Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover. Thank you for your wonderful support in the previous chapter. I greatly appreciate it.

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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 their 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.

Earth

New Mombasa

December 12th, 2552

Walking to his BattleMech, Alex quickly clambered up the chain ladder leading to the cockpit, which Chief following him closely. Looking around, he spotted the Arbiter clambering into the cockpit with Anna, who was piloting a Marauder IVb, with the hatch sealing shut once they were inside. Clambering into the cockpit of his own 'Mech, Alex quickly flipped a series of switches as Chief got inside.

As soon as Chief was buckled inside, Alex connected his Cooling Suit's hoses with their counterparts, before tossing on his neurohelmet. It didn't take him long to finish the pre-startup checklist for the Timberwolf, with the 'Mech fully coming online in short order. "What have we got for weapons?" Cortana asked.

"One A-AC20, two ER Medium Pulse Lasers, an A-PPC and a pair of SRM 6 launchers with an Artemis X FCS," Alex replied.

"Pardon?"

"Artemis X Fire Control System. Uses advanced targeting algorithms, microwave transmitters and infrared lasers to decease missile cluster spread. The targeting algorithms are for when I do not have line of sight, the lasers are for when I do."

"Oh. That makes sense."

Any further conversation was cut off when Alex began speaking to the control tower for the 'Mechs. "Mombasa Ground Control, this is Wolf 2-1, requesting permission to taxi out of the 'Mech Bay with Wolf Star. We are on our way to no man's land. Over."

"Permission granted," Mombasa Ground Control replied. "Follow nav marker route Beta and proceed out of the base. Once you are outside of the base, you have full operational capacity. Over."

"Roger, Mombasa Ground Control, proceeding along nav marker route Beta. Over." Changing frequencies, he said, "Wolf Star, proceed along behind me. Once we are out of the base, we are heading to no man's land. Understood?"

"Affirmative," Anna Kerensky replied. "It is time to show those Covenant stravag how honorable, trueborn warriors fight." With that, the radio went silent as Alex moved the throttle up. The interior of the 'Mech swayed as they proceeded forwards, before they turned to the right to exit the 'Mech Bay.

Once they were outside, they proceeded to the gate, which wasn't too far off. With a mechanical whine, the gate doors opened, though the sound was muffled inside of the 'Mech itself. Eventually, both of the doors were wide enough to permit the 'Mechs to leave. Once they were outside, a pair of Heavy Tracked APC's rolled out, before the gates closed behind them.

Now that they were outside, Chief took a moment to look around. At BattleMech level, the buildings seemed to tower over them, with large smokestacks towering into the sky, along with factory buildings and other structures. The sun gleaming overhead cast a golden glow over the buildings, making them seem cleaner and newer than they really were.

What really got his attention was how deserted the entire place was. Everywhere he looked, there was not a person to be seen. While this made sense, given that the entire city had been evacuated in as quickly of a manner as possible, it was still unnerving to see. Entire groups of people, gone as though they never existed. Is this what some of our colonies look like now? It was an unnerving thought.

As they turned towards the north, he caught a glimpse of something else that was in the sky. Looking up, he spotted what looked like a large, circular cloud up above, with the interior looking reminiscent of the eye of a hurricane. At their proximity, the cloud was close enough that it blotted out half of the sky, providing a sharp contrast with the sun-lit buildings on the ground. "How strangely beautiful," Cortana admitted. Chief merely nodded in agreement.

As they moved forwards, Alex said, "Just so you know, Chief, things will get hairier the closer we get to no man's land. We will have to move around large masses of infantry, as well as any other 'Mechs that are out here. Once we are in no man's land, that is where we have to pay very close attention."

"Understood," Chief nodded.

As they proceeded closer to no man's land, the state of the buildings around them began to deteriorate. Some buildings had large holes that had been blasted into them, with one that had been pierced all the way through. As they moved along, Chief spotted infantry that were heading to the front lines in large APC's. A few were coming back, their armor smashed and pitted from intense combat.

"Doesn't look good," Cortana remarked. "How well will we fare?"

"Depends on how bad things get," Alex replied. "BattleMechs are still one of the most powerful ground vehicles in cities, but they are not really meant for urban warfare. Our best chance is to use passive RADAR systems with limited active RADAR sweeps to keep off the detection systems the Covenant uses. Beyond that, different tactics and BattleMech loadouts are your best option."

The rest of the trip to no man's land was spent in silence, with only the steady hum of the 'Mech's Fusion Engine and the sound of the 'Mechs feet hitting the ground breaking the silence. As they moved closer and closer to the border of no man's land, the condition of the buildings worsened.

Eventually, they happened to run into another 'Mech, a Hunchback IV according to the DNI readouts. It wasn't in particularly good shape, as the 'Mech was missing one of it's arms, and the shoulder mount for the A-AC/20 looked like a few Plasma Mortars had hit it. As they got closer, the MechWarrior in that 'Mech said, "You the new MechWarriors coming along?"

"Yes," Alex replied. "SitRep?"

"It's hell out there," the other MechWarrior replied, his breathing heavy as he spoke. "The Covenant have been using Combat Vehicles in groups of ten to assault our 'Mechs. My lance got out, but we're heavily damaged. I nearly lost my Autocannon and I've lost one of my ER Medium Pulse Lasers. What's your mission?"

"We are heading to destroy the AA Cannons that the Covenant have set up in the city. Once we do so, we will be able to reestablish aerospace supremacy and drive the front line to the edge of the crater."

"I wish you luck, man. There's a lot of shit that's going on. Just be careful; we've heard rumors of a Scarab in the area."

"Duly noted. Get yourself to a 'Mech Bay for immediate repairs." With that, they moved past the 'Mech, and officially entered no man's land.

If there was ever a place that was forbidding, it was the no man's land region between the SLDF/UNSC and Covenant lines. Here, buildings were toppled, with some resting on others, while roadways and highways had been shattered and cracked, with blast craters strewn everywhere. Vehicles of all kinds were everywhere, with most being civilian, while a few UNSC/SLDF vehicles were present as well. The terrain, in terms of color, was a mixture of grays, browns, blacks and other, monotone colors. Piles of rubble had blackened pieces of steel and titanium sticking up out of them, like broken, jagged teeth.

For Cortana and Chief, the devastation reminded them of Harvest, when the Covenant attacked it. Much of that colony's urban areas were little more than piles of debris, with the bodies of the dead having been vaporized by the Covenant's energy weapons. For Alex, the devastation reminded him of pictures he had seen of the Succession War, when the Great Houses of the Inner Sphere fought one another for possession of the Star League's throne.

"What a horrid scene," Cortana whispered.

"I agree," Alex replied, startling her somewhat. "This reminds me of the Succession War, in particular, Kentares IV. That planet was bombarded with heavy weapons, destroying much of the infrastructure on the planet. To this day, they are still excavating Star League era buildings and fortifications there."

As they pressed onward, he thought he saw movement up ahead. Almost immediately, his weapons were pointed directly at where he saw the motion. "You there!" he thundered over the MILCOM. "Identify yourself!"

A reply quickly came back. "Corporal Ian McConnor, Sigma Lance."

"Alex Conners, Star Captain of Wolf Star."

As soon as he said that, the Corporal in question came out. Instead of an Assault 'Mech, Chief noticed that the MechWarrior in question was piloting a fairly small 'Mech. It was a cylindrical affair for the torso and cockpit, while the arms and legs were more conventional in appearance. One of the arms had been blown off, and one of it's legs critically damaged, but it was clear that the 'Mech was still capable of fighting.

"What is that?" Cortan asked.

"An UrbanMech," Alex replied. "Slow, but well armed, Light 'Mechs that are optimized for urban environments." Directing his attention to Corporal Ian, he said, "Where is the rest of your Lance?"

"Wasted," Ian replied, sighing over the MILCOM as he did so. "I was the only survivor. They told me to get out of there and to warn anyone that came this way."

"About what?"

"The Covenant have a few Locust QuadMechs up ahead, as well as a Scarab. They're guarding the only avenue to the AA Cannons, and they're dug in tight. They were also using some kind of static shield emplacement that prevented our Autocannons from penetrating. It's pretty resistant to energy weapons too."

"Noted," Alex replied. "Thank you for this information. Get out of here and get armored up again."

"Yes sir."

As the UrbanMech limped away, Alex asked, "Does anyone in our Star have Magpulse Missile Launchers?"

"I've got some," Deckard replied. "My Archer is outfitted with SRM's modified to use Magpulse missiles. Don't you worry. I'll give that static shield emplacement a little spankin' to think about."

"Good," Alex nodded. "That will make things much easier. Everyone, remain in a semi-loose formation. Five 'Mechs grouped together is a juicy target, one 'Mech on it's own is a waste of ammo. Quiaff?"

"Aff," Anna replied.

With this newfound intel in their possession, they continued forwards. As they did so, Chief got the sinking feeling that he usually did when an attack was about to occur. Alex must've felt it too, as he was holding his control stick a little tighter than before, and he seemed to be scanning the area with increased scrutiny.

That vigilance was what ultimately spared them a lot of trouble, as just seconds later, part of a nearby building exploded outwards. Alex twisted the torso of the Timber Wolfhard to the right, narrowly avoiding a beam of energy that shot past the 'Mech and into the ruined landscape. "Scarab, on our left!" Anna shouted.

"Take them out!" Alex roared, turning the 'Mech back around. Spotting the offending Covenant 'Mech, he fired the A-AC/20 directly at it's main weapon. The KE penetrator for the cannon shot out of the muzzle, the projectile a blur as it smashed directly into the focusing array for the Scarab's energy projector. There was a little bit of shrapnel, but the only indicator that the energy projector had been disabled as that it's running lights immediately went dark.

At the same time, two Covenant Locusts came into view, before gunning directly for the Timber Wolf. Anna immediately counteracted that maneuver, the A-AC/10 mounted on the top of her Marauder roaring as she fired. One shell smashed into one of the Locusts, crushing the crew compartment with a direct hit. Instead of engaging the two, the other one dodged past them and went after Deckard's Archer, with the driver thinking that his 'Mech was more vulnerable.

This proved to be a very poor judgment call. As soon as the Locust got close enough, it fired it's main energy projector, scoring a hit on the Archer's right arm. Armor ablated as the energy beam hit, though the arm remained completely undamaged. In retaliation, Deckard didn't bother with the SRM's; instead, he lifted his 'Mech's right leg and stomped on the Locust – hard.

There was an awful screeching sound as nanolaminate crumpled under tonnes of Endo Steel and Ferro-Fibrous Armor. In an instant, the crew compartment was breached, with the unfortunate pilot being crushed into nothing more than a bloody smear on the inside of the crumpled crew compartment. Another instant later, the chassis for theCovenant QuadMech was crumpled against the ground.

Looking ahead, Deckard spotted the energy barrier that the UrbanMech's MechWarrior had warned them out. Without any ceremony, he fired the MagPulse SRM's, with the specialized warheads detonating on impact with the energy barrier. Almost immediately, the electronics for the shield generator were overwhelmed, with the barrier dissipating in short order. A hit from an A-PPC ensured that it stayed that way.

"Enemy Lance down," Alex reported. "Looks like the Covenant were guarding this route pretty well."

"Is it just me, or was that disproportionate for the amount of 'Mechs that we have?" Anna observed.

"It is. Someone really wants to kill us badly, enough that they would go through the trouble of posting a Scarab here. We will have to be careful. I have a feeling that the Covenant Commander knows that we are a threat to his plans."

"I could not agree more."

. . .

In another part of the battlefield, Bero was also under fire, but not in the same manner as Chief and Alex were. Currently, he was taking cover behind a slab of polycrete that had fallen down, along with a few Sangheili Majors, and a number of UNSC and SLDF Marines. Peering over cover, he could see the Brutes that were firing on them; he could also sense their minds, notably the red hot rage that seemed to pervade their thoughts.

We have to find a way through, he thought to himself as he looked around. As long as the Brutes hold that position, they have a clear firing line down on the SLDF and UNSC soldiers in the next area. How do we get over there? Looking at one of the Majors with him, he asked, "Any ideas?"

"I cannot think of any, Zealot," the Sangheili Major in question replied, shaking his head as he did so. "The Brutes have the high ground, and attacking from our current position will needlessly waste lives. We have to find another way around."

"I've got an idea," one of the UNSC Marines cut in. Pointing towards what appeared to be a sewer pipe, he said, "If we use the sewer mains to get around the Brutes, we can attack them from the rear of the formation, which won't be as well guarded as the front."

"How do you know this?" Bero asked.

"I used to explore those sewer mains as a kid," the Marine explained. "Gave my mom and dad heart attacks when I did so, but I was curious. As such, I know the sewer system around here like the back of my hand."

"An excellent idea," Bero agreed. Looking at the Sangheili, he pointed at two Majors and said, "You two will come with me and the Human." Looking at the Marine, he asked, "What's your name?"

"Private Ubenski, sir."

"Private Ubenski, can you lead us through the sewer system to our target?"

"Definitely. Follow me."

With that, they began to circle around to the left, moving towards a sewer main that had been blasted open by an artillery shell, while dodging incoming enemy fire. Ugh, Bero thought as he caught a whiff of the stench from the main. A foul odor, but at least it will do us no harm. Once they were all at the mouth of the broken open sewer main, they went inside.

The sewer main was dark and filthy, with an awful stench pervading the cramped interior. While Ubenski was short enough that he could fit with no problem, the Sangheili had to bend down in order to fit. As they moved along, the ground around them shook, likely from an artillery barrage. "I hope the Humans aim is true," one of the Sangheili whispered. "I do not want this… filthy place to be my grave."

"Relax," Ubenski replied. "I've seen those SLDF artillerymen in action. Those guys can hit a dime sized target nearly thirty kilometers away. They're accuracy is just fine."

Eventually, after walking through what seemed like meters of human waste and rainwater, they eventually came out into a blast crater. Fortunately, the blast crater was directly behind the Brute's position, with the pipe having taken a bend while they were still inside. Again, Ubenski's guess that the rear was poorly guarded turned out to be correct, as there were only a few Brutes up ahead.

"Stay here," Bero told Ubenski. "You have done your part well, now it is up to me and my brothers-in-arms." Reaching out telepathically, he said, I need you two to assist me in taking the command post. 'Cortam, you will flank right and take out the Brute that is manning the Shade Turret. 'Zortam, you will assist me in eliminating the Chieftain and his guard. Understood?

We obey, the two Sangheili replied, their thoughts as loud as a normal person talking to Bero. Turning to Ubenski, he said, "Once we have eliminated the Chieftain, you will disable whatever it is they are protecting. Understood?"

"Completely," Ubenski replied.

With that, Bero and the others moved up, while Ubenski waited for the all-clear. Moving left, Bero's scales changed color, until he looked exactly like the rubble that was scattered on the ground. Lying down, he sighed as he melted into gelatinous flesh, before flowing forwards. Ugh, he heard 'Zortam think to himself. I will never get used to the sight of a fellow Sangheili that can shape-shift.

I heard that, you know, Bero replied, becoming amused when 'Zortam became flustered. I understand how you feel, though. I have yet to become accustomed to the change myself.

That makes two of us. With that, their conversation ended as they approached the Chieftain and his guard. Communicating with images, Bero relayed his plan to 'Zortam, who drew his Energy Sword, but remained in cover.

Flowing towards the Brutes, Bero spotted something that might be useful. While the building had been reduced to rubble, some of the items inside of it hadn't been. As luck would have it, there was a relatively undamaged fire extinguisher that was lying on the ground, apparently having been ignored by the Brutes. Excellent, Bero thought. That will do.

Flowing towards the fire extinguisher, he wrapped his gelatinous flesh around the extinguisher, leaving on the valve on top exposed. Once he had done so, he squeezed – hard. There was a loud POP-BANG as the fire extinguisher, stressed beyond it's breaking point, popped the valve off like a cork on a champagne bottle. Immediately, a thick white fog, courtesy of sublimating carbon dioxide, filled the air. The Brutes, caught off guard by the explosion of white fog, breathed the stuff in, coughing and gagging as they did so.

NOW! Bero roared mentally. As soon as he did so, he fully regenerated, regaining his normal shape. At the same time, 'Zortam, roaring loudly, charged from behind cover and into the fray. Limbs, blood and gore flew through the air as he exploited the Brute's disorientation to it's greatest extent.

At the same time, Bero moved in on the Chieftain, the only Brute that had remained fully aware of what was going on. Roaring, the Chieftain brought the Gravity Hammer it wielded down on Bero, smashing Bero into a puddle of gelatinous flesh. Thinking that it won, the Chieftain turned towards 'Zortam, intent on crushing his skull.

Just as it did so, gelatinous tentacles wrapped around it's arms and legs, their grip and strength like steel. Looking behind himself, the Chieftain watched, with shock, as Bero fully regrew, his flesh morphing from a gelatinous consistency into normal flesh and bone. "What are you?" the Chieftain asked, it's voice a whisper of horror and shock.

"Complicated," Bero replied, before all four mandibles elongated outwards, morphing into tentacles tipped with fangs. Each one buried themselves into the Chieftain's neck, injecting a lethal concoction of toxins into the Chieftain.

The Chieftain screamed in agony as the toxins went to work. Reaching up towards it's neck as Bero released it, the Chieftain attempted to reach for a compartment, but it's limbs were not responding as they should, even as it fell over. In thirty seconds, the Chieftain was incapable of moving; in another thirty seconds, it was incapable of doing anything at all.

Sighing as he retrieved his armor, Bero spotted what they were protecting. Looks like a communications jammer, he decided. Keying his BattleNet Transceiver moments later, he said, "Ubenski, come quickly. We have a jammer to destroy."

. . .

"Critical Hit: Right Arm. A-PPC Damaged."

"I know that!" Alex snarled at the DIC as he fired on the offending Wraith, blasting it apart with the damaged A-PPC. "At least it is still operational."

Looking around, he could see their destination, which was a paltry fifty meters away. That fifty meters seemed far away, though, as he and his Star were fighting for their lives. His guess that the Covenant Commander was targeting them was correct, as they were fighting off two Lances of Scarab's, two Wraiths, and two Locust QuadMechs.

Right now, they had eliminated one, and were now dealing with the very last enemy Lance. His 'Mech had taken damage, with the DIC indicating that his right leg and arm had lost all armor, with each component glowing an bright yellow. He'd also suffered an ammo explosion for half of his A-AC/20 ammo, though thanks to some CASE, the rest of the 'Mech hadn't been damaged.

The rest of his Star was also taking damage. Anna's Marauder had lost it's A-AC/10 from a lucky hit by a Scarab, melting the weapon into useless slag, while her cockpit windows were damaged, courtesy of a lucky hit from a Locust QuadMech. Shaw and Alberty's 'Mechs, a Summoner and Hellbringer respectively, had also taken damage, with the Summoner having lost it's left arm. Only Deckard's Archer had armor, and even then, it wasn't that much.

Firing the A-AC/20, Alex blasted the last Scarab's energy projector, before hammering at it's armor with the weapons at his disposal. Nearby, Anna was stomping on one of the two Wraiths, while firing her A-PPC's at the other one. Deckard and Alberty were both hammering the two Covenant QuadMechs with their weapons, while Shaw was retreating on Alex's orders to get some much needed repairs, as his 'Mech's Fusion Engine was damaged. Already, sparks were coming from the Summoner's left center torso.

"Now stay dead!" Deckard snarled as he fired his ER Medium Pulse Lasers at one of the enemy QuadMechs, killing the pilot inside, while Alberty, as cool as ever, blew apart the other one with his Autocannon. Moving behind the enemy Scarab, Alex blasted the rear armor plate off, while Alberty, spotting the opportunity, fired his A-AC directly at the Scarab's Fusion Engine.

As soon as he did so, everyone retreated outside of a ninety meter radius. They were just in time, as the Scarab exploded with enough force that it shook the entire area. Alex felt the damaged Timber Wolf shudder as it's rear armor took a hit from the explosion.

"Whew!" Deckard whistled as he looked at the devastation. "That there was way, way too close. We nearly got our britches singed."

"No kidding," Alberty agreed, huffing and puffing as he looked around. "That was the hardest fight in my life. My 'Mech nearly overheated, but we have won, and have earned much glory in combat!"

"Stay focused," Anna cautioned her fellow Clansman. "We may have won glory and honor, but we cannot enjoy it if we are dead."

"Anna is right," Alex replied. "We have to complete the mission and get out alive." Looking around, he laughed as he noticed something. "Well, looks like that Scarab did us a favor. The energy shield protecting the AA Cannons is down. Cortana, how do we destroy this thing?"

"Shooting at it with your weapons should work." Cortana replied.

"Excellent! That will simplify things greatly. All Star members present: fire at will!"

Without any fanfare, everyone still present opened fire on the Covenant AA Cannon, their weapons hammering at the structure with unabated fury. It didn't take long for the AA Cannon to fall apart, especially after a few Autocannon shells and PPC bolts smashed into the interior. With a thunderous explosion, the AA Cannon fell apart, it's main gun tumbling into the caldera ahead of them.

Apparently, that was the last one required, as just seconds later, an SLDF WarShip, the Wisconsin, flew overhead, it's weapon systems ready. "Good work, Chief," Admiral Hood said over the COM. "All ships, fire at will!"

Immediately, every SLDF and UNSC WarShip that was present fired on the Anodyne Spirit, hammering it's hull with MAC shells, Naval PPC bolts and other projectiles. The armor on the Anodyne Spirit, while tough, was beginning to fracture, with pieces flying off with every hit. It wouldn't be long now before the armor was compromised, and the Forerunner Dreadnought shattered.

That event, though, was not to be, as Chief spotted something in the caldera. Moments later, large, triangular panels began to move upwards, with the entire structure opening up like a starfish. At the same time, the dreadnought was lowered, while a beam of energy shot up into the sky. Moments later, there was a brilliant flash of light, bright enough that even Chief had to shield his eyes.

When he looked outwards again, he found that, where the storm in the sky had once been, there was now a massive hole into nothingness. A Slipstream Space Portal, he realized. Looking around, he noticed that the SLDF and UNSC WarShips had been buffeted, though they were still in formation, while Covenant WarShips were moving towards the portal. "What the hell?!" Admiral Hood, disoriented, shouted. "What did Truth just do?!"

"He activated the device," Cortana replied over the COM. "Looks like the device is exactly what I thought it was: a Slipspace Portal Generator. It must lead directly to the Ark." Chief could hear Thel roar with anger over the COM at the same time.

"Evac wounded and regroup," Hood ordered. "Wherever Truth went, he -"

He was promptly interrupted when the Captain of the Wisconsin spoke over the COM. "Admiral, he have another WarShip inbound. Covenant CCS class, but it's badly damaged." As he said this, the WarShip in question came into view. It flew overhead, descending towards the ground as it did so. Moments later, there was a hard vibration as the ground shuddered. Smog filled the air, darkening the sky.

"What is it?" Alex asked. "More Covenant?"

Chief, who had seen the damage the clearest, simply said one word. "Worse."