Just a reminder that this fic is complete. So, no worries - it won't end up in the WIP graveyard. :D As always, thanks for the follows/favs/reviews. :D :D

"I'm telling you, Jean-Luc, I have never seen anyone like him before." Beverly sat behind her desk, looking at the medical readout from the John Doe that had mysteriously appeared on the ship.

Jean-Luc moved to stand next to the chair across from her. "But, he is human."

She nodded. "Oh, absolutely. But, he's like no human I've ever encountered." She handed him a PADD full of medical readouts. "Carbide Ceramic Ossification. Catalytic Thyroid Implant. Occipital Capillary Reversal. Muscular Enhancement Injections. Superconducting Fibrification of Neural Dendrites. "

"In layman terms, Doctor."

She raised an eyebrow. "He's superhuman."

Picard looked up from the PADD. "Any idea how he got this way?"

Beverly shrugged. "He wasn't born that way, if that's what you're asking. There is evidence of heavy scarring all across his body. That would indicate to me that he had some extensive medical procedures performed on him. Based on the tissue, I would estimate they are decades old."

"Someone did this to him."

"As horrible as it sounds, yes. I was able to run a non-invasive scan on him-"

"Non-invasive scan?"

She nodded. "Even if I could take off his armor, which I don't think I could without Data or Worf's assistance, I don't know if it would injure him.\. But, I found something else on the scan." She tapped on her screen and spun the monitor towards Jean-Luc. A readout of the John Doe's skull appeared. "He has some kind of neural interface implanted in the back of his neck-"

A stricken look passed over his face. "Do you think the Borg is involved?"

"No," she quickly assured him. "There is nothing that even resembles Borg technology, but there is this." She pressed another button and the image zoomed in. "Based on my tricorder readings, it's some kind of isolinear chip. From best I can tell, it works with the armor and the neural interface."

Jean-Luc sat there for a second, processing all that she said.

She nodded towards sickbay. "He woke up a couple of minutes ago. Deanna's talking to him right now."

"What's your first impression?"

She thought about it for a moment. "I couldn't tell you, Jean-Luc. That helmet is hiding a lot."

"Well then," he said, raising his eyebrows, "let's see what else we can find out about our guest."

She led the way to where his patient was. Her jacket flared open as she walked ahead, brushing against Jean-Luc. He walked beside her.

As they approached the bed where their John Doe lay, Beverly noticed that the helmet he had been wearing had been removed. His pale skin made Beverly wonder if he had ever been exposed to sunlight or if he had lived under the helmet all of his life.

Deanna looked at the two of them. "This is John. He's a Master Chief in the UNSC," she said evenly.

Beverly and Jean-Luc exchanged a glance. There was no such thing as the UNSC as far as the doctor knew. Based on the look on Jean-Luc's face, he didn't know what Deanna was referring to either.

Beverly kept her frown hidden from her patient. None of the scans showed signs of blunt force trauma. Perhaps he had some sort of mental illness that she hadn't been able to detect.

"The UNSC?" Jean-Luc asked.

The Master Chief sat up slowly, throwing his legs over the edge of the medical bed. Beverly's breath caught in the back of her throat. This man, in some kind of robotic armor from the neck down, reminded her of Jean-Luc when he had been brought into sickbay after he had been transformed into Locutus.

Deanna looked at her, concerned. Beverly gave a curt nod. Now was not the time to reflect on those times.

"The United Nations Space Command." His voice is rough. Beverly noticed his quick glance to his collar. "Sir," he added quickly.

Picard shifted his weight from one leg to another. "I'm afraid that I'm not familiar with that organization."

Beverly picked up a nearby tricorder and started running another scan on the man, allowing Jean-Luc to lead the conversation.

"It doesn't exist here."

He didn't offer any further explanation. Beverly gave a half-shrug when Jean-Luc looked at her questioningly. Nothing on the readings she was getting showed any sign of mental illness.

"When you first arrived here, you mentioned something about a Halo," Jean-Luc prompted.

John lifted his hand. In it, there was an object that looked similar to an isolinear chip. That must have been what was in his neural lace, Beverly realized. "We need to repair Cortana. She's the only way."

"The only way to what?"

"To complete our mission."