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.

18. Crystal Clear

Chapter 17: Crystal Clear

I am a free prince, and I have as much authority to make war on the whole world as he who has a hundred sail of ships at sea and an army of 100,000 men in the field; and this my conscience tells me!

-Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy

The Covenant surrounded them at every angle. They held the high ground in every respect. They outnumbered them easily. Yet not a single plasma bolt fired, nor did any needles fly. They just stood there, their weapons trained on the Spartans, Commander Shepard, his team, Doctor Halsey and Taq. The grapple launcher was good to go, but no one dared fire it should the shooting begin in earnest.

"Shepard, what's the plan?" Grunt asked, keeping his rifle trained on the galleries over them.

"I don't know," Shepard admitted. "Until we figure out why we're not dead yet, I got nothing."

"Cortana, can you remote pilot our dropship to our position?" Chief asked the AI, backing towards the grapple launcher.

"I have a link up to the autopilot, but we might have some complications," she warned. "Covenant ships are moving into range. Getting our Phantom in here in one piece won't be easy if they arrive."

At that moment, Chief noticed a pair of Hunters moving into position along one of the balconies. Their weapons were already charging, aiming down towards them. In a split instant, Chief rushed out to grab Halsey, pushing her to the ground. The move signaled the other Spartans, even Jun and Kat, to react instinctively themselves without orders. They rushed to cover, pushing Shepard's team and Taq to safety just as the barrage of hot green plasma was launched their way.

"Brace!" Chief shouted aloud.

Explosions rocked the area, as the fuel rod shots detonated around them. The entire floor shook, rocks burst apart, searing heat burned their shields as they hunkered down beneath the blasts. When it was over, they all stood back up, but remained in the cover of the excavated rocks and Forerunner arhitecure. They prepared to fire back, but there were no additional shots. Instead, every Covie in the shaft was now looking at the Hunters, and those nearest the Hunters were trying to get away from them.

Seconds later, the gallery where the Hunters who had fired were stand on erupted in a blaze of plasma. Every Covenant soldier who had a shot let loose on the area for a solid minute. When it was over, the entire gallery was a singed smoking remain, the Hunters were surely dead. It was followed by a bunch of screaming from what sounded like Elites. Cortana quickly translated with little prompting.

"They are restating a standing order," she told the team. "No one fires recklessly, the risk is too great."

It was now obvious to all why they had been spared so far. The good Doctor expressed their collective thoughts first.

"The crystal," Halsey reasoned. "They don't want to risk damaging it."

"Then that's probably our only ticket out of here," Shepard stated. "Taq, can your cannon reach the top of that shaft or not?"

Taq had walked back over to her grapple launcher, only to find it badly damaged. The Hunter's blasts had struck it true. Its propellant systems had taken a hit.

"Ugh, I was stretching its range before," she explained, looking over the damage. "We'll be lucky to get it halfway to the top now. It's lost too much pressure in the shooting."

"Then we need another way up," Jun said. "I guess we could fight our way up there."

"Not enough bullets between us," Kelly surmised. "And something tells me if any of us gets too far away from the crystal, we're fair game. Once they have a clean shot they will take it."

"I know I would in their position," Linda agreed. "We need a way to stick together."

Shepard's gaze had turned skyward and he soon started grinning.

"I think we have another exit," he told everyone.

Everyone looked up to see several Phantoms coming down from above, entering the shaft and slowly lowering to the floor itself. They were bringing in more ground troops, meant to no doubt slaughter them with ease and steal the crystal with minimal risk to the relic itself. Just like Kelly said, if they had a shot they would take it. Easier to prevent something's destruction if you were at point blank range after all.

"How is that an exit?" Taq asked, not at all impressed. "They're coming down to finish the job and pry the relics from our cold dead talons."

"Not if we get to them first," Shepard suggested. "Get that grapple launcher ready. It's going to get us out of here after all. Well, halfway out anyway."

---

Zek had a Phantom pick him and Retz up from the asteroid station, leaving his men behind to continue helping McKay finish up there. He said nothing the whole trip, his mind flush with questions. How had he found them? Was there something he missed? Did he make a mistake? How were Holland and Haverson going to react? Was this going to affect his cut of the intel? All in all, he never imagined a good mood could be drained so quickly away. He supposed he should've expected it though. It seemed like for everything that went right, something else had to go wrong. He couldn't just get cut a break for once in his damn life.

As he rushed onto the bridge, Varvok was already there. The batarian already knew the question on the pirate's mind before it was asked.

"They haven't deviated since we spoke," he explained. "They're continuing a basic search pattern along the edge of the rings."

"Have they found us?" Zek asked. "Is the cloak holding?"

"I'm not sure," Varvok admitted. "Everything we've picked up says they're trying to deep scan the area. All the debris in the rings could be making it hard to get a good reading."

That was partially why the asteroid base was set up here. Zek still didn't like it though. Zhoc was smarter than this. He probably knew he was somewhere in the rings of the gas giant. He just couldn't suss out where. So he blocked them off, knowing that he couldn't make a move without being spotted. Even with their cloak, there were systems capable of detecting a ship. Zhoc was rich enough and forward thinking enough to buy a few. Meaning right now, these rings were their best protection.

That was when the dashboard started glowing red. It was Zek's personal channel. Someone was hailing him, directly. Not the ship, him. Now things were becoming clear.

"Do we answer?" Retz asked, noting the light. "It could be a trap."

"We're already trapped," Zek huffed. "What's it matter?"

Zek activated the command console, opening the channel. To his surprise, it wasn't Zhoc on the other end. It was another Kig-Yar, wearing a skull mask, emblazoned with black symbols. The pirate sported a thick mane of quills, colored red, black with gold tips. His armor was covered in small bones, trophies of previous kills no doubt.

"I am Zon Gak, Master of the Black Skull Fleet of Pirate Lord Zhoc," he declared. "Shipmaster Zek, you have impeded the plans and machinations of our lord long enough. It ends today."

"Skip the dramatics, buddy, you sound like a Sangheili," Zek shot back disrespectfully.

Zon spat on the ground in response.

"You dare compare me to the species that murdered our lord's blood? You truly are a disgrace," he growled. "Why he seeks any form of parley with you is beyond me. But he wishes it all the same. Do you accept the request?"

"What if I say no?" Zek asked, already suspecting the answer.

"Then I fire every plasma torpedo I can until the rings of the gas giant are ash," Zon warned. "You will not survive the onslaught."

That was a stupid tactic, more likely to bring attention from the Covenant fleet in the area than anything. But McKay was still in the asteroid base and Zon's barrage could potentially hit her before their work was done down there.

"Fine, connect me," Zek relented.

Zon pressed a few buttons on his command chair before his image faded. In its place appeared Zhoc, not looking entirely too happy. Not enraged though, he just seemed pestered, annoyed. As if he had better things to do. Considering he wasn't here himself, that was the impression he wanted to give. Zek knew better.

"Zek, Zek, Zek," Zhoc sighed. "You know, at first this was kinda fun. I got to see what my old friend's son was made of. Then you decided to steal more of my property. My very important property. You really think you can muscle in on my racket now? It wasn't enough for you to team up with humans and snatch away my relic?"

"Anything I took was freely offered as stated in the pirate code," Zek declared. "If you can shoot at it, then it is up for grabs. Spoils to the victor. You should've taken better care of your stuff, old bird."

"Those Chorka aren't yours, they never will be," Zhoc informed him. "I spent years cultivating their pods, breeding and cross-breeding species from different seas. I smuggled every single one off the homeworld, put the time and effort into getting the system in place. You think taking some babies out of my pocket is going to supplant me? You're kidding yourself, boy. You always have."

"Then I hardly think this is about stealing those Chorka," Zek replied. "It's just something that pisses you off right now because it's the most recent thing. This is really about the relics, we both know that."

"True, but that doesn't mean I can't be pissed off about it," Zhoc grimaced, balling his talons into small fists. "It wasn't entirely hard to figure out where you'd go after stealing them though, that much was a happy little coincidence. Once my convoy's escorts failed to check in, tracking their last known coordinates was easy. Following their trail to the system you were in and then the Forerunner wreck was only slightly more difficult. The real challenge was figuring out where you'd go from there. Until I realized the best place for a bunch of fugitives to hide in, both human and kig-yar alike, was right under the noses of a Covenant glassing operation. So thank you, Zek. You made tracking you down so much simpler."

"And I presume you've instructed your minion wearing the skull to lock onto my ship's hailing frequency," Zek surmised easily. "You made sure to copy it down when we first had a talk like this. Just in case I got away."

"Unfortunately it's not a stable enough signal to get a good trace on you in those rings you're hiding in," Zhoc stated. "We wouldn't be having this conversation otherwise. I would have just had you killed and then see if I could find my relic in the wreckage. Instead, let us just continue to make this easier. Where is it?"

"Safe," Zek shrugged nonchalantly. "That's all that really matters at the moment. But you must be cracked if you honestly think I'm going to hand over the map to the friggin Astral Cutlass."

Zhoc said nothing but his glare was all Zek needed. The smugness crept onto the pirate's beak as he watched the scarred old bird seethe with rage.

"Did you really think we wouldn't figure it out by now?" Zek asked. "The Syndicate are after us because they don't want you to get your talons on it. The damn information was encoded onto the artifact. You had to have known it would be there. Seriously, after we had picked it up and everything, did you honestly think Taq wouldn't figure it out in time?"

"I managed to fool Taq long enough before her curiosity got the better of her," Zhoc exclaimed. "I suppose that was an error on my part. I did hire her because of her talents after all. I'm surprised you're still on this quest though, knowing what is at stake and who else is playing the game."

"I'd still like to know how you figured out the Cutlass was even a prize in all this," Zek wondered aloud. "That's not just something you stumble upon."

"Taq wasn't the only scholar on the Forerunners I hired, just the most effective," Zhoc explained, his anger disapating into pride. "I've turned over every rock and peered into every crack I could find. Tracking down Forerunner cities and structures, trying to discern truth from legend. I believed that the Cutlass was real and with every discovery I grew more and more convinced of that reality. References to a weapon cleaving through ships, the plundering of whole worlds, stories that were all hidden deep within the Forerunners' lore, their archives and their history. Discovering the mission of the Dauntless and later its location were both the culmination of several decades of work, blood and soul."

The pride faded, replaced once more by loathing.

"And you and that Ex of yours turned it all upside down in a few short seconds," Zhoc sneered in barely contained rage. "All because she couldn't keep her beak out of things she had no business peering into."

"Should've paid her better then," Zek chortled. "You may have just avoided all of this."

Zhoc scoffed at the suggestion, his sneer widening. Eventually his glare eased into a monotone expression, acceptance of what he could not change. He got back to his point.

"I've spent too many years on this project to see it go down the tubes like this, especially now," he stated plainly but clearly agitated. "You don't realize what is in motion, Zek. Too much is at stake and you're standing in the way of my progress. It's... infuriating."

"Why the hell do you even need the Cutlass?" Zek asked incredulously. "You're more than powerful enough to make a go at anything you want. Carve out any part of the galaxy for your own. Why make a legendary sword a priority for so long?"

"The Cutlass is more than just the legend, more than just a stupid song sung by sun-crazed buccaneers," Zhoc declared, reverence and respect in his tone. "It is a legacy, a promise, a symbol of kig-yar pirate supremacy. To hold it in your talons is to hold absolute power and the complete domination of space. Why else do you think the Syndicate fears the possibility of me holding it?"

It suddenly became very clear to Zek what this was really about. The Syndicate knew of Zhoc's plans, possibly through their spy network. Given what the Cutlass could do, they had come to the same conclusion that he had just reached now.

"You want to usurp the Syndicate queens," he reasoned. "Rule the three most powerful Pirate Clans, all under the banner of Snarlbeak, wielder of the Astral Cutlass. You wanna be Pirate King."

"The first ever Pirate King," Zhoc confirmed cooly. "The Queens have had their time and all they've done is sit on their asses and reminisce about nostalgia and the Golden Age. Before the Covenant, when their ancestors had power. The Syndicate fears the change I can bring Zek, change I've already sensed. I hoped I would have more time, but things are accelerating. Now that I'm this close, after so long... I have to complete it."

"Why? What's going on?" Zek asked confused. "What's so damn important you need to get the Cutlass now? You've waited for years, what's a few more?"

Zhoc just started to laugh, uproariously and maliciously. It was like he was in on a joke that Zek had unwittingly walked into. Lucky for him, Zhoc was more than eager to explain.

"You really should know, Zek," he chuckled. "You're part of the impetus for it. You and those human friends of yours."

Zek raised a brow in confusion, looking to the others for clarity. They were as clueless as him though, unsure of what the old bird was getting at.

"You really think you can destroy the sacred ring, Halo, the world the Covenant have been searching for since they began their empire, and there would be no repercussions?" Zhoc chortled. "That getting a price on your heads is all that happens? No, what you did created a ripple effect, the tides are changing within the Covenant, Zek. The Sangheili are losing favor. They failed in their sacred duty to the Covenant, it's only a matter of time before a power shift happens, I've forseen it. And when it happens, we must be ready. I must be ready."

"To do what?" Zek asked insistently.

Zhoc only grinned sinisterly.

"What else?" He declared happily. "With the Cutlass in my possession, the Syndicate will be forced to bow to my will or be destroyed. I will have the most powerful fleet in the galaxy. The perfect offering to give to the Covenant, to allow the kig-yar to take their rightful place within the hierarchy as the right hand of the Prophets."

Zek was taken aback, as was everyone else. Zhoc, Snarlbeak, the most powerful independent Pirate in the galaxy was planning to become a privateer and drag every single kig-yar he could with him. And, if Zek was being fair, as horrifying as that was he had to admit one thing about it. When the Old Bird set a goal he went for broke.

---

Taq held the grapple cannon tightly, angling it towards the nearest Phantom. It was swooping low, moving in a counterclockwise manner descent as it circled the chasm. The kig-yar's hesitation to shoot was obvious, Taq was no sharpshooter, she wasn't Zek. Thankfully there was someone here who was. Linda's eyes acted as Taq's own, guiding the female Jackal's aim ever so slightly.

"Little bit more towards the nose," she told the alien. "It needs to be right inside if this is gonna work."

"I got it, I got it," Taq assured. "Just be ready to move your asses."

As the Phantom took another turn, it's side-gunner scanning the area frightfully, Taq seized the moment. She fired the line, launching it right at the Phantom. The unggoy gunner shrieked aloud as he saw the giant hook speeding towards him. He ducked down, but the grapple missed him entirely. Instead, it embedded itself into the ceiling of the troop carrying section of the craft. The unggoy must've been laughing nervously at his good fortune for the moment, it would not last.

As soon as Taq launched the hook, Master Chief, Kat and Kelly had rushed up into position. The second it was taught, they hooked onto the line, activating the motorized pulleys. In an instant, they rushed upwards towards the Phantom, precariously dangling in mid-air as they clutched to the pulleys with one hand and aimed their weapons with the other. The unggoy on the side gun must've seen this, but he was too late to stop it. Before he could even level his gun on the Master Chief, the Spartan unleashed a burst of bullets from his assault rifle that took the little methane breather down.

Other nearby Phantoms and their passengers took some shots at the rapidly ascending Spartans, but their shields protected them for the most part. Kelly and Kat both fired back in retaliation, trying to supress the incoming fire, but they soon had new targets. Chief boarded the Phantom, kicking one of the Elites in the face and sending him flying out the other side of the craft. He locked his rifle with the talons of another Elite, as both Kelly and Kat jumped aboard.

"Cockpit, now!" He ordered them both.

Both Spartans rushed the cockpit, firing on the grunts in their way and pushing past the Elites that tried to stop them. Most of the unggoy opted to take their chances jumping out than staying to face the onslaught of three demons currently rushing their transport. The real test were the pilots of course, two Elites with no such desire to abandon ship.

Kelly unloaded her assault rifle into one, even as he jerked hard left to try and unbalance them. The result was Chief and the Elite he was struggling with tumbling to the floor of the craft, a few more Covenant soldiers falling right out of the Phantom itself and both female Spartans bashing into the walls of the cockpit.

Luckily, Kat, now laying against the wall, was more than prepared for the close-quarters brawl. She fired an overload attack from her robotic arm, decimating the shields of both sangheili pilots. Kelly, clutching onto co-pilot's chair, then pulled her pistol and fired point blank into both of the Elites' heads. As they slumped in their chairs, the Phantom began to spin wildly out of control. Kelly reacted quickly, grabbing the controls from the dead pilot and pushing them back up into a stable position. Kelly removed the corpse promptly and let Kat take the controls proper.

"We have the Phantom," she shouted back at Chief. "How many unwanted passengers are left?"

"Enough!" Chief responded in kind, blocking the strike of one Elite as it tried to punch him.

A follow up punch nearly unbalanced the Spartan, but he remained steadfast. The wild pitching of the craft had caused him to lose his gun, but he didn't need one to hold his own. Unfortunately there was more than one Elite in the Phantom though and this one had a Plasma sword. As he advanced on the Chief, the Spartan went over options in his head. He could duck the first swing, maybe get behind the Covie and knock his head in. Maybe goad the unarmed Elite into a well-timed strike that would cause the sword wielder to cut his own comrade in half.

However, neither option was needed as a blast of blue rammed into the Elite from behind, sending him flying right out of the Phantom altogether. Commander Shepard touched down onto the floor of the Phantom next, his well timed Biotic Charge more than appreciated. Chief was now free to block the next hit from his other Elite opponent, crossing his arms over his head to prevent the alien from breaking through his helmet.

"Need some help?" Shepard asked.

Chief merely rushed the Elite in the middle of one the punches, slamming him against a wall. The Spartan then grabbed the Elite by his armor's collar and violently shoved him out the open side door of the craft.

"All good, sir," Chief assured him.

Shepard just nodded and turned to the cockpit.

"Take us down!" He ordered.

The Phantom was now under fire from several sources, but its shields and armor held. Once it rocketed to the ground floor, most of the attacking Covenant stopped shooting. There was still too great a risk they'd damage their precious relic it seemed. All at once, everyone piled into the Phantom, as plasma rained down around their position. Halsey took a seat along the back wall, clutching the crystal as Taq took residence beside her. Anton and Fred took over the gunner positions while Zaeed, Jun and Linda took over sniper duty on either side of the Phantom's doors.

"Lot of dropships between us and our exit," Chief reminded Kelly and Kat. "Do not stop for anything, even after we're out. Whatever happens, keep flying."

"Don't need to tell me twice, Chief," Kelly assured, already in the co-pilot's chair.

The Phantom rose again, lifting from the floor and speeding towards the daylight at the top of the shaft. Every remaining Covie controlled Phantom moved to intercept, with light fire from nearby Covenant soldiers along the various galleries joining in. Kelly took up main weapons controls and responded with a hail of plasma fire from the Phantom's guns. She either dispersed or killed several Covenant soldiers as they made their way up the shaft.

The other Phantoms opened fire as they climbed, blasting everything they had at the hijacked dropship in unison. Their fire seemed to be concentrated on the engines, trying to damage or disable them. If those went, they'd fall back to terra firma. Perhaps they were hoping the relic would survive the fall. Either way, they couldn't let that happen.

Zaeed opened fire on the nearest Phantom to circle in, using his sniper rifle to take down the gunner with a well placed headshot. He then raked the passenger deck with fire, Jun joined in as well. The Phantom still managed to move into a position to open fire with its main guns regardless though, but Grunt wasn't about to let that happen. Taking the rocket launcher off his back, the krogan aimed right for the starboard engine of the enemy craft and let loose a barrage. The missiles impacted with the Phantom's engine, destroying it in a glorious fireball. The result was the enemy craft listed hard to the right and smashed into another Phantom, causing both to explode.

"Ha ha! Yes!" Grunt said exuberantly "Two for one!"

Grunt's celebration ended when renewed fire from one of the galleries raked the side door. Anton quickly responded, unleashing the heavy plasma cannon's fire onto the enemy positions.

"Kelly! Kat! Could you two hurry it up a little?" He asked.

"They keep blocking our exit," Kat called back. "We're trying to clear them!"

Linda leaned out the side of the Phantom's door to see for herself. Indeed there were a few Phantoms blocking their ascent. They needed to fix that promptly and she had an idea as to how. She briefly leaned back in to call up to the cockpit.

"Get me on level with the cockpit of one!" She ordered them. "I can get us an opening!"

"Fine, whatever you're doing make it quick though," Kat told her. "Leveling off into target range."

Their Phantom moved into a position that gave Linda a decent line of sight onto one of the enemy's cockpits. This was going to require a lot of precision. With the sustained fire from one of the galleries though, not an easy task. She turned to Fred on the gun behind her.

"Keep them off me," she told him.

"Got your back," he assured her.

Fred's plasma fire raked the gallery, ripping through several unggoy and taking down one very defiant Elite. Linda now had her window of opportunity, she scanned for the Covenant cockpit and took careful aim. Phantoms had incredibly thick armored plating, protecting the pilots inside while several screens showed you the outside. However, armor could be whittled down, especially with the right tools. Her sniper rifle was capable of cutting deep into heavily armored targets. She had disabled many a Covenant vehicle with it, all it took was knowing where to shoot.

Linda fired once on the cockpit, then again, aiming for the same spot. She kept firing, hitting the same spot twice more before reloading. After three more shots, she took a deep breath, held it and then loosed her final round. The bullet burst through the armor plating at last and ravaged the cockpit within, possibly killing the pilot. Linda could only attest to what she saw, the Phantom pitched suddenly into one of the galleries along the underground shaft, crashing into it and killing any who were still taking up positions there.

"Go for the opening, now!" She called out to Kelly and Kat.

"Way ahead of you, Lin," Kelly assured.

The Phantom boosted up towards the hole in the enemy perimeter, speeding towards the exit with reckless abandon. One of the Phantoms moved to intercept, but Kat refused to waver.

"Full power to the thrusters," she declared, flipping several switches. "Kelly, lay into him with everything left in the main gun!"

"On it!" Kelly answered. "Everyone back there, hold on!"

The Phantom climbed high and steep, everyone bracing against the sides of the craft. They brushed past the enemy dropship, slashing into their side with a devastating screech of metal. Even with that deafening sound though, Chief swore he felt a series of thumps against their roof.

"Did anyone else hear-?"

"Yeah," Shepard said, cutting in. "I think I did."

Swinging in from on top, kicking Anton off his gunner position, was a single Elite, armed with a plasma sword. He lashed out an attack at Zaeed, who just barely avoided getting his head sliced clean off. He fired a concussion shot at the Elite, sending him flying out from whence he came and down to the bottom of the shaft now far below them, but two more Elites soon replaced him. One opened fire with dual plasma rifles, the other charged towards the Master Chief with a Plasma Sword.

The Spartan leader ducked the incoming slash, and then brought a hammering elbow strike down along the Covie's back. The Elite turned to attack, but in his singular focus on the Master Chief he left his side open for Commander Shepard, who delivered a biotic punch to the side of the alien's face. This was followed up, fairly quickly, by the Master Chief kicking the alien in the jaw. Battered and dazed, Shepard let loose a biotic throw that sent the alien tumbling out of the craft.

The other Elite was dealt with when Jun opened fire on him with his pistol, breaking his focus from the attack. That gave Grunt and opening. He charged he Covie, headbutting him in the stomach. The sangheili stumbled back momentarily before the krogan brought out his shotgun and blasted him with it at point blank range. The force of the shot, sent the Elite tumbling out of the craft's open side door, bloodied and beaten.

It seemed like they were in the clear, when huge green plumes of plasma sudden burst forth around them. Fuel Rod Cannon shots, the Covenant were getting desperate to stop them. Even if it cost them the crystal relic, for some the cost of losing the relic was now too high. Jun, returning to his position, quickly locked on to the arching fuel rod shots, trying to trace their origin.

"Get them off us or we won't make it!" Kelly called back to the sharpshooters.

Jun eventually spotted one of the Fuel Rod cannon shooters, an unggoy, rushing through the crowded galleries below and taking pot shots where he could.

"I got one," he called out.

He took careful aim, even as the Phantom pitched and leaned in its evasive maneuvers. With a single shot he ended the unggoy's explosive assault, striking him clean through the heart.

Zaeed, who had gotten back to his original sharpshooter position, also found one of the potential threats. This one was more dug in, however, hiding behind some rocks as he opened fire. Zaeed didn't have a good shot on him, but he did have a good shot on a stalactite just over the gas sucker's head. He opened fire on it instead, blasting it free of the cavern roof. The rocks descended and crushed the Covie, ceasing his Fuel Rod assault.

The way to the exit of the shaft was now plainly clear. Kat and Kelly punched it hard, pushing the Phantom's engines to their limits as they rocketed past the last few offending dropships in their way. They burst forth from the underground shaft, emerging into the skies above Reach. As soon as they felt they free and clear of Covenant threat, they leveled off and and eased the Phantom's ascent.

"Well, that was touch and go for a hot minute," Kelly observed.

"Just a minute?" Kat asked, turning around to face the back of the cockpit. "Is everyone okay back there?"

Shepard did a quick head count before answering.

"A bit bruised, but we're all okay," he assured them. "Set course for Castle Base. We need to pick up the Admiral and get the hell off this planet."

"Might be a slight hitch in that plan, Shepard," Zaeed warned, as he gazed out the open door. "Take a look."

Shepard and Chief marched over to his position and saw what merited the foreboding tone of the old mercenary. Out of the blackened dust of Reach's devastated horizon, there appeared several Covenant ships of all sizes and makes. And they were all moving on a trajectory towards their position, towards Castle Base. The Covenant in the caverns below had called in their discovery and their leadership had responded in kind.

"I don't think they're going to let us leave, guys," Cortana quipped aloud over the radio.

"Raise the Normandy, Cortana," Shepard requested. "We might need some help on this."

---

Zek was still processing it all. Of all the plans he thought Zhoc had, this was never one he considered. For a moment he thought the old bird was messing with him. As he looked at the Pirate Lord's self-assured and satisfied face though, he knew it was true.

"You want to unite the Pirate Clans under Covenant rule?" He asked. "Why? You don't believe in their garbage religion anymore than I do!"

"I don't have to believe in it," Zhoc claimed. "I'm looking at this from a purely economical standing, spirituality is the last thing on my mind. The fact is, the Covenant is the single strongest governing force in the entire Galaxy. It is simply more profitable to be in their employ than to be against them."

"It's really not," Retz informed him. "This is coming from two kig-yar who know what Covenant stewardship is like."

"Because you had nothing to offer but a single ship," Zhoc informed them. "Of course you got the raw end of the deal. With the Syndicate under my heel, the fleets of the Pirate Clans would be mine to command. And with the added devastating power of the Cutlass in my hand, the Covenant would have no choice but to come to the bargaining table once I make my offer."

Zek just chortled. He knew Zhoc could be arrogant, that came with being a pirate, but presuming that he'd have any kind of say was laughable. Even with the Cutlass and the fleets of the Syndicate, what made him think he had any chance at securing any better deal than countless other powerful Pirates forced to bend the knee? Yet he seemed so confident of his chances. Why?

"So you end up with a Sangheili overseer controlling your entire destiny while the fucking Prophets scream sermons in your ears," Zek joked sardonic. "Sounds like a real step up in the world."

"You're not listening, Zek," Zhoc growled. "The sangheili are on their way out. I've seen the ripples. Those damn warrior cultists are losing their standing. It will only take the proper stimulus to convince the Prophets of their failure. The hierarchy will shift, violently, dramatically and that's the best chance the kig-yar will ever have in centuries. The chance to climb the ladder and take their rightful place above those disgusting warmongering bastards at long last."

His anger seemed to have given way to elation and excitement, a sinister smile reaching up along his beak.

"Think of it, Zek," he began. "My heel on the very neck of the sangheili, ordering them around, casting them off into pointless deaths and battles. Their armor stripped and their weapons ours to do with as we please. No longer barely above cannon fodder with those gas sucking little idiot unggoys, we'd have true power and the chance to lord it over the sangheili at long last."

It was then that things became clear. Zek remembered how Zhoc had gotten into the position he now held. How he became Snarlbeak. Why he hated the sangheili so much. Why he wanted this. It was so obvious, Zek was shocked he hadn't realized it all sooner.

"This is about your sister," he realized. "Isn't it?"

Zhoc expression returned to a more dour and disquieting one, his gleeful joy at the idea of an oppressed and broken sangheili brought low by painful memories. He took a moment to compose himself, and then let himself speak openly.

"Zvaz was the only family I ever had," he stated. "The only bird I could ever say I loved. Sibling love, a bond between blood that cannot be broken. As an only child, I don't expect you to understand that, Zek. You never had a mother who abandoned you. Or a father who beat you, who treated you like shit for no good reason. Who came back from his plundering drunk off his ass on ichor and decided to finish things off by making me bleed. And who shared in that pain? Who did her best to protect me from it? Who inevitably gutted the bastard in the middle of one of his worst rages against me? Zvaz did. She was more than my sister, she was the only real mother I ever had."

Zek stood silent, even as the rage started to boil over in Zhoc's eyes.

"And then they took her from me," the old pirate sneered. "Struck her down in her prime like she was garbage. They destroyed my family and I swore I would avenge that death. I swore I would make them bleed slow and long until their entire race was but a shell of its former glory."

"What does the Syndicate have to do with that?" Retz asked. "It was a sangheili mercenary who murdered your sister. Why drag them down into your revenge?"

"Because it's how it should be!" Zhoc declared angrily. "Zvaz was destined for greater things than what she had! I was the brains behind her rule, sure, but I never questioned my place. I knew one day she would rise to prominence, take the head of the Syndicate for herself. Everyone knew that, even the queens knew it! But they denied her every attempt! Refused our admittance into any of their clans! They saw her ambition and feared it! Feared how her ascendence would cost them their power!"

Zhoc finally settled down, his anger only slightly subsiding.

"Now Zvaz is dead and the throne that rightfully belonged to her is sat upon by an aged queen who still thinks herself a defender of an age long since past and gone," he explained, practically spitting as he did. "She could've brought us into a new era, made us a greater power. Well, if Zvaz cannot have the throne, I will take it in her stead. My sister will be avenged in full, everything denied to her I will achieve. It will not bring her back, but in some small way... she gets the last laugh against all of them."

"And you really think she'd want you to use the Cutlass to basically enslave us to the Covenant's bullshit?" Zek asked in kind.

"What's the alternative?" Zhoc asked, sneering as he did. "A bunch of old hens sitting around and governing how Pirates live from the shadows? How has that worked out for us so far? They fight so hard to maintain a semblance of a status quo that our entire society has stagnated. They keep saying it's about preserving the traditions and the legacy of piracy in the face of annihilation. All they've accomplished is an eternal stalemate born out of nostalgia for something they never had. The Golden Age is dead, Zek. It died a long time ago. If kig-yar piracy is to survive, it must evolve. That means getting on the winning team."

"I don't consider joining the Covenant winning," Zek informed him. "From what I experienced it's more like bleeding to death while suffocating."

Zhoc just rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Such a lack of foresight," he groaned in frustration. "In the position of power alongside the Prophets we can direct policy, organize proper raids, exploit their system for our own ends. In time, we could even supplant the Prophets themselves. Run the whole damn show even, if we play our cards right."

"With you in charge of course," Retz noted, venom in his sarcastic tone.

Zhoc could only smile proudly at the very prospect in response, the sardonic ire ignored entirely .

"Of course me, I'd have the Cutlass and it was I who helped Zvaz build her empire in the first place," he declared. "Think of what my talent at logistics could do at the head of the Covenant war machine. Think of all I can do for the kig-yar race with the Cutlass in my claws. We'd be reborn, remade... stronger than ever."

Zek slammed his fist down on his chair in anger, he had heard just about enough of this disgusting plan.

"You're selling us out, old man! That's all you're doing!" He shouted in a rage at the pirate lord. "The pirate life is about freedom! Pure and simple liberty! You're trying to tie us to a fucking system of bullshit rules and laws! And for what? So you can feel better about how your sister got screwed over by life?"

"Zvaz would agree with this plan," Zhoc declared unwaveringly, his voice booming across the comm-channel. "She was a visionary, like me! We must change if we are to truly thrive!"

"Fuck that!" Zek screeched back at him. "I refuse to ever work under the thumb of those long-necked pieces of shit! Never again! It's not happening, old man! Even if you do somehow get the Cutlass, no one will follow you into that fucked up future of yours!"

"As if you're any different, Zek," Zhoc chortled. "You just chose the side that's about to lose everything."

Zek's faced turned sour. It took a solid second or two for him to realize what the old pirate was getting at.

"What? The humans? I'm not working for them," he insisted. "It's a business arrangement."

"Ha! Please," Zhoc laughed derisively. "All you've done is trade one master for another. Specifically, you've accepted a partnership with a species that is not long for this galaxy. You know as well as I do that the humans are going to lose this little war. The Covenant can't be stopped. Why even entertain notions of an alliance with a race that is about to go extinct?"

"Maybe I just like rooting for the underdog a little," Zek shrugged. "Better than signing away the soul of piracy to get an extra fucking cred or two."

Zhoc could only shake his head in dismay.

"You're so naive, Zek," he stated, a despondent look on his face. "It's just so sad, you have so much potential and you're throwing it away like an idiot. Fooling yourself into thinking you can play this game with them. As soon as they get the chance, the humans will dump you like rotten razorfin chum and leave you for dead."

"Maybe I'll dump them first," Zek claimed. "Who can say? I'm a bit of a gambler in any case. So I'll take my chances with the xenophobic hairless apes for now. At least I don't feel nearly as shitty about helping them out. Never could say the same when I was the lap dog of the Covenant."

"It will end badly, Zek," Zhoc warned. "Whatever your hopes are, whatever dreams of fortune and glory you have, they're doomed to failure. Same as your freedom, it's fleeting. Your father learned that the hard way."

Zek just stuck his tongue out, dismissively sticking his tongue out at the very mention of his dad.

"Like I give a fuck about what that dipshit learned," he said grimacing. "He's dead, I'm still here. That's all I care about."

"But you should give a fuck, Zek," Zhoc claimed, placing his talons together as he grinned. "Because you see, even now, you're more like him than you think."

Zek's brow furrowed in anger at the notion.

"Bull, I'm nothing like him," he asserted through a gritted beak.

"Oh but you are, Zek, far too much like him," Zhoc claimed most confidently. "You see, I know the truth."

"Truth about what?" Zek asked, his disgusted tone ever apparent.

Zhoc simply smiled sinisterly.

"I know what truly killed the great Captain Dread Feather."

---

The trip to Castle Base wasn't terribly long, but it certainly felt like it. The impending dread of approaching Covenant reinforcements was not exactly a good one. Kat had managed to disable to tracking beacon for the Phantom, but it was a temporary fix. The Covenant would be scouring the area now, intent on finding the Crystal and killing the infidels who had dared to take it from them.

That was hardly the worst of it though, as Cortana soon informed Shepard.

"I keep contacting the fleet, Normandy included, but I'm getting no response," she explained. "I don't think the signal is being dropped, but there may be some interference on their end. The other likely scenario is that they are unable to contact us as the situation in the system has become problematic."

"You think they've grown suspicious of the Ascendant?" Shepard asked the AI.

"The Covenant chatter says they're contacting home, trying to get confirmation on the Carrier's status," Cortana replied. "I imagine if they don't know it has been hijacked yet they will soon. Holland likely would've taken them out of range of enemy scanners if the risk of discovery became to great. Until I hear from them though it's all speculation on my part."

It wouldn't matter though, not as far as the Normandy was concerned at least. Shepard's crew wouldn't abandon them, not if they believed there was a way to reach them on the surface.

"How long until your crew decides you've been out of contact too long?" Chief asked the Commander bluntly.

"At this point, not long," Shepard assured him. "Miranda won't appreciate such a big gap in scheduled check ins and Joker is probably already itching for the go signal along with Garrus. I'd just like to warn them what they're dealing with before they jump into the fire with us."

"Then maybe we need a way off this planet before their hand gets forced," Chief suggested. "This Phantom can reach orbit, can't it?"

"Yeah, but with all the bad guys in the sky it will be a choppy takeoff," Shepard warned. "If we're spotted..."

"They'll send everything they have at us just to recover the crystal, I know," Chief agreed. "We need a way through their blockade."

"If this transport has a stealth drive it would be easier," Shepard stated.

"Well, maybe we're already headed in the right direction."

The two men looked over to Halsey, still huddled near Taq, clutching the crystal in her hands.

"Castle Base had a project it was running," she explained. "Confiscated Covenant Cloaking tech, recovered from some of their ships we destroyed. I'm no engineer, but in theory one could be jury rigged to work for a short time with a Phantom dropship."

It was a better plan than nothing, and they still had to pick up Whitcomb and his people at the rendezvous anyway. Chief, however, had to be sure there was a better chance than maybe. Cortana gave him the answer.

"It's a dicey procedure, but you can make the tech work for this dropship," she assured. "Chances are the system burns out within thirty minutes as the Phantom's coolant systems can't keep up with the massive heat sink and various power couplings maintaining the field around the ship with give way. The device is meant for capital ships after all, not Phantoms. The power supply isn't there. However, short term cloaking is doable and would get us beyond the atmosphere at least. Maybe high enough to get into range of the fleet."

That was all Chief needed to hear, he looked to the cockpit.

"Kat, you're all about tech. Can you pull it off?"

"With some help, sure," she promised. "But you have to find me the damn thing first though. I trust they're intact?"

"About as intact as you can get for something that came out of a blown up ship," Halsey informed her.

"Good enough," the Spartan replied. "Castle Base is coming up, taking us to rendezvous with Whitcomb's position."

Castle Base itself was in relatively one piece, but not by much. Most of it had been seemingly ransacked or used for target practice. The superstructure remained standing, but the scars of battle were visible everywhere. Smashed walls, broken windows, collapsed platforms around the exterior, the place had seen better days. The only sign of life was a small grouping of Marines around one of the landing pads up on top of the building.

"Looks stable enough if they're standing on it," Kelly reasoned.

"Taking us down," Kat reported.

The Phantom touched down on the pad, Whitcomb was already there waiting for them as they walked out of the dropship. His eyes quickly latched onto to Halsey, who had bothered to force her way to the front of the group.

"Doctor Halsey, didn't expect to see you again," he said to her graciously. "Not alive anyway."

"I like surprising people, hopefully we have a few more up our sleeves," she declared. "We'll need it to get out of here. Have you been able to secure the base?"

"We did what we could," Whitcomb explained. "We're nowhere near the strength required to cover this position."

"I just need to know if the lower R&D levels appear to be intact," Halsey clarified astutely.

"Seemed like it from our sweeps," he replied. "Why's that?"

"We have a plan to sneak past the enemy patrols and make it back into space," Shepard explained. "But we need one of the stealth drives being researched here to make it work."

Whitcomb just nodded, not that he had many other options to suggest of course.

"So long as it gets us out of here alive," he reasoned. "How long do you think it will take to get us airborne?"

"I'll need to see what we got to work with," Kat replied. "We should head down there now if we want to get started as soon as possible."

Chief nodded and looked to Kelly who was already starting to follow Kat inside. He hoped they could work fast, even from here he could see the amassing Covenant ships scouring the area over the horizon. They weren't glassing anything yet, but Chief imagined it wouldn't be long until they did. However, there was a more immediate threat towards them.

"Hey, people," Zaeed spoke up, standing near the ledge with a pair of high powered binoculars. "We might have some guests coming over."

Shepard and Chief walked over as the old merc handed his Commander the binoculars. Peering through them, Shepard watched over the scattered remnants of the mountain forest, as Phantoms began to land amidst the brush.

"Ground units, probably moving in on the base itself," he observed. "They're trying to minimize the risk of destroying the crystal as much as possible."

Even Chief could see the Phantoms from his position, he didn't need binoculars to know how bad this potentially was.

"There are enough dropships in there to field dozens of squads," he warned.

"Company strength at least," Cortana chimed in. "More than enough to overrun us."

"We need to keep them at bay," Shepard reasoned. "Distract them away from the landing pad and bottleneck their forces on the way to it."

"I can pull up a map of Castle Base and give you some good positions to set up at," Cortana offered. "Beyond that though, it's a matter of holding the line."

Chief was already pulling the numbers in his head. Kat and Kelly would need each other's help along with Halsey to get the drive up and running in the Phantom. That only left him with four other Spartans and Shepard's squad. None of Whitcomb's people were in any condition to assist. Already, a strategy had formed.

"The Covenant will make a beeline to fight any Spartans specifically," he suggested. "They'll suspect we're protecting the crystal ourselves. We can direct the majority of their forces away while you set up a bottleneck to prevent any other squads who might have more initiative."

"Alright, but if things get too hot, make sure you have an escape plan," Shepard told him. "A way to fall back to us if it all goes to hell."

"Cortana can find us a path," Chief assured. "Don't worry, I'll be back at the dropship before it goes too far south."

Shepard just chuckled.

"Actually, I'm kinda hoping you back track to my position first," he jokingly corrected. "With my luck it's not going to be long before the other half of their forces find their way to my doorstep."

Chief just nodded at the bit of levity and turned to his Spartans. Once again, it was time to live up to their namesake.

---

"I had been working with your father for decades at this point," Zhoc began, a hint of warmth in his voice for once. "He was a good client, always paid his debts, never went back on deals, gave me a cut of various leads I acquired for him. Hell, he helped set up a lot of my early logistical holdings, cleared a lot of routes for me. So I had gotten into the habit of never really asking him questions and when he requested a ton of ship upgrades for his flotilla I didn't ask what they were for. In retrospect, I probably should've been more inquisitive."

Zek wasn't sure why he was bothering to listen. Even now, he cared so little about his father's legacy that it it really didn't matter to him. He had never asked Zhoc to share stories of his dad, content to his father's former connections as nothing more than a way to get a leg up on some matters. This was the first time Zhoc had ever really shared anything about his dad on his own accord though. That was enough to make Zek wonder. What was so important about this story?

"While we were finalizing the deal, Dread Feather and I sat down for drinks," Zhoc continued reverently. "It didn't take long for him to start talking. He kept going on about the good old days, the Golden Age. How kig-yar once charted their own destinies, with nothing but their spirit of adventure, drive for fortune and lust for glory. He felt like we had lost so much, gained so little, that nothing was improving and we just kept bleeding while pretending we could scrape out a living. He didn't seem angry about it though, he was more sad at how we had 'lost our way', as he claimed. In the end, I just kept nodding and agreeing with him before he finally said goodbye as the deal finalized and everything was installed on his ships."

"What kind of things were installed?" Retz asked curiously, much to Zek's disgruntlement. He just wanted to get to the point so Zhoc would shut up already.

"Weapons systems, armor enhancements, shield upgrades, the things you'd need if you were going on a high value raid," Zhoc explained. "Or, in Dread Feather's case... war. The last time I ever saw him in the flesh was that day he walked out of my bar on the Hollow. The last time I saw him period though, was when I got this message, sent over my private line."

Zhoc hit a few buttons on his console, transmitting an old holo-message to Zek's computer. In moments, a tiny image of a kig-yar, dressed in battle scarred armor, with crimson, black-tipped feathers covering the top of his head, a chipped beak and a patch over one badly scarred eye, appeared on the console. Zek already knew who it was from the pictures his mother had kept of the bastard.

"Pirates of the galaxy, hear me now!" Dread Feather declared in a fearlessly authoritative voice. "I am Dread Feather! You may know of me by my deeds, my raids, my stories of plunder. All of which pale in comparison to the glories of old! When kig-yar sailed both sea and then void with no fear in their hearts. The pursuit of our fortunes all that guided us! A time when we were free to chart our own courses! A time that was stolen from us by aliens who forced us into a damnable Covenant! A contract that has robbed us of what we are! I have tried to live up to the ideals of our ancestors. To keep what they began alive! I have come the realization, however, that I and others like me have all failed to accomplish this. We squeak out these existences for ourselves, not taking risks, sticking to small earnings, venturing into markets beneath the notices of the Covenant. We hide and run and sneak, all saying it is necessary if we wish to survive. Well I'm done surviving! I want to live! I want us all to live again as we once were!"

Zek looked to Retz, breaking his momentary stare with the hologram. He wanted to see what his old friend thought of all this. Retz could only shrug in bemusement, his own shock apparent.

"The Covenant think us weak and pathetic!" Dread Feather screeched. "That we can be cowed and tamed and marginalized! That they have already beaten us down! I say no! Together amassed, the kig-yar are stronger than any of their fleets! United, the forces of the Pirate Clans, working together, can bring their empire crashing down around them and see our blackened endless skies free once more to pillage at our discretion! I ask you all now, to join me! I have the weapons, the numbers, the plan! Together, as one, we can free ourselves once more! We can bring back the Golden Age! Witness the dawn of a new era for yourselves! Come to these coordinates and you will see the age of piracy reborn anew!"

Zhoc cut the message off there, leaving Zek relatively stunned.

"Dread Feather's transmission was intercepted, I was one of the very few who actually got the thing," Zhoc stated. "The Covenant ambushed his sneak attack on a military convoy and, doubtlessly thinking he would soon be joined by fellow Pirates who shared his ideals, he stayed to fight it out and prove to all kig-yar the Covenant could be beaten. That's why he didn't take the deal to join them, even when it was obvious he didn't stand a chance. He believed he had an ace up his sleeve, a cause."

Zek said nothing, his mind mulling over the revelation as Zhoc continued.

"All this time you thought your father died selfishly, to cement himself in legend, getting his whole flotilla murdered because he refused to accept that he was outmatched," the old pirate stated. "In reality, he died because he had become infected with idealism. He died because he felt serving the Covenant wasn't a life worth living and out of the vain, pathetic hope that other Pirates would come to lay down their lives for a stupid dream."

Zek understood what the old bird was getting at. He was drawing a parallel or at least attempting to. It sickened him, made Zek want to wretch. He refused, he wouldn't give Old Scratch the satisfaction. So he did the next best thing, denial.

"So what?" He asked. "You think this makes me like him? I'm not out to start a revolution."

"You're out to carve a slice of freedom pie for yourself and you'd rather die than be a 'slave' to the Covenant again," Zhoc reiterated plainly. "In my eyes that makes you more like your father than you give yourself credit for."

Zek slammed his fist on his chair and stood up violently from it.

"Take it back!" He demanded. "You take that back! I am nothing like that fucking asshole! He abandoned my mother! He abandoned us!"

"As I recall you did that to Taq once yourself," Zhoc sinisterly mocked as he laid back in his chair. "So really, my guess is you didn't fall too far from the tree at all. So how long before you decide a revolution IS what you want, Zek? Because honestly you're on that path already. No one goes after the Cutlass just to kick back and take it easy after they're done. No one joins a group of desperate primates on their way out against an enemy that is glassing them from the face of the galaxy without some acceptance of where that leads."

Zek sifted angrily through his beak, breathing harder and harder as he tried to block Zhoc out of his head. Retz eventually grabbed his shoulder, shaking his head. It was what calmed him down at last.

"Dread Feather is dead because he tried to defy the inevitable, my plan at least preserves a semblance of what we are and gives us a higher status in the ruling order," Zhoc declared. "I don't have a cause, Zek, I have a plan, there's a difference. Causes are born of dreamers and if you have any smarts in that head of yours, you'll wake from the dream you're languishing under and give this up. Now, before you join your father in his fool's errand."

Zek turned back to the screen, his anger gone, replaced with purpose and drive. When he looked on Zhoc now, he did not see Snarlbeak at all. He just saw the amalgamation of everything he hated from his life under the heel of the Covenant. A life that was now trying to claw him back in, stomp him down and destroy him. Only this time, it wore the face of salvation. In reality... more empty promises. And he was done with those.

"My father was a fool, an idiot and an asshole," he declared. "But if he got one thing right in his miserable excuse for a life, it was that he knew that freedom ain't something you throw away. I did that once, never happening again. You might think what I want is a stupid dream, Snarlbeak, but it's mine at least. And it doesn't come at the cost of everything else I believe in either. You wanna sell out and say it's for sister dearest? Go ahead, but you'll have to fight me every step of the way from now on. I swear it."

"Then you're siding with the humans and their all but certain extinction?" Zhoc laughed. "How is serving them any different than the Covenant? You die sooner? Is that your preference? A quick demise?"

"I'm not siding with the humans, I'm siding with whatever it is that pisses you and your future bosses off the most," Zek adamantly stated. "I won't fight a war for either side, but I will fight to keep what I have! Currently that means a relic and soon enough a Cutlass. And once I get it, I'm finding you, Zhoc and I'm running you right the fuck through with it."

Zhoc, to his credit, didn't seem at all threatened or angry at the statement. He just sighed.

"Such a waste of potential," he said, sounding so disappointed. "You really are like your father. Well, at least I'll be quicker than the Covenant were when they killed him."

The screen minimized, revealing the face of Zon Gak once again, still patiently sitting in his own captain's chair.

"Zon, disable his ship," Zhoc ordered. "Force him to tell us where the relic is... then kill him."

"By your order, Snarlbeak," Zon replied.

Zhoc's image soon vanished, leaving only Zon's mug to fill the screen. While the company had not improved at all, Zek figured he could at least work with this situation now that Snarlbeak had left matters in the hands of an underling. He could manage an underling.

"So much for bombarding, huh?" Zek asked. "You can't exactly interrogate me if I'm blown to atoms."

"I can flush you out, idiot," Zon assured. "I still outnumber you in ships and firepower."

"Ooh, big bird, gonna shoot randomly and hope I scare, huh?" Zek chuckled derisively. "Some strategy. Come on, douche. Where's your fucking stones? You want me? Come in here and take me."

Zek cut the transmission then and there, silencing the Zon before he could yap about how superior he was or some other such nonsense. Hopefully, he'd take the bait.

"So our plan is to goad him into bringing his forces into the debris field, I take it?" Varvok asked.

"Where his sensors will be even more scrambled and his maneuvering options will be limited," Zek added. "But it's the only way he can disable our ship and board us without possibly killing us in the process. He knows that, I've just forced the issue a bit with some insults."

"Our cloak can keep us off his radar for a time, but chances are he knows about it," Retz warned. "We can't be certain Zhoc hasn't outfitted his ships with anti-stealth tech."

"Yeah, but he'll be looking for a Corvette," Zek reminded him. "He only thinks he knows all the angles, but unlike dear old dad, I got an actual ace up our sleeve. One that doesn't require a hope and a prayer."

Activating a secure comm-channel, he contacted McKay back at the ONI station.

"Captain, how are things down there?" He asked.

"Set to leave, but I'm assuming that our party crashers are still a problem."

"Astute as ever, Captain, but no worries, I got a plan," Zek assured her. "Bring that Prowler back here with you, and as many of those improvised explosives your rebel friends left behind. I'll explain when you get here."

As he closed communications, Zek next turned to Varvok.

"Four-Eyes, I'm gonna need your saboteur expertise on this one," he told the batarian. "You ever fly stealth missions?"

Varvok just grinned.

"More than a few," he replied. "Just tell me what you need from me and my people. We'll handle the rest."

---

The central courtyard of Castle Base was in rough shape. The rubble, debris and destroyed vehicles dotted the area, turning it into a relative maze. As unappealing as it looked though, it had made the place a perfectly serviceable defensible area. There was plenty of cover, lots of ways to flank the enemy and a number of perches for a sniper to relocate to if need be. For the Master Chief, the only real concern was getting the Covenant to run headlong into it rather than head straight into the base proper. For that, he was relying on Linda and Jun. Both had taken up positions in the partially destroyed raised overlook platform nearby. They were keeping their eyes peeled for the enemy to break cover and move on the base itself.

Down on the ground, Chief had already taken up a position in the debris field alongside Fred and Anton. They remained still, silent, waiting for Linda's signal. Already, Chief was planning out where they'd need to move to when the shooting started. There was a perfect flanking path the right of him with great concealment. If they could keep the Covenant's eyes off it, any one of them could get right behind them. So long as they were in the right place of course. As Chief contemplated this though he was contacted by Kelly over the radio.

"Chief, good news, there was a working stealth drive in R&D, just as Halsey said," she reported. "Looks pretty banged up though. Installation might take a bit longer than we thought. Kat's on it and Halsey is helping us, but there's a lot of wires to uncross and the like."

"It's alright, we can hold out for as long as you need us to," Chief assured her. "Just don't stop working for anything. We'll see you when this is done."

Chief scanned the courtyard again, his eyes peeled on the horizon. The Covenant seemed to be taking their sweet time moving in. Given their superior numbers, that was a lot more cautious of them than he expected them to be. More than likely they were trying to recon the target before the assault began.

"Fred, Anton, we need to conserve ammo on this," he warned. "Short controlled bursts, lead them in close enough to hit. The longer we hold them down here the more time Kelly and Kat have."

"Don't worry, Chief," Fred assured. "I got plenty of ammo to spare. Enough to fill this whole courtyard with Covie corpses."

"We'll see how accurate that statement is soon enough, Fred," Linda informed him over the radio. "We got Covenant, headed right for the base."

Chief couldn't see them from his position, but he trusted Linda's eyes more than his own for the moment.

"Find the highest ranking Elite among them," he ordered. "His subordinates will be forced to avenge him. It's the most likely way to force them over here."

"Spotted him," Linda reported. "Head of the pack, flanked by some minor officers. He's in my sights, going loud in three, two..."

The gunshot that rung out was soon followed by another and then a third.

"Two confirmed, one injured," Linda shouted over the radio. "Whole wave now headed in on our position! Relocating to offer cover fire. Jun, keep your sights on the treeline!"

Chief switched the safety off his assault rifle.

"Several movement contacts approaching fast," Cortana warned. "Seems Linda kicked the hornet's next pretty good."

"Just as planned," Chief stated, moving up to aim over his cover.

He soon spotted a number of grunts and their Elite handlers, as well as a few Jackals, moving into the courtyard, firing up at the platform above in case of snipers. Chief waited for one of the Elites to get a bit closer before letting loose with his rifle. The bullets slashed into the alien's shields and soon ripped through his body. As his body fell,the other Covenant soon rushed to cover as Anton and Fred opened fire as well.

Now the firefight was in full swing. The grunts scattered about, seeking safety, while the Elites tried to retain order. The Jackals huddled up, trying to push their way through the fire. Chief was already on them. He moved through the debris, darting from place to place, while Jun kept fire on the Jackal column. It kept them from spotting the Spartan leader, as he soon got behind them and unloaded into each with a trio of quick bursts that took them down.

"Everyone, spread out, fire and move," he ordered over the radio. "The more of us they think there are, the more confused and panicked their assault will get. Then we can break them."

"Would be easier if we decapitated their command structure," Linda suggested. "I'm trying to get a line of sight on their Elites, but they're keeping their heads low. They're not giving me enough time to line something up."

"Pinned is better than advancing," Chief informed her. "Keep them bottled up. Anton, Fred, move to flanking position, I'll keep their eyes off you."

Chief scanned the battlefield to find a pair of Elites dug in behind what was left of a burnt out Warthog. He moved in as close as possible before he opened up, firing a burst of suppression fire over their heads. The Elites returned the shots with some of their own, forcing Chief to take cover. He had still distracted them effectively enough. Cortana alerted him to Anton and Fred's positions with a waypoint on his HUD. They moved quickly through the debris dotting the area before coming up on the Elites' flank. Fred tossed in a grenade before Anton opened up with his rifle. The initial blast damaged the aliens' shields before Anton's bullets cut them down.

Nearby grunts soon scattered as their leaders fell, Chief picking them off as they broke cover. Even as they fell back though, the Spartans maintained their position. They were not about to chase them out into the open. The idea was to keep them pinned here, away from Shepard's position. However, the plan may have been working too well.

"Chief, reinforcements are moving in on us," Linda warned suddenly. "Several squads, pushing up fast."

"See if you and Jun can thin them out a little," Chief ordered. "Anton, Fred and I will reposition and catch them in the crossfire."

Chief moved back through the debris, setting himself up in the center, while Anton and Fred split up to the left and right of the courtyard respectively.

"Keeps your eyes open, pick your targets, zero in on them," Chief told them. "How are we on ammo?"

"Good for now, sir," Anton shouted out.

"Managing," Fred replied as well. "But I'm keeping an eye on the Covie guns they keep dropping, just in case."

Chief hoped it would come to that, but he knew how quick bullets seemed to run out when facing the Covenant. Thankfully, Linda and Jun could be counted on to cull a few of the enemies' numbers before they reached them. True to form he could already hear both of them taking shots at the incoming aliens.

Linda did not stay in one spot for long. She repeatedly fired and moved, never allowing the Covenant the chance to zero in. The idea was to make them think there were more of them, that their was their main line of defense and not a distraction. If they were concerned about several snipers, they'd be less inclined to move up so quickly. Well, maybe the grunts would at least, the Elites running the show rarely even flinched at the prospect of getting gunned down from afar.

She caught one such Elite as he made a dash for the courtyard proper, but he'd never reach it. She fired one shot that killed a grunt in front of the Covenant officer. In his haste to join the assault, he ended up tripping over his underling's corpse. When he next popped up, Linda buried another round through his brain. She moved again, letting Jun take over the next shot. He fired two clean shots, one after the other, killing two more Elites in quick succession.

When Linda readied her rifle again, she spotted a Jackal moving with his shield up and firing at the upper platforms of Castle Base. An Elite was near him, joining the fray. The weird thing was he was actually trying to take a lesson from his Jackal cohort, using shield gauntlet he had no doubt stolen from the body of a Jackal from earlier. Odd for an Elite, they didn't usually cower behind those things. Whatever his reasoning, it didn't matter, Linda had a way past it. She took at the Jackal's shield and fired just a bit off from center mass. The shot ricocheted off the shield, veering off sideways where embedded itself into the Elite's head.

He should've stuck to his own tricks instead of copying someone else, clearly.

Even with Jun and Linda's marksmanship though, enough of the Covenant slipped through to assault the courtyard directly. As they moved into the debris field, blasting away at everything, Chief threw out his own grenade. The blast erupted in the center of one of their squads. Once the grunts landed back onto the concrete and the Elites left alive picked themselves up, the Spartan Leader rushed out.

"Cover me!" He ordered.

Anton and Fred let loose with a barrage of bullets, hitting the Covenant squads from both ends. The Aliens were torn between two lines of fire and looked for cover where they could. That was when the Master Chief smashed headlong into their lines, smashing his rifle in the face of one Elite and unloading into him as he fell. He punched the nearest grunt who tried to assault him in turn, smacking him into a broken piece of Castle Base's structure. A Jackal rushed in to tackle him, but Chief merely forced the shield away and kicked the avian creature into a demolished shuttle.

Another Elite rushed at him, a plasma sword in one hand, a plasma pistol in the other. The alien slashed once, only for Chief to sidestep the assault with ease. He then smashed his rifle into the alien's shoulder from behind. As the Elite stumbled, he turned and charged his pistol. Chief was already ahead of him though, as he fired a clean shot from his rifle that blasted the weapon from the alien's hand.

The Elite clutched his fist in pain, blood pooling from his palm and fingers, but he remained resolute. He charged again, viciously swinging at the Spartan. Chief waited for his moment and rolled away from the third strike. As he did, he grabbed for the now discarded plasma pistol and charged it to full. The discharge of green energy decimated the alien's remaining shield and allowed Chief to unload what was left of his clip into the Elite's head.

As he dropped to the ground, a few grunts scattered, but one went crazed. He grabbed for his plasma grenades and charged the Master Chief. The Spartan was reloading, unable to do anything but back away. Then, several bullets struck the methane sucking creature from the side, causing him to drop dead as his grenades exploded around his corpse. Chief looked to where the shots had come from and saw Fred, giving him the thumbs up.

"Got your back, boss," he said.

Chief just nodded in gratitude and turned back to the battle. Except, there wasn't much battle to be found. The Covenant were pulling back, they had lost many squads, yes, but they seemed to be in full retreat from the area, only the Elites firing back as they ran away. Any other soldier would be cheering right now, but not him. Something was wrong about this, terribly wrong.

His instincts would be sadly proven correct.

"Chief, it's Shepard," the Commander's voice came in over the line. "Some squads peeled off from the main group and found our position. They may have radioed it in."

"I think they have, sir," Chief warned him. "You might have incoming."

"No might about it, we do," Shepard shouted aloud as gunfire could be heard over the radio. "More Covenant squads moving in on us. Could use some assistance."

"We're on our way, sir," Chief assured him. "Just hang on. Anton, Fred, with me. Linda, Jun, move along the upper balcony. Find their position and provide overwatch."

"Already on it, moving to Shepard now," Linda reported.

Chief rushed out of the courtyard, Anton and Fred beside him. They needed to get to Shepard and reinforce him quickly before he got overrun. He just hoped that Kat and Kelly were almost done with that cloak tech. They weren't going to be able to hold them off down here forever.

---

Zek had activated cloaking even before Zon Gak's ships had moved into the ring's debris field. They were initiating scans from the get go. Anything within immediate weapons range could be detected if they remained too close for too long. Zek had moved the Fallen Serpent away from their search pattern, but with three ships scouring the area for one Corvette, it was honestly just a matter of time before they got spotted. If Zon was still monitoring their comm-link signal, maybe even sooner. So if they were going to pull this off, everything needed to go off without a hitch.

"Forgive me if I feel a bit uneasy about this," McKay told him. "Not that I don't think it won't work, but... well, I'm not exactly used to this sort of fight."

"Sneaking around and ambushing asshats when they least expect it?" Zek asked, hoping for clarification.

"Sitting in a steel tub hoping the enemy doesn't pick you up on sensors before you can make your move," she explained. "I'm a Drop Trooper, not a Submarine hand."

"Don't worry, Captain," Retz assured. "Deception is in a kig-yar pirate's blood and this whole plan hinges on that alone. Zon Gak might have more guns, but he's made a crucial mistake already. He assumes we're the only ship out here worth hunting for."

Retz activated the secure comm-line on his console.

"Varvok, you in position?" He asked.

"Floating behind one of the large bits of rock out here," the batarian responded. "You were right about their search pattern, one's coming right by us."

"Good, you'll need to detonate beneath them along the starboard," Retz informed him. "That should convince them of where we want them to turn towards. Remember, you need to get out of there fast. It's going to become one hell of a hot spot once everything gets lit up."

"Will do, over and out."

When Varvok hung up, Retz turned to see Mckay looking rather curious at him.

"You're really into this little scheme, aren't you?" She asked.

"Every now and then Zek comes up with a plan I truly love," he explained. "I like to think this little idea is born of my influence more than anything."

"Yeah, yeah, don't let it go to your head," Zek informed him. "After that shit with Snarlbeak I need to show we're smarter than any of his fucking lackeys and by extension, him. This is about proving what a real pirate can do."

"If it means you using your deviousness more, I honestly can't complain either way," Retz assured, turning to the kig-yar in command sections of the bridge. "Ready Plasma Torpedoes for launch, but do not spin up power until my say so. Any fluctuation or energy spike could give us away, even with the cloak."

The pirates all just nodded and began setting to work. Meanwhile, Retz and Zek watched the progress of Varvok's team on the holomap. They navigated through debris, carefully moving through the bits of moons that never were or pulverized comet chunks. They went slow, to disguise their true identity, but if this worked the end result would be worth the wait.

"That Prowler of yours has some slick maneuverability," Zek commented to McKay.

"Right now I'm just hoping its cloak can hold out against their sensors," she stated. "The good news its one of the smaller ones, so if we're lucky it will just look like a stray asteroid or something."

"That's the idea," Zek stated, recalling the plan. "Don't be so nervous, Captain. This is going to work."

"I'll probably be less nervous if we weren't totally relying on a bunch of improvised explosives," McKay added. "Everything else I have relative confidence in."

Zek had to admit to that part, he sorted wished the Prowler had some of its own mines or something in its hold. McKay had explained they were used for that purpose, unfortunately the damn thing was bone dry of munitions. The damn Innies had probably picked it clean for their own purposes or stole it before it could be rearmed. They'd make do though, if their bombs were bad enough to give them pause on the ONI Station, they'd be good enough to trick a pirate ship. Or, at the very least, trick Zon Gak.

Soon enough Varok was in position and contacted them once more.

"Beneath the target," he said. "Releasing first cluster... now."

Zek could see in his mind's eyes, the various assortment of IEDs from their now dead Insurrectionist pals floating free into space. He imagined them bumping into the belly of the enemy ship, or floating off along the side. As Varvok peeled away from detonation zone, Retz gave him to go ahead to detonate. Seconds later and explosion went off along the side of the opposing ship. While it was nowhere near a fatal hit, the fact they could see the eruption even from their position was a good sign. They couldn't see the damage they caused, but it didn't really matter. As soon as the enemy ship began to turn into the explosion's radius, Zek knew it had worked.

"They're buying it! They think we're over there some place and are turning to attack," he declared. "Just like we planned!"

The enemy vessel soon revealed its backside to them, completely unaware that the Fallen Serpent was in fact behind them. Which gave them their opening. With the engines exposed to their weapons, Zek had the Serpent climb into ample targeting position.

"All forward Plasma Torpedo batteries, target the engine core, full spread," Zek ordered. "As soon as they're away, re-engage the cloak and pour everything we have into thrusters. We need to be gone from this position fast."

The crew did as ordered and Plasma Torpedoes locked onto the enemy ship. Firing them would force the Serpent to decloak, but it wouldn't matter if they acted quickly. Once they were ready, Zek gave the order to fire. The Corvette's cloak dropped and several burning streaks of plasma launched forth from their batteries. They streamed towards their target, but those aboard the Serpent could not wait to see them hit their mark. They recycled the cloak and quickly turned hard to port as they boosted the engines way from their current position.

Zek turned on one of the exterior cameras to keep their sights on the opposing ship. The vessel tried to turn away, but it was already too late. The Torpedoes slammed into the backside the enemy cruiser, utterly decimating its engines. As soon as the blast cleared, they could see the first of Zon Gak's ships now listing hard to the right, completely disabled.

"They're in no position to re-engage," Retz reported. "One down."

There was little time to celebrate their first victory, however. A barrage of plasma torpedoes soon erupted along the position they had been in moments before. While they were far enough away to avoid the shots, the blasts did destroy several larger asteroids and bits of debris. These pieces soon smashed against the Serpent, causing it to rock and pivot about.

"Damage?" Zek demanded.

"Minimal," Retz answered. "Cloak is still holding. Minor damage to shields, we're recharging."

Good, nothing serious enough to mess up the plan. They'd have to be quicker next time though, Zon certainly would be. Speaking of, him and his remaining ship were already moving on their previous position, adjusting their search pattern with the hope of encircling them. They didn't seem to realize that the Prowler was still out there, but they had to be sure.

"Four-eyes, status?" Zek requested.

"Shadowing the second target now," he replied. "They don't seem to know we're here."

"They might think we laid some kind of mine out for them or something," McKay suggested. "They may not know the Prowler is out there, but it will be harder to convince them to turn now."

"Not if we still make it look like we shot at them," Retz suggested. "They know we went for the engines to disable the first ship. If we attack their rear, they'll think we got behind them and turn defensively."

"Alright, but we should keep an eye on that flagship," McKay warned. "It's keeping in close formation to other cruiser. Zon Gak might not have your cunning, but he's not a complete idiot either. He has to know something is up."

Maybe, but if they pulled this off he'd figure out what that was a bit too late to do anything about it.

"Varvok, head to the stern of the second ship following Zon," Retz ordered. "Drop the second payload near the starboard side on top of them."

Varvok acknowledged and they could see his signal moving towards the designated target. At the moment, it was just a waiting game. Everything on low power as they coasted through the black, trying to get into a decent enough firing position for when Varvok made his move. That's what this all was really, a complicated series of maneuvers, setting the enemy up for the fall. All Zek could do was guess how Zon would react, or at least how his men would. Hopefully, he guessed right.

The Prowler was soon over the target, just coasting behind. For this to work, they'd have to believe a plasma Torpedo struck their backside somehow. Zek had loaded some plasma grenades and fuel rod canisters into the mix of explosives they had cobbled together. The question now was it enough to convince the shipmaster of that cruiser that they had snuck behind them.

"Do it, Varvok," Retz ordered. "Do it now!"

The Prowler released its payload and beat a hasty retreat. Moments later a detonation erupted along the stern of the cruiser, close to the bridge. Almost at once, the Cruiser turned into a hard maneuver, positioning itself as a bulwark for Zon Gak, to protect the flagship from incoming Plasma Torpedoes. With their underbelly exposed, Zek saw his chance.

"Fire! Fire now!" He ordered

The cloak dropped and the Serpent unleashed everything they had in their batteries. The corvette then moved to avoid the incoming retaliation, only to see Zon Gak's flagship maneuver into firing range quicker than before. McKay had been right, the Jackal was smarter than he appeared. Even as their cloak began to recycle, Zon was launching a barrage of plasma torpedoes towards their position.

"Evasive! Evasive!" Zek ordered frantically. "Dive down! Dive down!"

The Serpent dove into the debris field below. Some of the Torpedoes slammed into the rocks while others missed. But the resulting explosions were enough to severely rock the vessel and plenty were close enough that alarms began to go off.

"Report!" Zek ordered, even as the klaxon kept ringing.

"Shield damage is severe, recycling now," Retz reported. "Hull significantly hit, cloak holding. Fire alarm in one of the maintenance corridors, sending teams to put it out."

"What about the enemy ship?" Zek asked.

Retz pulled up a feed, showing said cruiser was now floating aimlessly in space.

"Appears disabled, sir," Retz answered. "But, I think Zon Gak is zeroing in."

"He was waiting for us to pull the trick again," McKay observed. "He let his other ship take a hit just to get a shot at hitting us when we dropped the cloak."

Which meant he would not fall for the trick itself. Not again. And that seemed to be confirmed when Zek saw a number of space flight capable Banshees begin to circle Zon Gak's ship, launching from the hangars in squads of two.

"Four-Eyes, get back here," Zek ordered over the comm. "We can't risk you getting caught by Zon's people."

"Copy that, moving to you," Varvok replied.

This was not good, they still had the flagship to deal with and Zon had caught on quicker than he hoped. Lucky for Zek, Retz had come up with an idea, just in case this had gone south somehow. His contribution to the deception, as it were.

"We're in position right?" Zek asked.

"Nearly," Retz assured. "Just keep cloaked for a moment longer, we'll be there soon. Captain McKay, be prepared to transmit."

"Sure, but you better be quick about it," she told him. "Zon's encroaching on us pretty fast."

The Fallen Serpent kept ahead of Zon's ship best they could, still maintaining low power on everything but the cloak. The Battlecruiser bashed its way through the debris with little regard as it scanned the area. They just needed a few more moments, just a little longer and they could resolve this. That was when Zon's ship seemed to bank directly into their path.

"Ah crap," Zek grimaced. "Move!"

Several smaller beams of plasma shot out of Zon's flagship, tracing the area around the Serpent. He did apparently have something that could detect cloaked ships, but not very accurate as the wide berth the shots were giving them was proof enough of. Eventually though, one struck their port side, cutting deep into their hull's armor.

"Full power to engines! Run! Just run!"

Zek's order was followed and the Serpent sped away from the attack zone. It stopped a couple hundred yards away.

"We got hit pretty hard, but we're still alive," Retz assured. "Oh, and Varvok's on approach to our hangar. We're ready to go."

"Get him inside," Zek ordered. "Then shut off all power and be ready to decloak. Make this convincing."

"Remember who you're talking to," Retz chuckled.

The Prowler entered the hangar shortly after, landing on the deck carefully. Once it did, Zek had the Corvette drift a little, but had the engines shutdown. This had to work, they had no other plays. Retz was good enough at this sort of thing that Zek trusted this little plan B. The real question was if they could get Zon Gak close enough.

"Drop the cloak," Retz finally ordered. "Be ready."

The cloak dropped and Zon Gak's ship began to move in on their position. So far, he hadn't fired again. He must've believed they were disabled. A fact confirmed once communications picked up Zon's transmission.

"Fallen Serpent, you are disabled and helpless," he stated. "Prepare to be boarded. Lay down your arms and you may yet live and serve under Snarlbeak's banner."

Zek ignored the threat and looked to Retz.

"Position?" He asked.

"Almost there," Retz assured. "Just couple more meters and it will be optimal."

The Battlecruiser began to edge closer, its weapons trained on the Corvette. Zon Gak wasn't taking any chances it seemed. He was moving into range, close enough that no matter what Zek did the next shot Zon Gak fired would hit. However, Zek intended to make sure he didn't got that far. He contacted Zon directly as the final piece of the plan fell into place.

"Zon, hate to tell you this, but you ain't getting aboard my ship," he declared. "You're not welcome here."

"You are in no position to stop me," Zon informed him. "You've lost, Zek. I have proven to be your superior."

"No, all you've done is just walk into a trap like a fucking idiot," Zek stated. "McKay! Now!"

McKay inputed the codes onto her omni-tool and transmitted them back to the ONI Spy Station. The very spy station that was currently directly beneath Zon Gak's flagship. The spy station with the self-destruct mechanism that McKay had just reactivated. Without any warning and no understanding of what had just happened, Zon's flagship was suddenly engulfed in a massive explosion as the station blew itself apart, like a massive mine right under the enemy battlecruiser. Zon's ship lurched backward in space, fires burning across its belly. Zek had no time to admire the view.

"Full power to engines, get us the fuck out of here!" He ordered.

The Fallen Serpent sprung back to life and sped away from the still exploding battlecruiser. Reactivating is cloak the second it escaped the debris field of the gas giant's ring. The whole bridge erupted in cheers and glorious song. Another perfectly engineered escape, with a few hiccups. Zek could only breathe a sigh of relief.

"I knew he'd move in for the kill," Retz chuckled. "From the start it was obvious. Too much sangheili in that one."

"I'm just happy we pulled this off," McKay stated. "I'm thinking we should link backup with the carrier now."

Nothing would've made Zek happier, but something told him today wasn't finished. No, not until they had gotten what they actually came here for. After what he learned, he wasn't about to take the chance of losing it. Too much was at stake now.

"We will," he promised the ODST leader. "But first, we got another mission to complete."

"Another mission?" McKay asked.

"Keep the cloak up," Zek ordered. "Take us close to Reach and, if you can, see if you can raise Shepard somehow. If he ain't off that mudball already, then he's probably in some trouble."

And who better to play calvary than a space pirate, he thought.

---

The Covenant were utterly swarming the area, forcing Shepard's team into cover with their constant barrage of fire. With turtling up their only option, Shepard had Zaeed use his disruptor rounds to damage the shields of the enemy Elites. When they got close enough, he released a biotic shockwave that knocked the enemies away while he filled them full of holes from his pistol. It was an effective strategy for sure, but they were running low on thermal clips fast. Worse yet, Grunt was getting restless with the defensive game, blasting his Claymore in anger at anything that dared to get close.

"Let me get out there," he demanded. "I'll tear them apart."

"We have to hold here," Shepard reminded him. "That's the mission!"

Their holding position was part of a raised platform, the only path to it a set of stairs from ground. Behind them was a blown open part of the wall in the side of Castle Base. This revealed a staircase, the emergency access to the landing pad to be exact. However, while the approach to them was fairly narrow, they were still outside and the Elites leading the charge had seemingly grown tired of trying to bludgeon their way through with a direct assault.

One of the Elites managed to climb onto the side of the platform somehow and was forcing his way up in order to get on their flank. Grunt saw this out of the corner of his eye, the Covenant Officer pulling himself up and over, his gun pointed in a ready to fire position. Grunt managed to fire at him, throwing of the Elite's aim but the krogan was still forced to take cover as his enemy fired back in return. The Elites finally clambered up onto the platform proper, ready to take the krogan on directly with a defiant cry. Grunt would answer his challenge directly.

Grunt charged the Elite, activating fortification as he did. The extra armor absorbed some of the plasma shots, enough for Grunt to basically slam into his enemy like a freight train. Even so, the Elite fought back, punching and kicking at the giant reptile in an attempt to strike him down. Grunt simply grabbed him by the back of the head and then slammed his adolescent skull plate into the Elite's face. Dazed and confused, the Elite was unable to prevent Grunt from lifting him up over his head. He bellowed in rage before tossing the Covie into one of fellow Elites. Both aliens tumbled over the railing of the platform, falling back to ground level.

"Nice one, Grunt," Shepard called out. "Now keep your head down, we're still not out of this."

Another Elite soon charged up the steps, rolling and dodging away from Zaeed and Shepard's shots. As he popped back up, plasma sword in hand and prepared to strike he was suddenly stopped dead. A bullet pierced his skull and he dropped at Shepard's feet in a heap. Turning to where the shot had come from, he saw Jun with a smoking rifle. He was standing across from their position on the walkway, reloading another magazine into his weapon.

"That was one seriously fatal case of tunnel vision," he commented.

He took up a defensive position near the edge of the platform, as his fellow Spartans charged into the fray to join Shepard's team. If the Covenant were at all put off by this development, they didn't show it. Even the gas-sucking grunts continued the assault as fresh troops moved in to replace those who had fallen.

Chief moved to Shepard's position, firing his assault rifle into grunts pressing on their position. Shepard finished them off with a shockwave that sent them hurtling back down the steps they had scrambled up. Moving into cover, Chief reloaded as the Commander continued to fire down at the approaching hostiles.

"Perfect timing as always, Chief," Shepard complimented.

"He's made a habit of that," Cortana chimed in.

"What's our situation?" Chief asked, not missing a beat as he moved back up into the line of fire.

"Multiple squads moving through the breach in the base wall and encroaching on our position," Shepard explained. "At first it was just a trickle, now everyone knows we're here it seems."

Shepard wasn't exaggerating, from the looks of things the entire assault force had be rerouted to this position. They couldn't last much longer fighting all these enemy units. They had to get out of here and soon. He contacted Kelly.

"Kelly, tell me you and Kat are almost done up there," he said.

"Another minute, we're in the process of reconnecting the critical power sequences," she explained.

"Then you better make it the fastest minute you can," Chief ordered.

Chief opened fire on a group of Jackals pressing on their position, they kept their shields up as his bullets battered their defensive line. Shepard pointed his pistol's crosshairs at the notch in the shields the Jackals used to fire their weapons at the enemy. With two shots a piece; he managed his the avian aliens' hands, forcing them to drop their shields. It gave Chief the chance he needed to properly take them both down with a quick burst from his assault rifle.

Yet another Elite moved in now, this time careful to avoid heading in a straight line. He ducked and dodged as he advanced, firing at Chief and Shepard's position as he rushed towards the stairs. Luckily, Zaeed caught him in his crosshairs and unloaded several disruptor rounds on him. When the alien's shields dropped, Shepard saw his chance.

"Chief, cover my charge," he ordered. "Grunt, move up!"

"Finally!" The krogan laughed heartily.

Shepard let his biotics surge him forward in blue burst of light. His biotic charge slammed into the Elite, sending him flying backward. Chief rushed to join the Commander, while he fired off his shotgun at anything that came within striking distance. Chief soon joined the fray, with Grunt not but a few steps behind.

With a constant stream of fire, Chief's rifle raked several Covenant trying to push up through the hole in Castle Base's outer wall. Shepard strafed the area with his shotgun while simultaneously sending out Shockwave attacks at approaching foes. One Elite popped up suddenly, firing his plasma rifle at the Commander. Shepard used his pull attack on a nearby grunt in response, pulling the methane-breathing alien towards him and holding him there. The little covie acted as a shield against the incoming plasma bolts before Shepard sent him hurtling back right into the grunt's commanding officer. The Elite tumbled backwards as his minion collided with his head. Before he could even get back up, Chief filled him full of lead.

Shepard kept pressing, biotically charging once more into another Elite. A shotgun blast to the gut ended the Covie officer before a shockwave sent what was left of his squad scattering. Chief rushed in to mop up what was left as the Covenant lines broke and retreated suddenly back through the hole in the outer wall and across the mountain plain.

"That seemed too easy," Cortana cautioned.

"Maybe, but at least we got a reprieve," Shepard told the AI.

That's when Chief saw the trees in the forest moving suddenly. Soon, a pair of Wraiths emerged from the line of foliage, their main weapons charging up.

"They're in zeroing on us! Fall back!" Cortana warned.

Shepard and Chief ran back to the holding position as plasma barrages began to strike the general area. As the wraiths kept firing, Cortana was quick to warn the them of other developments.

"Covenant comm chatter just lit up across the board," she told them. "Banshees, at least three squadrons, heading to our position. They're going to bombard what's left of Castle Base to rubble!"

"What about the crystal?" Shepard asked, as they reached the steps. "They'll risk destroying it!"

"At this point they're hoping to recover it from the remains," Cortana informed them.

When they got back to the others at the choke point, the plasma barrage was already intensifying.

"If anyone has a spare rocket launcher on them, now would be a good time to share," Jun stated. "My rifle skills aren't exactly much use against heavy armor."

"Kelly, tell me that cloak is ready to go," Chief frantically asked over the radio.

"We're powering it up now," she reported in. "Everything looks nominal, so it should work."

"Work or not, we're moving to you," he declared. "We're out of time."

Shepard concurred with that assessment.

"Back to the Phantom people," he said. "We're leaving!"

---

Rushing back up the steps to the landing pad, the teams burst through the door making a beeline for the Phantom. Everyone else, Halsey, Kat, Kelly, Whitcomb, Taq and the surviving Marines, were already aboard. The dropship was already powering up, getting ready to leave.

"Everyone in!" Shepard ordered, ushering them on, stopping just short of jumping aboard himself. "Go! Go!"

As the teams rushed to get inside the Phantom, however, something came barreling out of the sun. The distinctive screeching cry of the engine revealed it before anyone could properly see the silhouette.

"Banshee!" Linda warned.

The Covenant Aircraft strafed the deck of the airpad, it's plasma bolts cutting into the group. While most were able to avoid getting hit, Anton was just a little too slow and took a hit to the leg and arm. He went down, alive but in severe pain. Linda rushed to pull him up, Fred helping to support him as they limped him the rest of the way towards the Phantom. The Banshee was not done with them though.

It circled back for another run, aiming its heavy guns at the airpad. It had missed the Phantom, this time. Jun wasn't about to let it get another chance to get a proper hit in. He took aim as the aircraft closed in on the pad once more. He unloaded his sniper rounds into the Banshee, one hit damaging the wing another shot hitting the cockpit before a third round hit its target, cutting through to kill the pilot. The Banshee listed to the right and fell from the sky. Its descent ending when it collided nose first into the ground, a massive explosion following.

"As fun as that was, can we not stick around for the main event?" Jun asked.

After the others helped Anton into the Phantom, Shepard and Chief stepped onto the dropship themselves. Kat and Kelly didn't even need Chief's orders to begin lifting off, they already underway the second Chief's feet had left the ground. Before they could get into the air though, Chief noticed Cortana was connecting remotely to something.

"What are you doing?" He asked the AI.

"Making sure they're busy with a few things," she explained. "Kelly, Kat, can you activate the cloak?"

"Already on it," Kat said. "Disappearing... now!"

As the Phantom lifted off the cloak activated, hiding the Phantom from view. It wasn't pretty, there was a distinct shimmer effect, but not something that was easily seeable. At the same time though, Chief noticed another Phantom lifting off not too far away from them. Perhaps, just outside Castle Base's walls. It was not on an intercept course though, it was headed into the clouds. Chief soon realized it was the Phantom they had flown down in.

"Remote piloting subroutine," Cortana explained. "I had it jump closer and closer to our position in increments over time. Should be intercepting enemy air patrols... now!"

There were a few explosions in the clouds, as well as the sounds of plasma fire. Before long, burning debris and the main body of the other Phantom itself, plummeted from the sky. It crashed down on an opposing mountain peak about mile off.

"They'll be so busy trying to get there to check the wreckage they won't be as diligent in searching the rest of the skies," Cortana stated. "Making our escape just a bit easier."

Chief nodded, a good plan. Anything that increased their odds was fine by him. He now turned to his other more immediate problem. Anton was on the floor, Shepard seeing to him with a helpful dose of medi-gel. Kneeling down, he took in his fellow Spartan's injuries.

"You alright?" He asked.

"I'm okay, sir," Anton said through a pained grunt. "Might not be able to stand, but I'm still breathing, right?"

"We'll have medics check you out when we get back to the carrier," Chief assured. "Don't worry, we're home free now."

As they exited the atmosphere, Halsey and Whitcomb approached Chief and Shepard directly.

"We honestly thought we were done for down there," the Admiral stated. "Never been more happy to be proven wrong."

"Indeed, and it pleases me to see you and the Commander have formed a fairly cohesive dynamic," Halsey added. "As I suspected you would. The fact it has aided in my survival is merely a bonus."

"Just glad I could get you out, ma'am," Chief assured. "You and the others."

Taq was rather quick to interrupt things once more, as she kept eyeing the crystal in Halsey's hands. Her scanner constantly moving over it, attempting to get a read on it. It was either that, or she was holding the Amplifier relic up to it.

"Couldn't you... restrain yourself somewhat until we have a proper lab?" Halsey requested.

"Hey, you lucking into finding this doesn't give you permission to tell me when to start analysis," Taq declared. "This thing is a part of kig-yar history as much as Forerunner. So lab or no lab, I'm taking readings and getting a head start on this."

Halsey looked curiously at Taq before returning her gaze to Shepard.

"You never really explained what was so important about this Crystal," she told them.

"It's a very long, incredibly insane story," Shepard said, his memory of the ridiculous song causing his tone to lapse into one of exasperation. "Lets just say for now, it leads to a possible weapon. One powerful enough that it could turn the tide of war. If it's real, of course."

Before anyone could elaborate further, a transmission started coming over their secure channel. Cortana was quick to clean it up and tune the others in.

"Fallen Serpent to ground team, are you receiving? Fallen Serpent to Commander Shepard, are you receiving?"

It was Retz's voice and he seemed a bit frantic in his requests. Shepard quickly replied.

"Commander Shepard to the Serpent," he replied. "We read you. Mission is a success, repeat, success. We have the relic and need pick up. Where is the Ascendant Justice?"

"No idea, Commander, they must be maintaining some kind of radio silence," Retz replied. "The Covenant are really stirred up now. Whatever you pulled down planetside is making every ship in the fleet circling the rock go insane. We need to get you to the rendezvous and out of here, fast."

"Decloak and head to these coordinates," Shepard ordered, typing on his omni-tool. "If what you're seeing is accurate, they're looking for us specifically. We're in a cloaked Phantom. Don't ask, we rigged something up. We'll explain in the debriefing with Holland once we get back to the carrier."

Moments later, the Fallen Serpent decloaked not too far away from them. They could see it through the various cameras the dropship had installed on its exterior, all viewable on holographic screens. Shepard eased the trepidation of the newcomers quickly before panic set in.

"It's alright, they're the deserters we talked about before," he explained. "They're here to pick us up and-"

That was when several plasma torpedoes nearly hit the Pirate Corvette, forcing it to take evasive action. Appearing out of the black came another ship, a Battlecruiser, badly damaged but still capable of fighting it seemed.

"Covenant, they found us," Whitcomb stated angrily.

"No, I don't think so," Cortana stated. "Patching us into a communication uplink. The shipmaster of that cruiser is... not happy. It appears, Zek and Retz had a little bit of an adventure of their own today."

The transmission came through their radios soon enough.

"I will not be humiliated by some hatchet job jury rigged Corvette and it's drunk of a captain! Zon Gak will have his prize and your head, Shipmaster Zek!"

"Come and take it, fuckwit! I'm gonna blow your ass so wide open, Snarlbeak is gonna need to scour the darkest corners of the void just to find even a tenth of your ass to beatdown for fucking this one up for him!"

Halsey eyed Shepard somewhat incredulously.

"What a very colorful friend you've made, Commander," she noted.

"I'm working on the friend part, honestly," Shepard informed her.

However, Zek would not need to worry about his properly fulfilling his threat. As the Battlecruiser moved in to take another shot, a streaming beam of blue light collided with the enemy vessel's side. It was followed up by a massive explosion along its right weapons battery, causing it to dip low as fires began to rage aboard the ship.

Shepard didn't need to guess what the first shot was, Joker's voice over the radio more or less confirmed it.

"Commander! You out there? We're reading your transponder signal but EDI can't find your Phantom."

Shepard asked Kat to lower the cloak and begin taking them in to dock with the Serpent. It wouldn't be long before this Zon Gak recovered his nerve and came back to keep fighting. As the cloak dropped, Shepard contacted Joker directly.

"We're here, Joker," he assured. "Nice assist there with the Thanix. But what was that other explosion?"

"Oh that's, uh, that's something, sir," Joker laughed somewhat. "It was the Justice! Well, sorta. You wouldn't believe what we found poking around the system."

It wasn't long before the cameras picked up the Normandy, streaming into view alongside the Serpent. Soon enough though a bigger ship emerged, the Ascendant Justice, but it had an addition. Some kind of UNSC ship attached to the front of the carrier itself.

"A Paris-Class Heavy Frigate," Cortana observed. "I should've known. That hit did look like it came from a MAC Gun. But, what's it doing attached to the Carrier?"

It was then the Justice contacted them.

"Commander, Chief," Colonel Holland's voice said with a firm, gruff tone. " Sorry for slipping out of contact back there. We had to fall back when Covenant patrols got too nosy for their own good. It's safe to say they know this ship isn't theirs anymore. The good news, we found this abandoned frigate, the Gettysburg. Its weapons and reactor are still online and with the help of the Engineers, we managed to connect its systems with that of the Justice's."

"A hybrid alien-human vessel," Halsey commented. "How unexpected, and a bit more creative than usual actually."

"The extra firepower is appreciated in any case, Colonel," Shepard said glowingly.

"Haverson's idea actually, can't take all the credit for it," Holland explained. "We've been stealing so many ships recently, we figured why not one more? Especially when it's one of ours for once."

"Careful, sir," Shepard laughed. "You might be picking up some habits from our pirate friends."

"Maybe, but if it gets us a MAC just this once I'm fine with it," Holland claimed. "Don't tell Zek that of course. Get aboard the Serpent and prepare for Slipspace jump. We are getting the hell out of here."

"No time like the present," Cortana concurred. "Covenant Battlenet is lighting up. They know we're here and are moving to engage."

Shepard just nodded. Once the Phantom was aboard the pirate Corvette and secured properly, Shepard radioed Zek directly.

"Get ready to jump, Zek," he stated. "We need to be gone from here fast!"

"As if I want to stay at this point!" Zek called out. "Retz! Spin up the drive and jump with the Ascendant Justice! I've had more than enough of my fill of this system for two lifetimes!"

Shepard looked back at the Master Chief, assisting Anton along with his fellow Spartans. The Commander imagined that for just this once, the Chief shared in the Pirate's sentiments.

---

The Slipspace jump went off without hitch, getting them out of the system before more enemy pirates or the Covenant themselves could start another firefight. From there it was a series of reunions, debriefings and causes for celebrations among various groups.

Holland and Whitcomb met as soon as possible, speaking in the Colonel's quarters for a period of time. In the end, the Admiral decided that he'd let Holland maintain command. He had a greater rapport with the men aboard than he did. Whitcomb, however, would of course be included in all decision making within the leadership of the fleet. It was only right of course and he'd maintain everything else that came with the rank. It was also decided the ODSTs would report to him from now on. He was Navy after all. Of course, direct tactical command would still reside with Captain McKay, now officially promoted as soon as the admiral had officiated her rank designation. Otherwise, the general positions of power had not changed too drastically.

Tali was quick to find Halsey as soon as he good doctor arrived on the Normandy. There was a ton to talk about, most of it in private. What Shepard did overhear were the obvious expressions of relief that the other was alive. Tali couldn't help but share a ton of her notes on the Forerunners and their technology that she uncovered. However, it soon became apparent that they had other business to attend to. Specifically when Cortana was transfered to Tali's omni-tool. The AI appeared to still be cross with her creator and Shepard imagined why. They were probably still talking, Wade made a mental note to ask Tali how things went later. He knew what it was about though and, to be honest, he didn't exactly blame Cortana if she was upset with Halsey's deceptions or how she had foisted it on Tali. After all, it had led to a pretty terrible situation, even if it was one that had been unforeseeable.

At the moment, Shepard was with the Master Chief in the operations center of the Gettysburg, their newly acquired addition to the fleet. Haverson was there, so were McKay, Varvok, Taq, Retz, and Zek. Chief had managed to pull himself away from his team, if only for a bit. Shepard suspected he wanted to be with them more, but he still had a duty to perform. At the very least he didn't have to worry about one member of his team for the moment. Chakwas was currently looking over Anton with Mordin's assistance. He seemed to be doing okay from what Shepard had heard.

Significantly less okay were the results of the joint ODST and Pirate mission. It had been a success, they now had a ton of relevant data on the operations of the Covenant fleet. They were still parsing through it, but the intel would no doubt be invaluable in due time. However, other revelations had come to light over the course of the mission. Besides the Insurrectionist prisoners that had managed to infiltrate the spy station, there was also the matter of Snarlbeak. According to what he had told Zek, their search for these relics had taken a bit of a turn.

"So all this time, this Snarlbeak has been trying to get his hands on these relics so he can use them as leverage to join the Covenant in a position of power," Haverson summarized. "That's his end goal."

"And to take every major Pirate clan, including the Syndicate entire, with him," Retz added with a sense of finality. "All so he can get revenge for his sister and achieve her dream posthumously."

Haverson shook his head with a grunt, pacing a bit around the room.

"Would this work?" He asked. "Would the Syndicate really follow him?"

"If it's a choice between follow him or die, the Queens will pick the former," Retz stated flatly. "There's no profit to be made in attacking a bird with a powerful nigh unstoppable weapon. The good news is, he needs all the relics to find it in the first place and we have two of four."

"And as long as we have them, he'll be after us," Haverson added. "As long as the other two are out there, he'll be gunning for them. And if he gets them, depending on what they can do, he could use them against us in order to get the relics we have in our possession."

"That's the long and short of it, yes," Retz agreed.

"We need to study the crystal we obtained in any case," Taq interjected. "It runs both ways, we can use these relics to defend ourselves from Snarlbeak's forces while we collected the remaining two. The Amplifier alone could boost several of the defensive capabilities of any of the vessels in this fleet for one. If this Crystal is just as powerful..."

Haverson did seem to agree, but his concern had not abated in the slightest.

"The fact is, either way, Snarlbeak will be on us from now on," he declared. "Until the other relics are collected at the very least. We cannot allow him to hand over any of them to the Covenant, let alone a massive fleet of ships. The Covenant have enough of those already."

"He wouldn't just be getting ships," Varvok warned. "He'd have a force of several unconventional fighters on his side. Warriors without pity, mercy or any sense of honor. Trained specifically for tasks like infiltration, espionage, assassination and sabotage. If we know anything about the Syndicate, it's that we know their potential to cause trouble for anyone they set their sights on. The Covenant would gain a proper guerilla force, one that would make our lives extremely difficult."

"Varvok is correct," Retz confirmed. "Ships are one thing, but the resources and strategies of the Syndicate themselves would give the Covenant something they've been lacking for centuries. Ingenuity. The Syndicate has that in spades, so does Snarlbeak. You could be facing a different kind of war, one where the Covenant employ overwhelming force as well as cunning subterfuge."

That was the last thing they needed. As far as Shepard understood, the greatest weakness of the Covenant was their inability to adapt. They maintained the same strategies, the same methods, the same weapons. Snarlbeak and the Syndicate didn't play by those rules. Positioned as a proper military fighting force, and not just a band of roaming criminals, they'd probably see the Covenant begin to think outside the box more often. A dangerous precedent to be sure.

Not to mention, if the Astral Cutlass was real and could do all it said it could, then humanity had an even worse problem. A weapon that could destroy fleets, get around defenses and empower the enemy to such a scale would be devastating to humanity at this point. With Earth now the only major stronghold left, there wouldn't be much to stop the Covenant from decimating the already weakened UNSC.

"Then I guess we're staying on this treasure hunt," Haverson relented. "Can Snarlbeak track us to the next relic? Does he know we even have the crystal?"

"He'll put two and two together, eventually," Zek said, finally speaking up. "He's not stupid. He'll figure out that we went directly to Reach after we found the wreck. When he realizes that, he'll realize that there had to be more to that than just hiding out. If he hasn't already. He said he had spies working within the Covenant and they know we got the Crystal. It will filter back to him eventually."

"And if he tracked us once, he'll do it again somehow," Varvok cautioned. "Any enemy this determined, this obsessed with a singular goal, is not going to let any inconvenience hamper him for long. I saw it when he was talking to Zek over the comm. The very thought of his sister's death enrages him. He may have killed the one who did it, but that's not enough. He wants to give her in death what she never had in life. He'll stop at nothing to honor her memory, no matter the cost."

"Don't count out the Syndicate either," Retz warned. "They won't go down without a fight. If they can stop Snarlbeak from getting the Cutlass, they will take every measure to insure that outcome. Even if it means potentially killing us in the crossfire."

Haverson took the grim admission to heart, accepting the reality they now found themselves in. A vengeful pirate on one end, a triple alliance of Jackal clans with a similar goal on the other, and the Covenant looking to reclaim what was stolen from them.

"We got our work cut out for us," he stated. "In that sense, I'm at least happy to know we have a few extra Spartans on hand to help us get out of this mess."

Chief just nodded simply.

"Of course, we'll do whatever it take to keep the relics safe," he assured. "My team is ready."

"No doubt," Haverson agreed. "I'm glad you found them, Chief. I know it was important to you."

Again, Chief merely nodded. As he did, Shepard noticed Zek had once again returned to deep thought, looking scornfully at the holographic imaging table in front of them. Out of as much concern as it was curiosity, he tried to engage the pirate leader.

"Zek, what's wrong?" He asked. "You haven't said much since we started."

"Nothing," Zek assured. "Just my whole damn perception of shit is fucked, is all. My dad died refusing to become a tool of the Covenant. He died trying to be some big stupid hero. The dumb fucker."

"It sounded like he died fighting for what he believed in," Shepard said, trying to console the pirate. "You can't blame him too much for that."

"All my life I thought he was pulling a selfish Unggoy Shit stunt, instead he was just being another kind of idiot," Zek declared angrily. "The idiot with a dumbfuck idea to fight a one man war against someone he knew he was going to get massacred by. He got his men killed because he got all fucking idealistic. And that's not even the worst of it! He died doing what I should've done sooner! He went down fighting while I surrendered to the fuckers and let them control me!"

Shepard was a bit perplexed. Was Zek angry because his father died in a hopeless fight for freedom? Or was he angry that he had defied the Covenant at all?

"You misread what had happened," Shepard tried to explain. "No one told you the real reason your father died. That's not his fault or yours."

"I based my entire fucking decision to accept the Covenant's offer on his stupid death!" Zek declared. "So yeah, it is his fucking fault. I gave up years of my life, my position in the underworld, sold out to the Covies, and why? Because my dumbass dad decided to go play martyr and ended up looking like a moron anyway! The asshole should've minded his own fucking business. If he never got it into his stupid fucking head to play Freedom Fighter, the Covenant would've left him alone and I'd have become a badass buccaneer on my own without his fucking legacy hanging over my head."

"You wouldn't have had the Serpent, you wouldn't have had the prestige of everyone knowing you were related to him," Shepard argued. "Maybe it turned out for the best."

"Keep telling yourself that, Shepard. All I see here is I'm related to a idiot bird who, not only abandoned me and my mom, but died playing hero for a pointless impossible goal," Zek declared firmly and with no hint of doubt. "And the way he died made me think the deal the Covies offered me was better than getting myself killed. He still got his own men massacred for a bullshit reason, the only thing changed is that now I know what really led me into my fucking servitude. It was me being stupid enough to think my dad was just plain selfish, when in reality he was a stupid idealistic stooge who just happened to be selfish. I bled dry for years, languishing under the Covies, because I felt I was sticking it to the old man! That I was the better shipmaster for doing it! And it's all his fucking fault! More so now then ever."

Zek spat on the floor in anger.

"Fuck Dread Feather, stupid pirate and worthless wannabe rebel," he declared. "Fuck him. I'm going to be a better swashbuckler than he ever was. Just you watch, Shepard. Just you watch. My dream ain't poison like his was and I'm going to prove it. First to Snarlbeak and then to every other kig-yar out there."

Zek left the room, still raging while everyone else stood dumbstruck.

"Where did all that come from?" Haverson asked.

"Zhoc got a bit more under his feathers than he cares to admit," Retz informed the room. "All his life, Zek has been trying to outdo the legacy his father left him. I hoped he'd see that he rebelled against the Covenant far better than Dread Feather ever managed, but... I guess that hasn't sunk in yet. For the moment, he just sees the full scope of what he's been forced to inherit."

"Is this going to be a problem?" Haverson asked, not sounding very sympathetic. "The last thing we need right now is a ship captain with a grudge against a dead relative."

"I'll talk to him a bit," Varvok explained. "Get some ichor in him, that usually calms him down. No offense, Shepard, but I'd think he'd prefer a different perspective from yours right now. It seems to only set him off."

"Yeah, seems like it," Shepard agreed, Zek's reaction to his words of comfort all the evidence he needed. "Help him get back to his old self, push through this rough patch. We need him ready for whatever comes next."

Varvok concurred with a nod, not arguing with Shepard's reasoning in the slightest. The batarian and him were on the same page on a subject and they agreed on how to deal with it. A sign things were getting better between them. More than enough reason to remain optimistic, at least as far as Shepard was concerned.

"Well, while Zek is busy with his existential crisis tantrum, we have more important work to do," Taq insisted. "I need to speak with Halsey. Compare notes, theories, study that crystal in fine detail. It should have more information on where the next relic is and perhaps more data on the Astral Cutlass itself."

"Either way, get on it," Haverson told her. "I'll make sure you have clearance. Gentlemen, dismissed."

The group filed out, save for Shepard and Chief who remained. For the first time since this morning, Shepard allowed himself to go limber, relax. It had been a trying day.

"Two down," he stated. "But, I'm guessing that's not the important thing for you right now."

"The mission was a success, Commander," Chief insisted. "In the end, that's what matters."

Shepard just nodded in compliance, but added onto the answer a few seconds later.

"Still, I'm glad you found them," he stated. "Not just because we could use the muscle either. You know that, right?"

"More than aware, sir," Chief assured him, his voice a bit more sombre. "And... thank you again, for being there every step of the way. For helping me find them."

"Anything for my crew, John," Shepard told him, smiling lightly. "You know that by now."

Chief was silent for a moment and then, he himself loosened up, standing more casually alongside the Commander.

"I do," he replied.

Shepard lightly patted him on the shoulder.

"Come on, lets get back to the Normandy," he said. "Cortana is probably waiting for pick up. Plus, I'm guessing Anton wouldn't mind seeing you too."

Chief followed the Commander out.

"Yes," the Spartan agreed. "I'm sure he would like that."

---

AN: Apologies for how long it took to resolve this cliffhanger. Hopefully it was worth the wait. I've been busy writing like crazy to get the next couple of chapters sorted and they are now. It will take time to edit them though and I still have some other projects I'm mulling over or working on. Either way, it's here and we got a whopper of an information dump. This effectively sets up the remainder of the story, our primary villain's motivation is revealed and the stakes fully realized. Hopefully this has given Snarlbeak a bit more depth than just a very violent yet exceedingly cool customer.

As always, there is an update on my blog concerning the behind the scenes of this chapter. And HellFox has a new audio out, this one containing a scene from the last chapter. You can find links to both on my profile page in the usual places. Please remember to review if you can and let me know your thoughts on things. Expect a BBR chapter covering the events of this chapter in due time, I sut have some things to work on before then. As always, your readership and responses are always dear to me and I hope to continue bringing some sci-fi fun next time. Especially next time cause... things are about to get a bit weird. Trust me on that.