It was only long after the Onyx Conflict had concluded and the War with the Covenant itself had ended that Ben learned the truth about the world that had been his home for the majority of his life. The planet of Onyx itself was a massive Forerunner construct, composed primarily of unique "sentinel" drones that had, so far, not been found anywhere else in the Galaxy. Its surface of rock and soil had been nothing more than a facade. Every forest and training ground, every lake and desert that Ben had ever walked, crawled, and swam through… all of it was gone now, because on November the Third, 2552, Onyx had been destroyed.

The world that Ben had known and lived on for years, his home, was simply no more.

That did not mean, however, that the system was empty. Indeed, buried within the deepest parts of Onyx was something that even the greatest scientists in the Galaxy still struggled to understand. The Forerunners had somehow managed to use their mastery of Slipspace to compress an entire Dyson Sphere, nearly two Astronomical Units in diameter, into a space that was about the size of a basketball.

Given that the megastructure was approximately the same size as the diameter of the Earth's orbit around Sol, it utterly dwarfed all of the other Forerunner megastructures that Humanity had found. Naturally, the UNSC had been quick to take control of the gargantuan facility after a handful of survivors from the Onyx Conflict managed to bring it out of its Slipspace 'bubble.' From there, they built a new research station, joint-operated by the UNSC and their new ally the Swords of Sanghelios.

The feelings that Ben felt as he walked off of the Pelican and into the research station were… mixed, to say the least. Curie, normally abuzz with all manner of things to say, was eerily quiet as he followed the rest of their newly-unnamed squad up to the entrance to the research station. Mounted on heavy titanium poles that there driven deep into the alien earth was a massive sign:

Research Station Trevelyan. Photography within camp boundaries prohibited!

Ben felt his arms weaken, going slightly limp as he paused and read the name again. Even as his squad marched down the large dirt path into the rest of the base, he couldn't help but stop and just look at the sign. During his training, he hadn't ever even seen Kurt as really capable of dying.

All of the Spartan IIs were legends, the best soldiers in the history of mankind, but Kurt had been special even amongst them. It had been Kurt that inspired Ben, who worked in tandem with Richard and Curie to mold him into the Spartan that he was today. He'd been the man to train him with his suit of MJOLNIR, to guide him through the use of what was practically his own skin. But more than all of that, Kurt was the man who introduced Ben to Curie, without whom… he didn't even want to think about where he'd be.

But now Kurt was gone, and all that was left of him was the memories that Ben had.

"Ben?"

He was shaken out of his thoughts by a voice, one that was, to his surprise, not Curie's. Fairfire had turned around to see that he had stopped, as had the rest of his squad. Even clad in their MJOLNIR armor, their body language alone conveyed their concern. "You okay, Staff Sergeant?"

His rank… that was right, they were here to do a job. He furiously blinked and tried to run that through his mind, wake up and dash the thoughts and memories from his mind. "Yeah, I was just…"

He trailed off, what had he been doing? Without an answer, he shook his head in frustration and fell back into line with the rest of the squad. They thankfully resumed walking along with him, although none of them tried to talk to him again. That was something that he honestly appreciated, since he wouldn't have known what to say even if they did. Their company was more than enough for him, even if he did feel a bit guilty at the way that they all seemed to be a little bit more on edge, if for no other reason than that he was.

He had told them at least a little bit about what had happened, but only that Onyx was the planet where he and the rest of the Spartan-IIIs had been trained. He'd never made mention of Kurt, nor all of the other people whom he knew that had died during that final battle. Doctor Halsey, the very woman that he'd been sent to Trevelyan to oversee, had been present on Onyx by Kurt's side up until almost the last moment… and Ben definitely didn't know how he felt about that.

"Ben?" Curie sheepishly prompted him over a private line. "I think that I was wrong… I do not like being here either."

Again, Ben was left at a loss for words. The feeling in his chest was cold and familiar, but still hard to place. He wanted to dismiss it, say 'It'll be fine' or something similar, but he couldn't make himself speak the words. Instead, he pinged his Status Light green on his HUD for Curie to see, a silent mark of agreement and sympathy. The cool sensation in the back of his neck marking Curie's presence momentarily became just a bit warmer, her own silent reply, and a welcome bit of comfort.

Given the base's incredible importance, Ben was surprised to see just how rural it looked. The unpaved roads should've probably been the first sign, followed by the fact that some of the buildings were clearly prefabricated structures, likely dropped off by heavier UNSC Dropships like the D-20 Heron. There was exposed cabling everywhere, and crates of still-packed equipment stacked outside just about every structure.

The most notable thing about the base however, was how small it was. Trevelyan was, as far as Ben was aware, second only to the Halos and the Ark in its importance. Even so, there was no way that more than a thousand humans and allied aliens were housed in the research station.

Then again… maybe that's why there's so few people here. Ben thought. It would've made little sense to bring anybody who wasn't absolutely necessary to Trevelyan, what with its very existence being top secret. For all that the UNSC knew, there was another Forerunner superweapon buried somewhere in the Dyson Sphere, which was exactly why the research station had been established.

One area in which the base was not lacking, however, was its defenses. There were heavy instacrete bunkers, titanium shrapnel shields, and at least two batteries of M71 Scythe Anti-Aircraft Guns, and those were just the installations that he could see.

The rest of the squad didn't make any further small talk as they walked, or if they did, they did so over private channels. He didn't have to guess why either, he was acting strangely for reasons that even he didn't understand. Kurt was dead, there was nothing he could do, and no changing it. He'd been sternly taught back when he was in training that it did no good to think about what could have been, they simply had to live with what was. With a heavy breath, he forced himself to focus on the here, the now; they had a job to do.

Their current orders were to make their way to one of the Barracks and get themselves and their belongings moved in. This was, as Ben understood it, a long-term assignment, and they'd been told to bring everything that they owned. His own rucksack contained only a few bits of military kit, such as his spare clothes.

Right as they reached the door, however, Curie spoke up over their squad's personal commnet. "I have new orders for myself and Ben, we are to report to Doctor Catherine Halsey's Laboratory immediately."

Fairfire let out an exasperated sigh. "Here, Ben, give me your bag, I'll take care of it," she instructed him, to which he wordlessly complied. "Good luck you two, and don't let that old hag give you any trouble, you hear?"

Ben nodded. He'd learned all about Doctor Halsey during his training, and then more recently learned it all again from the complete personnel file that Richard gave to Curie. He was, admittedly, a bit nervous to come face-to-face with the woman who had indirectly made him a Spartan; and more than that, memories of his training and Kurt just wouldn't leave him alone.

It was only after a few seconds that Ben realized he hadn't said anything, and that Fairfire was still waiting on him for an answer. "We'll be fine."

Fairfire briefly shared a glance with the rest of the squad, before taking a step forward and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I try to be nice but… cut the bullshit Ben. Talk to me, are you and Curie going to be okay?"

Ben couldn't quite summon the effort to speak, but thankfully Curie stepped in on his behalf. "I believe so. Being here is just unexpectedly difficult for us. Some of the people on Onyx… they were our friends."

Fairfire's grip on his shoulder tightened at Curie's words, and she spoke with a softness that took Ben somewhat by surprise. "...I understand. I might not be able to get you out of work today, but if you two need anything, or just to talk… we're all here for you."

Behind her, Nathan, Yu, and Meadows all nodded in firm agreement, and Ben was momentarily left at a loss for words. After a moment, he steeled himself and replied with the only thing he could think of.

"Thank you."

Fairfire withdrew her hand, but not before giving him one final firm pat. "Anytime. And like I said, don't let her push you two around. Lord knows you've gone through enough already…"

Ben answered her and the rest of his team with one final nod of thanks before turning and setting out towards the Navpoint that Curie had put on his HUD. The Lab wasn't that far away, not even half a kilometer's distance, but it still felt like a long march as Ben's mind drifted between the present and the past. There was a cold, sickening feeling that spread throughout his body, inspiring a chilling nausea that honestly just made him feel like he was going to vomit.

"Curie?" Ben prompted her, not even really sure what it was that he was asking for.

"I am here, Ben," Curie reassured him, her own voice still sounding a bit shaky. "We have survived far worse than this, remember?"

From a purely objective standpoint she was totally correct, and he wanted to agree. Somehow, he couldn't stomach a reply beyond a deep, shaky breath and another green ping on his status light.

After what felt like hours, he arrived at the entrance to Doctor Halsey's Lab. It was a surprisingly small building compared to those around it, and Ben noted the biometrically-locked blast doors in lieu of the more typical automatic doors. Before he could let his nerves freeze him in place, he waved his hand close enough for Curie to interface with the door and permit them entry, then stepped inside.

The interior of the lab defied his expectations just as much as the exterior. It more so resembled a garage for a single warthog, which in retrospect, it may very well have been. The biggest giveaway was a stray water electrolyzer, likely useful for most scientific efforts, but essential for generating the liquid hydrogen needed to run a warthog.

In the center of the room, levitating gently above the titanium plates on the floor, was a Forerunner… something. Whatever it was, it was around the size of a Mongoose ATV and shaped like a trapezoid. It was not uniformly smooth, however, and featured small protruding angular structures that gave it a very unusual shape. Unlike the Covenant's anti-gravity technology, Ben noticed an unusual lack of sound emitting from the Forerunner device. The silence would've likely been a bit unnerving, so he counted himself lucky that he wasn't alone. The only other feature defining it was a few bright lights that lined the entire object.

Standing next to the device with datapad in hand was the infamous Doctor Catherine Halsey. She appeared just as she did in her personnel file, although she has a far less stern expression on her face, at least for the moment.

There was a tracking bracelet wrapped around her left wrist, as the security protocols she was forced to abide by after a particularly foolish stunt that she had performed at the end of the war. She also carried an M6D magnum in a holster on her right hip, which was, somewhat paradoxically, also something that she was required to carry.

As one of the notes in Doctor Halsey's file had explained; She might be a bit of a rebel, but losing her to a stray Sentinel or capture would be a massive, easily preventable loss. There isn't much damage she can't already do to us if she's armed.

Standing beside Doctor Halsey was another Spartan clad in MJOLNIR, First Generation Mark VI, to be specific. It wasn't hard to guess who it was either, since Ben's transfer orders had listed him by name, Lieutenant Commander Fhajad-084, Doctor Halsey's current handler. Fhajad gave Ben a silent nod of acknowledgement as he entered, but Doctor Halsey paid him no mind.

"-No signs of any change there… interesting. Perhaps it requires a connection to the rest of the network?" Halsey muttered to herself as she worked, before she seemed to catch a glimpse of Ben out of the corner of her eye. "Ah, just a moment Spartan; I believe I am about to make a breakthrough."

Halsey took a step back, threw one final look at the second Spartan, then the Forerunner device, and then finally at her datapad where she pushed a button. Immediately, all of the protruding structures on the Forerunner device recessed back into the central Trapezoid, and the lights swiftly dimmed before turning off outright. Finally, the object gently lowered itself to the ground, before seemingly powering down.

"Hmm, that was… easier than I expected," Halsey muttered to herself, making no attempt to hide her suspicion. "Fahjad, would you be so kind as to tell Commander Oswald that I've made a major discovery towards disabling the relay devices? I would do it myself, but I need to stay here."

"Yes ma'am." Fahjad simply replied, turning briefly to face Ben before he left. "I take it that you're my replacement?"

Ben nodded. "Yes Sir."

Fhajad's shoulders visibly sagged with relief, an outspoken emotional gesture for a Spartan-II. "We'll have to talk later, but before I go… try not to judge her too harshly. None of us would be alive if it wasn't for her."

With nothing further said, Fhajad left, and Doctor Halsey turned to face Ben directly. She looked him up and down, and he could almost feel the way that she picked apart every part of his armor, before her gaze pierced straight through to his mind and read all of his thoughts. Combined with his existing discomfort, it took a fair bit of effort to keep himself from fidgeting under her analytical gaze.

"They never gave you new armor…" Halsey idly commented. "It's good to finally meet you Benjamin, I've certainly waited long enough. Do you have Curie with you?"

"Yes Doctor," He replied, taking the liberty of pulling Curie's chip and holding it in his palm so that she could display her avatar. "...and just 'Ben,' if you don't mind."

The moment the words left Ben's mouth, he realized that it probably wasn't a good idea to try to correct Halsey immediately after meeting her. However, she defied his expectations as for a brief, strange moment, she actually smiled. It was very short-lived however, as it was swiftly replaced with a far more melancholic expression. "Very well, Ben. If you two don't mind humoring me, I'd like to ask some quick questions."

Curie turned to look up at him with transparent nervousness on her face, as if asking him what he would do. Seeing no reason to decline, he nodded. "Go ahead, Doctor."

Halsey's piercing gaze didn't leave either of them as she spoke, her voice dry and stern. "Where was I born?"

"Port Vernon, on Endymion." Ben answered, recalling the detail from Halsey's personnel file.

Halsey nodded, but her attitude did not shift. "And when did ONI open my file?"

"Officially your file was created in 2507, after you improved several obsolete predictive algorithms used by Doctor Elias Carver to predict the beginning of the Insurrection in the Outer Colonies," Ben answered. "In actuality, ONI had been monitoring you for years by that point, although the exact date that your file was opened was lost during the Fall of Reach."

Halsey raised an eyebrow. "Interesting, Miller gave you my real file. Even Fhajad didn't get that, although that was probably just thanks to Margret's pettiness… Was any of it censored?"

That was one question that Ben briefly hesitated in answering, but ultimately decided that there was little point in lying. "Not to my knowledge."

The doctor nodded, although her expression betrayed no displeasure. "I see. Thank you, Ben."

With his interrogation complete, Halsey turned her gaze towards Curie, who stood tall and professional under Halsey's stern gaze. Even so, Ben could practically feel her discomfort, and he bit back his protective instinct. Curie was a strong person, and she was more than capable of handling herself. She didn't need him to speak on her behalf.

"It is plain to see that you are nervous, Curie," Halsey observed, a surprisingly sympathetic tone to her voice. "If you don't mind me asking, what is bothering you?"

For a moment, Curie was silent, before she awkwardly spoke up. "Ben and I trained on Onyx, under Kurt. You knew him… you were there during his last battle."

The icy chill in Ben's blood grew ever colder as Halsey blinked, putting the pieces together in her mind before she looked back up at Ben and spoke with a surprising softness. "You knew him."

Ben nodded, it would've been far easier than speaking through his desert of a throat.

Halsey's gaze finally left them both as she looked down at the floor, no doubt lost in just as memories as he and Curie were. It was an obviously disquieting sight to see, but also somehow… reliving, to know that he and Curie weren't alone in their sorrow. "I… was there, yes, although not at the very end."

With no small amount of hesitation, and with a hollow voice, Ben replied; "I just didn't really think he could die."

"Spartans never die," Halsey muttered, echoing his empty tone. "If only that were true," she added, voice so quiet Ben wasn't sure she had even meant for him to hear it.

There was a brief moment of somber silence before Doctor Halsey breathed deeply and looked at him once more. "For what it's worth, the official account of the battle that you've no doubt read is true, I contributed to it personally. Kurt saved my life, and no doubt the rest of Humanity. Were it not for him, Trevelyan would almost certainly be in enemy hands, and we would've been hopelessly outmatched."

Perhaps it was their shared grief, or just the affirmation that Kurt's death hadn't been for nothing, but the cold that Ben felt subsided ever so slightly. "Thank you, Doctor."

Halsey gave him a nod of acknowledgement, and made an effort to regain a straight face as she turned her attention back to Curie. "Now then, Curie. Do you know why I have been asking to see you for so long?"

It was a transparent attempt to change the painful subject disguised as a desire to get back to work, but Curie was apparently no more eager to stay on the topic of Kurt's death than Ben was. "I believe so. Admiral Miller mentioned that you believe I am the key to extending the lifespan of Artificial Intelligences, and that he had good reason to believe you are right."

"Indeed," Halsey answered. "By Miller's own account, and Ben's service record, you have already exceed the normal seven-"

Ben noticed Curie's stark shift in posture and attitude even before he noticed what Halsey had said. "You read Ben's file?"

There was an awkward pause as both Doctor Halsey and Ben recognized the rather accusatory, not to mention protective, tone with which Curie had spoken. The transparent look of surprise on Halsey's face indicated that what she said had been no idle slip-up, if she was even capable of such a thing. No, it was Curie's reaction that she hadn't anticipated. He was also fairly annoyed, but he trusted Curie to handle things better than he ever could.

Halsey, whatever it was that she was thinking, was smart enough not to lie. "Yes, I did. For what it's worth, I did so long before Admiral Miller made the decision to assign Ben as my… handler."

The way she spoke that last word made it very clear that she'd wanted to say something else. It was the very fact that she was making an effort to be civil at all, however, that stood out to him. From what he'd read, and even simply heard from the scuttlebutt across half-a-dozen stations, Halsey was about as curt and frankly rude as she wanted to be, regardless of who it was that she was speaking to. The question of whether or not she had authorization to even know about his existence went unsaid, since both Ben and Curie already knew the answer.

Curie sternly stared Halsey down, arms crossed as she shot her reply back. "Why?"

"Because I was chasing down every possible lead that I could for any scrap of information I could get on you," Halsey answered, betraying the smallest amount of frustration as she spoke, but no signs of dishonesty. "And yes, I was going around the idiotic shackles that my petty former colleague put me in, but would you not do the same? If you were offered even the slightest hope that you could potentially save every Smart AI in existence from a painful fate they don't deserve?"

Curie's arms fell to her side, and her expression softened somewhat as Halsey continued to speak.

"From the moment that I heard that ONI was in possession of an AI with an unlimited lifespan, I was, to put it mildly, doubtful," Halsey said. "Tell me, are you familiar with the circumstances of your creation?"

Ben couldn't help but scowl at the demanding manner in which Halsey spoke, but Curie answered her regardless. "I am not. Are you?"

"No, and it may interest you to know that neither is Admiral Miller," Halsey continued. "When I asked him for your file after he took over Margaret's position, he discovered that it made absolutely no mention of your origins. What does that tell you, Curie?"

Curie stood silently, clearly thinking it over on her own. At the same time, Ben couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, although it still seemed like Halsey was telling the truth...

"He didn't have access?" Ben asked. "That doesn't make sense."

"It had nothing to do with a lack of clearance, the information simply wasn't there," Halsey clarified.

"This all sounds like something that Richard would have mentioned," Curie commented. "Although he did only have around a minute to speak with us..."

Ben, however, was now following Halsey's line of thinking. He was living, walking proof that ONI was more than capable of covering up large-scale programs, even from other sections of ONI, which raised one very uncomfortable question. "What exactly do you think ONI's hiding about Curie, and why?"

"Those, Ben, are the questions that I have been asking myself for nearly the last two years," Halsey said with a sour expression, although there was also a notable hint of relief in the way in which she spoke.

Briefly, he looked back down to Curie, and saw that her previously provocative expression was gone. In its place was a familiar curiosity… and discomfort. "...What do you need from me, Doctor?"

"Something that I imagine is going to be quite difficult for both of you: your trust." Halsey succinctly answered. "I hope you can empathize with my long-term goal, and with wanting to understand the manner in which you were created. I will not lie, you will likely receive some uncomfortable answers… ONI rarely hides things out of benevolence."

When Curie turned and looked up at Ben, the conflict in her mind was plain to see. More than her expression, the simple fact that she had nothing to say ironically spoke volumes. He was of a similar mindset. Could they really trust Doctor Halsey, the boogieman of ONI?

For whatever reason, be it the traces of grief that he still felt, or simply his natural instinct to think back to his teachers for guidance, he thought of Kurt. As one of the Spartan-IIs, Doctor Halsey had run him through hell time and time again, during his training, during Augmentations. Unlike Ben, Kurt was a conscript, he didn't get the option to leave. And yet…

Months of eager waiting had finally paid off when Curie relayed his new orders to him. Directly from Lieutenant Commander Ambrose, he was to head down to the Motor Pool to receive training in the use of his new Mjolnir Powered Armor. When he'd finally arrived, Kurt was standing beside the suit on its stand. Fully-assembled, it was truly magnificent. Moreso even than a powerful asset or a work of art, it was a gesture of trust, of faith from his superior officers that he was worthy to wield one of mankind's strongest weapons.

Kurt spent hours running Ben through the various components and functions of the suit long before he put it on. But when Kurt finally decided that Ben was ready, he had some interesting remarks about the armor itself.

"I'll be honest, I kind of envy you with this new armor," He'd said, although perhaps a bit cheekily. "Halsey did a good job with the Mark IV, but it was a pain to put on…"

Ben had been surprised to hear him say a single good thing about Halsey, since Chief Mendez, whenever he'd mentioned the Doctor, never did. Neither had Colonel Ackerson, although Ben had rarely ever been around him, let alone heard him talk that much.

Curie, naturally, had noticed the same thing that he had, although she was actually willing to ask about it. "What did you think of her?"

"Doctor Halsey? She was…" Kurt said, seemingly lost in thought. "I'm not really sure, to be honest. She's a genius; that much everybody knows, even if some people don't like to admit it."

Curie, once more in sync with Ben, echoed his own thoughts aloud. "Given your experiences, I'm surprised you have anything kind to say about her at all."

"You'd be surprised; although I never really liked her like some of the other Spartans did." Kurt replied. "She was always a bit distant, and far from a friendly person… but that doesn't mean she wasn't trustworthy."

Without a word, Ben slotted Curie's datachip back into his Neural Lace, and turned off his helmet speakers so that he could speak to Curie privately. "It's your call."

Curie wasted absolutely no time in nervously replying, "What do you think?"

"...Kurt trusted her," Ben answered. He could've said more, but he had no doubt that his words would be enough to remind Curie of the same memory he'd recalled.

Curie was quiet for an alarmingly long time. Ten seconds passed in silence, then twenty. Given that AI processed thought exponentially faster than humans did, it was clear that she wasn't going to make her decision on a whim. Doctor Halsey waited all the while, showing surprising patience… and with a strange look of recognition on her face that Ben didn't quite understand.

After perhaps a full minute, Curie made her decision. "Pull me."

He did as she told him, and he held her datachip out so that she could speak to Halsey face-to-face. "...I will not say no without hearing you out, Doctor. I want to help, but… I hope you understand my caution."

"I would only be concerned if you didn't have any," Halsey said with a small smile. "First things first, we-"

As if on cue, her datapad chirped, and she looked down at it with a death glare that could've turned a man to stone.

"...Nevermind, I suppose I have a report to make," Halsey grumbled. "I'm afraid this will have to wait. Once Fhajad gets back you can return to the rest of your squad for the rest of the day. Take some time, get moved into your barracks, I'll clear my schedule for tomorrow and we can get started then."

Ben nodded, and returned Curie's datachip to his Neural Lace once more. "Anything else, Doctor?"

"Other than the obvious 'keep Curie safe,' no, that was all," Halsey answered.

A small smile crossed Ben's face as another memory came to mind, although this one was far more pleasant. "Kurt gave me that exact order eight years ago… I like to think I've done a pretty good job."

"He doesn't give himself enough credit. He once went up against an entire fireteam of Spartans in the Arena back on Onyx because they insulted me. It was very romantic," Curie cheekily added.

Why did she have to phrase it like that? He wondered, feeling his face heat up just a little bit.

Halsey raised an eyebrow and looked up at Ben with a small smile. "Your file made no mention of that… Did you win?"

"Curie helped," He quickly answered before she could do it for him, and no doubt embarrass him further. "She doesn't give herself enough credit either."

"In my defense, I do not believe I would do as well as you do with a shotgun," Curie pointed out.

Halsey's smile didn't falter at all. If anything, it only grew. "You will both have to tell me this story some other time. I would-"

Before she could continue speaking, the door to the Lab opened, and Fhajad stepped through. "Doctor, Commander Oswald needs you to-"

"Yes, don't worry Fhajad, he's told me," Halsey answered, taking the time to grab a second datapad off of one of her desks and tuck it under her arm. "If you'd be so kind as to hold him up while I tie the noose around his neck for interrupting me again, I would greatly appreciate it."

Fhajad softly chuckled as they both left, leaving Curie and Ben by themselves. Given the nature of what had been discussed, he was naturally feeling more than a little concerned for his partner. "You okay Curie?"

"I am… worried. I have wondered about how I was created before, but I have never felt such dread about what I might find out about myself." She answered. She sounded a bit more comfortable now that it was just him that she was talking to, which made him feel a bit more at ease as well.

"I'll be here every step of the way," he reassured her.