Siege

We drove through the tunnel, flanked by several other warthogs as we rolled down Tsavo highway. As we continued, Commander Keyes briefed us on what our objective was.

"Spartans, Arbiter. The Prophet of Truth has found the Ark. The only chance that we have at stopping him is a surprise aerial assault. Clear this sector of the Covenant AA defences, and make a hole for the Admiral's ships. This is our chance, good hunting. Keyes out."

We emerged from the tunnel, into a large parking lot littered with destroyed Warthog and Ghost chassis, along with the bodies of Marines and Covenant alike. I slowed us to a halt, and the three of us hopped off, heading towards a locked door up in front.

Sergeant Reynolds and his Marines knelt and formed a perimeter around the door. Reynolds grinned, "Ready when you are, Spartans. Open the door and take point. We'll cover you with the .50" I tapped the door, and it hissed open into an empty factory. Chief took point, and the Arbiter and I followed him as he strode up the stairs. The Warthog and a squad of Marines slowly moved in. The Chief suddenly stopped, and directed us to look at our motion trackers. Filled with targets right in front of us. Chief pulled out his grenade, and the two of us followed suit. As we approached a corner, Chief suddenly pushed into the wall, and signed for two contacts around the corner. I nodded, and the Arbiter faded from view.

Two Jackals walked on, about to round the corner. Chief grabbed the first one, and I grabbed the other one. Chief snapped the first one's neck, and I quickly stabbed the other one, before we let them slide quietly to the ground. The Arbiter had moved forward, past the dead Jackals into the other room. The Chief and I primed our grenades, and launched them right as the Arbiter tossed his. Whatever Covenant that stood in that room did not survive the ensuing explosion. I opened the door, and the Marines continued onwards.

It was then we noticed a hologram of the Prophet of Truth, spouting more rhetoric.

"With my gentle encouragement, our lords' holy relic springs to life. It is unfortunate that our enemies also bear witness to its glory. But soon their dull eyes will be closed; seared by the rings' unforgiving might."

The Arbiter growled, and crushed the emitter with his boot. Up ahead, a tunnel was shrouded in darkness, and as Chief hit the lights, Brutes, Jackals, Grunts and a trio of unmanned ghosts were shrouded in eerie light as they screeched at us. One Grunt moved to get on the ghost before I quickly punched a hole through its head. The Arbiter charged along with the rest of the Marines, Chief bringing up the rear with the Warthog as we ripped through the Covenant ranks.

Beyond the tunnel, the door revealed a massive lakebed, with ships embedded into the ground, and a huge battle between a Covenant garrison and the Marines stationed in the area. The three of us manned the ghosts, and burst into the expanse, firing at the anti-air wraiths in the area.

Lord Hood's gravelly voice came over the COM. This is the UNSC Forward unto Dawn. I need a sit-rep, commander Keyes."

Keyes replied. "Atmospheric disturbances currently intensifying above the artefact Admiral."

"The Spartans?"

"They're moving as fast as they can. I have faith that they will get it done."

With the three of us swarming like gnats against the wraiths, they were unable to take us down. I was able to take of the turret gunner, and the AA Wraiths were helpless against us. The ghosts that were defending the Wraiths however proved to be a lot more trouble than they were worth. My ghost was destroyed, forcing me to leap out of the Chassis before it was exploded against a beached ship.

Several ghosts were looking for blood as they charged at me. The Arbiter skilfully navigated his ghost towards me, firing and killing a Brute pilot on one before he waved at me to get onto the now empty ghost. I waved my thanks to the Elite, who nodded as we continued.

The AA-Wraiths destroyed, we had to move to the next area, to take out the remaining AA-Wraiths.

Johnson encouraged us onwards. "Good job chief, keep moving! Move to the next area, over."

A normal Wraith stood between us and the door present at the far side of the lake bed, leading into the factory where we were urged to keep going. It didn't last very long, especially with the three of us on our Ghosts hosing plasma fire down range.

The factory was already occupied by a Warthog, and the Marine manning the turret spun around to aim at us.

"They just keep coming!"

The three of us flinched and ducked away, before the driver manning the Warthog turned and slapped the gunner on his shins.

"Check your fire! It's the Spartans! Flush 'em out, sirs. We'll get em with the 50 cal."

I could hear the growls of a Brute Pack on the second floor, and I knew that Chief and the Arbiter could hear them too. We silently moved to a set of service stairs behind the Brutes, hoping that they wouldn't notice. They did, and we were forced back down the stairs, promptly starting a crossfire with a War Chieftain hefting a plasma cannon. The Brute's thick hide was strong, but even so, it wasn't invincible. The Arbiter threw an accurate grenade onto the Chieftain's cannon, forcing the Chieftain to drop and fall back with the rest of his pack. The Chief and I were able to pick off the Brutes as they moved, and the Chieftain promptly went berserk, charging at us. It never made it towards us thankfully, collapsing in a pile of plasma, lead and blood.

The door separating us from the rest of the factory hissed open, revealing several exhausted Marines, that sighed in relief when they saw us.

"Oh thank god. We're down to our last mags, sir. Thought they had us beat."

One of them was about to continue, before their eyes whipped above, and they dropped into a firing position.

"Phantom, overhead!"

The three of us moved out of the way as the Phantom began to fire it's cannons right at us, before a horde of Drones descended, and began peppering us with bullets. Eventually, they were fought off, and we were able to proceed to the next section.

As we were continuing however, Chief suddenly staggered, and propped a hand against a wall for stability. I was struck with a painful sensation as well, and while it wasn't as bad as Chief's, it still made me stop in my tracks.

"I have defied gods, and demons."

We both shook it off, and looked at each other, before continuing on. Regardless of what we'd both just heard, now wasn't the time to discuss it.

There were several Mongooses up ahead, and Marines hefting rocket launchers with them. I got into one, with Chief riding behind me, while the Arbiter sat in the back of another. The door hissed open into another lake bed, and we launched our assault once again.

Anti-Air Wraiths were all littered around the lakebed, firing onto a large battle ahead fought by Hornets and Banshee's in the air. I drove around, Chief on the back, firing onto the Wraiths and their turret gunners alike. The first one was taken out swiftly, and in response, several Phantoms descended onto the lakebed, dropping Brute Choppers and a squad of the Covenant. As we ducked around, I saw the Arbiter hop off his Mongoose and rip a Missile Pod clean off its hinges, before firing it at the Covenant in the area.

After he had cleaned up the Brute Choppers, the Arbiter turned focus towards the sole remaining Wraith in the area, mopping it up with a volley of missiles before proceeding to expend the remaining projectiles onto the rest of the Covenant resistance.

We grouped up on a large platform leading back into the facility, as Sergeant Johnson began to brief us on what to do.

"Both AA Wraiths have been neutralized. Ge-… Standby. Something big, real big, closing in on your location."

While there remained the consistent boom of Aircraft and AA guns in the distance, there was a ominous noise that seemed to be getting louder every second. It groaned and rattled, sounding like metal slamming against metal as it grinded and got closer and closer. The Marines began to hear it, and they looked around to each other, wondering what the hell was going on.

"What's that sound?"

"It's getting closer."

The Arbiters mandibles flared in concern, as he quickly beckoned for the Marines outside on open ground.

"Get into the shade, hurry!"

The Marines heeded his warnings, and a Warthog drove over, the soldiers inside making to get out.

A massive leg ripped through the sky, sleek and terrifying as it arced down right into the Warthog, blowing the vehicle and its occupants to pieces. Bits of metal scattered the lake bed as the rest of us instinctively fell back from the giant leg.

"Scarab! Find some cover!" I roared. Chief and the Arbiter were the first to spring to action, mounting Missile Pod turrets and volleying shots into the Scarabs legs as it lumbered down from the roof of the facility, slamming onto the lake bed.

The Scarab was huge, a gargantuan example of the terror that was the Covenant. An enormous plasma cannon was mounted to its head, and a secondary cannon mounted on top of it. I saw a contingent of Brutes and Grunts hunkered on the Scarab, manning turrets and scanning for resistance. The legs were large but moved with precision as it trod around the lake bed.

"Marines, open fire on the infantry above the Scarab! The three of us will take missile pods and take out its joints!"

The soldiers opened fire, spraying in bursts into the infantry on the Scarab. The grunts that manned the plasma turrets were quickly killed, and the Brutes fell back deeper into the Scarab, attempting to avoid the fire.

I hopped onto a missile pod, opening fire onto the Scarab. The tracking rockets fired upwards, before speeding towards their target, detonating and denting its legs. The behemoth shuddered, and its cannon turned to face us, before rearing back to launch a deadly plasma beam.

"MOVE!" I yelled, as we dove out of the way. the beam blew a hole through the factory and caught a Marine in its blast is it moved towards us. Just then, a missile slammed into the front facing cannon, forcing smoke and fire to arc around the Covenant vehicle. Several Hornets swooped past the battlefield, moving away before we could even utter a thank you.

The Scarab's joints shuddered, and its primary cannon dimmed. However, it's secondary cannon remained active, firing wave after wave of energy upon us. We quickly moved to find any heavy ordnance, finding them in the form of several rocket launchers in a weapons crate. I grabbed two and threw them to the Chief and Arbiter, before grabbing one of my own. We fired in several salvos, each detonating and doing considerable damage to the legs.

Chief's rocket slammed right into one of the hind legs of the Scarab, and suddenly it kicked back, like a wounded animal. It shook and vibrated with a terrifying noise, before it suddenly lowered to the ground, its secondary cannon glowing red, instead of its original blue hue.

The Arbiter took charge here. "The Scarab is recharging its power! We must find a way inside, I know how to destroy its core!"

I saw a large elevator leading to catwalks that expanded over the factory and ran for it with Chief and the Arbiter following. The Marines continued to lay down suppressive fire onto the infantry still on the Scarab. I hit the button, and we quickly rose to the top. From the catwalks above, I could see that the Scarab was right below it and looked to be slowly gaining power.

"We're going to jump from the catwalk onto the scarab." I told them. Both nodded. To them, it was just another day at the office.

"Six, set your mag boots to 80% shield integrity. Just in case." Chief ordered, and I nodded before doing so. While Spartans could easily handle landings from a great height, the Jump still had a chance to cause some damage to our shields.

The Arbiter added some input right before we reached the top. "Follow me. We must hurry, the Scarab will regain power in a matter of seconds."

The elevator doors hissed open, and the Arbiter quickly slung his rifle, and we followed suit. The three of us broke into a run, speeding across the catwalk. I looked down and noticed the Scarab had regained power, and had began to move away from the catwalk, towards the Marines. We pushed ourselves faster, and the Arbiters alien physiology caused him to lead in front of us. The Chief broke slightly ahead of me, and we leapt, one by one from the catwalk. The Arbiters massive legs propelled him much further than the two of us, and he landed comfortably onto the Scarab. Two of the Brutes firing onto the Marines below were stunned, and quickly killed as the Arbiter pulled out his energy sword and cut them both down. The Chief landed and rolled before coming to a stop, getting to his feet and spraying down the Grunts on the side of the platform. By then, the Scarab had begun to move, and that was not good news for me. I caught the side of the Scarab, barely hanging on before the Arbiter quickly pulled me to my feet.

"Thanks."

I unslung my rifle, and we pushed towards the back of the Scarab, staying as steady as possible while the Scarab moved around. A Chieftain lumbered from the lower floor, before noticing and roaring as us. The Brute lifted its hammer, and the three of us fell back, blowing round and carbine rod into its chest and head. It triggered its invincibility, and slammed the hammer onto the ground, detonating it with concussive force and sending us back. The narrow platform made it night impossible to dodge the Chieftains attacks, and Chief knew this. He weaved to the side, and as the Chieftain swung his hammer and missed the Arbiter by an inch, the Chief slammed into the Brute, lifting it up, and throwing it off the Scarab.

We moved to the lower deck, clearing the Brutes under the dead Chieftain's command with ruthless efficiency. Without their Chieftain, many of them succumbed to their animal instincts, making them simpler, albeit dangerous targets as they attempted to bum-rush the three of us. The Arbiter cleaved through the last with his energy sword, and the Scarab was clear. The Arbiter moved back to the top deck, and to the back of the Scarab. Gun and Plasma cannon fire still echoed throughout the battlefield, even though we had killed all the infantry aboard. The Arbiter walked towards a metal plate, and ripped it open, revealing what looked like a core, pulsing blue. The open panel also revealed small organisms that looked like they ran all throughout the Scarab. The Arbiter beckoned us to stand back, before tossing a plasma grenade into it. It exploded, and the blue hue turned to a crimson red, and a loud klaxon warning began to blare throughout the Scarab.

"Quick!" the Arbiter commanded, moving to the lower deck and out a small passageway in the right side, us following close behind. We ran as fast as we could away from the Scarab, not looking back as I heard a rumble coming from the Scarab, and what sounded like screeches of pain. Suddenly, there was a loud charging, and the Scarab exploded. We were quite far away, yet the explosion stumbled us, and burned my shields to half strength. The Marines cheered as we headed back to the platform. The fight wasn't over just yet. We still had to push through the factory and soften the air defences for Lord Hood's attack.

The Arbiter intoned, his voice steady. "There was honour in the Covenant once… and there shall be again."

The Chief and I said nothing and continued towards the factory warehouse. I thought about it for a while, realizing that all I had known of the Elites, and the rest of the Covenant was of war. Not once did any of us, or them, stop to think about each other. Perhaps now, with him, there would be a chance for all that to change.

The factory door opened as a voice, one that was starting to become all too familiar rang in mine and the chief's ears.

"I am your shield. I am your sword."

In mine, faint, I heard another voice, male.

"You're on your own Noble, Carter out."

The Chief and I looked at each other, silent but understanding as we proceeded onwards. The room we passed had been converted into a field hospital, filled with wounded Marines and civilians laying on the floor, several medics tending to them.

"Morphine, ASAP!"

"He's going into shock, I need a trauma kit."

"Don't give up on me now."

Unable to help, we passed along an area with the bodies of Covenant, and I heard the familiar sound of Brute Spikers and assault rifles.

I opened a private COM to Chief. "Cortana is in our heads."

"I know. She's sending us a message somehow."

"And giving us bad memories too."

The door hissed open before Chief could reply, which revealed a trio of Marines pinned down behind sandbags as projectiles whizzed through the air. I grabbed a frag, and tossed it towards the Brutes that were advancing, causing them to scatter before I moved to the MG turret emplaced on the sandbags, opening fire on them. The Chief and the Arbiter used this lull in enemy fire to advance as well, pushing towards the now retreating Brutes. Accurate Carbine and AR fire melted them down, until only a lone Brute was standing, attempting to run. It didn't make it far, quickly gunned down. I ripped the turret from its stanchion and followed Chief and Arbiter as they made their way further into the warehouse.

We moved forward slowly, towards a second wave of Brutes. They began charging at as, weapons at the side, forgotten.

"Hold the line Marines!" I commanded, as we began to open fire. The Arbiter pulled his energy sword out, igniting it with a wicked sound as they charged him. The Chief moved closer and closer as he emptied his clip into the Brutes, before unleashing a strong rifle butt to a Brutes head, shattering its power armour before I put a round neatly in its head with my machine gun.

The next section was littered with civilian corpses, and a few civilians cowered in the corner. Several Marines went to assist them out of danger, and they looked, stunned at the Arbiter and the two of us before being ushered on away.

Up ahead, the door leading out of the factory slowly opening and revealing more civilians running in terror from something. They were unable to escape, as two massive beams of energy cut them all down, and a pair of Hunters emerged.

"Use your grenades, and hang back, we have this." Chief called out. We followed suit, launching grenades and pushing to the left and right of the Hunters. While their energy cannons were certainly strong, they both possessed only one. As they turned to face Chief, the Arbiter and I were able to focus fire on their unprotected backs, dealing substantial damage before they turned to face us as well. Their cannons blew up the fusion coils behind the Arbiter, blowing through his shields as he was forced to trigger his camouflage and seek cover. One Hunter charged at me, forcing me to drop my turret and backpedal furiously as the Hunter raised an arm the size of a small car and thrust forward. I ducked and rolled diagonally behind the Hunter, as it embedded its arm cleanly into the wall of the warehouse. I pulled out my Kukri, and jammed it into the exposed back, slicing and dicing until the Hunter slumped against the wall. I proceeded to pick up the turret and opened fire on the remaining Hunter. The shots rocked it as it advanced on the Chief, and it made the mistake of turning on me. The Chief made quick work, and soon enough, the behemoth was defeated.

We moved towards the now-opened doors, where a Brute Chieftain stood, hefting its gravity hammer. Amongst him stood his pack, and several Jackals and Grunts. They surrounded a hologram of the Prophet, once again spouting rhetoric.

"Take heart, my brothers! Only our enemies should fear this raging storm!"

The Brute roared and pointed a single stubby finger towards us as his pack brothers charged us. We took up defensive positions around the outside, focusing fire on the closest Brutes as they came towards us. The Grunts lobbed plasma grenades, some landing perilously close to us. I keeled back, letting loose several bullets into a couple of Grunts and Jackals, thinning their ranks. The Chief tossed an accurate grenade towards the now charging Brute Chieftain, that was forced to dodge right into the Arbiters energy sword. The Chieftain dead, the rest of the Covenant forces lost cohesion and fell back, running and dying as the Marines fired at the retreating bodies.

I walked up towards the hologram, still spouting more bullshit, and crushed it with my boot. We continued outside, past a small series of low-roofed buildings, to a small hill leading towards the AA emplacement. Massive, the AA gun towered over us, three long legs placed into the hillside. Just like other Covenant machinery, it looked sleek, but had the devastation to tear apart UNSC Frigates with ease. This was the last barrier against Lord Hood's attack.

Before we made it to the hill, I noticed a weapons rack with a sniper rifle mounted to it. I picked it up and hefted its weight before scoping up the hill. A Grunt manned a plasma cannon, side-by-side with a War Chieftain wielding a fuel rod cannon along with his Brute bodyguards.

Keyes patched into our COM. "Spartans. Hood's ships are closing in now! Destroy the gun, we're running out of time."

I turned to Chief, "Push forward, ill take em out as you move in, and follow behind you with the sniper."

He nodded, and beckoned the Marines and Arbiter to move up, firing as they charged up the hill. The Grunt turned its plasma cannon towards the attacking force but slumped as a shot rang out in the air. The Arbiter ripped the Plasma Cannon from its base, and moved along, opening fire onto the Brutes up ahead. As their shields were burst, I opened fire as well, doming their heads with relative ease. The War Chieftain fired several cannon shots at the Chief, killing several Marines, but that didn't slow them down. I followed quickly, rifle in tow as I opened fire, killing several Jackals positioned on rocks around the plasma cannon.

I made it on top of one of the rocks and opened fire onto the melee down below. The Arbiter was laying down heavy suppressive fire on the remaining Brutes, and the War Chieftain was attacking Chief with its bare hands. The Chief emptied his Assault Rifle clip and pulled out his pistol to fire when the big Brute slapped it away, but before it could land a hand on the Chief, I squeezed the trigger, and the Chieftain twitched and turned towards me, a neat hole in its chest. It took a step and collapsed. A wave of plasma fire enveloped my position, forcing me to move back to where the Arbiter was. He maintained a steady stream, killing more Jackals and Grunts as he slowly moved towards the remaining Covenant Forces.

I lobbed a grenade, scattering their position and forcing them out of cover as the Arbiter shifted fire to the unlucky ones, melting them down. The Chief had made his way to a flanking position, his Assault Rifle spitting bullets as he mopped up the final Covenant forces.

We turned our attention to the AA gun, firing non-stop at the Longswords and Hornets around the area.

The Arbiter took charge. "Wait until it vents the excess plasma, and open fire onto it."

On cue, the lower section opened, revealing a bright sphere of slight. We poured lead into it, as it turned red before exploding. The gun exploded, sending the upper section of it flying down the cliff. The Marines cheered, and the three of us slung our weapons and headed towards the cliff-side, facing the artefact where the Covenant had made their stand. Above our heads, the familiar whine of Longswords screeched over our heads, and we turned, watching three UNSC frigates including the Forward unto Dawn soared over our heads, right towards the Covenant fleet.

Lord Hood's voice boomed over our COM. "All Ships, fire at will!"

The Frigates and longswords opened fire onto Truth's ship, right in the middle, discharging volleys of MAC shots into the surface of the dreadnought, but the ship seemingly was unscathed. Suddenly, the entire structure looked as though it was opening. Like a starfish, huge panels on the outer rim of the artefact slowly flipped outwards, and a bright blue beam shot into the sky, glowing larger, and brighter. A huge torrent of wind sent the three of us downwards, and we caught our footing lower down the cliffside, and watched Longswords and Frigates pulled, against their will towards the ever-growing beam of light. The dreadnought was enveloped in the light, now completely out of sight as the light suddenly expanded into a massive shockwave, knocking all of us out.

I heard Cortana's voice as I was sent to my knees.

"This... is the way the world ends."

When I regained my vision, I looked up, and saw the bright light had vanished. Above us, the sky had been torn asunder, revealing a large sphere of light, the epicentre of it shrouded by pitch darkness. The sky around the artefact was populated by the vessels of both the UNSC and Covenant, drifting aimlessly. The fins of the structure had locked in place, seemingly focused on pumping energy to the sphere in the air.

Lord Hood coughed and growled. "What the hell did Truth just do? Did he activate the rings?"

Commander Keyes reply was one of curiosity. "No sir. But he certainly did something…"

I turned to my left and saw the Arbiters fists clenched as the Elite roared in anger. The dreadnought, seemingly unharmed, rose safely into the sphere, followed in close proximity by the rest of the Covenant fleet.

Truth had gotten away.

Lord Hood sent his commands to everyone in the area. "Marines, Evac wounded and regroup. Wherever Truth went- "

He never finished, as a naval officer quickly interrupted his commands.

"Sir, new contact- slipping in!"

To our left, a slipspace rupture ripped open a hole in the sky, and a Covenant cruiser soared through it. It looked very different from any Covenant ships I'd seen before, yet there was a familiar look about it. It smoked with rancid fumes and it looked as though it had been through hell and brimstone as it hurtled just above us. The air around us seemed to darken, and the sun, originally at its zenith, seemed to fade. The ship lost altitude, and we heard it crash out of sight. A deep rumbling was heard, then, a cry, one that sent shivers down my spine.

The Arbiter lamented. "What is it? More Brutes?"

The Chief uttered one word in reply. "Worse."