"This ain't good."
"Damn... How far did he fall?"
"Two kilometers, easily."
Cigar smoke blew into the air.
"Stay sharp" the smoker said. His gaze drifted across the wet jungle before him. Steam and smoke rose from the humongous form in front of him, a single hand reaching out. It's pose was locked in place, attached to seven feet of steel and muscle. The figure's gaze was slightly lowered, as if it would stand at any moment.
Any person who saw it would know what it was, who it was. The number "117" painted on it was all that was needed. If that wasn't enough, the classic Mark VI armor pattern would have done the trick.
Sierra 117.
The Master Chief.
He lay prone, unable to move. The smoking man glanced at him, a look of concern flashing over his features before disappearing again. His name tag was wet with humidity, the "Johnson" inscribed on it barely visible. He waved one of the marines over.
"Gormon," Johnson said.
Gormon nodded and checked the Mjolnir's systems.
"It's bad, but I think Chief is fine. The gel layer and movement engines absorbed most of the impact. He should still be able to move once the armor lock-up clears, but he'll need a whole new armor set to function fully in battle."
"Damn." Johnson looks back towards the jungle. "Call for V-Tol. Heavy lift gear. We're sure as hell not leaving him here."
Avery J Johnson turns to lookout while the call is made. While he does, a gauntleted hand grips his forearm.
"Yeah… you're not" a deep voice says from behind him. The sergeant just chuckles.
"Hell, why do you have to always jump? Eventually you're gonna land on something just as stubborn as you are... And I don't do bits and pieces."
The Master Chief, now standing at his full seven feet, looks to the sky. The thick canopy blocks most of it out, but the sun and thousands of explosions force their light through the leaves.
"What's going on up there?"
"A lot. After you made your damned jump, slipspace ruptures and portals began opening everywhere around Earth, most of them over New Mombasa. Covenant ships have been pouring through them nonstop. It's the largest Covenant fleet we've ever seen."
Chief nodded, but remained silent. Johnson put his hand on his shoulder.
"Where is she, Chief? Where's Cortana?"
"…She stayed behind."
"We'll get her back, but for now we need to link up with the pelican team so we can get back to base. They'll have your updated armor there, probably. We got some new toys, too."
He nodded.
"I need a weapon."
Gormon trekked up the wet hill toward them.
"I've got you a—"
The wind made a quiet sigh as a thousand pounds moved faster than it should have been able to. In an instant, the Master Chief was behind Gormon, the pistol from the holster on his hip now in the Chief's hand. The barrel pointed upward into thin air it seemed, until the air flickered and wavered, and an elite was revealed. His armor was all too familiar to the spartan.
"Chief! He's with us!"
The gun remained in place.
"Come on now, we have enough to worry about without you two trying to kill each other."
The Master Chief moved the pistol from the Arbiter's mandibles. The alien glared at him, his yellow eyes hiding nothing.
"Were it so easy" he said, and motioned to the jungle ahead.
"We must leave, the Brutes have our scent."
"They must love the smell of green" Sargeant Johnson said, and pointed to the north. "That's where we're going, Arbiter. You comin'?"
"Yes, I plan on following you back to the mountain. We should be safe there."
"Then let's go" the Chief said, and turned back to Gormon. He handed the pistol he had taken back to him. Gormon holstered it and gave the Master Chief the weapon he had offered: an assault rifle, but a seemingly new one.
"What's new about this one?" he asked, weighing it in his hands.
"It's the MA5D, made by Misriah, just like the old ones. But get this—" he pointed to the outer shell— "it can have replaceable attachments, like scopes and shit. I have some—"
"I think I'll pass until I get more comfortable with it" Chief replied, and began walking into the jungle. Steam drifted into the air from the wet, hot earth beneath them. The rest of the team followed close behind, guns at the ready. They eventually walked into a narrow ridge, where the only way out was through to the other side. Gormon froze, then threw himself to the ground.
"I think that's a phantom!" Everyone else froze, too. They could hear the distinct hum of the dropship as it floated by over head. The trees had hidden them from view. Just as everyone was about to keep moving, another ship appeared from behind the previous one. It drifted by just as slowly, but this one wasn't a phantom. The Chief thought it looked weird.
"That's not even a Covenant ship" he said, and motioned towards the two propellers on each side. This ship was much louder and smaller than the phantom.
"It looks like one of those old two-bladed choppers" Johnson remarked, and pointed towards the side of the ship.
"There. See that red symbol? Are those words in English?" Everyone leaned forward to look.
"Yeah, they are. It says 'God's in His heaven. Everything's right with the world.'"
"Is that a taunt" Gormon asked.
"Probably," the Chief said, and continued observing the vehicles. They floated onward for another hundred yards before touching down in a low cliff near a waterfall. Brutes filed out of the phantom, followed by their grunt and jackal subordinates. They formed a circle around the chopper vehicle and waited. Eventually the cockpit of the chopper whooshed open, revealing two pilots. Farther back in the cockpit was a man and a girl. The man rose and climbed out of the cockpit, standing on the edge.
He had a beard, somewhat scruffy. He wore a dark blue suit and glasses, perfectly circular ones. His hands were gloved in white. The Master Chief used his helmet's zoomed view and saw that the man's gloves were flecked with blood. Upon further inspection, multiple places on him were drenched in blood. He didn't seem to notice, and gracefully jumped to the wet ground below. He ignored the Brutes around him, and walked to the phantom. He stood under the gravity lift and looked back, right at the Master Chief. Unperturbed, the Chief looked on.
"I can see that you'll become a problem" the man mouthed, and he lifted a finger. The brutes followed it as the man slowly pointed to where the Master Chief and his team were hiding. This got the Chief's attention.
"We have a problem."