Author's Note

Wow, everyone has been so kind with their words lately! Not to say that anyone wasn't beforehand, but I've received so many positive reviews it's insane. These last two chapters have gained so many reviews compared to the ones before, and so quickly too.

A thing I've always worried about is how I portray the Master Chief in this story. I'm trying to make him as in character as possible, but he's super difficult to write, which is why he's so silent much of the time in these chapters. But, I think I've done okay so far, and we're 17 chapters in, so that must mean something?

Uploaded

04/17/2023

LEGEND BELOW

"Chief, that's not a good idea..." = Normal speech.

''You're you, don't let it control you...'' = Normal thoughts.

Chapter 17

A shiny new suit/Onto the next mission

Rated-M

M rating for blood, and language.

Music of the day

Halo 2 - Impend

The ship was alight with life, soldiers and basic troops rushing about the many decks, all moving with haste.

Although they had escaped from the terrible situation they'd been in, this was no time to remain at ease.

It was to this busy situation that Samus and John arrived to, stepping into the Spartan armory.

It would seem the people stationed here had been prepped ahead of time, as the moment the Spartan armor bay operators saw the Master Chief approaching they quickly ushered him into the armor station.

Samus stood and watched silently on the sidelines as his damaged and completely ruined suit of armor was practically surgically removed, the image it dredged up in her mind so similar to the time she'd been infected by the X that it gave her pause. Some of his armor was so badly damaged from repeated plasma fire that it had to be surgically removed by the operators running the machines.

Some stopped to watch as the Legend himself was worked on, while others stayed as far away from the scary alien woman and her floating children as possible.

Everyone aboard the deck had their eyes on her, not quite sure what to expect, nor sure who this person was. Of course, Lasky had updated personnel files and had added her to the UNSC database as a Bounty Hunter hired by the Infinity's captain himself, but other then an open warning, "Do not approach, do not aggravate.", her file was blank to nearly the entire crew; And if accessed by the crew, the information brought up gave little in terms of an explanation.

"Samus Aran? Can you come with me please?" The Hunter was pulled from her thoughts as another group of Spartan armory operators approached her, all wearing the same hazard gear as the ones tending to the Chief. "Commander Lasky has informed us that you required use of the energy recharge system here. We will assist you so that you do not damage the instruments." A soft sounding voice spoke, looking upward to the comparatively taller woman.

Samus nodded, letting the shorter woman lead the way. "Commander Lasky has informed us that you are able to absorb… energy… through the use of your left hand, however doing so will simultaneously result in the destruction of whatever it is you make contact with. As such, we have prepared the energy shield recharge test station, and modified for your use. This way you will not need to make contact with anything physically." The woman explained meekly, holding her clipboard to her chest.

"I see." Samus murmured in reply. The way they described it sounded just like the save stations that the Space Pirates used in their bases. If it worked in a similar fashion, this would be of much use to her.

She was lead down the open hall, away from the Spartan and to a different looking machine. She was directed to stand atop the pedestal in the center and not move. She commanded her infants to stay outside the center, but not to wander off.

They begrudgingly obeyed, not wanting to leave her side for long.

"Initiating shield recharging sequence now." Someone called out from behind her.

A stream of yellow electricity surrounded her, shaped like it was a spinning wave of energy. It swirled around her body, immediately being absorbed into her Power-Suit.

Her eyes were drawn to her HUD, watching as her flashing energy bar was slowly filled from where it had been sitting at 3% for the last twenty minutes. Slowly it began rising, her energy finally being refilled properly after so long.

"System stable, energy flow nominal. How are things looking on your end, miss Aran?" The woman operating the machine asked, looking up from her control panel. Usually this process was quick, as the Spartan armor had its own recharging energy shields. She was under the assumption the same worked for the Hunter.

"My energy supply is at twenty percent, continue the charge." Samus muttered quietly.

The operator blanched, eyes widening. A large amount of energy, comparatively speaking, had already been used. Yet she only had 20%?

Sensing her confusion, Samus elaborated. "My capacity to contain energy is far greater than any sort of technology you may have here. My suit can contain it in vast amounts, and my own internal organs control, store, and regulate even more. Continue this process, please." She explained.

The woman didn't prod the Hunter for information, instead doing as was asked of her. Minutes passed in silence, Samus watching her energy meter grow and grow, until it had finally reached %100 percent power for the first time in weeks.

However, she kept absorbing energy, faster and faster, this time the suit now bleeding the excess into her body. Her eyes widened as she struggled to keep her emotions in check as that hunger she'd endured for so long was filled. She kept taking energy in until she felt like her large gathering of internal nuclei were about to burst. It gave the sensation of being filled to her limits, and she wanted to keep going.

She could keep going, absorbing more and more, taking it all into her body. It felt so good, so wonderful! It was euphoric, a feeling akin to ecstasy flashing across her body as she didn't stop herself, greedily taking more than she could, more than she safety should've taken.

Her mouth was salivating at the sensation, third eye open and glowing so brilliantly with energy that it was actually blinding to look at.

''No! Get yourself under control.'' Her mind suddenly struck out, blinding her with a sudden sense of clarity. ''This is no time to be losing myself... Not like some animal...'' She had far too much responsibility to worry about now, and losing herself in the waves of power wasn't something she could afford to do.

The urge to stay within the energy field was so powerful that she had to force herself out of it, quickly stepping off of the pedestal. Her senses finally came back to her, taking a deep breath as she slowed her rapidly buzzing dna.

She raised a hand to her chest plate, feeling just how much she had absorbed.

Her infants quickly flew back to her side, as if to inspect their mother. She smiled, holding out her hand for them to gather around.

"M-Miss Aran?" Samus turned at the voice of the operator, finding the woman nervously cowering behind her station. "A-Are you done now?" She asked.

"Yes, thank you for your assistance." The Hunter offered, voice less firm than it had been before. However, upon seeing her face through her visor, the woman nearly passed out.

The Hunter in question had absorbed too much energy for it to be easily contained, and as such was visible from any opening on her body, ie, her mouth and eyes; As upon opening them, all that could be seen was a blinding light so bright it was akin to headlights on a warthog.

Seeing, however, that recovery was now over, she could return to the Chief's side. When she returned to him, he was finally being let down from the machine, dawning his shining new armor specifically tailored to him.

His feet clanged loudly when making contact with the ground, the man shifting around to get used to the new suit. It looked remarkably different then what he wore before, and almost no part of him was recognizable as what she'd come to associate with the Master Chief; With the exception of his helmet, which looked like a heavier armored variant of the one he wore before.

"Your armor suits you." Samus said offhandedly, glancing away as she took in the rest of the armory deck.

The man didn't say anything, but if his silent stare at her backside was any indication, he was surprised just a bit by her words.

''She complimented you, should I be worried?'' Cortana said from within his head, sounding far too amused with the situation.

"Ready to get back to work?" He found himself asking instead.

She turned to face him, visor polarizing to hide her blinding features from him. "If I must, it feels as if that's all I've been doing. Maybe one day I'll get to sit down for more then an hour…" She said, audibly sighing as she moved ahead of him and to the elevator, acting as if it couldn't be helped.

He watched her go, surprised by her sudden mood change. She'd been irritable since she'd left the medical bay, but now she was, dare he say, fine. She strolled on ahead of him with a confidence in her walk and a casual sway in her hips, as if nothing could topple her even if it tried. It definitely gave him pause for a moment more than it should've.

''Oh, so I should be worried…'' Cortana laughed quietly to herself.

Wisely, the Master Chief ignored her, quickly moving to catch up to the woman in green. Captain Del Rio would be expecting them…

"What I want to know, is where the hell those things came from. Unless we figure out the trick to these things, the way they move, we're still going to be vulnerable to another attack."

"I understand your concern Captain, as well as your frustrations. The battle footage I have recovered from the battles so far have revealed some interesting details, but I am disappointed in myself that I cannot provide you with much more information then you are currently aware of, Captain."

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just, please tell me what you know, Aine." Del Rio sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere without more concrete information.

At this point, the Master Chief and Samus had returned to the command deck, standing across from the large table like terminal which supported the Infinity's A.I.

"If I may, Captain. I believe Cortana can provide you with more information than I." Aine conceded, letting the blue A.I. take over. The Chief took his data chip out from his helmet, inserting it into the terminal. A moment later, Cortana appeared beside Aine.

"Well, it's possible that they are native to Requiem, Captain. At least, whatever can be considered native when speaking about Forerunner A.I." Cortana spoke up, bringing up a hologram of a Promethean Knight.

Del Rio sighed, stepping around the table, seeming antsy. "We've never seen this type of offensive reaction from any of the other installations. This is new." He added in irritation.

However, what he said brought up questions within the Chief. "Other installations?"

Del Rio nodded, turning to Lasky who had been silently listening in. The Commander nodded before bringing up another hologram, this one of a Halo Ring. "Infinity's mission has been to locate the other remaining Halo rings, and establish permanent bases to study them for decommission. We have locations up around five and three, but…" He explained, before sighing. "Lately they've run into some setbacks."

"A science team got zapped while excavating a Forerunner artifact. This… sensor data was all that was left." Andrew added, bringing up a spinning holographic artifact, filled with Forerunner hieroglyphs or versions of them.

Cortana clasped her hands together, finding the artifact fascinating to study. "That's…. The symbols on this artifact are a derivation of the Forerunner glyph system." Cortana muttered.

"And our geeks managed to pull together some coordinates from it. I'll give you three guesses where it lead." The man muttered gruffly.

"Sir, Gypsy company is prepped and ready to roll on your orders." However, before anyone could comment further, Commander Palmer approached from behind the man, holding a PDA in her hands. The captain took it, studying it for a moment before nodding.

"Thank you, Commander." The man intoned. "Lasky, you're to take point. I want boots on the ground in sixty." He turned to the other man, handing him the same PDA. "Chief, I understand your grievances with leaving this Didact on his own, but we have our priorities first. Once we clear out, we need to return and report to fleet-com." The man explained, turning to the green Spartan to see if he had anything to add.

"Captain, I still think we should push our advantage. The Didact is weakened and on the run, he's vulnerable." The Chief still pushed, adamantly against leaving the planet behind so soon.

Here, however, Del Rio frowned. "He isn't the only one. This ship wasn't prepared for a war when we arrived here. We have no frigates, and the crew here would be hard pressed to take on a battle so large." He explained gruffly.

He turned to Samus who had been silent the entire time, watching her for a reaction. Was she going to blindly side with the Spartan, or was she going to take his side on the subject? It mattered not, seeing as he was the one to call the shots, however, input was always valuable.

"I agree that your ship is not currently prepared for a battle of such a magnitude." Samus spoke up finally.

Chief didn't say anything, but he was clearly upset by her siding with the captain on the subject.

"However, neither is he." She continued. "If we go now, regroup and gather the armies you have at your disposal, then that will give him the time to do the same. These, Covenant, worship the ground the Didact walks on. If you give him time, he will amass an army." Samus explained knowingly.

Both the Chief and Del Rio faced her, interested by her words, and were willing to continue to let her explain. Seeing as she had the floor, she continued. "Having an army at your disposal will increase the odds of winning, however, allowing him to amass an army against your own will only lead to large scale loss on both their side, and your own. If we cut him down before he even gains an army, you will not only cut off the head of this estranged Covenant, but the rest will be weakened without their wise and powerful leader."

Samus straightened up, giving the Captain a sharp look. "Are you aware that the Didact knows of humanity? Are you aware that he has knowledge of the location of your home world? Why, now, would you decide to retreat when we have the opportunity to stop him far before he even reaches your world? He is a Forerunner, is he not? He controls these Promethean's and the secret weapons hidden on this world. Are you certain there are not far more powerful Forerunner weapons out there, waiting for the last Forerunner to access and use them?"

Samus' eyes narrowed behind her visor. "My question, to you, Captain, is this. Are you willing to sacrifice as many people as it takes to get the job done, or will you tread the difficult and dangerous path that allows billions more to live?" She asked, voice neutral. "You have a chance to stop him here and now, before he has a chance to do even more damage. My question is, will you take that chance?" She asked firmly, her gaze locked unflinchingly onto the man responsible for the Infinity. Then she turned to the Master Chief.

"I've learned that your leaders have placed their faith in this man many times before, all within similar circumstances. They did so then, and were rewarded for it. Why will you object to doing so once again? Why now?" She asked.

The Chief was speechless, eyes wide as he stared at the woman openly defending him. He wasn't sure what her stance on this situation was going to be, but he hadn't expected her to say what she did.

He'd already failed in convincing the captain to stop the Didact here before, so he had no faith that he'd change his mind now. He'd been preparing to go off and fight the Didact himself should the need arise, but now…?

Now he wasn't sure if he'd need to.

Andrew stared at her, contemplating her words and the many facts she placed before him. He didn't want to risk the lives of everyone on this ship to have a chance at stopping the Didact.

However, she was right. If he let the monster go now, there was a very real chance that millions more could die before the Didact was stopped.

He closed his eyes, turning away from her. "Commander Palmer." He spoke, facing the previously silent woman. "Prepare Spartan Castle Team for deployment. I want this mission finished quickly. Once we're done with the gravity well, we're going to go after the Didact. I'm finishing this before it gets out of hand." He stated firmly.

"Yes sir." The white Spartan nodded as she quickly left, making her way to the Spartan armory.

Andrew turned back to face the green armored duo. "I still don't like this, but she is right. We need to stop him sooner rather then later." He sighed. "To that end, Samus, I've turned over your A.I. companion to the science team. If anyone can fix it, it's them. In the meantime, I want you both with Gypsy company for this mission. The sooner we get that gravity well offline, the sooner we can focus on the Didact." He turned to Samus, and for a moment, the woman saw someone else. "Any objections, Aran?" He questioned, eyebrow raised.

She grinned slightly behind her visor, pleased with the outcome. "No sir."

He nodded. "Good, then you both meet up with Gypsy company. Godspeed." He said grimly, turning back to the command terminal.

"Alright Gypsy company, let's get moving! Captain Del Rio has added some faces to the team, so let's get this thing done so we call all go home! I've got word that Spartan Castle Team will be arriving in two minutes. The Master Chief will be here too, so, try not to make asses of yourselves!"

The landing bay responsible for housing Gypsy company's Pelicans was bustling with noise, marines and Spartan Fours running about to make the final preparations for the mission.

They'd been prepared to go not five minutes before, but the captain had sent a last minute request to up the crew. A few things would need to be adjusted, but otherwise they'd still be ready to leave the moment their backup arrived on deck.

And, as the faceless marine running the show finished calling out orders, the bay doors not far from him slid open to reveal the backup he'd been speaking of.

The doors opened to reveal the Spartans of Castle Team, a few of their members wearing brand new armor hot off the armor bay. The entire fireteam strolled in, already armed to the teeth with ballistics and backup equipment of all sorts. A dark yet serious air followed the super soldiers, one that seemed oddly out of place for the previously lively troopers.

"Castle Team, right on time! Your pelican is prepped and ready to go!" A marine ran up to them, directing them to a pelican off to the side.

Ernst stepped forward, nodding. "Good. Alright Castle Team, load up. Our backup will be here any second." The Spartan team leader said. The Spartans moved without a word, loading up onto the drop ship. The man watched them go, before turning around to see the last arrivals come through the doors.

The one he recognized as the Master Chief, a legend walking. However, the other gave him pause.

The captain had mentioned he'd be accompanied by a special unit, but besides the general statement of, don't get in her way, not much was said otherwise.

"Master Chief, it's good to have you along for the ride. I'd say it's good to see you again, but we've never met." Ernst commented, tone respectful with a hint of awe hidden somewhere underneath.

The man in green nodded at the other Spartan. "Likewise." He uttered firmly, turning to glance at his similarly green armored companion.

Ernst, however, seemed to skip over the woman and zero in on the strange creatures floating protectively around her, his hand twitching as if to grab his sidearm. Immediately, the strange woman caught his gaze and returned it tenfold.

"Don't mind my children, and they won't mind you." She spoke sharply, placing her free hand on her large hip-plate, putting more weight on the one leg over the other. She tilted her head slightly, the man gaining the impression she was sizing him up or something similar in effect. "Fireteam leader Ernst, I suggest you turn your attention elsewhere." She added, tone now specifically carrying a hostile undertone.

"I'll meet with you at the Pelican, Samus." The Chief spoke up quickly, grabbing the woman's attention. She looked at him, gaze hidden behind her baleful red visor, before saying nothing as she brushed past the fireteam leader, children quick to follow.

Once the Chief was sure she was out of immediate earshot, he turned his attention to the Spartan Four before him.

"Relax, you'd rather not piss her off." The Master Chief spoke up, pulling the gray armored Spartan's attention back to him. "She's with me. As of right now, Samus here is a freelance Bounty Hunter, and Captain Del Rio has requested her current and continued assistance for the foreseeable future. I'd suggest you pay attention to any data sent your way, especially when the Captain is the one issuing it, soldier." John muttered seriously, before placing his hand on the other Spartan's shoulder. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, as this is all new to you and this crew. But do not be mistaken, if you cross her, that's your responsibility." He added, before letting go, moving to join the Hunter's side once more.

Ernst watched him go, the green Spartan quickly boarding the drop ship. He blinked, not quite sure how to respond to everything that had just happened.

He doesn't pay attention for one minute and he's already missed everything important. ''Estey is going to have my ass the moment she learns of this…'' He thought dreadfully, moving to hop aboard his ship as the ships all powered up to make their leave…

"Infinity to Gypsy company…" The silence onboard the pelican was finally broken as the Del Rio's voice came through. Attention was drawn to the center of the ship as a hologram displayed an image of the man. "The air corridor to the gravity well is blocked by a network of particle cannons. Infinity's shields, are still down. Open the lane for us to move up and provide air support."

The Master Chief was quiet for a moment, listening to his new orders, before a question pushed its way through. "Captain, what's force recon's assessment of the terrain? What are we going up against out there?" He wouldn't usually feel so inclined to ask, but having a bunch of Spartan's with little field experience, and having Samus relying on him for intel made him speak up.

"No recon, Master Chief, this is a blow through op." Del Rio responded sharply. "Recon would only slow us down, and I'm not going to sit around and wait for the Didact to do whatever the hell he's doing while we stand around with our thumbs up our asses. We're taking this fight to the bastard, and recon's not the way to go if we want this done quickly." He explained gruffly.

"Listen, I know you've been off the field for a while, but surely you can handle a trivial mission such as this one." Andrew added after a moment, eyebrow raised as if taunting him. He knew the answer, of course, having witnessed him and Samus tear their way through the Infinity to regain control of the exterior weapon arrays.

"I'll manage." The Chief muttered, a tiny hint of confidence melding into his tone.

Del Rio grinned a tired grin. "I know you will." He muttered, before turning to his side as a supplementary hologram appeared showing a display of the particle cannons. "Telemetry indicates that the particle cannons are being controlled from a command post southwest of our position. Roll on that target and neutralize those guns. We'll meet on the other side and take out the gravity well. Infinity out." After his explanation, the image of him vanished as well.

"I don't know about you, but, I usually like a little more intel, with my intel…" Cortana snarked out loud, likely not meaning to let everyone hear.

"I'm sure we will manage." Samus, who'd been silently sitting in the back catering to her children spoke up, turning to face the Chief. The three Metroids suddenly flew over to the green Spartan, cooing at him as they flew in repeated circles around his head.

"Are you sure bringing the infants was a good idea?" The man asked.

He suddenly gained the impression that she was grinning at him from behind her visor.

"You're questioning me now? Do you think me foolish?" She asked, a tinge of amusement filling her usually flat voice.

"No." He responded almost immediately.

She stood up, walking towards the back of the pelican. She faced the bay door, glancing back over her shoulder at him. "Good. Then I'll see you on the ground." She replied, hitting the emergency open button. The pelican door flew open, wind suddenly filling the ship. She didn't even hesitate to run feet first out of the ship, her children flying after her as she took off in flight, using her space jump to soar across the sky.

"That's uh… one hell of a woman you've got there Chief…" A Spartan muttered dryly, not really sure how to add upon what he just saw.

Wisely, the man in green chose silence as his reply…

Chapter

17

End