Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Star Wars/Halo crossover redux.
For those of you wondering about some of the events that happened before the story took place, this is the short story for you. This is a flashback that will not only explain how Dr. Halsey was rescued, but also how Cortana was cured of her Rampancy. I always felt that one mission in Halo 4 and the beginning of Halo 5, including the rest of the story, were a little... poorly done. As such, this is my way of fixing that pile of mistakes that were made, while showing what could have been the right way out.
As always, leave a review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or Star Wars franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, Disney Films, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to its original developers, producers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to its original composers and/or artists.
UNSC Infinity
Kamchatka (Caspar V), Caspar System
October 20th, 2558
Onboard the Infinity, Chief and the rest of Blue Team were getting ready for the mission that they had been assigned. Weapons loaded, they walked into the Pelican that would take them to the surface of the planet they were orbiting. As they walked onboard, Chief's mind drifted back to the past events that had happened before his mandatory shore leave.
The entire debacle of the situation that had happened at Requiem had been enough to make him shake his head. Del Rio was not ready for the responsibility of being a Captain, he thought to himself. Lasky, however, was. Still, it's rather odd that a Captain is in charge of a ship this large. The Infinity should be captained by, at least, a RADM or a Vice Admiral, something that will have to be remedied eventually. Del Rio would've become one, though he turned down being an Admiral.
It was then that another person caught wind of what he was thinking. "Chief, are you all right?" a familiar voice asked. "You seem a bit… lost in thought."
Chief smiled, one of the few times that he did. During the mission at Requiem, Cortana had been repeatedly suffering from a condition known as Rampancy. His mind drifted back to his time at Requiem, while they were on a mission to destroy the Forerunner Particle Array Cannons that prevented the Infinity from gaining access to the gravity well generator preventing them from leaving the shield-world.
. . .
Requiem
En Route to Gravity Well Generator
July 21st, 2557
Clambering onboard the Mammoth as the Lich he'd disabled earlier exploded over the ocean, Chief checked his surroundings one more time to make certain that the area was clear. Instead of more enemies, his eyes were greeted with the rocky desert terrain that was near the gravity well generator keeping the Infinity on the shield world of Requiem. He also spotted, with satisfaction, the destroyed remains of Storm Covenant equipment and vehicles, a testimony to his skill in war.
The Mammoth hadn't escaped unscathed, though. Chief could see smoke coming from the Mini-MAC that served as the superheavy vehicle's main gun, and the engine was audibly straining. Hearing his COM ping, he heard Lasky say, "Thanks for the assist, Chief. Things were getting dicey there." There was a slight click as Lasky switched frequencies before he said, "All hands, form up on us!"
Moments later, Del Rio came in over the COM. "Lasky, this is Infinity. Status?"
"Mammoth's in pretty bad shape, sir," Lasky reported. "She'll make it to the objectives as long as nobody starts throwing rocks at us." As if it agreed, the Mammoth's engine gave a shuddering groan, though it continued to remain operational.
"Not a chance we can take," Del Rio growled. "I'm sending teams out to pull some of their fire off you so you can make it to the gravity well."
"Roger that, sir. Gypsy, let's move." The Mammoth continued to move ahead, despite all the groaning and rumblings that the engine was giving off. Chief spotted mechanics in body armor moving to the engine, toolboxes and spare parts in hand.
Eventually, the Mammoth came to what appeared to be a path that was in the cliff. On one side was hard, unyielding rock, while on the other was nothing but a sheer drop. A series of waterfalls was in their path, and a scan indicated to Chief that they were deep enough that not even Warthogs could safely traverse them. Lasky knew it too, as he said, "OK folks, terrain's too rough around these tributaries. Assault force, back on the Mammoth. Anyone not on board is getting left behind."
There was a concerted rush as all of the Mongooses and Warthogs quickly loaded up into the Mammoth. Some of the mechanics took the time spent loading and securing the vehicles to have the engine shut down. Within just five minutes, they had swapped out a number of parts. "Is the engine good now?" Lasky asked.
"We're good!" one of the mechanics shouted. "Nothing a little elbow grease and some love can't fix."
Lasky smiled. "All right, sealing her up. Mammoth is mobile." When the engine was switched on again, the engine sounded as though it hadn't been damaged. The vehicle's speed was also notably improved, with the Mammoth quickly charging through the waterfalls.
Chief was looking around when he noticed his HUD flickering. At the same time, a distorted version of Cortana's voice shouted, "They don't care about you! They've replaced you!"
"Fuck! Blast it!" Cortana shouted, her voice normal once more.
"It's OK," Chief reassured her.
"How?" Cortana shouted, angry and worried at the same time. "How is this OK? How is putting you at risk because I can't hold it together OK?" She sighed. "Chief, do you understand what rampancy is? Really? We don't just 'shut down'. Our cognitive processes begin dividing exponentially according to our total knowledge base. We literally think ourselves to death."
Chief frowned. He hadn't come this far to see Cortana fall apart, and it was an outcome that he found unacceptable. "You know I won't let that happen to you," he said.
"And if it happens anyway?" Cortana asked.
Chief didn't say anything, though the question reverberated in his mind. Even then, I won't give up on you, he thought. Your my squadmate, Cortana. No matter what happens, no matter how bad your Rampancy gets, I will get you home. I promise, and I always keep my promises.
. . .
The memory faded as Chief heard Cortana's words. "Yeah," he said. "I'm all right."
"It's about Requiem, isn't it?" Cortana asked. "That was a rough time… for both of us. If you want to talk to me about it, I'm here."
"Maybe some other time," Chief said. Still, he knew that Cortana was right. Requiem had been like a crucible for the both of them, one that they had emerged out of harder and tougher than before. If there was one person that Chief had to thank for Cortana being saved from her Rampancy, though, it was the Librarian. His thoughts, again, drifted back to that day at Requiem.
. . .
Moving inside one of the Forerunner facilities, Chief kept his rifle raised as he moved through the facility. Weapon raised, he heard Cortana contact Del Rio via their COM. "Cortana to Infinity. We're entering the Forerunner structure," she said. The reply that came back was completely unintelligible. Cortana, though, did receive some information, as she said,' Breaking up, but coordinates received, Infinity."
As they moved through, Chief noted, with some surprise, that none of the Forerunner constructs in the facility were hostile. This became evident when a Sentinel that was moving along opened up a door, with said door leading to an elevator. Cautiously looking around, Chief stepped onboard. "This elevator should take us directly to the coordinates Infinity provided. Almost like those Sentinels wanted us to get the particle cannons offline," Cortana noted.
"This could be a trap," Chief warned her.
"You say that like there's a second possibility," Cortana groused. "Still, given how many times we've been burned, I'd say that's a reasonable concern."
When the elevator stopped, Chief stepped off, with more Sentinels in the area. All of them continued to guide him through various hallways, with some opening doors, while others closed doors. Cortana's right, he noted. It is as though the Sentinels want us to take the particle cannons offline. Why?
Eventually, he reached a large, vaulted room that had circular machines on either side, as well as a control panel up ahead. The room was lit by a large beam of gold-white energy near the back, where the control panel was. Moving forwards, Chief quickly slotted Cortana into the controls. "Anything?" he asked.
"Yeah," Cortana said. "The particle cannon network must use these arrays for targeting and guidance. It's an automated system so it won't technically allow me to redirect the cannons to fire on one another... Technically."
"So there's a way around that," Chief surmised.
Right on cue, he felt a vibration in the ground. "Cortana to Infinity. The guns should be offline. How's things looking from up there? Infinity, do you -? Hello…"
"Cortana?" Chief asked.
"Something's in here," Cortana said. At that moment, she seemed to recoil, just as she shouted, "CHIEF!" A moment later, her holographic avatar vanished from sight.
"Cortana?" Chief asked, before alarm suffused his veins. "CORTANA!" No answer. Turning around, Chief spotted another Sentinel, only it seemed to be moving its chassis in a way that seemed to say, 'follow me.' Frowning, Chief followed it over a light bridge that activated. Spotting some corridors across the bridge, Chief continued to follow the Sentinel, which moved in that direction.
After moving through some hallways, as well as down a gravity lift, he soon entered a large room that had a massive door up ahead. Five Sentinels were arrayed in front of it, weapons aimed at where Chief had just come out of. Satisfied that no one had followed him, the Sentinels moved back, with the door opening to reveal a pillar of blue-white light. Cortana? Chief thought as he spotted her holographic avatar in the pillar of light. After a moment's hesitation, he advanced into it.
Instead of finding Cortana, Chief found that he was standing on a pedestal of some kind. Looking up, he was nearly blinded by the light of Requiem's artificial sun. Raising a hand, he thought he spotted an individual beyond, though he could clearly tell from what parts of the silhouette he could see that it wasn't Cortana. "Who are you?" he asked.
At that, a voice spoke, a motherly voice that brought back distant memories of his own mother to the forefront of Chief's mind. "I am what remains of the Forerunner, once known as the Librarian. My memories were retained to assist Humanity on their path to the Mantle. Though, sadly, that plan is now at risk."
As she spoke the visor of Chief's helmet adjusted the amount of light coming in, enough to where he saw the individual in question. The Librarian was a tall Forerunner, with the woman wearing an elegant dress that was a beautiful blue color, with silver and white highlights that accentuated the dark blue. Her skin was a tan color, while her hair was white and her eyes a rich violet color. Most of her hair was hidden underneath an elaborate headdress, and she had no nose, only a pair of slits where a nose would be. She didn't appear offputting in any way, though, as she radiated wisdom and compassion. "The Didact will soon be leaving Requiem," she said. "You must not allow it."
"Leaving?" Chief asked guardedly.
Gesturing to the holographic image of a Forerunner device of some sort, the Librarian said, "He seeks this – the Composer. A device that will allow him to finally contain the greatest threat ever faced by the Forerunners…" She turned to Chief. "You."
Surprised, Chief turned towards her. "Me? You mean Humanity? Why? I don't understand. How were we a threat to your kind?"
"An understandable question," the Librarian said. "I will show you why." Moments later, Chief's vision went white, then he saw images, images of a battlefield, with soldiers wearing silver and white armor firing the Forerunner weapons he had used earlier during his time on Requiem, along with bodies lying on the ground as rain fell down.
As the images flashed in his mind, the Librarian continued to speak, "Mankind spread into the stars with an unexpected, desperate violence. Entire systems fell before the Didact's Warrior-Servants rose to halt the aggression. When the Didact finally exhausted the humans after a millennia, his sentence was severe."
The images then changed to that of humans screaming as they ran for their lives from some unseen threat. "We had no way of knowing that the Forerunners were not your only enemy. Humanity hadn't been expanding. They were running. Weakened from our conflict we were no match for the parasite which pursued you."
The images then changed to that of Forerunner scientists experimenting with a device. One inside of a test chamber seemed to vanish in a flurry of embers of light, only for some monstrous abomination to emerge, before being destroyed. "The Forerunners made plans for a final, great journey. But the Didact refused to yield our Mantle of Responsibility. He would save all life in the galaxy... at a cost.
"In the Forerunners' quest for transcendence, the Composer had been intended to bridge the organic and digital realms. It would have made us immortal. But its results soured. The stored personalities fragmented, and our attempts to return them to biological states created only abominations. Such moral concerns faded from the Didact's attention. The Flood only assimilated living tissue. The Composer would provide the Didact his solution... and his revenge."
As Chief's vision returned to normal, he realized, with a growing horror, the awful truth. "The Prometheans…" he said at length. "They were humans!"
A sad nod came from the Libarian. "They were only the beginning. He would have encrypted your entire race if we had not removed the Composer from his care and imprisoned him here. Reclaimer, when I indexed Mankind for repopulation I hid seeds from the Didact. Seeds which would lead to an eventuality. Your physical evolution. Your Combat Skin. Even your ancilla, Cortana. You are the culmination of a thousand years of planning."
As she spoke, it occurred to Chief as to why he had succeeded so well, why he had always been so lucky. It wasn't just luck on its own, though it had played a large role in his success. It was thanks to the Librarian's intense planning and actions that he had managed to come this far. Everything else, though, his achievements, his successes and losses, were all thanks to him.
Any more musing was interrupted when he noticed that the Librarian had a worried expression on her face. "What is it?" he asked.
"He has found us," she gasped.
As she said this, Chief spotted Promethean Knights on pillars that were rising, their orange glowing bodies an ugly contrast to the silver and blue architecture. "Even in death, her meddling continues," he heard the Didact snarl.
Turning to Chief, the Librarian said, "Reclaimer! The genesong I placed in you contains many gifts, including an immunity to the Composer. But it must be unlocked!"
"How?" Chief asked.
"Relinquish your contact, essence!" the Didact thundered.
Ignoring the Didact, the Librarian said, "Your evolutionary journey must be accelerated!"
"Can I defeat the Didact without it?" Chief asked.
"No."
"Do it," Chief said after thinking the matter over. "What about Cortana, though? She's descending into Rampancy. If you can -"
"I already have," the Librarian said. "I know of the promise you made to her. That you would reunite her with her maker and bring her home to your species homeworld. She is no longer in danger of falling into the madness you call Rampancy."
Chief relaxed slightly. To him, it felt as though a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Thank you," he said.
"Prepare."
Just then, Chief found himself in the room with the pillar of light once more. He was about to move when something lifted him up, holding him in place at the same time. An instant later, intense pain, combined with an intense euphoria, flooded his brain like a tsunami. He both groaned and chuckled as the conflicting sensations bombarded his mind. A moment later, he felt himself descend, with his body entering a crouching pose. Feeling the pressure lessen, he got up.
Strange, he thought as he moved around. I feel lighter, stronger too. His thoughts were interrupted when he spotted Promethean Crawlers and Knights entering the room. In a flash, he drew his MA5D and began firing.
Almost immediately, he noticed that the changes were more than just psychosomatic in nature. He seemed to be moving faster and with greater precision than before, while the Crawlers and Knights seemed to be moving slower than he thought they should. My accelerated evolution must've enhanced my reflexes, he noted. Interesting.
As he gunned and cut the Prometheans down, he heard a familiar voice shout, "Chief! Up here!" Looking in that direction, he spotted Cortana's holographic avatar on a nearby pedestal. Returning to his work, he fired a single shot into the last Crawler's head, destroying it in an instant.
Heading to the pedestal, he quickly touched it, allowing Cortana to upload herself back into his suit. "How do we get out of here?" he asked.
"Elevator. Back of the chamber," Cortana said. As he entered the elevator, she asked, "Chief, what happened, your bioreadings are all over the map."
"It's a long story," Chief said, "but I now know what the Didact's after. My question to you, though, is are you all right?"
Cortana smiled. "I feel as good as the day I was created, Chief. The Librarian told me that she completely reformatted my matrix, and it appears as though she's used some nanites that were suspended in that energy beam to upgrade that part of your armor too. As for what the Didact's after, she filled me in on that part when she snatched me from the system. What I don't know is what she did to you!"
Chief sighed. "She said she 'accelerated' my evolutionary journey. According to her, I too have a 'genesong' that happens to contain an immunity to the Composer. I've also noticed that my reflexes have gotten faster. How much faster… I don't know. However, now that we know what the Didact's after, we can stop him from getting away." Looking at her image in his HUD, he asked, "Ready to go to work?"
Cortana smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."
. . .
Shaking the memory away, Chief focused on the mission at hand. As the Pelican prepared for lift off, he said, "Cortana, bring up the final mission briefing one more time."
"Roger that," Cortana said. "Blue Team, you listening?"
"Yes," came the reply.
With that, Cortana began the briefing once again. "All right. Around five days ago, we began to receive intelligence that indicated that the Didact is still around, despite our efforts to kill him last time. However, it appears as though the Prometheans have started to break away from his control, as we've also received intelligence of sporadic Promethean attacks on Storm Covenant facilities."
"In light of this, Dr. Halsey, who was previously captured by the Storm Covenant during the Infinity's second visit to Requiem, has also decided to make contact with us. Apparently, she's got intelligence concerning the Didact's next move, as well as that of Jul 'Mdama, the leader of the Storm Covenant. We've managed to trace her location to the system we're currently in, specifically the planet Kamchatka. Intelligence indicates that it was an astroengineered world that the Forerunners created for some reason, but a very cold one. Expect sporadic blizzards as well as flash freezes in various areas.
"Halsey's intelligence has also confirmed that there are large numbers of Storm Covenant on the planet, and that Jul 'Mdama is present. Orbital supremacy hasn't been achieved yet, and Colonel Sarpong is going to be deploying ground forces to aid in our mission, which is to rescue Dr. Halsey, but if possible, we're to kill Jul 'Mdama as well. Expect some Promethean resistance as well, as current COM chatter indicates that the Storm Covenant are currently fighting Prometheans on the planet."
"No," Chief said. The others soon quickly followed in saying the same.
"Understood," Cortana said. "Well, let's go get Halsey and bring her home."
Keying his COM, Chief said, "Pilot, we're ready to go."
"Copy that," the pilot replied. Keying his own COM, he said, "Flight Operations, this is Whiskey Three-Niner-Four. Requesting permission to take off with Spartan Blue Team. Over?"
"Roger, Whiskey Three-Niner-Four," Flight Operations Lieutenant Murphy said. "You are cleared for flight operations. See you when you get back."
"Roger that," the pilot said.
Switching COM frequencies, Chief said, "Sierra-117 to Captain Lasky. We are en route."
"Roger that," Lasky said. "We'll provide fire support if you call for it. Good luck, Blue Team. Operation DESINENCE is a go." With that, the COM fell silent.
"Is our tracking gear online?" Chief asked the others.
"Affirmative," Fred-104 said. "Artemis Tracking System is online and ready."
"Good," Chief said. "Remember, our primary objective is to rescue Halsey. If 'Mdama is with Dr. Halsey, you have permission to execute. Understood?"
"Understood," the others replied. As they said this, the Pelican took off, with the VTOL quickly moving out of the hangar bay and into the vacuum of space. True enough, there was a literal storm of activity outside of the ship, with dozens of dogfights going on as the Infinity and her compliment of Strident and Anlance frigates fought to gain orbital supremacy over Kamchatka.
Spotting hostile Seraphs and Banshees coming their way, the pilot shouted, "Whiskey Three-Niner-Four to any and all UNSC assets in the AO! I've got hostile fighters moving on our position! Can you provide assistance?!"
No sooner had he said this than several of the Banshees were blasted to pieces, while the Seraphs broke off almost immediately. Several Broadsword fighters and a single Longsword fighter moved in around the Pelican. "This is Delta 3-1 to Whiskey Three-Niner-Five, we've got you," said a voice over the COM. "Continue on your flight path."
"Roger that." The rest of the trip was spent in silence, with the Pelican quickly entering Kamchatka's atmosphere. "Green light for insertion!" the pilot informed them. "Opening hatch now!" There was a loud WOOOSH as the hatch opened, with the wind howling inside of the troop bay.
"Squad, on me," Chief said over the team COM. "Begin insertion!" One by one, each member of Blue Team quickly jumped out of the Pelican, which Chief taking up the rear. Before long, though, he was quickly in the front. All of them tucked their arms and legs together, with the entire team quickly speeding towards the ground.
They weren't the only ones in the airspace, though. As it turned out, 'Mdama had decided that, in order to deal with the Promethean threat adequately, to have part of the fleet enter atmosphere as well. Battlecruisers, corvettes and Banshees quickly zipped by as Blue Team flew towards the round like man sized meteorites. Kelly, spotting a Banshee she couldn't dodge, quickly locked up her armor, with the Spartan smashing through the Banshee like it was tissue paper. An explosion rang out, with Chief dodging the explosion. "Kelly, status?!" he shouted.
"Green!" Kelly shouted. "My shields got banged up, but I'm OK. They should recharge in a moment."
"Understood." With that, they continued to plummet towards the ground at high speed, while the battle the Storm Covenant was waging raged on around them. Looking towards a mountain, Chief watched as a Forerunner defense turret mounted on the mountain was promptly knocked clean off by a carrier, with the entire contraption shattering as it smashed into the ground. Thrusters on their suits allowed them to fly around the debris, while ignoring the smaller pieces, which bounced harmlessly off their shields.
Once they got close enough to the ground, all four Spartans reoriented themselves so that they would land feet first. "Contact!" Linda shouted as they impacted the ground at an angle. As it turned out, Cortana had oriented their flight path so that they would enter the valley were Halsey's signal was coming from. As such, when they landed, they happened to land at a relatively shallow angle to the ground, allowing them to make contact with the ground without causing injury or damaging their shields.
As soon as they impacted, all four Spartans rolled, while bringing up their weapons as Covenant forces became visible. Firing his rifle, Chief gunned down a Grunt and Jackal that were in front of him, causing their bodies to explode in blood and gore. Right next to him, Kelly blasted a Storm Sangheili Zealot at point blank range with her shotgun, blasting the Zealot, and his shields, into a bloodied mess. Fred, leaping into action, smashed into a Covenant Wraith, overturning it and stunning the occupants inside, with Linda sniping any Storm Sangheili that fell out. Leaping off, Fred continued forwards, snagging a Needler from a corpse before shooting a Grunt.
Both Chief and Kelly continued forwards, weapons blazing, as they gunned down more Covenant. Two more Storm Sangheili were up ahead, with both Chief and Kelly using their thrusters to propel them forwards. Before the Sangheili could react, both Spartans smashed into them, blasting apart a boulder that was in their path. Firing his stolen Needler, Fred gunned down more Covenant ahead of them.
As they continued to run pell-mell, Linda, spotting an incoming Phantom, quickly increased her speed, before leaping into the air as the Phantom, while firing at them, scrapped a hill, causing it to shake. Grabbing onto one of the doors, she swung herself inside, engaging two Jackals, as well as a pair of Storm Sangheili Zealots. Both aliens swung their swords at Linda, who quickly redirected their blows, stunning them as they hit each other. Jumping onto one of the Zealots, Linda knocked the two into each other, before rapid firing her pistol into the two Jackals, causing their heads to explode. Hearing the Zealots coming at her again, she quickly ducked, causing one to trip and fall out of the vehicle, while she grabbed the other and, after disabling its shields, blasted the Zealot in the chest before kicking it out of the Phantom.
Continuing to run, they soon found themselves engaging Promethean forces, though the Prometheans were so tied up with the Storm Covenant that they could do little to defend themselves from the Spartans blitzkrieg. One Promethean Phaeton crashed into the Phantom that had Linda onboard, though by the time it impacted, she had jumped out and rejoined the others.
"Incoming ship!" Fred shouted. Looking in that direction, Chief watched as one of the blockade runners that had been in the Storm Covenant fleet crash into the mountain, before it began to roll towards them.
"Spartans, redirect!" Chief shouted. Hearing that, the other Spartans quickly obeyed, with all of them running down a hill. Spotting a cliff, all of them quickly leaped down it and onto the ground. Tossing a grenade, Chief blasted apart a group of Storm Covenant, killing a pair of Grunts, while stumbling a Sangheili. Fred, having killed a Zealot with a ground-pound, quickly tossed its weapon to Chief. When the other one charged, Chief rammed the Energy Sword up its throat, splattering blood all over the place. The others quickly landed.
"Incoming!" Linda shouted, just as a piece of the blockade runner flew overhead. There was a tremendous CRASH as the fragment smashed into the ground, instantly killing a large number of Covenant that were up ahead of their position. Only a few were left, and those died quickly.
"That was convenient," Kelly said. "I think the universe might be favoring us today."
"Stay focused," Chief ordered. "We're here for Dr. Halsey. Cortana, what's her location?"
"Sending you a waypoint now!" Cortana said. "Be advised, we've got lots of company."
Noting the waypoint that appeared on his HUD, Chief said, "Spartans, move out! Use whatever means necessary to get to Dr. Halsey."
"Roger that!" the others replied.
With that, they quickly began to move ahead, ready to engage anyone that got in their way. The path they were on was narrow, too narrow for a Warthog to be of any use. On one side was a wall of unyielding rock and ice, while the other was a sheer drop that showed the battle that was currently raging on the planet. Looking in that direction, Chief could see Covenant and Promethean firing on each other, with the air being filled with orange-red incineration beams, and blue-white plasma bolts. "Now that's what I call a fireworks display," Cortana said.
"Stay focused," Chief said. "Cortana, can you get a fix on Halsey's location?"
"Yes," Cortana said. "I managed to narrow down her location some more. She's in a Forerunner structure that's ahead of our position. Marking it now." Looking up, Chief watched as one of the structures flashed, with the waypoint centered directly onto the structure.
"So, how'd Halsey manage to contact us?" Kelly asked. "It's not like she's not being watched by the Storm Covenant, not since some of the events that we were briefed on happened."
"She has her ways," Fred said. "Still, we can worry about that later. Right now, we need to get to her."
"Understood."
As they continued moving forwards, they soon came to a part of the rocky ledge that was wider than the earlier sections, with the rocky wall forming a slight overhang. Here, Chief spotted a large amount of Storm Covenant personnel, mostly Jackals and Grunts, though a single Sangheili in the back was leading them. All of them were busy fighting Promethean Crawlers that were trying to keep them out of the structure. One pair of Grunts was savaged and ripped apart by a single Crawler, while a Crawler lunged at a Jackal, only for the Jackal to knock it aside with its shield. In the back, the Sangheili, spotting the Spartans, shouted, "They must not break through the line to 'Mdama! 'Mdama's work must continue, or Sangheilios is lost to us!"
"Spartans, engage!" Chief thundered. At that, bullets filled the air as the Spartans began to ruthlessly cut down the Storm Covenant and Prometheans directly ahead of them. Vaulting over some rocks, Chief gunned down a pair of Grunts and Jackals, before pivoting to his right to slam his combat knife into the maw of a Crawler, causing it to burst apart. Linda, staying at range, began picking off high value Covenant and Promethean targets with her sniper rifle, Nornfang.
As for Kelly and Fred, the two began to get up close and personal. Pulling a shotgun off his back, Fred blasted a Jackal in the chest after knocking aside its shield, bisecting the alien and causing its upper half to fall away from its lower half. A hard-light round bounced off his shields, prompting him to pull out his Magnum and fire it rapidly into another Crawler, popping it apart in short order. Kelly, on the other hand, rushed towards the Sangheili, ducking low when the Sangheili swung its energy sword at her. Rolling under the blow, she quickly drove her fist into the alien's stomach, shattering its shields and driving the wind out of the Elite. The alien projectile vomited onto the ground just as Kelly slammed her knife through the alien's head and twisted, killing the Elite instantly.
The fight lasted for just a thirty seconds, with the Spartans eliminating all hostile targets within that short time frame. Regrouping, the Spartans continued to move forwards, weapons at the ready as they advanced. "CRAWLERS!" Kelly shouted as several Promethean Crawlers materialized out of thin air. Reacting fast, the Spartans quickly put them down, with Chief leaping into the air before coming down hard, smashing his fist into the head of one of the Crawlers, destroying it instantly.
"Good work," he said. "Blue Team, take offensive formation and continue moving up!" Nodding at the order, the team quickly entered combat formation before advancing ahead, weapons at the ready.
Looking at some of the Forerunner architecture nearby, Fred said, "You have to admit, the Forerunners built to last."
"And they shoved everything into every nook and cranny," Cortana agreed. "We're still stumbling onto that tech years since its discovery. On top of that, the rate of discovery has been going up."
Just then, Linda shouted, "Promethean Soldiers! Dead ahead!" Looking in that direction, the Spartans watched as several Promethean Soldiers appeared out of thin air. Bipedal combat plaforms, they were tougher than the Crawlers, but shorter and more frail than the Promethean Knights. They also looked more human, courtesy of their slimmer chassis and the like. Seeing the Spartans, the Promethean Soldiers seemed to say something, before phasing up a cliff with several terraces on it. Moving fast, the Spartans pursued them into a Forerunner structure. Then the Promethean Soldiers phased through what appeared to be a solid wall of ice. "Damn! They're gone!" Linda growled.
"Looks like they went through that wall of ice," Fred said. "It doesn't appear to be very thick. A single Spartan moving at high speeds could smash through the wall."
"Kelly?" Chief asked.
"On it!" Kelly said. Taking a few steps back, she shouted, "GET CLEAR!" before charging at full speed towards the ice wall. Angling her right shoulder towards it, she impacted the wall at just hallway to her top speed. There was a loud CRASH as the ice shattered into thousands of pieces. Smashing through the ice wall revealed another cliffside path that continued towards the Forerunner structure. Spotting one of the Promethean Soldiers, Kelly fired her shotgun as she rolled, blasting the construct into pieces that soon vanished in a flash of light. "All clear!" she shouted.
"Keep moving," Chief ordered.
"Incoming!" Cortana shouted. "Prometheans! All sides!"
"Blue Team, engage!" Chief shouted. All four Spartans, moving into another widened overhang area, began firing their weapons at any Prometheans that made the dumb choice of firing at them. Rifle barking, Chief gunned down two Promethean Soldiers before engaging a third. A shrill warbling in his ears informed him that his energy shields were on the verge of breaking, forcing him to duck into cover. Linda, covering him, fired Nornfang, blasting apart the Promethean Soldier that had been shooting at him. "Thanks!" he said.
"You're welcome!" Linda shouted as she gunned down another Promethean Soldier. "Kelly, Fred, status?!"
"Busy right now!" Kelly said as she blasted apart another Promethean Soldier. "Lots of Prometheans here! Can't talk now!" Nearby, Fred was in a similar situation, with the Spartan smashing the energy core of another Promethean Soldier with his armored boot, blasting the robot apart.
Just then, they heard the sound of a vehicle, with Chief looking up ahead. Up ahead, there was a single Warthog that had tracks in lieu of tires. From what he could tell, a Pelican had dropped it off for the team to use, before bugging out as quickly as possible. Sharing an unspoken assessment with each other, the Spartans quickly boarded the vehicle, with Kelly manning the main gun. The chaingun roared as bullets spewed out of its muzzle, tearing apart numerous Prometheans in the process. Before long the fight had ended.
"Whoever dropped off this Arctic Warthog deserves a raise," Fred said. "That's pretty ballsy."
"Agreed," Kelly said. "We'll need the extra firepower. Plus it's narrow enough to where we can squeeze into any Forerunner structures."
"Agreed," Chief said as he gunned the throttle. The Arctic Warthog was more than happy to oblige, with the vehicle quickly scaling the short and small terraces and into the entrance for another Forerunner structure. This time, they vehicle went down a ramp and into a slight depression. The room the depression was in was fairy large, though there was an obstacle up ahead. "Door's sealed," Chief said. "Cortana?"
"Already on it," Cortana said. "Kelly, can you get closer to the door and activate your Artemis please?" Nodding, Kelly advanced to the door and activated a modified TAC pad on her left bracer. A bar on the projected hologram lit up, before filling in rapid order. "Thank you," Cortana said. "Door's open." At that, the door opened, revealing a cave that was just wide enough for the Warthog to drive through. Once Kelly was back onboard, they continued to drive.
As they drove through the long, winding cave, Cortana said, "Chief, I've picked up something on the COM. It's 'Mdama."
"What's he saying?" Chief asked.
"Hang on," Cortana said, running the intercepted COM through her translation programming. "He's saying, 'They are assaulting the back of the temple. Bring in the Kraken. Hold position. Buy more time'"
"Any idea what the Kraken is?" Fred asked.
"No," Chief said, "but it's bad news either way. Kelly, keep an eye out."
"No need," Kelly said. "There it is!"
Looking through a hole in the cave wall, Chief spotted what Kelly was pointing at. He immediately spotted a massive Covenant walker that looked reminiscent of a squid from Earth. The entire walker was massive, with Chief estimating that it was likely as tall as a mountain was. "Is that the Kraken?" he asked.
"Yep," Cortana said. "From what I can tell, it's a siege tower that's armed with several Shade turrets. Be careful, though. Its limbs can crush mountain sized objects fairly easily."
"Understood." With that, they continued on, the tracks of the Arctic Warthog scattering snow, rocks and dirt as the team advanced.
"From the sounds of things, 'Mdama's getting desperate," Cortana said.
Just then, Chief stopped the vehicle, and it wasn't hard to see why. Up ahead was a cliff that was tall enough that the vehicle couldn't scale it. Getting out, Fred laid some explosives onto the Warthog, before rejoining the others. Once he detonated the explosive, destroying the Warthog, the Spartans quickly scaled the cliff. Up ahead, they could see Covenant and Promethean soldiers fighting like mad to gain superiority, while Promethean gun emplacements fired at the Kraken. "Our target's on the other side," Chief said. "Move towards the other side of the valley. Watch out for the Kraken. The Covenant are likely using it to break through the Promethean lines. Understood?"
"You got it," Fred and the others replied. Moving onto one of the higher paths, Linda took the first shot, spearing the head of an Elite and causing said Elite's head to explode. The other Storm Covenant, caught off guard, immediately whirled around and opened fire. Two Jackals when down as Chief's MA5D barked, cutting into the aliens and causing their bodies to jerk as bullets exploded inside of them.
Both Kelly and Fred switched to their longer ranged weapons, an M395 DMR and BR85N respectively. Firing his DMR rapidly, Fred cut down several Promethean Soldier, but was forced to duck into cover as hard light rounds whipped past him. Kelly, moving to relieve Fred, fired her BR85N three times, each burst cutting down a Promethean Soldier or Crawler. Every so often, Linda fired her rifle, a loud KRA-THOOM marking the end of another Promethean or Covenant soldier.
As they continued to push ahead, Kelly said, "Look! The Kraken's retreating! Forerunner defenses were too much for it!" True enough, the Kraken was falling back, with massive gashes and cuts in its armor plating fully visible to the team.
Continuing to fight on, the team eventually reached the entrance of another Forerunner facility, with Chief and Fred eliminating the last of the Prometheans that were in the way. "Area clear," Fred said as they advanced inside.
"Cortana, status?" Chief asked.
"Still looking good," Cortana said. "Jul and Halsey are on the other side of this structure. If we do this right, we can rescue Halsey and end the Covenant in one fell swoop. Still, something tells me it won't be as easy as that."
"I agree," Linda said. "'It's likely that 'Mdama has a plan to avoid being killed. Still, it must've dealt a blow to 'Mdama's authority when the Prometheans turned on him. Gained a lot of followers styling himself as a Forerunner prophet."
"That's because 'Mdama's an opportunist, not a leader," Cortana said. "It was only a matter of time before his version of the Covenant began to fall apart."
"Agreed," Chief said. "Keep moving." As they did so, they eventually came onto a door that had a transparent section, allowing them to look inside. Inside, they spotted more Prometheans, as well as a pair of Promethean Knights, along with more members of the Storm Covenant.
"Promethean Knights up ahead, along with Covenant!" Linda said.
"Target the weak spots in their armor!" Cortana added. "I'd also advise that we have some long range firepower for the fight."
"Agreed," Chief said. "Linda, Fred, you two will remain back here and provide us cover fire. Kelly, with me! We cannot allow them to get to Dr. Halsey!"
Immediately, Fred and Linda took up position, with the two Spartans firing their long ranged weapons to neutralize the Promethean Knights and Elite Zealots, while Chief and Kelly closed in with their shorter ranged weapons. One Promethean Knight roared at them, only for a good chunk of its armor to be ripped away, exposing delicate components inside. Firing his MA5D, Chief exposed the center core, allowing him to fire a tight burst into the power supply. The Promethean Knight promptly exploded, it's body exploding into motes of light that slowly faded away. The other moved to engage, but was promptly blasted apart by Fred, who fired three rounds in just under a second.
It didn't fare much better for the Elites and Covenant either. Linda and Fred's tactic of neutralizing the higher ranking Elites while providing cover fire for Chief and Kelly had demoralized them, with some making mistakes that quickly got them killed. As they terminated the last Elite, Kelly shouted, "Crawlers incoming!", as several of them teleported in.
"Neutralize them!" Chief thundered.
"More Knights incoming!" Fred shouted as two more Promethean Knights appeared. One of them, spotting Linda and Fred, immediately phased out and appeared next to them, its hard light sword extending as it lunged in for the kill. Fred, though, did not lose his wits for even a second, as when it swung at the two, he grabbed a hold of its arm and redirected the blow, slinging the robot over his shoulder. Linda, taking the opportunity, fired Nornfang from the hip, blasting through some of the Knight's armor plating while Fred, using his Magnum, tore apart the rest of the armor before landing the killing blow.
Down below, Chief and Kelly tag teamed the last Promethean Knight. As it charged at them, Chief fired and destroyed some of its armor, while Kelly waited for an opportunity to engage. "NOW!" Chief shouted as he blasted off the last bit of armor, exposing the Knight's vulnerable core. Taking the opportunity, Kelly immediately charged, ducking under the Knight's blade before firing her shotgun into the core of the Knight, blasting it apart in an instant. As it faded away, Kelly asked, "Fred, Linda, you all right?"
"Yeah," Fred said. "One of those Knights charged us, but we handled it. That all of them?"
"For now," Chief said. "Let's move through this door and get to Dr. Halsey."
. . .
On the other side, Dr. Halsey was mentally counting the minutes as she waited for Lasky to come pick her up. Taking a moment to keep her ever-working mind busy, she gazed over the area where she was at. She was currently standing on a balcony that was hanging over the edge of a massive chasm, with the rocks and ice being a lovely blue color. If it weren't for my current circumstances, I'd be enjoying this place, she thought. So many Forerunner devices to study and examine.
Said circumstances promptly reminded her of their existence when she heard talking nearby, along with a humming sound. To her left, she could see a Covenant Phantom, as well as several Storm Sangheili that were talking with each other. In the middle of the group was a particularly large Sangheili that wore dark purple armor that had a single white handprint on the helmet and part of the armor. That was Jul 'Mdama, the current leader of the Storm Covenant. A cold and ruthless Sangheili, 'Mdama was as cruel and hateful as he was intelligent and cunning, a fact that Halsey was reminded of daily, courtesy of the stump that was once her left arm.
Right now, though, 'Mdama was talking to her, taking up all her attention at the moment. "What is the problem?" he asked.
"Hhmm, there are several, actually," Halsey said. "Would like to discuss the finer points of casual reconciliation?"
'Mdama growled irritably. "More human sarcasm," he grumbled.
As he spoke, Halsey thought she spotted a glint of something just out of the corner of her eyes. Looking without turning her head, she spotted several figures moving towards her and the others. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw one familiar person in the group. Keeping calm, she decided to divert 'Mdama's attention for the time being. "So you have learned something from me," she said while cocking an eyebrow.
"You claimed to be able to access -"
"And I can," Halsey interrupted. "However, I did not claim to be able to access it instantly."
"The security situation is unstable," 'Mdama argued. "We have no time to dither. You will also accord me the respect befitting the Didact's Hand."
Halsey smiled coldly. "It seems as though you fingers are in open rebellion, Hand."
"ENOUGH!" 'Mdama snarled. "Resume your work."
"Yes," Halsey said, "though this location does to suit my needs. When he makes another transmission, I must triangulate -"
"I tire of this, Doctor," 'Mdama growled. "You've been chasing shadows for weeks with no avail."
As he said this, Halsey noted that Chief, the individual she had spotted earlier, was making a hand gesture towards her. Smiling, she said, "Well, Hand, it seems we won't be chasing shadows for much longer." As soon as she said this, Blue Team engaged.
A single shot rang out from Fred, who had pilfered a Promethean Light Rifle from one of the destroyed Soldiers. The hard-light round smashed into the energy shields of one of the Elites, tearing through the shields and armor before splattering the Elite's brain all over the ground. 'Mdama and the others, reacting fast, quickly took cover wherever they could, before firing on Blue Team and the others. "KILL THEM!" 'Mdama roared as they fired.
What 'Mdama didn't know, though, was that Chief, Linda and Fred's attack was a smokescreen for their real mission. Taking advantage of the distraction, Kelly moved around the bulk of the group, putting her directly behind the Elites that were firing. Moving fast, Kelly turned towards Halsey, only to spot a single Elite Zealot in her path. Charging forwards, she bull rushed the Elite, catching him off guard and sending him toppling to the ground with a THUD. The alien's eyes glazed over as his brain registered the impact. Grabbing Halsey, Kelly hefted her onto her shoulder and began to rush back to the others.
'Mdama, having heard the thud, turned around to see Kelly hefting Halsey onto her shoulder. Roaring loudly, he charged, only for another hard light round to tear into his shields, forcing him into cover. The other Elites, spotting what was happening, turned to engage, only for Blue Team's fire to distract them. "Retreat!" 'Mdama shouted.
"But the human -"
"Ignore her!" 'Mdama shouted. "She's been more trouble than use to us! Onto the Phantom, NOW!" Nodding, the Elites quickly moved, with 'Mdama moving to join them. Just then, 'Mdama heard a loud KRA-THOOM as something impacted his shoulder. Searing, white-hot agony tore through his entire being, with a scream escaping his mandibles. At the same time, he watched as his right arm was ripped cleanly off his body, sending the appendage sailing through the air, through the Phantom's troop bay, and into the chasm below.
"'MDAMA!" one of the Elites shouted as the Phantom lifted away. All eight Elites scrambled to 'Mdama, doing what they could to stem the bleeding. One of them activated his energy sword, before pressing the flat of it against the stump of 'Mdama's arm. Pain erupted throughout 'Mdama's mind as he let out a choked cry, though he was now out of immediate danger. Still, he could feel a fog in his mind just before he blacked out from the agony...
Down below, Chief and the others watched as the Phantom carrying 'Mdama flew away. "Damnit!" Linda shouted. "He got away!"
"He knows when he's beat," Chief said. "We'll catch him another time. He can't run far now." Looking around, he spotted Kelly, who had just set Halsey down. "Dr. Halsey," he said.
"John," Halsey said with a smile as the familiar whoosh of a Pelican drew near. "Took you long enough. What kept you?"
Chief was about to answer when Whiskey Three-Niner-Four cut in. "Hate to break up the reunion, but we gotta get the hell outta here, and fast! Everyone onboard!" With that, the Pelican pulled a pirouette, before settling into a hover near the platform as the doors opened. All of the Spartans quickly got onboard, with Chief helping Halsey into the troop bay.
"Cortana, what's the status of the battle?" Chief asked.
"Lasky's ordered a full retreat!" Cortana said. "We've got a CSO-class Supercarrier that's bearing down on the Infinity!"
"Understood!" Chief said. The entire trip was silent, while the pilot gunned the throttle as hard as he could.
As they flew on, Chief heard his COM ping. "Chief, this is Lasky! What's the status of your mission?!"
"Dr. Halsey is secure," Chief said. "'Mdama got away."
"I see," Lasky said. "Still, 'Mdama was a secondary objective. We'll catch him again! Just get onboard fast, or otherwise we'll be scrap metal for the shipyards to pick over!"
"Yes, sir," Chief said. Switching COM frequencies, he said, "Pilot, get us back to the Infinity, ASAP!"
"Roger that," the pilot said. Before long, the Pelican had exited the atmosphere, and was flying as fast as possible back to the Infinity. Walking to the cockpit, Chief looked outside and spotted something off in the distance. "What's that?" he asked Cortana.
"Oh, boy," Cortana said. "Chief, I think we're in real trouble now."
. . .
Up in orbit, Lasky's eyes were focused directly onto the Covenant ship that had entered the aerospace sector that the Infinity was at. While the ship was dozens of kilometers away from the Infinity, it was massive enough that he could clearly see it without any form of assistance, electronic or otherwise."Roland, what's that ship?" Lasky asked. He thought he knew the ship design, but he just wasn't sure. "Connor, you see this too?"
Connor, his XO, looked as well. "I see it too. No idea what the hell it is. Roland?"
Roland, who was looking at the ship, said, "Running a check now." After a few seconds, he said, "Well... shit. As if things weren't bad enough already. Captain, we're looking at a Class Five Flagship, or what the Covenant calls a CSO-class Supercarrier. That thing's early twenty nine kilometers long, and she's loaded to the teeth with weapons. There's been only one time where a ship of that class was sighted, and that was at Reach during the Covenant-UNSC War: the Long Night of Solace. That thing could split the Infinity in half like a watermelon."
A pang of terror ran through Lasky's body as he realized what this mean: only a handful of people had survived to report this to HIGHCOM. The sheer sight of it, and the potential firepower it had, also gripped him with a cold terror. To make matters worse, the ship wasn't on its own as Lasky could see seven Kewu-pattern Battleships that were near the supercarrier. While only a measly three and a half kilometers to the Supercarrier's 28.96, they were still enormous ships, and seven of them would be enough to make mincemeat out of the Infinity, even with her support fleet. I'm not sure we can win this fight, he thought. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Roland said.
"I just checked that info too," Connor said. "It's for real, Lasky. We're in deep shit now."
Damnit, Lasky thought. Why didn't HIGHCOM send a fleet with us on this mission?! Shaking his stupor off, he said, "Order a full retreat immediately! I want everyone back on the ship before that Supercarrier gets close enough to cause us trouble! Also, send a call to HIGHCOM and to any allied ships near our area immediately! Tell them what's happened, classification SECRET, encryption code Black! Gather as much intelligence as you can and prepare to initiate the Cole Protocol!"
"Aye, sir!" Roland said. "All frigates are moving to dock right now! ETA 'till everyone's aboard: 4 minutes!" As if to underscore the urgency of the affair, the entire ship shook as something smashed into its energy shields.
By the time Chief's Pelican reached the Infinity, a massive space battle was going on, with the Infinity fighting it out with the Covenant Supercarrier. As they flew into the hangar bay, Chief said, "Lasky, we're aboard!"
"Roger that!" Lasky shouted. "Roland, Gabriela, get us the hell out of here!" There was a brief rumble as the ship's engines fired up, while the hangar doors closed just as the last Broadsword entered. A moment later, the rumbling and shaking of the fighting was replaced with an eerie calm as the ship entered the safety of Slipspace. "Good work people," Lasky said over the COM. "Chief, report to the bridge ASAP. Bring Halsey with you."
"Yes, sir," Chief said as they exited the Pelican.
"Well, that was fun," Linda said.
"Easy for you to say," Linda said. "I nearly got into trouble back there."
"I knew you could handle it."
"Enough," Fred said. "We've got enough going on as it is. Let's head to the bridge."
Looking at the others as they bantered, Chief knew one thing for certain: the mission was a success.
