By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe.
HALO
THE LAST SPARTAN
PROLOGUE
"Do you ever wonder what's up there?" John asked. He was lying in the thick grass on the planet Eridanus II, it was approaching twilight and Linda was lying next to him as they stared at the stars.
"Like what?" She asked.
"Maybe someone out there is wondering what it's like here." He continued.
"I guess..." Linda turned her head to look at John. "Do you think we'll ever meet them?"
John too turned to Linda and put his hand on hers, "I hope so...Don't you?"
John shifted awkwardly in his cryo-tube.
"John..." A voice much closer to home whispered.
"You are, all of you, vermin!" The Prophet of Truth hissed. His fist was clenched fiercely as he eyed John with the utmost hatred and disgust.
"Your world will burn until its surface is but glass!"
"John..." The voice spoke again. It sounded louder this time...
"Fate had us meet as foes, but this Ring will make us brothers."
"JOHN! Wake up." Screamed Cortana.
The lid of the cryogenic tube lifted and John, laden in his MJOLNIR battle-armour, stumbled out. He fell to the floor as his sight slowly returned to him.
"I had to give you a triple-dose of the Wake Up serum. You're a heavy sleeper." Cortana remarked.
John gripped the panel which his artificial companion stood; he hauled himself to his feet in a daze.
"You are Forerunner...But this Ring is mine!"
He racked his head vigorously and quickly regained his posture; Cortana was smiling back at him. She was the only source of light in the room until John activated his flashlight.
"Pressure Locks deactivated, switching to Zero-G. Activating Spartan oxygen feeds." Cortana said.
John felt like an invisible hand had snatched him by the waist and thrust him into the air; the experience reminded him of when he and the Arbiter were caught in the clutches of the Gravemind.
"What's going on?" He rasped. But no sound escaped his mouth.
John's visor interfaced with Cortana and several transcripts filled his vision.
"Chief, it's not safe here. We're about to enter a planet's atmosphere and it's nowhere near Earth; you need to head for the hangar and find a HEV pod. That can secure your escape whilst I navigate the ship to give you enough time. Good luck."
He shook his head in disbelief; he could not abandon Cortana again! And if the Frigate crashed on the planet, she'd surely be destroyed...
"ARGUING IS NOT AN OPTION, GO!" Another transcript appeared.
There seemed to be little choice in the matter; John swam through the malfunctioning door but not before he grabbed his signature Assault Rifle from the weapon rack and attached it to the magnetic lock on his back. He gave the AI one last look over his shoulder.
His HUD began operating immediately as Cortana updated his NAV point; it showed he had at least five minutes to get to the hangar which was 210 meters away.
He set off immediately.
209...208...207... The NAV counter was counting down as John got closer and closer. 206...205...204...
Unfortunately; the Chief was forced to stop in his tracks as he swam up to a massive breach in the Dawn's hull. The sight before him was amazing.
Thousands of feet below, John could make out a metallic looking surface on the planet. His heart raced as he saw fragments of debris from the Dawn drift past and suddenly saw himself drifting with them.
He cursed to himself as he realised he'd spent just under a minute admiring the view; the timer had now reached 4:13 left until the Dawn hit re-entry. John swam through another door, and another, and another until he reached a winding corridor that was caving in on itself.
A small radio drifted past on a channel presenting only static, John ignored this and proceeded onwards.
130...129...128... John wondered what state Cortana would be in once the Dawn crashed. The NAV suddenly flashed and appeared again, pointing downwards through a hole in the floor just big enough for him to fit through.
60...59...58... The Chief knew that his salvation lay beyond his next door. The access panel was damaged; however. He could not progress beyond it.
"DAMN!" He kicked the door and achieved only a hurting foot.
Just over a minute and a half to escape, he needed an idea, and fast! Thinking...Thinking...
Yes!
John grabbed his Assault Rifle and examined the door, there were four bolts holding it. There was no sound as each shot hit the door. There was no sound as the door seemed to float away as John scrambled through it but inside of the Chief was a celebration party as he complemented himself on his genius.
30...29...28... He drifted over to a single SOEIV, prying open the door and nesting inside of it. Cortana activated the release control and John was once again greeted by the feeling of weightlessness.
The drop was unlike any he'd experienced before; heat and pressure began to build up and seemed to feed John's dislike of being in ships. A wave of helplessness washed over him until there was an ear-splitting BANG!
The timer had hit a solid zero.
Everything faded black and the world seemed to slip away, John slipped out of consciousness.
The radio inside his pod suddenly turned on, over the wave of static, a single voice could be heard.
I.SEE.YOU.RECLAIMER.