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The Final War: Battle for Installation 02 [4:2]
Posted By: Awacar<t.alvner@swipnet.se>
Date: 29 November 2003, 7:05 PM


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Chapter Four, Part Two: Taking Control



      "Any advises? Can we succesfully blow the lava away?" Awacar asked as the fight became worse.

      "Blowing the flow away might work, but it's a high risk operation. I think that we shall try to stick as close as we can to the walls, and try to get away from the heat, if you know what I mean." Cortana replied in panic.

Awacar:
      "Lets split up in two forces, each one keeping to their wall, and tries to get to the tunnel that leads to the control centre!"

      The maneuvers are made and now the Covenant are having two fronts in the caotic fight, not good, but better than the alternatives. MC and Awacar lead one force each, and they do it well.
MC encounters a Bio-tank, fires two grenades at it, but doesn't kill it. The Chief feel forced to not fire his weapons, since the ammo is getting more and more rare. He takes the decision to melee the Forerunner and uses his grenade launcher for the purpose. The heavy weapon is slammed into the forehead of the creature, but another melee-attack is needed to finish the job.

      Meanwhile, Awacar and the forces following him engage a few Commandos and Engineers. The Hunters take care of the Engineers, constantly firing the rod guns at their enemies. A few shots don't hit their targets, but the shock-waves created by them almost disable the attacked Forerunners from moving at all. It takes time, but eventually the Forerunners have been defeated. Awacar and a team of Brutes and Elites engage the Forerunner Commandos, and the opponents get very close to each other. At the start, weapons firing is usual, but later the forces get so mixed up that the advantage of weapon-weight is better than rate of fire.
      The Elites switch to plasma rifles, and the fight becomes more heated, an incredibly bad thing for the Commandos. Plasma shots rip through the bodies of the hostile creatures, leaving death on the cold stones that make the floor.

      Both of the friendly Covenant forces fight their way toward the tunnel that leads to the controls of Halo. The resistance is mostly given by the Blood Faction, but a few Forerunner Snipers are also encountered. MCs force is the one closest to the tunnel, and the Forerunners get more and more frequently engaged.

Cortana:
      "We're nearly there, keep it up eveybody!"

      "We'll have to await Awacar and his team, we can't fight the Forerunners on our own, can we?" Master Chief wondered.

      "No, but we can't wait too long either, the Forerunners are approaching the control room, I'll tell you when we will need to go." Cortana replied while the Chief fired a grenade at a team of Elites and Grunts.

      The forces reach the tunnel entrance, and starts to fight the neverending stream Forerunners while Awacars forces fight their way to the tunnel. Awacar grabs a sword and slams it into the belly of the enemy, a Brute.

Awacar:
      "Hunters, Elites, I'll need your rod guns and grenades in front of us, we need to push us through the resistance much faster!"

      The Elites and Hunters follow the advises, blowing the Forerunner opposition away. The forces reunite, and are now having one front where the Forerunners are engaged.

MC:
      "Lets move on, the Forerunners aren't waiting for us!"

Awacar:
      "Okay, lets go! I'll go in the back and see to it that no hostile forces will attack us."

      The force moves into the tunnel which once again it splits up.

      "Cortana?" Master Chief asked.

      "Straight ahead, you'll get to the party that way." Cortana answered.

      MC and Cortana lead the troops through the tunnels while Awacar watches their backs. Any betrayers or Forerunners that is stupid enough to approach get a strife with the sword through their throats. But when Awacar gets to the split of the tunnel he picks the wrong way.

Awacar:
      "Where are you? Master Chief? Cortana? Do you hear me?"

At the same moment:

      "Where's Awacar? Did he choose the wrong way?" MC asks Cortana

      "Yes, probably. I'll try to get a comm-link to him." Cortana replies, activates the comm-link and only hears a sparkling as response to her questions.

      "Should we turn back for him?" MC asked.

      "No, it's too risky, we'll need to save in at every second available. Lets just hope that he corrects his mistake." Cortana answered.

      They approached the control room, and the forces of Forerunners grew larger. When they moved in the tunnel, they had to make some quick advances, as well as quick, small retreats in order to avoid and use the power of the grenades. Since the Forerunners have the launchers on their side MC orders the rod guns and plasma rifles to be more frequently used. The odds are evened out but the fight goes on for minutes.

      While this goes on Awacar faces some resistance in the form of a few Elites. He takes them out quite easy and takes the sword from one of the fallen enemies.

      "You!" Awacar heard suddenly, said by the voice of an Elite. He turns his head and sees the speaker.

      "Gaurough! If I know you and your father right, the ones that I killed before were under your command." Awacar says, with a tone that is supposed to be insulting Gaurough.

Gaurough:
      "Did you... take them out all alone?"

Awacar:
      "Off course, they were under your command."

      "Sad to see that you didn't stay under service of the Truth, A'acar." Gaurough says when picking out a sword.

      "I'm surprised that a coward such as you dare to call me that. And, you should be lucky that the Truth only is a name, I know that it's based on lies!" Awacar replies while activating his sword.

      "I've always known that you and your parents were joiners, the evidences were too obvious." Gaurough says when he swings his sword towards Awacar.

      "Ha! Do you think that anyone with some sort of intelligence would join the Blood Faction without being threatened? We weren't joiners, we were leavers!" Awacar said when he evaded the swing. He continued speaking, "By the way, when we're talking parents, what about your father? Do he still by you everythink that you want? Remember the days when he bought you top grades?"

      "If you need to know, he died in an accident ten years ago. I got the most of his money, and now I'm the commander for the entire squad that has been sent here." Gaurough says before making another swing. Awacar swings his sword, hits the opponent sword and a pure sword fight is being fought.

Awacar:
      "It wasn't an accident, I know you far too well to believe your exact words."

Gaurough:
      "You don't know me at all!"

Awacar:
      "I know that you killed Icod and Febuluc. That is enough to never ever believe you again. It was thirtyfive ears ago, but you're that kind of person that never changes."

      "You're right about that, but I'm a high commander now, the Gaurough you knew weren't capable of getting himself to this type of position. Infact, even Queterie have become a high commander in the Faction." Gaurough says when he tries to stick Awacar in the stomach, a move that is easily evaded.

      The fighters have got themselves to another big room where the lava can be heard to flow beneath their feet. When they get inside it another talk is initiated.

Awacar
      "You haven't changed, money can get you anywhere if you have it in the quantities that you, apparently, have got. It doesn't even surprise me that Queterie became a high command, he doesn't even know what free will means. It seems that everyone that survived your treachery have got themselves in more or less great positions, but I'm the one that have got myself a conscience together with my occupation, you seem to have lost yours when you sticked to the Blood Faction after our little adventure, 35 years ago."

      "You know that the Truth is right, the gods will not be merciful with you." Gaurough said when he evaded a well-aimed blade from Awacar.

      "Religion is only a way for failed civilizations to keep their hope, or a way for the elite that has the power to increase their own position and enslave the whole society from which they were created. The Blood Faction definately sticks to the last one." Awacar said as he sweeped the sword along the floor.

      "How dare you, A'acar?" said Gaurough as he evaded the swing by jumping.

      "I've seen the lies of the Blood Faction from both the inside and the outside, and as you know I've never been afraid of insulting my enemies." Awacar replied while he held his sword in the air, waiting for a strike against it.



      Meanwhile, near the control panel...

MC:
      "Keep on going, the Forerunner line is thinning out!"

      The Covenant forces break through the Forerunner defence, and the path to the control room is now relatively clear. MC takes the lead and the others follow. The Chief picks up a needler, and empties it on the two Engineers in front of him while the rest of the forces attack a couple of Commandos. Afterwards the forces move themselves into the control room, which is torus-shaped with the control panel in the middle.

Cortana:
      "Look! The Forerunners are all over the control panel, if we don't disturb them they'll have Halo in their command!"

MC:
      "Rod guns! I want rod guns near the panel, not on, but near. Anyone with a few grenades, back 'em up! The rest will engage the Forerunners that act as backup for the ones on the panel. For other Forerunners, only return fire!"

      The battle for the control room is started, and quickly becomes one of the most spectacular fights ever. The Covenant with rod guns somehow manages to get their shots where they should be; next to the Forerunners near the control panel. Bio-tanks have started to get a hold on the situation, and now they fire against the large forces of resistance. The Covenant that gets treated this way has to spread out into the Forerunner mass, becoming more voulnerable. The shattering of Covenant goes on for a few seconds, and then they recollect to use the power of a group. But they only do it for as long as it feels relatively safe, if they didn't, the Bio-tanks would have spotted them fast. Hunters go "berserk" on the opposition, meleeing to wherever resistance could be found. For the Covenant, the Hunters almost works as snowblowers, just that they "blow" Forerunners away. The fronts that may be created are quickly used by the Covenant, that has to take every chance they can to make a kill.
      The battle looks this way for an eternity in the eyes of the infantry, but in real time it does for a coulpe of minutes.



      Back to Awacar and Gaurough...

      "I'm surprised by the fact that you kept to the Faction after our attemt to escape from it. Don't you remember all the truths about the Blood Faction that we revealed?" Awacar said when he stepped aside, evading a blow from above.

      "It wasn't truths! The information we got was from unholy believers that wanted the Faction to face it's defeat. These people were killed shortly thereafter." said Gaurough as he prepared for another swing.

      "They weren't! They were just renamed and given top jobs afterwards. And you still believe that everything that we got was just nothing? It was as a handfull of water in an ocean!" Awacar said while he made a counter-swing.

      "Well then, is your part of the alliance so much better? It has slaughtered billions of innocent!" replied Gaurough as he jumped.

      A quake spread through the volcano, and all activity was made more difficult. Awacar fell, and Gaurough saw his chance to win the fight. Awacar turned around on the floor, held his weapon up and let it be hit by Gauroughs blade. He got on his feet, and they continued their struggle.



      In the battle for Halos controls, the tides of war has changed as a result of the quake. Almost all of the Covenant lost their balance, and an advance was made from the Forerunners. MC's enemies of choise, the Engineers, are now even more important to kill in order to get access to their grenade launchers. The Covenant now outnumbers the Forerunners 3:2, but the advantage of numbers will have to be far greater.
At least the Covenant manages to keep the control panel clear, and they start to make small progresses. Master Chief fires a rod gun shot into the vehicle of an Engineer, and the creature is killed instantly. The vehicle detonates, and takes another Engineer into death. MC gets his hands on one of the grenade launchers and see to it that the other one gets in Covenant control.
A fight between Bio-tanks and Hunters have started, and off course it is the most loud of them all, with rod gun- and first barrel shots detonating continuously. The Bio-tanks have the advantage, simply because of the raw power in their weapons.
      Another quake shakes the ground, and it unleashes an eruption. But this time, the Covenant doesn't make the same mistake, and they gain the control of the area. When they have almost all the grenade launchers and rod guns on their side, the Forerunners can't really make any kind of opposition, and they are quickly killed.

Cortana:
      "Get me into the panel so that I can screw it."



      Back to Awacar...

Awacar:
      "How could they be innocent? Born in the Blood Faction, raised to despise everything that doesn't belong to the Faction, and to do everything to kill non-belongers. There are some that is held as prisoners and have resisted the brainwash, I know that we've killed some of them, but it isn't many parts per million of those that we've killed among you."

Gaurough:
      "They believe in the one and only religion, that makes them innocent."

Awacar:
      "It seems as if your fathers money have bought you away from the real world."

      The tunnel beneath them is now nearly filled with lava that weakens the rock, and the floor is suddenly broken appart. Awacar and Gaurough land on one piece of floating rock each, giving them a little larger chance of living through this day.
They start to jump from one piece of rock to another, and swing their swords towards each other when they meet. Awacar gets his sword a bit into the leg of Gaurough, who falls to his rock, screaming in pain.

      "There is a few things that no money in the universe can by away from you, your enormous sensitivity to pain, and your almost non-existing will to achieve your objective." Awacar said.

Gaurough got on his feet, jumped to Awacars rock while raising his weapon, and roaring at the top of his lungs.

      "I almost forgot, your total lack of intelligence!" Awacar said before swinging his sword into the stomach of Gaurough who was in the air, causing him to lose his balance, and land in the melted rock. But Awacars problems aren't over yet, his rock is melting and sinking deeper and deeper into the lava-stream. But further down the stream is a bridge that Awacar gets on.

Awacar:
      "How convenient!"



Master Chief puts Cortana into a terminal of the control panel, and she starts to destroy the information and the functions of the panel.

      "Hurry, I don't want the Forerunners up my face again!" the Chief said.

      "Let me do my job here, you'll have the Forerunners here soon anyway. I'm destroying the last function here... ... ... ... ... Done! Now, get us out of here!"

      MC leads the troops toward the tunnels, where they meet Awacar.

Awacar:
      "Mission status?"

Cortana:
      "Control panel dysfunctional, pulse generators still going, they're our next goal."

To Be Continued...





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