Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my remastered Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover. Thank you again for your continued support. I really appreciate the feedback that I'm getting for this crossover.
Just so you know, I'm going to attempt to update my Halo/Star Wars crossover tomorrow. If not tomorrow, I'll update it on the weekend. Either way, thank you for your continued patience and support, and I hope to see you in later chapters.
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Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or MechWarrior/BattleTech franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, Piranha Games Inc, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to it's original developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
Forerunner Installation
Nearing CCS Truth & Reconciliation
September 19th, 2552
The engines of the Pelican hummed quietly as the VTOL flew towards the objective, with an Anhur flying along side.. Chief was tending to the weaponry that he had chosen for this mission, while Shaw was sitting nearby, with his choice of weapon: a Gunther MP-20 that he had gotten from the armory. The rest of the ODST's and Marines busied themselves with making sure they were ready, even though they had already done so dozens of times before.
The Pelican shuddered slightly as the VTOL got closer to the plateau they were approaching. Even though he couldn't see it yet, Chief had a feeling that the pilot of the vehicle could see the Truth and Reconciliation. Looking outside, all he could see was the nighttime terrain, along with the parts of the ring that were exposed to sunlight still. Turning to Shaw, he asked, "Are you ready?"
"Affirmative," Shaw replied. "Ready to use that modified M96IV?"
"Yes."
"Then we are all set." Moments later, the ODST's and Marines confirmed that they were ready as well.
And just in time too, as Cortana came over the COM moments later. "The enemy has Captain Keyes, and are holding him aboard one of their cruisers: the Truth and Reconciliation. The ship is currently holding position approximately 300m above the other end of this plateau. According to the Covenant BattleNet, we have just two hours until the ship leaves with Keyes onboard."
"Then we have to act fast," Shaw decided, with Chief agreeing as well.
"So how do we get inside the ship if it's in the air? The Corps issued me a rifle, not wings," a Marine asked.
Staff Sergeant Parker, who was on station, spoke up. "There's a gravity lift that ferries troops and supplies to the surface. That's our ticket in."
"Once we get inside the ship," Cortana informed the others, "I should be able to lock onto the tracking signal from Keyes' neural implants."
"Thirty seconds," the Pelican pilot informed the team.
"Red light, standby," Shaw announced, just as a red light winked on inside of the VTOL. Both the Pelican and Anhur quickly covered the remaining distance, before coming over an unoccupied portion of the plateau. As soon as they did, they lowered to the ground before deploying the loading ramps. "Green light, go," Shaw announced, with Chief and the ODST's quickly piling out.
"Hit it, Marines," Parker ordered the others. "Go, go, go! The Corps ain't payin' us by the hour!"
As soon as he was out of the VTOL, Chief took a look around. The area of the plateau they were in was fairly wide, but just barely enough for the other VTOL to offload without being detected. Most of the ground was sandy, but there was some grass, as well as some desert brush in the area. Clumps of trees were present here and there, but for the most part, the area was open with little ground cover.
As he moved forwards, he said, "Cortana, any good locations to set up at?"
"Stick to the high ground on the right," Cortana suggested, using his HUD to highlight a small embankment that overlooked the next area. "We should be able to recon the Covenant position without being spotted. I've detected multiple Covenant Stationary Guns near the next pass. I recommend using your modified M96IV to take out the gunners while I call for Marine and ODST support."
Switching COM frequencies, she said, "Get ready to move in to support us, Sergeant. The Master Chief is going to covertly take out as many Covenant as he can. Don't open fire until you hear the enemy return fire on us. That should let us keep the element of surprise."
"Roger that, Cortana," Parker replied. "We'll hang back. Once we hear gunfire, we'll charge in guns blazing."
Reaching the embankment that Cortana told him about, Chief went prone and began crawling forwards, using the brush that he was looking at to conceal his movements. Rocks and boulders on the edge of the embankment helped as well, allowing him to move forwards without being detected. Spotting a small opening, he crawled over and set up, aiming his laser rifle over the area.
The next area of the plateau was mostly filled with rocks, which interrupted his line of sight. Looking around, he spotted clumps of trees, as well as some brush. The Covenant had set up shop here, with Shade Turrets and deployable shields, while Elites and Jackals patrolled the area, fully alert and ready. Grunts were also present, but most were dead asleep. They won't be waking up soon, he thought.
Aiming his rifle, he targeted one of the Elites, a Major that was walking through the area. He waited patiently for the Elite to become separated from the others before pulling the trigger. A burst of infrared pulses of light cut through the air, shattering the shield on the Elite before burrowing through it's head. The only sounds the Elite made were of it's body slumping to the ground lifelessly, which was barely any sound at all.
With the Elite down, he was about to redirect his fire when he heard some quiet, popping sounds. Looking around, Chief spotted a Jackal that fell to the ground, it's body riddled full of holes. Looking at the direction of fire, he spotted Shaw moving towards an Elite, before stabbing his knife into the base of it's skull, killing it instantly. As the other Elites hadn't spotted him, he was able to drag the body into a bush, with none of the Covenant being any wiser than before.
It went on like this for three more minutes, with Chief and Shaw neutralizing the Elites, before moving on to the Jackals and Grunts. Within that time frame, all of the Covenant had been neutralized. "Not bad," Shaw remarked. "All contacts down. We can continue forwards. I would not expect to remain hidden forever, though."
"Noted," Chief replied. "Cortana, we're ready to move forward."
"Copy that," Cortana nodded. Using Chief's COM system, she said, "Sergeant, all clear. Move up."
"Copy that," Parker replied. "Damn, you Elementals and Spartans are creepy. Good to see that you're on our side. The Covenant didn't know what hit them." With that, the Marines and ODST's moved forwards, silenced weapons primed and ready.
It was only after they exited that part of the canyon that they were found out. As the team moved forwards, Chief spotted a contact on his motion tracker. Raising a fist, the others responded by getting down onto the ground, while keeping any light sources off; advancing, he quickly spotted what was coming: a Jackal that was apparently sent to check up on the Covenant that had already been neutralized. Chief was about to move when Shaw fired three rounds from his SMG.
Three small pops came from his SMG as he fired, with the Jackal slumping over. Unfortunately, though, a Grunt had been just behind the Jackal, with the smaller alien letting out a scream before running away. "Well, shit," Shaw remarked. "The cat is out of the bag." As soon as he said this, some Elites, Grunts and Jackals swarmed into the area, looking for the source of the disturbance.
"Let 'em have it," Parker ordered. Almost immediately, the Marines and ODST's fired their suppressed weapons, aiming at various targets they could see. While the unshielded Grunts and Jackals were easy to neutralize, the design of the suppressors meant that the bullets were subsonic. As such, they were ineffectual against the shielded Elites.
That left Shaw and Chief to deal with them. Pulling out his ER Pulse Laser Pistol, Shaw fired at the Elite Minor, while Chief handled the Elite Major. The Elite Minor snarled as it's shields shattered, before it ducked into cover behind a rock. The laser beam was powerful enough that the top portion of the rock was chopped cleanly off, with the edges glowing a bright orange color. Moving forwards, Shaw bull rushed the Elite, moving quickly enough that he kicked the Elite off the edge of the plateau. It's screams became faint as it fell further down.
Nearby, Chief was handling his own target. Ducking under some plasma fire, he fired the laser rifle in his hands, downing the Major's shields before shoulder tackling it to the ground. Bludgeoning it in the face, he pulled out his knife and plunged it straight into the Elite's neck. Blood sprayed out of severed arteries as the Elite struggled, unable to scream, courtesy of Chief shoving his fist into it's throat. After a few more seconds, the Elite was dead, it's lifeblood splattered onto the ground and part of an embankment.
Moving forward, the team of ODST's, Marines, Elementals and Spartans continued to sweep the area, weapons at the ready. Fortunately, their firefight was the only one that had occurred thus far, with the rest of the area proving to be empty. That changed when they advanced into another area, this one near a path that ran along the edge of the plateau.
There were a pair of Elites here, as well as more Jackals and Grunts. Unfortunately, they were expecting an attack, as they were covering any area that the Marines and ODST's could use to move forwards. "Looks like stealth isn't an option anymore," Cortana noted.
"Agreed," Shaw nodded. Turning to the Marines, he said, "Marines, remove the suppressors on your weapons. That should allow you to utilize the ammunition you have at full power." He said this as he knew the suppressors were designed to bleed off gas, reducing muzzle velocity to the point where a weapon could be silenced.
The Marines and ODST's immediately complied, with each soldier quickly removing the suppressors before getting ready. "On my mark, we'll begin the assault," Chief told the others. Holding up a hand, he counted down with his fingers before saying, "Now!"
As soon as he said this, the Marines and ODST's charged forwards, with Shaw and Chief taking up the rear. This time, the area echoed with the sound of SMG's being fired. Bullets whizzed and zinged through the air as the ODST's and Marines fired their weapons. Grunts and Jackals were cut down very quickly, now that they were facing full power ammunition, while the Elites ducked into cover and began firing back.
It was here that the task force began to take casualties. An ODST let out a choked cry as a Needler round punched through his armor, tearing into his right arm as he fell. A Marine never got the chance to scream, as his head was promptly atomized by a plasma bolt. Snarling, Shaw targeted the offending Elites, while the ODST's and Marines began to fight with ruthless efficiency.
As such, it wasn't long before the Covenant defense began to buckle. One of the Elites roared as bullets tore through it's chest, it's shields having long since been drained. Another Elite got into cover, only for a grenade to land just behind it. A loud explosion ripped through the area when the grenade detonated, shredding the Elite and the tree it was near. "Area secure," an ODST reported. "All hostiles eliminated."
"Ian's down," a Marine reported. "We've lost Patrick. Fucking Covenant bastards!" He kicked one of the dead Elites in frustration.
"Get a hold of yourself," Shaw said to the Marine. "If you want revenge, take it out on the Covenant. We have plenty of them between us and the Captain. Do not let your anger run rampant."
"Alright, alright. Relax," the Marine remarked.
Looking around, Shaw said, "Chief, we can use that path to advance to the next area. We will have to be careful, though. The sensor suite in my armor has detected multiple enemy contacts."
"Got it," Chief replied. "Marines, follow us, but stop if Cortana tells you to." With that, the group began to advance, reaching the pathway in a few seconds.
Said pathway, however, turned out to be quite perilous, as it was little more than a rocky outcropping that had no definitive edge. Even with their care, rocks and sand tumbled off the edge, with the narrow ledge proving tricky to navigate. One Marine nearly slipped and fell, only for an ODST to catch him by the armor before pulling him up. "Careful," Parker told the others. "One wrong step, and you'll have a really long fall."
Thankfully, they didn't have to go too far, as the outcropping soon connected to a much wider part of the plateau. As they reached it, Cortana said, "Covenant forces detected up ahead. The path up on the left should allow us to sneak around them."
"We'll hang back while you get into position, Chief," Parker replied. "Same goes for you, Shaw." Holding position, the Marines allowed Chief and Shaw to move past them.
As they moved up, Shaw said, "Chief, there is another path that leads up into the middle. If I was the Covenant, that is where I would have the most firepower stationed at. The Marines cannot handle that much, but we can. They can flank around the left and catch the Covenant off guard."
"Good idea," Chief nodded. "Cortana, we'll take the middle path. The Marines will flank the enemy from the left."
"Got it," Cortana replied. Keying the COM, she said, "Cortana to Fire Team Charlie. The Chief is securing the middle. Get ready to move up on the left, you should be able to flank the enemy."
"Roger that," one of the ODST's replied. With that, Chief and Shaw moved up the middle, while the ODST's and Marines advanced in from the left. As the men moved up, they caught a glance at the area ahead.
It was a large, wide open space, with clumps of trees on the left, and a stone bridge that was where the middle path was. Small embankments were present, along with a ravine that led further into the plateau. The Covenant were here in force, with Shade Turrets to the left and right of the stone bridge, while a number of Covenant infantry were located beneath said bridge.
Just as Shaw had predicted, the Covenant had focused their firepower on the middle path, leaving the left path open for exploitation. As soon as both men had moved up the middle, Shade Turrets began to fire at them. Engaging, Chief fired his laser rifle at one of the turret operators, while Shaw fired his MP-20 at the other.
As they eliminated the Shade Turret operators, the Marines and ODST's moved in from the left, engaging the Covenant as soon as they were able to. The Covenant was caught off guard by the pincer maneuver, with the Marines focusing fire on the Grunts, while the ODST's focused fire on the Elites. Elites and Grunts began to fall like ninepins, while Chief and Shaw neutralized the Covenant where they were at.
As they did so, Cortana sent out an alert. "Alert! Covenant dropships are inbound!" Moments later, a Spirit flew overhead, disgorging it's cargo moments later.
"Take 'em out," Parker shouted, with the combined forces opening fire on the reinforcements. Grunts and Jackals were the first ones out, and were the first ones that were slaughtered by the onslaught of weapons fired at them. Moments later, two Elite Major's stepped out, before taking cover. The battle would've turned into a slog where it not for Shaw and Chief, who flanked the Elites from the right. Under the combined firepower, the two Elites were quickly neutralized.
"We're directly under the ship now," Cortana reported as the last Elite was neutralized.
"Good work, Marines," Parker remarked.
"Alright," an ODST crowed. "Are we bad or what?"
"If we're going to board that thing," another one observed, "then we need a plan."
"The Covenant uses a gravity lift to ferry troops and supplies between the surface," Cortana replied. "We need to ambush them at the Grav Lift's loading zone, then use the lift to enter the ship."
"Oh, is that all?! That's us: the few, the proud, the expendable."
"No one is expendable here," Shaw countered. "Everyone here is valuable." After a moment, he said, "It appears as though the ravine is the only way through. Everyone, get ready. This is going to be the hard part." Once the others signaled that they were ready, the team advanced.
The ravine was fairly narrow, barely wide enough for two Spartans to move through. The ravine was also poorly lit, making it even more difficult to move through. As they advanced, one ODST, who was the point man, said, "Fuck! Those stationary guns are gonna tear us to pieces!"
"We'll handle the guns," Chief told the ODST's and Marines. "You will handle the infantry. Leave any Elites and heavier forces to us."
"Got it," the others replied. It was then that they entered the area where the Grav Lift was at.
It was a large, wide open space, with one side of the area being walled of by the gorge, while the other side was a sheer drop off the edge of the plateau. The Grav Lift itself was inside of a small, circular depression in the middle of the area. Thanks to some lighting, and the light generated by the Grav Lift itself, it glowed a malevolent purple color.
True to form, there were Shade Turrets everywhere, along with a number of Grunts, Jackals and Elites that were present. As soon as they were out of the ravine, Chief advanced towards the far side, while Shaw took the side closest to the ravine exit. Moving up, Shaw quickly neutralized the first Shade Turret operator, before using said turret to neutralize the other operator. Chief in turn, quickly neutralized the hostile contacts he had in his sights.
Down below, the Marines and ODST's were fighting a small scale war with the Covenant. Bullets and pulse lasers cut through the air as the combined fighting force tore into the Covenant. Some Marines fell under the gunfire, but they were far fewer compared to the number of Covenant that were killed. "Dig in," an ODST shouted. "I think more reinforcements are on the way from the Grav Lift."
That warning proved to be prophetic, as moments later, a number of Elites, Grunts and Jackals came down from the enemy WarShip, apparently having learned of what was happening. Despite this advantage, the Marines and ODST's were able to fight back, while Chief and Shaw provided covering fire from the Shade Turrets they had commandeered.
Three more waves came, with each one being slaughtered by the attackers. It was the final way, however, that nearly spelled disaster. As they were about to move, two Hunters were deployed from the WarShip, with each one quickly moving out to engage the others. "Hunters," Shaw shouted. "Move it, Marines!"
"Incoming," an ODST shouted. The Marines opened fire, while trying to move to the left and right in order to avoid being hit. Bullets impacted uselessly against the armor, while pulse lasers began cutting the armor apart, but slowly. One Marine was too slow, and was promptly atomized by a Fuel Rod Cannon blast, while his friend lay on the ground, screaming from multiple burns and broken bones.
"Fire on the rear," Chief shouted. "The rear is the weak point!"
"You heard the man," one of the Marines shouted. "Fire on their backs!" Galvanized by this discovery, the ODST's and Marines quickly moved to the rear, firing their weapons into the relatively unprotected backs of the Hunters. That tactic proved to be far more effective, with the Hunters quickly going down as SAPHE bullets tore the colonies of worms apart. Within a few seconds, the area fell silent once again.
"We've secured the area," Parker announced. "Let's square away the grav lift. Marines, ODST's! Prepare for boarding action."
"Good," Cortana beamed. "Once we're inside the ship, I can home in on the Captain's command-neural interface. He'll probably be near or in the ship's brig, which should narrow our search." Using Chief's COM, she said, "Cortana to Delta-419. We've reached the gravity lift and area ready for reinforcements and resupply."
"Affirmative," the pilot of the Anhur replied. "Heading in now. ETA: 30 seconds." Right on cue, the Anhur flew into view, before touching down. SLDF Spec Ops personnel quickly got off, while Anhur crewmen began handing the Marines and ODST's much needed supplies. At the same time, the wounded were quickly loaded onto the VTOL. Once everyone was good to go, the VTOL quickly left the area.
"Take up position," Shaw ordered as the joint forces quickly got onto the Grav Lift Platform.
For a few seconds, there wasn't any kind of activity, then one of the ODST's shouted, "Whoa!," just as he was pulled up by the Gravity Lift and into the WarShip. Moments later, the others were taken up as well, followed soon after by Chief and Shaw.
As they floated up, they passed through an open door that closed once every one was inside. As soon as it did, the gravity lift deposited them on the floor. Looking around, Chief could tell that they were in a cargo room of some kind, as he could see large doors on the front and rear sections of the room. Doors were present on the left and right, presumably leading to other sections of the ship. The entire room was in the purple-blue, ornate style that the Covenant were known to use.
"Wow," an SLDF Spec Ops Marine remarked, his heavier armor plating a near black in the lighting. "Talk about bad taste in color. Makes my eyes hurt."
"We're in," Cortana reported. "I've got a good lock on the Captain's CNI Transponder. Hhmm, that's odd… No Covenant forces detected."
"What," a UNSC Marine remarked, confused. "There's no Covenant here? Maybe nobody's home."
"I wouldn't say that," his SLDF counterpart cautioned. "I'll bet they're waiting to ambush us when we least expect it. If I were an Elite, and I'm not, the doors that the cargo crates are shielding would be perfect ambush points."
What he didn't know, was that warning proved to be prophetic. Shaw, who was investigating the area now that they were inside, noticed a contact on his sensor suite. Looking at one of the doors, he didn't see anything at first. Then he saw it: a flicker of movement, almost as though the air had shimmered. Instead of second guessing himself, he shouted, "Covenant! They are invisible!"
Right on cue, the SLDF Spec Ops Marines opened fire, having spotted the shimmer as well. Pulse lasers tore through the air, with a loud, snarling scream ringing out moments later. At the same time, the body of an Elite Ultra appeared out of nowhere, with the corpse falling to the ground. A deactivated Energy Sword was in the Elite's hand.
"Contacts," a Marine shouted. "Lot's of contacts!"
"No Covenant," another one snorted. "Ya had to open your mouth!" Moments later, more Covenant began to swarm inside, with the joint forces quickly acting to neutralize them.
Near the end of the fighting, a pair of massive blast doors began to open, with two Hunters coming through. This time, however, the tables had turned, as one Spec Ops Marine was quick to show. "Backblast clear," he shouted, before firing an SRM Launcher at the Hunters. One missile blew apart the first Hunter, while the second missile in the launcher ripped the other apart. "Good thing I brought this along, otherwise that would've been messy."
"Agreed," Chief nodded. Looking at where the blast doors were at, he said, "Marines, move through that doorway. Shaw, go with them."
"Got it," Shaw agreed. "Here, take my MP-20. You'll need it more than that laser rifle now that we're in close quarters." Nodding in agreement, Chief grabbed the weapon and it's ammunition, while handing Shaw the rifle he had. Once the exchange was completed, Chief moved for one of the smaller doors, while Shaw accompanied the Marines and ODST's through the blast doors.
Moving through one of the doors, Chief began to advance through the hallways of the Covenant WarShip. Unlike UNSC hallways, which tended to be narrow and short, Covenant hallways were much wider and more ornate, with the purple-blue material used for the walls becoming ubiquitous. As he moved through the hallways, he heard Shaw say, "Chief, we have a problem. The blast doors are sealed tight. You will have to find an override panel to get them open."
"Roger that," Chief replied. With that, he continued to move through the hallways.
. . .
Ship Master Lat 'Ravamee was furious, and surprised, by what was going on on his WarShip. Looking at security feeds, he could see the Humans moving through the warship, with the Demon and his Greater Demon friend helping to neutralize the enemy hostiles. A few minutes ago, they had breached the cargo bay, before splitting up to cover the other cargo bay.
Now, they were advancing through the rest of the warship, with weapons at the ready as they advanced. Arrogant heretics, 'Ravamee snarled inwardly, smashing a console with a fist in rage. They dare pollute this holy vessel with their presence?! Such arrogance and spite! It was clear, even to him, that they were here to reclaim their Captain. Snarling, he was about to get up when it happened.
Before he could react, the door opened up, before a small device was thrown into the room. Before he could react, the device detonated, creating a brilliant, white flash of light. 'Ravamee snarled as his sight before him froze, like it was a photograph or holographic image that had been taken of the bridge. His ears were deadened as well, with gunfire and explosions ringing out around him. Before he could act, he felt something knock him down, before cold, hard metal was pressed against his head.
When his sight, and hearing, returned, he found himself lying face down on the ground, with Humans standing all around, weapons pointed directly at his head. "Do your worst, heretic," he snarled. "I will embark on the Great Journey when it begins."
Just as the Humans were about to fire, one of them said, "Hold fire." Looking around, 'Ravamee watched as one of the Greater Demons walked into view, weapon at the ready. "I believe that this arrogant Elite freebirth will be of greater use to us alive." Moments later, 'Ravamee felt himself being roughly pulled up by the Greater Demon, before it said, "Take us to Captain Keyes, or I will gut you where you stand, freebirth."
Normally, 'Ravamee would've refused, but it was clear to him that he was outnumbered and outmatched. If he was going to retake his ship, he had to be clever about it. That meant cooperating for the time being. "Fine," he growled, before being led at gunpoint while moving through the ship.
It wasn't long before they reached the brig, whereupon the Greater Demon said, "Thank you." Moments later, 'Ravamee felt something him him in the back of the head. The last thing he recalled was falling face down on the floor, and then blackness consumed him.
Shaw watched as the Elite Zealot slumped to the ground as unconsciousness claimed it, with the alien hitting the ground with a dull thumping sound. Turning to Chief, he said, "We will take him in for interrogation when we return to Alpha Base. Once he is drained of information, I request that he be made a bondsman of Clan Wolf. He will be of no threat to us then."
"Are you certain," Chief asked.
"Yes." With that answer, Chief nodded, before he and the others moved inside of the brig. The brig was a large, open space, with large force field barriers at equally large prison cells, as well as a control panel in the rear. An Elite Warden was present, but was promptly disposed of by a pulse laser to the brainpan.
"Keyes has to be in here somewhere," a Marine remarked.
"Found him," Sergeant Parker shouted, pointing at the left rear prison cell. Walking over, Chief watched as the plasma barrier faded, allowing him inside.
True enough, Keyes was in there, knees huddled close to his chest as he kept himself warm. It was clear that the Covenant had attempted to interrogate him, as he had a number of bruises and cuts on his face. Looking up, he spotted Chief, both eyes squinting before he said, "Coming here was reckless. You two know better than this…" As he was helped to his feet, he simply said, "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Cortana replied. "O'Donnell sent us here to rescue you."
"The Colonel," Keyes asked. When Chief nodded, he said, "Well, looks like I owe him a favor. When we get back to wherever you've set up shop, I'll personally thank him." As he left the cell, he said, "Marines! Lock and load your weapons, let's be ready to move."
Once they had weapons, he cleared his throat and said, "While the Covenant had us locked up in here, I overheard the guards talking about this ring world. They called it… 'Halo'"
"One moment, sir," Cortana reported. "Accessing the Covenant BattleNet… Hmm, interesting. According to the data in their networks, the ring, just as Alex Connors suspected, holds some kind of deep, religious significance. If I'm analyzing this correctly, they believe that 'Halo' is some kind of weapon. One with vast, unimaginable power."
"Then it's true," Keyes realized. "The Covenant kept saying that 'whoever controls Halo, controls the fate of the Universe.'"
"Now I see… I have intercepted a number of messages about a Covenant search team, scouting for a 'control room.' I thought they were looking for the bridge of a cruiser that I damaged during the battle above the ring. But they must be looking for 'Halo's' control room."
"That's bad news! If Halo is a weapon, and the Covenant gain control over it, they'll use it against us and wipe out the entire Human race." There was a pause as Keyes thought to himself, before he said, "Chief, Cortana. I have a new mission for you. We need to beat the Covenant to Halo's control room. Marines, let's move!" Picking up a Needler on the ground, he said, "Chief, you have the point."
"Roger that," Chief replied. "The SLDF Spec Ops Marines voted to stay behind in the bridge. They should still have control of it."
"I hope they do," Keyes nodded. Spotting the unconscious Ship Master, he asked, "What about him?"
"Interrogation," Shaw replied. "Before we left, O'Donnell asked me to retrieve a high ranking Elite for interrogation. Given that this Elite Zealot was present, I decided he would be my target. Once we have interrogated him, he will become a bondsman of Clan Wolf."
"Then don't let me stop you." With that, the team returned to the bridge.
When they got back, they found that it was still under their control, though it was clear that a massive firefight had happened here. A number of SLDF Spec Ops Marines were wounded, but thankfully none were dead. "About time you showed up," one of the men growled. "We had an ambush by cloaked Elites. It's only thanks to our equipment that we could counter them. I've got five wounded here and we need evac."
"Got it," Cortana replied. Keying the COM, she said, "Cortana to Echo-419. We have the Captain and need immediate extraction on the double."
Moments later, Foehammer replied, and it wasn't good news. "Negative, Cortana," she reported. "I've been engaged by Covenant air patrols, and I'm having a tough time shaking them, even with Delta-419's help. You'd be better off finding your own ride… sorry."
"Acknowledged, Foe Hammer. Cortana out." Closing the COM link, she said, "Air support is cut off, Captain. We need to hold here until she can move in."
"Aww, man," a Marine moaned. "We're trapped in here! We're screwed! We're screwed, man!"
Just as he said this, Keyes, tired of that kind of behavior, walked over and slapped the Marine in the face, with the sound echoing in the bridge. "Stow the bellyaching, soldier," Keyes growled. "Remember, you're a leatherneck. Cortana, if you, Chief and Shaw can get us into one of those Covenant dropships, I can fly us out of here."
"Affirmative, Captain," Cortana reported. "There's a Covenant dropship still docked."
Just as she said this, one of the Spec Ops Marines shouted, "Look out! INCOMING!" Right on cue, Covenant forces burst into the bridge, weapons blazing.
"Protect the Captain," Chief shouted, with the UNSC and SLDF forces quickly rallying and fighting back. Neutralizing the hostiles, the rescue team quickly moved back to the shuttle bay. Spotting the control panel for the docked dropship, Chief hammered the controls, while Shaw and the others fought off the Covenant on the upper level.
"That did it," Cortana reported. "The dropship is loose. We'll be pushing it's capacity though."
"No matter," Keyes remarked as he clambered into the dropship. "Everybody, mount up! Let's get aboard." Maneuvering the VTOL, Keyes maneuvered it into position, before deploying the Troop Bay doors. Once one side was loaded up, he rotated the VTOL and loaded the other side.
"Give me a minute to interface with the controls."
"No, no need, Cortana. I'll take this bird out myself."
"Captain! Hunters!" Looking at the holographic display in the cockpit, Keyes spotted two Hunters that were moving into position. Just then, an idea occurred to him.
"Hang on," he shouted, before gunning the throttle. The two front portions of the dropship smashed into the Hunters. While it looked comparatively slow, the amount of energy in the strike was more than enough to kill the Hunters, with their armor plating crumpling under the powerful blow. Both Hunters were sent flying backwards, smashing into the wall before slumping over, dead.
"Hah! Nice once, sir," a Marine shouted.
"Time for a little payback," Keyes beamed, before guiding the dropship out of the shuttle bay. They where headed back to Alpha Base. The battle of Halo was about to become far more intense than before.