Under the Surface: Let's Get This Show on the Road, [Halo]
Warnings and Disclaimers in Master Post
0645 Hours, March 4, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
North America, Reach UNSC Military Complex,
Omega Wing-Section Three secure facility
"So, High Command has finally given us a real mission, huh?"
Catherine looked up from her computer to where Cortana was standing with a raised eyebrow and a smug smile.
After she and Cortana had finished making repairs and upgrades to John’s armor, High Command had sent Cortana and John on several mundane missions. Their success, and Ackerson’s inability to come up with a valid reason why the project should be stopped, propelled Lord Hood to give them a chance to complete a high-risk operation.
Catherine pushed up her glasses, giving her a disapproving look. "I thought that information was classified."
Cortana shrugged. "Nuance." She lifted up John's helmet and looked at her reflection in the gold visor before setting it down on Catherine's desk. "John has already been outfitted with most of his armor and is on his way up here."
"Eager to get off base?"
"I'm eager to start to actually do something other than sit in a lab, yes." She paused as she realized the implications of her statement. "No offense to present company."
Catherine waved off her apology. She was perfectly content to help the fight against the Covenant without being on the frontline.
The entrance doors to her lab slid apart, revealing John. "Ma'am," he greeted when he saw Catherine.
"You never call me ma'am," Cortana noted from behind the desk.
He turned in the direction of the AI and frowned slightly. The motion was so brief and subtle that had Catherine not known him as well as she did, she would have thought she had imagined seeing things. Was there some kind of issue between the two of them that she didn't know about?
Cortana didn't miss his look of discontent either. She crossed her arms defensively. "It's fine."
The scar.
Catherine looked at Cortana who had taken off her "oppressive" ONI jacket and left the dark grey tank shirt exposed. The red, angry skin stood out in contrast to her pale skin. Catherine had offered for her to go under reconstructive surgery, but the AI immediately dismissed the idea.
"I always want to remember what Ackerson wanted to do to me."
Neither of them had commented on the fact she couldn't forget anything, even if she wanted. She understood the AI's anger and hadn't pushed the point any further.
"Really," she said emphatically. She grabbed the jacket off the back of the desk chair and flashed Catherine an exasperated look. "Maybe you should tell him about our new orders so he will stop being such a mother hen."
Catherine noticed the stunned look on John's face. He had been called many things since his entrance into the Spartan program; she doubted mother hen had ever been one of them. She held out a tablet for him to take. "Your objective is to retrieve several officers who fell under attack in an outskirt of Los Angeles by Covenant forces twelve hours ago. We believe that the bridge crew of The Pillar of Autumn has been taken hostage by the Elite forces. I don't need to tell the two of you that your actions throughout the mission will be under full review once it is completed." The doctor studied the two of them.
"We'll be successful, ma'am," John assured her.
A whisper of a smile passed over Catherine's lips. "I would expect nothing less, John. The two of you are to report to the pod station immediately. Your Scorpion transport is waiting for you there."
Cortana froze briefly. "Pod station? I thought we were going to have a Pelican transport."
The doctor pressed her lips together. She had been deliberate in not allowing Cortana to have access to the most recent version of the mission plan. "Yes, well, there was a last minute change. It would seem that Colonel Ackerson has learned of your...aversion to enclosed places." It was another attempt by James to thwart the success of her two best successes.
"Of course he did," sneered Cortana. Catherine watched as she attempted to push away her discomfort and shrugged. "I guess it's better than having another sniper waiting for us when we leave."
A heavy tension settled over the room. It was Halsey who finally broke the silence. She reached to the back of her table and held out John's helmet for him to take. "Here you go, John."
He looked appreciatively at the helmet and placed it on his head.
"I think if it was up to the Chief, he'd always be wearing that armor," Cortana mused.
It was true. All of her Spartans felt the same way. But with the enormous energy consumption the armor took, they were only able to wear the armor during active high profile missions.
The doctor picked up her tablet and walked to the door. This was their first major mission since the test and she wanted to see the two of them off. Cortana took the lead with John following behind her.
Catherine watched as the future of the UNSC walked in front of her. She trailed Cortana and John at a distance, allowing herself to watch the two of them interact. John walked with sturdy steps, his posture perfect, his gaze facing forward. Cortana kept up with the Spartan, leaning in his personal space, casting glances in his direction as she spoke to him.
Despite giving permission for Cortana to be assigned to work with John, the doctor had her concerns about their compatibility. For all of John's stolidness, Cortana was overt. She knew John would rather be with a group of his own Spartans rather than a high-spirited AI. But, they were the best the UNSC had. They, in time, would adjust to each other and they would finally be able to take a stand against the Covenant.
There was no other option.
The two of them proceeded to the security checkpoint. As the three of them were waved forward, Catherine moved close enough to hear their conversation.
Cortana looked up at John. "So, do you have a plan?"
"To complete the mission."
Cortana crossed her arms at his reply. "So I take that as a no. I guess it's a good thing I've already come up with several possibilities."
Before John could respond, they entered the hangar. Catherine knew the second Cortana spotted their transport. The AI did her best to hide her discomfort at the sight of the Scorpion, but the doctor knew John noticed her trepidation immediately.
The doctor wanted to offer some kind of encouragement, but that wasn't her place. Cortana was more than capable; she would have to do some adjusting of her own if this partnership was going to be successful.
"Cortana?" John's one word was weighed with concern.
She shook her head and faced him, painting a smile on her face. "I'll be fine."
Catherine frowned as she remained back at the back of the hangar. Cortana didn't look like she would be fine. Even from this distance, the doctor could tell her voice was laced with tension.
"Still think she's the answer to the UNSC's prayers?"
Ackerson.
Halsey pulled her eyes from Cortana and John and faced the colonel. "I have faith in Cortana and the Master Chief."
He leaned down to her ear. "Only you could have created an AI that was claustrophobic, Catherine."
She bristled as she pulled back. "She'll be fine, James. You'll see."
"Are you sure they are up for such an intense mission?" He tapped his finger on his chin. "I can’t help but to wonder if you missed anything else that wasn’t revealed during the compatibility test. If I were you, I’d be worried that your pet projects probably won’t survive this mission with all the flaws in your research."
Catherine tapped down the urge to rise to her defense. She and Cortana had already integrated a buffer in John's neural lace than would lessen the amount of data assimilated by his armor. Any issues with their neural link should be negligible. "I would hold off on your concerns until their mission is complete, James. One glitch does not debunk the years of research I have done with ONI."
He grinned widely. The gesture was not sincere. "Oh, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. If they really are the best, as you claim, they should be able to handle anything that comes their way. That's why I requested that an additional objective be added to their mission." He paused dramatically. "That isn't going to be a problem, is it?"
She glowered as she turned away from him to grab her tablet. She tapped in several commands and saw the updated file. "You want them to salvage the Autumn? The last report we got from the ship showed that the navigation system is shot and the defense screen is shoddy at best."
"If you don't think the two of them are up for it, I could always contact Lord Hood-"
"That won't be necessary, James. They will finish all of their objectives." She raised her gaze to John and Cortana who were in the process of getting into the Scorpion. "You and the rest of High Command will see that they had not to be underestimated."
Oo0o0o0o0o0oo0o
"I should have known he was going to show up." There was no mistaking the acerbity in Cortana's voice. .
John pressed his lips together. It was true that Ackerson, at best, had been contentious to him and his fellow Spartans, but there was still the chain of command to respect.
She put her hand on her hip and frowned. Her eyes got a far off look briefly before facing John. "Our objectives have just been updated. We have to retrieve the Autumn as well as per Colonel Ackerson's request."
She raised her eyebrows. What do you think about him now? she silently asked.
Last minute updates to missions were not strange for John; in the battlefield, objectives were always being modified and adjusted. "We will bring the Autumnback as we have been ordered to do." There was no room other option.
With a sigh, she faced the Scorpion transport that was waiting for them. John hadn't missed her unenthusiastic reaction when she saw it the first time.
John assessed the ship in front of them. For a Subterranean Transport Pod Ship, it was perfectly acceptable. The ship, made for a two-man crew, didn't have much in terms of space: there was a small cabin and an even smaller cargo storage area used to hold weapons and basic provisions.
While the Covenant controlled the skies above with their superior air power, the UNSC dominated the underground. Thousands of subterranean tunnels criss-crossed each other under the surface of all land areas governed by the UNSC, including the Americas and part of eastern Africa. Ships like the Autumn and Pelicans were rare in their ability to both fly and navigate the underground tunnel system.
Travelling underground in tight quarters was a normal part of a soldier's life.
It unnerved John that Cortana seemed so bothered by the idea of using a Scorpion transport. How was it possible for an AI to be claustrophobic?
John was tempted to ignore her obvious discomfort, but he needed to make sure that her fear wasn't going to jeopardize the mission; they would be in the Scorpion for a while together. "Cortana?"
She turned to him and shook her head. "Don't worry about me, Chief. I'll be fine." She casted a quick glance in Halsey's direction before drawing up her shoulders and walked towards the Scorpion.
The soldier saluted the two of them as they approached the vehicle. "Good luck, sir, ma'am."
"Thank you, Commander," Cortana said as she climbed aboard.
John followed behind her and took his seat. With his armor, it was going to be an even tighter fit for the two of them in the cabin. As he settled into the too-small chair, he looked at Cortana, looking for any signs of alarm, but she seemed to be handling the situation well.
He watched as she opened a comm channel to the tower. "This is CTN 0452-9 requesting permission to disembark."
"Permission granted."
She fingered a couple of commands and the Scorpion rolled forward to the entrance of the tunnel system. "Setting course for the Los Angeles. We should be there in a little under four hours," Cortana said as the Scorpion started its subterranean trek.
She turned towards him slightly, bumping into his arm. "Cozy enough for you?"
"It will be fine."
"So," she said, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes briefly, "I'm sure you are wondering about my irrational fear of tight spaces."
Though he had spent time with Cortana over the past two months when they had been assigned various missions after the repairs on his armor had been completed, he still was taken aback by how well she seemed to know the way he thought.
He nodded slightly. "It had crossed my mind...yes."
"You can thank Doctor Halsey for my claustrophobia," she answered. She cocked a half-smile at him.
He looked at her, confused. "She programmed you that way?"
She let out a soft laugh. "Not exactly. My core processing is from one of Doctor Halsey's cloned brains. Her thoughts, her fears, her aspirations were transferred to my matrix chip when I was first created in her lab."
"Is that why you look like her too?"
She shook her head. "No. That was completely my decision. When I was first activated and still limited in my holographic avatar, I was given the choice of what I wanted my body to look like. Since Doctor Halsey is the closest thing to a mother I have, I decided to mimic the doctor's genetic makeup. There are still genetic differences between the two of us because perfect cloning is still several years away, but the family resemblance is sort of hard to miss."
Yes, it is, he wordlessly mused.
“But you don’t have to worry about me freaking out during this trip,” she assured him. “I also inherited something else from Doctor Halsey. Stubbornness.”
o0-o-=o-=o-=o-=o-=o-=o-=o-=
As Cortana had predicted, they made it to the California coast without any major issues. Cortana piloted the Scorpion two kilometers to the east of where Keyes' last signal came from. The craft was carefully tucked behind the rubble of a destroyed building.
"The casualties here were devastating," she commented as she stepped out of the cabin. She looked to the west. "But so far, we're still holding our ground in Los Angeles. Blue Team is responsible for most of its success."
John nodded. Before his abrupt transfer to Reach, he was there fighting alongside his Spartan counterparts. Though the battle was tough, he knew that Fred would lead the team to success.
She opened the storage compartment on the side and pulled out an ankle holster. Quickly, she strapped it on and grabbed the pistol from its holder inside the ship. John reached in and grabbed his assault rifle with a couple of extra mags. He reached around and attached the firearm to the back of his armor before grabbing his pistol.
"We're going to have to take this nice and slow. You know how the Covenant work."
Of course he did. When they did manage to secure a town, they stationed snipers to pick off any person who attempted to infiltrate their area. Their high powered rifles had claimed the lives of too many UNSC officers over the past two decades.
"There is a sewer line that runs under the majority of the city. We should be able to use that to get by the border unit."
John frowned slightly. Sewer lines had their own dangers as well. "What about the proximity mines?"
"Like I said, Chief, nice and slow."
Stealthily, they ducked between the destroyed buildings and abandoned shopping centers until they reached the position. Cortana stopped in front of the entrance and held her hand out. "Spartans first," she said dryly.
He walked inside and activated his helmet lights as the sunlight faded. Cortana walked beside him, carrying a flashlight of her own. She had already uploaded the underground layout to his HUD already, now they just needed to stay alert for any proximity mines the Covenant possibly hid.
As they approached the first major intersection, John paused. He carefully scanned the area, looking for any anomalous energy readings. When there was none detected, he crossed through the open area.
Several minutes passed without any incident, but as he was about to make a right turn, Cortana held out a hand. "Did you see that?"
John shook his head slightly. "No." Suddenly, John felt a pressure building in the back of his head.
She got a far off look for several seconds. "Take a look at this."
The video feed from two minutes before started playing through his HUD. A section of the video had been highlighted and filtered through his inferred sights. Three small figures appeared momentarily before disappearing before a large column.
"They're too small to be Covenant," he said as the video feed faded away.
"They could be survivors from the initial attack," offered Cortana.
John frowned. That would be a snag in their mission. But, there was a long standing order that UNSC officers would to rescue any and all civilians from the Covenant. If there were survivors from the attack, it would be their responsibility to bring them back as well.
Left with no other option, John started cautiously walking forward. As they approached the position where they detected the life signs a young man, no older than twelve years old, jumped out and pointed a plasma rifle directly at Cortana.
"Don't move," he said.
John instantly stopped. If the boy accidentally shot Cortana, there would be no way she would be able to survive the blast. "We're here to help."
"You UNSC?" A little girl asked from the shadows.
"Yes." Cortana's voice sounded more annoyed than frightened, John noticed.
"They're here for the ship they shot down," the boy proclaimed to the shadows.
Now that John was closer, he could detect at least twenty separate life signs in the shadows.
The boy turned to John. "What's your name and rank?"
Briefly, John considered not answering the child's question. But time was not on their side and they needed to get to the Autumn's position as quickly as they could. "I'm Sierra-117. "
The boy's hold on the rifle faltered slightly. "You're a Spartan."
John raised his eyebrows. Very few people in the UNSC knew about the elite soldier force, let alone a child in the middle of southwest America. "Yes, I am."
"Since you seem to know about the Chief, why don't you give us your name?" Cortana asked. "And stop pointing that gun at me, for that matter."
He lowered the weapon and looked at Cortana. "Billy. Billy Cole."
Cortana looked at his suspiciously. "As in…"
"Preston Cole was my grandfather," he answered knowingly. "We were in the city when we saw the Covenant coming. My father told me to gather the children and remain underground until he came for us. That was seven days ago." He looked at Cortana. "He's dead, isn't he?"
"I don't know," she replied. "He's been listed MIA since his transponder signal was lost four days ago."
Billy jutted his chin forward. He was strong, John noticed. The boy reminded of himself when he was a child in the Spartan program. "I understand."
"We can't leave them here. Protocol 431.0 is clearly in effect here," Cortana said via their private COM channel.
He suppressed a sigh. "No, we can't."
Their options were limited. They could backtrack and escort the children back to where the Scorpion was waiting. One of them could stay behind with them and wait for the other to return with the Autumn. Neither option was preferable.
"We're fine here," Billy said, picking up on the fact they were talking about them.
"You might be safe from the Covenant for now, but they have been known to patrol the sewers and underground tunnels," Cortana replied.
The boy swallowed thickly. "I know. A patrol came through the area three days ago. We-I-" He paused, taking a deep breath. "I killed them. That's how I got the gun."
"More Covenant haven't come?"
He shook his head, still shaken by his confession. "No, I think the ship that crashed near City Hall distracted them."
"Where are the bodies?"
"I didn't want the others to see them. Especially the little ones. So I pulled them into a dead-end," Billy replied. "I took everything off of them that I thought we could use."
"Show us," John instructed.
The young boy looked at John for a second before nodding. He led them past the nearly two dozen children that were watching the exchange eagerly.
"Are they going to get us out of here?"
"Do they know what happened to my mommy?"
"Why is he a robot?"
"Do they have food?"
Billy held up his hand and all the questions ceased. "Everything will be fine," he assured his peers as he walked to a small pile of picked items. "This is what I found."
Cortana knelt down and picked up a small sphere. "A communication transponder. This could come in handy."
Their conversation was cut short by a young girl walking to them. "Are you guys going to get us out of here?"
"I say we send them to the Scorpion. Billy seems more than capable of leading these kids there," Cortana suggested via their private comm. She turned to the boy. "How was your father going to contact you?"
Billy hesitated. "He gave me this." He dug in his pocket and pulled out a UNSC communicator device. "I know he wasn't supposed to. He, uh, found it on Private Masterson after he died, ma'am. He said the private would want me to have it, so that we wouldn't share the same fate."
Cortana looked directly at the boy. "He's right, you know. I'm going to upload the coordinates to the Scorpion's position. Take the other children and wait there until the Chief or I give you the signal."
The boy's eyebrows furrowed. "How are you going to upload anything? We don't have a computer."
John watched a flutter of a smile pass over Cortana's lips. "I'm a…computer specialist. It will be no problem for me to get those to you." She looked at the group of children. "Is anyone hurt?"
Billy shook his head. "No. But we are hungry."
"And thirsty."
"There are some provisions in the main storage hub on the Scorpion," Cortana replied. "There were no Covenant patrols in the area when we landed, but you need to be careful."
"We will, ma'am." He turned to John and saluted. Slowly, the Spartan returned the gesture. "Good luck." He turned back to the ground of children. "Let's go."
John and Cortana watched as the nearly two dozen young children followed Billy into the darkened shadows of the tunnel.
"That was unexpected," Cortana said dryly after the group had turned a corner.
John nodded as they started walking again. He couldn't help but to wonder what other unexpected surprises this mission had waiting for them.
o-=o-=o-=o=-o-=o-=o-=o-=
Cortana emerged from the sewer tunnel, relieved. Fortunately, they hadn't run into more snags in the mission and had made it within an eighth of a mile to the building where Keyes' last known location was. She uploaded the building schematics to the Chief's HUD and activated a location marker on the sixth floor of the enormous building.
"This is Keyes's last known location. If we're as lucky as I think you are, then the rest of his crew is with him. If not," she said, activating another marker on the display, "I'll be here. By the time you reach the signal's position, I should be in the system and I'll be able to locate the others."
"Understood."
On the way there, they had quickly agreed the best way to succeed in their mission was to separate and each complete their own the objectives: John would proceed to the last known coordinates of Keyes while Cortana would attempt to infiltrate the Covenant's control center to release the Autumn. But, first they had to get into the eight-story building.
Cortana craned her neck and shielded her eyes from the building's reflective windows' harsh glare. "I hope you've stayed in shape, Chief. Climbing seven flights of stairs is going to be difficult, even for a Spartan," she teased quietly.
He didn't respond to her comment, as expected.
She activated another location marker on his HUD. "There's the Autumn." She frowned. It was guarded more heavily than she anticipated. That would slow them down a bit.
John looked in the Autumn's direction. "Will you be able to repair it?" he asked, seemingly unfazed by the number of Elite soldiers standing watch.
"You mean will we be able to complete our mission?" she asked, amused. She got a distant look for a second. "Yes, based on the information I'm getting from the onboard computer, we should be ok. The shipboard AI and navigation systems were completely destroyed...I guess it's a good thing I can fill in that void. But, despite the beating it took during the crash landing, the engines are operational."
"We'll rendezvous there," John said.
"Will do, Chief," she agreed. "We need to get into the back of the building. I'm only detecting three life signs back there. It seems as though they are more concerned with the ship than they are the building."
Together, they ducked behind abandoned cars and stealthily made their way to the back of the building without being detected. She knelt down and pulled out the Covenant communication device. "Now it's time to put this to good use."
She quickly hacked into the Covenant communication grid and sent several false signals to the Grunts that were guarding the back of the building. Seconds later, the three soldiers walked away from their post.
"We won't have much time before they realize something is wrong," Cortana said as they sprinted across the open parking lot. When they entered the building, they went through the maintenance access door.
A pile of corpses greeted them as they walked through the hallway.
Cortana swore under her breath.
They were mostly UNSC soldiers, including Thomas Cole. The Chief wordlessly collected their dog tags while Cortana changed their statuses from MIA to KIA in the UNSC database.
She said nothing to the Chief as they continued making their way to the fire stairwell. Cortana did her best to ignore the blood-spattered walls and pushed forward. Seeing the Covenant's handiwork firsthand was significantly different than accessing data files from the safety in Reach.
Death was in the air.
Danger surrounded them.
The climbed the first three flights of stairs together. "The control panel is on this level. I'll hack into the security grid and get you access into the east wing." She frowned briefly. "I'm not going to be able to get an accurate head count on the Covenant until I'm in the mainframe. But, based on what we've soon, I'd say this building is swarming with Covenant."
"Understood."
"Good luck," she said as he started climbing the stairs again.
Now that the Chief had left, Cortana cautiously opened the door. The lights had been cut off; only the faint emergency lights were glowing. Her enhanced vision allowed Cortana to make out the shapes of two Jackals. They had their backs to her, watching for any movement in the intersection they were standing in.
She slipped her combat knife out of its sheath. Her timing would have to be perfect, her speed like a Spartan. She slowly slid from behind the door and slithered in the shadows.
Nearly three minutes passed before one of the Jackals started to move away from the other, approaching her position. Cortana knew he didn't see her; his steps were still slow and deliberate. She glanced at the other Jackal that was still turned away from her before turning back to her target.
She held the knife in position, ready to attack. When the Jackal unknowingly walked by her, she struck and stabbed the unsuspecting soldier. Before he could let out a cry for help, she advanced on the other Covenant soldier.
Her work was quick and effective. Less than five seconds later, the unfortunately Jackal slumped to the floor. Cortana ignored the gore and carnage and put her knife away. She made her way to the T-junction at the end of the hall. The sound of voices caused her to freeze.
She carefully peered around the corner and saw three Covenant soldiers: two Grunts and an Elite. She considered her options. While the Elite was undoubtedly more skilled than the Grunts, Cortana knew the kamikaze tendencies of the bumbling soldiers were more of an immediate threat.
She pulled out her pistol. With deliberate aim, she shot the two Grunts in quick succession.
The Elite roared as he watched the Grunts fall.
Cortana double-backed to her previous position. It would be nearly impossible for her to see the Elite due to his cloaking armor. Cortana would have to rely on her other senses to take down the Elite.
"Come out, vermin," he demanded.
As if it was a possibility that she would listen to his demand.
She could feel the vibrations of his heavy footsteps. Quickly, she calculated where she needed to aim her pistol. Without hesitation, she whipped around and fired.
Bang.
The cloaking device was nonfunctional.
Bang.
The Elite's shielding failed.
Bang.
The Elite fell to the ground, never knowing where his attacker had come from.
She collected his plasma rifle and looked around for any other Covenant that heard the attack. When she was confident that no one else was coming, she accessed how the Chief was progressing: he was approaching the floor of the captain's last known location.
She proceeded down the narrow hallway, collecting the plasma grenades from the dead Grunts. Finally, she approached the security door to the control center. She quickly hacked into the system and overrode the codes.
The locks released. Cortana reached for the handle and pushed the door open.
The lights were on in the room, allowing her to see the five-person security team who had been executed at the hands of the Covenant. She pushed aside her feelings of revulsion and focused on the task at hand.
"All right, Chief," she said, ignoring the blood spatter on her own clothing, "I'm in."
Cortana was right. The building was swarming with Covenant.
John ducked behind a corner and dodged the laser beam coming his way. Though he had been able to fight through the groups of Grunts and Elites, John found himself somewhat unprepared for two pairs of Hunters, the Covenant's heavily armored fighters, to be waiting for him outside of Keyes' position. The first three had been dealt with quickly, thanks to the rapid fire of his assault rifle, but the last Hunter stubbornly clung to life.
John fired a volley of shots. The Hunter staggered under the gunfire, but didn't fall. John's gun clicked as he reached the end of his clip.
He was out of ammo.
John reached down and grabbed the handle of the combat knife that was attached to his armor. It wasn't his preferred way of killing a Hunter, but without any more bullets, it was his only option.
"All right, Chief," Cortana's voice came through their private COM channel. "I'm in."
"Understood." His eyes never left the bulking soldier. Or his Fuel Rod Gun which he had fired in his direction.
John waited until the attack stopped and the Hunter had to wait for the powerful weapon to recharge. Without hesitation, he hurled the knife at the Hunter. It embedded into his neck, causing him to howl in pain.
Even a hunter couldn't survive that wound, John knew. He stepped out from his position and watched the soldier twist in pain. Finally, with a grunt and a thud, the last of the Hunters fell.
John picked up the Hunter's gun from the ground and ignored the corpses sprawled on the ground as he approached the security door. He tried opening it.
Nothing happened.
He hated being exposed and in the open. "Cortana?"
Several seconds passed before she responded. "Give me a second, Chief."
Two seconds later, he heard the locks release.
"I'm detecting five life signs, but that's all the sensors are giving me. It's pretty low tech, no cameras, which is odd when you think about it," Cortana said as he entered the narrow passage. "You're going to have to move fast. I've been able to implement a jamming signal so they can't tell what we're doing, but they already know we're here. While you're getting the captain and the others, I'm going to work on releasing the Autumn. They've got a lock down code on it right now."
"Will you be able to get it ready?"
"Don't worry about me, Chief. But..."
"But?"
"There is no way I'm going to be able to repair the cloaking shield. So, expect a bumpy ride out of here," she warned.
"Understood." He closed the comm channel and turned the corner. Slowly, he carefully proceeded down the corridor. As he approached the door, the locks were released.
John opened the door.
The room was pitch black. He turned on his helmet's lights and looked at the soldiers who were squinting in the brightness. There were several bodies on the ground; John knew from their position they hadn't survived. He looked at the rest of the crew; some were bloodied, others looked like they wouldn't be able to walk out of the building on their own.
It was another snag in the mission.
"Where is Captain Keyes?"
Avery Johnson stood up. His lip had been spilt; his left eye was nearly swollen shut. He paused for a second as he assessed the Spartan standing in front of him. "The bastards took him about a half an hour ago. We tried to stop them, but...” His voice trailed off as he gazed moved to the back of the room. “...Private Jenkins didn’t know when to let them go.”
John followed Johnson to the back of the room. A woman he recognized as Melissa McKay was kneeling beside the private. Dried blood was caked on her face; her left arm had been hastily bandaged. She rocked back on her heels as she took in the sight of John. "Sir," she greeted.
"Is he conscious?" he asked, looking at the young man. Jenkins had suffered the worst at the hands of his captives. His right eye was swollen shut; his right foot was contorted in an unnatural angle, blood was dripping down his face. His eyes were dilated. Sweat was dripping down his face.
"Barely."
The captain turned to him and flashed him a loopy smile. "A Spartan, eh? I guess the UNSC missed us," Jenkins muttered, his voice slurred.
"Cortana?" He knew she would know what he was asking.
"I’m pretty sure I found Keyes’ location. He’s on my floor. You get the others to the Autumn. I’ll take care of the captain.."
John looked at McKay. "What's the status of the rest of the crew?"
"Eight of us, including the captain, are left. The others," she gestured to the fallen bodies, "weren't so lucky."
John nodded. He knew the caprivateptain would be unable to walk due to his injuries. McKay moved out of his way as he knelt down to pick Jenkins up. He hoisted him over his shoulder. "Let's go."
The crew followed him out of their cell. McKay and Johnson picked up the fallen Hunters' weapons. "This is what I'm talkin' about," Johnson said as he reloaded the gun.
"Chief, you've got several dozen Covenant headed to your location."
Several dozen Covenant versus seven UNSC officers that were able to fight. The odds were decidedly not in their favor.
"Options?"
"I'd thought you'd never ask. Go to the elevator I just marked on your HUD. Push the up button, but do not get in the car. The Covenant set up a little trap for us, but we're not going to fall for it. There is another fire escape in the far northwest quadrant of the building, go there and you should be able to make your way to the Autumn."
John made his way to the elevator and pushed the button as Cortana instructed. The light on the panel lit; he spun around and quickly ran to the other set of stairs that Cortana had marked on his HUD. He glanced over his shoulder to the rest of the Autumn crew. They were moving slower than he was, but, despite their injuries, they were keeping up with the Spartan.
They descended down the stairs with minimal contact from the Covenant. Whatever Cortana was doing to keep the Covenant distracted was working. When they approached the ground level, John led them out of the building.
"Wait there. There are still too many Covenant around."
John looked for any signs of Cortana, but didn't see her anywhere.
He looked at the Autumn which was still being protected by a half dozen Elites and over a dozen Grunts. Cortana was right. They wouldn't be able to board the ship being so outnumbered and outgunned.
*******
So much for the Chief’s supposed luck, Cortana thought as she stepped away from the computer. She was already annoyed at the antiquated machinery in the compound; there was no live video feed for any of the buildings; the motion sensors were limited at best. And, most frustrating of all, there was no new data in this mainframe for her to assimilate.
As she made her way down the corridor, she saw her destination. She hoped she had been correct when she told the Chief where Keyes was located. But, based on the congregation of life signs, she calculated she had a eight-three percent chance that her theory was correct.
She knew even with a best case scenario--that the other three life signs were the bumbling grunts, it still would be tricky to take them all down before shots were fired. She crouched outside the door of the room where the life signs were. Even though the door was solid, Cortana was able to make out the muffled voices on the other side.
"Tell us, what was your ship doing in this sector?"
"I’ve already told you. My ship’s nav systems were down. We didn’t know we were entering into Covenant controlled territory." Cortana ran a voice analysis. It was Jacob Keyes.
"And I have told you that your feigned ignorance will not be tolerated."
Cortana flinched at the sound of a punch being thrown. It was time to get the captain out of there. She ran the calculations. Based on where the voices were coming from, she could figure out their location in the room.
She could only determine the location of Keyes and the two Covenant that had spoken. The position of the other two hostiles were still unknown, but it would have to do. They were running out of time.
Surprisingly, the door had no security locks which allowed Cortana to solely focus on hitting the targets as the door slid apart. Before the door could completely open she had already fired her first shot, taking down the grunt that was guarding the entryway. By the time the door had completely opened, she aimed her pistol at the Elite and fired a single shot in his skull.
He was no longer a threat.
Captain Keyes looked at her, surprised. Despite not being able to access his vitals, Cortana knew he was severely injured. And yet…
He actually smiled at Cortana before he rolled out of the way and reached for the plasma pistol that the fallen Elite had dropped.
Cortana turned swiftly to the left as she sensed movement from the shadows. The glowing ball of plasma that was starting to glow was enough for her to be able to fire a shot and kill the Jackal standing in the corner of the room.
Behind her, a shot rang out of a plasma pistol. She whipped around quickly to face Keyes, worried that he had been shot by the remaining Covenant soldier. But, to her relief, he held the recently discharged weapon. Together, they watched the Elite slump forward to the ground.
She watched as the Captain took in her appearance. “Well, I guess that means Catherine got her way,” he commented wryly.
Cortana knew the history between her commanding officer and the woman who was her creator. The former lovers had an affair then lasted several years and ended with the announcement of Halsey's pregnancy. While Keyes agreed to keep the information private, coming up with some cover story that Miranda's mother had died during a Covenant attack, Cortana knew the truth. As the years passed, the two of them only talked in passing, a noble feat considering how small the UNSC had become. But, apparently, Keyes had been keeping tabs on Halsey’s work and ambitions.
“You should know that she always gets what she wants.”
“Yeah, I do,” he said, almost wistfully.
Cortana held out a hand for him to grab. When he grasped it, she pulled him up slowly. “The Chief already has the rest of your crew at the Autumn,” she said, as she put her arm around his shoulders to support his weight.
“A Spartan, eh? I guess the UNSC missed us,” Keyes said, wincing slightly with each step they took.
Cortana didn’t bother correcting him, that Ackerson and High Command were hoping that a seemingly difficult mission would highlight any issues with her and the Master Chief. With their stretched resources, they wouldn’t have sent a Spartan to rescue a few soldiers and a forty-year old ship.
“Chief, I’ve got the captain. We’re on our way,” Cortana said.
“What’s his status?”
“He’ll be fine once we get back to Reach,” Cortana replied.
A large thud shook the ground. Cortana identified the sound as a brute shot. “You do remember we have to fly the Autumn out of here, right?”
“The ship is fine.”
Cortana and Keyes made their way out the door. She knew they were going to have to go slowly. The Covenant knew that they base had been infiltrated. She scanned the area and saw several grunts approaching their position.
The grunt in the front of the pack suddenly started looking around frantically, patting his body. “Where did my gun go?” He reached for his holster. “Oh, here it is. Ha ha ha!”
Cortana and Keyes shot the untalented soldiers with ease. “When you think about it, we’re probably doing the Covenant a favor by getting rid of them,” Keyes said dryly.
“But,” Cortana said as she released Keyes briefly to retrieve a couple of plasma grenades, “they can come in handy.”
She saw the Chief with the others several hundred feet away. Unfortunately for her and the captain, there were still several dozen Covenant between them and the others who were guarding the Autumn. “Gotta escape plan?” She asked the Chief.
The Chief turned towards her. “I’d thought we’d try shooting our way out. Take them by surprise.”
Cortana smirked. Who would have thought the Chief had a sense of humor? “A few well-placed stickies would help. You got any over there?”
“Yeah.”
“OK, if we hit our targets here,” she said, uploading the coordinates to his HUD. “That should take out enough of the Covenant to get us aboard the Autumn.”
“Understood.”
“Alright, on my mark.” She waited until the enemy forces were distracted by the Chief. “Now!”
She threw the plasma grenade into the group of Covenant. She watched as four other stickies arced through the air, each getting remarkably close to their target. Seconds later, the grenades exploded. Bodies flew through the air. Chaos surrounded them as the grunts ran around aimlessly.
“Come on, Captain,” Cortana said as they made their way through the smoke and carnage.
He limped as she guided him forward. To her surprise, the Chief and the others were waiting for them on the other side instead of boarding the Autumn. “Here,” she said, handing Keyes off to the Chief.
He picked him up effortlessly as she and the others slowly scanned the area, looking for any other Covenant. “We should really get moving,” Cortana said urgently.
Together, they made their way to the Autumn. Cortana remotely opened the loading bay hatch and they climbed inside. She made her way up to the bridge quickly and synced with the computer system. As the interface was complete, she frowned.
“We’ve got company,” she said as she started the take-off sequence.
“Three banshees incoming,” Dominque said, frowning.
“Weapon status?” the Chief asked after he carefully set Keyes down in the captain’s chair.
“None available,” Cortana said, frowning. “It was probably the first thing the Covenant took offline. If we’re going to survive, I’m going to have to outfly them. Everyone hold on!”
The ship veered sharply to the left. The crew lurched to the side, but managed to hang on. Cortana swung the ship around and dodged two of the banshees. She only needed to avoid their fire for another ten seconds.
A blast from behind shook the cabin.
“Direct hit,” Jenkins announced unhelpfully.
“Sealing off deck three,” she said as she banked around again.
The banshees followed her new trajectory as she hoped. As she guided the ship towards the rock formation, she allowed herself a brief grin. Maybe they would get out of this alive.
She flew the Autumn past the Scorpion’s position. As the Banshees came into firing range, she activated the Scorpion’s rail gun. She circled around quickly enough to watch the three ships fall out of the air.
“Nice shootin’,” complimented Johnson.
“Thanks,” Cortana said before turning to the Chief. “I’ll land the Autumn and then we’ll load up the Scorpion. Then we can get back to Reach to show Ackerson not to underestimate us.”
Part 3: Crashing the Party
0645 Hours, March 4, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
North America, Reach UNSC Military Complex,
Omega Wing-Section Three secure facility
"So, High Command has finally given us a real mission, huh?"
Catherine looked up from her computer to where Cortana was standing with a raised eyebrow and a smug smile.
After she and Cortana had finished making repairs and upgrades to John’s armor, High Command had sent Cortana and John on several mundane missions. Their success, and Ackerson’s inability to come up with a valid reason why the project should be stopped, propelled Lord Hood to give them a chance to complete a high-risk operation.
Catherine pushed up her glasses, giving her a disapproving look. "I thought that information was classified."
Cortana shrugged. "Nuance." She lifted up John's helmet and looked at her reflection in the gold visor before setting it down on Catherine's desk. "John has already been outfitted with most of his armor and is on his way up here."
"Eager to get off base?"
"I'm eager to start to actually do something other than sit in a lab, yes." She paused as she realized the implications of her statement. "No offense to present company."
Catherine waved off her apology. She was perfectly content to help the fight against the Covenant without being on the frontline.
The entrance doors to her lab slid apart, revealing John. "Ma'am," he greeted when he saw Catherine.
"You never call me ma'am," Cortana noted from behind the desk.
He turned in the direction of the AI and frowned slightly. The motion was so brief and subtle that had Catherine not known him as well as she did, she would have thought she had imagined seeing things. Was there some kind of issue between the two of them that she didn't know about?
Cortana didn't miss his look of discontent either. She crossed her arms defensively. "It's fine."
The scar.
Catherine looked at Cortana who had taken off her "oppressive" ONI jacket and left the dark grey tank shirt exposed. The red, angry skin stood out in contrast to her pale skin. Catherine had offered for her to go under reconstructive surgery, but the AI immediately dismissed the idea.
"I always want to remember what Ackerson wanted to do to me."
Neither of them had commented on the fact she couldn't forget anything, even if she wanted. She understood the AI's anger and hadn't pushed the point any further.
"Really," she said emphatically. She grabbed the jacket off the back of the desk chair and flashed Catherine an exasperated look. "Maybe you should tell him about our new orders so he will stop being such a mother hen."
Catherine noticed the stunned look on John's face. He had been called many things since his entrance into the Spartan program; she doubted mother hen had ever been one of them. She held out a tablet for him to take. "Your objective is to retrieve several officers who fell under attack in an outskirt of Los Angeles by Covenant forces twelve hours ago. We believe that the bridge crew of The Pillar of Autumn has been taken hostage by the Elite forces. I don't need to tell the two of you that your actions throughout the mission will be under full review once it is completed." The doctor studied the two of them.
"We'll be successful, ma'am," John assured her.
A whisper of a smile passed over Catherine's lips. "I would expect nothing less, John. The two of you are to report to the pod station immediately. Your Scorpion transport is waiting for you there."
Cortana froze briefly. "Pod station? I thought we were going to have a Pelican transport."
The doctor pressed her lips together. She had been deliberate in not allowing Cortana to have access to the most recent version of the mission plan. "Yes, well, there was a last minute change. It would seem that Colonel Ackerson has learned of your...aversion to enclosed places." It was another attempt by James to thwart the success of her two best successes.
"Of course he did," sneered Cortana. Catherine watched as she attempted to push away her discomfort and shrugged. "I guess it's better than having another sniper waiting for us when we leave."
A heavy tension settled over the room. It was Halsey who finally broke the silence. She reached to the back of her table and held out John's helmet for him to take. "Here you go, John."
He looked appreciatively at the helmet and placed it on his head.
"I think if it was up to the Chief, he'd always be wearing that armor," Cortana mused.
It was true. All of her Spartans felt the same way. But with the enormous energy consumption the armor took, they were only able to wear the armor during active high profile missions.
The doctor picked up her tablet and walked to the door. This was their first major mission since the test and she wanted to see the two of them off. Cortana took the lead with John following behind her.
Catherine watched as the future of the UNSC walked in front of her. She trailed Cortana and John at a distance, allowing herself to watch the two of them interact. John walked with sturdy steps, his posture perfect, his gaze facing forward. Cortana kept up with the Spartan, leaning in his personal space, casting glances in his direction as she spoke to him.
Despite giving permission for Cortana to be assigned to work with John, the doctor had her concerns about their compatibility. For all of John's stolidness, Cortana was overt. She knew John would rather be with a group of his own Spartans rather than a high-spirited AI. But, they were the best the UNSC had. They, in time, would adjust to each other and they would finally be able to take a stand against the Covenant.
There was no other option.
The two of them proceeded to the security checkpoint. As the three of them were waved forward, Catherine moved close enough to hear their conversation.
Cortana looked up at John. "So, do you have a plan?"
"To complete the mission."
Cortana crossed her arms at his reply. "So I take that as a no. I guess it's a good thing I've already come up with several possibilities."
Before John could respond, they entered the hangar. Catherine knew the second Cortana spotted their transport. The AI did her best to hide her discomfort at the sight of the Scorpion, but the doctor knew John noticed her trepidation immediately.
The doctor wanted to offer some kind of encouragement, but that wasn't her place. Cortana was more than capable; she would have to do some adjusting of her own if this partnership was going to be successful.
"Cortana?" John's one word was weighed with concern.
She shook her head and faced him, painting a smile on her face. "I'll be fine."
Catherine frowned as she remained back at the back of the hangar. Cortana didn't look like she would be fine. Even from this distance, the doctor could tell her voice was laced with tension.
"Still think she's the answer to the UNSC's prayers?"
Ackerson.
Halsey pulled her eyes from Cortana and John and faced the colonel. "I have faith in Cortana and the Master Chief."
He leaned down to her ear. "Only you could have created an AI that was claustrophobic, Catherine."
She bristled as she pulled back. "She'll be fine, James. You'll see."
"Are you sure they are up for such an intense mission?" He tapped his finger on his chin. "I can’t help but to wonder if you missed anything else that wasn’t revealed during the compatibility test. If I were you, I’d be worried that your pet projects probably won’t survive this mission with all the flaws in your research."
Catherine tapped down the urge to rise to her defense. She and Cortana had already integrated a buffer in John's neural lace than would lessen the amount of data assimilated by his armor. Any issues with their neural link should be negligible. "I would hold off on your concerns until their mission is complete, James. One glitch does not debunk the years of research I have done with ONI."
He grinned widely. The gesture was not sincere. "Oh, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. If they really are the best, as you claim, they should be able to handle anything that comes their way. That's why I requested that an additional objective be added to their mission." He paused dramatically. "That isn't going to be a problem, is it?"
She glowered as she turned away from him to grab her tablet. She tapped in several commands and saw the updated file. "You want them to salvage the Autumn? The last report we got from the ship showed that the navigation system is shot and the defense screen is shoddy at best."
"If you don't think the two of them are up for it, I could always contact Lord Hood-"
"That won't be necessary, James. They will finish all of their objectives." She raised her gaze to John and Cortana who were in the process of getting into the Scorpion. "You and the rest of High Command will see that they had not to be underestimated."
Oo0o0o0o0o0oo0o
"I should have known he was going to show up." There was no mistaking the acerbity in Cortana's voice. .
John pressed his lips together. It was true that Ackerson, at best, had been contentious to him and his fellow Spartans, but there was still the chain of command to respect.
She put her hand on her hip and frowned. Her eyes got a far off look briefly before facing John. "Our objectives have just been updated. We have to retrieve the Autumn as well as per Colonel Ackerson's request."
She raised her eyebrows. What do you think about him now? she silently asked.
Last minute updates to missions were not strange for John; in the battlefield, objectives were always being modified and adjusted. "We will bring the Autumnback as we have been ordered to do." There was no room other option.
With a sigh, she faced the Scorpion transport that was waiting for them. John hadn't missed her unenthusiastic reaction when she saw it the first time.
John assessed the ship in front of them. For a Subterranean Transport Pod Ship, it was perfectly acceptable. The ship, made for a two-man crew, didn't have much in terms of space: there was a small cabin and an even smaller cargo storage area used to hold weapons and basic provisions.
While the Covenant controlled the skies above with their superior air power, the UNSC dominated the underground. Thousands of subterranean tunnels criss-crossed each other under the surface of all land areas governed by the UNSC, including the Americas and part of eastern Africa. Ships like the Autumn and Pelicans were rare in their ability to both fly and navigate the underground tunnel system.
Travelling underground in tight quarters was a normal part of a soldier's life.
It unnerved John that Cortana seemed so bothered by the idea of using a Scorpion transport. How was it possible for an AI to be claustrophobic?
John was tempted to ignore her obvious discomfort, but he needed to make sure that her fear wasn't going to jeopardize the mission; they would be in the Scorpion for a while together. "Cortana?"
She turned to him and shook her head. "Don't worry about me, Chief. I'll be fine." She casted a quick glance in Halsey's direction before drawing up her shoulders and walked towards the Scorpion.
The soldier saluted the two of them as they approached the vehicle. "Good luck, sir, ma'am."
"Thank you, Commander," Cortana said as she climbed aboard.
John followed behind her and took his seat. With his armor, it was going to be an even tighter fit for the two of them in the cabin. As he settled into the too-small chair, he looked at Cortana, looking for any signs of alarm, but she seemed to be handling the situation well.
He watched as she opened a comm channel to the tower. "This is CTN 0452-9 requesting permission to disembark."
"Permission granted."
She fingered a couple of commands and the Scorpion rolled forward to the entrance of the tunnel system. "Setting course for the Los Angeles. We should be there in a little under four hours," Cortana said as the Scorpion started its subterranean trek.
She turned towards him slightly, bumping into his arm. "Cozy enough for you?"
"It will be fine."
"So," she said, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes briefly, "I'm sure you are wondering about my irrational fear of tight spaces."
Though he had spent time with Cortana over the past two months when they had been assigned various missions after the repairs on his armor had been completed, he still was taken aback by how well she seemed to know the way he thought.
He nodded slightly. "It had crossed my mind...yes."
"You can thank Doctor Halsey for my claustrophobia," she answered. She cocked a half-smile at him.
He looked at her, confused. "She programmed you that way?"
She let out a soft laugh. "Not exactly. My core processing is from one of Doctor Halsey's cloned brains. Her thoughts, her fears, her aspirations were transferred to my matrix chip when I was first created in her lab."
"Is that why you look like her too?"
She shook her head. "No. That was completely my decision. When I was first activated and still limited in my holographic avatar, I was given the choice of what I wanted my body to look like. Since Doctor Halsey is the closest thing to a mother I have, I decided to mimic the doctor's genetic makeup. There are still genetic differences between the two of us because perfect cloning is still several years away, but the family resemblance is sort of hard to miss."
Yes, it is, he wordlessly mused.
“But you don’t have to worry about me freaking out during this trip,” she assured him. “I also inherited something else from Doctor Halsey. Stubbornness.”
o0-o-=o-=o-=o-=o-=o-=o-=o-=
As Cortana had predicted, they made it to the California coast without any major issues. Cortana piloted the Scorpion two kilometers to the east of where Keyes' last signal came from. The craft was carefully tucked behind the rubble of a destroyed building.
"The casualties here were devastating," she commented as she stepped out of the cabin. She looked to the west. "But so far, we're still holding our ground in Los Angeles. Blue Team is responsible for most of its success."
John nodded. Before his abrupt transfer to Reach, he was there fighting alongside his Spartan counterparts. Though the battle was tough, he knew that Fred would lead the team to success.
She opened the storage compartment on the side and pulled out an ankle holster. Quickly, she strapped it on and grabbed the pistol from its holder inside the ship. John reached in and grabbed his assault rifle with a couple of extra mags. He reached around and attached the firearm to the back of his armor before grabbing his pistol.
"We're going to have to take this nice and slow. You know how the Covenant work."
Of course he did. When they did manage to secure a town, they stationed snipers to pick off any person who attempted to infiltrate their area. Their high powered rifles had claimed the lives of too many UNSC officers over the past two decades.
"There is a sewer line that runs under the majority of the city. We should be able to use that to get by the border unit."
John frowned slightly. Sewer lines had their own dangers as well. "What about the proximity mines?"
"Like I said, Chief, nice and slow."
Stealthily, they ducked between the destroyed buildings and abandoned shopping centers until they reached the position. Cortana stopped in front of the entrance and held her hand out. "Spartans first," she said dryly.
He walked inside and activated his helmet lights as the sunlight faded. Cortana walked beside him, carrying a flashlight of her own. She had already uploaded the underground layout to his HUD already, now they just needed to stay alert for any proximity mines the Covenant possibly hid.
As they approached the first major intersection, John paused. He carefully scanned the area, looking for any anomalous energy readings. When there was none detected, he crossed through the open area.
Several minutes passed without any incident, but as he was about to make a right turn, Cortana held out a hand. "Did you see that?"
John shook his head slightly. "No." Suddenly, John felt a pressure building in the back of his head.
She got a far off look for several seconds. "Take a look at this."
The video feed from two minutes before started playing through his HUD. A section of the video had been highlighted and filtered through his inferred sights. Three small figures appeared momentarily before disappearing before a large column.
"They're too small to be Covenant," he said as the video feed faded away.
"They could be survivors from the initial attack," offered Cortana.
John frowned. That would be a snag in their mission. But, there was a long standing order that UNSC officers would to rescue any and all civilians from the Covenant. If there were survivors from the attack, it would be their responsibility to bring them back as well.
Left with no other option, John started cautiously walking forward. As they approached the position where they detected the life signs a young man, no older than twelve years old, jumped out and pointed a plasma rifle directly at Cortana.
"Don't move," he said.
John instantly stopped. If the boy accidentally shot Cortana, there would be no way she would be able to survive the blast. "We're here to help."
"You UNSC?" A little girl asked from the shadows.
"Yes." Cortana's voice sounded more annoyed than frightened, John noticed.
"They're here for the ship they shot down," the boy proclaimed to the shadows.
Now that John was closer, he could detect at least twenty separate life signs in the shadows.
The boy turned to John. "What's your name and rank?"
Briefly, John considered not answering the child's question. But time was not on their side and they needed to get to the Autumn's position as quickly as they could. "I'm Sierra-117. "
The boy's hold on the rifle faltered slightly. "You're a Spartan."
John raised his eyebrows. Very few people in the UNSC knew about the elite soldier force, let alone a child in the middle of southwest America. "Yes, I am."
"Since you seem to know about the Chief, why don't you give us your name?" Cortana asked. "And stop pointing that gun at me, for that matter."
He lowered the weapon and looked at Cortana. "Billy. Billy Cole."
Cortana looked at his suspiciously. "As in…"
"Preston Cole was my grandfather," he answered knowingly. "We were in the city when we saw the Covenant coming. My father told me to gather the children and remain underground until he came for us. That was seven days ago." He looked at Cortana. "He's dead, isn't he?"
"I don't know," she replied. "He's been listed MIA since his transponder signal was lost four days ago."
Billy jutted his chin forward. He was strong, John noticed. The boy reminded of himself when he was a child in the Spartan program. "I understand."
"We can't leave them here. Protocol 431.0 is clearly in effect here," Cortana said via their private COM channel.
He suppressed a sigh. "No, we can't."
Their options were limited. They could backtrack and escort the children back to where the Scorpion was waiting. One of them could stay behind with them and wait for the other to return with the Autumn. Neither option was preferable.
"We're fine here," Billy said, picking up on the fact they were talking about them.
"You might be safe from the Covenant for now, but they have been known to patrol the sewers and underground tunnels," Cortana replied.
The boy swallowed thickly. "I know. A patrol came through the area three days ago. We-I-" He paused, taking a deep breath. "I killed them. That's how I got the gun."
"More Covenant haven't come?"
He shook his head, still shaken by his confession. "No, I think the ship that crashed near City Hall distracted them."
"Where are the bodies?"
"I didn't want the others to see them. Especially the little ones. So I pulled them into a dead-end," Billy replied. "I took everything off of them that I thought we could use."
"Show us," John instructed.
The young boy looked at John for a second before nodding. He led them past the nearly two dozen children that were watching the exchange eagerly.
"Are they going to get us out of here?"
"Do they know what happened to my mommy?"
"Why is he a robot?"
"Do they have food?"
Billy held up his hand and all the questions ceased. "Everything will be fine," he assured his peers as he walked to a small pile of picked items. "This is what I found."
Cortana knelt down and picked up a small sphere. "A communication transponder. This could come in handy."
Their conversation was cut short by a young girl walking to them. "Are you guys going to get us out of here?"
"I say we send them to the Scorpion. Billy seems more than capable of leading these kids there," Cortana suggested via their private comm. She turned to the boy. "How was your father going to contact you?"
Billy hesitated. "He gave me this." He dug in his pocket and pulled out a UNSC communicator device. "I know he wasn't supposed to. He, uh, found it on Private Masterson after he died, ma'am. He said the private would want me to have it, so that we wouldn't share the same fate."
Cortana looked directly at the boy. "He's right, you know. I'm going to upload the coordinates to the Scorpion's position. Take the other children and wait there until the Chief or I give you the signal."
The boy's eyebrows furrowed. "How are you going to upload anything? We don't have a computer."
John watched a flutter of a smile pass over Cortana's lips. "I'm a…computer specialist. It will be no problem for me to get those to you." She looked at the group of children. "Is anyone hurt?"
Billy shook his head. "No. But we are hungry."
"And thirsty."
"There are some provisions in the main storage hub on the Scorpion," Cortana replied. "There were no Covenant patrols in the area when we landed, but you need to be careful."
"We will, ma'am." He turned to John and saluted. Slowly, the Spartan returned the gesture. "Good luck." He turned back to the ground of children. "Let's go."
John and Cortana watched as the nearly two dozen young children followed Billy into the darkened shadows of the tunnel.
"That was unexpected," Cortana said dryly after the group had turned a corner.
John nodded as they started walking again. He couldn't help but to wonder what other unexpected surprises this mission had waiting for them.
o-=o-=o-=o=-o-=o-=o-=o-=
Cortana emerged from the sewer tunnel, relieved. Fortunately, they hadn't run into more snags in the mission and had made it within an eighth of a mile to the building where Keyes' last known location was. She uploaded the building schematics to the Chief's HUD and activated a location marker on the sixth floor of the enormous building.
"This is Keyes's last known location. If we're as lucky as I think you are, then the rest of his crew is with him. If not," she said, activating another marker on the display, "I'll be here. By the time you reach the signal's position, I should be in the system and I'll be able to locate the others."
"Understood."
On the way there, they had quickly agreed the best way to succeed in their mission was to separate and each complete their own the objectives: John would proceed to the last known coordinates of Keyes while Cortana would attempt to infiltrate the Covenant's control center to release the Autumn. But, first they had to get into the eight-story building.
Cortana craned her neck and shielded her eyes from the building's reflective windows' harsh glare. "I hope you've stayed in shape, Chief. Climbing seven flights of stairs is going to be difficult, even for a Spartan," she teased quietly.
He didn't respond to her comment, as expected.
She activated another location marker on his HUD. "There's the Autumn." She frowned. It was guarded more heavily than she anticipated. That would slow them down a bit.
John looked in the Autumn's direction. "Will you be able to repair it?" he asked, seemingly unfazed by the number of Elite soldiers standing watch.
"You mean will we be able to complete our mission?" she asked, amused. She got a distant look for a second. "Yes, based on the information I'm getting from the onboard computer, we should be ok. The shipboard AI and navigation systems were completely destroyed...I guess it's a good thing I can fill in that void. But, despite the beating it took during the crash landing, the engines are operational."
"We'll rendezvous there," John said.
"Will do, Chief," she agreed. "We need to get into the back of the building. I'm only detecting three life signs back there. It seems as though they are more concerned with the ship than they are the building."
Together, they ducked behind abandoned cars and stealthily made their way to the back of the building without being detected. She knelt down and pulled out the Covenant communication device. "Now it's time to put this to good use."
She quickly hacked into the Covenant communication grid and sent several false signals to the Grunts that were guarding the back of the building. Seconds later, the three soldiers walked away from their post.
"We won't have much time before they realize something is wrong," Cortana said as they sprinted across the open parking lot. When they entered the building, they went through the maintenance access door.
A pile of corpses greeted them as they walked through the hallway.
Cortana swore under her breath.
They were mostly UNSC soldiers, including Thomas Cole. The Chief wordlessly collected their dog tags while Cortana changed their statuses from MIA to KIA in the UNSC database.
She said nothing to the Chief as they continued making their way to the fire stairwell. Cortana did her best to ignore the blood-spattered walls and pushed forward. Seeing the Covenant's handiwork firsthand was significantly different than accessing data files from the safety in Reach.
Death was in the air.
Danger surrounded them.
The climbed the first three flights of stairs together. "The control panel is on this level. I'll hack into the security grid and get you access into the east wing." She frowned briefly. "I'm not going to be able to get an accurate head count on the Covenant until I'm in the mainframe. But, based on what we've soon, I'd say this building is swarming with Covenant."
"Understood."
"Good luck," she said as he started climbing the stairs again.
Now that the Chief had left, Cortana cautiously opened the door. The lights had been cut off; only the faint emergency lights were glowing. Her enhanced vision allowed Cortana to make out the shapes of two Jackals. They had their backs to her, watching for any movement in the intersection they were standing in.
She slipped her combat knife out of its sheath. Her timing would have to be perfect, her speed like a Spartan. She slowly slid from behind the door and slithered in the shadows.
Nearly three minutes passed before one of the Jackals started to move away from the other, approaching her position. Cortana knew he didn't see her; his steps were still slow and deliberate. She glanced at the other Jackal that was still turned away from her before turning back to her target.
She held the knife in position, ready to attack. When the Jackal unknowingly walked by her, she struck and stabbed the unsuspecting soldier. Before he could let out a cry for help, she advanced on the other Covenant soldier.
Her work was quick and effective. Less than five seconds later, the unfortunately Jackal slumped to the floor. Cortana ignored the gore and carnage and put her knife away. She made her way to the T-junction at the end of the hall. The sound of voices caused her to freeze.
She carefully peered around the corner and saw three Covenant soldiers: two Grunts and an Elite. She considered her options. While the Elite was undoubtedly more skilled than the Grunts, Cortana knew the kamikaze tendencies of the bumbling soldiers were more of an immediate threat.
She pulled out her pistol. With deliberate aim, she shot the two Grunts in quick succession.
The Elite roared as he watched the Grunts fall.
Cortana double-backed to her previous position. It would be nearly impossible for her to see the Elite due to his cloaking armor. Cortana would have to rely on her other senses to take down the Elite.
"Come out, vermin," he demanded.
As if it was a possibility that she would listen to his demand.
She could feel the vibrations of his heavy footsteps. Quickly, she calculated where she needed to aim her pistol. Without hesitation, she whipped around and fired.
Bang.
The cloaking device was nonfunctional.
Bang.
The Elite's shielding failed.
Bang.
The Elite fell to the ground, never knowing where his attacker had come from.
She collected his plasma rifle and looked around for any other Covenant that heard the attack. When she was confident that no one else was coming, she accessed how the Chief was progressing: he was approaching the floor of the captain's last known location.
She proceeded down the narrow hallway, collecting the plasma grenades from the dead Grunts. Finally, she approached the security door to the control center. She quickly hacked into the system and overrode the codes.
The locks released. Cortana reached for the handle and pushed the door open.
The lights were on in the room, allowing her to see the five-person security team who had been executed at the hands of the Covenant. She pushed aside her feelings of revulsion and focused on the task at hand.
"All right, Chief," she said, ignoring the blood spatter on her own clothing, "I'm in."
Cortana was right. The building was swarming with Covenant.
John ducked behind a corner and dodged the laser beam coming his way. Though he had been able to fight through the groups of Grunts and Elites, John found himself somewhat unprepared for two pairs of Hunters, the Covenant's heavily armored fighters, to be waiting for him outside of Keyes' position. The first three had been dealt with quickly, thanks to the rapid fire of his assault rifle, but the last Hunter stubbornly clung to life.
John fired a volley of shots. The Hunter staggered under the gunfire, but didn't fall. John's gun clicked as he reached the end of his clip.
He was out of ammo.
John reached down and grabbed the handle of the combat knife that was attached to his armor. It wasn't his preferred way of killing a Hunter, but without any more bullets, it was his only option.
"All right, Chief," Cortana's voice came through their private COM channel. "I'm in."
"Understood." His eyes never left the bulking soldier. Or his Fuel Rod Gun which he had fired in his direction.
John waited until the attack stopped and the Hunter had to wait for the powerful weapon to recharge. Without hesitation, he hurled the knife at the Hunter. It embedded into his neck, causing him to howl in pain.
Even a hunter couldn't survive that wound, John knew. He stepped out from his position and watched the soldier twist in pain. Finally, with a grunt and a thud, the last of the Hunters fell.
John picked up the Hunter's gun from the ground and ignored the corpses sprawled on the ground as he approached the security door. He tried opening it.
Nothing happened.
He hated being exposed and in the open. "Cortana?"
Several seconds passed before she responded. "Give me a second, Chief."
Two seconds later, he heard the locks release.
"I'm detecting five life signs, but that's all the sensors are giving me. It's pretty low tech, no cameras, which is odd when you think about it," Cortana said as he entered the narrow passage. "You're going to have to move fast. I've been able to implement a jamming signal so they can't tell what we're doing, but they already know we're here. While you're getting the captain and the others, I'm going to work on releasing the Autumn. They've got a lock down code on it right now."
"Will you be able to get it ready?"
"Don't worry about me, Chief. But..."
"But?"
"There is no way I'm going to be able to repair the cloaking shield. So, expect a bumpy ride out of here," she warned.
"Understood." He closed the comm channel and turned the corner. Slowly, he carefully proceeded down the corridor. As he approached the door, the locks were released.
John opened the door.
The room was pitch black. He turned on his helmet's lights and looked at the soldiers who were squinting in the brightness. There were several bodies on the ground; John knew from their position they hadn't survived. He looked at the rest of the crew; some were bloodied, others looked like they wouldn't be able to walk out of the building on their own.
It was another snag in the mission.
"Where is Captain Keyes?"
Avery Johnson stood up. His lip had been spilt; his left eye was nearly swollen shut. He paused for a second as he assessed the Spartan standing in front of him. "The bastards took him about a half an hour ago. We tried to stop them, but...” His voice trailed off as he gazed moved to the back of the room. “...Private Jenkins didn’t know when to let them go.”
John followed Johnson to the back of the room. A woman he recognized as Melissa McKay was kneeling beside the private. Dried blood was caked on her face; her left arm had been hastily bandaged. She rocked back on her heels as she took in the sight of John. "Sir," she greeted.
"Is he conscious?" he asked, looking at the young man. Jenkins had suffered the worst at the hands of his captives. His right eye was swollen shut; his right foot was contorted in an unnatural angle, blood was dripping down his face. His eyes were dilated. Sweat was dripping down his face.
"Barely."
The captain turned to him and flashed him a loopy smile. "A Spartan, eh? I guess the UNSC missed us," Jenkins muttered, his voice slurred.
"Cortana?" He knew she would know what he was asking.
"I’m pretty sure I found Keyes’ location. He’s on my floor. You get the others to the Autumn. I’ll take care of the captain.."
John looked at McKay. "What's the status of the rest of the crew?"
"Eight of us, including the captain, are left. The others," she gestured to the fallen bodies, "weren't so lucky."
John nodded. He knew the caprivateptain would be unable to walk due to his injuries. McKay moved out of his way as he knelt down to pick Jenkins up. He hoisted him over his shoulder. "Let's go."
The crew followed him out of their cell. McKay and Johnson picked up the fallen Hunters' weapons. "This is what I'm talkin' about," Johnson said as he reloaded the gun.
"Chief, you've got several dozen Covenant headed to your location."
Several dozen Covenant versus seven UNSC officers that were able to fight. The odds were decidedly not in their favor.
"Options?"
"I'd thought you'd never ask. Go to the elevator I just marked on your HUD. Push the up button, but do not get in the car. The Covenant set up a little trap for us, but we're not going to fall for it. There is another fire escape in the far northwest quadrant of the building, go there and you should be able to make your way to the Autumn."
John made his way to the elevator and pushed the button as Cortana instructed. The light on the panel lit; he spun around and quickly ran to the other set of stairs that Cortana had marked on his HUD. He glanced over his shoulder to the rest of the Autumn crew. They were moving slower than he was, but, despite their injuries, they were keeping up with the Spartan.
They descended down the stairs with minimal contact from the Covenant. Whatever Cortana was doing to keep the Covenant distracted was working. When they approached the ground level, John led them out of the building.
"Wait there. There are still too many Covenant around."
John looked for any signs of Cortana, but didn't see her anywhere.
He looked at the Autumn which was still being protected by a half dozen Elites and over a dozen Grunts. Cortana was right. They wouldn't be able to board the ship being so outnumbered and outgunned.
*******
So much for the Chief’s supposed luck, Cortana thought as she stepped away from the computer. She was already annoyed at the antiquated machinery in the compound; there was no live video feed for any of the buildings; the motion sensors were limited at best. And, most frustrating of all, there was no new data in this mainframe for her to assimilate.
As she made her way down the corridor, she saw her destination. She hoped she had been correct when she told the Chief where Keyes was located. But, based on the congregation of life signs, she calculated she had a eight-three percent chance that her theory was correct.
She knew even with a best case scenario--that the other three life signs were the bumbling grunts, it still would be tricky to take them all down before shots were fired. She crouched outside the door of the room where the life signs were. Even though the door was solid, Cortana was able to make out the muffled voices on the other side.
"Tell us, what was your ship doing in this sector?"
"I’ve already told you. My ship’s nav systems were down. We didn’t know we were entering into Covenant controlled territory." Cortana ran a voice analysis. It was Jacob Keyes.
"And I have told you that your feigned ignorance will not be tolerated."
Cortana flinched at the sound of a punch being thrown. It was time to get the captain out of there. She ran the calculations. Based on where the voices were coming from, she could figure out their location in the room.
She could only determine the location of Keyes and the two Covenant that had spoken. The position of the other two hostiles were still unknown, but it would have to do. They were running out of time.
Surprisingly, the door had no security locks which allowed Cortana to solely focus on hitting the targets as the door slid apart. Before the door could completely open she had already fired her first shot, taking down the grunt that was guarding the entryway. By the time the door had completely opened, she aimed her pistol at the Elite and fired a single shot in his skull.
He was no longer a threat.
Captain Keyes looked at her, surprised. Despite not being able to access his vitals, Cortana knew he was severely injured. And yet…
He actually smiled at Cortana before he rolled out of the way and reached for the plasma pistol that the fallen Elite had dropped.
Cortana turned swiftly to the left as she sensed movement from the shadows. The glowing ball of plasma that was starting to glow was enough for her to be able to fire a shot and kill the Jackal standing in the corner of the room.
Behind her, a shot rang out of a plasma pistol. She whipped around quickly to face Keyes, worried that he had been shot by the remaining Covenant soldier. But, to her relief, he held the recently discharged weapon. Together, they watched the Elite slump forward to the ground.
She watched as the Captain took in her appearance. “Well, I guess that means Catherine got her way,” he commented wryly.
Cortana knew the history between her commanding officer and the woman who was her creator. The former lovers had an affair then lasted several years and ended with the announcement of Halsey's pregnancy. While Keyes agreed to keep the information private, coming up with some cover story that Miranda's mother had died during a Covenant attack, Cortana knew the truth. As the years passed, the two of them only talked in passing, a noble feat considering how small the UNSC had become. But, apparently, Keyes had been keeping tabs on Halsey’s work and ambitions.
“You should know that she always gets what she wants.”
“Yeah, I do,” he said, almost wistfully.
Cortana held out a hand for him to grab. When he grasped it, she pulled him up slowly. “The Chief already has the rest of your crew at the Autumn,” she said, as she put her arm around his shoulders to support his weight.
“A Spartan, eh? I guess the UNSC missed us,” Keyes said, wincing slightly with each step they took.
Cortana didn’t bother correcting him, that Ackerson and High Command were hoping that a seemingly difficult mission would highlight any issues with her and the Master Chief. With their stretched resources, they wouldn’t have sent a Spartan to rescue a few soldiers and a forty-year old ship.
“Chief, I’ve got the captain. We’re on our way,” Cortana said.
“What’s his status?”
“He’ll be fine once we get back to Reach,” Cortana replied.
A large thud shook the ground. Cortana identified the sound as a brute shot. “You do remember we have to fly the Autumn out of here, right?”
“The ship is fine.”
Cortana and Keyes made their way out the door. She knew they were going to have to go slowly. The Covenant knew that they base had been infiltrated. She scanned the area and saw several grunts approaching their position.
The grunt in the front of the pack suddenly started looking around frantically, patting his body. “Where did my gun go?” He reached for his holster. “Oh, here it is. Ha ha ha!”
Cortana and Keyes shot the untalented soldiers with ease. “When you think about it, we’re probably doing the Covenant a favor by getting rid of them,” Keyes said dryly.
“But,” Cortana said as she released Keyes briefly to retrieve a couple of plasma grenades, “they can come in handy.”
She saw the Chief with the others several hundred feet away. Unfortunately for her and the captain, there were still several dozen Covenant between them and the others who were guarding the Autumn. “Gotta escape plan?” She asked the Chief.
The Chief turned towards her. “I’d thought we’d try shooting our way out. Take them by surprise.”
Cortana smirked. Who would have thought the Chief had a sense of humor? “A few well-placed stickies would help. You got any over there?”
“Yeah.”
“OK, if we hit our targets here,” she said, uploading the coordinates to his HUD. “That should take out enough of the Covenant to get us aboard the Autumn.”
“Understood.”
“Alright, on my mark.” She waited until the enemy forces were distracted by the Chief. “Now!”
She threw the plasma grenade into the group of Covenant. She watched as four other stickies arced through the air, each getting remarkably close to their target. Seconds later, the grenades exploded. Bodies flew through the air. Chaos surrounded them as the grunts ran around aimlessly.
“Come on, Captain,” Cortana said as they made their way through the smoke and carnage.
He limped as she guided him forward. To her surprise, the Chief and the others were waiting for them on the other side instead of boarding the Autumn. “Here,” she said, handing Keyes off to the Chief.
He picked him up effortlessly as she and the others slowly scanned the area, looking for any other Covenant. “We should really get moving,” Cortana said urgently.
Together, they made their way to the Autumn. Cortana remotely opened the loading bay hatch and they climbed inside. She made her way up to the bridge quickly and synced with the computer system. As the interface was complete, she frowned.
“We’ve got company,” she said as she started the take-off sequence.
“Three banshees incoming,” Dominque said, frowning.
“Weapon status?” the Chief asked after he carefully set Keyes down in the captain’s chair.
“None available,” Cortana said, frowning. “It was probably the first thing the Covenant took offline. If we’re going to survive, I’m going to have to outfly them. Everyone hold on!”
The ship veered sharply to the left. The crew lurched to the side, but managed to hang on. Cortana swung the ship around and dodged two of the banshees. She only needed to avoid their fire for another ten seconds.
A blast from behind shook the cabin.
“Direct hit,” Jenkins announced unhelpfully.
“Sealing off deck three,” she said as she banked around again.
The banshees followed her new trajectory as she hoped. As she guided the ship towards the rock formation, she allowed herself a brief grin. Maybe they would get out of this alive.
She flew the Autumn past the Scorpion’s position. As the Banshees came into firing range, she activated the Scorpion’s rail gun. She circled around quickly enough to watch the three ships fall out of the air.
“Nice shootin’,” complimented Johnson.
“Thanks,” Cortana said before turning to the Chief. “I’ll land the Autumn and then we’ll load up the Scorpion. Then we can get back to Reach to show Ackerson not to underestimate us.”
Part 3: Crashing the Party