A/N: Thank you for the lovely reviews and PMs and I hope that you're all having a safe New Years.
Hard to believe that it's already 2015, next thing we know, it's 2017 and Halo 3 is being remastered and it's going to come out as some kind of collection called the Believe Collection or whatever.
I will be going through this story switching between POVs every two chapters from now on; thank you for your input, dear readers.
Also, the only reason Cortana would be able to know about neural physics is through learning, John may not understand nor anyone else but she can get a slight hint, maybe just a name. People have the instinct of connecting unknowns with unknowns.
In addition, AIs are known for coming up with the improbable, the impossible, through their vast learning and discovering and considering that she had access to Halo, it's highly likely that she went through its archives. Without a doubt, the Forerunners probably had some history based on the Precursors and whatnot stored in there somewhere. Also 343 Guilty Spark can't shut up to save his life.
Another question to answer: the Vex coming into this timeline is a strong possibility and was originally a part of the plot I worked up but I'm highly on the fence about letting them in or not. As far as I'm concerned, I view the Vault of Glass as a fixed point in time; this means, on every plane of existence in every timeline out there, Atheon is defeated and the Vault is empty. Many of you might not agree with this but seeing as how strongly the Precursor Vex (and the Vex in general) associated themselves with meddling with time, I figured they'd at least achieved creating fixed points and the Vault happened to be one of them. This might change in the future but as for now, this is what it is.
Here we are at Crow's Nest and Tsavo's Highway.
EDIT (4/21/15): So guess what happened.
Despite Miranda telling everyone to move out, John couldn't help but take several moments to look over at the Guardian. Truth's message ended up a little more than vaguely disturbing, to be frank, the Spartan was used to the dramatic speeches, heard them performed by a multitude of Marines and ODSTs; on any other day, he'd have brushed it off as the Covenant tuning up on their arrogance but then Truth mentioned the Guardian - albeit a bit indirectly - called him a god to their people, someone to worship.
Did the UNSC really have a Forerunner on their hands? If they did then the Guardian would be a priority, someone that they'd have to constantly be on watch for; should the Covenant get their hands on him then it'd all be over. John wasn't sure whether to doubt the proclamation of Truth for once; the Guardian had raised endless questions that were simply brushed to the side with muttered promises to be answered later.
"Ma'am, our perimeter cameras just went offline," a tech reported worriedly. John looked up from where he was studying the Guardian's arm, having been inspecting the strange device that sat on it; it ran on some unusual technology, it was smooth and white and silver - it was shaped in a perfect square - and refused to be removed. It hummed quietly with the same sort of energy that seemed to radiate off the Guardian; two prongs protruded from the horizontal ends of the device, curving outward slightly as blue energy leaked off it.
"Motion trackers?" Keyes questioned, turning to face the reporting technician.
"They're down or we're not receiving, can't tell."
"Any of our birds squawking?"
"No, ma'am," a different tech replied. "Wait. Overwatch has contacts. Phantoms closing in on our position!"
"Any birds less than five minutes out, bring them in. Tell everyone else to scatter."
"Aye, aye." John jogged towards the miniature armory they had set up, the Guardian following behind languidly as Johnson announced that he and the Arbiter would be guarding the ops center. As he gathered magazines for the Assault Rifle and Battle Rifle he picked off the racks, a Marine ran up next to him, offering to lead the way to the perimeter, explaining more or less to those around him about the brief history of the Crow's Nest.
As they passed through the simplistic cave system integrated in the building, he heard the familiar voice of Gunnery Sergeant Stacker ordering around several Marines to set up turrets. A loud rumble followed by an explosion made him take pause, watching as small bits and pieces of rock and dust fell from above before yelling into the comm.,
"Point of entry, best assessment!" Two Marines guarding another door answered immediately,
"Hanger, Sergeant!"
"Agreed. Master Chief! Get there!" With no need for further orders or encouragement, the Spartan nodded, opening the door, and swiftly making his way down the hall towards a large tunnel where he arrived just in time to see a Warthog get bombarded by several plasma grenades. He didn't even flinch when it exploded into a fiery blue ball; there'd certainly be no survivours on that one.
"Chief?" Keyes' voice crackled through on a rather shaky channel. "Good, this channel is secure. My fireteams are spread thin and can't hold out much longer. I need that hangar cleared for evac ASAP."
"Yes, ma'am," the Spartan rumbled as he rolled out into the tunnel, pinging several Grunts and Jackals before taking them down with several well-placed rounds from his Battle Rifle. The Guardian sprang forward, glowing shotgun in hand, and set to work on taking down the shielded Jackals, watching in amusement as they went down in shrieking, burning flames. A well thrown grenade finished off a group of retreating Grunts, blasting some supply crates out of the way and onto some of their skulls and even knocking the helmet off of the approaching Brute Captain. The Marines following broke into a fit of laughter as they emptied their Assault Rifles on the unsuspecting Covenant hostile, quickly ending its life.
Turning down a different hall, the squad was met with Jackal Carbine snipers and suicidal Grunts, using the Grunts to their leverage, the short firefight ended in a wonderful, continuous explosion of blue. As they passed by the corpses, the two Marines took it as a good time to stop and waste several rounds on the body of a Grunt before giving it a good kick; as they did this, John watched as the Guardian stooped to pick up several plasma grenades, studying them curiously before they disappeared in a flash of silver. The Spartan had seen this happen often, most obviously when the Guardian was finished using his AI machine gun; John had since figured out that this was probably how the Guardian managed to store so many weapons on his person. He was rather curious as to how it worked.
Hearing the familiar whir of a Phantom dropship's engines, John assumed that he had reached the hangar, satisfied to see that he was indeed correct just as the heard Phantom appeared, releasing the common squad of Grunts and Jackals, led by a mere Brute Minor. It wasn't all difficult, simply waiting for them on the platform, picking off the ones that didn't dive into cover immediately. The Covenant, however, were known to not give up so easily and just as they finished mopping up the rest of the Grunts, two more Phantoms appeared to drop off reinforcements, this time, the squad of Grunts and Jackals, several Minors and a Major.
Tossing out the remaining grenades he had, John rushed forward to engage the Major, leaving the Marines and Guardian to clean up the rest. The Major put his focus wholly on John, firing his Brute Shot wildly, only having a few actually hit the Spartan and bring his shields down to a quarter. Diving behind a concrete barricade, the Spartan watched the shield bar fill up before peering over the barricade, bullets pinging off the Major's helmet, noticeably denting it. Roaring in anger, the Major threw a Spike Grenade in retaliation - only to have the damned thing to stick to the front of the barricade, eliciting a brief chuckle of amusement from the Spartan as he shot up once more, knocking the helmet off the Brute and finishing it off with a clean shot to the head.
The Guardian joined him moments later, reloading his shotgun calmly. Having seen the small standoff, he pointed at the barricade, specifically at the few spikes sticking out of it, tilting his head as if to say, What the hell was that.
John merely shrugged while tilting in his head in a similar manner; the Guardian let something that sounded like a scoff escape from him, one of the first noises John had heard from him yet.
They watched for several moments as the Marines assumed control of the hangar, calling out several Pelicans to prep for evac.
"Chief," Johnson's voice crackled over the active comm. link, "hustle back to the ops center. The Brutes are pushin' here."
John 'hm'ed in response, going back the way he came with the Guardian trailing behind. As they walked through the halls, they heard Keyes ordering for sit-reps from multiple areas around the base. They had made it through the majority of the halls without trouble, entering the area where the small cave system was when a Marine called out,
"Sir, this way!"
The Spartan was about to enter the structure when he saw something fall from the ceiling; frowning, he was about to call out his speculation when a Drone flew in from above and grabbed the Marine, ready to fly away with him if it were for the Spartan's quick reflexes. Immediately, he brought up his Battle Rifle, gunning down the giant bug just as the rest of the swarm entered. As he ran outside of the bunker-like area, dodging the green bolts of plasma, he grabbed a turret and ripped it off its tripod as he heard the familiar yell of the AI machine gun the Guardian wielded. Back-to-back, the Spartan and the Guardian made quick, serious work of the swarm, satisfied that it didn't take much effort to get rid of them. Several of the bugs had attempted to pick up stray Marines, only to get hit by a barrage of bullets from his pissed-off allies.
The firefight couldn't have lasted more than three minutes. John dropped the depleted turret as the Guardian dispersed the AI machine gun (which disappeared with a chirpy farewell and a flash of blue and white) and the two of them proceeded to enter the ops center, a Marine greeting them by cheerfully saying,
"Here comes the cavalry!"
Above them, they heard Johnson making a passing remark about a bomb as Keyes warned him about his cigar. Walking up the stairs, they watched as Johnson put out his trusted cigar, John looking up at Miranda who had apparently made it back to the Forward Unto Dawn, her features displayed on the same screen Hood was on earlier.
"Ah, Chief," she greeted as the two soldiers stepped down, inspecting the device set in front of them, "look, a little going away gift for the Covenant. We've linked it to smaller charges around the base. Johnson, as soon as the evacuation is complete, set the timer."
"Understood," the Sergeant Major replied with a nod.
"Good luck, everyone. See you on the last Pelican out," with that said, she cut the comms., her face disappearing.
"Follow me, you two," Johnson said, turning and running around the two giant soldiers, leading them towards a different doorway where several Marines were standing, ready for whatever came through. Stopping in front of it, he turned and relayed the situation, "Brutes have taken the barracks with Marines trapped inside. Those apes ain't one for mercy, Chief, we both know what they do to prisoners." The Spartan nodded solemnly before stepping forward, unlocking the door and stepping through, the Guardian followed closely.
"Get to those barracks and save those men, escort them to the landing pad for evac!" Johnson said as a final order before the doors were shut. Looking at the area in front of them, John analyzed and saw that the entire squad consisted of Brutes ranging from Majors to a single Chieftain that stood haughtily at the top of the hill-like garage. They hadn't noticed the arrival of the two soldiers just yet so the two got into position; John looked over at the Guardian, satisfied that he seemed to get the same idea as he was, having taken out his unusual, explosion-prone sniper rifle.
After moving the unfortunate body of a Marine, the Guardian settled himself behind a barricade, rifle set up. John watched as he lined up his initial shot with a Brute Major surrounded by several Stalkers. Good, take out as many as he could on the first bullet.
John lunged forward, throwing a plasma grenade and successfully sticking the Brute Chieftain, although it wouldn't kill it, the grenade would, at least, severely weaken it. At the same time the plasma grenade exploded, the Brute Major disappeared into a cloud of fiery energy, taking the Stalkers with it. Looking over at the simplistic destruction made, John saw that the Brutes slowly dissipated, at first, faintly outlined by the embers before slowly turning into it and disappearing entirely, leaving small trails of ash.
That would be something questioned later. He stored it in the back of his mind for later conversations as he rolled to the left, just barely dodging the Chieftain's hammer. The ape roared, changing direction at the last minute which caused it to soar just over the Spartan's head, giving an opening and allowing him to launch himself at the creature's abdomen, tackling it and rolling down the stairs, their weapons lost. Occasionally, bullets would pierce its body as they wrestled, trying to get the upper hand, the Guardian maintaining his distance, attempting to snipe out the remaining Brutes trying to intervene. One such bullet pinged off the Brute's helmet, knocking it off, and eliciting another angered roar from it.
A shout alerted John and he looked up, if only momentarily, to see the Guardian jumping into the air, bringing the device up front and charging it before releasing a giant ball of energy that shot towards the wrestling pair.
Giving an uppercut to the jaw, John wrested himself free from the stunned Brute's grip, and rolled out of the way just as the energy crashed into the Brute Chieftain with a loud boom. The Brute Chieftain all but disappeared from existence, the only proof that it was ever there was the hammer it had dropped which John took the time to pick up as the Guardian approached him. They gave each other passing nods while checking over their respective weapons.
Wordlessly, they continued on, going through a side door into yet another hallway. Heading towards a set of rocks blocking the way, they spotted a trapdoor in the ground and what looked like a Marine who attempted to crawl to it. Without hesitation, they jumped through; just as they landed into what was probably the underground sewer system connected to the base, John saw Her again.
She filled his vision, flickering in and out of view, and he paused at the entrance, waiting for Her voice to fill his mind again.
"You have been called upon to serve." They were simple words but he knew where they were from, originally, they came from Halsey, his surrogate mother. She had said these exact words the night he and his brethren were taken from their homes, to begin training.
As he gathered himself, he felt the Guardian's gaze on him but he didn't meet it, instead, he forged ahead, catching a glimpse of a Drone flying through the pipes. He ignored them, however, figuring they weren't exactly worth any of his bullets or time, climbing through the pipes just in time to hear the Arbiter. He listened as he landed behind the Elite, watching as he fired upon several Drones, attempting to get to them to rebel, to see their wrongs. It didn't work however, as they died before the Arbiter could continue, even though they didn't appear to show signs of listening.
Facing the two soldiers, the Arbiter explained, "Spartan, the Brutes have taken your soldiers...as prisoners or meat for their bellies, I do not know. In case some yet live, let us prepare for what lies ahead." Looking over John's head and at the Guardian, he nodded in greeting towards him, receiving one in return as the shotgun that John had become accustomed to seeing reappeared.
John opened the door into what appeared to be the barracks just in time to see a Marine's body fly into a pillar, ultimately killing the man and joining him with the other pile of bodies that lay below him. The Spartan grimaced, his dislike for the Brutes growing as he readied the hammer he had taken, turning the corner, he saw a Minor jogging towards another of his comrade, a Marine in its claws. As the Arbiter and Guardian lay waste to the others around him, the Spartan ran at the Minor holding the Marine, swinging the hammer and feeling satisfaction wash over him as it made contact, a resounding boom filling the area as the Brute's head became a blood pulp, the Marine jumping free from the scathing grip. He ran off, grabbing a Spiker from the ground and joined the other two in finishing off the other Brutes and freeing his friends.
The Spartan climbed up the ladder to take care of the Jackals and Brutes providing returning fire from above, making quick work of them with the blade of the hammer. It sliced neatly through a Major's neck, the head rolling from the catwalk and landing on the Guardian was passing by below. Confused, he looked at the head which continued to roll to the other side of the tunnel before looking up and seeing John with the headless Brute. He waved, giving a thumbs up, before going back to his bloody work. John turned towards the front, watching as the Brute Ultra set down a Bubble Shield, the bullets reflecting off it with ease; the Spartan lurched forward, sprinting inside the Bubble and priming a plasma grenade and sticking it to the device itself. Dazing the Ultra by hitting it with the handle of the hammer, John rolled back out and turned back just in time to see the grenade go off, taking the dome and Brute with it.
"Neat idea, Chief!" A Marine called out as the others around him cheered, running alongside the three soldiers. They continued further into the barracks, rescuing more and more Marines, enough to harness an entire platoon before reaching the other end of the tunnel. Leading them out, they reached a service elevator (thank God or whatever was listening, they could fit everyone on there) and were soon heading up to the landing pad.
As they went up, they heard Johnson report, "Commander, we lost the ops center. Brutes had attacked in force. Couldn't hold 'em off. Goin' back to the hangar. Don't wait for us."
"Hold position, I'm not leaving without you!" Keyes ordered.
"Ma'am," the Pelican's pilot began, John recognized as Hocus, "I've got movement above and below. Ah, damn! The Brutes have jetpacks!" John looked over at the Guardian and remarked dryly,
"Sounds like your kind of people."
The Guardian stared at the ceiling and John could practically feel the man roll his eyes. As the elevator stopped, they all rushed out, intent on destroying the jetpack Brutes; the Guardian rolled forward before launching himself from the ground, his own pack lifting him to meet a Brute in the air. Surprisingly, he managed to punch the Brute out of the air, the creature howling as it crashed with the ground, only to be silenced when the mysterious soldier landed on it with his boot on its neck, the snap audible. He lifted himself into the air once more, joining the fray through aerial hand-to-hand combat with the relentless Brutes. Many of the jetpack jumpers went down either riddled with bullets, in flames, or disappeared altogether thanks to the Guardian's mysterious powers. The ones that disappeared seemed to become energy, strengthening the Guardian's shields which glowed a bright violet colour with every passing hit.
As soon as John signaled the all clear, Hocus appeared, returning to the landing pad to have the Marines climb aboard. However, just as the Marines climbed on, they heard the familiar sound of Drones. Johnson pointed this out, offering to provide covering fire as they made their way back to the ops center once more.
"Brutes in the ops center," Johnson explained. "Sorry, Commander, there were too many, even for me."
"Chief, kill those Brutes and rearm the bomb, I've got to get these men out of here. I'll radio for another exit, good luck," Keyes answered, receiving a 'yes, ma'am' from the Spartan. As they headed towards the hall leading to the ops center, John felt Her presence once more, again, Her face flickering in and out from his vision.
"You will be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies," She explained proudly and he frowned, that wasn't Her words...they belong to Halsey on the night that he was taken for the program. He remembered it vividly, it was a life-changer for him.
Once again, he felt the gaze of the Guardian on him but he didn't dare to speak up, letting the super-soldier lead on. Entering the ops center as quietly as they could muster with that ridiculous heavy door squeaking, they listened as the Chieftain proudly reported the overtaking of the base. Truth, however, didn't sound pleased, whatsoever, demanding information as to how the UNSC was planning to stop them, ordering them to learn as fast as they could lest they be forgotten on their "Great Journey".
Walking forward, they spotted several Grunts, two Ultras, a Minor on a plasma turret, and a Chieftain standing by the bomb. John managed to stick both of the Ultras with plasma grenades as the Guardian shot down the Brute Minor with a Battle Rifle he picked off the rack. He dropped it as soon as the Brute was killed however, favouring his fiery shotgun above all else apparently. As they finished mopping up the Grunts, all three soldiers scattered just as the Chieftain shot multiple bolts of fuel rod power at them, striking where they were standing moments earlier. It was under the combined power of lead, plasma, and fire as well as grenades and the occasional opposing hammer, courtesy of John, (and dodging a helluva lot) that brought down the hulking creature, the both of them having suffered the loss of shields at the worst.
Quickly, John raced down the stairs, activating the bomb as soon as he could reach it, receiving a call of approval from Keyes.
"Chief, we've got an escape route for you! Service elevator in the hangar, get there!" Johnson ordered, the pair quickly complying and bursting into a dead sprint as they heard explosions echo around them. "Head downstairs, cut through the caves!"
As alarms blared, they sprinted through the caves and halls and bypassed cowering Grunts and confused Drones, neither side paying attention to the other as they attempted to save their own lives. Passing through one particular hall, She appeared once more and John grinded to a halt, disoriented. However, as She flickered across his helm once more, the Guardian grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him along, not taking any of this shit right now.
"There will be a great deal of hardship on the road ahead." Why was She taking to quoting Doctor Halsey? Granted, She was a flash clone of the doctor's brain but- She had never done such until now...
As his vision cleared, he began running again, taking the Guardian's hand off his wrist, ignoring the explosions rocking the base, shaking the ground. They watched as a hoard of Grunts, followed by a swarm of Drones, ran by them through the tunnels before running around and through them, trampling and throwing some of them out of their way. The explosions and the lights flickering made the little creatures even more erratic than usual.
Once more, as they slid into the hangar, She appeared, Her eyes meeting his but giving no indication that She acknowledged his presence and the Guardian continued to drag him along, shooting down any Jackals or Brutes that happened to get in their way.
"You will be the best we can make you." And once again, John wrested himself from the Guardian's iron grip, making it known that he was wholly capable of running once more.
"There isn't much time left, you two, so stop makin' out and get into that elevator!" Johnson barked from the comms., prompting the two soldiers to move even faster. They leapt over a squad of Jackals and slid into the elevators, the Guardian shooting down any Covenant that attempted to board with them as the Spartan keyed the controls. The gates closed and soon they were heading down, fire from the explosion licking at their shields.
"This place will become your home," She stated in a matter-of-fact tone, the blue flashing across his field of vision again. The explosion became more violent as the fire chased after them, the elevator racing down at improbable speeds, the fire tore down their shields and he felt the heat just as the lift exploded onto the ground, banging their heads together and leaving them unconscious. Before he fully went out, he heard Her say darkly,
"This place will become your tomb."
John came around, responding to the sound of someone shifting next to him, rock and concrete falling off them as they got up and soon, a small whistle sounded. Blinking up at the remnants of the elevator shaft, the Spartan watched for a moment as the Guardian stood, his strange little diamond AI hovering calmly over his shoulder, giving light. The Guardian looked around for a moment before stooping to pick up his trusted shotgun, the orange designs along its body glowing softly, mingling with the orchid light coming from his helmet and the soft blue glow of the device attached to his left forearm.
After several moments, the Spartan moved, getting to his feet himself. The Guardian turned at the sound, holding out a hand to help him up which John took gratefully, his back was sore after that hard landing.
Looking around once more, the Guardian looked in the rubble once more before withdrawing with an Assault Rifle and a Battle Rifle in his hands, holding them out for the other. Taking them, John looked to make sure they were in working condition, nodding in thanks towards the other soldier before walking away from the ruined elevator towards where he could hear Marines talking amongst themselves.
"Chief, please respond," Keyes called out over the comms., "what's your status, over?"
Keying the comm., the super-soldier replied smoothly,
"Green, ma'am. The Guardian is with me as well."
"Good to hear. Find transport and head to the town of Voi."
"Yes, ma'am." John walked over to a more clear part of the enclosed tunnel, watching as emergency lights powered up, revealing three working Warthogs in place. He climbed into the driver's seat of the nearest one, looking at the white form of the Guardian and said, "Guardian! Get on the turret!"
The soldier stared at the turret before slowly climbing on as if unsure of what to make of the device, the little AI over his shoulder chirping and whistling along as it twirled the triangular pieces, almost as if it were appreciating the vehicle. As he drove the vehicle out of its lot, Stacker called out,
"Chief's got the right idea. Let's mount up, get the hell out of these caves."
The Spartan waited patiently as the Marines gathered themselves, one taking it upon himself to open the doors leading to a large cave system. Seeing the light filtering through the entrance, the Warthogs sped up, running over any and all Jackals and Grunts that attempted to stand in their way. Breaking out into the sunlight, they let their eyes adjust for a moment before seeing that they were in a large field, bypassing multiple towers the Covenant had set up and splattering even more on their way up the hill. The Spartan heard the familiar chatter of the chain gun being fired, removing any other lingering threats that could actually make them pause in their efforts to get to Voi, the largest threats being Jackal snipers, plasma turrets, and raging Brutes. There were the occasional Grunts throwing grenades but, as always, their throws fell short and they were easily avoided.
As the small squad of Warthogs went through several pathways in the hills, they came across a small clearing and rand headlong into a Phantom and several turrets. John just barely dodged several bolts from the two weapons, going completely around the plateau that the turret was on and letting the Phantom do its business as the other Warthogs followed him. Followed by the sound of the Guardian shooting, an explosion sounded as well, signaling that he took something down. Exiting the valley, a gruff voice came over the comms.,
"My convoy's been hit, I need back up. We're on Tsavo Highway 'bout...east of Voi. Someone! Anyone! Please respond!"
"Sounds like they're in trouble, Chief," the Marine sitting next to him remarked, receiving a nod in agreement as they came across the settlement that the troubled Marine had marked. Running over several Brutes and Grunts, the Master Chief jumped out of the Warthog, letting the Guardian's turret face off with the Choppers.
Just barely avoiding the angered swing of a Minor, John returned a punch of his own and caved the Brute's skull in. Turning away from the falling body, he raised his Battle Rifle, firing the three-burst weapon to get several Grunts off of a struggling Marine's tail before taking cover as a grenade was thrown his way. When he removed himself from the building, he watched as his Warthog sped by, the Guardian still on the back with the other Marine driving, whooping as they flew by, chased by several Choppers. Watching the last one fly by, John latched onto it at the last second, holding onto the back as he punched the Brute off before climbing in and assuming direct control of the vehicle. With combined fire from the Guardian in front and John in the back, the group of Choppers were reduced to scrap metal as they were chased around the settlement.
As the firefight settled down, the few Marines on foot sweeping up the last of the Grunts and Jackals, the Marine driving John's Warthog came back, jumping out with wide eyes, exclaiming,
"Damn! That was the first time I ever drove that thing! Whoo! I wanna do that again soon; if we ever find more of these 'Hogs, I'm callin' dibs on one of them!" John rolled his eyes with a small 'hmph' as he climbed back into the driver's seat, directing the 'Hog and his squad over to a tunnel where it was blocked off by a giant plasma barrier.
"Chief," a Marine called out, recognizing Stacker's voice, "the barriers only work against vehicles; you should be able to pass right through on foot."
"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard, no way is that going to work," another Marine piped up as the Spartan got down, passing through the barrier with ease, and gunning down several Minors that were waiting inside. Hearing Truth's voice, he looked over his shoulder and saw a hologram recording preaching something about the "Great Journey", walking over to it, he stared at the alien momentarily before destroying the hologram. How about no.
After that, he repeatedly punched the barrier's generator, pleased to watch it exploded, his shields brushing it off, and the barrier disappearing.
"That is so fucking stupid," the same Marine observed, the others guffawing at the flaw.
Driving on, they went through another cave-tunnel system before coming upon the actual highway. A loud crack filled the air and a Covenant flagship passed over head, heading towards the excavation site where a small storm was building up; a recon team began reporting in but they were broken up by the sudden arrival of the ship, the comms. being temporarily scrambled.
"Say again, recon? You're breaking up," Keyes ordered.
"Something beneath the crater, ma'am. Something beneath the storm," the recon team reported cryptically.
Coming across a set of barricades that blocked off the broken bridge, the Marines lamented leaving the Warthogs but climbed out nonetheless. Approaching the bridge, they saw that one of the sturdier beams, although bent and partially melted (long since cooled down), they would be able to walk across it with ease. John and the Guardian traipsed across it easily, patiently awaiting for the others to join them before continuing down along the highway.
"Master Chief?" Keyes came back through the comms., sighing in relief, "Finally, a good connection. Truth has excavated a Forerunner artifact. Have to assume it's the Ark."
"Keep pushin' to the town of Voi, Chief," Johnson inputted. "The supply birds will meet you in the next valley."
"That means more 'Hogs, right?" A Marine asked hopefully, receiving a shrug. They arrived at a settlement just a little off the highway, stopping to assist in two Marines trying to take on an Ultra before moving to the buildings that were being bombarded with Fuel Rods. Luckily there were three more Marines inside, upping the numbers from ten to thirteen, deciding to stay at the settlement to wipe out the remaining forces, sticking to long range. At first, it was all clear when the Major dropped but then a Marine climbed onto one of the buildings to look out and yelled,
"Wraith! Incoming!" As soon as he said this, the bright blue ball of plasma wiped him from existence as it crashed onto the roof of the building. The giant, arch-based tank soon floated into view with a Brute in its turret, meaning that it'd be difficult to get in close and hijack it. Picking up the Fuel Rod as the others got into cover back inside the buildings, he grabbed the remaining rods, intent on covering it in the green gas. The Guardian stood at his side, a white and gold ornate rocket launcher sat on his shoulder as he patiently waited for the Wraith to get into view.
Was there a single type of weapon this soldier didn't have?
It didn't matter, the more firepower to take this thing down, the better. Dodging the next two plasma mortars from the Wraith, they simultaneously fired their weapons, the green rods lazily flying towards the Wraith compared to the speeding rocket that was the Guardian's. The Wraith was encased in a green cloud, the Brute in the turret dying after several barrages of the green stuff as the rockets crashed into the hull, splitting open and spilling out small blue cluster bombs that swarmed the Wraith, seeming to have some kind of locking target that made it seek the vehicle out. Several rounds of Fuel Rods and rockets, plus wild gunfire from the Marines, later, and the Wraith was left sputtering and smoking before exploding, leaving it a mangled, melting, metal mess.
As expected, two Pelicans appeared both carrying a Warthog which elicited whoops of excitement from the Marines as they rushed to meet it at the bottom of the hill. Climbing into one, John waited patiently as the other Marines got situated before continuing forward, dodging two Choppers and running over several Grunts and Jackals. Per usual.
They passed through a small alcove before coming upon another part of the highway, guarded by two Choppers which were made quick of, the Marine driving the other Warthog deciding his solution being to slam the vehicle into the Brute, exploding the damned thing as the Spartan allowed the Guardian to conventionally let loose on the other Chopper.
Flying off the broken bridge and into the valley below, the two Warthogs followed a beaten path, letting the turrets take care of the chasing Choppers as they avoided the Wraiths that threatened to make due with their vehicles. Successfully bypassing the Wraiths without any losses, they continued down the highway just in time to hear Johnson say,
"Chief, the gate to Voi is just dead ahead! Smash that Brute blockade!"
"With pleasure," John rumbled as the Marines cackled behind him, rushing headlong into the bluish-purple barricades, ultimately destroying all that got in their path. The Chief followed languidly, the Guardian and Marine next to him mopping up what the other Warthog left behind such as the jetpack troops and everything else.
"I'm so glad I'm not with those nutcases," the Marine grumbled as she threw a grenade on to the floating platform that passed by, chuckling when it exploded. "It's a miracle they're not dead yet."
"Gotta seize the moment, Lacivi!" One of the other Marines howled over the comms., explosions sounding ahead of them. Arriving at the gates of Voi, they spotted the other Warthog driving in a figure-8 near a downed Pelican, the plasma barrier that was there already down. They watched at a distance for a moment as the wild Marines miraculously gunned down several Covenant with pin-point accuracy before driving down the hill to join them, gunning down whatever they repeatedly missed.
After finishing off a plasma turret that wouldn't let up, John signaled the all-clear and two Pelicans arrived, one piloted by Commander Keyes herself. John exited the Warthog, followed by the Guardian, as Keyes conversed with someone inside the cockpit.
"Marines," John recognized Lord Hood and listened with rapt attention, "the Prophet of Truth doesn't know it yet but he's about to get kicked right off his throne. You will take our city back and drive our enemy into the grave they have been so happily digging. One final effort is all that remains."
John looked at the distance where New Mombasa once stood, watching as another flagship passed by, heading towards the dig site where he saw a structure similar to the Forerunner dreadnought standing. Looking in his peripheral, he saw the Guardian staring at it was well although he gave off a vibe that said he was off-world rather than taking in what was in front of him.
The Spartan turned to face him, catching his attention and the other soldier did the same. Wordlessly, John held out a hand, visor meeting visor.
The Guardian, without hesitation, clasped the Spartan's hand with his own, shaking it firmly.
They waited patiently for the Pelicans to drop off reinforcements, watching the distance closely. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as the Guardian fiddled with the device on his arm, seemingly trying to remove it.
"Need assistance?" John asked gruffly and the Guardian reluctantly held out his arm, letting the Spartan inspect it. John had thought that the clasp was full of perhaps guts or blood or something that need scraping out, something may have gotten jammed.
No, something that John learned right off the bat of the Guardian is that nothing is ever going to be simplistic around him. Ever again.
The device seemed to have melded with his armor, maybe even with his flesh because when John tugged at it lightly, the Guardian hissed and drew his arm back protectively. It wasn't going to get off any time soon.
As the Pelicans dropped off reinforcements and Warthogs to take through the tunnels, the two soldiers walked over and claimed one for their own, getting into their designated spots, waiting for the rest of the regiment to move out.
Driving through the tunnels and looking over at the turret to make sure that the Guardian hadn't decided to abandon them suddenly, John came to a sudden conclusion about the mysterious man that he picked up from High Charity.
A broken god among broken men.
A/N: And there's that, finished both Crow's Nest and Tsavo's Highway.
I'm pushing out 6 - 7k words here now that's actually a feat in itself for me.
Next up is the Storm. I may or may not have that separate from Floodgate, who knows, do you guys like long chapters?
We'll also be switching back to Callixtus's POV.
Questions, comments, and critiques are all welcome so don't be afraid to review.
Thanks for reading!