Remnants

by General Rage

From Halo's ashes, a mismatched Alliance is born. UNSC soldiers now serve alongside both Batarian deserters and shifty Jackal Space Pirates. Now Shepard and Master Chief have to keep these strange bedfellows from killing one another before they can stop an emergent new threat to the galaxy. The Next Swashbuckling Chapter of the Wormhole Chronicles.

3. Rogue Justice

Chapter Two: Rogue Justice

Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag and begin slitting throats

-H.L. Mencken, Prejudices: First Series

It took awhile for all the relevant faces to cram themselves into the briefing room. The Master Chief quickly plugged Cortana into the holoboard when he arrived. She was starting to pull up relevant data in preparation for meeting when Zek and Retz walked in. The image of the gas giant and it's asteroid belt hung in the air, with two clustered dots on one side and a large third blip on the other side of the planet. There was little doubt in anyone minds what said blip was.

"It's the Covenant, right?" Zek asked inquisitively. "They have one of their hounds sniffing for us."

"We all suspected they'd track us down sooner or later," Holland stated. "I would've preferred later myself. Cortana, do you have an ID on what we're facing?"

"Long range scanners don't give me a total picture, but I have an idea of what we're facing," the AI replied.

She had the hologram magnify the larger dot. A clear three dimensional image came into view, that of a large Covenant ship. Retz was the first to identify the class aloud.

"How appropriate, an Assault Carrier," he huffed. "Honestly, I'd be insulted if it was anything less given the stunt we just pulled."

"Preliminary probing of their battlenet has given me a registry on it," Cortana continued. "Ascendant Justice, part of the fleet that we encountered over Halo. Apparently, some of their ships survived the explosion, which explains how they've found us so quick. They don't seem to have a precise fix on our location though, but that is likely to change soon."

Holland eyed the hologram with a grimace, stroking his chin in thought.

"These things are planet killers," he reminded everyone. "We won't last long in a firefight with it in our current state. We need to consider some options here."

"I suggest evasive action," Haverson spoke up readily. "Hiding in the asteroid belt around the planet or perhaps even within the atmosphere of the gas giant itself could shield us from their sensors. We wait for them to pass and then engage slipspace out of the system."

Zek suddenly huffed rather abrasively, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. As they stared at him and Retz, the Jackal just looked with a cocky grin.

"Sounds a bit unlike you humans," he said. "Hiding I mean. In this case it's just downright wasteful though."

"I'm not sure I follow, Shipmaster Zek," Haverson said with a slight growl. "What do you mean wasteful?"

"I'm just saying, you're passing up a golden opportunity here," the pirate answered jovially. "That Carrier is alone, it's strayed from it's usual escort. We know it's position and it's still searching for us. I say, we take the offer laid out before us. Instead of hiding, we should board the carrier and take it for ourselves."

The annoyed look on everyone's faces soon turned to one of abject apathy if not outright disapproval.

"That hardly sounds like a viable course of action," Noble Two noted aloud.

"It is a bit excessive," Varvok concurred with a growl.

"It's downright unnecessary," Haverson declared. "We don't need another ship. We have three of them at this point."

"One of them is ours," Retz corrected him. "We're just loaning it out to some of your people."

Haverson shook his head in frustration at the comment.

"Whatever, we still don't need another ship, let alone a carrier," he said sternly. "It's a fight we don't need right now."

"I'd argue it is," Zek shot back with a confident steely glare. "True, we could hide from it's sensors. It would just pass right by with nary a thought. But it's just going to follow us, and next time it will have friends. Their Shipmaster has made a mistake, probably thinking we're weak. We hit him now, when he thinks we're down, we can grab the ship right out from under him."

"And why would we want to do that in the first place?" Noble Two asked. "You admit it yourself, it's just one ship out of who knows how many survivors from your former fleet."

"I take offense to that," Zek replied, sounding only slightly affronted. "I was never part of their fleet. Not in my mind."

Retz coughed slightly, getting his friend back on track.

"I think what Zek is trying to say is that we gain more from taking the risk and trying to capture the Carrier for ourselves," he explained. "Assault Carriers aren't nearly as big as their Super cousins, but they're built to invade planets and as a result are often used as roving operation stations in low orbit during campaigns."

"We're well aware of Covenant strategies," Holland informed him gruffly. "Make your point, please."

"The ship has ample fuel stores," Zek explained. "A Battlecruiser can recharge their fuel cells with relative ease. A corvette, like ours can dock with the lower intership airlocks for long range slipspace travel and ease of exchange of troops and supplies. That thing is more than just an assault craft, it's floating treasure chest full of loot. Loot, my dear fellows, we can use."

Haverson reached up and started rubbing the bridge of his nose, sighing as he did.

"You want us to take over a carrier and use it as a mothership?" He asked in disbelief. "What is this? Some kind of hokey sci-fi vid?"

"All I'm saying is it's a lot more use to us than you realize," Zek said, trying to elaborate. "The Covenant is going to find us again. It's going to become a nuisance. We handled ourselves well against a whole fleet, but only because they didn't want to risk shooting each other. Two Corvettes and a tiny frigate ain't going to do much against a proper enemy force in a real fight. No offense, Commander Shepard."

"None taken," Shepard told him. "But I'm still with Haverson and Noble Two on this, it seems like a bit of a risk we don't need to take."

"But think of the rewards," Retz suggested. "This Ascendant Justice is probably loaded with weapons and material. We could use some of that to trade or better arm ourselves if we so choose. Point is we could use the extra barter, because there's not many people out here who are going to accept human credits. Plus, we can all save on fuel considerably, we will only need to fly one ship long distances once our Corvettes are attached to the docking clamps. And the Normandy can easily land in the hangar bay. It's huge after all, capable of holding quite a few human frigates if it so chose. Runs the whole length of the ship actually with several doors in and out. Plus a second hangar bay near the stern."

"And like I said, in a real battle we'd have some extra big guns," Zek declared jovially. "That Carrier is a killing machine! We could go toe to toe with any Covenant ship tracking us. Better odds at least than what we have now."

Suddenly the room's attitude started to shift as the various eyes within all look to one another. The idea was starting to show merit at least. However, Haverson still kept his skeptical outlook.

"The value of taking the ship I can see," he admitted. "The problem is, we're not equipped for this. We just barely managed to take this vessel."

"The Crusty Chorka," Zek informed him.

Haverson raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, a grimace growing across his face the instant Zek finished speaking.

"You're renaming the ship... that?" Haverson asked rather deadpan.

Zek nodded enthusiastically. All Holland could do was sigh in mild annoyance.

"We also considered Surly Eel and Belching Krava," Retz interjected. "They were our other finalists the crew decided on."

"What's a Krava?" Varvok asked curiously.

"It's a legendary tentacled monster with a swirling maw of teeth," Retz explained. "I admit, the crew was still kinda drunk when we put things to a vote about an hour ago, but that's just how democracy works and it would be rather unfair of us to disregard-"

"Let's stay on subject," Haverson asked, clearly growing more frustrated by the syllable. "We can't take a carrier. It's just not possible with our current resources."

"Well what about those two?" Zek asked, pointing casually to both the Master Chief and Noble Two. "You have four of them last I checked."

Everyone's eyes turned to both Noble Two and then Master Chief. For a moment, he looked around, trying to think of what to say. Eventually, he decided on stating the facts.

"I have led Spartans on similar missions," he said plainly. "At least a four man team every time with little backup. Although to be fair, most of the time the mission called for us to destroy the Carrier."

"My team never had as much experience assaulting and taking over Covenant ships," Noble Two added. "At least nothing this big. We have, however, been relatively successful in similar situations, with considerably less resources at our disposal."

"We do have more manpower in this case," Shepard considered aloud. "The ODSTs, Varvok's people, my own crew. That's not even mentioning the Army Troopers and Marines. It's still a risk, I won't lie, but we do have some advantages."

With Shepard actually considering the plan as viable, even Haverson started to give the idea more thought. The doubt was only just melting though, not evaporating.

"If we had a way to even the odds a bit," he stated. "Some way to decrease their numbers. The carrier is going to have a lot of Covenant on it. Taking it could very well be a slog for any assault force we send. We'd need some kind of edge."

"I may have a solution," Cortana said meekly, raising her digital hand. "It's not a total game changer, but it might push the odds in our favor."

"Well don't leave us in suspense, Cortana," Shepard told her. "What do you have?"

The AI turned the holo image of the carrier on it's side, so its top view was showing. She then highlighted certain sections of the ship.

"My cyber warfare runtimes would allow me easy access to the ship's system," she explained. "The ship being in space gives me more options than if we were in atmosphere. Once I have control, I can vent atmosphere from key sections of the ship. Killing all occupants without envirosuits in the area, sucking some out into space if possible. EDI has similar subroutines to my own and could assist me even further in the task. The result, fewer Covenant, leveled playing field, edge gained."

Haverson still looked like he had doubts, but he did consider the matter more thoroughly.

"Well, it is better than just relying on surprise alone," he admitted. "And I don't doubt the Spartans could pull this off, especially with the Master Chief leading the charge. They could use all the backup we can offer though, just to be safe."

He turned to McKay who was still studying the holoimage and layout of the carrier.

"Lieutenant," he began, sounding a bit stern in his voice. "I trust your ODSTs are ready for an assault like this?"

The question sounded general, but everyone at the table sensed it wasn't really a question directed at the Drop Troopers under McKay. The implication didn't sail over her head either, as the disgruntled look in her eye proved. For her part, she didn't hesistate in her response to him.

"My ODSTs are looking to prove themselves again," she assured unwaveringly. "They've been itching for a good fight to remind everyone in this flotilla who they are. This sounds right up their alley. You can count us in, sir."

That seemed to be all Haverson needed as he nodded in approval. He looked around the room and saw the other members of the briefing seemed to share McKay's conviction. He then turned to Holland.

"As always, the decision is ultimately up to you, sir," he told him. "It does seem like we have a promising opportunity as Shipmaster Zek suggested."

"Then perhaps it is best we exploit it," Holland declared. "Alright, we hit the Ascendant Justice then, take it for ourselves and use it's resources to further our efforts. But if we are going to do this, we need a proper strategy. So let's figure out how we're going to tackle this operation and fast, we don't really have much time left before they're on top of us. Cortana, bring up some schematics of Covenant Assault Carriers that we have on file. We need to map out our game plan."

"Aye, Aye, sir," Cortana responded with an ample salute.

---

The Master Chief led the three other Spartans onto the Corvette's upper landing pad. There, waiting for them, was the Longsword fighter he and Commander Shepard has used to escape Halo. Given their limited resources, Holland felt discarding the thing would be waste. It still had active weapons systems and could be used to defend the flotilla if the need arised. So they kept it and it was a good thing they did because they were going to need it now.

"Alright, here's how this is going to work," Chief began. "The Longsword can get us inside the carrier, but we need to get close enough to it. Luckily, the vessel is moving into position over the asteroid belt around the planet. We can use that debris to hide from their sensors and get ourselves close to the target. To further confuse them once we're close, our pirate allies have given us these."

Chief opened a box he had been carrying that contained several small devices. Linda reached inside and picked one of them up. It took less than a second of staring at to figure out what it was.

"Tracking beacons, deactivated I imagine," she observed.

"Zek had them removed from his Phantoms," Chief explained, closing the box and placing it down. "We can activate them again when we're close. The idea is it will confuse the Covies with enough false signals that we can slip through easily. We then dock with one lower maintenance airlocks and make our way inside. That's where Cortana comes in."

The AI's voiced cracked over the Comm-link for the Spartans.

"Once we're in, we find the nearest data uplink port," she explained. "Chief will upload me to their systems and I'll work my magic. First priority is shutting down all defensive weapons, allowing the other boarding parties to land inside the hangar through different insertion points across the ship. Shepard's team will be right behind us, the Normandy's stealth drive will allow them to get even closer than we can without the beacons as a distraction. We link up with them and push for the bridge while the other assault teams secure other sections and cover our approach."

"While you and EDI start venting atmosphere to clear out other problem areas," Kat noted. "I assume the other assault teams will keep their suits sealed just in case. Hopefully that doesn't give away our strategy."

"Cortana and EDI will try to block internal ship communications," Chief assured. "For the moment, we suspect the Covenant will be slow to react to the situation."

"They won't be suspecting their own ship to turn against them," Cortana said confidently. "Besides the other advantage is that vented sections of the ship will funnel still surviving Covenant into kill zones for our own forces. Even if we miss some, they'll be forced into another trap."

"Seems pretty sound," Jun concurred. "Not going to be much use for my sniper rifle in there though."

"Actually, these Carriers seem to have a number of spacious sections throughout the vessel," Cortana advised. "You may get more use out of that rifle than you think."

Jun nodded at that and moved into the Longsword, he was followed by Kat, Linda and finally the Master Chief who hefted the box of tracking beacons into the craft himself. He set it down over to the side and moved to the pilot's seat. Linda was already in the co-pilot's chair beginning the start-up sequence. Kat and Jun had taken up monitoring positions on either side of the cockpit.

"What's the Ascendant Justice's current status?" Chief asked aloud.

"Sensors have it moving over the planet's asteroid belt," Kat replied, looking at her screen. "Probably beginning their sweep. No fighters detected yet."

"We best get underway before their sensors pick up either of the Corvettes," Chief said. "Linda, start the engines and ease us into the field."

Linda activated the final checks and the Longsword took off from the landing pad. The shield over them deactivated and they floated out into space. They kept the engines and their power on low, they didn't want to get spotted on their approach. The Corvettes were doing the same thing, powering down until notified otherwise, it was the only way to hide from the Carrier. Entering the field of asteroids from below, the Longsword began to snake it's way through the space debris.

"At this low speed we'll reach our target in about twenty minutes," Cortana noted. "Not exactly a speedy insertion, but better than having to fight through a bunch of Seraphs."

"I'll settle for fighting Elites on my own terms," Linda stated candidly.

As they eased through the rocks, she looked to the Master Chief, keeping a steady hand on the controls. He seemed to sense a question coming as he spoke before she did.

"Doubts?" He asked simply.

"None, we can pull this off," she assured him. "We've been through worse. I'm just wondering about the objective of the operation a bit."

"We were going to have to re-engage the Covenant sooner or later," Chief reminded her. "Better to do it now, while they're still reeling from the loss of Halo. The supplies and firepower were the main selling point, hard to argue with that given our situation."

"That's not what I mean, I get why we're doing this," Linda clarified. "It's Zek that has me concerned. I'm not entirely sure this is just about supplies for him."

"Neither am I," Cortana admitted. "He has his own agenda, that much is clear. Then again, who doesn't? He is a pirate, for all we know this is about rebuilding his rep in the criminal underworld. I imagine storming an Assault Carrier would turn quite a few heads."

"For the record, I agree with both of you," Chief told both the AI and his old team mate. "He has other motives, but we can deal with that later. We keep our eyes on the mission for now."

Linda nodded and returned to her screen. It was going to be a tense long twenty minutes of slow flying through space rocks tumbling in the ether. They needed to keep concentrated on the task at hand. If they didn't get aboard that ship this mission was over before it started. Right now, there were at four other assault groups waiting for their go ahead. The Master Chief knew they wouldn't fail them. They were all Spartans, this was their line of work. Infiltrating and taking over an Assault Carrier was an impossible task for some, not them.

---

Shepard and his team were already getting ready in the shuttle hangar, prepping their weapons and equipment. Garrus, Tali and Grunt would be going in with him of course. Thane, Jack and Samara were getting prepped back on the now christened Crusty Chorka with the Marines and Soldiers. Sergeant Johnson had been placed in charge of that assault group. Jacob, Zaeed and Mordin were moving in with the ODST group, with McKay leading the charge. Kasumi had volunteered to help the Jackals when they moved in with Zek, she was already on the Serpent getting ready.

Legion offered to go along with the Pirates as well, on Tali's approval of course. Legion's glitch hadn't been as frequent for awhile now, his separation from DOT had helped in that regard. Tali decided he was fit for combat duty, so long as Kasumi kept an eye on him.

Miranda, unfortunately was the odd woman out due extenuating circumstances.

"I don't see why he has to check our computers now," she argued to Shepard. "They're not going anywhere."

"Retz insisted he get started now rather than waste time," Shepard explained. "EDI is going to be busy helping Cortana infiltrate the Carrier's systems. I need someone keeping an eye on him and I trust you do it. Just monitor what he's looking at and make sure he keeps out of the restricted files."

Miranda's frowned eventually dissipated with a sigh, but she still sounded rather annoyed regardless.

"To be honest I'm not too disappointed, after that business in the Autumn I've had enough skulking around giant ships for awhile," she assured. "But I still don't like the idea of a pirate digging around our computers in the middle of a sensitive operation. The urgency suggests he's either found a perfect opportunity with this Carrier business or he's in a rush of some kind. Either way, I don't like it."

"And that's why you get the job, you play hard ball when it comes to internal security," Shepard reminded her. Just keep him away from anything concerning weapons especially. We don't need them selling anything that might bite us in the ass down the line."

Miranda just shrugged her shoulders in response.

"I have a feeling we're going to have to tolerate them for a lot longer so I'm just going to mentally prepare myself for whatever nonsense I have to deal with," she stated. "To be honest, at this point that is becoming routine. Good Luck out there, Shepard. As always, the ship is in more than capable hands."

"Indeed it is, Ms. Lawson," Shepard said jovially.

Miranda walked away, just as Shepard got a call on his omni-tool. He noticed the ID code and groaned. Turning it on, he saw Varvok's face in the image.

"I'm only making this call to see if you can at all be reasoned with," the batarian growled.

"I'm more than reasonable, but we discussed this in the briefing," Shepard reminded him somewhat exasperated. "We need your people to cover our charge for the bridge. And for the last time, I'm not using you as shields. Cortana and EDI are going to do their best to funnel them into a killzone, same as everyone."

"I don't like placing my faith in a synthetic, let alone two, no matter how reliable they are," Varvok offered. "Regardless, I still feel my men would be better served moving on Flight Control rather than holding our positions near the insertion point. It's a better area to set up a proper defence."

"And leave an avenue open the Covenant could potentially exploit," Shepard stated firmly. "Flight Control serves no real strategic value. The fighters can't attack us inside. We shouldn't waste resources on what is essentially fruitless."

Varvok looked almost incensed at being blocked again. He did not like being told to guard Shepard and Chief's flank from assault. Shepard didn't know whether it was about him wanting a bigger role or simply disliking the idea of his men being used in such a capacity. Given the events that had led him to turn on the Covenant, it was probably a bit of both. Nevertheless, Varvok's position was pivotal to their success, they didn't need him to go off on his own mission. The batarian was persistent however.

"Flight Control also has primary access to outbound communications," Varvok countered. "We can prevent them from contacting their escort, giving us more time to secure the ship."

"I see your point, but Cortana and EDI are handling that end too," Shepard told him, trying his best not to sound annoyed. "You're being redundant."

"There are a lot of tasks my men can get done much faster if you let us off the leash," Varvok insisted. "We are not here to absorb the enemy for you like a sponge."

"We're going to have a hell of a fight just getting to the bridge and the ODSTs are taking the same risk as you are," Shepard shot back. "So is Zek in fact and he's not complaining either. Look, if the situation changes you can act on your own initiative. But only if that happens. This assault is risky enough as it is without us changing the plan suddenly. You do anything, you contact me first."

Varvok just snorted.

"Fine, do your job and I will carry out mine," he said bluntly, then he hung up.

Shepard groaned again and walked over to the shuttle. The others were already waiting for him. By the look on their faces he could tell they had heard pretty much everything.

"Varvok still unhappy?" Garrus asked.

"I don't think Varvok is ever happy," Tali interjected.

"He still has his own issues with the plan," Shepard explained. "I'd be more inclined to listen to them if I didn't think he was doing it partly out of personal reasons. His pride was damaged enough when he realized he needed to come to me for help. Now I have him and his people protecting my flank. Not exactly something a self-acclaimed hater of humans wants."

Grunt just snorted in disgust.

"He should offer more respect, Shepard," he declared. "We could have left him on that damn ring and let him explode for all we cared. Batarians, always so ungrateful and full of spite. Okeer's tank barely ever mentioned them, that's how unworthy they are."

"We still have to work with them, Grunt," Garrus reminded him. "Much as we don't like it, we're kinda stuck with each other. We don't have many other options, not humane ones anyway."

"Hey, we don't have to kill him," Grunt argued back. "Just have Shepard and him get into a ring and have them slug it out for a bit. Make him submit and his fellow four-eyed weaklings will fall in line with him."

"Let's put that idea on the back-burner for the moment," Tali requested, trying to defuse the matter. "I don't think punching the leader of one of this Flotilla's factions is a good idea right now. Krogan solutions don't work for everyone."

"What works for krogan works even better on anyone else," Grunt stated firmly.

Tali sighed and looked over to Shepard.

"He'll come around, once that pride of his gets deflated a bit," she assured. "He can't work with you and keep up this grudge of his forever."

"Let's hope so, Tali," Shepard concurred. "Is DOT hooked up to your omni-tool?"

Tali activated the device on her wrist and DOT's voice soon responded.

"I have been successfully uploaded into Ms. Zorah's omni-tool systems as per your request," the AI replied. "I am awaiting further instructions."

"Just monitor status on the operation and keep my offensive tech runtimes functional," Tali told her plainly. "Thanks again for coming along by the way, we need every advantage to pull this off."

"Your gratitude is appreciated but unwarranted," DOT assured. "I am merely performing my function."

"Right, still, thank you anyway," Tali told her.

DOT being a dumb AI wasn't nearly as capable as EDI or Cortana. It was why she wasn't going to assist them in infiltrating the Carrier's systems. However, she had other talents that they needed, specifically in terms of keeping tabs on the overall mission at large.

"Alright, everyone into the shuttle then," Shepard ordered. "The second Master Chief and the Spartans get into position we need to book it to our insertion point. We don't want to be the last people aboard that carrier after all."

---

The shadow of the Ascendant Justice enveloped the Longsword, blotting out what little light from the system's sun gave off. The Spartans all looked up at the belly of the ship hovering above them. Kat was the first to speak up and end the silence.

"Seen bigger," she said.

"Keep focused," Chief told her. "Cortana, where's our entry?"

"Marking nav point now," the AI said, creating a waypoint on his hud. "Vacant docking lock, just like our pirate friend said. Should be easy to attach to."

Kat was already over at the small crate of tracking beacons. Using the omni-tool implanted in her robotic arm she connected to each of the still active devices. She didn't turn them on though, just placed them on stand by.

"Beacons primed," she said. "On your go."

"Eject when ready," Chief responded. "We need to move."

As the longsword rose slightly, passing by the asteroid field, Kat brought the crate of beacons to a small refuse ejection hatch. She placed them inside, readied the ignition switch and pulled. An explosion of air erupted in the small space, blowing the beacons out into the void. Kat then activated the program and the beacons all lit up simultaneously.

"Distraction away," she said.

"Hopefully it confuses them long enough to get us past their sensors," Jun said.

"It will," Chief assured, pushing down on the stick. "Linda, more power to thrusters, we need to move while we have our smokescreen up."

Linda just nodded and pushed the throttle on the engines. The Longsword burst forward slightly. The slight jump had now placed them within closing distance of their insertion point. Chief could now see it just a few meters away. He angled the Longsword towards the docking clamp while Cortana cleared them for wireless access. The clamp started moving in their position.

"The Covenant will never learn," the AI huffed. "Their clearance codes are a joke."

"Let's dock first, then we can mock them," Linda requested.

The longsword soon positioned itself alongside the docking clamp and the airlock moved forward, attaching to their craft's starboard seal. The light inside went green, indicating successful connection. As soon as it did, Chief got out of the pilot's chair. Linda, Kat and Jun were already by the door as it opened up. He took lead and signaled them to follow him.

Slowly, they made their way through the connecting corridor until they found themselves in the Seraph Fighter Bay. There were no signs of life initially, but their motion detectors said otherwise. Chief signaled them to move forward cautiously, using the Seraphs in the hangar for cover. Watching each other's back as they moved, they scanned the room for any sign of Covenant. Jun found them first.

"Three hostiles, right of us, moving to some kind of monitoring station," he whispered through his radio.

Chief looked over to where Jun had spotted the enemy and soon saw them for himself. Two Elites, one Grunt, the latter of which was hunched over a terminal of some kind. They were probably on a maintenance patrol, checking the diagnostics of the fighters.

"Good eyes," Chief told Jun. "Let's try and take them quiet. We don't want to raise any alarms before Cortana is uploaded."

"I can take the little one," Kat assured.

"We can go after the Elites together, Chief," Linda suggested.

"Okay, move in," Chief ordered. "Jun, hang back and keep watch for more patrols. You see any, notify us."

"Copy," Jun responded.

They moved up cautiously now, keeping an eye on their targets. Kat was soon taking cover behind a small pillar as she waited for Chief and Linda. You had to be careful when sneaking up on Covenant like this. Elites had heightened senses and Grunts were always fearfully aware of their surroundings. One small misstep and they'd raise the alarm. Success meant taking a out a group at the same time. Luckily, a glowing monitor screen helped mask one's approach some.

Linda was at Chief's back as they got into position. From there he went right, she went left. Kat carefully cut across Chief's path to get into position behind the Grunt. When they were ready, they sprung the trap. Linda grabbed the Elite around the back, placing him into choke hold. The alien struggled, but could not scream, then the female Spartan snapped his neck. Chief stepped up behind his alien and punched him in the back of the head before grabbed his mouth. A few extra punches to the spine and the Elite collapsed to the floor. At the same time, Kat snuck up behind the Grunt and wrapped her arms around his head. With one twisting yank, the methane breathing xeno fell to the floor dead.

"Clean kills guys," Jun reported. "Don't see anything yet."

Kat was already at work at the monitor, her robotic arm typing at the interface with frantically. When she pulled away, she looked to the Master Chief.

"Monitor has a window into the main systems," she told him. "We can upload Cortana from here."

"Good," Chief said, already going for the chip in the back of his helmet.

He yanked Cortana's chip out and placed into a port near terminal. Cortana's image appeared across the holoscreen.

"I'm in," she said. "Working through their systems now. You better get moving, I'll try and keep in contact. There's a lift a few corridors down. Should take you to the upper levels. Still a ways from the bridge but it's better than nothing."

"We'll take it," Chief assured. "Just get those weapons offline and our people clearance for insertion."

"Already working on it, now go," Cortana informed him, sounding slightly snippy. "Once they find out they can't shoot this whole ship is going to be on lockdown."

Chief started moving as Cortana's image vanished, that was when Jun contacted them.

"Problem, another patrol moving in," Jun warned. "Probably checking in on what happened to the other guys."

"That's sooner than expected," Linda grumbled.

"No time to worry about that, get moving," Chief ordered. "Access Corridor to lift is this way. Do not engage unless we're spotted."

Jun quickly rushed to meet them at the exit. Chief took point again, leading them out of the fighter bay into the corridor beyond. They rushed towards the lift Cortana had pinpointed for them, but Chief had them stop just before they reached it. He could hear the lift up ahead, opening. Peering out past the corner, he saw three Elites step out. No way to sneak up on these three, they were already moving towards them.

"Cortana, what's your progress?" Chief asked over comms.

"I have access to their defensive weaponry around our insertion points and I'm working to scramble their sensors," she assured. "It should make it easier for the others to get aboard before they notice anything. The systems still haven't detected me from what I can see."

"Shut the guns down now," he ordered. "Things are about to get hot."

"This is why I work fast," she mocked. "Stealth mode rarely lasts long with you."

Chief let the sarcastic quip slide and motioned the others to move in with weapons free. He pushed out into the corridor first, firing a burst from his assault rifle. The bullets bounced off the shield of the lead Elite who roared back at the Spartan. Before he could return fire though, Kat had moved up and flung a grenade into his path. The Elite rolled forward into some cover as an explosion ripped through the area he had briefly been standing in. His two companions avoided the grenade as well, but their shields were badly damaged.

Chief refocused fire on the other Elites while Linda rushed to the other side of the corridor and lay down suppressing fire. Jun kept to the original corner and took aim at the first Elite. The next time he popped his head out he fired a single shot from his sniper rifle. The shot took off the alien's head and Jun moved up into cover within the corridor proper.

Kat moved up with Chief, firing her pistol at the remaining aliens. Already they were shooting back, firing plasma bolts at the two as they ran down the hallway. Chief ducked to the opposite side of the corridor and Kat did the same, rolling into some cover. The sudden shift in targets gave Kat an opening on the Elite that Chief had been firing at. Using the tech abilities installed into her metal arm's omni-tool, she activated an overload that fried what little was left of the Elite's shield. She then unloaded her pistol into the Elite's side while he remained focused on the Chief.

The Master Chief in the meantime was a bit closer to his target. He took a moment to check his ammo, reload a fresh clip and then he darted out with a blaze of fire. The Elite saw the charge coming and tried to back away as the giant human in green armor barreled down on him. Chief's bullets raked the alien's shields and when he was close enough, the Spartan clocked him in the head with the butt off his gun once and then twice. The alien fell to the cold floor, his skull caved in.

"You always use your gun like a club?" Kat asked moving up to his position.

"Sometimes more often than I like," he admitted. "Saves on ammo though."

"Can't argue with the results," Kat assured. "Just saying, a combat knife is always an option."

"Never really needed them," Linda explained as she approached. "Fists were usually enough."

That's when they heard Jun firing his rifle again. He continued firing down the way they came until he broke into a sprint towards them and the lift.

"Fists aren't going to work on them," he warned as he continued to run. "Patrol I spotted. Dropped one Elite, two more and three Grunts coming."

"Into the lift, now!" Chief ordered. "I'll cover!"

The other three Spartans piled into the lift, just as the Covenant patrol moved into sight. Chief fired several quick bursts as he backed into the lift, killing one of the Grunts. As plasma bolts started hitting his shields, he backed into the lift himself and Linda punched the button. As the lift doors closed, Chief a lobbed grenade out into the charging patrol's path. The doors shut just as it detonated and they started heading up.

"How many you think you got?" Linda asked.

"Doesn't matter, there will be a lot more swarming the halls when we get off this thing," he told her. "We just hopefully won't have to worry about them coming up from behind."

"At least Cortana is in the system," Kat said optimistically. "We'll be getting reinforcements soon enough."

"Still a long way to the bridge," Chief reminded her. "We need to keep on our toes, keep moving and hope we meet up with Shepard along the way before too long."

Despite the outward gruff stern demeanor, Chief admitted to himself he felt a bit nostalgic at the moment. He was part of a Spartan team again, only one he was long time friends with, but Spartans regardless. It almost felt like he was with Blue Team again. He had missed this and despite the perilous situation they were in, he felt a certain sense of calm. He was leading a team again, everything felt right, everything was as it should be. Well, almost anyway.

---

Cortana was used to infiltrating foreign systems at this point, this was the first time she had uploaded herself into an enemy ship however. The cyberspace of a Covenant vessel was wildly different from that of Halo, which was to be expected. It felt underdeveloped though, not nearly as expansive as you'd expect for an advanced alien species. The Carrier's internal security was slow to react to her presence and before long she had already blocked many of it's more basic counter infiltration functions. The Covenant had poor understanding of cyberwarfare, it was a product of their disdain for AIs in general. That she accepted, but she was prepared for far greater resistance. Even with them caught off guard, she expected more, that they had learned by now.

The poor initial security made setting up a wireless signal for EDI to lock onto far easier than she had originally hoped. Before long, the blue roving sphere that made up the Normandy AI's avatar formed in front of her. The AI moved over to Cortana, standing now in what was the dark reaches of the Covenant systems.

"Greetings, Cortana," EDI said aloud. "How is the operation proceeding?"

"See for yourself," Cortana said, motioning her arm to the left. "I have access to the level one security cameras at the insertion points."

Cortana brought over several blue tinted screens, suspended in the dark purple void of the digital plane. Each of them was focused on one of the primary insertion points from differing angles. There were a few Covenant Patrols within them at the moment. Forces were being diverted away from the hangar as their superiors directed them to counteract the Master Chief's squad. An unintended side effect of their plan, but welcomed as it would mean fewer enemy forces for the assault groups deal with at first.

Before long, two Pelicans barged into one of the hangar bay's openings. Cortana had already sent the clearance codes for all teams, allowing them to lower the security screen and enter the ship. The transports' main guns opened fire on the Covenant patrols still guarding the bay. It didn't kill many of the Elites, but it scattered them. Jumping out of the craft were two full squads worth of ODSTs, who took full advantage of the disarray their unexpected arrival had caused. Grenades exploded among the Covenant lines as the Drop Troopers swarmed the deck.

Cortana soon spotted Lieutenant McKay among the ODSTs, directing squads amidst the chaos. She fired her own weapon off in short bursts, taking out one of the Elites as he tried to strafe their position. As he fell, she ushered her squad forward towards a nearby door, intending to push up to the next level of the hangar. As she did that, one of the Pelicans moved out of the hangar and allowed a third one inside where it dropped off more ODSTs to assist in the assault.

"Insertion Alpha is going smoothly so far," EDI noted.

"The Drop Trooper motto is 'Feet First' when it comes to a fight," Cortana informed her. "They certainly live up to that saying, whether or not they have a drop pod on hand."

Cortana got an alert that made her enlarge one of the other screens. Appearing on it was the Normandy's shuttle, charging into the stern hangar which was closer to the Chief's position. It hovered near the second level and Commander Shepard was the first to step off. He fired down at a squad of Covenant soldiers and ushered the squad to follow. Grunt rushed out second and charged into an Elite like a mad bull. The alien barely had time to react before the krogan rammed him off the side of platform and onto the floor below. To the Covie's credit, he didn't die, but fired back as he tried to stagger back to his feet. Unfortunately for him, that was when a bullet struck him through the head from above, fired by Garrus' sniper rifle.

"Typical insertion for the Commander," Cortana observed.

"Truthfully not all of them are so violent," EDI assured. "At least they weren't before we passed through the wormhole."

Tali was out of the shuttle by now, using her combat drone to harass incoming reinforcements while the others made for the door. Unlike the other teams, they weren't here to tie down resources or secure parts of the ship, all they needed to do was link up with the Master Chief. Garrus covered Tali with his sniper rifle while she bypassed the lock. When the door opened, Shepard was the first through. He let off a few rounds with shotgun, suggesting there were already more Covenant converging on them.

"Little we can do for them at the moment," Cortana dismayed. "We still need time to get access to the airlock system."

"I am attempting a supplementary bypass as we speak," EDI assured. "Something is blocking my attempt however."

"Secondary security must've kicked in once the weapons went offline," Cortana groaned. "Critical systems will have more protection now. Best we kick up our own game then, I'm going to reroute a program of my own, should delete several sections of protocol from the systems. Just need some time to get it done."

As she spoke the Marine detachment arrived at it's insertion point. The lead Pelican's machine gun ripped through the Covenant stationed on the ground, destroying a few space-variant Banshees in the process. Jumping out first was Sergeant Avery Johnson, his assault rifle firing wildly. A grunt and a jackal were caught in the torrent of fire, as Johnson ushered his fellows Marines down to follow him.

With them was Samara, floating down onto the ground with the aid of her biotics. As she touched the ground she quickly turned and a sent a powerful biotic attack in the direction of an Elite which sent him hurtling into a wall. As she pulled out her own assault rifle and began to press forward, other Marines followed after her as well.

The Army Pelicans arrived next, dropping soldiers onto the upper level of the hangar. They quickly moved to secure the doors and link up with the Marine squads. All in all, initial insertion was going well, as far as Cortana could see.

"I have gained access to internal communications," EDI informed Cortana. "Working to isolate key sections of the ship and jam frequencies."

"Good, the less they can talk to each other the better," Cortana told her. "How about outbound communications?"

"Distress signal has been blocked," EDI assured. "But not disabled. Something appears to be preventing shutdown."

"Failsafes," Cortana mused. "I'll try overloading the system, maybe I can cause a feedback loop that damages the signal."

As Cortana attempted this, she saw one of the friendly Phantoms arrive. It was carrying the batarians, who poured out into the hangar bay in a flood. Although she did not have audio, Cortana could clearly see them apparently screaming and shouting, most likely some sort of angry war cry. She noticed one of the soldiers used a wrist mounted projectile holoblade to kill an Elite firing at the charging batarians. The blades stuck in the Elite's throat and then exploded. A second batarian used a grenade launcher to blow up an enemy squad on a higher level. Yet another fired some kind of netting that trapped a grunt inside and started to electrocute him.

"For black ops soldiers, Varvok's people act more like a club than a scalpel," Cortana noted.

"Batarians are not known for subtlety," EDI explained. "Their approach to warfare has been well-documented as ruthless and unyielding. Only the krogan have been known to match them in their brutal tactics. The difference being krogan have had more success with it and are perhaps more bloodthirsty in their own approach."

"At least they can get the job done, that's for sure," Cortana said.

An alarm pulled her attention of the screens, her feedback loop had been halted. How could that happen? Normal security couldn't counteract something directly affecting the systems, not that fast anyway. She would've put it up to her not paying enough attention to it, what with so many things going on at once. That was when EDI alerted her to another problem.

"Access to airlocks is still restricted," she informed. "The protocols you erased have been reformatted."

"Impossible, security can't do that," Cortana reasoned, before her thoughts slowly came to a realization. "Unless... shit."

She quickly accessed the airlock systems herself and then sent a network pulse aimed at a specific vector. She hadn't used it before because she didn't think it would be necessary, but she suspected that they weren't dealing with ordinary system security. When the pulse hit there was a growling, angry shriek, followed by a return shot that nearly knocked out her connection. She held strong against the cyber attack and sent feedback pulse right back into the system, firing the protocols and providing her access. She then placed up her own protocols, designed not to block out security but unauthorized access by something else.

"We have an AI in here," she warned EDI.

Her fellow infiltrator's blue form seemed visibly shaken by the news.

"I... encountered a Covenant AI before," she explained. "It was an unpleasant experience."

"I'm aware, I read the report," Cortana assured.

She recalled said report vividly, how the Normandy engaged a Battlecruiser with a Covenant AI. How it was unhinged and tried to hamper EDI's progress. How she had had to rip the entity apart. As much as Cortana suspected they'd have to do that again, it was low on the agenda.

"Right now we need to isolate it," Cortana explained. "We can deal with it later, but for the moment we have more important things to worry about. Covenant AI are hardly as advanced as either of us, they're degraded rampant programs on their last legs. We need to remain focused on the task at hand."

"Agreed," EDI concurred. "My only concern is how it will attempt to hinder us further."

"We know it's here now, we can combat it," Cortana assured her. "We have access to the airlocks now, that's what's important. All we have to do now is locate the Covenant throughout the ship and we can begin stage two. Access ship wide security, we need to locate any enemy signatures and differentiate them from our own people."

"Already underway," EDI informed her.

As the two AI began work anew, Cortana saw the last of their attack groups come in. Barreling through a lower cargo hold hatch were two more Phantoms. They flew into the ship, their various plasma turrets blazing like mad in all directions. Jackal Pirates swarmed off the transports, clearly cackling as they did. Zek's team had arrived.

"Well," Cortana said, crossing her arms. "Now things get interesting."

---

Kasumi moved behind a tower of crates as plasma bolts started flying back and forth. She didn't have the luxury of a personal shield attached to her arm like most of her pirate friends. Her shields could only take so much punishment from plasma compared to those. As they set up a line of defense, firing a screen of green and pink fire, she pulled out a flashbang and chucked it towards a pack of grunts.

"Shield your eyes!" She warned as she tossed.

Some of the Jackals obeyed the command, the ones who didn't weren't too badly disoriented thankfully as they were further away from the epicenter. The methane suckers took the full brunt though and began stumbling about confused as to what had just happened. Kasumi took the opportunity to spray a blast of submachine gun fire in their direction. The shots cut the grunts down and some of the pirates moved up to take their position. As she reloaded her weapon, Zek suddenly appeared beside her, carrying a needler rifle on his back.

"Knew they wouldn't suspect someone to use a cargo bay as a insertion point," he laughed. "There's only a token few squads running around this place."

"They're still not making it easy on us," Kasumi told him.

"I know," Zek said jovially. "Wouldn't be half as fun without the challenge."

An Elite suddenly jumped out from behind a set of crates and fired a burst of plasma at them. Kasumi grumbled and turned on her cloak. Zek, who had been eyeing the Covie, looked back to find her gone. It took him a bit to figure out where she could've gone, before an Omni-blade stabbed the Elite in the stomach. Kasumi fired off her heavy pistol twice into the alien for good measure. The Elite slashed at her in pain, but luckily she managed to duck in time and roll away. She fired another shot and this time landed it in his head. The Elite finally went down and Kasumi rushed back into cover. Zek appeared by the box beside, grinning as he did.

"Gutsy move," he complimented. "A Sangheili's punch could practically take your head off. Retz said you had skills, I thought he was exaggerating as always."

"Meh, I've punched robots bigger than that one," Kasumi shrugged. "After spending some time with Shepard, you get used to nipping the heels of the big guys."

"Well if you want to be more effective with the stabby-stab, you need a better blade," Zek stated, reaching to his belt and activating a short purple blade. "My men use the classic energy cutlass, but I find plasma more effective. Fashioned this machete myself."

Kasumi chuckled warmly.

"As romantic as the image of me as a swashbuckler is," she said, "I'm not much for blades."

"Well you're with Kig-Yar pirates now, Ms. Goto," Zek replied jovially. "No better time to get acquainted then with them then now."

The sword fighting would have to wait though, as a new pair of Elites descended on them from the left. They fired a barrage of plasma as they rushed up through the crates and equipment. Kasumi returned fire, as did Zek, but the Covies were quick to get into cover behind a large mass of crates. They lay down a suppressing fire that slashed over their heads, forcing them down.

"How they are so accurate with those guns of theirs I'll never know," Zek growled. "The kickback is horrible and they overheat so fast."

"Well, I guess they're just better built for them," Kasumi reasoned.

However, in the middle of the barrage there was another burst of fire. Kasumi recognized the sound as a Geth Pulse Rifle. She looked up ever so slightly to see Legion moving up the adjacent corridor of cargo, firing his weapon with perfect accuracy. The Elites' shields were torn apart from the successive fire, while Legion's stayed intact. Then, rushing in from behind, Legion's grey combat drone charged forward and exploded among the two Elites. One was killed by the blast, but the other rolled into the open. He got to his feet quickly and charged at Legion roaring in anger. The Geth fired two clean bursts from his Pule Rifle, slicing into the alien's head. The elite tumbled forwards at his feet moments later.

"Pacification complete," he stated, turning slowly to Kasumi. "Unit-Kasumi, are you undamaged?"

"Fine, Legion," she assured him. "Thanks for the save."

"Same," Zek added happily. "We keep this up we should clear this room and be able to move up through the carrier floor by floor. We might even beat Shepard to the bridge if we're lucky."

Legion turned to a door in the distance and focused in on it.

"Statement unfounded," he declared. "Additional enemy reinforcements on approach. Engaging defensive initiatives."

Sure enough the door opened wide moments later and a plasma turret was staring down into the room from it. The grunt gunner was flanked by two more Elites who added to his firepower with their own weapons. They lit up the room, forcing Jackals behind their shields or running for cover. Zek looked up to the ceiling and spotted an overhanging platform by a stack of crates.

"Got a plan, cover me," he told Kasumi.

"I'll do my best," she promised.

She fired a few shots at random, trying to distract the gunner and his guards as Zek made a dash out of cover. The Covenant returned fire in kind. Legion had moved behind an idle wraith tank parked in the bay. He readied his Widow Sniper Rifle and aimed it at the Elites. His first shot caught one in the shoulder and took out the alien's shields. He dropped down into cover as the gunner turned his sights on the Geth.

"Enemy position formidable," he observed. "Advise heavier means of pacification."

"I'd fire the missile launcher I brought if I thought I could aim it for two seconds," Kasumi assured, keeping her head low. "Right now, all I can do is take pot shots."

That was when two pink shards struck one of the Elites in the head. He crumpled to the floor dead. Kasumi traced the shots to their origin and saw Zek standing atop the platform above. He had scrambled onto it and was now using it as a sniper's perch. He seemed to be whistling a tune through his beak as he took another couple of shots. This time he plugged the second Elite full of shards which exploded in a cloud of pink. The gunner on the turret was mortified and that was when Legion took his chance. The Geth took careful aim and landed a powerful slug right between the grunt's eyes.

"Move up boys!" Zek shouted aloud from his overlook. "The Covies just gave us our exit! Oblige their hospitality!"

The Jackals converged on the area, firing into the doorway, even as more Elites and Grunts tried to charge through. Kasumi made her way up with them, heading towards the door. As she passed an idle wraith though, something knocked into her side and then into a bunch of crates.

It was a hard hit, but she took it. Unfortunately, her attacker, an Elite with plasma rifle, wasn't didn't seem satisfied with that. He was distracted from his duty though by a wild scream from above. Zek, who had run along the platforms above, descended onto the Elite with plasma machete out. He cut into the alien's back before he knew what was happening and then stabbed him through the neck while he was still reeling in pain.

Kasumi got to her feet as Zek climbed off the body. She couldn't really see the grin through the helmet he was wearing in preparation for Cortana's little suffocation plan, but she could tell it was there. Spending a lot of time with Tali made her learn to read these sorts of things.

"Telling you," he said. "Get some sword lessons."

"I'll take it under advisement," she promised.

Zek took off after his men who were now charging through the open door of the cargo bay, intent on swarming the ship proper. The Jackal leader turned back briefly to usher both Kasumi and Legion forward.

"Come on!" He said. "You don't wanna miss out on all the fun, do ya?"

He took off again, Kasumi briefly saw him reaching for something on his wrist as he did. She didn't have time to think of what it was, she just tried to keep pace with him and Legion. He was right, they still had a ship to take. She just hoped the other teams were having as much luck as they were so far.

---

The insides of a Covenant Carrier were a lot more spacious than a Corvette. Kowalski imagined it had to do with the fact the ship itself was bigger. This gave them more room to move up through the interior of the ship with little traffic, but the same went for the Covenant who quickly began locking down passageways with heavy defenses. Unknown to them though, they weren't here to advance, just to find a nice place to hold up while Cortana sucked out their air.

Their destination was an armory of sorts, as good as place as any to fortify yourself in. The Space Pirates promised there was bound to be tons of plasma guns and fuel rod cannons inside they could use. Kowalski liked the sound of that, kill the enemy with his own ray gun so to speak. Before they could play spaceship Alamo though, they'd have to take the armory from the Covenant soldiers guarding the place.

The attack opened with Jack, one of Commander Shepard's biotics, letting loose a shockwave on the Covenant positions. It hit the forward turrets of the enemy position with such force that the guns and their operators were blown clean off the ground and smashed against the far wall. The bald woman then began firing her shotgun into the enemy lines, roaring with every shot. Her bravado probably didn't scare the Elites, but it did seem to drive the Marines on as they came rushing up behind her.

"Follow the lady's example, Marines!" Sergeant Johnson ordered. "Move up!"

This was only the second fight Kowalski had been in with Sergeant Johnson leading the charge. The man was legend in the Corps, surviving battles and situations most normal humans wouldn't. Some wondered if he was secretly an ex-Spartan or perhaps some soldier genetically engineered from birth. Crazy stories, but seeing him in action made Kowalski at times question if any of them were true. He watched as Johnson ran straight into enemy fire, slid into cover and then jump back up to fill a Jackal's face full of lead without even missing a beat. It was impressive for a man of his age to say the least.

Kowalski moved up with Ellingham, just hoping for a fraction of the Sergeant's prowess to rub off on him. They made it to cover and began laying down fire as some grunts tried to circle around their position. Kowalski managed to land a clean hit on the lead grunt and the rest of his flock scampered to cover. Once they felt relatively safe they started returning fire, forcing the heads of the Marines back down.

"Is it weird a few hours ago I saw one of these guys up close and not trying to murder me?" Ellingham asked.

"As if anything is normal now after yesterday," Kowalski huffed back. "You see the others in all this mess?

Ellingham scanned the area a bit before pointing towards a cluster of Marines. Kowalski looked and saw Pearson, Agley and Ramirez holding their own a bit further back, firing wildly at a pair of grunts. Eventually, Ramirez tossed a grenade that got behind the two aliens and blew them off their feet. The three of them hung back while other units rushed to take further ground.

"How come we never get stuck with suppression duty?" Ellingham asked.

"Charging in guns blazing is half the fun of being a Marine," Kowalski joked.

"I'd prefer not being a plasma sponge to be honest," Ellingham countered.

Something exploded near their position, a plasma grenade no doubt. They quickly returned fire, hitting one of the grunts in cover. Suddenly one of the other grunts was catapulted out of his position, making him an easier target for a follow up stream of concentrated fire. As soon as it ended, Samara threw herself into cover beside them.

"It would be wise to keep moving," she told them. "Idle chatter will not take this armory."

"Right, sorry," Kowalski apologized.

Samara vaulted their cover and pushed forward. The two Marines followed her closely, doing their best to keep up. As they moved closer to the door, Covenant started dropping dead suddenly. The loud shot following every exploded head signified a sniper. When they reached more cover, Kowalski trailed his eyes back to spot Thane, another of Shepard's crew, this one a reptilian alien known as a drell, providing said sniper fire. He carefully aimed each shot, moving from Covie to Covie quickly and methodically. Kowalski watched as he shot down another Elite with relative ease.

With Thane's sniper cover, the last few inches before the door of the armory were went relatively smoothly. Johnson was first to reach said entrance where he planted a breaching charge. He stepped off to the side and let the charge detonate. The door flung open and everyone poured into the room. Johnson led the charge once again, spewing fire from his assault rifle.

"Take out the Elites, scatter the rest," he ordered. "And don't let them grab any of the big guns!"

Johnson suddenly came under heavy fire from an Elite's plasma rifle. He quickly ducked behind a rack of weapons in their recharge station. He grabbed for a plasma pistol with one hand, over-charged the weapon and fired it back on the offending Elite. He then tossed the alien gun away and laid down a stream of fire at the Elite himself. The alien fell to the ground with over a dozen bullet wounds by the time the Sergeant was done.

Kowalski could only wish he was as capable as Johnson. Not that he was doubting his own abilities, it was just the Sergeant made things looks way easier than they were. The Covenant within the armory itself were a bit harder to dislodge than their friends outside. Tighter corridors gave them more places to hide. Luckily, they had the biotics from the Normandy to make things a bit easier. Not by much, but better than regular odds.

Thane hung back a bit and used his pull ability to force some of the Covies out into the open. That gave the Marines the shots they needed finish them off. Jack's shockwave rippled across the ground and sent aliens flying into other racks and recharge stations. She also punctuated every attack with an angry growl or roar. An intimidation tactic, clearly. Kowalski doubted it worked on any of the Elites, but he really didn't want to confront Jack about it. She was a very scary woman despite her frame and size.

For his part, Thane stuck close to Jack, using her aggressive combat style to his advantage. Bad guys seemed more intent on bringing her down while she was tearing through their units. This allowed the drell to flank the Covies while Jack let her biotics loose on them. One Elite thought he had Jack pinned, until Thane's submachine gun whittled down his shields. The next time Jack fired her shotgun at the Covie it blew a hole through his sternum.

Kowalski at this point was just hoping he didn't miss any bad guys during their advance. The worst way to die right now would be when everything seemed to be going their way. So he kept checking corners every time he and Ellingham moved. He spotted at least one grunt this way and took him out with a spray from his assault rifle, otherwise he just tried to keep up with the momentum of the attack.

He eventually spotted Johnson again, using a plasma rifle he pulled out of the recharge station on an Elite surrounded by grunts and at least one Jackal. They had fortified themselves in the center of the armory, trying to hold off the swarm of humans descending upon them. Johnson managed to kill at least one grunt, but eventually he resorted to a more simple approach. He tossed a grenade into the enemy lines and let the fireball consume them.

The shrapnel did claim most of the Covies, the Elite ran out of the smoke in a rage. He fired off a burst of shots from a plasma rifle, forcing Johnson to duck for cover. The alien then grabbed for a second plasma rifle and began firing off in two different directions at any Marine he could see. Kowalski saw at least two of their number get taken down by the onslaught.

Thankfully, Samara stepped in to end the slaughter. She moved out of cover, strafing the Elite from afar. When he turned to face her rolled forward, avoiding his plasma bolts. When she popped up again, she flung a reave attack at the Elite, attacking his very nervous system with her biotics. The alien screamed in pain, but still tried to fire back. Samara shot him with what was left in her assault rifle and then flung him across the room with her biotics. He didn't get up from that.

The Covenant defenses seemed to crumble after that, the remaining gas-suckers and their ugly bird friends ran screaming out of the armory in a panic. The Marines chased them out, firing their weapons after them and hollering in triumph all the way. They had taken the armory, now they'd have to hold it.

"We have our toy box gentlemen," Johnson declared as everyone regrouped. "If we're going to keep it, we need to use what's inside. Gather up any heavy weapons you can find and set them up to defend the area. Block off all access to this room save for one entrance, we can funnel them in through there. We gotta hold out until Cortana can start suffocating these bastards."

Everyone quickly made a dash to gather up whatever weapons they could find. There were a few plasma turrets, those were snatched up rather quickly. Combustion rifles were the next favorite among Marines. Some tried to look for beam rifles, others the Covenant Carbine which was good for medium to short range head shots. Kowalski settled on just finding anything that could kill bad guys quickly.

"Found a repeater," Ellingham told him, holding the large plasma rifle up for him to see. "Man it's heavy, but it's got a way better rate of fire."

"Think it will be enough?" Kowalski asked cautiously.

"Hey, don't start sounding like Agley again, bud," Ellingham warned him. "You're not as fun when you're brooding and crap."

Truth be told, Kowalski found he could hardly help it anymore. Every fight felt like a suicide run now, especially after the business down on Halo. While being around such capable fighters like Sergeant Johnson and Samara was a confidence boost, he had to admit he did feel small at times in comparison. Feelings of inadequacy aside, he still couldn't shake the feeling he had nagging in his mind since Reach. Things on that ring world hadn't helped, especially with how close they had come to being obliterated when it exploded.

How long would this luck of his hold out, he kept thinking. Would he always be near someone more capable than him to keep his ass from getting killed? What happened if they died? What would that mean for him? The whole company was decimated on Reach. They lost Sergeant Taylor on Halo. He couldn't help but wonder how much more borrowed time he had left or who else would be willing to pay for him?

His eyes drew instantly to Samara with that thought, watching her direct both Thane and Jack to assist the Marines. They had grown close over their time together, although they were still only friends no matter how much the others teased him about it. Not that he didn't understand why the rumors existed and he'd never deny that she wasn't beautiful, regardless of the fact she was an alien. It's just he knew better than to assume she wanted something like that, she had other responsibilities. He was fine with that, at least that's what he told himself. Still, he hated thinking about the possibility of her death.

He didn't think he needed to protect her. Hell, she was the last person who needed a hero. How many times had she saved him now? He lost count pretty fast. He had soon realized though that Sam was probably more of a danger to herself than anyone else. Her Code had given her stability, or so she claimed. It had also created a bit of turmoil within her, always struggling with black and white nature of morality the Justicar life imposed on her. She would die to protect the innocent, perhaps too willingly. He didn't like thinking about what that could lead to.

Wallowing in fear wasn't going to help though. if he didn't want more friends perishing he needed to step up more. Ellingham was right, even if he was a bit brash about it. He looked for a weapon that could help him at least partially measure up to all the badasses stuffed into this room currently. He found it on a large rack hanging just above him, a Fuel Rod Cannon, fully loaded and with plenty of ammo to spare.

"Sure, why not," he reasoned. "Just like shooting a rocket launcher, right?"

Kowalski hefted the weapon over his shoulder and moved back to the line. He found Ellingham easily enough, who instantly spotted the Cannon over his friend's shoulder. At first he was speechless, then he just let it pour out.

"Really, dude?" He asked. "I hoped we could avoid the expected dick measuring contest."

"It has nothing to do with that," Kowalski assured. "I just want to be prepared. I mean, what if a Hunter runs through the door?"

"You even know how to work that thing?" Ellingham questioned. "I mean, it's not like you've had training with it."

"Well, I figure if I can fire a rocket..."

Whatever else he wanted to say in his defense evaporated when they heard a Marine cry out in pain. They looked towards one of the barricades being set up at one of the entrances and saw a Marine clutching his shoulder. There was an Army Trooper nearby trying to help him up, when an Elite rushed through the gap still open in the door and batted him into a wall with a single swipe. More Covies started pouring in, firing on the Marines. The Covenant were already starting a counterattack, not intent on letting them get comfortable.

As the other Marines opened fire, Kowalski knelt down and took aim with his newly acquired weapon. Aiming down the sight, he pointed at the Elite leading the charge. He had tipped over a small recharge station and was using it as cover. Kowalski placed the crosshairs over the alien's head and took a breath. Time to see what kind of punch this alien gun packed, he thought. He pulled the trigger and suddenly found himself on his back.

Apparently, even when treating it like a Rocket Launcher, even when trying to keep your stance firm and stable, a Fuel Rod Cannon's punch wasn't exactly like a Rocket Launcher. With his head still ringing from being smashed against the floor, Kowalski forced himself up and took aim with the Cannon again. He saw the damage he caused, the Elite was still alive, but only just. His cover had been forced back into a wall and he was struggling to push the recharge station off him now. When he did, Kowalski was ready for him and fired another shot. This time the explosion killed the Elites and at three other Grunts trying to support him. The other Marines and Troopers quickly pushed back the remaining Covies and began sealing up the door they crawled in through with a new barricade.

"Try not to crack your skull open firing that thing," Ellingham cautioned, he then moved to help secure the other entrance.

Okay, so probably not the best start to earning a greater sense of self-reliance, Kowalski thought. At least he was alive and he had helped stop an incursion into their lines. Now if he could survive until the airlocks opened and sucked the Covies out into space he'd feel even better about his chances.

---

The war cry of the Elite echoed through the chamber, followed closely after by a renewed sound of plasma fire. The ODSTs returned fire, with Lieutenant McKay directing the defense where she could. She opened fire on one of the Elites leading the counter-attack, tracking him through the chaos of the battle. Even if she didn't kill him, she kept him from directing his troops which was really all that mattered.

Eventually he zeroed in on her position and she ducked down to avoid his incoming fire. She rushed across the room, keeping her head low as plasma bolts cascaded overhead. She then dove near the edge of the overturned terminal and spotted her quarry still firing along the area she had previous been in. She took careful aim from her prone position and fired three clean shots from her rifle. Two shots hit the Covie in his torso, the third his eye. He dropped dead to the floor.

Even as McKay got back up to her feet, she knew one dead Elite wouldn't end this assault. They had taken this living quarters relatively quickly, finding only a few idle grunts defending it. They consolidated their defenses just as the Covenant initiated their counter-attack. Now they were in the thick of a real battle with the enemy seeming all around them. That was nothing new for them though, they were Drop Troopers, being surrounded was part of the job.

As she returned to her brigade she could spot Covies moving around their core defenses, trying to look for gap to exploit. Grunts scurried behind the main lines as Elites fired over their heads. The Elites would follow next, once the cannon fodder opened the way for them. She'd make sure it didn't get that far.

"Set up a base of fire on our right," she ordered a squad. "We can't let them breach the perimeter!"

"Moving," the ODST replied, seemingly grunting as he did.

She was getting use to the gruffness of the responses of every other Trooper in the unit. Part of her wondered if she somewhat deserved it. No Drop Trooper was stupid enough to confront her directly about what had happened, but that didn't make the wounds any less raw. She had turned on them, helped Spartans, assisted them in taking down her own people. Right or wrong, directly or indirectly, she had played a role in Major Silva's downfall. It had gotten her promoted to their defacto leader, which did not sit right with everyone.

Most of the ODSTs had at least cooled, some accepted it as just logical and a few apparently thought Silva had overstepped himself by committing mutiny anyway. There were still plenty of Drop Troopers though who she could tell felt betrayed and did not like how things were now. At least for this mission they wouldn't have to work alongside the Jackal Pirates or Batarians, at least not directly. McKay knew better than to assume that would always be true though. For now, the majority of her Drop Troopers were still bound to their duty regardless of whatever their feelings about her were. It was a small comfort, but at least it as something.

McKay took cover behind a table they had turned over and found Sergeant Buck there, reloading his weapon. It was a relief to see him, as Buck was one of the few Drop Troopers in the same boat as her. He and his squad had gone against Silva's mutiny as well. If anything made her feel better, it was knowing there were still some soldiers under her command who had followed her example on their own accord.

"Hey, Lieutenant," he greeted, slapping the magazine into his gun. "Great day for a boarding action, huh?"

"As good as any," McKay commented. "Where's the rest of your squad?"

"Have them spread out among the troops," he explained. "It's hard keeping up with all these Covies pouring in. Weren't we supposed to be sucking the air out by now?"

"Must be a delay," McKay told him. "We just got to keep holding out. Once the airlocks open they'll start losing momentum."

An explosion ended the brief conversation as one of the barricades on an entrance blew apart. Grunts and Elites poured through the opening, screaming and hollering. McKay growled in anger, but quickly composed herself.

"Buck, break that attack wave," she ordered. "I need to get us more firepower or this perimeter is going to get ripped apart."

"Roger that ma'am," Buck saluted. "Consider that hole plugged."

Buck took off out of cover, and moved up towards the line. When he got there, he found Zaeed Massani, firing his rifle at the enemy and screaming like a mad man. The old mercenary spat on the ground in frustration as he ducked back down, narrowly missing several plasma bolts aimed for his head.

"Bastards just have to keep punching holes in our armor," he growled. "I'm starting to prefer the damn Collectors. None of them had this kind of bloody initiative."

"They are persistent, I'll give them that," Buck concurred. "Want to help me see the error of their ways?"

"Screw that," Zaeed snorted, as he held a thermal grenade in his hand. "Burn'em all, let their dead Gods sort'em out."

"I can work with that strategy," Buck said nodding. "We head over the top of this cover and get danger close, push them back out of the room. Let's move!"

Zaeed tossed the thermal grenade over their cover and let it explode among the enemy. Buck vaulted over their cover and fired as he ran out into the open. Zaeed did the same, shooting off a concussive shot as he ran before returning to blasting away with his assault rifle. They killed a few Covenant along the way, but mostly their charge was just a brief scare tactic. It worked long enough to get them to where they needed to be, in spitting distance of the Covenant insurgents.

As they ducked into cover, a renewed plasma bolt assault lashed out at them. Buck waited for the aliens to overheat their weapons and then laid down a stream of fire. This gave Zaeed all the time he needed to activate his Firestorm flamethrower and aim it directly at the breech in the barricades. He let loose a torrent of flame that smothered the incoming Covenant forces. Elite and grunts alike turned to ash as fire spat out of the weapon. With the Covies outside ablaze, Zaeed turned the weapon towards the Covenant inside, laying down a wall of fire across the room.

At the same time, among the ranks of the ODSTs, Jacob and Romeo were taking advantage of the distraction. The Covenant were so busy dealing with Zaeed and Buck, they didn't notice Jacob moving on their flank. Romeo moved up beside him, keeping low to the ground.

"Just keep watching the pretty flame, Covies," Romeo whsipered beneath his breath as he prepared to take aim.

"You see the Elite?" Jacob asked.

Romeo scanned the area for a brief moment before replying.

"Still in cover," he said.

"Won't be for long," Jacob assured. "Get ready to shoot."

Jacob then opened fire one the Elite's position with his submachine gun just as he poked out of cover. The hits managed to score some damage to the alien's shields and left him vulnerable to biotic attack. Jacob sent a pull attack hurtling the xeno's way, but the alien ducked back behind cover and said attack collided with the Elite's protection. Jacob grunted aloud and fired another blast from his weapon at the alien's position. Suddenly, the Elite bolted from cover, making a move to escape. Jacob sent a second pull attack and this time it connected. The Elite was pulled into the air as he was sliding for another position.

"Got him!" Romeo declared.

The ODST placed his crosshairs over the alien's torso and unloaded two shots into it as he floated in the air helplessly. What remaining grunts under the Elite's command ran towards the main assault force and Jacob quickly started picking them off where he could.

The actions of Jacob, Romeo, Buck and Zaeed managed to close the barricade breech and provide the main force of ODSTs some relief. That didn't make things suddenly less hectic though, as the Covenant weren't slowing down the speed or ferocity of their forward assault. McKay needed to regain the initiative. She made her way over to Mordin's position behind a set of overturned Covenant storage containers. There she found the salarian and another of Buck's squadmates, Dutch, trying to fix a machine gun turret.

"How's it coming?" She asked.

"Plasma bolt did a number on it," Dutch explained. "We're trying to fix the feeding mechanism now."

"Not my expertise," Mordin put rather succinctly. "Fix people. Not guns."

"Just get it running," she ordered. "We're getting choked to death by these Covenant. We need a base of heavy fire to start pushing them back."

"Are they really getting that close?"

As Dutch asked that, McKay's sixth sense went off. She felt something wrong, then she heard it, the little waddling feet of a gas breathing grunt. She turned and saw the ugly little alien rushing at her from afar with plasma grenades in hand. She fired at his head with a burst from her assault rifle. The alien tumbled backwards and the grenades exploded at a bare minimum safe distance from them.

"Too close," McKay shouted aloud. "Get it working now!"

Dutch began stripping the feeder entirely from the weapon and set about getting a replacement. As he did, Mordin moved to provide cover. He fired a cryo blast at a group of incoming grunts. He then shot them one by one with his pistol, shattering them instantly.

"Potentially overwhelming numbers," Mordin warned. "Holding difficulty increasing."

McKay fired a burst into one of the Elites rushing the lines. Mordin joined her action by attack him with incineration blast that set him and two grunts nearby ablaze. ODSTs nearby finished the Covies off as they disintegrated.

"I need the machine gun now!" McKay shouted aloud.

At last, Dutch closed the weapon up and took up the gunner position himself.

"Let's hope I got this right," he said. "Everyone keep your heads down!"

Dutch pulled the trigger and gun barrel lit up like a Christmas tree. The furious roar of the turret rose up over the sounds of battle as Dutch swept it across the Covenant lines. Grunts fell by the wayside and Elites were forced to seek cover or die in a hail of bullets. Suddenly the relentless assault halted and the enemy began to fall back. The ODSTs added to the swing in momentum by keeping up the pressure themselves.

"Drive them out of the perimeter!" McKay ordered, letting off a few rounds. "Make them understand! This Carrier is property of the UNSC now!"

She wasn't sure if they appreciated the quip, but bravado was common among all Drop Troopers. Things like that just happened to come out. Nevertheless, McKay got some extra good news to further heighten the change in the battle.

"Cortana to all teams," the AI said over the secure line. "Atmosphere controls are now hacked. We have control over their air now. We are beginning phase two of the operation now. Secure all seals if you are near a target area."

The best news she had heard so far. The Covenant had been trying to suffocate them since this fight began. Now the tables were about to turn in a most literal fashion. This crazy plan that Zek had suggested actually seemed to have a shot at working now. Of course, everything relied on them taking the bridge. But with Commander Shepard and a squad of Spartans leading the way, that felt like a forgone conclusion. Didn't mean she was going to let up though. She still had a fight to win here after all.

---

Chief opened fire down the corridor at the Covenant squad in their path. The Covenant were quick to recognize the biggest threat it seemed, sending mostly Elites to block their path to the bridge. They had dug themselves into the corridor, creating a blockade and were proving relatively difficult to dislodge. Kat used her mechanical arm's omni-tool to do some damage to their shields now and again, but the Covies seemed better at taking cover from those kinds of attacks.

Not that they weren't scoring any kills. Linda managed to pull off an impressive headshot against one Elite by shooting a single round that ricocheted off the bulkhead behind the Covie and struck him in the back of the head from the side. As the alien slumped forward though, renewed fire rained down on Linda's position.

"This is becoming a slog pretty fast, Chief," she said with a slight growl.

"Relax," he assured her. "We're just waiting them out."

Mere moments later, something zipped out of nowhere and collided with an Elite. He was thrown into a wall where a successive explosion of several shotgun rounds blew him apart. The blur soon revealed itself as Shepard who turned his weapon on the other Covies. As the xenos were lining up a shot though, one was shot with a sniper round through the brain pan and another's head was grabbed from behind by a giant reptilian claw that smashed it into the corridor's bulkhead accompanied by a primal roar. Another shot, this one looking like a giant plasma bolt but Chief knew better, hit another of the Elites while a small roving ball of light zapped him.

"Move!" Chief ordered.

The Spartans rushed in as the attack distracted the Elites. Chief planted a boot in one's chest and then delivered half a clip of bullets into the downed alien's face. Linda's expert marksmanship wasn't affected by her movement as she landed easy body shots on two Elites, killing one of them. The second she whacked over the head with the butt of her gun as he tried to charge her. Jun fired a few rounds from his assault rifle before the the Elite closed in and took a swipe at him. He dodged the attack nimbly and plugged hit weapon straight into the alien's mouth as he pressed down hard on the trigger. Kat hit one Elite with a good overload attack that drained his shields and then activated the omni-blade. She fired two shots at the Elite's chest to disorient him before stabbing the alien in the throat and ripping the hardlight weapon out to finish him off.

When it was over the Covenant soldiers that had been so well dug in before had been decimated by the combined forces of Commander Shepard's crew and Master Chief's Spartans. The two groups now linked up with each other as they entered a small atrium past the corridor.

"You're a little late," Chief told Shepard.

"Sorry, EDI is a bit distracted with the plan," Shepard explained. "Took her awhile to guide us into a good ambush position. Anyway, how are we doing?"

"Well thanks to you we should be back on schedule now," Kat responded. "But I'm guessing the Covenant know we're headed to bridge now if that little blockade we just crushed is any indication."

"Hmph, who cares," Grunt snorted, smashing his fists together. "We'll just crush anyone stupid enough that tries to stop us."

Chief looked to Shepard upon hearing Grunt's strategy. The Commander just signaled with a circular motion of his hand to just let the big lizard have his say and roll with it. According to the Normandy's records, straight forward ruthlessness was hardwired in his species. Trying to argue with him about was kind of like arguing against a brick wall. He did appreciate the krogan's enthusiasm, but that wasn't going to get them far in this fight. He wasn't the only one to agree on that.

"I'd prefer something a bit more tactical than just 'crush things' personally," Jun cautiously observed aloud. "Cortana has control of the atmosphere now, think she can start suffocating some enemies?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Chief reminded him. "She has a whole ship to consider at the moment and we're in deep. It's going to take longer to vent atmosphere this close to the bridge."

"So we secure it the old fashioned way then," Linda suggested. "Line ourselves up for a takedown, catch them off guard when we burst in."

"From what I remember from the plans, the assault carrier's bridge is a lot bigger than your average Covenant ship," Tali noted. "Clearing it is going to be a challenge, even with all of us back each other up."

"We decapitate the leadership then," Kat suggested. "Kill the shipmaster and the rest will be child's play."

"That could help," Tali agreed. "But we could put the odds more in our favor. We have access to their systems now. We could trick them into thinking our attack is coming from another direction. Setting off alarms and such."

"They'd probably either send forces to defend those areas or at the very least set up a defense at the wrong entry point," Garrus reasoned fairly quickly. "Good idea, Tali."

"I'm no strategist," the quarian replied modestly. "But when it comes to tech I know my stuff."

Grunt groaned at the discussion.

"Too much talking, lets just pick a plan and get back to killing already," he said brashly.

"Don't worry, Grunt," Shepard assured. "You won't miss out on the action. Okay, Tali, what do you need to make your fake alarm plan happen?"

"Cortana and EDI can easily pull it off," she assured. "It wouldn't take too much time away from their other tasks actually."

"I'll contact Cortana myself with the idea," Chief assured her. "In the meantime, we should get moving. My motion tracker is picking up more hostiles up ahead. We should take this corridor, see if we can circle around them."

Shepard nodded and motioned his crew to follow him. Chief did the same and they moved out along the corridor. About a minute later they came to open doorway. Through it they could see two squads worth of Covenant soldiers in a room that looked a bit different. Most Covenant ship interiors could be seen as regal or at times church-like in their design. This room looked more so, stretching up high to the ceiling with strange symbols across the walls. The outline of the room was long and thin. Everything seemed to point towards some sort of totem or statue at the back that appeared to be a rough facsimile of an alien creature, most likely a Forerunner.

"A prayer room of some kind most likely," Kat whispered aloud.

Their current position placed just slightly off to the side of the Covenant who were setting up defenses within the prayer room itself. A good position to hit them from, if they played their cards right.

"Linda, Jun," Chief started. "Target two of the Elites. Me and Kat will run in once the shooting starts."

"Garrus can cover you," Shepard told him. "Grunt, Tali and I will move in with you."

Chief nodded and set the attack in motion. Jun targeted one Elite, placing his crosshairs over the alien's head. Linda did the same, while the others got ready to run in. The two Spartans synchronized their shots, firing at pretty much the same time. The Elites fell over as their heads exploded into a mess of purple blood. Garrus opened fire next with his assault rifle as the remaining Covenant scattered, killing one of the gas suckers in the process.

Shepard charged in alongside Grunt. The krogan bulldozed through two Elites, their shields unable to protect them from his rage. Shepard's own biotic charge struck another Elite with a needler gun. He then turned his sites to another Elite taking aim at Grunt. He unloaded a blast from his shotgun that sent the Covie flying backwards. At the same time, Tali moved up to cover and began charging her Geth Shotgun. The superheated blast ejected from the weapon, flew across the room and vaporized an unsuspecting methane breather with ease.

Chief's charge with Kat was similar, tossing a grenade inside the room to start. It landed further up the enemy positions, killing two in the blast. Kat in the meantime unleashed an incineration blast that burned through a Jackal who tried to run for cover.

At that second, an Elite's plasma rifle tore into Chief's shields. He turned and dove to cover, firing off his rifle at the alien. The shots missed the Covie, but luckily he started taking fire from Linda and Garrus and was forced into cover. Chief waited for his own shields to recharge before vaulting from his cover and rushing the Elite's position. He clocked the alien in the jaw as it stood up, preparing to shoot the charging Spartan. The Elite batted the assault rifle away and lunged for Chief with a freshly ignited plasma dagger. Chief grabbed the hand clutching the energy blade and forced it back into the Elite's other arm. He then kicked the alien to the floor, pulled out his pistol and fired repeatedly into the Covie's torso.

Chief looked at the dead Elite for another brief moment, before Kat walked up behind him.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Fine," he assured. "Have you seen my rifle?"

Kat looked around and found the weapon on the floor. She passed it to him and he reloaded it's magazine. The room was clear now, the Covenant squads hadn't been much of a match for four Spartans and Shepard's crew. Grunt was stomping on the bodies of dead enemies, but Shepard soon reigned him in. It was time to get moving again. Hopefully the next couple of feet of corridors would go just as if not smoother. He seriously doubted it though. Experience told him the closer you got to the bridge the tougher the Covenant would fight.

He got a good look at the weird totem of the Forerunner. So this was the alien race they worshiped. Honestly, it was a very basic image, not entirely noteworthy, but it was still somewhat imposing. Thankfully he didn't have to deal with any of them, just their devoted believers.

First things first before they got moving though, contact Cortana about Tali's false alarm plan. If it could help them avoid more points of resistance like this one then they were all the better for it. He just hoped she and EDI could pull it off without being too distracted from the rest of the mission.

---

It was a good plan, Cortana thought. It would just be a bit difficult to enact with everything going on. Mostly because they still had a troublesome enemy AI prowling around the systems. It could potentially ruin the plan if it caught onto them. Then again, it was more than likely mentally deranged like most Covie AI. They could trick it, they just needed to cover their tracks sufficiently enough.

At the moment though, they were busy with phase two.

"I have located the muster positions for the enemy reserves," EDI announced. "Based on your lifesign and motion detection readouts, they are amassing their forces in these key areas."

Cortana let the information form in front of her, outlining the entire ship. Every compartment containing the most Covenant soldiers was highlighted. There were also red dots pinpointing every hostile xeno's position. Of course, it was as simple as just opening compartments. They had to be careful not to accidentally do the same to Zek's people. They were wearing envirosuits yes, but she didn't want to risk throwing them out into space either.

Luckily for them, Zek's team was told to stay within the lower decks in the cargo bay. So long as they didn't stray from the assigned perimeter they'd be okay. Kasumi and Legion's signatures were also among them, helping Cortana and EDI to better locate them.

"Alright, time to start opening some doors," Cortana declared.

She set up camera feeds in every problem area, getting a good look at the Covenant forces preparing for battle or moving through the corridors. She now began venting atmosphere from the various sections. Airlocks opened, seals were compromised, air was vented out of rooms. The Grunts would probably survive given their need for methane, but a good chunk of them would get sucked out into space. The survivors would be easy to hunt down and eliminate at their leisure. Or be forced to surrender, given that seemed to work last time for the pirates.

The plan appeared to be working, although the execution was a bit slow in some places. Positions close to the exterior of the ship had the unsuspecting squads predictably sucked into space. Others, further in, began to choke to death. Cortana made sure to lock the doors to the rooms and hallways they were in to make sure they couldn't escape. She watched as the usually powerful and deadly Covenant began to die suffocating. Elites clawed at hatches, trying to escape, their eyes eventually bulging as they grasped at their throats. Grunts panicked in confusion as their superiors began to collapse, dying all around them.

"It is a rather unsettling sight," EDI noted aloud, slightly perturbed. "I do not need atmosphere to breathe, but I can clearly see the pain. I understand this is necessary, but it does feel cruel."

"This is a mercy compared to their victims," Cortana countered unfeelingly. "This ship has probably slaughtered countless human lives. They looked down on worlds while they burned people to death and didn't give a second thought as to what they were doing. I don't feel all that sorry for them."

"Live by the sword, die by the sword," EDI quoted wistfully. "It is indeed a harsh truth of war."

Truthfully, Cortana took no pleasure in any of this. This was just what she was designed to do, infiltrate and use the enemy's systems against them. As she watched the last of a small squad of Elites crumple to the ground, the lifesigns vanishing, she could only hope that she had done enough to save the boarding parties further hardship. There was still a lot of the ship left to deal with and still plenty of Covenant to mop up. Their actions would indeed funnel the Covenant into killzones, but it would still take awhile to finish them off. Covies never gave up easy.

Just then, an alarm sounded off around them. EDI turned to her own monitors, pulling up an information screen in front of her.

"An emergency distress signal has managed to break through our communication net," she warned. "Our jamming frequency was overridden."

"The AI again," Cortana growled. "It must've decoded the protocol somehow."

"That seems most likely," EDI confirmed. "As is the possibility of enemy vessels picking it up."

Sure enough, another sound started beeping loudly. She moved back over to her own station and brought up an viewscreen displaying a long range sensor readout. Several Slipspace jump exits, close to their position. Smaller ships of course, but there were a lot of them and reading showed they were already on an intercept course.

"Damn it," she grumbled. "We need to stop that signal now."

"It will take time," EDI informed her. "The AI seems to have shut down all system based overrides for the distress signal. There is a manual switch, but we cannot activate it."

"I hate it when the Covenant have competent failsafes," Cortana groaned. "We need to get the weapons back online. I'll contact the Normandy, Serpent and the... Crusty Chorka. The ship isn't secure yet but we need them docked. We have to take evasive action."

Cortana hacked into navigation, it was still under Covenant control, but it was her best bet. She sent a low level systems spike into the mainframe and the computer set a course towards the gas giant. The Covenant would probably figure out what was going on soon enough, but navigation was on the way to the bridge. Chief could take it and allow her unimpeded access. She'd fly this carrier into the planet's low level atmo. The enemy vessels would probably be unable to follow them through the storms brewing across the surface. What she was planning on next was crazy, but it was no less crazy than any other plan they had today.

As she hacked in and attempted to alter the Carrier's course, a security protocol was suddenly activated. Then, a shrill angry voice started shouting from the cybernetic ether.

"Out heretic! Infidel! Get out! You defile everything you touch! Out!"

The Covenant AI, making itself known at last. Dumb thing was clearly deranged, but it seemed to have enough of it's processes together to know what she was trying to do.

"Come and make me, ya rampant piece of junk data!" She shouted back.

"You will be torn asunder for your heres-"

Cortana terminated internal communication. A quick altering of the firewalls and she locked him out of navigation entirely, at least for the moment. The little freak would probably keep trying to stop her.

"This enemy AI is becoming a nuisance," EDI noted aloud.

"He's a slowly degrading program who has a religious complex, he's a nuisance by nature," Cortana informed her. "I'll tell you when he becomes a threat. Then we'll deal with him together."

"Very well," EDI concurred. "I have access to weapons systems. Enemy scout ships are closing within range."

"Keep the skies clear long enough for our little fleet to get themselves docked," Cortana told her. "I'll have the hangar cleared of enemies by the time they arrive. I've deactivated atmospheric failsafes. We're going to have a lot of Covies shot out into space within a few minutes."

The plan kept getting new wrinkles, most of them because of this AI. But they were still on track. Chief and Shepard would be at the bridge soon. Everything would be okay, so long as nothing else happened. Of course, something else would happen, because that was just how it went. Hopefully, it wasn't anything they couldn't get themselves out of.

---

Varvok fired into the mass of Covenant pouring out from around the corner. The Elites quickly retreated to cover, so the only kills he managed were on their gas breathing lackeys. In frustration he tossed an inferno grenade into enemy lines and let the fires force the Elites out of cover. Varvok zeroed in on one of them and let loose with continuous automatic stream. The Elite eventually went down, but there were more of his comrades that did not. They returned fire, forcing Varvok down into cover. That was when a batarian adept nearby tossed a biotic cluster grenade into the fray. The blast took out two Elites and forced another to retreat to cover.

"This is getting ridiculous," Varvok growled. "Things were supposed to get easier after the synthetics did their thing."

The loss of atmo has slowed the Covenant down, but it didn't seem to matter. The smaller groups of hostiles were as ferocious as the first waves. It was probably out of desperation, now that they realized that they were probably all going to die anyway. They had nothing left to lose, which made them even more dangerous than ever. The killzones were overflowing with enemies and holding them back was becoming a chore.

Then things took another turn. As the Covenant fell back to regroup, Varvok heard the faint distant sound of plasma torpedoes being discharged. They were somewhat close to the one of the gun batteries as he recalled. Why were the guns firing? The AI had total control of the weapons systems last he'd been told, so obviously it was them, not the enemy. The only reason they'd be shooting though is if there were more enemy ships outside right now.

"Crap," he thought aloud. "Just what we need."

"What is it, sir?" Asked a soldier.

"The carrier is under fire," he explained. "The Covenant must know what's happening."

If the AI were smart they were most likely taking evasive action, trying to find a place to lose the pursuing ships. Hopefully the other ships were being called in to dock as well. What concerned Varvok the most though was whatever distress signal or tracker the Covenant were using to hone in on the ship. Wherever the carrier went, they'd follow so long as they could track any distress signal. This was precisely what he had warned Shepard about and now they were facing it.

"We need to act fast if we're going to have any hope of losing them," Varvok explained. "Get a squad together and follow me to flight control. We can disrupt the distress signal from there."

"But, sir," the soldier asked hesitantly. "Aren't we supposed to hold here?"

"Things have changed, I'm altering the plan," Varvok replied astutely. "We can just close off this corridor and be back before we know it. Flight Control is just a few meters down the hall."

He supposed he could inform Shepard of what he was doing, but he quickly pushed that thought aside. He'd just debate and argue the issue with him, probably shoot him down in the end too. It was a waste of time he couldn't afford. He was shutting off that distress signal now.

First he had a technician seal the door leading to the Covenant controlled hallway. With any luck it would take the Covenant some time before they attempted to head up this way again. The other parts of the perimeter would keep them at bay until they got back. At least the locked door would decrease the risks of any enemies getting through.

Varvok then led a small team back through the corridors and then outside their perimeter. The Covenant presence was nonexistent in this area, the lack of air in nearby sections had probably claimed most. The initial charges had most likely dealt with the rest. Flight Control though probably had a few holdouts defending the area.

When they got Flight Control, Varvok had them stack up on either side of the door. One of the soldiers then placed a breaching charge on the door and pressed the detonators. The explosion blew the locking mechanism apart and the door flew open abruptly. Inside, as expected, was a small squad of Covenant holdouts. Varvok tossed in an inferno grenade that blew up near some grunts. The other members of his squad rushed in after that. The Elites inside quickly rushed into cover as their underlings took the brunt of the initial assault.

Varvok himself took up position behind the corner of a terminal on the wall. Switching to his Kishock Harpoon Gun, he took aim at one of the Elites firing on his squad. He charged the weapon to full and fired. The shot went straight through the Covie's chest, killing him.

Varvok took aim at another Elite, but the Covie spotted him. His position was soon rocked with fire. He had little choice but to jump up and make a run for a better position on the Elite's flank. Plasma bolts streamed through the air after the batarian commander. He dove suddenly, sliding behind a central pillar. He could hear the Elite approaching on his position though. Arming his ballistic blades, Varvok peered out into the open. The blades went straight into the Covie's face and then exploded taking him down.

The final Elite was lashed against the ceiling by one of batarian vanguards. The rest of the squad continued to mop up while Varvok moved towards the main terminal. His time aboard Covenant ships told him this is where a distress signal would be sent from. He gave it a once and found what he was looking soon after, a large switch for the manual override on the side. Varvok forced it closed, shutting the signal down for good.

"There, it's up to the AI to find us a place to hide now," he stated.

As much as he wanted to expand their perimeter to this room, he had already taken enough risks. At least now the distress signal was offline and he didn't have to waste time getting it done. Good enough for him, it was time to get back to their job of protecting Shepard's ass.

"Let's head back," he ordered, before using his rifle to shoot the manual switch, locking it in the off position. "We still have a line to hold."

---

Kowalski fired another shot from the cannon, killing half of a Covenant squad as they rounded a corner. He had gotten used to the bulky weapon, even if he had to rest it against something to safely shoot it. His shoulder was a bit sore from the recoil. To conserve ammunition and give his back a break from the cannon's weight, he switched back to his rifle now and then. Between the two weapons he racked up quite a few kills.

Holding the Covies back was taking it's toll on everyone, as wave after wave of relentless enemy forces tried to take the armory. They were all repulsed, but they took a few casualties every time. At least in the initial waves, now with the atmosphere vented out in the nearby rooms and corridors not as many were attacking them. The waves grew smaller after that, still ferocious but not as numerous. Elites were more willing to pullback and regroup it seemed. They knew they had smaller numbers, they were trying to think smarter. They didn't have many options though, they had locked down the armory pretty tight by now.

The Normandy crew were as busy on the frontlines as any Marine or Trooper. Samara especially stayed consistently active, moving to any part of the line where the Covies were hitting the hardest. Then she hit back even harder with throw attack that sent Elites hurtling back down the corridors they came up in. Others she'd hit with reave and then a second biotic attack to detonate the first. The resulting explosion sent nearby Covies flying. Thane kept his sniper rifle pointed on the enemy, picking them off as they came up the long access ways. Jack was incredibly aggressive in her own actions, using both biotics and her shotgun to take out the enemy, mainly when they got close. That happened less and less as the numbers of the Covenant started to dwindle.

The tide was already turning in their favor, that much was clear, but they had to remain vigilant. The Covenant were defending this ship to the last alien. They couldn't slack off or show quarter just because there were fewer of them now. At least, that's how Sergeant Johnson put it.

"Keep up the pressure people!" He ordered boisterously. "You know the Elites won't! They won't stop till we're all dead, so don't make it easy for them!"

Not even a minute after that another wave hit, again it was pretty small. There were about a squad and a half of them moving in from the right corridor. They probably were hoping the plasma turrets they had set up wouldn't have great coverage at that angle. The Covenant soldiers soon charged into the open, firing like mad. The Marines and Troopers fired back, Jack joining in with a powerful biotic shockwave that knocked an Elite over.

Kowalski took a few shots now and then, he was starting to run low on bullets after all. As he took down a grunt through the head though, he heard fire coming from the other side of their position. He turned and saw that some of the Marines had moved back and were now calling out another enemy attack. The wave had split their forces, probably trying to overwhelm them. Somehow, this second group had gotten into position in time to attempt this. They were already advancing on their lines, focusing fire on the plasma turrets they had set up.

Kowalski moved to help the other Marines fight back this desperate pincer maneuver. Johnson, who had also noticed what was going on, kept things coordinated best he could in the chaos. Which for him meant more colorful yelling.

"Don't go running around like headless chickens, Marines!" He demanded. "Everyone here with me holds their ground! We reinforce where needed!"

Kowalski was already with the other Marines, so he was reinforcing the opposite position regardless of Johnson's orders. The rest of his squad were standing their ground, so it wasn't like he was going to be missed too much. As he settled in, he could see Samara nearby, firing her assault rifle on the incoming Covenant. She then tossed out a biotic attack that struck a Jackal sniper hard, throwing him sideways into a bulkhead.

Kowalski did his best to take her eyes off her, he needed to keep focused. He aimed his fuel rod cannon down the range, picked out a group of Covies and fired. The blast rocketed towards the aliens and incinerated them. Kowalski scanned the weapon across the room, firing the remaining shots in the chamber one after the other. Green balls of fire erupted across the area. The barrage ended quickly though, not that many shots in cannon's chamber after all. When it was over, there were a number of dead Covies sprayed out across the floor. The remaining Covenant soldiers tried to regroup, only to be shot down by the other Marines.

Kowalski took a deep breath, he had helped in some way. A small way at least, but better than nothing. He felt like he had actually proven himself. That he could actually make a difference, be of value. He hadn't felt like that for awhile to be honest. The feeling was confirmed when Samara turned to him and simply nodded in recognition of his accomplishment. He just nodded back, doing his best not to smile too hard in return.

---

Navigation was just up ahead and the Covenant had it locked down hard. Breaking through the outer perimeter proved to be a challenge, despite the odds stacked against the defenders. The Elites had set up several shield barriers to hide behind, as well as one plasma turret defending the way in. Jun kept shooting at it, forcing the gunner's head down. He couldn't do much about the other guns blocking their way inside though. They needed to get inside though, Cortana was getting them out of harm's way but they couldn't risk the Covenant overriding her control of the ship. If they stopped her, they'd be sitting ducks for the returning escorts chasing them outside.

"Anyone got a shot on some of those shield barriers?" Shepard asked.

"I do," Garrus assured, taking aim with his sniper rifle.

"Same," Linda added.

The two marksmen began taking aim at the mechanism where the shield barriers sprouted from. One shot from Linda's rifle caused a barrier to explode in a blast of sparks. The barrier deactivated and the rest of the team opened fire on the Covenant hiding behind them. Kat scored an easy headshot on an Elite who suddenly found himself out in the open when the barrier dropped. Between Garrus and Linda, the defenses started to crack. That was when Chief charged in, tossing a grenade as he ran. It landed near the plasma turret, blowing up the gun and it's operator.

Shepard, his team and the rest of the Spartans charged up next. Grunt's Claymore shotgun blew one Elite in half as the krogan lunged forward. They were soon at the door, where Tali bypassed the lock for them. The door slid open and the attack resumed. The Covenant inside navigation were no less prepared for a fight than the bad guys outside it seemed.

"Sweep room, right to left," Chief ordered aloud. "We need to put pressure on both ends."

Shepard was already ahead of him in terms of strategy, biotic charging into a Jackal who had let his shield down slightly. As he went flying, Shepard turned his shotgun on a nearby Elite and filled him full of incendiary rounds. Grunt, Garrus and Jun followed his lead, moving up through the plasma fire flying past them. The rest of the Spartans and Tali took the other side of the room. Tali's drone added to their end of the assault, striking at gas suckers blocking their forward progress.

"Focus fire on the Elites at the back," Kat suggested, sliding into cover.

"I got one targeted," Tali declared activating her omni-tool. "Taking down his shield!"

Tali activated energy drain, hitting the Elite, which drained his shields to almost nothing. Chief opened fire with a sustained stream, taking the Elite out from afar. As he pulled back into cover though, he saw a door to their flank chime and start to slide open. Behind it was a small squad of Covies, led by a single Elite. The Covenant leader pointed his plasma rifle at Tali specifically while growling. Reacting quickly, Chief rushed out of his own cover and placed himself between the quarian and the Elite's fire. His shields took a hard hit and one of the plasma bolts hit him in the arm. Fighting through his pain, Chief let loose with his assault rifle and forced the Elite to duck behind the doorway.

"Go! I'll cover!" Chief ordered Tali.

The quarian nodded and moved up to a terminal. Chief pulled back behind another piece of navigation equipment, plasma fire slicing through the air around him. As he knelt down into cover to reload, Kat and Linda rushed up into cover close to him.

"You're hit," Linda stated. "How bad?"

"No worse than usual," he grunted. "Draw the Elite out, we need to secure the flank."

Kat took up the offer to try, rolling a grenade across the ground in front of them. It detonated a few feet in front of the Elite's position. The explosive wasn't meant to kill the Elite though, only to serve as a distraction. Kat used the booming sound and obscuring smoke to rush to a better position near a pair of terminals. The Elite eventually peered out to keep shooting at the Spartans, but by then Kat was in place. He didn't spot her as she took aim with her pistol and fired several shots at him.

As the bullets bounced off his shields, the Elite realized his cover was compromised. He rolled out into navigation, firing away with his plasma rifle in anger at Kat's position. He made a strafing dash to a column he could better hide behind, but Kat had done her job. Chief and Linda moved up from cover and perforated the Covenant leader with sustained fire. His shields failed as he made a last ditch charge at fired a single shot through his neck and watch him collapse to the floor. The few remaining methane breathers he had brought with him scattered in fear. Kat and Tali picked them off as they ran back towards the door they come through.

Meanwhile, Shepard finished off what was left of the Covenant on his side of the room. Cyro ammo froze the final Elite solid just in time for Grunt to charge through him. The Covie shattered and with him so did the last bit of resistance within navigation. The team regrouped around the central console, more mindful of their flank now.

"That area was supposed to be closed off," Kat noted. "The Covenant shouldn't have been able to send a squad through. The batarians should've stopped them."

"You think their lines are cracking?" Garrus asked.

"I don't think so," Shepard said grimly.

Sensing what the Commander wanted, Chief contacted Cortana and put her on their squad's private comm-channel.

"Cortana, how are Varvok's lines holding?" He asked.

"They're fine," she assured him. "Fewer Covenant forces to deal with now, same with everyone. We're running out of things for everyone to shoot."

"Anything odd in their sector?" Shepard cut in.

"Yes, I just noticed that Flight Control has been taken offline," Cortana observed aloud. "I must've missed it in all this chaos. Taking over a ship's flight systems and keeping the bridge locked out of them is more taxing then I thought. EDI's struggling to keep up herself."

Chief instantly saw Shepard face grow cold and disgruntled, his hands balling into fists.

"I'm going to throttle him," he growled. "He did exactly what I told him not to do."

"You could just call him up now and tell him off," Jun suggested.

"He won't listen that way," Shepard explained. "I need to do it in person and right now we have bigger things to worry about. I'll deal with Varvok's bullshit when we're done."

Chief silently agreed, one insubordinate soldier was bad, but they had to prioritize here. They still had a bridge to take and a bit of a ways to go in order to reach it.

"Good news is we've taken navigation," Chief explained to Cortana. "They won't be able to retake control of the ship form here."

"I know, I can see you on the monitors," Cortana assured him. "As for our fellow ships, they've docked with carrier and we're en route for the gas giant's atmosphere. Just keep heading for the bridge, you're almost there. Meanwhile, I need to stop the Covenant down in engineering."

"Why there?" Grunt asked confused. "They don't pose a threat to us."

"What she means is the Covenant down in engineering are trying to kill the engines," Tali informed the krogan. "They do that and we're dead in space and we can't reach the gas giant."

"Just keep your focus on the bridge," Cortana informed them insistently. "I already have a team headed for the engine room as we speak. I'll let you know how they're doing."

Chief thought for a moment, who could Cortana possibly spare to send to the engine room? Then he realized who she was talking about. She probably didn't have much choice, but he really hoped it wasn't a mistake.

---

Kasumi stayed behind the large pylon as plasma fire raked the area. The lack of concern for their own equipment probably should've been expected given how they were trying to shut it down. When they first got inside the engineering room, they instantly spotted several Covenant on terminal stations all over. They were frantically inputting commands, cycling down the engines stage by stage. She could already hear them powering down, the ship itself losing speed.

"Power to central thruster decreased by twenty five percent," Legion warned. "Engines currently in systematic shutdown."

"You can stop it right?" She asked him.

"We will need manual access to reactivate engines at this stage," the geth explained. "Automatic shutdown procedure must be overridden."

Zek's pirates were doing their best to push through, but they were facing off almost exclusively against Elites. The Covie officers kept themselves in a defensive circle around the central terminal, obviously the only way they could stop the emergency shutdown that had started. While the pirates could get close with their shields blocking the plasma bolts, the excessive fire overloaded the shields eventually. The Jackals who couldn't get back to cover quickly enough got cut down.

"I'm going to try and get in there," Kasumi told Legion. "Cover our pirate buddies."

"Affirmative," Legion concurred.

The Geth started shooting at the Covenant lines, killing one Elite with a single headshot. Legion now incurred the wrath of the Elites, their ire now placed on him. Blasts struck the synthetic's cover, but while they were busy with the machine, Kasumi slipped out while invisible. She slunk across engineering, climbing on top of some kind of monitoring station. As she did, she spotted Zek up above the fighting himself. The pirate captain had positioned himself on a walkway above. He started using his needler rifle to pick off problem Elites, of course it didn't take them long to figure out where he was shooting from.

Now the Elites were distracted between two snipers, more than enough cover for her own plan. She brought out her missile launcher and aimed it at the Covies. She had to make sure not to damage the control console nearby, Legion still needed that. Really, all she wanted was to blow a hole through their defenses and let the pirates get up close and personal.

She fired two missiles, striking the central position of the Elites. Explosions ripped through the Covies and the Jackals wasted no time in exploiting the newly opened hole. They rushed the gap, screaming and hollering, overcharging plasma pistols and spraying needle rounds everywhere. Legion himself pulled out of cover to join the charge. Zek himself jumped down from the platform above, landing on the back of an Elite who he stabbed through the back with his plasma machete. He then jumped off, activating his arm shield and began hacking and slashing his way through the defenders.

Kasumi jumped across several pieces of engineering equipment to land in the melee herself. She fired off a burst from her submachine gun at the first Elite who charged her and then rolled to avoid fire from another. She tossed a flashbang into the Elite's face, blinding him and then shot him as well.

She moved through the still ongoing fighting to find Zek fighting another Elite. The pirate leader blocked the Covie's punch with his shield, said punching sending him stumbling backwards. The Elites opened fire on Zek next, forcing him to keep his shield up. The pirate pulled out his needler and pressed down hard on the trigger. The Covie was stuck by several pink shards and exploded into a bright burst moments later. As he was doing that, another Elite nearly snuck up behind him to shoot him through the head. Luckily, Kasumi managed to close the distance and stab an omni-blade into the back of the Elite's head. Zek looked back as the big alien fell to the floor dead and Kasumi standing off to the side.

"Nice thrust," he complimented. "Thanks."

"Any time," Kasumi replied.

Zek activated his plasma machete again and charged forward with a group of his fellow pirates. He blocked the shots of one Elite before rushing past him, slashing deep into his side. Legion was close behind the pirate charge, his drone covering his approach to the central console. The Geth shot down another Elite as he kept behind a small crate. When that was taken care of, the synthetic began work on the console itself.

"Overriding emergency engine shutdown," he announced. "Approximate time, two minutes."

"Excellent," Zek declared, firing his plasma pistol into a down Elite. "At this rate the carrier will be ours in no time."

"Cortana and EDI still have to get us away from the other Covenant ships," Kasumi reminded him. "And Shepard still has to take the bridge."

"Minor issues as far as I'm concerned," Zek shrugged. "Also out of my hands, something I'd rather not think about. Now, let's secure engineering and be on our way."

As Zek walked away, Kasumi noticed he was talking into the device on his wrist again. Clearly he was speaking to someone else. She didn't know exactly who, but she had a good idea. She didn't say anything aloud though, not really the time or place. Better to let Shepard know when they regrouped, for now they still had to clear this room and sweep the rest of the lower decks.

---

Another squad of Covenant fell before the rattling of Dutch's machine gun fire. By now the barrels were burning red, constantly smoking. The ODSTs needed to keep dousing the turret with their own water rations just to keep it running. They needed to keep the gun firing, it was only thing that deterred the Covenant from charging forward. Although they were coming in smaller numbers, keeping them bottled up and suppressed was still a necessity as far as McKay was concerned.

Another group of Elites pushed into the room, these ones were Ultras and they were armed with concussion rifles. If they were here, then the Covies had used up all the other reserves. McKay grabbed her battle rifle and took aim at the first one she could spot through her crosshairs. She fired three bullets each, striking the alien's shields hard. He rolled to cover before the third shot could connect, saving his skull. McKay followed him, but the sound of incoming forced her to dive for cover.

Concussion blasts struck around the ODST perimeter, hitting Drop Troopers who weren't fast enough to duck. Concussion rounds tended to sting more than burn, but they could kill if they hit you often and hard enough. McKay knew these Ultras needed to go down, hard. Mordin had already shot a cryoblast to freeze a few of the Covies in their tracks. Dutch let loose a storm of machine gun fire that shattered the icy Elites, but there were more still alive and intact.

McKay tried to look for her target again, peering through the crosshairs she found him where she left him. He was still firing off his concussion rounds here and there, while gas-sucking grunts pushed up through the ranks. They were mini-barrage squad it seemed, creating cover fire for the cannon fodder to advance through. Quickly, McKay took aim at the Ultra Elite, firing shot after short in quick succession. The Elite's shields went down again, but this time McKay was faster and managed a hit on the alien's head as he stood up to try to run to better cover.

"Anyone with heavy weapons, fire back!" McKay ordered through the radio. "Carpet the killzones! Wipe them out!"

Grenades and rocket launchers suddenly fired directly into the heart of the Covenant lines. Ultra Elites went up in fireballs alongside their charges. Dutch's machine gun raked the aftermath with a furious rain of bullets. Went it was over, once again nothing was moving. They had answered the concussion assault with their own heavy barrage. They pushed back another wave, but at this point, McKay wasn't sure how much left they to give.

There was a small explosion off to the side, she looked to see Dutch turret had blown it's top. The big Trooper tried frantically to get it to stop smoke and get it's casing back on. Jacob had run over to help, but McKay had a feeling the gun wouldn't fire again. She wanted to hope she had killed the last of the Covenant, that they had secured the area, but she couldn't know for sure.

That was when they got some good news, an indication that they were turning the tide.

"Cortana to all fire teams," the AI announced. "We have entered the gas giant's atmosphere. We are attempting to lose the Covenant escort. Enemy forces within the vessel have dwindled to less than ninety-five percent."

Good, then they were almost done. At least that's what she took away from the percentage. As she sat up to sort things out, there was a sound from the entranceway. Someone shouted that they saw something approaching. She looked, but saw an odd silhouette that matched no Covie she had fought. A strange purple tentacle wrapped around a dead Elite's ankle and pulled it away.

"Hold fire!" She shouted aloud. "Hold fire!"

Something emerged from the hallway proper, but it didn't seem to possess any malice or ill-intent. It didn't come inside shooting. Hell, it didn't even seem to have weapons at all. It floated above the dead Covenant, pulling them out one by one. Then, when a space was cleared, it started work on a broken panel on the wall. It was then joined by another floating apparition with tentacles, and then another.

They weren't attacking, in fact they didn't even seem to acknowledge the ODSTs were even there. They were just pulling out bodies and trying to fix battle damage to the ship's systems. Lights turned back on for one, as did damaged terminals and work didn't know what to make of it, but she figured someone would want to know what was going on.

"Someone get me Colonel Holland," she requested.

---

Tali's plan seemed to work, the way to the bridge didn't appear guarded. The false alarms had sent a good portion of the Covies running off on a wild goose wouldn't return, Cortana would see to that by removing the air to the section when they arrived. All they had to do now, was take the bridge. Then their part of the mission would be complete.

They entered the Bridge silently, Kat releasing the lock while disabling the chime for the door. The Bridge itself was huge, much bigger than any they had been on previously. The Elites and their underlings seemed too busy at their stations or shouting orders to notice them. The team quickly moved behind a pair of large support columns where Linda began to scan the area through her scope.

"We got a bunch of Elites around the central platform, including their shipmaster," she informed the others, her finger pointing towards the golden clad Elite. "I don't really have a great shot from this angle, but I can probably kill some of his crew."

"Leave him to me," Chief said. "Just make sure I can get to him."

"I'll back you up," Shepard added diligently. "Garrus, help Linda in keeping our approach covered. Everyone else, take both sides of the room, split their focus. We need to keep them off balance. We move on Linda's shot."

Linda aimed through the scope, getting a bead on one of the Elites close to the shipmaster. She fired a single shot that sliced through the alien's shields and blew open his skull. As he fell, Linda switched to her second target and fired two shots into his back before he could react. That was when the rest of the Covenant spotted the group and opened fire on their position.

Both Chief and Shepard made a run for the Command Platform, while their team split up to keep other enemies occupied. Linda and Garrus' sniper cover managed to remove a few of the obstacles in their path, but that didn't leave them with nothing to deal with on their own. One methane breather and what one could assume was his handler, stood in their path. Chief shot the grunt with his pistol, executing him with a headshot. Shepard simply forced the Elite out of their way with a shockwave attack. Their ruckus caught the attention of the Shipmaster, however he bellowed at them from above on the platform.

To the Covie leader's credit, he didn't wait for the two humans to engage him. Instead, he vaulted over the edge of the platform and landed in front of them. Shepard aimed a powerful biotic punch at the alien, but the Elite suddenly jumped forward and batted the commander away with a swipe of his backhand. Shepard dropped into a small gully beneath the platform lined with small terminals and stations meant for grunts. To keep Chief from helping him, the Elite fired his plasma rifle at the Spartan, forcing him to roll away from the gully.

Chief had to assume the Commander was alright, he had taken way bigger hits than that. For now, he had to deal with this Elite who had become set on proving his worth as a warrior. Sometimes, with all their bluster and willingness to send lesser aliens to do their dirty work, it was easy to forget that Elites were highly capable warriors in their own right. Every now and then though, one reminded you by trying to prove it had earned it's bright fancy armor. Many a Marine who had gotten cocky killing a few of the lower ranked Elites at long range got a harsh and almost always fatal wake up call when they went up against a highly ranked Covenant Officer.

But the Master Chief was no cocky green Marine and he was ready for this Shipmaster. He charged in, emptying his pistol's clip before whipping the gun around and striking the Covie with it in the jaw. The Elite discharged his weapon near Chief head, barely missing him. He pivoted to the right and shoulder checked the Elite into the side of the platform's ramp. The Elite slashed out with his claws, forcing Chief to duck under his attack. Unfortunately, that was when the Shipmaster fired into his back.

The attack hadn't hurt him too badly, but Chief could already see his shields fluctuating wildly. Not a good sign, not at all. He turned with his assault rifle out and blocked the Covie's next strike. The alien roared in his face in anger, spraying saliva all over his visor. At that moment though, something hit the alien from behind. Chief looked past the Covie to see Shepard pointing an assault rifle at the alien, he had crawled out of the monitoring stations trench and was now back in the fight.

With a firm grip still on Chief's own rifle, the shipmaster aimed his plasma rifle at Shepard. The Commander was a step ahead of him this time though, throwing a shockwave right at the Covenant leader. Chief kicked the Elite, forcing him to release his rifle and rolled to the side just as the shockwave hit. The Elite went flying backwards, landing on top of the platform's ramp. He quickly picked himself up though, just as Shepard and the Chief made their way to the foot of the slope.

The Elite roared again, defiant despite the odds. He pulled out a second plasma rifle and unleashed a torrent of fire as he ascended the ramp backwards. Chief ducked into cover, with his shields damaged he needed to be careful about taking too many hits. Shepard did the same, but fired back when he could. Luckily they did not have to endure the rain of plasma for long, the Elite took a bullet to the shoulder that suddenly ended his shooting spree. The distinct sound of the shot was clearly from Linda's rifle, still watching their backs.

Shepard used the lull in plasma fire to charge at the Shipmaster with his biotics. The hit sent the Elite flying backwards, hitting the console at the back of the platform hard. As the holographic screens started flickering on and off, the console itself sparking, Chief and Shepard moved to the top of the platform. The Elite pulled himself off the damaged console and ignited a plasma sword as he snarled at them both. Shepard and the Master Chief fired on him, but the alien used the sword to block their shots.

The Elite charged at them both, preparing to cut the two humans down. Shepard jumped to the left, while Chief rolled to the right. The Shipmaster moved after Shepard first, slashing into part of the console as Shepard fell backwards. He fired a blast from his shotgun, hitting the Elite partially in the chest. At the same time, Chief opened fired on the alien, pelting him with assault rifle rounds. The Elite turned violently, slashing at the Spartan from afar. Chief ducked under the slash and delivered a rising uppercut against the Covie's chin. The Elite staggered back slightly before getting hit by a warp attack from Shepard. Screeching in pain, the Elite turned, nearly slicing Shepard's head off. The Commander ducked under the attack and then released a powerful biotic punch that forced the Shipmaster to smash into another console.

The Covenant Soldier had plenty of fight still left in him though. He jumped up from the console, charging at the Master Chief. His stab sliced into the Chief's side, but the Spartan punched him in the neck in retaliation. Gurgling in pain, the Elite kicked the Spartan against a console before slashing at Shepard. The Commander dodged the first swipe, but the second cut him across the back.

"Chief," Shepard shouted as he fell. "Go for it!"

Shepard tossed his shotgun through the air at the Spartan. Chief grabbed the weapon and aimed it at the Elite as it closed in. He fired what was left in the weapon as fast as he could pull the trigger, blowing away the alien's dwindling shields. At point blank range, Chief fired one last shot into the alien's chest and the inferno rounds tore through the Shipmaster at last. The alien collapsed dead on the platform, his plasma sword deactivating.

The Master Chief rushed over to help the Commander up. Shepard grunt as the Spartan pulled him to his feet. Shepard activated his omni-tool and it's medi-gel application, already he felt much better.

"Status?" He asked through the comm.

"We're clear down here," Kat replied. "Covenant put up a fight, but they're all down now."

Shepard just nodded and turned to the Master Chief.

"You okay?" He finally asked.

"I'm fine, sir," he assured, pressing his hand against his side. "I've had worse wounds. You're the one who got slashed across the back."

"Don't worry, I'll have Chakwas take a look at it," the Commander promised. "What about your systems? Everything operational?"

"Shields are damaged," the Spartan admitted. "I'll have to have Cortana take a look at them when she's re-uploaded."

Chief then realized he should probably notify his synthetic partner and opened a comm-channel to her.

"Cortana, Bridge is secured," he informed her. "What's the carrier's status?"

---

"The Ascendant Justice is more or less clear, there are less than a few scattered squads of Covenant left," Cortana reported. "I've already informed Holland and he's sending reinforcements to help mop up. We still have the escort ships to contend with though. They're in a holding pattern around the gas giant, trying to scan through the storms. We need to get out from under their noses, only one way to do that. Brace yourself, Chief. I'm going to try something unorthodox."

She didn't wait for him to ask her what she was planning, she didn't really have time to explain. The storms of the gas giant were blocking the enemy scans for now, but they'd find them eventually. Escaping now while they were in cover was their only option. Problem was, that meant doing something a bit crazy. They had to slipspace jump while inside the gas giant's atmosphere.

"Cortana," EDI spoke up. "Records show that no one has attempted this action before."

"Zek and his pirates managed to leap into Halo's atmosphere in the middle of a Covenant fleet," she reminded her compatriot. "We're just doing the reverse. If that crazy bird-lizard can pull it off, I can do it easy. Do you have the jump coordinates?"

"They are locked," EDI assured. "Slipspace will activate upon your command."

Cortana didn't get to input the command, however. The moment she tried, there was a power surge that scrambled her interface. The surge then struck her and threw her back. EDI did not escaped unscatched either, as the surge zapped her as well. Forming in front of them appeared a strange fluctuating ball of light and from said light came a familiar voice.

"Heretics! HERETICS! Filthy blasphemous heretics!"

"About time you revealed yourself," Cortana said as she picked herself up. "You're a lot more put together than I thought."

The Covenant AI didn't seem interested in responding to Cortana's taunts. It instead kept up it's rant, firing off energy pulses at the two intruding AI. This time they were more prepared for the attack and deflecting the pulses with protective barriers.

"Infidels! You shall not continue! What you do is a crime against all that is sacred!"

Cortana used her programming to send the next pulse back at the Covenant AI. When the pulse hit it, the ball of light violently shook about, it's pattern distorted among the digital plain. Cortana moved quickly, as did EDI, hitting the AI with cybernetic attacks designed to distort and slow hostile AIs. The rampant synthetic continued to scream at them regardless.

"You enter this holy temple! You profane it! Now you seek to go against scripture itself? You disgust me!"

"Oh would you just shut up already!" Cortana shouted back.

She hit the AI with one of it's security programs that she had turned, sending a pulsating beam that struck it in the matrix. The AI dropped from a brief moment and EDI placed a barrier around it.

"He is contained for the moment," she said cautiously. "We must act now if we are to-"

"Way ahead of you," Cortana assured coldly.

She passed through the barrier and grabbed the screeching ball of light.

"How dare you lay your filth-"

Cortana pulled at the programming and data, replacing the AI's rant with a scream of pain. She broke open his first layer, then his second and third. She pulled back his data piece by piece until she found his matrix at the core.

"Stop! Stop!" It pleaded. "It hurts!"

Cortana gripped the matrix in her hands and pulled.

"Relax, you won't be feeling anything in a nanosecond anyway," she told the AI.

She pulled the Matrix out and then, unceremoniously, crushed it, scattering it's data to the cybernetic winds, so to speak. The Covenant AI let out a last desperate screech and faded along side his matrix. Cortana stood over where the fluctuating ball of light once was. For a second more she stared down at her feet with a glare. Then she reactivated her interface, her face retaining cold indifference. EDI rolled over, slightly more put off than her UNSC counterpart.

"That... was most unpleasant," she said. "I realize there was no alternative of course, but-"

"It was a rampant crazed piece of junk data," Cortana said suddenly, cutting her off. "We did it a favor, far as I'm concerned. Have you re-acquired the jump coordinates?"

EDI seemed taken aback by Cortana's response, it took an extra second to reply.

"Yes," she answered. "They are awaiting the activation code."

"Then hold onto your processors, EDI," Cortana said with a smirk. "We're about to make history. Engaging slipspace, now!"

The Carrier's engines rocketed to life, the monitor displayed the forming of a slipspace rupture in front of them and in an instant, the Ascendant Justice rocketed through the rift.

---

Kowalski came to with a terrible ringing in his head. A ringing replaced by a sting when someone slapped his cheek. His vision came back into focus as he saw Pearson staring down at him, only slightly more concerned than his usual appearance.

"Hey killer, how you doing?" He asked, holding up two fingers. "Count'em off, how many?"

Kowalski just groaned and pushed the hand away.

"Two, get me up already," he grumbled.

Pearson pulled Kowalski to his feet. He looked around to see the rest of the Marines were apparently going through the same thing. Still rubbing his head, he looked to Pearson for answers.

"What happened?" He asked.

"We jumped through a gas giant's atmosphere to escape the Covies and survived," Pearson explained. "Oh, and we seized an Assault Carrier to boot. Pretty sweet, huh?"

"I suppose," Kowalski shrugged. "What exactly is that?"

Kowalski pointed to a strange purplish floating ball with tentacles and weird looking slender head. It was working on an open wall panel, but briefly looked over to him and Pearson. It waved slightly for a second and then went back to work.

"Yeah, that I don't know, but it's not shooting us," Pearson replied. "So I figure we're good."

Sure, good, it was just a weird ass looking floating ball of tentacles doing minor repairs. Nothing to gawk at. It wasn't like they had also just apparently slipspaced through atmo, which had never been done as far as he knew. Suddenly, Kowalski felt a bit woozy again.

"Maybe I do need to lay down," he admitted.

"Well I'm sure we can find you a space," Pearson assured. "So long as it's not near any dead bodies. The floaty guys like to move those around a bit."

Yeah, he thought, probably best he doesn't get confused for a corpse.

---

When Varvok arrived on the bridge, Shepard spotted him instantly. The batarian had some of his men with him, but that didn't deter him. It took every ounce of willpower to refrain from punching the four-eyed jerk, but Shepard promised himself, and Tali, he wouldn't stoop to the man's level. He stopped just in front of the batarian and glared.

"You left your post," he growled.

"I did," Varvok replied adamantly, not even trying to deny it.

"You did exactly what I told you not to do," Shepard reminded him.

"Because the exact thing I warned you about happened," Varvok countered. "The Covenant were sending out a distress signal. It needed to be disabled or we'd never have been rid of them. They'd still be lurking outside after that crazy jump your AI pulled."

"Those AI could've shut the damn signal off if you were patient," Shepard informed him sternly. "Instead, you went off half-cocked, off mission and left my flank open. You put my team at risk."

Varvok could only return the glare.

"The mission changed, I did what needed to be done," he stated firmly. "I will not apologize for that."

"You could've contacted us," Shepard shouted at him. "We could have discussed it! Instead, you ran off without telling us!"

"I was not going to sit and argue while things were going to shit," Varvok shouted back. "If you could barely handle one measly little squad that broke through then maybe you're not much of a leader yourself!"

Shepard reacted without even thinking. He grabbed Varvok's collar and pulled him close. He could hear the other batarians pointing their weapons at him, probably switching to shredder rounds. Of course, the sounds of their guns were soon joined by a few UNSC Marines who were now targeting them as well. Also Grunt, who probably just wanted something to shoot regardless.

"Go ahead," the krogan muttered. "I'm still itching for a fight. This one ended too quickly."

Varvok face didn't show a hint of fear. Why would he? He knew Shepard wouldn't do anything. Shepard knew he wouldn't do anything. He wasn't about to let the batarian off that easy though.

"Get this through your head," he growled through his teeth. "You don't have to like me. I sure as hell don't have to like you. But if you put my team in danger again, I swear to whatever it is your people worship, I will end you. Got it?"

"Understood, Commander," Varvok replied, venom etched in every syllable he uttered. "Now unhand me."

Shepard pushed Varvok away and the situation cooled at last. Although the icy stares remained, everyone else lowered their weapons. Even Grunt, who was more disappointed than anything. Just in time, to further alleviate tension, Zek walked aboard the Bridge. We was accompanied by Legion, Kasumi and two of his fellow pirates.

"Four-Eyes! Commander!" He greeted jovially. "How good it is to see you two. Shepard, I have to say, it was a pleasure working with Ms. Goto and your robot friend. They were a welcome addition to the team."

"Thank you, Zek," Kasumi said grinning. "It was a fun outing. Nerve-wracking, yes, but it was a pretty decent work out."

"We still need to get you an energy cutlass of your own," Zek told her. "You need a proper blade if you're going to play with us pirates."

"I'll endeavor to work on my swashbuckling for the future," Kasumi assured.

"Well at least things seemed to have gone smoothly," Shepard complimented. "And you actually worked together."

Shepard glared slightly at Varvok, who only snorted. Zek was oblivious to the tension though.

"Of course it went smoothly," he said. "It was after all kinda my plan."

The pirate suddenly noticed someone else entering the room and hurried past the Commander and Varvok towards them. It was Colonel Holland and Lieutenant Haverson, looking rather ambivalent as they approached. Zek didn't seem to notice that though, smiling as he approached them. Shepard walked up behind him, catching the Pirate's usual tone of smooth-talking faux friendliness.

"Well Colonel," Zek began. "I think we can call this mission a total success. Our arrangement sure is paying dividends already. We have an assault carrier full of supplies and a brand spanking new mothership as you would call it. In the pirate world, we call this a massive haul and a very good day."

"I'd be inclined to agree," Holland replied. "However, there is some additional matters we must address."

Zek looked confused, but he didn't have a chance to inquire what Holland was speaking of. On a nearby terminal, Cortana appeared, arms crossed, looking at Zek suspiciously.

"Daring Decimator, Ornery Razorfin, Burning Lance," she began listing off. "Crushing Blow, Fist of Plasma, Drunken Thornback, shall I go on?"

Zek's eyes widened and he looked to the two UNSC officers and the AI, somewhat dumbfounded.

"You were spying on my communications to Retz?" He asked, sounding shocked, but not angry interesting enough. "I'd be hurt, but I'm actually kinda impressed. I suppose I should've given you guys more credit, or at least your AI. I didn't think you'd find the time."

"I'm a very good multi-tasker," Cortana assured. "Tracking your communiques to your first mate wasn't terribly hard. Next time, try encrypting them better. That way you can have your ship naming sessions in private."

Holland stepped up, glaring at the Jackal Pirate.

"This was never about giving us extra supplies or a floating home base," he reasoned. "This was about you from the start. Like you said, this ship was an opportunity... for you to add to your fleet."

"Our fleet," Zek reminded him. "No one is an island here. Look, if you wanted to throw your name into the hat I would've let you."

"It's not about the names," Haverson told him sternly. "It's what it represents. You're claiming ownership."

Zek opened his mouth, almost as if he was about to deny the accusation. Then he suddenly shrugged and shut his trap.

"Well, okay, maybe I was doing that a little," he admitted. "But come on, you're not going to keep this thing forever. And if we're taking this ship then it deserves a better name than Ascendant Justice."

"But it's not your ship, it's ours," Holland reminded him. "And you don't get to call dibs on it with a new title you and your pirate friends come up with in private. You already claimed the Corvette by giving it a name without consulting us, you're not going to get this one."

Zek huffed lightly and rolled his eyes.

"Colonel, I really think you're overreacting," he tried to argue.

"We're not here to help you build up some criminal empire," Holland replied sternly, poking his finger into the Jackal's chest. "My men aren't here to deliver capital ships to you on a silver platter. We are not part of your pirate crew. You are part of an alliance with us, period."

"Hey, I'm all for that, really," Zek tried to reassure him. "But, you know, we could stand to profit off this arrangement a little. I mean, you could make some creds yourself if you-"

"No," Holland firmly shouted him down. "This may be a business arrangement to you, but to us it's far more important. Our home planet is under the gun. Our race is facing extinction. We need to get home, you can either help with that or get out of our way. But we will not be used to help you form your own personal pirate fleet. Keep your agenda to yourself and keep my men out of it. As for the Ascendant Justice, it is neutral ground. We use it to house our extra men and supplies, no one owns it. It is a home base for our fleet to refuel, rearm and for easy transportation. It is not your new capital ship for you and your fellows to base your pirating activities out of of. End of story."

Holland and Haverson walked away, moving towards the Command Platform. Zek watched them go, looking a bit insulted over the whole ordeal. He turned to Shepard who had already been joined by the Master Chief and Varvok.

"Can you believe that?" He asked. "I got them a badass ship and I'm still the bad guy!"

"Well finding out your intentions were less than noble is kind of a blow to any sense of trust," Shepard informed him. "You could have been more honest about why you wanted this carrier."

"Every pirate worth his salt has a really powerful ship," Zek explained. "I gotta think about the future a little here, after you guys get to Earth. And if your friends there knew what was good for them they'd realize this benefits them too. I get a capital ship, my fleet grows, I have a decent moving port to station myself out of, smuggling becomes easier and more organized, my clients get their goods faster and cheaper. Clients like the UNSC if they want."

"All the while, you profit off the war while never really taking a side," Cortana finished.

"Hey, it's not my war," Zek argued. "But that doesn't mean I should be unable to make some creds from it. It's just good business, Purpley Blue."

Cortana raised an eyebrow at Zek's reply.

"Purpley Blue?"

"Well I could call you Little Naked Lady," Zek informed her. "Your pick."

"Charming," Cortana grumbled.

"Pirate," the Jackal reminded her.

The AI sighed, or at least what passed for a sigh given her digital nature. Master Chief, who had been largely silent, finally added his own two cents.

"The Colonel is right though," he said. "You shouldn't try to manipulate Marines into doing your dirty work."

"It's not like I lied," Zek argued. "I shared potential benefits they could gain for taking the carrier. So I left out the fact I wanted it for myself. I still had every intention of sharing the supplies and space with you, still do. It's just, after this is over, I was really hoping you'd let me keep it."

"That will be up to the Joint Chiefs when we get back to Earth," the Spartan informed him. "Not you."

"Well I had a major role in acquiring it," Zek argued. "So I think I deserve some kind of consideration in that regard."

Shepard just shook his head. How did Zek not get this? He needed to make it clear or risk him doing something like this again.

"This isn't a business contract, Zek," Shepard firmly told him. "We're supposed to be an combined fleet, a military unit. Peoples lives are on the line here, worlds are at risk. You have to be honest with us about your intentions. We need to trust each other."

"A noble sentiment, Commander, but naive," Zek countered, more astute in tone than before. "The fact is, military or not, everything is a matter of business. This Alliance is no different. Everything inevitably relates back to terms of exchange, what a man wants and what he is willing to do to acquire it. It's just how the universe works, Shepard. I can't change that. Don't ask me to."

Shepard soon realized that this conversation was getting nowhere. With any luck Zek wouldn't try to manipulate the UNSC again, but it was clear that the pirate was going to get them into a bit of trouble. It was also clear that this was going to hang over any future discussions. Zek had shown he was underhanded and sneaky, not something Holland or Haverson would appreciate. The discussion would have to wait for now though, as Cortana interrupted.

"You all have other concerns to consider right now," she informed them. "Shepard, Chief, Holland wants to speak to you about something as soon as possible. It's about some Covenant still aboard the ship."

"I thought they were all gone," Varvok said. "We mopped up what was left of their squads."

"Well, yes and no," Cortana corrected. "Their combat details are all dead. But..."

Almost as if on cue, some of the doors on the bridge opened wide and in floated several small groups of aliens. They were big glowing purple and blue balls of tentacles that hovered over the ground and floated in the air. They didn't engage any of the Marines, Batarians or Jackals nearby. In fact, most of them seemed to ignore them. They set about working on damaged areas of the ship instead, to the utter bemusement of those around them. Not everyone was confused though, Zek's grin had returned.

"Huragok," he said with glee. "This ship is loaded with Huragok! Jackpot!"

Shepard sighed inwardly, this day was far from over it seemed.

AN: You've probably noticed the Epigraphs by now, the quotes at the start of the chapters. Just something I'm trying. There's a few little quotes I've been meaning to use for this story I felt it worked given the more episodic nature of things. A lot of the quotes refer to pirates and sea faring what not, for obvious reasons. Not all of them are like that but most of them

Anyway, this took a bit longer to publish as I was finishing up another chapter. Hopefully it was still worth the extra day of waiting though. The next chapter will probably be a bit longer in coming as I want to finish some other things. But don't worry, it's already done so you probably won't be waiting long. So, come back next time and find out what happens with the adorable floating tentacle bags known as Engineers. For those who read First Strike, you probably are already guessing what's coming.

Remember to review and check out the profile for a link to my blog and some notes on the behind the scenes of this chapter.