Woohoo! Third chapter's done! In case you guys haven't noticed, I've put a half-way decent cover for the story. Yes, I made that drawing.

This chapter was supposed to be a bit shorter but there were some parts that I wanted in there. One thing that I have noticed recently is that there actually is a character in Halo lore whose name is Preston Cole, which is a flipped version of the name for the character I made, Cole Preston. I did not know this, I swear. If I did at some point, I had forgotten it when I wrote this. If I need to change the name, please tell me.

Well, let's continue...

Chapter 3: Of Gods and Morons

The Divine Retribution remained in orbit above Aegis VII licking her wounds. The crew, still a bit shaken by their ordeal, was able to repair whatever damage they could find and continue their duties. Luckily, there were no hull breaches that could not be easily plugged and no one was killed. Only seventeen people were admitted to sick bay; the worst being a rather nasty bump on the head. If it were not for the excited chatter between crew members and the missing tow hooks, it would have seemed like any normal day on a military frigate.

On the bridge, Cole was irritated. In front of him was a computer screen showing the faces of two men. One was of Admiral Charles Pickett, who was an older man with a bold face and a piercing stare. The other was of Director Church, whose face was hidden by a shadow. The only thing that could be seen was that he had a trimmed beard, cleanly-cut hair, and that he wore glasses.

Pickett cleared his throat and said, "I appreciate your concerns about this matter but the protocol was clear, Director. Your disregard for it has very nearly cost us a ship and its crew."

"I only did what was deemed necessary." Church said. "The time it would have taken to observe such procedures would have been too long. The alien vessel would have crashed long before we would have even touched it."

Cole leaned forward. "Even if it meant putting my crew at risk?" he asked. He did not know why he asked since he already knew the answer.

"That ship could have had invaluable technology and knowledge that could benefit humanity as a whole. While I did not expect such an…unexpected reaction, I am sure we could all agree that we have lost many important artifacts that would prove useful to us."

Pickett raised an eyebrow. "I can't believe you would have the guts to say that in front of me. I would normally have you out of this but Central Command, in all its wisdom, decided that you would provide assistance in the salvaging operations. The Director has resources that would make things go a little bit smoother down there." Church nodded and his image flickered out of existence, leaving the face of Pickett on the screen. Cole blinked. The Admiral could not be serious. "Commander Preston, I want you to return to Alpha Station for any repairs needed for your ship." That sounds reasonable. "Then you will remain in high orbit above Aegis VII. You will receive further instructions once you reach the coordinates we will send you."

"Yes, sir. May I ask if I am going to be kept in the loop?"

Pickett sighed and took a breath. "Unfortunately not." Cole clenched his teeth. While he understood that a discovery of this magnitude would require some secrecy, he did not appreciate the idea that Command would just hang him up to dry after nearly being killed by the thing. Would they tell him anything about what it was that put his ship and crew at risk? "Look, I understand how you feel and if I had my way I would at least have you send some people down to assist but ever since that thing showed up, things got a little hectic here." Really? All the top brass ever did was only read reports as far was Cole was concerned. How was that hectic? Pickett continued, "ONI's sure as hell making things difficult."

"ONI?"

"They've been sending troops and supplies to Aegis VII and a lot of security that requires security clearance beyond even my pay grade." ONI, also known as the Office of Naval Intelligence, was the UNSC's intelligence branch and primary subject of nearly all conspiracy theories. Involuntarily, Cole let out a low growl. The Commander did not think highly of the spooks. He had plenty of reasons not to trust them.

"Doesn't it seem kind of strange that ONI had people here long before the alien ship was anywhere near Aegis?" He had overheard some of his crew talking about the spooks and how they were seen on the planet's surface in recent days. The commander did not think much of it since he considered them to be mere rumors; at least until he and his 500 meter-long frigate was pulled thousands of kilometers by a mystical space yacht with little effort.

"Believe me, you're not the only one who has noticed and I can't do much about that." Pickett said. "However, I can ask you to send Dr. Miles down to the crash site to help the other scientists recover and analyze whatever artifacts are down there."

Cole raised an eyebrow. "Miles? Why her?"

"Her background states that she has extensive knowledge of Forerunner technology. The doctor has more than enough expertise for CENTCOM to trust her with this sort of thing. I have already sent her a notice. She will disembark within two hours."

The commander nodded. He knew that Ellen knew quite a bit about the Forerunners. She certainly knew more than Cole could ever hope to, but he never knew she knew enough to be allowed in highly classified operations apparently. He did not show it, but he was concerned. Did she really tell the truth about not knowing about the ship? Did she work for ONI?

"I understand."

"I know you're a bit disappointed about not being involved," Pickett said. "But I don't need you to risk your life and career on this."

I already did just a few hours ago…"Of course, sir."

"Good. At least we didn't lose you like the Golden Mallet. That's one good thing about all this. I'll contact you in 24 hours. Pickett out."

The Admiral's face was replaced by the globe and phoenix emblem of the UNSC. Cole sighed and thought deeply. There was a lot about this that felt odd; the Director of some unrelated project given access to the crash site, ONI being present since day one, and of course the alien ship itself. Something did not feel right but he could not find the words to express it. He certainly needed to talk to Ellen about this and was about to leave to do so when he heard Polasky speak to himself. He and Cole were the only ones on the dimly-lit bridge.

"Would someone please tell me what the happened to the Golden Mallet?!"

The commander glanced at the young helmsman and said as he walked away, "You don't want to know."

When Cole left, Polasky was left sitting quietly in the bridge by himself. "But I really do, though!"

When Church saw it, he could not believe it. Just when he was about to have a halfway decent day, it gets taken away from him in the form of Caboose. He and Tucker could only watch in shock when Caboose called out to them and walked back to the base. It had only been a few hours, yet the kid was able to come back. Did he find a meteorite this early, or did he just grab a rock and thought that was it? But, what really surprised him was what was trotting alongside Caboose. When Blue Team's official idiot entered the base and met the others on the roof, what followed was a white wolf. Church was almost (but not quite) in awe of its snow white coat. It was the purest white he had ever seen on an animal. The wolf sat down beside Caboose, looking bored. Church could not wait to hear about this one.

"Where the hell did you get that?" Church asked.

"Get what? The gun? You gave it to me." Caboose answered.

"I mean the dog, dumbass."

Caboose looked at the wolf and back to Church again. "Oh, you mean Ammy? She followed me."

"The dog followed you," Church said.

"Yeah, I think she likes me."

"Why," Tucker asked. "Because she might need you for food?"

"No man, that's our job," Church replied and paused for a moment. "Wait a minute. Ammy? You named the dog 'Ammy'?"

"Yes! No wait, uh, no. Uhm yeah, it's short for some long fancy name I can't pronounce." Every long name is too hard for you to pronounce. Church thought.

"What kind of name is that for a wolf?" Tucker asked.

"That's a wolf?" Church said.

"Of course it is. It's pretty big for a dog."

It was a bit difficult for him to accept that this was a wolf. Wolves are supposed to be extinct. Church looked at the wolf and did notice its huge size. It was clearly big enough to take on all three of them at once. The wolf yawned, revealing a set of many sharp teeth and a gaping maw wide enough to fit a hand through. However, Tucker definitely had a point there and it is making him uneasy.

"Well that's fantastic. Now our resident idiot has a pet wild animal that could maul us in our sleep."

"Look at the bright side, Church. If Caboose manages to tame her, that wolf would make an awesome guard dog! No Red would ever be able to sneak into our base again!" He had a point there too but Church knew that Tucker wanted more out of it than that. "And having a wolf for a pet would be an awesome way to pick up chicks." Ah, there it is.

Ignoring Tucker's comment, Church asked Caboose where he found the wolf.

"Oh, I was just looking for the falling star like you told me to and I found Ammy lying there all by herself." How the hell did he not get eaten? Church thought. Even more importantly, what the hell is a wolf doing on an alien planet?

"Then I heard her lady voice in my head telling me that she's is good and I asked if she could come with me. She also wanted cookies."

"You're saying that as if that thing is smart," Church said. He assumed that Caboose and his twisted mind had made that up. There is no way that a wolf could talk to him.

Almost immediately, the wolf let an almost human "Huh?" and growled at him with teeth bared and hackles raised. No one knew how, but the wolf was mad.

Tucker took a step back. "Uh oh. Looks like you pissed her off, Church. You might want to take that back."

Church also took a step back and was ready to use his sniper rifle if the wolf turned out to be hostile. Not like it would have helped considering Church's marksmanship. He was shocked. "It can understand me?!"

Unknown to him, a warm feminine voice rang out in the minds of Church's teammates. "More than you know."

There was a moment of silence and Tucker managed to utter a "What?" before Caboose said, "Did I forget to mention that she has telephoenetic powers?"

As the Blues ponder over their lupine visitor, they were being watched by Grif and Simmons some distance away from them. Simmons was actually the one doing the watching while Grif just stood there pretending to even care. Because of his self-imposed ignorance, Grif asked for the third time, "What are they doing?"

"Doing the same thing they have been doing for the past ten minutes."

"Which is?"

Simmons lowered his sniper rifle and looked at Grif incredulously. "I told you ten minutes ago, Grif! One of them went out of the caves with a wolf and brought it to their base."

"Which one?" Grif asked. "The mean one, the annoying one, or the stupid one?"

"The stupid one."

"What could they possibly need a wolf for? What would 'Caboose' need a wolf for"

"I don't know. Probably as a pet or a guard dog or something." Simmons looked through the rifle's scope again. He got a good look at the wolf. It was quite large and had fur so white he could see it without the scope. He did not notice it, but something nagged at the back of Simmons' mind. There was something familiar about that wolf. It reminded him of that wolf he saw in the orb earlier. No, he should not think about that. That was nothing. Before he could continue pondering about it, Grif interrupted his thoughts.

"Are you sure that's a wolf? Aren't wolves extinct or something?"

Simmons shot Grif a glance. "I'm sure it's a wolf. It's too big to be a dog."

"Have you ever seen a wolf?"

"No!" Simmons put lowered his rifle again and threw up his arm in frustration. "Would it matter whether or not it's a wolf? Maybe we should just call it the big fluffy thing with teeth. Does that make you feel better?"

"That depends. How fluffy is it?"

"Jesus!"

Before Simmons could blow a mental gasket, Sarge ran up to them. "Simmons, what do we got here?"

"The Blues have a new addition to their army, sir!"

Sarge gripped his shotgun. "Diabolical! Looks like the Blues have called for reinforcements! No doubt that they are preparing for an attack!"

"An attack?" Grif said. "The only thing they have out there is a dog!"

"Wolf!" Simmons corrected.

"That hardly counts as reinforcements."

"Of course it is!" Sarge said. "Everyone knows that dogs are man's best friend. Those razor sharp teeth and intense loyalty would make a perfect addition to the Blues and their fiendish plans!"

Though Grif was used to this way of thinking, he could not help but look at him in shock. The Blues could hardly control their tank. Hell, they could hardly control themselves. How could they possibly be able to even tame a wolf?

"There's only one way to find out what they're up to. Grif! Go over there and take a closer look. See what they're up to."

Grif did not like the sound of that. "What? Me?! Why me?"

"We need to know what those dastardly Blues are up to!"

"But, but I can't go out there!"

Sarge stiffened up. "Why not, numbnuts?"

"I don't like dogs!"

"You don't like them any more than you don't like bullets?" Sarge pumped his shotgun for emphasis.

"You wouldn't do that."

Sarge aims his shotgun at Grif. This is not the first time and it will not be the last. "Simmons, I'll give ya a promotion if you help me shoot Grif."

"Really?!" said Simmons.

Grif began to back away. "Alright fine, I'm going. I'm going!" And thus, he was gone. For the moment.

Sarge turned to Simmons and said, "Simmons, get the warthog ready. We are going to launch a pre-emptive strike."

"Um, what about Grif, sir?"

"Don't worry about him. He's no longer an issue at the moment."

Amaterasu took in whatever information she could about these people. They were dressed much like the blue armored people of before but they did not seem no where near as fanatical. Their intelligence left a lot to be desired and this left Her concerned. Despite his apparent stupidity, the one named "Caboose" was the easiest for Her to speak to. His child-like mindset allowed her to speak with him freely and she suspects that he could even see the goddess' true form from the moment they first met. Caboose never asked about so she could not be sure. He is certainly the friendliest human she has met so far.

She heard very little about his "teammates", though he did seem to have a high regard towards someone called "Church". The wolf only had a vague idea to what these people were like until she followed Caboose to their base. Her meeting with them was not as pleasant as she had hoped.

There were only two others, wearing identical armor though one was teal colored and the other was lighter shade of blue. As the three Blues spoke and bickered about her, Amaterasu quickly found out that there was something truly wrong with these people. The first few seconds of their conversation were rude and inconsiderate. They, especially the light blue one, shown her little respect and she did not take kindly to that.

When She looked into the mind of the one named, "Tucker", what She found was an immature and childish mind filled with thoughts so perverted, Issun would be normal by comparison. The other, she was not so sure. For some reason, she could not read the mind of Church. She could not even feel even the faintest hint of life. Her senses told her that he was completely lifeless, yet here he was insulting her; a goddess. What was he?

The Goddess stopped growling at them after Her little telepathic message was enough to shut them up. She was no longer surprised by their ignorance of the gods and their powers. This was not her world.

Tucker was the first to speak. "Dude, no way. There is no way that this is real."

"It is very much real, Lavernius Tucker,"she answered. The voice was obviously female, but it was a very soothing voice yet it did not sound weak at all. It was authoritative. Tucker did not care for that at the moment.

"What the? How the hell do you know my name?!"

"Oh, yeah. You see," Caboose said. "She isn't just a telephoenetic. She can read minds. It's kinda cool!"

"More like disturbing."

"Not as disturbing as your thoughts, which involve rather unflattering fantasies about me." she said. He looked at the wolf. It was looking at him, giving no sign that it spoke but somehow he knew that the voice belonged to it. It was in the eyes.

"Wha? You've gotta be kidding me!"

Caboose raised a hand. "Ooh, what am I thinking about, Ammy?"

"Ten bucks says it's nothing," Tucker said.

"Nothing really. There's not much in there." She was exaggerating somewhat. Of course there was something in Caboose's mind, but it did not feel as if it were fully grown. It felt as if he were only a child in an adult's body. Amaterasu wondered what had happened to him that made him this way. She wondered why everyone here was this way.

Church stepped forward and spoke for the first time in a short while.

"Uh, hello? Super confused guy right here! Will someone please explain what the hell is going on?"

"You didn't hear her, Church?" Tucker asked.

"Hear what?"

"The wolf! I think she's got telepathy or something."

Church could not believe what he is hearing. He knew that Tucker was a bit stupid, but not stupid enough to believe in that stuff. For the past few minutes, he heard him and Caboose talking as if there was another speaker present. It certainly was not Church and it could not be the wolf. He heard nothing from the wolf. All it only stared at him with those creepy black eyes. Pupil less black eyes. Church mentally noted how unnatural and eerie they were.

"I don't hear anything. You better not be losing it, Tucker."

"I'm not losing anything!" Tucker turned to face the wolf. "Yo, wolf! Say something to him or tell us what he's thinking."

"Tucker," Caboose said. "The 'wolf' has a name."

"What's her name, then?"

"Okami Amaterasu."

When she spoke the words in a dignified and almost regal manner, the wind seemed to calm and the sun appeared a bit brighter. No one noticed. Instead, Tucker just stared at her and she stared right back.

"I'll have to agree with Caboose on that one. 'Ammy' is much easier to say than...that."

Church threw his hands up in the air. "Well, it's official. Tucker has finally lost his mind and I'm the only sane one in this fucking canyon!"

"Look, I'm not crazy! Ask Caboose, he could hear her too!"

Caboose? Really, Tucker?

"Caboose isn't exactly the most reliable source for gauging sanity," Church rebuked.

"Yes," Caboose said. "I am only the second reliable source for sanitary. The first one belongs to Captain Funnel Cake!"

Church pointed at him and nearly chuckled at that. "See?"

As the two continued bickering, Amaterasu tried to probe into the Church's mind and essence. She could sense nothing. Nothing alive, at least. Church was not mostly empty like Caboose was. It was completely devoid of life. She tried to stare him down past the gold-plated helmet. A god like her was adept at seeing into the very souls of people, yet she saw nothing. How could this be? This man was clearly alive with a physical body and a full personality. She must know who this man is.

"Oh, come on! Ammy, could you at least say something to him?"

Apparently she would not be able to even if she tried. The wolf continued to stare at Church. This was not lost on the Blues. Tucker uttered an, "Uhh..." while Church verbally responded to Amaterasu's stare.

"Okay, that look is beginning to scare me, fleabag."

"Who is this man?"

"That's Church!" Caboose chimed. "He's my super best friend!"

Amaterasu wondered why anyone would be best friends with this mean, and apparently lifeless, jerk. But she reminded herself of what she learned of Caboose, knowing that he is quite strange for a man and she stopped probing his mind thirty minutes ago.

"Caboose," Church said. "Shut up. The dumb mutt isn't talking to you."

"It might not be a good idea to insult the intelligent wolf with psychic powers, Church." Tucker said. "Who knows what other powers she's got."

He had no idea how right he was considering that their "guest" was a sun goddess who had the power to manipulate the very heavens if She wished. They will know soon enough; especially the one insulting her. She will certainly humble him.

"The only power this thing has is to power to make me feel uncomfortable."

"I'm comfortable when she's around me," Caboose said. Tucker took a second to think a little. He felt strangely at peace for some reason.

"Now that you mentioned it, Caboose, I do feel kinda peaceful since she showed up. It's kind of weird."

Church really could not believe what he was hearing. He could see nothing remarkable about this flea-ridden mutt yet his own team was acting as if it were freaking Lassie! Next, they might go and ask it to retrieve little boys trapped in wells or something. Wait, that did not make sense considering there are no little boys living on an alien planet, though Caboose may be an exception to that. That did not matter. Church did not want to see his team go crazier than they already were. That is never good news.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"What's wrong with me? You're the only one who can't hear what we can."

This was getting out of hand. Amaterasu did not have time for this. She needed to find a way home and these guys are Her best bet so far and she will be damned if these Grade-A morons take that chance away.

She called out to them. They still bickered.

"I'm not the one who's hearing voices!" Church said.

"CAN YOU HEAR ME, CHURCH?" Caboose shouted. "CAN YOU HEAR MY VOICE?! I HOPE YOU'RE NOT DEAF!"

"Caboose, shut up!" Tucker yelled back.

"NOW TUCKER IS BEING MEAN TO ME! DID YOU HEAR THAT, CHURCH?!"

"I am not deaf, Caboose. Tucker is just hearing things."

"That's bullshit!" Tucker interjected.

That was it. This mindless bickering had to stop and she had to be the one to do it. There was no use trying to be reasonable. The goddess stepped in between Tucker and Church and screamed at them.

"ENOUGH!"

Back at Red base, Sarge was assisting Lopez and Simmons with the jeep when he stopped. He looked towards the other end of the canyon and back to his comrades. They stopped as well, but only in response to him.

"What is it, Sarge?" Simmons asked.

"Did you hear something?"

"Hear what?"

"I thought I heard a woman scream."

"No he oído nada." Lopez said.
I didn't hear anything.

"Oh, I heard a woman scream, too. What do you think that's about?"

"¿En serio? ¿De verdad que gran parte de un culo beso?"
Seriously? Are you that much of a kiss ass?

"I knew it! The Blues are up to something truly diabolical! No doubt they are torturing one of our own!"

"They don't have anybody except...Sister?!"

"No lo creo. Dejó el cañón hace unas semanas por alguna de las partes. Lo sé porque ella trató de invitar."
I don't think so. She left the canyon a few weeks back for some party. I know because she tried to invite me.

"Hot damn, Lopez! You're right!" Sarge said. "They must be torturing her for information! We need to hurry!"

"O tal vez esos idiotas han encontrado a otra mujer psicótica."
Or maybe those idiots have found themselves another psychotic woman.

Church had no idea what had happened but whatever it was it shut Tucker up. Bad news was now there was a very angry wolf standing between them. He did not know how it happened except it just jumped in between them and growled, no, 'roared' at them. It freakin' roared! It was the most unearthly sound he had ever heard. Both of them had jumped back, nearly falling on their backs. Even Caboose backed up a bit. Just what kind of animal was this mutt?! He had no idea why but he shouted at the wolf, "Hey! What the fuck's wrong with you, mutt?!"

The wolf shot him a snarl. Clearly she understood what he said.

Tucker managed to find his voice and said, "Whoa, Ammy. Calm down."

She looked at Tucker, snarling furiously. "I said, "Enough!" I do not need to hear any more of your meaningless bickering!"

Tucker shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, it's part of our charm."

"We've gotten a lot of practice at it!" Caboose said, forgetting that Ammy had just yelled at him.

"Listen. I do not know who you are or where this place is. You are as clueless about me as I of you, so how about we just start over for a moment and get ourselves more acquainted with each other?"

"Uh, okay," said Tucker.

Church did not say anything. He did not want to upset this wolf any more. He still did not believe that the wolf is actually communicating with his teammates, but he certainly knew that something was up and it could not just be his team going nuts. They were talking to the wolf as if it were intelligent and if it were speaking back. It may be possible, but Church doubted it. He sure as hell did not hear anything but at least the wolf stopped growling and sat back down, never letting down her intense gaze upon them.

Before the wolf could continue, her ears perked up. "What is that?" She thought.

"What is what?" Tucker said.

"That is Tucker," Caboose said.

She looked to the hills, her sensitive ears listening to a strange sound that was growing a bit louder. She walked over to the edge of the base, trying to discern the sound. It sounded like music.

"Hey, Amaterasit! What's going on!?" Tucker said.

Church was about to lose it. "Amaterasit?" He could not take this anymore. His team has gone truly bonkers and now he would have to deal with that, all because of a stupid wolf. He muttered, "This cannot be happening."

"Of course it is, Church," Caboose told him. "There's always something happening. Otherwise, there will always be nothing!"

"Quiet. Do you hear that?"

"No," said Tucker. "No, wait, yeah. Is that music?"

"This cannot be happening!" Church repeated.

Tucker joined Ammy just to see a familiar jeep jump off a hill blasting Tejano music. The wolf quickly jumped off the base and landed to face the oncoming Reds, snarling furiously. She could hear one of them shouting in a heavy accent, "There it is, Simmons! Shoot it!" Another one responded, "Yeah, suck it Blues!" The large turret started spewing shells, unleashing a torrent of bullets in her direction. She tried to dodge them, but the rate of fire was quicker than she anticipated and several bullets grazed her shoulders. She decided to take cover behind a rock until the jeep passes by. The wounds did not hurt that much .

"Hey, Ammy! Where are you going?!" Tucker yelled.

"That's it! I'm going to shoot that mutt!" Church said as he loaded his sniper rifle. He slammed the clip into the weapon and ran up to the edge of the roof.

Tucker turned around. "I don't think that's a good idea, Church. You don't know what she's capable of!"

"I don't care! I'm not going to get myself killed because my team goes nuts over a dog!"

He aims his rifle at the wolf and takes a takes a shot. He misses by a very great margin.

"Fuck!"

Amaterasu noticed the missed shot and screamed at Church even though she knew he could not hear her. "What are you doing?!"

Church answers with three more shots. They also missed.

"Oh, come on! What the fuck is wrong with the sights on this thing?!"

The goddess had no time for this and she expressed that to them even if they did not listen. She will no longer hold back any more because of their astounding ignorance. She will show them Her powers if that is what it takes for them to stop fighting and help her, and perhaps help each other. The Reds came around for another pass, continuing to fire rounds at her. She could hear the Reds shouting at each other.

"Right over there, Donut!"

"I don't know about this, Sarge. This seems kinda cruel."

"It's a Blue! There's nothing that can't be done to a Blue that's cruel. Just run it over!"

She knew what they were trying to do and she knew just how to deal with it. Standing her ground, the wolf stared down the headlights of the oncoming warthog. Just as it came within fifteen feet of her, the wolf raised her tail and the most unexpected thing happened. Suddenly and without warning, something sprouted out from underneath the jeep with great force. It took a second for the Reds (and the spectating Blues) to realize that it was a tree. A tree that spontanously grew from nothing to twenty feet high. The sudden impact of it caused the jeep to fly off the ground for a good thirty feet in the air, flipping several times. Sarge and Donut were flung out of their seats while Simmons was hanging on to the turret for dear life as the warthog came crashing down. When it crashed and tumbled across the field, Simmons was able to let go and he fell to face first into the dirt. When it finally hit a rock, the jeep was completely wrecked and the engine soon exploded for no apparent reason. Miraculously, the Reds were unscathed.

As Simmons walked dizzily to his comrades, he said what was on everyone's minds, "What the hell just happened?"

"It's Mother Nature!" Donut shouted. "She's here to punish us for trying to kill her creations!"

Amaterasu walked toward them with a cautious but confident stride, looking at them with a highly focused stare. Sarge noticed her and said, "Get ready, men. That critter is about to make a final strike. We've got to be prepared for anything it might throw at us!"

"How could you possibly be prepared for a tree suddenly growing from right underneath us out of fucking nowhere? That is something that is physically impossible! How could you be prepared for that?!" Simmons almost yelled.

"Hmm, good point," Sarge replied. He looked to the she-wolf who was well within her striking range and yelled out, "Hey, Blue! What are your last words before we blast you to bits?!"

"I doubt it's going to answer back, Sarge."

Donut suddenly fell to his knees and lowered his head. "Please forgive us, O White One! We see the error in our ways!"

"What are you doing?" Sarge asked.

"Leave us in peace and we will leave You in peace!"

"It's a wolf, Donut," Simmons said. "It's not like it's gonna understand you."

The wolf snapped at them and growled loudly. That was the second time today that Amaterasu's intelligence was mocked. She understood that these people knew nothing of the gods but their arrogance was getting too much for her to handle. She was, however, sympathetic to the pink one since he was the only one of them to show even a shred of respect to her.

Sarge and Simmons were seemingly unfazed by her comeback but Donut was losing it. "Why are you looking at me like that? I didn't mean to try and run you over!"

Sarge reloaded his shotgun and brandished it. He did not know what the wolf was doing and he did not want to find out. "Hey! We haven't heard the last words from you yet! How are we going to settle this properly?!"

"I-I'm sorry! We're all sorry! Simmons, you're sorry, right?"

"A wolf, causing that?" Simmons pointed at the tree. "That's not possible."

"What else could have caused that?"

"It's a wolf! It's only capable of two things: eating and howling."

"Sarge?"

"Apologize to a Blue?! Why would I do that? You must mistake me for someone else."

Finally having enough of this, the wolf called out to them. "Your apology is accepted."

The response was not dissimilar from that of the Blues. They stared at her for a moment before they all broke the awkward silence. "...Huh?"

Sergeant Martin Kane had been sitting inside the cramped space of a Pelican for at least twenty minutes and already he was in a bad mood. Sharing in his dread were five other marines and a civilian. He was not sure what to think of the woman. Sure, where they were going was teeming with eggheads but Kane felt that Dr. Miles knew something that he did not. The fact that his squad was sent down to protect her at the crash site did not make him easy. All he was told was that a spacecraft of undetermined origin crashed here. That was all he and probably 95% of the men working down there knew. His men, and even himself had an air of great uncertainty. The lack of information did not help. The doctor did not seem as uncertain. She was too calm.

As the Pelican continued it's descent, one of the marines leaned over to the woman and asked, "Hey, what are you here for?"

She looked at him blankly. "Oh, I don't know. Trying to figure out an artifact that may benefit the human race or something? I'm certainly not here to be your personal entertainment."

Several of the marines looked at each other and chuckled amongst themselves.

"Bit a joker, eh Doc?" another marine said.

"Theoretical physicist, actually." she replied.

"Another egghead. That figures."

Kane raised his hand. "Enough, people. We're just a security detail. Nothing more. I don't want to hear any more bitching about it. Surely you can handle a little thing like that."

That shut them up. For a while, anyway. A few more minutes passed without a word spoken. The marines soon got irritated, not by their guest or the cramped space, but by Mozart blaring over the loudspeakers. Inevitably, one man asked, "Why do we have to listen to this old stuff, Sarge?"

"Watch your mouth. This 'stuff' is your history. It should remind you what you're fighting to protect!"

"I don't know about you, Sarge; but I didn't join the Corps to listen to freakin Vivaldi!"

"Yeah," one marine concurred.

"It's Mozart, you jackass! A true classic that has lasted for nearly a thousand years," Kane replied.

The young marine turned to his peer and said, "If it really is that great, then how come nobody listens to it anymore? I certainly wouldn't mind if this particular part of my culture gets wiped out by whatever's out there."

"Yeah," said another. "Better it than us!"

Kane glared at his men. "Maybe you could ask the freaky genocidal aliens that the next time you see them, Kaseem. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to grant your wish."

Soon, a female voice over the intercom was heard. It was the pilot. "We are approaching the LZ. We'll be landing in less than five. Hope you enjoyed the ride, boys!"

Miles held back a snort, thinking about the pilot's not mentioning of her being there. She chose not think too hard on it as she felt the landing craft stop with a soft thud. The rear door slowly opened, revealing a sight full of tents, parked warthogs, and platoons of men going about their duties. The sun was shining brightly, nearly blinding her. The men stood up and stepped off the dropship. She picked up her bags and followed them outside.

The doctor took in her surroundings. The air felt more open than she had experienced in previous military installations. Sure, there were plenty of things here that suggested otherwise: the dull buildings, the vehicles, the men barking at each other. But here, the place did not feel as closed in and artificial like long-standing fortresses and spacecraft. She figured it was the rushed nature of the operation combined with the surrounding area of mountains and forests. In the distance, she could see the large hulk of the spacecraft; well, whatever is left of it. It was now just a big heap of metal in the middle of a grassy field. Surrounding the massive mess of alien spacecraft was the military compound, complete with men and vehicles rushing to and fro. It was quite a sight.

She soon overheard some of the marines as they left the pelican.

"Thank god we don't have to listen to that anymore!"

"Yeah, you got that right. That Beethoven crap was getting to me."

"It's Mozart!"

Miles heard the sound of boots approaching from behind. She turned to see Sergeant Kane run up to her. He cracked a smile. "Interesting place, eh Doc?"

She replied with a scoff, noticing the four other marines catch up. "Yes. Very interesting…"

As they started walking down the path to the main compound, Miles noticed two men approaching. One was a young man with short hair in a civilian outfit. He had little hair on him and was wearing sunglasses. The other was what really caught her attention. It was a man wearing steel-colored armor with yellow trim, but it was not the sort that the marines were wearing. It was MJLONIR armor; the same armor worn by the famous Spartans that proved vital to humanity's survival. This armor was the toughest suit humans have built, designed to deflect bullets and absorb explosions. However, Miles knew that this was not a Spartan. For one thing, he was too short.

When the two groups met, the man with sunglasses spoke first. "Ah, you must Doctor Ellen Miles. My name is Yori Hiroto. I am the one in charge of the retrieval and on-site analysis of any artifacts found here. And this…" He pointed to the armored man standing next to him. "This is Agent Washington of Project Freelancer."

Washington nodded and said, "Hello."

Miles mentally shook her head. She heard about the Freelancer Project and what it was created for. The only thing she really knew was that Freelancers were soldiers who tested new equipment, but there was more to that but she could never find out what.

She nodded back to him. "You must be the one sent to assist us in our little operation here."

"That is correct, Doctor Miles. I am here to help with security surrounding the artifact."

Kane scoffed. "As if there isn't enough security to go around. I mean, all this for a lifeless spaceship?"

"What do you mean, Sergeant?" Hiroto asked. As if on cue, a Scorpion tank rolled past them. Soon afterward, two fully armed warthogs drove by.

The Sergeant held up his finger and pointed at the vehicles driving away. "That is what I mean."

"I believe that you of all people would understand the old adage: "Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.' We have no idea what we're dealing with here."

"I of all people?" Kane looked away for minute before gazing into Yori's brown eyes.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about."

"Do you?"

Suddenly, a burst of static interrupted the tense conversation between them and a voice rang out from a handheld radio on Yori's person.

"Dr. Hiroto! This is Salvage Team Delta, are you there?"

He did not avert his eyes from the soldier's as he picked up the radio and spoke into it. "This is Hiroto. What is it?"

"We found something. We believe it is a survivor."

Everyone froze and looked at each other momentarily. They all saw that the look of concern and each other's faces. This may be serious news. Hiroto pushed the button again. "What can you tell me about it?"

The next thing that everyone heard would be something that they all would not easily forget because it is something they all did not ever expect to hear under any circumstances in their strange and unique lives. "It's human. It's a man wearing funny lightish red clothes."

As the men listened in confusion, there was another voice on radio. "It's not lightish red, you idiot! It's pink. The guy's wearing pink clothes."

And there's that chapter. I do not know how long the next one is gonna take considering the holidays and all. The next one may actually take a while but I will get it done.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and as always, leave any reviews and comments you may have and I'll see you next time.