Prologue

19 BBY

Valcutta∣Valcutta System∣2300 hours local time∣Teepo Mining Corporation∣Mine 6B∣Level 134A

Dink, dink, dink

Ruleo sighed as his energy pick hit yet another solid object to tough for his pick to break. The aging Rodian swapped out his pick for a brush to attempt to clear the dust and grime from the offending object, in an attempt to find out whether or not he could holler for one of the workers with the fusion cutter to break through whatever it may be, or if he would simply have to tell his superior that this tunnel was a lost cause. He hated to do that. Despite it not being his fault, his superior, a Trandoshan with a nasty temper would undoubtedly hold him accountable for the loss of forward progress. Ruleo knew the stinky reptile would withhold the days pay until Ruleo could make progress elsewhere.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Ruleo continued scrubbing away at the grime. Ruleo became aware that the material that was giving his pick such difficulty was incredibly smooth, unlike a typical rock. Ruleo assumed it was likely worn flat by some ancient ocean, and then cursed as it was larger than he expected. Revealing the offending rock would take more effort than he had anticipated. Ruleo knew such thinks because ages ago, in his youth, Ruleo had attended a prestigious school and studied geology and ancient civilizations. He had been seen as a rising star by his instructors and everyone, including himself, expected Ruleo to do great things. Ruleo paused briefly to wonder how it had all gone wrong. Allowing his tired hands a short rest, Ruleo rolled out the kink in his neck and thought back to what had cause it all to go wrong. Ruleo knew the event that had caused his downfall. The Trade Federation's occupation of Naboo. When the droid control ship was destroyed, the droids were shut down, ending the occupation to most everyone's delight. Everyone except Ruleo. A Hyena bomber had shut down and crashed into his university, destroying a vast chunk of the building including Ruleo's dorm when the droid's payload had exploded. Ruleo's personal fortune was gone in an instant, and the university, needing money for repairs, refused to let Ruleo finish his education if he could not pay. Even worse, the Naboo government was low on funds and could not reimburse the wealth Ruleo had lost. Ruleo had wandered the galaxy looking for work until the start of the Clone Wars. The Republic war machine needed materials and many mines went looking for workers. And that was how Ruleo, once a brilliant student, had found himself swinging a pick deep underground in a Republic mine.

"Hey!" a clone barked as it passed, "You're not on break! We're not paying you to sit on your ass Rodian! Back to work!"

"You're barely paying me anything as is," Ruleo muttered as he stood up and the clone moved on. Having worked in many mines in the past, Ruleo knew the presence of clone guards was exceptionally rare, but due to the amount of valuable materials in this system, and its proximity to Separatist space, a clone presence was deemed appropriate. Or so Ruleo assumed, for in truth, he did not know. Ruleo did not let the clone hear him because, despite the size of his pay, Ruleo needed the money. He would rather be paid little to do honest work than make much more by becoming a criminal. What little self respect Ruleo retained would be lost if he went down that path.

And so Ruleo picked up his brush and leaned back over the rock, scrubbing away to find out what it was made of and how big it was. Ruleo finally cleared a small area of grime away from the rock, which now appeared to be some sort of smooth grey-silver crystal. Interest piqued, Ruleo examined the crystal closer. He wracked his brain, but despite his vast knowledge of geology, this object did not resemble anything in his knowledge. Curious, Ruleo thought, removing a scanner from his belt. But perhaps I am simply unaware of this crystal, Ruleo thought, there are more crystals in the galaxy than one could count in a lifetime. Ruleo scanned the object, but when Ruleo read the error message, he was blown away.

Coruscant∣Coruscant System∣1400 hours local time∣Office of the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic

The hooded figure of Darth Sidious leaned over the projector, eyeing the individual before him, a clone commander in all black armor. The shadow trooper spoke first, "Its happened, my Lord. The miners have found the artifact."

"You are certain?" Sidious asked.

"Yes, my Lord," the commander said, "Scans match that of the ones taken from orbit."

"Did the miners manage to access it?" Sidious asked apprehensively.

"No, my Lord," he replied, "they uncovered a small portion before we had then evacuated from the mine."

"Take control of that mine," Sidious ordered, "Find the entrance and enter the artifact. I am sending Director Atoria to join you with a science team to help gain access. You do understand this is to be a black operation?"

"As all shadow missions are, my Lord," the clone nodded, "What of the miners?"

"Execute them," Sidious ordered, "Quarantine the mine, kill the miners, and dispose of the bodies. Have Teepo Mining Corp. announce that the tunnels caved, and radiation was released. No one is to know the true nature of the mission, commander. Not Teepo, not the Valcuttan government, not a nosy Jedi. No one."

"Understood," the clone nodded, "And the mysterious signal being emitted, the one we could not break or read?"

"Jam it," Sidious snapped. He did not want anyone to hear anything from the mine.

"Yes, my lord," the commander said.

"And one more thing, commander," Sidious said ominously, "You report directly to me now."

"Yes, my lord," he bowed before Sidious cut the transmission.

As the Dark Lord of the Sith changed clothing back into the attire of Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine of the Galactic Republic, he reflected on the past and future events. The Clone Wars, while seeming to be intensifying to a tipping point were, in reality, winding down to a close. In a few months time, Palpatine planned to have himself kidnapped from this very building by his apprentice, Count Dooku, and taken aboard the flagship of General Grievous during the soon to be Battle of Coruscant. Palpatine smiled wickedly at the thought, then sat down behind his desk and meditated on the coming storm. That event would set into motion the series of events that would turn the Chosen One into his apprentice and cause the downfall of the Jedi Order. Palpatine, despite being one of the most patient beings in the galaxy, allowed some of his glee to escape at the thought of the ruin of the Jedi Order. There were some Jedi whose deaths he awaited with more anticipation than three Jedi who Sidious desired to destroy most were Yoda, Mace Windu, and Shaak Ti. Palpatine was eager to destroy Yoda because he was the pinnacle of the Jedi and the light side of the Force, if he could destroy Yoda, he could prove once and for all, to the galaxy and to himself, the superiority of the Dark Side. The death of Mace Windu appealed to Palpatine because that icy Jedi Master had always been a thorn in his side, and his mannerisms greatly wore on Palpatine's patience. Lastly, there was Shaak Ti. Palpatine's reasoning for wishing death upon her more greatly than other Jedi was simple. Shaak was a model of calm, compassion, and caring, something Palpatine found quite irritating. He wanted to run the Togrutan through with his lightsabers and see the fear in her eyes as the life drained from her body. Palpatine awaited the destruction of all the Jedi with great excitement, but he was eager for the deaths of those three far more than the rest of their pathetic Order.

Palpatine's mind shifted abruptly to the artifact on Valcutta. Teepo Mining Corp had, during the scans of the planet, discovered an ancient structure made of unknown super strong materials buried deep in the planet. The clone commander charged with defending Valcutta from the Separatists had received the information a deemed it worthy of informing the Chancellor directly. Palpatine was incredibly thankful for the clone's decision, because it ensured the Jedi remained unaware of the artifact's existence. Palpatine had ensured a number of 'accidents' occurred, resulting in the deaths of the members of Teepo Mining Corp. and having them replaced by black operatives loyal only to Darth Sidious. Now that the artifact was found, Palpatine hoped the makeup structure could be replicated, allowing his future Empire to possess a fleet of nearly indestructible ships, as it was apparent that this new material possessed that quality. Palpatine also held out hope that new technologies could be discovered within the artifact. Palpatine hoped, but did not rely on results. In the end, if the material could not be synthesized, and no new technology was found, the plan could still be carried out. Palpatine smiled nastily, for he knew the days of his great Empire were rapidly approaching.

Chapter 1

Highway to Hell

I'm on the highway to hell

No stop signs

Speed limits

Nobody's gonna slow me down

Like a wheel

Gonna spin it

Hey Satan

Payin' my dues

'Highway to Hell' by AC/DC

October 30th, 2558∣100 hours∣Deep Space∣ONI Blacksite Loose End∣Conference Room 1A

The room was deathly silent. Everyone was present except for one, and the people sat in the dimly lit room, faces shrouded in shadow. No one spoke, no one twitched, no one made a sound. If there were not a rigorous anti contamination procedure on the blacksite, the sound of a feather hitting the ground would have been audible. Despite the lack of noise, the intensity could be felt by everyone in the room. Those who remained unaware of the recent events could tell something big had happened. And even if there was someone who remained oblivious to the tense atmosphere, they would know something important had occurred. The heads of the United Nations Space Command and the United Earth Government were not summoned to a deep space blacksite for nothing.

Finally, the last member arrived, an older woman escorted by two armed Spartans who remained by the door. President Ruth Charet, leader of the United Earth Government took her place at the head of the table.

"Welcome to Loose End Madame President," Serin Osman, head of the Office of Naval Intelligence said.

"Thank you, Admiral Osman," Charet said, "Excuse my late arrival, as you know it takes time to get from Earth to this site. Wherever we are. Shall we begin?"

"Of course," Osman said in her Turkish accent, "Shogun," she called her AI, who appeared on the holotable as a red outlined Samurai from ancient Japan "Pull up the presentation."

The lights dimmed further, and on the screen hanging from the wall across from Charet, an image of the Ark appeared. The massive, star shaped, Forerunner structure turned slowly on the screen. Osman began, "This is, as you all know, the Ark. Since most of you are already aware of yesterday's events, I shall skip the initial details. Early yesterday morning, the Arbiter, cleared Sunaion, the last Storm Covenant stronghold on Sanghelios. The battle was a resounding victory for the Swords of Sanghelios, and the Unified Species of the Orion Arm as a whole. Though the Arbiter wanted no UNSC assistance to take Sunaion, he requested and received backup before pursuing Jul 'Mdama through Slipspace, arriving at the Ark with a combined UNSC-Sangheili fleet. The fleet at the Ark, backed by the new arrivals, crushed the last members of the Storm Covenant. Jul himself was confirmed killed in the battle. This, along with the recent, resounding defeats of the Banished and the Servants of Abiding Truth, has finally brought peace to the Orion Arm."

A round of applause was heard as many of the Admirals clapped and let out sighs of relief at the final, ultimate defeat of the Covenant.

"You brought us out here to deliver good news?" One of the older Admirals frowned.

"Always the receptive one, Lord Hood," Serin smiled, "No, you have been brought here to discuss something else. One ship in the Storm Covenant's fleet attempted to flee the battle, but took critical damage, and when they attempted to fire the Slipspace drive, the ship was destroyed. But that is not the important part. What is important is that this event has created a somewhat stable portal to the Ark. Where it leads we have no idea."

"Voi all over again," someone muttered.

"Are you sure it is in fact a portal?" someone else asked.

"The object matches the spectral signature of the portal over Voi. The only difference being that this one is not terrestrially bound and is not directly connected to the Forerunners, as far as we know. Unfortunately, our knowledge is rather limited at this time," Serin answered.

"Isn't it ONI's job to know everything?" Someone asked not too quietly.

Serin silenced them with an icy glare and continued, "The truly important part, and the reason you all have been brought here, is not, however, the mere existence of the portal," Serin was ready to finally drop the bomb, "Out of the portal, our fleet picked up a distress signal. A very old one at that. The signal comes from UNSC Midway."

There was a silence, which then turned to chaos as everyone shouted at once.

"Order!" President Charet shouted over them all. Silence fell rapidly, and more quietly she said, "Admiral Osman, how can you be sure the signal is coming from Midway?"

"We have updated our communications greatly in the years since the war," Serin replied, "The signal is quite archaic by modern standards, but it does match a vessel from that era. Additionally, the Midway had been outfitted by ONI as a testbed for new communications equipment. She was the only ship in the fleet using that form of equipment, and the signal matches that."

"So we're sure its UNSC," Lord Hood clarified.

"The encryption and bandwidths check out," Serin answered, then moved on, "Am I wrong to assume that everyone remembers the importance of Midway?"

The confused looks on some faces told Serin she was in fact wrong to make that assumption.

Someone quietly whispered, "Noble Team."

"Indeed," Serin responded, "Midway has been missing since they attempted to flee the fall of Reach, back in 2552. The very fact that a lost ship has been heard through a mysterious portal is cause for exploration, but there was something else that makes the recovery of Midway so very important. After the destruction of the Covenant CSO class supercarrier Long Night of Solace in Reach's orbit, the six members of Noble Team were ferried to Dr. Halsey's research site at SWORD Base. After escorting Cortana to rendezvous with Sierra 117 aboard the Pillar of Autumn, the group escorted Dr. Halsey to CASTLE Base. Noble Team was then assigned, by ONI, their final mission. The UNSC Midway, a Marathon Class Heavy Cruiser, descended from orbit to CASTLE Base while a diversionary force was sacrificed to keep the Covenant at bay. Captain Alexander Holt personally received Noble Team and the artifact, dubbed the Atlas, from CASTLE Base. Halsey waited behind at CASTLE, where she was eventually picked up and the rest is history. The fate of the Midway, the Atlas, and Noble Team, however, has long been an unsolved mystery."

"So we don't even know what happened, but now we suddenly hear their distress call through a mysterious portal created when a goddamn Covenant Slipspace drive malfunctions?!" One of the Admirals exclaimed in disbelief, "Didn't anyone on Reach see what happened?"

"I was getting to that," Serin growled ominously and the Admiral rapidly silenced himself, "Accounts differ, but one in particular has been given some more credibility. In his personal logs recovered from his brain by Sierra 117 on Installation 04, or Alpha Halo, Captain Jacob Keyes recorded seeing something rather interesting. As the Pillar of Autumn fled Reach, he reported seeing a pair of fleeing Marathon Class Heavy Cruisers engage a Covenant CAS Class Carrier. The CAS hit the Slipspace drive on one of the Marathons, causing it to be obliterated as a portal appeared. The other Marathon was sucked in before the portal collapsed."

"That sounds like some kind of movie," an admiral remarked dubiously.

"That was long thought of as a tall tale from an aging captain who had seen too much combat, but people who knew Keyes claimed he was never one to tell stories," Serin said, "We now have reason to believe that what Keyes saw was real, and the lost ship was the UNSC Midway."

"Why have we not heard the before?" an admiral asked.

"We do not know as of yet," Serin frowned, "The signal was only received briefly, before it cut out again. It is possible something on the other side is jamming us, as for why we never heard it before the portal opened, my best guess is that it was too far away for our sensors to reach it."

"Is their a contingency in place to deal with this situation?" President Charet asked.

"No," Serin shook her head, "We never thought of anything like this happening. We're completely on our own as of where we go from here."

"Is it possible to send a probe, or ship through the portal to see whats on the other side?" Lord Hood asked.

"It is," Serin answered, "However the portal is somewhat unstable, and we could loose any ships we send through. As of now, our fleet is sitting back from the portal, far enough away not to be caught in its fluctuations," the image on screen was now a live feed from the Ark, showing the portal."

"Why hasn't it collapsed?" an admiral in the back asked, "Like the one on Reach, from Keyes' account?"

"It would seem its proximity to the Ark is somehow stabilizing it," Serin answered, "That is our best guess as of right now."

"Have we established a planned course of action?" President Charet asked.

"That's why you are all here," Serin said.

"I think we should close the portal, by force if necessary," an admiral said, "The portal to Ark from Voi was a two way road. Suppose a belligerent alien faction is on the other side?"

"We can't just abandon our men and women in arms after we hear the call for help!" Another admiral contradicted.

"We could end up in another war!" some else joined the argument.

"Enough!" President Charet shouted. Then turned to Serin, "Are there any rescue buoys, warning beacons, or anything else?"

"I'm afraid not," Serin sighed, "Just the one transmission."

"Let's suppose that this portal is hypothetically safe," Charet said, "If we could use probes to prove that, I believe that it is our duty to rescue the men and women of Midway. They have been missing since 2552. We owe it to them to try and bring them back."

"What course of action do you propose?" Lord Hood asked.

"First, I want all the information discussed in this meeting sent to the Arbiter. We owe it to him to let him know exactly what we're dealing with. Then I want probes sent into the portal. If we get a signal back, proving the portal is safe, I want a ship to traverse it and see what is on the other side."

October 30th, 2552∣100 hours∣The Ark∣UNSC Firebird

Captain Deckard 'Deck' Collins paced the bridge of his battleship, gazing at the rift in space where the last Storm Covenant ship had been blown to oblivion. Deck was an anomaly in the fleet. At twenty nine, he was exceptionally young for a captain, and many thought he was far to young an inexperienced for the job. Luckily for the young Brit, many of the higher ups in the navy had seen his true talent. Since he was bored by the lack of action on the Ark, Deck thought back to how his exceptional rise to glory in the navy had started. He had been a navigation officer aboard a destroyer, UNSC Buffalo, when the Storm Covenant had launched an attack. Buffalo was boarded and the Covies reached the bridge, the captain and ranking officers died as the bridge crew and Marines repelled the boarders. Deck remembered being terrified by his first contact with the aliens, but he managed to force his fear down and help the Marines push the boarders all the way back to their pods. Upon returning to his post,Deck was surprised and somewhat dismayed to learn that he was the ranking officer on the ship. Another Storm Covenant force attacked, and destroyed the ship accompanying Buffalo, but Deck, despite being outnumbered was able to destroy the enemy ships through what he assumed was luck. Higher ups thought otherwise. Soon, Deck was in command of his own frigate. Another unfavorable engagement, and another amazing victory pulled off by Deck. He seemed to have a natural talent for space combat. Promotion after promotion followed the young man's career, and his impressive victories mostly silenced his critics. So now here I am, Deck thought, still amazed by his own story, I am at the head of a brand new ship, pride of the UNSC, with the best crew and technology they could offer. And I'm only twenty nine.

Deck again reflected on his ship's capabilities. He liked to refresh himself regularly on such things so that he knew the ship like the back of his hand when combat came. The Firebird was a truly impressive piece of technology. She was a prototype, but due to he recent success over Sunaion and now over the Ark, he had no doubt more would be made. Firebird was essentially a scaled down Infinity. She was, unlike the Infinity, a completely dedicated war machine. She did not carry a science lab or a Spartan facility, but instead crammed with as much weaponry as possible. She had three CR-08 Series 8 Magnetic Accelerator cannons on her bow, one more than the Infinity had on her bow, Deck thought with pleasure, though he knew Infinity's other two CR-08s were on her sides. Deck liked to boast that his command had the highest forward damage output of any ship in the fleet, which while technically true, made Firebird sound superior to Infinity, though even Deck knew that was not true. But the girls in the bars and clubs don't, Deck smiled to himself. Additionally, Firebird had 800 missile pods consisting of Archer, Rapier, and Howler missiles, as a secondary armament. She was bristling with 690 70mm automatic cannons, which formed the M965 Fortress point defense network. The battleship was also loaded with M85 Scythe AA turrets, M97 Lance missile pods, a network of Mark 2551 MACs, and decent number of Variant-V HAVOK nuclear warheads. Deck smiled to himself, his command may not be the Infinity, but it was pretty damn close, and being twenty nine, he knew it was quite the command. He knew commanders of frigates that were twice his age.

"Captain, incoming signal from Infinity," the comms officer called, "Captain Lasky is hailing us."

"Put him through," Deck ordered, leaving the window and moving to the holoscreen.

"Captain Collins," Lasky said warmly as he appeared on the holoscreen, "Always a pleasure."

"The pleasure is mine, Captain," Deck replied, "What can I do for you?"

"We've received word from HIGHCOM," Lasky said.

"About time," Deck snorted, "We've been here for over twenty four hours."

"Yes, well they want us to send some probes through the portal," Lasky said, "We'll find out whether the portal is safe and what is on the other side."

"You think we might really find Midway?" Deck asked, somewhat apprehensively.

"Perhaps," Lasky sighed and turned away from the camera, "Six years is a long time to be missing."

"The Master Chief was missing for five and he turned up," Deck said.

"That's true," Lasky said, "I suppose we just need to hold out hope. And even if they're all dead, it would be nice to give their families some closure."

"Yeah," Deck nodded, "It's tough when you don't even get to bury a body," Deck's mind wandered off to the reason he had joined the navy in first place. He thought back to that fateful day in August, 2552. He remembered so clearly. New Alexandria. A city that used to be the glowing jewel of humanity. Then the Covenant came, and they burned everything down. He recalled what had happened. He had been with his then fiance, on their honey moon in New Alexandria. The alarms had gone out and everyone was evacuating. He and Sarah had race out of their room and joined the mob heading to the landing pad. Banshees and Phantoms had had a field day on the herd of innocents, and by the time they arrived at the UNSC checkpoint, there were few people left. Deck remembered pulling Sarah close to him, telling her everything would be alright. He had ensured that she got on the first of two Pelicans that were to arrive. She had wanted to stay with him, but he had sent her ahead, wanting her to get to safety, and knowing there was not enough space for him to accompany her. He could remember telling her he loved her and giving her one last kiss, then watching as the Pelican departed. The Pelican was struck immediately after takeoff by what he would later learn was a Wraith. He had watched as it plunged in a burning fireball onto the beach below. Looking at the flaming wreckage, Deck had known immediately that there were no survivors. He joined the navy at his first chance, but he missed the end of the war by a few short weeks. The rest was history.

"You lost someone didn't you," Deck shook his head and looked up, realizing he had been quiet for well over a minute. He just comprehended that Lasky had spoken to him.

Snapping out of his daze, Deck shook his, "Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir."

"No worries, Captain," Lasky said knowingly, "I know how it is. Who was it."

Deck bit his lip and stared at the ground ahead of him, trying not to get drawn back into old memories. He couldn't help remembering. Blue eyes. Blond hair. A pretty smile. A soft laugh. Perfume that reminded him of the beach. Deck fought back the tears and managed to say a few words, "Fiance. New Alexandria. Wraith."

"I'm sorry, son," Lasky said, "Its hard not to blame the alien bastards."

"I don't," Deck said, "We owe our survival to the Sangheili. How many others would have lost their fiances if they hadn't helped? Would there be anyone else?"

"Your right," Lasky said, "I was trying to be sympathetic."

"Oh, my apologies, Captain," Deck shook his head and shoved the memories away, "I appreciate your sympathy. Back to topic. HIGHCOM wants probes in the portal."

"That's correct," Lasky said, "They also do not want Infinity to go anywhere near that portal at the moment, so you'll have to launch them, provided you have them onboard?"

"We do," Deck confirmed.

"The Sangheili will be launching probes also, from their CSO. The Honorable Inferno, if I remember right," Lasky said, "I'll patch Fleetmaster Sol 'Vasum through so you can coordinate. I advise caution, that portal has been fluctuating fairly unpredictably, and you might have to get within the danger zone to perform an effective launch."

"I'll use utmost caution, Captain," Deck assured him.

October 30th, 2558∣200 hours∣The Ark∣UNSC Firebird∣S-Deck

Commander Jake-A186 frowned as his Spartans engaged in yet another philosophical debate with their Sangheili counterparts. Rtar 'Soram, the leader of this lance of Spec Ops Sangheili returned Jake's look. The two commanders were standing off to the side, while the others stood in a tight circle, concentrating on the discussion.

"Must our subordinates always argue?" Rtar asked.

"We could stop them," Jake said.

"Perhaps these discussions could help them, what is your term for it, break the dirt," Rtar said.

"You need to work on your idioms, brother," Jake smiled, "The term is 'break the ice,' but you might be onto something."

"What are they even squabbling about anyway?" Rtar asked.

"The noble topic of this disagreement seems to be when it is appropriate to glass or nuke a planet," Jake said somewhat sarcastically, "The Sangheili believe it is appropriate when a Flood outbreak occurs, and when the target contains a high priority military target. They think the deaths of civilians is acceptable depending on the strategic importance of the target. My Spartans think civilians can never be sacrificed, accept under the most dire of circumstances."

"Such as a Flood outbreak?" Jake's blood brother laughed.

"Indeed," Jake laughed also, and the Spartans and Sangheili stopped talking and looked at their commanders.

"What's so funny, Commander?" Amber-A193 asked, turning her grey eyes from one of the Sangheili to the laughing face of her commanding officer.

"Nothing," Jake assured his team medic and sniper, "Don't worry about it."

"Your petty argument makes for great amusement for my brother and I," Rtar made the Sangheili equivalent of a grin.

"Have we dishonored ourselves?" One of the Sangheili looked horrified, "We were only-"

"As the human says," Rtar assured his subordinate, "Don't wuuurry about it. You are breaking the snow."

"Ice," Jake clarified, to the confused beings, "You're breaking the ice," he turned to Rtar, "Its worry, like war, not wuuurry, like curry."

"Wo-worry," Rtar managed to say, clicking his mandibles in satisfaction, as the Sangheili and Spartans returned to their discussion, stealing occasional glances at their commanders, to ensure they were not being mocked.

"Jake, Rtar," the voice of Sam, the Firebird's AI called, "The Captain wants your presence on the bridge."

"Uh oh," Jake smiled, turning towards the door, "We're in trouble. Liu," Jake called his close combat specialist, and when he saw his head turn, continued, "You're in charge when while we're gone."

"It's just two of us," Liu objected, "Does someone have to be in charge?"

"Yeah," Jake said then added jokingly, "That means if Rtar and I come back and find bodies, it's your fault."

"What have you done this time?" Rtar feigned an accusation as they left the Spartan barracks, "Did you bring females into a restricted area again?"

"No," Jake said, "And that was one time, and it wasn't even marked as a restricted area. How could I know civilians weren't allowed? And I was joking about being in trouble. More likely Captain Collins probably just has some intel to pass on."

Rtar shrugged at that, and followed Jake out of S-Deck and up the hallway. The pair caught glances from UNSC technicians who were unprepared to see a Sangheili onboard. Jake ignored them, as he was used to it by now. Not everyone had a Sangheili blood brother. Jake recalled how it had happened. It had been near the end of the war. He was deployed in Miami when the Covenant had struck. It was right after the Great Schism an d the first time he, or anyone else had deployed with Elites. Rtar had only been a Major at the time, and had been operating with Jake's Spartan team, Comet Team. The two had dropped via ODST pods right into the center of the city, with orders to secure an important scientist for ONI. Rtar had been quite unhappy about having to operate with 'Demons' and had acted irrationally, likely trying to prove the superiority of the Sangheili. The Elite had foolishly attempted to duel four brute chieftains in melee combat. Rtar managed to take down two and wound a second before he was struck down and his leg was broken. The Brute had raised its hammer for the final blow, but Jake had decided to help him. He did not know why he did it. He had only days before been killing Elites, but for whatever reason, his instincts had taken over and he had saved his ally. Jake knocked the hammer aside and he drive his machete under the helmet of the brute then he dodged the other brute's swing an emptied an entire DMR magazine into its head, ensuring its death. Later that day, as Jake dragged the injured Major along, one of the buildings in the flooded city had collapsed and he dropped Rtar. Rtar had been clinging on by only a single weak crossbeam, with was bending under his weight. Again, Jake had risked his life for the Elite, he climbed as close as he could to the precarious position that the Elite and given him his hand, pulling him to safety in the nick of time as the whole building gave way. He threw the injured Elite to safety before making the jump himself. Liu and Amber caught him before he fell to his death, and the group carried on to secure the objective. Upon hearing of the events, the Rtar's clan, 'Soram, offered him an honorary place in their house. Jake was bound to house 'Soram by blood, and to anyone who asked, his full name was now Jake 'Soram. Most Spartans lacked a last name. Jake no longer did.

Jake peered into the hangar as the hallway passed above it. He saw a trio of Phantoms operated by the Sangheili aboard the UNSC ship. In the spirit of unification, some UNSC and Swords of Sangheilios battlegroups that operated in tandem had exchanged crew. Firebird under Captain Collins, had offered to try this. The ship was ideal for it, since it had been built after the war, had been designed with accommodations for various species in mind. The Mgalekgolo, Kig Yar, and Unggoy often stayed in their quarters, but the Sangheili preferred to mingle with other warriors, and many had been given permission by Captain Collins to share S-Deck. Collins had agreed on the condition that Jake also agreed. Jake liked the company of the big reptilian warriors, and since his Spartan Team was the only one aboard, they were happy to share their expansive quarters with the Elites. There was now a running joke among the crew of Firebird that S-Deck meant Sangheili Deck, something Rtar found quite amusing.

"Do you think it has something to do with the portal?" Rtar asked as the pair got into the elevator, which went to the bridge, among other places.

"That's probably likely," Jake said, as the elevator paused before reaching the bridge. A trio of technicians moved to enter, then caught sight of the two beings in the elevator, and decided to wait for the next one. Rtar laughed when he realized what had happened. Jake contained his amusement.

"We're about to find out," Rtar said as the elevator door slid open. The Marines stepped aside allowing Jake and Rtar to enter the bridge, and Captain Collins motioned for them to join him by the large window. No one on the bridge gawked at Rtar like sometimes occurred elsewhere on the ship. They were used to the presence of a Sangheili.

"Spartan A186 reporting as ordered, Sir," Jake snapped a salute.

"At ease Spartan," Captain Collins.

"What can I do for you, Captain?" Jake asked, as Rtar stood silently beside him.

"I summoned you to the bridge in person because I wanted to alert you to a possible threat without putting anyone on guard. After the battle with the Storm Covenant, we don't need any added tension," Collins said.

"What do you mean, Sir?" Jake asked.

"We're going to be getting into optimal position to launch probes into the portal. This will put us and Honorable Inferno within range of the portal if it fluctuates. It is possible we could be sucked in," Collins said gravely, "I don't want to cause alarm, but I want you and Commander Rtar to be ready for anything down there."

"We shall cause no disturbance, Captain," Rtar nodded, as Jake snapped a salute before the Captain dismissed him from the bridge. Jake was again surprised by the Captain. The man was quite young, but the longer he knew him, the more he understood HIGHCOM's decision to place him in command. He was quite forward thinking, and strategically brilliant. Jake also had no doubt his youth worked to his advantage, as many enemies might underestimate him.

"What do you think about that?" Jake asked as they entered the elevator.

"I suppose we might go, what is the saying, through the telescope?" Rtar asked.

"You mean through the looking glass?" Jake asked, "Brother, what have you been reading?"

"The stories from your history have proven quite interesting," Rtar said as they exited the elevator and headed back up the hallway toward S-Deck, "I just finished the one you call 'Game of Thrones'."

"Uh oh," Jake smiled, "I assume you got a taste of humanity's darker side?"

"Everyone in that tale shows a complete lack of honor, tell me, do most humans conduct themselves that way?" Rtar asked, "The humans of House Lamister-"

"Lannister," Jake corrected

"Yes, Lannister," Rtar said, "The Lannister humans were all so focused on glory, yet they dishonored their house with their actions. How they thought they brought glory to their house I do not know."

"I'm surprised you've read these," Jake said, "They're over five hundred years old."

"They are quite interesting," Rtar said, "The tales from Sanghelios are quite repetitive. They are all about honorable combat and conquest. Glorious and honorable? Yes. But varied? No."

"I thought the tales of 'Soram were pretty interesting," Jake said.

"That's because they're new to you," Rtar replied as they neared S-Deck, "When you've been taught to memorize them, they become less interesting. The Sangheili would never write stories with as much dishonor as Game of Thrones."

Jake was about to reply when he heard a shout from S-Deck, "What is it now," he snapped as he rushed into the barracks.

"Sangheili!" Rtar beat him to it as he called out to his angry subordinates, "What is going on here? Why do you squabble with the Spartans?"

Before a Sangheili could respond, Amber said, with her near endless calm, "We were playing blackjack commander, Sul thought that blackjack was won when one acquired a black jack."

"Sounds straight forward to me," Rtar said, "Why is there a quarrel."

"That's not how blackjack works, Rtar," Jake said, "One wins in blackjack by getting their cards to add up to twenty one without going over."

"How much is a jack then?" Rtar asked, picking up several cards.

"Ten," Jake said, "A King, Queen, Jack, and ten are all worth ten."

"That's...confusing," Rtar said, "How much is an A?"

"Its an ace," Jake said meekly, "Its one or eleven?"

"How can it be worth two different things?" Rtar grew more confused.

"I see now why there was a problem," Jake said.

"As do I," Rtar sighed, "My warriors are not experienced enough in your culture to understand such complicated games. I myself do not understand this 'blackjack'."

"Spartans," Jake said, and Liu and Amber jumped to their feet and snapped to attention, "I do not want you to try and play any games with the Sangheili unless Rtar and I are both present. I don't wanted any casualties over a cultural misunderstanding."

"We would never actually fight any of them," Lui objected, "We just, you know, fight with words."

"I'm the commander, and I'm putting my foot down," Jake said sternly. His squad was his friends, his family, but he also had to remind them sometimes that he was their superior.

"Understood, Sir," Lui said, "There won't be anymore problems, Sir."

"Glad to hear it," Jake said, "Let's finish this tour without anymore surprises."

October 30th, 2558∣500 hours∣The Ark∣UNSC Firebird

"All hands, this is the Captain speaking. All hands, general quarters, general quarters" Deck brought Firebird to partial alert. Then, cutting the transmission to the entire ship he said to the bridge crew, "Bring us about and full ahead. I want us on trajectory to the launch point. Ready the probes."

"Yes, Sir," various bridge officers replied.

"Get me in contact with Fleetmaster 'Vasum," Deck ordered, "I want open comms the whole trip. If something goes wrong on either one of our ships, we're each others best hope."

"Patching him through now, Sir," the comms officer reported.

"Captain Collins, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Fleetmaster 'Vasum greeted Deck.

"We're getting into position to launch the probes," Deck said, "I figured open comms would help us better coordinate in case of trouble."

"Are you afraid human?" the Fleetmaster pried.

"Paranoia can keep you alive, Fleetmaster," Deck said, "I was under the impression Sangheili are taught to operate with a healthy amount of paranoia."

"You are correct," the Fleetmaster nodded, satisfied. Deck realized the Sangheili had tested him, likely due to his age. 'Vasum seemed to like the answer he had been given.

"Firebird is full ahead," Deck informed his Sangheili counterpart, "We will be in launch position in T-minus thirty seconds. All systems running at optimal performance, portal appears stable."

"Excellent," Fleetmaster 'Vasum replied, "Honorable Inferno is right ahead of you. We launch in fifteen seconds."

"Sir!" A technician cried, "Energy spike from the portal, detecting rapidly growing gravitational field!"

"Full reverse!" Deck ordered, "Get us clear!"

Fleetmaster 'Vasum said something over the comms that Deck did not catch as the whole ship jolted as reverse was engaged. Glancing out the window as he braced, he saw Honorable Inferno, engines firing hard in full reverse, slowly falling towards the portal.

"Divert all power to the reverse thrusters!" Deck ordered.

"Its not working, Sir, the field is too strong!" the navigator called out, "We can't escape the gravity well!"

"Prepare for Slipspace! Sound the alarm!" Deck ordered as the large battleship fought the mysterious portal. He saw the comms cut out and the roar of Fleetmaster 'Vasum became static as Honorable Inferno fell into the portal.

"Can we rotate enough to engage the main thrusters?" Deck asked.

"Not enough time, Sir," the navigator replied nervously, "If we enter Slipspace sideways we could have all kinds of problems."

"Very well," Deck grasped the situation, "Orient us so we enter the portal normally, and cut reverse thrusters, we'll probably need the fuel on the other side."

"Yes, Sir," the navigator said.

The ship had been tossed to and fro as they fought the gravity of the portal. Now, the ship glided forward rapidly and disappeared into the portal without so much as a jolt. The beauty of the Ark was replaced by the inky black of Slipspace.

"I want a ship wide status report, Sam," Deck ordered his AI, "And see if you can figure out where we're headed."

"Yes, Captain," the AI said.

October 30th, 2552∣500 hours∣The Ark∣UNSC Firebird

Rtar left with his Sangheili and joined them in their section of S-Deck, while Jake joined his Spartans. There was no issue in letting the Sangheili share S-Deck, because the ship had been designed to carry multiple Spartan teams, but the three members of Fireteam Comet were the only squad currently aboard.

"What did the Captain want?" the ever observant Amber asked.

"Oh we're just going to launch some probes," Jake said, brushing her question aside.

"There's more to it than that," Amber said quietly, "Are you not allowed to tell?"

"The short answer is yes," Jake said.

"You've piqued my curiosity," Amber said, brushing her black hair out of her eyes, "But I won't pry, I know how it is."

"It's really nothing to worry about," Jake assured , the ship shook, knocking Jake off his feet. Lui and Amber leapt to their feet and pulled their helmets over their heads. Jake scrambled to his feet and donned his OPERATOR class helmet as alarms began to blare.

"Oh don't worry, Amber!" Amber said sarcastically through the private comms, "It's nothing Amber!"

"On your feet, Comet Team!" Jake ordered.

"Any idea what's going on, Sir?" Lui asked as he retrieved his M90 assault shotgun from the S-Deck armory. Jake grabbed his DMR and Amber picked up her SRS99-AM sniper rifle.

"The portals probably going wild again," Jake informed the team as they made their way towards the exit of S-Deck. The ship was rolling like a battleship of old riding a particularly rough sea. The only difference being those ships were made for that. Jake knew the Firebird could handle a good amount of stress, but only so much.

Jake was slammed into the ceiling as the ship abruptly took a dive. Scrambling to his feet as the lights flickered on and off, he encountered Rtar and his lance of Spec Ops Sangheili.

"I'll take the hangar and bridge if you want to check on weapons and Slipspace," Jake suggested as the ship shook again, slamming them all into a wall.

"An honorable assignment," Rtar nodded turning and leading his Sangheili back the other direction.

"Hey, Commander," Lui said over a private comm, "What're we supposed to be doing right now?"

"We can move around much easier than the Marines in these conditions," Jake said running up the hallway trying to keep his balance, "We're going to head to the hangar and then to the bridge to make sure nothing important has broken, and also to help and injured troopers."

Amber and Lui nodded their understanding as the group entered the main hangar. A number of Pelicans were fighting like caged lions against the mooring lines that held them in place. On the ceiling, Jake noticed a Broadsword had come loose from the gear holding it in place and was now swinging wildly with the ship, since its attachment to a crossbeam was the only thing holding it in place. A group of Marines and technicians were fighting desperately to resecure the rogue space fighter.

"Up there Comet Team!" Jake ordered leading his Spartans towards stairs to the second level, "We need to help those Marines!"

"Yes, Sir!" His team responded, following him up the stairs.

"Spartans!" a Marine sergeant called out, "Thank god you're here! This bird won't go back in its nest!"

Jake took in the situation in and then gave orders, "We're going to stabilize the Broadsword long enough for the techs to reattach the gear its broken free of. I got the starboard side, so Lui you take port. Amber, I want you by the cockpit.

Jake jumped down from the catwalk to a large crossbeam holding the rack of Broadswords. The ship seemed to be more stable now, and Jake caught a hold of the fighter's wing. On the other side, he saw Lui do the same. Gripping the crossbeam in one arm and the wing in the other, Jake used all of his strength to stop the multi-ton space fighter from shaking about. Looking up, he saw the techs working furiously on a datapad. Moments later, a robotic arm reattached to the wing and stabilized the fighter. Neither Jake nor Lui let go until the Broadsword was fully stable. Then the two climbed back onto the catwalk as Amber climbed up the other side from her place near the cockpit.

"Is it just me or has the ship stopped shaking?" Amber asked.

Jake looked out the hangar door and witnessed the Ark disappear, replaced by the infinite blackness of Slipspace. He said slowly, "I think we're in Slipspace."

"Slipspace?" the Marine sergeant asked, "Why the hell would we be in Slipspace?"

"I think the portal just sucked up in," Jake said.

"Oh god, we're all gonna die!" a Marine private.

"Get it together Marine!" the sergeant snapped as Jake led his team away, and off the other end of the catwalk, deeper into the ship. The lights flickered on and off, and Jake decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator to the bridge. No sense in getting trapped, he figured, that won't do anybody any good. He hurried down the stairs, making best speed for the bridge. The lights went off again, replaced only by the emergency red lights. Cables torn free from the ceiling above sparked dangerously as he neared the bridge, casting a shower of sparks over the Spartans. Just as he was about to open the door to the bridge, he felt the ship give the familiar jolt as it left Slipspace. We're here, Wherever here is, Jake thought.

Error: Cannot Determine Date∣Error: Cannot Determine Time∣Calendar Failure: Recommend Reboot∣Error: Unplanned Slipspace Entry∣Error: Cannot Determine System∣Unknown Planet∣Unknown System∣UNSC Firebird

"Sam," Deck said slowly, looking out the window at the green planet before him, "Where the hell are we?"

"Working on it, Sir," Sam said, "We're in an uncharted system, as a far as I can tell."

"No need to state the obvious, Sam," Deck said, "How's my ship?"

"The reactor is having some issues, and we have widespread power outages," Sam said, "Weapons are down across the board. Slipspace drive is still intact, as is the shield, and the engines."

"Make the reactor the priority," Deck ordered, "The last thing we need is a nuclear meltdown in unknown space."

Just then, the bridge door opened and Comet Team entered. The leader, towering over him in his Mjolnir armor said, "Everything alright up here?"

"We're okay, Spartan," Deck said, "Send you're teaming to the reactor room. The engineers need help down there."

Two of the Spartans turned and hurried out the door. The Commander, Jake-A186, he remembered, stayed behind, as had been the unspoken order. Deck observed the Spartan back up and stand ramrod straight by the door, awaiting instructions. Deck did not have time to think about the peculiar nature of Spartan behavior, however, as more reports of damage and injuries throughout the ship flooded in. Luckily the reactor proved to be an easy fix, and now the engineers were trying to restore power to the weapon systems.

"Captain," Sam appeared on the holotable fifteen minutes later, as all systems began to return to normal, "I have a rough location fix on our position."

"Name a system," Deck ordered.

"Well I'm not sure how to tell you this," Sam stuttered.

"Come on Sam, spit it out," Deck said, "How far are we from home?"

"We are about 2.3 million light years from Earth," Sam said.

There was a moment of shocked silence, until the navigator finally said, "That's not possible, the galaxy isn't even that wide."

"We're no longer in the Milky Way. Using star charts and predictions in accordance with the theory of relativity, I can say with 90 percent certainty that we are in the outer edge of the Andromeda galaxy," Sam reported.

There was another shocked silence, replaced eventually by the bridge crew muttering pessimistically amongst themselves. Finally, Deck asked, "How long to get home by Slipspace?"

"Too long," Sam said, "Under normal circumstances, it could take us nine or ten years to get home."

"We got here in ten minutes," comms objected.

"Yeah, can we not just go back through the portal?" weapons asked

"The portal has further destabilized since our entry," Sam said, "It is possible we could be destroyed in the return trip."

"Can we do anything about that?" Deck asked.

"Working on it, Sir," Sam said.

"Sir, incoming transmission from Honorable Inferno. They're reporting ship wide damage and serious issues with the reactor. Their AI seems to have been destroyed beyond repair in transit," comms reported, "They're requesting any available maintenance crew from us if we can spare them, and an AI so they can reboot their reactor."

"I can go," Sam said, "We're nearly done restoring all systems and the engineers can finish without me."

"Commander," Deck ordered, turning to the Spartan on the bridge. He pulled Sam's AI core from the holotable, "Escort this AI to Honorable Inferno, and make it clear we want it back when they're done with it. Stay with it at all times."

"Yes, Sir," the Commander said, taking the chip in his massive hand.

Error: Cannot Determine Date∣Error: Cannot Determine Time∣Calendar Failure: Recommend Reboot∣Error: Cannot Determine System∣Unknown Planet∣Unknown System∣Honorable Inferno

Fleetmaster Sol 'Vasum was not having a good day. He had just received word from the human ship that they had somehow left the galaxy and were stranded millions of light years from if that were not already bad enough, the ships reactor was down, as were weapons and shields, and his AI had not survived the journey.

The door slid open, and the two Sangheili Ultras guarding the door stepped aside. Sol turned and saw a human in massive power armor enter carrying an AI cortex. The human saluted and said, "Spartan A186 reporting. I brought the construct."

"Ah, welcome aboard, demon," Sol was pleased to have a demon aboard, "You can attach your AI here."

Sol nodded to a hastily built UNSC interface that was attached to the Sangheili system. With a click, the AI slipped in, and the figure of a small orange human appeared on the holotable. It appeared deep in thought for almost a minute, and Sol was about to ask if it was broken when it said, "I've just finished scanning all your systems, and I think I found a way to repair your reactor. The steam pipes appear to have ruptured and are leaking fuel. If the reactor is shut down, a team of engineers could seal the holes and that should allow the reactor to function normally again. All other downed systems are down due to the reactor. I have already shut down the main reactor and redirected the engineers. We're currently operating on auxiliary power. You're lucky, Fleetmaster, because all of this damage repairable by an fairly easy fix."

"Lucky?" the Fleetmaster snorted, "Seeing as we're a decade away from home, I wouldn't call myself lucky."

"It could be worse," the AI objected, "We're not helplessly adrift. Firebird is now fully operational, and Honorable Inferno will be by the top of the hour."

"Have the humans had any luck contacting the fleet?" Fleetmaster 'Vasum asked.

"We sent transmissions and deployed a rescue buoy," the demon reported, "We have not heard anything in return."

"So its safe to assume we're on our own for the present," Sol clicked his mandibles and paced back and forth across the bridge, "I suppose we could establish a base down there," Sol gestured to the green planet below, "Construct, scan the surface of the planet, see if it is habitable."

After a moment, the little orange human construct said, "Scans indicate the planet is stable with a breathable atmosphere. Surface temperature 20 degree Celsius with 10 km per hour winds. Grassland biome. Recommend landing at the equator."

"Give me the coordinates," Sol ordered.

After receiving them, the Fleetmaster asked, "Reactor status?"

"Operational within a few minutes," A Sangheili Officer reported, "Repairs progressed faster than expected."

"Excellent," Fleetmaster 'Vasum clicked his mandibles together, "Make ready for atmospheric entrance, get ready to drop the bases," Fleetmaster 'Vasum turned to the demon, "Demon, I want you to accompany my Sangheili to the ground. That is your area of expertise is it not?"

"Yes, Fleetmaster," the Demon nodded, "We Spartans prefer real gravity to artificial g. I am, however, under orders to accompany the AI at all times."

"When the reactor is operational, you can take your construct with you, or return it to your ship," Sol suggested, then turned to his comms officer, "hail the Firebird."

"Yes, Fleetmaster," The Sangheili Officer nodded.

Moments later, the head of Captain Deck Collins appeared on the holoscreen. The human said, "Has Sam been helpful?"

"Your construct has been of great assistance," Sol said, "I hailed you to inform you of my decision. While I am the ranking officer, I welcome your opinion, Captain. Once the reactor is operational, I am going to land Honorable Inferno and offload ground equipment. We may be here for some time before help arrives or the construct repairs the portal, and I feel a ground presence would be beneficial."

"Firebird can provide orbital cover while you offload," Captain Collins suggested, as Sol nodded approvingly and the human continued, "While you finish on the reactor, I suggest that I move Firebird in closer and offload my ground forces onto your supercarrier."

"A wise move," Fleetmaster 'Vadum said, "My hangars are open."

Error: Cannot Determine Date∣Local Time 1200 hours∣Unknown Planet∣Unknown System∣Andromeda Galaxy

Jake stood by his blood brother's side as their Phantom descended towards the surface of the planet. Already, the purple spires of Sangheili Citadels and the blocky grey UNSC Firebases were rising above the short grass. Looming in the sky above, Honorable Inferno was offloading its ground forces at low altitude before it would come to rest at the center of what was rapidly becoming a city of Sangheili and human military bases. Near the center were the resource buildings, covered in an array of AA weaponry. Beyond them were vehicle assembly areas and trooper barracks, and beyond them were an array of Mega Turrets, Kodiak Siege Systems, Cobra MAC platforms, and other artillery units. As the Phantom dropped him off near a forward command center, he thought that however unlikely an attack would be, we're more than prepared.

Error: Cannot Determine Date∣Local Time 1300 hours∣Unknown Planet∣Unknown System∣UNSC Firebird

"What is the progress on the ground?" Captain Deck asked.

"Unloading is 48 percent complete and progressing smoothly," Sam said, having been returned to Firebird after repairing Honorable Inferno.

"When can they rejoin us up here?" Deck asked.

"Getting uneasy, Captain?" Sam asked, "Not to worry, all scans report we are alone in this system. It may be another hour until the Sangheili supercarrier can return to orbit. I have, however, made progress on the portal."

"What can you tell me?" Deck asked.

"Long answer or short answer?" Sam asked.

"Just give it to me straight, Sam," Deck ordered.

"If we fire one of our HAVOKs into the portal, the effects of the blast and radiation may stabilize it," Sam said, "I know it sounds backward but the science says-"

"If it works it works, Sam," Deck said, "Reorient us and-"

"Pardon the interruption Captain," Sam said urgently, "But we have multiple unknown contacts inbound at speeds that are...faster than light."

"What?!" Deck asked, flustered.

Credit to Usernamesarebad for the creation of the AI Shogun. Shogun is borrowed from this authors story The Coming Storm. Usernamesarebad: thanks for letting me use your character