Chapter 6: Hands on Deck
The year is November 16th, 2552, as what remained of the Hoplites and Vanguards aka Spartan 1.1s were on their way to a mission. One hundred and ninety-seven Hoplites with fifteen Vanguards, fitted with SPI armor but different colors that separated the two groups. Bronze colored armor with a red insignia for the Hoplites, while gray armor with a blue insignia for the Vanguards as armed themselves for the mission. They had just finished their mission on Cleveland and now were on another in East Africa. Their current mission: Prevent Covenant forces from finding Crow's Nest, a UNSC base of operations. It was a full-on battlefield near Voi as the Hoplites and Vanguards fought the Covenant heading for the city itself. Jan, Kevin, and Krista were assisting a squad of ODSTs escorting citizens out. Benji alongside Manny in a sniper's nest with other snipers. They took shot after shot of Covenant combatants as Benji killed a jackal sniper northwest of a canyon. When it came down to it, both of them were clearly the better shots.
"These covies just keep coming, eh?" the Hoplite replied. "Why are they so deadset on Voi? I thought they only go for major cities."
The 1.1 Vanguard sniper shook his head who had his scope on the head of a Brute. "No idea. There must be some sort of significance here in the city. The question is what." he take the shot, damaging the Brute's armor before Krista slit its ankle and fired her shotgun at the Brute's head.
The Hoplite flicked her comms on. "Thanks, Benji."
"Krista, how's it looking down there?"
Krista killed a Jackal and took its shield, placing it on her gauntlet. "Most of the citzens have already been evacuated away from the city." she used the shield to protect herself from a Brute firing at her with a brute spiker. "It's just us and them now."
Jan leaped toward the Brute and punched it across the face, giving Kevin the opportunity to impale his combat knife on its neck before turning on his comms. "Scimitar company, how's it looking from your side?
"This is Hawthorne. We got covies heading into the jungle!"
Benji and Manny glanced at each other before Manny asked. "They're retreating? I didn't think they'd be desperate enough to fall back."
"No, we lost half of Sickle and Crossbow when they kept hammering us! This isn't them falling back."
"Dammit. They must've found Crow's Nest." Kevin muttered before flicking the communicator back on. "Hawthorne, get everyone we have left into that jungle! If they're in the jungle, then that means it's the Red Flag contingency at play."
"We're heading there now!"
Kevin looked at his comrades. "Let's move. Benji, Manny. Head over to the jungle. You two aren't that far behind." he ordered through comms
Benji and Manny did as they were ordered to, heading toward the jungle on the mongooses. They rode, revving the pedal as they went full throttle further down the jungle itself. A small light caught Benji's visor as his eye suddenly went wide once he knew what it was. He swerved the mongoose when a beam shot out, striking the front wheel mongoose as Benji was sent falling to the ground. Manny noticed and got off his mongoose, carrying his sniper rifle in hand. He took cover behind a tree as he glanced at Benji who took covered by some bushes. Manny rushed for some cover, avoiding the sniper's sight. His eyes scanned the area of the jungle, trying to pinpoint where the sniper was before he decided to check and see if Benji was alive.
"You alright, mate?"
"I'm fine. Got eyes on that sniper?"
Manny looked through his scope. "Nope, but I'm betting one of us can draw the bastard. You wanna do the honors or should I?"
Benji turned to the direction where the shot came from, then back to Manny. "You distract him. Once I got a clear shot, I'll take it."
"Done." Manny said, quickly tossing his sniper rifle to Benji. "Just make sure you got this sneaky bastard."
Manny made a dash for a tree right of him, as he saw a red light off in the distance. He dodged and took cover from a nearby rock. Manny ran again as Benji lined up his sights, trying to find where the sniper was located upon shot after shot from the enemy sniper. After the third shot, Benji spotted the direction of where the shot came from, presumably northeast of him. Once Benji saw that red light in the distance, he took the shot as a jackal fell to the ground hard. Manny got out of cover and walked over to Benji as the 1.1 tossed the Hoplite back his weapon.
"Good shot." Manny complimented, glancing at the dead sniper
"Thanks. We better press on ahead. There's no telling how the others are doing right now."
A Brute chieftain ambushed the group as they evade swirling gravity hammer, but Hawthorne and a few Hoplites got hit from the impact. Hawthorne quickly got off the ground, going for his assault rifle at the chieftain. Unfortunately, the brute chieftain caught notice and impaled him with the back of his hammer and tossed him off a cliff. The chieftain then charged at Krista as she used the energy shield to protect her from the blow, sending her flying back. Jan landed a charley horse kick to the chieftain's leg as it swung the hammer with great fury, causing the 1.1 to dodge the incoming attack. She elbowed the chieftain only to be caught mid-air and tossed toward Nat, ready to bludgeon both of them to death. Before he could, Kevin jumped on the chieftain's backstabbing him repeatedly until the brute in rage headbutted him in response. Kevin was sent flying with a backhanded blow as his helmet came off, pushing him off a cliff. Luckily, he held onto the ledge as the brute held the gravity hammer up to end the 1.1 vanguard. An energy sword pierced through the chieftain's chest all of a sudden, sending the brute to fall to his death. The attacker uncloaked in front of Kevin to be a Sangheili in unusual armor, even for an Elite. He lifted Kevin with only one hand and tossed him away from the ledge. Kevin quickly ran and took an assault rifle in his hands as he aimed it at the mysterious Elite. Just then, the remaining 1.1s and Vanguards except for Kevin had their weapons aimed at the direction of the bushes. Benji and Manny popped out of the bushes, follow by two people. One was an older African American male wearing marine gear with a sarge hat and a mustache. The other a woman in her late twenties wearing a gray navy outfit showing her rank.
Krista and the others lowered their weapons. "Sgt. Major Johnson? Commander Keyes?"
"Everyone, stand down. He's with us." Johnson said, seeing Kevin keeping his weapon on the Elite. "Did you hear me, Corporal?"
"What's an Elite doing here?" Kevin demanded to know
"This is the Arbiter. He helped us shut down one of the Halo rings." Keyes informed the group
"An Elite on our side? I say that's bloody interesting, but very unlikely." Manny muttered in a skeptical tone
"I am not your enemy. Know that we share a common foe." Arbiter said
"Before you joined our side, you attacked other worlds we inhabited. Glassed them. Were you on Reach?" Kevin asked
"I led the invasion force on that planet." Arbiter replied as Kevin cocked the safety off and kept his finger near the trigger
"Morales! Kevin! Stand down, son!" Johnson ordered. "The Arbiter's on our side now."
"Cpl. Morales, the Arbiter is an ally." Cmdr. Keyes said to him. "Stand down. That's an order."
"Kevin, remember the saying: the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Benji stated in a reasoning tone to his friend. "Right now, we can't afford to turn down help."
"Plus, he did save your ass just now." Jan pointed out
Kevin lowered his weapon. "Fine." he said, not taking his eyes off Arbiter until he looked at his team. "Let's get back to the nest." everyone decided to head back to base, all except for two people
Johnson glanced at the Vanguard. "You. Take off your helmet." the Vanguard remained silent on Johnson's order. "Don't make me call your full name, little lady." she still kept her silence over his demand. "Natasha Imani-"
The Vanguard took her helmet to reveal Nat. "Really, Dad?"
Back in the Crow's Nest, Johnson was arguing with his daughter in a CO room. Natasha knew there would be a day that the parents of 1.1s would find them or cross paths. She however did not expect her father to find her first. With a Spartan 1 or Orion parent and a mother who is currently a high-ranking member of the Office of Naval Intelligence, Nat made sure she covered her tracks since the invasion.
"What the hell are you doing out here, Natasha?" Johnson demanded to know of his daughter
"What do you think I'm doing? I'm taking the fight to the Covenant, dad. This is the endgame now."
Johnson shook his head and replied. "You are too young."
"I'm almost eighteen years old in a few months." Nat countered. "Since I can't enlist in the Marines like Clyde did, this was the best and only chance for me."
"Which is why you kids don't know what you're getting yourselves into." Johnson said in a stern fatherly tone. "This is war. Goddamn life and death! Do you know how much of you kids died fighting in this war?"
"I haven't forgotten the friends I lost in this fight." Nat said in a firm tone, crossing her arms together
"You're not in the right place. It would be much easier if-"
Nat rolled her eyes and scoffed. "So, you think I should just join up with ONI like Amaya did?" she queried in a retort
Johnson folded his arms and sighed. "ONI would be a better fit for you in this."
"Did mom put you up to this? I swear to God-"
"This has nothing to do with your mother." John stated sternly. "She is worried about you, Nat. And she's got every right to be. I lost your brother on Reach. You should know how much that pained her to see Clyde's name come on that list of KIAs." Johnson turned away and started baling his fist. "I already lost a son. I'm not losing any of my kids in this damn war."
"Dad..." Nat trailed, putting a hand on her father's shoulder. "I miss him, too. But Earth is the only thing that's left. This is humanity's last stand against the Covenant." she said to him. "I'm still here. I'm still alive and I'm not going anywhere. But we need to end this war, so nobody doesn't lose a mother, a father, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. Deep down, you know that I'm right."
Johnson pulled out his dogtags and handed them over to his daughter. "Then, take these."
"Dad, I can't take-" Johnson cut his daughter
"These aren't just my tags, they're your brother's." Johnson put the tags in her hand and gripped them together. "They kept me lucky so far." he said as he heard a knock on the door. "Come in."
The door opened to reveal a marine. "Sir. We got confirmation. It's him."
"Get the men ready. We're picking up our boy." the marine saluted as he left the room with Johnson looking back at his father. He formed a smirk and walked toward his daughter. "I'll be back for those when this war is over, Buttercup."
Nat laughed at her father's nickname for her and hugged him. "You better. I love you, daddy."
"I love you too, kiddo." Johnson replied, hugging her back before he left
So it was that point on Nat kept the tags her father gave her, holding onto them until he came back once the war was over. The war with the Covenant ended, but father did not return. The only one of the joint operations to the Ark that survived was the Arbiter. The Master chief was reportedly missing in action whereas Commander Miranda Keyes and Sgt. Major Avery Johnson was killed in action. The Hoplites and 1.1s attended the memorial service in formal military attire as they saluted. One shot fired for those that were lost in the final days of the war. Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood was commending the vanguards of Sparta and Hoplites in their efforts fighting the war. After the others were commended, Jan and Nat were the last two to receive commendations.
"Janissary James. I knew your father, James Lee." Hood said to her. "He would be proud of you, if he were here with us." he concluded, placing a hand on her shoulder
"Thank you, sir." Jan sniffled, holding back tears
"Natasha Johnson." he presented her with a reward, while Nat fought back tears as she gripped the tags of her father and brother. "In honor of your father's bravery and sacrifice, this medal of honor goes to you. He'll be missed and he'll be remembered."
After the Voi memorial, Nat and the surviving 198th fully enlist in the military. Jan was able to finally enlist in the Navy from a favor to Admiral Hood, but found out from Hood that the late Cdmr. Miranda Keyes put in a word for her. Instead, she asked the admiral if it was possible for her to join up with the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. Jan was accepted due to her skills and accepted as an excellent candidate for the ODSTs. While the offer was also extended to Nat, Benji, and Kevin, they politely refused. Benji joined the Army in Counterintelligence, while Kevin enlisted in the Air Force as a pilot and airbourne trooper. Nat's mother, Jilan al-Cygni refused to allow her to join any branch except for ONI. She was well aware of the various names her daughter used to enlist herself in the UNSC military. However, Nat used all but one. Her mother's surname was something even her mother would not expect Nat to use to join the military. Nat was able to be enlist in the Marine Corps with the surname al-Cygni, earning herself quite the reputation. It was in early 2554, that Professor Cray of the Hoplite program offered the 198th an invitation to be part of the Spartan-IV Program. Her mother found out soon after once Nat became a Spartan. Aside from their Spartan-III mentors from Bravo team, they were also taught by other Spartan, one of them being Spartan-II team Black. They all continue the fight for those that they lost. For those they bleed and fought together with on that lasting battle on Earth. For Nat it wasn't just for the brothers and sisters in arms that were lost in the final days of the Covenant war like the other survivors. It was to honor the memory of her father and brother.
"Captain Lasky to all hands! Battle stations! This is not a drill!"
"Commander Palmer to all Spartan fireteams. Infinity has been boarded! Every fireteam that can hear this transmission fallback to Infinity and help with defenses! Palmer out."
Nat stared down at the tags of her father and brother. "Infinity's been boarded?" Nat looked back at her team. "We need to go. NOW."
Jan turned to Murphy. "Lieutenant."
"I know, Spartan. Hang on, everyone! We're heading back home to lend 'em a hand!"
"First things first, Lieutenant." Kevin took a seat by Murphy. "I'm flying us home from now on. You're co-pilot. Understood?"
"Sir, yes sir."
With Kevin piloting the Phantom alongside Lt. Murphy, the majority of those inside held on as it went into orbit. Crimson and Icebreaker squad could see Covenant ships and fighter swarm the Infinity from the display, as Kevin fired on a couple of Banshees. A squad of Banshees and a couple of Phantom dropships noticed the ambush, as they were now in hot pursuit of Crimson's Phantom.
"Covenant ships are inbound on Infinity, Crimson. How fast do you think you can get here?" they heard Miller through comms
Nat slowly looked at Kevin. "He just had to say that didn't he?"
Kevin floored the Phantom to head for the Infinity, evading Covenant attackers and Infinity defenses. Icebreaker squad were stumbling upon the Spartan's flying techniques as the rest of Crimson caught them, barely hanging on themselves. He banked port as a damaged banshee was about to collide their way, going starboard to avoid the Infinity defense turrets. Unfortunately, the starboard engines of the Phantom were hit as it was sent hurtling toward the hangar bay.
"Oh, hell! We've been hit!"
"Brace for impact!" Jan shouted to everyone
The Phantom crashed inside the hangar where UNSC and Covenant forces were battling below. Fireteam Crimson helped out Icebreaker squad from the crashed phantom, one-by-one at a time until it was only Murphy inside the crashed Phantom. They found the lieutenant pinned down in some rubble from the crash.
"Lieutenant, are you still breathing?" Nat asked as her and Benji started lifting the debris off of Murphy
Murphy groaned. "Still in one piece, Spartan. Just pinned in here really good." he said as they got the last of the debris off of him
"Hang tight, Murphy. We'll get an extraction team for you." Jan assured as Crimson step out of the downed Phantom, joining the fight
"Hell of an entrance, Spartans!" a marine shouted in the fight
"There's a man hurt inside that Phantom. You and your men get him to med bay." Jan ordered the marine squad. "Icebreaker squad, cover them and escort them to med bay safely for Murphy."
"Right away, ma'am." they did as they were ordered while Icebreaker squad laid down some covering fire for them
"Miller. It's time for you to pull your weight around. I want you and the rest of the handlers to arm up. You're the Infinity's backup just like the rest of us." Kevin ordered as he and the rest of Crimson opened fire on incoming Covenant forces. "Commander Palmer would agree with me."
"What?! Crimson, I need to-"
"You heard me, Miller." Kevin downed an Elite and fired a point-blank shot once its shields dropped. "You're wearing Spartan armor and doing absolutely nothing in it right now. You have only duty. Arm up and defend this ship with the rest of the forces here. You're a Spartan. It's time for you to act like it."
"Wait a minute-" Kevin cut off Miller, switching communications with Oracle
"Oracle. Can you maintain the ship just as Roland can?" Nat asked as she and Kevin flanked left while Benji and Jan flanked forces on the right
"Maintaining a flagship such as the Infinity is no small feat, but I can keep the Infinity going for a while in Roland's place."
"Can we transfer you and Roland back to your respective duties?" Benji queried, killing an Elite with a beam rifle
"Not with the Infinity in disarray." the AI stated. "Until the Covenant and Prometheans are repelled off this ship, I cannot help you. I can only lead the way for you to whatever threatens our survival on the Infinity."
Kevin armed himself with a DMR. "Roland, looks like you're with us for the long ride until we clear out our unwanted guests."
"Understood, Spartan Morales." Roland replied. "Oracle, try to keep everyone on Infinity alive in one piece."
"The same goes for you with Crimson, Roland. I want my fireteam alive." Oracle said
Crimson flanked around the staircase, taking down more Elites and Grunts. Jan charged up the stairs to end ramp around the edge of the hangar, as she kicked an Elite Ultra and shot him at point blank range. Nat took the opportunity to jab another Elite in the neck and chucked a grenade behind her, leaving a wave of the Covenant eliminated. Kevin landed headshots on multiple Grunts and Jackals, along with three Elites in the process once their energy shields were down. Benji used what was left of the beam rifle and sniped off a few Jackals and Elites in the process, before loading up a sniper rifle in the weapon bay. He sniped off some Covies pinning down marines as they encountered four Spartans on their way to the engineering deck, in tan and blue armor. One was a man wearing a Warrior armor variant and black visor, carrying a SAW machine gun with one hand as the barrel was over his shoulder. Another man was in a Hazop armor with a green visor, while the other two were women. One in white and sky-blue Technician armor, with a red visor. The other woman wore Aviator armor with a blue visor.
"Let's give that fireteam some covering fire for the Marines." Kevin ordered as Crimson complied
Crimson engaged the arriving Covenant attackers as the Spartan fireteam escorted them out the ramp. Suddenly, the bay doors began to close on inbound Covenant Phantoms as turrets outside the Infinity opened fire on them. One of the Spartans in the fireteam nudged at the direction of Crimson as they walked over to them.
"If I didn't know any better Oracle, I say you're getting use to this." Benji said, amazed
"Thank you." the AI replied, accepting the compliment
Roland enter the comm chat. "Don't get cocky."
"I am anything but overconfident, Roland."
"Damn." the Spartan in Technician armor turned to Crimson. "Thanks for the assist, Crimson. We appreciate it."
"You Fireteam Domino?"
"Spartans Victor Mendoza and Holly Tanaka." the Spartan in Warrior armor replied as he gestured his thumb to the other two member of the fireteam. "Over there is Alexei Petrenko and Samantha Chu."
"I remember you two." Jan said, staring at Petrenko and Chu. "You and that other Spartan were being harassed by that five-man fireteam."
"That was fireteam Jackal. They didn't like the fact that a handler like me would be part of a fireteam." Petrenko stated to Jan. "I enlisted with the Spartans because I wanted to do my part. Not stay in another desk job."
"You helped us. The least we can do is return the favor." Chu added
"This is Morales Sierra zero-five-six. Does anyone respond? Captain Lasky? Commander Palmer? Respond, over."
"Crimson, damm it's good to hear from you right now." the voice they recognized as Palmer before it cut to static
"Oracle, status report."
"The artifact we brought in for Dr. Halsey is causing an unfortunate setback on the Infinity." Oracle stated to fireteams Crimson and Domino. "Your best option is to cycle power in the engineering level sever room. After that you need to head over to the engine room. There is a possibility that the Covenant will arm a bomb in the engine core."
Crimson and Domino got on the lift as it descended. "Rate the percentage if we fail."
"99.5%."
"You heard the lady. We need to move." Tanaka looked over to Crimson. "We'll heard over to the sever room and cycle power. Then, we'll head to you for back up after we're done with everything on our side."
"Sounds like a plan, Tanaka." Kevin replied. "Good luck."
"Same to you, Crimson." Tanaka replied as her and Domino enter the engineering level, fighting the Covenant and Prometheans along the way
"Oracle, what kind of bomb did the Covenant plan to set up on the engine deck?"
"They raided the armory and acquired a Havoc-class tactical nuke. That is what they plan to use the destroy the engine deck along with the Infinity." the AI stated to Crimson team
"Wouldn't be the first time the Covenant did this." Nat muttered as Jan cocked the shotgun
"Time to exterminate some vermin." she declared
Once they reached their destination, Crimson ran through the hall fighting Covenant and Promethean force. They moved around the battlefield in the hallway to an access door and into a side corridor. They fought their way to a server room, cycling power to the systems to boot up defenses as one of them spotting a Sangheili warrior in the distance setting up the nuclear warhead. Benji activated his cloak to assassinate the Elite operating the Havoc nuke. On his cue, the rest of Crimson secured the room by wiping out Covenant hostiles as Benji jumped behind the Elite and stabbed in the back of his nape. He wiped the blood off on the dead Elite as Crimson walked over to him and the nuke.
"Roland, can you disarm this bomb?" Benji asked
"Afraid not. There's no remote detonator on the device for me to hack. One of you is going have to do this the old fashion way." Roland stated
"I got this." Nat knelt over and deactivated the warhead due to her expertise in explosive ordinance disposal. "Please tell me they only set up at least one nuke."
"Unfortunately, no." Oracle said, grimly. "Due to your environmental scans from inside the ship, I detected a power reading nearby."
"Another nuke! Wait a minute... why didn't I see this before? I see everything on this ship."
"Crimson, engage the enemy!" Kevin ordered as they engaged the Covenant intruders while one of them disarmed the nuke. "How are they doing this?"
"Of course!" Benji exclaimed. "They're using a cloaking remote that uses active camouflage on the bombs. I pulled one off from this dead Elite." he tore off the remote and analyzed a module, updating it to Crimson's systems. "Now, we have a way to track down the other bombs the Covenant planted."
"Roland, do you have the location for the next one?"
"I got locations for all of them. Marking the next target now." Roland replied
Crimson began disarming the nukes while mopping up Covenant reinforcements in the process. The Covenant were becoming emboldened to send their forces in the engine room and prep the disarmed for manual detonation. Fireteam Domino arrived just in the nick of time to provide backup for Crimson. Four two-man teams on all sides. Kevin and Petrenko on the north, Benji and Tanaka on the south. Nat and Mendoza on the east while Jan and Chu were on the west. With a suggestion from Roland, they decided to use the emergency bulkhead door release to seal off the engine room from Covenant reinforcements. With one problem solved, another took its place when they were informed by Roland the Infinity aft defenses were down.
"Go ahead, Crimson! We got this!" Spartan Mendoza shouted. "Just get those aft defenses back online!"
"Let's move!"
Crimson headed out in the halls, making their way to the hangar. They were obviously met with covenant forces occupying the hangar, attempting to prevent them from getting the defenses back online. The Covenant had brought in Hunters to keep Crimson at bay, but their cohesion and teamwork helped them prevail in the end against the Covenant behemoths. Before Crimson pressed on further, they find a surprisingly amount of dead Covenant bodies as they followed the trail. They saw it was Logan-G014 who dealt with the Covie reinforcements. They were about to recognize him due to his red visor, orange and black Raider armor. Behind him were two Spartans. One, a male in red and black Mark V armor. The other was a woman in gray and cyan Venator armor cyan.
"Logan. We see you've been busy." Jan glanced at the two Spartan beside him. "And you had some help along the way. Who are your friends?"
"A couple of headhunters." he pointed his thumb at the Spartan in Mark V armor. "Kevin-A282." then pointed at the Spartan in Protector armor. "And that's Jolene-B170."
"Alpha and Beta company Spartan IIIs." Nat replied. "Where's Jun and Rosenda? We thought they'd be here with you."
"They went with Fireteam Majestic to find that teammate of theirs." Logan stated. "They weren't on the Infinity went it was attacked. Captain Lasky sent out the call for all fireteams, so it probably reached them by now."
"This was why they came here. They were putting together Bravo team. Or so I think, anyway."
"Sigma team. Rosenda is the one who's in charge."
"And Jun?"
"Only supervising for the time being." Logan replied. "He's only making sure the team is efficient."
"Make sense. Jun is still "retired" from duty. Hazel and Owen are with the headhunters while they're not in the Outpost Discovery Museum." Kevin said, nonchalantly. "Making Rosenda the leader of another team."
"Crimson, if you are done chatting, there are still some stragglers to take care of." Roland said, jumping into the conversation
"Copy that, Roland. Any of you wanna tag along?" Jan asked the S3s
Logan chambered his weapon. "Lead the way."
With the help of Logan-G014, Kevin-A282, and Joyce-B170, Crimson made short work of any Covenant stragglers onboard the Infinity. Once the matter was dealt with, Crimson then proceeded by installing Oracle back online into their systems. This prompted Roland to have control of the Infinity again. While everyone was clearing off debris and dead Covenant bodies on the ship, Crimson was elsewhere in discussion with Oracle. The Off-The-Record protocol was commenced after Crimson fled the facility they were being held, with Icebreaker squad in tow. Leading up from Dr. Halsey acquiring all tangible information regarding Requiem to the attack on Infinity. What they did not expect was that Arvos and Knuld boarded the Infinity for a particular reason. They had gotten confirmation that one of the Prometheans abducted Halsey, which heavily infuriated Commander Palmer. Crimson quickly realized it was no doubt Jul M'Dama who arranged the abduction.
"So, Jul has Halsey now?" Kevin queried
"Which would make sense. Despite that woman being labeled a mad scientist to everyone, she's one of the best minds both the UNSC and humanity has to offer." Benji stated. "It would explain why the Forsaken wanted to take her as well. She has studied more on anything Forerunner."
"Which means it'll be a big priority to getting the doctor back from enemy lines." Nat replied
"Unfortunately, I have hacked into communications from command regarding that detail." Oracle informed the fireteam. "This pertains to the assault on Infinity and more specifically, Dr. Halsey's abduction."
Kevin sighed. "ONI?"
"Yes. Captain Lasky has just received orders from Admiral Serin Osman that Dr. Halsey is to be eliminated."
"Then, it's decided." they looked to Jan. "We're getting her back."
"You're right." Kevin said. "In a way, this is us repaying a debt made before Requiem."