December 1, 2557

Austal grinned wolfishly as a bikini clad Gabrielle Addison kicked up a spray of crystal blue water giggling as it hit him squarely in the chest.

"Yeah right!" He took off after her, racing alongside the edge of the quiet beach, "You're not getting away that easy!"

His long strides easily caught up to her fleeing form and he gently grabbed her waist from behind and lifted her up, earning a squeal of delight, effortlessly carrying her back to where a large cloth had been laid out on the sandbar.

"Put me down!" She protested, but couldn't help herself from laughing.

"You don't want to do that to me again!" He chuckled, "Now you're going to pay for it!"

He gently laid down on the cloth with her next to him and he wrapped an arm around. The sun kissed their skin and made sparkles off the tiny water droplets clinging to their bodies. Waves hit the beach in a calm, rhythmic serene matter, but his attention was focused on the perfectly curvy body of the young woman next to him. Her dark blue eyes met his steel gray and he brought his lips to the corners of her mouth.

Gabrielle's eyes slid shut as he rolled on all fours, positioning himself on top of her, his own libido intensifying his lust. Her hands slid down to the top of his pants, grasping the edge.

Marcus awoke with a jolt, having just been snapped back from his fantasy. The pleasant dreams were replaced by sharp stinging pains in his back, almost as if red hot nails were embedded inside his skin.

The sound of waves crashing against the beach were replaced by a steady machinery noises, monitoring his own vitals. The salty smell of the sea was now the familiar recycled air used aboard a space borne vessel. A long clear tube IV was linked into his left arm and he saw three more tubes with a red, amber and pale liquids being injected into his chest and shoulders.

Fowler. He had to get to his brother. Was he dead?

Last thing he remembered was trying to run away from a Covenant spire because of a booby trap. Then there was a thunderous explosion and it had knocked them around.

Before either Spartan had lapsed into unconsciousness, Austal and Fowler were brought aboard one of the pelicans providing overwatch and headed straight for the Diablo. Neither of them could sit steadily straight for a few seconds, but to the amazed expressions of the marines inside, they both bumped fists before removing their helmets and grinning at one another. They acted as if the serious injuries they sustained were nonexistent.

Austal chuckled lowly before his laughs began to grow and eventually he was laughing like a madman as all the stress and fear were being purged from his mind.

Fowler was right there, joining him.

Council of Chieftains CAS-carrier Hymn of Morality 2 miles west of New Addie, Providence

Jiralhanae shipmaster Deatum slammed down his fist into the side of his command seat with such fury that it had partially dented the arm. Nearby an unggoy scribe threw down his recording device and scampered out of the bridge, not wanting to be the subject of vented rage.

The carrier's bridge was busy in recalling all available troops back to the ship for a hasty escape and Deatum, being a member of the seven prime chieftains knew that the Abdicated Fortitude would stand alone against the UNSC.

"Antonius is hailing us shipmaster." One of the communication officers informed him.

Deatum nodded, "Set line to private frequency. I need to speak to him alone."

A hologram materialized in front of the shipmaster, slowly assembling to form the heavily muscled and tribal robed shape of Antonius. He was the de facto leader of the Council of Chieftains, having led multiple glorious campaigns during the Great Schism and then slaughtering hundreds of individuals when the prophets had gone into hiding.

"Deatum, what are you doing?"

"Pulling all my available troops back to the carrier. We've lost Antonius, it's over."

Deatum had to hand it to his longtime friend and ally. Antonius would be designated as a high priority target by humans once this conflict had hit is inevitable end. Strongly loyal and taking any slight sign of the prophets to renew his own faith, he had no qualms to lead his own forces to suicide in the hopes of salvation.

"You cannot do this to me! All of what we have been through and you are going to depart like a coward?"

The jiralhanae chuckled, "You just saw what the humans did to us no? All available ships we had, they tore to pieces and it's only a matter of time before we are overwhelmed. I had already told you that attacking a human colony like this was not a great idea and now we have paid the price by losing a lot of our assets. Today, cowards are the ones who live and fight again. You want to stay and die? Fine!" He shut off the channel and sighed. Antonius had always been a friend and someone he could trust.

Then again, his own species often put their zealous nature of faith well before any other type of common sense. Deatum shook his head, he wouldn't make that same mistake.

"Navigation, the second all troops are back aboard, get us out of here."

There was no regret for staying behind to help Antonius' last stand. If he thought this was his own way to fulfill the Prophet of Clairvoyance's wish to paradise, then so be it.

Off the coast of New Addie, Providence

The rumbling vibrated off the seabed as the long quadrupedal form of a T-47 Scarab walker shone a bright flashlight from its face as it scanned the floor.

"Easy." Bowman whispered from his position, an eye on the motion tracker, but never averting his gaze from the uber unit.

Controlled by individual alien worms called Lekgolo, a modern scarab was one of the multiple forms encountered and used by the Covenant.

Lekgolo worms were extremely sensitive to electronics and could detect even the slightest waves. Inside a scarab, they were terrifying in a sense that they operated a machine that was bent on destroying nearly anything that defied it.

Finally it seemed to lose interest in whatever had caught its attention before it stood on its hind legs and ascended the cliff above, quickly disappearing out of sight.

"We're clear." Pine rose from his hiding place just behind a tall rock, moving slowly. "Oxygen levels maintaining, water pressure is okay for now."

"Roger." Bowman joined him, "We're about six hundred meters from the target and proceeding."

While both Spartans had access to MJOLNIR armor, they had instead opted for the higher durability Mark III Cyclops class exoskeleton since their operation would be taking place sixty feet below the sea.

News of Austal and Fowler's injuries had served to improve both Pine's and Bowman's resolve to locate and destroy both of the last ships that the brutes still had. Although now they were aware the carrier was pulling out, but the Abdicated Fortitude remained where it was, firmly in between the UNSC fleet and the planet of Providence.

No dropships had been seen arriving or leaving the Covenant battleship, so intelligence deduced that they were using teleportation terminals to ferry troops and supplies between the ship and its ground base. Austal and Fowler took one that proved to be a trap, which meant that the second one, jutting off the city's coast had to be the one.

On Pine's back lay the second Hyperion warhead salvaged from the deactivated missile. No HAVOKs were available and they had every intention coming back from this one alive. Against brutes, both Spartans would want their armor.

Both suits were armed with a revolving rocket pod on their left arm and a 30 millimeter gun on their right to improve ranged capabilities. In melee combat, the Cyclops was able to rip apart anything from grunts to hunters and everything in between.

The spire rose up in front of them like an immense pillar. The legs had rooted it to the seabed and kept it firmly in place, capable of surviving even tsunamis should they strike. Somewhere inside was the teleport channel that led to the battleship.

"Command, we are at the base of the spire." Bowman flexed his left arm, which had a climbing claw, "On our way up."

"Roger that."

Bowman heard a click and saw that his boots had extended spikes that assisted in climbing. He slammed a claw into the wall and quickly began his ascent up. They would reach the ground floor and take the lift to where the terminal awaited.

A pair of grunts found themselves grabbed over the edge and then violently tossed into the ocean below.

Bowman and Pine hauled themselves up, retracting their boot spikes and taking a careful look around. The base circled the tower, giving them a look at the smoke columns that came from battle sites around New Addie. It wasn't pretty.

A startled yelp brought them back to reality as a grunt spotted the suits and made a run to tell its superiors.

Bowman raised his cannon and fired a single shot. The grunt vanished in an explosion that sent pulpy bits of blue everywhere.

Without warning, a klaxon began to blare, followed by a gruff gibberish over loudspeakers that needed no translation.

That's what the suits were there for. Bowman's Cyclops was designated "Tin Man" while Pine piloted "Darth Helmet" and packing the firepower to fight their way onto the battleship.

Resistance around the base wasn't overly challenging. The few brutes that were there got cannon fire up their asses, causing the grunts to scatter and be easy clawing work.

They finally made it to the lift and ascended up, already knowing the layout from Eon Two and Four's recon of the previous one.

Emerging at the top, the doors opened to see a pack of a dozen brutes, all armed with brute shots and fuel rod guns.

Neither Spartan had time to react as they were slammed by grenades and flung to the back of the room. Sparks danced on the armor plating and the sudden assault had surprised both of them. The brutes let out a howl of triumph as they pressed forward, now their claws gripped the armor openings, trying in vain to pry it off and devour its two pilots.

Bowman ignored all warnings on his system, bringing Tin Man to try and stand upright. Hydraulic fluids were leaking and his system showed critical damage to his armor integrity. The Cyclops had no shields or protection to take the brunt of powerful attacks.

The brutes laughed just as Bowman lunged upwards, his strength quickly deteriorating and slammed the two trying to pry off his helmet into the wall. They hit with such force that snapped their thick necks.

Now it was their turn to be surprised as Pine rose up from his position. His own suit wasn't as damaged, but it was still far from functioning perfectly. Both of them raised their cannon arms and opened up with the explosive shells.

They tore straight through their power armor as if it was paper, clearing out half the opposition before they could even fire back. Eventually a captain fired his fuel rod, impacting Bowman straight in the chest. He collapsed back, groaning in pain when it had exploded, nearly vaporizing the entire armor layering.

Ross barged forward, balling a fist in his left hand and slugging it forward. The brute dropped the fuel rod and laid on the ground, its skull completely caved in.

Jake felt something lift his arm and turned around to see Pine supporting his more damaged side.

"C'mon boss. Let's finish this."

The teleportation terminal was active when they arrived, a single luminous blue circle with a small console to its right.

Pine was about to step in when he didn't sense Bowman's presence behind. He turned around to see the second Cyclops at the chamber's entrance.

"What are you waiting for?" He demanded, "Let's go."

"No." Bowman sadly stated, "You're going in. Prime the warhead. Destroy the battleship," He raised his missile cylinder, "I'll make sure nobody comes after you."

"I can't leave you Cap." What was he going to tell Austal and Fowler?

"You don't have a choice Spartan. Now I'm giving you an order. Are you going to disobey it?"

Ross shook his head, it came all of a sudden that Bowman had his back for the last time. "Hey." He took on a softer tone, "It's going to be ok. I'll see you on the other side."

"It was a pleasure Captain." Pine turned and stepped into the terminal. Moments later, he was enveloped in a brilliant light and had vanished when it faded.

Bowman turned back and only had to wait a couple of moments before a pair of figures emerged at the entrance. Wielding fearsome gravity hammers and with tribal insignia of a chieftain, the two brutes held leading positions in the jiralhanae radical group. More movement appeared from behind them as a squad of the shrill screaming shamans joined the pack.

Opening up his move with a volley of missiles, the chieftains leaped to the left to avoid the explosive warheads. The shamans however, weren't so lucky and they disappeared in the fiery blooms.

Training his cannon left, he punched through the wall in an attempt to take them out through cover. Then without warning, one of the chieftains leapt out with his hammer.

Jake felt the weapon's head strike the suit from behind and found himself flung forward. He tumbled on the ground and fired back with his guns. As it flared on his shields, the chieftain's armor shimmered from a small gold module at his waist.

Bowman ceased fire, there was no use to shoot him down with an invincibility module active.

The second chieftain emerged just as the invincibility on the first had faded.

Out of moves and out of time, this was the last thing he could do to buy Eon Three some time.

"Voice command activate engine fail-safe. Authorization passcode: Cedo Nulli."

After saying the motto of the 37th Special Shock Division, the voiceover of Tin Man had come online, "Command accepted. Overloading engine and ready for fail safe upon command."

The Cyclops' engine popped out from his back and glowed a dull red as heat waves vented out to expose the power core.

"Disengage weapons."

"Weapons disengaged." The brutes seemed surprised at the action when his rocket pod and cannon suddenly snapped off the arms.

"Ross, you can it man. I believe in you." He grinned over his last minutes, "Brett, I apologize for taking you too seriously. You're a great soldier and someone I could really believe in and Marcus," He gave a sad smile, "I know you'll take good care of her."

Death came to all, especially soldiers and he knew that some of the comrades he had fought alongside thought of the weirdest things. He knew why because the image of his ex and Sugar couldn't be taken out of his head.

Fuck them.

The brutes had charged, seeing what he was about to do and their expressions had changed from confusion to anger and then to determination.

They never even stood a chance.

Bowman activated the fail safe, causing himself and Tin Man to explode in a brilliant fireball.

The brute chieftains were just about to swing and deliver a deathly crushing blow when the detonation caught them by surprised. Both were instantly vaporized.

The explosion had lit up the entire tower, blowing through most of the walls that protected the terminal. The structure shuddered, with some support columns buckling from the force and yet it stayed upright despite the instability.

"Bowman I'm inside." Pine examined his surroundings of typical blue-purple chamber. He was relieved there were no hostiles, but it was more unnerving that Bowman wasn't answering his comms. "Captain?"

He already knew what had happened, "Shit."

He smashed through one of the locked doors, making his way towards the Fortitude's center. There was no doubt that once his presence was made, he would have to deal with tons of enemy reinforcements.

His destination was a large hollow area at the center of the battleship with multiple transit trains capable of moving troops and supplies throughout the ship with ease. All he needed was to set the warhead to detonate close to the ship's reactor and hightail it out of there.

A group of grunts and jackals caught his attention and he spun his cannon up, popping four rounds that exploded on impact, silencing their approach.

Proceeding down another hallway, he emerged at another door, which this time parted upon sensing his presence.

A long platform proceeded a massive cavernous space that must've stretched nearly a hundred and fifty feet high. Glowing blue lights lit the entire place and at the far end was another bright tubular plasma core, the ship's reactor.

One of the cars was fast approaching with reinforcements, so Pine let loose a swarm of rockets that killed most off and he mopped up the last two brutes with his gun.

With a hiss, the warhead detached from his back and he held the detonator in front of his face to allow the computer to scan his eye for authenticity. It pulsed green and he typed in a four digit code to be armed, setting a timer for two minutes.

Setting it on the train, he waited until it departed before making his way back.

Antonius cocked his hand back and let go of the spike grenade, arcing it towards the biped behemoth charging towards him. The grenade detonated, showering Pine with spikes, but his armor held off the razor projectiles.

In a second, he locked on a missile and fired back, causing the chieftain to dive for cover. With him clear, he sprinted right towards the teleportation terminal, activating it and vanishing a split second later.

Antonius let out an annoyed growl, furious that the human had escaped. What he couldn't comprehend was what the human had come onboard for and suddenly leave.

Then it dawned on him. No attempt to take control of weapons or the bridge and he was the leader and yet it had brushed past him without giving a second glance. The ship was the target.

Back down in the main chamber, the timer ran down to zero.

The Abidcated Fortitude's center hull suddenly expanded from a brilliant white light followed by an enormous explosion that was bright enough to be seen even on the planet's dark side. The heat was blistering enough to be felt by the UNSC fleet opposite it close to the moon.

Onboard the Diablo and her fleet, all the bridge crews got a front row seat of the Covenant battleship's demise. The standoff was going on for too long and it was only a matter of time before one of the sides broke.

Either way, it didn't stop them from letting out a loud cheer. The Battle of Providence was finally over.

The conflict may be over, but we have several loose ends to tie!

Thanks for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose.