December 16th
2583
Reach Station Epsilon
Orbiting Reach
18:10 UNSC time
3rd Person POV:
All around the station, UNSC marines run frantically down the narrow, grey corridors. Outside the massive UNSC station, the Super MAC cannons are firing every round they have at the shielded Separatist and Insurrection cruisers while they also fire upon the Swords of Sanghelios and Republic warships.
'The Galactic Republic…' Master Chief thinks to himself as he also runs down the halls, holding an assault rifle in his hands with Spartan-IV Fireteam Osiris following closely behind him. 'Their betrayal is unnatural. But if the UNSC is to survive, I will do what I must.' From outside the station, the group notices the flashes of blaster fire flying between the Separatist and Republic cruisers, with the Separatists being destroyed at a faster rate than the Republic cruisers. While they are battling, the Swords of Sanghelios ships fire upon the Insurrection fleet, a mash of black UNSC warships and even a handful of black cruisers that were once used by the Covenant. The Insurrection's capitol warship, Staff of Charon, launches several Pelicans which swerve out of reach of the waves of fighters engaged in a dogfight and make their way to Station Epsilon.
Chief continues running down the corridors, towards the nearest docking bay entrance with the doors sealed. Marines are standing in front of door, pointing their weapons at the door. "Who's the commanding officer?" Spartan Locke asks, looking at each and every marine.
The marines look at each other before one of them lifts up his hand. "I am, sirs."
"Status report. Now."
"The Insurrection dogs have taken this docking bay. Several of them slipped through to the rest of the base before the spare blast shields could be lowered. We're hoping that we can ambush them when they cut down the door and blow them the fuck away. Permission to do so, Chief?" The Sergeant replies, looking at the Spartan-II.
Master chief just stares back, creeping out the Sergeant slightly since he can see his own reflection in his orange visor, before responding. "Proceed." He then walks towards an open weapons crate and grabs a Spartan Laser before pointing it at the blast door, as the edges start glowing with a bright orange light. The troops watch the door closely, hearing the sounds of battle and the screams of death in the nearby corridors but drowning it out and focusing on the door in front of them.
Within a minute, the door explodes and a thick cloud of smoke billows outward. "Fire!" Chief shouts, firing a whole clip of ammo from his assault rifle while the marines and the other Spartans do the same. On the other side of the smoke, several Insurrection soldiers scream in pain before the bodies collapse. A long moment passes before a massive barrage of bullets return fire and make the UNSC forces duck behind cover, but not before a marine receives the brunt of the bullets and falls backward, dead.
"Damn, they're securing turrets." The sergeant shouts. "What are your orders?"
"Spread out and provide covering fire." Locke says then turns to the taller Master Chief. "Chief, we will provide you with the cover necessary to take out their turrets. Go!" All at once, the UNSC marines follow the Spartan's orders firing into the smokescreen that is starting to lift from the scene. The Insurrection soldiers stop firing the turrets, dodging to the sides. Chief stands up from the barricade of crates, pulling out the Spartan Laser and priming it. The Insurrectionists grow a backbone and charge forward, only to notice the Spartan Laser. They start running away, but it is too late. The massive beam of red light shoots out of the tip and collides with the turrets that have been set up. The explosion that results sends shrapnel flying in all directions and impale themselves into the soldiers. While the relatively untrained soldiers roll on the ground, screaming in pain, the UNSC marines jump up from behind cover and gun down the enemy. "Clear the docking bay!" Locke shouts then pulls out his primary weapon and leads the group past the hastily-made barricades and the turrets as they make it towards the empty docking bay. It is an enormous docking bay, easily holding four Charon-class light warships.
"Clear." One of the marines says, looking in the far corner. Master Chief stares out into space, watching as another Super MAC cannon explodes from constant barrage by Insurrection and Separatist fire. Upon seeing all this, Chief finally comes to a decision that he should have realized many years ago.
"Board the warships, and get the crews to their posts. Once we have enough people on a ship, have them immediately take off." He says to the Sergeant as he passes by.
"Yes, sir! Marines, fall in!" He shouts, then marches towards the nearest Charon-class cruiser with the surviving squad of marines also boarding the ship.
"What are you thinking, Chief?" Locke asks as he runs down the Master Chief, a little suspicious of the senior Spartan's thoughts.
Chief looks at Locke. "Ensuring your escape." He then turns around and walks towards the nearest weapons crate being hauled by a marine and grabs a turret gun. "I'm going to defend this docking bay while you and your Fireteam rescue the other marines."
Locke stares at the aging Spartan, confused on where this is going. But after a pause, he snaps to attention. "Very well. Fireteam Osiris, with me!" Upon that command, he and the other Spartan-IVs charge back through the opening and aid the others.
Chief holds up the turret gun, and prepares himself for what could be the fight of his life.
50 klicks outside Manassas
Reach
18:15 UNSC time
"Ha ha! Suck this. And this. Oh, you want some of this too?" Simmons shouts as he fires the grenade on the back of the Warthog at the small clone squads, sending them flying in different directions or making them blow up, while Grif continues to drive through the grassy fields towards the source of the nearest distress beacon. Eventually, they reach a vast clearing filled with the bodies of mutilated UNSC marines.
"Great Fourth of July! This place is as red as my armor; and they aren't even my enemies!" Sarge says, getting out of the passenger's seat once the Warthog comes to a stop.
"Ow…" Simmons says, also jumping out and looking around. "My hands hurt very badly."
"Maybe you should have taken your hands off the trigger sometime, dumbass." Grif says, deciding to just sit in the driver's seat and stare at his comrades.
"Huh. Why I do feel like I've heard that before?" Simmons asks, scratching the top of his helmet in curiosity.
"Can the pillow talk, ladies. We have a mission to perform." Sarge says as he walks into the clearing, not lowering his shotgun by an inch. He squats down lower and examines one of the corpses, with the top half of his body blown off. "Strange markings. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were… blown up."
"I'd say you're correct." A voice says behind them. Sarge and Simmons whirl around, but come face-to-face with an entire battalion of Insurrection and clone soldiers, with a squad of soldiers who are similarly colored to the Reds and Blues, with a cobalt-armored soldier standing in front and holding a sniper rifle.
"…Church?" Simmons asks, looking at the lead soldier with shock.
"I am no friend. I am the spawn of your worst nightmares." The man says before turning to the soldier who is wearing the exact same-colored armor as Sarge with the exception of a light blue visor. "Surge. Take out the Warthog."
"Aye, sir!" Surge says, then fires his railgun at the Warthog.
Grif yelps in shock before jumping out of the Warthog and narrowly avoiding getting blown up. "What the hell! You just killed a Puma, you dickhead."
The lead man stops in his tracks. "Biff…" He mutters before shaking his head and looking back up. "You really don't know what kind of shit-hole you're in, do you?"
"I dunno." Sarge replies, lifting up his shotgun. "But it looks like you've got us surrounded. I like those odds; might allow me to go down swinging."
The man laughs manically. "If that is your wish, so be it. On my command, fire at will." The troops lift up their rifles.
"Aw, come on. This is following literally every movie cliché ever." Simmons says as he lifts up his rifle, not sure who to shoot first.
Upon the third count, a massive explosion can be heard in the distance. "Oh, what the fuck is wrong now?" the man asks, turning around. Then he freezes in place upon seeing the massive green Cyclops Power armor charging towards them at full speed. "Gang way!" He then shouts before leaping to the side. The other former sim troopers also leap aside, while a handful of clones and Insurrectionists get blown aside by the repeated gunfire.
"Get on!" Fred shouts as he turns towards them.
"Damn it. I never got to try out my new one-liner." Sarge mutters, staring up at the Cyclops as it approaches. Simmons started stuttering in fear while Grif is not much better. But Fred ignores their protests and uses one of the arms to scoop up the trio of Reds and sets them down on his shoulder plates before turning around and running away.
"Kill the traitors!" The man shouts before firing his sniper rifle up at them, albeit poorly. The other soldiers recover from the ambush and begin firing upon the open-top mech as it starts running from the group at top speeds.
"Why in Sam Hill are we running from that loser? We could've taken them." Sarge protests as they continue running through the grassy fields back towards Manassas. "We had all the ammo needed to win."
"Uh, sir?" Grif deadpans. "It was all in the Warthog. And it blew up."
"Goddamnit! Our enemy is smarter than I gave them credit." Sarge shouts, shaking his shotgun in the air.
"Yes. While he may be labelled as unstable and downright psychotic, the leader of the ambush, former simulation trooper for Project Freelancer Mark Temple is someone you shouldn't underestimate." Fred says as he continues piloting the mech towards the vast walled city where numerous Insurrectionists and clones are charging through the opening in the wall, firing their weapons into the abandoned city.
The clones turn around and start barking orders at each other. As they do so, they are all slashed to pieces and once the cloaking devices are de-activated, reveal themselves to be a small squadron of Sangheili holding the newest model of energy swords.
The mech continues marching through the walls, past the numerous barricades set up the Sangheili and the UNSC who are all staring at the group as they pass by in awe.
Eventually, they reach the walled Manassas Spaceport, where the massive metal gates slide open to allow entry. It is after the mech passes through the gates does Fred lower the mech to the ground and de-activating it before hopping out of the pilot's seat and jumping to the ground, followed by the Reds.
"What's going? Bravo team, where's your Warthog?" Lieutenant Redfield asks, his face holding confusion and downright annoyance.
"It was all an ambush, sir. General Mark Temple and his forces massacred the platoon of marines and activated the distress beacons to spread our numbers out more." Fred says, a semi-solemn look on his face.
"Jesus. In that case, then we have no choice." He then turns to a nearby communications officer standing next to a make-shift communications center. "Officer, relay these orders on all UNSC cannels; all rescue teams are to be pulled back to Manassas immediately. Once all of them, especially Alpha team and Charlie team return, we will evacuate all remaining ground staff and get the hell out of here." He then looks to the nearby mountain range, as more explosions go off from the last firefights breaking out. "Before things can get any worse."
Base of Malachite Mountain
18:20 UNSC time
"Commander." A clone officer says, saluting the orange-striped clone, "The UNSC are in full retreat. Looks like the Insurrectionists aren't as pitiful in combat as you expected."
"What about the Jedi? Have they been dealt with?" Cody asks, not taking his eyes off the temporary hologram table, and watching as the clones continue to dismantle the last of the Separatist's battle droids and eliminate the last of the UNSC platoons that haven't made it to Manassas. Cody knows that this last stand will be brutal, but triumph would result in perhaps the greatest victory in the Grand Army of the Republic's history.
"No, sir! The traitor Kenobi is MIA while Ahsoka is confirmed dead. You would know that more than I would." The officer replies, his stance not wavering in the slightest.
Cody looks up at the officer, not surprised in the slightest. "I see." He replies thoughtfully, then looks down at the table. "Gather all of our ground forces and have them converge on the city. Have the remaining AT-TEs provide covering fire while the troops breach the city walls and take the city. Remember, I want no survivors, no prisoners, no mercy."
"Too bad. We could say the same about you." The clones whirl around, trying to find the source of the very familiar voice, until a clone lunges forward and wraps an arm around the clone commander's neck. The clones train their blasters on the single, who pulls off his helmet to reveal…
"Well, if it isn't the great traitor himself. It's good to see you, Kenobi." Cody says, glowering up at the bearded face of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Commander Cody, your madness ends now." The Jedi states, looking deeply concerned. "What happened to you, Cody? What happened to the commander I know?"
Cody stops struggling and glares up at Kenobi. "I know what you are, Jedi. You are a traitor to the Chancellor and the Republic; it is my duty, as a protector of the Republic and everything it stands for, to destroy you." He then punches Kenobi in the side and throws the Jedi to his left, breaking Kenobi's grip on the commander. "Stop." Cody says as the clones get ready to open fire on the Jedi. "I want the pleasure of spilling Kenobi's blood; the same bastard who lead countless numbers of our brothers to their demise."
The clones follow their commander's orders and lower their blaster rifles, but remain on guard. Cody then gets into a battle stance, not taking his eyes off of Kenobi for a second. The Jedi follows suite and the two begin circling each other, waiting to see who makes the first move. During the stalemate, Kenobi briefly uses the Force to enter the mind of Cody, to see if Kenobi's friend is left. But within seconds, Kenobi pulls out in recoil. He felt… absolutely nothing. The personality that made Cody unique is no more, only an emptiness that is comparable to a droid's mind, as well as an uncontrollable rage towards any and all Jedi.
With grim acceptance, Kenobi finally comes to the conclusion that nothing can save Cody from the programming implanted in his mind. Before either side can engage, a voice rings out across the small canyon. "Hold it." Kenobi's mouth drops open in shock when he hears the voice and he turns to it to see…
"Felix." Kenobi says, shock in his voice at seeing the orange-and-grey armored soldier pushing between the clones to enter the field.
"Well, hello again. You've been a real pain in the ass of my partners here." Felix says, standing there with a casual air about him.
"But… I saw you die. I saw you be shot in the back and vaporized by those Forerunner Sentinels." Kenobi says, confusion in his voice.
Felix just stares at Kenobi for a long moment before letting out a maniacal laugh that rings out around them. "Is that how my body double died? I must say, that is the most fucking pathetic way to die I have ever heard of. But still, I'm thankful that my superiors came up with the idea. I mean, I wouldn't want to die so easily."
"If you are done talking." Cody growls out, not taking his eyes off of his opponent, "then could you please step aside and let me kill this scum?"
"Sure. You know, I feel the exact same way you do about the Reds and Blues. Those delusional assholes are tougher than I thought. Oh! One last thing." Felix then pulls out two combat knives from his belt and holds them out. "This will make things even more fun. I want to see how good a Jedi really is." He then passes the knives to Cody. "Now…" He then steps off to the side. "Go!"
Cody and Kenobi then charge at each other, with Kenobi dodging each swipe by Cody's knives. This serves to anger the commander even further, and he slashes with even greater ferocity. "Fight me! If you're so noble, you will fight me like a man and not a coward." But as Cody gives another slash, Kenobi grabs the arm and throws him to the side. Using the momentum, Kenobi thrusts his right knee into the clone's stomach. Finally, he channels the Force into his fist and punches Cody's helmet. The impact sends the commander flying several feet away before crashing into the comms table and smashes face-first into the ground.
Shakily, Cody pushes himself back onto his face. His helmet, however, has cracks that start spreading wider and wider before the whole helmet completely shatters, with the shards falling to his feet. "Heh. Not bad, General. Show me more of what you can do." By now, Cody's voice has turned from his usual strictness to an obsessive insanity.
"I don't need to. I was just here to stall you." Kenobi states, not wanting to keep up the charade any longer.
The crowd remains silent for a long while as they process what they have just heard. "What the fuck did you…"
"Charge!" The group turns to the voices and sees a wave of UNSC marines charging towards them, firing their battle rifles and assault rifles.
"Yes! Charging! Screaming! Ahhh!" Caboose shouts as hew also charges with the marines, firing at the clones as well with the rest of the Blues are hanging back, not wanting to get shot by Caboose.
"…You." Felix says, pulling out a combat knife and throwing it at a marine. The knife imbeds itself into the marine's skull, killing him instantly. Agent Washington takes notice of the mercenary and his eyes widen behind his helmet.
"Felix. It's time we settled this." Wash says, then pulls out his own combat knife and charges at Felix. The mercenary takes notice of his old enemy and pulls the combat knife out of the dead marine's skull, flinging the blood that coated the blade into Wash's face. Wash quickly wipes the blood from his visor and manages to block the knife in time. "I thought you were dead."
"Yeah? I've been getting that a lot lately." Felix replies, but before they can continue their duel, another marine is shot in the head, but as he falls, his assault rifle goes off and hits a box full of Republic grenades.
The resulting explosion throws everyone off their feet and killing three clones who are the closest to the explosion. Wash then gets back up and notices masses of Republic gunships flying overhead, heading straight for Manassas. "Fall back! Fall back!" Wash shouts, rubbing his ears.
The marines and the Blues all get up, rubbing their ears slightly. After a few seconds, Kenobi also gives the command. Fortunately, they hear the order this time and start getting back onto the chain of Warthogs. "You…" Wash and Kenobi turn around to see Felix standing there, with a massive wildfire erupting behind him. Cody and the surviving clones are shakily getting back to their feet. "We still have a fight to finish."
"No, we don't. You're nothing but a shadow of my past." Wash says, turning around and walking towards the last Warthog.
As they are leaving, Kenobi could have sworn he heard the sim trooper known as Sister say, "Who was that? He looked hot."
Kenobi shakes his head, trying to get that disturbing image out of his head as Wash starts up the Warthog and drives down the winding grassy path, ignoring the roar of fury that came from Cody. "Well, your commander was certainly an asshole." Wash comments as he continues driving down the roads.
"He's always been a loyal soldier, but this…" Kenobi looks down, a thoughtful expression on his face. "This whole thing is just…" He then gasps, holding his chest as his breathing becomes erratic. Wash instantly takes notice of this and swerves the Warthog to the side before coming to a stop.
"Obi-Wan! You okay?" Wash asks, getting out of the Warthog and pulling Kenobi out of it. Kenobi continues gasping, his eyes glazed over before he regains control.
"By the Force." He mutters before grunting slightly.
"What the hell is going on? You look like Grif after he drunk cooking grease for the first time." Wash says, concern in his voice.
Kenobi looks to the stars, a horrified look on his face. "The Jedi… whoever's behind this plot is targeting the Jedi. I can feel their deaths across the stars." He then looks to the side and notices General Grevious's personal spacecraft on the edge of the cliff, still open and waiting with Gervious's corpse lying on the ground. Within a second, Kenobi realizes what he must do to unravel the mystery. "Go on ahead."
"Excuse me?"
"Go on ahead. Make it to Manassas and get out of here while there's still time. I'm taking Grevious's cruiser and returning to Coruscant. The Jedi there are in danger." Kenobi then stands up and looks at his new comrade. "Thank you for your help, but I'm afraid this is where we part ways."
Wash looks at Kenobi with uncertainty, but nods anyway. "Of course. May the Force be with you, General Kenobi." He then salutes crisply.
Kenobi nods in gratitude and runs towards the open space-cruiser, pulling the hatch closed with the Force while he works the controls. The ship's engines flare to life and it pulls off the ground, flying high into the sky before disappearing from view.
Wash watches as this all unfolds, then turns to hear a small group of speeders approaching quickly. "Great. I have to have the strangest life ever. Of all times." Wash mutters before he gets into the driver's seat and starts driving at the fastest speed the Warthog could possibly go.
Manassas Wall
Manassas
Reach
19:10 UNSC time
Agent Carolina lets out a battle cry as she gives a round-house kick to a clone trooper before giving another wide kick to another clone and punching a third in the face. All of the clones shout as they fall to the ground, unconscious. Carolina notices another group of clones approaching and pulls out a battle rifle before firing it. None of the shots miss their mark, and the clones fall to the ground.
"That was so awesome." One of the younger sergeants says, looking at her in awe. "You could be better than a Spartan."
Before Carolina could make a statement on that, they look to the sky to see Republic gunships flying towards them at break-neck speeds. "Take cover!" A Sangheili shouts, running towards a nearby building.
The allied forces run to cover underneath the ruined buildings as the gunships unload rockets and lasers at the ground below. Explosions rock the ground and make several buildings collapse upon themselves. Several unfortunate soldiers were caught under a particularly weak building as it collapses on them. Carolina groans as she pulls herself to her feet and brushes some dust off her armor.
"Everyone okay?" She asks. The marines and Sangheili who hid in the same building as her all get up and look around at the scorched and ravaged ground, riddled with the corpses of marines and clones alike. "This is a nightmare. When will all this violence end?" Suddenly, they hear the sound of approaching vehicles, prompting them to point their weapons at the entryway.
At first, nothing happens. Then, several clones start running in as if they are being chased off. Seconds later, a small squad of Warthogs charge through the opening in the wall made by the oh-so-brilliant Sarge, crushing the clones' bodies underneath like tomato cans. "Yeah! This is so hot!" Sister shouts from the gunner seat as the Warthogs pass by to the space-port.
Carolina face-palms. "I swear, she finds anything hot. All troops, fall back to the space-port on the double!"
"Yes, ma'am!" The marines chorus before they, along with the rest of the survivors, start getting up and following the Warthogs. Carolina takes up the flank, running behind them and watching as another wave of clones and Insurrectionists surge through the wall.
"Just how many of them are there?" Carolina asks as she fires her battle rifle. The Inusrrectionists receive the brunt of the fire, and fall backward. One such clone gets into a kneeling position, holding a rocket launcher in his hands before firing the rocket. Carolina stops running and leaps into the air, spinning. She grunts as she catches the rocket and uses the momentum to spin the rocket right back at the troops before letting it go.
"Holy kriff. Run!" The rocket clone shouts, running back towards the entrance, but the rocket explodes right behind him, sending the troops to the ground. Carolina lands on the ground and sighs as she stares out at the night sky, and the dark landscape. "David… where are you?" She then shakes her head, and follows behind the troops. All around her, fires are erupting on the ground and the two sides are engaging each other with everything they have, with each side taking extreme casualties. After Carolina finishes reloading, she turns on her thermal scanners in her helmet and looks in the buildings. Luckily, there are no enemy snipers that Carolina couldn't handle before the last of the troops reach the space-port. Carolina runs into the open gates and takes in the scene with pure horror. Despite the number of marines and Sangheili who are left on the ground, only two Pelicans are left open and waiting. "No…" She mutters, realizing what this means. But before she can say anything, her instincts cut in and she flexes backward to avoid a sniper rifle shot from her right.
She straightens herself out and looks in that direction. Standing there is a man who reminds her greatly of Church, except he has an ice-blue visor. "Hello, Carolina. It's been a long time."
Carolina looks up, her eyes wide. She recognizes the voice, but she doesn't recall who he is. "Who are you?"
He laughs a little, smugness radiating from him. "You really don't remember? Well, I can tell you that my name is Temple, and that your ignorance will only make my revenge sweeter." He throws a punch at her, but she blocks it. She then tries punching him in the face but he ducks to the side. Carolina then punches him in the face, then leaps backward and grabbing a blaster rifle off the ground and firing it at Temple.
He yelps at the sudden attack and dodges to his left, avoiding the blaster shots narrowly. He then fires his magnum pistol with a yellow pointer on the bottom at Carolina. She recoils slightly when she's hit by one of the bullets, but ducks under his line of fire and lunges forward. She tackles Temple and starts punching him in the face repeatedly. In response, Temple starts laughing and Carolina laughs. "What's so funny?" She growls out.
"Because you haven't changed at all since the day we met. Don't you remember, we met at the outpost you know as Desert Gulch." Memories suddenly flood Carolina's mind and she recoils even more than ever, and she starts shaking. "That's right. Why don't you finish the job that you started years ago and kill me?"
Carolina stares down at a truly broken man for several long seconds before making her choice. "No. I'm putting my past behind me for good. I don't need to kill you to prove that." She then punches Temple on the side of his head. The former simulation trooper's head falls back onto the concrete road, dazed. The female Freelancer pulls herself to her feet, tired of everything happening around her.
"Carolina?" She turns around and comes face-to-face with Washington, looking at her with shock. "Sorry I didn't come sooner; the road is too fucked up for my Warthog to drive on. Come on; let's just get out of here." Carolina nods and the two Freelancers run towards the last Pelican, already almost full of the last troops.
Once the Freelancers are on-board, Carolina shouts, "Get us out of here!"
"On the double." The pilot replies, then pulls the Pelican into the air before the ramp even has time to close, giving them a clear view of the Republic AT-TEs tearing down the city's powerful defenses. A Republic gunship swoops in to try and destroy the Pelican, but the pilot manages to launch a heat-seeking missile that collides with the ship, making it explode in a ball of fire.
Meanwhile, on the ground below, Mark Temple is standing in the middle of the empty space-port and staring through the pillars of black smoke into the sky. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Temple looks to his left to see Felix and Cody walking towards Temple, outrage on their faces. "We've got the last remnants of the UNSC dogs on-board that Pelican, and you didn't even try destroying it!" Felix shouts, anger practically dripping from his voice.
"That's the point." Temple says, then turns to his right. "Loco!"
"Uh… here. I'm right here." Then, from out of the smoke, emerges a soldier wearing the exact same armor style as Caboose, only he's got an ice-blue visor.
"Did you plant the tracking beacon on the last two Pelicans before they left?"
"Uh… oh, yes! Yes, I did."
Temple then looks to see the two baffled officers. "See? Now they can lead us to their precious evacuation point, where we will snuff them out forever. And let me tell, sweet revenge is not without it's just dessert."
Felix and Cody look at each other. "You… are going to need a psychiatrist sometime. You know that, right?" Felix asks.
AN: Well, that was something.
So yeah, Felix is back again. That was so awesome to write.
Anyway, see you all next time for the climatic finale of Halo: The Bitter Wars! I will try to really pull out a lot of stops so that way, I can end this story on a high note.