Refer to the disclaimer in the first chapter.


The rest of the day went by in a blur as I was thrown into a crash course in controlling the spiritual pressure I apparently possessed. There was plenty of lecturing about the "science" behind the concept, but there were also in-field demonstrations by Lieutenant Kotetsu. She was quick to have me try certain spells myself, and from that I had little but promising progress.

It does take effort, trying to preform feats with a concept you've never even thought of until yesterday, but according to my impromptu instructor I was doing well for what little time I had. The rest of the day after the meeting consisted of only two lessons, and we barely started the second when Lt. Kotetsu called it a night. Before falling asleep, Winter and I reviewed what we had learned so far.

The first lesson was the actual gathering of my spiritual energy. Through thorough testing, it appeared that my abilities of utilizing and hiding my spiritual pressure were connected to my emotional level. Let any intense feeling surface and so would my spiritual pressure, ready to be used. Keep it all uder control, and I would be invisible to anyone trying to sense my presence, or at least my spirit.

After figuring that out, Lieutenant Kotetsu and I used the last few hours daylight for training in using my spiritual energy. The first technique I wanted to learn was that flash step everyone was using. The actual skill is called Hohō, and all high-level Shinigami were at least decent in it. The idea of the flash step technique took a while to explain and be put into practice, and a couple of problems became apparent immediately. Firstly: using spiritual pressure was like using a muscle. It took hours of great concentration and straining to do a "successful" flash step, and I was left fatigued for several minutes. That's where the second problem came in: momentum. These people were wearing light robes and a few personal accessories, while I was wearing a several-kiloton suit of armor. All of that weight can't be stopped simply by planting one's feet down.

The next morning consisted of me trying to figure out how to perform a flash step without making another hole in the wall. Thankfully Ms. Kotetsu was patient with me and helped me along in figuring out ways of stopping myself. During the early hours of training a couple persons of interest watched from the edges of the wide open and remote plaza we were using. There was the dog Captain who came and left a while after sunrise, and now the little Captain was here. Both were accompanied by Captain Unohana. Using my suit, Winter was able to hear snippets of the quiet conversations they had with the Fourth Squad Captain whenever I got close. Both of them asked about my progress, then asked general questions about me such as where I was found or who knew me. Judging from the dialogue and from what Lieutenant Matsumoto said yesterday, Winter concluded that other "drifters" were taking temporary residence in the Sereitei, though no names were spoken.

I flash-stepped again and immediately expelled spiritual energy in front of me, slamming both feet down to stop my speeding mass. I only slid several dozens of meters this time and stopped right next to the pair of Captains.

"I am getting better." I said to them bluntly.

The little Captain crossed him arms as he stared at me with those bright blue eyes of his. "What will you do once you can execute a flash step properly?"

'He really likes that pose.'

"I will try to find holes in the Covenant's defense. The forest and mountains will cover my movements between the places I will scout out, and I can mark out patrols. I cannot act and eliminate the threat completely without the necessary equipment."

"And what exactly is this necessary equipment?" asked the little Captain.

I hesitated and whispered to Winter, "Should I be honest here?"

"If you want to lie to the people who can stop your heart on a whim, go ahead." She answered casually.

With a deep breath, I responded, "Nuclear ordinance, sir."

The kid raised an eyebrow. "Nuclear ordinance?"

"Do you know what a nuclear device is, Captain?"

The kid looked down to the ground, thinking. "I remember reading about certain weapons being used in the world of the living. Two of these "nuclear bombs" in particular caused an influx of souls several decades ago."

'Two nukes, several decades ago…'

I took a step towards the Captain. "Do you remember any details about those devices, sir? Names, targets, casualty numbers, anything?"

'A scenario like that only happened twice.'

The kid took my sudden bout of questions in stride, racking his brain for something. After a few seconds, he came up with two numbers that stood out:

Over a hundred thousand new souls over the course of three days, followed by several hundreds of thousands of souls in the following months. This was at the end of a major war that the Shinigami documented.

That narrowed Winter's search down, and I felt a small jolt of electricity go through me. "Spartan, I think we did the impossible."

"Yeah, we did. That doesn't change us being here, in an afterlife."

"I agree, but now we really need those nukes." She told me with an urgent tone.

"Why?"

"From what Kotetsu told us, we can get from here to the world of the living-as she put it-easily."

I followed the AI's thinking, and a lump began to form in my throat. "If we can get to Earth, the Covenant could too."

"Not only that, but it'll be Earth in the early twenty-first century at the latest. We don't have a single colony yet, and the Covenant have an entire invasion force over those mountains."

"Spartan?"

I looked back to the little Captain and Unohana, forgetting they were there. The Lieutenant had also crept up to me.

I asked them, "What century is the world of the living in?"

After a few quiet seconds, Lieutenant Kotetsu answered, unsure. "I can't remember what the exact year is, but we're pretty early in the twenty-first century."

'So Winter's right, but we're still five centuries in the past.'

"Why do you ask?"

"The Covenant and I come from the twenty-sixth century, ma'am."

The little Captain spoke up, his eyebrows scrunched, "I thought you were from one of the living world's militaries. They might have the technology."

I shook my head. "Trust me, sir, today's mankind does not have the ability to create people like me. Besides, we did not encounter the Covenant until 2525, and according to Lieutenant Kotetsu that is over five centuries away. I am able to tell you that even at my humanity's level of technology we were very close to being made extinct by the Covenant."

"Extinct" got everyone's attention, and their expressions changed to varying degrees of shock. The little Captain stepped forward, uncrossing his arms, "Extinct?"

I stood there, confused for a moment, before realizing it.

'Shit, they don't know.'

I took in a deep breath before stating, "When mankind encountered the Covenant, we had a little under a thousand colonies spread out across our region of the galaxy. After almost thirty years of fighting we lost all of the outer colonies, and the inner colonies were about to be massacred."

The three Shinigami in front of me were very quiet for several seconds. Eventually, Unohana spoke up, "What was the cause of this war?"

"According to the transmissions directed to us we were living insults to their gods, and that was enough motivation for them to start a campaign against us."

"And obviously you won this war?" asked the little Captain.

"Yes sir, though it was very close and it only ended officially a few months ago. Like I said, all of our outer colonies were destroyed. Earth itself was attacked twice, but in the end we won by the skin of our teeth."

"How?" asked the suddenly skeptic kid.

"We gained the help of Covenant separatists, who were betrayed by their superiors in the final parts of their campaign. The resulting schism crippled the Covenant, and we were able to take advantage of that and push them back."

Mostly true, but I knew that there was much more to it than a schism. The Elites I encountered very late in the war were my main source, though they were referencing rings and parasites among other strange titles that were beyond me.

Ms. Kotetsu asked this time, "What did you do in the war?"

"I cannot say much, ma'am. What I can tell you is that I have participated in covert operations, though the nature and context of all of them are classified." I turned my head to address the rest of them. "Ultimately what matters is that we won, and now I am assisting in eliminating the Covenant that remain in the territory they have conquered."

The little Captain crossed his arms again. I was starting to guess that's how he relaxes. "Including the Covenant here?"

"Correct." 'Oh man, we got a little sidetracked with that.' "Speaking of which, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Is it possible for the Covenant to get to the world of the living?"

The little Captain gave this some thought, but Ms. Unohana answered instead. "It is possible to travel to the world of the living without Soul Society's sanction, but it's extremely dangerous if you don't know what to do."

"What do you mean by dangerous, ma'am?"

"There are a few methods of travel to the world of the living, but the only safe way is through a [world penetration gate,] and that can only be accessed by using a hell butterfly given by us. One unofficial way is through the [parsing world], but without proper knowledge, a soul is likely to be destroyed in it, both human and alien."

"So the Covenant cannot just waltz over to Earth?"

Ms. Unohana nodded. "Correct. If they want to travel to the world of the living in relative safety, they will need to develop certain technology, or ask certain individuals for safe passage."

"Certain Individuals? Such as?"

Ms. Unohana was about to answer, but she stopped herself before gently shaking her head. "I just remembered these are aliens we are talking about. Even if they could contact him, I doubt Aizen would allow them to travel without using them in a way."

I gave into my curiosity, taking a step forward. "I heard of this Aizen character before. Who is he?"

I saw the little Captain preparing to answer that, but I then heard a familiar metallic rattle. I turned to the corner I stashed my weapons and saw the tall, white-haired Captain picking them up. My body tensed for a moment before I began to walk slowly towards him. My eyes were fixated on the Captain as he gripped the loaded AR by the handle and looked straight down the barrel. The man noticed my cautious approach and actually smiled.

"You have an interesting weapon here, Captain Sierra."

"Captain Sierra?"

The Captain lowered the rifle to his side. It was now pointed at me. "Is that your name, or your codename at least?"

"Just Captain would work actually. Or Spartan, to avoid confusion."

The man made that curious expression again. "What about Sierra?"

"That is a part of my technical designation."

"Do you have an actual name?" asked the Captain, raising his eyebrow.

"...I do not give my name out to strangers."

The man smiled again. "Then let me introduce myself." He gestured to himself, still holding my rifle. "I am Jūshirō Ukitake, Captain of the 13th Division."

I nodded to him, "Captain…" then held out my hand. "May I have my rifle back?"

Mr. Ukitake looked down at the weapon, as if he forgot he was holding it. He uttered an "Oh." and held the rifle out to me, grip first. I took it gingerly, making sure my finger was nowhere near the trigger.

"I have to say: I've never seen anything like your weapon." said Mr. Ukitake, curious.

Pointing the weapon in question safely at the ground, I asked him, "You do not use firearms, I assume?"

He shook his head. "I haven't paid attention to whatever weapons the living have invented."

"I suggest you start paying attention." I walked around the Captain, to where my magnum and all of my spare magazines laid. I picked up the M6S and displayed it to the Shinigami. "I was able to take out a hollow with this without getting within chomping distance." Not adding that I wasted an entire magazine doing that, I placed the sidearm on my thigh and began collecting my spare ammunition. "Grenades and a chopper's guns also work well."

The Shinigami gave me perplexed looks. I stared right back up at them.

"Grenades?" asked Ms. Kotetsu.

I stared for another second, then lowered my head, shaking it. "I will give you a lecture later." I stood up, rifle nestled firmly in my arms. "If the Covenant can find their way to Earth, then I have to slow them down until the nuclear devices are delivered."

The little Captain raised his eyebrow, "What makes you sure that the Covenant want to invade to the world of the living?"

"If I were the Covenant, it is what I would do. I could eliminate the entire race of an insult to my gods with ease."

Captain Ukitake spoke up next to me. "But what if they don't know there is a world of the living to get to?"

"I am not willing to risk that, sir. If they can summon a portal for their ships, or even just their ground forces, I will not be able to stop them, nor will Earth's armed forces be able to."

'Without dropping a few bombs.'

I began to walk out of the plaza, in the direction of the western mountains, and everyone followed me. There was an unspoken rule that I couldn't go anywhere in the Seireitei without supervision.

"If you can't stop them, why are you attacking them?" asked Ms. Kotetsu, who sounded concerned, curiously enough.

"I want to grab their attention until the ordinance arrives. If I can cause enough disruption, the Brutes who are leading the Covenant's military will want my head more than anything. They might even ignore the Prophet that they have over there."

"The Prophet?" asked Mr. Ukitake.

"One of the leaders of the Covenant." I explained as we walked out of the 4th Division compound and into the maze of the Seireitei. "The most powerful ones are dead, but there are dozens of lesser ones that control little pieces of the empire. If I can capture him, then the Brutes will definitely focus on me, giving more than enough time for the nuclear devices to arrive, and more time to use them effectively."

We walked in silence for a few steps before Captain Unohana spoke up. "Will you return to the Seireitei at any point?"

I turned to her. "Will you allow me?"

She nodded. "Of course. You are our guest, as Head-Captain Yamamoto said."

"Thank you, ma'am." and I began walking West, with the three Captains and Lieutenant following. I walked ten meters before taking a deep breath and carefully telling the Captains, "And despite what... Head-Captain Yamamoto said yesterday, I strongly suggest you consider the Covenant as a threat, even a minor one. I understand that you do not want to risk personnel after recent events," whatever they were "But know that the Covenant are not weak, even if their empire is gone."

Captain Unohana answered in a serious tone, "Do not worry, Captain. The well-being of humanity is our priority as well."

'Well, at least they're considering it.'

()()()

As we walked through the maze, the Shinigami and I talked. I went through Winter's ever-expanding list of questions, starting with the Zanpakutō. From what I understood of the conversation, these "soul cutters" were swords infused with some of the Shinigami's soul. Through this binding/enchantment, the sword becomes an entity of its own, connected to its owner on a spiritual level. When the Shinigami strengthens this deep connection, the swords can enter certain stages, namely Shikai and Bankai. These stages "show the true form of the Zanpakutō" and make the weapon far more powerful, though extensive training and control is needed in order to access these stages, especially Bankai.

Pressed by Winter, I asked if I could obtain a Zanpakutō. The Captains said that I certainly could, considering my amount of spiritual pressure. However, I would have to be accepted into an institute called the Spiritual Arts Academy to be properly trained. With that fact given I stated that I had no intention in joining the Shinigami. In my own mind I was clear in that decision. I'm a Spartan first and foremost, and I have sworn an oath to defend humanity from constant threats. Even when the Covenant is gone completely there are still the individual species to look out for, along with any other malevolent entities out there. That's not even considering the insurrectionists that are still around, and everyone knew they were bound to start harassing the UNSC again now that the Covenant weren't an overbearing threat. I didn't have time to undergo training again just to get a magical spirit sword, but of course I never said this out loud.

"I understand, Spartan." said Captain Ukitake with a polite smile.

"Thank you sir, I was only curious. For now I will stick with this." I lifted the MA5 cradled in my arms. There was a pause before I asked one of Winter's broader questions:

"So other than flash step and that explosive ball, what other spells and moves can you Shinigami do?"

()()()

Around seven hours later the sun had set. I would have been able to see the last hint of light on the horizon, if not for the well-lit sea of cool colors splayed out before me. The bright spires reminded me vaguely of the skylines I've seen on Myrmidon and Reach.

My local AI voiced her concern, "You're not seriously thinking of infiltrating that place, are you?"

I lowered myself down the mountain and out of sight. "There's no point until I get the nukes." I looked south, where the nearest outposts were. Each of the ones in sight had pairs of Banshees flying patrols over them. The Brutes at least had the intelligence to tighten security on them after my incursion a couple of nights ago.

"So how are you going to get the Covenant's attention?"

I looked to the north, towards where the mountains eventually flattened out.

"I'll start small."

Another hour passed as I made my way along the mountains. Thanks to flash step, I was able to move much faster, though I had to stop and rest every few times I launched myself forward. It was also hard not to crash into trees, all the while trying not to be spotted by any air patrols. Once I came to the flatter lands up in the north, I went back to my more familiar way of advancing: slowly and with great caution. Thankfully, there was still plenty of foliage, and I utilized the visual cover as I snooped around the countryside.

And the countryside was being slowly encroached upon by the Covenant. The megabase had dominated the entire other side of the mountains, and from a small piece of elevated ground I could see prefab buildings and walls being erected in the northeastern hills. The enslaved Engineers and roving patrols were being showcased in a countless number of spotlights.

"Where are they getting the resources for this expansion?" asked Winter with an agenda.

"No idea. I'm more concerned as to why their expanding."

"Do you want to find out?"

"Yes… but not in a way that'll end up with us being chased around the grasslands all night."

After an hour of careful observation, I noticed a large band of Covenant breaking away from the buildings and moving out towards the SS outskirts. The troop makeup was about 60/40 Jackals and, to my surprise, Skirmishers. The feathery cousins of Jackals were a rarity after Reach fell, and even before then I encountered them the least besides Engineers.

With those few encounters I came to hate the fast-as-fuck cocks.

"They must be scraping up remnants if they have Feathers with them." I told Winter.

"And they must have a goal important enough to waste them." responded the AI.

I watched as the band of scrawny sentient birdmen advanced out of the safety of the spotlights.

"Let's find out what it is."

()()()

For the next few hours, I had fun. If you know what you're doing, you can have a lot of fun stalking x-rays. Jackals however aren't so fun to track since they tended to be as jumpy and trigger happy as they were skinny. Long ago I investigated to see if they popped stims before they went outside, but it turned out it's just their biology.

These birds were no different. They stayed together in a tight formation, pointing their carbines and pistols in every direction, yet none of them had any lights on, not even on their weapons. This strike team wasn't arrogant, I'd give them that.

I stayed at a fair distance as I trailed them closer to the SS. They were heading east, southeast at a steady pace and in a straight line; they knew where they were going.

"We're getting close to the western district's outskirts." observed Winter.

I said nothing as I moved to the next piece of cover: a rotting wooden shed. It was the first building I saw in a while, but the Jackals paid little attention to it when they passed it. The strike team continued on and I started to come across more buildings, some abandoned some occupied. It wasn't long before the very edges of the western district came into view. "Rukon" I believe it was called.

I muttered under my breath, "Just where are these birds going?"

"Probably somewhere in the actual districts," proposed Winter, "But why?"

"Something neither I or the Shinigami are gonna like."

It was around midnight when we entered the district proper. The streets were mostly deserted, with a few loitering vagrants here and there. The Jackals used this to their advantage and upped their pace. They began to quickly slink through the buildings, the ones in the rear not even looking back. I had to run just to keep the aliens on my radar. With a clear vector, and now with an increased speed, their goal was obvious.

They were gunning right for the Seireitei.

"But why are they attacking?" asked Winter. "They can't get past the wall unless they have something."

I huffed out my opinion as I sprinted down an alleyway parallel to the streets.

"They must, being so, aggressive."

The xenos continued to run towards the center of the supernatural civilization, uncharacteristic in their determination. Jackals were pirates, guns for hire, and hardly followers of the Covenant religion. To risk themselves like this gave serious implications.

Our thoughts on the matter were shoved aside when we were several klicks from the wall. In the air dozens of meters above us a familiar blue rift in reality appeared with a sharp *crack*, lighting up the night in an eerie blue glow. I stopped and watched as a pair of bulbous yet sleek Phantom dropships rocketed out of the portal and over us.

I looked back down and around the corner I was behind. The raiders had stopped as well. They stared for a few moments before a Skirmisher nudged one of its cousins and gargled something. The marksman nodded and squawked to the rest of the party, and after a few more mating calls the band resumed their run for the wall.

I was about to follow them when I noticed the big dots denoting the Phantoms were green, and they were turning around. Winter explained:

"I've detected UNSC tags inside one of them."

"Then get them on comms." I ordered her before I pulled out my magnum and began to chase after the Jackals again. The AI spent only a second to reach out to the dropships and tell me,

"Got 'em."

I didn't waste any time. "Dropships two-five-nine and seven-eight-nine, this is Sierra B zero-nine-four, I have enemy Jackals moving towards the giant wall a hundred meters East of your position! Engage footmobiles in the alleyways!"

There was a pause as I hurdled over a pile of refuse and continued to chase down the Jackals. I moved into an actual street when the Phantoms' searchlights flicked on, turning the night into day where I was. I flinched back into cover out of habit as the lights moved ahead of me and locked onto the Covenant, now out of sight. A familiar deep voice announced over the comms,

"This is Dropship two-five-nine: engaging."

One of the phantoms' underside plasma cannons began to spew melting-hot ordinance somewhere in front of me. I then heard a slow tempo of explosions, followed by loud and frantic gibbering.

"Dropship seven-eight-nine: engaging."

The other phantom joined in, contributing a second stream of purple-pink concussion rounds to the slaughter. The band of Skirmishers and Jackals were lightly-armed, only good for killing infantry and harassing light vehicles. The only thing they could do against armored and armed dropships was to scatter.

A pair of Skirmishers decided to leg it back to base and run right into my sights. The wiry aliens were fast both in body and reflexes, but these two were so focused on escaping the Phantoms they didn't notice the Spartan squeezing off a round. The feather to the left jerked its head back before limply tumbling into the dirt.

As I tracked the other alien that turned to cross the street towards another alley, Heffman spoke over comes.

"Sierra, this is Claymore One. Do you have a number on the Covenant force, over?"

A high-piercing round shredded the Skirmisher's brain, and the corpse fell into the alley and out if sight. I began to fast-walk up the street—weapon raised—as I answered.

"Claymore, thirty five total. I just bagged two of the fifteen Skirmishers. The rest are Jackals, five marksmen, over."

"Sierra, understood. We just eliminated most of them in that first salvo. There should be about a dozen left, so we'll link up with you and let the Elites clean up. Over."

"Understood, Claymore. Inform-" *pff* "Tell the Elites to not fire directly on the buildings. There are civilians in them. Out."

'Probably should've told them that earlier.'

I continued past the crumpled body of the Jackal, waiting for another to appear. My only answer was my HMD being updated. Waypoints began to appear in the area in groups of two or three, all heading away from the two dropships that were still firing down on them. I began to sprint after a group that was still heading for the wall, but wasn't being chased by the Phantoms. These birdmen were not stopping for anything, and I couldn't catch up with them before they'd make it.

'Not if we just run.'

I focused on my frustration born from stalking them for so long and not being able to catch these Jackals, and in no time energy from within began to course through me. I took one last, big stride before flash-stepping myself up into the air. The thrill of the metropolis rushing beneath me was almost lost while I scanned the streets for where I was going to land. In a second I calculated the location for my second flash-assisted jump, and prepared to release energy in order to make a non-fatal landing. There was a flash of dull silver, and I landed in a squat to build up energy for another flash-jump.

Lieutenant Suhei's surprised figure directly in front of me made me stop. He stepped back into a stance, his hand resting on his sword hilt.

"Lieutenant." I greeted him, still squatting.

He hesitated before responding, "Captain."

I stood up slowly to keep my legs from cramping. "I apologize, but we need to move. Covenant are in this district."

The spiky-haired Lieutenant looked up in the air behind me, and I realized he spotted the two Phantoms. "So I see." He drew his sword and began to walk past me.

"Lieutenant, wait." I reached out to him, but he then flash-stepped and was gone.

'SHIT!'

I set my speaker to full blast, yelling after him, "FRIENDLIES!" I flash-stepped down the street, expecting to find the Lieutenant under or near the green phantoms. When I decelerated I desperately looked around for him, but finding no one I called up to the dropships and started talking as fast as I could.

"Papa deltas this is Sierra you're about to have a blue-on-blue situation from the ground by a local he's armed and's mistaken you for Covenant break-"

A Shakkahō fireball rocketed up from the north and slammed into 789's turret. The dropship lurched backwards from the impact. Alloys from the destroyed turret fell from the smoke and clattered onto the streets below.

An alien curse and the dropship pulling away was the response.

I flash-jumped into the air again, following where the fireball came from to where the Lieutenant stood. He was in a plaza of sorts in a combat stance, and his outstretched hand was glowing red with another spell primed.

Without thinking I launched myself down at him. Seeing me hang in the air before flash-stepping, he predictably disengaged and moved out of my path. I landed again in a squat, but quickly turned to face the Lt. in case he attacked. Instead, Suhei stood a good five meters away, sword drawn but not going for my throat. As I huffed from the fatigue I explained as fast as I could,

"Lieutenant...these two dropships...have friendly separatists...and UNSC personnel inside. The Covenant I am talking about are the dozen Jackals running away from this area."

The Shinigami didn't relax. "Jackals?"

Before I could tell him of the certain wiry aliens, the two of us were bathed in the spotlight of the other Phantom. Suhei turned around, bringing a hand up to shield his eyes. It took me a moment to realize how confrontational the scene was.

I had Winter readjust my speakers so that the Lieutenant could hear and understand my orders to the dropship.

"Papa delta two-five-nine, do not engage. I will handle the locals, you and seven-eight-nine continue pursuing the Jackals. Understood?"

The Elite pilot took a few seconds, probably conversing on another channel, before it responded with, "Very well, but first your fellow Demons wish to join you."

As 789 accelerated northwest and out of sight, 259 floated over me and Mr. Suhei. The Shinigami looked extremely cautious as he watched the dropship, but at least he wasn't preparing another spell.

Feeling assured that the Lieutenant won't attack, I turned to watch Team Claymore be deposited out of the Phantom's bottom hatch. The five Spartans dropped down and landed in a crouched circle, with everyone facing outwards. When the Phantom began to accelerate to join its wingman, the team stood up and jogged over to me. Heffman opened a private channel.

"Sean, what's going on?"

I told him with my external speakers cut, "Don't worry, Heffman, just don't say anything for now."

I turned back to Suhei, who was eyeing the heavily armed Spartans assembled behind me.

"Lieutenant, this is Team Claymore. They and the two dropships are here to help eliminate the Covenant threat. We still have a group of Jackals heading towards the Seireitei, so we better get moving."

The Shinigami gained a stern look. "Where are they now?"

I pointed directly East, "Almost to the wall. There are three of them."

Mr. Suhei nodded and ordered, "Head for the gate and stay there. When those 'dropships' are done, have them land in front of it and wait for us." before he flash-stepped out of sight. Understandably, Heffman and the rest of Claymore became tense.

"What was that?"

I told the team leader, "Winter'll explain on the way." and I waved a hand forward. I started to run East with Claymore behind me. The AI took her time in filling them in, and as I expected they asked a multitude of questions,

"This Lieutenant's a death god, like a reaper?"

"Magic?"

"Is this the real reason you wanted nukes?"

Winter was still explaining the situation when we reached the gate. We all looked up at the "man" posted in front of the massive entrance, and he looked down at us in kind. His deep voice carried through the streets.

"Looks like you brought friends, Spartan."

I nodded, "Yes sir." I turned to my fellow Spartans, who were still staring up at the giant. "Team Claymore, this is Jidanbo, the western gatekeeper." I then turned back to the man. "We are just waiting for Lieutenant Suhei, sir, along with a couple of friendly dropships. I will tell you when they are coming."

"Oh. Okay."

Leaving the gatekeeper to do his job, I had Team Claymore set up at the nearest street corner, with Emily and Hassan watching the streets for any Covenant stragglers that were missed. The rest of us set up on a shaggy wooden porch.

Heffman quickly continued with the questions.

"So let me clarify," said Heffman, who made sure no one was watching us from inside the house, "The Covenant have found a way, through slipspace, to an actual afterlife?"

I nodded, "Correct."

"And you've just... accepted this?"

I leaned lightly against the wooden wall, causing it to creak. "Well, I haven't given it much thought, mainly because there're more important things to worry about."

"Right, Covenant. So what's the situation?"

"Winter?" I asked here, raising my helmet, and the AI began to feed map data and numbers to the Spartans' helmets.

"We have at least five Covenant ships resting above an extremely large base. The base is located past that mountain range to the West, however it seems they are expanding to the plains Northwest of here, with several communications outposts ringed around it. We were planning on harassing the Covenant, but with you all here we can skip that and focus on scouting them out. Then we can work on planting the nukes, along with capturing the recently escaped Prophet."

"You did bring the ordinance, right?" I asked Heffman.

The Spartan looked down and to the side. "Yes, but there are a few complications." 'Not good' "The battlegroup didn't have many spare nukes, so they gave us only three footballs."

There was a moment of silence as I stared blankly at the squad leader.

"Only three furies?"

Heffman nodded, and I leaned my head back with a sigh.

'Just great, another mission with sub-par resources, will have to make the most of it' "So we'll just have to figure out the best places to plant them." I looked down the street, and besides a cat staring at us from the porch railing the street was deserted. "Is there anything regarding the Elites?"

Heffman again looked to the side, "One of their ships arrived shortly after the station was taken and they offered assistance. That's where we got the Phantoms."

I scrunched my brow. "I thought the Elites were dealing with their own problems."

Hitomi spoke up this time, "It turns out that Special Ops. Elite has a captain friend. I think he called in a favor when he learned of the Prophet."

"What class is the ship?"

"CCS Class."

'Damn, we would've settled for a mere frigate.'

'That sneaky bastard must have a history with this Prophet if it's calling in that big of a favor.'

'It'll be a problem if they want to kill that Prophet, though'

"Well, with what we're up against, I'll take it."

Just then 259 called, "Demon, we have hunted down the vermin."

"Alright, papa deltas, head to the western gate of the main wall and land there, over."

"Another 'suggestion' from these primitives?"

"Yes, and we'll sort everything out when you get there. Out."

I cut comms and took in a deep breathe, before asking, "Is it just the five Elites, or are there more?"

Heffman answered, "More. We shared our Phantom with a few new ones, commandos by their armor."

Hitomi then added, "They also brought a Hunter pair." That made me turn slowly to her. She stared right back through her operator's helmet and shrugged, "I wasn't going to argue."

"Right... When they get here, I'm going to see if my hosts can take in all of us."

'We're sure gonna be testing their hospitality now'

I walked out into the street, looking Northwest for the dropships. They arrived a half-minute later and landed gently in front of the gate. Jidanbo eyed them with curiosity, before receiving an invisible command and turning to the gate. As Claymore and I passed the parked dropships, the guardian hefted up the humongous sliding door.

Out from under the gate came the little Captian, flanked by Lieutenant Matsumoto and followed by a contingent of Shinigami. With Claymore behind me, I met them halfway between the gate and the Phantoms.

I started off with a small nod, "Captain, my reinforcements and ordinance have arrived sooner than expected."

The little Captain looked over the five Spartans behind me inquisitively, crossing his arms. "How many soldiers do you have?"

I spread out my arms in gesture to Heffman and his team, "This is Team Claymore, comprised of five Spartans. The two Phantom dropships behind us are carrying a number of Elite separatists, though I do not have an exact number right now."

As if on cue, the Phantoms' side hatches slowly folded down. Between the night and the poor, blue interior lighting, It took me a moment to make out the outlined shapes of about a dozen Elites in each dropship. 789's hold also contained a pair of hunched-over, massive forms that towered over the commandos. The Elites exited the Phantoms casually, looking around with their plasma weapons stored on their belts and thighs. The Hunter pair stomped onto solid ground, sending out small quakes with each step.

Shal appeared from the cockpit of 259 and joined Trow in heading over to us. The Spec. Ops Elite stopped when it was right beside me. It looked blankly down at the little Captain, then looked over his subordinates. The Captain met the stare with his own skeptical gaze.

Finally Trow turned to me, sounding curious, "Who are these humans, Demon?"

"Supernatural spirits. They run this place which is actually an afterlife." Both Shal and Trow stared, but I ignored that, "They're friendly, so don't antagonize them. I'll see if they can get us a place to park your Phantoms. Give me a minute."

I looked to the little Captain, who was now sizing up the two-meter-tall Elites next to me. "Captain, this reinforcement is unorganized. We will need time to formulate a plan on how to deliver the nuclear ordinance. Is there a place inside the Seireitei that you will allow these two dropships to land in?"

The white-haired Captain thought it over for a second, then answered carefully, "I'll see if there's space around my division's barracks, but first," He gestured to the Elites, "These are the Covenant separatists?"

"Correct, sir. These two are-"

"Allow me, Demon." interrupted Trow. The ruby-colored Elite looked down at the little Captain and spoke his language. "Greetings, Captain, I am Trow 'Zamam, and this is Shal 'Refum of the Sangheili." The Captain raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

"Tōshirō Hitsugaya." 'So that's his name.' "I command the Tenth Division. As I said, I will look into finding space for your ships."

Trow actually bowed its elongated head to the Captain, "And we are all grateful for your hospitality. Has the Covenant been giving your city a hard time?"

As the two conversed, with great courtesy on Trow's part, I looked over to Shal. The Ranger stared at Trow when the Spec. Ops began talking in Japanese, but then moved on to stare at Lieutenant Matsumoto, who was across from it. She noticed the attention and stared back at the Ranger. The alien responded by tilting its head down to the Lieutenant's exposed chest. I approached her as she became-interestingly enough-curious in the Elite's center of attention.

"Lieutenant, have you heard of the group of Covenant that was heading for the Seireitei?"

Ms. Matsumoto was surprised slightly and answered, "Covenant? No, we were only alerted of a possible intruder. What happened?"

"A large group of Jackals came in from the Northwest and were attempting to infiltrate the Seireitei." I gestured to Shal behind me. "You can thank the Ranger here and his friends for eliminating most of the group. I encountered Lieutenant Suhei and he went to stop the ones still heading for the wall. I assume he alerted your Captain."

The Liutenant stared at the ground in uncertainty. "Well, there was a general alert, then my Captain got a message. He didn't say what it was."

"Then we will have to wait for Lieutenant Suhei to report in. I doubt he will be able to capture the Jackals, though."

"What do you mean?" asked the Lieutenant, but before I could answer a small, black bug fluttered in front of my face. It had large wings and a small body, and it flew over to Captain Hitsugaya. The young Captain lifted a finger for the insect to land on, and stared at it for a few seconds.

The bug then slowly flew away, and the Captain looked to me. "Spartan, we have them."

'Really?' "The Jackals?"

He nodded, "Yes, though only one. Lieutenant Suhei had to kill the others."

'Impressive' "Understood. What will you do with the captured one?"

Captain Hitsugaya crossed his arms. "Usually, we keep captured intruders locked up."

"You should just kill it." We all looked to Trow. "It will save you the food and space."

It was my turn to cross my arms. "You have a point. I have never successfully interrogated a Jackal."

Trow nodded, "And we Sangheili know Jackals. For most, nothing short of offering a whole ship can coax it into talking."

Lieutenant Matsumoto stepped in, "Wait, what makes you think we're having an interrogation?"

Both Trow and I stared at her, "Why else would you capture Covenant?"

"You're wasting resources by simply keeping it in a cell. It is a loss if you cannot gain information."

"Alright." said Captain Hitsugaya, annoyed, "If you want to interrogate it, I'll see if Ninth Division will let you."

"Thank you, Captain. We will leave you to arrange things."

We all turned away from the Shinigami and walked over to the band of Elite commandos, all of whom had formed a hollow semi circle. We stopped in the center.

One of Shal's personal lackeys spoke up, asking, "What now, Ranger?"

"We'll move into the secure part of this city, where we'll plan with the demons on eradicating the filth over there." said Shal detestably, pointing towards the mountains.

The young officer, its red armor sticking out from the commandos' black and navy, nodded. Shal then turned to me.

"Do you have a general plan, at least?"

I looked right back up at the Ranger. "Not yet, I first need to get a detailed look at the perimeter of the base. Given the numbers against us, we'll probably have to sneak in." I slowly lifted a hand to my chin. "We can't get all of those ships with just three furies, so we'll have to settle with leveling the actual base."

"What of the Prophet, demon?"

I tilted my head at the Elite, "What will you do if you find it?"

"Take him in, and make him answer for his betrayal."

"No outright killing it?"

"Only if he is close to escaping again." the alien squared itself with me. "Why? What do you want with him."

"Capture and interrogate it, likely followed with its execution."

I saw his eyes glitter under the helmet, "Then our goals are somewhat mutual."

"Somewhat..." I looked over to Captain Hitsugaya. He was conversing tensely with his Lieutenant and a couple of other subordinates. Said subordinates were taking cautious glances at the mixed band of Spartans, Elites, and Hunters.