Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - Termination crossover. This is going to be a relatively short chapter, as will the next one, but they are going to build up to a pretty major chapter that will be written once the next one is published. I won't spoil anything, but let's just say the Covenant will get a taste of what fighting in the Future War was like for the Resistance. Either way, thank you for your support, and I hope to see you in future chapters. As always, leave a review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or Terminator franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Carolo Pictures, Hemdale, Skydance Productions, 20th Century Fox, Lightstorm Entertainment, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers, producers 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.


Reach

Resistance HQ

November 4th, 2552

Looking outside of the troop bay, Chief watched as the ground below them rushed past as the Pelican quickly took them towards their destination. Looking up, he could see Parsons making sure his chassis was ready for combat operations, while the other Marines were doing the same for their armor and gear. The Arbiter was merely sitting in the crash seat where he had been for the past forty five minutes or so, with the Sangheili simply observing the ground beneath him as they flew onward. Recalling the past forty five minutes, Chief remembered what Johnson had told him about recent events. With the Sangheili being effectively exiled from the Covenant, they were now in an especially vulnerable position in the galaxy, with no one other than their former enemies to run to for help. Fortunately, SKYNET was more than willing to bring in the Sangheili for help, though the numbers that they currently had were fairly small, to be honest. According to the Arbiter, he had sent one of his best subordinates, a Sangheili named Bero 'Kusovai, to their homeworld of Sangheilios in order to warn the leaders of the Sangheili feudal states, known as Kaidons. It was his hope that Bero would be able to convince the Sangheili that working with Humanity was the only way to survive, now that the Covenant had effectively decided to destroy them alongside Humanity.

Once Johnson and the Arbiter had finished telling Chief what was going on, he could see why the Sangheili were desperate for help. On their own, they wouldn't be able to defeat the Covenant, as the latter faction simply had too much manpower and firepower to bring to bear. Still, I have reason to believe that SKYNET has another reason for saving the Sangheili species other than to prevent another Future War from happening," he thought to himself. If I was SKYNET, I would bring them onboard in order to bolster our forces, while educating them on how to better defend themselves. SKYNET might also be using them as a shield in order to protect Humanity and give us more time to protect ourselves more adequately. While he knew the latter of the three reasons was fairly cold and selfish by Human standards, it would make sense for SKYNET, since it was a machine that lacked human emotion in it's current state. Either way, I'll learn more about what's going on once we reach the MOB that John Connor is currently at.

As he said this, he looked back outside to see what was going on. As the Pelican banked to the left, he watched as Resistance HQ came into view. The MOB known as Resistance HQ was located roughly a hundred and twenty kilometers from the ruins of New Alexandria, which was the Capitol city of Reach before the Battle of Epsilon Eridani. According to images of the area, New Alexandria was nothing more than a glassed and somewhat irradiated mess of buildings, rubble and corpses, all of which had been glassed, or partially glassed thanks to the Covenant. Resistance HQ, which was the new MOB (Main Operating Base) on Reach, was located in a mountain range that had been partially glassed by the Covenant, but not enough to destroy the mountain range. Internally, the base was divided into different sections. The only ways to enter the base were from the air, as there were two hangar bays that were rated for Pelicans and HK Aerials, with the last way in being a small motorway that SKYNET programmed construction drones had built once the last remnants of the Covenant attack had been thrown off of Reach. The CIC for the facility was located in the center of the base, with the Barracks connected to the CIC via a series of hallways and a motorway that connected all sections of the base. A Motor Pool was located near the Barracks, with the Barracks being connected directly to a series of landing pads that were built in a hangar bay that was built into the mountainside, as well as a Medical Bay that was to the north of the Barracks. The entire base was protected by layers of hyperalloy reinforced polycrete that could withstand a direct hit from a 250 megaton thermonuclear bomb.

Flying into the mountain range, they quickly spotted the large, hyperalloy doors that served as the main entrance into the helipads that were inside. "Looks like we're here," Johnson beamed. "Beautiful, ain't she. The entire base was inspired by a tourist trap that we have near the town of Voi on Earth. The differences, however, are advanced technology, and really strong defenses. You could hold out against the entire UNSCDF Army, if you wanted to that is."

"What if an army lays siege to the base," the Arbiter asked.

"Well, that's where the Greenhouses come in," Johnson explained. "SKYNET built underneath the Medical Bay a series of Greenhouses and an Flash Cloning facility that can make artificial meat. As long as the base has a source of water, which it has by default, you can outlast any kind of a siege." It was clear that the Arbiter was impressed, as he made a quiet huffing sound before leaning back in his seat.

As they flew in, the Pelican pilot began their landing sequence. "Resistance H, this is Lima-415, requesting permission to land at Hangar Bay Bravo, over."

"Roger that," the ATC controller for the base replied. "Permission granted. Be advised, we are at Condition Yellow. Juliet Charlie is expecting an attack within the next two hours." With that, the hyperalloy hangar bay doors opened up, with both pieces sliding to the left and right until there was a gap large enough for the Pelican to descend through. As they descended, Chief watched as they entered a massive hangar bay that held enough landing pads for eight Pelican dropships. Looking around, he could see technicians running around with equipment, while SKYNET designed drones were busy maintaining the base and repairing any damage that was to be found. He also spotted a few Engineers floating around, with the organic beings working alongside the SKYNET drones. There was a muted thump as they landed, with the troop bay doors opening to allow the team to get out. Getting out, he could hear the sounds of machinery working, technicians calling out to each other on various work orders, as well as drones that were milling about. Here and there, he could see Terminators that were milling about on guard duty, with the ever-watchful robots ensuring that nothing out of the ordinary happened.

As they got off of the Pelican, Chief spotted a UNSC Marine walking over to their position. "Sirs," he said a moment later, "Juliet Charlie needs to see you ASAP. Follow me."

"Is that a code name for John Connor," Chief asked.

"Yes," the Marine replied. "I know, kinda strange, but that's the way some things work in the military… and no, I didn't come up with that code name. The NATO Phonetic Alphabet can be strange at times." Shrugging his shoulders, he motioned for the team to follow him into the facility.

Moving through a heavily armored door, Chief looked around to get a good idea as to the defenses that SKYNET had built into the facility during it's construction. Already, he could tell that SKYNET had been extremely thorough in it's design and construction of the base, which was to be expected from a highly advanced Defense Intelligence. Looking at the walls and ceiling of the hallway they were walking down, he could see armored ports for what he assumed were built-in Sentry Turrets, each one capable of tearing apart a whole squad of Covenant personnel with little trouble at all. As they walked along, they entered the Motorway that connected most, if not all, of the modules that were in the base itself. Even here, SKYNET had been thorough, as there were checkpoints at 100m intervals throughout the Motorway. These checkpoints consisted of walls that had a large gate built in the middle of each one, with Sentry Turrets built into the walls, while a wide pillbox was located above each gate, with UNSC Marines and SKYNET Terminators keeping a careful watch over the area. From what he could tell, the walls and gate were made out of incredibly strong and heat resistant materials, which were capable of withstanding even the most brutal and intense attacks that Covenant infantry could hurl at them. Doors were present in the walls, though he could tell that they were heavily reinforced with titanium hyperalloy.

Moving through on of those doors, the team began moving down a series of hallways that would take them to the CIC, where John Connor was located at. As they moved along, Chief thought he heard a buzzing sound, prompting him to reach for his sidearm. "Stay your weapon, Demon," the Arbiter cautioned him, placing a hand on Chief's sidearm. "These Yanmee are on our side." As he said this, several Drones flew into the air, flying around the team as they proceeded along to where they needed to go. Up ahead, Chief watched as a Drone gently picked up a technician that was trying to get at a hard-to-reach spot along a power conduit, with the Drone easily holding him in the air as he fixed a faulty component. Once the job was done, he made a motion to the Drone, which set him down before flying off to it's compatriots. "Impressive," the Arbiter continued. "Despite our previous animosities, it warms my heart to see that we can work together when faced with a common enemy."

"I hope it holds that way after the war," Johnson remarked. "I don't want to have to be fighting newfound allies shortly after we defeated the Covenant."

"A sentiment that I share as well," Thel agreed. With that, they passed through another armored door and reached the CIC.

The CIC of Resistance HQ was probably one of the most impressive that Chief had seen, aside from the Bridge of the UNSC Cario. The walls were lined with computer monitors and holographic projectors that were creating 3D projections of various areas of the planet, presumably those that were dealing with any Covenant threats in the area. Computer banks were located on the floor, and were neatly arranged in an O shape around a central holographic projector, with gaps between the computer banks to allow personnel to get in and out without an excessive amount of fuss. At the computer terminals were base personnel, military officers, as well as Terminators that were assigned to the area. Standing at the holographic projector in the middle of the room was John Connor. Already, Chief could tell that John Connor was very much in control of the current situation, with the war hardened Resistance leader calmly issuing orders, while receiving new information with a solemn and impassive expression on his face. Next to him was Miranda Keyes, who was currently discussing some new developments with Connor. What had Chief surprised for the briefest of moments was a Brute that was standing next to the two, his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for further orders. He appeared to be wearing what appeared to be Powered Armor, though it was highly ornate, and was a deep bronze color, which indicated that he was a Brute Major, or somewhere above that rank. Turning around, Connor spotted Chief, prompting the man to walk over and shake his hand. "Master Chief, it's good to see you here again," he smiled. "What is your status?"

"Green, sir," Chief replied.

"I see. I'm going to have you get your armor checked out once we're finished here. Reentry can be especially hard on Powered Armor, and I don't want to risk finding out in the field that your armor has been compromised." Turning back to Miranda, he said, "Go ahead and fill him in on the details of what is going on."

"Yes, sir," Miranda replied. Looking at Chief, she motioned him to come closer to the holographic projector before punching in a few buttons, with the view changing to that of New Alexandria, or rather what was left of it. "As you can see, the Covenant have been busy excavating something from underneath New Alexandria, or what's left of it rather. According to Infiltration Terminators inside of the Covenant, it appears to be some kind of Forerunner device. The Covenant believes that it is some sort of Slipstream Space Portal Generator that is designed to create a Slipstream Space Tunnel to where the Ark is."

"Ark," Chief asked.

"I can explain," a voice replied. Looking up, Chief watched as a familiar looking orb of Forerunner Alloy and electronics floated down towards him. Almost immediately, he whipped out his sidearm, aiming the weapon directly that the Monitor. "Please, no need for violence," Guilty Spark replied, taking cover behind a computer monitor. "I am working with the other Reclaimers on their mission."

"On Halo, you tried to kill Cortana," Chief growled out. "You tried to kill me."

"Enough," Connor shouted, a rarity given how cool and collected he was. For a brief moment, the CIC Personnel turned to see what was wrong, only to return back to work when they saw he wasn't in any immediate danger. Turning to Chief, he said, "Chief, Guilty Spark has been working with us since he arrived on Reach. You can put the gun down. As for why he nearly killed you at Alpha Halo, I think he can explain that for himself."

"Indeed," Guilty Spark nodded, coming out from behind the computer monitor he was using for cover once Chief holstered his sidearm. "Protocol dictated my response. You were going to destroy the facility that I was charged with overseeing, something that you did two months ago. Now I have only one function: to help you, Reclaimer, as I always should have done. Now that I have made an analysis of past events, I can say you were right to do what you had to do." Looking at the holographic display, he said, "What the Meddlers believe is correct: that device in the caldera is a Slipstream Space Tunnel Generator, that is designed to link with the Lesser Ark."

"What is the Lesser Ark," Chief asked.

"I do not know, to be honest," Guilty Spark replied, bobbing up and down in the Monitor equivalent of a human shrugging his shoulders. "I have some theories, with the current one being that it is a massive Shield World, similar to that of Onyx, which is a world that you have discovered and settled at one point. While I had full knowledge of Installation 04, my makers wisely limited my knowledge of other facilities. Compartmentalization, in the event I was captured by the Flood."

"Smart move. So, the Covenant are attempting to activate this device in order to get to the Ark."

"Good guess, Chief," Connor nodded. "Our current mission is to intercept them and prevent them from getting to the Ark. According to intelligence that Guilty Spark was kind enough to share, the fake Index that SKYNET fabricated triggered a fail-safe protocol inside of the Installation, causing it to communicate with the rest of the Halo Array at FTL speeds. Once it did so, all of them entered a stand-by mode, which means they are ready for manual activation from the Lesser Ark. If Truth manages to get to the Lesser Ark…"

"He can activate the entire Halo Array, and kill everyone in the galaxy."

"Correct, hence why we are working to stop him." Adjusting the map once Miranda moved out of the way, he said, "According to HK Aerials that conducted reconnaissance, the Covenant have a series of Anti-Orbital defenses that are arranged around the edge of the caldera. We can't bring in any UNSC warships into the area without risking them getting shot down, as the Covenant are now relying on AO Arrays in order to defeat our more advanced armor plating and shielding technology." Pulling up one such Anti-Orbital Array, he said, "The one that is the most concern is located in the remnants of New Alexandria, as it is the most heavily fortified AOA at the caldera's edge, with roughly five Covenant Anti-Orbital Cannons. Intelligence from Infiltrators indicates that this particular AOA is controlled from a central control center, located at the very middle of the array, directly over the power source. The area surrounding the control center is heavily fortified, with UAV scans detecting a large number of Wraiths, as well as three Scarabs that are on hand to provide security. This is the most powerful AOA, and it's capable of shooting down the March of Winter, which is one of our most advanced warships."

"Ahem," Guilty Spark interrupted. When the others looked at him, he said, "I just remembered an important detail about the Installations. They cannot be activated by the Meddlers. Only a Reclaimer as the power to do so."

"So that means that even if Truth gets to the Lesser Ark," Miranda mused

"All he'll have is a highly ornamental station to live at," Connor finished. "Ironic."

"Indeed," Thel nodded. "However, that presents a new problem. Truth will likely know of this, so he might attempt to abduct one of your own in order to begin the Great Journey."

"Right," Connor nodded. "Either way, we are going to press on with the mission. If Truth captures one of our own, we'll have to find a way to indefinitely delay the activation of the Halo Array." Clearing his throat, he said, "This is what we have planned. We will attack AOA Alpha at 0530 hours, which we believe is when the caldera will be almost fully excavated. Should the Covenant attack this base, however, we will attack at 0430 hours. Our strategy is to use a three point attack on the array. Attack Point One will consist of several wings of HK Aerials, YSS-2000 Sabre fighters and Longsword Assault Fighters. Their mission is to establish air superiority over the AOA and to prevent the Covenant from bringing in heavy firepower. Attack Point Two will consist of a large mechanized warfare division that will lure away the Scarabs, as well as the ground forces. Attack Point Three will be the main attack force, with the mission of getting into the control center and killing the enemy personnel, before using a Plasma Detonation Charge to destroy the power supply, which will shut down the AOA and allow our warships to get in there and destroy the Forerunner Dreadnought."

"What about the other AOA's," Chief asked.

"I already have other task forces assigned to them," Connor replied. "They will attack at the same time as we commence the assault on AOA Alpha." As he said this, he noticed once of the holographic displays flickering somewhat. A moment later, a Terminator walked over and assessed the situation. "Status," Connor asked.

"Truth's forces were attempting to break into the base computers," the Terminator replied. "However, it appears as though the cyber defenses built into the network prevented the unauthorized entry. There is also a data transmission that was beamed towards us, but it failed to penetrate as well. Apparently, Truth was attempting to use a COM transmission to intimidate us."

"And he failed to get in," Johnson laughed, smoking his cigar a moment later. "Hah! Cocky bastard is shouting at a foam wall! Score one for the UNSC, you wrinkly little shit!"

As soon as he said this, however, alarms began to blare in the CIC. "SITREP," Connor asked.

"We have incoming Covenant personnel inbound to the base," Miranda Keyes reported. "Looks like the Covenant know we are here, and they're coming to try and take us out."

"Fuck," Connor growled. "Activate base defenses immediately. Take us to Red Alert now!" As he said this, alarm klaxons began to blare throughout the base, with red strobe lights flashing. Across the entire base, Marines, Army personnel and Terminators quickly got into position, arming themselves as they prepared for the impending attack. Turning to Chief, he said, "Chief, I need you to hold the line with the Arbiter and the Brute that is with us right now. If I was the OpFor Commander, I would be attempting to break into the facility via the Hangar Bays. They, aside from the motorway below us, are the only means of getting inside the base." Turning to Thel, he said, "Arbiter, I need you to rally the Sangheili Separatists inside of the facility and take out any Brute HVT's that get inside. Thrormand, you will go with Chief."

"Understood," the men replied. With that, they began heading out for their objective areas. Turning to the Brute, Chief asked, "You come with the Arbiter?"

"Yes," Thrormand replied. "I have always liked the Sangheili, especially the one that trained me in the ways of war. While some were quite arrogant, others have treated me with respect and dignity. My only hope is that some of the Brutes coming to the base intend to defect to our side. If so, then we can show the others that the Prophets do not have to be our masters." While he was still suspicious of Thrormand's intentions, Chief decided to give him a chance, as he nodded before grabbing an MA5E off a weapon rack nearby, with Thrormand grabbing the Spiker and Brute Shot that he had brought with him to the base.

As they moved towards the Hangar Bay, Chief said, "Cortana, status?"

"AA Weapons have been busy tearing apart the Covenant attack," Cortana replied. "Unfortunately, they're using an en mass assault to get through the defenses. Some enemy Phantoms are making their way towards the base. We're about to get busy."

"Understood," Chief replied as they entered the Hangar Bay. Unlike the one that his Pelican had landed in, this Hangar Bay had an open entrance that led outside of the base, revealing the partially glassed landscape beyond the mountain range. Looking around, he could see hyperalloy reinforced polycrete, with hyperalloy beams that were arranged at neat intervals on the walls and ceiling. Ceiling harnesses were present for any HK Aerials or Pelicans that needed to dock, with catwalks that led up to those areas. The ground level was a large landing pad, with walkways set around it to allow maintenance personnel to get underneath the pad to perform repairs to the structure. Looking to the left and right, he could see walkways that led to either side of the hangar bay, with Marines, Rangers and Terminators setting up defenses and barricades. Behind him was the control room for the hangar bay, which had already deployed blast shields serve as cover for wounded personnel. Looking down and to the left, he spotted what appeared to be an elevator that was connected to a motorway that ran beneath the base.

As soon as he and Thrormand arrived, the Covenant made their move. Hearing a whining sound, Chief looked outside to see a Phantom that was approaching the entrance to the facility. Outside, he could hear muted thumps as the AA defenses tore apart as many Phantoms as possible in order to even the odds for the personnel inside. One Phantom directly behind the one ahead of them exploded as a missile tore through it, while another one was ripped apart by a burst of phased plasma bolts. Soon, though, the Phantom in the lead entered the Hangar Bay, more than ready to begin the assault. As soon as it opened it's loading ramps, however, the personnel in the facility opened fire. Chief heard a Marine roar as he opened fire with a V-95H, tearing into the incoming enemy personnel with a stream of phased plasma. At the same time, the others opened fire, tearing into the enemy Phantom, while others gunned down the infantry. Popping out of cover, Thrormand fired off three grenades from his Brute Shot, blasting apart a group of Grunts and Jackals. Ducking behind cover, he snarled as a few Spiker shards smacked into his armor, bouncing off the energy shield that was courtesy of the module he installed. At the same time, Chief leaned out, firing his MA5E at the incoming Brutes, killing two, while mission-terminating the other three in the squad. The enemy Phantom immediately retreated, pulling out before an AA cannon blew it apart. Two more Phantoms managed to get inside, only for the enemy reinforcements to be blown apart and the Phantoms invariably destroyed. As they fired, the massive Hangar Bay doors began to close, with strobe warning lights warning personnel to avoid being crushed to death by the doors. Once those sealed, they locked themselves tightly.

As soon as they did, Chief heard his COM ping. "Yes, sir," he asked.

"Chief, this is Connor. The Covenant have managed to breach Hangar Bay Bravo. When we deployed the Pelicans, the Brutes used Jump Jet Infantry to get inside the base. We need you to help the Terminators and Marines clear out the enemy combatants. Sangheili Separatists are en route to rendezvous with you and Thrormand in order to get to the Hangar Bay. We've got them contained for the time being."

"Understood," Chief replied. With that, he and Thrormand began to make their way towards the Hangar Bay, where the invading personnel had been contained for the time being. As they moved through the corridors of the base, they passed through the Motorway, before finally reaching the hangar bay. Hangar Bay Bravo was a literal firestorm, as the Marines and Terminators inside fought back against the invading Covenant personnel. Apparently, the Covenant had managed to wedge the Hangar Bay doors open, as Chief spotted a piece of nanolaminate that had been wedged into the door mechanism. Running to cover, he fired on some Brutes, just as a few Sangheili reached his position. "What's the status of the hangar bay doors," he asked.

"We're trying to close them," a Sangheili Major replied, "but the Brutes are keeping us from getting at the nanolaminate shard. Can you provide us fire support, so that we can remove the door block they are using?"

"Yes," Chief replied. With that, he began firing on the Brutes, while the Sangheili that had accompanied the Arbiter to the base quickly went to work. Seeing what the Elites were trying to do, the Marines intensified their volume of fire, forcing the Brutes to take cover to avoid being shot at. Reaching the nanolaminate, the Sangheili took a hold of the shard before forcing it out of the slot, with the doors slowly beginning to close. As they scrambled inside, one Sangheili screamed as a Spiker shot tore through his chest, with the Sangheili tumbling ass over teakettle as he fell to the ground. A pile of crates broke his fall, but it was clear he was in extreme pain, as his screams were audible over the sounds of weapons fire. Providing cover fire for the Elites, Chief allowed them to haul their injured compatriot back to cover. By the time the Hangar Bay Doors closed, the Brutes had been neutralized, but not without losses. Two Marines had been killed, a Terminator had been damaged severely, and four Sangheili had been killed.

Spotting the one that had been injured, a Medic came over to provide assistant. "Get it out," the Sangheili screamed. "It burns! It BURNS!"

"Hold still," the Medic ordered. "I can't remove it if you don't hold still!" Turning to the others, he said, "Hold him down!" Once the other Sangheili did so, he quickly pulled out the shard before using nanites to seal the injury. "I've stabilized him, but he needs to get to the medical bay, NOW!" Working with the Medic, the Sangheili lifted their injured compatriot and began to move him to the Medical Bay. As they did so, the base shuddered as something hit the mountainside it was built into.

"What was that," Thrormand asked. As he did, a stronger blast impacted, shaking the base and causing some people to stumble.

"Cortana," Chief asked.

"The Covenant are shelling the base with artillery," she replied, just as the base shuddered again. "They're trying to break through the hyperalloy shell that's protecting the base."

"Like that will do them a lot of good," a Marine remarked. "That thing's designed to withstand a nuclear blast. They're just tickling the shell in that case." As he said this, the shuddering stopped.

"SYKNET Aerials just took out the enemy artillery," Cortana reported. "They're pulling back. Apparently, we're just too tough of a nut to crack."

A moment later, Connor came in over the COM. "Chief, are you there?"

"Yes, sir," Chief replied.

"Good, because we're going to initiate the attack now. The Covenant have forced our hand. Get down to the Vehicle Bay that's beneath the base. I've got a Scorpion that is ready for use as well as a number of other vehicles. We're going to have to blast through the Covenant forces surrounding the city. Once we're through, we'll head into the ruins of New Alexandria and take out the AOA."

"Yes, sir," Chief replied as he began to move. There was one thing that he knew now: the UNSC had taken the War to the Covenant.