Merry Christmas! AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

0715 Hours (Earth Standard Time); December 25th, 2558

Fleet Admiral Arthur Cross, Chief of Special Operations, UNSC Joint Chiefs of Staff

UNSC Enterprise (CVG-6), Carrier Strike Group 79, Carrier Task Force 3, UNSC 3rd Fleet

Deep space RV point

"This is bullshit!" Freshman Senator Andrew Del Rio roared as he kicked the holotable.

"Calm down, Senator." Arthur said, his patience with the bureaucrat already thin.

"Don't tell me to calm down, Fleet Admiral." Del Rio said with disdain. "I knew that damn AI would become a problem, but no that insubordinate SPARTAN-II had to break protocol and take a clearly rampant AI along with him instead of a stable one."

The New Yorker had to admit, the self-righteous prick can make a good point: Infinity had several AIs of both the Dumb and Smart variety on board aside from Aine, but they were suppose to help the Ship Director AI with running a ship of Infinity's size, which while possible, there was one problem. After what Cortana did to Aine, let's just say that they wanted to steer clear of her and the Chief until she was off the ship or was destroyed per protocol. Every high-ranking officer in the UNSC and other human military organizations knew about Cortana's time as the Gravemind's captive and how it tried to use the logic plague to corrupt her. According to the Arbiter, she miraculously survived and actively helped him and the Chief stop the Flood. But that led to speculation that the logic plague accelerated her rampancy and it seemed accurate in both Del Rio and Lasky's reports.

"Well your dismissal of a clear threat to Earth and Her Colonies didn't give him any options. Besides the artifact the Infinity pulled off of Gamma Halo was what killed seven million Americans." Cross deadpanned. "Honestly expected Tom to relieve you of command."

"Which leads us to now. Still fighting and on the run from that bitch." the politician went on. "On Christmas Day no less!"

Arthur couldn't help but sympathize, he wanted to be at home on Earth celebrating the holidays with his family too. 'At least they're safe.' he made sure they were on their way on to Tribute before all this went down. He knew that Cortana would take a trick out of the military history books and hit the capital of the enemy first chance she got. She hit the Sol system fast and hard, while they did manage to jump start their ships and fight back, it was only delaying the inevitable. Multiple ships went down, the UNSC Plateau almost crashed into Sydney and flattened the city, if that frigate's auxiliary reactors hadn't been rerouted to restart the primary fusion drive. The Plateau was destroyed trying to cover evacuation flights, her crew evacuating and dispersing into the wilderness. Most of the ships deployed were able to escape but at the cost of a tenth of them, they'd managed to get the majority of Congress and the national heads of state out as well.

"Stop complaining, we know this sucks." Fleet Admiral Ines Lindholm, commander of the 1st Fleet, said irritated. "Don't remind us."

"I'm inclined to agree." Vice President William Ross added, face palming, before shouting filled the command bridge.

{"General quarters, general quarters! All hands man your battle-stations! Up and forwards to the starboard side, and down and aft to the port side!"} the Captain of the Yorktown-class fleet carrier UNSC Enterprise, Rico Gonzales roared over the intercom.

"Admirals, Vice President Ross!" the SADAR operator shouted. "Multiple contacts slipping in."

"You picked a helluva time to visit Mister Vice President." Arthur growled as he walked to the area overlooking the bridge crew. "SITREP."

"Bogies, at least seventy of them." chief of operations, Lieutenant Harold Edison reported. "One is around the tonnage of a super-capital ship, unsure which class or type, probably a Covenant assault carrier, OAS-type."

That wasn't good, OAS-class assault carriers, known to the Covenant and its remnants as the Syfon-pattern, were flagships for Prophets, Ministers, and politically savvy fleet officers, thus rarely encountered. Enhanced with a Forerunner power core, it's shields could tank rounds from Super MAC-equipped orbital weapons platforms for a certain amount of time before they risk destruction, it also boosted the firepower of its weapon systems. OAS-class assault carriers were a threat on its own, simple as that.

"CAP is moving to intercept."

"I want the fleet ready for emergency slip and deploy alert squadrons." Cross barked.

"Aye sir."

["Enterprise, Wolf 1."] Mike Nantz, SPARTAN-B312, now an officer in Misriah Security Forces called in from his F-50B Sabre, with Captain Fareeha 'Pharah' Amari, also of Misriah Security Forces, in the copilot's seat. ["I'm en route to enemy super-capital; I got Wolf 2 on my wing, ETA to intercept is one mike."]

["Roger that, Wolf 1."] one of the comms officers replied. "Be advised; alert fighters have launched and will take station on your six in three mikes."

"New contacts!" a radar operator cried out. "Contacts are launching fighters!"

The number of contacts heading towards the CAP and alert fighters made Ines nervous. "How long until we can execute a Slipspace jump?"

"A few minutes tops."

"Sirs, ma'am." the same radar operator from before, said, hesitantly. "I'm picking up UNSC IFFs."

"UNSC?" Ines asked, perplexed.

"Cortana has access to our fleet's IFF codes." Gonzales said incredulously. "She could be using it against us."

"Maybe." Arthur whispered, getting an idea. "Weapons hold, put emergency slipspace on hold too."

"What're you thinking?"

"All ships, Enterprise; hold on emergency slipspace." comms called out, uncertain as Arthur walked over. "I say again, hold on slip; fighters go to weapons safe."

"Ship to ship, priority one UNSC channel." Admiral Cross ordered, his voice firm and convicted. "Send hostile challenge and ID, play the reply on speakers."

"Attention unidentified ship, this is the UNSC Enterprise of the United Nations Third Fleet alongside the UN First Fleet." comms spoke. "Identify yourself or we will fire upon you."

"Their almost within firing range."

Everybody but Cross was nervous, ready to leave as soon as the order barked. That is until a gruff Austrian voice echoed over the speakers. ["This is the UNSC Eternity alongside Task Force 17 to the formations claiming to be the UNSC First and Third Fleets, please respond."]

"The Eternity?" Ross said puzzled. "But she's incomplete, Infinity took some of her modules for her retrofits."

"Not entirely true." Ines replied. "But in turn we took the modules meant for the Destiny and Victory, used 'em on the Eternity. She has about half her weapons installed, including her S-MACs when Sol fell, as well as her SFTE engine and fusion drives."

"Get me direct contact." the Covenant War hero ordered and Lieutenant Sasha Lavrov tossed him an earpiece before giving a thumbs up. "Eternity, this is Enterprise Actual; authenticate identity with IFF codes immediately."

"Sir." Lt Lavrov said with an undertone of hope. "I'm recieving UNN IFF codes, they're authentic."

["Enterprise, this is CHALLENGER."] an slightly aged French accent came, making people perk up. ["Arthur, mon amie, is that you?"]

"President Charet?" Arthur asked before smiling at recognizing the voice of the UNSC's commander-in-chief. "Boy am I glad to hear your voice."

There was a commotion heard and the incoming bogies, now confirmed to be F-41 Broadswords and F/A-44 Scimitars, took up patrol patterns among the newly arrived UNSC Navy task force. Seventy plus ships in all: carriers, a couple amphibious warfare vessels, battleships, battlecruisers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, and three prowlers as well as the accompanying support ships. Just about the exact makeup of Task Force 17 before Cortana's uprising.

["Admiral…"] Ruth Charet, the incumbent President of the United Earth Government, started. ["…I don't know what to say. It's a goddamn Christmas miracle."]

"Took the words right out of my mouth." the New Yorker said, relieved. "Order all ships to stand down, it's the President."

["Enterprise, Wolf 1. You're not going to believe what I'm seeing."] Noble Wolf exclaimed as he gazed upon the nearly complete UNSC Eternity, her escorts fervently protecting the arsenal carrier, which was flanked by a pair of barely spaceworthy hulls being towed by some of the support ships. ["It looks like Santa delivered."]

Laughs erupted as morale soared, Infinity may be out of contact for now, but she won't be alone when she comes back to the rest of the UNSC, then the real war will begin.

"Helluva Christmas." Arthur Cross said as he spotted the Eternity. 'Watch out Cortana, your arrogance will be your undoing. You may have turned some soldiers, spooks and politicians against us; subjugate the cradle of humanity and its colonies, but you will never attain legitimacy in the eyes of the galaxy. The calls for rebellion will be heard and answered.'

Inspired by the arrival of the Battlestar Pegasus in BSG Re-imagined.

Mon amie means my friend in French.