(Courtney Jsarez)

Installation 06 Timeline.

[DATE]-[November 10, 2547]

[TIME]-[0756 Hours - Standard Military Time]

[LOCATION]-[Captain's Office, UNSC Charon-Class Light Frigate: Kryptonite, On-Route To Non-Designated All-Service Tunnel Exit, Installation-06]

"Tell me something, doctor," I said as I paced around my desk. "what is the cause of all evil? What lies deep within someone, that when unleashed, defines that someone to violence."

While I awaited Doctor Campbell Joyce's reply, I turned my attention to the datapad in my hands. On the small screen was several images of the now deceased Gunnery Sergeant Ivan Roras. Other images appeared of the mutilated body belonging to Lieutenant Amber Wong.

Lieutenant Tuscany Clad and Sergeant Major Jeff Woods both didn't take the news of her death well. Tuscany now isolated himself, and I had recommended him for regular sessions with Joyce -along with the other half of the crew. Jeff seemed to be holding up better; his limited connection to Amber helped, but he was still, nonetheless, taking it hard. I thought about recommending him to Joyce, but remembered that he was already seeing him over his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Survivor Syndrome.

Among Clad, I had also recommended the surviving doctors from Roras's wraith to see Joyce, Brian Davis who definitely had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder along with Tom Harvad who was showing similar symptoms.

The shell-shocked Marine we encountered during the Mutiny would also be seeing Joyce -once we could get him to talk again. There was a number of other people who would also be speaking with Joyce -Red and me included for various reasons.

If I wasn't subjecting my crew to talking with someone they may despise, I was reconstructing Fireteams and judging what mutineers would be safe to release. After hours of speaking with the COs, I came down to the decision that all the mutineers other than Fireteam Location and Hazard were safe to release. Location and Hazard remained in the brig, and I moved the Hybrids to one of the ship's hanger bays.

Fireteam Night was another problem. I released them as they seemed to hate ONI as much as I did, and didn't show any signs of back-stabbing us. But I wasn't going to go without caution, so I promoted ODST Sergeant Major Tyler Hauver to Major and gave him command of Fireteam Night along with making him the commander of all the ODSTs aboard the Kryptonite. I didn't suspect that the members of Night would willingly stand aside; Franti even said that he was glad that he didn't have to rely on commanding any-more, and said that he would do whatever Hauver ordered as long as it didn't put the rest of his convicted friends into danger that would certainly end in their deaths.

'Fair enough' was what came to my mind upon hearing this, and I let it slide. Fireteam Night was now on an op with the reconstructed Fireteam Wreckage -which consisted of Red, Tulnai, Freud, McAllister, Dalton, Collins, and White. Lynda advised me that permanent reassigning people to other Fireteams wasn't very good for moral, so I decided to make sure that each Fireteam would be constructed on members required at the time -save Night who all worked well together.

Wreckage had the best-of-the-best at the moment because I needed the best-of-the-damned-best to go with 'Lodam and save this Fleet-Master's ass. I was fucking pissed to hear that the Monarch went to save the Fleet-Master without my say go.

'Lodam came to me asking to go and ensure that the Fleet-Master got here safely. I initially refused, knowing that the Monarch -and the thousands of Sentinels kicking back the asses of the Covenant army going after them- would be fine.

But they weren't fine. Apparently, a Covenant special force detachment managed to disable some of ring's particle cannons in the area that the Fleet-Master and Monarch was in, and it would take a few hours to fix. With the particle cannon deactivated, hundreds of Banshees and Phantoms were smashing through the Sentinel defences with ships providing barrage as well. It wouldn't be long until the Covenant forces caught up to the Fleet-Master and Monarch.

So, the Monarch was about to be fucked over. This was not an option, so I had a few Pelicans prepared with Fireteam Night, Wreckage, and the Diverted along with Sentinel reinforcements go out to assist the Sentinel and bring back this Elite commander. When they got back, I would kill 'Lodam for asking the Monarch to go and save the Fleet-Master when Red mentioned that he was in trouble without my permission to do so.

It took about a minute for Joyce to reply, and when he did, it was quite simple. "Monsters. No one is without them, and you just have to hope that nothing happens to unleash those monsters."

I shook my head, saddened by the images as I put my datapad down onto my desk before turning my attention back to Joyce. "How did Roras's monster become 'unleashed?'"

Joyce came over and took a seat on the couch in my office where he folded his hands, leaned forward, and let out a sigh. "I talked to the members of Fireteam Night a lot about this, and they haven't told me anything that points to Ivan being sexually abused as a kid. His actions alone also speak lengths."

"So, he just did it because he could?"

Joyce nodded. "It's a bit more complicated than that. As you've seen, he didn't exhibit and traits of self-control, and it's not usual that people do it because they seek sex so much that they couldn't care less about the laws."

I began rubbing my chin. "But why children?"

Joyce leaned up in the couch. "There's a lot of reasons for that. Sometimes, it's for strategic reasons. Kids, you see, don't scream as much if their younger. Grown women know what is happening to them, and are more likely to report abuse, but children at a young age don't, and don't realise that what is happening to them is wrong."

I stopped pacing and took a seat on my desk. "That doesn't seem like Roras's forte."

"It's not," Joyce confirmed. "I think he did it to victimise the children. Clinical pedophiles often than not find joy and sexual arousal in victimising girls. For instance, when I was young -really young, mind you- I used to chase down ducklings because I wanted to hear them cry for their mother. In this situation, I was young and had a messed up interest. But when it's an adult pedophile, you may, want to target the young because their so young and innocent."

I nodded as he explained. "I often find it upsetting when an animal dies. Not as much when it's fully grown Humans, because they know that when they die they die because the worlds are messed up places. But animals, they don't. They don't know why they are being killed. I once watched a movie where a puppy was beaten to death by this sadistic teenager, and it saddened me -not because it was a puppy, but because it didn't know why it was being hurt, it didn't know that it was moments away from dying, it didn't know what was happening, and it just really upsets me that such innocence was being harmed without even knowing that it is."

Joyce nodded. "Yeah, that's similar. I've dealt with clinical pedophiles before, and I've heard of motives similar to what you're saying."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "One motive we don't understand, is why he did what he did to Amber."

"Ivan seemed to had a lot of fantasies. One such was victimising young female children, and another was lust murder. According to Franti, Roras had been talking about committing a lust murder for a while, but apparently never mentioned it before, so it must had just came into his head. And his ideal victim type were females he previously abused when they were children. I don't think he would had done it to anyone other than someone he already victimised."

I rubbed my eyes as they began squinting. "This is beyond messed up."

"Indeed," Joyce agreed. "And unfortunately, there's plenty more out there."

"Do you ever hope for some type of Utopia?"

Joyce nodded. "It's naive to hope for something as far-fetched as a 'Utopia', but others don't need to know of my hopes. It's just a little dream I have; nothing more, nothing less."

I nodded in both agreement and acknowledgement, but widened my eyes when I saw the figure standing behind the couch Joyce was seated at. The figure kept reappearing to both me and Red for more than the past twelve hours, and it was starting to get disturbing. The figure was one of the reasons I summoned Joyce to my office.

"Doctor... I need your help on something." I said, keeping my eyes on the demonic figure which was shaped like a hybrid of both me and Red, bloodied and naked

"yes, or course -what can I do?"

"Me and Red... we're seeing figures -and I mean demonic figures." I explained.

"That would explain the outbursts that Lynda told me about. She's worried about you, and rightfully so. I could probably connect this to Schizophrenia, PTSD, even Sleep Paralyses, but it makes it hard if both you and Red see these figures. Uh... could you give me a bit more information on what you see?"

I continued to stare that the figure as it smiled at me with its non-Human mouth, trying to keep the fear off of my face. "The figure's usually an explicit mash-up of both me and Red... its genitals are disturbingly mixed with Red's penis and testicles protruding from my vagina. Um... its mouth is the only thing not belonging to me and Red; being more of a reptile mouth fitted onto a Human face. It also often morphs into a person I personally know. One of the most common people he morphs into is Eric."

Joyce bought out his datapad and began using his stylus to write everything I said down. "This is really unusual, Courtney, and I can't see much I can do as every doctor out there is already at their limits with what they can do to help you and Red in your telepathic abilities-" Joyce finished writing and turned his attention to me. "-you and Red, you've both defied logical explanation. But I really doubt that any mental illnesses Red contracts will transmit to you. No doubt you'll feel the stress and other emotions Red will may feel once a trigger for a mental illness occurs, but you won't be able to actually cause those triggers on your side."

I began rubbing my chin again. "Yeah, I figured as much. I actually had the theory that the Gravemind's involved, but the Gravemind seemed just as baffled when it first happened as we were."

"It eluded the Gravemind?" Joyce asked, writing down what I said onto his datapad.

"Yes."

"Well, if what I've heard is true, than the Gravemind knows everything that goes on inside Red's head, right?"

(Accurately calculated.) "Yeah. The Gravemind just confirmed it." I informed him.

Joyce wrote that down. "So, technically, any mental illness of Red's can't bypass the Gravemind's knowledge, so this isn't a mental illness." Joyce began rubbing his chin. "Maybe the Gravemind's causing this and it doesn't know?"

"The Gravemind does seem able to control the figure's appearance to some extent. It's not constantly with us, and the Gravemind managed to stop the first dream we had with it. But it denied having anything to do with it-" (Alteration needs to be implemented in this subject of colloquy. Initial query countered with prior comprehension. Neoteric comprehension conveys-) I was getting annoyed with the Gravemind's speech patterns; they weren't smart, and it only led to me asking what the hell it meant -which in turn annoyed it. (You have limited comprehension to your bloods advanced vocabulary in the word form: 'English'. Such illiteracy spares no expense in extending a vast amount of irritation from me.)

Being lectured by my enemy was the last thing I wanted. All I wanted was to know what was the Gravemind first saying before I pissed it off? (My first answer to your query was reflected upon by my current comprehension on the semblance. Now new knowledge swarms through my roots on the origins of the semblance.)

"Captain?" Joyce called after I didn't answer his question that I didn't even hear.

"Sorry, what?"

"Can the Gravemind tell us anything we don't know?"

I nodded. "I was just communing with it."

Joyce gestured for me to continue as he prepared to write down all I told him. "Go on." He urged me.

"Well, at first, it didn't know what was happening -baffled, like I said. But it apparently ain't so baffled with some answers that it's just now telling me it has." (There was no relevance to speaking of these tidings until I had enough to satisfy my own queries.)

Joyce nodded, writing down what I told him on his datapad before gesturing for me to continue. (He is right. I am causing this, but not willingly. My presence is inflicting a mental problem that is too being inflicted upon you by your almost supernatural like link to him. It cannot be stopped; only hampered.) "The Gravemind says you're right about it causing the hallucinations, but it's not doing it willingly. It says that it's presence is affecting Red's mental state as well as my own -since we're both connected via some type of telepathic link."

"That's not surprising," Joyce remarked, rubbing the back of his head. "A deadly alien organism having the biological access to Red, like the Gravemind has, is sure to cause a mental problem that's out of our comprehension. Didn't the Monarch or Monitor say that this tactic was used on Forerunners before? Maybe they have an idea on what it is."

"I'll speak to them. Thanks, doc."

He returned the friendly smile. "Sorry I couldn't be of more help, Captain-"

"Actually, you can," I broke in. "I have another situation I need your help with."

Joyce nodded, gripping his datapad. "You can tell me anything, Captain."

I narrowed my eyes. "Can I?"

Joyce let out a sigh, leaning back in the couch he was seated on. "No, not really. When we get back to Earth, if Parangosky doesn't have me immediately executed, than I'll be interrogated until I spill the beans on everything. But just so you know, I won't do it willingly."

I smiled. "Not a huge fan of ONI?"

"They pretty much forced me to spy on your crew. Apparently not doing so was a breakage of an article that I swear they made up on the spot. By law, I didn't have to comply, but that would be crossing Parangosky-"

"Nobody crosses the queen of bitches and lives." I finished him off.

"I assume you're not having Timmy record the slang you're directing at her?"

I shook my head. "Timmy's under my orders now -not ONIs. I'm having him record everything on the ship just in case, but he'll be deleting it once we return to Earth."

"Good idea." Joyce remarked.

"Thanks. Well, I won't keep you much longer, so I'll get straight to the problem. Red came to me and said that he thinks he has Dissociative Identity Disorder."

Joyce's face didn't have any surprise on it. "I originally had that theory as well, but I couldn't support it as there's a few missing puzzle pieces."

"Such as?" I asked.

"Does Red remember everything from his childhood?"

I nodded. "Yeah, he remembers everything. Why?"

"Well, it wouldn't surprise me that alter personalities were created by Red's mind as a young child to cope with the hard and brutal lifestyle that was inflicted on him. But, if he did had DID, than it would be highly probable that the alter personalities he created had the bad memories. Uh.. let me sum it up in an easier way. The mind creates alternative personalities to hide the bad memories in. The fact that he isn't missing any memories really doesn't support him have DID."

"But there's exceptions, right?"

Joyce shrugged. "Well, it's not impossible, and odd cases have occurred. But if Red had DID, than it would be because of childhood trauma he had."

I began musing, trying to figure out the explanation behind this. "What about Red's 098 personality?"

Joyce nodded. "That is a bit odd. I have no doubt about the theory that Red's 098 personality was created by his mind to allow him to evolve through the physical and mental training. His reports say that out of all the SPARTAN candidates, he was the most rebellious one. If he wouldn't evolve, but his subconscious needed him to evolve, perhaps the 098 personality was made to allow that. But usually alters don't replace the main personality, so 098 having control all these years is unusual."

"But, it could happen?" I asked.

"Maybe. But another reason I doubt this is because of Red's personality now. Normally, when an alter takes control, the other personalities are unaware of what's happening. For instance, if I had DID, and one of my alters took control of me and talked to you, I wouldn't know what you were talking about when I retook control. So, Red being evolved and mature as he is seems odd because if the main personality resurfaced after all these years, than the personality wouldn't be developed. But instead, 098 -an alter- developed its personality as got older, so that's really odd, and Red seems to have retained all of 098's memories and experience which is also odd."

"But not impossible?"

Joyce shrugged. "I really don't know, Captain, I'll have to go through all the records and see if a case like this has happened before."

I suddenly thought of something else that may prove useful. "Another thing. remember Smith, right? You regularly saw him if I'm correct."

"Malcolm Smith? Yeah. Is death was unfortunate and unnecessary-"

"Why did Red kill him?" I asked. "098 never cared about the Diverted enough to lash out, and even if he did, it goes against his training to kill another soldier. And Red, he doesn't care about the Diverted either. So, who got pissed off at Jol 'Turasee's death?"

Joyce nodded as he mused on it. "You're right -that is odd. Alright, I'll make an appointment to speak with him and see what I can assess. But it'll be hard with the Gravemind there."

I placed a hand up to halt him. "Me and Red already discussed this problem, but the Gravemind said he would release his control a bit to let the personalities out. It says it wants to know what will happen out of curiosity-"

"Courtney?"

I frowned in confusion. "Yeah?"

Joyce straightened himself up in the couch he was seated on. "You speak as if the Gravemind know the alters are there."

I thought on that and quickly scolded myself for not remembering what the Gravemind had said. (Human intellect never ceases to amuse me.) "Fuck me. That's right. Fuck me, fuck me."

"So the alters are there," Joyce mused. "If so... what horrific personalities other than 098 is inside that mind of his?"

(Monsters that are ready to be unleashed.)

(Red Jsarez)

Installation 06 Timeline.

[DATE]-[November 10, 2547]

[TIME]-[0819 Hours - Standard Military Time]

[LOCATION]-[Aboard Pelican Dropship Charlie-4-1, On-Route To Assist Monarch And Sangheili Fleet-Master, Installation-06]

I was comforted by the loud roars of the Pelican's engines. It reassured me that nothing was wrong.

But sounds could be as deceiving as looks. For so long, I had relied on sound to live. Would it ever change? Would I ever go through a day without raising my head to the slightest bang of a door, or slam of a cup?

But I was just over thinking things. My head still rung from the surgery that I went under -again- to have my normal neural implants put back into my brain. It didn't seem like there would ever be an end to my brain being fucked around with.

Hopefully it wouldn't become a trend. It would soon be over, and new problems with ONI would arise. It was nearly four hours until the Kryptonite would reach the exit hatch, and something had gone wrong -again. I wondered if there was some deity watching over us and if it hated us. So close, yet tensions were high. I was just calm and happy to have my faithful MJOLNIR armour back.

Exiting the all-service tunnel via a smaller tunnel was risky, so we had the Pelicans backtrack a bit so the Covenant ships scouting for us wouldn't predict where the Kryptonite was in the tunnel, and there was the flaw: We had to re-enter the all-service tunnel via a smaller tunnel about half an hours flight away from where the ship actually was. So, we had a problem with potentially missing the Kryptonite.

Missing the Kryptonite was, hopefully, not going to occur. All we needed to do was be dropped in by the Pelicans and hurry down an underground bunker that the Monarch and HVT (High-Value Target) were held up in and get them out of there before the Covenant manage to get past the Sentinel's defences. There was bad news -the Monarch had communicated with Fleighted Fire, and had warned that a deep underground tunnel linking the bunker up to a larger facility had been compromised, and Covenant forces were making their way through the tunnel.

The risks were high, and we had to act fast. There was about a thousand Sentinels and a few hundred Enforcers that were heading to back up the Sentinel's defensive perimeter against the advancing Covenant onslaught. The defensive was being spread thin with the Covenant onslaught spreading out in an attempt to flank the defensive, and Corvettes were quickly on-route to the defensive. If they got there, the Sentinels and Enforcers wouldn't stand a chance.

"Protect me, my brothers who would do no evil, and deliver us from evil-" I turned around to see Freud whose eyes were lightly closed in peace, toying with his cross. "-give us the strength to defeat your children's demons, and give me the strength to die for what's right. Amen." Freud concluded his prayer with kissing his cross before tucking it back behind his collar.

"You make your own prayers up?" Morgan asked, taking a seat next to Freud.

"Those already made do not ask God for the protection I seek. I feel that this is more... me rather than what is customary."

Freud nodded in acknowledgement. "Thanks for asking God to watch over us."

Freud turned to face Morgan, nodding without smiling. It came to me that he wasn't one for smiling. "No problem. Just don't think he's going to protect you if you run out into a hail of plasma fire, sir."

"I don't think he'll protect me anyway." Morgan muttered, lowing his head into his hands.

"He'll protect you if you ask, sir, but there's no need to; I already have." Freud reassured him.

"Can he protect someone like me?" Morgan asked. His voice had a large amount of emotion in it. His regret for his actions years ago was there, but it still made no sense how someone like him could realise that he was a monster, and want to redeem himself for it.

"God forgives if you ask for forgiveness." Freud reassured him.

"I haven't asked for his forgiveness, though." Morgan admitted.

"Then that's something you can do later. I'll help you, if you want." Freud patted his shoulder.

"You can't be helped by what doesn't exist." Franti broke in.

Cylus came up behind Franti, placing a hand on the grim Marine's shoulder. "Adam, don't mock his belief."

Franti turned to face Cylus. I wasn't surprised that Cylus wasn't too pissed off at Franti for keeping the truth of Cylus's conviction a secret for so long, but the anger was still there -if only subtle. "I just don't want him wasting his time on that bullshit."

Cross' gung-ho voice came over the COM before Cylus could reply with the anger that was clearly building up in him. "Boys, ETA to LZ is plus one, better get ready."

"Affirmative." I replied over the COM as I got up off of the seat, grabbing my DMR that was leaning against it, and approaching the blood-tray's ramps as they lowered with the rest of Fireteam Wreckage and Fireteam Night taking up position behind me. As the ramps lowered, I saw the Pelican in front of us whose ramps were also lowered. Sitting on the edge of the blood-tray with his legs leaning over the edge was Kri who jokingly waved at us as the rest of the Diverted came up behind him.

Due to the amount of Diverted coming with us, they were fitted into another Pelican. I didn't want the Diverted to come altogether, but 'Lodam wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

"Lieutenant, we're ready when you are." I informed Cross over the COM.

"Roger that, sir. Descending to the LZ. ETA: minus ten -countdown should be displayed on your HUD. Heads up, I'm switching to the TACCOM. I recommend you guys connect up to it as well."

"Already done." I told him. The TACCOM allowed communications between sources for support and other tactical means, but resulted in a lot more talking; order verification, informing of designated CODENAME and other various methods that were annoying, but necessary, to prevent a misconception in relaying battlefield orders and information. It was very reminiscent of ancient military communications, but much more efficient.

I watched the countdown timer on my HUD reach zero, and as soon as it did, I dropped off of the edge of the Pelican and landed onto the grassy ground with a slamming sound along with the clicks of my armour coiling together. Members of the Diverted dropped down in front of me; Anve, 'Lodam, Kri, the Grunts, etc. And I heard the metal boots hitting the grassy ground behind me as the ODSTs and Marines dropped down.

Examining my surroundings, I saw that we were in a large plain area with a forest to the North. Light was erupting from the canopy of the forest as Sentinels and Covenant battled it out.

Turning to my right, I saw the large stairwell in a large dish shaped platform built into the ground. The stairwell led down into the surface of the ring -the bunker that the HVT and Monarch were in. "Night, Wreckage move into wedge formation and keep your eyes peeled. Ultra, keep your soldiers back and watch the rear."

The acknowledgement lights on my HUD all lit green. Lighter managed to implement the Diverted's own systems up to ours, so a dozen extra lights were added for the Diverted, and they all lit up. It didn't take long for the Diverted to learn how the system works; even the Grunts leaned pretty easily.

I carefully approached the entrance. The buzzing of over a thousand Sentinels above us heading to the forest was in my ears. Not relying on them to spot out hostiles, I quickly swept the surrounding area for contacts while I heard the Pelicans lift back off.

"Charlie-4-1, 4-2," I said over the TACCOM. "this is Wreckage Actual. Maintain perimeter loop around the LZ, but break off if things get to hot. How copy? Over."

Charlie-4-2's pilot, Captain Axel Hayworth, replied. "Wreckage Actual, this is Charlie-4-2, solid copy all 'round; maintaining perimeter loop as requested. How copy? Over."

"Charlie-4-2, Wreckage Actual. Solid copy. Out." I finished, keeping my DMR raised at the stairwell as we began descending down it. Knowing that a DMR wouldn't be effective in the confined spaces of the underground tunnel, I slung my DMR over my back, hearing it click to the MWHS before pulling out my MA5B assault rifle. The MA5C was my preferred version, but the 60 round magazine and extreme suppressive ability was the most important asset for me on this mission.

Working our way down the stairwell, I kept my eyes open for any movement. It was all clear, and once we reached the bottom, I examined the area. There was several tunnels we could take, but Timmy came in over the TACCOM to tell us the right one. "Wreckage Actual, this is Timmy. Got a positive video feed. Take the middle tunnel to the left of where the steps end. How copy? Over."

I replied over the TACCOM immediately. "Timmy, this is Wreckage Actual. Solid copy. Out."

I signalled for the soldiers behind me to keep their eyes open with my hand, and carefully entered the tunnel, twitching my fingers forward for them to follow before grabbing my gun fully again.

We didn't get far before static filled my COM and I signalled for the others to stop and get down to a crouched position while I tuned the channel only to have the Monarch's metallic voice come over the COM instead. "Reclaimer, meddler warriors have finally gained access to this defence bunker via the underground tunnel. They are present and hostile -be careful."

I stood up from my crouched position and signalled with my hands for the others to do the same. Again, it didn't take long for the Diverted to learn the proper Human hand signals and tactical orders. "Understood. We're on-route to your location, so remain where you are."

"Understood. Reclaimer, the meddler with me is in need of medical assistance -soon. He has lost a lot of blood and is feeling nauseous. Please hurry." The Monarch urged us.

"Acknowledged. We'll be there ASAP." I replied, surprised not to hear 'Lodam say something in worry for his wounded friend. Turning back around, I waved for Night, Wreckage, and the Diverted to follow closely as I turned back around and continued down the tunnel.

The tunnel had the usual Forerunner engravings for their architecture, and blue lights were located at various points in the pillars that held the tunnel together, lightning the dark tunnel up.

Tunnel after tunnel we had to pass through. The Monarch and HVT buried themselves deep in -which I found both intelligent and annoying. Intelligent outweighed annoying, and I just found another reason to respect the Monarch. I silently scolded myself. Respecting the Monarch may had jinxed it, and it was highly likely that something would now happen to make me un-respect the Monarch.

It was quiet as we made our way through. Not even the Grunts let out a single yap or bark with supported how disciplined they were in an actual operation. Kri was also quiet, offering reports on what he could smell every now and again.

(Consider my verses circumspectly. You are not in solitary.) What did it mean? I may had been able to understand the Gravemind's cryptic words -most of the time- but it was obviously warning me of something, and I couldn't focus enough on its words when there was the possibility of danger. (So uneducated in your own tongue. You are silently being watched by a group of Sicariuses. They do not mean to kill you -yet.)

I began to carefully eye the surrounding area. We had just entered a large atrium like room, so it was possible that we were being watched, but our motion sensors would show any Elites in active camo move if there were any, or the Monarch may had picked up their presence. If the Elites were there, they weren't moving.

"Heads up, the Gravemind says we're being watched." I warned the others through the TEAMCOM.

'Lodam immediately responded. "We would be dead if they meant to kill us. This is likely Qrs 'Jaragsai. Demon, what is Qrs' motives?"

(See into his conscious.) The Gravemind showed me Qrs' mind. It was a dark place to be, and Qrs seemed to be studying us. He seemed to had been working previously with the HVT towards exposing the Prophets' lies, but now he was divided on what course of action to take. But it seemed he was leaning towards revealing himself. He also already knew that his presence was compromised, so he was judging whether approaching us was a good idea.

Wondering what he was doing here, I saw that he was not here on orders, but here with some of his own team on their own agenda. He must had sneaked past the Covenant guarding the facility the bunker we were in was linked up to and made his way here to. Four other Elite special operatives were with him out of his team of seven. The others abandoned him back on the ship he was on -believing the HVT to be a traitor. The others were with Qrs out of loyalty and belief that the HVT wouldn't just kill a Prophet- the Prophet of Pity was dead, I wondered how 'Lodam would react.

But mind quickly turned away from revealing this news to 'Lodam to looking inside the mind of another special operative with Qrs. I didn't, at first, know why the Gravemind was getting me to look into the mind until I saw that the special operative planned on betraying Qrs at the last moment, and was only here as a 'mole' assigned by one of the Ship-Masters who had his doubts about Qrs' loyalty.

Qrs didn't know about the betrayal in the making, so there was a problem that only had one solution. Using my free hand to signal for the others to halt, I turned around to the elevated platform with braces and pillars serving as cover that Qrs and his team was hiding at.

I pointed at 'Lodam to get his attention before pointing towards the elevated area. "Ultra, it's time to play the diplomat."

'Lodam hissed lightly at me before turning his attention towards the platform. He didn't even need to ask as Qrs and his team immediately de-cloaked. Qrs was instantly recognisable with his pitch-black armour with red lights serving as his visor. The other operatives had a slightly lighter shade of back, and their lights were blue.

"...Qrs," 'Lodam muttered. "... if we still draw breath, then you will listen to me, correct?"

"Fleet-Master Nar 'Sarasee had faith in you," Qrs began in a voice full of coldness that would make corpses weep. Even I felt somewhat taken back by the amount of dread and coldness in his calm and stoic voice. "I do not. But I have faith in the Fleet-Master to always make the right decisions. But he made decisions absent reason, and I must consider my next actions cautiously."

'Lodam took a step forward. "Being here now, you made your decision. Surely your absence of presence has been noted, and where else could you be in their minds?"

"With me, I could be anywhere," Qrs replied, sending chills down my spine. "But you are correct. If I return, there will be no third chance. So, give me a reason not to return."

"The Great Journey is a lie!" 'Lodam snapped his mandibles, defiance in his voice. "Whether the San 'Shyuum knew or not matters little. Halo, when activated, will not ascend us to the divine beyond! There is no Paradise! Halo's purpose is to destroy all life in the universe to starve the Parasite!"

Nearly all of Qrs' team began to express their protests, but Qrs put his hand up to silent them. I kept my eye on the one that planned on betraying Qrs -he was close to breaking. "The Forerunners left their legacy to a race -yes. But not the Covenant." ' Lodam added.

Qrs eyed the Humans among the group. "Humanity." He concluded.

"I cannot believe it, and I will die before they become Gods!" 'Lodam growled. "But it is the truth! And the Hierarchs knew! They wanted absolute control of the Covenant -always! So Humanity needed to be wiped out before the truth surfaced!"

Qrs considered 'Lodam's words carefully, not speaking for almost a minute. But before he could speak, Suras asked a question. "Why is Fleet-Master Nar 'Sarasee being hunted?"

"Yes, why?" 'Lodam added.

"He murdered the Prophet of Pity and the Jiralhanae Chieftain. But upon hearing this, however, his motives become much more clearer." Qrs explained, adding that he may of believed us.

"Surely you are not considering their words truth, brother?" One of Qrs' operatives protested, anger in his tone. "It is all but lies in attempt to deceive us! Kill them and be done with it!"

Qrs craned his head around to face the one who spoke against him. "Did I not recruit Sangheili who use their mind over beliefs? Consider the possibilities vigilantly and you shall see truth in the Ultra's words. Why else would the Prophet of Pity lay dead by the hands of one so composed?"

"I cannot believe you would go mad with rage over the death of Literus and the bastard Prophet!" 'Lodam hissed in disbelief.

"Not me, but those scarred by the potential betrayal of-" Qrs stopped and quickly spun around as one of operatives -the one who seeked to betray him over being blinded by rage- activated his camouflage and disappeared.

Qrs and his operatives activated their blades. The operative that spoke against him was still sceptical, and didn't do anything. The Elite showed up on our motion sensors since he was moving, but he was moving too fast to get a lock on. Qrs broke into a sprint after the Elite as the stealth Elite scaled a brace and charged me. Of course the bastard would go for me.

I began shooting, but the reinforced shields of the operative didn't give way. Just as the operative lunged at me, White leaped onto him and pushed him out-of-the-way.

The operative tumbled to the ground and White carefully approached the incapacitated Elite with Qrs coming up behind him, blade in hand. The Elite was, however, not incapacitated, and quickly leaped up off the ground and swiped at White with his blade.

To my horror, red blood sprayed over the ground as the operative kicked White back, sending him flying across the flood. Qrs seemed to had lost his temper, and calmly knocked the energy blade out of the operative's grip and grabbed the operatives throat, disrupting the operative's shields.

With a cracking sound, Qrs dropped the body of the operative who hit the ground with a thud before going limp.

"Night, watch the operatives." I ordered as I rushed over to White's side. He was bleeding heavily as he gagged up blood. His common carotid artery had been cut open, and he would bleed to death in a matter of moments.

I acted quickly, pulling out a can of biofoam from my pouch and quickly sprayed it into White's wound. He let out a sickening gagging sound as the canister emptied its contents into his wound, sealing it up.

Freud and Tulnai knelt down next to me. Freud began to place a comforting hand on White's shoulder and started muttering a silent prayer as Tulnai began bandaging the wound. I felt incredibly bad that I didn't alert Qrs of the betrayer sooner, but I hoped that 'Lodam's words may had convinced the betraying operative not to lash out. And when he did, it took me by surprise as the operative's decision to attack at that time came out of nowhere, and even took the Gravemind by surprise.

I quickly lifted White up so he wouldn't choke on his blood, and began patting his back to make him throw up all the blood stuck in his throat.

"Stay where you are." I heard Hauver warn, and I looked up to see one of Qrs' operatives taking a step forward. Anve translated Hauver's warning for the operative who quickly retreated.

"Death does not need to embrace you today," Qrs told his operatives. "stay firm until I say otherwise."

'Lodam came over and placed his hand onto my shoulder, making me almost spin around and snap his arm off. "We must hurry and retrieve the Fleet-Master. Leave this one to die before we join him."

That was when I snapped around, grabbing his wrist tightly. "We'll get your fucking friend when I'm ready. For now, sit down and shut the hell up."

'Lodam hissed at me. "Never speak in that tone to me again!"

I released my grip of his wrist, pushing him back to make Anve and Freyn hiss back at me. Kri even joined in as some Grunts barked threats at me. Ignoring them, I turned to face Hauver. "Major, get White out of here ASAP. We'll get the Monarch and HVT."

Hauver nodded. "Yes sir," He turned and waved Cylus over. "Lieutenant, help me out." They both picked up White and supported him by wrapping their arms around his shoulders. Hauver waved the rest of Night over, and they all began to head back the way we came.

I finally let myself breathe a sigh in relief before turning back to face Qrs and his operatives . "You'll be coming with us. If you're trust worthy, then I'll let you come back to the Kryptonite with us."

'Lodam translated what I said for them, and one of Qrs' operatives protested. "And what makes you think we will be coming aboard your vessel?"

"It's either that, or you go back to your bosses and ask them not to kill you. Knowing your stupid juridical system, execution is probable." I snapped back with 'Lodam translating.

The operative hissed in reply. "I will sooner die than set hoof aboard you pathetic ship!"

"Then do so," Qrs calmly told him. "But letting emotions over a misconception blind you only makes you weak. You have heard the truth -heeding it is the best course of action."

"Brother Qrs is right," Another of the operatives added. "Let us find the Fleet-Master and see what he knows."

The protesting operative growled as he gave in. "Fine."

"Good. Okay, fall in and stay behind me. Alert us immediately if you see any hostiles." I told them, Lodam translating, and Qrs quickly complying, falling in with Fireteam Wreckage, the Diverted, and his operatives following suite.

I turned around to the direction we had to go. A tunnel leading out of the atrium was just up ahead, and it wouldn't be far down the tunnel until we reached the location the Monarch and HVT was held up in.

(Be cautious. A small sum of your foe are about to exit the tunnel.)

I carefully approached the tunnel, MA5B raised. As soon as we got close to the entrance to the tunnel, an Elite led Lance came out just as the Gravemind had warned a minute earlier. Surprised to see us, they had nearly no time to react as the combined plasma and bullet rounds shredded their shields and flesh apart. The Elites succumbed to the bullet and plasma holes, and splashed down into a puddle of purple and blue blood. The Jackals screeched as the rounds from my assault rifle shredded their limbs off, and the Grunts barked in terror as they were mercilessly gunned down.

When it was done, I reloaded my weapon, ejecting the clip and putting it back into my spent clip pouch before slamming in another.

"That was unnecessary," One of Qrs' operatives remarked. "Given a moment, the truth may had reached their minds as well."

"Waiting and hoping to speak to them brings the risk of them attacking us first," 'Lodam reminded the operative as we continued on. "As unfortunate as it is, the alternative is not preferable."

We all stepped over the bodies and carefully continued down the tunnel. As soon as we heard plasma fire, we sped up and quickly made our way through the tunnel, and arrived at another atrium where the HVT and Monarch were hiding in.

A firefight had broken out between a few Covenant Lances, the Monarch and a few Sentinels who were using their lasers to fight back.

"Get to cover!" I ordered as I rushed towards an Elite Major that spun around as he heard me approach, roaring in shock as I slammed my fist into his face, smashing it against the pillar he was in cover behind, leaving a bloody pulp on the pillar as the body collapsed onto the ground.

Fire began coming my way, but the others and me quickly exchanged fire. I scaled over a cover brace connected to the pillar that the Elite I just killed was in cover behind and sprinted at full speed over to another brace connected up to the ramp that led up to an elevated part of the atrium that the Monarch and HVT were in cover behind.

Exchanging fire with a Jackal that I quickly shot apart, I continued up the ramp and turned behind a walled off area. As soon as I saw the weak Fleet-Master, I tossed him my MA5B that he snapped out of the air. I drew my DMR and began firing at a Lance in cover as the Fleet-Master did the same.

(Forces are converging up the opposite ramp) Heeding the Gravemind's words, I ran towards the ramp. I saw two Elites and several Grunts rushing up, and began gunning them down. The Fleet-Master came up beside me, and began using my MA5B that I gave to him to gun them down as well.

A round from my DMR split the head of a Grunt apart with a puff of blue blood erupting from the wound as the Grunt tumbled back down the ramp. I then shifted my fire to an Elite Minor, bringing his shields down and finishing it off with a shot to the neck.

Shifting my aim, I finished off and Elite Major whose shields were already taken down by the Fleet-Master, and shot a single round into his chest, sending him flying back down the ramp with blood spraying from an artery I hit.

Once the Lance was dead, I hurried down the ramp and moved to flank the other Lances. The Monarch's Sentinels fell in beside me, and began burning away the Elite's shields with their lasers before I delivered the finishing shot.

The final Elite Ultra let out a roar as he activated his energy sword and charged us, but was quickly blown down by a hail of fire from the Fleet-Master. With the Elites dead, I shifted my fire to the Grunts that were delivering a final suicide charge with their plasma grenades, but didn't get far before they were dropped.

The plasma grenades exploded, sending the bodies of the already dead Elites and Grunts flying away with some limps shattering off from the force as well. As soon as the Grunts were all dead and the fire had died down, I turned to face the Fleet-Master, holding my hand out for him to hand my weapon back.

The Fleet-Master didn't waste any time with tossing my MA5B back to me, and quickly passed me and limped over to 'Lodam and his Diverted that came rushing over. The rest of Wreckage came close behind the Diverted afterwards, and I quickly assessed if there were any casualties. To my relief, there were none.

"Ultra, you have a lot to explain." The HVT calmly said as he came to a stop in front of 'Lodam.

"I understand. I shall explain everything later, but we must leave -now; before it is too late." 'Lodam replied.

"As expected of you. It is good to see you again, Ultra."

"Likewise." 'Lodam replied.

"Fleet-Master!" A Grunt beamed. "Been so long! We have many tales to tell you of!"

"Tales from the mouths of your race are always interesting. Let us make haste and leave before such an event occurs that I shall never hear your tale." The HVT replied in a calm voice.

"It is the same tale that I shall tell you a thousand times better!" Anve butted in.

The HVT clicked his mandibles in what seemed like amusement. "You bicker as siblings seeking the attention of a parent. I shall listen to all your stories if I must."

'Lodam interjected. "But you will here my version first, yes?" I noticed with his tone that he seemed more at ease than usual, and had the elements of a joke in it. Perhaps this was a good thing. The Fleet-Master seemed level-headed, so perhaps 'Lodam would be kicked back into line.

Smiling at the thought, I came up behind him the HVT. "Monarch, tell the Fleet-Master to stay close behind us."

The Monarch translated my order for the HVT who turned around and nodded. I quickly took the lead, and everyone fell in behind me. "Timmy, Wreckage Actual. Tell the Captain that we have the Monarch and HVT and are on-route for extraction. Make sure Charlie-4-1 and 4-2 are reading to exfil ASAP. How copy? Over."

"Wreckage Actual, this is Timmy. Solid Copy. Out."

We all continued through the tunnels with no more hostile encounters or reasons to halt other than the HVT asking for the reason of death behind the betrayer after we passed his body -to which Qrs explained.

With the Monarch with us to warn us of nearby hostiles -for when the Gravemind didn't- we sped up, and quickly arrived at the stairwell. "Charlie-4-1, 4-2, this is Wreckage Actual. We are making our way up the stairwell and need immediate extraction. How copy? Over."

"Charlie-4-1 here," Cross replied in his gung-ho voice. "Solid copy, Wreckage. We're both descending -double time. How copy? Over."

"Charlie-4-1, this is Wreckage Actual," I replied. "Solid copy. Out." I waved for the others to hurry up and quickly began speeding up the stairs. My visor quickly adjusted to the blinding light as we surfaced, and I cocked my head around to the sound of the two Pelicans landing just in time.

The Monarch seemed to know what to do, and sped off to safety at lightning fast speed. The Sentinels it left behind hovered into the Pelican, and I quickly helped the HVT into the blood-tray.

I was somewhat surprised by the HVT accepting my help, and it reassured me that the tales of him may had been true rather than Covenant propaganda.

The rest of Wreckage, the Diverted, Qrs and his operatives filed into the Pelicans at an orderly fashioned speed. despite them wanting to hear what the HVT had to say before making their decision, Qrs and his operatives showed no reluctance in getting into the Pelican.

Wreckage got into the Pelican I was in -the one with the HVT- while the Diverted, Qrs and his Operatives got into Charlie-4-2 -the one with Night in it. 'Lodam didn't seem to like the idea of leaving the HVT alone in a Pelican with us, so he sent Anve to Charlie-4-1.

Anve hopped into the blood-tray, and immediately went over to the HVT who was seated, kneeling next to his seat and placing a hand on his shoulder. Over the course of the past few days on Halo, I had observed that the comradeship between the Elites was like that of the Marines. Each knew their comrades as brothers, but while Marines only did it with those close to them, Elites displayed the relationship with every other Elite -no matter the rank. I found it respectful to some extent, but I didn't want to respect Sangheili culture, so I quickly shrugged it off.

Turning back around instead, I watched the grassy ground below the Pelican got more and more distant as the Pelican lifted off. As soon as they were far enough off the ground, they whizzed forward, back to the large hatch we came out of.

Remembering something, I checked the time. We would make it back to the Kryptonite with no threats of missing the 'grand escape'. Once we got there, Qrs, his operatives, and the HVT would likely be detained in the brig until Nai had time to speak with them. I hoped that it would go better than last time, and someone wouldn't get their arm broken.

I turned my gaze to the distance. The battle was still raging in the forest, but it wouldn't be long until they realised that we had managed to get to their target -first.

Another thought came to my mind, and I opened my COM. "Major, how's Captain White?"

Hauver replied almost immediately. "He's stabilised, but in a bad state, sir. Nothing the nurses back home can't fix up. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised that he's feeling a tad bit lucky."

I couldn't help but smile. "No doubt. Anyway, tell me if there's a change."

"Affirmative, sir." Hauver replied moments before disconnecting from the channel. He was still on the channel if I summoned him, but if he was speaking to his men, no one else would hear it over the COM which kept the channels nice and clean of unnecessary chatter.

I disconnected from the channel as well, gazing over my shoulder to the sound of Wolf coming up behind me and stopping next to me. Wolf was easily recognisable by his red and black ODST armour, black visor, and tactical goggles. In his hands was his SRS99C-S2 AM with various spray paintings on it to show off his ownership of it.

"Tough day, huh?" He asked. Having a friendly chat wasn't really something I was good at or enjoyed, but it was mandatory for a Human, and I was Human, after-all.

"Yeah. It's still morning, isn't it? It's not over yet."

Wolf let out a nervous chuckle. "Careful, you'll jinx it, Sierra."

I slightly grinned under my visor. "Seems to be a trend, no? Saying that something is good jinxes it, and damns it to bringing about nothing but fucking misfortune."

"Yeah. Well -not to jinx it- but I think we're home free. Those particle cannons will be fixed soon, and the Covenant fleet will be blown apart, right? We'll get home, and we'll go on from there."

I mused on what he said. "I don't think there's any chance on moving on -for me. If I'm not put in front of a firing squad, I'll either be locked up or sent to the front-line again. If some miracle happens and none of the above happen, then it's probably civilian life for me... That's not gonna be an option either-"

"Sierra, you're torturing yourself," Wolf broke in. "Just focus on now. You have your sister, spend as much time with her as you can. But no matter what happens, we're with you, okay? Remember that."

I suddenly felt slightly at ease. Talking with someone about my feelings was new to me, but it seemed to help -to a degree. I suddenly felt better, and much more confident for the future.