- Wolverfrog
- |
- Fabled Legendary Member
I'm getting back into the full flow of this; I've got it all thought out. Expect epicness of a grand scale to occur over these final parts.
Part 28 - Prepare for departure
"How many ships do we possess altogether?" Daedalus asked of R'tas, who thought for a second.
"Ten of my own fleet, added to forty of yours, and a further fifteen from the Sangheili colonies. That makes sixty five in total, five of them being Assault Carriers. And of course, we've got the might of Placid Enrichment. A strong force." R'tas informed the Brute Hierarch, who sighed.
"And is that enough?" Daedalus whispered softly, and R'tas hung his head.
"Compared to the hundreds in the fleet the Parasite will have? No, it's not enough. But the Flood may not be advanced as of yet, they're ships will probably be crudely piloted. We have a chance, however small it may be." R'tas admitted, looking up at the Chieftain of the Brutes. The two leaders were stood in R'tas' private quarters of the Shadow of Intent, which both the Elites and Covenant had agreed to become the flagship of their conjoined fleet. It had been five days since the duel between the Elite and Brute, and they had managed to sort things out. The Prophets had assisted in fitting all the ships with the latest technology, whilst R'tas and Daedalus had drawn up war plans.
"Then we must seize upon the chance, or the Flood shall dominate the Galaxy. When do we depart for Sangheilios, and how long will it take to arrive?" Daedalus questioned.
"We'll depart in a few hours. With our new slip space technology, it should only take a week at the most to arrive." R'tas replied confidently, and the Brute nodded.
"We should go address the masses in Placid Enrichment's hall, inspire them." said the Jiralhanae.
"How many are there?"
"Millions, mainly Grunts and Jackals, mixed with a few Elites, Brutes, Hunters, and Drones. All, however, prepared to die for you."
"Then we owe them a speech, at least." R'tas said softly, walking out of the ship onto the mega city Placid Enrichment. Honour Guard, both Brutes and Elites, drew up beside both R'tas and Daedalus, and escorted them inside the main hall. The two ascended the gilded stairs, and stood side by side at the balcony overlooking the hall. Hordes of Covenant and Separatists looked up, their attention devoted to the Elite Fleetmaster and Brute Chieftain. R'tas cleared his throat, and then spoke.
"My friends, this week, will be the most important week of your lives. The Covenant and Separatists were once enemies, snapping at each others throats. And yet look at us now, side by side, working together. Is that not truly beautiful?"
R'tas paused, taking a deep breath.
"We have a reason to fight! The Parasite have returned, they have taken the system of Helios. That alone is reason enough for the Separatists to fight. But the Covenant also have a reason. The Flood will not halt at Helios; they will spread, and dominate the entire Galaxy. Eventually, there will be no more asteroid belts to hide in, and you shall all be infected, made into slaves of the Gravemind. Unless now, you take up arms, follow us to Sangheilios, and fight! We can defeat the Parasite together, they are weak and inferior!"
The crowd burst into a wave of cheering, and Daedalus stepped forward to speak.
"We leave for Sangheilios in a few hours. We will arrive in a week. And the Gods shall look down upon our noble battle with favour, and fight alongside us in spirit. We will prevail, by the will of the Forerunners!" the Chieftain cried, lifting the Fist of Rukt high above his head. The mass exploded into another roar of approval. R'tas smiled, despite the situation. Never would he have thought that the Covenant and Separatists would once again work together. It was wonderful. Who needed the humans? They could rot in their own pit of selfishness and despair. R'tas turned to Daedalus.
"We should ready the fleet for departure. The sooner we arrive at Sangheilios, the better." the Elite said to the Brute, who nodded.
"Do you think anyone could still be alive on your planet?" the Chieftain asked softly.
"I saw Sangheilios with my own eyes, Jiralhanae. The Flood dominate the entire surface of it. No one could survive on that."
*****************
Onyx Micro Dyson Sphere, Forerunner Apex.
John heard a rustling in the bushes behind him, and spun around in anticipation, rifle in hand. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw who it was, stepping out of the dark shrubbery and into the night sky.
"Sergeant Johnson. What are you doing here?" John asked the marine Sergeant Major, who was eyeing the gun the Master Chief held apprehensively. John lowered the weapon.
"Watching your back. You haven't been paying attention Spartan, I've already shot down three Sentinels who were creeping up behind you as you made your way here. Your ears on?" Johnson explained, and John's eyes went went. Three Sentinels, unnoticed by him? He really needed some rest.
"Thanks. The barrier around the place lowered a minute ago, I was just about to head in around the back and clear the way for blue team." John told the Sergeant, who nodded, lighting a cigarette; he'd run out of cigars, finally. John subconsciously included the non Spartans in blue team; they'd all headed out to shut Offensive Bias down. It looked like they had succeeded.
"I'll follow you." Johnson said boldly. "And no blasting me with lasers light bulb, not this time."
The Monitor of Installation 04 somehow managed to look hurt by the accusation.
"I have apologised multiple times for that Reclaimer, I can't change what happened." Spark huffed indignantly. Johnson frowned.
"Yeah, don't I know it. I've still got a huge scar across my chest."
Cortana then cut in.
"With all due respect, people, we should get moving. Blue team are heading around the front, and we've got to shut down the defences before they arrive." the human AI instructed, and John nodded.
"Understood. Stay sharp Johnson."
"Aye aye swabbie." the marine mocked, referring to the fact that John was technically in the navy, despite spending most of his time fighting alongside the corps.
"Spark, stay low, and lose the glow." John ordered the Monitor, who dimmed slightly, hovering down to John's chest level. He moved across the small courtyard with the Sergeant Major in tow, the two Cortana - hacked Sentinels following him. They'd be useful in a firefight.
"Hey, this Apex is underground. Ah, I hate the underground. It reminds me of...bad stuff." Johnson muttered, and John knew all too well what he was talking about. The Sergeant Major had been the only one to survive the Flood attack on his squad on the first Halo ring, and had had to battle his way out to the surface, as John had later. The Chief shared the Sergeant's dislike, yet they had a job to do.
"Me too. But we've got to do this Johnson, I'd rather head underground than by trapped in what's essentially a giant goldfish bowl all my life." John placated, referring to the sphere they were currently trapped in. Johnson grunted in affirmation, and followed John down the dark ramp.
The light slowly began to fade, and John, even with his enhanced vision, had trouble seeing. Something crashed into him with an apology; Johnson had tripped over.
"Oops, my bad. Damn it, I can't see anything in here. It's times like these when I wish I had one of them ODST Visor mode thingamajigs." Johnson mumbled, and John couldn't help but agree.
"Why have you stopped Reclaimers?" Guilty Spark questioned of the two blind humans.
"We can't see a thing tinkerbell. I don't suppose you've got a pen torch in that metal shell of yours do you?" Avery Johnson replied irritated.
"Pen torch? I don't know what you're talking about Reclaimer; I do, however, have a UV concentrated light mechanism. One moment please." Spark replied, and a moment later, a bright light filled the artificial cave.
"Thanks." John said graciously, tapping Johnson on the shoulder. "Let's go."
The duo, and the Monitor continued down the ramp, moving further and further into the bowels of the Apex. Eventually, the came to a room with what John recognised to be a Forerunner elevator, similar to the ones on Halo.
"This thing had better go up." Avery spoke out loud, and John looked speculatively at the mechanism.
"Nope, it goes down. Sorry." the Chief chuckled, and Johnson moaned in despair.
"If we go down any further, honest to God we'll be killed by the pressure!"
"I doubt it. Well, you might. I've got Mjolnir on, I'll be fine."
"Very funny Chief. Well, we might as well head on down." the Sergeant replied dryly, climbing onto the tall open elevator. John merely raised a foot and stepped up onto it, being as tall as he was. The Spartan moved to activate the switch, but found Johnson had already done it. The pair began to descend down the shaft, with Spark floating after them, humming London bridge is falling down.
"Stop that, you'll get us spotted!" John rebuked, and the noise stopped. "Where did you learn London bridge anyway? A Forerunner lullaby?"
"Hardly. I came across the delightful tune when scouring your ship's navigational computer back upon Installation 04. It truly is pleasant, perhaps once we have left this place, you could show me your 'London,' and it's fallen bridge." Guilty Spark replied. John had no retort. Was the Forerunner AI seriously asking to see a city in England?
"You're unbelievable..." John muttered, turning away from the Monitor.
Eventually, the elevator reached the bottom of the shaft with a loud bang.
"Ground floor, freaky alien robot shut-down switch, and huge ass Forerunner ship." Johnson spoke out in a machine like voice. John cracked a rare smile.