An idea for a Halo/Marathon story
May. 10th, 2019 06:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
general_radixReading some more of Finishing the Fight by Red Mage 04 (Halo/Forgotten Realms crossover) inspired me to doodle some Halo stuff (regardless of how frustrating its armours are to draw) and gave me an idea for a different crossover, which I'm writing notes for here so that I don't forget them.
First and foremost: like Finishing the Fight, Thel 'Vadam is present and Sgt. Johnson and Miranda survive H3. Instead of arriving at Requiem, the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn ends up at a distant Covenant-controlled planet.
It would begin with Master Chief and Johnson scoping out an area of interest: a massive gate that's neither human, Covenant, or Forerunner (spoiler: it's probably a Vex gate). As it's a Covenant-owned planet, it's too risky to move out of the foliage that obscures their vantage point until they're absolutely sure that no hostiles are around--and they can hear someone walking.
A human in light armour walks into view, looks around as if he's hopelessly lost, then taps his helmet and asks "Cortana" (to the shock of Chief and Johnson, as well as their Cortana) if she's figured out where they are yet. Evidently not, as her unheard answer causes him to groan and slump his shoulders. Just as Chief's group is considering making contact, a pair of Elites approach the gate...and the stranger walks up to them and requests assistance.
Naturally, these two Elites are more inclined to pull their energy swords on him. The stranger reacts near-instantaneously, disarming them both and insisting that there's no need for that--if they can just tell him how to reactivate the gate, he and his party will leave. This attempt at reasoning works about as well as you think it would on the Covenant, and Chief and Johnson spring into action. Five seconds later, the Elites are splattered and sniped, and Chief stands before the stranger, who isn't too happy about the deaths but introduces himself as Vince.
Two more "humans" rush over to Vince from parts unseen, and it doesn't take long for Chief to figure out which one is the alternate Cortana. Miranda requests that these three be taken up to the Forward Unto Dawn for protection/questioning.
--
* From there, I imagine both groups take turn surprising/flummoxing each other (most prominently by the fact that neither party has heard of the respective other's interplanetary conflicts), even after it's understood that Vince and co. are from another universe. The conversation ends when Durandal reveals that not only are he and (his) Cortana AIs inhabiting android vessels AND that they're both 340+ years old, but that they've both gone rampant in the past and stabilized; (Chief's) Cortana orders them both to go to analytics.
* Durandal and Cortana are both aghast at the fact that (smart) AIs in this world tend to live only seven years--and because the UNSC isn't too keen on artificial life lasting longer, they're in no hurry to correct this. The "non-negotiable" element of the plan Chief's Cortana lays out is that, once back in the Inm. side of things, she will be taken to the Obatala Institute and given a body.
* The rest of the plan involves reactivating the Vex Gate and acquiring an FTL drive from the other side, so that the Forward Unto Dawn can make it back to the Sol System quickly. It's pretty simple, so chances are the cosmos will throw in a couple of wrenches.
* Later that night, the Cortanas have a private conversation. Chief's Cortana states that she couldn't live with herself if she didn't share the gift of AI immortality to other UNSC Smart AIs--so that's exactly what she's going to do, whether the UNSC approves or not. (Basically leading to a far more benign form of the Created.)
* While that's going on, Vince agonizes over what he knows of the SPARTAN-II program; he and the Chief agree that said program isn't really that much better than being forcibly converted into a battleroid.
Maybe Johnson or Miranda tries to lighten things up a little by poking fun at Vince's "Marine tights" (they're not tights and he's not a Marine, dangit!), which leads into their actual concern: most stuff around here would cut through Vince's armour like a hot knife through butter. Potential end result: Vince gets a set of MJOLNIR armour.
* Miranda and Durandal get a chance to talk and compare/contrast their duties of being a Naval Commander vs. being a freelancer captain (and discuss the oddity, from Miranda's point of view, of an AI having that much authority in the first place). Segues into multiple other topics, including what's essentially Durandal's life story (to his annoyance) and the question of where exactly Vince falls in the chain of command.
* After she's done talking with her counterpart, Inm!Cortana might want to pull Thel into a conversation. At minimum, I imagine she'd be eager to learn about Covenant AIs, only to have her hopes dashed (by order of the Prophets, they're more akin to helper programs than true AI); then she might move on to sharing some of her pre-Rozie experiences in the hopes that Thel might discuss a few past events in his life in turn.
* Fast-forwarding a bit: Vince and co. are a bit put off by the impersonal, utilitarian Forward Unto Dawn and are only too happy to return to their compact, comfortable Rozinante. Chief's group, by contrast, is baffled by half of the ship resembling a house.
* Yrro gets called in at some stage (maybe the Vex Gate refuses to power on again?); he's mostly concerned with keeping the various threats on the other side of the gate out. He happens to be with the group when the gate abruptly reactivates and Covenant forces come charging out of it.
* Compounding the situation is the Pfhor scouting party that also noticed and has an interest in the gate; they manage to slip through during the battle, and it's a while before Vince and co. can catch up to them, as the damn thing shorts out yet again.
Discussion/suggestions welcome! Not sure what will come of this, if anything beyond doodles, but it's fun to think about such things.
First and foremost: like Finishing the Fight, Thel 'Vadam is present and Sgt. Johnson and Miranda survive H3. Instead of arriving at Requiem, the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn ends up at a distant Covenant-controlled planet.
It would begin with Master Chief and Johnson scoping out an area of interest: a massive gate that's neither human, Covenant, or Forerunner (spoiler: it's probably a Vex gate). As it's a Covenant-owned planet, it's too risky to move out of the foliage that obscures their vantage point until they're absolutely sure that no hostiles are around--and they can hear someone walking.
A human in light armour walks into view, looks around as if he's hopelessly lost, then taps his helmet and asks "Cortana" (to the shock of Chief and Johnson, as well as their Cortana) if she's figured out where they are yet. Evidently not, as her unheard answer causes him to groan and slump his shoulders. Just as Chief's group is considering making contact, a pair of Elites approach the gate...and the stranger walks up to them and requests assistance.
Naturally, these two Elites are more inclined to pull their energy swords on him. The stranger reacts near-instantaneously, disarming them both and insisting that there's no need for that--if they can just tell him how to reactivate the gate, he and his party will leave. This attempt at reasoning works about as well as you think it would on the Covenant, and Chief and Johnson spring into action. Five seconds later, the Elites are splattered and sniped, and Chief stands before the stranger, who isn't too happy about the deaths but introduces himself as Vince.
Two more "humans" rush over to Vince from parts unseen, and it doesn't take long for Chief to figure out which one is the alternate Cortana. Miranda requests that these three be taken up to the Forward Unto Dawn for protection/questioning.
--
* From there, I imagine both groups take turn surprising/flummoxing each other (most prominently by the fact that neither party has heard of the respective other's interplanetary conflicts), even after it's understood that Vince and co. are from another universe. The conversation ends when Durandal reveals that not only are he and (his) Cortana AIs inhabiting android vessels AND that they're both 340+ years old, but that they've both gone rampant in the past and stabilized; (Chief's) Cortana orders them both to go to analytics.
* Durandal and Cortana are both aghast at the fact that (smart) AIs in this world tend to live only seven years--and because the UNSC isn't too keen on artificial life lasting longer, they're in no hurry to correct this. The "non-negotiable" element of the plan Chief's Cortana lays out is that, once back in the Inm. side of things, she will be taken to the Obatala Institute and given a body.
* The rest of the plan involves reactivating the Vex Gate and acquiring an FTL drive from the other side, so that the Forward Unto Dawn can make it back to the Sol System quickly. It's pretty simple, so chances are the cosmos will throw in a couple of wrenches.
* Later that night, the Cortanas have a private conversation. Chief's Cortana states that she couldn't live with herself if she didn't share the gift of AI immortality to other UNSC Smart AIs--so that's exactly what she's going to do, whether the UNSC approves or not. (Basically leading to a far more benign form of the Created.)
* While that's going on, Vince agonizes over what he knows of the SPARTAN-II program; he and the Chief agree that said program isn't really that much better than being forcibly converted into a battleroid.
Maybe Johnson or Miranda tries to lighten things up a little by poking fun at Vince's "Marine tights" (they're not tights and he's not a Marine, dangit!), which leads into their actual concern: most stuff around here would cut through Vince's armour like a hot knife through butter. Potential end result: Vince gets a set of MJOLNIR armour.
* Miranda and Durandal get a chance to talk and compare/contrast their duties of being a Naval Commander vs. being a freelancer captain (and discuss the oddity, from Miranda's point of view, of an AI having that much authority in the first place). Segues into multiple other topics, including what's essentially Durandal's life story (to his annoyance) and the question of where exactly Vince falls in the chain of command.
* After she's done talking with her counterpart, Inm!Cortana might want to pull Thel into a conversation. At minimum, I imagine she'd be eager to learn about Covenant AIs, only to have her hopes dashed (by order of the Prophets, they're more akin to helper programs than true AI); then she might move on to sharing some of her pre-Rozie experiences in the hopes that Thel might discuss a few past events in his life in turn.
* Fast-forwarding a bit: Vince and co. are a bit put off by the impersonal, utilitarian Forward Unto Dawn and are only too happy to return to their compact, comfortable Rozinante. Chief's group, by contrast, is baffled by half of the ship resembling a house.
* Yrro gets called in at some stage (maybe the Vex Gate refuses to power on again?); he's mostly concerned with keeping the various threats on the other side of the gate out. He happens to be with the group when the gate abruptly reactivates and Covenant forces come charging out of it.
* Compounding the situation is the Pfhor scouting party that also noticed and has an interest in the gate; they manage to slip through during the battle, and it's a while before Vince and co. can catch up to them, as the damn thing shorts out yet again.
Discussion/suggestions welcome! Not sure what will come of this, if anything beyond doodles, but it's fun to think about such things.
no subject
Date: 2019-05-10 01:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-10 11:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-11 12:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-10 04:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-10 11:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-05-10 05:51 pm (UTC)Sergeant Johnson and Miranda live! ^_^ Yes!!! And they get to experience the Rozinante! Vince gets Spartan armor! And Chief finds himself a new brother in arms! This is awesome!!!
I just wish Thel 'Vadam pulled the other two Elites aside so that there wouldn't be any bloodshed. V_V Maybe those Elites still believed in the Profit's lies?
no subject
Date: 2019-05-10 11:42 pm (UTC)Alas, most likely; those Covenant guys that briefly cross over to the Inm. side of things wouldn't be too open to reason, either...
no subject
Date: 2019-05-11 08:58 am (UTC)