UNSC Dominion, Bridge

October 30th, 1532 Local Time, 2552

By the time Richard finally got the news that the White Fang's Headquarters was now in UNSC hands, the battle had already been over for some time. Pockets of White Fang resistance had continued to hold out for over an hour after they had collapsed the tunnels beneath the prison, all of which had eventually surrendered under the threat of overwhelming force, or had rather troublingly, decided to fight to the death.

They probably think that we'll treat them the same way that the SDC did. Richard thought. Although tragic, it wasn't a surprise, as just about everybody had their own train of propaganda that they followed. The White Fang was no exception, and neither was the UNSC, but in this specific case, it had been the White Fang's prejudice that had killed them. It didn't matter that the cornered warriors had been promised fair treatment, because they didn't regard the word of a Human as having any value.

The rest of the delays had been caused by the Grimm, who had been expected, but not in the strength that they actually brought to bear. Even so, the Marines performed excellently, and once the Dominion's airwings got a bead on where the Grimm were coming from, they too were stopped in their tracks.

While it was refreshing to see an unexpected obstacle swept away with relative ease, it was equally troubling that the Grimm had managed to avoid detection in the first place. A large part of that was due to their almost non-existent thermal signature, which rendered them effectively immune to a lot of UNSC sensor equipment.

The other largest obstacle, and indeed one that Richard had been wary of since the very beginning, was the rainforest itself. Dense jungles had proven to be massive issues for hundreds of military forces throughout history, including the UNSC on numerous occasions. They were hard to navigate, often laden with horrible diseases and parasites, and offered excellent concealment to all those who knew how to use them, and that apparently included the Grimm.

They definitely weren't as intelligent here as they were at Argus, maybe Salem wasn't controlling these ones. Or maybe her influence over them only goes so far… or maybe she didn't care what happened here... Richard theorized. Smart or not, there were far too many of them, we'll need to be more vigilant in the future.

Specialist Schnee had proposed two theories as to why so many Grimm had been attracted to the battle. Firstly was the distance between the prison and any other civilization, which put it far away from any Huntsmen.

The second, and much more troubling theory, was that the prison itself had played a part in attracting the Grimm. The Oubliette Facility had been the site of some of the greatest atrocities in Remnant's history, and according to Winter, those atrocities could have polluted the area with "negativity."

It was certainly a troubling prospect, Richard had already known that the Grimm could sense negative emotions but if they could continue to do so even after the Humans involved had died… that posed a very serious environmental concern.

Once the last of the Grimm were driven off or slain, the tattered White Fang flag that still flew atop the once-mighty prison was struck down, and the UNSC Eagle took its place. It was followed swiftly by a flag of Menagerie that the White Fang had been in possession of, which several Marines had managed to dig out of the rubble.

As soon as Richard received the message from Captain Clark declaring that the operation had been concluded, he let out a sigh of relief. In spite of a handful of minor shortcomings, Operation Cyclone had been a definitive victory. The White Fang's primary base was now in UNSC hands, and hundreds of their soldiers had been killed or captured. They had also lost a large supply of stolen goods and weapons, hampering their strength even further for any future battles.

I suppose that's the problem here, isn't it? Richard thought, his mind lingering on two otherwise insignificant words that punctuated the end of his official report on the conflict, "future battles."

Operation Cyclone had been a victory for certain, but it had not destroyed the White Fang entirely. Almost all of the White Fang's Senior Leadership had managed to escape, with Sienna Khan, in particular, having never even been spotted throughout the whole battle, and it wasn't a mystery as to why. The mysterious informant within the White Fang, Silver, had made it clear that Sienna Khan was evacuating the White Fang's headquarters in his message so Richard supposed it wasn't beyond reason that she had already left before the battle had even begun.

The evacuation also explained the surprisingly weak force of White Fang soldiers that had been present, while there had been hundreds of fighters, Richard had been anticipating a force of nearly two thousand to be holding the fortress. It was the reason that he had authorized the sustained artillery bombardment of the prison, in spite of the damage that it might cause to any sources of intel within the base.

We can't afford to launch another campaign like we did against the SDC, not without help. Richard thought with no small degree of irritation. The White Fang was certainly a threat, but compared to Salem and the Grimm, they were positively insignificant. While the UNSC could probably afford to fight both at the same time, the two-fronted war would inevitably stretch them thin, and they would sustain heavy casualties. Casualties that they didn't yet have the means to replace.

The obvious solution would have been to get help from Atlas, but as much as Richard hated to admit it, Ghira was entirely correct. It didn't matter if Atlas had Ghira's official backing, because there was absolutely nothing that was going to redeem them in the eyes of Menagerie's public. The riots alone would probably bring an army of Grimm down on Menagerie, and the White Fang would receive a much-needed justification for their cause. Atlas would be viewed as an invading army, and treated as such.

With the Atlesian Military all but banned from stepping foot on the continent, the UNSC would have to look elsewhere for support. Menagerie itself was the next most obvious answer, but they had no formal military. The public was also overwhelmingly in favor of neutrality according to Thomas's research, which seemed to be a largely cultural issue. In the short term at least, it seemed that there was little to no chance of the UNSC being able to call upon a Faunus army of their own to fight the White Fang.

I'm sure that there's plenty of people in Menagerie who would enlist with us, but first, we have to finish this damn base. Richard thought, glaring out the window at the frustratingly slow progress that was being made towards the UNSC's new planetary headquarters. There's certainly no shortage of candidates, Chen and Thomas have barely been able to even put a dent in all of the applications that we've gotten.

Menagerie's lack of a standing military was a problem, but they were far from helpless. The island nation had a small, but extremely dedicated and talented Corp of Huntsmen, composed of some of the best warriors on the entire planet. Even if they were unconventional, the battle at Argus and the operations at Vytal had proven that Huntsmen were more than a match for the Grimm, especially when offered proper support by UNSC aircraft and heavy weapons. If coordinated correctly, they could perhaps take on the Grimm while the Marines took down the White Fang.

There was also Mags and the Thunderchild. Although her ship was apparently quite antiquated, she was very insistent that it was certainly functional enough for service, and had more than enough firepower to match anything that the Grimm or the White Fang could throw at them.

I still have to take a trip down to Menagerie, get a look at exactly what she's given us. Richard thought. But first, I need to bring the Chieftain up to speed. He needs to be aware of our plans going forward.

"Ensign Gillespie, hail the Chieftain and route it through to the big screen."

"Aye Aye, Commander." Gillespie replied.

It didn't take long to get the connection sorted out, and before long, Richard found himself face-to-face with Menagerie's Chieftain. "Hello Commander. I certainly hope that you don't have any more bad news to report."

"Quite the opposite, I'm happy to say." Richard said. "We managed to locate the White Fang's primary base of operations and capture it. They were holed up in a former prison, the Oubliette Facility."

Ghira grimaced at the mention of the base's old name, apparently it's reputation had spread to him as well. "The Oubliette Facility… I cannot imagine what must have gone through Sienna Khan's mind when she decided to occupy that horrible place."

"Whatever her reasons may have been, the base is now ours. We encountered strong resistance, but casualties were slim, and we were able to take hundreds of prisoners." Richard reported. "We weren't able to capture Sienna Khan, and we suspect that she's still out there somewhere. I'll have a full report of the rest of the fine details sent to you later today."

Ghira hummed in deep thought. "Losing this battle is going to put her under a lot of pressure, she will try to strike back."

"We'll be ready for them when that happens." Richard reassured him. "Can your guards keep Kuo Kuana safe?"

Ghira firmly nodded. "We were caught off guard, I don't think that anybody thought that the White Fang would be daring enough to stage a kidnapping in broad daylight. Rest assured, we will be ready should the White Fang decide to attack anybody within our cities, Faunus or otherwise."

That should make our job a bit easier. Richard thought. He had been worried about leaving Kuo Kuana and its neighboring towns undefended, but it seemed like Ghira had already been working to rectify that lapse in security. "That's good. As much as I'd like to, I can't guarantee that we can stop them from sneaking into a city that big."

"We've endured our fair share of hardships here in Menagerie, this conflict shall be no different." Ghira replied. "On that note, Kali had an idea to start wearing away at the Grimm now, before they start to get drawn to all the negativity."

A pre-emptive strike?. Richard thought. "Good thinking. Don't be afraid to let us know if the Grimm need a little bit of extra encouragement, our Pilots are available around the clock."

"We'll keep it in the back of our minds." Ghira said. "On a similar topic, Mags stopped by earlier today and filled me in on your plan. I admit that I'm a bit iffy about losing one of the ships from the defense squadron, even temporarily, but it is her property, and I suppose it will still be serving its purpose under UNSC command."

A defense squadron? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, any coastal city on this planet would need some kind of naval defense. Argus had the Colossus, and I suppose Menagerie has some ships. Richard thought, pleasantly surprised to hear that Menagerie was a bit more protected than he had assumed.

"Try not to worry too much. With any luck, this war will be over before long." Richard said. In truth, he was nowhere near as confident as he was letting on, but he had long since learned that even if he didn't feel optimistic, he had to look like he was.

Ghira gave a cautious nod. "I hope that you're right, Commander, for all of our sakes."

UNSC Dominion, Sickbay

October 30th, 1309 Local Time, 2552

When Fireball's Pelican gently touched down in the Dominion's hangar, Ben had been ready to hop out and help unload the stretcher-bound wounded out of the Pelican. Doctors and Medics were there to meet them, and within two minutes, all of the wounded were out of the hangar and on their way to Sickbay, including himself. The nature of his wounds left him able to walk on his own, but that didn't mean that they were minor.

The gash across his chest stung like hell in a manner similar to a gargantuan papercut. He was also tired and faintly nauseous, both of which were likely symptoms of the blood that he had lost. He could feel bruises growing all across his body, and his Mjolnir was also looking a bit worse for wear. The armor was something he could fix in a few days' time, but he would need some help for his injuries.

"Jesus Christ, Sierra, you're very lucky you didn't get chopped in half." Doctor Chase muttered as she used an advanced medical scanner to inspect his wounds, all while he sat in a chair that was a few sizes too small for him. "If your armor hadn't taken the brunt of the force, you probably would've snapped like a twig."

I see that bedside manner isn't something that she believes in either. Ben thought. He respected that, there was no sense in hiding a hard truth. "So, what did get broken?"

"Well, if I'm reading this right, you have a collapsed lung, most ribs have suffered multiple compound fractures, and some nasty internal burns." Chase answered. "You're lucky that you have those augmentations. If you didn't, you probably would have gone into shock."

"Oh, is that all?" He jokingly asked, but quickly realized the Doctor wasn't in the mood for humor. "Uh, sorry."

She let out a hefty sigh. "Well, at least it's not bothering you too much. Needless to say, you'll need some time off the roster and a new lung. I don't know when you're getting back into the fight, but it's going to be a while."

Ben scowled behind his visor. It wasn't what he had wanted to hear, but it was entirely expected. "What should I do while I'm off duty?"

"I don't know. I'm your doctor, not your mother!" Chase answered with no small amount of exasperation. "If you want some basic guidelines, I'd suggest taking it easy so that you don't hurt yourself. I'm sure that your girlfriend would be happy to spend some more time with you."

He stared back at her in confusion as he debated whether or not he had heard her correctly. "My what?"

"I pity the poor girl already, forget I said anything." Chase rolled her eyes. "Now then, I've got to have a better look at that cut. Lie down in one of those beds, and I'll send somebody to get that armor off of you."

Chase moved on to help care for the rest of the wounded, leaving Ben to sit awkwardly while he waited for whoever she had enlisted to help him. A few minutes later, Curie practically burst her way into the examination room that he was sitting in, his Mjolnir's toolkit in hand.

"Oh mon Dieu!" She exclaimed as she rushed over to his side. "You foolish, foolish man! I told you to be careful!"

A wave of guilt washed over him when he heard the panic and fear in her voice. He had figured that she would react badly to his injuries, but he hadn't expected this. "Curie, don't worry-"

"Don't worry?!" She demanded. "I tried to not worry Ben, and now look at you! You could have been killed!"

Even as she lambasted him, she opened up his toolkit and started to disassemble his armor with peerless expertise and speed. "I wasn't."

"That is hardly the point!" Curie argued. Her voice croaked as if she were on the verge of tears, but she kept her eyes clear and focused on performing the various complicated tasks necessary to get the damaged armor plating off of his body. "How… how did this happen?!"

"Adam Taurus, he got me with his Semblance." Ben answered.

The expression of frustration on her face momentarily gave way to one of outright loathing. "That rotten bastard. He had best hope that he dies before I get my hands on him…"

Seeing her so worked-up and vengeful made Ben feel more than a little uncomfortable. In a way, it was almost worse than her being sad or afraid. "Curie."

She didn't seem to hear him, her hands were trembling, and her gaze was distant. She tried to continue her work, but the tremors in her hands stopped her.

Realizing that words wouldn't be enough to snap her back to reality, he took her hand in his own and gently squeezed it, hoping that the gesture would be enough to get her out of her wrothful trance. Almost immediately, she stiffened up and stopped trying to get his armor off, although her hands continued to tremble as she hyperventilated.

"Curie, look at me." He firmly said. "I'm alive, it's going to be okay. Please, try to calm down."

She took a long deep breath, and steadily let it out. After repeating the process several times, she finally relaxed her shoulders, and the distant expression in her eyes was replaced with one of regret. "I am sorry, I was just…"

She trailed off, but he didn't need her to finish her sentence, he knew what she was going to say. "Believe me, Curie, I know."

She gently pulled her hand free of his and set back to work on his armor. "Thank you, Ben. I just… I am scared you aren't going to come back."

Hoping to reassure her, he opened his mouth to speak, only to realize that he had no idea what he was actually going to say. He couldn't honestly promise her that he wasn't in danger, that would be an outright lie. At the same time, reminding her of the very real risk to his safety that was inevitable in any battle also seemed like the wrong thing to do. Maybe it's just best that she knows she isn't alone.

"That's okay, it's perfectly natural." Ben said. "Do you remember what Chief Mendez said about being afraid?"

Curie took one last breath, before giving a firm nod. "Fear is something to be controlled, but not ignored."

"Exactly, and that's what I try to remember." Ben said. "Fear can be useful. It helps keep you on your toes, and reminds you what needs your attention and what doesn't. But it can also cloud your judgement."

Curie softly chuckled, a pleasant sign that he was doing something right. "Ben, I understand that I am still getting used to this body and all, but you do not need to explain basic Human instinct to me."

"Just trying to help." He cheekily said.

"And that, I greatly appreciate." She replied.

After a lot more work from both Curie and himself, he was finally free from his Mjolnir's armored shell, leaving him wearing only his Mjolnir's black undersuit.

"There, that should give the doctor some room to work." Curie said with an unmistakable hint of pride in her voice; seemingly pleased with the fact that she'd been able to so effortlessly convey her existing mechanical knowledge of Mjolnir into practical expertise by disassembling it. Ben was happy to admit that she had good cause to be proud. "Wait here, I will go get Doctor Chase."

Curie walked out of the room, but her mention of the Doctor had reminded Ben of what Chase had suggested that he do earlier. He had been confused at her mentioning "his girlfriend," since he was clearly not in any kind of romantic relationship. It was only when he looked back at the door that Curie had just walked out of, that the realization finally struck.

Oh, so that's what she meant.

He thought about that for a good while.

Menagerie, White Fang Encampment

October 30th, 2341 Local Time, 2552

The broken moon's light had little hope of penetrating the dense jungle canopy of Menagerie's rainforests, but the Faunus that were traveling beneath it's cover did not require much. Their natural vision offered them all of the visibility that they needed with only a tiny bit of natural light. Even if they couldn't see through it, the darkness was the least of their concerns.

Sienna Khan and her group had gotten lucky, as the UNSC hadn't been waiting for them at the exit to their tunnel, nor had the Grimm. Some of the infernal creatures had attacked them as they marched on into the night, but they were few in number and easily dispatched. It was a small, insignificant victory that did little to nullify the sting of their recent loss.

By the time that she and her band of survivors finally made it to one of the smaller White Fang camps nearby, whatever shock she had felt had been replaced by anger. The UNSC had left hundreds of her people dead, and taken hundreds more captive. Their greatest fortress had been smashed to pieces, and what Faunus could escape were forced to cower like rats. It was humiliating, but more than that, it was infuriating.

She was far from alone as well. None of her subordinates grumbled and complained, despite marching for hours on end, often while carrying heavy loads of supplies and the wounded. They were silent, dutiful, and committed. If the Humans had hoped to break our spirit, they are in for a surprise!

She remembered all of what they had said at the Vytal Conference, how the Human Commander had proudly and boldly proclaimed that Humans and Faunus were equal. Their actions against the Schnee Dust Company had blinded her as to the political motivations behind his words. As much as she didn't want to admit it, it seemed as if Adam had been right all along.

The thought of her lost Lieutenant momentarily caused her to look back out into the Jungle, as if hoping that he might somehow return; even if he had managed to survive the UNSC, the Grimm would have surely eroded even his mighty strength. Unless he had somehow found another way to escape, it was all too likely that he had died in the fighting.

Of course, if he was alive, she had no way of knowing, because she had no way of getting into contact with any of the other White Fang bases across Menagerie. All of their communications systems had been built around the Headquarters, as nobody had ever thought that it would actually fall. To remedy the issue, she assembled runner parties to re-establish lines of communication, as even if the White Fang was now spread out, they would need to coordinate carefully if they were going to effectively fight the UNSC.

The first thing to do was get the White Fang back into fighting shape. The survivors would need to be organized, supplies distributed, and the fresh gaps in the chain of command would need to be filled. Thankfully, she still had Clay, Vermillion, and Yuma, who had already begun to oversee those efforts.

The second step, and one that she was almost afraid to do, was to find out what went wrong during the Battle at the Headquarters. Although it had been a catastrophic loss, lessons could be learned to prevent future disasters. Fighting through the painful memories however, would be very difficult on a personal level. Just because she wasn't a stranger to death didn't mean she was eager to relive those moments.

Forgetting the dead wouldn't be right. They need to be remembered, so that we can remember what has been lost to bring us this far! She reminded herself.

The UNSC fought in a similar manner to Atlas, with a heavy focus on tanks, artillery, and air support. The Schnee Dust Company had operated similarly before the UNSC had torn them apart, and that gave Sienna some extra perspective on what could be done to fight back, as the White Fang had fought against the SDC for years.

The major difference between the UNSC, as compared to Atlas and the SDC, was just how quickly the UNSC had moved. For all their advanced technologies and spacecraft, it had been their speed that had truly beaten the White Fang. In less than two hours, the Humans had gone from starting their bombardment to forcing all of her forces into a complete, hardly-coordinated rout. That kind of speed was something that nobody, not even Atlas' Specialists, could claim to match.

How do we stop them? Sienna thought. She ran every strategy she could think of through her mind, but quickly came to the same conclusion regardless of tactics. In an open battle, the White Fang would always lose. So we won't stop them, we'll have to wear them down.

Guerilla Warfare was an established staple of the White Fang, and for very good reason. The Faunus could never hope to match the wealth and powerful vehicles of Humanity in an open battle, and so, they simply wouldn't give the Humans the chance to force said battles upon them. Through ambushes, sudden strikes, and some more admittedly unorthodox tactics, they could steadily grind away the UNSC's supply of soldiers and equipment. Those same underhanded tactics had won the White Fang countless victories in the past and it would carry them into the future.

It would be equally important, however, to ensure that the White Fang did not suffer a similar attritional fate. Her decision earlier to evacuate the Headquarters was now starting to show its value, even if not everyone and everything had managed to escape. She still had hundreds of Warriors spread across dozens of bases, occupying a wide swath of Menagerie's more habitable regions, all ready to fight, and presumably just as eager for revenge as she was.

All we need now is a place to strike, somewhere that we can do some damage. She thought.

Her planning was interrupted, however, as a young Faunus recruit rushed into her tent. "Lady Khan! There are two strangers outside, they claim that they're here to see you!"

She sprang up to her feet, Cerberus Whip already in hand. "Take me to them, now!"

There's no way that it's the UNSC, they can't have tracked us all the way from the Headquarters! She thought, struggling to force her paranoia aside. And they would have bombarded us… no, this is something else.

Arriving at the main entrance through the palisade that surrounded the camp, she was greeted with the sight of two men. The first was a Scorpion Faunus whom she didn't know, but the second man carried a leather briefcase she recognized through his reputation alone.

"Doctor Watts." She remarked in carefully concealed surprise, before gesturing to the Faunus beside her to lower her weapons. "How did you find us?"

"A wise scientist never reveals his breakthroughs." Watts sassily commented. Upon being met with hostile glares from Sienna and her Guards, he rolled his eyes and sighed. "If you must know, we ran into another group of your people earlier today. Once I reminded them that you requested my expertise, they were able to direct me here."

I'll certainly be looking into that. Even if she needed his help, she didn't trust the disgraced Atlesian at all. "I see. And what about your companion, who is he?"

"This, Lady Khan, is Tyrian Callows." Watts answered. "And you can rest assured that he doesn't like Atlas or the UNSC any more than you do."

"It is my pleasure to meet you, Lady Khan." Tyrian said with a dramatic bow. As soon as he opened his mouth she realized something was strange about him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "I've heard all about the chaos that you and your followers have caused, and I must say, I am impressed."

There was a faint inflection of sarcasm and dismissiveness in Tyrian's voice that made her blood boil. "Whatever I must do to free the Faunus, I will do it, and I will not hesitate!"

"Oh-ho-ho! I like you already!" Tyrian said with a wide smile. "I'm looking forward to this."

Sienna ignored him and fixed her glare back on Doctor Watts. "Are you still willing to build Vermillion a new arm?"

Watts scowled at her question, as if debating whether or not he should say something that he really shouldn't. "Certainly, although I will need your help in acquiring the necessary components."

I suppose that's fair enough. Sienna thought as she turned to one of her subordinates. "Make sure that these two have a place to sleep and work. They are to be treated as our guests, no questions asked, am I clear?"

"Yes, Lady Kh-" They began to reply, but were interrupted as Tyrian drew his weapons.

Immediately, Sienna and her guards followed suit, expecting him to attack, when Tyrian turned and aimed his gauntlets into the jungle. "Somebody is coming!"

Everybody was silent as Sienna listened closely, and true to what Tyrian had said, she heard coughing coming from somewhere in the darkness of the night.

"Whoever you are, come out with your hands up, now!" Sienna commanded, her voice booming into the dark.

A moment later, a stumbling, bloody figure wearing a white mask came into sight. At first, Sienna didn't even know if she was looking at some kind of humanoid Grimm, but when the man coughed again and clutched their chest, she recognized exactly who she was looking at.

"Adam, is that you?" Sienna asked, hardly believing her own words.

To say he was wounded would be an understatement, Adam looked like a walking corpse. His clothes were torn and ripped practically everywhere, his mask was cracked, and bloody welts covered much of his exposed skin. Judging by the way he was wheezing, he probably had some kind of serious issue with his lungs.

How in the world did he escape the Headquarters? The Grimm had the whole place encircled! Sienna thought, before she realized that must have been why he was so badly wounded. In spite of being outnumbered hundreds to one, Adam must have fought his way through all of them. It's a miracle he's not dead….

"Well don't just stand there, help him!" Sienna ordered, frustrated at the lack of action on behalf of her subordinates. Two other White Fang Warriors rushed up to help him walk the rest of the way into the camp.

"Hmm, that was unexpected." Watts noted. "I take it he got lost during your battle with the UNSC earlier?"

Sienna briefly questioned whether or not she should be giving the Human any more information than he strictly needed, but realized she would probably need the Doctor's help healing Adam, and would therefore require his cooperation. "He was, I thought that he'd been killed."

"Well, I suppose this is a pleasant surprise to mark an otherwise terrible day." Watts said, his voice carrying a surprising amount of sympathy behind it. "I take it you want my help getting his wounds treated?"

"If you're willing." Sienna answered, somewhat surprised that he had been the one to propose helping Adam. Maybe he isn't quite as ruthless as his reputation suggests.

"Of course." Watts said. "Come along Tyrian, I have a feeling that I'll be needing your help with blood transfusions."

Tyrian groaned with reluctance as he followed Watts further into the camp. Sienna meanwhile, was still trying to comprehend what must have happened since she had last seen Adam.

Whatever he did to survive, it's good that we have him back. We're going to need every warrior that we can get. She thought. With one last look into the jungle, she turned back around and returned to her tent.

UNSC Dominion, Brig

October 31st, 0456 Local Time, 2552

Set was not a stranger to being woken up on short notice. Indeed, when a bolt of pain ran through his head like a bolt of plasma, he was on his feet in only a moment, ready for a fight. However, there was no enemy to face within his cell, and it only took another pang of agony to realize exactly what was hurting him, some kind of apocalyptic headache.

"Gods…" He grumbled, gripping at the sides of his head as he struggled to sit back down without falling over. It felt as if there was some kind of vessel in his skull, slowly filling with a liquid so dense that it threatened to pop his head like a balloon.

Without warning, some kind of alien, robotic voice spoke out. Its voice was devoid of personality and distinctly focused, and it sounded as if it was coming from his own mind. "Alert. Installation Terminated, initiate standby mode immediately."

Growling with fury, Set lashed out almost on instinct, before realizing he had no opponent to strike. "Who said that?! What have you done to me?!"

Another bolt of pain struck his head like a bullet as the voice spoke again. "Unit, initiate standby mode immediately."

"I do not understand!" Set protested. "What do you want from me?"

"Engage in defensive action. All unknown forces are to be considered hostile. Terminate on sight." The voice spoke again.

Enough of this, I need help! Set quickly realized. Clearly, something was wrong with him. He crawled out of his cot and navigated the floor on his hands and knees. On the floor was the Human Datapad he had been given, and within that, a function with which to call for assistance that the Medical Human had instructed him to use in such a situation. Thank the Gods for her foresight!

After what felt like ages, he heard the door to his cell open. Practically blinded by the pain, Set could just about make out the shapes of the Doctor and her guards.

"Set?" She asked, rushing over to his side despite her bodyguard's protests. "Tell me what's going on!"

"There… is this… infernal voice." Set replied. The act of speaking made it feel as if his ears would erupt, but he powered through regardless. "It's speaking to me… by the Gods, my head, I feel-" He was interrupted by a harsh pinching in his skull that made him cry out involuntarily. "Damnation!"

"Hold still, let me figure this out." Chase instructed. Despite the agony, Set did his best to hold himself steady, and after what felt like ages, she spoke again. "Damnit, there's something going on with your brain again. Wait here, I'll get help."

"Whatever you must do, hurry!" Set called out as she left.

He was barely aware of the next few minutes as fatigue began to set in, but when Chase returned, she brought another Human Female that she was in the midst of speaking to. "-I took a reading of his brain activity, it's just like when he lost his vitals a few days ago."

"Fascinating… but troubling." The other Human replied.

If Set were a bit more coherent, he may have noticed that this Human spoke with the same voice as the Ancillia, Curie. However, he was barely conscious as it was, and it would have been the least of his worries.

"Well, there's gotta be something we can do!" Chase protested. "I don't want to just watch him suffer like this."

Any remark that Set would have made in protest of the pity was immediately drowned out beneath the pain once again.

"Perhaps there is." Curie said. "Corporal, would you kindly bring me a field telephone and a radio jammer from the armory?"

There were sounds of footsteps running out of the cell as Chase and Curie kneeled down next to Set. By now, he was in a position to speak, but it seemed that Chase had the same question as him. "With all due respect Curie, what are you going to do with that?"

"We've already observed that Set's anomalous brain waves resemble radio waves from Covenant communications technology." Curie explained. "So my hope is that we can tap into whatever is sending these signals, or at the very least, stop Set from receiving them."

"Well, it's better than anything I can think of." Chase said. "Just guide me through what to do, okay? I typically fix up things with a bit more flesh, not the phones they call for me on."

"Initiate standby protocols. Defend all remaining installations." The voice repeated again.

"What was that?" Chase asked. "Set, what did you say?"

"I do not believe he can hear you." Curie stated. "Even if he is conscious, I doubt that he can even speak coherently."

Whatever pride Set had left flared up in one last effort to protest her dismissal, but by now he was very, very tired. He may have even momentarily lost consciousness, as when he was next aware of what was happening, Curie was beside him, fiddling with some sort of human contraption.

"-hold on, I want to see what will happen if we jam this frequency." Curie stated.

A moment later, all of Set's pain and exhaustion vanished as if it had been magically dispelled. Relief flooded through his body as he groaned in faint pain and struggled to get back to his feet. "Argh… what happened?"

"I am not sure." Curie replied as she looked him over. Set could now see that indeed, it was some kind of physical form of the Human Intelligence that he had spoken to earlier. "Are you still in any pain?"

I didn't know that they could do that. Set thought. Regardless of how she had managed to find herself a body, she had also just saved him from the most painful experience of his life. "No longer, thanks to you. What did you do?"

Curie looked back at the device in her hands with undisguised fascination. "I've jammed a number of radio frequencies that the Covenant have been observed to use."

Now stood up, Set realized that Chase was still beside him as well, holding some kind of similar device. "And it looks like doing that stopped whatever was happening to your brain… Odd, but at least it worked.

"Hmm, strange indeed." Set remarked. "Even so, you have my thanks, Humans. Your mercy is greatly appreciated."

"I am happy to have been of use." Curie replied, her attention still focused firmly on the device in her hands. "I would suggest that you keep this jammer for the time being, in case your symptoms return."

Chase chuckled. "You know, that might be the strangest prescription I've ever heard of."

Curie shrugged. "It may be strange, but it does seem to be working. I will need to study this further."

"Well, since you're volunteering, I'm going to go get some coffee." Chase said. "This was not how I planned to start my day…"

The Doctor left, leaving Set with Curie and the Marines.

"I have never experienced anything like that before…" Set muttered. "Ancilla, do you think you know what might have done that?"

"I cannot say for certainty… or even with any real confidence, to be quite honest." Curie answered. "It is almost as if your brain was trying to act as some kind of receiver for a transmission."

Taken slightly aback, Set rubbed the side of his head, his mind running rampant with his own theories. "Somebody may have been trying to speak with me, I heard a voice talking to me."

"You did?" Curie asked, her eyes now looking up at him with newfound interest. "Was it the Oracle again?"

Set shook his head, although he was having trouble remembering what it had said, he knew for a fact that it was not the Oracle. "No, this one spoke to me while I was awake, and it sounded different. It told me to do something… standby for something."

Curie's eyes lit up in recognition. "You were muttering something similar. You mentioned something about a Standby Protocol. Do you have any idea what that might mean?"

"I… I do not." Set said. "Do you think it could have been the Gods?"

Her expression of excitement rapidly faded into one of deep thought. No doubt, she was pondering the deep, religious significance of what the message might have been trying to convey.

"Perhaps a deeper examination of your brainwaves might reveal some answers." Curie said. "I could compare them to your previous physiological episode, and perhaps find a pattern."

Set nodded dutifully. "Then I will await your findings. If you have any need of my services, you need only ask."

Curie and the Marines left shortly afterwards, leaving Set once again alone within his cell to dwell on his thoughts.

Authors Note: I would like to once again remind everyone that if for whatever reason this story gets taken off of this website, it is uploaded to Archive of Our Own. If you want more direct updates on what's going on, as well as some extra trivia and the like, you can also find me on twitter, my handle is kpmh2001, same as my username here.