Anchor Nine was a maelstrom of activity. By the time the Winter had docked, Captain Harper had his little fleet as ready as he could possibly make it, with Anchor 9 as his base of operations, I watched from the window of the Winter as support staff and Marines ran around with the fear of God in them. The ramp behind me hissed as it lowered and I pulled myself to my feet, following the Spook and her ODST paramour down the incline and out onto the flight deck where two familiar faces greeted me.

"Alex! Mei!" I said, saluting them, "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too, friend." Alex said, poking the Captain's bars on my epaulettes. "And a promotion too?"

"My God they must be desperate," Mei said, grinning, "I'm sure they put you through hell for it." she said, stepping aside to let me through, "Come on, we've got a conference room set up, follow me. Are you two coming?" she asked my ad-hoc companions.

Katya nodded and followed us through the corridors of Anchor Nine. We parted a sea of staff with forlorn faces, each of them expressing a different kinda dread as we strode past with all the authority of a lion in the densely packed corridors. Each man, woman, and person between had a different look of concern on their face. It was clear to everyone that something was up, they just didn't know what it was.

Originally, Battlegroup SUDAN was supposed to link back up with Fleet Admiral Harper's forces at Sol. That they were suddenly being scrambled into action suggested, to them at least, that a more local Star System was in need of relief.

Close to Reach. Not Reach itself.

That was the prevailing thought. Afterall, Reach was humanity's last bastion. It's fortress and it's home from home. No one alive believed that Reach could be torched like the other colonies. Afterall, it hadn't yet been found, right? The hubris shown in their conversations, worried me as I walked by them.

How does a man react to the worst news he could hear?

It wasn't a thought that brought me any comfort, it just sparked speculations on the nature of a person's character. I knew the defence would be mighty and the kinds of sacrifices that people were capable of but the chances were that Reach was doomed to the same fate as every other colony that had ultimately faced the covenant. If the Covenant knew what they'd found, they'd arrive in force, too. I don't care how many ships Freemont and Ward had, it wouldn't stop an armada.

ONI would make the most of it, too. I had no doubt I'd be asked to play a part in their clean up, just as I had on Fumirole. It sickened me as we entered a small waiting area near the conference room.

"Room's being prepped, and we need to wait for the other Commander's to arrive" Alex said, taking a seat and leaning back.

There was an uncomfortable silence as we each settled into a quiet corner of the room, save for Mei, who sat beside me on the couch, wringing her hands nervously.

"So…"

"Hi" I said, talking over her. "Sorry, you first."

"I was just, I don't know, gonna make small talk?"

"I never was much good at that" I chuckled, "I think that's the reason they let me fly still."

"Yeah, they were pretty pissed with you from what I heard."

"I paid for it, believe me" I replied, looking for comfort in the floor between my feet. A thousand thoughts flooded my head, which I tried to shake free as I cringed visibly at them visions in my head. The bloodstains on the deck of the Prowler, the sadistic looks in the eyes of the men, and the scenes of carnage caused not by the covenant but by the guns of my dropship.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked, placing a kind hand on my shoulder.

"No." I said, sitting back.

The door to the conference room clicked and hissed open and the station's A.I ushered us inside before Mei could press my response for details. The room was threadbare, with only a holotable in the middle, showing a detailed map of the solar system with fleet locations dotted about the place. It was the largest concentration of ships I'd ever seen, even more than had been stationed on Earth when I had last been there. Right at the centre of it all was the UNSC Trafalgar. Named for a great naval battle in Earth's history, I looked at it wondering if that might give the ship an edge. Most UNSC destroyers were here, the real firepower of the fleet, and there must have been a hundred frigates alone, floating about the place in regular combat patrols.

Having been on a frigate in a fight however, I wasn't sure what they could do against a massive force. Right now all I had was the hope that this was some splinter cell, or a tiny wayward garrison that had been stranded and could be killed before they were able to report back.

Four officers entered the room and I frowned, recognising one instantly.

"Commander Kholi?"

She raised a brow, "Lieutenant, actually" she corrected, her voice had a bitter edge to it and her eyes darted towards Alex when she spoke.

"Lieutenant, that's no way to speak to a superior officer!" barked a gruff voice behind him, "Apologies Captain," he said, offering his hand. I took it and shook it firmly, "Commander Waters, UNSC Grafton. This is my second, Lieutenant Commander Aarons, and this," he gestured to the two folks behind him, "is Lt. Kohli and Commander Longcross of the Savannah"

Longcross nodded, "Pleasure, Captain." he noted, standing beside me as Alex placed his hands on the table.

"Everyone, this is Captain Ollie Van Graff of the UNSC Winter. He'll be our eyes and ears on the ground."

"Okay, now that we're all acquainted, why don't you tell us why we're here, Cap. I'm guessing we're not heading back to Sol."

Alex shook his head and I felt my body tense as he prepared to drop the bomb. He moved the holographic display to a region called Viery and to a location highlighted as the 'Visegrad Relay.'

"As you are aware. A relay was hit knocking out communications planet wide and we have been in a state of alert ever since. I can now confirm that Winter Contingency is in effect." he paused as the room seemed to empty like a vacuum, each person competing for the same dwindling air supply. "As of now, we are under priority tasking pertaining only to the defence of Reach. In the last hour, I have received word that our ships are to form a Battlegroup codenamed SUDAN to provide intelligence and ground support in the Viery area. Now, I know this isn't ideal. The Grafton's reactor is in need of maintenance, and the Savannah's ship-to-ship coilguns are faulty and I've lost half my crew to emergency re-assignment but we're facing the biggest threat to Humanity since the inner colony sieges began. This is Reach. Not Fumirole, Actium, or Sigma Octanus. Reach is the last line of defence before Earth and I don't need to impress upon you its importance. What we do here is paramount to human civilization and its survival so in thirty minutes we are to begin locating the covenant force and intercept any and all craft we find. That job will go to you, Waters."

Waters nodded without comment, his eyes darkened and tight. His throat bobbed as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. Katya coughed, drawing attention to herself as she stepped forward. "Periodically, you will be called upon by myself, and Captain Van Graff to aid in the recovery of key assets planetside. Our designation is Tier One. I am sure you know what that means?"

Again, they nodded silently, the gravity of the situation choking their throats.

"Indeed. The Grafton will deploy its fighter wings in atmosphere but remain mostly out of sight. Have your fighters return to Aegis before they return to you. I don't want to tip them off to the assets we have in the area. If they're caught it should look like you found them by accident on a routine patrol, is that clear? Good. Savannah is in the dock and it'll need its guns operational if we want to have a chance. Aegis is at half manpower and running with only a quarter of its munitions capacity so it'll be held in reserve in low orbit. We can triangulate data between the three of us to track any and all Covenant ships we find in the area."

"Asset retrieval?" Kohli asked, looking at me. "Sir, you mean to say that we're really here for them."

"No. I am telling you that standard protocol dictates that assets deemed too important to remain on a discovered world are extracted and evacuated from the system. No doubt, Captain Van Graff and Commander Volkovskaya can remind you, should you forget, that there is a bigger picture to remember, Lieutenant."

I wasn't sure exactly what my mission was just yet but I deferred to Katya's judgement in the hope that a united front might deter Kohli's ire from me. I wasn't sure what had happened in the months since we'd seen each other but clearly the good will that Mei seemed to have for me was far stronger than the bond I had supposedly built with Kohli. She looked at me with a fury I could scarcely describe, her eyes burning like firecrackers exploding in the sky. I folded my arms defensively and scowled.

So much for family, eh?

Interestingly, Mei regarded Kohli with a frosty glare that could only suggest that something had changed between them. She stood much closer to Alex than she might once have done and, to me, she seemed to be inching ever closer to his side until the hems of their jackets touched. Our eyes met and I raised a brow, glancing to Alex and back to her. Her cheeks reddened and she looked away.

Ah, so that's what that is.

I smiled to myself, at least some things hadn't changed.

"So, it's really here. The war has found Reach…" Aarons muttered to himself, "Do Ward and Freemont know?" he added, looking up at Alex.

"They will when the order is formally declared. Until then we act in secrecy. I know it's not ideal but we know this is done for a reason."

"Aye, sir."

"Good. Keep your heads on your shoulder's, we've done this before and we can do it again. I was at ballast and so was Volkovskaya, and the Viper, who's planetside right now. Miracles do happen, Gents. We just need to create the opportunity for them to happen."

"Ballast was a one-in-a-billion, Sir. You and I both know that battle wasn't won conventionally. I doubt the Spook here would care to share either." Waters said, sighing, "but you'll have your belief. Let's make this happen. Ad Astra."

"Ad Astra." Alex replied, nodding severely. "Right. You're dismissed, I want the Grafton gone in twenty minutes. Aegis will follow you out in thirty." He saluted and the room emptied. His whole demeanour sagged as they left. "God, Ollie. I am bloody tired already."

"You never did seem to sleep well, Sir."

"Sir? You forget your rank, Ollie." he said looking up with a smile, "you gonna cope with all that authority?"

I swatted my hand at him, "aw, Sir, you know I ain't a stickler. I'm only Captain because they need pilots, had a ship to spare, and realised I weren't much good at keeping their dirties a secret."

"Well, if your issues with authority are what brought you back to us, I'm thankful for it. For what it's worth, this kind of fight isn't one best faced alone."

"I'd drink to that, sir, but you seem to have forgotten the drinks." I said, grinning.

"There's Scotch back on the Aegis but it will have to wait. At this stage, the Winter isn't a ship we can afford to leave out of the fight."

"You got it. We got some nice shiny sensors on that ship, should be able to weed out whatever it is that the Covenant are hiding down there."

We left the conference room and walked back along the gangways towards the Winter's docking bay. Alex seemed relaxed to see me, and Mei was warm, smiling as though she'd never hated me. It felt good to be around them again, even if it was under the worst of circumstances. I'd given up on ever seeing this kind of life again, to be given the opportunity to pretend to live it again, even for a moment, was something to savour.

Stepping inside the elevator, brought with it a strange silence as the four of us ascended the levels of the station to the bridge.

"We can see if any intel has been collected that's available to your clearance level" Captain Harper said, breaking the silence. "Commander, will you be joining us?"

"No" Katya replied, "I have something I need to look into."

Alex nodded and didn't press the matter as we stepped onto the bridge. The station chief saluted and gave us use of the comms equipment and nav data as we searched for abnormalities on the surface of the planet. Across the room I could see Katya Volkovskaya watching me with a menacing look in her eyes.

"So…" I said, leaning over the railing near the window, looking out into space as the other crowded around the table. Below us, Reach looked like a perfect planet, untouched by the monsters that kept us all awake at night. It seemed… almost peaceful.

"Yes, Captain?" Mei asked, looking up from the data being fed through the computers.

"See anything out of the ordinary?"

"No." She replied, shaking her head.

"Should we start at the relay? I know we don't want to telegraph our movements against the covenant but we have access to a stealth ship. Plus, we have assets on the ground that may need extraction."

Mei looked to Alex, who nodded, "according to sat data, there's a research facility up in the mountains, where the relay control room is. We should go and observe what's going on, try and follow any and all phantoms leaving the area. They will lead us back to their base."

I leaned forward, agreeing with Mei. "Sir, ONI aren't going to prioritise us here, things are already in motion and they will have a timetable to keep. When planets are compromised, they clean house. I say we act in the letter of our brief and start seeing where our help is needed before ONI or HIGHCOM start assigning us to milk runs and rear guard actions."

"My orders are clear, Ollie." He replied, chewing on his thumbnail, "but you're a Captain now and you have separate orders. Listen, I might be your task force Commander but we share a rank. You need to get with the programme and act like it."

I nodded, bouncing on my feet a little, "Alright, I'll take a look at that valley, see what's going on. You'll have my report within the hour."

"Good. I appreciate it, Ollie."

"Don't mention it, Sir" I said, smiling.

I'm just glad you won't ask me to become a murderer.

The familiar, dream haunting images spat through my mind like phlegm launched from the mouth of a beggar and i zoned out, staring blankly into the dull metal walls until someone appeared in front of me.

"Captain?" Katya asked her eyes set like standing stones.

"Y-yes?"

"I'd like to join your team for this mission. I have a friend in that valley and they may need extraction."

"Of course, welcome aboard." I said, offering her a hand. She took it and nodded, shaking it firmly twice and stepping back. "Will the Major be joining us?"

She shook her head, "he's getting our marines together, we'll need a full contingent if we're to provide ground support."

"Oh, alright, then." I said, not wanting to be alone with the Wolf seemed like a sensible idea, her features were neutral as we walked back to the Winter but her eyes were so severe. She could look about the place as though she were constructing her own empire with them.

"You must be highly decorated, to be asked to command a ship like this." She said when the Winter returned to our view.

"Naw, just unlucky." I replied, wishing I was lying.

"But you have Parangosky's favour."

"Again, wouldn't really call that lucky, would you?"

She gave me a short chuckle but bit through her grin. "I guess not, you are unlucky a lot?"

I activated the boarding ramp and waited for the loud hiss to stop before turning hack to her, wondering if she was playing some kind of game with me.

"No more than the average person, I hope" I lied, "think I'd be mighty bitter if that turned out to be true."

"I am very unlucky." She said, coolly, following me up the ramp. "I lost everything before I turned ten and was taken in by some traffickers. When I was rescued at fourteen, it was by an ONI agent who used me to complete her mission."

"Damn…"

"Yeah. It made me very good at sniffing out liars and bulllshit though, Captain."

I opened my mouth to speak but she held up a hand.

"And this invasion reeks."

"Of?"

"Lies." She hit the ramp button and it began to move back into place, leaving us alone in the bay of the ship. "Your A.I. is not to be trusted, it was a school project turned over to ONI. ONI knows who will be on this ship. They know the covenant are already on the planet, too."

"What are you saying?" I asked, feeling myself leaning back, "you think they know something we don't?"

"They always know something we don't, Captain. I've just got a bad feeling about this."

I initiated the take-off sequence, feeling the Winter purr as we slid out into space and taxied away slowly, following the flight path from Anchor Nine.

"I know what you mean, usually my orders are a little more specific than 'defend the planet'. You think we should be worried? I've been set up before, I don't wanna go down with a knife in my back."

"You should not worry, Sir. Admiral Parangosky quite likes you." Walsingham said, chiming in. "Though, she is aware of the mistrust that Agent Volkovskaya harbours against us."

"That's not very reassuring, Wally." I said, pushing onwards towards the planet's surface. The ship rattled a little as it fought to pierce the atmosphere, harried by the building blocks of life as it thundered towards the Valley filled with covenant.

"I did say it to her face." Katya replied, scowling, "listen, Captain, I need to ask you something. Would you land and speak with me for a moment?"

I hesitated, wondering what the Commander was playing at. She looked a little less severe, which put me even more on edge as I found myself nodding,y curiosity getting the better of me as we stopped a few clicks short of the Visegrad Relay.

"Power down your A.I." She said, walking to Walsingham's console.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"I really do not think that is nec-"

I'd flicked the switch, killing the entire ship dead. I checked the pistol on the weapons rack and looked back to Katya, who was watching me with a cold glare.

"You're not going to shoot me, are you?" I asked, resting my hand on my hip.

"No."

"And I'm supposed to trust that?"

"Yes."

I shrugged and followed Katya out of the Winter and out onto the dewy plateau below. The wind was soft on my cheeks, as if calming me before the storm that was approaching this planet really started to hammer against us.

"So, what's this about then, all these theatrics? I thought we were supposed to be the subtle types."

"I saw your file. The full file."

"I doubt that, bit beyond your pay grade." I said folding my arms.

"Your psych profile has you pegged for a person whose radical self-interest is dwarfed only by his talent for helmsmanship."

"Uh-huh"

"And yet, my sources say your previous colleagues in the navy hold you in remarkably high regard despite a track record of clashing with the powers that be."

"Well, I am quite charismatic." I replied, grinning a mile wide, "having allies is in my best interest, don't you think?"

"I think we both know you're not the cheerleader ONI believes you are. I think Parangosky has gotten you all wrong."

"I don't even know what the lady wants from me."

"She wants your influence to spread to a colleague of mine. Someone who is particularly vulnerable to suggestion right now. She's stacked the deck against her again, using you, and that A.I. to make sure she complies with the orders that come from the deepest pits that ONI have on their books."

"What are you even talking about?"

"The Viper." Katya said, "Parangosky thinks that you will keep the Viper on her leash."

"Hard to imagine someone being able to leash the Viper."

"Of course, everyone at ONI is. That girl has been manipulated from the start, at first for her talent, then to make her compliant, and now to curb her influence. ONIs cycle of interference in our lives is perpetuated by the propaganda they feed us at academy level, by the very nature of the war we are fighting, and in the types of people they target in recruitment. Did you know that when Madeleine was handed a document that signed her life over to ONI she'd been a prisoner of the covenant for a month and had only escaped days prior? Before that, she watched a brute savage a childhood friend in front of her, bonded and lost comrades, and lost an eye in hand to hand combat with an Elite Zealot?"

I swallowed, "she wasn't kidding when she said the story wasn't even half the truth, was she?"

"No. She wasn't. How is a child supposed to react to something like that? Imagine, days later you're then handed the solution to your despair. A new start, all the support in the world from the highest echelons of military command, and the chance to have a real impact on the course of the war. ONI isn't dangerous for its use of deception, Ollie. It's dangerous for its use of the truth. When I was recruited, found by ONI after I was rescued from privateers and traffickers, Parangosky showed me the operations that the Prowler Corps run against Pirates. When Madeleine showed her potential on Skopje, they did not extract her, they let her see what the war really is. Even Captain Drake, her mentor, was shown how the discipline and regimental lifestyle of ONI could break his addictions and help him become something greater."

"That's why she showed me first contact with the covenant on Reach…" I said, softly, looking at my feet, "she wanted me to see the desperation."

"And so, you see, the cycle continues."

"But what do you want me to do about it? If Parangosky wants me to manipulate the Viper, she hasn't given me orders to do so and I won't just go AWOL for no reason."

"I intend to break the cycle. Starting with her. That Parangosky has made a mistake with you is the opportunity I need to make Madeleine see ONI for what it is. At some point, ONI is going to ask her to scratch someone off. That's what you're here to do, to soften the blow of executing an innocent."

I winced, seeing the bodies of my dreams pile high in the streets of Fumirole's mega cities. "Because she thinks I place flying over the moral questions relating to my work?"

"Have you given her reason not to think that?"

I went red, a bright beacon of shame on my face. "I-"

"I'm not judging you. I would be a hypocrite if I did."

I paused for a moment and let the whisps of rain cool my face, listening to only my breathing and the mist as I thought of the evils I'd been present for on Fumirole and beyond. "So, your plan is to upset Parangosky to save a friend's soul?" I asked, intrepidly.

"There's more to it than that. I'm taking a big risk here, I've… misjudged people before; Jack told me to take risks with people, that they can always surprise you."

"I…" I started, looking out over the valley. It was quiet, save for the occasional, soft boom, of an explosion many miles away. "I don't know if Parangosky is entirely wrong about me. I kept my mouth shut when I saw what I saw. I never even considered opening my mouth to stop it and I never hesitated when the time came to aid those missions myself. It broke my heart but I still did it."

She stepped forward and then, to my surprise, wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tightly, "Parangosky imprisoned you and offered you the chance to do what you love and used that to keep you silent." She let me go and stepped back, a tear in her eye, "we all have blood on our hands, Ollie, but we have all been sucked into ONIs cycle of abuse as well. I'm not asking you to betray ONI, I'm asking you to help my friend see what's happened to her and to stop her from turning the wheel."

"Listen, I've never been one for revolutions and politics and backroom dealings but I seen enough of ONI these last months to know they ain't good. I don't know if you know this but I met Madeleine a while back, just before my missions turned dark. I saw a clever, talented, and broken young woman who was hurting deeply and hiding it remarkably well. I can't promise a crusade against my employer, but I will not let her face what comes next alone and I will not let ONI convince her it's okay."

Katya nodded firmly, her eyes thankful as she checked her wrist computer. "Speaking of which," she said, her voice hardening again, "sounds like she's ready for pickup."

I nodded, my heart quickening a little. Now, I wasn't sure what I was really in for, here. I felt like I was walking into a three way trap, consisting of the Wolf's den, a Viper's jaws and Parangosky's Web. If Katya thought that the Viper might be saved from becoming a full time flag waving jackboot then I'd at least stick my head above the trenches to stop it.

Madeleine was a trouble maker cut from the same cloth that I was. I saw what Katya thought was coming to her, I lived it every night since I helped them do it. If I could spare a person that pain, I would.

The Viper was a soul worth saving.