forerunner structure. Sending a signal to the covenant craft, the gravity lift activated and its blue glow pulsated from the mid-belly of the ship down to the ground. After a brief wait, the large silhouette of a scarab floated down from the gravity lift and landed on the ground as its legs extracted from the body. A brief look would indicate that this scarab was no different from any other. However, that image was shattered when the protective front plates opened up and revealed a large drill where the front plasma cannon should have been.
The scarab began to move into position where the monitor sent the signal with the typical sounds of moving metal parts. The now empty gravity lift was filled with the bodies of many elite warriors, several teams of highly trained grunts, and two pairs of hunters. The Arbiter and the while armored elite, Half-Jaw, walked out from the center of the group towards Johnson and John.
The Arbiter was the first to speak. "We come with two teams of hunters and four teams of our best warriors. I see that you have five squads of marines. I feel that we'll be more than prepared for whatever lays beneath the earth."
Johnson, concentrated on the movement of the scarab, replied, "Yeah, well if anything hostile is down there, we'll just have to kick its sorry ass."
The group nodded in agreement as the monitor flew into the scarab to give the pilots directions while drilling. Arching itself face down using its legs to create a thirty degree angle to the ground, the front drill began to whirl until its rotating velocity caused it to hum. Propelling the body downwards, the drill bit caught into the dry, desolate earth and quickly began to chew through the dirt. As the body began to dig deeper and deeper, the legs began to retract and circle around the main body. Within moments, the great machine disappeared only leaving a great gaping hole in the ground.
The vibration from the drilling scarab slowly disappeared and silence covered the landscape. The dark blooms of smoke and dust continued to rise from the destroyed city in the distant horizon. After a thirty minute wait, the Arbiter received the signal from the scarab that they were almost to their final destination.
The thought of the pelicans came to Johnson's mind after overhearing the message and he looked towards the sky. Sure enough, five aircraft enclosed on their location and rapidly approached. Moments later, the pelicans touched down with their compartment bays loaded to the brim with thick steel pillars.
Ordering the marines to get to work, Johnson hollered, "Alright gentlemen. Help load these pillars onto the construction vehicles and lets get this over with. Lets go! Double time!"
The marines quickly raced about encircling fabric to the steel rods so that the miniature cranes could lift them out. As the materials were unloaded, John led the way into the tunnel in front of the machinery. Cortana, using the Chief's advanced sensory equipment in his helmet, quickly analyzed potential points of weakness that needed the metal support. Sounds of metal clanking upon metal and the hissing of steel being smelted together began to fill the tunnel. As each joint was secured, the whole assault team moved step by step closer to the end where the scarab lay waiting.
The task was slow and daunting, but finally after an extra hour and a half of work, the tunnel was perfectly stable and the whole team made it to the base of the drilled shaft. In front of them lay a large, hollowed out tavern. Thanks only to the great illumination of the scarab's forward lights, the sight of a large forerunner complex lay a football field's length away. Brown and covered with dust, it was obvious that the structure hadn't been used for a very long time.
Adam let out another one his impressing whistles of amazement and the jaws of the entire party dropped at the sight of the great structure. Master Chief activated his front flashlights and the marines behind him activated theirs in turn. While the exiled covenant lacked actual flashlights, they each pulled out small crystalline objects and attached them the center armor plate causing a bright glow similar to the human flashlights. They marched forward in the dim quietness, the sight of dozens of individual lights reflecting off both the stone walls and great structure in front of them.
A faint glow began to come towards them from the forerunner structure and the party raised their weapons bracing for an attack. However, the excited voice of the monitor rang through the silence.
"Yes, this is most certainly the ark! Hahahaha, I am great aren't I? Come, come! This way now! I can activate the door and we can enter where no one has stepped for nearly one hundred thousand years!"
The marines and elite teams moved ever closer to the structure and cautiously made their way to the door. One of the marines behind Johnson nervously said, "Sarge, I have a bad feeling about this."
Talking over his shoulder, the brave sergeant replied, "Edwards, you always have a bad feeling about whatever. Zip it and concentrate."
Minutes passed and they finally made it to the front door. The entrance to the complex turned out to be a massive, metallic, two piece doorway tightly shut down. Looking for some method of opening them, the Arbiter inquired the monitor, "Oracle, how do we get in?"
Proudly replying, "Leave that to me!" 343 guilty Spark flew down to eye level and sent a blue electric signal through a section of the far left door. For a moment, nothing happened and the team began to look around with a nervous anxiety. Suddenly, the faintest creak could be heard, and the following and more audible noises of dirty gears turning on each other signaled the opening of the great doors.
Everyone watched in awe as the two ornate metal slabs separated revealing a great dark hallway. The murky darkness was like a thick soup and it greedily absorbed every photon of light that struck it. Even with the combination of dozens of lights, the party could not clearly see anything further than five yards in front of them.
Private Edwards again complained, "Sarge, I told you, I have a really bad feeling about this."
Johnson, irritated at the marine's lack of guts turned around and grasped him by the shoulder. "Marine, did I give you permission to bitch? I don't think so! Next time you complain, I'm going to have the chief boot your ass right through that ceiling of rock right back to the pelicans where you can shit your pants and cry to your mama. Now focus, dammit!" However, the marine's feelings were beginning to grow in Johnson's gut as well. Something didn't feel right and the well trained hairs on the back of his neck agreed with him.
Turning around to see what the fuss was, the Arbiter and John turned around. They saw Johnson reprimand the nervous marine, but he wasn't the only one showing signs of strained nerves. Many of the grunts huddled around together and even the elites and hunters stood at a very cautious pose nervously twitching this way and that at the slightest sound.
Inside of his helmet, Cortana commented to the Chief, "Something tells me this isn't going to be as easy as I thought."
Looking at the Arbiter, John nodded and took a step into the temple with the elite right at his side. Both had seen very intense combat with the flood, about the most gruesome and horrific combat imaginable. Through the numerous engagements with the flood and fighting back their surprise ambushes, both of them had honed senses giving a type of supernatural ability to detect where flood forms right be. The nod from the Master Chief only agreed with the one fear in the elite's own mind. The flood was here.
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Deep in the blackness of space, the great escape pod from the destroyed city of High Charity approached its destination. Although the insides of the pod were quite spacious, spacious enough for a prophet, Gravemind growled in discomfort as his large body lay packed together inside of the craft. With only moments left before the Arbiter detonated the antimatter bomb, he had managed concentrate a great deal of his strength and power to teleport himself to the shuttle bay. Thanks to the great powers that coursed through his veins, Gravemind had the limited ability to bend space and time similar to that on the teleportation grids on the halos.
Launching just before the detonation consumed his escape ship, Gravemind managed to escape the primary blast. However, to survive the shockwave, he was forced to exert the rest of his power to augment the already present shielding. Both emergency procedures caused him to deplete an incredible amount of energy and he was forced to fall into unconsciousness while his powerful essence, in a literal sense, recharged.
Still feeling the weariness throughout his great body, it took the parasite a moment to realize why he had awoken before being fully revived. Then it hit him. The images of the long past war blazed through his eyes and he realized what had caused him to stir from his rest. The general was awoken from his rest in the ark. Someone had released him from his sleep, and that meant that someone had opened the great doors.
Groaning in deep thought, Gravemind carefully retraced the distant events of the long forgotten history. The forerunners were losing the war against his armies and were desperate to contain him. Their last option for success lay in activating their ark, the central control center he was not aware of until it was almost too late.
The images continued. Gravemind saw himself in his throne and sucking the delicious bodily sustenance from the corpses of the dead. Several rings were under his control and his forces were nearly ready to capture the rest. The forerunner had lost and the galaxy was his. But it wasn't truly so. They had one last way to defeat him. The ark.
Through the mind of a forerunner general, Gravemind was brought to light about the ark. He sent his own general, a flood form of power only beneath his own, with a great army to beat the forerunner to this facility and solidify his control once and for all. Through the eyes of the flood general, he watched as his fleet entered the planet's gravity field only to find nothing. The ships, soon to be useless to him through unconditional victory, were emptied and the flood army in entirety was deployed on the planet to secure the surface station. But that was the one mistake that cost Gravemind the war.
With the entire flood force on Earth, the forerunners sneaked around and flanked the abandoned fleet from behind the planet's moon. They destroyed the ships and bombarded the drop zones to near oblivion, eradicating the flood armies with one swift blow. However, the general flood form survived and Gravemind watched through its eyes as a forerunner strike team landed on the surface. He commanded his minion to follow behind, stalking the forerunners until they made it to the ark.
The tactic worked well. Gravemind watched as his general approached the great structure, safely behind the forward enemy. He followed the forerunners into the complex, through many dark and empty corridors, until they arrived at last to the control center within.
Ready to make the ultimate sacrifice to contain the parasite armies, the forerunners prepared to activate the halos through the ark. As they prepared the firing sequence, the general attacked. His great body, masses of hardened flesh, coupled with great, razor sharp sword projections on his arms, was nearly invulnerable coupled with the great shield generator used by the once powerful forerunner's body. With a great whip like motion, Gravemind watched as his general tore three of the forerunners in half in one fluid motion. The others prepared to fire, but the flood form picked up one of the rifles and bounded into the darkness surrounding the chamber. Firing into the dark abyss surrounding them, the forerunners desperately attempted to hit the fiend, but it was to no avail. Stealthily, yet quickly, the general flanked them, opened fire, and eliminated the four remaining forerunners. Their carcasses belched smoke and blood from their great wounds.
Gravemind watched through the eyes of his general with delight. Victory was finally his. As the general turned around to leave, the one of the forerunners, with his last ounce of strength, reached up and hit the primed activation button on the control panel. The structure shook, and the signal was sent to the halos. In a flash of godly fury, the halos fired their weapons. The great wave of sheer power destroyed what was meant to die. The flood would now starve as they were fated to do.
Faced with no other options, Gravemind allowed much of his armies to degrade and rot into oblivion. Through the halos he controlled, Gravemind ordered groups of flood to hide inside of the structure, feeding off of the forerunner sustenance provided until other beings arrived. He, himself, went into hiding, suffering alone and waiting for the day when control of the galaxy would finally be his. But now he had to wait. There was no longer anything he knew of for his armies to feed from, to grow from. They would starve and he would hunger for revenge until the time came.
The parasite leader commanded his great general to hibernate inside the single cryochamber and sleep, sleep until new pray came. After one hundred thousand years, the moment had arrived. The doors had once again been opened. His general would awaken and pained by great hunger, all in his way would parish like those before him. Gravemind laughed. His armies were growing despite the loss of High Charity, and soon, a captured ship would arrive for him and take him to where he needed to go.
Soon, all will once again join me in the darkness and suffering, and this time, the galaxy will be mine!
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The Arbiter and Master Chief led the large team into the temple. Both warriors stood at constant guard; they each sensed the presence of the great and powerful enemy deep inside of the structure. The entrance way appeared to be safe, but there was danger inside, none the less.
The rush of fresh air into the forerunner complex forced the release of the ancient and stale inside of the structure. Covenant and human forces alike coughed and wheezed as the overwhelming force of the air engulfed them all. It took a moment for them to recover and continue their march into the ancient structure.
As they eyes of the company adjusted to the murky darkness, they began to slowly see more and more around them. The first chamber they walked into was crafted of an unknown metal alloy that seemed to absorb all light that touched it. To the far end of the chamber, an entrance way loomed ahead, leading even further into the darkness.
Johnson angrily muttered, "Hey Tinkerbelle, you think you can somehow turn on the lights?"
Guilty Spark hummed to himself for a moment before replying. "Let me see, yes, there are light structures built into the ceiling, but it looks like in the haste they constructed this facility, lighting was of their last priority. Let me see what I can do."
The monitor's glowing blue hue pulsated into the darkness ahead before quickly disappearing. Undaunted by the spooky feel around them, John and the Arbiter continued leading their unit into the second chamber.
Entering the second chamber, Cortana immediately recognized the situation and sighed, "Well, this can't be good."
Presented to them was a fork of sorts in the road. Three pathways spread out before them, one to the left, one to the right, and one down the center.
The Arbiter looked over at the Master Chief and inquired, "Demon, do you have any idea where to go?"
Answering slowly, John replied, "No, but I bet Cortana might have an idea."
As if upon request, she searched back upon the data she collected while in Alpha Halo's computer core and searched for any possible clues.
"Um Chief, from what I tell, if the forerunners built this structure similar to their halos, the path to the right should be the correct one. Yeah, I'm pretty confident on this one."
John relayed the message and they pressed on down the right pathway.
As if complying Cortana's correct decision, a great and powerful howl echoed from the pathway and sent shivers down to the very soul of each marine and exiled covenant. Some of the marines moaned in horror and several of the grunts cried out in sheer terror. While the commanding officers attempted to suppress the fears at great difficulty, Sergeant Johnson simply popped a lit cigar into his mouth and undid the safety on his BR55 while his dark eyes focused far into the darkness.
"Chief, some of me, well, most of me does not want to find out what made that terrible noise," Cortana whispered with an obvious tone of dread herself.
The Spartan muttered back, "Well, that makes two of us then. Let me know if you notice anything."
Trained to handle any situation, John wasn't as affected by the great cry far ahead of them. The Arbiter, as well, was able to resist the general urge to run away. He muttered a prayer to his ancestral guardian and prepared to press further. The Spartan followed at his side.
As they slowly crept along, Johnson looked up at the dark ceiling above them and angrily said, "When will that damn light bulb turn on the lights so that we can see a thing or two?"
Johnson's question was answered as the Chief raised his hand, signaling a halt. They had entered the third great chamber, and this one appeared larger than the rest. Slowly ordering for the rest of the party to file in, the search team trickled into the chamber forming a type of bloom around the doorway. With their lights posed at the darkness around them, each soldier strained their eyes trying to discern any possible threats. The silence around them was nerve wrecking and the thick darkness only heightened their fears.
John looked down at the weapon in his arm and noticed that the weapon was primed and ready to fire. Adam was a few ranks behind him and was comfortably surrounded on all sides by marines, elites, and grunts. However, just as John looked back up and faced the darkness ahead of him, something caught his sensitive ears – movement ahead. He raised his weapon and searched for the source of the sound, but silence again prevailed.
The black eyes of the flood general surveyed the sight of the search party. Their lighting foolishly gave away their structure, allowing the intelligent creature to find weaknesses. His stomach ached for the flesh of the living and his mind pulsated for the feel of fresh, warm blood gushing down his throat. It had been too long without food, he needed to feed now, and he wasn't going to stop until he crunched on the bones of each one of them. Finding the perfect target, he attacked.
The soft padded sound of fleshy feet pushing against the ground keyed the Spartan's acute hearing of the movement. To his far left, the cry of absolute terror inundated the room as the great flood form landed on top of an elite. Its great sword like projections cut through the creature's shielding and flesh like a hot knife through butter and the elite fell into three neatly cleaved slices. Grabbing a helpless marine, the general turned around and prepared to escape back into the darkness.
The instant the first cries were emitted from the frightened soldiers, numerous flashlights focused on the parasite general and several heavy weapons opened up their fury of ammunition. Plasma and bullets alike hit the creature and dropped harmlessly off the creature's shielding. The shields, full of life and power, halted the rain of fire several inches from the parasite's body. Continuing his work, he escaped with the marine into the darkness. The soldier cried out a few last times before a sickening crunch silenced him.
Panic overwhelmed the team and the those in the very front frantically shoved backwards desperately trying to escape. Using the pandemonium to his advantage, the general attacked again and dragged off a hapless hunter which swatted the beast with its large metal shield to no effect. The parasite only latched onto the armor and ripped it off the hunter. Sinking its teeth into the unprotected flesh, the general indulged in the sweet taste of victory.
Amid the hysteria, Johnson yelled amid the din, "God dammit people, form up! We can still take this thing down!"
John paid little attention to any of the team around him and focused on trying to get a good shot at the creature.
The Arbiter, with all his might, worked with the sergeant in calming down the soldiers so that they could fight back against the terrible beast. His respect for the marine continued to grow as he watched the fearless human combat against near impossible odds trying to calm down his own soldiers.
Fighting the flood in one on one combat many a time, the white elite, Half-Jaw, joined up with the Chief and pulled out his energy sword. The hiss of the concentrated plasma coming to life attracted the attention of the parasite general as he prepared for his third run against his prey. Leaping a great distance into the air, he laid himself on a trajectory to land right onto the foolish elite.
Noticing the slight movement above them, Cortana hollered to John, "Chief, above you, he's coming down on the elite!"
Moving in one quick and fluid motion, John caught glimpse of the creature nearly twenty feet above them through the random waving motions of marine flashlights. As his own high powered lighting honed in on the parasite, John pulled the trigger.
The flare of a yellow light distracted the parasite general just long enough for him to realize his mistake. Next to the elite, he noticed with dread inside of him, was what looked like a relcaimer – the best warriors of the forerunner. Before he had time to think about how one could have survived for so long, the yellow pulse slammed into him. A flash of light blinded him and he could feel his breath knocked out of his lungs. His posture fell apart as he free fell the remaining distance towards the white armored elite.
Losing his ability to slash at Half-Jaw, the general only managed to raise his striking arm partially above him. The highly trained elite caught notice of the flood form falling down upon him and smoothly arched his great blade above his body as he dodged the creature's decent. The blade cut deep inside of the parasite's shield less belly and the vaporization of organs and flesh steamed out of the wound.
Feeling his strength weakening, the flood form attempted to get up, but only felt a stabbing pain as Half-Jaw's energy sword finished the sweeping arc with a picturesque finish straight down into the general's neck. Pulling with all his strength, the elite ripped his sword through the back of the parasite's head. Yanking the sword out with a sharp jerk, the thick gash where the energy sword had traveled revealed the blackened scaring of fried flesh, bone, and brain. The parasite general lay dead in front of them, the threat neutralized.
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Gravemind lost his telekinetic link with the great flood general. He howled in rage and despair. He had lost control of the ark just as he had failed to secure it one hundred thousand years ago. Looking through his front view screen, the giant creature watched as a captured Covenant CSS-Class battleship exited slip space in front of him. There was much work for the parasite king to do if he was to again near victory.
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Author's Notes: Weeoo, I hope that this chapter was as fun for you all to read as it was for me to write it. This is only the prelude to a great unraveling of theoretical answers as the pieces of the halo mysteries fall together. Be prepared to see the Prophet of Truth in the next chapter or so as well as the release of more information towards solving the great puzzle. Thanks again for reading and please let me know what you all think! (P.S. I just noticed the similarities to that of the AVP setting as I edited the entry, but I assure you, the movie was not on my mind when I first crafted this chapter)