Halo: Remnants Of Time (Cypherxk2 & darkangel76)

[darkangel76]

Disclaimer ~ The events if this story are 'alternate universe', or AU, to canon time line. Most significant events hold true, however some have been changed for the sake of this story. The most significant change—Reach did not fall during the Human-Covenant War.

Location: Planet Reach

The mid afternoon sun was warm against Kellen's pale skin, her dark hair pulled up into a sloppy knot at the nape of her slender neck. It was warmer than usual, though she hardly minded. The change was a welcome one after all the rains. Smiling, she looked up into the bright blue sky overhead, her eyes a near perfect reflection of that vast expanse above. She let out a soft sigh, her hands tucking wild tendrils behind her ears, while her thoughts flitted for a moment to the past. A small shiver ran down along her spine at the fleeting thought about someone she'd held dear so many years ago. It wasn't uncommon for Kellen Stratton to think of her long lost friend—some days were harder than others. Perhaps it had been the earlier call she'd received from her boss about the recent findings, the highly classified objects that required her team actually assist on something exciting for once. It had been quite some time since the facility had received news of anything of true interest, especially something deemed classified. Dr. Nerem had sounded excited. Almost too excited. And that had set Kellen slightly on edge.

Any time her anxiety rose, memories of the past were bound to accompany Kellen's thoughts. It was bittersweet. She welcomed the memory of his face, speculating what he might look like now. But she'd never forget that day. That day he told her to hide...

"Miss Stratton," came a voice. It was a guard. Routine. Nothing special. Kellen nodded her dark head l, though her cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment, and showed the man her badge. With what could be construed as a smile, the man let her through and into the facility that had become her second home.

The soft click of Kellen's shoes echoed off the slick floor. She bit down on her lower lip, an unsettling feeling of unease, dread, threatening to consume her, as she made her way through the maze of familiar corridors. Eyebrows knitting together, she suddenly felt cold. 'He's probably forgotten me,' she thought. It was her way of trying to cope, to push past the painful memories and move on for the day. But she was having a harder time than usual, she could still hear his order to hide so clearly in her mind. She had listened to him that day and they had taken him. Him, not her. Taken him away from her. Forever.

Pushing back the tears that came with the thoughts, Kellen reached Dr. Nerem's office. Taking a deep breath, she raised up a tiny hand and knocked. It wasn't long before the man opened his door and looked down upon her with a radiant smile plastered all across his face. "They found something," he rasped, reaching out and grasping her arm. "At the excavation site. It's..." he went on, dark eyes darting back and forth. "Unexpected. It's nothing we've ever seen." His smile grew showing off his pointed teeth. Kellen's unease only grew. "Come, I'll show you."

Kellen did little to resist, letting Nerem tug her along to show her just what it was they'd be studying. She cleared her throat. "Is it an artifact, wreckage?" she prodded.

Nerem stopped. "Neither," he said softly. "But there's more, Kell." He turned to face her. "Much more."

Just then the lights went out and the alarm sounded, sirens blaring causing Kellen and Nerem to crouch low and cover their ears.

"Shit!" Nerem shouted. He looked at Kellen, his face one of frustration and anger. Just then the back up generator kicked in and dim lights lit the halls. Kellen saw the heat rising to his cheeks, the angry glaze taking over his eyes.

Suddenly, there was a thud. Kellen fell to the floor, eyes wide as the reality of things began to set in. This was not a drill. This was...real. She looked over at Nerem, the man already running down the corridor. Panicked, she ran after him. "Wait! Wait!" she cried, scrambling back up to her feet and trying to move after him. But he was too fast and the thuds were loud and growing in frequency. She had to do something! Tears pricked her eyes and she wasn't sure what to do or where to go. She was trapped inside the facility. Any lab would be a dead end. Any staircase was an unknown. How could she exit? Where could she go?

Where could she hide?

Memories filled her mind once again. Only Kellen had no time to dwell on his face. Just then, a door burst open and she heard voices. Words unfamiliar to her ears. Words coming from forms meant to harm, meant to kill. Terrified, she ducked inside the nearest lab and shut the door. She had no choice. She grabbed a tray. It seemed so hopeless, a silly weapon against such a beast. But it was all she had. It would have to do.

"I'm hiding, Setsuna," Kellen whispered, tiny hands clutching the tray, as tears streaked her pretty pale face. "I...I'm hiding. Just as you'd want me to."

 

[Cypherxk2]

He was the only one in the Albatross' cargo area when he received a high priority redirect to a secret Lab under NOBLE base. Eyes scanning the file, he felt a slight twinge of hate in his chest as he remembered how this started for him. He got his gear ready he felt the successor to the old pelican sway as it banked right. The transport was, for all intents and purposes, a flying tank. He'd flown one before and had a field day with it. It was amazingly nimble for it's size, but it wasn't for dogfighting.

A BR-85HB SR, two Type-25 Directed Energy Rifles, two custom Type-1 Energy swords, a M6C/SOCOM sidearm, and a combat survival knife were attached to his black and steel armor as he got prepared to drop. The BR-85 went on his back as the energy swords were inserted into two holsters on his lower back. The M6C was inserted into his dimensional leveler storage system as the combat survival knife was place in the sheath on his left shoulder.

"Godspeed, Spartan." Cerulean Actual, General Spencer Hood, spoke over his communications system as he readied the plasma rifles he carried, "Operation NOBLE SCOURGE is now Green lighted."

"Just keep the ground clear." He replies dryly, looking at an ODST with a dismissive wave.

________

A Jiralhanae Chieftain sniffed the air, the body of a puny human((Nerem, *cough cough* not sorry)) smeared along the ground under it's Gravity Hammer. It smelt the scent of a second human nearby. It couldn't quite pinpoint where the human was but it was eager to find them. It wanted to taste it's meat and savor it. The human he killed wasn't looking real appetizing so he track the other one down.

((BGM Insert: Disturbed- Sacrifice))

A cry from one of its brethren caught its attention, followed by something crashing through the ceiling. A roar of challenge billowed from it as it saw one of the Human's demons rise from the wreckage. The Spartan let it's weapons attach to its thighs as it drew two energy swords. It readied it's Gravity hammer as it stomped toward the demon as it heard it speak. It's words meant nothing to it. It would die all the same.

"Catch you fuckers at a bad time?"

It was on from there as it rushed the demon. It danced to the side as the Chieftain blew by, bashing the door to a lab clean in as the impact shattered glass. The chieftain recovered and swung it's hammer, only hitting air as the demon back flipped outta range before hitting it with a flying dropkick down the hall. It flew back a few moments before landing hard, it neck torqued badly from how it hit the ground. Roaring, it stood and rushed against, pulling up rather short to swing it's hammer while spinning like a ugly looking ballerina. This caught the demon by surprise and sent it crashing into the lab missing the door.

"Gahhoumph!!" The Spartan cried with a painful grunt, his TacBio readings flaring red as he recovered quickly, "Okay, asshole, you just caught a war...."

He caught a civilian out the corner of his eye, one that caused him to almost lock up. It.... It was her, the friend he'd been taken from. Unfortunately, he wasn't given time to ponder it as years of ingrained Spartan training overrode his sudden urge to reveal himself. That brute was coming, and this demon was now pissed. Taken now by a desire to protect the civilian that he felt went back into his childhood, he caught the Hammer and wrenched it from the Chieftain as he turned. Pivoting on his left foot, he caught the chieftain with a stab of the bladed part, spun to bash the same spot with the pommel of the hammer, than counter-spun to launch the chieftain into the ceiling where it stayed with its body dangling.

"Stay." He said malevolently, impaling the chieftain with the bladed end of the hammer though it's heart before going to where the civilian was, not realizing his visor was cracked and his breathing was slightly ragged, "You okay, Ma'am? It's clear for now, but I doubt a tray is gonna do much of anything against a brute."