Seventeen: Protector of the Ashen Moon

John saw them jump, one right after the other. The Perfect Storm was standing off at lunar orbit, gunning for any and all Covenant ships that broke away to strike at the rest of the Sol System. He didn't remember any of them coming back around and going through the Portal, so he didn't let their destruction trouble him; they wouldn't shift the course from what they knew.

Yet as he watched Blue Team fall towards Earth, one of Cortana's copies found its way to him and whispered in his ear.

They let me pick. Did I ever tell you that? Choose whichever Spartan I wanted. You know me. I did my research, watched as you became the soldier we needed you to be. Like the others, you were strong and swift and brave, a natural leader. But you had something they didn't, something no one saw but me.

Can you guess?

Luck.

Was I wrong?

-------------------------------------------

With a soft "fwssh," Johnson struck a match and lit his cigar, back turned on one of the very people they'd been looking for after Truth's dreadnought landed. The Marines who had come with him – and a pair of Forerunners – were crouched or standing a short distance away from the Spartan lying frozen in the muck, watching as if they were expecting him to get up on his own.

One of the Forerunners was kneeling at his side. He held a hand over the Spartan, his armor running scans in small fans of light, with different colors for each pass. The Forerunner wasn't reacting one way or another, which was leading the Marines to talk.

"This ain't good."

"Damn. How far did he fall?"

"Two kilometers, easy."

All right, enough. Johnson turned and growled, "Stay sharp."

All of the Marines lifted their weapons and started sweeping the area, making sure it stayed clear. Johnson paced over to stand next to the Forerunner. "What's the damage?"

"He's reasonably all right," Ambience reported, "just unconscious. Looks like the gel layer took most of the impact, but I'm not sure when he'll wake up. And I don't want to give him one of our stims; they're engineered for us. I don't know what they'd do to a Spartan, but they would certainly be fatal to ordinary humans." He flipped his hand so that it was palm up now, and a small holopanel appeared over it. He keyed in something, and Fred's armor relaxed.

Johnson nodded and knelt to pull Cortana's chip from his helmet. Then he looked to one of the other Marines. "Radio for VTOL," he said, "Heavy lift gear. We can't wait around for him to wake up, but we're sure as hell not leaving him here."

"Yeah, you're not."

Ambience reached down to grab one of Fred's extended hands while Johnson grabbed the other, and the two of them heaved the Spartan to his feet. He wobbled for a second but stayed standing.

"Crazy fool," the sergeant said with only a little heat, thumping him on the chestplate, "Why do you always jump? One of these days you're gonna land on somethin' as stubborn as you are, and I don't do bits and pieces."

Fred saw what Johnson was holding and gently plucked the AI cartridge from Johnson's fingers. "Where is she, Chief?" the man asked, "Where's Cortana?"

Another copy slipped through to whisper, "Don't make a girl a promise, if you know you can't keep it."

"She stayed behind." Fred slotted the chip back in, then looked to Ambi, who keyed something else in on his holopanel. The MJOLNIR relaxed the rest of the way, letting him stretch his legs before he looked to the Lifeworker. "Blue Team?"

"The others are looking for Linda and Sam now," he reported, "They dropped in not far away. Lightness and Shields are with Kelly. She landed wrong, shattered a hip and part of her pelvis, but she'll be all right. They'll meet us on the way in."

Fred nodded in acknowledgement - only to see a Sangheili in silver armor appear at the edge of the crater he'd made. He reacted on instinct, going for Johnson's sidearm, but the other Forerunner - River-of-Stars - was suddenly there, gripping his wrist, holding him back.

"It's alright, Chief! The Arbiter's with us." When the Spartan didn't relax, Johnson said, "Come on now. We've got enough to worry about without you two trying to kill each other."

Stars released Fred, who relaxed reluctantly.

"Were it so easy," the Arbiter said to Johnson, "We must go; the Brutes have our scent."

"Then they must love the smell of badass," Johnson replied, and handed the Spartan an assault rifle and sidearm. "And I left a little present for you, Arbiter, and I'm walking away." The man laughed briefly, then sobered again. "First squad, you're my scouts. Move out, quiet as you can."

The group avoided the hole that the Spartan had punched through the canopy when he fell, keeping to the cover of the trees. Both Ambi and Stars shimmered and vanished completely, their active camo far better than the Covenant's, but the others could still track them by their footprints in the soft soil. They took point and moved ahead, following the path and John's memories through the jungle.

As they emerged from a short canyon, someone signaled for their group's attention. "We've got Sam-034 on top of the waterfall," said Sharp, "Give us a minute; he's coming around."

After a short while, the Forerunners jumped down, the Spartan right behind them, and Ambi gave him a quick scan and declared him fit for battle. Around the next bend was a band of Covenant, where they acquired weapons for him since he had lost his during the insertion. But the aliens hadn't gone down easy, which lead one of the Marines to comment, "These Brutes are tough."

"The Grunts ain't no slouches, either," one of the others added.

"The Grunts' new-found courage is but fear," the Arbiter assured them, "When we are victorious, all who serve the Prophets shall be punished."

They followed him and the Forerunners into the tunnels ahead, emerging back out into the jungle beyond. There were sleeping Grunts and their Brute commanders waiting for them, and rather than get shot at, the Spartans drew their knives and got to work on the sleepers. But they were spotted by a trio on patrol, who promptly raised the alarm by shouting, "Demons!" and fleeing in fear.

The Spartans switched back to their guns and fought their way up the ridge and around the bend. As they advanced, Johnson came over the COM. "Pelicans are on-route, Spartans, but I can't raise Bravo. Find 'em, get 'em to the extraction point."

Fred acknowledged him right as they came across a Brute holding a Marine by the throat, the alien and his allies standing on a stone bridge out in the open.

It was a shot that had to be taken, but someone else beat them to it. There was the now-familiar crack of a binary rifle, and the Brute dropped, body dissolving. Linda and Shields jumped to the jungle floor and joined the others in gunning for the surviving Grunts, while Dark and Lightness helped Kelly gingerly down. She was on her feet and walking, but she was visibly limping; even though she had been healed, she was still very tender.

The group formed up around her and let her set their pace. They circled around to cross the bridge, scattering the remaining flakes of the Brute, and ducked under an exposed pipe. More Covenant spilled from a tunnel heading into the cliff face beyond, their Brute leader shouting, "Focus all fire on the Demons!"

"Since when has that ever worked?" Sharp said sarcastically before adding his fire to the others'. When they were dead, the Spartans and their allies moved forward into the tunnels, a few flares letting them see in the dark, and they dropped down to a lower tunnel -

Another of Cortana's copies slipped in. "Could you sacrifice me for the sake of your mission?" she whispered, her avatar splintered across their HUDs, "Could you watch me die?" Then she seemed to fall to the ground and disappeared.

"Sir," one of the Marines asked, appearing at Fred's elbow, "You okay?"

"Your vitals just pinged KIA," another added, but the Spartans waved them off and kept moving.

They exited the tunnel just beyond a substation at the edge of the river. Johnson came over the radio again. "Pelicans are at the river. We got company, so hustle up."

The group moved double time down the slope, scooping up abandoned grenades and hurling them into the Covenant's midst to send bodies and body parts flying. But as they rushed to eliminate the enemy aliens, to give the Pelicans a safe LZ, a pair of Banshees swooped over the ridge behind them and started firing. Fred heard Johnson shouting for the pilot to get a hold of the dropship, but the other man responded, "Negative, we're going down!"

One of the birds exploded, and the other went down over the edge of the waterfall. They felt the ground shake as it hit. The Forerunners with binary rifles shot down the Banshees, but even so, the Arbiter said, "More will follow. Quickly - back into the jungle."

He was already heading across to the other part of the substation, where more Covenant lay in wait. The Spartans pitched grenades up over the pipes that they were taking cover behind, driving them out for the Arbiter and the Forerunners to fire on. When the last Brute fell off the edge and went plunging down to the rocks below, they dove back into the trees.

Beyond the substation and a stretch of pipe above their heads was a sniper alley, where a handful of Jackals with beam rifles and carbines were waiting for them. Linda had been furnished with a binary rifle to replace the one she'd lost on Zero-Five, and with a boost from Shields, she climbed one of the trees to shoot them through the leaves. One by one they hit the ground, letting their party continue their advance.

Johnson came over the COM once more; they were glad to know he was still alive. "Chief, can you hear me?" His voice cut in and out through the static on the line. "My bird's down... half a klik downriver from your position."

The Covenant must have been closing in. They picked up the pace.

Beyond the sniper alley was a loop in the path and a drop off, along with more foes. They were chasing Johnson's group across a steel bridge and deeper into the jungle, away from the edge. "C'mon, you dumb apes!" the man called, "You want breakfast? You gotta catch it!" The humans retreated deeper into the trees as the Spartans, the Arbiter, and their Marines and Forerunners moved up behind.

The moment they rounded the bend to follow the Sergeant, they were able to see the crashed Pelican on a cliff side, half on, half off of the rock, and Linda claimed the SRS99 in the wreckage, along with all the ammo she could carry, having run out on the binary rifle. Sharp took it back and just carried it, favoring his lightrifle. Then they all ran to follow the other squad.

"Commander, Johnson?" Ambience asked.

"They're headed for the dam," was the reply, "Siren Song is in orbit not too far away. It's not looking good."

"How far from us?"

"Sixty, seventy meters as the crow flies."

"Understood."

"Let's move," said Fred, and he jogged into the tunnel ahead, red flares lighting the way.

They emerged onto a ridge above the dam, covered in shadows from the canopy. The brush afforded them excellent cover, so that they could see but not be seen by the Unggoy or Kig-Yar somewhere below or the Jiralhanae patrolling the far side. The Arbiter pointed, and they followed his line of sight. "See how they bait their trap?"

A Brute chieftain with a gravity hammer forced Johnson back a step and roared at him. The human didn't seem the slightest bit fazed and tried to punch him. It did nothing, and he was knocked backwards into the building where prisoners were being held.

"I will help you spring him."

Linda immediately set up shop and started picking targets, and Stars went to one knee partially behind a tree to join her. The other Spartans continued down towards the main dam station and started fighting the Covenant on the near side of the river, leaving the others on the far side to the sniper.

There were half a dozen Brutes and twice as many Grunts in their way, with an odd Jackal here and there. The humans and their allies mowed through them with guns and grenades and at least one occasion where Shattered-Shields simply grabbed a Grunt in each hand, turned, and hurled them over the edge of the dam. Sam snorted softly when he saw, and then started doing the same.

'This bitch empty! YEET!'

[That is so old.]

'Then why are you laughing, Commander?'

The path was essentially clear once they crossed the dam thanks to the snipers. Fred ducked into the jerry-rigged prison and cut the power to the barricade, freeing Johnson and the other Marines.

But as they emerged, two Phantoms swooped in to drop off more Brutes and Grunts on their side of the river and on the dam itself. They weren't truly a challenge, pinned between fire from both sides of the river, but the layout of the dam and the cargo modules scattered throughout made the fight more chaotic than the Spartans liked.

When their evac arrived, Johnson called, "Hocus! Phantom!"

"I see 'em," the pilot replied, "Stand by."

There was a hum as she spun up her missile launchers. It only took a few salvos to destroy each of the enemy transports, and Hocus swung her Pelican around on the spine of the dam to let them board. Linda and Stars were the last to hop aboard, having come from the very edge of the jungle on the far side of the river, but they all made it aboard and set off for home base.

-------------------------------------------

"IFF confirmed, contact is Pelican dropship Kilo-Two-Three, over."

"Roger that, what's the word, Kilo-Two-Three?"

"Blue Team is on board. Request priority clearance, over."

"It's yours. Come on down."

Hocus set them down on the landing pad and powered down the Pelican, even as the radio operator continued, "Sorry for the tight squeeze. Tell the Commander her aces are in the hole."

The Spartans disembarked to find that there were a number of Forerunners in the area, most of them Lifeworkers like Ambi and Lightness, tending the wounded with thin probes extending from their bulkier armor like metal tentacles. The probes gently poked and prodded at gashes and broken bones, and the wounds sealed up an inch at a time before their very eyes.

There were still some who were waiting to be seen, less severely injured than some, and the new arrivals heard them talking as they approached.

"Hey. Check it out."

"No way. Spartans?!"

A temporarily blinded Marine jerked his head up and peered around, trying to see. "For real? You better not be-"

"No, man, they're here! We're gonna be alright!"

A few of the Forerunners smiled to themselves, then refocused their attention as Commander Keyes approached. The UNSC personnel saluted her, which she returned, while the Forerunners bowed respectfully. "Where did you find them?"

"Napping, out back."

"I'll bet." She stepped forward and shook all of the Spartans' hands. "It's good to see you, Blue Team."

"Likewise, ma'am," Fred answered for all of them.

"Let's get you up to speed." She led the way into the base, explaining that the Forerunners had picked her, Johnson, and the Arbiter up in the Ring of Winter, along with all the other surviving humans and Sangheili they could find, and brought them all to Earth in pursuit of Truth. They had arrived only a few hours ahead. Then, when he himself finally arrived in the Anodyne Spirit with his fleet of more than five hundred ships - "The Prophet of Truth's ships breached the lunar perimeter. Smashed what was left of the home fleet. The Fleet of Shadows has been doing what they can, but they only have so many ships. Terrestrial casualties from the subsequent bombardment were-"

They all jumped out of the way when two Marines raced by with a third groaning on a gurney. Lightness turned and ran alongside them, probes already unfolding from her armor.

"...extreme," Keyes finished.

Johnson and Ambi knelt next to one of more than a dozen injured soldiers sitting in the hall. The sergeant rested a sympathetic hand on the man's shoulder while the Forerunner scanned him, then let his own probes unfold to start healing.

"Truth could have landed anywhere," Miranda continued, watching, "but he committed all his forces here, east Africa, the ruins of New Mombasa. Then, they started digging."

"What about Halo?" Fred asked as they left the Forerunners to it, entering the base's command center.

All of the Spartans raised their eyebrows at the sight of a harried-looking Doctor Halsey hunched over one of the displays, typing furiously and muttering under her breath.

"We stopped it," Miranda replied, lifting their spirits until she continued, "but only temporarily. Now the Prophet of Truth is looking for 'the Ark,' where he'll be able to fire all the Halo rings. If he succeeds… humanity, the Covenant, every sentient being in the galaxy…"

"The rings will kill us all."

"Ma'am? I have Lord Hood," one of the COMs officers informed them.

"Patch him through."

The elderly officer appeared on the vidscreen. "Good news, Commander Keyes?"

"As good as it gets, sir," she answered with a faint smile.

"So I see. What's your status, Spartans?"

"Green, sir."

"Glad to hear it. The Commander's come up with a bold plan, but without a few more of you, I wasn't sure we could pull it off."

"Truth's ships are clustered above the excavation site," Miranda told them, "and his infantry has deployed anti-aircraft batteries around the perimeter. But if we neutralize one of the batteries, punch a hole in Truth's defenses…"

"I'll initiate a low-level strike, hit 'em right where it hurts. Even with the Forerunners, we only have a handful of ships, Master Chief. It's a big risk, but I'm confident-"

The power went down without warning. The Spartans all jumped, automatically going for their weapons, then relaxed reluctantly even as Keyes called for the emergency generators. One of the officers said they were down, and she responded, "As soon as they're up, reestablish contact with Lord Hood, let him know that-"

All of the screens snapped back to life, all bearing the same image - an image no one wanted to see. "You are all of you vermin," Truth said zealously, "cowering in the dirt, thinking - what, I wonder? That you might escape the coming fire? No, your world will burn until its surface is but glass, and not even your Demons will live to creep, blackened, from their holes to marr the reflection of our passage. The culmination of our journey - for your destruction - is the will of the gods! And I? I am their instrument!"

"Fuck. Off." Sharp growled, not that Truth could hear him, but everyone else did. Some of them smiled, though only for a moment.

The power came back online with a hum. Johnson shoved his cigar back between his teeth. "Cocky bastard just loves to run his mouth."

"Does he usually mention us?" Fred asked Keyes.

She paused for a second, then said, "Give the order, we're closing shop."

"Ma'am?"

"We're about to get hit."

The officer did as ordered, getting on the COM. "All personnel, defense code alpha-one; prepare for immediate evacuation."

"The wounded," Miranda said to the Spartans and Forerunners, "We're getting all of them out."

"If I have to carry 'em myself," Johnson affirmed.

"Ma'am, squad leaders are requesting a rally point," the COMs officer said, "Where should they go?"

She pulled the slide back on her pistol, then released it, chambering a round. "To war."

The Forerunners lifted their heads, listening. Then Shields turned to Keyes and said, "Our Commander wants you to know that he can have Reborn from Ashes and Windchaser overhead in fifteen minutes. They can't really handle a heavyweight fight - they're just frigates - but their infirmaries are big enough to treat everyone here, and they're quick enough that they can fall back to Gift of Life, one of our supercarriers, and get the wounded out of the line of fire."

Miranda smiled in gratitude. "That would be perfect. Thanks."

Shields nodded, right before a security officer said, "We just lost the perimeter cameras."

"Motion trackers?"

"Either they're down, or we're not receiving."

"Any of our birds squawking?"

"No, nothing. - Wait. Overwatch has contacts. Phantoms closing in on our position."

"Any birds less than five minutes out, bring them in. Tell everything else to scatter." Keyes looked to the Forerunners. "Any more miracles you can pull out for us?"

"Maybe not in terms of immediate transportation - it's not safe to move wounded through our portal network. But… Ironheart, do any of our stealth corvettes have visuals on Crow's Nest?"

"Out of Shadow can be in position in sixty seconds."

"That would be helpful, thank you. Route visuals directly to Crow's Nest until control center abandonment, then switch to verbal notify."

"Acknowledged."

Keyes nodded. "Thanks. All right people, we knew they'd find us eventually. We have a plan; let's make it happen."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Arbiter and I will guard the Ops Center," Johnson told the Spartans, "Don't worry about the Commander, you lot. I got her. But the Marines downstairs could use your help."

Blue Team all nodded and headed down the stairwell with Sharp and Dark, picking up weapons on the way. Beyond a blast door was a cavern that had been converted for military use, and Gunnery Sergeant Stacker was there giving advice to his soldiers.

The ancilla Ironheart came over the COM unexpectedly. "Crow's Nest, brace for impact," she said, right before an explosion somewhere sent shudders through the base. "Point of entry: hangar. Phantoms inbound." She snapped off again and left them all to it.

The Spartans hurried through the halls, killing all the Covenant in their way, including a last-ditch effort by a group of Jackals to stop them entering the hangar. They failed, and the Spartans split up to cover both doors. The sight of four fully-armored, fully-armed Spartans charging into the hangar sent the Grunts into fits of terror, and Linda killed half of them herself, nailing them one after the other with her battle rifle.

But the fight wasn't over the moment they had the hangar cleared, however. A pair of Phantoms swooped in, dropping off a band of Brutes and a few Grunts. Linda headed up to the skybox, and Fred and Sam manned machine gun turrets set up in the corners, letting Kelly play rabbit while the Marines guarded their sides.

They cleared the hangar with time to spare, and Fred was deciding where to go from there when Johnson came over the COM. "Spartans, Ops Center. Double time! The Brutes are pressing hard."

Linda stayed in the skybox while the other three went back the way they had come. When they arrived at the motor pool, they found a pair of Marines looking skyward at the ventilation system. There were alarming rattling and banging sounds coming from the pipes.

Once again, the Forerunners were there for them. "All personnel, be advised: Yam'ee - Drones - are in the air conditioning ducts. Report all exit points," said Shields, "Also: anyone in the barracks, the Commander needs a sitrep, now."

Blue Team had just reentered the cavern beyond the Ops Center when a broken duct fell to the ground below, releasing more than two dozen Drones into the cavern. The Spartans took point and fired on them, focusing on where they were emerging from the ventilation first, then focusing on those who got through their fields of fire. They got the job done and reentered the Ops Center. When she spotted the Spartans, Commander Keyes said, "Spartans, have a look. A little going-away gift for the Covenant. We've linked it to smaller charges throughout the base. Johnson, soon as the evacuation is complete, start the timer."

"Understood," the Sergeant Major replied.

"Good luck everyone," said Keyes, "See you on the last Pelican out." The screen blanked out, then the UNSC logo appeared.

Johnson directed them to a door at the back of the Ops Center. "Brutes have taken the barracks," he told them, "Marines are trapped inside. Those apes ain't much for mercy, Spartans. We both know what they do to prisoners. Get to the barracks, save those men. Then escort them to the landing pad for evac."

The Forerunners came with them this time, chivvying Doctor Halsey along with them despite her protests. "I need to secure the base's data!"

"Any one of our ancillae can copy it over and scrub the systems," Shields told her, "but they cannot duplicate your brain, Doctor. You are still needed, preferably alive."

Both Halsey and Lightness hung back with Dark while the Spartans cleared the path ahead, the Warrior-Servant shielding both women as the others darted around to avoid the Brute chieftain with the gravity hammer. Sam claimed the weapon after the alien fell and took point to avoid whacking any of the others.

The corridor that the Brute pack had been guarding had caved in at the far end, but, with Dark carrying Halsey, they dropped down a shaft into another tunnel just as another Cortana slipped in. "You have been called upon to serve," it whispered before fading away.

"Cortana, what was that?" Halsey asked as they continued down the tunnel, "That's never happened before."

"Lady - that is, Miss Cortana isn't here, Doctor. She's on High Charity," said Ambience, "The enemy Gravemind is there as well; she seems to be spinning off stripped-down copies to protect herself. Some of them are slipping through to us all, although how is unknown."

"She's with the Flood? And you left her there?" Halsey looked around at the Spartans, alarmed.

"She insisted," Fred replied, "A failsafe against Zero-Five being activated. But we didn't know about the Gravemind until just now. We'll get her back, Doctor. I promise."

The scientist pursed her lips, then sighed. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Frederic."

The group continued on, dropping down a second time to find the Arbiter shooting at a couple of Yam'ee and shouting, "Half-wit insects! The Prophets use you like they used me! Reject their lies! Rebel! Or all your hives will perish!"

Dark set Halsey down, and they all jogged over to meet the Sangheili. He heard and turned, then recognized them and lowered his weapons just slightly. "Spartans, the Brutes have taken your soldiers. As prisoners or meat for their bellies, I do not know. In case some yet live, let us be careful when we shoot."

Fred nodded in agreement, and Sam led the way through the door to the barracks. Just as it opened, a Marine came flying into view, hit a pillar directly in front of them, and died instantly, tumbling limply to land on several others. The Spartans hissed softly and hurried further in, noting that there was still at least one living Marine. Shields dropped to one knee and put a binary rifle round clean through the skull of the Brute holding him. The alien fell, dissolving, freeing the human, and Blue Team swept in to clean up the rest.

The Marine scooped up a fallen spiker and fell in with them, tired but furious over the deaths of his friends. A few other survivors were also rescued further inside, and the Arbiter said, "We did all we could. Let us move the survivors to the landing pad. There is a lift outside."

They headed out into the hall, where they found more bodies in Marine uniforms. They gathered their dog tags as well and took the lift up. They were back on the landing pad they'd arrived at, and as Fred called the lift down, Johnson spoke over SQUADCOM. "Commander, we lost the Ops Center. Brutes attacked in force. Couldn't hold them off. We're falling back to the hangar. But don't wait for us."

"What should I do, ma'am?" Hocus asked.

"Hold position! I'm not leaving without him," Keyes snapped in reply.

Fred activated the lift, taking them up to the landing pad, just as red dots began to appear on their motion trackers.

"Ma'am, I've got movement, above and below. Brutes. They've got jump-packs."

"They're going after the thrusters," Keyes replied, "Shake them off, Lieutenant."

The Pelican took off from the pad, giving the Spartans and Forerunners more room to work on the Covenant. A few scored lucky shots, detonating the Brutes' jetpacks and sending them flying, often over the edge of the pad. Just when the area had been cleared, a blast door slid open below, releasing Johnson and his team - and also a swarm of Drones that soon met their end. The Pelican landed again, even as Reborn from Ashes and Windchaser moved to hover low above the base, throwing everything into shadow.

"Brutes," Johnson gasped as he boarded the Pelican with his squad, the Arbiter, Halsey, Lightness, and Dark, "in the Ops Center. They disarmed the bomb. Sorry Commander, there were too many. Even for me."

"Blue Team, get back to the Ops Center," Miranda ordered, "Kill those Brutes. Rearm the bomb. I've gotta get these men outta here. but I'll radio with another exit. Good luck."

The Spartans and remaining Forerunners - Ambi, Shields, Sharp, and Stars - turned and headed down to the motor pool. It was essentially deserted, but another copy found them as they ran. "You will be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies."

Not long after, they ran across some Grunts blocking the path. Kelly shot them before they could turn their plasma turret on them, and they all gunned for the Jackals beyond. Sam broke off the plasma turret and led the way. As they went, they came across more dead Marines, probably part of Johnson's team. They had been killed by the Covenant, and Stars knelt to close one's eyes and murmured a soft prayer. A pair of Jackals tried to shoot him but were themselves shot instead.

The Ops Center was just around the bend, and Shields activated her active camouflage and slipped into the room, sharing her visuals with everyone else. Truth was on the main screen, taking the report of one of the Brutes there. "We have taken their Command Center!" the Brute told the San'Shyuum, seemingly elated.

Truth himself was not as impressed. "Have you discovered how they plan to stop me?"

"Not yet, Noble Prophet."

"Find out what I need to know, or your place on the path is forfeit. Tell me you understand!"

"Yes, Holy One. It shall be done." The Prophet disconnected, and the chieftain turned to his fellows. "Have the Drones scour these machines. Find out what these heathens know about the Ark!"

"More than you," Ambi hissed. Then Fred signaled for them all to move up. They entered the Ops Center and started gunning for the Covenant, mindful of the bomb. As with the one on the Cairo, they weren't sure if shooting it would set it off; better to be safe than sorry.

When they were dead, Shields held a hand over the controls, and the lights came back on. "That did it," Keyes said, "Bomb's armed."

"We've got your exit: a service elevator in the hangar," Johnson reported, "Head downstairs and cut through the caves!"

The Forerunners bypassed the stairs entirely, jumping over the railing and dropping to the lower level, and the Spartans followed. None of them even bothered trying to shoot the Covenant running around the base; they would be dead soon enough without wasting ammo on them. The base itself shook with distant explosions, and they reeled as they ran for the hangar, all of them relying on their shields to keep them safe.

Another copy appeared as they approached the hangar - "There will be a great deal of hardship on the road ahead." - and another right behind it - "You will become the best we can make you."

Linda jumped down from the skybox as they entered and joined their run for the service elevator; she hadn't spoken, but she had been listening in on their COM traffic. The lift door shut behind them, and Sam slapped the controls to send them down.

"This place will become your home."

The bombs detonated. The fire followed the path of least resistance - including down the elevator shaft.

"This place will become your tomb."

-------------------------------------------

The Spartans had been knocked unconscious again, and woke to Ambi crouched next to them, his probes flickering over their armor. "You'll be alright," he told them, "just sore for a little while. But we cannot stay here."

They agreed and got to their feet.

They weren't the only ones who'd made it out. There were some Marines in the vehicle bay with them, some injured, and the Lifeworker joined the stressed medic tending to them. His armor healed them, but they were still down for the count, the echoes of phantom pain from their injuries taking them out of the fight as thoroughly as if they had still been injured. They climbed into a troop transport Warthog with their sergeant - one Sergeant Reynolds - at the wheel, while the Spartans and Forerunners took the ones with the LAAGs.

It was a bumpy ride to the exit, but fortunately there were no enemies until they got there. They picked up another squad of Marines who had been trying to defend the door, and then bounced out into the sunlight.

Outside the base, there was a long segment of a metal construction collapsed across the canyons, a Phantom crashed against it. After killing the Brutes that had crashed with it, they skidded to a stop on the cliff edge. The metal construction extended off into the distance, dominating the landscape. "The New Mombasa Space Elevator?" Stars half-asked.

One of the Marines made an affirmative noise. "It collapsed when the city got glassed."

"But it was thousands of kilometers high!" another protested.

"Yeah? Well now it's scattered all over the savannah," the first retorted.

They got moving again. Yet as they went, the Forerunners looked up, and so did everyone else.

A sleek destroyer and its escorts - Fog of War, and Fist of Rebellion and Ambient Wonder - dropped out of Slipspace overhead, then shimmered and vanished as they engaged their active camouflage, but they did start firing on the Covenant nearby.

"Friends of yours?" Reynolds asked over the COM.

"They were at Zero-Five, helping with containment," Shields replied, at the wheel of one of the Warthogs, "Something must have happened for them to leave. If it's important, the Commander will tell us." They didn't say that they already knew; High Charity had departed the Coelest System, en route for Sol. The Worldquake was preparing to destroy the installation and launch it into the system's star in order to contain the Flood still there.

Their convoy continued across the Serengeti, killing everything that got in their way but focusing on speed more than elimination of enemies. Linked up with the fleet as they were, the Forerunners had access to real time imagery and John's memories, so they took the lead and mowed their way through the Covenant.

Sergeant Stacker's voice suddenly came over the COM, crackling with static; "My convoy's been hit, I've got wounded. We're on the Tsavo Highway about - east of Voi!"

The group from Crow's Nest finally made their way onto the highway proper and found Stacker's convoy being attacked by a pack of Brutes not long after. They weren't alone - Yellow Team (Kurt, Daisy, Soren, and Anton) was with them, doing their damnedest to defend the injured Marines. Fred whistled oly oly oxen free over the COM, and they cheered and moved to coordinate with the newcomers.

As the Warthog he was in skidded by, Ambience jumped out and ducked into the structure where the Marines were taking cover, probes already unfolding from his armor. He left the Spartans and Warrior-Servants to it, calling for evac from the fleet.

[The Unwearied Heart will be passing overhead in six minutes, mark. Have everyone ready.]

'Understood, Commander.' Ambi passed the word along to the Marines, who looked so relieved that they almost seemed ready to cry. 'How goes the evacuation of Voi?'

[We're moving as fast as we can. All of the civilians will be airlifted out by the time the Flood arrives, but the military personnel will be a problem. I'm redirecting our super carriers to sit over the city so they can set up a containment field, keep the Flood corralled so Shipmaster 'Vadam doesn't have to "glass half a continent."]

'Will it be enough?'

[I hope so.]

A swarm of Yam'ee flew out from behind the vehicle barrier blocking the tunnel ahead, and the Warthog turrets turned to fire on them almost as one. They fell in droves, their admittedly tough carapaces still no match for the LAAGs on the 'Hogs. As the others gunned the last few down, Fred stopped his Warthog next to the barrier and jogged through to pitch a grenade at the generator. It went down in a blue-white explosion.

A Forerunner transport - roughly the size and shape of a Phantom, though far stronger and sleeker - decloaked as it landed on the road. The Spartans helped load all the injured onboard, then Yellow Team took over the Warthogs the Marines had left. They kept moving through the collapsed tunnel ahead. The Warthogs climbed the pile of debris in the middle where the roof had caved in and coasted easily along the road beyond.

There was an explosion overhead, and a Brute cruiser accelerated toward the Portal Generator, the ground shuddering under them. As the cruiser receded into the distance, someone started to say, "Commander, this is ONI Recon One-Eleven. The cruisers above..." But the rest of the transmission was drowned in static.

"Say again, Recon?" Commander Keyes replied, "You're breaking up."

"We have a clear view of the Portal Generator now, ma'am," the man replied, "Based on the data the Last Fleet's given us, it's almost completely uncovered."

The Spartans nodded to the Forerunners even as they worried what would happen when it was activated. It had spent a hundred thousand years buried under thousands of tons of water and earth and all that entailed; there was no telling if it would function as intended or just explode and take half the planet with it.

Keyes came on again a few moments later. "Spartans? Finally, a good connection. Truth has excavated the Portal Generator to the Ark. We need to stop him before it activates."

"Keep pushing to the town of Voi, Chief!" Apparently Johnson was still with her. "Resupply birds will meet you in the next valley."

The Spartans and Forerunners bailed out of their vehicles when they reached a twisted rent in the highway; even the Warthogs weren't getting past that. But they did on foot and jogged through a short tunnel, where they found more Marines under fire from the Covenant. The humans cheered when they saw the Spartans, while the Grunts fled in terror and the Brutes howled and charged.

They died like all the rest, like their brothers attacking more Marines further down the valley. Those that came later on the Phantom met the same end, so the Pelicans and a Forerunner dropship with it swooped in without fear. "Brutes have plenty of armor between here and Voi, Chief," Johnson told them, "but these Warthogs should help you punch on through. Along with - whatever the Forerunners have."

It looked like an egg, smooth and featureless and made of the same metal as most Forerunner constructs. But when the dropship let it go, silver legs unfolded from the base, catching it before it hit the ground, and the top reconfigured itself into what was unmistakably a tank gun; it looked something like a Scorpion on Scarab legs.

"Hey, Niken!" Sharp called, laughing, "Finally seeing some action!"

"Indeed," said a deep rumbling voice, "Greetings, humans. I am Niken Thureth of the Gultanr, and it is an honor to fight by your side against this false Prophet and his army."

Part of the top briefly turned transparent, revealing the cockpit. An armored alien was at the controls, one of the long-necked, long-tailed ones they'd seen on Delta Halo, and he lifted a hand in greeting before the top turned opaque again. The tank started walking forward quite quickly, slower than the Warthogs but faster than a Scorpion.

As they kept moving through the valley, they got to see the Forerunner tank in action for the first time; it fired something like a ball of energy that exploded into smaller balls and dissolved the bodies of Covenant like the binary rifle did, but it also fired precision shots that essentially were binary rifle rounds, albeit far more powerful and far longer range.

"Oh, I gotta get me one of those," said Anton, making Nikon chuckle.

"I think the Commander could be persuaded to part with one, provided you can keep ONI from taking it from you," the Gultanr said.

"They're gonna have to fight me for it."

That got a laugh, and not just from him.

They continued on through a tunnel around a locked down section of road ahead, and the tank's legs folded up as it switched to antigravity floatation and propulsion under the low ceiling, then unfolded again when they were clear. There were two Brutes patrolling near their Choppers ahead, but the tank's rifle-gun took them out before they could mount up and attack. That let some of the Marines following them mount up, join the assault. There were almost a dozen other vehicles trying to block their path - operative word being trying; they were no more successful than those who came before them. They were divided up in the valley, which let the humans and their allies overwhelm them with numbers.

They continued along the highway, stocking up on ammo from a few Pelican pods that hadn't been deployed correctly. Given the Covenant all around, it must have been shot down, and they were proven right around the next bend; it was crashed into the highway itself, dead crew scattered behind.

The Covenant barricades had forced them to bail out of most of their vehicles, but the Forerunner tank just walked right over it, then anchored itself long range and started firing at the Brutes holding the highway ahead. The Spartans circled around from either side to drive them out of hiding, while the Forerunners went to one knee on either side of it, providing cover for any Brutes that tried to charge them.

By the time Commander Keyes arrived, the fight was long over. "Lord Hood, we made it," she said, dropping off more Warthogs and reinforcements - Red and Green Teams, and more Marines, while the wounded boarded for evac.

"Music to my ears, Commander," the man replied, "What about the Portal Generator?"

"Fully uncovered, sir."

"Then we don't have much time. Marines, the Prophet of Truth doesn't know it yet, but he's about to get kicked right off his throne. You will take our city back, and drive our enemy into the grave they've been so happily digging. One final effort is all that remains."