Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Halo Universe and all the Halo franchise is property of 343 industries. I take credit only for my own ideas that I bring to life in this story. This story is simply for entertainment purposes of the FanFiction audience.

Disclaimer: I do not own the cover image for this story. I have been granted permission to use it and this permission does not go to anyone else unless you contact the artist and speak to them yourselves. You'll find their Instagram name at the bottom of the chapter.

The Frigate that carried Dr Halsey and the Spartans soared floated through space, its destination: Earth. However, as happy as the crew members, soldiers and staff on board the frigate were, there was one person who did not share their enthusiasm.

Dr Halsey sat at her desk, wondering how she could do it, how could she save her Spartans, her surrogate children from the same wicked fate as the rest. She knew this war was unwinnable, Reach had proven that to her, that no matter how hard they fought, no matter what they came up with, the Covenant could not be stopped. The war for reach lasted a month at best and even that merely delayed the Covenant. When she created her Spartans, they were to fight and contain insurgent threats against society... instead, they were used as tools to fight an unknown and undefeatable enemy. Now, they were merely living, breathing propaganda for ONI and their greedy desires.

For three nights, Halsey had been tirelessly researching a secret discovery by ONI of a forerunner world they had come to label as a 'Shield World'. Something built and designed to protect the Forerunner race from the parasite that was the Flood. If she could bring her Spartans there, she might just be able to save them from the war, to wait it out until the Covenant had moved on. Though, convincing the others would be impossible to achieve...

John was Humanities saviour, their guardian angel when all else was thought to be lost. John and John alone was the only one willing to sacrifice everything for Humanity, he would not hide away and blindly ignore the threat to the Human race. Blue team would follow John anywhere and into anything. If he stayed, then so too would they. Halsey would have to try a different approach... Something that would not require her Spartans' to willingly come along with her.

James sat at the table within the joint room he shared with Blue team, Jun had been offered to stay within the same room but had said he preferred to have his own space. At first, James had thought to do the same, that was until Jun suggested he stay. When James asked why the only response he got from his squadmate was a cocky smile and, "It will be good for you." James didn't like to admit it so easily and so readily... especially after losing Noble but, he did feel more at ease with Blue team than he did alone.

And so, here he sat, speaking with Kelly, Fred, John and Linda, who had now woken up from her injuries after Halsey had flash cloned her replacement organs, therefore, saving her life. She was, with great detail, filled in on what she had missed and after having officially met James, she had now completed Blue team, making them whole again.

As they all sat at the table chatting away whilst they had the time, Kelly took notice of something in James' right hand, something he had been running his finger and thumb over repeatedly for quite some time now. Her intuition told her it was something immensely personal and Kelly being Kelly, inquired about it with the hope of learning more about James.

"What's that James?" came the sudden feminine voice, disturbing James from his thoughts and memories as he thought back and took note of the British accent, allowing his mind to easily trace the voice back to its source where his eyes met those of the cheerful Spartan ll just across from him. "It's a dog tag, belonged to a friend of mine back on Reach," James explained, though not without great difficulty; James had slowly but surely been getting accustomed to Blue team and their close relationship with each other and couldn't help but regret not attempting to build the same relationship with all of Noble. Maybe they had accepted him, or maybe they had just accepted that he was there and that is how it was. Either way, James regretted not trying. It was this that pushed him to share more with Blue team than his past self would have done.

"What was their name?" Kelly continued her line of inquiry with honest and polite questions, changing the way she worded each question once she learned it was a momento of a friend who had passed on. James for once didn't mind the constant questioning and answered sincerely. "His name was Jorge. He was a Spartan, a good friend." James didn't account for the looks on their faces as he looked up from the dog tags. Sadness, disbelief and slight anger were what James made out and it didn't take long for him to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Can I see the tags?" John asked though the way he asked told James 'no' wouldn't be a suitable answer, not that he was thinking of rejecting John anyway. Nodding, James passed John Jorge's tags and after a moment of silence, John put the tags down, sighed and nodded to his team to inform them that what they were all thinking was true. Their friend and fellow Spartan ll had fallen on Reach.

"How did he die?" Linda asked

James looked at Linda then to John, then to Fred and finally, to Kelly as he exhaled deeply and cleared his throat, his emotions sinking deeper as he allowed his brain to bring back the painful memories of Jorge's death. "We had just come to learn that a Covenant supercarrier was among their fleet and it was raining hell down on us. As a counter-attack, we executed a highly classified program to approach, board and arm a smaller Covenant Cruiser as a bomb using a modified slip-space drive." James paused to breathe and prepare himself for the coming words as he looked to each of the ll's as they waited for him to continue, understanding he needed a minute.

"The operation was going smoothly. I, along with some ODST's took control of the bridge and entered coordinates for the collision course with the supercarrier. Jorge was the one responsible for bringing the drive onboard the Cruiser and arming it whilst I circled back towards him in the Hangar and defended his position. We successfully armed the drive, but it was damaged in the battle for the Hangar and we came to learn the drive had to be detonated manually."

Fred put his hands together and rested his head against them, looking down and closing his eyes. Linda and Kelly were both looking away from James as he recalled the events of Jorge's death. Chief looked James in the eyes, the two keeping fierce eye contact with each other and if there was no previous context to the situation, one would think this was for John's curiosity alone.

"Jorge looks to me and tells me we all have to make the one-way trip eventually and that I had to get going, as I was needed on Reach. He tells me that Reach had been good to him... that it was time for him to repay the favour," James took hold of the dog tags on the table and held them in between him and John, the others once more reverting their eyes to James as he continued. "He gives me his tags and tells me to make it count. Then he threw me out of the carrier and I fell as Reach pulled me down, watching as the Cruiser blew, the implosion destroying both it and the Supercarrier. I landed on that planet thinking Jorge had just made the ultimate sacrifice, that he had saved Reach. How wrong we both were..."

The others moved from the table to engage themselves in whatever activity each had decided upon. John sat a moment longer watching James as he covered his jaw with his right hand and slowly rubbed the stubble that had formed over the past few weeks. John eventually stood and left the room after the others, leaving James to sit in silence, contemplating whether the others now held him in light of distrust for not helping Jorge more than he did. Either way, he too stood and left the room void of occupants as the cold and quiet took over in their wake.

Fred and Linda later found themselves in the shooting range, giving tips and guidance to rookie marines whose aim were in all honesty atrocious, to say the least. They had already presumed their fellow Spartans to be long dead, but hearing the events of such deaths unfold was something they needed to distract themselves from.

Both Fred and Linda had never really felt true sorrow apart from Sam's death. They knew it was not because they were Spartans, they had seen Spartans break down before from the endless task that was their very lives. Both wondered why it was they couldn't feel true sorrow for Jorge's death. They knew him well, not as well as Sam, but they still knew him. And yet here they were, continuing without hesitation. Being a Spartan truly was a complicated life to lead.

John had made his way to the private gym that was solely for Spartans use only, or in this particular case: solely for Blue Team, James and Jun.

The sweat would have been rolling off a normal soldier in beads if they had been in this gym as long as John had now without pause or rest. And yet, here he lay, bench pressing just over 1000 lbs and was barely breaking a sweat, and it frustrated him beyond reason!

A Spartan is capable of extraordinary feats of strength, speed, agility and adaptability. A Spartan is a super-soldier. But being super is not all it is made out to be: A Spartan can still die. A Spartan can still be injured just like any other normal human and yet they were not capable of the same feelings and limits that normal humans had. Fear was not something a Spartan ever truly felt. Fatigue was not something a Spartan ever truly felt.

John had grown tired as of late of feeling as though he was not truly human. No more man than machine. No more human than a lab experiment. But no matter how much these thoughts plagued John he would always come back from them, and the reason was ever-illusive. It wasn't Cortana. It wasn't his team. It wasn't the entire human race. For some reason, unbeknownst to him, John was incapable of giving up but he was not incapable of desiring an end. A constant struggle that waged inside John's mind that he had never been able to identify in anyone else... It only added to those feelings of being alone.

John stood from the bench and took his first swig of water as he moved over to a treadmill and set an incline before beginning a jog intent on driving these thoughts away.

Kelly had busied herself with some minor work of helping out with checking on some equipment and vehicles in the hangar bays. She was currently inside of a Pelican making sure the vehicle was operational as she flipped some switches and started up the engines on a low thruster level. Satisfied this Pelican was in mint condition she cooled down the thrusters and disengaged the engines. However, before she could stand from the pilot's seat, she was joined in the cockpit by Halsey, which was quite a surprise for Kelly.

"Ma'am?" Kelly questioned looking directly into the eyes of a woman she felt both secure and uneasy about. Halsey always did have an uneasy aura about her even to those with whom she had developed a very trusting relationship. "Kelly, how do you feel about the war with the Covenant? Do you believe we can win?" Halsey asked bluntly wanting a truthful answer from the Spartan. "Truthfully Ma'am? I don't know. Right now I go where my team goes and we do our best to fight back." Kelly answered. Whether this was a test or not, she would not be able to lie to the woman who played a major role in raising her and so didn't try to.

Halsey took the answer in well and honestly considered changing the course of action she had decided upon, but hesitation was a weakness she rarely ever fell prone to. Today would not be one of those such times. Allowing a syringe to drop from her left sleeve, Halsey injected Kelly with the sedative she had prepared, using a dosage strong enough to have quick effects on her Spartans. Kelly was confused and worried, though she had no time to react to the attack as she had let her guard down around the woman and as such slumped back against the chair as the sedative took its effect.

"I'm sorry Kelly."

"James!" Came the familiar feminine voice James had come to appreciate in his spare time as he turned and nodded to the young female as she approached him, another marine by her side as the two stopped just in front of the soldier. "Millie." James greeted before looking over to the other marine who saluted and politely introduced himself. "Private Michael Cooper, sir." James stared and nodded letting Cooper be at ease as he turned his gaze back to Millie.

"Looking forward to reaching Earth?" James asked as Millie nodded and smiled, which served to both irk and please James. Millie was a soldier yet still had not experienced even a margin of the things he had and he envied her for that. But at the same time, James also hoped she would never see the day where that bright attitude would be taken from her. He would not wish it upon anyone.

"Were you going somewhere specific, or just taking a walk?" Millie casually asked to which Cooper nearly choked on his saliva at the attitude Millie had taken with a Spartan. His shock only increased further as James smirked slightly before shaking his head. "No, just taking a walk." Millie smiled at that and motioned for them to continue as the three moved on.

Suddenly however the hangar alarms could be heard sounding off, a majority of the nearby personnel abandoning whatever they were doing and rushing over to the hangars, including James, Millie and Cooper. It didn't take them long to reach the hangars and what they saw upon their arrival, James could only describe as cowardice.

"Pilot! You do not have clearance to leave this frigate, I repeat: You do not have clearance to leave this frigate!" a voice sounded over the Hangars PA system. However much to the dismay and frustration of any occupants in the hangar, the Pelican continued in its liftoff and within seconds soared through the hangar forcefields, the hangar doors closing just behind it in an attempt too late to stop the pilot from leaving.

"Cowards!" Cooper growled under his breath.

"Catherine is gone. Though I cannot say for certain why she has left us." The ship's commander relayed to Blue team and James who wasn't very surprised like Blue team; they had grown up with her and the feeling of betrayal he could understand in them. But, he had always known she would abandon them in some way or another, it was just a matter of time.

"Kelly is missing too and we can only assume she was on board that pelican," Fred spoke up, more to his team than anyone else which was the reason he had used her first name.

John frowned, he couldn't believe Kelly had left with Halsey. Was there something she knew that the rest of them didn't? If so then why didn't she come to them? Maybe it was against her wishes to leave... John was growing more and more frustrated by the minute thinking about it all. The commander's voice pulling him from his mind and back into the situation at hand.

"Either way, we will be arriving at Cairo station soon enough, just above Earth. Chief your team has been ordered down to Earth for new deployment orders. You will be joining them shortly after, but first Lord Hood wishes to see you on Cairo station." The commander briefed earning salutes from the Spartans before they left.

James couldn't help but notice he had essentially been looked over and flat out ignored by the man. It wasn't enough that he didn't actually have a position to report to anymore, but now he was being treated as though he wasn't even there. Maybe they would make him a headhunter again, sending him out to different worlds to hunt down those ONI disagreed with. Then again, they might just decide he was too unreliable now and put him behind a desk, officer rank or maybe even a trainer for new Spartans. There couldn't be a worse fate in James' mind.

The four Spartans walked down the corridors back to their designated room, minus Kelly of course. Each of them standing as the tallest members abord this frigate, each of them in silence as Spartans spoke very little compared to... their more mortal counterparts. James was thinking about asking for a transfer, even so, he would have to talk it over with Blue team.

Arriving back at their room they gathered around the table where each of them had listened to James' retelling of Jorge's death. sitting in the spaces they were seated earlier, Fred was the first was to speak up.

"So then what do we do? We know we'll never be sanctioned for a hunting op. We're too precious to command to be sent after Halsey and Kelly. Could go anyway?" Fred looked in the eyes of each member there as he spoke, making sure they were aware it was a team discussion and not just something for John to think about. Surprisingly he also looked at James when he spoke, making sure to include him in something that should have been, and was rightly so, a personal matter exclusive to Blue team.

"No. When command finds out about Halsey taking off with Kelly there will be trouble enough without throwing ourselves into the mix as well. For now, we sit tight and await new orders on Earth. I'll speak to Lord Hood and see what I can do from there. In the meantime prepare yourselves for whatever they throw at us when we arrive." Chief debriefed before standing and leaving, grabbing his shampoo and towel on the way out.

"James," Fred began drawing the Spartan's attention from his dog tags, his granite eyes meeting Fred's Greeny-blue orbs with a friendly look. "When we arrive at Cairo, could you perhaps stay with John? It will do him some good to have someone around he can trust." James was taken aback suddenly, to hear from one of Blue team that the Chief trusted him was more relieving to James than he even realised. Nodding solemnly, James voiced his agreement.

With that, the team discussion ended as each Spartan left to get on with their respective wishes with what little remaining free time they had before it was back to another warzone. If only they knew the horrors that soon awaited them, and the sacrifices they would have to make.

Somewhere in the regions of space the Covenant holy city, High Charity of the Ninth Age of Reclamation soared by, surrounded by hundreds of Corvette class Carriers and Super-Carriers. from inside a wave of angry shouts and roars could be heard as the few guards in the corridors patrolled their routes, only wishing they could take part in the sentencing.

Inside one of the many gigantic rooms sat hundreds of Council members on one side of the colossal room. On the other side, were the Elites. Both sides obnoxiously arguing amongst themselves, as Banshees patrolled above and the Elite guard of the Prophets stood like statues below. The participating members continuing to glare on at the sight below them: Thel 'Vadamee the Supreme Commander of the Covenants armies.

"There was only one ship." Thel 'Vadamee spoke clearly as he looked at the three Hierarchs in front of him, sat proudly in their seats.

"One? Are you sure?" came the voice of one of the Hierarchs, the Prophet of Regret as he stared confusedly at Thel.

"Yes," Thel began, nodding as he thought back to the ship they had persued from Reach to the ring. "They called it Pillar of Autumn."

The muttering could still be heard even now, the pretentious Prophet Councilors and Elite Guard discussing the fate of Thel as though he hadn't been such an important piece in their game of war. They would be fools to even consider executing him, they wouldn't survive this war without him, regardless of how many ships they threw at the humans.

If there was one thing Thel 'Vadamee had learned from this war, it was that the Demons were more than enough to hold back the Covenant.

"Why was it not destroyed, with the rest of their fleet?" Asked the Prophet of Mercy.

"It fled, as we set fire to their planet," Thel responded as his mind was once more taken back to the sight of a burning planet and the souls that would burn with it. "But I followed with all the ships in my command."

"When you first saw Halo, were you blinded by its majesty?" The Prophet of Regret inquired his voice sounding almost understanding for a moment.

"Blinded?" came Thel's blunt reply

"Paralysed? Dumbstruck?" Regret listed off wondering how Thel could not have been found in awe upon the beauty that WAS the ring.

"No."

"Yet the humans were able to evade your ships, land on the Sacred Ring, and desecrate it with their Filthy footsteps!" Regret Roared out, his hand slamming on the armrest of his floating throne-like chair.

"Noble Hierarchs, surely you understand that once the parasite attacked-"

The Prophet of Mercy silenced the now angered audience with his hand. "There will be order in this Council!" However, the angry cries would not die down until The Prophet of Truth came forwards and raised his hand, commanding the room with absolute authority as it fell once more into silence.

"You were right to focus your attention on the Flood. But this Demon, this 'Master Chief'..." Truth mused

"By the time I learned of the Demon's intent, there was nothing I could do." Thel interrupted only angering the Prophet Councillors as they stood and yelled at Thel. Tartarus, the leader of the Brutes chuckled to himself, his arms lazily crossed against his chest.

"Noble Prophet of Truth, this has gone on long enough. Make an example of this bungler. The Council demands it." Regret leaned in to encourage Truth to execute Thel.

Once more, Truth held up his hand, the room obeying his wish for silence. "You are one of our most treasured instruments. Long have you led your fleet with honour and distinction. But your inability to safeguard Halo... was a colossal failure."

"Nay! It was heresy!" The Prophet of Objection called out.

"I will continue my campaign against the humans!" Thel answered his mind suddenly understanding the outcome that was to be.

"No! You will not!" Truth hissed, simultaneously shaking his head.

At that, Truth glanced over to Tartarus who huffed before barking a command to two nearby Brutes as they approached Thel, attempting to remove him forcibly. Thel however, would go willingly and freely to his fate. Shaking the Brutes off he turned and was escorted out.

"Soon the Great Journey shall begin. But when it does, the weight of your heresy will stay your feet. And you shall be left behind." Truth commanded, his word law.

Chief stood in the armoury with a Master Gunnery Seargent briefing him on the state of his armour and gear. "...Your plating was about to fail, there's viscosity throughout the gel layer..." Came the gruff voice of the Gunnery Seargent as he sighed and picked up some pieces of gear from the table in front of him.

"Optics - totally fried. And let's not even talk about the power supply." the Seargent looked physically pained as his eyes droned over the numerous broken and damaged pieces of gear in front of him. Chief's new helmet was the only clean piece of equipment on the table.

"You know how expensive this gear is, son?"

Chief looked down at the Seargent, a vain looking as though it were about to burst from his head. picking up his helmet and securing it on his head as he listened to it air sealing around his head he once more looked to the Seargent, now having to tilt his head.

"Tell that to the Covenant."

The Gunnery Seargent shook his head in disbelief as he refocused and looked at Master Chief's new armour that he had been supplied with upon his arrival at Cairo Station. 'The next Generation of Spartan armour' he thought before scoffing to himself as he thought about what was most likely going to happen to it within a few days at best.

"Well, I guess it was all obsolete. Anyway, your new suit's a Mark VI, just came up from Seongnam this morning. Try and take it easy until you get used to the upgrades." Chief nodded in response having some understanding of how precious equipment was to someone like the Gunnery Seargent.

"Okay, let's get you calibrated."

GAP

"We've increased the shield regeneration rate for your suit, but for the love of God, please take cover and wait, don't just rush towards the enemy." The Gunnery Seargent rubbed his temples as he reiterated the final part of his guidance.

"That, or he can hide behind me. Are you done with my boy here, Master Gunns? I don't see any training wheels." Johnson announced his arrival, his attitude brighter after receiving a promotion to Seargent Major.

"his armour's working fine, Johnson, so shut your chilli-hole. You're free to go, son, just remember to take things slow."

"Don't worry, I'll hold his hand."

Johnson and Chief both stepped into the elevator as the Gunnery Seargent stepped up to it and looked to Johnson. "So, Johnson, when are you gonna tell me how you made it back home in one piece?"

"Sorry, Gunns. It's classified." Johnson replied, a cocky smirk forming onto his face, growing even wider as he watched the irritation show on the Gunnery Seargent's face.

"Huh! My ass! Well, you can forget about those adjustments to your A2 scope! And you're surely..."

The doors closed with an audible thud, cutting the Gunnery Sergeant off and also provoking a laugh from Johnson as he pressed the floor number where Lord Hood was waiting. "Well, he's in a particularly fine mood. Maybe Lord Hood didn't give him an invitation." Johnson sarcastically remarked

As the elevator flew upwards towards their floor the two soldiers stood in complete silence and waited. once the Elevator did stop and the two stepped out, they then boarded a small tram. Johnson sat whilst the Chief continued to stand.

As the tram began to move a view of Cairo station made its way into sight. Chief did have to admit and that it was a beautiful sight to see as he looked out to the stars and watched as ships orbited the station; Earth spinning behind them.

"Earth..." Johnson began as Chief looked to him knowing there was more to come. "...Haven't seen it in years. When I shipped out for basic, the Orbital Defense Grid was all theory and politics. Now, look! Cairo is just one of three hundred geosync platforms. That MAC gun can put a round clean through Covenant Capital ships. With coordinated fire from the Athens and Malta, nothing's getting past this battle cluster in one piece."

Chief slowly nodded but didn't like how comfortable Johnson seemed about the whole thing. Chief always knew that no matter what, that small chance of failure was always going to come true someday.

"Ships have been arriving all morning. Nobody is saying much, but I think something big's about to happen." Johnson commented

Suddenly that feeling of failure happening soon grew even bigger within John's chest and he didn't like it one bit.

Authors Note: And here is the elusive chapter 10 that I know quite a few of you have been waiting for. Apologies again for the delay, but I have already begun working on chapter 11 as this is posted so hopefully it won't be too long of a wait for the next part of the story. I wanted to know what you all think of Cooper and his character, since I am having trouble deciding whether to give him a more major role or not. Let me know what you think with either a PM or a review. Until the next time...

Walk Tall Spartans.

Cover Artist: Instagram - anjum_faiz please make sure to give them a follow. They are incredibly nice and have some beautiful art on their page.