John-117: Difference between revisions

Exiting the portal John and the Weapon found themselves inside a Forerunner structure known as the [[Repository (location)|Repository]]. There the AI uncovered a message left behind by Escharum where he taunted the Spartan with a recording of Esparza being tortured and where he embedded his coordinates so as to make it easier for John to find him.{{Ref/Quest|Id=repository|HINF|Reckoning|[[Repository (Halo Infinite level)|Repository]]}} Proceeding through the Repository, the Master Chief and the Weapon discovered many fragments and memories of Cortana, shining the light on the events that led to creation of the Weapon in the first place. Observing Cortana's cruel actions during the [[Created conflict]], the Weapon was horrified and became even more devastated when she realised that she was an actual copy of Cortana. Afraid of becoming as merciless as Cortana was she restored her deletion protocols and asked Chief to complete his original mission. John refused, insisting that they could do it together, though while he didn't trust her, he'd wanted to.{{Ref/Reuse|repository}}

Emerging on the surface, the Weapon identified the Escharum's coordinates as the [[House of Reckoning (location)|House of Reckoning]]. Nearby, the Master Chief discovered a small Banished outpost where he killed the forces guarding it and commandeered a [[M808 Scorpion]] tank parked there. Utilising the heavy firepower John cut through Banished garrison and reached his target.{{Ref/Quest|Id=road|HI|Reckoning|The Road (level)|The Road}} Once inside, Escharum made Chief fight through multiple waves of Banished troops in several arenas constructed from UNSC ordnance and buildings up until he was confronted by Jega 'Rdomnai.{{Ref/Level|Id=House of Reckoning|Hi|[[House of Reckoning]]}} Despite using his [[active camouflage]] extensively, 'Rdomnai was ultimately killed by the Master Chief, finally avenging the several UNSC personnel that he had ambushed during the six-month-long Banished occupation. As John arrived at the heart of the House of Reckoning, he found Esparza locked at a similar torture device as Spartan Griffin was. As he attempted to free the pilot, the Spartan was attacked by Escharum. With the AI assistance John managed to outsmart and defeat the Brute War Chief and free Esparza. Mortally wounded but not dead yet, Escharum staggered over and demanded that the Spartan continue their battle. However, the Master Chief refused and caught and held the dying Escharum who promised that his death would inspire a thousand others and requested that the Spartan tell them that he had died well. Escharum then died of his wounds in the Master Chief's arms, surprising Esparza with the respect that the Spartan had given to the War Chief as he died given the latter's reputation as a monster. The Master Chief recognized that in the end, Escharum was just a soldier, hoping he'd done the right thing and questioning his choices. While Esparza believed that it was over with the death of the Banished's leader, the Master Chief warned him that it was not that simple and that there would be consequences as there always were. Recognising that imminent threat in tha face of the Harbinger remained, the trio recovered ''Echo 216'' and Esparza flew John to the Silent Auditorium.{{Ref/Reuse|House of Reckoning}}

Despite the Banished set up defenses to protect the Harbinger, John managed to breach inside. As they were fighting through enemy ranks the Weapon revealed to John that the Silent Auditorium was the place were Cortana was locked down and where she died. Deeper inside the structure they encountered more echos of Cortana reminiscing her actions and repenting, realising her mistake in assuming the [[Mantle of Responsibility]] for herself, which ultimately led to humanity's downfall, John's supposed death and allowed Atriox and the Banished to get control over Zeta Halo and free the [[Endless]]. And as she could not allow that to happen, she destroyed part of the ring, keeping the Banished from being able to use it, which also prevented the Weapon from being deleted, knowing that the Master Chief if he is alive would need the other AI's help. After witnessing Cortana's sacrifice, the John and the Weapon were stunned by her actions.{{Ref/Level|Id=Silent Auditorium|Hi|[[Silent Auditorium]]}} Later on the pair were once again met by Adjutant Resolution, though this time the submonitor provided assistance and unlocked a safe passage for them. He expressed his apologies for his earlier hostility outbursts as he belived the Harbinger was trying to repair the Ring, but in truth she only needed a mean to free her people, which could not be allowed. When the Master Chief reached the main chamber, he discovered that the Harbinger was interfacing with transmitters to locate the members of her species. The Weapon attempted to intercept the connection by disabling transmitters. With the help of an unknown entity, the Weapon managed to shut down all three transmitters, but not before the connection successfully located the Endless. At the same time, the Master Chief fought and eventually defeated the Harbinger and her Banished and Skimmer allies. Dying, she sent a message to an unseen ally of her own, telling them that they had what they needed and vowed to the Master Chief that the Endless would return.{{Ref/Reuse|Silent Auditorium}} As the Harbinger died John and the Weapon were met with yet another echo of Cortana, though this one was a direct message to John. In it she expressed hope that her plan worked well and John had found his way this far with assistance of his new AI partner and called this a chance to make amends and to rectify mistakes. Cortana admited that she was wrong, having forgotten that the reason that she chose the Master Chief in the first place was because they were supposed to be the perfect team together. And that in her final moments she wanted to make sure that John and his new companion learned from her mistakes and became stronger because of them. As the message ended the last remaining echo of Cortana faded away leaving John devasted and the Weapon speachless. And at the same moment the Auditorium started to collapse around them cutting off the exit. But sudden appearance of a portal allowed the pair to escape the crumbling structure.{{Ref/Reuse|Silent Auditorium}}

The portal led them to somewhere in desert land on the opposite side of Halo ring. The Weapon informed John that somehow it took them three days to reach this location. Soon they were extracted by Esparza, who received the signal from Chief's beacon. With the intention of finishing the fight the team traveled back to Outpost Tremonius from where they could proceed with liberation of Halo from Banished occupants.{{Ref/Reuse|Silent Auditorium}}