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The End of the Covenant and The Fall of A Hero.
Posted By: Jagged<shadowpilot1355@aol.com>
Date: 28 February 2004, 6:02 AM


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Preface: This is my first and probably only Halo fanfic. This idea came to me while thinking about Halo 2 and wondering if it would be the last Halo. So, like any other Halo fan, I began to wonder how the Master Chief would fall. This is just the very last part, so if I get positive feedback maybe I'll write the rest. This is what I think is the best so far.....
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....As he takes in the interior of a Warthog transport, the Master Chief glances over the faces of the remains of his squad. They are the battered remains of a team that once consisted of ten Marines, four Spartans, and himself. Their numbers are now reduced to four. They had fought and defeated an ambush just after their Pelican had dropped them. Only two of the Marines are left, and both are nursing minor injuries: cuts, bruises, and a few burns from close calls from plasma fire. He is unhurt except a few dings and scratches in his MJOLNIR armor, as his the final member of his team, Kelly. They are all low on ammo, and on hope. For, they all now seem to understand that most of them probably aren't going to come back. This is the last mission against The Covenant for them.
After losing Earth, having at least half of the once great UNSC Fleet in disarray with the other half destroyed, and only a small percentage of the human population evacuated to elsewhere, they feel no regret. This is not only their last task, but the only chance for that small percentage. The scenery flashes by them as they move rapidly over the barren desert, towards an enormous temple. An enormous Covenant temple. On the Covenant home world.
After a few more minutes of travel, he calls to the driver, "From here we walk, it won't take long," At this, the Marine nods tiredly and stops the transport. They unload, taking with them the remains of their ammo. It's not much; He alone only has fifteen shots in his Battle Rifle, and ten in his pistol. They begin the long march towards the temple, the one thing that might defeat The Covenant, and bring about an end to the war. It was said, that they built this temple so that their gods could take their lives in an instant, should the stray to far from the true way.
At sundown, they finally reached the grand entrance to the temple. The true secret of the temple was its direct link to the home world's core. If the Temple was to be activated, then the entire planet would break up, destroying not only the immense armada that hung above it, but the morale and drive of the Covenant forces. As they worked the door open, seeing ornate scribing and oaths to the gods upon it, the thought it would be strange that the entrance would be unguarded. Especially because they were known to be on the planet. They turned one more time out into the fading daylight, and went inside.
As the walked, sullen through man rooms, and toward the center of the temple, it was strangely abandoned. At last, they came to an immense anteroom that had only one other way out, two huge doors, more decorative even than the entrance. The Marines immediately set about opening it as the Spartans took up positions outside their original entrance. Suddenly, the huge doors groaned open, and they entered.
"How long will it take to out how this device works, and start it ticking?" The Master Chief asked one of the Marines, as they started towards what looked like a control panel.
"Not long, sir. At least if it's consistent with other Covenant tech." came the reply.
The Marine soon set about working, deciphering the writings on the surface of the panel. Then, at the same instant, all of them noticed the gigantic hole in front of them, at least a half klick across and no visible bottom. They stood in awe, and understood, that was the connection to the core.
Then, the Marine spoke again, "These scribes, they say, "If ever we should our actions anger they gods, we give them this gift of control, and the end will come through four chosen ones," you don't think that means us...Sir?"
"My sensors are detecting movement in the anteroom," said Kelly, "Did you lock those doors down?"
His reply was stole by a loud crash as the doors were thrown open, and Covenant troops marched through the doors, three hundred meters away. They came as an endless stream, hundreds of them. Grunts, Jackals, Elites, Hunters, and Brutes.
"Finish the job," he said to the Marines, as he and Kelly stepped forward. The charged to within fifty yards of the gathering masses and halted. He brought up his pistol and sighted in on the right eye of the closest Brute. Kelly does the same, but with a sniper rifle and a Hunter's neck.
"How many you got?" he asked her quickly.
"On this, two, and on my B.R.....seven, you?"
"10 on this, and fifteen," he replies.
For a minute, he thinks back to before the Covenant, during his training on Reach, the only childhood he ever really knew. He is there, and so is Mendez, his instructor, and also, Kelly. But no other Spartans, there are 48 empty spaces. Then he is brought back to the now, and he pulls the trigger three times. The Brute falls and the massive throng charges. He sights and fires twice more, killing two Grunts, and uses the last three to drop a sword Elite. Two shots, in quick succession drop a Hunter, and they draw their Battle Rifles.
Time seems to slow, and for every time a shot is fired, an enemy falls. Strangely, the Covenant have yet to open fire. They halt, not ten feet from the now drained Spartans.
A loud string of an unintelligible language comes from sword-stalker Elite, "You cannot win," comes the rough translation.
"Fighting isn't the same as winning," he replies," Bring on your armies, I swear that you will not pass by me,"
Quietly, to Kelly, he says, "Go help them finish," and he watches her sprint the distance back to the controls.
With this, the Elite rushes forward with a thrust, John falls back and sidesteps, grabbing the Elite's wrist and breaking it, while nimbly plucking the plasma sword from his hand. With this, the Covenant begins breaking off, one at a time, to engage him in honorable single combat. He kills them, picking up another plasma sword in his left hand, and hurling it through a Hunter's chest, armor and all. He runs forward and pulls it out, using it to kill or mortally wound dozens more, soon he loses count.
Then they come at two at a time, then three, and four. He slaughters them, ignoring his own wounds. Oddly enough, he does not feel sad, or angry that it is his time, but he laughs. He laughs joyfully at the slaughter around him. He makes them fear to face him. He is rising as the opposition falls, then they come in groups, and his twists and weaves, flips and rolls, backpedals and sidesteps his way into their ranks.
He slashes left and right, ducking or dodging the other's attempts to pierce his defenses, he laughs again. And fire explodes in his mind, as a blade sneaks through and cuts through his armor, and into his stomach. He shuts down the pain, and cuts the head clean off of the Brute that wounded him. Now, more gunfire is heard, the Marines have finished and are cutting through the enemy with what little ammo they have, a grenade explodes, killing dozens.
Suddenly, Kelly is with him again, fighting beside him, they cast their foes away. Soon, there is no one left to fight, hundreds lay dead, dozens wounded, and a few utterly unhurt, but stunned at the complete slaughter of a battalion by four humans. Finally, John 117, the greatest hero ever seen, falters. He falls to his knees, and his hearing goes out as his ignored pain assaults him. He thinks he sees a bright shaft of light piercing the dark and stabbing downward into the core, but he is no longer sure. He collapses, and those left, human, cyborg, or Covenant kneels in his honor, but he is already gone.
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I know it's long but I didn't want to divide it. Tell me what you think....





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