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FICTION
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"Something Sinister comes this way"
March 11 2527 - Hour 1231
MSGT Logan 'Log' Sutton
Planetary Surface, Shield 0459
When the surface operations started, things were 'normal'.
Several packs of Jiralhanae had been dispatched to create distractions and delay our chase to catch Anders' kidnappers. Just as the game had introduced this situation, things didn't seem any different from the standard delay operation the Covenant was known to employ against the UNSC... except things started to fall apart when Anders' transponder stopped relaying any message. Something was jamming it- something that was within the planet.
It was close. Forge was deployed with a small force to match with the one I was in charge of, the main goal was find the jammer, destroy it, and then get back on the ship to resume the chase. And then one of Forge's squads went radio silent out of the blue. There was a slight degree of confusion and a growing suspicion that the Covenant had employed special forces to cause issues. It wasn't the case. Where Echo Team went outright silent, India Team managed to escape the assault of what they define 'terrifying things'. Battle-hardened marines screamed in horror and terror as they saw some of their companions and friends being attacked, infected and then 'killed' off by the strange creatures so hungry to jump on people- consuming them and using their carcasses to have a greater chance of deadliness.
Forge had some troubles, but it wasn't a lasting issue as it would have been in the original timeline. Where he was caught off-guard by the attack, attempts to ambush my own squads failed spectacularly. Captain Hood gave me full control of these squads, and so I ordered them to adopt a more 'specialized' approach on the matter. Long-range specialists would use snipers rather than DMRs, and close range specialists would rely heavily on shotguns. Engineers with expertise on flamethrowers were also dispatched and those were a blessing the moment their tool of destruction scorched the infection forms trying to rush towards some of their fellow marines.
No one in my force was killed, with the cautious approach allowing us to sustain a steady defense and push back any effort from the desperate lifeforms to try and assimilate the rest of the group. All within the Balmong squadron was assigned on the frontline, making sure no surprises came in that regard. Between the disgusted tones from some of the marines, the annoyance from Gage and Michael, and Alba's outright disgust towards the little murderous critters, I also dreaded the possibility of any surprises. After all, the Flood wasn't limited by some game logic which prevented them from taking on forms that hadn't been shown in Halo Wars. Heck, some of the ensuing efforts confirmed they took the form of some of the Halo 3's variants of enemies which hadn't been displayed in this particular game.
Once we were done enduring the first intense assault, I immediately dispatched the Omega team with a group of marines to clear the way and reconnect with the Red Team. From there, they would assist Forge recovering from the losses he just sustained. It took hours to get the entire line under control, but soon the monstrous bastards were repelled for long enough for effective defenses to be deployed. Flamethrower turrets and unmanned rocket launchers were quick to grind to the ground any attempt to regain momentum, stopping the initial success of the unknown entity on his forces.
Regardless of the success, everyone was shocked. What the hell was going on? Serina and Sif offered the same response: parasitic creatures that were expanding aggressively. The Flood was adopted as a nickname from the Norse-like AI, the denomination accepted with ease. Yet, another detail was quickly determined through a quick analysis of their biology: they were being controlled by something on the planet. Something that aerial recons managed to quickly find. In the original timeline, the Proto-Gravemind was heavily defended and ended up drawing a moderate loss rate from the UNSC forces on the planet.
What made this situation somewhat different if not favorable on our side was the fact that the UNSC Roman Blue had something that easily made this process somewhat unneeded. The GA-TL1(p), or 'Plasma Longsword, was an experimental take on the classic Longsword fighter-bomber. There were just two of those within the ship, but both had been tested in combat and had shown exceptional performance in battle. The bombers rushed in from well beyond the reach of the natural long-range defenses created by the conglomeration of parasites and the blue fire that rained upon that abomination easily tore through it.
With its death, the presence of the Flood on that section of the planet's surface was erased. I thought it would have been more extensive, but the truth was that the parasites had expanded more intensely on the planetary surface and... they were converging on our position. The Flood was driven by endless hunger- it was clear they wouldn't just allow the chance to feast on living flesh if it was within reach, no matter the distance needed to go through. With that in mind and with Anders' transponder once again detected the troops were all recalled into the Spirit of Fire and Roman Blue.
The evac operation was quick and clean, Pelicans were dispatched to retrieve abandoned vehicles to minimize the equipment's loss we had sustained in this brief campaign, and no one was left behind before the search for the researcher resumed. The ships moved away from the approaching horde, soon we were standing over... an ocean. A line of explosions ensued and allowed the waters to part way after a single message was echoed to both Serina and Sif. 'Process of Docking'. Both ships were subjected to a planetary pull which forced them to re-correct their trajectory as we ventured deep into the planet's 'core'. And that's where the unusual bit of this scene started as I stared at this sight from the command post within the Roman Blue.
"Captain, I managed to track down an AI in charge of this procedure. I believe I can establish contact with it."
Captain Hood nodded. "Try to get more info. What is going on? Where are we going?"
"Sir, yes sir," The Smart AI hummed before taking a moment to study the situation some more. Sentinels started to rush around and scan the ships that were passing through the large corridor leading to the planet's heart. I glanced around, feeling quite tense that these bastards' lasers were going to be a troublesome issue if we didn't make them our buddies early on. After what felt like an eternity and yet proved to be just ten minutes, we were finally 'talking' to something inside. The AI that was inside the planet's core.
"I have it on the Comms-" Sif warned quickly, but her voice was cut short by a robotic hum.
"Interesting. An Artificial Intelligence that contains a heightened grasp over its existence," The indifferent masculine voice owned by the Ancilla in charge of this Shield World spoke. I was stunned by the immediate comment, and what it entailed to a more AI-oriented expert on the matter regarding Sif's depiction of it. "It's been a long time since I had the chance to observe something like you."
"This is Captain Terrence Hood of the UNSC Navy. Who am I speaking to?" The captain interjected and the humming returned, this time with greater amusement.
"Greeting Captain Terrence Hood, my name is 418 Perpetual Comprehension, Ancilla of Shield World 0459, and your ship together with the one of what I assume is a close ally of yours is currently being escorted into the core of the Shield World."
"Did other lifeforms take part in this trip or are we the first ones?" I asked, gaining some glances on my general direction, but knowing that I had to press the topic.
"Yes and... Oh my," The humming turned delighted. "This Reclaimer... fascinating. Still, yes, another fleet of ships has carried through the journey to reach your current destination."
"The Covenant," Hood understood, his eyes widened. "Perpetual Comprehension, are there weapons within this 'destination' which could be used to provide advantage in a Galaxy-wide conflict?"
"Hmm? Obviously. Our Creators left behind a fleet for the sake of providing a secondary base to further extend the defensive approaches against the parasite."
"Can you provide general specifications of the ships this fleet is made of?" Sif asked, a bit too daringly considering she was asking a very tense AI about giving specs on ships that were meant to be used for 'good' and not for 'war'.
"Sure."
Two seconds, that's how long it took for Sif's calm approach to crack into a panicking one. "T-These details- The Sojourner-class Dreadnoughts' armaments could easily shred into our entire fleet with ease. Captain, we- we need to stop them."
The uneasy and stuttering tone was enough to leave the entire command post in a nervous mood, and I used this chance to try and do something good for all of us.
"Well, the ships that are meant to do that are soon going to be seized by the group that came before us," I told the Forerunner AI. "The Covenant has been actively looking through relics left behind by your creators, uncaring of the fact their careless approach is activating the dormant parasite."
"Oh? I had my suspicions that was the case but... do you have proof to further corroborate this thesis?" The Ancilla inquired and I gave a quiet look at Sif. The Smart AI nodded and sent the footage we had from the Harvest's terminal room and the Arcadia's Super-Scarab to the Ancilla. A few silent moments passed, and then the humming returned, this time more frustrated. "Truly, truly disappointing. I suppose this 'Covenant' is responsible for quite the troublesome behavior in diplomatic endeavors."
"Their first response after first contact was considered Humanity filth to eliminate. I guess we can all say that we proved to be worse than that by making them pay for each good soul they took from us," Hood remarked and a few smiles spread all over the room. Not enough, not too many- but it was something.
"Yes, yes... I can tell this would explain some peculiar behavior I had noticed from them. I believe the young female 'human' that is currently under their care is not there by her own consent, correct?"
"She was captured," Hood confirmed and the AI hummed in glee.
"Then I shall see to relocate her as soon as your ship is out of the corridor. Due to my limited control of the installation, I can only allow shifts through terminals within the Shield World. For now, I believe it's best for your troops to remain within the defensive structure of your ships as the parasite has a presence within the corridor and I shall ensure the sentinels take care of this," Perpetual Comprehension concluded jovially. "I shall meet you Reclaimers once more once this process is over. I have a few... 'matters' to solve before your proper arrival."
The exchange soon ceased and the situation was relayed by Sif to Serina as the Flood started to approach, with the Sentinels moving to intercept and destroy the parasites with their laser blasts. The situation had indeed escalated, but in a positive way. For now. After all, we were going way faster than how the Spirit of Fire originally moved and... we weren't going to crash on some ship at the end of that road.
Still, despite that, I could tell that the skirmish to claim the Forerunner Dreadnoughts was going to be quite tough.
AN
First Contact with the Flood and... New AI Buddy unlocked!
P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c
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Victorius 435: Humanity as a whole is considered as Reclaimers.