John-117 stood stiffly in the bridge of the Unyielding Faith, trying to ignore the half-an-army of Elites surrounding him. He felt... "weird" standing within the bridge of an assault carrier without the intention of blowing it up. He felt too tense to call it awkwardness but it felt too foreign to be unnerving.

But he didn't make his discomfort visible, staying unmoving as he observed monitors around him. Most of them were filled with alien language that he couldn't understand, but he didn't care as long as he was distracted. He was surprised the Elites paid little attention to him, probably because they were intentionally avoiding him out of fear or too busy with their duties. Once again John didn't care.

Finally John heard a sound behind him, instinctively turning around. He was greeted with the Arbiter, who was still adorning his new armor, although now his skinned-cape was gone. John was surprised he himself started the conversation.

"Seems you've been busy," the Spartan commented. He really had no idea what the Elite had been doing the last two years. So it was a surprised to the soldier he would really say something like that. But he felt inclined to say something, especially if it could

The Sangheili only snorted before setting next to supersoldier, allowing any observer to compare their heights. "A great deal has happened on my homeworld. We end the Prophets' madness only to turn against each other. I hope to bring an end to that by taking Jul 'Mdama's life."

John glanced away. Humph, it looks like he did miss a lot. And it looks like he was headed straight back into war. Obviously the soldier didn't mind that much. He was a Spartan. The man stared out the window of the bridge, watching high-speed plane of slipspace. He thought out loud. "Where are we going?"

"Virl 'Sadum has provided us coordinates to his forces' current location. In fact, we have gotten word they have already intercepted 'Mdama." Suddenly the Arbiter glanced at his companion. "The humans should be with them."

The Chief didn't visibly react to the report, but suddenly he felt a strange feeling in his stomach. Excitement? Anxiety? Both were foreign to him. He did his best to ignore it and continued the conversation with business.

"Jul mentioned the Covenant was looking for Forerunner artifacts," he reported.

Thel 'Vadam stared thoughtfully. "Not surprising, I suppose."

"…And that there's technology more powerful than Halo."

The Arbiter glanced at the Spartan suddenly, like he was panicked or it was a disbelieving glare. "What could be more powerful than Halo?"

"You tell me."

The two went silent then, the Chief continuing to stare at the alien monitors while Thel remained in his thoughts. Finally the silence was interrupted when a short alien alarm went off, which John figured was alerting that the ship was about to exit slipspace. He was correct as suddenly the white plane disappeared and he could feel the ship slow to a halt.

John half-expected to see a dark void take the plane's place, but instead he saw multiple objects crowding the space before them accompanied by brilliant flashes of light. A battle. A big one, too. But before the Chief could inspect the scene anymore, Cortana let out a loud gasp.

"Chief, look at that."

John was about to ask what she meant, until suddenly he saw it too. At first he mistaken it for an assault carrier just by its size before his brain said it was a human cruiser. But he was wrong on both accounts. It was definitely human, but it was not a ship he ever seen before.

"Is that… Infinity?" Cortana continued, her voice low in awe.

"Infinity?" John echoed.

"She was just a prototype before we left. She was to be massive and the first of her kind. I never expected the project to be completed so quickly."

The AI went silent in admiration and monitoring the development, allowing the Chief to look back at the starship.

"Infinity, huh?"

Ian gritted his teeth as plasma continued to surround him. Even though he hadn't been hit, he could the intense heat of nearby bolts starting to sear his skin. With another seethe, the boy planted his left shoulder onto the ground and held a plasma rifle around the corner of the barrier that protected him. He had to use both hands to hold the large weapon, but he was able to pull the trigger to release a volley of liquid fire onto a stray Jackal before him.

The blue plasma struck its shield, forcing it to turn crimson. Finally a stray bolt struck the Jackal's arm, having it recoil with a hiss of agony. The action caused the alien to become fully exposed, allowing Ian to finish it with another burst of fire.

However the human wasn't allow to celebrate his victory as suddenly two more Jackals took its place, forcing him to return to his cover. The roar of plasma was just as great as when the battle started. Whenever a Covenant soldier was taken down, another would happily take its place. And the Elites were not as renewable. They had already lost two, and a couple more were injured, both extremely close to choose suicide rather than loss of pride.

Ian clenched his jaws in frustration. "This isn't going well!"

"So I've noticed," Glacier's voice retorted as the commander shot from his shelter.

Ian was able to give a room another scan, reluctantly noticing all the doors were now locked. However the boy saw one door was within an alcove, providing some cover.

"If you get me to that door, I can get us out of here," he reported.

Glacier followed his gaze and saw what he was up to. "Very well. Lek, Ra'um, assist him!"

At his word, two Sangheili bodyguards appear by Ian's side. Ian balanced into a crouch and observed his plan of action. A swarm of Jackals still crowded the room and ambushers still fired from above, but there was a ring of barriers by the perimeter of the room, all the way to the door. Ian attempted Sangheili to assure that his allies understood him.

"We approach on the left," he could only make out. However the aliens understood his order, making the same observations he did. After lending one his plasma rifle, Ian barked an order to move.

The human kept his head down and danced around flying plasma as his teammates fired into the fray, killing a handful at a time. Ian was amazed he skidded to the door unscathed, and both of the Sangheili alive. One continued to fire at their enemies and the other shielded Ian as the boy neared the door.

Like before, he closed his eyes and extended an alien instinct within his mind. Using those instincts, he willed the locked door to open. However nothing happened. Ian snapped his eyes open in shock.

"What?" he gasped.

Suddenly Glacier materialized within the alcove, able to survive the assault as well. "What's wrong?"

"I-It's not working!"

Ian shut his eyes tight again, trying to drown out the noise of battle and his racing thoughts. Was he too stressed?

"What do you mean?" Glacier interrogated, but Ian was ignoring him.

The boy was deathly still for several moments, leaving a fearful tension in the air. Suddenly Ian snapped his eyes open again with an audible curse.

"They locked it with the system!" he gasped.

"What?" 'Sadum pressed.

"The door wasn't closed manually, and the controls aren't local. They locked it remotely and then hid the mechanism within their network!" Glacier was still confused, but Ian was already turning on him. "I'll have to hack their firewalls and override their controls."

"Can you do it?"

The boy's eyes narrowed. "I'll try. But it'll take a few seconds."

Glacier didn't see "try" very comforting, but knew it was the best the human could offer. He was still learning, which probably why he couldn't simply override the controls without effort. How it was locked unnerved the commander. The Covenant knew Ian was with them, and knew his weaknesses. If he didn't know better, Glacier would assume there was a spy. But no, 'Mdama was that ingenious.

The commander growled as he vowed to slay the traitor personally. However another Sangheili, Lek, was still displeased.

"What are you? Magic or a construct?" he demanded rudely.

Ian growled as he wasted precious concentration on translating, but he replied with one of the first phrases he learned. "Shut up!"

The pair of Sangheili then waited anxiously as Ian returned to being motionless, but occasionally muttering and narrowing his eyes. The boy took long enough for the other Sangheili to join them and continue the stalemate for several more moments.

At last, Ian awoke from his stupor with a cough, but still shouted. "There!"

At his acclamation, the door glowed blue and opened with a ring. The Sangheili gave sighs of relief and didn't hesitate to lunge through the portal. Glacier however noticed Ian swaying, quickly planting a hand on his back to steady him. The boy's eyes were narrowed and glazed. Glacier considered helping him walk or even carry him, but suddenly Ian spoke up in a low voice.

"I-I saw him," he reported, talking like he was in a trance. "I saw Jul. He's leaving." Suddenly the boy shot a glare at Glacier, signaling he was more alert but the Sangheili wasn't so sure. "We have to stop him."

"And we will," Glacier assured. "First we must assist our comrades."

"He'll get away!"

Suddenly the teenager's determined glare focused on the monitor next to the door.

"Gotta stop him," he whispered.

Finally Glacier saw through his trance to understand his intentions. "Ian, no—"

It was too late. Ian ripped from the alien's grasp and lunged for monitor, hand extended. Glacier was able to let out one more cry.

"Don't!"

Without warning, the moment Ian touched the monitor, a brilliant green flash filled the air. Glacier actually had to shield his eyes with a wince. When the light faded, Ian was gone.

In the same instant, the young human reappeared on top of some crates occupying a hallway near the hangers.

"What up, Jul," he greeted. "Long time no see."

He was face-to-face with Jul 'Mdama with only a split second before the Covenant leader threw his head up in outraged roar. Without warning a long, broad energy sword materialized in the alien's hand, and he didn't hesitate to swipe it at the interloper. It was only thanks to hours of training that Ian had to reflexes to dodge. He leapt off the crates and skidded onto floor before leaping out of Jul's stabbing range.

The Sangheili was wearing completely different armor than before, even having a hologram across his helmet. Ian's instincts identified it as the Forerunner symbol for artillery. No doubt Jul had chosen it for show. The boy was surprised the Sangheili seemed taller, but it was probably just the armor. The alien still had his lifeless gray eyes of fury, but Ian noticed they were much darker than their last meeting.

All in all, the Covenant leader looked much more intimidating, and Ian felt his nerve quickly evaporating. Especially since his limbs grew weaker each second.

His trance was interrupted as 'Mdama let out another roar and slashed his sword again. Ian leapt back again, but suddenly his legs wobbled and he stumbled. It was the perfect opening for Jul.

Suddenly Ian felt a solid object struck his chest hard, forcing him into the metal wall and slamming his head even harder. The darkness immediately swallowed majority of his vision and he felt his legs give out. With a groan, the boy slid to the ground, trying to keep his eyes open.

His hearing was filled with the loud breathing of Jul's agitated panting, sounding more like a beast than a sentient being. The ground reverberated with his stomps. Finally through the darkness, Ian eyed the dark silhouette near him, and the sounds grew louder. Unable to move, Ian only closed his eyes though he still sensed his surroundings. He felt a presence loom over him before suddenly there was a loud snort. There was more stomping, but the sounds were quickly fading away.

Finally Ian moaned again as unconsciousness captured him at last.

Yeah, sorry if the first confrontation with Jul 'Mdama short and wasn't very climatic. But I wanted to give him some screen time and an excuse for Ian to use that "what up" line. XD I was originally thinking of giving Ian a grenade or something, but considering it was close quarters with a giant alien, thought it was too close to suicidal. So getting poor Ian's ass kicked it was.

So anyone recognize what just happened? I'm sure some of you have come up with your own theories and others are confused and demanding answers, but don't worry, I explain it next chapter.

Speaking of which, I hate to tell you guys, but the following chapters have not been written yet. Along with that, I have started school again and I have other projects that demand my attention. So as a warning, I will probably be unable to keep a solid update schedule, but I will update when I can. For now anticipate an update every two weeks at least, and if not, I will try my best to put a chapter up within the month. Pardon the inconvenience.