Chapter 13: This Structure Is Not a Natural Formation
Cortana enjoyed being captain of her own ship. Over the seven day trek across the universe, the AI along with Halsey and several member's of the Light's crew had taken their time learning about the vessel that had been bestowed on her.
Bias had done his research; the vessel was a perfect blend of UNSC and Forerunner technology and Cortana was its perfect custodian. Seven days ago, she had activated the slipspace bubble and "pulled" the Light through, allowing them to travel at previously unheard of speeds.
It would take the techs at ONI and lifetime or two to process all the technology on the ship. Cortana, however, was much more fortunate. The data she had been given from the Forerunner database allowed her to have an intimate understanding of the Harbinger.
As they finally exited out of slipspace and entered the Devron system, Cortana pulled up the video feed from the Harbinger and channeled it through the Light's systems. The Hive, a 1,500 mile cube, hovered above the third planet in the system. Three Covenant Cruisers loomed over the enormous installation. So far they hadn't detected the ships' entrance in the system; their weapons systems were powered down. Cortana piloted the vessels behind the fourth moon with a high magnetic field to hide their presence as she scanned the area.
"Not as impressive as the Halo ring," Keyes noted.
Cortana shrugged. "Maybe the Forerunners intentionally made this installation smaller as to not to attract the attention of the Flood."
"How much of a head start did they get?" Keyes asked, walking to her position.
She shrugged. "Best guess? At least a day, probably two. But," she said, accessing the sensor information, "what's interesting is that life signs are still congregated around one part of the installation."
"The control center?"
She shook her head. "No, though there is significant power running to that particular part of the base, it's not the main control center. And I'm not going to know until I can activate this," she replied, holding out the holographic voucher, "my information is rather limited."
"Then the Key is still safe?"
"I don't see how they could have gotten access to it without the Voucher, sir. No, whatever they are looking for, it's not that," Cortana answered.
Keyes looked at the main viewer, staring at the enemy ships. "Then why are they here?" he muttered. Louder, he asked, "Are there any other vessels in the system?"
"Negative, sir. If the Separatists are showing up, then they are running late," she answered. Though she knew their presence was doubtful, she knew the captain, and John, were hoping for their tentative allies to assist them in this matter.
He let out a frustrated sigh. "Understood, Cortana." He tapped his pipe on his thigh. "We need those Cruisers out of our way."
"That won't be a problem, sir. I've already uploaded attack pattern Delta into the Harbinger's systems. Once we're into position, it will be ready to fire."
Keyes nodded. "Do it."
Cortana commanded the ships to move towards the Hive. As the Harbinger moved into position, it began firing on the Cruisers. With Cortana's flawless calculations, the plasma canons hit their mark. The Light was sheltered by the large vessel, hovering behind the enormous ship.
She watched as explosions rocked the Covenant ships. She started evasive maneuvers, but, for the most part, they were unnecessary. It seemed as though whoever was at the controls lacked the precision that the Covenant were known for. Maybe the Brutes had left a handful of Grunts on the ships, not thinking there was any chance for the UNSC to ruin their plans.
Well, they were certainly in for a surprise.
The bridge crew watched in awe as the Forerunner ship destroyed the three cruisers seemingly with little effort. Keyes nodded grimly at the image of the debris from the destroyed ships.
"Chief," he said to the Spartan who was standing next to Cortana's holotank, "get Johnson and the rest of the team together. I want you to take a Pelican down to the Hive so Cortana can get this Key."
The Chief nodded. "Yes, sir."
His hand hovered over the matrix chip. Though she had run several hundred simulations, she hadn't convinced herself that the transfer from the Light's systems to John's armor would be flawless. But, the time had passed for second-guessing. Cortana nodded to him. "Yank me."
As his hand hovered over the holotank, Cortana felt herself transfer to the Chief's armor. She quickly ran a scan on the Chief to access his vitals, but there were no issues. She had safely made the shift to his suit.
The two of them walked through the halls of the Light. Cortana knew he was eager to get down to the surface and fight; he had been stuck in the ship for too long. Finally, they entered the cargo bay where Johnson and a dozen Marines were waiting for them. "So, it's up to us to save humanity again, huh, Chief?" He slapped the Spartan's shoulder. "It's a good thing there are so many Marines goin' with us."
A few laughs slipped out. Only Cortana knew that behind the visor, John allowed himself a brief smile at Johnson's cheeky comment. The handful of officers grabbed their weapons and boarded the waiting Pelican.
John transferred Cortana to the Pelican's main systems. Seconds later, she piloted the small vessel out of the bay.
Johnson approached the small holotank on the pilot controls. "When do I get a tour of your new ride, ma'am?" he asked, nodding towards the Harbinger.
"About after we take care of the Covenant?" she offered.
He grinned widely. "I'm gonna hold you to that. I can't have the techies havin' all the fun."
She allowed herself a brief smile at Johnson's gregariousness before focusing on getting the Pelican onto the Hive. Cortana plotted a direct course of the main control center. The congregation of the Covenant ground forces were located several kilometers away from the hub. Maybe, with John's luck, they would have enough time for her to get into the system and retrieve the Key before the Covenant could reach their location.
It was a long shot, she grudgingly admitted. The Grunts had probably told those on the surface about their arrival before the cruisers were destroyed. That didn't stop her from implementing a jamming signal in the Covenant's battlenet. If they were going to get a message to each other on the surface, they were going to have to work for it.
"ETA in three minutes," she announced to the crew.
"I'll upload the coordinates to the main terminal once we get on the surface," she said to the Chief via their private comm. "I don't know how long it will take for the system to verify the voucher. Bias wasn't too forthcoming about the details."
"You'll be fine."
She put a hand on her hip. "Your optimism still manages to surprise me, Chief."
As she piloted the Pelican, the sensors from both ships -the Light and the Harbinger- alerted her to the fact that there were multiple slipspace ruptures forming in the system.
The Separatists had arrived.
"It would seem as if your friend doesn't want you to have all the fun. Four Separatists Cruisers, including the Shadow of Intent, have entered the system," Cortana said. She monitored the communication channel between the Arbiter's ship and the Light. "In fact," she said, raising an eyebrow, "they are eager to come help us out."
John nodded slightly, seemingly indifferent to the Separatists' appearance, but Cortana knew that he was happy to see some backup.
"We're entering the atmosphere. Wanna take a seat?"
He shook his head slightly. "I'm fine."
She crossed her arms, not convinced. "You do remember what happened on the first Halo right, right? You know, you almost died?"
"I'll be fine," he insisted.
Cortana sighed. The only person whose stubbornness could rival her own had to be the one person she was partnered to work with, she thought with a wave of frustration. "Have it your way," she replied as she piloted the ship to the surface.
As John predicted, there were no incidents with their landing. When the Pelican set down, John reached over and removed her chip from the holotank. He and the others disembarked from the ship. "The Arbiter and his team will be here as soon as they can," she said via John's speakers.
"And to think," Johnson replied, his cigar hanging from his lip, "I didn't even get a chance to miss him yet."
"I'm sure he feels the same way about us, Johnson," John retorted dryly.
She huffed a silent laugh. She had nearly forgotten that John could, in fact, be quite cynical in his thinking. There was no time for her to comment, however. In the distance, she detected Covenant movement. "We've got four Banshees inbound to our location, Chief."
"Understood." He led the team into the giant structure. As the large doors slid apart, Cortana uploaded the main hub's location to his HUD. "I hope everyone is in the mood to walk. The control panel in seven floors under ground. And the grav lifts are not operational."
Johnson sighed. "The damn Forerunners can't make anything easy, can they?"
"They did seem to overdo things, didn't they?" Cortana mused.
John turned towards Johnson and the rest of the Marines. "Stay here and wait for the Arbiter," he ordered.
Johnson nodded. "Will do, Chief. We'll make sure we don't have any unwanted visitors crashing our party."
Chapter 14: Dude, srsly?