Chapter 11: Zealously Guarded Secrets

My enemy. My long last enemy. I should have known our paths would have crossed. You were my strongest rival. My greatest weakness. You are the being that created me. You are the one who created us. Without you, there would be no Lost Company. There would be no point to my existence. - Message sent via Commander Gharst.

The hot, dusty air blew through the old, nearly abandoned hut made from ramshackle pieces of Covenant metal and wood. An elderly Sangheili watched as two younglings scampered around outside, playing with sticks, an attempt to mimic the Sangheili of old as seen on the holonet. He turned around to look at the dark hut behind, he could smell something that brought him back to a time of trials and tribulations, "Did you fetch the water?" He called out to the young Sangheili who were still battling one another.

They ceased their battle immediately bowing their heads. "No father…."

His eyes lingered to the hut. "Get going. While you're at it, see if you can catch dinner." The two sons lumbered off sluggishly. He gazed as he watched his two younglings chase each other down towards the local well some miles off.

He walked in, feeling a presence behind him. The air had a certain static to it as he approached the terminal. He felt a dark presence behind, one that he never expected to feel, yet after hearing the reports, it was only inevitable. "I know why you have come. You need not hide your assassins." He turned to face a very familiar Sangheili he thought he wouldn't see. A familiar Sangheili with metal mandibles and a dead white eye that contrasted with the lively emerald eye.

Around him stood black and yellow armor-clad humans, their helmets masking any and all emotion as they pointed their weapons aimed right at him. The intruder raised his hand causing them to lower weapons. "I just ask you not to harm my sons. They need not pay for the sins of their father. Your qualm is with me." The intruder nodded, his metallic mandibles pursed together. The old elite looked out towards the glass window in front of the computer display. "There is nothing I can say or do that will change your mind. I accept my fate, Gharst. But before you enact your revenge, let me ask you a question. I know you have no concept of honor but will you take pity on an old fool and grant him his last request?"

Gharst lumbered over him his eyes cold and calculating, looking over the older Sangheili. "You, Conciliar Teruk, should know that pity is earned, not given. Debts need to be collected, and those debts often fall upon children..." Gharst cocked his head inquisitively. "But I have a few a minutes to spare. Amuse me."

Teruk nodded in appreciation. "Thank you. Tell me, was it worth it? The time wasted to hunt them down, was it worth it? The innocents that you've killed, the worlds you've burned, all of those years wasted, was it worth it?"

Gharst mandibles pursed together as he smiled at the image of the dozen councilors he had hunted clear as day before his eye. "I've spent the last years of the war as an exhibit, a failure to the entire Covenant. The only reprieve I had was when Thel fell; a holiday celebrated in the prisons." He snarled, his mandibles snapping with metallic clangs. "I was mocked. Humiliated in front of the entire Covenant. I watched my men die as they forced me to watch the recordings day after day. AFTER. DAY. " He took a step closer, a mere few inches separating them. "I can still see them to this day; their corpses piling up. Even in sleep, I found no peace. I was broken."

The broken warrior started to tremble as his hands slowly clenched into fists. "The only thought that kept me alive was the day they would fall; when they would lose their power; when I could use them as they used me!" Gharst inhaled sharply with a hint triumph in his voice. "I did just that. Their deaths brought me closer to my goal. Their colonies fueled my campaigns. Their citizens filled my ranks. So yes. The time spent hunting them was well worth it." He turned to face Teruk with a sinister smirk.

"So not vengeance, but resources?"

Gharst turned to look out the window towards the sky. "The fact I commanded one thousand. I now command one hundred thousand. I commanded one ship, now I command a fleet. I don't have time to waste on trivial things. No. their colonies were rich in resources. The fact their greed allowed them to lead those colonies only made it much sweeter." He said smiling, a hint of fondness in his voice.

Teruk cocked his head, "Then why have you come here? This is a barren world, I command no soldiers, I lead no fleets. Only my sons will carry on my legacy."

"I like to make a spectacle for my troops. They enjoy the spectacle. I have to say Veronmee's colony was my best performance. But with you, I need a script to act upon." He turned to stare at Teruk. "During my tribunal, you were hesitant during the sentencing. You are..." He paused for a moment in thought. "An enigma to me. So tell me, why did you hesitate?"

Teruk lifted his hands up causing the humans to instantly raise their weapons at the old Elite. Gharst raised his hand causing them to slowly lower their weapons. "You are a cruel and wounded warrior, Gharst. I don't blame you for what you have become." A hand clasped Gharst's shoulder as Teruk shook his head in shame.

"When you stood before us, I did not see the being before me now. I saw a loyal and brave warrior. An honorable warrior who cared about those under his command, like a true Sangheili. I hesitated because I did not believe your actions affected the outcome of the battle. I did not see heresy or treason. I did not agree with the others, but nothing I said changed the outcome." He turned to face the intruder, pointing to himself. "You speak of prison? I was stripped of my rank as well. I was cast out, exiled to this planet where my descendants are to live till the end of their days." He pointed towards where his offspring were. "They were condemned for my crimes, for my disloyalty. You aren't the only still suffering from that decision long ago."

Gharst narrowed his eyes taking a step closer, towering over the frail Elite. "Your excuses do not grant you a reprieve from your sins." He turned to face the former Councilor. "I do however have another question; If you had the chance, would you change your decision?"

The elder Sangheili puffed his chest out proudly as if trying to relive the honor he brought upon himself as a youngling, "I might not have the spot on the council anymore but they did not strip me of my honor." The Councilior pounded his chest proudly, "No! I would not! I stand by the choice made that day. I stand by the path that I carved for myself. I stand by my consequences." He snarled as he grabbed the hilt of the blade, causing the humans to snap their guns on him, two little red dots appeared on the chest of the Elite.

He handed the hilt of the blade to Gharst. "Now do what have you come to do."

Gharst took the blade from the former councillor's blade. He activated the blade admiring the precision and craftsmanship of the hilt. It was an odd blade by Sangheili standards, tinged with a greenish hue. He deactivated the blade, giving the hilt back to Teruk. "Why…. why are you here if you are not kill me….?"

Gharst smiled at the older Elite's confusion, "I needed to see your eyes." His one golden-green eye stared into the amber eyes of the Councilor. "I wanted to see the pain in your eyes. I wanted to see the consequences of that day, long ago. I needed to hear you say it." Gharst took a step closer. "Now look into my eye. Tell me what you see….? He growled

Teruk cocked his head inquisitively. "What in the Great Beyond is this-"

"LOOK INTO THEM!" Gharst roared.

Teruk gazed into the eye. He saw a great abyss, a pure darkness that consumed all. He could see Sanghelios, he could see other planets consumed in fire. Millions. Billions of Sangheili murdered. Women enslaved, children bashed against the walls. Fleets and fleets of warships blotted out the stars of the solar systems.

"What…" Teruk breathed taking a step back. "What.. what do you want of me?"

"War is coming to your worlds. It will consume all those who resist. Stars will die, planets will be glassed, people turned to dust. When the smoke clears, the pieces will need to be picked up. The remnants will need guidance." He looked down at the Elite. "You are a historian. Let me ask you; when the Swords of Sanghelios fall, what will happen? Your people will need a leader-"

"THEY ARE YOUR PEOPLE TOO!" Teruk roared.

Gharst side-armed the old Sangheili tossing him to the ground. He pulled out his sword, activating the blade. He pointed the blade up to the sky to where his fleet was orbiting. "NO! My people are in the ships, above us. They are my Lost. They are my Company. They are my soldiers. They are my family. You say that the Sangheili are my people when they turned their back on me? No, I was liberated."

He pointed the blade at the old Elite's throat. "You are a prisoner by your own choice. I am giving you a chance to restore your honor. I give you a choice to redeem yourself to your fake gods. Run. Hide. For when the war passes, Sanghelios will need guidance, leadership. A clearer path than your supposed Great Journey." He pulled the blade back as Teruk scrambled back.

"W-w-what have you seen!? Have the gods cursed your mind?! YOU'RE INSANE!"

"I have seen the darkness. It is coming, and there is nothing we can do to stop it. This is your last chance. Run. Hide. Pray to your gods. For when war comes to your planets, you will be left with the smoldering remains of the Sangheili." He took a step forward, dragging the blade along the floor with a sadistic smile. "Now get out of my sight or I'll put on a show for my soldiers."

Teruk pulled himself up to his feet, backing up slowly. "You are cursed! May the gods have pity on your soul!" He shouted as he stormed out of the shack.

Gharst deactivated his blade watching the Elite run. "I HAVE NO SOUL! "Bahahahaha!" He heaved with a mighty laugher as he deactivated his sword, "Oh my I haven't laughed that hard in a long time."

He turned to face his two human comrades. "So how did I do?"

Two figures took off their helmets revealing the Branwens. "Not bad. 'Look into my eyes.' Such a classic." Qrow chuckled.

"A little too dramatic for my taste." Raven shrugged. "Killing him would have been easier."

Gharst nodded in agreement "You aren't wrong. But I love putting on a show... You have to admit, you enjoyed it"

Raven sighed but nodded, "A little." She admitted as Gharst walked over to the terminal inserting a data card.

"Veruk." He hailed through the comms.

A hologram of the former Zealot appeared over the terminal. "So who won?" He narrowed his eyes.

"I did!" Qrow jumped on the answer a little too suddenly causing both Raven and Gharst to look at him disapprovingly, "What?" He asked defensively. His sister shook her head, almost ashamed of her brother.

He felt a sharp jab to his side as his sister elbowed him. "Brother, you aren't honoring the bet." The stare by Gharst only confirmed that he had lost.

"No fair…" He pouted, "Next time I get to make the rules."

Gharst let out a throaty chuckle. "And I'd still win." He tapped the console several times as holographic displays. "Veruk, crack the firewalls. Let's see what secrets an elderly fanatic has been hiding from us."

Within a few seconds, he had access to all of the files. Religious texts, tax records, dig reports, history reports, and findings. Bingo. Pleased with himself, he hummed in satisfaction. "Veruk, transfer all of these files over."

"So, why'd we come here?" Raven asked.

"The colonists of Whispering Trees would not have been able to survive by themselves. They needed outside help. With the collapse of the Covenant and Sanghelios still recovering too weak to provide assistance, they had to go to another group. Normally, that'd be the Kig'Yar, but with little funding, they wouldn't be able to afford the spending. So they turned to one of the most unlikely sources: The Jiralhanae."

He could practically smell the shock and anger from the humans. "I thought your people hated them." His second in command asked

Gharst nodded. "The rivalry is an old one that goes back centuries. Ever before the Great Schism. I'm wondering why they would work with the Brutes."

"Even still, how does that help us?" The female asked.

"I want to take into consideration all variables. I have a sneaking suspicion"

"So either eliminate them or make them join us." She surmised.

The old commander nodded until he reached a set of files that required more decryption. Interesting, even in his most secure databases, he feels the need to encrypt these particular files. "Veruk. Can you get through these files."

A brief before pause before he came in. "I believe so. A quadruple trilinear algorithm? Might take awhile- oh wait… done." An image jutted out from the console taking Gharst aback. He hadn't seen that image in years. Two red triangles, one thin with sharp black outlines cutting through a much thicker upside down triangle.

"Atriox," Gharst growled as his hand reached for the hilt of his blade. He immediately ignited with the fury of lightning he hacked and slashed away at the console, letting his rage take control.

Raven and Qrow looked at each other, both deciding to take several paces back as molten metal flew in the air. After everything was said and done, the console was reduced to smoldering slag. "We're done here," Gharst grunted as he stormed out.

*BANG*

" Go."

The small figure moved forward, her carbine raised. She surged forward, scuttering like a crab. No target as her other teammates moved forward, all of them giving a thumbs up. Ruby pointed to the wall as Yang nodded and dropped her backpack on the ground. After a few moments, there was a small rectangle of plastic explosive stuck to the wall

The helmeted blonde gave a thumbs up. The four of them stacked up along side the wall as the commander gave a thumbs up.

*Click*

*BOOM!*

The hall was consumed in a bright light which all of their visors compensated for as a large chunk of the wall slammed into the next room with explosive force. Ruby surged forward followed by Yang and Blake, with Weiss covering the rear. Weiss held her SMG up. *BWRAP BWRAP BWARP* Weiss heard Blake's BR open fire as the white haired trained her weapon on an elite that had already collapsed. Weiss turned back to their makeshift entrance to see an elite pointing an EMP stun gun right at her.

She raised her SMG

"Con-"

She didn't get to finish her statement, her own shield gave out as three rounds slammed into her visor. Blake, Yang, and Ruby whirled around, opening fire on the Sangheili as he roared in anger, unleashing his own staccato.

His armor shimmered by the combined fire until his metal harness was covered in red paint as he slumped to the ground. "Target down!" Yang confirmed. Or so they thought until one of the doors was kicked down. Ruby whirled around with her carbine only to be met with a Sangheili with a large wooden blade in his hand.

She opened fire, his shield only shimmering for one brief second until she felt a crack in her side. She gasped for air as she was sent into the wall. "Another target!" Blake confirmed before the towering elite rampaged forward as Blake unleashed several bursts.

The wooden blade came crashing down onto her helmet with a loud crack as she collapsed to the ground as Yang whirled around. Throwing caution to the wind, the blonde charged the Elite only to be met with open air. She felt a sharp pang of pain in her back as all of the air in her lungs was forced out. Next thing she knew, she was on the ground. She quickly rolled to her side to be met with Bantu standing over her with a wooden sword pointed at her throat.

"Alright. Alright. That's enough." Taiyang voice echoed throughout the entire training room. Yang looked at a smiling elite, who seemed to have smug look about him.

"Bantu…" She took his hand to hoist herself up, "You better wipe that smug look off your face."

"I apologize Miss Xiao-Long…" He offered a hand, which she took.

"Guys! What was that!" Tai threw his hands up in the air heading towards them as the building gave way. "It was like you weren't even thinking. Yang… you charged Bantu when you still had half a clip." He knocked on her helmet. "What the hell was that?"

Yang's frown only grown. It would have been fine if Weiss didn't get distracted and performed her own role. "Dad…."

"He's right." Ruby ripped her helmet off as frustration filled her eyes. "You need to use your head." Yang blinked as she took her own helmet, relatively stunned. "You're better than this."

"I…" Her cousin stammered as the little commander whirled around to face Weiss.

"You need to watch our six. If this would have been a real mission, we'd all be dead."

The white haired girl nodded slowly as Ruby turned to face their last teammate. "Good job, Blake." Ruby shook her head as she brushed passed everyone, leaving a very stunned and shocked team. "Ruby! Hold on!" Tai cried out as he chased after her.

Yang whirled around, whipping her helmet on the ground causing everyone to take several steps back. "That was your fault." She stared past Blake, locking onto Weiss.

"My fault! You were one to charge like a Neanderthal!"

Yang stormed over to Weiss, her fists clenched before Blake stepped between them. "Yang, cool it." Her lilac flickered as her gaze slowly shifted to amber eyes. "We all make mistakes."

Yang was beyond angry right now before Blake had a calming effect on the fiery blonde, even after their little disagreement. "Let's run it again," Weiss suggested, an idea that Yang could get behind.

"For Ruby's sake." Blake nodded in agreement.

Yang loaded a fresh mag and pulled back the receiver with a satisfying click. She turned to Bantu and his fellow his Elites. "Would you guys be willing to run it again?"

"Of course. It is encouraging to see young warrior spirits,". To which his compatriots hummed in approval.

Yang picked up her helmet, placing it over her head as she gave Blake and Weiss a thumbs up. "No mistakes this time."

Ruby kept walking down the hallway with her helmet clutched in her hand. She failed. She failed as a team leader. Her team broke down. She had hoped that training together would smooth over tensions between everyone. Yet when it came to combat, her team broke down. When it came to mere training, fights broke out. What was she to do? What would happen when they actually when they got into real combat?

The thud of her boots filled the hallway as the angry commander ignored her comrades who wisely stepped aside. She turned the corners, heading up the ramps as her stomach growled. She made her way to the mess hall which was serving lunch. She grabbed a tray and loaded it with cookies, which thankfully, the human chefs knew how to make.

She plopped down at the end of the hall as she rested her head on her hand. She took a cookie and bit into it. It tasted… off. Almost bitter.

"You mind if I sit here?" She looked up to see a worried uncle. She nodded as the man sat down from across her.

He reached across the table and yanked a cookie from her tray. "Not too bad," he said with a loud audible crunch.

She looked up, almost pouting, "I don't like them… they taste different."

"Stop eating them then," Ruby glared at her uncle for such outlandish statement. "You don't want to ruin them with bad emotions."

She felt his hand reach out, covering her own. "You wanna talk about it?" He asked.

She sighed as she looked up with a look of sadness and confusion. "Uncle Tai, I don't know if I'm ready to lead…"

"What makes you say that, kiddo?"

Ruby withdrew her hand as she tapped her fingers together in thought. "I just can't…. if we get taken out in training, then we aren't going to survive our first mission. I… I mean… you saw us fighting; we can't even work together. I'm going to get them all killed."

Tai nodded understandingly while taking a bite from a cookie. "That's a normal fear. Something we can all understand… but you can't think like that."

"But-"

Tai waved his finger. "No buts, that kind of thinking will already compromise you and your team. You need to go in with confidence in yourself and your team."

The young girl let out a sigh as she rested her head on her arms. "How can I be confident in my team when they can't even trust each other…?"

"Well sometimes, if you have faith in them, they'll have faith in each other." Taiyang said as he finished his cookie. He stood up from the table as he pulled out his holopad. "I have a meeting with Gharst, I'll see ya in a bit."

Ruby sat there pondering the words before she pushed away her tray. She picked herself up and grabbed her helmet as she made her way down to the training room. As she reached the door, she could hear gunfire. Odd, must be someone else in there.

As the door opened way she found her team suited up standing over three elites. "Nice job guys!" Yang exclaimed as she high fived everyone. This was the last thing the young commander expected. She didn't expect her team to be high fiving let alone training together without her. She couldn't hide her smile.

"Ruby." Blake nodded through her helmet.

"Hey, guys, I'm… I'm sorry… for leaving like that… It's just."

Everyone took off their helmets as the Elites picked themselves up and headed towards equipment room. "Ruby, you don't need to worry." Their newest member, Weiss stepped forward. "We're going to try our best to work together." Yang offered a thumbs up with Blake giving a slight nod of the head.

"Group hug!" Ruby call as she enforced the order. "I promise to make this the best team I can."

Qrow stretched rather happily while out of his armor. That stuff was pretty heavy and that arid rock did not help in the least bit. He looked over to his sister, who looked just as out of it with her hair even more out of control from that desolate heat and sweat. He didn't understand how Gharst could live in that kind of heat in his armor. "Where is everyone?" Raven asked as she drummed her fingers on the table impatiently.

"Well… Summer-"

"IS HERE!" The shorter woman panted as she walked, nearly doubled over as her white cloak covered her head. "Sorry… was in the middle of reeducating the new recruits…" the shorter woman explained as she plopped down beside her husband. "How was the mission?"

The twins looked at one another. "It was intense… Gharst had a moment." Qrow whispered.

"I think that's what the meeting is about." Raven as she continued to drum her fingers. "Speaking of Gharst, where is he? And where is that blonde monkey…"

"I know Tai was helping out with some training with Ruby's team, but they should have been done by now…" Summer said as she checked the time with her holopad.

The door parted to reveal the source of the heavy clunking. Gharst thudded in followed closely behind by Veruk. "Where is Tai." Gharst demanded as he looked over to the empty seat.

"Sir, he was just training with Team RWBY." Raven covered for her husband. Something was off, Gharst was never this serious when it was just STRQ.

"It appears that some humans are not as punctual as others…" Veruk chuckled. "Especially that blonde ape..."

Gharst simply took his seat as the doors parted ways to reveal the last missing human. The blonde also seemed to be running as he was red in the cheeks and slightly out of breath. Seeing Gharst was already sitting down, he snapped to attention with his fist to his chest, "Sir, I'm sorry I was late. I was helping my niece with the responsibilities of command."

Gharst gave a wave of the hand, "Family comes first. Don't worry about it. Please take a seat."

Tai bowed his head thankfully and sat beside his wife while Qrow and Summer gave him a worried concern. Seeing this, he gave them both a thumbs and a reassuring smile which put them at ease.

"We have a choice that faces us. One that could decide the fate of the company." Gharst finally spoke up tapping a holo map. A projection of the galaxy showed their location, north of the galaxy's core, near the edge of a light blue section that covered a large portion of the galaxy. "As you can see, we are on the fringe of the Swords' space."

Suddenly another color emerged, a deep burgundy red to the northeast of the galaxy. "This is Jirhanae territory, under the control of a faction known as the Banished."

Everyone nodded as they followed along. Yellow blips popped up in between the area which was essentially no man's land between the two factions. "These are world's that we have influence over." Three yellow blips with one in human territory which was shaded either in blue or green to mark UNSC or Confederate areas of control. "Now… the Banished could pose a useful ally and tool or a terrible enemy, an enemy that we cannot ignore considering how their forces were the backbone of this entire sector in dealing with the Cortana Crisis."

"Wipe them out," Raven said as she made up her mind. "If they're such a dangerous enemy, wipe them out and take their weapons and ships. We'll pick up the survivors if they want to join or just kill them. We can't risk taking them on."

Gharst nodded as he tapped one of his mandibles in thought as Summer voiced her concern. "That'll take time and effort and most importantly lives. Do we really want to do that?" Summer interjected. "We can't afford to go to war with such a powerful enemy."

"You're right, but we do have the element of surprise." Raven countered from across the table. "We can break their will with a surprise strike and use and hit and runs. We will widdle them down to nothing until they are forced to surrender"

"At the cost of what? A few ships? A few thousand lives? We can't replace them, Raven. Do the Jirahanae support these…. Banished?"

Gharst nodded. "They do, their leader is the most cunning enemy I've ever faced." Everyone turned to face Gharst in surprise.

"Wait, you know their leader? And you fought him?" Tai asked disbelievingly.

Gharst nodded as he closed his eyes. "I did. He was why I was court-martialed. I refused to walk into a blatant ambush that Atriox had set up. Everything that has happened is because of Atriox. We were formed because of him."

A heavy silence filled the air. Raven and Qrow looked at one another seemingly able to communicate with their thoughts, while Summer seemed to shrink if that were even possible. Tai simply sat impassively.

It was Tai that broke silence again. "Why?" He sounded almost angry, "Why would you wanna join forces with him?"

Gharst hummed in an amused tone."My dear Tai, our goals are not so different. We both want to challenge the status quo. Time made us an enemy, though it seems to be giving us all a second chance."

"I say yes. We reach out to them." Summer voted.

"I say fight them," Raven said, nearly glaring at Summer.

Gharst looked over to Qrow who sat with arms folded as if he wet he was deep in thought. "Qrow, maybe your insight would be valued here."

Red eyes looked up. "Well...it wouldn't be likely he would openly agree to meet with us. Even still, we shouldn't risk it. We need to get him to meet us on our terms."

"We need to show them that we mean business." Tai agreed with a firm nod.

"We need to get his attention, give him a taste of resisting us, then we open negotiations," Qrow suggested.

Gharst nodded, seemingly pleased. "Can we agree to this?" All four of STRQ raised their hands. "Good." The commander nodded, seemingly pleased with the outcome. "Qrow, assemble the fleets, we'll be regrouping at point 2-56-94." A small red box appeared on the map, just outside Jiralhanae territory. "Raven take inventory of weapons and ships. Summer, you're in charge of logistics and communication. Tai, you're in charge of drills."

STRQ rose and saluted. "One more thing." Everyone froze to look at their commander. "I want Team RWBY to be on recon."

Summer's silver eyes went wide in horror. "B-B-But sir,"

"It is time for the younglings to lead. You allowed Ruby to lead her first mission on Atlas, it is time for Team RWBY to contribute to the cause."

Qrow nodded, "Summ, he's right, they can't be kids forever."

Summer looked away as she backed down from the elite. "Yes sir."

Gharst wasn't completely unsympathetic. "I'll train them myself. Under me, you'll have nothing to fear."

Everyone knew that war was coming. The old man told us right from the beginning with his whole "We'll burn them all." I still remember that day heh, a lot of fun. People always point out that history has a pivotal moment, I can't say I agree with that. We are the ones that create history. We shaped history with our hands, our guns, and our blood. It's always blood... history is always created with blood... -Second in Command, Qrow Branwen

A/N

My beautiful friends! GREETINGS! I MISSED ALL OF YOU!

I won't lie I got sidetracked and I will keep getting sidetracked lol.

So... Gharst is a little dramatic and likes to put on displays... scary to think that butchering planets is just him acting... I wonder what he is like when he isn't acting... yikes... And Team RWBY... I thought we needed to smooth some things over. This was meant to show that they are starting to come together and work together. The last chapter it was more personal level, this on a professional, but slightly personal level. And those who have been wondering... Atriox is now confirmed to be in the story and I've got some big plans for the big boy!

Also before anyone starts calling me out... I'm making some assumptions that are not Halo Canon... sorry but I'm not. I see the Banished a principal fight force that aided in the Cortana Crisis. After the Crisis, a hesitant truce was called as Atriox consolidated power in Brute territory. Also... I saw the Halo Wars 2 Trailer for the Flood, much excite!

Officially: We are done with Arc 1 on to Arc 2 which will be a significant time skip and with new characters! I'm excited!

I know this chapter was bit of filler, sorry guys. Though I have a question: What did you guys think of the chapter? Let me know your thoughts, reactions, predictions, questions, criticisms, any and all are welcomed!

Reviews!

Red October: Always a pleasure my friend! It has most certainly been awhile! Thank you, hopefully, you enjoy the story.

Rebounder1904: Master Chief and the UNSC will play a huge role later on!