The bridge in the Eliksni Ketch was buzzing with chatter. Vraskor and various Captains were chanting words in the Fallen language, followed by either vandals or dregs acting as guards. Mithrax looked at the holomap stretched across a smooth monitor, flexing his finger claws every now and then in thought. He was seated in the Captain's 'throne', arms resting on either side.
He was the only silent member. Even his daughter, Eido, and Jake engaged in a conversation.
Once the Kell raised from his chair, everyone in the room fell silent. He paced to the holomap and quickly pointed at a part of it. "There. Me and the Arbiter will destroy one of the three shields, Chief and Johnson will deal with the other two. Once the field is down, Jake will join the battlefield and help us in reaching Truth." The Master Chief was led by 343 Guilty Spark in a region of this new land. They mapped the area and detected Truth's hideout, which was at the same time the control room where he'd fire all the Halo rings at once... minus the original Installation that was destroyed.
"Vraskor." The Captain perked his head up at his name being pronounced. "Prepare all the Skiffs we have. Fill them with warriors and gift them appropriate equipment for battle. I want any available Eliksni ready for the assault. We'll leave a few guards to protect the Ketch and our civilians."
"My Kell... wouldn't it better to leave a few transportations intact in the eventuality of a retaliation against this vessel? A mean to escape."
"There won't be anything left to escape from if that Prophet activates the Rings. I want all of our troops on the ground. Every last one of them. And prepare the two Walkers you have in the hangar. We'll need high firepower." Mithrax dangerously leaned closer to the other member of his kind. "Make it happen."
Jake had never heard that tone coming from the Kell. But considering the stories of his previous lifestyle, it was to be expected. Your past self, your essence, what makes you-you; it never leaves. Echoes of it will haunt your spirit until your death, not matter how much you try to change your nature. He didn't blame the Kell, it was now or never. A last card to be thrown before everything burned to ashes.
It was everything Earth, the Sangheili and the Eliksni could throw at the Covenant, versus everything the Covenant could throw at them.
"Why am I remaining here?"
Mithrax turned to face him. "The clashing of our forces will spill much blood. Whoever remains with the most forces, shall claim the prize. Much like your World Wars, it is but a battle of attrition. You shall be the tip of our sword once the majority of the fog clears off. Hit them with your Light, with the might of the Great Machine." The Kell of Kells placed a claw on his chest. "We will do everything in our power to push through the defenses. Your presence won't change much at the start, we need you at your full strength. Can we count on you, Guardian?"
He wouldn't consider himself a master of the elements he controlled, for he wasn't a Warlock. Warlocks deeply connected with the Light and sharpened their abilities on a daily basis. They detailed their findings like the good scholars they were via datapads or the good ol' way of writing with ink. But Titans? Titans were already war machines, having an almost special connection to the Light to turn themselves into shields those too weak could take cover behind. "You are the shield behind which the City stands tall." Commander Zavala often reminded the new recruits and him.
Yet, he lifted the palm of his glove. Small energy particles travelled together until they lightened up. These particles meshed together into small balls of paracausality. Each element he used floated in an appropriate space to make room for the others. Solar. Arc. Void. Stasis.
"You have my word, Mithrax."
Watching yet again events unfold from the safety of a screen very much annoyed the Guardian. He kept a close eye on Chief's camera as he went on his business on the beach, killing Covenant troops and storming each stronghold the bastards had established on the path to the three towers. Again, John's knowledge and ability in battle were not that different from a Titan's. What the Spartans lacked was merely paracausality. Give the Light to one of them, and you get a proper Titan.
Jake tapped one of his fingers on the elbow of his other arm. He turned to another feed and watched Mithrax and the Arbiter storming the second tower. There were already casualties among the Kell's ranks, but nothing major. The Skiffs took advantage of ther superior firepower to eradicate the Covenant from above, the Captains had their shock blades and experience in close quarters to stun the targets, vandals either shot their cannons or remained in the far back to snipe, and the dregs were basically the meat shields of the situations. They held better against the grunts, but whoever was unlucky to confront a Brute didn't last much.
He didn't pay much attention to Johnson's feed. The Spartan I (he made sure not to mention the secret stuff in front of other soldiers) had everything under control, and while he didn't possess a super advanced armour like the heavy plating on Jake and Chief's bodies, he faired well in the field.
Master Chief pressed a few buttons on the console. The tower deactivated, the energy beam emitted from it stopped amplifying the shield to the Citadel. One down, two to go. He thought.
He watched Mithrax stomping on the heads of grunts blocking their way. A sickening crunch reached the microphone of the comms, indicating their tiny skulls being fractured to the point of a complete lack of functionality. Purple blood oozed from the wounds, plasma pistols scattered across the now full of bodies room. A swipe of two finger claws, and the second tower was deactivated. Two down, one to go. He smiled underneath his helmet, pleased at the present outcome.
Jake immediately frowned when Johnson appeared to be having a hard time in deactivating the third tower.
The biggest surprise was instead a space bridge being opened... and the entirety of an infected High Charity entering the atmosphere of the Ark once the third tower had been handled by the eroic acts of Master Chief. Jesus Christ. The shield had been lowered, but a new threat and obstacle had raised from the horizon. The path to Truth's lair would not be an easy one. Not with a parasite infecting whatever it touched in mere seconds.
"High Charity? By the Gods! Brace for impact!" Yelled Rtas 'Vadum from the Shadow of Intent.
The structure flew far over the Citadel and the Separatist Carrier. Debris from High Charity struck right through the Shadow of Intent's hull. A Flood dispersal pod then broke apart in midair. Part of the pod crashed right through the window right above Chief. Jake watched John preparing his assault rifle and uncrossed his arms, walking towards the nearest exit from the bridge. "I'm going in." They did say he'd need to wait for the three towers to be destroyed. His Solar super was clearly the best option against the Flood. Much like the Xenomorph from those old Alien Movies from the 20th century, the alien bastards here hated fire.
Captain Vraskor was overseeing the last of the remaining Skiffs still needing approval for release. He nodded his head to Jake who reciprocated.
He had never been inside one of these Skiffs. They were pretty much sandwiched between each other as they awaited their turn to be propelled through the hatch beneath their feet.
"Chief, Guardian? Do you copy?"
"Yes, ma'am."
The Guardian accepted the request from the Commander. "Loud and clear, Commander. How may we help you?"
"Shipmaster's Carrier is out of commission. I need you to take down Truth. The Flood's just going to put pressure on him, accelerate his plans. Mithrax and the Arbiter's forces are all converging on his position. We should also receive two of those 'Walker' tanks the Eliksni spoke of as support. Punch through the cliffs! Get inside that Citadel!"
He didn't have to be told twice.
Halo 3 Soundtrack: One Final Effort
The hatch was released, he fell from his still position and landed on solid ground. The Citadel was in sight, Brutes and their army exited the building and swarmed the level beneath him. Soft footsteps gradually became loud thumps, Jake turned around and witnessed the entirety of the Eliksni Ketch's soldiers rushing towards him, a human tank following them in the far back. Above them all, in the air, Skiffs and Loyalist's Banshees hovered, pointing right at their objective. They demanded air supremacy, and they all cooperated to achieve this important position. They all pushed past him, and he followed them with his gaze. They truly resembled a flock of birds.
The tank stopped in front of him. "Get inside, Jake. We've got a Prophet to kill." He grinned at John's words. Taking comfort in operating the turret, he barely had the time to register a Fallen pike zipping past them, followed by a ghost with an Elite inside. More pikes soon followed, he recognized in the distance the color scheme of the first pike's occupant.
Mithrax.
"This is Kell of House Light, Mithrax, speaking. To all our allies, whether they be Sangheili or Human; the goal is in sight! This is our last wall to breach. Our Final Effort!"
Roars and cheers of agreement echoed from all parties. Now even human Pelicans and Warthogs joined the air and ground battles.
While he used the minigun strapped to the tank to eliminate any resistance on foot, he watched from afar the clashing of the last pods of Truth's strength against the whole small army of Eliksni and Sangheili. Some preferred to run and crash against any nearby opponent, others he watched jumping in the air and literally tackling Brutes through said move. The pikes and the single ghost sent into oblivion any large groups of hostile aliens they had within sights. In the end, the Loyalist's Banshees, the Skiffs and the Pelicans were engaging in a fierce confrontation with Truth's air forces.
But as they got closer and closer to the main road, they watched their allies slowly pushing the Brutes back. They were winning! Even these giant gorillas couldn't stand the power of Stasis.
Two Pelicans hovered near to Jake and Chief's positions. They dropped two Hornets for them to use. At first he didn't find a clear purpose for these new found toys, until two devices were dropped in the now devoid of Brutes area. They unfolded to reveal the clobbering beasts that were Scarabs. A few vehicles were crushed by these mighty monsters, the soldiers on foot retreated. "Shit. Mithrax, Arbiter! Fall back, fall back!" He nudged his chin at John. "Let's use these Hornets to help them, Chief."
"They are indeed using all that is left of their arsenal! We must not give in to this delay." He heard the Arbiter on the comms.
"I count two Scarabs! Repeat: two Scarabs!"
He and Chief took off. Immediately they opened fire with their miniguns and unleashed a whole torrent of missiles on the legs. Too bad the missiles were much less effective than a normal rocket or the punches a tank could deliver. "We're gonna need more firepower if we want to destroy them!" His eyes widened once he finished the sentence. He tightly squeezed the cyclic stick and quickly brought it to the left. Doing so, he barely avoid a giant plasma bullet before it could hit the right wing of his Hornet.
"Damn it. We won't resist much longer down here, sirs! We don't even have high caliber bullets to scratch 'em!"
"Deploy the Walkers. NOW!" Mithrax roared in a mix of English and Eliksni. Jake saw one of the legs of the farthest Scarab almost squashing the pike Mithrax resided in.
Two Skiffs carrying familiar giant machines slowly approached the field. The Scarabs suddenly switched their attention from the Hornets and insects below them to the two air crafts transporting the heavy weaponry. "They are trying to bring down the Skiffs! Chief, focus fire on the muzzles. We have to stop them before they dismantle the Walkers!"
"Affirmative. I'll take the farthest Scarab, you focus fire on this."
"Sixty seconds to their arrival!" Ghost informed.
He squeezed the trigger and directed the minigun on the little turret resting on the back of the Scarab. With each wave of bullets, the turret slowly broke down; until it completely blew up. The debris tumbled down on the ground, likely crashing on some unfortunate friendlies. Jake narrowed his eyes in frustration but focused on the muzzle. Chief had destroyed his turret as well and was avoiding the suppressing fire of the Covenant troops operating on the giant machine.
Eventually Jake had to do the same as the Covenant on the sides of his Scarab opened fire on him to try and disrupt his efforts.
Two louds THUDS! interrupted his and Chief's focus. They respectively looked to the right and left. The Walkers had been dropped on the ground and were activating, stretching their legs and emitting loud mechanical noises as the gears inside moved.
"Hell yeah! Let's drop some lead on those motherfu-"
"FIRE!" Mithrax abruptly interrupted the marine talking with his order in Eliksni.
The lasers on the Walkers turned on, they pointed to one of the Scarabs' legs.
One moment later...
BOOM! BOOM!
...and the two legs targetted by the Walkers were completely destroyed.
"Again! Reload!"
BOOM! BOOM!
Jake, Chief and the soldiers on foot of all species simply laid back and watched in amazement the tanks at work.
"One last time. Reload!"
BOOM! BOOM!
That's our chance!
Jake pressed a button and the window of his Hornet slid open. He jumped out of his transportation and activated Thundercrash midair. Like a comet, he crashed against the surface of the Scarab and annihilated any Covenant standing beside him. He then searched for the exposed power core and pumped his whole magnum into it. Jumping from the exploding Scarab, he ran away before the debris could squash him. The Guardian watched the same fate being applied to the other giant.
This part of the plan was at last a success. Sangheili, Eliksni and Humans on the ground either cheered or roared in delight for the victory.
It's not over yet.
"Good job! Spark has found a way into the Citadel. He's waiting for you on the platform, you two. Go!"
Jake, Mithrax, Chief and the Arbiter all walked up a path to meet the Monitor.
"The Flood scales the Citadel's far wall. Activate this bridge, Oracle!" Thel 'Vadam released a small growl at his three companions. "The Prophet will die by my hands, not theirs."
"Calamity! If only we had more time!"
You're done, Truth. We're coming for you.
Never in a million years had he envisioned an alliance with the Flood. The thought disgusted him to the core, exactly as an alliance with the Hive would. But, with no other options in sight, he remembered a classic quote: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Too bad the current friend was a disgusting virus more dangerous than Siva itself. At least the technology didn't completely take over the mind, it still left a minimum trace of your former self.
The Flood did not.
Now he was staring at a dead Miranda Keyes laying in Johnson's caring embrace. I hope you'll find your father. He traded a glanced with Johnson, who gave the Guardian the tiniest of nods and a smirk. At least they would save the universe, despite the unspeakable cost.
He saw the shadow of Mithrax standing beside him. "Devotion inspires bravery, bravery inspires sacrifice. And sacrifice... leads to death." The Kell crouched and, with Johnson's approval, gently closed Miranda's eyes. "May the Great Machine be with you, Commander. Until we meet again."
The Rings suddenly powered down. Jake turned to watch the Arbiter grabbing the Prophet of Truth by the back of his neck. "NO! I. Am. Truth. The voice of the Covenant!"
Thel 'Vadam leaned closer to whisper to him. "And so you must be silenced." The energy sword went right through Truth's chest. The Arbiter released a loud roar of triumph before looking at his three companions. They each acknowledged one another, temporarily finding small comfort in stopping the apocalypse.
Suddenly, the ground began to tremble, and massive tentacles rose up all around them. Johnson transported Miranda's body in the Pelican and turned on the engine, lowering the ramp as much as possible for the four warriors to jump inside. They did attempt this, but the tentacles grabbed the Pelican and threw it out of the control room. They all fell on the floor.
A loud maniacal laughter came from the Gravemind.
"Now the gate has been unlatched, headstones pushed aside...corpses shift and offer room, a fate you must abide!"
The four gathered in the center of the room. Chief and the Arbiter went back to back with their assault rifle and energy sword; Jake and Mithrax did the same, arc and modified Battle rifles at ready.
"We trade one villain for another."
The Kell of Kells grunted in agreement. "For each Devil you cast away, another will immediately take its place."
Let's begin.
If he had a lumen for every time he fell from tall positions he'd be so fucking rich to escape the Tower and enter monk life. At least he'd live a peaceful life away from death and destruction.
However, he had a duty to attend to. That much he understood.
In the corridor to their right they spotted an aspect of Cortana walking, while glitching in a steady rhythm.
"What do you see?" The Arbiter asked, followed by a head tilt by Mithrax.
"It's Cortana. Me and Chief's armour are linked in case messages or fragments from her arrive. This way."
The aspect had turned the cover and disappeared. Not a trace of is previous existence left. Mithrax and Thel 'Vadam exchanged a glance, the former shrugged and trailed behind the two. The Arbiter snorted in annoyance and did the same after a moment of hesitation.
The Master Chief went to the panel and activated it.
A view screen slid open, the four stepped out onto a balcony to watch as a massive structure rose up out of thick fog. It... was a Halo Ring, clearly incomplete, rising from inside the Ark's Core.
Clever girl.
Thel 'Vadam turned and looked at his comrades. "A replacement. For the Ring you destroyed."
"When did you know?"
The Monitor hovered up from behind the warriors and came up to Chief and Jake.
"Just now. But...I had my hopes. What will you do?"
"Light it." Two nods of confirmation trailed behind the sentence from Jake and Ghost, the latter materializing near his shoulder.
"...Then we are agreed! A tactical pulse will completely eradicate the local infestation! I will personally oversee the final preparations."
343 Guilty Spark flew away, too distant to hear his babblings.
"How will you light it?"
Mithrax and the Arbiter followed their gazes on High Charity.
"Jake." The Guardian blinked at the Spartan. He nudged his neck to properly address Chief. "You should get back on Mithrax's Ketch. Oversee the repairs, count the damage, prepare more troops for this other assault... if Mithrax still has them. Me and the Arbiter will handle Cortana's rescue."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Affirmative. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
He certainly hoped so.
Author's note:
2 chapters remaining!
"Sniff" The is near. "Sniff"
Also, I really tried to write a proper description of the battle between our heroes and the two Scarabs. Hopefully it was... good? Don't know. If anyone bothers reviewing and addressing the battle, they can tell me if it was good.
(Also, you should read that section with One Final Effort in the background)
Until next time!
Gino out!
