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Halo Zero Part 1 - Return of Halo
Date: 28 January 2003, 7:54 am
"What's happening here? Everything's gone nuts!" voices echoed through speakers. The Master Chief walked through a doorway and grabbed a Sniper Rifle. "We've got a reinforcement on his way! Hold your positions for now!" came Cortana's voice. "Chief, head for the control room, we're nearly there," "What exactly is going on?" asked the Master Chief, walking along a long corridor. "The Covenant, they're back. Somehow, they've brought Halo back again, with some kind of ancient artifact. The ecosystem has completely changed, and there is new flora and fauna I've never even seen before. This new version of Halo has been mentioned as 'Halo Zero' and has huge powers. It's evolution rate is really fast too. The Flood from before used to evolve fast, now there's a new version which evolve faster. Also, more Covenant members have revealed themselves, and these are more powerful!" Cortana explained. The Master Chief pressed a keypad and a door snapped open, revealing the control room of the ship. A man stood in front of the screen, numbers flashing up all over it. "Captain Zenith, I am here," said the Master Chief. The man in front of the screen turned around and nodded. The Master Chief walked up to the screen and watched the ring get closer. "Good Chief. Now, we're almost to Halo Zero. The Covenant are already there. Now, there are some things in Halo Zero we don't understand, so we've got Cortana to accompany you again. Please place the Cortana chip in the computer Master Chief," said Captain Zenith. The Master Chief removed the chip from his helmet and placed it into a small tray. Almost immediatly, a small computer generated woman appeared. "Ah, it's nice to be back in a ship. No offense Chief. Now, what is this ship anyway?" asked Cortana. "This is the Reach Nine. But anyway Cortana, we want to know more about Halo Zero. What are it's powers and why are the Covenant trying to gain control of it?" "Okay, let me see... If would seem Halo Zero is a newer and more powerful version of Halo. It's powers are amazing, I've never seen anything like this. This one isn't for housing the Flood though, no, it's much more important than that. According to my readings, there could be more dust out there, which could join with Halo Zero and make it more powerful. The Covenant want this for only one reason, the same as before: to gain control of the Control Room, and destroy Earth. I've got no idea why they want to destroy Earth though, we're still not sure. But, I'm sure we will be able to find out," explained Cortana. "Now, I think -" Suddenly, a huge jolt rocked the Reach Nine. Cortana looked out of the window. Hundreds of Banshees were bolting towards them. "Quick, take a ship! Everyone, take a ship and get down to the planet! Master Chief, destroy some Banshees while you're at it!" cried Captain Zenith. Everyone left their computers and headed straight for the coking bay. The master Chief put the Cortana chip back into his helmet and headed straight for the docking bay, when another jolt rocked the ship. He stopped in his tracks as the side of the corridor erupted into flames. Suddenly, the corridor was torn open and Covenant members piled in, with plasma rifles and plasma pistols. The Master Chief leapt straight into action, firing at them as fast as possible, grabbing other weapons and Sniper Rifle ammo. "Get him!" cried a Grunt. The Master Chief jumped into a smaller room as the Grunts fired at him. He threw his only grenade at them, then legged it out of another room and into a ship. He hit the engine button and the ship blasted off of the Reach Nine. "I hope this doesn't end up like the last two times..." muttered Cortana. The Master Chief looked down at the planet below, coming nearer every second.
Halo Zero Part 2 - The Silver Jackal
Date: 28 January 2003, 4:39 pm
The Banshees started exploding into flames as the Master Chief's well aimed cannon took them out. Elites from inside started jumping out, only to realise they had no helmets on, and they crashed to their doom. Meanwhile, the Reach Nine began it's slow route down, the Master Chief clearing the way of Banshees. "Chief! Forget those Banshees, go down to the planet! Now!" came the Captain's voice. The Master Chief hesitated. "Go!" The Master Chief turned the ship around and blasted straight down for Halo Zero. He and Cortana were secretly worrying about what was going to happen. "He's going to die," muttered Cortana. The Master Chief flew straight down though, he had to fulfil all orders of Captain Zenith. The ship landed down on Halo Zero, only to be immediatly flocked with Grunts and Jackals. "There's hundreds of them!" cried Cortana. The Master Chief grabbed his Sniper Rifle and a few packets of ammo. "Not for long..." he said. He jumped out of the ship and kicked a Grunt straight in the head. He needed to lure the Grunts and Jackals away from his ship, so ran towards the mountain range ahead of him, punching a kicking enemies as he went. "Get him!" screeched a Jackal, and everyone there ran after the Master Chief. "This isn't going to be as easy as we thought!" cried Cortana as blue blasts of plasma whizzed past the Master Chief, lighting up the rocks ahead. However, the Master Chief wasn't disheartened, and spun around. He immediatly started blasting Grunts and Jackals in the head and torso. Piles of corpses and puddles of blue and green blood was everywhere. None of the Grunts were able to pull off a successful shot, though the Jackals were beginning to get close. Soon enough, all the Grunts were dead, now for the Jackals. The Master Chief ran up, but suddenly stopped when he saw the Jackals standing in a circle, not firing or anything. "Chief, what's wrong?" asked Cortana nervously. The Master Chief began to back away. "What are they doing?" he asked. "I have no- Chief? I suggest we get out of here, now!" The Chief turned to run, but a shriek filled the air. The Master Chief felt his energy levels go down, and his body became weak. He collapsed into a small heap, and closed his eyes. He didn't feel anything for a few seconds, but suddenly, Cortana's image appeared. "Chief, get up. Forget the shriek, ignore it. Get up and get out of here, before it's too late!" cried Cortana. Her image faded away again, and the Master Chief opened his eyes. He got up and looked around. However, where the Jackals were, there was a bright light. The Master Chief walked up to it and shielded his eyes. Another shriek filled the air, and the light faded. In it's place was a Jackal. However, it was completely silver, with a silver shield. It shrieked again, and the Master Chief's suit began to buzz. The Master Chief grabbed his Sniper and fired it at the Jackal. However, it's reflexes were amazing, and it moved it's shield, firing the bullet straight back at the Chief. He dodged quickly, and fired again. This time he ducked and looked backwards as he saw the bullet crashed into the mountains behind him. "He's good," muttered the Chief. He turned around again and decided maybe a good Melee would sort it out. He ran up and jammed the gun into the shield, but it just glowed brighter and put more force back onto the gun. The Master Chief let go of the gun and fell backwards. "Chief, get up! Look, this thing is quick to react, right? Well, remember your timing! Grenade it, but time carefully!" cried Cortana. The Master Chief got up and grabbed a grenade from his belt. He spun it around in his hands, then pulled out the pin. "1..." muttered the Chief. The grenade would explode after five seconds. "2..." Cortana began to worry, but the Chief knew what he was doing. "3..." came his voice. As the timer reached 4, the Chief threw the grenade, then jumped backwards. An explosion filled the air as the Silver Jackal was vaporised. The Reach Nine pulled up a few seconds afterwards, so the Chief got it lucky. "Sir, Captain Zenith just sent me a message. He says, go straight into those mountains to get reinforcements, according to his readings, Covenant have Shadows on thier way," said Cortana. The Master Chief looked around and saw a conveniantly placed Banshee nearby. He clambered in and set off for the mountains...
Halo Zero Part 3 - The Grunt Alliance
Date: 30 January 2003, 4:24 pm
The Master Chief set down on a small cave in the mountains. No one was here as far as the Chief could tell, and he would be safe for a while. Cortana would be able to signal to soldiers and get them to join for reinforcements. "We'll stop here for a while," said the Master Chief. "This should give us a way to get rid of the Covenant forces we see. Hopefully they won't attack, if they can see the Banshee, they'll just forget it." "Okay. I'll radio in to the Reach Nine, and you can sort out the Covenant forces. If they appear, that is," said Cortana. The Master Chief put the Cortana chip into the Banshee and her image appeared. "Thanks. I'll radio to them from here..." The Master Chief grabbed his Sniper Rifle and went up to the edge of the cave. He zoomed in and began to search the edge of the mountains. However, no Covenant members could be seen. "Okay. Chief. I've called to the others, and they're on their way. There was quite a lot too. Maybe thirty or forty. Until they arrive, let's finish up here," said Cortana from the Banshee. "There's no one here though, Cortana," said the Chief. Hundreds of Grunts piled out of the side of the mountains. Red, blue, orange and even green Grunts. Though Grunts were weak on their own, they were strong in a pack. And this pack had around three or four hundred Grunts in it. "Okay then! He's up there, I see him! Now, remember the orders, grabbed his gun and grenades, then get rid of them. Then dispose of him. Then we grab that Cortana thingy and race to Spark. He needs that information to get revenge on the humans and that filthy Master Chief. Now, let's get him!" cried a Grunt. They all charged up the side of the mountains as fast as they could, all equipped with plasma guns. "There's no one? Are you sure? Put my chip back in your helmet and I'll take a look. I can put on your heat-sensitive vision," said Cortana. The Chief grabbed the chip and placed it into his helmet, then walked over to the edge of the cave. "See? Hold on a minute... I don't think that mass of something coming close to us looks very good. I'll look through the Sniper," exclaimed the Chief. He pulled the Sniper up to his helemt and zoomed in. "It's a huge pack of Grunts. Three, maybe four hundred of them. And they're heading this way. There's no way a Sniper can do enough damage to destroy them!" "Wait, I have an idea. Look behind you, there's Active Camouflage. Grab it and start to Snipe them out," cried Cortana. The Chief grabbed the Active Camouflage and moved forwards. He started to Snipe out the Grunts, watching them fall. "He knows we're coming!" cried a Grunt as Grunts all around him exploded or collapsed. "Let's get him!" The Grunts moved up faster. "I'm out of ammo!" cried the Chief. "And I don't have any packs left!" He moved backwards into the darkness of the cave as about ten Grunts entered the cave. They looked around suspiciously. "He's in here somewhere... I know. Wait a minute..." said a green Grunt. He looked around, and others did the same. The Chief moved around the edge of the cave. The Grunts looked about a metre away from his direction. "Hey! There's a Banshee!" cried a red Grunt. He moved towards it. "Oh, please, no..." murmured Cortana. Suddenly, the Banshee door snapped open and a Grunt looked in. "Found Cortana! I'll take the Banshee!" cried the Grunt. It hopped in and flew off. Suddenly, the Chief's camouflage deactivated and he came into view. "There he is! Get him!" "Take him in for questioning!" cried a nearby Grunt. The Chief ran, but they crowded around him and removed his weapon, then carried him off.
Halo Zero Part 4 - Cortana's Clone
Date: 31 January 2003, 7:37 pm
"What is Cortana used for?" demanded a Grunt. Though Grunts were small and weak, they were the only Covenant members capable of speaking proper English. "You won't find out," said the Chief. He had been chained to a wall and couldn't move. He was surrounded by Hunters and Elites, all ready to fire, or in the case of the Hunters, hit and severely injure. "Are you sure you won't tell us? Okay then. Hunters!" cried a Grunt. He stepped aside as a Hunter rushed up and punched the Chief in the face. He shuddered and went limp. "Er... Is he dead?" asked another Grunt. The other one shrugged and warded them out of the room. Meanwhile, in another room, Cortana was being uploaded into the computer. "What are you trying to get Halo Zero for?" demanded Cortana. The Grunts around her laughed. "We aren't telling you anything. But you'd better tell us this. How is it possible to destroy your race?" cried a red Grunt. The others folded their arms and stared at Cortana. "I'm not telling you scum anything!" yelled Cortana. He body flashed red quickly. The Grunts looked at each other, then grinned evilly. "You might not. But let's see what a clone could do," said a Grunt, then burst out laughing. He pulled a lever and tapped a few buttons, while Cortana screamed for escape. The Master Chief's head span as his vision slowly came into view, very blurred. He was still chained up, but the room was empty. He looked at his wrists, which were covered in chains, then ripped them away from the wall. The chain snapped to pieces and he was free. "Chief! Help!" yelled Cortana. The Grunts laughed as the computer bleeped and buzzed. Suddenly, the Chief burst in with a pistol in his hands. "Drop the computer generated guide!" he yelled. The Grunts stopped and looked at him. "We don't think so!" one of them yelled. They all grabbed plasma pistols and began firing at him. The Chief ran forwards and kicked one the Grunts in the face, then shot at the others. He pulled out the Cortana chip and loaded it back into his head and moved out of the room. "You think we care? Well, look what we've got!" cried a Grunt. The Chief turned around and looked as the computer buzzed. "Er, Chief? Get out of here now!" cried Cortana. The Chief stood still though. The computer stopped bleeping. "Fire it up!" cried the red Grunt. An orange Grunt moved forwards and pressed a button. A bleep was heard and a figure appeared. A red figure. Another Cortana. "Get them! The Chief has a weak point in his head! Attack!" screamed the Cortana Clone. The Chief ran through the corridors, hearing the alarms. "They cloned you?!?" cried the Chief. Cortana spluttered and coughed. "Great! Now they'll find out everything!" The Chief planted a grenade and pulled out the pin, then ran. An explosion filled the air as well as Grunts cries. Suddenly, the corridors ended and the open area appeared. The Chief continued running until a super explosion filled the air. "What the?" cried the Chief, turning around. A huge green light poured out of the top of the building in a huge line, out into space. "What's going on?" "See, I found out about how Halo Zero could increase it's power. I didn't tell anyone, but the clone must have told them!" cried Cortana. "What are you saying?" "Well-" TO BE CONTINUED Coming soon: Part 5- The Flood Zero
7- The Flood Zero
Date: 8 March 2003, 5:17 PM
5- The Flood Zero
"They did what!" cried Captain Zenith. Cortana muttered something.
"They've activated the Second Dust. We believe this could create the second Halo. But this hasn't been proved," said the Chief.
"So far, the Second Dust has begun to gather. Nothing more. However, I cannot estimate how long it will be before the second Halo is up. They could use loads of dust to give it extra power. Or not," said Cortana. The Captain stood, looking at a control screen for a minute.
"Hold on!" cried the Chief. "Something must have made sure this would have happened. Something with a huge knowledge of Halo. Covenant couldn't have done this. It's not possible. They're not smart enough for this. Maybe the Flood?"
"The Flood!" cried Cortana. The Captain and the Chief swung round. "No, they couldn't have activated this, something else did. But this structure is formed from the old structure, right? Well, that means there's more Flood spores somewhere! We didn't contain them, we only destroyed some of them!"
"Sir, we'd better get out of here," said the Chief. The Captain looked bewildered. "Come on, there's no time to explain. Come on!" The Chief grabbed the Cortana chip and ran out of the room with the Captain.
"Too much activity must be causing an outbreak!" cried Cortana. She was right. A lot of activity caused the Flood to evolve quicker. And these Flood had evolved further than their true evolutionary final stage. This time, the Flood had become... The Flood Zero.
The Chief burst out of the room and onto the planet. All around him were horrible red creatures with long tentacles like jelly. These must have been the Flood Zero. The Chief grabbed a gun and blasted them. They just groaned and moaned at him.
"They're impervius to guns!" yelled the Chief. Quickly, the Chief lobbed a plasma grenade and jumped down into the rocks below. The Captain followed him quickly as a huge blue explosion took place. Flood Zero scattered and mangled remains flew down into the rocky hideout.
"Chief. The Flood Zero are not fully impervius to guns. I hacked into the Covenant Battle Net and they've discovered the Flood Zero's long arms are the source of power. I recommend a high power weapon, perhaps a Sniper Rifle or something plasma based," said Cortana. The Chief nodded and looked around the rocky hideout. He suddenly became aware of more human soldiers, hiding out. They were looking at the Chief with great awe and seemed to want to help him.
"Here Sir! Take my Sniper Rifle. It's fully loaded and has a brilliant lens!" cried a soldier, saluting and passing the Chief his Sniper Rifle. The Chief grabbed it and saluted back.
Then, he turned around and poked the Sniper out from the rocks. It was time for some payback.
Tentacles were flying as round after round of bullets went flying at the Flood Zero. The Chief was having fun, dispite his growing pain in his sides. Rocks were jutting into him and Flood spores were latching on too. The Captain and the soldiers were taking out the Flood that were attacking the Chief and had a good supply of health packs for him.
Finally, as the last Flood Zero fell to the floor, the Chief collapsed. His head was spinning and he couldn't see too well. And, just when it couldn't have gotten any worse, it did.
The ground ahead exploded! Wave after wave of Soldier and Worker class Flood Zero appeared, followed by the biggest one of all. A Flood Zero or the Soldier class appeared from the ground, yet this time, it was thirty feet tall. It roared and grabbed the Chief, then threw him. The Chief, running out of energy, and his shields failing, passed out s he soared up in an arc towards the ocean.
The soldiers shouted for help and tried to kill the Flood Zero, but more and more spores were appearing from nowhere. The huge Flood Zero screeched and made a grab at the soldiers, hitting them onto the sharp and jagged rocks. It made another grab and caught the Captain in it's fist, then lifted in up to look at him. The Captain looked at it menacingly, but it didn't work. The Flood Zero dropped him to the ground, the smaller and hungry Flood Zero waiting...
NEXT TIME
7- Old Enemies, New Friends
343GS returns and decides to help MC; the Flood Zero pose a threat to robots as well as life. His Sentinels are at hand, but can they get there before the Captain is put out of action?
Halo Zero part 6- Return of 343
Date: 12 March 2003, 4:41 PM
6- Return of 343
The Chief hit the ocean with a terrific bang. Water crashed up everywhere as he sunk down. Cortana's voice buzzed in his ear, but the Chief couldn't hear. His shields were flashing and kept getting lower. Whatever vision he had became blurred by the water currents pushing him about.
Suddenly, a strange and too familiar buzz was heard. The Master Chief snapped on, his shield recharging again. Floating in front of him was 343 Guilty Spark. The Chief grabbed his Assault Rifle and aimed it at 343, as if posing a threat.
"Please, do not harm me, Reclaimer. I am here strictly to help. I have heard the Flood have evolved. This is very bad for everything in the universe. They have a much larger knowledge now, and they have an appetite for robotic equipment as well as live flesh," explained 343. His lights flashed blue as the Master Chief slowly put down his gun. He was now at the bottom of the ocean floor and the Captain had surely been killed.
"Chief, what are you doing? He tricked you before, remember?" yelled Cortana. The Chief hit the side of his head and her voice was silenced.
"If this is true. IF. If it is true, why didn't you warn us?" asked the Chief. 343 looked down as if in shame.
"Truely I am sorry. Yet, I did not know if any human life signs had arried on Halo Zero yet. I do not understand one thing though, Reclaimer. Why did you return to Halo Zero? Surely the efforts I made to destroy you before made you decline going back to this ring?" asked 343 GS.
"Covenant. Unfortunatly, Earth has been removed from existance. The Covenant have nuclear forces much stronger to human technology. And Earth was destroyed, just after the Reach Nine left Earth. We were lucky to survive. The speed we travelled at was 43 times faster than light, ripping a hole in space, allowing Covenant to get here first," said the Chief.
"Chief! Stop! You cannot tell that thing what has happened. It was his fault. Don't make me drain your shields!" cried Cortana. The Chief sighed. He doubted whether she was trust worthy anymore.
"I see. Truely I am sorry for you in the most sympathetic of ways. I know how it feels, to have your Installation to be removed from you. Truely horrible. However, I would like to help you in whatever way I can, to help ensure our survival. Would you appreciate it?"
The Master Chief stood still, fully aware of Cortana's whispers in his ear. She was clearly against what the Chief did next, but he did it anyway.
"Deal."
The teleportation grid was weakening due to the Flood Zero. Several areas were completely blacked out by Flood forces, while others were losing power with every passing minute. However, 343 GS would be able to hack into the grid and open up every area possible.
"Go 343, we need to get to the Captain before the Flood infest him!" cried the Chief. 343 GS buzzed as he decoded files and blocks on areas. The area they needed had been blocked out, and they needed to get to it as quickly as possible. Suddenly, he flashed green.
"All systems are go. Prepare for transportation!" cried 343 GS. Cortana mumbled something about how she could have got the area open faster, but they disappeared in an amber light.
Suddenly, the trio appeared in the rocky area from before. The Chief leapt over the rocks with his Assault Rifle held high, followed by 343 GS.
"Whoa..." muttered the Chief. He dropped his gun. ERverything was frozen. The Captain was in the air, Flood spores jumping up. The larger Flood Zero had it's mouth wide open. Nothing moved.
"What the hell has happened here?" came a voice from behind them. They spun round and there was a very horrific sight. A Hunter stood there, armour ripped off in places, revealing human parts on it's sides and back. It had clearly been in a battle. A Grunt's face was attatched to it's head, presumably to allow it to speak English.
And this was when the Master Chief realised who had been the Forerunners. It had been the Covenant and the humans.
Coming in part 7:
Old Enemies, New Friends
The Chief discovers just how Halo works and who was the Forerunner.
343 GS and the Forerunners reveal how to destroy Halo Zero
The dust gathers more and the Covenant realise how Halo Zero can be enhanced further...
Halo Zero Part 7- Old Enemies, New Friends
Date: 15 March 2003, 7:13 AM
Halo Zero Part 7- Old Enemies, New Friends
"Humans and Covenant," muttered the Master Chief. "We were the Forerunners. We became our seperate races over time, didn't we?"
"Correct," said the Hunter. Cortana gasped in shock. "I am the last of my kind here. I am the Forerunner. I helped create this super ring, to help kill off the Flood's food so they wouldn't evolve. However, it was previously activated and nearly wiped us all out. Except me. I am the last remaining Forerunner. And I have many things to explainto you."
The Forerunner sat down, the Chief following suit. 343 GS lowered to the ground and began to look around.
"You see, millions of years ago, we tried to create clones of ourselves. Though extremely enhanced, our machinery wasn't capable of performing such a task. We created the Flood.
"They are adaptive. They can be neutralised by the Sentinels and other weapons. However, they adapted all too well. They got a taste for meat and became able to find a host and live off them. We couldn't kill them all if they got free. So, we imprisoned them in the ring worlds, and made them so they could be activated and destroy all life in any set area. Unfortunatly, something activated it. Very few survived.
"So, in our last hopes of survival, we left a monitor on each installation. This way, they could watch over until we returned."
There was so much to ask, but the Chief found himself unable to talk, just to sit and take all of this information in. Suddenly, a question sprang forwards in his mind and he blurted it out.
"Why are Covenant after us?" he asked quickly. The Forerunner looked at him. 343 GS spluttered and looked around at him. Cortana's voice sounded shocked, as if he were questioning the Forerunner as to why his children were attacking him.
"Ah yes, I do know this question. And I in no way feel responsible for this. You see, we did successfully make smaller spawns of us. Covenant, as you call them, and the humans. These were used from pieces of our body and we much easier to build. You all went your seperate ways, the humans went to Earth and became primitive and lost all sense of weaponry and machinery. However, the Covenant went to a planet they call Covenia, where they successfully used their skills.
"Somehow, they must have discovered how you are also the children of the great Forerunner. They are obviously angry and must be attempting to attack you to destroy you, so they alone are the only remaining Forerunner. Even though they aren't."
Suddenly, overhead, thousands of miles up into the sky, up in space a huge amount of dust shifted and grouped together. A shock erupted over Halo Zero as it's sides opened up to reveal huge tubes and wires.
"The dust is gathering again. Oh, if it weren't happening, it would be so much easier this way!" cried 343 GS. The Chief turned his head.
"What are you talking about?" asked the Chief. Cortana chipped in before 343 could.
"You see, while in the Covenant computers, I discovered how the ring can be enhanced. Up in space, there is a considerable amount of 'dust', remains of previous rings and other planets. It was purposely placed there, probably to make sure this happened. You see, when it a great enough quantity, the dust can merge with Halo. Creating a real spherical planet, which has greater power than all the rings. Power enough to rip a hole in the space-time continuem and destroy everything. And this dust is beginning to gather," explained Cortana.
"Correct. We must get to the control facility to deactivate it, before it's too late!" cried the Forerunner. It snapped it's fingers and the frozen area behind them started again. The Chief, thinking quickly jumped up and grabbed the Captain, then fired round after round of bullets.
"Come on!" yelled the Chief. 343 GS dodged incoming Flood Zero and the Forerunner fired plasma from it's Duel Rod Gun.
Meanwhile, in an upper structure of Halo Zero.
"Hey look!" cried a Grunt. Another Grunt appeared next to it, looking at the computer screen. There was an image of Halo and dust around it.The dust began to clump together and shift closer to the ring. The Grunts goggled in wonder.
"That Cortana clone thingy was right! There is dust that can help make Halo bigger!" cried the Grunt. It laughed evilly and picked up it's plasma gun. "Let's get on duty and stop the humans getting to the new control centre!"
Next time on Halo Zero:
8- A Bigger Halo
The dust combines to form a proper planet with the power to destroy the universe
The Master Chief, the Forerunner, 343GS and Cortana head to the Control Centre
Captain Zenith is captured by the Covenant and is set for execution...
Halo Zero Part 8- A Bigger Halo
Date: 15 March 2003, 3:04 PM
8- A Bigger Halo
The dust began to shift into larger clumps. A huge lump of dust glowed grey as the dust everywhere around it shot inwards and joined it. Soon it was a glowing semi-circle. Halo Zero's plates turned around to face outwards, and the huge semi-circle came closer, then attatched to the ring. It shone and became a normal planet shape. On the other side of the ring, light shown out and formed the other side of the planet. On the edge of the planet, the Master Chief, 343 GS and the Forerunner looked out as the light appeared and formed what was sound to be a bigger and more planetary Halo.
"Look! The planet is beginning to form!" cried 343 Guilty Spark. "We have little time until the planet gets activated. We are in extreme trouble now! We must find the Control Centre!" The Master Chief nodded, as well as the Forerunner. They began to run along the side of the glow, trying to find some means of transportation.
"Chief! There should be some small dropships up ahead that crashed when the Reach Nine collided!" yelled the Captain. "The Covenant took them over just recently! Get the Covenant out of the way then take one! I've got a Needler here. You'll have to use your best weapons if there's a lot!"
The dropships came into view as the ran further, as well as hordes of Covenant Elites, Brutes and Hunters. The Master Chief stopped in his tracks. The Captain stopped and turned to look at the Chief, as did the Forerunner and 343 GS.
"What's wrong Chief?" muttered Cortana. The Chief didn't say anything, he just stood, looking at the Elites. Then, when Cortana was about to ask more loudly, he said something.
"Shh!"
Captain Zenith nodded, knowing exactly what the Master Chief was going to do. The Forerunner charged up it's Duel Rod Gun as 343 GS flew high up into the air. He would be the distraction. The Chief, Zenith and the Forerunner slowly walked up and hid behind some rocks. An Elite jerked it's head towards them, but saw nothing. It looked away and continued it's parole. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, 343 GS burst out and screamed at them.
"Hello there!" it cried. The Elites sprang into action and ran after the monitor, the Brutes following. The Hunters charged up their Duel Rod Guns and blasted 343 GS, missing every time.
"Now!" yelled the Chief. He, the Forerunner and the Captain burst out of the rock and fired at every Covenant there was. Elites and Brutes were falling everywhere as huge blasts of green came from the Hunters. The Forerunner ran up and began to melee them, while the Chief attacked their weak interior. The Forerunner blasted from his Duel Rod Gun, Elite's corpses flying everywhere. Brutes roared and charged, but the Captain and the Chief sorted them out. Soon, very few Elites and Hunters were left.
"Grab a dropship! Now!" screamed the Captain. The Chief and the Forerunner ran into one, followed by 343 Guilty Spark. The Captain made a run for it, but an Elite grabbed him and threw his weapon at the ground. "RUN!" shouted the Captain at the top of his voice. The Chief looked on in despair and looked at the Captain's pleading face. He knew what he had to do.
"Step on it Forerunner," he said.
"But Chief-" said Cortana.
"Step on it."
The doors at the back began to close as the Master Chief looked out, watching the struggling Captain. It was all over. They had the Captain and there was nothing he could have done to save him.
"My calculations would say the new Halo Zero's crust should have fully formed in a few days," said Cortana. "Which means Halo Zero is hollow and if you step on the light making the crust, you'll fall through. Oh, come on Chief, don't blame yourself. There's nothing we could have done!"
"Yes there was. I could have saved him. Now he's going to be killed by those things," he muttered. 343 GS floated up next to him and buzzed.
"Oh please, Reclaimer. It was truely not your fault. You cannot say I am lying, I was programmed to tell the truth. Evil though I may have been," said 343. The Master Chief looked at him and looked down again. "Hey. I have a wonderful idea! They would not kill your Captain on the spot, I have studied their instincts. They will take him to somewhere to question him. From there, then they will kill him. So, why don't we track them? And when they attempt to kill him, we shall save him!"
The Master Chief looked up. After a few moments he put his thumb up. 343 Guilty spark flashed in happiness. Then, Cortana said something really unexpected.
"343 Guilty Spark? I'm sorry I doubted you. I see now, you are willing to help us and you really are trustworthy," she muttered. The Master Chief looked dazed, she would never have done something like this!
"Thank you AI Cortana. Truely I am thankful for your heartwarming display. I suppose it was only natural for you to doubt me, after all, I have done some very horrible things in the past. But thank you, for seeing how I have changed," said 343 GS. He buzzed and flashed and flew around.
The Forerunner hit a few buttons. A light flashed and a monitor appeared displaying the co-ordinates '3574,3891' "There!" yelled the Chief.
"Tell us now!" yelled the Grunt. The Captain kicked out and caught it's arm. It yelped, then looked up again. It pulled a plasma grenade, but didn't pull the pin. "Tell us where the Control Room is!"
"I don't know!" cried the Captain slowly. The grunt held up the plasma grenade and put a hand on the pin. The Captain, thinking quickly kicked out again, catching the grenade. It flew in the air, the pin still in the Grunt's hand. It yelled as the grenade stuck itself to a huge machine and erupted into a blue light. The Captain shut his eyes, then opened them. The machine was in ruins and the Grunt was hiding in a corner.
"Execution is set for an hour from now in Covenant units. Three Earth minutes for you!" yelled the Grunt. It hit a button and the Captain's chair fell backwards, to take him outside to a plasma charging booth.
"He's down there?" asked the Chief. 343 GS looked out and looked back, then floated up and down, the equivalent of a nod. The Chief nodded slightly as well, and pulled out an Assault Rifle. "Someone's gonna die today. And it isn't going to be me."
The area they were above was like a giant arena. Covenant members everywhere were in the seats, and in the middle was a round tube, which was at least a metre wide and clear. The top was sealed off and large metal parts were on it. A hole in the middle of the tube opened and the Captain appeared on a chair covered in locks, which he was trapped in. He was looking round, his eyes darting for an exit. He was sweating, knowing he would die.
A Grunt jumped up onto the podium. "Welcome, Covenant, to our human execution! Here we have one Captain Zenith, set for over-plasma charging!" he cried. The Covenant audience erupted into cheers.
"Ready Chief?" asked Cortana. The Chief nodded. "Now!" The Chief grabbed a health pack and some grenades, and jumped out of the dropship visor. He landed on the platform safely and jammed the health pack into his pocket. Then, he lobbed a couple of grenades as the Covenant screamed their hearts out. Some of them jumped out of the audience and grabbed weapons, and started firing at him. Luckily, the Forerunner was there to back him up, and started firing it's Duel Rod Gun, blowing up Elites and the latter everywhere.
"There's still time!" yelled the Grunt on the podium. He leapt forwards and pulled a lever. The Master Chief ran up, the Grunt cowering. He hit it across the head, taking him out, not caring about the riot around him. The Chief dropped his Assault Rifle and tried to pull the lever but it was jammed. He looked at the Captain who was jerking about, the plasma charging through his body.
"Chief!" yelled Cortana. He spun around, a Hunter with it's Duel Rod Gun over his head. He jumped to the side, the Gun coming down on the lever, pulling it back into place. The Chief grabbed his Assault Rifle and jammed the butt into the weak spot. The Hunter roared as it died, not able to move. It collapsed.
The Chief, thinking quickly, grabbed his Assault Rifle. Then, jammed the butt into the tube containing the Captain, smashing it partly. He pulled the gun back out then jammed it back in. He pulled it out, when a scream erupted from behind him. He turned round and saw a Grunt screeching as huge blasts of light hit it. The battla area was clear. The Chief jammed the Assault Rifle in further as the front smashed to pieces. The Chief looked at the Captain, who was unconcious. He meleed the locks on his arms and legs and carried him out, then back to the dropship.
"Come on, I've got the Captain! Now let's get to the Control Centre!" cried the Chief. He got into the dropship as it flew up into the air and flew forwards.
Next time on Halo Zero:
9- 343 Guilty Sparks
Guilty Spark gets a bit of a problem with the Forerunner, and reveals the truth
The Master Chief finds out how the Control Centre works and has to find another way
The Forerunner reveals something horrible
Halo Zero Part 9- 343 Guilty Sparks
Date: 16 March 2003, 5:01 PM
9- 343 Guilty Sparks
"Captain! Captain!" cried Cortana. The Captain slowly opened his eyes and looked up. His vision was blurred and the plasma charge had half blinded him. However, he could still see fairly well. He jumped up and looked at the Chief and 343 Guilty Spark.
"You two! Why did you come to get me again?" cried the Captain, angrily. The Chief sighed and sat down. 343 GS looked at the Captain strangely, as if he didn't know what he was. "And who the hell are you?" asked Captain Zenith. He looked at 343.
"I am the monitor assigned to Installation 04. I am the 343 Guilty Spark. I have come to assist in the destruction of the Covenant. Who might you be, sir?" asked 343 Guilty Spark, politely. The Captain looked at him and smiled.
"I am Captain Zenith, captain and Water Team Neuro squad commander. I'm a human, from planet Earth. Pleased to meet you," said the Captain. 343 Guilty Spark flashed blue.
"I am sorry. I heard the Covenant destroyed your planet soon after you left. Still, maybe our Forerunner here could forge you a new planet. It is possible, he did help create the rings!" cried 343. The Captain and 343 GS got into a thick conversation, while the Master Chief sat back, tired.
"Well done Chief. You did brilliantly saving the Captain. You should be proud you know!" cried Cortana in the Chief ear. He didn't respond. "Don't worry Chief. Rest. We won't be at the Control Room for a while, so stay here."
Soon enough, the dropship came donw by a huge structure. The Chief, the Captain, 343 GS and the Forerunner piled out and began to override the door, carefully avoiding the Covenant Banshees flying around the area.
"Done!" wishpered Cortana. Suddenly, a Banshee moved around the side of the structure. The Chief and the Captain jumped behind some pylons, as well as 343 Guilty Spark. However, the Forerunner stood still. His Duel Rod Gun charged up as the Banshee swooped down. A rocket came from it's side, hitting the Forerunner. A green explosion erupted as the Plasma charged out of the smoke, right into the front of the Banshee. It erupted into flames as the top cracked open, the smouldering Elite flying out, crashing a few feet ahead of the blackened Banshee.
The doors began to open a few seconds later. They were slow, as if they hadn't been used for years. Luckily, they made no noise, so the other Banshees did not come by. As the doors finished opening, the Captain, the Chief, 343 Guilty Spark and the Forerunner bolted inside. They ran a few feet in when a cry came from behind them. They stopped and looked round to see hundreds upon hundreds of Sword Elites, all waving their blue swords, ready to fight.
"Ugh!" yelled an Elite. They all charged forwards. The Captain yelled out as he was hit, the Chief was pushed backwards a few metres, and the Forerunner was surrounded, metal scrapes being heard as the Sword Elites hit it. The Chief looked up. He looked at his shields. Fully charged. Not a scratch.
As the Chief got up, 343 Guilty Spark floated up to him. "Please Reclaimer. Do not attact them. I am going to neutralise them if I can. There should be some kind of plasma conduit here, and I should be able to focus it onto them!" he cried. The Master Chief nodded.
"Scanning room," came Cortana's voice. "There! Room co-ordinate 36,63!"
"I'm on it!"
343 Guilty Spark rushed to the roof of the room and looked around, searching for a plug. He found one and buzzed with glee. He plugged himself in and screamed.
"Hey! Covenant!" The Elites all stopped and looked up at 343. He turned green as wave after wave of plasma came blasting from him. He screamed and buzzed; it obviously hurt. The Elites hurt more. They collapsed, swords exploding and body parts scorching. Soon they were all gone.
343 Guilty Spark dropped from the roof. His light was weak and about to go out. He flashed and a few beeps were emitted from him. The Chief ran up, as did the Captain. He crouched down by the monitor and picked it up.
"Spark! Spark! What's wrong?" he asked. 343 slowly turned round.
"I am sorry. I cannot go on. My body is charged with plasma and can no longer function. Just. Please... Get to the control... roo-" 343's voice cut out. The light faded away. No more beeps or buzzes comng from him. Just a small sizzling and crackling sound.
The Captain just looked down, the monitor reflected in his eyes. It had ended. Guilty Spark had gone.
After a few moments he slowly got up, still holding the monitor in his arms. He thought back to how he had talked to him, how he had hardly known him before he went. It was almost like 343 Guilty Spark was somehow human, like a brother, or friend.
The three slowly walked into the Control Room, sadly. They all felt the sadness of losing 343. They opened the doors and walked in, to the same styled Control Room from the first Halo, back in 2552. They went up to the control board and the Master Chief put the Cortana chip into the computer. She appeared, and she was clearly unhappy.
"It's unfair. You can cry, but I cannot..." she muttered, looking at them sadly. She had turned blue now, and the data streaming through her body was very slow now.
"How do we destroy it? How do we destroy every horrible memory from this place?" asked the Captain. He placed 343 Guilty Spark on the board. Suddenly, the light activated again. His voice seemed to be coming back, and the sizzling was gone. "How in the hell?"
"Using this control board, I can return for the time I am on here. If I am removed, I will deactivate. Now to business," said 343. The Captain's face erupted into a smile. "This planet can be used to destroy all life with this terminal. But only when it is fully formed. This will not be for days. But, we can set it to self destruct. When it is fully made. The only way to stop it now is to overload it. I have no idea how though,"
"Get out."
The Forerunner had his Duel Rod Gun charged up. He repeated what he had said. "Get out."
"What the?" asked the Chief.
"I lied. I'm not a Forerunner!" Suddenly, the 'Forerunner' came into parts, which were all Covenant. They had been sitting on parts of him to make it look different, as if it were Forerunner. "Now we have the Control Centre, we will destroy all life and get revenge on the human race!" A blast of yellow light burst through the doors.
"I don't think so!" yelled a voice. A real Forerunner. It was yellow, like a Hunter, but with yellow armour, and not nearly so large. It had a human head and no Duel Rod Gun, but rather, parts of the Sentinels attatched to him. Blasts of yellow light burst at the Covenant, sealing them in smoke. "Now come on!" yelled the Forerunner. The Chief grabbed the Cortana chip, the Captain yanked 343 GS from the board and they ran. They ran out of the room, heading for the edge of Halo Zero. It was time.
Coming next time in Halo Zero:
10- The Finale
Will the Chief be able to stop Halo Zero from firing? Stay tuned for our final part of the Halo Zero series!!!
Halo Zero Part 10: The Final Part
Date: 16 March 2003, 5:05 PM
10- The Beginning of the End
The middle of a Halo Zero field. It was red, red like the ground was when the Master Chief had returned to the Pillar of Autumn two years before. The Chief, the Captain and the Forerunner stood in the middle of it, just standing still.
"343 Guilty spark said we would have to overload Halo Zero to destroy it," said Cortana. "He would have wanted us to try... To destroy this planet! We have to overload it somehow!"
"How?" asked the Captain, looking down at the monitor. They all thought for a minute, then the Chief said one word.
"Plasma."
"It is nearly finished forming!" yelled the Grunt. "Get to the Control Stations! Get READY!" The Hunter, the Grunt and the Elites ran up to the control board. In only fifteen minutes, the planet would have finished merging and be able to fire.
Marines all over the planet stopped their battles, as did the Covenant. They watched as the glow they had been seeing since the dust moved began to grow. They dropped their weapons, knowing of the impending doom. They said their last goodbyes and began to become friendly with the Covenant again. Soon it would be over, and they had to make ammends.
Meanwhile, in the field, the Master Chief stood alone. Large wires were attatched to his arms and head, coming from the Forerunner's Duel Rod Gun. They were all in a FTL dropship except the Chief and Cortana. They had sacrificed themselves to stop the weapon.
The Chief looked up and around the orange sky. He knew his life was coming to an end now, in the next few minutes. He thought back to his family, and his friends. Halsey. Captain Keyes. 343 Guilty Spark. They had all gone now. He was going be joining them soon.
"Ten minutes remaining Chief," said Cortana. The Chief nodded, a tear coming down his face underneath his helmet.
"Are you sure you are going to go through with this?" yelled down the Captain. The Chief looked up and nodded. "Then Master Chief! I salute you!" The Captain raised his arm and saluted the Chief. The Chief did the same.
"Hey, Captain! Catch!" yelled the Chief. He pulled out a small device and threw it up, the Captain catching it. "Plug it into 343 Guilty Spark when you get far enough away! A little present from me to you, for your help!" The Captain smiled.
Soon, the Chief said something only Cortana could here. "I'm unplugging you."
"What?" she cried.
"Once before, a good friend once said this war has enough dead heroes. You aren't going to be one of them."
The Chief took the chip from his helmet. "Captain!" He threw it up. The Captain grabbed it. "A good friend once told me that this war has enough dead heroes! Make sure this one doesn't die!"
"Chief! Truely you are a hero!" cried the Captain.
The Chief looked down at the floor. The glow stopped.
"Activate the planet!" screamed the Grunt.
The Master Chief stood there, looking at his shields. Suddenly, huge blasts of plasma travelled through the wires, into him and into the planet. The Chief's shields drained away. The planet erupted into flames as equipment failed. Parts of the land exploded, lava flying up. The world was in absolute chaos. The plasma was overloading it. The Chief looked sadly at his shields. They were empty, and block after block disappeared. They turned yellow. The plasma surged through his body. It failed him. The blocks turned red. He screamed as the pain got too much, as the planet began to explode around him.
"The planet isn't activating!" yelled the Grunt. The Hunter turned round when the room exploded into flames. Everything was going. As was the Master Chief.
He stood, screaming, swaying. He fell backwards to the floor and his shields went to nothing. He was engulfed in flames, and he blacked out.
The end wasn't quite over yet though. This was only the beginning. Something told Cortana that the Covenant hadn't finished the war quite yet...
The End?
I think not.
Coming soon:
A Forerunner Tale
This is the beginning of the story, the beginning of Halo. This is what happened when the Flood was made, when the rings were forged, when the universe was put in danger.
Halo Zero 2: Planet Covenant!
More action packed Halo adventure, with Captain Zenith and the people of Earth getting revenge on planet Covenant. The war isn't over yet... Oh no. The story isn't quite over...
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