Im relatively new to Halo only started loving it 3 yrs ago when my cousin the og Halo chad introduce the universe to me so please mind if there are any lore messups and notify me.
Chapter 2
"Earth? Are you sure?" Master Chief asked with disbelief as Earth and the Moon grew larger in the window. By now, he could start to see the land masses. "Absolutely. Without a doubt." Cortana said.
"Well then, send out a signal to the closest ship and tell them to pick us up before we enter Earth's atmosphere. I'm not so sure that the Dawn can survive reentry. I have a feeling that the UNSC is going to need every last vehicle and weapon that they can find." Master Chief said as Earth came even closer.
"Alright, I'm sending out the signal and scanning for the closest UNSC signal. I'm sure that Lord Hood will be on the ship to pick us himself... no, what? That can't be." Cortana said, with shock going through her voice that was so obvious that Master Chief could easily hear.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Master Chief asked with confusion as he spun in the air and pointed his gun in front of him.
"I... I don't understand. I mean... how is it possible?" Cortana stammered slowly.
"Cortana, what's going on? Did you contact a ship?" Master Chief asked with confusion.
"No... I can't." Cortana said.
"Can't? This is Earth, isn't it?" Master Chief frowned.
"It is... but this isn't our Earth." Cortana said.
"What are you talking about? You couldn't find a signal?" Master Chief asked.
"No! I couldn't find a signal or a ship to contact, because there isn't any signal to connect to or a ship to hail!" Cortana screamed, making Master Chief's head ring for a minute. "Slow down, you're losing me. What exactly are you talking about?" Master Chief asked.
"I didn't find any UNSC signals, so I widened the margin until I found a signal." Cortana said. By now, the wreckage of the Dawn had passed the Moon, and Master Chief could see the Moon's barren surface and the craters.
"What did you find, exactly?" Master Chief frowned.
"All I could find were primitive satellites in orbit around Earth. The best that I could find were primitive satellites. This isn't a matter of where we are, but when we are." Cortana frowned.
"When... do you mean that the black hole teleported us through time as well?" Master Chief frowned.
"Yes. This Earth is in a different time entirely. I'm already hacking and getting the data from all the satellites. Based on the design, I'd say that we're in the early twenty first century." Cortana sighed.
"Can you do it?" Master Chief
"Oh please. It was so primitive that I hacked it in a few nanoseconds and got out without any detection. I got all the data I need." Cortana frowned. "So... When are we? Do you have a date?" Master Chief asked.
"Oh, I can do better. I can tell you the date, and exact time in every time zone on Earth, in both military and civilian time." Cortana chuckled.
"Well, what date is it?" Master Chief asked as he looked at the growing orb that was Planet Earth.
"Well, I was slightly right. It's the late twentieth century, or the early twenty-first century. The exact date is November Twenty-Eight, Nineteen-Ninety-Five. Chief... we've traveled five hundred and sixty-two years into the past." Cortana said slowly.
"So, that black hole transported us through space and time?" Master Chief frowned.
"Yes. It was a dimensional rift that warped space and time when we passed through it, sending us into the past." Cortana sighed.
"Will anything we do here affect our time?" Master Chief frowned.
"I don't think so. I think that this is an alternate dimension, caused by our entry." Cortana said.
"This is an alternate universe?" Master Chief frowned.
"Yes. This universe immediately shifted from ours the moment that we entered. That black hole is a gateway between this universe and ours. Isn't this amazing, John? Imagine what wonders are in this universe? The possibilities are endless!" Cortana laughed, making Master Chief frown slightly.
"How much time do we have left before we begin reentry?" Master Chief asked.
"Calculating... ten minutes at the most. John, if you don't want to burn up with the ship, I would recommend getting off this ship NOW! Why you left the room with the drop pods is beyond me." Cortana grumbled as a new countdown began in his helmet.
"Cortana, track our descent. I want to know where the Dawn is going to crash-land, and where our pod will land." Master Chief ordered as he kicked off against the window and shot in the direction that he had come from, heading straight back to the drop pod room.
"Okay John, I'm calculating the ship's descent based on our current trajectory..." Cortana said as Master Chief pulled himself around the next corner and pushed off the wall. He smashed the remaining doors headfirst and grabbed the pod next to the one that he had used when the Dawn had gone through the black hole. This time, he pushed a button, causing the door to hiss open. He immediately shot inside and sat in the control chair.
"We're pretty lucky that the black hole didn't short out the remaining power in the ship. Yank me and connect me with the pod. I'll ready the pod's systems and disconnect it from the ship." Master Chief nodded as he yanked the blue data chip out of the back of his head and pushed it into a slot on the pod. An instant later, Cortana's face appeared on one of the screens. The pod's door slid closed with a hiss. The countdown in Master Chief's helmet was at three minutes. The other screen had a world map on it.
"Okay John, I'm accessing the ship's systems from here. We're going to separate from the ship in two minutes and closing." Cortana said.
"Did you find out where we're going to land? Is it near a large population center?" Master Chief asked.
"Doubting me, John? I already figured out where it's going to land. Plotting a course now." Cortana said. Then, the world map on the screen began to zoom in quickly as Cortana began talking.
"Based on our current speed and trajectory, and the data that I've collected, our current course will send us here. This country was known as the United Kingdom during this time period. We're heading here, towards the Scottish providence in the northern part of the island. Fortunately, for both us and the civilians, we're heading for what appears to be a deserted region, far from heavily populated centers. The problem is it appears to be all forest. I don't know what we're going to do once we land. And we've got one more problem." Cortana sighed.
"What is it?" Master Chief asked as the countdown in his helmet fell to one minute.
"Based on the planet's position and the weather reports from the satellites, the region that we're going to land in is in the winter season. I don't know how long we're going to survive down there in those conditions... we're going to need your luck more than ever, John" Cortana sighed.
"I don't believe in luck. We'll make it. We always do." Master Chief said.
"I sure hope so. We're going to detach in three... two... one... we're away!" Cortana yelled. Then, the pod shot from the Dawn and headed straight towards the surface.
"Hang on, we're in the atmosphere! Eighty-thousand feet and closing!" Cortana yelled at Master Chief. Then, a rumbling noise seemed to deafen the cockpit.
"What's that noise?" Master Chief asked.
"It's the Dawn! It's passing over us and picking up speed, fast! It's like when Keyes flew the Pillar of Autumn into Halo!" Cortana gasped as the Forward Unto Dawn shot over them, glowing orange and leaving a fire trail behind it. Master Chief winched at the memory of the deceased captain and destroyed ship.
"Will the armory and assault vehicles inside the Dawn survive when the Dawn collides with the surface?" Master Chief asked.
"I'm not sure. Well, there goes our prison for the last four years..." Cortana sighed as the Dawn continued on its path across the sky.
"If a Warthog or a Pelican survives, that will be useful. So, what are the chances that someone picked up on the Dawn's descent?" Master Chief asked as the pod shot through the sky.
"I'm not sure. I'm sure that there are sensors to detect sizeable objects, such as large asteroids, even in this century. But don't worry, I easily hacked the satellites, so that they didn't detect the Dawn or us. We're going to land about four hundred meters away from the Dawn. The only problem that we have now is someone seeing the Dawn crash into the forest. But this is a desolate area, so the risk is pretty slim." Cortana sighed. By now, Master Chief could see the surface beneath him, lined with trees, with the smoke trail of the Dawn floating over like a cloud."
"We're at three thousand feet! I'm releasing the drag-chute! Hang on!" Cortana yelled as the pod rumbled again. Then a metal X flew out at the top of the pod, causing it to slow down.
"We're going to make contact in a minute. Prepare to!" Cortana was cut off when the pod's lights flickered for a minute, causing the pod to wobble.
"What was that?" Master Chief asked.
"I... I don't know! Something interfered with the power!" Cortana gasped as the lights flicked again.
"Can you do something? What caused it?" Master Chief asked as the pod rumbled more violently. His armor's alarms flared for a minute.
"I don't know. Yank me." Cortana ordered.
"What?" Master Chief asked.
"I need to keep your armor's systems up and running or we're both dead. There's nothing I can do anymore for the pod. We're going to impact in thirty seconds! Yank me NOW!" Cortana screamed. Master Chief nodded and quickly yanked the chip out after Cortana's image faded from the screen. Alarms began to ring out as he planted it back in his head. "This is it! Hang on, John!" Cortana's voice screamed. Then, the pod smashed into the ground with a large crash. Master Chief tumbled for a second and then saw nothing but black.