The Arbiter had lagged behind pondering the situation. He was now branded a heretic, and he was very much aware of the consequences of killing Tartarus and collaborating with Humans. The two remaining Hierarchs would definitely find something worse than being hung by his entrails (the Arbiter knew nothing past that Tartarus had taken the Holy Icon from him to the Prophets. By then, of course, Truth was at Sol and the Flood had consumed Mercy).

He marched out into the sunlight. A Marine he did not recognize shouted out.

"Commander! Look out!" and fired a burst in the Arbiter's direction. The bullets flared his shield. He stepped back behind what remained of the door.

"No! Stop, Blackman! Tell your men to hold their fire. He's with us," explained Keyes.

"Sorry, ma'am. Old habits die hard."

Lopez chuckled.

---

Keyes pointed off behind Blackman's left side. Sergeant Johnson's eyes lit up and the Arbiter's thinned to hatred. As Blackman turned and saw what she was pointing to, his heart sank.

In the distance, a Covenant vessel loomed over the tranquil seas. It gleamed a silvery violet in the sunlight, and dark clouds of birds flocked around it, casting shadows on its blunt head. The mighty beast sat sleeping. Its captain, Tartarus, was dead, and inside all was turmoil. The Covenant Civil War raged everywhere.

So Keyes decided to take advantage of it. "Alright, boys. That's our new target."

"Ma'am, with all due respect, you can't ask my men to do that. They've just fought for two days. Look it, I'm missing nine of my men. Furthermore, the four of us that are left are low on ammo, we're tired, and we're hungry."

"Now stop complaining and do what the lady tells ya, squirt. If you don't feel up to the challenge of shooting spineless freaks (the Arbiter grumbled at this), then I will gladly inform the recruiter we will be needing a replacement. Your job is to do what the Commander here tells ya."

"Sergeant Major, sir, I do not enjoy watching my men get slaughtered by three- armed, headless cadavers bubbling with puss. We want some down time."

"Hm-mm. Well you can sit your butt down and please kindly allow us to use the Phantom to do our jobs. It's all right. The Corps ain't paying us by the hour."

---

Blackman was upset, needless to say. He, Lopez, Commack and Steeler had come from two days of fierce warfare and here Keyes was dropping them back into it, like mice in a snake pit. Oh, Blackman was terrified. He had one life. Why did he waste it on this? What had prompted him to join the Marines and fight against this frightening enemy? Why did he have to be born at this part in human history?

Then again, maybe it was the last.

"The grunts usually work the communications equipment. Their tenacity should have kept them alive for this long. I will speak to them, Keyes," said the Arbiter, in his deep, soft voice. The Phantom was approaching the Covenant flagship, a mighty cruiser covered with streamlined bulbs humming with energy. As they came closer, the birds turned to Banshees protecting the ship from any intruders.

Unfortunately, Brutes flew them. One hailed the Phantom in the Brutes' grunting, roaring language. The Arbiter did not answer. Instead he addressed the rest of the troop.

"These Brutes need identification. Otherwise we are not allowed to enter. I will not answer – we need the element of surprise. Someone man the turrets."

Blackman motioned to his men but told Steeler to stay. Joe decided he wanted a piece of the action, now that they were into it.

The Banshees ducked slightly below the dropship's hull. Each one was engulfed in plasma fire, and fell smoking to the blue ocean below.

"Hold on," called the Arbiter. He thrust the accelerator forward and the Phantom rocketed full speed towards the cruiser. More Banshees swooped in; their gun ports alight with boiling, sizzling death. They scored hits on the heavy armor of the dropship, but when they dropped below it, Blackman, Commack and Lopez burned them to a crisp. Unfortunately, that would not do it. There were hundreds of Banshees and one Phantom. Blobs of plasma splashed onto the hull. The only advantage the humans and elite had was that the vulnerable area was on the bottom of the hull.

Then the ship rocked violently and the Arbiter shouted in anger.

"What was that?" asked Keyes.

"A fuel rod shot. It just charred the circuits to the auxiliary power supply. I was about to use them so we could go faster."

The Banshees now started dropping below the ship aft of it. Then they would accelerate skyward and shoot the bottom of the ship if Blackman and his men didn't get them first. They were taking quite a lot out of the Phantom. What is on the bottom of a Phantom is mostly circuitry and the machinery for the grav lift used to deposit troops. Right above that is the deck of the interior. Also, if someone made a good enough shot, they might be able to send it through the grav lift chamber into the ship, which would severely damage the ship and its systems.

Blackman, Commack and Lopez were desperately trying to ward off the Banshees, which endlessly harried at the dropship.

"They just keep coming."

"Y'know, I was really going for a barbecue yesterday. Guess I'll take what I can get."

Blackman chuckled quickly; there wasn't time for wisecracks right now.

"Charred brute meat does not smell fair, Humans. I have slaughtered many with my sword," commented the Arbiter.

More and more fire surrounded the ship. Blackman and his men could only send so much back. The ship lurched suddenly to the right and it began to flame as power to the right engine lowered to a dangerous level. There was an explosion as a capacitor overheated. The craft's right engine sputtered out. Banshee after Banshee cruised in, melting away what was left of the fuselage. The Arbiter jerked the Phantom upwards and hit a Banshee. It reeled backwards and smashed into another. Countless more turned into a blossom of fire and death in seconds.

"We're here!" The Phantom came into the bay. The aliens inside were unsuspecting, and it docked quickly. A call for a repair crew was made.

"Now just hold on, guys. We've got to do this well," said Keyes.

---

The Phantom had come in quite noisily, in fact, and its starboard side was smoking and charred. One senior repairman had called for a repair crew, and the jackals and brutes looked at the exit hatch expectantly.

It finally slid open.

---

343, who had stayed with his human and alien companions, floated mindlessly out of the hatch, humming some random tune. The bay crews looked on, perplexed.

"Greetings. I am 343 Guilty Spark -…"

---

The Arbiter leaped out, energy sword sparkling. The brutes were cut across the abdomen, causing their insides to spill out messily, and the Arbiter took his liberties with the rest of it. Then, Blackman, his men, Keyes, and Johnson filed out, guns spitting death. The aliens were mercilessly blown away. Screams and gurgles of pain resounded through the bay. The bay hands were mostly unarmed. A few jackals had time to pull out plasma pistols, and one brute unclipped his rifle from his belt. Nonetheless, they were cut down like so many blades of grass.

"My, what a waste of time. We must reclaim the Index and activate the Core.

"I am a genius."

"Who is that crackpot?" asked Lopez.

"This is Tinkerbelle. He goes around dumping fairy powder on you so you can fly, Marine," said Johnson. "Now shoot the gorillas we evolved from!"

"Well, it's do or die, I guess."

A bloody minute or so later, the bay was clear, and the group moved into the hallways. As they rounded a corner, a jackal screamed disapproval a fired a bolt down the corridor. Two of the raptor-like aliens sidled down towards the band of marauders. The Arbiter sprinted across to the other side of the passage, which made the jackals turn and allow Blackman and his men to tear them apart.

There was one thing Blackman was wondering: how they would know where the bridge was. He spoke up.

"Commander, how do you propose we find the bridge?" Before Keyes could answer, the Arbiter replied.

"This certain ship I have excellent knowledge of. I have commanded one before and know where we need to go to take control of it." And with the Arbiter in the lead, they traveled through hall after hall, with many firefights in the meantime. As they came close to the bridge, Johnson peeked around the corner and saw two brutes armed with brute shots and eight jackals, covering in every direction except towards the bridge.

"We got quite a large number of hostiles, ma'am," speaking to the Commander, "so I suggest we find a different route," shifting his gaze to the Arbiter. They individually crossed to the other side of the passageway. Then they looked down the consecutive entrance, with the same result. Obviously the commanders of the ship had heard of the intruders and were taking no chances with their intrusion. So how would they get in?

"At each door, there are eight hostiles, but seven of us, not including Guilty Spark here. Probably countless more inside, ma'am. How are we going to pull this off? And how many entrances are there to the bridge?" asked Blackman.

"Four," answered the Arbiter.

"If we split up and took different doors it might work. Arbiter, go on the other side. Johnson and I will take the consecutive door to you. Blackman and Lopez, then Steeler and Commack, take these two doors. Everyone, throw grenades first. Once we are finished, hold your position," said Miranda. Everyone understood, though the Arbiter went away with a look of frustration. Here he was, once a commander of great warships, being given commands by a human who was definitely not his senior. Had the gods… but without the salvation of Halo, what gods were there?

He came up to his position and waited.

But he felt shameful. First, because he was cooperating with humans. It was also because he was working against creatures he had commanded and it was a betrayal.

Keyes gave the mark and the attack began.

Then again, they had betrayed him first. He found some consolence in that as he slaughtered the jackals and wrestled with the brutes.

There was more trouble with Lopez and Blackman. As they were about to throw their grenades, Lopez sneezed. One of the brutes threw a grenade like a baseball down the hall and it bounced of the wall behind the two ODSTs. They ran, but the aliens heard the sound from their boots. Commack and Steeler had already engaged their portion of the resistance, revealing that there were, in fact, enemies to be dealt with. So the brute that had thrown the grenade, believing the two pairs of Helljumpers were the same, ordered all eight of his team down the hall to check out what was going on. Lopez and Blackman were just getting up from the blast when their adversaries rounded the corner. One of the brutes fired a grenade just over the humans' heads, and it exploded five feet behind, deafening both of them. The humans pitched a grenade each, laying waste to the jackals and leaving the brutes stunned. Both ODSTs took this opportunity to nail the brutes.

As Lopez leaned on his left arm against the wall, he felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder. Blackman also noticed a throb in his right side. They both had shrapnel wounds from the grenade.

But with their team eliminated, they flanked Steeler and Commack's enemies and ended it all the more quickly.

"Status, people," said Keyes.

"I'm uninjured," answered the Arbiter.

Blackman accounted for all of his men and informed Keyes of the shrapnel wounds.

"Alright, men. Get ready to move on the bridge. First, though, Arbiter, we need you to unlock the doors. Find some way to bust these doors open. We need to get inside this bridge before more Covenant get here," said Keyes.

"It really is simple, ma'am. Just throw down a plasma grenade and watch the fireworks," answered Blackman. He figured if they could have blown the doors on High Charity like that, they could now.

"Well, then. Problem solved."

---

There was a humming, buzzing noise as an electric blade sliced the door. It was frightening – the anticipation of death. There could only be one elite on this ship.

It traced a circle of molten metal, which glowed a bright, pansy red. The circle was almost complete -…

Three explosions resounded through the bridge, drawing attention elsewhere. The other entrances to the bridge were pried open, and gunfire came through. The Arbiter leaped out, warbling an ancient battle cry of anger.

He relieved several jackals of their heads, but then went straight for the ferocious brutes, that charged at him wildly. The first he stabbed in the head, and flung to the side. He then kicked one in the leg, breaking the bone, all the while cutting to death another. Each brute that attacked was angrily cut down in vengeance for the Arbiter's betrayed brothers. Soon the Arbiter became a confusing blur of movement as he fought for the elites dead and himself. Then the captain of the ship leaped down as the last of his brutes fell. He ripped the blade off a brute shot and threw a punch at the Arbiter, who reeled back. In return he kicked the brute in his side, crushing a rib or two. The air was blown out of him. The Arbiter ran and brought his blade down, but the brute punched him in his arm, and he roared in pain. The energy sword was flung away. The brute got back up and wrestled the Arbiter. He tried to keep the metal sword away from him. Then he twirled behind the brute, kicked out one of his legs and snatched away the sword.

He made one last slice across the brute's chest, which shouted out in pain, and tried to keep a hold on the world. The Arbiter growled this:

"Life is cruel. So is death."

And he killed the brute.

---

"Blackman, quickly! You and your men, cover the doors. Arbiter, I need your help. How do we move this hulk?" asked Keyes.

"Hm… Last time I did this we had Cortana to fly the ship. But I guess Mr. Squid-head has it under control." The Arbiter shot a glare at Johnson.

"The AI in control of this ship fortunately has no racial dispositions. It has direct control over all the ship's systems. I can command it to do whatever we need done," explained the Arbiter.

"Well, then. Tell it to lock down and close all blast doors leading to the bridge. Disable all the lifts. Lock down all compartments containing vital systems. That will include weapons. We don't need to be interrupted."

"It's done. Now, Commander, we need to leave this system," said the Arbiter.

"Good. Get the battlenet on the speakers. I want to know where Truth and Mercy are."

As the ship pulled out of the grip of Delta Halo, they learned Truth was on his way to Sol already and Mercy was presumed dead. All ships had been ordered to Sol, and its coordinates were broadcasted. Few made it out of the system. All the ships were blasting away, vaporizing each other in a battle for power, fame and the favor of the Prophets.

The humans and the Arbiter, along with their crazed companion, 343, slipped away in the confusion.

---

And so there they were. The Human fleet battled ferociously, like a frightened animal, warding off the invaders. A strange, metallic ship had entered the fight. It somewhat resembled the Eiffel Tower. It plowed through the destruction. Its goal: reach the Ark. What follows that depends on your point of view. Shortly thereafter, a sleek Covenant ship appeared. To show its allegiance, it immediately let loose a barrage of lava-fire on several other Covenant ships. Soon after, Commander Keyes' voice echoed scratchily over the strained COM net.

"This is Commander Keyes. Do not fire upon our ship. We are in pursuit of the unknown spacecraft. Any assistance is welcome."

"Commander, Lord Hood. Where did you come from?"

"Long story, sir. We need to stop that ship! If we don't, we're all going to die. Human, Covenant, no matter. It needs to be stopped."

"We can't spare any ships, Commander. If you can get out of whatever you were in before, you can take that thing on."

"Sir, requesting one platoon of ODSTs in an assault boat to board my ship. It is full of hostiles. I just don't like swimming with sharks, sir."

"I'll see what I can do. Hood out."

The Arbiter accelerated through the Forerunner ship's wake, following it down to Earth.

Minutes later the two ships launched through the atmosphere, looking like giant fireballs. Keyes and Johnson worked the weapons, but all they threw at the ship just dissipated as it reach the target. So they followed it. They drifted over the pristine Earth. The African plains flashed by below. Animals leaped away from the frightening monsters. Here it was. All that humanity held dear, and the Covenant already had it. It was over. Worse, what about our beliefs? Our history. We thought we had it all figured out – but then who were these Forerunners? Why were we on such an important planet? Why had the Forerunners put us here?

Who were the Forerunners?