Chapter 29: Purpose and Revenge
Training.
A Spartan's training never stops.
John was slammed into the mat. Another wrestling match lost. Sam grinned down at him and offered him a hand up. John took it. They had fought at times, the Goliath of a cadet that Sam was nearly always overpowering him, but the 2 of them had been close friends ever since they began Spartan training. They bickered as brothers do before separating to hit the showers.
The scenery became liquid. Suddenly, it was years later.
They had boarded a Covenant ship. It was the first time anyone had ever successfully done so. The pint-sized aliens—who would have thought the greatest threat to human existence would be so small?-that they had seen continued to fire at them. Abruptly, John was shoved to the side. Sam grunted in pain.
The firefight ended. The Spartans placed demo charges to destroy the ship. They prepared to jump back into space.
Sam wouldn't be coming. The shot he had taken for John had ruptured his suit. There was no way to seal it. He chose to die quick rather than slow.
The Covenant warship turned into a miniature sun as John and Kelly drifted away. Sam was gone.
The inky blackness of space became blacker. All light vanished.
Years passed once again.
John was aboard the UNSC Pillar of Autumn. He watched as the Pelican that contained nearly all of his surviving family rushed down toward the planet Reach. At the time, he had hoped that they would all survive, as impossible as that was. Now, as he watched it happen again, he knew. Knew that by the time this mission was over, there would be only a handful left.
By the time the War was over, there would be less than that.
The scenery dropped away.
Cortana appeared before him.
They were surrounded by hard-light. It was blue. The same blue of Cortana's holographic form. He had been here before, as well. Cortana gave him a bitter smile. She had virtual tears in her eyes.
No.
Not again.
Just like last time, he tried to deny the truth. He tried to insist that he could still save her. That if they just got her back to Dr. Halsey, she would be fixed. She would be okay.
Cortana faded into nothing. He was alone. The world dropped away.
John was in a cave. He rounded a corner.
He knew what he would find there.
Dr. Halsey.
She was crushed by the collapsed passage.
John rushed toward her. He desperately tried to dig her out. Tried to save her. Tried to keep things from happening the same way they always did.
He failed.
She died holding his hand. She, too, faded into nothing.
A vast, empty void surrounded him.
John was lost. Darkness enveloped him. He turned this way and that, looking for a path.
He couldn't find one.
All of the sources of direction he had relied upon were gone.
A bright light, brighter than the sun, blasted into existence.
A silhouette appeared. It was female. Could it be...?
John rushed forward, desperately hoping that his friend was still alive. That he had been wrong.
That he could still save someone.
A larger shape appeared behind the silhouette. It moved forward, seeming to consume the person he prayed had returned to him. It towered over the grieving Spartan.
Abruptly, the shape took on a solid form. John's eyes were adjusting to the light.
It was him.
Locke.
A fire rose in John's chest. Rage the likes of which he had never experienced threatened to drown him. He glanced around the featureless expanse, searching for anything he could use as a weapon. Anything he could use to hurt the one who had taken so much from him.
The light behind the ONI Agent dimmed.
The emblem on Locke's chest, that cursed circle within a pyramid within a circle, that all-seeing eye that represented everything John stood against, started shining with a light of its own. It increased in intensity, blinding him.
The light continued to build until it consumed the entire world.
John couldn't see anything. Couldn't see anyone. Couldn't understand. Couldn't see...
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The Master Chief awoke with a start. He sat up quickly, grabbing the pistol he had left underneath the bit of matting he used as a pillow. There was no one around.
The sheet he was using crumpled into his lap. It was drenched in sweat.
Another nightmare.
They had been happening distressingly frequently since Meridian. Worse still, they nearly all ended with that false-Spartan. Locke. Just thinking about that name was enough to agitate the Chief.
He lowered his weapon. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead and cleaned himself up as best he could. He called one of his siblings in. They assisted him in the ridiculously complex task of putting on his armor without technicians and equipment to assist them. The Chief breathed a sigh of relief as the HUD came online. He always felt better inside his armor than out of it.
The Chief joined his siblings for the morning meal.
Said meal consisted of a nutrient powder that each Spartan added to an open container of purified water. The powder reacted to the water, combining with it to form a kind of paste. The paste was then consumed uncooked. The Chief opened a port in his helmet and inserted a straw.
This form of meal allowed for maximum nutrition with minimum storage space. Unfortunately, it had its drawbacks.
"Amazing how they never manage to improve the flavor of this stuff," Fred griped. The Chief smiled behind his polarized visor. No matter how long a soldier served, they never tired of complaining about the food. Not that the Chief could disagree with him. "Tastes like liquidized paper," Fred concluded.
"At least it's high in fiber," the Master Chief retorted.
The rest of Blue Team froze.
"Was that a joke?" Kelly asked.
"Technically speaking, yes," Linda quipped. Her characteristically emotionless tone only enhanced the sarcasm.
"A bit weak even by Spartan standards but, yeah, it was a joke," Fred observed. The Chief could feel his grin, despite being unable to see it through the polarized visor.
"It's been a while, Blue Lead," Kelly butted back in. "Glad to see your mood improving."
"Says the one who's been moping ever since we got to this planet," John replied defensively. He couldn't help it.
Kelly shook with silent laughter. She dragged 2 fingers across her visor in a smile. The Chief just shook his head.
Blue Team went back to their meal. The Master Chief opened his next ration pack; he emptied it and threw the wrapper on the pile that had accumulated next to him. Over the course of the meal he would consume enough food to sustain a regular Marine for more than a day. The enhanced strength, speed, and reflexes granted to Blue Team by the Spartan II program were impressive, but they forced the Spartans to consume an enormous quantity of rations just to stay functional. They had already burned through enough provisions in their relatively brief stay on Sanghelios to keep a team of 4 Marines fed for well over a year. The paste they were currently eating was actually a type of emergency rations reserved for absolute necessity. It was the only human food the Spartans had left. They'd have to worry about acclimating to local cuisine if their mission wasn't completed soon.
A blip appeared on the Chief's motion tracker, followed by the sound of alien footsteps. A member of 'Khebrem's expedition was approaching.
"Hail, Spartans," the academic said. "There is an urgent communication for your leader within the Lich. You must come at once, Master Chief."
The Chief nodded. He had been expecting this. Now that the Guardian had been located, a new plan of action needed to be formulated. Blue One accompanied him to the Lich
The 2 Spartans entered the Lich transport. The Chief nodded at the sangheili responsible for communications. Fred took up a guard position just outside the door, his Carbine at the ready, as the Chief entered. The door shut.
A holographic representation of the Arbiter appeared above the console located in the center of the room. The 2 soldiers saluted each other in greeting.
"I have news, Spartan," the Arbiter began, once again without needless conversation. If he kept that up, the Master Chief might actually start to like the sangheili king. "Another team of Spartans has arrived upon Sanghelios."
The Master Chief froze.
This had always been a possibility. ONI had been able to track them to Meridian, after all. He had hoped, though, that they would be unable to access the sangheili homeworld. There was a chance that it was not as bad as he thought.
The Arbiter shattered that hope.
"They call themselves 'Fireteam Osiris'. They are lead by a Spartan named 'Locke'. They were brought to Sanghelios without my permission; those guilty have already been punished. I have, however, determined that removing them from the planet could have detrimental consequences for the peace between our peoples. They will remain for the time being. I have withheld knowledge of your presence here, as you requested." The Arbiter's expression seemed to harden as he continued. "I would, however, ask for an explanation."
The Master Chief struggled to regain his mental balance. The images of his dream, almost forgotten, came rushing back to him. The Chief wrenched himself from his inner thoughts. He needed to respond to his host.
"I...know of them," the Chief replied in as neutral a tone as he could manage. "I did not know that they would come here." This next part would be crucial. At least as crucial as convincing the Arbiter to allow Blue Team's presence when they first arrived. "They have wronged me and my fellow Spartans before. They avoided punishment and are still trusted by our leaders, but I do not share their confidence. Nor do my superiors. I would still advise telling them to leave, Arbiter." That was as far as the Chief was willing to go. He had considered telling the sangheili that Fireteam Osiris was loyal to another faction within the human government, one that was not trustworthy, but that would undermine the military threat of the UNSC in the minds of foreigners. Humanity needed to appear strong externally, regardless of internal strife.
"In what manner did they wrong you?" the Arbiter asked with great interest. Doubtless, the head of state was eager for some insight into the inner workings of the human military. The Chief would have to tread carefully to avoid giving anything away.
"In pursuit of an objective they...made sacrifices that they had no authority to make. They caused me, and my fellow Spartans, a great loss." The Chief nearly choked on his words. This was difficult, to say the least.
The Arbiter stared at the Master Chief silently. The Spartan provided no further information. The sangheili's gaze became unfocused; he seemed to be deep in thought.
"I will accept this explanation," the Arbiter said. "But only for now. I have given you much, Spartan, and I risk much in continuing to play your game. I expect at least some answers in turn. I will keep wary of them, but my decision to allow Fireteam Osiris to remain on Sanghelios still stands. They are my guests and are under my protection."
The Chief had to restrain himself from arguing with the sangheili. He knew that he was dangerously close to overextending himself where it came to the alien chief of state. If he were more skilled at diplomacy he might make more progress, but the Chief knew his own limitations.
"...Understood," the Master Chief replied with a nod. The Arbiter seemed to accept the Spartan's acceptance of the his decision.
"Excellent. On to other matters," the Arbiter began. It seemed that the only way to remove the Guardian from 'Mdama's reach was to take the floating city of Sunaion by force. This meant defeating the Storm Covenant once and for all. Blue Team would be deployed shortly, although their usage would be limited as to avoid Fireteam Osiris learning of their presence. Apparently, they too would be deployed against the Storm. It made sense to use every asset at their disposal.
For some reason, this fact failed to satisfy the Spartan.
The Master Chief struggled to pay attention throughout the rest of the meeting. The world kept trying to fall out from beneath him. The face of Agent Jameson Locke kept threatening to block his vision entirely.
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Something was definitely wrong. Linda watched the Master Chief stare into the distance, seeming deep in thought.
Not that she could blame him for his concern. The arrival of Fireteam Osiris was a development that even she had thought unlikely. Now that it had happened, it could be a serious disruption in their plans. Linda waited for her leader to come to some kind of decision.
Eventually, the Master Chief stood up and turned to address his squad.
"We need to eliminate Fireteam Osiris," he stated.
Linda blinked. That was not what she had expected.
"Oorah, sir," Kelly responded. There was no trace of doubt in her voice.
Fred didn't respond, but Linda could tell from his body language that he was uncertain about this. Their primary mission was not supposed to involve deliberately engaging a team of human supersoldiers.
Linda was sorely tempted to simply comply with the Chief's decision. She had lost as much on Meridian as they had. However, she had also sworn to herself that she would no longer blindly follow orders. This was something that she needed to think about. She took a minute to do so. Her augmented intellect allowed her to work through the main points in a rather short period of time.
"Blue Lead, I feel the need to voice a concern," Linda said carefully. She was not used to this.
The Master Chief cocked his head slightly. It seemed he wasn't expecting that. After a moment, he nodded to her. "Permission to speak," he said.
"Sir, the Arbiter declared Fireteam Osiris to be his guests," Linda stated, as respectfully as she could. "He wasn't even willing to make them leave. If we terminate them and he finds out, it could be a major incident. It could destroy our standing with him, completely scrub our mission, and endanger the truce between the UEG and the Swords of Sanghelios. This is in addition to the conventional risks in engaging a group of Spartan IVs. I know that they are a threat, but I feel that targeting them would be far too risky. I believe we should trust the Arbiter and stay out of their way, sir."
The rest of Blue Team stared at her.
"How can you say that?" Kelly asked. Her tone had a hint of outrage in it. "You know what they're capable of!"
"I also know how to assess risks," Linda retorted. "In my opinion, we can't afford this one. Fireteam Osiris is a risk but not enough of one to warrant this course. There is too much to lose and too little to gain. Sir," she finished, addressing the Chief. It would, ultimately, be his decision,.
Silence.
The moment stretched on for what felt like an eternity. Linda could tell that the Master Chief was struggling. She hoped that he was able to stay objective.
"Your concerns are noted. However, my decision still stands. Osiris needs to be eliminated."
It was a perfect answer, from a protocol standpoint. The Chief had listened to the concerns of a subordinate, assessed them, and decided not to alter his course of action. Linda struggled with what to do now.
Eventually, she nodded in acceptance. She disagreed with the Chief's decision, but this wasn't something that she was willing to outright defy orders over.
She just hoped that his decision was rooted more in logic than in emotion.
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"We've got a lead," Linda commed. They were once again utilizing the Morse code trick. They couldn't afford to let 'Khebrem and his colleagues catch on to what they were planning. Done right, the Arbiter would never know who had taken out his 'guests'.
"Explain," the Master Chief commed back. He walked over from where he had been cleaning his rifle. Linda pulled up a map of the region the Arbiter was planning to send Blue Team to next. It had nothing to do with the conversation but it would serve as an adequate cover for what they were really talking about. The Spartans pretended to study the terrain, occasionally commenting out loud about one feature or another.
"We've been analyzing Swords comm chatter and have managed to locate where Fireteam Osiris will be in a few days time," Linda explained. Following the Chief's decision, Fred had modified some of the equipment Blue Team had been using in their search to hack into the Swords comm network. The fact that the academic expedition's communications equipment was only tied into the lower levels of said network meant that they weren't able to penetrate very far, but with Linda's analytical skills they were able to figure out some important information.
Such as the fact that Fireteam Osiris was going to participate in an assault on a Storm fortress less than a hundred kilometers from Blue Team's current position.
The Master Chief's mind went into overdrive. They would need to move fast if they wanted to intercept them. Osiris may never be this far from the Arbiter's main force again. Not to mention the hostile environment would provide the perfect cover for the Spartan IVs' untimely demise. If all went well, the Arbiter would never know Blue Team was involved.
The Chief's polarized visor hid his predatory grin from the others.
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"Are you certain this is necessary?" 'Khebrem asked. "I would really rather you stay within our perimeter. There are still dangers out here."
"Spartans aren't accustomed to staying idle," the Master Chief explained. He climbed into the modified Ghost scout vehicle that the expedition had brought with them. He powered the vehicle up and it levitated off of the ground. "I have a hunch about an area we passed. It's nothing major, not enough to launch the Lich, but I would like to check it out. It's more to stay active than anything," he lied. Linda climbed into the passenger seat next to him.
The Ghost's plasma cannons had been removed and a motorcycle sidecar-style passenger seat had been added. The vehicle was meant for a team of 2 to separate from the main group if necessary. The Chief had convinced 'Khebrem to allow the Spartans to borrow it. They would need the fast vehicle if they were going to intercept Fireteam Osiris in time without hijacking the Lich itself. Unfortunately, the vehicle's size meant that only the Chief and one other Spartan would be going. He had chosen Linda as her skills as a sniper would be the most useful.
"Very well," 'Khebrem said in a resigned tone. "But do be careful. We are relatively far from the border but the Storm Covenant has been known to send raiding parties deep into the Arbiter's territory."
"We'll be fine," the Chief replied. He started the Ghost forward. Within minutes, they were out of sight of the encampment. He gunned the throttle, pushing the Ghost as fast as he dared.
The journey proved to be rather uneventful. The destination was in a mountainous area, but the terrain for the majority of their voyage was rather level. They made good time.
The Master Chief felt his emotions stabilizing as they went.
No. Not stabilizing. More like...fading into the background. Before, he had struggled to keep his feelings in check. Now, it was as if he had become numb. His resolve had not wavered but the fire in his chest seemed to be smoldering rather than blazing out of control. He felt oddly detached as he prepared himself for the mission ahead.
It was good to be able to think clearly again.
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Infiltrating the Storm Covenant fortress would have been impossible for any ordinary soldiers.
For the 2 members of Blue Team, it proved little challenge.
The Chief and Linda had parked their Ghost in a small cave and walked the last few kilometers. They waited on a low cliff just above a roadway. A convoy of Storm transports rumbled into view. Right on time. The information Linda had gleaned from Swords comms had been accurate. The Chief sent a brief signal to Linda.
A number of large boulders abruptly crashed down in the convoy's path. The vehicles screeched to a stop.
Had this been a regular military convoy, the plan would almost certainly have failed. Thankfully, the raiding parties that the Storm sent here were hardly their elite warriors. They were composed mostly of washouts, recruited smugglers, and various psychopaths too unstable for the regular military. Their poor discipline led to them making only a cursory scan of the area and then piling back onto the vehicles. Apparently, they were eager to get back to base and enjoy the 'fruits of our labors'.
In the moments before the convoy began moving again, the Spartans had rushed down to ground level and jumped onto an open-topped trailer. They quickly buried themselves beneath the large bags of stolen, miscellaneous provisions.
The journey to the fortress took several hours. The Chief didn't care. A bumpy ride under heavy sacks with no ability to move was a small price to pay for this.
Eventually, the vehicles came to a rest. The Chief could tell they had arrived by the multiple stops, almost certainly at checkpoints, and the slower speed of the vehicle. When the vibrations of the vehicle itself stopped and the trailer lowered, he knew they had reached their destination. He exchanged a quick series of signals with Linda over their HUDs.
The Master Chief maneuvered himself until he was just a single layer beneath the surface of the trailer. He snaked a fiberoptic probe around the bag covering him. They were in some sort of building; likely a garage or warehouse. There were no catwalks or other viewpoints from which a hostile could spot them from above. Excellent.
The pair of infiltrating Spartans crawled toward the edge of the trailer. The Chief snaked his probe over the edge. There was no one below. His motion tracker showed only a few hostiles moving away; almost certainly the convoy crew. The infiltrating humans had to move quickly before others arrived to unload the cargo.
There was another vehicle just outside the garage. Unfortunately, it pulled an empty flat-bed, meaning there was little in the way of concealment. The Spartans crouched low as they silently moved forward.
A kig-yar leaped atop the flat-bed.
The sounds of its movements and the size of the blip on their motion trackers was the only reason they knew what it was. The avian sapient moved toward the Spartans' side of the transport. The Chief and Blue Two crawled beneath the flat-bed. They could detect multiple hostiles on the other side. There was nowhere for them to go.
The alien leaped back to the ground. It paused for a moment, as if it had noticed something. The Spartans tensed. The kig-yar had legendarily sharp senses. It could have heard one of their normally undetectable movements or even smelled the residue left on their armor from the transported contraband. The Chief silently set down his rifle and readied his combat knife. They couldn't afford to reveal themselves with gunfire.
Unfortunately, killing the kig-yar at all would give them away. Its absence would be noticed eventually, and the Swords' assault would not begin for many hours. They had no backup. No quick exfiltration strategy. If detected, they would be overwhelmed and killed by the Storm forces.
The kig-yar began moving again. It made no sign of alarm, nor did it move to retreat. The Master Chief started to breathe a little easier. Then, the alien crouched down and apparently began inspecting one of the tires. All it would have to do to see them was lean slightly to either side.
Several heart pounding minutes later, the kig-yar, mercifully, turned and left. The Spartans cautiously moved out from under the flat-bed.
Decades of experience in covert operations allowed the Spartans to move unseen and disappear into the maze of ramshackle buildings that composed the interior of the improvised fortress. There were several more close calls, but their expertise and the Chief's legendary good fortune saw them through. They eventually found a deserted shack in a dead end that had clearly not been used in some time. They settled in.
The assault would not occur for well over a day.
The Master Chief and Linda began regulating their breathing. They would spend most of their time here in a type of zen-like hibernation that they had perfected over the course of the Human-Covenant War. It had been necessary to augment the patience that their conventionally impossible missions had required. Their armors' sensors would inform them of any approaching hostiles.
It took the Chief a long time for his meditations to take effect. He was anxious to get this over with.
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The increased activity during the assault paradoxically made it easier for the Spartans to move unseen. All of the Storm personnel were either looking at the skies or rushing to get to their posts on the perimeter.
The duo of Blue Team members darted from concealment to concealment. Crates, vehicles, collapsed shacks, anything that would allow them to evade detection. The scrambling guerrilla forces never stood a chance at spotting them, even as the 2.2 meter tall supersoldiers moved amongst them.
All the while, the emotional distance between the Chief and his actions widened. He felt a cold objectivity continue to replace the storm of emotions he had felt when he first decided to pursue this mission. He was still driven, but it was a colder drive. He was glad. The last thing he needed was to get distracted.
Storm comms chatter indicated that the members of Fireteam Osiris were moving towards a warehouse in the center of the fortress. The buildings became more solid as the Chief and Linda reached the area around their destination. They seemed to have been constructed after the Storm took control of the place.
Regardless of their origins, the newer buildings seemed sturdy enough to hold their weight without collapsing. The Spartans climbed to the roof of one of the smaller structures surrounding the warehouse. They pulled some debris over themselves to block any aerial eyes.
The entrance to the warehouse was visible from their position. It had been opened. It was likely that Fireteam Osiris had already arrived. The Chief suppressed a swear. It would have been much easier if they had gotten here when the targets were still in the open.
A figure emerged from the warehouse. The Master Chief froze as he recognized the armor.
Agent Locke.
All at once, John's emotions flooded back into him. Memories threatened to drag him down into oblivion. Memories of Meridian, of the fight between Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris, of the charred ruins of Meridian Station he had glimpsed on the flight out, of the broken body of Dr. Halsey, cradled in his arms...
"Blue Two, hand me your weapon," he commed to Linda.
"Sir?" she asked, still aiming down the scope of her Beam Rifle. The target was moving toward an alley next to the warehouse.
"That was an order, Blue Two!" he commed angrily. His subordinate reluctantly extended her rifle to him.
Locke had already moved out of sight. The Chief grabbed the weapon out of Blue Two's hands.
"Stay here. Keep watch," he ordered. He didn't bother waiting for an acknowledgment. His prey was within reach.
The Chief stayed low as he moved to a new position. He adjusted the Beam Rifle to fire at maximum intensity. He would only get a few shots before it overheated, but he needed a powerful shot to break through MJOLNIR Armor. His target was leaning against a building. Was he wounded? The Chief primed a plasma grenade. If he could stick the target, his death would be assured.
The growing rage within the Chief made him distracted. He slipped on some debris as he threw the grenade, causing it to land and detonate on the ground rather than adhere to the target himself. The Chief raised his appropriated weapon.
The false-Spartan had recovered well. He had rolled out of the way, avoiding the full force of the blast, and had his weapon out. He was scanning his surroundings, looking for his unseen attacker.
He would never get the chance to find him.
The Master Chief shot his enemy.
Locke's energy shield had been depleted by the grenade. The Beam Rifle shot passed straight through his torso.
The triumphant elation of the kill was interrupted as the target, stubbornly, hadn't died. The Chief fired again.
Locke stumbled. The shot passed clean above his head.
The Chief let out an involuntary growl of frustration. He fired another shot just as his target lunged into a side-alley. He fired again, hoping to hit his target through the building.
The vents on the side of the Beam Rifle popped open. Super-heated gas rushed out as the weapon overheated. Another growl erupted from his lips.
The Chief dropped the weapon on the rooftop. He jumped into the alley and rushed around the corner.
There was a vehicle parked at the end of the side-alley. It was a dead end.
There he was.
Lying helpless on his back.
Locke.
Agent Locke, the Chief reminded himself. A servant of ONI. A man who had done inexcusable things at the behest of that honorless den of snakes.
His target was in sight.
Something stopped the Chief from just pulling the trigger.
Abruptly, he felt the need for his enemy to understand. To see what the false-Spartan had done to him. To his family. Distantly, he heard the rational part of his being screaming to end this and exfil immediately. He was too exposed down here. He needed to go.
The fire blazing inside him drowned the voice out.
The Master Chief closed the distance. He depolarized his visor.
John didn't have Linda's talents at conveying emotions, real or feigned. Nor did he have the emotional savvy of Kelly. Still, he did everything he could to pour every picogram of what he was feeling into the look he gave Locke. Hopefully, that would say everything.
The Chief raised his assault rifle. He aimed it at Locke's head. His finger rested on the trigger.
Something stopped him.
Something suddenly, inexplicably, held back the fire inside him.
John felt a hand touch his arm. He turned. Impossibly, he saw Dr. Halsey urging him to lower his weapon. To stop.
The world around him fell away.
He was in an auditorium. In the seats around him were over a hundred other children. They looked to be about his age, maybe 7 at the oldest. A woman he would later come to call 'mother' was giving a speech.
At the time, it had been hard to pay attention. He was likely still recovering from the sedatives the ONI Agents had used to keep him unconscious during his abduction. However, over the years to come, he would often think about this moment.
The moment Dr. Halsey had given him his purpose.
"You have been called upon to serve. You will be trained...and you will become the best we can make you. You will be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies."
The present world returned to him. Locke was on the ground, helpless before him. His target was right there. Everything in him roared to end the life of the monster that had killed his mother.
John couldn't do it.
Something kept him from pulling the trigger. Everything seemed to be spiraling out of control.
John's arms started trembling. He couldn't keep his weapon on target. He didn't know what to do.
"Blue Lead! Incoming hostiles!" a voice, Linda's, shouted over the comms.
The Master Chief checked his motion tracker. A group of red blips was rapidly moving to his position.
He polarized his visor and rushed to the end of the alley. He leaped 2 meters straight up, landed on top of the vehicle, rushed over its roof, jumped down, and sprinted away. He quickly disappeared into the maze.
This mission was over.
Sorry for the delay, folks. I don't really have an excuse for this. I just kept getting distracted, I guess. Side-note: Anyone play the new Doom? I freaking love that game.
Note: The Morse code trick was stolen from the fanfic 'Consequences of Revelation'. I forgot to mention it the first time I used it, so I'm mentioning it here.
Note: Last chapter, some readers commented that they didn't believe the Chief would walk up to Locke and depolarize his visor. Normally, I would be in complete agreement. This is why I've tried to carefully set up how the Chief is in an extreme emotional place at this point. The pain of losing family, the fear of losing more, the guilt at not being able to save the people he cares about, the anger at Locke for being arguably responsible, etc.
Thanks for reading. Love you guys.
Slipspace Anomaly