Matt-038 (Halo Fanfiction)

Chapter 53: Pillar of Autumn

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.

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Chapter 53: Pillar of Autumn

Location: Commandeered Banshee, on approach to the UNSC Pillar of Autumn

D +76:18:56 (SPARTAN-II Blue Team Mission Clock)

The Banshees screamed through a narrow valley and out over an arid wasteland. The vehicle's shadow raced ahead as if eager to reach the Pillar of Autumn first. Matt felt the slipstream fold in behind the aircraft's nose and tug at his armor. It felt good to be out of twisting corridors and cramped compartments if only for a short while.

The first sign of the ship's presence on the ringworld's surface was the hundred-meter-deep trench the Autumn's hull had carved into Halo's skin. It started where the cruiser had first touched down, vanished where the vessel had bounced into the air, and reappeared a half klick farther on. From there the depression ran straight as an arrow to the point where the starship had finally come to rest with its blunt bow protruding out over the edge of a massive cliff. There were other aircraft in the area as well, all of which belonged to the Covenant, and they had no reason to suspect the incoming Banshee. Not yet, at any rate.

The Spartans, who were eager to make their approach look normal, chose one of the many empty lifeboat bays that lined the starship's starboard side and bored in.

"These things are falling apart!" Crystal said panicked

"They'll hold," Matt said calmly.

"We're not gonna make it!" Cortana cried.

"We'll make it," the Chief said.

"Pull up! Pull up!" the two AIs shouted in unison.

Unfortunately, the engine cut out at the last moment, the Banshees hit the Autumn's hull, and although the Spartans were able to bail out, the alien vehicle fell to the rocks below. Not the low visibility arrival they had hoped for. Still, given Cortana's plans for the vessel, their presence wouldn't remain secret for long anyway.

"You two did that on purpose, didn't you?" Crystal said sardonically.

"It doesn't matter if we did it on purpose or not," Matt said as he and the Chief pulled themselves onto the Pillar of Autumn. "We're alive and that's all that matters at the moment."

"We need to get to the bridge," Cortana said. "From there we can use the Captain's neural implants to initiate an overload of the ship's fusion engines. The explosion should damage enough systems below it to destroy the ring."

"Shouldn't be a problem," Matt commented as he and the Chief made their way toward the tiny airlock.

"I don't know who's better at blowing things up—AIs or Spartans," the Chief said.

The moment the duo stepped outside they saw a cluster of red dots appear on their motion detectors and knew some nasties were lurking off to their left. The only question was, which hostiles did they face—the Covenant or the Flood? Given a choice, Matt would take the Covenant. Maybe, just maybe, the Flood hadn't located the ship yet.

The passageway ended to the right, which meant they had little choice but to turn left. But, rather than run into the Covenant or the Flood, the Spartans came under attack from a flock of Sentinels.

"Uh-oh," Crystal said as the Spartans opened fire, "it looks like the Monitor knows where we are."

I wonder if he knows what we're up to, Matt mused.