0900 Hours, July 8, 2549 (Military Calendar) \ (Four Years Later)

Yojimbo, Arca Generanda System

UNSC Lady Fortune (Briefing Room), on the surface of Yojimbo

ODST Spec. Ops, Phillip Aitken

"Yojimbo is a large planet. There can only be one reason the Covenant are concentrated in this one area, even if there are only three or four Phantoms at most." Captain Shepard indicated a red point on the hologram of the planet.

I raised my hand. "Forerunner artifact?"

Tyche nodded. "Yes. You may remember our mission on Karn four years ago."

How could we forget? Pillsbury and I had been separated from the rest of the squad with no way of contacting them or knowing where our mission was. Even worse, they thought we were dead. It turns out the Covenant were looking for a map to something; they found it but couldn't activate it because they needed human Reclaimers. We kicked their asses and were told to forget about the map. The Karn mission was Pillsbury's first. I'd served alongside him in a few missions since, and I had to admit he was getting more confident and skilled all the time. He was really part of the squad now, as much as any of us.

Miller, our tech, chuckled. "The Covies really have a fetish, don't they?"

"This particular aspect of the 'fetish' is deadly, Miller, and no laughing matter," growled Sergeant McNally.

Captain Shepard glared at Miller, but kept his voice level. "We have reason to believe the Forerunners left a weapon here. The likely possibility is a warship of some kind. Our job is to make sure the Covenant can't use it, or, if possible, stop them from reaching it in the first place. We got a lucky break when we landed. Miraculously, none of the Covenant ships in orbit noticed us. But this mission will be difficult. Any questions?"

We had none. "Gear up and head out."

I grabbed Good Ol' Boy and my M90 at the armory and kissed Tori good-bye. "Try to come back in as few pieces as possible," she said. I just smirked and followed the rest of the squad outside. The area where the Lady had landed was a marshy wetland which smelled terrible. We trudged through, watching our steps and keeping an eye out for enemy contact. Jacobs' voice came over the COM.

"Why would we bury this Forerunner warship if only humans can use Forerunner tech? Think about it; if we took the ship – "

"Assuming that's what it is, of course," Hoffman interjected.

"Right. So, if it is a ship that could demolish our Navy, why doesn't HIGHCOM want to take it for themselves to use against the Covenant?"

"You might be onto something there, Operator." Diamond used Jacobs' callsign.

"Our job is to follow orders, not question them. Keep moving." Captain Shepard's voice had an edge to it, but we knew he thought the same way.

But he was right; we didn't give or question orders. We followed them.

9th Age of Reclamation

Yojimbo, Arca Generanda System

Covenant Phantom Magnanimous Splendor, on the surface of Yojimbo

Sangheili Shipmaster Woran'Darhomee

As we prepared for battle, I thought on our mission. My Phantom, the Magnanimous Splendor, had been chosen as one of the few to go down to the planet's surface in an attempt to unearth the Forerunner warship the Hierarchs had ordered our fleet to find. As the most senior Sangheili among us, I was chosen to lead the expedition. We had a complement of Kig-Yar and several Unggoy; sufficient forces for an outing such as this.

When we reached the doorway, an Oracle greeted us. The Oracles were Forerunner constructs, gifted with what the Humans named "artificial intelligence." It hovered in front of me, level with my face. The light it emitted was green.

"Oh! Visitors! I do so enjoy visitors! Although… I haven't had any since my Creators last activated the Array… but never mind that! Visitors! Here! It is most fortunate that there still exists sentient life despite the firing of the Rings!" It spoke, in a lilting voice, the language of the Humans: English. I knew I was one of the few among us who would be able to understand it.

My soldiers gaped in amazement and made remarks nonetheless. "An Oracle?" "Impossible!" "Glorious day! A testament to the legacy of the Forerunners!"

"My apologies, where are my manners? I am Three-Five-Two-One Inquisitive Paradigm, the Monitor assigned to protect the Keyship hidden here!" The Oracle turned its eye toward the ground, away from us. "Oh, dear, I don't think I should have mentioned that. Well, I have been isolated for nigh on one hundred three thousand Reclaimer years. It is entirely possible I have become rampant, and would be forgiven by my Creators were they currently – "

"ENOUGH!" I shouted. "We seek access to the Keyship of which you speak!"

"Oh? The Keyship?" Briefly, it turned back to face me, but immediately returned to its former facing. "They aren't Reclaimer… Didact told me to remove any non-Reclaimer presence. However, they are not infected. It couldn't possibly do any harm, could it…? What to do, what to do…"

"ORACLE!" I grabbed it in my left hand, igniting one of my swords with my right. "I am Woran'Darhomee of the Magnanimous Splendor! I demand entry! The Covenant must have the Keyship!"

It tried to pull free of my grip, unsuccessfully. "The turn your disposition has taken does not make me inclined to permit you to enter. Perhaps you should try courtesy."

I unhanded the Oracle and deactivated my weapon, huffing loudly at its insolence. I hoped this would be the last Oracle I would ever encounter. "Would you be so kind, Oracle, as to let us in?"

"That's better! Certainly!" It hummed a song as a ray of green light extended to the door. It opened dutifully.

"Thank you, Oracle," I said, and gestured to my accompaniment to follow me, save a handful of Sangheili with three Unggoy each to stand guard.

"Do be careful of the Sentinels, Woran'Darhomee! Despite my orders, they may not receive you kindly as they will a Reclaimer," it called after us.

I ignored this comment and marched on.

1015 Hours, July 8, 2549 (Military Calendar) \

Yojimbo, Arca Generanda System

Forest on the surface of Yojimbo

ODST Spec. Ops, Captain Michael Shepard

"How much longer, Cap? My legs are killin' me…" Pillsbury complained.

"We've been walking for nearly an hour, Captain. Crackshot's got a point. Maybe it's time to take a rest," Hoffman said. He usually knew what he was talking about, but I wasn't going to risk the Covenant getting to the ship before we got a chance to say anything about it.

"No." I hopped over a log in my way. "I don't know how much ground we still have to cover, and the Covies could have beaten us there already. I'm not taking any chances, boys, so suck it up and keep moving, dammit."

"Jesus," Diamond sighed, "What's two minutes to get off our feet?"

McNally was in a surprising mood: agreeable with the squad. "Shepard, it might not be a bad idea to just sit down for a breather."

I was about to lose my temper, but I thought I saw Phantoms parked a few klicks ahead. I made a signal to halt, followed by one for silence. Everyone readied their weapons. I pointed at Pillsbury, then my eyes beneath my helmet, and finally forward. It was the code for him to look ahead with his rifle. He sighted up. After looking for a bit, Pillsbury held up five fingers and made his hand resemble an Elite's head. Then he held up three fingers and put a fist over his mouth. Five Elites, three Grunts each. That wasn't a challenge.

I whispered over the COM. "Okay, Crackshot, take out four of the Elites, quick. Go for headshots; with the Elites dead, the Grunts will just run like idiots until we clean 'em out. Operator, you and I will use our Battle Rifles on the last Elite. Everyone else, wait until the squid-faces are taking dirt naps, then advance."

Pillsbury held his breath and took careful aim. Jacobs and I followed suit. "Fire," I said.

Four cracks drowned out the sound of the Battle Rifles firing in their three-shot bursts. I heard four Elites howl and saw each of them drop. The fifth took longer to bring down, but he still had no idea where the shots had come from. I gave the "advance" signal. The fifteen Grunts fired blindly into the forest, hoping to hit us. Pillsbury stayed behind and reloaded, picking off a few more Covies. Most of us had BRs, so we could fight at range. Each enemy lay dead by the time we got to the door.

"Okay, boys." I inspected the bodies. "This is bad news. The Covenant beat us here."

"By my Creators! Reclaimers! Nine of them!" I looked around for the source of the lilting tone as the squad brought their guns to bear. A small, spherical, floating robot with a single green eye hovered down from above. "I've always wanted to see a Reclaimer! Do you all look like that?"

"What the hell…?" I couldn't figure out what this thing was.

"I am Three-Five-Two-One Inquisitive Paradigm, Monitor assigned to protect the Keyship buried here!"

Miller gasped. "You're a Forerunner AI?"

"Yes!" The thing floated to Miller. "Do you know much of my Creators?"

"To be honest, no, but we know of them through a group of aliens known as the Covenant. These guys here…" Miller moved his arm to encompass the corpses, "were part of the Covenant. Did you let anyone like them in here?"

"Not long ago. I probably shouldn't have, but I was just so happy to have visitors."

Aitken walked up to the Monitor. "Hey, it's alright. Will you let us in, though? They want to use that Keyship to kill all of us."

The Monitor moved in an almost human way, simulating confusion. "They want to kill the Reclaimers? Why?"

"Beats the hell outta us," said Aitken. "But it'll be bad if we don't stop them."

Inquisitive Paradigm turned towards the door and shot it with a green laser, unlocking it. "An enemy of the Reclaimers is an enemy of me and the Sentinels! They have been added to the targeting ledger! I will help you!"

With me in the lead, we walked into the structure. Inquisitive Paradigm followed us. I wanted to ask the Monitor a question. "Hey, Light Bulb."

"Yes, Reclaimer?"

"What's a Reclaimer?"

"You. Your kind. You are the descendants of the Forerunners."

"Oh."

I opened a private channel to Miller. "We're the Forerunners' descendants?"

"I think he's rampant, Captain. He doesn't know what he's talking about."