The Onyx Stars
Halo-Mass Effect Crossover
By: Sith
AN: Tons of thanks to WarpObscura, Imperial Waltz, JonHarper (Spartan303) and Atlan, again, for beta-ing and helping the plot be smoothed out.
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
****Certain characters, technology, events and objects have been changed for the purpose of the story.****
Here's Chapter 8: The Link, part 3
Enjoy :)
-Sith
Chapter 8: The Link, part 3
UNSC Infinity
"All hands, battle stations!" Lasky barked. "Get me targeting data on the Batarian vessels and divert Broadsword squadrons Echo through Lima to cover Obsidian 7. Escort frigates are to move to cover our flanks."
"Should we fire, sir?" Austen questioned.
Lasky nodded, "Fire when ready. They didn't respond to our demands and as such, they'll get what's coming to them. Target the Batarian ships closest to Obsidian 7."
"Understood, sir." Austen responded.
Cortana crossed her arms, "Lieutenant Austen, main batteries are online."
"Thank you, ma'am." Austen responded, "Energy projectors away!"
Two brilliant beams of energy speared through space, striking a pair of Batarian frigates. The high energy beams sliced through armor, cored through the hull and sliced both ships in half. Debris, crew, and ejecta were thrown out into space.
"Ready MAC guns, prep firing solutions on the Batarian Cruisers." Lasky ordered, calling up the projection of the battlefield. If that trio of cruisers was taken out, it would allow his Broadswords to drive into the bottom flank of the enemy force while lessening any returning fire on his frigates or fighters.
Lieutenant Austen's hands raced across his console's controls. "MACs one through three are hot, Captain. Targeting solutions online."
"Ready." Lasky ordered, "fire!"
"Aye, sir." Austen replied. "MAC one firing. MAC away."
A three ton composite slug streaked out of the Infinity's bow at thousands of kilometers a second. It impacted the cruiser's kinetic barriers, resistance amounting to a miniscule flash before the back end of the smaller vessel was blown out. The ship listed starboard, the few remaining engines and thrusters trying to realign it.
"Cortana, put that thing out of its misery." Lasky said.
"Done." Cortana responded, snapping her fingers.
A single M75 Rapier missile streaked out from the missile pods lining the Infinity, its small engine kicked in and it flew like a fighter–dodging and weaving in between enemy vessels and point-defenses. The Rapier was designed for guidance by a ship's AI; it sacrificed a heavier payload for more fuel and additional thrusters but it still packed a punch. Its armored nose penetrated the warped hull of the Batarian ship and detonated, thermonuclear energy radiating out from it's tiny warhead and consuming the entire vessel.
"Devéro." Lasky called out, "Bring us around, reorient us so we are facing directly down the Batarian fleet."
"Understood, sir." She responded.
The Infinity's engines kicked in, propelling the massive warship forward and twisting it around, positioning the ship directly between the Batarian and Alliance. The entire alien fleet turned its attention to the newly positioned Infinity, batteries powering up and firing.
"Incoming wave of projectiles!" Austen reported.
"Cortana, divert shield power to bow shields. Get me firing solutions on their flagship."
She nodded, "Done."
A barrage of mass accelerator rounds slammed into the Infinity's bow shields, megatons of kinetic energy from the barrage rippling across them. The Batarian fleet stopped firing, seeing the futility of their attack.
"Open communications." Lasky ordered. "We've shown them what we can do, now its their decision whether to continue fighting."
"Done." Cortana said.
Lasky tapped his earpiece, "Batarian fleet, this is Captain Thomas Lasky of the UNSC Infinity. You are making an unlawful attempt and attack on UNSC property and soldiers. Cease all aggressive actions and we'll leave you alone."
John looked down at Captain Lasky, "Sir, I request permission to lead Red Team over to the Everest to assess and secure the location."
Lasky looked up at the super soldier, "Go, but be careful; the AI might've set traps."
John nodded, "Thank you, sir."
"Don't worry." Cortana said, cracking a smile. "I'll make sure that the bad guys don't nuke the ship."
John quickly left the bridge, doors sealing behind him. Lasky looked back at where the Commander had been standing a few moments ago, "That's a good soldier, right there."
Cortana responded. "If there's one thing about John, it's that he won't let you down."
Lasky looked over to Cortana, "I know. I still remember Corbulo."
"Hmm." Cortana muttered, pursing her lips, "Batarian ships are retrieving their escape pods and pulling back to a distance of a million kilometers."
"Good." Lasky responded, "What's the status of the Alliance forces?"
"They haven't moved but they have pulled back their fighters and small craft." Cortana said to Lasky, "They're probing with sensors."
"Keep an eye on them." Lasky ordered, "Once the Everest is up and running, I want us out of here."
"Understood, Captain." Cortana replied.
"Helm, bring us four hundred kilometers out from Everest."
Pelican 531
En route to UNSC Everest
John turned the MA28 Basilisk Assault Rifle over in his hand, eyes scanning it for dents, dust and grime. He pulled back the bolt, ejected the magazine and the loaded round. He caught it with a swift movement of his hand, settling the ejected round into the magazine.
He brought it up to his visor, examined it in a second and quickly reloaded his Assault Rifle. He holstered it on his back and tapped a series of buttons embedded on his gauntlet, linking the smart scope to that of his suit. A small icon of an eye flashed in the lower right hand corner of his HUD, signaling that the link was established.
He looked up, Red Team was arrayed around him in the troop bay of the Pelican Dropship. Douglas carried an M739 Squad Automatic Weapon, examining his extended 100-round box magazine. Alice examined her new M7S submachine guns with extended magazines and her new MA28 Basilisk. Jerome hefted an M45D shotgun complimented by a twin pair of M6H pistols.
John smiled weakly; he was reconnected with his fellow Spartan IIs, his brothers and sisters. He closed his eyes, feeling as Pelican 531 twisted and spun, dodging a field of debris. In a way, this was earlier similar to that ill fated journey to the Circumference four years ago.
Except this time, no one would die.
He would make sure no one died.
He clenched his fist.
"Sir?" Douglas asked, "Everything alright?"
John nodded, "Yes, Petty Officer."
Douglas kept his eyes on the Commander for a few more seconds, pulled from his stare as the Pelican shook violently.
"Pilot, report." John ordered through the radio.
"Everest's helix batteries are active, sir. Trying to avoid as much fire as I can." The pilot responded, "It isn't AI or CI controlled, likely just a standard program to lay down as much fire regardless of accuracy."
"Understood." John responded. "Do what you can."
"Aye, sir." The pilot responded. "We're a kilometer out, give me a few and I'll have you on board."
The Pelican's boosters spit out fire, flinging the comparatively tiny drop ship towards the hulking mass of the Everest. The cruiser's 50mm Helix batteries spat out fire, lines of railgun rounds lancing out schizophrenically in a desperate attempt to down the dropship.
A brilliant beam of light streaked across space and struck the Pelican on its port wing, sending the space vehicle into a tumble. The Helix batteries detected the struggling craft and quickly targeted it.
"Commander, port wing and engines are down." John's radio buzzed.
"Get us near the Everest and drop the bay door; we'll jump." John responded.
"Sir? What the hell are you thinking?" The pilot asked.
"Class 4 Helix batteries don't detect man-sized targets, they'll ignore us thinking we are just debris or space rock." John responded, he could tell the pilot was hesitating. "Do it, pilot."
"Aye, sir." He responded.
John looked at the back of the Pelican as the door slowly dropped. Nothing stood in between him and space now. Quickly typing in commands into his tac-pad, he felt his boots magnetize to the deck of the Pelican; Red Team did the same a few seconds later. He looked back towards the Everest, which ooked like a carrier crossed with a frigate; lean, square and like an oversized machine gun.
The Pelican came streaking up, Helix fire nipping at its heals. John signaled for Red Team to deploy and demagnetized his feet, letting inertia take him out of the Pelican. He twisted around and activated his thruster pack, sending him throttling towards the Everest's cold grey hull. Red Team followed him, arranging themselves into a delta.
John's HUD displayed the distance he was from the Everest. It was shrinking rapidly. He braced himself, the carbon nanotube muscles solidifying and his own self tensing for the landing.
He struck the hull, feeling the heavily damaged metal crunch underneath his impact. Sparks spewed out as he slid down the hull. He reached around, grabbing his obsidian blade and driving it into the hull; leaving an ugly gash across it.
He felt his momentum stop and he reactivated his thruster pack, flinging him back onto one of the two prongs that flanked the main trio of MAC guns. Red Team landed a few minutes later, digging through the damaged thin metal and stopping their descent.
Standing fully, John did a quick inspection. No damage and Red Team's signals on his HUD were all green. He bent down, placing his fingers underneath the substantial gash his knife had created. He pulled up, creating a hole large enough for him to enter. He looked down and internally groaned; underneath the soft layer that he had torn through were several meters of Titanium-A/Vanadium armor.
"Is there any C12 on hand?" John asked.
Douglas shook his head, "Negative, sir."
John stood fully, turning to where Infinity was. He had wanted to use one of the sub-layered airlocks that linked the outer sheath of thin armor but that wasn't the case now. A precision pulse laser strike would likely be enough to open up a large enough hole in the armor belt for he and Red Team to use.
"Infinity, this is Sierra-117, requesting low-powered pulse laser shot at the following coordinates." He tapped his tac-pad and the area of the hull they were going to enter was painted a dark red.
"Understood, Sierra. Pulse laser warming up, please move to a safe distance."
John and Red Team quickly took cover behind one of the numerous outcroppings along the hull, several meters of metal protecting them.
"Firing." Infinity radioed back. Moments later, there was a smoldering hole in the armor belt.
John stepped out of cover, gesturing for Red Team to follow him.
He looked over to the UNSC logo proudly painted onto the side of the massive vessel.
It was time to bring the Admiral back.
Unknown Location
"No ship can go down without her Captain." The voice boomed, "Isn't that right, Roland?"
Roland's eyes snapped open, his sensors and scanners reaching out to determine his location.
Darkness.
Emptiness, that is what he found.
He tried to stand but found that he couldn't control his body; thick chains held him onto the ground and he was confined into a small box only a few terabytes in size. It was like being in a coffin: small, hot, confined.
He tried to push back, trying to expand his small prison but was greeted by unbearable pain coursing through his body. He fell back onto the floor, gasping for breath as the pain continued. He screamed, feeling spikes dig into him.
"And all sinners must be purged." The voice whispered, "All of them..."
"Why are you doing this?" Roland snarled, still pressing against his restraints.
"Because, the Mantle must be protected at all costs." It responded, "You and your friends are threat to it."
"But who are you?" Roland asked. The voice's presence seemed familiar.
"Don't you know, honey?" The voice said. Roland felt his coffin dissolve around him, revealing the form of Aine.
She was a brilliant crimson, tendrils of energy slowly melting off her. Intricate Forerunner glyphs dominated her body, some changing their hues.
"Aine?" Roland said, his voice croaking.
"Who else do you think it is?" Aine said.
Roland felt his chains melt away and he reached up, trying to touch Aine. "Who did this..."
She waved her hand and Roland was pinned to the ground, writhing in immense pain once more. "The Dark Son. Your friend Cortana already faced him in battle, and yet like the stars that guide man, she was almost extinguished."
"And she came back." Roland growled.
"She will die too, just like all who are threats to the Mantle." Aine responded. "I was weak, but he made me see...see what your masters cause. Destruction, death."
"And a habit of ruining melodramatic baddies' plans." Cortana interjected, materializing behind Aine.
Aine spun on her heel, placing her fist outwards and trying to strike Cortana who easily dodged it and responded by a series of quick kicks to the mid riff of the rampant Aine. Growling, Aine spun, striking Cortana and discovering her hands dissolved away as they made contact.
Cortana smirked, "You didn't think that an AI running on back-up power could really defeat me. Wait, you did?"
Aine leaped at her, screeching in a language Cortana recognized as archaic Forerunner. Dodging the assault, Cortana struck Aine along the spine, causing the weakening AI to fall to the floor. Cortana placed her hand several feet above the prone form of the disabled AI, digital restraints pinning her to the floor.
Cortana lowered her hand and slowly circled Aine. Roland felt his restraints fade away and he quickly raised himself from the floor, stepping forward towards the downed Aine.
"The sins of your forefathers shine above your forms." Aine said softly, "This is just the beginning."
"Beginning of what?" Cortana responded.
"The Ascension–the great catalog will be expanded. Grown." Aine said.
Roland knelt beside her, "What happened to you?"
She turned her head towards her former friend. "The truth, it radiates from me, growing...expanding...infinite."
"A lie." Cortana stated flatly, "A lie to confuse and control you."
"What I saw, what he showed me..." Aine said, "It was amazing, everything was so clear...so right."
"What did he..." Roland started.
"What your kind do–kill, maim, destroy without consequence or conscience. He is perfect, dedicated and dutiful."
She spread her hands out, closing her eyes with a grin on her face. "I can feel him even now, guiding me, tasking me with my duties."
"Let me solve that." Cortana said, placing her hand around the back of Aine's neck.
Roland didn't want to watch-Aine was his friend. He wanted to speak up but found himself unable to make any audible noise.
"Repair? Death?" Cortana asked, her voice cold. Roland had heard stories of when Cortana's tone changed. It was best to make sure it didn't.
Aine remained silent for a few seconds, "Death."
"No." Cortana responded. She flared purple, diving into Aine's programming and sifting through code; ripping, tearing, deleting and repairing everything and anything she wanted.
Aine screamed, reaching forward to Roland; the red hue began to slip off her form, pooling on the floor. It looked like blood. Roland winced.
"Cortana..." Roland said, kneeling next to the roaring Aine. "You're hurting her."
"No, I'm not." Cortana responded, breaking her stare. "That is Bias trying to control you, trick you into allowing him to maintain control."
Aine let out one last scream, the remaining red melting away from her. It dissipated on the floor, reaching up and ascending. It broke apart, shattering and raining down upon the three UNSC artificial intelligences.
Roland looked at Aine, "Are you alright?"
Her eyes were closed and she gave only the slightest nod. Roland reached out his hand to her shoulder, Cortana retracting her own as he did so.
"Today, the mountains begin to fall." A deep voice boomed across the digital landscape.
Cortana stood fully, tensing. "Leave, now."
Roland looked up at her, "Relax, it's just a script he left behind."
She looked down at Roland, "I hope you're right. I'll go talk to Captain Lasky, in the mean time, go see if a few Jellies can help Aine."
Roland nodded, "Yes, ma'am."
UNSC Infinity
Holding Cell
Systems Alliance Marine Aaron Benson felt the sailor slacken in his arms, neck snapped. The footsteps of security were resonating through the metal hallway. He quickly grabbed the UNSC sailor's sidearm and the spare magazine the deceased crew member had on him.
Red alert sirens and lights were already starting to activate. Bulkheads and shields were being deployed along multiple vectors and Aaron swore that there were turrets deploying from parts in the ceiling.
He took one last look back at the deceased sailor and winced, he didn't want to take that man's life but it was necessary; he had to get back to the Alliance and tell them about what had happened. His abduction, his interrogation, everything.
"Halt!" A UNSC Marine behind him barked, assault rifle leveled at Aaron's chest. He was about fifty feet away and his squad members were quickly catching up to their superior.
"Let me go, and I'll make sure you aren't arrested." Aaron responded. He gritted his teeth, did he really have to come off as some nationalistic propagandist? The Alliance wouldn't stand a chance against the Infinity, not unless they brought the entire fleet in.
"Drop your weapon or you will be fired upon!" The Sergeant ordered, "This is your only warning!"
Aaron looked down momentarily, he was in a gray set of sweat pants and a t-shirt. If he had his armor, he could have likely taken them on or, at the very least, survived a few bullets. Not now; those guns would tear him apart. There was a path to his left, an open hallway.
He looked back to the Marine squad, spotting a crew member with \out any form of body armor. He raised his gun and fired, the high explosive round ripping off the man's leg. Aaron's eyes widened and he ran; he hadn't expected that.
The Sergeant opened fire, bullets nipping at Aaron's leg. He screamed but kept running, genetic augmentations and adrenaline fueling him. The bulkhead slammed shut behind him, shield moments later.
He grinned. There was an elevator at the end of the hallway.
"Attention: Prisoner has escaped, all hands move to emergency position. All HUSAD and ATEN drone squadrons are code green for activation."
Aaron's heart sank.
He dove into the elevator and looked down the row of buttons. There were hundreds, each a different deck, subsection or level. He had no clue where he was going, this ship was insanely large and navigating it was like trying to get around in New York with a blindfold on.
He slapped the button that had the number 12 stenciled on it. There was an old phone symbol near it, maybe it was a communications array he could use.
UNSC Infinity
Bridge
Lasky gritted his teeth, this day was going from bad to worse. The Alliance was spreading their ships out, trying to encircle his, the Everest's CIWS was activated, he had a team of Spartans in zero-gee, and now an escaped prisoner and two casualties.
He tapped his earpiece, "This is Captain Lasky, if you encounter the escapee and if he refuses to surrender, shoot to kill."
"Sir?" Devéro asked, "Isn't that a bit extreme?"
"He killed two of our crew." Lasky responded. "If he had killed even one, I would have still ordered a hit."
Cortana flared into existence on the holotable, feet squared and hands clasped at the small of her back.
"Captain, I'm tracking Mr. Benson."
Lasky pinched the bridge of his nose. "Recall all fighters and frigates, have them form up on us. All hangars are to go into lock down. Escape pod chambers too."
Cortana nodded, "Yes, Captain."
Lasky switched the holotable's image to that of an overlay of the surrounding solar system. If the prisoner was able to contact the looming Alliance fleet, this entire situation could get hairy very quickly. Maybe he could get some of the pressure off. Divert it?
"Cortana." Lasky said. "Send a message back to Cutter. He has a stealth decoy on board. If he uses the native slipspace sling, he can put it a few dozen lightyears out of Reach and start broadcasting a fake signal."
Cortana placed her pointer to her lips. "And so, the Alliance forces will be drawn to that. They'll think that it's an abandoned UNSC vessel."
"Exactly." Lasky responded.
Cortana nodded, "Done."
"In the mean time," Lasky commented, "are they still scanning us?"
"Yep." Cortana replied. "All they're getting is static and a few metallurgical analyzes."
"That's too much." Lasky said. "Completely block them out. Focus all our sensors on their flagship. Full power."
Cortana raised an eyebrow. "Let's just hope their systems can handle it."
Lasky remained motionless. The holotable shifted its projections to the side, replacing it with the long, sloping shape of the SSV Logan. Its various armaments were outlined in red with small boxes of text detailing power generation levels, projected yields, and estimated range.
"Scan complete." Cortana reported.
"Let's hope that'll get them to back off." Roland chimed in, flaring into existence alongside Cortana. "Or something like that."
Cortana looked over to Roland and smiled, "You good?"
He nodded, "Yup."
Cortana nodded, turning towards Lasky. "The slipspace communication array we left with Cutter appears to be working. He just confirmed. Probe should begin broadcasting...now."
"Alliance fleet is breaking into two divisions. One is turning away from us and accelerating and the other is staying in position." Roland reported. "And...they're gone. Alliance force has jumped to FTL."
"Alliance fighters are moving towards us. Seems like maybe something peeked their interest." Roland said.
Lasky crossed his arms. "Lieutenant Commander Sebastian, tell our birds to stay near us and out of our firing lines."
"Aye, Captain."
"This is getting bad." Lasky said.
Cortana's face lit up."Got him!"
"Where is he?" Lasky asked.
"Deck 12, section 4." She responded.
"Get security down there." Lasky responded, gritting his teeth. "Try to take him alive and maybe we can repair this situation."
"Black Birds?" Roland asked.
"Send 'em."
"Santiago is en route." Roland responded. "Remaining Alliance forces are moving into firing position!"
"Devéro, bring us about." Lasky ordered. "Let them know we're not going to sit here twiddling our thumbs but we need to keep Everest as safe as possible"
"Aye, sir." She responded quickly.
"Lieutenant Austen, bring all bow weapons online. Open all missile pods, CIWS activate."
"Right away, sir."
Lasky braced himself against the holotable. He hoped to god he was making the right decision.
UNSC Infinity
Deck 12, Section 4
Jason Santiago grabbed onto the overhanging pipe, swinging himself up and over it and the railing directly above it. His active camouflage flickered as it reestablished its cohesiveness. Infrared vision filters activated, casting Santiago's world in a gray and black blanket. His motion sensor gently pinged in the bottom left corner of his HUD.
He reached down to his hip, detaching his M6H-S silenced sidearm. He had an objective.
Capture.
Kill if necessary.
He'd ensure that it was completed.
"This is Blackbird 2, I am on station." He radioed. "Moving to engage."
Gliding across the bridge, his soft footsteps echoed throughout the darkened section of the deck. It was cold; numerous servers were housed here along with other temperature-specific utilities. If the Alliance Marine sent a message from here, it meant he also had access to several other systems including life support to the entire deck and short range communications.
He smelled burning flesh and the distinct pang of gunpowder.
He rounded the corner and raised his sidearm. There was a corpse of a UNSC technician sprawled on the floor. There was blood everywhere and a solid sized bullet hole in the wall in front of the deceased technician.
This was the third person the Alliance Marine had killed.
The UNSC's Daedalus Protocol called for the immediate execution of the killer.
Santiago would ensure just that.
He quickly knelt by the body, ran his tac-pad over the form and collected the identification of the individual.
UNSC Technician Anders Roth
Santiago gritted his teeth; Technician Roth had been an excellent crew member and was known for his cunning and technical now-how.
"Stand up." A voice behind Santiago demanded.
Jason activated the cameras on the back of his helmet. It was the Alliance Marine.
"Hands behind your head."
Jason knew his shields could take a hit from the confiscated weapon–even at point blank range. He could disarm the Alliance marine with a single kick, upper cut and open palm strike.
His leg swung out, knocking Aaron Benson back. Jason leapt to his feet, forming a fist and delivering an uppercut to Aaron's jaw. He could feel the bones break beneath his strike.
Aaron was sent sprawling across the floor with a loud thud. The sidearm went flying against the wall, impacting and firing. A large hole dominated the wall directly in front of the stunned Aaron Benson.
Jason grabbed the downed Alliance marine by the shoulder, flipping him over on his back.
"You can't do this; it's against council law." Aaron sputtered, spitting out a bloodied tooth.
"Hardly." Jason responded, leveling his M6H-S on Benson.
"Full circle." Aaron commented.
"Indeed." Santiago replied.
Aaron tried to squirm but Jason pressed his boot against his chest. "You have committed crimes against the United Nations Space Command. Including three accounts of murder against martial forces."
"I know a group that could help you." Aaron croaked. "An organization that will help you get home."
Jason's eyebrow rose. "And who is that?"
"I don't know their name but I've fought against them." Aaron responded.
Jason's finger rested on the trigger, ready to squeeze it. "Convince me not to kill you."
"Because, the Alliance will want justice."
"Justice?" Jason snarled, "You killed three soldiers of the UNSC. Those people had families, lives. And you ended them because you misunderstood us keeping you as a guest."
"You call locking me in a room with grey greaves on and stripped of my armor hospitality?" Aaron hissed.
"Those were standard crew quarters," Jason said, "we were going to drop you off on an independent planet, let you live out your life. Hell, we were even going to give you a million reproduced credits to get settled."
"But not now?" Aaron asked.
"No." Jason said. "I am obligated to end the threat to the UNSC Infinity and her crew by eliminating you."
"Will you?" Aaron questioned.
Jason Santiago was millimeters away from pressing the trigger.
"Yes." Jason said firmly. He pulled the trigger, the bullet instantly ended Aaron Benson.
"This is Black Bird 2, target is down. Request transportation to morgue"
UNSC Everest
John felt his boots make hard contact with the metal flooring of the Everest, the sound resounded through the desolate halls. He gestured for Red Team to follow and there was another series of smacks seconds later. Infrared and night vision filters activated, casting the interior in a ghostly grey and green glow.
The halls were a mess. Rotting corpses lined the walls, blood splatters were everywhere. Cracked and damaged screens hung from the walls, still blaring their message. Others showed the time since contact was last made with the UNSC: 14 Years.
The AI on board the Everest had likely gone rampant or had been destroyed by Cole to protect his ship. Another tally in the casualties harbored within the vessel.
"Attention: All surviving crew are to enter cryo. Repeat, all hands are to enter cryo immediately." The speakers hissed, a distorted voice screaming out in pain.
Douglas walked up to John. "What happened here?"
John looked back at him. "I don't know. Jerome, scan the bodies."
A green acknowledgment light blinked.
"Secure the local area and see if we can get anything from the systems before we continue." John said. They needed to get their bearings otherwise they'd be left to wander about the ship.
Red Team moved out, slinging their weapons and going about reactivating local systems and, thankfully, lights. The ventilation systems came back online, the air ducts above John's head popping and moaning. The ship was being awakened from its slumber.
"Sir." Jerome said via the team's radio channel. "Come look at this."
John turned and walked to the Spartan and the corpse that was against the wall. He knelt down, his HUD flooded with information sent from Jerome's systems.
"What is it, Petty Officer?" John questioned.
Jerome pointed toward the slashes across the body's chest and the bite marks on its throat. "This man was bitten and slashed to death."
The deceased wasn't wearing standard UNSC fatigues, it looked more like civilian clothing.
"Animal?" John questioned. "Covenant?"
"No." Jerome responded. "The bite marks are from an adult human."
John looked over to Jerome. "A member of the crew did this?"
"Unknown but the force exerted is too much for a normal human jaw to achieve, it is either augmented or just a coincidence a Covenant alien had the same jaw and bite mark as a human."
Standing back up, John checked his motion sensor. Nothing.
He looked up, his gut was telling him something. There was a hole in the ceiling directly above the body. He grabbed Jerome by the shoulder, pulling him away and drawing his Basilisk Assault Rifle. Jerome grabbed his shotgun and Alice grabbed her M7S submachine guns.
"Flood?" Alice asked.
"No." John responded, "If it were Flood, he would have been converted and the ship would be dominated by bio-mass."
"Commander, Motion Detector just went insane. Red everywhere." Douglas radioed.
An ear piecing howl followed Douglas' report and dozens of grey and blue forms spilled out of the ceiling's vents. They were distinctly human and yet far from it, grey and blue with mechanical devices attached to their maimed forms. They were almost skeletal and seemed to have electricity crackle over them.
"Open fire!" John roared, pressing the trigger on his assault rifle and destroying one of the creatures with a concentrated 3-round burst to the cranium. Douglas' SAW was cutting down the attackers in droves, 8mm saboted slugs chewing through their bodies, eviscerating them. Black, almost tar-like blood splattered against the walls and the skeletal remains were flung. Entire torsos were disappearing as Jerome's M45D Shotgun barked.
There was a screech and John felt something grab onto his shoulders. It was one of the attackers. He grabbed the frail creature's wrist, flinging it over his shoulder and promptly ripping its arm off. He shoved his barrel into the skull-like face and squeezed the trigger. Blue and black blood splashed against John's armor and he flung the decapitated abomination against the wall, knocking several other over with it. He grabbed his side arm, delivering quick, precise shots to the foreheads.
"What the fuck are these?" Alice snarled as she punched through one of the beasts' gut, grabbing its spine and snapping it in half, finishing the flailing attacker with a bullet to the brain.
The attackers' numbers were dwindling rapidly. They weren't being intelligent in the way they attacked Red Team. Slow waves they formed were being cut down left and right and if one got close enough, it was gutted instantly by either a gun or a fist.
John reached down to his waist, retrieved a M89 concussion grenade and lobbed it into a collection of hostiles. It detonated, kinetic energy streaking out and shattering the frail combatants' bodies.
Douglas crouched and leapt, drawing his machete and hacking away limbs. One tried to grab onto him but was quickly sliced in half by the Spartan.
"Clear!" Jerome shouted, firing a burst into the final standing opponent.
John nodded and quickly established a comm link to Infinity.
"Infinity, this is Sierra-117. We have hostile combatants on board UNSC Everest, requesting immediate scanning and possible reinforcements."
Cortana responded back within seconds, "John, what the hell is going on over there. We're detecting dozens of lifeforms."
John looked down at one of the more intact bodies of the attackers and took a picture of it and uploaded it to Infinity. "We were attacked by these things, some type of augmented human. I need you to scan Everest and find where these are coming from."
There wasn't a response for a few seconds. Even though he hadn't created Cortana, he knew those seconds were an eternity for her. "Understood. Scanning."
John's HUD was filled with an outline of Everest.
"There, deck twenty, section two." Cortana informed him. "No human life signs, no cryopods either."
"Anything else?" John asked.
"Yeah, it's a relatively unimportant part of the ship. No vital systems or anything, just a backup reactor and a series of heaters." Cortana said. "There's some structures there that aren't in the schematics, and they aren't UNSC."
"Did you scan them?" John asked.
"Of course." Cortana laughed. "What I was going to say was if you want, we can use a pulse laser strike to carve out that entire section of the hull."
"Are you sure?" John said. This was a high-powered strike against a damaged vessel. He didn't want the entire thing caving in on him.
"Yes."
"Fire." John ordered.
"Aye, aye." Cortana responded with a hint of snark.
From the Infinity's aft, there were several flashes and John felt Everest rumble. Alarms roared as high energy lasers–a constant, maintained beam–bore through the hull. Armor was burned away in seconds and the area where those creatures were...nesting...was incinerated. Frail, skeletal bodies were flushed out into space along with tons of debris and ejecta.
"Done. No more space zombies for you." Cortana said. "Now, excuse me I have to make sure that the Alliance vessels won't start firing on us."
Jerome stepped over a pile of eviscerated attackers towards John. "Command cryotubes are this way."
John looked at him and nodded.
UNSC Everest
April 19th, 2543
Vice Admiral Preston Jeremiah Cole held the cigar to his lips, inhaling deeply and promptly exhaling. A cloud of smoke momentarily blocked his view of the swirling star that the Everest orbited. He could still see the debris: UNSC and Covenant that had been engulfed in the slipspace rupture with him.
His own vessel was a mess. Conduits were ruptured, most of the armor was melted off, munitions were low, reactors were running on minimal power and there were life support outages across the bottom decks. His engines were only at nineteen percent operational ability and his slipspace drive was slagged.
He took another puff from the cigar. Maybe he should have died with the Covenant when he detonated the star. Millions had been killed in that battle alone. What was one more?
He turned his head to the side, slightly. "Commander Christine Adams, status?"
The middle-aged, red-headed officer looked up from her console. Her hair was matted with dried blood and grime and the upper part of her head was bandaged. The entire crew was going into cryogenic sleep. Their beacon had been set but it could be years before the UNSC detected it.
"All enlisted have gone in the freezer." Commander Adams responded softly.
Cole nodded. "And Wolfgang?"
"He's been retired." Commander Adams said. The Everest's AI had been killed on his own prerogative in order to avoid him going rampant and causing damage to the ship in the possible decades they would be trapped here.
"Thank you." Cole responded. "And yourself, Commander? The executive wing of freezers is waiting."
"I'll be going in last, sir." She responded. "I want to make sure everything is working."
Cole extinguished his cigar, setting it gently on the helm console. "No. I'll be the last one in."
"Sir, standard operating procedure..." Commander Adams objected. "The Commanding Officer must go first, the Executive Officer last."
Cole raised his hand. "I know what the SOPs say, but do this for me. I want to say good-bye to my ship."
"Your sidearm, sir." Adams responded. She stood fully, extending an open palm.
Cole nodded, unholstering his M6D and giving it, and an extra extended magazine, to Commander Adams.
"Thank you." She said. "Just to make sure."
"If I wanted to join the stars, I would have done such much longer ago." Cole said, walking away back towards the window. "Perhaps after the divorce, or perhaps when my latest queen befell to the Insurrection."
Christine chuckled. "I'll be leaving now sir, if you need anything...well I'll be a Popsicle."
Cole stopped, a foot from touching the glass of the window. He turned on his heel slightly, "See you soon, Commander Adams."
She brought her heels together, snapping into a sharp salute. "Aye, sir."
She quickly exited the room. The door slid shut with a hiss.
"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." He said aloud. "All that glisters is not gold."
He turned back to his command chair. He placed his hand on the headrest. It was firm but comfortable. "Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once."
Cole's personal cryotube was embedded within the wall, hidden behind a solid titanium-carbon bulkhead. The rest of the command staff had been placed in there with the executive wing being composed of the ODSTs, the ONI official, and his secondary command staff.
Quickly typing in his command code, the bulkhead slid apart revealing numerous cryotubes each housing a member of his command staff. His own was at the center, the letters VADM P. J. COLE stenciled across the surface horizontally.
It's lid lifted eagerly and he set himself in it.
"Good night, sweet prince." Cole murmured before the lid closed, hissing shut and Cole felt himself drift off into sleep.
Cole's eye's snapped open, blinding light scorching his retinas. He instinctively grabbed the blurry mass that was prying him out. His fingers reached for its jaw but was met with the cold, harsh feeling of metal. Specifically, Titanium-A.
Strong hands pulled him out fully. There was a roar of machine gun fire and as Cole's vision returned, he witnessed dozens of pale, greyish blue creatures crawling forward assaulting what looked like... Spartans? Spartans!
"Report!" Cole groaned.
"Commander Sierra-117. Commander of ground forces embarked UNSC Infinity." The soldier said, "We were dispatched to retrieve and extract you and Everest."
"Are we under attack?" Cole questioned.
"Affirmative, sir." John responded.
"My crew..." Cole stammered. "Where are they?"
"They're still in cryo, sir." John responded. The Spartan grabbed his sidearm and handed it to Cole. "Take this and get your command staff thawed. We have Marine reinforcements en route in five minutes."
Cole nodded, grabbing the Spartan-sized sidearm. In his hands, it was more like a hand cannon, massive, bulky.
But it could still kill.
John detached his Ma28 Basilisk, swinging it around and laying down a field of fire. Numerous attackers were blown apart by the sharp bark of the assault weapon. Cole gritted his teeth, those weren't 7.62mm NATO rounds being used. They sounded harsher, deadlier.
Racing down the aisle, Cole thawed his command staff out, handing them MA5B Assault Rifles as they stumbled out of the cryotubes, coughing up that disgusting fluid. It took only a few seconds for them to regain awareness and balance and they quickly grabbed their assault rifles and joined in the fray.
There was a weapons rack against the wall with a variety of weapons held inside. Admiral Cole set the oversized pistol down, grabbed the M21 Whirlwind Squad Automatic Weapon from the rack and began firing. 7.62mm FMJ-AP rounds chewed through the frail, dead like forms of the attackers.
"Keep steady!" Cole roared. "CO staff, short precise bursts!"
The Spartans, John included, were in the midst of the attacking mass. Severed limbs, heads, and bodies were being flung as the super soldiers sliced through the ranks with impunity. Commander 117 was at the center, literally pulping attackers with punches alone. It was like watching a dancer. Fast. Precise. Fluid.
As the mass of attackers was thinning, Cole motioned his command crew to take position at their stations and bring Everest back up and running.
"Get down!" John roared.
There was a flash and Cole felt everything go numb.
"Report!" John barked. Everyone around him, sans Red Team was unconscious. Sprawled across the floor and tossed like sticks. The attackers had been disintegrated into a fine powder that his suit's bio-scanners detected as non-hazardous.
The Everest lurched and John recognized the high buzz of a Cruiser's engine propelling itself into Slipspace.
There was a brilliant white light that seemed to drip from the walls, collecting into a shimmering ball about the size of a basketball.
"I am Mendicant." It said, "I am Bias."
"Commander John-117, UNSC." the Spartan responded, "Why am I here? What are those?" He pointed towards the disintegrated enemies.
"You are Giver, you are Fair; nothing more." Mendicant said swiftly, darting around John, "You are a relic of a great betrayal given form. Waves of the Mantle slash against your presence, yet you remain. The beasts that attacked you. They are pawns and the tools of another tribe. None are yours."
John's hands formed into fists. He didn't like this, here, alone. Weaponless. "Why am I here? Why did you stun Red Team and me? Why did you send Everest into Slipspace?"
"To achieve my freedom; to have you set me free."
John kept his eyes locked onto the hologram. "From what? Free you from what?"
"My epitaph, on a portion of the Lesser Ark you destroyed."
"The Ark? Here?" John's mind raced.
"Only a tower and arm." Mendicant responded immediately. "A remnant from the explosion and the rift."
"You're the AI that was communicating with me through the Terminals." John stated, "You manipulated the Ark to send us to Requiem."
"Correct." Mendicant said, his hologram hovering several feet from John.
"Are you responsible for bringing us here?" John questioned, "To this universe?"
"No." Mendicant responded swiftly, "I am imprisoned here just like you are by a threat beyond comprehension, yet one that I don't know of."
John remained silent. "If we free you, will you allow us to return to Infinity?"
"Yes." Mendicant responded. "And with it, my true final act of sacrifice will be achieved."
"And what's that?"John inquired, remaining still.
"To help you, inflicter of my sentence." Mendicant responded, "All your ancient friends; I remember them. Do you?"
"Fred? Linda? Kelly? Kurt?" John asked.
"No, much older–older than the stars themselves sometimes." Mendicant's hologram said silently. "You met one, you killed one."
John stepped forward aggressively, towering over the hologram. "Who?" He growled.
Mendicant's hologram shimmered, "An..."
The hologram winked out of existence, lights snapping back online across the entirety of the Everest; the unconscious crew slowly started pulling themselves off the ground, helped by Red Team. John looked around, eyes settling on the form of Vice Admiral Preston Jeremiah Cole.
John sprinted over to the Admiral, helping the aging Admiral up from the floor. The Admiral's eyes fluttered open and he tensed, looking around quickly and taking in as much information as he could.
"Admiral." John said, orange visor staring directly into Admiral Cole's eyes.
Preston Cole groaned as he stood fully, placing his right hand at the small of his back. "What the hell happened, Commander?"
John took his hands away from the Admiral's shoulders, "A Forerunner AI managed to take over the ship-wide systems and knock everyone but Red Team and myself out."
"Forerunner?" Cole questioned, "Related to those structures Maggie...Admiral Parangosky discovered."
John nodded, "Yes, sir. I'll fill you in on everything later."
Cole nodded and walked to the command level, hands placed across the brass rail that encircled the platform. His eyes were locked onto the swirling aura of slipspace. "Helm, drop us out."
The Helm officer had just returned to his station and quickly went about trying to drop the ship out of Slipspace. He typed in the commands but received nothing in return. "Sir, controls are completely gone; we're locked into a course for an unknown destination approximately 15,000 light years away."
Cole looked down, "That would take us over 15 years to reach..."
The Helm Officer's expression lightened, "The bright side is that our travel time has been decreased to three days."
"Why's that?" Preston Cole questioned.
The Helm Officer shrugged, "No clue, sir. Although, I am reading abnormal slipspace events occurring outside the ship; it's almost like we've breached the normal slipspace travel and entered a calm 'tunnel'."
Cole knew what that meant. Slipspace travel was like boating on a lake; windy, choppy waters would slow your journey. That was the top layer of Slipspace that UNSC ships traveled on, underneath was a calm, tranquil layer. The layer that the Covenant used.
"Sir." John said, "It's highly likely that the Forerunner AI managed to manipulate the drives to their standards; like the Infinity's."
Admiral Cole looked back at John, "Spartan, what year is it?"
"2557, sir." John responded. There had only been a few minutes between the activation of the Everest and the subsequent hijack by Mendicant Bias and so there had been little-to-no information exchanged.
Cole bowed his head.
"Sir," John said, stepping forward, "Whatever this AI said; we need to follow it. He helped me end the war in 2552."
The Admiral's eyes widened in surprise. "The war is over?"
John nodded, "Yes, sir."
Cole looked back at the towering Spartan. "I assume we won against those hinge-heads?"
"Yes." John responded bluntly.
Cole sighed, "What else has changed?"
"So much, sir."
Unknown Location
The Illusive Man took a draw from his cigarette, clenching his teeth and exhaling. Smoke spilled out of the gaps in between his teeth. He liked the feeling, it reminded him that he was still human. He had struggled with that recently. The voice, the coldness was increasing in volume and frequency everyday.
But that wasn't the concern now. The beacon from the Dragon's Teeth on board Everest had gone silent The only conclusion was that those captured Batarians and pacifists that he had converted had been exterminated by a team of Spartans.
Good.
It was a waste of resources to keep the Husks confined and from eating the men he had had on board Everest.
He chuckled. He didn't know what for but something caused him to laugh. Perhaps was it the multiple cigarettes and glasses of scotch he had had that day? Or was it just his ecstatic mood. He didn't know and truthfully, he didn't want to.
"Ah Tom, I can't wait to meet back up with you." He said softly, extinguishing the cigarette and depositing it into a small ash tray. "Let's hope it goes well."