(A/N) Hey guys, it's update time, and this one is one of my own! Presenting Agent Arkansas' fight against the Covenant, and how the freelancers defeated them. Just letting you all know, we're currently about to begin our work on Phase Two, so I thought I'd link this image as a kind of…teaser for the upcoming fic:

http:''thefreelancercollaboration,wikia,com'wiki'F ile:Targeted,png

(Just replace every ' with a / every , with a . and remove the space).

A little update for all of our Grifball: Running Rampant readers (bit of alliteration for you all), we're still looking for new writers for the fic, and are encouraging anyone with an interest in Grifball and in taking part in this collaboration to apply. I think you'll all enjoy what we've got lined up for all of our fics over the coming months, so keep an eye out!

Finally, thanks to all of you guys who read, and especially those who review too. And, of course, follow and favourite this fic. You guys are awesome, and I'm working on a few ideas on how to display how much we appreciate you.

As always, and indeed, for now, enjoy.


Chapter Seventy-Three – Into the Breach

Agent Arkansas

Written by NicKenny


"No. Don't give up hope just yet. It's the last thing to go. When you have lost hope, you have lost everything. And when you think all is lost, when all is dire and bleak, there is always hope." ― Pittacus Lore, I Am Number Four


Ark walked out of the observation deck, his team following close behind him, South still seething from the rebuke that she had just received. He paused for a moment, his ears registering the noises of a dozen battles being fought throughout the MoI, as the Covenant fought the defending Project Freelancer forces, and for a brief moment Ark truly felt fear for the first time in his life. The task before him was impossible, the enemy numbers too great, and their own side too spread out to even have the slightest of chances.

They couldn't win. It was impossible to think otherwise.

He bit down on his lip, wondering what on earth he could do to make any real sort of difference in this fight, and his resolve wavered until, out of the corner of his eye, his saw Georgia move forward.

"So Ark, what's the plan?" his friend and roommate asked, his voice portraying only eagerness and intrigue, without even a hint of fear. But that was Georgia, after all. Ark didn't think he was capable of feeling despair. Like Florida and York, Georgia always focused on the lighter side, he always held hope close to his heart.

Ark sighed, and steeled himself as he turned around and offered the agent in green a brief smile, before pulling his helmet over his head and sealing it. He couldn't allow himself to appear weak, not in front of Georgia, his one and only real friend on the MoI. He wouldn't…he couldn't let him down.

"I haven't got one yet," he admitted, shaking his head slightly. "But I'm working on it. Until then, we follow the Director's orders: detect breaches, close them, and assist the other teams when necessary."

Georgia and Mich nodded, but South merely folded her arms, sneering in reply. "Inspired decision making, Ark. What, will you want us to just stand down and let the aliens in next?"

Ark turned, his fists clenched, and took a step towards South. "I don't have time for your shit, South, but I expect you to fall in line. If you want to cause trouble, then do it after we get through this thing, okay?"

If Ark expected her to apologise and fall in line, then he was disappointed. South gave off a brief laugh and shook her head furiously. "What right do you have to be giving orders around here? I'm the highest ranking of the four of us on the leaderboard!"

'That damn leaderboard,' Ark thought grimly to himself, wondering, once more, why the Director had established such a divisive way of ranking his agents. Unless, and this was a new thought, and something potentially worth hanging on to, he actually wanted to sow discord amongst his agents. But even so, why would he want to do that? What could he possibly wish to achieve?

Ark shook himself and cast the thought aside for the moment. He had more pressing matters to deal with.

"Look South," he replied, struggling to keep his voice even and calm. "I don't give a shit about what you're trying to prove here, but the Director chose me to lead this team, not you, so if you want to go against his wishes, well then by all means, go off and let the aliens tear you limb from limb. However, if you want to stick with us, and maybe have a chance of surviving this thing, then I suggest that you SHUT. THE HELL. UP!"

He paused for a moment, breathing heavily, refusing to break eye contact with the other agent. South seemed to have the same idea, but, eventually, she looked away, and Ark straightened up, satisfied, his anger already fading away.

"If we're going to be taking on groups of Covenant, I want us to have the best possible chance. Let's hit the armoury, see what we can find there. Sync?"

"Sync," the others replied, South grudgingly.


It had been a mistake, in hindsight, to let Georgia into the armoury. He had immediately frozen up at the sight of all the weapons surrounding him, no doubt salivating underneath his helmet, and, when he had overcome his sudden shock, he pranced about from one weapon to the next, inspecting it, hugging it tightly to his chest like a mother that had just been re-united with her long-lost child.

"How did you get the access codes for the armoury?" Mich asked behind Ark, a note of genuine interest in her voice as she attached her assault rifle to her back and hefted up what looked to be a machine gun turret, the huge gun almost dwarfing the small agent.

Ark just laughed dismissively, waving away her question while keeping an eye on Georgia, who had now just discovered the racks of rocket launchers, and had dropped all of the other weapons he had been carrying in his haste to check them out. "This isn't the first time I've been in here. Project Freelancer might be a high-profile super-soldier project, but their security sucks, quite frankly."

South snorted derisively behind him, but Ark chose to ignore the purple-clad agent, at least for the time being. Hefting a shotgun over his shoulder, he placed the various grenades that he had collected around his waist, and attached a pair of magnums to his side. Mich seemed content with her turret, and South had taken the time to attach a sniper rifle to her back, an assault rifle already in her hands, and a bandolier of grenades attached around her torso. Ark turned to look at the final member of his team, and his jaw dropped almost immediately.

"Georgia, what the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Somewhere behind the pile of weapons in the green agent's arms came a muffled reply. "I just can't decide on one. I want to bring them all!"

Ark sighed and shook his head. "Son of a bitch," he murmured to himself, walking up to his friend and wrestling most of the weapons away from him, leaving Georgia with a rocket launcher and an assault rifle. Slightly, disheartened, Georgia attached the rocket launcher to his back, and exited the room with the others, just as the Director's voice crackled across their radio systems.

"Ark, we have detected a small breach on the second floor, directly above your current position. Get your team down there and repulse the intruders, immediately!"

"Understood, sir," Ark swiftly replied, gesturing for his team to follow him as he turned and began to sprint down the corridors, finding a stairway to the higher level. The aliens had already begun to pour out across the level, but had swiftly come into contact with the PF soldiers, and the ship's defensive structures.

The team entered a world of chaos, as the automatic turrets launched a barrage of fire against the attacking Covenant, backed up by about a dozen PF soldiers clad in their characteristic white armour, expressions of grim determination on their faces as they rained fire down on the aliens.

Ark immediately began firing, unloading a round of shotguns shells into the torso of a huge Jiralhanae, sending the brute crashing down to the floor. Next to him, Mich began firing up her machine gun, the barrels spinning faster and faster until, suddenly, she unleashed a torrent of bullets into the direction of a group of jackals, wearing down their shields within seconds. South had charged forward, sending a group of Unngoy fleeing for their lives. Georgia, meanwhile, had been loading up his rocket launcher, and quickly began firing into the bulk of the enemy's force, sending brutes, jackals and grunts flying.

Seeing a brute begin to charge towards South, Ark leapt forward, sprinting as fast as he could towards the purple agent. The brute, however, was faster, tackling her to the ground, knocking the assault rifle out of her hands. He drew his fist back, preparing to smash it through her visor, but Ark had other ideas, pumping it full of shotgun rounds before it could deliver the crippling blow.

South pushed the brute off of her, got to her feet and turned away, retrieving her assault rifle. Ark nodded and turned to the fight at hand, having not expected any form of thanks, and nor had he received one. The Covenant were beginning to be overwhelmed. Their small force has met heavy resistance from the MoI's defences and the PF troops, long before the freelancers had made it onto the scene. Indeed, minutes later and the fight was over, Ark blasting his way through the final group of Kig-Yar, Georgia by his side.

No sooner, however, had they finished off that particular group then the Director contacted them once more, with more orders for their force. "York's team are under heavy fire at the moment, Arkansas. I do not need to stress the importance in the ship's core remaining out of the reach of the Covenant forces, do I? I am ordering you to assist York and his team in any way you can, we cannot allow them to fall."

Ark replied affirmatively and broke off radio contact, turning to his team. "No rest for the wicked, I guess?" he offered, sensing South roll her eyes beneath her helmet at his words. Sighing slightly to himself, he turned, nodding to the PF soldiers who were attempting to seal the breached hull of the ship, and left without waiting to see if his team were following him. York's team needed help.

And help was on its way.


They reached York's team just in time, as dozens of drones had filled the corridors that the team had been guarding, and both they and the PF soldier with them had been overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the flying monstrosities. He raised his shotgun and began firing, and felt his team follow suit, their combined efforts bringing down the vast majority of the attacking drones.

Mich quickly made her way to Cal's side, and Ark turned away, not wishing to intrude. Those two had about the same level of skill at hiding a relationship as York and Carolina did. He'd be surprised if there was a single person on board the MoI who didn't know something was going on between the two at this stage.

Nearby, South had made her way over to Florida, trading casual insults, unsurprisingly. Ark rolled his eyes and walked over to York, ignoring the remaining drones for the time being. Everything was under control. "Heard you guys needed some help," Ark noted, punching the tan freelancer on the shoulder cheerfully. "Seems like we got here just in time."

York laughed and looked away, checking his motion sensors. "Alright, motion sensors are only picking up a few enemies here, so you might want to head over to someone else now."

Ark nodded and began to turn away, briefly wondering whether anyone on board this ship were capable of uttering a simple "Thank you", when a stomping sound began to echo from the door that had been forced open from the Covenant's earlier assault.

A huge, hulking figure strode into the room, its wormlike body covered in blue armour, spikes covering its back. "Ah, Ark?" York asked quietly next to him. "About that help?"

The hunter raised the cannon attached to the end of its arm, which began to glow a bright green, and Ark felt the now familiar sense of dread rise up.

"Oh, shit!" Cal yelled, diving to the side just as the cannon discharged, completely obliterating the space that he had been standing in only a few moments before. The creature snarled and fired again, this time blasting a whole in the hastily erected barricade behind the freelancers, which the PF soldiers hurriedly attempted to repair.

Ark noticed Cal charge at the behemoth, and rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he watched the freelancer in white and red attack the hunter's near-invulnerable armour with a pair of long knives. Muttering "Here I come, to save the day," to himself, Ark charged forwards, firing at the creature, attempting to distract it before it managed to injure Cal.

Behind him, Ark heard the renewed sounds of gunfire, as another hunter had entered the room and engaged the other freelancers in combat. "Seen anything useful?" he shouted over to Cal, as the hunter swung at them, racking his own brain for all that he knew about the Mgalekgolo.

"Not really," Cal began, as Ark deflected the creature's attempts to swat him with its cannon-wielding arm, the beam that it had just fired connecting with the wall instead of Ark. "The thing has a few gaps around the neck, leg and back, but nowhere that we can get to on our own."

'So, no then,' Ark thought to himself, nodding to himself as he began to formulate a plan. ""Well, we'll need to work together. Not ideal, but given the choices..." Ark trailed off as Cal smirked, proffering one of his two blades to Ark, no doubt remembering the last time Ark had been in close proximity to them. Ark reached out and took it, testing the unfamiliar weight in his hand, before nodding slowly. It would do.

He sprang forwards, slashing at the gap in the creature's knee joint, causing it to howl furiously. It spun around, attempting to slash at Ark, but he ducked and rolled avoiding the creature's attack, just as Cal opened up a new cut along its exposed back. Ark took this chance to slash at its kneecaps, dodging once more as it fired another blast at him, but didn't have enough time to react as it swung its shield at him, sending him flying into the nearby wall.

He got to his feet just in time to dodge the creatures next attempt at blasting him to oblivion, charging back into the fight as Cal leapt forward onto the creature's shield and stabbed it in the throat. Swiftly, Ark circled the creature and leapt up onto its back, stabbing it in the neck with Cal's other knife, just as Cal ripped the blade upwards, removing its helmet. He tossed the blade over to Ark, who caught it deftly with his free hand, before removing the creature's head, sending it toppling to the ground.

Behind them, the other team finished off their hunter with several well placed grenades, and the PF soldiers on the barricade began to cheer, but Ark didn't hold with their cheerfulness. Something wasn't quite right. He tensed, his eyes seeking something out, and he felt Cal do the same next to him. Something was still out there.

Something…unseen.

As soon as he had reached that thought, about dozen plasma sword wielding elites deactivated their camouflage, stepping forward into the light. Raising their weapons as one, the freelancers opened fire onto the elites, but their bullets were stopped short by the Sangheilian's shields. He stepped forwards, unleashing round after round into the chest of the nearest elite, smiling grimly as its shields suddenly gave out, firing off one last round to send it flying backwards.

He was completely unaware of the elite behind him, already raising its sword in preparation for the killing blow, when a burst of submachine-gun fire slammed into the elite's head, deactivating its shields and killing it, causing Ark to spin around and notice another elite embedding its plasma sword into Cal's chest.

He felt himself mouthing the words "Oh shit", dropping his now empty shotgun and unclipping one of his magnums from his side, charging over to the elite and unloading a clip of rounds into its skull, dragging it off of Cal.

Mich swiftly joined Ark as together they dragged Cal back to the barricade. Ark scanned his injuries, really wishing that Massa wasn't currently helping York fend off a particularly large elite, knowing that she'd be far better at this than he is. The sword appeared to have cauterized the wounds, meaning that Cal probably wouldn't bleed out, but he definitely needed immediate medical attention. As they propped Cal up against a wall behind the barricade, Cal began to murmur something to him.

"Still... not square!" he gasped, staring at Ark, who was slightly taken aback at the agents topic of focus, given that he had just been stabbed with an energy sword. "You... shot mine. I shot... yours. I got stabbed. We're... not... square..."

With that, Cal's eyes fluttered shut, and Ark rose to his feet, screaming Massa's name. Leaving York to finish off the now-wounded elite, she made her way over the barricade with ease, pausing as she took in Cal's wounded form.

"Get the defibrillator, now!" she yelled at one of the medics, who Ark noted, with some surprise, to be Killian Jay, the man who had popped his shoulder back into place after Carolina had dislocated it.

Seeing an elite begin to rise over the barricade, Ark charged up to meet him, both magnums in his hands, firing repeatedly until its shields gave way, still wondering how on earth they could actually get through this fight alive, knowing full well that the enemies that they had felled in combat where only a fraction of the full force within the Covenant Destroyer.

If only there was some way to take out the ship, some way to destroy it without having to fight all of the aliens on board. In the back of his mind, a spark of inspiration bloomed and he stood up straight, his eyes canning the corridor for York. "York!" he yelled, "We've got to go. We've just got an idea, but we need to meet up with North's team first! Might give us a chance to even out these odds a little bit! Do you think you guys can hold them off?"

York turned and nodded, raising his arm in a lazy salute. "Go," he said, and indeed, that was all Ark needed. Summoning his team to his side, he opened up a link to the observation deck.

"Director, I have a plan to defeat the Covenant forces. I'll need Virginia though, the plan won't work without her."

After hearing only static in reply, Ark then attempted to communicate with F.I.L.S.S., as his team looked on in confusion. "F.I.L.S.S., why can't I get in touch with the Director?"

The A.I. swiftly replied, her voice as cheerful as it ever was, despite the war being raged throughout the ship. "I'm sorry, Agent Arkansas, but the Director has sealed the blast doors to the observation deck, and closed all communications to that area, in an attempt to delay the Covenant forces attempting to breach that part of the ship."

"Fuck!" Ark cursed, turning to his team, his face set in a scowl beneath his helmet. "I guess that means we're on our own."

Turning away, he then opened up communications with North's team, praying that they were still alive. "North Dakota, do you copy?" he asked, waiting for what seemed like forever for a reply, before a voice suddenly crackled through the static.

"I copy, Arkansas."

Ark sighed in relief, turning back to his team, and noticing that South had her eyes fixated on him, displaying a level of concern for her brother that Ark had previously not realised that she contained. ""I need Virginia," he said. "What do you say we do a swap? Virginia for Mich?"

Behind him, Michigan started, but Ark held up a hand reassuringly, and waited for North's reply. After about half a minute, North's voice sounded once more over the radio. "Sorry, had a little distraction," North said light-heartedly, although his voice was slightly pained. "Sounds good. Should I send her over?"

"Don't bother, we'll be at your position in ten," Ark replied, already beginning to move, motioning for the others to follow.

"Copy that."


"Georgia, you know that drill you've been working on?" Ark asked his roommate, as the four agents sprinted through the MoI, which still rocked from time to time as a reminder of the furious assault still underway.

"Yes, what about it?" his friend asked, his voice betraying his confusion.

"Would it be able to penetrate the hull of, say, a Covenant Destroyer?"

Georgia paused for a moment before lighting up, catching on to Ark's plan, and grinning gleefully beneath his helmet. "Why, yes. Yes it would."

Well then, Ark noted. Seems like they had a plan after all.


They emerged into what had become known as the Sniper Hall minutes later, and Ark was relieved to see all of North's team still standing, although they did, admittedly, look considerably worse for wear. ""You have a plan?" North asked, stepping forwards wearily, and Ark nodded in reply.

"I do," Ark confirmed. "Let's hope it works." Turning then, he gestured once more for his team to follow him, leaving North's team, less Virginia, and Michigan in their wake.

"So what's this plan?" Virginia asked curiously, sniper rifle in her hands.

Ark opened his mouth to reply, but South swiftly interrupted, cutting across him. "We're going to use a laser drill that Georgia's been working on to cut a hole in the Covvies' ship, then detonate a load of bomb in their engine room as a distraction, while Ark attempts to activate the ship's self-destruct sequence."

Ark turned to her, his eyebrow raised, although that facial gesture was sadly hidden by his visor. "Thanks, South, for that wonderful explanation," he said primly, before turning to Virginia. "I'm going to need you to get Georgia and those bombs near to their engines. You're the only one, other than Carolina, with the skills to pull this off. You okay with that?"

Virginia nodded, falling in next to him, and Ark continued on his way to the sixth floor, more specifically, to the room that he and Georgia shared. After a few minutes, several awkward encounters with random aliens who had escaped the notice of other teams and were quickly dispatched, the agents reached the living quarters. Stepping into his room, Ark couldn't help but sigh at the mess.

Georgia hadn't exactly mastered the clean desk policy. Or, indeed, the clean floor policy.

While Georgia fiddled with the drill, making sure it was operational and what not, and directing South and Virginia as to which explosives he would need in order to take down the Destroyer's engines, Ark unlocked the drawer in his desk and took out a small black cube, red flashing lights occasionally breaking out across its sleek metallic surface, lending it an almost surreal appearance.

"What's that?" South asked curiously, strapping the explosives into her bandolier, then handing it to Virginia.

Ark only smiled and shook his head smugly. "This is my Memory Cube, South. This is what I'll use to take down the Destroyer, everything going to plan."

The four agents reached the nearest airlock minutes later, Virginia weighed down with explosives, Georgia clutching his drill tightly to his chest, his rocket launcher on his back. South had folded her arms again, clearly not happy with having been assigned as Ark's personal body guard as part of this plan, but Ark knew that he wouldn't be able to make it into control room without her.

"Okay, everyone's suits sealed? Jetpacks operational?" Ark asked, and the three agents swiftly nodded in reply. "Okay then, F.I.L.S.S. please open the airlock."

"Airlock, opening, Agent Arkansas. Have a nice day."

The airlock opened in front of them, the blast doors sealing behind them in order to protect the structural integrity of the ship. The freelancers drifted out into space, momentarily in awe of what lay in front of them.

The Destroyer easily dwarfed the MoI, its purple hull standing out starkly against the Project Freelancer vessel, its turrets continuing to fire on the already severely damaged Mother of Invention. Ark shook himself, activating his jetpack, using it to boost himself towards the Destroyer. It was a strange sensation, drifting out in space. Despite the proximity of the ship firing in front of him, he couldn't hear anything bar his own breathing. Not a surprise, admittedly, as he was well aware that sound doesn't travel in space, but to experience the sensation himself…it was humbling.

The purple hull of the Destroyer grew closer, and Ark drifted up to it, firmly planting his feet against it before activating his grav-boots, ensuring that he wouldn't drift away before Georgia had done his stuff. The other three agents soon landed next to him, Georgia swiftly declaring that jetpacks where now the second coolest thing ever, after the MAC that they had destroyed, but only just, similarly activating their grav-boots the second their feet made contact with the ship.

Georgia fiddled with some of the dials on his laser drill, then looked at the others and shrugged. "Let's hope this works," he joked, then activated the drill, the end of it glowing a dark red for a brief moment before a laser beam shot out of it as connected with the hull of the Destroyer, sending thousands of sparks up into space.

Georgia gradually rotated the laser around in a small circle, large enough to fit in one agent at a time, but hopefully small enough to escape the notice of the Covenant. After about five minutes, the hole had been completed, and Georgia deactivated the drill, strapping it onto his back with a look of satisfaction.

He gave Ark a thumbs up, and Ark drew his right foot back, smashing it into the circle that Georgia had just drilled around, knocking that section of the ship's armour through, clearing out the small hole that they had just created. The four agents swiftly made their way through, and Ark turned to them, knowing full well that their breach would have been detected, due to change in pressure within the ship.

"Georgia, Virginia, you know what you've got to do. Make your way to the engines as quickly as possible, cause as much damage as you physically can, then either exit through this breach, or create another and exit through that one. Sync?"

"Sync," the two agents replied, then swiftly disappeared, sprinting as fast as they could in the direction of the ship's engines. Ark then turned to South, nodding to her slowly. "Come on," he muttered, jerking his head in the direction of the control room. Let's finish this."

Ark held up his hand, his fist clenched, and felt South freeze next to him. The last ten minutes had been filled with close encounters, dodging Covenant patrols and avoiding cameras, doing all that they could in order to remain undetected. Finally, they had reached the control room, but to Ark's dismay the room was packed with all manners of aliens, including a pair of hunters and several elites in full armour.

There was no way he and South could fight their way through them, especially without alerting the rest of the ship. Everything now relied on Georgia and Virginia.

A moment later, the whole ship shuddered as a series of explosions rang out, and alarms began to sound throughout the bridge. The elites began to shout out commands, evidently perplexed by the sudden assault, with several of them leaving, leading teams of jackals, grunts and brutes out of the room, searching for the intruders. The elite in charge then turned to the two hunters, and snarled out a series of commands, and the hunters left soon after.

Ark desperately wished that he had spent more time studying Sangheili back in the academy, but he had enough to make the informed guess that most of the groups had been sent out to investigate the disturbance near the engines, and to repair what damage they had found, while the rest had been sent to renew the assault on the MoI, as the elite was eager to bring the battle to a decisive end.

When the room had been cleared but for a handful of jackals and three elites, including the leader, Ark raised his hand once more, this time with his fingers splayed wide, and removed two plasma grenades from his side, which he had picked up during the defence of the MoI. Muttering a brief prayer, he let both fly, and sighed in relief as the two grenades attached themselves to the backs of the two elite guards, who turned around, confused for a moment, before they realised what was going on.

Just as the two grenades detonated, South began unleashing round after round from her sniper rifle, downing the majority of the jackals. Ark sprang forwards, magnums in hand, spraying round after round at the nearby Kig-Yar, his eyes locked on the elite shipmaster, who seemed to be stunned by the sudden appearance of the freelancers.

Suddenly, with a snarl, the elite shook himself and drew out his plasma sword, activating it with a flourish. Ark grinned and charged forwards ducking under the first blow, firing his magnums at the elite, whose shields deflected the bullets with ease. Cursing, Ark wished that he had brought his shotgun with him, or at least another weapon with better penetrating power. He really hadn't thought this through.

The elite slashed again, and Ark rolled, dodging once more, but at the alien's third attempt Ark stumbled and fell, and the elite roared triumphantly, smashing his foot down on Ark's chest, pinning him to the floor. He drew back his arm, sword primed for the strike, and Ark shut his eyes, waiting for the inevitable blow to fall.

Moments from his life flashed before his eyes: his first day at the military academy, his first mission as a lieutenant in the UNSC, playing with his brothers and sisters near the village of his birth, his parents' faces smiling over at him from across a crowded table, the sounds of gunfire as he watched his village burn, knowing that everyone in his life had just been taken from him.

The blow however, never came, and Ark opened his eyes after a shot rang out to see the elite collapse, the bullet hole in the back of his head still smoking. Over at the far side of the room, South nodded to him, and began to reload her sniper rifle.

Ark shoved the elite's corpse off of him, and got to his feet slowly, pulling the Memory Cube out of one of his armour's many pouches. He quickly strode over to the control panel, plugging the Memory Cube in with some difficulty, as it hadn't initially been designed to interface with alien technology. He felt South make her way over to him, the last of the jackals downed, and turned to her as she asked a question.

"So, what exactly is that supposed to do? Give you control of the ship?"

Ark smiled and shook his head. "No, that'd be too easy. I'm not familiar enough with these controls to activate the self-destruct sequence, so I'm doing the next best thing. I call this the Memory Cube because it contains the programs of every virus I've ever come across, including several I designed myself. If I activated this in the MoI, it would shut down all systems, including life support, within seconds, and completely obliterate the software on board the ship."

South paused for a moment. "But will that work on alien technology?"

Ark shrugged. "I don't know. But all computer systems are based on the same basic principles, even if theirs is far more advanced than our own. With some luck, this will do enough damage to their ship to make them withdraw, and if not, then at least we tried, right?"

He turned back to the control panel, unlocking the barriers that surrounded the Memory Cube, smiling to himself as it began to upload everything that it contained into the Destroyer's systems. His grin faded soon after though, as they heard the sounds of hundreds of Covenant soldiers pouring back on board the ship, all of them making their way towards the bridge, having realised what the freelancers intended to do.

"Ark, we've got some company!" South yelled, as she removed her sniper rifle from her back and began firing at the Covenant returning to the room.

Ark nodded absentmindedly, his eyes locked on the screen in front of him, waiting for the download to complete. He barely noticed South grunting behind him as the round from a carbine pierced her hip, knocking her to the ground.

'99%...100%!" he thought triumphantly, removing the Cube and turning to help South to her feet. "Are you able to run?" he asked, his eyes locked on the Covenant forces in front of them.

"I think so," South replied weakly, wincing sharply and she rested her hand over the wound.

"Good," Ark replied, removing the remaining grenades from his side, activating them and throwing them into the heart of the enemy. "Because. We. Are. Leaving!"

They began running just as the grenades exploded, providing a momentary distraction, allowing the two to make it to the far end of the room before the Covenant began firing. Ark had his magnums out again, firing blindly, concerned only with escaping before the full power of the Cube took effect. South seemed to have the same idea in mind, firing blasts from her assault rifle from time to time, solely with the purpose of sending the attacking Covenant scurrying for cover, the sniper rifle now on her back.

They followed their previous route down the maze of corridors, fleeing from the wrath of the pursuing Covenant forces as sirens blared throughout the ship, recalling all troops back to the ship in several alien languages. Thankfully, their breach had not been repaired, and the blast doors near it had been halted in the act of closing, no doubt a result of the Cube.

South collapsed next to him just as they reached the breach, her wounded hip no longer allowing her to walk, and Ark stopped in his tracks, stooping down next to her and helping South to her feet, pushing her through the breach. He turned around and smiled as the pursuing brutes and elites cleared the half-shut blast doors, and leapt through the breach, into the arms of space.

South had already activated her jetpack, and was making progress towards the MoI. Ark followed suit, noting that the Covenant boarding craft were in the act of retracting and returning to the ship, and he smiled beneath his helmet, realising that the Covenant had, indeed, decided to withdraw, deciding that this battle was too costly for them to pursue any further.

It had begun to withdraw as Ark set foot on top of the hull of the MoI, but when whoever was now piloting the Destroyer attempted to activate the ship's slipspace engines, the entire ship shuddered, and explosions rang out throughout the starboard side of the ship, purple flames burning fiercely along its side. The ship then appeared to rupture, one half of the ship bursting into the purple flame, the other half simply tearing itself away, falling slowly into the abyss.

Ark grinned and made his way towards one of the ship's many hangers, the sound of cheering greeting his ears as he entered the ship, closely followed by South, who had been held up by her injury, grunting sharply in pain as she landed painfully upon the floor of the Mother of Invention. His plan had worked.

They had won.