Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover. Thank you for your support, thus far. I greatly appreciate any feedback that I can get. Also, things are about to really escalate in this chapter. Stay tuned for more interesting things happening.

As always, leave a review and enjoy!

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 their respective 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.

Halo

Control Room

September 21st, 2552

The Control Room was silent for a few seconds before three individuals appeared in the room in a flash, courtesy of teleportation. "…which means that any organism of sufficient biomass and cognitive capability is a potential vector," Guilty Spark explained to the two of them.

Tell me about it, Alex frowned. That means that anything that is larger than an insect is a 'potential vector' for the Flood. If this were to find a way to my home universe, the Inner Sphere and the Clans would be fucked, completely. It really was a problem, and he could see why the Forerunners had resorted to the measures they had.

Still, something is not right about this. I feel as though we are going to make a terrible mistake. Nearby, Chief must've felt the same thing, as he also looked around.

"Is something wrong?" Guilty Spark asked.

"No… nothing," Chief replied.

"Splendid. Shall we?" Nodding, the trio proceeded over to the holographic control panel in the Control Room. "Unfortunately, my usefulness in this particular endeavor has come to an end. Protocol does not allow units with my classification to… perform such a task as important as the reunification of the Index with the Core. That final step is reserved for you, Reclaimer." Nodding at that, Chief took the Index and, spotting a slot, put it in.

A loud hum that increased in intensity filled the Control Room, followed by holographic icons that appeared over the panel. For a few seconds, this went on, but then, the hum began to die down, until the Control Room was silent once more. "Odd," Guilty Spark remarked. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

What happened next caught everyone off guard. "Oh, really!?" Cortana growled. As soon as her hologram appeared, Alex and Chief could see barely controlled rage blazing in her eyes. The Monitor was so shocked by what happened that it's ocular sensor briefly flashed, before it fell to the ground with a CLUNK while being pushed backwards.

"Oh, shit," Alex frowned. "I think we fucked up big time." He knew that angry look from somewhere.

"Cortana!" Chief shouted.

Before he could continue, Cortana interrupted, barely restrained anger clearly evident in her voice. "I just spent the last twelve hours cooped up in here, watching you two toadying about, helping that thing get ready to slit our throats!"

"Hold on now," Chief said to her in an attempt to calm her down. "He's a friend."

Cortana's reply as as savage as it was sarcastic. "Oh! I didn't realize. He's your pal, is he? Your chum?" She quickly became angry once more. "Do you have any idea as to what that bastard nearly made you two do!?"

"Yes… Activate Halo's defenses and destroy the Flood, which is why we brought the Index to the Control Room."

"You mean this?" Moments later, Cortana held up a holographic representation of the Index in her hand.

By this point, Guilty Spark had fully recovered, and was positively livid. "A Construct? In the Core?! That is absolutely unacceptable!"

"Piss off," Cortana shouted.

"What impertinence! I shall purge you at once!"

"You sure that's a good idea?" Cortana taunted as she absorbed the Index moments later.

That made the Monitor extremely angry. "How… how… how dare you! I-"

"Do what? I have the Index! You can just float and splutter!"

This tine, Chief got involved. "Enough!" he shouted, holding both hands up between them as though he was breaking up a fight. Turning to Cortana, he said, "The Flood is spreading. If we activate Halo's defenses, we can wipe them out."

"I take it that is not the case, judging by your reaction," Alex added.

"You two have no idea how this ring actually works, do y'all?" Cortana retorted, anger still evident in her voice. "Why the Forerunners built it? Halo doesn't kill Flood. It kills their food. Humans, Covenant, whatever. We're all equally edible! The only way to stop the Flood is to starve them to death. And that's exactly what Halo is designed to do: Wipe the galaxy clean of all sentient life. You don't believe me? Ask him!"

For the first time, Chief realized why Cortana was so angry, and why Alex had been distrustful of Guilty Spark: the Monitor had likely known this all along. He needed to know for certain, though. Turning around, he asked the Monitor, "Is it true?"

What Guilty Spark said not only confirmed what Cortana said, it also confirmed Alex's suspicions. "More or less. Technically, this installation's pulse has a maximum effective radius of twenty five thousand light years. But once all the others follow suit, this galaxy will be quite devoid of life, or at least any life with sufficient biomass to sustain the Flood… But you already knew that… I mean, how couldn't you?"

"Left out that little detail, did he?" Cortana added.

"You mean -," Alex began. A moment later, his facial features became the enraged mask of a man that had been lied to, and had found out about it just before it was too late. "You lying, arrogant freebirth, SCUMBAG!," he roared. "You knew about this all along, did you?! You were not going to tell us about this, even when our corpses were lying on the ground, and all life in the galaxy was dead! You two-faced, piece of shit, ASSHOLE!"

The vitriol of Alex's enraged realization caught Guilty Spark off guard, so much so that he was silent for a full minute. After a moment, he said, "We have followed outbreak containment procedure to the letter. You were with me every step of the way, as we managed this crisis."

Cortana, detecting something, said, "Chief, I'm picking up movement!"

"No shit," Alex added. "Sensor suite has gone crazy!"

"Why would you hesitate to do what you have already done?"

"We need to go, right now," Cortana hissed.

Alex, who was paying attention to Guilty Spark's question, asked, "What do you mean, 'what you have already done?' Who do you think we are?" As he said this, Sentinels floated up behind Guilty Spark, their weapons fully charged, ready and aimed at the two.

"Last time, you asked me, if it were my choice, would I do it? Having had considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed. There is little choice. We must activate the ring." As he said this, Chief inserted Cortana's data chip into his helmet.

"Get – us – out – of – here!" she whispered to Chief.

"If you are unwilling to help, I will simply find another. Still, I must have the Index. Give your construct to me, or I will be forced to take it from you."

Stepping forwards, Alex said, "Guilty Spark, this is my question: Who do you think we are?"

There was some silence, before Guilty Spark said, "Born-Makes-Lasting-Interstellar. The IsoDidact if I recall correctly, and one of his subordinates. Why?"

Alex shook his head. "If they are who you think we are, you are sorely mistaken. I am Alex Conners of Clan Wolf. The man you think is that individual is Master Chief Petty Officer Sierra-117. And as for your demand, Chief and I spit on your demand to hand over Cortana.

"By the power invested to me by Clan law, I hereby declare a Trial of Annihilation against you, the Flood and any of your allies! The UNSC, SLDF and Clan Wolf will not stop until the Flood, the Covenant, and you are all dead!" With that, he raised his M96IV and leveled it directly at the Monitor, a whine coming from the weapon as it fully powered up.

That sealed the deal for the Monitor. "So be it," he decided. "Save their heads. Dispose of the rest." Moments later, he teleported away.

"Look out!," Cortana shouted as the Sentinels opened fire on them. Without being told to do so, Alex and Chief took cover behind the tall panels of transparent allow. The Sentinel beams splashed uselessly against the tough alloy, a true display of Forerunner engineering, even if it wasn't meant for combat.

"They have us pinned," Alex shouted. "Chief, I will try to draw their -"

He was promptly surprised when a loud screech filled the air, followed by a large, plasma bolt that splashed into one of the Sentinels. The combined effect of intense heat, and electromagnetic output, fried the Sentinel's internal electronics. It fell onto the walkway, exploding as it did so. Following the trail of the bolt, Alex was surprised to see a Grunt Minor that had managed to get inside of the Control Room. Despite it's small size, the Grunt was clearly angry, enough that it had fired on the Sentinel.

"Get away from them," the Grunt screamed, the high pitched voice filled with rage as it fired wildly at the Sentinels. The Sentinels immediately moved to target the alien, their weapons charged and ready. That distraction proved to be sufficient, as Chief and Alex immediately opened fire.

While the chassis on the Sentinels, as well as the armor, was tough, they weren't tough enough to survive concentrated fire from both super soldiers. One Sentinel went down as it's ocular sensor was expertly penetrated by a pulse laser beam, while the Plasma Rifle Chief had pilfered at the Library cut down the other one. Soon, there was only one left, and it was all too easy to kill for the trio.

Chief turned to engage the Grunt when Cortana said, "Chief, don't! That Grunt entered the Control Room about two hours since you left."

"Why is it here?" he asked.,

"That Grunt's a he, not an it," Cortana corrected him. "As for why, he was trying to get out of the poor weather outside. He and I have had a thorough discussion with each other."

"Why did I not spot him earlier?" Alex asked, looking around. "It is not as though there are lots of hiding places in here."

"He was resting on the end of the circular platform opposite of your position. Given that there are flashing lights in the way, it's obvious that you didn't spot him. Plus that two-faced scumbag of an AI had you two mesmerized."

Chief would've chastised her, but he knew that her remarks were fully warranted. That Monitor tricked the both of us, he thought, and Alex and I were none the wiser. Shame on that thing. I won't let that thing fool me twice. Looking at Alex, he said, "We can worry about the Grunt later, since it's obvious he'll be coming with us. We have more pressing matters now."

"I know," Alex replied. "This ring, this Halo, is the gun pointed at the head of the universe. It is obvious that we cannot allow Guilty Spark to get at the Index."

"That's obvious," Cortana agreed. "We can't let the Monitor activate Halo. We have to stop him – we have to destroy Halo."

"How do we do so," Chief asked.

"According to my analysis of the available data," Cortana replied, "I believe the best course of action is somewhat… risky. An explosion of sufficient size will help destabilize the ring, and cut through a number of primary systems. We need to trigger a detonation on a large scale, however."

"I have an idea," Alex proposed. "We know for certain that the Pillar of Autumn is no longer space worthy, so why not use the nuclear reactors on the WarShip as the explosive. During our trek here to Halo, I read up on the specifications on the reactors. If those reactors blow, we will be looking at a nuclear detonation that is equivalent to at least one gigaton of TNT. That blast alone will be powerful enough to destroy Halo."

"That's perfect," Cortana agreed. "We'll have to find a way home, but I think we can scavenge a Covenant WarShip for us to use. The SLDF mapped the Autumn's crash site, so we won't have to worry about where it is. If the ship's fusion reactors are still relatively intact, we can, as Alex suggested, use them to destroy Halo." As she said this, they reached the doorways and proceeded into the corridor after opening the doors.

Almost immediately, it was clear that the Covenant had tried to get in, only to be intercepted by the Sentinels. The two sides were duking it out with each other, as incineration beams were met with plasma bolts and particle beams. Chief was about to engage when Alex said, "Wait. Let them whittle each other down first. Once there are few people standing, then we will neutralize them." With that in mind, the two decided to hand back, allowing the Sentinels and Covenant to do most of the work for them.

Both sides of the fight were so engrossed in the engagement that they didn't notice the two super soldiers, the defecting Grunt, and the AI with them. It wasn't long before both sides had effectively wiped each other out, with only a single Sentinel remaining. They're not built for extended combat engagements, Chief thought as Alex destroyed that remaining drone.

Moving up, they reached the front entrance to the Control Room's interior. "Get ready," Alex informed him. "I have a feeling that there is a welcoming committee outside waiting to perforate our bodies." Looking at his armor integrity, he said, "I need to get my armor fixed up as soon as possible. The plating is almost completely ablated."

Chief was about to agree when they heard the sounds of gunfire outside of the doors. The two men paused as the gunfire continued, until it went dead completely. "What happened," Chief asked.

"I have no idea," Alex replied. Just as he said this, the doors opened, with Chief and Alex taking cover even as the door panels moved into the walls. Spotting movement, he shouted, "You there, identify yourself!"

"Richard Shaw, Clan Wolf Point Commander," was the rely. Peering out from around the corner, he found that Shaw was, indeed, outside of the door, the muzzle of his MP-20 smoking slightly. Nearby, Ward and Emile were present, weapons ready and waiting.

"I asked Colonel O'Donnell if he could send personnel to assist us," Cortana explained. "He was able to spare those men. The rest are busy packing up Alpha Base and getting ready to capture a Covenant WarShip."

"Good," Alex nodded. Looking at Shaw, he said, "Good to see that you brought friends along. What we really need are supplies and an armor refit. My plating is almost completely ablated, as is the plating on Chief's armor."

"That's why we brought friends," Emile added. Moments later, a pair of Engineers floated out to the group. Both of them were carrying what looked like replacement armor plates for the Power Armor that Alex and Chief were wearing. "O'Donnell figured that your armor plating was on it's last legs, so he sent these two along. They'll fix you two up in no time."

That was when he spotted the Grunt. On reflex, Emile snapped his shotgun up at the alien, and was surprised to see it raise it's hands in surrender. "Don't shoot!," it shouted. "Don't shoot! Kapkap wants to live!"

"Relax," Alex replied. "He is defecting to the SLDF." At that, Emile relaxed, but only slightly so.

"So, what are our current objectives," Alex asked Cortana.

"We need to by some time, in case the Monitor finds a way to activate Halo's final weapon, without the Index." Bringing up a map of the canyon network, she said, "The machinery in these canyons are Halo's firing mechanisms. They consist of three phase pulse generators that amplify Halo's signal, and allow it to fire deep in to space. The power levels are enormous, enough to allow the pulse to reach 25,000lys."

"That's a lot of distance," Ward remarked. "Is Halo really that powerful?"

"Yes," Cortana agreed. "So, if we damage, or destroy these pulse generators, the Monitor will need to repair them before they can be used. That should buy us some time. I'm marking the location of the pulse generators with nav points. We need to move in and neutralize the devices."

"Now that we know what to do, I have a plan," Alex told the others. "We will target the phase pulse generators and destroy them, which will force the Monitor to fully rebuild them before they can be used. Ready for battle, Shaw?"

"Aff, lead," Shaw nodded, along with Ward.

"Good." Looking at the nav point for the first phase pulse generator, Alex asked, "Does anyone have any VTOL's or AeroSpace Fighters available?"

"We came in on an Anhur," Shaw replied. "It is still at ground level. We destroyed the Covenant that were at ground level, so you just need to load up, and the pilot will take us up. Once we complete our objectives, we will await further orders."

"Then let us move." With that, the six man squad moved out, weapons at the ready as they moved away from the Control Room. True to form, Shaw, Ward and Emile had killed every single Covenant unit that was in their way, including a Wraith that had been loitering around at the bottom. A single Anhur VTOL was near the Wraith, it's engines primed and ready for takeoff.

Loading inside, Ward shouted, "Pilot, take us up! Head to these nav coordinates!"

"Affirmative," came the reply. "Looks like it's straight up. Once you've destroyed that target, I'll drop you off on the bridge. You'll have to fight your way from then on. Understood?"

"Got it." With that, the VTOL shot straight up, it's powerful engines lifting it up and into the air. Just seconds later, the VTOL hovered near a platform that was embedded into the canyon wall, with a door that was in the wall itself. Getting off, Chief and the others advanced inside, weapons at the ready as they moved forwards.

The room inside was just like the ones they had seen yesterday, but with a major difference. In the center of the room was a tall, projector-like device that was projecting a blue-white beam of energy into a receiver. "That's the pulse generator," Cortana observed. "The center core is the signal amplifier. That's what we need to shut down. We need to interrupt the pulse generator's energy stream. I've adjusted Chief's shielding system so that it will deliver an EMP burst to disrupt the generator, but he'll have to walk into the beam to trigger it."

"I get what she means," Emile guessed. "That means Chief'll be vulnerable until his shields come back. Looks like we're on protection detail."

"Agreed," Alex nodded. "Shaw, Ward, Emile, get into position. Chief, do what you do best." With that, Alex and the others got into defensive positions, while Chief moved into the energy beam.

Just as planned, the shielding system emitted a powerful EMP, severely damaging the electronics inside of the phase pulse generator. "Objective accomplished," Cortana reported. "The pulse generator has been overloaded. Scanning… the generator's central core is offline. Well done."

Just as she said this, Chief heard gunfire. Looking outside, he watched as the squad neutralized a kill-team of Sentinels that had been sent to the location. "Targets have been neutralized," Shaw reported. "Time to head out to the other objectives." With that, they moved out.

The Anhur was patiently waiting for them outside, though it was clear that the Sentinels had attempted to destroy it, with predictably poor results. "There were a lot more of 'em out here," the pilot told them. "I blew them apart, though, but some got past me. I also cleared out some Covenant on that stone bridge as well. Be advised, it's on it's last legs."

"Understandable," Alex nodded. "Take us down." With that, the VTOL descended, bringing them to the stone bridge that bridged the gorge. True to the pilot's word, the stone bridge was on it's last legs, as large cracks were present, courtesy of the MRM's that had been fired at the enemy personnel. Hopping off, the team quickly moved inside.

Just as they did, the bridge collapsed. There was a loud, grinding sound, as stone ground against stone, before the entire thing fell apart. "Well, that is the end of that," Ward remarked. "We will not be going back that way." No one saw fit to reply as they advanced onward.

Much like yesterday, the interior layout hadn't changed at all, with the only differences being that there was a mixture of Covenant as well as Flood forces that were present. Inside one of the long hallways, Ward fired his Thunderstroke IV at a Combat Form, only to be surprised when it didn't even get blown apart. "What the-" he shouted, just as it charged at him.

Fortunately, it never got that far, as Shaw blew it apart with his SMG. "You alright," he asked.

"Yes," Ward replied. "I know I hit him, but he did not go down. What is going on?"

"What is going on," Alex asked.

"Ward shot a Combat Form with his Gauss rifle, but it did not injure the thing. I am going to examine it to see what is wrong." Using his combat knife, Shaw cut the infected alien apart. "Well, fuck; I know why he did not go down. Look."

At Shaw's suggestion, the team looked at the bisected corpse. It was Cortana who spotted the difference. "Ugh," she gagged. "The insides are liquefying. There's nothing for any Gauss slugs or anti-material rifle rounds to discharge their energy on. Yuck!"

"Disgusting," Alex agreed. "OK. Gauss rifles and high energy ballistic rifles will not be effective against them. We will have to use more conventional ballistic weapons, or energy based ones." With that, Ward switched to his ER Laser Pistol as he, and the others, advanced forwards.

Enemy resistance only continued to increase the further they traveled through the area. Reaching the bridges they had traversed yesterday, they found it to be a maelstrom of activity. On the side they were on, Covenant were fighting to prevent Flood that were on the other side from leaping over, with a single Zealot coordinating the defense.

Moving forwards, they quickly cut down the Covenant that were in their way, leaving only the Zealot to deal with. "I have him," Ward shouted, firing his now useful Gauss rifle at the Elite. Two ferrous slugs cut through the air, with the first slug shattering the Elite's shields, while the second one blasted it's head apart in a shower of blood and gore.

"At least we will not have to deal with him at close range," Shaw sighed. "Fighting those tough bastards is hard enough already at range."

"Well, look on the bright side," Cortana remarked. "We're breaking stuff to look tough." Only Emile chuckled at the pun, with the rest of the team deciding to keep moving.

Entering the doorway beyond, they found themselves traversing through the same areas they had been in yesterday, with the only real difference being the presence of the Flood. Eventually, after descending down the lift, and moving through a large room, they reached ground level.

"I remember this place," Chief remarked as they exited the hallway. Looking around, he found that they had entered a gorge that had a large, Forerunner structure ahead of them, with the entrance to the next area in the gorge to the left. Covenant forces were present, mostly infantry, though Chief spotted a Wraith off in the distance. "This is where Fire Team Zulu was picked up at. We're heading the right direction."

"Agreed," Alex nodded. "I will contact the Anhur pilot, see if we cannot get any fire support for any areas up ahead." Keying his COM, he said, "Gamma One to Foxtrot-590. Do you read me?"

"Copy that," came the reply.

"Can you provide any fire support against enemy Combat Vehicles and AeroSpace Fighters ahead?"

"Roger that. Missiles are loaded and ready to go. Homing variants are loaded. Expect some fireworks at your location. ETA: 30 seconds." Thirty seconds later, guided MRM missiles flew through the air, smashing into a Ghost, as well as the Wraith that was in the area. "Targets eliminated. I've detected some Banshees in the area up ahead. I'll come back to pick you up once I've eliminated them."

"Copy that. We will wait here for pickup and transport."

"Copy. I'll even take you to the third nav point free of charge. No need to do a lot of walking that isn't necessary."

"Copy that. Gamma One out."

"I copy all. Foxtrot-590 out."

"So, what now," Chief asked.

"We will wait here for Foxtrot-590 to come pick us up," Alex explained. "If you are worried about the VTOL being shot down, do not do so. Anhur VTOL's are well armored for their weight and size. He will manage." With that, the team began to wait.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long, as the VTOL flew into view after about five minutes. Parts of the chassis had been scorched, but from the looks of it, it was otherwise unharmed. "Sorry about the delay," the pilot replied. "Those Banshees are agile as fuck. I got them, but I've got moderate damage to the troop bay. It should hold up for now, but I wouldn't recommend pole vaulting in there."

"Understood," Alex replied as he and the others loaded up. It was clear that the Troop Bay had taken damage, as part of the floor was warped, and there were a few holes present. Beyond that, however, the VTOL was fully functional and ready to go. Once they were loaded up, they began flying towards the second phase pulse generator.

The second phase pulse generator was located at the butte that Chief and the others had passed by when they were initially driving to the Control Room. Bringing them close to the platform, the pilot held the VTOL steady, allowing the others to quickly get off and get inside of the Phase Pulse Generator room.

Unlike the previous one, which had been completely devoid of life, this one was literally stuffed with activity. The Flood and the Sentinels were locked in a massive battle against each other, with weapons blazing as the two sides vied for control of the phase pulse generator. "I think we should wait a little while," Cortana suggested. "If we try to go into there now…"

"We will be overrun," Alex agreed. "Even I am a little hesitant to go into there right now." As such, the squad of super soldiers decided to wait until the fighting died down before moving in, allowing them to easily neutralize the remaining forces. Just like with the first phase pulse generator, Chief walked into the beam, with his shields disrupting the beam's flow.

"Look out," Shaw shouted as Flood dropped down from vents in the room, with some holding what looked like Fuel Rod Launchers. "They have heavy weapons!"

"Prioritize them first," Alex shouted. "Chief, Ward, neutralize the ones with standard weapons. Shaw, Emile and I will handle the heavy weapon equipped Flood."

Nodding, both halves of the team went to work neutralizing the Flood in the area. Emile shouted as he narrowly avoided a Fuel Rod shell that flew over his head, his HUD crackling as the bolus of plasma flew overhead. Popping out of cover, he fired his shotgun once, blasting the Combat Form into pieces.

Nearby, Shaw was neutralizing his own enemy combatant, his MP-20 barking loudly as he fired. A Fuel Rod shell also zipped past him, with the Elemental snarling as he felt the heat through his bodysuit. Firing his weapon four times, he killed the Combat Form, before putting an extra three through it's chest to ensure that it stayed dead. "Everyone good?" he called out.

"I am good," Alex replied. "My target is toast. Good work, people. One more phase pulse generator to go."

With that, they moved outside before loading up into the VTOL. As they did so, Cortana said, "I've got good news people. O'Donnell scanned the Autumn one more time when I told him of our plan while we were moving here. Energy readings show that her fusion reactors are still powered up and online."

"Damn, I thought they would have been totaled," Shaw remarked.

"The Halcyon-class of Light Cruisers are well known for their durability," Chief explained to them. "According to studies of the hull, the Autumn can lose 90% of her armor and superstructure and remain fully operational."

"Damn," Alex whistled. "That is a tough ship to damage." As he said this, he thought, Impressive. Once we return to UNSC controlled space, I will ask Stennings if he can have the SLIC recover the schematics for the Halcyon-class of Light Cruisers. If we can find out why they are so tough, we can retrofit our own WarShips with an upgraded version of what gives them their durability, and make our own WarShips tougher in the process.

Cortana, unaware of Alex's thoughts, continued speaking. "The systems onboard the Pillar of Autumn have fail safes that even I can't override, without authorization from the captain."

"So we need to ask Captain Keyes if we can blow his ship up," Shaw summarized.

"Basically," Cortana agreed. Changing topics, she said, "We've got one more pulse generator to destroy before we can move out. I hope this bucket of bolts can hold together long enough to get us there."

Fortunately, the Anhur, despite being damaged, was still holding together nicely, with the VTOL quickly moving towards the final phase pulse generator. That allowed them to bypass any fighting on the ground, with the VTOL quickly arriving at the last phase pulse generator. Dropping them off, the pilot said, "I have to head in for repairs now. The number two engine is starting to have problems with responsiveness and power. I can get back to a DropShip for repairs. I can take five of you guys along without trouble, but that means one of you will be on your own. Sorry."

"That's alright," Cortana replied. "Is that Grunt in there with you?"

"Yep, and he's mighty curious about the controls." There was a moment where the pilot shouted, "Hey! Don't touch that!" Turning back to Cortana, he said, "We'll be fine, as long as he keeps his hands to himself. Foxtrot-590 over and out." With that, the VTOL took off with Alex, Ward, Shaw and Emile in tow, flying towards the nearest DropShip.

As it did so, Chief. This time, only Sentinels were left, which was paltry resistance compared to what he and the others had to put up with earlier. For the third, and final, time, Chief walked into the energy beam, with the resulting EMP frying the pulse generator. "Final target neutralized," Cortana confirmed. "Let's get out of here."

"We will find a ride and get to the Captain," Chief decided as he turned to leave.

"No, that'll take too long," Cortana frowned.

"You have a better idea?"

"There's a teleportation grid that runs throughout Halo. That's how the Monitor gets around so quickly. I learned how to tap into the grid when I was in the Control Center. Unfortunately, each jump requires a… consequential expenditure of energy."

"Something tells me I'm not going to like this."

"But, I'm pretty certain that I can take the needed energy from your suit without permanently damaging your shields. Needless to say, I think we should only do this once."

Just as Chief was about to order Cortana to do it, his COM unit beeped. Keying his COM, he said, "Sierra-117, reporting in."

"Good," came O'Donnell's voice. "Chief, I've got good news. We've been busy packing up Alpha Base in preparation for evacuations. We're ready to evacuate when Cortana gives the signal. That's not all, however."

"Because?"

"Because Chernenko must've had an instance of foresight, in the event we needed to abandon the Autumn. We detected Emergence Signatures when we were halfway through packing up Alpha Base. Scans have identified the WarShip as the SLS Farragut. We're going to be able to go home."

"What about Reach?"

"Reach has been saved. We've driven the Covenant back, but we won't have time for celebrations. We have one more mission for you to undertake once you get back, and it's a big one. I would explain more, but the Farragut's Captain is not comfortable talking over an unencrypted channel.

"As for right now, here are your orders. You are to travel to the Pillar of Autumn and activate it's self-destruct sequence. Once you do so, we will evacuate you from the Autumn and transport you to the Farragut. When you're onboard, we'll make the jump to Reach and link up with Chernenko. Understood?"

"Fully."

"Good. Colonel O'Donnell out." As soon as the COM-link cut out, Chief and Cortana teleported out of the pulse generator room. They were on the home stretch, the last mile. Now, they had to cross the finish line.