AN: Just as a warning, because I naturally have no idea how Halo 3 ends and because I'm not going to wait until September to find out, some of the details in this fic will purposefully be kept vague.
Chapter 10: Let's Summit This Bitch
Citadel Depths
While it had been incredibly easy breaking though the Citadel's tunnels, Karla found that the assault had become increasingly more difficult as the Marines pushed deeper into the building. Thankfully, the corridors and hallways were large and spacious. She had always found Covenant architecture incredibly convenient in the fact that the interiors were large and open enough to accommodate a full size Warthog driving at a fairly high speed. A line of Jackals were understandably surprised when they found out that trying to hold off a several ton moving vehicle with their bodies was not a good idea.
"How's the insertion going, Sergeant?" Karla yelled into her radio over the roar of the Warthog's LAAG.
"We've broken in and are making our way down!' Paccone replied cheerfully, gunfire and alien screams in the background. "Like I said, I prefer being on top!"
Karla shook her head in disgust and cut the transmission. Vulgar innuendo aside, at least Paccone was making progress. She held on as the Warthog suddenly jarred upward as it ran over what looked like some kind of fountain.
"Damnit Williams, watch where you're driving! Even Warthogs have their limits!"
Karla held on as Williams drifted the Warthog around a tight corner, flattening a couple of Jackals and a Drone in the process. Karla looked around and saw that they had ended up in a front atrium area that resembled a large hotel lobby. Large windows let sunlight flow in, which reflected of massive, glittering columns of pearl. Lush plant life decorated most of the floor and there was a grand silver staircase leading up to the upper levels of the building.
Pity it was all going to be ruined in about five minutes.
At about that moment, four more Warthogs burst into the room and Mengk's Viper quite literally bashed through a wall to enter the atrium, knocking columns aside like bowling pins. By this time, the Covenant defenders were beginning to swarm out of the woodwork like a colony of angry ants defending their hive. Plasma bolts and hard rounds from Brute weapons began flying in all directions. In response, the Marines and Separatist Covenant returned fire with their own exotic mix of weaponry. Plants and columns alike disintegrated under the withering fire, and the mighty windows shattered into millions of pieces as Marine snipers outside began to find targets. Meanwhile, Mengsk's Viper pushed deeper into the atrium, cannon roaring. A squad of Marines and Elites used the vehicle as mobile cover while a small horde of Grunts swarmed around the sides. The other Warthogs darted around the room, weaving in between columns running down and shooting enemies and generally wreaking havoc among the enemy.
"Williams! I think it's time we take the high road!" Karla shouted.
Williams nodded, and with a sloppy grin, he swung the Warthog around and drove it straight up the silver staircase. The Covenant troops standing on it either had the choice of leaping off or being run down. Meanwhile, Tarin sprayed the second floor balcony with the LAAG, keeping the Covenant down. Once the Warthog cleared the top of the stairs, it was in position that literally turned the Covenant positions into a turkey shoot.
"Let them have it!" Karla yelled as she pulled out her assault rifle. Her rifle fire was joined by the unending torrent of rounds from the LAAG, which literally swept the entire balcony clear of resistance.
"Captain, the atrium is clear." Mengsk said proudly.
Karla briefly scanned the area. All of the Loyalist Covenant were either dead or incapacitated. The Marines and Separatists had taken some casualties too, but the losses weren't crippling. Also, it was at this point that the vehicles could no longer advance, unless there was an easier way to cram a Warthog into an elevator.
"Alright, Mengsk, take the armor out and hit the Covvie line from behind. I'm sure our Elite friends will appreciate us breaking up the Brute defenses for them."
"Roger, Captain!" Mengsk replied. His Viper and the Warthogs whipped around and shot out of the Citadel main entrance, guns blazing. There was a distant rumble and the rest of the Scorpions burst out of a nearby tunnel to join the assault.
"The rest of you, with me!" Most of the Marines would now be focused on breaking the Citadel's defenses from the inside or securing what territory they had taken. This left Karla with three squads of Marines, a squad of Elite Spec Ops, and a small horde of Grunts at her disposal to take out the Loyalist leadership.
"Mako, what floor is the big ugly furball supposed to be on?"
Mako deftly dismounted his Ghost and drew a Covenant carbine. "The Inner Sanctum is on the 90th floor. That is where we will find Lazarus."
Floor 92
Paccone basically led the way for five Marine squads down into the depths of the Citadel. The basic plan was to pincer the Covenant on the 90th floor and hit them from both sides. Doubtless Karla had the easy route and would basically take the lift straight up to the place. Here, however, Paccone and his comrades would have to fight their way down. At least it wasn't that far to the target.
"Sam, we could use some of that damn sniper support right about now!" Paccone yelled as he ducked a volley of Brute shots.
"You know, it would be a whole lot easier to draw a bead on them if you weren't on the other side of the goddamn building!" Sam snapped.
"Hey, lady, who said you could use that tone of voice?"
"She's just pissed that she missed a shot on a Brute." Leo said apologetically.
"How the hell could I miss something that big!?"
"Keep the channels clear!" Paccone grunted. "Just make sure you keep those windows clear."
"Looks like we've got to do this the old fashioned way." Kumi pumped her shotgun.
"Right. Let them have it!"
Behind them, two dozen assorted firearms opened up on the entrenched Covenant positions, forcing most of them to take cover.
"Go go go!" Paccone, Kumi, Nicole, and three other Marines took advantage of the Covenant's momentary lapse in fire to break cover and close distance. A Jackal raised its body to take a shot, but was quickly rewarded with a face full of buckshot for the trouble.
Kumi winced as a passing Brute shot minced the Marine to her right. She ignored the charred flesh and bone shards that spattered onto her armor and fired a double burst into a nearby Brute, knocking the huge alien down. Paccone leapt atop a barricade and then sprayed the Covenant cowering behind it with his assault rifle, killing three Jackals and wounding a Brute. He then finished it off with a pistol shot to the head. Suddenly, three more Brutes broke cover and charged them, their bladed weapons ready. Kumi pumped the last of shells into the nearest Brute, bringing it down before it could get close. Paccone deftly ducked under another Brute's swing as he slammed a new clip into his rifle. He rolled into a position to get behind it and fired everything he had. The Brute roared in fury and toppled backward, nearly crushing Paccone under its immense size. The other Marine, Kent, was not so lucky. The third and final Brute knocked his rifle out of his hands and then decapitated him with little effort. Fortunately, Nicole avenged the fallen Marine by slammed the butt of her rifle into the Brute's gut. The force of the blow was so great, that the rifle actually cracked. This made the Brute keel over involuntarily, giving Nicole a clear shot at its head. She brought her rifle down and slammed it into the back of the Brute's head. Both gun and skull shattered like glass and the Brute fell to the floor dead.
Without wasting a second, Nicole picked up the fallen Brute's weapon and stormed down the hall, ruthlessly gunning down and/or eviscerating any Covenant that dared stand against her.
"Never before have I looked on a girl with such fear and admiration." Paccone smirked.
"What about Captain Wellings?"
"More fear, less admiration." Paccone shrugged and waved the rest of the Marines to move forward. "Come on, we can't let her steal all the glory!"
Floor 90
Callidus stood ready and steadfast with his fellow Jiralhanae as they guarded the lift doors to the Inner Sanctum. Lazaraus had given every warrior in the Citadel to protect the Inner Sanctum at all costs. To lose it would to be to fail the Prophets, and this world would fall to darkness forever. Callidus was determined to prevent that from happening. If the heretics tried to come through the lifts, they would be ready.
However, there was this annoying, faint beeping noise emanating from somewhere. It annoyed Callidus to no end, but he could never quite figure out where the sound was coming from.
Meanwhile, the C7 charges planted exactly one floor above did exactly what they were designed to do. The high powered explosives detonated, causing the floor of the 91st floor, as well as the ceiling of the 90th floor, to come toppling down on top of the Jiralhanae defenders. Those Jiralhanae that survived the explosion and collapse were swiftly finished off by the dozen fragmentation grenades that clattered down the hole from above.
Then the lift doors opened.
"Excellent work as always, Sergeant Paccone." Karla grinned as she exited the lift. The Marines with her fanned out to the secure the area while Paccone and his Marines began dropping down from the freshly made hole. "Sam, confirm that you have line of sight of our position."
"Oh yeah, I can see you all right." Sam said. "Don't see anything yet, but it seems clear at the moment."
"Right, just keep an eye out." Karla turned to Mako and pointed at a pair of massive, heavily ornamented armored doors. "Hey, what can we do to draw this Lazarus guy out? We're going to need a LOT of C7 to take that door down."
"Jiralhanae have a dim view of cowardice." Mako snorted and readied his carbine. "Do not worry. He will bring the fight to us, and we will not have to wait long."
"So do we have a plan?" Captain Wrall asked.
"Simple. Whatever comes out of that door, we kill it."
"As is every other plan you've ever come up with." Paccone grinned as he joined the group. "Can't you just feel it? That gnawing thing in your gut telling you that this is going to be the epic, final battle?"
"Either that or it's just the crap we ate this morning." Scottie muttered.
"I suggest we keep our eyes on the door." Tarin said scathingly. "You know, in case they come out shooting."
Everybody suddenly grew grim and silent. Like before, Karla took a quick scan of the area around. The entire floor was basically an open room, with pillars, altars, and all sorts of religious memorabilia scattered about. The only other room on the entire floor was the one sealed off in the exact center of the floor. Mako mentioned that it was a private meditation chamber, where only Lazarus and the most elite of his Jiralhanae resided.
"I want squads one and two to hold the lifts. I don't want any enemy reinforcements catching us from behind." Karla said. "Squads three, four, and five keep an eye on the windows and flanks, in case they use Drones. Everybody else, watch the door."
"The outside is all clear by the way. The Drones weren't too keen on staying airborne when I spotted them." Sam remarked.
"I'll keep that in mind." Karla turned to Mako. "What's taking him?"
"What do you insects want?" A loud, powerful voice echoed throughout the room.
"To kick your furry ass!" Paccone yelled back.
"As my colorful Sergeant here put it," Karla cut in, "we're here to kill you."
"FOOLS! YOU DO NOT KNOW THE POWERS YOU MEDDLE WITH!" The voice bellowed. "SUBMIT, OR FALL FOREVER!"
"Yeah, well, we'll talk about it if you want to come out from your little hiding place." Karla shrugged. "Or you know, you can just cower in there until we either decide to blow you to hell or starve you out."
"Do you dare insult my honor?" The voice growled.
"Am I?" Karla grinned. "I didn't know you had any."
"Boy, you sure do know how to piss people off." Kazi sniffed.
"It's a skill she's carefully honed since birth." Paccone grinned. "Heard she kicked the doctor in the face when he-"
"That's enough chatter." Karla snapped. "Eyes on the target."
"So, Captain Wellings." Mako kept his carbine trained on the door. "While I still can, I'd like to ask you a question."
"Sure. Go straight ahead."
"Did Holy ever speak of me at all when he was with you?"
"I'm sorry." Karla looked away. "He never brought it up and I never thought to ask. I was pretty surprised he even had any siblings at all."
Mako stayed silent and nodded.
Suddenly, there was a loud humming. The coalition of attackers glanced at the door to see it beginning to open. With a silent hiss, the doors slid open to reveal a large troop of heavily armed and armored Brutes led by one brandishing what looked like a cross between a scythe and a chainsaw. Doubtless it was Lazarus.
Both sides didn't even wait for the order to fire. Within seconds, the entire Inner Sanctum was awash with fire as both sides exchanged death and devastation.
"Aw man!" Williams cursed as he fired a burst at a nearby Brute, only to see the bullets bounce off. "And I thought these guys were tough enough without shields!"
"Just keep shooting!" Tarin growled. She took a Brute down with a carefully aimed headshot and then pointed to Kazi and Scottie. "You two! Give us some covering fire!"
Before Williams could protest, Tarin yanked him up to his feet and half dragged him across the room, darting from cover to cover until they reached the fallen Brute. The cover fire the two tankers were putting up was pretty sloppy, but at least it was keeping the Brutes distracted.
"Help me pick this up!" Tarin pointed to the fallen Brute's grenade launcher.
"What?" Williams looked down at the weapon. "I don't think I can carry that thing!"
"That's why I dragged you here with me!" Tarin sighed. "Help me out here!"
Both Marines managed to heave the massive weapon into a decent firing position. Tarin took careful aim and unloaded the last of the grenades in the Brute shot. Three high powered grenades blasted into a small knot of Brutes. Most of the Brutes shrugged off the blasts with their shields, but two were cut down with visible wounds. A third took a direct hit from a grenade and was sent flying out the window. A fourth Brute turned to return fire, but the window behind it suddenly shattered and its head exploded.
"Nice shot." Leo grinned.
"I do my best." Sam smiled, then cocked her head curiously. "What's that sound?"
Suddenly, a huge swarm of Drones began scrambling over the sides of the building. Their mouth parts and joints clicked and chattered like giant crickets.
"We must have really pissed them off!" Leo growled as he rolled onto his back, grabbed his rifle, and fired on the Drones.
"Apparently." Sam abandoned her comfortable firing position, drew her M6D pistol, and shot a Drone in the face. Bits of exoskeleton and ichor spattered on her armor. "Disgusting."
"Sam! Is something wrong?" Karla's voice pierced the radio.
"Uhhh, sniper support is no longer a viable support option at the moment." Sam ducked a burst of plasma fire and shot down the offending Drone with a three round pistol burst. "In other words, we're being swarmed by Drones so you're on your own."
"Keeps getting better and better." Karla sighed. Paccone, Wrall, circle around that altar thingie and see if you can flank those Brutes. Let's see if we can help out our Covenant friends."
Being the righteous beings they are, Mako and his fellow Elites broke ranks and moved in to engage the Brutes in close combat. Karla wasn't sure why, since she and her Marines were perfectly fine in their current firing positions. She assumed it was some sort of honor thing. Anyways, the Elites and Brutes were basically engaging each other with plasma swords, fists, and whatever crude object they could use as a melee weapon. At least it meant that less Brutes were shooting and more concerned with sparring with the Elites.
"Roger that." Wrall and Paccone broke cover and dashed to the altar Karla pointed out. However, Paccone was stopped by a passing Brute Shot and was forced to dive to the ground. Karla ran out and dragged Paccone back into cover before another Brute could draw a bead on him.
"Honestly, do I have to save you every time we get in a firefight?" Karla grunted as she pulled out a stray needler round from her left shoulderpad.
"It's not like I can deny a woman's services." Paccone said wryly.
Karla shook her head and fired her rifle at an approaching Brute. Its shields absorbed most of the punishment. The last few rounds managed hit solid flesh, but they were at best mosquito bites. Paccone followed up with his fresh clip and felled the giant alien with a burst to the head.
"Wrall, are you okay over there?" Karla yelled.
"Yeah!" Wrall nodded.
Unfortunately, no sooner was that said when a Brute holding a submachine-like weapon appeared and fired at Wrall. A storm of bullets shredded Wrall's right thigh and he fell down screaming. In a flash, Kumi was already there, trying to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, the Brutes smelled an easy target and began concentrating their fire on Kumi and Wrall. Though they were now in cover, it would only be a matter of time before that altar crumbled or the Brutes would overrun them. Karla prepared to move in to support them, and she saw Tarin, Williams, and Wrall's crew ready to do the same, but there was too much fire and not enough cover between them and Wrall. If only they had some goddamn sniper support!
"I think that's the last of them." Leo gasped as he gazed at the dozen broken bodies of dead Drones.
"Thank god." Sam sighed as she holstered her pistol. "Now we can get back to-"
Before she knew it, a sudden and heavy weight landed on Sam's back. Sam stumbled and gasped for a second before realizing that a Drone had grappled onto her back. Immediately, her Marine training kicked in. She reached up, grabbed the Drone by the head, and flipped it over her shoulder, slamming it down on its back. Before it could do anything else, Leo blew its head open with a rifle burst.
"Well, that was interesting." Sam brushed some sweat off her brow. "Is my rifle where I left it? I hope those fuckers didn't mess with it."
"It's still there." Leo sighed.
"Sam!" Karla's voice exploded from the radio again. "You'd better still be alive or I will personally go over there and kill you myself!"
"I'm here, I'm here!" Sam said as she snuggled back into firing position. "What do you need?"
"Some good old fashioned sniper support!" Karla yelled. "Just shoot anything not friendly and do it now!"
"Right." Sam zeroed her rifle in on the first Brute she could see. "Leo, keep an eye out for any more bugs. With all those Brutes packed so tight in, I don't need a spotter."
"Got it."
Meanwhile, inside, things were getting more hectic. From her count, Karla saw at least two dozen Marine casualties, and was unsure how many losses the Elites suffered. There were about twelve dead brutes, but at least another twenty or so were left. Suddenly, a Brute went down hard with half of its head.
"That's it, go go go!" Karla and Paccone both dashed out from cover and sprinted for Wrall's position. From the edge of her vision, Karla could see her crew and Wrall's doing the same.
The next few seconds were somewhat a blur. Nicole, probably sensing that the battle had shifted, appeared out of nowhere and quickly and quietly eliminated two Brutes. One expired via snapped neck and the other from a caved in skull. Another Brute ran in and was shot down from apparently nowhere. Karla and Paccone both unloaded their rifles on another Brute, quickly draining its shields of energy. Tarin then swept in like a wraith and knifed the Brute in what she assumed was where its kidneys were. The alien roared in pain and fell, enabling Williams, Kazi, and Scottie to finish it off.
"Boy are you a sight for sore eyes." Kumi said once Karla and Paccone slid down next to her.
"How is he?" Karla asked.
"I've stopped the bleeding, but he can't stay here, for obvious reasons."
"You two, get him out of there." Karla pointed to Kazi and Scottie. Their hearts were in the right place, but they ultimately made better tankers than infantry.
"Don't worry, Captain, we'll get your fat arse outta here." Scottie grunted as he hauled Wrall up.
"Shit, he's heavier than I thought." Kazi said.
Once Kazi and Scottie managed to get the injured Wrall clear of the area, Karla took the chance to scan the area again. The Brutes were beginning to noticeably thin, but they were still putting up a stiff resistance. Suddenly, Karla saw Mako flying through the air. She ducked in alarm and saw the Elite smash into a nearby pillar. Karla quickly scrambled up to the fallen Elite.
"Hey, you okay?"
"No."
"Alright, just checking." Karla hauled Mako up to his feet. "What the hell happened?"
"I underestimated Lazarus' abilities." Mako growled.
As he said this, Karla caught sight of the Brute she believed was Lazarus. He was hefting that same massive scythe. Three plasma sword-wielding Elites closed in and surrounded the Brute. It didn't seem deterred and easily fought the three Elites off. Then, in one clean stroke, the Brute effortlessly cleaved the Elites in half.
"I'll take care of it." Nicole said simply before dashing off back into the thick of battle.
The Marines watched in awe and wonder as Nicole engaged the Brute in mortal combat. Nicole fought the Brute with a borrowed plasma sword and her fists, and was actually holding her own. However, she couldn't find a way past the Brute's defenses. The Marines' awe and wonder then quickly turned to horror. Nicole made a mistake and carried through an attack with a little too much power. She overreached and left herself open for one critical second. Lazarus took advantage of the Spartan's momentary weakness and gave a murderous swing of his scythe. The blade sheared through both energy shielding and MJIOLNIR armor and Nicole collapsed with a massive gash in her chestplate.
"Shit!" Without losing a beat, Karla was already sprinting, dodging other Brutes, Elites, and Marines. She fired her rifle at Lazarus, which failed at doing much damage but succeeded in drawing his attention. Before he could do much more though, Mako tackled him to the ground and both aliens began brawling.
"You!" Karla pointed at Paccone, Tarin, Williams, and Kumi. "Get Nicole out of here!"
"But-" Kumi hesitated.
"NOW!" Karla yelled. "Do you know how goddamn heavy a Spartan is with all that armor? It'll take all four of you just to move her to the other end of the room!"
"You heard the lady." Paccone said and grabbed one of the fallen Spartan's arms. "You come back alive, you hear me, lady?"
"Last I checked, I'm ranking officer." Karla shot back.
Paccone glanced at Karla for a second. He opened his mouth to say something more, but he closed his mouth shut and helped Tarin, Williams, and Kumi drag the wounded Spartan out of the room.
"Well now, I guess it's just me." Karla said to herself. She tossed her rifle aside and drew Holy's plasma sword. All of her rifle ammo was expended anyways.
By this time, Lazarus had finally managed to throw Mako off. He noticed Karla lunging in just in time to block her swing. His scythe Deathswing generated its own magnetic field, which allowed it to repel the vaunted plasma swords the Sangheli favored so much.
Karla was visibly surprised and had to throw herself to the floor in order to avoid Lazarus' deadly scythe. She swung her plasma sword but the weapon merely bounced off of Lazarus' powerful energy shielding.
"You dare cross the Prophets' Chosen?" Lazarus roared as he swung Deathswing again. "Then you shall pay the price, human!"
Karla managed to dodge the swing, but wasn't quick enough to dodge Lazarus' arm. Karla felt the air get pushed out of her lungs as the back of Brute's fist struck her side. She felt several ribs literally snap under the force and she toppled to the floor, gasping for air. Mako again charged Lazarus. Thinking quickly, Karla mustered up the last of her strength and tossed Holy's plasma sword into the air. Mako effortlessly caught the weapon so he was now wielding two plasma swords at once. With two weapons now, Mako literally became a whirlwind of plasma powered death. Lazarus was kept constantly on the defensive as he was forced to block all of Mako's attacks. In her condition, Karla wasn't in a position to do much of anything. However, a strange glint in the distance gave her an idea.
"Mako! Herd him this way!" Karla shouted.
Mako nodded and began press his attacks more, forcing Lazarus backward and towards the area Karla was pointing to.
"Foolish Sangheli." Lazarus gloated. "What do you hope to accomplish with your pitiful attacks? We both know that you will tire before I do."
"Hey, ugly." Karla grinned as the Brute turned to face her. "He was just making sure that you got into my sister's line of sight."
"What-"
Suddenly the pane of glass behind Lazarus shattered and the heavy round from Sam's rifle impacted against his chest. His shields sparked and failed as the round punched through his chestplate and sternum. The round then fragmented, scattering dozens of pieces of shrapnel throughout his chest cavity. Not even a Brute could shrug off such catastrophic damage. Lazarus dropped his scythe and slumped to the ground on his knees.
"Lazarus." Mako said dutifully as he approached the incapacitated Brute. "In the power vested in my by the Sangheli High Council, I deem your life and existence as unworthy."
Mako didn't even wait for Lazarus to retort or defend himself. Just like that, Mako drew his twin plasma swords and like a pair of energized scissors, decapitated the most powerful Brute on the planet. The Elites and Marines who managed to see the spectacle cheered. The Brutes, realizing their leader was dead, went into a homicidal rage, but their irrational anger only made it easier for them to be defeated. Within minutes, there wasn't a single Brute alive in the Citadel.
"I must admit, that was some very clever thinking there." Mako powered down his swords. "Though I would have preferred to have slain Lazarus myself, your way was just as effective."
"So… is that it?" Karla said as Mako helped her up. "What happens now?"
"With their leader dead and their final stronghold lost, it will only be a matter of time before the traitors are hunted down and exterminated."
"A charming thought."
"So, it looks like we're going to have a bit of free time after all this dies down."
"Possibly. However, there is much to do. There will be much rebuilding, especially after all the devastation this war has wrought."
"Not a bad idea either."
"Before I forget." Mako handed Karla Holy's plasma sword. "I believe this is yours."
Karla's eyes widened in surprise. "Isn't that-"
"If Holy trusted you enough to bear his sword, then you are worthy of it. I owe my brother that much."
Karla took the sword, still a bit awed by the Elite's charity. "Thanks..."
"Now come, such an occasion deserves a celebration! I do not know what you humans do after a battle, but we Sangheli must celebrate our victory and pay respects to our fallen."
"Hmph. I guess we have more in common than we think." Karla sighed and winced as she remembered that her ribs were broken. "You think you can help me up to the roof? I've got a little flag that I'm dying to plant."
Three Weeks Later
The final battle for the Citadel had taken a large toll for all sides involved. Over a hundred fifty Marines had died, with three hundred more casualties. Total Covenant casualties were much higher, with hundreds of thousands of troops either dead, wounded, or missing.
Though the Marines had established their presence well on Karth, even after three weeks living with the Covenant, the humans were still seen as somewhat of an oddity. The Covenant were too busy rebuilding their shattered cities and infrastructure to care much anyways, so the Marines were able to consolidate their positions within what was left of New Mombasa without many problems. However, under orders from Major Mackenzie to promote their public image, Marines were often sent out to assist with the rebuilding efforts.
Wrall and his crew spent most of the time trying to rebuild Shiela. Using some junked parts from both human and Covenant vehicles, they miraculously got the old tank working again. Karla wasn't sure why they went through the trouble for a vehicle they obviously hated so much but later shrugged it off. People often did things that never made sense. Wrall was still hobbling around on a makeshift crutch while Shion walked alongside him with her arm in a hastily set cast. Kazi and Scottie were still as combative as ever, trading rude comments and insults as they dug into Shiela's innards.
Tarin and Williams were busy trying to keep the remaining Marines in shape. They could often be seen patrolling the streets of New Mombasa, chastising any Marines they deemed lazy or unfit. Of course, people protested, but it was hard to argue from a position of confidence if your opponent had the balls to take down Brutes with nothing but a combat knife.
Paccone and his squad of dirty little misfits were often seen roaming New Mombasa, stirring up all kinds of trouble for both Marines and Covenant alike. When they weren't pissing off every person they could find, they actively assisted the Covenant in hunting down rogue packs of Loyalists that survived the final battle at the Citadel. Even after three weeks, there were a number of survivors causing trouble.
Nicole was still confined to the Marines' makeshift infirmary. The scythe she was hit with missed her heart by inches and caused all sorts of havoc. It also didn't help that the scythe made cuts so fine that Pennert was literally forced to cauterize the wound to stop the bleeding. The Spartan was conscious, just barely, but was in no condition to be moving around.
Karla, meanwhile, was sitting with Mako in one of the freshly rebuilt towers. At Karla's request, Mako had agreed to give Karla some rudimentary training in the fine art of the plasma sword. True, Karla would still be repeatedly beaten badly by Mako's superior skill and strength, but at least she was confident she could hold her own in a fight.
Things appeared to going well, that is, until an unidentified ship suddenly appeared in orbit around Karth.
"My god, it's the Freedom." Mackenzie gasped, the color draining out of his face.
"Are you serious?" Karla glanced at the data screen. "Holy shit."
"This is Captain Rogers of the UNSC warship Freedom." The radio next to them buzzed. "Are there any UNSC forces listening to this message?"
"Captain Rogers, this is Major Mackenzie. Boy are you a sight for sore eyes." Mackenzie replied. "You don't seem surprised that the Covenant aren't shooting at you."
"Believe me, a lot has happened on Earth. Too much and too secret for me to discuss on an open channel."
"Can you at least tell me how you found us?"
"Long story short, Joshua figured out that instead of being annihilated, you were pulled along in Slipspace in the cruiser's 'wake' and managed to track you here."
"I took you three weeks?"
"Actually three hours, but certain events around here prevented us from acting on it."
"You'll have to tell me about it sometime."
"I'm looking forward to it."
Epilogue
Unknown Location
Captain Ryan Hubbard made his way down the hall. The entire facility was in a huge ruckus as intelligence agents, data analysts, and all kinds people were trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Something big had happened on Earth and nobody here was totally sure what yet.
However, the Director didn't seem to be surprised at all. Personally, Hubbard suspected that the Director already knew what was going on, but purposefully withheld the information just to see his subordinates scramble around in a panic. It wouldn't be that much of a surprise. As the chief overseer of all four sections of ONI (or was it five? Hubbard could never really remember.) the Director knew everything. If knowledge was power, then the Director could be considered God. Hubbard finally fought his way into one of the facility's lifts. Making sure he was alone, he punched in a secret code that allowed the lift to open on Director's floor. Once the lift reached its destination, Hubbard shuffled out of the lift and made his way to a plain wooden door with a metal plaque that had the word "DIRECTOR" engraved on it.
The room was pretty much how it always was. It looked like a standard office that had rather substandard lighting. The Director preferred to work in low light conditions. Hubbard never knew why and never asked.
"I see you are ahead of schedule as always, Captain Hubbard." The Director said cheerfully. "So what do you have?"
"Well, I've been keeping tabs on the targets of interest like you said." Hubbard shuffled through several files. "So, do you want to hear them all right now?"
"Of course." The Director said calmly.
Hubbard was curious as to why the Director was interested in a bunch of Marines, rather than the events swirling around Spartan-117 and the Covenant Arbiter. However, he had a duty to fulfill and he was in no place to question the Director.
"Well… let's see. First up is Spartan-458. She's been transferred to a secure facility for full debriefing. Next up is Captain Wrall and his tank crew. Their request for a new tank has finally gotten through, though they have refrained from turning over their old tank and requesting private ownership of it."
"I see no problem with that. We were probably going to junk it anyways."
"Captain Tarin Richards and Lieutenant…" Hubbard squinted but there was apparently some kind of misprint that rendered the next word unreadable. "…Williams are currently trying to rebuild and reorganize their unit after the losses they had taken."
"Go on."
"Privates Kumi Leeds, Leonardo Carter, and Samantha Wellings have all decided to stay in the Marines. Surprise surprise. Anyways, they are currently not on active duty with no upcoming assignments."
"We'll have to rectify that problem. It would be a pity to let such talent lay around unused, especially our little Samantha."
"Right…" Hubbard flipped through his files again. "Major Karla Wellings and Sergeant Ronald Paccone are currently on extended leave. Our agents managed to track them as far as Aeola until they went off the grid and shook off our pursuit. I'm afraid to say that we really have no idea where they are."
"Oh, I'm sure they'll turn up eventually." The Director laughed.
"And that last piece of business." Hubbard continued. "I've run every background check and test we could on this 'Private Scohar', but every check turns up nothing. It's as if the guy never existed. I've even tried running his ID number but it keeps returning this guy named Jenkins who was confirmed MIA weeks ago."
"All right. We put our full resources on this. I want to know who he was, where he was born, what his favorite food was, and what scares him at night. I want this done now."
"Yes sir." Hubbard saluted and turned to leave the office.
"Actually, hold on there, Captain." The Director said coolly. "Forget what I just said."
"Sir?" Hubbard looked at his boss curiously.
"Consider my previous orders countermanded. You'll find details of your next assignment in your office."
"Okay…" Hubbard saluted. He was a bit confused at the Director's sudden change in mind. As he turned to exit the office, he thought he caught sight of something on the edge of his vision. It looked as if there was a little girl whispering something in the Director's ear. Hubbard whipped around, but only saw the Director sitting alone at his desk.
"Did you forget something?" The Director asked, completely unfazed.
"Uhhh, nothing sir." Hubbard wiped some sweat off his brow. "Just seeing things."
"Alright then." The Director smiled. "Dismissed."
Sanctum of the All
WHEW! It's finally finished! This concludes the current story arc, but don't worry, I've got more adventures planned for Karla and her fellow misfit Marines. Unfortunately, some of this is gonna be banking on how Halo 3 turns out, so here's to the hope that the game does NOT get delayed any further!
However, this doesn't mean I'm gonna stop writing. The Long Road Home is still going on, and there is yet another fic just coming out of the pipeline, so stay tuned!
Anyways, thanks for reading and sticking with this to the end!