CHAPTER FIVE: The Holy Covenant

The Chief arrives on the control deck of the Pillar of Autumn, large windows show miles of star speckled space, and they pass by a gas planet streaked with green and purple clouds, covered in raging hurricanes and oceans of toxic liquid. An older man with light gray hair and a white military uniform is waiting by the computer terminal, listening to a purple female hologram projecting out of a small console.

"The Covenant followed us, and now of course they're trying to board the ship… aaand look who finally showed up."

John walks up to the console and gazes at the purple, digital woman who is reflected on his visor.

"Hey, Chief. Glad to see you, I…" She trails off, looking at the ceiling.

Captain Keyes looks concerned, "What's going on Cortana? … Cortana!"

She is silent for a few more tension-filled moments. Opening her purple eyes, she looks quickly at John. "Multiple space-time anomalies detected! Oh my god… whoever is responsible for this…"

Captain Keyes narrows his eyes, "The Covenant?"

Cortana shakes her head furiously, "No way! The Covenant use incredibly advanced Slipspace technology, but this is more like… random holes being torn in the space-time continuum!"

The stoic John finally speaks, "If not the Covenant, then who? Are there other aliens, maybe ones on our side?"

Cortana practically snorts. "Not even close. It's other… humans… I'm tapping into some radio waves, very faint…"

John feels tense. "Cortana. We need to focus on the Covenant-" The ship is rocked as plasma bolts hit the ship.

"I'm sorry! It's such a massive amount of information… The transmissions appear to be from some kind of parallel dimension in which humans were first trying to colonize Mars. They found… Martian artifacts and started to build research centers there… from what I gather, they are trying to imitate the Martian teleportation technology but are losing control of it… oh my god!"

The ship is rocked again and flames appear briefly by the glass.

John speaks again, his voice loud and clear through the vents in his helmet. "Cortana!"

"I'm sorry, chief! But these fools have literally stumbled onto… Hell. Those Martian teleporters work just like a Slipspace engine, but their version of "Slipspace" is full of … something horrible. It's literally Hell." she stares into space, looking almost dreamy, "I wonder if it used to be that way in our dimension..."

Keyes pounds his fist into his hand. "That's goddamn crazy. But for now we need to focus on escaping these Covenant ships, Cortana!"

Cortana nods, "I suggest the ringworld below us. It's obviously artificial, but very advanced. Not likely to have been made by humans, or Covenant…"

John presses the console and Cortana is downloaded into a small chip, which he pops into the back of his helmet. Cortana uploads to his HUD, and shows him which direction to go. "It's been a while, Chief."

"Yeah."

Keyes hands John a pistol and he follows Cortana's direction marker, picking up a dead marine's assault rifle and a few clips. Using magnetic panels on his armor, he sticks the assault rifle to his back and picks up a dead grunt's plasma pistol. An Elite in blue armor comes around the corner and John holds the plasma pistols trigger, causing it to charge then releases the huge whitish green bolt at the alien. It hisses as its energy shields crack and dissipate, John promptly tackles it down and plunges his knife into its head, taking the creatures plasma rifle as he runs down the hallway.

Suddenly a red burst of energy appears from nowhere, crackling through the air like fire burning through paper. Cortana speaks quickly in Johns helmet, "It's a portal! Careful!"

Her warning is in vain as John feels the floor beneath him disappear and he begins to fall into a tight, fleshy tube. Behind him the Pillar of Autumn seems to be frozen in time, a Marine and an Elite with plasma bolts and bullets inches from their faces. He squeezes through the suffocating, slimy tunnel at incredible speed as deep, satanic laughter rings out all around him, complimented by tortured screams.