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Halo 2: The Forerunner Chronicle Part VI
Posted By: Velker<velkerskater@msn.com>
Date: 26 March 2002, 9:00 pm


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"Red team, advance twenty meters to that pillar there," ordered the Master Chief. "Blue team, be ready to lay down suppressive fire. Green, advance to the pillar opposite Red team. Gold and Blue we're bringing up the rear." They were down inside the Library, moving towards the crashed Covenant corvette. One Spartan from Blue had ripped an M41 LAAG off of a Îhog before and was using it as his personal weapon. That LAAG gun would come in handy against whatever they found, Flood or Covenant.

"Red team copies, moving now." Four Spartans sprinted out from cover towards the pillar, shooting at the Floodies that had opened up on them. Blue team opened up with their laser rifles and lone LAAG, laying down suppressive fire to keep the Floods down behind whatever barriers they had been behind. Unfortunately, the Flood weren't to bright. They stayed up and advanced towards Blue team until every single one was riddled with lead or laser burns and lying in a pool of their own awful smelling green blood. Green team then advanced, searching for enemies, but it seemed as if the Flood had been eliminated.

Fifty meters in front of John's position was a large sheet of metal that had been forced downward into the Library. Some purplish-blue Covenant alloy glittered from behind it. "Boomer, toss a satchel charge to get rid of that metal plate. Blue, Red, Green, and Gold teams, advance at my signal. Boomer, blow the charge." There was a huge explosion as the door went up. A rain of debris washed over the Master Chief. "Wait. There's still Cov armor blocking our way. Boomer, get rid of that wall." Another satchel charge was tossed, this one destroying the walls of the Covenant corvette. "All teams advance."

All of the Spartan teams advanced through the large open space towards the corvette. "Crap sir!" said Green leader. "We've got a plasma turret attacking us sir. We're pinned down."

"All teams take cover. Jack," he said to the sniper, while pointing to the area where the plasma was coming from. The sniper nodded. Jack went down prone and rolled out of cover slightly, raising the modified MA5B he was using. The assault rifle was fitted with a scope and a silencer. It shot explosive .50 cal bullets. The gun wasn't as effective on Covs as an SRS99C-S2 AM sniper rifle, but it worked better on Flood and a three round burst still killed Elites. There was a flash from the MA5B and the plasma fire pounding Green team's position stopped.

"I got him sir. Three .50s right through his brain. Another notch to be carved into my gun when we get back to the ÎJersey." Jack was like a few snipers that the Master Chief had met, keeping track of all the Elites and hunters he had killed since the war started. Which hadn't been many, since the newer Spartans had mostly been protecting Earth.

"Nice shot. Scan the area for more Covenant or Flood positions."

"All clear boss."

"Okay." The Chief waved his hand and said, "All teams get to the corvette." They sprinted across the fifty meters quickly, keeping their sights on the wreckage and maze of pillars around them. When the Spartans got inside the corridors of the Covenant vessel, they found bodies everywhere. There were Covs and Flood dead, all from laser burns. "Fan out. Cortana, direct us to the control room. I want to make sure this ship will not fly, as well as steal their nav data."

"Roger Chief. The bridge is...there." a nav point showed up on the Master Chief's HUD. "First you'll have to travel through the main shuttle bay. Motion sensors are tracking lots of movement in there."

"Okay. All teams move towards the shuttle bay. Permission to neutralize anything that isn't human. I repeat, triggers are free." They sprinted across the cargo bay they were in and moved into the hallways.

"Red Leader here, contact. Four Flood warriors heading towards the shuttle hanger. Wait, they've spotted us. Engaging. All four are dead. The halls are all clear. We are ready to move in."

"Gold Leader copies. Move in a little and check for available cover then report."

"Acknowledged. Red team moving in." The four Spartans moved into the bay. They found Flood and Covenant battling it out. The Covenant had mostly secured the second floor and were keeping the Flood at bay downstairs. Two dropships were docked, but they seemed to be preparing for takeoff. "Red Leader to Gold Leader. Permission to destroy two enemy dropships."

"Granted Red Leader. We're moving in behind you." The rest of the Spartan teams moved into the hanger. They saw a member of Red team shoulder a Jackhammer launcher and blow both Covenant dropships away. That alerted both the Covenant and the Flood that the Spartans were there. A hail of laser and plasma fire hit the cargo crates that the Spartans were hiding behind. "Snipers, kill the Covs on the floor above us!" ordered the Chief. "The rest of you, concentrate firepower on those Flood. Don't let anything, especially the Spore-Carriers get within fifteen feet of our position."

"John!" called Sam over the noise. "Hunters inbound. Four of them. Their fuel rod guns will tear up our cover pretty fast."

"Copy Sam. Snipers! Concentrate on those Hunters. Gold team, prepare to advance to that abandoned Covenant position twenty feet to your left. Blue team, lay down suppressive fire." The abandoned Cov position was a few cargo crates overturned in a semi-circle around the corner, with a few portable energy shields on top of the crates. A plasma turret sat nestled behind it all. "Now!" Gold team jumped out from cover and sprinted across the hanger floor. Blue team stood up and let loose a heavy barrage of laser bolts, bullets, and grenades, keeping anyone with half a brain down behind cover.

Gold Two hopped into the Shade gun and let loose a barrage of fire towards the upper floor. "Clear!" shouted Jack.

The other squads acknowledged Jack's statement. "Gold Leader to all squads. Advance towards that nav point." All the teams advanced, putting down any Flood that had gotten back up. They made it to the bridge and found it completely empty. John motioned to the other Spartans to secured the perimeter. Then he walked up the ramp into the main control area.

"Master Chief, if you put me into that computer, I can slice into their files and steal this ship's nav data," said Cortana. The Chief pulled her out of his helmet and inserted her into the holographic panel. He didn't know exactly how, but the memory card disappeared and Cortana's hologram popped up "I need thirty seconds Chief...there, it's done. The Covenant homeworld has been located. Wait a moment, what's this?" Cortana looked around frantically. "Chief, we've got to get out of here now. Trust me on this one." He yanked her out of the computer and put the chip into his helmet.

Suddenly, there was a massive tearing sound from behind them. The Chief turned and looked. The wall had been torn to shreds. In its place stood two huge robots, thirty Guardians, and in front of them all floated a familiar orb. "342 Guilty Spark."

"Reclaimer." That put John on guard. Only 343 Guilty Spark had called him that. "I must inform you that I am no longer 342. I am 343. After Installation 4's destruction, I was left floating off in space. My energy charge was running out, so I used a long-range transmitter to transport my mind into 342's body. See, what I accomplished on Installation 4 made me think. I nearly took control of the galaxy. My goal has not been accomplished. The Flood still live, as well as humans, the Covenant, and the Forerunner."

"He must have had his circuits blown during the explosion," whispered Cortana. "We've got to get the Index. I think his programing has been altered. The Monitor will kill us all. He wants the galaxy under his fist. I don't understand why, as Halo would wipe the galaxy clean of life, but the ionization caused by a blast of that magnitude can do a lot of damage to a machine. I've seen it happen to AIs before. Let's get out of here now!"

"All squads pull back! We're getting out of here! Cortana, get us to a Covenant dropship!"

"Okay Chief. Dropship located." A nav point appeared on the Chief's HUD.

"Let the Forerunner bots have it Spartans!" A heavy barrage of fire lit up the room as the Spartans pulled back. They made it to the dropship without incident and slagged the walls with the dropship's cannon. They pulled out of the Covenant corvette.

"Cortana locate the Index. The Monitor must not have it."

"Got it Chief. We've got a large volume of fire coming at us from Covenant, Flood, and Forerunner robots. This crate won't hold together."

The Chief nodded. Then he flicked the intercom. "All Spartans buckle up. I'm opening troop bay doors so you can fire on the hostile forces below. Cortana, fly us to the Index. I'm going down to the gunwale." The Chief climbed out of his chair and down into the gunwale on the bottom of the cockpit. There were Flood warriors fighting a few Covenant Elites and Hunters. A few Sentinels hovered over the scene, not doing anything. John aimed and fired some bursts of plasma into the Hunters' unarmed backs, killing them. He kept his fingers tightened on the trigger, blowing the crap out of the Floods and Covs.

They got to the Index Chamber. "Cortana, can you get that shield down?"

"Certainly Master Chief." She paused for about twenty seconds and the shield surrounding the Index vanished.

"Whoever's closest to that green thing, grab it!" A Spartan pulled the Index into the dropship and put it in his back compartment.

"Good work team Spartans. We're heading out."


"Doesn't look like much," mused Captain Orus. The Captain, John, Chief, Mendez, and Dr. James stood around a table, looking at the Index.

"It has unimaginable power. I want it under the guard of a full platoon of Marines twenty-four-seven," ordered the Master Chief. "My Spartans and I are going after Guilty Spark."

"Impossible! If the explosion of Installation 4 didn't destroy him, nothing will!" said Dr. James, looking at the Master Chief's face with a look of disgust. Fortunately, Dr. James could not see the look the Master Chief was giving him.

"I'll kill the Monitor with my bare hands if I have to." The Chief picked his worn M90 shotgun up of the table, then looked at everyone in the room. "That robot made me kill hundreds of UNSC comrades." He walked out, steel boots clanking on the metal deck.





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