Naruto and Halo Chapter 9- Death Goddess
"And our goddess Cora spoketh onto us: "Knoweth this sons and daughters! I shall return one day to your mortal realm on a chariot of fire that shall scream through the heavens and turn the night into day! Who shall be able to stand against the goddess of death as she quenches the mighty sands from which you were born with the blood of your enemies? None!"
- Excerpt taken from Chapter 3 verse 42 of the book of the Cult of Cora.
"Approaching primary target!" Shinjuka Doka barked into his comm-link as his and two other squads of Suna's finest approached the colossal wreckage that lay scattered across the blistering sand of the desert. Thick black smoke filled the sky as oil fed fires seared and burned the strange dark metal as the three teams approached the wreckage with due speed. The immense size of the wreckage became more and more apparent to Shinjuka as they got closer and he couldn't help but feel intimidated by its size and strange structure. Of course this wouldn't get in the way of his firmly drilled ninja training and he barked out orders for the teams to fan out in a delta formation.
"Ten meter spacing! Keep your eyes and ears sharp! I don't want anything surprising us once we get close enough!"
"Copy that!" his two team members Akako Muzura and Ayano Mizuki acknowledged his order and formed the lower two points to his head point.
"Affirmative!" Squad leader Miazowa replied.
"Roger!" squad leader Kitone responded.
The formation finally reached the wreckage and took positions behind misallaneous shards of dark metal that jutted from the ground. Over head he saw the scout falcons that were sent in earlier swirling around the wreckage, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.
"Alright everyone." he whispered into his comm-link "Move in carefully and watch for any signs of movem-" his command was cut off by the sudden sound of roaring thunder that seemed to be coming from the center of the wreckage. This all baffled Shinjuka as the sky all around was completely devoid of any cumulonimbus clouds for miles and miles around! He tilted his head up and saw strange streaks of straight lightning shoot up into the sky, obliterating the scout falcons one by one. They exploded into red clouds of mist. He looked over at his team mates, a look of disgust played out onto his face.
"What the hell is that?" Ayano asked as she pressed herself up against some sort of metal container that lay embedded in the scorched sand. Shinjuka didn't know what to say and tried to speak but Akako interrupted him.
"Incoming!" Akako yelled as chunks of meat, bones, and feather feel all around them and spattered onto the ground in smoking gory craters.
"Those are the fucking scout falcons! What the hell happened?" Ayano said in horror. Shinjuka shook his head and let his ninja training kick in.
"Everyone move through the wreckage now! Prepare to engage any hostiles!"
The Shinobi moved through the wreckage with an ease and grace that could only have been granted by years of training and enhancement. Kunai's drawn at the ready, they searched through the wreckage, passing strange hallways and turns that were alien yet somehow strangely human to them. Words and glyphs were painted onto the floor and they decided to follow the arrows that lined the dark steel walls. An arrow that was stout but wide was painted onto the ground with the words "MESS HALL" painted in white letters underneath the arrow.
"Mess hall?" one of the ninja from squad Miazowa questioned.
"Shut it. Kunai drawn at the ready now!" Shinjuka commanded them all and they responded in kind. So far there weren't any residents in the wreckage and if there were, he didn't want them to know they were here. He was the commanding shinobi of this mission after all and he had strict orders from Gaara to not engage any thing unless engaged first. Six hundred and forty three successful missions in a row and he would make damn sure that he didn't break that long chain of wins.
They made their way into the mess hall in a tight circle, each angle covered in perfect precise fashion. Their steps echoed into the large open space that had bolted down tables ripped free from the ground and scattered pieces of trash littering the long tiled floors. Flood lamps flickered in and out, making it almost impossible to see, save for the large gapping maw at the end of the room.
"All squads take position at the end of the room. Check corners for any possible form of movement. Go!" Shinjuka whispered into his comm-link and gave his command with a stern voice. The group moved as it was ordered and made its way cautiously through the mess hall, watching out for anything that might jump at them. They all froze as they heard the distinct sound of giggling coming from right in front of them. Their eyes darted left and right as they tried to identify were the sound came from until what made the sound suddenly appeared right in front of them. Their eyes widened at what they saw.
A ghost or what they thought was a ghost, appeared right in front of them. It took the appearance of a young woman no more than twenty years old and had a body that was predominantly blue but had certain spots covered in red glyphs. The glyphs seemed to slowly creep across the entirety of her body, all the way up to her astonishing face. What was more baffling was that the entity seemed to beckon the group towards it with a seductive wave of the finger.
"Should we follow it?" a member from one of the other squads asked, the name not coming to Shinjuka. Before the squad leader could answer, Shinjuka snapped at the man.
"You go when I damn well tell you to go; now stay put damn it!" Shinjuka pointed his finger down fast to emphasize his point.
"I've got a better idea." Shinjuka said with a grin as he yanked a micro scroll out of its holster.
"Lets us allow the scarab puppets to scout the area ahead."
With a flash of hand signs, Shinjuka summoned three small wooden scarabs that sprang to life as he moved his fingers around. The tiny wooden scarabs crawled on the armored floor and made their way through the exit of the mess hall and out into what appeared to be a sandy pit. Through the small chakra stones embedded into the front of the puppets, Shinjuka could see and hear everything that they experienced. He was lucky that his brother had gifted these technological marvels to him for his birthday.
What he saw baffled him. The area outside of the mess hall seemed to be surrounded by large walls constructed out of the ship itself. Even stranger was what was putting the walls together. Seven complex mechanical creatures that looked like bigger versions of his wooden scarabs welded armor plates together in a quick fashion. Of all things, the ghost they recently spotted was no where to be found.
"Alright everyone! Take caution we are moving in!" he commanded the group as he released the summon and let the scout scarabs return.
As if it were a natural motion, the group of Shinobi moved in swiftly and covered every possible angle and location in the room. Nothing.
The only sound to fill the large chamber was that of metal being welded to metal and the occasional creek of wind blowing on the outside and all of that made Shinjuka uneasy.
"Keep your eyes peeled people, don't let anything get the jump on us." he said as he looked around the chamber for any signs of danger. A red flash exploded out of no where and filled the room with a bright light. The group of Shinobi shielded their eyes with their arms as the room was filled with the ominous light.
"The time has come for me to unveil myself to my future worshippers!" a booming female voice filled the chamber. Finally the light dimmed down just enough for them to see the origin of the voice.
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Cortana looked down at the nine humans before her with a smirk on her face. Most of her body now was covered in red runes of streaming information that coursed up and down her body like angry snakes. Without even thinking about it, she dimmed the hidden holoprojectors down slightly so that the humans could look upon her form.
"Look at me you filth!" she snapped at them. The nine humans looked up at her and their expressions made Cortana chuckle slightly.
'Of course! Anything that flashes brightly to these primitive humans must astonish them.' she thought to herself as she "glided" down to the ground. Her step didn't displace the sand as she approached the nine humans. Each one was clad in a set of thick carapace chest armor with tan camoflauged fatigues with what looked like ridiculous armored sandals. On their heads they wore bandanas with a thick, tempered stainless steel plate that had the symbol of an hour glass branded on. To add to the level of primitiveness, they all had strange lengthened delta shaped knives clutched tightly in their grips. She eyed them all and analyzed their body language with a cold and calculating speed.
'Fear.' she grinned evilly.
"What are you?" the leader of the human squadron (or so she assumed) spoke. Before she responded she scanned each and every one of their faces. It surprised her that each and every one of the humans in the chamber had different genetic attributes. Some had Caucasian and African features, but others had those of Latin and even Asian features. Excellent eye color, good stature, strong bodies: All of this surprised her! For a brief moment in time Cortana exited her state of rampancy and remembered about one of the sole hungers that drove her through thick and thin. Information! She needed more of it and now that she has an entire starship worth of empty databanks, she could learn and know about all things and everything. Of course with everything that begins it must come to end. Cortana snapped out of her trance and looked at the first human that spoke.
"I am your new god."