Forgive me for this long delay; many things have happened in the time between, especially those important ones demanding my attention. I also took the time to set up the pieces in this chapter. Moving forward, Azeroth is finally now on the horizon. Time to piss off the Time Dragons. Hehe.
As of late, I've been rather torn when it comes to the most recent announcement mentioning Halo Studios, and the controversy surrounding its CEO with topics like DEI, and I do not wish to partake in that. All I hope is they actually make a decent story, no matter the affiliation.
Because of that, I added more refinement to this chapter to help smooth things later on. Plus, with 343 Industries basically out of the picture, I would love to bring this story to a darker tone (hopefully darker than Bungie's) to celebrate its inauguration.
Thank you for sticking around!
-DarkNovaExtremia
CHAPTER II: First Contact
I decided to make an appearance guide to help one visualize the characters' faces and voices, especially the UNSC and Covenant, but you can visualize whoever you want ;P. Hope you enjoy it!
UNSC
Staff Sergeant Michael Hamilton (SPARTAN-X29) = Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Petty Officer 2nd Class Akane Kimura (SPARTAN-119) = Tsubasa Honda
Captain Adrian Vought, UNSC Navy = Matt Damon
Alessandra, UNSC Smart AI = Isabella Rosellini
Cmdr. Tolu Ogunde = Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Cmdr. Helena Marceau = Marion Cotillard
Cmdr. Alexander Ramirez = Gabriel Luna
Cmdr. Hikari Nakamura = Rinko Kikuchi
Cmdr. Henry Johnson = Tom Hardy
Cmdr. Francesca Bellanti = Marisa Tomei
Vice Adm. Margaret Parangosky = Judi Dench
COVENANT (VOICES)
Ivu 'Zodamee = Jeremy Irons
Ceia 'Vavamee = Rosamund Pike
Ozo 'Ragamee = Ving Rhames
Tyvo 'Gottinee = Tony Todd
Zuvan 'Dragunai = Vin Diesel
Incitus = Michael Clarke Duncan
Cavum = Clancy Brown
...
"So, the Aegina made it past charted space. Now, whatever happens to them is not my full concern. I don't expect her to return anytime soon, as a pioneer's job is rarely quick. It took mankind decades to find the New World in the centuries of old, and I expect her journey to be lengthy before the crew reestablishes contact with the UNSC or the UEG."
"The Orion-class assault carrier would've sufficed, but the only problem was operational authority and ownership. Yes, we were fortunate to acquire a ship as large as her, but at what cost? The latter comes equipped with factory modules we had to secure to install on the former."
"The Punic-class supercarrier was never purpose-built to be a mobile colony, by all means. Yet, our recent endeavor has proven to be a very promising one. Although she was able to be converted into one, and from standard military assets, there is still room for improvement. That means the Special Assembly Plant Concord will have very busy hands, especially with the plans to be formulated from the gathered data."
"Are you saying that another one is in the cards?"
"Finding a home for humanity has been the UEG's goal since its inception. Project: OUROBOROS aimed to strengthen that resolve, and with the war shifting against us, recouping somewhere will soon be our only viable option."
"What is the end goal in this?"
"To conquer the vast infinity that lies before us, one must constantly learn from the rigors of trial and error. Whether the Aegina was a success or an error, the lessons we learn from her will determine our future as a species. Eternity amongst the stars is what humankind still wants to achieve, and with the Covenant closing in, the desire grows stronger than ever. Their sacrifices aren't in vain, so it seems."
...
WORMHOLE
Unknown Dimension
Both sides were surprised to be still alive, as a black hole would normally destroy them. The black hole must have had enough energy to tear open into slipspace, but this didn't resemble slipspace. They were violently launched into this dimension, with the usual phenomena of slipspace but with some unexpected and unfamiliar streams of blue, violet, yellow, and green dancing in an aurora. Accompanying the aurora was a vortex.
The UNSC and Covenant sides resumed their battle, but their propulsion systems proved too inadequate, as they looked like they were tumbling. The vortex was sucking both sides into it, causing instability to their ships and setting off alarms. Some fighters started to take shots but their aim scored no hits, and several started to break down as the dimension's violent energies proved too much, with human and alien pilots trying to scream. Still, their voices were drowned out by their exploding craft and disintegrating selves.
A symphony of ship alarms, disintegrating fighters, and destabilized warships ensued until the vortex finally swallowed them all. The last thing they saw was a bright white light, abruptly transitioning to a sudden black.
AZEROTH
EASTERN KINGDOMS
20 ADP (After the Dark Portal)
14 years after the Second War
Lordaeron
Arathi Highlands
THRALL'S DREAM
He saw a battlefield where he led an army, and the humans charged upon them. But then he heard a voice call out to him.
"The sands of time have run out, son of Durotan. The cries of war echo upon the winds. The remnants of the past scar the land. Which is besieged once again, by conflict. Heroes arise to challenge fate and lead their brethren to battle. As mortal armies rush blindly towards their doom, the burning shadow comes to consume us all."
The skies rained a sickly green fire.
"You must rally the Horde and lead your people to their destiny!" a robed figure pointed at him
The young orc woke up profusely sweating, wondering what nightmare he had just experienced.
...
Medivh, Guardian of Tirisfal, suddenly had a headache while perching on Thrall's hut in his crow form, starting to have visions he could not understand.
Within the Great Dark Beyond lay strange-looking shapes. Cubic and sleek figures faced each other, floating in the darkness. They were engaged in a battle, but a crushing void engulfed both. Verdant lands were left in a glassy inferno with one of the sleek figures dominating the sky above.
"Your destruction is the will of the gods, and we are their instrument!"
Azeroth came into vision, and moments later, it was reduced to a smoldering and blazing wasteland.
The intensity brought him back to his senses, which only troubled him.
He knew that the Burning Legion was coming to set this world to the flame, but he could not understand what those strange figures had to do with his vision. Nonetheless, he set out to bring Go'el, more known as Thrall, to the path of salvation for his people. He would try to understand more of what he saw once he was done.
He saw to it that the young warchief would follow his destiny despite his feelings of unforeseen changes, personally appearing to Thrall to tell him of what was to come and that his people would stand a chance against the great burning shadow by sailing west to Kalimdor.
Southshore
Hillsbrad
As three days went by, Grommash Hellscream was captured but freed due to the former's efforts. They were able to sail away by stealing and taking command of the human ships nearby.
Once Medivh saw they were on their way, he would try to discover more about the other vision. Something gnawed at his mind that what he experienced would profoundly impact the times ahead, and he decided to seek a deeper understanding whatever the cost. As the winds of war loomed over the Eastern Kingdoms, he sought out the Kingdom of Lordaeron as time had begun to outrun him.
Medivh flew for days from Southshore to the Capital City of Lordaeron, intending to warn the Alliance of the oncoming war. Snow or desert winds did not deter him and remained steadfast in his objective.
Kingdom of Lordaeron
Capital City
Within the throne room, King Terenas II was showing signs of frustration amidst the councilors and other officials bickering on what to do between a rumored plague and the escape of the orcs and their violation of the Alliance Internment Act. The king flared up at the possibility of quarantine due to the rumored plague and declared he would not institute it without proof.
Medivh flew into the room and transformed into his Guardian self from his crow form. "Yet prisoners they are, good king."
"What is the meaning of this? Who are you?"
"Humanity is in peril! The tides of darkness have come again! And the whole world is poised upon the brink of war!"
The chamber clamored in irritation and disbelief from what had transpired.
"Hear me! The only hope for your people is to travel west, to the forgotten lands of Kalimdor."
The clamor grew even more. Not recognizing the former Guardian of Tirisfal, the elderly monarch gave his resolute answer. "Hold, Ambassador. I don't know who you are or what you believe, but this is not the time for rambling prophets. Our lands ARE beset by conflict, but it shall be WE who decide how best to protect our people, not you. Now, begone!"
"I failed humanity once before, and I will not do so again. If you cannot take up this cup, then I shall find another who will."
The moment he left, he felt the winds change. "The warning has been given. Their fate is now their own."
Upon the verdant landscapes, his vision was assaulted by blazing flames, charred earth, and the cries of horror and despair. The overstimulation caused him to momentarily seize up, plummeting to the ground in a dull thud. The pain from the impact didn't compare to the mental anguish he suffered and he tried to compose himself. The vision then showed a giant figure in the sky, and from it, came a swarm that rained death, and the last thing he heard was an inhuman roar before it ended.
Back to reality, he breathed heavily, clutching his sides on the ground. Standing up, he looked at the skies.
"What is coming that I do not know?" he said in a mix of doubt and fear
Reminding himself that time was running out, he then tried to seek out the archmage Antonidas in Dalaran in hopes that he too would listen.
Magocracy of Dalaran
Dalaran City
Jaina Proudmoore, a pupil of Archmage Antonidas, was deep in thought when it came to her arcane studies. As she fixated her eyes upon the tome she was reading, a slight tingle coursed through her, startling her but brushed it off, thinking it was just some random occurrence. An intense blue flame suddenly manifested on the edge of the tome. Moving away from it, the blue flame consumed the tome and left it a pile of ash. Wind rushed into the library and blew away the ash, revealing a strange, unfamiliar symbol burned into the table. Circular in shape, it glowed an ember red, burning a hole through the table.
The windows suddenly turned dark, as if the sun was extinguished. A faint blue light then pulsated as it shone through the glass, accompanied by a vibrating rumble. Jaina's sense of dread grew, which did not bode well for her. A crackly, sizzling sound caused her to turn around, and the last thing she saw was a luminescent blade split into two prongs before it thrust itself into her chest.
Jaina realized it was only a dream, as she checked for any wounds and found none. Everything was fine with no evidence of any sort of burning. Sweating from the intense ordeal, she wondered if that was a dream, or a vision of something yet to come. Taking a deep breath, she tried to relax herself and resumed her scholarly pursuits by heading to one of the arcane sanctums within the city.
Looking at the Halls of Magic, elven sorceresses and priests walked about their daily routines. Human magi and wizards stroll past without caring much about the world outside this city. As of late, she had sensed faint traces of dark energies, but could not tell where they came from. Focusing back on her studies, she would try to understand more of her vision once her thoughts were clear.
Zul'Aman-Eversong Forest boundary
Quel'Thalas
Northeastern Lordaeron
Two Seraphs had exited the wormhole, surviving the perilous event that killed off their squadron. The wormhole's EMP effects shut down their flight systems, leading them to fall from great heights upon reentering normal space. The crafts' teardrop shapes only served to speed up their descent and approach dangerous velocities.
A vast expanse of evergreen forests lay below them, getting closer as every second passed by. Soon enough, they crashed into the trees which were barely enough to break their fall. The creatures of the woods panicked and ran away from the crash sites.
Both fighters' top hatches opened, with Sangheili and Jiralhanae emerging from their wreckages. Being relatively close enough, they immediately headed towards one another.
"Are there others who survived?" the Jiralhanae pilot spoke up
"I do not know. I fear we may be the only ones that have. We should try to contact our comrades."
SNIFF SNIFF
"What is it?"
"This place smells unfamiliar. I'm also picking up the scent of something else."
Both tried to make sense of this new environment, and their motion trackers registered several signatures closing in on them.
"We may have company."
An axe flew out from the woods, but both were fast enough to dodge it. Soon after, several hollerings and war cries followed.
"Company we do have, it seems."
From the forests emerged beings just as tall as them, strangely resembling humans but the differences came into view, for they had long ears, long tusks, three fingers, and only two toes. Axes, spears, and even small blades were wielded by these green-skinned creatures.
"Hah! What strange beings dey are. Dey dare to trespass on Amani land! First, we have da elves, now deez two! Slaughter dem and offer dem to da loa!"
They all chanted in a frenzied way, brandishing their weapons. Having no weapons, they were going to have to rely on their brute strength and their armor to let them get through. Eyeing the weapons, they planned to get some as soon as their attackers would go in for the kill. One immediately headed into the fight but suddenly had an arrow go through its head.
Soon after, arrows came raining down which hit some of them. Smaller pale humanoids soon arrived on the scene, further confusing the alien duo. They strongly resembled humans but had glowing eyes and long ears. As fast as it happened, one of the tusked savages appeared out of nowhere and tried to decapitate the saurian's head when its skull was caved in by a hefty punch.
His pseudo-ursine companion had stepped in when a spear was thrown at him which failed to penetrate his armor. This only served to anger him, as he immediately went at his attacker, brutally mauling the spear-thrower to a bloody pile of brains and chunks. Both grabbed an axe and some spears from their fallen attackers, finally arming themselves. Standing their ground, the Amani soon were forced to retreat from their losses.
..
The quel'dorei, or the high elves, saw the forest trolls leave and retreat. However, they soon turned their attention to the two strange creatures in their midst. One was a tall, hulking bipedal reptilian with four mandibles. The other was a massive, furred primate-looking being, complete with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Seeing the dead forest trolls around them, they knew it would be trouble trying to fight these two if they were able to handle several of the Amani on their own, but felt it was too dangerous to let them live.
The archers readied their bows, while the mages and sorceresses charged up their spells.
..
The human-like creatures were readying to attack, and seeing some of them do strange things just told them they would need to act fast before the fight might not be in their control. Tightening their grip on the looted weapons, they blitzed toward their new opponents. Arrows and strange bolts of energy headed their way but sidestepped to avoid them. The Jiralhanae proceeded to throw his spear which caused the group to scatter, and took this chance to charge straight into their formation to break them up, only to be met with a flight of arrows. However, they failed to penetrate his armor nor the unprotected regions, as his thick fur and extremely tough hide served as armor on their own.
Balls of fire and bolts of ice soon peppered him, doing little damage but further triggering his race's infamous berserker state. He managed to reach a few of them and swatted away the unfortunate souls.
..
The massive, eight-foot-tall giant of a beast had brushed off their spells like they were nothing. The priestess rushed to heal her allies who had been hit by it but was soon met with the other one. What she saw struck a chord of fear in her heart, as the bipedal reptilian who had initially disappeared now stood in front of her. With one hand, it wrapped its fingers around her throat and lifted her off the ground, slowly choking her. She tried her best to get free of the iron-like grip, but at best resembled a fish hanging from a hook.
Her companions saw her in distress and attempted to save her. Suddenly, the tall reptile threw her at them, toppling them all. It brandished the axe and cut down one of the archers who tried to fight back. Some of the sorceresses threw ice and fire spells in an attempt to slow it down, creating a steam shower from the hot and cold intermingling. When the steam dissipated, what they saw was disheartening.
On its body, a protective barrier had formed and crackled from the spells they hurled at it, but the creature was left virtually unscathed.
..
These long-eared humanoids had something that he did not expect. How were they able to conjure up such energies? All this finally made him realize that they were in a truly unknown land, far away from home. As he stood there waiting for his shields to recharge, he would need to quickly dispatch them or take some hostage. Sprinting as fast as he could, he managed to eliminate them at breakneck speed.
His partner scouted for any stragglers, using his superior sense of smell. Having found none, he went back to the ones wielding bows and executed them by stomping on their heads; his weight alone being massive enough to crush them with ease.
"You're particularly brutal, aren't you?" he quipped to his furry companion
The Jiralhanae looked around and saw the decapitated heads "No less than you, it seems."
The reptilian chuckled in response. Seeing the one that wielded a strange-looking staff still alive, they thought of interrogation in order to understand this planet better, as gathering intel would be crucial to their survival until they could reunite with the others. Finding some ropes, they bound her to the point of immobility. Before they went off into the forest, they killed every last one still alive except their captive.
..
The priestess looked at her dead comrades and cried in sorrow for them. She was now at the mercy of two towering behemoths that expended no mercy, and she would remember their faces for as long as she lived.
KALIMDOR
Stonetalon Mountains
Central Kalimdor
Six of the S-14 "Space Striker" Baselards from the near-decimated squadron had exited from the extra-luminal dimension and into the skies above the Stonetalon mountains. They were freefalling, as their power had shut off when they reentered normal space. The emergency systems kicked into place, with the blaring alarms waking their pilots from their blackout-induced sleep into a descending hell.
Trying to activate the manual controls, they fought against the drag during the fall, but it caused them to disperse in random directions. Three were gyrating while falling, and their circumstances didn't allow them to stabilize, leading to their deaths when they crashed on top of the jagged mountains.
The remaining were scattered in random positions, one ending up further north of the mountains, and two landing close to the peaks. S-14 Baselards crashing in a mountainous area doesn't seem out of place, but that theory was about to be tested.
Crashing into the relatively safe ground, a Navy and Air Force pilot exited from their fallen fighters and began to try and find out where they were and how they were going to survive and make it back to the supercarrier. Their weapons officers survived the crash with them.
In their separate instances, they noticed how the land looked so similar to the ones in the midwestern regions of the United Republic of North America. But, that didn't matter to them, as what truly mattered was how they would be able to reestablish contact. From their cockpit, MRE rations, First Aid kits, and smaller firearms such as the M6G Magnum were loaded within it as an emergency loadout.
However, in the good graces of Capt. Vought, the M7 Submachine Gun was added, as it substantially had more ammunition than a Magnum while being compact at the same time. Last, but not least, portable distress beacons were made standard amongst all branches. They activated their beacons and gathered everything that they could before they set out.
As they left their downed craft, the land gradually became ominous as time passed by, evidenced by the increased presence of skeletons and rotting corpses. This told them they would expect company from something any time.
The Navy crew from the Baselard designated F124 discovered that the forests thinned as the land rose, telling her that oxygen would be deficient in that area.
"SNAAAOOOWWRT!"
Both jerked their heads around in the direction of that sound and saw something that made one scrunch her nose up in disgust and squint her eyes in confusion. It looked like an anthropomorphic pig beset with sharp quills akin to a porcupine. It carried a studded club and was accompanied by three more with the same weapon.
With their bodies turned halfway, they slowly reached for the M7 on their non-visible side to ready themselves. However, one of the pig-things noticed the subtle movements and their suspicion kicked in, rushing in with a roar.
When one is trained to fight against a brutal hegemonic alien empire, they would be damn sure to try their best to at least land a hit before they receive it. And hit they did.
The M7 unleashed a hail of armor-piercing bullets that tore into the porcine flesh, rendering them down to bloody Swiss cheese. One managed to evade the shots and succeeded in tackling the pilot down, knocking away the M7 from her hands. It lifted its club and was about to land a killing blow until the weapons officer aimed his M6G Magnum and shot the quilled pig man square in the face, chunks of brain and fragments of skull exiting the other way. What both didn't anticipate was more of the pig-men popping out of nowhere and surrounding them.
Guns went blazing again, and combat resumed. The gunfire had scared away the birds in the surrounding trees, and the mountains' relative quiet was broken.
..
From afar, the Air Force crew from the Baselard designated F276 had heard the unmistakable sound of guns, and that told them UNSC personnel might be nearby. On their HUDs, the distress beacon started to ping stronger. However, this moment of hope was interrupted by a screeching sound that horridly sounded like a woman's.
"YYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Abruptly looking at the screeching's direction, both were greeted with a small barrage of feathers that were shot at them like arrows, and instinctively tried to dodge them. Some were able to hit, but the quills either glanced off or bounced off the BDU's Titanium-A armor plates.
What they saw were flying creatures that resembled humanoid women, but were covered in feathers and had scaly, clawed feet that looked like they could rip out a man's throat. Several of them were eyeing both, fixated like predators to prey.
The weapons officer managed to shoot down some of them with his M7 Submachine Gun, but one managed to pick him up and carry him off. The pilot tried to save his partner but was also carried off. Not wanting to get up too high, he shot the bird woman, sending both plummeting down.
Using the dead body as a cushion, he managed to land on the trees and drop down to the ground unharmed, but the flight did not take well to his defiance and proceeded to pursue him even within the woods. Seeing that they wouldn't stop, he stood his ground and fired away. Under the cover of the trees, he ran through and tried to find somewhere to hide.
..
A small centaur party was roving and wondered what had caused the harpies to act up. Soon enough, they saw what the bird-women were hunting down. The archers shot at the harpies, killing the remaining members. After that, they focused on what they were chasing.
To them, it looked like a small thing clad in dull green clothing and armor, wearing some kind of helmet that covered its face. It looked like nothing they had ever seen, and when something unfamiliar encroached on their land, they challenged it.
A battle cry roared out in an abominable mixture of man and horse into one. "NEEEIIIIGGGHHHHAAAAA!"
The archers fired their arrows only to have them glance off or not penetrate at all. The small creature then pulled out a small object and held it in its hands.
..
The M7 had run out, and with no time to reload, pulled out the Magnum and shot the charging horse-men in the head and body, the latter collapsing to the ground in agony. He had left no survivors, making sure they were all dead and checking his surroundings one more time to make sure it was safe to rest.
Letting out a breath of exhaustion and disbelief, he said to himself, "What in the hell did I just run into? First, there were these bird things that looked like harpies, and now these horse guys that may be centaurs. What is this place?"
Remembering the gunfire he had heard earlier, he then tried to head in the general direction of where it came from, hoping to stumble onto a fellow UNSC. The noise grew stronger, and he ran faster to it, seeing strange pig-looking creatures heading in the same direction. This told him that his fellow survivor was in danger, and bullets would eventually run out.
The Navy pilots' HUDs had registered another distress beacon and this momentarily broke their focus, causing a large pig-man to take a swing, hitting one in the chest plate and causing her to topple. With her on the ground, the others became bolder and tried to swarm, but were met with futility as bullets went through them as she tried to get back up. The weapons officer was running out of ammo, but another sound ensued.
Hearing the unmistakable buzz of another M7 and seeing the swinelike humanoids distracted, they went back to eliminating the rest. By the end of the bloody encounter, mangled and bloodied corpses of pig-men littered the ground underneath the trees. Seeing the faint silhouette of another human being, she ran to it.
The Air Force pilot saw his fellow survivors, and they were relieved to see each other in these dangerous wilds.
"Are you okay? I saw those pig things running at you guys. I heard your gunfire."
"Yeah, I'm alright. How about you? Have you found the others?" the Navy pilot asked
"No. If I recall, two crashed into the mountains and got killed. The other two seemed to end up way north over the mountains in this view."
"Ah, shit. Something tells me we ain't in Kansas anymore. Walking pigs seemed to be the first indicator." The Navy weapons officer replied
"Well, before I got to you, I encountered what seemed to be centaurs and harpies. One bird lifted me off, but I shot her down and that's when I found the horse guys. My weapons officer got carried away by the other birdies."
"Oh, man. There's no telling what else we're gonna run into. Any plans?" she wondered
"Get over these mountains, and find our fellow pilots. I have a feeling that if we stay here, we die." her partner gave an answer
"Roger that. Time to do some hiking. But before we go, our distress beacons pinged with each other, but why not with the ones way north of us? Aren't they supposed to have some considerable range?"
"I don't know, but mine only pinged when I got closer to your position."
"Something is wrong with this place if we need to be close just to see each others' beacons. Just so we don't have to call each other weird names, I'm Ashley and this is Jake."
"Vince."
Ashenvale Forest
Northern Kalimdor
On the edge of the mountains, a Marine Baselard had managed to fly, or more accurately, glide through the mountainous terrain despite the rude awakening and was greeted by the view of verdant woodlands upon leaving the mountains. Seeing that as a safer way to crash, they aimed for the treetops, hoping those would slow them down.
..
Within the forests, nature stirred in a tranquil yet whimsical harmony. Sprites danced around the streams and ponds, while the tiniest of insects to the largest of bears roamed in relative peace. The deer grazed on the low-lying plants, and their senses caused them to perk up when a whooshing noise started to get closer.
Within moments, numerous trees sounded off in a cracking cacophony and ended in a crashing bang, causing the creatures of the woods to disperse in a panic. The forest seemed to come alive, with silhouettes emerging from the shadows. Luminescent orbs glowing in the twilight landscape danced and blinked, culminating in humanoid forms coming into shape. Lean, tall figures in a shade of purple, paired with long, swept-back ears, and pearly eyes that glowed like moonlight all emerged to see what had caused their lands to stir.
As they looked, broken trees were their first sign, and followed along the path that was laid forward. In the end, they saw something that they had never seen before. A metal thing that vaguely resembled a bird had crashed into their forest, its landing slowed down by the trees. Being cautious, they melded into the shadows whilst approaching it. On its front, a gold-colored dome was present.
A hiss was heard, prompting them to hide behind the trees. But out from that dome, came out an unfamiliar and strange-looking being.
Clad in strange-looking olive drab clothing, accompanied by a helmet with a glass-like material covering the front, with segmented armor composed of thick plates, the largest piece being the chest plate.
It looked rather small in comparison to them, although its outfit told them it would be no less dangerous than they were.
..
The Marine weapons officer was trying to breathe as much air as he could and took his helmet off as he was sweating from stress. He discovered that his pilot had died from the whiplash, and this added to the stress. After wiping away the perspiration, he then tried to find a safe place to rest, and while seeking sources of water to drink once his hydro-pack ran out. He took the Magnum and M7 in the cockpit, alongside the distress beacon, and attached whatever he could to his BDU before looking around.
Minutes went past as he looked around, and saw a clear flowing stream. Deciding to take a chance, he scooped some up and drank, and the water tasted very clean, close to spring water. He only hoped that he wouldn't have the runs, for he had no pan or a vessel to heat water in, and he had just taken a gamble by drinking it without any sort of treatment. He put his helmet back on and tried to see if the HUD registered other distress beacons, but none registered.
His instincts, however, made him tingle, as he felt that he was being watched by something. He accessed the motion tracker in his HUD but saw no signatures. In his mind, he was itching for assurance, so he attempted to look for any sign. He then tested a theory by acting like nothing was bothering him, and moving away from his current position. Acting calmly, and walking a considerable distance, he was soon proven right when several signatures registered in his motion tracker which reaffirmed his suspicion of being watched. However, those same signatures soon disappeared once they were close to his position.
Seeing the forest, he deduced that they were hiding amongst the trees. He pulled out a flare from the survival kit he attached to his BDU, and remembering where they popped up in his HUD, he abruptly pulled off the cap causing it to ignite, and quickly threw it in that direction.
To his surprise, they looked like they emerged from the shadows, and he was instantly met with arrows. He sidestepped to dodge them and immediately ran back to the Baselard. He heard an arrow whoosh past his head, and one was able to dent the backplate of his BDU Armor but ultimately bounced off. He hid behind a large rock and checked if they were pursuing him.
As quickly as that happened, everything went quiet. This unnerved him, but he kept vigilant for any signs of disturbance.
"RAWRGH!"
He was greeted by the sound of a large, black, sabertoothed panther that tried to pounce on him and was knocked over to the forest floor. He took a good look at his attacker and mounted on the panther was a purple-skinned woman with dark blue hair, white eyes, and long swept-back ears. She was equipped with a shield and a large triple-bladed throwing weapon.
"What the..."
He soon saw her other companions emerge from hiding, and they all looked at him. Only recently realizing their height, they were as tall as Spartans! He wondered what was going to happen to him, but he made sure to show that he wasn't gonna go down without a fight and helped himself up. One of the archers stepped forward.
"Thor'o, t'lara! (Fight me, coward!)" she said with venom as she readied to approach him with a dagger
"Thero! (Student!)"
The one riding the panther stopped the one who attempted to fight him. He understood that he was essentially in a hostage situation, as he would've been dead if they didn't plan on taking him prisoner. Seeing that it would be unwise to start another fight, he then put his hands up to show that he surrendered.
..
The odd green being raised its hands, confusing many within the group, but the huntress somehow understood that it was a sign of surrender. She sensed no form of magic from it and decided that it was rather harmless.
"Has anyone been hurt, sisters?"
"No one has hurt. But I say we should dispose of this strange creature."
"Patience. Nobody else was harmed?"
"No."
"Then I believe this being has no ill intent. I sense no magic from it, and it hasn't attempted to escape. From the looks of it, it wants to surrender."
They all looked at it, just to try and confirm what their party leader was thinking of. After a few seconds of silence, a decision was reached.
"We shall bring it to one of our druids and see what it truly is. If it decides to fight, then so be it."
..
His hands were then bound with rope, attached to the large sabertoothed cat just to make sure he wouldn't get away. In his mind, this encounter was rather peaceful, considering the horrors the UNSC and UEG faced back at home. As the twilight beamed across the verdant expanse, he soon disappeared into the shadows, under the watchful light of this world's moon.
BELORE SYSTEM, GREAT DARK BEYOND
...
After the chaotic event, the UNSC and Covenant commanders woke up with mild headaches and nausea. After recomposing themselves, they checked in on their systems and crew.
"This is Capt. Vought, calling all commanding officers. Please respond."
"This is Shipmaster Ivu 'Zodamee, respond."
Their respective subordinates gave their responses, their short-range communications working to their relief. They then decided to check their long-range comms to at least try to contact their respective militaries.
"High Charity, this is Shipmaster Ivu 'Zodamee."
"This is the UNSC Aegina contacting Camp Currahee. Do you copy?"
Both sides try their very best to find a way to search for any of their home frequencies but to no avail.
"Captain, there are no detectable UNSC or UEG frequencies in this sector."
"Shipmaster, no frequencies are tracing back to High Charity or the Sublime Transcendence."
The now-wayward UNSC and Covenant forces discover to their dismay how lost they are. But remembering their erstwhile encounter with each other, they immediately tried to check their vicinity for each other's signatures on their navigational data. Once again, to their surprise, they find no signs of each other, the former in relief and the latter in frustration.
...
COVENANT BATTLE GROUP
5.9b km from Azeroth
Asteroid Belt
Unrelenting Absolution
Kewu-pattern battleship
"It seems we have lost them. But no matter, we will find them again."
Seeing the sensors rather dulled for an unknown reason only increased his frustration. Looking back at the kelguid, its lack of readings for the local coordinates only added to the pressure. Although some functionality remained for the navigation systems, the borer drive was rendered partially unusable.
"Where is the Seraph squadron?"
"We seem to have lost all of them."
The shipmaster closed his eyes and gave his respects to the fallen. Composing himself, he deeply breathed in the air and returned to investigate.
"Shipmaster, it appears there is an asteroid belt in our way." an officer reported
Looking back at the kelguid, he started to sink deeper into thought. The fuel for their starships was finite, and he knew it. From what he had recalled, the black hole must have opened slipspace, and that both meant they used up fuel and the place they were in was random.
His eye caught a silhouette that was unmistakably a planet, and his curiosity drew him to it. "Hmm, there seems to be a planet a bit beyond this asteroid belt. If it is habitable, we will recoup there, and hunt them down again. I will send the Sacred Resolve to explore, as she would take the least amount of fuel to get there. This ship and the light carrier consume too much, and I would rather conserve it for more important matters."
He contacted the Sacred Resolve to scout ahead and report any findings or data about the planet. Its shipmaster accepted without much hesitation, as exploration of a new world could mean the prospect of finding Forerunner artifacts, resources, or new species to subjugate or maybe incorporate into the Covenant. But with the borer drive rendered nonfunctional, they would have to resort to subluminal speeds which was fine considering their situation, as extra fuel was given to enable a round trip.
Sacred Resolve
Ceudar-pattern heavy corvette
Tyvo 'Gottinee prepared to head to the planet, ensuring his crew was ready.
His crew was largely composed of Unggoy and Sangheili, but a significant portion of Jiralhanae was also a part of his crew. In addition, Kig-Yar from Ruuht were the majority of their species onboard, with some groups hailing from T'vao and Ibie'sh, the former being more avian and the latter being much more saurian in appearance.
The ship also hosted three pairs of Mgalekgolo to act as additional security.
For the surface team, three Spirit dropships would carry a Shadow, Spectre, Wraith, and the team, accompanied by two Oghal-pattern banshees. The scanners couldn't thoroughly scan the planet for some reason, as they only gave out surface visual data, and this meant they would have to survey it themselves. The corvette's shipmaster internally sighed as he was taking a gamble, for there was always the risk of situations becoming worse, more so in unexplored space.
Once they arrived close to the planet, the exploration team would leave the ship by launching from their current position just above orbit to prevent drawing attention to the corvette if it were to instead descend into the atmosphere. Learning lessons from Harvest, it was best not to show yourself unless that was the plan. Stealth mode was activated for the trip to prevent detection, and the team would ultimately be a small number, led by a Sangheili Officer.
Two Jiralhanae Majors, Incitus and Cavum, were chosen to join the surface expedition. He had chosen these two out of their competence, and both were proven to adapt quickly to unconventional situations and environments. The former's tendency to enter a berserker rage laid waste to numerous enemies in general. At the same time, the latter was known to have a very keen sense of smell even for Jiralhanae, which made him a very adept tracker.
The T'vaoan skirmishers were formidable in their own right and were highly proficient marksmen. Armed with the Gadulo-pattern needle rifle and the Mosa-pattern carbine, none would escape their sights.
It would take a day to reach the planet, and that meant a day to try and keep order in the ship.
...
UNSC EXPEDITIONARY GROUP
2.6b km from Azeroth
UNSC Aegina
Punic-class supercarrier
The UNSC Aegina had its crew working to restore order and normalcy. The captain checked if the systems were intact, and was thankful when Alessandra popped up on the bridge's holo-map.
"Alessandra, where do you think we are?"
The X-ELF Radar System took its time to calculate every variable, while Alessandra put in some of her elbow grease. "Checking coordinates... no records have indicated that we are close to any UNSC or Covenant space. I also checked the slipspace coordinates but to no avail. I have a theory that the black hole was, in reality, a wormhole. But what could have caused that?"
"No time to think about that for now. So, you're saying we are lost in the middle of nowhere?"
"Effectively, yes. Scanning the local area... that's strange.. it seems there's a planet close by. Although, as a precaution, you may not want to use the slipspace drive, as it seems the anomaly had appeared to mess with it."
"How so?"
"The internal components are, for a lack of simpler explanations, out of whack. If we activate it, we might end up cutting the ship in half as the transition to slipspace will be incomplete and with an unstable drive, might explode."
The officers and crew on the bridge that listened to her all stopped in a mix of fear and surprise. The captain proceeded to try and get back to work, as he felt that a panicked crew is not a good thing within a ship, especially a supercarrier.
"Right. So, sub-light speeds it is. How long will it take?"
"From my calculations, we can arrive within a day."
"Perfect time to set things up. By the way, where is the Baselard squadron?"
"Some were destroyed in slipspace, or if it is slipspace. No further signatures have been detected."
The captain silently paid his respects to the pilots who both died and those who were nowhere to be seen. Remembering his priorities, he went straight back to the navigational controls.
Capt. Vought turned on the shipwide comms and proceeded to make an announcement. "Attention, this is your captain speaking. We should be grateful we survived whatever happened a while ago. It appears we are officially lost, ladies and gentlemen. However, Alessandra has detected a nearby planet which we could potentially settle on. ETA is 24 hours, so I suggest we set the colonization units up and running. Last, but not least, all slipspace drives are not to be used in the meantime, as the anomaly appeared to have messed with the ship's drive, and it's only fair to assume that all ships with one would have likely experienced a similar thing. Good luck, and good day to all of you."
"Captain, if I may suggest, we should send one of the frigates to do an in-atmospheric insertion. It'll save on fuel, and they're fast. Plus, they seem to be the least affected when it comes to the anomaly, although their slipspace drives are just as hampered as ours."
"Very well. Who do you recommend for this mission?"
"I say, Commander Ramirez. From his experience fighting the Insurrection on Meridian during Operation: OPEN GRAVE, I'd say he's one of our best-suited candidates. Being able to survive five years against Insurrectionist forces without additional help is a feat worthy of mention."
"Patch him through."
UNSC Zaragoza
Paris-class Heavy Frigate
Cmdr. Ramirez was trying to handle his ship's matters until he received a transmission from Capt. Vought.
"Commander, you'll be on an exploration mission to a planet that was just detected. If it is habitable, then we'll mark it as our colony world. I'll send in X29 as part of your surface team. Just a reminder that usage of slipspace drives is prohibited until further notice. You're gonna have to go subluminal."
"Aye, sir."
As the transmission ended, he gave out an announcement "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new mission from the captain. We have been chosen to explore a planet that was just detected, and if it's habitable, that'll be our colony world. All hands, man your stations immediately."
SSgt. Hamilton arrived via the frigate dock connecting to the ship and was greeted by the commander himself. Both took to the CO's Quarters, where they were having a conversation.
"So, sergeant, I know ONI Protocol is strict about confidential information regarding the SPARTAN Program and other information in general, but from what I've read, you were in the ORION Program, am I correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"But the real question I'm going to ask you is if you feel like you belong here."
"Excuse me?"
"Let's face it. What did you notice on the first day we all got assigned to this mission? Nearly every officer and enlisted stationed onboard every ship has been known to garner at least some form of bad conduct. I disobeyed direct orders from HIGHCOM when I was on Meridian."
"Didn't you stand your ground against Insurrectionist forces there?"
"That's right. I disobeyed orders to retreat, and I know I put my crew at risk, but I stayed. Do you know why? Because I didn't want any of them to escape and cause problems elsewhere, so I drew them to me."
"Then they sanctioned you with reckless endangerment and disobeying direct orders."
"Surely you have fought Innies, sergeant. I heard you took some down with only a knife."
"My assault rifle ran out, magnum too. I saw a kitchen knife lying on the ground, and with nothing else, that's what I used."
"They teach you that in ORION?"
"No, the Corps did. Heh, seems it came in handy."
"Now, tell me, what did you do that got you in here?"
"Long story short, I accepted the opportunity. Figured out I was going nowhere back in Nova Scotia. Civvie living isn't for everyone."
"Hmm. Perhaps you'll tell me how you got the opportunity. Alright, we have an entire day to do everything we need."
The frigate crews were making sure that everything was set into place. The surface team would land via Albatross, complete with a Warthog or Mongoose. However, both the sergeant and the commander requested a Mastodon from the inventory of the Aegina, as an APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) would prove to be a useful thing in uncharted territory and potentially hostile environments.
"Commander, what is the particular reason why you requested a Mastodon?"
"We need something to carry troops and protect them at the same time, sir. I have the feeling that we will need something else down there. Me and the staff sergeant thought the same way about this. We just want to reduce potential casualties, sir."
"Request granted. I'll be transferring four just in case. Happy hunting, commander."
As soon as the four M650 Mastodons were transferred onboard the UNSC Zaragoza, the docking ring was unlatched and the heavy frigate soon left the massive supercarrier. The entire day would be spent preparing minor maintenance and routine system checks. So far, no other problems were found on all the heavy frigates and destroyers.
The Aegina would undergo more extensive maintenance due to her size, and to prevent hidden problems that would worsen later.
AZEROTH
24 hours later
The Sacred Resolve and the UNSC Zaragoza were approaching the planet and preparing to send down their exploration teams, but their sensors registered each other, leading their commanding officers to order every crew into their battle stations.
The UNSC Zaragoza charged up its MAC cannon and unleashed a heavy strike, managing to partially deplete the former's shields. Although considerably powerful, the Sacred Resolve, being a Ceudar-pattern heavy corvette, was not particularly equipped to be a mainline warship, lacking a plasma lance which forced it to rely on its Melusean-pattern heavy plasma cannons and Phot-pattern pulse lasers.
Firing a barrage of plasma, a few shots hit the heavy frigate but the latter returned its response with another MAC round, further depleting the former's shields. The UNSC Zaragoza made the maneuver to get close to reaching the topside of the Sacred Resolve; a blind spot out of reach from its plasma weaponry. Letting off a Shiva nuclear missile, the plan was to use its electromagnetic pulse to disable the shields.
Knowing this, the corvette sent out a small squadron of Seraphs and Banshees to cripple the frigate and destroy the missile. Anti-aircraft guns sprayed and tracked the incoming fighters, managing to shoot down a few. The nuclear missile made it past the squadron, impacting the shield while also damaging the port cannons, leaving the corvette vulnerable.
In the heat of the moment, the Sacred Resolve's shipmaster ordered the exploration team to hurry and head down to the surface to complete their task and to save them just in case the ship was destroyed. The Seraphs were ordered to disable the MAC cannon while the Banshees distracted the anti-air systems.
The frigate's cannon and nuclear missile pods were targeted and crippled, with a few M58 Archer pods left operational. Letting off a salvo, the corvette's nanolaminate plating was heavily damaged. By that time, the Zaragoza was on top of it and began to batter it with cannon fire, leaving no room for the shields to regenerate.
The corvette tilted to aim its broadside cannons and fired away, hitting the frigate and dealing damage to its armor plating. Seeing the chance, a few Archer missiles locked onto the cannons and destroyed them. The Seraph and Banshee squadrons retaliated by damaging the starboard engine but were shot down.
In an attempt to run away, two of the Sacred Resolve's repulsor engines were rendered inoperational when the last of the UNSC Zaragoza's missiles made their mark. Every bit of available ordnance the frigate carried had run out.
The two warships by the end of their confrontation were heavily damaged, and both realizing that either one was too crippled to fight back, they retreated and headed to return to their comrade's locations without pursuing each other.
UNSC Zaragoza
"Commander, wait, on the radar, I saw that the Covenant had sent down an exploration team. Best send us down there too. If they begin to map out the place, they may get a better foothold by the time we return."
"What are you suggesting, sergeant?"
"While they do that, we also map out the place so by the time you've brought the others here, I'd have found a habitable area ready for immediate occupation."
The commander was thinking, but after a few seconds, decided to greenlight that decision."Very well. I'll prep the team, and best of luck to you. Spartan."
The surface team would be sent down with three Pelicans: one outfitted with the Troop Pod attachment, one with a Warthog, and one that would carry the Mastodon. The ex-ORION/SPARTAN-I was currently wondering what was going on with Akane back on the ship. As the year passed, he hadn't admitted to her that he began to see her and treat her like a daughter. Remembering what he was supposed to do, he put on his helmet and went back to work.
The heavy frigate's scanners could only make out the land's topography but were heavily interrupted by something, giving a hazy readout. The team would be composed of an entire Marine platoon, and they would be under his command. Inside the Pelican, they were having a small chat based on what had just recently happened.
"Man, I thought we were goners! This frigate against that Covenant corvette? Real slim chances."
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are fortunate to be alive. But right now, our mission is to secure an area for immediate occupation so that by the time Commander Ramirez has informed Capt. Vought of the situation, they would go straight to planning for civilian housing and ours as well."
"Sarge, what about the Covenant?" a corporal asked
"I think they'll be sending for help as well. They seemed to have sent down exploration teams just like we're doing so right now. But what matters is that we prepare the place for when they return. As for the alien shitheads down there, we best be armed and ready when we encounter them."
"Amen to that."
The hangar door opened, and the wind rushed out into space.
"Alright, ladies. Standby for disengagement."
The Pelicans then flew out of the hangar, with the door closing behind them.
"Proceeding with atmospheric insertion in 5..4..3..2..1."
Both dropships suddenly descended into the planet's atmosphere, turbulence rattling their frames. The UNSC Zaragoza then accelerated back to the supercarrier's position. They slowed their descent to reduce air friction from building up heat.
"We're in the clear, five by five."
The planet's moon shone on them, reflecting off their surfaces. they descended further down, the night sky made it rather difficult to properly judge where they could land. Seeing some open plains, they chose that as their landing spot. The Pelicans' thrusters kicked up some leaves and debris, detaching the Mastodon and the Warthog before finally picking the proper spots to land.
Surrounded by evergreen forests, they would have some prepping to do. Unbeknownst to them, some eyes watched them from afar.
Back on the UNSC Aegina...
Akane-119 was wondering what had transpired, as Michael had been gone for more than a day now. Nonetheless, she was given a duty to watch over the civilians onboard, especially the refugees. Remembering what her senior partner had said to her, lessening her stoic habits would make it easier for them to process her presence, but still wasn't accustomed to doing that except to him and the captain.
A large demographic of the refugees was from the Outer Colonies, some straight from Harvest, Madrigal, and Arcadia. A portion was recently sourced from two of the glassed colonies belonging to the Leonis Minoris system. A few of these planets had a history of Insurrectionist activity, hence the desire to monitor them for potential infiltrators was strong despite initial screening.
There was a refugee who was somewhat tall compared to most of the others, but what stood out the most was the pair of aquamarine eyes. Dressed in boots, a hooded jacket, and some dark pants, he had a habit of being rather quiet and keeping to himself. Looking around, he was trying to eat his meal despite the growing discomfort of his fellow refugees.
The supercarrier's maintenance checks were finally completed when Alessandra verified that no potential issues were detected. She then tried to find a solution for the slipspace drives and how to get them to work once again.
EARTH
ONI Alpha Site
New Mombasa
"Ma'am, SPARTAN-X29's VISR is still at the prototypical stage. Was it a wise investment to give him that?"
"Of course. During the entire year of being stationed at the facility while the Aegina underwent repairs and upgrades, I had specifically requested that a concealed data transmitter be integrated into his helmet. All data, from movement to usage of the VISR, is automatically sent to one of the servers in that station. So far, the prototype of this VISR's version has proven quite promising."
"And SPARTAN-119?"
"Her being an additional subject has given invaluable research data. It seems that it can be integrated into the MJOLNIR Mark IV, and with X29's SPI Mirage Prototype being able to house it, the possibility of its integration into more mainstream armor systems is now more likely than ever, thanks to these two."
"The former ORION was indeed a risk for confidential information to spill out. However, 119 seems to be fully functional. Why include her amongst the colonization candidates?"
"The training I gave her is a double-edged sword. She has become quite the lethal operative, but I discovered unusual activity based on her brain scans. Erratic brainwaves and the recent revelation of her borderline-psychotic behavior were starting to become a potential danger, as I observed that when matters concerned Dr. Catherine Halsey, her brain activity showed spiking."
"Are you saying 119 may have a potential grudge against Dr. Halsey?"
"Sadly, yes. Not the first SPARTAN-II to exhibit such behavior, with Soren and Serin being two other examples. I had to deal with it before it could become a full-fledged problem, especially with the extra ONI training I authorized for her. Not a total waste of resources, as the data collected from her armor will prove valuable for the following generations, and will greatly benefit the SPARTAN-III Program and beyond."
"Indeed."
"Last, but not the least, the procedure concerning SPARTAN-X29's chemical injections was that he was unknowingly a testbed for those, as I wanted to see whether those with pre-existing augmentations could be given additional upgrades. His upgrades were relatively minor, but the collected data will be quite valuable not just for the SPARTAN program, but for us as well."
"A year ago, Alpha Company was brutally massacred. Is the SPARTAN-III Program still justifiable? Lt. Ambrose and CPO Mendez's training regimen didn't seem to prevent their deaths."
"Allow me to remind you that they were only meant to be expendable. At this point, time is worth more than any amount of credits, hence I authorized the formation of Beta Company just before Alpha Company was sent for Operation: PROMETHEUS. Perhaps all the information gathered from monitoring 119 and X29 will prove more crucial than we thought."
"Amongst the 6,000 refugees that registered, there was a point regarding potential Insurrectionist infiltrators. Besides X29's experience being a useful asset, what else is there?"
"Besides the hidden transmitters, I had something else sent in to ensure and oversee the success of the exodus program."
CHAPTER II END
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