HALO 2

CHAPTER 1: HERETIC

Location: Covenant Holy City, High Charity
[The city is basically a massive space station.]
Date: "Ninth Age of Reclamation"

Thel 'Vadam of the "Elite" species, Covenant fleet commander, is on trial for failing to destroy the Pillar of Autumn at Reach and to protect the Halo (Installation 04). His judges are the Prophets of Truth, Mercy, and Regret. It's a show-trial. Thel argues there was nothing he could do for the Halo on account of the Flood outbreak, and claims that by the time he learned the intentions of the "Demon" (John-117/Master Chief) it was too late. He is pronounced a heretic anyway.

A member of the "Brute" species, Tartarus, their Chieftain, watches all this with glee as he stands guard.



CHAPTER 2: THE ARMORY

Location: Earth Defense Platform, Cairo
Date: 10.20.2552

John, Sergeant Johnson, and a technician banter while John is getting used to his new Mark-VI Mjolnir armor. Johnson makes a comment to a curious technician that how he survived the Halo event and returned is classified. He also makes a remark about how impressed he is with the new Orbital Defense Grid of which Cairo is  only one small part.



CHAPTER 3: CAIRO STATION

The scene cuts back and forth for a while between EDP Cairo and High Charity. While John is given a public celebration, Thel is publicly condemned.

Tartarus publicly tortures a bound, strung-up Thel with fiery energy waves.

Lord Hood awards John the Colonial Cross, the highest possible decoration. However, just before this happens, Cortana tells him that she's worried about strange "sounds" coming from farther out in the system. She's sending probes.

Tartarus strips off Thel's smoking armor.

Commander Miranda Keyes accepts a medal from Hood for her fallen father, Captain Jacob Keyes of the Pillar of Autumn.

Tartarus literally brands Thel an outcast, much to Thel's agony.

Fifteen Covenant ships suddenly emerge from slipspace in front of Earth. Alarms sound. Aside from being shocked that Covenant forces have found Earth, Hood observes that the fleet which destroyed Reach was fifty times the size of the one now attacking. Cortana is given command of some MAC guns. Hood commands Admiral Harper to form a defensive line. UNSC ship <i>Malta</i> reports that boarding craft have latched onto the Cairo. Hood surmises that their goal is to take the MAC guns offline so that the Covenant ships can get to Earth. John and Johnson arm themselves and head off to the fight.

[Dialogue from here in this chapter takes place via radio unless otherwise noted.]

During the battle the Malta and Athens suddenly - and strangely - explode from within. Cortana guesses that a bomb was planted on each by boarding parties. Hood figures there must be a bomb on the Cairo as well, and orders John to find it.

John and Johnson save Keyes as they make their way through the Cairo. She was trying to board the UNSC ship In Amber Clad.

Cortana reports that the Covenant fleet is made up of thirteen cruisers and two carriers.

Cortana reports that she's found a bomb on Cairo, but she needs John's help to defuse it. Hood commands John to the task. Keyes and Johnson head off to In Amber Clad as John makes his way to the bomb.

One of the Covenant carriers is reported to have recklessly punched through the blockade and made its way to Earth. However, another carrier remains and is causing more immediate trouble. Hood denies a request from Keyes on the In Amber Clad to attack it. Her ship isn't strong enough.

Now at the bomb, and at Cortana's request, John picks her up. She integrates into his armor's CPU as she did during the Halo event. They discover that they can't defuse the (rather large) bomb. John suddenly gets an idea about how to take care of the second carrier. With permission from Hood for his plan, John opens a nearby airlock. The bomb is sucked out into space while he holds onto it in his sealed, space-worthy armor. Once he's out far enough, John kicks the bomb off toward the carrier. Soon enough the bomb detonates and takes the carrier with it, and John is picked up by In Amber Clad.

Keyes reports that the escaped carrier has made its way to the city of New Mombasa.



CHAPTER 4: OUTSKIRTS

Location: New Mombasa Mega-City, Earth

In Amber Clad, hovering over the outskirts of the city, releases Pelicans carrying John and Johnson with a detachment of soldiers. Cortana is still with John.

Cortana reports that the carrier is carrying the Covenant Prophet Regret, and that he's calling for help. By radio, Hood orders John to get aboard the carrier and capture Regret. Not only is Regret one of the Covenant's leaders, but he can also say why New Mombasa was his target.

The dropship carrying John and Johnson gets shot down by a Covenant Scarab, but they survive the crash. The two of them begin to make their way toward the carrier. Covenant forces are everywhere.

During the journey Keyes calls back Johnson to help her as she attempts to airlift additional reinforcements and armor into the area. John continues to make his way to the carrier. Cortana tells John that the carrier is hovering over the center of the city, and that Covenant forces are heaviest there.

Cortana eventually reports that Covenant radio chatter seems confused. It seems they didn't expect to find humans on Earth! That would explain why they came with such a small fleet!



CHAPTER 5: METROPOLIS

John continues his journey to the city center toward the carrier. Suddenly, however, the carrier begins to leave. John boards a nearby dropship with Johnson on it, and they head back to the In Amber Clad. On the way, it's discovered that the carrier is about to perform a slipspace jump inside the city - a desperate and dangerous move for everyone involved. Hood gives Keyes permission to engage. But seeing that she can't destroy the carrier, Keyes follows it into the slipspace gate. A big chunk of the city is vaporized as the jump is completed.



CHAPTER 6: THE ARBITER

Location: Covenant Holy City, High Charity

Thel is dragged by Tartarus and some other Brutes through a dungeon and into a holy place at the center. The Prophets Truth and Mercy are waiting there. Tartarus and his Brutes are then asked to leave, and they're annoyed at this.

Truth and Mercy inform Thel that the Council wanted him executed, but that they have devised a better fate for him. They admit that Thel isn't a heretic, and are willing to bestow upon him the title of "Arbiter." Historically, Arbiters were powerful warriors sent on extremely dangerous but important missions that they would likely not survive. Without them the Covenant would likely have collapsed long ago. If Thel accepted this title, the Council would get its corpse and he would be allowed to continue serving the Covenant.

Thel accepts the "honor" and becomes the Arbiter. His first mission is to assassinate a heretical cult leader who is preaching that the Prophets are false and that the "Great Journey" to which they are calling the Covenant is a lie.

Later on, the Arbiter finds himself on a Covenant transport headed to a gas giant planet. Its commander (who remains unnamed throughout the game) expresses to Thel his concern for the safety of his troops, but not for an outcast like Thel. Thel himself expresses that he is worthless. The commander then notes that they are nearing the heretic's facility, and that a storm will soon hit. They needed to get out before that time.

Thel, the commander, and a squad of Elite troops engage in a battle-hunt for the heretic.



CHAPTER 7: THE ORACLE

The Arbiter's forces chase down the heretic. To their horror they find the Flood aboard! A storm is also now wracking the station. But their mission remains.

Thel eventually tells the commander to take all the troops back to the ships and to stand by to pick him up. He's going to cause the station to fall into the gas giant below. The goal? Scare out the hiding heretic and destroy the Flood at the same time. They'll be time before the station is destroyed, and that should be enough to take out the heretic. The commander obeys.

The heretic is indeed forced to come out of hiding to escape. Thel chases him down. The heretic tells Thel that he's rather die now than be lead into mindless slaughter by the Prophets. The Great Journey was a lie and the Prophets were false. When asked where he was getting such lies, there suddenly appeared 343 Guilty Spark!

Thel, a devout Covenant soldier who worships Forerunners as gods, is shocked. But before he can ask questions, the heretic attacks him. Soon the heretic is dead. Guilty expresses sorrow over the loss, as apparently Guilty enjoyed educating him. Thel apologizes to Guilty, who he calls the Oracle. The heretic, he said, imperiled the Great Journey. Guilty was frustrated over continued uses of terms like "oracle" and "great journey," but before he could say anything else Tartarus some Brutes show up.

Tartarus uses a gravity device to capture Guilty Spark. Thel is again shocked, this time in seeing how these Brutes were treating the Oracle. But, even expressing their knowledge of who and what he is, they casually toss Guilty into their waiting ship. They command Thel to get in as well.



CHAPTER 8: DELTA HALO

In Amber Clad emerges from slipspace. Before them, to their horror, is another Halo world! Keyes commands Cortana to give her all the information available on the previous Halo whether she has clearance or not. Cortana obeys.

The carrier, meanwhile, is seen to be hovering over surface area of the Halo. It's sending troops and vehicles down to the surface. Keyes decides that they need to do the same. She'll remain behind and keep a low profile while John, Cortana, and Johnson head down to the surface with soldiers, including Orbital Drop Shock-Troops (ODSTs). The mission remains the same: capture Regret.

John and the others fight their way toward a Forerunner structure that, Cortana observes, looks somewhat like a temple. She figures that's probably were Regret would be. On the way, they can see a chanting a preaching hologram of Regret. He speaks on the Great Journey and the transcendence it will provide.

Cortana then reports that In Amber Clad has, according to Covenant radio chatter, not been found yet. She also notes that while the Covenant definitely know they made landfall, they're not considered a serious threat.



CHAPTER 9: REGRET

Another hologram reveals Regret's plan: to activate the Halo! This is his "Great Journey!" If he activates the Halo that then all sentient life in the galaxy will die! Cortana reports this plan to Keyes. Keyes notes that, based on information from the first Halo event, the Covenant would need this Halo's Index to activate it. She then did some scanning and found this Halo's Index-containing "Library." Johnson was ordered to return to her so that they could get the Index while John and Cortana were ordered to continue the mission to capture Regret.

Indeed, John and Cortana continue to follow the trail toward the temple-like structure. Cortana eventually picks up a transmission from Regret toward a place called "High Charity." It's an apology for prematurely going to Earth and then getting caught in a trap. No human presence was foretold. The reply, apparently, was from Prophets Truth and Mercy. They saw Regret as a failure and someone who had endangered the Covenant and Great Journey. That he was going to be spared a public trial was thanks only to Mercy.

John and Cortana begin to approach the temple. Keyes reports that she and Johnson have gotten as close to the Library as they can, but that it's protected by some kind of barrier. They were searching for a way around.

Suddenly, in the sky, John and Cortana see a Covenant fleet drop out of slipspace that is larger than any Covenant fleet ever seen. Along with them appears what seems to be a massive space station. It's time to start rushing!

Inside the temple John finds and battles with Regret, who is angry at his incompetent minions. Regret is soon enough down for the count himself. Cortana suddenly cries out that the Covenant were preparing to fire on the structure! They had to get out, fast! John makes a bee-line for the exit as plasma beams rain down, and is forced to jump off a ledge into a lake far below. He sinks and sinks until a tentacle reaches out and grabs him. A voice speaks: "This is not your grave, but you are welcome in it."



CHAPTER 10: SACRED ICON

Location: Covenant Holy City, High Charity, Sanctum of the Hierarchs

Thel walks into the sanctum and, for a third time in this adventure, is shocked by what he sees: Brutes are stripping Elites of their armor and even fighting each other over them. In addition, the commander who was with him on his last mission was arguing with the Prophets of Truth and Mercy. The Prophets, now one less, felt that their Elites guards had failed in their duty, and it was time to replace them. The commander objected, but had to relent. He soon left, giving the Arbiter a respectful nod while he did so.

The Prophets inform the Arbiter that the Elite members of the High Council had threatened to resign over this changing of the guards. They then told him that their faith had been rewarded in their wait to find other Sacred Rings, i.e. Halos. They had questioned the long-sought Oracle and he revealed to them what they sought. Now, they claimed, it was only a matter of time until the Divine Wind ushered them all to Salvation!

The Arbiter was now to go to the newly found Sacred Ring and recover the Sacred Icon, the key that would activate the Sacred Ring.

Thel finds himself with Tartarus on a dropship and landing on the new Halo, just outside the Library. Thel was to shut down the generators projecting its shield, something many Brutes had failed to do at the cost of their lives. When the shield were down Tartarus would extract him. Before Thel begins, Tartarus tells him that the Demon (John) is present, and that he's the one who took out Regret.

Thel manages to shut down the shields, of course. He's then radioed by Tartarus that he's going to have to make his own way into the Library. Tartarus, apparently, was under fire and the LZ was too hot.

Over the radio Thel also hears a human soldier screaming about something: they were under attack by the Flood.



CHAPTER 11: QUARANTINE ZONE

Thel meets up with the commander beside whom he earlier fought. The commander is surprised to see him, but upon hearing Thel's mission he promises to cut him a path to the Icon. He follows through as best he can, but in time he stays behind to buy Thel time. This is when Tartarus returns and takes over for the commander, but does it from above safe in a Phantom.

Miranda Keyes, meanwhile, is securing the Index/Icon. Johnson is with her. They're just about to make their escape but they run into Thel, the Arbiter. They put up a good fight but he knocks them both out. Tartarus and his Brute squad then arrive, of course, and take Keyes and Johnson into custody, alone with the Icon.

Thel is not amused. The Icon was his responsibility, and he told Tartarus this was so. But Tartarus only laughs at him, and curses him. He reveals that the plan was, all along, to secure the Icon himself and kill the Arbiter. He then cursed all the Elites. After being threatened by Thel with the wrath of the Prophets, Tartarus reveals his worst news: it wasn't his plan, but theirs. In short order the Arbiter finds himself pushed off a nearby ledge into the inky blackness below.



CHAPTER 12: GRAVEMIND

John finds himself held before a massive, hideous creature with no eyes and swarming with tentacles. It looks like a giant Flood creature! It identifies itself in a very deep, creepy, and cryptic voice, as "a monument to all your sins." Then John watches as Thel joins him before the creature, also held captive in tentacles. Thel cries out "Demon!" but John cautions him to tone it down for the moment.

Soon after two more folks join them: 2401 Penitent Tangent, monitor of Installation 05 (the current Halo), and a half-Flooded Regret. Penitent was very happy to see John, exclaiming joy that a "reclaimer" was finally here. The Halo needed to be activated immediately to control the outbreak, it said. On the other hand, Regret was just delirious and kept trying to preach a sermon, but then started complaining about how worthless these little Oracles were.

The creature that afterward became known as "Gravemind" didn't want the Halo activated any more than John did (though for different reasons), and both it and John tried a bit to reason with Thel's fervor for the Great Journey. Not long after, Gravemind decided that Thel would need time to come around to seeing that the Great Journey was just suicide. But more immediately Gravemind wanted to get the Index, and it was going to send both John and Thel to get it, though each was going to search a different place.

Elsewhere, High Charity is in absolute chaos. A full-blown civil war is raging between Elites and Brutes. Soldiers and even ships are attacking each other. Truth and Mercy, in the midst of this, are broadcasting to the fleet that the Icon has been found, and it was only a matter of time before the Great Journey would begin. The Flood being unleashed was an ill event but ultimately of no consequence.

Suddenly John appears by teleportation right in the same room as Truth and Mercy. "Kill the demon!" they cried as they ran.

Cortana immediately notices that Truth has the Index. But the army of mainly Brutes descending on them was the immediate concern. It's decided in the midst of fighting that Cortana will leave John and enter into the Covenant computer systems. That way she can keep security measures off of him, such as turrets, cameras, and locked doors. John could pick her up later. And so once Cortana is in, John takes off after the Prophets.

On the way, John frees a squad of soldiers.

Truth turns out to be easy to track because he keeps transmitting as he moves, spreading as much propaganda as possible about the failure of the Elites, the successes of Brutes, and of the Great Journey.

Cortana reports that In Amber Clad has just shown up, but it's not responding to hails. It has crashed into one of the towers of High Charity, and shows no human life signs. Cortana also reports that she's picked up CNI signals for both Keyes and Johnson, and that Flood creatures have been spotted leaving the wreckage of In Amber Clad. Cortana then adds that Keyes and Johnson are both closing in on Truth's position.

Next we see Keyes and Johnson being dragged by Brutes onto Phantoms. Truth and Mercy are present. Truth tells Tartarus that the hopes of all the Covenant rest on him, and Tartarus boasts that his faith this strong. He will not fail. Just then, Flood swarm out onto the landing pad. Brutes try to hold them back as best they can, but Mercy gets taken down. Truth orders the Brutes to leave him behind.



CHAPTER 13: UPRISING

Thel appears by teleportation on another part of the Halo. He finds other Elites, and they inform him that the Brutes have murdered the Council. Eventually, as he fights over the countryside, he runs into his old commander friend, and they team up again.

Tartarus has arrived back at the Library and has Keyes and Johnson in his possession. He carries 343 Guilty Spark under an arm. He sniffs the air over his shoulder as if sensing that something - or someone - is coming.



CHAPTER 14: HIGH CHARITY

On High Charity, John arrives just in time to see the Phantoms carrying Tartarus, Truth, Keyes, and Johnson fly off. He walks over to where Mercy is transforming into Flood. Mercy informs him that Truth is headed to Earth. The plan is to take the entire fleet to Earth and completely wipe it out!

Cortana then realizes that the structure in the center of High Charity is actually a Forerunner ship! Truth is heading to it so he can use it as his flagship in the invasion.

Now torn, John doesn't know what to do. Should he go to the Halo, or to the Forerunner ship? Cortana tells him that if the ring is activated she'll just blow up the In Amber Clad, which should take out both High Charity and the Halo. In other words, John should go to the Forerunner ship. John agrees and tries to collect Cortana, but she says that she can't risk a remote detonation. She has to stay behind.

Cortana informs John that Flood-filled dropships are touching down all over the city. She discerns that the Gravemind used John as a diversion. Its goal, she imagines, was just to get In Amber Clad onto High Charity.

John begins to fight his way to the Forerunner ship.

Truth and Gravemind start to have a spat with each other through broadcasts. Both seem come across as very confident (in their own way) that they will have victory. Truth lies about Mercy still being alive.

Cortana reports that the Forerunner ship was being used as a power source for the whole city, and that's not so much taking off as decoupling. John enters an energy conduit and speeds off toward the ship, getting inside just as it's taking off. Cortana and John, in their own way, say goodbye to one another. John promises Cortana that he'll come back for her. Cortana tells him not to make a promises he can't keep.



CHAPTER 15: THE GREAT JOURNEY

Thel tells the commander that he needs to get into the place where the Icon will be used to activate the Sacred Ring. The Gravemind speaks into his mind, "There is still time to stop the key from turning." The commander knows of a Scarab that he can use to blast open the doors. As he and the commander head for it, fighting all the way, they encounter Elites who inform them that the Hunters have remained loyal to the Elites.

Meanwhile, Johnson and a couple of soldiers are duking it out with some Brutes who just tried to kill them. They escape, and Johnson manages to get to the Scarab just before Thel does. From inside the scarab, Johnson asks the Arbiter for help. They both want to get into the nearby structure, and if they don't, they're all going to die. Thel agrees, and hops in a Banshee to cover Johnson as he charges up the Scarab cannon to break down the door to the Control Room.

Inside the Control Room, Tartarus is trying to get Keyes to activate the Halo. Only a human can do it, it seems. But she wasn't working with him, and Guilty Spark was being annoying. Just then the Thel enters, and tries to reason with Tartarus. But the Brute only calls him a heretic. Thel asks the Oracle the purpose of the Sacred Rings, but Tartarus won't let it speak. Johnson trots in and points a Covenant sniper rifle at Tartarus' head, and commands him to allow the monitor to answer the question.

343 Guilty Spark explains that a long tim ago the Flood was overrunning the galaxy, and so the Forerunners defeated them in the only way they knew how: with the Halo Array. But in doing this they all died. Thel remarked that the Prophets had betrayed the Covenant. Tartarus refused to accept any of this and forced Keyes' hand on the Index. The Halo activated. The Brute loudly proclaimed that the Great Journey was starting, and the Brutes alone would be the Prophets escort to Transcendence!

Keyes asks Guilty Spark to stop the Halo from firing. He says, after some annoying technical jargon that frustrates Keyes, that the best way to shut down the whole thing is to just remove the Index. Keyes wants to do this but Tartarus and his Brute squad are in the way. It was time for Thel and Johnson to take them out...

...which they accomplished after a tough fight. Keyes removes the Index, and everything shudders. Guilty then explains that all the Halos have gone into standby mode and are now waiting to be remotely destroyed. Keyes asks him if she could do this from here, but Guilty informs her that it can be done only from the "Ark." She asks him where it is.

Meanwhile, John is seem riding the outer hull of the Forerunner ship as it exists slipspace near Earth. Hood is about to shoot it down, but he gets a hail from John. He asks John what he's doing on an unfriendly vessel. John simply answers, "Sir, finishing this fight."

Meanwhile-meanwhile, the Gravemind has found Cortana, and it wants answers. Cortana permits it to start asking questions...

TO BE CONTINUED IN HALO 3 ~