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John-117/Late War: Difference between revisions
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At 0519 hours, John and the other Spartans could feel that the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was turning back around when they had been under the impression that it would soon be jumping away from Reach.<ref name="HTFOR32">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 32''</ref> Unsure what was happening, John told Kelly to have Fred and Joshua prepare the cryo tubes and to get Linda to gather a team to secure their gear. For his part he would find out what had changed. He tried to get the attention of Cortana on the nearby intercom, but it was the captain who answered, saying there had been a change of plans and that he was on his way to brief them. John announced Keyes' arrival when it came and the Spartans all stood at attention in response. At first, Keyes wondered if he and the Chief might speak in private, but John warned him that they'd need to leave the deck to escape the Spartans' hearing. Resigning that everyone would need to know anyways, Keyes announced that the Covenant had found Reach and that more than one hundred alien vessels were inbound.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR32}} Still unwilling to admit he already knew the planet was being written off, Keyes declared that Section Three's mission would have to be abandoned in light of the need to defend Reach. In doing so, he got John to realize that defending Reach and capturing a large Covenant carrier did not have to be mutually exclusive objectives. He told the captain that if they could get close enough and punch a hole in a ship's shields, his Spartans could board it. Keyes gave the appearance of begrudgingly agreeing, saying that he was hesitant to hand over Cortana before his ship's [[Dumb AI|"dumb" A.I.]], [[Wellsley]], had finished initializing, but that he would fly without one if the opportunity to take over a ship presented itself. Before he returned to the bridge, Keyes told the Master Chief to have his Spartans ready in twenty minutes, as that would be when they should arrive at [[Rally Point Zulu|the rally point]] ships were being redirected to. As soon as he'd gone, John told Fred and James to refit another Pelican so that it had a shaped charge made of every scrap of [[C-12]] on its nose for use as an exploding battering ram.[[File:JohnLindaGamma.png|thumb|left|300px|The ''Circumference'' had been isolated from the network on Gamma Station in order to protect information concerning [[Operation: HYPODERMIC]] from being uncovered.<ref name="HTFOR30">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 30''</ref>]] He also tasked Linda with forming a team to quickly get into the crates ONI had packed for them and to distribute [[M41 SPNKR]]s, [[thruster pack]]s, [[ammunition]], and [[grenade]]s. Privately, he told Kelly to collect three [[HAVOK]] nuclear mines and prepare them for transport. She openly questioned whether there was something they had overlooked, and John had to agree that it did seem that way.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR32}} At 0558 hours, John received a priority Alpha transmission from the captain which updated him on the situation in space and on the ground.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR34}} The ground-based [[Orbital defense generator|generators]] that powered Reach's [[orbital defense platform]]s were threatened by the invasion forces and on [[Gamma Station]] in orbit, the [[prowler]] {{UNSCShip|Circumference}} had unsecured navigation data that was being targeted by inbound Covenant ships. John shared this information with all the other Spartans and once he was speaking to Keyes over the view screen, He offered to protect the ''Circumference'''s NAV data with three Spartans while the rest deployed to defend the generators. Keyes resisted the idea, not least of which because he understand how RED FLAG had been outlined, and suggested that the ''Autumn'' could simply detonate a nuke near Gamma Station. John rightly pointed out, however, that the [[electromagnetic pulse]] given off by the detonation could burn out the superconductive coils of the nearby ODPs. Conversely, conventional weaponry might not eradicate the data. The only option was to board the station. Keyes, clearly conflicted, finally relented and told the Chief that he was free to enact his plan, telling him that his Spartans could launch in two separate Pelicans in five minutes' time. Kelly volunteered to lead the space op, but John said he would be spearheading that. He picked Linda and James to accompany him as part of [[Blue Team]] and made Fred the temporary leader of the rest, collectively labeled [[Red Team]].<ref name="HTFOR34">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 34''</ref> | At 0519 hours, John and the other Spartans could feel that the ''Pillar of Autumn'' was turning back around when they had been under the impression that it would soon be jumping away from Reach.<ref name="HTFOR32">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 32''</ref> Unsure what was happening, John told Kelly to have Fred and Joshua prepare the cryo tubes and to get Linda to gather a team to secure their gear. For his part he would find out what had changed. He tried to get the attention of Cortana on the nearby intercom, but it was the captain who answered, saying there had been a change of plans and that he was on his way to brief them. John announced Keyes' arrival when it came and the Spartans all stood at attention in response. At first, Keyes wondered if he and the Chief might speak in private, but John warned him that they'd need to leave the deck to escape the Spartans' hearing. Resigning that everyone would need to know anyways, Keyes announced that the Covenant had found Reach and that more than one hundred alien vessels were inbound.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR32}} Still unwilling to admit he already knew the planet was being written off, Keyes declared that Section Three's mission would have to be abandoned in light of the need to defend Reach. In doing so, he got John to realize that defending Reach and capturing a large Covenant carrier did not have to be mutually exclusive objectives. He told the captain that if they could get close enough and punch a hole in a ship's shields, his Spartans could board it. Keyes gave the appearance of begrudgingly agreeing, saying that he was hesitant to hand over Cortana before his ship's [[Dumb AI|"dumb" A.I.]], [[Wellsley]], had finished initializing, but that he would fly without one if the opportunity to take over a ship presented itself. Before he returned to the bridge, Keyes told the Master Chief to have his Spartans ready in twenty minutes, as that would be when they should arrive at [[Rally Point Zulu|the rally point]] ships were being redirected to. As soon as he'd gone, John told Fred and James to refit another Pelican so that it had a shaped charge made of every scrap of [[C-12]] on its nose for use as an exploding battering ram.[[File:JohnLindaGamma.png|thumb|left|300px|The ''Circumference'' had been isolated from the network on Gamma Station in order to protect information concerning [[Operation: HYPODERMIC]] from being uncovered.<ref name="HTFOR30">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 30''</ref>]] He also tasked Linda with forming a team to quickly get into the crates ONI had packed for them and to distribute [[M41 SPNKR]]s, [[thruster pack]]s, [[ammunition]], and [[grenade]]s. Privately, he told Kelly to collect three [[HAVOK]] nuclear mines and prepare them for transport. She openly questioned whether there was something they had overlooked, and John had to agree that it did seem that way.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR32}} At 0558 hours, John received a priority Alpha transmission from the captain which updated him on the situation in space and on the ground.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR34}} The ground-based [[Orbital defense generator|generators]] that powered Reach's [[orbital defense platform]]s were threatened by the invasion forces and on [[Gamma Station]] in orbit, the [[prowler]] {{UNSCShip|Circumference}} had unsecured navigation data that was being targeted by inbound Covenant ships. John shared this information with all the other Spartans and once he was speaking to Keyes over the view screen, He offered to protect the ''Circumference'''s NAV data with three Spartans while the rest deployed to defend the generators. Keyes resisted the idea, not least of which because he understand how RED FLAG had been outlined, and suggested that the ''Autumn'' could simply detonate a nuke near Gamma Station. John rightly pointed out, however, that the [[electromagnetic pulse]] given off by the detonation could burn out the superconductive coils of the nearby ODPs. Conversely, conventional weaponry might not eradicate the data. The only option was to board the station. Keyes, clearly conflicted, finally relented and told the Chief that he was free to enact his plan, telling him that his Spartans could launch in two separate Pelicans in five minutes' time. Kelly volunteered to lead the space op, but John said he would be spearheading that. He picked Linda and James to accompany him as part of [[Blue Team]] and made Fred the temporary leader of the rest, collectively labeled [[Red Team]].<ref name="HTFOR34">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 34''</ref> | ||
Gamma Station was around ten thousand kilometers away when John piloted the Pelican loaded with [[C-12]] on its nose away from the ''Autumn''.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR34}} At 0616 hours it had come within one thousand kilometers, when a [[Covenant frigate]] suddenly emerged from slipspace just a kilometer away from their position.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR34}}<ref name="HTFOR35">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 35''</ref> John yelled for Linda and James to brace themselves as he spun the dropship into a reverse burn and then killed the engines entirely in order to evade detection. Two more frigates followed the appearance of the first but with just thirty kilometers remaining before they hit the station, John had no choice but to reignite the engines to bleed off as much acceleration as possible. The bird violently slammed into the station tail-first, flatlining John's shields, crumpling the cockpit's displays, and freeing everything in the rear compartment that had been tied down. John confirmed that no one on his team was injured before giving the order to exit immediately. He snatched his [[MA5]] and [[M41 SPNKR|M41]], along with five spare clips of ammunition and a satchel filled with [[C-12]], detonators, and a Lotus mine. John searched in vain for his thruster pack in amidst the jumbled mess but ultimately had to abandon it for the sake of time. Clipping himself to the outside of the Pelican, which was now embedded in the side of Gamma Station, the Chief ordered James to police the explosives still undetonated on the prow and told Linda to scan the remaining frigates with her [[SRS99C-S2 AM sniper rifle]] (one frigate was destroyed by a shot from an ODP's [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]]). Soon enough Linda announced that they had incoming. John ordered they all take cover as a dozen [[Covenant drop pod|pod]]s and numerous [[Sangheili]] [[Sangheili Ranger|ranger]]s shot toward the station, firing | Gamma Station was around ten thousand kilometers away when John piloted the Pelican loaded with [[C-12]] on its nose away from the ''Autumn''.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR34}} At 0616 hours it had come within one thousand kilometers, when a [[Covenant frigate]] suddenly emerged from slipspace just a kilometer away from their position.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR34}}<ref name="HTFOR35">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 35''</ref> John yelled for Linda and James to brace themselves as he spun the dropship into a reverse burn and then killed the engines entirely in order to evade detection. Two more frigates followed the appearance of the first but with just thirty kilometers remaining before they hit the station, John had no choice but to reignite the engines to bleed off as much acceleration as possible. The bird violently slammed into the station tail-first, flatlining John's shields, crumpling the cockpit's displays, and freeing everything in the rear compartment that had been tied down. John confirmed that no one on his team was injured before giving the order to exit immediately. He snatched his [[MA5]] and [[M41 SPNKR|M41]], along with five spare clips of ammunition and a satchel filled with [[C-12]], detonators, and a Lotus mine. John searched in vain for his thruster pack in amidst the jumbled mess but ultimately had to abandon it for the sake of time. Clipping himself to the outside of the Pelican, which was now embedded in the side of Gamma Station, the Chief ordered James to police the explosives still undetonated on the prow and told Linda to scan the remaining frigates with her [[SRS99C-S2 AM sniper rifle]] (one frigate was destroyed by a shot from an ODP's [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]]). Soon enough Linda announced that they had incoming. John ordered they all take cover as a dozen [[Covenant drop pod|pod]]s and numerous [[Sangheili]] [[Sangheili Ranger|ranger]]s shot toward the station, firing {{Pattern|Okarda'phaa|plasma rifle}}s and [[Type-33 needler]]s. James did not respond in time and his thruster pack was punctured by an exploding [[Subanese crystal]], which sent him tumbling away into the void. The pod that attached itself to the skin of the station nearest to their position deposited [[Kig-Yar]] [[Kig-Yar Ranger|ranger]]s and John had to brace against the Pelican to fire at them. A fragmentation grenade finished off the pod's occupants and John directed Linda to secure it. He then proceeded to wedge two more grenades into the C-12 still on the dropship's prow. After joining Linda inside the pod, he had her fire at them just as the Pelican was swarmed by enemies. The blast that followed tore through five decks of Gamma Station and John and Linda were making their way inside in no time. Their target was on B level two decks down and three hundred meters to port.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR35}} | ||
[[File:LindaDead.png|thumb|350px|right|The loss of James, the alleged death of Linda, and the abandonment of Red Team on Reach forced John to wonder if he was suddenly the last Spartan in existence.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR37}}]] | [[File:LindaDead.png|thumb|350px|right|The loss of James, the alleged death of Linda, and the abandonment of Red Team on Reach forced John to wonder if he was suddenly the last Spartan in existence.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR37}}]] | ||
John paused long enough in a B level corridor to attach the Lotus mine to the deck and rig its proximity detectors so it would explode for anyone that tried to follow them.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR35}} He and Linda pulled themselves along handrails until they reached a doorway to the docking bay which held the ''Circumference''. Using his fiber optic cable, John sighted four marines pinned down by thirty Kig-Yar and a number of [[Unggoy]].{{Ref/Reuse|HFORI}}{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR35}} He and Linda both jumped in to assist, but John directed Linda to focus on helping the marines while he made his way to the ship.{{Ref/Reuse|HFORI}}{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR35}} Just as he was about to head for the prowler, however, he noticed a slight flicker behind their position on his [[motion tracker]]. John backtracked into the hall outside the bay and was beset upon by a [[Sangheili]] minor. He slammed into the Elite just before it could it could get off a shot with a Type-25 plasma pistol. They two began an extended hand-to-hand engagement which carried them down the hall in the null gravity. John was ultimately able to prevail through locking his armor's glove articulation around the alien's wrist and turning its own weapon against it. One shot from the pistol overloaded its shields and successive strikes from John's right fist cracked open its [[vacuum suit]]. He finished off his Sangheili opponent with a shot to the head. By the time he made it back to Linda, twenty more Kig-Yar and joined the fray and more reinforcements were approaching from their rear. Captain Keyes reached out over COM then, announcing that he would bring the ''Autumn'' close enough to pick them up in just five minutes and that they had until then to secure the NAV data. Were they unable to do so, he would be forced to fire on their position.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR35}} John opened a channel to the four marines: [[Staff Sergeant]] [[Avery Johnson]] and privates [[Wallace Jenkins]], [[O'Brien (Marine)|O'Brien]], and [[Bisenti]].<ref name="HTFOR37">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 37''</ref> He advised they tighten up their fire so that they take out one Jackal at a time, then had Linda use grenades to kill a good number. John commandeered a nearby D77-TC Pelican and lifted if from its berth to both provide cover for Linda and the marines and to begin cutting down Kig-Yar with its chain gun. Thousands of enemy contacts were heading their way, so he yelled for everyone to get in and used the Pelican's weaponry, including an [[Anvil-II air-to-surface missile]], to blast through the ''Circumference'''s cockpit. Linda took the controls while he launched himself to find the NAV database core, which he promptly destroyed with his assault rifle.{{Ref/Note|According to the ''[[Halo Interactive Strategy Game]]'' the Spartans of Blue Team and the rescued marines were in contact at this time with [[Kusanagi]], the same [[Smart AI|volitional]] A.I. who had briefed the Spartans for [[Battle of Jericho VII|Operation: FALLEN WALLS]] over seventeen years earlier. How Kusanagi might have remained active after so long is unknown. According to [[343 Industries]] writer [[Jeff Easterling]], he and others would need to "look at" the game to see which portions "make sense to keep", leaving the canonical status of Kusanagi's involvement in question.}} John took back the piloting of the Pelican upon his return, but the outer bay doors remained closed. Linda attempted to get the [[Doppler|station's A.I. quartermaster]] to open them but received no response. for this reason she took it upon herself to exit the craft so that she could trigger a manual release. As more Covenant forces poured into Docking Bay Nine, John brought the full arsenal of the Pelican to bear on them. just after the bay doors began to open, however, Linda was struck numerous times by [[plasma]] fire which burned through her shields and melted the armor covering her back, chest, and head. He yelled for the marines to grab her and pull her floating body inside and rocketed away from the station once they did so.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR37}} | John paused long enough in a B level corridor to attach the Lotus mine to the deck and rig its proximity detectors so it would explode for anyone that tried to follow them.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR35}} He and Linda pulled themselves along handrails until they reached a doorway to the docking bay which held the ''Circumference''. Using his fiber optic cable, John sighted four marines pinned down by thirty Kig-Yar and a number of [[Unggoy]].{{Ref/Reuse|HFORI}}{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR35}} He and Linda both jumped in to assist, but John directed Linda to focus on helping the marines while he made his way to the ship.{{Ref/Reuse|HFORI}}{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR35}} Just as he was about to head for the prowler, however, he noticed a slight flicker behind their position on his [[motion tracker]]. John backtracked into the hall outside the bay and was beset upon by a [[Sangheili]] minor. He slammed into the Elite just before it could it could get off a shot with a Type-25 plasma pistol. They two began an extended hand-to-hand engagement which carried them down the hall in the null gravity. John was ultimately able to prevail through locking his armor's glove articulation around the alien's wrist and turning its own weapon against it. One shot from the pistol overloaded its shields and successive strikes from John's right fist cracked open its [[vacuum suit]]. He finished off his Sangheili opponent with a shot to the head. By the time he made it back to Linda, twenty more Kig-Yar and joined the fray and more reinforcements were approaching from their rear. Captain Keyes reached out over COM then, announcing that he would bring the ''Autumn'' close enough to pick them up in just five minutes and that they had until then to secure the NAV data. Were they unable to do so, he would be forced to fire on their position.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR35}} John opened a channel to the four marines: [[Staff Sergeant]] [[Avery Johnson]] and privates [[Wallace Jenkins]], [[O'Brien (Marine)|O'Brien]], and [[Bisenti]].<ref name="HTFOR37">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 37''</ref> He advised they tighten up their fire so that they take out one Jackal at a time, then had Linda use grenades to kill a good number. John commandeered a nearby D77-TC Pelican and lifted if from its berth to both provide cover for Linda and the marines and to begin cutting down Kig-Yar with its chain gun. Thousands of enemy contacts were heading their way, so he yelled for everyone to get in and used the Pelican's weaponry, including an [[Anvil-II air-to-surface missile]], to blast through the ''Circumference'''s cockpit. Linda took the controls while he launched himself to find the NAV database core, which he promptly destroyed with his assault rifle.{{Ref/Note|According to the ''[[Halo Interactive Strategy Game]]'' the Spartans of Blue Team and the rescued marines were in contact at this time with [[Kusanagi]], the same [[Smart AI|volitional]] A.I. who had briefed the Spartans for [[Battle of Jericho VII|Operation: FALLEN WALLS]] over seventeen years earlier. How Kusanagi might have remained active after so long is unknown. According to [[343 Industries]] writer [[Jeff Easterling]], he and others would need to "look at" the game to see which portions "make sense to keep", leaving the canonical status of Kusanagi's involvement in question.}} John took back the piloting of the Pelican upon his return, but the outer bay doors remained closed. Linda attempted to get the [[Doppler|station's A.I. quartermaster]] to open them but received no response. for this reason she took it upon herself to exit the craft so that she could trigger a manual release. As more Covenant forces poured into Docking Bay Nine, John brought the full arsenal of the Pelican to bear on them. just after the bay doors began to open, however, Linda was struck numerous times by [[plasma]] fire which burned through her shields and melted the armor covering her back, chest, and head. He yelled for the marines to grab her and pull her floating body inside and rocketed away from the station once they did so.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR37}} | ||
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The mission to board the Covenant flagship began as soon as the Longsword and Pelican completed their slingshot orbit around Basis. The Pelican was launched first, and the ship soon drew from the Covenant cruisers, which had been waiting for them, apparently having predicted their orbital trajectory. The Pelican soon accelerated to a distance of two hundred kilometers ahead of the Longsword. Haverson managed to deploy the Pelican's Moray mine payload shortly before it was obliterated by a [[plasma torpedo]]. During the approach, Locklear announced his dislike of space combat, something that John was able to sympathize with, as he shared the ODST's discomfort. As predicted, the flagship launched a number of Seraph fighters from its hangar bay to intercept the Longsword, but Haverson's programmed Moray mines easily destroyed the Covenant craft. With the shields and forward weaponry of the flagship disabled, Polaski completed their approach. At a 180 degree angle, the Longsword entered the hangar at three hundred meters per second, the flames from the ship's engines burning [[Unggoy]] technicians and causing their [[methane tank]]s to explode. With the power cut, the Longsword slammed into the wall of the hangar bay. Cortana notified the team that they were safe to move as the external atmosphere was stabilized once the energy shielding over the launch bay had returned. Faced with a large number of Unggoy using fuel pods and docked Seraph fighters as cover, Polaski deployed the Longsword's landing gear and [[120mm ventral gun]]s. The heavy rounds tore through the Covenant defenses, detonating fuel pods, unshielded fighters and causing the air in the bay to erupt into flames, incinerating the Unggoy and [[Huragok]] in the bay.<ref name="HFS7">''[[Halo: First Strike]]'', ''Chapter 7''</ref> | The mission to board the Covenant flagship began as soon as the Longsword and Pelican completed their slingshot orbit around Basis. The Pelican was launched first, and the ship soon drew from the Covenant cruisers, which had been waiting for them, apparently having predicted their orbital trajectory. The Pelican soon accelerated to a distance of two hundred kilometers ahead of the Longsword. Haverson managed to deploy the Pelican's Moray mine payload shortly before it was obliterated by a [[plasma torpedo]]. During the approach, Locklear announced his dislike of space combat, something that John was able to sympathize with, as he shared the ODST's discomfort. As predicted, the flagship launched a number of Seraph fighters from its hangar bay to intercept the Longsword, but Haverson's programmed Moray mines easily destroyed the Covenant craft. With the shields and forward weaponry of the flagship disabled, Polaski completed their approach. At a 180 degree angle, the Longsword entered the hangar at three hundred meters per second, the flames from the ship's engines burning [[Unggoy]] technicians and causing their [[methane tank]]s to explode. With the power cut, the Longsword slammed into the wall of the hangar bay. Cortana notified the team that they were safe to move as the external atmosphere was stabilized once the energy shielding over the launch bay had returned. Faced with a large number of Unggoy using fuel pods and docked Seraph fighters as cover, Polaski deployed the Longsword's landing gear and [[120mm ventral gun]]s. The heavy rounds tore through the Covenant defenses, detonating fuel pods, unshielded fighters and causing the air in the bay to erupt into flames, incinerating the Unggoy and [[Huragok]] in the bay.<ref name="HFS7">''[[Halo: First Strike]]'', ''Chapter 7''</ref> | ||
On Cortana's assurance that the air in the bay was breathable after the fires were cleared by the bay's fire suppression system, John assembled his assault team, taking Cortana with him as well. While Locklear neutralized a pair of surviving Unggoy, John found himself faced with a trio of Huragok. Knowing that they posed no threat, he relaxed. Cortana updated the Chief with information she had gleaned from the flagship's personal roster: three thousand Covenant, with the vast majority being Huragok with a light company of Unggoy and only a hundred Sangheili, the latter statistic confusing John as he had expected a Covenant ship of this size to have significantly more. John found Locklear's slaughter of the three Huragok immediately after to have been unnecessary even through he tended to agree with the Marine's actions with regard to the Covenant. The team formed up near a large door at the back of the bay. John organized his team into position around the door while ordering them to stick to hand signals from then on. Before Polaski could open the door, it was opened from the other side. A team of five Sangheili were waiting for them, each one in a position analogous to John's own team. Without hesitating, John fired two bursts from his MA5B, killing two of the Sangheili that had not yet activated their [[Energy shielding#Personal shielding|personal energy shields]]. Two of the surviving Sangheili opened fire on John with their [[ | On Cortana's assurance that the air in the bay was breathable after the fires were cleared by the bay's fire suppression system, John assembled his assault team, taking Cortana with him as well. While Locklear neutralized a pair of surviving Unggoy, John found himself faced with a trio of Huragok. Knowing that they posed no threat, he relaxed. Cortana updated the Chief with information she had gleaned from the flagship's personal roster: three thousand Covenant, with the vast majority being Huragok with a light company of Unggoy and only a hundred Sangheili, the latter statistic confusing John as he had expected a Covenant ship of this size to have significantly more. John found Locklear's slaughter of the three Huragok immediately after to have been unnecessary even through he tended to agree with the Marine's actions with regard to the Covenant. The team formed up near a large door at the back of the bay. John organized his team into position around the door while ordering them to stick to hand signals from then on. Before Polaski could open the door, it was opened from the other side. A team of five Sangheili were waiting for them, each one in a position analogous to John's own team. Without hesitating, John fired two bursts from his MA5B, killing two of the Sangheili that had not yet activated their [[Energy shielding#Personal shielding|personal energy shields]]. Two of the surviving Sangheili opened fire on John with their [[Okarda'phaa-pattern plasma rifle|plasma rifles]]. As his shields dropped and his vision clouded due to the discharge of the energy weapons, John was unable to get a shot on the Sangheili in front of Polaski. The pilot was faster than the alien and managed to fire her [[M6 series|sidearm]] before the Sangheili could aim its [[Type-25 plasma pistol|plasma pistol]] and she soon killed the Covenant soldier, allowing Johnson and Locklear to eliminate the final pair of Sangheili. Immediately afterword, a dozen more Sangheili approached from further down the corridor and John made the snap decision to fall back into the hangar bay, grabbing Polaski and pulling her back into the bay while Johnson destroyed the door controls. The only alternate way the team had to bridge was a small hatch that led into a maintenance corridor that was used by the Huragok. John disliked the cramped conditions but seeing no other way to proceed he acquiesced. Due to the narrow nature of the corridor, John was forced to power down his energy shield to allow him to proceed. Cortana directed him to a data port in the passage and despite his reluctance, inserted her into the system. Cortana quickly detected the presence of a dozen Sangheili hunter-killer teams on board the ship, and fed back their locations to the Spartan and his team while generating electronic ghosts of the team in order to throw off their pursuers. As John and his team proceeded onward, engaging several Covenant soldiers as they went, Cortana made the team aware of another way to the bridge and at her suggestion, split the team to cover both paths. John took Haverson and Polaksi with him while Johnson and Locklear took the other path.{{Ref/Reuse|HFS7}} | ||
Eventually, John and his team were engaged by Sangheili equipped with [[active camouflage]] and he requested Cortana's assistance with locating a way past them, which she was able to help with while also studying the ''Ascendant Justice'' and its systems. Cortana was able to easily infiltrate the backup terminus for the ship's atmospheric pre-processors and drop the pressure in 87 percent of the flagship's corridors, killing any Covenant within while warning John which passages she had affected so as to not jeopardize the lives of the other humans. John and his team soon made it to the ''Ascendant Justice'''s command center ahead of Johnson and Locklear. Cortana was unable to provide them with information about the number of personnel within as they had disabled the bridge sensors. Warning his team to expect anything, John used a pair of [[Type-1 plasma grenade|plasma grenades]] to deactivate the bridge doors electronic suite before attempting to pry it open. He was unable to as a Sangheili on the other side was holding the doors closed. With the door open only a few centimeters, the Chief fired his assault rifle through the crack, killing the Sangheili on the other side. As he tried again to open the door, plasma fire from the other side struck him, wiping out his energy shield. With the doors half a meter apart John took cover to allow his energy shield to recharge, only to discover that the plasma fire had knocked out his shielding system. He tried rebooting it to no avail. Remaining in cover he allowed Johnson and Locklear to open fire into the room before he moved in himself. Inside the room, a lone [[Special Operations Sangheili]] approached John, deactivating its active camouflage and roaring out a challenge at the Spartan. John fired the last three bullets from his MA5B, deforming the Sangheili's shoulder but not deterring the Covenant soldier. When Haverson attempted to aid John, the Sangheili fired its plasma pistol at the Lieutenant, forcing him to retreat out of the bridge. John readied himself in a fighting stance, confident in his ability to take out his foe. The Sangheili dropped its plasma pistol and helmet, before activating its [[Type-1 energy sword|energy sword]] and charging.{{Ref/Reuse|HFS7}} | Eventually, John and his team were engaged by Sangheili equipped with [[active camouflage]] and he requested Cortana's assistance with locating a way past them, which she was able to help with while also studying the ''Ascendant Justice'' and its systems. Cortana was able to easily infiltrate the backup terminus for the ship's atmospheric pre-processors and drop the pressure in 87 percent of the flagship's corridors, killing any Covenant within while warning John which passages she had affected so as to not jeopardize the lives of the other humans. John and his team soon made it to the ''Ascendant Justice'''s command center ahead of Johnson and Locklear. Cortana was unable to provide them with information about the number of personnel within as they had disabled the bridge sensors. Warning his team to expect anything, John used a pair of [[Type-1 plasma grenade|plasma grenades]] to deactivate the bridge doors electronic suite before attempting to pry it open. He was unable to as a Sangheili on the other side was holding the doors closed. With the door open only a few centimeters, the Chief fired his assault rifle through the crack, killing the Sangheili on the other side. As he tried again to open the door, plasma fire from the other side struck him, wiping out his energy shield. With the doors half a meter apart John took cover to allow his energy shield to recharge, only to discover that the plasma fire had knocked out his shielding system. He tried rebooting it to no avail. Remaining in cover he allowed Johnson and Locklear to open fire into the room before he moved in himself. Inside the room, a lone [[Special Operations Sangheili]] approached John, deactivating its active camouflage and roaring out a challenge at the Spartan. John fired the last three bullets from his MA5B, deforming the Sangheili's shoulder but not deterring the Covenant soldier. When Haverson attempted to aid John, the Sangheili fired its plasma pistol at the Lieutenant, forcing him to retreat out of the bridge. John readied himself in a fighting stance, confident in his ability to take out his foe. The Sangheili dropped its plasma pistol and helmet, before activating its [[Type-1 energy sword|energy sword]] and charging.{{Ref/Reuse|HFS7}} | ||