Chapter VII

—Souvenir—

1712 Hours, October 7, 2550 (Military Calendar) \
Unknown Covenant-controlled planet, Upsilon
Andromedae star system—underneath Covenant Excavation Site.

Jeremiah and Lukas pulled themselves along the metal coated tunnel, admiring its architecture. To the Spartans of Sierra Team, this was not a natural phenomenon. The complex network of tunnels had to have been constructed eons ago, probably by an ancient alien civilization. And since the Covenant had just discovered this subterranean jewel, it was obvious they weren't the originators. It was a unique experience. Despite being hundreds of feet underground, the tunnel provided adequate lighting. Bands of lights stretched across the tunnel's ceiling every fifty meters or so. The soft, white light highlighted tedious carvings in the floor as the metal against the walls gave way to stone.

Jeremiah grazed his fingertips against it. The stone felt smooth to the touch, as if sanded to perfection. Oxide bands swirled in elegant design, resembling a continuous spiral. The cavern began to expand now, gradually descending further underground. Radiate stalactites hung from the limestone ceiling, having a luminous tip of violet light on each one. It was definitely an archeologist's dream, but the Spartans kept their focus on what was in front and behind them. There was no telling if Covenant were down here, and if they were, then extreme caution had to be taken.

Eventually, once the Headhunters had ventured a hundred yards, the cavern's end was before them. With weapons aimed, Jeremiah and Lukas inched their way closer, reaching the light. The cavern had opened up into an immense, hexagon-shaped cavity. An impact crater was centered in the middle of the cave, its raised edges towering a couple hundred feet. Eerie stone formations jutted from crater's walls, while volcano-shaped rocks lined the outer regions. The ceiling of the cave, however, was artificial. It was domed-shaped, possibly made of the same metallic material.

In theory, from the Spartans' standpoint, something immense crash landed here thousands or millions of years ago. To obscure the crash site, someone or something must've constructed a dome over it, left it, then allowed natural planetary elements take over to finish the top. Millions of tons of stone and dirt probably sat atop of the ceiling, providing a perfect, inconspicuous blanket. Crude, but effective. To Sierra Team, however, they frankly didn't care how this cave came to be. The only thing that mattered was to investigate this place for alien artifacts. Finding it, however, probably would've been as difficult as the Spartans previously thought.

A small, temple-like structure was constructed directly in the center of the crater, resembling a futuristic version of that of the ancient Mayan civilizations. Strips of soft violet light lined the smooth edges of the structure, dimly lighting its darkened surroundings. Lukas lowered his sniper rifle to his mid-section, preparing to head down to the structure. Jeremiah grabbed his left armored bicep, stopping him.

"Circle east and check the perimeter. No need for any surprises," he instructed. "I'll head west. Report anything suspicious."

With that the Warrant Officer departed from Lukas, briskly making his way to his designated assignment. The Spartan sniper went east, walking along the fringes of the crater's edge, utilizing the mountain-like formations to mask his advancements. Jeremiah kept low, sweeping his DMR over the crater's base. No Covenant was in sight, so it they might've been the first ones inside. That sentiment, however, didn't rest well the Headhunter. It would have been better if the Covenant was here. Now he had to be concerned about them possibly sneaking in after them. With that in mind, Jeremiah, on occasion, kept his eyes on their entry point.

As he began to continue onward, his COM crackled open. "Heat signatures detected," Lukas reported. "Five… no, seven now."

Jeremiah elevated his jog to a sprint. He ducked behind an L-shaped stone formation before replying, "Can you confirm visual?"

"Negative. Still on approach," B229 responded. "Stand by, Sierra-One."

Jeremiah remained motionless, awaiting his comrade's reply. He doubted that this planet had any native species, and if it did, they were probably microscopic organisms. Had the Covenant beat them down here?

"Visual confirmed," Lukas finally said, easing Jeremiah's nerves. "Elites. Six Ultra-class, one Zealot-class."

"Copy that, Sierra-Two," Jeremiah acknowledged, moving to view the Elites for himself.

On his hands and knees, the Spartan crept to the edge of the crater, keeping his body as low as possible. He peered down, sighting the Elites. The team leader grunted. So much for being first. Jeremiah withdrew into cover, knowing the Elites were headed for the structure. He didn't know what was inside that alien temple, but he wasn't about to let the Covenant discover it first.

With a blink, Jeremiah keyed his TEAMCOM. "Get into position. We'll take 'em by surprise."

"Took you long enough," excitedly responded Sierra-Two. "Gameplan?"

"That Elite Zealot is priority one," Sierra-One strategized. "He's yours. I'll start with the Ultras."

"Understood," Sierra-Two complied, searching out a position.

While Lukas set up his vantage point, Jeremiah made his way down to the crater floor. He snuck his way between cluster of rocks had jutted out from the crater's incline, keeping his approach silent. With a light hop, he reached the bottom, gating low to the ground as he stalked the seven Elites. The alpine alien warriors motioned toward the structure, traveling in wedge formation—the maroon-armored Zealot out in front. A distance away, Lukas let down the stand at the base of his rifle's barrel. He'd crouched between a pair of tree-like boulders, which casted a deep shadow over him. With a combination of his photo-reactive panels, he was practically invisible. To further his concealment, the Spartan affixed a silencer on the end of the barrel, then loaded the rifle with high caliber armor-piercing rounds for added potency.

"You're clear, Sierra-Two," Jeremiah signaled over the COMs. "Take the shot."

Lukas centered the ridicule over the Zealot's crested head armor, relaxed his shoulders, and fired. The high-caliber round struck against the back of the Elite's head, causing its strong shields to flare. It roared in surprise, just as another round hit. Its shields glowed brighter, but held. Before Lukas could fire another shot to deaden its shields, the Zealot bolted and the Ultras scrambled. The Spartan sniper cursed. So close. Lukas followed the Zealot through the scope, aiming a few inches ahead of the alien before firing again.

As the Zealot raced across the bed of broken ground, the round Lukas had fired struck its thigh. With its shields overloaded, the Headhunter promptly reloaded, simultaneously keeping his eyes on the Elite. By the time he primed his sniper rifle, however, the Zealot had disappeared from sight. Groundside, Jeremiah depleted the shields of an Elite Ultra, aimed high, the finished it off with a headshot. The Elite howled as its reflexes fired two aimless shots from its plasma repeater before it fell over. A shower of bluish-violet plasma smothered the Spartan's position, forcing the Headhunter fall back. He reloaded his DMR, leaned out from cover, fired upon the first Elite in his sights.

The Ultra sidestepped in eloquent grace, backpedaling as it fired rapid bolts of plasma from its plasma rifle. Jeremiah unloaded a dozen rounds into the Elite's torso, canceling out its shields. The Ultra roared, discharging its weapon wildly. At that moment, a silent sniper round went through the Elite's skull, dropping it. Jeremiah exhaled, silently expressing his gratitude to Lukas. That gratitude, however, faded as the Zealot appeared before the Headhunter.

It mounted its plasma launcher, locked onto the Spartan, and fired. Homing bolts of plasma angled through the air, tracking the Spartan. Jeremiah doubled back, diving behind stone pillar that stretched from the cave's ceiling to the floor. The bolts latched onto the stone, boiled, then exploded. A swell of heat enveloped the Headhunter. His SPI armor bubbled with a sizzling noise. Jeremiah threw a frag grenade, masking his escape. The Zealot barked an order, instructing two Ultras to pursue the demon.

SPARTAN-B038 hurdled over the debris from the fallen pillar, darted left, and concealed himself. He breathed a sigh of relief. That was too close, and the Spartan had faced some close calls in his career. His heart raced and his blood pressure rose, so the Headhunter took a brief, vigilant rest. When the stress had subsided, Jeremiah raised Lukas.

"I needed that Zealot down, Sierra-Two. Thing nearly smeared me."

"Chasing it," replied Lukas. "It's a moving target, ya know?"

"Just make sure they don't reach the structure before us," Sierra-One ordered, glancing over his shoulder.

The Elites were out of sight. Lukas winked his acknowledgment light green, followed by another cough from his silenced rifle. Another Ultra went down. Jeremiah raised his DMR to bear, glancing at the digital screen on the weapon. Nine rounds remained, and the Spartan had just used his last clip.

'Nine rounds,' the Headhunter mentally sighed.

As he reached for his pistol, a pair of red blips appeared upon his motion sensors. They were close, nearly… An Elite roared from behind Jeremiah, wrapping its arm around his neck. With strength to rival a SPARTAN-II, the Ultra lifted the Headhunter off his boots, then slammed him into the ground. Another Ultra came, aiming its plasma repeater to fire. Surrounded, Jeremiah acted quickly. He propelled himself off the ground, tackling the Elite in front of him. The first Ultra swung its leg into Jeremiah's mid-section, removing him from off its fellow Elite. Sierra-One rolled to his feet, standing in a fighter's stance. The two Sangheili warriors crept toward the lone Spartan, ditching their plasma weapons for their energy swords.

'Perfect,' the Spartan exclaimed in silence.

The Elites rushed him, roaring a battle cry. Jeremiah stepped forward, ducked under the first Ultra's swing, bashed it behind its head with his elbow, then caught the second Elite's sword wielding hand before it came down. The Spartan snapped the alien's wrist, plunged his knee into its gut, and swung around behind as the first Ultra swiped the empty air with its sword. Jeremiah shoved the second Elite into first, causing them to stumble. With his combat knife drawn, the Headhunter kicked the Ultra down, set his boot upon its neck, and brought down his full weight. A crackle sounded from its broken neck, just before the Elite wailed. By the time remaining Elite recovered, Jeremiah inserted his knife into the back of the alien's neck, jerked it back to disconnect the bone, then pulled it out. The Elite was dead before it hit the ground.

Lukas had watched the spectacle through his scope, apprehensive about assisting his fellow Headhunter in fear of misfiring. Though exhausted from the fight, Lukas watched Jeremiah as he managed to crawl up the incline of the crater's walls, snatching his DMR from the dirt along the way. Sierra-One continued to circle west, possibly searching out where the Elites had gone. Two of the three alien warriors had taken cover between a wishbone-shaped pathway carved in the crater's incline. They were surrounded by man-sized rocks, protecting them from Sierra-Two's sharpshooting. The Zealot, though, was missing. Lukas brought up his rifle and abandoned his vantage point.

If he was going to down that Zealot, he would need to find it first. An exchange of gunfire crackled below as Jeremiah had engaged the last remaining Ultras. Sierra-Two shook his head with arched brows. Jeremiah was a bold and fearless Headhunter, never being intimidated by any foe. Lukas, however, wouldn't fight Elite Ultra pairs in hand-to-hand combat; not unless he needed to. The Warrant Officer specialized in long-range combat, and anything close-range was either swift, come-from-behind kills or forced hand-to-hand when ammo was depleted.

Close-range combat was Jeremiah's forte, but Lukas often wondered if his gift would also result in his demise. The Headhunter didn't think about it anymore. He focused on the task at hand—locating the Ze… A hue of sapphire flared in Lukas's peripheral vision. Two milliseconds elapsed, just as the tip of an energy sword grazed his chest armor, leaving a cauterized scar. In a flash, the Zealot appeared, knocking the sniper rifle from the Spartan's grip. Lukas rolled left, snatching his sidearm from his thigh. He unloaded six rounds into the alien's shields, barely draining them.

The Zealot came swinging, thrashing its sword wildly. Sierra-Two circled around the ionized blades, locking his forearms around the Elite's neck. Before he could twist, the Zealot flipped the Spartan over its head, slamming him onto the ground. The sword came down, but the Headhunter evaded. Lukas crossed his ankles around the Zealot's legs, twisted his waist, and watched the alien fall. The Spartan went for the fallen energy sword, only to be tripped up by the Elite. He stumbled, stretching out his arms to prevent himself from falling completely. The Zealot picked up the sword, charging with a howl. Lukas emptied the remaining rounds in his M6D Magnum, reloaded, then dodged another swing from the Elite.

He pistol whipped the Zealot behind its helmet with enough force to dislocate a human's skull from the spinal cord. The alien staggered forward as Lukas forced his boot behind its awkward-shaped legs. Now on its knees, the Spartan pounced onto the Zealot's hunched back, pushed his pistol down its throat, and pulled the trigger four times. Mauve blood splattered against Lukas's faceplate as the Zealot tumbled over onto its side. The Spartan sniper took a step back from the dead Elite, exhaling heavily.

Jeremiah appeared from Lukas's right; his SPI armor dented and scratched. "Nice," Sierra-One praised, returning his bloody combat knife into its sheath. "A personal best for you, huh?"

"Considering the circumstances, I'll take that as a compliment," Lukas begrudgingly replied, lifting his rifle from the ground.

Jeremiah grunted, shouldering his newly obtained plasma repeater. He gestured toward the structure. "Doubt we'll be alone for much longer. Let's get down to that structure."

Lukas walked past him without acknowledging, jogging briskly down the incline of the crater. The Headhunters, once went down the crater floor, double-timed it to the structure.

Upon reaching it, the Spartans slowed their pace, flicking on their external helmet lights. They went inside, gaiting down the narrow walkway that extended just twenty meters. The structure's center was much like the cavern—hexagon in shape, floor of crushed stone. But it was the center of the room that gained the Headhunters' attention. A stone-like staff stood in the center; eight meters high, six inches thick. An assortment of blue lights cycled around the stone, emitting brief flashes before cooling.

Jeremiah and Lukas were speechless, for it was obviously an alien artifact. It was neither Covenant nor human in design, so the Spartans guessed it was created from another source. The small artifact that Lukas had found years ago didn't even compare. Time, though, elapsed as Sierra Team remained motionless. Jeremiah dismissed the novelty, motioning toward the relic. Lukas turned his back to his ally, keeping watch for Covenant intruders. The Spartan lowered his plasma repeater, reaching out his dominant right hand toward the stone. He touched it. The relic began to emit a low, pulsating sound, resembling a hum.

At that moment, the cycles of light intensified, just before they exploded in a brilliant array. Cerulean holograms materialized into planets, then multiple star systems. The ring of systems began to lazily rotate before stopping. A single planetary system throbbed. The system consisted of six planets, one of which being substantially larger than the others. Flashes of light pulsed from the larger world, the cooled. Suddenly, the hologram began to dissolve that sand in a windstorm, swirling back into the cycles of soft light.

A minuscule tremor occurred, strong enough to topple to a deck of playing cards. Lukas turned back, circling around to stare at the relic as Jeremiah took a step back. It was then that a portion of the stone staff extended out toward the Headhunter, like a tray from a computer's unit. A small, palm-sized disc with ridged edges and a crystal-like center sat in the tray. Jeremiah was apprehensive. He didn't know whether to take the item or not. But he felt it would be safer with him than the Covenant, so he took it.

The Spartan held the artifact away from his faceplate, angling it between his fingers. Liquid-like crystal in its center motioned in sync with Jeremiah's movements. A flash of crimson light, however, broke the Spartan's trance. The rotating cycles of light on the relic's body sparked as the structure vibrated with an animalistic growl.

"Ah, hell… a fail-safe," Lukas exclaimed. "Let's get back to the surface!"

Jeremiah turned to run, gently placing the artifact in his gear-pack behind his waist. The Spartans covered just fifty yards before the structure blew. An intense, white-hot light enveloped them with an explosive release of power. Sierra Team was hoisted off their feet, and was sent tumbling end over end as the blast radius carried them. When the blast began to recede, the Spartans began moving. Their armor had taken severe punishment from the blast, literally melting layers upon layers of armor. Their photo-reactive panels had failed, and it felt as if someone had set their skin aflame. Lukas rolled over onto his haunches, grimacing at the painful throbbing from his blistered skin. He crawled over to Jeremiah, pushing him over onto his back.

The Spartan's armor had been critically damaged had finally failed. He wouldn't survive another firefight, not if he got hit. Lukas tried to lift them, but a section of his shoulder armor came off instead. Jeremiah began to stir, though, biting his lip to dismiss the agony. He slowly sat upright, looking over to see that the structure collapsed into itself.

'Clever design,' the Spartan mentally complimented.

The Headhunter reached into his gear, taking the artifact in his hand. Despite being as thin a penny, the item was highly resilient. Not even a scratch coated its sleek surface. Jeremiah forced himself to stand, handing the artifact to Lukas.

"Here, take it. You're more trustworthy."

Sierra-Two plucked it from his fingers, tucking it away from sight.

"Company's going to be here soon," Jeremiah supposed, assuming the Covenant Zealot had plenty of opportunities to inform allies that Spartans were sighted. "Suggest we head back to the Eclipse."

"Agreed," Lukas concurred, fetching his fallen weapon.

With that the Spartans headed up the crater's incline, entering back into the cavern that would lead them to the surface.