DISCLAIMER: I dont own Halo; that belongs to Bungie, Microsoft, and other people.
SUMMARY: Slight AU; what if the Master Chief was not the only one to make it off the Pillar of Autumn, but a certain pilot joined him as well?
SPOILERS: The first Halo game; the divergence point takes place in the final level.
RATING: Well, nothing really mature to speak of here in this fic, and anyone whos played the game knows whats in the game, so Ill rate this PG, or K+, just to be safe.

AUTHORS NOTES: Well, here I am, writing my first-ever Halo fanfic

Wings and Wheels

By Quillian

Dedicated with much thanks to nealtron5000, my loyal beta-reader, who really helped fix up this story.

"The Master Chief remembered the cheerful voice on the radio, the countless times the pilot had saved somebodys tail, and felt a deep sense of regret."

William C. Dietz, Halo: The Flood (pg. 339)

The Master Chief slammed on the brakes as he stopped at the external access junction where Foehammer would come to pick up him and Cortana. A few seconds later, he heard the sound of a Pelicans engines, and right on time, the Pelican itself came into view.

However, it was smoking, on fire; and it was being tailed by a couple of Banshees, relentlessly pursuing it with intent to destroy.

In his ear, he dimly heard Cortana warning Foehammer about the two Banshees, but he paid her no attention as she said what he already knew. He had an idea of his own...

"Foehammer!" the Master Chief called out to her over the radio system, as he leapt out of the drivers seat and made his way around the Warthog. "Try to land on the walkway! Ill shoot them down!"

There was the briefest of pauses before he heard her shout, "Do it, Chief!"

But he was already in the rear of the Warthog as she shouted that, and was firing the mingun.

Within seconds, one of the Banshees exploded, going down in flames and its Elite pilot flailing as he fell to his death.

With that one down, the Master Chief immediately swing the gun around to take down the other Banshee. Just as he began firing the gun again, the Banshee fired its own Fuel Rod Cannon at him; the stream of bullets and the single green bolt flew right past each other...

Just like its companion, this Banshee and its own pilot went down as well; however, the green bolt hit the deck barely a few feet away from the Warthog, and it nearly flipped over before finally falling back onto all four wheels (and, fortunately, it didnt fall off the edge, either).

"Well, that was close," Cortana glibly commented.

A nearby crash shook the platform, and behind them, they could see Foehammer's Pelican having crashed in front of the exit behind them; clearly, putting it down without crashing it our risking harm to the Master Chief, Cortana or the Warthog was no easy task.

"And that was even closer," the Master Chief remarked, in his own usual manner.

However, it teetered dangerously on the edge, and slowly began to fall over the edge...

"Foehammer!" he called out, running towards the downed, precariously shifting craft.

Just as the Pelican was nearly vertical, Foehammer leapt out of it, and she managed to cling on to the side of the walkway as the landing craft fell away...

The explosion from below distracted her as she tried to come back up, and her grip was slipping. Fortunately, however, someone managed to lift her back up with surprising ease, and as she stood on solid ground, she looked up to see the Master Chief.

"Thanks," she gasped, "really, I appreciate it."

"Of course," he said in his usual way.

"As much as I enjoy seeing this wonderful moment of reunion," Cortana cut in, "we really ought to get out of here!"

"Of course," he repeated, although this time he said it to Cortana and with the undertone of something like, Do you really think Ive forgotten about the situation were in?

With that, they rushed back to the Warthog, and while the Master Chief got back into the driver's seat, Foehammer, having no weapons of her own except for a UNSC-issue handgun, took up the gunners position.

"Will you be all right back there?" the Master Chief asked her as he floored it again.

"Sure, why not?" she responded with a grin. "Besides, you shot down my quarries; allow me to return you the favor!"

Under the helmet, the Chief grinned as well.

"Good to have you with us," Foehammer, Cortana said (she was speaking through the Master Chiefs suit). "Both of you will also be pleased to know that there is still one Longsword fighter docked in Launch Bay 7. We should be able to make it!"

Indeed, according to the countdown timer on the HUD inside his helmet, there were barely a few minutes. He drove wildly, going through every twist and turn, focusing on the path ahead to the near exclusion of all else, even with all the sounds around him: The sound of the Warthog's engines, the squealing of its tires, the surrounding explosions and, of course, the intermittent firing of the gun by Foehammer.

"You all right back there?"

"Oh, I'm fine, I'm havin' a grand ol' time!" she said cheerfully.

"Good to hear," he replied as they continued their wild ride. In their headlong flight, he made sure to avoid as many hazards as possible: The Covenant, the Flood, the Sentinels, weapons fire from any side, or even the raging fires here and there; after all, she didn't have a protective suit like he did.

However, if anything, Foehammer was most worried at the point where they had to jump across the ravine; tightening her grip on the guns handles and digging her heels in as much as she could, she dealt with it as the Warthog roared forward, jumping off and sailing in a tall arc before landing on the other side. The impact from the landing even rattled her bones, but she dealt with it and quickly recovered because she had to.

"You still alright back there?"

"I'm doin' fine," she hollered back to him over all the noise. "Wings, wheels, whatever -- I'm good with just about any kind of vehicle!"

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, they approached the launch bay, with the Longsword in sight. The Master Chief drove forward as far as possible before hitting an obstruction in the way, and both the Spartan and the pilot jumped out and raced toward the Longsword, fighting off the occasional enemy as they went, him with his shotgun and her with her handgun.

With one last sprint, both of them made their way up the ramp, even with dozens of Flood minions hot on their heels.

"We're cutting it close," Cortana intoned nervously as he sealed the hatch just in time to prevent their enemies access.

"Don't worry, Cortana, I got it," Foehammer shouted as she dove for the pilots seat. "Okay, hang on...!"

Within seconds, they were airborne and winging their way out of there.

Barely a minute later, they were in space, having just flown past the other side of the ring when it finally happened: It exploded.

Since the explosion was behind them, they couldnt actually see the event itself, but the light flying past them was a little blinding.

After it died down and they were at a safe distance, the engines were shut down to save them for later. Cortana said aloud, "Fancy a look?"

The Master Chief and Foehammer walked over to a viewport, and they could actually see a piece from one side of the ring slam into the other side of it, completely breaking it apart.

"Oh my God," Foehammer muttered under her breath.

"Did anyone else make it?" the Master Chief asked.

Cortana answered: "Scanning..." She sounded almost hesitant. "Just dust and echoes."

For words describing things so light and weightless, they sank in so heavy. For a moment, Foehammer barely registered Cortanas words about the necessity of obliterating the Covenant and the Flood, but she forced herself back to reality

"Halo. It's finished."

"No," the Master Chief firmly responded. "I think we're just getting started."

As he took off his helmet, Foehammer turned to see the galactic core in the distance, the twinkling stars suddenly seeming very ominous to her, as if threatening to reveal other hidden and terrifying secrets. If this is only the beginning, I wonder how it will all be at the end, she thought grimly to herself.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Master Chief without the helmet on, and while she could see the back of his head from where she was standing, he could also see a faint reflection of his face in the front viewport; he was already pale enough (probably due to lack of exposure to light), but his ghostly reflection made him look even paler. So that's what he looks like under the helmet, she thought to herself. Who would have thought?

She had certainly been on the move these past several days, ever since touching down on the alien superstructure, be it on the wings of a Pelican or the wheels of a Warthog. Wings and wheels: The two most common ways by which Foehammer got from place to place. Hopefully now, on this Longsword fighter, she could relax for a small while as the fighters engines propelled her and the other survivors through the void of space...

She took a few moments to grieve over everyone who was now gone, lost in the battle over the giant ring known as Halo but at the same time, she couldn't dismiss the fact that there were survivors: Master Chief Petty Officer of the UNSC Navy, John-117; the Artificial Intelligence construct, Cortana; and herself, Flight Officer Captain Carol Rawley, call sign Foehammer.

"Chief?" she called out to him from across the helm.

"Yes?"

"Thanks again for getting me out of there."

"You're welcome."

He always was a man of few words, after all...

A/N: So, what do you think? (I wrote this back in the middle of April, but now it finally got done, seeing as I've been very busy lately.)

I wanted to write a Halo fanfic, and I wanted to do something AU, and after reading the novel Halo: The Flood by William C. Dietz, I decided to write this.

As for shooting down the Banshees to save Foehammer, I tried that before in the game, but unfortunately, you can't change her fate; however, after she goes down, all of a sudden you can engage the Banshees.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this!

Quillian
(First posted: June 23, 2009)