Mantle, Doctor Polendina's Workshop

October 29th, 2018 Local Time, 2552

It had only been around a minute since Doctor Polendina had gone silent, but for Ben, it had felt like eons had passed. He had always heard from others how tragic moments could seem like that, though he had very little to compare it to. No matter the truth of that statement, Spartan Time made the effect even worse. The knowledge that Curie was in danger had kept him on edge before now, but with the moment finally arriving, things had only become worse. The stress and anxiety of potentially losing her threatened to overwhelm him. There was nothing worse than being forced into a battle that he had no way of fighting.

In his strange mechanical chair, Doctor Polendina appeared at a glance to be lifeless; the steady rise and fall of his chest proved otherwise, as well as Penny's reassurances that this was normal. She did seem to be a bit nervous, but Ben willed himself to believe it was a concern expected from a daughter to a father during a risky procedure, and not some sign that things had gone wrong somehow.

"Do you think that this is going to take a while?" Thomas awkwardly spoke up as he turned to Penny.

Penny shook her head. "I don't believe so, but I wasn't really aware of what was happening around me when I was being created, so my Father may need a bit longer."

"I say let him take his time." Yu said. "We don't want him to rush what he's doing."

Yes, let him do this correctly, not quickly. Ben thought. Even so, the idea of having to stand around uselessly for even longer was a very unappealing concept. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

The composure of his voice must have been a bit strained, because everybody in the room gave him an odd look, with the exception of Penny. It was a strange expression, ranging somewhere from confusion and surprise to sorrow and pity. Under normal circumstances, he would have utterly hated it, but right now he found it very difficult to care. He was stressed, tired, and extremely worried, there wasn't any point in hiding that.

"There's nothing that you can do, Sergeant." Thomas replied. There was a bit of irritation in how he spoke, but Ben was willing to guess that wasn't directed towards him. "It's all up to Curie and the Doctor."

Even though what Thomas said was indisputably the truth, Ben still wracked his mind for something, anything that he could do to help. For many grueling years, he had trained so that he would never have to find himself in this situation ever again. So that he would never be helpless and unable to do anything but watch as people died, especially not his closest friend. As hard as it was for him to admit it, there just wasn't anything that he could do.

"You've done a lot already." Thomas pointed out. "If it weren't for you and Penny, Curie would've died already. I've seen how quickly rampancy can destroy an AI. She's lucky to have had you."

Again, Ben looked at Curie's empty datachip as it lay in Pietro's hand, the absence of any kind of light, any sign of life, was almost too much to bear. Promise me that you'll take care of yourself.

More time passed, although exactly how long, it was getting hard to tell. Ben almost wished he started a timer when the Doctor had begun the process, but at the same time, he was equally glad that he didn't have an ever-growing number resting over his head. A constant reminder of how useless he was would've probably hurt more than it would've helped.

Suddenly, and without warning, Pietro sat up in his chair. He coughed and gasped for air as his Aura crackled and flared around him. Penny rushed to his side and held his hand in a gesture of reassurance as he caught his breath.

Pietro was not the only one who had awakened.

Curie's eyes opened, followed by her taking a long, deep gasp of air. "I… I feel… I feel so strange."

Her voice sounded so different now that it was coming from her own mouth, rather than the speakers of Ben's helmet, and yet it was still undeniably her's. Her accent, her tone of voice, it all sounded completely natural.

"Curie!" Ben rushed over to her side in an instant. "Are… are you okay? How do you feel?"

"Woah now, calm down a bit there, Sergeant." Pietro warned, although there was no real hostility in his voice. "I know that you're worried, but try to give her some space, this is all new territory for her."

Ben nodded and did as he was told, but Curie raised a hand to stop him. "No no, he is fine where he is. I just… this is so far from what I had expected."

Pietro gave her a wide smile. "If you say so. Now, it seems like you can hear us just fine, and you seem to have mastered talking pretty quickly."

Curie looked around the room, her eyes darting to every corner and detail around her, eager to digest everything that she could see. "That is strange, I have never spoken like this before, and yet, it feels so natural."

"That's your instincts, don't worry, I had them too." Penny cheerfully explained. "You get used to them quickly."

"Instincts?" Curie asked. "I… I think I understand."

"That's good." Pietro said. "How about your damage, do you still feel it?"

Curie was silent for a moment. "...No. I think that it is gone."

Ben let out a breath that he didn't know he'd been holding, their plan had worked. Despite having little to no basis in science, practicality, or reason, they had managed to save Curie from what should have been an unavoidable fate.

"Now that's a relief." Thomas commented from across the room. "Give me just a moment, I need to notify the Commander."

"Feel free to use the Scroll in the front room." Pietro offered. Once Thomas had left, he turned back towards Curie. "Now Curie, I'd like to ask you a couple of simple questions. I just want to make sure that you've still got all of your cognitive functions."

Curie turned to face him and awkwardly nodded, the unfamiliar motion apparently giving her more problems than speaking did. "Of course, go right ahead."

The questions turned out to be even more simple than Ben had expected. "What is your favorite color?" and "What is two plus one?" and other similar questions. He didn't really see what Doctor Polendina was hoping to gain from Curie's answers, but when he was done he seemed to be satisfied with the answers that she gave.

"Good, it seems like you didn't suffer any kind of damage during the transfer." Pietro happily announced. "Hold on a moment, let me just disable your inhibitors here, you might feel a little awkward at first."

The Doctor pressed a button on the stand that was holding her body up, causing the device to retract, allowing her to stand on her own two feet. It took Curie a moment to get used to balancing, but within a few seconds, she stood tall and on her own accord with a look of giddy amazement on her face.

It's nice to see her happy again. Ben thought with a smile of his own.

"I had always imagined gravity as a feeling that was constantly felt across the entire body, similar to the atmosphere." Curie excitedly noted as she experimentally lifted one foot, but quickly put it back down as she began to lose balance. "But now I see that is not the case, only the point of contact with the ground creates the sensation… I shall have to examine this further."

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to do that." Pietro said. "Now if you don't mind waiting for a moment, I want to run a few final diagnostics to make sure your body is working right. I'll go get my tools, don't try to do anything too strenuous while I'm gone, but feel free to try walking around a little."

"Don't worry friend Curie, I'll walk you through it!" Penny excitedly said.

"Grab on to my hand." Ben said, offering up one of his palms for her to use for balance, which she gratefully accepted.

Penny and Ben both took one of Curie's hands and slowly helped her through the first few steps. It was slow going, but between Penny's advice and Ben helping with her balance, she was soon walking on her own quite confidently.

"This is much easier than I anticipated." Curie commented. "Penny, were you able to learn to walk this quickly?"

Penny awkwardly shook her head. "Well… not quite, but that was because my legs weren't quite done yet. Once they were finished, I only needed a few minutes to get the hang of it."

Curie hummed aloud. "That is very reassuring."

Penny gave her a broad smile. "I'm always happy to help!"

"And we're grateful for it." Ben replied. "Without you… I don't want to think about what would have happened."

Penny and Curie both looked up at him with that same worried expression that he had noticed from Yu and Thomas before. Penny opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, something that Ben had never expected to be possible happened.

Curie hugged him.

"Do not talk like that!" She demanded. "I am here now, and I am not leaving you!"

At first, he was so stunned that he didn't know what to do, or even what to say. He couldn't even remember the last time that anybody had hugged him. Eventually, however, he awkwardly returned the hug as best as he could, although the difference in height between them was hard to get around.

"I know." He eventually answered. "...Thank you."

Curie let out a long sigh of relief. "Do hugs always make you feel like this?"

Ben chuckled softly. "I wouldn't know."

"Then I shall have to run tests." She hugged him tighter in response. "Lots of them… for science."

He could only smile. "I… would like that."

Curie looked up at him with a broad smile. It seemed like she was about to say something, but she never got to say it, as it was now Penny's turn to interrupt.

"Hugs!"

With a surprising amount of force, Penny attempted to join in the hug, but instead managed to completely knock Curie off balance and send both of them crashing to the ground as Ben tried and failed to catch them.

While Ben was still too stunned to even react to what had just happened, Curie seemed to recover a lot more quickly, and roared with laughter as she sat back up. "Please Penny, be a bit more gentle! I am still getting used to this!"

Penny got back up to her feet while Ben helped Curie back onto hers. "You are right, I should be more careful. I am sorry, friend Curie."

Curie, still grinning like a madwoman, reached out and caught Penny in a hug of her own volition. "I forgive you Penny, and thank you. Thank you so much for all that you have done!"

While Penny eagerly returned the hug, Ben noticed that Yu had not spoken during any of what had just happened. He turned to see if perhaps she was silently mocking them from across the room, but instead saw that she was silently examining something by the pedestal that Curie's body had been resting on. His curiosity now peaked, he left Penny and Curie to see what was happening.

"Is something wrong?" He asked. He was silently concerned about what could possibly have Yu so enamoured that she wouldn't even notice Penny and Curie both falling to the ground.

"Maybe…" Yu turned to face him, and as she did, he noticed that she was holding something. "Here, take a look at this."

She handed him a small object, and as she dropped it into his hand he immediately realized what had her so enamored. It was Curie's datachip, but rather than being dark and lifeless as it had been before, there was now a dark blue glow that faintly illuminated his palm emanating from the device, as if there was an AI present inside.

"Is something wrong, friend Ben?" Penny asked.

Ben looked over his shoulder to see that Curie and Penny had both approached to see what was going on, and as soon as Curie got a look at the glowing chip, she gasped. "Wait… I have seen that light before… it cannot be…"

"I think it is." Ben confirmed, scarcely believing what he was saying. He had also seen that glow before, only once, and it hadn't been for long. "Dot… is that you?"

The light flicked for a moment, and after a few seconds, a hologram depicting a familiar grid of constantly-changing blue lights formed from the datachip.

"Curie. Sierra Zero-Two-One. It is good to see you both again." Auntie Dot said. "Would you care to explain what has happened since we last spoke?"

UNSC Dominion, Bridge

October 29th, 2319 Local Time, 2552

Over decades of grueling warfare against the Covenant, Richard had learned that victory was something to be savored. Nobody could truly predict when the next hard-fought battle would be won, and that meant that it was wise to enjoy the sense of relief that was ever-so contagious after a victory. He'd always found optimism to be very dangerous, but frankly speaking, it was a genuinely nice feeling to just be happy every once and a while.

So far, the crew of the Dominion had enjoyed a handful of victories on Remnant, but more often than not, they came at a high price. In Atlas, they had failed to save a large number of the civilians that were being kept as slaves, and in Argus, they had suffered severe losses to the surprisingly-capable Grimm.

But finally, thanks to the combined efforts of Curie, Ben, Thomas, Penny, Yu, and Doctor Polendina, a decisive victory was achieved. Not on the fields of battle, but instead in the form of a scientific achievement. Finding a cure for Curie's Rampancy, as well as the subsequent damage that the condition afflicted, was more than just good news for Curie, it was a victory for the entire concept of a "Smart" AI.

Sometimes victory doesn't come from a rifle or a missile, it comes from a couple of brilliant minds and a will to change the world. Richard happily thought. It's a damn shame we don't have any civilian representatives aboard, I'd write him up for a Nobel Prize in a heartbeat. Maybe Atlas's Council can do the honors…

As if Curie's continued survival wasn't already enough of a victory, then Auntie Dot's apparent resurrection certainly was. Richard didn't fully understand the details of how she had managed to survive, but according to Thomas, nobody else did either, so at least he was in good company.

The last that anybody had ever seen of Dot was when she had urged Curie to integrate her components into her own programming, which she had reluctantly done. By every metric, that should've been the end for Dot, and everyone had simply assumed that she was gone, including Curie. When Curie was transferred into her new body, however, Dot had somehow been left behind in Curie's datachip.

To Richard, it seemed almost too good to be true, to the point where he was quite suspicious and wary of what had brought Dot back from the dead. Then again, Dot was never really alive to begin with. Dumb AI were programmed from scratch and lacked any degree of sentience, so perhaps it wasn't entirely unreasonable to assume that she could somehow be repaired. The only true theory that they had to work with was put forward by Doctor Polendina, who proposed that since Dot didn't have a Soul, and that she wasn't ever really accepted by Curie as a part of herself, Dot had been left behind in Curie's datachip while she was being moved to her new body.

Despite Richard's wariness, he certainly wasn't going to turn down the idea of having a second AI to help run the Dominion, as even if Dot didn't have even the same capabilities of Curie, a "Dumb" AI was still an incredibly advanced and intelligent thing to have. While they lacked the adaptability and creativity of a "Smart" AI, they were exceptionally useful in the roles that they had been created to fulfill. Seeing as how Dot had been commissioned as a Planetary Defense AI, she would undoubtedly make a very useful shipboard AI for the Dominion while Curie got used to having a body.

"Commander." Richard was distracted from his thoughts as Bradford called for his attention. "Fireball just reported in. She's got everybody aboard and should be back aboard within the hour."

"Good, alert the Landing Officers to await her arrival." Richard replied. "And if you've got a minute, can you tell Ensign Gillespie that I need that robotics package sent to Doctor Polendina before midnight?"

Bradford nodded. "His shift ended about half an hour ago, but I can handle it."

"Just make sure all of that data is encrypted properly, I don't want that information getting into the wrong hands." Richard reaffirmed.

In exchange for Doctor Polendina's service to the UNSC, Richard had agreed to provide Atlas with all of the UNSC's knowledge in the field of robotics, which was something that he had been planning to do anyway. While Atlas's robotic developments were extremely impressive given the overall technology limitations on Remnant, they also suffered from a number of preventable faults in their designs. Hopefully now that Doctor Polendina was armed with the UNSC's knowledge on military drones, he could help Atlas's robots conquer their faults, like low battery life, or traversing staircases.

Of course, Richard was still a bit wary as to why exactly Atlas had been secretly developing an android teenage girl designed to blend in as an ordinary human, especially once he learned that she carried an arsenal more befitting of a gunship than a Huntsman. For now, he was willing to accept the convenience of the situation for what it was, and not for what it possibly represented, but he'd have his eyes peeled.

They had this program locked up tighter than the Midnight Facility, and the budget speaks for itself. Richard thought as he briefly skimmed over the actual files of the P.E.N.N.Y project on his datapad. What could have motivated General Ironwood to go along with all of this?

He was once more shaken from his thoughts, this time by Specialist Schnee, who entered the bridge holding the UNSC Datapad that she had been issued. Judging from the scowl on her face, it wasn't anything good. "Commander Miller, I received a new message from Silver, you should have a look at this."

Richard wordlessly accepted the datapad and loaded the message while Bradford grumbled somewhere beside him. "I changed all of the encryption keys, how the hell is he contacting us?"

"He didn't. He contacted me." Winter answered, holding up her scroll for clarification. "I simply transferred the message over to one of your devices. I don't enjoy serving as a glorified messenger."

Richard chuckled softly. "I'll be sure to tell him so if I ever get the chance to speak with him. But if he's got actionable intel on the White Fang, then I say we listen to what he's got to say."

Richard played the video file and was greeted by the sight of a vaguely familiar figure in typical White Fang garb. Again, Silver had concealed their own identity using censorship filters and voice modulation, and they'd even done a good job of covering up where exactly they were recording from. Most of Silver's surroundings were shrouded in distortion and darkness, but Richard was able to see that the ground was very muddy, for all the good that did.

"I have information that must reach the UNSC's Leadership regarding the White Fang's ongoing plans."

Straight to the point, and exactly what we were hoping for. Richard thought. That's not the slightest bit worrying.

"The UNSC's victory in Kuo Kuana has shaken the White Fang's Leadership. Sienna Khan has ordered that they evacuate their headquarters, as she fears that the UNSC is hunting them." Silver explained. "Whether or not that is true is of little concern now, what matters is that you, and by extension, the UNSC, now have an opportunity to strike at the bulk of the White Fang's strength while they are unprepared."

"Huh, so she's smarter than she seems." Bradford murmured. "Pull her forces into positions where we can't find them, but I doubt she accounted for our man on the inside…"

"Sienna Khan is not to be underestimated." Winter curtly stated. "She makes up for what she lacks in critical thinking with brutality and ingenuity, you should be wary."

"She's right, Bradford." Richard added. "Remember what happened the last time we went into a battle with the expectation of an easy victory?"

Bradford didn't reply, he didn't need to, the casualties at Argus spoke for themselves.

Richard resumed Silver's video and listened to what he had to say. "The White Fang's Headquarters is built into an old prison on the Northern Coast, used as a labor camp during the Faunus Revolution. Its old name was the Oubliette Facility, Atlesian Military records should have it on file."

Richard noted that even though Winter didn't actually say anything, her posture noticeably stiffened up once she heard that name.

"All non-combatants have already been evacuated." Silver continued. "No doubt Specialist Schnee has already warned you about Sienna Khan and how she is not to be underestimated. Approach with caution, but be warned, you only have a limited window to act."

Like with Silver's previous message, the video unceremoniously cut to black and ended. It was yet another piece of evidence for Richard's theory that whoever Silver was, they were experienced in the art of infiltration and intelligence gathering. After all, a spy never wasted time with anything as frivolous as goodbyes.

"What do you think, Commander?" Bradford asked. "It almost seems a little too good to be true, doesn't it?"

"Yeah…" Richard replied. "But at the same time, it would make sense for Sienna to try and disperse her forces. She'll know by now that she can't fight us in a pitched battle, so she'll try to whittle us down with guerrilla tactics, like the Insurrectionists did."

Bradford's face paled at the mention of Humanity's old conflict, and Richard wasn't surprised. Bradford was probably one of the few people to not only remember the height of the Insurrection, but to have fought against it. He would have seen the same devastation that Richard had, caused not by alien crusaders, but by their fellow man.

"Whatever the case, I strongly suggest scouting out the area before you attempt to strike." Winter said. "If the White Fang are truly based at the Oubliette Facility, it will be extremely well-fortified."

"Bradford, get one of our Clarion Spy Drones on station, and don't drop below thirty kilometers." Richard ordered. "I'd like to keep the element of surprise if we can."

Bradford nodded. "Aye Aye Sir."

While Bradford went to rally up the necessary Officers for conducting a covert recon mission, Richard turned to Winter. "So, this Oubliette Facility, I take it there's some history there?"

Winter nodded, her expression even more stony than usual. "There is. It was the site of a lot of battles during the Faunus Revolution. The Human Forces built it like a fortress and kept Faunus Prisoners as slave labor in an attempt to bait the Faunus Armies into attacking them. Once the Faunus tried to free the captives, the Humans would torture the prisoners, and the resulting pain and negative emotions would bring the Grimm down on the Faunus in force, all the while the Humans would be safe in their fortress."

Richard couldn't help but grimace, that certainly explained why Winter had seemed so uncomfortable when Silver had mentioned the location. "...I understand."

"I can't imagine why the White Fang would establish a base there." Winter continued. "There was enough misery in that place to keep the Grimm coming to it for centuries…"

"Whatever the case, it doesn't matter now." Richard said. "If the White Fang are using it as their base of operations and there's no civilians present, we're going to burn that place to the ground. Contact General Ironwood and let him know what's going on, and see if he has any more information on the Oubliette Facility. We'll need all the intel we can get."

"Yes Sir." Winter replied.

As she left, Richard turned back to his datapad, and brought up the manifest of the Dominion's remaining weapons systems. Now, what would be the best option for cracking a fortress open...

Mantle Slums

October 29th, 0156 Local Time, 2552

The last few days had been nothing but a headache for Doctor Watts. Between the Atlesian Military and their Specialists, the local Huntsmen, and the Police, there was no shortage of obstacles that would try to stop him from infecting the Atlesian Military's Computer Network with the Black Queen Virus. But innovation was born from adversity, a fact that Watts knew all too well.

Although he would never admit it, Tyrian had proven himself to be exceptionally useful. He had a unique way of making the occasional witness disappear without a trace, which was especially useful, considering that there were people absolutely everywhere. He wasn't sure exactly how many people Tyrian had actually killed, but he did know that whatever the Atlesian Police were getting paid, it was far too much.

These idiots couldn't find their way out of a paper bag. Watts thought as he nonchalantly strolled out of the Police Precinct in the center of Mantle. The negligence of the Police Force had inspired him to attempt something a bit more daring than usual, but with some of the new weapons at his disposal, he was confident that he could pull it off.

Remotely accessing any kind of secured network, especially one that was protected by the UNSC's infuriatingly effective encryption, was completely out of the question. Even though a physical connection was needed to secure his access to the system, he had thought of a method that might allow him to acquire that without doing something as suicidal and obvious as storming an Atlesian Military Installation.

The first part of his plan was now in his pocket, an identification card that had belonged to one of the Police Officers, but had been fairly effortlessly pickpocketed by Watts. On its own, it was useless, but once Tyrian got back from his assignment…

The door to their hideaway creaked open as if on cue, and Tyrian discreetly closed it behind him in a manner that made Watts somewhat uncomfortable.

"Were you discovered?" Watts asked.

Tyrian chuckled, a sinister smile growing on his face. "Oh nearly… nearly. But wouldn't you know it, Humans are particularly bad at watching what's above them."

Watts sighed, whether or not Tyrian had produced more corpses wasn't important. "Did you get it?"

Tyrian wordlessly tossed him a closed scroll with the sigil of the Mantle Police Department engraved into it. "I don't know why you would want one of their scrolls. Surely that alien one is much better."

"This one has something that mine doesn't." Watts explained as he opened the device. He inserted the ID card that he had stolen into a slot on the side of the device, causing it to chirp in confirmation and activate. "Perfect. Now, let's see how this goes."

As he had suspected, the Criminal Database was remotely accessible via the Police Scrolls, meaning that at least a part of the Atlesian Military Network could be remotely accessed. Now all he had to do was find a way to upload the Black Queen Virus, which was a very large program, in a timespan that any Atlesian Technician wouldn't find particularly suspicious.

That was where his stolen UNSC radio came into play. Despite being surprisingly large for what was meant to be a small piece of equipment, it was extremely advanced. It made a lot of sense, after all, the UNSC would need a way to communicate with any kind of satellite or starship, so it was no wonder that their communications technology was so powerful. The only part of it that Watts actually needed was the transmitter, which he'd determined to have far more strength than it reasonably should have been able to output.

Using the Police Scroll, the UNSC Radio, and his own UNSC datapad, Watts was able to form a linked system with access to the Atlesian Military Network, the means to upload his Black Queen Virus, and a transmitter powerful enough to send the entire thing before any Atlesian technician monitoring the CCTS noticed anything out of the ordinary.

It's a shame that the UNSC actually puts some effort into their cybersecurity… then again, I do enjoy a challenge. Watts thought as he began the transfer.

Moments later, and without any issue, it was done. Watts gathered up his equipment and turned Tyrian. "Pack your things, we're done here."

"Well, that was underwhelming." Tyrian complained. "I was hoping that things would get more… violent."

"My sincerest apologies that you did not get to brutally gut quite as many police officers as you would have preferred." Watts disingenuously replied. "But look on the bright side, I'm sure that Salem will be very pleased with your service."

He placed his suitcase on the ground and opened it, allowing the Seer Grimm inside to be free. He wagered that it would probably be a good idea to alert Salem that the mission was a success before they left, and not after. The surface of the creature's strange central orb shimmered, before a distinct image of Salem could be made out in it.

"Doctor, I trust you have good news?"

"The Black Queen Virus is in place. It is ready to be activated whenever you may have need of it." Watts answered.

"Excellent. Perhaps our opportunity to strike at Beacon hasn't yet been lost." Salem said. "But I'm afraid that your work is not yet done."

Watts bit back a grumble, he had been hoping to get a chance to continue working on his own projects, but he knew better than to disobey Salem's command. If there was one thing that she made abundantly clear, it was that her will was senior to everyone else's.

"Cinder has informed me that the leader of the White Fang is looking to make contact with you. Apparently one of her best fighters lost an arm fighting against the UNSC, and she needs your help to construct a cybernetic replacement." Salem explained.

"The White Fang?" Watts asked. "What's their issue with the UNSC?"

"The details of the conflict are unimportant." Salem shot down his question. "This is the perfect opportunity to divert the UNSC's attention from our own operations. Your orders are to take Tyrian and proceed to Menagerie, where you will assist the White Fang in their fight against the UNSC."

"It will be done, My Lady." Watts said. He did have his reservations about helping a Faunus-Supremacist Group, but his fear of Salem was far greater than his fear for Sienna Khan and her gang.

"Good." Salem said. "Every day that the UNSC wastes on petty conflicts is another day that they aren't helping Ozpin stop us, and we'll exploit that to our advantage for as long as we can…"

UNSC Dominion, Starboard Armory

October 30th, 0745 Local Time, 2552

Even though Ben had only gotten around six hours of sleep, he felt better than he had in weeks. With Curie no longer in a state of constant danger, he could relax a little bit, as a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. As much as he would have loved to stay aboard the Dominion and teach her how to do something for a change, circumstances prevented it.

At least Penny's here for her. He thought. Even if Penny was a bit eccentric, she had undoubtedly demonstrated her technical capabilities. She had also gone through the same awkward "growing pains" that Curie was now going through, so she would know how to help.

Richard and the other Senior Officers had managed to pinpoint the location of the White Fang's Headquarters and had devised a plan of attack, codenamed Operation Cyclone. While Ben wasn't sure of all of the details yet, he knew that this was not going to be a small skirmish like what had happened in Kuo Kuana. This would be a full-on battle. Practically every frontline serviceman that the UNSC had would be present, be they Marine, Tanker, Pilot, Spartan, or Artilleryman.

The objective was also refreshingly simple, capture the base and any valuable intelligence present while eliminating any White Fang resistance. No hostages this time, in fact, there weren't even any non-combatants present, so maximum force was outright encouraged. Truly, it would be a fitting bit of payback for the death of Kowalski.

The Helljumper's dog tags still rested in one of Ben's chest pouches, along with the dog tags of his other fallen squadmates, Kerry, Wilson, and Kilo. He didn't know what to do with them, as once their deaths were recorded, and with no next-of-kin available to deliver them to, he was never asked to turn them in. Disposing of them would be disrespectful, so instead he opted to hold onto them himself, serving as both a way to honor their sacrifice and a reminder of his own failure to protect them.

Kowalski's death had been especially hard, because unlike Ben's other fallen squadmates, he had been in a position to stop Kowalski's death. He would frequently find himself questioning what he could have done differently, replaying the events in his mind and trying to find some way to save the doomed Helljumper. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything that he could do now, not to save him at least.

That doesn't mean he can't be avenged. Ben thought with a grim sense of satisfaction. Adam Taurus was still out there, and with any luck, Ben was about to get a second chance at putting the bastard down. It would be an opportunity that he did not intend to waste.

"Ben?"

He looked up from the partially disassembled MA5K in his hands to see that Curie was standing beside him. She had an expression of concern that indicated this wasn't the first time that she'd tried to get his attention.

Guessing that she had probably come to see him off, he depolarized his visor so they could speak face to face. "Hey Curie. Sorry about that, I'm just… a little tired."

Her concern did not waver. "Ben, you were awake for a long time... Are you sure that you are well enough to go on this mission?"

"Absolutely." Ben replied without hesitation or doubt. "It's not like I have the option to back out either. I can't leave the rest of the squad to do this themselves, and I won't."

She sighed and shook her head. "I know, but please promise me that you will be careful."

Even though he knew that there was nothing he could do to truly stop her from worrying, he put on as good a smile as he could. "I promise. You don't need to worry about me."

She still seemed to be anxious, as she couldn't even stand still without uncomfortably fidgeting. "I appreciate you saying so, but I cannot help it! I know that you have gone on missions without me before, but-"

"Curie." Ben interrupted her. He rested his hand on her shoulder, from what he had picked up from the Marines, it was meant to be a gesture of reassurance. "Please try to relax, this isn't going to be any different from any other battle. If there's one thing that I know how to do, it's fight."

Curie took a long, deep breath, and slowly let it out. "...You are right. You are trained for this, and I trust you to stay safe."

She gave him a small but genuine smile, which he returned.

"Curie!"

Penny bolted past several of the other Marines in the armory and tried to put on what Ben could only assume was a stern expression, although she did a very poor job conveying any sort of intimidation. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you! How could you leave me behind like that?!"

Thankfully for her and Curie, most of the Marines were far too concerned with their own preparations to be focused on anything else. That didn't stop Curie from blushing furiously with embarrassment. "But… I told you where I was going."

"I know that, but what I don't know is how to navigate this ship!" Penny replied, before seemingly noticing Ben's presence for the first time. "Ah, hello friend Ben. Will you be participating in Operation Cyclone with the others?"

Why would Penny know about that? Ben wondered. "I am. If you don't mind me asking, who told you about it?"

"Commander Richard, he said that I should examine his strategy for any faults with Curie." Penny answered, reaching out to hold Curie's hand for extra emphasis. "He said that even if I'm not a traditional AI, he wanted my input."

"She was a lot of help." Curie added. "We already knew that the Faunus possess natural nightvision, but Penny pointed out that many of them possess heightened senses of hearing as well, which makes them especially vulnerable to flashbang grenades."

Ben nodded, that made a lot of sense, and would certainly provide a lot more options in the field.

"It was my pleasure!" Penny happily replied with a salute. "I asked for permission to come along and assist you, but Specialist Schnee and Commander Richard insisted that I stay here to help Curie."

Ben wasn't at all surprised to hear that. While Penny would probably be a great help on just about any battlefield, there were also a wide variety of reasons why she couldn't be allowed anywhere near the frontline. She was too valuable to Atlas, deploying her into combat risked revealing her true nature to the public, and perhaps most crucially, she technically wasn't even under UNSC command. "Don't worry Penny, I'm sure you'll get your chance."

"And I greatly appreciate you being here for me." Curie added. "You would not believe it Ben, but I have been having difficulty doing the most innocuous things! I would never have assumed it to be so hard to fasten a belt!"

He had noticed that Curie had managed to find herself some new clothes, rather than a copy of Penny's outfit. Now she wore a green undershirt from a Marine Uniform and a pair of civilian cargo pants.

"It's new territory for you, there's no shame in taking things slow." Ben said. "And while-"

He was interrupted as a squad of Marines brushed past him and made their way out of the armory. He checked the clock on his HUD, and realized that it was time to wrap up his talk with Curie. He turned back to his equipment, reassembled his weapon, and grabbed the backpack full of other gear that Jorge had requested from the Dominion's Armory.

"Time for me to go." Ben said.

Curie nodded, and although she still had issues fidgeting, she did offer him a smile. "Alright Ben… Try not to get into too much trouble without me, okay?"

"I wouldn't dream of it." Ben replied.