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Chapter 8: Two Betrayals
Back at the control room, the Monitor appeared. Numbuhs 65, 52 and 1 reappeared. "...Which means that any organism of sufficient mass and cognitive ability is a potential vector." the Monitor discussed,
"Wow." Numbuh 65 said, "You know a lot about this stuff."
Numbuh 1 looked down, and became a sad river. "What's wrong?" the Monitor asked,
He looked up. "Nothing." Numbuh 1 said,
"Shall we?" the Monitor said and it zoomed ahead. Just then, the blast door opened. The remainder of the Sector V team approached their comrades! "Where y'all been?" Numbuh 5 clamoured, "We've been waiting for ages for you all to return!"
"Sorry." Numbuh 52 said, "We went with this robot codenamed '343 Guilty Spark', and we picked up something that can stop the little squid viruses known as the Flood."
"So, those squids are the Flood?!" Numbuhs 2 & 4 exclaimed as the entire team walked to the terminal.
"Yes!" Numbuh 65 answered, "Those viruses can infect kids and Covenant alike. They're a breed that was contained in this ring, and were used for research. However, I think that we made a mistake releasing the Flood."
When they reached the terminal, the Monitor gave Numbuh 65 the Index. "Unfortunately, my usefulness to this particular endeavor has come to an end." it said, "Protocol does not allow units with my classification to... perform a task as important as the reunification of the Index with the core. That final step is reserved for you, Reclaimers."
Numbuh 65 placed the Index in a keyhole, and twisted it. A lot of lights flashed in front of everyone, but then...
It came to a stop. "Odd." the Monitor said, "That wasn't supposed to happen."
A green figure appeared in a flash. "Oh really?!" she asked, The flash was so hard it threw the Monitor to the floor.
"Cortana?" Numbuh 65 exclaimed,
"I've spent the last 12 hours cooped up in here, watching you toady about, helping that thing get set to slit our throats!" Cortana blurted out,
"Wait, now." Numbuh 1 said, "He's an ally of ours."
Cortana continued, "Oh? I didn't realize. He's your pal, is he? Your chum? Do you have any idea what that bastard almost made you all do?!"
"Yeah." Numbuh 2 said, "Activate Halo's defenses, and eliminate the Flood. That's why Numbuh 65, Numbuh 52 and Numbuh 1 brought the Index to the control centre."
"Oh." Cortana said as she held the Index. "You mean this?"
The Monitor recovered and is appalled. "A construct?! In the core?!" he yelled, "This is absolutely unacceptable!"
"Sod off!" Cortana countered back
"What impertinence!" The Monitor sputtered, "I shall purge you at once!"
Cortana tosses the Index away. "You sure that's a good idea?" she asked,
"How... How dare you!" the Monitor cried, "I'll... I'll..."
"Do what?!" Cortana retaliated, "I have the Index! You can just float and sputter!"
Numbuh 65 jumped in. "ENOUGH!" he yelled, then he turned to Cortana. "OK, Cortana. From the top. Why shouldn't we activate Halo's defenses? I mean, the Flood IS spreading. If we do, we will shut down the Flood for good."
"You have no idea how this ring works, do you?" Cortana began, "Why the forerunners built it? Halo doesn't kill Flood, it kills their food. Humans, Covenant, whatever. We're all equally edible. The only way to stop the Flood is to starve them to death. And that's exactly what Halo is designed to do; wipe the galaxy clean of all sentient life. You don't believe me? Ask him."
Numbuh 65, Numbuh 52 and Numbuh 1 turned to the Monitor. They all asked, "Is this true?"
The Monitor answered, nervous "More or less. Technically, this installation's pulse has a maximum effective radius of twenty-five thousand light years. But, once the others follow suit, this galaxy will be quite devoid of life, or at least any life with sufficient biomass to sustain the Flood. But, you already knew that. I mean, how couldn't you?"
"Left out that little detail, haven't you?" Cortana said,
The Monitor continued, "We have followed outbreak containment procedure to the letter. You were with me each step of the way, as we managed this crisis."
"Kids!" Cortana alerted, "I'm picking up movement."
"Why would you hesitate to do what you have already done?" the Monitor asked,
"We have to go, right now!" Cortana warned,
The Sentinels hovered up behind the Monitor. "Last time, you asked me, if it was my choice, would I do it?" the Monitor said, "Having considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed." Numbuh 65 quickly took the disc out of the terminal, and into his watch. His friends armed themselves.
"There is no choice." the Monitor said, "We must activate the ring."
"Get us out of here!" Cortana cried, as Numbuh 65 armed his plasma pistol.
"If you are unwilling to help, I will simply find another. Still, I must have the Index." the Monitor said, "Give your construct to me, or I will be forced to take her from you."
"Don't you dare try! Because that's never gonna happen!" Numbuh 65 resisted,
"So be it. Save their heads. Dispose of the rest." the Monitor said as it disappeared
The entire team evaded the Sentinels' laser attacks. Numbuh 65 pinned them down with an overcharged plasma attack. "Let's go, team!" Numbuh 65 said as he opened the blast door. "Cortana, is there a way to stop the Monitor from activating Halo?"
Cortana analyzed, "According to my analysis of the available data, I believe the best course of action is somewhat... risky. An explosion of sufficient size will help destabilize the ring, and will cut through a number of primary systems. We need to trigger a detonation on a large scale, however. A starship's fusion reactors going critical would do the job."
"Hmm..." Numbuh 1 thought, "I remember looking up a starship crashing on this ring before. It was codenamed E.A.G.L.E."
"Great!" Numbuh 65 said, "Let's get there then!"
Once the team reached outside, Cortana said, "I haven't located the crash site yet. We need to buy some time, in case the Monitor or his Sentinels find a way to activate Halo's final weapon without the Index. The machinery in these canyons are Halo's primary firing mechanisms. They consist of three phase pulse generators that amplify Halo's signal, and allow it to fire deep into space. The power levels are enormous. I can't even begin to calculate the pulse's range. So, if we damage or destroy these generators, the Monitor will need to repair them before Halo can be used. That should buy us some time."
The team began an assault against a Covenant troop. Everyone shot down an enemy. Numbuh 4 used the T.H.U.M.P.E.R. rocket launcher and destroyed a Wraith. Numbuh 65 rushed to a Banshee, and flew up. He landed on a runway, and entered the cavern. He assaulted Covenant foes along the way. Once he reached the generator, which looks like a candle that is contained, Cortana said, "That's the pulse generator. The center core is the signal amplifier. That's what we need to shut down. We need to interrupt the pulse generator's energy stream. I've adjusted your shield system so that it will deliver an EMP burst to disrupt the generator. You will need to walk into the beam, to trigger it. The EMP blast should neutralize the generator. But it will also drain your shields, and you will be vulnerable until their recharge."
Numbuh 65 walked into the shield, and... POW! The generator was neutralized, but he began to pant like a dog. "Objective accomplished! The pulse generator has overloaded. Outstanding. The generator's central core is offline. Well done." Cortana congratulated,
Numbuh 65 contacted the team once he got outside. "Team! I'm flying down. Grab hold of the Banshee and hang on!"
He boarded a Banshee, and flew down. The entire team grabbed hold, and hung on. Just then... BLAM! A Fuel Rod shot unbalanced the Banshee! "A scout!" Numbuh 2 yelled,
He was right. On the bridge, a Grunt was holding a Fuel Rod Gun. Numbuh 65 fired the Banshee's Fuel Rod shot, and killed the Grunt. The team moved up a canyon, and reached an area where the Flood and Covenant did battle. Numbuh 65 hopped on an abandoned Ghost. The team grabbed hold of the Ghost and raced across the canyon.
Soon, they reached an area. The Flood and Covenant fighters battled each other. The team grabbed hold of a Banshee while Numbuh 2 flew upwards to another runway. The team went inside, and reached another generator. Numbuh 65 sniffed. "I smell Flood." he said, "We gonna take this one slowly. Numbuh 52, come with me."
Numbuh 52 moved close to the generator while Numbuh 65 watched her back. She moved close and... POW! The second generator was disabled. A few Covenant Flood began to drop. Numbuh 52 began to scream to her death until...
PLUNK! Numbuh 65 shot a Covenant Flood warrior with his Shotgun. "Numbuh 52, fall back!" he yelled,
Numbuh 52 picked up her Assault Rifle, and began shooting at the Flood. The rest of the team rushed outside.
Once the team reached outside, Cortana said, "I've located the E.A.G.L.E. She put down twelve-hundred kilometers upspin. Energy readings show her fusion reactors are still powered up. The systems on the E.A.G.L.E. have failsafes that even I can't override, without authorization from Numbuh 274. We'll need to find him or his neural implants, to start the fusion core detonation. One target remaining. Let's take care of the final pulse generator."
Numbuh 52 boarded the Banshee. The rest of the team hung on. It descended to the bottom of the canyon to a tunnel. Covenant and Flood enemies assaulted the Banshee. The team battled back, and knocked out the enemy. Once the Banshee landed near a blast door, Numbuh 52 got out. She opened the door. It had trouble, and it was destroyed. However, it was small enough for all of the team members to fit.
They rushed inside, and made a deadly assault on the Flood. Bodies were flying, explosions occurred and engineers popping. Numbuh 65 opened another blast door. The team rushed outside.
The team noticed the Covenant battling the Flood. They creeped past the melee, and rode a Ghost. It climbed a hill, and found another group of Flood and Covenant giving hell to each other. All the K.N.D. fighters found a Banshee, and it flew up to another ramp. Finally, after a grueling melee with the Flood and Covenant foes they met along the way, the team found the last generator. All the team members walked through and then... POW!!!
The squadron flew and smashed the walls. After they all recovered, Numbuh 1 said, "Let's find a ride, and locate Numbuh 274."
"No, that'll take too long." Cortana said,
"Do you have any other ideas?" Numbuh 5 said,
"There's a teleportation grid that runs throughout Halo." Cortana reported, "That's how the Monitor moves about so quickly. I learned how to tap into the grid when I was in the control room. Unfortunately, each jump requires a rather consequential expenditure of energy."
"Let's try it." Numbuh 65 said,
All the team members were teleported away.