(A/N) Sorry about the long wait and the short chapter. I wanted the chapter longer but I figured that I better post something. The rest will be coming hopefully once finals are done. I don't own Star Wars or Halo.

Chapter 9: Taking the Bus to the Banquet

I hate formalities, Ehren thought as he put on his dress uniform. The clean white uniform of an Imperial Grand Admiral was a very uncomfortable thing to wear. Especially due to the fact that Ehren had never been a Grand Admiral—he had, in fact, stolen the uniform from the closet of Grand Admiral Thrawn himself while he was briefly assisting the Chiss in acquiring some ships for the Admiral's campaign against the New Republic.

He pushed the uncomfortable thoughts aside as he focused on getting the numerous medals, bars, and ribbons hooked onto the left breast of the uniform. Why did they have to throw a big party just to celebrate a new ally? Hadn't he explained the only reason he wasn't charging them was because the Covenant were going to pick up the bill? He was a MERCENARY damnit! Not some respected senator. Ehren continued to fume as he clipped on the last medal and stood in front of the mirror. Then again, the uniform does look good on me. The comlink chimed as Ehren started towards the door.

"Admiral Ehren here."

"Admiral, this is Captain Mendoza. There is a UNSC shuttle requesting permission to come aboard."

"Permission granted, Captain."

"Yes sir."

As Ehren neared the door something caused him to hesitate and make his way to a display case opposite of his bed. Pushing a button Ehren watched the glass go from opaque to translucent in a few short seconds to reveal the treasures inside.

Lightsabers of every style lined the wall of the cabinet. Lightsabers Ehren had collected over the years. He hadn't personally acquired any of them from the Jedi themselves. Ehren had started his hobby long after the Jedi had supposedly gone extinct. Now he had quite a few, his hand strayed to one lightsaber in particular. The gold plated hilt was smooth, and as Ehren thumbed the activator a violet blade erupted with a familiar snap-hiss. Ehren smiled in memory of his former master and flipped it off. Then he opened one of the force-locked drawers and looked with a mixture of awe and horror at his own weapon of choice.

The Sith sword was a meter long, slightly curved, and resembled a Calvary saber used during the American Civil War. Its keen blade shown with an inner light and sithscript traced its way up and down the blade. Ehren had never truly joined the dark side, so he found it fitting to remind himself every time he drew that blade who his true allies were. On one side the sithscript read, "There is no emotion; there is peace/there is no ignorance; there is knowledge/there is no passion; there is serenity/there is no death; there is the Force"—the Jedi code. On the other side it read, "Darkness only makes the light shine brighter"—Ehren's personal motto.

Sheathing the sword in its black sheath and buckling it around his waist Ehren

turned and left his personal quarters.

"About time you showed up," Sergeant Johnson commented as Ehren stepped aboard the shuttle, followed by a two men and an entourage of battle droids. "You think we're going to war or something?"

"I thought we were already at war," Ehren countered. He pointed at the two men who had followed him in. "I would like you to meet Commander Brinks," he indicated a man who had obviously seen too many battles, his face haunted by the memories of fallen comrades and old wounds, but he was an extremely tough young man. "You should remember him from the welcoming committee you set up for me two weeks ago, Commander Brinks was the one who stepped on the antitank mine."

The quiet commander smiled shyly and said with a dry humor, "I'll remember to watch where I step the next time I'm sent as a forwarding party."

"I'm still surprised you survived that at all, armor or not, you should have been flattened like a pancake," Avery replied with a hint of admiration in his voice as he saluted the commander.

"Thank you, sir," saluted Commander Brinks. Ehren turned the Sergeant's attention towards the other man who had come in.

"Sergeant I would also like to introduce you to Major Melchior Sunderman. He's is our best sniper and a devil with daggers."

The tall, wiry man with sandy-blonde hair smiled and unslung his modified projectile weapon.

"Looks more like a assault rifle to me," the Sergeant commented as he saluted the Major.

"Oh, its only in its machine gun mode right now," Melchior replied as he flipped a switch near the trigger. With a few barely audible clicks and whirrs the rifle began it's change: the barrel extended, the magazine moved farther back towards the handle, a bipod extended where the magazine used to be, and the scope repositioned and lengthened. "With this puppy I can put a metal slug straight through a meter of durasteel at optimum range, which is a little more than one thousand meters."

Avery was a little shocked at the transformation and it took him a brief millisecond to ask, "Can I have one of those!"

"Only in your dreams, Sergeant, only in your dreams," Ehren laughed as the shuttle departed from the Iron Wolf.