Happy Halloween, Wolfgang!
Sorry that I haven't updated in 1,116,964 seconds, give or take a minute or two. I've been pretty busy.
Also, that number of seconds is pretty damn accurate. Trust me.
I'll have another chapter out within the next few days. I had to put my Dark Souls story on hold for the moment, I just have too many ideas that I'm in the process of having, and it's hard to multitask. I created a story based around Payday: The Heist during the time since the last Halo chapter, and so far I'm pretty proud of it.
Along with that, I submitted a story for a Halloween writing event called Terror Souls, hosted by fellow writer ASouffleToServeTwo. The guy is a Dark Souls mastermind, check him out if you'd like. Be sure to check out my Terror Souls entry, which is written entirely in poetry, and my Payday story. You won't be disappointed by either.
Happy reading, Wolfgang!
~Husky
"If we survive long enough, I want a course from here into the gravity well of Basis to slingshot us around." John said. "We can do it. I know we can."
This part of the plan was simple, or at least it sounded the part. They were going to retreat towards the nearby moon, Basis, and use the pull of its gravity to shoot both the Pelican and the Longsword back at the Covenant faster than the wrinkled bastards could say "Demon".
One of the perks of having a partner in this suicide mission was that, in times of panic, Six and John really synchronized when it came to coming up with plans. They had done it before, and, so far, they weren't letting each other down. In a way, it reminded Six of his old team. The pain of losing all of them so quickly, and almost dying himself, was still fresh. He just figured out how to keep it all inside. A Spartan's life, a soldier's life, was a battlefield.
The mission came before mourning above all else.
"Alright, let's do it." Cortana said.
Cortana may have been a bit hesitant, but she trusted John no matter what, and she trusted Six nearly just as much. After all, it was Six who had carried her to the Pillar of Autumn during the fall of Reach, and he very nearly perished a hundred times over along the way. It just showed the resilience of Spartans, regardless of version. John may have been stronger, and luckier, and... a whole lot of other things... but Six bested John in one category, at one thing. Spirit. John may have been unbreakable in combat, but Six was unbreakable. Period.
"Done. But I still don't understand..." Cortana said, trailing off. Something was going on on the radar. Or, rather, off.
"What's up?" Six asked, sounding concerned. If there was a single hitch in the plan, then things would get... explosive.
"They've stopped firing." She replied.
Six loosened his muscles. "We're on the same line of fire as their flagship. They won't shoot." He said, diverting his focus to the monitors again. Every pixel on the screen had to align perfectly with what the Spartans' slingshot plan.
"Pelican now twelve hundred kilometers and closing." Cortana said. "Within range for system link."
John clicked the coms systems on. "Polaski, release your controls. We're taking over."
"Chief?" Polaski asked. She wasn't aware of the plan yet, nor was anyone else on the Pelican. It wouldn't take long to explain, but he understood her reluctance.
"Establish encrypted system link. Acknowledge." John said.
"Roger." Polaski replied.
"Synchronize our courses, Cortana. Put us right on top of the Pelican." John said.
After a moment of unnerving silence, Cortana completed the connection. "Got them." She said. "Maneuvering to intercept the Pelican. Five hundred kilometers to flagship."
"We've got a little time." Six said.
"Prepare to alter our course, Cortana, as we pass the flagship. Also, get ready to direct all scanners at the flagship if we pass." John said.
'"If?" Cortana asked.
The flagship's form poured into view. Like the rest of the cruisers, it carried more than enough firepower to take down both of the smaller ships in the blink of an eye. The cannons, instead of the standard cruiser plasma cannons, were dual barreled, and looked as hot as the sun in the freezing vacuum of space, the metal ends of both barrels heated to what looked near melting point for the alien material. Burning blue plasma shone through splits in the flagship's form, giving it the appearance of a digital sort if you looked at it from the right angle. The monstrous war vessel stood out among all of the others as the two Spartans sped towards the moon at breakneck speed.
"Three hundred kilometers." Cortana said.
The cannons on the flagship were already warmed up and ready to be fired. But they didn't. Like they were waiting for something...
Then, suddenly, the cannons fired, sending a barrage of plasma torpedoes flying towards the Longsword's future location.
"Cortana, evasiv-" Six said, but was stopped in his tracks, nearly sent sprawling into the stationary cryo-pods, when Cortana banked the Longsword back, going from hundreds of kilometers per hour to nearly none as the plasma torpedoes flew in front of them. Cortana was one step ahead of the game.
Six realized why the flagship had waited a few seconds later. The Pelican weaved through the plasma torpedoes like they were nothing, but Six understood their motive. They had been waiting to line up both the Longsword and the Pelican so they could annihilate the both of the vessels with the push of a button.
Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
Luckily, the plan didn't succeed. Cortana repositioned the head of the ship towards their target, which they were approaching fast. Considering the extremely awkward angle and speed of the Longsword and the dead-center aim of the Covenant, Six counted on their enemies to miss again.
"Ten kilometers." Cortana announced. "Scanning in burst mode."
John eased back into his seat, releasing a deep exhale. "Very good." He said.
"Burning into a high slingshot orbit." Cortana said. "You might be confused about which way is up for a moment."
The Longsword's engines intensified, rumbling heavily as the ship accelerated back up, past its previous speed. Cortana wasn't wrong about being confused, either. Between the noise and the quick banking of the ship, Six's head was spinning.
"Bring us closer to the Pelican," John said. "Right on top. Give me a hard dock on its top access hatch."
"Readjusting burn parameters and re-activating zero-gravity." Cortana replied. "But you know a linked-ship configuration dur- ing an orbital burn isn't stable."
"Well, we'll just have to make this brief, then." Six said. John slipped out of his harness and drifted aft of the ship, pulling himself down to the floor, Six following close behind.
"Any idea who could be on the Pelican?" Six asked.
"Aside from Polaski, no. I guess that we'll have to wait and see." John said. He popped the seals on the access hatch and lifted it open, leaving no time to waste.
As soon as the hatch opened, a glove reached up and into the Longsword. Instinctively, Six grabbed it and pulled upwards, bringing the person into the ship. He had dark, chocolate colored skin, and a thick mustache.
John saw the black man and realized something. He had overlooked it before, but he realized now the potential danger of this particular situation.
As Six was about to address the individual, John kicked the hatch back closed with a lightning fast jerk of his leg. He pushed Six off of the man, pulled his magnum from its holster and held it to the black man's forehead, pressing him against the wall with his free arm.
Six floated towards the terminals, crashing into the pilot's seat and nearly hitting the windshield. "John! What are you-"
"You were dead." John said coldly. "I saw you die. On Jenkins's mission record. The Flood got you."
Six held his breath. John was right, and he hadn't even realized...
"The Flood?" The black man asked. "Hell, Chief, it'll take more than that pack of walking alien horror-show freaks to take out Sergeant Avery J. Johnson."