Aboard the Seeker of Truth

Rtas Vadumee, known for his mastery on the battlefield within the Fleet of Particular Justice, holding second only to the Supreme Commander.
Any who had the grace to fall under his leadership and stand beside him would, without question, gladly lay down their lives to ensure he lived to draw breath.
Years spent climbing the ranks attested to his high standings amongst his kin and the lower races.
That being said, he bore heavy shame when he doubted himself, honesty was considered a virtuous pillar to honour, and if he had to be honest, he would do so without restraint.

For the Sangheili Ultra, there were times where he felt he were nothing more than a lowly minor, beginning his duty to uphold the Covenant.
Only able to observe the greater powers, speaking at great lengths in matters he felt obliged to engage with, yet had no power nor influence to sway the topic at hand.
That feeling was never more telling than it was currently.

Several events played out on the Sacred Ring's surface, all of which had been governed by his Supreme Commander.
The human survivors who escaped were being sought for, and in turn, had to be dealt with when discovered.
Those tasked had two choices; either capture for interrogation, or purging them, potentially all without the need of outside aid.
For some, the reports they relayed back to the Seeker of Truth were quite simple, not even needing to land, it was evident their odious escape vehicles consumed those within, either by flame, or by the sheer impact of landing on the ring.
Others however, proved to be more burdensome, Thel had tried to command what little forces he had, but with the news of the 'Demon's' endurance to stave off death, those resources at the Supreme Commander's fingertips were dwindling.

Matters were compounded even further, for, although he had been able to circumvent the orders given to him by the Prophet of Stewardship, taking more resources from surrounding outposts or teams designated to exploration.
Thel knew he did so on borrowed time, and it was only inevitable that such borrowed time would have to make its return to its 'rightful'- (though unjustified) owner.

The Ultra was aware the Holy Prophet was sound of mind when it came to the sacred ring, and not in combat.
Yet he still had superiority over every facet of the fleet.
And now that moment was flourishing before Rtas' very eyes.

"Can you even comprehend the gravity of your actions!"
Stewardship bellowed, taking a moment to allow the silence to speak itself and not for the shortsighted interloper that somehow thought he had control.

"Surely you can at least understand that from a tactician's perspective, it only made sense that I provided troops in combat aid from those that were within range to assist. Rather than simply allow them to sit idle while time and resources are wasted on those you wished for me to call upon." Thel glowered back. Once or twice, his teeth grinded against one another as he barked his answer to the blatantly rhetorical question posed to him by Stewardship.

"DO YOU QUESTION ME THEL VADUMEE!
I graced you with command of one ship, and one ship alone. You have free will to do what you please with those aboard the Truth and Reconciliation.
But you SHALL NOT squander at the rest of the fleet to do as you see fit."

"And how have I exactly squandered those resources in light of your minor absence?" Thel retorted, though pressed on before the San'Shyuum opened his mouth.
"I have many reports of troops that have successfully quelled human survivors.
Their vessel has been located, and those that were within the range have already successfully fortified defences to prepare for any form of retaliation that may be foolish, or brave enough to try."

"You needn't try to plea for your justification, you have demonstrated to me the capacity of your faith-"
The prophet halted his reprimand of the Supreme Commander as his attention was pulled away by a subordinate.

With the momentary peace, Thel turned to Rtas to seek his counsel, even if they weren't able to voice their concerns to which the Ultra would be punished for speaking out of turn, both had served beside each other long to know what the other thought.
There is great precedence in dealing with the humans before anything else, the Prophet has grown too accustomed to leading the fleet, but he should now allow me control.
Thel seemed to say, it wasn't stubbornness, Rtas could tell, but frustration.

The Ultra merely nodded back.
Take heed not to anger him, for you will face the wrath of the Hierarchs when they come to learn of this.
He thought to himself, he knew that High Charity was enroute to the system as they spoke, but it was still to be a few more days at most before their arrival.
Perhaps in his eagerness to uncover the Rings secrets for the Hierarchs, Stewardship has become corrupted with unearnt praise-
Rtas stretched his neck slightly, relieving the tension he felt there as well as dislodge the thought that just swept through his mind.
Luckily the moment was fleeting, for as his eyes looked back to Thel, Stewardship had returned from his prior distraction.

"Your reprehension of control will have to wait, for there are more pressing matters you must deal with." Stewardship said with a stern tone, though some of the fire in his eyes had died down.

"And what pressing matter might that be?" Thel questioned, the gold clad warrior did his best to conceal the concern that slowly crept up his spine.

"There is an outpost, left behind to us by the gods. It has served us well in the days since we made discovery of its location, heavily fortified as well as an ideal placement against the surrounding landscape.
Prior to my departure back to the Ascendant Justice, it initially came under siege from a plethora of human survivors-"

"Why was I not informed of this!"
Thel nearly deafened those under his command, his voice reverberated within the control room.
All eyes remained steady as they looked at their leader.
The Supreme Commander found no such apathy in his crew as he looked over them, one by one- that was until his attention was pulled back to the console before him.

"I would not be so zealous to find fault in your crew if I were you, for they have done you no wrong.
You see, though you were successful in commandeering a decent handful of units to follow your orders against the humans; I had the prescience to know that such a location would be the first you would attempt to employ.
I therefore decreed the Holy Reclamation Order to the outpost, that they were to solely report to the Ascendant Justice.
So because of this, your crew was just as apprised of this outpost's existence as you."

Stewardship's features didn't betray him, but he felt content upon seeing Thel's head subtly lower for his sullen tone towards his loyal crew.
He would have taken great pleasure in watching a little further, but he had to get back to the problem at hand.
"As we speak the siege slowly turns in our enemies favour, clearly, they realise the importance the structure holds, and as such, wish to claim it as their own.
At the time of my departure from the Seeker of Truth, I had thought it a mere group of their Marines, easily able to be stomped out like a tiny ember.
Only once I made my return did I come to realise the resistance is made up of their Imps, I fear the worst as we have detected a transmission which suggests more humans are likely to follow.
It would only be a matter of time before the Demon hears the calling, and as such, will aid them.
The creature is not too far from the location, those that report sighting him before walking the path confirm this to be true. In his wake, it would also appear that he moves with use of their 'Warthogs'."

"And what do you wish for me to do?" Thel questioned, genuinely curious as to what Stewardship had planned for him, after being chastised mere minutes ago.
Stewardship's features seemed to lose some of the resentment he held against the Supreme Commander, yet his voice still carried the weight it had since the beginning of the transmission.
"I am handing all transmissions to your ship for the resulting battle at this outpost, you will command the forces there so as to push the tide back in our favour.
I meanwhile will continue to oversee the exploration of the Holy Ring and the subsequent artifacts that may be uncovered thereafter.
Know that you are still only allowed forces from the Truth and Reconciliation to assist in the fight, and that combat information from the fight from the outpost will still be relayed back to the Ascendant Justice after the Seeker of Truth receives the transmissions.
Prove to me your worth by silencing the attack, and in doing so, I will be more gracious to the Hierarchs when they ask of your prior actions."

Thel narrowed his eyes, but held his tongue as he gave a bow of his head.
"I will carry out what you ask of me, Noble Stewardship."

"Good. Now, aid the outpost as you see fit." The holy leader ruled, before his visage disappeared from the console as the transmission came to an end.

Thel stared at the blank console before him, footsteps coming from behind breaking his trance as Rtas spoke.
"So, what now?"

Back on the surface of the ring

Dusk was slowly starting to make its approach, the landscape taking a slight orange hue to it, a sharp contrast to the bright blue they had witnessed when stepping foot on the ring after landing.

While making their way towards the transmission Bisenti received, Fitzgerald explained to the girls of Remnant the procedure that entailed when a situation like the one they found themselves in occurred.
"The first point of action would be to seek shelter if you're stranded or lost.
But that's normal if you're alone, or in a group, with the elements being the only thing you need to worry about.
Since we're in a war, things deviate from the norm. The UNSC's first priority is to establish a base of operation; a location for most if not all military personnel to seek refuge, coordinate plans of attack, access to food and clean water, and a suitable defence against both the elements and the enemy… the Alpha Base."

"Sounds like universal knowledge to me." Blake answered spontaneously, being reminded of the White Fang implementing the exact same tactics everytime one of their bases were compromised.

The closer they approached the conflict, what used to be mere echoes only Blake could hear gradually evolved into sounds of total anarchy. After climbing another hillside, it was telling why.
From what they were able to make it, several clusters of fights were unfolding around the control for the pro-Alpha Base, some battles going well for the UNSC, while others for the Covenant. As for the landscape itself, the site of the Alpha Base appeared to tower over everything around it, a large structure was built into the rock with a tall spire that scaled the length of a mountainside behind it.

"Damn, looks like the helldivers really did their homework… too bad they picked a bad neighbourhood."
Emmerson muttered after whistling at the site ahead.

"Why'd yah think he had the open channel. Place is clearly infested and he needs all hands to fumigate the thing before we can move in."
Fitzgerald joked.

While the two marines talked, Ruby handed Yang her plasma rifle before drawing Crescent Rose in its compact form to peer down at the fights through the scope.
She did her best to pass over the fights that were clearly losing battles for the marines, but instead focusing on the ones where they held their own or did better.

"Well we're not going get warm and comfy if we don't do our part, especially if we're just standin' around."
Kappus interrupted the two, slowly beginning to descend the hillside.

One by one the others followed, until Yang and Ruby were the last to leave. "C'mon sis, let's go."
"Coming." Ruby nodded, taking the last few seconds to stare at the marines clad in black or grey armour, the plating they wore appeared well worn and, in her opinion, they wore some of the coolest looking helmets she had ever seen.

With that, the group of nine ventured towards the ensuing battle, Fitzgerald and Kappus were out ahead, providing suppressive fire to the first squad of marines they met up with. The small squad propped up behind a medium boulder, two of which looked worse for wear, clutching their chests.

"Glad you could join us, thought you didn't catch the invite. Kappus instantly recognised the man addressing him as Stacker, his Sergeant's insignia on full display on his right shoulder. "As you can see, our hosts aren't being mighty hospitable. So we're kinda evicting them."

"Wouldn't miss this for the world sir, and I didn't come alone." He answered while reloading his rifle, looking back to the two men out of the fight behind Stacker.
"Emmerson, gonna need you here stat, got two wounded here."

Once Emmerson had moved to treat the men, Stacker looked past theKappus at the rest of his support as they took cover behind another fallen rock several metres away.
"You know son. I know Silva sent out an open invitation to this little soiree, but I don't recall there needing to be a stipulation that it's adults only."

When Kappus pulled back behind cover as a plasma bolt clipped the boulder, he was puzzled at first, but as Stacker gestured over his shoulder, he knew exactly. "Long story sir, but trust me when I say they can handle themselves."

"Well I'll take your word for it, now let's get back to preparing this place ready for the Captain when he gets here."
The sergeant answered, standing above Kappus to fire above him while remaining protected from harm.

Meanwhile, on the opposing side of the boulder, a Sangheili major looked down at the six Unggoy he led.
"You three, flank their left side, while we continue to keep their attention on us."

The three in question nodded obligingly, beginning to waddle towards the right.
However, before even making the halfway mark, the small defensive force went wide-eyed as black haired young female rushed out of cover, making a beeline towards them.
Their shock only heightened as the female leapt out of the way of their retaliation, leaving an identical projection that didn't relent, absorbing several shots before disappearing altogether. The deception came as a detriment, the three Unggoy being confronted by the real thing, her weapons cutting them down either by her blade or plasma.

The major snarled, firing half a dozen bolts at her as the third Unggoy fell, proving to do little, those that landed, caused no grievous harm-
Suddenly, he gave no thought as his attention shifted from the female, a faint hissing accompanied by an intense burning sensation against his forearm.
Fear overcame him as he stared down, and looking back at him was an active plasma grenade.
He threw down his plasma rifle and raced to remove his gauntlet, the intensity of heat grew as the metal melted around the grenade, singeing the flesh underneath as it dripped through.
As for the humans that watched, the maroon alien backed up while flailing wildly in terror.

"Aeeyeeeuuhh!"

*Bang*

"Whuuuhhhhh."

Three seconds later, the grenade went off, killing the nearby Unggoy, while sending what was left of the major in nearly every direction.

"You really have a knack for throwing grenades, don't you."
Bisenti reflected as he smirked over at the blonde.

"What did you expect, they just compliment my explosive personality." Yang joked, to which the marine rolled his eyes.

With the minor skirmish over, Sergeant Stacker emerged out of cover to inspect the small scene in front of him. "Whelp. I can't say I'm not a little mystified at what I just saw, but in our current situation, it doesn't matter." He said with mild amusement in his voice, his nerves remaining steady as he looked over each member of RWBY before getting to the point with the others of their group.

"If you can't already tell, we're on the outskirts of the assault.
My job here is pushing back against anything Covenant related that might try to come our way, either in or out. I am also tasked with protecting parts of the base that are already in our hands.
That being said, our secondary job is also to inform you that just beyond this little hump, the real action is further in. The ODST's are busy working hard, but they're still dealing with heavy resistance." His eyes then fell back to team RWBY. "I advise you to tread lightly if you decide to continue forward."
"We made it this far, we will keep going." Yang retorted, the grip on her pistol tightened.
After all we've been through so far, no way I'm sitting on the sidelines.

"Now young lady, you and your friends look like you can take care of yourselves, plus you've got some of the best marines I've had the pleasure of serving beside accompanying you." Stacker didn't bat an eye, instead taking a step forward, becoming a little more direct with the brawler now in front of him. "But when I tell you to be careful, you better believe me when I mean you need to be careful."
Yang was about to quip back, but was pushed aside by Ruby as she took the place of her older sister. "Don't worry sir, we will watch ourselves."

Stacker nodded in approval, before reaching behind him and producing a rectangular device.
"This here's known as a walkie talkie, bit of old style tech I know.
But since you don't have radios of your own, you can use this.
In case, for some reason you four get separated from your troop amongst the chaos, you'll still be able to keep in touch, as well as knowing what's going on around you."

After handing it over and showing them how it worked, he turned his attention to Kappus. "You and your squad follow the path up ahead, the enemy won't see you coming, but don't be too eager to run in the open, chances are you may get hit by the crossfire."

"Understood." He answered, his eyes falling down to Emmerson, who had treated one of the wounded and was still working on the second. "Emmerson, are you good to stay put?"

"Well unless our lance corporal here is able to spontaneously patch himself up, I'm going to be here a while." She replied without taking her eyes off of her patient.

"Look after her for us wouldya Stacker. We've all been through a lot." Hosky then piped up.

"It is my solemn duty to protect those under my watchful eye." The man spoke with more gusto, pride enveloping his voice as he went on. "So you better know Emerson here is in good hands. Now get going, while there's still soldiers out there to provide support to."
He ordered, pointing at the terrain ahead of, giving them a quick salute as they departed.

The now group of eight advanced in the direction the Sergeant suggested, crossing over a small incline which had separated them from the real conflict. Sure enough, as Ruby saw beforehand, those marines, ODSTs as Sergeant Stacker called them; were holding their ground at the base of the structure. Their position appeared well fortified, with a wall that circled the structure itself, and dozens of Covenant bodies scattered around them, some even piled up on the outskirts to slow their enemies' progress. Yet even with the sight being promising, the girls truly felt they were out of element as they drifted away from the ODSTs, and around to the rest of the landscape with ongoing fights on the battlefield.

Beyond the wall itself, like a red carpet, a metallic walkway stretched outwards, coming to a stop at a miniature dome like structure, which occasionally sent out a pillar of blue light high into the air, similar to those that they saw on the journey. The walkway was littered with half a dozen or so marine corpses, along with the bodies of two or three men dressed like technicians, all resting on its surface.

Further away from the structure, the terrain was grassy, Covenant troops spread out and engaged in fierce skirmishes against marines who, either fought in the open or were situated behind whatever cover they found, be it behind rocks or destroyed vehicles. In fact, scanning the surrounding area away from the structure, there were a decent number of soldiers who were heavily relying on using their upturned vehicles for makeshift cover.

"Contacts, two o'clock." Fitzgerald hollered as they descended down the slope, the man pulling a grenade off his belt before priming and tossing it behind a group of five Jackals. The two in front leapt forward, covering their heads with their shields just as the frag detonated, killing the three unfortunately positioned at the rear.

Weiss, Blake and Yang raising their pistols and discharging several bolts at the cowering pair. One tried to stand and fight, but was met with a bullet to his exposed knee, causing him into a half kneeling position, to which he then tried to send an overcharged bolt. He only managed to scorch the grass beside him, dying as a result of one of Weiss' shots. The other fell not long after.

The closer they approached the heart of the battle, the more the girls realised the potential the base had for the humans of the UNSC, as well as the reason why the Covenant were relentlessly doing their best to keep control from them. Dead ahead of them, they were able to get a better view of the walled off structure built into the ground. It was very much in the same design as the outer surface of the ring, both the metal it was made from as well as the patterns etched into it. Not only that, it seemed to also climb into the tallest cliffside.
To the left of the structure, there appeared to be a waterfall. with a miniature stream pooling at the ground level, and to the far right at a metallic wall, seemingly cutting off another access point.

The fire fight was starting to ring in their ears, doubly so for Blake. In the air, they watched four of those Banshees looping around before carpeting the area below the craft with plasma fire. A few seconds later, three or four rockets fired into the air from the ground below, whoever fired heavy weapons were obscured from the girl's current position. Black smoke trailed behind each rocket as they travelled towards their targets. Three Banshees successfully evaded the rockets without effort, the fourth however, plummeted as the rocket connected with the fuselage.

"Wraith inbound." Hosky called out, removing his hand from his earpiece before getting down on one knee, the rest following suit as they watched and waited. From what the four could see, the Wraith made its way towards where the rockets had been launched from. The vehicle in question must have been some anti- infantry tank, appearing to hover just above the ground as it approached where the soldiers who had launched the rockets took cover.

Drawing closer, the upper hatch of the thing opened, revealing a large tubular barrel, slowly angling itself, even as projectiles began to pepper the smooth light purple exterior, the armour soaking up the hits easily. A few seconds passed, before the barrel erupted with a large plume of bright plasma, which electrified the air as it sailed towards those unfortunate enough to be in its line of fire. Yang held back the urge to run head first into the thing, watching as the helpless victims succumbed to the mortar, three poor souls flying in opposing directions.

The Wraith then reorientated it's barrel, adjusting it's height as it launched another mortar, creating a spectacle as it travelled the air, followed by an explosive boom, ripping up dirt, grass, and turing whatever had been situated there into a flaming carcass of a wreckage, the only evidence that something did get caught in the line of fire were two tyres.

"Awe crap, ten o'clock another wave of Grunts, leader at the back as usual." Bisenti groaned, his finger on the trigger as he watched.

Weiss readied her plasma pistol, but as she did, she had to blink for a second to make sure she wasn't seeing things. As the others held their ground, Weiss thought she saw something catch her eye in the distance of the structure.
Her suspicions were confirmed a moment later, as the larger alien at the back collapsed to the ground, his armour's shields bursting as they died trying to forcefully block the wearer from some invisible harm. A second or two later, an echo rang out, only for Weiss to catch a wide smile from her leader beside her.

"I know that sound anywhere." She beamed. "That was a sniper rifle."

"Get down!" Kappus yelled from the other side as he yanked on Ruby's arms to get as quick and as low to the ground as possible, a stray plasma shot whizzing right by.

Weiss quickly followed suit, lying prone on the ground as more stray shots passed overhead.

"I thought these guys tend to be easier to deal with after we've killed their leader."
Yang piped up, overcharging her plasma pistol before sending it hurtling towards the nearest Grunt, it's cries of pain falling on deaf ears.

"Yeah well sometimes you run into the more braver of the bunch." Fitzgerald said half heartedly in the midst of finding a fresh mag for his gun on him. "I've seen first hand these buggers will, on the rare occasion, go kamikaze when we kill their leader early." The brawler kept her eye on the fight, making a mental note to ask him later what exactly he meant by kamikaze.

Once their recent threat was neutralized, they slowly got back to a crouching position, just in time for the wraith they had been watching to reorientate itself. It's barrel now pointed at the structure and sent a mortar into it.
Presumably the pilot had been given orders to seek out and kill the sniper that Weiss had seen. When the mortar's blast dissipated, the wall it had attempted to damage remained perfectly intact, a second or two later, a rocket shot out from the invisible gap in the wall, impacting the wraith and causing it to drift backwards from the force. A second fired in succession, sneaking it's way in between the gap of the mortar barrel, and as a result, the tank erupted in fire and smoke, the explosion thundered as the pilot was forcibly ejected from his seat, the hatch tearing off momentarily beforehand.

With the brief sight over, the group pressed closer, by now, the girls could tell that the structure had fallen under UNSC control, and as such, would be their safest place to fight from.
The men in front clearly aware of their minor revelation, already looking as if they were making their way forward, yet the girls could tell it wasn't going to be easy to clear the distance.
After waiting, they heard one of them call out. "Move move move!"

Upon hearing said call out, Hosky and Bisenti sprinted towards the structure, the others providing suppressive fire as a mix of Grunts and Jackals caught wind of the two, their small group in the midst of dealing with a separate group of marine that were backed into a corner.
Ruby was about to step forward, but felt an arm halt her. "Fitz and I will go first. Don't follow right away, take your time and when you think you can make it; take cover behind right there." Kappus said, gesturing toward a mix of trees and rocks and scattered human equipment. "We won't be too far from you, so don't think you four are going in on your own. Okay?"

With a nod, the man looked back to his brother in arms. Once they were gone, the girls watched and waited, and after a minute or so, they followed suit. The four huddle behind what looked to be a downed armoured truck with a mounted gun at the back.

"Reckon we can get this thing upright?" Yang wondered as she pulled back to look at the large vehicle in question.

"Okay, we can try." Weiss said. But as they were about to step back to lift it, a stray plasma bolt impacted the edge of the vehicle, the enemy trying to target Ruby as she was the closest to where the shot had landed.

"Get back." Yang said, gripping her sister's blouse and yanking her back behind the cover. After which, the four leaned out and retaliated with their own plasma fire.

As the first few Grunts went down, Yang took a second to think, the weapon in her hand momentarily sputtering as she fired, making a sparking noise as her shots became more infrequent. Another ten or less shots later, her weapon failed to fire, even as she tapped the side of the weapon and clicked at the trigger. "Well this thing is spent." She said as she still held onto it.

As if on queue, the same fate fell onto Blake's own. "You just had to say it didn't you." She groaned once she was safe.

A minute or so later, with only four foes standing, Weiss forced herself back behind as she stared up at her leader, hearing the beginnings of her own weapon telling the user its power source was nearing its depletion. Ruby finally pulled back and looked down dejected at her weapon, it had been fun while it lasted. But now all she and the rest of her team could do was sit tight and wait for a chance to move up, potentially getting a new weapon to replace the old.

Her thoughts were then drawn back to the fighting beyond them, slowly, from their cover, the girls peaked over. They watched as in the distance, they saw a lone marine standing on the metallic walkway, the man in the midst of priming a frag grenade. "Here's a little gift for you!" He hollered at the opposing enemies some several metres away. As the marine was about to throw the grenade, the large cobalt armoured alien fired the same pink dust crystal that had struck Yang. The hit was successful, embedding itself into it's target,causing him to release his grip on the grenade before he could throw it, the explosive dropping at his feet. Before the man could process the pain from the crystal lodged in his chest, the grenade went off, his screams muffled by the blast.

They pulled back, reeling from the sight, Ruby mentally kicking herself for not running out and maybe pushing the man aside. Weiss meanwhile was wondering why she didn't use a time dilation glyph or another to soften the explosion-

*HHHSSTTT*

Just then, the four's attention was drawn to a discarded helmet nearby, the internal speakers' blaring sound loud enough for them to barely hear it, though Blake's eyes raised in slight surprise. They then received a call from the radio that had been given to them by Stacker, the words coming through, not really filling in the details for the three humans of Remnant.
"New contact, east side…
It's friendly…
The cavalry has arrived."

They looked at each other, before peering from cover towards the east, just in time to catch the sight of another one of those military vehicles roaring towards them. It flew right past, plowing directly into several unsuspecting Covenant troops, killing the aliens upon impact and sending their bodies tumbling out of the way.

"Keep it steady." At the same time, the marine at the back of the vehicle held on, doing his best to maintain his aim of the mounted gun, firing away at whatever he deemed worth mowing down.

A few seconds later, the vehicle came to a complete stop some few meters away, as the driver got out, the four could only hold their breaths as they looked at the presumed alley up and down. The figure stood tall, possibly maybe some two or three inches shorter than the large aliens, clad in olive green armour. Ruby swore she heard Yang gulp as the figure looked in their general direction. Whether or not that her sister did, the hoodwear didn't give much thought as the figure walked towards them, coming a few steps short before stopping. Whoever, or whatever was behind the helmet, looked over each of the girls before the helmet turned to inspect the vehicle they had used for cover.

Team RWBY almost gasped reflexively when a stray plasma bolt clipped the side of the figure's head, a yellowish aura came to life as it absorbed the impact. Before they reacted, the alien in question was killed from the weapons fire by the man operating the mounted gun. After which, the figure then moved for the downed vehicle, the girls stepping aside to make room as the soldier crouched down. Then, placing gloved hands on the upper frame of the vehicle with a firm grip, without so much as struggling, the figure lifted. All within three seconds, the armoured vehicle was back on its wheels.

The armoured figure then reached for the rifle attached to their back before holding it firmly in front of them. Though a battle was still raging around the five, time felt as if it had stood still, the air becoming silent. Silver, light blue, amber and lilac eyes looked up at the gold tinted visor that stared back at them, their reflections being clear against it, although warped by the curve of the glass. Their gaze remained locked only for a few short seconds, as if the freakishly large soldier was assessing each of them. Or at least, they hoped that's what was happening currently.

Then, the silence was shattered as they heard the hum of a Spirit dropship, pulling the figure's attention upwards. And as the girls followed, they saw that this dropship resembled the one they had ridden on when they saw it on Remnant.

When the four returned their attention to the figure, they looked at the vehicle, before back at the girls. Then, with one final stare, the figure turned and sprinted, and as Ruby watched them leave, she could see yet another downed vehicle several meters away from them.

Meanwhile the sound of the gunner on the vehicle that the soldier had driven in was now aiming straight up at the dropship.

"Yang, get on that turret… now!" Ruby order, pointing to the armoured vehicle.

"What- Oh." Yang shook her head before clambering up onto the mounted weapon, her boots comfortably slotting into place at the base of the turret. As she gripped the handles, she felt a button on either side, and after pressing and holding the one on her right, the blonde and the gun slowly spun to face the Phantom.

And as she pulled downwards to angle the barrel upwards, she squeezed with both fingers.

*Click*

"What are you waiting for?" Weiss yelled.

Yang glanced back down at the three, her eyes slightly wide as they darted between them and the length of the turret. "It's not working- wait, here we go." She leaned down and pulled on the side of the weapons charging handle, and after sliding it back in place the weapon happily clicked. Once her hands clasped both triggers, the weapons three barrels spun to life, a hail of bullet fire started slowly at first, but, the faster the barrel spun, so to did the rate by which the bullets exited out of it, casings streaming out of the exit chamber like water from a leaky pipe.

Looking around, in that short amount of time the figure had managed to upright the remaining upturned vehicles. With the last vehicle upright, the figure clambered on and began firing the triple rocket mounted gun onto the incoming phantom, the others already catching wind of the idea. With their combined effort, they targeted the next incoming phantom, shredding the armour and any passengers within before it could even have a chance to land. The ship began to rapidly catch fire in several sections, before a loud whirring could be heard followed by a bright blue flash, metal and various debris falling out of the sky. Another Phantom flew over the ridge, followed by another two directly behind it. The pilots were caught unaware as they moved to descend, the armour on the craft soaking up each and every bullet striking it.

Then, on the radio, a woman's voice came over as the final Phantom was destroyed.
"This is Sheila Polaski, we can't land any of our Pelicans as there is an anti-air wraith above your position."

"Damnit." A frustrated feminine voice answered back. For a moment, whether it was the static of the radio or not, Blake, for some reason, had a gut feeling the voice she heard carried an almost artificial tone to it, like that of the Atlesian Knight-130s.

With that, the girls watched from where they were standing, the soldier moved to the structure before entering inside, presumably to deal with the issue Polaski had radioed in.

"You girls okay?" Fitzgerald's voice came as they heard the sound of several footsteps lightly treading the grass behind them.

"Yeah we're fine." Ruby said reassuringly.

And I see that you got acquainted with-"

"I don't believe it." Hosky interrupted, walking past the group and over to the vehicle the soldier had arrived in.

"Small world ain't it!" A distinct voice shouted back as the owner climbed out of the passenger side of the vehicle.

"Jenkins!" Ruby excitedly squealed, running over and nearly tackling the man with a hug, he was grateful he held onto a pistol so he could return the favour. "You're okay." She muffled from the side of her mouth. As she pulled away, the others came to stand with the pair.

"Hey, if anyone's concerned, I made it out alright too." Another familiar voice called out from the back of the vehicle as he dismounted off of the turret.

"Good to see you too, Chips." Yang sarcastically said after lightly punching his arm.
The marine didn't budge at the blonde's friendly hello, but much like Jenkins, he almost lost his footing as he looked down to Ruby now enveloping him in a hug. The two men stared at each other and back down at the teen as two or three rose petals drifted to the ground.

"Don't worry, we were shocked when we first saw her run too. We still don't know how she can do it, but she runs really fast." Fitzgerald answered melodromatically.

Weiss then turned to Dubbo and Jenkins.
"So what happened to you two when we left the Autumn?"

"Turns out, there were still a few more escape pods." Jenkins explained before further adding. "We just got onto the next one and made it all the way down. Then we were attacked by a Covenant scouting party before anything could be done. After which, the others on the escape pod got picked up by one of the pelicans that made it out, while we rode shotgun in the Warthog with the Chief."

"The Chief…?" Ruby trailed off.

But before any of the marines could answer, a loud explosion echoed from above their heads, and as they looked up, smoke began to billow from the highest point of the structure.

"Thank's Cortana, starting our approach." The voice that belonged to Polaski came through the radio.

Shortly after the transmission ended, what team RWBY assumed to be the ' Pelicans' began to enter the airspace above the walkway leading away from the structure. One by one, each slowly descended, the rear of the aerial vehicles opened and a dozen or so marines filed out.

"Area's secure, all hostiles have been eliminated." Another voice came through the radio, and as such, just like bees in a hive, the marines who had just disembarked from the pelicans moved with purpose. Some heading towards the edge of the structure, while others took positions around the area, and others began to tend to the less mobile or salvaged the weapons strewn about.

Kappus exhaled before addressing the reunited squad, and the four girls with them. "Think that's our queue to get our orders? Maybe even some ammo, a bite to eat…"

"And that explanation we've been owed." Hosky added, earning all eyes on him. "Don't act like you three haven't wanted to know all this time." He then directed his attention to Jenkins and Dubbo. "And you two are going to be curious when we tell you what we've been through with these four."

"Okay, we'll tell you all. Just… Can we see what's going on first? It's been a long day." Yang huffed out, rubbing the tiredness from her right eye. Hosky nodded in understanding, his features showing just as much exhaustion as the blonde.

With that, they made their way towards the entrance of the structure, the girls of Remnant garnered the attention of various men and women as they walked past. They could tell they were the brief centre of attention as they could barely hear murmured whispers coming from some, while others simply held their gaze on them.

When they crossed the main entrance of the structure, team RWBY did their best to remain calm. More marines momentarily stopped what they were doing to look up at them, before returning to their current task; clearing the bodies of the slain Covenant. Ruby's eyes scanned the area, no sign of the mysterious soldier from before. Then, she flinched as a voice loudly issued orders.

"I'm going to need four men on two hogs scouring the west side, right now that's our biggest vulnerability that needs shoring up. Have the armory situated on the east side of the building, the last thing we need is those Covenant bastards walking in an grabbing-" The voice issuing orders halted as his head fell onto the group, the girls unable to read his expression, face concealed behind one of those helmets Ruby had seen earlier.

Slowly, the black armoured leader removed the helmet holding it against his side as his blue eyes narrowed upon looking at the girls, yet he kept a neutral man stood proud tall and appeared resolute, almost as if he were General Ironwood's long lost twin. As he studied them wordlessly, as did team RWBY, it was hard to judge his age, possibly around his late forties. But as for his appearance, the man had short stubble on his face, his hair black, though they were able to make out the flecks of grey scattered about, though the streak of grey on either side was more telling. Finally, after a long two minutes of silence, the man decided to speak. "Do any of you boys want to introduce me to your friends, or would you prefer the other way around?"

The marines looked at one another, Jenkins finally plucking up the courage to take a step forward, saluting his superior before answering. "Sir, my men and I happened to stumble into these four girls on our way to an escape pod while on the Autumn. They essentially had made their way onto a Covenant boarding craft inorder to get to us." He winced at the moment the words left his mouth, going back to how Dubbo reacted to the situation, the man didn't break eye contact with the major, though was able to tell more than just his eyes looked at him upon mentioning where they came from. Yet he pressed on. "I personally wasn't a companion to the four as I along with private Dubbo departed on a separate bumblebee." He then glanced back at the girls, smiling as they looked at him.
"But seeing them here, along with the men who were by my side when we met them, I can assure you they are no danger to you, me or anyone here. The fact my squad is still in one piece along with them surely is some indication they are more than capable to handle themselves-" Jenkins halted mid sentence, the senior officer raising a hand for him to finish speaking. With a quick gesture by the SO, he nodded before backing up to stand in between Kappus and Fitzgerald.

Then the man's features softened, his eyes losing their sternness and his mouth lifted into a more welcoming smile. "Major Antonio Silva, commander of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers as part of the United Nations Space Command Marine Corps, to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to." He said in a very brash tone, if any of the four were to close their eyes, they swear the man before them took an in-depth class of bravado from Professor Port.

They said nothing at first, feeling a little nervous to be the centre of attention, but, just like Jenkins, Ruby sucked in a breath and gained the meager courage to step forward. "Hello, Major Silva. I'm Ruby Rose, and these-" She said, stepping to one side as she lifted her right arm to sweep over her friends.
"Are my teammates, or as you might call them, my squad, this is Weiss Schnee."

"An honor to meet you." The girl made to move forward and slightly curtsy to the man out of habit.

"Blake Belladonna."
Blake was silent for a few seconds, her eyes elsewhere- "Psst Blake, that's your queue to say hello." The raven haired girl blinked as she heard the distinct voice of Ruby whispering to her through the side of her mouth. " Oh - Sorry, I look forward to getting to work under your leadership."

"And this is my sister, Yang Xiao Long."

"Sup." The blonde replied with a quick head nod, being completely oblivious to her younger sister as she slapped a hand to her forehead beside her.

Silva simply half smirked at the response from the brawler, but made to turn and walk, speaking to the girls beforehand. "Why don't we talk inside, while the men you entered with can help with the fortification efforts, I'm sure there's a lot we need to discuss."

The marines did as commanded, filing out, Jenkins being the last to move, meanwhile the girls began to follow Silva, all except for Blake. Upon realising it, Ruby turned back to her teammate. "Blake?"

The girl said nothing, her eyes intently looking back to where they were when Ruby interrupted her the first time. With that, Silva and the freezerbun duo stopped and looked back.

Blake, without making eye contact, spoke up. "Major Silva, I have a question? Do any of your men, the UNSC or the soldier who you call the Chief use any form of technology that can render them invisible?"

"No… they don't…" Silva slowly drawled out, cautiously reaching for his sidearm.

Within a split second, Blake reached out and snatched the pistol out of Jenkin's hand and pointed the weapon at the seemingly empty space she was focused on. The air shimmered the instant the weapon was leveled in the general direction, Blake's gaze narrowed as her finger squeezed the trigger. The pistol jolted back as the round fired, almost flying out of her hand, its recoil packing more of a punch compared to Gambol Shroud. Although the bullet missed the intended mark, it still made contact, ricocheting off the armour of the figure in question. As a result, the bullet did enough to reveal the mass being concealed momentarily- the tell tale silhouette of an Elite. As its form blended with the surrounding environment, it roared angrily and bounded forward, presumably towards its greatest threat, which fired another round.

Ruby drew Crescent Rose and leapt forward to attack where she judged the alien to be, only to be flung aside as it backhanded her without much effort, the young leader landing on top of Weiss and Yang before they could move to help. A marine's weapon was knocked out of his hands as he tried to support the girl, while Silva was shoved away a second later.

Fully aware of the approaching threat, as well as what the UNSC weapon was capable of, Blake clasped the pistol with both hands as she let off another three rounds into the alien's chest. By now, the Sanghieli was within range and lunged at her. With one hand, he clung to her throat as he shoved her against a nearby wall, raising her up until she was at eye level with him. He once again violently roared, his grip tightened around her neck, her aura flaring in response while she struggled in place. The alien's free hand moved for the energy sword on his belt, and with a quick flick of the wrist, it sparked to life.

The Great Journey awaited him, but not before he cleansed this place of one less sin, ensuring this one did not draw breath, then and only then would he set forth

Blake meanwhile, squirmed frantically, letting off another two rounds into the alien's torso. The hand that gripped the pistol raced against the alien's that held his weapon to see who would kill who first, the latter pulling back, ready to impale her. Bringing her pistol up to his head, she fired, the round breaking his shield and knocking his head to the side, purple blood sprayed in every direction, including onto Blake herself.

The bulky alien's body went limp, slumping down, the girl felt its grip loosen, depositing her in the process. She breathed a sigh of relief, looking up to reassure the others she was alright. That was when she noticed her team wide-eyed, and the nearby marines, just staring at her.

"Blake…" Ruby worryingly said slowly.

That's when she felt it, the cool air gently blowing against her now exposed faunus ears. In a panic, she glanced down to hunt for the elusive bow, seeing that it was snagged on the end of one of the alien's elongated fingers.

"Are- are those cat ears ears!" One of the nearby marines said without thinking, which earned him a firm punch on his left arm from his buddy beside him.

Ruby was the first to react, rushing past the shocked girl and grabbed the ribbon, running back to hand it to Blake, the girl nearly curling up to make herself as small as possible while trying to fidget with the fabric in order to get the damn thing back on. Her leader, after handing it to Blake, stood tall, and held her cape out so as to cover her partner as she did so, Yang and Weiss acting shortly after and surrounding her left and right side from the watchful eyes.

"You mind not makin' a scene?" As everyone turned in the direction of the one speaking, the marine stepped forward in front of the girls. The man had a dark complexion, spoke with a gruff voice, and, from the way the other marines straightened up, they could tell he had the respect of all those around him. "May I remind you that not long ago, as late as the twenty-first century, we were going at each other in war, sometimes even getting riled against ourselves over something as silly as the colour of our skin… skin colour, can you believe it."

"Yeah Sarge, I agree that was pretty dumb of us back then, but you just saw what-"
"I don't wanna hear it.."

He cut the same marine who had spoken beforehand. He then turned on his heel and eyed the entire set of eyes watching. "And that goes for the rest of you. I don't want to hear any lip from anyone. I also don't want to hear any talk about this little lady and her ears. And if I do catch some so much as even bringing up as a conversation starter…
I will take that as your eagerness to volunteer for 'round the clock watch duty of Alpha Base, as well as the short end of my boot, that's for sure. Do I make myself clear?"

"YES SIR." The men answered in unison.

Just as the man nodded in relative satisfaction, the sound of the doors to the structure opened, revealing the armoured soldier, his posture suggesting he had heard the gunfire from above and had rushed down to intervene.

"Couldn't have said it better myself Sergeant." Silva added as he walked up to the man, placing a hand on his shoulder before looking directly at the marines. "Well you heard Johnson, now, back to your duties." Once the men started to move out, Silva looked back at the four girls, Blake now back on her feet thanks to her teammates. "Let's head inside, I think we need to discuss a few things." He said as he walked up to them, gesturing towards the entrance of the structure.

When they began to follow, Silva heard a half dozen boots clatter behind him. "Sir, hold on a second." With that, the SO turned back, to no one's surprise, he saw it was the same six men that had entered with the girls.

This time, it was Private Kappus who seemed to be the one to voice his concerns. "Like Private Jenkins said, we were the ones who have been with the girls since the very beginning. We can vouch for them if you let us explain before you even question them." Silva merely nodded, beckoning the marines to follow as well . The Sergeant who stood up for Blake also accompanied the group.

Just before they entered, Silva looked up at the soldier still standing in place.
"Stand guard with these four until I authorise otherwise, after which, I want to speak to you."

"Yes Sir." The soldier answered sternly, waiting for everyone to enter before covering their rear.

Meanwhile on the Seeker of Truth

It was a tight network of many individuals working harmoniously to relay information back and forth, sometimes on the battlefield there may be a slight delay, but not when it came to those working diligently within the command centre.

Which was all the more reason why there was a somewhat tense atmosphere in the ensuing minutes after the Prophet of Stewardship handed command to Thel for a task that already seemed to be a lost cause…

"Supreme Commander." A crewmate called out.

"What is it?" Thel asked.

"Reports are showing the humans have claimed the large fortified outpost that was under our control… we have lost the engagement." He answered, meeting the angered eyes of his leader once he had finished.

"Is there anything more to report?"

"There is, we are receiving incoming data which suggests there was a Sangheili by the name of Isna 'Nosolee, it appears he has lost his life in battle.

"Many have fallen in the defence of that outpost, why should news of 'Nosolee's death be granted a special audience?" Thel questioned as he moved to stand beside the crewmate, so as to view the information for himself.

"He was a great special operations warrior, his skills would have been useful if tasked with, say, pursuing the Demon. But alas." The minor simply stated. "What little information I am able to glean thus far was that 'Nosolee was acting as an Ossoona for the Holy Leader.

The Supreme Commander felt slight intrigue upon hearing that little detail. "What have you garnered from the data you have received?"
"It's still being deciphered, but it would appear to be the last few minutes of his helmet recording after his final breaths."
After a few minutes, Thel watched frame by frame, until he saw it, though only one still image, it was clear as the Covenant's faith. The human that Insa had attempted to slain, his grasp on her resulting in removing her headpiece as he had fallen, staring back at Thel was a pair of ears not akin to those found on the top of a human's head.. but rather the ears of a wild beast.

"By the gods…" He uttered in disbelief.