//------------------------------// // Chapter 24 // Story: Second Contact // by SpartanD014 //------------------------------// CHAPTER 24 Adam’s eyes slowly fluttered open, letting in a large amount of light. He squinted to block it out, half expecting his suit’s visor to automatically adjust. When it did not, Adam became aware that he was no longer clad in his Mjolnir armor. Instead of the comfortable form-fitting gel layer that he was accustomed to, he wore a simple set of UNSC medical fatigues. It was then that the Spartan became aware of his surroundings: the infirmary on a Strident-class frigate, very likely Perseus. In the corner of the room stood two figures. After Adam’s eyes adjusted to the light, he recognized them as Kevin D-121 and Commander Lasky. They seemed to be speaking, but all Adam could hear was a dull ringing. He shook his head to clear it out, which seemed to attract the attention of the two humans. The jogged over to his bed and took up positions on either side. “What happened…?” Adam coughed, his throat dry. Kevin picked up a glass of water on a bedside table and passed it to Adam, who gulped it down greedily. “You did it, Adam,” Commander Lasky said, patting the Spartan on his shoulder. “Your plan worked.” “Well done,” Kevin said. “Though, next time, I really would like to know before you launch over a hundred archer missiles at a mountain-side city. Before I found out Princess Celestia was strengthening the supports with her magic, I thought we were all going for a little tumble…” Adam laughed weakly, and smiled. “Sorry, there wasn’t much time to explain…” he said. Kevin nodded, and patted Adam on his shoulder. “How long have I been out?” “A little over two hours,” Lasky said. “Once the surviving griffons surrendered, it didn’t take too long to get you here and have the medics fix you up.” “Two hours… What have I missed?” Adam asked. “Not much,” Kevin said. “After the griffons who were not in the palace were decimated by the missiles, the survivors just threw down their weapons and surrendered. Not very griffon-like, according to Night Flyer, but I’m glad we didn’t have to keep fighting after that…” “How about Princess Luna?” he asked next, taking another sip of the water. “Last I heard, she’s still in surgery,” Lasky answered. “The doctors think it could take the better part of twelve hours to get her completely fixed up.” Adam nodded. “And Celestia?” “She’s fine,” Kevin said. “Just really worn out… After all, she had to pretty much keep a city from falling off of a mountain, so…” Adam weakly laughed again, then tried sitting up. He winced in pain as the wounded area was forced to move, and Lasky softly pushed him back down onto the bed. “I don’t think so, Spartan,” he said. “You’ve been through a lot today. You need rest.” “But sir,” Adam said. “We don’t know what the griffons are planning. For all we know, a counterattack could already be underway. We need to get to those Forerunner ruins, and take out that monitor!” “Adam, I understand your haste,” Lasky explained. “But you have to accept your limitations. Even a super soldier needs rest…” Adam sighed. “Besides, Infinity is getting images of Gryphonia as we speak. We’ll know if they’re planning anything.” Adam lay back in the bed, resigned. “Yes, sir,” he said. Lasky grinned, then left the room. Kevin lingered for a moment longer before following him. Twilight Sparkle sat quietly in her quarters aboard Infinity, silently scrolling through various pages of information on her provided computer. With some help from the AI, Aine, she had begun to master the basic controls of the device, and now she was quite proficient in it, a fact which the AI made clear. “Your ability to adapt to new concepts is astounding, Twilight Sparkle,” the golden woman said from her pedestal by the door. “Thank you, Aine,” Twilight replied, still finding it odd that she was speaking with a computer. “Is there any specific piece of information you require assistance in locating?” “No thank you, Aine, I think I-,” Twilight was cut off as she heard a sharp knock on her door. The avatar of Aine flickered off of the pedestal, and Twilight stood to greet her visitor. She pressed the small button on the side of the door and it slid open, revealing a single marine. “Ma’am, Captain Del Rio would like to speak with you on the bridge,” he reported. He then spun around, and began walking down the corridor. Twilight quickly jogged out of her room to keep up with the marine. As they walked down the hall, she got to wondering. What does the captain want with me? This would be the first time she had met the captain of the starship, as, from what she had heard, he was somewhat of a recluse. He had only made himself known to one pony onboard, and that was Princess Cadance. If he was requesting her presence… Maybe he had information on Equestria! Twilight’s lavender ears drooped as she realized that such information could be either good or bad. From what she had heard, the griffon invasion force was massive, and even with human reinforcements, they would be massively outnumbered. Anxiety began to build up in the unicorn as she and the marine each stepped into an elevator, and it began climbing down to a few decks to where the bridge was situated, closer to the middle. The doors slid open with a hiss and revealed another hallway, almost identical to the one where her quarters were. The only difference was that, at the end of the hallway, rather than branch off into two more, it ended in a thick door guarded by two marines. The marine led Twilight forward and towards the large door. When they reached it, one of the two marines guarding it pressed a series of buttons on a keypad, and it slid upwards, revealing the bridge to Infinity. The first thing Twilight took notice of was how large the room was. It hosted several dozen human crewman, each one sitting at a station doing Celestia knows what. In the center was a long table with a floating apparition of Equis hovering over it, and beyond that was a massive window looking down over the planet itself. Standing in front of the window was who Twilight guessed was Captain Del Rio. Standing next to him was a familiar pink alicorn. Twilight trotted past her marine escort and towards the two individuals, who took notice of her moments before she stopped in front of them. “You must be Twilight Sparkle,” Captain Del Rio said coolly. “I’m Captain Del Rio.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Captain,” Twilight said politely. The captain merely grunted in response, then straightened his back. “I’m sure you’re both wondering why I summoned you each here, so I shall get right to it,” he began. “Only two hours ago, the battle for Canterlot ended. And, as I am sure you are wishing to here, we were victorious. The griffon forces have been eliminated, and the city is completely under pony control once more. Twilight smiled widely, her excitement barely being contained. “Does this mean we can finally return home!?” she shouted gleefully. “Soon, Ms. Sparkle…” Del Rio replied. “We are still coordinating everything to get everyone home as quickly as possible. However, there is much destruction. Many will not be returning home for some time.” At this, both Twilight and Cadance’s faces fell. “What is the extent of the destruction?” Cadance asked sadly. “Canterlot received the most,” the captain explained. “In order to eliminate the griffons, hundreds of missiles were fired from our ships. While the castle is perfectly fine, a large amount of buildings near where griffons were stationed have been destroyed.” Cadance nodded in understanding. “I shall have more information for each of you soon,” Del Rio continued. “But please, would you mind spreading the news to the rest of the ponies onboard?” Twilight and Cadance each nodded, and the captain wore a satisfied grin. “Very well. Dismissed.” With that, he turned back to the large window and began looking out over Equis. Twilight and Cadance each awkwardly stepped back and exited the bridge, then began running down the hall, eager to spread the word. They were going home. Adam once again tried lifting himself from the uncomfortable cot in the infirmary of Perseus, and once again he unsuccessfully fell back down onto the mattress. It had now been six hours since his plan had gone successfully, and still he could not manage to raise himself up. Much of the pain had subsided over the last few hours, and the doctor aboard the frigate, a younger man named George Warren, believed it was time that he tried standing up. But after several unsuccessful tries, the doctor began to express his worries that the blade had gone deeper than they initially believed, and it had hit his spinal cord. “Yeah, this is not good…” Warren said after another unsuccessful attempt. “You should definitely be able to stand by now…” “What do you suggest, doc?” Adam said, grunting back the pain that had begun to manifest in his stomach. “Well, I do have one idea…” he said, and then walked to the door of the room. It slid open, and he called into the hallway. “Come on in!” A moment later, in walked Princess Celestia herself. Despite the fact that she had just kept a city secured to a mountain during a barrage of missiles, she looked well restored. The bags that had once been present under her eyes had all but disappeared, and she once again wore a calm expression. “Princess,” Adam greeted, nodding in her direction. “Good to see you up and about.” “Yes, but I hear you are having some troubles standing?” she asked. Adam simply nodded in response. “I may be able to help with that…” At that, Adam jerked his head up, confused. “Now, I know you have some… uncertainties… about the use of magic, but-,” “Wait, wait, wait…” Adam interrupted. “You want to use magic on me?” Celestia nodded, forcing a smile. But before Adam could blurt outright ‘no’, he decided to actually think it over. If he denied her assistance, then he could never walk again. If he couldn’t walk, he wouldn’t be able to take down 401 Lamenting Chorus, and if he couldn’t do that… then Equestria was right back where it started. “… Do it,” he said. Celestia nodded, somewhat surprised at his answer. She stepped forward, and her horn began to glow a soft golden color. Adam suddenly felt a strange sensation permeate his stomach. It tingled all across his flesh and muscles and tissues, creating a numb feeling. And just as soon as it started, it was gone. The pain that he once felt was completely gone, and he once again felt strength in his legs. Curious, Adam lifted himself up, and, to his surprise, he found himself once again perfectly capable of standing. “Well done!” Doctor Warren said, impressed. “Agreed…” Adam said quietly. “Thank you, princess.” “For all you have done for us, it is the least I could do,” Celestia replied. Adam slowly walked over to the door to the infirmary, and approached Doctor Warren. “Please have Commander Lasky meet me in the armor fitting room,” he said. He then turned and exited the room to retrieve his armor. The various robotic arms spun around Adam’s body as they placed the Mjolnir Mark VI armor on his now-repaired black undersuit. The actual armor itself had also undergone some repairs, and was now looking as good as new. Just as the armor process completed, the door to the small room slid open, and Commander Lasky hurried inside, stopping when he saw the now fully-armored Spartan. “Adam, are you sure you’re ready?” Lasky asked, concerned. “You haven’t gotten much rest, and this is an important mission… If something goes wrong…” “It won’t, sir,” Adam replied. “I’m ready for this. The question is, is everybody else?” Lasky nodded. “Princess Celestia is currently working on gathering up the pony military,” the commander replied. “As for our ODSTs, they’re ready to roll. Infinity scanners show that there are around three thousand griffon soldiers, and two dragons, guarding the ruins. Also, the few sentinels who managed to escape have been sighted flying around the area, though most of them are probably inside.” Adam nodded and stepped out of the cylindrical device. “Then let’s get to it.” Only a few hours later, the Strident-class frigate Perseus was flying along the Equestrian landscape, keeping itself just a few hundred meters off of the ground. The plains that decorated much of Equestria had fallen away to forest, and it was evident that they were nearing the north, as snow was beginning to fall on the glass of the bridge window. Commander Lasky stood in front of the window, watching as their target came ever closer. Deciding that it was time, he pulled himself away from the view and walked quickly to the communications panel. He then pressed several buttons, and activated the shipwide intercom. “All human and pony soldiers,” he began. “We are nearing the Forerunner ruins, and will be there in minutes. Please report to your designated deployment area. Good luck.” A steady alarm began to blare throughout the ship was the crew was ordered to general quarters. Lasky then pressed another few buttons, and opened a channel to the pelican dropship that was keeping up with the frigate just a few hundred meters off of their starboard side. “Adam, we’re almost there,” he said. “Are you and Fireteam Vector ready?” “We’re ready sir,” Adam replied through his suit radio, still having not fixed the pelican communications. “We’ll see you at the touchdown site.” “Understood, Spartan,” the commander said. “Good luck…” Adam paused for a moment. “… You too, sir,” he finally said, then cut off the channel. As they neared the area where Perseus would be touching down, near the old pony base, Adam began to reflect. This was it. His actions over the next few hours would dictate the future of Equestria, and even Equis as a whole. Adam smiled to himself as he thought back to his first day in Equestria. Mere minutes after arriving, he had taken down a mythological creature, then proceeded to heal another one. If only he had known what he was in for… A shrill alarm filled the cockpit of the pelican as he began to near the coordinates of the deployment zone. Quickly, he fired the dorsal thrusters and began to hover down to the ground. Just meters above the landing zone, he deployed the landing gear and softly touched down, then began to shut down systems. He then unstrapped himself from the pilots’ seat, opened the small door to the troop bay, and walked in, where he saw Fireteam Vector getting ready. The now four-man team was busy loading their weapons and preparing the pieces of equipment that they would be making use of. “Are you all ready?” Adam asked as he grabbed an assault rifle and several spare clips from the weapons box. They all stopped what they were doing, and nodded. “We’re ready, Adam,” Kevin said. Adam nodded, then, before leaving, grabbed a Spartan laser from the weapons box, clipping it to his back. If what the mission reports had said were true… he was going to need it. He then opened the back hatch, and the five Spartans stepped out, surveying the area. Just a few dozen meters away, Perseus had touched down and a ramp had deployed from one of the hangars. Human and pony soldiers were all quickly filing out, breaking off into their designated teams. The ship was fully staffed with 1,400 soldiers. It was almost half of what the griffons had, and that wasn’t counting the two dragons or several dozen surviving sentinels, but compared to the winged creatures, they had the clear technological advantage. Among those filing out of the hangar floated seven sentinels with red-painted wings. One had “84” painted on the side as well. This one floated over to Adam. “Spartan D-014,” it said in its usual monotonous tone. “Are you prepared to eliminate 401 Lamenting Chorus?” “I am,” Adam replied, somewhat surprised to see the sentinel. He was under the impression that they had all been destroyed while fighting against the hostile sentinels in the skies above Canterlot. Either way, the support of seven extra sentinels would definitely come in handy. The sentinel seemed satisfied by the Spartans answer, and it floated away to rejoin the other six. As the stream of ponies and humans came to an end, the ramp deployed back into the side of the frigate. Before the large doors closed, however, two G79-TC/MA pelican gunships flew out, their extra weapons clearly visible beneath the wings, and extra ammo stores where the troop bay would usually be. They both hovered over the large mass of human and pony soldiers, and there was a loud rumbling as the frigate took back off into the skies, and hovered over the area, preparing the large autocannons for combat. The frigate glowed golden for a moment as her shields activated. “Adam, this is Lasky, do you read?” the voice of the commander filled the Spartans ear. “Yes, sir, I read you,” Adam replied, holding a hand up. “We’re all ready down here…” “Understood,” Lasky said. “We’ll provide as much support as we can, but we don’t want to use archers. We could destroy the outer ruins if we do…” “Copy that, sir,” Adam said. “We’ll do what we can.” “Good luck, Adam,” the commander said. “Lasky, out.” The channel cut out, and Adam lowered his hand. He then turned to address all of the soldiers in the area. “This is it everyone!” he shouted. “The next few hours decide the fate of Equestria! There is no room for mistakes and no second chances! Let’s go!” The Spartan then turned and sprinted into the thick forest, through which were the griffon-controlled ruins. The sounds of hooves and boots thumping against the ground filled the air and shook the forest floor as the Equestrian army sprinted behind him, ready to give their lives for their country. Only seconds later they burst through the other side and entered the ruins, and immediately came under fire. Elevated griffons fired their crossbow bolts at the advancing allied army, felling several of them. The humans and ponies wasted no time in bringing their own weapons to bear, and soon the air was filled with the sound of gunfire as 7.62x51mm rounds were spewed from the rifles at 610 rounds per minute and connected with the heads and bodies of the griffon soldiers. One of the two dragons took off from somewhere at the back of the ruins, and immediately several rockets from one of the pelican gunships impacted the hardened scales. It was not nearly as powerful as the dragon lord, and actually took some damage, but not enough to discourage it from charging at the aircraft. It sped by the small ship, sharp claws outstretched, and scratched the side of the pelican, leaving a nasty mark. The pilot swerved away, trying to get a line of sight on the creature once again. Meanwhile, Adam charged right into the fray of griffon soldiers who were advancing toward the invaders. He sprayed his assault rifle into their front lines, dropping at least a dozen before his magazine clicked empty and he was forced to fall back and reload. All the while, the ponies behind him refused to stop their advance or give up any ground, and instead continued to advance forward, determined to take the ruins. Once Adam was finished with his first reload, he jumped back in front of the griffons and continued to fire, trying to get a line of sight on the ruin entrance. It would no doubt be well guarded, but once he got inside, Adam believed it would be fairly easy to reach the monitor. Only a few dozen of the hostile sentinels had survived, and even now he could see a large number of them engaging the seven surviving deserter sentinels in the air. Adam’s train of thought was interrupted as a storm of arrows rained down upon him and caused his shields to flare, taking them down to half strength. He quickly looked around for the source of the attack, and spotted eight griffons on a small elevated platform. A quick burst from his assault rifle cut through the wooden supports and caused it to collapse, eliminating the archers. This was a short victory, however, as almost immediately after he felt a thump against his back, and his shields dropped down to a fourth. The Spartan quickly spun around and came face-to-face with a hammer-wielding griffon. It was mid-swing when Adam fired another burst into its chest, killing it instantly. After this, there was a brief pause in the advance of the griffon soldiers, which just barely gave the Spartan time to get eyes on the entrance to the ruins. As he expected, they were guarded by two griffons, who seemed to be wielding sentinel beams. Adam started pushing forward again, trying to make a run for the entrance, when suddenly another large group of griffons ran right in the way and began running for the Spartan, some of the lighter-armored ones taking to the air to fire on him from above. He quickly dispatched the flyers, then aimed his assault rifle ahead at the land-locked griffons who were almost upon him. He squeezed the trigger, but was only met with the unsatisfying click of an empty magazine. Just before the first griffon was able to swing its weapon, Adam rolled out of the way and behind a fallen column, then dropped out his empty mag. Before he could slap in a fresh one, two of the charging griffons broke off of the main group and lunged at him, swinging their heavy weapons. One weapon, a mace, hit Adam directly in the head with enough force to knock him over, and to take his shields down to a fourth. Before the second weapon could hit him, however, he rolled once more, this time into a standing position. He swung the butt of his rifle at the nearest griffon and caught it right under the beak, sending it falling backwards and stunning the creature. Adam took the short opportunity to put in a full magazine and then aimed the assault rifle right for the griffon, killing it with two shots to the head. The second one met a similar fate as it tried to finish off the Spartan’s shields, and it slumped to the ground, dead. Adam then quietly crouch-walked forward, trying to once again get eyes-on the entrance to the ruins. As with before, it was guarded by two griffons, but no one else was in sight. However, the sound of battle filled the air, a clear indication that the griffons were busy fighting off the invaders elsewhere. Adam put a hand to his ear, and activated communications. “Kevin, this is Adam, do you read?” he asked. There was a brief pause. “I read you, Adam,” Kevin finally answered. “What do you need?” “I have a clear shot at the entrance to the ruins,” Adam explained. “If I go for it… Can you finish off the griffons?” There was a pause again. “The way I see it, Adam,” he began. “If you don’t take out that monitor, it won’t matter who finishes off the griffons, that thing is just going to try again anyway. Go. We’ll be fine.” “Copy that,” Adam said. “… Good luck.” “… You too, Adam,” Kevin said. “You too.” Adam broke from cover and sprinted for the doorway, almost immediately drawing the attention of the two guards posted outside. They aimed their sentinel beams at him, and fired. Adam nimbly dodged the red glowing beams of energy, and connected his fist to the first griffon guard. However, just centimeters away from its face, a blue aura surrounded the griffon as an energy shield stopped the blow. Surprised, Adam instead brought his assault rifle up and began to fire at the griffon, each shot being deflected by the Forerunner personal shield. They seemed to be having no effect, as the shields were keyed for high-speed projectiles. He would have to do this the old fashioned way… The two griffons each fired their sentinel beams again, but once again the Spartan jumped out of the way, and approached the nearest griffon. He swung his fist again, this time much slower, and, as he expected, it passed through the barrier, and connected with the griffon’s side. It recoiled backwards at the blow, and dropped the sentinel beam on the ground. Adam then leapt on top of the griffon and assaulted it with a flurry of punches until the beasts face was hardly recognizable. He was interrupted from his attack when he felt his back begin to heat up, and the shield bar at the top of his HUD began to drop quickly. Adam spun off of the incapacitated griffon before the sentinel beam could drop his shields, and turned to face the second griffon. He kicked outward with his leg, but the griffon caught the attack in the middle of the air and pushed, sending the Spartan back and onto the ground. It then fired another quick burst from the sentinel beam, which was just enough to drop his shield and create a long burn line across his chest plate. Adam quickly rolled out of the way and found himself lying right next to the sentinel beam that had been dropped by the first griffon. He grabbed it, brought it forward, and began to fire a continuous stream at the griffon. As he expected, the shields dropped after only a few seconds, and the beam began to burn through the feathers, then flesh, then muscle of the creature until it cut all the way through, bursting out of the back of the creature. It fell to the ground, dead, with a smoking hole in its chest. Adam turned away from the dead creature and cautiously entered the ruins, deciding to keep the sentinel beam with him. It had proven itself to be very useful, and if there were sentinels inside, he was going to need it. Adam turned down the hallway that led to the breach in the wall, which connected the ancient, decaying ruins to the advanced Forerunner ones. Running at his top speed, it did not take him long to reach the hole in the wall, and he jumped through it, then ran down it to the elevator. As soon as he stepped onto the platform, it began descending to the bottom floor, as if it was expecting the Spartan. When it reached its destination, Adam stepped out and walked down the next hallway. At the end, he took a right and entered into the familiar trench with the hardlight bridge. Everything was eerily quiet. There was an utter lack of noise of any kind. The only thing Adam could hear was the rhythmic sound of his breathing, and his heart thumping in his chest. He cautiously began to cross the bridge, half-expecting it to cut out beneath him and send him tumbling into the pit below. But it did not, and when Adam reached the other side, the massive door opened and revealed the wide hallway where he had first come into contact with a sentinel. Adam walked down the hall, the sound of his footsteps echoing off of the walls and filling the chamber. The door at the end of the hallway opened when Adam neared it, and once again revealed the massive circular chamber with the hologram of Equis in the center. Floating in the middle of the bridge that extended out over the circular pit below was the rampant AI behind all of this, 401 Lamenting Chorus. The floating orb menacingly spun around to face the Spartan, the usual green eye replaced by a deep red one. “Reclaimer,” it said. “I am disappointed that you have gone to such lengths to destroy me… The fact that you even believe I can be destroyed truly shows your current mental state! That, along with your belief that the Forerunners are gone… I am surprised, to say the least…” The monitor then began flying around the room, seeming to take note of every detail along the walls. “But alas, it will all have been worth it,” it continued. “For when these ponies have been eliminated, the Forerunners will deem this world safe once more, and they will return. And you will not be here to see it.” Chorus then slowly floated towards the Spartan, energy seeming to collect in its ‘eye’. “Your kind was to inherit the Mantle of Responsibility,” the monitor continued. “But clearly, there was a fault in judgment… You are too flawed, and you cannot see that which is right in front of you. These ponies are dangerous creatures… They must be destroyed… As must you be.” Immediately after, it fired a burst of a bright red energy beam from its eye, which impacted with the Spartan directly on his chest. His energy shields dropped, but before Chorus could fire again, Adam leapt out of the way to another part of the platform. He fired a long, continuous beam from the sentinel beam he had acquired, which seemed to do little against the advanced shielding of the monitor. After a few seconds, the weapon stopped firing, and a burst of steam was emitted from the firing chamber, and indicator that it was out of power. He threw it away and equipped the Spartan laser from his back, checking the charge. It was at full, which gave him a good five uses before it was totally out of power. If that wasn’t enough… No. It has to be. Adam thought. For the sake of Equestria, if he didn’t finish it right here and right now, no one else would. Adam sighted on the monitor and began charging up the laser, a blinking red beam showing where the shot would hit: directly on the monitor’s eye. Just a few seconds later, the heavy shoulder-mounted weapon recoiled backwards and a red beam shot out, connecting right where it was supposed to. The monitor sputtered for a moment and blue plasma began leaking out of several breaches that formed in its side. “You cannot defeat me!” it shouted despite the damage that had clearly been caused by the beam. It then fired another long burst which connected with Adam’s stomach, once again dropping his shields. It fired again and Adam leapt out of the way, but not before it hit him on his shoulder. The beam melted right through the Mjolnir armor and through his black multilayer undersuit, scorching the skin beneath and sending torrents of pain throughout his body. He screamed in agony as the wound cauterized itself, and fell to the ground, landing on his uninjured shoulder. In his blurry vision he clearly saw the Forerunner monitor about to take another shot. Quickly, he aimed the Spartan laser, sighted in on the monitor’s eye once more, and seconds later fired the burst. This time, several cracks began to form in the metallic hull of the monitor, and even more plasma leaked out of them. The red eye began to flicker, and the monitor tried to say something, but it was completely garbled. Just as his shields regained their full strength, the monitor fired off another beam at Adam, this time hitting him in the leg and only taking the shields down to a fifth. Adam brought up his Spartan laser and fired another shot, but the monitor’s anti-gravitational abilities seemed to fail for a moment and it fell a few feet, causing the beam to pass right over it. It then fired another shot, this one hitting Adam in the leg. It dropped his shields the rest of the way and once again cut through his armor, though not as much. It did, however, cause Adam to lose his balance briefly, causing his next shot to go way off target, instead hitting the wall and leaving a burn mark on it. Adam checked the charge of the device. Only one shot remained. One shot, and Equestria would be safe. As he sighted in on the center of the monitor, Chorus was doing the same, and it fired off its beam right at Adam’s stomach. Even though it wasn’t as powerful as the monitor’s initial shots, it still cut right through the Mjolnir armor and burned into his flesh. Adam doubled over as the pain spread throughout his body, and the corners of his vision began to dim. In his very blurry vision, Adam saw the monitor lower itself down to be even with the Spartan. As the waves of energy began to collect in its eye, Adam aimed the Spartan laser at it, and, just half a second before 401 Lamenting Chorus was ready to fire, the laser burst hit it directly in the eye. Immediately, the collection of energy stopped, and the monitor’s red eye faded back to green. As the plasma leaks grew more intense and the cracks in its hull spread out, it managed to speak one more word… “Reclaimer…” There was a bright flash of light and a deafening explosion as the rampant Forerunner monitor exploded in a flurry of blue plasma. Slowly, to avoid injuring himself further, Adam used the Spartan laser to lift himself up off of the ground, and come to a standing position. Very briefly he felt light-headed, and almost fell over, but it passed and soon Adam was once again seeing clearly. He stared at the few remains of the monitor that had fallen to the floor of the glass bridge, and suddenly Adam was fraught with many different emotions. Relief. Happiness. Success. He turned back to the massive door leading into the cylindrical chamber, and simply stared at it. For several minutes he stood, unmoving, staring at the door. Then, slowly, he lifted his hand up to his ear. “Perseus, I-“ And then everything changed.