November 20th
2583
Flood-infested forest
10:45 UNSC time
Halo Installation 07
Corusant System
3rd Person POV:
"What is the Flood?"
Captain Rex lets out a small sigh of resignation as he hears one of the men under his command ask that particular question. He should have expected them to be confused about the situation they are in; none of the survivors of this ring world mentioned the Flood at all in a way to prevent panic from tearing the Republic in two. And since the Republic had been at a stalemate with the UNSC months ago, keeping any strand of morale in the Grand Army was a top priority. Before Rex can answer the question, however, Chief decides to speak up.
"The Flood is an ancient infection that tried to wipe out the galaxy a long ago. I thought they were all destroyed when the Ark was severely damaged decades ago." Chief looks off to their left where a murky-looking sea stretches out as far as they can see. But they are separated from the sea by the vast forest, with spherical pods about 5 and a half feet in diameter growing on the sides of the dead trees. A spore the size of a human's fingernail is flying around aimlessly in the air, failing to take notice of the troops. "We need to keep moving."
"Where exactly are we going?" Another clone in the crowd asks, sounding nervous from the standing around and inaction.
"To activate this ring, there must be a tower where the Activation Index can do its work." Caleb Redfield says, holding up his twin magnum pistols in the event of a firefight breaks out.
"There is, Sergeant." Master Chief says, tapping the side of his helmet. "Several years ago, a famous scientist who studied Forerunner artifacts named Luther Mann was assigned to study the Installation, found the Activation Chamber among other Forerunner ruins. According to the data, it is exactly 100 klicks that way." He then points towards the sea and the stretch of beach on the left that hugs it.
"Well, then we better get going." Ahsoka says, starting to lose patience with the standing around. As the clones start stating their agreement, Cody holds up his fist.
Everyone quiets down, listening intently for what had caught Cody's attention. After a moment, they hear it again. A chorus of moans coming from a pit in the ground several yards in front of them. Chief walks toward the edge of the pit and looks down, not saying a word. The Sangheili, Jedi, UNSC troops and clones decide to edge towards the pit and also look down. Below them is a rocky cave with the same pods that line the forest around them and hundreds, possibly thousands of combat forms, some of them wearing UNSC and clone armor, are walking around aimlessly. "I had never hoped to lay eyes on that monstrosity again." Thel says darkly, glaring down at the monsters with utter hatred.
"Indeed, Arbiter. I think it's best that we keep on moving. Those things give me the creeps." Rex says, standing up and walking in the direction that Romeo mentioned.
"I hear you, Rex." Anakin responds and they are all about to get going when a loud roar is heard. Unlike the Flood in the pit, this one sounds like it came from behind them. A larger and even more terrifying form of the Flood is marching towards them. It is 12 feet tall with arms as thick as tree trunks and its face is made up of the 3 of the tentacles with red spores on the tips. It lets out another moan and from out of its face, an Infection form bursts out and charges toward them while the Tank form also marches forward, at a much slower pace. Cody lifts up his rifle and fires at the Infection form, making it pop upon impact. The clones start opening fire on the Tank form, making it groan in pain and fall onto its back. One of the clones decides to risk it and charges at the Tank form's fallen form, before leaping onto the body and preparing to fire in its face. But what the clone didn't expect is for its face to spit out another Infection form and taking advantage of the clone's moment of surprise, burrowed itself into his chest.
Everyone can only watch in silent horror as the clone starts screaming in pain, his head being thrown back and greyish-green tentacles curl out from under its armor. The Combat form then turns around and charges at the group, only for Rex to fire at its chest 3 times. Green ooze seeps out from the wound instead of normal blood and it crumples to the ground. The Tank form manages to hoist itself back to its feet and lumbers towards them. Anakin activates his lightsaber, and charges at the form. Anakin ducks under the slow slash and slashes his lightsaber across the chest. It took 10 lightsaber slashes for the Tank form to let out a final disturbing moan before falling forward, dead. "Impressive, Jedi." One of the Sangheili Honor Guard says.
"We're not done yet." Chief says, pointing behind Anakin. He turns around and his heart nearly leaps into his throat. The noise of the brief battle had alerted all of the Flood in the forest, all the pods in the distance exploding and releasing hundreds of Infection Forms which charge at the group at alarming speeds, accompanied by a dozen combat forms.
"These things are starting to put a kip in my day. Men, we need to fall back and some of you, lay suppressing fire to keep them away." Kenobi says, pained by having to give the second half of the order. They all acknowledge the order in their own way and start running away from the Flood and towards the dirty-looking ocean.
Half of the clones, accepting the fact that they will not make it through the battle, stand their ground and fire upon the charging Flood, drawing all of their attention towards them. The rest of the group continues running until they reach the edge of the water. "We can't get into this water. Who knows what those monsters infected it with." Cody says, an almost fearful tone in his voice.
"Agreed, clone. We need to find a facility so we can be sheltered from any Flood attack." Thel says, searching for any abandoned ships or bases that may help them.
"Up there." Kenobi says, pointing to a spot far in the distance. There is a tall cliff-side that meets a grassy hill and on the top, a tower of the Forerunner's design stands tall and proud. "Captain, fire a portal at the side of the tower. We will make base at the tower and then search for this Activation Chamber."
"Right away, sir." Rex says, then fires a portal ray in the direction at the Forerunner tower. Rex fires the 2nd portal at the ground, producing another portal. The UNSC troops walk through, followed by the Jedi and the rest of the clone forces. As Thel and Chief are about to jump through, they hear loud screams. Battle instincts kicking in, Chief pulls out his Assault rifle and Thel his energy sword and watch as the clones who sheltered their escape are torn to pieces by the Combat Form's sharp tentacle arms and get infected by the Infection forms. Seeing the number of Flood, Thel and Chief look at each other before coming to the same conclusion silently. Since time is of the essence, they should not fight the Flood unless absolutely necessary. Together, they jump through the portal just as a Combat Form that was once a clone charges at them.
Seconds after they fall through the other side, Rex fires a backup portal next to the first one he shot. "That was a close call." Kenobi says, letting out a sigh of relief.
"What was that?" A metallic voice asks from one of the higher levels of the tower.
The troops freeze in place, shock written on their faces. "…Son of a bitch." Ahsoka mutters, frustration painfully obvious in her face.
"I don't know. Go check it out, Private." Another robotic voice responds, in the exact same tone and voice. Then, a set of metallic walking can be heard and a B1 battle droid walks down from the ramp that leads to the other levels of the tower. It freezes in place, seeing the forces standing there and staring back.
"Hello." Romulus says, pointing his sniper rifle up and fires a shot. The armor-piercing round punches through the droid's face with ease, sending tiny shards of metal flying back before the droid collapses back and smashes into the ground. Seconds later, another 6 droids charge down the ramp, firing their blasters at the small task force with everything they have. A second later, Romeo shouts in pain and clutches his shoulder and chest. Romulus fires upward, resulting in a battle droid shouting in panic before smashing onto the ground.
"They have snipers. Get to cover." Romeo says, gritting his teeth slightly from the pain. The Sangheili Honor Guard roar in challenge, activating their energy swords and charging at the battle droids. Some of them desperately back up in an attempt to escape only for their backs to bump into the wall behind them. Their energy swords tear through the B1's flimsy form like wet toilet paper before charging up the station, closely escorted by the Jedi and Master Chief with their respective energy weapons activated.
The small group continue charging up the tower, slashing apart any battle droids that get in their way, even a quartet of B2's that are on the 3rd level. After a minute, they reach the top where a B1 droid with yellow stripes is standing in a makeshift command center, a half dozen B1's holding blaster rifles looking for any enemies to fight and a droideka standing guard. Chief uses his augmented speed to run up the path, slashing through the droideka's energy shield with 1 slash and after another slash, cuts the droid in half.
"We need backup now." the command droid says to his panel, not looking up to see the carnage and scraps of his comrades lying on the ground of the levels below. Ahsoka uses the Force to pull the command droid to her, slashing the droid to tiny pieces as it lets out a shout of surprise. Taking advantage of the brief pause in the battle, Anakin leaps over his former padawan and the communication station to reach the sniper droids, then he starts leaping around, slashing in all directions. After a few seconds, the sniper droids are no more and silence reigns once again.
The group walks back down the tower to see the clones or marines standing guard, protecting any wounded soldiers they might have. At the bottom floor, Rex and Cody are standing out front, with Romulus holding his wounded brother in his embrace. "What are clankers doing here?" Cody asks, sounding bemused about this whole situation.
"They are here so they can keep the Flood in check. Because they are machines, they can't be infected by the Flood." Chief responds.
"But that's not our problem. Our problem is that the droids managed to send a distress signal before we could finish them off. They will be sending reinforcements soon." Obi-Wan says, stroking his beard in thought.
"Oh great. As if an ancient infection wasn't enough to deal with." Romeo says, then squeezes his eyes shut from the pain.
Suddenly, Anakin looks up, a look of realization on his face. "Actually, master. I think this might work to our benefit."
"General, how does having more enemies to fight help us?" Rex says, confused by Anakin's thought process.
"Because they will have to travel to this tower by transport. If we can distract the droids long enough to hijack whatever they send, I can pilot whatever ship they send and it can get us to the Activation Chamber in time. We just need to let them come to us."
"If you say so." Cody says, sounding skeptical of the plan but seeing a little logic in it. In the distance, they hear the faint sound of humming engines. Surprised at the speed at which the droids are reacting, the forces watch as 2 HMP gunships sail toward them, still far away.
"That's…more than what I was expecting they would send." Anakin admits, his earlier confidence fading considerably.
"Anakin, we don't have time for this. Even if we managed to destroy all the droids, we wouldn't have much time left to stop this ring's activation." Obi-Wan says, suspecting Anakin of wanting to run headlong into battle.
The Mandus twins stare at each other for a long moment before Romulus looks up. "We aren't going."
"What?" Ahsoka asks, dumbfounded at what she just heard. Everyone within earshot who heard that also look at the twins in shock.
"Brother, what are you doing?" Romeo asks, also stunned by the statement.
"You heard me. I'm not leaving you to die alone. You guys hide behind the tower and as the droids siege the tower, they will find only find enough explosives to wipe out the droids and the tower. It's the only way for you to escape this place alive."
Anakin feels deeply moved by the sacrifice these UNSC soldiers are willing to ensure the survival of their companions. In a way, he can't help but respect them for willing to do what they believe needs to be done. A dozen clones walk down the steps, determination radiating from them. "For this plan to work, we need more people to stay behind to deceive the droids into drawing attention away from you."
"Are you sure, Sergeant Dogma?" Rex asks, genuinely caught off-guard by the volunteering for a mission that would most definitely end in their demise.
"Captain, sometimes you need to step up to do the thing no one else wants to do. This is my time to make that choice." Dogma responds. His men stand tall and proud, not saying a word on the matter.
"Very well, then. Good luck on your mission, Sergeant. May the Force be with you." Obi-Wan says, saluting him one last time.
Dogma salutes back. "Good luck, General. Save the Republic and defeat the Separatists and Insurrectionists. Men, haul the twins to the top floor. I want all explosives planted on the top floor."
The rest of the group run into the long shadow the tower is casting, hiding from view of the approaching enemy while the dozen clones run back into the fortress, hauling the 2 marines with them. "Sergeant, it was an honor to serve with you." Romulus calls to Redfield as they march inside.
He looks deeply frustrated about the situation then sighs in resignation. At least he manages a small smile. "It was an honor to serve with you, Privates."
The group continues to hide behind their cover as the 2 HMPs finally reach the cliff-side and touch down on the ground, on the left of the station. The ship's hatches open up and 4 dozen battle droids, 2 dozen from each ship and some of them being super battle droids, march out and head towards the Forerunner facility. As the droids start marching up the slope, the group charges out from behind their cover and towards the open hatch of the transport on the right. A handful of droids are still onboard the ship, but Thel manages to cut them down to size.
Anakin runs to the bridge of the ship and after dismantling the pilot droids, looks at the controls for several long seconds, before starting the engines up. The sounds of the engines manage to drown out the sounds of battle coming from the inside and after the engines start up completely, Anakin pulls up on the controls.
The CIS transport pulls itself off the ground, turns around in the air, and flies away from the cliff.
10:55 UNSC time
Forerunner Communication Outpost
Halo Installation 07
The battle droids continue marching up the tower, stumbling a little on the scraps of their comrades. "Man, those clones did a number on our comrades." One of the droids on the front-line states, nearly falling forward after stepping on the edge of a fellow B1's chest.
A soon as the droid says it, a clone emerges from behind the cover and fires upon them with his blaster rifle as much as he can before he has to duck back behind cover again. Three droids shout in surprise before collapsing backward, back a few battle droids trip and fall. The B2 droid points his blaster hand at the cover and when the clone risks pulling out from behind cover to fire again, the barrage of red lasers hits the clone in the chest, making him fly backwards a few feet before smashing into the wall and falling, dead. The droids continue marching upward, never stopping even if they encounter more clone resistance. The higher and higher the small droid army under the Insurrectionist's command climbs, the more their numbers are dwindled.
Eventually, they reach the second-to-last floor where 4 clones are standing, firing their blaster rifles as fast as they can. They manage to down 2 B2s rather quickly and another handful of droids before the clone's weapons overheat from extended use. "Fall back!" The clone in the front shouts to his men. They slowly start backing up onto the ramp, picking up the fallen droid's blasters and firing them while ducking down. The droids' barrage of laser fire, however, sends their leader flying back before collapsing. The clones desperately continue firing before they are gunned down by the vast number of droids.
"That takes care of the clones." A droid says, sounding happy with the victory.
Before the other droids can relish the victory, the sound of their transports starting up can be heard. "What is going on now?" The last B2 in their group asks.
Before they can figure that out, a sniper shot goes off, hitting the B2 in the facial area and making the main body collapse to the ground. The droids look to their right and see a UNSC soldier with blonde hair and hardened blue eyes. "You want a taste of what the Marine Corps has to offer? Then come get some!"
With that, he walks backward and out of their view. Angry at how a standard UNSC Army Private had taunted them like that, the battle droids charge up the incline only to pause in place. The marine is standing in the middle of the makeshift command center with the remaining 4 clones pointing their rifles at the dozen droids left. The marine is holding up another marine that looks exactly like the one who is standing, except he is looking a little sickly and has blaster scorch marks on his armor. "Give it up, marine. You have lost." The lead droid says.
"Oh yeah?" The sickly-looking marine says. "We may not live to see the next day, but I do know this. The CIS and Insurrection will lose." He then lifts up a thermal detonator and pulls the thumb back, activating the detonator and throwing it in the air. His brother then lifts up a magnum pistol and pulls the trigger.
11:00 UNSC time
Onboard HMP droid transport
Above Halo Installation 07's ocean
Even from far away, they can see the explosion of the Forerunner tower and see the remains crumple to the ground. From the way the tower falls down, it manages to crush the other transport.
They had managed to obtain a sufficient transport and destroy many CIS droids, but at a steep cost. "I'm sorry for what happened to them." Obi-Wan says, sensing that none of the clones made it out of the explosion.
Sergeant Redfield looks down at the twin magnums in his lap and his facial expression turns from somber to a look of calmness yet masking a cold fury. "The twins and your men made their choice, general. I will honor that choice and their memory by helping you wipe out every single Separatist in this galaxy."
AN: I am fully aware that this is a major filler chapter and I hope the next one turns out way better.
After this little arc, the Clone Wars will certainly take a different direction. Also, I can't wait to see what happens next on the new Red vs. Blue season. I think that it is worth all those years of waiting for and more.
Anyway, see you next time when the battle on the Halo installation comes to an end.
In addition, have a happy Fourth of July, dear reader!