ISLAND CITY LANDMASS DESIGNATED METRU NUI
MODULE NETWORK

STATUS UPDATE: DETECTABLE VISORAK PRESENCE CITYWIDE REDUCED TO TWENTY-ONE PERCENT OF ORIGINAL STRENGTH
CORRECTIVE WARNING: ESTIMATED MORE THAN FIFTY PERCENT OF VISORAK PRESENCE CONCENTRATED WITHIN DARK ZONE OF INDUSTRIAL REFUGIA
PRIORALRT: COVENANT COLUMN BREACHING MODULE ECHO/FIVE ALPHA PERIMETER
-ALL SENTINEL UNITS IN INDUSTRIAL REFUGIA CONTRACTING TO DEFEND ACCESS POINTS

PRIORITY MESSAGE FROM MODULE CHARLIE/THREE: ALL NON-ESSENTIAL SENTINEL ASSETS REDEPLOYING FROM CANAL REFUGIA TO INDUSTRIAL REFUGIA
PRIORITY MESSAGE FROM MODULE CHARLIE/THREE: TAKE THE FIELD Y/N
COMMAND RESPONSE: Y

PRIORITY MESSAGE FROM MODULE BRAVO/TWO: ALL NON-ESSENTIAL SENTINEL ASSETS ARRAYED FOR DIVERSIONARY STRIKE
PRIORITY REQUEST FROM MODULE BRAVO/TWO: TAKE THE FIELD Y/N
COMMAND RESPONSE: Y
COMMAND RESPONSE: EXTEND TERRITORIAL CONTROL IN DESERT REFUGIA UNTIL COLISEUM APPROACH
-DEPLOY ADDITIONAL FORCE TO REESTABLISH CONTACT WITH LONGSWORD DELTA-ONE-ONE

PRIORITY REQUEST FROM MODULE ECHO/FIVE: REDIRECT HOTEL-TWO-FIVE-EIGHT AND HOTEL-TWO-FIVE-NINE TO INDUSTRIAL REFUGIA FOR FIRE SUPPORT TASKING
COMMAND RESPONSE: REQUEST DENIED
-COVENANT PRESENCE IN CRYSTAL REFUGIA TO BE SUPPRESSED BEFORE REINFORCEMENTS ARE DEPLOYED
COMMAND RESPONSE: FIRETEAM ZEBRA BRAVO-TWO, FIRETEAM METRU -ONE AND -THREE, AI SORALIE, AND AI MARSHAL ARE TO HOLD MODULE ECHO/FIVE INTERNAL DEFENSIVE POSITIONS

PRIORALRT: THREE SANGHEILI AND TWO TOA RESCUED FROM INDUSTRIAL REFUGIA EXTERIOR REGION
PRIORALRT: SPARTAN-IV-311 AND SPARTAN-IV-322 STILL MIA
-LAST KNOWN LOCATION WITHIN DARK ZONE OF INDUSTRIAL REFUGIA EXTERIOR REGION
PRIORALRT: PRIVATE DOLIC NORDSTROM MIA
-CAPTURED BY VISORAK FLIERS
COMMAND RESPONSE: SENTINEL ASSETS ARE REQUIRED FOR DEFENSE OF MODULE ECHO/FIVE
-DEPLOYING SENTINELS ON EXPEDITIONARY SAR TASK UNNECESSARY DIVERSION
-SPARTAN ASSETS ARE SECONDARY CONSIDERATION

METRU NUI - TA-METRU DISTRICT
HUMAN COMPLEX MODULE ECHO/FIVE
EIGHT MINUTES EARLIER

Nokama and Matau were barely off the Hornet and following their entourage of human warriors into the structure itself when an object materialized in front of them; a metallic orb with a single glowing blue eye hovering in mid-air and wreathed in pale yellow rings of energy. The humans didn't stop moving, passing the construct by with no other reaction than a nod of acknowledgement from the Staff Sergeant. The Toa did the same, albeit maintaining a greater distance between themselves and the sphere.
"Toa Nokama, Toa Matau," the being hummed, falling into pace between the two Toa. "I bid you greetings to Module Echo-Five. I am Soralie, currently acting as direct representative in lieu of this Module's caretaker, who is engaged in dire conflict and thus otherwise occupied. Quite fortunate, indeed. Marshal does not like guests."
"Oh, really?" Matau said, continuing to follow the foreigners down the corridor to... wherever they were going. "What would this Marshal-alien do if they were not ever-busy?"
"Hmm. Oh, he'd probably kick you out... eventually. He does not trust you."
"And you do?" questioned Nokama, turning her head towards the orb while maintaining her pace.
"Winona is convinced of your veracity. Aeona is open-minded, as is Aton. Marshal believes this whole conflict is just a weapons test by an advanced alien civilization, one that will eventually deploy corrective measures to remove our participation within it. Soma, Stockton, and Coraxes are... not among us. And I... I have spent enough time in the complex that the original inhabitants of this landmass had designated as Naho University to agree with Winona."
"Wait, you've been to Naho University?"
"I have not just visited the complex, Toa Nokama. Naho University is designated as a priority alpha site. Until exactly eleven point three eight minutes ago, I was otherwise occupied with archiving every single document and artifact within into the Module Network. Your civilization accomplished considerable feats before the landquake and the Visorak invasion... and the internment of this city's population by its own law enforcement constructs."

The three UNSC soldiers ahead turned a corner, briefly disappearing from sight. Both Toa followed, briefly catching the glimpse of an armored leg vanishing into a separate room. Continuing forward and into the new chamber, the Toa witnessed all three humans climbing into circular armatures, which promptly rose off the ground and pivoted backward. Robotic arms ending in different protrusions extended from its frame, reaching towards the figures within... and commenced deconstructing them. Their Kanohi were removed, the entire head sliding off and revealing the organic tissue beneath.
Matau gagged, pivoting to sprint out of the room, only to see the triple-segmented door slam closed, crimson lights as menacing as Makuta's eyes glaring back at him from its surface. Nokama seized the metal sphere, bringing it close to her face as the entity within wailed in surprise. "What are you doing to them?" the Toa of Water cried, shock and horror evident in her tone.

"Ah-uh-uh- Nothing! They are refitting! ARMOR! NEW ARMOR! UPGRADES! BETTER SHIELDS! IMPROVED ENERGY DISTRIBUTION! HOPLITE MARK THREE!" Soralie replied, the pitch of her voice increasing with every word.
"Then why did you lead-bring us to this terror-place," Matau demanded from behind Nokama, one of his Aero Slicers partially embedded through a transparent surface on the door, the Toa frantically applying weight to one end, attempting to force the aperture open again. "Are you hope-expecting to refit-change us too?"

"NO! YES! SORT OF- WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!" the intelligence within the construct screamed as the Water Toa drew up her fist, a spear of water coalescing around it. "COVENANT PLASMA WEAPONS ARE DESTRUCTIVE TO BIOLOGICAL AND SYNTHETIC LIFE FORMS! ARMOR ALONE WILL NOT PROTECT YOU FROM HARM! WINONA DRAFTED A MJOLNIR SYSTEM FOR YOU! PROJECT PALADIN! SEGMENTED ARMOR SYSTEM! GENERATES PROTECTIVE ENERGY FIELD BETWEEN COMPONENTS! INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR TRANSLATION!"
A crack echoed from behind Nokama, followed by a shout of triumph, then a panicked set of "No"s from Matau. The Ga-Toa turned to face the door, only to find her comrade staring back at her, holding a decidedly shorter Slicer blade. A rippling sheet of red energy covered the doorframe, the solid barrier beyond it now marred by a small hole through its upper section.

"Oh- oh dear," the orb stated, still trapped in Nokama's grip. "Now we're trapped in here."

METRU NUI - TA-METRU DISTRICT
SENTINEL WALL INTERIOR
CURRENT TIME

Nuju and Corporal Steve Snyder disembarked the 'Jumbo Falcon' together, Whenua supported between them. Both Sangheili followed, quickly passing the three and making their way over to the floating orb on the platform. The two biomechanical entities sprinted toward them, then slowed, stepping to the side as the saurians continued. "We are here to entreat with the humans, Oracle," Joek stated once they had closed to a respectful distance, bowing his head in the reverential manner he had been instructed to display in times long past. "As has been requested of us."

"I am aware of this, Field Master Joek'Achoem," the Monitor replied, its voice matching that of the human hologram that had contacted them outside the Wall. "You have passed another test, and as such, I welcome you within our territory. There is a complication with our plan to cease conflict between us, however. A Covenant signal jammer is preventing us from establishing contact with Module Foxtrot-Six. As such, we are functionally unable to- "
"A human AI has taken over an Oracle? Such heresy," the Obedientiary growled, interrupting the intelligence. "Were my ancestors here, they would-"
"My ancestors would seek to purify such a heretical act immediately, and without restraint, were they still among us," 'Achoem stated, his tone bitter. "But because of the sweet tongues of the San'Shyuum, they have long passed beyond that. And with every passing moment, more brave warriors join them."
The orange-suited Sangheili grumbled, but stifled the continuation of his protest nonetheless. "We need transit to our base... Oracle," Joek continued. "Do you have the means to facilitate this?"
"I have taken the liberty of directing a number of Sentinels into the tunnels beneath this zone. Most have been tasked with sealing access from the areas controlled by the Visorak, though their own burrowers are quite formidable. Covenant-controlled Sentinels are also present, and they are vigorously defending territory directly beneath their module. Luckily, Marshal had the foresight to plant seeds for translocation stations prior to the module being activated." Two pillars rose from the floor, the air between them distorting as a slipspace rupture tore itself into existence. "It's a fifty-eight meter walk between the closest station and a shielded junction for the main tunnel leading towards Module Foxtrot-Six. Covenant-aligned Sentinels on patrol will undoubtedly recognize you and permit entry."
"And from there, we will bring an end to this pointless conflict," Joek declared, striding toward the portal. "Warriors, to me! All except you, Minor 'Telvi. Remain here with the humans and the... others." With a final glance behind him, the Field Master stepped through the portal, instantly vanishing. Both of the Sangheili who had been riding on the Hornet sprinted through next, still wielding their long Forerunner weapons.

The Obedientiary hesitated, before bringing his face close to the Monitor carapace. "Understand this, human mind. If this is a trap to remove us, you will burn. We may be defeated here, but our reinforcements will avenge us. And this entire world will be your funeral pyre." Striding towards the portal, he uttered one more sentence before traveling through. "You have been warned."

METRU NUI - TA-METRU DISTRICT
HUMAN COMPLEX MODULE ECHO/FIVE
THREE MINUTES EARLIER

"Hey, lady, hands off little miss lightbulb there," a jovial voice announced. Spinning around once more, Nokama was met with the sight of the being previously identified as Staff Sergeant Issac Kronstad, hovering off the ground with their hands raised next to their face, palms forward. The lower half of the human's face was covered, partially revealing the organic segment beneath. "Look, we understand the confusion, but you can't just shake the Monitor, capisce? They tend to get all angry when people do that."
Soralie's illuminated eye frantically darted around her shell as the Monitor casing shook. Nokama slowly exhaled, gradually releasing her grip on the construct's casing as the Toa became aware of the liquid swirling around her raised fist. The Monitor plunged a foot down, before stabilizing its descent into a slow approach toward the floor, where it then coalesced a humanoid form around itself. "You green, Soralie," another Marine queried, emerging from within their respective 'refitting' machine fully encased in armor.
"I... I think so... Marshal does not need to know about this..."
"We won't tell him if you don't," Issac stated, his gaze meeting the Water Toa's own. "And I think that it's a damn fine idea not to."

"COVENANT HAVE BREACHED DEFENSIVE PERIMETER ALPHA," a stern voice boomed above them. "ACTIVE SENTINELS CONSOLIDATING AROUND MODULE EXTERIOR ACCESS POINTS. POSITION CONTESTED."
"Oh, Karzahni," the Staff Sergeant growled, descending from their position and catching a helmet tossed in their direction by the third human. "Listen, miss. We need all the help we can get, and I distinctly remember you offering your support. But going into a battle with the Covies without having shields of your own will be borderline suicidal, so unless you're going to sit in the back and behind cover, while hoping no Elite is canny enough - and no Grunt is strong enough - to chuck a plasnade into your face to flush you out... then you're going to get cut down before doing anything of note." The human subsequently shoved their open hand in Matau's direction. "Especially if your green battle-buddy over there thinks to engage them in cee-kew-cee. You'll be no help to your civilians if you're shot full of holes." It was Kronstad's turn to sigh deeply, bowing their head before bringing it back up to meet the Toa of Water's own gaze. "You want to know what it's like, fighting the Covenant unshielded? Soralie can show you."

"Eeh? Me?" The construct whined, dismissing its holographic shell and rising to the height of the human's head, though remaining well outside of grasping range for the Toa. Matau moved to stand alongside the Ga-Toa, raising his undamaged aero slicer to keep the orb at bay. "I... do not think-"
"Soralie's prior position was that of an educational instructor. She is a tier-one employee of one of the most prestigious information centers in the entirety of our territory," Issac continued. "Now, I have a gut feeling that you aren't conductive to the idea of performing a mind-machine link with her. Since the Green-Horn over there triggered a safety lockdown that won't lift until everybody in this room is properly armored and armed, we have plenty of time to open up a few battle vids and-"
Darkness abruptly engulfed the chamber and those within.

ISLAND CITY LANDMASS DESIGNATED METRU NUI
MODULE NETWORK
CURRENT TIME

WARNING: ENERGETIC EVENT DETECTED IN CRYSTAL REFUGIA
-ENERGY PULSE IMPACT IMMINENT
-BRACE BRACE BRACE
SYSTEM REBOOT IN PROCESS
...
PRIORALRT: MODULE ECHO/FIVE KNOCKED OUT OF ALIGNMENT/OFFLINE
PRIORALRT: MODULE FOXTROT/SIX OFFLINE
PRIORALRT: ALL SYSTEMS BENEATH GRID LONGITUDE 14.5 THROUGH LONGITUDE 15 IN DESERT REFUGIA OFFLINE
PRIORALRT: ALL SYSTEMS BENEATH GRID LONGITUDE 15 THROUGH LONGITUDE 16.7 IN CANAL REFUGIA OFFLINE
PRIORALRT: ALL SYSTEMS IN INDUSTRIAL REFUGIA OFFLINE
...
ALRT: WATCHPOINT SYSTEM OFFLINE
-REROUTING POWER TO MODULE DETECTION SYSTEMS
ALRT: ALL DETECTABLE UNSC AND COVENANT TECHNOLOGY IN THEATER OFFLINE
...
PRIORALRT: ALL SENTINELS WITHIN AFFECTED REGIONS OFFLINE
ALRT: NO DEMONSTRATABLE EFFECT ON NATIVE BIOMECHANICAL LIFE FORMS WITHIN AFFECTED REGIONS
...
PRIORALRT: DETECTION CAPABILITIES WITHIN CRYSTAL REFUGIA RESTORED
...
ALRT: GA-TL1 DELTA-ONE-ONE MOBILITY-KILLED
ALRT: F-41 HOTEL-TWO-FIVE-EIGHT AND F-41 HOTEL-TWO-FIVE-NINE MOBILITY-KILLED
ALRT: PELICAN GOLF-THREE-THREE MOBILITY KILLED
PRIORALRT: ALL UNSC HEAVY AIR ASSETS IN THEATER MOBILITY-KILLED
ALRT: STATUS OF F-41 PILOTS: GREEN
ALRT: STATUS OF DELTA-ONE-ONE PILOT STAFF SERGEANT NATHAN ALTFIELD: GREEN
ALRT: STATUS OF DELTA-ONE-ONE 2IC CORPORAL CHARLES AMUNDSEN: INCAPACITATED
...
TRACKING ORIGIN POINT OF ENERGETIC PULSE
...
ESTIMATED PULSE ORIGIN AT CR/LS6 COMPLEX
SITE DESTROYED
NO SURVIVORS DETECTED
...
WATCHPOINT DEPLOYMENT REQUIRED FOR PROPER INVESTIGATION
...
EMERGENCY MEETING OF MINDS CALLED
ALL OPERATIONS SUSPENDED

METRU NUI - TA-METRU DISTRICT
SENTINEL WALL
TWO MINUTES PRIOR

Castol jumped in surprise when three figures emerged from one of the odd airships that had landed on the closest platform to their position. "Abit, look! Toa! Look!" He shouted, gesturing towards the set of beings. "They're here! We're going to be saved!"
Both Matoran sprinted towards the trio, only to slow down when two more figures emerged from behind the small group. The new pair of beings - one in golden armor, the other adorned with orange - were decidedly not Toa, nor Matoran, nor anything else of that nature.
The Matoran pair gulped, quickly moving to the side so the Rahi could pass through. No attention was directed their way, the creatures' dark eyes giving no inkling that they even acknowledged the presence of the two Matoran.
The Po-Matoran of the group watched as the Sangheili stride away, towards the floating sphere that had brought them to this location. "What do you suppose those Rahi were, Abit," he inquired of his friend, who shrugged. "Their jaws... looked like a Rahkshi, but they definitely weren't Kraata-heads. Mata Nui only knows, Castol."

The sound of metal hitting metal soon drew their attention to their earlier source of excitement, though now that the Toa were closer, their enthusiasm was dampened. "That Toa of Earth... he doesn't look so good, Castol."
"I am no Mata Nui-damned Toa, young one," the smaller armored being snapped back. "Mata Nui didn't bless me with being able to impale dung with icicles. More's the Mata Nui-damned pity, too."
Abit's hand flew up to cover his mouth, while Castil barked out a laugh. "Curses more than a renegade! What a strange... who are you?"
"Specialist Jason Snyder, UNSC Marine Corps," the individual replied, the surface of its reflective Kanohi changing to admit light inside it, revealing an organic face staring back at them. "What about yours?"
"O-o-our w-what?" The previously-confident Matoran stammered, stepping back until he bumped against the railing.
"Your names, eh?" the being clarified. "I gave you mine, so..."

"The Onu-Matoran is Castol, the Po-Matoran is Abit," the Ice Toa grunted as the Toa of Earth tipped forward, barely regaining their balance before their center of gravity could tilt too far. "Along with Takua, they got into no small amount of trouble. Always finding their way into places where they shouldn't be. Abit even lost his prior tasking because of that..."
"So," the being known as Snyder boomed, a grin spreading across his face. "These two like to skate, do they? Ha! I like them already, Nuju!"

The light emanating from the smooth, unmarked walls around them abruptly flickered and died, a low vibration rocking through the structure. Specialist Snyder ceased all semblance of ordered movement, pitching forward and dragging the two Toa with them, all of who slammed into the floor below. "Mata Nui," Castol cried out, running to the place he had last seen the Toa of Ice, "Are you all right?"
"I am fine," the Ko-Toa responded, rising to his knees before reaching out to the Onu-Matoran, stopping his movement before they could collide with him. "Whenua overexerted himself. A good rest will solve his weariness, but-"

"What about the Rahi in Toa armor," Abit interrupted the Toa of Ice. "What's wrong with them?"
"They are... not Rahi, not like we know. They are..." Nuju hesitated, forming phrases for the conceptual knowledge he had received earlier. "Alien. They come from beyond the Great Barrier, from a place unknown to any Matoran. From beyond the sky itself."

The conceptual mind-experience explaining the foreigners' point of origin had started with an image of Metru Nui, enclosed in concentric shells of rock and metallic protodermis, which culminated in an vast sphere of unknown material with a singular access point. Beyond that was a void that was itself without air, water, or anything that was necessary to sustain life - but that was filled with many other worlds.
Nuju had felt himself propelled through that void, the pinpricks of far-off orbs of energy - not lightstones, as was the case within the dome that contained Metru Nui - temporarily shifting into streaks of light, before restabilizing once more. The Ko-Toa was speechless by the sight that filled his mind.
Five 'planets' orbited a 'main sequence' star, the orange-white luminosity generated from the roiling mass of burning elements; not just fire and plasma as the Toa of Ice knew, but something more akin to - and yet different from - protodermis...
There was no traces of that substance here. Nor there. Nor anywhere other than the sphere-planet that contained everything Nuju had ever known deep within it.
One world in particular in the foreign 'star system' flickered in illumination, before the Ko-Toa dropped toward it, the far-off stars - each and every one like the chaotic sphere in the center of the system, albeit considerably varying in size and color - once again shifting into streaks.
The world below was green and blue, with white clouds passing over the landscape far below. A mountain range readily divided the singular landmass which easily occupied more than two-thirds of the surface, and a pair of seas filled the rest.
"Earth," the Mind that was guiding him gave a name to the location. "Our former home, and the cradle world of humanity." Before his view, rectangular vessels rose from its surface, spreading out to the other worlds in the system, which rapidly changed from lifeless rocks to boasting entire oceans of interconnected lights. More ships left those worlds to enter the void beyond the range of the star's warmth. "We explored the unknown. We expanded outward. Eight hundred worlds as of the first of January, 2525, under our calendar. By the same metric, our current date is the eighth of March, 2558."

The world beneath the Toa rapidly vanished into the darkness of space as the stars began to blur once more, and then they too faded from view. When their movement appeared to cease, Nuju gasped at the sight portrayed in front of him.
An ocean of stars were laid out in a vaguely circular formation, with a radiant oval at its center. Multiple bands of tendril-like star-clusters stretched from the core, the entire array seeming to dance around its center, ever-spiraling...
"The Milky Way galaxy, where we all live. All of us. Human, Sangheili, Jiralhanae, Unggoy, Kigyar, Yanme, Huragok, Forerunner... and Matoran." Clusters of colors began to appear, the largest of which was painted purple. None of them so much as covered even a fourth of the galaxy's size. The green palette - Humanity's colonies, scattered amongst the stars in the Orion spur-complex - was comparatively barely noticable. And the world that housed Metru Nui and everything Nuju had ever known was completely obscured in the swirling spiral below.

"I show you this not to frighten you, but for informational purposes. We are all voyagers on our own journey, whether we know it or not. I have given you an additional gift, a child of memories. They will assist you in a path of learning, and they will pass all of their knowledge to you. They are temporary. Treasure them well, for once they are gone, more can not follow."
Nuju fell, plummeting towards the spiraling mass, descending in the direction of a speck of light on the tip of one of the twirling arms. The stars shifted into lines one final time, reverting just as the Ko-Toa's essence fell through the gap in the outer shell of the armored world that housed his home deep within it...

UNKNOWN ISLAND-CITY LANDMASS
CAVE COMPLEX BENEATH FORERUNNER 'MODULE'

"Why lights go out, Bailo?"
"Ah, not our place to question! Boss says guard, we guard! And we be silent!"
"Bailo, no lights means nothing to see! Unggoy incapable of seeing in dark!"
"Ah! Who is there? Someone coming!"
"Haaaaaaah..."
"Bailo, help! HELP MEEE-"
"Ruutan? Where are y-"
"Haaaaaaaaaaah..."

Joek'Achoem sighed in disappointment, disconnecting the terminal from its foreign power source. "Shipmaster 'Kralitai only sent Unggoy down to guard the tunnels, and without any heavy weapons," he murmured. "The rest would have been needed topside, to take the enemy base. With the only point of transit into the caves through the borehole..."
"A great chokepoint for an invading force to meet proper resistance, after they are emboldened by annihilating a few lances of Unggoy whelps," Filo 'Ravam growled. "An effective plan for baiting uncontacted alien hostiles."
"A wasteful plan, Evocatus," Joek countered. "Unggoy being spent as if they were mere mines, as fodder for an early-warning system. How long would this go on until we were facing a rebellion from within?"
"You sympathize too much with the lesser species, Field Master."
"There are some who hold themselves to that view," Joek said, stepping away from the terminal and towards the physical lift that had been rigged to convey them into the structure above. "But mutual respect soon reaps rewards in establishing a cohesive force."

Both Sangheili approached the third member of their lance. "Communications Master 'Korsin," addressed 'Ravam, "Have you any success in contacting our kin above?"
"No, Excellency. The network is still down on their end," 'Korsin responded. "Either they have not yet restarted their systems, or..."
"We will dwell no longer with whatever lurks below," 'Achoem declared. "Start the lift. If Obedientiary 'Fuldr is still alive, he will eventually reach this position on his own. But we must find out what has happened."
With a stubborn creaking noise, the lift began its ascent. It was a matter of two minutes before they left the tunnel system, and the entire period was spent at full alert.
"Hold your fire," Joek bellowed once they were in the shaft itself. "Announcing the approach of Field Master Joek'Achoem, accompanied by Evocatus Filo'Ravam and Communications Master Aoko'Korsin!"
"KEL!" Another voice boomed out, to which Joek answered with "OROK!"
As no shower of plasma followed, the Field Master assumed the countersign he had given was the correct choice. Shortly thereafter, the lift reached the safety of the defensive position above.

"Major Cavium," Joek bowed, greeting the Jiralhanae guard. "I must have a priority meeting with the Shipmaster. I must debrief, divulge what I have discovered about our current location."
"Hurmph," the ursine alien grumbled. "Go through the scanner first. Something tried sneaking in before, looked like a Kig-Yar, but it wasn't made of the same biomatter. We forced it back down into the hole, then drowned it in Forerunner servants."
"The Parasite is here," Aoko questioned, quickly scrambling off the lift as if a cursed tentacle was about to erupt through the shaft and seize him. Both Joek and Filo reacted in roughly the same manner.
"Hurmph," the Jiralhanae snorted, "If it was the Parasite, you would not have been permitted to ascend from the darkness at all. This was something different. Huragok said it was the same 'element' as everything outside this accursed monument, only alive. So we shot at it until it left."
"Field Master, we have a problem," 'Ravam growled, "Without power, how are we to run the scanner and prove ourselves to not be impostors? For every moment we spend waiting-"
"Be silent and calm, Evocatus," 'Achoem cut the irate Sangheili's tirade off, striding to the scanner and opening the service panel that led to its power systems, before withdrawing one of the Sentinel power cores they had scavenged in the tunnels and wedging it into the proper slot. "Remain here. Hold this area. Do not wait for my return. And if Obedientiary 'Fuldr appears... do your duties."

METRU NUI - TA-METRU DISTRICT
SENTINEL WALL

"Oh my. This is an unfortunate situation."
"Indeed, corrupted Oracle," Kirom'Telvi leaned against the fuselage of a human transport craft, juggling the carapace of the Monitor. "Trapped in the dark, no power, no shields, no weapons other than those given to us upon emergence. Were it not for the Field Master's treaty, I would be considerably more... active."
"And yet you are not, which further reinforces my convictions that your direct superior wishes peace, and has the standing to make it happen. Do you believe that Field Master Joek'Achoem will succeed in his plan?"
"The Shipmaster will not agree to a cessation of hostilities against you, corrupted Oracle. The survivors of Kralitai Keep have no patience for heretics, and even less so for the... humans. That is one of many reasons why the Didact's Hand placed them into crucial command roles. Field Master 'Achoem will be forced into combat against Shipmaster 'Kralitai. I will follow whoever emerges victorious. Until then, I will... wait. And observe."
"It would be a shame if we were to find ourselves on opposite sides of the battlefield once more. Especially after your actions in the Industrial Refugia beyond the Wall."
"Indeed. I have... no wish to meet the devourers in direct combat, ever again."
"The devourers... a fitting designation for the beasts that infest this city. We have already pledged our support to surviving local inhabitants in purging the arachnid superpredators from this place. The creatures are called Visorak; the stealers of life. They are no better than the Parasite, mutating anything they do not consume into twisted mockeries of their original forms."

'Telvi shuddered, the movement instinctual and uncontrollable. "So what are we all to do, corrupted Oracle?"
"My options are limited. The Sentinel Wall is offline, and with it, all of the Forerunner constructs assigned to its defense. Module Five is also offline, and its attached Sentinels have been powered down. The same occurence has happened to Module Six. With both Modules in the Industrial Refugia no longer powered, contesting the region against the Visorak horde will be... difficult. A compound issue is that the signal jammer within your Module is still online, despite all other systems being inert."
"What transpired to cause this... disaster?"
"Unknown. Our sensors registered an immense release of energy from the Crystal Refugia. Most of the energy was diffused through various other... subspaces, an occurence that we should all be thankful for. I strongly suspect that this star system would no longer exist had the full effect been released into our plane of existence. What energy remained was strong enough to brick most UNSC and Covenant technology within a very large radius, as well as kicking Forerunner tech offline."
Kirom ceased juggling, catching the Forerunner construct with his outstretched hand. "Brick," he queried.
"Render permanently non-operational. A term used in reference to mechanical or electronic objects. Every craft in this room, for example, will never fly again until every single piece of electronic equipment is stripped and replaced. The same effect applies to your own equipment. As Marshal feared, someone out there has deliberately pressed the 'reset button' on both human and Covenant within this refugia, and the Visorak will undoubtedly move to exploit this moment of weakness. They had already redirected nearly their entire horde within this region even before the energetic event. And since the local biomechanical species show no sign that they are affected by this..."

"Corrupted Oracle. I will not disobey a direct order from Field Master 'Achoem, but... until the imminent between Shipmaster 'Kralitai and Field Master 'Achoem is resolved, I will stand alongside you."
"Even without shields? Your combat harness is pure Covenant technology. I cannot fix nor restart it."
The Sangheili Minor set the Monitor down on the wing of the aircraft, then traced it's fuselage until his fingers found purchase on what he sought. Kirom let memory guide his movements, soon locating the specific ridges, and...
"Your creators' primitive weapons do not require energy sources to function. I will support you from cover." He grunted, stabilizing his grip before he lifted the heavy weapon clear of its mounting. "May we all find success against a common foe."

UNKNOWN LOCATION - TA-METRU
FOREIGN LIGHT TRANSPORT AIRSHIP

Sotama shuddered, softly rocking on the edge of the seat. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine herself back in Ga-Metru, away from flying machines that spat fire, away from spider Rahi that devoured everything in their path, away from hulking monstrosities that tore beings apart. Or maybe she was in a Ko-Metru Knowledge Tower, contemplating the implications of new breakthroughs from Ga-Metru. Either way, she was certainly not within the frame of a foreign airship, her friends were not snatched away by ravenous Rahi, and they had not ridden into a trap with an unrestrained bipedal Rahi among their number, its four jaws lined with needle-like teeth that were likely sharp enough to tear through protodermis with ease... and the spot directly next to her feet definitely was not filled by a Bruiser's Kanoka launcher.
Beside her, Juul sighed, signaling yet another encore of what had since become routine. "Come on, Tel," the Ko-Matoran moaned. "It's been four minutes, and we haven't heard anything out there since the lights went out. Can we just go?"
"Quiet," the Ta-Matoran hissed in response, "Until the Toa themselves knock on that door, we remain silent and still."

As if on cue, something hit the exterior of the airship's door. Three impacts. All three Matoran froze.
A half-minute passed. The sound repeated, this time accompanied by gutteral, Rahi-like vocalizations. At least two beings were outside, neither of which were likely to be Toa.
"Oh no," Juul whimpered. "Oh, Mata Nui preserve us."
Sotama reached down, seizing the salvaged launcher and drawing it to an active position. An energy disk coalesced within the cradle; the process of which lit up the interior of the craft, readily exposing her position. "If the Hordika are out there, they won't get us without a struggle," the Ga-Matoran declared, her finger hovering above what she approximated was the actuator to trigger the firing sequence.
Tel drew a blade he had fashioned from the inner teeth of a Roporak, one of the few victories they had accomplished over the long months that the Horde held sway over Metru Nui. It was short, but in the close quarters of the foreign airship, it could inflict some damage, provided the attacking Hunter made the mistake of underestimating him.
Three more impacts. The lever holding the door closed began to move. Juul threw himself onto it, struggling to keep it raised in the locked position, but its downward progress proved impossible to halt, and soon it reached its terminus point. The hatch slid open.

Sotama triggered the Kanoka launcher, and it spat the disk towards the figure that loomed in the opening, striking its head and unleashing the energy held within. Both Matoran closer to the door reeled back as the electrical discharge washed over the bipedal target, shattering it into thousands of glimmering pieces. Two objects hit the ground outside, one letting out a low groan. The former teacher racked the launcher, priming another Kanoka for launch as an orb ignited with blue energy, rising from the floor outside the aircraft...
"Oh, my. I do apologize for our unannounced intrusion. Please kindly hold your fire."

"Shoot it, Sotama," Tel choked, pushing himself backward and against the other hatch. Juul struggled to his feet, though before he could make his way to the opposite side of the airframe, a thick limb lunged in and seized the Ko-Matoran around his right arm, swiftly pulling him outside and into the darkness beyond.
Sotama gasped, tightening her finger on the trigger, launching the partially-formed Kanoka. The half-disk melted into a barely cohesive blob of semi-molten protodermis as it soared towards its target, and it fell apart completely before it could cross the external threshold.
A second passed. Two. Three. Nothing moved or spoke, other than the metal-bound orb gently rising and falling. The Ga-Matoran began to rack the launcher a third time, only for her arms to freeze in place, further movement rendered impossible.
"Cease your defensive actions, Matoran. I fear that you will require all the ammunition you can muster in due time," the feminine voice spoke again, before the orb emitted a series of grunts and snarls. Less than ten seconds later, Juul fell into view, toppling into the airship's cabin and rapidly scrambling away from the open hatch.
Another figure joined the hovering orb at the entrance, easily recognizable as a familiar organic bipedal Rahi. "I am Winona. My acquaintance is Kirom. What are your names, little Matoran?"

Nobody spoke. The Rahi breathed heavily, its four mandibles clawing at the air around it. Juul was gasping just as hard. Both Sotama and Tel remained fixed in place, both watching the two beings outside. In the distance, they could all hear two other Matoran shouting, and the phrase 'Dark Hunters' was one oft-spoken.
Eventually, Tel broke the local silence. "Why aren't you shooting, Sotama?"
"I... can't," the Ga-Matoran stated, straining against the mysterious grip locking her arms from moving. "Something's... got me..."
"A preventative measure. Expending munitions on friendlies is very inefficient. Cease fighting, and I will release the constraint field. We are not your enemies."
"Not our enemies," Tel snorted. "Not our friends, either."
"We saved you from the Visorak," the sphere countered. "Brought you-"
"No!" the Ta-Matoran shouted, raising his tooth-dagger. "You let the others die! All of them!"
"We were-"
"We were in Ta-Metru when your kind first arrived. We hid underground to escape the firestorm. When we returned to the surface, I observed your movements. How aggressive you were in defending your towers from the Visorak. In the few messages that got past the Visorak's sentries, our leaders warned us to stay away, lest we end up the same as the Karzahni-damned Rahi. But we were done living in fear," the Matoran snarled. "We chose to make an attempt at contact. And then we were captured, taken, cocooned and feasted upon by the stealers of life! You know what kept us going, even as our number dwindled? The hope that your false-Rama would soon be flying overhead, burning away the webs, the spiders, all of their twisted abominations. And if we died in the process, we would at least be safe from the jaws of the Rahi. And then you built a wall. It went up quick, too."

"Marshal has-"
"I am not finished speaking, entity. Do you know how many of us were left by the time the Toa arrived? Fourteen. Fourteen, out of sixty-one. And I watched every single one of them die to the Visorak."
"My condolen-"
"So unless you can bring back the dead, go away. We're done here."

Silence, yet again. Even the voices in the distance were seemingly muffled. Another minute passed, though it felt like an eternity to the three Matoran. Without further discourse, the door slid shut, the latch rising back into place once more. Sotama let out a shuddering breath, turning to Tel with wide eyes. "What were you thinking, Tel," she hissed. "Why did-"
"Well," he interrupted, "They're not Dark Hunters..."

METRU NUI - TA-METRU DISTRICT
SENTINEL WALL

"Stay in cover, but remain on guard. If the Matoran leave the Peregrine, inform me immediately. Do not let them wander."
"I do not fully understand your choice, Corrupted Oracle. But I will abide by the oath of truce."
"I will gather the Toa and the Marines. This situation must be properly deconflicted with haste. The Visorak may soon find a way into the Wall." The pair of Matoran near the Toa position began to shout once more. Winona sighed. "I must attend to them. I will return shortly."

The blue light of the human-aligned Monitor gradually closed with Nuju's position, providing a welcome distraction to his recounting of prior events. "Toa Nuju," she hummed, "I apologize for the lack of local illumination sources. The Visorak are more... capable than we anticipated. Our position in this refugia - correction, metru - is tenuous. Both of the local Modules have been knocked offline, as has every Sentinel that they controlled."
Nuju shuddered, the response almost instinctual, uncontrollable. Whatever the entity-fragment had known had since become a part of his memory, and the image of what it had referred to as a tactical view of the Visorak's territorial boundaries was all too easy to recall. "If the... Sentinels are unable to fight, then there is nothing preventing the Visorak from climbing over this wall. And if they breach your forts..."
"I am aware of this problem. Your teammate, Whenua. His vital signs are nominal. I cannot give an exact timeframe, but we must make ready to move out as soon as... oh. That is most unfortunate."

The construct moved to place herself directly above the still-motionless human warrior. "Specialist Snyder's armor has been damaged beyond field repair capabilities. Mobility systems have been fused together. The Sentinel power cell is undamaged but the distribution systems are fried... there is no choice; the armor must be removed. Toa Nuju, I require the assistance of your Kanohi to lift Specialist Synder, in place of a proper Brokkr system... I assume you are aware of what I am referring to?"
Nuju nodded instinctively, an image of the multi-limbed armor assembly machine and its functions flickering through his mind. A yellow glow enveloped the warrior as they rose off the ground and into a standing position. With a faint hiss, their chestplate fell off, exposing a considerably thinner being within. The vambraces and shoulder armor was next, cracks appearing along their length and widening before slipping free; the legs following suit in similar fashion. Finally, the being dropped to the floor, their head sliding out from beneath its encompassing Kanohi.
If Nuju did not have prior knowledge from the entity as to the true nature of the armored foreigners, he likely would have reacted differently to the situation before him.

"Whew," Specialist Snyder sighed, flexing their limbs. "What the hell happened, Winona?"
"An energy discharge from the Crystal Refugia knocked out our systems," the construct replied. "Most human and Covenant technology within the detected radius was rendered permanently inert. Thankfully-"
"Crystal refugia? That's Ko-Metru," Nuju hissed. "What happened? What did-"
"We are still attempting to find out," Winona answered. "Our current hypothesis is... the Visorak activated something. Whether or not this was the result of a damaged local defense system or... a piece of errant Forerunner technology, such discoveries will have to wait until investigative assets arrive at ground zero. And with our current situation in the industrial refugia, we can only spare a single flight of Sentinels for the task. Thankfully, our own neural implants are unaffected by the pulse, and all local entities are as untouched... including the Matoran."

Nuju's response was cut off by the aggravating pair of the aforementioned beings. "Mata Nui," Castol shouted, "First it's Visorak, then Fo-Rama, and now alien bio-Rahi? Abit, what did we get ourselves into?"
"Something that should never have occurred, and yet it did," Winona replied. "It will take too long to explain our situation with words, and Toa Nuju will likely not permit me to show you directly." The Monitor swiveled to face the Ko-Toa in question again. "Your teammate, Whenua. I intend to run an intensive scan on him, to find out if there is any deeper cause to his unconsciousness. It will not cause harm. This position is secure for now, but without power, the aperture you arrived through may eventually be penetrated by the spiders outside. We must be ready to leave."

SENTINEL WALL - INDUSTRIAL ZONE
HORNET DESIGNATED RESCUE-ONE

Lance Corporal Daimia Blake breathed evenly, keeping herself calm. Her armor might be dead, but she could still move, albeit with great difficulty. The Hornet might be offline, no power running through it, unable to fly or fight, but it was still a familiar environment. The lights were out, rendering her unable to see anything, but there was a UNSC AI out there in a Monitor shell, and it would undoubtedly come by to assist once it got the power back on. Maybe. She had no faith in it, as its actions had procedurally complicated their mission.

Daimia used the spare time to organize and contemplate on recent events. She had left Module Two no more than six hours ago, to rescue a downed Spartan and a fellow Trooper. They had made their journey under cloak, first diverting to the 'canal' area to pick up the Marines there, then shifting over to one of the heavily urbanized regions to provide a lift to the other Spartan.
Then the AI started changing their damn mission. The crew at Module Two had finally got their Longsword ready to rock and roll, but instead of flattening the block and evacuating in the chaos, the rescue force was rerouted to land and occupy a structure unconfortably close to Bug Central, while the supposedly trapped duo would make their way to them instead.

Something had gone down in the tunnels after that, between the Spartan and the UPTs, and the Trooper had been caught in the crossfire. They had watched the GPR feed, saw her squadmate's IFF tag and contact locator pick up speed, rocketing down into the tunnels far, far faster than any Spartan could run... and soon winking out of detection range. Something had taken him, spirited him away, and the AI had subsequently prioritized leaving the tunnels. She had claimed to be preparing a group of Sentinels to deploy on a rescue mission, and that anything that could move that quickly would make short work of Bravo-Zebra if they tried to fight it... but the Troopers wanted blood.
As far as they were concerned, the UPTs were confirmed hostile. One of them had attacked the Spartan and the now-MIA PFC Delve. With the two Spartans reunited, they could pack up and leave, let the UPTs and the spider-bugs take each other out... but then the AI changed the mission parameters again. Now they had to delay the goddamned spiders to not completely wipe the UPTs so their trap at UR/LS3 could go off with an effective result; something that could have been done from standoff range, but one of the damn fool Spartans had requested to be flown near the UPTs' position.. then jumped off, causing one hell of a ruckus down below and diverting an uncomfortable amount of spider attention in his direction.
Given how quickly the remaining UPTs were able to fortify their position, both Aeona and Lieutenant Sherman figured that their involvement was no longer necessary. Then everything hit the fan. The largest bug she had ever seen erupted from the street below, clawing itself onto the surface and completely obliterating the nearby fortifications. When Staff Sergeant Kronstad requested clarification for rules of engagement regarding the Big Bug, Lieutenant Sherman ordered them to wave off and return to the residential structure, where the Spartan would join them before relocating to the 'industrial refuge'. Delta-11 would roll a strafing run through the entire street and wipe out both the UPTs and the arachnid monster.

And then the AI showed up, panicked, demanding that they save the damn UPTs, that they were essential to the city, tier-one priority assets, and all sorts of additional terminology for Very Goddamn Important. The strafing run was adjusted on the fly; short burst to take out spiders behind the UPTs, resume firing when the reticle cleared the UPTs, then make a line straight up the damn tower and prioritize anything red. The Hornets would fly in afterward, pick up any surviving UPTs and their errant Spartan, then head straight for the safe zone in the Industrial Refuge, adjusting their course once they crossed the Sentinel Wall for the canal district.
Additional information was streaming to their armor as the Longsword made its attack run, drawing off a substantial amount of enemy top cover. Lance Corporal Thompson was the first one in, nailing three spiders that had escaped the Longsword's scythe, while she remained on top cover and ready to render fire support. One UPT was in the process of being dragged out of the outer defensive ring by a few surviving arachnids. She had queued up a pair of micromissiles to put it out of its misery, and her thumb was mere centimeters from the release button when their errant Spartan broke cover, mauled through the bugs, then hauled the ivory UPT off the street and into the alleys.
Lance Corporal Blake was then requested to descend a bit further, soon embarking the ebony UPT alongside the Spartan. They took off after the UPT had been settled in, heading for the industrial district, only to detour once more to pick up the damned errant Spartan and his new goddamned 'friend'.

While the UPT on the other skid balanced out some of the weight issues, the Spartan using her Hornet as a goddamned carnival ride was infuriating. She was glad for the positioning later, however, as the Broadswords that were supposedly running interference apparently let a whole goddamned swarm of flying bugs leak through their screen.
At least one of the UPTs fought well enough. All Daimia could do was hose down anything in front of her, the twenty-millimeter shells easily carving apart the arachnid bastards. At one point, one managed to get close enough to latch onto her Hornet, splaying its body over the fuselage and being quite the pain in the ass to deal with. She responded by pulling her service weapon, leaning forward, and emptying the entire magazine through the upper canopy and straight into the creature's head. She couldn't see the effects on the target directly, but the monster did stop moving shortly thereafter, well before the Spartan kicked its decapitated body off the Hornet.
Seven kilometers from safety, they were finally brought down. Whatever hit them, it knocked out all power to the aircraft, and Blake was forced to bring it in with a dead stick. If it wouldn't be for the webs, it would have been a hard landing... and maybe a more merciful one than whatever the Spartans were experiencing. She had seen one of them carried off by the damn bugs as they disengaged from the fight, presumably not risking continuing their pursuit too close to the Wall without larger numbers. When she came to later, UPT-2 had been staring into the cockpit at her. She had given it an affirmative gesture, hoping it would back off and leave her alone, and to its credit, it did.

And then the goddamn Covenant had shown up. A hingehead dressed in gold had stood on her Hornet, energy blade ablaze, threatening her with imminent death- and then it tried to extend an olive branch? If her twenty-mils had been working, it would have been dead. Once it switched off its blade, her finger had been on the trigger and pulling with all her might. No luck.
UPT-6 had promptly sold them out, doing something to Private Nordstrom to isolate the Marine from interfering. 'I should have fired,' Blake had told herself at the time, screaming obscenities at it from inside the cockpit. Her service weapon was at her feet, however, and taking her eyes off of either of the two aliens would probably not end well. Once the Zealot had moved off, however, she rapidly repositioned herself within the cockpit, seizing the M6D, slamming a new magazine home, racking the slide, and rising up to ventilate at least one of the damn bastards before her demise.
What she found once she cracked the canopy open, however, was Dolic partially frozen to the side of the Hornet, and UPT-6 keeping Corporal Stevens upright as he did... something... with his mask-helmet. The bladed limb protruding from Stevens' chest was moving, slowly sliding free of the aircraft's fuselage behind it.
Daimia had shouted to gain its attention, and she had succeeded. Before she could pull the trigger, however, the armor around her hand had locked up. The UPT had spoke to her then, in clear English, "I am trying to help you. Kindly cease aggression, if you do not mind."
What followed was a tense standoff between her and UPT-6, soon interrupted by UPT-1. The two UPTs had then briefly conversed in their own language, something that she couldn't understand - and when she tried to shift her service weapon to her other hand, her entire armor system simply refused to move.

Private Nordstrom had been released from his icy prison shortly after UPT-1 climbed over the Hornet, the crystalline structure retreating of its own accord. His weapon was still trapped within. The standoff had continued for at least another minute before the hingehead returned, and UPT-6 had 'moderated' the following 'negotiation'.
In the end, it had been Corporal Stevens that had convinced her to cooperate. UPT-6, Private Nordstrom, and the split-lip xeno had all worked together to free him from the razor-sharp talon that pinned him in place. Once the leg had been cut apart, the Marine had been frozen in place, the protective cocoon well-attached to the fuselage so that no further movement would jostle the section of natural blade still embedded within his body.

The Hornet recovered power and flight capability shortly after a column of energy had rocketed into the sky, signifying yet another Module being realigned. With Private Nordstrom on the skid to monitor Corporal Stevens' status, Lance Corporal Blake had reluctantly assisted with accelerating extraction operations. Once everybody within eyesight had been freed from captivity, the Hornet had embarked the majority of the wounded and injured, placing its load well over its stated weight limit. Dolic had been left behind as... insurance, as a guarantee that she would be back with support. A pair of combat-ready split-lips stood on either side of the cockpit as well; though their stated purpose was to extricate the Hornet from webbing should it find itself stuck, she knew what they were really for.
A trio of fliers had tried to interdict them, but the two armed Elites barbequed the bugs with ease. They had reached the wall within the next three minutes, received permission to enter, disembarked the noncombatants, then were stuck waiting an additional four minutes as a dozen supersized Falcons were rapidly assembled and made ready for immediate deployment. Another AI, Winona, had preemptively notified her that she would be required to transport both of the warrior Elites back to the group as a sign of good faith, and that she would be personally accompanying them to enforce the ceasefire. The two hingeheads and their assured Monitor escort soon returned to the Hornet, both of the xenos armed with goddamned Binary Rifles. Winona informed her that the weapons were hard-coded to not fire on friendlies, a Trojan Horse in case the Covenant attempted to renege on their agreement. "As an additional point," the AI had stated, "Range will be key in the coming engagement."
When the Wall's access point slid open once more to deploy the evacuation squadron, Corporal Blake agreed with that assessment. The 'Visorak', as Winona had called the enemy arachno-bugs, had reinvaded the district in force. All that remained of the 'exodus column' were a few life signs clustering within a recently-appeared landscaping project. Private Nordstrom was not among them.

Their position was all but covered in spiders. Fliers were present too, positioned strategically, alert for Sentinel activity from the Wall. None of them gave any indication that they spotted the evacuation squadron, closing with the position under cloak.
Rescue-1 took point as Winona stated that the Hornet would be the orienteering point of a 'mass transition', something that would systematically clear away every single exposed Visorak within a kilometer of the fortification.
A single contact had stood at the entrance to the earthen redoubt. The spiders surrounding the area gave it a wide berth. A Grunt emerged from within, attempted to scramble past the hulking figure, only for the biomech to effortlessly crush its skull and toss the still-twitching body back inside.
"Light 'em up," Winona had called over TEAMCOM line, and Blake sent her affirmation. She slammed the trigger home, expecting to see the creature before her shredded by the Hornet's twenty-mil autocannons, but the guns remained silent. Instead, night turned into day as the sky changed. False starlight and green fog were blotted out as a veritable hurricane of Sentinels emerged from slipspace simultaneously, almost immediately firing their weapons at targets below. An ocean of orange light speared through the spiders around the Hornet, carving them apart with ease.
Her Hornet's spotlight flicked on, illuminating the alien bruiser below, the brute spinning about, something tilting into position - and the two Elites executing it, the Binaries going off in synchronization. She watched the gun camera's footage, how the creature was carved in half, sections of its body disintegrating.

"Winona," Daimia had inquired through gritted teeth. "Why are my guns not working?"
"Software glitch, Corporal. I... required more processing power to properly coordinate the arrival of our reinforcements."
The Sentinel hurricane above was in full swing, its eye directly over the defensive fortification. The transports were quick to move in, landing swiftly, their automated hatches opening to permit access. Winona stated over TEAMCOM that she was attempting contact, and that Rescue-1 will remain on overwatch until all the transports were loaded up and ready to go. Blake's first action after that was to find a Visorak corpse and fire a small burst into it, just to make sure her guns still worked. This evidentally alarmed the split-lips riding on her skids, and they promptly went to work disintegrating every single Visorak body they could draw a bead on. It didn't take long to embark the survivors, and then it was a very tense flight back to the wall. The Visorak were relentless, firing massed volleys to open up holes through which entire squadrons of fliers were flown at the Sentinel swarm with the expectation that at least some might get through. Empty Peregrines were sacrificed in collisions when this tactic proved to be of limited success.
Lance Corporal Blake took up the rearguard, flying backward the entire way. The two hingeheads put in their own work, obliterating Visorak wherever they could find them. It was not long before they were through the access port, which sealed behind them. None of the Sentinels followed them back in, presumably fighting one last delaying action.
Even before the Hornet had touched down on the landing pad, the two Elites had jumped off, heading for the central platform. Daimia had opened the canopy and taken a moment to relax, watching the split-lips talk with Monitor-Winona, before a portal opened and the aliens filed through.

And then the lights went out. Absolute darkness fell upon them, an encompassing void that swallowed everything within it. Blake sighed, going through the motion of reaching for the relevant control that would power up the Hornet's spotlight... but raising her limb proved difficult. The servos in her armor were out too. The process of attempting to climb out of the Hornet was rendered borderline impossible, and the dead weight of the armor had tipped her forward enough that she had crashed into the control panel. One arm had dropped into the leg rest, and raising it back up proved an ardous task.

A blue orb traveled across one of the neighboring catwalks, hovering in place for a moment, its light pulsing to indicate speech, before it moved slightly back the way it came. An orange glow surrounded a far-off object for half a minute as the Monitor hovered above it, before the construct spoke again. Shortly thereafter, it dipped out of sight below the railing, with a faint blue glow briefly intensifying above its location. It then shot up into the air a few minutes later and began to close with her, speeding across the gap between landing pads, coming to a stop outside the Hornet.
Its face pulsed as it once again spoke, but the environmental seals for the HOPLITE armor prevented any sound from transmitting through. Without further warning, her VISR powered up again, scrolling through a boot-up screen before displaying a wireframe image of the armor.

SYSTEM REBOOTING
POWER SYSTEM ONLINE
WARNING: PRIMARY MOBILITY SYSTEM INOPERATIVE
DISASSEMBLY AND OVERHAUL REQUIRED
RESPIRATOR SYSTEM ONLINE
SHIELD SYSTEM ONLINE
MEDICAL SYSTEM ONLINE
COMMUNICATION SYSTEM ONLINE
UPDATING DATABASE
WARNING: EXTERNAL DETECTION SYSTEMS OFFLINE
ENGAGING RECOVERY BEACON

"Ah, you're back up. That is welcome news," Winona's chipper voice hummed "The HOPLITE Mark Two's auxiliary power unit was-"
"Hold up," she interrupted, "What the hell just happened?"
"My apologies, Corporal Blake. A quantum-level pulse knocked out all non-native technology within half the city. Human, Covenant, even Forerunner, albeit the latter only temporarily. Most of our conventional circuitry was damaged by the energetic pulse; only Forerunner-reinforced systems managed to survive within operational parameters. Given how the locals were otherwise unaffected, our current theory is that the Visorak may-"
"What was with the... glowing stuff," Daimia inquired. "Aliens break the truce"
"Negative, Corporal. Specialist Snyder's Mark One armor lacked a working auxiliary power system, and as such required a... manual restart. I will endeavor to properly correct all these unforeseen issues with the Mark Four iteration. Unfortunately, the damage to your current armor is too extensive for field repair..."