Alrighty then, Enjoy.


Alt leaned back against the wall and repressed a sigh, the lab he was in was rather spacious and had plenty of equipment that could be used. There was around a dozen of the egg heads spread around the lab as well, all waiting for some type of response from the artifact that was positioned in the dead centre of the room, slightly floating off the ground. The reason for the sigh being that this was again another test and another failure to try and get something from the device.

It's been two days since they entered Slipsapce after the battle, they were only an hour away from the rendezvous point and this was the last shot at getting something from this thing. They had nothing and being completely honest, it hurt his pride more than he would like. This would be the first time he's tried something from I scientific standpoint that he wasn't able to figure it out or understand it.

Though being completely honest, he would most likely be a lot angrier at the situation if he hadn't had something that put a smile on his face.

Which was mainly Khane.

The time they spent in her shower and then her bed was well spent and a lot of fun. He wouldn't lie, he felt a lot better knowing that he was going off to war without having to wonder what it would have felt like to have sex. He doubted he was the most memorable for her but she got what she wanted when it was all said and done. As did he of course but that went without saying.

They haven't spoken since, well not really. Simply nods to each other as they pass in the corridors, since they were now out of action they've had very little reason to speak with each other as she didn't have the clearance to know about the artifact and while he could order her to use the ship in a certain way, he didn't have any reason too. Of course, he wanted to but he didn't want to come off as desperate. Besides he had something else to keep himself occupied.

"And last test was met with no results" he said out loud as everyone around him look at the artifact with a mix of disappointment and acceptance. Everyone present had been at the ONI installation during the attack so they had some experience when it comes to failing it understand it. He couldn't help but narrow his eyes as he crossed his arms and looked at the object of his frustrations.

The artifact was as tall as he was but slightly skinnier, it consisted of two rectangle like blocks that were connected to each other in the middle with two different sizes of gyroscopic rings that where frozen in place. It was a bright silver metal that had many different plate lines that went across the entire thing.

Nothing they had was connected to it physically, as whenever they tried it. It started to produce a staggering amount of energy, normally he would be all for trying to push that to see what would happen but he couldn't risk it effecting the ship.

Turning his head, Alt looked at the closed scientist on his right. The same one he helped in the bar from the ODST that was looking for trouble that Diggs was trying to stop "make a note that it's my personal recommendation that physical contact might be the way to try and understand more of it" he added.

The man nodded and started to type away on his data pad, a part of him really wanted to go up and touch but he knew he couldn't. It would be a hell of a lot more than just stupid, according to Parangosky this thing held similar properties to the ship that he was found on so the theory's started to go through his head that it might react to him differently to everything else but it was too much of a risk and he wouldn't do it on board this ship while in Slipspace.

Besides he had other things that he needed to concern himself with, namely how he would try and train with this new ability of his. Heat vision as one of the scientists of his dad's team had called it. It was simple enough he guessed. It's been a thought in the back of his head for the last two days, in his own time he tried to think about the best way to go about it but so far, the only thing he had was the emotions he was feeling just before he did it but that wasn't too big of a help.

It was a base line but he wasn't able to just snap his fingers and go back into the emotional distress. It was a base line but he would need to do more. His dad had sent a request for some more equipment to be brought on board when the fleet made it to the rendezvous point. He was told about it before hand of course and the idea made some sense and if it worked it could be a big help.

The plan was that while he was trying to get a handle on this new ability of his, his dad and his team would be building a small chamber that would take up a small part of the cargo hold as it was the only place with the room, it would be only as big as a cryo tube but instead of freezing him it would fill with solar radiation. It wouldn't be as potent as the real thing of course but it should be good enough to see if there is any type of difference in him.

He would be the judge of course, if his power did come from the stars then having that much radiation should give him some type of feeling and he would go from there. If it was right then they knew how he got his power and that was something ONI wanted to know for a long time now.


Khane stood strongly on the bridge of her ship, the events of the last battle bleeding out of her over the last couple of days. Of course, there was still back-to-back meetings and reports being written but it was a lot easier to do that then deal with the battles with these damn aliens. The Covenant as they're being called now.

The very thought of those aliens brought a shiver down her spine that she hated but she used her training and discipline to get control of her emotions, though she would admit that there was a primary factor for her calming thoughts. Atlas. To be completely honest, after leaving her seventh meeting of that day. She was all the more ready to go to shower and sleep but when she saw him. She didn't see the alien, she didn't see the power, of course she knew it was still there in the back of her head but at the time she didn't care about that.

The only thing she saw was the very attractive and capable male specimen. She most likely would have done the same if she ran into any of the soldiers on board, he was just in the right place at the right time. He did well enough she supposed, he wasn't the best she had but she doubted he would be though he gave her what she wanted. The more she thought about it, the more she started to think that she might have taken his virginity and wasn't that something she didn't want anyone knowing. Though in hindsight, choosing Atlas may not have been the best choice for that, she prayed that ONI didn't have some secret peace of code in the ships A.I that would report this to the higher ups. Khane did not care to be one to answer and bunch of egg head questions about how it was, or if there was anything of note, God only hopes that don't try and take samples from her if they did it again.

Though knowing ONI, it was more than possible that they would request she does it again so they could have a way to manipulate him later. Not that she would do that of course, having sex was one thing but seduction was not something she had the time or patients for.

Turning her head to look out the window she was met with the sight of the large UNSC shipyard. They left Slipspace an hour ago and now was the slow process of restocking and repairs. They didn't need as much as the other ships but they did need a lot of equipment, not to mention a changing of crew as many had transferred to and from the ship.

"Ma'am, we're ready commence docking" a voice called to her side.

"Proceed" she said as the shipyard got closer and closer "once docked, prioritise bridges closest to lab 3. I want that ONI asset off my ship" she added.

"Yes Ma'am" the same voice called as the UNSC frigate that was her ship started to fly into the large open hanger. This shipyard had four ports for ships but none of the hanger where big enough to fit the Marathon class they had with them. No, a ship of that size would have to be fitted to the outside and repaired by a combination of drones and manual labour. It would be easier for her own ship of course but any repairs would still have to be done with drones as while they may still be in a hanger.

It was an open one so any people helping would need to be in a sealed-up suits. The 'Bridges' was the lay man's term for the ports that people can use to get to and from the ship, a port slash corridor that was completely sealed up and attach itself to the ships many air locks. Turning to the side she walked to the right of the bridge and looked out the window, seeing the five bridges move out from the sides of the hanger wall and line up with her ship.

They were thick grey steel tubes that had small windows in them and her eyes immediately landed one of them. She knew her ships lay out like the back of her hand, so it was easy for her to see the one that would be used by lab 3 first. Throughout the entire journey, she didn't look into the lab or even try and figure out what was in there. This asset was being looked after closely by not only the scientists and Atlas himself but also the ships own systems. The ships Dumb A.I was bound by protocols and those state that only those with clearance can know about the asset let alone see it.

She could see in the corner of her eye that one of the terminals that was being manned was full of red lights now turned green, meaning that the air locks where now open and people where free to come and go. Her eyes caught sight of people in white leaving her ship and heading down the bridge. Then just after them for a brief moment she caught a flash of silver and then it was gone.

That was all she saw of the asset before it was out of view and she turned away, not caring to look at the other windows with the hope of seeing more. She didn't have the attention to try and look for more than she was authorized to know. Turning away she went to the bridges command table, planning to go over the transfer and cargo lists more closely. Though as she looked at the requisitions that Stevens made drew her eyebrows together 'just what in the hell are they working on?' she asked herself.


Alt watched with a disappointed glare as the Artifact was carried away by the gravity platform, making sure that it wasn't touching anything. A Horde of ONI scientists following it off, it still grated on him that he couldn't tell what the hell that thing was. For now though he would have to leave it be and let others deal with it. He looked out the small window on the bridge and could see the others where already being used to bring in cargo and transfers.

Just before the ONI eggheads could leave the bridge and enter the shipyard proper. One of them turned to look at him and gave him a firm nod. Something he returned before turning around and moving back into the ship. Upon entering he could see that the smaller corridors where deserted, no doubt due to the orders of everyone else. Only those with the clearance could see the asset of course, moving to one of the sealed doors that closed behind them, he pressed the controls on the door and it opened.

He looked to see several dozen different personal all waiting for him, as he stepped through the now open doorway, all of them stood up straight and brought their hands up in a salute. Something he returned "as you were" he added to them before walking past them and making his way towards his own workshop on the engineering deck.


It was louder than he would like, that went without saying. He didn't own the deck like some would like to think, it was more of he had the upper level of the deck to himself that he can use as he sees fit.

The deck wasn't massive, around the size of medium sized hall. It was an open plan with main floor being used by everyone for stuff like ammo, armour, weapons and the like. But if you were to stand in the middle of the deck, you could see all the personal around you working on various things but if you looked up you would be able to see a large walkway that went around the sides of the deck that you would either need to take the stairs to walk up to or the small lifting platform the carry the heavier stuff up there.

Leaning forward on the railing of the walkway, Alt looking at the two dozen or so personal that were helping with the restocking, some on the far side were going to be helping with the modifications that would be used to test his solar power theory. Though knowing that he had his own work to do, he turned around and made his way back to his own station, well one of them. He had a handful of different projects all running at the moment that were spaced about the walkway.

The one he was moving towards was full of different boards that was full of calculations and ideas that he had, but directly opposite him on the other side of the deck was an armouring station that he would use to modify the Mjolnir armour. Since the last one he had got completely recked, it would be a while he would be able to get another.

For now though, he would be going in more depth with his more theory-based work. Not the ones involving himself, he would leave that to his dad and his lot. No, this was his work involving the Covenant and the... Kryptonian. He had three boards in front of him, the one in the middle had a detailed drawing of the man he fought encased in the armour he wore, it was full of labels of what he thought each part was. The biggest part of text that was highlighted was the part that was connected to the helmet and went into how injured he seemed to get when he hit him with his heat vision.

The board on his left was full of the different symbols he saw on the alien ship, what they could mean and trying to link them to where he knew them from. It went without saying that if he could figure out a way to understand that language that the aliens where using, it would go a long way to helping them understand and beat their enemies. Though it was a slow process, he knew that it would be a long process, but he had to try. He knew those symbols from within his gut and he did his best to try and remember but that was a problem. Of course, he has an advanced memory, he remembered everything at will but he could figure it out. The oldest memory he could find was when his dad held him for the first time back at Midnight Facility. Everything before that was seemingly lost to him.

The board on the right was full of the theory's he had on his people, where they came from, what happened to them and why they were doing what they are doing. Unfortunately, he had very little concrete evidence to work off of and that would need to change. As much as he never wanted to meet any of his people again, he couldn't afford to not know about this, it may be the key to winning this war. Based on what's happened so far, nothing the covenant had seemed to be to stand up against him. His people that where leading them seemed to be the only thing.

Bringing up his arms, he crossed them across his chest, bringing up one hand to his chin as he looked at the theory's. His latest one being that his people didn't know about the solar radiation. If it was the source of his strength and his people knew about it, then why would they wear a fully sealed up suit? It made no sense. There could always be the case that he was different from even his own people.

He still didn't know why his attacker didn't even speak to him, the one in black went straight to a fight. Why? Was he really just that hated already? And what would have caused that? Could it be that he was clearly siding with humanity or something else?

He hated this, the truth of the matter was that he could ask many more questions that would only lead to the same result. He didn't know and he had no way to know. The only chance he would have would be if he somehow got into the Covenant's computer systems and hope that they would hold some information for him. Or he could try and capture one of them alive for interrogation.

He shook his head and threw away that idea quickly. The UNSC and ONI had nothing that would hold him so they would have nothing to hold another of his kind. Taking a couple of steps back he stopped at the railing separating the two floors and he did a little hop, sitting on the top of it. He reached brought both his hands together and rested them under his chin, looking closer the boards.

Until they left the shipyard, this was all he could do. He wrote all the reports, made sure all the procedures where being followed and every transfer was going along smoothly. This was all he could do at the moment.

He knew that his standing orders where the same with the addition that he would try and train with this heat vision of his. Though there was a small hiccup with that order, he couldn't do it here. It was mainly the location that was stopping him. As far as anyone could tell, including him. That Covenant ship he took down was the most powerful humanity had encountered and he went through its shields and armour within just a few seconds. It wasn't hard to imagine what it could do to a small frigate like Ajax, so the plan was to do it while aiming out of the hanger.

But as of the moment, outside the hanger was just the walls of the shipyard's hanger. They needed open space in order to work and that wouldn't happen until everything was done with so he needed to wait.

"Hey Alt" he turned his head and saw his dad approach him, carrying a six pack of beer. How he got that on board, he didn't know but he wouldn't think twice about that.

"I thought you'd be busy in the cargo hold" Alt said as his dad came up to him and handed him the cans, he reached for one and opened it without thinking too much into it. The drink did nothing to him. Not even a little but it was more of the gesture that mattered, a father and son sharing a drink.

"Not so much" Stevens said as he leaned back on the railing next to him and leaned back, crossing his arms. Alt placing the cans on the ground next to them "I'm not an engineer so I'll leave the building to those who know what they're doing" he turned his head to look at the boards "you got anything?" he asked him.

Alt let out a sigh and shook his head "just more questions" he commented.

Stevens let out a chuckle "such is the way of science" he quoted something no doubt. They stayed in silence for a moment before his dad decided to break it "so... there's a rumour going around" he started as he looked at Alt "you and Khane" the hairs on the back of Alt's next started to rise and his eyes widened slightly "is that true?" he asked.

Alt turned to look at him and he could see the small calculating smirk on his face "err..." was all he got out before he closed his mouth a shook his head "no, I don't know what you're talking about" he tried.

To give him credit, Steven's didn't say anything else but the small smirk on his face grew and he looked back to the board. He let out a chuckle and held out his can "good boy" he added. Alt couldn't help the small smile that went onto his face before he tapped the can with his own, confirming it but not really "at least we don't have to worry about being safe" he added. Alt let out a groan of annoyed embarrassment, which he had every right to be. His teenage years had consisted of a couple of very annoying and embarrassing tests that normally including beating it into a cup. Thankfully he only did it a couple times once the eggheads at ONI were able to discover that he was completely incompatible with human DNA. So, the odds of him having kids with a human naturally where zero.

They stayed quite for another moment before Steven's spoke again "what's that?" he asked.

Alt turned to where he was looking and his eyes landed on another board, separated from the other three and was a little further down the wall. As Stevens looked closer he could see that it was designs of some sort "oh, nothing important. Just some idea I had a couple days ago" he explained as his dad moved away from the railing and made his way towards the board.

He watched as Stevens tilt his head slightly as he crossed his arms "is this a ship?" he asked him.

"Yeah" he confirmed as he jumped off the top and walked over "just playing with an idea" he shrugged.

"This looks good" he commented "a bit big" he added with a smirk.

Something Alt returned, that was true, the ship was larger than anything the UNSC had. This had been a side project of his that he thought up a day or two before the last mission, since then and after he got his new orders, he had time to into it in further detail about it since them. This wasn't everything of course, not even close but it was enough for others to get the basic idea. It held to images, one that would provide a side few of the ship and one from above. The ship measured in six point seven kilometres long and would be the largest ship to date. Human or alien.

It had a triangular shape, smaller dots that would indicate the point defences that it would have and that would be many. There were many different labels that highlighted different points. Some pointed to what looked like hangers, others to many different access ports, within the middle of the sketch was two large points, one in the middle of the ship and another near the back where six large thrusters where on display. The ships two different power cores that where not fusion like many of the other different ships in the current navy but these were highlighted as anti-matter instead.

"This is interesting, it would certainly help out with the navy engagements" Stevens added as he looked to Alt with a fond smirk.

"Yeah it would" Alt shrugged "I mean, assuming we can figure out how we could harness Anti-matter as a PowerSource then it would really make a difference"

His dad let out a chuckle "that might take a couple of years"

"Assuming I'm in charge of the research and given the right funding, four years to be exact" he added as his dad gave him a surprised stare, he shrugged back as he took another sip from his beer "I've looked into it in my spare time"

As the father and son enjoyed their down time, having a couple more drinks and talking about some stuff. Some important but most of it was casual stuff that didn't matter in the long run, Steven's even asked about Khane at one point, something Alt just deflected with stuttering and changing of the subject.

Neither one of them would notice the camera in the middle of the ceiling focused on them and the dumb A.I whose sole purpose was to spy on everything Alt does, ready to be reported back to ONI. They wouldn't know for a good long while the pictures it took of the ship schematics and the audio of Alt saying he could develop Anti-matter engines.


It's been a day since they docked and now that everything and everyone that needed to be onboard was. The Ajax was able to leave the hanger and Alt could start doing the training that he was ordered to get started on. They would be leaving the system or anything of the sort, they still had yet to receive formal orders from command so for now they would stay in house and wait.

Either to hear word from either Lord Hood or Admiral Parangosky to reach out and give orders. Or they got word of the Atlas contingency being called from somewhere. Officially, Atlas is an agent of ONI so he didn't answer to the UNSC, though that was before a war with aliens started. According to the laws and protocols in place in the wake of the hostile first contact, Lord Hood was given complete authority over all military branches and ONI was that. Of course, he would never be stupid enough to force an order onto Parangosky when she didn't want to follow it but technically, he could.

Which is why if he called up and gave them a mission, they would need to follow it. Though so far nothing happened so they had free reign to do their own thing for now. Which as what led Alt here. He made the order for Khane to take them to the outskirts of the system and angle the ship so the hanger was pointing out to open space. The shields that where being used to keep the hanger person friendly had been turned off turning the hanger into a vacuum.

Despite that, he stood calmly near the large hanger door that the dropships would use and looked out to open space. Wearing only his casual uniform. Behind him, his dad and his team where all standing by. Each one of them wearing a fully sealed up suit that would protect them from the vacuum. Though that did come with its fair share of problems, the main one being that the suits they were wearing were quite bulky so the scientists wouldn't be able to take notes or anything like that. So, they did the only thing they could think of and set up a lot of cameras as well as stand around them so they could see as best they could with their own eyes.

He didn't doubt that a lot of the crew members would be watching as well, he didn't really mind that. If they wanted to be disappointed then that was fine with him, he doubted this would be something he would be able to just do. Despite how smart he might be, he couldn't just snap his fingers and recreate the type of emotional turmoil he was in the last time he did this. But he would try and the very least.

He was as close to open space as he could get, one more step and he would just fall. He closed his eyes and he started to picture everything that happened, it wasn't as clear as it would like, he had flashes, images but it wasn't anywhere near as clear as all of his other memories were. His current theory as to why that was, was due to all the head injurers he received during the fight. He didn't have a concussion when he woke up but it's very possible that he did when the fighting happened but it healed up when he was knocked out.

That being said he did the only thing he could think of and try and go over all the memory's he had, more specifically what he was feeling during that. All the anger, the pain, the loss, all the suffering that was going on around him. He himself pumped up on adrenaline. At least he thought it was adrenaline, it was possible that his alien body just didn't have that but for now he would assume so because he did feel the symptoms of shock occur after the fight was over and he was making sure Diggs got to the roof.

They've been like this for over an hour now, Alt standing there doing everything he can to try and create a fraction of the power he used before but nothing seemed to be working. Behind him, the egg heads were talking about how they could help while they waited for him. As it would seem like Alt wouldn't be able to do this on his own "I don't know how we would try and recreate the feelings he would have had" on said.

"Not to mention the type of mind set he would have been in" another chimed in "anything could have been a factor"

"But it is possible that rage or anger could have been the main factor" Stevens spoke up as the others turned to look at him, though not able to see his face due to the helmet he was wearing "I doubt something like anxiety or fear could cause such a violent response"

"If that is the case then I doubt there is much we could do about that, unless anyone here knows something that would really piss him off" the third added with a shake of the head.

Then the idea came to Stevens, it was a hail merry but maybe it could work and Alt was mature enough to not let something like that affect him "hey Alt" he added taking a couple of steps forward past the lines of cameras.

"Let me guess" he said turning away from space to face him "you're gonna tell me something that would make me angry" he added as he gave his dad a blank look.

"Yeah, you might have great hearing son. We're still in a vacuum, I didn't hear a word of that" he said back with a slight grin on his face, Alt opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself, shaking his head with a smirk he turned back away towards space.

"You remember when you first joined the Spartans" Stevens started and Alt gave him a sideways glance "just before that you helped the crowd of people for the first time. Remember that?" he asked and received a nod in response "well, the truth is that I never got assigned a new project or mission after that" Alt frowned at the words that where being said, not in anger but confusion "you went to those people because you could hear that they needed your help, when Parangosky found out about you're hearing and it was during that training exercise with the Spartans that you could use your eyes the way you could. Needless to say she was very upset that we kept something like that from her"

Alt turned his body to look at his dad, there was now a full-blown frown on his face, he opened his mouth like he wanted to speak but stopped himself so he closed it back up. He took a step closer towards him and for another person, Alt stepping up to them like that with that look of anger and worry. Stevens just continued "I wasn't assigned a new order kid" he repeated "the truth is that I spent those years in a prison cell because I kept critical information on a military asset a secret from my superiors"

There was a small twitch in the corner of Alt's mouth as he heard that, needless to say he was very angry at the moment and he would be talking to the admiral as soon as he was able "There!" Stevens said pointing right to Alt face as a red glow came from his eyes.

As his vision became burly and all he could see was red, not knowing what that meant, Alt quickly turned his head and tried to focus on the anger he was feeling. After everything he went through, all the training and all the promises that were made, ONI took his dad because he dared keep a secret away from the big bad agency.

There was a sudden force coming from his face that pushed him back a step and he had to realign his feet in order to not fall over. It also hurt, a sharp pain started to come from his eyes and it seemed to be enough to make him forget about the anger and soon his vision returned to normal. When that happened he did get a bit tired and dizzy, so much so that it caused him to fall onto his back "Alt!" Stevens said with worried voice as he starred at the ceiling, seeing his dads suit enter his field of view "are you alright?" he asked.

He was a little lightheaded and his eyesight was slightly blurred but he was wake at the very least. A sharp contrast to what happened last time, all he could do was raise a hand and give him a thumbs up. Though that was power his hand fell back to the ground and all he could do was lay there and try to stay awake, simply not having the energy to do anything else.

He didn't try and fight it when a team of medics came in, all wearing fully sealed up suits and lifted him onto a stretcher, carrying him away. No doubt back to his dad's lab, he was sure the others would arrive as well whenever they cleaned up all the camera's.

The only thing that really stood out in his mind was he was being carried through the airlock was the conversation he was going to have with Parangosky and how loud it was going to be, but that clearly wasn't going to happen until he was able to stand up on his own two feet at least.


Diggs stood on the bridge with his arms crossed, he like many others were staring at the monitor that showed the camera feed, from the inside of the hanger, most of the crew on the bridge where watching, oh sure they had their jobs that they needed to do but seeing someone like Atlas shoot lasers from his eyes isn't something one would pass up on seeing.

Of course, that also meant a lot of people heard that Stevens was thrown into a cell by ONI for keeping a secret from them. He didn't know what it meant but he and everyone else heard hearing and sound. Did he have a power with his senses as well? Don't get him wrong, everyone on this ship knows full well Atlas was onboard and what he was but they weren't given any information about what it was he could do exactly.

It's not like everyone was given a dossier on everything he could do, based on the way everyone looked at each other confused, they didn't know about it either. Turning his head he could see that Khane was standing calmly with a tilted head, oh he heard the rumours about Alt and her. He wasn't one for rumours, much less believe them but despite it all she was still the captain of this ship even if she wasn't in charge. The fact she looked just as confused as everyone else made him feel a little better, meaning nobody was told about this.

So, that meant it must just be Atlas, his father and the possibly the science team that was working on him. He really didn't like that he would be working with someone who had capabilities he couldn't even know about, let alone understand but he decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, at least until the first mission was over. He held his own in a fight and probably saved their lives but if he was going to be living with Atlas for as long as he was onboard, he needed to know more about the alien.

The only reason he was ok with it before was because he assumed that at the very least the captain of the ship knew about it. If she didn't, then that put him on edge and he would need to talk to him about it.

Then the collective gasp came from everyone present when the twin red lasers came from his eyes and shot right out of the hanger doors. He didn't really see it last time due to the sheer force of the blast knocking him and everyone else on their backs, not to mention the heat of it was enough for them to shy away and try and block it with their hands.

Looking away from the computer screens, he walked forward towards the front window and moved to the right side of it. To his amazement, he could make out the two beams with his own eyes, not through a camera. They seemed to be going out into open space, seemingly forever "incredible" a voice from one of the ships navigators spoke up next to him.

He couldn't even get a word in before the light stopped and Khane spoke up "he's on his way to the med-bay. Everyone else, we're going back to regular working procedure" her voice was as commanding as it always was and it seemed to be enough to snap everyone out of their stupor and the regular workings of the bridge went back to how it was.

Diggs stayed where he was for a moment before he made his way out, he gave Khane nod, something that was returned before he left. Heading straight towards the med-bay, he needed to talk to one who was in charge. It was time he got an idea about who it was he was going to be fighting with.


In a common occurrence. Admiral Parangosky was speaking to Lord Hood over a private link that the two shared, something that would be needed in their line of work. Hood was no fool, while he was in charge of pretty much their entire species in the state of war they found themselves in. He knew very well that she was just as powerful as him if not more so, considering all the secrets she had access too.

But she too was no fool, a small civil war between the UNSC and ONI was not something that can be allowed to happen, not now. With the enemy seeming to come for them almost from every angle, they couldn't afford to fight each other so she does what she can to make things as peaceful between the two as she could. Hense they common meetings between the two. The topic of discussion being what Atlas mentioned during the last debriefing "the risk is far greater than what we're doing now" Hood commented as he stroked his chin "as is the possibility of failure"

She gave him a shrug "anything involving them is going to be a risk, but the reward may outweigh it" she added, leaning back in her chair.

"It would also be incredibly circumstantial" he counted back and wasn't that true, they still hadn't found a way to track the covenant ships down yet so the only option they had at the moment was going to be to wait for some of them to attack one of their worlds and prey the Ajax was close enough to make before the entire world was lost.

"We'd also need more manpower" she said back calmly "the ODST's are good but a squad of Spartans wouldn't be amiss when it comes to taking over one of their ships"

Hood grimaced at the thought "let's hope Atlas will be able to keep them under control when around the Spartans" he added.

"Well, that goes without saying" she added. It was no secret that the Spartans and the ODST's didn't really get on, she knew exactly where the animosity came from. Specifically, when 117 killed three of them in a boxing ring. ONI did it's best to silence that information before it could get out but it was one of the few failures they had. Thankfully they had discredited it as a rumour but they can still do damage. Then of course there was ego taking a factor. The ODST's where always considered to be the best of the best but then suddenly out of nowhere, the Spartans came along with better training, better equipment and a completely new and uncompromising mind set. Parangosky couldn't help but mentally roll her eyes at the thought "If they are willing to let their own personal feelings get in the way of the mission then they deserve to fail it" he commented coldly.

"In truth, I don't really care for the PR between the two branches" Hood said back as he clasped his hands together on the table "but these plans of his, do you think they have any merit?" he asked.

She didn't say anything for a moment, looking down to the left of her desk and looking at the image. More specifically, the ship design that Atlas made and an audio recording of him claiming that he could make an Anti-matter engine "I've never known him to be a lair" she said in as calm a voice as she could "and his intelligence is nothing to scoff at" not outright saying it but confirming that she would not be completely against the idea.

"Taking our most powerful weapon away from the front lines for four years could end this war" it was a grim thought but he wasn't wrong, the only victories they've had so far has only been because of Atlas. Even then, they were not true wins because they always had to retreat at the end of it all.

"If we can survive on our own without him, and I do believe we can it could be worth the risk" she started, crossing her arms "we could ask Atlas to spend some more of his free time finishing off the schematics for this ship. A few years for construction but if he can unlock the mystery of Anti-matter, power won't be a problem for us for the next couple of generations" she wasn't wrong and it would be an amazing achievement.

Hood didn't move an inch from his seat "how long do you think it would take for him to finish those designs?" he asked first.

She was quite for a moment before letting out a shrug "for him. Assuming that he doesn't have anything keeping his mind occupied. A week?" she guessed.

He raised an eyebrow at that "one week for him to completely design a ship of this size?" he asked with an unbelieving voice.

Not that she could blame him for that, it takes weeks to design a simple frigate, let alone one week for what would be the biggest ship they would have "he works quick" he shrugs "he doesn't sleep, he has the mind as equal to a smart A.I but with the moral and instinctual thinking of us organics" she explained for him.

"We've been in these jobs for a long time Margret" he said to her, dropping the formalities for a moment "when have you ever known scientists to keep their word on timetables?" he asked her.

"I understand what you're saying Terance" she said back, using his first name as well "and you are right, they never do. But we've never had one like him before"

There was a silence that descended on them for a moment as they both seemed to think about the situation they found themselves in "we can't take him away from the front lines" Hood spoke, appearing to make up his mind.

The head of ONI couldn't really find a way to dispute him, he wasn't wrong. Atlas was need in the fight not stuck in a lab "Perhaps he could do both" she added more of a mutter to herself than anything else.

"What do you mean?" he asked back with a confused look "I don't even want to think about the amount of research equipment alone he would need, not to mention everything else" he added.

Looking away from the monitor quickly, Parangosky started to type away on another data pad, the Lord admiral waiting patiently "you're right" she admitted "we can't take him away from the front line, he's too big of an asset to not use but at the same time. Anti-matter engines are not something we can afford to not have" looking away from the data pad she turned back to face him "there's a Marathon Class in one of the Reach shipyards that halfway through the construction. It's not too late to make whatever changes that need to be made, including a large lab. You read the report, Captain Khane was put forward for a commendation. She's capable enough to captain it"

He didn't immediately dismiss the idea and she could tell that he was thinking about, so that was something. Hood may have far too many morals for her liking, but he was no fool. Which was proven right when he nodded "send me whatever schematics he'll need in a lab for this type of project, I'll get it done" the head of ONI nodded back before the call ended. She took a moment to close her eyes and let out a sigh, all she had to do now was hope that Atlas was different from many other scientists and was capable of sticking to his own given timetable.

But there was no rest, there couldn't be. Sitting back up she started to type away, getting ready to send a priority meeting with Atlas but before she could even begin the request. There was a small chime coming from the door, "come in" she said allowed, not looking up from her computer.

The door opened and her assistant walked in with the same professional attitude he always did "ma'am, you are receiving a priority one message from the Ajax. Atlas is demanding your immediate response" he said with his hands folded behind his straight back.

Upon hearing the words, her narrowed eyes looked up from her computer screen. Not sure if she wasn't hearing that right "demanding?" she asked back, asking him to clarify.

Thankfully, she hired this one over the other because he doesn't loose his nerve when around her, despite the fact he knew how many ways she could have him killed with no-one knowing "he seemed very angry ma'am" he explained "shall I patch him through?" he asked.

She was surprised by this, Atlas was always able to keep a level head. In every report she has seen, except for his younger years, he was always able to keep himself calm "Yes" she said standing up and straightening her clothing "I'll take it in the conference room" she said before turning to leave.


"Fitting punishment!?" Alt shouted back as he paced back and forth. He had to move, if he didn't then he would be stewing too much, worried that he might laser the core of the ship by mistake.

"Yes" Parangosky said back with narrowed eyes, her hologram not showing any point of hesitation or fear "it was and still is, if I felt he wasn't needed on that ship he would still be in that cell" she added, double downing on her discission.

A dry chuckle escaped his mouth upon hearing that "you're a real piece of shit aren't you" he said turning his head to look right into her unblinking eyes.

"Yes Atlas, I am. I'm the biggest most cold, calculating, evil human you are ever going to meet" she admitted freely "and what Steven's did was the sabotage of a military asset, the most important one we have. I have killed people, groups, entire towns for far less. You know that. You've always known exactly what ONI is" she remained him.

Atlas stopped pacing for a moment and turned to face the image fully "ONI is there to protect humanity, it is not something for you to throw your own personal problems at" he countered.

"It's never been personal" she said back just as calmly "Everything ONI has done as always been for the protection of humanity"

"Like punishing a farther for just wanting to protect his son" he countered just as quickly as she did.

"You're not his son Atlas, you are property of ONI" that seemed to bring him up short, to actually hear her say that he wasn't even a person, that cut deep.

He took a step closer "I am not some asset or piece of property you can just throw at your problems" he said.

"Yes, you are" she said back just as confidently, taking a step forward herself "and you always will be, do you know why? Because you can't afford not to be, you've the enemy, you know what they're capable of and you know what they're doing" she tilted her head at him "or are you saying you're not going to fight them, you're not going to stand in their way while they set entire worlds on fire?" it was a rhetorical question but not really.

Because she was right, wasn't she? He couldn't just stand by and let that happen. He would need to step in and stop that because innocent people would be harmed if he didn't "you will not even think about harming a hair on his head" he said to her in the firmest voice he could muster, knowing that he needed to but some condition in, if only to make sure he dad stayed safe.

"Enough" she spoke with a coldness that he's never heard before and definitely not something he could replicate, not that he would back down from it "I am the head of the most power organization in the history of the human race. Every decision I make results in many lives lost no matter what I pick. The only reason I didn't have Steven's killed for his transgressions is because of you" her normally calm face now held a firm and unmoving anger to it "because you have proven to be too important of an asset to lose, a lot of that is based on your ability to follow the chain of command" he didn't know how but the holographic image of her took a step forward, seemingly able to nearly step out of the range of the projector above her "but make no mistake, just because you are more valuable to ONI then a pawn does not make you a player. The only thing you need to concern yourself with is your ability to act when I tell you to. I may not be able to have you killed Atlas but I am not above destroying your ship and leaving you stranded in the ass end of space with no way out"

Her entire body turned around and she moved back to the middle of the holographic projector "You are going to provide me with a list of everything you could need in order to begin your research into the anti-matter reactors and standby for any Atlas contingency's being called. Is. That. Clear?" she asked him, her head not even turning around.

A snarl seemed to escape from Alt's mouth and his eyes lit up red as he heard the question, there was nothing he could do, going through every different scenario in his head, it all ended with at least the death of most on this ship "Yes ma'am" he growled. She didn't anything else, the image of her just disappeared and he was left to wallow in his anger for a good few minutes.


And we shall leave it there, things got bit tense there I know. But it would seem that the head of ONI needed to remained Atlas just who she was and how many cards she can hold. Let me know what you all thought I will see you in the next chapter.

Next Story update: A New Guardian