It was an awesome and terrifying sight. I'd heard of the term "glassing" thrown about a lot at school and by my family but like all things, I had not expected it to actually happen to me. Grandpa Joey and Alex had spoken at length about the battle of Actium and the damage done to the surface of the planet. All that came flooding back to me as I watched the large beam crack from the sky in a destructive pillar of light down to the city entrance below.

Ellen spoke but I wasn't listening. It struck me how little I actually cared for the place. Whether that was because I was just glad to be alive or because I had never truly connected with my home world was something I really couldn't tell. This was my first glassing and a part of me realised that it wouldn't be my last. If there was one thing this whole affair had taught me, it was that the Covenant wouldn't stop unless something stood in their way. Something more subtle than a SPARTAN, and something more powerful than a Naval vessel.

Something precise, something small and unseen.

Something like me.

I smiled grimly and took off the helmet. The air smelled of a wild and tangy metallic crispness and I wished Maggie was here with me, firstly so that I could hug her and apologise, and secondly so that I could hear the words of some poem that sprang to mind at this strangely beautiful sight.

I supposed that it helped to know the target of that beam was covenant, not humans, and I was under no illusions that when I finally was right next to one of those, that it would be significantly different. Harder, even, but right now, it was beautiful. When you live from moment to moment, the now holds a lot more weight than the future.

The cruisers had burned almost a quarter of the city by the time we reached the bus station at the start of the suburbs. The lake breeze was calming and the quietness of the area made us slow to a crawl.

"Anyone know where to go?" Ellen said, scanning the rooftops. "I could try the radio."

"Open channels will give us away" Naomi said, her Ghost hovering out in front, checking all the blind spots before us.

"Remember, kid, rooftops and alleys, those are your priorities." Jack whispered, his rifle ready and resting its sights on large overlook positions.

"What about encrypted comms?" Ellen replied, "we could find somewhere to hole up and try and make contact with the rest of the UNSC?"

"It would take a while" Naomi said, warily, "it would be dangerous."

I chewed my lip, it wasn't a sound strategic decision but I wanted to go home, I wanted to rest there, to see if anything was left of my old life.

"If my place is still safe, we could rest there, stash the hogs and the ghost nearby and sneak through the backyards to my home."

There was silence.

"We need a better reason than nostalgia and sentiment to do that, Maddie" Naomi said, coldly.

"It backs onto a wide-open park, a big valley, with a castle on the far side… I think it's used for-"

"It's a garrison!" Ellen cried, "That's where the 314 are based!"

"Won't the covenant be swarming that area?" Naomi said, sceptically.

"Last I heard, they were pulled tight around that downed cruiser further north, the 314 have been kicking ass out here, they almost reached us as well."

"Alright, Maddie, I'll defer to you, send me the coordinate for a safe place to hide the vehicles."

I thought for a second, the best place for these vehicles was Sal's, a mechanics garage about a mile or so from my house. Naomi seemed satisfied by the idea and led the way without incident crawling along the road to the point that night fell as we finally locked up at Sal's.

"You good to walk, Sergeant?" Ellen asked, helping him under the garage door.

"I'm good for a walk, but I'm not combat ready, not fully."

"What about you Maddie?"

"I'm tired and my forearm feels like it's a thick mush but aside from that, I think I'm good." I said, honestly.

Ellen gave my arm a quick look. "It looks like it might have a fracture, or you've repeatedly agitated a nasty sprain but until we're at an aid station I won't know for sure." she said, glancing around, "how long do you reckon it's been like that?"

"It was all torn up when I fell out of the chopper" I said, shrugging.

"Not a fracture then," she said, "hopefully, anyways." she reached into her pack and withdrew a little cream. Rubbing it in, she looked up at me, "Not sure about the scarring on your shoulder or forearm though, but skin grafts are pretty good these days if that's your thing."

"I haven't seen my shoulder" I noted, "what is it looking like?"

The four of us began to head out towards the row of houses that lead to my own, checking the length of the street before crossing.

"It actually looks kinda badass. ODST have one, mark of respect sort of thing, I'll show you mine when I can."

She glanced back at it again. "It looks like some kinda cat, baring its teeth. In like a super abstract way though."

I smiled, "that's good, because I don't think it's ever coming off."

"Maybe you should get it tattooed, then."

"Tattooed?"

"Yeah" she whispered as we crossed the street in a low run, taking cover between a set of cars that had obviously collided as the Covenant arrived. "Like made into something artistic and meaningful, reclaim your body from them."

I thought about that for a long time as we entered a house with its hinges blown off and the door shredded by giant claw marks. Blood trailed up the stairs but none of us mentioned it, instead remaining silent as we walked through the ground floor of the ravaged house and out into the garden.

"I'll have a look and see how I feel" I said at last, "it hurts like hell though, even now."

"I'm sure whatever you pick will be awesome," she said, scanning behind us. "And when you do pick, let me know and I'll get a tattoo, too."

"You don't already have one?"

She blushed a little, "I have the ODST one, but you get that one in a… unique way." she said, swallowing a lump in her throat.

"You're scared?"

"Of needles? You are damned right I am. Something is not right about sticking things0 under the skin, it gives me the jeebies."

I laughed a little, "I didn't think you were afraid of anything."

"Only the normal things, needles, dying alone etcetera."

"Ah, well, I'll keep that in mind" I grinned.

"You better not, Harper, or I will lay you out, understood?"

"Loud and clear ma'am" I said, smiling at her as I hoisted myself over another fence. Jack was now on Naomi's back, which made things go a bit faster. However, it was the hottest period of the year and I was exhausted. The going was tough but I pushed on, knowing what it was that waited for me.

Home! Not far now, Maddie. It'll be good to get closure, to see it all one last time before the covenant ruins it all and blasts it into dust.

"Maddie, how far?" Naomi said, checking her HUD, "tracking is down but I'm sure we're close."

I looked about, "We're three houses down from my place" I said, "do you think it's safe?"

Naomi froze, probably listening out for any sounds that were out of place. "I'll take a look. Follow in two if you hear nothing." she said, coolly, before placing Jack on the ground and vaulting the fence.

"SPARTANs make better warriors than they do taxis," he said with a groan.

"Leg doing you in still?" I asked, "need a lady's help hopping the fence?"

"Hey, when the ladies available are an ODST, a walking tank and a kid with the guts to snipe a prophet, that ain't no insult."

Ellen laughed, "here" she said, helping him over, "sounds like Naomi hasn't found anything" she said, sliding out of view. I hopped the fence, with one hand, the other was still throbbing with pain. The next two houses had a crashed banshee in it, the debris made getting across the flattened gardens a lot easier. Slipping between a broken fence slat that I had hidden for years, we entered the back garden to my own house.

It stood there, in its glory, a beacon of what once was.

Naomi looked strange, standing in the doorway as she waited for us, "it's clean" she said, and my heart soared, "and undamaged for the most part."

"It-it is?" I asked, breathlessly.

Naomi nodded, awkwardly.

I grabbed Ellen and hugged her.

"Woah" she laughed, pulling us apart, "what's that for?" she grinned, leading us inside the house.

It was mostly as I had left it the day before, only it was clear that my family had hastily packed up and left, with scattered clothes and ripped picture frames on the walls.

Just like that apartment… I wonder if they took any knives.

I knew my dad had some weapons, a couple of pistols and an old rifle. There was my shooting rifle as well, of course, but they hadn't taken that because it had been left on the table, placed neatly above the family crest and parallel to a small hatchet encased in leather. I touched the handle, running my fingers along the edge of the casing.

Lodged underneath was a small hastily written note, one I dreaded reading. If my family headed into town, they were probably already dead. The thought of it swirled in my head like an alcoholic stupor, weighing me down and dulling my senses. Ellen however moved alongside me, pulling me out of my spiral with a jarring shudder.

"What's this?" she asked, turning the crest over in her hands.

I shoved the letter into my pocket and wandered over to her. "It's my family crest." I said, watching her thumb the dust from it.

"Crest?"

"Yeah, it's an old Earth tradition. You have a logo, kind of like a company or an organisation and a motto that represents us."

"Your family must be old, then" she mused.

I shook my head, "very few families are rooted in the origins of that tradition, my Grandfather had it commissioned when he was stationed in Sol."

"Ah, well, friends in high places then."

That much was true, my Grandpa was always able to make friends with anyone who came into contact with him, even as far back as his days fighting insurgent militias, if the reports about him were true.

"What language is that?" Ellen asked, noting the motto as the dust wafted from the discarded plaque.

"Latin. Used mainly in bioscience these days, been dead a long time."

"Oh, very bourgeois" she laughed, "can you speak it? What does it say?"

"Only bits and pieces" I said, shrugging, "the famous stuff like Veni, Vidi, Vici, Carpe Diem, etcetera. Grandpa had me memorise that motto though, said it was important to remember your past."

Ellen waited patiently as I paused, collecting myself. Visions of my family and friends running like scampering rabbits through my mind.

"Victoria Primum Ergo Ad Astra" I said quietly, as Jack rested on a pillar behind us, "Victory first, then to the stars."

"It certainly fits the naval tradition" Jack said, folding his arms, "only thing in this house that does"

I sighed, "Yeah, well, Mum and Dad don't approve."

Ellen nodded sagely, "I know that feeling, but when you hear the call you gotta answer, I don't like soldiering but I do like humanity. I like my family, too, whatever is left of it. That's all worth fighting for, regardless as to what mom and dad think, right?"

I nodded, understanding the warrior exactly. It was then that I noticed Naomi stood awkwardly at the door to the stairs.

"The house is clean; not exactly a stronghold though" she said, a little shyly.

"I know, I just..." I said, bowing my head, "I need this."

"One night won't hurt" Ellen said, placing a soft hand on my undamaged shoulder. "How about you get cleaned up, take a look around and get some rest. We'll try and contact Drake and we'll move on in the morning."

A thin smile was all I could manage, but Ellen seemed to understand. She went to examine Jack's wounds as he leaned against the pillar, leaving me alone to stare in silence at the array of junk on the table. Behind me, I could feel Naomi's eyes fixed on my shoulder and I shuddered, feeling a mixture of sadness and regret for the hulking warrior, whose childhood was taken from her just like Nicola's. I balled up my fist and spun on my heels, edging past her and up the stairs to the shower.

The shower room was as clean and tidy as it was a month ago, oddly enough. I checked the towel racks and found nothing, heading to the airing cupboard in my sister's room. Eliza's room was a lot like my own, filled with practical things, running medals and sports trophies. It was an odd assortment, with a guitar resting in the corner collecting dust and posters of her favourite bands and actors plastering the walls. Some of it came off as forced and that made Maddie smile, Eliza was finding herself. Just like me she was young, bright and full of potential and I had been too harsh on her. I had expected her to know what I did, to know the lessons that I had to learn.

In many ways, she was more mature than I am. She didn't run from her problems, didn't smoke, didn't run from the reality of her friend's passing. She met it head on and called me out for being ignorant. The next time we met, I resolved to apologise for that as well. Eliza was a pain in the ass, and by god did she know how to play to our parents' sensitivities, but she was a kid, and she was smart, part of the reason that we clashed might have had something to do with the fact that we were very similar people.

I hope you're alive, Eliza, I need to apologise to you, too.

I grabbed a towel and walked along the corridor to my brother's room, the door of which sat open and quiet. The whole house smelled disused, the scent of dust teased my nose and I felt a sneeze building. I shook my head and pushed the door open, gasping a little as I noted the space, filled with boxes. Mum and Dad had packaged their things into boxes and discarded them in Alex's old room. It seemed unfair to me that they could do that, but Dad had his reasons and it wasn't my place to tell them what they could and couldn't do with their house.

At the bottom of the furthest stack from the door was a little olive-green tuft of fabric and a pair of old combat boots. With a smile I wandered over to them and squatted, resting my bum on my heels as I inspected them. A long time ago, Preston had secretly joined the Cadets, and this must have been his issued battle dress uniform.

With a great effort I pulled the boxes above it off until I could yank the BDU free. I held it tightly and rose to my feet, folding it and bringing them with me to the shower room and locking the door. The shower clicked into life, the quiet eco generator spooling up in a low hum as I pulled off the ONI blacks and stood under the running water for the first time since we left the Chalybs building several weeks ago.

As the water ran down my body I sighed deeply and smiled. It was true that soldiers value their hygiene. You don't value being clean until you're degraded like that, spending weeks in the dirt, muck and blood of a torture chamber. At the mercy of things that don't care. There was at least a lack of judgement to worry about, Covenant species didn't think we were much more than worms anyway, so why would it matter if we rolled around in grime for a month? It wasn't as though we could sink lower in their estimation.

I checked myself in the large mirror inside the shower and saw myself for the first time with my newfound attitude. My legs and stomach had toned up a little and my forearm was scarred lightly from the damage from the fall from the helicopter. I turned and looked over my shoulder, daring to see the little emblem carved into my skin.

That's… beautiful...

It hurt to admit, but the intricacy of the design and the complexity of it made my head swirl. It was raw and the skin burned intensely with each cold splash of water from the shower head.

It looks a little like a feathered wing or the body of a horse, or some other muscled beast, prancing, ready to act.

It would make a good tattoo.

I felt clean. It was quick and not long enough, too cold too, but it was the most perfect thing in the world to me at that moment, my body shuddering with cool delight as I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off. I pulled on a fresh set of underwear and breathable competition socks before hopping inside the BDUs without much grace. They fit snugly, with my tall frame once again lending itself well to the appropriation of military kit.

I left the steamy room with the boots in hand and made the short walk to the familiar door of my bedroom, turning the handle gently in my sore hand and pushing it open.

Seeing it all again was… underwhelming. Everything I had ever valued was in this room: from the racks of clothes drooling out of my cupboard to the ornate metallic lighter that sat inertly beside my ashtray. My stomach balked at that, but I approached it all the same, picking the cool flick lighter up and turning it in my hand.

It was given to me the last time I saw my Grandfather, almost two years ago, and I clutched it tightly to my chest as my breathing quickened. The small device left a tangy metallic pang on the tips of my fingers, coupled with the earthy warmth of premium cut tobacco that he used to smoke out on the balcony of our summer retreat.

It felt good to smell it again, and to see the rest of my house. Just knowing that my family were real, and possibly alive, made me ashamed that I had ever considered killing myself.

I don't regret putting myself in that situation though.

The packets of cigarettes that Ana had found for me sat in their hiding spot underneath my bed, their cellophane packaging glinting in the glow of the setting sun. I turned it over in my hands and grimaced at the warnings on the back and felt no compulsion to open them up, to dive back into my habit. Even smaller was that compulsion when I noticed the picture of Maggie celebrating my first competition medal.

I looked a little miserable, having missed out on the win by a significant margin; Maggie however, was beaming like the sun, happy to have such a talented family.

She's good like that.

I finished dressing and put the lighter into my breast pocket before heading back through the door, without looking back. It wasn't my room that interested me, it was Maggie's. The room was pristine, save for the wardrobe, which missed her clothes and her backpack which had been stuffed neatly under her bed, now erupted in a small flurry of textbooks and winter coats.

I smiled as I spotted her vanity, not cluttered with make-up and photo's like mine, but tidy and neat with only her favourite book on the desk.

She does love her poems.

They were a collection of poems from a five-hundred-year-old textbook. A snapshot, as Maggie called it, of what our ancestors believed would stand the test of time. In this case, I realised, they had been correct with many of the names common in modern textbooks even today. There was only one photo alongside the mirror, a full family shot at a BBQ a long time ago. I couldn't have been older than eight, and we all stood, Mum and Dad together, in each other's arms, Eliza, who was four, running after Alex. Preston, and I who stood in front of Grandpa and Maggie.

She stood in the centre of it all, as though she bound the family together with her presence.

I smiled and took the picture, a single tear streaking down my face.

The door creaked open.

"Mads?" Ellen said softly, "I know you're busy but Naomi wants us all in the same room…"

"That's fine," I said, rising to my feet, "I'm done here."

I followed her closely as she treaded towards the stairs, "it's just that we need to keep noise to a minimum, and light." She said, awkwardly explaining herself as we entered the kitchen.

"Ellen" I said, smiling, "it's fine, really, I got what I needed."

Ellen blushed, "sorry, I just… I'm a soldier, not a counsellor".

I shrugged, "coulda fooled me, Doc".

She smiled, relaxing a bit as she approached Naomi, who stood guard by the window. They said something to each other and the SPARTAN nodded, leaving Ellen to stand at the window. I sat at the table as she stalked towards me, her heavy armour making deliberate and delicate steps to the opposite end of the large oakwood furniture. With a quick and swift movement, she unclipped the helmet and removed it, unleashing her light blonde hair, and her steely ice-cold eyes.

Her eye's met mine for a moment that seemed to stretch out for a thousand years before she dipped them and blushed, her pallid face growing colourful for the first time in what seemed, at least to me, as an achingly long time.

I watched her like a hawk as she melted back into her robotic and automatic military machine mode. Her fingers danced over the small head-piece that had been clipped to the side of her helmet.

"Can I help you?" She asked, tinkering with the comms device.

"Just watching you work." I replied, not breaking eye contact with her as she worked. It was funny, that a little eye contact could unnerve such a machine of a warrior.

I guess that's what happens when you turn a child into a killing machine. You sacrifice their humanity for a killer instinct.

One day I would know more about the SPARTAN program and whomever had the idea to steal children like that? Well, I would enjoy that conversation very much.

"What are you doing?" I asked, when it became clear she wouldn't reply.

"Looking for the Captain."

"By fixing the phone?"

"It's not a phone"

"It basically is." I said, smiling inwardly.

"I need to re-encrypt this, to make sure that when I send out the call, we don't alert the rest of the covenant."

"So how is that going?"

"Slower than I would like." She said, looking me dead in the eye.

I shuddered; she truly was formidable.

"All that money and training and you can't multi-task?" I said, teasingly.

Naomi gave me an odd look, one comprising of rage, shock, disbelief and a concerted effort to remain neutral in her expression. It was clear that people didn't speak to SPARTANs like that.

Jack, who I thought had been asleep at the table for the duration of the conversation, opened one eye and looked at me as if to warn me.

Naomi however, shrugged. "Don't really need to multi-task when you know forty different ways to snap someone's neck."

"Different skillset I suppose" I replied, grinning.

Naomi grinned as well, "yeah, something like that."

I took the smile as a good sign and left Naomi to it, taking the folded note from my pocket and running my fingers along it, tapping the corners nervously before taking a deep breath and pulling it open:

Maddie

Going to spaceport by the marina, left you your stuff in case you come home

Be safe.

Make it home to us

We love you

Mum

It was a short letter but it balled up a wealth of emotions deep in my gut. They had gone to the spaceport. The spaceport which had been bombarded from orbit weeks ago.

I shook my head.

I don't know that they are dead. Not yet. They could be alive. I need to get out of here, I need to find out for sure.

There was a long silence as I stewed in my own dread. Outside, all was quiet, as though the war was a big lie and that this wasn't a waking nightmare but rather a lie conjured by my brain in my sleep. The pain in my stomach and my forearm put that fantasy to bed and I knew I couldn't afford to be quite so complacent with my attitude, not when I was close to a slim hope of survival.

"Got it." Naomi said, matter-of-factly.

At the window, Ellen turned and Jack stirred.

"You did? Send the message!" Jack said with an elated grin.

Naomi clipped the comms-link to her helmet and put it back on her head, her icy eyes slipping underneath the visor like pearls beneath the waves.

"Alpha-One actual, this is Sierra Zero-One-Zero. Do you read? Come in Alpha-One."

There was silence.

"Alpha-One actual, this is Sierra Zero-One-Zero. Do you read? Come in Alpha-One." She repeated.

This time, there was a click and the quiet voice of Captain Felix Drake responded, "Good to hear from you Naomi, thought you were MIA as well for a while now. Saw some commotion going on in the city, that wouldn't have anything to do with you, would it?"

"No Sir, some kind of internal struggle in the Covenant ranks."

"I see." He said, wearily. "Is Private Staggs still with you?"

"Yes sir, along with the rest of Alpha-One".

"The rest? Wait-" he said, his voice restored by a flash of hope.

"We managed to recover Sergeant Braeburn and the VIP as we made our escape."

"So, Maddie is-"

"Alive, yes."

"Thank God." He said, as a welt of tension evaporated from his voice. "Tell her we've locked down SBC, that's your rally point."

"Now sir?"

"Yes. You can rest here."

My heart soared a little, the SBC building was a tv station not far from here, with a bit of luck and speed, I would be another step closer to safety, and learning the fate of my family. With all the enthusiasm of a child on a sugar rush, I scooped up my competition rifle, the ammunition and Preston's hatchet, readying myself to move.

Hi guys,

Cheers again for reading! It's been a wild ride but I'm happy to say that I actually have the end of this little adventure fully mapped out. It's been such a great experience for me and I just wanted to give a big thank you to every follower, every reviewer, and every person with the slightest investment in Ms. Harper. I'll keep updating weekly-ish so that I can relax a little!

Thanks again for indulging me,

TheCalrog