"Twice the pride, double the fall."

Difference of Darkness

Halo 3: ODST

It has been raining for several hours now. Drops of Mother Nature's sweat trickled down from the heavens from her thick white blanket of clouds. Not a sound of thunder anywhere, just silent light rain, very common in this area. Trees stretched high almost to the base of these clouds. Their terrain was rugged, inclined, and clearly in the mountains. A campfire smoke carried its way to heaven above. It was distinct amongst the forest and gave a different tone.

On the side of the hill was a camp. A tent was stitched together with twigs, sticks, and leaves. It was fairly well built with just the evergreens around as a resource. Ashoka lay underneath their makeshift shelter still horribly unconscious from the previous battle. Rex and Spec with now worn armor and dirtied skin huddled around the fire. White clone trooper armor of the Republic faded with muddy spots (Rex more than Spec but both noticeable). At an uncomfortable forty degrees Fahrenheit, it was just warm enough to be bearable but cold enough to still feel it after a while.

"You think we are far enough away from the pod?" said Spec with a depressed tone.

"Well," grunting Red stood up in his squatting position looking around to the watery forest scenery. Rain drizzled down the sides of his helmet dropping off and following the groves and indents within his helmet and armor.

"These mountains will conceal the crash. And we are on the far side of this one," he pointed to the tall mountain behind him, "we will be fine."

Spec sighed a bit, having his captain slightly relieve his stress. Staring into the fire, it was raging and brightly hot. Sounds of twigs snapping and popping air bubbles inside their pours, combined with rain seasoning there too and quickly evaporating the top added an interesting look. If it had downpoured any harder the fire would have been smothered.

The makeshift camp was barely held together at all and was quite a testament to these two troopers' survival skills in such a short amount of time.

Spec started to rummage around through a white backpack with a brown fabric lid. The black Republic logo faded and patched, and the side of the bag had a black blaster burn mark telling of the previous battle. He started to frantically search.

"Ah crap," he mumbled, "we are low on supplies."

Rex did not even respond and just stared into the fire for a moment before putting a log onto the fire and giving it a virgin breath once more. He glared to the side and out to the woods, taking a deep huff, "Well this forest must have something to hunt."

"Sir?"

"It's easy," Rex pulled out his blaster pistol, "just set it to stun, and cut the neck with a knife before it can wake up."

"Well… that's one way to do it."

Rex chuckled, "Not the most formal way of saying it, but welcome to the 501st trooper."

"You guys are always this…" Spec was looking for the right word.

"Off the book?"

"Not the way I would have put it."

"Yeah, we learn from the General, he from us. When you are one of the only battalions that are constantly on the front lines… the book turns into more of… guidelines," he laughed to himself.

"Sounds a little over the top is all sir."

"Well, there is a reason I am a Captain, Private," he tilted his head, "and do you wanna eat?"

"Fair point hah," he corrected himself.

"You stay in watch over Commander Tano, I'll go find us something to eat."

Rex was as silent as he could and ambled through a game trail in the woods. He was only a couple hundred yards from camp. Trees above acted as a nice covering to the rain above even though his armor had mud and water on it. His blue and white officer uniform was dirty and covered telling of their situation. He had a single blaster pistol in hand set to stun, which he held in the teacup position. As he passed through the game trail he particularly had his eyes on the ground looking for tracks of an animal… of any animal. Mud on the sides of the beaten path makes excellent pads or traps in other words, for tracks. In rainy conditions like these, it would be fairly hard for any animal moving about to not leave any.

Clones themselves were not experts in wilderness survival, but they knew enough to survive until Republic rescue. But this time… the Republic even coming was a proper question to ponder. Possibly even at all.

Can't think about that right now…

Tracks…

Strange hoof-like prints deep in the mud. Granted it was raining but Rex could tell they were fresh, due to water not filling up the small craters in the muck yet. He veered to the contents, the shape of the hoof itself, and the direction it was seemingly going in. Two long toes splaying out in somewhat of a V shape. The hoof prints themselves were only three inches long and almost half an inch deep in the mud.

This thing can't be heavier than me. The print is just as deep in the mud as my tracks.

Following they came through the bushes from some ruffled-up branches, up a decent incline to the top of a hill. On the hill, fewer and fewer trees were displayed as the forest line grew thinner and thinner. At the top of the hill looking down was another patchy game trail. An open field displayed for a good hundred-yard circumference in the middle of this dense forest. Squatting down Rex used the hill line-of-sight to gaze around the whole area taking in his new surroundings. The grass was only four-ish feet tall and reflected gently from the water droplets on its surface.

He noticed a few boulders in the thick of the grass. They stuck up and were dark patches amongst the uniformly shaped grass line. The tracks themselves went into the grass but Rex could not see anything for that matter.

All I can hear is this damn rain.

Looking around for another second Rex sat like a bird of prey looming over. His target was unknown but here, something was amiss. His breathing was the only comfort as his exhale fogged up the very bottom of his visor, almost unnoticeable if he had not paid attention.

Well, that's a first.

He was only there for a few more moments. He thoughts about moving potentially, to investigate the field itself for more tracks.

Wait…

One of the 'boulders' in the field moved. Not much, but enough to catch Rex's sharp eye. Another moment of stillness passed and a neck raised out from the mini wilderness. Long and brown, there was a head attached to the end of it. It had pointed out splayed ears, and a long snout. A black button nose, and black beady eyes. This creature also had horns sticking out of its head facing backward, smaller in size. It was the infamous white-tailed deer, a female at that. But of course, Rex had no idea what this creature even was. He gazed upon its majesty, the ultimate grazer of the wilderness with a sense of interest. The longer he stared… ironically, the hungrier he got.

Raising his boater pistol slowly, the tension was rising. Bolstering up and bubbling within him like magma waiting to turn into lava. Blood was hot from pressure and his fingers sweat underneath the Republic grad gloves.

He aimed the pistol, only twenty-five yards away. In a general area, he had no clue if the stun would even reach that far. He had never seen it go farther than twenty feet.

Only one way to find out…

Gently, the trigger was squeezed. A zapping sound was heard as a blue ring of light shot out of the barrel of the blaster. It heads straight for the deer, completely immobilized by the strange sight and in a phase of shock.

As the blight faded, crows squawked from their perches and flew out above the trees and into the sky. Their black shapes and forms were yet again unfamiliar to Rex.

The sound of their calls in the distance added, and quickly he noticed the other boulders in the fields were also not boulders at all. They too, were the same mammal creature that he shot at. The deer stared at him blankly for a moment, only to jump and prance away in various directions. All of them departed the field in under a few seconds, and everything in the field was empty. Getting up from his prone position he crouched and walked down the woodsy path.

Into the field, he went to the general area where he thought he shot. The closer he got the more he realized,

It's not there…

The grass was chest-high. He kicked around with his feet trying to find the stunned creature. Finding none, he grunted in annoyance. Rex parted the grass veering around for a good fifteen-foot bubble. Nothing, absolutely nothing was found.

He took a moment to recuperate himself and checked his surroundings.

A small squeak nearby caught his ears and allured his gaze. He went to the epicenter of the small sound and found something interesting. Another small mammal, about a fourth the size of the previous creatures he was hunting. It had a long tail and black fur, with very pointy whiskers and a white face. An opossum, but of course, Rex had no idea what this thing was.

It was paralyzed, completely. Twitching at the fingers and foaming at the mouth it could not move. Normally, any stun from a blaster would knock a human or humanoid unconscious for a good half an hour. But this, such a small and helpless being, would borderline kill it.

Must've shot this thing instead…

He held up the blaster to the thing's cranium, and pulled the trigger again, sending another wave of electricity through the creature's body and particularly the brain. It was killed instantly without even a word of pain to respond with. Twitching only a few more times before the release of life, Rex lifted it by the tail.

Well, it's at least something…

Holstering his pistol, Rex walked out of the field and slowly back into the forest to the campsite. He was very careful not to scratch the body on any trees as he passed. Through the trees and bushes, he began to walk uphill. The camp itself was not very far. Since he was by himself, he began to notice something… the scenery. Never before had he seen trees like this. Thick, lush, and very green. Brown bark on their hides and bushes to guard their bottoms, this forest was very beautiful. He had gotten so used to the war… the decaying forests and foliage, desolate and abandoned buildings, and the like. To see something fresh, virgin in a way and untouched by the horrors of war, it was very peaceful.

All thoughts aside, he could see base camp. Ashoka was still unconscious, and Spec did not even acknowledge his return. He was staring into the woods, and surprisingly, the coals on the fire had died as well. There was tension in the air. It was thick and covered the whole vibe like syrup. Very hard to miss even if he wanted to. But this type of energy, if one could call it that, was coming from the fire left to suffocate in the pit to die.

Strange… Why is the fire out?

Rex spoke aloud to Spec as he laid the possum down on some gravel, "Got something to eat. Why's the fire dead?"

"I'm sorry sir," Spec said as if he wanted someone else to hear, "it was my mistake."

Overenunciating the words was something strange. This Rex had never seen before in a clone, even this one to which yes he had barely any, but thought it was out of the norm for most. He also noticed that his hand was on his blaster rifle that was next to him on a log. Not point up, but his hand was definitely (and tightly) on it.

"What's wrong trooper?" Rex asked.

Spec coughed once very loudly, before whispering, "I was tending to the fire, and when I looked back up there was a figure standing in the treeline that was not there. It hasn't moved."

Rex simply raised his blaster pistol in the direction Spec was talking about. He could not exactly tell where this 'thing' was, but whoever it was did not know that. The longer Rex would stare, the more the shape came into place. It was a humanoid hunched to a squatting position hidden in the bushes. Rex took two more steps in the direction of the figure.

Grunting came over from Ashoka's direction. She sat up from underneath her small shelter wiping her eyes and rising from her long slumber. She yawned slightly and rubbed her head. Taking in the surroundings she was completely baffled to find out where she was. Rex? Another trooper? And in the woods? Is this another lucid dream? This cannot be real. She was covered in bruises and cuts and so many small lacerations from the previous skirmish it was a wonder she was not still unconscious.

Both Rex and Spec sharply turned to Ashoka's direction hearing her move around.

Rex quickly stuck up his finger to the mouth area of his helmet as she rolled around slightly. Telling her to be quiet she stopped moving looking in the direction that they were too.

After one final moment of somewhat silence, Rex spoke, "All alright I got my blaster set to stun, I don't wanna hurt you, come out now."

A red laser appeared from the bushes straight to the head of Rex. It was just a small but noticeable beam of red light placed like a ray. Spec sitting behind his captain immediately caught this and raised his carbine in the general direction of the laser,

"Captain!" he said.

Rex instinctively turned to the left, pulling out his other blaster pistol pointing two in different directions, one in each hand. A mini woods standoff has occurred, and funny enough they still had no idea what they would even be shooting at.

More red lasers. All placing themselves on Rex's body and head. Straight and small they moved around a little bit reflecting a bit off his chest and face. Luckily it was not blinding due to the tinted visor. Around seven or eight lasers in various directions in the woods all tactically placed to him.

"Back to back," said Rex assertively.

Spec immediately stood up and went back-to-back with his captain. Tactically superior, this move was embedded within the clones' instinctive training. They could see each other's backside and work with four eyes instead of two. Ashoka too followed suit igniting her singular green lightsaber. She waved it in a defensive stance looking around and keeping a sharp eye, despite her just waking up from a mini-coma not too long ago.

Strangely enough, the lasers dissipated one by one after Ashoka lit up her blade. It was quite odd, which made the three tilt their heads to each other slightly. Ashoka stood up from her slanted defensive position. She gazed out into the wilderness and called out,

"Show yourself!"

At that moment the crouched human-shaped figure that both Spec and Rex were staring at in the bushes stood up. All of them gazed in strange bewilderment to note this thing was about as tall as they were. Covered in strange black armor and a black visor, he came out from the woods with a rifle in hand. This unfamiliar weapon pointed straight at Rex and was less than ten yards from one another. On their shoulders was a skull enveloped in flames, a symbol of sorts. On the other shoulder were symbols, of course, unreadable to the clones and Ashoka, but to most, it read four letters. Four letters that infamously shot hope, fear, and respect, and they were, ODST.

The clone captain directed both blaster pistols to the strange soldier, as well as Spec with his carbine. Ashoka, at the front of the three-pointed her lightsaber to him,

"Who are you?"

The strange ODST would not lower his rifle but instead point to the side, "Look I don't know who the hell you are but this is government property and you civilians need to leave. I'm asking you this once."

"Civilians?" Spec questioned.

At that moment four more similar black troopers arose from thin air out of the woods too with similar and varied guns in hand. They encircled the two clones and Jedi, and it felt very claustrophobic. Even still the men stared particularly at Ashoka, her skin, frame, head/hair, and even size were something unfamiliar. The UNSC is hardly untouched by other races and to see another, they half thought this was just an expensive civilian cosplay.

But that head-piece that she has… looks real?

Something about this seems off.

Through the thick of the standoff, the intensity grew more and more by the second, and seemingly was about to go poorly.

"Let's put the blasters down and talk about this," said Rex.

Static came through the headset of the same strange black soldier. It sounded like a voice coming over a radio, or within the headset inside his helmet. It distracted everyone in the moment of strife and intensity just enough to alleviate the pressure. He turned his head to the side listening to whatever it was, and sighed once the signal finished.

"Well, it's your lucky day, looks like Gias wants you for questioning," he said.

Ashoka muttered loudly, "What do you mean?"

"Let's put the guns down and cooperate, we have you outnumbered, and we have air support" exclaimed another ODST through his helmet in the bushes.

At that moment, a UH-144 Falcon came whirring in the distance. It was only a couple hundred yards above them, but mounted to each side was a machine gunner and the main gun attached to the front. Trees rippled and were waving around by the wind thanks to the Falcon's propellers, and the three could tell they were outnumbered.

Ashoka gritted her teeth, "That's not gonna happen."

The pressure released from earlier, only heightened up, building like a volcano. As all the men stood in a quick set of silence in a Western-style standoff, their pride and allegiance were showing bolstering through their spirits like a tsunami. The sun was reflecting from the side, showing off the idents and designs of both the clone troopers and the ODST. Another few seconds came and it was only a matter of time until something broke.

Rex knew this and weighed the options in his mind. Quick thinking and light in his feet he made a decision. He dropped both his blaster pistols, having them bounce a few times hitting the dirt and grass. He turned around to Ashoka and Spec, who both had their weapons still in hand pointing to the other ODST.

"Stand down," he said assertively, "we are not here to fight."

"Sir?" Spec questioned.

Ashoka only rolled her eyes and designed her lightsaber. The green blade unerected itself going back into the hilt with an energetic sound almost playing in reverse. She threw her saber to the ground like an upset child confused.

Spec himself even lowered his blaster and dropped it. All weapons on the floor, Rex glared around to the three of them. Gaze came back to the ODSTs, to which they lowered their weapons. The stress was there, but it was as if the pressure had been released. There was a hint in the air of respect from both sides inadvertently because of this and it was interesting to note.

One of the ODSTs moved forward collected their weapons off the ground and put them in a backpack. Ashoka more or less was still angered by it, and annoyed, to say the least.

"I'm trusting you, I can't believe I'm going for this," mumbled the Padawan.

"I thought I was the guy in charge," she thought.

"Trust me, kid. I've been in these situations before," said Rex.

I was looking forward to eating…

The ODSTs had the three placed to the front walking forward. They, behind followed with weapons lowered but still alert. The Falcon still moved overhead waiting for a hint of rebellion. As they marched through the forest, and deeper into it, they moved along a beaten woodsy trail. The scenery was still very beautiful, but the clones in particular felt… fairly naked without their weapons. Afraid and very wary. Ashoka was attentive and tried to recognize the area she was in for future reference, and really… to remember what happened. It was all such a blur. And this planet? She still has no idea how she even got here.

Eventually, the group made it to a large mound in the center of the woods. Walking around along the side of it, it was a strange bulge in Mother Nature's skin. As they cleared the bend and passed a creek, Ashoka finally willed herself to clear the air.

"Hey Rex," she hesitated for a moment, collecting her thoughts, "how did we get here?"

The moment those words were uttered, the clone only would shake his head chuckling once. He stuck a hand down to the black scorch mark on his side before continuing, "Well after the battle in the hanger, Spec and I got you to an escape pod, which we waited for a clearing then jettisoned here."

"That metal man gave me a hard beating."

"Yeah," he muttered, "he sure did."

"Where's Anakin and Kenobi?" she said, concerned.

"I don't know."

Line of thought cut off by the lead ODST in the group, "we are here."

Parting through the wild trees was a huge base of sorts. A chain link fence encircled the whole campus, with barbed wire, at least on the top with signs saying 'do not trespass' scattered around. Paved roads laid the way throughout the whole base, with a few skyscraper-type buildings laced inside. The sun reflected off the windows of the huge buildings, giving a warm glow to their appearance. A few barracks for troops were at the front of the base, along with shooting ranges. Troopers, unarmed, and in uniform, were human too, removing around in various formations and standard lines doing multiple exercises and drill routines. This was a training base of sorts.

As they came to the front of the base, there was a huge entrance large enough for a car to enter, but blocked by a railroad crossing blocker. A metal 6x6 booth that had a section of military personnel acting as an entrance warden. The warden greeted the ODSTs with a respectful gesture, nodding and smiling upon their return.

"Gentlemen," he said, "I see the scouting party has returned. Ooo visitors. That girl seems a little strange."

The head ODST shook his head, "Yeah we picked up a few that Gias wants."

"Oh my," the booth officer looked over to Ashoka and the two clones, "alright come on in he probably wants to see ya."

"Not now Rego," said one of the black troopers with an annoyed tone.

"Fine, fine," he pressed a few buttons and the long metal rail opened up, rising high and into the air for them to walk through. The three stared at this strange man and thought his demeanor was quite unprofessional, and very input.

As the group went into the compound of sorts, they were immediately stared at by the men doing their training exercises. Only for a moment, but the hesitation was still very much there. Something of the armor of the two clones was interesting and different, and Ashoka herself just was, otherworldly to say the least.

Everyone batted an eye and was one of slight interest and yet disgust at the same time. All the more making the three feel uneasy.

Approaching a huge cement building the doors flung wide automatically. A huge sign with a triangle over a circle forms a symbol. This Illuminati-type design read the title of 'Office of Naval Intelligence'. But of course, neither Clone nor Jedi could read the thing, they did though (specifically Ashoka), thought it was peering, dark, and strange. The clones did not think much of it, but Ashoka sensed something. She could not place it to when, where, why, or how, but something was amiss. Like the force was giving her a lucid Deja Vu of a misdirecting current. Not the veil of dark side that she was used to. Something different and strangely almost worse. It crept into her bones and pierced through the force into her soul. The spirit within her shuttered.

Inside the building was a huge front office desk. A lady was sitting in it with her hair folded back into a bun. Her hair was a dirty blonde and her eyes were bright blue. She was in a suit of sorts and seemingly acted as the front clerk. As the group approached, she smiled and could easily be seen trying her best not to stare (especially at Ashoka).

"Sergeant," she turned to the side, pressing a button on the kiosk in front of her. She leaned over and spoke into it like some sort of an intercom, "They are here in the front lobby agent."

They stood there for only a moment, and the clones did not think much of it. But Ashoka felt very overwhelmed. Her eyes were wide with not fear, but uncertainty. For once in her life it was not the Dark Side of the Force creeping into the back depths of her spirit like a little demon on her shoulder. This was something else far different and almost more complex than any emotion she had. Mere seconds felt like minutes especially when she as a young teenage girl tried to process all these feelings, especially without her master there to help and guide her through it.

As a door opened on the side of the wall, down the middle, and automatically, it was strange enough. An elevator of sorts and inside of it was only a single man. Dressed in a nice jet-black suit and tie, he had only a tablet or sorts in his hand. His hair was dark and black just like his uniform and his eyes were thick and void completing his form. He was elderly, yet frame seemed young and bold like the man he is portraying.

Giving a quick smile to the three before turning to the ODSTs behind him acting as a guarded escort, Gias simply smiled, "You are dismissed, Sergeant Alexson."

Quite bewildered Alexson questioned, "Sir, is that really-"

"And for goodness sake give them back their weapons," he said, pointing specifically to Ashoka. The tone did not match his body. The voice of a frail old English man in a confident young looking person for his age was something rare to see.

One of the ODST's opened up his backpack and gave the clones back their weapons. Rex holstered his pistol, and Spec just held his carbine by the barrel. Ashoka upon receiving her lightsaber hooked it to her utility belt with a quick snap. She quickly looked at Gias with an eyebrow raised.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"Indeed that is quite the ponder," his accent was something strangely similar to General Kenobi's, which is very off because they must be from different places in their respective galaxies, "let's take this somewhere else."

The demonic covered the room like a thick overwhelming presence. The hooded lord, Darth Sidious appeared in a dark red hologram, hooded and cloaked so that the only skin revealed was nose and mouth. But the yellow eye glare, similar to Grievous himself and Anakin in the previous battle, was sharp and piercing. Almost nothing was like this and it was unsettling to most who were in its path.

The elegant Count Dooku himself was on a bent knee with a bowed head respecting his master.

"Count Dooku," said the Sith Lord, "what is the word on Ryloth."

Dooku continued without hesitation, "Wat Tombor is losing the siege on the capital, Mace Windu is personally leading the assault, and is proving to be quite the adversary."

"And these Spartans?"

"The first one, 117, has found the other Spartan on Ryloth, they are currently onboard the main command center."

"Hm…" the Lord raised his fingers stroking his bald chin for a moment, "they are appearing out of thin air aren't they."

"My Lord…" his voice questioning in the tone, "what of the Republic?"

Sidious would only chuckle once, "Our plans will come to fruition regardless of what side has the advantage."

"Yes, My Lord."

Right before Dooku was going to end the call with his infamous concluding statement, the Dark Lord spoke once more,

"And the captured Jedi? I have… further use of them…"

A dark interrogation room with a singular light warm hanging from above. Stereotypically two chairs, and a metal table, the same color as the wall. The singular thick and dark glass on the wall reflected back its own image telling of the ominous feeling of being watched. The two troopers and Jedi sat

in the metallic folding chairs. Across from them on the other side of the table was Gias, who had his hands clasped together looking at them with sharp interest. When he spoke it was of deep curiosity and wonder,

"Now tell me, how did the three of you make it here? I know you are not from the UNSC or any of its civilians," he pointed over to her, "and well, we can tell at least she is not human."

The three looked at each other for a moment, in slight hesitation if the real answer should be revealed. Especially when in this type of lighting and ambiance, it just made the room even more off-putting. Rex for a moment leaned forward look to Gias through his visor (which he himself could sense) with a thick and sharp glare,

"Before we answer anything I think it best and fair if you answer a couple first."

"Alright," said Gias with a nod of equality, "ask away."

"Who are you?"

"Me specifically? Or-"

Ashoka interrupted, "or whoever you work for."

"Ah well, I am Agent Gias, an field operative for the Office of Naval Intelligence. They, as the name implies, are the naval intelligence branch for the whole UNSC." seeing their confused faces, heavily insinuated that they had or have no idea what this 'UNSC' was. To which, he noticed, "And the UNSC, the 'United Nations Space Command', are a combination of our races' governments to form a unified military, economy, and society. Well, at least we thought we were the only humans."

Rex and Spec turned to each other for half a second confused. Then Gias sat up in his chair and asked, "Now tell me, I hate to pry, but are you in fact… human?"

Both clones simultaneously took off their helmets to reveal their smooth tan faces. Rex, having a thin and well shaved almost bald head and was quite remarkably similar to Spec, who had a thinly trimmed buzz cut. After a moment of still air, Gias noticed their features and exhaled, "are you brothers?"

"Kind of, we're clones," said Rex.

"Fascinating," he took a moment to pause and take in the revelation. After the hasteful pondering he turned to Ashoka, "what of you? You clearly aren't human."

"Me?" said Ashoka, "My race is from Shili, but I barely remember it. The Jedi took me in when I was so young."

Gias chuckled, "Ah yes Jedi, space wizards with laser swords. You know ONI has been keeping a file on you people for the past almost thirty years," he pulled out his small tablet and pressed the button at the bottom of the device turning it on. A screen displayed a multitude of information fairly quickly. Schematics, artifacts, ruins, blueprints for lightsabers etc, "most of what we had was speculation, but to have one here, a real Jedi, quite the neat trick."

She wondered, "Where did you get all that?"

"All logged information from previous shipping routes and what not. In the war there were a lot of probes and scouting units. On the outer colonies, they would find remnants and traces of these… abandoned outposts, books, relics, etc. At first, we thought they were Covenant. But the designs on the inside were… too human."

"War? Covenant? What are you talking about," her eyebrow raised before pointing, "and you still haven't told us why we are held in here against our will."

"Oh trust me you are not held against your will. You could completely leave and nothing would happen to you," Gias checked his watch, "but in about fifteen minutes about twenty agents and Spartan Fireteam Osiris will be here looking to detain you three."

"What?"

Spec pointed to him, "You set us up."

He giggled, "No quite the contrary. I have the hallway outside rigged to blow. It should give you enough cover to escape."

"Why are you helping us," Rex clenched both his knees looking at him with a stern appearance."

"ONI does not like to play by the rules. I do. Besides, I like to know both sides of the story. Call me a 'Mr. Mediator' if you will."

There were blank faces among the group. Gas with a look and grin of his own satisfaction was amused at his own work. Turning on the tablet again he scrolled a bit before turning the screen around for them to see, "he's your enemy I am assuming. This is 'General Grievous'. He's currently on the far side off the planet."

Those pixels formed an image. As the projection loaded it formed a collage of scenes. Gifs of their terrifying Jedi Killer locked in combat with aliens that neither of them recognized (Covenant), photographs of various angles, and well-edited formations. This was all so well organized it was hard to believe. He was above civilians seemingly… rescuing them from these aliens and helping out these other green human soldiers in various scenes.

"What the hell is he doing here?" said Spec looking at Rex.

"Liberating New Kong. The capital of this planet. His robots, although simple, are seemingly doing his work quite well if I might add."

"Why is that monster helping out innocent people?!" said Ashoka, annoyed and biting her teeth again.

"You tell me. You call him a monster but he seems very sound to me, strange, but sound. Even social media has blown up recently with video footage of him. He's become a celebrity of sorts," he held up both his hands as emphasis, "the 'Saving Dragon', is what news anchors dubbed him," Gias now thought to himself, completely agreeing with Grievous' stance. Next were a few reels on social media platforms of people showing videos, making edited versions and photos, and even memes. This strange figure which perplexed and was considered a monstrosity to the Republic is now the main public figure amongst these other people of the UNSC. It was strangely different and gave a chilling feeling to the Jedi.

"But he would use them as meat shields!" she exclaimed

"What do you want," Rex's words cut the air to get back to the point.

"Oh no, nothing, your reactions were enough for me. Again, I am an information gatherer. Fair, but precise," he held up his hand and in it was a detonator of sorts. Of course, it was strange and different to what they were used to, but the two clones could definitely recognize due to their military experience that that was definitely a detonator. A red button cloud at the top of it which Gias's thumb was hovering over.

"Oh and by the way, you have like thirty seconds," Gias said with an evil tone and smile.

19th of June 2557

32 days before The Release

All right guys just a little bit to talk about and I have a couple announcements to make. Thanks for reading this, for some reason, I hit riders block with his chapter, but finally broke through with it a couple of days ago, and finished it. Anyway, let's get to the announcements.

First of all, if you guys can tell, the most notable is that I just published a new story, a new chapter for that one should be out in a couple of days. Don't worry, it won't take away from this one, the other stories are kind of my own little 'pet project' if you will.

Secondly, you guys could probably notice that I reformatted the heading of each chapter, it is important, and that'll obviously be revealed later as the story progresses. The reason why I changed it is because I have been convicted, and I am undertake personal belief that every five or six chapters or so, a writer should do a recess to basically go over what he's written, re-analyze where he wants the story to go, and then reevaluate what is the meaning or less in the story is trying to tell. because at the end of the day, I feel like we as writers are not riding just to write, we are doing this to tell a story or teach a lesson and that is what I'm trying to do. This was kind of like a new breath for me because I was getting a little burnt out again but now I have a complete ambition to finish the story and see it through.

The third and final thing I wanna know is that yes I did change the cover art for the story, I figured the old one was getting a little too trivial, and was a little bit of a cluttered mess. Hope you guys can understand.

This chapter was a bit of a long one, and it was a little bit more intricate for me to write but I thought it was good nonetheless.

Anyway, onto the comments, you guys have pretty good ones.

ikusatsunagi - Awesome dude, thanks!

SupremeSongLeader - Trust me I have so much in plan for the two Spartans. Added to what you said about the Didact I think you might like the updated version lol. Although with the Vong, I am not very familiar with that side of Star Wars so I could answer or add. AND YES, I do agree Disney is a little more on the downside in terms of content and I don't know why. It's sad when we as fans can write better material hah.

Guest - THANKS MAN YOUR DA BEST!

Guest - don't worry I have so many plans with Spartan IIs and IIIs. We SHALL SEE HOW THAT GOES! And yes lore-wise I think they are the most underrated and have the least attention in the games besides Reach which is sad.

Again all these comments mean a lot. I hope you all love the changes I added. I'll see y'all in the next one. You know me, I am still around as always. I'm not going ANYWHERE, PEEPS! I love you all!

Stay safe, and stay healthy,

~1DL1NG KN1GHT