Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover. Thank you for your wonderful support last chapter. I greatly appreciate the feedback, as well as your appreciation of the choices that I made for that chapter.
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Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or MechWarrior/BattleTech franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, Piranha Games Inc, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to it's original developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
Earth
New Mombasa
December 12th, 2552
The moment Alex heard Chief say the word 'worse', he felt a chill run down his spine. Memories of Alpha Halo popped up in his mind, and it didn't take him long to know what Chief meant. The Flood, he thought. While his skin broke out into a cold sweat, the rest of him was filled with barely controlled rage. Those parasite stravag have survived after all. Time to correct that.
Anna, who had only just arrived, asked, "What do you mean by 'worse', Spartan?"
"I know what he means," Alex replied. "Everyone, back to the FOB, now! We have more things to worry about now than Truth slipping past our grasp." Hearing the urgency in his voice, no one wanted to argue. Instead, they began to move towards the FOB as quickly as they possibly could.
As they moved towards the base, Chief heard Commander Miranda Keyes coming in over the COM. "The Flood," she reported. "It's spreading all over the city."
"How do we contain it?" Admiral Hood asked.
"Find the crashed cruiser, and overload it's engine core. We either destroy the city, or risk losing the entire planet."
"Is there another way?" Hood asked.
"No, but we can use a different delivery system," Miranda suggested. "Admiral, I'm requesting permission to have a HAVOC tactical nuclear weapon brought to the FOB. My plan is to have Chief transport the bomb inside of the Flood WarShip to destroy it from within."
"Why not from outside?"
"Even in it's damaged state, the nanolaminate hull is too tough to crack. You know how SHIVA warheads fared against Covenant WarShips early in the war."
"Point taken. General Norman, did you catch all of that?"
"I certainly did. We'll begin evacuations immediately and prepare for the bomb's arrival. Once you've got it down here, we'll get ready to deploy it."
"How far are the Flood from your position?"
"They landed two and a half clicks from our position. We're expecting company very shortly. Only the automated defenses will remain behind, but everyone is currently loading up into the DropShips and preparing for evacuation. Once we're away, we'll rendezvous with any WarShips that have Docking Collars available."
"Good," Hood decided. Changing frequencies, he said, "Chief, return to the FOB and prepare to receive the bomb. Alex, what is the condition of your 'Mechs?"
"Damaged, but operational," Alex replied. "We got banged up out there quite badly."
"I see. The base is sealed up to prevent the Flood from getting inside. I need you to drop Chief off near the FOB, then make for your DropShip and get out of there."
"We'll task some anti-vehicular vehicles to help tackle the Flood," Norman added. "We're looking at some Pattons in that case, along with a couple of APC's for support. Get into there and kill those Flood bastards!"
"Understood," Chief nodded. With that, they proceeded towards the FOB.
Once they got to within two hundred meters of the FOB, Alex opened up the cockpit door and said, "This is your stop, Chief. I have to get my Star in for immediate repairs and evacuation. Kill some Flood for me, would you?" Nodding at that, Chief quickly clambered out and down the chain ladder, along with the Arbiter, before proceeding the rest of the way on foot.
Getting inside the FOB, Chief found that it was a storm of activity, with personnel loading up into DropShips and VTOL's in order to evacuate before the Flood got to their position. Hearing the sound of clanking tracks, Chief turned to see some Tracked APC's and a few Pattons driving out of the Vehicle Bays and towards his position.
At the same time, a Pelican landed nearby, with ODST's piling out as quickly as possible. Chief noted that Major Silva was leading the group, and he was holding something in his hands. "Here you go, Chief," Silva said to him. "One HAVOC thermonuclear device." A moment later, he handed the bomb to Chief.
For a bomb that had a yield of thirty megatons, it was a surprisingly small affair. The bomb itself was half again of the size of a football, with what appeared to be a remote detonation module built onto the detonator end of the bomb itself. "You'll need to plant the bomb inside of the WarShip," Silva informed Chief. Handing Chief another device, he said, "The hull's thick enough that you'll need this transmitter to get a clear enough signal to detonate the bomb, once you're outside the minimum safe distance of course."
"Understood," Chief nodded.
"Good luck, Chief! Make us proud!" With that, Silva and the ODST's loaded up into one of the APC's, with the Arbiter getting into the other APC. Chief, on the other hand, began moving towards one of the Pattons.
As he walked forwards, Bero approached him. "I am coming as well."
"Are you sure you can handle the Flood?" Chief asked.
"I am immune to the Parasite's ravaging poison," Bero replied, "and I have faced them in combat before. I will not falter upon facing them." For a few seconds, Chief looked as though he was going to refuse, then he nodded, with Bero moving to the APC that the Arbiter had gotten inside. Without any ceremony, Chief got into the Patton.
The interior of the Patton reminded Chief of historic photographs of some of Earth's older tanks, particularly the T-14 Armata. Part of this was due to the fact that, like the aforementioned tank, the gun itself was automated, with the crew inside of an armored capsule in the chassis near the Fusion Engine. Inside, he could see electronics and other pieces of equipment necessary to ensure the tank was fully operational and combat capable.
While it was normally meant to carry only three people inside, the tank had been designed to allow four people to fit inside, with the extra person being given the job of maintenance, repairs, or to take over if the gunner, commander or driver needed rest. While that was the intention, the tank wasn't particularly meant to hold three normal human beings, and a Spartan wearing armor that made him seven feet in height and weight just a few hundred kilo's under a tonne. As such, while they could get inside, it was a cramped space.
"Damnit," the tank commander grumbled. "Couldn't they have made you Spartans as large as normal people?"
"No," Chief replied.
"That's a shame, because this tank's cramped with you inside of it. Good thing there's just enough room to move around." Without any further complaining, he manned his post, while the driver and gunner manned their seats as well. "Commander Briggs, we're ready to move out."
"Roger that," Commander Briggs, the CO of the current assault, replied. "Move out to Nav Point Bravo and make your way to the Flood WarShip. Once you're past that point, you're on your own in terms of support. We've got some Pintos in the air, but they're all you're going to get. Good luck!"
With that, the tank began moving forward, the hum of the Fusion Engine increasing as they began to advance. At the same time, the Tracked APC's began to move forwards as well, increasing speed until they had caught up to the tanks. After that, they proceeded along smoothly.
For the next two minutes, there was little activity as the tanks proceeded through the war torn landscape that used to be New Mombasa's inner city. Skyscrapers had been smashed down to pieces, with some having collapsed onto another in precarious positions. The streets were littered with debris, from slabs of polycrete that were pulverized upon impact with the ground, to civilian vehicles that had been abandoned in the haste to escape. The smog and smoke from the previous battles filled the sky, casting the place into a dim twilight.
In addition to this, there were UNSC and SLDF Combat Vehicles that had been destroyed in this area, with their husks littering the streets as well. "Those Flood's progress is probably going slowly too, if they're encountering debris like we are," the tank commander idly remarked. It was a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless.
As they drove along, Chief began to get that gut feeling once more. "Ready up," he told the tank commander. "We're entering enemy territory now. Remain vigilant."
"No need to tell me twice," the tank commander agreed. Using his MILCOM Transceiver, he said, "Boys, we're in enemy territory now. Keep your wits about you, your eyes peeled and your ears open. If you see anything suspicious, fire first and ask questions later." Putting the mike back into it's holder, he said, "Load some Cluster shells. The Flood are not heavily armored, so we won't have to waste the HEAP shells."
Just as he said this, all hell broke loose. The tank commander was about to issue more orders when something hit the tank. It wasn't a particularly hard hit, but the sound of metal being impacted by projectiles was more than enough to cause a few people inside the tank to jump. "Fuck!" the driver shouted. "Flood forces firing on us! They're using Covenant anti-tank weapons!"
"Take them out!" the tank commander ordered. "Fire Cluster!"
"Firing!" the gunner responded. There was a loud THUNK as the A-AC/10 fired, spraying a cluster of explosive sub-munitions towards the offending Flood, who were advancing up the street. Almost immediately, body parts and decaying flesh were hurled into the air, with one Combat Form being bisected by one such munition.
At the same time, the Tracked APC's opened fire with the Machine Guns and ER Medium Pulse Lasers. Bullets and emerald beams of light cut through the air with lethal precision as they cut through the Flood. Howls and screeches of pain and rage came from the Flood as they were cut down like the monsters they were. Soon, the other tanks had joined in on the action.
As they proceeded forwards, Chief spotted what he realized was a Pure Form coming directly at one of the APC's. Apparently, the driver spotted it as well, but he was too late to react. The Pure Form smashed into the armored hull of the APC, tearing off some of the ablative armor in the process. Instead of backing up, the APC driver hit the accelerator, pushing at the Pure Form with the vehicle's entire weight. Instead of backing down, the Pure Form did something unexpected: it flipped the APC onto it's side.
It was a sight that had Chief's full attention. With a single, powerful heave, the Pure Form flipped the APC onto it's side, before attacking the more vulnerable underside of the vehicle, with scythe-like arms attempting to tear at the metal. It would've gotten through, only for another APC to fire it's Pulse Lasers, cutting the Pure Form in half, while the crew and soldiers in the flipped APC scrambled out and got into another one.
"That's not good," Cortana remarked. "The Flood can flip those APC's over."
"Got it," Chief replied. Keying his COM, he said, "Commander Briggs, the Flood have Pure Forms. Repeat: the Flood have Pure Forms. They flipped an APC over."
"Damnit!" Briggs snarled. "Well, the Gravemind, if it's commanding these Flood, had to use it's brain eventually. All APC Drivers, this is the Commander speaking. Remain behind the Pattons. Let them handle the grunt work. Tank drivers, get ready to use your Flamers. You're going to need them."
"Roger that," the tank commander replied. "Time to roast us some Flood grits."
"Disgusting, but I like the sound of roasting Flood," the gunner remarked. It wasn't long before he got an opportunity, as some Pure Forms, and a swarm of Combat and Infection Forms, burst out of a collapsed building before charging headlong at the tanks. Without so much as a care in the world, the gunner fired both the ER Small Pulse Laser and the Advanced Flamer.
Looking at a video feed he had of the exterior, Chief watched as a tremendous gout of blue-white fire leaped out from the front of the tank and at the Flood, the flames turning to green, then a familiar orange as they got further away form the tank. They were a bright green when the flames smacked into the Flood, immediately coating them in high temperature plasma from the tank's Fusion Engine. Almost immediately, the Flood howled, roared and screeched in pain, as intense plasma burned and licked at their flesh. At the same time, the ER Small Pulse Laser fired, cutting apart any Pure Forms tough enough to survive the Flamer.
Terminating the flow of intense heat, the gunner allowed those weapons to cool, while the tank driver gunned the throttle, crushing the still-burning corpses under the tank's immense weight. "Wow," Cortana remarked to Chief. "And I thought our flamethrowers were quite good. The Star League's got some really nice ones. Still, I wouldn't want to be on the front end of that thing."
Chief nodded in agreement. He'd seen the Covenant use flamethrower-like weapons against UNSC personnel before, and it was a very grizzly sight. One Marine had gotten caught in a gout of plasma fire from one such weapon; medical reports indicated that he needed fifteen skin grafts to replace the flesh that had been melted off of his face and upper chest. The UNSC had also made use of flamethrowers, though their use, until recently, had been quite controversial. Apparently, that's not the case for the Star League, he decided.
As they drove along, the Flood began to use more advanced tactics in order to gain the upper hand over the SLDF tanks and APC's. This ranged from attack using what appeared to be flying Pure Forms, as well as en mass charges by Pure Forms. This had only proven to be partially successful, with the APC's losing some armor plating to each charge. The Pattons, however, remained undaunted, and continued to move forwards with speed and efficiency.
Eventually, as they drove along, they found themselves on a street that sharply gave way to a steep incline, before it leveled out some dozen meters from the drop. "Looks like we've found the impact trail of the Flood WarShip," Cortana observed. "Satellite readings indicate that it should be in visual sight."
"Got it," the tank commander confirmed. "One Flood WarShip dead ahead. Fuck me running, it looks like a warzone down there!"
Chief, who had a direct video feed, could see the devastation for himself. The impact of the Flood WarShip had been severe enough that a wide impact trail had been left. Buildings had collapsed into this impact trail, littering the ground with debris.
What had his attention the most, however, were the Sangheili that were in the impact trail. All of them were engaged in a heated battle against the Flood, with Phantoms dropping off Wraiths and reinforcements for the infantry. "Looks like the Elites want in on the action," Cortana observed.
Moments later, Thel's voice came in over a MILCOM channel. "Fellow Sangheili, what are you doing here?"
"Arbiter," came a familiar voice. "This is the carrier Shadow of Intent. You and the Demon must continue your mission, while we deal with the Flood." Moments later, Chief spotted the outline of a CAS-class Covenant WarShip, despite the fact that the smog made it nearly impossible to see it. Moments later, pods shot down from the WarShip, depositing more Sangheili into the battle.
"I know that commander," Thel said to Chief over another channel. "That is R'tas 'Vadum, one of my closest friends. He would not waste the lives of his men for a pointless task." Changing frequencies, he said, "Who is the commander of the Sangheili ahead of us?"
"I am," a gruff Sangheili replied. "Major Zorvek 'Crotam, at your service, Arbiter."
"I fear that you bring bad news."
"I do, Arbiter. High Charity has fallen, become a dreaded hive!"
"And the Fleet? Has quarantine been broken?"
"A single ship broke through our line, and we gave chase."
"But we had a fleet of hundreds!"
"Alas, brother, the Flood… it has evolved."
"Not surprising, since a Gravemind is in charge," Cortana added. "We'll need to get inside the WarShip now! The longer we wait, the more time the Flood has to get out."
"Agreed," the Arbiter replied. "'Crotam, do what you can to hold back the Flood. We have to get inside and destroy the foul hive before it has a chance to spread."
"I will do my best, Arbiter," 'Crotam replied. With that, the channel went dead, with the tanks continuing forwards.
Eventually, they reached the area where the Flood and Sangheili were in a pitched battle. Plasma bolts flew everywhere as the Sangheili fought to keep the Flood from breaking out of the current zone they had established. Up ahead, Chief spotted what looked like an entrance: a hole that went into the interior of the WarShip itself.
Apparently, Commander Briggs had seen it too, as a UAV flew overhead moments later. "Clear the enemy out!" he thundered. "Chief needs to get inside, but he can't do that if the Flood are too much of a hassle for him!"
"You heard the man," the tank commander shouted to the others over the MILCOM Transceiver. "Let 'er rip!"
Almost immediately, every Patton and APC that was present opened fire. Gouts of flame poured over the battlefield, while laser beams, bullets and Autocannon shells flew through the air. Craters opened up as some Pattons, after running out of Cluster munitions, switched back to standard projectiles.
At the same time, Chief got out of the Patton, while the APC's deployed their compliment of SLDF Marines and ODST's. Soon, the UNSC and SLDF ground forces were in the middle of the battle, with Chief the furthest up ahead.
Chief's rifle roared as he gunned down a Combat Form, before shoulder ramming another. As he did so, a ghastly voice said, "Ah, the armored casket." Ignoring the remark, Chief continued to fire, slamming in fresh magazines as he did so. Decaying body fluids and gore splattered his armor as he fired relentlessly into the horde of enemies.
Eventually, there were no Flood standing, with the last Infection Form being popped by a sniper's bullet. With all hostiles down, Chief proceeded forwards, making sure the HAVOC bomb was attached to his armor as he did so. Moving towards the mouth of the hole, he paid little heed to the Arbiter's response as he went inside.
Inside the Flood WarShip, it was dark and muggy, with condensation beading on the visor of his helmet as he pushed inside. Powerful lights on his helmet activated, with the beams cutting through a mist of Flood Spores to illuminate the path ahead. Flood biomass covered the walls, floor and ceiling of the hole, with loud squelching noises echoing inside as Chief advanced forwards.
As he did so, he thought he felt a tickling sensation at the back of his head, where his CNI implant was at. Moments later, a familiar voice said, "Do not be afraid. I am peace… I am salvation."
Shaking his head, he asked, "Cortana, what was that?"
"I think the Gravemind's trying to influence you," Cortana replied. "It's exactly the same method that Bero used when you were talking with him to speak to you: telepathy."
Chief frowned at that. If the Gravemind can speak to me telepathically, he might try to influence me. Gritting his teeth, he continued forwards.
Again, the Gravemind tried to influence him. "I am a timeless chorus… join your voice with mine, and sing victory, everlasting!" Shaking his head, Chief shook off any subtle influence before proceeding forwards.
Eventually, he found his path blocked by a large mass of Flood biomass. A large hole in the hull above him provided ample illumination for him to see by. Taking the HAVOC off his back, he placed it on the ground, before deploying the ground transmitter Silva gave to him, after which he armed the bomb. Keying his MILCOM Transceiver, he said, "Commander Briggs, the HAVOC has been deployed and armed."
"Affirmative," Briggs replied.
Just as Chief turned to leave, a Phantom flew overhead, before a familiar humming came along. Moments later, an individual he thought he'd never see again flew into view. "Reclaimer!" Guilty Spark said, surprised.
Just as Chief was about to ask what Guilty Spark was doing her, and how he'd survived, Guilty Spark's optic went red, before he fired an energy beam past Chief. Looking behind him, he watched as a Combat Form was disintegrated by the energy beam.
"What are you doing here?" Chief asked as Guilty Spark's optic went from an angry red to a calm blue.
"Doing what I was programmed to do," Guilty Spark replied. "Helping you."
"Really," Cortana remarked. "That wasn't what you were trying to do back at Halo. You tried to kill me and Chief!"
"Protocol dictated my response," Guilty Spark explained. "You were trying to destroy my installation. You did destroy my installation. Now I have but one function: to help you, Reclaimer, as I always should have done."
While Guilty Spark seemed contrite, Chief still gave him a silent glower before moving into the gravity lift the Phantom was projecting, with Guilty Spark following behind in short order. Once he and the Monitor were inside, the Phantom quickly accelerated. "Ship Master," the Sangheili piloting the VTOL said as they flew along at high speed. "We are leaving the blast zone."
"Noted," R'tas replied. "The Humans are detonating the bomb now. The others have escaped outside of it's blast radius." A moment later, as the last DropShip left the area, the bomb detonated.
In an instant, the entire area surrounding the Flood WarShip was consumed by nuclear fire. Buildings that had survived artillery shelling were blasted apart by the nuclear shock wave. The reactor core inside the Flood WarShip was instantly disintegrated, it's fuel adding to the nuclear bomb's explosive yield. By the time the white flash faded, and the mushroom cloud visible, the entire inner city had been consumed by nuclear fire.
"That was close," Cortana remarked as the Phantom shook around, courtesy of the blast wave. Chief merely nodded in agreement as they flew along. "Oh," Cortana added. "Admiral Chernenko and the others want you present at a meeting once you've decontaminated."
. . .
Fifteen minutes later, after decontamination, Chief was standing inside of the bridge of the Dallas, which had been chosen as the meeting ground for the leaders of the UNSC, Sangheili Separatists and the SLDF. Representing the SLDF were Chernenko and Patrenski, while R'tas represented the Sangheili Separatists, and Admiral Hood the UNSC. Xhov was also present, his armor having recently been repaired.
"Good to see that we can all be inside without killing each other," Patrenski remarked, though his remark did little to ease the tension in the air. "Now, on to the next order of business: killing Truth's ass and making sure the little fucker stays dead."
"That would be most agreeable," R'tas nodded. "The coward slipped past our grasp and into the portal above our heads. We must pursue him as quickly as possible."
"Fine," Hood agreed. "We'll remain here. Hold out as long as possible."
"Did you not see what happened?" R'tas asked Hood. "Your world is doomed. A Flood army, a Gravemind, has you in it's sights! You barely survived a small contamination!"
Hood was indignant upon hearing this. "And you, Shipmaster, would've glassed half a continent. Maybe the Flood isn't all I should be worried about."
"One single Flood Spore can destroy an entire species. Were it not for your Commander's proposed solution, I would have glassed your entire planet!"
Before Hood could reply to that, Chernenko smacked his hand down on the holotable, a loud WHACK echoing in the bridge. "Need I remind you that this is my WarShip, and that you're here because I agreed to this meeting!" he growled at Hood and R'tas, silencing them with an indignant gaze. "Regardless of what happened, we contained the Flood, but that won't remain that way if you don't remain focused on stopping Truth and the Gravemind!"
There was a few seconds of silence as Chernenko let those words sink in. Eventually, R'tas said, "Your words ring with wisdom, Admiral. Perhaps I was too… insensitive with my words."
Sighing, Hood said, "You're right, Chernenko. We need to focus on stopping the Flood and the Covenant. Does anyone have any ideas?"
"I do," Guilty Spark replied, floating into the middle of the group. "While I was coming to this planet, I received a communication from another Monitor. A highly unusual occurrence, given that it originated from the Ark."
Moments later, another Monitor's voice emanated from Guilty Spark's audio speakers. "This is 000 Tragic Solitude, Monitor of Installation 00. I have detected an incoming fleet of unknown origin coming through the Slipstream Space Portal that has formed. They will be here within fourteen solar cycles. If there are any other Monitors out there, please provide whatever assistance possible." Moments later, the message ended.
"Tragic Solitude?" Chernenko asked.
"Another one of the Monitors, like myself, that were constructed to monitor the Installations," Guilty Spark replied. "He was a particularly quiet Monitor, never wasting more than a few words. If he sent this message through the portal, then it must be quite serious."
"Agreed," Hood nodded. "Chernenko, I'll devote whatever forces we can, but I must ask that you have Patrenski remain behind. We'll need his fleet of WarShips to help protect Earth."
"A reasonable concern," Chernenko nodded. "Patrenski?"
"Sounds like a good plan," the other SLDF Admiral nodded. "I'll keep my fleet at Earth, but any that were upgraded will be sent with you. They can hold their own against the Covenant and Flood. What about R'tas here, and the Arbiter."
"We will send our forces through as well," R'tas replied. "Once we reach the Ark, we must find Tragic Solitude and inquire of him as on what to do."
"Sounds like a plan," Chernenko nodded. "With that, I must ask respectfully that you return to your ships. We have a busy war ahead of us, and I want to see it through." Nodding in respect, the others left. The war was about to reach a fever pitch.