- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
The End of a War - Plot Recap
Ask and ye shall receive.
The excommunicated Covenant (Elites, Hunters, and Grunts) traverse from the Elite home world, Silone, and make head-way towards the Covenant home world, Danrun. Gann Aonlum once again takes up the mantel of the Arbiter to lead his united force, which numbers in the hundreds. They are heading to reinforce the Elite/Hunter/Grunt forces that were taken by surprise on Danrun when the Covenant suddenly turned on them.
The Master Chief and Cortana arrive at the Forerunner installation that Cortana had nailed down as to be the origin of the message that flashed deep inside the Forerunner installation on Silone. Once inside the two discover the station houses the Flood, and that a battle had taken place not long ago. As they move deeper, they are joined by Kelly and Dr. Halsey, who originally contacted the two when the activation of the Forerunner installation registered across the network of Forerunner structures. The two are candid on their actions since the Spartan last saw them, and instead introduce John and Cortana to Fasul, a Forerunner A.I. Fasul is surprised over the likeness John shares with someone from his past, and thusly unveils an ancient piece of Forerunner history. The Armor of the Reclaimer. Glossing over some facts, Fasul gets the Master Chief to agree with undergoing an upgrade to his body modifications that would allow him to wear the Reclaimer Battle Suit. What Fasul failed to mention was that hidden within the suit's coding was the scanned and preserved memories of the human that last wore the suit, an ancient warrior named Cyriacus.
An internal battle is waged, with the Master Chief succumbing to Cyriacus' influence, allowing the ancient warrior to control the Spartan's body in order to exact his revenge on the 'Half-Breeds', the race that the Reclaimers fought against thousands of years ago.
Meanwhile, Captain Miranda Keyes, Sergeant Johnson, and Jan are on their way to Danrun, as they have been detached from the war effort back on Earth, fighting against the Flood, and have instead been assigned to assist the Master Chief and the Elites in their war efforts against the Covenant.
With some miraculous strategizing on the Arbiter's part, his reinforcements manage to destroy a sizable portion of the Covenant fleet on Danrun, but are being kept at bay by the two Forerunner vessels that the Covenant have activated and use to stem the flow of battle in the space above Danrun. A great volley of fire is launched from the Arbiter's fleet in the hopes of causing the Forerunner ships to recede, but they accomplish little more than momentarily causes the ship's shields to falter. This proves instrumental however, as Captain Keyes' ship, the Lewis Puller, emerges from a forced Slip Space jump in the space that the Forerunner ship is occupying. The combined force of being rammed by the ship, and the energy created from the tear in space, rips the Forerunner ship to shreds, leaving but a lone ancient ship within the Covenant's hands. Contact is established between the humans and the Elites, and a contingent of Marines, including Sergeant Johnson and Jan, are sent to Danrun's surface to stem the tide of battle in the strategically essential city of Gestahl, which the Covenant are trying to retake.
With a near stalemate above the skies of Danrun, dialogue is passed between the Arbiter and the leader of the Covenant fleet, a Brute by the name of Canderus. The two share words, where Canderus reveals himself to be the brother of Tartarus, the Brute the Arbiter slew on Halo. There is respect between the two as they speak, and more is revealed within Canderus' mind, as he is not so blinded by the Prophet's lies as was Tartarus.
Dr. Halsey, Kelly, Cortana, the Master Chief, the monitor Atoning Deviant, and Fasul, all arrive near Danrun, aboard the Attrition, a Covenant ship loaned to the Master Chief by the Arbiter. They had not expected to find the planet under siege, and they discovered just that. As the conscious occupants discussed how to enter undetected, the Master Chief/Cyriacus awakens from his slumber, unaware of where he is. A battle of wills overcomes him, and once again Cyriacus is the victor, his mind filled with rage over the terrors that the Half-Breeds inacted upon him, his lover Chrysanthe, and his unborn daughter. The madness blinds him, and he dons the Reclaimer suit, exiting the Attrition with nothing but his suit, and heads straight for Danrun. Dr. Halsey is forced to uncover their position as she contacts the Arbiter, and under Fasul's guidance, alerts the Elite to the Master Chief's presence, and immediate danger to all those around him. Consumed with mindless rage, the ancient warrior would be unable to differentiate from friend or foe, ensuring death to all who get in his way.
This is proven as an unidentified attribute to the Reclaimer armor is used to absorb and negate the energy shielding around the lone remaining Forerunner vessel in use over Danrun, as Cyriacus/John punch a hole straight through it, incapacitating the ship and forcing the Covenant fleet to retreat. The ancient warrior continues down towards Danrun's surface where he crashes into the ground that separates the Covenant ground forces and the Elite-held city of Gestahl. The Covenant fire upon him, drawing his attention, as he absorbs the plasma rounds in the same manner as the Forerunner shielding, and proceeds to kill and main any Covenant ground forces that get near him. An energy cycling process within the suit finishes, just as Jan (who had recognized the armor-clad Cyriacus as the Master Chief right away, ran to him. The Spartan, under the influence of Cyriacus' memories, see's Jan as his lost lover, and as he fires off a devastatingly powerful shot of unidentified energy, he captures the girl and protects her from the effects of his attack. The Covenant force is stopped in its tracks as the warrior's attack literally tears the ground apart, killing everything in its path, and shocking all those outside of it's range. The ground forces remaining flee in terror, as Cyriacus loses a battle in his mind with the Master Chief's remaining influence, and falls to the ground, unconscious, where he and Jan are retrieved by Sergeant Johnson in a Pelican.
Finally, the Arbiter requests an audience with Fasul, as there are many things he wishes to ask the Majal.
That's about it. Chapter's about half-done, but luckily its the first half that took awhile, whereas this last bit shouldn't be too hard to churn out at a good pace.
[Edited on 2/10/2006]