"Through the Trees"

By Kpmh2001

Author's Note: This is a direct follow-on from Reverie, so if you haven't read that first, do so now on Chapter 21.

Zeta Halo, 2560

Ben stood speechless as the Spartan walked towards them, stepping over the bodies of the aliens that they had killed. As they drew closer, Ben noted the vast amount of burns, scars, dents, and other minor damages that coated their armor.

"That is one magnificent set of Mjolnir." Curie privately commented, a sentiment that Ben could only agree with.

Standing beside him, Stacker looked about as giddy as a grizzled Master Sergeant possibly could. "Well hot damn, it's the Master Chief! And here I was thinking this day couldn't get any better!"

Huh, at least Stacker seems to know him. Ben thought. He was almost certain that he wasn't going to recognize whoever was wearing that armor, as he wasn't entirely sure who the 117th Spartan candidate in Gamma Company even had been, or if they had even graduated. Maybe they're from Delta Company. If eight years have passed, they should be in service by now.

Whoever they were, the Master Chief seemed to be unfazed by Stacker's exclamation. "What's your status?"

Ben quickly looked over Stacker for any injuries, and was relieved to see that by some absolute miracle, the Marine had managed to evade anything bigger than a scrape. "We're both good, thanks for that."

The Master Chief gave him a quiet nod of acknowledgement, before glancing around at the rest of the wreckage and bodies, alert for any Banished survivors. "Are you two by yourselves?"

"Negative, the rest of my squad is just up the valley, but we've got a few wounded." Stacker answered. "The rest of the Sergeant's squad is there as well, six Helljumpers and another Spartan."

"Good." The Master Chief replied. Seemingly satisfied that the Banished had been wiped out, he turned his attention back to Ben and Stacker. "Spartan, what's your name and unit?"

"Benjamin Gamma Zero-Two-One, I'm with Onyx Team." Ben answered. Even though he knew that there was basically no chance that the Master Chief was actually familiar with Onyx Team, given that it had never actually seen service during the war and had gotten lost in Shunspace, he figured it was probably best to answer truthfully regardless.

Predictably, the Master Chief didn't look very satisfied with the answer, but nodded regardless. "Grab some weapons and ammo, we need to get back to the rest of your men. The Banished will be sending backup, and we'll need to be ready for them."

It was as sound a plan as any, and given the Master Chief's rank, he technically had authority over both Ben and Stacker. With new orders, Stacker and Ben got to work looting the deceased, picking out grenades and ammunition along with a few new weapons. Stacker found himself a Type-25 Spiker for himself, and directed Ben towards another, much larger weapon that had been in the hands of a Brute that the Master Chief had decapitated.

The weapon was vaguely reminiscent of the much smaller Spiker, but it was closer in size to a Spartan Laser. Protruding from the barrel was a single massive spike the size of a rocket, sharpened to an impressive quality.

"Well go on Sergeant, that's a Skewer!" Stacker said. "If I could carry one of those things, I sure as hell would!"

Even though Ben wasn't trained with the weapon, he took the Skewer at Stacker's encouragement, and affixed several spare spikes to the magnetic locks on his armor. Curie quickly updated his Mjolnir's software to properly display information about the weapon on his HUD, including a new reticle fitted with a rangetable.

"From what I can tell, this weapon has a surprisingly long range." Curie privately explained to him. "I would hazard to guess it fills the role of a heavy anti-material weapon, or perhaps more befittingly, a handheld anti-tank cannon."

"I'll say… the Brutes don't do anything halfway, do they?" Ben rhetorically asked in response.

"There ya go! That's a damn good look!" Stacker commented. "Now come on, we gotta get moving!"

The three of them began to make their way back to the hill where the rest of Onyx Team and Stacker's Marines had holed up. Along the way, Curie relayed what had happened to Jorge so that he wasn't taken by surprise when Ben and Stacker showed up with one less Warthog and one more Spartan.

It was damn good luck running into him, what are the odds of that? Ben thought.

The Master Chief didn't say anything further during the jog, but given that Stacker didn't comment on it, Ben assumed that was usual for him. It was still a bit strange to not even know the man's name, and when Ben tried to look for his IFF Tag, he found that the Master Chief had it disabled.

The Marines had their IFFs off as well. Ben remembered. Although he was curious, he kept quiet, there would be time to ask questions once they made it to relative safety.

Finally, the trio arrived back at the base of the hill and rejoined the rest of their squads. The Marines and ODSTs had dug a series of foxholes to form a better perimeter, but it was far from a solid defense. Jorge came forward to speak to them, but as soon as he saw the Master Chief, he froze like a deer in the headlights of a speeding Warthog. Ben turned to look at the Master Chief, only to see that he had a similar reaction.

Silently, they stared at one another for several seconds before Jorge broke the silence, speaking with a softness that took Ben completely off guard. "...John?"

"Jorge." The Master Chief, or John, replied in kind. "I was told that you died when Reach fell."

Jorge's posture shifted subtly, laden almost with a kind of guilt. "Believe me, I don't blame you for thinking I was. It's… well, a long story. You aren't going to believe a thing that I have to say."

John gently nodded, before bringing two of his fingers up to his face and swiping them across his visor. It was an old gesture that dated back to the earliest Spartans; the "Spartan Smile" was used in lieu of most exclamations of any major emotion. Jorge returned the gesture, and even though the exchange was totally wordless, Ben understood it all perfectly.

I'm glad you're still alive.

You too.

That gesture was also the final piece of evidence needed for the realization to click in Ben's mind. John wasn't a Spartan III like himself or the rest of Gamma Company, he was a Spartan II, and not only that, but he had been the leader of the Spartan IIs during the war, including Jorge. Ben remembered more than a few classes from his training that had been focused specifically on this very man, and by some strange cosmic coincidence, he had somehow ended up in the same time and place as Onyx Team.

Before any further time could be wasted, John broke the silence. "We'll get a chance for reunions later. We can't stay here, the Banished will send reinforcements."

Jorge nodded. "We'll get the wounded ready to move. If you know about anywhere that we could go, that would be grand."

"Not on this part of the Ring." John answered.

"Pardon me Lieutenant, but what about the wreckage of the UNSC Hamburg?" Curie suggested.

It was the first time since they had met John that she was using Ben's helmet speakers to talk to the rest of the squad, and John's reaction was both immediate and completely unexpected.

As soon as he heard Curie speak, he raised his Sniper Rifle and looked around as if he had been caught within a masterful ambush. After only a few moments, he must have deduced that Curie had spoken through Ben's armor, and so he fixed his gaze squarely at Ben.

Even through the Spartan's golden visor, Ben could almost sense John staring him down, eyes narrowed in suspicion and hostility, as if Ben was a pit viper that had been ready to strike him in the back a moment prior. Despite his sudden change in attitude, John lowered his Sniper Rifle back down to a resting position, but Ben could tell from just John's posture that he was ready to use it at a moment's notice.

"Sergeant." John stated, the earlier warmth and relief in his voice now gone. In its place was a cold and clear suspicion. "Why didn't you mention the AI?"

Even though Ben actually stood a few centimeters over John, he was not ashamed to admit that he was feeling at least a little bit intimidated. He was used to facing down his enemies in battle, but not his superiors. "I didn't believe that was important, Master Chief."

There was an awful, silent pause as John thought over Ben's words, no doubt pondering as to whether or not Ben could be trusted. Beside them both, Jorge watched with equal confusion. Some of the Marines were now also watching, and Ben could hear more than a few snide remarks from Yu and Nathan about who would win in a fight.

I wish they would take this seriously, there could be something dangerous happening. Ben thought. Even if he didn't understand exactly what had caused John to suddenly view him with suspicion, he knew that it would take an awful lot to drive a Spartan as careered as the Master Chief to such paranoia.

"...Is something wrong?" Jorge asked, clearly in an attempt to diffuse the situation. John didn't respond, so Jorge prompted him again. "John. Talk to me, what's going on?"

He answered Jorge without taking his eyes off of Ben or relaxing in the slightest. "That AI could have been taken over by Cortana. It could be a threat!"

Well that just raises more questions than it answers. Ben thought with no small degree of irritation. He knew that Curie didn't have a treasonous line of code within her, and hearing the almost angry tone of voice that John spoke with was deeply concerning. What the hell happened while we were gone? Was all of that stuff we read about an AI uprising actually real?

Thankfully, Jorge was quick to speak up. "I can confirm that whatever Cortana is, it hasn't gotten to Curie."

At his words, John relaxed just the slightest amount, so subtly that it might have honestly been unintentional on his part. He turned to face Jorge with absolute disbelief in his voice. "You don't know?"

"Apparently not." Jorge answered. "I don't suppose you'd mind filling us in?"

Only the Fall of Reach could match the horrible news that John shared. Earth and dozens of other worlds, Human and former-Covenant alike, had been subjugated by a corrupted AI named Cortana. She had access to an army of autonomous warships made by the same "Forerunners" who had constructed Zeta Halo, and they had utterly obliterated the vast majority of the UNSC, as well as tens of millions of civilians that were killed when life support systems were destroyed by the "Guardians".

Luna in particular was utterly annihilated, with survivors being counted in the double-digits. As if that wasn't bad enough, they had done nothing to stop the hundreds of powerless starships from falling like comets upon the worlds, killing even more people when they hit the ground with the force of MAC Strikes. By now, the rest of the Marines and Onyx Team had gathered around, listening to John speak with fixated horror.

"We were on the run before the Banished entered the scene." John finally concluded his explanation. "All surviving UNSC Forces were called here to defend Zeta Halo. One of their leaders, Escharum, led an assault and broke our defenses."

"My God…" Nathan muttered. All of his usual cheer was completely gone, suppressed by fear and anguish. "...we actually lost."

"Not yet!" John insisted with such stubbornness that Nathan straightened his posture back up on instinct alone. "There's enough of us still alive on this Ring to fight back. Once we finish off the Banished, we'll take the fight to Cortana."

Now aware of all that had happened, Ben understood John's fears perfectly. If a Human AI had somehow been turned into something that was not only capable of not only controlling an army of ancient war machines, but taking over other AIs… it was a terrifying prospect to say the least.

Suddenly, it seemed to be quite the blessing that he and his squad had been stuck on Remnant, as Curie would have likely joined the dead, probably along with himself. "Curie's not with Cortana, she's loyal."

John stared him down once again, but rather than the suspicion that his glare had carried earlier, not there was nothing but pity. "How can you be sure?"

"I would self-terminate long before I ever let myself be captured by the enemy, let alone collaborate with them!" Curie spoke up for herself.

Although John relaxed his posture somewhat, he still looked far from happy. "Cortana thought the same thing at one point, but her Rampancy changed that."

"She can't have been corrupted by Cortana, she hasn't even been in this Galaxy for the last eight years… none of us have" Jorge interjected. "It's a long story."

John gave Jorge one last glance of concern, but finally relented. "We can discuss this later, we need to get to cover."

"I still suggest the wreckage of the Hamburg." Curie said. "It has shelter, a functional Radar, water, weapons, and food."

John still looked more than a little uncomfortable, but he nodded regardless of what he must have been thinking. "Jorge, Stacker, what do you think?"

Stacker shrugged. "I'll take anything with a roof at this point, Chief."

"We already spent last night there, it should still be secure." Jorge added.

"Then it is settled." Curie stated. "I will mark the location on your HUDs. I suggest moving quickly, the Banished likely have reinforcements en-route as we speak."

Later

The wreckage of the UNSC Hamburg

Evening began to set in as the sun set over the distant side of the ring, obscured by thick rain clouds that conjured a surprisingly harsh thunderstorm. The evergreen trees blew in the wind and the dirt was turned to a thick mud. All the while, Banished warships loomed in the distance on the far side of the Ring, coordinating the operations of the alien menace.

I'm glad that we at least have a place to stay. Ben thought, peering through one of the external cameras on UNSC Hamburg's hull at the unpleasantness outside.

Now safely back to their temporary home and with some new allies, Onyx Team rested and relaxed for the first time in days. While Stacker, Jorge, and John discussed strategy, the rest of the Marines either took the opportunity to get some sleep, or gathered around a particular Marine to hear what he had to say.

Corporal Chips Dubbo sat atop a makeshift throne, made out of some foldable tables. Despite having been shot by a spiker earlier that day, he seemed to be in high spirits, although that didn't stop Curie from keeping a close eye on his vitals to make sure he didn't collapse. He was in the middle of telling the story of the Master Chief, which he was apparently a part of. His accent was strange, one that Ben had never heard before, but that Curie assured him was apparently normal.

"-and so I drove up to the Chief! My gunner was hit right, so he got off and Chief took the gun. We must've killed a whole damn Company of Armor out there, it was awesome!"

"Hold on just a minute Chips, where did all of this happen?" Nathan asked. The confused expression on his face was mirrored by the rest of Onyx Team, as while Chips was a very passionate storyteller, he tended to leave out a lot of important details.

"Oh, my bad! We were on the Ark! It's like uh, the remote control for all the Halo Rings, except it's big!" He gestured widely with his hands, flinching as he bothered his wound, but otherwise showing no sign of discomfort. "We didn't know that yet though, but that's what we were looking to find out! You see, the Covenant was guarding this thing, called a Cartographer-"

Chips kept telling the story, but Ben found his focus wandering once Curie started talking to him. "It is good to see everyone in high spirits, even if we did receive some hard news today."

Hard news indeed. Ben sadly thought. "We've taken hits before and kept fighting, this won't be any different."

"I hope you are correct." Curie said. "If nothing else, we have another Spartan now!"

Ben turned his gaze across the armory to look at John, the very same Master Chief that Chips Dubbo was so enthusiastically talking about, again. Everything that Ben had been taught about him during his training, as well as what he had learned more recently indicated that John was one of, if not the single best soldier that humanity had ever seen. He carried himself just like Jorge and Kurt had, an echo of their shared history.

I wonder how Kurt's doing. Ben thought, reminded of his old Instructor. With any luck, Delta Company should be in service by now. Or maybe he's working with those "Spartan IVs".

"I have been going over John's service record with some of my spare power, you would not believe half of this if I told you." Curie commented. "I will admit that his comments earlier did wound my pride somewhat, but after learning about what he has gone through… I find it hard to blame the man."

Ben felt himself tense up a little as he was reminded of the encounter. His instincts to stand beside Curie undeniably left him feeling a bit cold towards John, but at the same time, he also respected exactly why the soldier had reacted the way that he did. "He was just looking out for us, it wasn't personal."

"I know." Curie reassured him.

After a few more minutes of listening to Chip's story, John and Jorge walked over and gathered everybody around for a briefing.

"Marines, listen up." Stacker said. "The Master Chief needs us for a mission, and we're gonna help him! Take it away Chief."

Finally, we've got a goal. Ben thought. A steady objective would be a stark improvement to what they had been doing so far.

"Several days ago, surviving ONI elements managed to identify a hydroelectric dam that the Banished are using to fuel their ships." John stated. "Our mission is to destroy it, crippling their ability to respond to our movements."

What the hell is a hydroelectric dam doing on this Ring? Ben wondered. He spared the issue no further thought, as In spite of Zeta Halo's seemingly incoherent functions, it did at the very least obey the laws of physics, which was more than Remnant had ever done.

"The Banished have a number of assets in the area that we'll need to neutralize before we can attack the Dam itself." John continued. "Onyx Team has already identified an artillery battery near our current position, and I've spotted multiple patrols of heavy armor in this area. Expect heavy resistance, they aren't going to go down without a fight. Any questions?"

Yu immediately spoke up. "I've got one. How the hell are we going to take on enemy armor with one rocket and a couple of M41s with maybe a thousand rounds between them? Even you Spartans can't take on firepower like that!"

A valid question, even if she might be wrong about that last part. Ben thought, remembering a handful of reports from the Fall of Reach regarding a team of Spartan IIs who had engaged a division of Wraiths in melee combat and somehow managed to not only survive, but inflict heavy enemy casualties.

"The Banished have been salvaging UNSC Arms for months, the odds are good that we'll come across something that they've stolen. If not, we can always use their weapons." John answered. He gestured at the Skewer Anti-Tank Rifle propped up on the wall next to Ben, a reminder that the ragtag UNSC force had a little more firepower than Yu was acknowledging. "Anything else?"

Nathan spoke up next. "Is it just us? Isn't there anybody else on this Halo who could help?"

"Not on this part of the Ring, and even then, they wouldn't arrive soon enough." John explained. "We need to strike quickly, before the Banished find out where we're hiding. Next question."

This time, Ben spoke up. "When do we set out?"

"Tomorrow, at sunrise." John answered. "If that's all, you should all try to get some rest, you're going to need it. "

Later the next day

Zeta Halo

The morning had brought about two realizations for the isolated band of UNSC forces. The first was that the thunderstorm had gone on through the night, only letting up just as the sun began to rise. The result was everything that wasn't sheltered being covered with layers of thick, slimy mud, which would inevitably slow them down somewhat.

The second realization came in the form of an issue with the chain of command. Technically, as a Second Lieutenant, Jorge was the ranking officer amongst them all, but his rank had been granted during emergency circumstances aboard the Dominion, and by another technicality, John had command. In the end, the issue was swiftly rendered inconsequential as Jorge immediately relinquished command to the Master Chief, a clear demonstration of Jorge's faith in the man.

Once those issues were resolved, all of the able-bodied Marines and Spartans set forth through the mud. The wounded would be all but defenseless in the carcass of the Hamburg, but leaving them behind still gave them better odds of survival than bringing them along.

Progress was slow and exhausting, as the already rough terrain was turned into a nigh-impenetrable muck. The beautiful landscapes and awe-inspiring views were of small comfort to the Marines, who were at times up to their thighs in mud and slime.

"If I were to hazard a guess, I would assume that the damage to the Ring is causing the artificial weather systems to malfunction." Curie mentioned as Ben dug his foot out of yet another sudden depression in the ground beneath the mud.

"Huh, maybe a little tape will do it?" Nathan sarcastically remarked from somewhere behind Ben. All around them, shattered segments of Zeta Halo lingered in the vast blackness of space, bound to the rest of the Ring only by strange Hardlight structures.

"Nathan, I think this is a bit beyond our ability to fix." Meadows pointed out.

"I am afraid it is." Curie reported. "If it is of any comfort to you, know that the Banished are forced to confront this issue as well."

Nathan chuckled. "You know, that does actually make me feel a bit better. At least we don't have fur to get all of this shit stuck too."

"Heh, I guess you're right, thanks Curie." Yu commented with a similar sense of sadistic satisfaction.

Towards the front of their formation, John raised his fist and sent a red status light to the HUD of everyone in the squad. It was a silent message, but one that was crystal clear to all of Onyx Team; The enemy is in sight.

Answering the unspoken command, Ben and his squadmates went silent and lowered themselves to the ground as much as possible. Due to the depth of the mud, some of the Marines were unable to properly crouch, but with the added concealment of the pine forest around them, they would certainly be hard to spot.

"Jorge, Ben, Nathan, take up positions next to me." John ordered over TeamCom.

As soon as Ben took up a position next to the Master Chief, he could see the Banished position, although it wasn't as if they were trying to hide it. A circle of metal-plated red and grey huts surrounded the ashen remains of what had once been a roaring bonfire, but now only served as a reminder of the terrible rainfall that had smothered it.

Amidst the camp were the soldiers of the Banished, dozens of them. Grunts, Jackals, Brutes, Elites, Drones, and even a pair of Hunters milled about the camp, all performing their daily tasks. Grunts exchanged methane tanks, Brutes polished and sharpened their blades, and a number of refreshingly dim-witted Jackal Snipers kept watch, failing to notice the group of Humans watching them from less than a kilometer away.

"Argh… Where the hell did these guys come from?!" Nathan grumbled as he examined the camp through his riflescope. "This valley was empty not even a day ago!"

"It's a staging ground. They've moved here to hunt us down." John stated as if it were an obvious fact. Although given the evidence before them, Ben was inclined to agree.

I guess we pissed them off yesterday. He thought, remembering the numerous Banished vehicles that they had destroyed, along with their occupants.

"If they're here looking for us, they'll find the wounded." Jorge pointed out. "We need to take them out."

John silently observed the enemy for a moment longer, probably thinking up a plan of attack or trying to predict what the Banished would do. "...Agreed. Jorge, take your team, hug the hills to the right, close to six-hundred meters and dig in. Stacker, you and I will take the Marines around the left and do the same."

It was a relatively simple, but effective plan. The Banished would be left surrounded, at a height disadvantage, and any retreat or counterattack up the hills would be hampered by the mud. If both teams were able to remain undetected as they got into position, there was even the chance that they could catch the Banished off-guard.

With little in the way of further discussion, Ben followed the rest of his squadmates as they crept through the trees towards their assigned positions. Curie managed to find them a good position between a pair of large boulders with plenty of cover, and despite the slippery mud, they managed to keep quiet. All the while, the sounds of aliens speaking to one another could be heard in the camp below.

The first gunshot rang out without any warning, the sound of a Sniper Rifle echoed through the whole valley, and for a moment, Ben wondered if it had been a horrible misfire on the part of Nathan or one of the Marines. As it turned out, the truth was somehow even worse, as Ben watched the status monitor subtract one of the Marines from the Master Chief's squad. Across the Valley, Ben could just about see several of the other Marines drag their wounded comrade into cover.

"Jackal Sniper!" Jorge warned. "Weapons free!"

All hell broke loose as the Banished, who had been largely unprepared for their own sniper to open fire, leapt into action as Onyx Team and John's squad unleashed a whirlwind of fire upon the camp. The Jackal Sniper who was responsible for the fight was decapitated outright by Nathan, even as Ben was firing several rounds from his Particle Carbine into the creature.

Despite being caught off guard, the Banished responded exactly as they should have. Ben swiftly found the number of opportune targets dropping as the aliens made their way to cover and began to return fire. Needler shards and bolts of plasma began to land all around Onyx Team, accompanied by bullets fired by captured UNSC weapons.

"Watch the Hunters!" Curie shouted in warning. Moments later, a round from a fuel rod cannon landed not even ten meters down the hill from Ben's position, creating a volcano of radioactive mud that momentarily blinded the entire squad. When the wall of mud came down, Ben spotted both Hunters beginning to climb up the hill beside one another, their shields raised and fuel rod cannons already recharging.

"I've got him!" Yu shouted as she brandished her rocket launcher.

Moments later, Onyx Team's final missile streaked through the air, slamming into the shield of the First Hunter and tearing it's arm from its body.

"Ben, the Skewer!" Curie suggested.

He wordlessly complied, drawing the anti-tank rifle and taking aim at the wounded Hunter. It was cumbersome, and the scratch-made targeting reticle that Curie had made wasn't necessarily the best, but it was good enough. He pulled the trigger as soon as he had his target acquired, and the results were devastating.

The Skewer's bolt struck the Hunter's midsection, tearing through the clusters of dense alien worms like a comet through damp paper. Chunks of the creature's armor were violently and savagely torn from its body, often with some of the worms, or at least parts of them, still attached. Whatever was left fell to the ground in a heap, no longer a threat to anybody.

Woah. He thought, momentarily stunned by how ruthlessly the Hunter had been torn apart.

The chaos of battle quickly brought him back to the present, and once he had reloaded another bolt, he took aim at the second Hunter and fired. The bolt embedded itself in the Hunter's shield, and presumably it's arm, judging by the way that it roared in pain. Undeterred, the alien took aim with it's own anti-tank weapon and fired.

Seeing as the fuel rod was aimed directly at him, and that he would not have the time to get out of the way, Ben deployed his drop shield in an effort to absorb the blast. With milliseconds to spare, the protective blue bubble came into existence around him, and was immediately pounded into nought but thermal energy by the detonation of the fuel rod against it. What was left of the force and the fireball took its toll on his armor's shields, and he was nearly blown off of his feet outright.

"Ben, get back!" Curie shouted.

Plasma and gunfire stripped away the last of his shields as he literally fell backwards into deeper cover, landing in a muddy ditch that offered a modicum of protection from the hellstorm roaring over his head. Although he couldn't feel any serious injuries, he was disoriented, perhaps even concussed.

"Status?" Ben asked. Curie would have a far better read on whether or not something was wrong than him.

"Nothing is broken, but you cannot do that again. Stay down and let your shields recharge." Curie instructed him. "Master Chief, our team is taking heavy fire from a Hunter. You should be able to see the gap in its armor."

John said nothing, but pinged his status light with an amber signal, a silent way to say "hang on a moment". Sure enough, several seconds later, and a quartet of sniper shots rang out in rapid succession. "It's dead."

Sticking his head out of cover, Ben was relieved to see that the Hunter had been reduced to a similarly maimed state as it's bond brother. Now free to open fire once again, he took aim at a Brute clad in heavy red armor, blowing a fist-sized hole through and generating an ugly red spray through the air.

"Jesus Christ Ben, you wanna trade?" Nathan asked in such a manner that Ben wasn't quite able to tell if he was joking or not.

"Maybe later." Ben replied as he reloaded. His next shot struck a Jackal Sniper through the neck, pinning it to the wall of the watchtower that it had been occupying.

As more and more of the Banished began to die, so too did their ability to fight back. After what must have been at least half an hour of fighting, the last of the aliens attempted to break out of the pincer they had been caught in, but were cut down as soon as they left cover.

Cautiously, the Master Chief and Onyx Team climbed down the hill to the campsite and searched for any remaining hostiles, with the Marines remaining on the hill to provide overwatch. A thorough sweep of the camp confirmed that every last alien who had been present was now dead.

"Clear!" John finally declared. "Curie, radio Sergeant Stacker and tell him to get his squad down here. Onyx, fan out and see what you can find, scavenge whatever looks useful."

"Aye Aye, Master Chief." Curie replied. Similar conformations rang out from the rest of Onyx Team.

Ben followed Meadows and Nathan into one of the metal huts, which had apparently been some kind of Banished tinkering shop. Inside were weapons and armors that he had never seen before, accompanied by stolen UNSC gear and old Covenant equipment. The three of them began to pick through the equipment, searching for anything that was usable.

"You know, as bad as all this is, I still say it could be worse." Meadows remarked as he dug what must have been some kind of updated Battle Rifle out of the pile. "I mean, look at this thing! It's light as hell too…"

"Eh, speak for yourself, I'm not too fond of sleeping upside-down and getting chased across a giant donut by killer apes." Nathan replied.

Ben remained silent as he searched, but as he dug through piles of spare parts and destroyed equipment, Curie suddenly spoke up. "Wait, what's that?"

Once she interrupted, Ben immediately noticed what had caught Curie's eye. He pushed aside a wealth of scrap and dug a seemingly insubstantial flat piece of titanium from the pile. It was familiar, far too familiar, and just the implications of it being in a box of Banished war trophies was enough to make his blood boil.

"Hey, Ben, what did you find?" Nathan asked, apparently having noticed the sudden increase in the urgency of Ben's search. Meadows noticed too, and the two Helljumpers walked over to him and examined what he was holding.

"...It's an armor plate, for Mjolnir." Ben replied.

Nathan and Meadows exchanged an awkward glance at one another before Meadows spoke up. "Like… yours?"

"Yeah, like mine." Ben hollowly answered.

"You mean… holy shit, these guys killed a Spartan?" Nathan asked, his voice filled with a mix of awe and fear. "Son of a bitch…"

"We do not know that." Curie interjected. "It is possible that whoever was wearing this was able to escape."

This plasma scoring says otherwise… Ben sadly thought, but he kept his mouth shut. If Curie wanted to try and reassure the others, he wasn't going to stop her.

Wordlessly, he placed the armor plate to one side, he would certainly be taking it along with them when it was time to leave. A brief search of the rest of the scrap revealed no further Mjolnir components, which was somewhat of a relief, but also raised the uncomfortable question.

Where did the others go?

To be continued...