Three quick notes before I get this chapter underway:
1. First off, I'VE FINALLY READ ALL THREE HALO BOOKS. Now that that's out of the way, maybe this fic will seem more authentic for Halo fans everywhere. I'll try to incorporate what I can from the books, but I probably won't be able to get everything.
2. I greatly appreciate the thoughts and ideas given and I am also extremely grateful for the information given to me about the Halo universe.
3. I was hoping to get some feedback from a few people before posting this, but everyone seems very insistent that the next chapter be posted. I put just as much effort into this chapter as all the rest, so I hope that it's still up to par with what's already here.
Now, without further ado; drum roll "Master Chief's Side Trip": Chapter Five…
Reinforcements
This was a bad situation, but it wasn't nearly as bad as their situation on Halo had been. For one thing, there were no Covenant as well as no Flood. Add that to this place not getting ready to blow like an overheated soufflé and this was actually quite nice. However, as 'nice' as this situation seemed, they still had to deal with the fact that their only ride off this planet was totaled and they faced a joyous romp through the swamp where they had arrived.
Sergeant Avery J. Johnson observed the wreck of what had formerly been the Pelican Beta 921. It wasn't as hard of a crash as expected since the softer than average soil cushioned their plummet somewhat; although the pilot sure wasn't happy that his ship was no longer airworthy and made sure every surviving Marine knew for the first five minutes of their initial landing. The dark-skinned officer fished a fresh cigar from his pocket and lit it.
He had developed an acute distaste for swamps ever since his botched mission to find a Covenant weapons cache with Captain Keyes. At the time it was unknown to them that, instead of an arsenal, they uncovered quite possibly the most dangerous virulent in the known universe. It was only by the merest of chances that he survived, but the rest of his squad, including Keyes, weren't nearly as fortunate.
Johnson shook these thoughts out of his head. What they needed now was a clear thinker and he was the only possible candidate, at least in his mind. "Alright Marines, get tactical! We're not staying here for long. Get whatever you can carry out of here that even looks useful; including weapons and medical supplies."
His resounding voice even caught the attention of the flustered pilot and the total group of five managed to extract enough serviceable Assault Rifles and Pistols for each of them in addition to required ammunition. They even got an operational Rocket Launcher. In addition to that, there was an appreciative amount of biofoam in storage. The last thing that relieved him was the discovery of emergency rations. Those should sustain them long enough until they could figure out if anything on this rock was fit for human consumption.
"Excellent, now we need to wipe the computer clean of all information." Johnson declared once the supplies were gathered and he had given them the once over.
"Sir, is that really necessary. I mean it's not like the Covenant are going to follow us. Nothing could have survived that explosion." One of the Marines whose nameplate read C. Patterson questioned. Needless to say, this caught the veteran soldier by surprise, if only for an instant. Every Marine would know about the Cole Protocol. It was the single most important lesson anyone could learn when entering the armed forces of the UNSC.
"Wizen up and think soldier." Johnson ordered, advancing until his face was only a foot from Patterson's. "If we got out of that place in time before it bit the big one, chances are some of the Covenant might have done so as well. If they find this crash site and get their filthy claws on whatever information is in those systems, then Earth will be compromised, and I know no one here wants that to happen. So as it stands now, and seeing as I'm the person calling the shots around here, I'm not going to give those Covenant fools a chance." He indicated to himself with his thumb.
It was true, technically speaking; he outranked every soldier there, even though none of them were actually part of his squad. In fact, they risked their lives to pick him up when they discovered that the ring was going to be blown to Kingdom Come after the Truth and Reconciliation's destruction. Once the explosion had passed, the Sergeant found out that they were all that was left of Fire Team Delta.
They were headed to the Truth and Reconciliation to rendezvous with Major Silva when the captured Covenant cruiser inexplicably detonated. With no real destination left for them, they opened their receiver to pick up any stray UNSC broadcasts. This turned out to be a lifesaver for the dropship's occupants for they overheard Cortana's call to Foehammer about the Ring's inevitable destruction and high-tailed it out of there for less turbulent air space with the Sergeant in tow.
"Sir, you do realize that the computer holds our only way back home and we'll be officially cut off from Earth if we go through with your course of action?" Patterson continued unperturbed despite Johnson's close proximity.
The Sergeant could already tell that this Marine could jeopardize their chances of surviving this little excursion and had to do something to put him in his place, if at least for now. "Are you questioning my orders?" He began in a tone symbolic of the executioner to the executionee, "Because if you are then you obviously don't realize how useless that information will be for us without a working ship compared to how useful it would be to the Covenant with working ships. So if you want to be single-handedly responsible for the human race's extinction, be my guest; otherwise, zip your yap and follow orders!"
This had the desired effect of silencing the rebellious soldier and keeping him in line, but who knew how long that would last. No matter, for now he would obey without question. The first priority of the current situation was to move from an easily seen crash site to a more secure locale.
"If there are no more objections, form up and move out!" Johnson barked sharply causing the Marines present to do so, each with an equal portion of the supplies; even the Sergeant himself. As one, they marched into the damp swamp, unaware of what lay ahead of them on this mysterious world.
-----Robotropolis: Data Transfer Center B-12-----
This was the first time Master Chief had actually been in Robotropolis. He knew that there must have been some major pollution if their scanners were unable to penetrate it, but this was ridiculous. Years of dirt and grime stained buildings that had been there since Robotnik had taken over and it wasn't at all difficult to spot newer structures for they still had only thin layers of soot and other miniscule particles. No wonder this stuff couldn't be penetrated with all of the interference of these pollutants. He had a feeling that if he looked hard enough that he could see the condensation of the tainted atmosphere glide down his shielding.
But now he didn't have the luxury of those thoughts, being just outside of the main entrance of one of Robotnik's minor facilities, waiting for his chance to sneak inside, Master Chief quickly ran back over the plan set forward by Sally. Simply, he was to hold this location until Sonic created a distraction at a nearby SWATBOT factory. According to her, all the SWATBOTS in the area and surrounding sectors would immediately give chase in an attempt to capture him.
To the half-ton veteran of combat, programming such a thing for robots seemed like a foolish thing to do. Sure concentrating his efforts on capturing the most potent threat might be obvious, but to go through these kinds of measures was overcompensation which left him open to most any type of assault made by the other Freedom Fighters, who each had an edge in their own right. Ignoring them almost completely would be a blunder that would cost him a great deal.
The plan was simple enough from that point on; while the Mobians were on their mission against that particular factory, he would infiltrate the Data Transfer Center so Cortana could hack into Robotnik's network. Sally suggested using this building since it had such a high traffic rate for information. Hopefully, Cortana could move more easily through the computer networks unnoticed while she searched for any clues to the location of The Pathfinder.
Cortana had also suggested that she could download other useful files for the Freedom Fighters. However, this appeared to be something that Sally wished to avoid. The exiled princess explained that she knew that the two newcomers wouldn't always be around and didn't want to become too reliant upon their skills. She also understood that they had to return to Earth to help in their war against the Covenant, which was quickly explained to them along with a quick recap of Halo, the Flood, and Halo's final weapon just after the debriefing.
Hearing this, Cortana wasn't that hurt since her logic circuits did see the reasoning Sally employed. It impressed the Smart AI that, faced with this situation, Sally still wanted to fight this war without outside aid. Also, she was secretly glad that her offer was put down. All of the information she had gleaned from Halo's computer networks had actually diminished her overall performance. But she would never admit that to anyone, least of all herself, as she was proud of her status as the most advanced digital infiltration AI created by the UNSC.
Then, in an instant, alarm klaxons began to blare from every direction, snapping the two companions back to the present reality. Master Chief could just hear one SWATBOT drone, "PRIMARY HEDGEHOG DETECTED. APPREHEND AT ALL COSTS." It was just as Sally had predicted. It was good to know that she learned the first rule of combat; know your enemy. Shortly, there wasn't a SWATBOT left in sight so the armored soldier waited for a lone HOVERUNIT to pass by before he cautiously moved to the main entrance and forced it open ever so slightly. There may have been no guards left on the outside, but that didn't mean there were none left on the inside.
Once within the steel confines of the building Cortana immediately perused the map she had downloaded from Nicole. This was where the Freedom Fighters gained most of their intelligence about Robotnik's plans unnoticed; at least until Sir Charles had been given his free will back some months ago and began acting as a spy from the inside. But fortunately, they kept this location in reserve just in case of an emergency. Of course Cortana doubted that this was what they had in mind.
A short, empty corridor led them into a massive interior that could easily have been a massive docking bay for fighters. Just remove the several layers of the column-like computer situated in the room's center dominating the majority of the view as well as some of the consoles lining the outer edges and they'd be pretty much set up for business. Not wanting to be left out in the open for any extended period of time, Master Chief ducked behind one of the consoles. They would provide decent cover for his movement if he was discovered by any wandering SWATBOTS on the prowl for individuals doing exactly what he set out to accomplish.
"Alright, Chief, I just need access to the lower level, which should provide adequate access to the mainframe." Cortana assured her partner.
"No problem." He responded shortly and checked his sensors for any sign of movement. He was relieved that the Mobians provided them with a way to cut through the polluted smog in Robotropolis so that they would have more of an advantage on this mission. Of course, it did make sense that they would have such technology since this is what they had to contend with on a daily basis.
If there were any hostiles in the area, they weren't showing up on his array. Apart from the low humming their target emanated, nothing could be heard either that might hint at a possible threat. The defenses of this installation must have been stretched thin with all of the SWATBOTS in pursuit of Sonic. Luck like this was too good to be true and he knew it, so Master Chief hooked up his optic probe and discretely maneuvered it over top of the console so that it gave him the best view he could get from their low observational point. Seeing no patrols did nothing to ease the tension, the platforms further up could be hiding stationary units since his scanners only tracked movement.
However, since he didn't have much choice in the matter, he retracted the optic probe and cocked the pistol he had brought with him. As much as he wasn't up for using his sparse ammunition, he just might have to. Master Chief moved quickly to the target and allowed his hand to hover over the pad to let Cortana work her magic.
As far as systems went, this one felt a bit cramped for Cortana's taste. But the information she was observing did move by at a quick clip. There were even live links from active SWATBOTS and HOVERUNITS keeping track of Sonic. As of yet, they were having very little success despite their best efforts. Also, much to her amusement, there were no reports about the other Freedom Fighters.
But she had little time to dwell on these matters, she had to try and hack into the central mainframe. From there, she would be in the best position to locate, open, and copy any information she required. Navigating these systems proved to be easier than she had anticipated; Cortana constantly read unprotected files along the way, yet none of them served the purpose she had come for. Apparently Robotnik was so confident in his physical sentries here that he never bothered to put up countermeasures of any type. However, upon entering what appeared to be higher level systems, a few firewalls stood between her and certain files. It would have been a simple matter to break through these flimsy programs, but she simply did not have the time to do that. She had to dig much deeper into the system. Putting forth more of her processing power, Cortana headed into the inevitable location of the entire city's information; Robotnik's personal computer.
-----Robotropolis Central Control Center-----
Meanwhile, the evil dictator himself was not in a good mood at all. First, a ship of unknown origins had landed somewhere in the Dark Swamp and he had every reason to believe that it belonged to Earth. He wasted no time in dispatching three HOVERUNITS to capture any and all humans for interrogation; if what was found in the Great Forest was any indication, then Earth had greatly updated their arsenals since his ancestors arrived here so long ago and he wished to know exactly what he would be up against.
The real icing on the cake though, was that the Freedom Fighters had chosen now to raid his mighty city. It wasn't that his defenses were weakened with the absence of a few troops; it was that he didn't want to be distracted with anything. The thought that it couldn't be helped grated every fiber of his being.
"Snively! Report!" Robotnik growled in an impatient tone.
"Yes, sir. It appears that the SWATBOTS have had no luck in catching the hedgehog. In fact, he hasn't even made any attempts to fight back." The lackey complied; knowing now was most certainly not the time to test his uncle's ever-strenuous patience.
"Hmm, where was the hedgehog first sighted?"
"Near SWATBOT factory B-4, sir."
"Recall half of the SWATBOTS and HOVERUNITS to that factory and send an alert there as well." Robotnik ordered sharply.
"Yes, sir. Right away." Snively drawled in his nasally voice.
-----Robotropolis: SWATBOT factory B-4-----
Bunnie Rabbot and Sally Acorn returned to the designated spot once they had both set their charges in strategic locations within the factory. This was a maneuver they had performed in other factories numerous times and knew that it wouldn't be long until Robotnik got wise to their exploits. They had to act fast if they were going to get away without much trouble.
"Mine are all set, Bunnie." Sally confirmed with her comrade.
"Same here, Sally-girl." Bunnie verified as well.
"Then we'd better hurry. Nicole, activate charges and prepare to detonate."
"Acknowledged. Charges active and ready for detonation."
"Detonate…NOW!" A thunderous rumble shook the ground as the SWATBOT factory began to billow heavy clouds of smoke and creaking metal was heard bending against the strain of the explosions.
As the two of them retreated, hidden from sight by shadows and the random junk littering most of Robotropolis, Bunnie asked something that probably should have been taken into account. "So do y'all think Master Chief got what he needed yet?"
"Not sure. Hopefully he did. But if not, we may need to create another distraction." Sally replied shortly, appearing thoughtful. Waiting might not have been a bad idea, but they couldn't risk the charges being discovered.
By now Sonic would have shaken off his pursuers when he heard the explosion and arrived at the rendezvous point. He was usually there before any of them ready to head back to Knothole. This time, though, they would have to wait for Master Chief and Cortana to return from their mission. With any luck, a long wait wouldn't be necessary.
-----Robotropolis: Data Transfer Center B-12-----
It was a good thing that Cortana kept a constant watch on the SWATBOT transmissions concerning the Freedom Fighters. The detonated factory would provide the perfect cover for her and Master Chief now that she had all the information she needed, plus a bonus. However, it wasn't anything concerning the Freedom Fighters so she had still respected Sally's request of not helping even though she could.
Without missing a beat, Cortana had returned within Master Chief's MJOLNIR armor. "Let's move, in case you haven't noticed, the Freedom Fighters have already detonated the factory. If we hurry, we might not have to worry so much about being spotted on our way out." She said quickly before the super soldier would unknowingly stall their progress with questions that could wait.
"Affirmative, do you have the map to the rendezvous point?" Replied the SPARTAN II.
"Do you even have to ask?" Without another word, apart from the data extracted, it was as if the duo had never been there.
-----Rendezvous Point: Unknown Location-----
True to Sally's prediction, Sonic had already been waiting for at least five minutes, or in any event, he said it was at least five minutes. At this point, the three of them would have juiced back to Knothole but their last member had yet to make his appearance to officially end his first raid on Robotropolis. Master Chief wasn't exactly expected to show up just as soon as any of them, yet they hoped they wouldn't have a long wait. Robotnik was sure to have every available HOVERUNIT out searching for the cause of his factory's destruction.
"Hope MC made it out alright." Sonic said as the blue blur looked out the window of an old household no longer occupied. Its former denizens either roboticized or fled.
"Now, Ah wouldn't worry too much about that, Sugah-Hog." Bunnie replied assuredly. "From what he told us 'bout his exploits, Ah actually doubt he even has anythin' to worry from no SWATBOT. Besides, we made it here early, right Sally?"
"Yeah, Sonic. Even with the maps Cortana downloaded from Nicole, this is still a new area for both of them." Sally pointed out from her spot right next to the window, which served as their entry point since the glass was not present. She made sure to check the visible portions of street every so often to see if Master Chief was on his way.
"Maybe, but I still think he should have been back by now." The undeterred hedgehog continued.
"No, that's just you not wanting to sit in one spot for anymore time than you absolutely have to. But right now you'll just have to tough it out like we are." The brown squirrel assured him. Sonic would have pushed onward in the conversation, if only for the sake of not having to wait in silence, when the sounds of plasma fire zinged in their ears.
This caused the blue blur to change his intended sentence to a question. "You don't think…" He started and, upon looking at his cohorts, realized that they had the same thought. It made sense since that would be the only explanation for the SWATBUTTS to be making such a racket. Without even a moment's hesitation, Sonic had leaped through the window, ready to aid their newfound ally, with Bunnie following close behind. Knowing full well that there wasn't any other real alternative, Sally soon exited as well, ready to join the coming fray.
-----Robotropolis: Modified Route to Rendezvous Point-----
As far as Chief could tell, one of those HOVERUNITS had to have detected him somehow. He didn't know how, but at the moment, that didn't mean squat. Right now he had more SWATBOTS tailing him than a herd of reckless Grunts. These things were tough to dodge; they kept coming out of the woodwork. Even with him plowing along at fifty-five MPH, armor-clad feet beating the street with a rhythmic pounding, for as many as he outran, more appeared ahead of him. The armored veteran hadn't fired any of his rounds yet since he only had two clips each of Assault Rifle and Pistol ammo.
Master Chief hated to run; running almost always meant that his mission had failed in some way. Even though he completed his major objectives which left only regrouping with his unlikely allies and leaving unnoticed, this situation was completely unnecessary and the last thing needed. At least these things weren't as relentless as the Covenant fanatics he fought on an almost daily basis.
The constant threat of HOVERUNITS also did not help this whole mess and he found himself wishing fondly for some kind of heavy weapon like a rocket launcher. But wishful thinking wasn't going to get him out of this situation and so he had to improvise. Of course, it was by a bare stroke of luck that even the HOVERUNITS failed to keep up with his pace. It seemed that many of Robotnik's creations were slow and cumbersome. The SWATBOTS were nowhere near the tactical equivalents of Elites although their titanium chassis' appeared to provide better protection than some of the lesser Elite's body armor, minus the personal shield. Barely feeling winded from his excursion, managing to keep his breathe somewhat even to get as much oxygen to his amplified limbs as possible, Chief really didn't need time to physically recuperate yet, but he did need time to think about his next move ahead of evading his pursuers.
Hanging a sharp right, he surprisingly found no trace of any SWATBOTS which allowed him to take cover down an alleyway before the ones chasing him had any chance of rounding the corner themselves. This gave Master Chief a few precious moments to do what really needed to be done; think over his options. He couldn't go to the rendezvous point and risk the Freedom Fighters being discovered so option A was out. Then there was option B, get out of the city ASAP and hope that Sally and the others wouldn't wait up for him too long.
Knowing that this temporary cover wouldn't hide him for long, Chief needed to make a quick decision. Fortunately, he was already used to such quick thinking, having been leader of Blue Team before his unexpected mission on Halo. "Cortana, we need a way out of here fast." He indicated over his internal communications. As far as he knew, the others had not yet been discovered and it wouldn't do if they were all found out.
"Are you seriously thinking of abandoning Sally and the others just like that?" His comrade questioned suspiciously.
"No. The original plan's been busted and I'm sure they've figured that out by now. The only thing we can do at the moment is to hopefully keep the SWATBOT's attention for as long as possible so they can get out of here without being noticed."
Cortana's only sign of agreement was bringing up a yellow NAV Point. Seeing this, Master Chief continued in the direction he had originally been going before entering the alley. But only a short while later Cortana's voice rang over the internal speakers. "Chief, I'm going to contact Nicole to inform them of the sudden change in itinerary." The Smart AI took the silence of her comrade as an understanding of her decision as he dodged random junk and debris piles seemingly trying to impede his progress.
-----Robotropolis: Main Street-----
Surprisingly, the sounds of combat faded quickly and by the time the group had reached the street, it had become necessary to take cover so as not to be found themselves before they found their companion. Sonic would have blazed on ahead if Sally hadn't kept him from continuing onward. They had to stay together lest this became an impromptu double search mission.
After the briefing, Sally had given Cortana their communications frequency for emergency contact, even though she and Master Chief were to go in under radio silence to prevent their discovery just in case the frequency became hacked and the latest addition to the Freedom Fighters was discovered. Of course, now that Robotnik obviously now knew about Chief, that kind of precaution became obsolete and so the princess prepared to send a signal to Cortana knowing that she would be monitoring the frequency for activity. But she had only gotten as far as unclipping the mini-computer from her boot when Nicole said, "Incoming message from Cortana, Sally." It was a good thing that Nicole's voice volume had been turned down to the minimal audible setting or they would have been found by the SWATBOTS for sure.
"Put her through." Sally automatically replied and waited for Cortana to begin speaking once Nicole had confirmed an established connection.
"Cortana to the Freedom Fighters. Do you copy?"
"This is Sally. I copy you loud and clear."
"Good. The Master Chief and I are on our way out of here. I suggest that you and the others do the same before you're detected yourselves." Cortana informed her.
"I understand. Do you remember the way to Knothole?"
"But of course. We'll see you there. Cortana out, and good luck." Sally heard the static of the cut transmission and returned Nicole to her boot
"You heard her. We need to head out. With any luck, the SWATBOTS may be too distracted with Master Chief to look for us." Sally prompted.
"Cool. Hold on, ladies. It's time to juice and jam!" Sonic exclaimed and was off faster than a shot with Sally and Bunnie in tow. All the while Sonic couldn't help but think how their role and Master Chief's role suddenly got switched at the mission's tail end. It was something to think about as he sped out of the Robptropolis City Limits.