Halo 2: Shadowed pasts and Ancient Runes

Chapter 6: Deceptive war machine
October 5, 2552
Installation 05: 'Delta' Halo
Sacred Icon chamber

"Johnson? Are you alright?" Miranda called out. She looked over at the man, knocked out cold. "Johnson!"

The Arbiter seized the moment. He jumped from his cover and slapped the SMG's from her hands. He hesitated, unsure what to do next, as a field enveloped her, knocking her out cold.

The Arbiter followed her body to see Tartarus grab her out of the air, taking the Sacred Icon from her belt. He smiled over to the Arbiter, but it was a smile of deceit.

"Excellent work, Arbiter." He bellowed. "The hierarchcs will be pleased." The Arbiter shook his head at Tartarus as more brutes came from the shadows. He clutched his wound tightly and stepped forward.

"The Icon... is my responsibility." He protested. Tartarus chuckled.

"Was your responsibility." He snorted. "Now it is mine. A bloody fate awaits you and your incompetent race. And I, Tartarus, Chieftain of the Brutes, will send you to it!" He bellowed. The Brutes around him cheered. The Arbiter felt smaller and smaller by the second.

"When the Prophets learn of this, they will have your head!" He protested. Tartarus aimed the Gravity hammer in the Arbiters direction and smiled.

"When they learn? Fool. They ordered me to do it!" He squeezed the shaft of his Gravity hammer. A large pulse came out, knocking the Arbiter off the ledge into the pit below.

Truth turned his head as Tartarus returned with the Icon, and a reluctant Miranda and Johnson in tow. The Prophets looked to one another, then back to the humans. 343 Guilty Spark, who had been suspended in a beam, turned towards the two and let out a chirp of amusement.

"Ah, Reclaimers! I see you have the Index. We must hurry to the control room before the Flood destroy all!" He said with a little bit of urgency.

Truth held up a hand to silence the monitor and floated towards the humans in his midst. "One thing that is most regrettable about you filth, is that you seem to have the magic touch when it comes to activating the objects of our lords. That is a secret that will die with both of you, though."

Mercy strolled over now and scoffed at the pair. "You humans are weak. It is a blessing you were left behind when they ascended into Gods. For we had the pleasure of slowly eradicating your existence from their worlds!"

Johnson scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure they'd be thrilled you burned their worlds to glass!" He spit. Mercy waved a hand.

"It is their will that you were destroyed, no matter the price."

Johnson frowned. He hoped he'd get to him, but it seems that their belief had an answer for everything. He turned to Miranda and shrugged.

"Tartarus. I want you to take the female and the oracle to the temple. There she can start our journey. Your Brutes can take the male to the rest of the prisoners for execution. Tell them to make it slow." He finished, smiling down at Johnson.

Johnson stuck his tongue out in a childish manner as they were walked down the halls out of the chamber. Truth turned to Mercy.

"Let us go, Mercy. We have our Covenant to address."

Before they left, however, he whispered into his mic to Tartarus. "Has your fleet been sent to that back water cesspit?" He hissed. Tartarus grunted.

"Yes, holy one. They will be their in a day."

Truth smiled then left the chambers with an unaware Mercy in tow.

Nathan opened the door to their room and let Twilight in first. She groggily walked inside and sat on the couch. And, sure enough, she instantly opened a folder filled with her work. Nathan rolled his eyes, not even going to attempt to argue with her.

"What do you want for dinner?" He asked her from the kitchen. She looked up and shrugged.

"Anything is good to me. Oh, wait! Could you make me a dandelion sandwich? I've been craving one all day." She said, slumping in the couch in anticipation of the meal.

Nathan smiled. "Already getting cravings, huh?" He asked. She nodded and let out a loud 'mhmm'. He made the sandwich, making an extra just in case and lit the fireplace. He went over to the couch and was quickly snuggled up to by Twilight.

"Thanks." She said happily. He kissed her head and picked up his M6D pistol, taking it apart in seconds and started to clean it. She watched in awe as he cleaned the firing mechanism and then reassemble the gun in lightning speed, then as he took his helmet and started to clean that as well.

Could she really stop him from being a soldier completely? He was born a soldier. It wasn't like he could just hang his armor up for good. And after what happened with the other Spartans, it was just a wake up call to him that he couldn't leave his old life behind. She snuggled up closer and held him tight.

"Can I ask you something?" She said. He nodded. "What do you think of this pregnancy?"

He sighed loudly, unsure of what to make of it. "Well, it's unexpected, that's for sure. Not to mention it doesn't seem physically possible... But I couldn't be happier."

"Really?" She asked hoping he was sure.

He nodded. "Absolutely. I can't wait till the day I can be called dad."

She smiled, almost tearing as she cuddled as close as she physically could. "Lets invite our friends over tomorrow. I want to see them all again."

"Sounds reasonable." Nathan said nodding. He looked down when she didn't answer to see she was sound asleep. He looked at the plate where the second dandelion sandwich sat. Curiosity got the best of him. He grabbed it and took a small bite. He chewed once, twice, and then nodded.

"Not bad..." He said quietly, munching the rest of it down. Once finished, he placed his head on the back of the couch and slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Hello?" Gary yelled. "Hey, we're hungry here!" he bellowed across the prison block.

A couple minutes later, ten guards came in. Four of them levitated plates with bread and cups with water to the captive humans, all the while having weapons pointed at them in case they tried to attack.

Laurence turned as a large stallion pushed a small mare forward. She lacked wings and a horn like the others and didn't seem like she'd pose a threat to anyone at all. She looked unsure and gave Laurence a sideways glance. The stallion cleared his throat.

"Go on, Private! Don't be a coward. Give him his food!"

She squeaked lightly as he pushed her forward. She placed the tray on the floor and quickly backed away. One of the guards, feeling devious, locked the cell door before she could escaped the human. She screamed lightly and pressed herself in the corner as Laurence continued to stare at her.

"Have fun!" They yelled, running away.

"P-p-please. Don't hurt me." She said quietly, shutting her eyes tight and shaking like a leaf. Laurence cocked a head and studied her. She was a light gray color with a light yellow mane. She was small and her big emerald eyes could have held the moon and its entirety.

"I won't hurt you." He said quietly, turning away. She opened her eye and peaked at him. She stared at him curiously. He was tall. Much taller than she was. He had pale white skin and his eyes, something about his eyes spoke to her. They were hard and dangerous, but when she stared into them, she could see the kind hearted soul that tried to make itself known.

"W-what's your name?" She asked curiously. She recoiled when he glared at her. He let out a chuckle and shook his head.

"Why do you care?" He asked.

"I don't. W-well I mean I d-do. But, not like that... I mean, not in an interested way, like..." She let out a squeak, her cheeks turning crimson. Laurence smiled.

"Laurence." He said, taking a bite of the bread in front of him. The mare turned and smiled.

"S-Star Trot." She said shakily, walking up and extending a hoof. He ignored it and she pulled back, blushing in embarrassment. She sat three feet in front of him, rubbing one foreleg against the other. Laurence looked out at the prison block. The other guards either forgot about her, or they didn't care what happened to her. Then he got an idea. A deviously crafty idea.

What would it take to get her on our side...?

"Seems like your friends don't care what happens to you, huh? Locking you up with a dangerous alien?" He asked, trying to hit a sweet spot. She pulled back and sighed.

"N-no. They're just playing around." She tried to rationalize. He shook his head and stood over her. She began to shake.

"I'm sure they know what I'm capable of. If I wanted to I could break you neck in a second." He leaned into her face. She gulped and tears etched trenches on her cheeks. He smiled and sat in front of her.

"But I would never do that to someone as sweet as you."

She sat up and blushed, wiping away the tears. "R-really? You aren't going to hurt me?"

He waved a hand. "Oh, of course not. After all, if you were part of my team, I'd never let anyone or anything hurt you." He knew he had her by the look on her face.

"Why'd you even join the military if they're just going to treat you like that?" He asked. "You clearly don't have a horn of wings like the others. Is that why they treat you so poorly?"

She cringed. "M-my father is high up in the Royal Guard. He was a unicorn who fell in love with an Earth pony. He expected to have a unicorn child as well, a son. But he was... doubly disappointed. He got an Earth pony daughter. He was ashamed, but he still wanted me to join the military. He never... treated me right." She cringed at the last part and began to tear.

"What'd he do?" He asked curiously. She began to cry and curl into a ball.

Did he...

He looked at all the signs. She was shy, very withdrawn, and didn't like talking about family matters. She was abused...

"Star Trot... did he..." Laurence began. She nodded and sobbed louder. Laurence couldn't help but feel remorse for the poor mare. He hesitated for a second, then placed a hand on her arm and stroked it.

She couldn't suppress the feeling she was getting from his touch. His hands were so soft, and the pressure he applied was somewhat firm, yet more comforting than she had ever felt. She looked up at him and quickly hugged him.

Laurence was a little taken aback. He had never been hugged before. It was alien to him. He felt her tears dampen his prison shirt and her sobbing breaths on his chest.

"Y-you're the first one I've ever told... Please... you have to help me!" She pleaded. Laurence looked down at her.

"What about your mother? Doesn't she know?" He asked. She shook her head.

"M-my mother died a couple years ago. That's when he started..." She stopped and began to shake.

"Started raping you..." Laurence said with a hint of anger in his voice. She nodded. This was going smoother than he thought.

"If you can get me out of here, I'll make sure he can never hurt you again." Laurence said, kind of hugging her back. She sobbed again.

"Kill the monster! Kill him for what he did to me..."

Laurence looked out to see his team staring through their cells. They had heard the whole exchange. Gary was leaning against the wall, rubbing his temples with a thumb and pointer, Sharif shook his head, and Selina wiped a tear away.

Laurence turned when he heard the guards return, laughing loudly. Star Trot let go and backed away. A green unicorn walked up to door and opened it.

"Come on, Private. Lets get home." He said loudly, still laughing, the stench of alcohol on his breath.

"C-coming...Daddy." She said quietly. The stallion slapped her rump and rubbed it sensually, placing his hoof in the crease between her thighs, grinning deviously as he did. She shut her eyes tight, a silent tear trickling down.

That son of a...

Laurence shot forward, grabbing the unicorns arm and snapping it clean. He yelled in pain as Laurence threw him across the room. The other guards held up their weapons and fired.

Laurence charged them fast, knocking them all to the ground. He kicked and punched each one in the head, knocking them out cold.

He turned to the corner where he'd thrown that sick bastard. The stallion cradled his arm, wincing in pain.

"You stupid Alien! Do you think you can get away with this?!" He yelled. Laurence ran forward, wrapping his hands around the monsters throat.

"Do you think you can get away with what you've done to your own daughter, you animal?!" Laurence shouted, spitting in his face.

"Bu- wha- how?" He then turned to his daughter who was turned away, hiding behind her short blond mane. He had hate in his eyes. "You little bi-"

Laurence slammed the stallion into the wall again, causing him to yell in pain. Laurence had fire in his eyes now.

"You don't EVER talk to her again! Ever! Star Trot? Open the cells. Get my team out."

She nodded and pressed the buttons to each cell, the Spartans ran out, retrieving the weapons from the unconscious soldiers.

"Traitor!" He hissed at his daughter. She gave him an angry stare. Laurence squeezed the stallions throat tight.

"My face shall be the last you ever see!" He hissed. The stallion was about to protest, when Laurence snapped his spine. He let the body go and it fell to the floor with a thump.

He turned back to Star Trot, who had a blank look on her face. He went over and put his hands on her shoulder.

"Come with us." He said simply.

"What?" She and the other Spartans asked in unison.

"Yeah! Come with us! We could use someone as brave and helpful as you. What do you say?" He asked. She looked around to the others and smiled.

"Yeah... Yeah! I will!" She said happily. Laurence grinned.

"Good. Go get some of that shielded armor and we'll get ours." He said standing back up. She nodded and ran out of the room.

"Lets move Spartans!" He yelled. They all nodded and ran out of the cell block. Laurence smiled deviously.

I'll show you who's the better Spartan, Nathan. You'll see soon enough!