User:Leo Fox/Halo: The Dawn

"The darkest hour is just before the Dawn."

- Proverbs quote

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Prologue
"If you are going through hell, keep going."

- Winston Churchill

This is the way the World ends
Time unknown / March 3rd 2553 / Installation 04B / Status: Halo Capacitors 90% Charged; Firing sequence initiated

The landscape of the partially completed Halo flew past the lone M12 Warthog, as it screamed past towers and girders that the partially constructed Halo was almost completely comprised of.

Behind the wheel of the Warthog, was Master Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN-117 (United Nations Space Corps Navy), a battle-hardened veteran of the Human-Covenant War, who had destroyed one of the Forerunner constructs, called Halo, not even a year ago.

The Chief took a hard left, putting the Warthog into a skid, turning tightly, narrowly avoiding a falling tower that destroyed part of the "road" he was driving on. The road was actually horizontally-placed square plates, made out of some sort of Forerunner metal, held together by some sort of gravity field.

"Sorry about that", the SPARTAN remarked to Thel 'Vadam, the Arbiter, who was clinging precariously to the Warthog-mounted M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun in the back. The passenger seat was empty. Johnson didn't need it now.

The SPARTAN could not believe that Sergeant Major Avery Junior Johnson, the tough-as-nails Marine that had survived the Human-Covenant war from the very beginning, had been killed. He had, with the Master Chief alone, survived the First Halo, the Flood, and the fight to get back to Earth. Then, the Battle of Earth, Installation 05, and the Battle of the Ark, only to be killed by the former monitor of Installation 04, 343 Guilty Spark, so close to completing what could be the last battle of the War. But the Master Chief and the Arbiter had been powerless to stop Spark, because the damn things Forerunner alloy outer casing.

But Johnson had given him the means to crack the casing and destroy the rouge monitor; Johnson's W/AV M6 G/GNR "Spartan Laser". And with it, he did manage to destroy Spark, after 4 direct hits with the weapon.

SPARTAN-117 was rudely yanked out of the past, to Cortana's panicked voice.

"Capacitors 90% Charged Chief! Firing sequence initiated", she stated. The Chief glimpsed out to the left, beyond the potmarked and cracked toughened-plastic windshield, and saw the UNSC Forward unto Dawn, looming just behind a small mountain-like structure.

"Hold on, Cortana. Almost there," the Master Chief calmly said, as he made a few sudden turns, dodging flying debris and falling objects, around fighting Flood and Sentinels. He was glad that the Sentinels were focusing on the Flood, removing two worries from his mind in the meantime, since 343 Guilty Spark had been destroyed, the Sentinels had begun attacking everything. Thel 'Vadam, the Arbiter, dealt with the threats easily enough, with the Warthog's 12.7x99 millimeter M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun.

The Master Chief drove the Warthog right up a ramp-like platform, and skidded around yet another missing patch of road. He continued through some sort of 'natural' arch, which Cortana was kind enough not to make a comment about.

Cortana had not been herself since being rescued from High Charity, not that he could blame her for going...she could not be rampant, could she?

The Warthog then came to a rather steep hill, with a convenient ramp-like ending, allowing for a jump...right into the back of the Forward unto Dawn.

"Gun it, Chief! Floor it! Right into the Hanger!" Cortana shouted at the Master Chief.

"Hold on, Arbiter!", the Chief commanded.

The Chief hit the accelerator and the Warthog rapidly accelerated, to the maximum design speed of the Warthog; 78 Miles per Hour. Coupled with the 3.25 tons of Warthog, a half-ton of SPARTAN, and the 500 or so pounds of Arbiter, when the Warthog reached the jump, the Warthog had quite a bit of momentum behind it, just allowing the Warthog to make the 70 meter jump into the Forward Unto Dawn's Hanger.

Of course, regular Warthog shock absorbers were simply not designed for that kind of impact.

Impact
Time unknown / March 3rd 2553 / Installation 04B / Status:  WARNING: Halo Capacitors 100% Charged; Firing 

The Warthog hit the deck, the forward shock absorbers snapping like twigs from the force of the impact. The rear shocks absorbed the impact and the Warthog bounced and flipped, cart-wheeling end over end, until it came to a stop on its back. The Master Chief and the Arbiter pulled themselves free of the twisted wreckage, as an explosion on the surface of Halo rocked the ship, causing a 66-ton Scorpion tank to break free of its straps and slide towards the Arbiter.

The Arbiter turned and ran from the tank, leaping over crates and other obstacles in the way, as the tank gained speed and momentum behind him. The Arbiter leaped into a corridor outside of the hanger, the passageway too small for the tank to go through. The tank's impact with the bulkhead sent a resounding BANG through the Hanger, and left a large dent in the bulkhead.

The Chief pulled himself up and sprinted halfway to the Hanger control panel, but paused for a moment, to ensure that his ally was unharmed by tank. The Arbiter nodded, acknowledging that he was fine, and the SPARTAN nodded back. Thel 'Vadam rushed away from the hanger, to get to the Bridge, while the Master Chief slotted Cortana into the Hanger Control Panel.

Cortana popped up on an adjacent holotank, and yelled to the Chief, "Hang on!", as the Forward Unto Dawn's engines went into 190% maximum output. The Master Chief gripped the Control panel to keep his footing, as the Frigate groaned as the vessel gained speed and altitude, all the while increased its angle of attack, to gain additional distance from the self-destructing ring.

Crates, tools, and Vehicles started sliding towards and out the open hanger door as the ship passed 45° in its desperate bid to escape the Halo. As the ship reached a 90° angle and a vacuum, the oxygen in the Hanger rushed out the open hanger door. The Chief started climbing up the console to reach the other side, only to be slammed free of it, halfway up, by a falling Warthog. The Warthog left the hanger and burned as it plummeted back to the surface of Halo. The Chief desperately clawed and dug at the Titanium-B deck to halt himself. Cortana reflexively reached out, as if to help him, even though she knew she could not help him anyway.

"Chief!"

The SPARTAN halted himself just short of the edge of the Hanger deck, hands digging deep into the Titanium deck, and started to drag himself up, when he noticed the very same Scorpion tank that almost killed the Arbiter only seconds ago, barreling towards him, as if it wanted to kill something that day, after missing out on the action on the Ark and Halo.

The SPARTAN barely ducked under it, and it crashed onto the hanger deck behind him, rolled off the edge of the Hanger, and fell back to the surface of Halo.

The near-death experience over, the Master Chief dragged himself up the vertical wall of Titanium-A Battleplate, towards the Holotank. Behind him, Installation 04B continued to charge, the power - or was it light? - continued to pool in the center of the ring, in a rather pleasant pinkish hue, a very short time from firing.

The SPARTAN reached the Holotank - just as the Halo fired. Likewise, the Arbiter only just made it to the Bridge, and sat down behind the controls when the Halo fired. Dazzling bright light radiated from the ring as the wave of energy expanded outwards at an incredible velocity. The Chief took cover from the light behind the Hanger Control console.

"Chief...if we don't make it..." Cortana started.

"We'll make it," the Master Chief said optimistically in his deep voice.

"It's been an honor serving with you, John," the AI said, as the Master Chief lay back against the console, completely exhausted, just as blindingly bright light enveloped the Frigate, and all went black for John-117.

Goodnight
'Time Unknown / Date Unknown / Location Unknown / Status: Alive? [unverified] '

"Chief? Chief? Can you hear me?"

The Master Chief awoke, drifting in the Dawns unlit hanger, with a dull headache. He noticed the Engines were not running. The MJLONIR Mark VIs built-in flashlight was already on.

"Cortana?"

"Good. I thought I lost you too," Cortana stated mournfully.

"What happened?", the Super Soldier asked as he oriented himself and grabbed his nearby drifting MA5C Assault Rifle.

Cortana answered as the Chief slowly made his way forward through a corridor - only to find the forward half of the ship gone, the metal close to the edge still glowing red from heat.

"I'm not sure. When Halo fired, it shook itself to pieces; did a number on the Ark. The Portal couldn't sustain itself," Cortana paused. "We made it through just as it collapsed."

The Master Chief was about to ask what happened to the forward half of the ship, when Cortana added, "Well… some of us made it."

The SPARTAN pushed off a nearby bulkhead and made his way through the darkened ship, towards the primary Cryogenics Bay.

He navigated the debris-strewn corridors, past abandoned crew corridors, and weapon stations, until he drifted into the 'Cyro' bay. The Chief propelled himself to a Holotank in the center of the bay.

"But we did it," Cortana said, before being removed from the MJLONIR armor via a crystal memory chip, and plugged into the Holotank to directly access the Forward Unto Dawn's mainframe.

Cortana's avatar sprang up on the holotank. "But you did it. Truth and the Covenant... the Flood... It’s finished," Cortana concluded.

"It’s finished", John echoed.

The Chief pushed off from the holotank to a weapons station on a bulkhead wall and placed his MA5C in it, as Cortana began again. "I'll drop a beacon. But it'll be a while before anyone finds us."

The Master Chief glanced at the holographic representation of the AI, as it continued. "Years, even." The Super soldier clambered into a Cryotube, and as it began closing, Cortana remembered back to when she chose John, and what the two had been through together.

Cortana had never considered how important the SPARTAN was to the AI, until she had suffered in the ''High Charity’’’s mainframe, tortured by the Gravemind, in its demand for information. The Gravemind had damaged and broken her to its will, and Cortana was at her snapping point, when John saved her from the very bowels of High Charity.

"I'll miss you," Cortana said softly and truthfully.

The Master Chief nodded and replied "Wake me... when you need me."

Cortana grimaced, and froze the SPARTAN in the Cyro tube, and began to figure out another way out of their dilemma.

Chapter 1 - Reveille
"Few can foresee where their road will lead them, till they come to its end.""

- J.R.R. Tolkien

Some Assembly Required
Time: / Estimated Date drifting: 5 weeks [verification needed?] / Rear section of the UNSC Forward unto Dawn / Status: Initiating emergency repairs

Cortana had to admit; the remainder of the Forward unto Dawn was a mess, but not a completely unrepairable mess. Since she started repairs on the ship almost two weeks before, on a craft lacking a crew to repair her, and only had 3 Service Drones left, she had done well.

Before even attempting to repair the ship, however, she had reconstructed herself to the best of her ability. After her...misadventure aboard High Charity, she had been corrupted and fragmented as hell. According to her self-diagnostic scans, she was 17.72 percent less efficient then she had been before going into High Charity, even after all the repairs. Well, she was lucky to have not been absorbed into the Gravemind, now that she thought about it.

All three drones were committed to repairing the Secondary Engines, as the Primary Engines had simply melted from the 190% overload to escape Halo, and were simply too damaged to repair. Cortana had eventually decided to repair the less damaged secondary, and to cannibalize the intact Primary engine parts for spares.

She also restored the Artificial Gravity, life support and repaired inoperative air locks aboard the ship.

The primary weapon on the Dawn, the single Magnetic Accelerator Cannon had been rendered useless, due to lack of functioning magnetic coils, and capacitors to store the gigawatts of power needed to power the system. Not to mention the forward half of the barrel missing, which, she hoped, made it to Earth with the forward part of the Ship. She also detected 317 Archer Missiles unfired, left in various pods around the remainder of the ship, as well as two pairs of Gauss cannons on top of and below the Hangers on the side of the ship.

The main reactor went critical just after Halo fired. She had to dump the contents of the reactor; plasma and coolant, into space, and, at the same time, saved the Engineering spaces from becoming dangerously radioactive, although the Reactor was permanently wrecked.

The Shaw-Fujikawa Slipspace engine...well, she could not do anything with it yet, but it was damaged.

The two auxiliary reactors, capable of producing 30% of the main reactor output, were fully operational, providing power to systems around the ship. The chemical thrusters were also operational, after being repaired by the drones.

Multiple holes had been patched, and the compartments vented to space when the portal sheared the Ship in two were sealed with spare armor plate, and repressurized. The Dawn also had 4,000 gallons of liquid oxygen still in various tanks around the ship.

The main command center had been lost when the forward part of the Dawn when through the portal, presumably along with the Arbiter. The secondary command center, just forward of the Engineering spaces, had survived fairly intact, as had the aft hangers.

The Dawn still had a fully functional Pelican in Hanger 8B, and anther pair of partially disassembled Pelicans in a repair bay, as well as a single damaged Longsword. The Pelicans had been in the process of being overhauled from actions over the Ark, while the Longsword had been written off for the extensive damage it took while fighting Covenant Loyalist ships. The ships also had a fair supply of Aviation fuel still aboard.

The Dawn also had a total of 7 infantry armories still intact, as well as the Medical bay, machine shop, and Vehicle bay, the last of which being useless in microgravity.

The Medical bay Cryobay contained a half-dozen frozen corpses, and, much to her surprise, a pair of critically wounded, frozen Marines. They must have been bought back from the fighting on the Ark, before the Flood had been unleashed, and must have been frozen just before, or just after succumbing to their wounds.

Meaning she might be able to revive them. With the help of John-117. She was unable to do anything, where she was. She was able to supervise repairs with the Drones outside the ship, but inside, apart from simple retrieval of spares for outside the ship, she was unable to make any repairs inside.

It was time to wake John.

Memories
It was a beautiful, clear night. A teenage John lay in a field of Grass, with a female SPARTAN candidate laying a short distance away.

Both were staring at the Stars, after a long day of Physical Training, academics, and many other activities the instructors put them through.

"You ever wonder what's up there?” John asked the other SPARTAN.

"Like what?” Kelly-087 asked.

"Maybe someone up there is wondering what it's like here." John elaborated.

Kelly turned to look at him. "I guess. Do you think we'll ever meet them?"

John turned his head so he could look at Kelly. "I hope so. Don't you?"

Kelly smiled and suddenly faded before his eyes, as she and the soft grassy plain faded away into inky, all consuming blackness.

Cortana's voice filled his head. "Do you think we'll ever meet them?"

Hello...again
Time: / Estimated Date drifting: 5 weeks [verification needed ?] / Rear section of the UNSC Forward unto Dawn / Status: Thawing SPARTAN-117

Cortana's voice invaded the Master Chief's consciousness.

"Wakey, wakey, Chief"

John-117 slowly opened his eyes, to find the Cryogenic pod's hatch open. The Cryobay was well-lit, which was an improvement from when he froze himself an undetermined amount of time before. There was a slight rumble under his feet, meaning at least one of the engines were working.

He pulled himself to his feet and discovered the artificial Gravity was back on. Apparently, Cortana had been busy fixing systems disabled by the Halo and the Portal.

"Cortana," he said. "Am I needed?"

Cortana's avatar flickered and appeared in the adjacent holotank. John strode over to it.

"You wouldn't believe, John. I pieced together what happened-" she started.

"Hold on. Firstly, where we are, and what is our status?" the Chief asked.

"I probably should have started with that. Alright then, we are on the rear section of the UNSC Forward unto Dawn. As you might remember, the ship was severed in two at frame 47 from the Portal collapsing. The forward half presumably went to Earth, but we didn't. As of now, we are about 237,144 light-years away from Earth, and about 500 billion kilometers away from the Ark." Cortana explained.

"What about Halo? And the Ark?" the Master Chief asked.

"As I said before I froze you, the Halo fired, and destroyed itself. The Ark was crippled as well in the explosion. It’s beyond repair, to us and the Covenant. And the remaining Sentinels are useless without a Monitor."

"So, where does this leave us, Cortana?" the Chief asked, frowning inside his Helmet.

Cortana responded hesitantly. "I don't know if the Shaw-Fujikawa Slipspace engine will even work after the damage the Dawn has suffered. Even then, with the current UNSC Slipspace engines, we can only go 2.1 light-years a day and I don't need to tell you that it will take a long time to get back to UNSC-controlled space at a mere 2.1 light-years a day."

Cortana sighed, and then began to grin as the beginnings of a plan formulated itself in her "mind". "But I think I just found a solution. Scanning for nearby Covenant ship wreckage."

The SPARTAN turned away from the Holotank and retrieved the MA5C, and affixed it to the magnetic holster on his back plate, and returned to the Holotank.

"Chief, I've found quite a few crippled, but structurally intact Covenant ships. You remember what we did...well, me, Sergeant Johnson, Lieutenant Haverson, and Vice Admiral Whitcomb, back when you were off trying to destroy the Unyielding Hierophant."

She paused for a moment, thinking back to the incident, and giving the SPARTAN a chance to reflect on that incident, about 6 months before.

"So what you are going to suggest is that we strip the Slipspace engine from the Covenant ship, and replace it with the one currently on the ship?" the Master Chief asked, sure of the answer.

"That’s pretty much what I had in mind. Unless you have a better idea, let’s get cracking."

The rumbling under the Master Chief's feet increased, as he left the Cryogenics bay for the secondary command center, deep in Engineering.

Chapter 2 - Plots and Plans
"The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray"

- Robert Burns ("To a Mouse"), Misquoted

Revelations
Time: / Estimated Date drifting: 5 weeks [verification needed ?] / Secondary Bridge; Rear section of the UNSC Forward unto Dawn / Status: Engines 30% maximum output (Primary reactors: wrecked; Secondary reactors: running hot, 100%) 

John-117 raided a Weapons Locker directly outside the Secondary Bridge. He grabbed additional ammunition for his MA5C, a M90 CAWS Shotgun, a pair of M7 Caseless Submachine Guns, and a half-dozen fragmentation grenades, in addition to filling a satchel full of ammunition and various explosives. He also threw in a M6D Pistol into the satchel. No sense going into a crippled Covenant ship unprepared.

The Master Chief then entered in the Secondary Bridge. The first thing he noticed about the Bridge was the mess, which was a result of when all the objects floated freely when the artificial gravity failed, and landed elsewhere when it was restored.

The compartment resembled the primary bridge, with dedicated consoles for a Navigation Officer, Communications Officer, Operations Officer, and a Weapons Officer, along with another 4 consoles for officers of other professions. There was a small holotank to the side of the Commander's chair, which was in the middle of the compartment, surrounded by the other consoles.

In fact, the SPARTAN could only one real difference from the real bridge: in the place of a viewport, there were pair of screens where video feed from cameras outside the ship were displayed.

John took a seat in the Commander's chair in the middle of the compartment, as Cortana's avatar appeared on the 'tank on the arm of the chair.

"It’s not much, I know, but I suppose its home for now." Cortana remarked.

The Chief shrugged. "I've seen worse." In truth, the SPARTAN had. High Charity, for example. The repulsive Flood-biomass had covered every surface inside of the former-Covenant space-fairing city, comprised of the former inhabitants’ calcium, as well as the crew of the Frigate In Amber Clad, Commander Miranda Keyes' former ship.

The Master Chief pushed the images of High Charity and the late-Commander Keyes out of his active consciousness, and concentrated on the retrieval of a Covenant Slipspace engine from a crippled Covenant ship.

"Cortana, what is our ETA to the Covenant ship you chose?" the Chief asked.

Cortana gestured to the screen. "About an hour, Chief. I assume you already have plan to get into the ship ready. Are you planning on using the wounded frozen Marines in the medical Cryobay I told you about?"

The Master Chief glared at the AI, surprised and puzzled. She hadn't told him about any Marines left on the ship. Cortana must have been more damaged from the Gravemind then he had initially guessed.

"What Marines, Cortana. You didn't mention that there was anyone left on the ship."

Cortana looked horror-struck. "Oh...", she murmured quietly. Cortana knew she was slowly losing herself to the depths of Rampancy. The only questions were; how far gone was she already, and how long could she hold it off?

The Chief wondered how long Cortana would last, before she went rampant on him. Before she become a liability. Before she became a ticking time bomb, with the capability to go off at any time.

Cortana was his only way back to Earth. He couldn’t pilot half a ship, with no training on doing so and no crew to assist in the various duties required to maintain an operating space-fairing vessel.

He needed Cortana to get him home. He didn’t want to die out in the inky darkness of space, for any reason. He sure as hell did not want to die like that, after surviving so much in his 42 years of life.

“Cortana,” the SPARTAN said carefully, cautious not to say the wrong thing in the wrong tone to Cortana. “Thaw the Marines, and get them patched up. Then get them up to speed on the situation. I might need them quite soon.”

Cortana looked up, and said, with a slight smile that looked more like a grimace, "Done."

Making it up as we go along
Time: / Estimated Date drifting: 5 weeks [verification needed?] / Hanger 5A, Airlock 21; Rear section of the UNSC Forward unto Dawn / Status: 100,000 kilometers off Target, Airlock secured

The SPARTAN gazed out of the Airlock porthole, into the deep, dark abyss of space. The only light was from the distant stars and from the artificial sun over the remains of the Ark.

His focus was not on the stars or the artificial sun, however. It was on the approaching Covenant Loyalist Cruiser. Normally, the vessel would be spewing blue-plasma; more then enough to destroy of the Forward unto Dawn a dozen times over. Thankfully, the ship had been crippled by the Elites during the later stages of the Battle of the Ark, after deploying a large percentage of its armor and troops. It had been gradually been propelled far enough away from the Ark and Halo from small atmosphere leaks in the Hull, that it had been out of range when Halo fired.

A COM channel opened, and Cortana's voice came out of the internal speakers. "ETA is less then a minute. Stand by to release the airlock."

The Master Chief Petty Officer punched the Emergency Airlock release panel, and a small lever popped out. The Covenant ship was now in sight, with silvery gas leaking out of ruptures in its hull.

"Cortana, give me a countdown," the Super Soldier ordered.

Seconds passed.

"Cortana?" the SPARTAN queried.

"Do you mind?" Cortana snapped. "Ten seconds."

The Master Chief noted the irregularity in Cortana's behavior, as he did a hurried triple-check of his armor and T-PACK. He then made sure the Airlock door leading to the Hanger was secured shut. When he found both satisfactory, he grabbed hold of the lever and waited for Cortana's countdown to end.

"Three...two...one...mark," she stated.

The Chief yanked the lever, and the Airlock doors parted, and the atmosphere vented, yanking the SPARTAN out into space, with the inertial force sending him forward, barreling towards the Covenant ship.

As he left the Hanger, he started tumbling, and after sighting silvery gas around him, he began to prey, as tumbling in a T-PACK with a ruptured tank meant certain death.

Time: / Estimated Date drifting: 5 weeks [verification needed?] / Rear section of the UNSC Forward unto Dawn / Status: 500 kilometers off Target; providing support for MCPO SPARTAN-117 

Cortana navigated the Dawn around the Cruiser, decelerating as she did so. She did not think that boarding the Covenant Cruiser was a very smart idea.

But then again, it was the fastest and most immediate way to board, even if it was not a very smart idea.

She knew she was changing, ever since being saved by John a mere 5 or so weeks ago. She had already compared her behavior of now to logs of her behavior of then; back aboard the Orbital Defense Platform Cairo, almost 5 months before, and had found a remarkable difference in the change of behaviors...and not a pleasant change at that. She thought back to her "birth", on the 7th of November, 2549, and how much simpler things had been back then.

Then again, she had the petabytes of new information on the Ark, Flood and the Forerunners... But was her 'state of mind' worth the information? Was Rampancy worth the new knowledge? Well, it wasn't like she really had a choice now, but still...

Yes, she realized. It was more than worth it. It was the knowledge the Gravemind had shared with her, when it attempted to make her the UNSCs equivilent of 032 Mendicant Bias. A turncoat. A traitor. An instrument of the Flood and death to all sentient life in the Galaxy.

Well, it failed and died with everything else, back on Halo. Now, she might be able to return to Earth, and explain what happened to the Forerunners. Perhaps she would be able to explain more about the Flood, so an effective counter to the Parasite could be found once and for all.

An achievement even the Forerunner could not achieve.

"Cortana," the Chief said over the COM.

And while Cortana was at that, perhaps she could make Grunts grow wings as well.

Breaking and Entering: Illegal and Dangerous
Time: / Estimated Date drifting: 5 weeks [verification needed?] / Clear of the UNSC Forward unto Dawn, drifting towards Covenant Cruiser / MCPO SPARTAN-117 Mission Time (MT):+00D:00H:00M:05S

John struggled for control as he sailed clear of the Ship, tumbling, the T-PACK sending clouds of silvery gas in all directions.

His first thought after he started tumbling, just after clearing the ship was that the T-PACK had ruptured, and that he was screwed. But in actuality, his foot had stuck the partially ajar airlock door at an odd angle and put him into a violent spin.

He was already one-third of the way through the first of two tanks of propellant, which was a heck of a lot of propellant and he still had to decelerate enough for entry into the Vessel.

He selected the 'automated-stabilize' option from the T-PACK's menu, and waited for the world to stop tumbling for him. The T-PACK slowly did its job, stopping first the erratic roll, then the yaw, and finally pitch, stopping each erratic trajectory one at a time, burning through the entire first tank and almost two-thirds of the second, bringing him to a standstill in Interstellar Space.

With only a third of a tank of gaseous propellant remaining, the Chief figured he could make it to the ship, but would not be able to maneuver around to find an entrance.

"Cortana," he began over the COM. There was a short pause.

"Yes, Chief?" she queried curiously.

"I need a hole punched in the Hull of the Covenant ship. A single Archer missile at the coordinates I'm sending to you over TACCOM, Channel 3."

The Chief sent the Coordinates over the TACCOM channel, as he fired the rest of the fuel in his T-PACK, to drift towards the coordinate on the Covenant vessel he had specified.

Out of the corner of his eye, the Chief noticed the Dawn, and saw a flash as an Archer Missile left its tube. The Anti-ship missile darted the mere 100,000 kilometers from the crippled UNSC vessel to the Covenant ship in seconds, the silvery gaseous exhaust outlining exactly there the missile had been...

Sunlight from the Ark's still operating artificial sun glinted off the Archer's shiny nosecone. The Master Chief watched as the Missile darted past him and detonated against the hull of the Covenant ship, blowing debris into space.

And leaving a 15 foot hole in the tough metal hull of the Covenant vessel. A perfect entry into the ship.

He drifted into the ship, through the jagged hole in the ships hull, and impacting with the inner bulkhead. Then, he was pulled to the deck from the Ship's artificial gravity.

Odd, he thought. The Cruisers reactor was offline, as shown on the scans Cortana did on the Dawn before he even disembarked. Then again, he though bitterly, Cortana had not been herself ever since he retrieved her from High Charity. Why did he decide to put her into High Charity's mainframe, anyway?

He took off the T-PACK and retrieved the M90 Shotgun from the magnetic holder on the upper back armor plate of his armor and racked the its slide, moving a 8 gauge "double ought" slug from the tube under the barrel into the breach, and set off down the purple-lit corridor, searching for a way deeper into the ship.

Time: / Date: / Crippled Covenant Cruiser / Status: Captured and Alive; not for much longer

Private First Class Harrison Perry lay against the wall of the makeshift brig, watching aghast as the Brutes devoured another yet one of his friends and another couple Grunts. All 5 of the remaining Humans and the two surviving Elites were watching. It wasn't something they wanted to see, but some primeval nature that forced them all to watch.

Just a month before, the Pelican, with its 3 crew, 8 Marines and 2 Elites allies, who had also caught a ride off the Ark after the release of the Flood. However, upon reaching Orbit, the Pelican took a serious hit from one of the surviving Loyalist Cruisers, causing the Pelican to lose power, and any chance of escape and evasion. The Pelican was then was towed into a Hanger on the Cruiser.

Private Perry and the other troops on the Pelican planned to resist, but the rear hatch had been pried open, and the Humans were simply unable to act fast enough, before the Brutes stormed the small compartment and disarmed the Marines and Elites.

The Humans and Elites were then stripped of their possessions; armor, boots, clothing, with the exception of undergarments, and the Elites completely stripped of their armor, and stuffed into cells. Shortly thereafter, however, the ship was struck with multiple plasma torpedoes from a pair of Covenant Separatist ships (crewed by Elites) which left the ship's weapons systems, engines and reactor knocked out, as well as destroying the holds, containing the stores and food. The only source of power left on the ship was the fuel-cells, which automatically shut down all non-essential systems, including the cells power.

The attack killed a sizable amount of the crew, and the surviving 30 or so Brutes moved the prisoners into a makeshift cell of sorts, in one of the Hanger bays. The Brutes then began devouring the flesh of their fallen brothers in a cannibalistic frenzy, and consumed fallen crew to avoid starvation. Next, they started with live and healthy Grunts, killing one or two for every meal, or three perfectly healthy Jackals. The Brutes also stated giving captives the rancid leftover meat from each meal, as a means to keep their captives alive. The surviving Grunts and Jackals deserted their former allies on the ship, and hid or resisted the Brutes anyway they could.

The Brutes found this very entertaining and hunted the former fodder down, one by one, taking the occasion loss, and consumed the corpses.

The inevitable occurred when the Brutes realized almost all the Grunts, Jackals, and the other corpses had been consumed, and the only other thing left to eat was the imprisoned Humans and Elites, before resorting to cannibalism among the surviving Brutes themselves.

Perry remembered that they first took Lieutenant Norrington, his squad's officer, who had simply decided to sacrifice himself for his men. The Brutes cooked him alive, over a large fire, which had beem built in the middle of the compartment the prisoners were being held in. A Brute, clad in an elaborate red armor, the surviving Brutes' Chieftain it seemed, took a wickedly sharp blade and used it to mercilessly torture poor Lieutenant Norrington, removing first his fingers and toes, followed by his his arms and legs, followed lastly by his genitals. The aliens consuming the raw flesh right in front of him, while Norrington was still conscious. They left his moaning torso slowly roasting over a large fire, The brave officer only lasted an hour before succumbing to a gruesome and painful death, and having his body consumed by the ravenous Brutes.

About 8 hours later, a Marine Private by the name of Lewis was taken out of his cell by four Brutes, and simply ripped limb from limb, to the Brute's immense pleasure. Lewis' did not immediately die; instead, he dragged himself by his bloody stumps towards the survivors in the cell, to their horrified disbelief. The alien torturers found this immensely amusing, and the Chieftain stepped forward, and broke Lewis' spine with a swift swipe, mercifully ending his agony. The Chieftain took a large bite out of the deceased Marine's neck, and the rest of the pack swiftly consumed the Marine.

Perry had roughly figured that the Brutes fed about every 8 hours, perhaps because, among the forty or so Brutes, and there was simply not enough food on a single human to go around for each to have a proper meal, and the Brutes were almost out of corpses to consume. At the end of those roughly eight hours, one of Perry's friends would be tortured and consumed by those alien bastards.

Sergeant Thompson had been next, her head knocked clean off with a swipe from a bladed weapon. Then, Lance Corporeal Jackson was cruelly disemboweled, and dismembered. The Co-pilot of the Pelican, a Lieutenant Wendell, was stomped to death, and devoured.

This gruesome cycle continued until there were only 5 Humans and the two Elites left alive. By this time, the two Elites had hatched a rather simple plan to escape...or to die trying.

The Sergeant felt a thump through the hull, and dimly wondered what it was.

It dosen't matter, he thought bitterly. Nothing will save us now.

Into the Belly of the Beast
Time: / Estimated Date drifting: 5 weeks [verification needed?] / onboard unknown Covenant Cruiser / MCPO SPARTAN-117 Mission Time (MT):+00D:00H:17M:32S

The Master Chief approached another locked door, in yet another purple and blue Forerunner-alloy hallway. Another one, he thought bitterly. He slammed his M90 Shotgun into the door in the dim hopes it opened. Nothing happened. The Chief inspected the dent, but he only noticed a very small dent, and he slung his Shotgun. The damn Brutes locked all the doors behind them, where ever they were on the damn Cruiser.

He swung the duffel bag on his back off and placed it on the floor. He rummaged through explosives and ammunition until he found what he was searching for.

The SPARTAN withdrew a thick roll of duct tape from the small duffel bag on his back, and unrolled a 8 inch long strip and ripped the strip free of the roll. He placed the roll of duct tape back in his duffel bag, and taped a M9 Grenade, from a magnetic strip on his belt, to the door. The adhesive material on the tape easily held the grenade to the purple Forerunner-alloy door.

The Petty Officer was still searching the ship for the Slipspace drive, which seemed to have been moved since his intrusion on the Ascendant Justice, half a year ago. Perhaps the Covenant was getting the clue to innovate, or the Brutes moved it for whatever reason.

The Chief slung the Duffel bag over his shoulder, took took his Shotgun in one hand and punched the Grenade's priming button with his other hand. The SPARTAN then whacked the grenade, causing the sensors inside the grenade to believe it had struck the ground, starting the three second countdown to detonation. The SPARTAN sprinted away from the grenade, passing the 10 meter casualty radius in less then a second.

The Chief slowed after a 30 meter sprint down the corridor, away from the grenade, and turned to see the Grenade explode in a dazzling flash and fill the hallway with smoke. The SPARTAN walked back over to the door, and found the partially intact door blown clean off and laying almost 30 yards down the corridor. Great, he thought. Yet more doors.

John stepped over the debris, and walked down the hallway, trying to figure out the next place to check for a Slipspace engine. The SPARTAN glanced at the motion tracker, projected onto the inside of his armor as part of his Heads-Up Display, and noticed a faint blip on the very edge of it, about 25 meters away. Strange, he thought. He continued walking down the corridor, until he noticed the blip moving as well. He paused, and slung his Shotgun with one hand as he drew a pair of M7/C Caseless Submachine guns with the other, and pointed the guns down the darkened corridor, in the direction of the blip. Nothing coming towards him. The dot continued to come in his direction, 15 meters and closing. The blip almost seemed to be going faster now...

The Petty Officer double checked his submachine guns nervously. The blip was getting closer, less the 10 meters away. What the hell?, the SPARTAN thought to himself. 5 meters away and closing fast. It could be something above or below him...ah, fuck, the SPARTAN thought just as the blip stopped above him, a clang coming from the air ducts right over his head.

He trained the dual submachine guns at the duct, and waited for something to emerge.

A bang resounded from the duct. The Master Chief leaped back, guns still trained at the duct. Nothing emerged. The Chief briefly thought the situation. It had followed him, and seemed to have known where he stopped. A huge bang resounded, coming from the vent.

The Supersoldier leaped away, just as a dark figure leaped from the air duct. The light was too poor to see what it was, but it was big. And it had a long, tall weapon in its hands.

The Chief activated his flashlight, and then that the figure was in fact a Brute Chieftain. Surprise, he thought glumly.

Or what had once been a Brute Chieftain, before a Flood infection form managed to infect it somehow. It had a long, tentacle like left arm and in the right, it held a Gravity Hammer.

Oh shit, the SPARTAN-117 thought for the second time in about a minute, as he pulled the triggers on both M7/C Submachine guns, unleashed two solid streams of 5x23 millimeter Full Metal Jacket ammunition. This would have bought the Flood form down pretty fast, had the thing not have its shields up. Shields, the Chief thought to himself,. He hadn't seen Flood-controlled Brute with shields up before.

The Soldier backpedaled as he emptied his magazines into the Flood form, as it got its orientation and prepared to charge at him. Obviously, it was not fazed by 120 5.5 millimeter FMJ rounds. Time for something quite a bit bigger. He deftly placed the two submachine guns back on the magnetic strips on either side of his hips, and withdrew the M90A Close Assault Weapon System from his back plate in a single fluid motion, and racked it, ejecting a unfired 8 gauge shotgun slug, just as the Flood form charged at him. The flood form was only 23 meters away now. "Whoops", John-117 muttered as he pulled the trigger on the shotgun, keeping in mind he only had 4 rounds left chambered now.

Recoil from the large shell jerked the gun back into his shoulder. The 4 of the 7 small slugs impacted on the Chieftain's shields, not having any real effect. The SPARTAN racked the slide back, ejecting a smoking shell from the chamber, and slid the slide forward, feeding another slug into the breech. The Master Chief Petty Officer fired again, wondering if he would end up going head to head with the flood form, which was still rapidly approaching the range it could use the gravity hammer effectively.

The SPARTAN then glanced at his lower HUD for the first time in almost 20 seconds and grew quite concerned when a dozen blips appeared on the motion tracker. He fired off his shotgun shells as rapidly as he could, noting that he had opened fire with the Shotgun far too early, and wasted a perfectly good shot by ejecting a unfired round.

The infected Chieftain rose the hammer high in the air when it was 10 feet away, preparing to smite the SPARTAN with a tremendous smash, as it approached. The Chief glared at his upper HUD, noting that there was only one slug left in his shotgun. One shot to prevent himself from being pulverized in a single hit from a gravity hammer-toting Brute flood form. Which really would not be a good way to die.

The Flood form began to bring the hammer down, when it was just behind the backpedaling SPARTAN, when the SPARTAN pulled the trigger of the shotgun, firing the last chambered round in the shotgun. All 7 slugs impacted on the shield, and the shield finally failed from the continuous fire from SPARTAN-117. Two slugs penetrated the brute form's armor and embedded themselves deep inside the Flood form. It did not kill it, but slowed it down enough to allow the SPARTAN to leap clear of the falling hammer, and avoid getting smited.

The Chief tossed aside the Shotgun, as it was completely useless without any ammunition, and pulled the MA5C Individual Combat Weapon System off the magnetic backplate of his armor. The SPARTAN was quite glad he was carrying more weapons then usual. The numerous blips on the motion tracker got closer and the Master Chief knew he had to end this fast, as bloody flood form was preparing to attack again.

Seriously, can't I get a break today?, he thought bitterly. He survived falls from orbit unscathed, a total of three Halo rings, including the firing of one, only to have his luck run out. He mentally shrugged, released the safety on his MA5C, and let loose with well-aimed 7.62 millimeter armor-piercing, incidental ammunition. The MA5C chewed through the magazine in five seconds flat, and John deftly caught the magazine and slotted a new one in, in a single movement.

Almost every 7.62 API bullet impacted on the rapidly incoming form, but God knows that the Master Chief happens to come across just one infected brute with Chieftain armor. He resumed fire on the Chieftain, when he noticed another suddenly loomed over him.Huh?, John-117 breathed, as he shifted his fire from the unshielded charging Flood to the one right over his head. He pulled the trigger and the gun fired four times, right into the former Brute's head, before the firing pin went clack against the internal assembly of the gun; a sign the magazine was empty. John pulled the trigger again, half hoping the magazine was not completely devoid of ammunition. Instead, he heard another Clack, as the above him flood form bought its own hammer down on the surprised SPARTAN.

Chapter 3: The Broken Path
"If we don't end war, war will end us."

- 20th Century Writer H. G. Wells, who accurately told of the downfall of the Human race, almost 645 years later

Eulogy
Time: 7:27 Zulu Time / Date: March 1st, 2556 / Glassed city of Voi, in Africa, Earth

Humanity really had taken a beating in the desperate struggle for survival against the Covenant, on Earth. Its orbit was littered with hundreds of the UNSC Navy's vessels; almost its entire navy; and Orbital Defense Platforms. Among the debris lay tens of thousands of fallen Human warriors. Many did not have any chance of survival after their respective warships were hit. In addition, Earth's population was decreased to little more then 100 million, due to plasma bombardments, and conflict on the ground. The UNSC Marine Corps was seriously mauled, and the rest of UNSC military nearly annihilated.

Earth-side, the twisted and flatted glassed city of Voi lay desolate. Further on, in the distance, a huge hole, nearly a mile deep and more ten miles wide, was all that remained of the sprawling metropolis that had once been the city of New Mombasa. The city had been unfortunate to be constructed over a Forerunner portal to the Ark. However, the portal now lay inactive, with the destruction of the Ark.

However, easily 3,000 Naval and Marine personnel of the UNSC Defense Fleet stood in front of the Human-Covenant war memorial, or a engraved Pelican wing, which was decorated with pictures, weapons, and personal possessions of various deceased UNSC personnel. The memorial had been erected for the billions of men and women who lost their lives in the 27 year war for humanities' survival. Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood stood before the body of troops, removed his hat, and began his Eulogy. Many other members of the UNSC armed forces removed their hats as well.

"For us, the storm has passed," Lord Hood began. "The war is over. But let us never forget those who journeyed into the howling dark and did not return. For their decision required courage beyond measure, sacrifice, and an unshakable conviction that their fight, our fight, was elsewhere." The Fleet Admiral wiped tears from his eyes, as he thought back to all the friends, and comrades he had personally seen die, and all those poor souls he himself sent off to die.

Lord Hood trudged on with his Eulogy. "As we start to rebuild, this hillside will remain barren," he gestured at the desolate, debris streaked land around him, and continued. "A memorial to heroes fallen. They ennobled the rest of us, and they shall not be forgotten."

The Fleet Admiral placed his hat back on his head, and saluted the monument, and all it represented. Sergeant Pete Stacker, the fabled sergeant that survived the Battle of Earth, Delta Halo, and the Ark, and made it home aboard the UNSC Aegis Fate, which had survived the fighting on the Ark, and made it back to Earth, marched a ceremonial Marine drill team in front of the memorial. The Sergeant called the order "Pre-sent 'arms!", and 7 Marine troops, in properly maintained uniforms and in perfect unison, rose their rifles, and fired a single round each, in three volleys. The Marine drill team lowered their weapons at the call of "Ready, front", and were promptly marched away.

Slowly, the 3,000 or so uniformed members of the UNSC armed services left, either to return to their homes, mourn the loss of loved ones, and back to their stations, or simply to get a drink and ponder the future. The United Earth Government had to be reestablished, after the emergency UNSC takeover. The United Rebel Front, or what was left of them after the Covenant went over them was back to demanding freedom, but, likely, nothing was to be done about that either, except the troops would just be sent in.

Admiral Hood stood before the Memorial for almost 20 minutes, reliving the war in his mind. The death of friends, the loss of hope, and the fall of Reach, along with all the other things he saw and did. The Arbiter, Thel 'Vadam, approached the Admiral slowly, mindful of his distance. He remembered the Human Admiral from the Shadow of Intent, and how xenophobic he seemed. Or perhaps it was what his race did to his. In that case, he could understand the resentment, much like the Sangheili and the San 'Shyuum, back before the original Covenant had been established.

The Elite warrior stood there for a few minutes, until the smaller human Admiral finally turned around and sighted the Elite. By reflex, he grasped the chrome ceremonial M6C pistol in a holster at his side, until he remembered that the Elite was not his enemy, and let go of the Pistol, as the Elite walked towards him. He turned towards the monument as the Arbiter drew near him.

"I remember how this war started," Lord Hood began. "What your kind did to mine. I can't forgive you. But..." the Fleet Admiral paused for a second, turned and faced the Arbiter, who in turn, faced the human Admiral. Admiral Hood held out his hand. "You have my thanks. For standing by him to the end." The Elite took the Humans hand and held it for a few seconds. The Admiral's gaze slipped to the memorial, more specifically, a large '117' scratched into the monument, above a Command Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy taped below the scrawled number.

The Arbiter simply replied, "Were it so easy." The two warriors stood together for a few moments, before Thel 'Vadam walked away from the Admiral and the memorial, lost in thought, thinking of the two species, hopefully working together in peaceful coexistence to ensure a better future for both parties. Lord Hood stood at ease on the elevated deck of the memorial, and watched the Arbiter walk away, and an approaching Phantom preparing to pick him up. The Admiral shifted his gaze to the African desert, glassed and unglassed, and marveled at the fact that he had survived. Against all odds, Humanity had survived. The Admiral looked at the setting sun on the horizon, and realized this was the first time since the war began he had relaxed enough to notice such a beautiful thing such as the sunset. There must be a God, the Admiral mused. Humanity had been delivered salvation from destruction. There was no other explanation for the timing of the Covenant's schism.

Please, Make Yourself at Home
Time: 12:57 Zulu Time / Date: March 3rd, 2556 / UNSC Base "Rats Nest", in Africa, Earth

The moon floated high in the night sky, completely full, casting thin streaks of silvery light across the eastern African deserts and jungles. Incidentally, it also illuminated the "Rat's Nest"'s external landing tarmac. A trio of Longswords stood ready on the tarmac, engines turning and burning, with moonlight glinting off the polished titanium skin and wings of the sleek fighters. A lone D77 Pelican Dropship also stood ready besides the fighters.

The roar of engines deafened Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood as he boarded the Pelican, bound for the HIGHCOM facility in Sydney, where the formal formation of Union of Allied Races was to be negotiated and signed. Upon signing, it would form an alliance between the Sangheili, and newly reestablished United Earth Government, and allow each other to exchange technology and ensure a peaceful coexistence between the two species.

He noticed the Pilot, Co-pilot, and crew chief of the Pelican, clad in Dress Whites, standing behind their bird, saluting the Human leader of the historic Battle of Earth. The Admiral returned a crisp salute in the pilots, who then rushed back to the cockpit to prepare for lift off.

The Admiral entered the Dropship, and chose a jump seat closest to the cockpit, and waited for his 6-man detail, clad in dress Whites, of armed Marines, commanded by a Captain Scofield, and complete with a Sergeant Major. The detail was equipped with the traditional chrome M6D, as well as a non-traditional M7/C Caseless Submachine gun. The Admiral of the Navy's detail was traditionally armed, but the added armament was just another precaution, because of the conclusion of the war and the still-uneasy alliance with the Covenant Separatists, there was no harm in being prepared to fight off a double cross. No doubt the Elites were just as prepared for such an eventuality.

The Pelican's engines grew louder, and the Admiral felt the perception of the Pelican lifting off the ground, accelerating and slowly gaining altitude. The Admiral glanced out a window on the side of the Pelican, to ensure at least one Longsword was escorting them. He then lay back against his Jump seat, and promptly dozed off peacefully, into the restless violent sleep Lord Hood had the misfortune of having.

-

The Frigate took yet another pulse laser hit, venting a few more compartments of atmosphere and crew, casting all into the inky darkness that was space. The Frigate's hull was already full of holes, along with a plasma torpedo hit port amidships.

On the Bridge, illuminated only by red battle lighting, was a Lieutenant j.g. Terrence Hood at the Navigation helm, desperately attempting to move the Frigate out of the deadly fire that was slaughtering the crew, and that had already killed three-fourths of the Bridge crew. Lieutenant Hood looked over at the Executive Officer, who had taken the console of the Fire Control officer, who had died a rather gruesome death, when a pulse laser from one of the destroyers scythed his head clean off, along with most of the other officers on deck. The self-sealing foam in the outer hull sealed the Frigates bridge, allowing the surviving bridge crew to continue maneuvering the ship.

"Sir," Hood yelled the din of battle. The XO looked over his shoulder at the Lieutenant shouting at him, and Hood continued. "Sir, we can't keep this up! We lack the fuel and power to do so for more then another 2 minutes. If you have a plan, you need to execute it now!" Hood yelled, frustrated by his inability to do anything.

The other surviving Lieutenant on the Operations console cut in. "Sir, nearest Covie Destroyer 100,000 kilometers and closing at 30,000 kilometers per minute, from our stern. Our Longsword squadrons are decimated, and the Pelican SAR for the Longswords pulled back to the Pillar of Autumn"

Hood continued his short status report, that the the Operations officer had so rudely interrupted. "Sir, the hull is at 47 percent structural integrity; we are nearing critical damage, and hull buckling." The ship shook as it absorbed another pulse laser hit. Hood continued, "Engines are at 128 percent rated power, and reactor meltdown is 3 minutes forty seconds."

The XO called out rapid orders to the two surviving Lieutenants on the Bridge. "Ops, give the crew forty-five seconds to change into pressure suits, then vent all atmosphere, besides the Cyro bays, hangers, missile bays, and medical deck through the stern. That should give us a slightly higher velocity when we shunt all reactor output and any remaining Magnetic Accelerator Cannon charge to the Slipspace engine."

The Executive Officer paused for a second, then continued. "Nav, set up a randomized slipspace jump, and shunt all power to the slipspace capacitors."