Hello! I'm back and ready with a fresh chapter for you, the reader.
I apologize for being inactive for a while. School started and I had to re-prioritize what came first and sadly writing had to be put to the side.
So let's move on to reviews shall we? In our last chapter we had people that were able to successfully guess the Easter Eggs. I'll put a list in the bottom.
SII-117: I'm glad that got your blood boiling. I loved doing that scene at least. That was a moment of awesomeness.
Marcus: Uh okay then.
Fives32:You made excellent points. I just overlooked that when writing. I will attempt to do that more in the future. Thanks for the critique.
Kaore Ryu:Del Rio exists for a reason. I'm sorry to pain you with him.
AstridHiccup: The Malevolance was never given enough justice. Expect more action in the future.
and finally HyruleHistorian: Thank you.
And now sit back and enjoy the show.
Chapter 13:
Lower Levels of Coruscant.
Entertainment District,
The shadows of the building were blurred slightly as a lone figure disturbed the silence. High above the streets where the lower class prowled around for cheap entertainment and fun. Above and below the cross traffic of airspeeders, buses, taxis, and industrial craft all crisscrossed in swift unmarked lanes. He stopped to take a breath in the shadow of a rooftop. He scanned the area with the scope attached over his eye and watched as far below shady characters of all sorts walked in the streets below. The distant sound of a hundred or more nightclubs was barely audible over the roar of speeders but it distracted him for a second.
Skirmisher Zek Lhar poked his head out and watched. He gave a small smile as he noticed a group of women walk by. Suddenly he cursed and pulled himself into the shadows as a Speeder roared by in its own lane free of anyone else.
He cursed himself as he mentally rebuked himself for being distracted by the female populace below. He had always been a sucker for women of any type. One day after he had gotten nice and wealthy he could start-
"No no no! I got to get out of here before I'm found!" he cursed again.
That was all that he needed to do. Unfortunately doing so was easier said than done. He knew he was being tailed by Police Droids over fleeing from the scene of an accident involving two vehicles that happened to be stolen that had wrecked. He had been pinned as a suspect for whatever reason and had been fleeing from top of building to top of building. Fortunately they had only caught a glimpse of himself hooded. A simple theft of some other clothing took care of that. Now was just the matter of trying to escape the planet.
He found himself confronted with no options whenever he dwelt on that topic.
He had no means of transportation. A speeder couldn't be obtained by purchasing because he never had money to begin with, theft was out of the option, he couldn't afford to have more people tailing him. And still after that was the problem of getting off world. That would require a ship of extraordinary cost and once again he ran into the problem of no money. He would either be forced to steal money, or a ship, or both.
But what's not to say you could, with a group, pull it off?
Too risky
The words flashed through his mind and he cut off a hiss as he felt his body constrict and tighten painful. A mental shout and it relaxed at once.
Stupid Forerunner nanites, stupid Sangheili, these words started their own echoing chorus as he scanned the ground again. If it hadn't saved him so many other times before he would be dead many times over.
He stopped his scanning when he fixated his eye on what looked to be the perfect place to recruit a crew of fellow pirates. It was a bar built into the side of one of the many massive buildings that stretched from far below to the top of the world joining many hundreds of other buildings like it.
The street below was still packed. He would have decided to just waltz in. Unfortunately the people were still very leery and angry over the Storm's attack. He would have to approach carefully. Perhaps he would stop in and scope it out. As a former Pirate he knew his way around the ropes. If anybody could be found to help him it would be here.
He attached the Needle Rifle scavenged from a dead Jackal he had found during his run to his back and adjusted the plasma pistol on his side. Throwing his cloak over to conceal both he made his way from the shadow of the rooftops carefully and then with extraordinary agility leaped from the rooftop in a single bound onto a large pole facing him. Sliding down quickly he jumped to a landing facing him, then another, and then finally skidding the final ten feet with his feet and hands and right away blended in with everyone who was too preoccupied to notice him.
Zek started weaving his way through the mixed crowd of aliens. He attempted to flirt with a Twilek who immediately shoved him off. Frowning he placed the hood over his head and he broke through the crowd and entered through the open door of the bar. The music and atmosphere were definitely foreign yet familiar all at the same time.
In one corner there was a dancing group of females. With a single fluid gesture he plucked a credit out of a man's stack without anyone noticing and tossed it towards flashing a toothy smile.
One of the dancers flashed him a smile as she caught it and went right back to dancing. He passed the bar without a second thought. He needed soberness this time around and maybe when this was all over he could get himself ten for all the trouble he'd been through.
A few people eyed him curiously but thought little of him. Zek was watching them as well. Waiting to see if any of them made a move. He scanned their faces. None seemed to be the type he needed.
In all of that he failed to see a large burly man as he walked. The two collided and his vision flashed for a moment. The man tripped with a yell and curse before he crashed to the floor and lay sprawled for a second. A few laughs broke out but the atmosphere suddenly changed in the bar and before Zek was seized by the throat and dragged to the edge of the a table and slammed down against it so that his vision blurred for a second.
"What do you think you're doing slime." said the man dangerously. Zek had one hand preventing him from choking him completely.
"What do you think you greasy-" he then cursed in his native tongue which served the purpose of confusing and then aggravating the already angry man.
"What did you call me?! he howled squeezing tighter.
"Hey, knock it off Dax." someone called coming over.
With a single blow he rounded on the man and punched him squarely in the jaw flooring him. The bar suddenly was in a uproar.
Zek squirmed out only to be rounded on.
"What are you doing, trying to run? Do you KNOW who I am?"
"Yes, a fool, idiot, and everything else that even remotely fits that description of your ugly face."
The bar roared with laughter at that comment.
"You show him stranger!" someone at the counter shouted.
"You know what you...you..." he cursed repeatedly becoming redder with each word. "Nobody messes with me, Dax Ordo!"
Zek noticed that his life was in legitimate danger now. His thought of taunting him had only seeked to provoke him, not intimidate him back.
"It's time you learn...your lesson!"
Zek knew what was going to happen and anticipated the move before he could make it.
Dax seized his hand forward in an attempt to take a weapon which he did yanking it out.
His drunken eyes bulged in confusion.
"What the-"
Zek threw both fists forward as let go in confusion as to seeing this type of gun.
Dax was caught by a punch which made him stagger back and then a punch delivered by a jump to the body that knocked him back again. Dax doubled over and clutching someone's drink hurled it at him.
Zek ducked angry now as his cover was being blown every second he was here.
He yanked the gun back onto his self and was knocked back by a chair that had been seized. The chair broke against his armor but didn't affect him. Instead they traded punches.
"You know," Dax said with a bleeding lip and a suddenly much more sober look in his eye to the now silent bar. "For a runty cheap little pirate you sure don't stack up well against the ones I know."
Zek froze. This guy suddenly had crossed the line of pride among of his species. Kig-Yar were never cheap, they were never runty, and pirating was a way of life.
"What did you say?" he asked icily.
"I said-"
Zek lunged forward and bit his shoulder sinking teeth into flesh toppling the man. The bar erupted into fresh shouts, laughter, and hoots as Zek started pummeling the man as hard as he could. Vision red, with blood he pummeled him with enough force to knock the air out of him leaving him gasping and breathing for air.
A savage kick was suddnely delivered and Zek was thrown backwards into the crowd.
"He's up!" someone yelled and Dax got up and dove on top. Zek was crushed underneath but somehow managed to wriggle free. Launching another series of crippling punches he was again punched by back. Dax in turn hauled himself back and Zek did likewise. They stared at each other a moment and as they stared something changed between the two and they simply stepped forward and shook hands.
The Bar's reaction was mixed with some people howling with laughter, some booing and egging them on, and still others applauding the performance.
Dax looked just as surprised as Zek was as they broke apart and stood awkwardly unsure of what just happened.
"I take it back, you fight well." Dax said breaking the silence and taking a step closer so it was harder for others to hear.
"You pack a punch yourself." said Zek picking up the Plasma Pistol.
"Heh, that was me being drunk, that doesn't count. Thanks for beating the alcohol out of me."
"You're welcome."
The Plasma Pistol was quickly hidden from sight of others with a flourish of the cloak.
Dax laughed. "Of course my fists would hurt though! What Mandalorian wouldn't have a powerful punch?" He looked over to the bartender and tossed a chip. "Sorry about the mess. Next time I'll hold back on the drinks."
Turning to Zek he grimmaced and massaged his still bleeding shoulder.
"You my new friend, have a mean bite."
The Skirmisher apologized shortly but the Mandalorian was waving him off.
He motioned Zek forward and the two left the bar with the atmosphere returning to normal.
"So what's your name?" Dax said turning the conversation back to Zek.
"Zek." he replied simply.
"Got a last name?"
"Yeah, it's the name of the clan I was born into, the Lhars. We used to be Pirates until the noose was tightened around that type of activity."
"Pirate eh? Not bad. I could tell you know your way around. What did you pirate? Spice?
Zek's moment of confusion was not lost on him for the moment.
Dax suddenly frowned.
"Wait a second," he said rounding on him. "Can I see that weapon of yours again?"
Zek hesitantly showed him the weapon. The Plasma Pistol's metallic casing gleamed in the subterranean light. The tips of the Pistol glowed a faint green with energy.
"What kind of weapon is this?"
"Standard weapon of my kind."
"You're one of those Allied Species."
It was not a question or your threat, just a simple observation.
"Not anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"Left, figured it was time to get out of here out of some galaxy that's far away from mine."
"You're AWOL?" Dax burst into laughter attracting a few curious looks from passers-by that were turned away by Zek flashing his teeth.
"Quiet!" Zek hissed. "Look I've gone AWOL all right? I need help getting off this rock and back, got that? One Warrior to another!" he had no idea what made him say this last part.
Dax suddenly became very serious. "Well then, one warrior to another-tell you what Zek. If you are running away I can help, you, luckily enough, met the right man for the job, however you'll need to explain yourself so I can judge whether it's worth my time to try and help. I can still put you into contact with some people if you need to. "
"Where you off to?" asked Zek as Dax handed back the plasma based weapon.
"It's time I introduce you to a few people. With a little luck we should be able to help, that is if you're willing to help me."
"I think that's fair enough." said Zek silently relieved that things were falling into place. They started walking around the corner to a large building that turned out to be a parking deck as evidenced by the dozens of vehicles coming and going.
Dax started walking down the street at a fast clip until they came to a sleek red speeder that looked much older than the ones right .
"They don't make them like this anymore, this baby's a classic. Been with my clan for more than a century now. Still runs beautifully though. They both climbed in and Dax in a moment keyed the engine and the speeder took off towards the upper levels.
Ahead of them far off they saw the iluminated shape of a Venator Class Cruiser fire its thrusters and ascend into the upper atmosphere.
"Bet you're glad you're not with the rest of them aren't you." Dax said with a grin.
"You wouldn't even begin to understand."
"Then start explaining, we got all the time in the galaxy at the moment."
AI Datalog:
Error: Location unknown,
Time/date error: pos. 12/09/2558 estimated
Time of inactivity 05:06:03:06:18:33
ALERT: Motion sensors detecting contacts
Query? FLATFOOT_initiate. . .
Query? BUCHANAN_initiate. . .
Query? EAGLE_EYE_initiate. . .
Reading:
Biometric scans needed: 0001000101-000101010000-0001000100-1000011
Error code: 933_b_can_not_scan
Interference level 8.0+
Terrain_scan=mountains=01?
F_sys_restore rqd.
Initiate reboot:
ERROR:(desig.)conscious_objection_:(/9)
Override code: DHA-DD9-E44-44b_5:40A
code=accept_01
Reboot=01-complete.
whoami
SNA 1292-4
Query_Status?
Error: sys_fragment=01
Error: sys_fragment=01
Error: sys_fragment=01
Error: sys_fragment=01
Error: sys_fragment=01
Error: Rampancy?
Query_evacbeacon?
Status: ACTIVE
Status: INACTIVE
Query_evacmessage?
Status: ACTIVE_TRANSMITING
Status: INACTIVE_NONTRANSMITTING
Query status_station_Cryo-1-200
Status: ACTIVE
Input: Emergency_Wake=Standby=0, 1-200
Input: Emergency_Wake=Standby=1, 1-200
Create_message=01
"We've awaited you for a long time. Unseal the hushed caskets. Take us home to the light."
Transmit: Host_AI: subrt. Pickup/89
Await further contact. . .
UNSC FORWARD OPERATING BASE "LOOKOUT"
LANDING PAD 8A-D
8:23:03 Hours December 9th, 2558
Spartan Gabriel Thorne
"You know how ticked off I am with the Admiral right now?" DeMarco asked as Fireteam Majestic rounded the corner of a hastily constructed sentry tower towards the large makeshift airfield dotted with tents and prefabricated hangars.
"Oh please. You're just upset that we were deployed only to be immediately reassigned to here because our objective was already complete." said Tedra Grant
"Exactly!" Crimson Team wasn't even on the ground stealing our thunder and we have it stolen by somebody else! How the **** are we supposed to be impressing Palmer when we have people stealing our missions.
"Last time I checked all Fireteams were deployed here for the eventual main assault on this side of the tunnel. There's still some time for action." Hoya said pointing a massive arm to the tunnel right behind them.
"You know, it might be a good idea not to talk about the Admiral like that." Tedra pointed out.
"Hey, next time-"
"Guys! Where are we even going?" asked Thorne speaking up trying to ignore the banter.
"We're going to escort a package." grumbled DeMarco.
"A Fireteam for a package?" asked Madsen skeptical. "Didn't we already play that part on Requiem?"
"Like it wasn't enough we were responsible for bringing aboard the object that almost anchored us to a planet diving into a sun." said Hoya dryly.
"Which is exactly why we should be fighting in the field."
The team groaned again.
"What?"
The rest of Majestic laughed as DeMarco turned around with a curious expression and found themselves walking in front of a landing pad awaiting an occupying vehicle.
Above them the twin figures of the UNSC Infinity and Dauntless cast immense shadows on the ground as they hovered overhead to ferry supplies and provide superior air-support. Closer to the ground flights of Longswords made their rounds securing a perimeter.
Overhead a Vulture, ancient though it may have been, roared overhead to a depot next to them.
"Hey, didn't they phase those out?" asked Thorne looking to interrupt DeMarco's tirade.
"What the Vulture?" asked DeMarco turning towards it while it shut down engines and had men swarming it in seconds making it combat ready.
"Who cares? I mean sure it guzzles fuel like crap but I'm all good with a freaking armed to teeth beast that can fly." Madsen quipped.
"Ever see one of those in action?" asked Hoya.
"I've seen some footage from Harvest." Madsen said trying to remember what exactly had happened.
"And?" DeMarco said slightly interested?
"Oh! So there was a Firebase being overrun by Brutes right? Throwing themselves at the base."
"Typical ape logic but yeah." Tedra said
"So a group of three or so arrive with an armored regiment and the first thing that one of those things did was unleash every ounce of missiles and bombs it had.
"How much was that?"
"Well, when the smoke finally cleared there was nothing left of the advance, I mean it was full of craters, no Brutes, Grunts, or anything."
"****." Hoya chuckled.
"So what, I mean there are orbital MAC strikes that do the same sort of thing." Thorne said.
"The best part was that even after they wiped apes of the field they went on and escorted the Troops back to their main base. So of course the Covenant try to rescue the survivors and take revenge. They get there and by then everybody's left shop right? Wrong. The Vultures were back and there were a dozen more this time."
"Oh ****." DeMarco said.
"Exactly, it was a killing field." Madsen said with a gleam.
"Poor *******." Hoya interjected between fits of laughter.
"Nah, that's the Clones that the Republic uses for all its operations." Madsen said.
"That's really messed up when you think about that." DeMarco interjected.
"Cloning entire armies in months?"
"No, well yes. That's messed up as well. No, they're all made of a clone of one guy."
"Must have been a pretty ******." Hoya put-in.
"No kidding." Tedra scowled.
"You hear about what's happening on Coruscant?" Paul asked
"What?" the team chorused.
"There's reports of intense rioting going on in small areas. The planet is very polarized about us right now."
"Not that surprising." Thorne responded.
"That's not it though. Rumor is that there are some who think we need to be brought to justice because we were so rude in bringing the Storm to us."
"Well that's hypocritical." Tedra replied incensed. "I mean after all, they're fighting a civil war as well. We didn't ask to have that brought upon us. Seriously? For a Government and Galaxy that's supposedly so high and mighty they've got as many-if not more problems, than us. I don't know why they would even want us under their control."
"I'd hate to fight that war." Anthony said shaking his head.
"It would be like fighting the Covenant again." Paul mused grimly.
"And we all know how that turned out." Gabriel finished.
"At least we still have some of the II's and III's." Tedra pointed out.
"Dude, did you see the two III's on Coruscant?" Anthony asked with a degree of awe.
"Those guys are the real *******'s, forget the Clone army, right after the II's they're stunning to watch." Fireteam Castle's leader said with a sly smile.
"I swear Crimson is a bunch of III's in disguise though!" Madsen practically shouted.
"Eyes up." Thorne said bringing them back to reality as he noticed a Pelican descending towards him.
"What do you think our package is this time?" Tedra asked.
The Pelican descended towards them reversing its direction and spinning its cargo bay towards them. A miniature dust cloud was spun up as it touched down and depowered its engines.
"Nothing good I bet." Carlo grumbled.
After a moment the door hissed and opened. In front of Gabriel two Spartans that he recognized from Coruscant stepped out and flanked the side of the pads as a team of Marines stepped forward escorting, in the center, and surprisingly not bound, was
"Dr. Halsey." DeMarco said stepping forward instantly wary.
"Spartan. I need to speak with the Admiral at once."
"Hold on a second. How did you-"
"It matters not. I was rescued and have vital information for the UNSC that cannot wait. I need to speak now.
DeMarco was slightly taken aback.
"Uh yes Ma'am." he said and the team spread out to flank her.
"I think this counts as something good." Tedra said over the SquadCom.
"Shut it Grant." DeMarco said sheepishly.
The two Spartans from behind walked forwards with them as well. They led her past the barracks, turned a corner and arrived at a giant building flanked by towers and guards.
The Marines standing guard at the door stepped aside and allowed the group access to the inside, but not without a few curious glances.
The HQ was busy with multiple screens flashing and changing with operators talking to units in the field, ships in orbit, and other parts of the base.
Standing in the middle meeting with several Colonel's from the Marine Corps and Army respectively was Admiral Tchkova.
"Doctor Halsey." he said noticing her and taking several steps toward her.
"Admiral Tchkova."
"Can I assume we are friends and not enemies?" he said cutting straight to the point waving the Colonel's away.
"We are indeed friends. I thank you for having the Spartans rescue instead of kill me. Especially in light of recent knowledge I have about the interior workings of the Storm."
"You have your Spartans to thank for that."
She turned to face the two silent ones flanking her with a slow nod. The two nodded imperceptibly back.
"Those guys still give me the creeps." Madsen whispered to Thorne out of the corner of his mouth and in spite of himself Thorne cracked a small smile.
"Why are we baby-sitting the crazy lady again?" Tedra complained.
"I'm sure they will be thanked later by humanity itself, Admiral. But we have more pressing matters. We need to move fast to beat the Storm to what this mountain holds inside." she said turning back to face him.
"And what exactly does it hold Doctor?"
In response she dug with her remaining hand around in her lab coat and suddenly retrieved a small object that looked like a mishapen key.
The Admiral frowned and Thorne did a double take. He had seen this object before.
"What is that Doctor?" said the Admiral eying it suspiciously.
All around the eyes of those assembled turned to look at it. She took a step back and held out.
"This is the key to our advancement as a species. Spartan Thorne?"
All eyes turned on him.
"Do you have the other half of the key?"
He stepped forward and cleared his throat.
"Uhh...well you see Doctor, the Infinity has current possession of the other half."
She relaxed slightly but turned to face the Admiral.
"Admiral while on Requiem I was able to commune with the intelligence known as the Librarian and she gave me both halves of what is called the Janus Key."
"So what does it do?" he asked. "It's a key to what?"
"This," she shook it slightly, "gives the real time piece of every Forerunner Artifact in the Galaxy at any time."
Blank shock wiped his face clean for a second before he lit his aged, war hardened look fall upon him and the Spartan sentries stiffened instantly.
Thorne was suddenly in a daze as he realized the magnitude of what had been thrown to him.
"I will need possession of the other half and then a team to escort me so that I may help unlock the secrets inside this mountain."
"I'm sorry, did I hear you right Doctor? Every piece?"
"That is correct Admiral, every piece, installation, planet, structure, weapon, artifact, it's all in here!"
The Admiral swayed for a second and braced himself against the table.
"Good Lord!" he said quietly.
"Which is why Admiral, I need access to what's inside."
He suddenly straightened up.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Doctor. I'm going to need you fully debriefed on what this 'key' is and what you know of it. Protocol dictates I need to establish a firm military presence board one of our ships at once. We don't want the Storm to try an act of revenge and silence you."
"Admiral, the installation underneath that mountain, contains something with regard to this key. I need to go down there-"
"There are other science teams that can do work for you. Doctor, please, you will be of more help aboard the Infinity than down here. The Infinity does hold the other part of this...key."
A moment of silence passed between the two.
"Fine, I want to have full knowledge of progress on the ground, developments, findings-"
"Done." Tchkova interrupted. "We have a Platoon of Ranger's trying to open up the door on the other side. As soon as it opens up we're going to leave to be aboard the Infinity. I need a full debriefing on your adventures with the Storm and that will have to come first."
"Good luck trying to get that open with just a Platoon. What are they thinking?" Hoya spoke over an open channel.
"Doctor, it would be best if we were to move to the Infinity."
"Then lead the way Admiral. I trust your judgment is sounder than most individuals in your position." Doctor Halsey finally said after a moment.
"Thank you Doctor." He gestured to some ODST's and they led her out the door to their transport.
He strode over to the table and within moments two figures materialized into holograms.
"Admiral." They both saluted.
"General Greene," he nodded to the older man in Army Dress. "General Warner." he nodded to younger but more grizzled General in Marine Corps attire.
"What can we do for you Admiral?" General Greene asked.
"I'm moving to the Infinity. I'll brief you on why later from a more secure location but I'm recalling you both from the mountain to the FOB. I want you coordinating troops when that mountain does open up. However I think its time we let the Spartan Corps do the heavy lifting for this portion. You will remain on standby until circumstances require it. Understood?"
"Understood Admiral."
"General Greene, have you made contact with the Ranger Platoon?"
"I have not been able to. Their Pelican was shot up by the Storm. They're on their own for the moment but I have full confidence in them. They'll get it done and then we can role right in."
"I hope so. I convened with our Sangheili friends in orbit. The Storm may be in disarray and in full retreat but I don't want the Republic, when they get here, to be getting their hands all over this site. There's too much at stake here if underneath that mountain contains what Intelligence says there is."
"How exactly will you tell tell them not to touch anything?" Warner asked.
"We can't. Which is why I hope those Ranger's open it up soon. The Republic may have those that have good intentions but frankly they don't understand what they are dealing with. I'll see you back at the FOB soon. Tchkova out."
The connection closed and he turned to the Spartans still standing there.
"As you have just heard the Spartan Corps will get to exercise its muscles. Get down to the tunnel and link up with the rest of the Spartan. We have a limited amount of time. I want as much of whatever is inside controlled. Once the Republic get's here I doubt that the Admirals and science teams will feel good about being denied. Dismissed."
The two Spartan III's were the first to leave with Fireteam Majestic being led seconds later out the door with DeMarco in front.
The air had become colder since they had entered and the sky had clouded over. A light rain was falling that made a rather nice ambient noise to the howling of engines, whir of machinery, and shouts of soldiers.
"What did you make of that?" Thorne asked.
"Nothing good. If the Admiral is that concerned about the Republic once we're inside that mountain we'll need to find whatever that thing that was mentioned is."
"The Absolute Record?" Tedra guessed.
"I think its bad news that the good Doctor had to be here of all places. How did she even get here?" Madsen frowned as they walked towards the general direction of the Motor Pool.
"Jul probably brought her here because he guessed that whatever this record is, is here." Paul answered.
"Dang Thorne, I think you might've saved the galaxy single handedly. If you had dropped or lost that key..." Tedra stopped as they all thought about the implications of that.
"I've had enough of Doctors, keys, crazy alien galaxies, or the Storm for a lifetime." Hoya interjected as they walked through the chain link gates of the motor pool."
"Yeah, why can't we go back to Rio and do a little community outreach?" Madsen joked.
Paul and Anthony chuckled and fist bumped each other as they walked towards a massive section of Warthogs.
"What do you think guys, go by Hog or Foot?" Tedra asked.
"Hey!"
They turned to see a Trooper walking towards them.
"You guys need two Warthogs correct?"
"In fact we were just debating that." DeMarco said.
"You guys can take the Gauss Hog and the regular Hog on the right over there." He pointed to a large open garage where the two vehicles sat.
"I'm driving." Hoya interjected.
"No I am." DeMarco shot back instantly. Madsen can sit passenger and snipe. You can be on the gun."
"Remember what happened last time?" Carlo asked cocking his head to one side.
"Hey Requiem was bad enough for everybody. Robots that would pop up anywhere, robots that kidnapped crazy scientists, artifacts that teleported you to the middle of no where-"
"We get it." the rest of Majestic chorused.
"Well if you don't mind I think I'll go driving with Thorne." Hoya grinned.
"If you're not going to roll the Hog again." Thorne cheeked back.
"Seriously guys, that was just hitting the wrong pedal. Come on!"
Thorne just shook his head as Hoya clambered on to the LRV while the Rest of Majestic climbed on to the LAAV.
The two vehicles were started up and DeMarco led the way with his vehicle.
They stopped in front of another gate leading to the outside world. It slowly pulled apart and the two Hogs accelerated out.
"Hey was it me or were those the same Spartans on Coruscant that we saw?" Tedra asked from the Gauss Cannon in the leading Warthog.
"I think so." Thorne anwered back.
"What are their names you think?"
"I don't know. Probably too classified for us to know still." Hoya pointed out.
"I think Palmer would have kittens if they were assigned to the Infinity."
"What, to train us?" Hoya said slightly hostile.
The group sat uncomfortably with that statement.
"Well, there was Fireteam Castle and all the others on Requiem." Thorne broke the silence.
"The idea of mixing the two makes me uneasy. I'd rather we teach them to loosen up a little bit. What do you think Paul?"
"The tall guy back there, he could use a little bit of that I think."
"The one with the dark armor Tedra?"
"Yeah."
"Wonder what his problem is?" Madsen mused.
"Man, Anthony, we all got problems."
"Shut up. We're getting near the mountain."
"I'm just saying."
UNSC Pelican en-route to Ranger Deployment Zone:
Storm(?) occupied territory:
9:07:09 hours
The Pelican shook slightly as it rocked in the gale force winds as it maneuvered itself in position over its target skimming over clouds tossing mist and ice in its wake as its pushed its way through turbulence and dense air banks thrown up by the mountains.
Eric was nervous. He wasn't nervous about the drop, the abysmal and foggy weather conditions, the thoughts flashing through his head with every scenario possible for this mission;
Actually, he didn't know what it was.
Three minutes ago the Platoon had received orders from Admiral Tchkova and then Major Crespo who was still talking to the Sergeant Major about their orders. They had been extremely cryptic as far as he could tell but he still had enough sense to know that they were being diverted to some other location. They didn't have all the time in the world and they kept tempting fate more and more with every second here.
He was watching Sergeant Bowman intently. He seemed to be just as confused as everyone else and made that abundantly clear.
He finished with a displeased "Roger that Major. We'll get it done."
Eric beat everyone else to the question.
"Sarge, what the heck just happened?"
He looked at him for a moment before gruffly answering "Orders got changed. The rest of the Ranger's are taking care of the Storm."
"So where are we going sir?" asked Branley from his corner.
"Our objective-" he said raising his voice to address everyone, "-has been changed."
"To what Sergeant Major?" asked Emerson.
"We've all heard how the Storm have set up camp on the other side of this mountain." he said pointing to the mountain they were circling right now on a holographic projector that sprang to life. "However we've been pulled off that mission for another harder task."
The map changed location and zoomed into opposite of where the UNSC was currently deployed.
The bay sat still with all eyes on him. Bowman, had a flicker of question and doubt in his eye which he snuffed out as all sat listening to him.
"The Admiral has reported to me that a Spartan Team has managed to pinpoint the location of the distress signals which are underneath this mountain. They deactivated the local defense grid and we're able to make a hole in the side of the mountain. However Rangers, to get in you need to access it from the other side and the Storm have pulled off their engagement with us for the time being because the Spartans almost managed to kill the alien son-of-a-gun Jul. His forces are in chaos right now which gives us our perfect opportunity now to slip in and activate the door and allow the Marines on the other side the ability to slip in and secure whatever may be inside."
"Score for one for the freaks." someone muttered.
"Better them than Jul. But of a relief that something's thrown them into confusion."
"Sir? Can't we pick up the distress signals if one of the doors is open?" someone asked directing conversation back to their mission.
"No." Bowman answered simply. "When the defense grid was deactivated the signals for reasons beyond any of your pay-grade, stopped. We unfortunately have to trust that whoever is there is alive and that maybe they saw that we deactivated one of the doors. Major Crespo is having the Infinity supply us ordinance when we secure the place. A platoon of ODST's were due to help us from an orbital drop but they've been siphoned off to help with the main assault on the first door. The Brass want as many of their troops as possible in the passage as soon as we open it up."
The Rangers all began to mutter dissent among themselves.
"Rangers! I don't want any more bellyaching understand? You've all so far had a great many people help you come this far. The Spartans did the hardest part and almost managed to kill the Hinge-Head himself. Just what are we going to do now to repay them and the Storm now that we have the opportunity to secure the men and women inside?"
"LEAD THE WAY!" the cry echoed throughout the Pelican.
They all heard the Pelican's loudspeaker crackle and stopped their sudden cheering.
"Sorry to interrupt. The loadmaster should be heading back now. We were conferring about the best place to drop you guys off. We'll be dropping in thirty seconds. Your target is a small hill right above the tunnel access control station. Thanks for flying today. I'll deploy what ordinance I have on board once you guys are on the ground."
The door opened to the cockpit and the loadmaster stepped out.
"All right Ranger's we're over the drop site. Winds are from the south at 8 knots and you should enjoy your flight.
The normal ambient red light was replaced by green and the Rangers as one stood up.
"Check your front!" the Sergeant Major bellowed from the back of the Pelican.
Eric stood up and readied his weapon and stood with arms straight down in front of the person to his left who was now behind him.
As one the Ranger's checked the Jetpacks ahead of each other. They were lined up two by two with the Sergeant Major at the back and as one the ranks called forward that they were checked and ready to go.
"Checked!" the first row called.
"Checked!" second row called out.
"Checked!"
And on they continued until finally. Sergeant Bowman ended with an almighty "Clear!"
A single note chimed throughout the bay and the loadmaster announced he was lowering the door.
As he did so the wind ripped at them as they held on to the restraints and waited for the Pelican to depressurize. They were in the middle of a dark cloud bank and nobody could tell the ground from the sky.
"Right Rangers! Lead the way!" Bowman shouted and they all moved forward by two alternating which line jumped out their figures quickly becoming mired in the cloud layers. Eric moved forward and polarized the helmet. He took a few steps and then took a running dive out. He give an idiotic sort of yell as he did so but it felt good as he plunged downwards into the clouds below to the ground which was fast approaching.
His HUD marked the locations of all the Platoon members via IFF and he made sure to give himself enough of a bubble so that he wouldn't run into anybody. Bodies that hit from extremely high up were very messy to clean up.
"I see the ground Sarge. Area is lightly sprinkled with contacts." one of third Platoon's men spoke up.
"Feel free to engage." he said with a gruff smile.
From below Eric saw the flash of a rifle and then heard the crack of the weapon. The shot must have hit something because the comms came alive with whoops and cheers.
Below he saw the Ranger's activate their jetpacks and begin the easy and brutal work of taking down what resistance there was.
Eric saw an Elite below and triggered the jetpack to slow him down. The MA37 in his hands clutched as tightly as they could.
"Second squad down the hill! When you touch down!" Corporal Bauer called out as Eric saw him touch down, the other members in the squad about a hundred feet of the ground firing as they descended.
"Giant squad keep your head down, watch the Shades on the butt!" Branley called out as the tell-tale bolts flew through the air at random.
"It's butte you moron!"
Eric laughed as Sadie Endesha, from Giant Squad corrected him as she dropped past Eric, igniting her Jetpack, and taking aim at a group of grunts on the ground.
The ground rose up and met his feet with a burst of snow. Eric ducked as plasma rained over him. Someone else silenced the offender with a well placed shot from a DMR.
"Come on move it!" called out Bowman as he landed with a thump on the ground. He raised his weapon and demonstrated how to do so charging down the hill. Two Jackals fell in quick succession.
The Ranger's that had cleared off the top of the hill from where they had all landed charged over the top and down the mountain side.
Eric ignited a jetpack again and the face of a small Covenant "fort" greeted him. All around him the thirty or so Ranger's were spread in a rag-tag huddle.
"Great," Kolby, the blonde from first squad said as he ducked out of the way of a needle from an angry Jackal. He popped out of his cover with the snow and fired twice with the M6J trying to discourage it from firing.
"Emerson! Watch the Shades!" Eric called out as he noticed his squadmate nearly taken out by a zealous grunt. She dove to the ground and Eric tossed a grenade that turned it into shrapnel seconds later.
There was a small barricade made out of deployable shields, crates, and rock with several shade Turrets dotting it. A barracks was in the center with a small comunications array. In the middle was a large sentry tower.
"Jetpacks over the walls!" Bowman called out again. "Giant on the left! Valkyrie, you've got the middle! Goblin, Cyclops, flank around!"
A chorus of yessirs was followed by simultaneous ignition of jetpacks as the group of thirty launched themselves into the night and over the wall straight into the panicked Covenant Camp.
Eric was fortunate to land on one of the Shade turrets that was laying down suppressing fire. The grunt manning it gave a squeal before Eric kicked it out. It flopped against the snow and fired its plasma weapon. He ducked and put a two second burst through its head. The other members of his squad arrived in similar fashion, gunning down Unngoy, Sangheili, and Kig-Yar alike. From their left they saw a dozen Elite's trying to marshal the defense.
It was clear to see how much off an impact 'Mdama had made on his cult. The rumors that were being circulated on whether he was dead or not were strong enough that it was made clear in the sloppy defense of the camp.
Where the Elite's would have been smart they were angry and fearful, some cowered attempting to surrender-to be shot by their own comrades, the Jackals seemed to band together and were on the verge of fleeing, the Unngoy were the only ones attempting a fight and were stealing Needlers and other weapons from the dead in an attempt to stop the 30 man army.
It was all in vain as Eric and the others swept through the camp quickly destroying the last enemy.
"I think that's the last of them." Mike Branley said as kicked over a corpse.
"Good work Ranger's." Bowman said surveying the inside of the fort. "Third squad take out the Barracks and the Comm tower. The rest of you look for the tunnel and the access panel.
"You know, for a fort that seemed rather under guarded." Branley observed.
"It's because we killed them all. What do you think?" Corporal Bauers laughed and the rest of the squad joined him.
"Sergeant Major?" asked Kyle Montgomery, who was the leader of Third Squad.
"What Corporal?"
"Where's that support we were promised?"
"I don't know. Why do you expect me to know?" he growled shouldering his MA37.
"..uh, I don't know?"
"How about you ask reeaal nice and maybe Hocus will drop you a Christmas present."
Montgomery sighed and awkwardly stepped to the side. With everyone gathering around him he attempted to raise Hocus.
"Third squad to Hocus, come in."
There was silence on the other end.
"Montgomery to Pelican Hocus, requesting Ordinance Drop."
Still more static on the other side.
"Spread out and find the tunnel." Bowman snapped.
"Come on Valkyrie, let's fan out and check over here." his CO said after a moment.
In the darkness they spread out into a straight line and began a sweep to the northwest.
"Pelican X-ray Zero-Zero-Niner-Bravo come in."
"Where do you suppose they are Julia?" Eric asked as they walked.
"I don't know? Maybe he's out of Radio range or the weather's not good?" she said uncertainly.
"Always the optimist." Specialist Mark Hanson said as he walked scanning the area for anything.
"Hey!" she protested angrily. "Would you rather Hocus be dead?" He shut up at once.
"I'd rather he just tell himself." protested Hanson quietly.
The group at this point had come face to face with the mountain side.
"Sergeant Major!"
"Go ahead Cyclops."
"We're picking up lots of Storm contacts on long range sensors." a female Ranger said.
"Anybody find the door?" he asked impatiently
"No sir!"
"*******it! I need that door found and open now!"
"Sir, we need to open it within the next five minutes or we're all dead."
"Third squad! Are you done rigging everything to blow up!?"
A loud and concussive BOOM! iluminated the area with fiery orange and blue fire.
"There goes our position."
Eric noticed something out of the corner of his eye. To his left he thought he saw a layer of something drop off.
"Sergeant Major! I think I've found it!" he said rushing forward.
He soon saw through the mist a gaping circular hole that was disguised with a layer of ice and snow over parts and heavily weathered, the door looked to be inset farther into the mountain. He noticed then abandoned Covenant Tech surrounding a structure built into the side of a cliff.
"Corporal Bauers!" he called out motioning his CO forward.
He ran up to it and observed the same thing.
"Valkyrie! Get over here and search that structure. Hanson, Emerson, you're with me."
The rest cautiously approached the structure with weapons drawn and raised.
"Stack up!" the Corporal ordered. "Gunther, you're on point!"
Eric complied feeling nervous and jittery as he they all took positions on the entrance and stormed through a narrow hallway.
"Clear!" he called out as the dark corridor opened up into a room overlooking the entrance of the tunnel which was lit up as soon as they entered the room on the otherside. It looked to be a large observation platform with a holographic panel.
Pale blue lighting illuminated it through the darkness of the fog and weather. It was a circular door that was utterly massive in size. He could not see the top of it but he knew that it must be large enough to fit a ship through here, otherwise there wouldn't be a ship trapped inside.
"Second squad, figure out to open the doors? We're short on time!" Bowman said interrupting their observations.
"These don't look like normal glyphs Sergeant Major!" Emerson called out as she scrolled through.
"Hey, what's with all the ash on the floor?" Haverty asked pointing at several large piles on the floor.
"Figure it out! I don't have time for-"
Eric noticed a flash of red on the other side of the hallway on the basic motion trackers built into his helmet as he watched the back door.
"Guys! We got contacts!" he said snapping his gun up to bear.
"Where?" snapped Bowman.
A sudden flash of light and a metallic, inscetoid, creature materialized on the other side of the hallway where it promptly charged forward with a shriek until Eric shot it through it's gleaming skull before it dissolved into light and ash very similar to that on the ground. Three more wolf-like Prometheans materialized as well with flashes.
"****it! Prometheans!" cursed Haverty as he dove out of the way of a beam of red light that almost decapitated him forward.
"Weapons free!" Bauers called out! "Emerson, start pressing buttons! Get this door open!"
"On it!" she called out and smacked her hand over a holographic button.
A loud hiss was heard from behind them.
"Got it!" she cried.
"Doors open! Get your ***** inside here Valkyrie! All squads to me!" Bowman called out in response confirming that the door did in fact open.
Eric ducked as a ricocheting burst of light bounced off the walls and nearly killed him.
"Somebody get this guy off me!" he yelled frustrated as he attempted to return fire.
He was saved by Emerson who clutching a DMR fired one handed around the corner and took the down the offending Promethean with a lucky shot causing it to twitch and shriek until it was nothing.
"Thanks!" he called out firing a burst until the gun clicked empty at a Promethean that had gotten too close.
"Reloading!"
"Frag out!" Haverty called out throwng a grenade down the hallway which thinned their numbers slightly as the clap of thunder turned three into ash.
"Get down!" Eric yelled as he noticed one carrying what looked to be a missile launcher of sorts emerge from behind it's disintegrated comrades.
The others did so immediately and just in time as it moved to the forefront and fired its weapon. A loud CRACK! and the hallway was filled with a globular ball of light that soared down the hallway and collided with the opposite wall where it dentonated creating a massive hole in the side of it exploding outwards as well.
A loud scream distracted him for a second.
"****!" Haverty is hit! Hit him in the foot!" Luke yelled shielding Haverty from more harm.
Haverty yelled again to prove this already obvious point.
"Emerson get him out of fire and look at that foot!" Corporal Bauers yelled at Emerson, their resident medic.
"Corporal we should get out of here!" Eric said reloading a magazine and emptying it into the Promethean that was 10 feet away. The rest of the team was able to bottle up the enemy to some degree with a combination of frag grenades and gunfire.
"How bad is it?" Eric yelled over the commotion as he accepted a magazine of ammo as he bent back to reload again.
"Not good! His foot's missing, Knight cauterized though with the explosive. We need to leave if we're going to get out of here alive!"
"Why haven't we left?" Branley asked putting down a Crawler with another burst.
There was a temporary lull in the fighting for a moment after he said that.
"We're clear!" Haverty gasped out.
"Well I vote we leave now!" Eric said.
"Fine, Gunther! Give us some cover fire and we'll egress! Branley, help with Haverty over here!"
"Why me?"
"Do it!" Emerson snapped after a moment.
"Julia I'm kinda pinned down at the moment!" he snapped as another beam of light nearly bisected him.
She grunted fired four times and the fire slackened somewhat and she hoisted Haverty over her back.
"Everybody out!" the Corporal ordered. Eric backpedaled enough to give him a good view of the enemy still coming methodically down the hallway.
With some effort Julia hoisted Mike out the hole and dropped out, next Luke and the Corporal jumped out leaving Branley and himself.
"Why is it we're always the last ones? Come on, let's book it!"
The two turned and tossing individual grenades they ran and dove out the hole and onto the ground below.
As Eric dropped to the ground he noticed that there was a Phantom sitting too close for comfort on his right.
"Oh come on! Can't we get even a little-"
"What are you doing? Run!" Branley interrupted as a pair of Hunters roared and started charging their weapons.
They both ignited their jetpacks and avoided the projectiles hitting the ground again and running for the cave.
They started to run down a hill and within seconds were inside the cave created by the overhanging rock where they greeted the rest of the Platoon.
"About time." Bowman grumbled as the Rangers emerged from over behind several large rocks. "I'm all for leaving Prometheans to deal with the Storm. It's about time we have a break from fighting."
"Oorah!" some of the men chorused.
Now that Eric had a chance to catch his breath he noticed how big tunnel was up close. On all sides ice formed huge columns that extended until they vanished into the ceiling. And before them lay an immense dark expanse that seemed to stretch on and on.
"I don't suppose we have any other place to go right?" asked one of the men from Third Squad.
"That's a negative Private." stated Bowman walking into the center of the circle they had created. "We better hope the boys on the other side of this mountain are able to make more of this than we can. Get Haverty on his feet if you can, we need to keep moving. The Storm may be in full retreat but apparently there were some who didn't get the message. Let's move out before they decide to kill us."
UNSC INFINITY BRIDGE:
9:10:03 hours
Captain Thomas Lasky
"Captain Lasky?" Roland asked as he materialized in a flash of gold.
"What is it Roland?" he asked putting his hands over his head for a second before looking at the AI
"Admiral Tchkova just sent you a memo."
"And?"
"He's requesting permission to come aboard the Infinity. Says he has a package of sorts. You are to meet him in the Science wing in ten minutes."
"That's all fine and good but what's wrong with the Dauntless?" he asked as he stared at the other ship which was making a large slow circle over top of the base."
"Nothing. He said Infinity has something that will make this mission a whole lot more classified then it is right now."
Tom racked his brains for a second.
"Wait you're not talking about the artifact that we found on Requiem right?"
"That's the one."
"But then that means..."
He remembered a conversation he had with Dr. Henry Glassman after their escape from the planet.
"Doctor, what've you got?" he had asked when examining the object that Thorne had taken from them.
"Well, th-the first test showed that it is inert. But... this part is really weird."
Glassman had clicked on a screen above them, which then showcased microscopic images of the key's structure.
"On a molecular level, it's incomplete. Jus-it makes no sense." The doctor peered down at the tiny artifact inside the canister. "It's like... It's like we're only seeing half of it."
"Captain, I thought when the Doctor threw it to Thorne she had another half she was trying to shield."
"So there are two then?"
Nobody had answered him.
"Well this complicates things. Now we have even more reason to try and track down the Doctor.
He returned to the present in an instant.
"Oh *****!" he turned to the Bridge trying to conceal how Pale he had suddenly gone.
"XPO?"
Executive Petty Officer Henry Armstrong came up to him.
"Aye Captain?"
"I'm going to take a walk. I'll be back sometime. Let me know if anything happens."
"Aye Captain."
"Armstrong has the Bridge!" he announced to his crew. "I'm taking a walk."
He exited the bridge and started walking down to the Science Wing. He boarded one of the trams and spent the next two minutes riding to the Spartan Town. He had a hunch he needed to see one person before he left for the science wing.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes for a moment before composing himself physically, and then exited on to the deck overseeing the massive room full of ring like machines and Spartans returning from missions on the ground.
He went into the main office adjacent to the main corridor and tram stop before knocking.
"Come in." a female voice said.
"He opened the door and saw Commander Palmer in her Spartan issued undersuit standing over a desk looking at several papers."
"Tom? What's the occasion for visiting Spartan Town?"
"Sarah, do you have a few minutes? I need you to come with me."
"Yeah, I have a few minutes. I was just filing mission reports. Why?"
"Admiral Tchkova is meeting me in the Science Wing. I have no clue why but he hinted something big was up."
"Okay...?" she said cautiously. "Let's go. Best not to keep the Admiral waiting."
They both exited and walked towards the tram station.
"So, you have no idea?" asked Palmer again.
"I have a hunch. That's why I want you there as well."
"What about?"
"The artifact we recovered from Requiem."
"You mean the only thing good we got from it?"
He didn't respond to her remarks. That conversation could happen later.
"Did you know that there are apparently more of these Prometheans here?"
"They're also regarding every activity by everyone as hostile. These are not the ones that sided with the Storm."
The tram soon stopped at their destination and soon they both found themselves in one of the secondary corridors that the lab connected to.
"The Eggheads still trying to figure it out?"
"Glassman has made that his focus for now, so I guess."
He found his way to the lab where inside was stored the artifact and, typing the passcode in, entered in to see Dr. Glassman sitting down at a table making notes.
"Oh hello." he said noticing his arrival.
"Dr. Glassman. I'm sorry to have disturbed you."
"Oh uh it's fine. What brings you to the lab?"
"Actually the Admiral is coming here for something. I don't know why but he wants to meet here."
"Oh. Uhhh. Do I need to leave?" he asked gathering his stuff.
"No. I don't think so. Roland, where's the Admiral?"
"Outside the door."
Three sharp knocks were heard.
Lasky moved over and pushed the button to open the sliding door.
The Hungarian Admiral greeted him and Captain Lasky saluted before stepping to the side to let him pass. Palmer observed the scene with mild interest.
"I apologize for the short notice Captain but we have urgent matters to attend to." he said briskly.
"What-?"
But he motioned behind him and in stepped the last person he expected to see.
"Doctor Halsey?"
"How the-?"
"Oh my-"
"Before any of you pull a move or a gun out please let me make you aware that Doctor Halsey is indeed our friend. She has not been bugged, she does not belong to the Storm!" Tchkova interjected before anyone could make a move.
Lasky was thunder-struck.
"How did you escape?"
"I appreciate your concern for me Captain. But such tales can wait for the moment. Roland, please ensure this lab is secure."
"Secured." Roland's voice said over the room's PA.
She then reached in her pocket of her labcoat and pulled out with her good hand a mirror image of the object in the glass container sitting before them.
Dr. Glassman's breath hitched for a second, the only sound in the room.
"Is that..."
"This is the Janus Key, the secret treausre of Requiem." Dr. Halsey began. She opened the glass case and collected the other half.
"When both halves of it are brought together it will reveal..."
She brought the two halves together and they immediately clashed together like two opposite sides of a magnet and suddenly the room was filled with an expanse of holographic light and figures.
Everyone's reaction varied slightly.
Dr. Glassman had to clutch the side of his desk for support, Palmer stood alarmed and unsure of what to do. Lasky stared open mouthed and the Admiral mouthed an expletive.
"...the location of every piece of Forerunner technology in the universe."
She reached and manipulated it until there was a single solitary dot.
"Roland? Please read the astrological data on this and tell us where it is."
"Working on it. Wait, Doctor, there's no need, we're already here."
"How?" Palmer asked still eying Doctor Halsey with some degree of anticipation and wariness.
"This planet, Cryptum, not only contains, as rumor would have it a UNSC vessel, but also the Absolute Record."
"What is that?" Dr. Glassman asked reaching out and grasping a dot that had slipped back into the picture and eyed it with wonder.
"During my conversation with the Librarian-yes, I'll fill you in on that in due time, she told me this was the place to be able to propel mankind forward. This planet contains the full data on every artifact and gift the Forerunner's have given us. A library, so to speak, given to us for our benefit."
She pulled apart the keys and the images collapsed and vanished at once.
"And it's inside that mountain?"
Dr. Halsey was about to continue when several alarms and lights began flashing and blaring.
"Roland what's going on?"
"Captain, you are required on the bridge ASAP by Executive Officer Armstrong. He says it's urgent."
"On my way Roland, thank you."
"Captain?" Palmer asked.
"Roland? What's the problem anyways?"
"We are receiving reports that the mountain is opening. The Ranger's made it through."
So, what did you think? This chapter was split in half from the one I originally wanted to write. I can promise you in the next chapter Will's world is going to flip upside down.
I appreciated your patience and the messages of support that were given with my PSA. I thank you for your time in making this the story it is currently.
For those interested in what the Easter Eggs were:
William Gunther, while not related to Welkin Gunther from Valkyria Chronicles, Will's name is a little bit of an Easter Egg, though unintentional.
Emerson from Eric's team is based physically, and name wise, on Jacqueline Emerson who played Foxface in the Hunger Games
Sadie's story is referenced by bringing Officer Branley and Sadie Endesha into the story. After all what is Halo without this little-known story?
The Dauntless is a running gag to one of the Factions in Divergent
Bowman is a reference to a Character in COD
Mason, another character also lives in Alaska like the Mason from COD.
Many thanks to my wonderful betas Lord Razer, gwb99, archwar, and ArcCaptainFordo for sticking with me on this chapter and to Mandalore the freedom for bouncing back ideas and helping me with writers bloc.
If you are interested in being a beta please drop a Private Message. Suggestions and ideas for stuff you would like to see is always appreciated as well. It helps me think of new material for writing.
Please remember to read and leave a review!
Yours in writing,
theotherpianist