Matt-038 (Halo Fanfiction)

Chapter 39: Belly of the Beast

Author's Note: If you have any tips writing tips, please feel free to comment.

Again, I gratefully accept constructive criticism as a means to help me develop my skills further as a writer.

--- --- --- --- ---

Chapter 39: Belly of the Beast

Location: Covenant Ship Truth and Reconciliation

D +18:19:09 (SPARTAN-II Blue Team Mission Clock)

The gravity lift deposited the rescue team three feet above the deck. They hung suspended for a moment, then fell. Parker gave a series of hand signals, and the Marines crept forward into the lift bay.

The Covenant equivalent of gear crates—tapered rectangular boxes made from the shimmering, striated purple metal the aliens favored—were stacked around the high compartment. A pair of Covenant tanks, "Wraiths," were lined along the right side of the bay.

Matt and John moved forward toward one of the high metal doors that were spaced along the perimeter of the compartment.

Parker gave the all clear signal and the Marines relaxed a bit. "There's no Covenant here," one of them whispered, "so where the hell are they?"

The door was proximity activated, and as the Spartans neared the portal, it slid open and revealed a surprised Elite. Without pause, Matt tackled the alien and slammed its armored head into the burnished deckplates. With luck, he'd finished the Elite quietly enough—

Another set of doors flashed open on the other side of the bay, and Covenant troops boiled into the compartment.

A second Marine turned to the Corporal who'd just spoken. " 'No Covenant,' " he snarled, mocking his fellow trooper. "You just had to open your mouth, didn't you?"

--- --- --- --- ---

Inside the Covenant ship, chaos reigned. The Spartans charged ahead, and the rescue team fought their way through a maze of interlocking corridors, which eventually emerged into a large shuttle bay. A Covenant dropship passed through a bright blue force field as all hell broke loose. Fire stuttered down from a platform above. A Marine took a flurry of needles in the chest and was torn in half by the ensuing explosion.

A Grunt dropped from above and landed on a Corporal's shoulders. The Marine reached up, got a grip on the alien's methane rig, and jerked the device off. The Grunt started to wheeze, fell to the deck, and flopped around like a fish. Someone shot him.

Numerous hatches opened into the bay and additional Covenant troops poured in from every direction. Parker stood up and motioned his men forward. "It's party time!" he bellowed.

He spun and opened fire, and was soon joined by all the rest. Within a matter of seconds what seemed like a dozen different firefights had broken out. Wounded and dead—humans and Covenant alike—littered the deck.

Matt was careful to keep his back to a Marine, a pillar, or the nearest bulkhead. His MJOLNIR armor, and the recharging shield it carried provided him with an advantage that none of the Marines possessed, so he focused most of his attention on the Elites, leaving the Jackals and Grunts for others to handle.

Cortana with the help of Crystal, meanwhile, was hard at work tapping into the ship's electronic nervous system in an attempt to find the best way out of the trap. "We need a way out of this bay now," the Master Chief told them, "or there won't be anyone left to complete the mission."

Matt ducked behind a crate, emptied his magazine into a charging Grunt who wielded a plasma grenade, then paused to reload.

A Hunter gave a bloodcurdling roar as it charged into the fray. Matt turned and saw Sergeant Parker fire at the massive alien. A trio of bullets spat from his assault rifle—the last three rounds in the weapon. He discarded the empty gun and backpedaled in an attempt to buy himself some time. His hand dipped for his sidearm.

The Hunter sprang forward and the edge of the beast's massive shield shredded through the Marine's ballistic armor. He crashed to the deck.