Author's Notes: Hey. Chapter Two is here. Not as long as the first, but the first was twenty pages on notebook paper, and that's the longest chapter I've ever written, with the second longest somewhere around seven pages. I either got carried away or my chapters are very short.

Also, I'd like to point out that the way I set up this fan fiction's storyline would make it problematic to put in the 30's or 40's. I won't spoil the later parts of the story, but I can tell you that there would be too many similarities with events that happened then, and the circumstances of these situations would make referencing them unlikely until the war ended. So for the sake of making sense, and I don't mean to be mean in any way, but 2565 seems like the likeliest of places for this story to take place. You'll figure it out eventually.

Also, out of randomness, I think that the link title of my story looks weird in all caps. Just a thought.

Peace.

~WunderWaffle

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HALO DOOMSDAY

CHAPTER TWO

APPROACHING STORM

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"Once again, it is our job to finish what the flyboys started. We are leaving this ship's platoon, and engaging the Covenant on solid ground. When we meet the enemy, you will rip their skulls from their spines, and toss 'em away, laughin'! Am I right, Marines?" ~Avery Junior Johnson, Halo Combat Evolved Normal Speech

02:34 Units, 14.2.4698th Cycle (Cornerian Basic Calendar) / Covenant First Age of Retribution / Lylat System, Corneria, Corneria City, the Citadel

The rain pounded profusely on the cockpit's reinforced glass. As it descended through the clouds, the Arwing II closed in on the destination. The tower soon came into view, and the pilot steered the fighter to one of the many circular platforms protruding from its sides. It was a new form of architecture in the Lylat System; it had a distinct violet sheen to it, instead of the traditional silver shine. It had been brought there by the races that now had a militaristic control of the system: the Covenant.

The space fighter landed on the alien landing, and the pilot, the one and only Fox McCloud, jumped out onto its wet, shimmering surface. From here he could see all of Corneria City, which had been drenched in rain since the beginning of the current quarter cycle. It had been raining endlessly, like it did every part of an ordinary cycle. Although it was a dreary sight to behold, it had an alarming sense of and approaching storm.

A big one.

Fox walked toward a big, elegantly designed door, guarded by two small and scrawny Unggoy, one of the many races of the Covenant. They bickered with each other in their alien language, which sounded like random shrieks and chirps, completely unknown to McCloud. Upon sighting him, they scuttled to a holographic control panel and opened the door. They didn't bother to salute or any other gestures of rank or superiority, simply because they didn't care. None of the races of the Covenant truly trusted the Cornerians, and the Cornerians didn't trust the Covenant either. Fox guessed it was mutual.

He passed through hallways of elegantly designed arches, beautiful glass designs, and glistening holographic images. He had admired the Covenant's architectural constructions since the day he had stepped aboard the flagship on the day of first contact, even though he always felt uneasy when standing when standing with or even in the same room with them. It was hard to imagine that the grotesque beast that made up the Covenant to build such wondrous buildings Fox had once only dreamed about.

Fox continued on through a maze of corridors and passageways, looking for any telltale signs of his destination. He stumbled across a squadron of Titans, wearing their shining purple armor and a yellowish orange that covered their faces. They were once normal Cornerian soldiers, but they willingly became part of a top secret project that turned them into super soldiers. The Covenant then incorporated them into their armies, and they quickly became the icon of Covenant control over Lylat. They no longer were the men and women that they once were, with no connections to their families or friends; and were now only programmed to kill. The Covenant called them "demon killers" for reasons beyond Fox, but it only fed the fire that was their reputation. It saddened McCloud, but he knew that there was nothing he or anyone could do about it.

He walked through a large archway, lit by glowing rings of light. Fox could tell he was getting close. He saw many Jiralhanae in armor with shades of red and gold. He hiked up many flights of stairs, all leading to yet another massive archway, which folded apart on his approach. There he found himself in a large, circular room with a massive table in the center. A holographic image of a ring, or a Halo in Covenant terms, spinning slowly above the only familiar face he had seen since he had landed on the Citadel: General Peppy Hare. Fox then took a seat next to him.

"I don't like this," said the general, eyeing the wall across the table. "The Covenant have never had meeting on such short notice."

"Don't worry," Fox said, trying to be reassuring. "It won't be that bad. I have that feeling that everything'll be fine." Fox actually didn't know what was going to happen, but admitting that would only make things worse.

"I don't need gut feelings, Fox," said the hare. "I need answers."

The door from which Fox had entered opened again, and three Jarilhanae stepped into the vast room. One of them wore crimson and gold armor with an elegant head dress, while the other had gleaming cobalt armor. The two minors took position on either side of the table, while the leader, presumably a chieftain, stood on the end farthest from Fox and Peppy. He pressed a holographic button on his face guard and then addressed his two "guests."

"The Holy One has called for this meeting, and it is by his will that I call you here," the Jiralhanae said in perfect Cornerian. Fox guessed that the button had activated a Covenant translator. "Are you the ones thy call General Pepper and Fox McCloud?"

"Yes," said Pepper. "Why have you called us here?"

"Patience!" said the chieftain. "You are not in the position to make demands of the Covenant. When the information is given to us, we will give it to you. Until then, hold your tongue, or we will forcefully silence you."

Fox had always known that the Jiralhanae were always intimidating, but they tried hard to impose their superiority over other races, whether they were Covenant or Lylatian. They were very tribal and had a social system that contradicted almost all of the Cornerian standards of living, making them extremely hard to negotiate or reason with. Yet, either way, the hairy behemoths were very high on the Covenant hierarchy, and to negotiate with the leaders meant they had to consult with the Jiralhanae.

One of the minors muttered something to the chieftain in alien tongue, and the chieftain responded with a boastful grunt. "The Peaceful Requisition has returned form its conquest to a human world." He spat the word, as if he were disgusted to even say it. "They had no protection against us, and the world will be ours within the day."

"Is their anything we can do to help?" asked the general.

"Your race has done enough to help,' said the Jiralhanae. "We shall handle the rest, as commanded by the hierarch."

Fox raise his hand hesitantly to gain the attention of the chieftain. He turned to him with a low snarl, and Fox guessed that it was either now or never. "What exactly do you want with the planet anyway," he asked.

The chieftain stared at him, its eyes piercing through Fox's very soul. "The matters that we have on this planet are of the most holy reasons, and we cannot tell you for the safety of our plans to proceed along the path of the Great Journey."

A moment of silence ensued. The chieftain put a command into the holographic panels on the table, and a three-dimensional image appeared above the center. What looked like and alien creature, standing on two legs and wielding a strange kinetic projectile weapon. It wore green armor, encasing everything but its face. Its face was almost completely hairless, except for trace amounts around its mouth and in two lines above the eyes. Its nose was seemingly bent downward, and its face was almost completely flat, with no muzzle at all. The expression on his face was not fearful because of the Jiralhanae that was about to cave its face in, but of anger and bravery. In the hand that didn't hold its projectile weapon, Fox saw what appeared to be a circular device, a grenade of sorts. It was much shorter than the Covenant soldier that was about to deliver the final blow, but Fox could feel that the alien was not about to die without a fight. Fox, at almost an instant, knew what the strange alien was: a human.

In many ways, the image opposed almost everything the Covenant had said about them. They had called humans demonic and sickening, but Fox could only see a being, heroically willing to die for the survival of its species. They had called humans weak and unable to stand against the Covenant, but Fox could see that while the human was about to die, it was going to take the pack of Jiralhanae that surrounded him with him to its grave. They had called the humans alien and impossible to relate with, but Fox could see a soldier, just like any Cornerian soldier; ready to defend his comrades, his government, and his people, just like what any Cornerian soldier should do. The Lylatian population had been taught to hate humans with everything they had, and most of them were ready to wage war on a race of being not unlike themselves. Fox realized that what the Covenant was doing was wrong, damn wrong, but if he were to do anything about it, he would be publicly executed, which wouldn't help anything. Fox had been a major force in winning the Lylat Wars, had stopped the evil scientist and leader of the Venomian Rebellion twice, and had stopped the Aparoid invasion, but this was a different kind of war. Not against invaders with spaceships, not against aliens parasites, not against an evil scientist, but against ideas and people who believed in those ideas.

Unfortunately, those people were the Cornerians of Lylat.

"Why show us this?" General Peppy asked.

"In the future, it is no doubt that we will fight them," Said the chieftain. "This image is purposed to let you know what our enemy is."

A moment of silence followed.

Eventually, one of the lower Jiralhanae told something to the chieftain, and with a low-tone grunt, the chieftain turned to the two Cornerians. "The hierarch has ordered that this meeting must end," he said. "He has ordered that all forces must help in the second part of the plan, and I must join my brethren. By the Holy Prophet, this meeting is adjourned."

The chieftain continued to turn off the translator on his face guard, and he and his lieutenants turned and left through the large archway. When the door folded closed, Fox turned to Peppy. "They're not really going to kill every human in the galaxy, are they?"

Peppy looked at Fox, his eyes giving a grave look that chilled Fox through the soul. "They really are, Fox. They really are."

Fox lowered his head, feeling both anger and sadness. "I have to do something," Fox said. "What they're doing is genocide. For god's sake, they're worse than Venom."

"I understand how you feel," said Peppy, putting a hand on Fox's shoulder. "It's in your blood to be a hero, but this isn't like the Lylat Wars or the Aparoid invasion. This is different, Fox. They have the support of almost everyone in Lylat, even most of the military. They want humanity dead, and I don't think there is anything you or I can do about it without dying." Peppy looked solemnly at Fox. "You're a hero, Fox, not a martyr."

"I'll find a way," Fox said. "If I have to go to humanity's homeworld, then I will. I will find a way, Peppy. I have to."

Peppy looked down, knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop him from his self-assigned duty. He reached his hand into his uniform's pocket, and pulled out a small, circular device, and handed it to Fox.

"What is this," asked Fox.

"A translator. For the human language," Peppy answered. "I can't tell you where I got this, but it's the only one in existence, so don't lose it. There'll be no way to communicate with humans if you loose that."

"I won't let the Covenant get their hands on this, I promise," said Fox.

"Also, there's an underground rebel group operating in the industrial district of Corneria City. If you ever need their help, their location is on this device. They'll help you with weapons and additional information."

Fox simply nodded.

"But, in the unlikely event that you get caught, you didn't get any this from me. Do you understand me, Fox?"

"Yes, I do," Fox replied.

"Alright, good luck, Fox," General Peppy Hare said, standing up. As he turned to leave, Fox heard mutter, "You're really gonna need it." He then walked though the archway, and disappeared.

Fox sat in the room for just a little bit longer, taking in what he had just done. He was about to fight a covert war to save a race that he never even met before. But if he wanted to stop the Covenant from killing an innocent race that had once fought them for survival many cycles ago, he'd have turn his back on his own race in order to stop the mass genocide from ever happening. I wasn't as simple as fighting an enemy in a star fighter anymore, but a war against a belief that he knew was wrong.

Fox got up from the alien chair, and walked toward the doorway. With a sigh, he exited the meeting room, and began to walk back to his star fighter. He knew that nothing could prepare him for what he and his team mates were about to do, and deep down, he doubted that it could even be done.

He only hoped that he wouldn't end up being a martyr instead of hero.