(Halo & ILoveBees (c) Microsoft Studios, Bungie & related creators. Content includes mentions of death, violence and some inappropriate, uncensored language. Certain substances mentioned in this chapter. This fic is on the harder end of the PG-13 scale; viewer discretion is advised.)

- Chapter I -

The package was strapped to her belt, resembling a thermos and wrapped in coarse, water-proofed material. It clanged and bumped against her side, barely noticed as she went along. Her torch's light washed over the trees, sending the smallest of critters squirming into the darkness. Though there was still daylight, the sheer thickness of the upper canopy blacked out the sky like ink. The light that did manage to strain through from above was weak, fading down into nothingness the farther it went. From the gaps in the trees that the sun tried to pierce through, Janissary could tell it was late in the afternoon. She had been travelling for God knows how long, and she still hadn't seen a single landmark.

The trail was still used - Jan had noticed footprints on several occasions - but just barely. Any marks she found were old, and the deeper parts of the jungle where were man was not to tread. The chattering of beasts and other, alien things was thick, almost headache-inducing. Unlike what some might have thought, the rainforest was never silent - it was a cacophony of life and movement, barely visible but always heard beyond the trees. When that cacophony was silenced, the best thing to do was run, as a predator was probably somewhere nearby. Lord only knew the number of nights she had broken out of a half-sleep, the air deathly quiet, as something slithered through the bushes near camp.

A silvery glimmer caught Jan's eye, her sharper-than-normal eyes picking it up in a nearby patch of shadow. The torch was shone in the shine's direction, and lo and behold, there was a metal structure of some kind choked by flora. Jan carefully, slowly walked over, squinting her eyes as she tried to make out the details of the structure. It seemed to be some sort of ... building? No, too small. It's more ... shaped. Had she been able to recognize what kind of vine was curled around the metal, she would have moved it; there were as many dangerous plants in Tatara as there were stones on the ground. Even touching one could prove deadly, and Jan could remember an incident where a parasitic vine had invaded a man's dominant hand. Flowers had been popping through his skin like tiny, bloody decorations, and he slowly lost the circulation in his hand as it wrapped around his veins and muscles.

Covenant vehicle, Jan deduced after some more poking around. In some battle, carrying some sort of alien creature, it had probably been a Banshee. Now, however, it only served as a perch for the ever-ensnaring plant life of Tatara, just another den for some creature or a place for it to hide. Time, when working in hand with nature, could suppress the works of more intelligent races like a dictator's oppressive policies. Jan smiled slightly; if there were Covenant crafts nearby, she must be getting close.

From somewhere above her, there was a small, low hiss, and Jan flinched. Her torchlight immediately shone up into the canopy, her free hand on a Magnum's holster. The hiss held steady, but then waned, moving away from Jan's position. Her heart still beating a little fast, she remained steadfast, then breathed out and calmed herself afterwards. She moved forward, a little hurry to her step, as the forest kept singing on around her.

The ground became more and more descending. Little cliffs began to appear, jagged tears in the earth that roots fell over like curtains. The path remained on a mostly even course, the elevation changes farther out, but was still a chore in some spots. As Jan move, she was constantly shining her flashlight to and fro, the tangled plant life covering the path more and more. Whoever had come through before didn't seem to have gone any farther; Jan chalked it up to a lack of sure-footedness. The fact it could have also been some sort of predator was also considered, but promptly shoved to the back of her mind. She had to focus, and being paranoid would make her more susceptible to missing something important.

As she had walked, the Covenant remnants had become more numerous, albeit hard to see. What looked to be more vehicles and several old buildings were lost to the rainforest, piggapines - pig-like creatures that looked crossed with porcupines, almost like giant Earth's echidnas - rooting around them. Several of the spiny creatures grunted and ran along the path, nervous of Jan's presence. Though painful if one was tackled by them, they were mostly timid insectivores, hunted for meat and their spiny hide. When dried and tanned, the spines became incredibly stiff, and could be sharpened like a knife. Covering a piece of scrap metal or a filched riot shield, the result could be like a Scottish spiked targe, only with more points.

Trying to manoeuvre around a rather messy curve in the path, Jan nearly yelped, taking in a quick intake of breath. Scurrying across the path was a giant millipede, slinky and dark and moving on a multitude of legs. Thanks to the oxygen-rich atmosphere of Tatara, insects could grow to sizes not seen since the time of the dinosaurs; dragonflies the size of one's hand were not uncommon. Their presence was introduced - a result of the more wealthy Tataran citizens importing insects from Earth to keep in bug collections. All was fine and well so long as the insects remained inside, but the smallest crack in the glass could allow hundreds to scurry out. Then there was the issue of the more poisonous and notorious insects being imported for bio-weaponry projects ...

A piggapine quickly scurried along the path, snatching at the millipede with its porky little nose. The insect crunched in its jaws, falling to pieces from its mouth, a smaller piggapine quickly coming up to nibble at the remains. Jan watched for a moment, then turned and made her way down the curve -

"AH!"

- Only to fall and slide down through a patch of foliage taller than it appeared. She landed on her feet, thankfully, something crunching beneath one foot. Her heart beating loudly from the sudden surprise, she looked around, piggapines grunting in surprise above her. Other than them, nothing seemed to have been disturbed by her yell.

A yell which, to her annoyance, nearly repeated itself as Jan looked down. Her foot had gone through the ribcage of something, and she pulled it back like her bare foot had touched hot iron. She nearly scrambled, eyes wide, but came back to her senses when she saw it wasn't human. Rather, it was the weak, crumbling skeleton of a Jackal - the elongated, bird-like face was a dead giveaway (pun not intended) - that had been there for a long, long time. From the round hole above one eye, it looked like a gunshot victim. Jan quickly moved on, seeing several more structures peeking out of the undergrowth.

Why would the Covenant want to stay here? Jan thought as she walked. From what she had been told, even though there hadn't been many, a camp of Covenant fighters once thrived on Tatara. They didn't see much combat, mostly fighting with natives, Insurrectionists and the odd UNSC patrol. Yet, even they couldn't escape the beasts of Tatara; cockatrice attacks and their clashes with nesting mothers were the stuff of campfire stories around there. Eventually the camp ran out of supplies, manpower and food, and the animals became more aggressive and bold. The few survivors took what they had and left, and Tatara devoured what was left behind. You'd think they'd learn the first time after running into a cockatrice.

"Rrrrrrrrrrr."

Jan stiffened, looking up above. Her torch's light lit up the leaves above, but a second too late. From the branches above, a great, feather-maned head dropped down with a rolling hiss. Serpent's eyes locked with her own, and she barely had enough time to pull out a gun. It lunged, maw wide with hunger, and the oncoming mix of scales and teeth was narrowly dodged. The snap afterwards was as loud as an oar smacking water on a quiet morning.

"RAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!"

He was dressed as a Victorian hunter might be, and in another time, he might have been some sort of explorer of that kind of wilderness. The man chewed thoughtfully on his pipe, standing on the porch of his simple wooden house. The clearing shone brightly, sharply contrasting the darkness of the rainforest around him. A lone soul amongst the relic that was a Covenant base, he listened, relaxed, to the sounds of life around him. The afternoon was warm, the skies clear (for once), and zotzes - bat-like creatures that had shrew-like features - flew in the waning sun. He enjoyed their chirping, finding it endearing, and had kept one as a pet once. Sadly, the poor thing had got a bit vicious during the breeding season, and had been forced to shoot it.

"RAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR ... !"

Well that was odd. His head perked up like a dog's, attentive to the loud roar. Shrieking could be heard in the forest as terrified fauna fled, branches cracking with serpentine movement. An eyebrow rose; Gary never made that kind of noise unless there was an intruder.

"SHIIIIIIIIIT ... !"

... And so there is, thought Reggie. He wondered who on Earth would be venturing so far in to visit him - Ah, yes. Roald's girl, if I'm not mistaken. He leaned back, taking a deep, tobacco-filled breath. Gary probably thought she was someone else coming to trespass. If she was smart, Gary wouldn't be much of a problem for her. Although, all that noise might stir a cockatrice or two ...

"Shit, shit, shit!"

The biggest feathered serpent Jan had ever seen charged after her like an attack dog. Stick and stone broke and fell aside, his massive bulk cutting through the jungle with ease. Jan threw herself behind every piece of cover she could find, ducking under and behind rock, tree and formation with near-reckless reflexes. Yet, Gary only seemed to be annoyed, becoming more and more determined to have her as his next meal. When she could, she turned and fired, both Magnums wielded and full to bursting with ammunition. Yet, whenever she scored a hit, it only seemed to be a bee's sting to the monster.

Jan charged through the split trunk of a tree, forcing herself through a series of tangled vines. Turn, shoot, run, repeat - it was crazed dance of survivalist's choreography, so instinctive and trained into her that it moved as fluidly as a breath. Yet, she stumbled and smacked herself around repeatedly, adrenaline pumping, blood thundering in her ears. She couldn't focus, nothing was slowing the thing down. A warm rush of breath caused her to nearly scream, the feathered serpent opening its mouth wide to swallow. Jan leaped out of the way, bruising herself thoroughly as she slammed into a rocky jutting. She rolled down, Gary right behind her.

"BEAT IT!" yelled Jan as she recovered, coming to rest in a crouch. Two of her bullets were lucky, whizzing by one of Gary's exposed upper fangs. They skimmed across his tooth, surprising him, and giving her enough time to squeeze through a tight gap between trees. Jan nearly stumbled again, running into a thorny bush, but pulled herself free in an instant. Gary slithered around the trees, gaining speed as the two moved downhill. Jan's mind whirled as she looked frantically left and right.

There!

Leaping over a large, jagged rock, Jan charged into some sort of pass, narrowed and with sides like a carnivore's jaw. Gary quickly slithered up and around, snaking along to meet her at a natural near-overpass. He curled up, mouth opening, Jan spotting him out of the corner of her eye. Her Magnum clicked on empty as she tried to fire, leading to Jan cursing loudly. Her fingers desperately tried to shove a new round into the open gun, Gary taking the chance to lunge forward.

What happened next seemed to be in near slow-motion. In the middle of his strike, jaws as thick as his head lunged forward, long and beak-like and lined with sharp teeth. The serpent made a guttural sound as he was caught by the neck, the attack made with suffocating force. Purple blood ran down in curving streams, the flesh blackening as if rotting. A loud, crackling growl-hiss sounded; Gary squirmed, twitching, choking out hisses and snarls as he was pulled across the near-overpass. His body thumped and thwacked, eventually wrapping around something. A screechy squawk sounded, and then, the squelch of a bite; like a banshee announcing death, a blood-curdling scream came from Gary's attacker.

Jan didn't stick around to see what happened next. As the two monsters rolled around, screeching and bellowing bloody murder, all she could see was the light at the end of the small pass. The sounds above her rivalled the cry of Earth-monsters long past, more like something straight out of The Lost World given some terrifying new steroid. The sounds of battle rang long and hard, fading yet still ever-present as she ran. When she finally reached the clearing, there was too much flight in Jan to notice a small piece of debris, and she flew forward like someone out of a comedy piece. Flesh was scraped, dirt was shoved into her face, and she dug into the ground for a few inches before stopping.

"Hello there, my dear!"

Her head snapped up, the girl panting frantically. Standing directly opposite of her, on a far-off porch and waving cheerily, was her client. Despite the ungodly noise from the two beasts, he looked as if he were enjoying just another day in the park.

"Bit of mess there, eh? Don't mind Gary now, he's just a bit territorial!"

"YOU COULD HAVE HELPED ME BACK THERE, YOU STUPID BASTARD!" Jan bellowed back, quickly getting to her feet. Reggie only laughed.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, dear! Please, come in; I've been expecting you!"

Jan sat at a table in the corner, her glance shifting nervously between Reggie and the outside world. The fight was still ongoing, shrieking cries and loud, hissing roars echoing throughout the rainforest. In the corner, Reggie carefully examined the canister, which showed not even a dent from travel. He ran his finger over some sort of serial number or code, tutting in thought.

"You have a very valuable item here, my dear."

"What?" said Jan, turning her head to face Reggie. The man shook his head, smiling knowingly.

"Ah, you shouldn't be worried about Gary, Miss ... Janissary, was it?"

"Janissary James, yes sir." Gary? Gary? He has a goddamn pet serpent and its name is Gary? What the hell!

"Janissary, yes. I hand-picked Gary myself, Miss James, and I have raised him since he was but an egg. If I say he won't find his current prey a problem, I speak the truth. Now, about your AI ... "

He walked over to another nearby table, sifting through papers with one hand, the thermos-like contraption in the other. Once he found what he was searching for, he held it up, turning and approaching like Jan like he was about to lecture her. "Your AI appears to be a base program, if my code guides are up-to-date," said Reggie, not taking his eyes off the paper. "Nothing special, no original programming, just a complex encryption on it to keep out prying eyes. Most of them are templates for further programs, and are fresh off the factory line, so to speak. They're usually kept in storage or in laboratories by the UNSC; it's very hard to get one. How did you come across it."

"I'm just the messenger, sir," said Jan. "I do what Roald tells me to do."

Reggie chuckled fondly. "As all good girls should do," he said, patting Jan on the head. She frowned in annoyance, but held her tongue. "And he expects payment, I presume?"

"He said he did," said Jan, not sure why Roald had. What kind of sense does it make to ask for payment for something you're paying for?

"Then I shall give it to him," said Reggie. "The decryption process will take a while to sort out, so I will contact you once my employer has it done. In the meantime, let me take you a little something to take back. Wait here."

As Reggie excused himself to the back room, Jan took a moment to look around. Glancing outside again as a loud snarl sounded, she got up, walking over to the table Reggie had covered with papers. Most of them were standard guides to UNSC codes - nothing Jan hadn't seen before. Her eyes flickered over to them, and then to a radio set in the corner. Though the equipment looked a little antiquated - the model was a civilian design, probably about fifty or sixty years old - it looked well-kept and well-set up. The odd blip of static came through, and Jan thought she could make out a word or two.

"Ah! Here we are!"

Jan was back in her seat by the time Reggie returned. In one hand, he held the hide of a large piggapine, unaltered save for that fact it didn't cover something anymore. In the other, there was a tobacco-like substance, held in a little package that could fit in Jan's palm. It could have been something other than tobacco - but Jan knew better than to question. She took both, stuffing the substance into one pocket, holding the piggapine hide in one hand. Janissary turned to leave.

"Wait a minute, dear," said Reggie. "Please, allow me to call for Gary and let him escort you home."

Jan could only turn and stare incredulously. "You want him to go with me?"

"Only out of courtesy," Reggie replied cheerily. "Besides, by the sounds of it, he should finish taking care of business any time now."

"What do you mean - "

Jan's question was answered in the form of a grunt, a loud hiss, and then, a loud, wet crunch. Then came the most ear-piercing, horrible shriek she had ever heard; she flinched back, eyes wide. There was much smashing and crashing, and then the unmistakable snap of bone. Everything went dead quiet, save for a loud, drawn-out hiss and the sounds of something slithering. A few minutes later, Gary came slithering out, a black wound on his neck and several bruises and slashes. One eye was completely gone, a violet-flowing hole and torn flesh where it was supposed to be, and the black around his neck wound was growing. Jan stared, looking like she had seen Lucifer himself marching out of Hell.

"Gary!" Reggie called, whistling. The snake paused, turning, holding its battered head up. "Gary, please be a dear and escort Miss James back home, would you?"

The snake gave a low, waning hiss, then slithered until it was a few feet from the house. Jan continued to stare, one hand twitching reflexively for her gun. Reggie clapped her on the shoulder with yet another chuckle, breaking her out of her nerved staring. "You're too twitchy, Miss James! You should relax more!"

"Y-yeah ... " said Jan. Bastard. What's he so sure about? The damn thing could turn around and eat him one day, for God's sake!

With Gary undulating along beside her, Jan ventured through the small, low pass, her companion crawling up onto the rocks. Reggie waved a goodbye, Jan not turning around to return it, before venturing back in to his cabin. He immediately made a beeline for the radio, switching it on and fiddling with the knobs until he found a signal.

"Camp Talon, Camp Talon, this is Wyoming," he said. "Come in Camp Talon, do you copy?"

Static fizzled about for several moments. Then, after a particularly choppy moment, a man's voice said, "We're here, Wyoming. What is it?"

"Found your lost toy," said Wyoming with a grin. "Roald had it, like you suspected. The messenger girl's name is Janissary James, and she's headed down the old Covvie trails ... "

Author's Note: This is a rewrite of the original Chapter I, which was lost, accidentally replaced by another chapter I was editing, and had to be completely rewritten. I apologize if it deviates too much from the original reading; I'm doing this from memory and plot charts. To keep up with new word counts, expect some more to be added to other chapters.