Chapter 1 A bug in the system.
Soverngarde ,Tamriel , 4E 201
Elena ,The Last Dragonborn paused and looked back on the place where she had vanquished the dragon Alduin. She was glad that she had finally killed Alduin after all these months of pursing her goal. She found the portal back to Skyrim and she went through. On the other side she went by a little known back-road to the city of Whiterun. When she entered the city gates cheering crowds awaited him. They shouted things like "Hooray for Dovahkiin" and "Long live the Dragonborn!"She smiled but she got to his house and went inside, wanting some peace and quiet. She knew she should feel accomplished and happy but she felt like something was missing. She mentally went over the list of his possessions, her sword, her battleaxe, her Daedric armor, her amulet of Talos... That was it! Her amulet was missing! She sighed and went out the door to go back to Soverngarde to retrieve her amulet.
Planet Reach, 2558, ONI Castle Base.
3 days later...
The ONI scientists were working around the clock but were still drawing a blank on where the amulet came from. They had, however found out what it was made of. It appeared to be composed of steel and the bones of an unknown creature. Admiral Margret Parangosky sighed and turned away. This was proving to be a mystery to even her most capable scientists. She turned to the holographic box which was the avatar of the AI BB and said "If they find anything, let me know." "Will do ma'am" replied the AI known as Black Box or BB for short. She made her way towards the barracks of the base to see how Spartan Blue Team was doing. She found them sitting in the barracks cleaning their weapons. She addressed the team leader, Master Chief. "Chief, could you please go to the site of the explosion and see if the marines missed anything important." He replied "Yes ma'am consider it done."
The Spartans stood up and made their way to the armory door. First came Master Chief, the team leader. He chose an Assault Rifle, a Pistol and 2 Frag grenades. Next came Sam the team sniper, Spartan 195 in Blue Scout armor. He chose a Sniper Rifle, a BR 88 Battle Rifle and a Promethean Vision Armor Ability. Then came Ryan, Spartan 558 in Blue and Yellow Fotus armor. He grabbed a Rocket Launcher, a Sniper Rifle and a Hologram Armor Ability. After that came Hayden, Spartan 247 in Blue EVA armor. He chose a Shotgun, a Magnum Pistol and a bubble Shield Armor Ability. Then came Neve, Spartan 458 in Turquoise Fotus armor. She chose a Rocket launcher, 2 Sticky Detonators, an Active Camouflage Armor Ability and a Power Drainer. Lastly came Terry, Spartan 343 in Blue Venator armor. He chose an Assault Rifle and a DMR and a Armor Lock Armor Ability.
The team filed through the door and got onto a couple of the bases UH-144 Falcons. They took off and flew due north towards the Babd Catha Ice Shelf.
They arrived at their destination and the team leaped off the Falcons with Master Chief in the lead. They approached the site of the explosion and began to search the perimeter. " I don't see anything else around here" reported Hayden after 30 minutes of searching. "Look at the middle of the crater" replied Ryan. "My scanners aren't picking up any explosives residue". Master Chief came up to them and said "It might be some kind of Forerunner Bomb." Whatever it was they didn't seem any closer to finding out. "I don't like this place, it gives me the creeps" said Terry. "I concur!" said Sam. "Let's get out of here!" They boarded the Falcons and started back home.
Eayn, Kig-Yar Homeworld, 2558 , Zephyrus Tea House.
Chol Von paused before pressing the answer button on her comm unit. She sincerely hoped that it wasn't Avu Med Telcam calling to taunt her seconds before his hired commandos killed her from behind. It turned out to be another Sangheli, but she had never heard this one before. " I am Jul 'Mdama" said the voice. She recognized that name. "You were the one who discovered Requiem!" " I thought that you had died when the world crashed into its sun." The voice replied " I got out on the last Cruiser before the planet hit the sun."
"What do you want with me?" asked Chol. 'Mdama said" You are a strong proponent of a united Kig-Yar navy are you not?" "Yes I am." "Whats it to you?" she queried. He sighed audibly. "I have discovered that the Heretics have found an Artifact that came from the Forerunners." " I want that artifact in my hands" " I need some Kig-Yar soldiers to strengthen my numbers." " You could get me those soldiers."
"What do you have that I could possibly want." she asked. "Ships " he replied. "I will give you 20 SDV Class Heavy Corvettes , 5 CCS Class Battle Cruisers and 1 CAS Class Assault Carrier." Chol paused for breath. The number of ships he was offering would turn her dream of a Kig-Yar navy into a reality. She asked 'Mdama "When and where do you want the troops?" He said " I need 5,000 Kig-Yar troopers in two weeks." "Deliver them to the Requiem System." " Alright, I'll get on it" said Chol. She hung up, finished her tea and walked out, already planning how to get so many troops.
Soverngarde, Tamriel, 4E 201
The Dovahkiin glanced around the area one more time to make sure that she hadn't missed his amulet in the fog. Nothing. She threw up her arms in frustration. "where could it have gone?" She decided to go see the Archmage at the Collage of Winterhold. If anyone could help her it was the Archmage. She gathered her wits and set out on her long journey. she traveled for 3 days before catching sight of the Collage. She approached the gates and she was welcomed warmly by the Archmage. "What brings you here Elena?" asked the Archmage. " I need help finding my Amulet of Talos" said the Dovahkiin. " Come inside and I will see what I can do for you" said the Archmage.
Requiem System, 2558, CAS Class Assault Carrier, Song Of Retribution.
2 Weeks later...
The last of the KigYar troops got onto the hangar deck and Chol breathed a sigh of relief. Getting thousands of KigYar troops from Eayn to this remote system had not been an easy or pleasant task. But here she was, none the worse for wear with only a mild headache. She looked up and saw Jul 'Mdama heading towards her. He said "Good job." "You have done well". "What about my payment?" she asked. "Come to the bridge and we will discuss matters there." Chol was impatient but decided to go along with Jul.
They got onto the Grav Lift to the bridge and were soon on the bridge itself. Chol looked out into the vast reaches of space. She turned to Jul and said " I grow tired of waiting!" "Where are the ships you promised me?" "Patience" said Jul. "You will get your ships after I have the artifact in my possession, not before." "You said nothing about this 2 weeks ago!" " My terms have changed" he replied. "Of course you could pack up and leave but then you will have a lot harder time finding ships for your navy."She said "Fine have it your way" "But I want those ships the minute the artifact is in your hands!" "I promise you will get your ships once I have the artifact." he said. Chol sighed in exasperation and wondered why she had ever trusted a Sangheli.
Reach, Aszod Ship-breaking Yards,2558, 0800 hours.
The ONI Prowler was waiting for the team and the scientists when they appeared. They moved quickly and quietly towards the rear loading ramp of the Prowler. The artifact was encased in a box of solid Titanium-A being carried by 3 scientists. They boarded the ship and it took off moments later. Inside the vessel there was the entirety of Spartan Blue Team.
"Where are we going to?" asked Neve. The captain answered " We are going to a base of the surface of Installation 03." "But that's a Halo ring!" said one of the scientists. "Why are we going to take the amulet there?" "It is a very secure place and the last place that the Innies would ever look." replied the captain. "alright" said the scientist. The intercom buzzed, interrupting their conversation. "Stand by to jump to Slipspace!" the deck shuddered and they took off into Slipspace.
Requiem System, 2588, CAS Class Carrier Song of Retribution.
5 Hours later...
Chol was growing irritated with Jul. She had expected him to get underway immediately but they had been sitting here for hours without any movement except minor course corrections to avoid debris. "When are we going to get under way?" she asked. "Patience" replied Jul. "I need to find the artifact first." "What!" she screeched. "You don't even know where it is!". He said " Not anymore I don't." "The Heretics have moved it." "Until I find out where it is we won't be able to launch an attack."
Chol growled and sat back down in her chair. Suddenly the comm board beeped. Jul strode across the deck to answer it. "Yes?" The voice of a Sangheli replied "The tracker says that their ship is at the location of the 3d Halo Ring." "How fitting". We shall reclaim the Forerunner artifact on their very own construct." He turned to his bridge crew. "Jump to Slipspace on a course for the Kaphrae system!" "Soon the artifact will be ours!"
Halo Installation 03, UNSC Mermaid Base, 2588, 1300 Hours.
The Pelican dropship flew into the hangar of Mermaid Base. It hovered for a few seconds before setting down. The rear door slid open and the Spartans came out, followed by the scientists with the artifact. All of the Spartan team except for Master Chief crowded towards the edge of the hangar. "Wow!" said Sam. The surface of the ring was one big jungle. The jungle was filled with strange kinds of trees that the Spartans had never seen before.
Master Chief yelled back at them "Let's get moving!" "We need to secure the artifact." The Spartan team followed their leader through the doors that lead to the main area of the base. They escorted the artifact down long corridors until it finally reached its destination, the high security bunker underneath the base. The Spartans made sure that the artifact was safe before they dispersed to go to their rooms. The ONI Prowler left the system soon after, bound to parts unknown.
A few hours later the officer on duty in the control room noticed something odd. It appeared that multiple ships had just exited Slipspace near the Halo Ring. He didn't have a clue whose ships they were but he sent a notification to ONI with all the relevant details. Then the ships came closer and he could see that they were Covenant! He tried to send a distress signal to any nearby ships but it looked like his comms were being jammed. He sounded the alarm in the base. "Alert" he yelled into the speaker system. "Covenant Dropships inbound!"
The Spartans all heard the alarm and rushed to the hangar to join the defense force. The hangar doors began to grind slowly shut. They finally did so and the light from outside vanished. They stood in silence for a few minutes. Then they heard an explosion and the doors fell of their hinges. They saw a Phantom dropship outside the hangar bay that was disgorging troops. The first wave consisted of 5 Grunt Minors, 2 Jackal Minors and an Elite Minor. They immediately began to fire when they saw the marines in the hangar. Plasma rounds sizzled over the heads of Blue Team. They readied their weapons and burst from cover. The Grunts immediately began to flee, screaming "It's the Demons!" as they did so. They didn't get far before Hayden opened fire with his pistol. 5 shots rang out and 5 Grunts fell dead.
Over on the other side of the hangar Terry had taken out the Elite with his DMR and Neve had fired a well placed rocket that blew the 2 Jackals to smithereens. "Well that wasn't so bad" said Ryan. Just then 3 more Phantoms flew into the hangar and dropped 3 Type-32 Ghost Rapid Assault Vehicles. The Phantoms then opened their side door and out came 16 angry Jackal Minors, 2 Brute Minors and a Brute Captain. "I spoke too soon" said Ryan.
The Ghosts opened fire and a devastating hail of plasma bolts flew towards the defenders. Several marines were hit by the barrage and they were instantly killed. Ryan fired his Rocket Launcher and managed to take out one of the Ghosts. Debris flew across the hangar floor. The other Spartans opened fire and took down the remaining 2 Ghosts. But now they still had to deal with some very mean looking Covenant infantry. The Brute Minors fired their Spikers and advanced. The Jackals formed a shield wall and slowly began to move forward, sending out a hail of Needler rounds as they did so.
Terry threw a Grenade at the formation of Jackals and they scattered. This was the opening Sam had been looking for. He lowered his Sniper Rifle and fired his whole clip into the Jackals. 4 Jackal Minors had been killed by his sniping but there were still 12 more. He looked around the hangar, hunting for targets. He fired 2 more clips into the Jackals and then he heard a roaring noise. The Brute Captain had spotted him and decided he had had enough of this pesky sniper. Sam reached for another clip but he was out of them. He tried to reach his Battle Rifle but it was out of reach. The Captain prepared to swing his mighty Gravity Hammer. Suddenly he went limp and fell to the floor. Neve disengaged her Active Camouflage and stepped out from behind the corpse of the dead Brute.
"Thanks Neve!" said Sam. "I owe you one!" "No problem!" she replied. Sam got his Battle Rifle and began to fire at the last remaining Brute. He took an entire clip and then fell dead. Suddenly 2 more Phantom dropships entered the hangar and dropped off 6 Elite Minors, an Elite Officer and 3 Grunt Spec Ops with Fuel Rod Cannons. "Uh oh!" said Hayden. These Grunts weren't cowards and they fired their Fuel Rod Cannons in unison. All the Spartans took cover and the highly radioactive cannon rounds exploded against the far wall. Terry fired 3 shots from his DMR and the Grunts fell dead. Sam ran across the floor and scooped up one of the Fuel Rod Cannons. He then proceeded to take out the Elites with his newly acquired weapon. The last Elite tried to get a clear shot at Hayden but he just sidestepped the Elites shots and fired his shotgun into the Elite. The hangar had been cleared, for the moment.
Suddenly on the west side of the base, an explosion shook the building. "This is Fire team Romeo!" the radio blared. "We are under heavy fire from a large group of Covenant!" "We need reinforcements now!" Blue Team rushed to the western corridor. They saw smoke billowing through the hallways. They got to an intersection in the corridor and saw several Grunt Minors firing their Plasma Pistols at a door. They were all taken out by a well thrown Grenade from Terry.
"What did they mean by large Covenant force." said Ryan. "There's no one here!" "Don't be too sure of that" said Sam. He was staring at a patch of air that seemed to be shimmering. Then, quick as a flash he threw his combat knife at it. The Active Camouflage of the Elite Spec Ops faded and they saw the large alien slump to the floor. The entirety of Blue team then turned at a loud noise that was coming from the other end of a sealed blast door.
Suddenly the door blew in! An alien that was the worst nightmare of many UNSC troops stepped out of the corridor. It was a Hunter! The beast spotted Hayden out of the corner of its eye and opened fire with its Assault Cannon. Blue Team scattered and the green round of incendiary gel hit the door at the opposite end of the corridor and that door blew open as well. Then another Hunter stepped out from the doorway and scanned the room for targets.
Neve saw an opening and took out her dual Sticky Detonators. She snuck around the back of the 2 massive aliens and fired both her detonators at them. One Hunter was hit in his weak spot and was instantly killed. The other one had only been slightly wounded and it turned to face Neve. Once its back was turned, Ryan threw a Plasma Grenade stolen from the body of a Grunt at the Hunter. It hit it square in its vulnerable back and detonated, showering the room with orange blood.
"Whew" said Hayden "I'm glad that's over!" The team rushed further along the corridor. They saw sunlight up ahead and they came to a large hole in the wall. They saw an Elite Spec Ops with the amulets case in his hands running towards the door of a Lich Dropship. He jumped on board and the Lich began to take off. "Jump!" yelled Sam. "It's our only chance to catch him!" the entire team jumped onto the Lich. Neve hit at a bad angle and slipped off the edge! At the last second, a hand grabbed hers and hauled her back onto the Lich. It was Sam who had seen her slip. "Now were even!" he joked. The team ran further into the Lich, taking out Covenant as they went. They got to the bridge and Ryan shot the Elite with his Sniper Rifle. Hayden grabbed the amulets case and was just about to go back out the door when the ships engines blew. The Lich began a slow spiral down to the surface of the Halo Ring. The Spartans jumped off at the last second and were already up and racing for cover when the Lich hit the ground and blew up.
The Covenant were on the scene in no time and they deployed a force of 35 Grunt Minors, 20 Elite Minors, 14 Jackal Majors, 6 Jackal Snipers and 2 Elite Warriors to find the Demons and take back the artifact. Blue Team watched from the shadows, already formulating a plan.
The Elite in charge was Meta Zamame, an Elite Warrior. He was looking for signs of the Demons when he heard a branch crack off in the forest to their left. He growled and gestured at the area. 6 Elites and 10 Grunts pelted off into the dense forest, disappearing from view after going about 30 feet.
Neve and Ryan aimed their Rocket Launchers at the group of Covenant from their perch on the lowermost branch of a large jungle tree and opened fire. 4 Rockets knifed out towards the Covenant soldiers and exploded in a bright orange fireball. When the smoke cleared the entire Covenant scout team was dead.
Meta heard the explosion and he instantly turned towards the direction of where the blast had originated. "It is the Demons!" he said. He briefly considered going in pursuit of the Demons, but they would probably ambush him like they had the scout team. He turned to his second in command and was just about to speak when he heard a crack and felt extreme pain for a split second. Then nothing…
Sam took out the rest of the Covenant with methodical fire from his captured Beam Rifle. He then made his way back to where the rest of the team was. "We need to keep moving!" said the Chief. "The Covenant will bring in more reinforcements until they have the artifact. The team slung their weapons over their shoulders and headed out. Sure enough they heard the unmistakeable whine of a Phantom dropship behind them not 5 minutes after they had left the area. They looked back and Neve being the most agile climbed up a tree to get a better look. She yelled down to the others "They deployed a Wraith Tank and it seems to be coming this way!" The rest of the team prepared to face the mortar tank and loaded their heavy weapons.
The Covenant squad hurried into the jungle in all directions. They didn't need to worry about losing the Demons, they had hundreds of troops to search the area with. The Wraith Tank was unknowingly headed right in the direction of Blue Team. The massive vehicle crashed through the undergrowth, searching for the enemy. Suddenly above in the trees Neve dropped her Power Drain onto the tank, causing it to stop dead. The Master Chief took advantage of this opportunity and dropped onto the front of the tank. He ripped open the cockpit and dragged out the pilot, who was dispatched by a DMR shot from Terry. The Master Chief then got into the tank and began to rotate the vehicle towards the enemy dropship he had spotted offloading troops in the distance.
He pressed the fire button and a plasma mortar round arced across the sky before slamming into the enemy dropship with a crump. The Chief fired off plasma rounds as fast as the tanks reload system would allow. On his third round he must have hit something vital, because the Dropships engines failed and it crashed to the ground. None of the Covenant forces around the crash site were able to run, walk, stagger, or crawl away from the wreckage of the ship. The Chief turned to the rest of his team and said "Get on the sides of the tank team!" "Ryan, you man the turret!" The team mounted up and the Chief began to drive away from the area.
They drove in peace for the better part of 30 minutes but their drive was interrupted by a Banshee, which is a Covenant Fighter Plane. The Banshee fired it's Plasma Cannons and Ryan began to track the Banshee in his Rocket Launcher scope as the Master Chief swerved to avoid the incoming fire. He heard the telltale Beep! which meant that the Rocket Launcher was locked on to it's target. He fired a Rocket and it homed in on the Banshee. The pilot of the alien craft tried to evade the projectile but he was too slow. The rocket connected with the left engine of the Banshee and it blew up in a spectacular blue fireball. 'We need to get moving!" said Hayden. "The Covenant will be looking for their ship!"
The team moved towards the distant Unicorn Base which was about 50 klicks north of their position. They had almost reached their destination when they heard the sound of a Covenant Cruises overhead. They looked up to see the massive alien ship approach them and blot out the sun with its bulk. The Spartans looked at each other, all silently agreeing not to go down without a fight.
Aboard the bridge of the ship the commander Zuka Zammame prepared to give the order to launch the 6 Lich Dropships and take out the Demons. He chuckled at their helplessness. It was almost too easy. Suddenly the ship lurched as if struck by a Titans hand. The MAC round from the UNSC relief force had hit the nose of the massive ship and it veered off to the left and fell into the jungle about 80 miles away. The Spartans saw the enormous blast from the explosion on the horizon and then heard a cheerful voice sound over the intercom. " This is the UNSC Ready or Not reporting for duty.!" Sam said back over the radio "Thanks for the assist Ready or Not. "Don't worry, we left plenty of Covenant for you" The Spartans watched as Pelican Dropships filled the sky and they were approached by one from the east. "this is James Lambert of the 23d Marine Battalion!" said a voice over the radio. "looks like Mermaid Base was hit real hard, you guys must have had a heck of a fight!" "You bet!" replied Hayden.
The Pelican descended into the clearing in which the Spartans were and they leaped aboard it as soon as it touched down. The Pelican took off and rocketed towards the safety of the UNSC Cruiser Say My Name. They touched down in the aft vehicle bay and they were greeted by the UNSC ONI operative Serin Osman. "Good work Spartans!" she said. "we are glad that you managed to keep hold of the amulet." "That's our job" said Hayden as he passed the amulets case to 2 burly intelligence officers who lifted it and carried it out of sight. The Spartans began to go back to the Pelican but Osman stopped them. "Come with me" she said. The Spartans were confused but complied without question. She lead them to one of the Cruisers lab rooms and shut the door when all the Spartans had filed in. "we have figured out in your absence that the amulet has a sort of Slipspace field attached to it. "we figure that if someone puts it on they will be transported to wherever the object came from." "that's ridiculous!" Ryan said. "It sounds like a kids story or something." "I don't know" said Sam. " I have a strange feeling that she is right." "will you try on the amulet please." asked Osman. "I need to see if it works." "but only if you want to" she said softly. "I know how hard it is to be a Spartan, at the governments beck and call." "we'll do it" Sam said.
The Spartans all crowded round and watched as Sam put on the Amulet. Suddenly there was a flash of light and when it cleared Blue team was gone!