Countdown Prompt 20-7-2012

Countdown Prompt 20-7-2012

“Chief we have Covenant forces closing in behind us, I have sealed the doors but it is only a matter of time before they find a way through,” Cortana had always been one step ahead of the Covenant, but she could only do so much against their sheer numbers and force.

The Master Chief lifted a turret into place, aiming it at the door. He attached an ammo belt and started the barrel spinning. Then moving onto the second turret across the walkway positioning it as to create cross fire in front of the door.

“Estimating time till last door is breached... Estimated time 3 minutes.”

The Chief linked up both turrets to his suit, he could start them up at any moment he pleased. Then moving to the damaged pelican, he started on repairs. The port thrusters were only working at half capacity though, not nearly enough power to get the pelican and its heavy cargo off the ship.

“1 minute till breach, I hope you have a plan.”

“I will be detaching the battery pack from my armor and connecting it directly to port thrusters. That should give me enough juice to get us out of here,” Master Chief finally replied. He knew what Cortana was thinking. If his suit ran out of power, then they would both die. The backup would only last for 5 minutes before the suit shut down.

Shutting down non-essential services on his suit to conserve power, he walked over to the pelican and detached the battery pack. The blast doors opened and with a quick thought, Master Chief sent the fire signal to the turrets.

Wave after wave of grunts were mowed down by the spray of bullets, elites shields were chipped away and eventually died.

“Chief we need to go now, we don’t know how long the turrets will hold them off, and your battery is draining fast, only 3 minutes left.”

A plasma shot flew through the air hitting the Chief square in the back. Shields dropped to 10% a recharged, draining the back up even further. Only half a minute of power remained as He hopped on the pelican, and started take off. He would have to get out of the bay and up to a safe distance before plugging himself in.

“Cortana stop every suit function that is not absolutely necessary. I need as much time as possible.” Cortana could sense worry in his voice. He never had worry in his voice. She severed all comms links, non essential life support and the HUD display. Then as a last ditch effort to buy them more time she severed the link between him and her.

Instantly Chief felt an emptiness in the back of his mind. She wasn’t there anymore, he could tell something was missing. “Cortana, you there?” No response, he flew away from the hangar bay and up into atmosphere. Another minute and his backup battery would be dead, he had to get into orbit before he could plug himself in, otherwise they would never make it off the planet.

Cortana ran the simulations, the scenarios over and over in her head. Without the link to Master Chief it just felt empty and cold. She had grown dependant on it. She checked time remaining until suit shutdown, only twenty seconds left.

The Chief pushed the pelican as fast as it would go. He could hear the cargo sliding around in the back, he hadn’t gotten time to strap it all in. After 10 seconds of steep climb he plugged himself in and let the momentum of the pelican as well as a small bit of continued thrust. All communications were re-enabled.

“Cortana? Are you there?” Chief asked, worry in his voice. He had never had communications completely cut with her before. What if they couldn’t be restored.

“Yes, I am here. Let’s never do that again.”