Halo 2: Great Schism

by Gharst Omenlumin

The war's nearly over, for the Earth has been located. Blue Team is tasked to defend it, and pursue their prey to the edge of the galaxy if need be. Meanwhile, Fol and Six are called upon by ONI to negotiate with Sang'Katarn, and rally it to Humanity's aid. All while a new Arbiter, Thel Vadam, slowly learns the truth of the 'Noble' Prophet's crimes.

1. Chapter 1

Hello, fellow Legion Stormtroopers. I have the first step of another story ready for you. I would like to say a few things first, before we move on to what happened. First, I would like for you all to be patient. I upload these chapters as I complete them. It means I write as fast as I can, but I can't guarantee anything. Second, a warning: I will write this in chronological order, and since Halo 3 ODST happened during Halo 2, I know I will make a pause from the main story in this part in order to write it (So please no flames). Third, I recommend you read my other stories, Halo: The Flood and Halo: First Strike, in order to understand this. And Fourth, but not least, I would appreciate any reviews I can get.

Disclaimer: 343 Industries owns Halo, so Please don't sue me because you assume I claim I own this.

Now, enjoy.

---

Halo 2: Great Schism.

Chapter 1

---

Parangosky's offices, Bravo 6, Sydney, Australia, Earth.

Six walked over to the desk at Bravo 6, and waited.

She had been called to this base by CINCONI, Admiral Parangosky herself. One didn't leave the admiral waiting.

But in her case, Six was forced to, as the imminent invasion of Earth had everyone riled up, going from place to place. And, in effect, causing a hell of a lot of pedestrian traffic jams inside the base, despite everyone's urges to stay calm.

And here Six was, waiting just outside Parangosky's office. Waiting for whatever mission the admiral had for her.

A chime sounded, and the admiral's flag officer appeared from the hallway. "The admiral is ready to see you. Please, follow me."

Six nodded, and she followed the woman to the admiral's office.

The hallway had quite the decoration, with everything matte-black, and the walls not echoing a sound. Even with all the people here, this section of the base always seemed quiet.

It seemed Parangosky's medusa-like reputation was paying off.

Six was led into the office, and was quite surprised.

For one, the walls were bare. Six had expected for the admiral to have at least a closet of books lining the wall behind her, or a few pictures on her desk. But she had none of that. All she had were here desk, three chairs for others to sit in, and her own chair. Everything, aside from the overhead light, was either matte-black or dark gray.

For another, there were almost no people present. Just the Admiral, Captain Osman and the resident turn-coat Elite, with the former two in deep conversation. Normally the admiral had at least three people with her as advisors.

For a third, the Elite, Fol Katarn, was not dead. And he was in armor.

Six turned to him. "Ah, so that's why I missed you at the menu of the annual ONI banquet. You weren't dead yet."

Fol turned to her, and let out a Sangheili smile, which was just the slight showing of his jaws while keeping his mandibles closed. "And you'd think Parangosky would let me die without notifying you first? You are her first choice as an executioner."

"Fair enough."

at this point the admiral and captain finally looked up from their business. "Ah, you're here. Good. Let's get to work." at this, Osman grabbed a datapad, and used it to activate something on the office's holographic display systems, which could encompass the entire room. It showed a single planet, actually blood red, surrounded by two moons and two asteroid belts, which effectively formed a cross.

"Sang'Katarn." Osman said. "According to Fol, who has been an accurate source of intel over the past month, the planet has been ready to rebel against the Covenant for some time. He claims they have technology superior to that of the Covenant. Your objective is to get to Sang'Katarn, and convince the governing body of Sang'Katarn to side with humanity. At any cost."

Six nodded, though she had many questions. All concerning who would be sent.

"Permission to speak my mind, admiral?"

Parangosky nodded.

Six looked at her and the Captain. "Ma'am's, all due respect, why me? I'm not a diplomat, but a soldier. What use am I amongst the politicians of this day?"

"I can answer that." Fol said. "Sang'Katarn has long despised diplomats. If anyone wanted something of us, they had to beat a councilor in combat, either by sword or by ship. And we would comply. And Spartans are highly respected on my planet for their skill. And I admit I am the one that made it so, spreading word of your skill and determination rather than your crimes. A Spartan would, even without saying anything, have more success than a hundred diplomats."

Six nodded. "Now I understand why a Spartan has to be send. But why me? I'm rated as Hyperlethal, and you need me in the defense of the planet. I-"

"The Master Chief and Blue Team can handle the Covenant at Earth." Osman interrupted her. "And while you would be an invaluable asset, We need to send a skilled combatant. And the more skilled, the better. Besides, Fol recommended you'd be sent."

Six tilted her head. Her former prey had recommended his hunter should come to his nest? This was interesting.

"He speaks highly of you." Osman explained. "And said that if any Spartan would make a chance in there, it'd be you."

Six looked at Fol. "Sure you want me within fifty lightyears of your family? You came after mine, after all."

Fol nodded. "Jun lived to tell the tale, right? Besides, they can defend themselves. Especially from you."

Six nodded, then looked at the pair, both current and next-in-line CINCONI. "Then all my objections are silenced. When do we leave?"

"Later in the hour." Osman said. "You will receive a Prowler, along with an AI to man her. Take care of your business before 05:30, as that's the time you'll depart."

Six handed Osman a datapad. "Just my request about the status of the Gettysburg guys. As soon as I have that, I'm ready to depart."

Osman nodded. "The Spartans, save for Jun, are up at Cairo with Hood, for the celebration later today. As are Johnson, Stacker, Dubbo and Wilson. Wilson's daughter currently lives in New Mombasa, under the care of a relative. McGregor has... dropped off our grid at the moment." Osman said the last part with hesitancy, briefly looking at Parangosky for approval. She'd nodded.

Six was impressed. Very few people could drop off of ONI's radar like that. But Osman continued on, so she continued listening. "Tends to Rise and his Huragok buddies are fine, working on ONI projects, location classified. Jun is recruited for a... Special program."

though Six didn't say so, she knew what Osman was going at. Jun had been approached by former Spartan recruit commander Musa-096, asking Jun to help him train the next generation of Spartans. Jun had complied with a bit of hesitation, not eager to leave the battlefield while his brothers and sisters still fought on. But he had accepted, after Six had convinced him. She knew because she was present when Musa asked Jun.

"Understood. Which Prowler do I report to?"

"The UNSC Hidden Veil. Her AI is called void. He's... unusual." Parangosky answered.

"As in?" Fol asked.
"He has no personality." Osman answered. "I've worked with him before. While he's just as good as Cortana or Black-Box, he's chosen to sacrifice emotions and personality in exchange for more processing power. He can hack the ONI mainframe in the blink of an eye if he wanted to, but he's just as conversational as a dumb AI."

"Ah, I'm used to it." Fol said. "Six is just like that."

Six glared at him, but he ignored it.

Parangosky sighed. "Then I have nothing more to say. Please, I have a busy timeframe. Especially with the coming attack. And you have urgent tasks to accomplish."

Six and Fol nodded, and they saw themselves out.

Seeing the infamous planet of Sang'Katarn. Despite herself, Six found she was a little bit excited.

She hoped Sam would have just as much fun in the next few days.

---

High Council Chamber, High-Charity, Orbit over Threshold and ruins of Installation 04

Thel Vadam braced himself as he entered the chambers. The last time he'd been here had been over thirty years ago, when he'd witnessed the trial of Gharst Omenlumin.

He had abandoned his post during the Harvest Campaign, sending his men away from Vice Admiral Cole's fleet in order to save their lives, rather than throw them at Cole's fleet as he'd been ordered. It had cost them the planet as a result, and a lot of warriors had died regaining it. Save to say, Gharst's men had been executed, and Gharst had been exiled from High-Charity. He hadn't been seen since.

And now, Thel was called forward in a similar manner, as he'd failed.

He had discovered a Halo, one of the sacred rings. And he failed to keep it safe, letting Demons destroy it. He had failed the Hierarchs, preventing the Covenant from ascending into the divine beyond. By all accounts, he should be dead already.

He stepped onto the stage area as the High Council quieted down. The Prophet of Truth looked at him, and spoke. "Let this trial start, by recounting the events of the last lunar rotation."

Thel nodded. "Very well. It started at the assault, during which all of their ships were annihilated. Save one."

"One?" the Prophet of Regret, present via hologram since he was currently traveling to a world the Forerunners had called Erde Tyrene, asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Thel said. "They called it the Pillar of Autumn."

There were slight murmurs among the council members, but they quickly quieted down.

"Why was it not destroyed, with the rest of their fleet?" The Prophet of Mercy asked, his voice letting his outrage show. Thel ignored the tone, and answered.

"It fled, as we set fire to their planet." Thel thought back to the scene. The planet reach, burning. The mighty defense fleet of it turned to cinders.

And the Autumn fleeing the scene. And Thel and the fleet of Particular Justice pursuing it.

To Halo.

"But I followed with all the ships at my command."

"When you first saw Halo," Regret asked "Were you blinded by it's majesty?"

"Blinded?" Thel asked, confused.

"Paralyzed? Dumbstruck?" Regret supplied.

"No." Thel; said resolutely. He clearly remembered being busy. Namely, wit asserting his command on the matter over the Prophet of Stewardship, and ensuring Fol Katarn'ee gained control of the ship as fast as possible.

How mistaken he had been in trusting the accursed Field-Marshal.

"And yet the humans were able to evade your ships," Regret continued "land on the sacred ring, and desecrate it with their filthy footsteps."

"Noble Hierarchs, surely you understand that once the parasite was unleashed-" at this, Thel was drowned out by outrage from the councilors. Mercy tried to calm them down. "There will be order in this Council!"

But someone lay a hand on Mercy, and moved him aside so he had a better view. The only one Thel didn't want to speak.

The Prophet of Truth.

"You were right to focus your attention on the Flood, but these demons, led by the 'Master Chief', not to mention the betrayal of Fol Katarn'ee..." Thel understood.

Fol had been legendary among the Covenant, either because of or in spite of his Sang'Katarn origins. The former, because of Sang'Katarn always delivering excellent warriors, Fol had had a lot of expectations to live up to. And he had exceeded them. He had become legendary, and every Elite aspired to one day be like Fol. The latter, because Sang'Katarn warriors were known to have... questionable stances concerning the Great Journey, and they were often looked down upon by the San'Shyuum because of it.

But Fol had managed to rise above them, and had served as an example for anyone aspiring to become better.

His betrayal had hit harder than anything the Covenant had suffered so far in this war, even more than the destruction of the Shield World by the Spirit of Fire, or the defeat of over 300 ships near Psi Serpentis.

Morale had plummeted just as much because of Halo's destruction as because of Fol siding with the humans. And to know that Fol had aided in the former...

"By the time I learned of their intend," Thel finally said. "There was nothing I could do."

The council went at each other again, yelling that Thel was a traitor. Thel could see the Jiralhanae Tartarus, who was often present for such gatherings, chuckle at the display.

Regret moved to whisper something in Truth's ear. After a moment, Truth held up his hand, silencing everyone.

"You are one of our most treasured instruments." he began. "Long have you led your fleet with honor and distinction. But Fol Katarn'ee also had done such a service to our cause, and he destroyed a Sacred Ring. And your ability to both safeguard Halo and prevent this betrayal... were colossal failures."

One of the Councilors, the Prophet of Objection, stood up. "Nay, It was Heresy."

the councilors, provoked by the boldness of the statement, started to yell. Thel looked between all of them. If he did not do something that showed his commitment, showed he was still loyal to their faith, then he would be killed.

"I will continue my campaign against the Humans!" he boldly stated.

But Truth held his ground. "No! You will not." at this, the council fell silent.

Two Jiralhanae stepped forward, attempting to lead him away. Thel growled at them, and shrugged their paws off. He wouldn't be led away to his fate by a Brute. He would walk there himself.

"Soon, the Great Journey shall begin." Truth said behind his back. "But when it does, the weight of your heresy will stay your feet, and you shall be left behind."

Thel lamented that, as he was led to the open area where all who failed the Covenant were sent.

The stage, as it was called: A ledge visible to the entire population of High-Charity. Everyone who had failed the Hierarchs in some way were sent here, to be shamed out in the open.

As Thel walked past many beings, he was called many names, mostly by the T'vaoans and Ruuhtians and Unggoy. Heretic. Traitor. Shame of the Covenant. Weakling. He was called all of these, and more. Thel still preferred this to what Gharst had gone through. Seven thousand of his men executed in front of his eyes. That was horrible to witness, even for Thel.

They finally arrived at the stage, where he was bound by energy cuffs in the open. Tartarus, who had followed him, looked around. "You've drawn quite a crowd." he said gleefully.
"If they came to hear me beg, they will be disappointed." Thel retorted bitterly.

"Are you sure?" Tartarus asked malevolently.

Thel wanted to give a retort, but was forced to bite his jaws in pain, as the Energy beams his him first. It went on like that for five minutes non-stop. And, true to his word, Thel never said anything. No pleas, no begging, no protest. Nothing came from him. After about five minutes, it stopped. Thel looked around, as he caught his wind. He noticed Tartarus had started addressing the crowd. "...There can be no greater Heresy! Let this be an example of all who would break our Covenant!"

As if on a signal, two Jiralhanae stepped forward, and they started stripping him of his armor, which had been blackened by the energy beams. Thel could only watch as they stripped him down to his bear bones, throwing his armor to the ground. After they were done, a large Branding Iron rose from a hidden panel in the floor, and Thel looked on in anticipation.

The Iron bore the Mark of Shame.

Tartarus grabbed it, and, after looking at it for a moment, put the glowing part to Thel's chest.

Thel tried to fight the pain, but, tired as he was from the previous torture, didn't hold.

And though he didn't beg, he was sure his screams would be heard all across High-Charity.

---

Armory section, Earth Orbital Defense platform designate 'Cairo station', Earth's orbit.

"Your plating was about to fail. There's viscosity throughout the gel layer." The master gunnery sergeant said, as he looked at Sam, holding one of the armor plates out in front of him. Sam rolled his eyes behind his helmet. They had just arrived up at Cairo station, having gotten word that Hood wanted them to test the new Spartan armor.

Sam had, upon arriving, chosen the same variant as his previous version, which he'd used for weeks: the CQB variant, which had tougher armor plating and, due to a few modifications he had made himself, amplified strength. It also allowed him to carry more rockets and ammo for his minigun. That is, if he could find a new one, anyway. He briefly looked at his combat knife, or rather, the one Six had given him, the Kukri. Ever since arriving back at Earth, he hadn't been able to get word about her, and he missed her, to his own surprise.

Sam looked to the other Spartans present. Fred had opted for Centurion-class armor, as it offered more freedom of movement and allowed him to reach his knives more easily. Fred had taken it, after switching from the Commando variant he had worn at Reach and Unyielding Hierophant.

Will had opted for the JFO-class armor of Mjolnir, as he'd developed a sort of attachment to the class. Sam chuckled. Will had chosen that armor when Allison had given it to him during their first time wearing it at Chi Ceti, after he'd initially shied away from it. But after Allie's death, Will had always opted to wear that variant, likely in his own way of paying respect to it. Sam didn't mind.

Linda, as he'd suspected, had kept the Argus-class armor she'd worn since the beginning of the war, only switching when there had been made a better version of said class. As had happened a few weeks ago. The Gunnery sergeant was addressing her now. "Your optics are fried more thoroughly than a Chicken at Johnson's barbecue."

The Sergeant then turned to the final member present. Master Chief John-117, and Sam's childhood friend since training.

"And you. I'm not even gonna start on the power supply of your armor. Your AI has drained it to the point of being near-useless. You are aware how expensive this gear is, son?"

John picked up the helmet of his new armor, the Mark-VI version, and put it on.

Mjolnir, while having many versions, had a general class of armor which every Spartan was given at first until they chose the new class of the armor. John had always opted to keep it, even if he had requested at the last version that it was designed like the last version, the Mark-V: it had to be able of carrying an AI.

"Tell that to the Covenant." John said, as he sealed his helmet. Sam smiled, and saw that Fred and Linda were putting on their own helmets as well.

"Well," Sam said. "with these new versions it was getting obsolete anyway. Tried out the new targeting systems of it yet?"

"Yes, though I haven't had the chance to test the new shield systems." John answered.
"I heard they copied the systems from... his armor." Will said. "If you know who I mean."

"Oh, relax." The Sergeant said. "I know about a month ago a Field-Marshal defected to our cause. No need of keeping it from me. And yes, the new upgrades came from him. His armor's real good."

Sam nodded, and John stepped into the Shield testing station. Sam started it up, and after a moment, the shields were drained. They started recharging immediately, and finished doing so in half a second. Sam was impressed, even if he had seen it before. At their previous armor versions, they had to wait ten seconds before the recharge even started. And the recharge process had taken five seconds, which was a long time in a firefight. John whistled.
"Yes." Will said. "Now you can be just as reckless as Six. Wherever she is."

Sam laughed. "John always was reckless. He merely covered it up by delivering excellent results."

Then the elevator behind them opened, and two people entered, both in dress uniform. One had dark skin and black hair, and looked to be in his late forties. The other was tanned, had black hair, a mustache and very short beard as well, appearing in his middle forties.

Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson, and Corporal Richard 'Richie' Wilson.

Wilson looked on at the testing station. "There, now you don't have to hide anymore. Lucky bastard."

Sam turned to him. "Jealous, Wilson?"

"Nah. Ok, a little. It would be nice to have energy shields around me."

Sam nodded. "Yeah. But they don't sell it to pricks."

Wilson reeled back in mock offense. "How dare you say that about me? Only my daughter may call me that."

"Give him a skirt, and the resemblance is very close." Johnson said, before turning to the armory's sergeant. "You done with these kids here, master guns? I don't see any training wheels."

"Their armor's working fine, Johnson, so shut your chili-hole." The sergeant responded. "You're free to go, kids, just remember, take things slow."

"Don't worry." Wilson said. "I'll hold their hands." Wilson jokingly reached out to Sam. Sam, going with it, grabbed it, and lifted him in the air. "More like we hold yours."

Wilson laughed, as he was let down. "We'd better go. Hood's waiting, and I don't want to get my ass sent to Parangosky. I might lose it down there."

Sam nodded, and he and the others entered the elevator, leaving the gunnery sergeant behind.

"Johnson, when you gonna tell me how you made it back home in one piece?" The Sergeant asked, as Will entered the elevator last."

"Sorry, guns." Johnson answered. "It's classified."

The sergeant grumbled. "Huh! My ass! Well, you can forget about those adjustments to your A2 scope! And you're surely..."

but then the elevator door closed, and the sergeant was cut off as they moved away. Wilson turned to the others. "Well, he's grumpy."

"Hood didn't send him an invitation, that's all." Johnson said dismissively. "Tomorrow he'll be happy as hell it's over."

Then the elevator stopped, and they exited, moving over to the tram-cart waiting for them, that would take them to the control room. And the ceremony.

They entered, and as soon as they did, the door closed, and they moved to the front of the station. Earth became visible through the station's windows, and Sam couldn't help but admiring it.

"Earth." Wilson said. "Haven't seen her in years since the Gettysburg."

Johnson nodded, then gestured behind them, to Cairo's station's main cannon. A Super-MAC.
"When I shipped out for basic, the Orbital Defense Grid was all theory and politics. Now look!" the other two stations of this part of the grid, the Athens and the Malta, became visible. "The Cairo is just one of three hundred geosync platforms. That MAC-gun can put a round clean through a Covenant capital ship. With coordinated fire from the Athens and the Malta, nothing's getting past this battle cluster in one piece."

Wilson nodded. While they looked, three more ships jumped into the system, two Stalwart-class light frigates and a Marathon-class heavy cruiser. "Ships have been arriving all morning." Wilson said, as the others looked. "Nobody's saying much, but I think we all know what is gonna happen."

Sam nodded. Back before they'd arrived at Earth, they had learned the Covenant had located Earth. And HIGHCOM has been calling every ship they had to Earth, in preparation for the inevitable invasion. He wondered when it exactly would come.

The tram then stopped, and Sam looked outside. They were near the station's control room, where the ceremony would be held.

They were greeted by a dozen cheering marines spread across the walkway between them and the control room. A robot camera drone flew past, filming them as they exited the tram.

"I thought you said there wouldn't be any cameras." Linda said.

"And you told me you were all gonna wear something nice!" Johnson retorted. "Folks need heroes, Linda. To give them hope."

"So cheer up." Wilson said. "And hope that the Covenant invasion happens during the ceremony."

Sam just rolled his eyes, and walked into the Control room with the others.

Inside, there were even more people, both officers on duty at various stations and consoles, and officers here because they were invited to the ceremony. They numbered in over the dozens.

And all stood at attention for them.

"You know," Sam said to the Spartans on a private channel "I wonder what Six would have done: pose for the cameras or start a killing spree for wasting time on mere ceremonies instead of getting ready for the invasion."
"Why not both?" Will asked. "She's crazy enough for it. Pose first, and as soon as the cameras shift away from her, start slaughtering us."

"Red would look good on these walls." Linda said.

"I admit I enjoy the prospect of Six painting the walls." John cut in "But we're getting close to Hood. So be nice and quiet. And ruin everyone's mood later."

Sam laughed. "Aye, Cap'n." they all fell silent after that, as they all walked up to Hood. They all lined up, with Sam, John and Johnson up front, and Fred, Linda, Will and Wilson at the back. Sam noted Stacker and Dubbo were standing near the wall, serving as a sort of honor guard. The Spartans, Marine and ODST all saluted. Hood returned it.

"Gentlemen, Lady, we're lucky to have you back."

An officer walked up to Hood, and whispered something in his ear. Hood's look soured. Hood turned to the display, and the data pedestal next to it. "Go ahead, Cortana."

Cortana chose that moment to appear, her avatar only about thirty centimeters tall. "Another whisper, Sir. Near Io. We have drones en-route." Hood looked back at the Spartans as this was said.

"I'm sorry, people, but we'll have to make this quick." Hood briefly turned away to grab something. Cortana briefly looked at them. She then smiled. "You look nice."

"Thanks." John and Sam said at the same time. They turned to each other in annoyance, before looking at Hood again. Hood had grabbed a small box, containing a Colonial Cross medal.

"Sergeant Major." He started. "The Colonial Cross is awarded for acts of singular daring and devotion, for a soldier of the United Earth Space Corps the highest award one can aspire to in time of war. It is an honor to award it to you. Congratulations." he pinned it to the Sergeant's chest, and saluted. The Sergeant returned it.

Hood moved on to every one else of the group, and gave similar speeches to them, as they were all awarded a Colonial Cross, and Wilson also receiving a Purple Heart, for the injury he had sustained in the Library. Dubbo and Stacker already had received their medals earlier. Sam briefly looked over at a small row of four officers standing at attention behind Hood. After Hood finished with John, who was the last one to get his medals, one of the officers, a woman, stepped forward. She moved to stand beside Johnson. Sam briefly glanced at her in curiosity. He knew he had seen her before, and that he knew her name. But from where?

Hood moved to stand in front of her. "Commander Miranda Keyes."

So that was it. She was Captain Jacob Keyes' daughter!

"Your Father's actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service. His bravery in the face of impossible odds reflects great credit, upon himself, and the UNSC. The Navy has lost one of its best" Sam noted a tear rolled down her eyes, as she accepted her father's medal. They then all turned to the main display as an alarm went off. Cortana's face took on a look of concern.

"Slipspace ruptures, directly off our battle cluster."

"Show me." Hood said.

Cortana complied, and the screen showed the immediate space above Earth. Fifteen contacts appeared on the borders, near the moon Luna. "Sixteen Covenant Capital Ships holding position just outside the Kill-zone."

A new formation of ships launched from some of the Defense Platforms. A small pop-up appeared next to it, containing details on which ships were attached with the group.

"This is Fleet Admiral Harper." came over the Com. "We are engaging the enemy."

"Negative, Admiral." Hood said. "Form a defensive perimeter around the cluster." He turned to the group. "Commander, get back to your ship. Link up with the Fleet."

"Yes, sir." the commander said, as she walked away to one of the hatches exiting the room. Hood turned back to the display. "Something's not right. The fleet that destroyed Reach was twenty times this size."

then one of the sensor officers turned to Hood. "Sir, additional contacts." his voice sounded panicked. "Boarding craft, and lots of them!"

Cortana modified the display, showing the boarding craft as well. They numbered in over the hundreds.

"They're going to try to take our MAC guns offline," Hood said. "give their capital ships a straight shot at Earth." Hood turned to them, and sam knew what he would say next. "Blue Team, defend this station."

John nodded for them. "Yes sir." John then turned to Johnson and Wilson. "We'll need weapons."

Wilson smiled. "Right this way." he then led the way, out of the room. They went out the same way they came in, through the hatch near the tram. Instead of going directly ahead, towards the tram, however, Wilson led them left, towards a group of weapon lockers. Wilson grabbed a case that lay on the ground. He smiled. "It seems Gunny got my note after all." he turned to Linda. "I had something prepared for you, in case of an emergency." he opened the case.

Inside, assembled and loaded with ammo, was Linda's custom Sniper Rifle. Nornfang. Sam knew Linda was smiling now. "Thanks." Linda said. "I could use this."

Sam nodded in thanks as well, and turned to one of the lockers. He grabbed a pair of SMG's and holstered them. He then grabbed a Battle rifle, and grabbed as much ammo as he could carry. Sam noted the others all had the same load-out, except for Linda, as she had a Battle Rifle and Nornfang.

Sam turned to John, who was consulting Cortana. After he finished, he turned to them. "Alright, it's overkill if we all deploy together, so we split up and prioritize. Will, defend the Control room. Linda, head for MAC-storage. There are enough explosives there to blow this station trice. Fred, you're at Fire control. Sam, we run interference, clearing boarders and emergencies as they pop up. Cortana will relay us the situations if we are needed. Move out."

All members of Blue team nodded, and headed for their respective areas. Johnson was waiting near a hatch, and was organizing a group of marines, all still in dress uniform, as they prepared to repel a group that had boarded near their position. Sam headed up a balcony area, in an ideal flanking position. John took up position near the marines, manning a machine gun. Sam was sorry he'd missed it, and would gladly take it with him. But the marines would need it more than he did.

"How's it going, Malta?" Johnson asked.

"They're storming us as they exit the pods. Nothing we can't handle. They're in standard formation: little bastards up front, big ones in back. Good luck."

Sam looked at John, and gestured at the pile of grenades next to him. John nodded, and tossed Sam a bandolier containing four grenades. Sam caught it, and added the grenades to his belt.

Then a bright light appeared at the top of the seam of the door near the boarders, and Sam raised his battle rifle, wishing he could use a rocket near here. But this close to the Hull, it could penetrate it, and kill all of the marines, none of which had no vacuum-tight armor. He'd just have to take proper aim, and hope he was up to it.

The light went down the entire seam, and seemed to disappear. But then, after a few seconds, the door exploded towards the marines, and a Covenant lance consisting of three Elites and eight grunts ran towards them.

Sam threw a grenade into the midst of the group, taking out a pair of Grunts and the shields of one Elite. It turned to him, but received a burst from Sam's Battle Rifle for his troubles. The other two Elites turned to him as well.

But the Chief, still manning the machine gun, suppressed them by giving them a volley of bullets, forcing them into cover.

Giving Sam the opportunity to finish them off by throwing another grenade into their midst. Their shields were killed in an instant, and one had a massive wound from a piece of Shrapnel that had pierced it's wrist armor. Sam obliged it by shooting it in the head with his battle rifle. The other turned to Sam, and raised it's Plasma rifles.

And was subsequently cut down, as the twelve marines concentrated their fire on it. It took on the bullets like a sponge took on water. It dropped to the floor, forming a pool of blood even Sam would slip on. John moved away from the machine gun, and focused fire on the grunts with his SMG's. The Grunts, demoralized by the fact their leaders were killed, tried to flee back into the door.

And skidded to a halt, as Sam jumped right into the threshold of the doorway. And Sam, being 238,8 centimeters tall, was nearly twice as tall as the Grunts. The grunts ran in terror. Only to run into John, who they had originally been running from. The pair cut the Grunts down.

John, after finishing them off, reloaded his SMG's and turned to the marines. "Keep this area secure. Shoot anything that isn't human."

The marine sergeant nodded. "Yes, sir." she said. As she said this, Johnson put his finger to his ear, listening to the radio. After a moment, he walked off. "And where are you going?" Sam asked.

"The Commander is getting some resistance on her way to the In Amber Clad." Johnson said. "She needs an escort, and Hood has assigned me."

John nodded. "Good luck." Johnson nodded, and he moved off.

Sam headed into the hallway, followed by John. They each looked one way. Sam's end was a dead end, so he turned the other way. It was an empty hallway, and a Covenant-built Plasma cutter lay next to the threshold of the door on the ground. Sam and John headed into the hallway, as it led to the Hanger. Sam knew because they had walked this way when they had boarded the station when they had returned here on the Gettysburg.

A pair of Grunts came around the corner, and Sam shot them in the head with his Battle Rifle. John turned to him. "Care to save some for me?"

"I am. When a hunter or group of Elites comes around the corner, you can shoot first."
"Thank you. But you can have the Hunters. You seem to like ripping them in two."

Sam laughed. "That's only to impress the new folks on the team."

John stopped in his tracks. "Aha. So you did do it to impress Six."

Sam stopped, and mentally kicked himself. Damn these slip-ups.

"Yep. Never denied it to you, did I?"

"That's only because we have the decency to never ask, Sam." John said. "But thank you for confirming our suspicions."

"You're welcome." Sam said sarcastically.

They entered the hanger, and saw what was the source of the attacks.

Two Covenant boarding crafts, nicknamed Ticks by marines, were wedged into the hanger doors, cutting through the transparent metal of the hanger doors. And crawling the hanger were dozens of Covenant soldiers, consisting of Elites, Drones, Jackals, Grunts, and even a pair of Skirmishers. Sam was surprised they were here, as Fol had indicated that they had suffered many casualties to their kind during the war, and that they were becoming an endangered species. The pair was up on the catwalks above, keeping an eye on the entrances of the Hanger. It didn't take them long to spot the pair of Spartans.

Sam and John shot them without a second thought.

Of course, it attracted the attention of the other soldiers in the Hanger.

"Somehow, I think I needed those Stealth lessons you guys recommended." Sam said.

"You and me both. But that still won't stop me from getting more kills than you." John said.
"You're on." and both Spartans opened fire on the mass of Covenant soldiers.

The Drones were the first to fall, suffering a lot of casualties as each shot of the Spartans was a headshot. And the Yanme'e were a fragile species. They exploded from the force of the projectiles after they were hit.

The others tried to stop them, but Sam disrupted their lines by throwing his remaining amount of grenades at them, and shooting the grenades, forcing them to explode prematurely. The explosion killed five grunts and three Jackals, as well as downing the shields of an Elite that stood too close. The surviving soldiers all jumped into cover. Sam turned back to the drones.

Of which only three were still alive, the rest killed by John as he'd focused his fire on the drones. Sam shot the final three as they were turned away from him. Sam picked up a dropped plasma grenade, and threw it at an Elite Ultra that popped out of cover. It stuck to the Elite's face, and the Elite panicked for a moment before it exploded. After the flash of said explosion, Sam couldn't find either the Elite's head or helmet.

Then gunfire came from behind him, and a group of seven Grunts died, and three elites died as five Grenades were thrown at them, exploding as John hit them while in the air. Sam turned around.

A group of marines and ODST's, led by Dubbo and Wilson, all of which now wore marine and ODST armor, led a charge to retake the hanger. They all charged, with a group of three ODST's even carrying a Machine gun turret, and setting it up in the doorway. Sam nodded in thanks, and fired on the four Elites that were still remaining. He picked up a dropped plasma pistol, and overcharged it in order to quickly down the shield of one Elite. As soon as one popped up, a major, Sam fired the bolt. It hit the Elite square in the chest, and Sam finished it off with a burst from his SMG. John threw a grenade, and the shields of a pair of jackals died. Sam shot them in the head. He then turned to a pair of Elites.

And, as usual by now, Wilson had managed to shock him. Wilson had activated an obselete HRUNTING Mark III Exoskeleton, commonly known as a Cyclops, that was scheduled to be scrapped, and used it to grab the Elites by their throats, and slammed them into the wall. Their heads had severed from the force of the punch, and Sam could even see a few bits of bone embedded into the wall. He had just turned in time to see Wilson pull back the corpses from the wall, and shake the hands of the Cyclops clean.

The final Elite, a mere Minor, turned to look at the carnage that was being caused, and stood still in shock for a moment.

A moment he shouldn't have, as John jumped onto it's back, and snapped it's neck. Sam turned to look who was still remaining.

It weren't that many, merely five Jackals and three Grunts. Sam and Dubbo finished them off with a volley of picked up Plasma grenades. The Jackals went last, as their shields bought them a split second more before they died as well.

The marines, after making sure no Covenant soldiers were alive, moved to secure positions in the hanger, placing more machine gun turrets. Wilson got out of the Cyclops, making a bow as he landed on the hanger floor. "And that's why a Cyclops will never be outdated. Oh, how I will miss these beauties."

Sam just shook his head. "You know, sometimes I think you should go back to the asylum, just to ensure we don't go insane from your antics." Wilson laughed in response.

Dubbo pointed outside, to Malta station. "Hey, check it out! The Malta's already driven off its boarders!" Sam turned to look. Indeed, Sam could see that a lot of the boarding craft from earlier were leaving the station. And they were in a hurry.

"Malta, what is your status, over?" Cortana asked.

"I don't believe it." Malta control said. "They're retreating! We've wo-"

But the man on the other end was interrupted as the center of the station suddenly exploded, and the barrel of it's Super-MAC started to tumble away, to burn up in Earth's atmosphere. Sam grimaced.

"This is bad. Real bad." Dubbo said. Sam couldn't agree more.

But they moved on, onto the next hanger.

---

John loaded his final clip into his rifle, as they cleared the second hanger. He looked around the hanger.

This one had been less filled up, as the Ticks had breached the doors only moments before John, Sam and the marines had entered the hanger. They had taken care of the Covenant soldiers as they were still in the tubes of the ticks, effectively putting them in bottlenecks. It had been, as Johnson would put it, a turkey-shooting. But, once again, Dubbo soured everyone's mood.

"Uh oh! Hey, they're leaving the Athens!"

John looked, and indeed, the Covenant were leaving the Athens in the same style as the Malta. And, after a moment, it exploded, in the same way as the Malta. The shockwave toppled most of the marines.

"Cortana, assessment." Hood ordered over the com.

"That explosion came from inside the Athens. Same as the Malta. The Covenant must have brought something with them. A bomb."

"Then they sure as hell brought one here." Hood said. "Blue team, be on the lookout for those bombs at your locations. 117, 034: find it."

"Affirmative." John said. "We'll get right on that."

he then moved down, and Sam followed. They entered a maintenance corridor, and followed it for a few minutes. It exited near MAC-storage, so Linda would be nearby. Sure enough, as they exited the corridor, Linda was choking the life out of the final Elite present, a Zealot. They were both lying on the ground, The Elite lying on its stomach while Linda sat atop it, her legs around it's body and her arms around its neck, pulling it's head back as far as possible. It struggled for a moment, before its arm let go and hung limply. Linda pounded its head into the floor. She stood up. "This area's clear, sir. No bomb here."

John nodded. "Keep it that way. There is enough ammunition here to blow the place to kingdom come."

Linda grabbed her sniper rifle, and held it high. "No worries, Sir. They'll have to go through me before they get a shot at this place."

Sam grabbed a plasma grenade from the Zealot's corpse, and tossed it to Linda. Linda thanked him, and the pair of Spartans continued on. They didn't encounter any resistance for a few minutes, as he Covenant had been cleared in this area by Linda. John noted a lot of them didn't even make it out of their boarding craft, and a lot of ricochet marks lined the walls of the Ticks. Sam nodded, impressed. "Linda's been busy."

"Yes, with more success than us."

Sam nodded. "Yeah. I've always wanted a bomb for Christmas. Can we save it for next month? Please?"

John shook his head. "It would level the city you'd receive the present in. Besides, I'm already planning for another present."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?"

Sam nodded. "True. Still, can't blame me for trying."

John wanted to reply, but then he heard gunfire further ahead. It was followed by Plasma fire, and a call. "Tell your friends I got enough ammo for all of 'ya!" John sprinted ahead to see what was going on.

They ended up in the armory. The Master Gunnery Sergeant was firing at a pair of Elites with a shotgun. The Elites, however, had him outnumbered five-to-one. It didn't take long for him to die. John and Sam weren't in time to save him, as he was stabbed in the abdomen by an Energy sword.

They could, however, take revenge.

John and Sam charged, with each of them throwing Plasma grenades at the group. Two of the five Elites were stuck with Grenades, killing them and draining the shields of the other. John jumped straight into one, tackling it to the ground. He punched it in the face multiple times, until it's face literally wasn't recognizable anymore due to the amount of skull fragments and blood. He got up, and looked at how Sam was faring.

Sam was holding one of the Elites in the air, throwing it into the ceiling multiple times and catching it. The other Elite was already dead, its skull bashed in and its head turned at such an angle that wasn't natural.

After Sam threw it a final time, he let it drop. John saw its spine had been severed. "Oops." John said, pointing. Sam bent over to look, and tilted his head. "Yep. Definitely an accident." Sam said. "Car crash. Thrown fifteen meters."

John laughed. "Great job, sherlock. Now let's find that bomb."

"Aye, cap'n" Sam said, as usual in his pirate-like voice. They stocked up on ammunition, with John grabbing the shotgun from the Gunnery Sergeant. They then moved out.

Straight into a plaza with threw Zealots. John fired on the closest one, who was still unaware he was behind him. Its shields died from the blast, and Sam finished it off with a Battle Rifle burst. The two others turned to them, grabbing their Energy Swords. John fired at one with his SMG's, trying to keep it from charging at Sam. Sam did likewise with the other one. The Zealots, however, were not to be deterred. They charged at them, letting the shields take the blows. They were almost within striking range.

John dropped his SMG's for the moment, and ducked away from the strikes of the one attacking him. John tried to grab the sword arm of it as it swung at him, but it pulled away at the last second, jumping away to make some distance between the two of them. John raised his hands like a boxer's, and beckoned the Elite forward. The Zealot, eager for a challenge, holstered the sword, and raised his hands in a similar combat stance. It moved a bit closer to John.

Big mistake.

John grabbed it's hands, and twisted them, dislocating the wrists. As it howled in pain, John let go of one hand, and grabbed it at the throat. And squeezed. It let out a single cry of pain, before it fell down, it's spine severed by the pressure of John's hand. He turned to Sam. He was still trying to evade his Zealot's strikes, both unaware one of the Zealots had been taken care off. Sam grabbed it at the head, and gave it a knee in the face, shattering the ornate helmet as he did so. He then grabbed its neck, and pushed it's face into the floor, hard.

John could see it's head caved in from the pressure, and blood seeped out from the eyes. Sam got up, picking up his SMG's as he did. John looked at the three corpses. "Sam, have you noted you have been becoming more and more violent with each passing day?"

Sam turned to him. "Yes. I blame it on not knowing my full strength, though."

"Arm-wrestle a Brute and find out."

Sam laughed. "Oh, pity the Brute who's forced to do so."

They moved on. Once again, they met an area largely clear of Covenant. They were traveling for nearly five minutes when they heard a pair of Grunts. John stopped, and Sam did likewise, following his lead. They halted near a corner, and John was sure the Grunt were beyond it. But he held his fire. For what they were saying was interesting.

"You think Fol's right? Could San'Shyuum be false?" the first said.

"Don't know. Big guys always followed orders from chair guys. Unusual for one to leave us." another said.

"But he wouldn't do it without reason. He legend."

"But he also traitor."

"Fol could have point. What if chair guys lie?"
"Too far above our lives. Just follow orders and sip fusion. Life's easier that way."

"I'd guess you're right."

with that, John could hear more steps coming their way, and he primed a frag grenade. He tossed it around the corner, and heard the screams of the Grunts as they died. He moved on. Sam looked at the grunts. "Shame about them. They could have joined us."

"But they chose not to, so we continue on."

Sam nodded, despite being displeased about it, and they continued on. It seemed the Station had already been cleared of marines here, as Sam and John found a lot of corpses, and no one alive.

Sam eyed one of the corpses, picking up the Jackal's arm briefly. "Fol said that he had quite a reputation among Covenant troops, and that word of his defection would cause moral to drop."

John looked around a bit himself, gathering a bit of ammo. "I heard. He said moral of the Covenant would drop just as much because of Halo's destruction as because of him leaving the Covenant. And since we know how much Halo was worth to them, we know Fol will have quite the impact."

"That's what I'm getting at, Chief. Things are in unrest over there. Fol has defected. Who knows who else wants to join up now?"

"And how will you arrange it for them? Just stand in front of them and yell 'Hey, don't shoot. We'll take you in'."

"Just pointing it out." Sam said.

"I know. But we have no means of actually communicating safely with those defectors. In fact, we don't even know if they are out there at all."

"Yeah, but what if-"

"Let Hood and the eggheads at ONI worry about that. Let's focus on the mission at hand."

Sam nodded, and they continued on. They saw quite a bit of battle damage here, and one Marine had even been pinned to the wall by an Energy Sword that was embedded too deep to be removed.

They were traveling across the station for another two minuets when they heard more weapons fire. Sam sprinted ahead, and John sprinted in order to catch up.

They ended up near the Starboard docking bay, where the In Amber Clad was docked. Johnson, commander Keyes and a group of twelve marines, all of them still in dress uniform, were exchanging fire with a group of Covenant, which consisted of a pair of Zealots, three majors, eight minors, and a trio of Jackals. John and Sam joined in on the fight.

Johnson looked up from his cover as the pair of Spartans approached. "Come on, Tough guys, this way!" he called, and he and his marines moved to join the Spartans in their advance.

The commander nodded at them, and joined them in their advance with her assault rifle. "I was almost on board when they showed up."

"Don't worry, Commander. We're on it." Johnson reassured her, and fired at the closest Major to prove his point.

Sam and John took the lead of the charge, each taking on one of the Zealots. John fired at one continuously with his shotgun, all the way until it's shields died. He then grabbed it's hands, pulled at them, and disarmed it from it's energy swords. It tried to pull it's hands free, but John used the momentum to get closer, stabbing it in the head with his combat knife he'd grabbed a split second earlier.

Sam dealt with his Zealot much quicker. He just evaded it's attempts to hit him with it's needlers, grabbed the Kukri he'd gotten from Six, and stabbed it in the neck, near the throat. It fell down, choking on it's own blood. He pulled the knife out, and grabbed the Carbine from the Elite's back. He fired at the Majors, one of which had already been taken out by concentrated fire from the Marines. John joined him, firing twice at the other with his shotgun. He wanted to fire another time, but then the weapon clicked, empty. He dropped it, and grabbed his Battle Rifle. He aimed at the Major's head, and released three controlled bursts, all concentrated around the head. Each hit their mark, the first two dropping it's shields, and the third hitting it in the brains. It dropped dead on the spot.

The Minors and Jackals, deprived of their leadership, tried to decide what to do. When the door between them and the marines and Spartans shut. And the atmosphere drained from the compartment. John watched as they choked to death. Sam looked up at the nearest Camera. "Thanks, Cortana. Wouldn't know what to do without you."

"Be bored from your skull." she said. "Be advised, the first Carrier and Cruiser have broken through our lines, and each have split off, the Carrier headed for Africa, the Cruiser for the Arctic."

"What are they doing there?" Sam asked. "Looking for Penguins? They're on the other side of the planet."

"Unknown. But-" but then someone interrupted them on the com. "Chief, it's Fred. Huge Covenant party came my way, and they were carrying a bomb. Fire was too heavy, so I was forced to retreat."
"I copy. Take Linda and Will, and arrange for Hood to get you to the Arctic. There's a cruiser there that needs taken care off. Sam and I will later deal with the Carrier over Africa."

"Why do you guys always get the good spots, and we only ice?"

"Because you're better at tolerating the ice than I am." Sam said. "Getting cold feet, Fred?"

"with all your explosions I'm surprised I'm not overcooked yet. Don't worry, we're on it." Fred signed off.

John immediately looked at the Commander. "Get to your ship, commander. Johnson, take your marines and join her." Keyes nodded. "I owe you guys one, Spartans. Thanks." John nodded his head in acknowledgement, and he and Sam headed for the nearest exit. "Cortana, guide us towards Fire-Control."

"It's just to your right, up the elevator." Cortana instructed. "Just so you know, there are quite a few Elites guarding the bomb. You guys may have to get more creative, rather than just blowing everything up. And that goes double for you, Sam."
"Me? Blowing stuff up? Perish the thought."
"Sam, I taught you not to lie." John said, as they ran into the elevator. Cortana immediately closed the doors and sent them up the shaft.
"How dare you!" Sam said in an accusing tone. "I've never blown anything up anything in my entire- oh, what the hell." he changed his tone to exasperation. "Yes, ok, I do blow stuff up."

"There's a boy." John said with satisfaction. Then the elevator finally stopped. And Sam and John raised their rifles.

The doors opened halfway, just so one Spartan could go through with ease at a time. John got Cortana's hint, and took cover behind one of the doors. Sam did likewise.

As soon as they did, a lot of plasma fire hit the wall behind them. After a moment it stopped, and John glanced around the corner to look.

And immediately ducked his head back, as the Elites resumed their fire on their location. Sam looked at him. "Still no grenades?"

John shook his head. "We don't know how tough the casing of that bomb is. We just as well might do this the hard way."

Sam nodded. He then took aim around the corner, careful not to expose any of his body parts. He fired a short burst, before a lot of fire hit his rifle. He pulled it back. The rifle's barrel had melted from multiple hits. He grabbed all ammunition for the rife he had and tossed it to John. He then grabbed a plasma grenade, activated it, and stuck it to the rifle. He tossed it into the room, careful not to throw it too far.

To John's satisfaction, it's explosion was followed by the cries of multiple Elites. John risked another glance.

And grimaced. Inside were Eleven Zealots, led by a Field-Marshal. Only three of the Zealots were dead, and another was wounded. But the rest all were in cover, recovering from the explosion. The Field-Marshal was standing aside a large Covenant device, covered in Spikes in order to stabilize it. John ducked back into cover in order to prevent being shot at. Sam looked at him. "How many?" "Eight, Seven Zealots and a Field-Marshal. All covering the bomb."

Sam threw his head into his shoulders. "Great. Another Field-Marshal." Sam then turned his head to John. "If you're gonna try to get this one to defect, I'm gonna punch you in the face."

John did the gesture of a Spartan smile. "Don't worry. I'm not desperate enough to copy Six. The bomb looked quite sturdy, so a grenade or two won't hurt. Feel free to blow us all out of the sky."

Sam did the gesture himself. "Finally. The boom." Sam then grabbed four grenades, two frags and two plasma, and held them up. "Let's paint the walls black with ash."

"I don't think ash works that way."

Sam sighed. "Just go along with it."

John grabbed his own grenades, and threw two plasma grenades down the room. Sam did the same with his own plasma grenades, and did so to the other corners of the room. Once again, they heard howls of pain from the room. John grabbed his frags, as Sam threw his into the room. John primed his own and threw them as well. They heard more roars, and John even saw the shadow of one fly across the room. John got out of cover, and raised his rifle.

Only the Field-Marshal and two Zealots were still standing. The rest were killed, either ripped to shreds by the shrapnel of the Frag grenades or fried by the Plasma grenades. All corpses were centered near the door. They must have been trying to sneak up on them, attempting to ambush them in the elevator cage. Obviously, they were caught off-guard by the volley of grenades that were thrown into them. And even the two that were still standing were wounded, to the point that the Zealot's helmet was still burning, and the Field-Marshal stood with a limp.

John tackled the Field-Marshal, who was trying to reach for his Energy Sword. It flew out of his hand from the force of John's impact, and he fell to the ground. John fell with him, as he had nothing to steady himself with, and the Field-Marshal had fallen unexpectedly.

Once on the ground, John immediately tried to grab his combat knife. But the Elite kicked him off of it, and John went flying across the room. John felt a slight pain as something pointy hit his armor, but it stopped his flight, and he fell to the ground. As he got up, he saw the Field-Marshal was holding his leg in pain, although he was already standing. John used the opportunity, and grabbed one of his SMG's. He opened fire on the Field-Marshal, who tried to dive out of the way. But he was too slow, wounded by the grenades John and Sam had tossed into the room. It fell, clutching it's chest as two bullets pierced his armor.

Sam was keeping the Zealot occupied, so John turned to Cortana, who had appeared on a data pedestal. She answered his question before he could ask it. "Me, inside your head, now!" she said urgently. Her complied, and held his hand over the data pedestal.

He was thankful for the new Ai-Compatibility upgrade the Mark-VI armor had received. As long as John had an AI data-chip inside his helmet, he could use his armor as an interface for an AI, effectively allowing Cortana to get 'absorbed' into his armor by mere touch instead of removing the chip the entire time. The chip could still be removed, of course, but due to the upgrade it wasn't necessary.

Cortana transferred herself to his armor, and John made his way over to the bomb fast. He then held his hand over a console on it, which seemed to be the detonator. After a moment, the furious blinking of it stopped. He sagged his shoulders in relief. "How much time was left?"

"Let's just say Six would have made another comment about leaving the ship before destroying it." Cortana said. "Ten seconds. Tops."

John nodded. He then contacted Hood. "Sir, bomb disabled. Advise the other stations to secure the fire control centers."

"I copy, Chief. Sending word through now."

"Cairo, this is In Amber Clad." John heard Keyes report. "The second Carrier's shield is down, and it's past the ODP defensive screen. I'm in position and ready for immediate assault."

"Negative, commander." Hood said. "Not against a ship that size. Not on your own."

"Sir" Sam said, as he approached, the Zealot behind him dead, bleeding in multiple places. "Permission for me and the Master Chief to leave the station."

"For what purpose, Petty Officer?" Hood asked.

"The Covenant forgot their bomb, sir. I'm planning on returning it."

As soon as he heard it, John nearly laughed out loud. Sam really was crazy.

Hood, however, didn't think so. "Permission granted."

John looked at Sam, and just shook his head. "I need to sue Six. She turned you crazy."

"Fortunately for us all." Cortana said. "We like crazy."

Sam laughed. "Indeed. Come on. This bomb isn't gonna return to sender by itself."

John nodded, and he and Sam turned to the bomb.

"You're gonna lose." John heard in an odd tone from behind him. He turned.

The Field-marshal was still alive for the moment, and had dragged itself into a sitting position, leaning against a pillar. Sam raised his Battle Rifle, but John stopped him. He was interested in what this one had to say.

"And why is that?" he asked.

"You are sitting on a treasure without realizing it. You don't know what lies beneath your feet." it coughed up a bit of blood, and it sagged a bit. John knew it didn't have long. It still continued on, however. "The Great Journey will soon end, and I will be a god alongside the Hierarchs. The Ark will transcend us all, and you... will... be... left... be... hind." it trailed off, and finally sagged completely to the floor, dead.

Sam tilted his head. "The Ark? What the hell's all that about?"

"Something for later. Cortana, guide us to the nearest Longsword Launch bay."

she complied, and a waypoint appeared, back at the elevator. John and Sam once again turned to the bomb. They dragged it over there, and John turned to the buttons. A waypoint appeared over the lowest of buttons, and he pressed it. The Elevator started to descend rapidly. John turned to the bomb. He noted one of the Spikes stabilizing it was bent, and the shape of a Mjolnir backplate was imprinted into the side of the bomb.

So that's what I crashed into. Lucky me.

The elevator finally stopped, and he and Sam dragged it a bit into the launch bay. He could see the space battle beyond.

"Just one question:" Cortana asked, as Sam and John each took positions behind one of the pillars, and John grabbed the release for the cargo bay doors. "What if you two miss?"

John looked at the bomb. "We won't." he said calmly.

With that, he pulled the release, and the hanger doors opened. The atmosphere drained from the bay, and dust flew out into space. The bomb dragged a bit, it's spikes catching on the floor grating. But soon it flew out the hanger, and he and Sam jumped out, reaching for the spikes on the bomb. They caught on, and soon they were drifting across space, headed for the second Carrier.

They could only watch, and steer a bit here and there, as they drifted towards it. A Marathon-class Cruiser headed for the Carrier, opening up on it. The Carrier, in retaliation, fired at it with it's energy projector. The Marathon's armor breached, and small explosions swept across the entire ship. John could see the engines fail as he and Sam drifted past, and a few flickers of light as they attempted to relight themselves.

A pair of Longswords flew past, and John watched as they made a bombing run on it, hitting the area near the reactor dead-on. Perfect.

He and Sam drifted the bomb inside, and used the thrusters of their armor to stop their drift. John could see they were inside a huge reactor chamber. It seemed those Longswords weren't the only ones to hit it, as a rent was visible below them, showing the Earth down below. John reached over, and he held his hand again over the detonator. It started blinking again, and a whir sounded as it started up again. He flexed his legs, and he used the bomb to propel himself away from the carrier, making his way to Earth. Sam was right behind him.

Cortana briefly opened a small pop-up on his HUD, and he could see the carrier. Behind him, the bomb went off, and as he and Sam sped away, small explosions tore across the hull, before it went up in one single explosion. Sam will likely ask if we can do that again.

"Wheee. Can we do that again?" Sam asked.

"You can. I won't. I like to keep my eyebrows, for one."

Sam laughed. "Suit yourself."

Then a Stalwart-class Frigate sped into their way, and matched their trajectory. On the side, John could just read the words In Amber Clad printed on the hull.

They hit the hull near the bridge, making slight bumps into it as they did. John engaged his magnetic boots, and Sam was already standing.

"For a pair of bricks... you guys flew pretty good!" Johnson said excitedly over the com.

"Spartans, get inside and gear up." Commander Keyes said. "We're taking this fight to the surface."

John nodded, and made his way to the nearest Airlock, Sam right behind him. This was gonna be a long day.

---

ONI Prowler, call sign 'Hidden Veil', unknown star system (En-route to Sang'katarn)

Fol made his way to the Hidden Veil's hanger, where he knew Six to be. He looked up at the Bulkhead. "Void, What's the ETA on Sang'Katarn?"

"Three days." Void said, his voice monotone and boring as usual. Fol nodded. "Thank you. Call me if anything changes."

"Of course, Field-Marshal." it said. In the two weeks they had been traveling, Fol hadn't encountered Void's avatar once. When asked about it, Void had answered that he cared more for efficiency than appearance, and that it didn't want an avatar, as it was more for a human's comfort anyway. Fol had heard that the AI Black Box had a similar philosophy on it's appearance, but Fol had seen it once, and Black Box had at least adopted the avatar of a box, true to his name. But Void's reluctance to show an Avatar was astonishing.

He entered the hanger, where Six was busy modifying the Pelican they would use as a shuttle if they weren't permitted to land on the surface. Fol made his way down there, and knocked on the wing Six lay under. He could see she had rewired a lot of it's circuitry. Six held out a hand. "Give me a minute. I'm about to finish it up anyway."

Fol nodded, and leaned against the hull while he waited. Six finished putting the wires back in, and pulled herself out from under the pelican. Her helmet looked at Fol as she got up.

During their entire stay, Six hadn't removed her armor in his presence once, and always ate separately. Fol wondered for a moment if she slept in it. He had heard from the other Spartans that she did it because ONI wanted her identity hidden. Fol couldn't figure out why, but he didn't mind. He didn't mind it that much anyway.

"I want to brief you fully on Sang'Katarn, just so you know what you are getting yourself into."

Six nodded. "I expected as much. Shall we walk why we do so? I could use the exercise."

Fol nodded, and he made his way to one of the Ship's main corridors. Due to the nature of their mission, Fol and Six had the prowler all to themselves, with only void for company. Being cooped up together had done them well, and Fol found with each passing day he could talk to her easier, as long as he didn't pry about her past. Fol composed his words for a moment. "You remember the basic history of the planet, Right. As Cortana told it on Halo?"

Six nodded. "Yes. Originally a Covenant Prison planet, it was taken over by your ancestor, Thel Katarn, after he was banished from High-Charity for his Atheist beliefs. After Thel's followers renamed it Sang'Katarn, your ancestors took control of the planet, and repelled five invasions from the San'Shyuum. After that there was a reluctant cease-fire. Around our year of 1900, give or take a decade, your people sent their warrior-cadets to Covenant academies, trying to make the cease-fire more permanent. Your cadets ended up being better than the instructors, and your people are seen as the Covenant's best ever since. You gained your reputation because of it."

Fol nodded, impressed. "I didn't realize you have read the report."

"I didn't." Six said. "I have a perfect memory. I can recall my parents' faces, even though they have been dead for over nearly two decades and no pictures of them were recovered. I can remember every scream and death I see and hear."

Fol looked at her. "Doesn't it give you nightmares? Seeing the faces of all those dead people in your sleep?"

Six shrugged. "Sometimes. But I tend to get over it. But you were briefing me on your birth-planet."

Fol nodded, recognizing an attempt to change the topic when he heard it. "It has been for years that we have peace between the Covenant and Sang'Katarn. But in reality, we're trying to split up. Our creeds of life simply differ too much. The sending of our cadets was in reality a form of sending scouts, determining how far we were ahead or behind them in terms of technology."

he paused. "We ended up lagging far behind the Covenant military, to the point that we had only a few outdated cruisers where they had armadas of hundreds of ships. They turned out to only be holding back because of our reputation."

they were getting near the mess-hall. Fol paused to grab some water for the two of them. "Naturally, we began our own arms race, in order to catch up. And we broke the mantra ONI correctly guessed that lay over the Covenant." Six looked up. "What mantra?"

"This: 'The Covenant is imitative, not innovative'. They are powerful, yes. But they never dared upgrade their tech beyond the level the Forerunners once had. Sacrilege, the San'Shyuum claimed."

Six nodded. "Like the pope saying a gun's forbidden because Jesus never used one, not that he ever said that. And you continued on developing anyway."

Fol took a sip of the water. "Yes. And while we are still outnumbered in terms of numbers, in technology we surpassed them about two centuries ago. We have more powerful Energy Swords that nearly never drain. We have Plasma rifles that kill with a single shot, even if while the target is behind cover. Our energy shields can withstand a hurricane, and survive an inferno for hours before draining. Our ships could breach a Super-Carrier's shields in a heartbeat, tear through it's hull, and never draining even a single percent of it's batteries. Do I need to supply more examples?"

Six shook her head. "No. But why have we never encountered that tech before?"

Fol grinned. "You'd think we'd risk the Covenant getting their hands on that kind of tech? Risk them taking away one of our advantages?"

Six looked at him, tilting her head. "No. As much as I'd like to think so, unlike what your name says, you are not fools. But still you shared your shield-technology with us. Why?"

Fol looked ahead. "Consider it a gift. One symbolizing a possible future alliance between our governments."

Six nodded. "Fair enough. So, you discovered you were outgunned, and you now outgun them. What else?"

Fol thought for a second. "Government next. We are led by a Council, and while up to Three hundred visitors are allowed, only a hundred are actually councilors and able to vote. The other two hundred are merely a way of ensuring the people are always informed. The councilors are all, after a minimum of three per species to avoid underrepresentation, all divided so that the amount of members per species is in percentage the same as their amount of members in the total population. Following so far?" Six nodded.

"We are led militarily by a council of three: A Battlemaster, Who leads our armies into battle. A Commander of the Fleet, who commands all our ships and leads them into victory. And last but not least, a Knowledge Commander, who is our analogue to your CINCONI."

"The head of your intelligence division?" Six asked. Fol nodded. "Yes. The most recent one, A former Unggoy deacon named Ghanak, has taken a backseat for the majority of the war, and has let our battlemaster and Commander of the Fleet lead our people in this war." Fol briefly thought back to his brother and sister, Kal and Nera Katarn. Kal had six months ago been promoted to the rank of Battlemaster, before he was asked by shipmaster Rahgath to join him on a short journey. Kal, still a bit new to his position, had accepted. He had, however, been out of contact ever since.

"Something on your mind?" Six asked, and Fol looked back at her.

"Just thinking about my siblings. Nera Katarn and Kal Katarn. My sister and brother."

Six nodded. "I had a sister once. But the battle of Jericho VII took her from me." Fol thought he misheard it, but he swore he could mutter her "I miss you, Ilsa Zane."

Fol continued on, changing the subject for her. "You would like to know that my brother, Kal, has been promoted to the rank of Battlemaster six months ago."

Six looked up. "Really. Your brother has been promoted earlier than you?"

"I spent too much time in the field to be commanding our armies. I do have command experience, but my dedication to being in the field prevents me from taking more command. And my brother was always the one people could rally behind anyway."

Six mulled that over. "Could you elaborate on that?"

Fol nodded. "Basically a taller version of me. He's skilled, fast, strong, and charismatic. He could convince a human to lay down his weapons with his speeches." Fol paused. "Also, due to a genetic mutation, he is the tallest Elite on record. A head taller than me, even."

Six briefly looked over Fol's head, before looking at Fol. "I would like to duel with him once. Might be fun to watch."

Fol laughed. "I'm sure. Anyway, the last of the three, the Commander of the Fleet, was Ka'gran Osan. A very skilled Shipmaster, and I dare say even a match for your infamous Admiral Cole. He recently died in battle, however, and last I heard his successor hadn't been chosen." Fol briefly thought of the Commander. "My sister, Nera, was his apprentice. His chosen protege. She would best everyone who opposed her in ship-to-ship combat. But she hasn't got a lot of true experience in the field, and her results are mostly from simulators. But I have faith in her."

Six nodded. "And these three lead the entire planet?"

"No." Fol said. "That would be Reghok Katarn. My Father."

"Really?"

"Yes. He leads the civilian population, and makes most of the decisions in the end. The councilors, while powerful and in command of things like food and important materials like Nanolaminate platings, are second to him. He has a Veto if the Council votes for something he doesn't want. The Council can only hope to convince him they're right in such a case."

"Sounds like a semi-democracy, semi-dictatorship." Six noted.

Fol thought it over. She had a point. "Yes, but unlike the UEG, we don't hide it."

Six laughed. "True. But anything else about the government I should know?"

Fol thought for a moment. "One thing: Address the members of the Council and military of which you know it by rank. It is a law for outsiders, so make note of it."

Six nodded. "Noted. What's next?"

"The Planet itself." Fol said immediately. "The surface mostly consists of scorching deserts and barren wastelands, so it's not the prettiest of sights to see. The surface frequently suffers from major sandstorms and temperatures of about 50 degrees Celsius, so you don't want to visit there. The majority of settlements, safe for a domed capital and a couple of ruins, are all located underground in tunnels and hollows. Most of our major cities are located in hollowed-out mountains, with our fleet, if needed for refit, located inside a few sinkholes. The remainder of our population who dislike living in large towns live in their own tunnels, branching off from the main center, or on small settlements on the surface, in homes partially embedded underground, with a dozen tunnels that lead underground, inevitably to one of the cities."

Six consulted her datapad for a second. "And the only exception is your capital, Kortan-Sho."

Fol nodded. "For moral purposes, we constructed our Capital inside a domed city. The Government, called the Clan by our people, is seated there as well."

"Any other major things worthy of note?"

Fol grimaced. "The Planet's full of Forerunner ruins. They constructed the first tunnels here, and my people have expanded onto them. Now they're mostly museum pieces and exhibitions. There are a few things that stand out: The City of Tah."

"From your tone I can tell it's something special."

"Indeed. It's a forerunner city. Or the remains of one anyway."

At this, Six perked up a lot more. "Of the same beings that build Halo?"

"Yes. It consisted mostly of living quarters and the like: anything you would find in a Sangheili or Human city. However, there were two buildings that stood out. One was a fully translated archive. The other seemingly a Library."

Six took on a confused stance. "I have a few questions. One: why an Archive? According to Void, they stored all of their information on a galaxy-spanning network called the Domain. He got that from you."

Fol nodded. "I never learned why it was placed. The majority of my people assume, however, that the Forerunners placed it as a backup, in case they ever lost access to the Domain, so they still all had their knowledge intact."

Six nodded. "Seems logical, as an insurance. But here's another: how have you never learned the true purpose of Halo from it?"

"Because of two reasons: The Forerunners wrote in riddles, because of which we still don't understand all of it. And we still haven't translated everything."

"Alright. Final question: what did you mean a Library? You already mentioned the Archive."

Fol took on a very serious look. "Not that kind of Library. Like a Halo Library."

Six froze. "You mean one where we found an activation index?"

"Yes. It's called the T-shaped key by my people, who don't know it's true purpose, but given what we experienced on Halo it can't be anything else."

Six stood still for one more moment, before looking at Fol. "You should inform your people."

"Was already planning to do so. But thank you for confirming it."

Six nodded. "After that bombshell, what's next?"

"Our creed. Our way of life." Fol said. "It's a warrior's paradise. You're allowed to carry weapons everywhere except the Sang'Katarn Archive, which is where we keep the so far translated data of the Forerunners, and the ruins. You can be challenged to a duel by anyone, even the Kaidon, if he considers you worthy. In turn, you can challenge everyone. It's not so much as a matter of honor as a way of saying 'I like you'."

"I like you?"

"As in forming friendships. A way of greeting a stranger. It's not necessary, but it is one often done as a way of passing the time."

Six swept her fingers past her energy swords, which she'd kept since the Gettysburg, or Halo even if she didn't swap them out often enough. "That will be fun."

Fol laughed. "Indeed, as it's customary for people to challenge outsiders and newcomers."

"Oh, good. More people to defeat." Six glanced at Fol for a moment. "It's forbidden to kill, right?"

"Yes. While accidents can happen, if you intentionally do so... let's just say you're lucky if you're merely outnumbered a hundred-to-one in a fight."

Six laughed in turn. "I always liked a challenge."

Fol nodded. "Thel Vadam and I have the scars to prove that. But anyways, bloodlines don't matter that much. We judge by capability rather than lineage. Our curses and insults tend to be more in the direction of low intelligence, being a traitor, full of a sense of authority or bad hygiene, rather than having different sexual orientation, parentage or genetical diseases and such."

"Impressive. We only stopped with using the latter groups as insults only about a century ago." Six said.

"And we are also generally very accepting of new beings on Sang'Katarn, with only the San'Shyuum being the exception. And that's because of the lingering feelings about the invasions. The rest of the species bunch are accepted. The merchants of the Yonhet, the Yanme'e of Palamok, any being is accepted into our ranks if skilled enough. Which is more tolerant than High-Charity would like."

"I'll bet." Six said. "What about the San'Shyuum? They aren't the species fit for physical exertion."

"They have more trouble, of course, both to actually be accepted, and to fit in. But still, a few are accepted."

Six nodded. "Quite the encyclopedia-like knowledge you have."

"That's because I have traveled across my world often. But here's another thing: Gender is nearly meaningless among us, unlike in the Covenant. Females have just as many chances as males. And martial skill is more important than beauty. In fact, if you use the word delicate to describe a person anywhere, you are bound to start a fight."

"Sounds like my kind of people." Six said, and Fol thought she sounded enthusiastic even.

"Yes." Fol said absentmindedly. "I thought Spartans would like that." he returned his speech of his people to Six. "Anyway, Warriors are trained and raised from a very young age, and everyone is able to defend themselves." he paused. "That's it, really. There are the matters of how common adoption is, or how our warrior acceptance ceremonies for the young-adults, but nothing more that's relevant to you."

Six nodded. "Well, the information is useful." Six said. "Your way of telling it sucks, but it is interesting and useful none the less."

Fol stopped. "What do you mean 'my way of telling it' sucks?"

Six stopped as well, and looked him in the eye. "After the planet and Creed, you didn't have a concrete line at which you told things. You just blurted it out as it came to your mind. As useful as your information is, that's boring."

"I didn't tell it to entertain you, merely so you don't take things the wrong way." Fol retorted. He was getting agitated with her mood. "Otherwise you could have your head put on a pike."

"And you know I would take a lot of your people with me." Six said. "I didn't think you couldn't take a bit of criticism. Sorry."

Fol wanted to say something back at her, but she was right: she had offered her advice about what was wrong with the way he told things, and he had immediately snapped at her. It was wrong, and useless to continue it.

"I'm sorry." he finally said. "You're right. I'm not used to summarizing everything there is to know about my people in merely one conversation."

Six looked for a second, and Fol wasn't sure whether she would accept his apology or cut his head off.

But then she inclined her head. "Apology accepted. Now, we're approaching the Cargo bay anyway, up for a fight? It's been a month, and you don't have enough scars yet to claim you know me."

Fol, catching her joke, just shook his head. "You'd just lose to my superior skill."

"Oh, please. You haven't won a single match against me." Six said, as she entered the bay. She put her metal cup down on a crate.

This cargo bay, close to the hanger they had left minutes ago, was repurposed by Fol into a sparring room similar to the one he had built on the Gettysburg. He hadn't had the opportunity to challenge Six to a duel yet. It now looked like Six had beaten him to it.

"You're on." he said, as he entered. "Usual rules as back then?"

Six nodded. "All things allowed except dismemberment, stop when the opponent surrenders, is unconscious, left the designated area or dead."

Fol nodded. "Then may the best Sangheili win."

Six tilted her head, as she grabbed both of her Energy Swords. "In that case, the duel won't take place, as the best Sangheili on board will be defeated. By me."

"We'll see." Fol said, as he activated his own Energy Swords. "We'll see."

---

Void watched as they dueled. He watched because of many reasons. Curiosity, envy, interest. He didn't know why he was interested. There wasn't going to happen anything that involved him. He was a mere AI. A Glorified Computer program. Granted, there was a lot of money spent because of him, and his donor had died so he could be created from his brain, but Void was a Computer program none the less. If there were enough donors he could be mass-produced. There would be many more of him. So he was nothing special.

And yet, as he watched Spartan B312 and Fol Katarn duel, he couldn't help but feel special at being the sole witness of it, even if they had momentarily forgotten about him. He couldn't help it, but he felt that the duel meant something to them.

He watched as they fought, not saying a single word. As the Spartan had predicted, it never ended in a definite victory for Fol. It ended either in a victory for B312 or in a draw, with both combatants losing their weaponry. Even then, the former Noble Six managed to get a victory, as both combatants either drew a combat knife or activated an Energy Cutlass built inside their gauntlet, as Fol did.

Void reflected his donor for a second, which was an eternity for him. Alex Mercer. Paranoid ONI Scientist involved in ONI's bioweapons division, for as long as it had existed. He had died at quite a young age, 33 years old to be precise. In his paranoia, he had grabbed valuable ONI data, and attempted to publish it back on Earth. ONI caught him before he did, and had locked him up. His escape had made ONI realize, however, that they had no business in making Bioweapons like viruses, and they had shut the department down and erased all data of it's existence, including his copy back at the Sovereign Colonies. They had subsequently executed all witnesses, including Mercer. But ONI realized was too valuable to waste a mind on, and they had used his brain to create an AI. Him. Void.

Void, upon learning the truth about his creator upon his creation three weeks ago, had shut down all of his personality and emotional processors in order to deal with the fact his donor had built Bioweapons. But over the weeks, they had slowly reactivated, in order for him to adept faster to unknown or unprecedented situations. He initially didn't like it, but as he learned more and more about how humans dealt with it he had grown... interested. Just like with the duel between B312 and Katarn.

He made up his mind in that same split second. As soon as they'd land on the planet, he would ask B312 that she'd take him with her. Under the usual guise of gathering intel, of course. He had a reputation to uphold among his colleagues. But he admitted to himself, after hearing Fol talk about his own world like that, he wanted to see it too.

Maybe there would even be other AI there.

He would just have to wait and see.

---

Here ends the first chapter, the first report, of what really happened during the Great Schism. Never assume you know the whole truth, for it might come back to point out your ignorance. I am aware Legion Archivists rushed through the final part describing Sang'Katarn culture, so I apologize on their part. I hope you enjoy, and please, review it so I can point the request for improvement out to Archivists.

Gharst Omenlumin