Haylo 2: Seas of Glass

by MarineMarksman

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Romance, Adventure, Octavia, Tragedy, Crossover, Berry Punch, Human, Main 6, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Colgate
Length: 6126

Equestria has fallen, and the ponies have now joined the U.N.S.C. in their war against the Covenant.

Seven years, seven long years.
In a brief moment of celebration at the discovery of Spartan-117, a thriving planet, and a friendly sentient life form, everyone rejoiced.
Then, shortly there after, catastrophe.
The Covenant, seemingly backed to their old size, made its return.
A small force of humans and Covenant Separatists helped the ponies in their defense of Equis, hopeful that they would prevail.
They failed.

But, though hope seemed lost, a light in the darkness appeared.
The Spirit of Fire arrived, just a day before the fall of Equis.
With the help of the Spirit of Fire, they were able to evacuate over 200,000 ponies before the Loyalists completed the glassing of the planet.

In the destruction of Equis and Equestria, Princess Luna, who is now the Captain of the U.N.S.C. , the one remaining Princess of the original two, agreed to sign a bill which allowed the ponies to join the U.N.S.C., which in turn allowed the ponies to help the humans and Separatists in their war against the Loyalists.
Since then, the humans and ponies have many achievements together.
With unicorn magic, combined with the humans advanced technology, many advancements in medical and military technology has been made.
Dr. Catherine Halsey has developed the Spartan IV's, which was made up of not only humans, but also ponies. These Spartans have been able to do feats that compares to the feats of the Spartan II's. Most notably Aqua Team, made up of three ponies named Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom, who were able to take out three assault carriers by sneaking aboard the carriers and detonating Shiva class nuclear warheads inside them.

Sadly, since the U.N.S.C. is yet again fighting a losing war. Many planets that have been colonized since the aftermath of the first Covenant-Human War have been glassed, and the U.N.S.C. is yet again on the verge of destruction.
Hope is again fading, as the Covenant once again threaten the very essence of humanity, Earth. While light years away, the Covenant have discovered a new Halo ring, and are attempting to activate it.

It has been seven years, and now, it is life or death.

Published 2012-03-07 20:34:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-03-01 20:29:30 UTC

Preview

[Note - It's chaotic for a reason. Obviously, later chapters will be much longer than this, considering the fact its about both the Second Battle for Earth AND the Battle of Installation 09.]

Music to create a better atmosphere for this chapter (open on a new tab).

Seven years, seven long years.
In a brief moment of celebration at the discovery of Spartan-117, a thriving planet, and a friendly sentient life form, everyone rejoiced.
Then, shortly there after, catastrophe.
The Covenant, seemingly backed to their old size, made its return.
A small force of humans and Covenant Separatists helped the ponies in their defense of Equis, hopeful that they would prevail.
They failed.

But, though hope seemed lost, a light in the darkness appeared.
The Spirit of Fire arrived, just a day before the fall of Equis.
With the help of the Spirit of Fire, they were able to evacuate over 200,000 ponies before the Loyalists completed the glassing of the planet.

In the destruction of Equis and Equestria, Princess Luna, who is now the Captain of the U.N.S.C. , the one remaining Princess of the original two, agreed to sign a bill which allowed the ponies to join the U.N.S.C., which in turn allowed the ponies to help the humans and Separatists in their war against the Loyalists.
Since then, the humans and ponies have many achievements together.
With unicorn magic, combined with the humans advanced technology, many advancements in medical and military technology has been made.
Dr. Catherine Halsey has developed the Spartan IV's, which was made up of not only humans, but also ponies. These Spartans have been able to do feats that compares to the feats of the Spartan II's. Most notably Aqua Team, made up of three ponies named Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom, who were able to take out three assault carriers by sneaking aboard the carriers and detonating Shiva class nuclear warheads inside them.

Sadly, since the U.N.S.C. is yet again fighting a losing war. Many planets that have been colonized since the aftermath of the first Covenant-Human War have been glassed, and the U.N.S.C. is yet again on the verge of destruction.
Hope is again fading, as the Covenant once again threaten the very essence of humanity, Earth. While light years away, the Covenant have discovered a new Halo ring, and are attempting to activate it.

It has been seven years, and now, it is life or death.

Sol System

August 17th, 2569

"Chicago Station, this is Luna RSO, we're reading multiple in-system slipspace ruptures." A technician in charge of the Luna Remote Scanning Outpost stated.

"Impossible. Double check for any anomalies." A Lieutenant on board the Orbital Defense Platform Chicago suggested.

"I'm picking up multiple large masses drifting towards Earth. Are we expecting anyone?" Luna RSO asked.

"Not that I am aware of. Can someone go check it out?" Chicago Station asked.

"This is Captain Morgan of the UNSC Frigate Destiny. Want us to go check it out?" Captain Morgan asked.

"Affirmative, Destiny. Luna RSO, attempt to hail them for us." Chicago Station.

"Copy that." Luna RSO responded. "This is Luna RSO, hailing unidentified ships in system. Identify yourselves immediately, or you will be treated as hostile."

"Any response, Luna?" Chicago Station asked.

"Negative, Chicago." Luna RSO replied. "But one of the masses have changed course and are... it's heading in our direction."

"Copy that. Stay calm. Destiny, anything on your scopes?" Chicago asked.

There was no response.

"UNSC Frigate Destiny, can you hear me?"

"My God..." Captain Morgan muttered.

"Repeat your last, Destiny." Chicago ordered.

"Evasive manuevers now! Fire everything we have!" Captain Morgan could be heard shouting to his bridge's crew. "Captain Morgan here, we are being engaged by two Covenant Assault Carriers! I count over three Covenant fleets heading towards Earth!"

"This is Luna RSO, mass heading our way has been identified as a Covenant Destroyer! They are charging weapons!" A technician on Luna RSO shouted desperately.

"We're breaking up! Dammit, I can't hold her!" Captain Morgan shouted.

"Covenant ships inbound. Light em up, boys!" Admiral Colgate proclaimed.

"WINTER CONTINGENCY has been declared, all units are mobilizing."

"We're beginning civilian evac operations. Keep them away from us, Home Fleet!"

"Battle Groups thirteen, sixteen, twenty five, and thirty six, set up a defensive perimeter around the orbital defense grid. Battle Groups fifteen, eighteen, twenty three, fifty four, and sixty one, move in to engage covenant contacts." Lord Hood ordered.

"They are deploying dropships... there has to be thousands of them!" a Captain shouted desperately.

"Our hulls been breached! Reactors are melting down!" another Captain shouted, before he went off the air.

"Dear Celestia, Los Angeles just went off the grid."

"They just blew through us! Battle Group sixteen's combat effectiveness is now down to nine percent."

"They're targeting the civilian evac flights!"

"We're hit!"

"This is fifth battalion, second platoon, we can't hold our positions!" a Marines voice shouted.

"This is Admiral Luna, Spartans are on the ground. Tell us where you need them."

Somewhere on the outer edge of the Milky Way Galaxy
Installation 09B (Beta Halo)

"Exiting slipspace in three... two... one..." the Harmony's A.I., Monsoon, stated, shortly before the cruiser drifted out of its slipstream ruptured, followed by multiple frigates, another Marathon-class cruiser, and a destroyer.

"Monsoon, scan the area for any Covenant activate." Twilight ordered.

"Yes Captain." Monsoon replied. "I'm reading four CSS-class battle groups, as well as two Assault carriers."

"Anything from Task Force Omega?" Twilight inquired.

"We've been able to pick up their signal, but they haven't responded to our hails yet." Monsoon said.

"Where are they?" Twilight asked.

"On the southern end of the ring. They are likely trying to stay on the stealthy side of things." Monsoon said.

"Heads up, Captain!" One of the Lieutenants manning the bridge called out. "Covenant ships are heading our way, and they are charging weapons."

"Monsoon, prep archer pods and get our MAC online. I want us to be ready for anything." Twilight ordered, before pressing down on a nearby switch, activating the cruisers PA system. "Attention all quarters, we are about to engage in ship-to-ship combat. I want ODST's ready to drop, and I want the Marines to get suited up for deployment and prepared to defend against boarders."

"Let's finish this fight." Twilight stated, as the small UNSC fleet drifted towards the approaching Covenant cruisers.

Chapter One

[Note - Contains spoilers for Haylo: Among the Stars. Also, I would like to thank Zarius for writing the part with Artemis meeting up with the Arbiter.]

Second Battle for Earth, Day One
August 17th, 2569, 0815 Hours

Spartan-811, or Dinky Hooves, looked over her firearm, a M412 DMR. She carefully slid a magazine into it and chambered a round into it.

"WINTER CONTINGENCY has been declared, all units are mobilizing." A voice stated from a nearby radio. Dinky's head popped up at this. She knew exactly what that meant. WINTER CONTINGENCY was an official UNSC emergency plan that deals with where Covenant forces have become aware of, or are present at, a UNSC colony world.

"Get ready for deployment." Rosenda-344 ordered, walking into the room, with Jun-A266 right behind her.

Of the original Noble Team, these two were the only survivors. After the start of the Spartan-IV program, Noble Team was reactivated. Five years ago, Dinky and her team, made up of herself, William-781, Light Speed-906, and Josh-233, became the new members of Noble Team, under the command of Commander Rosenda (replacement for the late Emile-A239 in anti-insurrectionist operations) and Lieutenant Commander Jun (served as the sniper for the original Noble Team, and was the only member of Noble Team to survive the Fall of Reach).

Jun loaded a magazine into his sniper rifle, a heavily customized SRS99E-S2 AM, and slung it over his shoulder.

"They are deploying dropships... there has to be thousands of them!" Another voice shouted out from the radio.

"I guess that's our cue." Jun said, motioning the other Spartans to follow him. As they walked outside, several longsword interceptors screeched overhead. In the distance, a civilian transport craft was lifting off, to be blown out of the sky by a volley of plasma torpedoes.

"Shit!" A nearby Marine shouted, watching the transport rip apart into two pieces and crashing into the Earth.

"Mount up!" Rosenda ordered, pointing at waiting falcons. The members of Noble Team split up in two groups and climbed aboard the two falcons. Dinky and Josh followed Rosenda to her falcon, sitting in the seats across from her.

"Uh huh... uh huh... yes sir... we're on our way." Rosenda said, talking to someone over the COM. "Alright Noble, we have direct orders from Lord Hood himself. We are being deployed to New York to help in the evacuation of UNSC personal from UNSC Supreme Headquarters, as well as the defense and evacuation of civilians."

"A bit overkill for civilian evac ops, don't you think?" Jun asked, his voice distorted by static.

"Not when there is three Covenant CSS-class battlecruisers hovering above the city." Rosenda countered. "Pilot, get us out of here."

"Yes ma'am." The pilot replied, as their falcon lifted off the ground. It tilted forward slightly as it started to fly in the general direction of New York.

Beta Halo's Index Chamber, Installation 09B
Five minutes after Operation: DARK HORSE

Artemis walked towards the dragged the flailing High Prophet of Justice behind her, her energy sword dragging along the floor in her free hoof.

"You insolent beast!" Justice shouted at the top of his lungs. "I will not stand for this treatment! Guards, remove these vermin!"

"Your guards are dead, dumbass." Artemis snarled, lifting up the prophet and slamming him into a nearby pylon, before flinging him across the room. He screamed out in pain as one of his arms twisted into an unnatural angle upon landing, the sound of his arms bones snapping filling the room. His started to rise up the ground, before one being pinned down by a black armored hoof. "And you're next."

"Y-you will pay for this, demon!" Justice shouted at the Spartan. A small, evil chuckle escaped Artemis's lips, as she lifted up the Prophet by his neck. A twisted smile spread across her face, showcasing her wolf like fangs as she ran the blades of her energy sword along the Prophets next.

"Hmm... I wonder how much someone would pay for the head of a Prophet... hell, I'm sure an elite would love to hang your head on a mantle." Artemis cooed. "Maybe I can send it to the Arbiter as a gift. I certainly owe him one."

The Prophets eyes widened with fear as he looked down at the crazed mare. "Please no! Anything!" He shouted desperately.

Artemis cackled evilly. "Anything? Hmm? How about my mom, who bled out in my hooves when I was just a filly? Or how about my species, who's annihilation you had ordered. Wanna hear a story, wrinkly?" Artemis inquired.

Upon hearing no response, she spoke. "Seven years ago, as I just stated, I watched my mother die. Right in front of me. You know what I did? I died on the inside. Everything I used to be, just died. Then I became something else. A real demon. When your troops came after me, I kicked simply kicked flank and took their names. Eventually, they managed to surround me. When I thought I was going to die, you know who saved me? The elite who you and your kind forsaken, the former Arbiter Thel 'Vadam."

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...wait, no, scratch that. Copyright infringement! Lemme rephrase this!..." Artemis stated, earning a puzzled look from the Prophet in her hooves.

"A couple years ago, on a planet far, but not TOO far away..." Artemis began.

A little, ebony mare lost her mind. She used her not-so-temporary mental malfunction to fuel her attacks on the invading force known as the Covenant, successfully eliminating a couple lances of their infantry, all the while giggling and humming like a young school filly playing during recess. Unfortunately, upon realization at the loss of some of its troops, a certain, Phantom-driven attack force found the cause and decided to remove it from the picture...

"One...two...thrRRRRURNGGGG!-ah!" the little blob of fur, dirt, and blood known only as Artemis grunted and pouted in frustration as, for the hundredth time, she failed to heft the powerful, and heavy, Gravity Hammer, "Come ooooooonnn!" she whined like an angry foal.

She continued to try, though, her mind bent on wielding the super-cool-looking toy. She was so absorbed in this effort that she failed to notice an approaching, purple Phantom hover by and come to rest above her. Then, deciding to ignore everything, continued to grunt and strain to move the hammer while the entire force which the Phantom carried emptied onto the ground, surrounding her indefinitely.

"Hey! Stay-st-stay away!" Artemis suddenly shouted, gnashing her bloody teeth and shielding her toy, "It's my toy!"

Another Gravity Hammer Wielding Chieftain bellowed out a deep, confident laugh, pointing a finger at the small pony, "Foolish whelp! Though I admire your lack of fear, you will die!" The commander shouldered his weapon, preparing to give the order to kill with a grin, "Elimina-hngrlll-!"

Each and every eye turned to the Chieftain to find his head missing and his body slowly falling. After the sight sunk in, all eyes switched to the new form which stood, crouched and with two glowing energy swords in hand, beside the recently decapitated brute.

"Normally I wouldn't resort to a such a cowardly act as a surprise attack..." the figure slowly straightened up, glaring down at the dead Brute's body, "But the uneducated brute would have met the same fate regardless."

Before any of the surrounding Grunts, Jackals, or Brutes could react, a barrage of plasma and white-hot energy swords rained from above, a neon-green Phantom zipping by and blasting it's purple counterpart out of the sky with it's main plasma turret. The young ebony foal watched in awe as only five warriors dropped from the sky and eliminated the entire force of Covenant subordinates with such ease and finesse they made it seem like an everyday action such as getting out of bed might be. Her eyes, though couldn't help but focus on the first alien to drop. The one in the armor which seemed more ancient in style; the one that appeared the most skilled; the one wielding the two glowing, captivatingly white swords.

She didn't know who he was, where he came from, or what those weapons were, but she did know that she just HAD TO HAVE THEM. She was abruptly shaken out if her thoughts as an unfortunate Jackal was thrown her way. She didn't have time to react, she took the thin creature right to the face, but quickly recovered and grabbed it's torso with one hoof and, using the inertia it held, grabbed the end of the Gravity Hammer handle with the other hoof to help her finally lift the large device.

"Hah! Finally!" the Jackal landed on it's back with a grunt just in time to look up and see a dementedly delighted pair of crimson eyes before having it's lights knocked off, permanently, and it's body sent clean to what's left of Canterlot.

Artemis huffed, her arms sore from the sudden jolt of power and strain, then hopped up and down, shouting in glee, "Ohmigooosh that was so fuuuuun!"

Meanwhile, the five Elites, which had dropped in to save the mare watched her with confusion, a hint of admiration, and a dash of fear, discussing what they just witnessed.

"Arbiter, is this really what all these Equines are like?" a White-armored, jet-pack toting Spec-Ops Elite asked his leader, hilting his Needler.

The older Elite narrowed his eyes, looking between the pony, the Gravity Hammer, and his Energy Swords with interest, "No...this one is...different from most." he started to break away from his pack as a couple UNSC soldiers arrived. They had noticed the Phantom crash, "It appears as though she had overcome the rest of the Covenant warriors prior to our arrival..." he noticed the other, somewhat chewed-up bodies surrounding the clearing, "I need to train this one. She would be perfect for learning the old ways of dueling...perhaps with a few modern alterations."

Upon stooping directly behind little Artemis, the little mare stopped giggling and turned around, staring up at the immense figure before her.

"What is your name, young one?"

After a moment's pause, the little, blood-smothered filly looked all the way up and grinned, flashing her sharp, wolf like teeth at him.

"Artemis."

"After that , the Arbiter took me aboard the Spirit of Fire, where I volunteered to become a member of the Spartan-IV program. A couple years later, in the year 2565, I became his apprentice. But why am I telling you this, you may ask?" Artemis stated, before motioning to the energy sword that was pressed against the Prophets neck. "Because this sword is the sword of Thel 'Vadam. It is the same sword that has taken the lives of hundreds of your soldiers, and it is also the same sword that silenced that bastard Truth." She spat as those words escaped her lips. "And now, it will silence you."

"Please! Show me mercy, demon!" Justice begged. Artemis paused and appeared to ponder this.

"Call me a pretty demon." Artemis stated.

"Wha-?" The Prophet began, before Artemis shushed him.

"Call. Me. A. Pretty. Demon." Artemis stated clearly.

Justice looked shocked and opened his mouth to speak, but no words escaped his mouth.

Upon seeing this, Artemis frowned. "Oh, that stings. Oh well." She said, raising her energy sword in preparations to decapitate the scrawny Prophet in her hoof.

"You're a pretty demon!" Justice shouted out quickly and desperately. Artemis lit up at this.

"Good boy. You get your mercy now." She said. "Though, not in the way you imagined it."

"You-" The Prophet began to protest, before Artemis sliced off his head. The Prophets frail, headless corpse dropped to the floor, his dark, crimson blood flooding out onto the floor.

"Artemis, stop, we need him-!" Sweetie Belle began as she ran into the Index Chamber, only to see Artemis holding the head of the High Prophet of Justice, her jet black armor stained with his blood. "Alive..."

Widow walked up behind the Spartan and tapped her on the shoulder. "Commander, she's in one of those states, we may wanna leave... unless you wanna be like them." Widow said, motioning the various dismembered corpses of Justice's Brute Honor Guard unit.

"You may be right. Let's leave her alone for now..." Sweetie Belle responded, before the two walked out of the chamber.

Chapter Two

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"Boarding craft inbound, Combat Teams Alpha through Omega, prep to repel boarders." Chicago Stations Defense Coordinator stated over the loudspeaker. "All hands report to battle stations. This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill. Seal pressure doors. Open weapon lockers."

Staff Sergeant Spike ran down the hallway, followed closely by the rest of Combat Team Charlie. In the past couple months, Spike noticed that his body had been growing exponentially. He even towered several feet over the humans in his squad.

"Armory is over here, sir!" Spikes second in command, Kayla, pointed out, snapping the dragon out of his thoughts. Combat Team Charlie moved out of the way as a group of non-combatants ran by, being escorted by several Marines.

"Sorry, Kayla. Kind of new to this still." Spike said, running into the armory. Two other Combat Teams just got finished loading up and were now getting ready to leave the armory.

"I know the feeling." Kayla assured, picking up a battle rifle. Spike picked up a shotgun and slung it over his shoulder, before picking up a couple of SMG's and clipping them to his legs. "So Sarge, you ever going to tell us about Equis?"

"Now's not really the time, Corporal." Spike said, grabbing a handful of magazines for his SMG's and loading them into his tactical vest.

"Aw! Come on Sarge!" Kayla pleaded.

Spike chuckled a little. "Tell you what, we get out of here alive, and I will tell you about it."

The station shook violently as a Covenant boarding craft latched to a nearby airlock. Spike was able to pick up the sounds of gunfire down the corridor.

"Shit." Spike muttered. "Charlie, take up defensive positions! Private Sanchez, set up that turret!" Spike ordered, pointing at a M247H that was leaning against the wall.

"Aye sir." Sanchez replied, balancing the turret over his shoulder as the team jogged out of the armory. Spike and Kayla took cover behind some hastily set up sandbags, helping Sanchez set up the teams turret. Just as they finished, the sound of gunfire stopped.

"Think they took care of them, sir?" Someone asked.

"If you mean they as in the poor Marines who were trying to fight off those boarders, then no." Spike replied. The Gunnery Sergeant who was stationed inside the armory ran out of it, holding two large bags filled with battle rifles and shotguns. Slung over his shoulder were two compact sniper rifles.

"Hey Gunny, toss me one of those snipers!" Spike called out to him. The Gunny glanced at the dragon, as well as his choice of weaponry.

"Hell, judging by the weapons you chose, you're going to need it." The Gunnery Sergeant said, handing one of the compact sniper rifles to Spike. "While those SMG's will rip the Covenant to shreds in close quarters, at the distance, even the grunts will have a pretty good chance of surviving."

Spike shrugged it off and checked if the sniper rifle was loaded. "Where are you heading?" Spike inquired.

"The non combatants said they would like some weapons, so I just grabbed as many as I could and ran out the door." He said, before tossing one of to Spike. "I think you guys may make better use of them, though."

"Thanks." Spike said, pulling out a few spare mags for his sniper rifle and placing them nearby, before setting his sniper up on its bipod. "Good luck, man."

"You too. I'll see you Marines on the other side." The Gunny said, before running down the hallway.

"Go, go, go!" Sergeant Major Xavier shouted, as his squad piled out of their pelican. Xavier quickly followed, clutching his assault rifle. Several warthogs passed by, followed by a couple scorpion tanks.

"What the hell is this place?" Sandstone asked, motioning to the sky. Looking up, he could see the entire ring world, which arched up in the distance and circled around. Xavier had an amusing thought about the ring they were on suddenly losing gravity, causing him to float off into space and crash into the opposite end of the ring.

"Hell if I know. We're going to find out, though." Xavier stated, as he and his squad continued forward. Several pods from one of the UNSC ships in orbit landed nearby, setting up several firebases and stations. Eventually, they would be upgraded to fortresses, once they got the resources. The pelicans, which just finished dropping off their Marine occupants, landed nearby in a neat line. Their pilots were checking over their pelicans, making sure none of them were damaged while in flight.

"Any visual on Covenant ground forces?" Twilight Sparkles voice asked.

"None whatsoever, ma'am." Their Commanders voice, Major Parker, responded. "But they will show up eventually."

"Good, get your bases defenses set up quickly. I don't want the Covenant getting the drop on us." Twilight stated.

"Affirmative. You just make sure those sneaky Covie bastards don't try to glass us." Parker stated playfully.

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Luna watched as a squadron of Sabre's passed by her Destroyers bridge, in the direction of what her Weapons Officer, Lieutenant Simmons, labelled as a giant clusterfuck. This 'clusterfuck' was a giant battle, between an estimated five hundred and twenty Covenant ships and the UNSC's Home Fleet, made up of 362 Frigates, 89 Destroyers, 35 Cruisers, and 15 Carriers, as well as support from the 257 Orbital Defense Platform. The Equis passed by the remains of a Covenant frigate, which was ripped in two by a MAC round from one of these stations. For once, it seemed, they were at a stalemate.

'It's not going to last very long...' Luna thought to herself.

"Simmons, report on weapons status." Luna ordered.

"We are fully loaded on archer missile pods and shiva class nuclear warheads. Our MAC's are also online, their charge decreasing by zero point five percent every five minutes." Lieutenant Simmons stated.

"Solstice?" Luna requested.

"Yes sister?" Solstice responded, as her avatar appeared on a nearby holopad. Unlike her usual appearence, where she looked exactly like her late sister Celestia (just with a long, red/crimson mane instead of a rainbow one), she was dressed up in the armor that alicorn warriors would dress in during battle. Luna smiled a bit at the irony of this. Luna was the only one of the royal sisters who fought in wars, while Tia sat in the palace filing paperwork.

"Show me the closest Covenant spacecraft." Luna ordered.

"Certainly." Solstice stated. Not even a second later, an image of a Covenant CSS-class battlecruiser popped up on a nearby holoscreen. "Distance to battlecruiser is about five hundred kilometers, give or take."

"Set up a targetting solution for the MAC's." Luna ordered Simmons.

"Already on it!" Simmons called out, working as fast as he could at his station.

"Sister, you surely know a destroyer is no match for a CSS-class battlecruiser." Solstice pointed out.

"Captain Keyes took on two frigates, one destroyer, and a carrier all on his own with his destroyer, the UNSC Iroquois, and won." Luna pointed out. "I plan on doing the same."

"But sister, the Keyes Loop was an act of desperation! He got lucky!" Solstice exclaimed.

Luna chuckled grimly, shaking her head. "What do you think this is, Solstice?"

Announcment

This story is officially being put on hold. The reason being is that when I release the new version of Haylo: A New World later this year, the Hayloverse will change drastically with it. However, this story will remain, but will be changed to fit the new canon set up by the newest version of the first installment.

I estimate that this story will be continued sometime in 2015, as I plan to finish Haylo: Boot Camp (which will be renamed Haylo: Project PONY) and Haylo: Among The Stars and rewrite Haylo: Dark Abyss before I continue this story.

Chapter Three

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates
August 17th, 2569, 1600 hours
Second Battle of Earth, Day One

Spartan-561 slowly worked his way through the wreckage that filled the streets, followed closely by a young ODST named Emilia. The Spartan grabbed Emilia and pulled her behind the burnt out skeleton of a civilian warthog, just as a squadron of banshees screeched overhead. Gunfire could be heard from down the streets, as the banshees spotted a fleeing squad of Marines. They didn't stand a chance, as the banshees plasma cannons opened fire, ripping the Marines to shreds.

"Poor bastards..." Emilia muttered, before the Spartan shushed her. A phantom hovered overhead, likely filled with Covenant infantry. And, to be completely honest, 561 didn't want to be drawn into a firefight. He was already out ammo for his battle rifle, and only had a few magazines left for his SMG. Thankfully, Emilia gladly gave him a Covenant carbine she relinquished off a dead jackal shortly after he had found her.

"Think we can handle it, Chief?" Emilia asked, rising up slightly to get a view of the Covenant just down the street.

"No. Now stay down." The Spartan ordered silently, pulling her back down to the ground. "See that alley to our right?" The Spartan asked, pointing the alley about three hundred feet away.

"Let me guess, you want me to make a break for it?" Emilia asked.

"Lucky guess. I'll keep you covered." 561 stated, as he rose up from his cover and brought up his carbine to his shoulder. "Go. Now."

Emilia nodded and sprinted across the street as fast as she could, knowing very well that it would mean the death of her if she was spotted. The Spartan trained his carbine on a Jackal sniper, the biggest threat to Emilia and himself at the moment.

"Don't turn around... don't turn around... please for the love of God, don't turn around..." 561 muttered to himself. The sniper sniffed in the air and whirled around, catching a glimpse of Emilia before she escaped into the alley. A nearby brute also caught sight of her.

"It's just a single imp!" The brute bellowed, before pointing at two nearby grunts, clad in white armor. "You two. Go take it out."

"Yes sire!" One of them squeaked, as they started waddling up the street, clumsily climbing over the smoking corpses of what used to be Marines. Spartan-561 activated his armors active camouflage unit and sprinted into the alley, catching up with his companion.

"You were spotted. We have two Grunt Ultra's on the way." 561 stated. "Let's not attract any unnecessary attention."

"What do you mean? We could take those Covenant without breaking a sweat." Emilia pointed out.

The Spartan shook his head. "Sorry, Emilia, but that would be suicide for us. We're outgunned and outnumbered. And despite what you have heard, Spartans aren't invincible." Spartan-561 glanced around the alley and smiled when he laid eyes on a nearby dumpster. "And, sorry to say, but you're going dumpster diving."

"What do you mean?" Emilia asked. Instead of the answer she was expecting, the Spartan casually picked her up and placed her into the dumpster.

"I'll let you know when you can come out." The Spartan stated. Emilia didn't say anything in response, but the finger that she flipped at him said enough. 561 carefully closed the dumpsters lid and reactivated his active camouflage, narrowly avoiding getting spotted by the two grunts as they wobbled into the alley way, plasma rifles at the ready.

"I have dibs on helmet." One of the grunts said to the other.

"We share!" The other one squeaked, as they walked past the dumpster and the camouflage Spartan.

"Kick the helmet?" The first one offered.

"You bet!" The other one said. The two grunts reached the end of the alley, which opened up into a small sides street. They looked around real quick before turning around.

"We lost them..." The first one muttered.

"No kick the helmet?" The other grunt asked. The first grunt shook its head.

"That, and leader will be mad." The first grunt responded.

"Very mad." The other one agreed.

As the two grunts walked around the corner, the Spartan let out a sigh of relief and popped open the dumpsters lid.

"You suck, you know that?" Emilia pointed out. "Don't put me in another one of those things." She tried to jump out of the dumpster, but was too weighed down by her equipment and armor to succeed. "Um... a little help?"

The Spartan chuckled and reached inside the dumpster, gently lifting the ODST out of it. "I'll cut you a deal, how about I make it up to you over a couple beers when we get out of here. Deal?"

"Are you asking me out on a date, Spartan?" Emilia inquired.

"That would depend on your answer." Spartan-561 replied.

"You haven't even told me your name yet. How would I go out with someone if I don't even know his or her name?" Emilia countered.

"Good point... how about this? I'll tell you my name if you say yes." The Spartan offered.

"Alright, fine, but only when we get out of here. A middle of a war zone isn't really the best place to start a relationship, as you know." Emilia pointed out. "Oh... and would you mind putting me down now?"

The Spartan chuckled and nodded, before carefully placing the ODST on her feet. "Alright, good. Now let's focus on getting out of here." Spartan-561 stated, as he started walking away, with Emilia in tow.

"So, what is your name, anyways?" Emilia asked.

"Leonard." Leonard-561 said, as they walked into the side street.

New York City, New York
UNSC Supreme Headquarters
1720 hours

"Pile out! Go, go, go!" Rosenda shouted, as her and the rest of Noble Team jumped out of their falcons. A trio of banshees screeched over head, blowing one of the falcons out of the sky. The hit falcon dropped towards the ground, almost falling right on top of Dinky. William ran up to the falcons crash site, pulling the badly burned and screaming pilot out of its cockpit.

"Medic! We need a medic over here!" William called out. Two Army medics ran up, carrying a stretcher with them. A trio of Army Troopers trailed behind them, each carrying a rocket launcher and a spartan laser.

The trio banshees turned around and went in for another attack run. The Army Troopers brought their rocket launchers up, locking onto the banshees, and fired off two rockets each. The pilots of the banshees didn't even have time to react, as each of the rockets hit their marks, blowing the banshees out of the sky.

"Who's in charge around here?" Rosenda asked one of the Army Troopers, who was working on reloading his rocket launcher.

"That would be Major Sky. He should be on the first floor." He replied. "Corporal," He said, pointing to the Army Trooper next to him, "go escort the Spartans to Major Sky."

"Yes sir!" The Corporal replied, before waving to the Spartans to follow him. "Covenant sent in their Spec Ops types against us. We weren't prepared for them. Until we heard you guys were showing up, we thought we were screwed."

"What type of casualties are we looking at?" Rosenda inquired.

"We had two divisions stationed here originally. We're down to three brigades now." The Corporal responded.

"Shit..." Speed commented.

"The 22nd Air Calvary is on it's way, but we need to soften them up for they can land." The Corporal stated. "I guess that's where you guys come in. Anyways, the Major should be down the hall. Good luck." He said, before turning around a running back the way they came.

Outside of Beta Halo's Index Chamber, Installation 09B
2115 hours

"Took you long enough." Scootaloo stated, upon catching sight of Artemis leaving the Index Chamber. Sweetie Belle also noticed this, and waved in Bucks squad of ODST's inside.

"You alright, Artemis?" Sweetie Belle inquired.

"Never been better!" Artemis stated, tossing Justices head up in the air casually. "Got myself a trophy too. Anyone know Arby's address? I think I want to sent this to him."

"I will make sure he gets it, Ari." Widow said.

"Colonel Smith, this is Captain Twilight, do you read me?" Twilight's voice inquired over the COM.

"I read you Captain, what do you need?" Widow replied.

"Did you get a hold of the index?" Twilight asked.

"One sec. Buck?" Widow inquired.

"Sorry ma'am, there is no sign of the index." Bucks voice replied.

"That's a negative, Captain. The Covenant must have gotten their grubby little hands on it before us." Widow stated.

"That's a shame. Alright, prep for evac. We need to wipe out the Covenant presense on this ring as fast as possible. The Covenant are attacking Earth, and the situation is deteriorating fast."

"Roger that. We're on our way out." Widow said.

"Any word on Admiral Luna, Twilight?" Artemis asked.

"She's involved in ship-to-ship combat in Earths orbit. She knows what she is doing, so don't worry about it." Twilight's voice replied. "Your transport is on the way. Head outside and wait for your pick up."

Before I continue...

(This will in a week or two.)

Before I continue, I was wondering if anyone would like their O.C. to appear in the series. I featured my pre-writers O.C.'s in Haylo: A New World, and I want to do the same for my fans in Haylo 2: Seas of Glass. Your O.C. can be a pony, human, dragon (adolescent), or a griffon. If you want your O.C. to appear, make a comment or a PM with your O.C.'s name, personality, and basic information. If you want, you can also include a picture or a description.

Thank you.

-MarineMarksman