Routine patrols were a new normal for the Counters and Strikes. The group was running a short patrol through a city area where reported sightings of Raptures had come from UNSC Wombat drones. With Chief and Alyosha at the front of the formation and Kilo and TALOS not that far behind, the group continued pushing forward, all while keeping their eyes peeled for hostiles. There were platoons of Marines with armor and light vehicle support a sector over, so about ten klicks, in case the situation got bad.

There was an actual Front Line now between them and the Raptures. Alyosha, clad in what genuinely felt like a Second Skin now, smiled to himself underneath his MARK V Helmet, holding onto his MA5k. He could feel Rapi's concerned gaze boring into the back of his skull, but chose to ignore it for now, all while he watched the Chief calmly lead them forward.

Beside them was Cortana, holographic displays and hard-light projections that acted as armor surrounding her. She carried a prototype energy weapon in her hands, courtesy of Missilis's research and development area. She looked back at TALOS as the hefty mechanoid stomped its way forward, its azure optical sensors scanning their surroundings, too. So many layers of defense were bound to catch any attempted ambush from the Raptures.

In the distance, a mobile artillery piece's main gun thundered. Farther ahead of them, the impact came. Dust and debris were kicked up by the shockwave, followed by a wave of grey concrete sweeping the area as the husk of an old building collapsed thanks to the artillery round. The only one to have twitched thanks to the hit was Syuen, unsurprisingly, bringing up the rear with her SMG and shield.

"Good shot, Breaker-1-1. Hostile observation post destroyed," Cortana spoke through the com. She shut off the various holo-screens around her and drew her energy weapon, then said, "That's one less hostile sighting us in for their rocket artillery platforms," then she looked toward Kilo, "How're you and Talos holding up on your first patrol out here, eh?"

"Alright!" Kilo replied with a combination of awkwardness and pure, childlike excitement. She told Cortana, "It's cool, finally being up on the surface with fellow Nikkes!" which got smiles out of the Luckies and Counters. All of them save a certain Dwarf Nikke in the back, of course, who remained deathly quiet as they advanced through the area. Kilo cast a glance back through Talos's eyes, then blinked.

She walked up to the Commander and opened the cockpit. Jumping up to try and get out and ask something, she bumped her head on the top of the vehicle's door and hurt herself. Pouting, she sighed, then leaned forward and asked, "M-my eyes must be malfunctioning, because I swear that's Syuen behind us..." only to see the joy in the Commander's eyes as the man's visor depolarized. Wrinkles congruent with the creases from a smile also showed.

Kilo blinked, "Oh, my god, I'd heard rumors they went through with it, but..."

"Best punishment to give someone like her," Chief spoke calmly, just loud enough for Alyosha and the girl to hear. He clarified to the seemingly-confused Kilo, "She disregarded you all and acted no better toward the people defending mankind's last strongholds than the random ungrateful civilian stuck down there," then he looked to Alyosha and added, "I and the Commander see eye-to-eye on the matter. She deserves to be what she hates."

"Fair enough..." Kilo shrunk back into TALOS and closed the cockpit, "F-Forget I asked, sir," then she thought to herself just how angry Syuen had managed to make the entirety of the UNSC force presence on their version of Earth. The young woman was worried, honestly, because she now realized that these were humans who'd gone to space, fought aliens and come out swinging, while they were still dealing with a mass incursion on Earth.

If nothing else, it sorta gave Kilo hope that they could beat their own hostile invaders and occupiers. She still wasn't much of a believer in the 'we'll retake the surface, rah rah!' attitude a lot of youngster Commanders, like mister Harris, had, but it was undeniable that that hope existed somewhere in her subconscious. She sighed deeply and asked, "TALOS, am I overthinking things...?"

"Depends. What are you referring to, Kilo?" TALOS's robotic voice replied, tones of emotion hidden beneath a layer of voice modulation that made TALOS feel as unnatural as ever. She loved her great big invention, but some times, he seemed a bit dense. Then again, he was an AI without much interaction with other beings, so it was probably only natural he was a bit stunted in the 'picking up issues' department.

That, or she just really hadn't been open to him about it. She realized that might've been the issue, that TALOS couldn't read her mind, then suggested to him, "Is it just me, or have things been moving an awful lot faster now that the UNSC has taken charge of the Ark and our efforts up here...?" only to hear a beep of processing from the Machine's CPU.

TALOS, however, replied rather promptly, "The speed at which they have adapted us to fight a proper Ground War against the Raptures, instead of simple operations over time, is surprising, yes. Operationally speaking, the Ark now has several Brigade Combat Teams of armor, air support and heavy infantry to call upon beside the ever-increasing deployment of new Nikkes. Added upon are rumored nuclear armaments from aboard the UNSC Spirit of fire and-"

"Woah, woah, wait!" Kilo stopped him, fear bubbling up to the surface as her voice cracked, "WE HAVE NUKES?!"

"So I have heard. The rumored arsenal is somewhere around ten HAVOK Tactical nuclear devices," TALOS replied as he pulled up a screen to Kilo's side, showing details about Misria Armories' 'Medium Fusion Destructive Device'. The girl stared at the details with her mouth agape and a pallid face. A thirty megaton nuclear weapon encased in such a small tube and able to be loaded onto the nuclear missiles and bombs of UNSC starfighters. They could touch any part of the world and turn it to glass. TALOS told her, "They can be utilized as either hand-emplaced nuclear mines or within missiles."

"... Why do they keep getting scarier...?" Kilo breathed as they moved forward. She noted on the tactical map that they had at least two battalions supporting them at a distance and realized that was where the artillery fire must've come from. Added upon those were 'Wombat' Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles modified to operate within Alva Particle-rich environments and the UNSC's star teams were just the tip of the spear.

TALOS replied, "Doctor Halsey said this to us when we first met, but I believe she quoted Theodore Roosevelt when saying, 'Speak softly and carry a big stick'," which got a short, nervous chuckle out of Kilo. Yeah, that did sound like what the Doctor would tell them. TALOS, however, reassured her, "It will be fine, Kilo. They are our allies, after all. Comrades in arms."

"Yeah," Kilo sighed deeply, then leaned back into the specially-made seat in the cockpit and smiled a little. She added, "Yeah, you're right," before chuckling awkwardly and stating, "It's not like we're gonna have to use a nuke any time soon, haha... ha..." and her smile suddenly grew strained. She hoped she didn't just jinx the entire unit, but, then again, she'd only ever seen pictures of nuclear detonations.

She wanted to get her mind off of it, so, opening the cockpit (and bumping her noggin on it again), she asked Chief and Alyosha, "Sssoooo... What's our objective in this general area? Seems like the armored battalions we have on our flanks can handle the place just fine..." mostly just hoping to avoid getting shot in the face. Not like TALOS couldn't handle a few rounds. Her, meanwhile? She was... Ehm...

"Scouting," Alyosha replied, "Drones reported seeing another Heretic in the area. Silhouette seemingly matches the one that attacked both the Spirit and later us around the Forerunner revival device near the Northern Base," and that was another thing Kilo had forgotten. Ninety percent of the UNSC's staff was brought back from the frickin' dead by ancient technology.

Ugh. No, no time to think about that right now, Kilo. She pushed forward with the team, stating, "That makes sense, I guess..." a little awkwardly. Then she asked, "Aren't Heretics supposed to be really powerful, though...? W-what's a Nikke like me gonna do against one of them?" and yet more thoughts flooded into her mind about the fact they were going up against Heretics now. Great.

"You're a capable pilot and you have TALOS," Chief told her calmly, "You'll be fine."

They stopped at the city outskirts, noting the remnants of suburbia around them as they entered one of the few remaining buildings taller than a two-story house and utilized it to survey the area. TALOS and Kilo remained on the ground floor with the rest of the squad, while Alyosha, Chief, Delta and Rapi went upstairs. Cortana leaned against the wall in front of Kilo and was running diagnostics when she noticed the little green-haired Nikke mech pilot was staring at her. She smiled and said, "This is actually how most missions tend to be. Boring patrols."

"War's like that as far as I know," Kilo quipped as she more slowly exited TALOS this time, sitting down next to him and curling up into a ball. She looked at Cortana and asked, "It true...?" causing the woman to raise a brow. Kilo continued, "T-That you're an AI yourself..." a little awkward. Cortana smiled and nodded, to which Kilo beamed, "That's awesome. You're like an older sister to TALOS!"

"Heh," The girl chuckled, "Suppose I am."

"How'd you get a Nikke body?!"

"I asked Doc Halsey if I could bother the factory floor for a bit and built myself one..." And, with that revelation, Cortana saw Kilo's eyes grow wide. She looked at herself, then at Cortana with hopeful eyes. Hopeful that they could rebuild her into a combat-capable Nikke, no less. Cortana reassured her, "You're fine as you are, Kilo. You can ask for upgrades when we get back, but..."

She seemed a bit surprised at Cortana figuring her out so quickly. She replied calmly, "I guess..." though she didn't seem very sure of her own words either. Cortana sighed deeply, then looked over to Pinne as the girl walked over to them, shotgun on her back. She looked at Pinne and said, "Hey, why'd you pick the name Pinne, by the way? Isn't that like... An old, decommissioned name?"

Pinne shrugged, "Nobody opposed me taking it," before sitting down in front of Kilo. She spoke a little melancholically, "Plus, it just felt... Right..." then smiled, "Like it's been my name for ages, y'know? The others picked theirs because they liked what they sounded like or felt it fit their personality," and shrugged again, just unsure, "I don't know. If it was decommissioned for something, or if there was another Nikke with that name out there..."

"Not much she can do about it. I only know I've read the name in a file somewhere," Kilo mumbled, then sighed and said, "Might have been a file on your squad for all I know and I just don't remember it properly. All the stuff gets mixed up in here with upgrades for TALOS and maintenance lists for the Cyclops corps we have going on thanks to the UNSC. Who'd've thunk we'd go full circle, heh..."

"From bodies in mechs, to brains in android bodies, all the way back to bodies in mechs," Niner added as she joined in. She gave Kilo a pat on the head, then sat down next to her and took her helmet off, stating, "It is what it is," while she looked over at the Chief, Commander and their XOs descending from the roof and into the lobby they all took shelter in. She waved to the group and got a wave back from Delta as she said, "Honestly, if you'd have told me a couple years ago we'd be like this..."

Kilo nodded in understanding, "Yeah..."

"What about you?" Pinne then asked, motioning to Kilo. Kilo perked up, looked at her with some confusion and was told, "How come you picked Kilo?"

"I... Guess it just fits?" She laughed awkwardly, "Being part of HEAVY GRAM, a Mech testing unit. KILO and GRAM..." She wiggled a bit to show what she meant and then laughed awkwardly. Pinne nodded, understanding it, but clearly searching for more, to which Kilo sighed deeply. She may've been socially awkward and really a waste of space, but she could pick up on cues like that. Kilo said, "I also took the name after a sibling of mine who went Nikke passed. Memories are muddled, but..." and she blinked as her mind seemed to race for a moment, faint flashes playing. She shook her head, "N-Nevermind. Might've just picked it randomly, too."

Pinne, Niner and Cortana exchanged glances, then shrugged. Kilo avoided it, but she knew, deep down, why she'd picked the name. So she could be as good as her. "The original one..." She mumbled to herself absentmindedly, barely audible. Cortana picked it up, though, and wondered what Kilo meant. She knew there'd been something weird about Pinne, but what about Kilo?

Eden

It'd been a long time since Six had arrived at Eden. His armor had been fully refurbished to contain Goddessium intermixed with its standard materials and he felt the boost to both processing power and his overall strength. They'd been on patrols, cleared out several platoons of Raptures that wandered a kilometer too close to Eden and he'd seen what his squadmates were capable of courtesy of both combat and the training they'd undergone together.

He'd found the most kinship in Dorothy, to his surprise and hers. Though Dorothy always kept something from him, he could tell they'd always gotten along better. Well, save for Cecil. He liked Cecil a lot, surprisingly. Something he was too weirded out by to outright admit to her face at this point. So, he sat in the Garden of Eden and stared at the sprawling fields of flowers and trees, the buzzing insects and the noisy animals as they grazed what was once a wasteland.

His helmet sat on the table, his visor now with a hexagon grid pattern on it to signify the reinforcements to the thick, opaque glass. He stared at his own reflection, mumbled something, then sighed and looked over to Dorothy as she sipped her tea. Fresh chamomile taken from the Garden itself, Six recalled. Today had been a surprisingly quiet day. Dorothy hadn't said a word to him.

So, it was time to break the ice on his own, he thought. Turning fully toward Dorothy, he spoke to her, "You haven't said a damn thing since I got here. Did I piss you off with something?"

Dorothy's gaze lifted from the contents of her cup and she locked eyes with Six. Taking the fine china cup away from her lips, she narrowed them into a razor-thin line and shook her head. Calmly, she said to him, "Apologies, but today is the anniversary of a..." her voice grew low, "Let's say it was just a very low point in my life. One where I lost everything..." before she perked right back up and said in her usual, 'lassez-faire' tone, "It probably doesn't interest you all that much."

"I wouldn't be asking if I didn't care," Six replied rather bluntly, crossing his arms to his chest, "What happened?"

The girl gently moved the cup in her hand, watching the liquid inside swirl, disturbed by the movement. She looked at Six and told him, "Let's make a deal... You tell me of your war in detail and I tell you now what you want to know," only to see pause in the Spartan. She smiled with a hint of smugness, then said, "I am not the sole person withholding information from my friend, so it feels only natural for this to be a trend. I know the basics of your death against aliens on some lost world of yours, but all else? It's still a blur."

"... Alright," Six conceded. Best to just let her tell the full truth and tell his own after. He motioned for her to go on and saw her expression shift a little. She'd probably hoped he'd be the first to spill the beans, so to speak. Instead, she found herself facing the fact she needed to tell her own truth. Six appreciated the fact that she kept to her word, honestly. It was one of the good things she had going.

So she started, "... I don't recall the exact time frame. Lost count after so many decades. But, some time ago, as Goddess Squad's leader, I was helping in Operation ARK GUARDIAN. The defense of the last open Elevator down to the underground city known as 'The Ark'," and she scoffed. Paradise Lost, maybe, Six thought, then urged her to continue. She did, "To make a long story as time-saving as possible? It was a slaughter. We started out with around a battalion-strength unit of Mass Production Nikkes made within the Ark itself. Several assaults had us with casualties, obviously, but a massive one came... And, save one Nikke, only Goddess remained."

"That Nikke was called Pinne," The woman seemed to grow melancholic, smiling a little, "She was a bit dry in terms of humor, kind of like you," and she grew a bit smug again, while Six snorted, then continued, smiling happily still, "We became quick friends. ARK GUARDIAN's promise was that after the last humans were evacuated into the Ark, we'd be allowed in, too, to reap the spoils of saving Mankind and prepare to retake the Surface."

Six could already tell by Dorothy's suddenly grim look, the absence of a Pinne and the rest of Goddess and some other telltale bits that that didn't pan out. Dorothy, however, confirmed it by saying, "Obvious as can be... That did not materialize. I don't know how, or why, but Ark Guardian left me, Pinne and the rest of Goddess on the surface, with orders to destroy the Elevator. We followed them, of course. What can you do as a soldier of Humanity but follow orders?" And that was a rhetorical question. She shrugged, "Normally, I... Think we would have been fine. Were we not running on fumes and on the brink of Mind Switching... Then..."

Doro gripped the hem of her skirt, angry, "... Then, Pinne was corrupted," And Six paused. Corruption was a horrifying process, basically the full replacement of a Nikke's personality with one hostile to humanity. It was about as bad as a Mind Switch, but at least with the latter, a Nikke still had some semblance of control. With Corruption, they were just passengers in their own body, a body now hostile to all their former comrades. A body they still felt the pain of.

Six saw Dorothy's hand shift toward an ornate handgun in a thigh holster underneath her garment. She caressed the grip of the weapon as her lips twitched. She swallowed empty, then said through a cracking voice and welling tears, "I... Had to put her down. The first friend I'd made in years and I had to shoot her because the bastards in the Ark abandoned us. I'd promised her Paradise down there..."

She looked at Six again, a fury burning behind her lilac eyes, as she said, "It's why I swore something to myself. You can try and stop or fight me, but... If I Can help it, I will make the Ark pay for what they've done to me. To us. To Goddess and to Pinne..." her anger palpable. Six raised his hand and shook his head, clearly understanding the situation. He understood what it was to lose people one cared about, but something about it told him that Doro might've cared about Pinne a little more than she let on.

Breathing a sigh to calm down, Dorothy then put on her old smile and said, "Your turn~!" With all the jovial wit Six had come to expect out of her. The change in personality was so sudden it almost gave the Spartan whiplash. He'd made a deal, however, and began telling Dorothy of the Human-Covenant War. What he knew of it and what he lived in it, anyway. The destruction of his home, death of his family, the recruitment into the S-III Program(Not like ONI was going to kill him for it here) and so on.

The further he went, he was surprised to see that Dorothy started to show fear instead of any of her standard faces. Her furrowed brows, mouth agape, eyes wide. She held onto the hem of her skirt tightly again, but she seemed to be trying to use it as some sort of defensive barrier or blanket this time. The way Six told the story, like it was just a normal event, a story one would tell by the campfire as a joke, not something that would have normally traumatized a person like him to his core, promptly shocked her.

"... And after the Autumn escaped...? Well," He shrugged, disregarding his own sacrifice as a simple fact of his life, "I fought every single Covenant patrol and force I encountered. Bastards sent an entire Legion down on my head at one point. That's what finally got me. A squad of Zealots and Majors lead by one of their Generals cut me down. Reach looked almost like the desert Harran and Isabel found me in, actually. I thought the Covvies just left me for dead when I woke up."

The girl stared, unblinking. The few times she'd heard inflections in his voice that resembled shows of sorrow came when he was talking about his squad and maybe his long-forgotten family. He smiled, eyes empty as he looked at Dorothy as he said, "To use a quote from a favorite pass-time I had back in the day... Only in death does duty end. Or, well, it should've, 'till whatever sent me to you and this cursed version of Earth activated."

"D-Did you tell Cecil about any of this...?" She asked, her voice cracking. Six shook his head, to which Dorothy's eyes shot wide open. She demanded, "Does anyone here save for me know the full details of your War?!" while fully aware she really should not have been as stunned by these revelations as she was. They had faced a similar war of Genocide. She was well aware of it, considering they were still fighting it. But the relentlessness of the conflict, combined with just how nonchalant the Spartan had been about telling the tale, made her...

He shook his head. She could swear he had told them something before, but... "You need to tell everyone..." She ordered him. It was the first time in her long, long life as a Nikke that Dorothy of Eden had felt small. She wondered just how many sacrifices were made in that war and decided to ask, "Do you regret the sacrifices you've done for Humanity?"

"No," Six replied, blunt, "I don't."

... And that put a few things into perspective for her.