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When You Need Me	By : DarkWolves Category: +G through L > Halo Views: 6908 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Halo and i don't make money from writing this. I do however own Siri.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
Chapter 4- Into the Maws

The Chief skulked through the dark foliage, his heavy armoured boot sinking into the soft mud. On either side of him were the other members of Squad One, Nick, Sara and three of the Spartan III’s. Their names were David, Michael and Amy. Amy took point as a fast paced scout while David and Michael guarded their rear. The Spartan II’s remained in the centre of the formation, Sara hefting a disassembled Turret Array while Nick cradled a heavily modified SR-2 Sniper Rifle in his arms.
“Tell me more about these Spartans” John spoke to break the silence.
Nick was slow to respond, cobbling together all the scattered pieces of information he had yet to divulge. “They were trained the same way we were, on some secret base they called Onyx. The only difference between us and them was they were actually told they were to be expendable; all the safety procedures under Dr. Hasley were quickly disregarded. As you might expect it caused a major increase in the casualty rates, barely any of them made it to the end”
“You mentioned they were trained by fellow Spartans?” John collapsed prone into the dirt, Nick and Sara flanking him on either side.
“Yes. ONI brought in a Spartan II as their Sergeant. He used an alias so we do not know who it could be. The Spartan III’s were designed to be even more expendable than we were, ironic that the UNSC is losing a war of numbers and they are spending countless resources recruiting Elite special forces teams to act as martyrs”
Nick peered through his rifle scope, watching the road beneath for movement. “We’ve got movement” John zoomed in his vision, noticing a tint of metallic purple against the dull green colouring of the surrounding woods.
Nick activated his COM link “Three Wraiths. On the move. Valley floor” The Wraith’s pressed silently through the clear pathway at the base of the valley, easily smashing through any small obstruction the terrain presented them. Nick turned his gaze skyward, zooming his view out in the hope of sighting the over flying escorts. Sure enough, they appeared over the treetops. The menacing birds of prey weaved slowly through the air, maintaining a similar flight path as the Wraiths beneath them. “Get ready Team Two” Team two was composed of Josh and Natasha. “The Banshees are en-route; you have got just one shot before they alert the base. Make it count”

*****************************************
Josh stood at the base of a mighty alien tree, similar in design to those found in the coniferous forests that the wolf packs hunted through in the videos Déjà had shown them at the Academy. He put his hand to his helmet COM unit “Roger that Team leader one. We are beginning our ascent. Alert us when they are in position” he decativated the link, nodding to Natasha standing beside to him.
In perfect synchronicity they leapt into the first tree branch, their metal gauntleted hands digging into the tough bark for support. As they made progress higher up the tree Natasha began to make headway over him, emerging above the coating of leaves moments before Josh, having utilized the advantage of her youth, flexibility and the lightened Spartan III stealth armour over the denser MJOINR armour. Natasha pierced her helmet through the tree canopy. Natasha zoomed her sight on the target, the dark purple craft infecting the light blue sky. They were right on time. “Team Leader One, I have visual on the targets. Preparing to jump when in range” Natasha looked over at Josh, he gave her the nod.
Natasha leapt from the branch, the delicate support creaking and straining as her weight was released. Natasha flew through the air, impacting the dark purple ship with timed elegance. The craft faltered, the instant change in weight dispersal throwing it off balance and causing it to lose a considerable amount of altitude. Out of the corner of her eye Natasha could see the ships wingman drop and waver as Josh latched onto his own target.
Natasha gripped the rebellious craft tightly, unwilling to allow it to escape her grip. She felt the craft suddenly lurch downwards, only recovering when the pilot realized the threat of impacting the tree canopy beneath them. If they even grazed the tree line the delicate craft would be smashed and broken before they even hit the hard dirt beneath them. Both she and the pilot were eager to avoid that outcome. So in their best interests she deemed it necessary to commandeer the craft herself.
Natasha gripped the slippery canopy as best she could; wedging her foot tightly against the wing she pried the metal apart. She reached into the darkness, gripping the combat belt of the pilot inside, violently and harshly pulling them free of the cockpit. He slid smoothly clear of the cockpit, falling back into the empty air behind them. But the Elite was unwilling to relinquish his craft so easily. So in a desperate bid to regain control of his vehicle he gripped Natasha’s outstretched leg, only managing to save herself by her vice like grip on the smooth metal.
She kicked out at the assailant fighting her for control of the craft, but he persisted. She hoped to reach for her sidearm sitting tightly at her hip, however she knew that if she let go of the craft they would both fall to their deaths. But with the craft flying pilotless a crash was inevitable if control was not re-established. To add to the tension the windswept craft began to waver and shake in the air, losing altitude with distressing speed.
But suddenly another Banshee emerged on their rear, its plasma cannons charged and glowing with a bright blue flame as it prepared to fire. Natasha expected to feel the harsh burn of the plasma impact her, but instead the attackers first shot impacted the crafts wing, scorching the reflective metal. The second and third shots however struck the Elite clinging harshly to her leg. The creature went limp, its grip loosening as it dropped clear of the Banshee, falling beneath the tree line.
Natasha hefted herself into the cockpit, the metal casing locking around her snugly, before her lay an array of alien symbols and controls, her years of flash training allowing her to control the delicate craft with all the skill of its original pilot. Natasha quickly returned her attention to the craft hovering at her tail, expecting to receive plasma bolts directly up the tailpipe.
Her COM crackled. “You need me to teach you how to fly the damn thing too?”
Natasha pulled back hard on the controls, swinging the craft round in a sharp arc, emerging behind Josh’s Banshee before he could move to evade her, his Banshee sitting as the perfect target. “I don’t need any piloting lessons from you”

***********************************
Nick watched the scene unfold through the optic of his sniper rifle. He watched the two craft falter and waver, the Spartans riding them as they would a bull at the rodeo, finally wrestling their way inside. His COM unit activated in time to their movements. “Air support is ours. You are clear to engage, repeat you are clear to engage the Wraiths”
Nick responded. “Roger that, Team One is going live”
He closed the link, on cue the rest of the team advanced, each taking the left or right route to remove the enemy’s chance of advance or escape. John and Michael broke left, Sara and David broke right. Nick set up his sniper rifle and Amy assembled the Heavy Support Turret to give the teams extra support.
John slipped down the mud slickened slope, moving in time to keep his balance in the heavy metal suit. He hit the ground running, Michael at his heels. They came at the rearguard craft from behind on its blind spot, the interior cockpit obstructing the pilot’s rear view and allowing them to approach undetected. Michael leapt onto the back of the craft, the delicate supports creaking as they were trapped in his vice like grip.
John rounded the side of the craft, leaping onto the hull and clawing away at the shimmering metal covering the cockpit. He pulled the metal covering away; the Elite inside the craft leaping up too meet him. The Chief and the Elite made contact, John clasping his hands around the creature’s forearms. The Chief saw the Plasma Blade held in his enemy’s hand, attempting to bring the weapon to bear on him. But John wrestled with him to keep the weapon away, even going as far too attempt to turn it back on its wielder. But their strength was far too equal for either of them to overcome the other on such sure footing. John could feel his strength beginning to diminish, the trek he had already endured seeping energy from his strained muscles. This could not compare to the revitalised and driven desire of the Elite to see him slain.
But suddenly, like a bolt of lightning from the heavens to strike down the unfaithful, the loud crack of a sniper rifle rang through the terrain. John could suddenly feel the weight fighting against him give, he pressed the advantage, bringing the creatures forearm inwards and across the their chest, the shimmering blade slicing into the creatures armour, a trail of deep blue blood draining from the open wound.
The Elite collapsed against the metal hull of his craft, the Chief releasing his grip and allowing the corpse to slide smoothly across the surface and collapse at the foot of the craft. John looked up towards the tree line. “Thanks for the assist” he spoke into the COM. before He stepped into the cockpit, nestling himself in the pilot’s seat. Michael followed him in afterwards to take the unoccupied co-pilots seat lower down the craft.
John laid his open palm on the controls, Cortana and Sakura’s presence seeping from his mind and integrating into the alien system. “Find anything?” John spoke as a skimmed his hand across the alien hieroglyphics, familiarising himself with the complex controls.
Cortana and Sakura appeared on the holo-pad. “Nothing we don’t already know” Cortana spoke.
“But I have just managed to plot our route back to the Covenant base” Sakura spoke cheerfully.
“You never did mention how you planned to get us inside?” John inquired, gripping the control stick as he charged up the engine silently.
Sakura and Cortana glanced at each other with a devilish smirk. “You forget” They spoke in unison. But seamlessly their voices became a string of unintelligible alien tongue, roughly translated it pronounced ‘We can speak alien’.

**************************
The lead Wraith ruffled the thin layer of grass that lined the road beneath them. John and Michael in the lead Wraith, followed by Sara and David in the next craft and finally Nick and Amy guarded the rear of their convoy. Overhead Josh and Natasha piloted their recently acquired Banshees over the dense jungle terrain. “Enemy base in sight” Josh announced over the COM.
Josh banked his craft low towards the rocky mountain which punctured through the green tree canopy surrounding it, the mountain surrounded by a sprawling Covenant encampment of landing pads, hangers, armouries and store houses. Around the perimeter lay a thin line of purple metal wall, supported at regular intervals by manned guard towers. Natasha and Josh were sure to stay clear of other Banshee patrols circling over the base, ensuring to keep his path regulated to avoid suspicion.
On the ground the captured Wraith convoy approached the exterior gate leading into the Covenant base. Cortana and Sakura re-emerged on the holo plate inside of Johns craft. “We have accessed their personal files. The Elite you killed was Lieutenant Vhar Shad. We can use his access codes to access the front gate, but only if they believe our disguise”
“So be ready” Cortana said firmly, but a tint of concern still seeping into her voice. “If they discover us they have more than sufficient firepower to obliterate us from the face of this planet”
The Chief nodded, continuing to direct the craft to the base of the shimmering energy shield that opened the entrance past the otherwise unbroken barrier. An Elite’s voice yelled over the COM, Johns experience amongst the Covenant allowing him to understand fragments of their alien dialect without use of a translator. Cortana replied to the guard’s inquires with her augmented voice, by sound alone masquerading as an Elite lieutenant.
The two of them shared responses back and forth at each other. So far the operation appears to have gone to plan. Cortana’s voice suddenly became her own once again, taking the Chief by surprise. “They are opening the gate” As if by her command the shield dissipated and died, allowing the three Wraiths to drive through the opening before it closed shut behind them, sealing them to their fate.
“What’s the situation Team Two?” John asked.
“We’re green. So far they haven’t spotted us. But we’ve got something interesting up here…”

****************************
Josh ensured to make another pass around the dark side of the mountain to verify what he had seen. He was equally relieved and terrified to find that he had been correct. “We have got a Covenant Battleship docked on the north side of the base” Josh beamed the streaming video from his helmet.
“Are you sure?” Cortana chirped.
“Of course I am sure! I just sent you a video of it” Josh continued his turn back around the perimeter of the base.
Sakura analysed the imagery. “I am afraid that the craft does not match any known Covenant silhouette. It must be a new class of vessel”
Cortana accessed the COM “It’s experimental.”
“Could it be hijacked?” John’s military mind engaged.
Nick snickered. “If it has power and a control panel I can hack it”
“Perhaps you should leave hacking the dangerous, experimental alien ship to the computers?” Cortana commented.
Nick shrugged “Guess I can’t argue with the ladies”

****************************
John directed the convoy of Wraiths towards the main Covenant hanger, as though they were simply returning for repair and refuel after a patrol. “As soon as we are inside the hanger, Wraith Team 1 breaks to the right. Team 2 goes left. Team 3; provide covering fire with the heavy cannon until Cortana and Sakura can lock down the room”
John turned his attention to the Banshees still passing overhead. “Banshee Team 4, find a landing zone further up the mountain and work your way down. We will work up, chances are one of us will find the Control Room on our way there”
“Roger that Team Leader” Josh called through the COM. “We may lose contact once we are inside. If we don’t meet you at the Control Room or the Ship, burn out as fast you can and we will hold the line. Team 4 out”.
John admired his old comrade’s willingness to sacrifice themselves for the mission, but no one was being left behind on this mission. “Ok teams. Get ready”
The convoy passed through the shimmering barrier separating the interior of the hanger from the outside world. The entire floor was awash with crates, fuel cells and Grunt and Bugger engineers overlooked by a few jackal guards that seemed to be more immersed in extending their head fins at eachother in an alien battle for supremacy than actually performing their job.
“All teams go!” John punched the canopy away, stepping up onto the hull of the craft. The Chief choose a target and made the first shot. The Grunt squealed as its insides were shredded by the peppering of bullets from the Chief’s assault rifle. The air was suddenly filled by the accompanying cries as the other Spartans began to pepper the walls with rounds, each accompanied by the pained cries as another Covenant creature’s life was ended.
John leapt onto the deck from the roof of the craft, crashing down onto the polished surface and not breaking stride as he charged for the cover of the crates stacked aside the side wall. Michael was quickly on his heels, turning sharply to offer some covering fire as John ducked into the cover. John slammed his hand against the interface, draining Cortana’s presence from his helmet and taking the cool warmth with it. “Cortana?”
John poked his head over the lip of the crate, letting fly with his Assault Rifle into anything Covenant he saw moving before ducking back behind the cover to reload, giving support as Michael found his place behind a pillar to his right. “Lock down all access on the upper levels and bring up the Hanger’s shield”
Cortana’s voice called out in his head. “Working on it”

**************************
Cortana stood amongst the data and electrical charges which flew through the bizarre alien system. She could feel herself expand outwards, the fragments of her existence touching into every component within the greater system she now inhabited. Occasionally she would encounter a Covenant killer program making a poor attempt to slow her advance, the mechanisms being swatted away as easily as pesky ants.
Cortana continued to search the system for the appropriate data. Eventually she came across the codes required, manifesting themselves as symbols on a tablet before her. She reached out to touch the tablet and engage the processes, but before she could her hand stopped. A sharp, unrelenting pain tore through her conscious mind, wrenching her to her knees and forcing her to throw her palms against her forehead, attempting to keep the dark thoughts at bay.
But it failed to help her, feeling the monsters thin tentacles wrapping stealthily around her once again. She tried to fight back against it, but it forced her to drop her to her knees, unable to compete with the unrelenting weight that was suddenly thrust upon her shoulders, keeping her just out of reach of the data she was attempting to access.
Cortana tried to force herself to her feet, but still the creature’s unrelenting touch continued to force her to her knees. She fought through the pain, attempting to force her way towards the data. She reached out with a shaking hand, the tips of her fingers barely scrapping against the data’s surface.
Cortana fell to her knees once more, her objective tauntingly far out of her reach. But Cortana persisted through the harsh, unrelenting pain, attempting once more to reach out and activate the data which would save her squadmate’s lives.
She finally touched it, and as soon as her virtual skin grazed the screen she felt the sudden wash of warmth washing over her, the horrible memories of her experiences being banished from her mind. She felt an intense, comforting warmth wash over her that was second only to Sakura’s comforting touch. And now the battle intensified.

********************************
“Chief?” Cortana called through his helmet, breaking his mind set just after he dropped another Jackal sniper from three floors below.
“Go ahead Cortana” He dropped behind cover, discarding the empty clip and inserting another in its place.
“Access to the upper decks is locked down. The doors leading out of the hanger should be opening now” Cortana’s voice resonated through his helmet.
In time with her words the fire from the upper decks began to dampen, the Covenant troops no longer being provided reinforcements from the upper decks. With the exterior hanger doors now sealed the only other access into the hanger was the doors on the ground floor which were now being covered by the other Spartans.
“All squads form up on me” John called through his speaker, within moments the Spartans were gathered around him. “Cortana” He resumed speaking to the AI. “What’s the situation?”
Cortana materialized on the holoprojector, a holographic representation of the facility appearing before her. “We are located here in the primary Hanger Bay” A glowing red ball resonated over the representation of the hanger. “The Control Room is here” Another warm sphere appeared on the map, this one emerging deeper within the bowels of the facility. “I cannot access it’s systems from here. You will have to manually disable the firewalls from the Control Room itself”
Sakura appeared on the holo next to her. “What is this door down here?” She brought up a light blue orb to represent the location. The corridor seemed to lead deeper into the mountain, coming to a bulky metallic door, and then ending abruptly.
“The schematics simply end there” Cortana searched the system once again, ensuring that she had not misplaced some of the data. “It is simply a dead end”

*********************************
“Team leader 1. This is team 2 you copy?” John’s COM unit came to life.
“Team leader 1, go ahead” John replied.
“We have cleared the Methane Tank Storage room and set charges. But the timer was damaged on the way here; we’ve only got a short time before it goes”
“How long?” John calculated their ETA’s.
“I give us about 15, 20 minutes at most. But honestly this thing could go off any moment, I’d advise being well clear of this base before it does” That did not allow margin for error.
“Roger that Team Two. We are breaching the Control Room now. Rendezvous at the Covenant ship in five” John closed the COM link. Their sudden lack of time meant they would have to throw subtly and stealth to the wind.
John turned to his squad. “Frag and clear on my mark” The squad took a position on either side of the door. “Mark”
The doors flung open. Nick and John tossed grenades through the opening. “…2…1” The flash signalled their advance. David and Amy entered first, breaking right and left to cover their flanks as the remainder of the team advanced into the room. John immediately sighted their commander, his shimmering gold armour clearly defined against the dark, oily black of his honour guards.
He charged along the side of the room, eliminating Grunt technicians and Elite spec ops soldiers as he pressed up the elevated ramp towards their leader. He was challenged by another two of the Elites dark coated guards, each wielding energy swords. He charged the first, ducking beneath the arcing blade he brought the muzzle of the weapon forward with the momentum, jamming the weapon into the alien’s side and opening fire, shredding the creatures shields and puncturing his supple flesh.
With his first adversary removed John turned his attention to the second. He brought his armoured elbow up to meet the Elites mandibles, knocking him off balance and opening a hole in his defences. John broke the side of his weapon against the Elites skull, the alien bone collapsing in upon itself in a shower of blue blood and brain matter. The two corpses collapsed to the deck, allowing John his required opening to engage their leader.
The gold tinted Elite growled in fury, its plasma rifle drawn and ready to fire. The creature opened fire; John’s shielding absorbing the impacts. But his shields eventually gave; he was going to have to react. He brought his assault rifle up, the hard metal absorbing the super heated plasma in an effort to protect his shields. He smashed the weapon into the Elite’s avian talon, knocking the weapon off target and allowing the Chief to smash his armoured shoulder into the Elites open torso. The Elite was thrust against the control panel, the holographic glyphs resisting the weight being pressed against it.
The Elite gripped his weapon tightly, attempting to bring the rifle to bear on his enemy once again. The Chief jammed his armoured forearm forward, attempting to press the plates against his opponents exposed throat, but the Elite brought it’s bladed mandibles down to protect its throat. John pressed his left hand against the creatures forearm, keeping the weapon at arm’s length, wrestling for control on two fronts. John tried to force his forearm underneath the creature’s alien cheek. This opened up the Chief in his second front, the Elite managing to bring the gun up in an arc, slowly inching the weapon closer to the Chief’s helmet.
The Master Chief eventually managed to break past the creature’s defences, jamming his forearm against the commander’s throat. The Elite wheezed and groaned, gasping breaths as the pressure was increasingly applied. The golden clad Elite still persisted, bringing the weapon ever closer to its target. He had to end this engagement quickly.
He abandoned attempting to keep the Elites arm held back, instead pressing all of his weight into compressing the alien’s windpipe. The plasma rifle was brought to bear, preparing to fire. The defining moment had arrived, would the Elite manage to fire the weapon before its last gasp of air could dissipate. The Elite’s finger grazed the trigger, but his arm suddenly went limp, the weapon falling to his side uselessly.
The Chief dislodged his forearm from the creature’s neck; rising to his feet to stare at the broken corpse slumped at his feet. The hard clunk of footsteps resonated behind him, the other members of his team regrouping behind him. In complete silence he laid his hand against the glowing glyphs, feeling Sakura’s presence leave his helmet.
Sakura began feeling her way through the system, opening the system to exterior influences as the firewalls collapsed in on themselves from the insides. Sakura could feel Cortana’s presence seep into the system through the open cracks in the security.
“Cortana?” Sakura materialized, her holographic presence hovering over the displays like an angel descending from the heavens. Cortana emerged next to her, staring down at the Spartans as they went about their assigned work of either guarding the doors, reloading and checking equipment or attempting to hack or disable the Covenant computers.
“Feels good to finally flex inside a larger computer system” Cortana loosened her tight arm muscles. She could feel the flood of information seep into her, her systems refining, altering the data as before it was integrated into her.
“Can you open the access to the ship?” The Chief asked.
Cortana held her hand against her forehead, as was her habit. “Interesting” She cooed, it did well to spark their interests. “I found the remainder of the schematics”.
Cortana held her arm out, the light of the emerging hologram seeming to flow freely from her fingers. The streams of light materialized into a holographic representation of the walls surrounding them. From that base square stretched an infinite network of corridors and adjoining rooms, pulsating in a bright purple outline. “This is the original schematics we obtained in the hanger”
She extended her other hand, a flurry of bright blue shards forming into a far greater and confusing than the first. The two sets were linked by the corridor Sakura had pointed out before. “What is all this?” Sakura asked.
And Cortana answered. “It’s Forerunner!” the realization dawned on Cortana. “The Covenant didn’t build this facility at all” Cortana hurried to explain herself.
“Look here” She pointed to the schematics, the Spartan team grouping around to listen to her demonstration. “This area is where we are” She highlighted the purple area. “And beneath that is this” She indicated the blue area. “The Covenant base seems to be built around the already established Forerunner structure”
“So what does that mean?” Sakura asked.
“It means this entire base is built on a Forerunner structure. The entire planet is Forerunner”
The Chief spoke next. “What can you find?”
Cortana held her hand to her forehead. “The Covenant integrated their system into the Forerunner computers. It appears this place was originally some kind of Forerunner outpost. The computer refers to it as ‘The Builder’”
She continued to scan the archives. “I believe it was used in constructing the Ark during their research of the Flood” She suddenly jumped. “I have found something” The feeling suddenly returned. The harsh flood of overpowering information she had experienced on Halo 04.
She projected another stream of light from the tips of her fingers, this time manifesting a galaxy wide map. “Here is us” She pointed to a flashing blue orb “And these other blue dots” The Spartans noticed the array of dim blue dots that pocketed the map. “Are other Forerunner structures spread across the galaxy?”
None of them could believe the sheer number of installations being displayed, only now could they comprehend the sheer reach of the Forerunner influence during their reign.
“Cortana is that all you could find?” The Chief asked.
“Yes” The two of them answered.
The Chief put his gauntlet to the terminal, absorbing the two AI’s into his suit’s systems, their warming presence encapsulating him once again.
He retrieved his weapon from his back, ensuring the clip was full he turned to his squad. “Now, we take the Covenant’s ship, and we get off this planet”
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