Chapter Twenty: Are You Awake?

Colonal Holland was just as suspicious as Ace had felt last night. There was no other reason he would send their team out to Visegrád Relay Outpost. Something was itching at the edge of their senses, a sixth sense that something was about to go FUBAR. Of Noble, each of the others had a varied sense of suspicion, but Jorge and Ace knew. The two exchanged a long look, filled with meaning. A few barely noticeble face twitches from Jorge had Ace settling back onto her heels. Shit wasn't good at the moment, but they couldn't do anything about it right this moment. Patience would be key.

Carter directed Kat, Emile, and Jun into one of the Falcons intended to take them to Visegrád, Ace, Jorge, and Carter going to the second. A layer of disquiet curled in her chest, responding to the uneven abilities of the split. On paper, it might seem logical - each team had a commander, a long distance specialist, and a mid to close range specialist. But Jorge and Jun swapping would have been a better idea. Better to have her and the other II as damage-takers and dealers.

Ace bit her tongue slightly, evaluating possible reasons Carter would choose this specific set-up. Did he know something she didn't about the mission? The witch huffed internally. Why was she reacting as if she was expecting the worst? Expecting a seperation of teams? Her eyes narrowed, focus turning inwards.

Kelly? she wondered, recieving only a guilty-feeling shuffle on the other end of their connection.

Kelly.What is going on? Ace sternly demanded, staring out of the Falcon as it began take off. Her sister-in-all-ways-that-matter shifted again, clearly shuffling her thoughts in an attempt to figure out the best approach to Ace's demand.

There might be a high-priority mission about to take the majority of us out of known systems for an unknown amount of time? Kelly finally answered in a rush, information bombarding Ace's brain, instantly bestowing a migraine onto the clone.

Ace heaved a sigh, hands clenching briefly as light and noise spiked to nigh-intolerable levels. Why, she whined plaintively at her sister, Why now. I literally just told them everything. Ugh. That's... sorry, that's very selfish of me. The objective is what?

The silence from Kelly ached.

We're to capture one of their prophets. Any means necessary. Ship name Pillar of Autumn. Operation: Red Flag. They gave John an AI for this. A smart AI. Kelly was worried. The stress lined her thoughts. Humanity was growing more desperate.

Ace couldn't help but wonder if the Covenant also felt the pressure. If that was why they sent infiltrators instead of using overwhelming force this time. Or maybe the overwhelming force was on its way, and these infiltrators weren't to do more then cut off long distance communications in order to prevent the UNSC from rallying her ships to had been using less and less overwhelming force. Perhaps they were wearing down. The xenos still outnumbered them.

Smart AIs, while not uncommon, were very much an as-needed basis. They were ONI's, for the most part, most ships being equipped with 'dumb' AIs. Despite the name, dumb AIs were just as good as any smart AI, even if only in their allowed 'skillset'. Smart AIs tended to fall into rampancy much quicker, and therefore were much more dangerous to allow anywhere near civilians. To give a smart AI to an admittedly formidable singular soldier was... And for an unknown amount of time? What if the construct fell to rampancy? What if it killed her people?

Ace sucked in a slow, careful breath, considering to herself. She had very little control over this situation. She had to have faith in her fellow SPARTANs. They would do absolutely everything they could to survive their mission, as they always did.

If you leave me alone here, I shall be very cross, Ace pointedly thought at her sister, trying her best to convey a mimicry of a sniff across their connection. Expressions and small noises weren't the easiest to convey. Not that Kelly had any issue conveying an unimpressed face to her clone. Not that Ace was bitter about it - much - anymore.

And you know we won't be alone, even when one of us leaves, Kelly answered flatly, for all the she knew just as Ace would that it wouldn't be the same. Neither of them knew how a traumatic seperation would work. If the other's consciousness would force its way down the bond in a burst of instinct-driven self-preservation. If they would crush each other, or form some bizarre amalgamation. Perhaps it would leave a gaping hole in their mind where the tether between them resided. Ace did not point all of this out - they had this cyclical argument every few years, when things got a little too dangerous or a little too exhausting. There would be no point to rehash it now, of all times.

Please, take care to return, Ace said instead, mentally preparing herself for a shitfest. The luck between her last life and this one was unchanged. Shit always went wrong. It had been too quiet, anyway, and Ace was simply hoping for the means to be able to keep her people alive in whatever was to come. And hoping for the streangth to withstand the loss of those she couldn't save.

Ace refocused on her surroundings as the Falcon they were in circled above a farmstead in the Visegrád territory. Smoke had been what hailed them down. The other Falcon seperated, moving to another point of interest. Hopefully one of them would find evidence of the prior teams sent in, or some evidence of what had happened to them. If the universe favored them, it would be simple and straightforward.

Worst case, Reach was compromised already and to fall within the next month. Reach's fall would mean Humanity would be on purely borrowed time. The sleepers sent out to the void might just need to continue on in their stead. Ace felt herself firm in the face of what could be. She had long made peace with an eventual death - that didn't mean she had to make it easy for them.

The witch hated being proved correct. Hated that Carter had only given her a long, measured look when she had tentatively suggested the dangerous idea of the perpetrators being Covenant, and agonizing moment of thought on his features. He gave her a grim nod, to acknowledge her point, but otherwise said nothing.

At least, he waited until they were in Visegrád to point out her early claim. "How did you know?" he asked, voice almost faint as he turned cobalt eyes onto Ace. Kat and Emile exchanged a look, then turned their gazes between Carter and Ace.

The quasi-III gave a slight roll of one shoulder. "You be there before enough invasions, you get a feel for them. The air changes. I can't really explain better," she offered, unsure of how well to convey 'my magic warns me when shit's about to go down' beyond 'insitinct'. The commander gave a slow nod, before visibly shaking himself out of his stupor.

"Take point. Jorge, on her six. Prioritize takedown of infiltrators," he calmly ordered, casting his gaze back down to Kat, Emile, and Jun, "We will secure the main operation room after you."

Ace had to bite back her surprise at the order, complying even as he addressed the other three Nobles. To give her lead - to allow her to eliminate potential problems of her own accord... That was a lot for Carter to have given her. Emile had always poked fun at Carter's supposed straight-laced nature. Ace had been right in assuming that he was too good of friends with Kat for that to be anything but a façade. A very good one, mind, and Ace was actually a little proud of Carter for that. Never let anyone you don't trust see your hand, after all.

Clearing Visegrád Relay was an arduous task. Carter's leave meant that Ace soared past the riff raff of jackals and minor elites, gunning for the three zealots with a fire in her eyes. Out of a pouch on her thigh, Ace withdrew one of her most prized possessions - an unlit plasma sword, ripped from a Covenant stockpile, one of a multitude she had hidden around the 'verse. She cut down those that got in her way with a technique that permitted the proper slicing through the strongest of shields with nigh impunity. Her mind was single-focused on her assigned task, and Ace slipped into hunting mode, cataloguing and disregarding everything that wouldn't help her achieve her hunt. Jorge wasn't quite left behind so much as taking a leisurely wade through Covenant forces, lacking her agility and speed, but bearing far more armour.

One down, Ace grinned to herself, shearing the rearmost in half as it cried out in shock. A leap off of the falling corpse launched her into the next's back, sword spearing through his chest, granting a swifter death then his still moaning compatriot.

Ace didn't hear the last one running - he wasn't even moving. The forward-most, the most ornately armoured, had a device in his hand - shit, he was sending something out - Ace cursed as she tackled the elite, her weight sending them crashing - fuck, not the tech - the elite elbowed her in the face, cracking her visor and whipping her head to the side. White flashed over her vision briefly, but instinct still drove the plasma blade home in the zealot's chest.

The struggling body beneath her ceased to move, going lax. Ace swallowed thickly, climbing off of the newly made corpse, finishing off the still dying zealot. The device had been damaged. She still picked it up, tucking it into one of her many pouches. The info-types always demanded anything they could grab, after all. Ace considered the elites, their armaments. Another shrug, and she started clipping the plasma rifles and repeaters onto her mag-mounts. Best secure them for now.

Retracing her steps, Ace finished off the cowardly invasion team still alive. They were stuck between her, and Jorge. Not an easy place for an enemy of theirs to be. Xenos dealt with, Ace accompanied Jorge back to Noble in the operations room. There was a woman, civilian or scientist. Emile was speaking quietly to her, his helm off. He darted a glare, past Ace - at Jorge, daring him to say anything. Jorge huffed in amusement behind her, but said nothing yet.

Ace braced herself mentally. They had no real way of stopping the Covenant on Reach. They were spread too thin. This was the tipping point for the UNSC - Humanity's way of life was at stake. Even with the sleeper ships escaping into the dark, dark void, seeking more hospitable environs. This would make or break the UNSC. Ace still fought. No one deserved genocide. Grim determination settled in her bones.

After all, What was dying for one more cause to Ace?

Absolutely.

Nothing.