Seems like you are all liking this iteration of Halo Galactic Wars so far.
After all, this was heavily inspired by freemanwriter's Avengers: Infinite Wars. On the plus note, we are not going to do a lot of shippings as it'll ruin some moments. Well, apart from a few exceptions.
With that, let's get on with the chapter!
Halo Galactic Wars: RE-IMAGINED Chapter Two: Incident at the Rishi Moon Outpost
"-ief!"
"-hief!"
"Chief!"
"CHIEF!"
Those were the first few words that the Master Chief heard after the sound of ringing dying down. He immediately opened his eyes under the visor and let out a dry cough. Sitting up despite his sore body, the Spartan clearly saw that the sky was pitch black and where the Spartan was in a barren wasteland with craters literally the entire area. There was one thing that came into mind.
"Are you alright?" The Weapon asked him.
"How long was I out?" The Spartan asked back, unbothered by the pain.
"For about twelve hours now."
Chief looked around as he saw the same thing with more craters, "Where exactly are we?"
Now that he asked that question, his AI companion responded back with a confused tone that was heard in her voice as well as her facial expression as her avatar appeared on his left palm. "I…honestly don't know. From what I can see, we are somewhere that is definitely not located on Installation 07."
Well, that was something that the Spartan can agree on. Finding his Assault rifle near his right foot, the Spartan proceeded to pick it up and slung it onto his back, as well as the Battle Rifle. As he did so, he then asked, "Have you made contact with any UNSC personnel yet?"
"Now that is a strange thing. I…haven't." The AI responded back with honesty.
"What?" Chief said in alarm, yet his stoic voice still remained. He was still a bit drained from the sudden outburst of whatever artifact had hit him.
"Hold on," the female AI spoke, "I am picking up a signal that may help us find out where we are." The Spartan's HUD lit up with possible communication signals as the AI worked her 'magic'.
"Put it on." The spartan kindly ordered and with the Weapon quickly snapped her fingers on her right hand. They soon heard a broadcast; it was robotic in voice though had an obvious feminine tinge to it.
"—listening to the Grand Army of the Republic broadcast. The voice of the Outer Rim. This next one goes out to the Mud-jumpers of the 224th, slugging it out on Mimban. Keep your head down and your seal tight, boys."
Disconnecting from the broadcast, the AI exchanged looks from the Spartan as he did the same. Both continued to be like this until the former said these three words. "Grand Army of the Republic? The Outer Rim? Mimban? That is definitely not related to the UNSC. I'm starting to think that we're not even in our Galaxy anymore." Her last sentence had a bit of worry in her voice, looking at the Spartan.
Was this 'Grand Army of the Republic' some Insurrectionist faction? It was plausible that he was on a planet that was outside the Galaxy, much like Installation 00 though it seemed unlikely.
"Wherever we are, we need to go to a nearby station to at least find out where exactly we are." The Chief recommended after hearing the broadcast despite knowing that he is no longer in known UNSC territory.
"Already marking a nearby station." his AI Companion informed him. Very soon, her avatar went back into his chip placed onto his helmet.
Looking at the indicator displayed on his visor to tell him where the station was, he proceeded to trek his way there. He was completely unknowingly followed by a large snake-like creature.
-Scene Change-
Location: RNS Resolute
A mighty Republic fleet glided through space with grace as multiple V-19 Torrent circled around the massive Venator Class 'Star Destroyers' (Though they were more akin to Carriers) like wasps protecting their nest, ready to pounce any Separatist force that could show up at any time.
Within the bridge area of one of the ships, the mighty Resolute, one Obi Wan Kenobi stood there gazing into the stars of beyond. It seemed limitless but he knew everything had limits.
Something he had yet to teach his once padawan now turned Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. The young jedi seemed to be suffering the consequences from the lack of sleep.
"Still up Anakin?" Obi Wan asked as he walked towards the holo-map near the backend of the bridge and away from the transparisteel windows. Anakin had noticeable bags under his eyes though they were a bit faint, it was still largely evident that Anakin had not rested at all.
"I'll sleep after we catch Grievous," Anakin replied as he held in a yawn as he focused his eyes on the map in front of him. He zoomed in on a system with 1 habitable planet. "According to Clone Intel, was spotted near the Balmorra System, since then he's just vanished…" trailed off Anakin as he held down another yawn.
"Well unlike you, he is likely catching some much-needed rest from running away most of the time." Obi Wan said as he chuckled softly. Anakin just rolled his eyes as R2-D2 agreed with the Jedi Master, as evidenced by his beeping noises.
"Generals! If I could have your attention." Admiral Yularen spoke, approaching the two Jedi. His walk was one filled with prestige, as expected for all Republic Admirals, at least the ones who weren't morally corrupt. Yularen was a man of honor however, one who was always willing to put morals in front of the mission and come out with the least amount of possible casualties. It was something Anakin found admirable and was the reason Yularen led the Open Circle Armada. "We have incoming transmission from Commander Cody."
Soon, Captain Rex and Commander Cody connected to the Resolute's extensive comms network as they were on their own Nu-Class Shuttle.
"General Kenobi, General Skywalker." Cody spoke as his voice was filtered through the electronic comms system, having a bit of a crackling pop to it.
"Cody. How are the inspections?" Obi wan asked as he puts his hands behind his back knowing Cody as usual.
"The tracking station in Pastil is fully operational. Captain Rex and I are proceeding to the outpost in the Rishi system." Cody reported.
"Good. Report back once you've arrived." Obi wan ordered to his Clone Commander.
"Copy that. Cody out." With that, the holo-com went out with a fizzle.
"Good man, that Cody." Obi wan praised before turning to Anakin, "Don't worry, Anakin. If General Grievous comes anywhere near this quadrant, we'll know about it." He commented, hopefully to convince him to hit the bunk beds.
Then a screeching noise came into Obi-Wan's head. It was loud, like fingernails on a chalkboard as he held his head in pain. It was like a headache, just… worse.
Anakin was much the same though it seemed he was worse. possibly due to the lack of sleep the Jedi Knight had as he clutched the table with one arm and his head in the other. He nearly collapsed but Admiral Yularen was there to catch him.
It felt like the force was ripping apart, like it was trying its best to reject something but failing.
A voice echoed in Obi-Wan's head…
"I? I… monument… sins." said a gravelly voice, its message jumbled as Obi Wan tried to not focus on it.
After that both light and dark sides of the Force were succumbing to this disturbance until suddenly, it disappeared. It was like it never happened.
"Generals, are you alright?" Yularen asked with concern. Sure he may have been rough on Skywalker due to his reckless nature, but he still respected him in some way.
"We're fine Admiral, it's just... " Obi wan answered as he trailed off a little as he turned to Anakin. "You felt that too, didn't you?"
"I did." Anakin answered as he shook off the headache or whatever in the Nine Correlian Hells it was as he turned to Yularen. "Contact the Jedi Council and ask them if they had anyone that encountered something strange."
-Scene Change-
Location: Rishi Moon
A few minutes had passed, and the Chief could see a large building structure up ahead. It seemed to be a military one by the looks of it. "This is the station you marked, right?"
"Affirmative." The AI chipped at his answer. "Rishi Station, also known as the Rishi Moon Outpost. This is a listening post on this moon that we are in and from what I could gather, this is for this Galactic Republic that was mentioned in the Broadcast."
"…" The Master Chief went quiet upon this information dump. If this is a listening post, then that would mean he could get off this planet as soon as possible and go back to fight the Banished on Installation 07. But he has to be reminded that he is in unknown territory, meaning that he has no possible contact with any UNSC personnel.
If there was any.
The Spartan looked at the massive dish ahead of him. He was currently formulating ideas to try to contact home, but they were all slipping away as he began to accept that maybe he was in a different Galaxy. Not just outside of the Milky Way itself.
"Chief." The Weapon called out to him, making the Spartan snap back to the real world. "I am picking unknown signals from the sky. Eyes sharp."
Master Chief looked up to the sky and saw multiple meteorites entering through the orbit. They reminded him of ODST Drop pods as their hulls seemed to glow red hot as they slammed into the rocky faces of the moon.
"Hmm… Interesting. Those pods do not seem to be reminiscent of any Republic designs I have already scanned…" The Weapon stated without a care in the world, acting as if she had not already breached some top-secret military documents.
Chief was silent, 'They look more like ODSTs."
"Well that's the idea. We are not the only ones to be batshit insane. That, however, seems to be from a different faction entirely." The Weapon commented as she appeared on the HUD as a readout of the craft came up on Chief's visor display.
His Motion Trackers then detected movement coming from the pods as he watched maybe a squad, or two worth of skeletal beings dropped out as he tried to zoom in on them with the BR-75's EVOS-D 3x Optic. It soon became clear. He saw robots that were akin to thin skeletal beings with white eyes and had a strange-looking firearm along with swords strapped to their back.
In an instant, those unknown dots became red which alarmed the Spartan. Chief then fired his assault rifle at the new enemies. However, he only managed to down two of the five enemies as he was out of ammunition. He was too distracted by whatever was happening in the base as a soldier cladded in white armor was thrown down and multiple Blaster shots were heard.
One made its way towards Chief and was about to pull its sword out but was instantly destroyed when the Spartan knocked its head off its body by using the buttstock of his rifle and put it onto his back to reserve his remaining ammunition. Grappling one of the weird looking weapons, he held it onto his hands and fired multiple 'plasma' bolts at the remaining enemies.
As that was over, the AI quickly analyzed the strange looking weapon the Spartan was holding. "From what I gathered from those robots that aren't definitely Forerunner, that firearm you are holding is a E-5 Blaster Rifle model. Strange name to say the least. I think that should be useful for now. Guess I should have hacked them earlier before you destroyed them?"
"…" The Spartan went quiet when all of a sudden, the earth started shaking. In an instant, he swore he could have seen some large snake-like being moving through the holes.
"That does not look good—I'm detecting four unknown lifeforms coming through a vent." She instantly informed the Spartan as she changed the subject for a good reason. "Whatever that thing was, it sure won't be so friendly to those people."
"Mark their location." Chief ordered as he saw the life forms were marked on his HUD. He had a feeling that the worm was gonna head to those life forms. He looked down the scope of the EVOS-D of the BR-75, he checked his ammo, he had twenty-six rounds available to him still before he would need to swap.
He kept his eyes on the few holes that surrounded the bottom of the base as right on time four soldiers clad in white armor popped out of their vent. They looked from afar to be distressed, even though they had a full kit of armor on.
"Something's not right here." One of them said as he looked around the area.
"Well, good luck. I'm putting you in charge of this one." another retorted back as he looked over a cliff.
"What do we do without the Sarge?" the third one asked his squad.
The one with binoculars attached to his helmet began to recite the regulation manual that he learned from when he was a cadet, "The reg manual says the next..."
"Wait. Wait. Did you hear that?" the second asked as he cut his fourth member off.
"Yeah, what is that?" The first clone began to ask as he had a pistol, he had on him out as the noise grew closer and louder, "It doesn't sound like droids."
"Don't forget about those giant eels." The second clone said as he also got a blaster pistol out.
"I've never seen..." The third one said as one of the Eels appeared behind him.
"CUTUP!" The fourth clone yelled as the identified soldier Cutup turned around. As the Eel was inches away from grabbing him, a sudden blast completely caught it off guard as projectiles slammed into the creature's eye. Its brains exploded as it fell to the ground limp, right in front of Cutup, who at this point was nothing more than a statue as he stood there in utter shock. Like how a normal person would react to being nearly devoured alive by a Rishi Eel.
Echoes followed after. The squad looked around for their savior. They could not see anything as one of the Clones looked at something metallic. It was obviously lodged into one of the creature's mandibles as he tried to yank it out. Eventually, his efforts were rewarded as he yanked the object out as he inspected it.
"A…slug?" Fives said in exasperation as he examined the bullet. It was shiny, both a metallic bronze-goldish tint as well as purplish blood covering the front end which was a bit smashed.
"What did you just pull out?" Hevy asked as he looked at it. Slugs had not been used for centuries, or millenia, it was a certain surprise for them as Hevy snatched it out of Five's hands and inspected it himself.
"Heh! Not bad for a primitive!" he said as he chuckled while kicking the dead eel and spitting on it after taking his helmet off before placing it back on his head.
"Say, are we gonna stand here and potentially get devoured by another one of those blue bastard 'friends'?" Cutup asked as he pointed at the dead eel like a child looking at a polar bear for the first time.
A low flying shuttle then came tumbling down, as the Nu-Class Transport closed its wings to land on the pad.
"Kriff! It's the inspection team!"
"Worse. It's Commander Cody and Captain Rex." Hevy added as the Clones looked up in dismay. "They're walking into a damned trap!"
"Hold on, I think I still have a flare!" Echo told them as he pointed the flare up and fired it as it streaked across the sky, red light streaking across the Moon's sky.
Back on the landing Platform, both the Clone Captain and Commander were having a conversation with a Clone Trooper. He seemed to be acting strangely so far, one could say… unnatural.
"We are the inspection team, and we need to check out the outpost and its status," Rex said through barred teeth, this particular Clone was getting on his nerves.
"Uhh There is still no need for inspection, Captain. Base is running at peak efficiency. Have a nice day…" the Clone said as his voice cracked a bit.
Soon a red flare rocketed up into the sky as Rex with zero hesitation quickly drew his DC-17 and fired a bolt into the head of the 'Clone'.
"Rex! What the hell was that for!" Yelled Cody as it seemed the 501st captain had just committed an act of blue on blue.
"That wasn't a Clone, Commander. Look…" The other stated, kneeling down and removing the helmet off to reveal a Commando.
"One of their newer models. Heard about it in intel reports. I think it's safe to say that the Rishi outpost is not under our control…" said Rex when a detonator rolled to their feet.
"MOVE" Rex shouted as he pushed Cody to the side behind some accompanying crates as the Thermal detonator exploded as red bolts came crashing down on our beleaguered clone troopers.
"Kriff! Get communications to the Republic! I'll try to start the shuttle!" Cody shouted as he was about to move towards the shuttle when a rocket landed out of nowhere and hit the shuttle dead center destroying it.
"Any Plan B's?" Rex yelled over the commotion of blaster fire. He aimed his Dc-17 and hit a B-X Commando in the head as he knocked the clanker out of commission.
"Yeah! Jump!" Cody said as he let his daring side shine through.
Rex chuckled a bit as he mounted a grappling hook to his DC-17 as Cody followed suit with his DC-15S.
Soon multiple Thermal detonators rolled down as both Clones jumped off the platform and shot their grapples, hitting the bottom of the landing pad.
Explosions happened all over the top of the pad as the two clones heard the Commando droids walking over to their last location.
"Make sure they're gone!" The lead Commando Droid ordered in its mechanical-organic amalgamation of vocals as the other robots scanned the landing pads, certain they did their job as they walked back inside the outpost.
-Scene Change-
The Master Chief saw the explosions as he waited from a nearby ledge. The skeletal 'droids'. He later learned they were called from his AI companion walked back nonchalantly. As if nothing ever happened.
"I need a vector to get into that outpost." Chief spoke ever so quietly as the Weapon appeared on his HUD.
"Well from my scans there seems to be at least a platoon inside the base. From the databases these droids were and are being deployed by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Seems the Republic and this Confederacy have been at war for a while now." The AI informed her Spartan Companion as she scrolled through the databases of information while the Chief's HUD lit up with the intel she was gathering. She would make a great ONI asset.
"Guns blazing is an option. These droids while having strong armor that is equivalent to Civilian Level three, their head is not as protected." The AI added as a readout of the B-X Commando came on Chief's HUD. It had colored areas on where he was recommended to shoot.
"Once we get inside, I need you to hack the communications suite and we'll try to get a message off to whoever is out there." John responded as he moved up towards the base. He knew rescue by the UNSC or ONI was practically impossible at this point, or at least for now. But if he could get a boosted signal off, then perhaps he had a chance.
"As you wish, Chief." The Weapon nodded through his HUD as she disappeared into the world of ones and zeros.
The Spartan II Commando jumped up towards the area in where the pad was connected to the Outpost, he grabbed it as he hauled himself upwards, he looked around, the landing pad was charred and toasted, scars of the short battle evident.
"This door is a bit locked up right now. I'm hacking their controls. You'd think for a Galactic Superpower they would have at least 21st Century equivalents to cybersecurity?" The Weapon chuckled as she hacked the controls with ease as the doors opened as the Chief pulled a MK.50 Sidekick from his leg holster and aimed at whatever was behind the door as he was very soon confronted by four B-X Commandos. They stood there in a bit of mechanical shock.
"Identify yourself…" one of the droids started. It was immediately cut down by two taps to the head. It exploded in metal gore. The other droids began blasting him as John entered the famed Spartan-Time. Time slowed down for him as he rolled to the side and shot one of the droids. Making a move for his large frame, the B-X's head came off with a metallic screech as the 10x31mm SAP rounds did their job.
He then moved towards the other two as he body slammed one and grabbed its leg, smashing it against the other one as he took the fallen one and ripped its head off.
The damaged one he had just thrown began to get back up, but the chief knew better. He grabbed its head and put the muzzle of the MK.50 to its head as two bullets went through its metal skull, silencing it as it fell with a clang.
"Chief! I am detecting enemies incoming! They heard your racket!" The Weapon immediately warned as the Chief made it double time up the stairs. Well, it seemed like he leaped up them as he rolled onto the main floor of Rishi Outpost. The B-X Commando Droids fired on him as they began to jump around like acrobats.
Though advanced, the B-X was fatefully undermined by the larger Spartan II Commando. Who had a larger frame, better armor, arguably better weapons, and better stamina.
The Master Chief rolled to the left as he fired a burst from the BR-75, knocking a B-X out of the fight while he aimed for the head.
He fired two more bursts at another group, killing three this time as he applied his scary accuracy to this fight.
Then a warning blared on his HUD. He began to turn as a B-X came rushing out with a Vibrosword. He got his left arm up and blocked the blow. His shields took a hit, and he threw the Commando Droid off balance before smashing it into one of the consoles and ending it with its own blade to the head.
He took the blade and then expertly dodged a couple of blaster bolts. Though some would hit home and splash on his Mjolnir's shields as he threw the sword at an unlucky B-X as the sword pierced through the chest. It didn't kill the droid as it began to fight again. But it wasn't for long as the Chief fired his Mk.50 Sidekick, knocking it out of commission.
He turned around and picked up one of the droids' 'blasters' and began to fire on them. Though he mostly hit the chest areas in which the bolts were harmlessly dispersed by the B-X's considerably tough armor and energy dispersing abilities.
He threw the E-5 in his hand at one of the B-X's stunning them as he fired a burst of 7.62x51mm from the MA40 which had been sitting on his back for the longest time.
He sprayed each and every one of the B-X's until finally he charged the last one and slammed it to the ground. The droid was now crippled as he curbstomped its head, the droid's skull going up in loud sparks and fumes, then the outpost finally went silent.
"More of the same huh? I guess they put up a good fight?" The Weapon commented as the Chief took out the chip in his head and put it near one of the consoles that weren't trashed by the fighting. Instantly the blue glow subsided as it gave the indication that the Weapon was in the system.
"I'm in! What do you want to know?" asked the Weapon. Her Avatar glowing brightly somehow on one of the Holoprojectors in the middle of the room.
"Hack into the comms mainframe and send a boosted signal towards any nearby UNSC outpost." After the war, the UNSC had put listening outposts on its borders to prevent another Covenant Event happening. Chief hoped his signal, boosted by his suit, would be picked up.
"So the problem with that…'' started the Weapon as Chief looked at her puzzlingly.
"It's not that we are in a different Galaxy, it's just that we are not in the general direction of UNSC or UEG territory," The Weapon spoke as a Galactic Map popped on screen.
"From my limited research, we are currently in the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy." She added as the readout expanded to include two Galaxies. One being obviously the Milky Way, considering it was significantly bigger, and the other being the Canis Major.
Right before she could finish off, she looked at the locked doors and picked up six individuals coming in close into their position. "Uh, Chief. I hate to warn you, but we have company…"
The Master Chief didn't say anything as he yanked the chip off the table, which made the Weapon's Avatar disappear. Pulling the BR-75 off from his back, he aimed at the door, readying for what's to come.
Moments Earlier…
Commander Cody and Captain Rex had managed to find a squad of Regs, consisting of Fives, Echo, Heavy, and Cutup. All were discussing what they would do when suddenly they heard gunfire within the base. "Was that gunfire?" Heavy's ears perked up.
Cody and Rex looked up and sure enough, they too heard the same noise. "It is." The former looked at the latter. "Do you think…"
"Well, whatever it is, it's not friendly." The Clone Captain of the 501st finished off, holding his dual DC-17 pistols in both hands. Looking at the four Shinies, he asked. "Gear up, Shinies. We're going back to the Outpost and find out who was responsible."
"How do you propose we get through those blast doors, Rex, old boy?" Cody looked at his brother in arms for any suggestion that he had. In an instant, said individual had something good in his mind as he had a slight smile under his helmet.
"I have a few ideas."
-Scene Change-
The group of clones slowly approached the blast doors after climbing their way to the top of the landing pad.
Some of the rookies were huffing but the two clone commanders still looked fresh as they made their way towards the 'sealed' blast doors.
Rex made his way to the scanning area; he tapped a pad as a mechanical eye popped out as he put his helmeted face to the camera. "Roger, roger!"
Unexpectedly, he heard no reply coming through the camera. That and how none of those B-X Commandos showed themselves. It didn't go unnoticed by Cody and the four Clone shinnies who were hiding on each side of the door. "Uh, should there be a response?"
The Commander pondered for a bite before answering. "Yeah, there should be."
Now, the Clone Captain cleared his throat again and repeated what he said earlier. "Roger, roger."
Again, no response. And that irked the Clone Captain. He had this perfectly planned out and at this point, it would have been gone to waste…
Though the silence was broken when gunfires were heard through the video feedback. This caught everyone by surprise, and they readied themselves by pointing their weapons at the end of the sealed door. "Get ready for whatever is behind that door!" Rex warned the others.
As the doors soon opened, none were expecting to see this. Inside of the main entrance, multiple B-X Commandos lay destroyed on the ground. Some had been shot, some cut up, and even one had its head caved in as the metal seemed to fuse to the floor.
Whatever had just rampaged here had made sure these droids were not getting back up, either physically or mentally.
"What in the…" Echo murmured at the sight he and everyone else saw.
Cutup had his own question. "What could have...?"
"Hey, you better look at this!" Fives's voice called out to them as he walked up to them, holding the same golden metallic object from before. "It's those slug things again."
"Slugs?" Cody spoke as he took it off from the Clone Trooper's hand and closely inspected it.
"Yeah. Seems our main culprit is using slugs. They look to be WAY more effective than our own blasters." Echo said as he picked up another casing while kicking a dead droid.
"Huh, this one's wider than that other one," Hevy said as he pulled out the slug that was found in the rishi eel. It was thinner and it wasn't hollow like the one he was holding. The thinner one was flowering a bit while the other one was a perfect cylinder.
Of course the clones, being from the Galaxy far far away, could not differentiate. 9.5x40mm and 10x31mm rounds were drastically different. Especially if one compares the bullet of one and the casing of the other. But who could blame them?
For millennia the main weapon had always been blasters. Any slugthrowers here would be more akin to weapons coming from Trandoshan Territory or backwater planets (similar to muskets). Not one with modern or elegant aesthetics.
All of them heard gunfire once more. This time, it seems like it came through the Main Room. This alerted every Clone at the entrance.
"Come on! We Gotta go up. Blaster ready!" Rex said as the Clones checked their blaster packs, all full or near Full charge as the resounding of beeps echoed.
The Clones all charged up the stairs as they made their way to the top as they breached the already opened doors to the main control room.
Blasters raised as they were met with a mess of droid parts and shiny metallic objects. Similar to the slugs found earlier on.
The rookies levelled down their weapons as they looked around, soon all eyes fixated on a massive green being. Its armor, scratched. Its helmet had a golden visor to it as the number '117' was adorned on the left side of its chest.
It was pretty tall too, definitely taller than the clones, though maybe a tad shorter than Grievous.
What's more was that he was aiming a very unique looking blaster at their faces. Something that all the Clones put two and two together and realized, it was most likely this man that had caused so much damage to the droids.
"Identify yourself!" Rex ordered the stranger, who seemed to not respond to his words as he aimed his dual Plasma DC-17's at it.
"..." This only made this stranger not lower his weapon. Instead, he continued to aim his weapon in his direction. Tensity was in the air, palpable by a dull knife.
"Uh…so you think we can handle him?" Hevy asked his Clone Brethren and readied his Blaster Rifle. "It's six against one."
"Yeah, but didn't you see what happened to those Commando Droids? I'm not sure about our chances." Fives said.
"I wouldn't be so sure about it either." A female voice resounded across the main control room.
All Clones look around the room, finding the source to where it came from. "Who's there?!"
To them, it seemed like they were talking to a ghost. But, to the Master Chief, he knew who exactly talked to them. "Why are you communicating with them?" he said with internalized comms, his voice stoic though having harsh undertones to them as he reprimanded the AI.
"Just trying to give them the idea that going against a super soldier is a stupid idea. Only reserved for a dead man's bucket list." She explained to him, her voice cheery though it had a hint of apology to it. Of course, the Clones could not hear the Chief's voice, so it sounded more like the feminine voice was talking to itself.
"Super soldier?" Echo muttered as he slowly lowered the DC-15S in his hands, trembling a bit. The rest kept their blasters trained on the massive green suit of armor.
"Focus rookie." Cody reminded him as the tense standoff continued. The Green Giant then lowered its gun for a bit as it tapped its helmet, bringing out a shiny object from the back of its head. It put the chip on the table, shaking its head all the while.
To the Clones it looked like a Republic Credit, though it glowed brighter until it disappeared.
"Wha…"
Then a large female avatar in a sort of Naval Suit came up in the middle of the central consoles. She was a glowing blue as the room radiated in her presence. She waved at them with a friendly gesture. "Hi there!"
"Is this some sort of trick?" Captain Rex asked as he had his blasters still trained on the 'enemy' in front of him.
"Trick? We're not planning anything malicious to any of you." The AI turned her attention to her companion, all the while strolling through endless databases of information. "Right, Chief?"
"..." The Spartan didn't say anything as he was in no mood to talk to them. He was still wondering why he agreed to put the talkative and relatively naive AI on the table. Though something told him that he would have done it anyways if it had been Cortana. His grip on the rifle tightened like a Boa Constrictor.
"Who are you?" Fives asked, wanting to do it instead of Rex and Cody. The Rest of the Clones slowly lowered their weapons, still suspicious however in the intentions of the unknowns.
The Avatar made a friendly chuckle before placing her right hand onto her chest. "I'm his personal companion, Joy. And, as I have mentioned before, this is—"
"Classified." Chief said, a bit disgruntled as his voice boomed across the room as it went silent. At least he got his answer out.
This caused the Weapon, Joy, to pout at his bluntness. Sure, it would breach some UNSC Protocols, but Joy was one to be social. It was a great way of getting information. Chief, on the other hand, had been drilled in these protocols since he was six, he would follow his orders. Even if he didn't, he would still follow the main protocols set in place. Even if there wasn't some half-wit commander trying to reprimand him. His mind drifted to Captain Del Rio, the former Captain of the Infinity.
"Chief. Try to be friendly." Joy said in response. The Spartan II Commando subtly shook his head, seeing this as a waste of precious time. Silence followed.
"Are you affiliated to the Republic?" Fives asked, his voice cutting through the awkward silence.
"Classified." Chief responded, walking over to a console, and having Joy get more information from the device. If it was his choice and if he did maintain contact with the UEG/UNSC. He probably would have turned them into red slush, but he needed to find a way to get home, these people were maybe his only shot at that.
"Well, are you at least not gonna shoot us?" Hevy asked. The Spartan replied by not even raising the Battle Rifle.
"That would be a yes." Joy answered in response as the Clones relaxed a little. Just then, she noticed something approaching the base. "Uh, I hate to break this to all of you. But there are multiple bogies approaching here."
The Master Chief without hesitation ran, out more like it, 'walked' in Spartan terms to the stairs as he clambered down them, Battle Rifle in hand, as he inserted Joy's AI Chip into the back of his helmet, the avatar disappearing from the room and appearing on his HUD.
"Where's he going?" Cutup questioned his brothers as Heavy responded.
"Probably to go fight those incoming enemies that 'AI' thing mentioned."
Rex ran to the window and saw three CIS Dropships orbiting towards Rishi Outpost. "Well Kriff! Alright boys! I know our new friend is a bit, let's say, secluded in his own mystery, but we gotta defend this outpost. Follow the green guy!" he finished as the Clones ran after their mysterious hero.
-Scene Change-
Within the Armory, Master Chief was scanning through the weapons present to find one that would be suitable. He preferred a large one, it looked to be reminiscent of an MG42 from the history books he read during his training as a Spartan so long ago. Of course with a lot of modifications to it, the most obvious being this thing took power cells and not 7.92x57 Mauser.
Though he still clung to his MA40, BR-75, and MK.50 Sidekick, he had only two to three magazines for each individual weapon. Which is why he is 'borrowing' one for the time being. Hinting on why logistics were always the backbones of any military unit.
"Grabbing one of our weapons I see." He heard the same voice from before. Shift his body a bit to see those Troopers again. He knew they were clones from the moment he heard their voice, but he didn't dwell on it too much.
"I suppose?" Joy replied back in a friendly manner. Seeing the Clones grabbing the weapons, this gave her the same idea. "Chief, you can—"
"Already chosen." He abruptly interrupted, picking up a DC-15A blaster rifle, as well as extra cartridges.
The Super soldier made his way out of the armory, speeding past the Clones who moved out of the way for the seven-foot behemoth of human ingenuity.
"Personal space? Hello?" Called out the one Chief knew as Hevy. He seemed cocky, just like the Spartan IV's of Infinity.
"Yeah. That's the problem with someone as big as him." Joy warned the Clones as John rolled his eyes under his helmet in slight annoyance.
"Can't blame you, big guy." Echo spoke sympathetically while he was carrying a crate of grenades. They were being… too nice, in Chief's opinion, considering they didn't even know who he was. He bet that they didn't have something like the Cole Protocol, the old wartime measure to slow the Covenant down.
Rex and Cody, meanwhile, were prepping some explosives that were connected towards a crate filled with liquid Tibana. The two manage to place them all over the Main Room in case the Droids could potentially overrun the base once again.
"It's all set. This thing is gonna blow this place to kingdom come when those clanka's set foot in this place," Cody said as he applied his helmet to his head and checked his blaster to make sure it was at full charge.
The Master Chief was unsure about that. Having checked that the Blaster was fully charged, he ran towards the entrance of the base, clambering down the stairs as Joy automatically opened the doors to the landing bay.
Outside a CIS Dropship landed as it opened its boot like doors as Droids came pouring out. These models seemed to differ, one being a tan-beige and the others being taller with a nice sort of chrome finish to them.
"This is the reinforcements." the B1 said to the Master Chief. In response, the Spartan raised the Mk. 50 Sidekick at the head of the B1.
"Huh? WHA…" a loud bang resounded as the B1 fell to the ground, at least four others fell as well, being penetrated by the 10x31mm SAP round.
"HE ISN'T FRIENDLY! OPEN FIRE!" a B1 screeched as the droids opened fire on the Green Giant. The Spartan instinctively dove for a crate as his frame was replaced by Hevy who was standing behind the green armored behemoth.
"Hey Clanka's! Didn't say please!" A flurry of blue bolts followed from the Z-6 as droids were cut down like a field of grass. John joined in as he moved like a lightning-fast blitz, entering Spartan time as he took his time to aim the DC-15A at the enemy's head, moving in slow motion.
"Firefek! What is he doing?" Hevy asked as Echo came up from behind.
"I don't know. But I'm starting to think he isn't with us." the clone trooper replied as he was jabbed in the ribs by Fives as the Clones moved up to defensive positions behind the box.
"Do we provide covering fire, or do we sit here and have him babysit us?" Fives asked as he was starting to get frustrated. This is mainly because the moment a droid got into his sights, it instantly turned into a pile of metal thanks to the Spartan II Commando.
"Well let's make ourselves useful then. Can't have him stealing marks." Rex said as he got up and began blasting the remaining droid flanks with dual DC-17's as the other Clones did the same.
The Master Chief was busy taking care of the Separatist's B2, though arguably having more armor and a powerful blaster cannon compared to the B1 and OOM series. They were nothing more than an annoyance to the Spartan.
He took out his BR-75, firing single shots, finding the head to be once again, a prime spot to take out. The 9.5x40mm rounds did the horse's workload as they made the B2's into nothing more than blue sparks of metal.
He leaped over a group of B2's, the group blasting all the while, hitting his shields with lucky shots but overall doing nothing to affect the super soldier.
He used the MA40 and fired a wild but still accurate spray at the group as the last six went down in a metal storm of fury.
The Clones, meanwhile, were speechless. Standing there as they mopped the last B1's as they saw the large frame of the Master Chief walk away from the carnage. His figure was obviously stoic as he trekked back into the base as the Clones just looked at him in awe and terror.
"You could at least provide some additional covering fire." Joy reminded them through the Clones' comms. A bit confused at how the blue woman had accessed their comms though they shrugged it off… for now.
"Hey! At least big guy manage to fend off most of them." Hevy countered before pointing at the weapons he held. "That, and how those slugs of yours manage to turn them into scraps."
Chief was obviously confused by this individual's terminology. 'Slugs?' he thought.
Before anyone could answer, the AI noticed more signals coming on. "Hey, I know this is bad timing. But there are more coming. Like, at least three dropships landing down."
The Spartan and the Clones looked to the sky to see indeed three more CIS dropships landing by. The Former looked at his HUD to see that he only had one Magazine each left for each individual weapon. Sure, the weapon he borrowed could make a difference, but he isn't willing to do that as it would have a high risk of getting captured and his armor and weapons will be reversed engineered by who knows who.
That and Joy can reveal everything about the UNSC.
Already, he made up his mind. The Cole Protocol and its following measures after its deactivation, would be enforced by the only UNSC asset in the Galaxy Far Far Away. He shifted his attention to the Clones. "Fall back to the main room!"
Obviously. This grabbed the Clone's attention. "What now?!" Cody asked the Spartan Commando.
"Fall back to the main room! Didn't you hear him the first time?!" The AI's voice reminded him and the other Clone Troopers. They understood what the AI meant and followed suit while aiming their weapons on the fresh reinforcements.
As they retreated back to the Main Room, the doors were instantly closed thanks to the work of Joy. That brought much relief to the Clones as they felt a bit overwhelmed by the amount of Droids there but were mad because they only shot a few down. "You know, you could have shut the doors once they got too close to the doors?" Fives commented on Joy's work.
The AI felt this individual was ungrateful for saving them. "You should be thankful I've saved your lives." The Chief on the inside was now annoyed by Joy's constant quips, it made him anxious. He didn't know if the AI would breach any security details about the UNSC or what not, but he kept his head down… for now.
"Yeah, we should." Rex told her before seeing that Commander Cody was having difficulties in connecting the detonator with the bomb. "Commander, is there something wrong?"
"I just can't get this blasted thing connected!" Cody told him, pressing the button on the bomb and on the controller multiple times to no avail. The Master Chief came over to assist just as Hevy came over and took the detonator.
"You all go, I'll stay here and prep the detonator," Hevy said as he put down the Z-6 as he fumbled with the controls.
The Master Chief stopped him before he pushed him aside and yanked the detonator out from the surprised clone's hands.
"Hey! What are y…" The Master Chief fumbled with the controls for a bit, Joy worked out the Detonators problems as the detonator pad glowed blue for a bit before stopping.
The makeshift bomb as a result turned its connection status green. As the Chief pocketed the detonator, strapping it to his thigh plate as he walked past the Clones.
"You don't need any dead heroes." he said in his cold stoic voice that sent a chill up the spines of the Clones.
"I had it all under control! What makes you think you have any real autho…" Hevy started but he was soon met with the glare of a golden polarized visor as the seven-foot-tall Spartan staring at him. The Clone's reflection staring back at Hevy.
The clone had to wonder how many people had seen the visor this close and lived to tell the tale.
"Uhhh, yeah, I think we best be going." Fives said as the Clones took out a grate from the vents and began to climb in.
"You're not coming?" Hevy asked as he helped Cutup into the vent.
"I wish we could but unfortunately your vents aren't big enough for him to traverse, we'll find our own way out." Joy said through the helmet of Spartan 117. The Spartan nodded and began to turn.
"Well it was an honor serving with you," Hevy said as the Clone disappeared into the vents, closing the grate behind him.
"So you have a plan I'm assuming?" Joy said as her tone was filled with a bit of annoyance. She had wanted the Chief to socialize for once, but she was starting to think it was better if he didn't.
However she was his only companion, and she would try her best to meet the requirements of the Chief.
"Yes." came the response from the Chief, the same cold stone voice that was associated with the Spartans echoed a bit through the Main control room.
Right before making a single move, he saw a horde of B1 battle droids already entering the main control room and stared at him for a few minutes. "Umm…do you think he's one of us?"
The droid's question was answered as the Chief raised the DC-15A in his hand, the long blaster feeling like nothing to his augmented arms.
"Uhhhh…" an alien whine rang out through the barrel of the Blaster Rifle, a blue bolt slammed into the B1's head.
"HE ISN'T ONE OF US, OPEN FIRE!"
This caused the other droids to aim their weapons at the Chief, who didn't think to shoot them all. Instead, he opted to use his grappling hook and fired it. The hook end managed to grab a destroyed B-X Commando and managed to knock down a majority of the Droids.
Clang reverberated throughout as the destroyed droid chassis cut through the B1's with ease.
"We better get going, Chief!" His AI companion told him as he saw the homemade bomb blinking. Without even saying a word, the Spartan II Commando turned to the viewpoint windows and jumped out, breaking the glass in the process. As the Liquid Tibanna exploded and the Chief was thrown off course and into the rocky faces of Rishi Moon as the Outpost fell to the rocky abyss.
"That was close. But I think we have a bigger problem at hand…" said Joy as the Chief looked up and saw a massive fleet of what looked to be warships, he could only assume they were a part of the CIS. Soon triangle shaped ships appeared, which forced the CIS ships to turn around. Blue and red lights danced in the sky for a bit before returning space back to its calming black and white color scheme.
"Let's get going then." Chief said as he climbed his way up the rocky faces of Rishi.
Meanwhile, the Clones that managed to get away from the base saw the explosion. Many of them were relieved they managed to get out safely. But some couldn't help but to gain some pity on a certain individual. "You know, if I was there, I would have perished." Heavy suddenly spoke, seeing the reason why the Chief made that decision earlier.
Cutup felt the same way. "You can thank the green guy for saving us." his life would have been cut short had it not been for the marksmanship of the Spartan II.
"Can't believe he's gone." Fives spoke, seeing the now ruined Rishi Outpost.
Rex saw the upside to this. "At least his sacrifice won't be in vain." He looked over to the Four Shinies and Commander Cody. "We may have lost that mysterious hero of ours. But, he will still live on. If only in memory."
Just then, the sound of gunships caught their attention. The whirring of the LAAT's were hard to miss as they landed near the Clones. Floodlights illuminating the area, they all hopped into the gunship, helping one another on as the ship began to ascend back towards the Resolute.
A loud clunk could be heard as the LAAT faltered a bit before regaining altitude.
"What was that?" Fives asked in a worried tone as the Pilot got on the intercomms.
"I have no clue. We just checked out the bird, so I doubt it has anything wrong with the engines. Must be something wrong with the generators," the pilot responded, his co-pilot snickered a bit as he rolled his eyes.
"Yeah yeah. And you say you check every nook and cranny of this ship like it's your lover or something like that!" The co-pilot replied back as they were making their way back to the Venator-Class Cruiser.
At the literal bottom of the LAAT, the Master Chief was gripping tightly as his suit activated magnetic clamps to the vessel. He was hanging on for dear life as the LAAT exited the atmosphere and entered the vacuum of space.
"Are you sure your suit is vacuum rated?" asked the Weapon with a bit of sarcasm to her voice.
"Out of all people, you should know that." the Chief said, dropping his stoic tone for a bit while he focused on not getting dropped like an ODST without the pod.
"Ooookay then. But are you sure that you can just sneak around that ship?" Joy hinted, showing the Venator-Class Cruiser on the HUD. The Ship was about as large as some of the newer Autumn Class Heavy Cruisers. Now the design had puzzled Chief, even though he was no Naval Architect, he had to wonder why they would place the bridge so high on an exposed vantage point. What was their goal? Slap a target on them and say 'SHOOT ME!'?
"We'll figure out." The Spartan told her. "Eventually."
Well. I hope you liked the second version of chapter two of Halo galactic Wars. I have to say that this really becomes better everytime we write this story.
Crimson Soldat: Yeah, I just realized I am liking this version so far. It seems to be a pace that I do not mind taking. In all honesty, it's fresher to what I usually write. Thank you, F35B for telling me what is good and what is not good.
F35B: Hi again, I have nothing to say so I hope you all enjoy this chapter. :)
That's over and done with. I think you are going to like what we're going to do for the next chapter.
With that done, I will see you when the next chapter gets published.
