Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo/Star Wars short story crossover.

Thank you for your wonderful support and feedback on the main story chapter. I deeply appreciate it. The next chapter s being written, and I hope all of you enjoy this short story as well.

As always, leave a review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or Star Wars franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, Disney Films, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to its respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.


UNSC Infinity

Geosynchronous Orbit, Pantora

July 9th, 0BBY, 1330 Hrs (February 27nd, 2559, 1330 Hrs)

"I'm afraid that you can't enter the laboratory, sir," Olivia said respectfully.

Chief stood just opposite from her, a frown on his face. "I would like to speak to Dr. Halsey. It's important."

"And I would love to allow you to enter, but I cannot allow you to do so at this time."

Chief sighed. He'd been coming up here to talk to Dr. Halsey about a few things, one of which was quite personal for him. Unfortunately, I have found myself being obstructed by a young lady that is obfuscating ignorance and is not willing to let me enter. "You are aware that I can pull rank on you, correct?"

"Of course," Olivia said. "However, as Deputy Chief Science Officer onboard the Infinity, I technically out rank you, which means that I can pull rank on you as well. Please do not make me do so. Oh, and the last time people tried to enter the lab without authorization from Dr. Halsey, they ended up in the brig and one was demoted. There's even stuff that I'm sure you are not cleared for. I'm certain I don't have to remind you of that now, do I?"

Chief sighed again. Of all the people that I meet, I meet someone that would be the definition of what the Marines would call a 'smart-ass.' However, I approve of her adherence to protocol. "I see," he said. "Would you inform her then that I would like to speak with her."

"Of course. I'll have to disturb her, of course, which means that -"

"Olivia, what are you doing?" came a familiar voice.

"Informing RADM 117 that he is currently not allowed to come into the lab," Olivia said. "Why?"

"I am fully aware of what the good Rear Admiral would like to talk to me about. Now, would you kindly stop trying to obstruct him? He can visit me whenever he likes."

Olivia smirked. "Well then. I don't see any other reason to prevent you from coming inside, sir. I hope you have a pleasant day." Without a word, she left, but not before winking at Chief.

His only response was a slight shake of the head, before walking inside of Halsey's lab. The last time he'd seen her lab, it had been quite messy and disorganized. Now, everything was right where it needed to be, at least to someone's notion of order and logic. It looks like Dr. Halsey's assistant might be responsible for that, he deduced.

A quick glance told him where Halsey was. Standing at the holo-table, she was looking over the schematics for the Death Star while writing down a few notes. She smiled when he walked inside. "John," she said. "It's good to see you. It's been a very long time."

John nodded. "Yes," he said. "It has. Have they been treating you well?"

"As well as can be," Halsey said. "There are some days where things are rough, but I'm surviving. That's all that anyone in my position can do, I suppose."

Chief nodded. "Who was that, by the way?"

"Who?" When Chief gave her a silent stare, Halsey snorted. "Ah, I know who you mean. That would be Olivia. She's my protégé, John. I took her on as my assistant while we were in orbit over Coruscant."

"Where did she come from?" Chief asked.

Halsey smiled. "I'll leave that for you to find out. After all, every person needs a little bit of mystery, wouldn't you agree."

John smiled slightly. Leave it to my 'mother' to find a way to mystify things.

"How's Parisa doing?" Halsey asked. "Cortana told me about her."

John shrugged. "We talk from time to time. She seems to be doing quite well. She's not particularly happy with ONI when it comes to the Spartan-II Program."

"What did she say about that?"

"She hates the fact that they rushed you instead of giving you time to refine the augmentations to where they could work on adults," John said. "Plus, she thinks that, while the Spartan-IVs are a good step forward, they are inferior to what you would've been able to do."

Halsey smiled. "I thought as much. I was asking about how things were between you and her."

Again, John was caught off guard. "I'm not sure what you mean?"

"Any feelings for her?"

John frowned. I have felt some feelings for her, he thought. I just don't understand them. "Yes, but I... I don't understand them."

"It's all right," Halsey reassured him. "I've had those feelings before. Just follow your instincts, and you'll do well."

"Got it. However, I came to you to talk about more than just how you were doing. I came here for my augmentation maintenance."

Halsey cocked an eyebrow. "Ah, I see," she said. "To be fair, it is about time that your augmentations did undergo maintenance. I'll see if -" She was interrupted by the sound of the nearby HoloCOM built into the table chiming. "Would you excuse me for a moment? I've got a call coming in."

"Sure," Chief said. Turning on his heels, he advanced out the door.

As soon as it closed, Halsey activated the HoloCOM. To her mild surprise, four individuals came up on the holographic display, one of whom was very familiar to her. "Admiral Sark," she said. "How can I help you?"

"I wanted to talk to Jyn Erso about her father's work," Sark said. "I've got a few questions that I think she would be able to answer. Is she with you?"

Halsey sighed. Oh dear; it would appear that news of her abduction has yet to reach Earth, she realized. Well, I suppose it falls to me to be the bearer of ill news. "I'm afraid she's not onboard the Infinity at this time, nor is she present at Pantora."

Sark looked at her. Confusion reigned on her face. "I'm sorry, what was that? Did you say that Jyn is not on the Infinity and not at Pantora? What happened?"

"Jyn was abducted around two weeks ago, Admiral."

At first, Sark looked shocked, as did the rest of her team, then anger set in. "Really?" Sark grumbled. "Of all the people that gets to work with you, Jyn Erso happens to be the one that is abucted." She let out a frustrated huff. "Why is it that, wherever you go, Halsey, people end up being stabbed or abducted. Are you intentionally trying to cause trouble, or is it just bad luck that people around you happen to lose limbs or go missing?"

A flash of anger ran through Halsey. How dare she accuse me of intentionally setting up Jyn to be captured! a part of her shouted in rage. She took a breath. Get a hold of yourself, she said to her ego. Focus on the here and now. Don't let someone like Sark unsettle you. You've handled more dangerous people than her.

Once she had her thoughts in order, Halsey spoke. "What happened to Jyn Erso was not due to my actions, Admiral Sark. What happened to her was something that is related to her past, and completely unrelated to me or my work. Would you mind if I told you about the circumstances of what happened, rather than listen to you accuse me of setting her up to be captured, intentionally or otherwise?"

While Halsey's voice was calm and level, the anger in her words was sharper than even an Energy Sword. Sark pulled back as though she'd just been bitten. "Of course," she said, her voice notably subdued.

"Thank you. As you have likely gathered by now, the Andromeda Galaxy is teeming with criminals of all kinds, from pirates and smugglers, to slavers and the mafia expies that are the Hutts. As it turns out, before she met the Rebel Alliance, and by extension us, Jyn Erso was roped into working for a group of slavers working for a pirate lord." Halsey shook her head. "What she told me was… disturbing, on a moral and ethical level."

"How so?" Sark asked.

"The slavers were transporting slaves in the most squalid and filthy conditions imaginable. Some of the slavers were even transporting the children of some of the slaves in separate cages with them. Some of the female slaves in there were forced to give birth to their children in captivity. To enforce compliance, and out of a sick and twisted sense of humor, the slavers would use shock prods to make the slaves more… compliant.

"According to Jyn, she was forced to falsify documents to allow them to do their business. Eventually, she had enough of what she was seeing, and decided to trick the slavers into having a meal. When they decided to dig in, she knocked them out with their own shock prods and stuffed them into the cargo bay. According to her, she allowed the slaves to go freely, and even gave one of the mothers the option to kill the slavers. When she left, all of the slavers were ejected into space."

By the time Halsey was done, Sark had gone pale, while her compatriots had clenched their HoloCOM table hard enough that their knuckles were turning white. "I… I'm sorry," Sark said. "I… I didn't know. If I had known, I would've been more tactful about how I approached you."

"You didn't know," Halsey said. "I personally didn't know until Jyn herself told me."

"Understandable," Sark said. "I'm no psychiatrist, but even I know that I wouldn't talk about something like that if it didn't happen to me. That being said, don't you people have a plan to rescue her?"

"Until we find out where she is, we don't have a plan. That being said, Sark, it wouldn't hurt for you to speak with HIGHCOM about this matter, given that they seem to be dragging their heels in this matter. In fact, shouldn't you contact them and asked them to speak with you. In fact, where were your ships when Jyn was taken? You designed the most powerful ship in the entire fleet. If they couldn't stop this abduction, shouldn't you do something about it on your end of things?"

Sark's eyes tightened, but her sigh held no malice or anger. "You make a very fair point," she said. "Truth be told, we've been so focused on dissecting the design of the Death Star that we haven't had time to consider designs for new ships."

"Then it's a good thing that I brought that matter to your attention. Speaking of which, have you made any progress in the design of the missile that HIGHCOM wants so badly?"

"We have, actually," Sark said. "McGlenn? Could you share with Halsey what we've got so far? She's cleared for this information."

"Certainly," McGlenn said. "Given that my expertise is in weapons technology, I've been busy with my subordinates designing a missile version of the NOVA bomb, but not just any standard NOVA bomb. We're working on developing a Casaba-Howitzer variant of the NOVA."

Halsey nodded. "I see. Using some of the research notes that went into Project ORION from the 20th and 21st centuries, I take it?"

"Yes," McGlenn said. "I must admit, the folks back during the 20th and 21st centuries really had nasty imaginations. Given that they were in a cold war with the concepts of MAD and the threat of nuclear annihilation hanging over their heads like a sword of Damocles, I don't blame them. In fact, we could use some of that right now."

"McGlenn," Sark growled.

"Ah, yes, sorry. What we're working on is an advanced version of the NOVA bomb that will use the principles of the Casaba-Howitzer to generate an intense beam of plasma powerful enough to tear through the superstructure of the Death Star. Normally, we'd go for a conventional one, but the Death Star has quite a bit of mass and some of it's more delicate components are quite small. We also have little idea of how durable its armored surface really is. For all we know, it could withstand a NOVA bomb, though I highly doubt it."

"So you developed a shaped charge version of the NOVA bomb to account for that potentiality," Halsey surmised.

"Pretty much. As an engineer, I really don't like it when unknown variables like this present themselves to us. Might as well cover all of our bases so that, in the event something unexpected does happen, we'll have accounted for it during the designing phase."

Halsey nodded. "Understandable. I had to account for the same thing with my other projects as well." Checking the time, she said, "We'll have to call at a later time. I have many duties to handle, and I cannot be in multiple places at the same time, as much as I would love to be."

"Of course," Sark said. "When you're ready for us, we'll be here."

"Good," Halsey said. "Dr. Halsey out." Closing the HoloCOM channel, she turned to John as he entered the room. "Now, where were we?"

"My augmentation maintenance," John said.

"Ah, yes. We will begin that augmentation maintenance once you are done speaking with the Armed Services Committee about what your new rank is going to be. I'm also going to have Olivia observing the augmentation maintenance procedure as a part of her training as my protégé."

John nodded. "Understood. I'll be ready when the procedures are about to begin."

"Excellent. Now, run along. You've got places to go and people to see." As John proceeded out of the lab, Halsey said, "And John?"

"Yes?"

"It was good to see you again," Halsey said. "I really mean it when I say that."

John nodded, the faintest ghost of a smile on his face. "I know."

. . .

Once the HoloCOM call ended, Sark looked at her compatriots. "Well, Halsey just opened a can of worms on us. Not only has Jyn been abducted, HIGHCOM doesn't seem to be really doing much of anything about it."

"Yeah," Okuni said. "I don't understand why HIGHCOM wouldn't be interested in rescuing the only other person that might know a thing or two about the Death Star, especially since she got the schematics of it to us. Perhaps it's time that we called and asked a few questions."

"Perhaps," Sark agreed. "I'm going to go ahead and arrange a HoloCOM call with HIGHCOM. Once they appear, we'll speak to them about this whole situation."

"Well, we're ready when you are," Eric said.

Changing the calling frequency, Sark quickly punched in HIGHCOM's contact information. Before long, the faces of each member of HIGHCOM appeared over the holo-table. "Admiral Sark," Hood said. "Is there something you need?"

"Yes," Sark said. "I came to deliver a progress report on our studies of the Death Star, as well as to ask a few questions."

"Good. Let's start with the progress report first."

"Yes, sir," Sark said. She cleared her throat. "We think we may have a weapon that is capable of tearing through the Death Star like a bullet through tissue paper. McGlenn?"

"Thank you," McGlenn said. "We've developed a shaped charge variant of the NOVA bomb that was used to destroy a Sangheili colony, and to annihilate a Covenant fleet during the Covenant-UNSC War."

Hood smiled. "Excellent. That should give us the edge we need against the Empire."

"Yes, though I would request that a few more NOVA bombs are made so that we can test our design. We don't exactly know what will happen once we try the design out. For all we know, it could be a flash in the pan. I would, therefore, like to test our designs on a number of planetoids that the UNSC has designated for mining due to their lack of atmospheres and low threat level to any colonies."

Hood rested his chin on a thumb. "I don't see why not. Dellert? Hogan? Parangosky? What do you guys think?"

"I think it's a sound idea," Dellert said. "We'll want our design to work on the first time right out of the gate, rather than have it fizzle when we build the damn thing."

"I agree," Hogan said. "Better to shell out the money to have the kinks ironed out now than to use it later, only to spend billions of credits fixing a design that doesn't work."

"My thoughts exactly," Parangosky said.

"Same here," McGlenn said.

"All right," Hood said. "I'll speak with the UNSC Engineering Corps to see if we can have a few more NOVA bombs manufactured for the purposes of testing."

"Thank you," Sark said. "That being said, I wanted to ask you all a question."

"Go ahead."

"Are you aware of what has happened with Jyn Erso recently?"

Hood and the others looked at each other, then turned their attention back to Sark. "Yes," Hood said. "Rear Admiral Lasky informed me of her abduction and the circumstances thereof shortly after he and Harper defended Pantora from a pirate attack. Why?"

"We were wishing to speak with her some more about the design of the Death Star, so that we might find other ways to counter the space station," Sark explained. "Unfortunately, we learned from Halsey that she was abducted, and that HIGHCOM might be dragging it's knuckles on looking for her."

Hood frowned. He had a feeling that Sark was going to mention that. "I can assure you that we are looking for her," he reassured Sark. "However, there are a number of variables complicating matters in this regard."

"Those would be?"

"For one thing, we don't know where the pirates that captured her are based at," Hood pointed out. "Secondly, the Andromeda Galaxy is a huge place, and there are millions, if not billions, of star systems that are inhabited in the Andromeda Galaxy. Searching for Jyn in all of that is like trying to find a gold needle in a football field sized stack of silver needles. One is always easy to find, just not the right one."

"On top of that, if we go nosing around in the wider galaxy, the Empire might take offense to that," Parangosky said. "While we are certainly capable of defending ourselves at Pantora, even they cannot withstand the full might of the Empire for long. I can say, however, that we are looking for her. It's just taking quite a bit of time due to the amount of area we have to cover."

"Can't we track where the ship has gone?"

"Without a locator beacon, no," Parangosky said. "On top of that, we currently don't have any means of tracking a ship through hyperspace, though we know that it's been done before. In other words, we're currently in a deadlock in that regard."

Sark sighed, her body deflating slightly. "I understand. I'm just mystified as to why someone would abduct Jyn, even though I already know why."

"Fully understandable," Hood said. "I've often been bewildered myself. Is there anything else you need?"

"Yes," Sark said. "Given that we'll likely be studying a lot of ships from the Andromeda Galaxy, I'm requesting command of Special Assembly Plant Concord. I know that it's technically under ONI jurisdiction, but seeing that ONI is a division of the UNSC Navy, I believe that it will be necessary for ship engineers such as myself and my colleagues to have command of the facility."

Parangosky gave Sark a glare. "There's a good reason why it's under ONI jurisdiction, though I must admit, your request does seem reasonable. Hood?"

Hood pursed his lips and thought it over. I see. Not only will it allow them to develop their ships faster, it'll strip more power away from ONI. "I'll see what we can do about that. Anything else?"

"Not at this moment," Sark said. "I've covered just about everything we needed to in this meeting."

"Good," Hood said. "While our efforts to find Jyn have been stalled at the moment, I can say that your new missile design should give us the edge we need when it comes to defeating the Death Star. Plus, we might use the NOVA bomb more often to eliminate large Imperial fleets. Report back to us again when you've got data from the tests. Dismissed."

. . .

At about the same time, Chief found himself in the position of answering questions for the Armed Services Committee. I can see why Lasky would find this to be a tedious experience, he thought as each member asked him their questions. I would much rather be out in the field than handling matters like this, but that's life for you.

His thoughts were interrupted when Gordon Steeds said, "During the Infinity's first visit to Requiem, you disobeyed a direct order from then Captain Del Rio to hand over Cortana to begin her deletion. Why is that?"

"Why is that indeed," Del Rio added, a note of irritation in his voice.

Steeds immediately turned to Del Rio. "If you cannot be civil and polite during this session of the Armed Services Committee, Del Rio, then I must ask you to excuse yourself. Is that clear?"

Del Rio frowned. "Yes," he said.

"Good. However, Del Rio does raise a good point. There was a major risk with ship security with Cortana's condition being unknown."

Chief took a breath, then let it out. "The procedure that Del Rio would've had them carry out on Cortana would've taken hours, if not days, to complete, which was time that we did not have. We also had the more pressing matter of dealing with the Didact. Were the procedure to be done, we would've lacked a crucial element needed to defeat the Didact, as no other AI has the familiarity with Forerunner systems that Cortana has."

"A very good assessment," Steeds said. "For the record, Chief, I believe that you made the right decision. The procedure in question would've taken four days to complete, far too long to eliminate the threat that was the Didact. I take it that it was the same circumstance when it came to Ivanoff Station?"

"Yes," Chief said. "It was necessary to acquire the HAVOC nuclear warhead in order to destroy the Didact's vessel. The Didact, however, went there to retrieve the Composer in order to begin his genocidal quest to convert all of Humanity into digital information."

"Do you feel any regret for what happened?" Del Rio asked. "Anything you could have done differently?"

The question was worded innocently, though Chief knew what the implications were. "Having assessed the situation around 343 different times, I do not think I could have done anything differently, nor was there anything I could have done for the crew of the station. Do I regret what happened to the crew? Yes. Do I regret going there to stop the Didact? No."

"Again, we agree with you on that assessment," James, one member of the Committee said. "We came to much the same conclusion following our assessment of the situation."

"There is also the matter of Ackerson's failed attempt on your life," Gordon added. "Lasky said that Ackerson attempted to assassinate you? Is this true?"

"Yes," Chief said.

"Why would he attempt to assassinate you?"

"Having reviewed the records, I can say that he attempted to do so out of personal jealousy and professional disgruntlement," Chief said. "Ackerson also wanted to discredit Dr. Halsey, despite the fact that she was responsible for the development of the most advanced supersoldiers in the UNSC, so that he could take over the Spartan programs in their entirety. Such conduct on his part was unethical and unprofessional."

"I agree," Gordon said. "Well, the time has come for a vote. Would you briefly go on hold, Chief?"

"Yes," Chief said.

Once his hologram faded out, Steeds sighed. "In all of my years, I have never known an enlisted officer with such a storied and prestigious career. It is clear that the Master Chief has what is needed to become an officer in the Navy."

"I agree," Stuart, another member of the Committee, added. "He has made mistakes, but to be clear, there is no such thing as a 'perfect soldier.' However, I can say that all of the important decisions were correct."

"However, there is one detail we have to remember," Del Rio added. "The last time he was offered a promotion, he turned it down, stating that he preferred to be in the field. What if he wishes to turn the promotion down now?"

"Unfortunately for him, it is out of his hands," Gordon said.

"Why?"

Gordon clasped his hands. "Let me be blunt, gentlemen. If the public became aware that if we allowed the Master Chief to turn down the promotion, despite citing his storied and illustrious career, it would be perceived as a smear campaign. That would do irreparable damage to the UNSC's reputation and image, and it would make the UEG look like a collection of ungrateful bastards that don't care much for their heroes. If we promote him, not only will we be giving him his rightly earned reward for his loyalty and courage, we will also give the UEG and UNSC a role model to look up to. Besides, I personally feel that he's been rather… underappreciated."

The other members of the Committee looked at each other. He's got a point, Del Rio realized. As much as I hate to admit it, the Master Chief does deserve to be an officer. "Very well," he said. "All in favor and against, cast your vote now."

A series of clicks and beeps emanated from the consoles that all fifty members of the Committee used. Looking at the tally, Del Rio's eyes widened, then he cast his own vote. "Excellent," Steeds said. "Chief?"

Chief's hololgram shimmered back into existence. "Yes?"

"It is the unanimous decision of the Armed Services Committee that you are to be rewarded for your valorous and distinguished service to the UNSC. As such, it is the decision of the Armed Services Committee that you are to be permanently promoted to the rank of RDML, or Rear Admiral Lower Half. Do you have any thoughts to share on the matter?"

"Only that I would prefer my older rank of Master Chief Petty Officer," Chief said. "However, given that it is your decision, and that you have your reasons for doing so, I accept."

"Good," Steeds said. "Let it not be said that the UNSC is ungrateful to the man that staved off our species entire extinction. As for training in that regard, we will defer to HIGHCOM's judgment. This session of the Armed Services Committee is adjourned."

. . .

A few hours later, Chief found himself in one of the medical bays onboard the Infinity. Stripped down to nothing but the boxers provided to him, he lay flat against the contour shaped medical table he was gently, but firmly, strapped to. Dozens of doctors worked all around him, each one ready to begin the procedure he was undertaking.

In an observational booth above, Olivia found herself mesmerized by the sight. I never knew that a man like Chief was covered in so many scars, she thought. If each of those scars represents a battle, then the Covenant-UNSC War must've been even more terrifying than the Clone Wars. She shivered at what could've inflicted those scars. Some of them appear older, though, like they've been there for a long time.

"Feeling nervous?" Halsey asked, jarring Olivia from her thoughts.

"Y-Yes," Olivia admitted. "I must admit, I've never seen something quite like this before. Are you certain he'll be fine?"

Halsey smiled. "John has been through a lot more than you realize, Olivia. Out of all of the candidates, he was the one that fared the best after his augmentations were implanted. Even to this day, he always is the first to go through something before everyone else does. It's in his nature."

"Really?" Olivia asked. "Is that why I'm here? To learn more about the Spartan-II Program?"

"Yes," Halsey said. "We'll start with having you observe the augmentation maintenance procedure. After that, I'll tell you all about the Spartan-II Program, even some of its... grittier details."

Down below, one of the doctors said, "We are ready to begin the procedure. If you wish to back out now, Rear Admiral, you may do so."

John's reply was immediate. "No. I wish to proceed."

"Very well," the doctor said. "Administering sedative." As the needles descended, John looked at the observational booth one more time. The faintest smile appeared when Halsey smiled back at him. Then his sight faded as the sedatives gently pushed him into the world of dreams.