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.

42. The Final Relic

Chapter 38: The Final Relic

We Penetrated Deeper and Deeper

Into the Heart of Darkness

- Joseph Conrad

Snarlbeak kept his head lowered and talons perched into a steeple as he sat in his chair. All along the bridge, his men remained silent as he was informed of the after action report. The lone messenger, one of the countless logistics officers Zhoc had employed, was speaking slowly and cautiously. The phrase "Don't Shoot the Messenger" was usually one that his boss abided by, but his increasingly erratic behavior made that less and less a certainty. And even if he didn't kill you, that didn't mean you were safe.

Especially not now, when the officer was listing exactly how much they had lost as a result of the raid on the Central Logistical Hub Centre. Snarlbeak's glare kept his officer from calling it the "Plunder Nest" in his presence. A stupid name that Zhoc hated. It promoted a cute image of some little cove with a big treasure cave somewhere, not the model of mercantile efficiency and productivity that it was.

Well, what it had been at least.

As the logistical officer read off the accumulated information gathered concerning the losses from the surprise raid, Snarlbeak's grimace grew greater and his brow became all the more dour. To his credit, the lowly employee continued on, even if he paused every other paragraph to see if his boss had a question or something to add. Zhoc just kept staring, occasionally tapping his foot talons across the floor in a clear sign of frustration. Given what the logistics officer was telling him, it was at least understandable why.

"The fields, as a result, are saturated with toxic chemicals in addition to the scorched soil. They are... well... completely unviable as farming land. For... pretty much anything. Not unless we invest considerable capital into ecological recovery efforts and..."

It was at this point the officer could hear a very angry low growl in Snarlbeak's throat and decided to just move on and get to the point of this particular part of the report.

"Um, well, the point is the main production site for our various illicit narcotic substances is... gone. And replacing it is... extremely expensive."

It went on like that really. They had suffered a complete loss of their goods in the fires that erupted in the warehouses of the dockyards, along with their most prized smuggler vessels stationed there. The slave livestock was completely lost. Those who weren't dead had all escaped, completely draining their entire supply of free manual labor. The Distillery was gone and the Chorka within had quickly migrated away from their former home. The prized Razorfins used to prevent any such escape were all dead.

To say nothing of the chemical warheads being destroyed, the nuclear device they had snatched being taken, the loss of the valuable Sangheili hostage, the horrendous casualties among men and equipment both on and off the planet, and of course, the Black Chorka had been freed. The cornerstone of his Ichor Empire, pried from his grasp. They hadn't even left him any of the creature's ichor to ration out, it was all gone.

With all this in mind, the severity of the situation was undeniable. The compound was a complete loss. Even if he could replant the drug fields or replace the Chorka, it wouldn't matter. The secret was out and its aura of impenetrable invincibility was gone. He could relocate of course, but it would never be the same. The planet had been selected specifically for its key positioning within the sector's smuggling lanes and secret slipspace routes. He had mapped it all out meticulously.

The whole point of the compound was that it would act as a main production and delivery system to everywhere. To clients, to his business fronts, to the main operation zones of his fleet. That everything could run from there in security and safety. That it would basically run itself so he could see to other matters. He had always known it was a risky move, to rely so much on a singular hub, but the idea was that a centralized production would be easier to secure and operate.

There were other small hubs of course, but none of them were on the same productive industrial scale. It was possible that they could build up one of the nodes or several to take over. It would not be as automated or secure though. It would spread things out as well, it wouldn't be as efficient, centralized nor capable of meeting the supply and demand needs. It would take forever to rebuild what was lost here, especially in terms of what gave his business the edge over other pirates.

And right now was not the time for him to be restructuring the organization when he had far more pressing matters to attend to. His window was closing, the opportunity to usurp Covenant society was slipping away. He had still not procured the Astral Cutlass and NOW he had to deal with this crap? It was intolerable.

"Overall our losses are... substantial," the logistics officer concluded, trying to lessen the blow with his choice of words. "Upwards to well over several hundred million credits, and that's just in lost assets. If we factor in the casualties, the net loss reaches into the billion range. Exact numbers are still being determined."

At long last, Zhoc unperched his hands and leaned back in his chair.

"Why was it allowed to get this bad?" He asked simply. "Do they have an explanation for why it even took them so long to inform me of this raid from the start?"

"There was significant interference in the communication relays," the officer explained. "They were completely cut off. There was also... a belief, among many of the security officers that the situation could be resolved quickly and it would be better to report good news rather than bad. So that added to the delay."

Snarlbeak just growled, a sneer of rage crossing his face.

"Are you saying that they were too afraid to admit they had so colossally failed to secure my assets?" He asked.

"More or less, sir," the officer admitted. "You have been... temperamental lately."

Snarlbeak almost looked as if he would explode in anger at that. However, he managed to calm himself just enough to prevent that. It would only prove the point being made. So, he tried to change the subject to the more pressing concern.

"How does this affect our financial prospects?" He asked, although it was clear from his tone that he already knew the answer.

"Um, well, income will be severely impacted for at least a year, maybe more," the officer explained, after gulping to try and ease his nerves. "We will no doubt lose a number of contracts and buyers. So that will add to our net losses-"

Snarlbeak slammed his fist down on his chair in annoyance, forcing the officer to just stop beating around the bush and admit what he was getting at.

"We have enough reserve capital to keep operating at current capacity for two weeks," he hurriedly admitted to his employer. "Our assessment suggests we need to pare down operations. We'll need to close some fronts, put a number of ships and material into storage or sell them off entirely. Downsizing is inevitable and then we have to abide by severance packages in that case-"

"What about the Astral Cutlass?" Zhoc demanded to know, as he had already deduced what they needed to do to continue functioning in their current state. "What about that objective?"

The logistics officer shuffled his feet for a second.

"Sir, at the current rate we're burning fuel, maintaining active patrols, spending on manpower and military equipment... it's... it's not advisable to continue the treasure hunt. We will be out of money. We won't be able to PAY anyone for anything they're doing."

"There are pay adjustment clauses within everyone's contracts," Zhoc declared angrily. "Just activate them all."

"Those clauses didn't account for a total loss of production, material and shipping, sir," the officer exclaimed. "Even if you activated all of those clauses under emergency measures, we'd still be hemorrhaging credits. Until this situation is resolved we'll have to... to..."

Zhoc had bolted out of his chair and was now towering over the officer, humbling the bird severely as he withered and shook under Snarlbeak's hateful gaze.

"Have. To. What?" He asked pointedly and directly.

"Call off the hunt," the officer finally managed to speak aloud. "It's sapping all of our reserve resources. We already lost a good deal of those trying to take one relic and not long after that, this happened. We... we can't keep operating on this level, sir. It's just not feasible. We don't have the capital to-"

"When I am in charge of the Syndicate we will have all the capital we need!" Snarlbeak declared in anger.

"But... sir, you always said that the business needs to run at peak efficiency and profitability," the officer reminded Snarlbeak, finding some dregs of courage to call upon and speak truthfully. "Even if you managed to get the Cutlass in time, the vulnerability of the fleet and organization as a whole would make it harder to force the Syndicate Queens' hands. They'd see a weakness and you've always said they'd-"

"I am not weak!"

Snarlbeak slapped the datapad out of the officer's hand and pushed him to the floor. He stood over him now, his eyes full of rage as he screamed, spit exploding out of his beak as it snapped about furiously.

"I built this all from nothing! From a scummy little operation of three ships that my worthless father ran to a powerful sector-spanning criminal empire! I did that, all of it! Even after we lost my sister, our real leader, I kept this going! I made it what it is! And you... you dare suggest one little setback is somehow enough to ruin all that hard work? All that... blood spilled? Gone to waste in the span of a few hours?"

"No, sir, we can salvage it," the officer exclaimed through his terror. "We just have to lay off the search for the Astral Cutlass-"

"NO! Never!" Snarlbeak bellowed, grabbing his officer and pulling him up by his neck. "I will not give up my prize to that damn drunk who isn't even half the bird his father was! The Cutlass is mine! It belongs to me and my sister! He will not steal it from me because of his former relations with that fucking traitorous bitch! I am too close to give all of that up now!"

"But... ack... sir-"

Snarlbeak let the officer drop to his feet, but his rage had not ebbed. Just alluding to Zek as he had was enough to focus his anger onto the little upstart. That little flotilla alliance had proven to be more trouble than he had expected them to be. They had three out of the four relics needed to find the Astral Cutlass and were now closing in on the last. While the Syndicate had obviously helped them in this latest endeavor, that just drove the point home. The Queens were betting on Zek to keep the Astral Cutlass out of his hands. Well, he'd show them how grave a miscalculation that was.

"Zek and his human friends are responsible for this. That much is clear. We eliminate them, get the Astral Cutlass before they do, at least, and none of this will matter," he insisted. "It will prove that even wounded, we are still a threat. And with the Cutlass in hand, we'll have more than enough negotiating power to start with."

"We still don't have the Cutlass, sir," the officer exclaimed, rubbing at his throat in pain. "Even if we did, as I've pointed out, strongarming the Syndicate in our financial position is a difficult-"

"I don't care!" Snarlbeak shouted down at him. "The Cutlass is within reach! All we need to do is snatch the last relic. Then we turn whatever fantastical powers it possesses on that little Alliance Zek has forged and pick up the rest from the ashes. We already have a suspicion on where the last Relic is after all. We can beat them there."

"But sir, we risk open warfare with the Covenant if we-"

"Shut it!" Snarlbeak told the officer at last. "You said we need to buckle down expenses? Fine, we'll do that. Going big didn't help us anyway. We'll get rid of some of the dead weight in this fleet. Send most of the ships back to port, that will cut down on expenditure some, give us some breathing room. We won't attack that little rock the Covenant are drilling into. Not with a full taskforce anyway like we planned. We'll send a small raiding party instead, a surgical strike, one capable of extracting our prize directly."

"Assuming it is there," the officer cautioned.

Zhoc just looked at the kig-yar still on the floor, who pulled his neck in close to his body the second his boss' gaze met his eyes.

"It's there, it has to be. And if Zek shows up with his new friends it will all but confirm it," Snarlbeak insisted. "We'll secure the relic and then use it against our treasure hunting opponents, whatever it does has to be considerably powerful."

"That's a big risk given everything we know about these relics, which is little to begin with," the officer warned. "We don't even know what this one does. It could be dangerous. Just trying to get it away from the Covenant will be-"

"Near suicidal, and given our sudden capital problems I doubt we could pay anyone enough to undertake such a task," Zhoc admitted, but a sinister look had crossed his face at this point. "That's why I'm going to fall back on something no amount of creds can buy... true, pure loyalty. LURZ!"

There was a woosh at the door to the bridge and the logistics officer scampered under a nearby console and curled up tight. Lurz approached quickly, his big bulky Ibie'shan frame dwarfing most other Kig-yar. Only Snarlbeak remained unafraid. Stupid cowards, they didn't understand Lurz like he did. The Ibie was the only one here he could truly rely on. Even through all the set backs they had encountered, Lurz had never failed to live up to his expectations. This time would be no different.

"I want you to assemble your pack," Snarlbeak ordered. "Get them prepped and ready to go. You're heading to that Covenant Excavation Site. Get in by whatever means you can, find the Relic if it is there. Zom will back you up, keep the Covenant tied up and guessing. I'll make the arrangements. And if Zek or any of his compatriots arrive before you can extract it... well... you already know what to do there."

Lurz just nodded with a grunt, before turning to leave. However, Zhoc wasn't done. He turned to his logistics officer one more time, now huddled over in fear beneath the console. Pathetic, Zhoc thought. To think, at one point he was like this bird. A shell of a creature, worthless only to be a toady, some little sidekick.

If he had been stronger, Zvasz would still be alive. Weakness always rotted away anything good. It was another reminder that she should be here, not him. She would've already gotten the Cutlass. Because she was strong. He had vowed that day to be like his sister. He was failing that vow.

Time to live up to it.

"Are the security officers who were in charge of the Central Hub still aboard?" He asked.

"Uh, yes, in debriefing," the Logistics Officer confessed. "They're awaiting reassignment to-"

"Not necessary, we still need to... what did you call it? Downsize some things?" Zhoc inquired sarcastically. "I know how we can start. Have them and all the people they had under them report to Admiral Zom. They'll be in the first waves of the raiding party."

"Sir, isn't that-"

"Yes I'm sure they'll likely all die horribly, but let them know all their families others will recieve a nice assorted fruit package when that happens as a token of appreciation for their service," Snarlbeak stated a sick smile reaching across his face. "And if that's not enough to satisfy them, I have another motivating tactic. Lurz... visit the former heads of security for the Central Hub, wouldn't you? Kindly give them their re-assignment and the first one who complains... deliver them the NEW severance package instead. And then show them out. Please? The rest will get the message."

Lurz just nodded and left. About thirty minutes later, when an airlock on the starboard side opened and evacuated suddenly, Snarlbeak knew Lurz's task was done. There would be no more weakness in this organization or in him. He would be just like his sister. He WAS just like his sister.

---

So this was it, the final relic in this treasure hunt of theirs and just within grasp. Well, still a bit aways. The exploratory probe they had launched an hour ago was giving them eyes on their target, it still wasn't safe to just jump into the system.

While the Syndicate had seemingly held up their end of the bargain, the skeleton force of Covenant ships running security was still a danger. There was one assault carrier and three battlecruisers. The Ascendant Justice-Gettysburg could probably handle them, but they were in tight formation within the Asteroid field and around the planetoid in question. What was left of it anyway. And chances were they'd call back their friends pretty quickly if they came under attack, it was a risk Whitcomb was not willing to take.

A full assault was out to begin with anyway, they had two targets now. The Relic of Power they were after was just one objective, the other was a bit trickier and it required getting aboard the Assault Carrier. Destroying or even damaging it would be detrimental to their mission of cracking the Covenant Battlenet directly and discovering the true location of the upcoming Covenant invasion of Earth, Unyielding Hierophant. They couldn't go after both objectives one at a time either. The second the enemy found out what was happening, they'd have a very short window to get out.

"I estimate an hour, maybe less before the Covenant can recall their forces to this sector," Cortana surmised. "With EDI and I blocking their comm channels with our cyberwarfare suites, we can add to that time, but its no certainty. We have no idea how far away their fleet is or how rapidly they could respond to a distress signal."

"Our best bet then is stealth," Holland stated plainly. "We have that Prowler, it can sneak our people inside. While The Normandy's own stealth drive, while not as advanced, can at least stay close to provide support. Whereas the second we jump in, cloak or otherwise, we're not staying hidden for long."

Everyone was gathered in the main briefing room of the Justice, where the images of their probe had been processed into a 3D display of the Asteroid field and all relevant targets. The assault carrier was just above the planetoid where the relic was located, its Battlecruisers patrolling the field itself just below.

"It sounds like we're going to need two teams for each objective," Shepard surmised. "One group goes for the Assault Carrier and another heads for the Relic at their excavation site."

"Are we sure the intel about Unyielding Hierophant is located on the carrier?" Whitcomb asked.

"It's their primary command ship, sir," Cortana replied, turning her little form towards him as she stood on the holographic table. "All relevant mission data would be located there. If the Syndicate's intel is correct, and these ships are assigned to report to the invasion muster station once the relic is secured, then they must have the relevant data. All I need to do is get patched in and I can crack it. I'll need to go to their main server though, located here below the communications level. I could probably access it from the bridge, but... well, that's not very stealthy is it?"

Cortana highlighted the precise room on the hologram itself, showing a blinking red room within the assault carrier itself. It looked pretty deep inside the ship. And was no doubt well-guarded.

"Then it's obvious who's taking the carrier," Whitcomb declared. "Master Chief, you and your Spartans will escort Cortana to the server room. You'll of course have to stay silent as long as possible."

"We may not look it, but we've managed covert ops before, Admiral," Chief assured him. "We'll get there and out, with the intel."

"I could lend a hand with my own stealth experts, Thane and Kasumi," Shepard offered. "Best not take too many of our own of course, we want to keep this small."

"Agreed," Whitcomb replied. "But, we still have the relic to procure and that will be difficult. That place is going to be swarming with Covenant trying to dig that thing out. And chances are with their forced pulled away, I'm presuming they'll be doubling shifts on those who remain."

Haverson nodded in consensus with the Admiral's point.

"He's right, if the Covenant of this battlegroup are supposed to link up with those already mustering to invade Earth, they'll be pushing up their timetable to get it done," he insisted. "That means fewer breaks, more people... and no doubt more taskmasters to get the work done. The good news is that means there won't be as many Elites on the Assault Carrier, or Grunts, or Jackals, they'll mostly be on the planetoid. That gives the Spartans and Shepard's people some legroom. But..."

"It won't be easy to sneak around the excavation area," Holland concluded.

The slight clearing of a throat caught everyone's attention.

"That's why we're here, gentlemen," Taq reminded them, looking to both Zek and Retz beside her. "We'll be a lot less conspicuous down there than any human."

"Is it wise to go yourself, Taq?" Shepard asked. "I know we've taken you before but-"

"Nothing has changed, I know my way around Covenant dig sites, I've been a part of and infiltrated them before, I know protocol better than you," Taq stated bluntly. "Better than either of these two most certainly. No offense, Retz."

"None taken," Retz replied.

It took a moment for Zek to register he was not included in the "no offense" clause.

"Hey!"

Taq dismissed his annoyance with a wave of her hand. She the continued.

"Chances are what's down there on that planetoid is the remains of something Forerunner, which I know... distinctly. It's probably what's giving them such a hard time."

"What do you mean?" Haverson asked, genuinely curious. "Why haven't they been able to get the relic yet? I assume they haven't, at least, because they're still here drilling, so to speak."

"Well as you've seen already, Forerunner technology is... hard to crack," she explained. "And these relics themselves are... highly secured. Even for the Forerunners. I suspect their origins to the Precursors have something to do with it. They really didn't want their old enemy's toys getting out to cause havoc, obviously. So the Covenant are likely running into road block. Doors, security functions, traps, there's always a few traps.

And there's also the fact that despite worshipping them, the Covenant barely understand most of what they're fiddling around with half the time. They're too worried about ruining the mystique or committing heresy to peek under the hood. Too afraid of profaning the holiness of sacred ground. I mean, they will at times, because they're hypocrites, but my guess is they're a bit more worried here because they don't want to destroy what they're after."

"These relics have proven to be a ton of trouble," Cortana concurred.

"More than even we initially bargained for," Haverson stated.

Taq was very quick to jump in with an attempt to ease concerns.

"It's just one more relic, everyone," she reminded them. "One last stop and we have our map to the Astral Cutlass. This time, we'll be careful."

"We've said that alot this trip, honestly," Haverson reminded her.

Shepard stepped in now to keep things on track. He could tell that this was a sore point for everyone, but they had discussed this before and they were already committed to the plan of getting the relics. No sense in arguing about it now.

"Taq, are you sure you can get to the relic chamber before the Covenant can without alerting them?" The Commander asked her sincerely.

"Of course," she assured him with a confident grin. "I've done it many times. And I still have a secret trick they don't that will make finding it way easier."

Taq held up the Amplifier in her talons, its green resonance glowing brightly. Once again, Haverson interjected.

"It's still a risk to send you in there with that thing," he warned. "Not only could the Covenant capture it and you, well... those things act funny around each other."

"True, but we don't have much choice," Holland confessed. "It is the fastest way to locate the relic, just like before with the Crystal on Reach. And technically, even though it was problematic, that little accident did clue us into a lot of important information we wouldn't have otherwise."

"Yes, but we don't know what this relic can do, sir," Haverson warned. "A time loop and being catapulted into the future are one set of problems. Who's to say what this one will do?"

"Actually, I do have a working theory," Cortana explained astutely. "I believe that given these relics are supposed to work in tandem to locate the Astral Cutlass, that their functions may somewhat work off one another in some fashion. I think we can at least rule out anything that repeats what we've previously faced."

"Given that we're looking at a devastated planetoid in a desolate asteroid field, I worry that it's something bad," Holland said, looking grimly at the holographic imagery on display.

"Probably, although we can't be for certain the relic caused this," Cortana interjected. "The Forerunners may have simply moved the relic here because it was already isolated and remote. But if we can find out what they were studying at this facility, perhaps, like the Mind's Eye, we can ascertain what the relic's powers are."

"It's better than going in blind," Shepard agreed.

Taq shrugged at the suggestion.

"I can easily discern that alongside getting through the site," she assured them. "I imagine though you have other concerns."

Whitcomb just nodded.

"Not to... impugn on your talents or credibility, ma'am, but... well, it's a little concerning to send you into that place by your lonesome," the Admiral explained. "It would ease our minds if someone from our side of the table went with you."

"You mean to keep an eye on us," Zek finally spoke up, sounding annoyed and dejected. "Because after so long, you still don't trust us."

"I wouldn't say that," Haverson countered. "I'd say we'd just like to have someone with you to keep you on track and keep us informed on your progress."

"You don't exactly have many people on your side that can blend in to a crowded excavation site on a half-mined out planetoid with sangheili guards swarming all over it," Zek stated firmly. "Who would you send with us?"

Shepard was quick to think of a candidate.

"I suppose we could shift the plan so Kasumi goes along with them instead," he stated. "We could bring Legion on our mission to the Assault Carrier."

"What about his little... freezing issue?" Holland asked.

"It's still a problem, but Tali has been doing regular check ups with their code," Shepard assured them. "Their neural interface should be stable for the time being until the next scheduled check in."

Holland just nodded.

"They're your people, Commander, you know best where to send them," the Army Colonel relented. "We should get underway soon. We have no idea how long the Syndicate's distraction is going to hold at this rate. I suggest we prep everyone who is going and get them aboard the Prowler within the next thirty minutes or so."

"Agreed," Whitcomb concurred. "No sense in wasting time we don't have. Not only could the Covenant return in force, but we still have an invasion to stop and not many more days to do it in. Every hour we don't know this Hierophant's location is one closer to it launching its armada to glass Earth. Time is of the essence, people. Let's get this done. Today."

---

Everyone on the mission was at the Prowler shortly after the briefing concluded. Taq took a bit longer to get there, but only because she was procuring something that she, Zek and Retz would need. She came into the hangar and walked over to the Prowler dressed in a Covenant Pressure Suit made for Kig-Yar and dragging two extra with her.

"Gentlemen, our disguises," she informed her compatriots. "Best get changed."

Zek picked up his new helmet, looking at it with disgust.

"Ugh, the prospect of acting like a Covie Stooge again is not exactly exciting," he complained. "This mission is already a major downgrade from our last one."

"Oh, poor fledgling," Taq mocked unsympathetically. "Cry me a river, after today we'll have every relic and the map to the Astral Cutlass will be complete. You can stomach looking like a stupid worker for a while."

"Worker? Is that our cover?" Zek grumbled. "Couldn't you make us security?"

"Oh brilliant, I suppose you have their security codes and patrol shifts memorized then?"

Zek looked blankly at her.

"That's what I thought," Taq sighed. "Dressing like guards is always risky. They know each other. No one notices the lowly stupid worker in a sea of hundreds. If we had time, we could try for that, but we don't."

"We have a backup in case things go wrong," Zek reminded her.

"Calling in for reinforcements is a last resort," Taq stated. "We need to be in and out and preferably before they know we're there. Just for once follow my lead on something instead of being a fucking idiot."

"Alright, alright, Ocean's Depth you're testy today," Zek said, trying to ease her mind somewhat.

"I'm this close to finally getting my claws on the historical find of the millennia! I'm not about to ruin that so you can play whatever stupid spy game you have in mind for today," Taq bluntly explained. "We do this by my rules. The rules that have enabled me to raid several Forerunner Ruins under Heavy Covenant Excavation."

"I prefer the professional approach myself."

Kasumi appeared, leaning against the Prowler, as she spoke. At this point, none of the Jackals were at all surprised to see she had arrived and been listening in for a while. Retz was starting to think they had become her favorite "sit-com," a human term he had only learned a while ago.

"Question is, can we pull this one off?" Kasumi asked Taq without missing a beat. "This isn't your standard heist. It's crowded, enclosed, in the middle of space, everyone is looking for what we're after and, worst of all, we need to find it before they do and get out before they realize we took it."

"I admit, it's not my usual play," Taq confessed. "Most of the time I'm stealing the things they overlook. But they haven't reached where the artifact is being kept. We can circumvent their efforts."

"How?" Kasumi asked honestly. "Is there a waste pipe? Disposal chute? A vent? There's usually a vent."

Taq rolled her eyes.

"Come now, it's rarely that silly," Taq claimed.

"Is it?" Kasumi asked, grinning slyly.

Taq took a moment.

"Okay, once or twice more often than usual," she admitted with a sigh. "But here, there is likely an easier way. Based on what I know of the facility that housed the Mind's Eye, we can bypass their security by gaining clearance from one of the high-end terminals. Then, we'll locate a shortcut through the facility that takes us past the arduous excavation efforts they're likely doing. Maintenance, experiment corridors, administration, we'll sneak in through the backrooms while they keep pounding on the front door."

"Why wouldn't the Covenant have tried that?" Retz asked.

"Besides the fact Forerunner tech is resistant to the Covenant's attempts to unlock it half the time?" Taq replied rather plainly. "In every excavation I went on back in school, all progress was constantly hampered by someone who feared the difficulty we were being presented with were tests. All designed to measure our faith and that skipping important steps to proving our worth would some how be blasphemous. I imagine its the same story here. I don't know for how long though, as discussed, they're probably growing fed up and are just gonna blast the doors open or whatever, heresy be damned. I won't know exactly what their problems are until we're down there."

"So we're sorta going in blind and making assumptions," Retz sighed. "Wonderful."

"Like I said, we don't have much time for a better plan," Taq groaned in accordance. "Loath as I am to admit it, this is our best play. But... the reward is sweet all the same."

Zek cackled in agreement.

"Ah yeah, the Astral Cutlass, I can just feel that sword practically in my hands now," he laughed. "The power to cut our way to the top of the fucking ladder, baby."

"Can you try to think of the historical importance of this find beyond your potential criminal career's impending upswing?" Taq asked incredulously. "We're talking about proving the legitimacy of a legend here!"

"And about becoming an untouchable pirate lord," Zek declared boastfully. "With the power to tell other people to fuck off or else. It's the big time, Taq! That's what matters in the end. The other stuff is just icing on the cake."

Taq huffed and turned away, Retz remained looking at his Shipmaster. Kasumi read his expression easily enough, it was a mixture of sadness, disappointment and anxiety. Slowly but surely, Retz approached Zek with tepid posture.

"Zek, what exactly is our plan once we get the Cutlass?" He asked.

"Simple enough, we establish our little cut of the universe, carve it out and live like kings," Zek exclaimed. "Pirate kings! And we're talk things over with the Syndicate, make sure they don't try to pull anything shitty or whatever. Maybe deal with Snarly when he comes calling. Make the UNSC eat out of our hands for a change. We can finally, really, truly, be free, Retz! It's what we always wanted and we're almost there."

"Yeah, what we've always wanted," Retz repeated, not sounding all that enthusiastic as he did.

Zek may have been a tactless bird at times, but he wasn't completely clueless. He could tell when his friend was being bothered by something.

"Retz," he began to inquire. "Is there something... wrong, bud?"

"I'm just... thinking about some things," Retz confessed. "I mean, we're not just going to leave the Alliance are we? Once we have the Cutlass."

"Oh no, we'll make some arrangements before that," Zek assured. "I still want this Carrier after all. We'll get some contracts in order, set things up, part ways amicably. I think that's best for future business arrangements."

"Hmm, I see," Retz nodded. "But you know, we'll still have those relics even after the Astral Cutlass."

"Yeah, you're right," Zek realized. "I guess we'll give them to the Humans. Gesture of good faith. We'll have the real prize anyway."

Retz didn't seem to be getting through whatever it was he was trying to explain to his old friend. Before he could actually try again, the Spartans arrived, interrupting things with just their mere presence. You couldn't exactly ignore the giant walking armored super soldiers lugging huge guns after all.

"Is everyone here?" The Master Chief asked.

"Shep, Legion and Thane are almost here," Kasumi explained. "Jack didn't want Thane to leave without promising if something went wrong, he'd let her know so she could be first to, and I quote, break that carrier in half to get him out of there."

"I'm... not sure that was relevant information in connection to the mission," Chief replied, sounding and actually looking a bit confused even through his visor.

"It's relevant to keeping appraised of all the ongoings of my crew," Kasumi countered. "Which are endlessly fascinating."

"You just spy on everyone don't you?" Zek asked, his tone only slightly annoyed.

"Everyone in this fleet is a hundred times more entertaining than any vid," The Thief explained, a cat-like grin stretching across her face. "Plus it keeps my stealth skills sharp. This cloak is only doing half the work."

"She hasn't been doing that with us too, has she?" Kelly asked. "I put in heat signature and motion detectors around our barracks section for that reason."

Kasumi just giggled.

"You'll never know for sure," she declared.

Kelly brought out a pad and began typing something down.

"Recheck espionage countermeasures upon return," she spoke aloud.

"I'm pretty sure she's just messing with us," Fred told her.

"I don't take chances with security," Kelly insisted.

"Speaking of, do we know how exactly each of us are inserting?" Retz asked. "I know a lot of our planning for this has been rather hastily put together, but do we at least have a clue as to the most crucial part of it all? Getting inside?"

Cortana emerged on Master Chief's omni-tool upon that question, a holographic display already at the ready.

"We do have a plan actually, one I conferred with EDI, so Shepard is already briefed," the AI explained. "We have a pretty good idea of the layout of the assault carrier thanks to our detailed files on Covenant Ships. The same goes for the planetoid thanks in part to the intel that Zix handed over. For the Carrier, we're going to be using an external maintenance airlock. It's primarily used for Engineers to fix exterior damage to the hull. It's close to our objective so it's ideal for insertion. It will take a minute to crack though. Your planetoid is a bit trickier. We'll be dropping you off here."

Cortana pointed to a part of the holographic planetoid where a small crater was located, not far off from the excavation site.

"You can walk from there to the site proper and gain entry that way," Cortana explained. "The Prowler's cloaking device is powerful, but people will notice you four dropping in from nowhere if we put you too close."

"I've infiltrated harder," Taq assured Cortana. "With less than these resources. That's not the hard part, it's getting out in synchronization with your team that's going to prove a challenge."

"Agreed," Cortana confirmed. "Chances are high either one of us could be discovered. In that case, be prepared to throw any plan out the window. And hope that we can get out of here before the main body of the Covenant fleet returns."

"Whatever happens, we need to get in and out with information on Hierophant and the Relic," The Master Chief reminded them. "Too much is riding on this."

"Then it's good thing we're altogether."

That was Shepard, approaching with Legion and Thane.

"Looks like everyone's here," the Commander observed. "And we already know what's at stake here and how tricky this is gonna be, so let's just skip that part. Whatever happens out there, so long as we stick with our team and act together, we can pull this off."

"And then, it's off to the Astral Cutlass at last!" Zek declared. "Now enough with duty calling and speechifying! Fortune and Glory awaits, boys and girls! Let's steal some shit!"

Zek was already heading into the Prowler before he was even finished.

"I wasn't speechifying, I was encouraging," Shepard tried to explained.

"All the same, sir, best get underway," Master Chief commented.

The Commander nodded and everyone piled into the Prowler. Moments later the engines were hot and the ship's cloak began to pass over them as they exited out of the hangar.

---

The inside of the Prowler was a little cramped just with the Spartans inside it, but everyone just toughed it out. It wouldn't be long before they were out of it anyway. With the Ascendant Justice just out of range of Covenant sensors, they launched.

They headed for the Planetoid's debris field. There wasn't much to do on the trip over really, other than listen to Zek, Retz and Taq go over their cover story if ever questioned. Retz had to keep reminding Zek to make it as boring and mundane as possible and not try to look too important. Which annoyed the pirate leader because it seemingly took the fun out of the undercover aspect of the mission.

"Why fake being someone lame?" Zek finally asked.

"Because the more interesting you are the more attention you get," Retz put it bluntly.

Eventually Zek gave in and they got to the debris field. From there, under the guise of their cloak, their vessel slinked through the bits of destroyed planet and past the Battlecruisers patrolling the perimeter. There was no indication they had been spotted, the little ONI spyship was really proving its worth today.

Their first stop, the Assault Carrier over the planetoid itself. It was obvious enough that the ship had used its plasma beam to glass and break apart a large portion of the planetoid in question. While a lot the damage to the surface looked old, the distinct black and charred rock said that some extreme excavation measures had been necessary. The Covenant were on a tight schedule after all.

They arrived soon enough at the maintenance hatch, from there the Spartans departed using the airlock. It took a bit to get everyone, including Shepard's team, out the door, but they were soon walking on the surface of the Covenant ship, boots magnetized to its surface. With Cortana's assistance, they soon cracked the hatch's lock. Chief delivered a thumb's up to the pilots and they were off. Zek got a good look at the Spartans on one of the external cameras as they began dropping into the carrier one by one, Shepard and his team soon following.

"Well, they're set," he remarked. "Time to get our game faces on then."

"Just stick to the story we've practiced and you'll be fine," Taq informed him.

"Yeah, yeah, but it's gonna be a hell of a walk from that crater to the excavation hole," Zek reminded them. "Doesn't sound too fun really. Or timely, given how speed is a big factor in this plan."

"Just keep thinking of the Cutlass," Taq told him. "One little hike is worth unlocking the greatest secret in Kig-yar history."

Before long they were at the crater and Kasumi, Retz, Taq and Zek jumped out of the Prowler and onto the dusty dead world beneath them. The Prowler, still cloaked, floated off as soon as they had landed.

"We'll be on station for monitoring purposes," the pilot said. "But if something goes wrong..."

"We're on our own, don't worry we'll be fine," Taq assured them. "Just stay close so if something does go wrong you can call in the troops to drop in on us."

With that the Prowler took off, leaving the four to begin the trek to the excavation site. Even from here, they could see it. Wasn't hard to miss a giant hole in the world after all.

"How far down you think we're going to have to go?" Kasumi asked.

"As far they've gotten," Taq presumed. "Let's just hope they're not TOO close to getting what they're after. Otherwise getting out is going to be even more difficult than I hoped."

"Hey, we escaped the Plunder Nest just fine," Zek said confidently. "This is a big hole in the ground, not a damn military compound."

"They weren't expecting trouble," Taq reminded him. "The Covenant likely is. They always are around their Forerunners and the 'sacred temples' they left behind."

Taq's sarcastic tone concerning "sacred temples" was well noted and even Zek had to admit she had a point. Still, he tried to be a bit optimistic.

"I'm guessing you still have an idea on how to get out all the same?" He asked Taq.

"If we're lucky and we don't need the Drop Troopers to come to our rescue, yes," she replied. "There should be some dropships in there running debris duty. You know, clearing out rock and rubble safely so it doesn't crush anyone. We could snag one, escape in the confusion."

"As good a plan as any," Kasumi noted. "Let's get going. We have a treasure map to complete after all."

The four started bounding across the crater floor, making their way to the excavation site proper and, with any luck, the final relic that awaited them.

---

Moving through the innards of the carrier was a harrowing task. Cortana linked everyone's motion trackers together to better boost their accuracy and collective signal. However, there wasn't much activity as the bowels of the ship were near empty. As suspected, anyone who could be spared had been sent down to the excavation site. That included every Covie from Elites on down to Grunts. That did not mean it was deserted though, as Cortana could attest herself.

"Sporadic movement in the corridors, there's still a number of squads patrolling the area," she warned. "I'm going to try and isolate their communications, keep them from calling for help just to be safe."

"We should clear out as many as possible," Chief determined. "We need to secure this deck so we can search the server logs for references concerning Hierophant. Fan out, track down the blips, terminate the hostiles."

"Sounds like my old job," Thane reasoned. "I can take down a few silently."

"Legion and I will shadow you," Shepard told him. "We shouldn't stray far from each other."

"Agreed, stay on secure channels, check in regularly with your positions," Chief ordered. "We'll move room by room, hall by hall towards the server room."

With that the large group split up, heading down different paths with the same destination in mind. Chief had Cortana monitor the team chatter, while he and Kelly moved through the first corridor.

They spotted an Elite turning a corner and hid as he approached. As he neared, Chief darted out, smashing him into the opposite wall with his shoulder where Kelly fired a suppressed SMG into the hostile's face. It was a quick kill, they'd have to keep that up as they went. There was no room for mistakes here.

Thankfully there wasn't too much foot traffic at first. Thane managed to clear out a room with deadly precision before Shepard entered, taking down a pack of sleeping Grunts before stabbing their Elite Overseer in the back. They kept saying he was sick, but he never seemed like it. Chief wondered how much better he'd be if the Drell was healthy.

Enemy patrols got a lot thicker at they got closer though. The Covenant were not that lax with security. The pair of Elites marching down the next hallway was self evident of that enough. Chief readied himself as Anton came up behind, putting in a fresh clip for his silenced submachine gun. He had cleared out one of the nearby rooms from the looks of it, the bodies of some Jackals covering the floor across the way. The doors slid shut soon after, blocking them from view.

"Two more signatures, approaching from a bend up ahead," Cortana warned in Chief's ear.

Sure enough, their blips came on the radar. He looked to Anton but said nothing, simply telling him to move back somewhat into a small alcove. They couldn't risk being spotted so easily. As they did so, a second pair of Elites soon emerged. They passed the other pair soon after and continued on their way. Chief only moved when the two groups were far enough apart and out of sight of the other. He motioned Anton to follow.

When they got to the corner, their original targets were already rounding the bend. The new targets weren't a problem for much longer. As a door opened to their direct right. Kat moved swiftly in from behind and stabbed an electrified omni-blade from her robotic arm into one of the Elites' necks. The second had a split second to react, but couldn't as Linda had moved quickly to deliver a powerful blow to the black of the Elite's head. When he fell forward, Linda stabbed her knife deep into the back of the alien's neck, and held his face down.

Chief and Anton kept moving then, heading after the first two Elites. They slunk down the corridor towards their pair of targets. Chief got to his first, grabbing the Elite by the head, smashing it sideways into a wall and then stabbing an omni-blade into the alien's mouth. Anton stuck his knife into the Elite's jugular, left it there and then grabbed the alien's mandibles before unleashing a short burst of his silenced submachine gun at close-range. That took care of him.

As they let the bodies fall, they moved to a nearby door. Opening it revealed Fred, bashing the heads in of some sleepings Grunts or shooting others in the head with a silenced pistol. Kelly was with him, backing him up by going after a Jackal up ahead on patrol. She got up behind him and snapped the alien's neck rather efficiently. As expected from his teammates, it was why he trusted them to be on their own for a bit.

They had to be making good time at least, according to Cortana's specs they weren't that much further from the server room. He was concerned though, the lack of communication and radio silence meant he was relying on visual checks alone to keep track of everyone. Along with the blips on his motion tracker. He didn't know what everyone's else status was unless he stumbled on them, like Kelly and Fred. For the moment, he was wondering where the Commander was.

He got his answer when they got further down the next corridor. A blue burst smashed an Elite into a far wall before a Jackal collapsed from several silenced shots. The Commander and Legion moved up into view, looking somewhat frustrated.

"They almost made us," he confessed in a hushed tone. "Took out another over there."

"Enemy presence increasing," Legion stated.

"Covenant might be concentrating security around the server room more than expected," Cortana cautioned.

"Where's Thane?" Chief asked.

The answer came from the sound of struggle behind a door nearby. Entering the area, which appeared to be a small living space for the crew, they found slaughter before them. Several Grunts and Jackals laid flat to the ground, dead.

Only a single Covie remained, an Elite trying to that was desperately trying to take down his men's assailant, Thane. The Drell ducked beneath a plasma blade, only to get struck hard in the ribs and shoulder blade. The Covie's arm went limp. He turned to attack Thane, but a strike to his neck suddenly brought him low. Thane then drove an omni-blade into the alien's gut and twisted. The Covie then dropped to the floor.

"Apologies," Thane said, already busying to hide the bodies as quick as possible. "I would've been able to take him quicker not too long ago."

"Really? You're apologizing for killing a whole Covie squad?" Anton asked, helping Chief to drag the dead Elite somewhere out of the way.

"I had tried to kill the Elite first, not last," Thane explained, finishing dragging the last of the dead jackals to a secluded corner. "Missed my second kill shot, only disoriented him."

"Let's just focus on the server room," Chief told them.

Hiding the bodies had taken a bit of time, but it was better to be safe than sorry. They still had a good deal of this level to clear though and the winding maze of corridors gave the enemy a lot of potential spots to hide. They moved through the room Thane had cleared for now, slowly advancing on the exit door. As they approached it though, a hit came on the motion tracker. Something was advancing towards them.

Chief motioned everyone to sought cover among the machinery and alcoves of the room. Save for Legion who simply activated their Cloak function and vanished. Moments later, a pair of Elites strode in. They were instantly confused by the lack of activity, the dim lighting and the team's quick stashing of Thane's kills helped somewhat to mask the infiltrators. The Elites moved into the room cautiously, suspiciously scanning the area.

Legion made their move soon enough. It grabbed one of the Elites and activated an overload attack that overpowered the alien's nervous system at close range. The synth then immediately struck the second Elite down with a powerful punch that sent it into the waiting biotic fist of Commander Shepard. The Commander's strike sent the Elite flying into the opposite wall, where Fred smashed his foot down on the Covie and fired a spread of suppressed submachine gun bullets into it.

"This is getting hairy," Fred admitted. "How long can we keep this up?"

That was when they got word from Jun.

"Noble 3 to team, I'm in position near the target," he called in.

Chief quickly responded.

"Jun, you're already there?" He asked.

"Took a shortcut through some ducts," he explained. "I'm seeing a small contingent of guards. Some grunts, at least two Elites. Nothing well guarded, but still might prove a problem on my own."

"We're close to you," Chief assured. "Remain on overwatch, we'll be there presently."

They had expected at least a few guards on a vital system for the ship, so this wasn't really going to change their plans. They'd need to get over to the Server Room quickly though and coordinate with Jun to handle the situation. Their cover was still intact... for now. They just needed to keep it that way a little longer.

---

Getting into the excavation site wasn't actually as hard as even Taq feared it might be. There was no real perimeter. The Covenant obviously didn't think anyone would ever get this close. No fence, no guards, nothing was there to keep them out. They just had to slide down a slope and they were inside the massive hole in the planetoid. A few minutes later, they saw their first workers and just blended in among them. Save for Kasumi, who just activated her cloak and vanished.

The workers mostly ignored them, especially the unggoy. They were all too busy clearing away debris or working at terminals trying to get them back online. They certainly had their work cut out for them. This Forerunner facility was a shambles, even by Taq's standards. Multiple caved in corridors, smashed equipment, blown-out walls, holes in the floor and ceiling, collapsed rooms and hallways, various passages that appeared to be misaligned, even turned upside down and it appeared most of the lighting was being generated by the Covenant themselves. There were various iridescent lamp posts, likely hooked to a central generator. What power they could restore was reserved for the computer equipment and electronics, not the lights.

"Well this is a complete mess," Retz observed, watching another pair of unggoy dragging away debris in a cart. "They really did a number when they blasted their way in here."

"I'm not so sure all of this is them," Taq claimed, pointing to a large hole above them in the ceiling. "The damage here is consistent with it being blown outwards, from the inside, and certainly not by plasma charges. There's a significant lack of energy scoring and glassing effect on these rocks."

"Hmm, so this might be the artifact's doing?" Retz questioned, reasoning it was the best explanation given all they knew about these relics.

Taq could only nod, it was the most logical conclusion.

"Something went wrong here, terribly wrong," She presumed. "The Covenant's methods of excavation haven't helped, but not all of this is them."

"My question is where the fuck are their Huragok?" Zek asked incredulously. "They got everyone busting their ass to fix up this place save the guys who could actually do it way faster."

"I can only speculate, but I imagine they have them working on the critical components for what's left of this facility," Taq answered. "They need to get it functional if they're going to get access to anything."

Suddenly they heard a loud blast followed by a burst of blue light. They hurried over to a blown out wall, just in time to see the aftermath of an explosion to blew away some debris from what appeared to be a once blocked off corridor leading deeper into the Forerunner ruins.

"They shouldn't be doing that," Taq claimed. "This place is unstable enough as it is. Explosives won't just damage potential finds, it can also cause this place to collapse further."

"You've used charges before," Zek recalled.

"Carefully and within reason, like on some stupid puzzle door," Taq clarified. "They're just making their job more dangerous and ours, consequently, more difficult."

"They must be getting nervous about missing their rendezvous with the rest of their fleet," Retz surmised. "Or simply concerned they could be a target given the Syndicate's diversionary attacks."

"So they're on as much of a time crunch as we are," Zek grumbled. "Wonderful."

Kasumi's voice came into their ears collectively through their comms.

"Hard to tell given how this place looks, but they seem to have gotten pretty far in to begin with," she stated. "They might be getting too close for comfort to our prize."

"Either way, we need a terminal," Taq stated. "An operating one that can give us a proper layout."

"They've been here for a while," Zek told her. "Are you sure you're gonna be able to find a way in they've overlooked?"

"I know the Covenant, Zek," Taq assured him. "They don't check as thoroughly as I do. The Forerunners always have a few backdoors somewhere. Remember that secret tram in New Teteocan? There's a way in they're not seeing. We just have to hope it's not in as much disrepair as the rest of this place."

"Then we have to find it," Kasumi concurred. "There's a larger room I passed, it's just up ahead from you. Had one of those fancy hologram displays the Forerunners seemed to love so much. Try there. I'll keep taking a look around."

"Keep us posted, Ms. Goto, and stay out of sight," Retz cautioned.

The trio made their way through a tunnel, one they needed to squeeze through because was partially collapsed. Currently the ceiling above it was being held up by a series of steel planks. They crawled partially on their knees before emerging on the other side where unggoys were still trying to clear out debris around them. Not just from the partially collapsed corridor but from other rooms and tunnels around them. They were a few kig-yar around the area, but they were keeping to themselves on their own tasks, which was primarily either security or overseeing.

There was at least one of the kig-yar that was working on some wiring in a wall. He rushed out suddenly when a burst of sparks erupted from the hatch he was halfway inside. When he scrambled out of the wall the whole way, his quills were smoking and he looked about ready hack up a lung.

"And that is why you don't remove helmets and eye protection," Taq muttered as they walked past. "Probably took off his because he couldn't fit."

Once they walked a little further, they finally found the large room Kasumi had pinpointed for them. Inside was indeed a large holographic display at the center. It looked corrupted though, possibly due to whatever damage this part of the facility had sustained. From the look of it, the hologram was supposed to be showing the planetoid, itself, but the area around where the facility was located was flickering and distorted.

"Well, if we're going to find schematics of the facility this looks like the place," Taq reasoned.

There were a number of terminals and consoles within the room itself. Most of them were occupied by someone either working on them or attempting to fix them. They were too focused on their work to pay the three kig-yar who had just walked in much mind.

The real concern for Zek, Retz and Taq was the single sangheili overseeing things. He was berating a small group of unggoy and kig-yar, no doubt on their progress with their assigned tasks. While no one could really make out what he was screaming about, it was obvious from the amount of spittle he was spewing in the faces of his subordinates that he was most displeased.

"Yeah, let's uh... give that one a wide berth," Zek suggested.

"No argument there," Taq agreed. "Besides, we need some place with fewer eyes in here."

Taq scanned the room for a moment, before her gaze fell on a small workstation off to the corner. She hurried over, not saying anything and trusting her fellows to follow close. When they got to the console, Taq immediately set to work.

"This should be it," she said. "I just need to restore power."

"What do you need from us to make that happen?" Retz requested.

"I'll let you know," Taq said, carefully pulling up one of the floor hatches. "For now, look like you're busy and keep an eye out for Mr. Shouty-Mandibles."

Retz and Zek quickly moved to others sections of the wider console bridge they were at. Zek went to a control panel and pretend to try and flip buttons to switch it on. Retz moved to a monitor display, which gave him ample view of the sangheili overseer. He was moving on to another group of workers and was now berating them with equal amounts of ire and derision.

Taq only needed a few moments to reroute the power manual to essential systems. Despite the damage to the facility, it appeared that the energy grid had only been disrupted, not deactivated. She needed only to locate the back-ups and failsafes to restore functionality to the console. Zek, to his credit, pretended that he had done something right when the control panel he was at lit up.

"Alright, we're... in business," he said, briefly looking back to Taq who was already the console proper.

At this point, Taq was already bringing up several command displays on the holographic screen she had activated. She went through a mental checklist of ever system she needed to bring online and every command function she needed to switch on. Then it would be a matter of bypassing a few protocols to get where she needed to go.

She appreciated the formulaic set ups of Forerunners systems. They were nothing if not efficient about how these facilities operated. Efficient in their predictability at least. It made it easy to learn how to get around them most of the time. The Forerunners rarely deviated from the preferences. At least when it came to the most basic functions.

"Okay access systems diagnostic," she whispered to herself. "Compile... damage report. Access facility records. Safety regulations engaged... access emergency logs... hmm, assess problem sectors... okay, power grid functionality is... yep, partially disrupted. Locate manual failsafes..."

There was a blessing in disguise to the facility being damaged, one that Taq could exploit. The Forerunners, regardless of their penchant for creating superweapons of mass galactic-wide destruction, were sticklers for safety protocols. And if a facility was damaged as badly as this place, then you could have an easier time accessing some systems for emergency purposes. If you knew what to look for.

At the moment, she was covering all her bases. She doubted the Covenant themselves hadn't tried to do some of this already. Escape hatches, emergency corridors, exit routes, if it could get you out it could also get you in. Problem was a lot of those passages, according to the computer, were either blocked, damaged, inaccessible or simply did not lead where they needed to go. So it was mostly just a way of crossing off potential entryways they could use.

The real goal though was to access the main schematics for the facility. If the computer recognized the extent of the damage to the facility, it would potentially grant her access to the schematics to assist her in finding her own way out. It wasn't like the computer could figure out that she actually wanted a way in. The only thing blocking her were some security protocols that were baked-in to the system, which she could bypass given some time.

"We... we in business?" Zek asked, poking his head up from his control panel.

"Almost," Taq replied. "I just need to work through some overrides, then I can start looking over the schematics in detail."

While she was doing that though, the sangheili who was taking out his frustrations on everyone had turned their eyes closer to their section of the room. Luckily, Retz was already on it, rushing off his monitor towards another group of technicians who were trying to get their control panel working. Seeing them struggle, he slid in beside them and kicked up his own fuss.

"Come on, I just got one of these working in another sector," he declared. "Didn't you get the report on that?"

The unggoy working on the hatch looked up confused. Retz, feigning annoyance, quickly forced his way past the hapless technician and clicked in a few plugs. The system whirred to life once more, loudly and with a few sparks that jostled some of the other workers away from their stations. Within moments, a commotion had been created as Retz's actions, while successful, were seen as disruptive.

"Hey, you're not on this detail," one of the kig-yar complained. "The hell are you doing?"

"Your job, apparently," Retz said with a mock snarl. "I sent a report on how to bypass the power disruption! Why aren't you getting this done faster?"

"We didn't get any report," the kig-yar replied. "Besides, we were trying to make sure the circuit breakers were functional before we did anything!"

"Which you wouldn't have had to worry about if you followed my report!" Retz argued, sounding as entitled and arrogant as possible in his response.

"We didn't get your damn report!" The kig-yar answered. "Who in the fuck are you anyway?"

The argument was enough to get the sangheili's attention, who stopped heading over to Taq and Zek. He now moved to deal with his arguing subordinates instead. When he approached, the unggoys were the first the quiet down, everyone else did when he spoke.

"What is the meaning of this?" He demanded to know.

Everyone stood at attention instantly, but the kig-yar who confronted Retz spoke first.

"Sir, this one showed up out of nowhere and started messing with our shit!" He declared. "Nearly blew some of us up!"

"I got their station working while they were wasting time," Retz argued. "And as you can see, I have done just that. Not my fault they didn't get the circuit breakers checked more promptly."

The Sangheili eyed them both and instantly made his judgment on the entire situation.

"I have no time for bickering between any of you," he declared. "Or incompetence! These systems need to brought online so we may access the security functions of the facility! You are you to get that process done quickly! Plain and simple, are we clear?"

"Of course, sir," Retz answered. "That was my only concern."

"All the same, do not rush into an unassigned detail!" The sangheili declared. "You kig-yar, all the same. You won't get any advanced bonuses based on you giving yourselves more work. I've had to deal with this sort of nonsense enough already. Stick to your stations, period." He turned to the other kig-yar. "And YOU work faster. We will have no more delays! Not today! Now back to work, all of you!"

The kig-yar gave one last snarl to Retz before returning to his job alongside his fellows. Retz, in the meantime walked away. But not back to Zek and Taq, lest he draw the attention of the sangheili too early. He instead made his way around the room and waited for the sangheili overseer to find some other problem in some other section to scream about. When he finally doubled back to the others, Taq had managed to make some progress.

Floating just in front of her, flickering about, was a small representation of the facility. Most of it anyway, a lot of it was in red. One didn't have to speculate why, considering the massive hole in the planetoid. Though there was enough in blue to prove the inner sanctum of the ruins was intact. Taq was focused on the center of snaking corridors and various rooms, a large antechamber, fairly similar to where they had found the previous relics.

"So that's it?" Zek asked.

"It fits," Taq stated. "We've been in at least two rooms now that match the characteristics, the only reason the Amplifier wasn't is because it was enroute to some place else. Getting there is the tricky part."

"But you've found one," Retz determined.

Taq nodded and pointed to a shaft leading from the antechamber down into another room.

"I can't access information about the antechamber, which is also a big giveaway as to what's actually inside," Taq admitted. "But... this is part of the power grid for the complex. I believe some sort of generator room. And there's a way in there, but again it's tricky."

She pointed to some long snaking corridors stretching out from the room in question. It wasn't hard to figure out what Taq was suggesting. Even Zek could tell what they were.

"Conduits," he chortled derisively. "You want us to walk around a bunch of cables?"

"It's the fastest way," Taq declared. "The Covenant likely haven't tried it because of how dangerous it is walking on a bunch of live wires inside a heavily damaged facility. The power isn't off, it's just disrupted. Anything could switch it back on. Which means, they won't be looking there because anyone who tries it would be incredibly stupid."

"And you call me reckless," Zek grimaced.

"It is not ideal, but we're on a time crunch," she reminded him. "And I have something that at least gives us an advantage. I've remotely accessed power relay junction controls. I can shut off any active conduit corridor to move freely. It's a last resort escape route."

"Correction, it's our reverse escape route," Retz noted.

Zek grumbled a little.

"Do we have other options? Considerably less electrifying ones?" He asked.

"Maintenance tunnels are locked, some kind of pressurized system," Taq explained. "We'd be wandering around them for too damn long."

Retz looked at her confused by the statement.

"Why would a maintenance tunnel have a pressurized locking system?" He asked.

"Yeah," Zek concurred. "It sounds like airlocks, what would you need that for with a bunch of tunnels deep inside a planetoid?"

"I think they work exactly like airlocks on a ship," Taq explained. "Whatever caused the damage to the facility compromised the maintenance tunnels. This planetoid only has an atmosphere over the big crater that used to be this ruin because the Covies put it there. The maintenance tunnels connect to various parts of the facility. They're also connected to life support and the air control systems. Their atmospheric integrity fails, this whole place would suffocate. They lockdown the tunnels, they can prevent at least some of the facility from losing atmosphere."

"I'm assuming the computer doesn't recognize the Covenant's artificial atmosphere then," Retz concluded.

"Different system, different network" Taq answered dutifully. "It doesn't recognize it, not compatible with their protocols."

She looked around at the various Covenant Technicians groups, hard at work at their various stations. At that moment and epiphany hit. The Covenant were smarter than she suspected.

"That's what they're doing," she reasoned slowly aloud. "They're trying to retroactively modify the system so it recognizes their artificial atmospheric rig. Then they can use the maintenance tunnels to cut through to the antechamber. For once, they're looking for a shortcut. Probably because they're desperate to get there fast."

"They have less than a week to meet up with the others at Hierophant," Retz reasoned grimly. "The usual rock clearing isn't working fast enough. This is their last chance to bring a potential weapon with them to their little invasion fleet."

"Are they close?" Zek asked, getting to the heart of the matter.

"I can't be sure," Taq admitted. "This terminal isn't connected to their system. But we've pulled off similar tricks ourselves. They're slow on the uptake, but the Covies aren't complete idiots. They've been here long enough to get this far, who knows how close they've gotten."

Zek sighed at that in annoyance.

"Conduits it is then," he relented. "Where's the closest one?"

Taq tried taking a look, but that was when Kasumi phoned in.

"Guys, problem, more Elites, all very mean, all headed to your location."

Sure enough more sangheili started traipsing through the door, eyeing every technician group in their sights. The sangheili overseer from before approached them and they began talking. The more immediate problem for the infiltrating trio, however, was the simple fact they were blocking the way they had come in.

"Fuck, I don't suppose you have another way out of this room from here?" Zek asked, looking at Taq.

Taq unplugged herself from the computer and looked around. Referring briefly to the schematic she had downloaded to her omni-tool, she spotted something concerning the room they were in. When she looked over to its approximate location she pointed it out.

"Maintenance duct," she said. "It's not completely closed off; we can get down a level at least."

Taq rushed over and opened the hatch in the floor.

"Ms. Goto, relocate yourself a level down and zero in on us," Retz said as they began entering the hatch. "We have a plan of entry now."

The three kig-yar then slunk through the hatch and Taq shut the door behind them. When the sangheili approached their area, they were long gone. And in their arrogance, they presumed the kig-yar who had been there had simply scurried off to some dank corner to waste precious time. Nothing to be too concerned with, they'd turn up eventually.

They were right, just not in the way they thought.

---

The server room was indeed well guarded, as Jun had explained. Not enough that it was a problem, but enough that the team would have to be cautious. The room had two entrances, with two Elites at each door. Motion tracking picked up signatures inside, which Legion assisted in confirming the identities of through the Geth's heat sig sensory and biological scanning equipment.

"Two patrolling squads of enemy units, consisting of Covenant Infantry designated Grunts and Jackal," It reported. "One Elite inside, possible overseeing officer of significant rank."

"Our work is a little cut out for us then," Shepard reasoned. "Don't think we can avoid a protracted fight."

"We can even the odds, sir," Chief suggested. "There's four Elites we can target, we have four marksmen with high-powered rifles. We should line them up, take them out. When they send someone to investigate, we can charge the doors on both sides."

Shepard nodded in agreement.

"Good plan," Shepard concurred. "I assault the front door, you should go for the side. Legion, Thane, coordinate with Jun and Linda. Line up your shots, sync with them and fire on my go."

Thane and Legion moved off, heading down a side corridor. Linda was already heading to Jun's position, a maintenance causeway that was overlooking the front entrance to the server room. Shepard remained inside a room across from their target, Kat staying by him along with Anton. Chief, Fred and Kelly doubled back out of the entrance they came in and back through a corridor they had come through. They circled around it until they reached the side-entrance, keeping to the shadows of an alcove on the opposite end of the hall with a line of sight on the doorway. The Elites did not spot them, as they spoke amongst themselves.

"Lining up shot," Jun reported in. "I have mine sighted."

"Elite in crosshairs," Linda reported next. "Ready on go."

Shepard steadied himself, preparing his shotgun with inferno rounds and keeping an eye on the doorway. His crew radioed next.

"Target sighted," Thane called in. "Will fire when ready."

"Hostile Officer targeted," Legion reported next. "Awaiting command."

"How fast will they respond once they hear the shots?" Shepard asked Kat.

"Estimations can vary," Noble Two explained. "Depends on how fast the Elite inside can bully a subordinate to check on the noise."

Shepard nodded and turned to the door.

"The second it opens, I'm hitting whatever walks out with a full charge," The Commander informed them. "Move up behind and then head inside, I'll keep you covered."

The order to execute got delayed though when Linda called in.

"Wait, target moving," she warned. "Realigning. He's checking out the far corner."

Chief quickly waved his fellow Spartans back and both Fred and Kelly pulled away from the alcove corner. The Elite stopped, scanning the area. He was probably looking for the other patrol that their team had encountered earlier.

Not good, that meant they were getting suspicious. If they had informed their leadership their patrols weren't checking in, it could make things difficult. Even if Cortana's jamming signal was holding, that might raise their suspicions as well.

"Target reacquired," Linda chimed in.

Chief didn't waste a beat more.

"Execute."

In an instant, shots rang out all at once. The Elite near Chief's position dropped onto his knees as half their face exploded and their shield vanished. The Covie dropped to the floor flat with a thud, while his compatriot back at the door slid down the side of the frame to the floor. Blood trailed down as the body slowly skid to the hard metal beneath it.

At the front door it was much the same, as two quick shots punctured the Elite's shield and then the alien's face, hitting him back into the door itself. The second Elite only needed one shot, as Legion's Widow easily demolished his shield and ripped through the Covie's skull. The body tumbled down, collapsing into a steadily growing pool of blood.

Chief moved quickly with Kelly and Fred, not waiting for the door to open on their end to get into position. They needed to get there and fast. There was no doubt the Covenant inside the room had heard the shots, they'd either be investigating or preparing defenses. The Infiltrators needed to catch them unaware before they realized the full scope of what was happening.

At the front, however, Shepard held his position, waiting for the door to open. It took a few seconds, but the distinctive chime and flashing light alerted him to someone approaching the entryway. As the doors slid open, a lone grunt slowly stepped out into the open and looked around. He spotted the dead Elites instantly.

"They got the San-!"

Shepard didn't let him finish. A biotic charge launched the Commander across the room to smash into the methane-breathing alien. The impact sent him flying as Shepard fired a shotgun blast into him and then turned to fire another into a shocked Jackal before it could react properly.

Shepard then moved into the cover of the doorframe and kept firing as grunts and Jackals alike rushed to get to defensive positions. Kat and Anton rushed up behind the Commander, firing off shots as they moved into the room proper. They gunned down two more Covies each as they pushed inside.

On the side entrance, Chief's team made their move. With a single nod from her leader, Kelly rolled in a flash grenade as the doors slid open. They couldn't risk a frag damaging the servers that could hold the vital intel they needed. The loud blast and disorienting light would be enough to achieve surprise. As both jackal and grunt squinted and stumbled, Chief rushed inside. He smashed the butt of his rifle into the skull of a jackal before firing into two grunts. Kelly and Fred fell upon their foes in a similar fashion.

In moments, the few remaining Covenant inside were retreating as they were caught between a two-pronged attack. Trying to defend from one group of infiltrators left them vulnerable to another. The first few shots were over as fast as they started, grunt and jackal bodies lay strewn across the floor. As Legion predicted, there were only two or so squads worth guarding the area. But there was one enemy unaccounted for... at least at first.

As Chief slowly moved up to the center of the room, his motion tracker suddenly got a hit.

"Left! Duck!"

Cortana's warning was aptly timed. Chief ducked down as a plasma rifle cut across the air above him. Chief quickly moved to unload on the Elite as it roared down on him. The blade came down towards the Spartan, but Chief used his rifle to block the strike, smashing it length wise into the Elite's hand. The Alien kept roaring in his face while the Spartan was holding onto his rifle with both hands and putting all his weight to keep the Covie from forcing his way past his defensive block. However, a swift kick directly to the Elite's knee put the alien off balance. The Elite stumbled back as Chief pulled back his rifle and took aim.

As he opened up, Fred and Kelly did the same, mindful of crossfire since Chief was still close. The Elite's shields were ripped open as the bullets struck him from both sides. A burst of blood erupted from his back near his shoulder. The Elite then retreated back into the server nodes he had attacked from.

"One injured," Chief reported as got up. "Fan out, eyes on trackers, do not let him get to cover or rabbit."

Fred and Kelly went down one section of the servers while Chief continued on his original path. It didn't take long to pick up the trail, his quarry was bleeding badly. It was a simple matter of following the trail of purple blood along the floor.

"We should hurry, he might be headed to the main computer console," Cortana warned.

Which meant he might be preparing to erase important intel, the intel they were after. The tracker suggested he was close at least, as did the blood trail. He'd need to strike quickly to take him down.

"On your six, Chief," Shepard called out.

"I have him, sir. Circle round this stack of servers to the other side," Chief requested.

"Going," Shepard acknowledged.

Chief moved in as soon as possible, finding the Elite at a terminal. He was clutching at his wound with one hand, while feverishly hitting commands with the other. The Covie suddenly noted the Spartan's arrival and turned to fire on him. Chief pulled back into cover and blind fired at the Elite, hitting his still recharging shield.

The Covenant Officer then bellowed a war cry and opened up with a furious attack on Chief's position. The Spartan kept firing on him, but was mindful of his shots. He knew Shepard would be close by and didn't want to risk crossfire.

Sure enough, Shepard did arrive and the Elite was too focused on the Spartan to notice him. The Commander rushed in to deliver a powerful Biotic punch that sent the Elite Flying forward, directly into the Master Chief. He clotheslined the alien with his rifle's stock, smashing it into the Covie's face. As the Elite dropped to the floor, Chief unloaded two bursts from his rifle into the alien to make sure he stayed down.

"Motion tracker gives the all clear," Cortana reported. "We're good, plug me into that terminal he was just on. We're on the clock."

Chief didn't need the reminder of the urgency, but it didn't hurt to keep it at the forefront of his thoughts. He quickly pulled Cortana from his neural interface and plugged her into the terminal. In seconds, she was already fast at work cracking the Covenant servers.

"There's a lot in here, trying to sort it," she explained, her image appearing on the console as various files flashed around her. "Some of it might be useful for later, but not as pertinent."

"Just focus on searching for anything about Unyielding Hierophant," Chief reminded her. "That's priority."

"Remember who you're talking to, I've already highlighted a search for that," Cortana assured him. "There's mountains of data though, it takes time. Not to mention given Covenant Propensity for religious nomenclature, there are a lot of Hierophants mentioned in this. I'm paring it down."

"Well what do you see so far?" Shepard asked anxiously.

"Most of it is about their current mission," Cortana explained. "They've been after this relic for a while... correction, relics. There's information in here about them. All of them."

Chief tilted his head, somewhat grasping her meaning.

"You mean, our relics?" He asked. "They know we have them?"

"They know we have at least one of them, the Crystal we recovered from Reach," Cortana clarified. "That's been marked as priority recovery. What's catching my attention is they're looking for other relics of power though. High on their list are detailed descriptions of all the artifacts we've recovered so far. They don't call them all by the same names, but it's pretty similar. An energy intensifier, a Shard of the Gods that supposedly bends time and a Holy Third Eye that can decipher the mysteries of the mental plane. Sound familiar? Because they've had them on file since before we knew they existed."

They did indeed, which was more than a little disturbing. Apparently the Covenant knew more about these relics than anyone else in this Treasure Hunt did. And from the sound of it, they had known for a while.

"Are they after the Astral Cutlass too then? Like Snarlbeak is?" Shepard asked.

Cortana shook her head.

"There's no reference to anything like what's been described to us about the Cutlass," she explained, keeping her eyes on all the information racing around her. "I don't think they know they're even connected in that way. And these relics are just the tip of the iceberg anyway. They got tons of entries concerning various Relics of Power. They don't have locations for all of them... but... apparently they have suspicions that some of them are no longer in this universe."

That made Shepard grimace in deep thought.

"Liara keeps reporting the Covenant is searching for Forerunner relics back in my home dimension," He recalled. "This operation is part of that ongoing effort."

"The Covenant have always been obsessed with Forerunner Tech," Chief stated. "This seems like a whole other level though."

"One guess as to why," Cortana said grimly. "Or more accurately, who. A lot of these entries reference your creepy ancient killer robo-squid, Commander. The Inquisitor seems to be feeding them a ton of information about these relics. Probably explains how they've gotten ahead in the race despite not knowing the finish line."

Shepard balled his fists at that.

"Pfft, The Inquisitor," he grumbled. "That Reaper said It's all about finding lost knowledge, that was how It got its name. It must've pulled a ton of data about these relics, either with Covenant help or when it first showed up here. But why? Why's it interested in all of this stuff?"

"Well you say the Reaper wants to improve its little harvest of all organic life back home," Cortana recalled. "Any of these could help."

"It just seems like a lot of effort to spend on a bunch of random artifacts," Shepard explained. "Why would it spread its resources so thin tracking down all of them?" He sighed momentarily before continuing his train of thought. "To be honest, nothing this Reaper has done has made sense. It seemed at first like it wanted to use the Covenant to soften up my home universe for invasion. But it became clear it was focused on Reach because it wanted to find Halo. But that didn't make sense either."

"Because Halo destroys organic life, it doesn't harvest," Chief reasoned.

"Exactly, so it had to be after the Flood then, right?" Shepard asked. "So why's it going after all these relics too? Why's it so interested in every facet of Forerunner History if it found what it's looking for?"

"Trying to figure out what an ancient eldritch machine is thinking is not something you can crack in a day, Commander," Cortana cautioned. "Let's focus on what we can for now."

Shepard nodded, but this was still gonna nag him for a good while all the same.

"What about the Relic here, Cortana?" He asked her. "What entry do they have on that? Would be nice to know what we're about to mess with."

Cortana took a moment to briefly pull up the file.

"Hmm, skipping all the usual religious nonsense, there is a brief description and functional summary here," she said as she began to process the data. "It's rectangular in shape, although each end is spherical. It seems to twist in the middle. As to what it does... something to do with slipspace to a degree from the sound of things. It... breaks the barrier of the void, to paraphrase quickly without giving a sermon."

"Well that sounds potentially dangerous," Chief reckoned. "Best find a way to notify Zek's team. For now though, we still need to know about Unyielding Hierophant and where it is."

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten," Cortana assured him. "I'm combing through a hundred thousand packets of data second, it's taxing even for me so-"

She stopped mid sentence, her expression turning to surprise. Chief and Shepard leaned in, hoping she hadn't frozen up. Thankfully, she soon spoke again to their relief, ending the suspense.

"Oh... never mind I think I found something."

She quickly brought up a holographic image of a large installation of some kind. It looked like a huge dumb-bell of a sort, with two larger bulbous objects connected by a small thin bridge. The image rotated in front of their eyes as Cortana gazed at it.

"Is that our space station?" Chief asked.

"A mobile battle station actually," Cortana corrected. "A massive one, used for command-and-control purposes as well as refitting and resupply. Perfect for organizing an invasion armada. Zix's intel was right, this Carrier and its fleet have been ordered to rendezvous with the station as soon as they have recovered the relic. No doubt to use its slipspace functionality, whatever that entails, to bolster their element of surprise."

"So where is it?" Shepard asked.

"The location is included in the files, but it's encrypted for security purposes," Cortana explained, her frustration apparent. "Heavily encrypted. They've been sealed until the relic itself has been successfully recovered. Apparently, the order to rendezvous with the Armada isn't so much a request or command as it is a threat. Finish your job or you miss out on the glorious eradication of humanity."

"You're the best Infiltration AI the UNSC has, Cortana," Shepard reminded her. "That encryption can't be any match against your programming."

Cortana smugly smiled in response.

"It isn't, and I appreciate the flattery however unnecessary it is, Commander," she replied confidently. "But I need time, both to process the intel on the relics and crack the encryption. If I do it wrong, I risk the data self-corrupting and erasing itself. I need to stay connected to the system in order to do that. Otherwise it will suspect something is wrong."

"How long do you need?" Chief asked.

"More time than we might have," the AI cautioned. "The Covenant chatter I'm getting off the battlenet is...worrisome. Portions of its fleet are prepping to return from chasing Syndicate Pirates. Not to mention they're a little concerned about why no one is checking in. There's been no alert sounded, I'm keeping the all-clear signal transmitting even through my jamming feed, but they're going to investigate soon enough."

"Then we buy you whatever time you need," Shepard declared. "Everyone, rally on us. We have to secure the area, set up some defenses."

At the very least they had part of their mission accomplished. They just needed to hold out until it was time to get out of here with the information they had been after. With any luck, Zek's group was close to getting the relic for themselves and they'd both be on their way out of here before anything got too hairy.

Chief knew better than to hope for that though. When did anything ever go that smoothly?

---

There were good reasons to avoid the cable conduit tunnels, over a million megawatts worth of reasons. Barely even thirty seconds down here and a bolt of energy expunged itself from one of the damaged cables and struck against the wall. The insulation lining the tunnel helped to dissipate it, but it was hardly reassuring to Zek or really anyone in the group.

"This is exactly why Huragok do this work," he claimed.

"Maybe they're worried about one stray bolt hitting one of them and it going boom," Kasumi suggested.

"Not that they'd care about losing a Huragok," Retz interjected. "But they'd probably care about the explosion causing more damage."

"Still, this place is fucking dangerous," Zek grumbled. "Let's stay away from the fucking cables if we can."

They were using the walkway connected to the wall for this very reason. It was a better idea than walking along a live wire. Or more accurately, a mass of live wires. One that, whenever there was a power surge, any breaks in any of the cables' outer casing sent a bolt of energy blasting out of it. Either it hit the insulation or one of the lightning rods of sorts lining certain couplings and supports. This was not a safe place to be, at all.

"This place really needs a lot of juice, doesn't it?" Zek wondered aloud as they kept moving along the walkway. "What did the relic need with all of this?"

"It must be connected to whatever experiments they were trying to run with it," Taq surmised. "I can only guess as to what. I've never seen Forerunner power systems like this. It's massive even by their standards. I don't know why they'd need such heavy-duty power. More surprising is that it's even on to begin with."

"Forerunner power systems are pretty durable," Retz recalled.

"Yes, but I figured if anything had gone wrong it would've been in their primary reactor," Taq explained. "That was my first guess as to what made the giant hole in this place. But after seeing the schematic, damage report and the fact this place is still running at full power, it's clear that isn't the case."

"So what did happen here?" Kasumi asked. "Cause I've run across the aftermath of more experiments gone wrong scenarios than I've ever cared to encounter in my life. This is starting to look like another point to that count."

Taq nodded at the thief's assessment.

"I'm inclined to agree, Kasumi," she informed the human. "It's evident at this point whatever the Forerunners were doing here got out of hand. We need to tread lightly when we find the antechamber. Which should be too far by now."

They kept heading along the walkway, mindful of gaps from the structural damage. Thankfully it was nothing to severe that would force them to go around. Forerunner craftsmanship was very robust. For the most part. They still needed to make a jump or two, but it was nothing that a kig-yar, or an especially accomplished thief, couldn't handle.

As they moved forward though, Retz held back some with Zek, allowing Taq and Kasumi to take the lead.

"As nervous as these sparking wires make me, at least we're almost there, Retz," Zek told him. "We grab the relic, we get the hell out, the Cutlass is as good as ours."

"Yes, it will be nice to close this treasure hunt off successfully," Retz agreed. "I have to ask though... what's next?"

Zek looked at him confused.

"This again? Retz we already talked about that," the Pirate Leader noted. "We get the Cutlass, we're basically on easy street. We plunder some high price goods, we settle in on a little planet of our own and start up an untouchable criminal empire that the Syndicate won't bother and the Covenant can't touch."

"That's... fair, but... what happens with the UNSC?" Retz asked. "You don't think they'd be interested in the Cutlass themselves? It's a powerful weapon."

"Eh, we can probably loan ourselves out to them on a few jobs here and there," Zek said, waving his hand about casually. "Nothing special, just to keep them from getting any ideas."

Retz sighed, it was not the answer he clearly wanted. And Zek could tell. His friend was not acting like his usual self. He hadn't been for a while.

"Retz, what's wrong? You've acting weird all day," he asked. "Do you still think we're not cool after the Black Chorka thing?"

"It's not really about that," Retz explained. "Zek, we've known each other a long time. And I understand why you're pushing for this pirate lord angle. Street life... isn't easy. Getting forced to fight a war that you don't want is worse. The Astral Cutlass... that's the ticket out of ever being put in that position again."

"Our ticket," Zek reminded him. "I mean, where would I be without my best first mate? You're gonna be right there, bud. No one is ever going to tell you or me what we can do ever again."

Retz smiled briefly, but it vanished just as quick.

"There's nothing wrong with your idea, Zek," he explained. "Nothing at all. It's far better than what Zhoc is trying to pull off. But... I have to be honest with, like I promised I always would be... it feels like a waste."

Zek was taken aback by the statement.

"A waste?"

"If everything about the Cutlass is true, using it like the biggest stick in the yard feels... small to me," Retz confessed. "You could do so much more with that sort of power. You could achieve so much more."

"I don't care about that, Retz," Zek declared flatly. "It's not the power of the Astral Cutlass that matters, it's what it gets you. That's always been the end goal. Before, when we left the Covenant, the plan was to slowly climb up the ladder until we had a big enough fleet to never have to worry about being forced to live any other way but our own again. The Astral Cutlass makes that goal far easier to obtain. Total freedom, that's what matters in the end. That's the pirate way."

"Freedom doesn't mean much if there is no greater purpose behind it, Zek," Retz cautioned. "Is that really all you want? Is that all we're gunning for?"

"We're gunning for our own little slice of the pie, Retz," Zek laughed jovially. "We're not going to take anymore than what's owed. What's been overdue for all of us."

"Does that include the crew?" Retz questioned.

Zek didn't respond, he only gave a quizzical look.

"When you broke from the contact the Covenant forced us into, you inspired them," Retz explained, speaking of the crew. "You gave everyone aboard the Fallen Serpent a cause to follow. A purpose that was their own. Not the Covenant's. It was the first time, in a long time, I saw you being yourself. Your best self. And they followed you, even though it might have meant their deaths, because you finally believed in something."

"I was trying to get us out of a bad situation alive," Zek reminded him.

"Well now we're in an equally bad situation, probably worse," Retz informed him. "And we face the same dilemma, I think. We can either accept things as is and try to survive, or we can do more with the opportunity we've been given."

"We're doing that, Retz," Zek assured him. "We get the Astral Cutlass, we fuck over Snarlbeak and within a few years, we'll replace his ass. And then whatever threat he posed to piracy's way of life will be gone."

"And nothing will change," Retz stated.

"Exactly! It will all go back to how it was before, except we'll be better off!" Zek declared happily. "Everyone wins!"

"That's not what I-"

"We're here!"

Taq's voice interrupted the conversation. Just as well, Retz thought, Zek clearly wasn't getting it. Or he was deliberately obfuscating Retz's point. He couldn't tell at the moment.

In any case, his eyes were soon drawn to the large ladder leading into a pipe above their heads. Very similar to the very pipe they descended to get into these tunnels to begin with. There was only one issue, said pipe was above the cables and the walkway to it had collapsed. A furious spark of electricity erupted beneath the ladder as the team looked on.

"Shit," Zek groaned.

"It's okay, we can reach it," Taq assured, pulling out her pickaxe. "I just need to get this thing on there."

With a twirl of her wrist and fling of her arm, Taq launched the pickaxe towards the ladder. The energy tipped edge dug deep into the metal pipe said ladder was attached to. Now properly stuck in, Taq attached an ascension pulley mechanism onto the cable connected to the axe. She then attached it to a sturdy anchor point.

In a moment, she connected her harness to and activated the ascender. Holding on tightly, she travelled up to the pipe and grabbed onto the ladder. She then detached the ascender and let it fall back to the others down the cable.

"Don't keep me waiting!" She called back down, before continuing to climb. "Careful, it's fast climb! And don't forget my axe! It costs a lot of creds to replace!"

Zek snorted and instantly followed Taq's lead, attaching his suits harness to the ascender when it came back down.

"Pfft, always has to be so damn dramatic and cool, doesn't she?" He asked. "I can handle this just-"

The ascender took off suddenly before Zek could finish. He screamed loudly in a panic before slamming into the pipe and ladder. He managed to hold on, but he was not happy.

"You set that to high speed!" He called up to Taq. "I know you did!"

"Hurry up! That electric death trap below is surging more by the second!"

Taq's warning was punctuated by a bolt lancing up towards the pipe, narrowly missing it as a lightning rod pulled it away from him. Zek shrieked and quickly ran up the ladder like mad. Retz and Kasumi followed suit respectively, although their ascension was somewhat less painful than Zek's. Kasumi made sure to collect the plasma pickaxe. She'd give it to Taq once they met up with her again.

After a few minutes of climbing the long ladder up the pipe, they finally exited it through a hatch. Taq had already gotten inside. They were now in a large reactor room, just below the antechamber. Within, the saw a pulsating, swirling blue light within a large generator. It was still running at full capacity, even after all this time. As noted before, Forerunner Tech was built to last. It wasn't the only reactor either, there were at least three others in the room, making a total of four.

"This place really does need a lot more juice than typical Forerunner ruins," Taq confessed. "It's insane, why this much for one relic?"

"Well only one way to find out," Kasumi said. "We have to keep going up."

Taq led the way, heading towards a grav lift on the floor. After a few inputs into a nearby command interface, it activated. A large luminescent blue light rose from the floor, heading towards the ceiling and an opening within it. The group moved inside the grav lift and slowly ascended to the top level.

They emerged, finally, into the antechamber itself. It was a massive room, similar in many ways to the central chamber the Mind's Eye had been located in. It was full of holographic displays, all of them detailing various grids and status points. It was hard to understand any of it.

What mattered to all of them was in the middle of the room. Placed upon a rotating pedestal was the relic itself. It was rectangular object with spherical ends. It floated in a blue light, turning counter to the clockwise motion of the pedestal itself.

"There it is," Taq said in wonder.

She was already ascending the steps of the platform to the pedestal, her eyes glowing with eagerness. The others were close behind, a little bit more wary as they eyed their surroundings. The more they looked, the more the images seemed to be star charts, navigation displays.

"Why does this facility need a bunch of holographic maps?" Zek asked.

"Perhaps we should go over how we get out of this room," Retz offered. "You know... before we touch anything."

Taq was already standing before the relic, trying to restrain herself as she attempted to scan it.

"Careful," Kasumi told her. "Last time you jumped the gun on pulling one of these out, well... you know what went down."

"It doesn't seem to be connected in the same way," Taq claimed. "It's just... floating here. Like it's waiting. Waiting for us."

Her words filled with more wonder and as she spoke, her gaze transfixed on her prize. Taq was using all her willpower at this moment to not just rip the relic away from the pedestal. This was it, the culmination of everything. She need only reach out to take this artifact from its place of rest. And then, she would have all she needed to find the greatest treasure of all. She waited for the scan to complete, her omni-tool beeping loudly.

"Odd, I'm picking up... well its similar to a slipspace rupture reading, but... contained," she said in astonishment.

"I thought the crystal did slipspace," Zek said.

"It does time, it only has one half of how slipspace travel works," Taq clarified. "This... this could be its twin of sorts, the other half. Assuming these readings are right."

"We can figure it out later," Retz told her. "How do we disengage it safely?"

"From what I can gather it's not really hard connected into any system," Taq said. "I think this pedestal is reading it. Might be a security device. Let me see..."

Taq attempted to gain access to the pedestal's inner functions. She pulled off one of its panels and started taking out wires and chips from the system. Slowly but surely, the pedestal appeared to dissipate. Taq then swiftly snatched the relic before the lack of anti-gravity could cause it to fall. She then held the object up to her face triumphantly and smirked widely as she laughed with pride.

"We did it!" She told the others jubilantly. "We got it!"

Then, as if waiting for a cue, the pedestal switched back on. A failsafe? A backup perhaps? Whatever the cause, it was on again. And not but a second after realizing the relic was no longer atop it did the blue light it emanated turn red. An alarm sounded, blaring loudly in everyone's ears. The holograms went crazy, rushing through charts, figures and coordinates at insane speeds. That was not the weirdest thing though.

In Taq's hands, the Relic itself began to twist. It was like some old puzzle cube that had a mind of its own. The spherical ends turned about. And then, so did the rectangular body's middle section as it began to twist around in divergent directions from one another.

"I thought it wasn't connected!" Zek shouted loudly over the blaring alarm.

"Not hard connected!" Taq corrected him. "It must be transmitting! Like the Amplifier did!"

"That is not comforting!" Kasumi called out, remembering what exactly the Amplifier had transmitted.

"It's not transmitting to us at least," Taq told her, guessing at her concerns.

She noted the holograms as they continued their fevered reaction.

"What's it doing?!" Retz asked.

"Whatever it is, I don't think we want to be here when it's done doing it!" Taq told them.

They ran down the platform and headed to one of the doors. Taq quickly forced her plasma pickaxe into the locking mechanism and forced it open with the tool. The door sprung open and they raced out into a crumbled corridor.

"The maintenance shafts are probably still locked down, but we can use them to get down a few levels into a cavern system," Taq claimed. "We can probably work our way to the surface from there!"

"Assuming the Covenant don't find us first!" Kasumi said with concern.

"Well they probably already suspect we're here!" Zek declared. "Call Whitcomb and Holland! Tell them we need pickup!"

---

Waiting for reports from away teams was always the most apprehensive part of being in command. Holland knew that, Whitcomb did as well. However, the situation had rapidly gone from fretful to downright dangerous in an instant. Long range scans could pick up a steadily growing power surge on the planetoid.

Worse, reports from the Normandy, which was in closer proximity to the target in stealth mode, suggested the Carrier was mobilizing Phantoms and the excavation site itself was lit up like a Christmas Tree. Not a good sign.

Had the teams been compromised? What had just happened? They weren't sure and they risked blowing the cover of both groups if they tried to contact either. However, that seemed to be a moot point.

"Communication channels to both field teams are jammed, sir," one of the bridge techs told Whitcomb. "We can't pick them up. Whatever is going on down in those Ruins is putting out a ton of interference."

"Well ain't that just dandy," Whitcomb groaned. "Can we cut through it?"

"We're trying, sir," The tech explained. "It's not so much that its deliberately blocking us, its just there's so damn much overloading the relay."

"Report from Normandy," another tech spoke up. "They're having trouble too, although its not as bad from their position."

"They're closer, they have a better connection to the away teams," Holland presumed. "We could close the distance..."

"But that risks us getting exposed even with this ship's cloak, I know," Whitcomb growled. "Always something with these damn relics, ain't it?"

Just then, a third bridge hand rose up from their console.

"Sirs, we're picking something up," she reported.

"Who is it?" Whitcomb asked. "Master Chief? Shepard? I'll even settle for Zek if I have to, I just want to know what the hell is going on!?"

"It's not a communication, Admiral," The bridge hand reported. "It's a slipspace rupture, dangerously close to the Covenant Fleet's position."

Whitcomb's eyes went wide.

"Damn, the bulk of the Covie taskforce is coming back early then," he presumed.

"It only appears to be a few ruptures," the bridge hand stated. "It's probably only a portion of their fleet. Likely only one larger vessel and three smaller ones, at most."

"That's still not good," Holland declared. "We need to make a call, now. Do we go in or stay back?"

"It would appear our hands are being forced towards the former, Colonel," Whitcomb stated. "But we still need to know what the hell is going on down on that planetoid before we jump in too recklessly."

Before they could even discuss the growing dilemma further, another tech officer spoke up with yet another report.

"Communication from the Normandy's AI, sir!" He said turning from his station. "EDI says they're picking up an open communication directed towards the Covenant. It's coming from the ships slipping into the sector."

"Patch it through," Whitcomb ordered.

The officer quickly connected the intercepted broadcast to Whitcomb's terminal on the command platform. What he heard turned out to be both a relief, but also made things more dire. Because it turned... it wasn't the Covenant fleet coming back.

"Covenant Ships, I am Fleetmaster Zom, emissary of the Great Kig-yar Pirate Lord Zhoc! The Scourge of the Infinite Black! Future Pirate King of the Endless Dark Sea! All your fortunes now belong to us! Surrender them or your lives shall be forfeit!"

Holland rolled his eyes in derision.

"This guy again, just wonderful," he groaned. "I thought the Syndicate said Snarlbeak was going to be out of the race after our little raid."

"That was Zix's assumption," Whitcomb reminded the Colonel. "Clearly, she did not fathom how truly committed Snarlbeak is to this quest."

"A follow-up transmission from the Normandy, sir," the same tech officer from before spoke up. "The pirate vessels are engaging the Covenant ships. There's only a handful of each, but EDI is detecting smaller craft launching from the pirate vessels. She's predicting they're on a course towards the planetoid."

Whitcomb slammed his fist into his palm.

"Damn, they're distracting the Covenant and making a play for the real prize," the Admiral determined.

"If even a few of those pirates get through the Covenant defense screens, Zek and the others are going to be in trouble," Holland declared. "That whole excavation site is about to become a killbox!"

"Agreed, if their cover is not blown yet it soon will be," Whitcomb relented. "Regardless of what is occurring down in those ruins, we know what they're about to be in for. We need to move, now!"

Whitcomb quickly stepped up into a direct command position, relaying a course on his navigational screen.

"Helmsman, relay a course to put us directly behind the Covenant fleet stationed over the Planetoid," he ordered. "With any luck, they will presume we are reinforcements before discerning our true identity."

"We still need to get boots on the ground and fast, Admiral," Holland stated. "I say we forgo a covert run with one of the Phantoms like we planned. It will take too long and they'll might get antsy. We have the Gettysburg, it's Drop Pod Banks are fully loaded. The Normandy is in close range to provide fire support if need be."

"You read my mind, Colonel," Whitcomb concurred. "Inform Captain McKay, have her take all squads that are able to the pods and strap in. We'll launch them at the Planetoid when we are in range. They are to link up with our Relic Team and assist them towards extraction. We will continue to attempt to establish contact with them and our Carrier Team. Let's go, people! Move, move!"

The bridge was now alive with activity, as calls for general quarters and battle stations rung out. It was apparent that they were long past stealth. It was time to kick the door in and get their people, humans and aliens, out of there.

---

The Covenant alarms did little to temper the tension building within the server room. Even as they set up defensive positions, the Spartans and Shepard's crew kept their heads on a swivel. Even when Cortana assured them they had not been discovered, the real cause was less than ideal.

"Snarlbeak's here," Shepard said, his shock apparent to all.

"Well his annoying toady of a Fleetmaster is anyway," Cortana clarified. "The Covenant have set up a defensive perimeter between the pirate ships and the Forerunner Ruins. But they've been caught with their pants down as it were. Given what we experienced at New Teteocan, I don't doubt that a contingent of pirates aren't on their way to the planetoid right now, likely using the space battle as a cover."

"Either way, Zek's team is going to be in trouble," Chief determined. "And our position here is going to become untenable. We need to move, fast."

Cortana had already turned back towards her holographic screens.

"I've almost gotten all relevant data decrypted and secured," she assured him. "We just need a few more minutes to... uh oh."

Shepard pushed himself closer to the AI's tiny form.

"What do you mean... uh oh?" He direly asked.

"The Carrier just instituted an increase in security levels on all decks," Cortana explained. "Ours included. They need to ensure their data is safe given its sensitivity. They're sending some heavy units down."

"Elites?" Chief asked, hopeful that's all it was.

Cortana shook her head.

"Hunters."

As if to emphasize her point, there was the sound of door opening chime in the distance... followed by the thudding of massive footsteps and clanking armor. In moments, Master Chief was at the forward defensive position of the Server Room when a huge hulking form appeared from around the corner of the corridor in front of them. Then a second... and they both soon spotted the Spartans taking up positions there. They rose up high and flared the large spines on their backs before they began firing blasts at the doors.

"Contact!" Fred called out, firing at the Hunters as green plasma explosions burst around the doorframe.

Chief opened fire as well, but his eyes soon turned to his motion tracker. There were a lot of blips, more than just the hunters. In fact, there were more than just the two large hostile contact pings. Sure enough, grunts were soon charging up the corridor, backed up by a few jackals. A second barrage of green explosions hit the secondary entrance.

"Please tell me that's just grunts with Fuel Rods," Chief asked.

"Sorry, I can't tell you that, sir," Jun reported back as he fired off a round from his rifle.

Multiple Hunter groups, at least four in total and backed up by additional infantry support. That wasn't good. Chief had to presume that the Hunters would not damage the ship's computers intentionally, but they posed an obstacle to them getting out of here all the same.

"Cortana," Shepard ordered as he engaged the enemy himself. "Finish up fast! We need to get the hell out of here!"

"Overclocking everything!" Cortana called out. "Just hold them off!"

Chief intended to do just that, firing at and killing two grunts as they tried to push up to the door. As he ducked back in to avoid the Hunter's retaliatory fire, he knew what the real problem was going to be. And even if they did get out of here alive, they still had no idea what they were about to drop into down on that planetoid below.

---

No one understood, not really. He did though. Lurz had always understood. Many questioned, many derided, many raised concerns, never him. Because Lurz always understood why Zhoc was the way he was. It was why he followed, why he obeyed, and why he enjoyed doing so even if he never expressed it outwardly. His fellow Ibie'shan pack mates knew, but only a semblance and not to the extent he did. They simply listened to him and therefore, by proxy, listened to Zhoc.

Lurz mulled over these thoughts as he sat in the Phantom, his fellow hunters beside and around him, while the few Northerners quaked and whimpered. The blinding lights of the ongoing battle outside in the black void made them shudder with fear. Lurz and his pack never quavered. If they died from a direct hit, that was how it was. He knew they wouldn't, for the hunt was not yet sated. The others didn't understand this, he did.

He could've tried explaining it, but no one ever asked. They all found him too... "creepy" as they called it. Idiots. Even if they did ask, they'd never be able to grok it. His pack might have, but not even they ever raised the question. They knew better. It wasn't that it was so alien a concept or unknowable, Lurz just knew they wouldn't get it. Northerners and Comet Squatters both, they did not understand Ibie'shan ways in the slightest. They never could because they never had to live it.

Zhoc was different though, he knew. He knew better than most of his kind. Lurz had seen it when they first met. This was a Northerner who had seen blood and knew its power. Who had looked death in the face, watched it fill the eyes of his prey. He was disgusted by it, horrified, clearly, his phobia was proof enough. But he knew it. So much so that he knew that if he could not visit it again on his enemies himself, he'd find a proxy to help him. And Lurz was that proxy, that instrument.

There was no fanciful bond of friendship forged by strife. Zhoc hadn't saved him or given him anything of value to earn this loyalty. Lurz himself was no sycophant or blind follower, like Zom was to a degree. Lurz was here because he knew what Zhoc needed and knew he could provide it better than most. Zhoc needed a killer and Lurz was that killer. He had been one since birth, since he saw one of his siblings in the nest and his first thought was to break its neck... just to hear the snap.

The kill, that was what mattered. To know a life was in your hands and you snuffed it, watched it leave the shell you cracked, felt the energy pour into you as it died. The hunt and the kill, that was how you knew you were alive more than anything. That was what gave that life meaning.

Lurz had perfected that art, on various... animals. Zhoc provided many of those, because he knew the power of death and pain. How it made those fear you.

Kig-yar prided themselves on taking things that weren't theirs. The highest thing you could steal was something more valuable than any treasure, Life. Because if you reminded someone how easy it was for you take it from you, they would be yours forever... even after their inevitable ends, whether or not it was your doing.

Today, he'd remind one rather persistent prey of that simple truth. Zek had slipped away far too often. His skull needed to be splintered, his throat crushed and slit, his gizzard used as rope to pull off a limb or two. He'd start with the eyes first though, it was more horrifying for the prey when it couldn't see what was being done to it. Their screams were the sweetest of songs.

They were closing in on the planetoid now. He hadn't been paying much attention, but the pilot seemed to be panicking. There was a lot of bright lights outside. Perhaps more fire. Lurz got up from his seat, lifting his restraints, as he went to see what was going on. When he arrived in the cockpit, he saw one of the many Phantoms outside explode, its engines one fire briefly before it broke apart under a hail of fire.

Probably one of the former Security Chief's and their subordinates. Pity, their suffering should've been prolonged.

"That's it!" The pilot declared. "Breaking off! We need a new landing zone!"

Lurz put his hand on the pilot's shoulder.

"No..." he said gruffly. "Continue."

"Are you nuts!?" The pilot demanded to know. "Their fighters spotted us! We got no cover! We should break off and-"

"Direct route," Lurz said, squeezing the pilot's shoulder tightly.

"I'm not saying go back! We're still gonna attack I just-"

"Ruins... land there," Lurz demanded once more.

"You're gonna get us all killed! I'm not-"

That was enough. Lurz grabbed the pilot's helmet, ripped it off and began to beat the coward's head in with it while holding him back into the seat by his quills. When he was done, he looked to the copilot frozen, now in fear. He understood, if only slightly. He knew the penalty now.

"Steady on," he ordered very cooly.

The copilot complied. They kept going, the other Phantoms broke off here and there, but they'd link up eventually. Lurz was not going to wait. He had orders, he had a kill to make, he would not waste time and allow Zek to slip away once more.

The Phantom of course took heavy fire, but the copilot at least managed to prevent the ship from being blasted to bits like a few of the others. Instead the engine flamed out and they rapidly descended to the planetoid's surface where they promptly hit the barren dirt and crashed. The copilot survived although he was splayed out on the controls. Pity, Lurz thought, but he'd likely be dead before long anyway.

Lurz gathered his pack and began to head out of the smoking wreck of a Phantom. Most of the Northerners were dead as the impact of the crash hit their section of the ship first and ripped them from their restraints. His fellow Ibie'shans were at least hardier. They had already gathered their gear and were outside, where one Northerner was trying to crawl away from the crash site. The weakling had sprained an ankle or something, perhaps broken an arm. Lurz now loomed over him.

"Pl-please... help," the little wounded pirate pleaded.

Lurz cocked his head in confusion for a moment. Once he fully comprehended the request, he decided to do as asked. He'd help this little weak Northerner. He'd help in the best way. By removing the fool's visor from his helmet.

"Wai-wait! No! What ar-"

"Helping," Lurz assured him. "Your problems... over."

Lurz ripped the visor clean... and watched the useless deadweight Northerner begin to choke and freeze in the planetoid's vacant atmosphere. He struggled for a bit as his face enlarged and bulged and vessels popped. Lurz just watched, as did his fellow Ibie'shans. Their expressions were blank, but they took in the weakling's last moments of horror all the same. Because they understood, not fully, but enough.

"The hunt begins now," Lurz declared. "Zek is mine... kill the rest."

The pack followed him now as he turned towards the ruins, already ablaze with activity. Some of the other pirate groups had likely already arrived. Good, it would provide him a distraction to sneak through the chaos and find Zek. From the look of things, he likely had the relic by now. He wouldn't get far with it.

---

The caverns within the planetoid snaked about the facility's lower sublevels. Given how they looked, it was apparent they weren't natural in formation. The evidence was clear given the Forerunner tech-mesh on some of the wall. The Forerunners had meant to dig deeper into the planetoid, perhaps in an effort to expand their facility. Obviously, they hadn't gotten the project finished in time before it all went wrong.

"Ugh, we better not be getting turned around in here," Zek groaned. "I feel like we passed that cavern passage with the tech shit all over it before."

"Zek it's only been a few minutes," Kasumi tried to tell him. "We can't be walking around in circles that soon."

"All I need to know is how do we get back into the main facility?" Zek asked, looking towards the one with the map. "Taq, what do those schematics say?"

"Not much," Taq confessed. "This sublevel isn't listed in detail. I think its not considered part of the main structure. But there is a way back inside. There's a cavern that connects here to... I think its engineering section."

"Engineering? What kind of engineering?" Retz asked confused.

"I don't know... like a space station maybe," Taq hypothesized. "It seems they were trying to expand this rock beyond its original purpose as a research lab. To what end, I can only guess, but I know Forerunner ships, I know what an engineering deck looks like, and this section has the hallmarks of one. Technical specs, manufacturing, it's all there. They were probably building these caverns out from there."

"Fine, we can figure out what the fuck this place when we're out of here," Zek growled. "Let's just move, I can still hear those fucking alarms!"

They kept moving, trying to follow the partial schematics Taq had on hand, but she kept getting distracted. She was still holding the relic, the blue light resonating inside it was growing brighter and its pieces were only moving faster. The mystery of it was both compelling and frightening to her.

"I have no idea what the hell this thing is doing and it being potentially connected to slipspace has me worried," she confessed.

"Just don't mess with it and we'll be fine," Zek tried to insist.

"This does not look FINE, Zek," Taq declared, pushing it in front of his face. "None of the other relics move around like this and they still caused a ton of trouble. It's still clearly connected to the equipment in that room somehow!"

"It's not like there's anything we can do about it," Kasumi stated. "We can't even contact anyone. I've been trying. There's massive interference across all channels, I can't reach Joker or EDI. We're probably too deep. We should just get to this engineering deck and find a way out from there, better than being lost in these tunnels."

"Fine, fine," Taq relented. "I'm just really concerned that we've stepped in it majorly here."

"What else is new?" Zek asked. "Only way out now is through in my mind."

It was hard to argue with that, as bullheaded as it was. They continued on to the engineering deck, Kasumi kept trying to contact someone. She switched frequencies, attempting to at least pick up Buzzard Buccaneer Radio, maybe find out from Boz what was going on topside. Normandy was on standby, they had to have see the Covenant's response to the alarms at least. She didn't get Boz, but she did pick up another frequency. It was faint, distorted, but it was on open channels.

"Hey, guys, I think I got something," she said.

There was a brief pause before the static cut out.

"-paid the price for defianc- ... Surrender now and your liv-... spared! We only want the relic all el-... forces are already inside! Cease your resis-"

"Hey... I know that voice," Zek said, slowly coming to realize. "That's Zom!"

"That windbag of a Fleetmaster? He's here!" Retz groaned. "Oh wonderful, that means he's assaulting the facility!"

"Fuck, we need out, now," Zek reaffirmed.

"Over here!" Taq insisted, rushing up ahead. "I think this is our way back in."

Taq had found a large door, circular in design and larger than any of them. Taq looked for the console and began inputting commands. Thankfully, the door started opening wide, creaking to life after who knew how many millennia closed. Once opened, they entered into the facility proper, once more finding themselves indeed in a massive engineering deck. But there was more to it than just that.

Taq raced around, looking for an exit, but also taking in the surroundings. She wanted answers and was feverishly seeking them at this point. The others were just trying to get their bearings while she ran around the large room mumbling aloud to herself in a mixture of amazement and panic.

"This is an engineering deck," she declared. "Like a full fledged one, not just construction or anything. Like down there, through that door, life support systems. Gravity stabilization functions, climate control, water recycling, waste disposal..."

"Taq, slow down," Kasumi told her. "You're talking stream of consciousness right now."

"I know it's just... this place isn't what we thought it was and if I'm right..." Taq trailed off as she walked behind them and headed to another door.

The others followed her, concerned as well as curious. After the door whooshed open, they peered into the room. It was just as big as the previous main chamber, but this was different. There were a number of devices lined up along each other and they looked familiar. They looked like the engine core housing units that has discovered aboard the Dauntless, the Forerunner ship they had discovered the Amplifier on. Only these ones were intact.

"They weren't making this planetoid into a space station," Taq realized, as did everyone else. "This... this was a ship. They were converting this whole oversized moon into a damn ship!"

Pulling out the relic once more she held it up to everyone.

"That antechamber... it wasn't just an experiment lab," she told them. "It was navigation... and we just pulled THIS from it!"

"Well relax," Zek tried to reassure Taq and everyone. "Even if its still connected to the navigational computers, it's not connected to the engines. And we all know slipspace drives can't go anywhere disconnected from the engines."

"This isn't a slipspace drive, Zek," Taq reminded him. "We don't know how it works. All we do know is that the Forerunners thought they could move this rock around the galaxy somehow. And it might be getting ready to jump."

"That's not good," Kasumi reasoned. "Okay, so we need to get the hell out of dodge, as they say."

Taq brought up schematics.

"I thought I saw a cargo hangar or something on these schematics," she said. "Give me a moment to search."

She handed the Relic off to Zek as she hurriedly searched the schematics. Zek eyed the still rotating device in his hands. Now he was noticing how much more active it was becoming. In fact, not even a few seconds after holding it did the artifact begin sparking.

"Uh... guys... I don't think this is normal," he told them worriedly.

---

"All hands, all hands, prep for battlestations! Exiting slipspace directly behind Covenant fleet! Do not engage until fire order given! Repeat, do not engage until fire order given! This is not a drill, I repeat, not a drill!"

McKay had already gotten her gear ready and was striding down the Gettysburg's Drop Pod Launching Deck. Her Troopers were already at attention, making their final weapons check and readying their own equipment. She hadn't expected they'd be headed down to the planetoid in such force, but the circumstances had changed.

As she approached the head of the assembled Troopers, she turned to them and they stood at attention before she even spoke.

"Listen up, this is an emergency extraction," she informed them all. "We have no contact with either our carrier or relic recovery mission teams. Snarlbeak's Space Pirates are in system and engaging the Covenant as we speak. It's already a full-blown war-zone down there. But they're not our objective, the Relic of Power is."

McKay saw Sergeant Buck and his squad move up through the crowd of Troopers. They paying rapt attention. It was good she saw them, she'd have to talk with them after this. For now, she continued the briefing.

"We have reason to believe Zek's team have the relic in their possession," She told them. "We can't contact them due to signal interference from some unknown source. But regardless, if we get planetside, we can track them. Their omni-tools have an emergency positioning signal that can lead us to their position. Once we are groundside, we will rally, locate them and assist in escorting them to evac. The Normandy is on stand-by support, once we locate the Relic Team, we just have to find it a landing zone, we call it in and we get the hell off that rock."

The troopers needed to know they had a way off that planetoid. That they weren't just dropping blind. They had a plan, they had a clear objective and they had backup. It would put everyone more at ease, especially given who they were saving.

"Whatever personal grievances you may still have about Zek, put them aside now," she ordered. "This isn't about him or us, it's about that relic. I don't know what it does, but we've seen what things like it CAN do. And at this very moment, a bunch of Pirate Pigeons and the Covies are killing each other to acquire it. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to let either of those bastards snatch up a potential superweapon for themselves, not now, not ever. You get me?"

"We get you, Captain!" Everyone shouted in reply.

"Good answer," she told them. "Be ready for close quarters combat and seal your helmets. We don't know how stable the Covies' atmospheric shielding is at this point or if the Forerunner facility's own life support systems are active. Assume they aren't. We'll be landing close to the facility itself. There is an entryway a few klicks Northeast of our landing zone clusters, that is our rally point. Maintain constant radio contact and avoid combat as long as possible. Let the Pirates and Covies bleed each other, they're not the objective."

This was going to be a hard enough drop as it was. They were getting into minimal safe launch distance, primarily to avoid detection. There wasn't much debris in the way, but it would a long drop and there was always some risk with that. If not of crashing, then at the very least of falling off target.

"All ODSTs! We are closing on minimal safe distance drop range! Prepare your pods! ETA, one-hundred and twenty seconds!"

"This is it!" McKay said slapping her helmet on and sealing it. "Jump is nigh! How are we leaving this ship, Troopers?!

"FEET FIRST!"

"Then get to dropping, Troopers!" McKay ordered. "Move! Move!"

The Troopers rushed to their pods, stowing their weapons and strapping themselves in. At the very least they all seemed eager to go. Even Lendon wasn't complaining as much as he used to. As everyone moved, McKay headed to Buck stopping him briefly before he got to his pod.

"Buck, I need your squad on point lead," She told him. "Set your drop coordinates close to the entryway. Secure it and the perimeter."

"We expecting hostiles there, even with all that's going on?" He asked.

"I don't know what to expect at this point," she confessed. "All I know is I need eyes on this facility as soon as we land. I don't want us to be stuck there longer than we have to be."

"Copy, Captain," Buck assured. "We're on it."

McKay nodded and headed into her own pod. She'd be among the first to launch. With her weapon stowed and restraints lowered, she began making final checks. All systems were nominal, everything read green. The coordinates were already programmed, all was set to go. Then of course, someone, could've really been anyone, switched on BBR and the music flooded every pod.

There's a place up ahead and I'm going

Just as fast as my feet can fly!

Come away, come away, if you're going

Leave the sinking ship behind!

"Get psyched people!" Buck called over the open channel.

"Just don't let the tunes distract you too much," McKay added.

She wasn't gonna stop the song from playing, she just needed them to keep their heads in the game. As the next chorus chord approached, the countdown clicked down to the final seconds. McKay steeled herself, gripped onto her restraints and breathed. Then the world dropped out from beneath her and she was in freefall as the sound of guitars echoed over rocketing engines.

Come on the risin' wind,

We're goin' up around the bend!

They were well clear of the ship by now, well into their drop and they still had a good deal of a ways to go. McKay could see the Covie and Pirate ships battling in the distance. At least it seemed most of the enemy were focused on each other and not them. Maybe, despite all odds, this would be a smooth drop after all, but she didn't say it aloud.

---

As general quarters orders sounded, Halsey was quick to act. She was securing all vital experimental equipment in storage. That included the relics. She didn't want to risk any damage setting them off. She'd keep them in a locked containment unit for the duration of the fight. She had done it before, it was standard procedure. But something soon proved to be... not so standard.

One of the relics, the Reach Crystal, suddenly activated as she was reaching for it. It's usual mix of translucent colors was soon overtaken by a bright blue. Halsey was fascinated by the strange shift, but she suspected something most dangerous was about to occur. She rushed for the lab's alarm, hitting the button and sounding the alert. She didn't imagine it would help much though, the Crystal was already building up energy. Where from she couldn't say and she had no way to stop it.

---

"Uh, it really starting to go nuts here!" Zek called out as the relic's rotating bits suddenly sped up to an even greater degree and the blue illumination became blinding.

"The hell is happening!" Kasumi asked. "What triggered it?"

"Zek, what did you touch!?" Taq demanded to know.

"I didn't touch anything! It's doing it on it's ow-"

Zek never finished his attempt at defending himself. There wasn't even a warning as to what was about to happen. One second the crystal was glowing bright blue, the next it erupted. Blue resonance light exploded from the relic. The shockwave threw everyone across the room and into the walls. Zek was unable to hold onto the relic, it slipped from his grasp. But it didn't fall, it just floated there as the rotation stopped, clicking into place at last.

And that was when everything went sideways.

---

"Approaching final stretch," McKay informed all teams. "Prepare landing procedures, keep formation tight."

"Uh, ma'am... what the hell is that!?"

McKay looked away from her instruments to see for herself. A massive light exploded out from the planetoid, extending from the Forerunner Facility. McKay could only sigh in indignation.

"Not this again," she groaned aloud before switching on open channel. "All Drop Pods, maintain formation, activate stabilizers, do not panic! I repeat, do not panic!"

"Is the drop zone exploding!?" One trooper asked, not heeding McKay's advice.

The light soon proved that wasn't the case, as it appeared that the planetoid was not being destroyed or decimated. No, it was being swallowed by the light. A look at her instruments gave McKay all the information she needed to know what this was. She quickly relayed it to all Pods.

"It's not an explosion! It's a slipspace rupture!" She declared. "All Troopers, brace for entry!"

"Holy mother of-"

That was Romeo, he didn't get to finish because he and other Drop Pods got swallowed up by the rupture. McKay entered soon after. The pod rocked and shook as she entered slipspace.

While it wasn't much different if you entered a rupture in any craft, Drop Pods weren't designed for slipspace travel specifically. They could take it, but a complete loss of any sense of direction or positioning didn't exactly help the instruments much. It didn't help that the music was still blaring.

Catch a ride to the end of the highway

And we'll meet by the big red tree!

There's a place up ahead and I'm going

Come along, come along with me!

Come on the risin' wind

We're going up around the bend!

Yeah!

Eventually things evened out and she saw the surface of the planetoid fast approaching. The G-Forces were so strong though that she was struggling to activate emergency deceleration. She fought against the forces pushing her back into her seat, flicking on the failsafes as alarms blared over the guitar chords.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!"

She pulled hard on a lever and deployed the pod's airbrakes, but she was still going to land hard. She imagined everyone else was dealing with similar issues. She made one last call out to all Pods before she hit the dirt.

"Helljumpers! Brace for impact!"

The sudden dead stop occurred mere seconds later. McKay rocked in her seat as the pod slammed down. For a moment she blacked out, not seeing anything, until her ears filled with confused screaming, status reports on squadmates, and more than a few demanding to know what the hell had just happened. McKay did her best to tune it all out, she couldn't help anyone if she was stuck in this pod.

She pulled on the release lever and the bolts for the door popped clean off. The hatch exploded out and McKay lunged out of the pod, grabbing her weapon as she did. She hit the dirt, stopping her face from smashing into it with her hands. She pulled herself up next, making sure her heads-up display was functional. She then quickly took in her surroundings.

First she looked around to see if the other Pods had landed close by. Thankfully yes, she could see a number of them ahead of her position. So she wasn't off target by much. Other Pods were landing not far away as well, touching down in a similiar manner to hers. The chatter in her ear told her that they were still at operational strength at least, so that was good news.

Then she got a look at the sky. Or more accurately... the lack of one.

All she could see was pitch black. No stars, no nebulae, no distant worlds, nothing. There was just nothing out there but black. Everything was gone. Well, not everything. The Covenant ships, still there, Carrier included. The Pirate Ships, still there. They weren't firing at each other for the moment, but they were there. And when she looked back, she saw the Ascendant Justice, and she could just make out the Gettysburg where they had launched from attached to its front. She could even hear the radio, Boz was on, voicing her exact thoughts.

"Who in the fuck just turned off all the stars?!"

Boz was probably watching the monitors in his station, keeping an eye on the battle and all that. Which was good, because that proved at least that McKay wasn't seeing things. They had entered a rogue slipspace rupture. All of them! Her troopers, the Covenant, the Pirate Taskforce, the Ascendant Justice Flotilla, the whole damn Planetoid, they had all been sucked into slipspace and deposited here. But where was here?

That's when she realized something, something she remembered from her advanced sciences class way back in the academy. Slipspace was a subreality from their own. When you entered it... everything was pitch black. Because there was nothing your eyes could see.

They had gone into Slipspace and not exited it. They were still in it.

As dire as that was, it didn't change the mission.

"Troopers, rally up," she ordered over the radio. "This drop just got a hell of a lot weirder, but we still have a job to do. Let's get to it, Helljumpers!"

She took up her gun and headed for the objective point.

---

AN: Well that's one way to leave things off. Welcome to the Slipspace Void Battle, Remnants-Style! I hope you enjoy the experience. And once again, thanks for sticking with me through all this. We're approaching the final chapters and I'm really excited for what comes next. But first, we have to resolve this one last relic hunt before we can head to the meat of things. I hope to see you next chapter, and please do leave a review. I'm aware is having notification troubles again, but I hope that won't stop you from leaving your comments on things all the same. Also, do check the blogspot, there will be notes on this chapter posted there soon if not already.