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Author's Note: It sure did take a while, but this is it! I did it! I finished the Ascendant series! And better still, I made it under my 10 part mark! For all of you who wished for more, I'm sorry, but this seems to be it for the Ascendant series. However, if you like Knightmare Wolf's and spartan415's work, you're in for a treat, as the three of us have come together to begin a series hopefully worth reading. Anyone who wishes more of this kind of stuff from me, feel free to jump with joy (j/k), as I am actually considering starting another series. I thank you all for the support you have shown throughout my career as a fanfiction writer thus far, and I hope you continue to read in the future. Now, for what you've been reading through these self-congratulations for: Here's Part 9 of Ascendant!
 

Battlecruiser Bulldog

Orbiting Human-Held World of Summer
7:59 P.M.
Commander Michael A. Sheener, Spartan Mark VII, #235
The sounds of combat roared through my ears: the sounds of the chaingun, the gunner's yells of fury and pain, and the familiar burst sound of plasma rifles.
"Take this, bastards!" yelled the gunner at the door. We were trapped in the cafeteria several hundred meters from the bridge turbolift doors. A large group of Elites had blocked our path, and now assaulted the Warthog we had positioned in the door to act as a barricade.
A glowing ball flew up and attached itself to the Spartan gunner, who screamed and promptly threw herself into the mob of bloodthirsty Elites at the business end of the Warthogs chaingun. An explosion later, another Spartan was in the gunner's seat, contentedly blasting away at the remaining Elites. Seeking cover, they had no chance against the high caliber rounds pumped out of the chaingun. We all piled over the Warthog and sprinted the last hundred meters toward the bridge doors.
As we reached it, however, a pack of Grunts rushed down the corridor behind us. Strangely, they wielded plasma rifles instead of pistols. Several silver-armored Special Ops Grunts with their fuel-rod cannons followed swiftly behind.
We knew we had no chance against those numbers and firepower, and with no cover available, we turned to face the onrushing enemy. Strangely, they didn't make it halfway to us before they were all cut down. The Grunts fell to many bursts of red energy, closely resembling phase rifle rounds. We knew the Humans didn't possess firepower of that magnitude, as the shots were far more powerful and accurate than we currently had.
Glancing behind the falling Grunts, we saw several willowy humanlike creatures, with armor resembling that of the Human Marine, without the plating. They stood shouldering odd looking rifles, and with looks of determination, cut down the Grunts with cruel efficiency. As soon as they were done, however, they promptly ran down the corridor behind them, vanishing as abruptly as they had appeared. One stayed for a few moments, waiting long enough to yell to us in an odd accent, "Good luck, Spaar-Taans!" After yelling this, he too was gone, leaving behind the impression of speed and efficiency.
"Mike, I recognize those soldiers!" Archangel cried, "they were in the medallion's video, running behind that man in the foreground at odd intervals!"
"You mean that they were Forerunner?!"
"Yes! Or at least a species allied with them. They seemed to be the Special Forces of the Forerunner army, because whenever they run by, the other soldiers saluted them!"
"And you noticed that? Archangel, you really come in handy sometimes."
"Why, thank you. Now, get to the bridge, and retrieve that AI."
Not to let any new aliens slow us down, we turned back to the mangled turbolift doors. The doors had obviously seen fighting long after my squad had finished opening them. I wondered briefly if the Forerunner-allied aliens who killed the Grunts did this. Casting my thoughts aside, I grabbed the cable, and began hauling myself up the shaft. Upon reaching the top, I noticed with happiness that the Elites who were guarding it earlier had abandoned the bridge when we overrode its control of the ship. I promptly strolled over to the holotanks, and removed a small cube. I secured it in one of many shielded pocket-like containers on my armor, and as I turned to face the door, something caught my eye on the viewscreen.
It was a ship.
I could have sworn I had seen it before, but it was of no design familiar to the UNSC, or it would have been included in my implant. It was smaller than the smallest UNSC capitol ship, smaller than most Covenant capitol ships as well. Its sleek gray hull was marred only by streaks of an unknown material, tinged a forest green. It looked strangely familiar, yet entirely alien at the same time.
I figured that it was the ship of the strange allies of the Forerunner, and I wanted to get away from those creatures. Forerunner or not, the Human race didn't need anymore aliens to contend with at the moment.
"Okay guys, we're getting the hell out of here. To hell with this Ascendant. I want out!"
Most of the other troops agreed with me. Several wanted to stay and search for survivors in the former basecamp, but were easily persuaded otherwise. No one knew exactly what it was the drove me to this, and I didn't plan to tell them, but something happened that changed that plan.
A smoking ball of blue flew through the open turbolift doors. It landed fairly close to me, and as I started to run away, it exploded, propelling me across the deck. My consciousness got confused as to whether it was awake or asleep and my mind was flooded with another memory. And on the viewscreen, at that same moment, two of the smaller stripes on the odd ship began to glow a hot white.
"Dammit, hurry up with that! I want that nuke armed pronto!"
"Sir, with all due respect, we can't arm it any faster!"
"Look, we know we won't make it if it doesn't arm within the next minute. This old technology doesn't seem to work the way it should, does it?"
The display on the warhead changed, and a small status light came up on the screen. It had successfully armed.
"Sir, it's up and running! This should give that Ascendant something to think about. On the road to Hell, that is!"
The Ascendant stepped through the door of the dark room. It motioned, and immediately the officer burst into flames. He screamed, and fell into a heap of charcoal as the flames, focused entirely on him, died. The Ascendant turned to the next soldier. He, too, burst into flames, but didn't get the time to scream.
I pressed the button on the detonator before I could think about anything else.
"That's it! That's the key! Sorry boys, but the trip to the docking bay will have to wait!"
A series of 'huh, what?', 'but you said-.', and 'you changed your mind again?' echoed among the remaining Spartans. I quickly explained what would happen, while several of the others blew the newly arrived grunts downstairs into mincemeat. Several smiled that their officer had come through for them and got another idea for survival, others liked the idea, feeling that it would better benefit the Human race. Another two congratulated me on surviving yet another grenade blast.
I looked up at the viewscreen and noticed that the ships streaks' light was fading. One of the Spartans started to look up, but I quickly pressed the button for the port camera, and static came onto the screen. No need to alarm the troops, right?
I turned back to the door of the turbolift, and slid down the cables. Several Grunts standing at the doors saw me and raised their pistols, but not before I squeezed off several shots with my phase rifle and blew their heads into mush. As I secured the area, the remaining Spartans slid down the cables, and we all headed back to the cafeteria. Upon reaching it, we slid into the comfortable leather seats of our Warthogs, and roared off towards the cargo bay vehicle lifts. Lifts that would take us down to the deck with the missile launch bays.
 
11:09 P.M.

Battlecruiser Bulldog

 
We finally arrived at the missile launch bays, our secondlast destination on this cursed wreck. In the aftermath of the battles we fought through on this 'ship', the original number of 349 Spartans decreased to only 74. I began to wonder if this was all worth it, sacrificing lives like a rich man spends money.
I ordered a Spartan with tech skills to open the door to our target. We planned to activate a Shiva Nuclear Warhead, to detonate it once we were off the ship. Knowing that it would most likely destroy the Ascendant, we hoped to arm it and blow it before our alien enemy could get to an escape route, as it would most likely find out about our plan, seeing as we destroyed many enemy scouts on the way. Already the Covenant sent against us seemed almost too much to handle. We obviously expected to see the Ascendant soon.
As the doors swung inwards, 8 Spartans rolled around the corner, covering all available angles. Seeing no Covenant inside, I assumed that they had merely disregarded this room as another cargo bay. Thankfully, the Bulldog hadn't fired off its compliment of 3 Shiva warheads. I immediately ordered a team to arm a nuke, and jury-rig it to blow at the touch of a button. After a period of 15 minutes had passed, a short Spartan walked up to me and handed me a combination of parts, a powerful antenna, and a switch, all held together with Duct Tape (some things never die). Looking at the hodgepodge detonator incredulously, I took it, strapped it to my belt, and thanked the Spartan.
"Archangel, give me a nav point for the hangars. I uh, haven't been down here before-."
"Alright. Jeez, if only Spartans had brains instead of muscle- they might think to explore-."
An orange diamond popped up on my HUD, at 804 meters slightly left of the left corner of the room. As I prepared to order my troops to move out, a grunt ran around the corner. Acting on instinct, I shot it twice in the torso with my phase rifle, but the shots alerted the Covenant on their way. And even worse, it alerted the Ascendant, travelling with them.
As the enemy swooped in through the doors, my ragged company opened fire with their phase rifles, some even making it to their Warthog chainguns. Myself, I brought down a good 3 Elites before making a break for my Warthog. As I shouted for the Spartans to get into the vehicles and fight their way through, Archangel spoke up.
"Mike, you'd better hall ass big time if you wanna make it outta here alive. Guess who's coming? And you know what? It doesn't seem to like us!"
Acting on Archangel's news, I ordered the Warthog drivers to mow clean through the approaching Covenant army. As the Warthogs began to drive through, knocking Jackals and Grunts into the air left and right, the Ascendant entered the room, and headed directly for the Warthog to my right. As we drove past, the Ascendant motioned, and the other Warthog and its passengers burst into flames. The screams haunted me as my Warthog finally pulled out of the room, last in the line, heading directly for the docking bay.
Elites and the slightly slower Jackals ran after us, firing weapons, and throwing plasma grenades. One grenade attached itself to the Warthog we pulled up beside just as Jackals shot the gunner and driver to death. As the explosion shook my seat at the chaingun, I heard another death scream, fearing that the next one I heard would be my own.
Firing with abandon, I watched in satisfaction as I mowed down enemy after enemy, but growing increasingly afraid as they kept coming. Strangely, the enemy could keep up with the Warthogs. I guessed that the 'magickal' Ascendant was granting this ability, as an Elite or Jackal was normally far slower than the Warthog ATV.
As we entered the docking bay, several soldiers in a Warthog to the right screamed as the vehicle beneath them blew to pieces, sending their shrapnel-ridden bodies into the air. As I dodged a shard of metal from the flaming hulk, I noticed that several of the Pelican dropships inside the ship were missing. However, I judged that there were just enough to fit the remaining 65-
-Make that 59 Spartans. Two Warthogs near the back of the pack burst into flames as the demonic Ascendant raced into the room and swept its arm past them. Again, I felt a severe blow as their screams of agony ripped from their throats, as they were effectively boiled alive inside their armor. Yelling in frustration, I ripped off a series of shots aimed at the monstrous Ascendant.
The chaingun fired, then clicked dry.
I yelled again in anger as I watched the rounds pass nearly through the Ascendant before melting in the living flames of the creature. I understood now why the Forerunner had such difficulty fighting this species: they were immune to bullets, and nuclear energy would likely be the only thing to harm them.
I nearly laughed aloud as the Warthog swerved to a halt beside a Pelican. I jumped from the useless chaingun, and ran aboard as 13 other Spartans followed me. Running directly for the cockpit as soldiers strapped in behind me, I heard the sounds of another Warthog exploding from outside the closing doors of our salvation. I could only hope that others would make it off this accursed ship.
I initiated the startup sequence with Archangel's help, and proceeded to slide his chip into the computer, from where he activated the hangar bay doors. Archangel activated a new squad favorite from the databanks, the theme of the ancient game, HALO. As the monstrous titanium plates slid apart, the oxygen inside the docking bay was sucked into the vacuum, causing all the Covenant troops outside our ship to either fall over clutching their throats and chests, be sucked out the waiting maw of the massive hangar doors, or to explode in a gory mess all over the dying soldiers beside them.
As the doors to the wondrous outer space slid, finally, to their open positions, we saw, to our horror, one of the Pelicans burst into hellish flames. The Ascendant obviously hadn't been sucked outside like so many of the Covenant troops, and was still very, very angry with the descendants of the Forerunner. I immediately yanked the radio into its active position, and ordered the other Pelicans outside. As the 3 others rose into the air, another Pelican exploded into a brief flare of light as the oxygen, and the soldiers, inside of it ignited. I watched in triumph, however, as we roared out of the docking bay into the limitless expanses of space.
As soon as we had left, however, the Ascendant motioned again, and this time, to shocked replies, one of the 2 other surviving Battlecruisers exploded. How could anything be so immensely powerful? It was insane!
Strangely, its voice sounded inside our ship. I wasn't the only one to here the rasping, unearthly sound; all of the Spartans aboard from the copilot and myself to the one sitting closest to the doors shuddered as it began.
"You cannot escape me, Forerunner! You may be able to hide, but you will not escape! There is no way! I will burn you as I will burn your entire species!" Motioning again, the other Battlecruiser exploded into flames. To my surprise, I felt strangely calm as I looked to the dying inferno that was the ship known as Rose Thorn.
As we neared the edge of the nuke's detonation range, I ordered Archangel to tap into the Bulldog's comm system. I wanted to deliver a final message to our nemesis. As I flicked the radio switch again, the other surviving Pelican burst into flames. According to Archangel afterwards, even through my helmet's visor, my eyes burned with a fury more powerful than that of our dying comrade's ship. They burned with an intensity that shocked even the AI, a data construct without emotion as I spoke the last words the evil fire daemon would ever hear.
"Burn this, asshole."
I pressed the nuke's detonator.
 
Time Unknown
Location Unknown, believed to be Planet of Summer
Commander Michael A. Sheener, SPARTAN III Mark VII, #235
Blackness. I was swimming in a tunnel of blackness.
As I swam through it, I saw in the distance a pinprick, no, a near microscopic dot, of light slowly appear.
I heard the echo of a voice. I couldn't quite place it, but I knew it. It drew me to it.
As I swam slowly through the darkness that was my own thoughts, I saw the light grow larger. I worked my way towards it, at a crawl. My limbs hurt, and my head couldn't seem to clear. I battled weariness as I worked towards the inviting warmth of the light. As I fought for what seemed like hours, I saw the light grow steadily larger. I was in my own head, looking out from my eyes from a distance. I could see my- HUD?- and a control panel beyond my visor. I could tell even from this distance that I was slumped sideways upon the controls of a Pelican dropship, a voice coming from it, urging me onwards to consciousness.
It was Archangel.
Even through all this, he had waited for me, calling me, encouraging me to wake up out of this swamp of my own head, filled with darkness.
I obliged willingly. I slid into my body again, joyful to be able to feel all of my parts again, every one of them. I could hear some music playing from the control panel, something I remembered, something I had listened to before. I remembered it to be that tune from the famed 21^st century 'video game', HALO.
I was sprawled out over the controls. A small pool of my own blood sat in the side of my helmet, my head hurting like a sledgehammer hit me. As I sat up, Archangel cried out in joy, an unthinkable thing for an AI, unless it was- a smart AI. ONI really did love us!
As the scene set in, I realized that the nose of the Pelican was buried in the ground, several alarms going off. I pulled Archangel's chip out of the dashboard, and slid it into my helmet. As I slowly stood, bracing myself, I was filled in on the events of the previous day. I was out a whole day!
I immediately asked after the Ascendant. Archangel answered that by all accounts, it was destroyed.
"Lets get you patched up and fed. The others are setting up a camp outside," he said.
"Sounds like a plan. Do you know what happened to that Forerunner ship, though? I know you saw it when I did. And I didn't see it after we left the Bulldog," I responded slowly.
"I spotted it hovering on the outskirts of the system. I don't think they'll cause much trouble, however. It's all through; they were caught in the nuke's shockwave, like us. They're too damaged to do anything to us. But the Ascendant- it's finished. That's all that matters, right?"
"No, Archangel. I think that this is just the beginning. Just the beginning, my friend-."
 
The End

Or is it?

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