Chapter Three

It's Cortana Chief; She's alive. That statement resonated in the Chief's mind like a crate full of cluster bombs. It gave the rival Spartan below him time to maneuver out from under the Chief's armored boots. He'd made sure to put some distance between them. John's armor had several minor dents and scratches on his helmet and chest piece; however, surprisingly, he had sustained little to no damage to his body.

Umbra on the other hand, was barely able to keep upright; The Chief had nearly beaten him senseless with multiple blows to the head. The only reason he hadn't been knocked out was because his former assailant was too shocked to continue his barrage. The notion that Cortana was in fact alive had caused the Chief to stagger backwards, away from Umbra. His mind had gone completely blank. That- that can't be possible. He didn't notice that the rest of his squad had recovered, or that one of them was shaking his shoulder. He phased back into reality. He saw Kelly standing over him, and that he was also down on one knee. She was saying," Chief- Chief, talk to me!" He replied," I- I'm fine." He turned his head. Umbra- or Luther-749, as he claimed to be, was back on his feet, though he'd made no move to attack.

The other two members of Blue Team had him in their gun sights. Fred had managed to recover his DMR, while Linda had switched from her sniper rifle to a magnum pistol. He called out to them on him commlink. " Blue 1, Blue 2, stand down!" There was a pause, before Fred responded, " Repeat Blue Lead…?" "Stand down. Umbra isn't a threat." Linda chimed in, her magnum still pointed and ready." And why is that?" It was then the Atlas spoke up on John's behalf." If some of this new data I've just read through is to be believed, both Umbra and his AI have some form of connection to… Cortana." That gave all of Blue Team pause. The first one to speak was Kelly. " Cortana? What are you talking about?" "Unlikely as it seems, that's the only conclusion I can come to." Linda interjected," That's ridiculous; Chief, you saw her die!" " I saw her disappear." John turned his head toward Umbra." Is this true?"

Said Spartan straightened up a bit, prompting his two counterparts to ready their weapons. He put up his hands in a gesture of peace." I don't know anything about your AI, but I-we- needed your help. I'd hoped to have made our encounter a bit less… antagonistic. However, I suppose fate chose an alternate path." He took a step forward, prompting Linda and Fred to become even more agitated. John motioned for them to stand down. " Help with what exactly?" It was at this point that Jesse cut in." It's somewhat difficult to explain." In John's helmet, Atlas spoke up." I'd suggest that you let her speak; It could give me enough time to access her systems." John thought this over for a moment. Then he addressed Jesse. "Go on. "There was a pause, before the AI spoke again." Assuming that you were properly briefed, Spartan Umbra-or Luther-749 as you now know him- was last seen on Gao five months ago. From all files we… borrowed…. From Romanov Station, he was reported as KIA." John nodded." Go on." "That was when he found me. I don't remember anything from before that point, but once we came across each other, circumstances convinced the two of us to stick together." Kelly asked," What circumstances?

Luther replied," Well, there was having to contend with insurrectionists and Storm Covenant, not to mention- well, it'd be better if I showed you. Jesse, transmit the recording from Gao." Moments later, a small video feed appeared on the HUDs of all of Blue Team. At first, the entire screen was dark. After a few moments however, they began to make out jostled bits of movement. It wasn't long before the scene came into full view: It appeared to be what was left of a small city, with chunks of debris still plummeting off buildings. Gunfire was being exchanged, though it was impossible to tell from where due to all the movement of the camera. It wasn't any of this that caught their attention the most. All four of them could clearly make out a very large form rising into the air.

The camera- presumably installed in to Luther's HUD- steadied for only a few moments, only to be sent shaking again as a ear-piercing metallic roar echoed throughout the area, followed by a massive shockwave. At that point, the feed cut off before disappearing. Fred was the first to speak. What in the hell was that?"" That was what happened on Gao five months ago," Luther supplied." And events such as this have been increasing in their frequency ever since." Linda shook her head." If this actually occurred, wouldn't the UNSC have tried to intervene?" The response to this was a very loud snort from Luther. "Sorry, I find the notion of ONI allowing anyone in the navy to do a job somewhat amusing." John asked," How so?" Luther continued to speak." Who you think I've been hiding from for all this time? ONI wants me dead!" "And why is that?" Jesse spoke on Luther's behalf. "It's me that they're after." "Explain."

It took only a few moments to understand; According to the AI, ONI had detected an abnormal frequency originating from Gao, and had come to the conclusion that it was being broadcasted from some Forerunner instillation. HIGHCOM had sent in Spartan Umbra to investigate and retrieve any artifacts that were found. As it turned out, there was an instillation located there, though there was only one artifact that was found; A small chrome-colored data chip. That chip contained Jesse. The pair wasn't alone for very long. ONI had long before begun to view Luther as a threat, and had taken this opportunity to send a black ops squad to eliminate him. They had been but a hair's breadth from that goal, and Luther had only escaped when some giant construct buried deep within the structure had suddenly awoken and departed, bringing down its tomb, the city nearby, and nearly everyone there with it. Luther had barely escaped with his life, thanks to Jesse teleporting him out of the destruction. It was then that the pair had made a deal; Luther would protect Jesse , and Jesse would assist Luther in stopping these events, and to exact his revenge against ONI.

They'd spent the next five months jumping from planet to planet in the Outer colonies, recording and analyzing at least half a dozen events like the first, each attack leaving more destruction in its wake than the last. The process was simple; The mammoth constructs would rise from underground, let off several concussive blasts that would fry the innards of any unshielded tech, before finally exiting via a slipspace bubble. Jesse had managed to gain brief access to the most recent entity in hopes of discovering exactly where these machines were going. While the attempt had been unsuccessful, she had managed to glean a small scrap of rather interesting information; Before this latest monstrosity had arisen, a small command code had been transmitted into its data core, and the digital 'footprint' it had left matched only a single known life form: UNSC AI CTN 0452-9, better known as Cortana, Master Chief's companion.

" After we discovered that little tidbit of information," Luther continued," We decided that you might to be a… useful ally." Linda asked, "If that's the case, why did you two attack Romanov Station?" Luther responded," Two reasons; First of all, It would make Osman and her lapdogs believe that I was in fact working with the insurrectionists to secure weapons such as the Composer. Since we had been staying in the Outer Colonies, it would seem fairly convincing." John asked," And the second?" " According to the data files, you were given an immunity to the Composer from this Librarian. As far as I know, you are the only person in the UNSC that has received such an ability. Some of the eggheads ONI employs theorized that you may have been endowed with other… gifts. I intend to put that to the test." Fred lowered his DMR." Even if what all you're saying is true, you actually expect any of us to help a fugitive? How do we know you aren't actually working with the NCA?" The addressed person turned to look at him. "You're right. I don't expect you to trust me but," At this he turned back to the Master Chief." I do expect it from your leader." The Chief was baffled." What are you talking about?"

Luther snorted." Please, I've seen your pysch eval. You and Cortana are likely the only reason that Humanity still exists; You have a bond. How could pass up a chance to get here back?" John didn't have anything to say to that. This rogue Spartan II was right; There had been a very real bond between John and Cortana. He had even considered her to be the closest thing to family besides his fellow Spartans. Trusting this guy was likely the worst decision he could make and yet….. He simply couldn't shake the feeling that all he'd just been told had been the truth. Luther's tactics made sense; Leading the enemy astray to complete one's actual objective was an ancient strategy. Not to mention that the fact that he was in fact immune to the Composer. Of course, it was entirely possible that Luther was using said data to his own ends.

If that was indeed the case, it had the intended effect. There were only two possibilities; One was that he was lying to save his own skin. The other…. Was that he was actually telling the truth. He turned back to Luther." What's in this for you? If we do help you ,that is?" Atlas' digital jaw practically dropped. "Sir, you can't be serious-" A green dot of light told him to remain silent. The rest of Blue Team also received an identical message. Luther steadied himself before answering," In a word? Revenge. Of course, I do have saving innocent lives as a high priority as well." John took in a breath, and uttered a silent prayer to whatever god that may exist that he wouldn't regret this decision. "Very well. Luther-749, I agree to assist you in your goal until its completion." Luther's helmet depolarized, revealing his satisfied expression. " I'm glad you came around." Fred spoke up." Sir, with all due respect, we can't trust him! He stole valuable data from a UEG facility." "Your concern is noted Blue One, but I said I would be accompanying Umbra. I'll handle this myself." Kelly immediately chimed in." That isn't going to happen, Chief. " Linda added," If you are planning on going through with this, you're not going alone."

Fred sighed." Well… they can't court martial all of us, right?" Atlas was the last to speak." I… suppose… I might as well go along as this. Just nothing crazy, understood?" John merely grunted in response. Luther spoke up." Well, now that we've got that business out of the way, I'll call in my Prowler." Atlas asked," We have a ship of our own; Why not use that?" Jesse responded," The prowler is faster, and its more than likely that tug you came in on has a tracking device planted on it. I personally saw to it that our own ship has nothing to worry about." John said," Call it in." " Understood. " The Chief turned away from Umbra. Fred stepped towards him." Sir, you're sure this is the best course of action?" His superior remained silent before saying," Your concern is noted, Blue One, but I'm willing to go through with this. If it does turn out to be a trap, I'm sure its nothing that we couldn't handle."

Later…..

ONI command cruiser Reaper of Light, undisclosed sector of human space, 2558

Over the years before and since the Human Covenant War, ONI had seen to it that some of the more advanced toys in its arsenal remained out of the hand s of the UNSC. As typical with the organization, anything they felt was best kept off limits to every other human organization was hypocritically harnessed for their own use. Exhibit A of this policy was the ONI's flagship, the Reaper of Light. The ship was essentially an oversized prowler, equipped with an active camouflage generation ten times as powerful as any UNSC counterparts.

The device that cloaked the cruiser had taken years to successfully design, as most machines of similar purpose had to be fairly small to prevent them from imploding. With access to more advanced Forerunner technology became available, ONI was the first to reap the benefits of such relics. Regardless, very few even within the secretive intelligence bureau knew of the existence of such a ship. One of those few was Admiral Serin Osman. She'd risen to this position three years prior, and had become an extension of policies imposed by her predecessor, Margeret Parangosky. Said Admiral was currently alone in her personal quarters scanning through some reports compiled in her personal compad. She had a fairly well built frame hidden beneath her military uniform. Her dark hair was tied back in a bun, keeping it out her sight. She appeared to be within her mid-forties, with very few stretch marks. Presently, there was an electronic chirp from the edge of her desk, followed by the appearance of what appeared to be a holographic cube, shaded a navy blue. The cubical entity floated over to Osman. This was fourth generation AI BBX 8995-1, otherwise known as Black Box. He acted as both Osman's assistant and personal informant in regards to what activities some of the branches within ONI were engaging in. "Admiral Osman?" The admiral placed her compad face down before responding," Yes, BB, what is it?" The AI hovered inches above the table." I regret to inform you that Blue Team's mission to capture Spartan L-749 was… unsuccessful. We lost all radio contact with them only a few hours ago." If this news provoked Osman, it was impossible to tell through the proverbial mask she wore. " Did He kill them?"

"Unlikely. The drone we sent to follow them didn't find any bodies. That leaves only two options: Either He took their bodies with him….or….he's somehow managed to persuade them to his cause." Black Box waited for a reaction. He didn't get one." Ma'am?" Osman finally spoke. " Umbra has proven to be more of a… nuisance…than expected." BB noted she seemed to be talking more to herself." Do we have any operatives on the Infinity?" "Give me a moment."

It took but an instant for the AI took complete his task." Ah, yes, here we go. One Jameson Locke. Hmm, seems he used to be an assassin during the war. Now he's the leader of a Spartan squad: Fireteam Osiris. Quite the record if I say so myself."

The cube turned back to Osman. "Personally, I would've preferred someone who worked solo, but he's the only agent available there. Perhaps we should send in one of our own instead?" The Admiral paused for a moment before saying," Who do you have in mind?" BB's hologram was replaced with that of a female Spartan dressed in Mark VII Mjolnir armor. Osman leaned forward." Naomi…" She quickly straightened. " Inform her that she'll be assigned to work with Osiris. I want every operative we have to look for any anomalies. Understood?" "Yes Admiral," Black Box said before disappearing. Once again, Osman was alone. She leaned back in her chair, muttering to no one in particular," Watch your back, Umbra; You made this will be the last you get away."

Whoa! So short and yet so long! *takes a few steps back and collapses in chair.* Ok, everyone, here's Chapter Three. I'm sorry if it seems a bit rushed; I'm on a bit of a deadline here and I wanted to make this short without being underwhelming. I have a bad habit of trying to get things done too fast. Anyway, I want you to let me know what you think of my portrayal of Serin Osman. In canon, she started out pretty well, but later became the typical evil spook we see in Hunt the Truth. I'm no fan of ONI, and I'm trying to show them as the corrupt group that always goes with the cloak and dagger option. Let me know what you think! I

Sincerely, Sierra Nova

P.S., just-another-crazy-man, my thanks for the positive reviews!

P.S.S. Next chapter will likely be for Halo: Resurrection. See you then!