Greetings! I'm back, with the moment you've all been waiting for: THE RETURN HOME! (sound of crickets chirping) Ok, maybe not. At any rate, feel free to comment and/or make requests, just no flames please!

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Halo.

Chapter Four: Return Home

March 24, 2558

UNSC Reserve Base Camp Hayes

North America

She woke in the night, not really sure what had woken her. All she knew was that it was important. Slipping out of her bed and moving to the window, she peered out. The moon wasn't full, but she had the same feeling as if the night was calling her.

"Alaya, if your spirit lingers still, we seek to return. I beg of you, guard us as we pass through the ancient portals, and bring us safely to our ancient homes."

She'd heard that voice before, when she was dying it had echoed in the dark. The voice had given her something to focus on, a lifeline. Memories flashed before her eyes, memories that weren't hers but were, memories of an ancient place, a way to escape horrifying dangers. Some of them were vague wisps of things she ought to remember but couldn't, yet one thing stood out in stark relief in her mind: a planet, once a lush, fragrant world, destroyed during the war. There's something there, something we've missed. I'm sure of it.

"What is it?" Her lover was awake, and had seen her standing by her window.

"We have to go to Onyx."

--

April 3, 2558

Onyx, alternate dimension

Fred watched as Arisaya knelt in the grass, listening to her quiet plea.

"Alaya, if your spirit lingers still, we seek to return. I beg of you, guard us as we pass through the ancient portals, and bring us safely to our ancient homes."

The scientist dusted herself off and moved to board the ship that would, hopefully, take them back to their own universe. Odd how a scientist could be so religious, he mused, before recalling a certain Spartan with strong religious ties. He smiled a little at the thought of seeing John and Blade again.

"Fred, still with us?" Kelly elbowed him in the ribs. Looking up, he noticed that the two of them were the only ones left to board.

"Fine, just thinking," he replied.

"Well, save it for the trip," she motioned with her hand. "If we're gonna go, we'd better go now. They might just decide to leave us behind." He nodded and followed her onto the ship.

It had taken about four years, but Dr. Halsey seemed convinced she'd 'cracked the code' for the Slipspace portal. With Arisaya's help, they'd concocted the equations for a massive Slipspace doorway, enough to send an entire fleet through. And an entire fleet is what we have, he mused. Nearly everyone had elected to return to their own universe, and the ancient Forerunner worlds; a few families had chosen to stay behind.

Pausing, Fred glanced at the side of the ship. The name was emblazoned on the side of the craft, in Forerunner hieroglyphics, but he had learned to read them over the years. The ship's name almost made him laugh out loud.

Alaya's Hope.

April 3, 2558

UNSC Survey Ship Aquilae

Zeta Doradus System

John strode through the corridors of the Aquilae, trying to find his fellow Spartan. She's wilier than I gave her credit for, he mused, thinking back to how she managed to pull the survey together.

"Lord Hood, thank you for seeing us so quickly, and so unexpectedly."

"Not a problem. You said you had something important to discuss, something regarding the war." She nodded, and John watched her closely. Outwardly, she projected calm and confidence, but the slight twitch in her neck gave away her worry.

"I won't mince words, Admiral, it's not my style. You remember the last transmission from Zeta Doradus, from Onyx shortly before it blew?" Lord Hood looked surprised, but nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line. She continued, "It turned out that the entire planet was artificial, like the Halo installations. We lost contact with the Spartans sent to recover technology reported by Dr. Halsey shortly before the planet was destroyed. Everyone assumed they were dead."

"Yes, yes, I know all this," Hood began, but stopped when she held up her hand.

"Admiral, you may think me foolish for saying this, but I have…intelligence…that ONI is lacking. Onyx was intended as a sort of safe house, to try and protect the Forerunners. It's possible that the Spartans may still be alive somehow."

"You're sure? This isn't just a wild goose chase?"

"No, sir, I'm not sure, but there's a strong possibility that it's the case." She started twisting her fingers, suddenly unsure. "Sir, I'd like to send a ship to take a look. Even if we don't find the other Spartans, there may still be something that we overlooked before."

Hood was silent for a while. "I'll need to consider it. Spartans, I'll let you know when I've decided."

Eventually, she'd won out with her arguments, and ONI had been forced to back their mission. They'd even given them both uniforms complete with lieutenant's bars, so the captain of the Aquilae would take them a bit more seriously. Tools, just like this ship, he thought.

He finally found her, poring over reports from various trips to the Zeta Doradus system. Her dark brown hair was hanging loosely down her back, a change of pace from her usual braid. Without looking up, she smiled.

"Still not comfortable on ships, John?"

"I'd much rather have my feet on the ground," he replied, sliding into a chair beside her. "How soon until we arrive?"

"Ten minutes I think. They're going to call us when we get in system." She looked up, concern reflected in brown eyes.

"I don't know what we'll find there. If these reports are true, there's nothing to find, but I can't help but feel that there's something we've overlooked."

"We'll see what we find when we get there," he attempted to reassure her. Gently touching her face, he raised it so that he was looking directly into her eyes; she was worried, but doing a good job of hiding it. "If you have a feeling like that, since you have Forerunner memories in your head, there's probably something to them."

"Hey, you have Forerunner memories too. And yet, you still think I have some special intelligence," she teased, a sparkle of laughter finally coming to her eyes. He remembered the first time he'd seen laughter there: he and his team been eating dinner with her, her mother, and General West, and she'd joked about the dinner rolls.

"My memories are more of a lovesick captain's than of a respected scientist's," he smiled.

"Hardly respected, seeing as she was barely known," she replied, eyes dropping to the deck. John cupped her chin with one hand and raised her face again, holding her eyes with his own.

"She had his respect, and his love, that's all that mattered." Just like you have mine, even if you didn't want it at first, he thought, and he knew she saw it in his eyes. He moved in closer and kissed her, the files and their being in the open driven from their minds for a good five minutes. When they finally broke apart, John was grinning like a four-year old. Good thing we didn't get caught.

"That was close."

"Yeah, that was close. What were you thinking?" she teased, her smile matching his.

"I was thinking about how best to keep you from worrying," he replied, gently touching her face. A few strands of her dark hair drifted around her head; he gently brushed them back and leaned closer…

"All hands, standby for Slipspace exit. Repeat, standby for Slipspace exit."

Lousy bad timing, he thought as he watched her stand up, pulling her hair into a quick knot as she headed for the bridge.

--

The two uniformed ONI officers watched from the back of the bridge of the Aquilae, trying not to interfere with the normal workings of the bridge crew. One of them, a female lieutenant, looked up as an alarm began to sound on one of the sensor panels.

"What is it?" Her voice was soft, but the technician she'd addressed still sensed something dangerous about it. He shot up in surprise, missing the woman's grimace.

"Ma'am, there's a subspace anomaly on the sensors. It's nothing the computers have ever seen before."

The woman stiffened imperceptibly. "Let's see it, son." A frown crossed her face as she studied it intently. After some times she moved to speak with the ship's captain.

"Sir, I respectfully request that we move closer and investigate this anomaly. This is something we've never encountered before, and it would do well to obtain a full record for analysis." The other ONI lieutenant stood a little straighter, almost as if he were surprised by the request; barely seen by the bridge crew, the two shared a look, one curious, the other reassuring.

"As true as that may be, Lieutenant, my first priority is the safety of my ship and crew." The lieutenants seemed unfazed by the captain's words. She smiled reassuringly at the other officer, but anyone who looked closely could almost see a cold, calculating look in the woman's eyes.

"Of course, Captain. I don't expect you to waste lives for no reason. However, it would still be possible to observe this anomaly and jump to Slipspace if any danger presented itself, would it not?"

"Yes, it would, but why is ONI interested in spatial anomalies?" One could almost see the wheels turning in the lieutenant's head.

"ONI has its reasons, and it's hardly my place to question. Our orders are clear: observe any and all spatial phenomenon in this sector. If you're worried for your crew, I believe I can assure you that there is minimal risk in this sector from spatial anomalies." The trump card: ONI had ordered the mission, and she'd skillfully reminded them of that fact. The captain had no choice but to acquiesce.

"Very well. Navigation, move us closer to the coordinates of the spatial anomaly. Begin data recording as soon as we're in range." As the bridge crew went about their duties, they couldn't help but notice the two ONI officers conferring quietly.

--

"We are about to cross through the portals," Arisaya murmured to the others. She was uneasy: there were so many ways that this could still go wrong. Still, she had to hope. Alaya, guide us safely, she prayed; while the Forerunners had had their own pantheon of gods, it was not uncommon for one to call on a specific ancestor during troubled times. Arisaya had modeled much of her life against the legendary Alaya, and trusted in her ancestor to aid her now.

"We're ready when you are," the one called Kelly called. She liked Kelly: the older woman was deadly in many respects, but she was also kindly, often expressing emotions and feelings that her comrades could not. Over time the two had developed a friendship of sorts, though Arisaya was unsure exactly what kind of friendship.

Pushing her wayward thoughts aside, Arisaya began to open the ancient doorway.

--

"Sir, reading multiple contacts inbound from the spatial anomaly! I count at least four large vessels and several smaller ships." The weapons officer was panicky as he relayed the information, but then that amount of opposition would scare anyone.

"All hands to battle stations! Red alert!" The captain took command of the situation as he was trained; what he didn't expect were the two ONI officers moving up behind him.

"Belay that! Those ships would tear us to pieces. Tactically, we have no chance." The woman didn't outrank the captain, but she had ONI's backing, which leveled the playing field considerably.

"Lieutenant, you will maintain silence or you will be removed from the bridge."

"I doubt it. For one thing, ONI is the one responsible for this survey, and I will only answer to them. Most of the time I won't interfere, but this is an exception. Our ships would never withstand a battle against these forces, surely you must see that." She seemed almost angry now, but was trying hard to keep relatively calm.

"Then what would you suggest? The last time we tried to communicate with an alien race we were plunged into a war!"

The bridge crew realized just then how lucky they were to be merely observers: the ONI officer nearly blew a gasket.

"Do you think I don't know that? I lost my father and my older brother in that war, and nearly lost everything else I cared about!" The momentary lapse of control startled everyone, except for the other ONI lieutenant: it was almost as if he'd seen in before. He just watched as the woman regained her composure.

"Even so, I think communication is our best course of action. Make sure everyone is ready to jump out, though, in case things get ugly." Brushing past the captain and most of the crew, she moved to a communications station and began tapping commands.

--

"We're being hailed," Fred called from somewhere on the bridge. He didn't quite understand the communication, though. Moving aside, he let Arisaya and Dr. Halsey see the odd words.

Hope springs eternal, but what hope have we against so many?

"Alaya said that once," Arisaya murmured at last, though she sounded puzzled. "I remember reading it in one of our histories. She spoke of the Flood and how the fight was almost hopeless when she said that."

"But if Alaya said it, how could any humans know of it?" Dr. Halsey mused. Fred had a suspicion as to who could have known, but wasn't sure how to relate it to the others.

"Do I dare respond to them? Could it be a trick?" Arisaya asked; behind them the warrior Arnyris was trying to gain her attention, but she was ignoring him studiously. Fred finally came to a decision.

"Let me send the response. I have a feeling I know exactly who sent it."

--

Fred, Linda, and Kelly were foremost in the docking bay as the Pelican landed; behind them were the S-IIIs, Dr. Halsey and Chief Mendez, and a contingent of Forerunner warriors. Arisaya stood slightly behind Dr. Halsey, a worried look on her features.

The hatches on the dropship opened, and the Spartans watched as a captain and two lieutenants in ONI uniforms exited the craft. Fred didn't spare a glance at the other two, but instantly moved forward to greet the first ONI officer, a tall human with buzz-cut brown hair and dark eyes, lieutenant's bars and a golden eagle insignia on his uniform.

"Good to see you again, John." Fred smiled slightly, the closest Spartans usually got to expressing emotion; they'd learned a long time ago not to wear their hearts on their sleeves.

"Fred, Linda, Kelly. I never thought I'd see you again. What's going on? Where's Will?" John asked the questions rapid-fire, apparently forgetting about his two companions, specifically the other ONI lieutenant. A gasp of surprise drew their attention to the woman lounging against the Pelican, a look on her face that suggested all was well. Dark hair was pulled into a simple knot at the base of her neck, dark eyes took in her surroundings with ease, and her uniform was plain except for lieutenant's bars and a pair of crossed silver knives over the right breast; a pair of sheathed combat knives were belted around her waist. She finally moved forward, traces of a smile on her face.

"I had a feeling there were still Forerunners around, hidden away somewhere. Never thought they'd hide in another dimension though. Whoever did think of that was thinking on their feet. How'd you find them, Fred?" The woman's eyes flickered over the younger Spartans, and she seemed highly amused. " And who're the squirts?"

"Nice to see you too, Blade," Fred grinned, knowing exactly what her reaction would be. This time, however, he was in for a surprise.

"Blade" swung at his head, deliberately missed (which was something she never did), and nailed him lightly in the shoulder.