Halo: The New Recruit

Chapter 10: The Ark

Troy woke up to the sound of alarms. He hastily slipped into his jumpsuit and ran to the armoury to grab his armour and weapons. Soon he was suited up and meeting his team in briefing room 19.

“What is going on?” Calsu asked.

“We’re being boarded. We just need to wait here until the captain tells us –”

“Fireteams 20-40 head to sector Alpha, Sierra 60.” Troy smiled at her.

“That’s us.” He jammed his helmet on his head and they all sprinted down the corridor to the location marked on their HUD. It was unclear who the leader of their squad was, because Austin was in the infirmary and none of them had any idea how Sangheili ranks converted to those of humans. Several boarding craft were attached to the airlocks, and some had even punctured the wall, which meant that as soon as they detached, the room would depressurise. It was a very large room, a hall. It had a raised platform at one end and several seats at the other. Troy and his team used the benches as cover, flipping them over so that they could hide behind them. They cleared the room without too much trouble. “Advance!” Troy shouted, signalling with his fingers. They entered the next room. Soon they had cleared out three sections all by themselves, and the alarms stopped sounding.

“The ship is clear. Well done Fireteams,” the captain announced over the intercom. Troy sighed with relief and walked into the next room, which he happened to know was an observation platform. He stared through the glass at the scene below, gasping in awe. It was a large structure floating in space, similar to a Halo, but way bigger and a different shape.

“The Covenant have found the Ark,” Nasu observed. “This is not good.” Indeed, there were several Covenant Cruisers hanging around the installation. Troy observed the UNSC Frigates that were fending them off. He saw a flock of Pelican Dropships flying down to the surface. At that exact moment, Flint paged them through the comms.

“We have a new mission. We’re going in,” he told them. Troy shook his head at the lack of breaks in the action and sprinted down to the briefing room with the rest of his team hot on his heels. In minutes they were on board a Pelican descending towards the Ark.

“We have two Scarabs. Repeat, two Scarabs!” a marine cried over the comms. Down below, a Warthog ground to a halt next to two Hornets. Troy, the recently healed Flint, Linda, Nasu and Calsu all jumped off the Pelican along with a bunch of marines. The Arbiter and Master Chief got off the Warthog.

“Let’s go,” Master Chief commanded in his brassy voice. Troy slipped his SMG into his belt and grabbed the Spartan Laser the Spartan was offering him. Master Chief and his shiny green Mark VI armour jumped into the pilot seat, leaving Troy and Flint to climb onto the landing skis. Flint was wielding a Sniper Rifle in the place of his Shotgun, which now resided on his back. The Hornet sped off, making Troy grab at the railing next to him in order not to fall off. Two giant blue objects landed in the snow next to a Forerunner structure. They unfolded to reveal themselves as Scarabs, the massive, near-invincible Covenant war machines. Master Chief was an expert pilot and had no trouble avoiding the incoming enemy fire, and was skilled enough not to shake the vehicle too much, so he didn’t upset the ODSTs’ aim at all. Soon, they were hovering above the first Scarab. “Get off,” Master Chief growled. Being someone who never said anything more than he had to, he didn’t use manners very often. Flint and Troy dropped onto the Scarab, whipping out their close-range weapons for the infantry that resided on it. The second Hornet appeared out of nowhere and started helping them wipe out all the Covenant troops that were stupid enough to remain on the outside. Troy and Flint stormed inside, taking out all the Brutes there. Troy smashed the shield that protected the life-support thingy on the Scarab, easily dispersing it. Flint shoved a grenade in the weird device and the two ODSTs hurried to get away. The Scarab started exploding and Troy and Flint leaped off it, landing in the surprisingly soft snow. In the distance, Troy spotted Master Chief jumping out of his Hornet and landing on the second Scarab, then a Warthog Guass pulled up to them, the driver the only person in it.

“Could use you on the guns guys,” the marine explained. Flint slid over the bonnet into the passenger seat, allowing Troy to climb into the gunner seat. They set about mopping up the Ghosts and infantry that remained. Once they had finished, they spotted Arbiter and Master Chief standing next to a Hardlight bridge that lead to the Forerunner structure. A Pelican hovered down to pick them up. When they were all seated the ship flew off to pick up more survivors. Troy felt a feeling of dread when he realised he couldn’t see Calsu anywhere. He tried to keep the thoughts from his mind, but a nagging voice told him this is what always happened to people he got close to. He closed his eyes and tried to keep himself from puking for the rest of the journey. When he got back to the Stand in Solitude, Flint led him to the cafeteria, saying they hadn’t had breakfast and this would be his first meal in days that didn’t come from a nurse blah blah blah. Troy didn’t feel very hungry. He sat down, staring at his MRE, poking it with his fork.

“That was an interesting battle,” Calsu remarked, taking a seat next to him. Troy stared at her.

“You’re alive! I mean... I thought I’d lost you...” Calsu giggled, which was very unusual coming from an Elite, and Flint knew it. He excused himself and left the two alone, grinning to himself.

“It is nice to know someone cares,” she replied happily, her eyes sparkling with an emotion Troy had been seeing more and more of recently; he just had no idea what it was. They ate their meals together, Calsu chatting about how she had never been in a snowy place before. She then continued to describe what Sangheilios was like. Troy stopped listening a while ago and was studying her in a new light. He was no longer repulsed or frightened by her kind. In fact, he could say... Troy blushed as he realised Calsu had asked him a question, interrupting his train of thought.

“I-I’m sorry. What w-was that?”

“I said: What is it like on Earth?” Troy pondered this.

“Well, personally, the only time I’ve ever been there is on our mission in New Mombasa, so I know as much as you.”

“Oh,” Calsu blushed. She felt like an idiot for assuming something like that. “Er... what planet do you come from?”

“Harvest. It’s gone now. Glassed a few years back.”

“I’m sorry.” Troy was picking at his food again, unwanted memories trying to force themselves into his mind.

“Don’t be. Everyone suffers in war.” Calsu placed her hand on his reassuringly.

“Some more than others.” Troy smiled gratefully at her. After a few minutes of companionable silence, Calsu cleared her throat. “Er... Troy.” Troy looked sideways at her. “I, er... my barracks were depressurised by a fleeing boarding craft, ahem, which, er, means I do not have a place to stay. So, um... I was wondering if I could stay with you?” Troy laughed at how shy and nervous she was acting.

“Of course. Have to check with Sally first though.” Calsu brightened visibly at this. Troy led her to Sally’s lab where she would be working at this time of day. What he found was a locked door with a sign saying ‘Caution: Depressurised Compartment’ taped to it. He and Calsu shared a look. Troy flipped up the piece of paper to look at the list of personnel unaccounted for whose last seen location was this lab. Sally was on the list. Troy groaned and rested his forehead against the wall. Calsu placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and half-dragged him back to their barracks. She left him on his bed to come to terms with the past few days. The poor human hadn’t had any time to grieve for his losses... and it was getting to him. Hoi and Sally had special places in his heart, and the Corps just demanded more from him. Now was his time to remember them and to find out how to live with them being dead. Calsu watched the human shiver, and knew he was going to have a few nightmares that night. She wondered if he had ever had someone there for him, to comfort him after these nightmares. Sure, he had had Sally, but there was only so much a person who barely knew you could do. Calsu felt that she knew Troy very well, and decided she knew what he needed. She let her armour fall to the floor, leaving her in her thin skinsuit. She lay down beside him and, well... spooned with him. She tucked her arms around his body, hugging him from behind, and rested her head on his neck, then pulled the cover over them. For the first time in three and a half years, Troy fell asleep peacefully and woke up with not a single nightmare.