Arcadia a 40k/Halo crossover

Hollow Earth

The convoy pushed forward into the thick forests of Arcadia. Saxon and his were constantly on guard waiting for another ambush. The last engagement annoyed Saxon "How did the enemy know we would come through there? Why were they so well prepared?" He thought unable to answer the questions in his mind. However, he pushed these questions into the back of his mind for now as the convoy had reached the Rendezvous point. In front of them was a large rocky mountain with no striking features. Just a regular old mountain. The Commissar got out of her tank and approached Saxon who was at the base of the mountain with his command squad. "Major, are we sure this is the right place?" Saxon glanced at Static who was studying a map he looked up at the pair "According to the map we're meant to meet here, maybe they're late?. Just as Static finished his sentence the section of the mountain began to shake, a large portion of the mountains base began to open slowly revealing a large complex within. Inside were rows and rows of UNSC vehicles from quad bikes to tanks. Groups of infantry were running around doing drills. Multiple UNSC personal rushed about carrying crates and clip boards. At the far end of the hanger was a series of large doors. Which Saxon could only assume went deeper into the mountain. Stood at the opening was a small detachment of UNSC marines as well as Lieutenant Marcus and fire team Gamma to welcome them. Saxon was impressed by the structure and how well defended it was. Before he could continue Static interrupted him " Sir, Captain Kenway is on the Vox, he wants to talk to you" "Can't you see I'm busy at the moment Static" Saxon hissed "Sir, he says it's important" "Tell the Captain I'll radio him after we've made contact with the UNSC" Static nodded and slowly backed away. "Something wrong Saxon?" The Commissar whispered as the two approached the welcoming party "No Ma'am" Saxon replied "Good I want our men on their best behaviour" Saxon smiled which was hidden by his mask "we always are". The convoy had now reached the entrance of the complex, Lieutenant Marcus stepped forward to welcome them "Ahh Commissar Blazkowicz welcome to Firebase Charlie on behalf of the UNSC please come inside we have much to discuss. We would appreciate it if most of your convoy stayed in the hanger bay. When your ready please follow me to the command centre". The convoy made its way inside the hanger staying near the entrance incase they need to leave quickly, discretely making a defensive circle. Saxon and the Commissar prepared to follow the Lieutenant but before that Saxon ordered Sarge, Heavy and a Death Korps of Krieg engineer to accompany them. As they made their way through the labyrinth of corridors the Lieutenant made small talk and showed them various facilities in the Firebase carefully escorted by the marine detachment as they made their way to the command centre.

As they entered the command centre which a large room with various screens and displays basking the room in a blue light. UNSC servicemen and women sat at the stations studying the displays and imputing data. Saxon couldn't help feel a sense of familiarity on how the UNSC logistics compare to theirs. At the centre of the room stood a large holomap surrounded by numerous personal. Saxon stopped bewildered by Captain Kenway standing in front of the group. However, his appearance seemed off. "Commissar, Saxon" The Captain smiled "If you two weren't too busy to answer the Vox, you would know the UNSC Punic-class supercarrier Winters Sorrow made contact and invited me aboard to participate this meeting through their hologram technology" he raised his arms to show off the technology "The Archmagos is gonna blow fuse when I tell him about this" he muttered as he composed himself. The Commissar looked sternly at Saxon who only shrugged. Lieutenant Marcus coughed to interrupt the trio. "Shall we begin?" The Lieutenant asked, "Please Proceed Lieutenant" the Commissar gestured to the holomap. The Lieutenant nodded towards the other hologram " The floor is yours Captain Carter". Captain Carter wore a grey UNSC uniform with a cap with a variety of medals pinned to his chest. he spoke clearly and with confidence "Thank for agreeing to this meeting. I know it's hard to trust someone you just met but under these circumstances we're risking as much as you. The Covenant are fanatic religious group of aliens who believe in a so called Great Journey.
The Great Journey is the central goal of the Covenant religion. According to the Covenant, the Forerunners initiated the first Great Journey through the use of the seven Halos, or sacred rings, which unleashed a blast that swept through the galaxy and elevated the Forerunners to godhood. That was until they found Arcadia. Arcadia is actually a living machine that the Forerunners created to rip a hole in space and time. We believe it was a last ditch effort for the Forerunners to leave this universe."

As the Captain spoke the holomap flickered a series of images displaying various Covenant and Forerunners species as well as thermal imaging of the planets itself revealing it is actually hollowed out with thick layers in between. "That's how we believe you came to be here, to our understanding the Covenant does not possess the knowledge to control the machine and are doing experiments by creating unstable portals into other universes. This would then in turn explain why there is a graveyard of unidentified vessels around the planet" Saxon struggled to keep up but could see the Commissar and Captain Kenway already pondering their next plan of action carefully. This calmed Saxon as he trusted the two to make the right decisions and he will follow their orders to the letter. Captain Carter was now pacing back and forth as he spoke "The UNSC can not allow such a machine to fall into the Covenants hand and the way I see it you need that machine to get back to wether you came from so I propose an alliance between our forces. We our forces combined I believe we can take control of the machine". The holomap changed once more to show a large jugged pillar that was half buried in the side of a cliff, 4 walls encased the pillar. Each wall was thicker than the other as it got closer to the pillar. In between the walls were multiple trench's, fox holes and defensive positions as well as Covenant buildings creating choke points and close quarters. On top of walls were battlements and gun placements by the dozens able to dispatch any type of air attack. Large hangers were dotted around the fortress probably harbouring all kinds of covenant vehicles and weaponry. Saxon and the Krieg Engineer eagerly leaned towards the display, studying every single part of the image. Saxon was impressed by the structure, it would be a hard and costly siege but the Death Korps of Krieg have a speciality in siege warfare and thrived from it.

Captain continued his meeting as Saxon studied the holomap. "As you can see the Covenant has reinforced the central command spire that leads directly down into the planets surface which is where the machines control room is located . There are two levels under the surface that will lead to the control room. Once we have secured the control room we shall reopen your portal and you shall be able to pass back through". At first no one spoke, the room was completely still before Captain Kenway broke the silence "So let me get this straight. you want us to help you? Assault a heavily armed fortification filled with covenant which will have us outnumbered and out gunned. In order to take control of a machine we barely understand and maybe just maybe be able to get back to the imperium of man? Personally I like those odds". He chuckled, taking another swig from his flask. The Commissar then began to speak "How many men do you have that can fight?" "Enough" Lieutenant Marcus bluntly stated "We my not have as much man power as the Covenant but we have stronger weaponry and calibre of men then whatever they can throw at us". The Commissar smiled "I like your attitude Lieutenant, you shall our support in this fight to come" before the Commissar could continue Saxon shot up "Forgive my interruption Commissar but I have a few questions. I assume you have a plan to assault the fortress but what are we going to do about their cruiser that's in orbit?" "Good question Major? Saxon was it? Once every 4 months the CSO-class supercarrier leaves the system to collect resources and troops and returns, during this time we will have a attack window of seven days before it comes back. By the time it comes back we will all be long gone and the planet destroyed" Saxon nodded along with this plan, becoming more invested with more information given.

Captain Kenway however, had grimace expression on his face "Captain Carter, even if we take control of the machine. The Dauntless has no navigator so once we enter the portal we'll be at the mercy of the warp. I must ask that if we do this we most hold the spire until we send a message to our people and for them to send help". Carter twisted his face, clearly deep in thought. He turned and spoke quietly with his staff around the command room before answering "Agreed Captain Kenway, we shall hold out as long as possible and if we become overrun we'll have no choice to destroy the machine and the planet". "I understand we shall hold to the last or take the planet with us" Kenway replied. The two Captains shook hands in agreement. "So what's the plan?" Lieutenant Marcus asked. The new alliance glanced around the room waiting for a suggestion to be made. A hand shot up, the group turned, Saxon lowered his hand "I have an idea" he turns to Engineer " this is Trooper 666-6 but he prefers the name Scorch, him and I have a few ideas".

Hours past as the group drew up plans, strategies and ideas on how they are going to assault the spire. Constant arguments and bickering ensued but finally after countless hours a plan was decided. Now that a plan have been created the forces of the Death Korps and Krieg and UNSC will deploy everything they have to try and take Arcadia from the Covenant.

Authors note:
The next few parts will take longer as I'm very busy with my job atm. However, the parts will be longer to make up for this :)