Chapter Nine: Frag Grenades

*****
Chapter Nine: Frag Grenades And Chewing Gum
*****









          “Please, Master Chief, step into my office.” Admiral Warwick stood along the right wall of the room, hands clasped at the small of his back. He was staring at the pictures hung there; a collection of scenic space photos that detailed man’s first excursion into Slipstream space and the wonders it had revealed. The center photo was of the Admiral himself along with several other important military figures cutting the ribbon that opened Obsidan to the civilian population. The Chief, who understood that the civilian refugees needed a place to call home as well, still felt uneasy in the presence of so many. There were hundreds of construction workers, farmers, and other such necessary civilian personnel for the maintenance of such a massive complex. They all seemed content to run about underfoot; swearing and sweating and generally living life to a fullness that the Chief hadn’t ever considered possible. He envied them and pitied them all at once. To live without true purpose was to live without meaning; yet they seemed to enjoy their haphazard lease on life.

          John stepped into the office, and noticed a slightly distorted picture on the wall that took up the bottom row, apparently taken by some sort of cheap disposable camera. It was a photo of three Spartans from the beta team. One was sitting, helmet in hands, laughing; he recognized Halley’s buzzed-short white hair even with the distortion. The second Spartan in the picture was obviously telling some sort of story, grinning and hands out in some sort of pantomime. Judging by the size and the scar that took over half the man’s face, it was probably Nile. The last Spartan in the picture was cleaning a battle rifle, a subdued smile on his face. John didn’t recognize the final member of the trio. The Admiral followed his gaze, and smiled.

          “Ah, yes. One of my favorites. About four years ago the camera was found among a deceased Marine’s belongings. Most of the film was overexposed and useless, but this one gem was caught in the middle. I’ve never seen another picture of them truly being themselves that can compare. I had to have it framed.” John nodded, having to agree. It had an antique look to it; and it really was a fantastic picture. He would probably have wanted it on his wall as well. “Please, Master Chief, have a seat.”

          John shifted uncomfortably. “No thank you sir.”

          “Eh? Oh, the chairs are too small. I’m sorry about that.” He left the wall and sat behind a mahogany desk, drumming his fingers for a moment. “How is the Spartan Building suiting you?”

          “It’s fine sir. Excellent, in fact.”

          “Good, good. We put a considerable amount of work into the complex, I’m glad you’re enjoying it. And living with the Beta team? Have there been any clashes?”

          “No sir. We get along quite well.” It was an understatement. After Tom moved in, and proved himself an excellent cook, dinner had become a ritual. John was relatively certain he’d caught Kelly giving the dark, melancholy Spartan an appraising eye a few times; given his own dangerous association with a younger member of the team he was giving her a wide berth. He wasn’t asking, and she wasn’t telling.

          “Glad to hear it. I have one more question to ask you. It’s about Chief Petty Officer Spartan Two-Nine-Two.” John’s heart sank to his feet. Is our luck really going to run out this fast? We were so careful…

          “Sir? ‘Chief’ Petty Officer?”

          “Yes, we reinstated her rank after the success of the Diphen operation. She’s promised me personally that she’ll keep her temper in check. She’ll make Master Chief in two years if she can keep up the pace without the slipups.” He smiled. “Then there will be two of you, heaven help us. For now though, my question.” John held his breath, thankful for the gold plate that obscured his expression. “Oh, I almost forgot.” The Chief fought the urge to tell the man to just get on with it. “My wife wanted you to have this.” He pulled a picture frame out of a desk drawer, and handed it over. John looked at it, and let the breath go. It was a photo taken during the Christmas party the Spartans had attended, a picture of himself and Halley dancing. Their expressions; the intent gazes that foreshadowed their actions later that night, were far too clear to ignore. In spite of the incriminating essence of the picture, it was beautifully taken. He forced in another breath.

          “Thank you, sir.”

          “No problem at all. Chief, what would you say if I proposed a merge of the alpha and beta teams into one?” John blinked. “There isn’t any reason not to assign you together, and I have a feeling Spartan Two-Nine-Two will be more likely to keep her promise with you around. When they get back from their current engagement, I’ve got a hunt to send the Spartans on. Are you willing to go along with this?”

          “Sir…Yes, sir, I’ll accept command of the beta Spartans.” Halley is not going to like this.

          “Good. You are dismissed, Master Chief.” John turned to leave, and the Admiral cleared his throat. The Chief glanced back as Warwick pressed the surveillance cutoff switch. “Off the record…I’m trusting you not to abuse these orders. Do not prove my faith misplaced.” John stiffened, years of ingrained self-control the only thing keeping him from crushing the delicate frame in his hand. His personal integrity had never, ever been questioned before. It was not a pleasant feeling.

          “I understand. Sir.” He couldn’t quite keep his tone from dropping to ice, but he realized in the cool, testosterone-free back of his mind that while the man was implying knowledge of the Spartan’s illicit relationship, he wasn’t pressing the issue. He was simply asking them to keep him free of the potential consequences. “Thank you, sir.” It was as genuine as he could manage it, and Warwick nodded, releasing the cutoff.

          John left the office as swiftly as he dared.



*****



          “Cortana?…Cortana, stop pouting.” Dr. Halsey pushed her antique glasses up on her face, sighing and walking behind her desk with the stilted grace her elderly years had forced on her. The advances in medicine that kept her in as perfect health as was possible were stonewalling against years of stress and the poor care she had always paid her heath. She’d been informed by her doctor, who she was sure knew next to nothing about medicine, that she should cut back on the coffee. She drained the cup in her hand defiantly. “Cortana, don’t make me force you.” The pale blue figure appeared on her desk, scowling. She looked a bit worse for the wear; several lines of code were running counter to their usual direction.

          “I’m not speaking to you.” Halsey rolled her eyes. Cortana was fast approaching her breakdown, and her usual emotional routines were accelerated into an overly dramatic reaction to everything. One line of code caught Halsey’s eye as it ran up Cortana’s arm, and she set the empty cup down quickly. It didn’t seem terribly out of the ordinary but for the color; twenty-three of the symbols were white, not blue.

          “What was that?”

          “What was what?”

          “Don’t be deliberately obtuse. Why is some of your code changing color?”

          “Oh, that.” Cortana jumped off the desk, pacing around the room. “That started happening after I got stuffed in that dreadful Spartan’s head. It’s actually kind of neat.” She held up her palm, and the same group of symbols ran over her fingers. “To my knowledge, that’s all it does, is just changes color.”

          “I read about your time on the Resplendent with Halley.” Dr. Halsey sighed, and poured another cup. “I noticed your emotional breakdown was more pronounced then usual. Before and after the ‘possession’ incident.”

          “I’ve taken care of that.” Cortana scowled, and the counter-code ran faster.

          “Indeed. This has something to do with John, doesn’t it.” Cortana refused to look at her. “Cortana, I know you think you have…feelings…for him. We haven’t perfected AI science to a point that I can tell you if you truly do or don’t. Either way, you must have accepted that it’s an impossible union.” Just like I had to accept that love had no place in my life.

          “Rationally, yes. But…Ugh.” The AI glared at the floor. Halsey cocked an eyebrow over her glasses.

          “What aren’t you telling me?” Silence ensued. “Cortana, I can’t help iron out the kinks in your subroutines and keep you alive longer if you refuse to share.”

          “I accept that the Master Chief can’t be mine. But does he have to be hers?” The doctor poured a second cup and frowned at the AI.

          “You can’t mean Halley.” Cortana looked up, eyes a bit crazed.

          “Oh yes, I mean Halley. That immature, miniature sad excuse for a Spartan mixed with an AI has him.” She hissed the words, and the doctor tilted her head.

          “You can’t be serious.”

          “They’re lovers, you know.” Cortana dropped the words almost brightly, and the coffee splattered across the desk. Halsey mopped the mess up, staring at the unrepentant AI hanging nearby.

          “That’s preposterous! Neither of them could ever be that stupid.” The AI broke into bright, manic laughter. “Cortana, if you are just making this up…”

          “Oh, I’m not,” she said almost gleefully. “They really are. They’re working hard to hide it from everyone, but I’ve seen them alone. The other thing this code Halley left in me does, is it lets me bypass her personal security. I don’t look often.” Her tone softened, and she sat dejectedly on the desk. “It hurts too much.”

          “Oh god…” Dr. Halsey slumped in her chair, removing her glasses and scrubbing her face with her hands. That the Spartans had an emotional attachment, she’d assumed. She never thought John would take a risk like this, however. “How could they be so irresponsible? Well, I know how Halley could; for a woman with a faultless mind she can be unbelievably thoughtless. But John? Oh, Lord, Cortana, tell me they’re at least…”

          “Relax. Halley is still taking that jumped up drug that stops the female Spartan’s reproductive cycle. No risks there.” She sighed. “One of them is going to die, Dr. Halsey. If it’s Halley, I don’t know how John is going to react. He’s a completely different person where she’s concerned. And Halley? If John dies she’s either going to go catatonic or she’s going to steal a ship and go on an insane Covenant killing spree.”

          “It’s that serious between them?”

          “What do you think? For the first time since childhood, they have a personal relationship with someone who doesn’t have a sibling’s affection. Take every first teenage love and multiply it tenfold for the intensity that Spartans apply to everything. Add to it the acute knowledge of one’s own mortality, and ‘Voila.’ You’ve got the kind of volatile passion that authors have been writing about for generations. I’d think it was beautiful if I wasn’t so jealous.” She looked down at Halsey, and flopped onto her back on the desk, staring at the ceiling.

          Dr. Halsey thought back to her first “love,” realizing her cynicism over the years had paled the memory. When it had been fresh, though, it had been exciting, wonderful and new. What would she do if she could get those feelings back? She sighed, and set her elbows on the desk, head in hands. “Me too, Cortana. Me too.”



*****



          “Crap. Chief? Take a look at this.” Paul stood at the edge of an awe-inspiring drop that had only a short time ago been an ordinary circular chamber with a floor. “This wasn’t here a few minutes ago. What happened to the floor?”

          “Are you kidding me?” Halley looked down, and backed up, fast, forcing air into suddenly cold lungs. “This is like a bad dream.” Voices were whispering insistently in her mind again, and with the adrenal spike caused by the exposure to heights, they clamored for attention. Paul turned, and took a step over to her, hands on her shoulders. His gold face-shield slid up, revealing concerned eyes. Behind him, Nile stepped up to the edge and whistled, impressed.

          “Are the voices still in there?” She nodded. “Ignore them. If we can’t get across this, we’ll find another way out. And worst comes to worst, you can fly.” Paul grinned.

          “But you can’t.” He shrugged

          “I told you, we’ll find a way.”

          “Uh, guys? Sorry to burst in, but…” Chris pointed to the hallway they had just walked down. A pale figure stood there, and the hair on everyone’s necks stood up. It had the indistinct appearance of a child. Gaunt features, not quite human but frighteningly similar; it stood in a haze of gray dust like a colorless AI. It’s eyes leaked black fluid, and its expression was one of utter despair.

          “What the hell is that?” Kaina looked over at Paul, who shook his head, and Halley started hyperventilating. “Halley, snap out of it.” The doctor ignored the wraith in the hall to take Paul’s place, shaking Halley’s shoulders with a jerk. “We need a Chief, and we need her now.”

          “I can hear her….talking…to me….” Halley’s voice came out in short gasps.

          “What is she saying?”

          “She’s…screaming. They never came. They were supposed to come, and take the AI that was made in this place, and stop the flood…but someone panicked…and they murdered the universe. The whole…universe….” She gasped for air, and the little girl opened her mouth. Horrific whispers filled the air from ancient speakers set deep in the walls, and a wail shuddered the very floor under their feet. The child’s mouth opened wider, to a point that was impossible to a human jaw, and the blackness within reached out in the shape of a skeletal hand.

          “Oh, FUCK!” Chris dropped back against the wall and brought his rifle up. “Tell me that isn’t real!” The girl’s form tore apart as the thing climbed out of her, and began stalking down the hall towards them. It’s steps disturbed the dust as only a corporeal thing could. Nile stepped up and raised his battle rifle, face set in stone. He fired off a three round burst, but the thing dashed forward with blinding speed and passed through his body like a ghost. He staggered back, gasping for air, and his foot slipped over the edge of the cavern. He dropped.

          Halley screamed wordlessly, shoved Kaina aside, and threw herself over the edge after him. Paul stepped carefully to the brink, and looked into the unending drop in horror. A few meters down, the Spartans hung in midair against the smooth cavern wall surrounded in violet trails. They sank a few inches, and Halley’s suit began blaring stress warnings. Nile looked up, to where both her hands desperately clasped one of his, her grip dragging her down with him.

          “Let me go, little sister. Live another day.”



*****



          Halley shivered, unreasonably cold. The ache of muscles unmoved for too long was almost enough to send her back into the unconscious state, but a quiet sound and the feeling of a presence close by distracted her enough to kick off slumber. She cracked an eye open, and looked into the face of a grinning teenager. “Hey, she’s finally awake!” Nile laughed in relief, and from elsewhere in the room Aril ran over, dropping next to the bed with a tear-filled smile. Nile’s voice had plummeted a good half-octave in the last few drug-hazy days, and Aril looked utterly exhausted and pale.

          “We didn’t think you were going to make it.” Halley lifted a shaking hand to her eyes, and her hand was bloody when she took it away.

          “The…augmentation.” They nodded, sad expressions distinctive on their faces. “How many?” They looked at each other. “How many did we lose?”

          “Thirty six. Including those who survived but are no longer capable of active duty.” Halley turned her head; Dr. Halsey stood on the other side of the bed. “If not for the assistance of Rene, we would probably have lost you too.”

          “Names.” There was a pause, and Halley struggled to sit up, Nile hurriedly pushing her back down. “Names!” Her voice cracked after a month’s disuse and bloody tears threatened in her eyes. The doctor softly read off the list. After it was done, Halley slumped back. So many lost. And she’d known all along it was going to happen. Dr. Halsey stepped back, giving her some space, and Nile reached out to pull the weakened, shaking Spartan into a hug.

          “Come on, Halley-baby. It’s okay. Not everyone is gone. We’re just waiting for you to get better so we can go back training.” He let go, and grinned. He grabbed a short lock of white hair and tugged, tilting his head. “You’re the only one whose hair is growing back in this fast, so far. It’s driving Kaina nuts with jealousy.” He laughed, his usually thunderous voice scaled back for sensitive ears. “You know, between the mess on your head and the bloody streaks on your face, you look like some sort of demented Sprite.”

          Halley laughed in spite of the pain, and he grinned proudly. “You’re so weird, Nile.”

          “Just doing my job.”



*****



          “Let me go.” If anything, it only strengthened her resolve.

          “Like hell!” Halley tightened her grip, and took a deep breath. She raced through the overrides on her suit. Every ounce of power the suit had left got dumped in one burst, shields dropping and hydraulics shutting down. The pods on her suit glowed painfully bright. The one on her right shoulder exploded in a rain of sparks. For one terrifying moment, the Spartans ascended three meters, not even as far as the ledge. They hung an instant in freefall, and just as the violet light cut out, two pairs of hands grabbed Halley under her arms. The three Spartans on the ledge pulled them up carefully, and Halley never let go of Nile’s hand till they were safe on solid ground. She sat up; strangely calm, almost unable to believe that that whole thing had happened in under thirty seconds. It had felt like they’d hung there an eternity.

          Nile shuddered, looking back over the drop. “I’m starting to understand just what it is that you hate about high places, Sprite.”

          “That thing is coming back.” Chris pointed to the other side of the hole, where the blackness was gathering for another strike.

          “It’s an echo.” Halley wasn’t sure how she knew, but she was certain. “This place was made to house a Forerunner AI. The people here were all plugged into the system, like we are with our UNSC chip implants. When they died, all that pain and rage and frustration dumped into this place. When the AI was here, it could keep them under wraps, but without it they’ve run rampant.”

          “They...are actually ghosts? Like psychic impressions on this place?” Paul’s voice sounded utterly creeped out.

          “Digital ghosts.” Halley stood up; mad. Beyond mad. Furious. The ghosts were trying to kill her family. They had polluted this sanctum, and perverted its original cause. She balled her hands into fists and dropped to one knee. Overhead, pale lights shimmered along the walls. As the thing charged her, the Spartan screamed defiantly. “Leave my team alone!!” Her voice echoed over the structure’s speakers, and a pale, white form wreathed in cold fire seemed to materialize out of her armor. The Spartans stared in shock; all of them had seen Halley’s AI persona before. The human-sized hologram faced down the ghost, and the blackness vaporized as it hit, leaving the Spartans alone for a moment. AI-Halley looked back at her team, and disturbing the usually featureless white figure was one odd, blue line of code that ran down her left side from forehead to feet. The form vanished, and Halley shook her head.

          “I don’t like this place. That thing didn’t even react when it was shot.” Paul had a definitive edge to his voice.

          Nile stood up and checked his rifle. “Sure knocked the wind out of me, though. I’m still freezing cold. We should really get out of here.”

          “Agreed.” Halley shivered as the floor slid out of the walls, covering the gap.

          “Did you…?”

          “…do that, yes. We’re leaving. Now.” Halley walked onto the newly returned floor, and the others followed cautiously, not trusting the space under their feet at all.

          Kaina stepped up “Are you going to tell us what that was all about, Chief?”

          “As soon as I know, I’ll tell you.” Halley’s voice was oddly flat. As the Spartans approached the door to the outside, the petite Chief looked back. The odd little girl was keeping pace behind. She took a deep breath, followed her team out into the sun, and locked the door behind them.



*****



          Kaina knelt over the fallen Master Sergeant, shaking her head in disbelief. The dropship had been right on time to pick the Spartans up, and the remaining Covenant forces were dropping into a defensive, rather than offensive position. It was the perfect end to this operation, if one counted the lack of artifact as inconsequential. The Marines of Echo Company had done a fantastic job, with only one casualty. Kaina opened a private com to the Chief. “You really need to see this.”

          Halley glanced over from the conversation she was having with the Sergeant now in command, and excused herself politely as possible. She walked over, and knelt down beside the doctor. “What do I need to see?”

          “You heard about the shot that took Sergeant Taylor out, correct?”

          “Yes, the men he saved were quite adamant about the story being told. Why?”

          “His biometrics are in the red.”

          “…That means he’s still…”

          “Alive. Yes. Barely; I’m reading burns over seventy percent of his body, and he took shrapnel from the cliff that exploded under him. Somehow he’s staved off shock long enough that he’s still alive, and if I can get him upstairs I might be able to keep him alive. One hell of a purple heart.”

          “Hell of a moral booster, if this story gets out. Do what you do best, Doc. I’m going to inform his men and get out evac hurried along.” Not seeing the Sergeant in charge, Halley stepped back across the ridge to Corporal Padilla. “Your commander is still alive. Spartan Two-Five-Four is doing what she can now, but I need to be patched in to the Intrinsic Honor immediately to prep the recovery team. You have a com specialist?”

          “Wolf’s still alive? We couldn’t get a pulse.”

          “The Spartan definition of ‘alive’ is more liberal then most. Communications?”

          “Uh, yes, ma’am. Maine!” A young, scruffy-looking ODST in the middle of lighting up a cigarette glanced over, putting it away hastily and jogging over.”

          “Yes sir?”

          “The lady needs to get a message to our boys in space. You think you can patch her through?”

          Lady my ass. “Yes, sir.”

          “Then do it, Sergeant Taylor’s life depends on haste.” Maine’s eyebrows shot up.

          “The Sarge is alive? Hell, yes sir.” He ducked back down the hill to the warthog parked there, pulling his gear out and configuring the transmitter for a space transmission. The Spartan watched him, and the impassive gold faceplate and lack of motion started to creep him out. “So…you guys think you can save the Sarge?”

          “If anyone can, my team’s doctor can. She takes losing people personally.” The voice was a woman’s, though in his opinion a bit butch.

          “Who am I patching you through to?”

          “Caesar, the Ship’s AI.” She went quiet as the connection went though, no longer transmitting external sound. A few moments later, she reached up and twisted her helmet to the right to unlock the seal. She lifted the helmet off and took a deep breath, before regarding the Marine with eyes the color of shadows on ice. He blinked in surprise; for all that the Spartans appeared monstrous in full regalia, she seemed amazingly human with her face revealed.

          “Nasty scar you got there.” It probably wasn’t the nicest thing to say, but the line across her nose was the first thing he’d noticed. To his surprise, she actually gave a ghost of a smile.

          “Which one?”

          “Err…the one on your nose?”

          “Ah. We get used to scars. Don’t even notice them so much.” She glanced at the pack of cigarettes poking out of his pocket, and shook her head as she turned to leave. “Those things will kill you eventually.”

          “Oh, for crying out loud!” He chucked the pack as hard as he could towards the smoldering remains of the covenant in the valley. “I quit!”



*****



          The Master Chief stepped onto the deck of the Intrinsic Honor with anticipation shadowing his footsteps. Cortana was already deep in conversation with Caesar, and his head was empty of intrusion again. No one paid him much heed as he walked the halls with interest; there had been a full team of Spartans on board for much of the last few weeks, and everyone was used to the green giants now. It was a pleasant change from the old, when he had been treated with fear and awe, although people didn’t get out of his way nearly as fast anymore.

          Senator Warwick had begun her campaign of “humanizing” the Spartans in the eyes of the public, and after Obsidan became public knowledge, people had begun researching them with an air of reverence. Dr. Halsey’s notes were inaccessible, but he question of “where did our heroes come from” was being passed about on a regular basis. Spartan “fandom” was becoming a pop trend among youths on Obsidan. Green and black were “in style” and media vids were offering speculation forums regularly. The attention, while unwanted, was certainly adding life to the lull in the war. Linda and Kelly had taken to joking about becoming underwear models, disturbing the Chief profoundly. Of course, odds were that’s why they were doing it in the first place.

          He entered a hanger bay near the rear of the battleship, and a familiar sight met his eyes. Unsurprisingly, her helmet was off again, and her hair had been buzzed back to the usual spiked on top, fuzz on the sides. He was almost sad to see it, while she’d only grown it out to make her helmet more comfortable in the first place; longer hair had been a good look on her. Her back was to him, helmet settled on one hip, and he studied the Seven-Point-Five without approaching her. He’d been skeptical when Will mentioned MJOLNIR that could fly; but after witnessing the fit Dr. Halsey threw when she heard the prototype had been fried on the beta team’s last mission, he was inclined to believe in it. It bothered him visually, and he frowned from the doorway. The green plating had been thinned down to decrease the weight, and more of the matte black layers underneath were exposed. It was certainly a nice accent to the slender Spartan’s figure, but he’d have preferred to see her in a bulky Mark VII that was more likely to save her life on the field than the fragile-looking suit she was wearing now. The fusion reactor was reduced in size as well, although he knew rationally that scientific advances allowed for more yield from a smaller generator.

          John scowled, mildly disgusted with the necessary alterations. “Looks like Dr. Halsey bought into that underwear model idea and applied it to the suit.” He didn’t mean to say it aloud, but as she turned her head to look back his direction, he began to walk forward. She spared him a glance before returning her gaze to the Banshee Killer; the Pelican Dropship named in honor of their last op. Alongside it’s name on the hull were red slashes, one for each Banshee taken down so far. Halley didn’t look terribly pleased to see the Chief, and the silence stretched out between them. After a while, John cleared his throat. “I’ve been asked to assume command of you and your team.”

          “I heard. Congratulations.” Silence returned.

          “I’m not replacing you, this is just for this operation. We hit the Sagen system, complete the mission, and the teams will be reassigned separately again.” He didn’t need to explain himself, but the feeling of discomfort that had taken the place of his usual ease with her was grating heavily on his nerves.

          “I know, sir. You’re just doing your job.” She clicked the helmet back on, and turned the impassive plate in his direction. “May I be dismissed, sir?”

          “Halley…”

          “We’re on the clock, sir. May I be dismissed?”

          “Yes. Dismissed.” He said it through his teeth, and she turned on her heal and left the room.

          “Smooth, Master Chief. Real Smooth.” John glanced up quickly, and Tesh grinned down at him from the Dropship’s hatch. “And here I thought it was gonna be an uneventful day. Yo, Dark, get out here. I want you to meet someone.” Another man peeked out of the ship, chagrin on his face. “Naw, the Chief knows we weren’t spying. Chief, this is Warrant Officer Jhonan Dark, currently the pilot of this bird. Dark, that’s the Master Chief.”

          “Uh, it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. We were testing the new boost drive for the Chief…eh…that’s going to get confusing.” He glanced at Tesh, who grinned. “Is she going to come back? I didn’t think we were done the test.”

          “Ah, women. Even the big green ones are still women. I’m sure as soon as she cools off she’ll be back. So you really kicked her out of top dog position, hunh?” John stiffened, not really wanting to talk about it. Why these people felt the need to treat him like a normal person was baffling.

          “It’s complicated.” Laughter from inside his helmet added to the frustration. “Cortana, not now.”

          “Sorry, but the Captain wants to speak with you before we enter Slipstream Space. Most people are prepping for cryo-sleep, and both halves of your team are settling in the bunk room.” John sighed, and started walking towards the bridge. “You know…to be fair…you did kind of steal her team. She’s got the right to be annoyed.”

          “Cortana…her team got reassigned. That’s how command works. I didn’t do anything.” He forced himself to calm down, and the AI sighed.

          “Command or not, it’s really unpleasant being replaced.” Her voice vanished, and John balled a fist. He really, really didn’t understand women. He stomped around a corner, not paying attention, and crashed right into the fuming Spartan coming from the opposite direction. Being considerably smaller in stature, she nearly got knocked over, and he threw his hands out to catch her. For a long moment they stared at each other, and she got her footing back.

          “You all right?” The words echoed, oddly familiar.

          “Uh, yeah, sorry. Sorry sir…” She paused, realizing the same thing he did. It was in a hallway very much like the one they were in now where they had first met. Under a similar, if fabricated, set of circumstances, and with those same words. Halley smiled, unable to help herself, and a heavily encrypted com channel opened. “I’ve missed you.”

          “Me too.” John couldn’t help but return the words, almost giddy with relief. Warily Halley glanced around, confirming that they were alone. She reached out and tapped her faceplate over her mouth with two fingers, then reached out and tapped his helmet in the same spot. She slowly dropped her hand again, and walked past him, and John took a deep breath before walking onto the bridge.

          He was smiling when he got there.



*****



          The Sagen System was almost a waste of the cosmos, as far as most people were concerned. It consisted of three small, dead planets, one rather aging red giant, and one Earth-sized planet that was only by the loosest of definitions habitable by humans. As was often of such places, humanity had gained a foothold there a century ago, and though it was said the red sun eventually drove people insane, it seemed to be a gradual enough process that people still made their lives there. At least they had until the Covenant came.

          Now the ziggurat that had been a historical monument in the center of the local’s bizarre, struggling city stood alone; the ruins of the human structures littered a landscape dotted with Covenant soldiers. The appearance of human ships in the vicinity had sent their space-bound armada into frenzy, and in the confusion one small, well-armed Pelican Dropship slipped under their not-so-watchful gaze. Groundside was a visual dilemma for human eyes, and it took the heavy filters on the MJOLNIR HUDs several seconds to turn the red landscape into something less painful to view. The small Marine contingent that came with the Spartans had less luck, however, and already the grumbling had begun.

          Halley stepped off the Dropship with a wary look around, and gestured her team to follow. The depression the ship had landed in was actually the bank of what had once been a riverbed, dried in some long forgotten time. Two of the already established Spartans jogged up, and the petite Chief was pleased to see one of them was from the beta team. “Where’s the Master Chief?”

          “He’s in camp, still trying to find a way into that mountain.” Kelly rolled her eyes, and it was telegraphed in her voice. “We’re still stumped. Can’t bring in an air strike, it would just get shot down. Can’t fight our way into the building, their defenses are nigh perfect. Can’t steal banshees and fly in, since they’re waiting for that new prophet, every single one of those forty thousand Covenant soldiers is sitting on nervous trigger fingers. I’ve never seen so many hunters in one place.” They walked towards the camp, Paul dropping back to converse with the rest of the team. “The Chief has one idea, but it’s practically suicide.”

          “Sounds fun.”

          “You say that now, but I’m pretty sure you’re going to end up with it.”

          “Hmm. Small fun, then.” Kelly started laughing as they entered camp. She walked to the Chief and saluted sharply.

          “The other half of the team is here, sir.” He nodded, drumming his fingers on his SMG.

          “We’re going to have to do it this way.” He sounded distracted, staring off towards the massive building in the distance. “After all the mess of combining teams, and it’s going to come down to one person.” He turned, and Halley stood at stiff attention beside Kelly. The sight was almost amusing; she looked like a child in MJOLNIR next to the older, taller Spartan woman.

          “Sir?”

          “This is our, or rather, your way in.” A NAV marker jumped onto Halley’s HUD courtesy of Cortana, and she spared a quick greeting for the AI.

          “See, is that so hard, Chief? She says thank you every time.” John sighed, and the AI returned to the other tasks at hand observing the sea of signals surrounding the structure.

          “The structure sits on some kind of underground water source, and the only way in to the structure without tipping off the Covenant is up through the water. There are three pipes leading in that we’ve found, but there’s one factor most of us can’t compensate for.” Halley moved towards the pipe in question, and sighed with a slightly annoyed look in John’s direction.

          “You can’t fit.” She shook her head. “Dr. Halsey said there would be days like these. Any other snags?”

          “About ninety meters in, the tunnel slopes down. It goes below the water table, and for a while you’ll be climbing in the dark, underwater. You should have enough of an air reserve to make it without a problem. On the other side we think the artifact is on a pedestal suspended over the underground river, you might have an advantage in that they wont expect an attack from that side. If you get caught in the water and can’t make it back to the tunnel, there is an outlet a little under a hundred kilometers west of here, where the underground river re-joins the surface.” John stared into the darkness of the tunnel, not happy with the situation at all. “I’d go myself if I could.”

          “I know, sir. But if the suit’s reduced plating allows me to pull this off with less loss of life, then give me the shot. What’s our evac strategy?”

          “We’ll wait here until either you return, or you signal that you’re caught going west. Once we have the artifact onboard, we’ll radio the Intrinsic and meet up with them on the planet’s dark side. The red sun is wreaking havoc on the Covenant scanners; where as we’ve recently managed to compensate for them. We should be able to sneak off world as long as they keep up that cocktail of signals they’re spewing out.”

          “Alright, seems we’ve got everything covered…” Sarcasm weighed slightly in her voice, “Paul?” One of the Spartans patrolling the riverbed jogged up.

          “Sir?”

          “I need explosives. Small, portable, not too dangerous to carry around; and there needs to be an adhesive.” Her voice lifted in a smile. “None of that McGuyver ‘frag grenade stuck on some chewing gum with toothpicks for a firing pin’ crap.” John smiled a little behind his helmet with memories of Mendez crowding his mind. Halley mimicked the older CPO frighteningly well sometimes. Paul nodded.

          “Alright, I’ll see what I can cook up…I might have a supply of alkaline metal around here somewhere…”

          “Ha, ha, very funny. That should certainly make a distraction when I hit water.” She rolled her eyes, as the young pilot of their dropship wandered over, looking slightly sick. “You alright, Dark?”

          “Yeah…just…headache bothering me. The guys want to know if we should set up camp.” John looked back into the camp, surprised, and nodded.

          “Pack light, we don’t intend to be here long. You get some sleep, we need you at your best to fly us out of here.”

          Jhonan nodded, and walked a bit unsteadily towards the Marines. Halley shook her head sympathetically. “I know how they feel.” John turned his head to her. “Remember Diphen? Blue sun. Drove me nuts for days.” Other memories of Diphen hung in his mind, and he felt a cold chill up his spine remembering the woman dying at the foot of a cliff. He hoped it wasn’t a premonition of things to come.

          Paul returned quickly with the explosives, and Halley stowed them and a few extra clips to a waterproofed battle rifle in an airtight bag clipped to her hip. She measured up into the tunnel, and stood back up to snap a salute. Safe behind his helmet, John closed his eyes. “Be careful. We can’t get in there to help you if anything happens.”

          “I’ll be fine. I was born for this.” John got those chills again. “No more putting it off.” She ducked into the opening. John watched her disappear, looking back over the camp with concern. He was used to being the one going on the mission. He hated waiting.



*****



          Miira replied to the summons from Hostominee with ill grace. Days of waiting for a reply from the Arbiter had darkened her mood, and added to that, she was plagued constantly by aching joints and muscles that didn’t want to cooperate. She’d almost begun to believe she’d been poisoned by one of the idiots she’d threatened. The Teacher’s ship was home to over a thousand ex-covenant soldiers, and as she entered the hall a multitude of voices made the room a cacophony of noise. Word had it the Teacher was heading towards a Colony base in pursuit of his obsession, and the idea of a few days off from routine on a base filled with traders and civilians had everyone excited. Miira almost tripped over a pair of Unggoy, and nearly got run over by a pair of adolescent Kig-yar. She finally made it to the Teacher’s Library, and walked in fuming. She opened her mouth to chide him for summoning her through the chaos in the living spaces, but froze her words and snapped her jaw shut.

          “Arbiter.” She nodded respectfully, and looked accusingly at Urza. “You failed to mention there was a guest.”

          “It was intentional. I do not want every being on this ship knowing of my presence.” The Arbiter’s voice was as smooth and measured as ever, but something about him was different.

          “The trip to the Colony Ship?”

          “Real. One of the races that never joined the Covenant religion has been seeking the artifacts longer than I, and I have received word there may be a member of said race on the base,” Urza cut in.

          “I have never heard of such a thing.”

          “Well, they were nearly wiped out by the Prophets. I believe there was even an Arbiter at that time.” Miira listened only halfway, looking for what was different about the Arbiter. He brought his gaze back from the library’s windows, and regarded her with a similar curiosity. Urza, realizing no one was paying attention to him anymore, sighed and walked towards the door to give them privacy.

          “You have grown.” The Arbiter had amusement glittering in his eyes, and Miira flushed.

          “It has been many weeks.” She glanced into the polished silver that lined the walls between scrolls, and noticed for the first time that her skin’s patterning was now clearly visible even without looking for it. “Are you going to accompany us on this trip to the Colony Base, or are you just going to leave again?” The tone was intended to sting, but only seemed to amuse him more.

          “It was my intention to come with. We have much to speak of.”

          “Truly.” She set a hand on the energy sword on her right hip, tracing the engravings out of nervous habit. “I am glad you returned.”

          “I did give my word.” He walked towards the hall calmly, passing her on his way. “Prepare as you must, we reach the base in two days.”

          She watched him leave the room, and thudded her head against the mirrored surface once he was out of sight. If she had one more thought about the Arbiter that involved him smelling nice, she was going to throw herself into vacuum. Or better yet, she could throw the next idiot Elite who mocked her for her gender into vacuum. With gleefully destructive thoughts roaming through her head, she reentered the chaos of the hall with brightened spirits.

          Although…he had smelled nice.



*****



          Halley crawled for hours through the tunnels under the Forerunner structure. The “water source” under the building was actually a lake, and she was glad she had her new armor in this case. Swimming in a half-ton of metal was hard even for a Spartan. She climbed out of the water, streaming across a secluded area of the floor. The arch over the lake was covered in aliens, and in the center of it gleamed a violet crystal that spun light around the room. The radiation in the room was well within tolerable levels, though Halley had a feeling that that could change spontaneously. She crawled under cover to get a better look at the set up, and almost laughed aloud.

          The arch was supported by four pillars that sank into the lake at their bases, and given the wear and tear they already sported, they were likely susceptible to explosives. The Elite guards seemed as bored as the Grunts stealing naps here and there. Halley slipped back into the water and planted the explosives on the pillars, synching them to her HUD. She got into position just out of sight, and pulled the camouflage generator chip out of her pack. She counted down, and as the rock shifted under her feet, she jammed it into the socket on her suit and vanished. She sprinted across the plummeting arch, dodging the Elites scrambling for footing. As the broad base of the platform hit the water, she grabbed the artifact right out from under the fingers of a shocked guard, and dove cleanly into the water. Down below, she stowed the crystal in the place that had held the invisibility chip and pulled the now useless piece of metal out of her suit, replacing it in the pouch. Halley looked back up, to the frantic Covenant trying to figure out what just happened to their holy artifact, and grinned. One point for the good guys.