Halo 2: Shadowed pasts and Ancient Runes

Chapter 9: Were it so easy...
October 6, 2552 Covenant Cruiser: Shadow of Intent
1640 hours

Johnson and Miranda kept a very long arms length away from the Arbiter and his Elite counterparts. They didn't know how fragile this truce was and Johnson didn't want things to get ugly, since he didn't have a weapon. He scoffed at the little robot at his side, humming a little tune as he floated his way along, oblivious to any danger.

"Here, humans. This is the command center where we will discus the situation at Earth. Please, follow me." The Arbiter said politely, gesturing towards the doors. Miranda and Johnson gave each other weary looks and proceeded into the bridge, met by wide eyed stares from the Sangheili in the room.

"Arbiter, you return." Rtas Vadum exclaimed as he rose from his chair in greeting. He looked behind the Arbiter and quickly froze. "Brother, why do you bring this filth on board our ship!?" He yelled. Miranda and Johnson tensed.

The Arbiter walked forward, placing his hands on the Elite's shoulders. "Relax, my friend. They are now allies to our cause. We need all the help we can get against the Covenant. They saved all life today, and we owe them that much."

Rtas clicked his two jaws together and nodded. "Welcome aboard the Shadow of Intent. One of the few super carriers in Elite possession. I hope you... enjoy your stay."

Johnson nodded and smiled, taking out the last Sweet Williams he had. He looked over at the Elite, who was giving him a puzzled look. "You mind? Been craving this sucker all day." He asked as politely as fakeness could.

The two jawed Elite held out his hands. "Of course. By all means." He said warmly, matching Johnson's fake sincerity with his own. Johnson smiled and lit the sweet cigar, taking a satisfying puff.

"So, we head for the rest of the Brute fleet?" Rtas asked the Arbiter. He shook his head.

"No, we go to Earth, stop Truth from gaining access to the Ark." He said flatly. Rtas shot up.

"We have to make a stand, Arbiter! The Brute fleets that are scattered across the galaxy could be called to Earth in a moments notice by that bastard, and we would lose! It would be better to strike first, than wait for them to come at us all at once."

The Arbiter turned back to the humans who didn't move. The Ship Master made many good points. Earth could hold out for just a few more days. Miranda nodded at the Arbiter, who sighed.

"Alright. What is the closest Brute fleet?" The Arbiter asked the navigation's specialist.

"Here." He said, raising a holographic map of the Galaxy. A large alien rune hung over a section of one of the milky ways arms. They weren't too far from the planet. A weeks jump for a human ship.

But a Covenant ship? That would probably only take a day. Maybe a day in a half at most, and they could exit slipspace at the planet, like always, and catch the dumb apes by surprise.

The Arbiter nodded. "Alright. Take us there. I want to finish this and get to Earth as soon as possible." The bridge crew cheered and sped off to meet the Covenant head on.

Laurence held Star Trot close to him, not letting her go for anything. She needed someone to be there with her and if these were her final moments, he wanted her to feel loved.

"Hang in there, Star. We got help coming. It'll all be okay..." He whispered. He ran his hand across her cold cheek and smiled. She returned it and rubbed his face with her hoof.

It was an odd feeling for Laurence to be sure, but her hooves were soft and felt kind of nice against his pale skin.

"Are you sure it'll be okay?" She rasped. Laurence wiped a tear and nodded.

"I promise..." He said with a crack in his voice. She wrapped herself around him and shut her eyes tight. He lightly slapped her cheeks.

"Hey, I need you to stay awake for me. Can you do that?" He asked quickly. Her eyes fluttered back open and she stared at him sadly.

"But, I'm so tired. I just want to rest for a few..." She trailed off closing her eyes. He grabbed her face and her eyes shot open again.

"No. You need to stay awake. Talk to me about something, anything. Just, for the love of God, stay awake!" He pleaded. She nuzzled his neck and smiled.

"What do... What do you want to know?" She asked quietly.

"Everything." He implored. He needed someway to keep her alive, and making her talk was the only way to do it. She coughed and talked.

Laurence sat and listened to everything she said, never taking his gaze away from her emerald eyes. She talked of her childhood, her mother, and her life in the Royal Guard. She didn't mention her bastard father, which was fine with him. She talked for about half an hour, never letting up. When she finished, Laurence smiled and hugged her tight.

"You're really something, Star. That's why I need you to stay... stay with me... please? Don't go." He pleaded. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"I-It's too hard... I can't.. I can't do it anymore..."

Laurence was about to speak when he heard the whine of a Phantom from the east. He quickly pulled out a flare and ignited it on his chest.

The bright red smoke billowed into the air and the Phantom U-turned to his position and landed about fifty feet. He clutched his BR tight, in case it was the enemy, but quickly relaxed when he saw Equine soldiers and two Spartans file out. They rushed to him and secured the area.

"Laurence! What the hell happened?! Where's Nathan?" Cam asked quickly, crouching at his side. Laurence rolled his eyes.

"He's doing what he does best. Now, please, help Star Trot!" He said anxiously, running his hand through her hair again. Fluttershy ran over and looked at the mare in his arms. She examined her, looking for serious injuries and frowned.

"She has internal bleeding. I can't do anything from here." She said sadly. "We need to get her back to Canterlot."

Everyone looked at each other, trying to figure out what to do. Cam nodded and smiled. "Alright, load her up in the Phantom. She's going back to Canterlot."

Fluttershy smiled. Cam waved two guards over, who quickly, but gently, picked her up and brought her in the phantom. Laurence stood and addressed Cam.

"I-if you don't mind, sir, I'd like to go with her..." He said, placing his helmet back on to hide his fresh tears. Cam smiled and pat him on the shoulder.

"Of course. Get your ass out of here." Cam said, pushing him off to the ship. Laurence quickly boarded and sped back to the capital.

"Alright, men!" Cam yelled. "Lets get this party started! Bill! You Rarity and Pinkie get up on that ridge." He ordered, pointing up to the rise at the edge of the forest. "I want your eagle eyes in the sky."

They nodded and ran off to their designated position. "AppleJack, you're with me and the others. Lets-"

He was cut off from the roar of another Covenant super carrier, looming over the first. "Son of a-"

But to everyone's surprise, it sliced through the first carrier with its own weapon, sending the ship crashing to the ground.

"Everypony! SCATTER!" AppleJack yelled. All at once, Cam and the ponies ran back into the forest as the ship slammed into the ground, sending debris and dirt in every direction.

Nathan and Sharif sped away as fast as they could, never looking back. Nathan could see Gary and Selina running behind them, keeping pace. "Keep moving, Spartans! Go, go GO!"

They just barely got out of the ships crash radius and flew from the force. Nathan was thrown from his mount, Gary and Selina tumbled and rolled for about 100 feet and Sharif clung to his Revenant as it rolled and slammed into the ground.

"Report! What the fuck just happened?!" Nathan yelled. Gary got up and looked at the sky.

"That, Sir!"

Nathan looked up to see a second Super Carrier, taking the first ones position. Great... just what we need.

"Alright guys! Let's get ready for them!" Nathan yelled.

The grav beam activated and a swarm of Elites fluttered down, along with three Hunter squads and a pod of Jackals.

Nathan was about to open fire, when he saw the an odd sight. Two humans were in their midst, walking calmly onto the battlefield.

What in the world...?

"Spartans! Hold your fire!" He yelled, approaching the Covenant squad. Gary kept his rifle leveled.

"Sir! Are you fucking crazy!?" He yelled. Nathan ignored him and continued forward, putting his weapons away. If this was a trick, then he'd be dead before he could pull them back out.

The Elites leveled their rifles at him and froze, unsure of what to do. Nathan tensed and waited for the shots that never came.

"Hold fire!" An Elite yelled from behind the group. The others parted and made way for a very imposing looking soldier. It was clad in strange, gray armor, a kind Nathan had never seen before. It was holding an Energy sword in its hand as it came forward.

"A demon? What are you doing here?" It asked in near perfect English. Nathan flinched and spoke up, clearly some fear in his voice.

"This is my home... What are you doing here, and why did you destroy one of your own ships?" Nathan asked hesitantly. The Elite clicked its jaws.

"They are no longer one of us. The Covenant has betrayed the Sangheili race." He said bluntly. Nathan was taken a little aback.

A rift in the Covenant hierarchy could mean the turning point in the entire war, and if the Elites were now our allies...

Nathan's thoughts were interrupted when one of the humans stepped forward. It was someone he was all to familiar with.

"Johnson?" He blurted in surprise and joy. Johnson looked the Spartan over, and clearly not recognizing him, scoffed.

"What's your operating number, soldier?" He asked. Nathan rolled his eyes and threw his old pack of Sweet Williams to him. It was still nearly full, and he'd quit smoking anyway.

"Figured you were out, sir." Nathan said happily. Johnson laughed and came forward.

"Nathan, you son of a bitch! How the hell have you been, son?" He asked patting him on the back. Nathan removed his helmet and returned the greeting.

"I've been good, Sir. It's a wonder you're still alive. Thought you would have been killed long ago!" He laughed. Johnson did as well and led him back to the commander.

"You remember Commander Keyes?" He asked. Nathan smiled and shook her hand. He knew the Commander all too well. She had been on one of his previous missions, and, he used to have kind of a thing for her.

"Ma'am." He said simply. She smiled and shook back.

"What, no flowers?" She joked. Nathan blushed a little and replaced his helmet before anyone could notice. Johnson cocked a brow and spoke up again.

"You say your living here? Casualty reports list you and your team as KIA. They here too?"

"Yes, Sir." Nathan confirmed. "They agreed with my decision to... retire."

Johnson frowned. "You know that's desertion. The brass could have your head for this." Nathan frowned and nodded.

"I know, Sir. It's just we found our lives here, and we couldn't go back to war. For their sakes, you understand."

Johnson smiled and punched his arm. "Ah, you found a lady, didn't you? What's her name, son?"

"My name is Twilight Sparkle." A voice from behind them all said. Johnson and the Elites turned in surprise at the new comer in their midst. No one had an explanation for where she came from, except Nathan.

"Am I interrupting, Nathan?" She asked, looking up at him. He removed his helmet and winked.

Never, Twi."

Johnson looked to Twilight, then to Nathan, then back again. "She's a... a..."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm an alien. But, Nathan doesn't seem to care much."

Nathan chuckled and went to Johnson's side. "Sorry. I can't go back with you guys. fiance's orders. But that doesn't mean I'll send you home empty handed. Twilight?"

She turned her head and nodded, disappearing in a ball of purple light, leaving everyone in shock. "Where the hell did she go?" Johnson yelled, looking around.

"To get some supplies." Nathan said happily.

Everyone waited for her return. After about ten minutes, they could hear the roar of the Phantom in the distance. It touched down and a group of Royal Guards, followed by Twilight filed out. The guards carried large crates over to the group, however, they remained weary of the Elites in front of them.

"Well, well, well!" Johnson exclaimed happily. "What do we have here?" He rubbed his hands together as the lids were taken off the crates. Inside were dozens of Covenant weapons, from the measliest plasma pistol, to the largest Fuel Rod.

Elites happily stepped forward, picking up and examining each weapon with glee. The Arbiter smiled at Nathan.

"Thank you, Spartan. These will come in handy in the fight to come." He extended his hand, which Nathan shook graciously.

"As long as you're not using them to burn humans anymore." He joked. The Arbiter didn't find it amusing and clicked his jaws sadly.

"Spartan, The battle in space is nearly complete, and we wish that you come with us to help in the fight."

Nathan shifted in his boots. He couldn't just leave, now of all times. He looked to Twilight you had a sad look on her face.

"I'm sorry... but I have to protect my home. The Covenant could come back."

Miranda stepped forward angrily. "The Covenant fleet is the least of our worries Spartan! If Truth reaches the Ark, he can activate the Halo arrays, exterminating all life in the Galaxy!"

Nathan had no idea what she was talking about, but it didn't sound good. "I'm sorry, but-"

"And we could use all the help we can get against the Flood."

Nathan froze mid sentence. The Flood was back?! But how? When? Why? All those questions milled around his mind. He looked back to Twilight again, who had a look of sheer horror on her face.

"Let me discuss this." Nathan said, running over to Twilight. "Take us a good distance away, Twi." He said quietly. She nodded and teleported them about fifty yards away. She looked up at him imploringly.

"Well Twilight? Galactic annihilation, the return of the Flood? What do you think?"

She frowned and looked away. "Well, if the galaxy is going to be extinct, staying here wont help us much..." She trailed off. Nathan kissed her tight on the lips and held her hoof in his hand.

"You know I'll be back, right?" He said with a chuckle. She nodded and smile.

"Your tough to kill, you know that?" She asked. He nodded. It was true, with the Flood spores in his body, he could take on anything and walk away fine.

"So, is it a yes that I can go?" He asked happily. She nodded. He smiled wide and hugged her.

"Don't worry, this won't take long. Tell the others to keep the planet safe, okay?"

Twilight chuckled at that. "From the Covenant, or themselves?"

Nathan laughed loudly at that. "Both. Just keep them safe." He said sadly. He was going to miss her, but he had to go to protect her. She kissed him again and left to gather the others. Nathan stood and walked back to Johnson and the others.

"Okay, I'm coming. Let's teach the Covenant and Flood what we can do." He said with some anger. Johnson smiled, as did Miranda.

"Good." The Arbiter said. "Now come, there's no time to waste." He guided Nathan back onto the gravity lift, and called them up. Nathan took one final look at the planet he now calls home, before ascending into the belly of the beast.