Still in the fight
Disclaimer: I do not in anyway shape or form own Halo or Transformers Prime. They belong to their respective owners.
(A.N): So, I read through your guy's comments regarding the last chapter and as I read through the previous chapter, I realized the same thing. Therefore, I'm going to be trying to go from Six's and Jewel's perspective more as well as try to change things up. I apologize for this and I hope I can do better.
Anyways, hope you still enjoy!
Chapter 3: Convoy
It was a few months ever since the incident with the Decepticon spy, Makeshift, back at the Autobot base, since then, the Spartan known as Maddox-B312 and his close AI friend, Jewel, have managed to get quite a bit done.
They were able to set up shop in an old abandoned decommissioned fallout bunker in Nevada that was built during the Cold war. The government didn't really have any use for it anymore so they decided to set up shop there. While they could have stayed at the Autobot base, Maddox and Jewel felt a need to call a place their own and to set their roots.
The bunker's main entrance and exit area led to a nearby valley and was a good distance from the nearby road that was frequented by civilian traffic from the town of Jasper, Nevada, which was located further down the road. Also, the bunker was placed on top of a mountain which provided a clear view of the area for miles around.
The storage areas they found were very large, perfect to set it up as a base of operations for Six and Dot. Several abandoned tunnels could be used as entry and exit areas that could be used for a wide array of purposes, as well as access to a very large supply of water so that it would not be necessary to drive into the nearest town frequently in order to acquire it.
Once they managed to get their base set up, they began to gather spare materials and equipment from local sources. Jewel managed to use some funds she acquired from various worldwide criminal groups in order to purchase needed supplies and equipment such as addition ammunition, repair tools, and a welder with a few fuel tanks, while Maddox went to a few nearby salvage yards to see if he could find anything of use such as spare titanium and steel.
They've also managed to construct a makeshift work station for Six's weapons, gear and armor. While it was nowhere near the standard as an armor diagnostic station back in their reality, it still remained suitable for their needs as Six performed maintenance on his armor, weapons, and modules.
"So, what do you think Jewel? Think we can manage it?" Six asked as he finished doing inventory of all of their available supplies and gear.
"I'm honestly not quite sure Maddox...like I said before this incident is the first of its kind. But, at least we can try to help out whenever we can, at least before we can get back home. I'm already starting to miss Cortana and Chief. Wish we knew what they're doing now." Jewel reminisced.
Maddox nodded as he understood what she meant and that they should focus on what they could do and focus on what they could do later down the line. The only way they could return home was to build a Shaw-Fujikawa Trans-light engine and modified it so that it would recreate the same event that brought them to this reality. However, in order for that to happen, they first needed to have a ship that could withstand all of the needed demands, the Lieutenant understood this as well as the dangers of a Slip-space drive due to the education he received during his training on physics and read technical reports on the drive itself.
Slip-space drives built by the UNSC were notorious for being hard to repair as well as maintain once they were online. If they were not used properly, the damaged caused would be catastrophic. Maddox recalled reading reports of people being disintegrated on a molecular level when near an exploding drive.
Unfortunately, there were no ships that were up to UNSC standards in this new universe, even if there were, both of them doubted that any government today would just give it to them. Cybertronian ships were out of the question due to how large they were for human occupants. The duo also did not feel comfortable sharing this technology with the people of this new reality , they didn't know them and even if they did, they personally did not believe that this reality was ready for such technology and science.
This led them to only one option, they would have to build their own ship. While Jewel did possess the schematics for the technology and the means to acquire it, the effort needed to undertake this effort would be massive. While the ship didn't need to huge such as Stalwart class frigate, like the In Amber Clad, it still needed to be big enough to contain a Slip-space drive as well as the necessary facilities such as an engine room, storage units, and a cockpit from where to fly it.
The UNSC ONI prowler they arrived on would have been perfect, too bad they destroyed what was left of it when they arrived here. Still, it was heavily damaged and it would have been unlikely that they could ever get it up and running again.
Luckily, Six was very familiar with an ONI prowler, as he was issued one when he worked for ONI, before he was assigned to Noble team. He studied the ship and its schematics thoroughly in the event he had to make emergency repairs while out in the field. Additionally, during his training under Lieutenant Kurt Ambrose and Chief Petty Officer Mendez, mechanical issues and engineering was one of the many things he was taught when he joined the Spartan-3 program after his home planet Jericho VII was attacked and glassed by a Covenant fleet.
While he did believe it would take time and the level of technology of this reality's Mankind was not as advanced as his, he was confident that this was a task he could accomplish. After all, overcoming challenges and making due is what Spartans do best. It's what they were trained to do.
Especially with one that has been through what he has and with an AI partner that has been through almost as much.
"Alright, what else do we need?" Maddox asked.
"First off, we're going to need a power source for the ship. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to locate any in this modern era that would be suitable for our needs. Well, except for one." Jewel replied, just before she brought up a picture of the device in question.
"This is a prototype cold fusion energy core developed by the current United States government, called a Dynamic Fusion Generation system or otherwise known as D.F.G.S. It's very similar to the same power cores used by the UNSC back in our reality, albeit more akin to an earlier version of it."
Jewel continued speaking. "Yeah, the device is a prototype and it's still in the testing phase. However, based on these technical reports I believe that it should work fine. With a few modifications and upgrades, it should be just the thing we need to power our new ship."
"Can't we just build what we need?" Six asked.
"We could. But it would take us a lot more time. Not to mention the possible that some of those parts are kinda hard to acquire and even if I falsify documents and transfer orders, there is still the possibility someone is going to take notice. Whether it be the NSA, Homeland security, DIA, FBI, or worse, some curious journalist who decided to poke their nose in the wrong spot."
Alright a few moments of silence, Six spoke up. "Alright, guess this means we're going need to steal it." Maddox responded. While Six didn't like the idea of stealing from the current United States government as it could bring down unwanted attention on their heads, getting back to his reality was still his main objective. Jewel seemed to feel the same way as she gave her partner a nod.
"That's going to be a bit of a challenge."
"/ I'm a sitting duck here Prime. I need you to spin your groundbridge up and send the D.F.G.S to it's destination, before the Cons come back for it." Maddox heard Agent Fowler say to Optimus Prime over a transmission that Jewel intercepted between the Autobots and Agent Fowler a few minutes ago.
"/ I'm afraid that transporting such a volatile device through a groundbridge is out of the question. If there were to be an accident during its transmission, the radiation that you speak of could propagate through the groundbridge and harm all fifty states, and beyond./" Optimus replied darkly.
"/You got any better ideas?/" Agent Fowler asked before Jewel shut off the recording.
"The Autobots are assisting Agent Fowler in transporting the D.F.G.S to its testing site." Jewel said as she pulled up a map with three Autobot signals. "It's located in the trailer that Optimus is hauling in behind while Arcee stays inside to monitor it. The rest of them are pulling security until they reach the drop off point."
"Was it really the Decepticons that tried to grab the device?" Maddox asked.
"Actually no, it wasn't. I've been doing some digging and it turns out that it was actually some kind of organization called MECH that tried to hijack the transport. What it stands for I have no idea. They were the ones that shot Agent Fowler out of the sky during its transport." Jewel revealed to Maddox.
"MECH?" Six asked his AI partner.
"As far as I can tell, their main goal is to create highly advanced tech. Other than that, I'm not quite sure what their endgame is. Their leader from what I've gathered is a former Colonel Leland Bishop, Air Force Special tactics. Discharged of course. According to his psyche profile, he was obsessed with the creation of highly advanced weapons of mass destruction. Primarily the Damocles project, orbiting satellites that can target anywhere on Earth. While not as devastating as a Covenant glassing, it's still a very destructive weapon. Not bad if I do say so myself." Jewel informed as she brought up a picture of the former Colonel in question.
"Any idea what they want with it?" Maddox questioned.
"Like I said earlier, still not quite sure on that yet. However, I think its safe to say that we should extract it before they do." Jewel replied.
The Spartan Lieutenant nodded. "So, you got a plan as to how we're going to steal the fusion core without the Autobots and MECH noticing? Maddox asked.
"Do you even know me Lieutenant?" Jewel asked with a smirk as she pulled up surveillance footage from a nearby train in the area." The Autobots plan to place it inside the train when they enter tunnel. There are only a few guards on board, most likely an attempt to avoid any unwanted attention. With our new toy, I should be able to get you inside the train and get you out before anyone notices."
The artificial intelligence said with a grin as Maddox knew what she was talking about.
During their time at the Autobot base, Jewel spent some time to study the Autobots groundbridge and how it worked. A few days ago when they were at the base, she was able to code a virus and Six managed to upload it into the bridge controls once no one was looking.
The virus would allow them to remotely create their own human-sized groundbridge portals using its frequency, whenever they desired as well as being perfectly undetectable. Jewel took great pains to ensure that their commands were untraceable before Maddox inserted it into their system.
"Can you really open up a portal onto a moving train moving at 90 miles per hour?"
"Again, do you even know me?"
As soon as the train left the tunnel, a portal opened up in one of the train carts as a heavily armored soldier jumped out of it right before it closed. Maddox was geared up in his Gen-3 MJOLNIR armor. Quickly he scanned for any of the soldiers stationed aboard before proceeding forwards.
Six made his way through the train after he knocked a soldier stationed on board. Keeping his trigger finger disciplined as he continued to scan for more as moved onto the next cart. He was equipped with an M40 Assault Rifle with a suppressor as well as a M302 40mm Grenade Launcher along with several rounds of 40mm HE rounds just in case if he needed it. For backup, he had a M7S Caseless SMG as well as a M6C/SOCOM in his arsenal along with a few fragmentation, flash and sonic grenades on his armor's belt. Lastly, he carried a disrupter pistol on his left thigh with the settings set to stun.
Soon as he was sure he was clear, he began to make his way where he located his objective, the D.N.G.S, guarded by one lone soldier as he remained on guard for any sign of intruders. He was equipped with a M4A1 and outfitted in Interceptor body armor and a Kevlar helmet in the woodland camouflage pattern. Activating his cloaking module, he silently made his way forward as he delivered a shock with his Disrupter pistol. Quickly rechecking the setting so that while it would knock him out, it wouldn't cause any permanent damage to him.
After laying the knocked out guard on the floor, Six scanned the rest of the cart before cutting the straps that held down the energy source. While he was cutting them, he scanned the power core to see if there were any hidden tracking devices on it, which his scan revealed there was only one placed that was hidden in a small corner of the container. Once he removed it and crushed the tracker using his right armored foot, he radioed in to Jewel. "/ Package secured. Requesting bridge at my location, out. /"
Moments later, a groundbridge appeared in the train cart as Maddox began to push the prototype energy source through. While it may have been impossible if he was a normal human, his augmented strength as well as the enhancements provided by his Gen-3 MJOLNIR armor helped him to get it through the vortex. As he pushed it in, he remained careful as to not cause any unwanted damages to the casing. Before Six had departed for this mission, Jewel had assured Maddox that the fusion core would not melt down during the transmission, as the container it was in would help to prevent that. Jewel had run the math at least five times and each time her calculations assured her that it was perfectly safe to do so.
Once he reached the other side, the portal closed as he found himself back in his newly established base.
"Don't worry Six, I made sure to cover up all of our traces. I didn't leave anything behind that they could follow." Jewel reassured with a smile.
"Good." Maddox replied with a nod before pushing their newfound device into a nearby storage area.
A few hours later, Agent Willian Fowler contacted Optimus to inform him of the situation. "We searched throughout the whole train. There was no sign of it anywhere. The military police stationed on board didn't even see what hit them. Luckily none of them had any permanent injuries."
"I don't think MECH got that hands on it. It was already gone when me and Miko bridged onboard." Jack said confidently.
"Whoever it was also managed to locate and destroy the tracking device we placed on it. It could be anywhere by now." Fowler stated with clear frustration.
Before anyone could say anything else, Agent Fowler spoke up once more. "Well, it's not your fault Prime. You did everything you could, thanks again for trying to save my bacon. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta head to another grilling with Major-General Bryce." Agent Fowler responded.
"Understood, though I do wish we could've helped more. Goodbye Agent Fowler." Optimus responded.
"I don't understand. How did anyone managed to steal the D.F.G.S? There was no way they could've gotten it off the train that fast?" Jack asked out loud once Agent Fowler hung up.
"Yeah, it's like it just disappeared into thin air. Not to mention we didn't even see anyone else there!" Miko exclaimed as she threw her hands up for emphasis.
"Almost feel bad for Fowler, his superiors are definitely going to chew him out for this. Not that I can really blame them considering their prototype energy source just vanished without a trace." Bulkhead said.
"Not to mention the fact the MECH knows about our existence on this planet." Arcee chipped in.
"Nevertheless, it is fortunate that MECH has not acquired the device for their own nefarious purposes. However, if the device was in fact stolen by an unknown, than I worry about the intentions of those responsible for its theft." Optimus stated darkly.
"So, will it work?"
"With a few adjustments. It will. It's perfect for what we need." Jewel said to Maddox after he was done assessing it to make sure it did not sustain any damage during its transport. Not wanting to accidentally trigger a meltdown that could potentially wipe out the entire state of Nevada as well as the four next door.
"Just wished we didn't have to steal it. If the current government found out it would just make things more complicated."
"Not to mention the Autobots. I doubt they would approve of us stealing technology, even if it was human." Jewel replied with her hands on her hips, as Maddox nodded in agreement.
"Well, we just have to make sure that doesn't happen." Maddox finished before he began making the modifications necessary to the device in order for it to suit their needs.
"So, what are your thoughts on MECH? If we play our cards right, I believe they may could be of some use to us." Jewel asked her Spartan friend.
"Don't know much about them to form an opinion about them yet. Until we know more about their endgame, I am reserving my judgement for later." Was all the Lieutenant said before continuing on his work.
Authors note: Alright, I'm going to be honest here, I don't know how to feel about this chapter and I kinda feel nervous about it. I don't know if the direction I'm taking this story is good or bad.
If you guys don't like the way this is going, than let me know and I'll see if I can change it in order to make it better.
Also, I'm not that knowledgeable with the inner workings and details with the technology in Halo. Therefore, I apologize if I get some things wrong.
So yeah, I hope this was better than the previous chapters and I hoped you enjoyed it.
Stay frosty gents.