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The End of a War - Chapter 4
Posted By: Mr. Clark<mrclark84@hotmail.com>
Date: 14 February 2005, 4:06 AM
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The End of a War
Chapter 4
Whatever You Do, Don't Blink
Sergeant Johnson wasn't sure what he expected when they first debarked onto High Charity. Maybe a complete Flood assault on their ship, or even that leader thing the Arbiter had spoken about. What he certainly did not expect was to come down the mini gravity lift and find the spectral image of Cortana speaking with the Arbiter.
"-ey are lying dormant for now, but that Gravemind is somewhere in the city," he overheard. If Cortana was still in High Charity, then the Chief must be nearby.
"How many carriers are still docked that are capable of entering Slipspace?" the Arbiter asked.
"Three," Cortana responded. "Though from the inventory I've concluded that two of the ships have been damaged and are incapable of activating their main drives without having massive power failure."
"In what area of the city is the remaining ship docked?" the Arbiter questioned.
"Sector 9, Honor Without Mercy is docked. I believe it to be the Prophet of Mercy's flagship."
Johnson wasn't much interested in that talk. This whole city was crawling with Flood and he was itching for a battle, especially with those bastards. Memories from his first trip to a Halo installation were still fresh within his mind.
He made his way down the loading docks and climbed a flight of stairs that led to a small corridor. His hands wielded two M7 sub-machine guns, with an M6C pistol shoved into his waistband at the small of his back. He also had the energy blade the Arbiter had given him strapped onto his left leg. Spare ammo and grenades were in a pouch slung over his right shoulder. If the Flood were looking for a fight, he sure as hell was going to give them one.
"Sergeant," a voice sounded behind him. Johnson turned and regarded Keyes, who was speaking with Cortana and the Arbiter. "Don't go too far off. We'll be moving out shortly."
"Nothing to worry about ma'am, just giving the area a look," he responded. Satisfied, Commander Keyes turned back. Johnson threw one last glance down the corridor before walking back over to Keyes and Cortana. The Arbiter had gone off to inform the others.
"So where's the Chief?" he asked seeing a lull in their conversation. Cortana and Keyes both turned to look at him.
"The Master Chief followed the Prophet of Truth aboard a Forerunner ship that had previously been powering this city. The Prophet of Mercy told us that Truth was going to Earth to finish what Regret had started," Cortana informed him.
"You didn't go with him?" Johnson persisted. He noticed Cortana's face alter slightly, making her appear annoyed.
"My purpose of staying behind was to destroy High Charity and subsequently Halo in case the activation would not be stopped."
Johnson grunted and turned around briefly to look at the Arbiter and the other Covenant.
"You don't seem too surprised that were working with these guys," he commented.
"I've been monitoring the Covenant traffic for several hours, sergeant. The Master Chief and I traveled through High Charity while the Brutes began the purging. I know of their fall from grace."
"Just cause the Prophets don't want them around anymore doesn't mean they'll come crawling to us to make a truce," Johnson pointed out.
Cortana's features changed to amusement.
"In the direst of situations even the most hated of enemies can become allies," she said. "You would be wise to remember that."
"Alright you two, that's enough chatter for now. We've got to get moving," Commander Keyes said. Johnson turned and saw the Arbiter approach.
"I have received word from Major 'Ekaporamee, thanks to this AI the defenses were disabled in their landing zone and they have debarked without any contact as of yet. I have informed him of the location of the only working ship. He and his team are heading there now," the Arbiter informed them. "If we leave now and don't run into any heavy resistance we should be able to link up with them within a few minutes of their arrival."
"That may be a problem," Cortana interjected as her image flickered momentarily. "Movement detected down corridors 7 through 14. Estimate their destination to be this docking bay."
Johnson flicked the safety off both SMG's and flashed a grin at the others.
"It's about damn time."
------------------------------
The Master Chief was torn between wondering just how the hell he was alive, and screaming over the pain that was lancing throughout his entire body. After a few moments of indecision his choice was made for him, as something connected with his side, sending a wave of nausea induced pain across his body.
As he clenched his eyes shut and breathed deeply to block out of the pain, John forced his mind to go over what happened aboard the Forerunner ship. After the explosion that started ripping up the control deck, a fracture down the exterior of the ship had reached all the way to the interior, which quickly spread. The main viewing window had shattered and he'd been shot out of the ship like a missile. There hadn't been much time to think once that occurred. The Master Chief had spotted a Pelican and grabbed a nearby piece of debris and hoped to hell he'd hit the ship.
John couldn't recall what happened next. He was certain he must have someone hit the Pelican, otherwise he would have fallen into orbit of Earth and burned through reentry, slamming into the surface with enough force to punch through a Covenant ship from head to toe.
"I wouldn't move around too much if I were you," a voice off to his left announced. John strained his neck and forced his eyes open. Kneeling down near him was a young girl wearing a flight suit. A frown creased his face when he realized that his helmet was missing, and he quickly shifted into a sitting position, pushing the pain that movement produced to the back of his mind.
He took a moment to take in the room before getting to his feet. This was some kind of flight deck, but it lacked any military identifications. He was about to inquire when he heard a gasp from behind him.
"Could you cover up or something?" the girl squeaked out as she hid her face in her hands. Confused, John glanced down and saw that it was not just his helmet that had been removed. All of the Mjolnir armor had been taken off, and what appeared to be a comforter had been laid across him when he was unconscious.
"Where is my suit?" the Master Chief asked as he looked for any other people in the room. From the simple decoration that adorned the place, it would appear to be a civilian craft, but it had been altered somewhat.
"In the next room," the girl answered, her hands still covering her face. "We couldn't see how badly you were hurt so we took it off."
The Master Chief didn't bother waiting and walked off to the door leading into the next deck. As the door slid open, he realized this room was filled with greater capacity. He drew a round of startled looks as he stood just inside the room. John glanced at each person before letting his gaze fall upon the table where his armor lay in disassembly.
He walked purposely to the table, the others that had been gathered around backed off quickly as if they thought he was heading for them. He picked up his wrist guard and noticed it was misshapen. John inwardly frowned, the majority of the suit was damaged, but not to a great degree. It should still function.
"Geez Jan, I asked you to look after him, not let him wander around naked," one of the men commented. The Master Chief turned slightly and saw the girl from the other room, looking embarrassed as she averted her gaze from him. The man that had spoken turned from the girl and looked at John. He opened his mouth to speak but as John's gaze fell upon him, his mouth clamped shut and he looked uncomfortable.
Disregarding them for a moment, John began to suit up. He caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror located on the far bulkhead. His skin appeared a shade paler than he remembered. Incased in the Mjolnir suit, a Spartan did not receive any kind of sunlight, rending their complexions to be mostly moonlight pale.
"Is this a civilian ship?" he asked as he began attaching his lower armor. It was uncomfortable and awkward, doing it by himself but he doubted the civilians aboard this ship had any idea how it worked. When he received no immediate response the Master Chief paused in his ministrations and looked at the assembled group.
"Yes," one of them finally answered. A young man, no older than 20 had replied. He looked somewhat scrawny, but there was something about his eyes that the Master Chief recognized.
"It's a yacht," the young girl elaborated. John had managed to fasten the lower armor and she seemed capable of looking at him now.
"I presume when the Covenant fleet entered the system there would have been a standing order for all civilians to seek shelter," the Master Chief commented. "If so, why were you in orbit? I understand that you have a desire to protect your home, but there is little you can do against the Covenant ships. They could blow this ship apart with one blast from their plasma cannons. You should stay on the ground and let soldiers handle the fighting."
As he snapped on the last gauntlet John noticed the almost crestfallen looks on their faces. There was little remorse within him, they would simply be throwing their lives away as cannon fodder for the Covenant fleet. He reached down to pick up his helmet when one of them slammed a fist upon the table.
"That's bullshit. There's no safe place anymore, and I sure as hell don't want my last few moments to be huddled inside some bunker waiting for a wave of plasma to burn the whole planet to cinders. Its better to go down fighting than doing nothing at all."
Finished attaching his helmet, John entered the suit's schematics and accessed the shield generator.
A loud snap echoed through the room that made the others jump. The air sizzled around the Master Chief as the Mjolnir suit struggled to cover his body with its shielding.
"If you wish to fight the Covenant, join the Corps. You'll be throwing your lives away acting like this."
There was stiffness, and a great deal of pain but the Master Chief felt no large abnormalities with his suit. The ability to fluctuate the shield strength was slightly unresponsive, but it still worked. Falling thousands of miles through space and slamming into a Pelican could have done worse to the suit as far as he was concerned.
"What good is the Corps?" a different one asked. "For all their blunder about strength and power, what have they done? The best they can do is stall the Covenant, hold them off while we run away. Retreat one more step while we lose planet by planet."
"Kevin calm down," the girl from before said, but was silenced by a glare from the boy.
"You can talk all high and mighty as much as you want Spartan, your kind doesn't do much either."
The Master Chief turned fully around and regarded the boy speaking.
"You Spartans were supposed to be our big secret weapons, the one thing that could help us turn the tide against the Covenant," he said angrily. "All you've done is exactly all anyone has done. Stall them. We've accessed ONI's databanks, we know about the other Spartans. Their gone, dead, every last one of them but you. They all died on Reach. All we have left is a last stand now, a pitched fight that everyone knows the outcome of."
John knew this boy's words should have registered with him. He was insulting the Spartans, his family, all of whom had died fighting an enemy they couldn't stop. That was his greatest failure. He was their leader, and he had let them all down.
Instead, he felt amusement. This boy reminded him of Fred, a Spartan that John had regarded as his second in command. Before the augmentations to their bodies Fred was always the most vocal about their assignments, speaking his mind and accessing the situation in the least pleasing way.
The occupants of the room tensed up when John took three steps and stood before the boy who had been talking. He didn't need to see their shocked faces when he clapped a hand upon the boys shoulder.
"Sometimes, even a pitched battle must be fought," John said, his voice soft. "I suppose I was wrong."
Shocked silence greeted him as his words registered with the others. He used that time to move across the room and stand before the girl that had been with him in the other room.
"How long was I unconscious after you recovered me?"
The girl stared up at him, her eyes seemingly trying to pierce through the visor and get a look at his face. John was used to it, being unable to work off of someone's facial reactions was a great annoyance for some people.
"Four hours, maybe a little more," she responded.
"I presume one of you saw the Forerunner ship explode, correct?" he asked, and received a nod from the girl. "Was the ship destroyed?"
"No, I..." she paused and looked uncertain for a moment. "When the explosion his our Pelican I was thrown in my seat and for a second it looked like the space around the ship was distorted somewhat, and then it just disappeared. Almost like it had entered Slip Space but it looked different somehow."
The Master Chief let loose a breath of relief with that information. Truth hadn't reached Earth yet. He turned an appraising eye to the girl and turned to look at the others. There was something about these kids he just couldn't pin down.
"What about the Covenant fleet? Are the MAC guns still holding out?" he asked next.
The girl looked confused for a moment.
"No, the guns are fine. After the ship you mentioned disappeared, the fleet backed off to the edge of the system. They're just waiting there for some reason."
John felt his eyebrows raise. A Covenant fleet backing off? That certainly did not sound normal, and it couldn't possible mean anything good for Earth.
------------------------------
"Lay some fire down that corridor Goddamnit!" Sergeant Johnson bellowed as he fired his M6C pistol at the small Flood parasite. The fight had been going for only a few minutes but already their unit was in danger of being overrun. "Cortana activate those plasma turrets and have them burn these bastards a new asshole."
"I could if you would kindly move away from the corridor, sergeant," Cortana explained as if speaking to a seven year old. Hearing her words the Elites and Grunts, along with Johnson, took a few final shots at the corridor and then hightailed it across the hanger. The turrets that had previously been used to fire at their dropship now aimed inside the ship and blasted down the corridors that contained the Flood.
After a few minutes of continuous plasma fire, the turrets ceased and all eyes turned to Cortana.
"Looks like there's a lull in the waves, I suggest moving through now but remain cautious."
That was all the incentive they needed. Plasma rifles held at the ready, the Arbiter led the other Elites into a corridor with Sergeant Johnson and Commander Keyes bringing up the rear. Cortana's image disappeared as she reentered the ship and followed them.
"Jesus Christ," Johnson whispered as they entered a communications relay station. Hundreds of Brute and Elite bodies were lined up against the walls, their bodies motionless aside from the parasitic form working its way inside their chest cavity.
The Arbiter and the other Elites looked on in sadness at the fallen Elites. Johnson and Keyes stood back, not used to seeing this emotion from any Elite.
"The parasite must burn for what they have done to our brothers," one of the Elites spoke. The others nodded assent as the Arbiter turned and seemed to look beyond the room.
"Construct, once we are aboard Honor Without Mercy, will it be possible for you to destroy this city as well as the Ring?"
"Yes," Cortana's voice answered hesitantly. "The problem with that is the activation sequence requires me to enter In Amber Clad and do a remote detonation. It would take some time for me to punch myself out of the ships system, through High Charity and into Honor Without Mercy. There would be insufficient time for you to wait for me, then take off and get the others off the Ring before the reactors detonated."
"If I were to follow you in a dropship and then have you enter the ship and rejoin Honor Without Mercy would that be sufficient?" the Arbiter asked.
"I believe so," Cortana responded.
"Now hold on," Johnson interjected. "If anyone's going to be escorting Cortana it'll be one of us humans."
"Are you a pilot," the Arbiter asked Johnson, then nodded towards Miranda. "I doubt either of you are coherent in our language, and we don't possess the time it would take to instruct either of you."
Johnson looked upset and was about to respond when he sighed.
"You gotta promise me one thing though," Johnson said. "Your dropship doesn't leave this city till she's on it. You got me?"
The Arbiter looked down into his face.
"I understand."
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