Nicholas Swift had watched the Spartan emerge from the wreckage at a safe distance. He had been deployed right before his own ship fell into line for the jump; the rest of his unit was far away, elsewhere, and he was alone. Or, he had been, until he saw the Spartan come out of the eviscerated hull on hands and knees and then roll onto its back for a long while. He didn't know if the Spartan was in full functioning condition, and the longer it remained motionless on the ground, the more he began to wonder if the man hadn't died from the shock of the landing.

"ODST November Sierra Zero Four Three reporting back to UNSC Infinity. Do you read, over?"

There was nothing.

He had abandoned his pod, thankful that it had landed behind a large smattering of desert trees, and made his way up the hill just enough to take cover and observe. His deployment had been a last-minute effort by the hands of Lasky just before everyone had jumped to avoid being blown apart by Covenant fire. He'd watched the ship that contained the Spartan, the Elite and the doctor (whose role he still wasn't sure about) get hit multiple times and make a move for the planet below. He even saw it light up as it hit atmo, but then it vanished amidst the wild electrical storm that formed a thick blanket around the world.

Lasky's command had been very last minute – as in, he watched the ship veer towards the planet, and he instantly heard the shouted orders over his com. "Swift! Go after them, now!" He'd turned, made a motion to his commanding officer indicating he was required elsewhere, and then popped the release on his pod and felt the dropping sensation as the world beneath him hurtled up at an alarming rate.

And now. Now, he sat behind some rocks in the shade, wondering if the Spartan's life had been over before it had begun. He had no idea who was in that suit, and he didn't particularly have any interest in finding out, but it did pain him to know that there had been several unnecessary deaths all in the name of a war that had been raging on for so long people had stopped caring about solving the problem. He looked over the rock, squinting.

The sunlight, he'd observed, was one-hundred percent artificial. Nothing could penetrate the storm; clearly not transmission, so he doubted the ability of his human eyes. It seemed to radiate from the horizon, almost mimicking the sun of Earth in a way, but even his HUD told him it was fake; some combination of light waves that operated on certain frequencies – and there he'd stopped reading.

There was a movement, and then finally, with much held breath, Nick saw the Spartan sit up. He watched it raise its hands to its helmet, shake its head a little, then push off of the ground. It moved in a circle around the ship, most likely surveying the damage, and then disappeared on the far side for a while. Eventually it came around and went into the wreckage, and from there he lost sight of it again for a while – until something else caught his attention.

There was a Covenant ship inbound. He grit his teeth and readied himself to run. He'd seen Spartans fight before, but he would never bank on someone else's skills before his own until he'd seen them in action, and right now he was pretty sure that the Spartan had suffered brain damage given how it moved around the ship. Then, suddenly, it came out of the wreckage with a cache of weapons stuck to its back, leg, and anywhere else it could get them to hold, a burst of speed jetting it towards where the rolling terrain gave way to mountain.

He realized at that moment that there was obviously no brain damage, but rather a very strong need to clear away from the wreckage as quickly as possible, and if he didn't do the same, he'd have much more to worry about than possible head trauma. He scrambled up the hill a little, just far enough that he could keep high ground if he needed to, and swapped his MA5 for his pistol. He crouched down to the ground and steadied his weapon, using the zoom through the viewfinder to survey the scene below.

Oh, fuck me, he thought to himself. The first one out of the ship wore dark burnished armor and carried something on its back that looked like an oversized mallet. It sparked blue energy from the top of it, and the sight of it made him a little nauseous. Bravo Kilos.

He watched as three more dropped down next to the War Chieftain, thankful only to see the ship take off. Evidently whoever had sent them assumed that the rather capable commanding Brute and his small extermination squad could handle whatever they had shot down. He still didn't even know, and he didn't like that the oversized rhino-monkeys knew more than he did at the moment. They all began making noise at eachother and moving around the ship. His nausea only increased – he'd had a nano implant that allowed him to understand other languages as they hit the UNSC database. He could understand very clearly what they were saying, and it was mostly about how tasty the dead men in the ship would be, under the right cooking conditions.

Nick wouldn't even have the implant, or the displeasure of knowing what those asshole Bravos were saying, if it hadn't been for the time he'd spent in New Mombasa with the ODST unit sent in to clear the city out, and covertly rescue the Huragok from beneath it. Vergil, as he was called, had taken to him, and it had been the Huragok that had influenced the push for nano-implants with language additions for some of the ODSTs. Unfortunately, most of them deigned not to be like the Spartans, as most considered them freaks of nature, and so Swift had volunteered quietly, seeing only benefits from the advancement.

Of course, it didn't do much for his appetite when all he got to hear was rhino-monkeys talking about how to cook humans. His mouth twisted into a frown as he remembered himself, and his training, and steadied his head – and his hand. He waited until they had all started to give chase to the Spartan, then quickly worked on picking off the lesser Brutes with precision. Two of them dropped like rocks, two headshots each all that had been necessary, but the third had spotted him and thrown up a protective shield before he could take the second shot.

Fuck it all, he thought to himself. He didn't want to do close-quarters battle with the bastards. Not if he didn't have to – and yet, that was how it looked. He vaulted over the rock, switching to his MA5 as quickly as he could while he darted towards it. He'd run at it face-first, knowing that the ape couldn't resist meeting him to battle. Sure enough, he ran right outside of the shield and at Nick, roaring.

Nick saw an opportunity and took it. As the Brute fired the Mauler, Nick dodged, knowing the clumsy Brute had committed to a path of directly ahead. He side-stepped around him, then reached out and grabbed onto the back of his armor. With a burst of strength, he pulled himself up onto the Brute's back, clenching the beast tightly with his legs, and planted the MA5 firmly at the back of the Brute's head. There was a loud, wet BRAAAP, and then both monkey and man fell forward. Nick hit his knees harder than he'd have liked, though the ape cushioned most of the fall.

"You're lucky you're too ugly to be a rug," he said in carefully spoken Jiralhanae. He ran straight past the wreckage and after the Spartan. He'd never catch that one, but the Chieftain wore heavy armor and wasn't able to sprint nearly as fast as the other man was, so he was fairly certain he'd catch the ape first. As he made headway, he fired a few shots with his rifle, just to try and draw some of the attention off of the Spartan. He skittered to a stop as it was successful, then dove for cover as he watched the Chieftan stop only long enough to hurl two spike grenades in opposing directions – one clearly addressed for the Spartan, while the other his own early Christmas present. He winced as he felt the hot woosh of metal go over him, then stood. Much to his joy, most of it had embedded itself in a fat cactus that was just in front of him. He reminded himself to purchase one as soon as he had his feet back on his homeworld, and then set into his chase again.

Just as the Chieftain abandoned his FRC to use the nasty Grav-Hammer, Nick grabbed a plasma grenade from his belt and slung it. He knew from experience it wouldn't stick to the stupidly powerful armor the Brute wore, but it would stick to the weapon. The Brute stopped himself in mid-swing and made a loud noise of confusion at the blue glowing thing stuck to the handle of his hammer, then roared and flung it away before it exploded. He turned, looking back at Swift, whose presence he was suddenly aware of, and ripped the FRC from his back.

Just as Nick regretted his life decisions and began the dance of running in a zig-zag backwards while firing at the maw of the Chieftain with his rifle, he saw the Spartan stand up from the ground as though raised from the dead. The communication device inside his helmet buzzed to life as a female voice said, "Keep him busy. I've got a present for him."

"What do I get if I win?" he demanded, ducking as a blast from the FRC nearly melted his head from his body. The heat caused the skin on his hands to burn as he instinctively put them up while he moved out of the way, and he winced.

"The continuous sound of my melodious voice," she offered. It sounded like the Spartan was out of breath, but it didn't seem to deter her movements any. He watched her from the corner of his eyes as she made a mad dash for the abandoned weapon. Upon using a boost of strength from the suit, she saw that it had not taken any damage from the plasma grenade.

"Well that's just convenient," Gabriel said cheerfully. "I've never had the pleasure of witnessing this firsthand."

"You almost did a second ago! Of course, now it's our turn," Elizabeth said, a strange glee in her voice. She ran straight at the Chieftain, who hadn't seemed to have tired in the least bit, and slid to a stop in the dirt. "HEY!" she yelled, allowing the vocals of the suit to project her voice much louder than it should have been.

The ape turned around, his fight with the ODST forgotten, and saw that she had his sacred weapon. He howled something loud and completely foreign at her, then lunged. Elizabeth swung the hammer at the last possible second. There was an incredibly loud sound, and she felt a crushing pressure on her chest cavity. She was aware that she was in the air, though she was still upright, and realized that the impact had propelled her back about ten feet or so. It had done worse for the ODST, flinging him into the same cactus that had evidently been his cover for the nasty grenade that it seemed he'd also been gifted with.

The Chieftain lay in a messy pool of blood and gore, his entire head caved in. Elizabeth dropped the weapon, feeling the stress of it suddenly relieved and her suit return to normal status. She made for the ODST, dropping down next to him to survey the damage.

"Are you okay?" she asked, switching to internal chatter.

He sat up in the dirt, giving his head a slight shake. "I think so," he said, glancing over his shoulder. The cactus that had been his shield had been mowed over when he'd flown into it. Those damn ape weapons were rough; he'd wanted to warn her, but he realized that it wouldn't have mattered much. Spartans generally landed on their feet,whereas he was slightly more squishy.

"Hell of a swing you got there," he observed, trying to laugh about the situation as he tested his limbs. No breaks or sprains, but he was certain that when he woke up next, he'd be in more than a little discomfort. It didn't warrant any immediate attention, though, and so he didn't say anything about it.

"Sorry about that," she said, and she sounded sincere. "I didn't know that would happen. Where did you even come from?" she asked. She forgot to thank him for saving her life, a point which she didn't immediately think of, while the AI inside her display certainly remembered.

"Good looking out, Soldier," Gabriel offered appreciatively.

Swift was stunned for a moment by the male addition to the conversation. For a moment his heart leaped, thinking that Lasky had gotten his transmission. He felt slightly disappointed as he realized that it was only the AI the Spartan carried with her, and then felt stupid for getting as excited as he had. The AI seemed to sense this, and spoke.

"The storm up there is blocking all transmission. It's also preventing us from finding the rest of our party. We're lucky you got here when you did, or we'd be toast, but unfortunately even with my access to the UNSC database, I haven't got the ability to reach beyond the natural block this place has."

"That's really bad," Nick said, feeling a little numb. He'd been cut off before like this, wandering around a darkened city with a sense of total isolation. He didn't like it, and despite how it had turned out okay, he didn't want to repeat it. That seemed to be what was happening now. "To answer your question, ma'am, Lasky had be deploy my pod right before the Infinity jumped. They weren't interested in fighting the Covenant when they had so many people on board who could impact this war with their death in the negatives." He paused. "Gunnery Sergeant Nick Swift, at your service, ma'am. Lasky sent me after you, presumably to get you off of this rock, but it sounds like we have some work to do before that can happen."

"Chief Petty Officer Elizabeth Force," she said, holding her hand out to him. He took it and clasped it tightly at the wrist, as she did to him. "Spartan Alpha Triple Oh, if you want to get official. I'm still not used to it myself," she admitted.

"CPO? Then I don't have to call you ma'am," he said good naturedly. He pushed himself off of the ground, then popped his helmet off to survey the damage. "Unless you want me to," he offered. His eyes fell from the Alpha to the helmet, lips pressed together in a frown as he ran his fingers over the scoring from some of the FRC shots. The soot came off with his fingertips, but still, he didn't like having that toxic weapon fired anywhere near him. He tried to avoid her gaze for the moment, if only because he'd recognized who she was the moment she'd introduced herself. How could he have thought she was a man? Or a regular Spartan? She was taller than he was, though - by a few inches, at least. Damn Mjolnir armor.

Elizabeth hesitated, then took off her own helmet. She was unaware that a trail of blood ran down her nose from the close encounter with the grenade and her low shielding, and pressed her hand to her face as she finally scented the coppery smell. She smiled a little as Swift spoke.

"I'd rather you didn't. So, Force and Swift? Sounds like we might make a good team," she offered. "Provided you don't have any problems with my designation," she added carefully. She was very aware how the attitude was to the Spartans. The IIIs were virtually all sociopaths, while the surviving II designation were strangely calm and quiet. That Elizabeth was already an anomaly didn't help that she was the only survivor to the bridge project that helped create the II's and it made people nervous, especially given her backstory. Turned out even an expunged record wouldn't re-establish your reputation. ONI had really gone after her once she'd been safely tucked away in the cooler to think about what she'd done for thirty-nine years, hadn't they? It was a fact she thought about every day, despite her son telling her that it didn't and would never matter.

"I'll be honest, it makes me a little nervous," he said truthfully. He saw her blue eyes narrow a little, but she nodded as though she understood his issue. "It isn't that I take issue with who you are, but you have to remember that I'm easier to kill than you are. Things like pounding a grav-hammer down two feet from me will hurt me more than they'll hurt you," he offered.

"Noted," she said. "But this is an old suit that's been modified because I'm notthe type of Spartan you're used to dealing with. I may not be as squishy as you are," she said, borrowing Lisa's term, "but trust me, I'll still die just the same if my shields are gone and someone gets a lucky shot. The goal here is not to let that happen – to either of us."

It was the way she spoke that reassured him more than what she'd said. He nodded, then lifted his helmet back up. He hesitated in his movements, enough that she noticed it, and then figured he'd better just get his curiosities done and over with. "Is it true that they found you in cryo-storage?" he asked.

Elizabeth sighed a little, knowing that this would inevitably come up. "Yes," she said firmly. "It's also true that I'm probably twice as old as you, nearly the same age as my own son, and that I really did infiltrate Reach forty years ago to try and stop the Spartan II project before it went underway. Is there anything else you want to ask me, before we never speak about this again?" she said. She didn't sound annoyed, and it was a little refreshing in fact to have someone actually say it instead of just stare at her.

"Well, yeah," he said. "I do have one more question."

"Yeah?" she asked, lowering her own helmet back down over her head after reaching back to ensure that her long braid was safely tucked inside her suit.

"Is it true what they said? Can you really recover Cortana?" That was another thing he'd heard, but it was less a rumour and more the last thing he'd heard Sierra One One Seven shouting to the doctor before the Arbiter had taken the two women with him to his waiting ship. He knew he shouldn't have overheard it, but he didn't stick around to find out more details, instead rushing right past the Spartans and to where Kelly had pointed him – the path they'd cleared for the ODSTs to bail in case they had to deploy before the jump should something go wrong.

The question took her by surprise, and her mouth dropped open. She stopped with her helmet and let it fall comfortably into the grip of her left hand. She didn't know how to answer him, but she realized that if he was stuck with them, he may as well know what sort of ride he was in for.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything," he said quickly.

"Wait," she said, holding a hand up to stop him from putting his helmet back on. She looked into his eyes, then nodded. "We think there is a way," she said softly. "And it's a long shot. It involves a lot of Forerunner stuff that I don't think any of us are going to like, but she's sure of herself. She's so sure that it's scary, because I was in her position once. When you know something in your bones, know it so much that it consumes your every waking thought... you'd do anything to get that knowledge to fruition. Her father helped me realize my own potential, even now after his death," she said, gesturing to herself. "So I owe it to her to do the same. And to my son."

"Wow," Swift said, after a long moment of silence. "You're everything they said you were."

"And more," she promised. "And there's nothing I wouldn't do for the people I love. If you can't fall into step with that, I won't fault you. You didn't ask for this, and I won't make you be part of it. Lasky sent you for a reason, though. All I ask is that you consider what that reason is." She put her helmet back on with an audible click, once again concealing her stunning features from the world, and went back to retrieve the hammer again. She'd have to lose a weapon in order to carry it, but she felt it would be useful enough to have – especially in a damn cave.

"Switch me for the shotgun," Swift said, coming alongside her. "I don't know where we're going, but if you want firepower that heavy, I'm your man," he said, his voice holding an edge of promise to it on their internal chatter.

"You'd better not shoot me with it by mistake," she warned him, sliding it off of her shoulder and holding it out.

"Keep the end of that hammer pointed away from me, and I'll do my best not to catch you up in my fervor," he said.

Gabriel began vocalizing his plan to the both of them for the path they'd take through the cave systems, but even while they concentrated on his briefing, they couldn't stop their own internal thoughts. Swift had never had something that mattered to him as much as this woman seemed to, and it somehow made him feel guilty he'd said he'd go. Force, on the other hand, could sense that the Marine had a fire in him that wouldn't be put out quite so easily. He was exactly the type of partner she needed.