Halo: The Interlopers

Mark and his two companions watched helplessly as the Albatross and Pelican dropships gained altitude, climbing above the towers and flying off. The three men lost sight of them quickly as they disappeared among the skyscrapers.

What followed was a ten-minute tirade of swearing on Alexander’s part, as he cursed their luck for obvious reasons, the Covenant for cutting them off, the narrow streets for being so easily blocked, and the planners of the secondary evacuation for not allotting more time to reach the evac point. It seemed that several REA and UNSC soldiers had similar problems, because almost three dozen vehicles arrived by the end of his absurdly profane ranting. Many of the personnel joined him in their anger, creating what many of them would look back to as a somewhat literal shitstorm, made slightly more literal by the rain.

After assuming command, the SPARTANs began taking a head count of the forces at their disposal by using their radios.
Their REA allies’ aircraft were just one AH-64D Apony Longbow and two UH-60 Blackhocks. Their complement of land vehicles was quite formidable. Five M2 Saddley IFVs with add-on armor and varying states on their turret mounted TOW missiles, four M5 Challenger II MBTs with ERA, and two of the previous generation M60 tanks, fitted with the modern Isreini Sabra upgrade packages. Also present were three Stryker M1128 Mobile Gun Systems, fitted with composite applique armor and an outer cage armor. Apparently no M1114 HMMWV “Humvee” vehicles had survived the battle. All of that totaled to seventeen REA vehicles. Additionally, a head count of their infantry indicated they had one hundred-seventeen ponies equipped for combat, not including the vehicle crews.

The UNSC forces were more uniformly equipped and armed, as well as organized. At their disposal were four UH-144 Falcons, two armed with mounted M247H machineguns and two with M460 Automatic Grenade Launchers. They also had a Pelican with an extended troop bay and missile pods, which had apparently been too slow to evacuate during the temporary lifting of the no-fly zone and barely avoided a missile from an REAF fighter. On the ground they had three normal M12 FAV Warhogs, one gauss Warthog and two missile Warthogs, as well as four Mongooses. Four M808 Scorpion tanks were present, and anti-aircraft fire was provided by a pair of M9 Wolverine AA tanks. One SP-42 Cobra railgun tank was present to round out the bunch. That added up to eighteen vehicles, and the total number of UNSC personnel was one hundred twenty-nine.

As the vehicles congregated in a several block area to prevent clogged streets, the SPARTANs received their reports. Thirty-five vehicles and three hundred human and pony infantry. Planning began for an evacuation of their own when Mark quashed it.

“We’re not leaving this island until we can get rid of the Covenant. We’ll do that with or without outside help, but a UNSC frigate is en route to support us last I heard. Major Tsoukalos will brief you on the plan,” Mark explained.

He contacted Admiral Hunt with his suit’s comms. “Admiral, this is Lieutenant Colonel Mark Thompson. I’ve assumed command of the remaining forces in the midtown area, and we’re going to stage an assault, try and carry out the plan we discussed. Can you assist?”

“Colonel, this is Hunt, listen carefully. I just got out of a fight with the Equestrian brass, whose best idea right now is to launch a tactical nuclear strike on Manehattan, effective at midnight tonight.”

“Sir, that is insane. This city is still full of people. And there’s the surrounding boroughs, not to mention the fallout. They can’t-”

“They will Colonel. Equestria sees it as a necessary price to stop the Covenant, and I’m having a tough time offering alternatives. Now you have a very limited window in which to do… Whatever it it you plan to do. After that… Do you understand?”

“Affirmative, but-”

“Contact, open fire!” A pony yelled. A Locust made its way through a several tanks before being taken down by 105mm cannon fire from REA M1128s.

“Fuck! We need to move!” Alexander yelled.

The SPARTANs mounted their Warthog and headed towards Canteral Park.

“All units, we are heading for Canteral Park, effective right fucking now!” Alexander yelled over the radio. Plasma mortars began pounding their position, taking out more vehicles. The aircraft took off and headed for the park to get a visual.

“Hold channel Colonel, I’ll see what I can do.”

“What’s the status of Lieutenant Rosenkova and her support?”

Please let Twilight be okay.

“Their train was derailed by a Covenant bomb, and we can’t reach any of them. I don’t think they made it,” Hunt answered.

“Copy, Thompson out,” Mark said calmly. Mark was devastated, and for a moment his grip loosened on the handle of the gauss cannon. He quickly regained his composure however, as his heart filled with a cold rage.

As if Twilight’s death had sadistically cheered the sky up, the rain stopped and the moon emerged. It became a clear night in minutes, the moon and stars lighting the way across wet pavement and dirt.

I’m going to finish this tonight.

The vehicles advanced to the outskirts of Canteral Park, killing any resistance on the way. When they reached a clearing and saw the park, the allied force opened fire on anything in their path.

Rockets, missiles and grenades rained from UNSC and REA aircraft, accompanied by large-caliber rounds tearing apart infantry. The Apache was especially effective, but after several kills, an anti-aircraft Wraith unleashed a barrage of fuel rods at it. The attack helicopter was reduced to shrapnel by the emerald explosions, and an M5A1 Challenger II destroyed its attacker with a 120mm high explosive squash head projectile.

Human and pony armored vehicles advanced alongside each other, obliterating everything in their path, infantry and vehicles alike. But one by one, they fell against the dozens of vehicles the Covenant had fielded, their armor no match for the plasma weaponry of their adversaries. Were it not for their rapid advance and numbers, the land assault would have failed.

Infantry disembarked from their transports, adding their own weaponry to the fight. The air was filled with tracer rounds as the allies put out as many rounds as they could. Entire Covenant squads were torn to ribbons by the hail of metal directed at them.

Lukas maneuvered the SPARTANs’ Warthog well enough that it was able to obtain several vehicle kills without being hit. He positioned the vehicle behind a column of Wraiths, and traveled parallel to them. Mark put a round from the gauss cannon into each of their exposed exhaust vents, destroying them in rapid succession. The formidable line of vehicles fell in seconds.

Covenant troops deployed from Phantoms, but most of the dropships were shot down by the Wolverines and the missile Warthog before they could even put the soldiers on the ground. Those that did land were slaughtered by the Warthogs’ guns, and the vehicles deployed for their support were destroyed 105mm rounds of the M1128s’ and M60 Sabras’ cannons.

More Covenant troops emerged, coming from a large door leading from the inside of the Forerunner structure still partially buried. Long range cannon fire pounded them, but the aliens forged ahead out of what could have been bravery as easily as desperation. Some light vehicles came out of the tunnel, but they were swept aside as easily as the footsoldiers.

The battle raged for an hour, the allied forces bombarding the Covenant from afar until their ammunition ran low, at which point both sides slowed. Eventually the aliens stopped fighting, fleeing the park.

“Archer, get us in there!” Mark barked. The Warthog began to close with the sole entrance when the ground began to quake, then rise. Beneath them was a metal plateau, which flipped some of the advancing vehicles. Within a minute, it had risen fifty meters above the ground, and Mark’s team was alone.

If Lukas and Alexander were intimidated by this, they didn’t say anything. They drove into the heart of the structure, following the huge corridors deeper and deeper into the structure. Curiously, the holograms on the walls seemed to indicate the directions to take.

Finally, they came to a door, one too small for the Warthog.

“Alexander, Lukas, stay here and guard this door. I want this ‘Hog ready to go when I get back, alright?”

“Sir-” Lukas began.

“That’s an order, Captain! If I need help I’ll radio you, but otherwise stay put.”

The two of them nodded and readied for defense and escape. Mark walked through the door, which opened for him. On the other end was a bridge of solid blue light, which he took to reach the other end of a chasm. At the other end was another door. He entered this one as well, to find a large room.

It was circular in shape, and lined by a ring-like platform, with a large hologram of Equis in the empty space within the ring. A console was near the edge of the ring.

As he approached, a metallic orb gently descended from the ceiling, a yellow light taking up most of the approaching side.

“Greetings Reclaimer! I am 147 Adjutant Reflex, monitor of this installation, and several others in this part of the planet! How may I assist you?” The machine had a deep voice that contrasted its small size and seemingly cheery demeanor.

This seems… Easy.

“The ship above this installation. I need it destroyed. Can you get it done?”

“Easily, and with pleasure!”

A distant thunder shook the structure for several seconds. Seconds later another tremor shook the ground, this one shorter but more intense.

“Raider here sir,” Alexander began, using his callsign. “What the fuck was that?”

“This is Captain Loose Cannon,” A pony said over the comms. Cheering could be clearly heard in the background. “Whatever you did in there, it worked!”

Mark checked his clock. There was twenty minutes to midnight; twenty minutes to a nuclear strike.

“There’s one more thing I need, Reflex.”

“Yes Reclaimer?”

“The city is filled with Covenant, and if they’re not eliminated in half an hour, this structure will be the epicenter of a nuclear strike. If you have any way to eliminate them, I suggest you use it.”

“As you wish Reclaimer; deploying Sentinels.”

Damn, he’s practically a yes-man.

“Sir, those bots Major Tsoukalos was talking about are coming out of the structure. I’m getting reports that they’re engaging Covies all over the place; they just came out of the fucking ground and they’re already everywhere!”

“Elimination of remaining meddlers should be complete in five minutes.”

The next five minutes were the longest Mark had ever experienced.

“Sweeps complete! I am happy to report that barring a minute amount of possible survivors, there are no meddlers remaining!”

“They’re gone sir! They’re fucking dead! Fucking lightbulbs did their job! Equestria, fuck y-” The pony’s transmission was interrupted with a burst of static.

At the same time, the yellow ‘eye’ began to flash red, and the monitor began to exhibit erratic flight patterns. The yellow turned to blue, and the flickering slowed to just an occasional flash of red in the dominating blue eye.

The monitor laughed in a somewhat high-pitched voice, drastically different from its previous voice. “It’s so good to see you again, Recl- Hmm. Interesting, the Reclaimer I know is different. You seem to have a different genetic structure and combat skin, although it was the same class two he used.” The voice was high-pitched, much like the monitor’s new voice.

Wait, he sounds like… Mark recognized the voice from years-old recordings. But this is impossible! Thel'Vadam confirmed his death!

Mark drew his DMR and pointed it at the monitor.

“How are you still alive!?” Mark demanded.

“I am a genius! Heeheeheehee!”

***

“The fucking things are turning on us! We have to fall back from the structure!” Soarin heard over the radio. He’d been about to turn back when he heard that.

“Looks like we’re still on,” Spitfire said from her jet.

The two of them were flying F-35As carrying air launched cruise missiles tipped with W-80 nuclear warheads, each one set to the maximum yield of one hundred fifty kilotons. They were fifteen minutes from Manehattan.

Is this what grandpa and the crew of the Hockscar felt? About to wipe out an entire city, fully aware of the destructive potential of their payload?

Military aviation ran in Soarin’s blood. Practically every stallion in his family had been an aviator since the Second World War. His great-uncle flew an F-86 Sabre during the Coltrean War. His uncle had been shot down over Vietmane and kept in the infamous Haynoi Hilton, and he still had the physical and mental scars from that. His father had flown for the Royal Equestrian Navy from the late-70s to the beginning of the war in Afghaneighstan, and been involved in every conflict in that period.

But his grandfather had been on the Hockscar, the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the Fat Stallion on Neighgasaki. His grandpa had never talked about why he retired from the REAF, and it wasn’t until Soarin was in high school and doing a report on Equestria-Nippony relations for his International Relations class that he came across the names of the crewmembers of the two infamous B-29s.

When he saw his grandpa’s name, it all clicked. Now he knew why he’d quit. When he confronted his parents about it, they told him not to talk about it to anypony. He understood why.

Now here he was, possibly about to live through the same emotional Tartatus as his grandfather. He knew that five things could happen now. First, could abort the strike by order. Second, he could abort anyway and be dishonorably discharged from the REAF and the Wonderbolts. Third, he could be shot down. Fourth, the humans could pull through and he could abort the run without suffering any consequences. Fifth and last, he and Spitfire could execute the mission as planned, sentencing millions of ponies to death.

The first four all seemed appealing compared to launching the missiles. He wasn’t even killing enemy civilians, he was killing ponies who loved Equestria just like he did.

***

“Perhaps introductions are in order, I am-” The monitor began before Mark cut him off.

“343 Guilty Spark, monitor of Installation 04.”

Every SPARTAN knew the tale of John-117; the soldier everyone in the UNSC thought of as a hero, and whom all SPARTANs looked up to in a way no other being could approach. They all knew about his fight on the Alpha Halo, on the Delta Halo, Earth, the Ark, and the rebuilt Alpha Halo. They knew from his reports and the reports of his allies, although only the Arbiter survived to tell of his final battle.

Because they all knew his story, they all knew of Guilty Spark.

And now it seemed Mark was meeting him.

“How are you still alive?”

“Before I engaged the Reclaimer in battle on Installation 04-B, I sent a copy of myself from the Ark using the superluminal communication relay to reach the nearest Forerunner installation, which was here.” With that last word, his blue eye flashed red for a moment.

“And what do you want?”

“Why, to avenge my rings and the Ark, of course! The Forerunners did pick their Inheritors so poorly.” His eye flashed red for those last two words.

“And how are you going to do that?”

“As we speak, I am turning the sentinels against the denizens and defenders of this metropolis. Unfortunately, their stubborn IFF subroutines have reduced their combat efficiency to a mere ten percent against you and the ‘ponies’. It matters not, there are easily enough to exterminate the population of this city.” His eye was red for the whole last sentence.

Mark had heard enough. He holstered his rifle, activated his sword-gauntlet and charged. He leapt and cleanly bisected the monitor.

“Destroying my body solves nothing, Reclaimer! This entire structure is under my control! In fact, I am this fortress,” Spark’s voice boomed. “Flee if you wish, I shan’t stop you.”

Mark returned the way he came, and jumped to the gunner’s seat on the Warthog. Lukas got in the driver’s seat and Alexander got in shotgun.

“Floor it!” The ‘Hog accelerated forwards, hitting its top speed in seconds. Mark looked at the clock; he had fifteen minutes to midnight.

“The fuck happened? First those Sentinels show up and kill every Covie in a snap, then they turn on us! Why?” Alexander demanded.

“Two words. Guilty. Spark.”

The Warthog continued heading back to the surface, retracing its path.

“I don’t believe it!” Lukas blurted.

“Believe it. When we get topside I’ll transmit my mission feed to the fleet for analysis. I don’t think they’d believe me unless they had vid evidence.”

The Warthog emerged into the moonlight. Mark’s clock said he had seven minutes until midnight.

“Keep going, you two make the jump in the ‘Hog!” Mark ordered.

“Sir, why?”

“If Andraste is in position, they’ll need a spotter.”

The Warthog stopped, and the two of them looked at him as he jumped off.

“It’s been an honor, sir!” Alexander said solemnly. Lukas nodded and gave the best salute he’d ever give.

“Likewise.”

The Warthog sped off and made the fifty meter jump to the ground. Lukas and Alexander flashed their acknowledgement lights green to let him know they were okay.

Mark keyed a link to Admiral Hunt “Admiral, I’ve confirmed that the Sentinels have gone haywire due to a rogue monitor. I’ve sent you the vid record of this op.”

“Then the nuke is our only option. We can’t let those drones get out of this city.” Hunt said, full of regret.

“No,” Mark reproached him. He opened a link to the frigate a few kilometers from Manehattan. “UNSC Andraste, lock onto my current location and fire.”

“Uh, sir, that structure won’t survive a MAC round impact; it’ll collapse with you on it,” The ship’s captain replied.

“We can’t risk the nuke. Besides, how’ll you hit your target without someone to mark it?”

There was a short pause.

“Admiral, make the call,” Andraste's CO requested.

“Thompson, I can’t ask you to do this…” Hunt said.

“Sir, it’s why you sent me here. We both know it’s the only way.”

“Admiral, we’re out of time. We need to fire.”

“Proceed on target. Thompson, I’ll never forget this.”

“Target acquired, firing in twenty.”

“Thompson, they got the target, now get outta there! Move it!”

Mark ran as fast as he could, faster than many SPARTANs could sprint, pushing the limits of his armor. He saw the ledge approaching, and when it was right in front of him, he jumped.

The frigate Andraste fired twice, and the rounds impacted the structure dead on. The pressure wave from the resulting explosion was enormous, sending Mark flying. He hit the ground, still alive, and tried to get up when he was buried by rubble from nearby buildings.

I’ll see you soon, Twilight.

***

Soarin heard the twin blasts of sound, louder than thunder.

What the fuck?

“Major Spitfire, Captain Soarin! This is Admiral Hunt of the UNSC Navy; call off your attack now!”

“They’re dropping! It’s over man, they did it!” Ground chatter came through. There was a lot of cheering going on.

“Major Spitfire, Captain Soarin. This is Princess Celestia. Abort your attack run now!”

“Yes ma’am!” He pulled his jet and put it on course to return to base. Soarin couldn’t find words to express his relief.

***

Several days later, Dagger team regrouped in front of the ruined Forerunner structure, Lieutenant Rosenkov having returned. They explained what had almost happened, and Mark’s sacrifice to prevent it. Wall, Carpenter, Helia and Twilight Sparkle were all present for the retelling.

Helia was sad to hear that Mark had passed, and leaned against her newly minted fiancée, Lieutenant Curtis Wall.

Carpenter took out a Sweet William and lit it to celebrate the victory. “To Mark!” He said, putting the cigar in his mouth.

“To the brothers and sisters who ain’t here,” Alexander concurred.

“Do you know where his body is?” Twilight asked solemnly. “I’d like to pay my respects.”

“I have an idea of where,” Lukas answered.

He led them to a pile of rubble a few dozen meters away from the destroyed structure. Sticking from it was Mark’s rifle.

***

Mark awoke to find himself buried under several tons of rubble. There was room for him to move a little, maybe enough to get some of the debris off of him. He could see light coming from in front of him. And he could hear voices, one of which caught his attention.

Twilight. She’s alive.

Mark shoved a rock out from in front of him, letting in more light. The voices on the other side intensified, and he could see the rocks in front of him moving. A purple aura enveloped and lifted several tons the rubble pinning him down, allowing him to stand up. He walked forwards and picked up his rifle before slinging it over his shoulder.

It was a beautiful day out. A few cotton-like clouds in the sky, the sun still rising to its midday position, and a light breeze swaying the leaves on trees.

The group in front of him just stared in awe that he was still alive. Mark walked out from the shadow of the destroyed Forerunner structure. He walked towards the street, and they followed him.

Pelicans, Falcons, and REA helicopters flew overhead. In the streets, civilians and soldiers were hugging, kissing and cheering; pony, human, griffon, donkey, mule, it didn’t matter. Joy was the rule of the day for most of the civilians.

Mark removed his helmet and smelled the air. It still smelled like death, smoke, gunpowder, just like it had before. But now that scent wouldn’t be getting any stronger.

Mark turned around and looked at his friends. “Start spreadin’ the news,” He began singing.

“I’m leavin’ today,” Twilight joined in, smiling.