Part 15

Ventral Hangar Bay, onboard the Covenant Cruiser Malicious Intent

The Arbiter rushed along the ventral corridor of the ship along with Rtas and a handful of well armed Sangheili.
The message from the Forerunner vessel had indicated the return of the Spartan. But there was no way of knowing the truth until the vessel arrived in the hangar bay, and unloaded its mysterious cargo.
Secretly he hoped that the message was true. The Spartan had become a trusted ally, and a good friend.
The Master Chief had saved his hide many times, but he had taken this with humility and respect, repaying the debt in their fight with the Prophets lies.
Whilst the war was being fought, and the fate of the galaxy was in balance, the Spartan had given Humanity a voice with which to answer the deafening wave of terror that was the Flood.
He had seen countless honorable Sangheili swept aside by the parasite, engulfed to become host to the monster. But the Master Chief, the Demon, and bane of the Covenant had razed infected hives to the ground, swept a path of destruction through the parasite, and to its single minded intelligence that was the Gravemind.
The Master Chief was, if anything, deserved of the Covenant name that he was given. He was a juggernaut of fighting skill, cunning and brute strength. He was indeed a Demon.

The Arbiter arrived at the doorway to the ventral hangar bay, and opened the main door.
Before him was a disorganised and embarrassing mess as the Jiralhanae had done little to maintain their ship, or the craft that were carried within its hold. Inside the large bay were six Spirit drop ships.
These graceful and respected craft had been all but replaced at the Jiralhanae's insistence, and the greed driven council, sensing an opportunity had happily obliged. Of the six craft four of them were damaged beyond repair, whereas the remaining two could be brought back to operational status with some simple maintenance. The Arbiter knew that any form of maintenance would be long and difficult as the previous Captain had disposed of his Huragok through the airlock in a fit of anger.
Further along the hangar wall were four Phantoms. One was outfitted in a heavy anti-armour role, whilst another was modified for ground support. The remaining two were in their original troop transport role.
Ever since the Jiralhanae had gained favor with the Prophets, these unconventional and distasteful craft had become the main mode of transport for Covenant ground troops.
The Arbiter smirked under his helmet, knowing that the Spirit drop ship would soon be returned to its rightful role.

The Arbiter slowly walked in – plasma rifle at the ready. He was hopeful, but still cautious of the alien ship, which was now waiting patiently outside the energy barrier. He doubted that the barrier, locked or not would be capable of stopping a Forerunner ship, but he noted the pilot's cooperation.
The Arbiter had insisted on a strict adherence to Covenant boarding protocol, and so far it was being followed.
Several of his warriors took up positions along the upper gantry level, including the overlooking plasma turrets that littered the walkway. Each one was trained on the Forerunner vessel. If there was any sign of deception then they would unleash a stream of intense plasma fire.
The Arbiter walked over to the main landing area, and slowly lowered his plasma rifle before ordering the deactivation of the red illuminated security field on the hangar entrance.
Rtas moved to the side of the Arbiter, next to a pile of logistical containers where he maintained his vigilant aim on the alien vessel.
Very slowly and with careful precision, the vessel inched its way into the hangar.

It was an unusual vessel but also familiar and in keeping with the single theme of engineering that the Forerunners used. It was a single flowing design that gave the impression of a thin triangular frame with three larger bulkhead or buttress like wings or stabilizers. All of these widened to a large hold at the rear, whilst the front narrowed to a dull point. Its metal skin was a calm grey with strokes of blue lighting along the hull and the three protruding struts.
There was little noise from the vessel as it pushed its way through the now blue energy barrier.
The Arbiter moved slowly to side of the forerunner ship, looking for any sign of a doorway or hatch, but the hull of the craft was smooth and seamless.
Rtas indicated to the vessel to stop with a raised hand. The craft immediately responded by stopping dead and lowering to meet the hangar floor.
A shimmer of light rippled over a small section of the side and a doorway appeared. Both Rtas and the Arbiter raised their plasma rifles again, in anticipation of the disembarkation.
The door silently slid out of view inside the craft, revealing the interior. The Arbiter blinked several times to ensure he was not hallucinating, but the there was definitely a familiar figure at the doorway. He motioned the science officer forward to scan the individual in front of him.

"Scans confirm Arbiter, it is him." sounded the science officer

Upon hearing the news the Arbiter lowered his rifle, followed by Rtas and the others.

"Welcome back Spartan, it is good to see you again." He said with a fanged smile.

John stepped forward and grasped the Arbiters hand in a firm but friendly handshake. "It's good to be back," Said John, as he glanced around the cluttered hangar bay, "I see you've been busy."

"Please accept my apologies Spartan, but the…Brutes as you call them are unworthy of such prized possessions."

John returned his gaze to the Arbiter, "The spoils of war."

"Indeed," the Arbiter motioned for Rtas to come forward, "I believe you already know Rtas."
Rtas extended a clawed hand to John, who took it without hesitation before giving it a firm shake. Rtas gave a crooked smile before John nodded in response.

"I'd hate to interrupt this delightful reunion of the old and bold, but we have a lot to do chief." Came a familiar female voice

"I believe you know Cortana," Uttered John as she appeared on a doorway holo-plinth nearby - bathing the nearby area in blue light.

"Ah the artificial intelligence, I trust you are well?"

"I will be when we've dealt with our problem." Replied Cortana

The Arbiter cocked his head, part in curiosity and part in apprehension, "What problem?"

"Show them." Interrupted John

Cortana activated an overhead display screen and opened her log entries from the last few days. Slowly and steadily she went through their arrival on the Forerunner world and the encounter with the Forerunners enemy. She gave detailed accounts of each event and displayed mouth-watering footage of the interior of the structure, including the living Forerunner in the sub-level chamber.
Each of the Elites stared in amazement at Cortana's account of the past few days. Even the warriors on the overhead gantry had come down for a closer look.

The Arbiter almost cringed at the sight of John fighting these new and deadly aliens, "I am pleased that you were not killed by these aliens Spartan."
"We were lucky to survive at all; they have a level of technology that by far surpasses anything that Humanity or the Covenant possesses." Voiced Cortana
"Believe me…friend," muttered the Arbiter, looking at John "It is not good fortune that guides you Spartan, but destiny."

All of the other Elites nodded and snarled in approval. They had seen first hand what John was capable of, including the encounter with the aliens. In their eyes he had gone from a hated enemy to a respected and revered comrade.

"What should we do?" asked Rtas

Cortana looked up at the now gathering crowd of Elites. "We should fortify what we have and warn everyone we know. Then we need to get to Earth and formulate a plan of action."
The Arbiter nodded, "Agreed, Rtas ready the fleet and tell our home defence to prepare for a possible attack. Then we will return to my flagship and depart for Earth at our best possible speed."

Rtas bounded out of the hangar and headed for the bridge.

"I had hoped Spartan, that when you returned you would be the first Human to set foot on my world, that you would be a symbol of hope and victory to my people." Said the Arbiter "But now it seems that that will have to wait."

Cortana stared inquisitively at the Arbiter "You said 'when' he returned not 'if'. What if the chief had been killed?"

The Arbiter smiled, showing his long fangs "Ah my blue friend, were it so easy."

Part 16

March 28th 2552, Onboard the Covenant Flagship: The Shadow of Intent

John paced back and forth in his newfound crew quarters, but it was clearly not designed for a human. In fact it was more like a maintenance room of some kind.
At the Arbiters insistence, John had tried to get some rest, but the current situation was constantly rushing through his mind, and he found himself going over his new opponents again and again.
The Forerunners enemy was more deadly than the Flood, and far more advanced than the Covenant. He began to doubt that even the alliance with the Elites would be enough to stop them.
In addition to the superior technology that was against them and the resilience of the enemy, John needed one more thing: intelligence. He had no idea as to how many of these almost unstoppable aliens were left, or where they came from. Even the ships were a complete mystery to him. He almost shuddered at the thought that the one ship that he and Cortana had seen may just have been the equivalent of a frigate.
He needed answers, and fast.
John eventually admitted defeat and sat on the oddly shaped bed.
It was curved like a kidney, and covered in a strange iridescent material, which as far as John could tell, was some form of blanket. The room was also unusual, with a sloping ceiling and two curved walls that tapered round the room and into an angled slant from floor to ceiling.
Along the walls were six different coloured orbs. The furthest orb on the left was a dragon-yolk yellow, whilst the next two were a cold blue crystal. The remaining lights were trio of various shades of red.
Directly below the orbs were a small opaque screen and a series of angled sockets set parallel into the wall. John noticed that the sockets were about the same size as the plasma pistol charger units that he regularly found scattered around the battlefield. They were near indestructible, and had provided him with cover on countless occasions.
Gradually his mind began to relax and he carefully laid himself down on the bed. At first he was unsure if the Covenant furniture would take the weight of his armour, but it quickly became apparent that the bed was intended for someone of a similar size; probably the Arbiter. Even Elites had to sleep at some point.
John eventually began to drift, but it was far from the calm and serene slumber that he had hoped for. Instead it was a restless and haunted sleep.
Despite the presence of the Arbiter and Cortana only a corridor away, and a ship full of loyal and trusted allies, John felt intolerably lonely. Now he remembered why he had always resisted sleep so much. It was the absence of old friends.

Suddenly the single amber coloured orb on the wall bleeped and pulsed, yanking John back into the conscious world.
John jumped out of bed with a thud, and quickly rushed over to the orb and pressed it. There was a short high pitched whine before the Arbiters voice sounded through the wall. "Spartan, your presence is required on the bridge. There is something that you need to see."
John ran out of the small room and headed for the bridge, dodging several Elites who all turned and looked at their new addition to the ships crew.
It seemed odd to John to be racing through a Covenant assault carrier without a hail of plasma fire stinging at his heels. Instead, all of the crew were going about their daily ritual of maintenance, security and preparation.
John quickly arrived at the bridge. The two polished, armoured doors slid silently apart.
John slowed to a walk, and entered.
Inside the bridge were a multitude of screens and consoles, all dressed in a familiar tone of turquoise and purple.
The interior of any Covenant vessel always surprised John, regardless of the number of times he was in one. They were such a stark contrast to the continuous lines of grey of a UNSC ship. They looked alive almost.

The far end of the bridge had a main view screen, and a small conference table that was equipped with a holo-projector. Cortana was stood, bathed in her blue light, on the top of the table with her hands on her hips, staring at the image on the main screen.
The Arbiter and Rtas were also stood at the table, looking at the same image with an unusual expression on their faces. It looked as though they were both deeply troubled and strained with excitement.
Cortana was the first to notice John's arrival. "Chief, we've received a surveillance recording from an Elite reconnaissance probe. What it shows is somewhat disturbing."
John joined them at the table and saw for himself what they were looking at.
In the image was a world unfamiliar to him. Its atmosphere was a dark and murky brown with spots of orange as thousands of fires raged on the surface. John then moved his attention to the upper atmosphere of the planet, where a storm of debris was caught in the planets gravity. "What are we looking at?" he gasped.
The Arbiter turned. "This, Spartan, is the home world of the Brutes – Doisac."
John moved closer to the screen. "What happened?"
Cortana responded by rewinding and playing the footage.

The previous view of a broken and shattered world was now replaced by a more prosperous and flourishing planet. Wisps' of white cloud were scattered around the atmosphere, and a jigsaw of deep blue seas provided a much healthier view to the one before.
The image slowly zoomed out before panning to the right, revealing a trio of Covenant cruisers. The probe followed them as they moved towards a more distant, and as yet unrecognisable, object.
As they neared the object a bright lance of green fire struck out, cleaving one of the cruisers in half in a single deadly beam.
The lights on the butchered ship flickered and fluttered before giving up, and a series of small explosions rocked the decapitated sections as they slowly floated away from the other two ships. The other two cruisers immediately opened fire, stabbing at the dark and distant vessel with volleys of blue plasma. The surface of the unfamiliar ship rippled as though absorbing the impact of the weapons fire.
The cruisers fired again, this time with torpedoes. The dark vessel turned, exposing its starboard side to the storm of small suns that were racing towards it.
Another bolt of green energy extended from the hull of the ship, which jumped from torpedo to torpedo, extinguishing each orb of fire as it went.
It was then that John realised he had seen this sickening display of power before, "The enemy." He muttered.
Despite the overwhelming firepower displayed by the enemy ship, one of the plasma torpedoes managed to get through, smashing into the hull of the alien vessel. The surface rippled once again as the torpedo exploded in a bright glare before settling back to its standard shape.
Sensing defeat against a superior enemy, the two brute cruisers turned and fled, heading back to the planet where a much larger fleet now waited. The probe followed the pursuit of the alien vessel as it reached the Brutes home world. Almost immediately, the fleet of brute ships fired at the approaching intruder.

The hull of the ship rippled and rolled as each torpedo and lance of plasma was absorbed.
Occasionally a small burst of iridescent fire erupted from the alien ship, but John was unsure whether this was from the amassed firepower of the Brute fleet, or a form of exhaust that was venting the incredible energy that was being absorbed.
Then the alien ship fired.
The green claw of energy jumped from the hull of each ship, destroying each one in turn before following up with a lance of fire that scythed its way through the fleet.
Only a Brute capital ship remained intact, its shields shimmering in the storm.

The Brute ship replied with everything it had, but, as before, each attack fell harmlessly on the alien vessel like the sparks of a furnace splashing on the ground.
The alien vessel returned fire once more. This time the shields wavered and then collapsed before the capital ship exploded.
The alien vessel simply moved on towards the planet before bombarding the surface, and then leaving the system.

"Though it may please me to see the brutes destroyed," began the Arbiter "It disturbs me to see this level of firepower, laying waste to the very ships that we have, and the worlds that we hold dear."

"I know what you mean," Replied John sympathetically. "Cortana show me the ship again."

Cortana flashed a magnified and enhanced shot of the alien vessel on the main screen. Its characteristics were almost identical to the vessel they had seen orbiting the Forerunner world, but it was not the same ship.

Cortana voiced the collective thought of the group, "As you can see they have more than one ship."

"Let us assume then," began Rtas "That they have a fleet of such craft. All of similar design and intent."

They all agreed.

"Were there any survivors?" John enquired.

Every Elite including the Arbiter and Rtas turned to face John, as though puzzled by his concern.

"We need to know the extent of the damage, and the possible limits of the alien's weaponry." Interrupted Cortana

"Of course; we'll send the probe in for a closer look." Offered the Arbiter

They waited for over an hour as the probes telemetry was relayed to the Shadow of Intent.
One of the bridge consoles bleeped, announcing its arrival. Rtas activated the console and studied the information. Even with his half jaw, the look portrayed by Rtas was obvious, it was shock and surprise.
"The probe has detected around 1.2 million Jiralhanae," he announced "of the 12.5 billion that once existed."

"My god." Remarked Cortana

Cortana was not the only one in shock at the announcement. The room was filled with quiet chatter from the residing bridge crew, all of them voicing their concern.

"Quiet!" barked Rtas

"We need a solution, and we need it fast." Voiced John

"I agree Spartan." replied the Arbiter, strolling around the bridge in thought. "I think it is time that we departed for your Home world. Your species has a talent for defeating those more advanced than yourselves. Let us hope that that is the same in this case."

John nodded.

"What do you think chief?" whispered Cortana on the secure COM channel. "Do you think they'll be able to come up with a plan back home?"

"I don't know," Replied John as he stared at the frozen image of the alien vessel "but I think we could use a few more Spartans right now."

John sat back in one of the bridge chairs as the Arbiter ordered the ship to Earth. For once in his life he was apprehensive and uncertain of the road ahead.
The Covenant was split in two, and humanity was still rebuilding its shattered empire.
Of all the encounters and experiences in his life, the next forty-eight hours would prove the most important.
John relaxed in the chair before falling into a semi-conscious sleep. He was exhausted, and needed all the sleep he could get. He was unsure as to when he would be able to rest again.

The assault carrier plunged into slipspace, and disappeared.

Part 17

March 29th 2553, Cairo defence platform, orbiting Earth

Lord Hood calmly strolled along the observation deck, checking the repaired sections as he went. The Covenant Elite repair teams had done an excellent job with the limited resources that they had available. Even the corps of engineers had displayed an interest in their methods.
With the War now over mankind was finally able to start rebuilding.
The Arbiter had left a small fleet to maintain security, and to help with the rebuilding process. They had even managed to repair the majority of the UNSC fleet that had been crippled in the initial invasion.

Hood reached the main command cell of the station, which was still a mess.
The main desk, which had previously been covered in thermal reconnaissance images and satellite photography, was now a broken pile crumpled metal, and the rest of the room was no better.
Despite his own discomfort with his current abode, the welfare of humanity and the operational effectiveness of the fleet were far more important. He had insisted that the Elites concentrate on those areas instead of the small insignificant areas of detail.
The one thing that he was more than grateful for was a new addition to the stations defences. In this case Covenant shielding.

The Elites had gone out of their way to try and make up for the damage and destruction they had caused in the war, but more surprisingly was the news of terraforming and repair work on Reach. The Elites were doing their best to bring the planet back to its former glory, and to make it habitable again.
"If only the chief was here to see it." Hood thought to himself.
He sat down in one of the few available chairs, and stared at the main view screen as two of the newly repaired ships glided passed the station.
Despite the addition of shielding on the station, the Elites had refused to add any form of plasma based weaponry; one excuse was that the MAC guns were more than enough firepower. And in a way he had to agree.
The Covenant had initially gained respect for only two things in the UNSC arsenal – MAC guns and Spartans. Both were deadly and had resulted in the deaths of thousands of Covenant personnel and equipment.
The other excuse had been that mankind was not ready for that kind of technology, and that only members of the Covenant were privy to that kind of technology.
"Sir," announced one of the operations officers "the lunar refueling depot and the 3rd fleet both report ready. The northern hemisphere defence grid should be online in just over six hours, and the surface recovery teams have gained access to the artifact."
"Good, keep me posted commander."
"Aye sir."
The Elites had been extremely accommodating with regards to the artifact. Hood had expected them to demand a share in the spoils of exploration and the Forerunner technology that was hidden within. Instead though, they had steered clear of the entire structure, simply leaving humanity to it.
To Hood, the news of gaining access to the structure had come too late. He felt that if they had discovered something like this when the war first started, then millions of lives would have been saved.
He shook his head, clearing his mind. A lot had happened and there was no room for thoughts of turning back the clock and repairing the damage.
Hood picked up a small red file from the desk in front of him. Contained within was the debriefing report from the Arbiter after his return to Earth without the Chief. Technicians had managed to recover a lot of the log and navigation telemetry, but the previous location of the now destroyed Ark was beyond the outer rim of not just this galaxy, but a more distant barred spiral galaxy, in this case NGC 1300.
NGC 1300 was a distant galaxy located over 61 million light years away, in the Eridanus cluster.
If the chief was still alive, which seemed incredibly unlikely, he was beyond the reach of any Covenant or UNSC vessel.
Hood thumbed through the rest of the document, stopping at the image of the Chief and Cortana. The photograph had been recovered from the security log on the station itself, during the initial invasion of earth.
The image portrayed a determined and resilient soldier, along with the ingenious Cortana and the late Sergeant Major Johnson.
Hood closed the folder and tossed it onto the table with a heavy sigh.
He looked around at the other officers in the command cell; all of them were busy with their work.
After another quick glance at the photographs of the master chief, Hood rose up from his brown cracked leather chair and proceeded to walk around the cramped command cell.

During the war with the Covenant, Hood had been an extremely busy individual.
He was constantly charged with the responsibilities of a more senior rank, but this was war and things needed to be done. If he wasn't out with the fleet he was busy planning for the next stage of an assault, or an attempt to take back what was previously human controlled space.
But the war was now over, and though he was pleased with saving of life, and the end to the destruction and carnage, he had to admit that he was now...bored.
His days were now filled with inspections of newly repaired facilities and ships, and an endless stream of situation reports all of them filled with the rambling words of over enthusiastic ONI commanders. The paperwork was relentless.
"Commander Richards, If you need me I'll be in my quarters, trying to fix my bed again."
"Aye sir. If you want I can get an engineer up to help you." Offered Richards
Hood turned, mid stride, "I think the engineers have more pressing matters commander, but thanks for the gesture."

Hood managed to walk another twenty feet from the doors of the command cell before the onboard COM channel crackled into life, it was Richards. "Sir I apologize for the intrusion, but there is something here that you need to see."
"Don't tell me, another ONI director wants me to spare him a ship and he's offering to show me the Intel." Replied Hood with some irritation
"No sir, there's a slipspace rupture forming about twelve thousand kilometres off to starboard, it appears there is a Covenant vessel coming through."
"I take it this is an unscheduled arrival commander?" bellowed Hood
"Yes sir, sensors indicate that it's the Arbiters flagship, but there are traces of recent weapons fire."
Hood's quick walk turned into a full on sprint, and he charged into the command cell with a new found sense of urgency. Finally he had something worthwhile to see to, instead of a pile of papers to be signed.

On the main display of the command cell were the familiar scene of a Slipspace opening, and the now visible prow of the Arbiters flagship.
"I thought the Arbiter wasn't expected back here for another four months?" questioned Hood.
Suddenly a disturbing thought occurred to him. What if the Brutes had gained an upper hand in the civil war? What if this vessel was not under the Arbiters control, but a group of specialised Brute commandos on a suicidal mission to Earth? He couldn't be sure, but he wasn't taking any chances.
"Damn! All hands, battle stations, possible incoming threat! He bellowed. "Commander activate shields and bring the weapons online!"
"Aye sir, shields up, weapons powering to maximum. Archer pods ready."
Hood stared at the image as the ship appeared in full before him. There was no visible damage, but the Covenant had always been more proficient at repairs than the UNSC.
"Sir there are several Elite vessels demanding a reason for our current alert status. What should I tell them?" asked Richards
"Inform them that it's protocol when there's an unscheduled arrival, and that we'll - ..."
Hood was cut off before he could finish his sentence by a familiar voice
"Lord Hood this is the Arbiter,"
"Welcome back Arbiter. I'm pleased to see you again, but we were not expecting you for another four months." Probed Hood
"I realise that my return is a little unexpected, but it is not without a valid reason. I bring an old friend. One that I am sure you have not forgotten." He replied with a smile.
Hood looked on as the image of the Arbiter on the view screen was replaced by an armoured figure, and a small but bright orb of precision and ingenuity: it was the Master Chief and Cortana.

Hood took a step back and gasped, whilst most of the staff in the command cell erupted into a roar of cheer and laughter. They were clearly elated by the relieving sight, but Hood knew that he shouldn't be seeing either of them.
"Chief, Cortana," nodded hood in respect "It's good to see you both again"
"Likewise sir. It's good to be back." Replied John
Hood suddenly remembered his duties and where he was, "Commander lower the shields and stand down. Feel free to dock at pylon alpha."

Hood sprinted as fast as his legs would allow him to the docking port on the northern section of the station.
In a period following the most destructive war in mankind's history, they needed something positive to show Humanity that all would be well. The return of the greatest hero in of all time was certainly that sign.

By the time Hood reached the docking port there was already a guard of honour assembled there. Each of the dressed marines were wearing more than just their elaborately decorated uniform, they were also wearing a collection of planet sized smiles.
Hood caught himself smiling in one of the many monitors that littered the deck. He was tempted to jump into the air, cheers loudly enough that they would hear him back on Earth and then head up to the officer's mess with the Arbiter, Cortana and the chief and get drunk beyond all belief. But much to his own dismay he was expected to exhibit a more commanding and responsible figure.
Hood cleared his throat, straightened his jacket and marched sharply over the honour guard.
The residing sergeant saluted him before turning the rest of the marines with the order to present arms. They responded in a typical manner of professionalism.
The watch officer suddenly appeared from around the corner, still fixing his ceremonial sword.
"Hurry it up Lieutenant. The last thing that our guest needs is wait a little longer."
The Lieutenant quickened his step and filed in front of the honour guard, "Sorry sir, I had to come via deck twelve; the gravity plating is down again."
Hood was about to reply with a more aggressive remark than usual, but the opening of the airlock doors changed his mind.
The honour guard snapped back to attention and presented arms a second time, but this time it was for the Arbiter and his guests.
Hood held out his hand, "Welcome back Master Chief, I owe you a debt of gratitude that cannot possible repay, but I'll do my utmost to try."
"Thank you sir." Replied John as he shook hands with Lord Hood.
Cortana jumped to the nearest holo-plinth, drowning the honour guard in a sea of blue light.
"Sir I know that a lot of people will be pleased to see us both, but we have more urgent matters to attend to."

Earth date: March 29th 2553, location unknown

"Master, the Reclaimer has reached the target. It appears we will be able to destroy both him and the species he protects."
"Good, send twelve ships to the planet and destroy everything in sight. If the Forerunners have returned then we will make sure that there is nothing for them to return to."

To be continued...