The Reclamation. Chapter 7: ONI

"Can you breach their security?" the Chief asked Mendicant Bias.

"Easily. But I will need to interface with one of their computers."

"ONI keeps all their research stations top secret," Fred pointed out. "We'll need to select one as a target, and preferably one with minimal security."

"I have an idea," Kelly said reaching to her data pad. "The information we downloaded from the ONI computer. Each transmission has a sub encryption frequency so if Mendicant Bias can isolate it we can see scan for those same signals and find where we need to go."

"You never erased it?" the Chief asked.

"No, I had been planning to turn it over to Captain Lasky, but…." she shrugged.

"Do it," John said to Mendicant Bias. A beam went out from his eyes as he scanned the data pad.

The screen flickered and a video began to play on the holo table.
Admiral Osman was strutting across the deck in front of a scientist."Report!" she barked.

"We haven't activated the sphere yet."

"And why not?"

"From what we've determined it's highly dangerous. It's not like other Forerunner technology that is cooperative with human DNA. In fact, the sphere may require a certain DNA signature to access it properly. If we don't do this right, the consequences could be disastrous."

"Then you better figure it out. I'm here only one more day, and I will be taking this with me."

"Yes Admiral."

The video cut out and immediately went to another video. This time Osman was in full gear.

"You have had enough time. You are doing it, and you are doing it now," she said harshly.

"But…"

"Better be careful of who you're talking to."

The Scientist reluctantly walked away and Osman turned to the screen.

"BB, are you recording this?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"Ready to go Ma'am," the scientist said. A second video popped up on the screen showing a group of scientists standing around the inert Orbis Signifier.

"Proceed."

The Scientist tapped on the data pad, and the Orbis began to shake. It activated and expanded.
"Success," Osman said.

"Energy readings are all over the chart." The scientist looked at the sphere and cautiously stepped towards it. John winced as he saw brilliant orange energy radiating out from the middle. The Scientists screamed, and their bodies glowed from the pulse. In a matter of moments they were all dead, chard and laying in the same positions Blue Team had found them. It was gruesome.

"Well, that didn't go as planned," Osman said unmoved.

"We would have had to eliminate them anyway," Black Box's voice said. "And we can use this."

"How so?"

"When we need to activate Operation 6412."

John shuttered. That was the name of their operation to infiltrate the research station.

Osman cocked her head, then smiled slightly. "Yes. I see. No evidence, just a nice cover story."

"How else would you get rid of a Spartan easily?"

"I hope it doesn't come to that. He is useful."

"Useful, but dangerous. He's a ticking time bomb. All of them are. And if he hears about…"

"…stopping him will be almost impossible. I know. We are on a time schedule so lets…"

The recording stopped, and all of the Spartan's stood in silence.

"They were planning on eliminating you? Us?" Kelly whispered.

"It would have worked," John said taking the Orbis off his armor and looking at it. "The only reason it didn't is because I am the Iso Didact. It knew who I was."

"Why would they want to kill you?" Linda asked quietly.

"Because," Mendicant Bias said, "they are afraid of you."

Don't trust Osman. Cortana had been right. Once again, she had saved his life.

"She was going to kill those scientists," Fred said shaking his head, "If the Orbis hadn't done it for her."

What else had Osman and ONI been hiding? And why would they want to kill civilians? The job of the soldier is to protect mankind, not…he clenched his hand into a fist. "Mendicant Bias. How much time would you need to download the information from the Mainframe?"

"How much information do you want?"

"All of it."

"20 minutes."

John arched an eyebrow. "That quickly?"

"Yes. If I had all of me it would take a lot less time."

"How much will that tax your system?" John knew he was the most advanced AI ever created, but this was only a fragment, and he couldn't help but think of how Cortana struggled to cope with all of the data from the Halo array.

"Efficiency will decrease by 0.00021%."

"We can live with that."

"Bornstellar, I have isolated the frequency." He projected a planet on the screen. "Most likely target. Isolated, lower defenses, but the access node is sufficient."

"Take us there."

Mendicant's eyes glowed blue as he told the ship to go into Slip Space. "Done."

John turned from the table to look out the front window of his Forerunner ship. He folded his hands behind his back and watched Slip Space drift by.

ONI wanted him dead.

It shouldn't surprise him. He realized that the moment he told Captain Del Rio he wouldn't give up Cortana was the moment they lost their grip on him. His whole life he had taken orders without question, simply doing what he was told to do and never thinking what the repercussions of those orders might be. Most of them had been good, but John would be lying to himself if he said they were all good.

I may have been created to follow, but my greater purpose is to lead.

That was Bornstellar talking. No, that was himself talking. He and Bornstellar were one and the same, he just never knew it until now. In any case my mission parameters have not changed. My mission is to protect Humanity, and to protect Cortana.

Cortana.

He couldn't help but appreciate the irony. The Librarian had made him stronger. He had the most powerful AI in the universe floating by his side in addition to weapons, a better ship and the Prometheans. But for all of it he still didn't know where Cortana was, how to find her, or if he could do anything for her. Hell, he still didn't know if she was even alive.

It was impossible for John to remain objective about the situation, and he found himself swinging between his normal optimism and down right pessimism. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew a part of him needed to believe she was still alive. The belief gave him hope the ache would soon be alleviated, and he wouldn't spend the rest of his life (however long that may be) feeling so empty. Their…entanglement wasn't something he could move past. It was permanent and he would feel those effects regardless of whether she was present or not.

After a time Mendicant Bias turned to him and said, "Preparing to exit Slipspace."

John nodded as Signius VI came into view. "Land the ship as close to facility as you can without giving away our position."

Mendicant Bias' eyes glowed blue as he brought the ship down to the planet. Blue Team walked off the bridge and made their way to the cargo bay where they could choose their weapons. John found himself smiling because Blue Team had managed to find the Forerunner version of their preferred weapons.

Linda inspected the Binary Rifle. "It's not home but, it's pretty good," she said to the Chief.

John grabbed a Suppressor off the wall and checked the readings on his suit. His shield still read half full. It would certainly make things more difficult if they got into a fire fight.

"Mendicant Bias do we have stun rounds aboard?" John asked as the AI came into the room.

"Yes. The Bolt Shot is equipped to output less damage if you need it to."

"Don't fire your main weapon unless it's absolutely necessary," the Chief said to the rest of the team.

"Rodger that Chief," Fred said.

"Let's go."

Blue Team exited the ship and began to make their way to the ONI research facility. It was a dark night with a clear but moonless sky. The research facility was located deep in the planet's forest, in a valley surrounded by mountainous terrain. Getting there would be time consuming.

The team walked in silence through the night. There's no going back, John thought. Once they infiltrated the base they really would be guilty of crimes against the UNSC. Even though ONI wanted him eliminated he knew much of the UNSC didn't feel that way. But if they did this he and the team would have to be court marshaled. A best case scenario outcome would be they were guilty of insubordination. Worse case? Treason. Even Spartan's were subject to UNSC laws and regulations, and no one, not even Admiral Hood could spare them from the consequences of their actions.

John looked at each of Blue Team. They had given up so much and their loyalty moved him. Perhaps I can protect them a little from the repercussions of what we're about to do.

They trudged onward and the stars moved in the sky.

"We're close," Mendicant Bias said a few hours later. John guessed it was nearly 5:30am local time.

"I need you all to stay outside," John said calmly.

"Chief, no. We're with you," Fred protested.

"I know," John said laying a hand on his brother's shoulder. "But Mendicant Bias and I can infiltrate it alone. It's more important that you stay out here and guard the perimeter."

"I know what you're trying to do," Fred said solemnly.

"Then let me do this for you," the Chief said.

"Chief," Fred hesitated.

"I need to do this for you." John looked directly into Fred's eyes even though he couldn't see them.

Fred placed his hand on John's arm. "We were willing."

John squeezed Fred's shoulder before letting go.

"Call us when you need us," Kelly said softly.

"I will," he said seriously.

John turned on his heels and began to walk towards the door. "Cut the feed," he told Mendicant Bias.

"Done."

John crouched in the bushes about 50 meters from the main entrance to the facility. He pointed the Bolt Shot, zoomed in and stunned the three guards. He was grateful Mendicant Bias had given them sights for their Bolt Shots.

He moved in to the door and Mendicant Bias' eyes turned blue as he interfaced with the door's security. It opened.

The hallway was white with bright white lights that loomed overhead. It was cold. This was something which had never bothered the Chief before. In fact, this sterile environment is what he had grown up with. It used to be comfortable.

Another change brought on by living the life of a Forerunner.

John and Mendicant Bias turned the corner and came across a group of scientists. Their faces went white as they looked at John and then to Mendicant Bias (who was quite large) looming behind him.

"We don't want to hurt you," the Chief said seriously. "But I suggest you enter the room to our right. We will lock you in and release you once we are finished."

The lead scientist nodded and swiped his card. They filed in with their hands up. John shut the door, and it blinked red, indicating it was locked.

John and Mendicant Bias continued to weave their way through the facility. Two friendlies showed up on his radar behind them. John spun around and saw two ODST's walking across the hall. He fired the Bolt Shot before they were able to make a single move and they dropped to the floor.

Mendicant Bias opened another set of security doors and they kept going.

John shot the security guard on the other side.

"We've got another set of security doors and then we'll be there," Mendicant Bias reported.

John held his Bolt Shot up as they reached the final set of doors. The AI's eyes flashed and the doors immediately opened. John knew these doors were of the highest security and even Cortana would have had a hard time opening the lock. An image flashed across John's mind of his entire Forerunner fleet burning over the Ark.

Mendicant Bias nearly destroyed us, he thought. If he ever decided to exert his will on the universe nothing could stop him, not even me. Can I trust him?

They walked up to the ONI mainframe computer and Mendicant Bias' eyes turned blue. "Up link established Bornstellar. Do I have permission to download all records?"

I don't have a choice. "Do it, and prioritize any information on Forerunner technology, Slip Space anomalies, anything to do with Spartans, UNSC ship locations and Cortana." He watched thousands of images flash across the screen.

Mendicant Bias' eyes returned to their normal color. "Before I go any further, I must tell you something Bornstellar."

"What is it?"

"A covert unit of Spartans has been dispatched to find you. I believe they know we are here."

"What kind of Spartans?"

"Spartan class IV. Fire Team Osiris."

"Blue Team, what's your status?" John said.

"All green Chief."

"Tap into the facilities monitoring systems," he said to Mendicant Bias.

"Detecting…four Spartans about 250 meters beyond the facility. They will be here before I've finished."

"Keep downloading. Can you get out of here without being seen? I'd rather keep you a secret."

"Yes," he said.

"We'll draw them off. If they believe it's just the four of us, they'll come after us and not bother with the facility."

"I will download the data and get back to the ship."

"Don't contact me unless you absolutely need to."

"Understood."

John turned and began to make his way out of the ONI facility. "We've got a Spartan IV Fire Team converging on our position," he told Blue Team. "And their sole purpose is to take us out."

"Acknowledged Chief," Fred replied. "Assuming we'll draw them away from the base to give Mendicant Bias time to download the information."

"Correct. They're coming in from the South East, so we'll need to find an LZ for Mendicant Bias to come pick us up."

John broke into a jog. They needed to get a head start before Osiris got too close. As he was running he saw another scientist in the hallway. He didn't have time to put him in a secure room so he shot him with a stun round.

John exited the facility to see Blue Team standing at the entrance. "Let's go," he called.

"There's a pass just a few kilometers from here. We can use it as an LZ," Kelly said.

"We've got to assume Osiris has outfitted themselves with advanced tracking gear," Fred said jogging next to John.

"Yes. They will probably see us before we see them."

"Chief, a confrontation is unavoidable," Kelly commented solemnly.

"I know," he said matching her tone.

John wished Mendicant Bias could have given him more information on this Fire Team. What were they like? Most of the Spartan IV's he had encountered were so undisciplined. Human, he reminded himself. Osiris has the advantage, he thought as he continued to jog. They have read our files. They understand our tactics. We know nothing about them.

Not having all the information was something that had always been difficult for the Chief. But they don't know I am the Didact, he realized. And they don't know about Mendicant Bias. I'm different, and I know how I think about combat is now more Forerunner than Human. He closed his fist, and felt more confident.


Author's Note.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by in August and read this little story. 1300 views is truly lovely. Also thank you to those of you who commented on what you think Cortana's purpose is in the greater Halo story. SO interesting to postulate.

Also, just curious, how do you all pronounce ONI? OH-KNEE or OH-EN-EYE? I've heard it pronounced both ways in official Halo media.

Ryan: In response to your idea for Cortana's purpose of taking on the role as "John's Librarian" I know what you mean. It sort of goes along with the idea that Dr. Halsey has the Geas of the Librarian, which many people have speculated on. We will not be diving into that theory in this story (there's only so many puzzles this thing can solve before we loose ourselves) but some would argue that if Dr. Halsey has the Geas of the Librarian, so does Cortana. What's interesting about that is Cortana had become pretty far removed from Dr. Halsey in terms of personality and decision making at the end of her life. Which of the two would be more influenced by the Librarian? VERY hard to answer. The Didact and the Librarian dictated the fate of the universe, how interesting would it be if Chief and Cortana (if she's still alive) were to step into that role?

WalterMittyEsq: Thanks for continuing to be here. Appreciate it!