Hey guys, Azores here. Just wanted to say a couple of things before the chapter starts.

First off, I apologize that this took so long to get out. I've honestly lost a lot of my drive to write lately. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can try to get it back, I'd much appreciate it. (Music used to work, but it's now mostly just distracting or reduced to a few songs that don't work as well as they used to.)

Thanks for your patience, and as always, hope you enjoy!

-Azores


!WARNING!

This story contains content not suited for younger readers, such as Violence, Blood and Gore, Language, and Explicit Sexual Content. This Chapter's Rating will be placed at T-Rated. Future Chapters may, and most likely will switch back and forth between the T and M ratings.

Regardless, Reader Discretion for this Chapter is advised.


I don't Halo or Naruto.

Bold-My Own Words

Bold & Italic-Locations, Time & Calendar

Normal-Narrative

"Normal"-Person Speaking

'Normal'-Thoughts

"Italic"-Foreign Language

'Italic'-Radio Chatter

/Italic\-AI/Computer typing


-They told me to fight, and that's what I've done. Let historians sort through the wreckage, bodies, and broken lives to figure out the rest.

Vice Admiral Preston Cole, Personal Diary, 2532, Following the Harvest Campaign

-The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

Sun Tzu, The Art of War

-It is not in the stars to our destiny but in ourselves.

William Shakespeare


Prologue Arc-Episode 3
-Making Friends (P.1)-
(Part 3)

June 24, 2543
Sky Country
Kenhaba

The Sky Country. Once the homeland of a mighty empire, now nothing more than a shadow of its former self. Following the collapse of the empire in 2512, the entire Eastern Continent went into an economic depression and sheer chaos as the infrastructure of the old empire collapse and fell into disrepair, the trade routes now plagued by roving bands of bandits and pirates, many of which created their own little criminal fiefdoms. In the wake of the empire's collapse, numerous groups not only sought to carve out their own pieces of the dying empire but also stake their claim on the Sky Homeland as well. Multiple factions and clans rose up, claiming to be the legitimate successors to the throne in the wake of the former Daimyo and Sukaikage's deaths. Fights and clashes erupted throughout the country, with many fearing it to be the end of their nation altogether.

For the past 30 years, Sky Country had been picking up the pieces of its shattered domain, rebuilding its shattered infrastructure and economy, purging any criminal elements within their remaining lands, and working to secure as much of their old territory as possible. In the wake of the empire's fall, however, a new order had risen within the Sky Country. Though on the outside and to the public eye, it would appear that the Daimyo and the Sukaikage share power as heads of the state, the reality was far from it.

While dictatorships and nationalism were nothing new to the Elemental Nations, the idea of fascism was.

In 2520, when the country seemed destined to collapse and fade into obscurity, salvation appeared to arrive, in the form of a 21-year-old former ANBU Captain named Miura Kenji. For the past 23 years, he had led the crippled nation and got it back into working order. Restoring the country's economy and securing the lands within its borders from the bandits and dissident factions within. Neither of which was an easy task nor was the subsequent war with the Fiefdom called the Land of Bird.

Though no a tall or imposing man, standing at only 5'5" and weighing roughly 141 pounds, he made up for this with two key traits. The first being that he was an experienced soldier with numerous battles against Rebel and Criminal Factions under his belt, having fought and killed enemies of the empire since he was 11.

The second trait that he had was the ability to give rousing speeches. Despite being somewhat short in stature for a man, his voice during his speeches was thunderous and almost theatrical, sending the crowds into a nearly spellbound captivation. Such speeches that were capable of carrying any crowd into a frenzy of pride and nationalism.

And today was no different.


Kenhaba Central Plaza Square
Daimyo Palace

Miura Kenji, Sukiakage of the Sky Nation, stepped out onto the castle deck, flanked by several of his elite 'Iron Guard,' standing by to protect their leader. As Miura looked out to the streets below him, he could see the nearly 40,000 strong crowds gathered before the Daimyo Palace as they roared with thunderous applause and cheers as they stood before the palace and the surrounding streets, waiting for their leader to give the national address that they've waited for all year. Their cheers seemed to increase tenfold as he smiled and waved down to the crowd below.

He then moved his hand downward, the crowd quieting as they anxiously waited for their Kage to speak. An Iron Guard member stepped forward and placed down a seal on the podium, designed to project and amplify the Kage's voice so that the crowd, and the entire city, could hear his speech loud and clear, though not to the point to where it would deafen anyone. Finishing his work, the Guardsman gave the Kage a nod signaling that the seal was active, before falling back into formation.


Stepping forward onto the podium, Miura cleared his throat as he began his speech.

"THE GREAT EPOCH... in which for twenty-three years we have awaited has now begun. Our glorious Empire is about to be reborn..."


The crowd's reaction was instantaneous, as their roars and cheers of approval seemed to shake the very foundations of the city. Smiling, the Kage continued his speech.


"I can say with pride, my brothers and sisters, is that if the whole empire had possessed the spirit which is in us now, then our great empire would have never fallen. Even without arms or hordes of men at its call, the Sky Country represents a unique strength through this inner will tempered like steel. It is true that this equality which is realized in you was realized only during a time of great peril for our nation. We have, too, adopted the principle of leadership, the conception of authority, at the time in which corrupt and manipulative leaders took over for their own greedy gains, who looked only to advance their own agendas, regardless of whether or not it tore our kingdom apart."

"That was a heavy sacrifice at a time when our people were running after the illusion of peace and stability, when millions believed that the majority was the source of a right decision, during a time in which rebel factions and criminal elements were tearing our empire apart and picked away at its lands to set up their own little fiefdoms. It was at this time that my fellow patriots and I began resolutely to build up an organization in which there was not one patriot but thousands. When our opponents said: 'It is easy for you: you are a dictator'- we answered them, 'No, gentlemen, you are wrong; there are no dictators among us, but ten thousand patriots, each in his own place.' And even the highest authority in the hierarchy has itself only one wish, never to transgress against the State to which it, too, is responsible for."


Cheers continued to rain out as the Sukaikage continued his speech.


"For twenty-three years, we fought tooth and nail; shed blood, sweat, and tears to bring our country back from the brink of annihilation. Clearing out the rebels, criminals, and pirates that had rooted themselves in our lands, looking to exploit our resources, rape our women, and take our children for their own nefarious ends. For twenty-three years, we fought back against the hordes of thieves and backstabbers who looked to rob us of everything we held dear. AND FOR TWENTY-THREE YEARS, WE FOUGHT FOR OUR COUNTRY'S VERY SOUL!"


He slammed his fist hard on the podium, cries of approval roaring in as the crowd took in his every word.


"And in those twenty-three years, we have also fostered the virtues of bravery, patriotism, and sheer selfless sacrifice to our nation's future. Today thousands pour into the ranks of our army, looking to help defend our nation as it is guided into the future. But the greater part of them must learn now what this grand army has practiced for years; they must all learn to face what tens of thousands of our comrades have faced, and have paid for with their blood, their lives. We have succeeded out of our own free wills in once more inculcating in our people the courage which dares to attempt a task in the face of a world of foes."

"We have won back control in our homeland, and now it is up to us to win back the lands of our former empire, to incorporate the people back into our empire. We must build the tens of thousands of working men and women of all classes into a close community. This is a struggle which will again take years; but it is necessary if the three million people of today are someday to be the six, eight, ten, and millions more we need. Here, too, we know that if we rest, we rust, that if we stand still, we will retreat..."

"In the past, you chose to trust the Daimyo and me in leading this nation of our back from the brink. If in the future you continue to stand behind us as one people, one voice, in loyalty and obedience, then I swear to you, no power in the world will be able to destroy this nation of ours. It will continue its victorious course. If you preserve the same discipline, the same obedience, the same comradeship, and the same unbounded patriotism in our nation's future - then nothing will ever extinguish the flame of this glorious country. This is the request I make of you, for myself and in the name of all the comrades who are no longer among us..."

"People of the Sky Nation, my brothers and sisters, today is the day that the Sky Empire is REBORN!"


The moment Miura thrust his hands into the air at the end of his speech, the crowd below went wild. The sheer feeling of pride and a return to greatness was merely overwhelming and contagious. People in the streets chanted the Sukaikage's name or their homeland's as it the cheering went on. It seemed as though the entire city was roaring in unison.

The Sukaikage waved down to the masses, as a Shinobi came running up from behind and began to whisper in his ear. Leaning in to listen, Miura's reaction initially went from pleased to confuse as the Shinobi spoke to him, to finally anger when he finished. Mindful of where he was though, he quickly regained his composure and smiled down to the crowd, who were still cheering, as he waved them off and signaled a Shinobi to take over the podium to continue on with the rest of the day's events. When asked what to tell the crowd regarding his sudden departure, Miura told him to inform the crowd that a small inconvenience had rose up that required his attention, but that he would be back soon enough. As he quickly walked back into the Daimyo Palace, the same Shinobi who had informed him walked beside him.

"Somebody better have a damn good explanation for this!" He growled as they proceeded to Sukiakage's Office.


Daimyo Palace
Sukaikage's Office

Soga Kotaro and Yasuda Tetsuo, two of the surviving members of the Task Force sent to retrieve Numakage's daughter, Takashima Satomi, were seated and waiting for their Kage's arrival. Kiyabu Hideo and the other two surviving members, per Kotaro's insistence, was being kept at one of the local Hospital to have a physical examination and psych evaluation is done on them. Per protocol, Kotaro had written a report and sent it up to the Sukaikage's Office ahead of their arrival. As he expected, however, the order that he and Tetsuo were to report to the Sukaikage to give a debriefing on what all had transpired on the mission.

As well as to explain why only 5 people out of a task force of 120 had returned from what should have been a simple retrieval mission.

Knowing the Kage's temperament and somewhat skeptic, or paranoid to some, nature, Kotaro knew that the Sukaikage wasn't going to believe his report or their story without proof. All the more reason he was glad he had managed to acquire a few examples of these new people's armor and weapons. Hell, he wouldn't have believed it unless he had seen it with his own two eyes.

He noticed to his left that his fellow survivor was glancing around nervously at the Iron Guardsmen standing post in the room. Unlike most guardsmen for Daimyos, they had a good reason to be nervous around them. The Iron Guard wasn't some glorified post for soldiers who knew how to kiss ass, though there were those in every army. Iron Guardsmen are only selected from the best of the best amongst the Samurai of Sky Country. They're continuously and rigorously trained throughout their service as an Iron Guard, not only that, they're utterly loyal to the leaders of the Sky Country, namely the Sukaikage. Their sub-branch, the Iron Shadow, who were comprised of the best amongst Sky Country's Shinobi, were even more rigorously trained and dedicated to the Sky Nation. Worst, they were the ones who made people disappear if they did something they weren't supposed to, such as 'endangering the security of the Sky Nation.'

Though he wasn't allowed to tell anyone, Kotaro had actually been offered a position within the Iron Guard, in recognition of his skills, but declined. Another thing that wasn't primarily known was that the Iron Guard rarely left the confines of the country's borders, only doing so when it was deemed that they would be the only ones capable of getting the job done. Their own mission to nab the Numakage's daughter had been the center of such a debate, but apparently, they were considered unnecessary.

The Sukiakage was probably regretting that decision right now.

Another Guardsman came into the room, then turned to address the team, "The Sukiakage will be up here momentarily. You best have your report ready to present." Kotaro simply nodded at the Guardsman as he turned to leave, leaving the group to wait on their Kage once more.

"K-Kotaro-sama?" Kotaro turned to look at Tetsuo, who was sitting next to him, "What?"

"What are we going to do? I-I don't think the Sukiakage will believe us." He could tell Tetsuo was a nervous wreck, he couldn't imagine any genin who wouldn't be in their predicament.

"Normally, I'd agree with you, twerp." Kotaro replied, "Hell, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. But luckily for us, we have proof to back us up. Even if they don't believe the story, they can't discredit the weapons and armor we were able to snag before retreating."

"Yeah, but what if that isn't enough?! What if they decide to just kill us for-"

"Enough!" Kotaro finally snapped, his patience wearing out, "Right now, panicking about what might or might not happen isn't going to help. You're just going to have to trust me on this so that we get out of this. Considering they actually know who I am and that I have a solid record, my voice will hold some weight with them. So when the time comes, just sit there, shut up, and let me do the talking!" His glare silenced any further protest or argument from the boy. He could understand what the kid was going through, but right now freaking out wasn't going to help them.

Outside the doors, they suddenly heard the sound of several footsteps coming towards the doors, meaning only one thing. Steeling their nerves, they mentally prepared themselves as the Sukiakage entered the room, flanked by four of his Iron Shadow Guardsmen.


July 14, 2543
Marsh Country
Roughly 10 miles outside of Hidden Marsh Village
Fireteam Whiskey/Kingpin

The Falcons thundered away as the UNSC ground contingency spread out across the clearing, going either into a prone or crouched position and forming a perimeter around the site. Colonel Barnes looked around their perimeter to see if everyone was in place. After waiting for a few moments to see if anything was going to respond to their little insertion, he was satisfied enough to finally give the order, "Okay, gentlemen. On your feet, we're moving out!"

The Marines and Army Soldiers replied as they all rose up and moved towards the dirt road, in the center of the clearing. "Alright, maintain a good patrol formation and watch your sectors. Check your fire before you decide to shoot. Remember, we're here on diplomatic duties, so keep the fingers off the triggers." Barnes called out as he glanced back, "Alright, Miss Satomi. Lead the way."

"Uh... sir?"

The Colonel turned around to see Lance Corporal Rhineford and PFC Armstrong standing over Takashima Satomi, who was lying facedown on the ground, hugging a log. "Oh." The Colonel spoke, sweat-dropping.

"Ohhhhh... Hello, sweet merciful ground. I've missed you so much. I'll never take you for granted again." Satomi groaned out, sounding half delirious as she did. Rhineford knelt down and hesitantly patted her on the back. "Come on, now. Surely it wasn't that bad?" Rhineford questioned. He immediately flinched back some, remembering what happened to Parker last week, as a fierce growl coming from her stomach, followed by another groan from Satomi that answered his question. "...Alright, then." He sweatdropped.

"She okay?"

"Airsickness must have not fully left her body, yet. I say we should give her a couple of minutes before trying to move out." Armstrong said as she examined the Marsh Kunoichi.

"That might not be a good idea. Somebody in the village was bound to have seen our birds coming in, or at the least heard 'em. We should go ahead and proceed on mission and get to the village before they decide to send out a welcome committee like we had back at Kaizuko Island." Sgt Cooper spoke up, glancing over to the group before resuming to scan the road.

"Alright, then. Mr. Rhineford, please pick up Ms. Satomi, and we'll continue on towards the Village."

"..."

"Mr. Rhineford, is there a problem?"

Rhineford stared at the Kunoichi beneath him, who was looking up and glaring at him as if daring him to try and touch her. Even with his armor on, those punches of her's hurt like hell, and he wasn't looking for an excuse to receive one.

"Uh... well..."

"Mr. Rhineford, if there isn't a problem, then pick her up, and let's go."

Rhineford sighed, knowing he didn't really have a choice. In truth, he knew he was lucky above all else. If the situation had been different, that stunt he had pulled rescuing Satomi would have likely seen him either getting a dishonorable discharge or a firing squad. The only reason he had gotten off easy was that, at the moment, they couldn't afford to toss away a soldier, even if he failed to follow orders. They needed all the trained personnel they could get. That being said, it would like be years before he would be given a chance at leading a squad again.


"Alright, come here." He began to approach.

"Touch me, and I swear I'll kill you, Rhineford!" Satomi growled out as she slowly got up, taking several deep breaths as she stood up. The Marines around her were somewhat hesitant to approach at first, most of them not wanting to get potentially puked on.

"Are you okay?" Barnes asked.

"I'll get over it. Let's just go." Satomi waved him off as she stood straight up, the feeling of discomfort from the terrible flight subsiding. As she walked past the two Marines, they simply looked at one another and shrugged, before walking towards the road themselves. "Okay, folks. Let's go."


8 miles outside of Hidden Marsh Village

"So, excited to see home again?" Rhineford asked Satomi as the group continued down the road towards the Hidden Marsh Village. The 18-man team of ODST and Army Troopers were spread out in a staggered column going down the road on either side of it as they continued towards the village. Satomi was next to Rhineford, who was at the front of the column.

"After a month of having to live around you weirdoes, absolutely." Satomi half-joked. Rhineford mocked being hurt by the statement, "Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad."

What he got was a deadpan look back at him, as Satomi remembered everything she saw and experienced in her time amongst the 'Terrans.' While some of those moments weren't bad, others had been just plain weird for her to witness.


Flashbacks Begin
June 11, 2543
UNSC Everest

She stared silently out the window, looking down at the planet below that was her home. She had been brought up here, albeit reluctantly on her part, and examined by several medics to make sure she was okay, followed up by a shower. She still had on the grey Marine fatigues that had been given to her. Staring down to the planet below, Satomi's mind just couldn't process the image before her. She wasn't anywhere near home, she wasn't even on her home anymore, and that terrified her. Yet, at the same time, this was strangely one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen, looking down at her homeworld.

"You never do forget the first time you see your home from orbit." She jumped at the voice and immediately turned around to confront it. An older woman walked up to her, while a half dozen other people walked into the small room as well and took a seat at the table that was in the room. Each of them had one of those 'Data-pads' she saw Rhineford and Barnes messing with. The older woman walked up to her and extended her hand in greeting, "Hi, I'm Lyrenne Castilla. I'm one of the various representatives for our group." She said with a small smile.

Hesitantly, Satomi shook the woman's hand. "I... guess you already know my name."

"Yes, Colonel Barnes already submitted a report about everything that happened, though even if he hadn't, we could still see everything happening from up here if needed. But, since everything's calmed down on the surface, we wanted to meet you in person." Lyrenne gestured to the table where everyone had taken a seat. "Care to sit? We'll probably be here for a little bit."

Satomi wanted to say no and just go home, but in all likelihood, she probably didn't have a choice. Granted, they had been nothing but courteous and polite with her, but that didn't mean she would just automatically trust them. As the old saying goes, "If the barbarians at the gate don't get you, the snake in the grass will." The question was, though, was she dealing with a barbarian, a snake, or neither? Or both? Satomi merely nodded and walked with Lyrenne to the table, where they both took a seat.

"Good day, Miss Takashima. I would like to be the first to apologize that we met under such circumstances. I'm certain you have a ton of questions and aren't very trusting of us at the moment. And I assure you, any and all questions that you have will be answered to the best of our abilities." A middle-aged African spoke as the two women seated, "My name is Doctor Richard Fraser, I was formerly the governor of a colony called Alluvion before it was sadly destroyed."

Alluvion? Colony? Destroyed? She would ask about that later. "... Hello." Satomi replied, "So, any questions, huh?" Might as well get the obvious ones out of the way, "Who are you, and why are you here?"

Lyrenne, Doctor Fraser, and a military commander who called himself Vice Admiral Preston Cole proceeded to explain the history of the UEG and the UNSC, from its founding to their first venture into the stars. They talked about the Insurrection and the decades of conflict that threatened to erupt into full-fledged civil war. Satomi could see from the looks in their eyes there were still loyalties to both the 'UNSC' and 'URF.' Finally, they spoke about their first encounter with aliens, and the resulting war that followed, and all the events that led up to this moment. For roughly a quarter-hour, they talked and answered all of her questions to the best of their abilities.

(If I were to go into detail about this whole conversation regarding the UNSC's History, I'd have spent half the chapter on it, and this would have ended up another 18-20,000+ word epic. To sum it up it, Cole, Lyrenne and the other Terrans basically explain to Satomi 'modern Terran history', from the founding of the UN (1945) and UNSC (2163) to the Human-Covenant War up to that point. For the sake of the story, I've chosen to skip past it. You can look up the history of the UNSC and URF on Halopedia if you're interested.)

"So, let me get this straight. You're all basically a bunch of refugees or deserters who decided to join together and run away to survive this... Covenant. And now, you've decided that the only way to survive is to come here and take over our home?" Satomi asked, somewhat agitatedly. Even if they were running, the way they explained what they were doing here made it sound like they were planning to conquer her home.

"Take over? No, we didn't even know about your people or this planet until about 5 years ago. And even then, it was by a complete accident. Believe me, we were just as confused when we learned we weren't the only humans in the galaxy." Lyrenne answered. "But, the discovery of another group of human beings had provided us with a unique opportunity that we just couldn't possibly pass up."

"You want to unify a dozen different cultures that have historically distrusted or outright hated one another for hundreds of years?" Satomi couldn't help but chuckle, "Sorry, but... look, I'm no historian or expert in the mindset of people, but all I can say is good luck with that."

"Actually, your people's culture isn't all that dissimilar from one another. Granted, location and geography have caused your people to develop a slight difference in certain areas, but overall the cultures and language of the elemental nations, from what we've gathered is largely the same." Doctor Fraser countered, gesturing with his hands as if to emphasize his point, "We understand this isn't something that would happen overnight. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if this endeavor takes years or even decades to accomplish, especially in regards to other continents such as... what was it called?" He said full of optimism, then tapped his datapad's touchscreen and looked over the files and notes he had on it regarding Shinsei and its people. "Ah, here we go. Esura. Yes, the eastern continent of Esura and its various people will probably add another decade or two to the whole mission, if that. But, an impossible mission? Not at all. Our own homeworld, which is home to hundreds of different cultures, religions, and even dialects, took several centuries to finally unify, and many thought it wasn't possible. But yet, despite all the hurdles and challenges along the way, it still eventually unified as the UEG."

"And where exactly do I fit in all this? Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that you saved my life, but I doubt you merely did it out of the goodness of your hearts." She accused. She had been honest about her gratitude towards saving her life, but she had no intention of becoming a puppet or a traitor to her home.

"That's very simple. We didn't." Cole finally spoke for the first time in a while, his eyes narrowing at her in annoyance, "I personally gave the order not to interfere whatsoever. If then-Corporal Rhineford hadn't disobeyed my order; which in any other circumstance he would have been court-marshaled and shot for because of the outcome, due to 28 Marines dying by the way; you'd probably be on your way to the Sky Nation or whatever it calls itself right now. Among other things that would have likely happened to you."

That stopped any bit of argument in her that she had at the moment. Rhineford and his team hadn't been ordered to rescue her? In truth, she shouldn't be surprised. What did they possibly have to gain over rescuing some random woman in their eyes? But she hadn't heard or known that, her ears had still been ringing on and off from the airstrike when Barnes demoted Rhineford, and none of them had said anything to her about it. But now knowing that Rhineford risked not only his life but severe punishment from his leaders, to save her by disobeying orders, she couldn't help but feel slightly guilty towards him for being as hostile as she had initially been. She would have to properly thank him for doing so when she saw him again. If she did.

"Miss Takashima, we want you to understand something. You are by no means our prisoner. If you wish to return home, then we will be more than willing to assist you in returning home. We would just like to hear our proposal first before making your decision." Doctor Fraser followed up, trying to get back on the subject and lower some of the tension. Satomi noticed that Lyrenne was glaring slightly at Cole.

Satomi look around the room at the 10 other people that were in this room with her, pondering and thinking, before responding, "And what proposal is that?"

"We want both of our people to get a better understanding of one another, and history has shown that the best way to do so is through direct interaction. Therefore, we would like to offer you to stay amongst us for a month. Live amongst us. Interact, socialize, and learn about our people, so that when you return home, you can tell your people about us and everything that you witness during your time amongst us." Dr. Fraser explained.

They wanted her to stay and live amongst them? That surprised her. However, they could be just wanting to keep an eye on her or draw her into a false sense of security so they could manipulate her or interrogate her. She mentally shook herself, if they were going to interrogate her, they would have probably done it already. Plus, it seemed like they honestly didn't need to as they could likely find whatever info they were looking for with all these weird little gadgets of theirs. As she summed up her options, she couldn't help but agree that the amount of information she could gain would be incredibly useful, especially if they didn't turn out to be as truthful as they claimed on their intentions. At the very least, she could gain more Intel on a potential threat for the sake of her homeland. If it did turn out to be so, however, then she would have to find a way to get back to her home to warn them.

But in the meantime, since they seemed so desperate for friends, she might as well play the system some.

After feigning thinking it over for some time, she looked back to the group and gave her answer, "If I agree to it, then you must promise a couple things in return."

Dr. Fraser smiled, "Understandable. Name them."

"First off, when this is over, you'll develop close ties with my homeland, including a trade agreement and a defensive alliance. The Sky Nation wants to enslave my home, and I'll be damn if I'm not going to do something that could help us."

Fraser's smile faltered slightly as his eyes widen some, "I, well... I can't guarantee that will be doable at the moment. We're still getting our own government formed and sorted-"

"Done."

To everyone's surprise, it was Admiral Cole that had said that. Fraser seemed unsure if such a decision was a good idea, especially since they were still forming their government. They haven't even decided on a name. Lyrenne seemed surprised at Cole. She knew that eventually, they would need to gain friends and allies amongst the people here, but to do it so soon, especially when they didn't exactly have a good idea as to who was who precisely in these lands...

"What is your other request? Cole asked.

"Well, I doubt that you would just let me roam freely around all of your... stuff."

"Naturally."

"Well, if that's the case, then-"

"Fireteam Whiskey, Rhineford's squad, will be assigned as your chaperones. As a condition to be here, you will stay within their sight and company at all times. Now naturally, for security reasons, there are certain parts of the ship that you won't be allowed access to, but your restrictions will be largely light." Cole answered. Satomi blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected him to agree so readily, and apparently, a majority of everyone else in the room didn't either. Cole seemed to read her mind, and spoke, "It's like you said, Dr. Fraser. We'll eventually need friends amongst the populace if we want any progress to be made. Might as well start as early as we can and show the people of this that not only are we serious about the idea of a unified world but that we also have their best interest at heart. Otherwise, they'll never take us seriously or trust us."

'So you've already come to your own decision on the matter, huh, Preston?' Lyrenne pondered as she stared at her ex-husband.

"Well, if that is everything, then I believe that we should have somebody show you to your quarters unless you have some more questions, Miss Satomi." Lyrenne finished, looking to the Marsh Kunoichi as she did so.

Satomi thought about it, but merely shrugged, "Not anything else at the moment." In truth, she still had plenty of questions, but these all could be answered at a later time. "One more thing, Miss Satomi." Dr. Fraser inquired, causing her to pause as she stood up, "While some of our customs and practice may seem normal to you, there may be others that may seem odd to you. I felt that this should have been made known to you before you began to intermingle with our people."

Satomi smiled and snorted in amusement, "Thanks for the forewarning, but I'm sure I can handle any more surprises your people could throw at me." She crossed her arms as she finished speaking, striking a pose of utter confidence as she stood.


Later that day
Barracks B14

"So, hold on. What is this thing exactly?" Satomi asked as she held up and stared the odd, grey fabric. It had a trio of long strap material that connected to two large circular pieces of cloth that cupped outward. She sat on the bottom bed of a double bunk bed, with Armstrong right next to her putting away her own clothes.

"It's a bra. An undergarment for women, like panties." The African woman answered as she folded some of her clothes. In truth, Fireteam Whiskey was honestly surprised when they were told they would be returning to Everest and basically acting as escorts for Satomi when they learned she had agreed to stay here for a month, but they all suspected that it was likely to keep them from causing any more trouble planetside.

Satomi nodded slightly, she knew what panties were, but none as well made as the ones she was currently wearing. They had those back home, but she had never seen a bra before. The fabric was incredibly soft to the touch and seemed very flexible but durable.

"So what does it do?"

"Basically, its design to support your breast," Oliver answered from the bunk next to them, laying down and fooling around on his data-pad.

"What, like bindings?"

"Bindings?"

"Yeah, you know, a long roll of cloth that we wrap around our breast to keep them from... well, bouncing and chafing," Satomi said, speaking a little more softly at the last part as if it was embarrassing or taboo to talk about in public.

Lydia blinked, "Oh, okay." She suddenly chuckled, "Doesn't honestly sound all that comfortable."

Satomi's face went gloomy, "You have no idea..." Causing Lydia to laugh, "Al-alright, well I'm sure this will be a lot comfier so how's about we try it on you?"

Looking back to Oliver and Robert, who was above him asleep, she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She then grabbed a towel to put up on the bunk bed to cover any view. Oliver didn't notice it at first, but finally did when it was put up. He narrowed his eyes in confusion, "The hell are you guys doing?"

"Don't look over here." That was all he got as a reply. He rolled his eyes, but then thought about it. Was it really okay for Satomi, who was by their definition a civilian, to be housed with him and the other Marines? Sure he had seen plenty of his fellow marines and naval personnel nude, but he wasn't sure what protocol said regarding civilians.

After a couple moments of relative quiet, he suddenly heard Satomi exclaim with pure glee, "Oh Kami, this is so comfortable! What in the world have we been doing without this?!" He heard Lydia laughing. "I'm definitely showing the girls this back home!"


June 12, 2543
UNSC Everest
Latrine/Shower Room A2

Satomi could only gawk in pure shock at the sight before her, her face beet red in embarrassment. "W-w-what the hell is this?!"

She was currently standing at the entrance to the locker room to enter the showers, where she saw at least a couple dozen, different crewmen and soldiers, in various states of undress. While she had seen people naked before, what made this incredibly awkward was that there didn't seem to be any segregated sections for either men or women. Nope, they were just walked right up to one another and just started stripping down.

"What? It's a shower room." Rhineford replied, confused as to what exactly she was freaking out about.

"Why are there guys in here with the girls?!" Satomi demanded to know.

"We're on a spaceship." Rhineford deadpanned, "We can't exactly waste room on luxuries such as a gender-specific shower."

"I-I can't shower in here with all of these guys! This is indecent! Everybody will see me!"

"Why? It's not like you have anything they haven't seen already." Lydia said, chuckling as she starts taking off her own shirt, lifting it over her head as she walked over to one of the lockers. "Besides, nobody's really here to peek on one another. They're here to get cleaned up before work. Have you never seen a guy naked before or something?"

"Th-that doesn't make this any more appealing or reassuring! And yes, I have! THIS-" She gestured towards the people in the shower room, "Is completely different, though!"

"Well, it's either that or don't shower. Your choice." Simon replied behind her, shrugging as he walked towards a locker. He was soon followed by Robert and Oliver, who looked back at her before trying to reassure her, "Don't worry. Nobody's gonna touch you or anything."

Satomi was hesitant to go in, but at the same time, she couldn't just take a shower. So, steeling herself up, she walked into the shower room, trying her best not to look at the several men in the room in various states of undress. Finding a locker next to Lydia, she opened it up and tried to make the locker door cover as much of her from view as possible. Several people around her were conversing and joking with one another, completely ignoring the fact that most were naked. This dumbfounded Satomi, and, though she would never admit it aloud, there were quite a few good-looking guys in the room... okay, a lot of handsome guys in the room, which didn't make this any easier.

Beside her, Oliver suddenly stepped up beside her and opened up the locker. She could stare wide-eyed as he took off his shirt and started to take off his pants, causing her to look away blushing, the image of his muscular physique now burned into her mind. This was definitely going to take some getting used to. Slowly, and somewhat hesitantly, she removed her shirt and pants, leaving herself in nothing but a bra and panties.

Looking to her left, she saw that Lydia was already naked, but was choosing to wait for her before entering the showers. "Come on. Bra and panties, too."

"D-do I have to?"

"Since those are the only pairs of underwear you've got? Yes."

"Are you not the least bit embarrassed?" Satomi inquired, dumbfounded by the prospect of women just walking around, surrounded by several men, also naked, and not be bothered in the slightest.

Looking around the room, Lydia merely shrugged, "Not really. It's not it's anything they haven't seen before."

"So you're not bothered knowing some of the guys are probably staring at your body?"

She giggled, "Oh, they can stare all they want." Lydia turned slightly, presenting her rear to Satomi, "They know they can't handle this." She winked, giving her butt a slight smack. Satomi just gawked at her, causing the African woman to laugh. "Alright, now get your clothes off."

"Come on, seriously?" Satomi half protest, half whined.

"It's either that or you can walk around with wet clothes all day." She countered.

Sighing in defeat, knowing that walking around with wet clothing wasn't a much better option, so with some swallowing of her pride, she slowly started removing her bra.


Beside her, Oliver Rhineford had finished taking off and storing his clothes and was getting ready to head into the showers, but a couple marines next to him were goofing around, shoving, and grappling with one another. While usually, this wasn't a problem, personnel were explicitly forbidden from doing any sort of rough-housing in the shower room, namely from the risk of somebody slipping and hurting themselves from the wet floors. That didn't stop one or two from doing it every now and then, though.

Rhineford, despite not being an NCO, still had an obligation to make sure none of his fellow soldiers got hurt doing something stupid. He closed his locker before moving to stop them, but one of them shoved the other, who fell back and slammed into him. Usually, he would have been able to handle someone bumping into him, but someone who had come in before him had apparently dropped a bar of soap and forgot to pick it up.

Rhineford, who had been forced to move by the suddenly extra weight on his back and shoulder, felt his foot slip out from underneath him and started falling forward. Instinctively, he reached out and tried to grab something to break his fall, his hands grabbing something but he hit his head on an open locker. All he heard as he fell was a squeak of shock and crashed to the ground.

Behind him, he could hear one of the NCOs yelling at the two marines, before forcing them to drop and start doing pushups as he regained his senses. Angered and without looking beneath him, he turned back and yelled, "What the fuck, man?! Fucking hit my head, you assholes!" He held a hand up to his forehead to see if he was cut or bleeding. He didn't feel anything cut, but quickly had his attention brought to Lydia, who was doing her best to hide her snickering. "Trying to get your cherry popped, Oliver?"

"What?" He asked, confused as to what she was talking about, but stopped as his brain suddenly registered something. The floor was a lot softer and squishier than it should be. Looking down, to his horror, he saw that he had landed on top of Satomi. And his hand was grabbing her bare breast. Blushing madly, Satomi could only manage out a small squeak in her humiliating and angry state. Rhineford, mortified and embarrassed at the situation, immediately removed his hand and quickly stammered out, "I'm so sorry. I swear, it was an accident!" All around the two, people started laughing, whistling and catcalling at the two's embarrassing position.

This didn't last very long, as the room was filled with the sound of static electricity. Everyone's laughter turned into shouts of shock and panic, some of them even pointlessly jumping onto the lockers, as Satomi, her entire arm dancing with electricity, punched Rhineford and electrocuted him. The poor marine screamed out as he was electrocuted, all the while Satomi was shouting out, "PERVERT!"

Needless to say, a new unofficial rule had been made by the marines on board the cruiser after this incident, that all males were to stay at least 10 feet away from Satomi in the shower room, lest they want to get shocked too. And poor Oliver Rhineford, after spending 4 days in the hospital, never entered the showers at the same time as the Marsh Kunoichi ever again.


June 23, 2543
UNSC Everest
Chow Hall B

"Oh, this is sooo good." Satomi beamed as she continued to eat her breakfast, devouring the syrup-covered pancakes. Fireteam Whiskey, along with a couple others, could only watch on, amazed that somebody could scarf down pancakes as quickly as she did.

At first, they had been worried because after the first couple of days on their ship and eating their food, Satomi had fallen ill. It was suspected that because the food wasn't from Shinsei, she may have gotten sick from a foreign pathogen. Luckily, it had been quickly resolved with a couple biochemical boosters, after further observations had indicated that the problem had been solved.

As she continued to eat their food, Fireteam Whiskey learned something about her, and the planet that they were going to call home. She apparently loves sweet food. Rhineford, in particular, had discovered it was a great way to earn forgiveness with the Kunoichi if she was angry about something. The first time she had chocolate, she was amazed that something so sweet existed. Apparently, some beans and plants used for consumption that was common on Earth didn't exist on Shinsei, such as sugar canes, peanuts, cocoa beans, and coffee beans, meaning no such foods like chocolate or coffee. They did have a type of sugar beet, but it was a low-quality species that wasn't suited for making sugar, nor had they apparently thought to do so. Bees, and in turn honey existed on Shinsei, but only three countries made it in any quantities suitable for trade, and even then only royalty would ever get their hands on it most of the time.

And apparently, Satomi has never had anything so sweet before. They had unknowingly made a sugar addict out of her with just a couple of chocolate bars. Chocolate, syrup, cereal, it didn't matter. If it was sweet or had chocolate in it, she would eat it or at least try it.


July 1, 2543
Timur Island (Iwamoto to Natives)
250 Miles Above Construction Site of Capital, New Tripoli
URF Bellicose

The Bellicose has had a long, if not extremely interesting life. Initially starting life as the UNSC Bellerophon, she was one of the first Charon-class Light Frigates ever to be put in service, entering service in 2491. It was cornered and captured by the URF in 2497, where it would continue to fight and serve as an Insurrectionist ship until it was supposedly destroyed on January 2, 2504, in the Theta Ursae Majoris System, when it disappeared into the gravity well of the system's Gas Giant. While the UNSC wouldn't see or hear from it again for nearly 4 decades and assumed it destroyed, the truth was that the ship had performed the first-ever in-atmosphere slipspace jump and spent the next 40 years helping the URF fight their own war, first with the UNSC, then later with the Covenant. During that time, the Bellicose raked up a tally of 22 Covenant warship kills and 49 assists; with each Covenant Ship killed being shown as a tally mark beneath the ship's name on the sides of the hull.

The ship had gone through numerous upgrades and modifications. The narrow section of the vessel's bow that split it into two separate sections was filled in, giving more room to add both living quarters, weapons storage, and to modify the frigate's Mark II, Light Coil - 83B6R3 MAC with additional coils. This gave the main weapon an extra boost in firepower, almost equivalent to that of the Paris-classes' own MAC. The hangar bay was elongated by a third towards the engines, which added a significant amount of space to store equipment or vehicles. The entire vessel also had its Titanium-A armor increased by 30 cm, resulting in a total of 35 inches of armor protecting the Frigate. 8 more missile pods and 3 more point defense guns were added, giving it a significant boost to firepower. All in all, the Bellicose was now in a class of its own, and the URF had like the upgrades were done to it so much that they implemented them to all the other Charon-classes, and similar ones to all the other Frigates that they had in their possession; creating a unique class of Frigate that had been dubbed by Julius and Atlas as the 'Bellicose-Class' Light Frigate.

Today, however, it was serving another role, since the new capital for their colony wasn't anywhere near finished. It was serving as the unofficial meeting place for what was being called 'The Council' for the meantime.


Bridge
Sub-Level 2
'Conference Room'

Inside the small room, ten people had just entered and seated, ready to discuss the future of their colony and how it was going to be managed. For the moment, they were known as 'The Council', but this name was only temporary until they solidified a more permanent form of government on Shinsei. The ten people represented various factions within their little... collective, ranging from UNSC, URF, to refugees who were fleeing the Covenant.


Admirals Preston Cole and Lyrenne Castilla served as representatives for the UNSC and URF as a whole, respectively, along with three more representing various groups within the two rival groups.

Colonel Leonard Barnes represented the UNSC's ODST, though the URF were largely opposed to the idea of the 'Helljumpers' being represented, especially one Rebecca Cole, especially considering she hadn't been added to attend the meeting.

Brigadier-General Klaudia Osada, a 44-year-old Polish woman from the Colony Bliss, represented the UNSC's Marines and Army Units.

Captain Faolan Smios, a 31-year-old Scotsman from Circumstance, was considered the leader of one of the URF's larger militias, the Razorback Marauders, who had agreed to come, so he had been sent to represent.

Richard Fraser, the 49 years old African and the former Governor of Alluvion.

Tamara Rihova, a 58-year-old Czech and former Governor of Eridanus II.

Elliot Atkinson, a 37 year old American and former Chief Treasurer of the Colony Draco III.

Marita Thorsen, a 51-year-old Norwegian Captain in command of a fleet of civilian mining ships that had fled the destruction of Kroedis II, all represented the various civilian factions, mostly refugees, who were secretly coming to colonize the planet.

And the final person of the group was Azarov Korney Semenov, 39-year-old Russian scientist from the colony Groombridge-1830, who represents the small number of scientists that they had at their disposal.


"Well, I suppose this is our first official meeting." Doctor Richard Fraser spoke, as everyone eyed one another. It was clear that, while everyone in this room had agreed to this endeavor, trust in one another was still going to be an issue. There was just too much bad blood from decades of fighting between the UNSC and the Insurrectionists.

"Indeed. Well, first things first. How are our supplies at the moment? I know we're fine on food for the meantime, but what about resources needed to build our colony?" Atkinson inquired, shuffling in his seat.

"Not great." Thorsen answered, "Most of the civilian ships didn't come with many supplies, aside from food, clothing, and medical supplies. And while we have plenty of food from the Parabolas, the problem is our metal and rare mineral resources. The Springhills are filled with as much as they can carry, but they only have enough to sustain construction projects for about two months before we run out. And I already know from experience that is nowhere near enough to build a city."

"Let alone the various other projects and facilities we'll have to build, too," Atkinson muttered.

"So we'll start building mining facilities in the asteroid belt or even Shinsei's moon, Shīrudo. Certainly, we'll find the resources we'll need to build our colony within the star system?" Doctor Fraser pointed out.

"That's not the problem. I've already had survey drones scout the nearby planets, moons, and asteroids, but the problem isn't spots to mine. The problem is that we don't have enough resources readily available to do everything we want at once. Building those mining facilities will take weeks, months to build, as will everything else. We could be looking at upwards of 6 months before we can start sending people down to the surface." Thorsen countered.

She leaned in on the table, "Will our populace wait that long after traveling in space for so many months?"

"I can't honestly say they would. Some of them from the less developed colonies will probably be more understanding, but those from say Eridanus II and other, more developed colonies may not, likely expecting that something of a colony was already built for them." Fraser said. It wasn't a promising thought, the idea of the civilians protesting or rioting because they can't leave the ships. But what can they do?

"We could easily have some of them help out with construction. Not all the construction will require machines to do." Cole finally offered, after having stayed quiet and listen since the meeting began.

Rihova shook her head, "That would take time to train them properly. Time we don't have." she argued, "And we don't have anywhere near enough drones to supplant our experienced workforce."

"I'm afraid that's just what we'll have to do." General Osada intoned, "We just don't have that many engineers and construction workers, we'll have to train more eventually."

"Is everyone in agreement, then?" Fraser offered, as no one else seemed to have a solution. Castilla had considered maybe they could get the locals in to help but immediately cast it down. Cole and the UNSC would never agree to it, and after what happened on the island a couple weeks earlier, she wasn't sure if handing over a bunch of advanced techs was such a good idea.

She noticed that Faolan was glaring daggers at the back of Barnes' skull, who was looking at the civilian leaders. The ODST Colonel was either unaware or ignoring the Rebel leader; she wasn't sure which. She sighed, not blaming the Captain. Hell, she was still half expecting a bunch of ONI Agents to come swarming in and detaining them any second, despite the fact they had been very thorough with locating any ONI agents amongst the civilians and having them 'disappear.' Trust was going to be an issue.

Everyone nodded as they moved on to the next subject of the meeting. "Alright, now for the elephant in the room. Who exactly can we work with amongst these... 'Elemental Nations' and which ones should we be wary of?" Cole asked.

"Atlas, pull up a map of the Elemental Nations, with national territories outlined," Barnes spoke, followed a few seconds later by the table's display screen changing to an orbital view of the Elemental Nations, with nations and territories outlined.

"So what do we know exactly about these nations?" Osada inquired. Korney stood in his seat, "If I may, my folk have been largely the ones studying and observing these natives for the past 5 years, so I probably can fill you in on anything you want to know. Well, anything that the local girl hasn't covered already."

He cleared his throat before continuing, "From what we've gathered, there are currently a total of 37 nations within the region, among those are five nations considered the strongest, known as the '5 Great Shinobi Nations'." Said nations were highlighted on display, their names and relevant info displayed as well.

"A rather interesting choice of names. I think I see a pattern here." Thorsen joked.

"Fire Country, Lightning Country, Water Country, Wind, and Earth Countries. These are the most powerful in this region?" Barnes asked. Kroney nodded, "Da. And from the looks of the land around these major countries, it looks like they're recovering from some massive conflict." The display zoomed in on several areas across the region, showing vast sways of charred and battle-stricken land, even a few villages that were nothing more than smoldering ruins.

"Satomi did say there had been a massive war that had ended just three years earlier." Barnes mused, remembering a conversation with the Marsh Kunoichi on the subject of local politics. He couldn't remember what she had called it.

"Yes, the '3rd Shinobi World War', and it will probably be several more years before they fully recover from the looks of it, which presents us with a unique opportunity to fill in and surpass these '5 Great Shinobi Nations' as the new Superpower," Lyrenne added.

"Yeah, but we'll have to build our nation first before we can do that. Plus, there are numerous issues we'd have to face first, especially the issue of economics." Atkinson countered, "If we flood the market with resources, which I know we're very capable of doing, we could cause a local collapse of the economy and cause resentment towards us."

"Right, but we do have access to resources they don't. There will be demand for some, such as certain cash crops if Ms. Takashima's reaction is anything to go off of." Dr. Fraser said, knowing everyone here had seen the footage of Satomi eating chocolate for the first time. Though at first, they considered it unimportant, they quickly realized the potential stranglehold on the market they could have since so few sweet foods existed on Shinsei.

"Plus, we'll have to wise about our build-up and attempts to unify the planet. Otherwise, they will look at us as nothing more than conquerors trying to take over," Fraser stated.

Suddenly they all heard a snort, "Isn't tha' what we're tryin' to do?" Faolan spoke up, his Scottish accent laced with amusement. They all looked at him, some glaring, others merely looking at him.

"Look, you can sugarcoat it all ye want, it doesn't change the fact that we are comin' here as conquerors. We are plannin' to take over."

"Fair enough, but we don't them to think of us as such." Lyrenne countered.

"They'll think whatever the fook they want to about us. If their leaders see us as a threat, they'll convince their people we are one. Between the two, who do you think they'll trust more?" She didn't want to admit it, but Faolan did have a point. Plus, she was sure that Faolan wasn't here for the sake of the human race, more likely still looking to get in Rebecca's pants. That thought disgusted her, knowing what kind of man Faolan was. He was everything the UNSC made the URF out to be. A terrorist, murderer, pirate. Faolan's been all of these things at one point or another, and she didn't like his interest in her daughter one bit.

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now, as Elliot and Marita said, our three biggest problems are economics, resources, and construction. I think our defensive capabilities could be worked on, but that can come later along with the diplomacy." Barnes chimed in, trying to change the subject.

"With a total of, what, 8 Frigates, a Cruiser an' a shit ton of aircraft? What the fook are they gonna do against that? I think we'll be fine against the locals, Helldog." Faolan retorted.

"Oh, wooow. Helldog. Going old school with the name-calling here. Been a while since I've heard that one." Barnes mockingly complimented. "First off, William Wallace, we've only seen a small portion of what they 'could' do, not a full demonstration. We don't know what they're fully capable of, just an idea of what they can do. Second off, those fuckers we fought a couple of weeks back were just the basic infantry, no special forces, of their ninja corps if what we've gathered is correct. And despite that, they were able to kill 28 ODST troopers. Elite soldiers." His eyes narrowed, as he propped his head on the table with his right hand while his left hand went under the table, "I'd like to see your Razordicks do better."

Faolan suddenly pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Barnes' head. Most of the people in the room either backed up or tried to pull out their PDWs, thinking Faolan was about to start shooting, but Barnes quietly sat there, unmoved.

"Better be careful about what ya' say, fookface. It might get ya' killed." The Scotsman threatened, with a predatory grin on his face.

"Or what, fookface?" Barnes mocked in a fake Scottish accent, "You gonna pull out your willy an' convince me it's magically delicious?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't ya, faggot?"

"However, while you could kill me if you shoot if I shoot on the other hand," Barnes smiled as he took his right hand and made a pointing motion at his left hand, which was still under the table, "You can say goodbye to any future children."

The grin on Faolan's face disappeared, leaning back slightly in confusion. He couldn't have pulled out his pistol; his hand hadn't moved since he put it down there. He wanted to glance down under the table, to see if the Colonel was bluffing or not, but didn't dare do it. As far as he knew, Barnes could be lying and merely trying to get him off guard to pull out his pistol.

The sound of a gun cocking under the table answered his question.

"Alright, children." They turned to see Lyrenne with a pistol in both hands, aiming at both of them, "If we're done arguing, sit down, holster your weapons, and shut up."

Faolan's face scrunched up in irritation, clearly wanting to shoot the ODST in front of him. "FAL! Holster your gun, or I swear to god I'm gonna put two bullets in you!" Lyrenne threatened, having finally lost her patience. Reluctantly he holstered his pistol, still glaring at the Colonel. Lyrenne looked over to Barnes, "You too."

Glancing over at the URF Admiral, he sighed, "Alright, alright. To be fair, though," he spoke as he pulled his left hand out, to everyone's disbelief, revealing he had his fingers making a little two-fingered hand pistol, "this is a pretty dangerous weapon. The bane of every woman." He chuckled.

Lyrenne, along with everyone else, could only gawk in utter disbelief at the ODST Colonel, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"No, seriously. Every time I've seen a woman who sees this bad boy in action, they can't help but squeal out." Barnes joked. Lyrenne couldn't help but shake her head and roll her eyes in disbelief as Faolan, face red with fury after realizing he had been tricked and humiliated, snarled as he stood to pull his pistol back out. Barnes, however, pulled out his own with lightning-fast reflexes, having it aimed at the Scotsman's head before he even had his halfway brought up.

"Better be careful what ya' do, fookface. It might get ya' killed." Barnes mocked, again in a fake Scottish accent.

"Enough! Both of you!" Cole finally ordered, standing up and pulling out his pistol from under the table, revealing he had been the one cocking the gun.

Fraser sighed at the situation, pinching his nose. Lyrenne had been right earlier, trust was definitely going to be an issue.


Later that day
UNSC Everest
Officer's Barracks

"Well, that could have gone better." Barnes mused as he sat down on his bunk.

"It would have gone better if you hadn't antagonized Faolan." Atlas scowled as the hologram appeared on his hand.

"He was already looking for a fight. The fucker's unstable. I don't know what the hell Lyrenne was thinking of bringing him into this." Barnes replied as he fiddled with his datapad, going through the music listings.

"Regardless, you need to stop being so careless."

"Alright, alright." He conceited as he put on headphones and clicked on one of the songs in his listing. Laying back on the bed, he fished out his wallet and pulled out an old, worn photo as the song started playing. On the picture was a woman roughly his age, with mid-length dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. Beside either of her were two teenagers, one a boy with short brown hair and hazel eyes, and the other being a girl of the same age, also with brown hair, reaching to her shoulders, and hazel eyes too.

He stared at the photo for the longest time, before gently kissing it and laying back on the bed. He closed his eyes as he let himself get lost in the song.

"Trouble..."

"Trouble, Trouble, Trouble, Trouble..."


July 14, 2543
Marsh Country
Roughly 7 miles outside of Hidden Marsh Village
Fireteam Whiskey/Kingpin

Barnes had his Battle Rifle raised as the group was surrounded by at least 3 dozen ninja and dozens more ashigaru, all of them ordering the group to lower their weapons while menacingly displaying their own. Beside him, his fellow ODST and Army troopers were in a circle, weapons raised as they aimed at one target to another, while Satomi was trying to get the ninja to stand down and explain the situation.

Barnes could only mutter out one thing at that moment. "Ah, shit."

"Trouble been doggin' my soul since the day I was born"


And we'll leave it on a cliffhanger. Hey guys, how's it going? I know I haven't been uploading any new chapters. Lately, I've been swamped and just haven't had the time I used to. But, luckily that may change soon.

For those wondering about the song at the end, that was "Trouble" by Ray LaMontagne. (Great song.)

I have a couple of announcements to make. The first is that I'm looking for fellow writers to collaborate on some of my stories with. The ones I'm looking to have some help are Halo-Naruto: The Fire Within and Gear of War-Mass Effect: Solis Primus. If any of you are interesting in collaborating with these stories, please pm me and I'll get back to you asap.

The second announcement, I've decided that these chapters are going to be reduced in size, to roughly 6-12,000 words instead of the 15-20,000 words marathon chapters I've been writing. (This will apply to all my stories.) The reasons for this are A) to get these chapters out quicker and B) to try and regain some of my drive to write.

Thanks again for all your support, feel free to leave a review. Constructive criticism is always welcomed, and I'll see you next time.

-Azores