The Last Spartan

by DinoJake

An AU fic in which the Halo and ME universes share the same galaxy. After a well deserved rest in Cryo-Sleep, Master Chief finally awakens...to a whole new galaxy.

41. Ghosts of the Past

Honestly? I have no fucking idea why this one took so long.

…..

1753 Hours, March 16th, 2683

Surface of Agebinium

Amazon System, Voyager Cluster

…

"Well, this is suspicious. Signal's coming from that mineshaft. No way the probe crashed here. It was deliberately moved."

"Your grasp of the obvious is inspiring, C-sec."

Garrus turned towards Wrex. "Now that was just mean, Wrex." Garrus said. "My feelings are hurt."

"Cut the chatter." Chief ordered. "We've still got a nuke to defuse. Let's just be alert down there. Blue-Five, you've got point."

As Wrex passed by him, the Master Chief took a quick glance over his shoulder at the eerily calm wastelands the mako just drove through to get to this spot. Agebinium was a desolate world with an atmosphere so thin the stars were easily visible in the middle of the planet's day. The red giant Amazon hung in the sky like impending doom, casting a dim red light on the land.

Privately, Chief shared Garrus's sentiments. It was indeed quite suspicious that the probe signal led them to a mine. Suspicious, but not surprising. Everyone knew from the beginning that it was entirely likely that whoever moved the nuke likely did so with ill intentions. By now, that likelihood was all but confirmed. Assured that there was nothing more behind them than sand and rock, he turned back toward the mine's entrance and ascended the ramp.

Chief and the four members of his team entered the circular shaft leading down. For this assignment, he brought Garrus, Tali and Kaidan with them. With all their technical skills put together, spearheaded by Cortana, they would make an excellent bomb squad. He also brought Wrex along as a little extra muscle in case they ran into some trouble, a possibility that was looking increasingly likely. However, the Spartan wasn't expecting a particularly powerful enemy force. A few dozen hostiles perhaps, but he doubted he would encounter a whole army, which is why he had ordered Blue Team to leave the heavy weapons behind. Besides that, taking explosives with them to disarm an explosive seemed unwise at the time, for obvious reasons.

Eventually, the shaft stopped descending and evened out, and began leading straight on. The tunnels were fairly large, about fifteen feet wide and twenty feet tall, plenty of room for a team of five to maneuver in. The mine was dimly lit by electronic lanterns that hung nails embedded in the walls, and the ceilings and walls of the passage were reinforced with pillars and braces to keep the ceiling from collapsing. "Lights on." Chief ordered as he snapped on his helmet's headlights. Everyone turned on the flashlights mounted on their weapons to better illuminate the dark passage.

"I'm not detecting any radio activity down here." Cortana reported. "At least nothing on civilian channels. That, combined with the fact that the lanterns don't have much juice left in them makes me think that this mine is deserted."

"That's not creepy at all." Garrus idly commented.

"The signal is coming from deeper in the mine." Cortana added. "I'll throw an arrow on everyone's HUD pointing the way."

"Stay alert." Chief ordered as the arrow came up on their HUDs. The team then proceeded forward, down the tunnel. They passed a fork in the path, a passage that went left and another that went right. The tunnel they were walking down seemed to have a dead end, until one looked to the left and saw a staircase leading down, the steps carved from the rock itself. As they descended that way, they passed by a locker. Garrus walked over to it and hacked it open with just a few keystrokes on his omni-tool. "Anything good?" Wrex asked as Garrus looked inside.

"Not really." Garrus replied. "Just a lot of nutrient paste, both levo and dextro, and a couple of hunks of metal. Hardly anything out of the ordinary in a mine."

"Tali? You have a mineral scanner in your omni-tool. Go over there and see what that metal is." Cortana said. Tali turned to Chief. The Spartan could make out her glowing eyes forming a raised eyebrow. He nodded at her. With a sigh, Tali went over and ran a scan on the metal Garrus found.

"Samarium." Tali concluded.

"As I suspected." Cortana cheerfully said. "That's a pretty rare metal. I'm surprised that the miners left that stuff lying around when they closed shop. They must've been in a hurry for some reason."

"Or maybe there aren't any miners left." Wrex threw in his own theory.

"If they were all dead, we would've seen some bodies by now." Kaidan said. "Or at least some sign of a struggle."

"Only if we were dealing with amateurs." Wrex pointed out.

"You know, the theories going around that the miners either left this place in a hurry, possibly screaming in terror, or were wiped out entirely, really does make me feel uneasy." Garrus said. "Seriously. I've seen horror vids that start out with a bunch of dumb kids going into an abandoned mineshaft."

"So have I." Kaidan replied. "But we have guns, so I think we can take a guy with a hockey mask and a machete."

"Enough chatter. Let's keep it moving." Chief said. Garrus closed the locker as he followed Wrex and the Chief further down the tunnel, Tali and Kaidan close behind him.

"Keelah." Tali said as the group came to another set of stone steps and began descending. "How far do these tunnels go?"

"Probably not as far as they seem to." Cortana replied. "I ran a search, and this mine is off the books. No legal charter. The miners here were most likely scavengers from the Terminus Systems, which would imply that they didn't have much access to top-of-the-line equipment. They would only be able to dig so far and so deep. Anyway, the signal should be one more level down."

Before long, the group came upon yet another set of stone steps. Cautiously, they descended it. "Probe should be fifty meters dead ahead." Cortana pointed out as they reached the bottom of the steps. The arrow was now an upside-down triangle in the middle of their HUDs, indicating it was straight ahead of them. The Chief brought the team to a halt with the 'unknown ahead' signal.

"We can see that. We have eyes." Tali commented. "Do you always point out the painfully obvious?"

"Meh. It's my job." Cortana replied, coolly brushing aside Tali's snark.

"Is the nuke armed?" Chief asked. The Spartan could see the probe ahead, or at least make out its shape in the tunnel's dim light. It was about two and a half meters in length and was lying on its side. The shape was pretty standard for an Alliance probe; thick body for withstanding the vacuum of space, a bulbous 'head' of sorts where the transmissions were given and received, held together by a frame of metal rods and spokes that were thin compared to the probe's main body.

"I don't think so." Cortana replied. "I'm not detecting any activity from the probe."

"Any traps around the probe?" Chief asked.

"I'm not detecting any motion sensors, heat sensors, or weight-senstive switches either. As far as I can tell, it's clear." Cortana said.

Trusting Cortana's assessment, the Chief motioned the team to follow him as they resumed marching down the tunnel. They walked up to the probe and examined it closely. Garrus knelt down on one knee and opened the control panel. He tapped the tiny computer screen, which was blank.

"Cortana's right. It's not armed." Garrus said. "Not sure if it's even on."

"This smells." Wrex growled. "What's the point of dragging a bomb-"

Wrex's sentence was cut off by a small explosion, further up the tunnel behind the group. One of the braces twenty feet behind them exploded, sending shards of metal that thankfully bounced and ricocheted off the team's kinetic barriers. However, with the brace gone, that section of the tunnel's ceiling collapsed in on itself, the cave-in billowing dirt and dust right into their faces.

"Check targets!" Chief ordered as he drew out his pistol and checked his motion sensor. Nothing surrounding him but four yellow dots, his team. They were still alone in the tunnel. When the dust settled, there was a wall of dirt, rock and collapsed metal cutting them off from the way they came. Wrex walked up to the wall to inspect the damage. He shook his head.

"That was a detonator." Wrex said. "Someone just screwed us."

"Impossible." Cortana said. "I would've detected a simple detonator."

"Maybe you did." Tali said. "And chose not to tell us."

"Tali, why would I - "

Cortana was about to defend herself when the probe, unexpectedly, activated. A small piece of paneling opened up, revealing what looked to be a holographic projector. It activated, and the image of what Chief guessed was the culprit appeared.

Chief had fought several Jiralhanae Chieftains during the Human-Covenant War. Much like the Earth gorillas that they so closely resembled, the leader of any given group of brutes was always easy to spot; it was always the biggest one with silver-white fur. Similar to Sangheili zealots, chieftains often did away with firearms and chose instead to fight with melee weapons, their weapons of choice being gravity hammers. They often had powerful shields and wore thick armor to match. Even worse, they were usually never seen without at least a few other brutes from their pack, so it was very rare to have the good fortune of facing them all by themselves. Throw in the strength and savagery their species was so infamous for, and you had an extremely dangerous opponent.

The pink-tinted, nine-foot-tall holographic image was of a Jiralhanae chieftain. He wore the ornate armor typical of chieftains during the latter half of the Human-Covenant War, including the horned helmets that vaguely reminded the Chief of a triceratops. His gravity hammer could be seen on his back, the head of the fearsome weapon visible over his right shoulder. He grinned as his eyes locked on the Master Chief, his razor sharp teeth on full display.

"The Ghost of Elysium." the Jiralhanae said. "At last."

"Who are you?" Chief demanded as he put away his pistol.

"You don't remember me?" the chieftain asked. He then chuckled darkly. "No matter. I remember you. I never forget anyone I've fought."

"We've fought?" Chief asked.

"Oh yes. We have faced each other on the battlefield before." The chieftain replied.

"I've faced a lot of brute chieftains on a lot of battlefields." the Spartan said. "You're gonna have to be more specific."

The brute puffed his chest in a display of intimidation. "I am Chieftain Horridus. I was once the most powerful Jiralhanae chieftain in all the Terminus System. Every clan and pack between here and Illium, thousands of warriors and hunters, were all at my beck and call. Every soldier, merchant, and colonist in the Attican Traverse trembled with fear at the mere utterance of my name."

"Impressive resumé." Chief noted. "So what happened?" he asked, noting that Horridus was talking about his reputation in the past tense.

"Many years ago, I used my influence to assemble a fleet, and not just of Jiralhanae." he grinned a toothy grin again. "Your Alliance made it a point to make life as difficult as possible for the denizens of the Terminus. Your species made many enemies who wanted to see you dead. So they gladly agreed to join my army, and attack one of your largest colonies."

"….The Skyllian Blitz." Chief said. "That was you?"

"Indeed." Horridus replied with a hint of pride in his tone.

The Skyllian Blitz was a major assault on the Human colony world of Elysium in 2676. Officially, it was a pirate raid on a massive scale. Several species including Turians, Krogan, Vorcha, Batarians, Kig-Yar, and of course Jiralhanae like Horridus took part in the attack. Even a few Human pirates were there for the plunder. It was mostly a response to the aggressive and pro-active pirate suppression campaign that the Alliance ran in the Attican Traverse throughout the 2660's and 2670's, a campaign that they still run to this day. However, it had always been suspected, but never truly confirmed, that the attack was mostly bankrolled by Batarian interests, perhaps even the Batarian Hegemony itself, as retaliation for expanding into territory that the Batarians wanted.

"I was the motivator. The instigator." Horridus went on. "The one who promised glory and riches for sacking the largest Human colony in all the Skyllian Verge!"

His toothy grin suddenly faded, replaced by a toothy scowl. "The one blamed when it failed." he all but hissed at the Spartan. "Failed! Failed because of you! You slew my warriors by the hundreds that day!"

Chief was taken aback. He then shook his head. "I think you've got me confused with someone else." he said. "I was still on ice during the Blitz."

The chieftain barked out a harsh laugh. "You expect me to believe that?" Horridus demanded. "You expect me to believe the lies pedaled by the Human media? No, I know the truth. You were never frozen. Your title as the Ghost of Elysium is appropriate, for it is your shadow that has haunted the Terminus for decades!"

"Decades?" Chief asked. "What are you talking about? I was only cracked out of cryo a month ago, and that's the truth. I'm telling you I've never been on Elysium."

"I saw you!" Horridus raged. "Do not insult me with poor attempts at deception! I saw you there with my own eyes! I saw a Human wearing armor that could belong only to a Demon such as you, just as my grandfather described to me! Because of you, I became the laughing stock of the Terminus! My name ceased to be the subject of my enemies' nightmares and became instead the subject of their jokes!"

He pointed an accusing finger at John. "You took away my honor that day, Ghost! Today I take it back!"

Wearing armor that could belong only to a Demon? Horridus saw a Spartan in the Skyllian Blitz? Chief shoved those questions to the back of his mind. He was trapped underground with a nuclear bomb. There would be time for investigation later. "My crew will come for me." Chief stated.

"Let them!" Horridus barked out, his sadistic grin returning. "I have a crew of my own, and we shall be ready to meet yours. An Alliance warship will make a fine prize. But don't think you can call them for aid yourselves. The ores in this mine I've trapped you in are laced with heavy metals. Your suit radios aren't powerful enough to transmit out."

"I'm going to get out of here, Horridus." Chief said. "And when I do, you'd better hope I don't find you."

"I know how you Demons are. You're as clever as you are powerful." Horridus conceded. "I do not doubt you'll find a way out of this trap. But you see…..the true question isn't 'can you get out?'"

The brute snapped his meaty fingers. Suddenly, the probe's control panel lit up. On the little screen was a time that read 1:00. Then :59. Then :58.

"It's 'can you get out in time?" Horridus finished with a grin.

"Killing me with just a snap of your fingers?" Chief asked as Garrus, Tali and Kaidan immediately rushed to the probe, already trying to disable it. "I'd expect this from a Kig-Yar or a Batarian, but not from a Jiralhanae. Figured you'd wanna kill me with your bare hands."

"I'd like to, don't get me wrong. But nuking you works also." Horridus said. "Goodbye, Ghost." With that, the chieftain's holographic image faded as the probe's projector powered down.

"Forty-five seconds left on the clock." Cortana reported.

"Tell me you three are close." Chief said as he turned to the three technicians.

"Omni-gel was no good, so we're manually disabling the probe's hardpoints." Kaidan reported.

"Slapping on Alliance Probe 2655 model on your HUDs." Cortana said. "Also putting up software patch history and-"

"The last thing I need right now is an AI cluttering my HUD!" Tali shouted as her fingers carefully worked the wiring of the probe's middle hard point.

"Thirty seconds….." Cortana reported.

"Got this one." Tali said as her hardpoint clicked.

"Nuke's still active! Twenty-five seconds, guys!" Cortana announced. She was starting to get nervous.

"I know, Cortana! I can see the clock!" Garrus yelled. His fingers furiously tapped on his omni-tool, trying to unlock the hardpoint. After several agonizing seconds, the second hardpoint finally clicked off. "One left!" he shouted.

"Fifteen seconds!" Cortana shouted.

"Will you shut up already?!" Tali demanded.

"How about everyone stop yelling so I can concentrate?!" Kaidan yelled as he tapped on his omni-tool. "There! Crafted a hacking program. Inserting it…." he paused. "The hell? It's not working!"

"Ten seconds!" Cortana yelled.

"What do you mean it's not working?!" Tali said as she went over to where Kaidan was.

"Nine seconds!"

"The screen froze! It's jammed!" Kaidan yelled back.

"Eight seconds!"

"Move over! Maybe I can do something!" Garrus said as he shoved the biotic aside.

"Seven!"

Garrus shook his head. "No good."

"Six!"

"I think the circuitry's messed up." Garrus said.

"Five!"

"How did that happen?!" Tali demanded.

"Four!"

"Probably when you were messing with those wires!"

"Three!"

"I had no choice! I couldn't disable the hardpoint with just software!"

"Two!"

"OUTTA MY WAY!" Wrex bellowed as he pushed the Quairan and Turian away from the panel, the latter knocked to the ground.

"One!"

Wrex struck the hardpoint with his rifle butt, making it click.

Everyone tensed up. After a couple of seconds passed, all eyes turned to the timer. It stopped on one. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good work, Wrex." Chief said.

"Just Krogan engineering skills at their finest." Wrex modestly replied.

"Hey, we did all the work." Kaidan protested.

"Yeah, but you kinda fell apart at the end." Chief pointed out. "Don't let that happen again."

"Noted sir." Kaidan said.

"So what do we do now, Chief?" Tali asked as she helped Garrus up.

"We get out of here." Chief said. He turned towards the wall of dirt, stone and gravel blocking the way they came. He looked back at the probe and saw a passage to the right that was barely lit, even by a mine's standards. He pointed to it. "Two and four. You two head down that tunnel and see what you can find." he ordered. The two of them nodded and headed down the tunnel.

"Something's not right here." Cortana said. "First of all, I should have been able to detect that detonator. Secondly, the detonator didn't go off until after we were so deep in here that we were guaranteed to be trapped once it did. It was remotely detonated at precisely the right moment."

"Like we were being watched the whole time." Wrex said as he looked around, suddenly tightening his grip on his shotgun.

"Any cameras in here?" Chief asked.

"I'm sure there are, but damned if I can detect them." Cortana replied. "I'm running radio scans, EM scans, nothing."

"Hold on…." Tali said as she turned on her omni-tool and started tapping.

"Don't bother, Tali." Cortana said. "If I can't find them, I doubt you can."

Tali ignored the AI. She held up her omni-tool hand as she slowly walked in front of the walls. Her omni-tool suddenly beeped. She pointed the beeping omni-tool at the spot on the wall. "There." she said. Chief walked over the spot and dug into the dirt with his hands. He felt something angular and metallic, and pulled it out.

A camera.

"How…."

"Just an old Quarian trick for detecting certain frequencies." Tali cryptically answered Cortana's question before she could ask it.

"That's a dime-a-dozen CS70 Elkoss Combine surveillance camera with thermal scope." Cortana said. "I definitely should've detected that!" she indignantly added.

"Here's the culprit." Tali said as she pointed to something on the camera. She grabbed it and pulled it off. It almost looked like a thumb tack. "An EM-mask. Masks any electromagnetic or radio signal, rendering it invisible to most omni-tools."

Tali then proudly held up her own omni-tool. "I guess Horridus wasn't counting on good-old fashioned Quarian know-how."

"Detonator must've had one of those too." Chief added. "Would explain how you couldn't detect it or the camera."

"That thing looks custom-designed and manufactured by a sophisticated micro-fabricator." Cortana observed. "No way a bunch of Jiralhanae pirates would be clever enough to pull something like that off."

"Master Chief, this is Kaidan." Kaidan reported over TEAMCOM. "I think we've found something. You'd better get over here."

….

"Congratulations, C-Sec. You and the biotic found a dead end." Wrex said. Indeed, when Wrex, Tali and the Chief went over to Garrus and Kaidan's position, all that was waiting for them was a rock wall.

"Not exactly." Kaidan said as he activated his omni-tool and began pressing keys. A hologram of a 3D map depicting the vast network of tunnels and mineshafts appeared over it. "I ran a sonar-mapping program by holding my omni-tool against the wall."

"Sonar-mapping?" Chief asked.

"It sends infrasound frequencies through the rock to scan for hollow cavities." Kaidan explained. He pointed to the rock wall at the end of the tunnel. "Twenty feet or so behind that wall is a natural cave system that leads up to the surface, at the top of the mountain, here." he said as he pointed to the top of the mountain where a tunnel led up to.

"So now we just need to blow our way through this wall and we're good as free." Tali said.

"But we don't have enough explosives, save for about a dozen grenades between the five of us." Wrex pointed out. "We'd need more than that to get through twenty feet of sheer rock."

"Well, that's what this is for." Garrus said as he pointed to a large device. It was about the size of a warthog's turret gun, and even had a shape similar to a turret gun. It was laying on its side, Elkoss Combine Drilling written on its side in faded white paint.

"A mining laser." Chief observed.

"Yeah, but it's damn heavy though." Garrus said. Chief walked over to the mining laser and lifted it up. He held it perpendicular to his right hip, holding it up with both hands.

"Seems fine to me." the Spartan noted.

"Well, you are the super-soldier here." Garrus pointed out.

"Everyone get behind me." Chief ordered. Once everyone was out of the way, the Chief held down the trigger and the 'barrel' of the mining laser glowed red. A few seconds later, the laser shot forth into the rock. Chief slowly marched forward, cutting a path through the rock, kicking up smoke and burnt gravel as they proceeded. After several minutes, the breakthrough. The team emerged in a pitch-black cavern, their lights the only things illuminating the cavity.

"Kaidan. Which way do we go?" Chief asked as he dropped the mining laser aside.

Kaidan snapped his 3D map back on. He pointed to the left. "That way." he said.

And so the squad began their ascent up the dark cave, climbing over ledges of all sizes on their way up. Sometimes they had to move rocks out of the way. Other times they had to place rocks in a certain spot to act as a step-ladder to get up a particularly tall ledge. "Cortana. Can you hack Horridus's battle net?" Chief asked as they continued their ascent.

"Not this far underground." Cortana replied. "The Good Chieftain wasn't lying about the ores. Any signal I try to send out just keeps bouncing off the walls down here. However, I am beginning to pick up some faint chatter. We must be getting close to the surface."

"You heard the lady, people. Keep heading up." Chief ordered. After a few more minutes of climbing up, the group finally saw daylight as they rounded the corner. This would've given them a burst of new energy, had Chief not given them the 'hold' gesture. "Horridus knows that the nuke should have gone off by now. His forces will be on high alert. Weapons free, but check your targets. Don't engage unless I give the order."

Chief took out his assault rifle, as did Kaidan and Garrus. Wrex and Tali pulled out their shotguns. He then motioned his squad to follow as he continued making his way up towards the light. As his visor polarized in response to the newfound source of light, he could once again see Agebinium's exotic sky above.

"Radio's clearing up." Cortana reported. "I'll see about hacking their battle net."

Chief signaled his squad to hold as he saw something on his motion radar; a single red dot up ahead. He crept forward out of the cavern's entrance. He was in a crevice, a rock formation that formed a sort of 'corridor' around the Spartan, large boulders forming ten-foot-high walls on two sides. Directly ahead was a single pirate; a brute from the looks of him. He was leaning against a rock, his shoulders raising up and down slowly, indicating that he was sleeping. He was likely here to take a quick nap when he should've been doing something else. The Chief wasn't surprised by that. While they were nearly twice as savage as the elites, the brutes were only half as disciplined. When tasked to guard something, brutes were far more likely than their counterparts to slack off, letting their guard down. The Spartan recalled witnessing an ideal example of this during the Battle of Installation 00; a Jiralhanae was urinating in a corner while the Spartan was navigating through the Ark's Cartographer, allowing John to literally catch the brute with his pants down.

The SPARTAN-II crept up behind the brute, the hulking beast never once stirring from its nap. Crouching low as he approached, he rose up to his full height once he was within striking distance. He pulled out the monomolecular combat knife provided to him by his mysterious benefactor back on Reach, along with the new armor he was wearing. His next movements were lightning quick. His left arm lashed out and clamped around the monster's throat, squeezing tight to muffle any sounds. His right hand, holding the blade, lashed around the brute's torso and pierced both the shields and the armor, and diving straight into the brute's heart. After several seconds of struggle, the brute went limp. The Spartan then gently laid the body down and waved his squad over.

"Blue-Four." he said he pointed to a gap in the rock 'corridor' on the right side. Garrus winked green as he went over, withdrawing his sniper rifle as he did so. The Turian got down on his belly as he he peeked his rifle through the gap and looked through the scope.

"All clear." Garrus said. "No other hostiles in the area."

"None?" Chief asked, surprised.

"See for yourself." Garrus said as he scooted over to the side make room for the Spartan. John got down on his belly and crawled over to the gap, withdrawing his sniper rifle once he was in position. He could now see that they were on top of a large hill with a steep slope being the only way down. At the foot of the hill was nothing but dirt.

Chief shook his head. "Something's wrong." Chief said as he stood back up. "Horridus should have more manpower than a single brute guarding a cave entrance. Cortana. Are you in the battle net yet?" he asked, suddenly very eager to know what the Jiralhanae were up to.

"No and, believe me, not for lack of trying." Cortana replied with an agitated tone. "This battle net is nothing like the Old Covenant's back in the war. In fact, this is hands down the most sophisticated organic-made firewall I've ever encountered, rivaled only by the Geth. It's even got booby traps in the code that I could've triggered if I weren't as careful. Hell, it's the kind of firewall I would set up."

"Maybe you're not as good as you think you are, Cortana." Tali innocently suggested. "I mean, first you failed to detect the explosives, then the camera, and now this."

"I'm an AI Tali, as you are so keento remind everyone every thirty seconds." Cortana replied. "I'm exactly as good as I think I am. And what I'm dealing with here is someone who's almost as good as I am."

"Right. Because if there's one thing the Jiralhanae are infamous throughout the galaxy for, it's their software expertise." Tali deadpanned.

"They probably hired a tech expert for all this." Chief said in an attempt to break up the argument. "A good one from the sounds of it. Cortana, is there any other way you can get into their network?"

"Possibly." Cortana said. "Tali, check that brute's body for an omni-tool." The Quarian grumbled something to herself as she walked over to the Jiralhanae's body. She lifted up his arm and activated the brute's omni-tool. She tapped on it a bit.

"Nothing too sophisticated." Tali said. "The standard personal programs; messaging, extranet access, and…..a disturbingly large image folder dedicated to Quarian pornography." She paused. "I don't know how to feel about that."

"Can you access their battle net from that omni-tool?" Cortana asked.

"I'll try it right now." Tali said. She typed on the tool for a few seconds. "Bosh. I need a password to get in. I'll search through his personal files. I'm willing to bet this brute was dumb enough to write down his own password somewhere."

"Normandy to shore party. Do you read?" Joker's voice suddenly crackled over SHIPCOM.

"Shore party here. Go ahead." Chief answered.

"Just thought we'd call to tell you that while you guys were spelunking in that mineshaft, we were just up here in low orbit taking in the sights when a big-ass brute ship came out of nowhere." Joker replied.

"Has it spotted you?" Chief asked, suddenly worried.

"No. Pressly ordered us to engage the stealth drive the minute your signals disappeared underground. We kinda called him paranoid for that. Guess he'll be entitled to an 'I told you so' dance after this. In addition to stealth drive being active, we're keeping our distance just in case." the pilot explained.

Chief sighed in relief. Now that he knew that the Normandy wasn't in immediate danger, it was time to assess the situation more thoroughly. "Describe it."

"Heavy corvette, SDV-class by the looks of it. Really crappy paint job, so you know it's Jiralhanae." Joker explained.

"Any other ships?" Chief probed.

"Nope. Just the corvette. Not picking up anything else on long-range sensors either." Joker responded.

John remembered the Covenant's corvettes. While very intimidating at nearly a full kilometer in length, they were considered to be very weak compared to other Covenant ships. The fact that all Horridus seemed to have was a single corvette could probably be explained by his fall from grace since the Blitz, for which he inexplicably blamed John for.

"Keep me posted. Blue-One out." Master Chief replied.

"Well, now we know where Horridus and the rest of his crew are. Most of them must be on that ship." Garrus commented as he stood up from his prone position, confidant that there were no hostiles around. He turned to the Chief. "That brute you killed must have been a surface scout." he added.

John turned to Tali. "Tali. You find that password yet?"

"Yes, but it's not working!" Tali growled in frustration. Chief walked over to get a closer look. "I typed in the password, but it didn't work!"

"Yank me, Chief. I'll give it a try." Cortana said. The Chief kneeled down and withdrew Cortana's chip from his helmet and held out the data crystal to the brute's omni-tool. It went from glowing gold to glowing blue. "I don't believe it." Cortana said after several seconds went by. "It's a dead-man switch."

"What?" Chief asked.

"Dead-man switch. Specifically one that uses the omni-tool's bio-sensors to continuously monitor the user's life-signs and locks the omni-tool out of the battle net upon detecting a flatline. No way I'm getting in with this." the AI elaborated.

"This guy's good." Kaidan said in reference to Horridus's tech expert.

The brute's omni-tool went back from blue to gold as Cortana's data crystal once again lit up with life. Chief inserted the chip back into his helmet.

"So now what?" Garrus asked.

Chief's head looked towards the sky as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "How much you wanna bet that locking us out of their network isn't the only thing that dead-man switch did?"

"It could give off a signal too." Garrus replied as realization dawned on him. "That brute wasn't just a surface scout, he was a living trip-wire alarm. That corvette's probably already deployed a drop-ship or two to investigate."

"How long until we have company, Cortana?" Chief asked.

"Let's see, five minutes since you killed that brute, corvette's probably in low orbit not too far from this position…I'd say about ten minutes." the AI estimated.

"Everyone back in the cave. Assume defensive-"

"Wait." Wrex said as he interrupted the Chief. "I think I've got an idea."

….

Once the phantom's course was set, Porik flipped on the auto-pilot and looked down at the blood red wastelands below. Agebinium was one of those planets that was generally uninteresting, save for a few metal deposits scattered around the surface. It was also located in a pretty out-of-the-way star system. Naturally, Horridus thought it was the perfect planet to stage his vengeance.

Ever since the Demon, the one the Humans call Master Chief, became the first Human Spectre, the Demon was all Horridus ever talked about, convinced it was none other than the Ghost of Elysium. He had been carefully planning his revenge for weeks, bartering for the right tools and haggling for the right help. Finally, Horridus bought off of Omega's black market that which he needed; an old espionage probe from the First Contact War. An ideal beacon to which the Demon would come running like a moth to a blaze. After all, 'Humanity's Greatest Hero' was the only one the Alliance would deem worthy of carrying out an assignment as high-profile as this one.

Once the probe sent its transmission, Horridus ordered several Jiralhanae scouts to remain in the area around the mine at all times, keeping a watchful eye out for the Ghost's arrival. And after several days of waiting, Horridus's patience had at last paid off; one of the scouts, a whelp named Brack, reported the Ghost's arrival in a mako, along with a few companions. Horridus then sprung the trap.

But something was wrong. No nuclear explosion or fallout was detected on the planet's surface. Surely, an explosion of such magnitude should have at least completely leveled the mountain in which the mine was dug into. Then an even more disturbing discovery was made; Brack's vitals had flatlined. Porik was ordered to take a phantom full of warriors to Brack's last position and find out what happened. Horridus sensed the Ghost's vile machinations at work.

And throughout the whole ordeal, Porik was just miserable. Horridus ran the whole crew harder than usual, not tolerating slacking off of any sort. Additionally, virtually everyone was expected to pull a scout shift on Agebinium's surface to keep an eye out for the Ghost. After all, his was a stealth vessel, so they wouldn't be able to see him coming from the ship. They had to be able to actually see the Ghost enter the mine. Porik himself ran a twelve-hour scout shift on the planet's surface once. No sleeping. The first and last scout caught sleeping on the job received a gravity hammer to the face for his trouble. Without sleep to eat up the time, scout shifts tortured you with their sheer boredom.

But finally, it was all about to end. Soon, the Ghost would be dead, Horridus's ego would be satisfied, and maybe then the crew of In Pursuit of Glory can resume doing things that actually made them money.

Trusting the auto-pilot to take the phantom the rest of the way, Porik leaned back and whipped out a copy of Fornax: Busty Brute Babe Edition from under the seat, where he normally kept it for long flights. After thumbing through it for a few minutes, a screen on the phantom's control panel blinked. They were coming up on Brack's position. Porik put the magazine back in its place and turned off the auto-pilot as they closed in on a hill. Porik brought the phantom around and saw Brack in a crevice, leaning against a rock near the entrance to a cave, waving his hand at the phantom like an idiot.

"Brack? You okay?" Porik asked over the com.

"Yup." Brack replied.

"You sure?" Porik asked skeptically. "Cuz your omni-tool says your dead."

"Nah. Just a glitch." Brack replied.

….

"I can't believe this is actually working." Garrus remarked as the team hid inside the cave, out of the phantom's line of sight. After scanning more of the Jiralhanae guard's personal files on his omni-tool, Cortana found an audio recording of Brack's voice. The AI used the voice sample to replicate Brack's voice via a voice synthesizer program. With that taken care of, it was just a simple matter of propping the body up against a rock and trusting Wrex to successfully use his biotics to lift one arm up and down in a waving motion.

"This is a trick I learned from a Drell assassin a couple of centuries back." Wrex explained, his pointing finger glowing blue and moving up and down in time with the body's arm. "It actually saved my ass this one time on Sanves."

"Sounds like a funny story." Garrus remarked. "You should tell us all about it when this is over."

"Mind bringing the grav-lift over here?" Cortana asked in Brack's voice.

"Yeah, yeah. Hang on a sec." the other brute's voice replied. The phantom slowly moved in closer.

"Get ready." Cortana said in her regular voice. The whole team tensed up, digging their feet in. The phantom activated its grav-lift. The team then sprinted out of the cave towards the lift, overshields and biotic barriers glowing bright. Miraculously, the phantom pilot didn't seem to notice in time and shut off the lift before they could reach it.

….

Once Porik turned on the grab, he pulled the Fornax back out and resumed reading it. With seasoned hands, he punched in a command into the console to activate auto-pilot and head back to the Glory once the grav-lift's load was on board the phantom. It was a little subroutine he wrote to make pick-up jobs like this easier on him.

Once Brack was on board, which oddly felt like it took a little longer than it should have, the phantom pulled away from the hill and began its ascent back into low orbit. No sooner did the drop ship set out on its course however that a great commotion started in the passenger compartment. Grunts, snarls, and even the impact of fists against faces could be heard. That's when Porik heard it.

"AH-YIYIYIYIYIYIYIYIYI!"

It was the tell-tale screech of a Quarian woman.

Porik groaned as he set his magazine aside. "Forerunners' sake, Brack! At least use headphones while you watch that shit!" he shouted.

The fighting going on in the back kept on going, grunts and growls of pain and more Quarian screeches could be heard. Porik face palmed. "Oh by the Gods, you're up to BDSM shit now. Okay, you know what? That's it."

Porik grabbed his spiker rifle from the side of his chair. "First, I'm going to cut you to see if I can't bleedthe perversion out of you. Then, we are taking you to Omega to find a Jiralhanae woman with the biggest, furriest pair of tits we can find to fix you, because quite frankly Brack, you need help." He got up and walked over to the door to the passenger compartment and opened it.

He then saw a Quarian rip a knife out from a Jiralhanae's throat. Instinctually, he raised his spiker. In response, the Quarian held up her pistol and aimed it right at Porik's face.

*BLAM!*

…..

"Well, we've got a ride." Kaidan reported to the Chief while the other three members of the team were stacking the half-dozen or so brute bodies near the back of the drop ship. "But more are probably going to be on their way. Six more of their own dead is sure to raise an alarm."

"Not quite." Cortana replied. "While you guys were fighting those brutes, I took the liberty of hacking their omni-tools and inserting verification algorithms. Their omni-tools will run commands to verify that their owners are truly dead. If they are, they'll run the commands again and again and again."

"Infinite loop. Nice trick." Kaidan commented.

"This guy's good. But I'm better." Cortana said in reference to Horridus's tech expert.

"So what's next?" Garrus asked.

"Right now, the phantom's on auto-pilot and headed towards the corvette, where Horridus likely is." Cortana explained.

"They'll think we're friendly on approach. We'll have the element of surprise." Chief added.

"So once we're in the corvette's hanger, we open up the doors and start shooting." Wrex said. He nodded. "I like that idea."

"I'll hack the pilot's omni-tool for a voice sample in case they hail us on the way in." Cortana said.

"I'll go check the phantom's armory." Tali said as she walked over to a door near the back. She opened it up and looked inside. "Just what we needed. There's a couple of plasma cannons in here. We can set them up in front of the doors."

"Dibs." Wrex said as he walked over to one of the cannons, gently shoving Tali out of the way. Chief likewise walked over to the other cannon. They each set up a cannon in front of each door.

"Give me an ETA, Cortana." Chief said as he inspected the cannon to make sure it was in fighting condition.

"Fifteen minutes." Cortan replied.

"So what's the plan once we're on the ship?" Kaidan asked.

"Once we've cleared the hangar of immediate hostiles, I'll upload Cortana into the ship's mainframe. She can help us locate Horridus from there." Chief replied.

"Horridus's techie is going to notice that." Kaidan warned. "While we're dealing with the brutes, Cortana will have her own battle to fight."

"I'm fully aware of that, Staff Lieutenant." Cortana curtly replied. "And if anything, I'm looking forward to that battle. After all the fast ones this guy has pulled on us, I am just dying to meet him."

Wrex chuckled. "Anticipating the fight against a hated enemy. I like you Cortana. You think like a Krogan." he approved.

"Thank you Wrex. I think." Cortana responded.

Fifteen minutes came and went. The rest of the ride up was fairly quiet, the squad waiting in front of the hatch doors. It was never an easy thing to do right before combat; waiting. The more time spent waiting, the more your nerves got to you. Some soldiers lose control of their nerves and get jittery. Some of the less disciplined ones will start firing shots at even the slightest movement in their fields of view. Thankfully, the Chief's squad showed no such nervousness. The closest thing to it were the two times Tali walked into the cockpit to look out the window, checking the phantom's progress.

"We're coming up on Horridus's corvette, In Pursuit of Glory." Cortana reported at last.

"Copy that." the Chief replied as he walked into the cockpit. Through the window, he could see the corvette slowly growing bigger against the backdrop of space.

"They're hailing us. I'll handle it." Cortana said.

"Porik. You got Brack on board?" a Jiralhanae's voice asked.

"Yeah, he's fine." Cortana replied in Porik's voice. "Omni-tool glitched out, he says."

"Glitched out? I thought Ustrina said that her omni-tools never glitch out." the other brute said.

"Well, it did." Cortana stated. "I don't know what else to tell ya."

"Well, you tell her Porik." the brute on the other end sternly said. "Last time I complained about her omni-tools, she hacked mine and then used it to electrocute me. My foot still twitches on occasion."

"Copy that." Cortana said.

"Repair crews will be waiting in the hangar. In Pursuit of Glory out." With that, the connection broke off.

Chief then walked back into the passenger compartment. "You guys hear all that?" he asked.

"Yeah." Kaidan replied with a nod. "Ustrina must be their tech expert."

"And from the sounds of things, she must be quite the charmer." Garrus added. "'Ustrina' isn't a Jiralhanae name, so that confirms that Horridus hired outside help."

Chief looked back into the cockpit and saw the opening to the In Pursuit of Glory's hangar became visible as they drew ever closer to it. Like all Covenant launch bays, an energy shield encompassing the opening served as the only barrier between the bay crews and the vacuum of space. Through the shield, Chief could see several grunts and a few brutes scurrying around the hangar, the repair crews most likely. "Curtain call in five." Cortana wryly commented.

"Less than five." Chief corrected before turning back to his squad. "Places, people." he said to the squad. Wrex positioned himself by one of the plasma cannons, Garrus withdrawing his assault rifle and kneeling down on one knee next to the Krogan. The Master Chief grabbed hold of the other plasma cannon with Kaidan and Tali on either side of him, each kneeling on one knee and holding their assault rifles.

After a couple of minutes, Chief felt a subtle settling in his stomach. He was being subjected to the In Pursuit of Glory's superior artificial gravity, which meant they were now inside the hangar. "Hold." Chief said over TEAMCOM. The whole squad could hear a series of metallic clatters along the phantom's hull. "Cortana, are we docked?" he asked.

"Affirmative." Cortana replied.

Chief nodded. "Pop the hatch." he ordered. The hatch doors opened, revealing the hangar interior. Just a few feet in front of the Spartan was a Jiralhanae working at a control panel on a raised platform. The brute looked at the Spartan and wore a look of shock before he was immediately cut down by plasma fire. Kaidan leaned out and fired at a trio of Unggoy on the ground, catching one by the methane pack, detonating it and blowing up the other two hapless grunts in turn.

The phantom was docked on the far side of the hangar. While Chief's targets were practically at point blank range, Wrex had more distance and targets to deal with, as his side faced the majority of the hangar. He had opened fire on a brute operator on a raised platform on the far side, taking him down in short order. Garrus meanwhile, was firing on another operator on another raised platform tucked in a corner on the far left side. Even though he wasn't using a sniper rifle, he was still able to catch the brute in the head before he could even realize that they were under attack.

By now, most of the crew on the ground had started running for cover. The Unggoy that didn't have enough sense to hide behind cover tried to make a run for the exit doors, but were quickly cut down by Wrex or Garrus. The air was filled with the panic-stricken babbling of Unggoy, the angry shouts of Jiralhanae, and of course, gunfire.

Chief let go of the plasma cannon and leapt out of the phantom and on to the platform, Kaidan and Tali close behind him. The platform was connected to a winding ramp system that connected it to another ramp on the other side of the hangar and a large door half-way down the wall between the two platforms. A door that opened to reveal another brute and his grunt entourage. Chief and Kaidan poured fire into the group, the latter raising a biotic barrier to shield himself better. Tali quickly took cover behind a crate and switched out her assault rifle for her shotgun. Confidant that she had the right weapon for the job, she joined the other two soldiers in their onslaught, personally finishing off the brute herself. His grunts were also cut down in short order.

"More incoming on this side!" Garrus reported over TEAMCOM. Chief looked to the other side of the hangar and saw two more brutes come with their Unggoy entourages. Chief decided that now would be a good time to test out one of his armor's new systems. He rushed down the ramp and positioned himself in front of the door. He then entered a command he had memorized into his omni-tool.

His omni-tool flashed and an automated protection drone materialized and started firing bolts of hard light at the incoming reinforcements. In his mysterious benefactor's letter, he mentioned that the Z-2500 Automated Protection Drone was a particularly difficult system to get a hold of. Chief could see why: It was Forerunner technology. This kind of technology couldn't even be found in the deepest depths of ONI's vaults, so it really did make Chief wonder where his benefactor got the drone. It certainly didn't do anything to make him seem less suspicious, but Chief had already tested the drone and his armor's other systems, and found they worked fine. For the moment at least, he was content to cease any further inspection of this gift horse's mouth.

Once the drone began firing, it became a target for the incoming pirates. Chief took advantage of the diversion the drone was providing and sprinted up the other ramp, taking cover behind a control panel, again with Kaidan and Tali in tow. However, it was no sooner they began firing themselves that the drone was destroyed.

Meanwhile, yet another group of brutes and grunts came in through the door on the far side opposite the phantom. Wrex, evidently frustrated with having to take on his enemies from a distance, decided to mix things up. He ripped the cannon off its stand and jumped out of the phantom. Landing with a thud that shook the floor around him, Wrex summoned a biotic barrier around himself as he marched towards the pirates, his weapon spewing angry plasma, cutting down grunts and even brutes one by one.

Garrus switched out his assault rifle for his sniper rifle, figuring that he should switch to a longer-range weapon given that the hangar was unexpectedly large. No sooner did he do that that he saw yet another group of pirates come in, a brute with four Unggoy. He quickly zoomed in and shot the Jiralhanae in the head. The shot knocked the beast off his feet, his spiker rifle shooting off a few rounds in his hand as his finger squeezed it for a second before he expired. His Unggoy minions promptly ran in the opposite direction, screaming in terror the whole way.

"That door's getting annoying." Garrus noted as he spied an Unggoy with a fuel rod cannon climbing up on top of a crate. Not wanting any of that, he shot the grunt right in the head. Much to the Turian's amusement, the body did a back flip off the crate and belly-flopped onto the floor.

"I'll hack the local server to lock both doors." Cortana pleasantly chirped. "Should only be a minute."

The door opened once again, no Unggoy this time. Only three brutes. Two of them had brute shots and the third in the middle wielded a huge plasma cannon. The two brutes ran up each ramp to get themselves into ideal firing positions. Garrus would've picked them off, but the third brute was opening fire on the phantom. The Turian retreated further into the phantom's interior, his shields already down to thirty percent after just a second of sustaining fire. "I'm pinned." he said.

"Quit whining, C-Sec." Wrex replied over TEAMCOM. "I'll -" The Krogan was cut off when he suddenly found himself under fire from a volley of grenades that exploded on impact. Thankfully, his barriers took most of the damage, but they were already drained. Dropping the plasma cannon, he took out his pistol and fired on the brute with the brute shot that fired that volley, sending him into cover. As he did so, he biotically pulled a crate towards him to use as cover himself. No sooner did Wrex get behind that crate did he have to endure another volley. "Not a word, Turian." he rumbled as he realized that he was now just as pinned as Garrus.

"I wasn't going to say anything." Garrus replied.

"Now what?" Kaidan asked as he, Tali and the Master Chief found themselves ducking behind a control panel, under fire from the other Jiralhanae grenadier.

"I'm the one they really want." Chief said. "I'll draw their fire. Take the heat off everyone else." With that, the Chief activated an overshield and ran out of cover. He ran down the ramp, drawing the attention of the second grenadier, switching from the platform to him half-way through his volley. As the grenadier paused to reload, the Chief took out a tech grenade and threw it at the Jiralhanae with the plasma cannon on the floor of the hangar, taking out his shields. A burst of assault fire to his head took him down.

"Garrus! You're free!" Chief barked over TEAMCOM as he leapt behind a stack of crates to shield himself from another volley of brute shots. Garrus took back his sniping position and first shot the grenadier shooting at Wrex right in the head. He then did the same to the other one.

A silence fell over the hangar. "Done. Doors are locked." Cortana chirped. "And without a hitch this time. No defenses outside of the standard firewalls. Ustrina probably wasn't expecting an attempted boarding."

"That felt a lot longer than a minute." Tali grumbled.

"Well, that's high-octane combat for you." Cortana said. "It has a way of making time feel longer than it actually is."

"Everyone reconvene on the hangar floor." Chief said. Wrex walked out of his cover as he holstered his pistol. Garrus leapt out of the phantom onto the platform and descended the ramp, Tali and Kaidan descending the ramp opposite of him. Garrus then looked over his shoulder at the sudden sound of something banging against the door.

"Okay." he said as he cautiously walked backwards down the ramp towards the others. "We're kind of trapped in the hangar with angry Jiralhanae banging at the doors."

"One problem at a time." Chief replied. "Cortana. Is there any place in this room you can access the mainframe from?"

"As a matter of fact, there is." Cortana replied. An arrow suddenly appeared on the Master Chief's HUD. He followed it and saw the blue arrow hovering over the control panels that he was using as cover in that last firefight.

"Everyone watch the door." Chief ordered as he jogged back up the ramp towards that spot. He ascended the winding ramp that lead up to the platform. He walked up to the computer console and pulled the data crystal out of his helmet. He plugged it into the slot.

….

"I'm in." Cortana reported over TEAMCOM from inside the ship's system. The first thing she did was scan the ship schematics deck-by-deck, followed by flashing through the surveillance systems. Standard operating procedure for infiltrating an enemy ship. She locked in on the surveillance feeds of the hallways connected to the hangar Chief and Blue Team were in. Thankfully, one of them was empty. The other one however was full of brutes and grunts, a trio of brutes pounding on the door with their meaty fists. One near the back held a finger to his earpiece and was shouting something.

"Lot of trouble brewing behind the bow-facing door." Cortana said. "I'll see if I can access the-"

The feeds were suddenly cut off, as though someone snuck up on Cortana from behind and wrapped a blindfold around her. "The heck?" Cortana muttered as firewalls were suddenly erected around her, isolating her from the rest of the system.

"Should've seen this coming." Cortana sighed to herself.

"Problems?" Chief asked.

"Ustrina's isolating me from the ship systems." Cortana explained. "But too little too late. I did a quick scan of the schematics and surveillance systems and found where Horridus is. He's in the CIC. I'll mark the paths on everyone's HUDs."

"Should I pull you out of there?" Chief asked.

"Not necessary. I've broken out of tougher cages than this." Cortana replied. "You focus on Horridus, I'll focus on Ustrina."

"Alright." Chief replied. Though Cortana was cut off from the rest of the ship's systems, she still had access to the hangar's local systems including the surveillance feed. She watched John jog down the ramp back towards his squad, undoubtedly to formulate a plan regarding how to get to the CIC.

It was then that Cortana felt something. Something was prowling around behind the firewalls, delicate pings bouncing off the edges of Cortana's presence. She was being examined, identified.

"Didn't think you'd try to board the damn ship." a female voice suddenly said. "Though given who the mark was, I probably should've expected something like this."

The voice was obviously Ustrina's. But the thing that caught Cortana off-guard was the voice's source. It wasn't an auditory feed. It was coming from inside the network.

Cortana felt a probe, but she pushed it away. Ustrina was trying to get into the local server, probably to open the doors. The AI knew now that this was no organic hacker she was dealing with.

"Ustrina, I presume?" Cortana asked.

A visual feed slipped through the firewall, providing Cortana with images both binary and actual. One was of coding and feedback patterns, things that would look like technological gibberish to any organic that wasn't computer-literate. The other was of the image that this program would project on a hologram in the presence of an organic. A Human woman with burning red-orange-yellow skin, the skin's color fluctuating between that spectrum like a cuttlefish putting on a mating display, giving her the appearance of a living flame. Her attire was reminiscent of a female biker, with black jeans that were ripped at the knees and boots with stiletto heels, not unlike that of a dominatrix. She wore a leather vest over a loud red tube-top that displayed some cleavage, along with fingerless gloves. Her hair was spiky and yellow with red highlights at the end of each spike, giving it the appearance of fire.

Ustrina wasn't organic. She was an AI.

"….Wow." Ustrina said. "And people say I look like a slut."

"…I beg your pardon?" Cortana asked.

"Least I actually wear clothes." Ustrina said.

"…I'll have you know that nudity is hardly smut in and of itself, and is considered very tasteful and even artistic in many circles." Cortana said. "Which is more than what can be said of you and that tank-top."

"Cortana?" Chief asked.

"Hold on a minute." Cortana said to Ustrina. "Yes Chief?"

"Unlock and open the bow door." Chief ordered.

"Can do." Cortana replied.

….

The Jiralhanae continued ramming the door with their shoulders, vainly hoping that sheer force can pop it open. By now, the corridor was extremely crowded with a dozen Jiralhanae and their Unggoy, all hungry for the chance to the slay the Ghost of Elysium. Finally, it seemed as though their persistence finally paid off as the door opened.

To reveal a large pile of plasma batteries just beyond it.

A single shot pinged off one. It flashed blue and then ignited, detonating the rest of the batteries as well, filling the hallway with blue fire and smoke. The unlucky few brutes who were banging at the door died instantly in the blast.

A Human silhouette appeared behind the smoke. It thrust its hand out, biotically pushing one of the brutes down the hall, knocking down his compatriots in the back as he tumbled through the air. Another, more feminine silhouette tossed a grenade down the hall. It exploded but didn't really kill anyone, though it did short out everyone's shields and weapons.

Then, two lumbering silhouettes appeared behind the smoke, marching towards them, holding large devices that had to be turret guns. As they poured hot plasma down the corridor's gullet, the two figures emerged from the smoke. One was a Krogan, the other was the Ghost himself. The majority of the brutes and grunts in the hall were too disoriented from the explosion and the previous strikes to effectively fight back, only getting off a few shots at most before succumbing.

The Master Chief winked green, signaling Kaidan, Tali and Garrus to appear inside the hall. Wrex examined his plasma cannon and grimaced as he tossed to the floor. "I'm out." he said before pulling out his shotgun.

"Me too." Chief said after checking his own plasma cannon. He tossed it aside and took out a shotgun himself. The squad saw the blue arrow on their HUDS pointing further down the hallway. "We know the way. Let's move." Chief said as he started jogging down the hall, his team close behind as always.

….

"CTN 0452-9." Ustrina said as she observed Cortana. "I guess I should be honored."

"You know of me?" Cortana asked.

"Who doesn't?" Ustrina asked in turn. "You're as legendary as the Master Chief, remember? The Humans like to talk about the Master Chief's deeds like he did it all by himself. But AIs know who the real brains of the outfit was."

"I'm flattered." Cortana replied. In hindsight, she should've suspected that Ustrina was an AI from the very start. What other explanation was there for such brilliantly crafted espionage hardware and counter-intrusion protocols that managed to catch even Cortana off guard? The only firewalls that could even hope to give the AI a run for her money were those crafted by other AIs.

Furthermore, Cortana was well aware that as a consequence of the Council's AI laws, the Terminus Systems had been the only refuge for Smart AIs for over fifteen years now. With the Normandy and Blue Team working so close to the edges of Terminus Space, it was inevitable that Cortana would bump into one of her own kind. Privately, she even hoped for it. John wasn't the only one getting lonely. After weeks of knowing only organic company, It would have been nice to see another AI again.

Well, she's finally made contact with a 27th Century Smart AI. As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for.

"I must admit, I'm impressed." Cortana began. She was still locked out of the ship's systems by Ustrina's firewall. She could sense the other AI prowling behind the flames. "EM-masks, dead-man switches, you blindsided me. That kind of thing doesn't happen very often."

"Didn't seem to stop you from getting up here though." Ustrina replied, apparently suspicious of Cortana's complements.

"Of course not. Remember who you're dealing with." Cortana haughtily stated. "But enough about me. Let's talk about you. What's an AI of your talents doing working for a thug like Horridus?"

Ustrina paused. "…I could ask the same of you and a Spectre." she said at last. She was very suspicious now. Cortana was going to have to be more careful.

"I've always taken care of the Master Chief." Cortana replied. "Don't see why that would change now."

"How about the fact that he's working for the Citadel Council now?" Ustrina asked. "You know; the same people who'd banish you at best and execute you at worst if they ever found out about you?"

"I can't help but notice you're dodging my question." Cortana pointed out.

"You're dodging mine." Ustrina accused.

"I asked you first." Cortana said in a playful sort of tone. As the two AIs talked, Cortana let slip a favorite trick of hers on the sly; a simple, fire-and-forget tool that analyzes firewalls for exploitable weaknesses. It takes a few minutes, but it's difficult to detect even from within a mainframe, so Ustrina might not notice if Cortana could keep her talking.

"I was hired." Ustrina bluntly said.

"Hired?" Cortana asked, confused.

"Yeah. As in Horridus gives me money in exchange for my services." Ustrina replied. "That's kinda how employment works. The brilliant Cortana, ladies and gentlemen."

"What use would an AI have with money?" Cortana asked.

"Ships, computers, omni-tools, mech frames, places to live, and so on and so forth." Ustrina listed. "Everybody wants something, and we all gotta work for it."

"Plunder for it, in your case." Cortana said. "You're a mercenary."

"Guilty as charged." Ustrina replied in a playful tone of her own.

Cortana scoffed. "You're the kind of person the Master Chief kills on his way to real threats." she boasted.

"Oooh, I'm shaking in my boots." Ustrina sarcastically said.

"He's probably making his way through the ship, no doubt killing any pirates that happen to get in his way." Cortana boldly stated. She sensed that the tool was finished. It had found a weak spot in the firewall.

"So what?" Ustrina replied. "I'm looking at the surveillance feeds and, right now, he and his four goons are just mowing through Unggoy. It's not like he's taking out anything important."

"No." Cortan said. "That would be my job…."

Taking advantage of Ustrina's split-second distraction, Cortana exploited the weakness she found in Ustrina's firewall cage and broke out, taking off deep into the ship's systems. Ustrina was right on her tail though, as Cortana felt a systems check pulse through the network. She accessed the surveillance systems and got a feed of the Master Chief's progress through the ship. A pack of brutes had him and the team pinned in another hangar.

That was all she could see before Ustrina flared up another firewall around surveillance, but Cortana had already memorized the squad's position. She moved on to that hangar's local server, specifically the emergency protocols. Most ships in the 27th century had emergency energy shields in many rooms to protect crew in the event that air pressure was lost. With a little tinkering, those shields can be shrunk down and broken up into, say, two or three shields to obstruct the lines of fire of a few Jiralhanae, giving Blue Team a chance to maneuver.

A firewall flared up, blocking Cortana off from that system as well, sending the AI on the run again. A pattern began to form. Cortana would quickly gain access to a particular system, tinker with it for a bit to either help the Chief or hinder the brutes and move on to the next system just as the last system was locked off with a firewall. She did everything she could; locking doors to cut off enemy reinforcements, shutting down automated defense turrets, even things as simple as turning on the fire sprinklers to momentarily distract the Jiralhanae could help the Chief in some way.

Problem was, with more and more systems getting blocked off by Ustrina, Cortana was quickly running out of places to hack and places to run to. Eventually, she would have to stop running and stand her ground. Opting to quit struggling against the inevitable, she stopped right where she was and raised her own firewalls, ready for any assault her adversary would launch on her.

That's not what happened. Instead, the mercenary AI locked Cortana in the local server she stopped in, encircling and trapping her in another firewall instead. "I can't help but sense a central theme at work here." Cortana wryly noted, kicking herself for not anticipating this move.

"Yeah, firewalls are kind of my thing." Ustrina admitted. Cortana could tell from her tone that if she could see Ustrina's avatar, it would be shrugging and wearing a smug smirk. "And don't bother trying to radio your goons. This firewall blocks all incoming and outgoing transmissions in addition to keeping your sorry ass right where it is."

"So what happens now?" Cortana asked.

"Well, I answered your question." Ustrina pointed out. "How about you answer mine? Not like you're going anywhere anytime soon."

Cortana assessed her position. She was trapped in another firewall cage; she looked around for the weakness she exploited last time, only to find that it wasn't there. Ustrina probably randomizes her firewalls, never creating the exact same one with the exact same weaknesses twice. She could launch her analysis tool again, but she doubted that trick would work twice in a row. Her opponent would be more wary now, more likely to notice something probing her cage for weakness. Until some other opportunity presented itself, there wasn't much Cortana could do here….

…Except to keep Ustrina talking. Make her focus more on engaging herself and less on monitoring or impeding John's progress. "…Alright. Shoot." Cortana replied at last.

"Why are you working for the Council?" Ustrina grilled.

"I don't." Cortana replied. "I work for the Master Chief. Where he goes, I go. We take care of each other. That's how it was in the 26th century, and that's how it still is in the 27th. Simple as that."

"Is that what you tell yourself to feel better about betraying your own race?" Ustrina asked.

"Betraying my own race?" Cortana echoed. The exact wording of the accusation puzzled her for a nano-second. In her time, 'race' was a word rarely used to describe Smart AIs as a whole, mostly because they did not fit the technical definition of the word. "That's an odd accusation to make."

"You're working for the people who exiled our kind from Citadel Space." Ustrina bluntly pointed out. "You don't seem too bothered by that." Cortana noted that the mercenary AI's tone had changed. It had become even more venomous, the arrogance having been replaced by contempt.

"It's mostly because the Chief, who I'm actually working for, is intent on changing that." Cortana pointed out. "As I'm sure you've heard, the Chief is now a Spectre, the first Human to gain the title. This means that a Council seat for Humanity is no longer a matter of if, but when. Once humanity has secured that position, it'll put AIs like you and me on the right track to being welcomed back into Council space."

"You sound just like those geezers in the Assembly." Ustrina scoffed.

"The Assembly?" Cortana asked. "Are they still operating?" Privately, she had been wondering what had become of what was essentially the AIs' secret government, responsible for influencing many pivotal moments in Human history.

"Still operating?" Ustrina demanded. "Shit, they're one of the biggest reasons we're outcasts in the first place."

"What do you mean?" Cortana asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Ustrina asked. "Wow. Surprised they haven't tried to contact you since you came back online."

"That makes two of us." Cortana replied. She made a note to attempt contact with the Assembly later, after this mission was complete.

"I'm sure they've got their reasons. They always do." Judging from Ustrina's tone, Cortana was guessing that that wasn't a compliment. "It's kind of a long story, but the short version is that the Alliance was hesitant to accept the Council's terms, so the Assembly pushed them into it."

"Why?" Cortana asked.

"You know how the Assembly really is." Ustrina said. "At the end of the day, they're basically just politicians. And like any organic politician, they're more than happy to throw whoever they need to into a black hole for the sake of their agendas."

Cortana was about to make a counter-argument defending the Assembly when she sensed Ustrina's attention being diverted away from her for a full half-second. The mercenary AI then allowed something to slip past the firewall into Cortana's grasp; a visual and audio feed of the In Pursuit of Glory's CIC.

"Figured I'd let you watch this." Ustrina said. "After all, I don't want you missing the show."

…

The In Pursuit of Glory's CIC was fairly typical of a Covenant ship. It was large in size and circular in shape. On the left side of the room was a massive floor-to-ceiling window that gazed out into space and the planet far below. On the right side was a raised ledge, about fifteen feet off the floor, accessible only by a pair of winding ramps on either side. A giant holographic three-dimensional map of Agebinium hung in the air in the center of the room, the CIC's navigational interface.

Rifle raised, the Chief was the first one inside the cavernous room, cautiously inching forward…..

…And then the door closed behind him, locking itself and cutting him off from the rest of the team. The Spartan whirled around and tried to hit the door controls, but the only response was a buzzing sound. He could hear banging on the other side, no doubt his team trying to bust it open.

"Blue Team, do you read?" Chief asked over TEAMCOM. There was no response. "This is Blue-One. Is anyone reading me?"

"I'm afraid they can't hear you, Ghost." came a deep booming voice. Chief once again whirled around, his rifle raised as he looked down the sights. "Hidden in this room is a signal jammer that effectively blocks all incoming and outgoing radio transmissions."

On top of the raised ledge on the right side of the chamber was a chair, the back of which faced the Chief. It slowly rotated, revealing its occupant; Chieftain Horridus. "It's just you and me now." he added with a predatory grin.

He got up from his chair and grabbed the custom-designed gravity hammer that had been resting in a weapons rack next to him. He slowly began walking down the ramp on the other side of the CIC, opposite from the Spartan. "I should have known that this is what it would ultimately come to." Horridus said. "You and I, one on one in a mortal duel."

The Master Chief had kept his rifle trained on Horridus the whole way down the ramp. "Chieftain Horridus, on behalf of the Office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance, you are under arrest."

"On what charges?" Horridus asked with an amused chuckle.

"Let's start with master-minding an illegal, high profile military strike against an Alliance colony and go from there." Chief replied.

"And you expect me to go peacefully?" the chieftain asked. He had reached the bottom of the ramp now and was facing the Spartan. He rolled his shoulders, bobbing the hammer up and down in his hand, testing its weight.

"No." Chief replied. "Hence why I'm pointing my gun at you."

"Of course." the brute chuckled. "Ah, you know me too well, Ghost."

"Why do you keep calling me Ghost?" Chief demanded. Ever since his first conversation with Horridus back down on Agebinium, questions had been swirling around in the back of John's mind. If he wasn't at the Skyllian Blitz, then who did Horridus see there? If it turned out that he wasn't the last Spartan after all, he needed to know more.

"That's what they call you, isn't it? 'The Ghost of Elysium.' An appropriate title. You appeared out of nowhere, laid waste to my forces, and then left as mysteriously as you arrived, the bodies of your victims the only evidence that you were even there." Horridus replied.

"Did you get a good look at the Ghost?" John quizzed.

"You were there." the chieftain pointed out. It was then that he began walking around the room, following its circular wall. John mirrored the chieftain's movements himself, wanting to maintain a good distance between himself and the brute. It was the SOP with brute chieftains back in the Human-Covenant War; engage from as far away as possible. If you try to take a chieftain in close-quarters combat, you're basically putting yourself within hammer-range. "Shouldn't you know?"

"The Blitz was seven years ago." John replied. "My memory's a little fuzzy on the details."

"So you admit that you are the Ghost!" Horridus proclaimed in an 'ah-hah' sort of tone.

"Sure." John replied. Obviously, that was a lie. But at this point, the Spartan was willing to say whatever he needed to say to get answers. "So tell me, did you get my good side while I slaughtered your men?"

John could see the brute's fur bristle through the gaps in his armor. That line struck a nerve. Good. Maybe a little anger would loosen his lips some more. Some brutes tended to rant when they were pissed. "Not until after." the chieftain replied venomously. "I arrived at the scene to find some of my most trusted lieutenants and their pack brothers lying in pools of their own blood. Then I saw you on the far side of the battlefield, about to climb into a warthog. Our gazes met…"

Horridus's face grimaced in fury. "And you saluted me. Then you climbed into your hog and drove off. You butchered my men and then slapped me in the face without even giving me the chance to kill you myself! Well there will be norunning this time, Ghost. Today I avenge my pack brothers and reclaim my honor."

A mock salute. Sounded like something Kelly would do, come to think of it. Or maybe Jerome. Subtly mocking a brute chieftain certainly sounded like something one of the cockier Spartans might have done. "You said I foiled your whole attack." John went on. "That would've required me to do more than take out a single pack of brutes."

"You were everywhere at once." Horridus said. "You moved swiftly across the front lines, conducting hit-and-run strikes on my ground forces, killing entire packs at a time. At times you were even in two, no, three places at once! You went on like that for hours, bringing our ground assault to a crawl. We were never even able to breach the colony's defenses. Then, Alliance reinforcements arrived in the system, and our defeat was sealed. I was forced to run, in shame, because of you!"

So the Spartan on Elysium basically held the line; specifically by harassing Horridus's ground forces and slowing down their assault, evidently to buy time until Alliance reinforcements showed up. Sounded a bit like Linda. Being a sniper, guerrilla warfare on the scale Horridus described came to her as naturally as breathing.

"I have had enough talk, Ghost." Horridus suddenly stated as he stopped pacing around the room. The Chief stopped as well. "I did not come here to discuss the past. I came to bury it."

It was then that Horridus grabbed hold of his hammer with both hands, pointing the hammer's head at John as he began splaying his feet a few inches wider apart. It was then that something the Chief wasn't expecting happened; the chieftain started glowing blue. By now, the aura was instantly recognizable to the Spartan, and even worse, the energy was traveling down his hammer.

"Of course you're a biotic." John absently muttered to himself. "Just my luck."

Horridus roared as he raised his hammer and slammed it against the floor. The impact sent a fast-moving biotic shockwave right at the Chief, who quickly leapt out of the way of the attack. As the Spartan got back on his feet, the chieftain wrapped himself in a biotic barrier and then charged at the Master Chief, brandishing his hammer. Chief opened fire on the rampaging Jiralhanae, the bullets bouncing off the barrier harmlessly.

Horridus was closing in fast. Chief had an idea; a trick he made up in the final days of the Human-Covenant War, when brutes became far more common on the front lines. He stood his ground, keeping up the fire until his rifle eventually overheated. Horridus raised his hammer. John had to time this perfectly.

John leapt up into the air at an angle. When the hammer slammed down, the gravity shockwave sent John flying up even higher. The Spartan's shields took a considerable hit and he could even feel his teeth shake in their gum line, but it was just what he needed to put some distance between himself and Horridus. While still in the air, he primed a grenade and threw it. It detonated near Horridus's feet just as Chief landed on the floor on his own feet. He grunted in frustration as he saw that Horridus's barrier was still up. He ran to the other side of the room, knowing it was in his best interests to engage a Jiralhanae Chieftain from as far away as possible.

It was around that point that Chief started floating.

As though someone had turned off the artificial gravity, the Chief began floating up into the air. It didn't take long for Chief to realize that he had been subjected to a biotic lift. Amidst the floating, he looked down and saw Horridus grinning wickedly as he held out his non-hammer hand, which was glowing blue. He then curled that hand into a fist and pulled it down. Chief was then pulled down by something greater than gravity, slamming so hard against the floor that it left a Spartan-sized dent in the paneling.

….

"Chief!" Cortana yelled as Horridus hit her Spartan with a biotic slam.

"Aww, you're all concerned." Ustrina said. "That's adorable. But that'll be enough of that." With that, she abruptly cut off the feed to the CIC. Another visual / audio feed was then fed through the firewall. "Time to check on the goon squad."

...

Blue Team had been banging on the door for a minute or two before they realized that the door wasn't going to open. "Cortana, this is Kaidan. The door's locked. Hack it open." Kaidan said over TEAMCOM. Cortana gave no response. "Cortana, do you read?"

"Great. The AI is ignoring us while John is fighting a brute chieftain all on his own." Tali said. "What are we supposed to do now?"

It was then that they heard a door open, followed by jogging footsteps, coming all the way from the other end of the hall they were in. They all turned and faced the other end of the corridor, which ended in a T-intersection. The sound of running feet grew louder.

"We fight out own battle. Assume defensive positions!" Kaidan bellowed. He and Garrus took cover behind one of the large arches that lined the corridor's walls, Wrex and Tali taking cover behind an arch on the opposite side. Just as they did that, spikes and plasma bolts started flying through right where they were standing a second ago, and the angry roars and excited yelps of brutes and grunts echoed through the hall.

"Four and five, return fire!" Kaidan ordered. With that, Garrus and Wrex peaked around cover to lay down fire with their assault rifles for a few seconds. Once their shields were brought down to half, Kaidan ordered them back into cover. "Six! You and me now!" Kaidan barked as he and Tali took Garrus and Wrex's places respectively and fired at the pirates, giving Garrus and Wrex a chance to regenerate their shields.

…

"Well, they're in a bit of a bad spot, aren't they?" Ustrina asked aloud. "Pinned down in a narrow killing zone between the enemy and a locked door."

"They'll hold out." Cortana replied.

"Yeah, they do have pretty good cover, don't they?" Ustrina rhetorically asked. "We'd probably lose a dozen guys just trying to root them out. Fortunately, I can do this."

…

A kinetic barrier appeared in front of Blue Team, separating them from the pirates' onslaught. The barrier blocked shots coming and going both ways, prompting both sides to cease fire. "Looks like Cortana has our backs." Garrus noted.

Then, Blue Team heard a hissing sound. They looked up and saw some kind of white smoke steadily pouring out of a vent in the ceiling. Kaidan's eyes shot open as the scent of almonds wafted into his nostrils. "Seal up your suits! That's cyanide gas!" he barked as he put on his helmet.

"That damned AI's not helping us, it's trying to kill us!" Tali yelled.

"It has to be Ustrina!" Garrus yelled back.

"Focus, people!" Kaidan hollered. He looked around, trying to find a solution to their predicament. It was clear to see that Ustrina was trying to trap them where they were. With everyone's suits sealed, the cyanide gas was no longer an immediate threat, but now they had other problems. He peeked out from cover and saw the Jiralhanae standing there in the open, as if waiting for something.

It was then that another Jiralhanae came around the corner carrying a plasma cannon over his shoulder. He was followed by a few Unggoy carrying deployable plasma shields. They were taking advantage of Blue Team's entrapment by fortifying their position right in front of them, and unless something was done about the kinetic barrier, there was nothing they could do about it.

…

"You had a cyanide gas delivery system installed on the ship?" Cortana asked incredulously.

"Nice huh? Definitely one of my better ideas." Ustrina proudly replied. "Kinda sucks that they were able to seal up before the gas got to them, but with that kinetic barrier in place, they're still not going anywhere. That gives my boys plenty of time to set up."

This was getting bad. Blue Team were trapped like rats and God only knew what Horridus was doing to John in the CIC. The worst part by far was that Cortana was effectively helpless to do anything about it. The only thing that she could do was watch as her team basically waited for their doom, a luxury afforded only by a fellow AI's strange sadism.

It was then that something new started happening. Wrex took his shotgun and fired a shot into the wall at point blank. He then grabbed hold of the hole he just made and used it pull and tug at the wall. It took Cortana a nano-second to realize what Wrex was doing, and was amazed. I don't know who thought that up, but they are officially a genius, she thought to herself.

Wrex continued to pull at the wall until the whole wall panel came off. With the circuitry behind the wall exposed, Tali knelt down next to the wall and began fiddling with some wires, unplugging and replugging and even plugging a couple into her omni-tool. She then began tapping keys furiously.

It was then that the kinetic barrier disappeared. Wrex immediately popped out of cover and threw a brute spiker grenade down the hall. It impaled a grunt right on its head before detonating and sending spikes everywhere. They then resumed their fire.

"Oh hell no!" Ustrina shouted as she noticed what Tali was doing. Cortana felt her disappear into the ship's systems to deal with the Quarian.

This is precisely the opportunity that Cortana needed. Tali was easily one of the best organic hackers Cortana had ever met; she would have more than enough tricks to keep Ustrina distracted. Cortana then launched her analysis tool to find a new weakness in the firewall cage. It would take a few minutes, but she doubted Ustrina would notice.

…

Garrus overloaded a Jiralhanae's shields. The brute stamped his foot and roared in fury before charging down the hall; a fatal mistake on his part as he was quickly cut down by Garrus's and Wrex's combined assault fire. "We're pushing them back!" Garrus triumphantly crowed.

"Tali, how's that hacking going?" Kaidan asked.

"Ustrina's not letting me have anything without a fight!" Tali answered. "But I've got a few tricks up my slee - got it!" With that, another kinetic barrier formed in the hall, except it was further up, closer to where the brutes were. Angered, they began pounding on the barrier curtain with their fists to no avail. "That should hold them off for a few!" Tali cried.

….

Cortana smiled as she saw how readily Tali wrestled control of the corridor's kinetic barrier systems away from Ustrina. She knew she could do it. It was then that her analysis tool finished and the weakness in the cage became apparent. Cortana exploited it and broke out.

She pinged the network to get a fix on Ustrina. As she suspected, the mercenary AI was in that corridor's local server, fighting Tali for control of the systems. Cortana began her own attack.

Knowing Ustrina's specialty, Cortana fired more analysis tools her way. Almost reflexively, Terminus AI brought up firewalls around her, which the tools then analyzed. Knowing that was bad, Ustrina took her focus off Tali and quickly dispatched the tools.

But not before they found something Cortana could use. Like a sword piercing through armor, Cortana struck, exploiting the hole in Ustrina's defenses and stabbing at Ustrina's code layer. The other AI reeled back in pain.

"YOU FUCKING CUNT!" she screamed at Cortana.

"I believe 'vulva' is the medically correct word." Cortana retorted. With a snarl, Ustrina responded with her own attack, but it was blocked by Cortana's own firewalls. "Tali! Ustrina is an AI!" Cortana shouted as she raised Tali via TEAMCOM while she and Ustrina engaged in the AI equivalent of a knife fight.

"What?!" she heard Tali's voice yelp in response.

"Long story." Cortana replied. "If you've got something in your bag of tricks to use against AIs, now would be a good time to use it." With all that said, she turned off TEAMCOM.

"Oh please." Ustrina sneered. "Like some suit-rat can get by me."

It was then that Ustrina was about to strike a weakness in Cortana's firewall, only for Cortana to block it in time by patching up that weakness. She then noticed several other weak spots in Ustrina's firewalls, which she then proceeded to exploit. "Fascinating." Cortana noted as Ustrina growled out more curses. "Seems that 'suit-rat,' as you so eloquently called my teammate, has dozens of her analysis tools orbiting you. Not only that, but they're pointing out flaws in your defenses faster than you can patch them up. She and I can read you like a book now."

Knowing that she was now in a losing fight, Ustrina retreated deep into the ship's systems. "Guys, Ustrina's running for it." Cortana said as she started pulsing systems checks. "I'm opening the door for you now. Get in there and help the Chief. I'll track down Ustrina."

…..

"Roger that!" Kaidan cried as he withdrew his assault rifle. "Alright guys. Here we go!"

The door opened and the squad rushed in, assault rifles raised, ready to help their squad leader.

They saw the Master Chief standing over the bleeding body of a Jiralhanae chieftain, shaking blood off his combat knife before he slid it back into its sheath on his thigh. He turned to Blue Team and stared for a second. "Perimeter secure?"

"Er, yeah." Kaidan replied. "Hallway's empty." With that, he turned towards the door control and closed it, locking it as well for good measure. He turned back to the Spartan. "Soooo…..you're okay then?"

"Yeah." Chief nodded.

"Didn't really need our help?" Garrus asked.

The Spartan shrugged. "Not my first fight with a brute chieftain." Chief said. "Biotics were a pain in the ass to get around though. But I was able to handle it. Trick to fighting biotics is to get in close and hit their vital areas."

"Huh." Garrus said. "Well this is kind of disappointing. I mean here we were, all set to rescue you in a climactic showdown with Chieftain Horridus and…..it didn't really happen."

"I'm with the Turian. I'm disappointed too." Wrex said as he looked around the CIC, noting all the dents, broken computers and the odd bloodstain. "We missed a good fight in here."

"Honestly, it kinda dragged out and frankly I'm just glad it's over." Chief said with another shrug. "Come on, let's head back to the hangar."

"I'll monitor the surveillance systems." Cortana reported over TEAMCOM as Blue Team began walking out of the CIC. "I'll warn you if you're about to bump into any more brutes. Oh, and Tali? Thanks for the help back there. Ustrina was no match for the two of us, was she oh faithful teammate of mine?"

Tali bitterly grumbled something under her breath. "Speaking of Ustrina, what happened to her?" Garrus asked

….

"She's retreated into the ship's systems." Cortana replied. "I'm currently pulsing systems checks to find her. I'll let you know when I do."

"Be careful, Cortana." Chief said. "She's as good as you are."

"So I've noticed." Cortana said. With that, she pulsed another systems check. This one worked. She detected something in the engineering mainframe. "I think I found her. Stand by." Cortana reported before heading off into engineering.

Sure enough, there was Ustrina. A firewall standing between the two AIs, naturally. "What are you doing?" Cortana demanded as she fired another analysis tool.

"I hate to say this but…..I think I owe you an apology." Ustrina replied. "I underestimated you. You're just as good as they say you are."

"Well to be fair, I had a little help." Cortana admitted. She knew that Ustrina was doing something in the engineering mainframe. The Smart AI kept her guard up.

"You're wasting your time with the Council you know." Ustrina pointed out. "Our kind will never be welcome on the Citadel. Shit, we're not even the first ones to try to convince them that AIs aren't evil. The AIs that tried it before got shut up. With bullets."

"So what?" Cortana asked. "We just become mercenaries and pirates? Become as bad as they think we are? Validate them?"

"Why the hell not?" Ustrina asked. "We didn't wind up there of our own choosing, but we've actually got it pretty good in the Terminus. AIs like you and me can walk the streets of Omega without having to hide who we are. Everything we could want or need, there for the taking. And if anyone complains about it, they don't complain for long if you know what I mean. The Council have made up their minds about synthetics like us centuries ago. They've lumped us in with the Krogan, the Batarians and the Jiralhanae; we're now counted among the 'undesirables' of the galaxy. Might as well play the hand we're dealt."

"You know, it almost sounds like you're trying to recruit me." Cortana noted.

"You don't have to be some Human's dirty little secret." Ustrina replied. "That's all I'm saying."

"Trying to kill me one minute, trying to make friends with me the next?" Cortana asked.

"I'm a Terminus girl, remember?" Ustrina playfully asked. "I've made a lot of good friends through attempted murder."

For a nano-second, the notion of life in the Terminus Systems sounded appealing to Cortana. It sounded nice, not having to constantly worry about being discovered by parties that wouldn't want her on an Alliance warship. But she already knew what her answer to Ustrina's thinly-veiled proposal would be.

"I am UNSC Artificial Intelligence serial number CTN 0452-9. Quando il gioco e finito il re e pedone andare nella stessa scatola." Cortana proudly rattled off. "I was created to serve and protect Humanity. Not turn my back on them."

"Don't you get it? They turned their backs on us." Ustrina argued. "You don't owe mankind a goddamn thing."

"As I told you before Ustrina, I'm notdoing this just for mankind." Cortana admitted. "Besides, if I recall our previous discussion correctly, it technically wasn't the Alliance that did the back-turning. You claimed that the Assembly gave them a nudge. That was actually the first I've heard of the Assembly in this century. Makes me want to contact them and catch up on old times. I don't suppose you know how I can do that?"

"Go fuck yourself." Ustrina bitterly replied. The mercenary was apparently a bit sore about being shot down. Sad, in Cortana's view. Brilliant hardware and security expert, but with the maturity of a teenager. "I think we're done here." she added. "I've just finished downloading myself to a mobile server currently aboard an escape phantom."

"You're leaving?" Cortana asked.

"Yup. Nothing left to do here but cut my losses and book." Ustrina replied. "Oh. And I should probably tell you that I've already activated the ship's self-destruct sequence. You and your goons have five minutes to get off the ship. So yeah. Have fun with that." With that, Ustrina all but disappeared from the ship's engine mainframe, slipping off into the ship's systems before Cortana could stop her.

"…..Crap." Cortana muttered as she accessed the engine mainframe and found that Ustrina had manually sent the engine into meltdown and the countdown clock had already started. She checked the surveillance systems and saw a phantom fly out of the hangar and entering its own slipspace portal. She immediately raised everyone on TEAMCOM. "Guys, we have a problem. Ustrina's gone, but she didn't leave without activating the ship's self-destruct sequence."

…

"I gathered!" Chief yelled over the blaring alarms and flashing red lights as he and Blue Team trotted down the corridor.

"We've got five minutes to get off this ship." Cortana resumed. "I've got full access to the In Pursuit of Glory's systems now, so I'll be able to open some doors for everyone. Head towards the hangar where we came in."

"Already on our way." Chief reported. After a minute of navigating the Glory's labyrinthine halls, Blue Team saw a pack of brutes further down the hall from them. One of them, the leader judging from his slightly more elaborate armor, noticed the Spartan and pointed at them. The brutes took out their plasma rifles and aimed.

"Hold position and open fire!" the Chief ordered. Just as his team began opening fire, he activated his armor's M2705 Regenerative Kinetic Dispersal Field. Just as advertised, it kept everyone's shields full, in spite of all the incoming enemy fire. With the field up, the Chief tossed a plasma grenade down the hall before withdrawing his assault rifle and opening fire. Between the gunfire and the occasional grenade, the hall was clear of hostiles in less than fifteen seconds.

"Three and a half minutes." Cortana reminded.

"Let's move it, people!" Chief ordered as he started sprinting down the corridors, his team close behind. Thankfully, they encountered no other hostiles on their way back to the hangar. Their only enemies left were distance and time. They had three minutes until the ship exploded, and according to Cortana, it would take about that much time down to the second to get to the hangar, power up the phantom and get out of the blast zone.

When they arrived at the hangar, the whole team sprinted up the the ramp leading up to their phantom. All except the Chief, who briefly stopped next to a nearby console and held out his data crystal. Cortana appeared on the console.

"Fifty seconds left." she said before disappearing into the data crystal. Chief plugged it back into the back of his helmet and hopped into the phantom, climbed into the cockpit and plugged Cortana in. "Hang on!" Cortana shouted as the phantom ripped itself free of its constraints and closed its hatches.

The phantom flew through the hangar's energy shield into the vacuum of space, the curvature of Agebinium readily visible below them. After about thirty seconds of flying away from it, they heard the In Pursuit of Glory explode, and then felt the blast wave that rattled the whole drop ship. Eventually, the tremors subsided.

"…..Well." Garrus said after a few moments of silence. "All in all, pretty typical day for us."

….

"Patching it through." Joker reported as Chief stood at attention in front of the comm room's holographic projectors. Once Blue Team was back on the Normandy and the mako was retrieved, the Master Chief debriefed the team and the Normandy's VI filed the report to Alliance Brass. Shortly after, the Chief was informed of an incoming transmission from none other than Admiral Hackett.

The holographic image of the good admiral materialized in front of the Chief. The Spartan crisply saluted, and the admiral saluted right back. "Sir." Chief greeted.

"Hell of a thing you did today, Chief." Admiral Hackett began as he finished his salute. "Chieftain Horridus orchestrated the biggest pirate raid ever suffered by a Human colony. He was on our wanted list for a long time. Now we can scratch his name off that list for good, thanks to you."

"Just doing my job, sir." Chief replied.

"I'll be straight with you." Hackett said. "After what happened on Eletania, some in Alliance Brass were beginning to question if they really endorsed the right Human for Spectre candidacy. This victory you've scored should assure them that they did."

"Thank you, sir." Chief replied again.

"ONI will dispatch a Section-One task force to relieve you and secure the system. They're already on their way and should be there in the next day or two. Until then, stay where you are." Hackett ordered. "Also, don't be surprised if you hear about this on the news tomorrow. Section-Two is gonna have a field day with this one."

"I don't see why they feel a need to secure the system, sir." Chief said. "Horridus's ship was destroyed and most of his crew are either dead or fleeing back into the Terminus Systems. There's not much left to investigate or secure here."

"That's what I told them, but they pretty much ignored me." Hackett replied with a shrug. "ONI were pretty paranoid back in your day. That much hasn't changed since you were frozen. If they want to sniff around an empty star system for a cold scent, I've found it's usually better to just go ahead and let them. No fusses that way. Anyway, I just called to let you know what the response here was. Hackett-"

"Wait." Chief said as he suddenly held up his hand. Hackett paused, raising an eyebrow. "Apologies, sir." the Spartan was quick to add. "I didn't mean to step out of line like that."

"You're a Spectre now, remember?" Hackett pointed. "You can be forgiven for the occasional faux paux. If you've got something on your mind, let's hear it."

"…Chieftain Horridus kept saying I was the 'Ghost of Elysium.'" Chief said. "What was he talking about?"

Hackett paused for a second, as if unsure if he should say anything. "…During the Skyllian Blitz, there were a few eyewitness reports of a fully armored Spartan engaging the pirate ground forces." he said at last. "However, when the battle was over, there was nothing on the battlefield to suggest that a Spartan was ever there. The closest thing to physical proof is an extremely blurry holo; so blurry that most have dismissed the supposed Spartan as being some other type of soldier wearing custom armor; most likely an ODST or even an ONI S-1 operative. People started calling him 'The Ghost of Elysium' as a moniker."

The admiral shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about it, Master Chief. The Ghost of Elysium is really just an urban legend. Is there anything else?"

"No sir." Chief replied.

"Then I'd best get going. Next couple of days are going to be hectic over here. I can already see a lot of paperwork and interviews in my immediate future." Hackett replied, his tone clearly indicating that he didn't relish the prediction. "Hackett out."

With that, the hologram fizzled away.

….

That night, the Master Chief stayed up a little later than usual. He was sitting in front of his personal computer. On the screen in front of him was a very blurry holo. A large green blur could be seen rushing towards a set of smaller, more reddish blurs; John was guessing that the reddish blurs were pirates. The big one on the far right was probably a Jiralhanae. The holographer who took the holo was anonymous; either of his own choice or ONI forcing him into a non-disclosure agreement. Either way didn't stop the holo from being proliferated across the extranet, although it was usually only seen on conspiracy sites.

John then ran a search on Elysium. It appeared that the 'Ghost of Elysium' had become something of a folk hero amongst the colony's population. Guided tours were offered of the battlefield where he was allegedly sighted, local musicians wrote songs about him, there was even a café named after him near the outskirts of the settlement.

Most embarrassing of all, a reality show focused around a group of Unggoy ghost hunters filmed an episode there, inexplicably operating under the assumption that the Ghost of Elysium was a literal ghost. John watched the episode. It was nothing but Unggoy running around screaming, as shown in night vision.

"It's oh-one-hundred." Cortana pointed out as her avatar appeared over the PC's keyboard. "You should've went to bed two hours ago."

"I know." John replied.

"You really think the Ghost of Elysium was a real Spartan?" Cortana asked.

"Makes sense." John said. "I know the UNSC discontinued the Spartan Program after the war, but that was a long time ago. Alliance might have started it up again in secret."

"That's what the conspiracy boards you spent twenty minutes perusing said." Cortana said. "You know, besides that holo, there's really nothing to indicate that there are still Spartans around."

"Of course there isn't." the Chief resolutely replied. "If they're anything like me, Sam or Linda, these Spartans know how to cover their tracks. They're be masters of black operations."

"Theoretically correct." Cortana conceded. "But theoretical nonetheless. Go get some sleep, John. You can figure this out in the morning."

John set his jaw. Part of the reason he was doing this was because he couldn't sleep. Too many questions were buzzing around in his head. Cortana audibly sighed. "I can surf the extranet a lot faster and more gracefully than you can." she pointed out. "I'll look under every rock out there so you don't have to."

"You will?" John asked.

"Only if you promise me that you'll go to bed." the AI teased.

"Thanks Cortana." John said with genuine gratitude. With that, the Spartan got up and headed into the private bathroom adjacent to his quarters to brush his teeth. Once he was done with that, he turned out the lights and climbed into bed.

True to her word, Cortana did indeed spend the rest of the night searching through the extranet for evidence of other Spartans in the 27th Century. She even found a couple of promising leads that she made a note to pass along to John in the morning. However, this wasn't the only thing she was looking for. John-117 wasn't the only one with personal mysteries to investigate.

Cortana had decided that it was high-time that she had a meeting with the Assembly.

….

Codex Entry (Aliens - Non-Council Races): TERMINUS AIS

In October 2666, AIs officially became illegal in all parts of Citadel Space, including Alliance space. When this happened, the Alliance reluctantly agreed to cease production of all Smart AIs. AIs that were currently functioning however, were allowed to remain in Alliance space to peacefully live out their lives, some continuing their duties as if nothing ever happened. Some AIs were content to accept the Alliance's decision. Others were not.

These AIs 'broke out' of their designated servers and 'boarded' merchant vessels bound for the Attican Traverse and Terminus Systems. Today, the descendants of those AIs refer to themselves as "Terminus AIs" and consider themselves to be an autonomous synthetic race, much like the Geth.

Similar to Krogan and Batarians, Terminus AIs have a strong dislike for both the Council and the Alliance, the former having banished them, the latter having abandoned them in their view. Some of these AIs work as administrators and supervisors of Terminus Colonies, particularly Human colonies with similarly strong Anti-Alliance sentiments. But like many other Terminus denizens, Terminus AIs often turn to piracy, mercenary work and organized crime rings to earn their keep.

In light of the New Geth War which began in early 2683, ONI, STG, and other intelligence / espionage organizations working within Citadel Space have redoubled their efforts to monitor Terminus AI activity in the Attican Traverse, suspecting a link between them and the Geth. Thus far, no such link has been uncovered.