- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I picture Arbiter, Johnson, and Miranda getting ambushed by the ONI after the three work out their differences. Spec-Ops Leader did manage to retake the cruiser over the control center, and picks up the three including 343 Guilty Spark in a Phantom(under fire from the ONI?). From the cruiser's hangar bay-Hunters are gathering the dead Brutes in one pile and dead allies in another. Grunts stand guard as Elites herd away surrendered Brutes to the brig at gunpoint. Arbiter, Johnson, and Miranda departs from Halo to find the MC. If desired, perhaps we can have Arbiter upgrade to improve armor by technicians. I'm picuturing Arbiter held in place on a slab, then suddenly a Grunt peers over, squints his head a bit in curiosity, and tell him about the armor upgrade.
Passing the derelict High Charity, perhaps they will launch a party to scout and investigate, meeting up with a nasty surprise(hundreds of Infection Flood forms pouring out of a door at them-spawned by the Gravemind, forcing them to make haste retreat) which will make urgency the more crucial.
Upon arriving at Earth at a later time, 343GS hovers alone silently staring out through a viewport at Earth under siege. It's the most quiet he's ever been, knowing how chatty he's been ever since we knew him. When Arbiter or Miranda or whomever approaches him to ask him questions, 343GS exclaims he is glad to see Earth once more, yet outright appalled at the Covenant's desecration of Earth.
--
As for the MC, I would expect the beginning level to take place within the Forerunner Ship. Personally, I don't think Truth is heavily guarded, or at all. And I don't think the Forerunner ship crashes either because I feel the ship has something important to do with the storyline. It could be the Ark, for this I have reasons to believe:
1.It's engines are designed to last forever, even with the Covenant tapping huge amounts of energy out of it to function High Charity. So therefore, it must be important(despite the possibility that the Forerunner could possibly make all their ships' engines last forever).
2.At the end of Halo 2, when Arbiter asks where the Ark is, the next scene cuts directly to the Forerunner Ship. It implies The Ark has arrived to Earth. It didn't show Earth, or some structure on Earth, or some other location.
3.The Forerunner Ship is an Ark. It's a huge ship. And designed to evacuate the Forerunner city of High Charity should the Flood invade. At the end of Halo 2, the Flood did invade. And Truth and MC was safe when they took off in the Forerunner Ship. It also subtly implies its purpose, which was demonstrated.
So MC explores the Forerunner ship, which I'm betting has a huge amount of significant detail and relics still aboard it-possibly even a functioning Forerunner AI(the shipmaster) or perhaps even a Forerunner(cryo-freeze maybe?). Well, if MC comes upon this Forerunner AI, maybe that'll be his new assistant now that Cortana's gone. Why I believe there is intelligience still aboard the ship: The Forerunner Ship must be ready to launch on immediate demand in the event of a emergency. An AI can spend its whole life inside the ship, doesn't eventually die like a organic being, and can respond immediately. Cortana detects a foreign AI presence aboard the ship. Now, that's assuming Truth hasn't reached the ship yet, didn't upload a Covenant AI, or didn't have a Covenant AI placed there beforehand. A Forerunner AI is likely, since there probably isn't much difference if any between a Covenant and Forerunner AI. The Forerunner AI would also adhere to its protocols, that is to prep the ship for launch. Cortana's trying to delay the launch, and the Forerunner AI must be trying to negate this. Forerunner AIs are extremely resilient. Just look at 343GS...
[Edited on 6/27/2006]