-Chapter 5-

                                                                         The story so far

The troopers took the Spartans prisoners and began marching outside the old base across the empty fields which surrounded it. 

<<Where are you taking us?>> dared to ask Spartan-116. 

One of the troopers slammed him on the back of his head with his weapon knocking him down. 

<<Shut up!>> replied the guard.  

After an hour of walking, they reached a group of mountains whose top could not be seen as it pierced through the gathered clowds. One of the troopers approached the mountain side in front of them. A keyboard emerged from it and after he typed some kind of password, and then a door in the shape of rocks opened. More troops came out of it but one of them was a lot taller and had a different kind of armor. 

<<Welcome gentlemen, my name is Calgar and I'm the boss in these parts>> he said. 

The two Spartans looked at each other confused but as they were determined to solve the current mystery, the decided to play along although they weren't sure what the outcome of all this would be. After a brief walk further inwards, Calgar and the Spartans came across an elevator in which the entered and began descending deeper into the mountain.  

<< We are at level twelve, how much deeper until we reach your private quarters?>> asked Spartan-116 but received no answer from Calgar. 

Finally when the elevator reach down level thirty five, it stopped and so the men exit it and found themselves facing a small city of around forty structures. Calgar noticed the awe in the Spartans faces in spite of the fact that they wore helmets. 

<<This is the lowest level of our hidden base, our last base to be precise>>Began Calgar as they walked through the city. 

<< The building around you comprises of barracks, simulation training centers, weapon and vehicle factories and the command center where we're going next>>. 

The buildings where painted in white and blue colors and troops were running on every direction doing their exercises or working in the factories. The command center was also dressed in the same colors but had a huge two headed eagle on front of the main entrance which was holding a big ''U'' in his legs. 

<<This way>>said Calgar as they passed through the entrance. 

The men walked through a corridor full of wall paintings depicting epic battles between Space Marines and some other warriors very similar to them. Others showed skirmishes with some hideous creatures the likes of which the Spartans had never encountered before. In the end of the walkway two Space Marines were guarding a door. In the presence of Calgar, they allowed entrance and so the three men entered a huge hall room with a throne on the other edge of it and a hole in the sealing allowing a beam of sunlight to illuminate the entire room. Calgar sat on the throne facing the Spartans. 

<<Alright gentlemen, who are you to begin with>>. 

The two Spartans looked at each other but in the end Spartan-118 took the courage to explain to Calgar who they were and what had happen to them. 

<< We are Spartans of the UNSC>> began Spartan-118 << I am Spartan-118 and this is my close friend and brother-in arms Spartan-116. We were battling the Covenant Empire, an alien confederation that sought to eradicate humanity form the face of the galaxy. During the battle of Madregar, we tried to use a time machine prototype to prevent the war from starting but instead we ended up here>>. Having said that, Spartan-118 was curious to hear Calgar's next words. 

After a few moments Calgar replied to what the Spartan had said << I couldn't believe it when I first lay eyes upon you but know that I heard the story from you, I am sure my eyes were not playing games with me>>. The two Spartans were confused but Calgar soon saw that so he decided to continue << Well boys, there is no easy way to say this but you failed your mission to prevent the war>> said Calgar much to the Spartan's surprise but allowed him to continue without interruptions.<<what actually happened after your disappearance was absolute chaos. A new enemy rose to enter the war but on no-one's side and that was The Flood>>.  

<< The Flood ? >> asked Spartan-116 .  

<< The Flood are a species of highly virulent parasitic organisms that can reproduce and grow by consuming sentient life forms of sufficient biomass and cognitive capability>>. 

<< In English please >> said Spartan-116. 

<<Please continue Calgar>> said right after Spartan-118. 

<<What did I say? >> murmured Spartan-116. 

<< As I was saying, the Flood appeared and attacked both Humans and Covenant alike as an unstoppable force. Soon after civil war broke out within the Covenant between the Elites and the Brutes, the two primary species. The Elites allied themselves with the Humans and together the defeated the Brutes thus ending the Human-Covenant war. In the meantime The Flood had expanded and threatened the future of humanity. Humans and Elites agreed to activate the Halo arrays to wipe out The Flood once and for all. To prevent their own peril, they constructed a massive planet like world which would shield them from the array and so they locked themselves in and activated the Halo rings thus killing The Flood ,or so they thought ,but at the cost of two thirds of their population. For the next thirty five thousand years, the galaxy was at peace and humanity with the aid of the Elites prospered and reached technological achievements never before thought possible. Then the great enemy reappeared as hungry and vengeful as ever with an army of billions and consumed our worlds>>. Having said all these Calgar paused for a brief moment as he was trying to recall the old stories back from storage of his memories on the one hands and on the other he wished he didn't have to. Seeing the Spartans being hanging on his lips he decided to continue << The Elites were the first to be attacked and managed to halt the Flood's advance long enough for the humans to come up with a new weapon to defeat them for good this time>>. 

<< Why didn't they use the Halo rings again? >> asked Spartan-118 although he had anticipated what the answer would be. 

<< A noble question Spartan with a simple answer. The energy stored in the rings had dried out after their use rendering them useless for another activation. I personally believe that even if the rings were capable of reactivation, they would have tried to find another way to stop the Flood due to its great toll of lives it had cost them the first time. >> The Spartan nod in agreement giving Calgar the signal to carry on with his telling. 

<< As I was saying, humanity recurred to the creation of the super soldier it had once created, you. With the technologies of the time they were able to go even further resulting in the creation of the Space Marines, us. At the battle of Sanghelios, on the Elites homeworld, one hundred thousand Space Marines were deployed to fight the Flood swarm but the enemies were too many for any army to stop. Fleets of thousands, army of billions against a desperate group of near extinct species. Though the battle was lost and the entire Elite species was consumed by the Flood, twenty thousand space marines fled the planet and regrouped back to Earth to figure out what to do next. We decided to split into ten smaller forces so that we would be more difficult to be found and even if we were, we would not be all consumed. These chapters were called Luna Wolves, Salamanders, Novamarines, Iron Fists, Howling Griffons, Avenging Sons, Vengeful Spirits, Ghost Warriors, Terran Knights and Ultramarines . In the next two and a half thousand years the scattered Space Marines fought the Flood on many fronts. We are the Ultramarines Chapter based in Scotland and as for the whereabouts of our fellow chapters we know not for the last evidence we had was from an intercepted transmission from a location deep within Flood controlled space some two hundred years ago. We presume we are the last men in existence >>.  

<< Whoa! That's a lot to take in! >> said Spartan-116. 

<< I know...>> replied Spartan-118 

As if all this wasn't enough the alarm went off. << Chaos Space Marines! To arms brothers! >> yelled a Space Marine nearby and everyone started running to prepare for battle.  

<< Did he just say ''Chaos'' Space Marines or something? >> asked Spartan-118. 

<< How did they find us? >> asked Calgar.

<< They must have noticed the time portal anomaly when the Spartans arrived. >> replied the Space Marine.

<<Alright Spartans, history lesson is over, time to kill some bitches! >> said Calgar who went to gear up in the armory. 

<< Damn, it's about time! >> said Spartan-116 in response.