Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover. My apologies for the delay in updating. I was dealing with some personal matters, while trying to figure out this next chapter. Rest assured, I'm back, and ready to get going again. Thank you for your patience, and I hope to see you in future chapters.
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.
Unknown System
Delta Halo
November 26th, 2552
Upon hearing Miranda Keye's orders, Chief switched off the holo-projector. Regret had unknowingly given them what they needed, so he didn't need to hear anymore of his bluster. Looking at the others, he said, 'Make sure you're ready to move out. Once you are, begin heading up that ramp."
"Got it, sir," the others replied.
Just as they did, Chief spotted more contacts on his sensor suite. "Buggers!" a Marine shouted, just as the chitinous creatures came into view.
Almost immediately, gunfire filled the room as the Marines, and Chief, fought off the flying attackers. One Marine screamed as a Bugger picked him up, before attempting to whisk him away to a horrid fate. Grabbing onto a column, the Marine shouted, "HELP ME! I CAN'T HOLD ON MUCH LONGER!"
"Hang on!" Dubbo shouted. "I'm coming." Running over, he shouted at the Drone, "Get off him, you fucking bastard!", before blasting the drone in the face. With the Marine freed, Dubbo was able to get the man onto his feet before he and the others continued fighting.
To make matters worse, two Sangheili Ultra's dropped into the room at the same time. Firing his weapon, Chief drove them both into cover, while the Marines flanked the aliens. The maneuver worked, with both Ultra's being overwhelmed by sheer volume of fire. In the end, blood and organs were splattered on the ground, painting a macabre scene.
"Oh, fuck," Dubbo wheezed, taking his helmet off as he caught his breath. "That was too fucking close. We nearly died there."
"I agree," another Marine nodded. "We've got to be more careful next time. Otherwise, we'll be dead before you know it."
"We need to keep moving," Chief told the others. "We'll advance outside and look for a means of getting to Regret." Nodding in agreement, the Marines got up, took a drink and gathered their wits before moving up. Reaching the door on the upper level, Chief waited for them to stack up, before moving through the door.
The door exited to the exterior of the building, where Chief spotted something different. Apparently, the building he was in connected to platforms that were in the immediate area. Only a handful were accessible via bridges that connected to each other. On the far side of the center platform, he thought he spotted something, though he couldn't be sure as to what.
His thoughts were disrupted somewhat when an energy beam zipped past his head, forcing him to duck into cover. Peering around cover, he spotted a number of Jackal Snipers that were in the area, as well as Covenant troops. Looking left, he spotted more that were moving towards their position. "Get ready," he told the others.
Once they got into cover, the Covenant forces rounded the corner. It was a squad of Grunts, led by an Elite Major. As soon as they were close enough, Chief and the others opened fire. Bullets and pulse lasers tore through the air, killing a large number of Grunts, while the Elite was forced back. Eventually, a lucky shot split the Elite's head in half, sending the body tumbling to the ground.
That left the snipers. Chief was about to order suppressing fire when one of the Marines seized the initiative. Using her Pulse Laser Rifle, she killed two of the Jackals before ducking into cover to reload, allowing Chief and the others to take out the last sniper. "Good work," he told the Marine.
"Thanks," she replied.
With the immediate threats neutralized, they began to advance towards their objective. Looking around, Chief noticed that the Forerunners had built stone structures around the more advanced alloy. Cortana, being the observant one, said, "You know, I think the Forerunners built these new structures around the old, to protect them, to honor them. Pure speculation, mind you. I'd need to make a thorough survey to be sure."
"We can do that later," Chief decided. "Right now, we need to move through these platforms and get to the other side. Cortana, can you detect anything else?"
"I detected some sort of transport system on the far side of that central platform," she informed him. Nodding, Chief and the others began to move forwards.
Moving through one of the platform buildings, they managed to get to where the transport system was. Looking to the left, Chief spotted what looked like a gondola of some kind, though it was now moving away from them. On the center platform with them were some Jackals, as well as some Sangheili. Despite the alien's numbers, Chief and the others were able to clear them out.
They didn't have long to rest, though, as a Phantom quickly came into view. Pulling out his SRM Launcher, Chief got ready to aim when the Phantom dropped off two more Jackals, as well as a pair of Hunters. "Chief!" Cortana shouted.
Nodding, he took aim with the SRM Launcher and fired off a missile. Nanolaminate armor flew everywhere as the SRM smashed into the Hunter, the shrapnel tearing through the hive of worms. The other Hunter, enraged, charged at Chief. Unable to aim quickly enough, he dodged out of the way, though the Hunter turned to charge again.
Before it could, it was distracted when a gunshot rang out. Staggering, it turned to see Dubbo firing his shotgun into it's back, forcing it to engage him. This gave Chief the opening he needed, as he took aim and fired again, blasting the Hunter apart. "Dubbo!" he shouted.
"I'm fine," Dubbo shouted, getting out from behind some cover he'd ducked into. "Just a little winded."
Nodding, Chief took a moment to look around at where they were at. From what he could tell, they were on the southern end of the shore, with the structure located squarely in the middle of the lake. The water was a sky blue color, though visibility was poor in said water. Looking around, he could see a number of Forerunner glyphs, though they made no sense to him.
Cortana was also analyzing some of the glyphs, her curiosity piqued. "I wish I had more time to decipher these inscriptions," he pined. "The Forerunners revere this place, that much is certain, but if it was a temple or university… I can't say."
"We'll probably never know anyways," Chief remarked. He was about to continue when he felt a weight settle onto his right shoulder. Looking in that direction, he found that a four winged reptile of some sort had landed on his shoulder. Apparently, it was roosting for only a moment, as it took off a moment later.
Just as it did, Chief looked towards where the gondola had been earlier. Peering out, he spotted another one that was advancing towards them, it's anti-gravity engines working to push the construct closer to them. We'll have company soon, he thought.
Cortana also added her piece. "A gondola's launching from the far towers. Big surprise, it's full of Covenant reinforcements!"
Moments later, Chief's COM crackled. "Cortana," Miranda Keyes informed her, "the Covenant's getting nosy. I don't want to give away my position, so I'm rerouting a few stragglers back to you. I apologize; these Pelicans are the only support you're going to get."
"Understood ma'am," Cortana replied. As she said this, a Pelican flew overhead, before depositing more ordinance crates for them to use. "Good thing we're getting ammo now," she remarked. "We won't be getting any more once we're past this region."
Chief nodded, having heard the COM message. With that, he and the others got ready to assault the gondola and get onboard. It wasn't long before the gondola docked, with a metal walkway deploying to latch onto the vehicle within seconds. As soon as that happened, a number of Elite Zealots exited, weapons fully charged and ready.
Chief and the others didn't give them any quarter. As soon as the Zealots were visible, he and the Marines opened fire, peppering the enemy ground forces with bullets and laser beams. One of the Zealots fell, while the others, realizing they were exposed, retreated back into the gondola. "Well, they were nice enough to give us a ride," Cortana remarked. "We'll have to get in there and clear them out, though."
"Understood," Chief nodded. Motioning to the Marines, he immediately moved forwards, with the Marines behind him to provide fire support. Getting onto the gondola, they were about to move in when it began to move.
"They're gonna try to fight us on the move," Sergeant Stacker guessed.
"Then we'll clear them out," Cortana decided. "If I know the Covenant, they'll have reinforcements on the other gondola. They might attempt to hijack this one!"
"Clear them out," Chief ordered. With that, the fighting became very intense.
The Zealots had control of the gondola, which was split into three levels. The first was the one that Chief and the others were standing at, while ramps that led up went to the upper level. Ramps leading down led to a lower level, which was almost fully enclosed, save for the ramps. It was clear that the Zealots intended to use the confined space to their advantage.
Pulling out a few grenades, Chief primed one and hurled it into the lower level. A loud explosion rang out, with one Zealot falling dead from the explosion. The detonation also forced the others out of cover, though this only made the Zealots more determined to win. Firing his rifle, Chief gunned down another one.
"CHIEF!" a voice shouted. Before he could respond, he felt someone pushing him out of the way. His head turned just in time to see a Zealot impale a Marine on an Energy Sword. Firing his weapon, he killed the Zealot, before pulling the sword out. "Go," the Marine groaned as she lay dying. "Don't worry about me. Don't let them win."
Chief, bowing his head, said, "I won't." Getting up, he found that the Zealot he just killed was the last one onboard. As such, he leaned over and closed the deceased Marine's eyes.
"She gave her life for yours," Cortana said to Chief. "Not many would do that."
"I know," Chief nodded. He never showed it, but it was hard on him when he lost someone. He could still feel the pain of all the friends that he'd lost over the years.
The rest of the journey was quiet, with Cortana being surprised when the other gondola was empty. As they approached, they prepared to assault the main facility. Just as the gondola neared it's destination, Chief heard his COM crackle. "Yes?" he asked.
"Chief," Miranda Keyes reported. "We've got some good news. My crew's just detected a Jump Signature near this system's star. I think the SLDF's sent reinforcements to assist. They must've traced our location."
"Finally," Dubbo remarked. "Took them long enough." Just as he said this, the gondola docked. Metal walkways deployed from underneath the tower they were at, before solidly connecting themselves to the gondola proper. Weapons ready, they advanced inside.
As soon as they did, all hell broke loose. The Covenant forces, realizing what was going on, had focused most of their defenses inside of the tower, waiting for Chief and the others to arrive before going on the offensive. It was a clever move, given their limited resources.
As such, when Chief leaned around the corner, he was forced to withdraw immediately, as plasma bolts and crystalline projectiles smashed against the wall he was at. "They're dug in tight," Cortana remarked. "They've concentrated their forces in this area to defend the tower. We'll have to use heavy ordinance to break through."
"Agreed," Chief nodded. Pulling out his SRM Launcher, he counted down before exposing himself to enemy gunfire once again. Pulling the trigger, he let a missile fly, before ducking back into cover.
It was the only missile he needed to launch. The SRM flew through the air at high speed, smashing into a pair of Shade Turrets that were laying down suppressing fire. The detonation ripped both Shade Turrets apart, killing their Sangheili occupants, while scattering shrapnel everywhere. Grunts and Jackals ducked into cover as their leaders were killed with a single, well placed hit.
"Now!" Chief shouted. With that, the Marines surged inside, weapons ready as they advanced into the structure. The gunfire was so intense that one could walk on the bullets without trouble; plasma bolts answered bullets and pulse lasers, with both sides vying for control.
In the end, the Marines were victorious, though not without cost. One Marine was lying dead on the ground, his head having been practically vaporized by a plasma bolt, while another was holding his leg, or what was left of it, as it had been charred down to the knee. Looking around, Stacker said, "Chief. I'm gonna stay with the wounded. They'll need someone to call for MEDIVAC. You'll have command of the others from here on out. Clear?"
"Understood," Chief nodded. With that, he began to look for a way to the structure in the lake. Walking around, he noticed a large, rectangular cutout in the floor, which was raised above the rest of the floor. Walking up a ramp, he noticed that it was actually a hole that had been expertly cut down to the bottom of the structure. Down below, he could see water glistening in artificial light.
"Ah, now I see," Cortana observed. "There's a submerged section that leads from the towers to the outlying sections. Looks like we're going down... unless you'd prefer to swim." Chief didn't respond, as he had spotted something coming up. To him, it looked like a submersible.
"Two Covenant inside of the submersible," he told the other Marines. "We're about to have company."
"I've got a present for them," Dubbo remarked. Pulling out a grenade, he said, "That stuff should be strong enough to survive this. It's survived the Covenant so far, a little more force won't hurt it." Nodding, Chief watched as Dubbo took up a position.
Moments later, the submersible reached their position. True to form, it was a boxy, rectangular thing with transparent walls, floors and ceiling, as well as a control panel inside. As soon as the doors opened, Dubbo chucked the grenade inside, startling one of the Jackals. The explosion, contained by the submersible, tore the Jackals apart, with a gout of shrapnel coming out the doors.
Moving inside, Chief could see that the grenade detonation had been grizzly. The two Jackals that were inside were completely mangled, with blood and gore coating the walls. In a showcase of Forerunner engineering, the walls, floor and ceiling were completely undamaged, as was the control console. "Let's find out where this goes," Cortana remarked.
"Agreed," Chief nodded. "Dubbo, you and the others are coming with me."
"Got it," the others replied. Once they were all inside, he hit the required glyph, with the submersible descending down the shaft. Upon reaching the water, it paused for a moment, before propelling itself straight into the water.
Underwater, it was a completely different sight. Looking around, Chief found that the lake was filled to the brim with wildlife. Iridescent plants of various kinds populated the floor of the lake, and fish of all kinds swam around the submersible. It was a beautiful sight, one far removed from the horrors that were present on the surface.
"Wow," Dubbo remarked, entranced by the sight. "If I didn't know any better, it would be as though the war wasn't going on. Reminds me of home in a way."
As the submersible continued to travel, Cortana went to work on something. A moment later, she said, "I intercepted a transmission from Regret's corvette to a something called High Charity. It seems to be a formal apology to the Prophets of Truth and Mercy.
"Apparently, Regret jumped the gun when he attacked Earth. He's asking the other Prophets to 'forgive his premature arrival' arguing that 'no Human presence was foretold.' That explains why he came with such a small fleet, but it's odd that a Prophet would have such bad intel on his enemy's homeworld."
"Sounds like they didn't want him to know," Dubbo remarked.
Chief nodded in agreement. From what he could tell, that transmission indicated that the Covenant wasn't monolithic, and that cracks were appearing in the command structure. We might be able to exploit that, he thought to himself. It would give Earth time to prepare more defenses.
This train of thought, though, was interrupted when they began to move upwards again. Looking up, Chief found that they were entering another shaft, with the submersible quickly aligning itself before moving upwards. Eventually, they came to a stop inside of a small room, with the doors opening once they stopped.
Moving out of the submersible, they began to cautiously move through the submerged section of the facility, expecting an assault at every corner. Fortunately, most of the place was empty, until they reached a certain part of the facility.
Rounding a corner, Chief looked around the bend to see what was up ahead. It looked like a corridor, only the walls and floor were transparent, allowing one to see a full vista of the underwater lake. Light, refracted by the water above, cast scintillating patterns on the floor that were beautiful to look at. The corridor was accessible via a ramp that led down, with an identical ramp on the far side.
Unfortunately, the Covenant had taken control of the corridor, though the resistance here was lighter than expected. Chief only saw a token force of Grunts and a few Jackals, with an Elite leading the entire team. Taking them out would be easier than the initial defenses, but not by much. "Pick your targets," he told the others. "Fire on my mark."
"I've got my mark," Dubbo quietly reported.
"Same here," the other Marines reported.
Nodding, Chief began a mental countdown, the sights of his rifle nestled firmly onto the Elite's head. "Mark," he announced.
Just like that, weapons fire erupted inside the corridor. Bullets and pulse lasers cut through the air, striking Grunts and Jackals in targeted locations. The result was predictably messy, with two Grunts being eviscerated by bullets, while a Jackal's head exploded courtesy of a burst of laser energy. The Elite in the back was caught off guard, with the alien's shields snapping before it ducked into cover.
Moving forwards, Chief proceeded towards the Elite, while the Marines handled anyone else that had survived the initial salvo. Bullrushing the Elite, Chief plunged his combat knife through it's skull, the blade piercing the roof of it's mouth the bottom of it's skull. The Elite jerked once, before falling limp.
Dropping the body, Chief looked around to see the Marines regrouping and returning to his position. On a hand signal from him, they proceeded through the structure. There was another corridor, with an access ramp, then they entered the next section of the underwater base.
This next chamber was massive, nearly the size of a Leopard DropShip's interior, or the size of a small UNSC fighter hangar. Both sides had walkways that were connected to a lower 'commons' area via ramps that traveled up and down. A large holographic image of Regret was in the air. Transparent viewports showed more of the underground lake.
Chief was about to advance further when he spotted a flash of movement. Getting behind cover, he looked to see what he thought were Sangheili Honor Guardsmen, which he confirmed moments later when he spotted the ornate armor plating. Fast moving contacts on his sensor suite indicated the presence of Drones, as well as two, larger contacts down below him. Hunters, Honor Guards and Drones, he thought. Possible snipers present as well.
"Got a plan?" Dubbo asked.
"I do," Chief nodded. "We'll draw the Drones out first while I deal with any snipers present. Once that's done, we'll terminate the Honor Guards and the Hunters. Understood?"
"Got it," the others nodded.
With that tactic in mind, Chief went to work making it come about. Moving towards a group of fast moving contacts, he leaned out to see Drones flying about in a globular swarm. Raising his weapon, he fired a pair of rounds at the swarm. Two drones exploded in mid-air, showering the area with gore, while the others, spotting him, immediately went on the attack. At this point, the Marines intervened, firing their weapons at the Drones, while ensuring that they didn't get too close. This worked out well, with the Drones quickly falling like flies.
While the Marines engaged the Drones, Chief went and began hunting down the snipers. Spotting one such sniper taking aim, he fired a round at the Jackal's unprotected head, splattering it's brains on the walls. He rinsed and repeated a second and third time, nailing each target with unerring precision.
He was about to engage the fourth when a roar caught his attention. Rolling to the left, he felt something tug at his armor, before an Energy Sword embedded itself into the ground, along with a chunk of Advanced Armor. Lashing out, he smashed a fist into an Honor Guard's face, shattering it's skull bones like glass and sending it falling over.
Dubbo, spotting what was happening, also opened fire, while ordering the other Marines to keep on the Drones. Shotgun roaring, he blasted another Honor Guard, distracting it long enough for Chief to neutralize the offending Elite. That constituted the major threat.
The last one were the Hunters. Now's a good time for heavy hardware, he thought, whisking out the SRM Launcher as he did so. Only two missiles left. Time to make them count.
Taking aim, he fired a missile at one of the Hunters, blasting the alien hive of worms apart in a puff of smoke and a loud BOOM. Enraged, the other Hunter turned to engage, only to have an SRM faceplant itself in it's face. With two explosive sounds, and some more gunfire, the last Covenant in the chamber were neutralized.
It hadn't come without a cost, though. One of the Marines was cradling her arm, which was hanging limply by her side. "Fucker broke my arm," she growled angrily. "Damnit!"
"Follow us, but remain in the rear," Chief ordered. As he did so, he looked up towards the hologram of Regret.
"And people say I've had a big head," Cortana dryly remarked. Noticing some speech, she said, "Hang on, I'm putting this through translation."
Moments later, Regret's words became understandable. "Most of those we encountered were compelled to join our Union," Regret boastfully declared. "To take part in moment of promise, Freedom for Allegiance, Salvation for Service! But some, like the Humans, chose to impede our progress. Block our access to sacred sites, damage our Holy Relics! For these transgressions, the Humans shall be hunted until none remain alive!"
Dubbo, upon hearing this, let some anger out. "Oh man, he's so dead," he growled. "Can't wait to shove my rifle up his fat ass and pull the trigger."
"You'll get a chance eventually," Cortana remarked. "Pretty soon, if all indicators are present."
"We need to move," Chief decided. With that, they proceeded on.
. . .
The rest of the place was empty, with the emptiness likely being due to the fact that Regret's forces weren't as strong as they appeared to be. As such, their way to the next submersible was unhampered, with the vehicle dropping into the water once they were all onboard and the doors closed. Once more, they were immersed into the ethereal underwater beauty of Delta Halo.
As they traveled along, Cortana said, "Chief, Regret's corvette just received a response from High Charity, a very well encrypted message from the Prophet of Truth. Listen to this: 'Your haste has jeopardized the fulfillment of our Covenant, threatened our grand design. That you should be spared a public display of our contempt is thanks only to Mercy and his wise council.'
"Truth, Regret and Mercy. Three Prophet Hierarchs. Killing one should shake up the Covenant leadership. But frankly speaking, it sounds as though you'd be doing Truth a favor."
Chief nodded in disgruntled agreement. It was one thing to kill an enemy on the battlefield, but it was another thing entirely to be doing a favor for an enemy. Killing Regret will change things, but at the cost of the two remaining individuals gaining more power, he thought. It reminded him of the ancient triumvirate of Rome when one of it's members was killed. I wonder if a similar collapse will happen to the Covenant.
All thoughts on that matter were dispelled when they arrived at their destination. Once the submersible had reached the top and opened it's doors, they all piled out. This time, they were in another winding series of corridors, though Chief knew that they were on land of some kind.
Spotting an Honor Guard up ahead, he slowly sidled up to the Elite before grabbing it's mandibles and pulling back, while plunging his knife into the base of it's neck. The Elite gave a quiet gurgle before falling limp, with Chief dragging the body into a small alcove before advancing forwards. Spotting another Honor Guard, and a gaggle of dozing Grunts, he repeated the same thing, while the Marines assassinated the Grunts by slitting their throats.
Moving forwards, they came out of the structure and entered a small depression of some kind. Looking around, Chief could see the blue sky once more, as well as what appeared to be more stone structures. "Where are we?" he asked Cortana.
"Might be a promontory before we get to the actual temple itself," Cortana observed. "Oh, and you might want to have your weapons ready. There's a lot of Covenant here, and all of them, I think, are hostile. I might be wrong, but be prepared just in case.."
"Agreed," Chief nodded. Weapons drawn, he and the others began to advance forwards.
True to Cortana's words, more Covenant were present, with the opposition being a mixture of Elites, Grunts and Jackals. Weapon drawn, Chief was about to fire when an Elite Major walked into view, clearly spotting Chief.
Instead of attacking, the Elite held up it's hands and made a shushing gesture with a finger. Moments later, it keyed it's BattleNet Transceiver and said something. For a good twenty seconds, Chief heard gunfire in the area ahead, then everything went silent.
Once the gunfire stopped, the Elite said, "Demon, forgive me for not warning you of my presence ahead of time." Bowing, he said, "I am Corvar 'Protumee. My blade is at your command, Demon."
"Are you one of Xhov's men?" Chief asked.
"Not initially," 'Protrumee replied. "I was a member of Sesa 'Refumee's rebellion against the Covenant. He had me inside of the Covenant as a spy of sorts. Then Xhov's contact on High Charity informed me of his rebellion and made me an offer. I accepted."
"Sesa was also a rebel?"
"Yes."
"I see," Chief nodded. "What is High Charity?"
"It is the holy city of the Covenant," 'Protrumee replied, just as the Marines caught up. "High Charity is the moving Capitol of the Covenant Hegemony. It is from there that the Hierarchs rule. I fear that it might be coming soon."
"Then we have no time to waste," Chief decided. "Do you have any supplies and men that you can spare?"
"Yes. We have also secured the gondola on the far side. You need not worry yourself."
"Aw, man," Dubbo groaned. "We've gotta ride in another one of those death traps?"
"It could be worse, another Marine remarked.
"True words, Human," 'Protrumee nodded. Looking behind, he spotted the wounded Marine. Walking over, he said, "You are hurt. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Just get me out of here," the Marine replied, wincing as her bones ground against each other in her arm.
"A wise decision. I will have a Phantom come and pick you up. Demon, you would do best to continue ahead. The coward is inside of the temple. I can spare a few men, but I need the rest."
"Understood."
. . .
True to form, the gondola had been secured, with a pair of Elite Minors onboard. Once Chief and the others were onboard, one of them hit a glyph, with the gondola moving forwards moments later. "Does the enemy have air support?" Chief asked.
"Yes," one of the Minors told him. "However, we have deceived them into believing all is well. They will not bother us on this journey."
"Good." Keying his COM, Chief said, "Captain, reporting in."
"Gotcha," Miranda replied. "What's your status?"
"Approaching Regret's location now. What's your status?"
"So far, so good," Miranda remarked. "The SLDF WarShip just got here and offloaded some 'Mechs and ground forces. We're trying to get inside the Library, but there's some kind of shield in the way. We're trying to find a way out of it, though the Captain of the WarShip is considering an orbital bombardment from his Naval Autocannons. We'll see if we don't have to resort to those measures, though."
"Understood? Any new orders aside from current ones?"
"No, Chief. Kill Regret."
"Understood." With that made fully clear, Chief and the others waited to reach the other side. Looking ahead, Chief could see the temple up ahead. The temple looked like a triangle that was inside three, triangular structures, all of which were supported by structural beams coming from beneath the surface of the lake. Jutting out from the front was a wide docking platform for the gondola.
It was also filled with Covenant, all of which were Kig-Yar and Grunts. Chief was about to do a tactical analysis when a string of gunshots ran out. Looking to his left and right, Chief spotted a pair of Jackal Snipers that 'Protrumee had sent with them, with the avian aliens scoring lethal hits with each shot. One of the Minors said, "Those two were marksmen from birth. They know what they're doing."
By the time they reached the temple, exactly half of the enemy forces on the platform were killed, their bodies split apart by powerful energy beams. As soon as the gondola docked, Chief and the others, which included the Marines, the Sangheili Minors and some Skirmishers, opened fire, filling the air with projectiles.
While it was a withering fusillade, the defenders gave as good as they got. One Skirmisher fell, screaming in pain as he hit the ground, while another's head was vaporized by a plasma bolt. Chief continued to target any enemy forces within range, while the two Minors raced ahead, weapons ready. One drew an Energy Sword and charged, spearing another Jackal in the chest.
Eventually, after a minute, the gunfire subsided, with Chief's forces remaining. "You have CQC training?" Chief asked the second Minor.
"Yes," the Minor replied as he pulled his energy sword out of a Jackal's chest. "My teacher was a Bero 'Kusovai. He is a swordsman of legendary skill. He was also infected with the Parasite during a mission."
"He's dead, I take it," Cortana asked.
"No," the Elite replied. "No one knows how, but he overrode the Parasite's control through sheer force of will. He lives, though the Parasite mutated him, likely in retaliation for his resumption of control. Either way, if you meet him, you had best be prepared. He is a worthy foe to fight."
"Really? Interesting."
Just as Cortana said this, Dubbo let out a loud shout, before firing on a Grunt's corpse. "Fucking bitch!" he shouted.
"Report," Chief growled.
"That fucking corpse just twitched!" Dubbo replied. "I also heard a growling sound in the air too! Did you hear it too?"
"I heard it as well," a Skirmisher replied, confusion written on her face. "We must be cautious."
"Agreed," Chief nodded. Looking at the others, he said, "Return to the island behind you on the gondola. I'll handle Regret."
"I am coming too," one of the Elites replied. "It would be unwise to fight Regret on your own. Do not worry; Bero was a thorough teacher. I know how to hold my own against multiple enemies." There was a moment where Chief looked like he was going to disagree, then he nodded.
As they moved along, he thought he spotted a flash of light. Looking up, he watched as a Covenant WarShip exited Slipspace, then five, ten, fifty. Soon, there were thousands of WarShips over the Ring. Moments later, a large, dome-like ship dwarfing all the others appeared. "That's the largest Covenant fleet I've seen…" Cortana remarked. "The largest one anyone's seen."
"That is not just any Covenant fleet," the Elite with them remarked. "That is High Charity and it's defense fleet." Looking at Chief, he said, "We must move now, Demon! Otherwise, they will stop us!"
"Agreed," Chief nodded. Moving up, he and the Elite went inside, weapons ready as they advanced forwards. Immediately, they began fighting Honor Guards that were in the way.
"Honor Guards all over the place!" Cortana shouted. "Don't let your guard down. Also, the Covenant has launched multiple waves of Phantoms. Too many for me to track… we don't have much time!"
"Noted," Chief shouted as he killed an Honor Guard. Nearby, the Elite fought several more, his body moving with fluid grace as he ducked, dodged and wove through the enemy. Still, the Honor Guards were masters of combat, as even the Elite Swordsman was having a challenge.
Still, the distraction was enough for Chief to get inside the main chamber. The main chamber reflected the exterior architecture of the temple, with a concourse that ran down the middle, while walkways on either side led to other areas of the temple. Hovering in the middle of it all was Regret.
The Prophet, upon seeing Chief, was livid. "Guards, remove this filth from my sight!" he shouted. Moments later, more Honor Guards appeared.
At this moment, Chief entered Spartan Time. The Honor Guard's movements slowed as his nervous system accelerated dramatically, their movements nearly freezing in place from his perspective. At the same time, his vision sharpened, until everything looked as though it had a razor edge to it.
In the amount of time it took his heart to beat once, he had exploded into motion, moving a good four meters in just a second of time. Arms and hands moving, he began to literally tear through the Covenant Honor Guards, yanking a halberd out of an Elite's hands.
Once that happened, limbs and blood began to fly. The entire scene was a blur of movement, with Chief using his pilfered weapon to sever limbs, bisect hostiles and behead enemies. An Honor Guard's head flew through the air, blood streaming from the base as it escaped it's neck. Another was cut in half, with it's legs falling one way, and it's upper body falling the second.
Within thirty seconds, the Honor Guards were dead, leaving only Regret. Moving fast again, Chief leaped at Regret, slamming into his anti-gravity unit with the force of an Autocannon shell. Regret was hurled to the ground, with Chief leaping down to him. "MONSTER!" Regret screamed, scrambling on all fours to get away.
He never got the chance to do anything else. Grabbing Regret by the neck, Chief hurled the Hierarch into a wall, before drawing his rifle and pulling the trigger. Regret screamed, a horrible, wailing screech as bullets tore into his body before exploding inside, shredding his internal organs into a bloody pulp. That screech was ended when a bullet passed through Regret's head, ending his life permanently.
Hearing his weapon stop firing, Chief reloaded and looked at Regret's corpse. Target neutralized, he thought clinically.
That thought was interrupted when he heard Cortana say, "Bad news, the Phantoms are turning around! The fleet's preparing to fire!" Nodding at this, Chief ran towards the exit. Looking around, he spotted the Swordsman, only he was lying dead on the floor, having been overwhelmed through sheer numbers.
Making a note to remember him, Chief ran outside. Looking up, he spotted a Covenant Cruiser, it's main energy projector firing up. With that in mind, he ran to the left, leaping off of the platform before landing on part of the temple's load bearing structure. Running forwards, he could feel the heat from the excavator beam behind him, while seeing the distortion on his helmet. With a shout, he jumped into the lake.
Cold water smacked into his armor plating, shocking him along with the impact. He felt his limbs becoming heavy and limp, his sight fading. Just before they did, he thought he heard a voice say, "This is not your grave… but you are welcome in it."