Halo – Katerina Duran - "Make It Last: Of Trust and Friendship"

Location: Installation 00
December 11th, 2552

The Shadow of Intent had suffered major damage and its weapons system was disabled after debris from High Charity smashed right through it. No one had any clue as to why the Flood would come here but that was the last thing to worry about on their list. Truth need to be stopped first.

Making their way to the Citadel, the team faced a great challenge: Ghosts, Banshees, Prowlers and Shade Turrets, all at one go. But their greatest challenge? Two Scarabs.

The Shadow of Intent was unable to provide anymore assistance at this point. It was all up to the Marines, the available Elites, the Master Chief and the Arbiter. The Master Chief and the Arbiter stuck close, taking control of a Scorpion Tank as their weapon of mass destruction, with Katerina driving.

"I remember you telling me something about our tanks being your personal favorites,"

"Exactly right! I honestly thought you did not pay any attention to me back then."

Location: Citadel

They finally made it to the Citadel's entrance after a tiring and hard-fought battle. But Katerina was just getting started. She was just waiting to get her hands on Truth and that desire kept her going. It had kept her going for all of these years.

Upon entering, the two found themselves in a large hallway with screens mounted on the walls… and the Prophet of Truth's face plastered on the monitors. He was making another one of his speeches and that was when the duo spotted the missing Johnson behind him with a Brute holding him hostage.

"Oh no," Katerina gasped softly at the sight. "There, John! An elevator! It should take us to the control room where they are."

"Let's go!"

"Why are you here today, Katerina?"

"You know why…"

"You left us no choice. You and your entire State were a hindrance to the Great Journey."

"Not anymore. We will join the Covenant."

"Will you now?"

"If it means securing the safety of my State, I will do your bidding. Just please, I beg of you… no more. We have lost too much…"

"You belong to us now. Welcome to the Covenant."

As they impatiently rode the elevator up, Katerina found herself reliving the moment were she was on her knees before the three Prophets, pledging her allegiance to them. It was just making her all the more irate and bitter. She had this angered look on her flawless features that John just took notice of.

"Judging by that look on your face, I think it's best that I stay far, far away from you, Kate."

"I cannot help it. For so long, I have been humiliated by them all. I never thought this day would come but now it has… Truth has to suffer, and I will make sure of it."

The Chief held his Assault Rifle with his left hand instead so he could give his companion's hand a slight squeeze, careful not to crush it. With a half-smile on her lips, she acknowledged it with a squeeze of her own.

Once the elevator came to a halt, the duo found that they were at the end of the Control Terminal. Six out of the seven rings lit up. Did Truth activate it already? Oh snap.

Two Flood Tank Forms dropped from above without any warning whatsoever, giving Katerina a great shock. "OH!" She took her position behind the Spartan once again, who aimed his Assault Rifle at them.

"Do not shoot, but listen! Let me lead you safely to our foe!" That voice that came from them… it sounded just like the Gravemind. "Only you can halt what he has set in motion."

Holding onto the shoulders of her companion, she peered over his right shoulder. "Is that not… the Gravemind?"

"Let's go," He told her, lowering his rifle in an extremely slow manner. "Come on." He took her by her left hand and led her past the two creatures.

Crossing the light bridge, the duo found themselves at the control panel, dead Brutes and shattered glass everywhere… and the dead Miranda Keyes rested on Johnson's lap.

The duo halted instantly at the sight. They could not believe it at all. Miranda had come looking for the Sergeant, it appeared. To have it ended like this was not right at all.

Johnson closed her empty eyes. "Stop the rings," He told them. "Save the rest."

He was right. There were still many lives at stake. However, the Chief still could not comprehend this. His shoulders slumped as he shook his head, dishearten.

Katerina would have offered some words of comfort to them, but she picked up the soft groans of pain from the fallen Prophet of Truth. Lifting her head up, she found him near the control panel on his hands and knees.

Something came over the female Elite at that moment. She felt her blood boil at an intense level. So swiftly that even John had to take a second to realize what happened, she reached up and pulled his combat knife from his right shoulder pad and marched over to Truth.

"Katie-"

"Truth, you bastard…" Those words came from between the slats in a fence of gritted teeth.

"Can you see, Katerina…?" He was ever so weak. "The moment of salvation… is at hand."

She had had enough of those words. Katerina clutched his long neck tightly, John's combat knife in hand.

It was only then that the female Elite got a better look of Truth – his skin was a dull orange or brown, a color similar to… the Flood. In fact, there were even Flood pores on his face. It just made Katerina feel even more repulsed.

"Your kind... never believed in the promise of the sacred rings…" He said to her, no energy to resist the tight grasp on his neck.

"Oh, but they did. Most of them did! And this is what you do to them? They gave you everything, Truth. But you? You and Mercy and Regret… you all just kept on taking, did you not?"

John was now standing opposite Katerina, his rifle on Truth in case the Prophet was going to try anything.

"What did my State ask of the rest of the Sangheili race, of you? We asked that you leave us alone. Why did you not?" She questioned. "ANSWER ME, YOU MISERABLE PIECE OF-"

"Lies for the weak. Beacons for the deluded." It was the Gravemind again, this time speaking through. The infection was worse than it looked.

Those words may have interrupted Katerina but she sure was not done. "Lessa, Rho, Rernak… Micah… my family, my relatives, my friends, all of them gone! Today I get my revenge and oh, it will be sweet…"

"My feet tread the path…" How much more of these lines did he even have? "I shall become a god!" Then, tiny tentacles suddenly sprouted from the pores on Truth's face and the Gravemind spoke once more. "You will be food… nothing more."

By then, John had approached the Ark's control panel and hit the button to deactivate it successfully.

"No!" Truth said in vain, his plans having come to an abrupt end. Katerina's hold on his neck softened. "I... am...Truth! The voice of the Covenant!" He declared with whatever little energy he had left.

"Just shut UP!" She screeched, driving the combat knife right into Truth's neck in a blink of an eye. Truth's gasp was barely above a whisper. She pulled it out and let his body slump to the ground, only for her to use the knife to stab his chest over and over again. As she stabbed, the emotions were letting themselves go; she let out a cry at each stab.

John didn't do or say anything at the first 8 or 9 stabbings. But it became clear to him that she had absolutely no intention or had no control of stopping.

"Kate? Kate, that's enough," He told her calmly, with no result. "Katie, you can stop now, he's dead."

The calls of her companion were falling on deaf ears. "Kate, stop!" He dropped the rifle and grabbed her by the waist. "Katie, that's enough! He's dead!"

"Let me GO, John!" She ordered in between her sobs, losing possession of the combat knife and hammering at his arms that were around her waist.

"Katie, he's dead now, you killed him!" He put her down on her knees, not letting her go. "Look at me, Katie!" He brought his hands to her cheeks, forcing her to look at him. "It's over! You did it! He's dead! You finally did it."

Katerina wanted to say something to him. She was trying to. But all she could manage was a hard cry. Immediately, he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. Her head into his armored chest, she wrapped her arms around him and cried. She was crying just as hard as she did when Micah was last in her own arms.

John held the female Elite close to him, hushing her in a mellow tone. "It's okay, Katie. It's gonna be okay."