HALO: RISE AND FALL

Community General Discussion
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A genetically augmented super-soldier awakes in the midst of an alien war, and must not only discover himself, but the key to saving his entire race.

HALO MOVIE 1 - TITLE: RISE AND FALL

=ACT 1=

PROLOGUE
An alien object drifts through the darkness, devoid of life. A repeated beep takes us through empty space.
A SPARTAN looks upon Reach as it burns, and the UNSC and Covenant fight upon the skies surrounding it. He starts to turn orange, alive in a flurry of fire. Very slowly, he falls onto the surface of the planet, a single shooting star in the end of all things. We hear the screams of children, soldiers and SPARTANs, and we get a massive wide shot of the soldier falling through space, a tiny star in the distance. Cut to black.
Thou SPARTANs shalt burn.

[[Part 1]

RT, Establish the beginning of the story, show Chief has been hit by large amounts of amnesia after the Pillar of Autumn was hit by a plasma torpedo. Soult and Ford joke about Reach and the Covenant. Chief has severe amnesia and questions who he is. He shouts at the top of his lungs where Linda is. Soult talks to him, telling him about the Battle of Thermopylaea, how a handful of Spartans at a strategic gateway fought slave army, to save their people. He tells Chief that it’s not about whether you survive, but about what message you send.

FB, Show John as a child and growing up, from his perspective, all playful, but contrast it with the nightmare of being kidnapped. He is shown around the base and Halsey, Mendez and Déja give the 75 SPARTANs a lecture as to why they are there. Then they’re made to do some combat drills, and then study hard. Déja tells them about the Battle of Thermopylae. James, Fhajad and John decide to try and escape the facility, since James has a mad interest with the outside world. Sneaking past the guards, they grab a Warthog and follow the isolated route to the city, where they engage in a car chase and are stopped by Hornets and SWAT vans. As they are taken to gunpoint, show Halsey with a sad expression as she confronts the three.

Fhajad is scared and tries to run off, and a Police Officer shoots him in the back of the head. Angry, Halsey talks to Fhajad, trying to calm him down as he slowly dies.

She then takes John and James to where James used to live as a child, where there is a funeral convoy with James’ body. She explains the flash clones, how they were put in place to not draw suspicion to the project.

Later the SPARTANs are sent to the middle of the forest as a training session. They are told they have to make their way to a Pelican somewhere near the Big Horn River. Working together, they craft small clubs and collect a handful of rocks to use as a defense. Climbing the trees, Sam finds a Pelican in a clearing, surrounded by troops not wearing UNSC clothes. Working together, James gets their attention and the rest of them throw a barrage of rocks. A lot of them fall before they can open fire, and Fred and Zephyr flank them from behind, tackling them to the ground. Getting into the Pelican, they realise that those weren’t UNSC troops, and a Warthog drives towards them that opens fire.

Taking cover in the Pelican, they take a few grenades from the knocked-out troops, but it doesn’t kill them. John and Linda grab a rifle each, which only has one round left in. Linda gives John the gun, even when she is the better shot. He asks her if you want to die out here, as the situation looks quite dear. She replies, “When I die, John, I want my brother to place me in my tomb at the end of our days. Today is not that day. The real question is; will you miss?”

John sternly says no, and takes out the gunner of the Warthog with the shot, in slowmotion. The driver pedals away, but hits a tree and Kelly grabs him from the car and repossesses it. On top of the mountain is a crashed Pelican, and worriedly, John, Kelly and Linda drive up there. Instead what they find is an ambush, not the crashed Pelican of Mendez, but swiftly drive away. Kelly is hit in the arm with a bullet. Getting in the Pelican, the young SPARTANs land back at CASTLE BASE, completing their mission. Introduce Kelly, Fred, Linda, Sam, James, Joshua, Will, Kurt, Zephyr and Halsey (in particular) while in “flashback” form.

There is a demonstration with ONI officials and the three main leader is Kurt, shows SPARTAN physical dexterity and suppleness. They fight against MK I Mjolnir suits, massive exoskeletons. Flashback form to exist alongside real time events, with jumps every half an hour. RT, introduce Soult, Ford (cryo-chamber workers), Johnson, Silva, McKay, Keyes and Cortana (in particular). Chief Mendez runs more drills.
RT, Pillar of Autumn is breached, Chief is thrown with Cortana and he runs into Hugh (ODST with PTSD). Soult, Ford and Chief make their way to the Life Boats, shows Keyes on the bridge as it is attacked. As a Sangheilli approaches, the lights flicker off and Chief crashes the life boat into the bridge of the ship, runs out and saves Keyes. Fist fight in the dark with plasma weaponry darting around, Chief grabs another life boat with Marines and lands on Halo. Silva, Hugh and McKay drop.

[[PART 2]
RT, Chief lands on Halo in a life boat. While all the Marines survive, a Jackal kills most of them before Chief strangles it to death. Angry, he tells the two surviving “Marines” to stay put as he scouts the area. Finds Johnson’s crew in a Forerunner structure, They greet, before they prepare for waves of Covenant. Marines are ordered around, first big fight scene. No Sangheilli are seen but Johnson is tackled by an invisible ranger. Chief stabs it in the eye, tackling it off the structure into the floor below. Later in the night, Johnson and Chief talk about Reach. Chief does not remember.

FB, John meets up with Kelly, Linda, Fred and the rest of the SPARTANs. They compete against each other on a crash course, and Halsey briefs them about CASTLE base. They are told that they will be the best that they can make them, they will be Humanity’s next step, and its lasting saviour. Deja and Chief Mendez give them instructions on how to fight in war, a montage so to speak. They’re lead into a plain white medical room, and one by one, enter a small theatre. Screams echo. Cuts to black.

SPARTANs take showers and eat lots of food in a canteen. John is picked on by three ODSTs much taller than him, but they’re beaten up easily after he finds his new powers. All of the Alpha Company are sent to Jericho VIII. Russian setting. Arid. Grey. Shows SPARTAN skill and accuracy. Joshua finds an old couple and has to shoot them via orders. They destroy a Scorpion, establish respective roles. Grab a hostage, takes them out and puts a bag over his head. Destroy helicopter. When they arrive back at CASTLE BASE, they are awarded medals for bravery, but there is a sense of despair and worry with the ONI officials. They are taken in suddenly, into a dark room. A holographic Harvest is shown. The doors close. Cuts to black.

Shows the eight Spartans in a Pelican, then dropped off in a grey war zone. Wraith shots thunder and splash beside them. One spots a silhouette a few hundred metres by a crashed Pelican. It draws an energy sword, before tens of more figures join its side. Battle ensues, they grab a nuclear device and detonate it, before escaping.

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[[PART 2]
RT, Chief lands on Halo in a life boat. While all the Marines survive, a Jackal kills most of them before Chief strangles it to death. Angry, he tells the two surviving “Marines” to stay put as he scouts the area. Finds Johnson’s crew in a Forerunner structure, They greet, before they prepare for waves of Covenant. Marines are ordered around, first big fight scene. No Sangheilli are seen but Johnson is tackled by an invisible ranger. Chief stabs it in the eye, tackling it off the structure into the floor below. Later in the night, Johnson and Chief talk about Reach. Chief does not remember.

FB, John meets up with Kelly, Linda, Fred and the rest of the SPARTANs. They compete against each other on a crash course, and Halsey briefs them about CASTLE base. They are told that they will be the best that they can make them, they will be Humanity’s next step, and its lasting saviour. Deja and Chief Mendez give them instructions on how to fight in war, a montage so to speak. They’re lead into a plain white medical room, and one by one, enter a small theatre. Screams echo. Cuts to black.

SPARTANs take showers and eat lots of food in a canteen. John is picked on by three ODSTs much taller than him, but they’re beaten up easily after he finds his new powers. All of the Alpha Company are sent to Jericho VIII. Russian setting. Arid. Grey. Shows SPARTAN skill and accuracy. Joshua finds an old couple and has to shoot them via orders. They destroy a Scorpion, establish respective roles. Grab a hostage, takes them out and puts a bag over his head. Destroy helicopter. When they arrive back at CASTLE BASE, they are awarded medals for bravery, but there is a sense of despair and worry with the ONI officials. They are taken in suddenly, into a dark room. A holographic Harvest is shown. The doors close. Cuts to black.

Shows the eight Spartans in a Pelican, then dropped off in a grey war zone. Wraith shots thunder and splash beside them. One spots a silhouette a few hundred metres by a crashed Pelican. It draws an energy sword, before tens of more figures join its side. Battle ensues, they grab a nuclear device and detonate it, before escaping.

=ACT 2=

[[PART 2]
RT, Chief goes to rescue a group of marines on a hill, finds a Wraith putting fire on it. He gives his fireteam a sniper rifle, before scaling a cliff face to find the base destroyed. Brute emerges and takes two clips of ammo to take down. He jumps off and tackles a Banshee, before crashing into a Wraith. Hides in debris from troops. Battle ensues, saves fire team and fires a sniper shot through 3 Jackals. Soult and Ford emerge and kill a Jackal sniper, saving Chief.

Going back to base, Foehammer meets them and tells them the ODSTs are trying to take back the Pillar of Autumn. Cuts to them briefly taking it back. Keyes is also shown escaping off a lifeboat with his crewmen, but the only sign of help is the Truth and Reconciliation landing. Johnson is taken with Foehammer to an abandoned Forerunner station, where they plan to rendezvous with the ODSTs. Chief scouts and finds the Truth and Reconciliation.

Later, Foehammer returns and is worried. Dropping Chief and his fire team, they explore the ruins of the structure, and find Jenkin’s helmet. We hear thumping at the door of temple, and squawking of Covenant. We then see something crawl out, but Jenkins runs and we see his torso stabbed by a Combat Form. We see Johnson run and turn left. They are locked in, and run past a few Flood combat forms. Soult and Ford wait on a corridor, laughing at how they’re going to die. Chief scouts, finds a Sentinel, but it flies past him. They plan to run past Covenant barricades, bringing the Flood with them. They do so. They find some form of control room, and Chief plugs Cortana into the system. She tells them the Covenant worship the Ring and its creators, but before they can hear anymore, they are ambushed by Covenant.

Running, they take another exit and Foehammer lands on top of a nearby hill. Flood infection forms pour out of the temple. They run and barely get on. Inside, the soldiers come to the conclusion the Flood must be destroyed, and Halo may have to go down as well. They also decide that the Autumn is the only way to destroy the Flood.

FB, the base is shown. White and clean, the SPARTANs blandly talk to each other, showing their sociopathic tendencies. After a quick game of Basketball, they get an alarm and two armed ODSTs march out of a door, telling them to go the Prep room. They do so, and they are briefed about their mission.

Later, show a UNSC ship by Eridanus VII. It parks by an OES (Orbital Elevator Station) where the SPARTANs board. Lord Hood shakes their hands, and the SPARTANs find it rather uncomfortable. He shows them their objective; to protect the planet from Covenant forces. Two Covenant cruisers pop out of Slipspace. Sam, Linda and John are given Jetpacks and three Nuclear Devices. Getting ready, they launch out of the ship, firing their jetpacks as they hurtle towards the ship.

They are seperated, and John slips through the shields as UNSC fire destroys them for a few seconds. Meeting up with the two SPARTANs, the move through the ship quietly. We get our first good view of an Engineer, through a glass window. Lord Hood orders tactical maneuvers with his ship, but they are hit directly with Plasma Torpedoes.
Jackals swarm around the SPARTANs, and they take an Elevator up through the ship, but it gets stuck and they clamber out. Many Covenant forces turn from their stations and look at the soldiers. Drawing weapons, a firefight happens. Sam takes plasma fire to the chest and Linda snipes three Jackal snipers as the shot bounces off their shields.
An Elite tackles John, but we don’t see it too clearly. As Linda fires at it, it climbs on the deck above and jumps off the other side, punching Sam in the visor. It takes all three of their knives to kill. Lord Hood seals off 30% of the hull to keep the ship functional, and fires up the reactors to 120% to keep them from running into more salvos.
Longswords with nukes are dispatched but ar

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Longswords with nukes are dispatched but are shot down immediately .
Running, they plant the first Nuke on a pylon and arm it.
Drones pour in through hatches and they fire salvos of plasma at them.
Luckily they run away via a vent that they climb through, but the chase continues.

The ship fires a MAC cannon at the stern of the ship, which shatters its shields for a split second, but as the ARCHER missile pods are fired, the shields regenerate. The second Nuke is armed and the SPARTANs dash past more Drones that are struggling to keep up. They lock the door behind them. In a large mostly empty room, Jackals are on patrol and are assassinated. The third Nuke is armed, but the Drones pour in once more.

In the darkness of a corner of the room, a white-eyed Sangheilli draws their energy sword. Sam wishes to stay behind. He takes of his helmet, charges his plasma pistol and charges at the Elite, screaming. John and Linda escape as Sam draws the fire, going through an opened hole in the ships hull. A Pelican picks them up as they drift through space. Elegantly, the ship explodes and John sees his friend die.

Later, James, Fred and Kurt are caught behind some barricades near a Covenant AA gun. In the distance, Chief drives in on his Mongoose, flips it and destroys a Wraith by jamming a grenade in the spokes of the vehicle and throwing it at it. They go through the human-made passageways before a Brute Chieftain appears, and they take it down by brute strength. An Elite is managing the AA on top of the engineering facility so the SPARTANs build a human ladder on the edge of the structure, climbing it. The Sangheilli spots them and fires plasma at them, setting Kurt of balance and falls off.

Luckily John grabs his hand saving him from a 20 metre fall. Fred climbs on the roof and finds the Elite gone. He disables the gun, and James sees the Elite behind him. James shouts, Fred ducks, Kurt fires a few shots into it before it runs off. Fred comms with a few Longsword Fighters who are going to bomb the area. Their transport is destroyed so they accommodate Banshees instead. Flying away, the Longswords come into view. Three of them are shot down by Seraphs, and the AA gun is still active. Seconds later, the Elite rewires it. Before they can turn around, it starts firing. Kurt’s banshees is hit, and at 1km in the air, it spirals to the ground. The rest of the SPARTANs plan to “catch” Kurt out of his Banshee, but he tells them to leave him.

John, Fred and James hide their Banshees behind a mountain, and watch as Kurt crashes to the ground.

Cortana is in CASTLE base, and Keyes brings her a cup of tea. They talk about the SPARTANs, and how they are failing to push back the Covenant. We are told that ONI have put Sam and Kurt as MIA, instead of KIA. They think the SPARTANs need to know more about their origin. Back at the base, the Canteen feels especially empty. After Kurt’s death, Will feels unsure about what he is fighting for. He is escorted into the other room, where we see Halsey.

She gets out a file, and reads the data report for Will. His family where part of a Russian Extremist organisation on Jericho VIII. Will realises that earlier he may have just killed his parents. Halsey apologises.
Will, Linda and John talk to each other about where they came from on a Balcony, which is later revealed to be an artificial construct.

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They talk about when they will eventually die, and are surprisingly upbeat about it. Later, they are taken out of their base and shown some new gear, this time equipped with energy shields, similar to Jackals. After a while listening to people talking, the SPARTANs put on the suits.

They are much faster and much stronger than before. John, Kelly and James are shown in a Warthog on Eridanus VI, driving to what used to be an Observatory. They have orders to retrieve what seems to be a Covenant tracking beam. The SPARTANs talk about how Fred, James, Will and Zephyr are being deployed in Cote d’Azúr, to rid Covenant forces. Two Shade turrets deploy fire on them, and James shoots the occupants. The door is locked, but John puts some explosives on the hinges.

Two Jackal snipers fire into their backs, and their shields dissipate. Taking cover in the Shades, they are quickly eliminated. They blow the door of its hinges, and dust collects around the entrance. James laughs at how its all become a bit spooky. They collect a special red gem which had been re purposed to use the lens of the Observatory. They make a few remarks about how the Covenant could be using it, and James puts it in his backpack. A Hunter erupts from the entrance, knocking Kelly off her feet.

It swings at John, and James gets in a Shade. The Hunter takes the plasma fire before destroying the Shade, with James running behind the Hunter. He fires some shots into its back, it screams, and falls to a rocket from John. Sadly, that was his only rocket. They go inside the structure and another Hunter stands there. It charges and the three SPARTANs try to push back its shield, but to no avail. Kelly goes on the banisters above and leaps on its back, but it shakes her off. James leaps and tries to cut it at its neck, but the Hunter smacks him with its shield, sending the SPARTAN flying through the top of the Observatory at a massively fast rate.

John grabs it by the neck, wraps his legs around it, and plants two Plasma grenade in it. He falls off, injured, and the Hunter falls. Dizzy, John spots an Elite walking into the Observatory. It is too blurry to see the Sangheilli in detail. We also see James, armless, charge into it and Kelly do the same. Later they are in a Pelican again, and repairing James’ arm.

In the distance they see a Nuke go off, thanks to Fred. Seconds later, Covenant cruisers come into view and begin glassing the planet. They lost.

An ONI official confronts Halsey in CASTLE base and demands the SPARTAN program to be discontinued thanks to its inefficiency. Halsey instead tell him that Will has a kill count higher than an entire platoon of Marines. In another outpost, a tired office worker looks to his screen and sees a few blips on the radar. After a few clicks and keyboard presses, he sighs and relaxes again.

Outside, it shows Reach, green and beautiful. Chatter clicks over the radio. Beeping starts. We hear the SPARTANs running and asking what the commotion is about. We hear platoons of soldiers running and civilians screaming.

Suddenly, a slipspace rupture opens and an entire Covenant fleet.

=-Act 3-=
[PART 1]]
As the Pelican carrying Soult, Ford, Chief and a handful of Marines flies over the desert, we get a glimpse of the Pillar of Autumn as Banshees circle around it. Rockets fire off the ground, showing the ODSTs trying to assault the Autumn. Foehammer says that Silva and McKay are both down there. She radios them and they respond over the crackling of gunfire.

We hear the sound of Banshees swirling over head, and then a deep thundering sound.

Behind the Pelican the Truth and Reconcilliation fires its engines and flies at an amazingly low and fast speed. Foehammer says she needs to break away from flying towards the Autumn otherwise she’ll crash into its hull. Suddenly, a radio signal is picked up by Foehammer.

The sound of Keyes’ voice rumbles over the COM channel, before we hear some Elite gibberish and the radio turns off. They decide that Keyes is in that ship, and they’re going to take Keyes so they can blow the Autumn up. Foehammer pulls in the docking bay, taking out Grunts and Engineers with the Pelicans, the three get out, and the bay is clear. The doors are open, but in the next corridor they’re locked in.

Worried they’re going to be vacuumed, Chief breaks open a small air vent and climbs through, where many Grunts and Jackals are hiding. He starts drawing their fire, but they aren’t doing enough damage

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to them. Soult is almost hit by a Plasma Grenade, and Chief takes out a few Jackals with a quick grenade toss. He rushes behind and tries to grab their Energy Gauntlet, but it instead burns his armour. Grabbing a Needler, he fires shards of it into a nearby Jackal, but it bounces off its shield.

Charging into it, he rips the shield out of its hand and elbows it in the neck, killing it. The Jackal that is firing into Soult and Ford’s cover gets ten needles into the back, where it explodes. The rest of the troops fall back, and the Chief reloads. An eery quiet follows. The Marines cover the area, and find it empty. The sound of a door sliding open is heard.

A few seconds later, a Marine is impaled by an invisible being with an Energy Sword, and it does the same to the other Marine. As Chief unloads needles into it, the shields flicker, and the needles explode, causing the shields to disintegrate and the Elite to reveal itself, but it is behind cover when it does so. Chief throws a Grenade, it misses, and the creature goes invisible again and Chief orders all of his troops to focus fire on it. The Elite swings, still invisible, and Chief is hit across the chest and falls to his feet.

He unloads a clip of the needles into the Elite’s chest and it explodes, destroying its shields. The Marines kill it with their ammo, but it takes down another Marine by sticking it with a grenade. Only Soult, Ford and Chief are left. Before the door can be opened, two Hunters tread through it. The three grab their weapons, reload, and the screen cuts to black.

FB, a Longsword passes the camera and in a massive dockyard we see the Pillar of Autumn being built. Sparks fly from its hull, and Keyes and Halsey are walking along a platform along the side of the hull. They talk about how the Autumn is being redesigned and repurposed for a special mission which could end the war.

They also confirm Keyes’ fantastic maneuver (excuse my French) in the battle of Eridanus IV, and how he managed to take down many Covenant enemies with his Iroqouis. They also talk about the fate of the war, and how many of the Inner Colonies have already fallen. The SPARTAN count rests at 7 (Jesus, I didn’t intentionally do that but . . . wow, that’s pretty damn lucky to kill off that many SPARTANs.).

Inside a Laboratory they show that they’ve been reverse engineering Covenant Weapons to use for themselves, but so far they lack the proper power and facilities to replicate Covenant weaponry. They also come to the conclusion that the weapons degrade in the human atmosphere much faster than the Covenant’s, even if humans can breath in theirs.

They show the red gem acquired by James which has been studied for the past few weeks, only to find the Covenant language almost untranslatable. They do believe the coordinates entailed on the gem could be their major forward operating base, and that is the reason the Autumn will be flying to those coordinates. And so will every ship in the Reach system.

The last piece of the puzzle, and the one that Halsey has been working on the longest, is the blue AI, known as Cortana. She tells Keyes she will be accompanying the first SPARTAN she chooses. It’s their last bet at winning the war, and they can take the risk of leaving Reach undefended (apart from the MAC cannons, of course).

The SPARTANs are in the canteen again, and the discussion is empty and cold, the SPARTANs have very little to say. Instead only James and Will discuss the kills they got recently on a mission. On a video monitor Halsey debriefs them about their mission in the Pillar of Autumn, where they make their way to the Pelican slowly.

Outside it shows the UNSC Fleet pulling into position, ready to finish the war. They wait for a few seconds, and Lord Hood makes the announcement to start charging the FTL engines.Suddenly, a Covenant Fleet emerges from slipspace just before the ships can finis charging their FTL engines, and half of the fleet is wrecked just by the ships colliding with each other.

On the outside ground of CASTLE BASE, the SPARTANs get an up close and personal look of a Covenant Fleet jumping within atmosphere, Seraphs and Phantoms pouring out of its sides. As their orders are to get to the POA, they do so, but fly through heavily Covenant occupied areas, and they see a massive war break out in front of them.

Going into space, a massive wide shot shows the Pelican flying underneath a Covenant Cruiser in a space brawl with a UNSC frigate, and the Pillar of Autumn at the edge of the fight. Luckily, the Pelican lands on the bay of the Autumn, and Keyes asks how the hell they made it up there.

Luck.

On board, Keyes urgently tells them they’ve been attacked by the entire Covenant Fleet, and that the Orbital Station Circumference has unfiltered information about Earth, that the Covenant can not find. He decides to send all seven SPARTANs down there, to destroy the information while they try not to lose this finishing fight.
[[PART 2]
Chief awakes in a Spirit Dropship, a prison variant, with Soult and Ford locked in hardlight handcuffs, attached to the wall behind them. Confused, there stands a single Jackal patrolling the small corridor. Chief turns on his flashlight, angering the Jackal, which charges its plasma pistol. It fires it at the Chief, causing his shields to burst, and to disable the light handcuffs. He feels his wrists before tackling the Jackal. The soldier destroys the hard light transmitter, and Soult and Ford are freed. Walking to the cockpit, they find it empty except for a single Grunt. They kill it, but the ship starts to shake rapidly.
When Chief grabs the controls and tries to steady it, it only causes more of a movement. He walks to the side of the ship and hits a switch, opening the left side hatch. The light floods in, but at the same time, the sound of an Elite on the right side of the ship is heard. Soult and Ford hide behind a few ammo crates, and Chief goes on the left side, ready to tackle the Elite. The Sangheilli walks into the cockpit, looks at the dead Grunts, then looks around. Chief tackles it into the right side, causing that hatch to open. Wrestling, the alien throws Chief through the right side, but he grabs on to the edge frantically.
Before the Elite can knock his opponent off, Ford and Soult tackle him, causing him to fall off but still grab Chief’s foot. The ship wobbles even more and approaches a green valley very quickly. As the ship skids along the ground, the Elite falls off and crashes in to it. Chief is brought back up onto the ship, but it crashes and stops suddenly, throwing the three of them off balance.
Getting up, Soult finds Ford injured by the crash, which Chief once again is angry at. He doesn’t what any more casualties on this mission. With the two of them tailing him, they enter a Forerunner temple to find some cover. With the Flood still loose, they don’t dare go too far into the construct. However, a Phantom and many dropships begin circling, which pushes them further and further into the structure. They find themselves in a familiar control structure, with an infinitely deep moat around its edge. Without Cortana, they are unable to enter the database. A similar humming is heard coming from the moat. Chief turns around, and sees an Orb fly overhead.

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343 Guilty Spark shows himself, and greets the three of the men. He talks about how another Reclaimer was found earlier, and how the Flood infestation has reached a boiling point. Making his strange humming sounds, he shows the three of them where he was keeping the Reclaimer, who had been very unproductive. They find themselves in the same control room Chief lefts Cortana in earlier, where she is very angry. Johnson leans on the control panel. Surprised, Soult asks how Johnson survived the encounter with the Flood. Johnson explains how they simply could not infect him like the rest. Chief doesn’t believe him but 343 confirms Johnson’s statement. The Monitor shows Chief the Activation Index, eager to get the ring working at once. Cortana furiously tells him stop. She asks 343 what will happen if the Ring is activated, and the machine stalls for a few seconds. The ground begins to rumble.
The signature tentacles of the Gravemind crawl around the walls, as his “head” pears above the control panel.
Yes, tell them the lies you have so erroneously told. Activate it, kill me, and save all who are dead. Your soul will be sold. You have been misled.
343 is surprised at how quickly the Flood has formed, and Sentinels fly around the Gravemind. Chief asks them to stop, and then 343 to tell him what the Ring was supposed to do. He is told that doesn’t kill the Flood, but instead kills its food; all sentient life. Angry, Chief yanks Cortana, who asks what he’s going to do. Soult and Ford pick up their gear, and Johnson tells the Gravemind to get some mouthwash. All four of them run frantically, as the Sentinels and the Gravemind fight, infection forms pouring out of the deepness of the structure.
They dash out of the structure, but soon find the entire valley to be filled with Covenant forces. Before they can be blown into a thousand bits, they run back inside the structure a bit, where they find the Flood pouring in through the corridors. Cortana is put inside a side console, where she powers up a peculiar machine. Its spins around them, and teleports them straight into a formal meeting between Silva and McKay.
Startled, Chief asks what the hell what just happened. Cortana laughs, telling him that there are teleporter machines wired up around the Ring, and with enough system power, can be booted. Luckily, the nearest one was here. Silva draws his weapon and is far too confused to listen to reason. It takes McKay, who understands what happening, to calm him down.
They take them into another room, where an injured Keyes sits on a desk. They explain that the Truth and Reconcilliation parked itself next the Pillar of Autumn, and when it did, they sent half of their entire force inside the ship to retake Keyes. They luckily did it, but only one soldier survived. Chief tells them that the Flood are a powerful force, and judging by the Gravemind, are not going to be reasoned with. Silva tells them that their number one objective is to discover the purpose of the Ring, which Cortana tells them straight after. Knowing what these “Forerunners” put in place to destroy the Flood, they decide it would be best if the Ring was destroyed.
The ODSTs are still wary about their escape route, considering the Autumn is going to meet its maker. Their only option is to take the Truth and Reconciliation since the Longswords in the Autumn can’t carry all the troops. Cortana tells them they can’t, since the ship could easily be infested with the Flood, which cannot leave Halo. Silva ignores her, worrying more about his troops. Since Keyes is the only one with the goods to self-destruct the ship, Johnson, Soult, Ford, Keyes, Chief and Foehammer will be boarding the Cruiser. However, Soult is not too happy being taken along, but it’s a better bet than going on the Truth and Reconcilliation. Foehammer flies them to the ship, where the signature Halo music begins to play.
FB, the seven SPARTANs are in their Pelican, transferring to the Circumference, wanting to destroy data of Earth on the ship. Behind the ships, Seraphs begin to tail and fire into its hull. The pilot tells them not to worry, but his voice instantly cuts out. Joshua reads his life signatures as dead. Quickly, the SPARTAN plucks the pilot from his wheel and tries to steer the ship, but finds it going too fast to stop it crashing into the hull. Telling the SPARTANs to jump, they do so, jetpacks equipped, and the Pelican crashes straight into the station, explodes and leaves a nice hole for the soldiers to fly in through.
Joshua lets the team know that the explosion has sent the station of course and it is a collision trajectory with Reach, ETA 20 minutes. Checking the stores, Fred finds the central tower to probably contain the control panel. Linda and Kelly bust through the door and scale the elevator cable.
Will grabs his rocket launcher and identifies a Phantom heading for their position. Zephyr grabs his shotgun and climbs onto a flanking banister, ready to pounce on the enemy as soon as they get out. James stands on the outside of the station with his DMR. John is there with him. He asks why he’s staying outside.
I’ve always been an outside person.
An Elite Ranger jumps out of the Phantom, his propulsion system engaging and tackles straight into James, sending both of them flying across the top of the station. John flies over to him, stabs the Elite in the back, and it sends the alien flying into space. James thanks him before they fall back into the inside of the ship.
The Phantom flies straight beside the ship, and multiple Covenant Troops pour in. The Jackals are killed by Zephyr almost immediately, and Joshua takes out the Grunts with a lucky grenade. The Elite Minor sees the command centre, and flies straight into it. Will launches a rocket into it, killing it. Two more Hunters stroll in, firing their plasma cannons at Joshua. He leaps out of the way, hiding behind some crates to reload. Zephyr leaps onto their backs, firing shotgun shells at them. He’s knocked off into the wall, but Will fires a rocket that destroys a Hunter. Fred gets out his knifes and stabs the Hunter multiple times in the head, before it falls.

7

They congratulate each other, happy at how well they work as a team. Kelly plants a few charges on the console, destroying it immediately. Linda gets out her sniper and gets a good shooting position, while Kelly scales down the tower where the rest of her team is. Joshua detours to the left of the station, looking for any more surviving Covenant Troops. Fred radios the Autumn for assistance, but he gets no response. James takes a second to fly out of the station, to see their ship in the middle of a fight. Captain Keyes uses his COM to tell the SPARTAN to hang on. The Covenant Cruiser sees the orbital station, and starts turning in its direction. Will wonders why they’re lining up to attack. Why would they attack a small orbital station?
The Cruiser a few plasma torpedoes at the ship, and before Joshua can run back to the rest of the group, the ship is split into two from the plasma. He leaps off his section, fires his jetpack, and a Phantom hits him in the stomach, sending him flying. The Phantom moves inside the station and deploys a Wraith, which fires as the SPARTANs instantly.
James, who is still outside, spots Joshua and waves his hand, telling him to come his way. John is with him, and spots multiple Jackal snipers on the Phantom. He tells James to duck, he does, and a beam shot misses both of them. They return fire, killing the snipers. Joshua flies to where they are, seeing a Wraith inside the station. He immediately goes after it, and so does John and James. The seven of them pepper it with bullets, and a Wraith shot is fired, knocking Joshua off his feet, destroying his energy shield completely. He spins around, hearing something behind him.
Fred spins around as well, telling Joshua to get down. An Elite Zealot fires a single needle bullet, piercing Joshua’s helmet, killing him instantly.
Fred shouts frantically, asking Joshua to respond. His body crumples to the floor, and Fred fires everything he has as the Zealot. Fred tells the rest of his team that there is a Sangheilli General in the station.
RT, the five of them stealthily walk across the corridors of the battered Pillar of Autumn, and they hear the gabble of Covenant talk. Chief takes the lead, and suddenly, an Elite tackles John to the ground. The rest of the group fire upon it, but its shields hold. Chief quickly sprints away, the Elite following him. Chief ducks into another room, hitting the button to close the door, and stops the Elite in its tracks.
The five move forward a bit, but encounter a group of Grunts. They take them out, but Soult fires his gun too frantically, and is told to calm down. They take a Fuel Rod gun and reload it, before making their way into a canteen room. Keyes orders Johnson to make radio contact with Chief. A scuttling is heard above where they are, in the vents. Ford points his gun flashlight where it is originating from, and infection forms pour out of ceiling. They fire at some, but Soult decides he’s had enough, and as Keyes is attacked by one, runs outside, trying to lock the door. Ford runs away, screaming. Johnson shouts at both of them, trying to pry the infection form off Keyes. As the doors start sliding closed, Johnson runs in the gap, sliding as it closes behind him.
The Sergeant hits Soult in the back with his gun, and he falls to the floor, injured. He frantically tries to open the door, and Ford tries to get his friend to his feet. Before Johnson gets to open the door, the click of a pistol’s safety switching off is heard behind him. A Magum is put against his neck. Hugh, twitching and sweating, tells Johnson to leave the door alone. He does not want to get infected with the Flood.
Hugh explains that he was with the ODSTs, trying to get into the Truth and Reconcilliation¸ but escaped before too much fighting occurred. He doesn’t want to die out here, and knows there are a few Longswords in the vehicle bay on the ship. They plan to escape the ring, but Johnson is boiling with rage. Held at gunpoint, he leads the four of them away, slowly, too the vehicle bay.
Chief runs to the bridge, and uses his COM to contacts Johnson. He tells him that Keyes has been infected, and the plan has failed. Hugh, with a scared tone, tells them to move forward. Before Johnson can continue, a familiar voice interrupts. 343 is finding this escapade however irritating, and after seeing the Reclaimers escaping, does not want his ring destroyed. Cortana switches his moaning off. Chief asks how else they can destroy the Ring, and the AI informs the SPARTAN that the reactors of the ship could be overloaded with a lucky grenade. As he draws his grenade, he COMs Foehammer to ask for a pickup by the bridge. Hugh, Soult, Ford and Johnson walk into a room with a stairwell, and according to the ODST, there’ll be the vehicle bay down there. However, the door behind them slams open, and a few Grunts waddle through. They fire at them rapidly, but the small Covenant die one by one. Before they can go down the stairwell, an Elite Zealot slowly walks towards them, out of the dust of plasma and bullets. He picks up Hugh and slams him against a wall. He takes the weapon out of Soult and throws him to the floor. Ford finds his chest punched and falls to the floor. Johnson fires his rifle but instead it breaks his teeth, thanks to the Sangheilli.
FB, Keyes tell them that the Pelican has been delayed thanks to Covenant fire, which no doubt meant it was shot down. Another has been sent, piloted by Carol Rawley. Fred plans to hold at the top of the control tower until the help arrives, but he sends Linda and John round the back to check for additional troops. The Gravity Generator suddenly turns off. The Phantom from earlier pulls in again, and to Linda’s dismay, a few more Jackals are dropped off. Angry, most of them are taken down immediately, but a group of Drones are bugging (heh) them.

8

RT, Chief goes to leave the bridge, but instead finds multiple Sentinels flanking him. They fire their lasers, and Chief takes cover behind the main console. Dashing, he takes some damage but Foehammer begins to fly around for his pickup. Leaping out of the ship, he freefalls for a few seconds, before landing on top of Foehammer’s Pelican. He sees the Sentinels trying to chase them, and fires them in (probably one of the most awesome action sequences of all time) this climatic event. Johnson radios Foehammer for assistance. The Elite grabs his radio, and crushes it with his bare fingers. Johnson spits out a tooth.
FB, Zephyr unblocks the door keeping them from the control centre, and they scale the cable quickly. They stand in the small room, and Fred radios Rawley to hurry up on that pick up, as John and Linda fight some more troops. Suddenly, the cable they were once climbing strains under some new pressure. The SPARTANs grab their weapons and point down the hole they came from. The window behind them smashes and the Elite Zealot stands in front of them.
RT, the Sentinels fall one by one and Chief grabs one of them, using it to keep him in the air, and asks Foehammer to dive. He falls off the Sentinel, and backwards, falls into the bay of the Pelican. She pulls upwards, and sees a convenient platform by Johnson’s signal. The Pelican lands and Chief walks into the room. The Elite has his back to him, and is contacting an unknown advisor in his native language. When a single footstep is heard, the Zealot turns around. This Sangheilli wears the same armour as the one in Chief’s memory.
Thou hast waited long for this moment of upwards justice. What guides me is an eternal light. But you, demon, seem to be bloodless. Without further ado, let us start his fight.
FB, the SPARTANs fire their guns frantically at the Sangheilli. He draws his energy sword, and slices Fred’s weapon in half. The alien flips and destroys Will’s rocket launcher. Zephyr delivers a knife blow, but he blocks it with his forearm, against his enemies’. The Zealot sends his opponent flying, smashing against the window. Kelly leaps off the wall and tries to punch the Elite in the shoulder, but misses after the enemy catches her fist, twists, and sends Kelly flying through the window behind him. Fred draws his knifes and throws one, which stabs the Elite in the leg, but it’s taken out from the wound and used to deflect a blow from Will, whose armour is pierced instantly. Will grunts, but Zephyr gets up and charges into the Elite’s lower torso. Linda snipes the last Jackal, reloads her weapon. John hears ruckus from the above tower, and asks for a lift. Linda pushes John into the air and he free runs on the wall. Grabbing onto a railing, John finds a footing on the wall parallel to the tower on the station. He leaps backwards and grabs onto the rim of the glass. Suddenly, Zephyr is flown through that window and Chief grabs his hand. Both of them pull themselves up, and Linda begins to scale the elevator cable once more.
RT, Soult, Ford, Johnson and Hugh take this opportunity to sneak behind the Elite and Chief, towards the Pelican. The Sangheilli sees them, but lets them escape. As Johnson gets in the Pelican, he points his weapon at Hugh. He considers him a traitor, and tells Foehammer to fly away, and will pick up Chief later. Chief grabs his assault rifle and kneels. Firing bullets into the Elite, he draws his energy sword and charges. Chief grabs the top rim of the door, and kicks the Elite in the face. Dropping, and rolling behind him, he swings with his assault rifle, but it is cut in half. The Elite swings again, and Chief ducks beneath it. The metal pylon that once existed falls apart from the blow. The Master Chief runs behind the Elite and draws his knife. Going for the stabs, the Elite back steps, and hits his opponent with his elbow. Sending Chief to the ground, the Sangheilli sends his sword for the floor, but Chief rolls and punches his arm. The alien lets go of the sword, turns around once and kicks Chief into a box of ammo crates. He grabs his energy sword again, but Chief gets to his feet and throws his knife. The Elite takes a step to the left and the knife misses. Chief charges but the Elite grabs him by his throat and puts him against the wall.
FB, Fred charges with both of his knives and embeds them into the Elite’s shoulders. He shakes him off, kicks him into the chest but Will tackles him before any more damage can be done. The Elite kicks Will behind him and jumps off Fred’s body to knee John in the head. He grabs John’s weapon and throws it out of the window. The towering monster throws his Energy Sword behind him, barely above Linda’s head, and stabbing Fred in the arm. Will, fuelled with a rage, runs and punches the Elite in the back, but is held up by the neck and pushed into the steel floor. John jumps on the Sangheilli’s back, and stabs it in the neck.
RT, John is thrown into the other corner of the room, and the Elite is having fun playing with this destroyed enemy. Soult and Ford sneak behind the Sangheilli, sees it beating up the Chief, and fire their weapons. The Elite turns around and throws Chief at the two, which then hits. Yelping in pain, the SPARTAN throws Cortana’s chip out of his head at Soult, who catches it.
Run.
The Elite punches Chief’s stomach, throws him over his shoulder and stands on top of him. Suddenly, Hugh runs in with shotgun, and blasts two shots at the Elite, breaking his shields. The Elite turns, smashes the shotgun out of his hands, and then delivers a kick to Hugh’s face, sending blood along the wall. Chief stands up to only be sent into some more crates. As the Elite draws his energy sword one last time, he smashes Chief’s head into heavily fortified glass at the edge of the ship. After three hits, it smashes.
Doth thee see it, the landscape of the Gods? This is our land, and thou will not stand for such an epitome of ignorance. There shall be no forgiveness, for this plan is too grand.
He throws Chief to the floor behind him, and raises his sword. Chief draws his knife and throws it at the Elite, delivering a blow to his shoulder. He stands up and punches the warrior, before being kicked in the knees, falling to them. Hugh stands up, grabs the shotgun, and fires more shots at both the Chief and the Elite. The Elite draws his plasma pistol, but has it knocked out of his hand by the Master Chief. He charges it and fires it at the Sangheilli, but his hand is not steady after it’s grabbed. The SPARTAN backsteps, leaps off a nearby ammo crate, and delivers a powerful blow to the Elite’s jaw, and again.
FB, the Sangheilli punches Fred in the visor, blood splattering the floor. John is thrown off his back, and is kicked again and again in the chest. Linda fires a sniper shot directly at the Elite, which slices it off immediately after, with its retractable energy-knife attachment. He runs to grab the Energy Sword, and Fred fires pistol round at him. Will grabs his knife and once again goes in for a neck stab.
RT, Hugh throws his shotgun towards Chief, which he catches. Spinning, the Elite chops off the end of the shotgun but it still functions. The Elite is then jabbed in the head with the butt of the weapon, still hot with the energy sword. It destroys his shields.
FB, Will stabs the Elite in the neck but is flipped off. Fred swings with his fist but is turned upside down by a powerful kick.

9

The fire from Kelly, Linda and John breaks his shields. Will gets up and stabs the Elite in the eye. The mighty alien warrior turns, sword in hand, and stabs the SPARTAN in the chest, with a full blown attack.
RT, Chief unmercifully shoots three shotgun shells straight after each other, pushing the Elite back through the room, to the cracked wall behind him. The Elite stares down the Chief, a mighty grin on his face as blood trickles down his neck.
FB, Will falls to his knees, and collapses, dead.
RT, Chief fires one last shot into the Elite, destroying the wall behind him, and causing him to fall off the Pillar of Autumn.
Soult and Ford run to the reactor room nearby, and insert Cortana into a console. She urgently tells them to throw their grenades into the nearest generator, which they do. They yank her, and Chief, carrying the dying Hugh on his back, run to Soult and Ford. Cortana begins the five minute countdown. A Covenant army is on one corridor. A Flood army is in another. And from the room they just came in, 343, flanked with Sentinels stare at them. Music intensifies. The Epic Halo music plays, as the four of them run away from the three forces. Chief contacts Foehammer and tells them to pick them up at a nearby bridge. They stand on the famous walkway, where Foehammer flies towards them and hovers with the ramp awaiting them. They run in as the forces begin to fall off the bridge. In the distance, the Truth and Reconcilliation finally takes flight. A radio message comes from the cockpit.
We’ve got her! Boy! Okay Chief, we’ll see you on the other side, out of this -Yoink!- r—Wait, what?
The ship turns slightly. Its front smacks along the ground, and explosions ripple along the hull.
FB, Fred grabs Will, and takes off his helmet. He shuts his eyes, as Will drifts to his death. The Zealot jumps out the window, and a COM enters John’s ear. Rawley is awaiting them. Quickly, Zephyr, Fred, Linda, Kelly and John jump off the tower, roll from the fall, and run to the Pelican.
RT, Banshees begin chasing down the Pelican. The ramp is still open, and angrily, Johnson rips the turret from its stand and fires a barrage of bullets at the enemy. They circle each other, and Foehammer’s engines are hit directly. The Pelican dips and almost crashes, but she keeps it in the air.
This is it, boys. Sorry to say, but I’m spent. There’s a Warthog in the back, this is your ticket out of here.
The Pelican flies horizontally parallel of the top of the Pillar of Autumn and she drops a Warthog from the rear of the Pelican. Chief looks at her bloody face, and nods quickly. Johnson lets all four of them jump off the Pelican, while he stays. Rawley turns to him, telling Johnson to get off. He says that it’s been an honour, and jumps off.
All five of them jump in the Warthog, Johnson on the gun, Chief driving, Hugh on his back, and Soult and Ford sharing the right seat. Johnson screams intensely as he takes down a Banshee with his turret. Two minutes.
RT, The five of them run to the Pelican, a mere 20 metres away. Zephyr and Kelly run along the high walkway, and they both jump down. The Zealot reveals itself from a cloak, and decapitates Zephyr mid-run. The four SPARTANs get to the ramp, John first on, then Fred. Then Kelly. Linda runs in, too.
She is hit directly in the back with an energy sword, thrown by the Zealot.
RT, the Chief’s driving is ruined. He can’t concentrate. All the memories, but Linda’s death has totalled them all. A Covenant onslaught awaits on top of the Pillar of Autumn. Suddenly, the car veers, flips and sends all the occupants across the floor. One minute.
FB, John grabs Linda and drags her into the Pelican. Kelly and Linda fire shots and shots into the Zealot, which doesn’t die. He stands there, laughing, bleeding. John takes off Linda’s helmet, and her brown hair cascades from her scalp, blood dripping from her mouth. John, on the verge of tears, tells Rawley to take them to the Autumn as soon as possible. Slowly, Linda stops drooling, and her eyes still. John stops yelping. Fred puts an arm on his shoulder.
RT¸ Ford’s body is immobile, and Soult moves to his side. He shakes him, but he barely responds apart from the mere occasional breath. Johnson quickly gets up, and tries to flip the Warthog, but can’t even move it. Johnson checks Hugh’s pulse quickly, but leaves him crying in his own blood. 45 seconds.

10

FB, Rawley tells the crew that she’s getting a radio signal. A familiar voice comes through. James coughs over the radio, telling them that he’s run out of fuel, and in a collision with Reach.
I can see it burning now. The Big Horn River. You remember it, guys? How we beat up those goons with those rocks? Oh, those were the days. I wish I could relive it all. But, this is it. You know, people mourn death. It’s a constant, yeah. A given. But you know what makes us different? We’re SPARTANs. We don’t die. We take the bullet for h—Agh,-- humanity, so no one has to. I’ve saved a hell of a lot of lives today. And I –agh–, am happy. Yeah. Happy.
–Ah, God—I’m gonna burn up, I’m a lost soul. A speeding bullet. A shooting star! Make a wish, SPARTANs, this it! –
The signal ends there. Rawley turns to John, and apologies.
RT, Soult goes to Chief, angry and frustrated. He shouts, saying how he’s a machine, giving his final testament to the actions of the SPARTANs. He falls to his knees once more, crying.
What now?
Chief grabs the Warthog silently, flipping it instantly. He grabs Soult and Ford. He throws them into the car. He puts Hugh on the passenger seat, and tells Johnson to get the gun. The Sergeant asks what the hell he’s doing. He looks to Soult, and says that it’s not about how you die, but about the message you send. 30 seconds. He shouts at them, telling them to drive. The Covenant forces are close now.
Chief walks slowly to the approaching Covenant armada.
FB , on the Pillar of Autumn, Chief grabs Linda’s corpse. He walks with her, slowly, pass the guards. Keyes goes to Fred and Kelly, who are confused. John, a few metres in front of them, turns around to Fred. He nods, and Fred nods back. They understand. Chief walks past Soult and Ford playing a card game, and sees the Cryo Chamber. He opens one of the pods.
RT, Chief opens his arms at the Covenant, and the green light of a Phantom blinds him. The SPARTAN takes off his helmet slowly, his face hidden. 15 seconds. An eery Elite voice, the same one from before, asks a question.
Doth thee have any outstanding wishes? Before the imminent death?
The SPARTAN smiles, before replying.
SPARTANs never die.
FB, Linda’s brother puts her in the tomb, as they burn in hellfire together. John goes into the Cryo Pod as well. Cuts to black.

RT, Johnson grabs Hugh, Soult grabs Ford and they run inside the Longsword through a hole in the hull. They insert Cortana into the ship, and it fires off. 10 seconds.
It escapes Halo. We see it destroy itself in a massive explosion, with Cortana speaking.
It’s gone. We did what we had to do. For Earth. An entire Covenant armada obliterated, and the Flood . . . we’re all that’s left. Halo . . . It’s finished.
Johnson takes a seat in the Longsword and switches some consoles.
No, I think we’re just getting started.

EPILOGUE
A Longsword drifts through space, empty, devoid of life. A continued beep takes us through space, where we see Halo, destroyed. We hear Cortana speak.
Scanning. Empty. Just dust and echoes.

…

I’ve found something.