Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my remastered Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover. Thank you for your support thus far. I greatly appreciate the feedback that I'm getting.

Axccel: I appreciate your feedback and concerns. They've helped me find errors in my writing. Still, I'm more than willing to talk with you over the PM system if you're willing. I'm eager to discuss some of what you've shared with me so far.

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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.

SLS Farragut

Installation 04 Ruins

September 21st, 2552

While Chief and Keyes were on the bridge, Private Jenkins was wandering around the interior of one of the Leopard DropShips that had been brought with the Autumn. His mind was abuzz as he wandered restlessly through the corridors of the ship. Probably one of the reasons why I couldn't sleep very well, he thought as he sat down, rubbing his tired facial features. Too much going through my mind at once.

He shuddered as he remembered their encounter with the Flood on what was left of Halo. The one thing that kept him up, however, were the nightmares that he was getting now. He shuddered as he remembered some of the worst ones, the ones that involved him becoming infected. I don't want to imagine what would've happened if one of those bastards got their hands on me.

Getting up, he walked by the crew quarters when he thought he noticed that someone was still up. Walking inside, he found one of the Marines he worked with, Mendoza, looking at a photograph of someone. Apparently, he was having just as hard a time as Jenkins was when it came to sleep. Walking over, he sat down next to Mendoza, who jumped slightly from his approach. "You OK?" he asked.

"Yes," Mendoza replied, not turning his gaze from the photograph, which was that of a young woman in her mid twenties. When Jenkins didn't stop looking at him, he sighed and said, "No. I can't get those nightmares out of my head."

"What nightmares?"

"The ones involving me becoming infected by the Flood. I can't get the images out of my head, no matter how hard I try. The worst ones had me waking up a few minutes ago, sweating buckets in my cot and shaking like a leaf in the wind. I don't want to…" The man's head bowed a few moments later, and Jenkins thought he saw tears streaming down Mendoza's face.

Instead of leaving the man in peace, he moved over and wrapped an arm around the man's back, squeezing his shoulders comfortingly. "If it's of any comfort, I'm having those nightmares as well," he said to the distraught Marine. "I'm also having trouble sleeping, but it's OK to be afraid. All soldiers are afraid of what might happen to them; it's what we do about it that makes the difference."

"Like what you did down in that facility, when we ran into those things the first time?"

"Yes. I didn't let fear overwhelm me and turn me into a shaking, gibbering mess of my former self. All that training and the will to survive pulled me through. Yes, I was screaming while blasting the fucker to pieces, but what do you expect? That was the first time I ran into one of those things, the first time any of us did. Now that we know we can kill them, they're not so frightening anymore. Besides, we blew their asses into space dust. If we can do that to them, then we don't need to fear them, only respect them."

The words seemed to have the intended effect on Mendoza, as he put the photo away and wiped his face off. Turning to Jenkins, he said, "Thanks, Jenkins. I guess I just needed some company from someone."

"Don't mention it. It's the least I could do. The most we can do is end this fucking war and make the Covenant so afraid of us that they'll never attack us again. With the Star League Defense Force, we have a chance to make that happen. Still, they wouldn't have gotten this far without our help."

"That's true. Without access to our resources, the fleet that's with us would've run out of fuel, personnel and supplies a long time ago. Anyways, I've got to get some more sleep. You should as well. See you around, Jenkins."

"You too," Jenkins beamed. With that, Mendoza returned to his bunk and lay down, with Jenkins doing the same. The nightmares came, but they weren't so frightening anymore.

. . .

The K-F Drive for the Farragut didn't take long to fully charge up, with the capacitor core gaining enough energy to enable a 1200ly jump through space and time. For Chief, this was the first time that he would be experiencing the mode of FTL flight that the Inner Sphere, and Star League, used all the time. He'd heard rumors that it was instantaneous, with the user only experiencing a few physical sensations before being returned to normal space-time. He didn't care too much about what might happen.

Cortana, on the other hand, was extremely curious about how the K-F Drive operated. "I wonder what it'll be like," she asked Chief. "We know Slipstream Space quite well in that regard because we've used it all the time, and while the SLDF did give me a few hints, they mostly left me in the dark about that."

"What did you learn," Chief asked, his curiosity piqued for the first time.

"Only it's history," Cortana replied. "I have to admit, Dr. Thomas Kearny and Takayoshi Fuchida were well ahead of their times. If they were in the UNSC, their work would've been hailed as the greatest discovery of the 21st Century, or even in Human history. Instead, they got ridiculed and laughed at for their troubles."

"When did this change?"

"Around 2107 and 2108. They launched off a prototype K-F Drive and had it jump from Sol's Zenith point to it's Nadir point. The scientists said, and I quote, '… a little off target, but otherwise intact. Kearny and Fuchida should've lived to see the day. They repeated the test in 2108, only with an actual pilot, Raymond Bache."

"And?"

"He reported some nausea and mild discomfort, but that went away soon enough. The tests were so significant that Kearny and Fuchida were posthumously awarded the Nobel Prize for their outstanding work in Physics. In fact, the SLDF's FTL drive is named after those two, in honor of their achievements. Reminds me of something similar in our own FTL drive."

Chief nodded in agreement. The Slipstream Space Drive was named the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine in honor of Dr. Tobias Shaw and Dr. Wallace Fujikawa, though the two hadn't been ridiculed for their discovery of Slipstream Space and it's use as a method of FTL flight. Another difference between the SLDF and UNSC, he thought. That brought another question to his mind. "When did they begin exploring outside of the Sol system?"

"Around the year 2108, though they only got a colony up and running in 2115. If I'm guessing what you're getting at, that means they've been exploring space around 175 years longer than we have. Combined with how the K-F Drive works…"

"Their territory is larger than our own," Chief finished. It partially explained why the SLDF had so many resources and better WarShips. Still, he knew his first taste of K-F Drive travel would soon come.

Just as he finished his conversation with Cortana, the AI of the ship, Poseidon, began the jump announcement. "K-F Drive Jump in ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one!"

As soon as the AI said the word one, the K-F Drive activated. For a brief moment, Chief felt as though he was being compressed vertically, while being stretched in all horizontal directions at the exact same time. Then, just as quickly as it happened, the sensation stopped, with the ship exiting hyperspace seemingly instantly. At the same time the ship jumped, a blue-white glow completely filled the view ports, drowning out all color and detail in a brilliant flash of light.

Just as suddenly, that blue-white glow faded, allowing him to see outside of the WarShip once more. The first sight that greeted him was Reach's sun, Epsilon Eridani, with the star shining brightly into the bridge. Milliseconds later, the view ports polarized, stopping any chance of permanent eye damage.

Looking around, Chief found that Keyes was seemingly unaffected by the transition, with the Captain only rubbing his head before shaking it slightly. Not everyone was lucky, though, as one of the bridge officers grabbed a trash can and puked into it, loud gagging sounds coming from him as he vomited his breakfast into the can. Others were not as badly off, though it was clear that they were somewhat nauseated. Most, however, were unaffected by the jump.

Looking at where Poseidon would be, Chief asked, "Is this normal for some people?"

"Yes," the SLDF AI replied. "Some individuals suffer from what is known as Transit Disorientation Syndrome. Most suffer moderate nausea and malaise, though some will suffer severe nausea, epileptic seizures and other side effects, though those are a very small minority of all TDS cases. The treatment is usually rest for a few days, as well as adequate nutrition and hydration. All case studies have shown that no one has died from TDS."

I see, Chief thought. If we ever do gain access to K-F Drive travel, we'll need to take that into account. He was about to ask some more questions when the ship shuddered once more. This time, the view outside shifted, with Epsilon Eridani rapidly shrinking off into the distance, while Reach loomed closer and closer. Within three minutes, they had arrived in orbit around Reach.

The moment he saw Reach, Chief could tell that the planet had seen better days, though it was clear that the Covenant hadn't been able to do much to the planet. The planet still looked as vibrant and alive as ever, with the only exception being a small splotch that looked liked it had been glassed. He could still clearly see New Alexandria, and it was clear that the city seemed mostly intact.

What had his attention, however, was the massive debris field that now orbited Reach. Large swaths of debris, from both UNSC and SLDF WarShips, filled a massive stretch of space in front of the WarShip, which was now picking it's way through the debris. Some of the destroyed WarShips were mostly intact, though they had massive tears and rents in their hulls, while others had been completely ripped apart.

All around, he could see what looked like salvage drones and DropShips moving through the debris, picking out anything that could still be used or repaired to full functionality. Other drones and DropShips were gathering large swaths of debris, most likely to melt them down for spare parts. It was a hive of activity, with personnel working all the time.

Not all of it was salvaging operations, though. At one point, he spotted what he realized were personnel that were gathering bodies. Those people were busy putting corpses in body bags and slapping ID's on them, but not before doing something that had Chief's attention. Before each body was bagged and tagged, one of the people in charge of the operation would pull out a small book and begin reading from it over the COM, while the others bowed their heads, likely paying their respects to the deceased soldier.

Realizing what was going on, he bowed his head in respect. The horrible cost of war, he thought as the WarShip silently moved past the debris field. The very sight of the debris field, and the bodies within, were a sobering reminder of the price the UNSC was paying to stop the Covenant, a price that the SLDF had just begun to assist in paying as well. While Reach had been held, it had cost the lives of thousands of people, people that very likely had families and children waiting for a parent that would never come back to return home.

Nearby, Keyes voiced what Chief realized the other members of the crew were feeling. "A horrible price to pay," he frowned, his voice quiet and solemn as he looked out over Reach. "This is why we have to stop the Covenant. If they aren't stopped, they will continue to commit atrocities like this until there's nothing left but ashes and ruins."

"Yes, sir," Chief nodded. "The SLDF's contribution means that Reach has been held."

"Yes, but at the cost of thousands of our own," Keyes agreed. "That's why we have to find a way to end the war now. If we can somehow strike at the leadership of the Covenant, or at their core beliefs, then we force them to surrender."

"I agree," came another voice. Turning around, Chief watched as Alex walked onto the bridge. It was clear that he'd seen the sight of the debris field as well, as his face was solemn and his voice low and quiet. "I thought I had seen everything that could be seen in war. Now that I know what the Covenant are truly capable of, though…" He trailed off for a moment before he continued. "Then it shows that they are nothing but monsters, monsters that have to be annihilated and destroyed, so that they can never again commit such atrocities."

"I take it Jade Falcon did something similar at one point?"

"No, but if they were allowed free reign, it would have been only a matter of time before something did. That is why we must stop the Covenant. They will do this again and again if we do not." Looking at Keyes, he said, "Captain, if there is something that you need me to do, I will gladly do so."

Keyes was silent for a full minute, before he said, "I appreciate your desire to get payback on the Covenant for this. If we're lucky, we'll deal them a much bigger blow. I've got a feeling that the Covenant will be on the back foot for a little while if Whitcomb's idea pays off."

"Agreed," Captain Anders, who'd been silent until now, nodded. "If I know Chernenko, he wouldn't agree to a stunt like that if he didn't believe it would work. Still, let's remain silent for now, for the dead's sake. They've paid their dues; it's up to us to pick up the tab and to pay our respects." Not wanting to be disrespectful, they all remained silent out of respect for those that had died in the defense of Reach.

Eventually, as they flew along, Chief spotted what he realized was an SLDF Yardship. The massive yardship hovered in space over the city of New Alexandria, with the massive spaceship being nearly filled to capacity. Only one dock was left, and it was clear that one was being reserved for the Farragut. Moments later, a voice said, "SLS Safe Harbor to SLS Farragut. You are cleared for WarShip Bay 4. Reduce your speed to safe levels and initiate docking procedure."

"Affirmative," Anders replied. Turning to his officers, he said, "Helm, reduce speed to minimum levels required. Poseidon, initiate docking procedures."

"Aye, Captain," the personnel in question replied. Chief felt the ship slow down as the transit drives slowed the WarShip down until it was traveling within safe parameters. As the massive starship closed in, docking arms extended, clamping onto specific parts of the WarShip as it came to a stop. Fuel, coolant and other necessities flowed into the WarShip via integrated pipes and flexible tubes. At the same time, drones and workers went to work refitting weapons, repairing damage, and maintaining vital systems onboard the Farragut.

"We're docked," Anders beamed. Looking at Chief and Keyes, he said, "Chief, Captain Keyes, you should head to one of the hangar bays. The Admirals will want to talk to the two of you, and you may need to be on station for the NOVA Bomb's delivery. We'll be here for a few hours, so you'll be able to get some time to rest and recover from your previous engagement."

"Understood," Chief nodded.

"We'll be down there immediately," Keyes nodded. "Oh, and Anders? Thanks for getting us out of there."

"The least I could do," Anders replied. "Your people have show us good hospitality. It's only natural to show the same. Also, head to Hangar Bay 24 Epsilon. That's where the Admirals'll be meeting you. Take care now."

. . .

The hangar in question was reached after a fifteen minute trip, with the mass transit car that held Chief and Keyes stopping at one of the transit stations aboard the Farragut after a ten minute transit. After that, it was a five minute walk, after which they entered Hangar Bay 24 Epsilon. IT was one of the smaller hangar bays onboard the Farragut, barely large enough to house a wing of AeroSpace Fighters. For what they needed, however, it was perfect.

As soon as they arrived, Chief could tell that the NOVA Bomb had just arrived as well. The device was large, roughly half the size of a cargo container, and almost too tall to fit into one. From this distance, he could tell it was a prototype, courtesy of the masses of wires, exposed computer equipment and power cables. Still, he could see the six nuclear devices that were held inside of it's chassis, ready to unleash atomic annihilation at the push of a button.

Near the bomb were the two Admirals in question. Upon spotting Keyes, Chernenko ended his conversation with Whitcomb and walked over. "Good to see you alive and well, Keyes," he beamed, shaking the Captain's hand. "When we heard about the Flood, we assumed the worst."

"We barely got out of there," Keyes agreed. "Fortunately, Halo's been destroyed, and it's threat to life in the galaxy ended."

"Yes, that. When I heard that the Forerunners had built a weapon, it defied all belief. Now that I've seen the reports for both of my eyes, it legitimately frightens me as to how close we came to total annihilation.

"Still, the most recent days haven't been easy. I lost a lot of good people, and your people lost quite a few as well. I've been planning a service for those that fell in the defense of Reach. They deserve that much at least, in honor of the valor they've shown."

"I know how you feel, Admiral," Keyes nodded, frowning as well. "I lost a lot of good people as well, people that had loved ones and families back home. The sooner we can end this war, the sooner we can mourn those we lost, and begin the process of rebuilding."

"Agreed, which is why we must do more violence against the Covenant," Chernenko nodded, his expression solemn as well. "That's why we've brought this bomb along. We can't allow the Covenant fleet at Tau Ceti to begin it's attack. If they do, all that we will have worked for will be for naught." After a moment, he said, "Now, I must return to my duties, but you have my full blessing, Keyes. Kill those Covenant bastards! Make them suffer for all the innocent lives they've murdered!"

"Yes, sir!" Keyes nodded, saluting.

"I'll be going too, but I've got my own two bits to add as well," Whitcomb added. "Remember, the NOVA bomb is a working prototype. Yes, we've had the Engineers go to work on it, but it's still a prototype. Don't expect it to work flawlessly; expect some kinks to come around. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, like Chernenko said, kill those Covenant bastards for me. If this works, this will send a message to the Covenant: Don't fuck with us, or we will fuck with you. Good luck, Captain." With that, Whitcomb saluted and left.

"Short and sweet," Cortana remarked. "I guess that's our meetings nowadays. Still, how are we going to get this inside of the Unyielding Heirophant without being detected? It's massive."

"You heard what Chernenko said earlier," Keyes informed her. "We're going to disguise it as supplies for their pinch fusion reactors. That'll allow us to get it inside without suspicion, but we'll have to arm it on site. That means we've got to get ourselves inside somehow."

"The Phantom will act as the same delivery vehicle as well," Chief said in response. "If we use it as the delivery vehicle, we can use it to smuggle ourselves inside."

"That's genius!" Keyes beamed. "They won't think twice about checking the interior if they're lazy. We'll have to make sure they don't detect us once we're inside."

"I've got a few ideas about that," Cortana remarked. "Keyes, have you ever seen A New Hope?"

. . .

At the same time, on Reach, Acting Director Stennings was looking at the latest batch of intelligence that he'd gotten from his Field Agents. You've got a lot of juicy secrets, ONI, he thought as he looked at the paper copy of a report from an Agent. Some of them, though, are downright nauseating, or infuriating. That one report on the Spartan-III's was certainly the latter of the two.

Putting that paper down, he took another sip of coffee before returning to his work. He took a moment to glance around at his current workspace. When the SLDF FOB had been built, special care had been taken for the office that any SLIC Agents would be working out of. It's reinforced, sound proofed, and swept for bugs, both electronic and otherwise three times a day. You could fire a gun in here, and no one would ever know.

In that regard, he knew ONI had been busy as well. During the previous bug sweep, which happened during breakfast, they had found multiple ONI bugs inside of the room. Scans of the room had found that the janitor was an undercover ONI Agent, with said ONI Agent promptly being booted out, without alerting him to the fact that his cover had been blown. They're getting better, but they're not good enough yet.

As he worked, he thought he heard someone knocking on the door. Looking up, his right hand moved towards the ER Pulse Laser Pistol he kept concealed in his pants at all times. "Come in," he replied, disengaging the safety and preparing to defend himself if need be.

Fortunately, he need not have worried, as moments later, a person he never thought would visit walked inside. "Dr. Catherine Halsey," he said as the woman walked inside. "This is a pleasant surprise. What brings you here?"

Halsey, for one, looked a little worried, and uncomfortable, though her gait showed an energy that indicated something positive was coming of this arrangement. "I considered Admiral Chernenko's proposal," she said to Stennings. "Your Admiral is taking a big risk sharing the secrets of K-F Drive travel with an outsider. Some might call him naive as well."

"If there's one thing I know about the good Admiral, it's that he's anything but naive," Stennings countered. "He would only share those secrets if he knew that you would keep them a secret. It is one of our most important technologies, after all."

"And you're right in that you're not naive," Halsey agreed. "His dealings with us so far show that he's a very shrewd individual. It's certainly caused ONI no small amount of grief in that regard. I've also been hearing that they've been having a hard time, particularly Colonel Ackerson. Given that no one seems to know who's doing it, I have reason to believe that your SLIC is responsible."

"Cannot confirm nor deny, ma'am."

"I see. Well, that's one more mystery that won't be solved. Either way, Stennings, I didn't come here to make enemies. You want a way back home once the Covenant have been defeated, and I intend to deliver on that." Sitting down, she said, "Can you give me any guarantee that Parangosky won't find out about this?"

"Possibly," Stennings replied. "The SLIC has been conducting intelligence operations for well over four hundred years, though that doesn't mean we're complacent. ONI's been giving us good exercise in that regard. I can say that, as long as you don't make it blatantly obvious that you're working with us, Parangosky won't find out at all."

"Good, because the last thing I want is for her to interfere with me. So, you said you needed to find a way home. What do you need me to do?"

"We're going to be giving you access to the mathematics of K-F Drive travel. Our request is that you use said mathematics to find us a way back home to the Inner Sphere. We won't leave until the Covenant have been defeated, so you've got plenty of time for that."

"And what do you want in return?"

"Information on some of Ackerson's activities. The man's a slimeball, and I don't trust him at all."

"That's not hard. I can do that for you."

"Good. Pleasure working with you, Halsey."

"Likewise."

As Halsey left, Stennings put a hand to his chin in thought. I'll need to make sure that she doesn't leak any of this information to ONI, he decided. If I know Halsey, she'll see this as a potential opportunity. I'll have a pair of Agents assigned to monitor her electronic transmissions, as well as any physical ones she makes. With that in mind, he contacted a couple of his top agents. The game was becoming intense.