Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my remastered Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover. Thank you all for your patience thus far. I greatly appreciate it, and any feedback that you give.

Just so you know, an update for my Halo/Star Wars crossover is in the works. I expect that it will be done soon, and that you'll get to see Fire Team Osiris wiping the floor with the Empire once more. It's always enjoyable to see those Imperials get their just desserts.

Also, I have a poll going on my profile. If you want to vote for a choice of crossover, go ahead and do so. Your choices determine the next story that I will be writing.

As always, leave a review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or MechWarrior/BattleTech franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, Piranha Games Inc, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.

Seeker of Truth

Near Installation 04 Ruins

September 21st, 2552

For the first time in his life, Thel 'Vadamee, the Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice, Kaidon of 'Vadam Keep, and a high ranking Zealot in the Covenant, was silent. Both of his amber colored eyes were focused directly on Halo, or rather the fragments that were now silently spinning away from each other. The crew on the bridge of the Seeker of Truth was silent, as they too bore witness to the destruction of a holy artifact.

How…?, Thel thought, despair and shock racing through his mind like a hurricane. How could I have failed so miserably? How could we have failed when we had the means by which to defeat them?

A moment later, that despair and shock was replaced with an infenro of pure, unadulterated rage. Both of his hands clenched into a fist as he realized the main source of his failure. That gods damned Prophet of Stewardship, he roared in his mind. He prevented me from using my forces to the best of my ability, and even attempted to subvert me! I will have that heretic's head for what he did!

Roaring, he practically leaped up from his command chair and marched over to a console. His vision turned red as he threw the Sangheili at the console violently aside. His Energy Sword was in his hand before he knew it, slashing wildly at the console.

After a good twenty seconds of cutting and destroying the console, his rage began to subside. Breathing in and out, he deactivated his Energy Sword and placed it on his utility belt, a deep sigh emanating from his mouth as he sat down in the chair behind him, both hands slipping over his eyes as his rage finally cooled down.

Breathing in and out, he knew what he had to do. I will have the minor Prophet arrested on charges of treason and heresy. Despite my best efforts, his actions resulted in the failure to destroy the Humans, as well as the destruction of a holy artifact.

Nevertheless, I too, am to blame for this travesty, though it is not completely my fault. The Flood constituted a threat against my fleet that I had to counter, and the Prophet's meddling only made my efforts far more difficult. When we return to High Charity, I will ask that I be placed under house arrest, along with the Prophet that caused our operation to fail.

Sighing, he got up from the chair he was at. Motioning to a Huragok, he said, "Fix this, please. I must see to the infirmary." With that, he left for the infirmary, while the Huragok went to work repairing the practically destroyed console.

As he traveled to the infirmary via the numerous mass transportation lifts and bridges, he began to think about what had happened recently. During the planning to take the Ascendant Justice, the minor Prophet's flagship, he had been alerted to an attack on the Infinite Succor. To determine what had happened, he had sent R'tas 'Vadumee and his sub-commander, Bero 'Kusovai, to the ship. He had recently gotten word that only Bero and R'tas had survived, and both had grievous injuries.

It took him about fifteen minutes to reach the infirmary, or as some called it, the apothecarium. Normally, Sangheili society found doctors to be a very low profession, as they spilled blood off the battlefield in their practice. Thel, however, was practical enough to know that refusing medical help when severely, or critically, injured was very stupid. As such, he had kept the apothecarium, despite the protests of traditionalists in his crew.

Now that he was here, he was glad he kept it in good condition and in full operation. As soon as he walked inside, he was greeted with the sight of a sterile white interior. Beds shaped for Sangheili physiology were accompanied by holographic vital sign readouts, along with cabinets and lockers filled with medical supplies. A few medical Huragok were present, in the event the patient's injuries were severe enough that they warranted immediate care.

In this case, the medical Huragok were very busy indeed, as they were tending to the two sole survivors of the Infinite Succor operation. The first was R'tas 'Vadumee, and he was in a bad way. Looking at his long time friend, Thel found that R'tas had a massive gash on his right arm, and that two of his mandibles had been severed, likely from an Energy Sword. A vital readout showed that some of his bones had been bruised, and he had cracked ribs.

Bero, however, was the worst off of the two. The unconscious Sangheili looked emaciated, as though he'd been starved of food, as his ribs and bones were plainly visible against his scaly skin, which appeared pale and sickly. The young Sangheili swordsman had a mechanical contraption implanted onto his chest, with a tube that was pumping out what appeared to be puss. A sterile energy field that levitated him enveloped him, while medical Huragok floated around him, frantically working to keep him alive.

What had Thel's attention, however, was the state of Bero's body. The Sangheili, from the looks of it, had been severely mutated. Where there were fingernails once, there were now thick, long claws that were ivory white. Similar protrusions were present on the elbows, while a long line of spines now grew from the Sangheili's back. Looking towards the head, Thel was surprised to see a pair of white horns that grew out of the back of Bero's head, with those horns curving down towards his back. He also had, again to his surprise, a long, muscular tail now.

By the gods, what happened to him, Thel asked, shocked and horrified by what he was seeing. Hearing a sound, he watched as R'tas sat up, only to be pushed back down onto the cot he was on. Walking over, Thel asked, "What happened?"

"We were attacked by the Parasite onboard the Infinite Succor," R'tas replied, his breathing shallow as he did what he could to prevent further injury to his lungs. "The crew was infected with the Parasite, as was the Minister of Etiology. We were able to destroy the ship by flying it into the Sun, but most of my men were killed and infected in the process."

"What about Bero? What happened to him?"

"He was infected," R'tas explained. "The Parasite had full control over him, but… something happened."

"Explain."

"I had allowed him to slip past my guard so that I could deliver the killing blow, but then he staggered back. He began screaming, as though he was being ripped apart limb to limb, while staggering backward as though he was drunk. A moment later, he was tearing the small Parasite in his chest out, while screaming incoherently. At the same time, he was mutating, changing into what you saw when you came in.

"In the end, he tore the creature out of his chest. Once I programmed the ship to fly into the Sun, we both left. He only had enough strength to reach the Phantom, then he collapsed insensate. He has been like that since. The medical Huragok think that he is in some kind of a coma or trance. He won't respond to anyone speaking to him, but they know that he's alive."

That had Thel's full attention. He knew of the Parasite's capabilities, but even this was beyond his current comprehension. "Are you saying that Bero withstood the Parasite?"

"Yes," R'tas replied, wincing as his ribs protested their treatment. "I know it sounds strange, but that is the only explanation that makes sense. How else would he be still alive?"

Once put that way, those questions made sense. Looking at Bero's unconscious form, Thel could only wonder at what had conspired to bring this about. He must have been incredibly strong willed to have resisted the Parasite, Thel decided. A lesser being would've been utterly consumed. How he did it, I don't know, and I don't know if I will ever know.

Still, as Ship Master of the Seeker of Truth, and Fleet Master of the Fleet of Particular Justice, he had a duty to protect his crew. Walking over to one of the medical Huragok, he asked, "Is he a threat to the ship?"

A moment later, a line of text came up on his HUD. "No. The patient is not actively emitting Flood spores, nor is his body producing any. Scans have revealed that his body is free of Flood contamination. His DNA, however, has been radically altered and changed."

"How so?"

"Numerous superfluous genetic sequences have activated. In addition, many of his genes have been enhanced and refined. This has led to major, and minor, physiological changes. His current psychological state, however, is unknown."

"I see," Thel nodded, relieved that Bero wasn't a threat to the crew. After a few moments of thinking, he said, "Keep him under observation and restrained. I do not want him to harm the crew if he has a mental breakdown, which is certain given what he has suffered thus far. Do what you can for him."

As he turned to leave, R'tas asked, "Fleet Master, what has happened? The entire crew appears to be heavy hearted. Is something wrong?"

"Yes," Thel replied sadly. "The unthinkable has happened: Halo, the holy ring created by the gods, has been destroyed."

The apothecarium was silent for a full minute as R'tas processed what he had just learned. His mandibles contorted into an expression of grief as he bent over, tears streaming from his eyes. "H-how?" he asked, his breath coming in halting gasps.

"The Humans destroyed it," Thel continued. "Were it not for the minor Prophet's meddling, and the Flood's interference, we would've destroyed them. Unfortunately, those two obstacles conspired against us, despite my best efforts."

R'tas was silent again, before his hands clenched in rage. "That gods dammed Prophet of Stewardship!" he roared, regretting it as his ribs flared up again. "Were it not for his interference, you would have succeeded in destroying the Humans and preserving Halo!" Looking at Thel, he said, "Fleet Master, if you need me to do so, I will arrest that heretic and bring him to answer for his heresy! In addition to this, I will testify against him when the High Council convenes! He will not escape punishment for his crimes!"

He was about to get up again when Thel pushed him back into his cot. "No, R'tas," Thel replied. "I will have another Zealot lead the effort to arrest the minor Prophet. You are too injured to continue fighting, as is Bero. Still, it warms my heart to know that you will defend me to the end, friend. Rest for now, friend. We will see to it that the heretic is brought to justice." With that, Thel left the apothecarium for the bridge. He had a heretic to arrest… and a penance to fulfill.

. . .

Onboard the SLS Farragut, Captain Michael Anders had to admit, Chief had done a fine piece of work. When he'd arrived in the star system, he had spotted a number of DropShips that were fleeing for his own, most likely escaping Halo for some unknown reason. He wasn't worried about DropShip capacity, though; the Farragut had roughly twice as many ADC's as smaller ships, and most of them had been empty.

That was when he saw it: Halo's destruction. Sensor scans had spotted a single Longsword fighter carrying three people fleeing from the ring. He had been about to contact the fighter when a flash of light had drawn his attention. Now that the ring was fragmenting into almost two dozen pieces, he knew what that flash was.

Damn, he thought as the ring continued to fly apart. Chief, you make for an excellent demolition expert. Now that I know what Halo was containing, thanks to Colonel O'Donnell, I'm glad that they destroyed Halo. The Flood was too great of a risk, that and we needed to defeat the Covenant.

Still, the implications of this success are staggering. The Covenant's resolve will falter, but only temporarily. If history teaches us anything, it's that if you defeat radical religious terrorists, they'll come back at you twice as fanatical and twice as strong. We need to show a strong defense once the Covenant retaliates.

His train of thought was interrupted when one of the bridge officers said, "Captain, the Longsword fighter we detected is on an intercept course with us. ETA is ten mikes and counting down. Orders?"

"Continue to monitor the fighter," Anders replied. Turning towards the holotank in the bridge, he asked, "Poseidon, do you have a scan of the fighter itself."

"Yes," the AI of the WarShip replied. "Scans indicate three human life signs inside of the fighter. Database retrieval shows that the fighter is currently transporting Captain Jacob Keyes, Major Antonio Silva, and Master Chief Petty Officer Sierra-117."

Ah, yes. The people that O'Donnell told me about. "Contact them immediately."

"Aye, sir. MILCOM channel established. You have the line."

"Thank you, Poseidon," Anders nodded. Clearing his throat, he said, "Longsword fighter, this is Captain Anders of the SLS Farragut. Do you read me? Over."

A response came in immediately. "This is Captain Keyes. I read you five by five, Anders. I don't suppose you could give us a lift back home."

That elicited a chuckle from the Captain. "As a matter of fact, we can. We just saw your handiwork when it comes to Halo. Excellent work. If the Covenant had been allowed to remain in possession of Halo, they could've used it to destroy all life in the galaxy in their mad, religious beliefs. You are certainly due for a promotion, though the UNSC will decide if that is the case. You are welcome to come aboard."

"Affirmative, Captain," Keyes replied. "That would be a welcome relief. Keyes out."

"Anders out." Turning to one of his officers, he said, "I want a hangar bay ready for their arrival. Have decontamination teams ready ASAP. Once they are onboard, make sure the DropShips are attached to the hull and spool up the K-F Drive. We're going to Reach."

"Aye, Captain," came the reply.

. . .

Onboard the Longsword fighter, Chief expertly guided the vehicle towards the Farragut, which was now starting to loom off in the distance. It was the first time that he got to see the famed Vigilance-class of SLDF WarShips, and it was clear that the Star League built to both impress and last. The ship was massive, around the same size as the Punic-class Supercarriers the UNSC used. "That's a big ship," Cortana remarked. "Notice how similar it looks to the Punic-class."

"I do," Chief nodded. "I take it you also looked at the schematics at one point."

"Yep," Cortana replied. "There's only one way to describe the Vigilance-class: It's a Punic-class, only hopped up on steroids, genetically enhanced and put on the mother of all exercise programs. Our own Carriers couldn't hold a candle to the thing." Chief noded in agreement, even as he piloted the Longsword towards the gargantuan ship.

As the fighter approached, he heard a voice speaking over the COM. "SLS Farragut to inbound Longsword fighter. Approach and land in Hangar Bay Sigma 3. Decon teams are prepped and ready for your arrival. Over."

"Roger that," Keyes replied. Turning to Chief, he said, "Take us to Hangar Bay Sigma 3. They'll be sending us a flight path shortly." True to form, Chief spotted a series of nav-points that led to the hangar bay in question.

Easing his hands onto the controls, he smoothly guided the vehicle into the hangar bay, slowing down safely as he did so. Flipping a few switches, he rotated the fighter around before gently settling it down onto the deck of the hangar bay. Almost immediately, decontamination teams went to work scanning for even the remotest signs of Flood infestation. Outside, Chief could see scaled up versions of the UNSC's sterile field generators being deployed outside the fighter.

Getting up, he deployed the hatch, allowing more decontamination personnel wearing heavy duty HAZMAT suits to walk inside. "Chief, Keyes, Silva," one of the team leaders asked, "I need you to come with me. We have to scan you for any signs of Flood contamination. Standard protocol for operations in hazardous zones."

"Understandable," Keyes replied. "Chief, Silva, you heard the man." Nodding, Chief and the others proceeded out. They were led to an isolation chamber that had been set up in the hangar bay for that specific purpose. Walking inside, the three men watched as the airtight door was sealed shut.

Over the next two hours, as the other DropShips docked and the K-F Drive charged up, Chief and the others were subjected to a rigorous inspection by the Decon teams onboard the Farragut, Uniforms, armor, weapons and other bits and pieces of gear were thoroughly scanned and checked for any Flood contamination. Any that was found was destroyed using powerful chemical and radiological sterilizers, while personnel went inside the isolation chamber and used powerful, but safe, antiseptics to ensure that the trio were fully clean.

Two hours later, the men were handed their uniforms and gear back, fully sterilized and good to go. "Good news, gentlemen," the Decon Team leader informed them. "We did a thorough check for Flood contamination. Some of your equipment was contaminated, but we performed extremely thorough sterilization procedures. As for you, gentlemen, we found no trace of Flood contamination. In short, you're free to go. My apologies if we delayed you."

"None required," Keyes replied. "The Captain was concerned about the possibility of Flood contamination, and you were carrying out his orders to the letter. If I were him, I too would be worried as well. He did what I would've done myself. We'll head up to the bridge once we're fully dressed and ready."

"I'll inform the Captain. Have a pleasant day." With that, the Decon Team leader left, allowing Keyes and the others to get dressed and ready once more. Once they were, they exited the isolation chamber and left for the bridge.

Reaching the bridge, Keyes and the others found Captain Anders talking with bridge officers and other personnel that demanded his attention. Spotting Keyes, he said, "Captain Keyes, good to see you alive and well. My apologies for the delay. I didn't want to risk the Flood getting aboard my WarShip."

"No need to apologize," Keyes replied. "You were doing what you needed to do." Clearing his throat, he said, "What about the people onboard the DropShips?"

"They're undergoing decontamination as well, including the DropShips themselves," Anders replied. "We're taking no chances. Given how virulent the Flood is, I want to make absolutely certain that not a single Flood Spore makes it to reach. I don't want to imagine the carnage and chaos that would result if we got sloppy."

"Me neither. That being said, we were told that we were going on another mission. What would that mission be?"

"Chernenko will inform you over an FTL MILCOM channel. I am already opening up a link to the good Admiral himself. Standing by."

Moments later, Chernenko's voice came in over the communications frequency. "Captain Keyes," he began, "are you fairing well? From the sounds of things, you've had quite the adventure."

"Tell me about it," Keyes replied. "We had to deal with a weapon capable of causing a mass extinction event, as well as a alien race capable of doing the same. It's been a rough couple of days."

"I know. Captain Anders sent the data packet that Cortana gave O'Donnell to me. To be honest, the very mention of a parasitic species capable of assimilating all others is a chilling prospect. What's worse is that they might still be around, if there are more megastructures like Halo out there. That gives perspective on why the Forerunners built Halo: it was a final, last measure of defiance and desperation."

"I couldn't agree more. Sir, if I may, you said that you had a mission ready for us. I was wondering what mission this was."

"This is a high risk operation we're talking about," Chernenko agreed. Clearing his throat, he said, "As you know, we successfully prevented the Covenant from taking Reach, though it came at a high cost. Thousands of spacers are dead, and out of the hundred and twenty five ships I started the battle with, I've only got ninety five still fit for battle... five of those are of questionable value without more repairs and time to rebuild their crews out of survivors from the lost ships. Your fleet's losses are even worse.

"Still, the fleets gave as good as they got, and the UNSC certainly made things far easier for us. That being said, however, we have a new threat that might render all of their sacrifices a moot point. It's a threat we have to counteract now, if Humanity is to survive."

"We're ready to deal with it, sir," Keyes replied. "We might be tired and battered, but we're ready to give as good as we've got."

"Good," Chernenko nodded. "Now, this is where I need you to listen carefully. Shortly after the battle, we launched off a number of retrofitted UNSC probes to make sure no Covenant got past us. What we found was nothing short of… disturbing."

"How so?"

"We found a massive Covenant fleet in orbit around Tau Ceti IV, along with a command and control space station. We're sending a video recording the probe made before we retrieved it." Moments later, a video feed appeared on the MILCOM frequency.

Looking at the video feed, Keyes felt his heart sink in despair. The probe had made a gravitational slingshot around the planet in question, with the planet quickly moving past the probe. The video feed skipped to the 90 minute mark, where it showed exactly what Chernenko was talking about.

Floating in space around the planet, was a fleet of over five hundred Covenant WarShips, each one fully armed, armored and ready. Nearby, however, was a Covenant space station. It looked like a dumbbell from a gym, with two large, bulbous sections attached to each other by a spindly middle section, which had a large ring in the middle of that section. Compared to the destroyed Long Night of Solace, it was one and a half time as large. The probe made some scans, before it jumped back to friendly space using the K-F Drive it had been modified with.

When the feed ended, Keyes was silent for a full minute. "Fuck," he said under his breath. Looking up at Chenenko, he asked, "Why is this fleet here?"

"We have a potential answer, which is the only one given what we know," Chernenko replied. "We believe that his fleet is being made with the intent of invading Earth and wiping out the center of UNSC governance. If this fleet were to attack right now, Earth wouldn't stand a chance. All of our victories would be for nothing."

"Fuck," Keyes growled again, pacing back and forth as he rested his hands on his head. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Actually, yes," Chernenko nodded. "Vice Admiral Whitcomb has a potential solution." A moment later, he leaned out of frame and said, "Whitcomb?" Moments later, the legendary UNSC Vice Admiral came into view. "Would you kindly explain our plan to Keyes?"

"Ah, yes," Whitcomb nodded. "Our plan is to use a NOVA bomb to destroy the fleet that is building up at Tau Ceti IV."

"What's a NOVA bomb?" Keyes asked.

Instead of replying immediately, Whitcomb brought up a schematic. A moment later, he said, "This is the bomb that we've been working on even before the SLDF came along. It's a cluster of nukes, each with a lithium triteride casing. Now these things, in theory, when they detonate, not only do they make a big bang like you expect a nuke to – they also force their tritium cases together into one big, superheated center. Boosts the yield a hundredfold."

"You don't mean," Keyes asked, then it hit him like a tsunami. The NOVA bomb was a planet killer. "You made a bomb that's a planet killer!"

"Exactly," Whitcomb nodded. "We made these things to level the playing field in space, which is why this is the perfect mission to use the bomb. If a well placed NOVA bomb goes off in the middle of that Covenant fleet, then the current threat against Earth would be utterly annihilated."

"Whitcomb, this is the single riskiest plan I've heard of," Keyes replied, "but it's also the only one that has a chance of working."

"That's exactly what I said," Chernenko added. "This nuclear weapon makes the nukes used by the Great Houses in the Age of War look like popguns. Either way, this is our best chance to stop the Covenant.

"As such, this is our plan. Our current mission is to sneak one of these NOVA bombs onto the Covenant space station, which Xhov says is called the Unyielding Heirophant. One of his sleeper agents was able to get us the schematics for the station, so we know where to put the bomb." Pulling up the schematics for the Unyielding Heirophant, he said, "According to the schematics, the Unyielding Heirophant is powered by two pinch fusion reactors located in each of the 'dumbbells' on either end of the station.

"As such, this is our plan. We're going to use a Phantom that we stole during the Battle of Reach to transport the nuke onboard. Once the Phantom's docked to the space station, we will place the nuke inside of one of these pinch fusion reactors. To avoid suspicion, we've disguised the nuke as a cargo container holding maintenance equipment for the fusion reactors.

"Once the bomb's been placed, we'll evacuate from the station after placing it on a timer. According to AI projections, the blast will consume the entirety of the enemy fleet, and eliminate the threat. Tau Ceti IV, though, will be rendered uninhabitable for thousands of years. Still, it's a small price to pay when staving off extinction."

Keyes nodded. As unsavory as it was to use a weapon of this magnitude, he knew that it was preferable to extinction. "I see," he nodded. After a few seconds, he asked, "When do we get started?"

"As soon as you arrive in-system," Chernenko replied. "We'll load the weapon up into the Phantom and transport it into the system using the Farragut. Once you've got the bomb planted, you'll return to the Farragut and head for the planet Earth. Dismissed." With that, the MILCOM link cut out.

"Sounds like we've got our work cut out for us," Cortana mused.

"That we have," Keyes nodded. Turning to Chief, he said, "Chief, get some rest. Once we arrive at Reach, things are going to be much more difficult."