Forerunner shield world Requiem

March 18, 2558

The artificial sun burned brightly overhead as a squad consisting of three Spartan IVs, plus their fire team leader, and three scientists from the warship in low orbit made their way inside what had to have been the fifth Forerunner facility today. It wasn't the first time they'd been stuck on what amounted to babysitting duty just this week alone and, frankly, it was starting to wear on the super soldiers. Not like they'd really complain considering the wealth of knowledge being pulled up from the shield world's databases. It wasn't all boring though. The Storm Covenant forces led by Jul M'dama had been a constant thorn in the UNSC's side since they were drawn into Requiem's gravity well only seven months prior. Just like the humans, the alien forces had been snatching every piece of viable Forerunner tech they laid eyes on and they'd be damned before they gave up the shield world.

Thus far, the fire team Ghost hadn't encountered any hostile aliens, local or otherwise. The constructs that had been originally assigned to keeping the world's prisoner here were irritating and deadly. They'd attacked practically anyone who'd stepped foot on Requiem's surface solely to prevent what had to have been one of the last Forerunners from being sprung loose from his cell, a massive ornate orb called a Cryptum. It had housed that creature for eons and did nothing to dampen his hatred for the human race. He was supposedly dead but no body had been seen or recovered since his encounter with Blue Team but that was a matter for another time.

For now, the Spartans did what they did what they did best in order to keep Jul M'dama and his cronies from getting a solid foothold: asset denial and taking out VIPs in order to shake up the alien infrastructure.

"I still can't believe we're actually walking on an artificial world!" one of the eggheads babbled excitedly as they pushed deeper inside the complex. She was actually carting around a traditional paper pad and charcoal pencil in one hand and was taking snapshots via her hand terminal with the other. She was the newest addition to the research team and her colleagues tended to tune out her chatter.

"I think that's the tenth time she's said that," Spartan Daniel Kent murmured via his helmet to helmet COMM link. Given that he was the team's designated pilot, he was sporting the AVIATOR-class armor.

"Cut her some slack, man," his squad mate Samuel Daniels said with a small laugh. He was decked out in the WARRIOR-class suit, the soft blue light glinting off his gold visor. "She's obviously just really excited."

"And easily sidetracked. Remember last week? She'd've stayed happily sketching away in that place and had gotten shot when those Prometheans showed up outta the blue."

"You mean they showed on account of your triggering of an alarm, right?" drawled the Spartan briefly falling back in step on Kent's right. The IFF tag hovering above her SOLDIER-class helmet labeled her as Shenway, Heather. Kent fell silent for a few seconds which only caused Shenway to laugh before jogging up to the front of the group. Two of the scientists were examining a locked wall terminal that was proving a bit difficult to bypass when the Spartan fire team leader strode up beside them and placed a palm down flat on its surface. Tiny green pixels appeared and floated over her gauntlet and into the terminal. It chimed softly as the orange lights shifted to the blue shade the Forerunners seemed to favor so much.

"I've retrieved what data I could find from the network," came a woman's voice emanating from the Spartan leader's helmet speakers. She had a pleasant British accent and sounded like the epitomy of politeness. "No wonder the Covenant have left this facility alone. It doesn't have any value save for shipping logs and a place for temporary storage."

"So, we nearly done here or what? This place is basically a ghost town. I'm all for escorting these good folks around but we could be out there. Y'know, knocking some heads together?" Spartan Kent remarked, thumbing the button for his external speakers.

"That, Spartan, is up to Dr. Derricks to decide," replied his squad leader, Spartan Commander Rachel Auri, in an even tone, her SCOUT helmet turning briefly to face him. She understood his impatience but, all the same, they still had a job to do here. The man in question, a balding gentleman in his late forties with a ginger beard and glasses that always seemed to be sliding down his nose, glanced back at the Fours then at his colleagues before letting out a sigh.

"If your construct has already pulled all available data from the network here, Commander, I don't see why we should linger," Dr. Derricks finally said. "We've already grabbed a bunch of very useful data caches from the other sites so this should keep us busy for a few days. Dannie, Jensen, let's get moving. I'll send out a request for pickup once we get outside."

Dr. Paolo Jensen, a man of Asian descent with shaggy black hair that was constantly falling in his eyes, was thumbing through some of the data they gathered up previously, perusing its contents, while Dr. Dannie Sheffield was trying to copy down a handful of holographic glyphs covering one portion of the wall. "Dannie, did you hear me? We're moving out. You'll have plenty of time back aboard the ship for that. Come on," he called over to her.

"Just one… more… and… done! Wait, we're leaving?" The young woman finally glanced up from her pad and had a streak of charcoal running over the bridge of her nose.

"That's what I said. Don't know why I have to keep repeating myself." Jensen looked like he was trying not to heave a huge sigh in irritation and failing. "Derricks is calling for pick up so roll out or we'll leave you here."

The threat had more annoyance in it than heat but Dannie paled slightly at the prospect of being stranded with nothing more than her tablet and sketch pad to keep her company. She'd pushed back a few strands of mousy brown hair behind her ears, getting more dark grey charcoal on her face,and gathered up her belongings before scampering over to join Jensen outside. The soldiers escorting followed suit and waited as a D79-TC Pelican had been diverted to pick up the group. They didn't have to wait long before a grey-green blob appeared on the horizon. Once the pilot was close enough, she lowered the drop ship and switched open the bay doors to allow them admittance. The eggheads clambered inside first, grateful to be out of the hot sun and were safe enough to compare notes and findings on their flight back to the UNSC Infinity. Once everyone was aboard and belted in, the drop ship took off into the air with ease.

"'Ey, Ghost Lead, gotta request from the cap'n for you and your team," the pilot, Echo 065, drawled via TEAMCOMM. "There's some place 'bout thirty klicks north a' here he wants you to check out. Satellite imagery shows that it's buzzin' with activity. Whatever's goin' on there has the Covies in an uproar."

"So, get in, stir up trouble, recover what we can then get the hell out of dodge. When are we not doing that?" Daniels said, amusement leaking into his voice as he sat back somewhat in his seat, his assault rifle hooked to his back plating.

"No one knows what's got them fired up?" Commander Auri asked, all but rolling her eyes at Spartan Daniels. It wasn't the first time this had happened but it was still cause for an investigation.

"Nope. S'why Lasky's wanting you to check it out. Plus, you're the closest fire team available in the area. I'll drop y'all off a mile away from the place. Far as we can tell, they don't have AA guns in the area but I don't wanna run that risk with my bird."

"Better to be safe than sorry in my book, Pilot. We'll see about sneaking in if they haven't spotted us from the air. Hopefully they'll be too busy raiding to look up."

"Here's hoping, ma'am. ETA's going to be about twenty minutes going careful. Sit tight. I'll have you there in a jiffy."

—

Once their boots hit the dirt, the Pelican had taken off as quickly as it could with the scientists bidding the four Spartans farewell. Their pilot had been able to deposit the squad on the outskirts of a small forest that encircled the alien building. It'd give them enough cover to sneak up on the Covenant force and hopefully let them slip inside with their enemy none the wiser. The commander took point with her team fanning out behind her as they pressed deeper into the foliage, relying mostly on hand signals as they didn't want to risk detection via their COMMs now that they were so close to enemy territory. On their flight in, clouds began to obstruct the sun and by the time they reached their LZ, it was completely overcast and a light smattering of snow covered the ground, further muffling their footsteps.

As they drew closer to the facility, they could pick up faint chatter as the aliens slowly but surely wormed their way inside. A handful of Grunts were arguing about something or other before a Sangheili Major barked at them to quiet down or take their squabbling inside. The Spartans hunkered down either behind wide tree trunks or the thick brush carpeting the floor as they neared the edge. Kig-yar snipers could be seen atop the facility but they weren't on high alert. And while the Sangheili who looked to be in charge was issuing orders, it seemed to be more out of frustration than anything else. They hadn't seen the Pelican flying in or otherwise mistook the rumble of its engines for a dropship of their own and therefore weren't expecting UNSC forces to be in the area.

"There's a terminal located on the far side of the building out of view of the Covenant," the team's AI murmured over their private helmet to helmet COMMs, hiding them as best as she could. While they weren't actively scanning for UNSC chatter, that didn't mean their passive sensors weren't live. As soon as they were inside the building, the metal alloy would hopefully dampen their sensor strength. A light blue waypoint hovered just over the terminal the construct had indicated and Commander Auri gestured quietly to her team to hold their positions until otherwise told to move. Taking in a breath and exhaling slowly, the woman eased out around cover and carefully made her way right. She took extra care when near the trees as the last thing she needed was to trip over a wayward root and blow their cover.

Her breath caught in her throat at one point when a Sangheili General exited the facility in a rush and strode almost right past her location. If it hadn't been for ample bit of luck and foliage breaking up her silhouette, the alien might've spotted her. Regardless, the Spartan froze, her entire body tensing up as she braced for the moment when he caught sight of her but the general continued right on by. After waiting a few more seconds until the coast was assuredly clear did the Four press on. She only darted out when Kig-yar turned the other way, too busy watching the squabbling Unggoy below them to be searching for the real threat right on their doorstep. Approaching the terminal as quietly as possible, Auri placed her hand down on its surface to transfer her AI into its network. A small palm sized green orb appeared above as Noesis began to override its firewalls to allow the team admittance into one of the hidden side entrances here.

"I'm fabricating a security alarm that will sound off on the far side of the facility," Noesis said softly. As the AI worked her magic, the commander stood guard beside the terminal, assault rifle at the ready. She readjusted her grip on the gun and cast a glance over her shoulder at the small orb which pulsed like a heartbeat. "It should draw their attention long enough for us to slip inside and leave unnoticed." Not even half a second later did a low but booming siren sound off from within the facility. The aliens posted at the door snapped to it and immediately went off to investigate the source. Once the front was clear, the remaining members of Ghost team quickly moved through the brush to join their leader right as a side panel slid upward with a barely discernible hiss from the hydraulics. They stacked up on either side of the panel before entering.

"The immediate area is free of any hostiles. You're good to move in," the AI announced. The commander nodded her head towards the door and her squad flowed inside with Ghost Lead pulling up the rear but not without withdrawing Noesis from the terminal. The side panel dropped back down without a sound effectively shutting the Spartans in. A low hum could be heard coming from within the facility itself as the team cautiously entered one corridor. A lift was placed down at the end of one hallway, its door wide open to plunge its occupants even further down the complex.

"God, these places give me the heebie jeebies," Spartan Kent muttered under his breath, looking about the silvery white interior as their XO approached another holo-terminal. Noesis interfaced with that one as seamlessly as the first and quickly forwarded a map to the Spartans' HUDs she'd pulled from its network as she searched for the best route that would take them to the site's datacenter, assuming the Covenant hadn't pilfered it first.

"Hm… If I am reading this correctly, we'll need to go down another eight levels before we can reach the facility's heart. Most of the Storm Covenant have vacated the premises. We may still encounter a handful of their patrols the further we go down but it shouldn't be anything we can't handle. As long as they don't activate the security system and call in additional reinforcements, we should be able to reach our objective with relative ease and be out of here before they realize we stopped by," the AI continued, projecting her avatar centimeters above the hip high terminal. Her floor length spring green gown flowed out over its surface. With a flick of her wrist, a map of the complex appeared before them with the route plotted out as well as a rough estimation of Covenant patrol locations. Their route was marked in yellow leading them towards the lift to the right of them and their enemies were small red orbs that moved every so often.

"And I'm guessing there's no way to pull that data from this terminal here?" Spartan Daniels asked, shifting his weight onto his other foot. Noesis shook her head no, a few strands of long white hair falling over one shoulder in the process.

"Unfortunately no. This terminal does not have access to the archives buried deep within this place. I'd recommend stopping on level six before we hit the datacenter. The logs here indicate that there was a security key somewhere there. If we can find it, it'll help bypass the firewalls that are bound to be in place when I access the main hub."

"If you think it's worth a shot, we'll check it out," Commander Auri replied before plucking the construct from the system. Her avatar vanished in a cascade of green pixels and the map she'd projected disappeared along with her. Following the map Noesis had provided, the team entered the lift side by side and Shenway thumbed the glyph the AI had marked as level six. The silver doors slid shut with a soft hiss and the platform descended into the bowels of the complex without a sound fast. Not even thirty seconds had passed when the platform slowed and the doors opened to reveal a hallway similar to the one they'd just left moments ago. There were at least two T-junctions that the Fours could see from their position. Wordlessly, the Spartans exited the lift and quickly and quietly searched the area, effectively clearing it.

As Shenway and Daniels approached the farthest T-junction, a door down the hall to their immediate left slid shut. It seemed they weren't alone here. Shenway pinged the commander who had been examining one room about twenty feet away. She stepped back out in the hall. Through a quick series of hand gestures, Shenway explained their situation, asking permission to pursue the contact. The commander inclined her head once, the motion sharp and quick. Shenway quietly entered the corridor with Daniels right behind her. The room the pair walked into was just as empty as the hallway they'd left behind. Either they were pursuing a cloaked hostile or there was a ghost in the system. Even a camouflaged Sangheili would've flitted across their radar but this? They just weren't getting anything. The two methodically worked to clear the next two areas and still found nothing. Upon entering a third room and seeing only a massive holo-screen taking up the far wall, the two fell back to regroup with their team. While they couldn't locate the ghost, or glitch if that's what it was, they still kept a sharp eye out. If they got jumped now, it'd be all over.

During their little expedition, Spartans Kent and Auri managed to locate a terminal that contained the security key Noesis needed to infiltrate the data cache. It had taken them four different attempts before finally accessing the correct terminal. The other three had either been completely wiped or were full of junk data. Auri glanced up upon her squad mates' return and before she could voice a question, Daniels was already shaking his head.

"Either someone's fuckin' with us or this place is seriously haunted," the Spartan remarked in an irritated tone that covered up the uneasiness he clearly felt.

"Something did walk through that door but we cleared the next three rooms there and found nothing," Shenway continued, shaking her head. "Nothing was showing up on radar. Noesis, you're certain no one's on this level with us?"

"I would've detected excess heat emanating from a cloak generator," the AI explained, her brows furrowing together as she pocketed the key and wiped the local copy. "I'll stay within the network and follow you all down to the next level. If I detect anything unusual, I'll place it on your HUDs."

"In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled. Whatever it is might be able to fool radar," Auri said as Noesis faded away into the system. "Let's head back to the lift. The sooner we get that data, the sooner we can get outta here."

"Heads up: the Storm Covenant have disabled the siren and are heading back inside the facility. Already two squads are investigating the second and third levels. I second we get moving. Now."

The four Spartans jogged back toward the lift which was still waiting for them patiently and Auri thumbed the glyph for level eight and the facility's data center. In the meantime, Noesis wormed her way inside the other lift's system in an effort to delay the aliens. For now, the controls for the other lifts were temporarily disabled, marooning the patrols on their respective levels. Moments later, the Spartans' elevator slowed to a halt, depositing the team. The door closed behind them depicting them into a long singular hallway with a high vaulted ceiling and beams of bright blue energy that ran the length of the interior. They moved as one down the corridor, weapons drawn. The tall silver panels unlocked as if they were merely waiting for humans to come near.

Waiting inside for them was a cavernous room. A massive screen completely covered one wall with a circular waist high structure in the middle. As they approached the center of the room, the platform in front of them glowed a soft blue and a map of the entire complex suddenly appeared. Noesis projected her avatar beside it, her expression distant as she was examining something her companions couldn't see.

"A word of caution, do not touch anything in this room. Someone clearly did not want this cache exported from the network," she announced, her lips pursing briefly in frustration. "The security key I pilfered will be of some help to minimize detection but as for retrieving the data entirely, that'll be another problem altogether. Hm… It shouldn't take me too long…"

"Go slow if you have to. The Covies still haven't picked us up yet so we've got time," the commander replied as her team fanned out over the room, mindful of the systems around them.

"They know something's wrong with the lifts. A Sangheili is ordering for a Huragok to be brought out here via Phantom. Between that and the klaxons from earlier, the drop ship should be here within ten minutes. I should have access by then. All the same, be prepared for this all to go sideways. I'm not just worried about the Covenant."

"If they start trying to make their way down here, we'll buy you whatever time we can."

The map before them showed a more accurate account of the patrols. More aliens were pouring in through the front door and were clearly trying to bypass the lock placed on the lifts. Another squad seemed to be searching for a back way past the lifts. Sure enough, maintenance access was off to one side and they were busy melting down the door. Someone was definitely not in the mood to wait. Noesis' avatar vanished from the center platform and reappeared by the holo-terminal in front of the screen. A series of Forerunner glyphs lit up its surface too quickly for the squad to fully register as the AI began to carefully navigate the inner network. A progress bar popped up on screen as well as a set of windows that displayed varying streams of data.

The work was tedious and slow going. Despite her matrix being merged with Forerunner code upon her creation, Noesis was having difficulty puzzling out the defensive measures set in place eons ago. The security access key allowed her to seamlessly slip past the first few firewalls but the rest centering around the data cache itself were not giving up easily.

"Heya," Kent called out from the other side of the room, gesturing toward the holo map. "Is it just me or are those red dots there getting further inside here?" The others turned back to examine the Storm Covenant's progress and it appeared that they were, slowly but surely.

"Damn it. Noesis, how're we looking?" The commander shot a look back at the construct, "Even if you can't fully decrypt the data, we can always continue once we're back on the ship."

"I'm only twenty five percent of the way through. At this rate, it'll take another ten minutes before I can get through it all. They really had this cache locked down tight," the AI replied. "If I cannot fully decrypt it while still in the network, I will have to pull it. That'll trigger a series of alarms and bring down hell around us."

"That settles it. Decrypt it on the go then pull it at the last second before we leave. By the time you get through it, that Phantom'll already be here. Echo 065 should still be in the area so it shouldn't take her awfully long to get back. Can you send her a ping and let her know the LZ may be hot when she arrives?"

"Already sent, Commander. Now, I suggest we get moving. The Covenant have made it down one level. I'll remain in the system until we leave this place and I'll continue to monitor our enemies' progress." Auri nodded a sharp affirmative and Noesis vanished from view along with the map hovering above the central construct. Now that they didn't have anything else tying them to the facility, their objective now secured, the four Spartans took leave of the room and began making their way outside. Meanwhile, flitting through the building's system, Noesis swore quietly as she devoted more and more of her processing power to breaking into the cache of data. It was proving more difficult than she was expecting and, for once in her entire five years of existence, she slipped up. Before interacting with the cache initially, Noesis had conducted what she considered to be a thorough scan to make doubly sure interfering with it wouldn't immediately trigger a domino effect with the security network. Unfortunately, her scan hadn't detected what was essentially a Trojan horse that had been cleverly hidden by its designers and by the time she did, it was already too late.

Alarms began blaring throughout the entire facility, including their level, sending the Spartans into high alert. Even with the noise dampening technology via their helmets, the sound was still deafening.

"Noesis! Talk to me, what's going on?" Commander Auri asked, her voice rising a bit instinctively to compensate for the cacophony of sirens echoing all around them. The Four checked herself then gestured to her team to double time it back to the elevator; they didn't need to be told twice.

"I overlooked a hidden security measure woven into the cache," Noesis replied, frustration leaking into her voice. Auri couldn't tell if it was at the situation, herself or both. It was probably all three. "Damn it! I'm seeing a massive energy spike rising up through the facility. We've got hostiles incoming and I'm not just talking about the Storm Covenant forces." By then, the soldiers had made it into another lift which dropped them further downward as their AI companion redirected them to a safer route. "I'm doing what I can to flood their system with junk data and hide our location but it'll only be a matter of time before they find us. Echo 065 won't make it here in time."

"Is there a portal network or something here that we can use?" Spartan Shenway suggested. The lift paused ever so slightly before continuing its descent.

"Actually, yes. Yes, there is. Sublevel 12-C. I'm taking us there now. Be prepared to expect heavy resistance when those doors open. I'll take command of any defensive turrets I can access throughout this place with the security key I pilfered earlier."

"Do whatever you can to slow them down when we exit. Is there a terminal I can pull you from on the way out?" the Commander asked as she checked the magazine on her assault rifle, her teammates following suite.

"Yes. Once you exit the lift, it'll be thirty feet down the hallway on your right."

"Got it."

"Alright. Lift is slowing down in ten…"

At one, the elevator slid open with a soft hiss, spilling the Spartans out into a long, open corridor. Sure enough, there were already a handful of fully weaponized and heavily armored Promethean Knights waiting to greet the intruders. A familiar boomphf sounded off from the right and flash of orange lit up that side of room.

"Scatter!" Auri called over their TEAMCOMM. One of the bipedal constructs, and a Knight Commander at that, had fired off an incineration cannon with hopes of wiping out the team in one fell swoop. A glob of energy flew hard and fast toward the group, narrowly missing Spartan Daniels by a few inches before slamming into a wall just behind him. He stumbled just out reach as the blob split off into four separate orbs then finally detonated. The smooth silver wall beside him was now etched in varying shades of black and gray as the metal cooled upon impact. He recovered quickly and fired off a short, controlled burst from his assault rifle before tucking into a combat roll to avoid an incoming grenade.

Spartans Shenway and Kent were already halfway down the hall by that point and were doing what they could to distract the horde of enemies converging on the others' location. Shenway had then reached behind her to yank her teammate out of the way as a Knight leapt down toward them with intent to slice the man in half with the orange blade attachment on one of its limbs. The Spartan let out a surprised grunt as he felt himself being pulled backward before laying into the hostile with his Battle Rifle. It didn't take long for the pair to drop it and reload. With a brief break in the combat, the commander spied the terminal Noesis had mentioned earlier and darted forward with Daniels on her six. She ducked around a burst of gunfire from a Scattershot just as she neared the terminal and swiped her palm across its surface. Green pixels flowed up from the platform and Noesis quickly settled back into the Spartan's armor.

"I've already pulled the data from the core. Decryption is currently at forty five percent and climbing," the AI announced as the Fours made their way down toward the portal device at the end of the hall. The Knights seemed to follow their line of thought and were doing their damndest to impede their progress. "Echo 065 is on her way as we speak. She's about four minutes out and counting!"

"How can we be - ah shit!" Daniels cursed as he drove another Knight back, his shields flaring up as he took fire from another. Auri moved in and deployed her hard light shield attachment, deflecting another barrage from the incineration cannon. The bright blue shield flared up from her gauntlet and soaked up the attack, buying her squad mate enough time to get his bearings. He nodded a quick thanks to his XO s he reloaded and they swapped places as her attachment was slowly draining her suit's shields. The Promethean went down screaming which only further riled up the others. "Um… How can we be so sure that the portal will drop us outside this place? It could lead to anywhere!" Daniels called over their COMMs

"I plugged in the coordinates before I left the network. It'll take us outside the perimeter. There shouldn't be any Storm Covenant in the immediate area. At least there were none that I detected. If there are, our pilot should be able to take care of any stragglers," the AI answered. She linked up to the portal system once more to be safe. The last thing they needed was to be ported onto the other side of the planet with no backup. As if on queue, the portal platform at the far end began to glow as it activated and soon enough, a swirling blue and black mass that was maybe ten feet across spun into being. Twin silver arms taller than the soldiers held it in place and kept it stable.

"Come on. You heard the lady. Get your asses to that portal now!" Auri yelled. Her squad didn't need any further encouragement; she and Daniels chucked a couple fragmentation grenades into the crowd in front of them to soften the Knights up before pushing forward. Shenway leapt through the portal and vanished from view. Seconds later, Kent did the same. Both were deposited a couple hundred feet just outside the facility with Kent going visor-first into a thick clump of snow. Shenway was only feet away from him and, just as he leaned back on his haunches and shook the snow from himself, Echo 065 arrived right on time. For the moment, the LZ was free of hostiles.

Back inside, Daniels and the commander were having difficulty disengaging from the fight. Auri slammed her shoulder into one Promethean that had been trying to sideswipe her teammate and reloaded her AR as it staggered backward then poured about half of the new clip into the damned thing. Daniels came around her right side and slammed his six inch serrated combat knife into its neck. The construct wailed in pain and anger and slashed at the air in front of the two in a desperate attempt at cutting them down before it perished. The commander deployed her hard light shield again moments before its blade slammed into its surface. She used her other hand to shove Daniels back toward the portal and, luckily, the man had stumbled through it and out the other side. Now it was just her left.

With her teammates in relative safety, the commander just had to worry about herself and her AI.

"Commander, on your six!" Noesis cried in her ear. On reflex, Auri activated her shield attachment again to narrowly avoid being vaporized by another Knight Commander's cannon. The detonation forced her back a few steps which gave the Promethean enough time to cycle through for another shot. Her hard light shield was already turning a worrying shade of red before collapsing entirely as the device overheated and began to recharge. The Knight fired the cannon a third time and the Four hit the deck hard. The globule of energy sailed over her body and slammed into the portal system behind her. The subsequent detonation further wrecked the platform causing it all to crash and the portal finally destabilized, shutting down with a loud bang.

The commander swore under her breath and got to her feet as fast as she could, emptying the rest of her mag into the Knight to finally drop the thing. The other Prometheans seemed to wink out of existence as their own commander fell but their retreat was only temporary. Both Spartan and AI knew they would be regrouping soon and would try to cut off the remaining exits. Her breath echoed loudly back to her within the confines of her helmet as she drove another clip home. It clicked into place as she surveyed the immediate area.

"The others have already made it outside to the Pelican," Noesis said as she began her search for another portal. The commander opened up her COMM channel.

"This is Ghost Actual to Echo 065. Ghost Actual to Echo 065. Do you read me?" Auri asked just as her AI threw up a waypoint on her HUD leading to another teleporter that hopefully wouldn't be overwhelmed with hostiles.

"This is Echo 065. I read ya loud and clear, Commander," the Pelican pilot drawled. "Everything good on your end, ma'am?"

"I'm not dead so that's good in my book," the Four replied as she took off at a trot. "There's been a change of plans. Portal here is completely busted."

"Already? The hell happened?!" Kent interjected. The commander paused briefly and let out a short sigh before continuing like he hadn't spoken.

"It's busted but Noesis found another one. It's a level below us. The Prometheans have fallen back for now but will probably be hanging out around there as well as outside. Be prepared for a fight after I step through. Has the enemy Phantom arrived yet or no?"

"Hm… I haven't come across it yet but your AI friend said it was probably close behind me, yeah? One or two of 'em, I can handle. More'n that and I may have to pull outta here, ma'am," Echo 065 replied.

"Understood. I'll try to get out of here before that happens. If it gets too hot, bug out. I can always find a way back myself."

At that, her teammates erupted with several protests before Echo 065 hollered at them to quiet down.

"Ma'am?" 065 asked in a tense voice.

"I'll be fine. If I need to find alternate transport, I'll notify you immediately."

"Ah, solid copy, ma'am. Standing by for now."

With that, their channel shut off as the Four quickly made her way down through the facility. She only encountered a lone Sangheili which she dispatched quietly. Minutes passed and the waypoint arrow on her HUD was hovering over the ceiling to floor door.

"Noesis, how many are behind that door?"

A pause then, "Rough estimate? At least twenty Knights plus several Crawlers and a few Watchers. The Covenant are beginning to close in on this location so I suggest we move quickly. The portal system is literally a thirty yard straight shot through this door."

The commander nodded, more to herself than in response to the AI's statement. "Queue up that flare program. Set it to activate five seconds after I go through the door. That should buy me enough time to make it but… make ready to send the data cache up to Roland. Just in case."

"Already on it, Commander." Noesis sounded a little apprehensive but was ready to provide assistance. Bracing herself mentally and physically, Auri took in a breath and let it out slowly then, gripping her rifle tightly, pushed through the door. A split second after it opened, a barrage of gunfire assaulted her location. Her suit's shields dropped quicker than she liked and she deployed her hard light again now that the device had time enough to recharge. Holding her shield arm at a ninety degree angle to keep most of the bullets off her person and holding her rifle in her other hand, the Four hauled ass as fast as she could, firing into the crowd. At the five second mark, Noesis deployed her armor's flare feature which was similar to the flare devices the Jiralhanae used back in '52. Searing white light filled the entire room, temporarily blinding the enemies around her. The commander took the opportunity to shut down her hard light shield and ran full tilt toward the portal's swirling blue and black mass.

A stray round slammed into her left shoulder causing her steps to briefly falter but she kept going. Her gaze quickly darted to her right as another Knight Commander came screaming into view, its cannon and melee weapon glowing a fierce red. She only had seconds left now to go. Just as the construct leapt down off a platform to try and pin her to the deck, the Four dropped into a combat slide and pushed off the floor. Right as her hand dipped into the portal, she heard the incineration cannon go off behind her and then-

—

Her body was suddenly pulled this way and that within the confines of the portal network. It was like she was being spun end over end without knowing which way was up, almost like she was a giant's toy. Auri kept her eyes squeezed shut tightly otherwise she might've vomited in her helmet. Her shields then flared up as an unknown source drained the batteries until they cracked and died for a few tense seconds, the annoying alarm blaring right smack dab in her ear. Her equilibrium was way off and it felt as though she remained within the network for far longer than before although she couldn't tell how much time had passed since she had taken the plunge.

Without warning, a hole suddenly ripped into being and spat her out onto the dirt rather unceremoniously. She tumbled to a stop, head spinning violently and she once more swallowed down the urge to throw up. Any attempt at getting to her feet were met with major protest and her vision swam sickeningly. The commander made the mistake of opening her eyes once the vertigo finally ceased and regretted it. While her visor had darkened as soon as she got outside, she still closed eyes tightly against the light filtering through her faceplate. The Spartan took in a few slow, deep breaths before rising up to her knees carefully. Her stomach was still her throat and her head throbbed something awful but she was alive and in one piece. A few meters away from her, the portal floated and seemed to shudder. Had the Spartan not been paying attention, she wouldn't have caught that slight waver that indicated something was off.

"Okay, good. You're alright," came her AI's soft voice. "We may have a tail. Prometheans might have followed us and… I don't think that portal is going to last much longer. We need to get clear of the blast radius and into cover." Noesis sounded almost distracted and for a second, the Four couldn't pin down what exactly had caught her attention.

"Great… You don't have to tell me twice," Auri replied as she got to her feet and stopped.

Oh.

That's why.

They weren't on Requiem anymore.