Author's Note: So yeah, this is actually an older story of mine. One from when I was a less...
Power Rangers: Spartan Assault (PowerRangers/Halo)
- Thread starter DesertChocolate
- Start date
-
- Tags
- halo power rangers
- Created
- Status
- Ongoing
- Watchers
- 34
- Recent readers
- 0
- Threadmarks
- 4
-
Statistics (4 threadmarks, 12k words)
User Total DesertChocolate 4
Pillar of Autumn: 1
Author's Note: So yeah, this is actually an older story of mine. One from when I was a less experienced writer, still living with my parents. But one I've decided to pick up again.
Power Rangers/Super Sentai and Halo. Two series which, despite their wildly different target audiences, have a hell of a lot in common. If I wrote about a group of soldiers with specialized armor and training, with a smart older mentor, a massive force of monstrous beings with easy to kill minor villians and tough to kill badasses, with gigantic vehicles and freaky technology, well, I could be describing either series.
With that in mind, here's the chapter first chapter, with the other two following immediately.
------
Halsey rubbed her eyes, trying to keep a headache from coming on. She'd long since wondered if she should invest in some massage therapy at some point. Honestly, with the stress of her job, the pressures involved, the worry she felt every day for her subjects (She forced the word 'children' from her mind) it was a wonder that she hadn't gone insane by now. She looked up at the young man across from her.
He had dark skin suggesting an Arab ancestry, a short curly beard, and long hair pulled back into a ponytail. He sat there nervously, holding a pile of papers in front of the projector he'd set up for his presentation. He bounced on the balls of his feet, obviously trying to get rid of his excess energy.
Halsey brushed a hand back through her grey hair, noting that she needed a haircut soon. She noted her slightly wrinkled hand with an inner smile, tracing her pale skin with a quick eye. Her blue eyes snapped to the young researcher across from her.
"Okay. Run it all by me again. I want to make sure I understand what you're proposing."
"Uh, right. S-Sure." The man turns to the projector. "Dot, can you bring it up again?"
"Certainly." The Dumb AI in charge of the facility they stood in reactivated the projector, lighting up Halsey's office.
"Thank you." The young man sighed, than began to speak. "Over the last few months, we've had reports of the Covenant appearing all over human colonies at the borders. My supervisor had our team looking for new ways to increase our firepower for less than half that time. New tech, new weapons, new suits. Always trying to get that edge. Then I had an epiphany."
He turns to the screen, with shows an image of Earth. "What if we were doing the exact wrong thing? What if instead of looking for something new, we should have been looking back, trying to find a weapon in Earths past?"
"Like a spear?" Halsey kept her tone sarcastic, though inside she was intrigued.
"No. Something… older."
Halsey quirked an eyebrow at that. "Explain."
The man nodded, turning to the screen as it projected an image of a cave wall. On it were drawings from thousands of years ago, apparently drawn by some old race of hominids. The drawing depicted five people gathered against stick figure drawing of what looked like demons.
"For thousands of years, stories of people gathering together against dark creatures have been popping up over and over through history. The stories vary, but they always describe people with incredible weapons, martial prowess, and great power. It was until the end of the 20th century that actual proof of such being showed up."
The next image to show on the screen was far less somber. It depicted five people making ridiculous poses in front of a large building. They wore colorful suits of red, pink, yellow, blue, and green, with little capes attached to their backs in the color of their suit. The red one was in front, clearly a leader of some sort. They each wore large helmets concealing their identities. All in all, rather ridiculous looking people. Yet, somehow… dignified. Powerful. Strange.
"They were call the Gorangers. The first Super Sentai. They were called to defend Japan against a monstrous threat, and eventually defeated it. They retired, only to have a new threat show up. In response, a new team of Super Sentai showed up."
Another image appeared, with a new set of team members. Just as colorful, though the leader wore a white suit with a multiple colored stripe on the front.
"Again, and again, threats appeared, with only the rangers to stop them. From all across the galaxy, from multiple time streams, and even other dimensions, rangers fought and defended the Earth."
Halsey sighed, fighting the head ache that was coming to her. "Rangers? I thought they were Sentai?"
"As I said, other dimensions. In our own, the Super Sentai were the defenders of earth, with Japan being their home base. In another, the Power Rangers were the defenders, appearing decades after they appeared in our universe and using either America or New Zealand as their home base. In either case, both used their abilities to defend humanity and all sentient life."
The scientist in Halsey felt the need to interrupt. Since Halsey was one hundred percent scientist, she did so.
"That's all very interesting. However, that is impossible. If such a thing were real, we would have heard about it a long time ago. There would have been textbooks, interviews," She stared distastefully at an image of five colorful vehicles of enormous size and different colors racing across a desert. "Crappy merchandising. Regardless, we would have known."
"That's the thing. I don't think that's true."
Halsey blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"For some reason, I had no clue about this either. I had been researching this stuff for weeks, and none of it showed up until I put the right search term. All of a sudden it was everywhere. Information almost flooded the system. People back on Earth have started talking about the Super Sentai and Rangers. Its like the information didn't exist until someone created it."
"That's… Dot."
"Yes Ms. Halsey?"
"Do you have any information on the Super Sentai teams?"
"Yes ma'am. Would you like to specify which one?"
"No. I'd like to know why you have information I know I didn't see in your programming a week ago."
"There may be a logical explanation for this ma'am." The researcher nodded to his presentation. "According to my research, the Super Sentai seem to encounter 'resets.' Brief moment where no hears from them or even acknowledges their former existence until the time is right. It may be a side effect of Morphing Grid."
"The what?" Headache in full effect.
"The Morphing Grid. The energy that all Sentai and Rangers are connected to. It gives them their abilities, allows them to do things that our knowledge of physics says is impossible."
Halsey felt herself almost wishing that she hadn't allowed this young man into her office. "And what does that allow?"
Instead of answering, he handed her the files in his hand. Halsey took them, and began to read. And read. With sudden focus, she felt her headache disappearing.
Super strength, speed, and agility. The ability to transform at anytime, allowing the Sentai in question to remain undetected for as long as they wished until it was time to strike. Access to an arsenal of weapons and vehicles of immense power with just a push of a button. Teleportation. Mind reading. Flight. And all of it with what was posited to be a rather simple interface. Apparently even a man running a martial arts dojo in the back of a pizza shop had been able to access the Morphing Grid with very little cost.
And if all of this was integrated into current day systems… "How many people can we have operating as Sentai?"
"As far as I know, its unlimited. However I suggest we stick to three members. That way we have a good baseline for future projects."
"Then I know the perfect team." Her red sentai/ranger was obvious enough. She had no idea what the other colors would be, but she knew who they would be. Though she would be doing everything in her power to avoid the garishly colored spandex.
It was Mjolnir or nothing, and that was that. Unless the colors helped or something. Maybe just a stripe on the side?
"Tell your supervisor you will no longer be working for him." Halsey turns on her computer, typing furiously as her mind worked. "You are under my command from now on. Bring me everything you have, as soon as possible. And speak to no one else. As of now, this project is classified."
"Copy that!" The young man grinned, almost bruising his head with an enthusiastic salute, before running out the room. Halsey smiled as she brought up the latest Mjolnir designs.
"Time to do science."
------
Six Months Later
The Planet Ominit
A garrison of soldiers protected a group of civilians as they rush through jungles of the northern hemisphere. They left behind a burning city, with Covenant supercarriers tearing the skyscrapers of the city apart with massive energy weapons. The marines rode alongside the civilians in warthogs, defending the large trucks as they rushed along the dirt road.
One marine turned to another. "Rodriguez! How long until we reach the extraction point!?"
Rodriguez, a young woman with her pulled back into a ponytail, yelled back. "Its going to be another twenty minutes!"
"That's too damn long! We got Banshees combing the skies!"
"Well we can't go any faster sir! We would have to leave the civvies!"
"Fuck!" The marine screams, smacking the dashboard of the warthog with his hand as the tough car bounces through the jungle. As if to answer his fear, a sudden whine filled the air, and plasma cut into the all around. Civilians started screaming as the piercing screech of Banshee attack vehicles came, followed by plasma explosions. The drivers dodged and weaved as best as they could, but it wouldn't for long.
"Come on damnit!" The marine screamed, staring as a Covenant dropship came into view up ahead, set up to tear them all apart. "Give us a break!"
The dropships plasma cannons glowed. For all of five seconds. Then it took fire. It held for a bit, its shields glowing as it turned to its attacker. Then its shields shattered like glass. Bullets smashed apart the alien craft like so much paper, tearing apart the vessel with little trouble. It gave a few weak shots at its opponent before finally exploding in a spectacular blue flame.
Its attacker showed up next. For a moment, Rodriguez thought it was a Pelican. But it was bigger. Almost twice as big in fact. It fired again, the minigun on its nose releasing an onslaught of depleted uranium at its opponents.
Rodriguez noted the dark yellow stripes going along the belly and wings of the ship. Her eyes widened at the desigination painted on its nose. Sentai-02. The enormous aircraft hovered to the civilians and soldiers on the ground defending them as it fired at the enemy aircraft.
The Banshees fought back, giving it their all against the human vessel. But their plasma somehow couldn't even scorch the Pelican, and any attempts at something bigger led to them being torn apart. A message came on the radio.
"This is Sentai-02, providing assistance" The voice was female, and spoke at an almost frantic pace. Despite the speed of her speech, she was neither panicked, nor rushed, if the calm flight of her vessel was any indicator. "I suggest you get moving. We have our team on the ground."
Sentai. The word brought a thrill of hope to Rodriguez. The commanding marine nodded. "Understood Sentai-02. We're on our way. Will you continue to provide assistance?"
"Negative. My team is here to take over."
A earth shattering boom filled the air, coinciding with Banshee disappearing in a bright flash. Up ahead, a tank rolled over a hill, leaving enough room for the convoy to drive past. They sped down the road as the Pelican pulled the Banshees away. Covenant ground vehicles began showing up behind them, immediately targeting the tank.
The tank, like the Pelican, was oversized. A Scorpion, it dwarfed all of their own vehicles by a wide margin. It had dark blue stripes along its chassis and treads, as well as the designation Sentai-03 painted below the cockpit. The tank fired again, and again, with incredible speed and accuracy. A Wraith fired a mortar at it, only to have the enormous ball of plasma explode harmlessly against it. In retaliation, the Scorpion's turret turned to the Wraith and fired. A missile that was way too large to have fitted inside the turret it supposedly came from slammed into the Wraith, reducing it to scrap.
"Sentai-03, moving to intercept. Sentai-01, are you available to escort the convoy."
"Affirmative."
A familiar sound came up alongside Rodriguez and her teams Warthog. She turned, blinking at the sight of a standard Warthog coming up beside them. Unlike their own, this Warthog had dark red stripe going straight down the center, and the designation Sentai-01 painted on its side. Other than that, it was almost… normal. After the enormous battle vehicles from the first two Sentai, it was almost a let down. Inside, she could see a figure driving the vehicle.
"This is Sentai-01. I'll be keeping you all safe on the way. Follow my lead."
"And be happy!" Another voice cut off the gruff tones of Sentai-01. This one was female, and rather chipper considering the situation. "You are officially under the protection of the Sentai. Please feel free to leave tips at the end of our journey."
"Cortana…"
"Only kidding Chief. A transfer of their bank account funds will be good enough."
The man in the Warthog sighed as he lead the way to the extraction point.
Power Rangers/Super Sentai and Halo. Two series which, despite their wildly different target audiences, have a hell of a lot in common. If I wrote about a group of soldiers with specialized armor and training, with a smart older mentor, a massive force of monstrous beings with easy to kill minor villians and tough to kill badasses, with gigantic vehicles and freaky technology, well, I could be describing either series.
With that in mind, here's the chapter first chapter, with the other two following immediately.
------
Halsey rubbed her eyes, trying to keep a headache from coming on. She'd long since wondered if she should invest in some massage therapy at some point. Honestly, with the stress of her job, the pressures involved, the worry she felt every day for her subjects (She forced the word 'children' from her mind) it was a wonder that she hadn't gone insane by now. She looked up at the young man across from her.
He had dark skin suggesting an Arab ancestry, a short curly beard, and long hair pulled back into a ponytail. He sat there nervously, holding a pile of papers in front of the projector he'd set up for his presentation. He bounced on the balls of his feet, obviously trying to get rid of his excess energy.
Halsey brushed a hand back through her grey hair, noting that she needed a haircut soon. She noted her slightly wrinkled hand with an inner smile, tracing her pale skin with a quick eye. Her blue eyes snapped to the young researcher across from her.
"Okay. Run it all by me again. I want to make sure I understand what you're proposing."
"Uh, right. S-Sure." The man turns to the projector. "Dot, can you bring it up again?"
"Certainly." The Dumb AI in charge of the facility they stood in reactivated the projector, lighting up Halsey's office.
"Thank you." The young man sighed, than began to speak. "Over the last few months, we've had reports of the Covenant appearing all over human colonies at the borders. My supervisor had our team looking for new ways to increase our firepower for less than half that time. New tech, new weapons, new suits. Always trying to get that edge. Then I had an epiphany."
He turns to the screen, with shows an image of Earth. "What if we were doing the exact wrong thing? What if instead of looking for something new, we should have been looking back, trying to find a weapon in Earths past?"
"Like a spear?" Halsey kept her tone sarcastic, though inside she was intrigued.
"No. Something… older."
Halsey quirked an eyebrow at that. "Explain."
The man nodded, turning to the screen as it projected an image of a cave wall. On it were drawings from thousands of years ago, apparently drawn by some old race of hominids. The drawing depicted five people gathered against stick figure drawing of what looked like demons.
"For thousands of years, stories of people gathering together against dark creatures have been popping up over and over through history. The stories vary, but they always describe people with incredible weapons, martial prowess, and great power. It was until the end of the 20th century that actual proof of such being showed up."
The next image to show on the screen was far less somber. It depicted five people making ridiculous poses in front of a large building. They wore colorful suits of red, pink, yellow, blue, and green, with little capes attached to their backs in the color of their suit. The red one was in front, clearly a leader of some sort. They each wore large helmets concealing their identities. All in all, rather ridiculous looking people. Yet, somehow… dignified. Powerful. Strange.
"They were call the Gorangers. The first Super Sentai. They were called to defend Japan against a monstrous threat, and eventually defeated it. They retired, only to have a new threat show up. In response, a new team of Super Sentai showed up."
Another image appeared, with a new set of team members. Just as colorful, though the leader wore a white suit with a multiple colored stripe on the front.
"Again, and again, threats appeared, with only the rangers to stop them. From all across the galaxy, from multiple time streams, and even other dimensions, rangers fought and defended the Earth."
Halsey sighed, fighting the head ache that was coming to her. "Rangers? I thought they were Sentai?"
"As I said, other dimensions. In our own, the Super Sentai were the defenders of earth, with Japan being their home base. In another, the Power Rangers were the defenders, appearing decades after they appeared in our universe and using either America or New Zealand as their home base. In either case, both used their abilities to defend humanity and all sentient life."
The scientist in Halsey felt the need to interrupt. Since Halsey was one hundred percent scientist, she did so.
"That's all very interesting. However, that is impossible. If such a thing were real, we would have heard about it a long time ago. There would have been textbooks, interviews," She stared distastefully at an image of five colorful vehicles of enormous size and different colors racing across a desert. "Crappy merchandising. Regardless, we would have known."
"That's the thing. I don't think that's true."
Halsey blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"For some reason, I had no clue about this either. I had been researching this stuff for weeks, and none of it showed up until I put the right search term. All of a sudden it was everywhere. Information almost flooded the system. People back on Earth have started talking about the Super Sentai and Rangers. Its like the information didn't exist until someone created it."
"That's… Dot."
"Yes Ms. Halsey?"
"Do you have any information on the Super Sentai teams?"
"Yes ma'am. Would you like to specify which one?"
"No. I'd like to know why you have information I know I didn't see in your programming a week ago."
"There may be a logical explanation for this ma'am." The researcher nodded to his presentation. "According to my research, the Super Sentai seem to encounter 'resets.' Brief moment where no hears from them or even acknowledges their former existence until the time is right. It may be a side effect of Morphing Grid."
"The what?" Headache in full effect.
"The Morphing Grid. The energy that all Sentai and Rangers are connected to. It gives them their abilities, allows them to do things that our knowledge of physics says is impossible."
Halsey felt herself almost wishing that she hadn't allowed this young man into her office. "And what does that allow?"
Instead of answering, he handed her the files in his hand. Halsey took them, and began to read. And read. With sudden focus, she felt her headache disappearing.
Super strength, speed, and agility. The ability to transform at anytime, allowing the Sentai in question to remain undetected for as long as they wished until it was time to strike. Access to an arsenal of weapons and vehicles of immense power with just a push of a button. Teleportation. Mind reading. Flight. And all of it with what was posited to be a rather simple interface. Apparently even a man running a martial arts dojo in the back of a pizza shop had been able to access the Morphing Grid with very little cost.
And if all of this was integrated into current day systems… "How many people can we have operating as Sentai?"
"As far as I know, its unlimited. However I suggest we stick to three members. That way we have a good baseline for future projects."
"Then I know the perfect team." Her red sentai/ranger was obvious enough. She had no idea what the other colors would be, but she knew who they would be. Though she would be doing everything in her power to avoid the garishly colored spandex.
It was Mjolnir or nothing, and that was that. Unless the colors helped or something. Maybe just a stripe on the side?
"Tell your supervisor you will no longer be working for him." Halsey turns on her computer, typing furiously as her mind worked. "You are under my command from now on. Bring me everything you have, as soon as possible. And speak to no one else. As of now, this project is classified."
"Copy that!" The young man grinned, almost bruising his head with an enthusiastic salute, before running out the room. Halsey smiled as she brought up the latest Mjolnir designs.
"Time to do science."
------
Six Months Later
The Planet Ominit
A garrison of soldiers protected a group of civilians as they rush through jungles of the northern hemisphere. They left behind a burning city, with Covenant supercarriers tearing the skyscrapers of the city apart with massive energy weapons. The marines rode alongside the civilians in warthogs, defending the large trucks as they rushed along the dirt road.
One marine turned to another. "Rodriguez! How long until we reach the extraction point!?"
Rodriguez, a young woman with her pulled back into a ponytail, yelled back. "Its going to be another twenty minutes!"
"That's too damn long! We got Banshees combing the skies!"
"Well we can't go any faster sir! We would have to leave the civvies!"
"Fuck!" The marine screams, smacking the dashboard of the warthog with his hand as the tough car bounces through the jungle. As if to answer his fear, a sudden whine filled the air, and plasma cut into the all around. Civilians started screaming as the piercing screech of Banshee attack vehicles came, followed by plasma explosions. The drivers dodged and weaved as best as they could, but it wouldn't for long.
"Come on damnit!" The marine screamed, staring as a Covenant dropship came into view up ahead, set up to tear them all apart. "Give us a break!"
The dropships plasma cannons glowed. For all of five seconds. Then it took fire. It held for a bit, its shields glowing as it turned to its attacker. Then its shields shattered like glass. Bullets smashed apart the alien craft like so much paper, tearing apart the vessel with little trouble. It gave a few weak shots at its opponent before finally exploding in a spectacular blue flame.
Its attacker showed up next. For a moment, Rodriguez thought it was a Pelican. But it was bigger. Almost twice as big in fact. It fired again, the minigun on its nose releasing an onslaught of depleted uranium at its opponents.
Rodriguez noted the dark yellow stripes going along the belly and wings of the ship. Her eyes widened at the desigination painted on its nose. Sentai-02. The enormous aircraft hovered to the civilians and soldiers on the ground defending them as it fired at the enemy aircraft.
The Banshees fought back, giving it their all against the human vessel. But their plasma somehow couldn't even scorch the Pelican, and any attempts at something bigger led to them being torn apart. A message came on the radio.
"This is Sentai-02, providing assistance" The voice was female, and spoke at an almost frantic pace. Despite the speed of her speech, she was neither panicked, nor rushed, if the calm flight of her vessel was any indicator. "I suggest you get moving. We have our team on the ground."
Sentai. The word brought a thrill of hope to Rodriguez. The commanding marine nodded. "Understood Sentai-02. We're on our way. Will you continue to provide assistance?"
"Negative. My team is here to take over."
A earth shattering boom filled the air, coinciding with Banshee disappearing in a bright flash. Up ahead, a tank rolled over a hill, leaving enough room for the convoy to drive past. They sped down the road as the Pelican pulled the Banshees away. Covenant ground vehicles began showing up behind them, immediately targeting the tank.
The tank, like the Pelican, was oversized. A Scorpion, it dwarfed all of their own vehicles by a wide margin. It had dark blue stripes along its chassis and treads, as well as the designation Sentai-03 painted below the cockpit. The tank fired again, and again, with incredible speed and accuracy. A Wraith fired a mortar at it, only to have the enormous ball of plasma explode harmlessly against it. In retaliation, the Scorpion's turret turned to the Wraith and fired. A missile that was way too large to have fitted inside the turret it supposedly came from slammed into the Wraith, reducing it to scrap.
"Sentai-03, moving to intercept. Sentai-01, are you available to escort the convoy."
"Affirmative."
A familiar sound came up alongside Rodriguez and her teams Warthog. She turned, blinking at the sight of a standard Warthog coming up beside them. Unlike their own, this Warthog had dark red stripe going straight down the center, and the designation Sentai-01 painted on its side. Other than that, it was almost… normal. After the enormous battle vehicles from the first two Sentai, it was almost a let down. Inside, she could see a figure driving the vehicle.
"This is Sentai-01. I'll be keeping you all safe on the way. Follow my lead."
"And be happy!" Another voice cut off the gruff tones of Sentai-01. This one was female, and rather chipper considering the situation. "You are officially under the protection of the Sentai. Please feel free to leave tips at the end of our journey."
"Cortana…"
"Only kidding Chief. A transfer of their bank account funds will be good enough."
The man in the Warthog sighed as he lead the way to the extraction point.
Pillar of Autumn: 2
Cryosleep had always been strange for John. Half-remembered dreams, whispers in the darkness, those moments when he could almost hear the sound of the ship around him travelling past the stars. But after the Ranger powers, he started to wish for the good old days. Now every dream was crystal clear. And sometimes, they were memories. The confusing ones were the ones where he remembered things he wasn't even awake to experience.
This time it was the memory of when the Morphing Grid was first linked to his suit. He had changed into the most advanced model of Mjolnir ever created. Mark VI, so advanced that only three were made. According to Halsey, they were only able to commission three, as the cost was astronomical. He didn't have a clue about the Super Sentai then. As far as he knew, Halsey and that new assistant of hers had simply made new armor.
He'd been asleep during the process, unable to hear or see a thing. But now, in the odd dream he was experiencing, he heard every word clear as day as he lay in the maintenance tube, helmet on and suit linked into the tubes systems. The tube monitored things like his reaction time, the different aspects of the suits technology, and could be used to update its systems.
"I hate this." Halsey said, tapping away at her keyboard with an annoyed look on her face. She smiled for a moment, like she was amused by her own annoyance. For a moment, Halsey was replaced by the image of a woman with blue skin with intricate designs in a darker blue painted across her body. The woman looked up and smiled at him, a smile full of mischief and warmth. Cortana.
"What do you mean?" Her assistant turned to look at her. Cortana turned back into Hasley, who looked up at the younger scientist. Ever since he'd started working for her, it was rare that John didn't see the kid hanging around her. He was nice, if a bit excitable.
"Every time I try to use the scientific method to explain what I'm seeing, I fail. It just doesn't make any sense."
"The process is going well."
"It's better than that, it's going perfectly!" Her tapping gets a bit more aggressive. "The suit is undergoing the changes as predicted. The sealed system has been upgraded to near impossible levels, EMP and radiation protection has been increased, and every aspect of my changes to the HUD system have been added."
"So what's the problem?"
"The problem is all the changes I didn't predict. Every system meant to increase John's physical abilities has gone way beyond what I planned for. Reaction time has increased by a factor of fifteen, and his lifting capacity in the suit is way higher than should be feasible. External armor has some sort of… alloy mixed into it. I can't identify it, but it has increased the armors resistance by a factor of ten. And its forming to his body. I'm not sure the suit will be able to be worn by anyone but John after this."
"Isn't that the point? We wanted it make him stronger."
"In a way that we could control. I don't like seeing my… the Spartans being forced under something I don't understand."
"… do you want us to stop?"
"No." Halsey sighed, a sad look on her face. "I don't understand the Morphing Grid. But it's doing far more for John, Kelly, and Fred than I ever could have without it. So I'll try to mitigate the changes, but I won't shut down the Sentai project unless it begins to endanger their lives."
"Understood ma'am. The changes are almost done. Should I wake him up?"
"Not yet." She waited, tapping at her keyboard. After about two minutes, she nods. "Okay. Do it."
This part, John was actually awake for. He remembered rising out of the tube, somehow completely awake despite the drowsiness he should have been feeling.
"Are you okay John?" Halsey asked worriedly.
"Yes ma'am." The super soldier rose to his feet, standing at parade rest. He'd felt amazing. His body moved smoothly and easily, and he could barely feel the suit on his body. Every breath seemed to supercharge him. He noted all these changes with superhuman clarity, his mind cataloging them at lightning speed.
"One more thing, and then the integration will be complete." The assistant said. He moved forward, and John read his name badge. Mohcen. "You need to transform."
"…What."
"Yeah." The assistant rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Do it like this." He raises a fist, swinging it in the air in a dramatic fashion, then rests it against his heart, while his other goes around his back. "Make this motion, and say 'Henshin.' The motion is the kind you wouldn't make in combat, and the word is something that you wouldn't use for any other reason. That way you don't transform on accident."
Halsey let out a bemused snort. "Yeah right. More like you insisted on following some weird tradition."
Mohcen's ears burned red, but he didn't react otherwise. "Go ahead. The Morphing Grid will do the rest."
Confused, John hesitantly did as he was told. He smoothly went through the motions. Right fist up, swinging through the air until it comes to rest against his heart, and his left fist going to his back. "…henshin."
Suddenly the world transformed. He found himself in a place where every inch was covered in binary code.
In the dream, he watched from outside his body as he extended his arm out from his sides at 75 degree angles. Binary code wrapped around his arms and legs disappearing in a flash to reveal his green armor had transformed to black with red highlights. The binary code surrounded his chest, doing the same. His helmet lighted up in a flare, leaving him wearing a suit almost, but not quite like his original armor.
He left what he would later come to know as the Transformation Sequence, to find himself once more standing in front Halsey and Mohcen, who were staring at him with stunned looks on their faces.
"…What." That was all he was able to get out for a full minute.
Then everything changed. A creature appeared in front of him, massive in stature. It roared, shapeless and formless, charging towards him.
At his sides stood his friends. His family. In the dream, he felt warmth and trust flowing between them all as he and his team leaped towards the darkness. Everything faded in a burst of light.
------
The dream started to fade, and Master Chief opened his eyes. He kept them open, allowing them to adjust to the brightness.
"Sorry for the quick thaw Sentai 1. Things are pretty nuts, and I was told to wake you immediately."
He had to hold back from sighing at the designation. Some days he regretted having the knowledge of his Sentai abilities being revealed. It helped morale, but he didn't like being singled out among all his fellow Spartans as some sort of special hero, not when any other UNSC soldier made as many or more sacrifices.
A terrible pain filled him. Correction. He was now the last Spartan. He would be carrying on in all their names. All of them, men and women he'd fought alongside his entire life, sacrificed to slow down the Covenant. Except for the kids. That memory helped a bit.
The super soldier rose out of the cryotube, cracking his neck a bit. He moved his arms slowly, getting them back, and took a moment to be thankful for the fact that his sentai armor helped prevent "freezer burn."
"You all right old timer?"
John lifted his eyes to see the familiar sight of a armored warrior in Mjolnir armor. Shorter than him by at least a full foot. Not one of the men and woman he'd grown up with. But she was a Spartan all the same.
"Noble Six."
"Sir." She nodded respectfully. "Captain Keyes asked me to join you. How you feeling?"
The man attending the proceeding from the observation theater watched nervously as Master Chief nodded towards Noble Six. In some ways, it felt like watching two legends finally meeting. He was just one of many on the ship who had heard of all the two had done on Reach, of the things the other Spartans had also done. Either one of these people could break his bones like so much glass. As Master Chief stood up, the man let out a gasp, stunned as the massive soldier rose to his full seven feet. The black and red armor encasing his body only added to his size, making him seem like more like a robot than anything human.
Noble Six, though smaller, was still an imposing sight. While Master Chief was like a dreadnought, she was more like a fighter. Smaller, but no one who looked at her could see anything less than a killer. She had a assault rifle and pistol strapped to her body, and was wearing inky black armor that seemed to flow with any shadow she passed, the edges of her armor almost glowing.
Both wore helmets with mirrored visors that covered their faces, only adding to mystique that was part of being a Spartan.
"Sam. Sam!" The man in the observation was startled from his thoughts. He looked at the other man in the room. The other man pointed to his monitor, clearly annoyed. "Where's the diagnostic data?"
"Ah, right, right. Sam got to work, sending the data over. He opened up the intercom channel. "Okay, bringing up health monitors."
The other man, Thom, sighed and nodded to the two Spartans. "Sorry. He hasn't really seen Spartans before. Just follow me and we'll get these tests done."
"No need." Master Chief waved his arm and moved one fist to his back, the other to his heart. He ignored, as always, how ridiculous he felt. "Henshin." His armor glowed, suddenly changing into a less ornate version of itself, grey-green instead of black red highlights. The visor was also a bright orange, rather than the bright red it had once been. He didn't move from his position. "Henshin." Again his armor flashed, going back to its original configuration. John did a brief systems check, then nodded to Thom.
"All systems nominal. Ready for deployment."
"…well that's convenient.
A voice came from the intercom, echoing throughout the ship. John lifted his head up in recognition. Cortana. "All members, a group of Covenant douchebags seem to be trying to crash the party. Kindly show them the door."
"Boarders." Noble Six said, her voice hard.
John nodded in agreement, then put his right hand out. "Assault Rifle:Online."
He held back a annoyed grunt when a loud voice sounded out from nowhere as his rifle appeared in hand. "Assaaauuuuuult Rifle! Ooooonline!"
Thom, Sam, and Noble Six all stared at John as he checked over his gun, making sure everything was in good condition. Finally Noble Six spoke, befuddled.
"What was that?"
"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."
Sam yelled out when the sounds of plasma fire suddenly filled the room. They looked to see the door to the observation room glow red hot. "Oh god, somebody help me!"
Sam went for the alarm, and security door exploded. Thom watched, horrified, as plasma flew towards Sam's chest. Then a blur of black and red flew from the corner of his eye. Sam suddenly found Master Chief standing in his vision. Just like that. One moment, a Elite was staring at him, grinning as it mercilessly fired, the next, a solid mass of black and red armor standing tall in front of him, somehow appearing from the cryo lab below.
The glass separating the observation theater from the cryo lab fell to the ground. The Elite at the door had time to gape at Master Chief as his shots were absorbed by his suits shields like a stone sinking into the ocean
Then his own shields shattered, followed by three bullets slamming into his brain.
Noble Six lowered her gun, nodding to Thom. "Follow us. Its safer than leaving you here."
"No need to tell me twice."
------
Sentai 1 took point through a hatchway leading into a corridor, his assault rifle raised for battle. He was followed by Thom and Sam, who looked around with scared looks on their faces as they kept close. Behind them was Noble Six.
As they walked, an explosion blew up the doors just in front of them, flaring John's shields just a bit. When the burst of flames was over, the passage way was blocked by debris. He turned to Thom.
"Which way?"
"Uh, there should be a maintenance hallway we can go through."
"Got it."
As alarm blared and emergency beacons strobe through the halls, they continued through the corridors. They eventually came upon a group of defenders lead by man dressed in marine green. He was older, but still in good shape, his black skin weathered from years of combat. He wore a green military hat and chewed on a cigar as he fired his shotgun. "What do we say to death, gentleman!?"
"Not today!" The men under his command roared as they fired at the enemy.
"Damn straight! Make every one of these son's a bitches eat lead for their health, then follow it up with a boot to the face for flavor!" He crowed, whipping out a pistol and firing twice. His shots removed an Elites shields, leaving it open for John to fire his assault rifle into its guts. As the alien fell, the doors leading into the section of the ship it was standing in closed, separating the two groups of combatants.
The man in charge turned, grinning at the sight of John's group. "Well lookie here. A pair of bonafide super-soldiers here to save our bacon."
John noted the insignia of a First Sergeant on his armor and saluted."Sir."
"People who save my life call me Johnson. Save the sir crap for a formal occasion." The man grinned. "Where you headed, son?"
"The bridge. We're meeting Captain Keyes." Noble Six replied.
Johnson grinned, his dark eyes dancing with mirth. "Well hell. Wouldn't be polite for me not to give an escort to help you find your way there, now would it?
------
"Knock knock!" A grunt turned as the door next to it opened, just in time to have a steel-toed boot slam into its face. John followed up with a shotgun blast, filling its brains with lead.
The Covenant in the hall spun around, raising their guns to aim.
Too slow. John entered the room, shooting as he sped through. He fired in controlled bursts, five bullets every time. Two grunts fell to depleted uranium, while another had the grenade in its hand explode before it could throw it. John sighted on an Elite, speaking milliseconds before he fired. "Disrupt: Online."
A light on his assault rifle glowed blue as he fired. "Diiiiisrupt! Ooooooonline!"
The Elite had enough time to wonder where that voice was coming from before John fired. Bullets surrounded in electricity flew at the Elites shields, passing through them like they weren't even there, and slamming deep into the alien, cause both blunt force trauma as well as sending thousands of volt of electricity into it, sending the Elite to floor in fatal spasms as purple blood sprayed the bulkhead.
Noble Six sighed as she followed them in. "Didn't leave any for me, did you?"
"It's a side effect of being this damn good."Johnson snarked. "Sometimes there isn't enough to go around."
The marines behind them moved in to secure the area, allowing them to move on to the bridge. John took a moment to look out the viewport, noting the enormous ring floating in the distance. He took a moment to wonder at the size of it before walking towards the captains station.
Master Chief, Noble Six, and Johnson stood at attention, saluting their captain. "Captain Keyes."
The man turned to face them. "Good to see you all. We're not doing so well right now. Cortana is doing her best, but with us fighting a fleet with the resources of a single ship... Well. You can imagine."
The holographic image of a blue woman dressed in nothing but code tattoed to her skin turned to smile at Keyes. "Thirteen battleships, versus one cruiser? And we still got five-" She stops, grinning the group. "Make that six kills."
Cortana looked at the Chief, her grin turning into something softer. "Had a good nap?"
"I did, until you invited all these extra guests."
"Don't blame me. You send out one invitation on the web, and whole bunch of people decide to crash the party."
"Cortana." Keyes said, his voice determined. "I'm initiating Cole Protocol, Article Two. I need you and everyone else off this ship until further notice."
"So we can come back after you're dead and all the Covenant have gone to a therapist to deal with their anger issues?" Cortana replied.
"If need be. Until they decide to make a bout for sanity, I'll be landing the ship on that ring."
They all looked towards the massive structure. Then back at Keyes. "Have you been smoking Johnson's cigar's Captain?"
"Its medicinal." Johnson said with a grin, blowing a ring of smoke. John couldn't tell if he was joking.
"Hardly Cortana. I'm simply following the Protocol. And right now, your safety is paramount. I need to you to lock in-"
"Already done." Cortana stopped, then gave Keyes a respectful nod. "Sir."
"Good. Chief. I don't believe I need to tell you what your duties are."
"Keep Cortana and all information she holds safe." John tried not to think about which of the two he personally found more important.
"Yank me." Cortana said, obviously eager to leave.
Keyes typed in some controls, and Cortana's image disappeared. Keyes took a chip out and turned towards Chief handing it to him. "Sentai 01. Good luck."
John nodded, slipping the chip into the neural interface at the base of his skull. Cortana sighed as a flood of heat splashed against John's senses.
"Back to you and the Morphing Grid." Cortana said happily, using the suits external speakers. "Feels like home."
A part of John felt a fierce sense of warmth. He had Cortana in his suit, and two good soldiers at his sides. It wasn't the same as being part of the full ranger team, or even a group of Spartans. But it was good enough.
"Sergeant Johnson. Noble Six. Will you be accompanying me?"
"I will." Spartan-B312 slipped a new ammo clip into her assault rifle. "Last Spartans alive remember." There was a hint of sadness there, hiding the emotions that had to be boiling under her façade. "We need to stick together."
"My team has orders to join evacuation crews. We'll meet them down on the ground." Johnson nods, chewing his cigar. "I got two Spartans and an AI with me, my shotgun's loaded, and my cigar is Cuban. Lets go kick some ass."
"I like him. I really, really like him." Cortana said happily.
"Right." John turned and left the bridge. "Shotgun: Online."
"Shoooootgun! Oooooonline!"
"...really Chief?" Noble Six asked.
"Is there an issue you wish to bring up Spartan?"
She left it at that. And Cortana didn't stop sniggering.
This time it was the memory of when the Morphing Grid was first linked to his suit. He had changed into the most advanced model of Mjolnir ever created. Mark VI, so advanced that only three were made. According to Halsey, they were only able to commission three, as the cost was astronomical. He didn't have a clue about the Super Sentai then. As far as he knew, Halsey and that new assistant of hers had simply made new armor.
He'd been asleep during the process, unable to hear or see a thing. But now, in the odd dream he was experiencing, he heard every word clear as day as he lay in the maintenance tube, helmet on and suit linked into the tubes systems. The tube monitored things like his reaction time, the different aspects of the suits technology, and could be used to update its systems.
"I hate this." Halsey said, tapping away at her keyboard with an annoyed look on her face. She smiled for a moment, like she was amused by her own annoyance. For a moment, Halsey was replaced by the image of a woman with blue skin with intricate designs in a darker blue painted across her body. The woman looked up and smiled at him, a smile full of mischief and warmth. Cortana.
"What do you mean?" Her assistant turned to look at her. Cortana turned back into Hasley, who looked up at the younger scientist. Ever since he'd started working for her, it was rare that John didn't see the kid hanging around her. He was nice, if a bit excitable.
"Every time I try to use the scientific method to explain what I'm seeing, I fail. It just doesn't make any sense."
"The process is going well."
"It's better than that, it's going perfectly!" Her tapping gets a bit more aggressive. "The suit is undergoing the changes as predicted. The sealed system has been upgraded to near impossible levels, EMP and radiation protection has been increased, and every aspect of my changes to the HUD system have been added."
"So what's the problem?"
"The problem is all the changes I didn't predict. Every system meant to increase John's physical abilities has gone way beyond what I planned for. Reaction time has increased by a factor of fifteen, and his lifting capacity in the suit is way higher than should be feasible. External armor has some sort of… alloy mixed into it. I can't identify it, but it has increased the armors resistance by a factor of ten. And its forming to his body. I'm not sure the suit will be able to be worn by anyone but John after this."
"Isn't that the point? We wanted it make him stronger."
"In a way that we could control. I don't like seeing my… the Spartans being forced under something I don't understand."
"… do you want us to stop?"
"No." Halsey sighed, a sad look on her face. "I don't understand the Morphing Grid. But it's doing far more for John, Kelly, and Fred than I ever could have without it. So I'll try to mitigate the changes, but I won't shut down the Sentai project unless it begins to endanger their lives."
"Understood ma'am. The changes are almost done. Should I wake him up?"
"Not yet." She waited, tapping at her keyboard. After about two minutes, she nods. "Okay. Do it."
This part, John was actually awake for. He remembered rising out of the tube, somehow completely awake despite the drowsiness he should have been feeling.
"Are you okay John?" Halsey asked worriedly.
"Yes ma'am." The super soldier rose to his feet, standing at parade rest. He'd felt amazing. His body moved smoothly and easily, and he could barely feel the suit on his body. Every breath seemed to supercharge him. He noted all these changes with superhuman clarity, his mind cataloging them at lightning speed.
"One more thing, and then the integration will be complete." The assistant said. He moved forward, and John read his name badge. Mohcen. "You need to transform."
"…What."
"Yeah." The assistant rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Do it like this." He raises a fist, swinging it in the air in a dramatic fashion, then rests it against his heart, while his other goes around his back. "Make this motion, and say 'Henshin.' The motion is the kind you wouldn't make in combat, and the word is something that you wouldn't use for any other reason. That way you don't transform on accident."
Halsey let out a bemused snort. "Yeah right. More like you insisted on following some weird tradition."
Mohcen's ears burned red, but he didn't react otherwise. "Go ahead. The Morphing Grid will do the rest."
Confused, John hesitantly did as he was told. He smoothly went through the motions. Right fist up, swinging through the air until it comes to rest against his heart, and his left fist going to his back. "…henshin."
Suddenly the world transformed. He found himself in a place where every inch was covered in binary code.
In the dream, he watched from outside his body as he extended his arm out from his sides at 75 degree angles. Binary code wrapped around his arms and legs disappearing in a flash to reveal his green armor had transformed to black with red highlights. The binary code surrounded his chest, doing the same. His helmet lighted up in a flare, leaving him wearing a suit almost, but not quite like his original armor.
He left what he would later come to know as the Transformation Sequence, to find himself once more standing in front Halsey and Mohcen, who were staring at him with stunned looks on their faces.
"…What." That was all he was able to get out for a full minute.
Then everything changed. A creature appeared in front of him, massive in stature. It roared, shapeless and formless, charging towards him.
At his sides stood his friends. His family. In the dream, he felt warmth and trust flowing between them all as he and his team leaped towards the darkness. Everything faded in a burst of light.
------
The dream started to fade, and Master Chief opened his eyes. He kept them open, allowing them to adjust to the brightness.
"Sorry for the quick thaw Sentai 1. Things are pretty nuts, and I was told to wake you immediately."
He had to hold back from sighing at the designation. Some days he regretted having the knowledge of his Sentai abilities being revealed. It helped morale, but he didn't like being singled out among all his fellow Spartans as some sort of special hero, not when any other UNSC soldier made as many or more sacrifices.
A terrible pain filled him. Correction. He was now the last Spartan. He would be carrying on in all their names. All of them, men and women he'd fought alongside his entire life, sacrificed to slow down the Covenant. Except for the kids. That memory helped a bit.
The super soldier rose out of the cryotube, cracking his neck a bit. He moved his arms slowly, getting them back, and took a moment to be thankful for the fact that his sentai armor helped prevent "freezer burn."
"You all right old timer?"
John lifted his eyes to see the familiar sight of a armored warrior in Mjolnir armor. Shorter than him by at least a full foot. Not one of the men and woman he'd grown up with. But she was a Spartan all the same.
"Noble Six."
"Sir." She nodded respectfully. "Captain Keyes asked me to join you. How you feeling?"
The man attending the proceeding from the observation theater watched nervously as Master Chief nodded towards Noble Six. In some ways, it felt like watching two legends finally meeting. He was just one of many on the ship who had heard of all the two had done on Reach, of the things the other Spartans had also done. Either one of these people could break his bones like so much glass. As Master Chief stood up, the man let out a gasp, stunned as the massive soldier rose to his full seven feet. The black and red armor encasing his body only added to his size, making him seem like more like a robot than anything human.
Noble Six, though smaller, was still an imposing sight. While Master Chief was like a dreadnought, she was more like a fighter. Smaller, but no one who looked at her could see anything less than a killer. She had a assault rifle and pistol strapped to her body, and was wearing inky black armor that seemed to flow with any shadow she passed, the edges of her armor almost glowing.
Both wore helmets with mirrored visors that covered their faces, only adding to mystique that was part of being a Spartan.
"Sam. Sam!" The man in the observation was startled from his thoughts. He looked at the other man in the room. The other man pointed to his monitor, clearly annoyed. "Where's the diagnostic data?"
"Ah, right, right. Sam got to work, sending the data over. He opened up the intercom channel. "Okay, bringing up health monitors."
The other man, Thom, sighed and nodded to the two Spartans. "Sorry. He hasn't really seen Spartans before. Just follow me and we'll get these tests done."
"No need." Master Chief waved his arm and moved one fist to his back, the other to his heart. He ignored, as always, how ridiculous he felt. "Henshin." His armor glowed, suddenly changing into a less ornate version of itself, grey-green instead of black red highlights. The visor was also a bright orange, rather than the bright red it had once been. He didn't move from his position. "Henshin." Again his armor flashed, going back to its original configuration. John did a brief systems check, then nodded to Thom.
"All systems nominal. Ready for deployment."
"…well that's convenient.
A voice came from the intercom, echoing throughout the ship. John lifted his head up in recognition. Cortana. "All members, a group of Covenant douchebags seem to be trying to crash the party. Kindly show them the door."
"Boarders." Noble Six said, her voice hard.
John nodded in agreement, then put his right hand out. "Assault Rifle:Online."
He held back a annoyed grunt when a loud voice sounded out from nowhere as his rifle appeared in hand. "Assaaauuuuuult Rifle! Ooooonline!"
Thom, Sam, and Noble Six all stared at John as he checked over his gun, making sure everything was in good condition. Finally Noble Six spoke, befuddled.
"What was that?"
"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."
Sam yelled out when the sounds of plasma fire suddenly filled the room. They looked to see the door to the observation room glow red hot. "Oh god, somebody help me!"
Sam went for the alarm, and security door exploded. Thom watched, horrified, as plasma flew towards Sam's chest. Then a blur of black and red flew from the corner of his eye. Sam suddenly found Master Chief standing in his vision. Just like that. One moment, a Elite was staring at him, grinning as it mercilessly fired, the next, a solid mass of black and red armor standing tall in front of him, somehow appearing from the cryo lab below.
The glass separating the observation theater from the cryo lab fell to the ground. The Elite at the door had time to gape at Master Chief as his shots were absorbed by his suits shields like a stone sinking into the ocean
Then his own shields shattered, followed by three bullets slamming into his brain.
Noble Six lowered her gun, nodding to Thom. "Follow us. Its safer than leaving you here."
"No need to tell me twice."
------
Sentai 1 took point through a hatchway leading into a corridor, his assault rifle raised for battle. He was followed by Thom and Sam, who looked around with scared looks on their faces as they kept close. Behind them was Noble Six.
As they walked, an explosion blew up the doors just in front of them, flaring John's shields just a bit. When the burst of flames was over, the passage way was blocked by debris. He turned to Thom.
"Which way?"
"Uh, there should be a maintenance hallway we can go through."
"Got it."
As alarm blared and emergency beacons strobe through the halls, they continued through the corridors. They eventually came upon a group of defenders lead by man dressed in marine green. He was older, but still in good shape, his black skin weathered from years of combat. He wore a green military hat and chewed on a cigar as he fired his shotgun. "What do we say to death, gentleman!?"
"Not today!" The men under his command roared as they fired at the enemy.
"Damn straight! Make every one of these son's a bitches eat lead for their health, then follow it up with a boot to the face for flavor!" He crowed, whipping out a pistol and firing twice. His shots removed an Elites shields, leaving it open for John to fire his assault rifle into its guts. As the alien fell, the doors leading into the section of the ship it was standing in closed, separating the two groups of combatants.
The man in charge turned, grinning at the sight of John's group. "Well lookie here. A pair of bonafide super-soldiers here to save our bacon."
John noted the insignia of a First Sergeant on his armor and saluted."Sir."
"People who save my life call me Johnson. Save the sir crap for a formal occasion." The man grinned. "Where you headed, son?"
"The bridge. We're meeting Captain Keyes." Noble Six replied.
Johnson grinned, his dark eyes dancing with mirth. "Well hell. Wouldn't be polite for me not to give an escort to help you find your way there, now would it?
------
"Knock knock!" A grunt turned as the door next to it opened, just in time to have a steel-toed boot slam into its face. John followed up with a shotgun blast, filling its brains with lead.
The Covenant in the hall spun around, raising their guns to aim.
Too slow. John entered the room, shooting as he sped through. He fired in controlled bursts, five bullets every time. Two grunts fell to depleted uranium, while another had the grenade in its hand explode before it could throw it. John sighted on an Elite, speaking milliseconds before he fired. "Disrupt: Online."
A light on his assault rifle glowed blue as he fired. "Diiiiisrupt! Ooooooonline!"
The Elite had enough time to wonder where that voice was coming from before John fired. Bullets surrounded in electricity flew at the Elites shields, passing through them like they weren't even there, and slamming deep into the alien, cause both blunt force trauma as well as sending thousands of volt of electricity into it, sending the Elite to floor in fatal spasms as purple blood sprayed the bulkhead.
Noble Six sighed as she followed them in. "Didn't leave any for me, did you?"
"It's a side effect of being this damn good."Johnson snarked. "Sometimes there isn't enough to go around."
The marines behind them moved in to secure the area, allowing them to move on to the bridge. John took a moment to look out the viewport, noting the enormous ring floating in the distance. He took a moment to wonder at the size of it before walking towards the captains station.
Master Chief, Noble Six, and Johnson stood at attention, saluting their captain. "Captain Keyes."
The man turned to face them. "Good to see you all. We're not doing so well right now. Cortana is doing her best, but with us fighting a fleet with the resources of a single ship... Well. You can imagine."
The holographic image of a blue woman dressed in nothing but code tattoed to her skin turned to smile at Keyes. "Thirteen battleships, versus one cruiser? And we still got five-" She stops, grinning the group. "Make that six kills."
Cortana looked at the Chief, her grin turning into something softer. "Had a good nap?"
"I did, until you invited all these extra guests."
"Don't blame me. You send out one invitation on the web, and whole bunch of people decide to crash the party."
"Cortana." Keyes said, his voice determined. "I'm initiating Cole Protocol, Article Two. I need you and everyone else off this ship until further notice."
"So we can come back after you're dead and all the Covenant have gone to a therapist to deal with their anger issues?" Cortana replied.
"If need be. Until they decide to make a bout for sanity, I'll be landing the ship on that ring."
They all looked towards the massive structure. Then back at Keyes. "Have you been smoking Johnson's cigar's Captain?"
"Its medicinal." Johnson said with a grin, blowing a ring of smoke. John couldn't tell if he was joking.
"Hardly Cortana. I'm simply following the Protocol. And right now, your safety is paramount. I need to you to lock in-"
"Already done." Cortana stopped, then gave Keyes a respectful nod. "Sir."
"Good. Chief. I don't believe I need to tell you what your duties are."
"Keep Cortana and all information she holds safe." John tried not to think about which of the two he personally found more important.
"Yank me." Cortana said, obviously eager to leave.
Keyes typed in some controls, and Cortana's image disappeared. Keyes took a chip out and turned towards Chief handing it to him. "Sentai 01. Good luck."
John nodded, slipping the chip into the neural interface at the base of his skull. Cortana sighed as a flood of heat splashed against John's senses.
"Back to you and the Morphing Grid." Cortana said happily, using the suits external speakers. "Feels like home."
A part of John felt a fierce sense of warmth. He had Cortana in his suit, and two good soldiers at his sides. It wasn't the same as being part of the full ranger team, or even a group of Spartans. But it was good enough.
"Sergeant Johnson. Noble Six. Will you be accompanying me?"
"I will." Spartan-B312 slipped a new ammo clip into her assault rifle. "Last Spartans alive remember." There was a hint of sadness there, hiding the emotions that had to be boiling under her façade. "We need to stick together."
"My team has orders to join evacuation crews. We'll meet them down on the ground." Johnson nods, chewing his cigar. "I got two Spartans and an AI with me, my shotgun's loaded, and my cigar is Cuban. Lets go kick some ass."
"I like him. I really, really like him." Cortana said happily.
"Right." John turned and left the bridge. "Shotgun: Online."
"Shoooootgun! Oooooonline!"
"...really Chief?" Noble Six asked.
"Is there an issue you wish to bring up Spartan?"
She left it at that. And Cortana didn't stop sniggering.
Pillar of Autumn: 3
The group of three sprinted through the halls of the ship, making their way to the lifepods with all haste. As the three armored soldiers ran with Cortana leading the group, Covenant soldiers began to pour through the halls.
Chief and Johnson showed them the folly of attacking UNSC military carrying shotguns in enclosed spaces. The M90 Close Assault Weapon System was the primary shotgun of the UNSC, made for close encounters and ship to ship combat, it's pellets able to cause devastation without piercing through ship bulkheads.
Noble Six aided them with ease, using her assault rifle to turn enemies further back from the pair into corpses.
And all along, the Chief led the charge. His armor seemed impervious. His shotgun never needed reloading, and fired faster and with more force than Johnson's. He moved with even more speed than Noble Six, and his fists hit with enough force to easily decapitate.
It was unreal.
"So this is what a Sentai can do, huh?" Johnson asked as the group turned a corner. On being faced with three Grunts lead by a red armored Elite, Noble Six fired her pistol twice. The two Grunts she shot fell as corpses, their heads blown off by the explosive rounds of her pistol.
Johnson fired his shotgun before the last Grunt could prime a grenade, fifteen pellets slamming into the small aliens chest and sending a spray of alien blood into the air.
That left the Elite. The massive alien lifted it's plasma rifle, mouth opening for a roar.
A blur of red and black sped through the hallway, slamming into the Elite before it could move. The Elite's roar turned into a 'gurgle' of noise. Master Chief lifted the Elite by his throat and pushed the larger biped into the steel wall behind him. Keeping him high, Chief pressed his shotgun against the aliens ribcage.
"Incendiary: Online."
"Iiiiiinceendiaaary: Oooonline!" The loud voice was highlighted by the roar of the shotgun. The Elite screamed as bullets surrounded by flame pierced his shield and burned a fiery hole into his chest. He wiggled against the iron grasp of the Master Chief, his fist slamming fruitlessly on his enemies shields and armor. Soon, the Elite's eyes faded to black, and he sank against Chief's grasp.
Chief let go, turning to lead the charge through the hallways, and Johnson and Noble hurried to follow.
------
Soon, the group found the most precious resource of the UNSC fighting against Covenant Elites and Grunts in the cafeteria area
"Marines!" Johnson barked. "Form up!"
The soldiers had been disorganized, fighting bravely from the cover of the now melting steel tables and pillars in the room. But, as two Spartans and a commanding officer rushed into the fray, they solidified their defense.
Noble Six spun her pistol in her hand to slam the handle into the skull of an Elite that had gotten close. The massive alien didn't die, but the superhuman blow sent him back a step. He shook his head, trying to get rid of his disorientation. Too late. Noble shot him in the face, two bullets shattering his shields before two more blew his head off.
"Come on you little bastards!" Johnson roared proudly. He didn't have the shields or superhuman strength of his Spartan allies. Only the bravado he'd cultivated over decades of battle.
"Come here!" Johnson took three steps forward and kicked a Grunt in the face, following with a shotgun blast. "Ha, look at him roll!" Johnson chortled as the alien corpse spun along the ground. His fellow marines, in the midst of battle, roared in laughter. Laughter born of terror, rage, humor, and hope.
An Elite tried to rally his troops. His brother Sangheili stood beside him, trying to kill the humans as well.
Then they saw him. A figure in red and black, his armor shining. And as he stepped forward, they heard a terrifying voice proudly declare their deaths in a mocking tone.
"Roooooooocket Laaaauncher!" Chief raised the tube like weapon in his hands. "Ooooonline!"
"Sentai!" The lead Elite yelled, the word coming out in disbelieving horror.
The Chief fired, and the Elites ducked. Some survived the massive explosion that decimated their brothers and the Grunts that died in the explosion. They raised their plasma rifles and shot at the Master Chief.
"John, they're going to do some damage at this rate!" Cortana warned him through his helmet as plasma boiled the air to slam into his form.
Master Chief already knew that. His Sentai armor was beginning to spark with every blow to his shields, a sign of the Morphing Grid sending bursts of power to fight back against the attack. Seeing no other choice, he tossed aside his rocket launcher and reluctantly said the words that invited danger.
"Sentai 1, Spartan Arsenal!"
This time no voice accompanied his callout. Instead, the Master Chief's own voice provided the weight of the moment. Surrounded by twelve Elites firing at his tall form, red light surrounded his hands.
Then, he sped forward, the weapons in his hands solidifying.
It was almost ironic, the sight of the massive armored warrior of the future carrying a sword and shield. But, as he leaped in the air, shield held to block the Elites to the left of him as he slashed downwards, it worked.
The shield he carried was half his height, black, and thick as his wrist. It had a rough octagon shape, with portions of it cut out. The flat of it displayed an star over a red eagle with it's wings outstretched, it's right talon holding three arrows while the left held a lightning bolt. As the Elites fired, the shield took each plasma shot onto it's glistening surface without a scratch.
The sword he swung down was enormous as well, clearly meant to be held by superhuman hands. It had a single edge that become a pointed tip at the top, and a handle that was the same dark red as the type on Master Chief's armor. It's silver blade glimmered as he came down towards the blue armored Elite he was attacking.
The Elite, panicking raised his plasma rifle to block.
In a flash of red light, Master Chief sliced the rifle, the Elites shields and armor, before slashing a massive blow into the Elite himself.
As the Elite fell, spraying purple blood onto Chief's armor, he spun around to the next Elite and charged him shield first, slamming into him. As the Elite staggered back, Chief slashed upwards, his savage blow cutting the Elite's head in two.
The other Elites, shocked at seeing one of their greatest enemies killing two of their number in only a few seconds, failed to realize when the attack from another front came.
"Over here, you split-chin sons of a bitches!" Johnson crowed around the cigar in his mouth, a bright grin on his face as he fired his shotgun. The Marines with him let loose as well, roaring their best, one private simply screaming in terror.
Compared to the howling marines, Noble Six was silent. She held a battle rifle in her hands now, and used it to deadly effect, supporting the less-skilled marines as they shot the now ten Elites together. She picked off a weakened Elite's shields, then fired on another before he could circle around the Chief, who cut off the head of an Elite.
One of the Elite fired his rifle at Johnson's group of Marines. His accurate shots slammed into the head of one Marine, the extreme heat of the plasma flash vaporizing his head. Another marine was shot in the chest, his armor turning into melted heaps, leaving him alive, but brutalized.
Noble Six and Master Chief stepped into the fray then, Johnson only moments behind. Master Chief swung the edge of his shield into a red Elite's knee, breaking it's leg, then twisted his shield to block a blue Elite who swung at his head. He cut the screaming red Elite's head open with a brutal chop, twisted his sword around to stab the blue Elite in the heart. Seeing that he had taken care of half the Elites, he pulled his sword back.
"Battle Rifle: Online."
As the dramatic voice triumphantly called out in the background, he fired at the last Elites.
Soon, they were all dead. Johnson spat at one of the corpses, an Elite riddled with his shotguns pellets. "Get up so I can kill you again!"
"Come on," Master Chief said tensely. "We need to go."
The group quickly ran, some of the Marines replacing their weapons with those from the Elite and Grunts corpses.
As they ran towards the lifepods, Noble Six found herself watching Master Chief. For some reason he was acting differently. There was an edge to his battle-ready demeanor now. Something more in the way he held his weapons. He almost seemed relieved whenever they encountered the next group of Covenent forces, his shoulders barely shifting. Only another Spartan would have noticed.
"Something wrong, Chief?" Johnson asked, surprising Noble.
She took a moment to think that maybe not just a Spartan would have noticed.
Master Chief only shook his head. "The Spartan Arsenal... when I use it, it calls out to the Morphing Grid."
"It's a signal to other rangers," Cortana's voice was tense, focused. As they ran through the hallways, with Noble Six, Johnson, and the marines, she continued to speak. "It's part of the magic of the Morphing Grid. Certain weapons and powers cause a sort of resonance with other powers."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Noble asked. "Calling out to other rangers?"
Chief didn't answer. Cortana spoke for him as they came upon the lifepods. "It used to be... but the only Rangers left are Chief and some unfriendly sorts."
The group got to the lifepods, and Chief stood next to the entrance. "Go, now!"
The Marines didn't argue. They leaped through the door, strapping themselves in as the pilot ran to controls. But they ran into a problem.
"Damn it, there aren't enough seats!" Johnson spat out. A standard lifepod could hold nine plus the pilot comfortably. There were fifteen marines, not including Master Chief, Noble Six, and Johnson.
Noble Six grabbed the next marine and shoved him in. "Just stand up and hold tight. The rest of us can wait! Go!"
Johnson and Master Chief didn't say a word otherwise. One Marine turned. "Sir, we can't just-umph." He was cut off by Noble grabbing his face and shoving him in.
"Bravery later," Noble Six said.
"Survival now." Johnson finished.
Chief slammed a fist into the door's close button, and watched silently as the small ship detached from the ship. It drifted outwards as the three looked on, before the thrusters launched the lifepod away from the Pillar of Autumn.
"Well, there goes our ride," Cortana said with a sigh.
"Not necessarily," Master Chief said. "Come on. We've got one more option."
"Chief, are you sure?" Cortana asked. "They aren't cleared to board it."
"Emergency protocol is in effect," Master Chief responded. He turned to Noble Six and Johnson. "Come on. We're running out of time."
------
It didn't take them long to reach the hanger bay of the Pillar of Autumn. They entered at a dead sprint, and found themselves in yet another firefight.
"We don't have time for this," Master Chief said as he fired the battle rifle in his hands with controlled bursts. "Cortana, show them the way on Noble's HUD. We need to hurry."
"On it," Cortana said. Even as she spoke, Noble Six found a directional arrow pointing the way on her HUD even as she fired her rifle at a group of Grunts.
"Move, now," Chief said firmly.
"Already on it!" Johnson declared, following the Spartan II and III as they made their way to a wall in the back of the Pillar of Autumn. At least, it looked like a wall. But when they got closer, it slid back. The three didn't hesitate, running inside.
Johnson stopped when he saw what was waiting. "Oh... well hello beautiful," the cigar in his mouth spun around with his widening grin.
"A Mammoth," Noble Six said, stunned. "A giant, silver, Mammoth."
At 100 meters in length, 64 meters in width, and 59 meters tall, the Mammoth was more than big enough to fit the description. Painted a solid silver throughout, with six massive wheels, the giant beast took up the room they'd found themselves in.
Master Chief slammed a button in the side of the Mammoth, and a door opened. "Get in, now. Cortana, get us out."
"Maaaaaaammoth: Ooooooonline!" The massive vehicle roared to life. Noble and Johnson ran inside, ignoring the vehicles within the Mammoth's hanger bay to run to the cockpit and strap in behind the Chief. He grabbed the controls.
"Hold on."
Doors in front of the Mammoth slid open. Air rushed out into space as the secret hanger was exposed to vacuum. The Mammoth's engine growled like a living being, and light turned on all along it. Master Chief slammed his foot onto the pedal, and the beast lurched forward. In the back, rocket thrusters ignited, sending the trio and the vehicle towards the incredibly enormous ring in the distance as Johnson roared in glee.
Chief and Johnson showed them the folly of attacking UNSC military carrying shotguns in enclosed spaces. The M90 Close Assault Weapon System was the primary shotgun of the UNSC, made for close encounters and ship to ship combat, it's pellets able to cause devastation without piercing through ship bulkheads.
Noble Six aided them with ease, using her assault rifle to turn enemies further back from the pair into corpses.
And all along, the Chief led the charge. His armor seemed impervious. His shotgun never needed reloading, and fired faster and with more force than Johnson's. He moved with even more speed than Noble Six, and his fists hit with enough force to easily decapitate.
It was unreal.
"So this is what a Sentai can do, huh?" Johnson asked as the group turned a corner. On being faced with three Grunts lead by a red armored Elite, Noble Six fired her pistol twice. The two Grunts she shot fell as corpses, their heads blown off by the explosive rounds of her pistol.
Johnson fired his shotgun before the last Grunt could prime a grenade, fifteen pellets slamming into the small aliens chest and sending a spray of alien blood into the air.
That left the Elite. The massive alien lifted it's plasma rifle, mouth opening for a roar.
A blur of red and black sped through the hallway, slamming into the Elite before it could move. The Elite's roar turned into a 'gurgle' of noise. Master Chief lifted the Elite by his throat and pushed the larger biped into the steel wall behind him. Keeping him high, Chief pressed his shotgun against the aliens ribcage.
"Incendiary: Online."
"Iiiiiinceendiaaary: Oooonline!" The loud voice was highlighted by the roar of the shotgun. The Elite screamed as bullets surrounded by flame pierced his shield and burned a fiery hole into his chest. He wiggled against the iron grasp of the Master Chief, his fist slamming fruitlessly on his enemies shields and armor. Soon, the Elite's eyes faded to black, and he sank against Chief's grasp.
Chief let go, turning to lead the charge through the hallways, and Johnson and Noble hurried to follow.
------
Soon, the group found the most precious resource of the UNSC fighting against Covenant Elites and Grunts in the cafeteria area
"Marines!" Johnson barked. "Form up!"
The soldiers had been disorganized, fighting bravely from the cover of the now melting steel tables and pillars in the room. But, as two Spartans and a commanding officer rushed into the fray, they solidified their defense.
Noble Six spun her pistol in her hand to slam the handle into the skull of an Elite that had gotten close. The massive alien didn't die, but the superhuman blow sent him back a step. He shook his head, trying to get rid of his disorientation. Too late. Noble shot him in the face, two bullets shattering his shields before two more blew his head off.
"Come on you little bastards!" Johnson roared proudly. He didn't have the shields or superhuman strength of his Spartan allies. Only the bravado he'd cultivated over decades of battle.
"Come here!" Johnson took three steps forward and kicked a Grunt in the face, following with a shotgun blast. "Ha, look at him roll!" Johnson chortled as the alien corpse spun along the ground. His fellow marines, in the midst of battle, roared in laughter. Laughter born of terror, rage, humor, and hope.
An Elite tried to rally his troops. His brother Sangheili stood beside him, trying to kill the humans as well.
Then they saw him. A figure in red and black, his armor shining. And as he stepped forward, they heard a terrifying voice proudly declare their deaths in a mocking tone.
"Roooooooocket Laaaauncher!" Chief raised the tube like weapon in his hands. "Ooooonline!"
"Sentai!" The lead Elite yelled, the word coming out in disbelieving horror.
The Chief fired, and the Elites ducked. Some survived the massive explosion that decimated their brothers and the Grunts that died in the explosion. They raised their plasma rifles and shot at the Master Chief.
"John, they're going to do some damage at this rate!" Cortana warned him through his helmet as plasma boiled the air to slam into his form.
Master Chief already knew that. His Sentai armor was beginning to spark with every blow to his shields, a sign of the Morphing Grid sending bursts of power to fight back against the attack. Seeing no other choice, he tossed aside his rocket launcher and reluctantly said the words that invited danger.
"Sentai 1, Spartan Arsenal!"
This time no voice accompanied his callout. Instead, the Master Chief's own voice provided the weight of the moment. Surrounded by twelve Elites firing at his tall form, red light surrounded his hands.
Then, he sped forward, the weapons in his hands solidifying.
It was almost ironic, the sight of the massive armored warrior of the future carrying a sword and shield. But, as he leaped in the air, shield held to block the Elites to the left of him as he slashed downwards, it worked.
The shield he carried was half his height, black, and thick as his wrist. It had a rough octagon shape, with portions of it cut out. The flat of it displayed an star over a red eagle with it's wings outstretched, it's right talon holding three arrows while the left held a lightning bolt. As the Elites fired, the shield took each plasma shot onto it's glistening surface without a scratch.
The sword he swung down was enormous as well, clearly meant to be held by superhuman hands. It had a single edge that become a pointed tip at the top, and a handle that was the same dark red as the type on Master Chief's armor. It's silver blade glimmered as he came down towards the blue armored Elite he was attacking.
The Elite, panicking raised his plasma rifle to block.
In a flash of red light, Master Chief sliced the rifle, the Elites shields and armor, before slashing a massive blow into the Elite himself.
As the Elite fell, spraying purple blood onto Chief's armor, he spun around to the next Elite and charged him shield first, slamming into him. As the Elite staggered back, Chief slashed upwards, his savage blow cutting the Elite's head in two.
The other Elites, shocked at seeing one of their greatest enemies killing two of their number in only a few seconds, failed to realize when the attack from another front came.
"Over here, you split-chin sons of a bitches!" Johnson crowed around the cigar in his mouth, a bright grin on his face as he fired his shotgun. The Marines with him let loose as well, roaring their best, one private simply screaming in terror.
Compared to the howling marines, Noble Six was silent. She held a battle rifle in her hands now, and used it to deadly effect, supporting the less-skilled marines as they shot the now ten Elites together. She picked off a weakened Elite's shields, then fired on another before he could circle around the Chief, who cut off the head of an Elite.
One of the Elite fired his rifle at Johnson's group of Marines. His accurate shots slammed into the head of one Marine, the extreme heat of the plasma flash vaporizing his head. Another marine was shot in the chest, his armor turning into melted heaps, leaving him alive, but brutalized.
Noble Six and Master Chief stepped into the fray then, Johnson only moments behind. Master Chief swung the edge of his shield into a red Elite's knee, breaking it's leg, then twisted his shield to block a blue Elite who swung at his head. He cut the screaming red Elite's head open with a brutal chop, twisted his sword around to stab the blue Elite in the heart. Seeing that he had taken care of half the Elites, he pulled his sword back.
"Battle Rifle: Online."
As the dramatic voice triumphantly called out in the background, he fired at the last Elites.
Soon, they were all dead. Johnson spat at one of the corpses, an Elite riddled with his shotguns pellets. "Get up so I can kill you again!"
"Come on," Master Chief said tensely. "We need to go."
The group quickly ran, some of the Marines replacing their weapons with those from the Elite and Grunts corpses.
As they ran towards the lifepods, Noble Six found herself watching Master Chief. For some reason he was acting differently. There was an edge to his battle-ready demeanor now. Something more in the way he held his weapons. He almost seemed relieved whenever they encountered the next group of Covenent forces, his shoulders barely shifting. Only another Spartan would have noticed.
"Something wrong, Chief?" Johnson asked, surprising Noble.
She took a moment to think that maybe not just a Spartan would have noticed.
Master Chief only shook his head. "The Spartan Arsenal... when I use it, it calls out to the Morphing Grid."
"It's a signal to other rangers," Cortana's voice was tense, focused. As they ran through the hallways, with Noble Six, Johnson, and the marines, she continued to speak. "It's part of the magic of the Morphing Grid. Certain weapons and powers cause a sort of resonance with other powers."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Noble asked. "Calling out to other rangers?"
Chief didn't answer. Cortana spoke for him as they came upon the lifepods. "It used to be... but the only Rangers left are Chief and some unfriendly sorts."
The group got to the lifepods, and Chief stood next to the entrance. "Go, now!"
The Marines didn't argue. They leaped through the door, strapping themselves in as the pilot ran to controls. But they ran into a problem.
"Damn it, there aren't enough seats!" Johnson spat out. A standard lifepod could hold nine plus the pilot comfortably. There were fifteen marines, not including Master Chief, Noble Six, and Johnson.
Noble Six grabbed the next marine and shoved him in. "Just stand up and hold tight. The rest of us can wait! Go!"
Johnson and Master Chief didn't say a word otherwise. One Marine turned. "Sir, we can't just-umph." He was cut off by Noble grabbing his face and shoving him in.
"Bravery later," Noble Six said.
"Survival now." Johnson finished.
Chief slammed a fist into the door's close button, and watched silently as the small ship detached from the ship. It drifted outwards as the three looked on, before the thrusters launched the lifepod away from the Pillar of Autumn.
"Well, there goes our ride," Cortana said with a sigh.
"Not necessarily," Master Chief said. "Come on. We've got one more option."
"Chief, are you sure?" Cortana asked. "They aren't cleared to board it."
"Emergency protocol is in effect," Master Chief responded. He turned to Noble Six and Johnson. "Come on. We're running out of time."
------
It didn't take them long to reach the hanger bay of the Pillar of Autumn. They entered at a dead sprint, and found themselves in yet another firefight.
"We don't have time for this," Master Chief said as he fired the battle rifle in his hands with controlled bursts. "Cortana, show them the way on Noble's HUD. We need to hurry."
"On it," Cortana said. Even as she spoke, Noble Six found a directional arrow pointing the way on her HUD even as she fired her rifle at a group of Grunts.
"Move, now," Chief said firmly.
"Already on it!" Johnson declared, following the Spartan II and III as they made their way to a wall in the back of the Pillar of Autumn. At least, it looked like a wall. But when they got closer, it slid back. The three didn't hesitate, running inside.
Johnson stopped when he saw what was waiting. "Oh... well hello beautiful," the cigar in his mouth spun around with his widening grin.
"A Mammoth," Noble Six said, stunned. "A giant, silver, Mammoth."
At 100 meters in length, 64 meters in width, and 59 meters tall, the Mammoth was more than big enough to fit the description. Painted a solid silver throughout, with six massive wheels, the giant beast took up the room they'd found themselves in.
Master Chief slammed a button in the side of the Mammoth, and a door opened. "Get in, now. Cortana, get us out."
"Maaaaaaammoth: Ooooooonline!" The massive vehicle roared to life. Noble and Johnson ran inside, ignoring the vehicles within the Mammoth's hanger bay to run to the cockpit and strap in behind the Chief. He grabbed the controls.
"Hold on."
Doors in front of the Mammoth slid open. Air rushed out into space as the secret hanger was exposed to vacuum. The Mammoth's engine growled like a living being, and light turned on all along it. Master Chief slammed his foot onto the pedal, and the beast lurched forward. In the back, rocket thrusters ignited, sending the trio and the vehicle towards the incredibly enormous ring in the distance as Johnson roared in glee.
Landing: 1
As an experienced pilot, Noble Six had been in some insane flights. One of them very recent.
But she'd never been in an Mammoth headed for a gigantic ring in space.
For all the violence of their flight, their passage through space was almost silent. The Mammoth itself barely seemed fazed by its flight, moving more like a spaceship than the tank it was. Johnson continued to whoop and holler with joy, and Master Chief piloted the vessel.
Cortana spoke up then. "Damnit, Keyes is accelerating the Autumn!"
Over the windows to the Mammoth, a viewscreen turned on, showing the Pillar of Autumn aiming it's nose for the Halo. As Covenant Destroyers and Banshees fired on the massive hulk, Chief maneuvered the Mammoth, somehow flying it with the same precision as an actual spacefaring craft.
"Wish we had Ke-Sentai 02," Cortana said quietly. "Could use the Pelican about now."
"We'll make do," Master Chief said. He twisted the steering wheel in his hand, and his feet quickly switched between the six pedals under the wheel. The Mammoth spun around, and they found themselves facing the Pillar of Autumn as they fell back towards the ring.
Master Chief flicked a switch on his dashboard, and the glass in front of them displayed a targeting screen. He twisted the steering wheel again, and the target spun to lock onto one of the Banshees, which had twisted to follow them.
Outside, the blocky shape of the Mammoth fell like a stone towards the ring, followed by the graceful form of a Banshee. Further behind it, the Pillar of Autumn charged through the skies.
Master Chief hit another switch, and the Mammoth shuddered, it's engine somehow roaring in the vacuum of space. On top of the Mammoth, a massive turret 'boomed', and the sound itself somehow echoed in space along with the roar of the engine.
The Sentai-MAC was a weapon based on the Mass Accelerator Cannons used on UNSC warships. It was slightly less powerful, only the Power Ranger's connection to the Morphing Grid allowing it to work.
Of course, 'slightly less' may have been misleading.
Magnetic coils sent a massive ferric tungsten slug as large as the Chief's leg shooting through space. The enormous projectile flew with silent force, and the Banshee following them tried to swerve. He barely twitched his ship before the slug slammed through his shields like they weren't even there, and tore into the ship itself.
As the Banshee ripped into pieces, Master Chief steered the Mammoth back around. "Cortana, when we land, we'll need to regroup with the rest of our soldiers. Get ready to initiate comms. We'll use the Mammoth as our base."
Johnson was smiling from ear to ear as they slammed into the atmosphere of the enormous ring, coming down towards the green land below. As the air began to ignite against the window with the speed of their entry, he whooped in joy. "Damn, I love this thing!"
"Me too," Noble Six admitted softly.
------
The valley was peaceful. The wind blew softly through trees in the distance. A river flowed, the smell of fresh water coming off of it. In the distance, mountains rose regally, and the sight of the ring circling up towards the sky before coming around again could be seen.
The peacefulness was shattered in an instant. A huge object came down in a burst of fire and noise. It slammed into the valley, sending the dirt and grass flying. It slid along the ground for dozens of feet. The sound of tires spinning could be heard within the cloud, and an engine screamed.
The Mammoth appeared out of the cloud. It drifted around to the right with all the agility of a much smaller vehicle.
Inside the Mammoth, Cortana was speaking. "I've got contact! Lifeboat beacon, a few clicks away."
"Survivors?" Noble Six asked.
"No clue, I'm not picking up comms," Cortana answered.
"Well, lets check it out," Johnson said.
"Agreed," Master Chief turned the wheel, and the Mammoth took off. He drove with all the skill of a trained racer, and all the sanity of both a Spartan and a Ranger. In other words, Noble Six found herself clutching to her seat with all the strength in her frame as the Mammoth charged across the landscape. Dirt and grass flew in arcs around the silver vehicle, and the roar of the engine filled the air.
Soon, the sound of explosions and bullets began to be heard.
"Cortana," Master Chief said.
"On it, Sentai 01," Cortana's voice sounded strained at that moment.
The Mammoth's thrusters activated, and they launched off a hill. For a moment, all Noble Six saw was sky and the rising ring in the distance as they flew upwards. They slowly came down, arcing towards the ground. And the Covenant dropship right in front of them.
"Shit!" Johnson yelled.
The Mammoth's MAC gun boomed twice, the noise enormous now that they were in atmosphere. The dropship staggered under the blows, and the Mammoth smashed on top of the Covenant vessel. The ship, shaped like a giant tuning fork, twisted in the air under the weight of the Mammoth.
Master Chief unhooked his seatbelt as they slid off the dropship to land on the ground. The Mammoth's MAC turret twisted around to shoot once more at the dropship, tearing into it.
"Come on," Master Chief said. "We need to fight the ground troops."
"And save those Marines," Johnson agreed.
------
Less expierienced soldiers would have stayed with the Mammoth. It was understandable why. The Mammoth was massive, fortified, and clearly a formidable force on the battlefield.
But experienced soldiers like the three of them knew that the Mammoth, powerful as it was, was a tool meant for specific purposes.
The area they'd landed in just wasn't meant for the Mammoth, or any other larve vehicle. It was a valley surrounding a large tower that jutted out of the ground like the spear of a giant, the landscape dotted with odd structures of odd architecture. The various structures were randomly placed walls, knee high blocks, and blocky buildings, all with Marines and Covenant battling to the death within. No room for the Mammoth.
So Master Chief, Noble Six, and Sergeant Johnson went in themselves. Their weapons drawn, they exited the Mammoth, which fired another shot to destroy the Covenant Dropship. As the ship above them turned into shrapnel, the Covenant around the Mammoth opened fire on the large figure of Master Chief, screaming in fear at the sight of him.
"Sentai!" An Elite roared in rage, pointing at Chief. Chief fired his Battle Rifle and the Elite ducked back behind a structure before he could be killed. The bullets slammed into the structure. And, to Master Chief's surprise, a Grunt rushed him, screaming with a pair of plasma grenades in it's hands. A bullet hole appeared in it's forehead, and Noble Six joined Master Chief, both Spartans watching the Grunt harmlessly esplode away from anyone.
The pair focused back on the battle, running through the structures with Johnson to join a group of Marines. The group of marines had gathered underneath a structure. One was wounded, with a medic aiding him with the a leg clearly burned off by plasma fire.
"Power Rangers!" One of them yelled in relief as Master Chief and Noble Six ran over with Sergeant Johnson. The three ignored him, instead joining the line of people shooting at the oncoming threat.
"Come at us you sons of a bitches!!!" Johnson roared.
With that, a hail of bullets and plasma began to fly. Elites and Grunts took positions behind cover of their own. Master Chief fired with the training instilled since his youth, and stood tall amongst his fellow soldiers. As always, there was a sort of respect in the back of his mind. The Covenent were a cruel, unrelenting race. But whatever else could be said about their zealotry, the Elites were brave.
He shot one in the face as a reward.
For a moment, a brief one, the battle was even. Though two spartans and a Sergeant Johnson were a powerful force, they were still outnumbered. But Chief wasn't there to force the fight into a stalemate.
"Focus on the Grunts," Chief said over the comms. "I'll kill the Elit..." Then, he stopped firing.
Noble Six looked over to see Master Chief staring at one Elite in particular. This one was wearing, not the blue of a Elite Minor or even the red or silver of the higher ranking ones, but gold armor. A General, the most experienced of Elite Infantry.
And he was yelling into a comm unit in his hands.
"Cortana... He's yelling out about a lack of honor isn't he?" Master Chief said.
"Yes," Cortana said over their comms.
At the moment, the Elite General snarled another word, and looked over at the humans he had to kill. He met eyes with the Master Chief, and at that moment, Noble Six almost believed they shared the same annoyance.
Then a massive object crashed into the battlefield between them. It came from nowhere, crashing into the field
For a moment, things were still. Then, Master Chief and the Elite General spun to their soldiers.
"Retreat, now!"
"Graaaaaah!"
The object rose from the crater it had created, and roared. For a moment, the soldiers on the battlefield froze.
"Move, now!" Master Chief grabbed a nearby marine woman and shoved her back. As he did, the creature in the pit lashed out at an Elite to stupid to run away. The blue armored took the hit to his shields, but was still sent back flying. The creature roared once more, and as the dust cleared, Noble Six got a better look at it.
Big. As massive as a Warthog, with the build of a gorilla. Red eyes shone from a head armored by pale white bone that spread across brown muscles like spiked armor. A maw edged with fangs hung open, saliva dripping to the ground, and it almost seemed to smile.
"Ahhhhh," The creature sighed. "Fresh air. Such a wonderful thing to feel against the skin."
The Elite General roared something at the creature even as everyone retreated.
"Attacking allies?" The creature said in response. It chuckled. "Apologies. I suppose I should kill my enemies first then."
The creature spun around and leaped towards them. A creature the size of jeep, made a vertical leap twice it's own height, and was above them in seconds.
Noble Six fired at the monster as it fell towards them, only to watch her bullets bounce away from it's skin and armor like so many rain drops.
THe creature landed amongst them, swinging at the medic who'd been taking care of the wounded soldier. The medic was sent flying and slammed into one of the structures around them. His head split open like a watermelon, and his back snapped.
The creature laughed.
And Master Chief punched it in the face.
A shockwave flew through the air at the impact.
"Run!" Cortana yelled in their comms. "Chief can't kill it while you're all here!"
Master Chief stepped away when the creature threw a punch back, shooting his shotgun at the creature. Unlike Noble Six and the Marines shooting at the monster, his bullets did damage to the creatures armor, which it seemed to take offense too.
"Sentai!" It screamed in rage. "Die like your brethren!"
A purple glow came to life from it's mouth. Master Chief rolled out of the way when a beam of lightning came from the creatures mouth, slamming into the ground and creating an explosion that could be felt in the air like a rock to the chest.
"Lightning!?" A marine yelled. "It's a gorilla monster with spikes, why the fuck does it need lightning breath!?"
"Soldier, get your ass moving before my foot helps ya!" Sergeant Johnson yelled, unfazed by how a normal military engagement had become a monster fight. "We're Marines! We don't breath lightning, we shit it out!"
Noble Six grabbed the wounded Marine in her arms and ran for the Mammoth, the other soldiers following. Another explosion echoed behind them as Noble and Johnson focused on protecting the others.
------
"Sentai," The creatures voice echoed out across the now empty battlefield. "I have heard that you Spartans all claim to never die. That you are only missing in action."
Master Chief shot the creature in the face, and the monster winced back, grunting in pain. It lashed out at him, it's fist smashing into his shields. The shields released a burst of sparks in response to the sheer power of the blow. Master Chief's boots slid into the earth beneath him when he was sent back. He fired his shotgun over and over, the powerful gun slamming into the creature with massive numbers of supersonic pellets.
"I find that to be a dissatisfying ending. Allow me to give you closure," The creatures voice was smooth. It's lips curled upwards, a bit of blood dripping along fangs broken by shotgun blasts.. "I've seen them die. Your fellow Spartans have been killed between my claws. Not missing. No chance of survival. I, Gurral the Ancient, saw their bodies shattered." It laughed, ignoring the bullets Master Chief continued to fire at it. "Closure, Spartan. Does it feel like a release?"
"Kill him," Cortana said.
Master Chief didn't respond. He didn't need to. A body and body built for killing, enveloped in state of the art armor and further enhanced by a grid of insane power, rocketed forward.
The creature released a blast of lightning.
The purple beam wasn't dodged, for lightning is almost impossible to truly dodge. Instead, with Cortana aiding in his calculations, Master Chief waited for the creature to get into position. Then, with a simple twist of his body, he was no longer in the path of the beam.
"Sentai 1: Spartan Arsenal!"
The shotgun faded from his hands. The sword and shield appeared, shining in the light of the sun. Red flashed as he sliced at the ankle of the creature, of Gurral.
"GRRAAAGH!"
A massive cut was slashed into Gurral's ankle, cutting through tendons. Master Chief didn't smile, but he felt a grim satisfaction at the sight.
Now, the fight would be far easier.
------
At the Mammoth, the soldiers had rushed into the enormous vehicle. Inside, they found medical supplies, ammo, and even food. The Mammoth truly was a mobile base.
Noble Six watched as the soldiers took a break after the intense battles. She stood apart, only watching as they spoke in quiet tones. After a moment, she turned to leave.
"Where you headed?" Johnson's voice surprised her. As an operative used to being a skilled assassin and killer, she wasn't used to being snuck up on.
She turned to look at the Sergeant. He cocked an eyebrow, the cigar in his mouth letting a small trail of smoke drift upwards.
"I'm going back to Master Chief," Noble said simply. "He needs help."
"Hmmm," Johnson nodded at that. "Sure. But you know our weapons are useless against that thing?" His cigar spun to the other side of his mouth. "I've fought Elites, Hunters, and more. And all of them die under enough bullets. But Monsters? Those need something special. A Sentai. A Power Ranger. Master Chief is the only one we got."
Noble Six grit her teeth at that. Monsters. They'd started getting deployed in conflicts after the success of the Spartans and Sentai on the ground. Powerful creatures, near impervious to all forms of harm, with ecletic powers that ranged from simple brute strength to control of the elements. Almost unstoppable.
She'd been in a city besieged by a Monster. The Monster had finally fallen under a hail of tank fire... only rise in a far larger form. In the end, the Sentai couldn't reach the planet to stop the creature.
A MAC gun shooting from orbit had been the answer there.
"If I may give a suggestion," The two soldiers heard in their comms. "...Master Chief is going to get mad at me for this. But he needs help fighting that thing. Plus if the Covenant has Monsters to fight with, we need more firepower for the conflict ahead... He can't do this alone. I've been running scans on you both and, if you're up for it... you can help me protect him," Cortana's voice was quiet. Sad, and filled with pain. "There is one thing I am authorized to do to help you. Something I don't think he can forgive me for..."
It only took a few minutes for Cortana to tell them what she planned. When Cortana was done explaining, Noble and Johnson shared a look. For a serious moment, they said nothing. Then, they nodded.
"This way," Cortana said at their confirmation.
A wall suddenly became a door when it slipped upwards.
A blinking set of lights showed them the way.
With a final look at each other, the two soldiers entered the hallway. The wall closed behind them.
------
Master Chief ran for a tower nearby, his sword held high in his right hand, a Pistol in his left. His shield rested on his back as he ran. At full sprint, an average Spartan can run at up to 55 km/h. The fastest Sentai Spartan ever recorded was able to reach a top speed of 120 km/h. John, sadly, was only able to reach 100 km/h on average.
Gurral, for all his size, was nowhere near that fast, and so was forced to try and blast Master Chief with lightning as the pair ran through the strange structures dotting the landscape. The creature ran on all fours, his hands clawing into the earth and slashing into the structures around him as he chased his red and black prey.
Master Chief turned and fired his pistol four times. Gurral stumbled back slightly when the bullets slammed into his jaw, preventing him from firing another blast.
"Damn you!" Gurral roared. "You Spartans die hard! You all should learn to fall easier!"
Master Chief didn't smile. But he did feel amused at the childish words as he ran into the tower. Gurral may have killed Spartans before. But with that line, Gurral had admitted they'd died fighting. A grim thought, but still a good one.
"SMG: Online."
The pistol disappeared to be replaced by a small machine gun. Master Chief ran up a ramp and spun around once more. Gurral got to the ramp in time to take a hail of bullets.
"Cortana," Master Chief said, ignoring the roars of his advesary. "This guy isn't going down. Options."
Bullets continued to fire. And Cortana didn't say anything. Master Chief frowned under his helmet. "Cortana, can you hear me?"
Still no answer.
Master Chief, discomforted by this, focused once more on the battle, trying to push back his worry. "Incendiary: Online."
As a loud voice roared in the background, the SMG's bullets came alight, smashing into Gurral's armor as he rushed at Master Chief. Gurral's armor, once only slightly damaged by even Sentai bullets, began to crack as heated bullets began to warp and burn his body.
And Gurral ignored it. Even as patches of his body came alight, the Monster rushed at Master Chief, surprising the Spartan with his sudden burst of speed. Gurral, roaring, slammed into Master Chief. The spikes on Gurral's body slashed into Chief's shields, sending sparks into the air before the shields failed under the tonnes of weight slamming into them. Master Chief's body was lifted and sent flying. In seconds, Master Chief was sent flying. He slammed into a wall behind him with incredible speed and force. Gurral didn't let up, grabbing him by the leg. With a grunt, he arched him into the air, and began to slam him against the walls of the room like a small child waving around a toy.
"Annoying scum!" Gurral roared in anger. He slammed Master Chief against a wall, sending the Spartan's sword and SMG flying. "Destroying my armor, hurting me! You disrespectful brat!"
Portions of the tower cracked as Master Chief slammed into them. Pain filled the Spartan, even his superhuman for slowly breaking under the damage.
"Well!?" Gurral growled. "Say somethi-"
Something clinked against the ground. Gurral looked down. A grenade rested at his feet. As the creature stared at it, Master Chief managed to growl out something.
"Incendiary: Online. And stop talking."
"Greeeeeenaaaaade: Maxiiiiiiimuuuuuum!" The grenade exploded in a fury of fire and light, smashing into them with heat and force. The two were sent flying.
Master Chief landed on the ground dozens of feet away, ejected from the tower by the explosion. He rolled for several feet, and tried to rise to his feet, grunting at the feel of cracked ribs and the sight of his armor scratched and gouged across the surface. His hud flickered as he stood, finally stabilizing.
Gurral landed before him. The Monster was hit hard. Portions of his left side had been turned to charred meat, and his armor there was almost gone. His left arm was curled into a club of melted flesh. His red eyes seemed to glow even brighter.
Most importantly, the creature lower jaw and tongue were blown away. Rather than speaking, Gurral could only growl.
Master Chief held out a hand, the bones in his ribs and arm screaming at the action. "A-Assault Rifle: Online."
The simple rifle appeared in his hand. He raised it high, and began to fire. The bullets sank into Gurral's body. Gurral rushed towards him. Master Chief nearly fell back under the recoil of his gun, but he forced himself to stand, to fight, to-
A rocket from a tall hill on their right slammed into Gurral just as Master Chief prepared to dodge his charge. The Monster screamed in pain.
Before Master Chief could figure out what was happening, a familiar voice spoke in his ear. "I leave you for a couple of minutes and you decide to break my home?"
"Cortana," Master Chief said softly, relief flooding him. "What happened?"
"I got you reinforcements," Cortana said brightly.
Noble Six and Sergeant Johnson ran over to Master Chief from the hill, Noble holding a rocket launcher on her shoulder.
"Damn, Chief," Johnson said as he came to Chief's side. "You look like you got dropped into a blender."
"You need to leave," Master Chief said curtly. "Monster's can't be damaged without Sentai weapons."
"We know," Noble Six said. "That's why we're here."
Across from them, Gurral began to rise. Johnson took a whiff of the air. "Huh. Big guy smells like a good well-done steak," He turned to smirk at the Chief. "Boy, it's about time you hit something as damn stubborn as you are!"
"Guys," Cortana said over all of their comms. "It's time."
Noble Six and Johnson shared a look. The two stepped in front of Master Chief. Noble tossed her rocket launcher aside. Johnson spat out the cigar in his mouth with a hint of regret in his eyes. Before Chief could say anything, the pair did something. Something that shook him to his core.
Right fists up. Swinging through the air until they came to rest against their heart. Left fists going to their back. And, from behind them, Master Chief saw the objects on their right arms. Gauntlets. Yellow for Noble Six, Green for Sergeant Johnson "Henshin!"
Binary code appeared in a swirl around the pair. They extended their arms out, and the code wrapped around their bodies. In a bright flash, they shifted. When the code disappeared, the two were changed forever.
Noble Six no longer wore inky black. Instead, her armor, now had dark yellow sections across it's form. The armor was more ornate, with protrusions of armor giving her a predatory look, like an ancient samurai enhanced with technology. She twisted her body to stand in a loose fighting stance.
Sergeant Johnson had a much larger change. His UNSC Armor had disappeared, replaced by the far bulkier, stronger, and massive armour of a Spartan. The MJOLNIR armor was highlighted with blue. Unlike Master Chief and Noble Six, his armor was far from streamlined. Like it was built to take and dole out damage, a weapon for brute, unrelenting force. A shotgun swung into his hands.
"Sentai 2! Ready!" Noble shouted.
"Sentai 3! Ready!" Johnson barked.
"Cortana," Master Chief said softly. "...What have you done?"
Gurral roared.
"Scream, you son of a bitch!" Johnson crowed happily. His shotgun barked, and battle began.
But she'd never been in an Mammoth headed for a gigantic ring in space.
For all the violence of their flight, their passage through space was almost silent. The Mammoth itself barely seemed fazed by its flight, moving more like a spaceship than the tank it was. Johnson continued to whoop and holler with joy, and Master Chief piloted the vessel.
Cortana spoke up then. "Damnit, Keyes is accelerating the Autumn!"
Over the windows to the Mammoth, a viewscreen turned on, showing the Pillar of Autumn aiming it's nose for the Halo. As Covenant Destroyers and Banshees fired on the massive hulk, Chief maneuvered the Mammoth, somehow flying it with the same precision as an actual spacefaring craft.
"Wish we had Ke-Sentai 02," Cortana said quietly. "Could use the Pelican about now."
"We'll make do," Master Chief said. He twisted the steering wheel in his hand, and his feet quickly switched between the six pedals under the wheel. The Mammoth spun around, and they found themselves facing the Pillar of Autumn as they fell back towards the ring.
Master Chief flicked a switch on his dashboard, and the glass in front of them displayed a targeting screen. He twisted the steering wheel again, and the target spun to lock onto one of the Banshees, which had twisted to follow them.
Outside, the blocky shape of the Mammoth fell like a stone towards the ring, followed by the graceful form of a Banshee. Further behind it, the Pillar of Autumn charged through the skies.
Master Chief hit another switch, and the Mammoth shuddered, it's engine somehow roaring in the vacuum of space. On top of the Mammoth, a massive turret 'boomed', and the sound itself somehow echoed in space along with the roar of the engine.
The Sentai-MAC was a weapon based on the Mass Accelerator Cannons used on UNSC warships. It was slightly less powerful, only the Power Ranger's connection to the Morphing Grid allowing it to work.
Of course, 'slightly less' may have been misleading.
Magnetic coils sent a massive ferric tungsten slug as large as the Chief's leg shooting through space. The enormous projectile flew with silent force, and the Banshee following them tried to swerve. He barely twitched his ship before the slug slammed through his shields like they weren't even there, and tore into the ship itself.
As the Banshee ripped into pieces, Master Chief steered the Mammoth back around. "Cortana, when we land, we'll need to regroup with the rest of our soldiers. Get ready to initiate comms. We'll use the Mammoth as our base."
Johnson was smiling from ear to ear as they slammed into the atmosphere of the enormous ring, coming down towards the green land below. As the air began to ignite against the window with the speed of their entry, he whooped in joy. "Damn, I love this thing!"
"Me too," Noble Six admitted softly.
------
The valley was peaceful. The wind blew softly through trees in the distance. A river flowed, the smell of fresh water coming off of it. In the distance, mountains rose regally, and the sight of the ring circling up towards the sky before coming around again could be seen.
The peacefulness was shattered in an instant. A huge object came down in a burst of fire and noise. It slammed into the valley, sending the dirt and grass flying. It slid along the ground for dozens of feet. The sound of tires spinning could be heard within the cloud, and an engine screamed.
The Mammoth appeared out of the cloud. It drifted around to the right with all the agility of a much smaller vehicle.
Inside the Mammoth, Cortana was speaking. "I've got contact! Lifeboat beacon, a few clicks away."
"Survivors?" Noble Six asked.
"No clue, I'm not picking up comms," Cortana answered.
"Well, lets check it out," Johnson said.
"Agreed," Master Chief turned the wheel, and the Mammoth took off. He drove with all the skill of a trained racer, and all the sanity of both a Spartan and a Ranger. In other words, Noble Six found herself clutching to her seat with all the strength in her frame as the Mammoth charged across the landscape. Dirt and grass flew in arcs around the silver vehicle, and the roar of the engine filled the air.
Soon, the sound of explosions and bullets began to be heard.
"Cortana," Master Chief said.
"On it, Sentai 01," Cortana's voice sounded strained at that moment.
The Mammoth's thrusters activated, and they launched off a hill. For a moment, all Noble Six saw was sky and the rising ring in the distance as they flew upwards. They slowly came down, arcing towards the ground. And the Covenant dropship right in front of them.
"Shit!" Johnson yelled.
The Mammoth's MAC gun boomed twice, the noise enormous now that they were in atmosphere. The dropship staggered under the blows, and the Mammoth smashed on top of the Covenant vessel. The ship, shaped like a giant tuning fork, twisted in the air under the weight of the Mammoth.
Master Chief unhooked his seatbelt as they slid off the dropship to land on the ground. The Mammoth's MAC turret twisted around to shoot once more at the dropship, tearing into it.
"Come on," Master Chief said. "We need to fight the ground troops."
"And save those Marines," Johnson agreed.
------
Less expierienced soldiers would have stayed with the Mammoth. It was understandable why. The Mammoth was massive, fortified, and clearly a formidable force on the battlefield.
But experienced soldiers like the three of them knew that the Mammoth, powerful as it was, was a tool meant for specific purposes.
The area they'd landed in just wasn't meant for the Mammoth, or any other larve vehicle. It was a valley surrounding a large tower that jutted out of the ground like the spear of a giant, the landscape dotted with odd structures of odd architecture. The various structures were randomly placed walls, knee high blocks, and blocky buildings, all with Marines and Covenant battling to the death within. No room for the Mammoth.
So Master Chief, Noble Six, and Sergeant Johnson went in themselves. Their weapons drawn, they exited the Mammoth, which fired another shot to destroy the Covenant Dropship. As the ship above them turned into shrapnel, the Covenant around the Mammoth opened fire on the large figure of Master Chief, screaming in fear at the sight of him.
"Sentai!" An Elite roared in rage, pointing at Chief. Chief fired his Battle Rifle and the Elite ducked back behind a structure before he could be killed. The bullets slammed into the structure. And, to Master Chief's surprise, a Grunt rushed him, screaming with a pair of plasma grenades in it's hands. A bullet hole appeared in it's forehead, and Noble Six joined Master Chief, both Spartans watching the Grunt harmlessly esplode away from anyone.
The pair focused back on the battle, running through the structures with Johnson to join a group of Marines. The group of marines had gathered underneath a structure. One was wounded, with a medic aiding him with the a leg clearly burned off by plasma fire.
"Power Rangers!" One of them yelled in relief as Master Chief and Noble Six ran over with Sergeant Johnson. The three ignored him, instead joining the line of people shooting at the oncoming threat.
"Come at us you sons of a bitches!!!" Johnson roared.
With that, a hail of bullets and plasma began to fly. Elites and Grunts took positions behind cover of their own. Master Chief fired with the training instilled since his youth, and stood tall amongst his fellow soldiers. As always, there was a sort of respect in the back of his mind. The Covenent were a cruel, unrelenting race. But whatever else could be said about their zealotry, the Elites were brave.
He shot one in the face as a reward.
For a moment, a brief one, the battle was even. Though two spartans and a Sergeant Johnson were a powerful force, they were still outnumbered. But Chief wasn't there to force the fight into a stalemate.
"Focus on the Grunts," Chief said over the comms. "I'll kill the Elit..." Then, he stopped firing.
Noble Six looked over to see Master Chief staring at one Elite in particular. This one was wearing, not the blue of a Elite Minor or even the red or silver of the higher ranking ones, but gold armor. A General, the most experienced of Elite Infantry.
And he was yelling into a comm unit in his hands.
"Cortana... He's yelling out about a lack of honor isn't he?" Master Chief said.
"Yes," Cortana said over their comms.
At the moment, the Elite General snarled another word, and looked over at the humans he had to kill. He met eyes with the Master Chief, and at that moment, Noble Six almost believed they shared the same annoyance.
Then a massive object crashed into the battlefield between them. It came from nowhere, crashing into the field
For a moment, things were still. Then, Master Chief and the Elite General spun to their soldiers.
"Retreat, now!"
"Graaaaaah!"
The object rose from the crater it had created, and roared. For a moment, the soldiers on the battlefield froze.
"Move, now!" Master Chief grabbed a nearby marine woman and shoved her back. As he did, the creature in the pit lashed out at an Elite to stupid to run away. The blue armored took the hit to his shields, but was still sent back flying. The creature roared once more, and as the dust cleared, Noble Six got a better look at it.
Big. As massive as a Warthog, with the build of a gorilla. Red eyes shone from a head armored by pale white bone that spread across brown muscles like spiked armor. A maw edged with fangs hung open, saliva dripping to the ground, and it almost seemed to smile.
"Ahhhhh," The creature sighed. "Fresh air. Such a wonderful thing to feel against the skin."
The Elite General roared something at the creature even as everyone retreated.
"Attacking allies?" The creature said in response. It chuckled. "Apologies. I suppose I should kill my enemies first then."
The creature spun around and leaped towards them. A creature the size of jeep, made a vertical leap twice it's own height, and was above them in seconds.
Noble Six fired at the monster as it fell towards them, only to watch her bullets bounce away from it's skin and armor like so many rain drops.
THe creature landed amongst them, swinging at the medic who'd been taking care of the wounded soldier. The medic was sent flying and slammed into one of the structures around them. His head split open like a watermelon, and his back snapped.
The creature laughed.
And Master Chief punched it in the face.
A shockwave flew through the air at the impact.
"Run!" Cortana yelled in their comms. "Chief can't kill it while you're all here!"
Master Chief stepped away when the creature threw a punch back, shooting his shotgun at the creature. Unlike Noble Six and the Marines shooting at the monster, his bullets did damage to the creatures armor, which it seemed to take offense too.
"Sentai!" It screamed in rage. "Die like your brethren!"
A purple glow came to life from it's mouth. Master Chief rolled out of the way when a beam of lightning came from the creatures mouth, slamming into the ground and creating an explosion that could be felt in the air like a rock to the chest.
"Lightning!?" A marine yelled. "It's a gorilla monster with spikes, why the fuck does it need lightning breath!?"
"Soldier, get your ass moving before my foot helps ya!" Sergeant Johnson yelled, unfazed by how a normal military engagement had become a monster fight. "We're Marines! We don't breath lightning, we shit it out!"
Noble Six grabbed the wounded Marine in her arms and ran for the Mammoth, the other soldiers following. Another explosion echoed behind them as Noble and Johnson focused on protecting the others.
------
"Sentai," The creatures voice echoed out across the now empty battlefield. "I have heard that you Spartans all claim to never die. That you are only missing in action."
Master Chief shot the creature in the face, and the monster winced back, grunting in pain. It lashed out at him, it's fist smashing into his shields. The shields released a burst of sparks in response to the sheer power of the blow. Master Chief's boots slid into the earth beneath him when he was sent back. He fired his shotgun over and over, the powerful gun slamming into the creature with massive numbers of supersonic pellets.
"I find that to be a dissatisfying ending. Allow me to give you closure," The creatures voice was smooth. It's lips curled upwards, a bit of blood dripping along fangs broken by shotgun blasts.. "I've seen them die. Your fellow Spartans have been killed between my claws. Not missing. No chance of survival. I, Gurral the Ancient, saw their bodies shattered." It laughed, ignoring the bullets Master Chief continued to fire at it. "Closure, Spartan. Does it feel like a release?"
"Kill him," Cortana said.
Master Chief didn't respond. He didn't need to. A body and body built for killing, enveloped in state of the art armor and further enhanced by a grid of insane power, rocketed forward.
The creature released a blast of lightning.
The purple beam wasn't dodged, for lightning is almost impossible to truly dodge. Instead, with Cortana aiding in his calculations, Master Chief waited for the creature to get into position. Then, with a simple twist of his body, he was no longer in the path of the beam.
"Sentai 1: Spartan Arsenal!"
The shotgun faded from his hands. The sword and shield appeared, shining in the light of the sun. Red flashed as he sliced at the ankle of the creature, of Gurral.
"GRRAAAGH!"
A massive cut was slashed into Gurral's ankle, cutting through tendons. Master Chief didn't smile, but he felt a grim satisfaction at the sight.
Now, the fight would be far easier.
------
At the Mammoth, the soldiers had rushed into the enormous vehicle. Inside, they found medical supplies, ammo, and even food. The Mammoth truly was a mobile base.
Noble Six watched as the soldiers took a break after the intense battles. She stood apart, only watching as they spoke in quiet tones. After a moment, she turned to leave.
"Where you headed?" Johnson's voice surprised her. As an operative used to being a skilled assassin and killer, she wasn't used to being snuck up on.
She turned to look at the Sergeant. He cocked an eyebrow, the cigar in his mouth letting a small trail of smoke drift upwards.
"I'm going back to Master Chief," Noble said simply. "He needs help."
"Hmmm," Johnson nodded at that. "Sure. But you know our weapons are useless against that thing?" His cigar spun to the other side of his mouth. "I've fought Elites, Hunters, and more. And all of them die under enough bullets. But Monsters? Those need something special. A Sentai. A Power Ranger. Master Chief is the only one we got."
Noble Six grit her teeth at that. Monsters. They'd started getting deployed in conflicts after the success of the Spartans and Sentai on the ground. Powerful creatures, near impervious to all forms of harm, with ecletic powers that ranged from simple brute strength to control of the elements. Almost unstoppable.
She'd been in a city besieged by a Monster. The Monster had finally fallen under a hail of tank fire... only rise in a far larger form. In the end, the Sentai couldn't reach the planet to stop the creature.
A MAC gun shooting from orbit had been the answer there.
"If I may give a suggestion," The two soldiers heard in their comms. "...Master Chief is going to get mad at me for this. But he needs help fighting that thing. Plus if the Covenant has Monsters to fight with, we need more firepower for the conflict ahead... He can't do this alone. I've been running scans on you both and, if you're up for it... you can help me protect him," Cortana's voice was quiet. Sad, and filled with pain. "There is one thing I am authorized to do to help you. Something I don't think he can forgive me for..."
It only took a few minutes for Cortana to tell them what she planned. When Cortana was done explaining, Noble and Johnson shared a look. For a serious moment, they said nothing. Then, they nodded.
"This way," Cortana said at their confirmation.
A wall suddenly became a door when it slipped upwards.
A blinking set of lights showed them the way.
With a final look at each other, the two soldiers entered the hallway. The wall closed behind them.
------
Master Chief ran for a tower nearby, his sword held high in his right hand, a Pistol in his left. His shield rested on his back as he ran. At full sprint, an average Spartan can run at up to 55 km/h. The fastest Sentai Spartan ever recorded was able to reach a top speed of 120 km/h. John, sadly, was only able to reach 100 km/h on average.
Gurral, for all his size, was nowhere near that fast, and so was forced to try and blast Master Chief with lightning as the pair ran through the strange structures dotting the landscape. The creature ran on all fours, his hands clawing into the earth and slashing into the structures around him as he chased his red and black prey.
Master Chief turned and fired his pistol four times. Gurral stumbled back slightly when the bullets slammed into his jaw, preventing him from firing another blast.
"Damn you!" Gurral roared. "You Spartans die hard! You all should learn to fall easier!"
Master Chief didn't smile. But he did feel amused at the childish words as he ran into the tower. Gurral may have killed Spartans before. But with that line, Gurral had admitted they'd died fighting. A grim thought, but still a good one.
"SMG: Online."
The pistol disappeared to be replaced by a small machine gun. Master Chief ran up a ramp and spun around once more. Gurral got to the ramp in time to take a hail of bullets.
"Cortana," Master Chief said, ignoring the roars of his advesary. "This guy isn't going down. Options."
Bullets continued to fire. And Cortana didn't say anything. Master Chief frowned under his helmet. "Cortana, can you hear me?"
Still no answer.
Master Chief, discomforted by this, focused once more on the battle, trying to push back his worry. "Incendiary: Online."
As a loud voice roared in the background, the SMG's bullets came alight, smashing into Gurral's armor as he rushed at Master Chief. Gurral's armor, once only slightly damaged by even Sentai bullets, began to crack as heated bullets began to warp and burn his body.
And Gurral ignored it. Even as patches of his body came alight, the Monster rushed at Master Chief, surprising the Spartan with his sudden burst of speed. Gurral, roaring, slammed into Master Chief. The spikes on Gurral's body slashed into Chief's shields, sending sparks into the air before the shields failed under the tonnes of weight slamming into them. Master Chief's body was lifted and sent flying. In seconds, Master Chief was sent flying. He slammed into a wall behind him with incredible speed and force. Gurral didn't let up, grabbing him by the leg. With a grunt, he arched him into the air, and began to slam him against the walls of the room like a small child waving around a toy.
"Annoying scum!" Gurral roared in anger. He slammed Master Chief against a wall, sending the Spartan's sword and SMG flying. "Destroying my armor, hurting me! You disrespectful brat!"
Portions of the tower cracked as Master Chief slammed into them. Pain filled the Spartan, even his superhuman for slowly breaking under the damage.
"Well!?" Gurral growled. "Say somethi-"
Something clinked against the ground. Gurral looked down. A grenade rested at his feet. As the creature stared at it, Master Chief managed to growl out something.
"Incendiary: Online. And stop talking."
"Greeeeeenaaaaade: Maxiiiiiiimuuuuuum!" The grenade exploded in a fury of fire and light, smashing into them with heat and force. The two were sent flying.
Master Chief landed on the ground dozens of feet away, ejected from the tower by the explosion. He rolled for several feet, and tried to rise to his feet, grunting at the feel of cracked ribs and the sight of his armor scratched and gouged across the surface. His hud flickered as he stood, finally stabilizing.
Gurral landed before him. The Monster was hit hard. Portions of his left side had been turned to charred meat, and his armor there was almost gone. His left arm was curled into a club of melted flesh. His red eyes seemed to glow even brighter.
Most importantly, the creature lower jaw and tongue were blown away. Rather than speaking, Gurral could only growl.
Master Chief held out a hand, the bones in his ribs and arm screaming at the action. "A-Assault Rifle: Online."
The simple rifle appeared in his hand. He raised it high, and began to fire. The bullets sank into Gurral's body. Gurral rushed towards him. Master Chief nearly fell back under the recoil of his gun, but he forced himself to stand, to fight, to-
A rocket from a tall hill on their right slammed into Gurral just as Master Chief prepared to dodge his charge. The Monster screamed in pain.
Before Master Chief could figure out what was happening, a familiar voice spoke in his ear. "I leave you for a couple of minutes and you decide to break my home?"
"Cortana," Master Chief said softly, relief flooding him. "What happened?"
"I got you reinforcements," Cortana said brightly.
Noble Six and Sergeant Johnson ran over to Master Chief from the hill, Noble holding a rocket launcher on her shoulder.
"Damn, Chief," Johnson said as he came to Chief's side. "You look like you got dropped into a blender."
"You need to leave," Master Chief said curtly. "Monster's can't be damaged without Sentai weapons."
"We know," Noble Six said. "That's why we're here."
Across from them, Gurral began to rise. Johnson took a whiff of the air. "Huh. Big guy smells like a good well-done steak," He turned to smirk at the Chief. "Boy, it's about time you hit something as damn stubborn as you are!"
"Guys," Cortana said over all of their comms. "It's time."
Noble Six and Johnson shared a look. The two stepped in front of Master Chief. Noble tossed her rocket launcher aside. Johnson spat out the cigar in his mouth with a hint of regret in his eyes. Before Chief could say anything, the pair did something. Something that shook him to his core.
Right fists up. Swinging through the air until they came to rest against their heart. Left fists going to their back. And, from behind them, Master Chief saw the objects on their right arms. Gauntlets. Yellow for Noble Six, Green for Sergeant Johnson "Henshin!"
Binary code appeared in a swirl around the pair. They extended their arms out, and the code wrapped around their bodies. In a bright flash, they shifted. When the code disappeared, the two were changed forever.
Noble Six no longer wore inky black. Instead, her armor, now had dark yellow sections across it's form. The armor was more ornate, with protrusions of armor giving her a predatory look, like an ancient samurai enhanced with technology. She twisted her body to stand in a loose fighting stance.
Sergeant Johnson had a much larger change. His UNSC Armor had disappeared, replaced by the far bulkier, stronger, and massive armour of a Spartan. The MJOLNIR armor was highlighted with blue. Unlike Master Chief and Noble Six, his armor was far from streamlined. Like it was built to take and dole out damage, a weapon for brute, unrelenting force. A shotgun swung into his hands.
"Sentai 2! Ready!" Noble shouted.
"Sentai 3! Ready!" Johnson barked.
"Cortana," Master Chief said softly. "...What have you done?"
Gurral roared.
"Scream, you son of a bitch!" Johnson crowed happily. His shotgun barked, and battle began.
Last edited: