Note: In order to fully understand this story, you must know some basic background information on the game. If you've played the game, then you should know enough. If you've read the books, then you know all you need to know. This story takes place in an alternate universe seven years after Halo 2 begins. Obiously the world isn't going to be destroyed in Halo 2, so this is in an alternate universe where the world does get destroyed. I'll be posting each subsequent chapter in here, so be sure to check this thread every once in a while for new chapters if you like the story. And now... to begin. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- <div align=center></div> CHAPTER ONE Time: 0200 hours; Date: January 27, 2559; Calendar: Military Location: Aboard UNSC Cruiser Freedom and Independence; traveling through Slipstream space. “Cortana,” the Chief began, “the Covenant have obliterated Earth. All hope is lost. Why are we running from them? I would rather fight them one last time—to the death—than run like this.” The other Spartans stood behind the Master Chief, holding their battle rifles. Several of them nodded their heads, and one stepped forward to agree with the Chief. “I agree with the Chief. I would rather put these bullets into a few more Elites than float around out here in space while they chase us down. When they find us, they’re just going to kill us anyway. What are we doing?” The Spartan who spoke out was Senior Chief Petty Officer Spartan-104, Fred. He was the toughest Elite next to the Master Chief himself. He had been through almost everything that the Chief had been through, save for the battle on Halo. Suddenly, Cortana’s holographic image appeared above the holotank just in front of the Chief. “You Spartans are all alike. If you aren’t killing something, you aren’t happy. What is it with you, anyway?” “Cortana, I—” “Be quiet. Listen to me. We aren’t running from anything.” “What? I don’t understand,” Fred said. “We fooled the Covenant into thinking that Earth was the last place that they would find humans. Well, guess what? Earth isn’t the last place the Covenant is going to find humans. In fact, Earth was more of a ruse, if you will.” “Yeah, I, uh, I still don’t understand,” the Chief said. “I really can’t tell you any more, as I have strict orders not to divulge any more information on the matter. All I can tell you is that we are on the way to the Andromeda galaxy to round up some friends.” “Andromeda? You mean we’re traveling between galaxies now? And what ‘friends’?” “Yes, Chief, we can travel between galaxies. It was never tried before with a cruiser, but another UNSC cruiser, the Dominance, made the jump from the Milky Way to Andromeda without any problems. Therefore, we’re following them.” “Okay, but what friends?” Fred asked. “You’ll see when we get there. You should be very surprised.” “Very well. Where’s the captain?” “Captain? Chief, there is no captain. I’ve been flying this ship since we left Earth.” “Then who was talking to us and giving us orders?” “That would’ve been me, using a voice emulator. Didn’t you recognize Captain Keyes’ voice?” “I knew it sounded familiar.” “Yes, well, that’s how I got you on board. Now, Chief, if you’ll kindly take me to the bridge, I will be able to monitor the ship better. I will also be able to command the crew. Spartan one-oh-four, you’re coming with us.” “Yes, ma’am,” Fred responded. He grabbed his battle rifle, loaded it and then grabbed a pistol and holstered it on his hip. He followed the Master Chief out of the bay. The Master Chief then opened up a private com channel to Fred, one so secure that even Cortana couldn’t crack into. “I don’t know what Cortana’s been on about, Fred, but we should be careful. She’s been acting crazy for years now. Ever since the first Halo, she’s been short of temper and everything. As much as I hate to say it, she may even be tricking us.” “I understand. What do you want me to do, sir?” “Just stay on your toes. If she tries anything funny, you need to let me know immediately. If she does something outrageous, I’ll make a backup of any data she may have and purge her. I don’t want to do it, but I might just have to.” “Understood.” The Chief clicked the com channel off. “Cortana, where is the bridge on this ship?” “I apologize. The bridge of the Freedom and Independence is located there. Just follow the nav point.” “Thank you. Fred, you take point. I’ll upload the nav point to your HUD. I need to keep an eye on the shadows. There’s no telling whether or not any Covenant got on board.” “There’s no need, Chief,” Cortana interjected. “My sensors indicate that there are no Covenant forces on board the ship.” “Cortana, with all due respect, we should be careful,” Fred said. “I understand, but why should we be so cautious when there are no threats?” “Maybe, Cortana, just maybe because we’re in the midst of a now-intergalactic war with the Covenant? I don’t know, that sounds like a pretty damn good reason to me,” the Chief replied with a tone of anger in his voice. Cortana had never heard the Chief sound angry before. “Right. I apologize.” “There,” the Chief said as he uploaded the nav point to Fred’s HUD. “Take point. I’ll be about six meters behind you.” “Yes, sir.” The Chief stood for a moment and looked around, surveying the shadows. He wanted for about ten seconds before continuing on—just about six meters behind Fred. The hum of the machinery was just quiet enough for the Master Chief to hear nearly everything on the ship—including the engines, which were located over a kilometer behind him in the engine room. Suddenly, he saw movement in the shadows. He stopped for a moment and turned his shields on as high as he could get them to go. He signaled to Fred that a possible threat was in the vicinity, and Fred turned his shields on to full power. “What are you doing?” Cortana asked. “I saw something move in the shadows. It looked like an Elite wearing active camouflage. I’m not taking any chances.” “Chief, I told you there are no threats on board,” she protested. “Why won’t you listen to me?” Suddenly, the Chief saw a glow from the end of the hallway as an Elite turned in his energy sword and proceeded to bolt down the hallway toward Fred and himself. The Chief turned around to put his back against Fred’s when he saw two more Elites wearing active camouflage coming up from behind him. “We’re surrounded!” Fred yelled. “Stay calm. We’ve got ammo and these Elites don’t have their shields powered up. They have the active camouflage on, so it disables their shields.” “Right, I forgot about that. Well, then, I don’t want to waste any ammo.” Fred then slung his battle rifle over his back and removed the sidearm from its holster at his hip. He loaded a new clip into it just as the Elite swung his sword at him. He and the Chief both sidestepped and the three Elites slammed into each other in the middle of the hall. “That was close,” Fred muttered. “I’m glad you didn’t… never mind.” “Glad he didn’t what?” Cortana asked, her voice full of curiosity. “Nothing.” “They aren’t dead, Fred. Look.” Suddenly, all three Elites were on their feet. The Chief had never seen an Elite move that fast before. He was just getting ready to put a bullet into one of them when it jumped up and the bullet hit the floor. “Son of a bitch!” Fred screamed. “They’re a lot faster than they used to be. What the hell happened?” Fred dropped his sidearm and frantically tried to unsling the battle rifle from his back. The Master Chief clicked over the com freq and ordered five Spartans to come to the nav point he uploaded to their HUDs. Five lights blinked in his HUD, an indicator that five of the Spartans were ready to advance to his position. “Fred, we’re going to have to hold these guys off as long as we can until the other Spartans can get here. I have no idea who’s coming, but let’s hope to God they can help us with these guys.” The Master Chief squeezed the trigger and a three-round burst impacted an Elite in the upper torso. His shield flickered and the Elite shrugged it off as if he was bit by a mosquito. He bellowed some sort of battlecry and charged at the Chief. The Chief glanced over at Fred who had finally gotten his battle rifle on his back and looked up. He saw a vent in the ceiling and movement. “Fred, there’s movement in the vent above us. Stay alert.” “Roger.” The Master Chief clicked on his com freq again. “I’m going to need a few more of you. There are five on the way, so give me three more.” Three more lights blinked in his HUD. The Chief then designated the five Spartans that were on their way as Blue Team and designated himself, Fred and the three Spartans he just asked for as Red Team. Suddenly, the Chief felt himself get thrown to the ground. The Chief looked up from his now-grounded position and saw the Elite standing over him with its energy sword ready to sear right through his MJOLNIR Mark VII armor. He lifted his right leg and planted it firmly on the chest of the Elite and pushed as hard as he could. He sent the Elite flying down the hallway—right into the group of Spartans that had finally arrived. The Spartan that had point, William-043, was the last of the SPARTAN-II project along with the Master Chief and Fred. He lifted his leg in an attempt to stop the Elite that was hurtling through the air toward him. Suddenly, bullets flew all around Will and the Elite’s shields flickered and died. The Elite slammed into Will limply and fell to the floor, dead. “Glad to see you could join us, Will,” the Master Chief said. “It’s a pleasure to fight alongside you again, sir,” Will replied. “Alert: Covenant forces have been detected in the hallway just above this one,” Cortana told the Chief. “And you said there were no Covie forces on board,” the Chief replied with a laugh and a smirk on his face. Behind Will stood four members of the SPARTAN-III project: Marcus-003, Terrance-094, Kiran-109 and Robert-115. They were sporting the MJOLNIR Mark VI battle armor, which was designed exclusively for the SPARTAN-II and SPARTAN-III projects. However, there was not enough time to give the SPARTAN-IIs the armor, which is why the Master Chief ended up upgrading to it when he returned to Earth after the battle on Halo in 2552. Kiran and Robert both fired controlled bursts from their assault rifles and took down another of the Elites as the other three Spartans showed up. They were members of the SPARTAN-IV project: Keaton-009, Jameson-015 and Anthony-112. The Spartans sported the MJOLNIR Mark VII battle armor, which was designed to be universal for all SPARTAN projects. However, the Master Chief was the only Spartan not in the SPARTAN-IV project to take the new armor. The others preferred their own. The last Elite stood at the end of the hallway and laughed. Suddenly, the vent that Master Chief had looked at earlier came crashing down and five Grunts fell to the floor. The Master Chief, Fred and Will all stood in front of the other Spartans and fired their battle rifles. The Grunts fell just as fast as they dropped from the ceiling and the Elite still stood there. The Master Chief and Fred fired at the Elite. Its shields flickered and went out, and Will fired a burst into its head to put it down. The Master Chief heard more panels from the vent crack, and saw a Brute drop down. “They must’ve burned through the floor of the hallway above us to get down here!” Keaton yelled toward the Chief. “Acknowledged.” The Chief then accessed the com freq again and asked the remaining Spartans to head up to the upper level to neutralize any threats there. However, he didn’t get a response. “Anthony, what was the situation like in the cryobay?” the Chief asked. “Well, a couple Hunters managed to make their way in, but there are at least thirty Spartans in there that can handle them.” “I’m not so sure about that,” the Chief said. He turned back around to see that two more Brutes had dropped from the ceiling, but all three of them were lying dead in the hallway thanks to Fred and Will. The ten Spartans stood there, waiting for more Covenant to drop down and attack them. “Chief, we need to get to the bridge,” Cortana said. “If any Covenant are there, then the crew is most likely dead. We need to prevent them from taking over the ship. We need to eliminate all hostiles on board.” “Right.” CHAPTER TWO Time: 0330 hours; Date: January 27, 2559; Calendar: Military Location: Aboard UNSC Cruiser Freedom and Independence; traveling through Slipstream space. The Master Chief stood in the hallway over the bodies of the dead Brutes for a few moments. He looked at the weapon on their arm—it was the same weapon that almost took his head off just a few years earlier. He remembered that day so vividly because it was the first time he actually feared for his life. However, he shoved the thought aside and turned to Fred. “Listen, we’re going to need to,” the Master Chief started. “Wait, wait, wait just a second. Fred, something isn’t right about these Elites.” “What do you mean, Chief?” Fred asked curiously. “Well, all of the Elites wearing active camouflage that I’ve ever fought never had their shields up. These ones… these ones had their shields up. I didn’t give it much thought at first, but this could be trouble for us.” “How so?” “Think about it: If these Elites are both invisible and have their shields up, then we stand no chance against them in tight quarters. Our shots aren’t going to do much good. Sure, their active camouflage generators may fail, but their shields will still be active.” “I see,” Fred said. “What do you propose we do?” “The Covenant must have found something on Earth,” the Chief said, ignoring Fred’s question, “that helped them use their shields and the camouflage at the same time.” “Yes, but why are you stuck on this? We can’t change that now. We’re just going to have to be extra careful.” “Yes, but caution isn’t always something that goes well when you’re in a room full of invisible Elites.” “I understand. But what do you propose we do?” “I don’t know right now. Cortana, do you have any idea if there are any precautionary measures we can take?” “Yes, there are. Assuming that the other Spartans eliminated the Hunters in the cryobay, we can go back. Several scientists that we managed to rescue from Earth captured an Elite somehow and they’re studying its active camouflage generator.” “So what exactly does that mean?” the Chief asked. “It means,” Cortana started, “that we may be able to use the active camouflage generator to our advantage. Assuming that we can build multiple units, we can attach a generator to each of you Spartans. You’d be evenly matched against our new Elite counterparts.” “I see,” the Chief replied. “Do we still need to get to the bridge at this moment?” “Of course we do, Chief. Get me to the bridge first, and then I’ll send you back to the cryobay.” “Right. Okay, Fred, Will: We’re going to continue on to the bridge. The rest of you, double back to the cryobay. Eliminate any threats you encounter, and help the other Spartans in the cryobay if they need it.” Seven acknowledgement lights blinked in the Master Chief’s heads-up display. He nodded, spun on his heal, and started walking back down the hall with Fred and Will right behind him. Keaton took point and led the other Spartans back to the cryobay. They encountered no threats on their way back. However, the Master Chief, Fred and Will encountered threats, and plenty of them. Just as the other Spartans left the hall, another Brute dropped through the ceiling. Fred spun around and ripped the combat knife from his leg and lunged at the Brute. The knife ended up piercing through the Brute’s left shoulder and protruded out of its back. The Brute howled in pain as it grabbed Fred and threw him back toward the Chief and Will. As Fred slammed into the ground, the Chief and Will opened fire with their battle rifles and put the Brute down. Fred stood and looked into the hole in the ceiling. He saw a massive Hunter, larger than any of the other Hunters he had seen on Earth, and he heard the screams of several Marines in the hallway above. “Chief, there are Marines up there. We need to save them.” “All right,” the Chief said. “You two get up there. I’m going to head to the bridge, double time. You help those fucking Marines or so help me God I’ll have your heads. We can’t afford to lose anyone on this ship.” “Aye, aye, sir.” “Chief, I’ve never heard you swear before,” Cortana said. “Are you all right?” “Don’t worry about me. We need to get to the bridge.” “Right. Follow the nav point.” The Master Chief slung his battle rifle over his shoulder, checked to see that his pistol was secure in its holster, and tightened the straps around the six fragmentation grenades on his belt. He turned and saw Will and Fred clamber up the hole into the hallway above, and they disappeared into the blackness as the lights in the hallway went out. “Godspeed, Spartans.” The Chief started running full sprint down the rest of the hallway when he spotted a set of stairs that lead downward. “Cortana, will these stairs get me to the bridge faster?” “Analyzing; let me bring up the schematics.” The Chief felt a chill down his spine as Cortana started looking through the schematics of the Marathon-class battle cruiser. “Chief, this staircase leads down to a Class-B service corridor. It will take you directly to the bridge. However, you’re going to have to fit yourself into some very tight spots.” “So that means I’ll have to take my shield offline.” “Yes, but the corridor is too small for anything larger than a Grunt to get inside. If you spot any of them, it should be easy for you to dispatch them with your rifle.” “Okay, I’m going down there.” The Chief dropped down the stairs and landed in the shadows. He turned to make sure there was nothing behind him when he saw a white Elite strolling down the hallway. “Cortana, what the hell kind of Elite is that?” “According to the Covenant battle net, those are recon Elites. They don’t carry any weapons that deal significant damage.” “What kind of weapon do they carry?” “A plasma pistol that doesn’t have any overcharge feature.” “I see. In that case…” The Chief cocked his battle rifle and the Elite stopped and looked around. The Elite huffed and started walking in the Chief’s direction. “Do you know if they have any shields?” “No, they don’t.” “Perfect.” The Chief squeezed the trigger of the battle rifle three times and sent nine bullets screaming at the Elite. The first volley tore through the Elite’s left shoulder and ripped it away from its body. The second volley struck the Elite square in the chest, followed by the third volley. The Elite howled in pain and fell to the ground. Several Grunts then came running down the hall, but the Chief quickly dispatched them. “Nicely done,” Cortana said playfully. “Jesus, Cortana,” the Chief said. “You said there were no Covenant on board, yet there seems to be hundreds of them. How did your scanners miss them?” “To be honest, I don’t know. I could’ve swore there were no Covenant on the ship. I apologize. We’ll just have to keep our guard up.” “Right, well, this hallway goes back the other way—away from the bridge. Why?” “The hall goes the opposite way for a few meters, but it turns back around and heads back toward the bridge.” “Okay. Just to be safe, I’m going to have a little fun.” “Chief?” The Chief reached to his belt and unclipped a frag grenade. He tossed the grenade down the hall so that it ended up on the other side. The explosion blew a part of the wall out right in front of the Chief, but he was awarded with the screams of several Grunts who had fallen victim to the grenade’s explosion. “I see. Nice!” Cortana said. The Chief stepped through the hole in the wall and saw that all was clear. “Cortana, are there any turns in this hall?” “No, I can’t see any on the schematics. You should be able to get right to the bridge from here.” “Great.” The Chief readied his battle rifle in case he encountered any more Grunts, turned his shields off so he could slip through easily, and sprinted down the long hall. The nav point in his HUD showed that he had about 700 KM to go before he reached the bridge—a walk in the park for a Spartan. Meanwhile... Fred and Will clambered into the hallway only to nearly get crushed by a falling Hunter. They darted out of the way and dove to safety at the feet of a Marine, and the Hunter fell down into the hallway below, dead. The other Hunter bellowed a war cry and began to charge the massive Fuel Rod Gun attached to its right arm. “Get down!” Fred screamed, and the four Marines behind him hit the ground as the huge bolt of plasma screamed over their heads and melted the wall just behind them. The Hunter bellowed again and tried to jump over the hole, but it fell into the hallway below. It bellowed again when it saw its dead bond brother laying on the ground. “Marines, get out of here, now!” Will screamed. The Marines jumped up and bolted out of the hallway. Fred and Will stood up and leaped over to the other side of the hole—and just in time, too. A superheated bolt of plasma screamed up through the floor, melting the ground and blasting into the ceiling above. Fred grabbed onto a frag grenade attached to his belt and tossed it down into the hallway below. He heard the explosion and then heard the Hunter follow that up with a cry of pain. He slowly walked over to the edge and saw the Hunter lying on the ground, dead. “Will,” Fred started, “since when do frag grenades kill a Hunter?” “Since Hunters started dying?” Will joked. Fred saw movement down below and told Will to get back. He then saw the distinct helmet of a Spartan, and realized that it was Keaton. Fred reached down and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him up into the hallway above. The three Spartans looked at each other and concluded that all threats had been eliminated, and then they headed to the bridge. Meanwhile... The Chief slowly walked up to the vent door, and looked out. All of the crew on board were alive, but there were two gold Elites wielding plasma swords standing on the bridge. The Chief saw two Grunts stroll past, and saw a crimson Elite walk the opposite way. “Cortana,” the Chief said, “is there any other way to get into the bridge?” “Well, Chief, there are the normal access halls, but they seem to have been blocked off. You’ll need to go in through this one.” “Very well,” the Chief replied. He risked turning his flashlight on and looked to see four bolts attaching the vent cover to the inside of the corridor. He grabbed onto the bolts and ripped them all off and slowly pulled the vent away. He did it as quiet as a mouse, and none of the Covenant on the bridge heard him. The Master Chief pulled a plasma grenade from his belt, one he had picked up when dispatching the Grunts at the beginning of the corridor. He activated it and tossed it at one of the gold Elites. It hit right at the Elite’s foot, bounced once and attached itself to the shin of the Elite. Confused, the Elite spun around once before the grenade detonated and killed him. The explosion also disabled the shields of the other Elite, which let the Master Chief dart out of the corridor and take the Elite down with his battle rifle. He then turned his shields on to their max power and took out the remaining Grunts and the Elite on the bridge, and then sealed off the bridge from other Covenant. “Mission accomplished, Cortana.” “Perfect. Do you see that holotank over by the main view screen?” The Chief surveyed the bridge and realized that the Freedom and Independence was designed exactly like the Pillar of Autumn. He walked over to the holotank and inserted Cortana’s AI chip. Her holographic body then appeared above the holotank. “All right, Chief. I’m in. There are no other Covenant forces detected on board. Fred and Will are on their way to the bridge. The remaining Spartans are waiting in the cryobay for further information.” “All right, Cortana. Are there any Marines on board?” “Yes, sir,” she replied. “There are precisely three hundred forty two Marines on the ship. They’re all headed toward the cryobay to station with the Spartans.” “Okay. Thanks for the status update. Am I still needed here?” “I think I’ll be okay. What did you have in mind?” “I was going to go on recon with Fred and Will when they get here, and scout the entire ship to make sure there are no other forces on board.” “Okay, Chief. Fred and Will will be here any minute.” The Chief then heard static over his private com channel. “Sir, we’re about twenty meters from the bridge. Is all good there?” “Yes, Fred. All is good here,” the Chief replied. “How are you and Will?” “We’re fine, and we’ve got Keaton with us as well.” “Good, we can use the additional personnel on our recon mission.”
Very nice work, I've never even played Halo once but I found myself enjoying the action and great use of military vocabulary. I'd love to see more when it's availible, keep up the good work!
I'm a fan of the Halo game and reading the story so far makes me want to experience the Halo game again.
I think i'm one of the only girls obsessed with Halo really. Even enough to read a fanfiction about it haha. But I just have one word for you.. AWSOME. You're extremely talented, Will. Keep up the awsome work.
"Spartan-LJ got kicked in the nutts by a Elite, got smacked down to the ground and then was splattered by a plasma gun" Great story JK
The only reason the character "Keaton" is in this story is because I ran out of names. The characters who are real are John (the Master Chief), Fred, Will and Cortana. All of the others are made up. I'll work on chapter three this week.