Halo: Contact Equis

Courtyard of the Liberty Cowbell

Another blast from Tirek’s magic destroys another barrier protecting the LZ as a multitude of fire is returned Tirek’s way. He erects a magical shield to which the bullets bounce off effortlessly. Tirek lets out a loud laugh at their efforts to take him down.

“Who the hell is that!?” Adam peaks over his barrier and opens fire once again. When his mag runs dry, he lowers his head back for an answer, slamming a new mag into the side of his SMG.

“It’s Lord Tirek!” Rarity yelled at the top of her lungs over the gunfire.

“The devourer of all magic! He’s supposed to be locked away in Tartarus for trying to drain all creatures of their magic!” Starlight responded as she chambered a grenade into her launcher and peered out. She closes one eye and fires.

Triek sees the grenade coming and quickly points his magical shield in it’s direction. The grenade makes contact and explodes, but it doesn't even scratch the shield.

“Mav, where the fuck are you!?” Adam yells into his comms as Tirek prepares another powerful beam.

“To your left!”Maverick responds. Adam pops his head up and looks to the left.

There was a road in front of the LZ, and on the left side, a Rockethog could be seen speeding towards their position. The rockethog speeds up and power-slides hard to the side. Adam, Starlight, and Rarity could see Maverick on the rocket turret, aiming it at Tirek. Loud beeps emanate from the launchers and the Spartan-III fires.

Six rockets fire right at his shields and collide with a spectacular explosions. When the dust clears, the shield is visibly cracked but is still intact. Tirek smirks, preparing to fire another beam right at the hog. Right before the beam is fired, a bullet strikes one of his horns from behind, causing the centaur to stumble forward and his magic to cancel.

Tirek quickly turns and looks up from where it came from. On top of one of the tall buildings, the glint of a sniper scope is seen. The Centaur snarls at the new threat behind him. But it was also the perfect distraction as the Rocket turret was ready to fire again. Six more rockets fire out and collide with the shield, and after the first four collide, it finally shatters, allowing the last two to hit Tirek.

He lets out a pained roar as the rockets strike him, causing massive burns on his arms and face. He snarls at the warthog, his glowing eyes glaring in anger as he grits his sharp teeth. The hog appears to be ready to fire another volley. Not able to withstand another blast, Tirek is forced to take a few steps back and retreats around the corner he came from.

Maverick jumps off the back of the Warthog as the survivors began to holler in victory, cheering for Maverick in his besting of the beast. Soon, Clara steps out of the driver’s seat, and then finally Tex out of the passenger seat. Adam steps forth and shakes Maverick’s hand.

“Hella good shooting, Commander,” Adam spoke loudly.

“Wasn’t all me,” Maverick said stoically before placing his hand on the side of his helmet. “Good shot there, Corporal. That hog and I would’ve been done for if your shot wasn’t on the mark.”

“No problem, amigo! I got your back, sir!” The voice of Carlito responds. They all look up to the building they were in. It was a bit hard to see, but they could see both Spike and Carlito waving down at them.

“That was quick, Commander. How did you meet up with Clara and Tex so quickly?” Asked Starlight as she approached the Spartan.

“What do you mean, Corporal?” Maverick asked, confused about what she meant.

“I mean, you were here ten minutes ago. Told us to hold down our position before running off by yourself.” Starlight explained. This causes Maverick to look back at Clara, and then Tex before slowly looking back at Starlight.

“That’s a negative, Corporal. I’ve been with Clara and Sergeant Tex since we first split off.” Maverick’s response sparks even more confusion.

“That’s… That’s impossible!” Rarity said loudly.

“Yeah, I saw you myself! You were just here and ran off in that direction!” Adam said, pointing off to the right of the LZ. Maverick looks in the direction to where he was pointing, but then looks back at him.

“That cannot be. This is my first time here at the LZ.” Maverick firmly stated. Adam takes off his helmet, showing his dumbstruck face.

“Sir, we are not lying! We just saw you… We literally spoke to you!” Adam protested.

Maverick analyzes him for a second. The sound of his voice and his expression told him he wasn’t lying.

“This is impossible…” Maverick looks away for a second before looking back at Adam. “However, we don’t have time to bicker about this. We still have a job to do. We’ll discuss this later.” Not fully satisfied, Adam sighs but follows orders.

“Yes, sir.” He puts his helmet back on and turns his visor Opaque.

“Clara, Sergeant Tex, Corporal Glimmer. Take the Warthog and locate that downed pelican. We need to save any survivors. I’ll stay here and aid in the evacuation.”

“You got it, Mav,” Clara responded before looking at Tex. “Need you on the turret, Sergeant.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Tex responds, hopping onto the back of the hog as Clara climbs back into the driver’s seat. Clara then looks to Starlight.

“And you got passenger,” She spoke. Starlight responds with a nod as she climbed into the passenger seat, keeping her launcher raised. Clara got back in the driver’s seat and revved the engine.

[bi]10 minutes earlier…[/bi]

‘Maverick’ leaves the LZ after giving out orders to stay put. He turns down the street and enters an alleyway. In the darkness, he discards the MA5B he was holding, and a sickly green aura surrounds him. The aura encases him and soon begins to die down.

Standing where Maverick once did was the former Changeling Queen herself, Chrysalis. On her form was slightly modified Covenant armor. She wore elite major arm guards attached to her legs, and a grunt major chest piece. She smirks maliciously and places her hoof to her ear.

“Their base of operations is vulnerable. Now is your best chance to destroy it.” Chrysalis chuckled into the comms.

“Excellent! I shall begin my attack!” The voice of Tirek is heard responding, followed by an evil chuckle.

Chrysalis, wanting to see the destruction, stepped out of the alleyway and peeked around the building she hid behind. She watches as a pelican begins to lift up off the ground, but is quickly shot out of the sky by a beam of Tirek’s magic. She watches as the Pelican dips in her direction, falling out of the sky and crashing a few hundred meters from her position. Seeing an opportunity, Chrysalis began to sprint towards the downed pelican.

She approaches the wreckage, the pelican on fire and it's back hatch open. There were bodies around the crash site, some enlisted, some civilian. Chrysalis hesitates for a moment, seeing some of the bodies of the civilians around the crash site. She stands over the body of a mare, a red coat with a white mane, her eyes closed, lying on the burnt ground. Her eyes soften as she places her hoof on her cheek. She could feel it becoming cold.

Chrysalis suddenly hardened her expression, glaring down at the body as her eyes began leaking a purple Miasma. Sombra’s spell still affected her, keeping her from feeling sympathy. Her attention was taken off the mare as she heard a noise from the pelican. Slowly, a human began to crawl from the wreckage of the pelican. Chrysalis approaches him, her hooves stopping in front of his head. His head slowly looks up until his eyes meet the changeling queen’s.

“What is your name?” She demanded. The human was unaware of who she was. He was dazed and confused, making him think she was a pony ally.

“…P-Private… Jason Ross.” Blood lightly dripped from his mouth as he spoke.

“Well then, Private Ross,” Chrysalis began to smirk as the crooked horn glowed a putrid green color. The same green aura surrounded his body, and picked him up off the ground the marine is surprised but unable to fight back. He watches as Chrysalis smirks, another aura surrounding her as well, and soon takes his own shape. His eyes widen as he sees Chrysalis copy his very form, her head glowing around the phantom horn on her head. She pulls him closer to her, now rendering him speechless. She grabs the sidearm off his hip, and pulls back the slider.

“You won’t be needing this anymore.” Chrysalis spoke, completely mimicking his voice. She then raises the magnum up to his face. He couldn’t respond, mostly from shock. She hesitates on pulling the trigger, the magnum shaking slightly in her hand. Her eyes begin to glow again, leaking the purple mist as Sombra’s magic takes hold again. Finally, under the influence of dark magic, she pulled the trigger, executing him. When his body falls limp, she then uses her magic to place his body back inside the wrecked pelican so he would not be discovered so easily. As she looks at his body one more time, her eyes fill with the purple miasma again. She sneers and looks away.

She lays down on the ground, preparing for there to be a search and rescue group, this was her chance to infiltrate their ranks. She wouldn’t have to wait long, she hears the sound of an engine barreling her way. She lays her head down and closes her eyes as a warthog pulls to a stop.

“Oh Celestia, no…” The voice of a mare is heard. Chrysalis’ eyes snap open at hearing the voice, she knew that voice. The one who caused her whole hive to turn on her…

‘Starlight Glimmer…’ She whispered, barely making a sound. She could feel her anger rising. This was her chance, her golden opportunity to kill her once and for all. However, she had her orders. Infiltrate the human ship. She forced herself to wait for her revenge.

“Fuck me… Did anyone survive?” Said a male voice.

“Start checking the bodies. Someone had to have survived this mess.” A second female voice was heard. Chrysalis hears feet and hooves on the ground. A human and that cursed Starlight began to check the bodies, not coming up with any good news. Finally, Starlight gets to Chrysalis’ disguised form. She feels the Mare’s hoof on her neck.

“…Hey! I got a pulse on this one! Tex, come here!” Starlight yells, causing Tex to run to her and kneel down.

“Soldier! Soldier, are you alright!?” Tex would try to communicate.

“Mmmm… My… my head…” The disguised marine mumbled, pretending to stir awake.

“Clara! We have a survivor!” Yelled Starlight.

“Get them to the Warthog. We’ll get them to safety.” She would respond. Tex would help Chrysalis' disguised form to her feet and walk her over to the Warthog.

“Don’t worry, brother. We’re getting you out of here.” Tex reassured, putting them into the passenger seat. “Starlight, get on the turret.”

“What about you, Tex?” Starlight asked, giving Tex a worried look.

“I’m gonna keep searching for survivors.” He responded, turning back towards the crash site. Seeing the number of civilians who perished tugged hard at his heart. He was hoping some of them were still alive.

“We’ll be back for you, Sergeant.” Clara spoke from the driver’s seat as Starlight climbed in back. The Warthog roared back to life and drove off.

Tex sighs hard and went back to checking the bodies. Nothing so far was turning up anything good. His search lead him towards the inside the pelican itself. He enters and sees a body in the back of the hull. He steps towards it and kneels down, noticing a hole in it’s face; a bullet hole.

‘Well… A Covie didn’t do this. Possible suicide?’ He thought to himself, but he soon started questioning his thoughts as he noticed the soldier’s missing magnum. It was not in his hands, holster, or anywhere near him. It was missing. “If you did shoot yourself, then where the hell is your gun, soldier?”

His question remained unanswered, as none would come. Tex was puzzled by this scenario. Just what the hell happened to this soldier? As he investigates the corpse, he removes the helmet and reads its name on the back: ‘Ross’.

Twilight’s squad found itself under fire again. The main road to which they were on had a fork in it, so she and her squad had hid themselves behind the corners of the buildings. That was destined to change however, as the plasma mortars from the wraiths were chipping away the concrete of the buildings with each shot.

As the Wraiths hung out in the back, multiple squads of infantry would press in close and closer to their positions. Rainbow would peak out and would pick the smaller ones off with her DMR, while Twilight would keep the larger ones back with continued fire from her assault rifle.

“Twilight!” Applejack’s voice broke through the comms. Twilight looks across the street and sees Applejack hiding behind some cover, Her hoof to her helmet looking directly at her. “We cannot hold them back much longer! We gotta do something!”

“I’m thinking about that!” Twilight responded into the comms. “We can’t lead a force this big towards the LZ! We need them to go in the opposite direction!”

“Say no more!” Rainbow’s voice now coming through the coms. “When they start shooting at me, get out of here.”

“Dash, what are you thinking!?” Twilight questioned, feeling her chest tighten in anxiety.

“I don’t have time to explain. Just know I’ll be fine. I’ll meet you guys back at the Liberty Cowbell in few minutes!” As Rainbow’s voice cuts out, Twilight looks over to her. She was sitting behind an overturned carriage. She slings her DMR onto her back and pulls out three grenades. “When you hear a third explosion, that’s your cue to get out of here!” She then spreads her wings and takes off into the sky.

“Rainbow!” Twilight would yell out to her, but the cyan pegasus ignored her. She flies over a squad of Covenant and drops her first grenade. It landed and then exploded a few seconds later, sending bodies in all different directions. This caught the attention of other Covenant squads, who began to fire up at Rainbow Dash, but she expertly dodged their plasma fire, dropping one more grenade around a larger group.

As the second explosion takes out another group, Rainbow narrows her eyes at one of the wraiths firing on her friends. She divebombs the leading one, bringing her hind legs up and smashes the driver's hatch with her hooves. The gunner was shocked to see Dash land in front of him. Before he could react, Rainbow Dash bucks him hard in the face, shattering his shield, and knocking him silly.

Rainbow Dash then turns her attention to the crumpled hatch, She landed on it so hard, that one corner has peeled open, large enough for her last grenade to fit into. She pulls the pin with her mouth and then drops it in. She spreads her wings and takes off into the sky again, the wraith exploding seconds later.

Twilight, Applejack, Marcus, and the rest of the squad watch in awe at Rainbow’s action. Seeing one of the three wraiths destroyed, this turns Dash into a primary target. All plasma fire is now being directed at her, trying to shoot her out of the air.

“Come on! She just bought us some time to get out of here!” Marcus yelled, the surviving Squad members then began to move down the right road to escape towards the LZ.

“We can’t leave her to deal with the rest of them!” Twilight yelled back, still watching Rainbow dodge the plasma in mid-air. She then feels someone grab her hoof and begin to pull her. She looks down and sees Applejack.

“She’ll be fine! She knows what she is doin’ we gotta get out of here Twi!” Applejack yelled over the gunfire, finally pulling Twilight out of cover, following the rest of the marines down the street towards the LZ. She looks back one more time to see Dash quickly fly down the left road, many infantry forces following her.

The LZ had been evacuating civilians efficiently. So far most of the population had been evacuated without too much hindrance. As another pelican takes off, another one takes its place, loading more civilians.

Clara’s warthog returns to the LZ, she climbs out and goes to the aid of the ‘injured Marine”. Having him wrap an arm around her back and leading him towards the medical tent. Stepping out, Tammy sees them and quickly comes to their aid.

“Where’d he come from?” Asked Tammy, coming to the injured marine’s other side.

“Pulled him out of a crashed pelican. So far, he’s the only survivor.” Clara answered. Tammy looks him over real quick, and comes to a conclusion.

“I don’t see any blood on him, possible internal damage. Get him on a pelican immediately. The ship has the right equipment to treat any injuries he may have suffered internally.” Tammy spoke. Clara nods and begins to lead him to the waiting pelican.

“You’re lucky, kid. Get some rest. You deserve it.” Clara spoke to the marine, going up to the pelican and cutting the line of civilians. “I’ve got wounded! Make some room!”

Clara’s voice boomed, causing some to clear away and give them some space. A pony marine helps the injured soldier aboard and lays him down. Clara sighs in some relief, turning her back to the pelican as it begins to take off, now coming face to face with Maverick.

“Just one? One survivor?” Asked Maverick.

“So far, Tex is still there checking the bodies for more.” Clara responded, placing her hands on her hips. “How are things here?”

“Better than expected, but that’s about to change. Been hearing word that the Covenant made it to the water on the other side. We’re officially surrounded. That means they’re going to start pushing inside the city.” Maverick spoke calmly, despite the news he gave. Clara looked away, staying silent for a moment before continuing.

“What about Kieran? Where is he at?” She looked back at Maverick.

“Don’t know, but you know how he is. He likes to go at it alone.” Maverick responded, looking towards the ground.

“He was always like that… even during boot.” Clara admitted.

“You know why that is?” Maverick looked back at her.

“I know… I know.” Clara sighed in response.

“Gotta squad coming in!” Yelled a marine near the barriers of the LZ. Clara and Maverick quickly stow away their conversation, going back into combat mode. They approach the front and see around six soldiers entering the LZ, three they recognize Maverick, Clara, and Starlight approach their friends coming in.

“Princess, glad to see you made it here without too much of a scratch.” Maverick spoke. Twilight removes her helmet, seemingly not in the mood for jokes.

“I need a few volunteers to head back out there!” Twilight stated loudly, seeming to ignore Maverick completely.

“Hey, Princess. Settle down. You just got here.” Maverick said more sternly.

“I can’t! Rainbow Dash created a divergence to allow us to get here. I’m not abandoning her!” Twilight glares at Maverick with a serious look in her eyes.

“I’ll have Kieran go look for her. Right now, the LZ could use a powerful magic user like you protecting us.” Maverick’s words were met with a confusing look by Twilight.

“Why do you need my magic?” Asked Twilight, Starlight steps forward to answer.

“Twilight, it’s bad. Like real real bad! Tirek, has returned.” As Starlight spoke, Twilight’s eye went wide, mostly in shock, confusion, and panic.

“T-T-Tirek!? As in Lord Tirek!? How the buck did he escape from Tartarus!?” Twilight yelled. She could not believe what she was hearing. How was Tirek here, and why was he fighting with the Covenant?

“We don’t know, but he was here! He even shot a pelican out of the sky! He’s killing civilians, Twilight!” Starlight seemed a bit more panicked than Twilight as she grabbed Twilight’s shoulders and shook her for emphasis. Twilight looks up at Maverick, seeing no expression from him. She slowly began to look down, her eyes watering and her lips quivering.

“But… but Rainbow…” She whimpered out. Instantly, Maverick took a knee and placed a hand on her withers.

“I’ll order Kieran to look for her. We won’t leave her behind, I promise.” Maverick kept his monotone voice, but he tried his best to be comforting. Twilight closes her eyes, and softly nods.

“…I trust you. Please just have him bring her here immediately.” Twilight’s voice croaks,

Kieran was on his own. He had his Shotgun out as he creeped through the alleyways of Fillydelphia. By now, the Covenant had begun to press into the city, he would step out, take care of a small squad with his shotgun and then stepped back into the darkness. This was where Kieran was at his best. He worked better alone, following his own instincts. He was crouched silently, waiting for more Covenant when his coms came to life.

“Kieran, this is Maverick. Come in.” Maverick’s voice came in. By how much Kieran liked the silence, Maverick only called him if it was important.

“What is it, Mav? Kinda in the middle of something.” Kieran placed his hand on the side of his helmet and whispered back.

“A member from Fire Team Harmony, Gunnery Sergeant Dash, is missing. Finding her is a priority, I need you to look for her and bring her back to the LZ. Alive or dead. But, here is hoping she is still alive.” Maverick’s voice then cuts out. Kieran lets out a soft sigh and stands up to full height. He shoulders his shotgun and pulls out his MA5B.

Kieran steps out of the darkened alleyway and into the sunlight; his armor shines as he looks up and toward the sky. He could see banshees overhead. Since Rainbow Dash was a pegasus, he figured following banshees wouldn’t be a bad idea to find her. He stays close to the buildings as he goes down the streets. He comes across a small corner store, being raided by a covenant squad. He pokes his head in to see two grunts and a jackal seeming to argue over what section of the store they were destroying. He could also see an Elite bark something at them to quiet them down.

Kieran looks to his side and sees he has at least two grenades left. He takes one to his hand and sets the primer. He takes in one deep breath and tosses it in. The Jackal was the first to see the grenade, letting out a loud shriek before shielding herself. The two grunts looked down at it, and it exploded before either of them could react, blowing both of them into bloody bits. The Jackal was knocked back quite a bit, and the elite quickly turned around, only to be met with a barrage of bullets from Kieran’s assault rifle. Kieran was about to empty his whole mag into him when his shields suddenly shattered. He looks over to see the Jackal on the ground, her plasma pistol overheated. She had to have shot him with a charged blast. He ducks back around the corner.

Kieran could hear the heavy footsteps from the Elite closing in on him, he hasn't lowered his shields yet. He had to do this perfectly. He held the butt of his gun close and then quickly stepped back out, meeting the elite face to face. He nails him hard with the butt of his gun, breaking the Elite’s shield and knocking him to the ground. Kieran then rolls out of the way from the incoming shots from the jackal’s pistol. He gets back to his feet and focuses fire on the Jackal, a few bullets hit her in the hand, exposing her body and he drops her quickly. Kieran’s shields return with a shiny gold color and he stands to his feet.

He looked to the elite, slowly trying to stand back up, but his face was bloodied from the hard hit he received. Kieran shoulders his rifle, and pulls out his knife. He approaches the elite, and stands over the top of him. He bends over, wrapping his whole arm under the Elites head and forces him to look up. The elite struggled in his grasp as his neck was exposed. Without hesitation, Kieran uses his knife to slit the throat of the Elite. The elite instantly began to gurgle as blood oozed from his neck. Kieran dropped him, his hands now covered in the indigo blood of the elite. He shakes the extra blood off his knife and sheaths it. Stepping out, he continues his search for Dash.

He would continue his search for about 30 minutes before finding the banshees again. He figures out their pattern and discovers them circling a particular building. Lacking the weapons to take on the Banshees, he stays hidden and gets closer to the building. It appears to be an office building, and something looked to have crashed through the 4th floor window. He had to investigate it. As the banshees flew past overhead, he ran towards the entrance of the office building. Once inside, he pulls his shotgun back out and pumps it. He locates the stairwell and begins to ascend. When he gets to the stairwell that leads to the 4th floor, he sees them covered in rivers of blue and purple blood. He takes caution as he climbs them, at the top he sees the bodies of 7 grunts, 5 jackals, and 2 dead elites in blue armor and one more in red, sitting down with his back against the wall, sitting in his own blood. He was breathing heavily, holding onto his wounds. He looks at the Spartan as Kieran looks back at him.

“…A demon? And here I thought there was one already in there.” The elite spoke, motioning his head towards the door that led into the 4th floor.

“You going to cause me trouble?” Kieran asked coldly. Slowly the elite began to shake his head.

“The gods call for me, human… Can you say the same?” The Elite only glared at Kieran. Kieran didn’t react to the Elite’s words as he stepped past him and into the fourth floor.

It was a wreck. If Dash was the one who crash-landed in here, then how the hell was she in good enough condition to hold off all those Covies in the hallway? He hears the sound of a gun being loaded behind a desk in front of him. Knowing who it may be, he yells out a call sign to identify himself as friendly.

“Flash!” Kieran yelled out, he waited for a few seconds and he heard a feminine voice yell out the countersign.

“Thunder!” The voice originated from the desk he heard the gun being loaded from. Kieran could then see a rainbow mane being poked out from the desk. Kieran approaches and steps around the desk. Laying on the ground was a cut and bruised Rainbow Dash, helmet off and leaning against her DMR. She seemed to relax seeing the Spartan.

“You hit, soldier?” Asked Kieran.

“Just a graze on my wing. They singed the feathers, and I lost control.” She explained, slowly trying to get to her hooves, but she collapsed, yelping in pain.

“Let’s get you out of here.” Kieran kneels down and helps Rainbow Dash up, he then slings her onto his shoulder. He sees her secondary weapon on the ground, a silenced SMG and gives it to her. She held onto it as he stood to full height. “Shoot any bastards that get on my ass, and I’ll get you to the LZ safely.”

“Yes, Sir.” Rainbow winced a bit as Kieran began to carry her out of the office and back in the stairwell.

He looks at the carnage one last time before looking back at the elite he spoke to before entering the fourth floor. The Elite major was now slumped forward, no longer taking any breaths. Kieran turns his back and begins to climb back down the stairs.