The trip had been long, but they had arrived. Planet Reach was a glowing orb of blue and green, resembling the old Crone Worlds of the Aeldari Empire, so long ago lost to their people. The dark side bore the lights of massive inhabited cities and the side currently visible in the light shone brightly in the single sun of the system. Surrounding it, hundreds of small orbital platforms and hundreds more UNSC ships of varying sizes and types patrolled the system. The 100-strong UNSC Battlegroup and its Aeldari counterpart's arrival stirred the nest of the UNSC Armed Forces. Hundreds more ships and dozens of defense platforms came to life, shipyards in low orbit whirring to life.

Identification codes were passed through com lines, confirmation of the Eldar being allies and the UNSC Navy coming in to escort them in, Faen was on the bridge as these events unfolded, staring somewhat impassively at the human Navy as it did its thing. She watched the multitude of low-orbit shipyards powering their tools, sending their tugs and other vehicles in to tow the wounded ships of the UNSC Navy to port, for repair.

She'd also spotted tall, spindly spires protruding from the planet's surface. Space elevators, going by what she had read of the UNSC's technology. As the capital ship was moored into port herself, the Marines were disgorged onto platforms, to be checked up on by the Corpsmen, receive food, new equipment and ammo and, presumably, to get some rest, now that they were deep in allied territory.

Faen followed the stream of soldiers with the Sergeant, the man wearing actual civilian clothing for a change. The ships they'd come down with were small transports able to house hundreds and land them at designated areas, such as the military starport within the city of New Alexandria, in the territory of Viery. The imposing skyline of the city came into view as they exited the lower bay. Tall, round skyscrapers made of glass and concrete loomed over the cityscape for miles, while three tall structures with multiple rings rose high into the sky on the left. The Space Elevators' main buildings, one would assume.

UNSC forces greeted the newcomers with salutes, nods and with suspicion, of course. Passing through the busy terminal of the military starport, Faen and the Sergeant were met with more UNSC officers and soldiers. High above, a civilian ship came in for landing at the nearby civilian side of the Starport. After processing and security passed(Not without their own events, though, regarding her Singing Spear), the two exited into the main boulevard of the city of New Alexandria.

Taking in a deep breath of fresh air after months of being stuck in that massive Titanium block, Mike smirked, watching the electric civilian cars roaring past them. He looked to Faen, then said "The Navy car should be arriving soon, to take us over to the High-Com HQ. Once I drop you off, I'm just gonna hang around, probably... Gotta get Hitchcock to show us 'round the city when he gets his ass out of medical. Checkups be damned."

"I see." The girl hummed. She started listening into the thoughts of the crowds as they passed by them. Most were in awe at the sight of the Eldar, with her now-arriving escort of Exarchs. Most were, at least. Some of them were unreadable due to the mass of noise. She focused on them, trying to figure out why she heard no voice from their souls, stopping only when she saw the vehicle, a modified electric vehicle with armored glass and more seats, appear.

Led by the Sergeant into the vehicle, the trio of Aeldari women saw a young Navy officer bearing no medals or patches anywhere on his uniform. Upon everyone entering, the driver started on the road toward the HQ, one of the tallest buildings in the area. Travelling through the traffic, the girls caught glimpses of the city life here. Terraces with bars and shops, restaurants and people living their lives.

Unlike Miridem, Reach was important. That could be felt in the planet's Aura. The defenses were also a dead giveaway. They also noticed active-duty personnel patrolling the streets. Faen focused her mind once more, trying to listen in for any possible blocked minds, finding a few. To worm her way into them would take too much time. More than they had as they passed through. And they were few in a sea of hundreds, perhaps thousands they passed by.

Arriving at the front of the building, the Marine and his Eldar friends were met with a platoon of other Marines in full kit, standing at attention. At the end of this line of soldiers lay the UNSC's heads of the Admiralty, including the famous Lord Terrence Hood. The old veteran stood, chest puffed out and hands behind his back, watching as the four guests approached. Mike saluted the many members of staff present, then motioned to the Eldar and said "Sirs, this is Farseer Faenbrynn, of the Eldar."

Faen nodded to them and they saluted. She spoke softly, "A pleasure to finally meet the UNSC's Admiralty face to face. Our people have much to discuss... And much to gain from one-another."

"A sentiment we share, Farseer." The eldest of the group nodded, "I am Lord of the Admiralty Terrence Hood. Welcome to Reach."

"My thanks." She replied, "Shall we?"

She watched two soldiers wearing black uniforms approaching the Sergeant. Faen could swear she saw a hint of an ONI patch on one's shoulder. She watched as they departed, then followed the Admiralty into the building. The two parties entered through separate doors, the Sergeant taking a left down a corridor. He looked to Faen, who caught his gaze. With his trademark grin, he gave the girl a mock salute, careless as ever.

Faen had once again tried to read minds, those of the black-clad soldiers who took the Sergeant away. They had been steeled, surprisingly. And once again, they'd left before she even had a chance to properly reach in there to get information. With a sigh, she followed the Admirals onto a series of elevators and then to a large room where a table able to fit 20 people sat, offering a commanding view of the city below them. The 120th Floor of the UNSC Regional Headquarters...

... The Sergeant, meanwhile, entered a debriefing room about the size of a small box. He hummed, then commented "Man, ONI must really be running out of funds if they only got a closet in the UNSC's regional HQ."

"I appreciate the humor, Sergeant." Remarked a figure from the shadows as she poured herself a glass of some sort of reddish liquid, presumably wine, her accent that of a Slav. Michael paused, narrowing his lips. He watched the figure step out from the shadows. A slim figure clad in a black, tight uniform with a black pistol attached to her thigh via a leather holster, full, scarlet lips, a beautiful face, black hair and blue eyes greeted the man. She smirked, seeing the reaction of surprise she garnered, then asked playfully, "What's the matter, Mike. Cat got your tongue?"

"... I didn't expect to see you alive, Klara." He remarked, crossing his arms, "Not after Mamore."

She chuckled, "Somebody has other friends in Intel, I see. I can say the same about you. Demoted back to Sergeant again?" and she motioned to the tablet with his service record that was sat on the table in the middle of the room.

He shrugged, "Could be way worse. I could actually have been dead right now."

"Yes, I read the reports on Miridem... Lucky those Eldar folk popped up." She remarked, "Half of UEG space is abuzz with news about them. The other Half's a bit too busy dealing with the possibility of being a target for the Covvies, though, so, things aren't particularly good right now. Take a seat." And she motioned to the chair opposite hers, before she sat down. Mike sat down too, noticing that only one of the two guards remained inside the dimly-lit room and that the door had been closed. No cameras, no anything. He could... Nah, he liked Klara. She was warmer than most Spooks he'd had the displeasure of working with. And he'd worked with a few.

"Something you brought me in here for?" He asked, leaning forward, "Because, right now, I was kind of supposed to be on Shore Leave."

Klara smirked, "You remember the Innies, right? Original enemy, before the Covenant reared their ugly, split-faced heads?"

"Who doesn't? We're still dealing with groups who wanna be a fucking nuisance." He answered rather angrily, "I dealt with some of the bastards on my last short assignment before Miridem."

"Well, they're one of the reasons I brought you in here for." She noted, sliding a glass and the bottle of wine over to him. He pushed them back, shaking his head. She shrugged, then continued, pouring a glass to himself, "You asked me to keep you appraised of any situation that also may involve your family, if I remember correctly. Any sort of word comes to you from me..."

"Yeah." He nodded, "Though I haven't really held out much hope. Not after the rest of the Outer Colonies took the brunt of the Covenant's little genocide campaign."

She stated rather calmly, "Well, good news for you, Sarge... I think I may've picked up a trace on at least one of your family." And she grinned again, nursing her glass of wine, "In fact, she is also military now."

He stood up, hands slamming onto the table and a killer's glare in his eyes. A gun cocked behind him, probably the guard. He didn't give a shit... "Don't fuck with me, K. Don't give me false hope."

She chuckled, "I'm not, Michael. Admittedly, I cannot get you to her right now-"

"Bull. Shit." He snarled, crossing his arms to his chest.

"Not at all, really... But, depending on your reaction to what I'm about to say next..." The girl noted, playing with her glass of wine and causing the liquid inside to swirl. She stared the man dead in the eyes, then said "I can pull some strings with HighCom and get you to see her... Once. This shit is top secret, after all. ONI-Sanctioned... I think my friend back there could shoot us both if the situation goes awry... Now, sit your ass down."

The Sergeant glared back at the ONI-affiliated Marine who had an M7 SMG trained on him, then sighed and sat himself back down. The girl smiled again, then said "Good boy... Now, onto the matters at hand," Leaning over to the side. She picked up a case file, slid it across to Mike and took a sip of her glass. The boy picked up the case file and opened it. He saw a set of pictures, faces lining the side, each with a name. They were self-declared pro-Insurrection and pro-Separatist folks whose records read like those of the bad folk around the block in a random run-down neighborhood on Earth. And their faces were best-described as such.

"Uh...?" He looked at her.

"Innie contacts on Reach." She noted, pointing at the map on the left, that of Alexandria, "We've been tracking their electronic footprint and their Extranet work and it seems like they're quite close to the URF's remnants. Most of the URF's folded into other Innie groups like the Colonial Military Administration after Eridanus got Glassed, but some of the folks remained out of the loop for a while, of their own volition, of course. They're here to recruit new blood for their little crusade... And these three are gonna be tested soon."

"How?" He raised a brow.

"We think it's gonna be a bombing... I'd like someone to figure them out." She replied, "And you're a Marine on leave who's fresh out of a combat zone... Who better?"

"Right... Don't you have other spooks of yours that can do this? How the hell am I even supposed to approach these fuckers?" he almost demanded, setting the file down on the table, "And if it's a possible bombing, why doesn't the New Alexandria PD just get 'tipped' about it and bust down their doors?"

"Because that would mean losing any possible intel these guys have... Including whoever their way in with the Innies is." She replied, "As for why I'm not having the PD bust down their doors, well... NAPD doesn't have that much jurisdiction in the rest of Viery, for starters and second, most of the local Militia trust ONI spooks about as much as I trust these new alien folks."

"Christ, I knew you were gonna get there... They helped us on Miridem." He shot back, "Just look at any combat footage from any helmet and you'll see it."

"There's always motive behind giving help, Mike. I wanna find out what it is, just like my superiors." She retorted, smirking, "Though I'm sure they'll be willing to share... Anyways, you in?"

"You're asking me to find out info on three people possibly working on a bombing plot." He deadpanned, staring at her, "For the possibility of maybe, probably seeing my sister again if she's even alive."

"Oh, she's alive. I have friends high up who can confirm." She smirked, "And I have the stuff to keep both of you alive after you meet. The favors, I mean. So?"

She extended her hand to the man. He looked over the file, reading through the pages, the few bits of info they scraped off the public record that could even possibly indicate that their bombing plot could work. One of them, Joe Hennessy, worked as active staff at a nuclear power station not far from the city itself, more specifically as a reactor technician that also dealt with Waste disposal. That was a target for the ages, but with all the failsafes you'd need a man inside... If it wasn't that, then maybe a Dirty bomb... Following up, Karl Stauffer, ex-con, worked in the heavy metals industry, TRAXUS grunt that dealt with both the mining and the making of the ores into alloy useful for Starships. Last, but certainly not least, Nikolai Lebedev, country bumpkin, inherited his family farm. Possibly one of the only folks around without Hungarian descent. Also had a penchant for making simple poppers and tiny explosives for pranks, so...

The Marine looked at the woman, set the file down and sighed, gripping the woman's hand firmly and shaking exactly once. Everything for family, what his father always said. She knew him well, giving him a smirk, "You can get members of your squad to help. That Hitchcock fellow... Maybe even the Eldar girl if she wants to tag along. Until then... See you, Sergeant. And trust me, your sister will certainly appreciate it."

He muttered "I hope I will..." as he stepped out of the room with a hundred more questions than answers floating through his mind. He stepped out into the lobby just as Faen was travelling down from her little debriefing with the Admiralty. He now wore a half-smile on his face as he saw the woman and her escorts approach, then asked "How'd the meet go?"

"The UNSC Admirals were incredibly receptive." She said somewhat jovially, "I had expected half of them to call me a xeno, witch, or some other foul misgiving of your kin."

"Again..." He chuckled, "We're not the same as whatever humanity is in your universe. You make us sound godawful."

"You are certainly a... Handful... To deal with." She remarked, sighing, then she asked, "What happened to you? I sense you are distraught."

"Okay..." He paused, "Please don't 'sense' anything about me anymore. Shit's kinda freaky now that I have some time to process it... And... Nothing much. I just got pulled aside by an old..." He hesitated for a second, then said rather venomously:"Friend," as he turned to the door, "C'mon. It's a helluva trip to the nearest hotel and I need sleep... You can set down a Webwhatever beacon there and head back up to your ship if you want."

She raised a brow, then hummed "Very well, but I do believe my escorts already set a Webway beacon down within the Military Starport..."

"Right." He nodded, then started walking to the door. The Farseer and her Banshees turned to one-another and the two twins shrugged. Exiting the building, she saw the man hail a 'cab', a vehicle that was colored yellow and had the word 'Taxi' on a sign above it. He looked to her as if asking if she was gonna come along. She looked to the two Banshees and hummed.

"You may return to the Craftworld."

"Farseer?" The girl on the left raised a brow.

"I will be fine... I desire to see how a human city functions without a hostile army invading." She partially lied. Her main intentions were both to find out what was going on with the Sergeant and to figure out the few things she had read from his mind while 'finding out' about his uneasiness. The two Eldar bowed, then turned, set a small Webway Beacon down and had left as soon as the Craftworld had a fix on them. The Farseer then turned to the Sergeant and joined him, boarding the vehicle.

As day turned to evening, the two had arrived at one of the massive, thousand-room hotels. It was a tall building, built by the very best engineers the UEG had. It was an impressive feat of engineering that somehow managed not to stick out. The Farseer was a bit too busy to fully notice it. She'd been busy finding the things the Sergeant had been told during his meeting with that ONI agent, Klara. She was uneasy, but she figured it was best to help him in his quest.

... Humanity never really changed, even across the great, big multiverse, did it?