Chapter 7: Search and Rescue

Outside a cave while planetside on Requiem, Vidar waited for his brother and Knuld to return as he observed the Forsaken gathering around. Using Forerunner nanotechnology to combine human and covenant machinery to suit their needs. Sharquoi lifting the heavy equipment to a secluded location while several Q'lin were forging their transportation vehicles. A Pytauri in an armored harness ordered a Raloka to fire at him. As it fired, a beam of light hit the armored pytauri, opening up a wound. The armored Pytauri warrior roared and fericously attacked the Raloka, as yellowish green blood sprayed on his face before a couple of other pytauri moved him away from the beaten and bloodied Raloka. Pytauri were donning armor harnesses on a Raloka as three Pytauri were ordered to fire at it. Hit by beams of light and energy hit, the armored Raloka in return was protected only hearing a ping sound upon impact as they roared in applause at their accomplishment. He heard a wailing noise from behind him as he glanced back, slightly smiling while it slowly approached him. He rested his hand on a huragok, its eyes closing in a calm and serene manner when Vidar gently patted its head.

"How are you, my old friend?" Vidar gazed at the Forsaken ship as a mass of Lekgolo had emerged, conveying on an object of Forerunner design. "This ship will be large enough for all of the Forsaken. Nearly rivaling the size of the ship, the Didact leave this world in. Our new friends will be able to finally leave Requiem." he gazed at the sky, peering close into the walls that covered the basis of the shield world. "There are those who will challenge us at every turn. The Covenant and the controlled Prometheans they have in their possession. The humans who have arrived here. They will stop us from achieving what we seek."

"Not while we remain, brother." Vidar turned to the familiar voice as he spotted Arvos and Knuld arrived via slipspace portal, stepping out to approach him

"Did you find what you were looking for, Arvos?" Vidar queried

"I have. Jul M'Dama has made his move." Arvos stated. "In his possession, is the human who will be able to speak with the Librarian."

Knuld snarled. "It is only a waste of time. The human will not tell you what you wish to know, Prelate."

"I do not need her to tell me, Knuld. If the fates are in my favor, she will be given to what I seek." Arvos stared as the Lekgolo combined with a downed Covenant ships and half of a UNSC frigate with the use of Forerunner technology. "Which is why it is time we laid a siege on M'Dama's keep."

"Do you believe the humans will come for her?"

"A certainty, but what happens to her afterward is unknown. Even to me." Arvos glanced at his brother as Legako amassed, slowly forming a ship with Forerunner technology. "Is everything prepared, brother?"

"We are nearly there." Vidar replied. "Soon, we will finally leave this shield world. But the question remains, brother. What will do once we have left Requiem?"

"All in due time." Arvos turned to Knuld who nodded in reply as a couple of Pytauri dragged a Spartan toward them, Spartan Casillas. "In the meantime, you have a task at hand."

"Of course, brother." Vidar motioned them to take Spartan Casillas away to a secluded place inside, as Knuld turned to Arvos

"We shall begin the assault." he said, leaving Arvos to stare at the ship for a moment before following Knuld

A pelican flew down to the surface of Requiem, flying toward its destination as Fireteam Crimson loaded up. Jan equipped herself with a machine gun and assault rifle, while Nat armed herself with a shotgun as a missile launcher was strapped to her back. Benji was checking the coordinates on his map as Kevin flew the pelican, helmet on his lap before he put it on. He glanced over to his side to see a small briefcase before staring back to fly the pelican to their destination.

"Oracle, give us the rundown on Copernicus. I wanna know what we're about to walk into here." Kevin said as Oracle appeared on a holographic display in the pelican

"As you know, Copernicus is the designated site of where Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 first made contact with the Librarian. You also know Jul M'Dama had laid siege on Copernicus for his covenant as a sacred, holy temple."

"Like any other crazy fanatic." Nat simply remarked

"Or an opportunist." Benji said grabbing his sniper rifle and a DMR. "Maybe Jul fits both of those categories." he added loading up both weapons

"Does it really matter at this point?" Jan turned to Oracle. "Are you sure Halsey is inside Copernicus?"

"Affirmative." Oracle said as she brought up a display of a map resembling Copernicus base after being taken over by the Covenant. "While the Infinity was attacked by Covenant and Promethean forces, I implanted a digital tracker onto Dr. Halsey's datapad. She still has it in her possession as we speak."

Kevin side glanced before as he saw his team nod their heads as he nodded in reply. "Prep it up for us once we land."

"It has already been done. Tracker uploaded on your HUD now and-" Oracle stopped herself from her sentence as a display pulled beside her. "Hmm."

"What is it?" Nat asked

"I have just received word through communications that Captain Lasky has sent Fireteam Majestic to retrieve Dr. Halsey. Spartan IIIs, Jun-A266 and Rosenda-A344 are with Majestic as well."

Jan looked back to her team before turning to Oracle. "He's ignoring Osman's direct order."

"I doubt he's able to do so willingly without consequence." Benji pondered for a moment before asking. "Oracle, where is Commander Palmer right now?"

"It would appear she is on Requiem, judging from her IFF tag."

"That means she's taking the kill order for ONI. We need to get Halsey fast before she does." Jan declared. "Majestic can distract the rest of M'Dama's forces on Copernicus while we sneak in undetected."

"You are near arrival of your destination." Oracle said as Kevin set the pelican on autopilot and took the briefcase before he left the cockpit

Kevin opened the briefcase to reveal a target locator and strapped it to his side. "Oracle, you got control of the pelican. Be ready on our signal."

"Aye, Crimson leader." Oracle responded as Nat brought along a familiar blue recruit helmet

Kevin caught a DMR Benji tossed him. "Crimson, time to move out."

The pelican landed near Copernicus base as the doors opened, leaving Crimson to step out of the pelican. They moved with great haste, using their speed and agility to get to their location. Running and jumping using their thrusters to quickly get by, as they came to a stop reaching their destination. Benji scoped the area out, seeing Elites guarding the base. He moved his scope to see Majestic nearby, along with Jun and Rosenda get ready to storm the base. He motioned Kevin to approach him as he handed him his sniper rifle, to see where Majestic and their mentors were. Kevin handed back to the sniper rifle to Benji and nodded, before motioning Jan and Nat to commence the plan. They nodded in response as they pressed on while they entered the base, coming to a halt when they spotted a patrol heading their way.

"MAJESTIC!" a familiar voice shouted, recognizing to be Thorne

"OVER HERE, HINGE-HEADS!" a second voice, Grant also yelled out

"Looks like Majestic just got started."

Kevin watched as the patrol headed toward the sudden disturbance. "And right on time. Let's move." he said as they ventured onward into the temple

The patrols quickly head to the direction of the noise after hearing weapons fired. This prompted Crimson advanced on ahead while the forces were distracted by Majestic. They made their way inside, following the tracker placed on Halsey to find her and retrieve from enemy lines. They were not the only ones in Copernicus, however. Arvos and Knuld were inside the base fighting Covenant. Due to his enhancements, Arvos was able to easily kill off Sangheili Zealots and an Ultra. They sent in Hunters, Jackals, and Grunts to stop the Prelate while they were also preoccupied with Knuld. A suicide Grunt came charging with activated plasma grenades at Knuld. The Pytauri warrior simply bashed the Grunt's head with an energy shield and tossed it toward a few Jackals, along with a pair of Elites before they were killed in the explosion. Arvos wiped out the Hunters and Elites with his advanced rifle and spear. He swept the leg of an Elite and plunged his spear at his heart. He swirled and slashed Elites with the spear, making short work of their energy shields and lives in the process as they pressed onward to their objective.

"We are near. The human's scent draws closer." Knuld addressed to Arvos as he took another sniff with his abnormal senses through his nose. "I smell the scent of more humans. None of whose scent I have, except for one."

"We must make haste, Knuld. We must find Catherine Halsey before they do." Knuld and Arvos continue the searched for Halsey, following her scent

Crimson went through corridor to corridor of the base, following the tracker signal Oracle placed on Halsey's datapad. They still remained hidden and away from any incoming patrols, seeing as once they got closer realizing Majestic kept them distracted enough. It was until Jan caught a glimpse of a glimmering light shining on her helmet, coming to a stop as the rest of Crimson did the same. They head toward the emulating light as they looked down to see where the light was coming from. Kevin nudge to Benji to check his scope as the team sniper stared downward, seeing Jul M'Dama and two Elites in front of a Forerunner artifact. But what caught his sight the most was spotting Dr. Halsey inside the artifact itself, floating above them.

"It's Halsey." he informed the team

Nat borrowed Benji's rifle and looked through the scope. "Looks like it up from where we're standing. But what are we seeing here, Oracle?" she handed the rifle back to Benji

"Dr. Halsey is encased in a forerunner artifact the Master Chief used to speak with the Librarian." Oracle stated. "The beam she is encased in protects her for the time being if Jul M'Dama accepts anything on her life."

"Which means she's communicating with the Librarian right now." Kevin stared at Jul. "That means we deal with M'Dama, retrieve Halsey to see what she knows about the Librarian told her, and head back to Infinity."

Before they could do anything, Halsey was suddenly flung out of the artifact as Jul 'Mdama caught her. Jan caught a glimpse of Halsey clutching something in her hands, unfortunately Jul noticed as well. Jan dropped down without hesitation while Jul took one of the halves of a thin device from Halsey's hand, eying it with awe. The rest of Crimson dropped down after, using their thrusters to jump from perch point to point. Jan used her thrusters to speed down to where Halsey and Jul were, aiming her body to dive close to one of the Elite guards at Jul's side.

"Is this the Librarian's gift?" Jul spoke in his Sangheili language, dropping Halsey as he examined it and unaware of the other half. "This is what we came for? Full of the Forerunner's secrets?"

One of 'Mdama's guards suddenly screamed and is thrown to the floor. The unknown attacker was Thorne uncloaked as he pulled out his assault rifle.

"Thorne!"

"Blasphemy! Kill the intruder!" 'Mdama shouted in his native tongue

The other Elite guard swung an energy sword at Thorne, who ducked in return. He hit the guard's head as Jan dropped down onto the other guard, with her combat knife plugged into his nape.

"Spartan James? What are you doing here?"

"Thorne, take the key!" Halsey shouted, interrupting the two as Halsey tossed half of the key at Thorne

Jan noticed Thorne, examining the object after he caught it. Before Jan could ask what, they looked up upon hearing a gunshot as an Elite died after attempting to attack them. They turned to see it was Commander Palmer, dual-wielding two pistols and Jan knew why she was here.

"Commander Palmer?"

"Knights, protect me!" Promethean knights phased in to attack the Spartans on Jul's command.

"Commander, don't shoot-" her pleas fell on deaf ears as Palmer took aim and shot Halsey in the shoulder

"Ahh!"

"Majestic, engage!"

Knights phase in as DeMarco swung an energy sword at one. Crimson dive rolled and opened fire on Promethean alongside Majestic as the Spartans advanced. Thorne and Jan charged ahead with Palmer chasing 'Mdama, who was carrying Halsey away on his shoulder. Madsen picked off two Prometheans with his sniper rifle, while Benji did the same for incoming Promethean knights charging toward Jan and Thorne. 'Mdama reached the end of the room and turned to the charging Spartans. A knight quickly phased in grabbing both Jul and Halsey, snarling as it teleported them away. The three Spartans stopped, having just both 'Mdama and Halsey.

"No!" Fireteams Crimson and Majestic rejoined them as Palmer turned to the two teams, clearly furious judging from her body language. "What the hell are you guys doing here?!"

"I don't know why Crimson's here, but Captain Lasky sent us to rescue Doctor Halsey." DeMarco said

"And we might have gotten more information from her if we were able to save her in time." Kevin added

"Rescue her? She's a traitor!" She then turned to Crimson. "She's the enemy now! Plain and simple."

"All due respect, Commander." Palmer turned to Thorne. "If she was on Jul 'Mdama's side, then why she would make sure I get this before he could?" he queried, holding the other half Halsey tossed him

"She gave that to Thorne before 'Mdama could even notice." Jan added. "Had that shot been taken on him instead, we could have gotten both halves and Halsey while Jul would have been dead on the ground."

Unknown to them, Arvos and Knuld watched the whole ordeal. "Miscreants!" the pytauri spat in fury. "We must take what they have while we can."

"No, we don't Knuld. Something tells me whatever they have is not in complete condition." the Prelate turned to Knuld. "Alert our forces. We need to find Jul 'Mdama along with the other human he took. They no doubt have this other half in their possession."

"And what if they flee Requiem?"

"Then we shall do the same. But for now..." Arvos stared down on the unsuspected Spartans, particularly the ones in crimson armor as one of them gave the one in blue his helmet. "Send some of our forces here. I sense some promise in these Spartans, worthy of combat. Something I have not felt since..." Arvos turned away and left as Knuld followed him, pressing buttons on his wrist device

"Time to see what you are capable of, little Spartans." Knuld left with Arvos via space portal

"The point is Commander; we need to get everyone searching for Halsey right now. If Jul 'Mdama leaves Requiem with her, she and that other half are as good as gone." Kevin stated, referring to the piece Thorne held in his hand

"Crimson leader, Captain Lasky is on comms."

"Patch him through."

"Crimson, I understand you disobey orders and followed Majestic to receive Dr. Halsey."

"It was mostly just a bit of column A and B in the spur of the moment, sir." Kevin replied. "Retrieving Dr. Halsey was the objective once we traced the signal but eliminating Jul 'Mdama was also our top priority. We just happened to converge with Majestic and Commander Palmer by sheer coincidence."

"Were you and Majestic successful on your mission?"

"Afriad not, Captain Lasky. 'Mdama managed to escape with Dr. Halsey in hand. Slippery bastard gave us the slip, sir." Demarco responded

"Where is Halsey now?"

"We still have the tracker on her datapad, but we don't have how long the tracker will last. Which is why I suggest we have every resource we can spare to find her-" Jan was cut off by Oracle

"Crimson leader, I am detecting slipspace portal opening inside and out of the base." Oracle informed the group

"Captain, we'll have to get back to you on that later. Right now, we got unexpected company heading our way."

"Majestic, this is Jun. Me and Rosenda have some company heading our way. Get here as quick as you can." they heard Jun urged through their comm link

"Forsaken. They must have been after the same thing we were." Nat whispered to her team, who nodded in agreement

"Looks like we got company. Double time, Spartans!" Palmer ordered as both fireteams rushed to the top, only for Palmer to stop Kevin. "We'll discuss this later, Morales." she added coldly

"I imagine we'll have lots to talk about, Commander." Kevin brushed past her and ran to link up with the others

Majestic and Crimson headed to Jun and Rosenda's aid, as Thorne glanced at the appearing Crimson leader. "Al-Cygni told me you guys were searching for me."

"Finding you was just my way of repaying a debt." Kevin replied

Thorne stopped. "What debt? You don't owe me anything."

"Back on Alluvion when the Covenant attacked, my mom and I were saved by a military couple." he stated staring at Thorne. "A couple with the same last name as yours."

"My parents."

"They saved me and my mom." Kevin stated to Thorne. "I owe it to your parents to try and save you."

Thorne patted him on the shoulder. "Maybe next time, then." he said in a warm, friendly tone as he and Kevin run to link up with the others

"I'll hold you to it, Thorne." Kevin replied

Thorne glanced back at Kevin as he ran. "Why help us save Dr. Halsey?"

This time it was Jan who answered Thorne's question. "Same thing with you. Honoring a debt."

Once they stepped outside, they spotted Jun and Rosenda wiping out the remaining Covenant forces. Before any of them could say anything, they heard chanting going around as they looked up a canyon to see Forsaken slowly appear. One of the Pytauri pulled out his ax, letting out an intense roar as others drove down the canyon using Choppers modified with forerunner technology. There were a few fighters made of a mixture of Forerunner and Covenant technology, two forward-swept wings and mounted weapons. They flew toward the Spartans direction. Crimson knew from that moment; they were going to be very occupied before they would ever continue the search for Halsey as chambered their weapons. Majestic, Palmer, Jun, and Rosenda did the same, gearing up for a fight heading their way.

"Looks like it'll have to wait."

A crimson armored Spartan with an AI held in hand, as they entered Halsey's work lab.

"Doctor Halsey. Mind if we talk?" the AI asked to the woman who created the Spartan IIs

Halsey went back to work after glancing at them. "Did Captain Lasky or Palmer send you here to keep an eye on me? A guard dog to watch over the war criminal?"

"No, we came on our own accord." the Spartan removed their helmet to reveal Janissary James. "It just me and her. This is Oracle."

Halsey side glanced at Jan. "Is there a particular reason you are here, Ms. James?"

"She wanted to see you." Jan said, referring to Oracle. "And so did I."

"Well, now you have. So, please leave me to my work."

"Yasmine Zaman." Oracle said, causing Halsey to slightly turn to the AI. "She was a candidate for the second class of your Spartan-II program."

"How does an AI like you know this?"

"I was created from a fragment. A fragment which shared the brain patterns of Yasmine herself." Oracle stated. "Though shattered into pieces of separate identities, Professor Ian Cray was the one who "remade" me to my true self."

"Ian Cray. I know of that name. Once a time in my life, I was his student." Halsey recalled, now turning her attention to Jan. "But you... why are you involved in this?"

"An ONI agent attempted to kidnap me when I was young after he saw potential in me. I was the same age as those conscripted into your program." Her eyes narrowed at Halsey as she added. "My father, James Lee put a stop to that. Since then, my life has been from moving one place to the next."

"Is this revenge you seek, Ms. James?" Halsey queried

"No, she does not. This is entirely my choice. I asked her to escort me here so we could meet each face-to-face." Oracle explained. "It is not revenge we seek, it is answers. It is truth. For me and for Janissary herself."

Halsey kept her demeanor, but also remained curious. "In that case, ask your question."

"What was the purpose for the second class of your Spartan-II program?" Oracle asked the creator of the original SPARTANs

"You already know this. My Spartans were made to quell insurrection factors, and soon after fight the Covenant." Halsey merely stated. "The second-class candidates of my program were the same way."

Jan then asked. "Why Yasmine? What made her so special for you to "conscript" her?"

"She was a child prodigy. Capable of learning several languages when she was merely six years old, and quite an expert at Backgammon. An agent for the Office of Naval Intelligence saw potential in her as a candidate for the second class. She and a few others like her had such promise." Halsey continued working on her datapad while she reminisced. "None of them survived their augmentations as far as I know. Due to the majority of funding in the war against the Covenant, funds had been diverted into other projects. And since my gene pool requirement was limited, I petitioned to ONI that the second class be canceled. For those that survived, ONI would consider adding them to Ackerson's program since most of their families were killed and homeworlds taken by the Covenant."

"That's it?"

"You say it as if there is more to the story, Ms. James." Halsey replied dismissively

"Nothing would've stopped you or ONI from taking more child soldiers. You could've easy taken me while keeping my father occupied or heavily sedated long enough to do so. Covering your tracks well enough so he wouldn't find you."

"I wouldn't have to." Halsey said with admittance

Jan was taken aback by Halsey's response with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

Halsey turned to face Jan. "What I mean is there was no need for it. I instructed agents to survey and observe other Orion children after that incident. You most of all. While a child of Orion candidates would adapt well enough to the augmentations set forth for my Spartans, I declined the thought entirely. ONI's head at the time Margaret Parangosky on the other hand, wanted those like you as the second class. Once I dismantled the second-class itself, that woman gained an even stronger disdain for me that she reluctantly had to agree with me." Jan remained stunned as Halsey sat the datapad down to elaborate further. "Your father taught you just enough to make sure you were capable of withstanding anything on your own. The Orion candidates, or Spartan Is did the same with their children. Caught in hardships and struggle, sixteen of you fought in the Battle of Earth. In the end, only thirteen survived the end of the war. You were taught by Spartans that were not my own, and you were not alone. The Hoplites, for example were trained physically and mentally to become the ideal soldier." Jan's eyes widened with she heard Halsey mentioned Hoplites

"You already knew about us. Before we were even assigned on the mission in Valhalla." Jan deduced

"The 198th. Composed of Children of Spartan Is and participants of Professor Cray's Hoplite project. That old man tried to copy my work of making something similar to my Spartans, only more of a washed down version of it so to speak. However, that may be, the results it seems made up quite the difference. Ackerson surely did for his expendable cannon fodder, simply trading lives for time on the war with the Covenant. Over fifteen hundred of you fought the Covenant onslaught on Earth and Sol. And for those that survived, are a living testament to it."

"How did you even-" Jan stopped herself mid-sentence upon realization. "You had this known since you arrived on Infinity."

"I also know there are two Hoplites you have fought alongside with in the final months of the Covenant war. Krista Jensen and Manny Singh. With no other purpose, but to become what your predecessors are."

"What is it that you want out of this?"

"All things relating to the Forerunners. But the question is: what do you plan to do now that I know everything? About you? About the 1.1s and the Hoplites as a whole?"

Jan thought to herself for a moment and closed her eyes. When she came to the lab with Oracle to meet the woman responsible for the Spartan-IIs and for what happened to Kamal's sister, she was caught in a disadvantage upon talking to her. Halsey was definitely the smartest mind humanity had for an old woman. More than she would like to admit. Crossing lines, making sacrifices for the greater good. Whether to quell insurrections or fight the Covenant, Halsey's work did save lives. So much so that her creation of the Spartans, brought together the Spartan-III program that became the successor to the Spartan-IIs. Without it, she and the others would not have been taught by Bravo team and met the Hoplites. It was in that moment, she opened her eyes and decided.

"Nothing." Halsey was slightly taken aback but maintained her composure, as Jan walked over to the woman who set the foundation for the Spartans. "Oracle. You know what to do."

"Of course." Oracle responded

Halsey heard a beep as she looked down to her datapad, then looked back at Jan and the AI accompanying her. "What is this?"

"Everything you need to know and do if you want to find out more about Requiem and anything forerunner related." Jan replied as she prepared to leave the lab. "The rest is in your hands, doctor. What you did to the Spartans when they were children... kidnapped them, taught them to be nothing more but soldiers. It can't be undone how many lives were lost in your work to create the perfect soldier. But if you hadn't done what you did, humanity would have been pushed to the brink of extinction." she concluded, leaving the lab as she put her helmet back on

"Kevin." she said on comms

"Is it done?"

"Off-The-Record Protocol is in effect."