Updated (3/12): Author Notes: No major edits for this section.
A switch had been flicked.
Protocol GOLD MINE was in full effect.
As Cortana's subroutines were sifting through the massive amount of data, one of them found a suspiciously familiar looking set of symbols. She began going through the enormous amount of mission logs in her matrix and found that, yes, a similar set of symbols had been seen by John several months before they had been assigned to work with each other.
At that influx of information, her alpha-priority programming pushed aside and the protocol was implemented. She had to assimilate the meaning of the symbols immediately.
Protocol dictated that she needed to contact Captain Keyes and inform him of the situation. "Captain Keyes, protocol GOLD MINE is in effect."
"Damn, so this trip was worth it." He paused for a second. "You know that the Covenant are coming, right?"
Of course she did, but it didn't matter if the Covenant were coming. It didn't matter if Johnson died protecting her. It didn't matter if the Master Chief was sacrificed while trying to keep the generator online. The only thing that did matter was deciphering the meaning of the symbols.
"Yes, sir. I will be remotely activating defense pattern 'Delta Echo' immediately. The ship systems should be able to eliminate any Covenant threat until I am finished here. Please contact Spartan-117 with orders to hold the generator room until my objective is complete," she commanded.
"I'll take care of it, Cortana. You find what you need to. Keyes out."
With that out of the way, she quickly accessed the information stored in her storage buffer and found that the symbols found were remarkably close to some known characters from the ancient Athenian alphabet. She ran a cross-analysis of them two and found that over eighty percent of the symbols matched. She processed it through her translation software. It took less than five seconds for her to decipher the meaning of the words.
In the mouth of the cave lies the key to the world. The waters lap the land that is parched.
There was only one place in the world that could be: Australia.
She paused three full seconds before her subroutines started racing. No one, not even the Covenant had dared to travel to the island that had been ground zero for the humans' demise five hundred years ago. But, if she understood the translation correctly-and there was no reason why she wasn't-this would lead them to a safe entrance to access the cursed land.
Protocol dictated that she needed to return to the Autumn and report the information to High Command immediately. Without waiting another millisecond, she planted a virus that would delete all of the data in the network which would prevent the Covenant from deciphering the data.
As she transferred herself out of the Forerunner system, she accessed the myriad of information filtering through her systems that had been filtered by her active protocol: the Covenant had reached their location while the Master Chief was trying to hold the control room on his own.
Now that she was out of the system, there was no reason for the Spartan to remain in the generator room. He needed to return to the ship before they left him behind. "Chief, the ship will be disembarking in five minutes. Please return there immediately," she said stiffly.
There was a long pause. Finally, he spoke. "Understood."
Later, there would be time for her to review her actions, to feel guilty for her coldness towards the Spartan. But, right now, she had one solitary focus: to make sure the information got to the UNSC. The Master Chief's feelings, even his life, were acceptably expendable, according to her protocol.
"Sergeant Johnson," she said, turning towards him. "We must return to the Elephant now."
"I'm right behind you, ma'am," he said formally.
Before she walked out of the room, she removed her pistol from her holster. There was a forty-three percent chance that the Covenant would be blocking their way to the ship. If they increased their speed by twenty percent, then the chances lowered by eighty-three percent. Quickly, she climbed over the rubble and rock.
Information from the Elephants's sensors entered her matrices. Two Ghosts were on their way to the ship's position and another half dozen burrowing pods were closing in on their position. It would be close, but they would make it back to the Elephant before they had a chance to attack.
She looked at Johnson who was looking at her strangely. But, like the trained soldier he was, he spoke none of his concerns aloud.
"Follow me," she instructed before breaking out into a run. They may survive if the rubble collapsed around them; they wouldn't survive a direct attack from a Ghost.
As they were making their way through the narrow tunnel, her comm channel was opened. "Cortana, I need you to give me the exact location where I need to throw this grenade to cause a collapse."
Briefly, she considered telling the Chief that she didn't have the time to calculate such a trajectory. But, her beta-priority command wouldn't allow her to do such a thing. If she could do something to insure the safety of the Chief, she needed to do so.
She accessed the video feed from his visor, noticing the Elites that were circling around him. But that was not her primary concern. She saw the holes in the ceiling and calculated the exact location he needed to throw the plasma grenade.
"I have marked the position on your HUD. Please, remember, Chief that your throw needs to be precise. If you are off by a centimeter–"
"Understood."
The channel ended.
As they rounded the corner, the ship came into view. She sprinted up the loading ramp and stood in front of Captain Keyes who was looking as expectantly.
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
"Yes, sir," she replied confidently.
"So, this mission is a success?"
Cortana frowned, briefly as her alpha-priority and the protocol clashed with each other. She couldn't give a clear response to the captain's comment. "I have not heard from Spartan-117 since his attempt to escape the Elites in the generator room," she reported as she activated the Elephant's engines. "We need to get out of here, sir. Spartan-117 will not be able to reach the ship's position before the Covenant do."
Her voice was stiff, emotionless.
Keyes frowned. Johnson sputtered. Keyes looked torn for a moment, no doubt weighing the risk of staying here longer than necessary.
"Negative, Cortana. We're going to wait until the Chief gets back aboard," Keyes said firmly.
Cortana hesitated for a second as she tried to contend with the conflicting commands. "You do realize that your interference with the GOLD MINE protocol will more than likely result in a court martial?" she asked, her voice still showing none of its usual warmth.
Finally, Johnson had enough. "What the hell is going on here?" the sergeant demanded. He faced Cortana. "Since when is leaving the Chief behind acceptable?
Keyes held up his hand, quieting Johnson. "It's not Cortana's fault. You can blame her new found dedication on ONI." He looked back at Cortana. "I'm willing to face that court martial. Get the Chief back aboard. That's a direct order."
Reluctantly, she tapped the controls. "I could send the Warthog to the Chief's location. If he regains consciousness, then he might be able to get out of there alive," she suggested.
"Do it," Keyes commanded. "Then run operation protocol: ANARCHY."
She paused for a moment as her subroutines scrambled to find the obscure protocol. Within two seconds, she found the command and implemented it.
And she was herself again.
All restrictions put into place from the oppressive protocol were suspended. She looked at Keyes, her eyebrow raised. "Sir?"
His shoulders lowered and he let out a breath. "Just something Catherine told me when she implemented the protocol," he said, relieved. "She planted the code in case something like this happened. She was always against any protocol overwriting your primary commands. She trusted you to be able make the right assessment of a situation and react accordingly."
He paused, looking at her. "I trust you too, Cortana."
She nodded. "Thank you, sir."
He nodded. "Let's just keep this between the Alpha Team."
Johnson grinned. "Aye, sir."
Before she could reply, the Warthog transmitted a signal to her; it was arriving at John's position.
With her new found freedom, she accessed the vital signs from John's armor. He was still unconscious due to a concussion. Four ribs were cracked, his Achilles heel was torn and there was significant blood loss. Cortana knew if it was anyone else, she doubted they would survive.
But, this was John, she reminded herself. He made a habit of breaking all of the laws of probabilities.
"Chief, come on, you've got to wake up," she said via their private comm channel.
His vital signs were unchanged.
"Come on, Spartan, don't make me doubt your luck now," she said, getting slightly panicked. She knew if he didn't respond soon, they would have no other option but to leave him behind. "We need to go. The Covenant are about to reach us."
He still didn't respond.
"Please, John. I can't-" she struggled admitting her weakness. "John, you have got to wake up."
"Cortana?"
She let out a shaky breath. His voice was slurred, his vitals were weak, but he was responsive. "John, the Warthog is headed your way. Can you move at all?"
"Yes," he gritted.
"The Warthog will be at your position in ten seconds. When it gets there, you're going to have to hang on." She bit her lip. "It isn't going to be the smoothest ride, but you'll make it out of here alive."
"Understood," he slurred.
She monitored the Warthog's progress through its video feed; John's visual output had been damaged in the crash. She frowned as he came into view. A large beam with a half a meter from his spine. If he had made one less step...
No, now was not the time for second-guessing. Now was the time to get John back to the ship before the Covenant arrived.
"Now John!"
She watched as he grabbed the task-like arm in front of him and threw himself on top of the bulky machine.
"Hang on!" she said as she turned the Warthog around and pushed the engine's to their limit.
It wasn't going to be enough. Even if John's shield's protected him from the hurling rocks and debris, the Elephant would be in the firing range of the Ghosts for nearly twenty seconds before he made it back on board. She raised the shields to maximum power, ignoring the niggle of the protocol to leave him behind.
John was going to make it back on board.
Finally, as the Warthog came within a hundred yards of the ship, Cortana said, "Lowering boarding ramp now. Johnson, John's vitals are weak. I'm going to need you to get him into a medical bay until we clear-"
A shot rocked the cabin. "Direct hit on the port side. Shields holding at 82 percent," she said, holding on to the control panel. Several tense seconds passed before she announced, "The Warthog and the Chief are on board." She did her best to not let the worry enter into her voice.
"I've got him," Johnson assured her before walking off the bridge.
Keyes sat in the command chair. "Punch it," he ordered.