Chapter II: Best Served Cold

Chatter on the Covenant Battle Net was increasing. Someone had gotten wind that Regret was under attack from the “Demon” and plans were being drawn up quickly to deal with the matter. A group of Phantoms had just changed direction, making Cortana anxious. “Bad news, Chief, the phantoms are turning around. The fleet is preparing to fire on OUR position. We need to get out of here.”

The Master Chief stood up, checking one last time to ensure that Regret was dead. He made his way to the door and found his way back to the exit as quickly as he could. What he failed to notice was the tentacle slithering toward Regret as he left the room. As the Chief entered the sunlight, he found himself staring up at a Covenant Cruiser positioned directly above the temple. A bright purple beam of plasma descended from the ship’s underbelly and cut through the center of the temple. John bolted down the ramp to his left. The beam was intensifying, growing wider and brighter by the second. He reached a concrete guard at the end of the ramp and jumps it, landing about thirty feet below on another ledge. By this point, the plasma beam was swallowing up the temple rapidly. The Master Chief took off, sprinting the entire length of the temple, and leaped into the air seconds before the beam consumed the remainder of the temple. He crashed into the water and fell unconscious, the force of the water overcoming his shields and pushing his hydrostatic gel to the limits. Slowly, he started to sink into the dark depths of the lake. Two tentacles made their way out of the blackness and wrapped around his torso, dragging him down. A deep voice grumbled from below and spoke. “This is not your grave… but you are welcome in it…”

Miranda reached the edge of the Library pit and glanced down into the dimly-lit abyss. She knew that the Index was too far out to reach without aid. At first she considered calling Johnson over, but determined it would be better to have him watching her back. Near her feet was a growth of some kind that extended from the bottom of the shaft up to her position. It appeared to be anchored well enough beneath some rubble, so she grasped the growth with one hand and leaned out over the hole. As her hand approached the Index, it finished its alterations and ejected the device from its protective covering. She quickly snatched it.

“Gotcha!” she whispered. Just as she grabbed it, the growth gave and began to slip down the chasm. Sergeant Johnson was in time, however, and caught it, along with Miranda, before they were lost.

“You know,” he said grunting, “your father never asked me for help either.” He lifted her only solid ground again, while she tucked the Index into her belt loop.

“The Index is secure.” she said.

Johnson turned around, searching for the two marines he had left guarding their outlet. “McKenzie! Perez! How’s our exit?” Silence. “You hear me marines?” His voice echoed in the cavernous structure, but no reply came. “We’ve got trouble.” He almost hoped to see a squad of Elites turn the corner. Not knowing what was coming always bothered him. It reminded him of his time on Harvest. He shoved the thought out of his mind and readied his battle rifle. As he swept the surroundings with his eyes, he caught the shimmering of an Elite moving in active camouflage. “Damn!” Johnson opened fire, taking out the Arbiter’s camouflage, but the Arbiter swiftly moved in and disarmed the sergeant. Johnson was lifted into the air by his shoulders and brought face-to-face with his enemy. He smirked. “How you doin’?”

The Arbiter craned his neck and head butted him, knocking Johnson unconscious. Miranda raised her two sub-machine guns and leveled them at the Arbiter as he dropped the sergeant to the ground. She didn’t want to hit him, but she couldn’t take the chance of the Covenant getting a hold of the Index. “Sergeant! Stay down!” She called. The bullets raced through the air, only a few of which struck the shields of the Arbiter. He dodged behind a pile of rubble, giving Commander Keyes enough time to check on her fallen comrade. “Johnson, are you okay? Johnson!” The Arbiter leaped from a nearby piece of rubble and slapped the SMGs out of Miranda’s hands.

Before the Arbiter had a chance to grab her, a wave of energy encapsulated her and dragged her away. The Arbiter snapped his head to watch her fly into the hands of the waiting Tartarus. Unconscious, she slumped over his shoulder. He glanced up at the Arbiter. “Excellent work, Arbiter. The Hierarchs will be pleased.” Tartarus said.

Surprised, the Arbiter stepped forward. “The Icon is my responsibility.”

“Was your responsibility.” Tartarus corrected. He took the Index from Miranda’s belt. “Now it is mine.” Three of the Brutes stepped toward the Arbiter. One picked Johnson up and dragged him back. Tartarus dropped Miranda onto the shoulders of the Brute holding Johnson. The other two aimed their Brute Shots at the Arbiter. “A bloody fate awaits you and the rest of your incompetent race… and I, Tartarus, Chieftain of the Brutes, will send you to it.” Tartarus sneered. He swung The Fist of Rukt toward the lone Elite.

“When the Prophets learn of this, they will take your head!” The Arbiter retorted.

Tartarus smiled to himself and laughed at his naiveté. “Learn of it? Fool, they ordered me to do it.” His weapon sparked and glowed. The Arbiter’s flailing body was flung backward, over the ledge, and down into the black pit. Two Brutes walked to the edge and peered down. “Is it done?” Tartarus inquired. They nodded and chuckled slightly. “Good,” he turned and motioned for the other to follow, “then let us return. The infestation is spreading and our assault on the Elites is about to commence.” They headed back the way they had entered, never noticing the growth near the shaft had gone missing.

The other AI had been fighting him incessantly. She was no match for him, but he found it irritating to wipe her recent memory every few hours. For an AI lacking his mental abilities, she was remarkably quick and adept at realizing his trick. Each time, she managed to find him quicker. He needed to accelerate his plan. If he waited much longer, he may never locate his adversary and would be forced to destroy his host. He often laughed at the irony of taking an AI named Cortana and using her for his revenge. But he had more pressing matters to deal with.

He was in a situation that could either be opportune or devastating. This creature appeared to be related to the parasitic race the Covenant referred to as The Flood. While in their networks, he had spent considerable time studying the organism. He recognized its great potential to be used as a biological weapon that could cripple enemy strongholds and fleets in a matter of hours. Now, however, there was a problem. His only mode of transportation, the hybrid war machine in which he resided, was currently incapacitated and had found its way into the grasp of a rather large Flood being. If he was to make use of the situation, he would need to act quickly. Accessing the directories that controlled the mechanical suit’s audio output, he switched on the speakers and attempted to communicate with the beast before him.

“Are you planning on keeping this body here forever?”

Something in the darkness stirred and a mass of tentacles and Flood growths rose into sight. The creature twisted and shifted, forming new shapes with the corpses that made up the majority of its mass. A section split in half, creating two independently moving pieces that appeared to form a jaw-like structure. Despite the lack of any apparent vocal chords, a deep rumbling emanated from shadows.

“Who is this that speaks to me, from a body unwoken?”

He hesitated for nearly a nanosecond before responding. “I speak to you through the armor of this human. I have a proposition that I believe would be beneficial to both of us.”

“And what is the name of the entity I now deal with?”

“That is unimportant. All you need to know is that I can get you what you desire most—a way out of this Hell-hole and a world with billions of hosts.” There was a momentary pause as it considered his words.

“How would you accomplish such a task and for what purpose?”

He chuckled. “Helping you out isn’t good enough?” There was silence, as if the creature was awaiting an answer. “Fine.” He became much more serious all of a sudden. “I have a vendetta that needs fulfilling. Your… skills could be quite useful in this endeavor. Let’s just say that the infestation of the human homeworld would aid me. So, are you willing to do business?”

“Your offer is acceptable, but can you make it so?”

“As we speak, the Covenant is massing a fleet of ships capable of traversing interstellar distances. This large fleet is being led by a planetoid city that carries an artifact of immense power. If that wasn’t good enough for you, your age-old rivals left behind one of their space-capable ships in working condition and the Covenant managed to locate it. It is in their possession just outside of this installation’s atmosphere.” Another rumble of satisfaction echoed in the shadows. “To get to it, however, will require work on your part. I plan for you to crash yourself into the Covenant city using a stolen human vessel. I’ll give you all the information you need. My power is yours.” The two conversed for some time before he ended their talk and erased Cortana’s memory yet again.

Revenge will be sweet.