Chapter 34: Reconciliation
February 14, 2683; 2321 Hours
Remnant, Menagerie
Ivan pressed down on the accelerator as the Warthog made short work of the sandy deserts of Menagerie. Winter manned the chaingun on the back of the vehicle, prepared to open fire on any Grimm that got a bit too curious. She had already sawed a Giant Nevermore clean in half with .30 caliber rounds and broken up a pack of Beowolves. Luckily, ammo was not in short supply. There were three more 1000 rounds belts lying in a storage container, waiting to be strung through the receiver. "Any thoughts?" Winter asked into her helmet's communicator.
"I don't know what to expect, honestly." Ivan answered. "Could be a trap."
"Thorne's got the 1st ODST Battalion on standby for us." Winter added. "If it is a trap, we'll be ready."
"Oh yeah, we will." Ivan affirmed. "I just… I can't shake this feeling I have. It's something deeper than just a trap. Somebody obviously intended for me to come out here."
"Everybody you know is either here in Menagerie, in orbit, on Patch, or in Mistral." Winter wondered aloud. "Could it be Taurus?"
"Unlikely." Ivan answered. "He's too much of a coward to face us. He beat feet real fuckin' quick after he took Yang's arm."
As the two SPARTANs conversed, Ivan felt a strange rumbling in the very frame of the Warthog. At first, he attributed it to the hydrogen cell engine, but this was different. The wheel itself was shaking, and he could distinctly make out the sound of the ground around him rumbling. "Ivan… Look." Winter said.
Ivan slowed the vehicle down, glancing over his shoulder. Descending into the atmosphere was the entirety of Light of Sol, the twenty seven kilometer frame glistening in the shattered moonlight. He could faintly see dozens of tiny specks leaving the hundreds of hanger bays within the ship, the faint silhouette of Pelican dropships visible against the backdrop of the starlit sky. "Well… damn." Ivan let out an appreciative whistle. He had no idea what had pushed the UNSC to bare its teeth like this, and he had a thousand worst-case scenarios playing out in his mind right now. "What's it doing in-atmo?"
"I have no idea." Winter admitted.
"SPARTAN C-124, how copy?" Thorne's voice came over his communicator.
"I'm hearing you, Thorne. Go ahead." Ivan answered, pushing the Warthog back to its limits.
"There's been an attempt on the President's life." Thorne made out, being as blunt as possible. "White Fang agent attempted to assassinate him."
Ivan's face, were it visible, would have been ghastly pale. "Am I hearing you right, Thorne? You said there was an attempted assassination on the President?"
"Affirmative, SPARTAN." Thorne returned, his voice grim. "Minor flesh wound, he'll be fine. Figured I should keep you updated on what's going on over here. Remnant FLEETCOM's dispatched the Marines 12th Division to Menagerie to root out the White Fang. After your personal mission is finished, you're being re-assigned to smash-and-grab ops against the Fang."
"Copy, Thorne." Ivan answered, keeping an eye on a distant Deathstalker. Just as he painted it with his VISR, Winter swiveled the gun around and fired a beam of green tracers at it, tearing through the armored carapace with ease.
"Good hunting, SPARTANs, Thorne out." Thorne cut the comms from his end, leaving Winter and Ivan to their thoughts.
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February 14, 2683; 2352 Hours
Remnant, Menagerie
Ivan stepped on the brakes, the Warthog's tires kicking up packed sand as the vehicle slid to a stop. Of all the things he did not expect to find deep in a desert, a full platoon of dismantled Promethean Soldiers littering the side of a sandy dune was certainly near the top. With a grunt, he jumped out of the driver's seat, pulling his Battle Rifle into his grip a moment later. He walked to the nearest Promethean body, kneeling down to inspect it more closely. This Armiger, a Soldier Captain, bore scorch marks all along its armored chassis. The ground around each of the Armigers was scorched to a reflective, silicate glass. Even through his helmet's filtration systems, he could smell the distinct scent of plasma burns, along with… cooked flesh.
Ivan gave a quick hand gesture, motioning for Winter to join him. He heard her boots connect with the sand, her footsteps crunching the earth beneath her as she approached. "What is this?" Winter asked, looking around.
"Prometheans, cooked by plasma." Ivan answered, noting that the trail of Forerunner Alloy parts continued up the dune, probably over to the other side as well. "On me." He ordered, scanning his surroundings with his rifle as he ascended the dune.
"Soleia, what do you have?" Ivan asked his Ancilla.
"These Armigers were disabled recently, within the last thirty six hours. Much of their data is corrupted or destroyed, I cannot determine their cause of deactivation." Soleia answered. "There are more over the dune… as well as within."
"In the dune?" Ivan asked.
"Yes."
As the SPARTAN reached the peak of the dune and looked down, it suddenly made sense. The dune itself was actually a Covenant Storm Phantom, almost completely buried beneath the desert sands. He could see the port side of the dropship sticking out from the dune beneath him, its bay just exposed enough.
Just as Soleia described, the ground below was littered with deactivated Prometheans and their weapons. Joining them were some bones, all of them Unggoy with a few Sangheili bones mixed in. Battered and beaten plasma weapons were half-buried in the sands as well, none of them looking anywhere close to functional. "What in the world…" Ivan wondered.
"Why would the coordinates lead to an old battleground?" Winter asked. "Was it the Covenant that engaged the Prometheans?"
"Unlikely." Ivan answered. "These weapons have been here since the Invasion, Soleia said those Prometheans were destroyed less than two days ago." He looked down to the purple surface of the Phantom that was jutting out from the dune below. "C'mon."
Ivan jumped down, his thruster pack slowing his descent enough to make the fifteen foot fall onto the Phantom's chassis more bearable. As his boots landed against the metal with a heavy clank, he noticed a small yellow blip on his motion tracker, just a few meters behind him. As Winter's own armor thudded against the surface of the Phantom, the blip appeared again, but was gone a mere moment later.
Ivan craned his neck to look to Winter, who gave him an understanding nod. He made a quick downwards motion with his left hand, earning another nod from Winter. Again, the two SPARTANs dropped from the top of the Phantom, finding themselves facing the thin port-side bay door, which was bent and warped from its crash, but still closed.
Ivan reached out to the Slipstream, calling a Pulse Grenade into existence. The blocky ordinance fell into his armored hand, awaiting activation. He pressed down on the activation key on the top of the grenade, and tossed it at the base of the warped metal door. In an instant, the aura of golden energy surrounded the grenade in a two-meter radius, rapidly eating away at the thin armor on the door. As the grenade reached the end of its active cycle, the aura imploded on itself, bringing the destabilized particles with it. The instant a sizable hole was ripped through the door, the two SPARTANs stormed in.
Both Ivan and Winter activated their VISR and the headlamps mounted on the sides of their helmets. Winter cleared the aft of the Covenant dropship, while Ivan cleared the bow. The moment Ivan's vision fell on the control console, he was greeted by a sight that made every iota of his being boil in rage.
He saw a tall, slender woman with black hair that was covered by a dark red dress, trimmed in gold. The raven hair covered her left eye, but the right eye was fully exposed, the amber iris staring at him, shocked. Her nose was covered by a large scar that seemed to run over to her left eye, underneath the hair that covered it.
Without a moment of consideration, he squeezed down on the trigger of his rifle, sending out a burst of three rounds. Obviously expecting this, Cinder reached out with her right hand, the rounds impacting against a projection of her Aura and ricocheting into the ceiling. Ivan didn't notice her lips attempt to form a sentence as he continued firing bursts at Cinder.
After the second burst of fire from his rifle, Cinder sent a plume of flame from her hand. It splashed against his shield, almost completely harmless against it. His rifle didn't fare quite as well. The polymers of the BR-85, while well-built, couldn't withstand the heat, and melted in his hands. The barrel and receiver warped, and the magazine in the rear of the rifle cooked off, sending shrapnel in all directions. As Winter wheeled around to fire, her rifle met a similar fate.
"Stop!" Cinder managed to make out, her voice hoarse and rough.
Despite her attempt, she felt Ivan's fist connect against her Aura, the sheer force of the impact causing her to slam into the control console behind her. "Plea-" Her attempt to speak was cut off as an armored gauntlet wrapped around her neck, pinning her to the metal wall. She managed to control her panic, legitimately surprised that the force applied wasn't enough to crush her throat. She took some comfort in the fact that the SPARTAN was holding back.
As Ivan reared his free hand back to strike at her nose, an attack that would surely kill her if he connected, she managed to croak out a pair of pleading words, causing him to hold himself back, his fist a mere four inches from sending her nose into the back of her skull. "Please, wait!"
A chill ran the length of Cinder's spine as the faintly glowing black visor of the ODST-pattern MJOLNIR armor glared at her. She could swear that she could see Ivan's eyes glowing from within, overpowering the reflective visor. "For what?" Ivan asked, his voice thick with disgust, and clearly even hatred.
"W-What?" Cinder asked.
"Wait…" Ivan began, accentuating every word with a slight pause. "For… What?!" He shouted. Behind him, Winter drew her magnum, leveling it at Cinder, prepared to fire if she attempted to break free.
"I-I don't want to fight you!" Cinder croaked out, her hair falling away and revealing the black piece of cloth that covered her missing eye. She put her hands out as a gesture of peace, but Ivan didn't back down.
"So you've had a sudden change of heart?" Ivan asked, sarcasm dripping from his words.
"Please…" Cinder pleaded again.
Ivan was legitimately surprised. He knew just how powerful this woman was. It took something that was nothing short of a miracle from Ruby to even defeat her once. He had no doubt that she would be able to vaporize him right here, right now, if she truly wanted to. The fact that she was offering no resistance to his grip was by far the most telling sign that she might be telling the truth.
Seeing his lapse in action, Cinder grew hopeful. She had to suppress a relieved sigh as Ivan groaned, letting his fist fall to his side. "You're lucky that Thorne would prefer you alive." He released his grip on her neck, allowing her to fall back onto the metal floor of the dropship. Ivan reached into his combat harness, locking a pair of magnetic restraints around Cinder's wrists.
"Thank you…" Cinder managed as Ivan yanked her to her feet.
"Get moving." Ivan ordered, leading her by the arm out into the desert.
XXXXX
February 15, 2683; 0210 Hours
Remnant, Menagerie
Yang and Blake watched as the large fireteam of SPARTAN IVs stormed into the White Fang headquarters on Menagerie. Ten thousand Marines had been dispatched from the Light of Sol, and they had quickly established martial law in the large coastal "capital". The ONISEC SPARTANs, after a few minutes of audible gunfire and detonating stun grenades, emerged from the large, two-story building with a large group of Faunus, their hands clasped atop their heads. The metallic barrels of rifles were buried in their backs as they were marched out of their compound.
Blake gasped as she saw a Dog Faunus with a bullet wound in his right arm stumble and trip over the uneven cobblestone path. She wasn't surprised by the slip-up, she was surprised by the response from a nearby ONISEC SPARTAN. He reached down, grabbing the Faunus by his spiky black hair, and yanked him to his feet. She could hear his pained scream as his ear was yanked by the augmented super-soldier.
"What's going to happen to them?" Blake asked, looking to Thorne.
Thorne looked up from his datapad, seeing the SPARTAN jab the barrel of his MA5 into the Dog Faunus' back. "They'll be processed and sent to the UNSC-operated POW camp in the deserts of Vacuo." Seeing the concerned look from Blake, he added an extra bit to the end of his explanation. "Don't worry, they'll be treated humanely."
Blake continued to watch as the Faunus were marched towards the beach by the SPARTANs. A few civilians watched in horror from their homes nearby. Some openly jeered at the UNSC forces, every manner of insult being thrown their direction.
"Human scum! Alien filth! Fascists! Swine!"
Blake tuned these insults out, knowing that the UNSC soldiers were professional enough to do the same. Truth be told, she was amazed by their stoicism. A few Marines retained enough composure to completely ignore the fact that people were jeering at them, spitting at them, and berating them. They only responded when something was thrown at them, and they only turned to point their weapons at the offenders, which was enough to encourage them to stop.
Her spectating was interrupted as a SPARTAN walked towards Thorne, a small crack webbings across his blacked-out visor. "Director, registry data in the compound confirms that all hostiles are captured or KIA. Further orders?"
"Negative, Lieutenant-Colonel." Thorne answered, sliding his datapad back into his coat. "See to it that they're brought to Vacuo immediately."
The SPARTAN gave a crisp salute. "Of course, sir!" With that, the SPARTAN turned back to the beach, where Pelicans were quickly closing in to transport them halfway around the planet.
Once again, she was distracted from her spectating, this time by the roaring of a Warthog's hydrogen engine. Everyone present, even Thorne, turned to look. They were greeted with the sight of Ivan and Winter deactivating the engine of their light recon vehicle. Strangely enough, there was a third person with them. Blake and Yang couldn't quite make it out from where they were, but they saw Ivan jump out of the Warthog, leading a third person around the corner, magnum pointed at her back. The both of them tensed as they saw who he was leading towards Thorne.
Thorne's eyebrow perked up at the sight, and a small grin graced his usually stoic face. "Ah, Miss Fall… how kind of you to join us." He joked, seeing her restrained hands. "SPARTANs, where the hell are your rifles?"
"Slag." Ivan answered, remaining a single step behind Cinder at all times. "Surprisingly, she… cooperated. She has no intention of fighting us."
Thorne gave an amused hum, scanning Cinder with a clinical eye. "That change of heart would have been welcome quite some time ago…"
"She claims to have intelligence that is vital to our operations." Ivan added.
"Does she?" Thorne asked, his blue cybernetics meeting Cinder's one good eye.
"Yes…" She croaked out.
"Hmm…" Thorne hummed again.
Ivan turned his head as he heard his name called. "Ivan! You're back!" Ruby called out. She and Weiss both stopped in their tracks as Cinder turned her head towards Ruby. "Cinder…" She growled, reaching for Crescent Rose as Weiss brandished Myrtenaster.
"Relax." Ivan beckoned with his free hand. "She's not a threat at the moment." Reluctantly, Ruby and Weiss let their weapons lax in their grips.
"SPARTAN, bring her aboard Light of Sol. We'll determine what to do with her after an… interview" Thorne said, reaching up to his ear to call down a Pelican from the massive dreadnought holding its position over Menagerie.
XXXXX
February 15, 2683; 0236 Hours
Remnant, UNSC Light of Sol (Deck 93, Retention Block B)
Cinder sat in the cold, metal chair. She silently cursed her choice of wardrobe for this as her bare legs pressed against the icy metal. Her wrist restraints were magnetically locked to the table before her. A cool metal object had been locked around her neck, something about it quelling her Aura. She was completely, utterly vulnerable here, and it was unnerving to her. Even more so than the fact that the room she occupied was guarded by a pair of Promethean Knights standing by the door, Binary Rifles ready to atomize her at a moment's notice.
Sitting across from her was Thorne. He bore a few new scars that he must have gained in between their last meeting at Firebase India. A scar, surgical in nature, ran the length of his jaw, following his jugular down beneath his collared shirt. "Now, Miss Fall… I'm sure you understand that your actions previously would brand you as a terrorist, a crime punishable by death under UEG Law." Seeing her lack of acknowledgement, Thorne simply continued. "However… I am in a position to offer you a single chance." He reached into a briefcase, revealing a harrowing device that looked like a combination of handgun and syringe. He laid it on the metal table with a light clatter.
"Since you claim to be able to assist in our operations against Salem, and you've granted me knowledge that will greatly assist us in this goal, I'll allow you to work with us in the field. Your knowledge of the… realm that Salem inhabits will be invaluable once we find a way to reach it."
He lightly tapped the device on the table. "Should you agree… you'll be placed under the direct observation of SPARTAN Chesnokov and SPARTAN Schnee. You will be conscripted into the ranks of the Office of Naval Intelligence as a field operative, but you will have no high-level clearance. You will answer to SPARTAN Chesnokov for the duration of your… career with the Office. This device, however, is the catch."
"Being?" Cinder asked, her voice still rough and coarse.
"This medical injector will implant a fifty gram cybernetic just above your top Cervical Vertebrae." Thorne began, leaning forward slightly and glaring into her eye. "Any, and I mean any bullshit from your end, and I'll remotely detonate the C-12 charge contained in this cybernetic. Fifty grams might not sound like much, but it's more than enough to sever your spinal cord. You wouldn't even have the time to think about what you've fucked up before your spine pops."
"Will this-" Cinder coughed, her voice giving way for a moment. "Be permanent?"
"No." Thorne answered. "Should you prove loyal, once this is all over, the cybernetic will be removed and you'll be absolved of most of your crimes against the UEG and Remnant. Despite this, you will remain under lifetime probation and be under constant surveillance by the Office of Naval Intelligence."
"What does that mean?" Cinder croaked out.
"You would not be permitted to leave Remnant without explicit permission from ONI, and you would report to an ONI Agent every thirty days for an evaluation for ten years. After that, these evaluations become an annual event. You would be permitted to vote, own property, et cetera."
Cinder gave a nod. "Okay…" She managed.
Thorne smiled. "Excellent." With that, he grabbed the medical injector, walked behind her, and pressed the device to the base of her skull, and pulled the trigger. Cinder let out a startled yelp and winced as the device injected the cybernetic bomb. A moment later, a feeling of cold washed over her neck as the device sprayed a small amount of biofoam into the puncture.
With a small, satisfied grin on his face, Thorne sat back down, allowing the injector to rest against the table again. "Now, as for the eye…" He began reaching into his briefcase once again. "Flash cloning would be impossible for the eye, too much time has passed to allow the procedure to take place, but we could repair the skin by grafting flash-cloned skin. The eye could be replaced by a cybernetic, as well."
"And my-" She coughed again. "Voice?"
"An easy fix, flash cloning of your vocal cords and replacement of any damaged cells should repair the damage." Thorne answered without missing a beat.
Cinder nodded. "Okay…"
"One more question…" Thorne added, placing the injector back into his briefcase and closing it up. "Why help us now?"
Cinder seemed genuinely thoughtful for a moment, looking down to her hands. "I… I've seen what she can do… I've seen what she wants… and I'm-" She hacked and coughed, her voice straining from extended use. "Repulsed by the others."
"Others?" Thorne asked.
"Tyrion." Cinder answered. "And Watts, and Reinart."
"Interesting…" Thorne hummed. "I'll look further into this; we can discuss more once your procedures are done." Thorne pressed a button on his wrist-mounted computer, causing Cinder's magnetic restraints to unlock and fall over, inert. Similarly, the device around her neck fell slack and clattered against the metal floor. The moment the collar deactivated, she could feel her Aura slowly return to full strength.
"Knights." Thorne addressed the Promethean guards by the door. The two androids rumbled in their synthetic language, their synthesized noises in perfect unison. Cinder had no idea what they were saying, but Thorne evidently did. "Escort Miss Fall to Med-Bay 03 on this deck."
With a rumble of acknowledgment from the two Knights, one stepped behind Cinder and one remained in front of her. With a quick motion from Thorne, the Forerunner Alloy door gave a pleasant chime and slid open, revealing the brightly-lit internal corridors of Light of Sol.
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February 15, 2683; 1321 Hours
Remnant, UNSC Light of Sol (Deck 93, Medical Bay 03)
Cinder awoke with a light throbbing in her skull, the heavy pounding against the internals of her head reminding her of her situation. She was truly amazed by Thorne's offer. She had fully expected to be shipped off-world to a prison, much like Mercury and Emerald. Instead, he offers her a second chance. That was more than she had ever received.
As she sat up, she found herself enclosed in a set of privacy shutters, lying on a rather comfortable bed that seemed far too long for the average Human. Her mind was still foggy from the anesthetics that were administered by the UNSC doctors, barely even remembering that she had exchanged her red dress for a rather thin, uncomfortable hospital gown. She sighed, pleasantly surprised to see that her throat no longer rattled and rasped at the action, and undid the knot that held the gown on.
She allowed the medical attire to fall to the floor, shivering slightly as the cool breeze that was circulated through the ship met her naked skin. She found her clothing to be neatly folded and cleaned, sitting atop a small table by the foot of her bed. Wordlessly, she stepped into her dress and heels, savoring the warmth that the infused Dust brought with it.
As she noticed the mirror that was hanging from the wall next to her bed, she took a deep, steadying breath as she strolled over to it, her glass heels clicking against the Forerunner Alloy that made up the floor. As she approached, she brushed her hair away, revealing her left eye. She already knew that the cybernetic eye was working, since her depth perception had returned, but she was more concerned with seeing if all of the damage was repaired.
As she looked to her reflection, she was amazed to see that any traces of scarring were completely gone, replaced by her normal, flawless skin. She lightly traced her fingers across the repaired flesh, surprising even herself by the smile that crossed her lips as she did so. She let out a content sigh, letting her hand fall back to her side.
She allowed herself a hum, testing the range of her repaired speech. Seeing that there was no discomfort, no irritation, and no cracking, she began humming a more complex tune, eventually allowing herself to softly sing a tune. She didn't know where she knew it from… she just always did. It brought her a certain measure of comfort, and she was really hoping that it still had that power as she remembered the explosive that was implanted in the base of her skull.
She was so caught up in testing her newly-reacquired talents that she gave a slight jump as the privacy shutters slid open behind her. She could see a familiar, scarred SPARTAN IV standing on the other side of the shutter, helmet cradled under his arm. "John Lennon?" Ivan asked, nothing in his tone betraying the stoic look on his face.
"What?" Cinder asked, silently reveling at the sound of her own voice.
"Nothing…" Ivan said, shifting his helmet in his hands. "Let's go, Pelican's waiting in the Hangar."
Cinder nodded, walking at a practiced pace to keep up with the taller SPARTAN's long strides. As Ivan led her through the labyrinth of corridors, she truly got an idea of just how massive this ship was. She had seen it resting over Menagerie during their hours-long drive back from the desert site, but she had only really started to understand its nature now that she was inside. When she first saw it alongside the Infinity-class In Spirit of Fire, which was absolutely dwarfed, she was suddenly far surer of her decision.
As Ivan marched past the Human and Promethean occupants of the ship, he had a stoic expression locked on his face. She knew with relative certainty what he was thinking. He probably wanted nothing more than to kill her right now. "Ivan…" She began, earning a cocked eyebrow from the SPARTAN. "Thank you."
"For what?" He asked. There was no outward hostility in his words… more of a genuine questioning.
"Not killing me." Cinder answered, earning a hum from the SPARTAN.
"Thorne wanted you alive…" Ivan answered, stepping past a Knight that was walking the corridor.
"I know it doesn't mean much, but…" Cinder began, doing something she hadn't done for as long as she could remember. "I'm sorry."
Ivan let out a dark chuckle. "Tell that to the ruins in Vale."
That deflated Cinder immediately. She simply walked alongside the SPARTAN in silence for the rest of the way, but her mind settled on something he had said before. It felt like a lifetime for her.
Everyone can be forgiven…
She took some solace in that phrase uttered by the same SPARTAN that had been mere inches from ending her life just a few hours ago. She'd try her best… that explosive in her neck was a hell of a motivator, too.
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February 15, 2683; 1401 Hours
Remnant, Menagerie
Cinder felt the dropship beneath her jolt as it touched down on the surface of Menagerie. She had kept her gaze anywhere but on the SPARTAN that sat across from her, helmet resting against his leg. The ride was only a few minutes, but it felt like hours with the palpable tension in the air. She glanced over to the rear door as it hissed open, allowing the salty air of the seaside town to flood into the crew compartment. She stood up a moment after Ivan did, descending the small ramp.
She looked around the town, which was bathed in the midday sunlight. Evidently, the martial law that was established by the UNSC was still in effect, as evidenced by the squads of Marines that were patrolling the streets, but everything seemed to have calmed down after the previous night. The Light of Sol had even moved into a position over the ocean, as opposed to directly over the settlement.
She followed behind Ivan as he led the way towards the large, central building in the settlement. She ignored most of the looks she got from the passing Marines, she knew that word had probably gotten out about her sudden… "Recruitment."
As they neared the large household, she turned to Ivan. "Did you… tell everyone else about this?" She asked.
For the first time all day, Ivan met her eyes. "No… that's for you to do."
It was right about here that Cinder's heart slammed into her stomach.