EPILOGUE

19 AUGUST, 2537 (UNSC MILITARY CALENDAR)

NARROW BAND POINT-TO-POINT TRANSMISSION; ORIGIN:UNKNOWN; TERMINATION: CAMP CURRAHEE, PLANET ONYX, ZETA DORADUS SYSTEM

/FILE ACCESS GRANTED/ WORM-PROTOCOL FIREWALL ACTIVE/ AUTOMATIC DELETION SEQUENCE: ACTIVE

PLNB TRANSMISSION: MEG294-CMB

ENCRYPTION CODE: ECHO

PUBLIC KEY: N/A

FROM: LIEUTENANT COMMANDER AMBROSE, K.

TO: CHIEF PETTY OFFICER MENDEZ, F.

SUBJECT: SIERRA THREE ALPHA

CLASSIFICATION: EYES ONLY, CODE-WORD -FALCON FORTY-, TOP SECRET (SECTION THREE ROMEO DIRECTIVE)

/FILE-EXTRACTION COMPLETE/

/STARTING FILE 1 OF 2/

I've been looking at priority targets- nothing yet, but given what we saw for PROMETHEUS, I have no doubt that Beta will be thrown at equally hopeless cases. Bird Watcher will keep an eye on Beta-5. We have work to do.

But that's not the reason for this message. 239, 259, 266 and 344 were pulled in time to avoid this disaster. I will not have them thrown away like the rest of Alpha. For that to happen, we have to derail the original concept. Keeping them on Onyx, even to train Beta, means that Ackerson knows where they are, and he can override the two of us in a heartbeat.

I need them moved, and you know more people than I do. I need resources for them- SPI will not cut it. Do everything possible. Make sure they are appropriately trained, and appropriately equipped. Above all else, though- make sure Ackerson can never touch them. I'll stall him, but that man could slip paper into sheet metal.

I've already begun looking for the indicators- we cannot cut it this close a second time. 312 is an exceptional fit, and 320 looks promising. I will continue to observe, however.

And pursuant to your question after we left Point of No Return- how exactly would you feel if Kelly, John, Linda, Fred and I were all KIA at Delta Tauri?

/END FILE 1 OF 2/

/DELETION COMPLETE/

/START FILE 2 OF 2/

FROM: CHIEF PETTY OFFICER MENDEZ, F.

TO: LIEUTENANT COMMANDER AMBROSE, K.

I'll stay in contact with Bird Watcher. Firebrand and Gatekeeper are also on board. If Ackerson so much as bats an eye at Beta, we'll have warning.

I know the place to put them. SPECWAR G3. Colonel Urban Holland (file attached). I was attached to his task force during an op in 2529. He's no mastermind, but he can definitely hold his own against Ackerson. Best of all, he's an Army man, so all ONI can do is 'advise' him. You will have to break this to them, however- I was never a Spartan.

I've ordered the DIs to keep an eye out. It should be more apparent post-augmentation what to look for, but all the same, they should be made aware of the indicators.

That's not a question you should ask me- I've seen men come and go for years. Perhaps you should re-submit for an evaluation?

/END FILE 2 OF 2/

/DELETION COMPLETE/

/PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE/


SEPTEMBER 1, 2537 (UNSC MILITARY CALENDAR)

UNSC CRUISER THEMISTOCLES, HIGH ORBIT OVER PLANET REACH, EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM

Kurt watched impassively as the door slid open and the room admitted its four newest occupants. He hadn't seen these people in so long; and if his plan worked, he would never see them again.

He had no trouble recognizing them, either. Carter stood ramrod-stiff with his mouth clamped shut. He was almost the ideal team leader; he listened to orders and listened to suggestions, but orders coming from him may as well have been shouted from the heavens. But Kurt could see the cracks- by now, everyone else had settled but Carter. Being separated from his team had forced him to fall back on protocol. He would have to learn to get used to loss.

Emile leaned forward in the chair he sat in, his right hand clenched in a fist inside of his left hand. His head moved back and forth, left and right- searching. Hunting. Every so often, Emile would flex his fingers as his eyes swept the room. He could definitely be straightforward, but not once did Kurt ever have a problem reading him. The lack of subtlety troubled Kurt, and he bit his lip, thinking.

Rosenda settled into her seat, leaned against the backrest, and clasped her hands together. Her eyes pointed straight at Kurt, and only after a second's observation did he detect a slightly glazed quality to them. After another second, he saw that she was tapping the fingers of her left hand on the back of her right hand. Good, he thought. She could teach Emile a couple of things.

Jun sat behind everyone save Carter, eyes squeezed ever so slightly together- he wasn't squinting, but it definitely wasn't a typical neutral expression. Jun's eyes darted towards anything that moved, observed for a moment, and then moved away. He met Kurt's gaze once, and for the briefest instant, his eyes narrowed further, but then the moment passed, and Jun was examining something else. Kurt paused for a moment, surprised by the fact that he hadn't thought that any of his students would try to read him. Another point in time passed in which Kurt wondered what exactly it was that Jun saw.

But there was no time for that now; Kurt straightened up and cleared his throat. "At ease," he said to the room at large.

Carter loosened slightly, but remained standing. Other than that, there was no apparent change in the room.

"I've called you all here because you are the last of Alpha Company," Kurt began, but he paused when the room seemed to explode. Rosenda tilted her head, and the fingers on her left hand, previously occupied with tapping her right hand, retracted into a fist. Emile sat bolt upright, and his hands gripped his knees. Carter's eyes widened, blinked twice, and his lips drifted slightly apart before reuniting. Strangely, Jun's reaction seemed to convey the feelings of the group best to Kurt, but the only thing he did was raise his right eyebrow. Kurt took a small breath.

"A month ago, Alpha Company was dispatched to a Covenant orbital shipyard with orders to destroy targeted enemy assets. Their mission was a success, but the company was lost."

"MIA?" Carter asked. Kurt opened his mouth to refute him, but then he remembered.

"Yes," he replied, and the yawning void inside of him seemed to grow wider. Whatever ONI decided to list them as, his Spartans remained dead as ever. Except these four.

"Now, Section Three's original plan for any survivors from Alpha Company was to return them to Onyx in order to help with the training of Beta company. You will not, however, be returning to Onyx."

"Why?" Emile asked, echoing everyone's sentiment. Every set of eyes in the room focused on Kurt. He cleared his throat.

"Because I have decided that you will not be assisting me. You will have greater value in the field than at Camp Currahee." Kurt paused for just a moment and scanned the room quickly. Emile's legs were tensed, as if he expected Kurt to tell him that the Covenant were on Reach and he was being dropped in straightaway. Rosenda and Jun seemed not to react, but they were now motionless, their eyes fixed on a single point in space. Carter, on the other hand, furrowed his brows. In terms of Spartan body language, the room was a fireworks display.

"You are being reassigned to the Special Warfare Command, Group Three, which is based here on Reach. You'll be undergoing a brief training period, and then you will be deployed into active combat zones, just as before."

"Permission to speak?" Rosenda pointed a lone finger into the air.

"Granted," Kurt answered, and Rosenda lowered her finger.

"Why do we need additional training? The whole point of what we went through on Onyx was to get us ready for anything."

"You've never trained with this," Kurt remarked, striding over to one side of the room. Four lockers, each two meters tall, stood against the wall. Kurt unsealed each in turn, and a small light cut on from inside, illuminating four suits of MJOLNIR armor.

For a brief instant, Emile, Jun, Carter and Rosenda all had the exact same expression: blank shock. Their eyes widened, and their jaws all seemed to drop the exact same amount. But then Carter composed himself, and Jun's expression became thoughtful. Rosenda and Emile both took on small grins.

"MJOLNIR Mark IV Powered Assault Armor," Kurt announced. "You are Spartans- you will be equipped as such. Procuring this piece of equipment in large numbers would have raised red flags at ONI, as well as being prohibitively expensive. But for just you four..." He tailed off, unable to complete the lie. He'd worked for years to cement the bond between the Alpha Company Spartans, and he'd already tested it by separating them. He couldn't bring himself to break it now. To tell these four they were different from the rest would- Kurt wasn't exactly sure what it would do, but he knew that he could never risk it.

"You'll also learn to operate independently- on your own or in pairs, if necessary. You're already familiar with fire team combat, but SPECWAR may ask you to go on solo missions, and you must be prepared."

Just then, SHIPCOM came online, and a Navy officer said, in a deadpan voice, "Delta 372 has docked." Kurt recognized the Pelican's designation.

"SHIELD Base is awaiting your arrival," Kurt told the four Spartans. "Don't disappoint me."

"It's been an honor, sir!" Carter barked, straightening and standing to attention.

"What he said," Emile remarked, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. Jun nodded.

Rosenda stood. "Thank you, Lieutenant Commander, sir." After a breath, she continued. "We owe you and Chief Mendez everything, and knowing how this turned out- I wouldn't have done anything differently."

"Me neither," Emile said. Jun and Carter nodded in unison. Then, one by one, the last of Alpha Company left the room.

As the door hissed shut, Kurt couldn't help but feel that he hadn't saved anybody.


Final Author's Notes: Well, that's it, everybody. Over a year after it began, this story is over. There's not much to say, other than it's been a blast writing this. I'd like to thank everybody who submitted a review- your advice always gave me something to think about, and your feedback let me know whether I was headed in the right direction or not. To everyone who read this, whether it was just one chapter or the whole thing, I hope you enjoyed it.

Happy trails, everybody.

-Rookie-