SPOILERS!!!!
Halo Infinite Spoilers!
Spoilers past this point
Hey everyone, here's a new chapter for the new year. I am not sure how everyone else felt about Halo Infinite's campaign. Although it was excellent to play! I was quite disappointed with the story. The story felt hollow to me. I am excited to write these chapters about the campaign. Because I felt there just wasn't enough story details in the campaign itself. Even with the audio collectables, and whatnot, it still wasn't enough to me. That's just my opinion. But I still did really enjoy the game!
What felt like an eternity of hell had passed by. The universe had been on thin ice under the the unrelenting force of the overlord Cortana. The threat of the X parasite roaming the galaxies, searching for victims was equal to Cortana's threat, if not worse. Once Blue Team had received their new Mjolnir armour. With their bounty hunter asset alongside them, they had done so much for the fate of the universe. Yet the Banished, and Cortana's overpowering reign, made it feel as if they accomplished nothing. Even worse, the team was now being split up during these desperate measures.
John had been under an enormous amount of stress since Operation Wolfe. He was very thankful for his adopted daughter's help during that mission, with her aid the mission was accomplished successfully. After that mission the Spartan leader had been separated from his team, tasked with planting a weapon on a new Halo ring, the weapon had been created by Doctor Halsey. She called it a solution to end Cortana's reign. John had personally dreaded it, another AI, another Cortana model, another potential problem. The Infinity was orbiting Zeta Halo so that Chief could complete his mission. Of course the Spartan had an overwhelming amount of emotion taking over him. His mission task, return with the imprisoned AI for deletion.
Doctor Halsey called it deletion, Samus thought of it as an execution, and was positive that her adopted father did as well. And rightfully so, he was being sent to retrieve one of his oldest friends, just so she could be destroyed. Even though Cortana was not exactly the friendliest toward her when they met. Samus could still tell that this was probably one of the biggest emotional journeys for the Spartan leader.
Walking into the bridge with Chief only. No Kelly, Linda, or Fred. It felt odd, even worrying. It was a terrifying time, and Samus had lost too many family members in the past, all because she wasn't able to protect them. But Chief had told her that he had been separated from his team many times before, reassuring her not to worry, that it was normal for them to be split up on different missions. But Samus couldn't help but feel uneasy about the entire situation.
"Master Chief, Samus, thank you for coming up. Walk with me." Captain Lasky greeted the father daughter combo. Leading them over to the large holographic table in the middle of the bridge. "So this is it. When Halsey gives us the go, we head down to the Ring's surface and you... well, you do what you do best."
"Always, sir." John was confident in his reply, he always strived to get the mission done, no matter the cost. But deep down he was distraught.
"And you believe in Halsey's Plan?" Lasky asked the Spartan a very loaded question.
"Sir! we're detecting unusual readings around the..."
A large explosion caused the entire ship to rock, sounding off the alarm systems.
"It's an attack." John announced to the now frantic crew.
"Multiple collisions." The Bridge Officer continued to announce the terrible news.
"Guardians?" Lasky questioned.
"I don't think so." Samus replied as alarms and flashing lights began to flare. Turning to her Spartan as the bridge officer reported what was happening.
"We've been boarded, Banished raiding parties, lots of them!"
Samus didn't wait for a formal dismissal, or an order to leave the bridge. Motioning towards the exit Samus hesitantly waited for Chief to follow suit.
"Is the weapon ready?" Lasky asked the bridge officer, desperation in his tone.
"Almost there..."
"There's no almost ensign. We're ALREADY there. Initiate deployment, NOW." Captain Lasky ordered as Chief followed his restless daughter with the Captain in tow.
"Captain Lasky, we need to get you to a dropship immediately." Chief told the man as they strode through the chaos, shooting their way down the hallways.
"I was going to say the same to you two." The Captain replied as Samus took point.
"I can get Chief, and I, off the Infinity with my ship. But you come first Captain." Rounding the corner Samus found a marine pinned down by enemy forces. Charging her canon the teen released the charge exterminating the aliens threatening the marine and their pathway.
"Good shooting, Samus." Chief praised, making sure Lasky was staying close to him.
Samus didn't reply to the praise, continuing forward she could feel her Metroid urges burning through her body as she fought to clear a path for the Captain and Chief.
"Shouldn't be much further, sir. Hanger bay is ahead." Chief said to the Captain as they came across more Banished forces. Chief rarely had to raise his gun as his adopted daughter tore through the enemy lines like an energy sword through steel.
"Chief, we've got Spartan's pinned down across the way, let's get them some help." The Captain rallied the Spartan and bounty hunter.
"Samus, cover fire!" John commanded as he fought his way over to the Spartan squad leader.
Samus fired a storm of missiles at the attacking Brutes. Whatever ones survived met their doom with swift deadly melee attacks.
"Chief, Kid, thanks for the help. Spartan Griffin, fireteam Taurus. Glad to see you both made it back off Reach." The squad leader greeted the two.
"We've got to get the Captain into the hanger bay. Can you help?"
Spartan Griffin didn't hesitate to assist the Master Chief. "Sure can, but be warned, the hanger bays are crawling with Banished."
"Then we clear them out." Chief replied continuing to escort the Captain while following Samus to the the hanger bays.
"You heard the Chief, Taurus. Hanger is up ahead eyes up, let's move!" Griffin Commanded his Spartans, aiding Chief and Samus with their escort.
Reaching the hanger was insanity, the Banished easily began to over run the hanger bay. Causing Chief and Samus to get separated from each other in the chaos.
There was so many explosions and enemies Samus couldn't even locate her violet coloured ship. "Adam, where's the ship?!"
"Safety protocol engaged, too many hostiles, to be able to remain docked in the hanger bay." The AI replied with an unsatisfactory reply.
"Shit..." Samus cursed as she tried to find Chief through the chaos. All they had to do was clear the hanger bay, and her ship would return. The bounty hunter could see the Master Chief in combat with a massive Brute, through all the lifeless human bodies littering the floor. It would nearly be impossible for them to regain control of the hanger bay.
"Chief?!"
Half conscious after taking a devastating blow to the head, John could barely hear the calls of his adopted daughter, emit through his helmet speakers. Getting dragged violently across the floor by a massive Brute Warmaster.
The bounty hunter tore through whatever enemies dared to step into her pathway, as she attempted to reach her adopted father. The weapon fire and chaos began to die down, just long enough for Samus to lock her eyes on the massive Jiralhanae holding Master Chief by the throat. The teen rushed the Warmaster as he tossed her Spartan into the void of space.
"Chief!" Samus cried as massive explosions tore apart what remained of Infinity.
Atriox swung around, grabbing the charging distraught teen.
Samus was too focused on where Chief was, she had forgotten about the monstrous Jiralhanae. Gasping as Atriox's massive hand pinned her to the floor by her throat.
"You are no Spartan, nor a product of the UNSC... Just an overzealous child, trying to play hero..." Atriox's tone was intimidating, and condescending. His tight grasp on the struggling bounty hunter caused a venomous grin to creep across his face, hearing the desperate gasps and coughs come from the teen. Fiery explosions reminding the Warmaster that he had to evacuate the dying warship. "Your armour will be your tomb, this ship, your demise." Atriox violently tossed the girl into blaze, watching the bounty hunter get engulfed by the dangerous flames, before boarding a Banished ship waiting next to the shipwreck.
John awoke in a Pelican to a pilot, after going through a system reboot with his armour the Spartan approached the overjoyed man. "Status report?"
"Status report? What?" The scruffy pilot was shocked by the question. "Chief, there's something you need to see." The man gestured to the cockpit door.
Spartan 117 silently responded by entering the cockpit, the view of pure devastation littered the void of space around them. A part of Zeta Halo, destroyed. Clearly some time had passed since the losing battle with the Banished.
"We lost. Lost everything. There's nothing left for us here... I don't even know where here is." The pilot explained to the silent Spartan.
The longer Chief gazed out the windshield, the more his heart sank realizing how many lives were lost during the ambush on the Infinity. John didn't know who survived, and who was lost. Everyone he knew could be gone. Blue Team, Halsey, Lasky, Samus... The last thing he saw was Samus, rushing the Brute Warmaster, before the ship completely exploded.
Before Master Chief could wonder if his adopted daughter survived, a blue ray engulfed the Pelican.
"No, no, no. Not them. Not again!" The Pilot panicked as the Pelican shook. "We need to run!"
Chief needed to know if his daughter had survived, if his team had survived, and what the Banished were doing here. He also needed to retrieve what they originally came here for.
John pulled the Pilot over to him redirecting the man's attention. "I need a weapon."
"Weapon? This is all I've got." The scruffy man handed the Spartan a pistol.
"It's enough." The Spartan replied as the Pelican violently trembled, throwing the Pilot off balance using the Spartan for balance. John waited for the man to steady before exiting.
"What? What are you going to do?!"
"Improvise." Chief replied standing at the back hatch. "Close the door." Opening the hatch only after hearing the hiss of the cockpit doors seal. John took in the floating debris from the wreckage of Infinity. The devastation hit his core, but he could not falter in this moment. Leaping out of the Pelican the Pilot began to express his concerns as Chief navigated through the fatal devastation.
"Argh, the main batteries are shut down. We are stuck out here."
Passing through the many lifeless bodies of UNSC marines. John silently assessed the Pilot's tone of voice. The man's tone was full of fear and panic, though he tried to hide most of it.
"You have one bullet, against an entire army!"
The Spartan knew that their chances of survival were slim. But one bullet was just enough in his opinion.
"What can you do on your own?" The Pilot's voice continued to doubt the Spartan.
Those words made John, think about his adopted daughter. How Samus, would explain that the odds were always against her on her solitary bounty missions. But alone, she always prevailed. "I told you... It's enough."
"So I see." The Pilot responded, still uncertain. "No, no, no! They're powering up a stasis beam. We can't escape."
That doubtful panic reminded John to see this situation through the eyes of someone who was powerless to go against a threat like the Banished.
"You work on the batteries. I'll buy us some time." The Spartan replied as he entered the alien spacecraft.
"You made it. I can't believe it!" The Pilot was shocked. "But now what? We can't go anywhere while that stasis beam is active."
"Then we shut it down." John replied, making his way through through the first deck. "Stasis beam. Weapons. All of it."
"But, how will you get back?" The man questioned, his tone now concerned.
"I'll figure something out." The Spartan replied. That phrase was often something Samus would say to him when she was uncertain, yet confident in her abilities to move forward through her mission.
Taking down the Grunts that stood in his path, Chief continued on. Hearing the Banished announcements over the ship's intercom. Announcing their capture of the Pelican in the stasis beam. They were readying troops to take care of it, by killing any survivors.
"Kill the survivors?! Chief whatever you're going to do, make it quick." The Pilot once again told the Spartan of his concerns.
Moving on through dark corridors, John stumbled into a corridor with a locked door. To his luck, or dismay, a Brute berserker ripped the door apart tossing part of it at the approaching Spartan.
The Spartan loaded the charging berserker with a spray of needles from a needler he had picked up. The Brute gave it his all before dropping dead inches from the green armoured boots.
Walking through the torn apart door Chief barely had time to round the corner before he was ambushed by ice, freezing his boots in place, before being violently tackled back down the hallway. John rolled across the floor as his attacker pushed off of him, throwing him into the wall. Lifting his head to be greeted by a charging cannon.
"Samus?"
The cannon's sickly glow dissipated as the familiar baritone voice called out the attacking bounty hunter's name.
"Chief, you're alive!" Samus greeted the Spartan with excitement and relief.
"Samus, how..." John replied picking himself up off the floor.
"My suit is resistant to heat. Although that explosion was unpleasant, it knocked me unconscious. I came out of it alive." Samus explained, handing her father figure his gun.
Taking the handed weapon the Spartan continued to question the bounty hunter. "How did you end up here?"
"Well I was captured by the Banished multiple times as I kept escaping. I guess they thought I was a Spartan, that needed to be stripped of their armour, and skewered onto a stake. The Banished seem to be very gruesome. I heard rumours that there's a trained team of Spartan killers amongst them." The teen explained, following her Spartan through the hallway into the next room.
John made no comment on the Spartan killers. Knowing Samus most likely had a fear of losing him to the Spartan assassins.
The silence was deafening, only the sounds of the ship's metal groaning, and a hologram of Atriox giving a speech broke the tension.
"That hologram, that's Atriox. The one who led the attack on Infinity. He was looking for something... He killed everyone." Echo 216 mentioned through the Spartan's helmet speakers.
"I know. We met..." John replied with venom in his tone.
"Who was that?" Samus questioned after hearing the stranger's voice.
"A pilot that rescued me, and rebooted my systems." Chief replied short. Continuing to lead the teen further into the bowels of the ship.
Samus nodded in acknowledgement. "I've tried contacting Blue Team. No response." The bounty hunter mentioned as they took down two Brutes and six Grunts. "I can't even get a response, or anything from Adam. I don't even know if my ship was destroyed alongside the Infinity, or not."
After another long moment of silence between the two while they battled further into the ship, eventually coming across an elevator. Samus hopped on first, waiting for Chief to board before activating the lift.
"Dropships, an invasion force. How do we stand a chance against all this? The Banished won already." The Pilot's frightened voice came through the Spartan's speakers. "We could be the only two humans left alive here."
"I've found a survivor amongst the Banished, on this ship. There's still hope." John replied, trying to be optimistic towards the Pilot.
"That's excellent Chief, I look forward to you both returning to the Pelican. If we get out of this alive." The Pilot's words were encouraging, yet morbid.
Samus eventually took point, leading Chief into some sort of command bridge. Where they found Escharum's hologram, giving the Banished crew, a motivational speech. Escharum spoke as if speaking to his leader, who had apparently perished. Talking of their successful dominance over the Halo ring, and the end of humanity as they knew it.
"Humanity will cower before your legacy. They will burn. Their brazen defiance will be all but a memory."
"Huh... not good." Samus thought aloud as the Banished cheered on the hologram.
"We have a new problem." Chief reported to the Pilot, as he signalled for Samus to open fire.
"We? We need to get out of here!" The Pilot scoffed.
"We're working on it." Samus replied using her plasma beam to vaporize a Brute.
"Work faster. This Pelican is nearly aboard and the power is still out. Don't let them get me." Echo 216's reply was still incredibly frightened.
"Clear!" Samus called out after wiping out most of the alien occupants in the room. "Why is that guy so panicked, did you take his gun and leave him defenceless?"
"Yes. Now scan the area while I tend to this." Chief didn't hesitate to approach the alien control panel, while his adopted daughter stood next to him scanning for movement.
"It's locked down. Requires a hack." John announced, looking around for another source of control.
"Okay. And you can do that?" The Pilot questioned the Spartan's ability.
"I..."
"No." John replied smashing the main control panel.
"You know I could've hacked that..." Samus shook her head rolling her eyes behind her visor.
"New plan. Scuttle the ship." Chief announced to the two.
"You're going to destroy this ship... with us in it?" Exho 216 voiced his concerns.
"Plan B. Blow shit up." Samus replied not making the Pilot feel any better.
"I'm going to die here."
After Chief and Samus destroyed the cooling pipes that ran to the engine. They found themselves back at the controls, ready to overload the ship's engines.
John allowed Samus to pull the lever, watching as the engines all exploded one after the other.
"Report!?"
Both Samus and Master Chief spun around to face the large hologram of Escharum.
"A Spartan? No. Something better. The Master Chief returns, with a mutant sidekick."
"Mutant sidekick? Is he talking about me?" Samus scoffed as Escharum continued to monologue.
"We thought you both dead. Tossed into the void. The other, torched, and blown apart. Yet here you both stand." The massive Brute took a good look at the two humans.
"Humans call you a saviour..." Escharum spoke to Chief. "The universe calls you, a grave threat..." he turned his gaze to the bounty hunter.
Samus scowled behind her visor, aiming her cannon at the hologram.
Chief lowered his insulted daughter's weapon, causing the War Chief to laugh.
Escharum chuckled venomously at the two. "The Banished. You're prey..."his evil laugh echoing through the Spartan's armour. "Destroy this craft if you must. It matters not." The holographic Brute shrugged with a smirk. "The Banished will hunt you down. Pursue you wherever you run!"
"Shut the fuck up. That's my job!" Samus spat at the disappearing hologram.
"Samus, enough!" John hissed, silencing his moody teen.
"Who is that? Do you know him?!" Echo 216 immediately questioned, before Samus could say anything more.
"No." Chief replied short, leading his teen out of the room.
"Well, he knows you. He knows all about you. He even seems to know your friend. Which by the way... mutant? Threat to the universe?" The Pilot scoffed, questioning the survivor Chief had found. "Please tell me the survivor you found isn't something worse than Cortana, and the Banished!?"
"He doesn't know anything about me. And neither do you, thank you very much..." Samus hissed as they ran through the exploding corridors.
"You need to hurry back here. I don't know how much longer the ship will hold together." The Pilot changed the subject, warning the father Daughter duo.
Sprinting through the exploding corridors filled with enemies, the duo was being slowed down by the constant retaliation. To add to hesitation the emergency hatches were sealing shut, locking down the damaged corridors they were running through.
Samus turned to Chief after shooting down an angry Brute. "Look, I can clear us a path. Just stay behind me. And try to keep up, I don't know how stable this ship will be during my next actions."
John wasn't to assured by the bounty hunter's words. But they really had no other choices, he just hoped Samus remembered that his armour was not power bomb proof.
Samus took a running leap, charging forward down the corridor she activated her speed booster. Running at incredibly deadly speeds, Samus tore through debris, blocked doors, and whatever unfortunate soul that decided to cross her path.
After violently riding down a lift as the ship destroyed itself. Chief and Samus ended up having to jump across burning platforms and structures as they collapsed.
Samus was impressed with how well Chief was using his grapple in this stressful situation. Giving him consistent lessons with the grapple really seemed to be paying off.
"What was that!? That sounded bad... we're running out of time!" Echo 216's panic once again rang over the com channel.
"The batteries?" Master Chief replied, getting straight to the point.
"Charging, slowly. I don't know. It's going to be close. Too close..."
It was a situation like this Samus truly wished she had the use of her own ship, so they could escape with ease. Though outrunning a self destruct sequence was practically in her DNA at this point.
Jumping down onto the next deck, the teen fired her arm cannon, vaporizing two Grunts. Before using screw attack on a Brute, stripping the alien from it's armour, blasting it through the chest with a missile. Keeping the hectic path cleared for her Spartan.
"90 seconds until a full charge. I hope the ship holds together that long. Charge faster!" The Pilot's news was settling yet the amount of time he announced on the clock was still enough to make you sweat while you waited for your fate.
Running down the fiery corridor, towards a sealed door. An explosion knocked both Spartan, and bounty hunter to the floor.
Chief helped the brightly armoured teen stand back up. She immediately took aim at the sealed door in front of them, firing a super missile, Samus obliterated the locked door. Throwing them out into the opened deck were the Pelican lay waiting to take off.
"No. No no no! Come'on!" The Pilot panicked as the Pelican roughly took off out of the hanger. While Chief and Samus were blown out of the exploding Banished ship, into the zero gravity field of death and destruction.
John grappled Samus over to him. Keeping his teen close by as they spun violently towards the floating shrapnel and floating pieces of debris. Knocking the debris out of their path with his arm, the two eventually stopped spinning, enough to gain a good look at the damaged Zeta Ring.
"Chief, are you still with me?" Echo 216's voice came through the Spartan's helmet speakers.
"We're here." Chief responded.
"Okay... give me a second. I'm coming to get you." The Pilot responded, bringing the aircraft up to the Spartan and bounty hunter. "Welcome back, Chief. Okay... let's get out of here."
Chief used his grapple to pull himself into the Pelican. Once aboard he watched as Samus did the same.
"Locate UNSC Infinity." John didn't hesitate to command the Pelican's onboard computer while the hatch sealed shut.
"UNSC Infinity. Class: Super Carrier. Crew 7,1500. Not found"
Samus stepped back out of the suddenly appearing hologram of the Infinity.
"Near-field perimeter scan." Master Chief gave the Computer the next order.
"1,986 UNSC tags detected."
A glimmer of hope sparked in the teen after hearing that they were practically surrounded by scattered UNSC personnel. Truly hoping three of those announced tags belonged to Blue Team.
"Status?" Chief questioned emotionless.
"Deceased."
Samus's heart sank at the result. She wondered if Chief felt the same way?
"Dad..."
Chief ignored his adopted daughter for the moment. Walking over to a control panel near the cockpit door.
"Armour link connection requested."
"Accept." The Spartan replied, keeping his back to the concerned bounty hunter.
"Encrypted message found."
"Read." Chief finally turned back around to face the hologram.
"Attempting to decryption..."
Samus scanned the hologram for herself wondering what her adopted father was searching for.
"Decryption failed."
"Chief..." Samus tried again to no avail.
Once again Chief didn't notice the teen calling him, his mind focused on a new objective. "Locate message source."
"Triangulation in progress..."
Samus lifted her head to see the pilot exiting the cockpit. He cautiously gazed at her before putting his full attention on the Spartan.
"Triangulation in progress."
"We're done, right Chief? If we stay out here any longer they're gonna come back. They'll find us, and kill us." Echo 216 greeted the Spartan with his many concerns.
"Pfft... we're not done here." Samus scoffed. "We're just beginning..."
"Triangulation in progress."
John stayed silent glancing at the Pilot for a second before fixing his gaze back on the hologram of the Halo ring.
"Triangulation in progress."
"What is it you're searching for?" Echo 216 questioned.
Samus's had already triangulated the location with her suit's internal computer. Rolling her eyes she strode by the two men. Hacking into the Pelican's computer system, she uploaded the coordinates.
Chief turned sharply to glare at what his teen was getting up to.
"I found the location." Samus replied, gesturing to the hologram that spun to show the new location. "I uploaded the waypoint to you."
"There's nothing there. You're looking in the wrong direction. We need to go home." The scruffy man reminded the Spartan.
"Plot the waypoint." Chief ignored the Pilot.
Samus nodded, allowing the Pelican's AI to take over once more.
"Requesting manual flight control override."
"Do it."
The Pilot finally lost his cool waving his arms through the hologram until it disappeared. Stepping in front of the Spartan. "Wait, what?!"
"Here we go..." the teen sighed, walking past the two men to the closed back hatch.
"Are you kidding me? Why would we go down there?!" Echo 216 hissed at the Master Chief.
"The Banished plan to wipe us out. All of us." Chief's tone was stern, his words straight to the point.
"And what? You think you can stop them on your own!?" The man punched the Spartan's chest plate in frustration, instantly regretting punching the brick wall.
Samus silently watched the upset man lash out at her Spartan. Emotions were running high, was this what it felt like to lose a war?
The man closed his eyes momentarily, taking a few deep breaths. "I told you, we lost." He turned back to face the unmoving Spartan. "We need help, not heroics."
"We have the help we need." John gestured to violet bioluminescent armoured teen standing behind the Pilot.
"How is one armoured little girl going to help us with an impossible situation?!" The man scoffed giving one quick glance at the alien armoured teen. "We need to run!"
"No! We do our duty." John hissed at the frantic Pilot. "Protect Humanity..."
"Whatever the cost." Samus finished her adopted father's sentence, as she approached the two.
Echo 216 sighed, walking past the teen. "I can't be the only one..."
"Entering atmosphere. Autopilot disengaging in five..." rough turbulence interrupted the Pilot. Giving John his chance to inform the Pilot of what they must do.
Walking past his teen as alarms blared and flashed. Approaching the stressed Pilot. "We have a new mission, soldier."
"What is it? What's down there?" The Pilot was still frustrated but with a hint of curiosity.
"A weapon." Chief replied bluntly.
"A weapon? How many guns do you need?!" The Pilot stepped out of the Spartan and bounty hunter's way as the back hatch opened. "You're crazy. Remind me never to pick up Spartans." He gestured to both the teen and Master Chief.
"I'm not a Spartan..." Samus mentioned to the Pilot.
"This is a terrible idea! They're coming for us! All of them!" Echo 216 continued to voice his concerns, as the alien teen leapt out of the Pelican first.
Watching a Phantom full of Banished pull up. John didn't reply to the Pilot, following his daughter out of the Pelican.
"Incoming. All directions! It's not safe." A defeated 216 warned the two warriors.
"Pull back." John ordered, as he opened fire on the hostile aliens.
"Okay, okay." The Pilot willingly pulled the Pelican away from the heated battle.
Using her unique alien arsenal, Samus easily obliterated any enemy that got in her way. The more the bounty hunter engaged in battle, the more she fuelled her urge to siphon the life out of the Banished that were threatening them. Even though the Banished were valid targets for her urges, the teen restrained herself from indulging her parasitic instincts.
"This whole place looks like it's dying."
Samus was shocked to hear Echo 216 mention the visual her and Chief were seeing. The Pilot must have been able to access a live feed from Chief's armour. The Pelican had gained access to both the Spartan and bounty hunter's armour before they landed on Halo.
"Clinging to life somehow. How is that possible." Echo 216 mentioned, seemingly calmer.
"Every ring is different." Chief mentioned firing his weapon at an oncoming Brute. Though at this point whatever he was doing during this firefight, was basically useless. As his adopted daughter quickly, and efficiently, destroyed every enemy that stepped into view.
Shooting down another Brute, Samus was able to locate an entry into the structure. "I see an entry point in the wall ahead!"
"Get yourselves in there. Get the weapon. Then we can go... right?" The Pilot replied before Chief could.
Both Samus and Chief kept silent. Only responding by actually entering the through said entry point.
Finally gaining access into what Samus assumed was a Forerunner structure. There were more Banished Brutes, Grunts, and Jackles, opening fire on them.
"Be careful. They're still coming. You really pissed them off back there." Echo 216 warned the two warriors, as more Banished surrounded them.
The teen took note that most of the Banished focused fire on the Master Chief. Transforming into her morph ball, she rolled onto the Banished side of the battlefield. Planting bombs under each preoccupied Brute, and Grunt, as those two species were not as in tune with their environment when battling. Samus knew planting a single bomb under each of them was not enough to kill the Brutes at least. But it would deal enough damage to them to bring their focus elsewhere.
Each Jiralhanae yelped in pain and anger as they each whirled around to see who was hitting them from behind. Samus transformed grappling a stunned Grunt, hurling it at one of the Brutes, who in return roared with fury. Samus open fire at each enraged opponent to keep the focus on her. Giving Master Chief the perfect opportunity to shoot each of the frustrated aliens in the back of the head.
After destroying what Banished stood in their way. The Spartan finally was able to catch up to the hunter. "Excellent work, Samus." John praised his daughter for her well executed plan.
"Oh, so you do still speak to me?" Samus scoffed, leading Chief into the next room.
Walking through the next rooms were quiet. No Banished, for the moment. No nagging Pilot chewing their ears off. The teen knew the scruffy looking man wasn't nagging them, he was full of fear. But in her opinion it seemed odd that the soldier was so eager to run home after practically losing a war. Instead of wanting to fight on, prevail, and bring peace to the galaxies. All he wanted to do was run home. Why? Maybe he had a family to protect...
John felt bad for ignoring his adopted daughter after their narrow escape from that Banished ship. He could tell the teen wasn't exactly thrilled he ignored her then. But he had his reasons. Samus would have questions he just would not be able to answer.
"I'm sorry..."
"Don't be. I'm just being stupid." The girl sighed, allowing Chief to catch up to her.
"Samus, I can't answer what you question. I know as much as you do. I don't know who escaped the attack. I don't know who survived." The Spartan decided to be completely honest with his teen, admitting he had no knowledge of the whereabouts of his team. "We're here to..."
"We're here to complete the mission we were assigned. I know..." As much as Chief was being emotionless with his explanation, Samus could hear the uncertainty and concern hidden in his tone.
"Yes. We also need to know why the Banished are on this ring." John nodded, glad the teen understood their current objective.
"But where are we going to take Cortana to be deleted, if the Infinity is gone?" Samus questioned, and judging by her adopted father's silence she assumed he had not thought of that.
John was silent as he already had a back up protocol he would follow that would delete Cortana if the moment arose.
Samus took point as they found more Banished hidden within the broken Forerunner structure. Crossing the bridge the teen almost jumped at the sound of a radio frequency emitting from her comlink.
"Look at this place! It's beautiful. But broken. Very, very, broken." The Pilot's voice finally chimed in, breaking the uncertain silence. "I need to move. There's Banished ships... everywhere."
Travelling further into the building not as many Banished appeared the further they got. The teen agreed with the Pilot. The building looked destroyed from the inside out. Yet it was still functional.
Samus sharply glared at her suddenly illuminating hand. "Odd..." she thought, there was not an enemy in sight that could of caused her Metroid power's to suddenly engage. Nor did she engage her power intentionally.
"Is... everything alright?" John asked taking note of his teen's confusion, along with her suddenly glowing arm.
"Yes. Everything is fine. Look there's a gravlift here." The bounty hunter pointed out to her adopted father.
Chief nodded, acknowledging his adopted daughter's avoidance. Stepping into the gravlift. Samus following him in closely.
"If you knew how you were going to die..."
The haunting whispers of Cortana's voice echoed through the eerie silence, as the two travelled up the gravity lift.
Samus shivered at the haunting voice piercing through her armoured body. Wondering if Chief was able to hear the voice of Cortana as well.
John was silent, but shocked by the haunting voice. Why was he hearing Cortana? Doctor Halsey had mentioned that his new armour would be unfamiliar to his former AI. The bigger question was, if he was hearing Cortana, did that mean the mission had failed? Did she evade the trap they had set for her?
"Did... did you hear that too?" Samus questioned bringing her Spartan out of deep thought.
"Yes..." John was curious as to how Samus was able to hear Cortana as well. He remembered their encounter with Cortana on Requiem. How she attempted to hack, and gain control of Samus's armour. However because of too many alien mutations within the armour, the AI was unable to gain access. Only able to deal the teen a small damaging blow, out of frustration.
Things just kept getting hauntingly odd the further they went. The next massive corridor, filled with what looked like floating tombs with glowing humanoid outlines carved into the floating tombs.
"What are those things?" Echo 216 questioned over the comlink. "This is Forerunner right? I've hear of the stories, but man... This is crazier than I imagined."
Samus scanned the floating slates as they carefully passed them on the narrow bridge. "Huh, I think from what my scans are saying they're some sort of storage unit?"
"Let's keep moving, Samus." John replied, reminding his teen to keep her focus on the mission.
"Dumb question." The Pilot's voice spoke through their speakers. "How do you know this isn't a trap?"
"We don't." Samus replied almost with a scoff, as a hologram of the Halo ring appeared in front of them.
"Great. I hope this weapon of yours is worth the risk. I'm reading multiple enemy ships heading this way. Too many. We're running out of T..." Echo 216 was suddenly cut off the moment they approached the hologram.
The Halo ring disappeared into a blue glowing orb absorbing all the energy around itself as Master Chief, and Samus, approached it.
Samus kept her guard up, making sure nothing was going to attack them. This was the big moment. The retrieval of one of the galaxies greatest threat.
"It's been six months! Where have you guys been?" a bubbly voice greeted the Spartan, as the orb transformed into a female AI.
"What happened? Where is Cortana?" John immediately questioned, ignoring the playful greeting. He also examined their surroundings, with his weapons put away.
"The rogue AI know as Cortana is gone. She's been deleted." The Weapon reported to the Spartan.
John spun around in confusion. "How? By you?"
Samus could hear the hidden fear within that question.
"Of course not. Did you hit your head or something?" Weapon replied confused by such an odd accusation.
"Well actually..." Samus snickered at the AI's comment. Receiving a sharp glare from her adopted father as he paced around the AI.
"Don't you remember? My instructions were to enter this instillation, imitate Cortana and lock her down for retrieval." The AI turned her head to the pacing Spartan. "Yours were to take her back to the Infinity for deletion."
Both Samus and her adopted father exchanged looks with each other, before bringing their attention back to the AI.
"So if it wasn't you..."
John began pacing slowly once more, his concern growing with the minimal information he was being given.
"Okay... there must be something else then?" Samus thought aloud, taking a step over to the blue AI.
"You're correct Samus. There's something else." Weapon replied to the teen, as John kept his back to them. "On successful deployment, my deletion routine was supposed to complete. Still here." The blue AI giggled uncertainly shrugging her shoulders at the teen.
"Good." John looked over his shoulder.
"Good? My programming failed, I'm not supposed to be here. You need to delete me." Weapon informed the Spartan.
Samus knew the AI was supposed to be deleted by the time they came back to retrieve her. But she secretly hoped Chief would refuse the AI's request. She had grown attached to the Weapon within the short amount of time they've known each other.
"No." Chief replied, turning to face the two ladies.
"No?" Weapon was almost confused by this reply. "I was created for one purpose, and that purpose is no longer needed. My mission is over."
"We have a new one." Master Chief took a step towards the pedestal. "The Banished are planning to fire this ring. We need to make sure they don't."
"First of all... what's a Banished?" The AI questioned. "Second, you may have noticed that a significant piece of this instillation has been damaged, making that impossible... And third, to fire this ring they would need an Activation Index. Cortana had the Index. I had pieces of it as well..."
"Something stopped your deletion. We need to find out why." Master Chief told the information spewing AI.
"But that wasn't the mission." The Weapon replied to the green Spartan.
"The mission's changed." John told the AI.
Samus smiled behind her visor. "They always do..."
Weapon gave Samus a smile, before questioning the Spartan. "Are you sure?"
John responded by pulling the vacant AI chip from the back of his helmet. Presenting it as invitation for the AI.
Samus knew this was a big moment for her adopted father even though he showed little emotion during this moment.
The Weapon gave a side glance to the teen, who nodded at her encouragingly. Smiling, eagerly touching the chip, transferring herself from the instillation, to the vacant chip.
John was hesitant for a second, placing the AI chip back into his helmet. He allowed his suit to run its course of recognizing the AI that linked with him.
Samus looked around cautiously as the whole platform lifted upwards.
"Did you do that?" Chief asked his AI.
"No. Removing me triggered a response from the ring." The AI simply replied.
"I need you to understand. There's not much time... If you knew how you were going to die... how would you live your life differently?" Cortana's haunting voice echoed once more.
"That voice. It's Cortana's." John mentioned to the AI, almost as a concerned question.
"No. It's not her. Just dust and echoes." Weapon replied.
Samus noticed Chief's stance go tense at the AI's response.
"What did you say?" The Chief's tone was almost uncertain.
"What? It's just pieces of data cycling until they run out of power. It's all around us." The AI replied simply.
"Today... I was called an emotionless automaton. They saw the faces. Seventy five healthy subjects. Hand picked by me. Perfect for the program." Now Halsey's voice could be heard echoing through the vacant space.
"Is that Halsey?" Samus wondered, confused as to why they were hearing her.
John didn't reply, he knew that Cortana was a clone of Halsey. If this is Cortana's data floating around, she retained a lot of Halsey's past memories.
"They will not all survive. I understand that, and I've made peace with that. Mostly. There is one subject that I find myself hoping does live through this. He is perfectly suited for what is coming."
Reaching the top of the lift, hearing ghostly children playing, Samus immediately took cautious aim at the small faceless hologram child running up the ramp.
John paid almost no mind to the holograms, continuing up the ramp, triggering more voices.
"He has been assigned a number. 117."
Samus followed Chief through the door, as they came upon a window.
"There's something over there. I can feel it calling out to me." Weapon announced.
"Do you know what it is?" Samus asked the AI curiously.
"Uncertain. Get me over there, and I will have more data." The Weapon replied to the teen, in her bubbly tone.
John kept silent. He had been trying to assess the whole situation. Even his own decisions were making him question himself. Rounding the corner his armour's shields lit up after getting shot by plasma pistols.
Samus immediately leapt into action using her wide plasma beam to take out the hostiles blocking the next hallway.
John squeezed the trigger on his gun finishing off the Brutes that had gotten burned by the teen's plasma beam.
"These are the Banished?" Weapon scoffed, watching the two easily take down the aliens.
"Affirmative." Chief replied shooting down a Grunt.
"They smell even worse than I imagined!" The AI commented, confusing the Spartan.
"You can... smell them?" Samus questioned aiming her canon around the next corner.
"Well, an array of sensors in Chief's armour can, and I analyze the input." The Weapon explained to the curious teen. "Chief smells fine, by the way."
The teen chuckled at that comment as they easily cleared another room of Banished. "Good to know I can sit next to him on the Pelican." Samus joked, making the AI snort with a laugh.
"That's pretty funny! Sarcasm, right?" The AI laughed at the teen's silly comment.
"If you're asking Chief, he will absolutely tell you most of my vocabulary is just sarcastic remarks." The teen continued to joke with the female AI.
John rolled his eyes behind his visor, entering the large room his AI seemed to be intrigued with.
"Look! Over there. That's the source." The AI announced when the Spartan locked his vision on the blue glowing orb.
"The bridge is out." Chief noted aloud, watching Samus shrug her shoulders at his announcement. "Why are you shrugging your shoulders at me?"
Samus stepped over to the edge of the platform with a sigh. "I can get across there easily with a space jump. Why don't you just use your grapple?"
"My grapples range doesn't go that far." John replied.
"It does if you run at it..." Samus rolled her eyes with a groan, leaning on what seemed to be a vacant power source. "Huh, looks like there's some sort of battery missing from this console."
"Yes. There may be a way to power it back up nearby." The weapon added to the teen's findings.
John took a step towards a ramp that led down to a another level. Looking over his shoulder after hear Samus leap off the platform behind him.
"I'll wait over here." The teen waved at the Spartan from the platform they were trying to connect the bridge to.
"Samus..." John glared at his cocky teen.
"I'm kidding. I'll help you find your power source." Samus laughed jumping back over to her adopted father.
As the teen walked past him, the first word that popped into Chief's head was, BRAT. Following the alien armour into a new room, he withdrew the urge to verbally express that to his adopted daughter, who was trying to make this pressing situation, lighthearted.
"Here." Samus tossed Chief a power seed that she took from a holding console. "This looks like it will light your pathway."
John caught the battery that was tossed at him unexpectedly. "You couldn't have just handed it to me?"
"What fun would that have been?" The bubbly AI chimed in.
"See, she gets it." Samus snickered leading the way back to the deactivated bridge.
"They'll pair you with another AI. Maybe even another Cortana model if Halsey let's them. It won't be me... you know that right?"
Master Chief ignored the painful memories ringing through his head. Planting the seed in the activation console, activating the bridge.
Crossing the bridge, the two warriors approached the pedestal the blue orb rested on.
John held out his hand, allowing the AI to examine the data in front of them.
As the Weapon placed her hand over the orb to absorb the data Chief pulled her away, surprising the teen.
"Is it safe?"
"I think so..." Weapon turned to look up at the golden visor. "Yes. It's safe."
Samus cocked her helm, curiously observing her hesitant Spartan place the AI onto the pedestal.
"This... this is part of me." Weapon said touching the orb, causing it to shift. "I don't know why. I don't know how, but it's me. It was the last part I remember being deleted."
"It looks like a snowflake." The teen examined the orb with youthful innocence.
"A snowflake?" Weapon smiled warmly at the acid green visor.
"Let's stay focused." Chief reminded the two.
The blue AI nodded. "Let me just..." the moment the AI touched the orb she vanished, splitting the orb into two.
The two orbs orbited the Spartan and teen.
"You are here because you were chosen." A blue hologram of Halsey walked out from behind the two. "Our enemies are getting smarter and more numerous everyday. What I am about to show you will help turn the tide of war." Halsey stopped in front of the Master Chief. "I have been working to harness the strategic power of a ship-borne AI onto the battlefield. Are you ready?"
"Yes, Doctor Halsey." John nodded.
Halsey held out a purple AI to the Spartan. "Unlike previous AI models she will reside between your mind and suit, directly communicating with your neural interface. Think of her as a new set of eyes to aid your reactions and upgrade your reconnaissance." Halsey handed Chief the purple AI.
"Chief..." Samus called, stepping behind the hologram of Halsey. She held her hand out, watching it go into the hologram's back. She pulled her hand away, watching as Chief directly relived his past in this very moment.
"She is not the driver but a way to level the playing field."
"What do I call her?" John asked.
"Ask her. She named herself." Halsey replied.
"Hello Master Chief. I'm Cortana." The purple AI introduced herself.
"Together you become our newfound hope. Together you become our key to humanity's survival." Halsey took a step closer. "She will do anything necessary to make sure that your mission is accomplished. Even if that means sacrificing herself, or you, to accomplish it."
Both holograms of the AI, and Doctor, disappeared in front of the Spartan. Revealing the alien armoured teen staring at him with concern.
John locked his eyes onto the concerned turquoise eyes behind the green visor, staring deeply into him. Those words Doctor Halsey had said to him...
"What happened?" Weapon asked changing the Spartan's train of thought. "I touched it and..."
Master Chief turned away from his teen. Turning back to the pedestal where the Weapon stood. "Was that real?"
"It's just data." The AI replied emotionless. "It's... it's just here. Cluster of recursive code." Weapon turned back to the blue orb. "But this, on the other hand... this is the frame work I used to trap Cortana. It contains a copy of the Activation Index. At least fragments of it. What should we do with it?"
"Do we need it?" Chief questioned his AI.
"Wouldn't the better question be, does the Banished need it?" Samus finally decided to speak.
Chief turned his head to the teen. Samus had a good point. Turning back to the AI he gave her a new set nod. "Do it."
Weapon smiled, enthusiastically retrieving the data. Before collapsing as if the collection sucked the energy out of her. "That was... something. Let's go."
The Spartan collected the AI, leading Samus to the room's exit. Every moment with this new AI caused him to dive deeper into distrust and fear. Causing him to inItialize a failsafe protocol within his armour.
"Did I miss something? There's a file that's been unlocked, but I don't have access to it." Weapon mentioned to the Spartan.
Chief ignored the question, changing the subject in the process. "We need a route out of here."
"Okay. Let's see. There's a breach close by. It should lead us to the surface." The AI eagerly obliged the Spartan's command.
Going through the next door, the Spartan placed the AI on the next pedestal he found.
"Just give me a second, and I'll get the bridge." Weapon told the Spartan as Samus stepped over to the edge.
"I'm reading hostile approaching. I'm going to go ahead, and clear as many as I can for you. Before the bridge is raised." Samus used her screw attack to soar across the massive room in a deadly summersault.
Before John could argue his teen was already on the other side of the room taking out the said hostiles.
Weapon watched as the teen took out the numerous enemies. "She's a sweet kid. I've never seen you without her, does she always tag along on your missions?"
"The bridge?" Chief fired his gun, trying his best to aid his teen from a far.
"Go help her. Pick me up at the next plinth." Weapon replied as she activated the bridge.
Master Chief didn't hesitate, rushing across the bridge to aid the Chozo warrior. Jogging to a halt, the Spartan was met by nothing but death. Lifeless Banished bodies littered the floor. Some burnt to a crisp, others blown into bits, while others simply died from having their life force drained from them.
"Wow, you dealt with them quickly. Not the kind to waste time are you?" Weapon commented on the approaching bounty hunter.
"Not usually, no." Samus replied, closing her glowing fist to sheath her Metroid powers.
"Noted. Let's get going." The AI smiled cheerfully at the Spartan retrieving her.
John led them through more doors, taking out any Banished along the way. Clearing out another room, the Spartan turned to his vicious looking teen that was standing over lifeless brittle husks.
"Samus?"
"Chief?" The bounty hunter gazed up at the approaching Spartan.
"You are controlling that, right?" Chief asked gesturing to his adopted daughter's glowing arm.
"Ugh... of course I am..." Samus groaned, following Chief through the massive room they just cleared.
John wasn't buying that answer. It had a hint of uncertainty in it. "I'm just making sure. I know we attempted to aid you with gaining control. But had to drop it because of this ongoing situation. We've put it off for far too long. I'm just getting worried about you possibly getting ill, since you've restrained yourself from your cravings for so long."
Cravings... that was a suitable word, Samus thought to herself.
"Oh no..." the AI diverted the Spartan's attention.
"What's wrong?" Chief questioned raising his gun.
"There's supposed to be a gravity lift here. It needs to be powered up." The weapon explained to the alert Spartan.
Samus rolled her eyes at that announcement. Going up to the power vacant consoles, one, by one. The teen used her own powerful energy to power the gravlift. "We don't have time for a look around..." The teen waved her arms at the Spartan, from where she stood, directly next to the active gravity lift.
"She's resourceful, huh? How'd she power that up without the power seeds?" Weapon said to the Spartan as they approached the lift.
"Samus, is very resourceful. Yes." Chief replied, avoiding the explanation of how the teen was able to power the system.
Stepping into the lift, the whispers and echos rang through the air.
"All space. All time. The stars, swelling. Collapsing. Ending. Serving their longer. Shorter use." The voices continued to follow the two man team through the doors. "The yearning amply fed at last. Prepared to meet you."
The riddles in the echoes puzzled the teen as she led Chief through the next door. Halting immediately as she came around the corner. Samus cautiously stepped into the next room to examine the deceased body in front of her.
Not able to see fully around the bend, Master Chief snapped his gun to attention. Preparing for whatever hostile forces lay around the corner. His helmet tilting in confusion as he found the teen knelt down examining something.
"Chief. How is... Is that a Spartan?" The AI questioned as the Spartan approached his adopted daughter. "What happened here?"
If the teen hadn't been so silent entering the room, John would've believed that Samus had ravaged this devastated room. Burn marks scorched the ground, walls, and the deceased Spartan sitting on the ground.
Samus picked up the armour enhancement that had lay next the fallen Spartan. Handing it to Chief, the teen continued to examine the Spartan.
Master Chief examined the armour upgrade in his hand, allowing the AI to scan it.
"She was carrying an enhanced shield module. Might be useful." Weapon mentioned as John reluctantly acquired it to his own armour.
"What happened?" Chief placed a gentle hand on Spartan's shoulder, getting no response.
"Spartan Bonita Stone. Recon specialist. Her vitals have been offline for nearly a month. Cause of death was an energy blade." Samus reported to her Spartan after scanning the body.
"But it wasn't a normal energy sword... something stronger. A single strike. She never saw it coming." The Weapon added, making Samus incredibly uncomfortable and fidgety.
"I saw... I-know-what..." the teen began to trip and mumble with her words.
John turned his attention from the deceased Spartan, to his teen. Sensing something was wrong. "Samus?" He called the girl as she stood up giving her head a shake before moving on through the room.
"Hmm... Samus, seems quite upset about this information." Weapon noted, as Master Chief stood up. "Perhaps she knows something that we don't?" Chief was sure the AI would've shrugged at him if she was visible.
"Perhaps." The Spartan replied, following the teen into the next set of rooms. After clearing the next few rooms of Banished. They came across an elevator that needed power.
Samus sighed, it took a lot of her energy just to power the gravlift. Doing this may completely drain her of all her energy tank reserves.
As if reading his daughter's mind, John held a hand over the console Samus was reaching for. "Samus, leave it. Save your energy. Let's search for power seeds."
"Fine." The bounty hunter replied short. Following the Spartan on the hunt for power seeds.
"What are those things?" Entering an incredibly large room full of those odd tombs with humanoid glowing carvings.
"Genetic repositories. Forerunner storage vessels." Weapon answered the Spartan's question. "Cylixes."
Samus cringed at that word. It was hauntingly close to the first enemy she ever encountered on her bounty hunting adventures. Sylux.
"How do you know this?" Master Chief questioned, following his teen across the long bridge.
"I was stuck in that room for six months surrounded by them. Let's just say they talk a lot." The AI replied as Master Chief took the power seed they had located.
Samus awkwardly caught the suddenly tossed power seed. Glaring at the Spartan who threw it at her. "Why?"
"Same reason you did it earlier." John retorted, escorting his teen back towards the elevator.
"We're on a bridge. And I have one arm to catch with." The teen raised an eyebrow behind her visor.
"Let's power this elevator." Chief said standing Samus in front of the vacant console.
The teen placed the seed in the console sending an electrical storm coursing into the elevator, that activated the control panel.
As Chief brought Weapon over to the control panel, Samus leered at the elevator as she paced around its entrance. Scanning it with her narrowed eyes, the elevator looked mysteriously Banished in nature.
"This isn't Forerunner. The lift identifies as Banished." The blue AI answered the teen's suspicion.
"Can you operate it?" Chief questioned as Samus examined the elevators surrounding area.
"In my sleep. Not that I sleep..." Weapon replied as the elevator activated before she could. "Oh... I don't need to. It's already on it's way down."
Samus's head snapped upwards locking her vision on the descending elevator. "Incoming!"
"But what if it's a friend?" The AI said, showing her innocence.
"I've tried that making friends technique in my past. It wasn't so successful during a war." Samus replied aiming her charged cannon at the elevator entrance.
"It isn't friendly." John added, retrieving Weapon as Samus opened fire on the biggest target in the elevator. Ignoring the Jackals surrounding the Brute.
The warlord Brute leapt out of the elevator with the help of a jetpack. Landing directly next to the bounty hunter. "Escharum's orders are that you should be brought before him!" The Warlord threatened the Spartan. Turning to the teen with a venomous smile painted across his brutish face. "He did not specify in how many pieces."
The Brute did not hesitate to open fire on the Spartan, despite the deadly bounty hunter's presence being right next to him.
John's shields depleted immediately as he took not only bullets from the Warlord. But from the surrounding Jackal as well, quickly overwhelming the Spartan.
Samus tackled the huge Brute to the ground taking away his ability to shoot her adopted father.
Chief took the brief opportunity to take down the Jackals that attempted to divert his attention from the Brute Warlord.
Leaping off the irate Warlord, Samus fired her plasma beam at the now charging Brute. Dodging the spray of bullets he threw at her as he charged. The teen ran backwards backing herself into a corner in the process.
"Chief, I think Samus needs your help!" Weapon told the Spartan as he shot down the last Jackal.
Samus leapt at her attacker, transforming into her morph ball she rolled in between the Brute's legs. Transforming the teen fired a charged round directly into Tremonius's back, frying the Warlord's shields.
"Or maybe not..." The AI commented after watching Samus escape the corner she was backed against.
"Samus, fall back." John ordered as he opened fire upon the enraged shieldless hostile.
Samus surprisingly listened to the Spartan's orders. Jumping next to Master Chief's side, she joined him in raining painful bullets upon the charging foe. One last charge shot from Samus's plasma beam destroyed the Brute in a fiery blaze, as his jetpack fried in the process of the fatal blow.
"You were right. He was not friendly. By the looks of him he was some sort of leader. They call him Tremonius." The Weapon did a quick scan of the deceased Warlord.
"Not anymore." Both Samus and Master Chief made the sarcastic remark in the exact same moment.
"That's almost funny." The AI laughed.
"It's actually really funny. Especially coming from Chief." Samus gave her adopted father a playful nudge.
"Get on the elevator." Chief gave Samus a gentle shove towards the elevator.
"On my way! I repeat, multiple Banished craft are converging on your location. They're coming for you!" Riding the lift to the surface, Echo 216's voice spoke through broken static.
"Sierra 117, understood." Chief responded.
"I've been trying to reach you. You guys vanished. I thought I was on my own... Okay, I got your location. On my way, be ready." The Pilot replied, clearly thankful to hear the Spartan's voice.
The lift led the three into a a cavern. Rounding the corner they were greeted by another Cylix.
"Another Cylix. But this one's open. What do you think was in it?" The AI questioned upon scanning the empty capsule.
Scanning the area with his eyes, weapon at the ready, John replied to the AI with little emotion. "Another problem."
"Why so cynical?" Weapon said as they continued through the cave.
"Yeah, who knows it might be something good. I mean, I'm doubtful. But there's a possibility it could be." Samus added to the AI's optimism.
"Trust me you two, it won't be." John assured the two, as they wondered through the built in Banished building into a large hanger. "How do we get out of here?"
"Probably this." Samus gestured to a terminal she stood next to.
"Samus, is correct. That terminal over there." The AI agreed with the bounty hunter.
John sighed, allowing the AI to take over the terminal. Samus was getting along great with this new AI. He just hoped that his teen didn't grow too attached to the Weapon.
"Just give me a second. I should be able to get control from here..." the AI said as she took over the terminals controls. A massive hologram of Escharum appeared.
"So...Tremonius has fallen. A victim of the Master Chief's might."
Chief collected the AI while the War Chief continued to monologue.
"Don't fool yourself. He was not the best of the Banished. Not by any measure." The hologram turned to face the cautious Spartan. "It occurs to me that we have not been introduced. I, of course, know of you, Spartan. Your legend. The fear you inspire is admirable. The hope you stir in the hearts of your kind... misplaced."
Samus stepped out of the shadows, standing closely to the listening Spartan. She wanted nothing more than to shut that threatening Brute up for good. Deep down the Brute's confidence, made her worry about what dangers the War Chief would throw at her adopted father.
"I want you to know my name too. To know my legend. How else will you beg me for mercy?" The venomous smirk on the War Chief's face made the teen's arm ignite a sickly magenta glow. "I am Escharum. War Chief of the Banished. This is my world now. And you have little time remaining in it."
John turned hearing sounds from behind, as the entire room behind him illuminated as the massive hatch lowered, opening to the surface of the ring.
Samus restricted her enraged Metroid powers, following Chief to the opening. Ignoring the wave of nausea that came along after her refusal. The sights ahead were beautiful, and terrifying at the same time.
"Wow. Look at this place. It's so... full of more monsters coming to kill us." The Weapon tried to admire the scenery as a Banished dropship flew over them.
Samus nodded with a laugh. "That about sums it up." Stepping into the opening the teen knew she could easily power bomb everything in this area. If she didn't put Chief and other possible humans at risk.
"You're gonna need to clear me somewhere to land." Echo 216 told the three.
"There's a Fob up ahead that has been captured by the Banished. Let's do something about that." Weapon marked a waypoint for the two.
That was exactly what the two super soldiers did. Master Chief took out any aliens that dared to challenge him. But at that point it didn't take much effort to kill the stragglers left behind. As Samus, easily levelled the battlefield all on her own. If they hadn't have been in a real battlefield during a war, John was sure the teen would have surpass records in the training simulators. Maybe even his own.
"Clear." Samus announced from one of the platforms.
"Excellent job, Samus." John walked over to his teen who was standing next to a terminal. Allowing his AI to take control of the FOB.
"Let me see. The Banished are using a modification of the Covenant's battle net protocol." The blue AI brought up a hologram during her explanation. "Pretty easy to push through and... done! I removed this location from their system. We're safe here."
"LZ secure." Master Chief contacted the Pilot, as Samus wondered around the landing pad.
Samus looked up as the Pelican rounded the corner, soaring over to the landing pad. She gave a deep sigh, approaching the Pelican with the Spartan.
Echo 216 eagerly exited the Pelican with a smile. Getting down on his knees to praise the ground underneath him. "Solid ground!" The scruffy man gratefully kissed the floor. "As good as this feels. Please tell me we can go." Echo 216 gazed up at the Spartan and bounty hunter. "Did you find the weapon you were looking for?"
Chief simply held out his hand, allowing the blue AI to reveal herself.
Weapon gave a friendly wave to the man. "Hi!" Her greeting causing the man to scurry away.
Samus stepped back as the man jumped past her to hide behind the Pelican.
"Agh! What the!" Echo 216 gasped, hiding behind the Pelican's landing gear. "Cortana? But she... this is all her fault!"
"It isn't Cortana." Master Chief reassured the scared man. "Tell him."
"But it's classified?" Weapon looked up at the Spartan with uncertainty.
"Permission granted." Chief granted the AI permission to speak freely.
Weapon shrugged turning back to look at the shaken Pilot. "I was created by Doctor Cathrine Halsey to mimic this installation's security to trap Cortana for deletion. I was successful."
Master Chief approached the Pilot. "Cortana's no longer a threat. Now she's going to help us stop the Banished."
Giving a deep sigh, Echo 216 nodded. "Of course she is." He scoffed.
"I think I'm with you. I didn't even know what a Banished was an hour ago and even I can see the odds aren't great!" The Weapon mentioned.
Samus shook her head with an eye roll, wondering where the AI's optimism went.
"Yes! Yes. You should listen to her. You're gonna get us killed." The Pilot now stood in front of the Spartan and AI.
"This is fascinating. You're trying to survive... but I was programmed to die."
"Really? One person with a death wish wasn't enough?" The man scoffed shaking his head.
"No.. I was just figuring out what I am supposed to..."
Samus stood idly by, scanning for signals while the three talked as if she didn't exist. This dwindling conversation was about to make her presence very known to the three conversing beings.
"I'm picking up a distress signal." The teen gained their attention.
"A UNSC distress signal to be exact." Weapon added to the bounty hunter's announcement.
"Location?" Chief immediately asked.
"It's four kilometres from here." Samus replied, sending her adopted Father the coordinates. "There are more UNSC Forward Operating Bases that have fallen into Banished hands... claws... paws... whatever the hell they have."
"Mark it. Let's go." Master Chief said, entering the Pelican. Focused on nothing but ending this war.
"Let's go? What?" The Pilot gazed over at Samus, who approached him.
"The odds are never in our favour. It's our job to overcome the impossible, protect the galaxy, and prevail. Come'on." The alien teen said, as she escorted the Pilot into the Pelican.
"Ugh... I can see that is all that you two are focused on. Who are you anyway?" Echo 216 looked over his shoulder at the alien armoured teen.
A rarity, a UNSC soldier that was unfamiliar with her legacy. "I'm an independent bounty hunter. But at this moment, I am an asset to the UNSC. Now let's start this bird." Samus avoided giving away her identity to the nameless Pilot. Until he revealed his identity she did not care to reveal hers.
As the Pelican took off, both Samus, and Master Chief stayed by the open hatch.
The teen sat on the edge of the ramp, taking in the gorgeous view. "It's so beautiful."
"To some." John commented, holding out his hand for the AI to stand and take in the view as well.
Samus looked over her shoulder at her adopted father. "Takes a lot for your old eyes to see the beauty in something?"
Chief exhaled deeply, tipping his helmet to glare at the sitting bounty hunter. "That's... very funny, Samus..."
The AI gave a small giggle, as a thought crossed her mind. "I have a question. I was created to lock down Cortana, but I don't know why. What did she do that was so wrong?" Weapon gazed up at the emotionless Spartan.
Samus had been scanning for her ship. But was curious to see what Chief's response would be. It was a touchy subject for him. Even she didn't know the devastating details of what her adopted father went through, having to cope with his best friend going through torturous rampancy. Then to watch as the rogue AI wreaked havoc across the galaxy. Chief must've been full of anxiety having this new Cortana model.
John's body tensed at that question. He didn't fully trust this AI. Another Cortana model. As innocent as the AI seemed, he feared that she had the potential to become corrupt and power hungry like Cortana.
"She was our target."
Weapon gave a soft smile to the Spartan. "I understand that, but... is this classified? Because I don't have all the information."
Before Master Chief could respond the Pelican rocked viciously with Echo 216's voice coming over the radio.
"Chief. This is insane. I see Banished everywhere. Did you hear me?! Everywhere!"
"What intel did Doctor Halsey give you before your mission?" The AI pressed on.
"Halsey only tells people what they need to know." Master Chief replied, slightly cold with his tone. Hoping the AI would get the hint to stop digging.
"Could say the same thing about you..." Samus mumbled, while Echo 216 complained about the danger they were flying into.
The AI stared at the teen behind her. Clearly overhearing the teen, just as Chief had.
"I still don't understand why you had to delete her. It feels like something's missing." Weapon thought aloud.
"Guess what?! We have armoured Banished structures ahead. Very heavily armoured!" the Pilot complained as the turbulence got worse.
"It'll have to wait I suppose." The AI shrugged as she retreated back into the Spartan's armour.
John stepped next to his teenager, who stood up next to him. Secretly wishing he had spent this small respite questioning his adopted daughter about her recent behaviours. Instead of trying to keep this new AI from finding out why Cortana had to be destroyed.
"How close can you get us?"
"How close? We're unarmed, and you're asking me how close?!" The Pilot scoffed at the Spartan's question.
"Put us down here!" John replied as he did not want to put the Pilot at anymore risk than he had to. And it was a way to hopefully escape Echo 216's complaining for a while.
"Here? We're still doing this?" Echo 216 sighed, decreasing the Pelican's altitude. "Hope this works. Because this as good as it's gonna get."
"It's close enough." Samus replied, leaping out of the Pelican, closely followed by Master Chief.
"It better be. I'm getting out of here." The Pilot replied, quickly piloting the Pelican away from the two.
"We're close to the UNSC signal's origin." Weapon announced.
"Source?" John asked, scanning the area with his assault rifle.
"Unclear. There's just too much chatter on the Banished channels. I keep hearing, The Tower. It's probably the main structure we saw as we flew in."
"That's where we're going then." Samus said, leading the Spartan towards their objective.
The path to the Tower was quiet for the moment. The Banished forces lay scattered in the valley below.
Master Chief took this brief moment of silence to question the girl, before enemies started shooting at them. And before this new AI began to ask questions again. Chief wondered why Samus was being more silent than usual around him. It would be best to question her now, as he did not know when the next opportunity would arise.
"Samus?"
The teen responded by briefly looking over her shoulder, signalling that she was actively listening.
"Are... you alright?" The Spartan asked as if it were an awkward question.
The bounty hunter sighed heavily. Knowing the questioning would come eventually. But she did not expect it to come this soon. Nor did the teen expect her adopted father to ask the question so awkwardly, even though he had asked her that many times in the significant amount of time they've know each other.
John sighed in reply to Samus's reaction. "I'm sorry. Just wondering. You don't seem like yourself." He apologized as they descended the massive hill, to climb the mountain ahead.
"I'm worried." The teen replied short, but honest.
"We're going to get through this, Samus." The Spartan reassured the teen.
Samus didn't reply. She was trying to be optimistic, for the most part. But with what she went through, during her capture with the Banished. Most of her confidence in this losing war, had been demolished. The thought of bringing up her concerns about the rest of Blue Team made her heart quiver. The mere mention of Spartan murderers made her overly concerned for their missing teammates. Especially after witnessing Spartans being slaughtered during her capture.
Though his words were reassuring, Chief recognized that Samus, was not at all comforted by his words. "What's going on, Samus?" John placed a hand on the teen's shoulder plate, halting her movements.
"Nothing..."
"I find that hard to believe..."
"Are we really going to do this now, while we're trying to get to a distress beacon?" The bounty hunter groaned at the Spartan.
"If not now, then when, Samus?" John replied with an almost agitated tone.
Samus groaned with an eye roll. Pushing forward up the mountain.
"Samus?" The Spartan called, jogging up to his reluctant daughter. In her eyes he was surely a nagging pain. But to him, his adopted daughter was the only being that he could entirely give his full trust to. The AI, and Pilot, were allies. Merely acquaintances at the moment. With Blue Team MIA, Chief had no one else to turn to. Except for his beloved foundling.
"I'm scared." Samus halted as they crested the top of the mountain. "Where are they, Dad..."
Father? Weapon was about to speak. But withheld her comment, allowing the two to finish conversing.
Master Chief paused behind the teen, briefly gazing into the vast valley behind them. "I don't know..." he approached his teen. "All we can do is hope. Hope that they escaped the Infinity safely. They should've landed on this ring somewhere."
"We've had no contact with them before the attack, and after the attack... I don't even know if I have a ship anymore. I've heard nothing from Adam. Not even a signal of static." The teen understood her adopted father's very probable theories. But she feared that her AI, and gunship may become a science project for the Banished.
"We'll find them, Samus. We just have to focus on the universe's safety first." Chief cupped a hand on the girl's shoulder plate. "We cannot allow the Banished to fire this ring. We also have to investigate what the Banished have released on this ring. Do you understand?"
Samus softly nodded in acknowledgement. "I understand."
John gave a nod of approval, allowing Samus to continue on leading the way down the mountain.
"I didn't know Samus was your daughter. When did you find the time to have a child in between all the battles you've fought?" The Weapon finally commented curiously.
"I didn't." John replied short.
Weapon was a bit confused now. "Then why..."
"Samus, was a foundling I rescued from a derelict planet, that had been invaded by the Covenant. My team, and I, have been raising her for six years." The Spartan gave the curious AI a brief explanation of his history with the young warrior.
"Oh, so you adopted a battle buddy!" The bubbly AI thought aloud.
"Samus, is much more than just a worthy ally on the battlefield..." John was almost insulted by the AI's words.
"I'm sorry. I think I understand now. Although you're not related biologically. You see Samus, as family. As your daughter, to be exact." Weapon reanalyzed her approach on the touchy subject.
Although Chief completely agreed with his new AI. They needed to stay focused. "How far is the Tower?"
"2 kilometres, the waypoint is on your HUD."