Author's note 1:
LEGBRICK13: Yeah, let three Guardians fight against a Covenant armada and see what happens.
Guest (shit was short): Subjective, my dear fellow. There is a Halo fanfiction called "Rough Human Touch" with chapters no longer than 2000 words at best and yet they've got so many reviews and followers compared to mine. As long as quality is good, fuck the length.
Enjoy!
The Pelican landed inside the In Amber Clad's hangar.
Jake walked down the ramp. All around him, marines were preparing for their dangerous journey on Earth, shipping equipment and everything necessary. The pilots refueled their birds and weapons, waving commands to the soldiers. He was impressed by the amount of troops this ship could house. Not as impressive as the Dead Orbit's technology, but still impressive.
He recognized this setup. The calm before the storm, the silence before the roar. The battlefield called them, and they would all answer.
Ghost materialized near his shoulder. They weren't afraid of the humans discovering him. They could always use their cover as an excuse.
Footsteps alerted the Guardian.
Master Chief stopped a few feet away from him, staring. He decided he would be the one starting the conversation. "Good to see you, Chief." He nodded and gestured at his body. "New armour? What is this… Mark VI?"
The Spartan followed his movements. "Affirmative. By Lord Hood's orders, we're assigned together in a team until they change." He vaguely waved his glove at the room. "We should prepare for our arrival on Earth."
"Wow, why don't you answer with a 'Likewise' next time, uh?"
The Spartan opened his palm.
He smirked. "Cortana." It felt good to hear the AI again, he liked the chemistry between Ghost and her. It was entertaining.
The woman had her hands on her hips. "Missed me, you interdimensional travelers? Sorry about your confinement but the UNSC had to be sure you could be trusted."
"Cheap security protocols can't exactly stop my Guardian." Ghost muttered and looked away. "I have received a message from Commander Miranda Keyes. She wants to privately speak with us before our departure."
Cortana disappeared. "Well, then, better not keep a lady waiting! We'll be here in our Pelican until you return. Just… hurry up a little bit, alright?"
Yeah, especially two ladies.
They travelled through the ship, officers would often stop and salute, standing on the sides to let him pass. They probably thought he was a high ranking Spartan or something. He merely reciprocated the gesture with a quick and firm nod. Let them think what they want as long as they won't stop him.
He entered one room and there stood the Commander, reading reports on a datapad. But as soon as her gaze posed on the Guardian, she shut it off and wrapped her arms around her back, straightening her posture.
"You must be the… Guardian, Admiral Hood told me about." The way she scrutinized him meant that she didn't trust him completely. Who couldn't blame her?
Jake saluted. "Yes, ma'am. It's an honour to meet you in person."
Her lips twitched. "There's no need to use your cover with me. Hood already informed me of your origins." Miranda circled around a table and stopped in front of him. "My father trusted you and you didn't disappoint. Are you ready for this mission?"
He grinned, tightening his fists, they cracked with arc energy.
"Born ready, ma'am."
The Pelicans disengaged from the ship and had green light to proceed.
A city besieged welcomed them from below. Flames, explosions, bullets and plasma shots joined the dying screams of the civilians and UNSC personnel in the distance, as well as the aliens' roars. They formed a united chorus.
He stood with his arms crossed as their pilot flew the bird towads the ground, while Chief leaned with an arm on the ceiling. Jake guessed his time jumping and double jumping had increased his ability to stay balanced on his feet, perhaps an advantage over the Spartan.
Behind them, marines reloaded their rifles and checked their grenades.
He grunted.
"Everything alright?"
Jake sighed. "Reminds me of an attack on the Tower we faced a few years ago. They disabled our satillites and hit us with everything they had. This…" He pointed a finger. "…is the same if not worse. Because us Guardians aren't here to help you."
"Humanity as a whole is though. We'll stop them, save those who can't fight, protect them."
He shook his head. "You can't save everyone, Chief." Jake licked his lips. "Sometimes… sometimes being in charge means you get to decide who dies."
He expected a reply from the Spartan… yet he remained silent.
Chief turned his head, fully looking at him. "What did you say?"
"I… I said: 'You can't save everyone, Chief. Sometimes being in charge means you get to decide who dies.'" Why was he asking that question? Did he offend him or what with his statement?
John probably wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by Cortana talking. Her and Ghost undirectly gave them privacy by being busy with monitoring the Covenant's battlenet.
"The message just repeats: Regret, Regret, Regret."
"Catchy." Keyes mused. "Any idea what it means?"
Johnson chuckled in the pilot's cockpit. "Dear humanity, we regret being alien bastards, we regret coming to Earth and we most definitely regret that the Corps just blew up our raggedy ass fleet!"
"Oorah!"
He and Chief shared a glance, they weren't impressed at all.
"Regret is a name, Sergeant." Cortana explained. "The name of one of the Covenant's religious leaders."
"A Prophet, if you will." Ghost ended. "He's on that carrier and he's calling for help. It seems our defenses breached through his assault and he's trapped in quite the predicament."
"Master Chief, Guardian?" They perked up at Lord Hood's voice. "Get aboard that carrier, secure the Prophet of Regret. This is the only place on Earth the Covenant decided to land. That Prophet is going to tell us why."
BOOM!
They tensed, explosions echoed in the distance. "I'll check it out." The Titan moved into the cockpit and followed Johnson and the marines' gazes.
The machine was huge, bigger than anything he had ever faced in terms of mechanized infantry. It tore through a wall, its spider like legs stabbed the cars below it. It turned to the right and charged a beam of green energy from its 'face.'
"That… would be a Scarab."
It was the last thing he fully remembered before it fired and all hell broke loose.
He coughed, opening his eyes. A metal plate was pressed on his chest, around him wires floated free and sparked with electricity. The impact had knocked him from the cockpit to the back of the Pelican, he gathered his strength and easily threw the object away.
"Ghost?"
"I'm here, I detect Chief's signal, it's practically in front of us but I can't see him any-"
Beneath the rubble of the destroyed UNSC transportation, Master Chief rose and breathed on his knees.
Jake walked to the Spartan and offered a hand, which was clutched and used as support for the other warrior to get on his feet. "You okay?" He asked.
Chief wiggled his shoulders and grabbed a nearby battle rifle and gun. "I'm good. Let's get out of here."
"And Cortana?"
"You didn't think a fall like that would have been enough to deactivate me, right?"
"Depends if it touched the chip." He transmatted One Thousand Yard Stare in his hands while Sweet Business stayed strapped on his back.
Johnson and other marines were apparently waiting them near the entrance of a building. "Good, we're all here. Secure the crashsite, go, go, go!"
Chief's battle rifle had a three bullets rate of fire, good for medium to long distance fights. As the Spartan rushed in and headshotted the grunts, Jake concentrated on the jackals on the roof and switched to the two Elites accompanying the patrol.
Their shields shattered, but they hid behind each side of the entrance's walls leading to the stairs of the roof. He summoned void energy in his palm and launched a vortex grenade, it generated a big purple energy field which attracted the two aliens. They were consumed, blowing up.
"Clear!" He yelled, advancing alongside Chief and checking the roof for hostiles.
"If they didn't know we're here before, they do now!" Johnson stuffed a cigar in his mouth and lighted it up. "Won't be much longer 'till they send reinforcements. Chief! Take the M247 and tear through the bastards! Guardian, you'll stay on the left, protect his flank. We'll be stationed on the right side facing the crash site. If they don't find us there, they'll come here."
Chief reloaded the machine gun with ammunition and grunted. "I'll be too exposed, I don't think this'll be a tactical advantage."
"I can help with that."
Jake pushed past Chief and the turret, standing near the edge. He slammed a void shield on the ground and nodded at the smaller barricade. The Spartan looked at his own armour, it gained a strange purple outline. "It's an overshield, stay behind the cover and if they hit you, it'll reform. I created a smaller barricade to allow you to aim and shoot." He realoded his sniper. "It'll be hard to use the sniper while concentrating on keeping up the barricade for as long as possible. I'll try."
A Phantom suddenly flew towards them, the grunt on the heavy plasma gun opened fire. Jake's tactic proved to be effective since Chief's overshield absorbed all the damage despite the plasma energy cracking it. The Spartan had his own at his disposal though, he ventilated the sniper with bullets and while the troopers scattered around the courtyard, the void energy recharged.
The firefight was tough for the humans, but thanks to Jake's aim and Light, and Chief's abilities on the turret, they mowed alien after alien between lead and grenades.
HISSS!
"What the hell are those things?!" A marine yelled.
They had wings and they held plasma pistols in their claws. They zipped around and avoided their bursts, there were about a dozens of these bugs.
"They're drones!" Jake supplied a name.
The aliens avoided each attempt of taking them down with his sniper.
He growled, if the little shits wanted to play, he would oblige and join in the fun.
In a swift motion, he grabbed Sweet Business and planted his feet near Master Chief. He pointed his gun up and let it rotate.
BRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Sweet Business' rate of fire helped the M247. If two or three drones zipped on left, Sweet Business would follow them in a beam of bullets. The aliens shrieked and some even retreated, but his exotic showed no mercy.
Johnson nodded, taking a hit of his cigar. "Road's clear." He spoke into his comms. "What's your status, over?"
"My girl's a little big for that courtyard, Sergeant. I see a good LZ on the other side of these buildings. Meet you there, over." The pilot answered.
"Copy that. Someone get a satchel on the gate! We're going to have to hurry up unless we want to be alien's food."
BANG!
They aimed their rifles.
BANG! BANG!
"I don't think a satchel will be required, Sergeant." Ghost beeped.
BANG!
"Hunters!"
Jake cursed under his breath, there were two of them. "I'll take care of the one on the left!"
ZIUM!
He double jumped in the air and the Hunter raised his arm to strike him down. His shield and the alien's glove smashed against each other, the giant monstrosity was strong, but not strong enough against paracausality. He slapped the armoured claw away and upper cut the Hunter on its masked mouth, it wailed in pain and stumbled back. The Titan slid a foot back and rolled in a full circle, launching his shield towards the giant's chest. It cut through its armour and detached the upper side of the body from the bottom one.
He noticed the disgusting stares from the other marines as well as Chief's. They had killed their own Hunter before him and observed the fight in its last moments. He caught the shield as it returned to its rightful owner and let the energy wash away.
"Okay…" Cortana guhh-ed. "…that was gross." She cleared her throat. "Second squad, this is Cortana. What's your status, over?"
"We're operational ma'am… barely. Our pilot didn't make it."
"Find a hole, stay put. We're coming to you."
They rounded a corner.
"Sniper!" The Guardian pushed a marine back before the jackal's beam could hit him. The soldier comically fell on his butt and mumbled a quick 'thanks' as his comrades snickered. "Chief!" The Spartan had taken position on the opposite side behind two crates. "Suppression fire!" He tilted his head at the sniper he held.
Chief got the message.
He blindly emptied his whole battle rifle's magazine as Jake spotted the jackal, it chittered and ducked down under what remained of a building's wall about two floors up. The Spartan retreated and he aimed, holding his breath.
The jackal peeked…
BANG!
…and gurgled its final screech. Clutching the hole in its throat.
"Target eliminated. Road is clear…" He waved two fingers. "…let's move. Keep your eyes open and check your ammo."
The Pelican descended and opened its back, some marines crawled inside while others remained.
"Sergeant, I need you on that bird." Keyes informed over the comms.
"Ma'am?"
"My Pelicans are going to start airlifting armour and reinforcements into the city. They'll need an escort that isn't afraid of a little hostile ground fire."
"Understood. I'll keep an eye on 'em." Johnson boarded the Pelican and threw away his consumed cigar. "Chief, Jake? Good luck."
The streets were empty, vehicles were abandoned and buildings were pierced by the Covenant's assault. They searched inside some just in case they'd find survivors, but they did not.
The marines remained on the ground while the Guardian and Spartan advanced on the second level of a house. Gunshots echoed near their position, they almost reached the hotel. They heard the chit-chat of two grunts and signed at each other, agreeing on neutralizing them silently.
They bolted out of their cover and snapped the little guys' necks.
It was the right choice, because they had the high ground right up and behind the Covenant, which were besieging the entrance to their objective, while UNSC personnel were trapped inside.
"Marines." Chief opened his comms. "Take them out, we'll provide support from here."
The Titan aimed down his sights on the reddish Elite in charge.
BANG! BANG!
He growled. The shield broke, but he didn't anticipate the Elite rolling out of the way like a Hunter would do. He huffed and followed his movements while Chief and the marines were busy with the grunts. The reptilian warrior hid behind a small orange truck. He knew their species were proud fighters and not exactly keen to wait instead of rushing in the heat of the battle. He counted in his head the seconds remaining before his shield would recharge.
4…
3…
2…
A roar and heavy foosteps.
BANG!
Got you, you son of a bitch.
GSGT Marcus Stacker greeted them at the entrance. "Glad you could make it. Two Spartans are always better than one."
He almost scoffed. "Guardian, thank you."
Stacker blinked. "Uh, yeah, sure." He coughed and adjusted his hat. "Crash site's on the other side of this hotel. Covenant are crawling all over it. Follow me."
The presence of civilians in the main lobby sent a few flashbacks in his mind. Of fire and destruction, of Lord Shaxx shielding the survivors and trying to instill hope in them by opening the armoury with his usual bright and charged voice, of families embracing their family members and crying over the losses.
They watched him and Chief walking with curiosity in their gazes. "Where did you find them?"
Stacker slowed his pace a bit and glanced behind his shoulder. "Where you see 'em now. We had taken shelter in the hotel while we waited for you. Backed off the Covenant as long as we could." He snatched a sniper rifle resting on a wall and offered it to Master Chief, who discarded his magnum and grasped the object. "Gonna wait for a transportation and help 'em out of this shit hole."
A Phantom opened fire upon arriving, they all scrambled for cover as a platoon jumped from its sides.
He and Chief used their snipers to counter attack. The grunts shrieked when bullets either tore through their chests or skulls, while the Elites coughed and were more accepting of their fate.
One warthog drove below them, the driver continuosly ringing the horn while the other was stationed on the machine gun. It was Jackson and Harrison, the latter grinned when his storm of lead dropped on the most hidden Covenant and were mutilated.
The Spartan and Guardian jumped down.
"Special delivery from Commander Keyes, sirs!" Jackson exclaimed, saluting with his right hand while his left arm rested where the window would be located. He was trying to appear cool.
"Good job, private." Jake nodded. "We'll take it from here." He nudged his head behind him. "There are a few civilians in the hotel. Cover them and wait for immediate extraction."
The two marines looked at Chief.
"He has the same authority and level of clearance as mine as you already know. Do as he says."
"Sir!"
Cortana hummed. "The highest concentration of Covenant troops is directly below the carrier. I don't think they want you on board."
"They'll be disappointed to know that their defenses won't be enough against our partners, Cortana."
"And I can't wait to see their faces!"
Chief drove up a bridge and took them in another part of the beach.
That's when a Phantom and three heavy plasma weapons fired. John tried tactical maneuvers by circling around the Covenant's structure, while Jake responded with the strapped gun on the warthog's back.
It wasn't enough, with so much fire power raining down he couldn't get a better angle.
He noticed the smoke coming out of the engine. "There's too many of them! Back up! Back up!"
Chief spinned the wheel and pressed on the accelerator as the Phantom chased them.
The following area was just as populated with Covenant troops as the previous.
"I've marked the entrance of a tunnel on your HUDs!" Ghost cried.
The warthog jumped in the hole and landed. The Phantom disengaged and let them be.
"O-Okay." He gasped, raising from his crouched position. "We need to find a way towards the bridge."
"Quite lucky, Jake!" The AI chuckled. "This tunnel does link with the bridge. Full of rats, but better than swimming." She paused. "Me and Ghost have been analyzing the Covenant tactical chatter. They're surprised, confused… I don't think they expected us to be here. Not us four… but all of us, Humanity on Earth. Odd, I know, but it does help explain why they came here in such small numbers."
"There are two possibilites: either the Covenant did not know that Earth is Humanity's home world or, judging by the way they rushed in the fight and made it as fast as possible by piercing through our defenses and ignoring the major ones, directly facing us on the terrain, they must be-"
"Searching for something." Chief finished. He turned to the right and kept driving. "They must be searching for something."
"Correct."
Covenant tanks advanced in the distance… although they were different from the normal Wraths they faced on Halo.
"Shadows! The Covenant must be trying to regroup. Don't let them!"
Three Shadows in total, with a patrol on the far side of the tunnel.
Same tactic, different result this time. Managing the heavy plasma guns were grunts just as before, but in this occasion they didn't have a Phantom to aid them and one of them was distracted by sleeping on the job. He was ventilated with bullets.
He concentrated his fire on the turrets and the vehicles, when they exploded he switched to the patrol and cut them off.
"The exit is about five hundred meters north of here, Guardian. The Prophet awaits us."
And they wouldn't survive their encounter…
Author's note 2:
From the lore, Chief became famous in Halo 2 when civilians spotted his heroic actions on Earth. Yet we only see civies in Reach so I decided to add a few to make more sense.
So, we be getting a grappling hook too, brotha! Fuck Halo Infinite, we can even use it in the air! (RIP Crucible)
Until next time!
Gino out!
