Well, it's me again. A short Part, this one, but it is an important one. More on that later, though. Here is A Third Conversation. It takes place shortly after A Second Conversation(obviously).

Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117 pushed himself off the contouring bed of his lone cryotube. He floated for a moment in the zero gravity vacuum and then pushed himself over to Cortana's holopad. "What is it?" he asked in his characteristic tone.

"Nice to see you too," Cortana replied, her wit seemingly intact after the years. "Anyway, I have someone here to see you…"

What? Who?"

"Hello Reclaimer," the Chief spun around to face the voice. A Monitor floated into view, its eye glowing a brilliant white. "I am Offensive Bias, the Monitor for the Ark Installation."

"Why are you here?" John replied curtly. In his mind, he saw Johnson getting lasered down by Guilty Spark.

Apparently, Bias caught the Chief's tone. "Don't worry; I am not like 343 Guilty Spark. I am still fully functional."

"Prove it."

"Do you not have a thing called trust? At this moment, there is no way for me "prove" my operational readiness. All I can do is ask you to trust me," the Monitor replied.

"Chief, I think we can trust it," Cortana put in.

"If she trusts you, so will I," John began, "but if you so much as flash red," he continued, his voice lowering to a deadly tone, "I'll shove a grenade through your eye."

"Though your usage of "eye" is technically incorrect, your point is made," Bias said. "Now please upload your construct and prepare for teleportation."

"We can't leave here," Cortana said, the Chief mirroring her thoughts. "If we leave this ship, the UNSC will never find us," Cortana explained.

"Don't worry about that. After I have spoken to you, I will take you and the Reclaimer to your planet."

The stranded duo exchanged glances and then the Chief pulled Cortana from the holotank and inserted her chip into his helmet. Around them, golden rings formed and they were pulled into nothingness.

Seconds later, they reappeared hundreds of light years away at the Ark's Cartographer. The massive waterfall that had dominated the background had huge pieces of debris sticking out of it. The once blue water had turned a murky brown. Bias wasted no time, immediately saying, "You certainly have a knack for ruining Installations Reclaimer."

"What?" the Chief asked, caught off guard by the seemingly random statement.

"Think about it. Every Installation you have visited has been consumed by the Flood, destroyed, or both. Have you ever stopped to consider why?" the orb inquired.

The Chief remained silent in answer.

"I thought not. I have so much to tell you about the Forerunners, the Flood, the Human race, this galaxy, the Universe," the Monitor said. "For a hundred thousand of your years, I have been waiting for this moment and so have you, whether you knew it or not. At long last, you will learn your true destiny..."

* * * * *

Fleet Admiral Lord Terrance Hood was sitting at his desk working through requisition orders when a golden flash in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He looked up to see a man who thought he would never see again.

The Chief came to attention with a crisp salute and said, "Sir, Spartan 117 reporting for duty."

Hood leaned back into his chair, a smile spreading over his face.

Well, I said that I would explain why this one is so important. Not only is there no cameo, but after this one, I will list The Halo Collection as "Completed". There are a few reasons for this, mainly: I'm just too busy with all my school work. Also, the lack of reviews have played a part. That doesn't been this collection is done, though. Think of it as merely placed on the back burner. I might add more onto it at a later date, but for now, it's done. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed.