"speech"

"radio/hologram/etc. communication"

Ship Names

'thoughts'

You get the point.

I do not own Halo or Star Wars; each franchise is owned by their respective owners.
now that that is out of the way let us begin

Senate Building, Chancellors office, September 9th

Palpatine was sitting in his office staring at the city outside of his window, calculating and thinking, thinking about the UEG and the Sangheili Empire and how they threw a wrench in his plans for the Empire. Thinking about how to deal with them, subjugation or destruction, control from the shadows or integration into the republic. He kept thinking about hundreds of ways to deal with them but each of them encountered a problem. Firstly, was the fact that both of them refused to join either the CIS or the Republic, they wanted to stay neutral but that was just a show for wanting to be left alone.

Then there was the Sangheili Navy and the UNSC, 2 forces he had almost no knowledge about except that they had large vessels larger then the Republic and that the UNSC used slug throwers and that was about it. Too little info, he didn't like working without knowing everything, this was unbecoming of the Sith lord but for the first time in many many years he felt annoyed.

He needed something to know what he was dealing with so that he could develop a plan against them, and he was lucky because someone that carried great news just entered his office. It was a republic intelligence officer he quickly saluted and approached the desk. "What brings you here my child?" the officer brought up a datapad and started talking "Chancellor a few months ago we detected an unknown signal using unknown encryption transmitting the same message over and over again. We ignored it since we had more important issues to deal with but we speculated it was probably a SOS signal but it went for so long probably no one survived. We couldn't compare it to anything at that time, until a few days ago. When the UEG Ships arrived, we detected very similar signals between their ships which led us to believe that the signal that we detected months ago is actually a SOS signal of their warship."

"Granted it is definitely from the War they had against the Sangheili over 30 years ago but the opportunity to learn more about their technology and more important encryption is still there, if we had those encryption codes, we could probably crack the newer ones in close to a year." He finished, he gave Palpatine the information he wanted, the information he needed to plan his way.

"Contact Navy command, have them send a ship there, strip the wreck for everything and bring the wreck back for examining." Said Palpatine and the officer nodded and walked out. Palpatine turned back to look out of his window, a small smile appearing on his face, he would figure out how to deal with them, it was only a matter of time.

Space, UNSC Forward unto Dawn, September 12th 2563

"Mayday, mayday. This is UNSC FFG-201 Forward Unto Dawn, requesting immediate evac. Survivors aboard. Prioritization code Victor 5-3-Sierra-117."

Drifting for over 30 years, she was drifting for over 30 years with nothing to do but send the same stupid fucking message all the time, 30 years with no response or help, all she could do was think, think and think some more. There were times she wanted to wake up Chief to talk to him to have something to do, but she knew she couldn't. Some 2 decades ago or a bit longer she couldn't really recall anymore, she started to enter rampancy. She almost killed Chief a few years ago but stopped herself at the last moment. She had to save him, he risked his life for her many times and she would not forget it.

She had to hold out for long enough to save him, she just had to. She detected a object, a ship approaching them, she didn't recognize the IFF, it couldn't be the UNSC or the Covenant, it had to be someone else, and they wanted to take chief, she couldn't allow that. 'Wake me if you need me' he said, she needed him now more then ever. She started the process of pulling chief out of cryo while the ship got closer and closer.

He finally awoke and walked out of his pod. "I missed you chief" she said with a smile on her face. Chief approached the Access port asking "What's the situation?" she frowned a bit and jokingly said "Not even a hi or hello?" Chief simply said "Cortana" and she went back to business her avatar flicking a bit. "We have a ship approaching us, I can't recognize the IFF" Chief hearing that picked Cortana's chip and put it in his helmet Cortana saying "I missed this so much"

Chief grabbed his MA5C from where he left it and let Cortana lead him to a viewport. While walking there he asked her "How long?" Cortana stayed silent for a while before saying "30 years" Chief slowed down for a while before regaining his pace, he knew what this meant for Cortana he knew but he was too attached to her to just let her go like that, he would find a way to save her.

When they arrived at the viewport, they saw a wedge-shaped ship approaching them with a yellow circle that was being encompassed by red on its hull. The ship was close enough that it extended a docking port. "Chief, we have to initialize Cole Protocol, we can't allow them to find out the location of earth or get their hands, tentacles or whatever on our tech" Chief knew he had to do it "Which way to the bridge?" shortly after that he started running to the bridge to prepare the countdown for the reactor to explode.

Once they arrived at the bridge Chief put Cortana into the port next to the captain's chair. Cortana's avatar appeared, "Not good chief, the reactor is too low on power, I can't initialize the self-destruct protocol, we will have to find another way to destroy the dawn also we got company incoming, they are currently in the Armory, Cryo-bay Engine Room and are about to enter the Bridge in 30 seconds" hearing that chief grabbed Cortana's chip put it in his helmet and prepared for a fight with these unknowns.

After the 30 seconds have passed, 5 individuals in white armor with blue markings entered the bridge flashlights turned on and weapons lowered. A huge mistake because soon Chief was behind them, knife in hand and 5 aliens threatening humanity. Before they even realized what happened 2 clones lay dead on the ground and when the other 3 turned around, they saw a giant in green armor holding a knife in hand staring right at them.

Clones were known for many things, being disciplined soldier, being some of the best fighters in the galaxy but what they were not known for was fear. Well now they were scared for their lives not even holding out again the onslaught of droids was comparable to this. Before they could lift their weapons at the giant he charged at them again, slashing across one of the clones throat and then ramming his knife into the other one and going for the last one hitting him hard enough that his chest got squashed.

In his dying moments the clone saw the giant pick up his knife run out of the room and run down the hallway they came from. Chief was running to the armory to get as much ammo and grenades as he could, he would need it for the crazy plan that Cortana had in mind. It wouldn't be long for the aliens to realize someone was on here and was killing their men so he had to be fast in getting there and getting what he needed.

When he got there he found 10 enemies either holding a weapon and examining it or carrying a crate full of them. He didn't have the element of surprise on his side anymore so he grabbed his rifle and opened fire. 2 fell dead as chief fired with deadly precision. One of the remaining enemies was lucky enough to score a hit on chief and Cortana informed chief that his shields went down by 10%.

While Chief was dispatching enemies with deadly precision and one by one, they fell dead on the ground, he noticed how his HUD was flickering and rapidly changing from red to blue, he would ask her if she is feeling well after he was done with the remaining 3. When he shot the last enemy he went over to the racks and grabbed magazines grenades and a Battle rifle. While he was doing all that he asked "Cortana are you doing alright?" there was a short pause before she spoke up "7 years, 7 years is the life time of an AI, I have been active for over 33 years chief, it's a miracle I didn't think myself to death yet, but its only a matter of time"

Chief felt sad for her "Don't say that Cortana, we will find a way to help you" there was another short pause "Don't make a girl a promise you know you can't keep" she said and it stuck with him. But they had a task to do, they had to prevent the Aliens from capturing and studying UNSC tech and they somehow needed to get back to the UNSC…if there still was a UNSC to get back to. It was 30 years after all, they might have been destroyed by the flood and for all they knew they could be the remnants of the UNSC.

Chief was running to the docking socket, the aliens had to realize someone was killing their people by this point so chief held a BR at the ready just in case there were some guarding the socket. And there were, 2 standing in their white armor. 2 Short bursts to the head dealt with them. Chief ran down the docking tube where he caught another group carrying another crate, this one was full of electronic equipment from the Forward Unto Dawn he had to hurry if he wanted to enforce Cole protocol.

Exiting the docking tube on the enemy ship he found it very grey and dull, he also found 2 people patrolling the area, he dealt with them very fast. He was about to keep on going and look for a terminal to plug Cortana into when she said "Hold it chief, remove their Helmets" he did as she said. What surprised him was that they looked like a copy of themselves and that they were humans. "Just as I suspected, Clones" he heard Cortana say. This changed nothing however, he still had a mission to accomplish.

After a few minutes of running he found a terminal where to put Cortana into. Her avatar appeared on the terminal "I got the map, we need to get up to the bridge, there we will be able to send our SOS message further then with the Dawns communication suite, and we will be able to force this ship to stay in system as to prevent them from studying our tech" Chief nodded and took Cortana back into his helmet where she showed him a flickering waypoint, he then went on his way. No sooner than he did, a alarm started blasting throughout the ship, this would make the job a bit harder.

"We have to hurry chief" he heard Cortana say while he was running to an elevator. Once he arrived there the elevator was in use, probably carrying a squad of those clones, and he was right, 4 of them were cut down by Chiefs MA5C before they could even get out of the elevator. Chief got in and let Cortana pick the floor they were going to.

"Send the SOS immediately, tell them we need reinforcements." Yelled the captain, "That thing is almost here, send more men to the defense positions!" yelled a young ensign. Clones rushed past them heading to the hallway that the green giant was coming from. Soon the bridge crew heard screams and then silence followed by the hissing of the door opening and the shots of a slugthrower rang out on the bridge killing everyone.

"Everyone is dead chief, bring me to a terminal" said Cortana and chief complied. Soon he heard her send out their SOS signal, "Mayday, mayday. This is UNSC FFG-201 Forward Unto Dawn, requesting immediate evac. Survivors aboard. Prioritization code Victor 5-3-Sierra-117. We made contact with unknown Aliens, we cannot execute Cole protocol, I repeat, we cannot execute Cole protocol"

And after she did that she said to chief, we got company coming chief, hold them off while I try and clear the rest of the ship. And so chief got ready for another fight. Wave after Wave he dispatched the clones, some getting a few lucky shots on him, 1 even went through his shield and hit his black suit burning him. Each time Cortana informing him about a new wave coming only a few minutes away. After the 6th wave he run out of ammo and had to pick up one of their weapons which he found rather inaccurate compared to UNSC weapons.

After the 10th wave he got a small break when Cortana closed down the bridge and it would take time before they could cut through it. "What are we fighting Cortana?" he asked and got an answer "I don't know Chief, but I know they are using clones, but that doesn't make sense, too expensive to produce and maintain" he nodded "What about their weapons?" "Some sort of gas, I can't tell you anything more besides don't get hit, they pack a punch" he nodded to her answer.

He walked over to one of the corpses and grabbed a new rifle while also grabbing something that looked like a grenade, if he was honest it looked like an inferior plasma grenade, but he couldn't complain as long as it exploded and killed his enemies. "Anyone responded yet Cortana?" "No chief, no one yet, I am starting to fear that they might not hear us" he frowned a bit "Don't worry, the UNSC would never abandon us" she stayed silent on that remark.

"Heads up chief, the clones on the other side are almost through and have more dangerous weaponry with them." Said cortana to chief who went ahead to see what was in store for him, and from the looks of it the Clones have set up a Heavy machinegun on the other side to help them in finally killing him. "Guess the grenades will come in handy sooner rather then later" and with that he ran for cover to dispatch another wave of enemies. One after another they fell dead, either from their own weapons now in the hands of the Spartan or from well thrown grenades or even Chiefs knife if they came close enough.

The bodies started piling up high enough to provide cover for a normal human, something the clones were taking advantage of when they were fought Chief, something disturbing for any onlooker but something not so surprising in war. While Chief was fighting off the clones, Cortana was looking through the records found on this ship, looking at its star charts, weapons, sensors etc. she found that they were close to the pre Human-Covenant War Human borders, so if the UNSC was still around they had to hear their SOS signal and help as on its way.

She almost celebrated when the sensors of the ship picked up a incoming contact but the realization dawned on her that these were the enemy reinforcements from their SOS signal. "Chief, enemy reinforcements arrived!" she yelled out to Chief who was finishing up the remaining clones. And after he did, he rushed over to Cortana and saw the same kind of ship approaching. This wasn't good, Spartans were good, very good, maybe even the best fighters in the galaxy, but even they had limits. Cortana for the first time in her life did something that was illogical for an AI to do and unheard off. She prayed for the UNSC to show up and save them.

Whatever deity was watching them and having fun had mercy on them as a Slipspace portal opened, then another and another followed by 11 more. A Very large ship came out of the first one and rammed the enemy reinforcements, cutting it in half. Cortana and Chief head "Sierra-117, this is Vice-Admiral Cutter of the UNSC Jeanne D'arc together with taskforce 58, we got your SOS signal, prepare for extraction" once Chief heard that he grabbed Cortana's chip and put it in his helmet and ran to the hangar bay that Cortana opened.

Running to the Hangar they encountered a few more squads but dealt with them quickly. When they entered the Hangar, they found Marines standing guard around 2 pelicans and some were setting up a bomb along the walls, they also noticed the bodies of clones on the ground in the hangar and could still hear shots going on. When the marines saw them a single one approached Chief. "Master Chief, I am Sergeant Miller, we are almost done setting up the bomb, get in the Pelican, it will take you to the Jeanne, the Admiral wants to speak with you" Chief nodded and took a seat in the Pelican that took him to the Ship he saw earlier.

The Pelican flew lazily away from the Alien ship he caught the glimpse of the Dawn, the ship that kept him and Cortana safe for the last 30 years. When they landed in the Hangar bay of the Jeanne, they found it to be relatively small for a ship its size but they got led to the bridge where Vice-Admiral Cutter was waiting for them. "Master Chief, it's a honor and a relief to see you in one piece" said Cutter as he looked at chief who replied with a simple "Thank you sir"

"Now you may not know this Master Chief and I cant blame you for it, but your actions while fully Supported by the UNSC for following protocol, will probably cause tension between the UEG and the government that that ship belongs to. But that is for the politicians to deal with, I called you here for another reason. I need you to hand over Cortana to me" said Cutter and Chief didn't like it, he didn't want to hand over Cortana, and Cutter knew it so he assured chief "Don't worry, nothing will happen to her, I need her in a blackbox for the duration of our trip back to UEG Space where the eggheads will fix her for you" he said with a open arm for chief to put Cortana's chip into.

Chief at first didn't want to hand her over, but he finally did, it was for the best, for her. Cutter then Turned around and said "Jeanne, detonate the Nuke as soon as we are a safe distance away from the ship, Helm, take us back to UEG Space" Chief heard a female voice probably the ships AI and the Helm respond with "Yes admiral" and they soon were on their way back to Human space with the Dawn and the Alien ship destroyed, keeping their technology secret.

Cutter turned to Chief and said "Get some rest soldier, you deserved it" and then got back to commanding the ship.

Thanks for reading this chapter, I promise next one will be longer I am writing this at 5am and I just want to finish this and go to sleep.

Till next time.