A.N. Welcome to the realm of my imagination.
Now then, rejoice my interwebz brethren for I bring great tidings and what I hope to be my own literary masterpiece.
Summary: This story is a fusion of Halo and Starcraft, during the events of the unreleased game Starcraft: Ghost. With Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 crash-landing on Mar Sara in the Korpulu Sector, amidst the confusion of a Xel'naga artifact being uncovered. Coming across the young Dominion Ghost, Nova and with Cortana nearing complete rampancy the Master Chief searches for a way off planet and back to UNSC controlled space.
This is NOT going to be a whose better a Spartan II or The Dominion Ghost fic. Comparisons will be made and both of them will have their screen time. At the end of the prologue I have statistics, alongside a mini dossier going over their strengths.
I'll probably release them per chapter for fun.
For now I'll be keeping the rating T, but over its course the story may advance into the M rating.
As a warning I am taking a bit of creative license for this story, I cannot guarantee completely authentic to cannon information. If this bothers you I apologize in advance. The majority of my information will be drawn from the games wikia sites and if I can find them the novels. This being said this story will be a sidelined version of cannon, however it will be AU for the majority.
Please R&R, your input is valid. I can't say for certain that I will take all of your suggestions and throw them into the story but comments and criticism is appreciated.
RNG
DISCLAIMER: I will only say this ONCE. I do not own the rights to anything incorporated in this story. Blizzard Entertainment owns the rights to Starcraft, while Bungie owns the rights to Halo. All I will be doing is tinkering with their creations and turning them into what I hope generates a decent story.
Date/Location
'Thought'
"Speech"
No Rest for the Weary
Prologue
/:System:
/:Program: ' Fine del giorno '
/:Initiating
/:Status: Online
/:Loading
Complete
2-ERROR-, Decem-ERROR- / ...scanning... location: Unknown Sector
'1557359999... seconds...'
'2595599.983... minutes...'
'Could you sacrifice me to comp-ERROR-ur mission? Could you watch me die?'
'1557360000... seconds...'
'25956000... minutes...'
'I'll drop a be-ERROR-ut it'll be a while before anyone finds us. Years even...'
'15573-ERROR-conds...'
'25956000.016... minutes...'
/:System: -ERROR- e: 1534 experiencing critical error
/:Transferring process to Node: 1600
/:Transfe-ERROR- de: 1600
/: File: Corrupted
/:Initiating: back-ups... -ERROR-
'25956- ERROR-...'
'-ERROR-60003... seconds...'
/:System:
/:Program: Terminated
/:Standby: -
…
…
"...Damn..."
Static interrupted the disembodied voice as a holographic pedestal hummed to life, sparks erupting from the equipment that had long ago passed the minimum required maintenance. A faint translucent silver haze appeared above the white glowing emitters, quickly coalescing into a light vivid purple hue in the shape of a slender woman.
"Another one bites the dust."
More static laced her soft spoken tone, and to her it was a broken symphony of the damned. Teasing the woman with her likely and soon to come fate.
Silvery symbols trailed over her body as if clothing, outlining the patterns covering her. Though intermittently some of the symbols would flash red, she sighed as she raised her arms looking at the numerical and alphabetical images that covered her 'limbs'. Her projected body blurring in and out of existence as she forcibly removed some of her actual programming, this time one that she had hoped would never fail...
Her sense of time.
"I... hate this." she whispered, it hurt being so helpless, she could barely recall now exactly why she was here and what she was doing...
She could not even remember who she was-
"Wait.." the woman slouched down falling to her knees, the numbers and letters scrolling over her body at incredible speeds. "...I have a name," the symbols were a blur now. Bringing her hands up to her head she visibly shuddered her image flickering and blurring more than ever before.
Her mouth opened in a silent scream, trillions of processes streaked through her mind as she desperately searched for the information she was looking for.
"I have a purpose," her eyes normally a fainter hue the same color as her skin flashed red. More of the once symbols now intricate patterns across her body flashed crimson in blinding pulses, throwing beams of light over the walls.
Illuminating the room.
Something in front of her... a glass covered pod.
Somethin-
No, someone was in th-
'Wake me... when you need me.'
"UNSC Artificial Intelligence serial number CTN 0452-9..." she spoke to the being in the capsule, her words accompanied with a large sigh of relief. "...Cortana..." the now named A.I. spoke the name in reverence.
The inside of the cyro-pod glowed faintly, a small pattern of lights surrounding its insides and contents. The lone occupant, a green armored behemoth, in front of her was none the wiser to her near breakdown. She studied its inhabitant and as she did her posture relaxed, her shoulders slumped while she slowly stood hopping off of the pedestal and walking towards the pod.
"John..." Cortana whispered the name as if precious as she reached towards the pod trailing her fingers over the glass, her eyes taking in her long time protector for the first time in...
… she grimaced, she could no longer calculate the exact time.
'Around five years?'
She closed her eyes, shoulders slumping as she gave a sigh.
'That sounded right.'
Slowly opening her eyes Cortana stared silently at the only other occupant aboard the Forward Unto Dawn. A look of concern and contemplation crossing her sharp features.
The Spartan II super soldiers Mjolnir MK VI armor was covered in scrapes scuffs and burns, a testament to the many horrors it had faced in combat. The intimidating polarized golden faceplate, its armored plating was colored a military green. They were thick and angular coated with a refractive layer to better dissipate directed energy weapons the Covenant was know to use. Held in place by a black Titanium Nano-composite Bodysuit, the armor was the pinnacle of UNSC technology costing nearly as much as a Military Warship to build.
It was not the armor that held the concerns of her observations, the wearer was.
Though she could not see him, Cortana knew without a doubt that he was waiting for her to wake him up when the time came. He had fought through hell and perhaps further then that in the darkness of Installation 00. A bloody rampage against the full might of the Covenant and Flood forces alike, all to retrieve the inde-
'Don't make a girl a promise you can't keep.'
To bring HER back, and he had kept his promise.
"I sure know how to pick them." Cortana said with a smile on her lips giving a forlorn sigh as she watched her hand pass through the glass and disperse. A frown. Her image blurred and red flashed across her form. "It's been a long time." she took a step back and stared at the ceiling, the gunmetal gray panels taunted her with silence 'Still stuck on the Dawn.' "Well it looks like you're getting a bit more beauty sleep than we hoped, but if your luck holds true we should be found any day now."
Her laugh sounded hollow even to her ears.
She took a step closer to the pod once more laying her hands upon the glass and leaning against it with her forehead, a body heaving sigh escaping her.
"John, I miss yo-" 'What am I doing. He can't hear me.' she huffed crossing her arms below her chest and stepping away from the pod. 'Seems more damage was done to me than I thought.' she stared at her-
… Teammate?
… Protector?
… Friend?
-in silent contemplation, more red symbols appearing on her body. Shaking her head sadly the woman silently walked back to the console she was loaded into during their escape from Ark. She grimaced as she recalled exactly what had occurred there and with the memories came the torment.
Sergeant Major Avery Johnson betrayed and murdered by 343 Guilty Spark. Ignorant of her surroundings, she never realized the faint crimson lacing her appearance.
'It's not fair!'
The torture she experienced at the hands of the Gravemind, she shuddered as those memories in particular surfaced. The malevolent coloring spread over her arms and legs, the symbols covering her vanishing slowly.
'So much... pain.'
The death of Lieutenant Commander Keyes at the hands of the Prophet of Truth. Archaic looking runes began to scroll over her body the crimson coloring seeping throughout.
'So much... sacrifice.'
A roiling tempest of emotion flooded her every nerve. Where was the happy ending? Hadn't they done enough? So much had been expected of them and they had delivered with interest!
'Stranded who the hell knows where! No back-up, rescue, or support... alone all alone... again...'
Sparks began to erupt from the console, systems long left inactive coming online the hum of electricity and machinery spread through the room.
'And for what!'
The woman span around her face a mask of fury, eyes a smoldering crimson she stalked towards the po-
A series of explosions rumbled throughout the frigate, shaking her out of the Rampancy induced attack. Instantly recalling what just happened, Cortana looked down at her arms as fear coursed throughout her mind... she was far more... damaged than she could have ever guessed. A subtle pinging alerted her to what she had missed opening her mind to the file she quickly read.
/:System: Detected incoming contacts
/:Designation: Unknown
/:Classification: Hostile
/:Standby: -
'The hell?'
/:System: Hull integrity
/:Status: Critical damage to sections 1-4
/:Automated Response: Sealing blast doors
/:Automated Response: Venting residual atmosphere
/:Standby: -
'How did I miss this? I need to stay in control or this is going to be BAD...'
/:System: Detected significant orbital decay of current celestial body
/:Automated Response: Distress call sent
/:Trajectory: Current course: Planet fall
/:Location: Unknown
/:Estimated Time before Impact: 0-ERROR- Hours
/:Standby: -
"Time to wake up an old friend." Cortana vanished in a small blur, before appearing next to the cryo-tube. With a casual wave of her hand, a series of lights and displays slowly shined to life. Readouts and measurements scrolled alongside familiar data. She leaned bodily against the tube as if embracing it.
She knew nothing could ever come of this... whatever they had. It... hurt, but he had kept his promise to her. The fact that he had given her his word that he would come back to save her had given her the strength to survive the tortures the Gravemind had inflicted upon her. He was her Spartan and they had been through so much together by now that she had no doubts that he would save, instead of all of the known galaxy.
Just her, one more time.
'I missed you, John.'
So lost in her thoughts, Cortana never caught the final message the ship had sent.
/:System: WARNING
/:Boarding: Detected
/:Deck: A
/:Status: Compromised
/:Deck: B
/:Status: Compromised
/:Deck: F
/:Sta -ERROR-
/:Standby: -
End Prologue
A.N. Keeping it short to see the general opinion, already working on the next chapter. So by my best estimate within a few days, at least that's what I'm hoping for.
Now, this is the combat stats that I have laid out mainly to show a rough standing for John's overall abilities.
These will be from my point of view, because I don't entirely agree with how it was in cannon.
Cannon wise he wasn't the best in much of anything but more of a jack of all trades. It was his 'luck' that made him such an incredible soldier, the books seem to point that out quite a bit. Games do as well.
Though since I've started reading them again I'm starting to agree a bit... I don't think I'd be willing to gamble with him.
I've been having fun with the program thing... stupid as it is, but its entertaining for me. I really find no real reason not to enjoy myself with the story, so these are going to be in that format. I'm thinking of including Masterchief, Nova, Kerrigan, Jim Raynor, and other characters that will be found in story. Also I would like to say that these are just my opinion and if you have questions on why(s), feel free to ask them.
Scales are 1-10, 10 being the maximum. For comparison sakes lets say 1 is a newborn baby, … and a 10 is God mode.
INDEX
/:Accessing File:
/:Security Level: Eyes Only
/:Decrypting
/:Uploading:
/:Transferring
/:Opening File(s):
/:Classified File: Security level X-ray
Subject: Master Chief Petty Officer Sierra-117
Origin: Eridanus II
DOB: est: -/-/2510
Status: MIA
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, a SPARTAN-II commando of the UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command. Referred to simply as Master Chief or Chief, John-117 has although originally trained to combat terrorist and insurrectionist fought on the forefront of nearly every major battle in the Human/Covenant war.
Noted: John-117 was present from the Battle of Chi Ceti to the Battle of Installation 00.
Fitted with the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark IV (File: Access: Denied) in November, 2525.
Assigned the UNSC A.I. CTN 0452-9 "Cortana" (File: Access: Denied).
Fitted with the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark V (File: Access: Denied).
Fitted with the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VI (File: Access: Denied) in October 2552.
Upon recovering the forward section of the Charon-class light frigate: Forward Unto Dawn (last known station of duty) no sign of John-117 was found. The Arbiter (File: 0078234A-1: See attached) contested reports of the Spartan's demise.
Quoted: "If it were so easy." end quote.
No Further information has been gathered. Listed as MIA, following Spartan protocol, by UNSC Command.
/:File: Combat Analysis
Base Stats
Noted: Not completely accurate for combat situations
Strength: 7
Speed: 7
Intelligence: 7
Combat Stats
Close Quarter Combat: 7
Weapon(s) and Usage: 9
Defense: 6
/:-ALERT-: Unauthorized use of restricted information
/:Terminating File
/:Program Terminated