The Gallery
This topic has moved here: Subject: The Halo 3 Epilogue (The Finale-Part 1)
  • Subject: The Halo 3 Epilogue (The Finale-Part 1)
Subject: The Halo 3 Epilogue (The Finale-Part 1)

Great part. Cannot wait for the space battle that is yet to come.

  • 03.24.2009 2:56 PM PDT

By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe.

Fantastic chapter, I'll do the same at the end.

  • 03.24.2009 2:56 PM PDT

My spine shivers in anticipation...

  • 03.24.2009 5:31 PM PDT

The only bad part about this story was the last line "Only four parts to go" for the love of all that is good and holy please tell me this is not your last

  • 03.24.2009 6:17 PM PDT

This is my Battle Rifle there are many like it, but this one is mine.

Posted by: The Stig 521
The only bad part about this story was the last line "Only four parts to go" for the love of all that is good and holy please tell me this is not your last


ditto. I just want it to be as epic as possible. I think if this gets published that max would go into even more detail to maximize the greatness of this story. One can only hope. Im still stoked on this story though and I cant wait for the next part.

  • 03.24.2009 7:39 PM PDT

Remember, although there are just 4 parts left of the Epilogue, there is still plenty to tell.

  • 03.25.2009 12:34 AM PDT

>>/INFO_ONISEC1SER3
/CLASSIFICATION>> CLASS ?
/MISSION_CONTROL>> BASE ALAMO
/CODENAME>> FACOTA FI
/MISSON_LOCATION>> CLASSIFIED
/MISSION_STATUS >> 7H+IN_PROGRESS
>>END //INFO_ONISEC1SER3 >>CLEAR

Must, Have, More!

(Off-topic: Wait, I'm a honorable member, since when??? O_o)

[Edited on 03.25.2009 7:02 AM PDT]

  • 03.25.2009 7:00 AM PDT
Subject: The Halo 3 Epilogue (The Finale-Part 2)

Part 23

On board the Sangheili flagship, The Shadow of Intent


"Status report," ordered Thel. His time as the Arbiter was destined to be short and his honour to be reclaimed upon his death, but Thel knew, deep down, that he had done more than enough to regain his dented pride. But in hindsight the original cause of his demotion was down to the Spartan.
The destruction of the first ring had filled him with doubt and shame, but now he felt an enormous sense of pride. Being defeated by a lone Spartan in combat was no longer something that would fill his heart with shame; instead he thought it was probably his greatest achievement. If Thel had succeeded in his role as the fleet master, then the Spartan would be just an echo of humanities' hope and they would all be doomed against an enemy of unspeakable power.

"All ships report ready. Our cruisers have taken up their positions on the flank, all spirit, phantom and seraph craft have been positioned to cover the human orbital stations," Rtas reported.
The fleet would do what it could to inflict as much damage as possible, but the outlook was bleak. His main responsibility should be the protection of the human ships. For once it would be down to them to save what was left of the Covenant.
"Ensure the capital ships remain clear of each other. I do not want the destruction of one vessel to doom us all."
"What of the human ships, Arbiter?"
Thel pondered his options, but there were few. Even so, there was always a path to victory, he thought, even if it came from a suicidal engagement. He began to gain a new sense of understanding. This must have been what it was like for the humans when they fought their more advanced Covenant counterparts. "Position the shielded human ships to our rear, and the unshielded vessels behind them. They must be given the chance to fire."
"Understood, Arbiter," Rtas replied.

Thel looked on as the fleet finished moving into position, each of them displayed on the command deck as a series of floating holograms. The human ships moved, almost reluctantly, to the rear of the main fleet, protected by a wall of Covenant capital ships. Thel hoped to use the human ships in rapid pop-up attacks, but there was no telling as to how quickly the enemy ships would adapt.
He had to be flexible and inventive.


Forerunner chamber, Earth

John raced through the caves, followed by the rest of the Spartans. The Forerunners had chosen to remain in the chamber to ready their fleet and prepare the defences. John hoped that they could stall the attack on Earth, giving the Forerunners the chance to fight back.
John quickly cleared the mouth of the cave, only to be dazzled by the morning sun.
His faceplate immediately polarized to compensate.
Beyond the mouth of the cave were almost three full companies of marines, all of them escorted by warthogs and Scorpions. At the forefront of the formation was the familiar sight of Lord Hood, accompanied by Dr. Halsey.
Hood rushed over to meet with the emerging Spartans. "What did you find, chief?"
John stopped in front of Hood. "Forerunners and lots of them. They have a chamber beneath the cave system along with their own personal armada. But unfortunately they have more pressing concerns."
"I heard," Hood dropped his head. "The Arbiter is organising the fleet, but I'll need you and the other Spartans up there as well. If the enemy attempts a boarding we'll need everything we have to stop them."
"What about me?" asked Cortana.
"You'll be joining me on the Cairo. I need that lightning fast brain of yours to coordinate the pattern of fire."
"Just like old times," she replied.
"Chief, you and the rest of the Spartan II's head up to the Shadow of Intent; assist the Arbiter in any way you can, Dr. Halsey will be going with you."
"I need to stay here. I need to study the technology that we have long been searching for," Catherine protested.
"An order is an order Doctor," Hood replied sharply.
"What about us?" Ash said. "What about us 3's."
"General Moore will update you, but you'll be helping to defend the cave entrance, just in case our new enemy decides to pay us a visit down here."
Ash looked disappointed. He wanted to be with the rest of the Spartans.

John walked over and placed his hand on Ash's shoulder. "I'll be counting on you down here Ash. If the Scourge break through the fleet they'll be heading straight for here. I need you to stop them."
Ash looked up and nodded. "Don't worry, John. We'll stop them."
"Pelicans inbound for EVAC, stand by!" Voiced a marine.
John looked up to see two Pelicans swooping down and along the valley. They were both escorted by a pair of Longswords.
Cortana's voice popped into John's head. "Good luck Chief."
"And you," he replied.
"Give'em hell, Chief," said Hood, grabbing a rifle.
John nodded. "Look after her."
"Don't worry; she'll see us all through."
John wanted to keep up with the goodbyes, but had his orders again. He bounded off with the rest of the Spartan II's and Doctor Halsey into one of the waiting pelicans. Hood and a handful of naval staff headed for the other.
John strapped himself in before they blasted into the sky, heading for the fleet.

The Shadow of Intent

"Human drop ship in-bound Arbiter. It carries Spartans," Rtas reported.
"Good. Get them on-board and up to the bridge as quickly as possible."
Suddenly, an alarm echoed throughout the bridge.
Rtas looked up, frustration written across his weathered face. "The enemy fleet is advancing. They have adopted an arrow-head formation with a single vessel further out in frontacting as a vanguard."
"They wish to test our firepower, to see if we are a threat," Thel concluded.
"The lead vessel is within range!"
"Send in the cruisers. I do not want them to see the effectiveness of the human weapons until they are all in range."
Rtas conveyed Thel's orders to the leading phalanx of cruisers. Eight of the glistening vessels immediately set off towards the isolated Scourge ship, weapons firing.
The alien vessel simply stopped, absorbing the raining plasma fire before replying with a storm of energy.
The lead cruiser was hit square in the face before the alien ship fire again, destroying the cruiser. The second and third were hit with the dissipating energy and careered of course. Powerless and adrift. They were quickly finished off with a scything lance of green light.
The remaining cruisers adopted a scattered line formation before returning fire. Plasma torpedoes and plasma cannons did their best to fell their foe, but the ship simply absorbed the torrent of fire, its hull rippling in the cascading light of battle.
"Shall I order the humans to fire?"
"No, Rtas. I must see with my own eyes if we can defeat them."
"Our weapons are having no effect, Arbiter."

Thel could see the obvious, but he also understood Rtas' frustration. The might of Covenant weaponry, that had caused the humans so much misery and grief in the past, was now all but redundant.
"Order all remaining cruisers to concentrate their fire on the alien vessel."
Rtas anticipated his order and sent in the remaining cruisers. Twenty-seven vessels rushed forward until they were almost on top of the alien ship. Then they fired.
Thel watched closely as they peppered the ship with everything they had.
Then he saw it. A small plume of ionized gas escaping from the rear of the enemy ship.
"Order the cruisers to fire again, but tell the Relentless Pursuit to fire on the escaping gas."



[Edited on 03.25.2009 8:27 AM PDT]

  • 03.25.2009 7:10 AM PDT

The cruisers fired again as the Relentless Pursuit flanked the enemy vessel. The hull of the ship rippled again before the flaming stream of gas erupted from the rear. The Sangheili cruiser fired.
The alien hull ceased rippling like water. It shattered and cracked like glass.
The scourge ship returned fire at close range, destroying another four cruisers. But the damage was done.
She exploded in a shower of light and debris.
Rtas roared in approval before regaining his composure. "The alien vessel is destroyed, and the Spartans are now onboard."
Thel smiled.
Rtas' elation quickly vanished as the console he was attending began to emit a familiar warning tone. "The remaining alien vessels are increasing speed. They intend to finish us now."
"Push the other capital ships forward, lay down a barrage for the human vessels."
"Yes sir."

Thel had managed pull in fourteen other capital ships from their duties around the sector. Each one had three-times the firepower of a cruiser, and could last a great deal longer but they were also less maneuverable.
Each of them fired. Their weapons directed on a single target in a combined effort. But there was no one to target the weak spots of each ship.
"Send in the humans. Tell them to concentrate their fire in attack groups of no less than five vessels," Thel ordered. "Mark the targets for them."
Rtas summoned the human ships into the fight.
Each ship dropped into a small task force of five ships before engaging the Scourge fleet. Thousands of Archer pods opened up with their dangerous cargo before each ship engaged with their primary weapon.
Over fifty MAC rounds streaked towards their targets.
They hit. The hulls of several enemy ships rippled and then gave way to the sub-luminous slugs. The Covenant capital ships continued their firestorm, adding to the barrage.
Five Scourge ships exploded. But the remaining six carried on, firing as they came.
The doors to the command deck suddenly slid apart and four of the Spartans came running in, followed by the human doctor.
The atmosphere of the bridge immediately lifted. The initial success against the scourge and the arrival of the Spartans was more than welcome.

"Are we winning?" John asked.
"For now," smiled Thel. "They have six remaining ships."
The holographic view of the battle chimed as dozens of MAC rounds erupted from the orbital stations.
They hit the advancing vessels with pin-point accuracy. Cortana was doing what she was best at--multitasking.
Four of the six ships exploded.
"Make that two ships remaining," Thel corrected.
John and the others watched as the two ships separated. One carried on towards them whilst the other sped directly for earth.
John activated his COM. "Ash, you'll be getting some uninvited guests."
The COM crackled. "Roger that."
The remaining Elite vessels fired everything they had at the Scourge ship hurtling towards them.
Several of the more modern human frigates managed to reload their MAC's and fired at the advancing ship.
It exploded.
"Arbiter, several smaller vessels were launched before the alien ship exploded," Rtas said.
"Track them and engage."
The smaller ships sped through a gauntlet of fire. All but one was destroyed.
The single craft, the size of a pelican slammed through the shields of the Shadow of Intent and into the ship, burrowing into the hull.
"Hull breach!" A young officer screamed. "Deck four."
"What's the fastest way there?" John asked.
Thel pointed over to one of the other bridge officers. "Ceris, escort the Spartans to the impact area. Take a security detachment with you."
Ceris responded with a pleasing grunt before speeding away with the Spartans.

Thel knew that if anyone could stop the boarding action, it was the Spartans.

To be continued



[Edited on 03.25.2009 8:30 AM PDT]

  • 03.25.2009 7:11 AM PDT

Brilliant as usual, I was surprised you managed to get it out so fast. I think it would have been quite cool if the Spartans boarded one of the Scourge's ships, but oh well. I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen when the Forerunners enter the fray.

  • 03.25.2009 9:02 AM PDT

By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe.

The storm has come, and what a storm it was! Great chapter again, indeed the Forerunner entrance will be interesting.

Nice little nod to Boarding Action at the end as BA was a Spartan training ground. i c wat u did thar

[Edited on 03.25.2009 10:03 AM PDT]

  • 03.25.2009 10:02 AM PDT

Good god that is impresive

  • 03.25.2009 11:45 AM PDT
Subject: The Halo 3 Epilogue Parts 1-21 (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

DIUTYAUSDPOI

340083 Coagulated Derelict

"Zombies.Gentlemen at times like these our capacity to retaliate must be and has to be massive,to deter all forms of aggression."-JFK

EPIC!

  • 03.25.2009 1:49 PM PDT

Huzzah!

  • 03.25.2009 4:19 PM PDT
Subject: The Halo 3 Epilogue (The Finale-Part 2)

Holy Sh17 this is fI_Icking awesome, and my balls are quivering so hard that I could drop' em.

[Edited on 03.25.2009 8:24 PM PDT]

  • 03.25.2009 8:24 PM PDT
  • gamertag: [none]
  • user homepage:

Epic Win!!!

  • 03.25.2009 10:24 PM PDT

Posted by: Dropship dude
No, acnboy. Spartain Ken 15 is a lesser being. Much like the bacteria that lives in your shi­t.
Posted by: mike120593
My shi­t bacteria takes offense to that comparison.

Don't make me lel. You won't like me when I lel.

The epic battle has arrived!

  • 03.25.2009 11:44 PM PDT

-eddy!
huh! What? It was the other guy, honest! ;)
'it was a sniper!' looks down at my sniper
uhh yeah? hes got one too. XD

holy s***! that was amazing!

  • 03.26.2009 12:52 AM PDT

More to come.
The next part will hopefully be up sometime on Friday, served with a nice side order of awsomesauce and french fries.

  • 03.26.2009 7:55 AM PDT

this is awesome. you're doing a great job. keep the awesomesauce coming!

  • 03.26.2009 1:17 PM PDT

When are you going to become a famous author?

  • 03.26.2009 4:05 PM PDT

Want to train your mad skillz? want to pass on your skillz to others?
Then join the Penguinators! an academy of greatness!
find out more here!

thats awsome, and btw, maxter chief 94 (or whatever) thats just way TMI.

  • 03.27.2009 10:03 AM PDT
Subject: The Halo 3 Epilogue (The Finale-Part 1)

Want to train your mad skillz? want to pass on your skillz to others?
Then join the Penguinators! an academy of greatness!
find out more here!

I only have one problem:

why didn't the forerunners just hand groom like a bazillion soldiers like john? It was certainly in their power, and they had billions of people to "breed" if you will, more soldiers. Heck, if they had john have kids with the right person he they could have at least 8 super-johns. Just saying

  • 03.27.2009 10:10 AM PDT

-eddy!
huh! What? It was the other guy, honest! ;)
'it was a sniper!' looks down at my sniper
uhh yeah? hes got one too. XD

got to ask are you going to post the next part today?
i know im beng pushy but i hate waiting

  • 03.27.2009 11:20 AM PDT

Posted by: MasterofPenguin
I only have one problem:

why didn't the forerunners just hand groom like a bazillion soldiers like john? It was certainly in their power, and they had billions of people to "breed" if you will, more soldiers. Heck, if they had john have kids with the right person he they could have at least 8 super-johns. Just saying


it sounds like only john's specific DNA line was the only one that enabled the forerunner's breeding program to work. thats my guess. no body else was sufficient to meet the forerunner's standards

  • 03.27.2009 12:19 PM PDT