A/N: Shout out Waffle192, thanks for the support.
UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, July 2557
As Grunts, Jackals, and Sangheili raved through the direct ship Thel 'Lodamee stood off in the distance observing their antics. The once-great Sangheili Major was no longer an active participant. He had become nothing more than a glorified spectator. Ossoona, the eye of the prophets, or better yet eyes of Jul'Madama. The elite released an audio sign from his mandibles.
Ahta 'Dzoni handpicked the Sangheili for the position, claiming he had the necessary demeanor to carry out high profile missions. Unlike the others, Thel lacked the reckless tendency to destroy everything in their path. Thel understood his new role, but he still felt empty. To avoid enemy contact and gathering intelligence wasn't an honor but a curse. The fine art of stealth in battle was a cowards game. Thel removed himself from the wall he rested on. His steps echoed as he exited the room alone.
The Sangheili warrior marched through the halls of the ship lamenting of better times. Like when he served under supreme commander Luro 'Taralumee, a formidable leader with a zealous devotion to the Great Journey and adherence to Covenant ideals. Under 'Taralumee's leadership, 'Lodamee made a name for himself. First, when he slew a demon on the human world of Miridem. Then he captured the human female called Halsey. Those actions alone earned him enough prays that Thel was recommended for Shipmaster but, then humanity ruined that opportunity.
The humans sent a group of demons to rescue her. Their forces clashed in space. At the cost of a battlecruiser, several Seraph squadrons, and heavy casualties on Resplendent Fervor, two more demons were sent to the relentlessness of the Spartans' attack shocked even the Fleet Master. Were he masked his fear with bravado, Thel harnessed it. He remembered vividly, as he stood down the lone Spartan who attempted to rescue the woman. The numbers 117 branded on its chest like a badge of honor.
As customary to his people 'Lodamee challenged the Spartan to a duel. No projectiles, no explosives just energy swords. Once it began Thel effortlessly gained the upper hand, years of training and discipline was on full display. After he was done playing around with the armored warrior, the Sangheili disarmed the demon. Just before he could cut down the undead warrior, his foolish Fleet master separated the entire aft section of the ship and pulled Thel back to the main section of the Glorious Consequence. After that incident, 'Lodamee and 'Taralumee lost respect for one another. Days later, Thel was transferred to a new ship where he contained his campaign until the great schism.
Before he could lament any further Thel heard a loud noise. He turned his head and noticed it come from down the hall. Without a moment's notice, he activated his suits active camouflage. In mere seconds Thel blended in with his terrain, mimicking the dawns grey bulkheads around him perfectly. The Ossoonas scarlet armor was rendered almost invisible. Once he was a mere shimmer, Thel vanished down the long hallway towards the source of the sound.
John pulled Cortana out of the holo-tanks terminal and inserted her into his neural interface, located at the base of his skull. There was a positive click, followed by a wave of sensation as the A.I. joined him within the confines of his armor's neural network. At first, it felt as if someone had drenched a cup of ice water into his consciousness, followed by a jab of pain and a familiar presence.
"We've got intrusion alerts lighting up on multiple decks. Our best bet to figure out who's boarding us is the observation deck - four floors up," she said
The armored soldier stepped out of the cryo bay and into the info station. There he saw a hologram of the Dawn, or what was left of her. Several alert beacons were also present too. John tampered with the consoles controls until the weapons systems were online.
"Could it be a rescue team?" he asked. Then he felt the ship violently shake as if it was being moved by force.
"I wouldn't bet on it!"
He scanned the room for weapons, but there was no arms locker present. Then he spotted an assault rifle in the corner. He walked over and grabbed the weapon. Once his armor made electronic contact with it, a blue targeting reticle appeared on his HUD.
Like any good soldier, Chief performed a quick function test. The test ended with a metallic click as the first magazine rounds of 7.62mm armor-piercing ammunition were slapped inside. John raised his MA5D assault rifle, readying for combat. He proceeds down several hallways. Cortana's pre-recorded distress call is still being looped on the ship's PA system.
"How long was I out?"
"Four years, seven months, ten days."
"Somebody should have found us by now."
John entered an operations room, filled with inactive computer screens. A central holographic unit displays the Dawn being pulled from its predicted drift course towards a planetoid, designated "43121124". Suddenly the ship groaned behind him again but this time an orange energy pulse appears, disrupting the nearby electronics. Chief stepped back and lifted his rifle but the pulse harmlessly phased through him.
"What's that?" he inquired
"Sensor scan, high intensity!," the A.I. explained.
Doesn't match any known patterns!"
Cortana's answered but his mind on high alert. She was an advanced military A.I. with a vast amount of knowledge from covenant to forerunner and she still didn't know. The hairs beneath his suit stood ramrod straight. They were in a whole new world of trouble and it was his job to protect her. The spartan tightened his grip on his weapon.
"How close are we to the observation deck?"
"It's directly above us."
The master chief left the room and traversed the ship's halls. Eventually, he came across the elevator entrance. A pair of heavy-duty blast doors.
"The elevator doors look sealed tight," Cortana told him.
John stored his rifle on his back plates, the magnets held the weapon in place. He approached the doors and braced himself. The Spartan dug his fingers between the doors and began to pry them open.
"Chief, be careful...!" her tone was filled with caution.
After he successfully opens the elevator doors a pack of crates from behind crashed into John. The Spartan lost his footing and was sucked into the vacuum, knocking him onto the other side of the shaft. He grabs a nearby ledge, stopping his fall. The crates continue downwards into the seemingly-bottomless shaft.
"Because some areas might have lost pressure!"
"Right," he said flatly while giving her a side-eye.
As John slowly climbs up the shaft. Started to worry about his companion, although nothing was wrong with her from what he knew about A.I.'s something felt off about her. The Spartan couldn't put his finger on it but he had a strange hunch.
"Chief, watch out!" she yelled.
He looked up and saw debris falling from above. Thanks to his heightened reflexes the Chief quickly jumped to another ledge to the left, managing to avoid the falling fragments. As he continued to avoid more debris Cortana spoke.
"I didn't realize the ship had deteriorated so badly."
How did she not know, he thought to himself.
John manages to climb to free of the shaft, but before he knew it a familiar shimmer appeared before him. The light show ended when a scarlet-clad elite stared straight at him. Then the alien warrior ignited his energy sword and darted towards the Spartan. Before the elite could decapitate him, the master chief was able to grab his adversaries' forearm blocking the Sangheili's sword strike. The Sangheili snarls at him, its cloverleaf jaws snapping open and shut like a demented gin-trap. The two were roughly equal in strength. That was one thing he hated about fight elites they tend to live up to their names and then some. It managed to push him back by a fraction.
In the middle of their grind lock john noticed something in the Sangheili's eyes. The scarlet-clad alien stopped snarling and tilted its head to the side. It was the look of recognition, the elite had recognized him but he had no idea who he was. Just then the alien flexed his jaws and tried to speak. Not one to pass up an opportunity. John struck the elite across the face with a solid right hook, dazing it. The blow stunned him long enough for the chief to grabs the Sangheili by the mandibles and toss it into the elevator shaft.
"I thought we had a truce with the Covenant."
"A lot can happen in four years. Either way, he's probably not alone. We should be careful."
With the threat eliminated 117 entered the observation deck. The windows are covered by the blast shields. John read the room, a Sangheili is attempting to access the controls on an elevated central platform, while multiple Unggoy were patrolling either side of the deck below. He knew that the Elite posed the real danger.
The Spartan took a slow step, once his foot hit the deck it was barely audible. Mjolnir's built-in dampeners allowed Spartans in their half a ton suits of armor to traverse terrain unnoticed which always came in handy. The Chief snuck up behind the distracted elite minor and drew his combat knife from his wrist compartment. In one quick motion, he stabbed the blade into its neck. With one arm he slammed it to the ground where it expired in seconds.
The sound drew the attention of the Unggoy. As soon as they spotted the Chief they open fire. John stayed on the high ground and took cover behind a pillar. Individually, the Grunts were cowards, but the Spartan had seen what a pack of the creatures could do. He opened fire again. Alien bodies tumbled and his surprise, the Grunts continued to trade shots with him. Their numbers were dwindling but they fought on to the last man. Armor-piercing rounds tore through the last Grunt, its phosphorescent blue ichor spattered the deck. The Chief hit the release, allowed a nearly empty magazine to fall, and shoved a new clip into its place. The weapon's digital ammo counter reset, as did its cousin in his HUD.
"That's the last of them," Cortana muttered. "Find the override for the blast shields so we can see what we're up against."
John returned to the controls and activated the override. The blast shields gradually rise.
BLAST SHIELD CONTROLS
OPEN
"The good news is these Covenant aren't outfitted like the standard military. It's possible we just came across a rogue salvage ship."
The blast shields fully open, revealing a CRS-class light cruiser fleet moving towards the Dawn. Behind the fleet, a mysterious world ominously loomed in the background. A formation of Banshees rapidly screams past the observation deck's windows. "...Or we might have stumbled into an entire Covenant fleet."
"Maybe they haven't recognized us." he pointed out. Then two Phantoms, equipped with boarding arms, descend into view.
"That's one possibility..." Before she could finish the Phantoms split up, taking opposite sides of the Deck.
"Landing craft, flanking us!"