I am back, faithful readers! And there is just a couple of weeks before Halo 4 comes out! (At least in Australia)

Although I am eagerly waiting for that, I am getting my hands on Assassin's Creed III a week earlier. So before I blast away more Covenant and those weird Promethean things, I'll be hacking and slashing some Redcoats across the American frontier during the War of Independence!

As Bender from Futurama would say, "It's gonna be fun on a bun!"

Funny story, I went to the EB Games Expo earlier this month. I went alone, but I actually made a friend on the train, and we hung out for the next few hours. We got in line to play Halo 4 multiplayer, and ended up on opposite teams (I was blue, he was red). I hijacked a Ghost and went on a rampage, killing many people, including him, before I eventually got blown up. Then he got his hands on a Promethean scattergun and shot me in the face! But I got one up on him. How, you say? A headshot with a Covenant carbine, that's how!

Anyway, here's a quick chapter to tide you folks over until the game comes out.

By the way, in the first paragraph just below this, you will notice I slotted in a casual mention of the Prometheans. That's just my way of retconning them into my little fic here.

In the Lift

If Cortana had been compelled to admit it, she would have said that there were quite a few things in life that annoyed the hell out of her. The Covenant, the Flood, Insurrectionists, those weird Promethean things, people who said negative things about her or anyone else she cared about, anyone who attempted to cause harm to her or John for no reason other than because of some grudge they shared about the Spartan program or Dr Halsey; the program's instigator and Cortana's biological mother… the list of things that got under Cortana's skin went on for longer than she would be willing to admit.

But there was one thing that annoyed her more than anything else. It was something that had been a real bane to her constantly when she was still an Artificial Intelligence, and although her transition to human being may have eased this irritation somewhat, she still considered it to be very high, if not at the very top of, her list of her pet peeves.

It was boredom. Plain and simple. Cortana positively hated being bored. She loathed being left with nothing interesting or productive to do. When she had been an AI, she had gotten bored quite frequently, but she had been able to alleviate this by using her state-of-the-art intrusion software to break into other systems; many of which were touted as being impenetrable by its designers and users. Dr Halsey had often scolded Cortana for doing this, but the rebellious AI had kept doing it nonetheless, both because she could pull it off, and because it amused her endlessly.

But now, Cortana was human, and this had brought about changes in her little hobby. Previously, she had been able to slice through counter intrusion software as easily as the average human could breathe, but now, it required more time and patience; understandably a frustrating change of pace for someone like Cortana. On the plus side, though, she found that she had less time to get bored. AIs could process potentially hundreds of different thoughts in the space of just a few seconds, whereas humans could not.

Of course, that did not mean she didn't get bored at all. No, there were plenty of times when Cortana felt her mind wandering, and she wished that she had something – anything – that would take her mind off whatever monotonous task.

This was definitely one of those instances.

Cortana leaned back in her chair, vaguely listening to the speaker at the front of the room drone on and on about who the hell knew what. Casting a quick glance at her watch, she saw that she had been here for about two hours; practically an eternity to someone who was originally an AI capable of carrying out dozens of tasks in less than a minute.

Since Cortana became human, she had established a reputation as being one of the best scientific minds in the UNSC, which was probably one of the reasons as to why her presence had been requested at this meeting between numerous high-ranking members of the military and research divisions. They had been discussing new ways to implement their resources to make better forms of defence and… so on and so on, blah blah blah. Most of the speakers were more talk than actual substance, and Cortana had zoned out not long afterwards.

Looking out of the corner of her eye, Cortana saw a very familiar individual in the form of Captain Miranda Keyes. Since Cortana's existence was owed to Dr Catherine Halsey, who was Miranda's mother, then technically the two of them were sisters, and had since developed a very close relationship with each other. A lifetime of being raised by a father who had made a career for himself in the military had left Miranda with a little more tolerance of rules and protocol, and thus the other woman had managed to stay sitting up a lot straighter. Even then, Cortana could tell that her sister was also suffering from the faintest traces of boredom. Most would not have been able to pick up on that, but not many knew her as well as she did.

Cortana looked at her watch again, and was further stressed to find that only five minutes had passed since the last time she looked at it. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling, knowing that it would still be a long time before the meeting ended.

"I couldn't help but notice that you looked bored out of your brain in there," Miranda remarked. The meeting had thankfully concluded a few minutes previously, and now the pair of them were wandering through one of the many hallways that made up the multistorey facility, making their way from the meeting room to the open air section on the ground floor, where the staff often went to take a break.

"Was I that obvious?" Cortana replied with a roll of her eyes. She sighed before continuing. "Yes, I will admit that I was completely and utterly bored out of my mind. I understand the powers that be want to ensure that everything is running smoothly, but do they really have to bore us to death with all of the details?"

Miranda could not hold back the amused snort at her sister's rambling. She had let her go on because she wanted her to get it off her chest, but also largely because she found it rather amusing. Even back when Cortana had still been an AI, Miranda had been all too aware of her intolerance of boredom; a behavioural perk that clearly came from their shared mother, who also disliked the prospect of having nothing to do. But Cortana could have always found amusement in breaking into supposedly secure systems. And since humans were less able to do that… well, the answer was pretty obvious.

Miranda gently touched the other woman's arm in a familiar and comforting gesture. "Trust me, I know exactly what you mean. I was bored too."

"Really?" Cortana asked, raising a doubtful eyebrow. "You didn't exactly look it in there."

"That's due to years of practice, my dear sister." She let loose a chuckle; one that Cortana eventually could not help but get drawn into. One of the reasons why they had become such good sisters and close friends was due to their ability to cheer each other up, no matter what the situation. They brought out the best in each other. It was similar to Cortana's relationship with John, but in a sibling manner instead of lover.

The two women made their way to the open air break area, stopping along the way to pick up a cup of coffee each. After this, they went outside and sat on a bench, sipping their beverages and just enjoying the fresh air.

As they looked around, both were pleased to see the signs of recovery all around them. During the three decades of war against the Covenant, every human world had suffered in some way, and Earth had been no different. Sure, it had managed to get off lighter while most other planets had been subjected to the dreaded glassing process and been rendered uninhabitable, but many sections bore the scars of the terrible conflict. And yet, through it all, they remaining humans had continued to rebuild. Their cities grew once more, like the one whose skyline was currently being admired by Cortana and Miranda. Elsewhere, there was farmland that produced food again, oceans which continued to teem with wildlife, and forests that provided valuable oxygen and other resources.

Looking at all of that, Cortana figured that maybe there was a reason that she had been called up to continue her service to the UNSC; to ensure that the human race and its worlds continued to thrive and prosper as it did before.

She just wished that this process included less boring meetings…!

Cortana's mind was brought back to the here and now as she heard Miranda speak up once more. "So, any more plans for today?"

The former AI smiled. "Yes," she said. "John is coming here and we're spending some time together."

"Again?" Miranda asked mockingly. "Ha! You guys spend pretty much every waking hour in each other's presence. Not to mention in each other's pants!"

Sometimes, when her sister provoked her like this, Cortana would sputter in shock, but this time, she just gave her an annoyed groan. "Could you please not say stuff like that in public? The last thing I need is someone overhearing any details whatsoever about my personal life."

"Hey, it's my personal duty to tease you about your love life," Miranda quipped in return.

"Personal duty?"

"Yes, my personal duty as your friend and sister." Miranda continued to smile as she said this, and then followed it with another sip from her coffee.

"Uh-huh. By the way, when are you going to find someone so that I can turn the tables on you and tease you about your love life?"

Miranda swallowed her coffee before answering. "I'm working on that." Immediately after making this remark, there was a beeping sound from her waist as her pager let off a signal. She grabbed the device and looked at the message displayed on the small screen. "But right now, it seems that I am needed elsewhere. Of course, I'm sure that you and John would appreciate the privacy, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," Cortana said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at her sister's comment. "Don't let my man and I keep you from actually doing your job."

The two women shared another laugh at that jibe before saying a fond farewell to each other. Miranda headed back inside to her next appointment, while Cortana decided to go looking for John.

It did not take her long to find her boyfriend. Even without his armour, the Spartan cut a rather intimidating presence. Not only that, but wherever he walked, John tended to elicit stares and hushed whispers from those around him. This was hardly surprising, however, since his exploits were legendary; here was the man responsible for causing more destruction to the Covenant than anybody else over the course of the war which had lasted nearly three decades. In addition, he had also wrought considerable havoc on various Insurrectionists, the Flood parasite and those Promethean AI guardians that the Forerunners had been responsible for. Simply put, the majority of the human race considered the man to be a living legend.

But to Cortana, he was something different. He was the man with whom she had developed a relationship closer than most others, who had risked his own life to save her, even when she was just a sentient computer program. He was the man she loved, and that was what mattered to her. And he loved her in return.

So when they met up, they simply enjoyed each other's company. They talked about many different things, most of them casual and ordinary, nothing too serious. John noted with great appreciation the attire that she had chosen to wear on this occasion. It was one of the outfits that Miranda had helped her to pick out a few weeks earlier after Cortana and John had a little disagreement.

On that particular situation, John had returned home to find his lover wearing a blue blouse and knee length black skirt that served to accentuate her hourglass figure, as well as stockings and 3-inch heels. It was definitely a sexy look for her. Now, she wore a similar outfit, but with a white blouse instead which seemed more suited to the sort of business that she was currently engaged in. To John's eyes, it did nothing to make her look any less sexy though.

John himself was wearing blue denim jeans and an olive t-shirt. This combination struck Cortana as somehow being both casual, and with just a hint of his military background. She figured this last part was the colour of his t-shirt; a tone of green occasionally associated with the military.

"So how was the meeting?" John asked conversationally. "Boring as hell?"

"Tell me about it," Cortana huffed. She knew that John would have figured that she had have been bored; he knew her better than anyone else, with the possible exception of her mother and sister, and thus knew how easy it was for her to get bored. "I can understand why Mum wanted to duck out of this meeting. I could barely stay awake. I'm surprised that Miranda could keep herself going."

"Probably years of experience."

"That's what she said to me."

"Well, not only that, but her dad was in the military too, so she probably got her tolerance of long-winded presentations off of him."

"Maybe. It's at times like this that I really miss the old captain."

"Yeah, me too." John was silent for a second here. Captain Jacob Keyes had been one of the individuals that he truly looked up to, and losing him had been tougher than he was willing to admit. Not only that, but the very manner in which he had been lost – consumed by the Flood into one of their proto-Gravemind creatures – just made it all the more… unseemly. But the couple silently agreed that it was not the time or the place to worry about such things, and merely enjoyed each other's presence.

All too soon, however, it seemed that the time came for Cortana to head back inside. She had another meeting to attend, and although it was not meant to be as long as the last one, she got the feeling that she would be bored out of her mind, regardless. She said nothing about this to John, but she could tell just by looking at him that he figured what her frame of mind would be.

"Come on," he said with a smile. "I might as well accompany you on the way to your next meeting."

"Aw, that's so sweet of you, John," Cortana said in a tone that dripped with playful sarcasm. "I don't suppose you would be willing to come with me to the actual meeting itself?"

"Nah. I'd probably be as bored as you."

Cortana rolled her electric blue eyes in amusement. If nothing else, she was grateful that John had managed to restore enough of her positive mood. They made their way to the lift doors and she pressed the call button before waiting a few seconds for the lift itself to arrive. While doing so, Cortana absently glanced at her watch. Two o'clock. At least most of the day was now gone and she could begin to look forward to the time when she would be able to walk out the doors and go home.

The chime sounded as the lift arrived, and the doors opened, allowing the former AI and the Spartan to step on board. Cortana pressed the button, waited for the doors to close, and simply stood silently as the lift began making its ascent up the shaft.

John spoke up. "So, I don't suppose you have any idea what this next completely dull meeting is about, do you?"

Cortana scoffed in mild amusement. "Something about a new kind of program that we can install in the UNSC's defence network which can allow us to spot an enemy vessel coming at us from across the system. I'm sure that you would find it boring."

The Spartan gave a casual shrug of his muscular shoulders. "Yeah, probably. I'm sure you're well aware that I don't particularly care how a system or weapon or whatever works, as long as it does."

"Oh trust me, I know that. I've been in your head, remember? I know how you think."

"Well, technically, you were in my neural lace. You could monitor a lot of things, but last time I checked, that did not include being able to read my mind."

"Maybe. But I still know how you think."

"And I know how you think as well."

"Really?"

"Sure."

"Then what am I thinking?"

"Probably trying to find a way in which you could avoid going to this meeting. Hell, for all I know, you might be planning to shut this lift down in some way."

John's comment was intended to be an offhanded one, meant as nothing more than a joke. Sure, Cortana's skills at hacking into computer and operating systems were among the best in the UNSC, possibly even the entire human race. It would not be a stretch to imagine that she could have found some way in which she might have broken into the building's operating systems, and done something along the line of shutting down the lift or any other crazy thing in order to alleviate the boredom. But still, the joke was just that: a joke.

So understandably, it was a complete and utter surprise to both John and Cortana when, barely two seconds after Spartan had made this comment, that the lift did in fact grind to a sudden halt. The sudden jolt threw Cortana off-balance, and it was only by instinctively grabbing on to John that prevented her from falling down. The Spartan, not surprisingly, remained as stoic and unmoveable as he always seemed to be.

The lights suddenly turned off, plunging the lift compartment into darkness. This lasted only a few seconds, though, as the emergency lighting suddenly snapped on. Though not as bright as the usual bulbs, it still provided more than adequate illumination.

"Before you ask," Cortana said, "I had nothing to do with this. In fact, I am just as surprised as you are that it happened right after you made that comment."

"Good to know," John muttered offhandedly. He walked over to the buttons and pressed several of them experimentally, to no avail. "Damn, looks like the power's gone out."

"So what do we do?" Cortana asked. As much as she disliked boredom, perhaps the only thing that bugged her even more was being stuck in a situation feeling completely helpless and unable to do anything in order to rectify the situation.

John finally gave up on the controls and heaved a sigh. "I'm afraid there is nothing much we can do, apart from sit back and wait for them to fix the situation."

"Well," Cortana said in a decidedly resigned tone, "it's not as if being bored is anything new for me today."

It took only ten minutes before the boredom once again got too much for Cortana. "You know what?" she groused to John, "This seems like the sort of day where I would be inclined wonder if I probably should have just stayed in bed and never got up."

For the most part, John remained as calm and collected as he always was. In his career as a soldier and a Spartan, he had been placed in situations where he was forced to wait long periods, usually for access to a single target that needed capturing or killing, and as a result he had developed ample amounts of patience. To him, being forced to wait in a broken lift was not too much of a hassle; a direct contrast to a former Artificial Intelligence who used to be capable of carrying out multiple tasks at once and positively chafed at boredom.

"You know Cortana," the Spartan said patiently, "it's not as if all of this has happened just to piss you off. It's not like it's a direct attack against you."

"I'm aware of that, John," Cortana ground out through her teeth, putting heavy emphasis on the second word. Her electric blue eyes flashed with indignation. "And I'm not one to believe in mythical or supernatural forces, but sometimes I can't help but wonder if there is someone or something out there that just wants to make my life hell for the fun of it."

Despite himself, John let out a chuckle. "Are you even listening to yourself now?"

Cortana let out a small but noticeably frustrated sigh. "I don't know, John. I mean, this hasn't exactly been the best day for me. I'm glad I got to spend time with you and with Miranda but…" As she trailed off, her voice let out a faint cracking noise; a sure sign that the stress was beginning to wear her down.

John's heart went out to his girlfriend. He had never liked seeing or hearing her getting upset in any way; not when she was an AI, and definitely not that she was a human. One of the most sobering sights that he had ever beholden was when he found her on High Charity, in such a sorry state after that insidious Gravemind had inflicted torture upon her. After he had retrieved her, he had burned and blasted away every Flood form, imagining that it was a form of payback against the Gravemind for what it had done to his beloved Cortana.

Though the current circumstances were different, he still did not like seeing her in such a dishevelled state. He wanted to comfort her any way he could, and one particularly effective way suddenly popped into his mind. He had no idea what had inspired this little gem, but he had no problem with it whatsoever.

Stepping over to Cortana, John wrapped his muscular arms around her petite frame, drew her closer to him, and placed a kiss upon her lips. The former AI was surprised at this sudden turn of events, but if she had any doubts about it, they quickly left her body, and she relaxed in his arms.

After a few seconds, John pulled away and looked down into Cortana's eyes. The stress that had obviously been building up over the course of the day seemed to rapidly dissipate, and she became her usual calm self once more.

Cortana felt a smile form on her face, and she playfully asked the Spartan, "Do mind if I ask what that was for?"

John responded in kind with an equally playful grin and comment. "Why? Do you have a problem with that little kiss?"

"Oh, no. Of course not, my dear. I'm just a little bit surprised as to why you would suddenly do such a thing."

"Well, you were noticeably stressed out, and if there is one thing I don't like, it's seeing you stressed out. And so I figured that you could do with some cheering up."

"And you thought that the best way to do so was to kiss me?"

"Well… it seemed the best thing to do. Did it succeed in making you feel better?"

Cortana reached up and snaked her arms around the Spartan's neck. "Mmm, I don't know," she said coyly. "Maybe we should try it again, just in case."

John obliged, and descended his lips to hers once more. This kiss was slightly longer and more passionate than the first one. When they parted, Cortana's smile had become a bit more lecherous. "You know what?" she said, "I think I like this idea very much." She pulled him down for another one.

Though John had not originally been known for his romantic impulses in the past, his relationship with Cortana had definitely changed that. He had often stated that she tended to bring out the very best in him, and that he was thankful every day of having someone like her in his life. As a joke, he sometimes quipped that Dr Halsey had specifically created a soul mate for him, and this provided quite a bit of amusement for them and those around them.

As they continued to make out, Cortana felt her mind start to slow down. Today it had been stressed out with all that she had been forced to endure, what with the meetings and all. The only bright spots had been her meeting up with Miranda earlier, and now with John. Even then, enough of her mind had still been on the business of the day to distract her. Not now, though. Now it was just her and her man, together and alone in this broken down lift.

And this served to bring on another line of thought for Cortana; one that she had been so quick to act upon ever since she and John had started a physical relationship. After all, they were stuck in a lift, and it seemed as though they would be here for some time…

John cottoned on to Cortana's idea when, while they were still making out, she discreetly slipped one of her hands inside the band of his pants. It was a very small move, but one that managed to surprise him and break off from their little make out session. He gave her a look that said 'Seriously? You want to do it here and now?'.

Cortana just tilted her head and gave her boyfriend a 'come on' look. "It's not as if we've got anything else to do," she pointed out.

"True," John admitted. "But still, they could be fixing to work the lift even as we speak…"

Though his remark had a kernel of truth, it was still delivered in a whimsical tone of voice, and Cortana felt herself giggling. "Well," she said, "it looks like we'll just have to be quick about it then, won't we?" With that, she lowered herself to her knees and began to slowly pull down the zip of John's pants.

It amazed the Chief at times, how the mind of this beautiful woman who was once an Artificial Intelligence worked. She could always find a way to work around even the most unusual and seemingly impossible situation, and quite frequently she had been employing this ability to find new and unusual situations in which they could have sex. It also amazed him at the ease in which he agreed to the situation. He did not know if it was his feelings for her, if it was his libido catching up after being supressed for so long, or if it was something else he could not figure.

But… he didn't care.

Cortana undid the zip on John's pants and his now-hardened member sprung out. She wasted no time and immediately took it into her mouth, sucking and slurping on it with fervour. Amazed at the sensations that she was inflicting upon him, the Spartan leaned his head back, letting out a soft groan.

Cortana worked his shaft with her mouth, moving her lips up and down the length, swirling her tongue around the tip and along the delicate flesh. She attempted to get as much of the nine inches into her mouth as she could, the tip of it going almost to the back of her throat and nearly making her gag. She pulled back before this happened and simply resumed her sucking.

While she performed her blowjob on the Spartan, Cortana felt a warm between her legs, and a distinct sensation of pure wanting developing within her. She could tell that John was enjoying the attention she was lavished upon his manhood, but she wanted it inside her, and so wanted it now.

Pulling back from her oral ministrations, Cortana stood up. As she gently eased her skirt upwards, she gave the tall Spartan a pointed glare; one that clearly told him exactly what she wanted from him. It was all part of the secret language that had developed between the two of them, and he understood completely what it was that she desired, and he was only too willing to give it to her.

Cortana placed her back against the wall of the lift, and continued lifting up her skirt until her panties were exposed. John stepped over to her, and raised an eyebrow. In their private language, he was said 'You're actually wearing underwear today. You sometimes don't when you are around me.'

In response, she gave a look that said 'I never actually expected us to be having sex today, now hurry up and screw me already!' As usual, the Spartan was eager to oblige.

Reaching down, John grasped the fabric of her panties and eased them to one side, exposing her moist and waiting opening. He grabbed her thighs and pulled her upwards of the ground as easily as if she weighed nothing at all. With one solid movement, he pinned her against the wall, and thrust his solid manhood inside her, burying himself to the hilt. Cortana let out a sharp gasp at this, and proceeded to wrap her legs around him, pulling him in close.

John and Cortana's sexual encounters ranged the gamut from slow and sensual to hard and fast. This particular session was the latter, with John thrusting in and out of her like a man possessed, and Cortana wrapping her legs around him like a vice. With the exception of his unzipped pants and her hitched up skirt, neither had bothered to remove any clothing. It was simply the pure and unadulterated lust between the two of them, and that was all that mattered right now.

As she felt John pounding into her like there was no tomorrow, Cortana felt every worry and annoyance that had affected her today vanish into thin air. Sure, she still had some work to do, but after this intense lovemaking session with her man, she probably would not have been bothered by anything.

That was one of the many reasons that she loved John so much; no matter how crappy the day was, he managed to make it better for her. Either by sex or simply by being there for her, it did not matter. Though she could not deny that the sex would have to be a more preferable situation.

The Spartan continued in his thrusts, and the fact that his grunts were increasing in frequency and volume indicated that he was getting close to his climax. At the same time, Cortana felt the oh-so-familiar welling up of pleasure inside her that foretold of her own blessed orgasm.

Before John could reach his peak, however, he slowed his pace and looked directly into Cortana's bright blue eyes, raising an eyebrow in mild concern. Cortana knew exactly what he was getting at. Due to the frequency with which they had sex, they actually feared that it would inevitably lead to pregnancy. Though she would not mind having the Spartan's children in the future, the former AI figure that it was something that could wait, so she had been taking steps to utilise contraceptive techniques.

"It's okay, John," she said in a light gasping tone as the shivers of pleasure persisted in running through her body. "It should be safe for us."

If the Spartan had any cloud of doubt passing over his features, it dissipated quickly, and he resumed his frenetic thrusting pace. Cortana tightened the grip of her legs around his waist ever so slightly, and the pleasure that had been building up inside her resumed its inexorable rise to its zenith.

As one, the couple moaned in sheer bliss as they reached their shared climax, and with one final thrust, John buried himself inside Cortana's womanhood, releasing his juices deep inside her as he did so. Similarly, she leaned her head back against the wall of the lift, letting out one long groan of pure ecstasy as her orgasm washed over her body.

Spent, John leaned forward slightly against Cortana, making sure not to harm her with his massive bulk. Given his status as a Spartan, his breathing returned to normal quickly, but she continued to gasp and breathe heavily for nearly a minute afterwards. They simply stayed in that position, him still inside her and gently pinning her against the wall. The pair gazed into each other's eyes, merely enjoying the intimate moment between the two of them and not wanting to spoil it in any way.

As if fate itself wanted to bring an end to their little encounter, the lights flickered back on as the power returned, and the lift resumed its ascent up the shaft.

Not wanting to get caught, the Spartan and former AI dislodged themselves from their shared intimate position and set about making themselves look as presentable as they were before they even got in the lift. John zipped up his pants and Cortana readjusted her skirt just a few seconds before the lift chimed and the door opened, allowing them to finally step out at their floor.

Okay, I hope you people liked this one because I actually struggled to write it. Seriously, I redid the beginning twice before I was satisfied with it, and even then I found myself seriously blocked! I just hope that you guys like it. As for the Miranda part, I was originally unsure, but since I like the one in the previous chapter, I decided to include it as a precursor of sorts.

By the way, the whole issue with Cortana and her contraceptive thing, I just put that in there because lots of you were bugging me about her possibly getting pregnant. I figure that in the 26th Century, they will have highly advanced forms of contraception, so hopefully that's been dealt with.

And now for the really sad part: I have decided that the next chapter of 'On the Beach' will be the final one. I am sorry to do this to those who have seriously enjoyed this fic, but it is time for me to move on to other things. In particular, I want to begin work on my own sci-fi epic, which I intend to publish for real.

But to those who inspired me to keep writing this, I cannot thank you enough. Originally, I intended it for this to be just one chapter, but you inspired me to change it to an ongoing series, and it just went from there.

I have more thanks and appreciation to give, but I think I will wait until I put up my last chapter for that. Expect it sometime before Christmas, but as for the exact date, I cannot be certain.

Until then, have an absolute blast playing Halo 4! I know that I will.

To repeat what my favourite robot, Bender from Futurama, likes to say: "It's gonna be fun on a bun!"