Further Ambitions
The Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice stood upon the upper deck of the bridge, his golden armor gleaming under the vivid, white lights that lit up the massive command center. The Seeker of Truth,a CCS class Covenant Capital Ship,had been orbiting Halo for the past twenty hours, observing the inferior battle cruisers. More soldiers had been lost than expected during this short span of time, but still these ships were ferrying down more warriors for the battle; they had a strong confidence in successfully exterminating all human presence from the Sacred Ring.
The Sangheili Zealot watched his view screen intently, thinking of how he would be extolled and lauded for his accomplishments here; being the leader of this prominent fleet, he would most definitely be given a promotion from the great Hierarchs themselves. He may even receive another name - one that would bestow upon him marvelous pride and honor. As he awed at what the future could hold in store, an alarm went off at one of the stations on the lower deck.
"Supreme Commander," said an ultra, down near the console, "Commander Orna'Fulsamee of the Truth and Reconciliation requests to speak with you immediately, sir."
"Very well, route him to the main view screen."
Moments later, a holo-image of another elite appeared on the screen. His armor was almost identical to that of the Supreme Commander's, aside from a few obvious rank insignias. "What is it, Commander?" he asked solemnly.
The lesser Zealot hesitated, for the news he was delivering was severe. The Supreme Commander immediately knew that something had gone wrong. The Truth and Reconciliation's commander cleared his throat and began to speak.
"The commanding officer of the Human ship has escaped." he said shakily. "And he did so by using one of our own drop ships."
The Fleet Commander couldn't believe what he was hearing. 'The one individual who could rally the humans to form an effective resistance against the Covenant has now rejoined his own kind?' The prestigious Sangheili veteran sighed at the thought with disappointment as he attempted to hold in his irritation.
"We sent a pair of Lekgolos to stop them but the cowards esca-" The Supreme Commander lifted his hand, indicating that he was finished listening.
"Commander," he began, "I hope you know that when it comes to failures such as this, the Hierarchs aren't very lenient in dealing with them." Fulsamee knew all too well of what the Fleet Commander spoke. "Let us hope that this error does not jeopardize the security of the Sacred Artifact."
The commander lowered his head in shame. "There's more, sir. Among the humans who performed the rescue operation, there was a human super-soldier. Apparently he had escaped their vessel before it landed on the sacred artifact."
"A Spartan." the Ship Master muttered to himself. 'I thought they had all been destroyed during the attack upon the human's planet.' "Are you certain it was a Spartan?" he asked earnestly.
"I am certain, sir. Several of the troops we sent aboard the human's vessel reported barely escaping with their lives because of a 'demon' , as they call it, that was rampaging throughout the ship, killing all of our soldiers. The description and data they presented verifies it."
The fleet commander, for the first time in a while, was beginning to feel worried; worried that if this "Demon" were allowed to roam the sacred artifact freely, and discover its significance and power, he'd use it against the Covenant. 'He must be stopped.'
"This Demon's actions are a direct violation against the will of the Prophets. His blasphemous actions could very well endanger our Covenant and the reason that we are here - the very reason that we are even alive. We must protect Halo at all costs."
"Of course, sir." the young officer said. "I will send down more troops immediately. We will find the demon and exterminate him." The Truth and Reconciliation's commander disappeared from the view screen. The Fleet Commander turned away and stared blankly. He thought to himself deeply, and resolved his will.
'At all costs'.
It had been too tedious for his taste. Guan's frustration festered with each step he had to take back to his vessel. He hated wasting time during a hunt, especially this hunt. It was the literal turning point in his life, and it had almost seemed that every time he turned around there were more problems getting in his way. Still, he found comfort and encouragement: 'Without disappointment, you cannot appreciate victory.'
If nothing else, he had retained trophies from those two other beasts. From one, he took its helmet along with the orange flesh that appeared to be its head. From the other, he detached one of the long, seemingly unbreakable spikes from off of its back. He thought to himself that the spike could be made into a decent hunting weapon. Perhaps, after this was all over, he would have time.
After a short sprint, he finally reached his craft; he checked the area to make sure there were no enemies nearby, and after assuring his privacy, used the remote on his wrist to open the cloaked vessel. He speedily approached and jogged up the ramp, passing through the open entrance and quickly closing it.
He released a sigh of relief; relief that he was now free to continue the hunt. But where was the Ooman? They had escaped using one of the alien craft, so he was bound to be many kilometers from there.
Guan knew that the aliens had excellent surveillance of this ring world, due to the size of their fleet. During his time at the Ring, he would occasionally monitor their communications, which were used primarily for military information: a battle net of sorts. Maybe they could locate his prey for him.
After running the gibberish that he heard through his translator, he soon found out that the Ooman's invasion of the alien vessel was big news. Apparently, they had been sent aboard to extract certain individuals from their ship; in particular the commanding officer of the Ooman's vessel.
He also noted that there were reports of troop increases near a certain part of the Ring: an island, amidst a large sea. Guan carefully hacked further into the battle net and retrieved the coordinates and details of this large troop deployment there. It appeared to be a place of importance where the aliens felt needed to be heavily defended, and were going to ostensibly extensive lengths to make it so.
'But why would they fortify a place where they felt safe?'
Guan knew that the aliens were ignorant of his presence, so they would only be guarding it from the Oomans. Perhaps they planned on striking that island, but they wouldn't send in any strike force against such strong defenses unless they sent this Super-Soldier as well.
'An intelligent enemy strikes where one feels safest.' That's where the Ooman was going.
'My Prey will be there; and where my Prey leads, I will follow.'
Two green UNSC pelican transports dashed over the vast, cerulean ocean of water that stretched as far as the eye could see. On the horizon, there was a small island expanding not even a kilometer in any direction. It had a series of metallic structures built throughout the interior.
After escaping from the Truth and Reconciliation, the Captain had taken the Covenant drop ship to the secret UNSC base on the Ring. After monitoring the Covenant battle net, Cortana formulated a plan of action.
The sun had risen only several hours ago and the marines had been allowed only a few hours of sleep. After that long ride in that cramped Covenant drop ship, they were somewhat weary and unprepared for battle.
The wind blew against the Chief's armor as the pelican flew towards the Covenant held facility straight ahead. The island appeared closer and closer as the two transports approached.
"The Covenant believe that what they call the 'Silent Cartographer' is somewhere under this island," she informed the marines. "The Cartographer is a map room that will lead us to Halo's control center."
"Eh, that doesn't sound too hard," said Mendoza.
"Don't get cocky now, marine," said Sergeant Dubbo. "Those Covenant aren't going to give it to us on a silver platter."
"The Island has multiple structures and installations." Cortana continued. "One of them contains the map room."
They were almost to the Island now, and Foehammer began to circle the perimeter.
"We're approaching the LZ, it's gonna be hot." she cautioned the marines. "Get set to come out swingin'."
"You heard the lady!" said Johnson. "Get ready for some action!"
The two pelicans slowed and held positions over a clear and unguarded section of the beach. They began their decent and gently hovered over the golden sand.
"Touchdown," said Foehammer. "Hit it, Marines!"
Twelve marines busted from the rear compartments of the transports; of these marines included Johnson and the Chief.
The transports' engines had created a light sandstorm effect, and the marine's visibility was slightly limited. The Chief leveled his assault rifle and charged through the dust, attempting to locate the Covenant defenses. On his motion tracker, he could see them. They were based just on the other side of the small hill that the marines were traversing. They cleared the cloud of dust just as they reached the top of the hill and then it began.
The Covenant fired directly at the marines, dropping several of them to the coarse sand with their plasma weapons. The rest of the marines scrambled and attempted to flank the enemy. A number of the marines lobbed grenades into the fray hoping to kill some Covenant, and force them into a hasty retreat. The remaining grunts, as normal, fled, leaving the elites and jackals to be mowed down.
The Enemy had taken their last stand directly below a metal arch which came out of the side of the cliff at the top of the next hill. The jackals had their energy shields for protection but the others used a group of small boulders to shelter them from the marine's gun fire. The marines couldn't get close enough to do any damage; their assault rifles were only meant for short to moderate range combat.
The jackals laid down cover fire for the elites as they moved into position, attempting to pick off a few careless marines. Johnson pushed them back with short bursts of bullets from his weapon. The Covenant were smarter than to try that again.
Johnson retreated a couple meters to keep himself and his men out of range of the Covenant weapons; he needed to formulate a battle plan. Johnson came up along side the Chief.
"It's a stand off, Chief. They're holdin' that hill pretty good." The Chief studied the battle field and quickly devised a cunning strategy.
"Take your men up the hill and distract them with suppressive fire. I'll take two men and sneak around the base of the arch and attack them from the side."
"Right, Chief. Come on men! Let's move in." Johnson lowered to a crouch and made his way up the hill, his men right behind. The jackals pelted the marines with hot bolts of green plasma as they pushed forward. Johnson and his men rose and charged into the jackals and beat them to the ground using the butts of their rifles, but several unsuspecting marines were also beaten to the ground by the elites who appeared from behind the rocks.
The Chief and the two other marines had already circled the base of the arch and stormed up the hill, riddling the Covenant soldiers from the side. The battle was soon over but the marines had sustained several casualties and several wounded. They regrouped at the top of the hill. They all felt like "king of the hill" but deep down, they all knew who the real king was.
The Chief quickly glanced at the outstretched beach and cliff that towered above them to make sure there were no Covenant still lurking around. While the marines reloaded their weapons and checked them for damage, Cortana reported in.
"Echo four nineteen; the area is secure."
"Affirmative; Echo four nineteen, inbound. Somebody order a warthog?"
"Music to my ears, Foehammer." said Dubbo.
"I didn't know you made house calls, Foehammer." added Stacker.
"You know our motto: we deliver!"
Foehammer piloted the pelican above the landing zone that was indicated to her by Cortana, and released the warthog that was attached to the underside.
The Warthog was covered in a layer of green paint which was standard on most UNSC off road vehicles; it was also equipped with a 12.7mm chain gun, conveniently mounted on the back.
The Chief grabbed the frame of the warthog and pulled himself into the driver's seat. He activated the ignition, and revved the quiet engine up as two marines approached. One walked over to the passenger side and pulled himself in while the other manned the chain gun turret.
"We're ready, sir." said the marine next to the Chief.
"Let's move out." said Cortana.
Though the Chief was not eager to go into battle against the increased Covenant defenses on the Island, he thought it better than experiencing that feeling of paranoia. He hated admitting, even to himself, that he had been feeling very anxious about whatever he witnessed back at the life-boat, almost to the point of being afraid. He hadn't experienced such feelings since he was a little child, before he entered the Spartan program at age six. He didn't like it.
However, he never saw any evidence that anything was out to get him.
'… but neither did the Covenant.'
The three marines cautiously entered the cliff-side building, and stared down the short hallway which led into the Island interior. They had driven halfway around the beach until they discovered a large island structure which had been heavily garrisoned by the Covenant. They wouldn't guard something unless it was important, so naturally the Chief invited himself right in, not neglecting to kill some Covenant as well.
On either side of the hallway there was a row of large alcoves that apparently were being used for weapon storage by the Covenant. At the end of the hallway and to the right, there was a ramp that led about twenty feet down. As they descended, the Chief noticed three red blips flashing on his motion tracker that became more intense the lower they went. When they reached the bottom of the ramp they turned to their left where they could see their enemy a little lower down.
"Don't make a sound," ordered the Chief when he began to sneak down the passage way. The other two marines crept slowly and silently behind, down to the bottom of the second ramp. As they neared, they heard the distinctly deep voices of several elites.
The Chief peered around the corner and saw the three elites standing in a row, gazing through a window into the vast, subterranean chasm. The inside of the Ring was definitely mechanical - not natural; the entire chasm was comprised of some sort of alloy.
The Covenant were doing their level best to keep the humans from entering the Ring's interior for fear that they may discover the location of Halo's control center. He also saw that at the other side of the small room was an open door that he assumed led further into the installation and ultimately, to the Silent Cartographer.
"Do you think the Infidels could make it down here?" one asked another.
"They'd need an army of Spartans to make it past our defenses." said the one in the center.
"It's a good thing that we destroyed the Spartans when we did, or they could've caused some serious problems later on." remarked the one on the right.
"A friend of mine on the Truth and Reconciliation told me that one of them boarded their vessel and rescued the human commander."
"Impossible." the middle one firmly stated. "No human could successfully enter a Covenant ship and survive.
"And why not?" interjected an ultra that had just entered the room; he had apparently overheard their conversation. "Our attacks upon the humans have more than likely strengthened their resolve. And now, with rallied leadership, they will cause more difficulties for us. But keep your faith in the Covenant, for we will send these infidels to their graves soon enough."
The Chief reached for his belt and retrieved one of his four fragmentation grenades that were attached to it; he tightly gripped it in his hand, took a deep breath, and threw.
The grenade skipped down into the room and settled in the middle of the gathered elites, who looked down in sudden surprise. The Chief and the marines prepared for a loud explosion but instead they could only hear the confused murmurs of the elites.
The one nearest to the ramp removed his weapon from its holster and strode up the short ramp expecting to find a few helpless infidels cowering before him, but instead he found nothing. The elite began sniffing the air around him to identify the assailant who recently attempted to blast him and his comrades to tiny bits.
He immediately caught a scent and twisted around only to receive the end of an assault rifle in his gut and then in his face. The Chief and the two marines leapt down into the tiny room and discharged their weapons at the enemy. The other two elites had already withdrawn their weapons and were ready to defend themselves, while the Ultra suddenly vanished from sight.
The marines' bullets ricocheted off of the elites' shields and struck the ceiling and the walls. The sound of weapons fire and the yells of the elites and marines filled the room and rang in their ears. They drove the marines back up the ramp so the Chief brought his foot up and kicked the leading elite in the chest. The Covenant soldier fell back and knocked over his cohort, both slamming onto the hard metal floor. The Chief was about to charge back in when he noticed that the grenade was still on the floor where it had landed earlier. He took his pistol into his hand and discharged a bullet at the grenade.
The bullet exploded on contact and the grenade shattered. The explosion charred the elites; they did not get back up this time. The Chief and the marines quickly strode into the room again and headed towards the door. But the Ultra suddenly reappeared at the door and was prepared to close it on the marines, which would keep them from their objective.
"Don't let him lock the door!" yelled Cortana!
The Chief ran across the room and was about to rush into the corridor when the Ultra tapped the door console and the two door panels started to slide closed. The Chief skidded to a stopped, dropped his assault rifle, and outstretched his arms, grabbing the panels as they enclosed on him. He was barely holding the door open.
The Ultra withdrew his sword and activated it, the two pronged blade flaring brightly and extending to its full, three foot length. He dropped to a running stance and lunged towards the Chief.
Expecting this move, the Chief braced himself on the panels and lifted his legs into the air and kicked the elite in the head as hard as he could. It either knocked him unconscious or killed him, but the Chief couldn't tell.
'That was easy.'
He checked the elite for vital signs. He was unconscious alright, and was bound to stay that way for a long time. He didn't bother to finish him off: they had already made too much noise and there wasn't any point in wasting ammunition on a napping elite.
With ease, the Chief pushed with his right arm on one of the door panels and stretched his left arm over to the console and re-opened the door. Relieved to have his arms free again, he picked up his weapon and motioned the astonished marines.
"We're clear."