[Admiral Ezra Cole]

[22nd of September, 2528]

[Currently engaged for Battle of Residuum]

"I need reports now Ensign!" Admiral Ezra shouted at his preferred officer, Ensign Daniel Jackson. "What the Hell happened to Sun's Chariot?!"

Jackson gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down from the movement. "War just... Atomized them, sir. Unknown weaponry is on that ship, meaning they got upgraded even further from last time."

His dark olive eyes looked into Ezra's peru colored ones. "All we know is a red beam shot out and hit the destroyer at the speed of light."

Ezra's face drained of color, his slightly tanned complexion turning a sickly shade of white. "Oh my God... But, how is that even possible...?" He looked outside the port, his gaze landing on the far away ship of War. Despite the small size from this distance, it looked absolutely ginormous to the aging admiral. As imposing as one of the bringers of the apocalypse themselves, it shook the man to his very core. He never understood how they achieved the technology to make these monstrous ships, but to be this advanced?

It was absurd, and he would have laughed had he not seen it. Hell, he was tempted to laugh right now, if only to release all this stress piling on him. He let out a slow, shaky breath and scowled, deciding to face this battle like any other, despite the obvious gap between his fleet and the four ships.

"We'll keep going with the original plan. We can't do much else if we want our men back."

A green cube appeared on top of a nearby pedestal, signifying Lilith's appearance in the conversation. "Admiral, I have deduced we have a 0.0278 percent chance of defeating the Horsemen, and a 4.78 percent chance of getting by them with minimum casualties."

Cole damn near shouted in frustration at the hopelessness of the situation, but somehow managed to keep a cool head. "How much is 'minimum', Lilith?" The cube shimmered for a second.

"Approximately 196 men, sir. Of course, that's assuming we sneak past, which is statistically unlikely given their advanced senso-"

"Take control of the ship, Lilith. Guide us past them, then tell all other ships to escape while they can." A few decided to voice their protest, but Ezra raised a hand to squash it. "We can do this on our own. I shouldn't have brought them here on such a hopeless mission. Our chances of sneaking by are better without more forces, anyways."

"The admiral is correct. With the absence of all other ships, our chances increase to a better 13.407 percent. An 8.627% increase." Lilith's high pitched voice helped calm the men, but they were still visibly worried about this plan. Ezra pursed his lip and rubbed his chin, staring deeply into the distant four ships.

"What's the best way to sneak past them, Lilith? What's the best chance we have?"

"Give me just a second, Admiral. I will find the best course to take to ensure a victorious deceit." Seconds went by in bated breath, everyone not working to actively defend the ship listening in. "A small group of pelicans, holding no more than 50 people, have a higher chance to sneak by. 56.9 percent chance of success. I suggest sending in Marines first, then send in all nonessential personnel. Doing this every few hours should bring the lowest amount of casualties."

Ezra sighed, severely wishing he had a pack of cigarettes right now. He didn't even smoke, God damn it. "Alright. We'll do it, but we'll be leaving the Winter's Wrath in the open, Lilith."

"I cannot find a probable plan that involves the ship not being destroyed and succeeding our mission, sir. The two are mutually exclusive, I'm afraid."

"Damn it all."

"What would you like to do, Admiral?" Lieutenant Stonewall's question penetrated his thoughts and he looked over at her, then the rest of his crew.

"... We'll follow Lilith's plan. Anyone who doesn't want to go can be transported over to the other ships when they leave the fight. This mission is near suicidal as it is, I don't expect all of you to follow through with an even crazier plan." Chatter erupted amid the officers, each one trying to decide what to do. He notice Jackson and Stonewall share a nod and move behind him, both giving him a salute.

"We're in, sir! We'd be honored to join this campaign to the very end!" Jackson's baritone voice spoke for the both of them, Stonewall's grin letting him know she agreed. He gave them both a curt nod and a small, appreciative smile. He noticed a few others get behind him - Commander Aidan, Ensign Zhou, Captain Julius, one of the guards, Sergeant Hollis, and more stood behind him. He looked across the hall and saw an equal amount of people saluting him, which he returned. "Very well. I expect to see each one of you ready to report for duty when we return." They all dropped their salute with a clear "Aye aye, sir!" before heading for the exit. Hot air exited his mouth after they left, and he looked over the group that decided to stay.

"Well, let's get to work ladies and gents. We have some rebel asses to show off." They all chuckled, some forcefully, and got back to their stations. Ezra looked over at the floating cube and stood in front of it. "As for you, you're leaving on the first ship out. We can't have you getting destroyed, can we?"

"Sir, with all due respect, my chances are best leaving with you," The artificial intelligence responded.

The commanding officer frowned, raising a graying eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"Simple, Admiral. Your luck."


The battle was going very well, if Montez had anything to say about it. So far, her ship had already destroyed four of their pitiful forces. All vaporized into nothing but atoms and molecules thanks to her hard light cannon. Much more powerful than anything the UNSC is capable of - or ever will be capable of. The dark skinned woman requested if she could annihilate their fleet, but was adamantly turned down by Cinder. Which upset the Insurrectionist leader, of course, but she knew wiser than to argue against Cinder.

She was, after all, a good and obedient tool for her and Salem's use. She was the sword that carried out their will, and she would be damned if she ever went against her commanders. She'd rather spit in the face of God himself than incur the wrath of both women. A smirk graced her youthful face as she stared at their largest ship (a pitiful 1.7 kilometers) called "The Winter's Wrath", which she was informed held the famous admiral, Ezra Cole. She heard he was the one coming from her spy, Nicholas deGreene. It pleased her to know her troops carried out their tasks with the utmost attention and loyalty.

She made sure to treat him quite well for it, too, if the earlier sounds from his room were any indication. Provide your men and women with money, men and/or women, and a reason to fight, and they're puddy in your hands, awaiting to be molded into useful pawns.

She only wished more listened to it instead of the "holier-than-thou" bull shit the United Nations Space Command spouted. It was enough to make her stomach twist in anger with just the mere thought of it. They promise safety and protection when they can't even protect their own against the "weak" rebels! She scoffed, her smirk getting an arrogant edge to it. The Horsemen sure showed them how "weak" they were. Hell, even the Covenant, a collection of alien races with superior numbers, technology, and physical attributes were proven weaker than the Insurrection.

The current display of firepower only further proved all these claims. She and the other admirals were decimating UNSC forces as though they were flies fighting against a mighty dragon of old. It was admirable, the way they jumped at the opportunity to die at her hands. Hell, it was downright adorable. She made sure to give them what they wanted.

She thought back to when they attempted to fire nuclear warheads at her lovely ship, but she immediately squashed that by using tractor fields to throw them off course. She thought about slinging them back, but didn't want to risk killing them all, so she just flung them towards the shattered moon.

Currently, though, she was preparing to let them slip through. Not a huge ship, no, but tiny numbers. The Queen virus deGreene implanted in "The Winter's Wrath" told her their plan, conjured up by the surprising appearance of an Ancilla - or an AI. She really needed to refrain from using that terminology around her men. Even mentally, it could escape in her vocalization at a moment's notice.

Ah, her thoughts strayed once again. They were planning on using pelicans to escape by, each group holding 50 people. She'd let them escape, of course, and she wouldn't even fire a single shot their way. Make them get arrogant while on the ground so her gorgeous Titans could crush their hope. It made her giddy in anticipation, but she calmed herself. Getting too excited now would just increase her impatience.

Cinder doesn't like impatience. So neither does Isabelle.

With a sigh, she looked over at her loyal, and ever present, guard, Commander Black. Also known as Mercury Black outside of his facade as an Insurrectionist officer. "Commander, please inform all cannons on sectors 17 through 65 not to fire at UNSC pelicans. Tell them it's a direct order and any kind of insubordination, questioning included, will be treated as treason." The silver haired boy huffed and smirked, nodding at her.

"Aye, ma'am." His lazy and bored voice, at first, got on her nerves, but she eventually accepted it and actually began to appreciate it. It was much more entertaining than the usual military drone's voice. Plus, his teasing never got old.

At least when it wasn't directed towards her. Not that it ever is.

"After that, I want you to get on the first ship to Vale. Cinder wants you, Emerald, and Neopolitan to infiltrate Beacon with her." He nodded once again and strolled away, his hands lazily stuffed in his pockets.

"Got ya, Lady Montez. See ya around then." He lifted a hand and waved it as he turned the corner, causing her to roll her eyes.

Okay, his lack of military conduct was still a slight peeve of hers, even if his sarcastic voice wasn't. Nonetheless, she smirked. Plan B was officially in action, and it would soon give way to the next and final part of the plan.

Complete and total domination of the Galaxy.


Completely unaware of the battle going on hundreds of kilometers above them, Jaune and Ren were currently chatting amicably with each other as they walked down the sidewalk towards the dormitory.

"And so, after I killed my first Ursa, my dad, Alexander Arc, smashed me into a tree and told me to do it again. Said I, and I quote, 'messed up that kill so many times it's only because of your stupidly large aura that you didn't die ten times over', end quote." The dark haired male just stared at the lighter themed boy with a deadpan expression.

"Your father... Abused you every time you messed up in the slightest?" His tone sounded monotone as always, but held a small tint of curiosity in it. It's hard not to be when you hear your only male teammate's parents beat him up for stupid reasons.

"Well, I wouldn't say abused... But yeah, pretty much." Jaune shrugged carelessly, his lips formed into a grin. "It made me the badass I am today, after all!" Everyone within a ten meter radius just stared at the blonde, causing him to shrink behind his teammate slightly. "Uh... Well, anyways, what about you? What did your dad do?"

Ren shrugged and looked back at Jaune, his magenta eyes boring deep into his blue ones. "I didn't have my dad train me. I learned on my own."

Well that was depressing. "Oh." Ren shrugged again and kept his leisurely pace.

"Don't worry, I've long accepted it. It doesn't bother me in the slightest."

"Well that's good! It's always a positive thing to-" He was not cut off by a girlish scream, nor did said girlish scream sound from him. It was a manly scream of manliness than came from a real man. That's what cut off his sentence.

Oh, and a large armored person with an extremely large sniper rifle slung across their back. That too. "Holy shi- Chief! You can't just sneak up on us like that!" He sighed out a deep breath, his hand holding onto the place where his heart was.

Only to find himself being picked up, courtesy of the giant. "You said Chief. What have you done with him?" He blinked at the voice, which he didn't recognize in the slightest. He expected the deep monotonous voice of the Master Chief, but instead got a rough female's voice. What the Hell was going on?

He saw Ren tense up beside him, and apparently so did the blue armored figure, who set her gaze on the ninja-like huntsman. "Don't. Move. I demand to know where he is." Jaune, with his senses returning to him after his - ahem - manly shock, starting swinging his legs around.

"Hey, stop manhandling me lady! If you let me down I'll just take you to him, damn!" The golden visor once again found his face and, after a moment of thought, slowly let him down. He sighed in relief and pat down his clothes, a scowl now on his face. "Geez, you giant armored people and your lack of social communication skills. You're just like Chief, except meaner and a woman."

With her growl, he chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "I-I mean, uh... Ren, help me out here!" He looked over to his companion, only to receive a head turn as an answer. "Traitorous bastard." He grumbled. "Fine, whatever! I'll take you to Chief on one condition." A gloved finger was held up in front of the strangers helmet.

"... What is it?" Her tone suggested it better be a damn good condition, otherwise the only condition he'll be receiving is a multitude of broken bones on his behalf.

"W-Well... What do you want with him?" Jaune suspected that if he could see her face, he would be receiving a glare and a raised eyebrow at the same time. It made him chuckle slightly at the image. She just looked so constipated.

"Tch. He's my team leader. Now take me to him, right now." She didn't seem to be amused at his idiotic chuckling, so he favored instead to shut his trap and nod furiously.

Ten minutes later, the group of three were wandering around the hallways of Beacon, looking for the lost SPARTAN.

"So, I can't help but notice you never told us your name." By 'us', Jaune really meant 'me'. Even in the face of a seven foot powerhouse of a woman, his attempts to flirt don't leave him.

"Classified. You'll address me as Sierra-058 or Petty Officer." Linda's curt response cause Jaune's bravado to falter, much to hers and Ren's silent amusement. The blonde sighed and scratched his head, grumbling something incoherent under his breath.

"... Well, actually," And somehow, someway, Jaune's flirtatious behavior survives even the cold demeanor of the Petty Officer. "Sierra is a pretty girly name, sounds cute too." He grinned and winked at the armor clad female.

"... You better close that shit hole of a mouth right now before I smash it in." The knight themed boy shut his mouth fast enough for his teeth to clack loudly. Ren rolled his eyes, Linda stayed focusing forward, and Jaune rubbed his poor mouth.

His look reminded her of a kicked puppy, but she didn't falter. She's seen sadder things than a damn puppy. "Where is he, civilian?" She growled out. Her patience was wearing thin. She was in the same damn vicinity as her team leader and she wanted to find him now.

Ren, the Asian boy who she actually didn't mind, decided to speak up for about the second time since they met. "He's likely around Ruby, my partner. She seems to be attached to him, and he seems to enjoy her company." Linda raised an eyebrow under her helmet. Chief, fraternizing with Insurrectionist civilians? Maybe she has the wrong guy here... No, she can't. Who else could the blonde idiot have meant when he shouted 'Chief' when he saw her? As far as she knew, there wasn't that many 7'2 men in MJOLNIR power armor who went by 'Chief' in the galaxy.

"Where would she be, then?"

"Likely the forge, the cafeteria, or with Blake, Jaune's partner." The redhead grunted and mulled over the options. Three options, three people, meaning they could search much quicker than if they stayed together. Except…

Linda sighed. "Where's the forge? I'll check there. Ren can check the cafeteria and Jaune will go scope out this Blake person." Ren told her where to find the forge and went on his way to wherever the cafeteria was. Jaune opened his mouth as if to say something but, wisely, decided against it and walked away on his own. With a sigh of relief, Linda headed towards the southern sector of the academy, where the forge was held. She didn't know why, but she just knew she'd find John in there. Call it a gut feeling, but she knew without a doubt.

She avoided any other students, she didn't want to be wrapped up in another situation like previously. In her defense, she wasn't expecting there to be students wandering about. She wasn't the most knowledgeable on schools, but as far as she knew, classes tended to be in session at three o'clock in the afternoon on Reach and a few other worlds.

She sighed, shaking her head. That was the first and last mistake she'd make while here. She was tired, grumpy, and couldn't shake the odd mixture of sadness and and excitement that raced through her when she got here. Almost as though she lost something, but just got something back she had long lost. Whatever it was, it just made her even grumpier.

Damn this planet.

After a few more minutes of walking/hiding, she finally got to her destination. The forge wasn't as medieval as she imagined. It looked quite modern, if a little bit futuristic with the white wall tiles and floating blue screens. She crept inside, thankful for the lack of occupants in the front, and blinked in minute surprise. Seemed it only looked modern on the outside; it was pretty damn medieval on the inside. Dark gray stones lined the floor, cracks going in every which direction. The walls were black - likely from all the smoke rising out of furnaces and burning fuel. Torches lined said wall, each one burning far brighter than they should. She shrugged it off to some of the Insurrectionist's crazy advanced tech they somehow get.

Although, what her eyes landed on next was much, much more important than anything she saw before. Hell, she could have seen a Prophet to the damn Covenant and she'd ignore the blasted thing in favor of what stood across the room.

He looked different than when she last saw him. His hair was longer, almost an inch long now, and he was sporting a small stubble. Which surprised her, he usually shaved off any hair that grew on his face. He didn't like it much. What surprised her more, though, was he was out of his armor. She took a few tentative steps forward, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why would John ditch his armor and hang around a rebel girl? It made no sense to her, and she intended to get answers.

"John?" Her voice wavered slightly, and she silently cursed. The sharpshooter blamed her exhaustion, but she felt like it would have done that even if she were at 100%. His head snapped up and his sight practically flew to her, making her gasp quietly. His eyes were just as blue as she ever recalled, if not more so from all the black and red around.

"... Linda?" His deep voice made a wave of realization come over her. Before, it all seemed to surreal, but his voice brought her back to reality, all the emotions of relief washing over her. Before she realized it, she was embracing him, and he her. It was rare to see Spartans show such level of physical interaction that wasn't sparring, but the situation called for it.

Almost an entire month of being separated, without knowing if each other were alive and unable to do anything about it, tends to make even the coldest soldiers a bit touchy when they find the object of their tireless searching. "Where the Hell have you been, John?" She pulled back, the hug barely having lasted more than a few seconds, which was admittedly plenty of time for both super soldiers. "Fred, Kelly, and I have been searching for three damn weeks for you. You went into that forest and-and you didn't come back? What the Hell?" She felt like shouting, but knew it wasn't worth it. Whatever reason her leader had, it was definitely a good one. Or so she hoped.

John sighed through his nostrils, a small sign that she noticed only because of her time together with him. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked past him, noticing a... Very small girl. Probably around five foot, if not a little taller. Wait, did she... Linda nodded. "I see." Shit, she heard their names, didn't she? She sighed and looked around, and, thankfully, there was no one else around to have heard their conversation. "Ruby, I assume?"

The small girl squeaked - which was actually kind of cute, although Linda wouldn't dare admit it - and nodded. "Uh, y-yep! And you're uh, 117's teammate I assume?" Well, she recovers fast from her embarrassment. Cute and quick to adapt? More reason to be cautious of her, if the whole flirting with her team leader wasn't enough reason.

"You'd be right in that assumption." Linda's eyes flicker to the wicked scythe resting on a nearby table, and her face nearly conveyed shock if it weren't for her training. "... Wait, does that have a bolt action rifle mixed into it?" She nodded towards the scythe, which caused the girl to squeal - damn this girl and her damn oblivious cuteness - and start babbling on about it.

"Heck yeah! It's a high caliber sniper scythe! She fires a 20x139mm round, or at least that's what Jo- Chief calls it." She shrugged, as though firing that beast of a caliber wasn't anything special. "Has much more kick than my previous 12.7x99 round, that's for sure. That was only really good because of my aura, but this?" She grinned and held up the round, which with her small hands, look gigantic. Which they are, really.

This girl was quickly rising to the top of her 'be cautious of' list. And, admittedly, her 'people to talk to about weapons' list. Damn her very being. "... Did Chief make this?" She motioned towards the extremely deadly weapon that she was itching to look at. If she were a lesser woman, she probably would.

The petite goth girl grinned, her pearly white teeth taking on a proud edge. "Nope! It was mostly me, just Chief fixed up some of the parts." She pointed to the scythe's blade, "That, for example, used to be serrated. Chief pointed out that serrated blades are better for damaging tissue, but smooth and sharp blades worked better for quick, clean kills." She quirked her mouth and tapped her lips. "I originally thought it would work better serrated, but when we tried it against some practice dummies I realized that while it helped slow down my enemies better, it didn't kill them quite as quick. Which is probably why I figured ancient Grimm died faster from it, since it takes forever to kill them anyway." She shrugged and grinned at Linda, which said woman returned with a slight narrowing of her eyes.

"You made this?"

"Yep."

"And you're, what, fifteen?"

"Also yep."

"... Want to take a look at my sniper?" Ruby gasped and, for a second, had stars in her eyes. Linda swore she saw that, and she further narrowed her eyes.

This girl was everything she hated and loved in a single manifestation of flesh. "I'll let you look at it for a few minutes, I need to talk to Chief and contact our other teammates. If you so much as get a scratch on her, I swear to all things holy there will not be enough walls to protect you from a bullet to your head." The smaller redhead grinned and saluted, before reaching out for the modified sniper, which Linda hesitantly gave to her. As she went into full weapon geek mode, Linda sighed and turned towards a slightly amused John.

"What?" She snapped. The (currently) shorter man shrugged innocently.

"Nothing. What is it you needed to talk about?"

"To start, lot's of things. Namely, why are you out of your armor?"

To most, John's face remained stoically passive as it always was, however she saw a slight grimace in his eyes that told her something bad happened. "Would you believe me if I said a 17 year old super powered blonde girl managed to destroy it with her bare hands, shotgun gauntlets, and fire that came from her soul?"

"... What the fuck have you been smoking, sir?" He sighed and shook his head, giving her a sideways glance as he moved to stand away from Ruby. Linda, of course, followed.

"I'm serious. It's difficult to explain, but..." He sighed again. "Everyone here - in this school and a lot of people out of it - have these abilities that give them SPARTAN level abilities, if not above. Ruby can move fast. Very fast. Faster than even Kelly, and we all know she's the fastest of us all. The girl that destroyed my armor can take hits and dish them out harder. It's insane." He clenched his jaw, his blue eyes going cold for once. It relaxes Linda slightly, seeing the John she remembered coming back.

"They're not Insurrectionist, though. They're entirely different, not even related to any UNSC or Insurrectionist factions we know of. As far as I know, Captain deGreene either had his info wrong or wanted us here for another reason entirely. Either way, it doesn't sit well with me."

Linda pursed her lips and sighed through her nose. She reached up and pulled off her helmet - regulations be damned, she didn't like talking to John in full armor when he didn't have a shred on - before setting it on her magnetic strip on her thigh. "What's the plan then? HQ was probably run over by those beasts outside the city, Fred and Kelly still think this is an Insurrectionist held planet, and- Wait, shit." She cursed loudly, drawing the attention of the red cloaked girl sitting across the room.

"Kelly - She's gonna blow up this CCT tower thing, since it's what's blocking our communications."

Ruby's eyes widened and John's hardened. "Linda, contact Kelly immediately. Tell her to stand down now. Destroying that tower will drag us into another war, and we're stretched thin as it is." Linda nodded and quickly put on her helmet, jogging towards the door within moments. She accessed her comms and attempted to contact Kelly, only to find out something was jamming it. She cursed, the helmet muting it, and turned back around.

"I can't contact her, something's jamming the damn thing!"

"I can get there fast enough to stop her!" Ruby stood up and Linda opens her mouth to turn her down, only for John to speak up instead.

"Alright." He pulls something out of his pocket and tosses it to her. "Give her that when you reach her. If she's like Linda she shouldn't be too much of a problem to handle, but don't hurt her. Knock her out if it comes to it, but do not shoot or slice her." Ruby nodded and picked up her scythe, transforming it - What the fuck? - into a more compact form. Ruby told John where the CCT tower was so they could meet her down there before practically disappearing in a swirl of rose petals.

"... Okay, the entire galaxy has gone batshit crazy. I'm calling it." John walked by her and grabbed her elbow, pulling her along.

"Come on, we have work to do." With a nod, Linda and John jog towards the nearest airship port, mostly because of the SPARTAN leader's lack of armor. Whoever broke it couldn't have chosen a worse time, Linda idly thought.


Aidan Jones was a young and hopeful man once - once. All that changed when he signed up to be an Atlesian Officer. His commanding officers and drill sergeants made certain all weaknesses were squashed. Dreams included.

If he had a chance to change that, though, Jones never would. Not for a second. His ability to kick ass and defend innocents from Grimm were more than worth the insignificant sacrifice he made. But that's just the thing - he was trained to fight Grimm and defend innocents, not fight a seven foot tall powerhouse of a… Whatever it is. Robot maybe?

Shaking his head, he aimed down the sights of his laser blaster before squeezing the trigger. A blast of blue plasma streaked out and, much to his surprise, was dodged by the figure. Was he facing a damn hunter level enemy? He didn't sign up for this crap! He yelled in defiance of the monster before him and rapidly squeezed the trigger, sending dozens of bolts sizzling through the air towards his target.

Only for every single one to miss. This thing was too fast to be real. He stepped back in fear, his eyes wide behind his blue visor and his white armor shaking with his body. The way this thing moved… It was too human-like. Was this actually a person in armor, perhaps? He gulped and watched as the figure danced among his comrades, striking anyone within its vicinity with uncanny precision. He saw his buddy - Nathan Daniels - get his throat crushed in by the monster's brute strength. His eyes teared up and he dropped his rifle in shock, backing away slowly. Was this the end for him?

He didn't want it to be. He thought of his family; his mama cooking, his sisters arguing over who's turn it is to do dishes, his baby nephew and young son playing 'Hunter' in the backyard. He thought of his wife and the way she'd scold him for getting too involved in sports when he was supposed to be with family. He wished he did.

He saw her look towards him and, despite himself, felt his trousers become soiled, and shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the inevitable end that would be delivered by this swift demon. Only… It never came. He opened his eyes and was met with nothing but his dead and unconscious comrades, but no blue armored beast. He let out a shaky sigh and promptly passed out.

Kelly weaved through the halls of the large complex, a frown marring her face. She didn't know why she left that lone soldier alive, but she knew she just couldn't bring herself to kill another person. It was a foreign feeling, mercy was. She grunted in annoyance when she found herself back at the main entrance and shook her head. This place was a maze. She looked around and quirked her mouth at the small amount of bombs placed around but shrugged. It'd have to do.

The Spartan pulled out a charge and flicked open the safety hatch, hovering her thumb over the red button. She walked out of the tower and down the road, ignoring all the bodies around her as she counted the meters travelled.

"Ninety-eight… Ninety-nine… One-hundred." The brunette nodded and turned around, only to lean back as a wicked looking scythe sliced in front of her face. She stepped back to get a better look at the assailant and cocked an eyebrow in surprise at the fifteen year old girl. "A little girl?" She frowned at seeing the gigantic scythe being held in the teen's hands. She held it like it weighed little more than a straw broom… "Leave or else I'll be forced to subdue you with force, girl."

The short teen scoffed and pointed her scythe towards the Spartan. "As if! You're planning on destroying the CCT!" Kelly narrowed her eyes and covertly positioned her feet to pounce. "I said leave."

The girl leveled a glare at the much taller woman stubbornly, "No." Kelly leaped before the word was even finished and aimed a kick at the teen's sternum, only to be met with air and rose petals. With narrowed eyes, she looked around for her opponent. How could she move so quickly? It was inhumane. Her radar beeped and a red dot appeared on the lower left corner, forcing her to dodge to the right. The dull side of the scythe slid right next to her, thankfully, and she rolled up to her feet.

A shot rang out from the tip of the scythe, catching Kelly by surprise and slamming into her chest plate. She grunted and stumbled back, further surprised from the powerful caliber stored inside the odd deadly weapon. She looked down and saw a large dent in her right breast plate, causing her to grunt in annoyance and pain. Hopefully that broke the girl's arms…

"What the hell?" Not only were her arms not broken, but she was running towards her with the large scythe trailing behind her. What was this little girl made out of? Clearly the stuff was tough, almost Spartan tough. Almost.

Kelly gave an annoyed 'tsk' and moved towards the younger girl as she swung the scythe, causing the blade to swing behind her as her hand closed around the handle. With the scythe in her grasp and the smaller girl struggling to retake the weapon, Kelly found ample opportunity to attack. Swinging her leg in an arc, she brought out the legs of the Gothic girl before slamming the palm of her free hand into her chest. Out of surprise, the girl let go of her scythe, allowing the Spartan to toss it away. The teen slammed into the ground and Kelly climbed on top of her, restraining her arms to her sides.

"I warned you to stand down." She reminded her opponent, having no trouble keeping the girl restrained despite her struggling. Kelly frowned and looked up at the CCT, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Why did you fight me over the tower? There's no way you're Insurrection, you're far too young… Unless they've changed tactics. Wouldn't surprise me."

The red haired girl grunted in effort, which was entirely fruitless. "It's our only source of communication between Kingdoms, destroying it would cause a whole lot of problems lady!" Those silver eyes narrowed at the golden visor of the Spartan, "And I'm not Insurrection! I don't know what's up with you Spartans and saying that, but I'm gettin' real tired of it!" She wasn't Insurrection? Wait, did she say 'Spartans', as in plural?

"... You've met other Spartans?" Her british voice sounded quiet even to her ears. She tried not to get too hopeful, but she couldn't push down the bubble of excitement. Did she know John?

The much smaller girl nodded, her face in a slight grimace, "I'll tell you if you get off of me… Kinda hard to breathe…" Kelly thought it over for less than a second before getting up and helping the young girl up as well. "Whew, thanks. Yeah, I know two other Spartans. Linda and Chi-"

"Kelly! Stand down!" The deep baritone voice of her commanding officer rang throughout the courtyard, causing her to stand at attention. However, if her helmet wasn't covering her face, one would be able to see the pure relief and joy radiating in her brown orbs.

She saw John walk into her peripheral, causing her to blink in surprise. Why wasn't he wearing his armor? This was enemy territory and he was as naked as a babe! "John?" Ignoring all military conduct, she turned her head towards him and looked him over. He wasn't too hurt, save a few dark bruises and slight burns, but that was as far as it went. Much better off than the rest of Blue Team for sure. "Where's your MJOLNIR armor?" Her question was left unanswered as he and Linda walked towards her, and despite his earlier aggressive tone his eyes looked just as relieved to see her.

"What are you doing, Spartan?" The tone kicks her back into routine and she snaps her eyes forward, her hand going back to her eyebrow.

"Destroying enemy resources, sir!" He must have been pissed about this to start acting like a CO rather than a big brother, she idly and comedically thought. Of course a pissed Chief was a scary Chief, so she didn't even think about saying it aloud.

He nodded, his blue eyes staring hard into her visor. He stayed like that for a few, long moments before sighing quietly. "Well cease your attack, Spartan. I want you to clear out the bombs immediately while I deal with the Atlas authorities." Atlas authorities? That nailed the coffin, then. This wasn't Insurrection territory. But why were they shipped here if it wasn't, then…? "Although expect to be kept in holding, I doubt they'll let you go with a slap on the wri-" He was interrupted by a quiet, almost inaudible 'thump', but one too familiar to have ignored in favor of talking. All three Spartans tensed, turning towards the large tower before, suddenly and shockingly, it burst in a fiery explosion, far larger than meager bombs could accomplish.

The only four people conscious in the vicinity were flung back by a powerful shockwave, and all four were met with the open embrace of unconsciousness.


Isabelle smirked as the shot hit the mark, completely unsurprised by the accuracy of her beloved ship. She fixed her cap and nodded towards the soldier on the gun. "Good shooting, Marcus." 'Cinder will be very pleased.' She looked towards the night half of the planet, smirking wider as she saw lights going out.

Everything was going according to plan, especially with the passengers of the UNSC's Winter's Wrath 'slipping by'. She didn't know why Cinder wanted her to destroy Vale's CCT, but she would never question her orders, even if it was to kill herself. Her loyalty never faltered, and she was proud of it. She shook her head and looked out the port view facing Remnant and clicked her tongue, a low hum passing through her glossed lips.

Now for Phase 2 of this plan. "Drop in the Titans. Forever Fall Forest, if you will." The soldier nodded with a 'Yes Ma'am!' before pressing multiple buttons on his holoscreen. The ship shook slightly as twelve large pods shot out and towards Vale.

"Excellent," complimented Isabelle as she stared towards the planet. She tapped her fingers against her thighs and walked back towards the doors, ignoring the salutes of the guards. She had to inform Cinder of their success. Looking out to the side, she saw the last of the UNSC's fleet being destroyed, and a laugh rumbled from her throat.

She really enjoyed being unstoppable.


Hello one, hello all! Yeah, so, long interval from chapters, and this one is significantly shorter. But that's the price paid for writer's block sadly.

Anyways, this chapter was written from a day after I posted the last chapter (September 13) to, well, today (October 19). During this time I changed a bit of things in my writing, so if there is any obvious differences, they were likely intentional (Example: SPARTANs to Spartans, mostly because SPARTANs was more tedious to write and usually incorrect in writing format when talking about the individuals rather than the project).

Review if you would be so kind, I am in desperate need of some feedback. One I received a while ago by a Guest sparked my interest and actually made me realize a tremendous mistake I've made with the story, that being the team placement. I heavily regret changing the teams, so I might be forced to go back and change that and, subsequently, changing a lot of the sub story between the teams. I may not, since that would be a LOT of work that I simply don't want to do.

But anyways, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Another one should be out a month from now, unless I strike gold of motivation for the story.

Until next time.