• Published 31st May 2014
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Second Contact - SpartanD014



When Spartan D-014 is randomly ejected from slipspace, he ends up on a strange new world. It's peaceful enough, but not all is as it seems...

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Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17


Captain Andrew Del Rio looked down at the planet below him from the bridge of Infinity, hoping that everything was going well. His second officer’s scheduled check-in wasn’t for another hour, and he hadn’t called up to say something was wrong, so the captain assumed that negotiations were going just fine. His train of thought was interrupted by a beeping coming from behind him, so he spun away from the large window and approached the holotable. On it, the golden avatar of Infinity’s AI, Aine, appeared.

“Sir, we are receiving a transmission from Earth,” she said. “The signal confirms that it is Admiral Hood.” Del Rio straightened his collar and wiped away the creases on his gray uniform.

“Patch him through, Aine,” he commanded. Her hologram disappeared, and was replaced by one of Admiral Hood. Immediately, Del Rio saluted.

“At ease, Captain,” Hood said. “How is your mission going?” The captain dropped his salute.

“My second officer is on the ground, pursuing negotiations now, sir,” Del Rio replied. “His scheduled check-in is in an hour.”

“Very good, Captain,” said the admiral. “Do you believe that negotiations are going well?”

“Commander Lasky has not radioed in for assistance, and our scanners are still showing that Perseus is untouched, sir,” he said. “I believe that everything is going perfectly fine.”

“Good… I will call back in a little over an hour. I expect to have a report from your second officer, Andrew,” Hood said.

“That shouldn’t be a problem, sir,” Del Rio replied.

“Good. Hood, out.” The hologram of Admiral Hood faded away, and Del Rio let out a sigh. He turned and walked back to the large window, and looked down on Equis. It would be dark on the ground soon, and hopefully, Lasky would report in. Del Rio didn’t know why he was so nervous. The Spartan had made peaceful contact, as was clear from his logs. There was no reason that they would not be greeted as friends. The captain took a deep breath, and turned away from the viewport, and began to walk to his ready room.


“Greetings,” the sentinel said in a flat, emotionless voice, taking everybody present by surprise. Adam regarded the machine cautiously, his hand resting on the magnum on his thigh, ready to spring into action. When nobody replied to the sentinel, it floated a bit closer.

“Greetings,” it said once more. Adam looked to Princess Celestia, who was staring at the sentinel, very confused. Finally she regained her composure, and looked to her guards. She motioned for them to lower their weapons, which they reluctantly did.

“Hello?” Celestia cautiously said to the Forerunner device.

“You are Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria,” it said.

“Yes, how can I help you?” she replied, still confused.

“We seek your council,” it said, motioning to the other four sentinels behind it. Celestia looked to Adam, confused.

“Adam, what do you suggest?” she asked him. Adam already knew that he could not trust the Forerunner machines, so his response was quick. He pulled out his magnum, and aimed it at the sentinel closest to the princess.

“I suggest we destroy them before they destroy us,” he said.

“We do not intend harm,” the sentinel said. “We seek your assistance.” This confused Adam and everybody else even further. The Spartan lowered his magnum, and stared at the machine.

“Assistance? With what?” he asked it.

“401 Lamenting Chorus has entered rampancy,” it began. “While most sentinel units still follow its orders, this unit, as well as several others, have broken off.”

“Will the others not come looking for you?” Luna asked, stepping forward.

“No,” it said. “We have separated ourselves from the main server, thus cutting ourselves off from being located or controlled by 401 Lamenting Chorus.” Celestia looked to the sun in the west, which was close to setting. She then looked to Luna.

“Sister, we must attend to our duties,” she said. She then looked to Lasky and Adam.

“Is there somewhere safe you could take this machine?” she said. “Somewhere we might… talk to it?” Adam looked at the princess, surprised.

“You can’t be serious, princess,” he said. “There is no way we can trust that thing!”

“I might have said the same about you several weeks ago, Adam,” she said. “Yet I gave you a second chance. Perhaps you might choose to do the same.” With that, Celestia and Luna turned and exited the gardens. Lasky stepped up to Adam.

“We can take it to the meeting room aboard Perseus,” he said. “I need to check in soon anyway. It’ll be fine.” Adam sighed, and nodded.

“Yes, sir,” the Spartan replied. “I’ll call in the pelican.”


“There’s what down there!?” Del Rio shouted vehemently through the holotable on Perseus.

“Forerunner sentinels, sir,” Lasky repeated. “And a monitor too, it seems.” Del Rio’s brow furrowed anxiously, and the captain turned his gaze to Adam, who was standing next to Commander Lasky.

“You were aware of this, Spartan?” he said quietly.

“Yes, sir,” Adam replied.

“And you neglected to report it in your logs?” Del Rio said, beginning to grow angry.

“At the time of recording those logs, I was unaware of the presence of Forerunners on this planet,” Adam said, remaining calm and collected.

“I do not care if you just learned about them today, Spartan,” the captain said. “I want to know what you intend to do about them!”

“Sir, I will do everything in my power to defeat the Forerunner machines, and keep this planet safe,” he replied. Del Rio sighed angrily.

“I must report this to the UNSC…” he finally said. “Del Rio, out.” The hologram of the captain faded away, and Adam and Lasky both stepped away from the table.

“Well he’s not in the best mood right now,” Lasky said. “Sorry about that, Adam.”

“It’s fine,” Adam replied. “What’s the plan?”

“The five sentinels are currently in the meeting room,” the commander said. “Princesses Celestia and Luna should be here any second. We can wait for them there.” Lasky turned and exited the bridge, followed closely by Adam. The meeting room was only a few doors down from the bridge, so getting there took no more than a few seconds. The door was guarded by two ODST’s, who saluted when Commander Lasky approached.

“At ease,” he said. “Open it.” One of the ODST’s stepped in front of the door, his battle rifle held at the ready. The second soldier stacked up next to the door, then pressed the button to open it. It slid open, revealing the five sentinels floating around one side of the long table. The ODST lowered his battle rifle, and stood aside, granting Adam and Lasky passage inside. The door closed behind them, and they both took seats at opposite ends of the table.

“Where is Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria?” the center sentinel said, looking at Lasky.

“She’s on her way,” he said.

“Understood,” the sentinel replied. Only a few seconds later, the intercom came on.

“Sir, the princesses have arrived,” a voice said from it.

“Understood,” Lasky replied. “Escort them up here.” A few minutes later, Princesses Celestia and Luna entered the meeting room. The door closed once again behind them, and they each took a rather uncomfortable seat across from the sentinels. Celestia looked around the room, her gaze finally settling on Commander Lasky.

“Commander, I am very impressed by your ship,” she said. “The technology is fascinating.”

“Thank you ma’am,” the commander replied, smiling. “Shall we begin?” Celestia nodded, and took on a stern look before she looked to the sentinels.

“So,” Celestia began. “Once again, how can we help you?”

“We request your assistance,” the center sentinel said, floating forward again.

“Our assistance with what, exactly?” Luna asked curiously.

“As this unit stated earlier, 401 Lamenting Chorus has entered rampancy,” it said. “This poses a threat not only to the inhabitants of this planet, but also to our continued existence, as well as the Forerunner’s legacy.”

“How does it pose a threat to us? What is it capable of?” Celestia asked.

“It has control over all Forerunner installations on this planet, as well as multiple sentinel units who cannot be destroyed by your primitive weaponry,” it replied. “It also has enlisted the aid of the species that call themselves ‘griffons’.”

“We are aware of the griffon threat,” Luna said. “We have already engaged them.”

“Then you know that 401 Lamenting Chorus is effective at convincing people to work for it,” the sentinel said. “And you know that it should not be underestimated.”

“What do you mean?” Celestia asked. “What is it planning?”

“As you already know, it wants to eradicate your species due to your natural ability to manipulate the ‘magic’ field around this planet,” the sentinel continued. “It is doing this because it believes you pose a threat to our creators, the Forerunners. It does not recognize that they are gone.”

“And you do?” Lasky asked, leaning on the table.

“Yes. We received a signal that the Halo installations had been activated one hundred thousand years ago,” it said. “However, by this time, 401 Lamenting Chorus was already beginning to go rampant. It ignored the signal, as did many of the sentinel units. Because it believes the creators are still alive, it will dedicate all of its processes to eliminating you. It will not stop until it is successful.”

“Then we have to eliminate it first,” said Adam.

“Yes,” the sentinel said, bobbing up and down in an attempt at nodding.

“How many of you are there?” Luna asked. “I mean, of the ones who no longer serve the monitor?”

“Of the 593 sentinel units currently active, 78 have broken from the main server,” it replied.

“78 friendly sentinels, that leaves us with… 515 hostile sentinels to deal with,” Lasky said. “Shouldn’t be too much trouble, with our help.”

“As was stated previously, do not underestimate 401 Lamenting Chorus,” the sentinel said. “After Adam Spartan D-014 successfully escaped the primary installation, it began to create upgrades. The sentinel units who still serve it are now equipped with personal energy shields, as well as power boosts to their beam weapons.”

“And we also have to deal with the griffons,” Celestia added. “They have a very large military, much larger than our own.”

“The griffons will not be difficult, based on human technology level,” it said. “401 Lamenting Chorus has not provided them with any upgrades. They are simply a means to an end. It did not anticipate further human assistance.”

“Then that gives us a small advantage over them,” Luna said. “How many humans are here, Commander Lasky?”

“Well, to keep this a bit of a more low-key mission,” Lasky began. “Infinity is running with minimal crew. While she normally holds 17,000 humans, we’re only operating with 500, and most of them are the technicians who keep the ship running…”

“Can we call for more reinforcements, sir?” Adam asked.

“We can, but Infinity has an upgraded slipspace drive,” Lasky replied. “Any standard UNSC ship could take weeks to get here.” Adam nodded.

“Then we need to begin fortifying,” he said, turning to Princess Celestia. “Princess, I’d recommend evacuating as many of your civilians as possible to Infinity. She has the space, and they’d be much safer up there.”

“I agree,” Celestia replied. “Is this alright with you, Commander?”

“It should be fine, though I’ll have to run it by the Captain,” Lasky said. “The real question though, is will your ponies want to leave?” Celestia looked down in thought.

“I hope so, Commander,” Celestia said, looking back up. “I have not yet revealed your existence to them, though the presence of one of your ships right next to our capital city should help with that.” Lasky looked around to everybody in the room, and nodded.

“Right, then,” he said. “We all have work to do. Sentinel, tomorrow I want you to get your allies and bring them outside of the ship. Princesses, at the same time, you should brief your citizens and prepare your military.” Both parties nodded, and began to exit the meeting room. Before the sentinels could leave, however, Lasky stopped them.

“Wait,” he said. “Is there anything we can call you other than ‘sentinel’?” The sentinel turned around and faced Lasky.

“We have no individual names, for we are all linked into a central server,” it said. “However, this is sentinel unit 84. You may refer to it by that.” Lasky nodded.

“84… Very well,” he replied. The sentinel then turned, and floated out of the room.


“Sister, are you ready?” Princess Luna asked a very nervous Princess Celestia. She was pacing back and forth in a small room behind the main throne room of the palace, sweat creasing her brow. When she heard Luna speak, she stopped and faced her.

“Yes,” she said, sighing. “Yes, I think I’m ready.” Celestia pushed the door to the throne room open with her magic, and saw the massive collection of ponies seated in front of the two thrones. Celestia and Luna took their seats, and looked to the waiting crowd. In the front row were several dozen reporters from newspapers all over Equestria. Behind them were citizens lucky enough to make it inside before the room was filled. Celestia cleared her voice, then spoke.

“My little ponies,” she began. “You are no doubt wondering what the large construct is that is hovering just next to our city.” This was met with several nods from the audience. “While I am sure that many of you have already guessed this, Equestria has been visited by aliens.” The sound of quills on parchment filled the room as reporters began to write down her every word.

“I assure you, they mean us no harm. They are in fact here to help us. Not long ago, we received word that the griffon army was mobilizing, and preparing to attack us. Just earlier today, we received confirmation, and the first battle began. We were successful in slowing them down, but they are still coming, and they still mean to do us harm.” Celestia slammed her hoof on the ground. “I will not allow this to happen. However, there is more to it. The griffons are being commanded by an ancient machine, who has remained unknown to us for thousands of years. It’s very purpose, it seems, is to wipe us from existence.” Many gasps were heard from the audience.

“But do not fear, my little ponies. For there is a light in the darkness. These aliens who have visited us, called humans, are here to help us. Many weeks ago, one of the humans crash landed here. He has been with us for almost all of this time, developing a friendship with us. And now that his friends have arrived, we have a chance to defeat the griffons, and secure our future.” Celestia nodded to a guard standing next to a side door. He saluted, and opened the door, revealing Commander Lasky. The ponies in the audience gasped as he walked out next to the princesses. When he was standing next to Celestia, he turned and faced the crowd.

“Hello,” he began. “My name is Commander Thomas Lasky, of the UNSC. It is a pleasure to meet all of you.” Lasky stepped forward, and began walking back and forth in front of the crowd.

“You face a terrible, and powerful enemy,” he continued. “Not long ago, humanity was in this very position, where we faced an insurmountable foe who wanted nothing but to see us wiped out. But we endured, and now, we will help you do the same. So cast aside your fears, and your doubts. Stand strong, and know that Equestria will survive!” The crowd burst into cheers, and began stomping their hooves on the ground. The journalists up front continued scribbling down on their parchment, their expressions ones of excitement. Lasky smiled, and walked back to his place next to the princesses.

“We will now answer questions about the current situation,” Luna said, trying to be heard over the loud cheering. The crowd quieted down, and dozens of hooves shot up. Luna pointed to one in the front row.

“Yes, you there,” Luna said. “What is your question?”


“You want to bring them aboard here!?” Del Rio yelled through the holotable on the bridge of Perseus. Adam sighed and looked down, before looking back up at the captain.

“Sir, they’d be much safer up there,” Adam said. “Besides, we have a lot of room! I mean, sure, it’s not enough for the entire population, but we could at least keep some safe.”

“I understand that, Spartan,” the captain said behind gritted teeth. “My problem is with having an alien race that we barely know inhabiting our most advanced starship! Do you realize the trouble that could come of this?”

“Sir, I’m sure that, if we explained to them the situation, maybe set a few rules, they’d listen!” Adam countered. “It’s our best option right now, sir.” Del Rio looked down and sighed.

“Give me some time to think about it,” he finally said. “I’ll be in touch. Del Rio, out.” The hologram faded away, and Adam stepped back from the table, sighing. He heard the sound of the door opening behind him, and turned to see Commander Lasky entering the room.

“Welcome back, sir,” Adam said. “I assume that your introduction went well?”

“Indeed it did, Adam,” Lasky replied. “How did it go with the Captain?” Adam sighed.

“It went okay…” he said. “Captain said he’d think it over…”

“I’m sure he’ll see the reasoning, Adam,” the commander said. “Listen, the sentinels are going to be here soon. We should get outside and get ready to deal with them.”

“Yes, sir,” Adam said. They both turned and exited the bridge, and entered the elevator. Lasky pressed the button for the hangar deck, and Adam felt a slight bump as the elevator began to descend. They were silent for the duration of the ride, and when the door opened, they both exited into the hangar. It was bustling with activity as marines and technicians prepared vehicles and loaded pelicans with heavy ordnance. The two walked over to the main hangar door where a ramp had been set up, and walked down to the grassy plains below the ship. Adam looked around, until he spotted dozens of silver dots flying in their direction.

“Look,” he said, pointing. “They’re coming.” Only a few moments later, 78 sentinels were surrounding Adam and Commander Lasky. One of the sentinels, who Adam assumed was unit 84, floated forwards and approached the commander.

“We have returned, as requested,” it said. “What do you require of us?”

“Based on intel gathered by pony scouts, as well as scanner data collected by Perseus, it seems that the griffons are mounting several major offenses,” Adam began. “They have split up into several very large groups that seem poised to attack several Equestria towns and cities. The largest group, however, seems to be preparing for an invasion of Canterlot.”

“This makes the most sense, tactically speaking,” 84 said.

“Agreed,” Adam continued. “Therefore, we are going to be splitting our forces. The soldiers that Infinity brought along will be helping to reinforce major cities along with large pony battle groups. The main force of the Equestrian army, as well as the Spartan-IV squad aboard Infinity, will be stationed at Canterlot, along with you all.”

“Would it not make more sense to split us up into small groups at each tactical location?” the sentinel asked.

“Normally yes, but the griffon army that will be marching upon Canterlot is also reinforced by the remaining 500 sentinels,” the Spartan explained. “We’re going to need all of you there to help us out.”

“Understood,” 84 said. “This unit will share the data with allied sentinels. We will be ready when you require us.” Unit 84 then spun around and floated back to the other sentinels. Lasky and Adam turned and walked back up the ramp and into the hangar of Perseus. Immediately they were met by a crewman.

“Sir?” he said to the commander. “You have a message incoming from Captain Del Rio.” Lasky and Adam looked at one another, then back at the crewman.

“Thank you, have it ready for me on the bridge,” the commander replied. The crewman saluted, then stepped aside and began speaking into his earpiece. Lasky and Adam stepped into the elevator, and set their course for the bridge. When they exited, a hologram of the captain was waiting for them on the holotable.

“Captain,” Lasky said. “How can we help you?” At this, Del Rio straightened his back and cleared his throat.

“I was just calling to let you know,” he began. “I have cleared your idea with the UNSC High Command. They will allow as many pony refugees aboard as we can possibly fit.”

“That’s great news,” Lasky replied, smiling. “I’ll report it to the princesses right away.”

“I’m also sending down the remaining nine frigates docked in our ventral bay,” the captain said. “Including as many pelicans as we have pilots for. They’ll be landing wherever the princesses want them. Report back to me when you have their response.”

“Will do, sir,” said Lasky.

“Good luck, Commander,” Del Rio said. “It is imperative that we help these ponies to the best of our ability.”

“I understand, sir,” Lasky said.

“Good. Del Rio, out.”

The hologram faded away, and Lasky turned to Adam.

“We should go inform the princesses, and have them start preparing the civilians,” he said. Adam nodded in agreement, and they both exited the bridge.


Princess Celestia stood from her throne as the large crowd of journalists who had stayed behind after the introduction finally took their leave. No sooner had she taken a single step away from her seat than Commander Lasky and Adam both entered, and quickly approached her.

“Princess!” Lasky said. “I have good news!”

“Oh?” Celestia asked. “What is it?”

“I was just in contact with Captain Del Rio aboard the Infinity,” he replied. “He’s agreed to take in as many refugees as possible.”

“That’s wonderful!” Celestia said, smiling. “How many can your ship fit?”

“She’s fit for 17,000, but with the smaller stature of most ponies, we should be able to squeeze in a few more thousand,” Lasky said. “He’s preparing ships to land wherever you need them, to transport ponies aboard.”

“Excellent,” the princess said. “How many ships do you possess?”

“There are nine more frigates like the one outside,” the commander replied. “Plus dozens of pelican dropships to carry smaller groups of ponies.”

“Good… Come with me,” Celestia said, turning around. She walked to the back of the throne room and exited through a small door. Adam and Lasky followed her inside, where they found a table with a map of Equestria. Already standing by the table was Princess Luna, who was holding a quill in her magical grip. She looked up at the newcomers, and smiled.

“Welcome back,” she said. “I trust you have good news?”

“I do,” Lasky replied. “We can take aboard as many refugees as possible, but we need to know where you want us to land our transport ships.”

“I figured that you would want this,” Luna said. “So I’ve taken the liberty of creating a map showing priority locations.” She passed the map over to Lasky, who began scrutinizing every detail.

“Next to Canterlot, the Crystal Empire and Manehattan are our two largest cities,” she continued. “Therefore, more transports will need to be sent there. As for Ponyville, one of your larger ships should suffice, and the same goes for Fillydelphia and Las Pegasus. Smaller towns like Appleloosa and Dodge Junction should be fine with several of the smaller ships, like what Adam has.” Lasky nodded as he looked at each location, then rolled up the map.

“I’ll have this scanned and transmitted to the captain right away, princesses,” he said.

“Thank you, Commander,” Celestia said. “You are doing us a great service, and we are truly grateful for it.”

“We were in your position not long ago,” Lasky said. “It’s the right thing to do.” Lasky then turned and started to exit the room. He stopped right before the door, and turned his head back at the princesses.

“Adam will help coordinate your military to fortify key positions in Canterlot, and we’ll have more of our officers sent down to help with the other cities,” he said. “I’ll be back shortly.” He then turned back around and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Adam turned, and approached Princess Celestia.

“Have your trainers begun passing on my advice to your soldiers, ma’am?” he asked her.

“Yes, they began as soon as you finished,” she replied. “Already many soldiers are being cleared for duty, and unicorn soldiers are practicing using more powerful magical charges to defeat the sentinels.”

“Good,” Adam said. “Let’s hope that they can hold their own…”

“Are you not staying?” Luna asked curiously.

“They’re going to be attacking many of your key cities,” he began to explain. “If they are allowed to be taken, they will simply act as forward operating bases for the griffons. The closer they get, the more power they’ll exercise in that theater. I’ll be moving from city to city, helping out the soldiers that we have stationed there.”

“Very well, Adam,” Celestia said. “The closest city to the Gryphonia border is the Crystal city, closely followed by Manehattan and Fillydelphia. The griffons will be upon them any day now.”

“Good luck, Adam,” Princess Luna said, wrapping a wing around the large Spartan. “And please, return to us.” Adam nodded, then turned and exited into the grandiose throne room beyond. As he walked down the large hall, he examined the ornate marble columns and intricate stained glass windows that lined the walls. As he neared the large door on the far end, the two guards standing by it opened it with their magic, allowing him into the hallway beyond. From there, Adam walked down the memorized route to the castle gardens, where his pelican was still landed. He exited into the large courtyard and entered the cockpit of his ship, where he then strapped into the pilots seat, and activated all of the systems. Before he took off, he pressed the button on the comms panel.

“D-014 to Perseus, do you read, over?” Adam said into his helmet mic.

“This is Lasky. What can I do for you, Adam?” Commander Lasky asked through the speakers.

“I’ll be heading to the Crystal Empire to help bolster their defenses as best I can before the griffons arrive,” the Spartan explained.

“Understood,” Lasky replied. “I’ll let the commanders of Kraken and Aspen know to expect you. Lasky, out.” The line cut out, and Adam lifted off in his pelican. He then input the coordinates of the Crystal Empire into the flight computer, and shot off in the direction of the city.

Author's Note:

Here's chapter 17 for you all! As promised, it begins to explore the idea of some sentinels as allies. Also, for anybody who may have suspected while reading, I decided to base the behavior of the sentinels off of that of the Geth from Mass Effect.

If you found any spelling/grammar/lore errors, or just have a suggestion, please let me know!

As usual, thanks for reading, and enjoy!