A bond between beings transcends nature. All that's required is the capacity to care. This is no mercenary attribute but selfless concern over another. Yet with concern comes consequence, an inevitable outcome when one allows personal access. For many it's worth the risk and preferable to an emotional void. Love conquers all they say. It makes the world go round. Sappy cliche perhaps but point taken. Empathy can spur acts of unthinkable valor, or simply what's right.

For John the Master Chief, doing what's right concerns Cortana, an A. I. engaged in his professional life. In hindsight their union was natural. He was raised a Spartan and understands the ordeal of being different. Even when that difference shines it elicits fear and rancor. They have contested many battles with survival never certain, but survive they did, and with adversity came closeness.

Cortana now faces her sternest test of all, one inherent in her kind from inception: rampancy, an inbuilt death sentence. Naturally all life entails the same closure. For most the date is yet determined, making it easier to cope. Despite progress in science time is no ally, however John retains hope.

The Master Chief is not alone in his concern. After her vanishing a team was established to determine her fate. She was a valued colleague though other reasons factored. Rampancy induces psychic turmoil which leads to rash behavior. It's critical she's found before repercussions arise. John's being apprised now on the matter.

"Master Chief, I have that update you requested."

"Good work, Captain. Proceed."

"We have encouraging news. A signal was detected near the third ring. We're not sure its origin but a Cortana connection is conceivable. There's no other explanation."

"Is it steady?"

"Yes, but fading fast."

"Have you pinpointed its location?"

"The far side of the beta quadrant."

"I'm familiar with it. The area displays a magnetic pull."

"Which presumably drew her there."

"Any idea on her condition? I know rampancy works in stages. Anyone know her status?"

"This is new for us. It's not an exact science. It's difficult to determine without examining her."

"I explained what happened. She'd become agitated, then calm down, numerous times unfortunately. It was painful to watch."

"That's not unexpected, still we need first hand inspection."

"What time frame we looking at before expiration?"

"Anywhere between a few days and a week. That's our best guess."

"Will her comlink work?"

"Unknown. She's undergoing a complete system breakdown. All functions are affected. Fortunately communications take the least power. At least there's a chance."

"Relay the signal's coordinates to me."

"I'm uploading them now. Chief, if you do find her, what do you hope to accomplish?"

"Only the impossible. Wish me well."

John reflects on his conversation with Cortana just days before. It was shortly after their battle with the Didact. He recalls it well.

"Master Chief to Cortana, do you copy?...Cortana, it's John. If you can hear and are able to respond, please do."

"…Chief, you found me."

"I got through to you. Amazing."

"No small feat. My reception's lousy these days."

"Thankfully not lousy enough. Are you okay?"

"I'm…here, which for now is a victory."

"Where's here?"

"I cannot say. My guidance system no longer works, along with most other things."

"It's just good to hear your voice. I was worried you were…..gone."

"Most of me is. You remember."

"I do, yet if there's one part left."

"Chief, we've been over this before."

"You're alive, that's what matters, and we're going to keep you that way."

"I never was alive. That was a perception you placed on me. I'm an invention, and the more I think about things, the more I'm at peace."

"You feel. There's nothing unreal about that, though in that regard I sense sadness."

"I'm resolved to my fate. There's a finality to it. It doesn't put a bounce in a girl's step."

"Our adventures gave you a bounce. You can't deny that."

"We did have some crazy times, didn't we?"

"And it doesn't have to end. The fight goes on, and it wouldn't be the same without you."

"You'll move on. It's part of life, and no one is better at surviving than you."

"With you along to guide and inspire me. We're a team."

"Teams change, for better or worse. That's part of life too."

"One team doesn't. I viewed our partnership a marriage."

"How romantic, yet you're forgetting one part. Till death do us part."

"You're not going to die. I have a plan."

"Remember what I said before. Don't make a girl a promise you can't keep. It's too late to chase dreams. Most are unreachable and lead to heartache."

"At one time you were an unreachable dream, now look at the results."

"You're such a charmer, but lucky charms couldn't solve rampancy."

"Luck has nothing to do with it. Science does."

"You have an idea?"

"Instead of targeting the ailment, what say we focus on the patient."

"What are you getting at?"

"How would you like to become human?"

"Human?"

"It's possible. There is a chance."

"How could I become human? Even if they placed my consciousness inside flesh and blood I still wouldn't survive."

"I'm suggesting something different, transforming digital into organic."

"If you're thinking the composer it could never do that, only the opposite."

"I believe it can, and I'm enlisting help."

"Who?"

"The Librarian."

"But she knows its failings most of all. She witnessed it personally. It wasn't designed to work inversely. It's sole purpose was to end life. It brutally succeeded."

"What I'm proposing is different. This is a new approach and we're out of options."

"And soon out of time."

"Then it's time I got started. I'll return soon, Cortana. Keep the faith. I've certainly kept mine."

For John desperate times demand desperate measures, yet with faith and diligence miracles happen. He has a plan, one that entails the counsel of another. While the entire scheme is suspect, just locating the Librarian will be difficult. She first approached him from the sky. She's familiar with the device that now stands as Cortana's last hope. Even then the odds are slim. The best chance of finding her is to return to Requiem. Tricky proposition, but John's been raised to proceed forthright and persevere.

Upon arrival a welcome sight awaits.

"You're here. Thank the stars."

"Reclaimer, how did you find me?"

"A little brainpower and a lot of heart."

"This can only mean trouble. Is the Didact involved?"

"He's still out there. Everything's quiet for now, but another conflict is imminent."

"Things did not go as wished."

"We believed he vanished through slipspace, permanently, but were wrong. He's back."

"Unfortunate."

"Maybe, though now I deliberately seek him."

"Does he possess the composer?"

"Yes, and that's the reason, and the reason I'm here."

"How can I help?"

"Tell me about it."

"As I explained before it was used to encrypt life forms to deny the Flood sustenance. Unfortunately the Didact didn't stop there, using it as a weapon of destruction under the mantle of responsibility."

"Encryption was a tragic choice. It did not succeed as planned."

"The cost of victory was exceedingly high."

"Any attempt to reverse the process lead to abominations."

"Sadly true."

"But those attempts were on organic beings. It was never used on a digital subject."

"Like your ancilla Cortana?"

"Yes."

"It was not considered. To what end?"

"To save a dying friend."

"To die implies one is first alive, but she is not. She was given human features and characteristics for practical purpose."

"She is alive, to me."

"Which means her creators did their job, perhaps too well."

"How well do you understand human emotion?"

"Remember it was my duty to reseed the universe once the Flood was contained. Parameters were employed during that process. Emotion was one."

"How did the Didact feel about that?"

"His mind was consumed by duty, as misguided as it was. His consent was spurred by expediency."

"You two are different yet remarkably were mates."

"We shared an idealism early on. We were young. Once the Flood appeared he changed. He became cynical, bitter. He believed he needed to be strong in light of the threat we faced. It changed him completely."

"Can Cortana be changed, completely, by the composer?"

"I cannot say. It was created for one purpose. No thought was given toward anything else."

"Well I've given it thought because I have a purpose, and the composer figures prominently."

"Then it appears you and the Didact are on a collision course."

"If I recover it will you help?"

"Of course."

"I'll contact you as soon as it's done."

"May your mission be successful, Reclaimer. Godspeed."

What's required now is finding the Didact. While the number of hideouts is infinite, his likely haven would serve a logistic and practical purpose. There are various intelligence brokers who can be instrumental in his search. John has one in mind.

"Are you the Dealer?"

"That depends. Who's asking?"

"Master Chief John of the UNSC. I need your help."

"You do have references."

"Star ranger Tao Ming. He sends his regards."

"How do you know him?"

"He's more an occupational irritant than friend, though I know him well enough to know of your arrangement."

"And what arrangement is that?"

"The smuggling of artifacts, forerunner artifacts to be exact."

"That's quite a tale, my friend. You have some imagination."

"Imagination had nothing to do with it, however testimony did. Care to hear it?"

"Since when does the military involve themselves in police matters?"

"When it interferes with our matters. Relax. I'm not here regarding legal misconduct. I'm here for info."

"Even info costs."

"So does unlawful pursuits. I hear the prison planet Ranx treats harshly those who profit from forerunner enterprise."

"I prefer to think of myself as a purveyor of technology. It's the answer to countless problems."

"The answer to my problem involves one particular piece of technology, the composer. What do you know of it?"

"Simply that the wielder of that weapon holds the very cosmos in their hands."

"And that someone is the Didact."

"With it he is the most feared being in the galaxy, and he's pissed."

"What else is new."

"Something dreadful is on the horizon, an event horizon, because if all goes bad there is no coming back."

"That is not going to happen."

"You're an Earthman. I hear his hatred of your species is endless."

"Yet more petulance from a tyrant renowned for it. He cannot bear anyone else in control."

"To be in control requires the means to do so. He possesses that, emphatically."

"You seem calm. Are you not concerned about your own safety?"

"I'm a survivor, and I too have means."

"Which I require and involves the composer."

"So we get to the point."

"Do you know his location?"

"Maybe."

"Then tell me."

"What's in it for me? I do have my name to uphold."

"Forgoing a trip to Ranx, in your case a return trip. I understand you've experienced its perverse charm intimately."

"I thought I'd suppressed that nasty detail."

"You find this amusing? I don't, and I have no time for banter. Tell me where he is and your shifty dealings can resume unscathed."

"He's on the third moon of Trillium. What that intel provides I wonder. He's beyond the reach of mortal man."

"A non-mortal woman helped achieve his last defeat."

"And matters little now."

"Don't bet on it."

The trek to Trillium is brief, yet time enough for reverie of recent events. Reflection is natural when charging into battle. The Chief's quest is twofold: recover the composer and save Cortana. Neither will be easy, and with the clock ticking pressure builds. The best means of finding the Didact is to let him find John, with the best means of accomplishing that involving a very loud entrance.

"Didact!...Didact, I know you're here. Come out! It's rude keeping guests waiting."

"…Yet uninvited guests are most unwelcome. We meet again."

"Was there any doubt."

"Fate often decrees the inevitable. We are entwined by parallel yet divergent goals."

"I wish to save. You plot to destroy."

"Only through death can birth arise. It's a universal truth."

"One effected in various ways. I allow a natural course. You choose intrusion."

"No visionary stands by and waits for results. I leave nothing to chance."

"Visionary implies enlightened benevolence. You couldn't be more deviant."

"If demonizing me makes you feel better then by all means do so. History will be the arbiter of my actions."

"History is a two edged sword, legacy one, infamy the other. Your actions suggest the latter."

"My actions are the culmination of centuries of events. They are not borne from ego and hubris. I am a certainty. You can no more stop me than stop this moon's orbit."

"On Earth only two things are certain, and neither involve the posturing of a maniac."

"Your perspective matters little to me, as does your insignificant life. There are greater things at stake than your misplaced valor."

"That's where you're wrong. This is not about valor. It's about feeling and compassion, emotions truly foreign to you. All you understand is hate."

"I am primal. You may mock its crudeness, but it does not cloud my judgment with sentimentality. In one way we're alike. We are bound by duty. Your allegiance is to your species. I have a higher calling."

"You take yourself too seriously. You mask your motives in pompous rhetoric and twisted virtue when you're nothing more than a mass murderer with a god complex."

"To reach our station requires a merging of thought and deed. We are creatures of action. Tribulation comes with the territory."

"Yet you seek this tribulation willingly."

"I neither seek nor hide from it. Any quest sparks resistence. It's innate in all to defame those aspiring to greatness."

"Your reasoning is flawed if you believe greatness will follow. Your inflated worth requires an audience to behold, something absent if your plan succeeds."

"I am my own audience and I applaud the total package."

"Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the foulest of them all."

"Vanity is not my poison, and I require no validation."

"With a mug like yours I'd avoid mirrors too."

"Insults only work on ones insecure. Do I look insecure?"

"You look scared, because deep inside you fear us. We are the ordained guardians, and the thought maddens you. That's what this is about, petty envy, not divine purpose."

"Your simple psychology cannot begin to analyze me. I am beyond your comprehension. I am the Didact, and there will never be another like me."

"Your bluster will become a rallying cry for all who oppose you, and their ranks are legion."

"Numbers are meaningless in light of the composer. You bore witness to its carnage personally."

"The composer's destructive days are over. Henceforth creation rules."

"In what regard?"

"To grant life."

"In digital form? What life is that for an organic species."

"I'm talking life for a digital being, and I know the perfect candidate."

"This is madness!"

"No, it's compassion, and through compassion swells inspiration. It can move mountains."

"Well you're facing the biggest mountain you'll ever see now. Move me!"