CHAPTER 3 - TRAITORS AMONG TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION

My name is Corporal Erik A. Degnan - Schmidt, and I was aboard the Pillar of Autumn when it was attacked by the Covenant. Now I'm on this stupid ring-shaped planet with a bunch of the other survivors. Not just the Marines, but that Spartan freak and this bastard kid. Oh, but this kid ain't no human; I can sure as hell tell you that. He's done all this crazy stuff and even started talking in the enemy's language! You'd think that would be a sign that he couldn't be trusted; but no! The Chief, Sergeant Johnson, and a bunch of the dumb-ass Marines are stickin' up for him. Well, I'll tell you this, it'll end soon enough - I'll make sure of that.

I sit up, awake and keeping guard. My turn to keep watch had just started, but I'd been up all night. See I don't trust that stupid kid. I've been keeping my eye on him ever since we found him on this crazy ring world. That's right, we found him. He claims to have no idea how he ended up on "Halo" and supposedly lost his memory. Yeah right. I didn't understand how everyone else could be so calm around this brat.

The kid was asleep now and was mumbling under his breath. Out of curiosity and suspicion, I was about to get closer and try to hear, but I spun around when I heard a noise from behind, in the forest. I switched on my flashlight and searched around for the source, but after not finding anything, sat back down. It was a few minutes till I noticed there wasn't any more noise coming from the brat anymore, and I looked up. He was gone. I cursed under my breath and got up again. My eyes darted form tree-to-tree, rock-to-rock. This was not good. I heard a rustle in the forest again and rushed in at full alert. The glow from my flashlight only covered part of my view, and I felt extremely vulnerable. My light searched high and low, not finding anything until I saw a Marine. A dead Marine. I knelt down beside the fallen soldier to examine the cause of death and found that he was still warm, meaning he didn't die too long ago. There was severe bleeding around the neck where I guessed would be a large cut or bullet wound... But there was no slit, no bullet hole...there were bite marks.

This was insane. I staggered back, feeling dizzy and nauseated. The first though that came to my mind was the kid. He did this. But how? Why? I laugh at myself when I think the word vampire. It was ridiculous. Vampires are mythical creatures. Unholy creatures that lurked in the shadows, drank human blood, and burned in the sunlight. There was another laugh, and at first I thought it was my own, but as cold realization occurs to me, I slowly turn around.

"Vampire, huh?" it laughed as it watched me from the shadows. "Heh... Close enough." Then he stepped out into the dim light that one of the near-by moons gave off and grinned mockingly. My eyes widened as I saw that I was correct; it was the boy. Except he looked different... More mature, more sure of himself, and his eyes... His eyes looked like black holes into nothingness.

I was able to mutter out a shaken, "W-what are you? Who are you? You're different then before."

He let out a short, cold laugh, and said darkly, "You're right. I am different. I'm not the same person I was about a half-hour ago. But who I am and what I am is none of your business. And don't try anything, because, sadly to your disadvantage, you can't stop me." I didn't care what he said; I would kill him. I pulled out my silent rifle and fired three times into his chest. But, to my horror, that didn't hurt him. He just growled and glared at me with his cold, dark eyes. I turned and started to run, but before I could, I felt him hit me in the back of my head with a force that wasn't humanly possible. The last thing I heard before blacking out was him muttering, "Stupid human..."

I woke to the sound of laughter and the smell of bacon. Blinking, I stared up at the tree branches, wondering where I was. Then I sat up with a start, remembering last night's encounter with that foul demon. My hand found its way up to my neck, and to my relief, there were no bite marks. There was just a throbbing pain in the back of my head. I got up and ran back to the camp site just as I heard Sergeant Johnson say, "Now where the hell is D - Schmidty?"

I ran out of the forest and stopped, breathing heavily. There must have been a crazed look in my eyes because some of the Marines started at me with awkward expressions. My eyes darted around, looking for whom I wanted; and then I found him. He was still asleep. I stormed over to where he lay and pointed my gun at his head, shouting, "Wake up, you bastard!" He half-opened one eye and sleepily mumbled something that I couldn't here. His eyes had changed back to their normal, emerald green, but that didn't matter; he was still a monster. There were a few groans and sighs from the Marines with some saying, "Not again. Give it a rest, Schmidty. The kid didn't do anything wrong. You're crazy."

"You think I'm crazy!" I shrieked. "The way I see it; you're the ones who are crazy! How could you trust this little brat? He's not human; he even spoke in the enemy's language!"

Zak sat up, still half asleep, and said, "I don't even have any idea what I said..." He yawned. "Maybe I was just picking up on some Elite's radio or something... I wouldn't do anything to hurt you guys."

"Damn you! Liar!" I cried out. "I know what you did last night!" As I said this, the Master Chief came running towards me, shouting, "What's going on? What's this all about?" My hand was shaking now, still aimed at the boy. I swallowed hard and finally said, "H-he fed...on a Marine's blood." There were a few laughs, gasps, and numerous murmurs.

The kid stood up, took in a deep breath, and sighed, saying, "Dude... The only thing I've eaten in the past days is what you guys have given me. Besides, why would I drink a guy's blood? And how would I? My blade thingies went back into my arms last night." He held up his arm to show me and everyone else. A Marine stood up and tried to help him by saying, "C'mon, Schmidty. The kid doesn't have a blade. How else would he draw blood; and enough to kill? By biting him?" I just nodded, and the Marine hesitantly told Zak to open his mouth. The kid raised an eyebrow, but then opened his mouth, and sure enough, his K9s were longer and sharper than any human's. The Marine who had stood up for him muttered a "holy shit" and stepped away.

The Master Chief stepped up and crossed his arms as Zak closed his mouth and sighed. The Chief tilted his head to one side and said, "We all know that Zak isn't human. But that doesn't mean that he's been killing Marines and drinking their blood. Show us where this body is." I reluctantly turned away from Zak and walked into the forest and where I was the night before.

Sergeant Johnson knelt down beside the fallen comrade and muttered, "Damn. This must've been one crazy wolf or somethin'. The only thing is, there ain't a scratch on him, sides his neck. But I really don't think Zak would do anything like this."

I looked over to where the kid was standing with his four, strange friends, and he looked up at me. "Well, Zak... If you didn't do it, then explain what you were doing in the forest last night."

"Um..." His eyebrows creased in frustration as he tried to think, and I was sure I got him this time. But then he spoke up, saying, "Oh yeah. I got up to get a drink," He pointed deeper into the forest, "from the river that's down a ways more. All I did was that...and go the bathroom. But I didn't do anything wrong, unless peeing is a crime now."

The Marines laughed and even the Chief gave out a short chuckle. I just clenched my firsts in anger and gritted my teeth. "I'll prove it. Pull up your shirt so they can see where I shot you, ya little brat." He stared at me blankly for a few seconds, but then pulled up his shirt, showing his stomach. There were the long, stitched cuts from when the strange, armored man had attacked, and three bullet wounds. "See!" I shouted. But then I noticed that the wounds were completely healed.

The Chief grunted and said, "Those bullet wounds were there before today, Corporal. I saw them when he was getting examined by the medics. It was dark last night and you hadn't gotten any sleep. You must have been hallucinating. It was probably an Elite that got left behind."

I fell to my knees and stuttered, "I-impossible..." That was that. One Marine started digging a grave for the dead man as everyone else went back up to camp. It seemed, then, that my feud with the boy was over...for the time being...

POV Change - Zak

Jeez… What a day; and it had only been four hours since I woke up. I was really confused about what the corporal had accused me of. I did have a weird, bittersweet taste in my mouth, and I hadn't seen any animals besides birds since I first woke up without my memory. But I didn't remember anything from last night except getting a drink and taking a dump. The corporal had gone on about how I spoke in the Covenant language the day before, but, honestly, I have no idea what I said. He had now wandered off somewhere, saying that he was going scouting, and I sighed as I watched a Marine put a grave-marker that he'd made from wood next to where he buried the dead man. Looking down at the long scars left on my arms by the blades, I wondered why they went back in. Things in my body were changing, and I seemed to have no control over it.

The Master Chief and about half of the Marines had gone on a mission to locate something called the Silent Cartographer about three hours ago, and when I asked if I could go, he declined very sternly. He didn't want to "risk any chance of the Covenant getting their hands on me". I was angry with him for a while, but I got over it. The Chief had returned and put Cortana into a holo-pad they had salvaged from a crash site, so now she overlooked the camp. It was dark now and she called me over, so I slowly walked towards her hologram. The AI sighed and questioned, "You're sure you don't remember seeing or hearing anything strange last night?" I just shook my head and sighed. "What happened yesterday kind of shook up the Marines. Do you even know what you said?" This time, she sighed when I shook my head again. "I analyzed it, and it seems that you said, Stop it! I command you! Do not hurt them or you shall be punished. You have all been warned of my power and I will have no mercy on you if you disobey.'" She paused as I stared at her, wide-eyed. I muttered a quiet holy crap' under my breath and she said, "This is evidence that you are the one mentioned in the prophecy. Whatever happens, we can't let the Covenant get you. Who knows what they'll do?"

And just as if her last comment triggered it, something down in the forest exploded and there were a lot of angry and surprised shouts. Someone shouted that they were under attack and five more explosions occurred. A sharp pain spiked in both of my arms and I felt the skin open up. The two blades reappeared and the cuts left behind healed instantly. I felt several sharp spikes in my back, but aside form that, nothing happened. Oh great... Not again... I was changing again. It didn't hurt when my tail changed its shape (most of the time I wouldn't even know it had unless someone told me) but when other parts in my changed it would hurt...just a bit. When I looked up again, the same Elite from the day before stood in front of me. Again, without thinking, I grinned mockingly and said, "Come to play again, have you Zuka?" I wasn't even sure what language I had spoken in, but the black-clad warrior took a step back.

I heard Cortana shout, "Chief! Get me out of here!" as the Elite reached behind him and then held up a Marine by the collar of his shirt. I was about to turn away when something froze me in my place. Zamamee had slit the man's throat and blood dripped down his neck onto the ground. I could smell the blood, almost taste it; I could here the Marine's heartbeat as it got slower. I human laugh came from behind me and I whipped around to see the Crazed Corporal'. He smirked and exclaimed, "I knew it was you! You were the one I encountered last night. You crave blood; I know that. So I told them. I figured that if they wanted you, they could have you. You're too much hassle." But as he said that, a gold-armored Elite walked up behind him and muttered, "You have served your purpose and now your time has ended." An energy sword appeared in its hand and he cut Corporal Erik Degnan - Schmidt in two.

The golden Elite stepped over the top half of the corpse and said, "I am Field Master Tuno Tonkomee. I was told that our last mission to bring you to the Truth and Reconciliation was a failure, so I decided to come along this time. The stupid human that I cut in half told us about your strange craving for...human blood and we decided to use it against you. But I advise you come willingly so we do not have to harm you." I stepped back, narrowed my eyes, and got into a fighting stance as the Elite said, "You wish to fight? So be it."

I was about to charge when I heard two gun shots and saw the Fields Master fall to the ground. Blinking twice, I saw the Master Chief standing about thirty feet away with a sniper rifle now pointed at Zuka. He fired, but just as a Grunt jumped on his back, shifting his aim. The bullet scratched the Elite's shoulder plate and its shield flared. The Chief flung the Grunt off of his back and ran towards me. He grabbed my arm and said, "We gotta get out of here." I pulled my arm out of his grasp and hesitated before following the Chief and looked back at the two corpses. One was human, one was Covenant; but it didn't matter. I sighed and murmured, "May your souls find their way to Paradise," and then ran after the Chief.

I didn't understand… Everything just kept getting more and more confusing. Did I really have a craving for blood? And why? My memory was still incomplete and that made everything a whole lot harder to figure out. We had been aboard the Pelican flown by Foehammer for about and hour when Cortana had announced that Captain Keyes (whom I had not met) had been taken prisoner by the Covenant.

"It's very strange," she went on. "The Covenant doesn't take prisoners. They just kill every human they find. It was also strange that they retreated that one time after attacking the base…" She sighed and got back to the point. "The only reason I can think of that would make them keep the captain alive…is to find the location of Earth. He's being held aboard the Truth and Reconciliation. Our mission is to get in, get out, and keep the captain alive."

The Master Chief nodded to Cortana and then turned to the Marines. "You got that? We need to make this trip as quick as possible; and that means no stalling for anything except to defend yourselves against attacking Covenant." He then turned to me and said, "Zak, I want you and your friends to stay here."

I narrowed my eyes and said, "No. I don't care what you say. You wouldn't let me come last time and I'm not gonna wait again. I'm not a Marine, so you can't order me around. I'm going."

"Zak, you can't!" Cortana argued, cutting in. "We already talked about this. I thought you agreed that we couldn't take any chances of them getting a hold on you. We don't know what they would do to you if they did. Going there would be like handing yourself over on a silver platter."

I smiled at her last remark and assured, "I'll be fine. Don't worry. I can take care of myself; they won't get me. My arm-blades came back, and I took these from Tonkomee, the gold Elite the Chief killed." I held up a plasma rifle and I extended an energy blade from my hand, making sure not to hit anyone. I discharged it and opened my hand, showing the device that the energy filtered through. A Marine I had come to know as Sally stared at me wide-eyed and said, "Whoa, dude... You can wield that thing?"

"B-but Zak," Stan cut in, "it's not safe. Even if you have weapons to defend yourself, there's still a r-risk of them getting you." Franky, Steve, and Roy nodded in agreement; Franky having a deep frown of concern on his false face. I sighed and shook my head, saying, "I still need to find the rest of my memory, and the Covenant seem to have a lead to it..."

"Sorry to interrupt your little conversation," Foehammer's voice came in over the speakers, "but we got touch down in five." There were numerous murmurs and the Marines started to check their rifles. "Copy that, Foehammer." Cortana said as the Master Chief took her out of the holo-pad and inserted her into the back of his helmet. "The Covenant ship is holding position approximately 300 meters above the other end of this plateau."

"So how do we get inside the ship if it's in the air?" A Marine retorted as he loaded his gun. "The Force gave me a rifle, not wings." Sergeant Johnson snorted and said, "There's a gravity lift the Covenant use to move supplies between the ship and the surface. That's our ticket in."

"Once we get inside the ship," Cortana continued, "we should be able to lock on to Captain Keyes' neural implants." John readied his sniper rifle and held my plasma rifle tightly, having put the sword filter into one of my pockets. The Sergeant stood up and shouted, "Hit it, Marines! Go! Go! Go!" and we all filed out of the drop-ship. Cortana spoke up again and said to the Chief, "Stick to the higher ground level. You should be able to reek on the Covenant position without being spotted. I've detected Covenant stationary guns near the next pass. I recommend taking out the gunners while I call for Marine support." Then I heard her speaking to the Sergeant. "Get ready to move in and support us, Sergeant. The Master Chief is going to covertly take out as many Covenant as he can. Don't open fire until you hear the enemy return fire on us. That should let us keep the element of surprise."

I stood, watching the Master Chief, as the Pelican took off. Franky came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder, saying, "Hey, Zak. Are you ok?" I sighed and nodded, loosening my grip on the plasma rifle. Johnson walked up to me and said, "Hey uh... I know your friends here wanna stick by your side," he looked at Franky and motioned to the other three, "but they got no training or nothin. I mean that Stan kid looks like he's just seven years old."

Looking over at the other three, I laughed. Steve was loading an assault rifle as Stan was climbing on Roy's back. I turned back around and noticed Franky was smiling also. "It may not look like it, Sergeant, but they've had training. Lots of it. Don't let their appearance fool you." Johnson looked over at my three friends, at Franky, and then gave me an uncertain look. He shrugged and sighed, "Alright, if you say so."

Franky was about to ask something when there were gunshots and a Marine shouted, "Enemy fire!" We all rushed in, guns ready. Covenant were streaming out from the pass and the men showed them no mercy. I ran with them and heard some saying things like, "Let em have it!" "Nice shot!" and "Get up so I can kill you again!" I didn't pay attention to that. Something inside me had switched on, and I didn't pay attention to anything but my prey. Most of them ran away or just stared, not knowing what to do. I felt a slight burning on my back, and I turned around. There was a Grunt standing there, trembling. "You think you can hurt me?" I spread my arm apart and narrowed my eyes. "Try me." The Grunt screamed and ran away, and I sighed, shot it three times, and watched it fall.

"Zak!" I looked up and saw Franky and the others running towards me. Stan was still on Roy's back and was staring at all the dead bodies, wide eyed. It looked like he was out of breath even though Roy was the one doing all the running. Steve shook his head and said, "This is quite messy, isn't it." I motioned them forward and ran towards the Master Chief as the shooting stopped and a Marine yelled, "Hey, you did it! We're right behind ya, Chief."

John ran ahead and we followed until Cortana said, "Stop," and we did. "The motion tracker shows movement around the next bend." One of the Corporals nodded and replied, "We'll be ready to assist as soon as you call for us, Cortana." Everything else went on from there. Once all of the enemy Covenant were dead, we moved on. Roy, Stan, and Steve helped some, but mainly just followed me. Franky shot one whenever they would get close and the Grunts would run away if he glared at them. They must have seen something in his eyes.

Cortana's voice came in as she said, "All right. We are now directly under the ship now." A Marine snorted and said, if we're gonna board that thing, we need a plan." The others agreed and Cortana said, "We need to ambush them at the gravity lift's loading zone and use the list to enter the ship." The fighting started again and after it seemed to calm down, Cortana's voice came in again. "Alert! Covenant drop-ships are inbound." Aside from the new threat of the drop-ship, more Covenant came down from the gravity lift; but it didn't last long. The Marines had commandeered the stationary guns surrounding the area and the sky was full with plasma fire.

I was staring up at the ship called the Truth and Reconciliation until I heard to sniper shots and Chief telling the remaining Marines to get onto the gravity lift. There were two Hunters lying dead on the ground and I saw Roy shudder. A Marine spoke into his COM and reported, "We've secured the area. Let's square away the grav lift. Marines, prepare for boarding action."

"Cortana to Echo 419. We've reached the gravity lift and are ready for reinforcements."

"Copy that, Cortana." Foehammer said over the COM. "Hold tight, gentlemen. Foehammer out."

Cortana sighed and then said, "Once we're inside, I can home in on the Captain's command neural interface. He'll probably be in or near the ship's brig. That should narrow our search."

"Echo 419 inbound. Ready to drop load." Marines streamed out of the drop-ship and ran onto the gravity lift. One shouted, "The Calvary has arrived!" I stepped onto the platform and felt the air change. Franky stepped on beside me and flinched; he felt it too. So did the Marines, because I noticed them make comments about it. The Master Chief flipped a switch and gravity seemed to cease all itself. A Marine shouted, "Yeehaw!" and others cheered along with him. As I gripped my rifle tightly and watched the ground get farther away, my only thought was, into the belly of the beast...

POV Change - Master Chief

John had been watching Zak while he fought, and it was a bit unnerving. When we was fighting, it seemed like Zak had no thought except taking his enemy down... Now that everyone was solidly standing on something, John looked over at Zak and saw that he was laughing at something Sergeant Johnson had said. At leased he doesn't have that hating look in his eyes anymore... When the Master Chief had looked at Zak earlier, he had this look in his eyes. It was like looking into a dark emptiness. But now, it seemed he was back to his semi cheerful self.

"We're in." Cortana reported as the Chief felt his feet touch ground again. "I've got a good lock on the Captain's CNI transponder. But...there are no Covenant defenses detected..."

"What?" A Marine with a New Yorker accent questioned. "There's no Covenant here? Maybe Nobody's home." Just as he said that, an Elite roared from behind them and plasma fire filled the room. A different Marine got hit and yelped, "Contact! Lots of contact!" Another angrily said, "'No Covenant'. You had to open your mouth!"

The Chief was paying attention to a group of Jackals that he didn't even notice the golden Elite coming up behind him. Not until he heard the clash of energy blades did he turn around. Zak was fighting the golden Elite with the energy sword he had stolen, and was doing it well. The two blades met seven times before Zak got behind the Elite and took him down. John was about to ask something, but Zak ran off to help a Marine with another Elite. John sighed as the fighting stopped and a dark skinned man reported, "Area secure, Sir. We should keep moving. How bout that door?"

The Chief headed to the one open door and kept moving, even though he wanted to keep and eye on Zak, who was near the back. There were a few guards in the corridors, which he took down easily enough, but something didn't feel right. That's when he saw it. There was a patch of the wall ahead of his that was warped out of shape. Camouflage... John stopped, bent down, picked up a discarded plasma pistol, and charged it up. When it was fully charged, he fired at the invisible Elite, and saw its shields flicker; but much to his surprise, the fully charged blast didn't take them out. The alien lunged and brought John down with a thud, shooting repetitively with its rifle.

The Marines kept shooting, but its shields, still, did not falter. That's when he heard someone yell "move!" and the firing stop. Before he knew it, the Elite was sprawling across to the other side of the hall, minus its helmet and shields gone. John looked up and saw that Zak had kicked the Covenant warrior across its face. It stood up and growled, showing its fangs, but then a look of horror crossed its alien features as it saw Zak charging, energy sword drawn. He cut its head clean off and got a spray of violet blood on his face.

John stood up and stared along with the Marines as Zak walked back over. Some of them said things like whoa' and that's just plain freaky' and stepped out of the way. Sergeant Johnson crossed his arms and said, "Kid, you scare me sometimes. And you got blood on your face. Use this." He held out a handkerchief and Zak took it, laughing and saying thanks'. He wiped his face, but the blood wouldn't come completely off, leaving two bluish smudges under his eyes. Johnson told him to keep it when Zak was about to give the hanky back.

The Chief sighed and went through the other door, which lead into the shuttle bay. There were a lot of Covenant and it was about fifteen minutes before the main fighting stopped. One of the Marines wondered aloud, "Is it over?" just as two Hunters and a lot more Covenant came out of a door. The men started shooting as the Master Chief got behind one of them with his sniper rifle and hot a bullet into its orange flesh, killing it. As the dead Hunter's brother charged at him, he hastily tried to reload, but didn't have time. Just as the large alien was about to smash John's skull, a beam of yellow-green energy hit it and it fell to the ground, motionless. He looked up to see who fired and saw another Hunter standing there.

POV Change - Zak

The Marines were about to fire on it when I ran in front of them and shouted, "Roy! I told you not to-" I cut myself off with a frustrated growl. The Marines lowered their guns and one raised and eyebrow and asked, "Wait... That's Roy? You mean that big guy?" I nodded and sighed, and then looked over to Franky and the others (Stan was now on Franky's back). They nodded and turned into their Covenant forms as well.

"Hold your fire." John held up his right hand, as one of the men was about to shoot. "These are the same Covenant from Alpha Base. They're friends." The man lowered his gun and said, "If you say so, Chief." I crossed my arms and Roy lowered his gaze, saying, "Oops..." As the Master Chief and the Marines started to head towards a door that Cortana had accessed for us, Franky smirked and said, "Oops is right. Now they'll be suspicious."

The fighting continued along the way until they reached a cell room. It seemed far too quiet for John's liking so he picked up a plasma grenade, triggered it, and through it into the center of the room. Sure enough, there were to camouflaged Elites that got caught in the blast, getting killed by the blast. The Chief went on to a platform and pushed a button on a holo-panel, opening the cells. He went into the nearest cell and helped the man inside stand up.

The man sighed and said, "Coming here was reckless; you two know better than this... Thanks..." I assumed he was talking to Cortana and the Chief and that this man was Captain Keyes. He turned to the group of Marines (which had increased some from the men in the cells) and shouted, "Marines! Lock and load your weapons; let's be ready to move." They all said yes sir' and got any gun they could find. Keyes put his hands behind his back and continued. "While the Covenant had us locked up in here, I overheard the guards talking about this ring world. They call it Halo."

"One moment, Sir." Cortana's voice came in clearly. "Accessing the Covenant battle net. According to the data in their networks, the ring has some sort of deep religious significance. If I'm analyzing this correctly, they believe that Halo is some kind of weapon. One with vast, unimaginable power."

The Captain scratched his chin and muttered, "Yeah that's true. The Covenant kept saying that, whoever controlled Halo controlled the fate of the universe."

Cortana continued, "Now I see. I had intercepted a number of messages about a Covenant search team scouting for a control room. I thought they were looking for the brig of a cruiser that I damaged during the battle above the ring. But they must be looking for Halo's control room."

"That's bad news. If Halo is a weapon, and the Covenant gain control of it, they'll use it against us and wipe out the entire human race." He turned to John and said, "Chief, Cortana, I have a new mission for you. We need to beat the Covenant to Halo's control room. Marines, let's move." He picked up a needler as John said, "Sir, perhaps we should finish this mission first." Keyes let out a short laugh and said, "You have a point." We ran out of the room and I followed...until something caught my eye...

POV Change - Mater Chief

"Chief, what's with the kid and the four strangely armored Covenant?" Keyes asked as if noticing Zak for the first time.

"It's a long story; I'll tell you later."

"We should get to the shuttle bay and call for evac." And that's what they did. Fighting their way though. Half way there, Cortana signaled out to Foehammer. "Cortana to Echo 419. We have the Captain and need extraction on the double."

"Negative, Cortana. I've been engaged my Covenant air patrols and I'm having a tough time shakin' em. You'll be better off finding your own ride. Sorry."

"Acknowledged, Foehammer. Cortana out." She hesitated and then continued, "Air support is cut off, Captain. We need to hold here until she can move in."

"Oh, man!" a Marine shouted. "We're trapped in here! We're screwed! We're screwed, man!"

"Stow the belly aching, soldier." Captain Keyes ordered. "Remember you're a leather neck." He then turned to John. "Cortana, if you and the Chief can get us into one of those Covenant drop-ships, I can fly us out of here."

"Yes, Captain." The AI replied. "There's a Covenant drop-ship still docked."

"Alright. Lets go, Marines!" Keyes and the Master Chief led the soldiers through the corridors and into the shuttle bay. Cortana reported that the drop-ship was ready to go as the Chief opened the hatch. Keyes nodded and said, "Right. Everybody mount up; let's get on board." The AI told him that she would interface the ships controls, but the Captain declined and said, "No need. I'll take this bird out myself." Two Hunters appeared and the Captain rammed them.

A Marine whooped and said, "Nice one, Sir!" as Keyes smirked and said, "Time for a little pay back." It was about five minutes till anyone noticed something wrong. Five minutes till anyone even asked. It was Private Sally Tashjian who asked the question everyone was dreading... "Hey, uh, Chief... Where's the kid?" No one spoke, but the silence answered all their questions...