Author's Note.
I just wanted to say a HUGE thanks to everyone who read and followed this story. I pumped it out rather quickly (not usually typical for me) but after watching the newest E3 trailers I got so excited for Halo 5, and the trailers got me thinking about Cortana as a character. I realized how much I wanted to understand the events of Halo 4 from her perspective. After thinking about her motivations and watching Forward unto Dawn/Halo 4 on repeat I felt like I was able to get inside her head which was really fun (except for the ending...that was really painful). I'll admit it though, I did write some light fluff. I mean, what's the point of writing Fanfic if you can't allow yourself a little fluff :-).
Also I updated the first chapter, so for those of you who have been following the story since before I posted chapter 16, you can go back and read it if you like. It's much better in my opinion.
SPOILER WARNING: I'm about to totally geek out so if you don't want to know anything about the new game, stop reading.
One of the biggest questions people are asking in the Halo community is, "will Cortana return?" The makers of Halo have emphatically, repeatedly, told us she is gone. The question is, do we believe them?
I've spent a fair amount of time digging around trying to figure out what's going to happen in the next game. We do know for certain Cortana has a "role" in Halo 5, and the executive director has confirmed what that role will be. The Chief has a "vision" of Cortana in the second mission telling him that the Domain (see Forerunner Saga book trilogy) is open and he only has 3 days to access it. Frank O'Conner said that by using Cortana as a means to deliver this information they pay tribute to her as a character and acknowledge the impact she's made. He said Halo 5 is more about seeing how the Chief deals with memories and loss, and how her death affects him.
So basically, even though Chief is seeing Cortana, it isn't ACTUALLY Cortana (some think it might be the Domain using her memory). In the behind the scenes A Hero Reborn trailer there is a 5 second shot of the Chief reaching down to pick up Cortana's chip (which is glowing blue) but just before he does, it disappears. Later in that video there's a short clip of Chief seeing the vision of her in the distance and we hear him whisper "Cortana."
In the Road to E3 Osiris video there's a clip where some of the characters refer to "her." It's an ambiguous reference, but it could be about Cortana. The actors who play Halsey, Roland, Palmer and Lasky are doing a script read through of a cut scene.
Halsey and Palmer walk in quickly to the bridge-
Halsey: I tried to warn you this was happening
Lasky: He's gone in search of HER
Halsey: You let him go?
Roland: How is it that…
Palmer: Nobody lets the Chief do anything. He does what he wants.
Lasky: Except at 06:31 this morning when he was declared absent without leave.
Roland: This isn't about the Master Chief
Halsey: John isn't emotionally equipped to deal with HER as a threat
Roland: HEY! Is anyone going to answer me
Lasky: You're out of line Roland
Roland: Yes sir, but so is everyone else
What is going on in this scene? They could be talking about Cortana but it could be someone else (Osmand?), and just because the characters are perceiving something as a threat doesn't necessarily mean it is a threat. But, if they are talking about Cortana, their conversation indicates the Chief is perceiving these visions of her as real, which shows us how deep his grief actually is.
This is SO PAINFUL to think about. I'm not sure we can fully understand what the Chief is going through because we've never had someone in our minds. Chief could physically feel her in his mind, and he heard her in his mind. The first time Cortana and the Chief work together she pulls back into her chip to work on something and it says "the Chief felt empty somehow". Multiply that feeling by 4 years and everything they went through, and that's where we can start understanding what she meant to him.
I hope against hope that eventually, maybe towards the end of the Reclaimer Saga they will bring Cortana back. There are some great stories, and even official game theories which postulate Cortana will come back as a human. These stories exist because we know it's what she wanted, and the nature of their relationship changed the moment she touched John's armor. She simply can't just be the little voice in his head. She's become so much more than that.
Well that's it for me. As you can tell I'm still feeling pretty jazzed about the new Halo! I've been toying around with the idea of writing a story based around some of my favorite Reclaimer saga theories/my own theories, but I'm not positive I want to start a fic so close to the release date of the game. We'll see.
See you next time!
- Arielle