Chapter One

Ad Arcendam Hostium

- To repel the enemy

UNSC Pillar of Autumn

Reach

August, 2552

"Do you understand me sailor?"

Captain Keyes blinked at the man on the vidscreen. Yes, he understood – of course he understood. The order had been clear, and the vid connection uninterrupted. "But Admiral, the Covenant – "

"I know damn well about the Covenant," Admiral Michael Stanforth said from the other side of the connection. The man looked down from the camera, sighing audibly. When he looked back up, Keyes saw the weariness contained within his eyes. "We thought blowing that CSO would turn the tide, but… well – you've seen the current sensor data."

Keyes' eyes flicked to the Autumn's main bridge TacBoard, where the tactical display of the Epsilon Eridani system shone in great detail. The mass of red was still there, holding just out of range of the Orbital Defense Platforms. Four-hundred and forty-two Covenant warships… far, far too many.

Hovering close to the orbital gun network and the industrial shipyards, the familiar blue hues of one-hundred and fifty-three UNSC vessels seemed to pale in comparison to the foreboding formation of alien invaders. Operating under the three-to-one rule which had been proven in blood time and time again, the totality of FLEETCOM Sector One would have been an even match for a major Covenant task force of forty or fifty vessels, even disregarding the defensive power provided by the ODP network.

They weren't looking at a major task force though… they were looking at an entire Covenant Armada.

"I have seen it," Keyes replied.

Stanforth nodded slowly. His next words were softer, more sympathetic. "This isn't running, Captain. These orders come from the top of HIGHCOM. I'll ask again, 'cause I need the official response. Do you understand your orders as they have been given to you?"

Keyes took a deep breath, letting it out in a heavy exhale. "I understand, Admiral."

"Good." Stanforth said. "And your special assets?"

"All aboard and secured," Keyes replied. "Not going to be happy being pulled away from the fight here."

"Their fight will come," Stanforth said. "But not on Reach. Reach is dead already… it just doesn't know it yet."

Keyes tried not to scowl. When the Covenant took Reach, they would be conquering one of Humanity's last and strongest bastions against the relentless devastation of Covenant fanaticism. And it was a matter of when - not if - just the size of their armada guaranteed that. Then, their genocidal enemy of the last three decades would be one step closer to their ultimate target: Earth.

"The R&R ship Embrace is moving to your position to shield your jump from the Covenant. We don't want them seeing your exit vectors," Stanforth continued.

"Yes Admiral," Keyes said. The Embrace was an entire two-by-one kilometer square of repair and refit stations. The ship would easily be large enough to conceal the Autumn as it jumped out of system.

Stanforth paused for a moment. "I've done my damndest to give you our best for this op — but you all may end up in a bigger shitstorm than the one you're about to leave." He gave Keyes a grim, tight-lipped smile. "Hell, that's actually what we're counting on. I'm sending the encrypted order package to your CNI on a timed-release. I want you well within slipspace before you open it. Get underway as soon as the Embrace is in position. Godspeed Captain. Stanforth out."

His mind never let him forget how breathtaking it was. The swirling eddies of light and dark energy painted on the eternal black canvas of space. At first it had been exciting, even frightening, but over time the unique visage laid out before him had become one of safety. Despite the otherworldly nature of the phenomenon, it had always kept him grounded in reality. It was a reminder of how far they had come, but also a reminder of how much was still unknown about the universe.

Captain Jacob Keyes fingered the two release buttons on his crash webbing, shrugging off the protective restraining belts and stood up from his command chair. He took a few steps towards the transparasteel bridge windows, out of which the crackling maelstrom of slipspace was the only visible feature. He reached up and undid his neckline seals, sliding off his hardsuit's helmet with an accompanying hiss of released air.

Habitually, he reached into the specific compartment on his belt and felt his fingers grasp the familiar smoothness of his grandfather's pipe. He took it out and tucked the tip into the corner of his lip, hands trembling ever so slightly as he did so. Keyes turned so that he was looking inwards at the bridge of his Halcyon-Class Cruiser, clasping his hands behind his back with a tight grip.

The entire bridge crew was looking at him, heads and necks craned around their chairs, still strapped into their crash-webbing. Through their transparent visors Keyes saw a number of emotions etched onto each of their faces and within each of their eyes: relief, anger, determination, grief, fatigue, among others. He wondered what they were seeing in his own features right now.

"Lieutenant Dominique, give me the shipwide band," Keyes said.

The Pillar of Autumn's communications officer nodded, the tight bun of brown hair wrapped at the rear of his head bobbing as he used his console to open the requested channel. "Ready sir."

Keyes quietly cleared his throat, then lightly clenched the left side of his jaw to activate his earpiece's broadcast function. "Attention all hands, this is the Captain speaking. Alert status is now downgraded from Condition One to Condition Two. Repeat, set Condition Two throughout the ship."

He looked to Lieutenant Dominique and signaled him to close the channel. The Autumn's bridge filled with the clicks and hisses of crash-webbing and helmets releasing as the rest of the command crew followed suit.

"Lieutenant Commander Purdy? How are we looking?" Keyes asked. He heard quick footsteps coming up behind him as the ship's stout, middle-aged Chief Engineer stopped beside him.

"Ship's running as pretty as a peach," Purdy said, tapping on the TacBoard and cycling through the different display options until status diagrams of the Autumn's major engineering components took up the board. "The Shaw-Fujikawa generator is showing green across the board, and I've got the reactor ring running nice and cool at fifty percent power."

"Good," Keyes said, allowing himself a bit of relief. The Covenant had hit Reach so unexpectedly that the Pillar of Autumn hadn't even had time for a shakedown cruise. He turned his head to look down at Purdy, who was tucking a loose strand of ginger hair back behind an ear. "Keep a close eye on everything, this is our first time running a lot of these new systems outside the tests the shipyard did."

"We're still getting used to them too," Purdy said, "But don't worry sir, I've got my techs watching everything like hawks."

Lieutenant Hall came up and flanked Keyes' other side. "Our current jump has us in the slipstream for the next two hours sir," she said. "Orders?"

Keyes checked the small red timer counting down in the top left corner of his vision, visible only to him. 58:43:02. "I'll know more in an hour Lieutenant. For now, we stay the course."

"Understood Captain." She saw Hall's blue eyes flick to the base of Keye's skull, where his CNI, or Command Neural Interface, was visible. "I'm working on getting an accurate accounting of our crew and equipment… we picked up a lot of Army personnel bugging out from the surface dockyard."

"Good idea," Keyes said. "Have Hikowa help you with that, and send me the info once you've solidified it. I want exact numbers on what ordnance, vehicles, troops, and special assets we currently have available."

"Aye Captain," Hall said. Keyes saw something catch her eye towards the front of the bridge. "Speaking of special assets…"

Keyes could hear Corporal Lovik of his bridge guard speaking from his post at the entryway. "State your business."

"Master Chief Petty Officer Sierra-117 to see the Captain."

Keyes turned around so that the entrance of the bridge was visible to him. Standing over seven feet tall in his advanced dark green MJOLNIR powered assault armor, MCPO Sierra-117 dwarfed even the respectable bulk of the Marine Corporal and the rest of his fireteam standing guard.

"Let him through Corporal," Keyes said, and Lovik and his squad stepped aside. "Hall, Purdy, dismissed."

The Spartan nodded respectfully at Lovik, then walked past the Marines and into the bridge proper. Keyes watched as the Spartan came towards him at the central TacBoard, Hall and Purdy leaving to go back to their respective stations and tasks. The mechanical fluidity of his movements never failed to impress Keyes, the Spartan's armored boots making only the slightest thuds on the deck as he walked.

"Captain," the Spartan said, straightening to attention and saluting Keyes. "MCPO Sierra-117 reporting."

"At ease," Keyes said, returning the salute. "Your report, Master Chief?"

Almost imperceptibly, the Master Chief titled his head to the side. Keyes looked in that direction, noting a few of his bridge crew trying to be nonchalant about their observations of the hulking Spartan talking with their Captain. He understood what the gesture meant. "Walk with me Master Chief," Keyes said. "Lieutenant Hall, you have the bridge."

"Aye Captain, I have the bridge," he heard Hall call out from behind him as Keyes gestured to the Spartan to follow him. He waved off the pair of Marine Guards Lovik tried to have fall in with him, starting in the direction of his personal cabin not far from the bridge.

"How is she?" Keyes asked, after they had gotten a ways down the corridor.

"Alive," the Master Chief said. "In surgery, Med Bay Two."

"Injuries?"

"Extensive."

Keyes drew his lips tight together. "You know Spartans, Master Chief. What is your assessment?"

Sierra-117 paused for a moment before answering. "I don't believe she will make it out of surgery."

The Captain of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn took a deep breath at that, frowning deeply. He could only imagine what qualified as "extensive" injuries to someone like the Master Chief. "Better chance here on the Autumns' operating table surrounded by the Navy's best doctors than alone down in the dirt on Reach. Thank you for even trying son. It's the least we could have done after everything Noble Team sacrificed to get us off-planet."

"Yessir," 117 said. "I've compiled and submitted the operational report."

"I'll be sure to go through it," Keyes said. They reached the non-descript door set into the corridor that marked the entry to his cabin. He was about to punch in the access code when the Spartan spoke again.

"There's something else, Captain."

Keyes raised an eyebrow. "Is there? Explain."

"It would be better to show you, sir."

"An auxiliary mission objective…" Captain Keyes said, shaking his head with no small amount of disbelief. "This is what you define as an auxiliary mission objective?"

"Yes Captain," the Master Chief said, standing to his right. "We have standing orders to capture Covenant technology when able. An opportunity presented itself to Sierra-087 during the extraction opration, and she capitalized."

"Technology, huh..." Keyes muttered, trailing off as he examined the occupant of Cryopod 28-B - and the four hinged jaws splayed out in alarm, frozen in time within the cryostasis of the pod. He took a step closer, peering up into the yellow eyes still seething with motionless rage. Starting at the long neck, a tight, form-fitting black undersuit made visible thick ropes and cords of solid, powerful muscle. "Where's his combat harness?"

"We stripped it off before we froze him," a voice to his left said. Keyes' CNI tagged her as Sierra-087 in his vision, and she was holding a dark purple, alien helmet in her hands. She handed it to Keyes. "SpecOps."

Keyes let out a low whistle, examining the helmet he had been handed. It was smooth and curved, with a few minor bulbous protrusions that no doubt held targeting, comms, and sensor hardware. "Excellent work Spartan," Keyes said.

"Thank you sir," Sierra-087 replied. "He was good - but I was better. We managed to pick up a respectable deal of Covenant tech and weapons as well.

He handed the helmet back to 087. "Who else knows about this?"

"My Spartans, Captain Rawley and Lieutenant Frye of Echo 419, and the AI," Sierra-117 said. "We landed in auxiliary hangar three, and cleared the path to Cryobay B of all personnel before transporting the prisoner."

Keyes spun around slowly, taking in the entirety of Cryobay B. Twenty-three other armored Spartan-II's milled about, most watching his inspection of their new prisoner, some moving crates and equipment bags, two setting out extra sturdy-looking cots, one prone out on their back on the deck in the far corner, arms crossed over their chestplate. It seemed as if the Pillar of Autumn's twenty-five 'special assets' were moving into one of his cryobays.

"Keep this under wraps," he said, tuning back to the captured Special Operations Elite in cryopod 28-B. "The details surrounding your extraction of Noble Six from the surface of Reach is now classified to anyone who isn't myself, or to those who already know. Understood?"

"Understood Captain," 117 confirmed. "We have blacked out the bay already."

Keyes looked around the bay again, this time noting the jet-black tape that now completely covered the second-level windows where the cryotechs usually worked, as well as the security cameras in each corner. "Good. We'll have to think of an interrogation strategy, but for now… keep him cold."

He turned to leave, intending to make his way back up to his cabin in time for the details of his new orders to unlock, but Sierra-117 called out to him.

"Captain..." the Spartan started. Keyes noticed that along with his, every other orange hexagonal faceplate in the cryobay was now pointed his way. "We've left Reach. Do we have a new mission?"

We've left Reach. The words had been a statement of fact from the Spartan, not an accusation nor a question. A snapshot of memory from decades ago flashed through Keyes' mind, and in his peripherals he saw a much younger version of himself laying a heavily sedated six-year-old into a cryotube much like the ones currently in the bay.

"We do," he answered. "I'm waiting on the time-release to expire to get the details, but I'm told the operation comes right from High Command."

"Whatever it is, we'll get it done sir," Sierra-117 said with confidence.

"I'm sure you will son," Keyes said softly, "I'm sure you will."

Keyes got up from his desk to pace around the confines of his private cabin for the third time in ten minutes. He checked the countdown in his vision - 04:02:44. Four minutes. He pulled up the general accounting report Lieutenants Hall and Hikowa had sent to him. Nothing had changed since he had read through it five minutes ago, nor when he had read through it fifteen minutes before that. Skimming past the minute details of the Autumn's substantial armament and vehicle complement, he once again settled on the crew complement numbers - the living, breathing Humans the UNSC had entrusted to his care.

One thousand naval crew, over half pulled directly from his former command, the UNSC Iroquois. Six hundred Marines of the veteran 3rd Regiment of the 79th Infantry Battalion. Four hundred elite ODSTs from the 1st Battalion of the 105th Shock Troops Division. Just under five hundred UNSC Army troopers from varying units that had been pulled onboard during their evacuation from the ground of Reach. Twenty-five Spartan-II supersoldiers. One severely wounded Spartan-III. One captured Special Operations Elite.

He took his grandfather's pipe out of his pocket again and put the tip in the corner of his mouth, working his tongue around the familiar wooden stem. He had paused his meandering in front of the piece of wall just above his nightstand, where attached to the wall was a photograph of a time long-since passed.

Keyes saw himself in the photo, hair a much darker black than it was today, dressed in an immaculately pressed Senior Lieutenant's uniform. He was standing at crisp attention, arms pressed tight to his sides, dark, serious eyes set straight ahead. To his left, a tall woman held a plum-colored handbag that matched the large, wide-brimmed hat she liked to wear. She was looking downwards, the hint of a smile on her thin lips. In between them both, a young girl beamed at a well-made model of an old Tector-class Corvette.

He reached out and touched the frame of the photograph, tracing the outline of the woman's lithe figure with a finger, and smiling himself when he looked at the expressive joy written on the young girl's face. Keyes looked back on that day fondly, when he had received that promotion and his first real command of a UNSC ship of the line. Catherine had travelled an entire month to Luna to make the ceremony, and had surprised Miranda with a scale model of the ship that her father was about to take out into the great beyond. The Covenant War had been a small thing then, distant, relegated to a couple of far outer colony worlds. A simpler time, before Catherine's work had consumed her, and before the advance of the enemy had consumed him.

The countdown flashed. 00:00:00.

Keyes sat down at his desk, placing both of his hands on the cool surface of the metal table. He opened the file with a directed pair of blinks, waiting several seconds for the encryption software to run. When it was finished, a neat page of text appeared in the center of his vision, watermarked by the dual-shaded triangle of the Office of Naval Intelligence. He read the title.

Operation: RED FLAG

A/N: Hey everyone, this is just an idea that's been floating around in my head for a while, decided to give it a go! Work on other stories will continue, do not fear. This draws some inspiration from the story Halo: The Art Of War by Havoc-legionnaire, which I enjoyed back in the day. As you can already see, this story is AU, but everything will be still be grounded in the gritty reality of the Halo universe that we all know and love. More to come! Thanks for reading :)