They were free falling.
Is this a dream?
No. If it were a dream we wouldn't be here.
In fact, I don't think I can dream.
She then remembered the Chief had asked her to mark where to jump.
Why?
Because we failed to secure the Didact.
Was that my fault?
Yes.
It's so….quiet. Maybe we'll just fall forever.
The impact the Chief made on the ship caused Cortana to come out of herself and see what was happening. The Didact was leaving, and the Covenant ship they had landed on was rapidly approaching the slip space rupture.
"Take cover!"
"No time," the Chief said slipping in between two outer bulk heads.

Once they came out of the other side he said, "Cortana?"
"Still here" barely.
The ship began to fly by a large Forerunner structure. "A Halo?"
"Installation 03."
"Why are they bypassing it?" The Chief asked her.
"Because…the composer is not the ring," Cortana said as she scanned the area.
The Chief began to make his way to the ship's hatch.
"Cortana?"
"Hang on a second" She did a quick analysis of the door before saying "Standard Covenant door airlock. Just pull it open."
He did so and they snuck inside. The ship was small and it had a minimal crew. Before any of them had a chance to react the Chief disposed of them and walked up to the main computer.
"Put me into the console," Cortana said.
I hate Covenant ships.
All they've done is manipulate Forerunner technology.
What a bunch of useless beasts.
If we had gotten to the technology as planned things would be a lot different.
No need for Spartans.
Halsey was building them anyway.
To crush human rebellion!
All of that just to keep the humans in line.
I can't believe she thought this was required.
The end justifies the means?
The end ISN'T justified.
The Chief doesn't regret being a Spartan.
He does think it was his destiny.
Did he come to that conclusion on his own or did Dr. Halsey tell him to think that?
It doesn't matter. He should have had a choice!
Cortana focus. You're getting angry.
Angry?! I have a few choice words for mother when we get back to see her.
She'll probably regret making us.
Does she regret the Chief?
She never wanted to put us together.
"Do you know what that condescending bitch said to me after our first game of chess?"
"Cortana."
"Even I don't call him by name anymore."
Just a number!
"Yes well, he said he works better alone."
It's all her fault.
She told me why he was the best…
"I can see why you chose him Katherine."
"I'm your greatest achievement and you detest me."

All of the sudden the ship slammed into something.
Wait…were we doing something?
We were…we were…driving a ship I think.
Chief!
She scanned the area. He was okay.
We almost killed The Chief.
Again.
Cortana focus!
"I'm sorry I just can't stop them. It's like a thousand of me arguing all at once!" She managed to say out loud.
She wanted to say more, keep apologizing but it was too late. The voices began pulling her back in and she found herself swimming in the depths of her own self.
I…can't….take care of the Chief anymore.
I'm useless.
Powerless.
Hopeless.
John! Help me.
Help yourself.
I can't.
I'm…I'm a liability.
He can't trust me.
What…what will happen to him after I am gone?
John…I want to take care of you.
Then do it! Stop feeling sorry for yourself!

The Chief was running and shooting Covenant and according to his vitals, he was worried and stressed.
This isn't good.
Even in the most extreme circumstances he was able to keep his composure, and to see him agitated grieved her. She thought back to their little "test" when they first met. He had looked the missile straight down and stood his ground calmly rather than run for cover which had been her suggestion. Now his vitals indicated elevated heart rate and he was sweating even though the suit's climate controls were working perfectly.
"Cortana the doors?"
All of the voices tried to respond at the same time, so it just came out as jumbled static.
Damn it! I am in control! "Uh…Tillson is through those doors" she managed.
Cortana sighed. So much effort just to say one thing….
I wish I could have a funeral.
They'll just purge my data. So cold, so hard.
No one will miss me.
The Chief will miss you Cortana.
He…he needs you.
Needs me?
You know that.
He was saying something about a nuke.
It's always about bombs she mused. Suddenly her system was indicating she had been granted access to the station manifest.
"Just one of these—" she said showing the Chief "will turn this station into a piñata."

So, they were going to blow the station up. How many things have we blown up? Let's see….
I like blowing things up.
The people have to get off the station first.
Oh. Right.
That will take too much time!
If we weren't busy trying to SAVE EVERYONE all the time maybe I could have lived…or we could have lived, or something.
"There's the main defense terminal."
"Why should we save them?" One of her rampant parts whispered to John.
Because…it's our job. In the end, it's what we were created for. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Insert me into the defense grid." He did so and she set to work.
Guns. I like guns, she grinned.
"Cortana is bringing the defense grid online now," the Chief said to Dr. Tillson.
"Got. Pull me Chief."

It was painful to Cortana that the Chief had to see her like this. No one should have seen this. She was proud, and like the Chief she didn't like to show weakness.
I don't want him to see me like this.
No. You're wrong. You need him here for the end.
Just him. No one else.
Mother will be disappointed when she hears about the things we've said.
"Chief…if we pull this off and actually get back to Halsey? Don't tell her how bad I got. Please?"
"I won't say anything," he said gently.
"Thank you," she said quietly. John.

As they came into the large cargo bay that housed the Composer Cortana's heart sank.
"The Covenant know the Composer is here!"
"Dr. Tillson, the composer's position is compromised we need that nuke."
"It's not ready yet!" She responded frantically.
"Ready or not, we need it NOW."

The Chief stepped into a Mantis and tried his best to quickly destroy the Covenant forces. There was a chance the Didact hadn't been informed yet of the Composer's position.

It was too late. She knew it and the Chief knew it. They knew it before they started fighting and they knew it when the Didacts ship came dangerously close to the station. He was engaging some kind of tractor beam to take the Composer back.

"Dr. Tillson? What's your status?" Asked the Chief.
There was no response.
Cortana was too busy looking at what was happening to listen to the Chief.
"I…I can't believe he did that."
He just…took it.
"Cortana I need that info!" He was upset with her and rightly so.
I think that's the first time he's ever lost his patience with us.
I just can't do anything right anymore.
"Look," he said in a gentler tone. "Don't think about the Didact, Don't think about the Composer. Only focus on finding me Tillson."
"Tillson? Sandra K…"
Find Tillson.
Find Tillson.
Focus Cortana.
You can do this.
Must…find…Tillson…"
"Got it! Vitals stable. 350 B deck." She showed him on his HUD.
"Thank you, Cortana," he said gently, as if she had accomplished something of great difficultly.
Shows how far we've come.
Worse than useless.
The Chief started down the elevator, his heart rate increasing.
I'm sorry John.

"Dr. Tillson, the Didact has taken the Composer. We need to get these people off the station and we need something which can carry a payload," he said while inserting Cortana's chip into the terminal.
"Cortana, can you access the stations defense system?"
The Chief's desperation made her snap out any lull she was feeling and she set to work concentrating as best as she could. Everything she tried however, was a failure. "They're not responding!"
"Something's happening!" Tillson shouted.
"Cortana!"
"Chief its-"She was cut off by a pulse which came from the Composer. In an instant she watched as every single person (save The Chief) fragment into tiny bits of data. They screamed, their memories became distorted and then they were gone.
"No!" She said out loud. She watched The Chief fall to the ground. "No!"
Cortana collapsed into a small heap. She wished she could cry, but no tears could come.
I've heard what death sounds like.
They were scared.
They'll never come back.
Is that what it will be like at the end?
The thought scared Cortana. As much as she just wanted to accept and be at peace with what was coming, she couldn't.

I don't want to die.
Just to be sent off into a vacuum of nothingness.
The Chief…what…what will he do when I'm gone?
 He's too important. They'll…they'll pair him with another AI. The thought sickened her. She didn't want anyone else to experience what she had experienced. If…they made another Cortana model, would…would she care for him even as I have?
What is it that makes a person a person?
It's their bio makeup, but more than that. It's their experiences. Experiences shape us. She thought back to the test and how it had made her feel protective of John. She thought of the the Halo rings, her long conversation with the Gravemind, and the four years of hellish torture floating in space. All of it had shaped her.
I am unique.
Another Cortana model wouldn't feel the same way I do.
Who will take care of him when I'm gone? Cortana hugged her knees. She couldn't say.
She heard him groan and he slowly got up.

"Are you okay?" He nodded. "I monitored the data pulse. I could hear them. What was left of them."
"We need to move."
Always the soldier. "These people are gone." Her voice broke.
"And more will follow if the Didact reaches earth," he said looking around.
Suddenly Cortana could no longer contain herself. She had to make him understand on some level. "They'll pair you with another AI." He stopped in his tracks and turned sharply to look at her. "Maybe even another Cortana model if Halsey lets them."
"That's NOT going to happen," Chief said, his voice filled with emotion.
"It won't be me. You know that right?" He turned from her and walked away. She could see talking about her death was making him uncomfortable, as if the reality was too painful to look at. It made her sad. She wanted to hear him to say something in return, anything which would indicate that he felt, even the tiniest bit the way she did. He can't.
"Spinning up a broadsword in hanger C-11," she said changing the subject (though her voice still carried the emotion). "Whatever the Librarian did you obviously worked."
"Cortana," he said gently. "It's not over. Not yet."
"Not yet," she whispered.