BoredLint: Yeah, Arbiter's cool, and he hangs around for a while. Henson and Davis are the two main characters in the story.
Yes, I do have cliffhangers often, but don't they make you stick around and want to read on? Hahaha, I know, I'm evil. Read and review, please.
Chapter 4 -0822 Hours
Everyone was shocked after I said that. My squad because I talked to Colonel like that and the rebels because they thought I'd leave them. After having a few moments for it to sink in, the rebels started cheering while my squad, except Davis, stood there open-mouthed.
"Permission to speak freely, sir," Cummins requested.
"You guys always have that when I'm in command," I replied.
"What the hell is your damn problem? Your dumb ass just got us stuck here on Halo with the Flood and Covenant! Are you insane, sir?"
"My psychiatrist tells me that, but I tend to ignore him. I guess he was right." I walked to the Arbiter and Spec-Ops guy, as I now call him. "All we need now is a few Phantoms. Any idea where we can find some?"
"I suggest we go to the nearby battlefield. If we can eliminate the Flood before they learn how to control those Phantoms, I'm sure we can get out of here," Arbiter responded. "We must move quickly, because the Flood's numbers do not stay low for long."
"I like it. Marines, prepare for battle against Flood. Spec-Ops guy, have your troops gather any weapons they want from the cave. My men have enough."
"Lieutenant, you have given my troops hope that they will survive. I believe now they have set aside all their differences with you and will follow you even to their deaths, which is something not even my Elites could gain. I am honored to follow you," General said.
"Thank you, I'm glad to hear that. Listen up, Marines." I walked over to them. "I don't care how many Covenant you've killed or how many have killed your friends. These guys are our allies now, and you will treat them as such. You will watch their backs, because they will watch yours. Look at it this way: we're all one big happy squad now."
"Sir, the Elites found some turrets in the back of the cave. Do we leave them here?" Johnson asked.
"Take me to them," I replied. When I got to them, I noticed that they were fold-ups. Some were damaged, but most were in working condition. "Get some people to take the ammo from the damaged ones and put it in the good ones. We'll take them with us." I then spotted one that had its tripod knocked off, but looked like it still worked. I picked it up, and fired a few rounds. "Recoil's not too bad for a .30-caliber. Load this one up, too." I walked back outside to my ODST's. "Marines, anyone in the mood to take a turret?" Brenda's hand shot up, so I chuckled. "If you think you can hit anything, it's yours. Anyone else? No? Ok, I guess the Grunts will want to try one out." I went over to the Grunts and offered them the turrets. They accepted them in a heartbeat. About five minutes later Keyes walked up to me.
"John, is this a smart move?" she asked.
"What are you talking about, Miranda?"
"Attacking the Flood. Is that really the best course of action? I mean, it's a good plan, but several things can go wrong. For example, the Flood could be back at full strength, they could have control of…"
"Yeah, I know how much can go wrong, thank you. But we really don't have much of a choice if we want to get off of Halo quickly. You're not scared, are you?"
"Hell no, sir," she defended quickly. "It's just that I'm worried that we'll lose too many people and all chances of leaving this ring."
"From what I hear, it was only you and Johnson who were left when you got to the Index, and yet you still managed to escape."
"Actually, we were captured by Tartarus and his Brutes, sir."
"Regardless, you still completed your objective of retrieving the Index. It's my objective to get on that Phantom and rendezvous with the Concrescence in orbit with you and Johnson on board. We have never failed and don't plan to, so don't worry."
"You mean your objective is for us to return to the Concrescence alive? I feel much better now." I wanted to tell her that all we needed was her and Johnson's transponders, but I decided against it. I heard some running and turned around to meet Johnson.
"Sorry to interrupt, but everyone's ready to go, sir," he stated. "Your 'rifle' is with the rest of your equipment, too."
"Good work, Sergeant, thank you. Listen up, everyone," I yelled. "We move out in three minutes, so make your final preparations now. After those three minutes, we're going to go kick some Flood ass!" Several different battle cries rang out as I went to retrieve my custom-made .30-caliber light machine gun.