Chapter II

Hello everyone, I do sincerely apologize for the absurdly long wait for the second chapter. Lots, and lots of things came up and got in the way but it's finally here. In this chapter the Autumn will finally encounter the Vector fleet. Also, I would like to announce one major change to the story. Due to extenuating external circumstances, Salcito will no longer be the lead character. Alister will now take that role. Salcito will still be a major character in the story but Alister will now be the story's main focus. The changes this makes won't be too evident to you guys since you didn't know the original plan for the story but it does result in some. I of course would like to thank my coauthor Bakuto Masaki. At any rate, that's about it for the A/N so I suppose it's time for the reviewer responses. Due to my other stories I'm surprised at how few reviews this got, I really do appreciate reviews, especially from the readers who enjoy the story, it really helps me keep up the inspiration to continue writing.

Darth Brony: Glad you like it. Hope Salcito getting a slight downgrade in role isn't too bad.

YumishinaChan: Really? Well that's nice of him. Glad you like everything.

U.N.S.: Don't worry, you don't need to be. Besides, being familiar with it may make this confusing as the lore for that series as been HEAVILY altered in this story. In addition, what things you do need to know about it I will reveal as things go. Anything I don't include isn't necessary to get the full experience. A little while longer. I need to finish this story and one more after it. Then I'll do Chains of Destiny Round 2.

That seems to be about it so let's get to the part everyone actually cares about.

The Autumn had departed Reach and was making its way to a safe distance from the planet.

After deciding there was sufficient between the Autumn and Reach, Keyes ordered, "Enter FTL travel and proceed to destination."

"Aye, aye Captain," one of the crew announced as several switches were thrown before a small point of light erupted in front of the ship before an energy tunnel similar to those used by the ships that attacked with Zellex and Galdin formed, the Autumn heading inside.

"Captain, we've entered Slip Space and are moving to our objective on the UNSC border," another crew member alerted.

"Good work, I'll be in quarters going over the necessary documents and information among other items, Riley, you've got the bridge."

The first officer saluted as Keyes left the bridge area.

Salcito lay in his room as he slowly awoke from sleep. He sat up and ran a hand through his hair before muttering, "I need a drink."

As he made his way down the corridors, he ran into Alister on the way to the bar.

Alister looked at his comrade with confusion which quickly became frustration before turning and continuing to walk.

After several tense, silent seconds Alister asked, "You grabbing a drink?"

"Does a bear shit in the woods?"

"You always were a vulgar one Salcito."

Salcito shrugged and said, "Liza didn't mind."

Alister maintained a calm expression as the elevator doors closed but then, as soon as they shut he turned and slammed his fist into Salcito's face.

The Spartan merely shook it off but made no move to retaliate as Alister growled, "I don't want to hear you mention my sister's name again you bastard. If you hadn't been such a stuckup yesman to the brass that damned monster the Covenant use wouldn't have killed her."

Salcito wiped the blood from his chin and responded dryly, "I was on a mission to take out a Covenant battery. I figured she could handle herself. There was a reason they called her the Silver Star."

Alister just scoffed before leaving the elevator, Salcito waiting for the deck with the bar.

After a few more hours' travel time, the Autumn left Slipspace and returned to normal flight in a wide, empty void.

Keyes looked around curiously and then ordered, "Scan for the planet's coordinates."

Momentarily a crewman answered, "Er, Captain, it should be right ahead of us."

Keyes narrowed his eyes and ordered wearily, "Proceed slowly, we don't know what's out there yet."

"Well I can guarantee it's not debris," another crewman stated before continuing, "Our sensors can detect something the size of a gnat's left ball and there's nothing out there, sir."

Keyes nodded and the ship continued its slow crawl forward.

"Huh? What's that?"

Keyes turned and demanded, "What's happening?"

"Uhm, sir. Something just showed up on the edge of our sensor array. It looks like it has the same signature as that weird object that was discovered back on Reach."

"Proceed to it, and collect it," Keyes ordered.

"Yes sir!"

Elsewhere, the Vector fleet continued its flight to a seemingly unknown destination.

"Captain Moriyama, we are nearing pick up location," a crewman reported.

The captain, an older man with short brown hair, blue eyes, a short, thin mustache and wearing a black Federation uniform, nodded and answered, "Good. Alert the workers to begin preparations."

"Yes, sir!"

At the same time in the large room where Shion and the others were, the area was abuzz with activity.

The technicians were running from monitor to monitor, checking and investigating a myriad of different sensors, schematics and timers displaying multiple different sets of data.

On one wall, Allen and two other technicians sat at the monitors. As Allen worked on his a series of words displayed.

Booting up primary connection system—

Enter System Administrator ID and Connection Target

Connection Target:

KOS-MOS

System administrator:

Shion Uzuki

System Ready

Operator should now take a seat in the VR-2000

As the others began to take seats in the monitors Shion made her way over to the large red chair, the VR-2000. As she sat down a pair of arm rests and a visor arm came down, she then placed her arms on the arm rests.

On another monitor, a schematic showed a rotating scan of Shion appeared along with different measurements, heart rate, thermography, blood pressure, MRI, EEG and psychoanalysis.

Several more scans of her body and brain then appeared on the screen as well.

On Shion's display a series of technical information was displayed on "KOS-MOS."

Shion then announced, "Commencing startup experiment. Open up an Interconnection."

"Roger. Opening Interconnection, connection with dummy protocol. A-LINE protocol zone secured" Allen responded as he made several motions on his monitor. On his monitor a simulated pathway lit up.

Another man then added, "Opening cage partition. Sixty seconds to release." A counter then appeared on his screen as he began to announce the countdown, "Beginning countdown. Fifty-seven, fifty-six, fifty-five…"

The large container in the center flashed a series of lights.

After another few moments a new set of images appeared on the monitors.

"All monitors clear," Allen reported as more reports came up on his monitor.

"Three, two, one," the same man reported before adding, "Partition open. Proceeding with KOS-MOS body formation." A new image appeared on his monitor showing a wire-frame scan of an apparent female body. "Body formation complete. Commencing Penfield mapping." A new scan appeared showing an artificial brain and different sections of the body.

Allen then announced, "Proceeding with Encephalon construction."

A young woman with short black hair in a bob-cut then added, "Mapping percentage at seventy-six, seventy-seven, seventy-eight…"

Shion then watched as a new location was produced inside her virtual reality simulator.

As that occurred, back with the Autumn, the ship approached the odd golden device as a small group of mobile suits launched.

As they neared the device a large group of unknown vessels suddenly jumped out of FTL.

"Captain Keyes! A fleet of unknown ships just-!"

"Yes, I know! Tell the mobile suits to hang back, we don't want an unneeded confrontation with this group," Keyes warned.

Outside, the mobile suits suddenly stopped movement and moved back to encircle the Autumn.

One of the suits, Alister's new Gelgoog, looked ahead curiously before he asked, "Captain, any idea what's happening?"

"None. We have no information on this fleet, hold positions until we can ascertain their threat level," Keyes answered.

"Yes sir."

"Captain Moriyama, there's a single unidentified vessel in the Ariadne airspace. It seems to be moving for the Emulator."

Moriyama put a hand on his chin in thought before ordering, "Let's not do anything brash. It doesn't seem to match any known classification of ship we know. As such we don't know its capabilities, it would be unwise. In addition…we can't be certain that they're hostile." After another thoughtful pause Moriyama ordered, "All ships! Cease movement! Com, send a hail to the unknown vessel, all frequencies."

"Aye, aye."

Back on the Autumn, Allison, David and John made their way to the bridge where John inquired, "Captain, why have we stopped?"

Keyes turned and responded, "Ah, Master Chief, good of you to arrive. We've encountered an unknown fleet. For now we're just going to give some time to see if they are hostile or not."

"Who cares?" Allison asked bluntly.

"I care, Lieutenant. Our vessel may be powerful with equally powerful crew, but against an entire fleet we'd be annihilated, every last one of us, killed."

"Oh…huh, you know I never woulda thought o' that."

"Of course not, you'd just have shot at them until they either blew your head off or died laughing," David interjected.

Allison smacked the top of his helmet and retorted with an annoyed point, "No one asked you Wash."

"Owww, damn. She can be such a bitch."

"Captain, we've received a hail on multiple frequencies, it seems to originate from the unidentified fleet."

Keyes nodded and ordered, "Find the clearest signal and bring it up on the main monitor."

"Aye, aye Captain."

Back with Moriyama, the main monitor on the CIC began to flicker before the image of Keyes appeared. Moriyama narrowed his eyes and asked, "Might I inquire as to who you are?"

"You might. I am Captain Jacob Keyes of the United Nations Space Command Navy and captain of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn. And you are?"

Moriyama nodded and answered, "Captain Kazuichi Moriyama of the Galactic Federation Government and captain of the Federation vessel Woglinde."

"Galactic Federation Government, hm? Can't say I've heard of that one before," Keyes responded.

"And I can say the same of your UNSC Captain Keyes."

"It seems then that we're at quite an awkward position."

"Yes. Yes it does. As hard as this may be to decide on, I believe it would be in all our best interests to discuss this matter personally."

"I agree with that sentiment captain Moriyama, although I would be weary of boarding your vessel. However it seems we may be able to provide each other, on a larger scale, with help."

"I would agree. And we would gain little by destroying a vessel we encountered randomly on the edge of GFG space, the best that would happen is your government would never track down where you were, and I would have night terrors thinking about the results of that."

Keyes put a hand on his chin in postulation before pressing a button to mute his voice and turned to John and asked, "Tell me, would you suggest boarding his ship?"

John silently looked from Keyes out to the fleet ahead of them and thought before turning back to Keyes and answering, "I believe it may be the best fit course of action. Plus, if they insist we are in little position to argue."

Keyes nodded and then ordered, "Corral Salcito and master sergeant Alister and tell them to meet me on the airlock. John, you too."

John nodded and responded, "Yes sir."

As the duo walked away David looked around confused while Allison shook her fists before both shouted, "What about us?!"

The Autumn approached the Woglinde and both extended their boarding walkways. To the surprise and confusion of both sides, the walkways were fully compatible, which was convenient.

John, Salcito, Keys and Alister made their way onto the Woglinde to speak with Moriyama.

They arrived in the Woglinde's airlock to meet captain Moriyama and a few other crew members including a man standing next to Moriyama who wore the same military officer's uniform as Moriyama, though in a slightly different color, and had light brown hair combed to the side and blue eyes.

The man narrowed his eyes and looked over the group. "So, you are Captain Keyes?"

Keyes nodded in return. "I am. And you are?"

"Commander Andrew Cherenkov."

Moriyama waved a hand dismissively. "No need to be so tense commander. I do apologize Keyes, Cherenkov tends to be rather tense while we are out on assignment. It's merely his military blood taking over."

Keyes nodded in understanding. "I know what you mean. So…do you have anywhere more appropriate we can speak?"

"Of course. Now, these three, are they your protégés?"

Keyes thought for a moment and then shook his head. "No, merely added security. You should understand since we're just now learning that your group even exists."

"I see. If you want, they can have full access to the ship. I wouldn't mind. Open door policy in this situation will benefit us both most."

Keyes nodded and turned to Alister. "Manase, take him up on his offer and take a look around the ship. Though don't overstay your welcome anywhere."

Alister saluted. "Yes sir!"

As Keyes and Moriyama left Alister decided to head down a nearby hallway and take a look around the ship.

As he looked around he took note of the things he saw. 'I'm impressed, their technology seems quite advanced.'

As he rounded a corner he was suddenly confronted with two women who literally appeared out of nowhere.

"Uaa!"

"Whoa, what's wrong?" A worker came out from behind one of the consoles and saw Alister standing in shock. "Erm…you, never see a hologram before?"

Alister raised an eyebrow and looked at the pair of women in front of him, waving his hand through them. "H-hologram…oh. Well that's embarrassing. They certainly look different than any holograms I've seen."

The worker looked at Alister thoughtfully before coming to a realization. "Your uniform's different. You must be one of the soldiers from that weird ship, aren't you?"

Alister narrowed his eyes but then shrugged. "Guess I am. I'm just taking a look around the ship. This thing wouldn't happen to have a map would it?"

The worker nodded and pulled out a small device that resembled half of a game controller and pressed a few buttons, a holographic control panel coming up. "Right, I'll send it to your comm…wait, you don't have one do you?"

Alister shook his head. "Probably not the kind you know."

The man adopted a thinking pose before handing Alister a solid holographic panel. "That's got a version of the Woglinde's layout that you can take a look at virtually. It's not as detailed as what I was planning on giving you but it'll do the job well enough."

Alister nodded and took a look around the map as he attempted to get a feel for it. Nodding to himself he turned to the worker. "Thanks. This should help out. Provided I don't run into anymore holograms."

The worker chuckled to himself. "Good luck foreigner."

Alister raised an eyebrow but continued his tour around the ship.

Back with Keyes and Moriyama, the two reached the Woglinde's conference room and the doors closed behind them, John and Salcito forming guard positions on the door's flanks.

Moriyama and Keyes then took up positions opposite each other on the war room's main table.

Moriyama put his hands under his chin and spoke first. "I must say, I'm quite intrigued. I had no idea of the existence of this, UNSC did you call it, nor that there even were human colonies beyond the Federation Rim."

"Federation Rim?" Keyes asked curiously.

"Ah, I suppose we should update each other on our vocabulary as we speak. The Federation Rim is the term used informally within the military to denote the edge of GFG controlled space. It's more of a joke than anything as the last couple of years have seen an almost visible ring appear around Federation space as a result of the exhaust from our ships. At any rate, back on topic. What interest does the UNSC have in the Emulator?"

"Emulator? Is that the object is called."

"Why, yes. It is. I suppose you didn't know that?"

Keyes shook his head. "No, we didn't. In fact, it was only a few days ago that we discovered one of these Emulators buried on one of our colonies. It was somehow stored within a giant, obelisk like structure." He then turned to Salcito. "Commander, you had firsthand experience along with the master chief, why don't you explain?"

Salcito nodded and stepped forward somewhat. "Dr. Halsey had discovered evidence of a strange object she believed to be of Forerunner origin buried in Lake Mahala. An object we had with us acted as the key to open what we believe is a vault leading to where the object was being held. It was revealed to us and looked virtually identical to the object floating out there."

Moriyama sat back in his chair as he contemplated what he had been told. He then looked at Keyes studiously. "You'll excuse me if I am mildly confused. For clarification, who is Dr. Halsey?"

Keyes nodded and provided the answer. "Doctor Catherine Halsey. She's the head of a research and development team within the UNSC. Unfortunately anything beyond that is classified. She was the one heading the excavation that found the…Emulator. The strangest thing happened though. After we uncovered it, we were attacked by a group of strange vessels we knew nothing about. They seemed to show up in response to unearthing the Emulator and made it clear they wanted it. We managed to fight them off. But when we discovered the source of another signal just like the object we discovered we figured it would be best to go and procure it. It was likely to provide us valuable insight. And, in more ways than one, it has."

Moriyama nodded in understanding. "I see…"

Keyes then looked at Moriyama. "Mind giving us a little of why you're here?"

Moriyama nodded. "Certainly. This is, was, the location of one of our colony worlds, it was called Ariadne. However, the planet has since vanished. And I know this sounds completely insane but it's gone and all that's left is that Emulator. We were originally sent here with the purpose of investigating the situation and bringing back anything relating to it."

Keyes sighed. "Well…it seems we're at an impasse then."

"How so?"

"We both have been ordered, whether directly or indirectly, to procure that Emulator. And we can't both have it. So, it seems we'll have to figure this situation out."

Moriyama nodded as he stroked his chin. "It seems we will. Although, and while this may sound selfish, I believe we have greater reason to take than you do. You were sent here in search of a strange energy signal. We were sent here because an entire world, with people we know and love living on it, vanished completely."

Keyes nodded. "Yes, but leaving empty-handed would look…unbecoming."

"I understand. Hm? How about this? I personally have access to most of the information and history on the Zohar Emulators. What if in exchange for that you allow us to take the Emulator?"

Keyes thought about Moriyama's offer for several seconds. "It is an acceptable offer. I would like to look over the information before we decide. I imagine it would be an acceptable trade, as information is what we came here for in the first place, not another gigantic gold doubloon."

Moriyama nodded in satisfaction. "Alright then. I will have the necessary files gathered and will send a team to procure the Emulator immediately."

Keyes put up a hand. "I would like, to make one last condition."

Moriyama nodded. "Of course. So long as it is not too much I can't see a refusal."

"It seems that the UNSC and GFG would make well-fitting allies. With that in mind I'd like to send political envoys with you, to the headquarters of the Federation."

Moriyama smiled warmly. "Of course. That would be a great offer. We both control space on opposite sides of the Federation Rim. Forming an allegiance of some kind could very well double the space we control. I find that most agreeable. So…who might these envoys be?"

Keyes nodded. "Well, I would most likely choose…"

Back with the Vector research team, Shion was in the midst of a virtual test of KOS-MOS' capabilities.

They, Shion and a virtual reproduction of KOS-MOS, had spent much of the time merely moving around a replication of an old factory testing KOS-MOS' different functions. Ranging from basic problem solving to combat tests.

They were in the last stage of that right now.

Shion stood in front of a large metal door that led to what would be the linchpin of the test. Behind that door stood the strongest enemy of the test, a monster designed to be a virtual recreation of a Gnosis. A monstrous alien race that the Federation has pooled most of its resources into fighting, and the impetus for KOS-MOS' creation.

KOS-MOS herself stood next to Shion ready to enter the room. KOS-MOS was an android that appeared female with long blue hair that reached her waist and two bangs that framed the sides of her face, bangs hanging down above her eyes under her visor and a cowlick on top. Her face was mostly hidden however, because of a special headpiece she wore. It was designed like a visor with a panel that came out and covered her face, it was simplistic with four red optical sensors on the edges. The rest of her outfit was composed of a white, one-piece battle suit that covered most of her neck, chest, back, stomach, and the rest of her body down to her hips, two small golden loops on her hips, one with a large panel which holds her pistol inside, a long, black glove that stopped just below her shoulder and flared out at the top with white armor on her right arm, a white, glove with the same flaring at the top and the same length, though it changed to a black, fingerless glove at her wrist, white, high-heel boots with golden toes of differing lengths, hip-length on side and knee-length on the other along with a black garter to hold it up.

Shion pressed the headset she wore within the Encephalon and said, "Alright, we're commencing the last stage of the test."

"Understood," Allen answered back.

Shion moved over to the door, a keycard in hand, and tremulously reached for the lock. Gulping in slight worry she thought, 'I hope this works out better than the last test.' She swiped the keycard down and the door slid up, allowing her and KOS-MOS to enter the room, where a massive, humanoid, grey monster waited for them. As Shion looked over the beast she noticed KOS-MOS was suddenly overtaken by a short, momentary spasm. She decided to ignore it and continued her observations.

Outside in the test room, Allen suddenly heard warning sirens go off.

He turned side to side in confusion. "What's going on?"

The blue-haired technician next to him answered as he frantically searched for the cause. "A brand-new network is being formed within the KOS-MOS mainframe. We've never had a reaction like this before. This is incredible. I've never seen a net grow so fast. Look at it sir, portions of the Encephalon are completely evolving."

Allen could only watch in confusion as the Encephalon they had fabricated began to alter in extremely bizarre ways.

Back inside the Encephalon, Shion looked around the area slightly puzzled, studying the surroundings as the whole of the virtual world she was in began to quake. Nodding to herself she spoke to Allen. "I'm going to engage the target. Make sure you capture all the data."

"WHAT!? You cannot engage right now! You're tapped into KOS-MOS perception – it's too unstable!"

"You don't need to worry Allen. I can pull it off."

"What do you mean don't worry?! Chief!"

Shion activated a console on her right arm that caused a large, red, boxy device with a fist on the front to appear. She turned to KOS-MOS. "Alright KOS-MOS, prepare to engage the enemy."

KOS-MOS nodded. "Understood, Shion. Preparing to engage." One of the gold panels on her hip opened and she pulled out her pistol, a simple, boxy, white revolver with a red drum. Although it merely looked like a revolver and was in fact an energy-based weapon.

The creature before them roared and charged, taking a swing at Shion first.

Shion ducked under the beast and put distance between it and her, aiming her weapon at the monster. Two panels on side opened up and a two long barrels flipped out as the panels close. "Take this!" A blast of energy charged and fired at the creature, slamming into it and detonating.

It turned to engage her but was distracted as KOS-MOS ran along behind it firing off several rounds. It growled in frustration and charged at her, swinging with its clawed hand.

KOS-MOS jumped to the side, kicked off the wall and flipped over its head, firing a barrage of shots as she did.

One managed to strike at the glowing circle in its midsection.

KOS-MOS stopped for a moment. "Shion, its weak point is the object in its torso. Aim for it."

"Good work KOS-MOS." Shion took aim again and fired several more shots, managing to strike the beast several times in its weak point.

The monster howled in agony as two limbs folded out of its back resembling speakers. Energy collected on the cups before surging out.

Shion raised her weapon and was enveloped in a weak energy field.

KOS-MOS raised her left hand and did the same. She then stowed her pistol and stuck out her right hand to the side. Blue energy started to collect in her hands before bursting out, a weapon appearing in her hand. It was a large minigun with three groups of barrels arranged in a triangular pattern, each group being three barrels in a matching pattern, which were all attached to the weapon's main body that was a large piece of yellow metal with a black and grey magazine sticking out of the back. She aimed the weapon at the monster and the three barrel groups started to spin before she fired a hailstorm of bullets at the beast, severely damaging it. Her weapon disappeared and her arm was then covered in white energy before her forearm seemingly transformed into a large blade that extended to double the length of her forearm. She charged at the beast, deftly dodging side to side to avoid its energy blasts, leapt into the air and then came down with a vertical slash, dissecting the creature straight down the middle.

It howled one more time before falling over and dissipating into a golden white mist of energy.

Shion looked as KOS-MOS blade disappeared then to the beast and said unsurely, "Well, so far so good." She then spoke an order to the program. "Shift target to real mode. We'll test the Hilbert Effect."

"What!? Chief!" Allen protested as the creature reformed and stood back up, its body becoming translucent and fluctuating as light seemed to pass through it. "You're supposed to follow the program!"

Ignoring her second in command's please, Shion turned to KOS-MOS. "KOS-MOS, activate Hilbert."

"Roger. Activating Hilbert Effect." KOS-MOS moved her hands out to her sides as the entire room, and consequentially the entirety of the Encephalon began to shake violently.

Outside, a multitude of warning lights and signals began flaring all over the room.

Allen slammed his hand down on a desk in frustration. "I knew this would happen! Status!"

One of the technicians responded, "This is bad! Something's wrong with the Encephalon! The whole thing could collapse at any moment."

"Whaat!? What about the Chief?!" Allen turned to where Shion sat in the dive chair.

Back in the Encephalon, the monster's body began to become enveloped in sparking blue energy as it and the entirety of the Encephalon began to fluctuate greatly.

Allen attempted to get Shion to leave the Dive. "Chief! You're in danger! Get out of there now!"

Shion responded calmly, "Hold on. Just a little longer."

"Chief!" Allen protested as he slammed a hand down on one of the consoles.

"Nerve impulses in the limbic system! We've got kindling!"

Allen sighed in resignation. "That's enough! Shut it down! Pull her out of there, now!"

"Roger! Entering shutdown command! What the…!? It's been rejected! Chief Uzuki's overriding us from within the Encephalon."

"Whaaat!?" Allen turned to another console and attempted to access the Encephalon through there. "Dammit! That's it! I'm pulling her out myself!" Allen rushed over to KOS-MOS' container and put on a red visor sitting on it.

"Sir! Don't, the Encephalon is close to collapse!"

"I have to get her out of there!"

Inside the Encephalon, Shion watched the beast's body begin to deteriorate as the world around her fluctuated and literally turn into jumbled code.

The monster's body was suddenly enveloped in a bright golden light that shimmered from its core. Shion watched in curiosity and confusion as a girl with waist-length brown hair, purple eyes and wearing a simple white dress appeared under the beast.

The girl looked at Shion with a dead, doll-like stare.

Shion and the girl merely stared at each other until Allen burst into the room and grabbed Shion by the arm and pulled her out of the Encephalon.

Allen threw off his visor and ran over to check on Shion as she came to.

She slowly woke up from the Encephalon Dive and shook off the fatigue she had, looking at Allen as he ran over.

Allen walked over to her and checked to see if she was injured or not. "Are you…alright?"

Shion slowly sat up out of the Dive chair. "Yeah…thanks." She then looked at Allen slightly abashed. "Did I push my luck a little too far this time?"

Rather than respond, Allen just fell to the floor.

"A-Allen?"

Kneeling from exhaustion, Allen just sighed. "You can't keep…doing this Chief. I thought I was going have a heart attack."

"Sorry about that. But I bet the data's really good. Besides…" Her thoughts then returned to the girl she saw in the Encephalon.

Allen looked up at her confused. "Was there something else?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing. Well, we better get started on that data." She then patted Allen lightly on the shoulder as she stood up.

Allen also stood up but a little more reserved.

"Today's the deadline so I'm sure they'll be asking for it soon."

Alister sighed. Deeply. He was lost. Again.

He found himself in a large cargo area which was obviously being prepared for something large. What it was he didn't know.

"Ahh!"

He turned and watched as a girl fell over.

A man with a large, purple, X-shaped marking on his face growled at her. "You idiot! Watch where you're going!"

The girl, a young woman with long purple hair, matching colored eyes, a black bow on her head and wearing a gothic dress with white linings, looked up at the man weakly. She stood up and bowed deeply. "I'm sorry lieutenant commander. I was just feeling distracted."

"Well watch more carefully next time dammit!"

Alister found himself annoyed as he walked over. "Something wrong?"

The man turned to him with an irritated frown. "You, you're that outsider, aren't you?"

The girl peeked out from the man's back and saw Alister. She momentarily sniffed the air and frowned in concern. 'So…sweet. But so bitter and sour.'

Alister looked at the girl and then to the man. "She was just distracted. I don't think you've got a reason to go postal on her."

"Why don't you mind your own dam business outsider!?"

Alister frowned at the man determined. "I've faced monsters before that could take a mobile suit and rip it to pieces with one hand. Someone like you won't scare me, plus I don't think you want to start an incident by striking me, do you?"

The man growled and then stomped off in a huff.

Alister sighed and turned to the girl. "You alright?"

She nodded meekly and then bowed. "Thank you for helping me."

Alister waved her gratitude off. "No need. I despise people like him."

She looked at him in thought as he looked at the man with a frown. She then walked over to Alister and leaned up to him. "Excuse me."

Alister turned slowly. "What is-ah!" He jumped back slightly as she was so close, and because her rather large bust was pressed against his arm. "Uhm…d-do you need anything else."

She giggled into her hand lightly before looking at him again. "My name is Murasaki."

Alister nodded slowly. "Erm…I'm Alister, Alister Manase."

Murasaki nodded and asked, "Why are you here? Your uniform seems unfamiliar."

Alister nodded. "I'm not. The strange ship outside, that's the ship I traveled here on. It's…a long story."

Murasaki tilted her head in confusion. "I see…"

Alister nodded and then looked around in thought. "So…what exactly were you doing here? I mean, you certainly don't have the body of a fighter."

Murasaki put her arms behind her as Alister looked at her. "Actually…I'm a test pilot."

Alister raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Test pilot? You? You certainly don't look like you could fit comfortably inside of a cockpit, you look more at home somewhere more…peaceful."

Murasaki looked at him suspiciously but still answered his question. "Yes, I am a test pilot. Actually I'm testing an AMWS right now."

"AMWS? I'm not familiar with the term."

"Really? Then what do you call your battle mecha?"

"We call them mobile suits. In fact mine is here too, it's called the Gelgoog."

Murasaki tilted her head in thought. "Mobile…suit. It's a fun name. My AMWS is called the Huckebein Mk-III T."

"Huckebein? That's an odd name."

Murasaki frowned at Alister in disappointment.

"Murasaki!"

Murasaki and Alister turned to see someone approaching, seemingly looking for the purplette. Alister pointed his thumb in the new person's direction curiously. "Friend of yours?"

Murasaki squeaked in surprise and ducked behind Alister.

"Ah, er, Murasaki?"

"I'm not here."

Alister raised an eyebrow but shrugged as the new person, a girl around Murasaki's age with dark skin, long black hair tied in a ponytail with green eyes and wearing a black and grey uniform resembling a school uniform with grey gauntlets, a black cape, a pleated black skirt, baggy white socks and black shoes along with six katanas on her back. The girl looked side to side shouting Murasaki's name before noticing Alister, more specifically the quivering object behind him. Acting as if she didn't see the well-endowed girl behind him she walked over to Alister and struck up a conversation. She folded her arms in thought as she looked him over. "You're new, aren't you?"

"From the UNSC ship."

"I don't know what that means so I won't ask. Though I do have one question."

"Which is?"

"Have you seen a friend of mine? Long hair, black dress, huge tits."

Alister gaped slightly at the girl's abrupt question.

However, rather than wait for an answer she looked behind him with a smile, her fingers starting to quiver perversely.

Alister gulped. 'This isn't going to end well.'

The girl giggled lewdly as she walked up behind Alister, reached forward, and then grabbed Murasaki's large breasts with her hands.

Murasaki eeped at the action as she was surprised.

"You can't hide those wonderful things from me."

Alister looked at the display before him in disbelief, slapping a hand over his nose as he did.

Murasaki finally managed to break her dark-skinned friend's grip and turned around swiftly. "Mooouuu, Homura! I don't like it when you do that!"

The now named Homura just looked at her with a grin. "Then you shouldn't make it so easy."

Alister just sighed. "So I assume you're friends then?"

Homura nodded curtly. "Yup! Name's Homura! I'm a test pilot too, the Soulgain."

Alister blinked in curiosity. 'Since when were high schoolers being used as test pilots. Guess I shouldn't judge though considering the eighteen different laws the Spartan Project breaks.' "I see. Do you think the two of you could show me around the ship? I'm quite lost and it wouldn't be quite as unbearable with the two of you."

Homura nodded and grabbed Murasaki's arm, then turned to Alister. "Slick."

Alister just smirked.

Back with the captains, Moriyama and Keyes shook hands, their agreement made.

"Good, then John, Salcito and Alister will be the ones to act as our acting envoys. Once you've made a proper landing at your headquarters we will send a proper envoy there. Though I trust you understand why I'm sending combatants instead of politicians," Keyes remarked.

Moriyama nodded in understanding. "Of course. It's a sloppy political move but a wise tactical move. With that in mind our AMWS should have put the Emulator into storage by now."

John then walked into the room after having left. "Captain, the information checks out. There aren't any bugs or viruses on it, and it's very in depth."

"Good to hear. You give that to me and then you, the commander, and the sergeant are under captain Moriyama's command until you reach their home base, Fifth Jerusalem."

Salcito and John saluted. "Yes sir!"

Outside, a small group of A.M.W.S., one tan in color with pointed shoulders and another blue and grey in color with a blocky design approached the Zohar Emulator.

One of the pilots whistled in surprise at how the object was nearly three times the size of an A.M.W.S.

However, as they neared the Emulator, one of the soldiers with them lost slight control of his thruster pack and collided with the Emulator, his body becoming enshrouded in light before being pulled into the Emulator.

The pilots decided then to use a different acquisition method, a series of large panels that created a series of beam rings to hold the object in place as it was pulled to the Woglinde.

Back in the ship, Alister was being led by Homura and Murasaki to the A.M.W.S. hangar where they planned on showing him the Huckebein Mk-III T and the Soulgain.

However, as they approached it, Alister received an order from Keyes to assemble with Salcito and John near the airlock.

He waved to the ladies as he left, the two of them waving back as well.

Homura grinned deviously when she noticed the small, content smile on her friend's face.

With Shion's team, Shion was standing next to KOS-MOS' pod, lost in thought.

"Chief."

Shion jumped for a moment before noticing Allen. "Oh, Allen, you surprised me."

"Really? I don't see how, I called your name several times. Anyway, Togashi prepared and filed the reports for captain Moriyama."

"With my help of course," a new voice chirped.

Allen and Shion turned in surprise as Miyuki popped up behind them.

"Hello Miyuki."

Miyuki grinned deviously. "So, did you like it?"

"It?" Allen asked puzzled.

Shion ignored him and nodded in the affirmative. "Yes. The M.W.S. functioned perfectly in all forms of combat. Close, medium, long and melee ranged. Although it felt a little lopsided."

Miyuki put a hand to her chin in thought. "Perhaps it's the Logical Drive. Maybe I should have it counterbalance the weight a little more. Not important right now. Why don't you run those files up to the captain? I'm sure Allen can handle everything else."

Shion nodded and began to leave as one of the techs came up to her, a young man in a green uniform with short, light blue hair. "Excuse me, Chief."

"Hm, yes?"

"May I ask you something?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"It's about KOS-MOS. Why haven't we started real world testing yet?"

That question caused Shion to frown somberly and Allen to become more than a little irritated.

"I mean, I heard what happened to the old chief, Kevin Winnicot, two years ago when KOS-MOS real world test malfunctioned; but we've performed so much more in depth testing that-"

"That's enough!" Allen interrupted.

Shion waved her hand. "It's alright Allen." She then turned to the tech. "It's got something to do with…what happened to Kevin, yes. But mostly…I'm just not sure what will happen to KOS-MOS herself. I've spent so much time with her, raising her, getting to know her, so to speak. That I don't like the idea of her being handed off to the military to become just another weapon."

The tech frowned in concern and began to speak, but a sharp glare from Allen shut him up.

Shion collected herself and then left the room. She stopped at the door however and turned to the others saying, "Wish me luck everyone!"

Allen just smiled as she left.

"You know, you should just ask her already," a male technician with short black hair and blue eyes commented.

Allen remained silent for a moment before jolting and turning to him. He slapped the back of his head in frustration. "It's not like that Togashi!"

"Right, right," Togashi retorted dismissively. He then turned to Shion's chair and smirked. "Hey, look over there."

Allen followed his gaze and saw Shion's chair, with the files she was supposed to present to Moriyama sitting on it. He sighed deeply as he picked them up. "Oh for crying out loud. Guess I better go give these to her."

Miyuki came over and patted his back. "This is your big chance! Go ask Shion on a date!"

"Grrr, I told you! It's not like that!"

The other technicians laughed silently at his response.

However, as he reached the door he smiled at the files hopefully.

"Got get'em tiger!"

"Grrr…"

"What?!" Alister shouted in disbelief.

He had just been informed of his, John and Salcito's temporary transfer to the Woglinde.

The mobile suits belonging to the three of them even being sent for storage in the Woglinde's hangar.

"You've got to be joking! You're seriously having us just randomly bunk up with these people for no good reason?!"

Keyes looked at Alister slightly irritated. "Master sergeant, I understand your apprehension but I would appreciate it if you would remember your position in these affairs. We need people on the inside of this group to help set up negotiations. However, for tactical AND political reasons we can't send any of our diplomats just yet, so for now we're sending the three of you to lay the ground work."

Alister dropped his shoulders and sighed heavily in defeat. "Dammit."

After hearing of his reassignment, Alister was not pleased with the decision but managed to accept it. He ended up deciding to go and check on his mobile suit in the Woglinde's hangar, fortunately he had been able to remember the way there.

As he made his way to the hangar he decided to take a shortcut down an adjacent hallway and accidentally, and literally, bumped into someone.

"Oof!" Alister groaned as he rubbed a sore spot on his head. He stood up and shook his head to clear it and then looked at who he had bumped into.

Shion stood up after running into Alister. She looked at him and flinched before bowing. "I'm sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going!"

Alister chuckled in amusement. "It's fine. It's really my fault since I don't know where I'm going. Though you may want to try and pay more attention." He accentuated his point by lightly patting the low hanging crane arm next to him that Shion would've hit headfirst had she not run into Alister.

Shion turned from him to the crane and froze momentarily in embarrassment. "Oh…well, thanks then I suppose."

Alister shrugged with a smirk. "It's not a problem, I'm always willing to take a few blows to the head to protect a pretty face."

Allen made his way through one of the doors to give Shion the data, and to hopefully ask her out on a date. He froze, however, when he walked through the door and saw her talking to Alister, laughing as she did. Allen drooped his arms but then steeled himself and walked over to the two.

"E-excuse me, er, Chief."

Shion raised an eyebrow and turned around. "Oh, Allen. Need something?"

Allen nodded meekly and handed Shion the disc. "You, uh, forgot this."

Shion looked at the disc and then gasped. "Ah! Thanks Allen, I can't believe I forgot this."

Allen nodded and handed her the disc.

She turned to back to Alister. "You said you were going to the hangar right? I can take you there."

Alister nodded and motioned ahead. "Lead the way."

Allen frowned in frustration as the two of them walked away before groaning as he slumped his shoulders. "Crap. I forgot to ask her on a date."

The two walked down one of the hallways and Shion pointed to a large set of sliding doors next to her. "This will allow us to make a slightly quicker run to the hangar than going all the way around."

Alister nodded and followed her through the doors into a room he found rather strange.

It was a large, white room with only a single, large glass window on one side with several terminals scattered around the room. These terminals had what resembled hospital beds on them, each bed having what he thought was a person on it. He thought they were people but wasn't sure because they all appeared to be clones of each other, men and women with short blonde hair and blue eyes wearing black and red combat uniforms lying on the beds.

"W-what is this place?"

Shion looked at Alister puzzled. "Haven't you ever seen a Realian before?"

"Rea-whatty?"

Shion furrowed her brow in thought.

"It's alright Chief Uzuki, he's an outsider, from beyond the Federation Rim," an older man with short brown hair and a scientist's uniform added.

Shion seemed to perk up in interest. "Really? You're from beyond the Rim?"

Alister put up his hands mildly defensive and in confusion. "Yyyeaahhh, I guess. I don't know what the hell that thing is though."

The scientist nodded in understanding. "I'm not sure if you've noticed from your end, but on the border of Federation territory and the space controlled by your group, there is an almost perceptible border created by space dust and debris clumping up into a cloud-like ring stretching thousands of kilometers in both directions as well as up and down."

Alister put a hand on his chin in thought. "Hmmm…I think I know what you're talking about it. I don't think anyone on our end's given it a name but most people just call it a nebula."

The scientist chuckled lightly. "I see. Though technically the term is-"

Alister put up a hand. "I'm gonna have to stop you there doc, I don't know squat about space stuff beyond the basics, so I'd rather not pass out from overload. Just call me an ignorant and leave it at that."

The man looked at Alister slightly puzzled before laughing quite loudly. "I see! You have quite the personality Mr…"

Alister nodded. "Alister. Alister Manase. Not sure if it means much but I also hold the rank of master sergeant."

"I suppose that's one other area where we disagree. I don't know a whole lot about the military ranking system, especially within your government, so you can just call me an ignorant on that topic. But, you seem to not know much about Realians."

Alister shrugged. "Never even heard the term before. Mind fillin' me in just a little so I don't look too stupid?"

"Not at all. In essence, Realians are artificial humans based on predetermined genetic traits." The man paused and looked at Alister's confused look. "They're what some would refer to vulgarly as test-tube people." The scientist nodded in satisfaction at the understanding look on Alister's face. "Thought they are a little different in that their minds are essentially artificial. Biological computers of sorts. I hope you have an idea what that means."

"Enough to follow along but not enough to explain it myself."

"Fair enough. Now what this means is that they are also in a way similar to androids, the exception being that an android is made of entirely artificial material, skin, hair, muscle, it's all some form of artificial material. For a Realian, those parts are technically artificial, in that they weren't formed in the womb of a woman but instead were produced in a laboratory, copied from living cells. If you don't understand exactly what I mean I'm sure Chief Uzuki could help you."

Alister nodded. "I think I get the gist of it. They're like organic androids."

The man paused for a moment. "Hmm…I've actually never heard it put that way before. It fits mostly, although their bio-computers are able to better replicate human thought patterns than an android. Speaking of, how is your KOS-MOS Project coming?"

Shion nodded in return. "I'm actually going to present the latest information to Captain Moriyama."

"KOS-MOS? What's that?" Alister asked.

"It's an advanced, anti-Gnosis combat android that Vector's First Division is working on, correct Chief Uzuki?"

She nodded in recognition, though subtly frowned at the combat part of KOS-MOS' identity.

Alister just shrugged. "I'm going to nod and pretend I know what that means to make life easier."

"You mean you've never heard of the Gnosis before?"

Alister nodded to her. "Never. Until now anyway."

Shion put a hand on her chin in confusion. "That's strange. The Gnosis are an imminent and wide-spread threat throughout all of Federation space. It would make sense that it would spread to your side of the Rim."

Alister shrugged in confusion. "Sorry, never heard of such a thing. Sounds nasty though. Although I'm certain if they did make their presence known the Covies would just kill'em or enslave them."

"Covies?" Shion mumbled in confusion.

Alister raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I guess I'm not the only one on the side of not know what the crap's what. My group, the United Nations Space Command, or UNSC to make it a little easier, is in the middle of a war with a group called the Covenant. It's an alliance of at least seven, or is it eight, bah, who cares, alien races who want to blow humanity right out of the galaxy. Their nasty bastards who have no problem glassing an entire planet."

"That sounds…horrible. Why are they doing that?"

"Hell if I know. My best guess is a human pissed in one o' their coffee cups or something."

The two scientists looked at him incredulously.

"Marine joke."

The older scientist nodded to himself and turned to Shion. "Chief Uzuki, if it isn't too much trouble, could I ask for your help with something for a moment?"

Shion nodded and walked over to one of the monitors to help him.

While she did that, Alister decided to take a look at the Realians.

As he wandered around he came across one that was different from the rest.

Instead of looking like a man or woman in their early twenties with short blonde hair, the one he saw looked like a young girl with short, turquoise hair tied into twin tails.

The Realian cracked an eye open and noticed Alister. She looked at him sheepishly. "C-can I help you?"

Alister knelt down to her curiously. "You look a little different than the others."

The girl nodded. "I'm a ni, er, 100 series Observational Realian."

Alister tilted his head slightly. "That so? Well I don't know if it's uncool or not but you're just a little cutie, you know that?"

The girl looked down shyly at his compliment. "But I am just a Realian."

Alister shrugged. "So? Poindexter said you guys are artificial humans. So you might be artificial, but you're still human. That still gives you the right to live and the right to do what you want. Probably a little more than most real humans."

She looked at him slightly puzzled.

Alister sighed in exasperation. "How can I put that differently? I suppose the best way to say it is that despite not being natural born humans you still have your own personalities and free will."

"Bah, what a load of crap!"

Alister stood up at the snarled comment.

He saw that the one who had said it was a man slightly older than him wearing what appeared to be the standard pilot's uniform with slicked back blonde hair, blue-green eyes and what appeared to be several scars on the right side of his face.

"Virgil!" the scientist exclaimed in surprise.

The now named Virgil walked over to Alister. "What's this BS about Realians being people and having free will?"

Alister glared at the blonde. "It's true, far as I know and care."

"And what do you know? You're just some damned outsider who came stomping in here like you own the place. The politicians may give you respect for that but if you want any from me you'll need to prove it, and so far you're just another softie who seems to think these 'toys' are anything more than just tools to be used and disposed of."

Alister curled his fist at the man's snide remarks.

"That's enough! These Realians, these people, deserve just as much respect and proper treatment as normal humans!" Shion argued.

"Ahh, shaddup! You're so infatuated with these things because you spend so much time around them! They're just things, not people! Get that through your-"

The scientists along with Shion gasped as Alister suddenly sucker-punched Virgil in the jaw.

Virgil looked up from his floored position at Alister in stunned surprise. He then snarled and stood up, wiping the blood from his lip. "You've got guts. It was pretty ballsy to punch me like that." Virgil then cracked his knuckles. "But you can't just go around hitting people as you like so now, I've got to teach you a lesson."

Alister showed no signs of backing down as Virgil got ready to swing, right as the Observation Realian ran in front of him.

"NO!"

Virgil looked down at the girl, confused and annoyed that she got in his way. He then looked around at the other people in the room and spat before pushing his way past Alister and storming out of the room.

Shion furrowed her brow in thought as he left. 'That hardening on his face…that's DME Addiction.'

Alister clenched his fist roughly. "What the hell's wrong with that guy?" He then eased up when he felt something on his hand. He looked down and saw the girl looking up at him with a worried look. He sighed in resignation and knelt back down to her level. "Sorry, guess I lost my temper, didn't I?" He ruffled the girl's hair playfully before standing back up. "Why don't you run along now, I'm certain you don't want to be here any longer."

The girl nodded with a faint smile before disappearing out one of the doors.

The lead scientist sighed deeply. "You'll need to forgive Virgil. He and I both graduated the academy together. Virgil was there during the Miltian Conflict. It left some…deep scars."

Alister spat dismissively. "That's no excuse to treat people like dirt."

The man nodded heavily. "I know, it's no excuse, I wish there was a way to bring him back to how he used to be. I don't know all the specifics of what happened while he was there, but I do understand that he was on the ground when the Realians went mad."

Alister shook his head in confusion. "You just used about ten terms I know nothing about and I'm too pissed to take it all in. If you guys have a sort of history book I'll look it up there. Anyway, your name was…Uzuki right?"

Shion nodded to him and then turned to the scientist. "I hope I was able to fix the problems you were having."

The man nodded with a small smile. "Yes, it seems everything's evening out now, thank you."

Shion nodded in recognition and then signaled Alister to resume walking. "Oh, and you can just call me Shion."

Alister shrugged. "Works for me."

The duo soon arrived at the entrance to the hangar area.

"So this is it huh?"

Shion nodded. "Yes, this is the entrance to the hangar. I'm not sure where your…mobile suit did you call it? I'm not sure where that is but I'm sure they'll help you find it."

Alister nodded to Shion and turned to leave. "Thanks for the help, it was a real pleasure."

Shion nodded with a smile and made her way to the bridge.

Alister walked into the hangar and heard a familiar shriek. He sighed and watched as Homura chased Murasaki around the hangar. He looked up to his left and saw two A.M.W.S. next to him. One was black with pointed shoulders with white and yellow markings and what appeared to be propellers folded up on its forearms. Next to it was another machine that was also mostly blue with blades on the backs of its forearms, the blade on the left arm was white and the blade on the right arm was yellow.

"So, what do you think?"

Alister turned to the side in surprise to see Homura standing next to him. He then returned his gaze to the A.M.W.S. "They're impressive. Are those the machines you and Murasaki are piloting?"

Homura nodded. "Yup. The one on the left is her Huckebein Mk-III T. The one on the right is my Soulgain. Pretty rad, huh?"

Alister nodded. He then raised an eyebrow. "Would you have any idea where the mobile suits from my ship were put?"

Homura nodded and motioned to another section of the hangar. "Yup. They're over here."

She led him to where the three mobile suits were being held.

He saw Salcito's Sinanju as well as his own Gelgoog, which he had repainted to blue and green, as well as a suit he didn't recognize.

It was mostly white with blue, red and yellow on it, though what stuck him the most was the head. Or more specifically the white fins on top in a V shape with a red crest in the middle.

"Do you know whose suit that is?"

"I don't even know what they're called," Homura said curtly.

"It's mine."

Alister turned and saw John walking up to him. "What's it called?"

"It's the RX-78-2. Its codename for ease is Gundam."

"Gundam? That's an interesting name."

John nodded.

Alister then turned back to his Gelgoog and thought for a moment before sighing. "So I guess we're stuck here for a while."

"Seems that way."

Shion arrived on the bridge with her files in hand to see Moriyama and Cherenkov standing beside each other.

Moriyama turned and saw Shion approaching. "Ah, Chief Uzuki. I see you have the report?"

Shion nodded. "Yes sir. A-7 to be exact."

Moriyama put a hand on his chin in thought. "A-7…that means you're just one step away from full operation, isn't that right?"

Shion looked down slightly solemn. "Y-…yes sir."

Cherenkov frowned and walked over to Shion annoyed. "Well don't just stand there, let's see them."

"Y-yes sir!" She handed the files to Cherenkov who studied the report with great scrutiny.

He huffed in annoyance after finishing. "So you're still working on virtual testing? You haven't done any actual tests yet?"

"Well…we'll begin testing with a mock-up unit very soon, but the system is still a little unstable and-"

"Now you're just making excuses. Let me ask you something, Chief Uzuki. Why are you on this ship? Think about that. The Woglinde may be newly outfitted but its crew was assembled under major time constraints and while we have the advanced Huckebein Mk-II Mass Produced A.M.W.S. units, the 100-Series Observational Realians that were supposed to pilot them won't be available to us until later. So as it stands, we are undermanned and underpowered. What would happen if those things attacked us before we arrive at Fifth Jerusalem? I don't think I need to describe the outcome to you. The KOS-MOS Project was placed on the Woglinde to address that very issue. Or, am I wrong?"

Shion looked at Cherenkov timidly. "N-no, sir."

Cherenkov frowned even deeper at her. "Listen, you are no longer in a laboratory, this is a warship. This is a battlefield. KOS-MOS was supposed to be our frontline weapon here and now you're telling us it's still asleep! There's no point in a weapon that can't even get out of bed! That thing's useless unless it's operational! Why can't you-"

"That's enough, commander," Moriyama interrupted. "These people are also working under serious time constraints, just like ourselves. Besides, they're only one step away before field testing. In addition, don't we all want to see the completion of this operation without having to resort to that thing?"

"Of course Captain! But I believe-" Cherenkov paused as a communicator in his pocket beeped. "Argh, who is it now?!"

After a short pause, Moriyama asked, "Problem Commander?"

Cherenkov turned to Moriyama dumbly. "Oh, uh, no…no sir." He then briskly left the bridge without another word.

Moriyama scratched his head in slight confusion. "I wonder what's wrong."

"I'm not sure…" Shion then turned to Moriyama. "I'm sorry we failed to meet your expectations."

Moriyama waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, it's alright Chief Uzuki. Just keep us updated on any new developments. Besides, what really matters to every one of us here is that the system is reliable once we start using it. So rushing the project won't gain us anything. So just take as much time as you need. Besides, it's all on the government's dollar, hahahah."

Moriyama's response cheered Shion up some as she bowed courteously before leaving.

"That was a very, very grave mistake…Cherenkov. I believe I already warned you about the dangers of the Zohar. You should have been more careful while retrieving it."

"Yes, sir. I'm afraid there's no excuse for the fatalities that occurred during the recovery. However we can-"

"That's a trivial matter. Forget it. The problem…is that those people touched the Zohar, and then vanished…and…in addition to that, you're still transporting it while exposed to normal space. Because of that, we've had to move the plan up two phases. We can't have the Zohar falling into the government's hands."

"Two phases…!? But why are you…"

"We've picked up local U.M.N. activity on our EPR radar. The fleet is column jumping towards the position of your convoy. They'll cross your vector in five hours, twenty-two minutes."

"No…it can't be! Them?!"

"I told you, you've made a grave mistake. We dispatched reinforcements an hour ago. So keep it safe at all costs, until they arrive."

"W-will they make it in time?"

"Just keep it safe until they arrive. I don't care if you have to send it into hyperspace by itself. Fortunately for you, your ship is carrying that weapon. I don't know what Vector's up to, but take advantage of the situation if you can…"

"E-excuse me, Sir, but they haven't even started field testing it yet! It's too risky!"

"You of all people should be cognizant of its power. I don't care if it's unstable. Make them hurry."

"But, but sir…"

"That is all."

"Commander, wait! Commander Margulis!"

Alister was led by one of the crew members to his room where he thanked him and then went in, flopping down onto its bed after entering. He sighed as he looked around but then noticed something on the other nightstand. He smiled to himself when he picked up the photo on it.

"Can't believe they actually thought about transferring it here."

The photo contained an image of Alister's old MS team. Included were Adeline, Konrad, Maitland, Alister and a young woman. A young woman with long brown hair that reached her waist and two bangs that framed the sides of her face, bangs hanging down above her eyes and a cowlick on top as well as bright blue eyes, skin slightly darker than Alister's own and wearing a UNSC pilot's uniform. He smiled sadly and muttered, "Sis."

Shion was walking back to her room from the bridge when she walked by the hangar holding the Zohar Emulator and heard a ruckus from the lower level.

She went over to the railing and looked down, seeing the purple-faced man punishing several workers.

"You're slackin' off! And you're slackin' off! And you! And you!" He accentuated each sentence with a punch to each man's gut. "It's because you were careless that we had that accident you morons! But you ain't got time to be sorry!? Why?! Because I'm not givin' it to ya! And don't go thinking you've got a brain to think with! If you've got time to be sorry, you've got time to get your ass in gear! If you've got time to think, you've got time to get your fingers moving!"

Shion flinched as he punished the men with more blows. She sighed and muttered, "I guess not every department is run like ours." Her mind then unwittingly slipped to the past.

In a dark room with only a few monitors, KOS-MOS' pod and the light from a single, used monitor, Shion sat by herself typing away on the computer there. She paused in her typing to admire the rain lightly tapping the window.

A figure moved up behind her, and put its hand on her shoulder.

She jumped slightly before turning. "Oh, Kevin, it's you."

Kevin, a young man with shoulder-length blue hair, blue eyes and the male version of the blue uniform of a Vector Chief, chuckled to himself lightly. "Here, I brought you this."

Shion smiled and took a cup of steaming hot coffee from him and stood up.

"You really don't need to work quite so hard. You'll run yourself ragged at this rate."

Shion nodded as she leaned on KOS-MOS' pod. "I had to get this data ready by morning so…but why're you here so late anyway? You should get some sleep yourself."

Kevin paused for a moment before answering, "To tell you the truth, I haven't been able to sleep lately. I've had something on my mind a lot."

"On your…mind? Like what?"

Kevin nodded and glanced out the window. "Well…tomorrow she's finally going to wake up. I'm looking forward to seeing her finally wake up, but…I'm at a loss of what to say to her when she does finally wake up."

Shion smiled at him and answered, "Why don't you just say, 'Good morning, KOS-MOS.'?"

"G-good morning…?"

"Well…that is what you say to someone when they first wake up, isn't it?"

Kevin thought about her suggestion for a moment before smiling to himself. "Yeah…Yeah I guess you're right. 'Good morning' sounds perfect to me. Thanks. I think I can finally get some sleep now. And, so should you."

Shion stood in front of the Zohar Emulator in thought. "Yeah...everyone's so eager to see KOS-MOS finally wake up." She merely stood watching the Emulator with its holders floating around it, but then raised an eyebrow in confusion as they, along with seemingly the world around her, slowed to a complete stop, the people around her completely vanishing. Her mind was then struck with the high-pitched ting of a ringing bell.

She looked around and yet there was not a single person around her. She then looked ahead and saw the same young girl from the Encephalon standing under the Emulator. She watched in awe and confusion as she felt herself get lifted almost seemingly into the Emulator itself.

She then found herself in a new location. A place she did not recognize, with rolling hills and green grass, tombstones around her.

The girl was again standing amidst the tombstones, she then spoke to Shion.

However, Shion could not hear any of the words she spoke.

Behind the young girl, was what resembled a Zohar Emulator, with a large blue jewel in the center. She then felt a sense of extreme dread as a large shadowy figure, with horns sticking on its head and large spikes on its shoulders appeared in a dark mass behind the object.

It reached out its clawed hand towards the object and attempted to take it, but right before it touched the object a bright, blinding light was released, the mass disappearing.

Shion attempted to speak to the girl but then heard a man shout.

"Look out!"

Shion turned and stumbled backwards as one of the floating holders for the Emulator swung by, almost hitting her.

"Watch it, you slacker!" The man with the X-mark on his face stormed up to her. "Only authorized personnel are allowed up here! I've had three people vanish on me already. Get the hell outta here! My men'll start slacking off if they see bimbos like you hangin' around!"

Shion bowed swiftly and then ran off, apologizing tremulously as she did.

The man groaned as she left. "Who's the idiot that let civilians on this ship!?"

One of the workers had stopped and was leaning over suspiciously as she left.

"What the hell are you staring at!?" He then slugged the man right in the face.

And that's it for the second chapter. Hope you guys all enjoyed it. I'm going to try and get the third one out much sooner than I got this one out. Which should happen regardless but it will be slower than I would normally do since I have taken up writing duties for the story The Unnatural Prodigy. I think that's about everything to say, so just wait for the third chapter and buh-bye.