Level 17: Enemies and Allies

Northern Camp Eden
November 10, 2552

With the Brutes on the retreat, and Camp Eden now in complete control of allied forces, repairs to the shield grid began. Eden was beginning to show signs of hope. Civilian workers were allowed topside in order to begin refortifying the massive camp-city. Their main priority was to rebuild the shield which had been completely destroyed, as well as the wall and various Anti Aircraft guns.

With Siren's aid, the Brute ship was now completely under the control of the Mirratord, and the majority of all Sangheili forces moved aboard the ship in order to rest, re-coup and re-arm. A few human platoons also joined them in order to help give the ship more of an alliance feel. However, capturing the ship did not give anyone any great sense of rejoice, it was only one ship against an entire armada. At anytime, truth could send a small attack wave of ships and blow the elites out of the sky. It was only a matter of time, but for now Siren kept her eyes to the horizons; listening and watching. Two other Brute controlled ship sat in the distance, yet they did not advance or threaten the camp. They were too busy digging. Something that everyone monitored and were extremely concerned with.

Back at the southern area, near the entrance to the lower levels of Camp Eden, Eric and Mathew took the liberty of assisting the civilians in digging graves for the hundreds of fallen marines and civilian workers that hadn't escaped the brute's first attack. Their crashing ship caught everyone off guard. But Eric and Mathew couldn't spare too much time on grave detail as they had to see to the refortifications of their zones. They mainly wanted to police one body.

The sun cast a thick shadow as Mathew thumbed the dirt between his fingers and looked at the depth of the grave. Numerous plots lay about the courtyard, a make shift graveyard, and the sobs of loved ones carried across the level field. At the base of the grave was a wrapped female body and Eric huddle atop it. Mathew couldn't stand it any longer. He stood, gripped his shovel and walked to another grave, assisting others in tossing dirt over the dead.

Eric had puller Melanie's hand out of her white body bag and rubbed it gently between his own. She had been dead for nearly two days, but he didn't care. He knew that eventually she would be dug up again, after the war, and given a proper burial, but for now they had to dispose of the body. He didn't shed a tear. He remembered how many times Mel had held his hand. He then thought about Kim; Melanie's older sister and the core of what made Siren. He laughed at the idea of doing a brain scan of Mel, there wasn't much left of her head in order to do that, but he wouldn't put her through such an ordeal anyway. Eric hated the idea of having a friend or loved one's brain scanned. This was the main reason why he could not fully embrace Siren.

Eric's radio chirped. "Can I see her?" Siren's voice radioed in his ear.

Eric stood and grabbed his helmet and then angled the faceplate toward Mel's prone form.

Siren accessed his HUD recorder and began a live feed. "Will you… will you miss her?"

Eric found it hard to speak, his throat was tight with emotions but he couldn't shed tears. "W-what do you think?" Eric held his helmet under his left arm, while his right hand examined Mel's hand again.

"I think… you loved her more then you're willing to share."

"She was family. We never talked about it, we never said anything. We simply knew … she was like a little sister." His throat tightened up once again. Became dry.

"You know… she thought of you very highly. She talked about you all the time. Did you recover her will? I should up date it with the rest of the soldiers that have died in the past few weeks." Eric remained silent for a while as he pulled Melanie's data recorder chip from his pocket. He thumbed it in his hand and inserted it into his helmet. Siren quickly accessed it. "Did you get the flask?"

"Yeah." He chocked.

"I'm glad she gave it to you. It meant a lot to her. She really loved you." Siren paused. Being an AI, she could quickly access words to say in this situation, but there were lines of code inside her emotional subroutines that forced her to talk slowly, in breaks, to sound as though she were upset, or tearful. The silence grew as she sat and watched Mel's form. She wanted to see her, all of her, "can you open the bag a little more? I'd like to see the rest of her."

"No."

"… Eric. Please…"

Eric sighed. "Her face is bruised beyond recognition. Her head was smashed, multiple skull fractures and severe brain trauma. You don't want your last memories of her to be this."

"Is … that why you are only holding her hand?" Eric remained silent. Siren began to mumble, "I never thought I would out live her… she was so much stronger then I was; a better shooter, smarter, faster."

Eric laughed, forgetting himself, "she actually did hate the idea that you became a Senior Chief before she did."

"I should have done more. Eric, I failed her."

"… no, I failed you both. She said in her will that it wasn't my fault, but it was. I brought you into this mess. I urged you all to join the core. I started this, but you all went before me. I should have died so many times… but…" Eric paused. He raised his head and looked around the tight confines of the grave. He realized he wasn't talking to anyone. In his head he could hear Kim's voice, Siren's voice, but the voice was only that of an AI. His voice became stern. "Siren, turn off your emotions."

Siren replied with a heavy voice, cracking as if she were crying. "I want to feel… just for a little longer. Let me feel this. I lost my sister, Eric. We lost her… "

"She's not your sister." Eric commanded. He gently tucked Mel's hand into her wrapping and then climbed out of the grave.

Siren was silent for a moment, "I'm sorry, 19." Her voice sounded more professional, less emotional. "I should have considered your feelings in this." Eric began to toss dirt onto Mel, not looking at her only focusing on the dirt. Before long he had covered her completely but he was still a long way from finishing.

Mathew slowly walked back to Eric's side and began to shovel, not saying anything, only working. After a few minutes they had completely filled Mel's temporary resting spot. If humanity survived the war, she would be transferred to a family grave spot, and given full honors. Though no one would know she was a Black Ops, only that she was a soldier in the UNSC Navy.

Eric sat and wiped the sweat from his brow. Mathew passed him a canteen of water and they sat and watched as hundreds of other civilians and marines filled similar plots. The sun slowly descended into the western horizon.

Siren commented on the line. "19, I know you need a minute to reflect, but Doctor Halsey is still waiting for an answer."

"Tell her to get the coordinates. Then find Captain Monroe." Eric tapped his COM head set. "Simyaldee do you copy?"

"I read you, Chief Raynord."

"I need a few of your men to come with me. I have an escorting mission to the south. Can you spare Gridolee and perhaps a few grunts?"

- - - - - - - -

Sangheili Controlled vessel: The Hammer of God
Northern Camp Eden

Simyaldee powered off his COM and walked to the edge of the Command platform. He looked out over the thin Sangheili command crew, and the even thinner number of human Naval officers assigned to help, it would have to be enough. "Gridolee, take a team of Unggoy and join the honorable human."

Gridolee looked up and nodded toward the second. "Immediately, sir."

Simyaldee twitched his mandibles. "Have you begun repairing your blades? You will need them."

"I repaired one. I will fix the other soon." Gridolee stated as he raced off the deck.

Simyaldee watched the door close behind his youngest warrior in the Mirratord and then turned his attention back to the COM settings. The Fleet of Retribution was acquiring numbers faster and faster. The elder, below the command podium, was now in contact with dozens of other Sangheili ship masters scattered across the planet. Most were human sympathizers, and thusly agreed to continue to lend aid to the humans, but their main objective was to gather support and strike against Truth. He turned and walked toward the opposite corner, and he gasped as the pain of his recent surgery shot up his side. The surgery repaired the internal damage, but it would be a few hours until the wound completely healed.

A shout came from the communications station. "Confirmed, the Arbiter is still alive. He is moving toward the Ark structure with the Demon… the Master Chief. The humans have begun to attack with the last of their mobile forces. Shall we go to their aid?"

"No. We wait." Simyaldee commanded. He was eager to get back into the battle, especially with a ship under his temporary command, but there was little chance of his forces being needed. At least not yet. For now they would stay and protect the Elders and the human's zone. Simyaldee also pondered why the Brutes were so interested in taking over the area.

The COM officer barked once again. "Sir, long distance transmission on the Seed Ship's bandwidth. Truth is not blocking this frequency. It is from… High Elder Vornaldea!"

- - - - - - - -

Seed Ship
November 1, 2552- -Slip Space Time difference - - nine relative hours.

High Elder Vornaldea stood at the edge of a massive metal precipice. Beyond his eyes floated a fleet of ships. Nearly thirty cruisers, battleships and carriers were being repaired and modified. Dozen's of sentinel drones buzzed about the monstrous enclosure doing the work to the ships as his elite's rested. They had found the firepower they were looking for, but instead of returning to Earth, they were ordered to another path.

Vornaldea had been struggling for hours to understand the "Path of Reclamation", but no matter how he viewed it, something was off. For once, he actually wished the human Doctor Halsey, was still around. She was filled with insightful viewpoints, and her intellect was beyond compare. She could make since of what the Queen's forces were looking for.

Vornaldea waited patiently for the shuttle to arrive, but they had just disembarked from the Key of Deliverance only a few minutes ago. It would take an older Spirit drop ship a few minutes to cross the massive dry dock of the Seed ship.

After nearly four minutes the drop ship swung to dock with the metal platform where Vornaldea and his contingent of honor guards waited. The side bay doors opened and six massive elites strode down the ramp. Behind them floated three sentinels and a large black box. Vornaldea instantly realized the box was the stasis chamber used to house the Queen. He was approached by the most decorated warrior in the group, he stood a full heads length taller then Vornaldea, and his bulk was insanely ridged.

Commander Yalsmadee was a tower of muscle.

He knelt before Vornaldea and addressed him, "High Elder of the High Council. I am the ground forces Commander for the Fleet, Altez Yalsmadee."

"Indeed you are." Vornaldea smirked. "You remind me so much of your father, when he was younger." Vornaldea shook the thought from his mind. "Drones, take the Queen to the Ancient City." The sentinels paused and waited for an understanding of the term "Ancient City". They accessed the Seed Ships mainframe and the Keeper spoke to them, informing them where to go.

The Drones dragged the floating stasis locked box toward the main corridor. Yalsmadee turned to his team and nodded, ordering them to follow.

The Keeper spoke through a local intercom, but did not appear. "The terminology you use to describe locations is rather false, but I will not alter your words. However, this Ancient City you refer to is simply the living quarters." The Keepers voice faded.

"What was that?" Yalsmadee questioned.

"The Construct for this ship." Vornaldea replied. He motioned for Yalsmadee to follow him as they slowly made their way behind the stasis chamber. "There is much we must discuss."

"First," Yalsmadee interrupted, "you must inform me how you were able to remove the Seed Ship from its resting place. Then, I will need to know its full battle compliment and potential. It is far larger then we imagined it would be. It is nearly double the size of High Charity. We can make excellent use of this and the Construct, the one called the Keeper. Its ability to control these Drones will be needed when we arrive at Halo."

"Halo?" Vornaldea questioned.

"Yes, it must be destroyed. I am sure the Prime are now aware of our new potential and they will adjust. They always adjust." Yalsmadee was a well disciplined warrior. Vornaldea easily could comprehend this. Even though his mother, the Queen, was in an unknown state, Yalsmadee focused completely on his mission.

"Who are the Prime?" Vornaldea questioned.

"The last race of the Empire. They were an unprivileged society that had yet to be assimilated into the Empire. They taught us all that they knew."

"They had survived the Halo's first fireing?"

"Yes. Their civilization was beyond the range of Halo's destructive wave. They were not full members of the Empire, though they longed to be. Since the fall of the Empire, they have watched, studied and waited for the Path of Reclamation to be fulfilled. Our Queen chose to save our kin, knowing that if the Halos fired, our race would be destroyed. After we learned that one Halo had been destroyed and we immediately sought to aid in the destructions of the others. We must stop the humans for firing Halo. They must not reach Reclamation."

Vornaldea chuckled. "You know much more then we do, but you are still not up to date. Let me inform you of the Covenant calendar, the Ninth Age of Reclamation."

After walking for nearly an hour, through the vast corridors of the Seed ship, the group arrived at the Ancient City, where the civilians who survived Dorenth's destruction lived and played. Vornaldea continued to recount the happenings of the past eighty years; the Brute alliance, the first contact with humans, the Hierarchs unquestioned path to destroy them, and the civil war.

Yalsmadee paused at the drones carried the Queen deeper into the city, watching as thousand came out to see what the new machines were doing. "Then the Hierarchs are not as stupid as we believed. We knew the humans would eventually attempt to fire Halo, it is their destiny, but this Demon, this Master Chief, destroyed Halo instead. I am somewhat confused. We feared the great journey, knowing that this was merely a fool's ploy."

"Correct." Vornaldea added.

"But the humans are not attempting to fire Halo. They are simply resisting the Covenant's advance."

"Also, correct."

"Why? The Reclaimers destiny is to rebuild the Empire. They are defying the will of the Forerunners."

Vornaldea was not aware of this information, but assumed that this was knowledge learned through the Prime. "It would seem, that the humans wish to live. They wish to live without the Forerunners return."

"The Quarantine station, it said that a Halo had misfired?" Yalsmadee questioned eagerly. "Who attempted to fire it? Halo can only be fired by a Reclaimer!"

"Tartarus, the Brute Chieftain. He was ordered to use a human in an attempt to fire one of the Halos."

"I see." Yalsmadee continued to follow his mother's chamber as he pondered what to do. It was taken to a highly decorated building that had been setup the moment it was known that the Queen would be coming aboard. Honor guards lined the building only allowing a select few to enter. The drones disconnected from the stasis locked box and quickly exited the building. Queen Vasmeola lay unseen, inside the black box as it floated gingerly above the center of the room. It was engulfed in a swirling orb of light, trapped between dimensions. Female elders walked into the room, carrying flowers and fine hand crafted Sangheili clothing. They lined everything neatly near the Queen's resting tomb so that when she awoke the first thing she would see would be the offerings of her people.

Yalsmadee and Vornaldea walked into the room and scanned every guard and visitor. "The Queens Honor Guards will assume her private protection. Inform the Mirratord to protect the building itself."

Vornaldea shifted slightly, "the Mirratord?"

"Yes elder, I know of them. They are my birth right after all."

Vornaldea smirked, "indeed, it was your ancestor who created the idea. However, we found it best that the Mirratord remain on Earth to assist in stopping Truth."

"The human world?" Yalsmadee once again began to think deeply on this. "Then Simyaldee is there as well?"

"Yes."

Yalsmadee turned and looked at a cloaked female with two Honor Guards at her side. She nodded respectfully and then left the building with her guards. "She is pleased to know that."

Vornaldea watched the old female depart. "Ancestors be praised, she lives. The head of the House of Yal."

Yalsmadee gripped the elders shoulder to ease his joy, and said, "There are only ten of us who know this. She has asked to remain anonymous, even amongst this great reunion. Upon my birth, she blessed me with the name of Yal and welcomed me into her home."

"Yes, you have a great weight upon your shoulders. I will contain myself in her presence. She shall have access to this building at anytime she sees fit." Vornaldea looked up at the young warrior. "I realized that you carried the name of Yal, but I did not think she still drew breath. This is a great revelation."

Yalsmadee clasped his hands behind his back and exhaled softly. "If the humans are attempting to stop Truth, then we must do what little we can. What troubles me is our next course of action. Do we join our brothers at Earth, and try to stop Truth there? Or do we risk destroying the Ring in case Truth succeeds?"

Both Vornaldea and Yalsmadee debated this as four Huragok, the race of creatures known as engineers, floated into the room. They were watched carefully by every elite eye. The engineers extended the four tentacles and examined the Queen's state. The creatures seemed to be unaffected by the stasis barrier, something that Yalsmadee found odd. The creatures floated about, switching locations in technological bliss. The elites cautiously let them work, though they stood ready to kill the non aggressive creatures if they showed any negative acts; after all they were once the primary workers for the prophets.

It was amazing to watch them analyze and study, their tentacles flipping from control to control in absolute silence. Then they stopped working in unison. They slowly floated away from the tomb as a 3D image floated above their heads.

"My Queen!" Yalsmadee gasped as he saw Queen Vasmola's image floating above the room. It was a visual image from inside the stasis chamber. She was unconscious, or asleep, but she seemed healthy. One of the engineers floated toward the chamber and entered more information. Suddenly a visual monitor appeared showing her health readings.

"Well now, she is very healthy, as I told you." The keeper stated as he appeared in the room. His hologram emerged directly beside Vornaldea.

Yalsmadee gasped. "A Prime? The construct is one of the Prime?"

The Keeper simply smiled. "Oh, yes, I should have known you would have met them. I was modeled after my maker. He was one of the Prime." The Keeper, a biped humanoid hologram, wearing a highly decorated robe, stood before them. Its reptile skin was leathery and a long pony tail of hair stretched from its head to the floor.

"The enemy you have been fighting, is the designer of the construct?" Vornaldea questioned.

The Keeper interrupted. "The Prime were very intelligent beings, they assisted in many tasks that the Forerunner found… tedious. Though they were not a part of the Empire, they were still resourceful. Remember, the Empire was glorious, and no race resisted its demands. Otherwise, the Empire unleashed its army against them. And no one wanted to be on the receiving end of the … Sangheili."

"We can not trust this construct!" Yalsmadee roared.

The Keeper simply smiled. "Unlike the Monitor, I am not bound to my objectives. I will not do you any harm. After all, I created you all. It was I who oversaw the Repopulation Engine and planted your seeds. My goal is to protect, not destroy. Defend, not obliterate. You have no need to fear me… child of Vastegrin."

"Vastegrin?" Vornaldea questioned. "Keeper, where did you learn this name?"

"It is not important." The Keeper smirked.

"The drones also called our Queen by this title." Yalsmadee added.

Vornaldea stared at the hologram. "Speak."

The Keeper sighed. "Vastergin is the name of your blood type sample taken from the ruling Elite during the Forerunner war. It was this blood sample that created your seed for the Repopulation Engine. There were thousands of samples, from various families, but this was the most important. Like I said, not important."

Vornaldea smirked, "as for the Prime, it would seem they were critical to the Empire during its time. I question why they wish for the Halo's to fire."

"It is because of the Path of Reclamation." Yalsmadee added. He walked closer to the stasis chamber and placed his hand close to his mother's holographic form. It lay silent on its back, unmoving, lifeless yet alive. "The Prime know that we are all carriers of the Flood."

"What?" Vornaldea questioned.

The Keeper coughed, catching the attention of the group. "If ever there was a document that should have been destroyed, that was the one. The Path of Reclamation was created as a warning… a testament to the failures of the Empire. It was never planed to introduce the … soldier gene as you call it, into the populace. The Path of Reclamation is a warning, a guide, a map, a collection of tools needed by the Reclaimers in order to assist them in rebuilding the Empire. To teach them how not to make the same mistakes the Forerunners did."

Vornaldea walked closer to the Queens chamber and crossed his arms in thought. "I will need to investigate this more thoroughly, as well as our science teams. However, I will add that the humans have no desires of firing the Halo weapons…"

"I would think differently," the Keeper said, "they have not fully understood this rather interesting piece of Forerunner work. The Path of Reclamation can easily remind them of how … pointless it is to find a cure. Your human friend, Catherine Halsey stumbled upon what she thought could be a cure. If she were familiar with the Path of Reclamation, she would understand it was pointless."

"Then we will need for her, as well as the humans, to understand the Path of Reclamation." Vornaldea stated.

"No," countered Yalsmadee, "telling them would only remind them of their purpose. We can not risk it. The Forerunners were wise in choosing the humans, they are smart and powerful, and would be equally ferocious in battle as the Brutes. Humans, as the Prime told us, are exceptional weapons." Yalsmadee faced Vornaldea, "if it is true that we have formed and awkward alliance with them, then we must pray that they never understand the Path of Reclamation completely. If they do … ancestors have mercy on us."

"I worked with Doctor Halsey for many days, understanding this ship and the cloning process." Vornaldea sighed. "Your thinking is much like the Prophets. The humans wish only to survive. It was we who attacked them. At these turn of events, I do not question the human's anger toward us, but I know that we need each other."

Yalsmadee looked to the Keeper after briefly thinking over Vornaldea's words. "Keeper. Tell me… whom do you trust more, to complete your Forerunner plans?"

"Why, the Reclaimers of course. It is their duty to end the Flood threat."

"Now tell me why. Why do you so fully support the Reclaimers?"

The Keeper smiled. "Because …they will remember and they will… seek the path."

Yalsmadee looked back to Vornaldea. "High Elder. We chose to destroy the Halo's to eliminate any chance of the humans seeking this path… the Path of Reclamation. To them, it will be the only option left. If they understand, or learn the truth of the Flood spore, we are all doomed. If I sound like the Prophets, then forgive me. But I will agree on one thing. Truth was correct in fearing them."

- - - - - - - -

A few hours passed and Yalsmadee sat alone in his mother's room. Their was little more he could do to convince the High Elder about being cautious with the humans, but the Elder was feeling sympathetic to what his race had been ordered to do to them. Yalsmadee shared no such regret. He almost agreed with Truth, but the thought of agreeing to the Prophets actions of genocide made him gag.

He paced around the stone structure as virtual nighttime began. The rooms lights adjusted and the crystal overhanging the city dimmed to only a moonlit glow. He walked to the window and looked outward at the young Sangheili playing in the streets. From the Queen's room he could overlook the entire city and lakes beyond, and even see the ship's massive doors into the ship area.

The Seed Ship was a perfect escape for his kin, but it was not a full world. Eventually the Sangheili race would once again flourish, and the Seed ship would not be big enough to support them all. He had been told about High Charity, the central home of the Covenant, and how many races lived upon the ship as if it were a home. He never comprehended how that could be possible, but the Seed ship clearly exemplified it.

A Dabdough walked the edge of a nearby lake, it was a male. He had been told stories of those creatures as well. The six foot tall creatures were timid but gave a good hunt for the young. They breed rapidly with their powerful female counterparts, so their numbers were always in good supply. He never had the chance to hunt the creature. Yalsmadee was born far on the other side of the galaxy, and he longed to take a part in the old Sangheili traditions of his home. To walk the streets of the Academy in the Parade of the Watchmen, to attend classes with other Sangheili and learn the techniques of being a warrior, history, to take the Trials of the Watchmen and prove his worthiness to the council and his kin. He wanted to prove his right to be a warrior and do everything that was denied him thanks to the Prophets.

Yalsmadee turned to look as his mother's hologram, "it must have been difficult for you, mother, to be an outcast and shunned simply because you were a female and the head of the oldest House. I look around and I see what you mean by everything being dominated by us males, it has helped me to understand your anger and determination. We will start over. Once we have ended the Prophets plans, and destroyed Halo and the Flood, we will build the Sangheili race in the way you have dreamt it. Equal."

A group of four females entered the room, catching Yalsmadee's attention. They carried foods, drink, and fresh clothing. "Commander," the lead female spoke, "I took notice that you have not left the Queen's side all day. We have brought you food and drink. I will take your armor and clean it for you."

She placed clothing on the table in the corner of the room as the other females left the food in the center of the room. She stood quietly to the side and waited for his orders.

Yalsmadee was unaccustomed to the typical roles of the Sangheili women, he had been surrounded by warriors all of his life, even the women of the fleet fought. "Thank you. But I do not need my armor cleaned. I wear these scratched and tears with honor, as it is my proof of being a warrior."

The female bowed and turned to exit the room. Yalsmadee spoke up, "Wait. Tell me, why you have done this? I could acquire food of my own."

The female turned, her head low, "Warriors do not have time to do medial tasks. We who are female, are here to aid you in your strength, and to make sure you do not forget to take care of yourself … and your enemy. We are your aid."

"Thank you."

She nodded her head softly and exited the room.

Yalsmadee chuckled as he sat beside the food and began to tear the meat from the bone of a foreign beast. He swallowed water and looked to his mother's hologram, laughing uncontrollably. "Mother, I could never see you living like that." Yalsmadee ate his fill talking to the hologram that represented his mother's slumbering form.

On the Bridge of the Seed Ship, Head Elder Vornaldea peered into his terminal and began to record his words. "This message is for the Arbiter, the Mirratord First and Second, and any Elders stationed on Earth. At this moment, I must state that we are not sure if the humans can be fully trusted. The forerunners left a database of information called the Path of Reclamation. It is important that the Humans understand that they can NOT seek the Path. They must not follow the guidelines established in the Path of Reclamation. Help them to understand that we will fight the Flood to the very end, to the last of our Kin can no longer stand. Truth must be stopped, but the Path of Reclamation is not the only option.

"If the humans attempt to follow the guidelines in the Path of Reclamation, we fear… they may seek the destruction of everything. My Brothers, the line of allies is growing thin. Please, respond when you receive this transmission."

- - - - - - - -

Back on Earth, several miles away from Eden, two people stood in the center of a circle of Section III Military Police. With the police is the young woman that had served with doctor Halsey, she had chased the two runaway scientists to this point.

"Put the guns down, both of you. Where are you going?" She pleaded with her fellow scientists.

And MP shouted, "Drop the weapons, doctors. We have orders to bring you back to the Box." The MPs took aim with Battle Riffles at the two scientists holding handguns.

The older male scientist held a magnum at his side and looked back at the group of MPs and Doctor Halsey's aid. "Don't you realize… the flood have already been on Earth. They landed, even if we can't see them anymore, they were here… we're all doomed. We're already dead." He placed the gun to his temple and fired before anyone could talk him out of it.

The young woman at his side, covered in the man's blood, knelt down, trembling, and picked up the gun. She looked back at Doctor Halsey's aid, "Did you watch it, Anne? Did you see the Path of Reclamation? Did you watch it all?"

Anne held her breath, in complete shock at what she had just saw one of her teammates do. "No… Doctor Halsey sent me after you… she was afraid you… that you would be a risk. Kate… put the gun down. Please."

Kate, the young scientist that worked with Halsey, looked at the MPs and Anne, "I don't want to be a monster… Anne." A tear trickled from her eyes, "Six days…. You only have six days left. This… this is the only way."

"Kate!" Anne screamed as the young woman raised the gun to her temple. There was a loud pop and Kate's lifeless form crumbled to the sand.

One of the MPs clicked on his short wave COM. "Control, this is Section III team 4. Doctors Jet Kim and Kate Smith have taken their own lives."

"God… did you see what happened?"

"Yes sir. We tried to talk them down, but no go. I have a full recording."

"Good, bag the bodies and bring them in."

Anne collapsed to her knees holding her sides and cried as the MPs pulled two large bags over the lifeless forms at their feet. They then loaded their bodies and helped Anne back into her warthog.

To be Continued….

NOTES: I decided to keep the last segment in order to help shorten the length of the filler levels. This level as well as the next two will seem a bit slower then normal, but they will be good character points in them. There might be some awkwardness in the next few levels as well, but we will quickly get back to the main story and wrap things up. Stay tuned and thanks for reading.