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Halo 2: The Beginning by John E
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Halo 2: Chapter One and Chapter Two
Date: 27 February 2004, 4:42 AM
CHAPTER ONE═════
0605 hours, September 15, 2552 (Military Calendar)
Aboard UNSC vessel Gettysburg, in Slipspace, location unknown.
"Chief, Chief, wake up," the too familiar voice of Cortana echoed in the Spartan's helmet speakers, "Chief, you have to get to the bridge." The 2 meter tall, 200 kilo SPARTAN, clad in MJOLNIR armor, came to as the cyrotube opened and stepped out. He lightly shook his head and headed towards the door.
"What's happening Cortana?" John queried. He pressed the door control panel and the door silently slid open. He walked down the long hallway, the sound of his boots thudding on the steel deck plates. "Are we nearing Earth?"
"If you would let me answer one question at a time, then I could help you Chief. We are nearing Earth. Time to normal space re-entry is thirty-five minutes from when I woke you. Your fellow SPARTANS are already on the bridge, awaiting your orders," the AI replied, in an insincere tone. "When we get near Earth, I will have to radio in with ONI to make sure they don't destroy us." John continued walking along a series of corridors, for what felt like twenty minutes, until he reached the bridge door. He thumbed the door panel and entered.
"Sounds like a plan," Fred's voice came out of nowhere, as the Master Chief entered the bridge. John looked around, his Spartans, at the controls of the ship. "Cortana, how much longer until we enter normal space?" James continued.
"Exactly fifteen minutes. Initializing re-entry burn and decompressing all non-essential cabins," Cortana replied normally, but her voice sounded distant. John questioned his trust in her. He still had to have her checked out with ONI to see if she was in a good shape. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind. He would worry about those things later. Right now he had to worry about getting to Earth.
"Where is Sergeant Johnson?" John wondered, so that only he and Cortana could hear it. He did not see the sergeant on the bridge if the ship, so he thought he would be in engineering.
"The good sergeant is still in cyrostasis. He requested to stay out of the 'freezer', but I demanded he go in, so he complied," Cortana answered his question so only he could hear it and continued speaking. "He also said to wake him the second we drop out of Slipspace. Shall I begin the wake up sequence?"
"That would be a good idea, Cortana," John replied, "thank you." The Chief sat down at the command console and oversaw his teammates in action, at the controls of a ship, amazed at how well they controlled they wreck. It had undergone one of the most painful beating in UNSC history, the attack at Reach, and been pushed far beyond its limits, so much so, that the engines had to be implanted from the Covenant flagship Ascendant Justice before she was used to delay the brutal Covenant onslaught. John also put this out of his mind, he would tell the ONI spooks about it later.
CHAPTER TWO═════
0645 hours, September 15, 2552 (Military Calendar)
Aboard UNSC vessel Gettysburg, in Sol system
"Exiting Slipspace now...," Cortana said, interrupting his thoughts. Looking out the window, John could see the space around them change from pure white to black with white specks. And looming before them was Earth. It almost brought John to tears to see her. Her beautiful blue oceans and dazzling white clouds that could be seen from orbit, it amazed him. But something seemed different. There was more ship traffic than before, and there were more Mark V MAC guns around the planet. John knew that the Covenant knew the location of Earth, but he didn't know that the planet knew as well. "I have been in contact with Earth's best AI's. We are cleared to dock in with the Bicentennial. They will be sending escorts in to give us a priority passage to the docking station."
"Wow...that's the best thing I have seen in quite a while," Sergeant Johnson declared, standing outside of the bridge. "Permission to enter, Master Chief?"
"Permission granted, and welcome back sergeant," replied John. Sergeant Johnson stepped onto the bridge, let out a low whistle while staring out the view ports, and turned to John.
"So, Chief, when do we get down there and get some R and R?" questioned the sergeant, cocking his head quizzically, and wry grin on his face. John pondered this question then spoke to Cortana, via helmet mike.
"Cortana, when will we get to the ground?" The Chief asked.
"As soon as we can get a shuttle to take us to the ground from the Bicentennial. After which everyone on this ship will receive a physical examination," Cortana spoke over the ship speakers, and then silently added to John, "especially Sergeant Johnson." John wondered how she knew about the Flood genes that lay dormant in his blood stream.
* * *
Cortana was keying commands to the engines, talking with the Master Chief, and keeping an ear on the com traffic. She had been pushed to her limit over the last week and she needed to have some time off. She needed time to decode the data from the Halo-04 installation.
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