Halo 2: Shadowed pasts and Ancient Runes

Chapter 11: Put your wings on
Planet Equis: October 17, 2552
0945 hours

Almya watched Twilight pace the office for the twentieth time. She rolled her eyes and walked over to her lavender caretaker.

"Twilight! He's going to be just fine! Calm down!" Almya assured, placing her 'hands' on her shoulders. Twilight placed a hoof on her stomach and winced. Maybe she should calm down. It wasn't good for the baby.

She flopped on the small couch and sighed. "Oh, Almya? Why did I let him go? He should have stayed here and-"

"Twilight? You in there?" Bill asked from the other side of the door. Twilight trotted over quickly and opened it.

"Hey, Bill. What brings you by?" She asked. He walked in and took a seat at her desk. He looked a little flustered.

"I don't know. Maybe how Nathan left to Earth, leaving me and Cam here!" He said angrily. Bill rarely ever got angry and it took Twilight by surprise. She sighed and sat by his side.

"Bill, I'm sure he had a good reason for you two to stay here. He probably just wanted you to stay safe. After all you guys did lose... He doesn't want to lose you, too." She said, putting a hoof on his shoulder. He sighed and rubbed his shaven head.

"Yeah, I guess. But, we're soldiers! It's our job to lay down our lives to protect the human race and her allys. I don't know what to do..." He admitted. Twilight put her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"I don't know either, Bill..."

Laurence paced in the hospital's lobby. He let out a sigh and slumped in a chair, but found himself instantly on the floor when it snapped under his weight. He groaned loudly and walked to the counter.

"Is Star Trot okay?" He asked hastily. The nurse didn't even bat an eye at him.

"Sir, we'll let you know when we find out, okay? Please, take a seat." She gestured to the chairs, but saw one was completely shattered. "Oh."

Laurence faked a smiled and sat on the floor, running his hands across his face. Why did Nathan leave her there alone?! What was he thinking?! She couldn't handle the Covenant, let alone a Brute!

He spit on the ground in disgust for that traitor. He couldn't believe how fast he left though... Twilight had come from the battlefield and told them all he was on his way to Earth to help. No one believed it and Laurence just wanted to punch the arrogant mans face in...

"Laurence, yes?" The doctor asked. Laurence hadn't even seen the pony walk up to him. He stood quickly and looked down at the pony.

"Is she okay, doc?" He asked quickly. The doctor smiled and looked down at the chart.

"How else would I have known who you were? She's been asking for you for a while. Would you like to see her?" The doctor gestured to the ER wing and Laurence raced down the halls, thundering boot falls echoing the entire time. He burst into the room and saw Star Trot sitting up on the bed.

"Star..." He said happily.

She looked up at the door and instantly had a smile plastered on her face. "Laurence! You came to see me!" She said with glee. He went over to her side and pat her head.

"Of course... How are you feeling?" He asked quickly. She looked herself over and frowned.

"Well, I had a collapsed lung and internal bleeding, but the doctors patched me up good as new!" She affirmed, patting her chest, wincing slightly. Laurence chuckled and gave her a quick hug.

"You would make a great Spartan, you know that?" He said honestly. She blushed and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Aw, well I wouldn't say that..." She said with a giggle. Laurence put his hand on her arm and stared her straight in her green eyes.

"I'm really glad you're okay." He said. She smiled and hugged him tight. She pulled away and stayed right in his face. Her eyes hovered from those blue wonders to his lips. She let out a sigh and pressed hers face into his.

Laurence didn't seem to care. He closed his eyes and smiled, kissing her back. This really felt right, and he loved every second of it. She pulled away and blushed.

"That's for... well, everything you've done for me." She said sheepishly. Laurence smiled and ruffled her hair, eliciting a laugh from the small mare. He smiled and took a careful seat on the couch. It didn't buckle, so that was a start...

CRACK

Star Trot couldn't hold in the laugh. Laurence had snapped the couch clean in half with his weight. He smiled at Star Trot and kicked the couch across the room.

"Well, it's the hospitals problem now." He said happily. She smiled and watched him walk back over to her. He shifted uneasily for a second and remembered he had something for her.

"Oh, I found this on the battlefield and I just that you'd want it." He said, tossing a green emerald towards her. She caught it in her hooves and smiled.

"Really? For me?" She asked happily. Laurence smiled and went for the door.

"I need to go for a bit, but I'll be back later, alright?" He told her, hoping she'd understand he had clean up duty. She frowned and nodded. He gave her a wink and a reassuring smile. She smiled back and nodded.

"You promise you'll come back?" She asked unsure. She knew he was a soldier and when duty called, he could leave in an instant. He smiled at her and nodded.

"Of course. I promise." He said, holding up his hand in sincerity. She watched him leave and sunk into the pillow. She lightly ran her hoof across her lips and could still feel the sensation of the kiss.

I love you, Laurence...

"Hornet Squadrons! Head back to Crow's Nest immediately! We are under heavy Covenant attack, repeat: Heavy Covenant attack! We could use you to cover our transports!"

Nathan cocked his head in the direction of the base and, sure enough, he saw a couple of Phantoms sneak their way through the defenses.

"Alright! Squadrons Helios through November, I want you all with me! We're at Crow's Nest. The rest of you, cover the outlying area. Don't let any Banshees get through, got it?"

Squadrons of Hornets began to buzz every which way. Around forty came up behind Nathan, and around one hundred more stayed back and circled the area, destroying anything purple.

Nathan hit the throttle and his Hornet surged forward, leaving everyone else in the dust. "Alright! Fan out, guys and gals! I want this sky spotless!" He shouted. He heard the cheers in his radio and smiled.

Man, I wish I had Almya with me...

Nathan felt more alone than ever without her. It was like a piece of him had been removed. He felt naked without her assistance.

Guess I have to change my own music... He thought dryly.

Nathan opened up a file in his helmet, labeled, Fighting music: Classics. He flipped open the folder and let. 'Ride of the Valkyries' play.

He closed the folder and looked up to see about two dozen Banshees and a few Phantoms approach the base. He smiled and began to hum the music, as he let loose a flurry of rockets and machine gun fire.

He tore through the first few Banshees easy enough, watching their bullet riddled pilots descend into the canyon. He smiled and continued to hum the tune. Just because he was a Spartan, didn't mean he didn't have taste.

A Phantom shot out from the other side of the canyon and opened fire on his Hornet. His small craft lurched forward and began to sputter, taking a direct hit to one of the engines. Nathan cursed himself and began to devise a plan.

The Phantom most likely would turn to let the smaller turrets finish him off. With that, he could easily... nahh, that wouldn't work.

The Phantom turned and Nathan lurched the craft forward, slamming it headlong into the cargo hold of the Phantom. Grunts and Brutes shuffled to the back and front of the craft, trying to evade the Hornet. Nathan kicked the hatch off and jumped into the Phantom. It was time for him to start the party.

"Another Phantom incoming!" One of the Marines yelled. The Chief looked up from the turret to see a sputtering, out of control Phantom careen into the side of the hanger doors, ricocheting off the wall onto the deck in a ball of purple flame.

"What in the hell happened?" Another Marine called out, bursting from his cover confused. They all pointed their rifles at the craft when something moved. A gauntleted hand reached up and pulled itself up, revealing the Spartan from earlier.

The Chief watched him throw his BR to the deck and jump down. He retrieved the weapon and marched over to Master Chief, quickly giving a quick salute.

"Sir! Spartan G129... uh... Yeah, you know what? I got nothing to say about this." Nathan admited, breaking the salute. The Chief looked back to the Phantom to see what looked like the back end of a Hornet sticking out of one of the cargo doors. He smiled beneath his helmet and stared the man over.

This Spartan was reckless, daring, probably a little stupid, but he was a true Spartan. The Chief nodded to him as Johnson came back on the mic.

"Chief? Make your way back to the Command Center." He said. Nathan heard as well and gestured to the door.

"Shall we, Sir?" He asked lifting his visor so the Chief could see his face for the first time. The chief stepped back, surprised by what he saw.

He was a kid! Just a kid, probably no older than nineteen or twenty. It was to be expected, since he was a newer generation of Spartans, but that young? The chief frowned, wondering how young everyone else in his unit was, but decided it be best not to dwell on these kinds of things during an invasion. He nodded to the Spartan and they took off back to the CC.

"Hey!" The marine called out, staring through the bunker. The Chief and Nathan stopped him as a Drone flew out from the air ducts, grabbing the marine by the pits. It began flying off with the poor, screaming man.

Nathan leveled his BR and let a burst fly for the large bug. It exploded from the impact and the soldier fell to the ground, covered in bug guts. Nathan had never seen anything like them before.

"What the hell are those?!" One of the marines yelled, ducking deeper behind her cover. The Sergeant whipped a grenade and ducked as a Plasma bolt grazed his arm.

"DRONES! A whole swarm!"

Nathan bolted behind a pillar as the Chief ducked behind a weapons box. Nathan began to open fire with the SMG at his side and took down three of the buggers, but they just kept pouring out of the vent like a waterfall. He looked back to the Chief, who was giving the bugs everything he had with his AR.

There's got to be something...

Nathan looked to his left to see the toppled turret. How much does one drum hold? two hundred rounds? Oh well, it'd have to be enough.

"Chief! Give me some cover fire!" Nathan yelled. The Chief looked over and nodded, grabbing two SMG's from the box he was hiding behind and went to work.

While the drones were busy with him, Nathan ran for the turret. He ripped it off the mount and opened up, ripping through the bugs like tissue paper. The rest turned and opened fire on him. Plasma rounds ripping at his shields like razors.

The Chief looked over at the stone solid Spartan, taking the shots with unrelenting determination. He watched as his shields fail and his armor began to melt from the impacts.

Nathan kept shooting, the pain from the burns becoming unbearable. He felt his vision blur and his heart pound out of his chest. With one last effort, he whipped the almost empty chain gun at the buggers. They dodged it easy enough and continued to fire. Nathan ran back behind cover and gasped for air. He looked over to the Chief who was just staring him down.

"Well? Covering fire!" Nathan shouted, running out for round two. The Chief hesitated and opened up when the Spartan sprinted for the turret on the other end of the room.

Nathan gasped for air. He didn't know how bad he was hit, but he knew he had to do something. Nathan took one last look out from behind the stone pillar, a Plasma bolt blasting a chunk of rock away right in front of his face. He heard his mic crackle and the deep voice of the Chief came on.

"Spartan? Don't do anything stupid! You're going into shock and your heart rate is through the roof. Stand down." He ordered. Nathan shook his head.

"Sorry, Sir. I got your ass to save."

Nathan jumped on the Turret and opened up on the buggers that were still left. They tried to weave and dodge as best they could, but ultimately imploded from his pinpoint fire.

Nathan looked over as the door beneath them opened and a squad of marines burst in, opening fire as well. Took you long enough...

It was down to the last drone, who tried to flee back through the vent, but Nathan shot it in the head with his BR, sending Drone bits in all directions. The Chief left his cover and ran over to his new comrade, who was slumped on the floor, his armor smoking from the impacts.

"Spartan, are you okay?" He asked. Nathan shakily got to his feet and let out a laugh.

"You think a couple of bugs would stop me?" He asked, patting his chest. The Chief smiled and slid down the embankment followed by Nathan. The soldiers let them through the door and they made their way back up to the command center.

Johnson took another inhale of his Cigar and leaned in close to the nuke. One of the Engineers looked up to him with a nervous smile.

"I'm still setting up the time and it could go off on its own..." He said nervously. Miranda, who was contacting the CC from her Pelican stared down at Johnson from the large screen.

"Uh, Johnson? You might want to put that out." She said. He looked down at the Cigar, then back to her stern face and conceded. He threw the cigar on the ground and stomped it out as Nathan and John came up the stairs. Johnson smiled at the pair and looked to Miranda.

"Chief? Have a look. A little going away gift for the Covenant. We linked it to smaller charges throughout the base. Johnson? As soon as the evacuation is complete start the timer."

"Understood." He said with a smile.

"Good luck everyone. See you on the last pelican out." She said. The view screen went dark and Johnson turned to the two Spartans.

Chief? Nathan? Follow me." He said. He led them up to a door that was surrounded by marines. Whatever was on the other side must not be pretty. Johnson turned to the Spartans and frowned.

"Brutes have taken the barracks. Marines are trapped inside. Those apes aren't much for mercy chief. We both know what they do to prisoners..." He trailed off and the Chief nodded. "Get to the barracks, save those men, then escort them to the landing pad."

One of the Marines opened the door and backed away, allowing Nathan and John into the heart of hostile territory. Nathan smiled as he went.

It's good to be back...