Back on the Ring
Dowski kept her head down as she, Collier and Swan were being escorted back to the clearing where the mouth of the narrow winding canyon began. So far the split lip and his posse bought the lie, now all they had to do, was to (both figuratively and metaphorically) keep their heads down until they got out of there. Hopefully by the time they were being tortured for information aboard the Truth and Reconciliation, the Captain will be long gone.
"Hope they have a seat in hell for me, because here I come." She whispered to herself.
"What is this hell you speak of?" Moramee asked as he glanced back at his female prisoner.
"Ah nothing you would understand." She muttered bitterly.
"No. But you and your fellow brothers beside you should prepare for talk, so why not begin to exercise your ability to do so by speaking right now." He reflected, looking ahead of him as her voice filled the air once more.
"Well, if you're so curious, hell is in human culture; a place of torment and punishment. For a long time in our history, it was commonly held that hell was reserved for the worst humanity had."
"And is it still a common belief your species holds?" He questioned with mild curiosity.
"Only those who wanted to contemplate those types of things, you know, what happened before we were born, what happens when we die, the usual plight of living." For a brief second, she could have sworn she heard something of a snort from the Elite major.
"And yet you sound like you doubt its existence, but in that same breath, you beckon to it as if to anticipate your arrival?" He clarified.
"Hey, I'm not beckoning to no one.." She bit her lip as she chose her next words before inhaling and looking up at the back of the Elite, as if to look him dead in the eye.
"Fact of the matter is that whatever happens, whatever I tell you, whatever you want to hear me say… I'm going to die."
"That female, is something we can both agree on." He ended poignantly as they emerged from the canyon into open terrain.
Once everyone was present, he turned to one of his subordinates."What news of the Phantom's position to our location?"
"They shall be here shortly, they travel from the same direction we did just now." A minor answered.
"Very well, so we must wait, but I pray they do not take their time. The longer our prisoners agitate, the more silent they shall be on the questions we wished answered."
The major declared, noting the now pale expressions on the humans.
No doubt their sealed fate proves to seal their mouths as well.
Meanwhile, some distance away.
"So how long do you think we should stay put?" Singh asked one of the men beside him.
"How should I know, Captain's the one to make the final decision." He simply answered.
"I know that, but what I mean is how long do you think we should?" Singh reciprocated.
"I don't know, a day or two." He replied.
"Bold of you to assume the Covenant are going to wait that long." Another marine piped up.
"Hey, Singh was the one over here asking questions, all I did was just answer him."
The first man argued.
"Ain't that right?"
Singh said nothing, instead looking over to where the Captain stood, the CO's hands behind his back as he looked up at the rockwall.
"That's a very good question Singh… and it's one I don't have a clear answer to." Keyes relented looking back at the five men with him.
"Well whatever happens Sir, we're sticking with you like white on rice." One of the other men answered.
Keyes nodded in admiration. Only for a split second however, as a hum filled the air.
"Phantom approaching, get to cover!"
"What cover?"A marine called out.
"Any cover, just don't let them see you.." Singh spat out as he moved to a nearby rock and lay face down.
The hum continued to grow louder, then almost to the point like it was on top of them, before the sound dropped in pitch as it faded away as quickly as it appeared.
"Huh, think they saw us?" One of the men spoke up once total silence returned to the canyon.
"Well they didn't land, so I guess not. Wonder where they're going in such a hurry?" Singh wondered aloud.
"I think I have a pretty good idea." Keyes murmured, his eyes subtly watering as he looked up in the direction where the Phantom was directly traveling towards.
"Your skills to operate the Phantom precede you."
The Elite major congratulated the pilot through his earpiece as the craft descended to land, the maroon coloured alien then turned back to his underlings and prisoners and ordered them to slowly approach.
"You are most welcome, but I believe I bring you a discovery you might find most intriguing."
The pilot answered, not wasting precious seconds in relaying the information to the Sangheili.
"Well fellas, did you want to say anything to each other before we part ways from this mortal realm?" Dowski said, her eyes between Collier and Swan before looking up at their ride.
"My only regret is that I'll never get to hold my little girl again." Collier answered.
"Wait, you have a daughter?" Swan asked in dismay. "Why did you volunteer to do this then?"
"Because…" Dowski heard Collier, but not much else as her gaze was fixed on the Elite commander, his posture a lot less laxed as it was a few seconds ago, his right hand pressed firmly against his helmet, most likely against an earpiece.
As for Moramee, he growled, turning back to face the humans, treading the ground with heavy footsteps before grabbing one of his captives, throwing him onto the ground and drawing his plasma rifle, firing several bolts into the prisoner and killing him instantly.
"SWAN!" Dowski cried out, bucking against her restraint, that being the Elite still holding onto her.
"Commander?" One of the minors asked in surprise, his eyes falling onto the now charred body of the human.
Afterwhich, the major reached for Dowski, lifting her up until they locked eyes with each other. "You lied to me, there are more of you…"
At the mention of others, Collier pushed off the distracted Elite holding him, the marine reaching for the frag still attached to his belt. In those few seconds, Moramee leveled his plasma rifle at him, the man triggering the grenade before he first shot burn into his flesh. As the pain intensified, he let go of the grenade and attempted to duck through the legs of a now panicked Elite behind him.
Six seconds later, it went off, killing the nearby Jackals and grunts and stripping the shields off of two of the nearby elites. The major turned, shielding a portion of Dowski with his body while doing so, and as the dust settled, his subordinate spoke up amidst the chaos of death.
"Commander…"
As Moramee looked at his underling, he felt his mandibles form a smile, for on the ground a few meters away lay the human who had set off the weapon. He was badly wounded, yet still clinging onto life. And as for the one in his hands? The female was not dead, but parts of her form he did not shield leaked blood. She would live to talk and, with their intervention, not die by the hand of one of her own's 'honorary sacrifice'.
"Come, we must make haste, there is still one location we must travel to before making the journey back to the Truth and Reconciliation." Moramee ordered as he watched the one that wasn't Swan be carried aboard the Phantom.
Back in the box canyon
There were many ups and downs to being a high ranking officer of the UNSC, a title which you carried as a testament to your achievements on the upside.
But there wasn't a single upside that came to Jacob Keyes as the dim whine of the Phantom could be heard as it was making its return.
Unfortunately it travelled slower compared to when it had arrived, coming to a complete stop above them before making its descent into the canyon. And as one side opened up, he paled as staring back at him was an Elite major, slowly climbing down the ramp while holding onto a badly injured Dowski. And as the next few seconds ticked over, he was faced with the greatest downside as the Elite spoke.
"Identify those that are worth taking prisoner so that we may heal your wounds sooner." The bastard ordered Dowski, his head scanning each and every human before him. Dowski however, did not flinch, her eyes appearing cold and distant as all hope had been drained from them.
Without reason, Singh angrily took a step forward and yelled. "Dowski I swear if you do-"
He was cut short, the Elite drawing his weapon and firing onto the man, killing him after four plasma bolts clipped the chestplate.
The maroon armoured alien then once again scanned the remaining humans, and as his eyes fell on Keyes, the Captain was reminded of the second biggest drawbacks of his duty to the UNSC… notoriety.
"You needn't worry about seeking anyone anymore female, I simply wanted to see if you were willing to betray your people.
But it appears I have been proven wrong." He looked utterly elated before turning to address the two Elite minors standing behind him.
"That human there."
He gestured to Keyes, after which he guided Dowski back to the Phantom, waiting for Keyes to be dragged before him.
"Kill the rest."
"NOOO!" Was the last thing the Captain yelled at the top of his lungs as he was ferried into the Phantom, the craft's engines muffling the screams of the men sworn to keep him safe, massacred where they stood.
And he couldn't even look them in the eye as they fell.
The flight back aboard the Phantom felt devoid of life, Keyes could only wonder how long he himself was willing to keep the location of Earth close to his chest. He had read extensive reports about the methods and nature by which the Covenant gathered intel from their prisoners, and to say there was a wide variety to choose from, would be an understatement.
Most were non-lethal, all were extremely painful.
He then heard a faint cough behind him, the man wishing to keep his eyes forward during the trip, but as they wandered to the source of the sound he felt ashamed he hadn't looked back earlier.
"Collier? Is that you?" He asked, almost too afraid that speaking his name may cause him to fall under.
Collier lay on the floor of the Phantom, doing his best not to move, every part of him burning in pain, but as he heard the familiar voice call out to him, he moved his neck ever so slightly."Ca-Captain…?"
"It's me son, try not to move." Keyes answered reassuringly.
"W-wait, if you're here then that means- oh crap." Collier's voice trailed off as it cracked, the sound of despair apparent as the man made no attempts to hide it. "S-sir I'm sorry we failed you." Tears subtly spilled from his eyes as he tried to look at his CO without turning away.
"Don't be." Keyes finally said, reaching out to place a hand on Collier's own.
"You did good marine… you did good."
He murmured, gently squeezing his hand, something he used to do to console Miranda when she was a little girl and had been too sick to get out of bed.
Meanwhile at Alpha Base
"How come we can be who knows how far from Remnant, for who knows how long, we've been in several fights in a massive ongoing war… "Yang, who had been pacing back and forth came to a stop as she spun to face her teammates."And right now, it feels like we're waiting for news about detention with Ms Goodwitch."She said, before resuming patrolling the room to kill her boredom.
"Will you relax, it's not as if we're in trouble" Weiss retorted as she looked up at the blonde, before returning to gently run a hand along Blake's arm in order to comfort her. At least I don't believe we are.
"They saw my ears. They were freaked out to see I'm a faunus." Blake stressed to no one but herself, wrapping her arms around her knees as she sat up against a wall.
"What do you make of all of this?" A feminine voice echoed in his internal helmet.
He let the question waver for a while, subtly tracking the blonde as she completed another round of going back and forth.
Finally, he answered, allowing his neural lace to interact without needing to manually thumb the helmet's external speakers so he could talk in private.
"Without fully knowing as to what they've been through, it's not an easy assessment.
But on speculation, aside from their current state…
I'd argue they have conducted themselves well. If the marines are able to speak with Major Silva for almost half an hour on their behalf, and Silva is willing to listen, I don't see a problem-"
"Doesn't help that bucket of bolts over here is babysitting us." The pair were then interrupted by the blonde girl's frustrated voice while speaking loudly to her friends, followed by her walking up to him and firmly rapping her knuckles against his armour plating.
"Ow."
She winced at the unexpected jolt of power she felt as the armour's shields activated.
"I was referring more to the fact we're dealing with four teenage girls." Cortana answered in tongue and cheek.
"Cut that out Yang." Ruby ordered as she stood up from the other side of Blake and walked over to the soldier. "Sorry about my sister, she's not the type to wait around all day.
Anyway, I'm Ruby-" She said, but was cut off by Weiss behind her.
"Are you sure that is a good idea to tell…" She looked up at the visor that seemed to be staring into her soul, before back at her leader. "Our new friend here, our names as well as anything else?"
"I don't think there is any harm in it.
Not to mention I think we'll be repeating ourselves more than once.
And besides, it's not like you're the most talkative person I've met." She said as she turned back to the olive armoured soldier. "Back to what I was saying, I'm Ruby Rose." She said as she stuck out a hand, the figure taking it firmly and shaking in return. "You've kinda met my sister-"
"Name's Yang Xiao Long." Yang said beside her sister, while using two fingers and tapping them against her head to give a two fingered salute.
Ruby went back to the introductions
"The girl in white is Weiss Schnee." The pair exchanged a silent head nod respectively before Ruby finished off.
"And lastly, this is Blake."
The girl in question didn't move, not even so much as to lift her head up to acknowledge she was being talked about.
"She's clearly distraught, you should say something." Cortana whispered in his ear. Not that she really needed to.
"I'm sorry for what happened to you back there. But with the threat of Covenant potentially assaulting this base at any time, no one is going to focus on the minor accident." He said after a few seconds of thinking, receiving not only a look of surprise from Blake, but also those from her team.
"Hold it-" Yang said, holding her hands in a 'time out' sign. "You can talk?"
"Yes." He simply stated.
"Then why haven't you said anything to us this whole entire time?" The blonde questioned.
"Because talking isn't really his strong point." The four were visibly surprised as the figure began to speak with a more feminine voice, in fact
Blake raised her head as her brows furrowed. "Wait, I recognise that voice… You're the one Sheila Polaski was talking to on the radio before-" She tried to search for the words as she looked up and down before giving up. "Before he ran off so that the Pelicans could land safely... you're the one she thanked, you're Cortana." The raven haired girl then gave it some thought before speaking once more. "Well, one of you is Cortana."
"One of them?" Yang questioned, a little bit confused.
"Didn't you just hear a man's voice two seconds ago?" Weiss interjected.
"Exactly." Blake stood up slowly, before vigilantly walking towards the soldier of the UNSC. "The question is who is who? I can say with certainty that the Chief is the man in this armour speaking to us. Now as for Cortana, what are you? An advanced computer built into the suit? A way for the Chief to talk without compromising his identity? Or are you a form of artificial intelligence?"
"Wait- an artificial intelligence…" Ruby then piped up the instant those words left Blake's mouth. "Like- like an android but without a physical body?"
"More or less." Blake simply replied, failing to notice how her leader's eyes appeared to brighten as well as the sides of her mouth widened in an eager smile.
"Gotta hand it to her, Blake seems to be quite perceptive." The resident AI mused to her companion.
"It would seem so." He answered back.
"I think they'll get a real kick out of seeing me." Cortana then added, noting the incoming friendly approaching them on the motion tracker."Right on time…"
With that, the group of five turned to see a marine, the man coming short of the large soldier before saluting, the girls noticing he carried a small grey box under his left arm.
"Sorry if I was disturbing anything important, but Major Silva requested I bring this to him, but since he is still in a meeting I can trust that you will look after it until you can give it to him."
After handing the object over, he saluted once more, giving the four a simple nod before returning the way he came.
Without saying a word, the four watched as the armoured soldier placed the grey box on a nearby pedestal. After which he then reached up and removed what looked to be a microchip from the back of his helmet. The chip appeared to glow a dim aqua, and, as he inserted it into the box, a woman bathed in purple light began to be projected. "Hello Ruby, Blake, Weiss and Yang, I'm Cortana." She introduced herself to the now surprised girls in a cheerful voice.
Ruby was the first to react, running up and fawning at the thirty centimeter visage before her very eyes, silver orbs tracking each line of code that seemed to scroll up and down the length of her body. "Your- your… ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh." Ruby pulled herself away, unable to remain coherent as she couldn't fathom what- who she was talking to, or at the very least tried to.
Cortana simply watched in amusement. While being a military grade AI, dedicated to combat data and military professionalism, it was rather refreshing for her to talk to what were no-doubtedly civilians.
Weiss then cleared her throat as she took the place her leader had stood seconds ago. As Cortana gave her attention, she took great intrigue at the girl in white, already figuring that out of the four, she had the heir of being the voice of reason of the group- or else the one who took things the most seriously. "A pleasure to meet you Cortana, you'll have to excuse Ruby for her rather- Ruby nature. Normally she's well composed, but I'm not sure what's gotten into her, usually she'll get this excited only for weapons."
"Well your friend has nothing to be sorry for. I can imagine it must be a very alien experience to be speaking to someone like me." Cortana simply reasoned.
"You are correct about that…" Blake spoke up, walking over and just like her leader, looked over Cortana, though in a more methodical manner in comparison. "From where we are from, though we have computers, as well as basic artificial intelligences, we don't really have any as sophisticated and advanced as you appear to be."
"So where is it you call home?" The deep voice emanated from the large soldier, the man had remained stoically quiet beside the podium all this time as he watched the interaction between three of the four girls with Cortana.
"Wait a second-" Yang said from his right, coming to stand in front of him after visibly calming down her energetic younger sister. "Ruby already told you all of our names, and we've just been introduced to Cortana over here-"
She then glanced over to the figure in question."Nice to meet you by the way."
To which Cortana nodded, not wishing to interrupt the blonde as she went on. "I think we deserve to know who we're talking to." Yang then averted her eyes, not because the large man now looked directly at her through his helmet, but because a sudden thought came to her.
I'm starting to sound like Hosky.
"Yang-" Ruby was about to chastise the brawler, a hand from the armoured soldier cut her off before she could.
"No, your sister is right. It's only courtesy to get to know each other." He said, stowing the assault rifle he carried and looked at the girls one by one before speaking. "Petty Officer Master Chief, designation; spartan Sierra 117."
Team RWBY simply looked at him, Blake was the first to say something after a few seconds. "So Chief for short?"
"That is the shorthand title I'm being referred to by the marines, yes. But normally I am addressed as The Master Chief." He clarified, to which he received three understanding nods. The fourth however, that being Ruby, wasn't quite as receptive.
"But, Master Chief is a title. Don't you have a name?" She asked with an almost sympathetic voice, garnering curious looks from her friends as they stared up at the soldier.
A tense minute or so passed by, the now Master Chief looking over at Cortana for some reassurance, only for her to look back up at him with eyes that matched the expression of the hoodwearer who asked. Finally he waived the idea of not telling her, and spoke.
"It's John, no surname… I don't usually like to go by it…"
He trailed off, deciding that was all he was willing to share with the young teen.
She appeared satisfied, her emotions seemingly taking a complete one-eighty as she spoke up. "Alright Master Chief. What is it you want to know about us and our place we call home?"
On the Seeker of Truth
It had been quite some time that had now passed since he viewed the fragmented video captured by the Ossoona, the Seeker of Truth deciphering the remains of the transmission from 'Nosalee's helmet.
Yet Thel kept dwelling on what little he had been able to see thus far, as if it were his own body looking up at the human. And here he was, not even holding contempt for Stewardship's poorly managed defences at the outpost.
So ill defendable that not even he could rectify the issue and as such allowed it's downfall to human control. Instead, the Sangheili watched the complete recording.
"Blake…" The voice of a child had uttered from outside of the fallen's line of sight.
Blake, so that is your name. Truly, what Thel had said to Rtas in his private chambers was correct, for this Blake had the features of no other human in the time he had come to know them. "So what are you?" He muttered to himself, those two ears resting on her head as a means to flout his mind with their very existence.
"Supreme Commander."
He was fortunately pulled away from his thoughts as a Sangheili minor stole his attention.
"We are receiving a transmission from the Truth and Reconciliation. Shipmaster 'Ravamee tells me it is of great importance and meant for you and only you."
Thel nodded his thanks before watching as the crewmate keyed into his console to relay the transmission to the larger one Thel occupied. He waited as the image of Lat 'Ravamee appeared before his eyes, beside him stood a Sangheili major.
"It is an honor to speak with you, Supreme Commander." 'Ravamee greeted, both warriors placing a hand to their chest before giving an honorary bow. "By my side stands Pta' Moramee, and it would seem the gods have chosen to favour him on this day."
"What news do you wish to tell me?" Thel asked with great curiosity, forgetting the dilemma that plagued him minutes ago. He knew 'Ravamee well, and the shipmaster was not one to speak of an underling in high regards unless they truly earned his adoration.
With that, Moramee stepped to one side, allowing Thel the spectacle as two cobalt armoured warriors brought forward a human and forcibly brought him to the ground before leaving. Moramee moved to stand behind the human and placed his hand on said human's shoulders to keep him in place. "We have seized the human's highest ranking officer."
Even on his knees, his head forced to look up at the projection, Captain Keyes would not give the son of a bitch the pleasure of seeing him cower. His face remained stoic and hardened in light of what awaited him. And for his part, the Elite staring back at him knew it.
Thel narrowed his eyes upon seeing the human leader before him. He needn't ascertain who they held down, the attire he wore solely reserved for their equivalent of a shipmaster and commander, or as they called him, Captain.
Even as he kept his attention held on the human's steely eyes, he found only resolve in them, a type of resolve that, if Thel and this Captain were in mirrored positions, he too would not yield in fear nor anguish upon capture.
"Do what you must in order to relinquish his secrets. Thel commanded, his concealed mutual respect for the leader replaced by thoughts of his current duty to his kin.
"I not need to remind you what I expect from the methods you use to sift for the desired knowledge."
'Ravamee bowed his head once more as he looked back up.
"It will be done, by your will, Supreme commander."
Back at Alpha Base
Though somewhat 'startled' at the sudden change of emotions from the girl, Chief composed himself as he became pragmatic. "Whatever you can, maybe begin by telling me about your homeworld."
Ruby gave it some thought before answering. "Well, to start, we call it Remnant, it only has one moon that orbits the planet…" She struggled for a few seconds before relaying her frustration. "It's kinda hard to talk about home despite living there your whole life."
"That's alright, just take your time." Chief said reassuringly.
"Let me."
Weiss said as she came to stand next to Ruby.
"As Ruby said, Remnant has one moon, a moon that I might add, looks to be breaking apart, yet for some reason the largest section still remains intact."
She paused as the Master Chief and Cortana exchanged glances before she went on.
"As for Remnant, there are four distinct continents that make up our home, these are either controlled by one kingdom or are shared between two neighboring regions. Now the kingdoms themselves, there are four, Atlas, where I am from. Vale, which is where Ruby and Yang call home. Mystral, Blake doesn't necessarily live there, but her home falls under Mystralian control. And finally there is Vacuo."
Cortana then spoke up. "You know your home well." She looked between them once again before wondering. "Can I ask, how old are you all exactly?"
Ruby then piped up, still appearing quite excited as she spoke to Cortana. "Yang, Blake and Weiss are all seventeen, I meanwhile am fifteen."
"And how did you end up here?" Chief asked.
Yang then decided answering questions was better than milling about for the hundredth time. "While we were on Remnant, we had a mission that we had to do that required us going into a forest not to far from Beacon Academy.
When we were walking on foot, we just heard fighting, Ruby then ran off to see if she could help."
Yang emphasized by ruffling her younger sister's hair in a way that only a proud older sister could.
"We didn't know it at the time, but we saw Grimm attacking what we thought were Faunus and so we called it in. Once again Ruby decided to go after them. When we finally caught up, that's when we saw one of those alien transports, Phantom is what you call it?"
She asked for clarification, and after a nod, she went on.
"Ruby accidentally got caught up and we went with her. Next thing we know it we're riding back seat while the bird aliens-"
"You mean Jackals?" Cortana assumed.
"Yeah Jackals, they were clueless we were hiding. Then we were on one of their ships, we saw Remnant from space for the very first time- maybe even being the very first humans and Faunus to be in space. We then laid low until we found a way to sneak onto one of their boarding craft. We get on the Autumn, meet Jenkins and Co. and the rest, is history."
"Wow Chief, almost sounds like they have just as much luck as you do." Cortana joked as she glanced over to the Spartan with her arms casually crossed.
"I wouldn't really call it luck per say…" Weiss tried to defend, though when she thought about it, it was hard for her to deny the possibility of just how lucky they had been.
Chief stared at Cortana, the AI knowing full well that behind that helmet she could tell he wasn't impressed by her teasing. He then looked back, his mind going over key things the blonde had said.
Though they had managed to board a Covenant cruiser, I doubt they were able to focus on too many details other than surviving."You mentioned that you were on a mission, what was that mission, and who was it that gave you the order?"
"Ah." Weiss said instinctively, garnering looks from the girls and the two newcomers before them.
"Military line of reasoning.
I'll answer that.
Our mission was basic: collect plants for our Professor of Science back at Beacon Academy, while there we needed to clear out any hordes of Grimm along the way. As for who gave us the order for the mission, that would be directly from our headmaster who oversees all missions, headmaster Ozpin."
She then looked over to her leader, making it a point that Ruby was the one to answer the next piece of information.
"Ruby, as our leader, did you want to explain what we do…?"
Ruby beamed, knowing full well what her teammate was doing and was all the more happy to comply.
"Right, so…" She then looked between the Chief and Cortana, making sure she had their undivided attention.
"Beacon is one of four academies that are some of the most prestigious in Remnant. They do teach us all the normal stuff any school would teach, maths, history all those subjects. But what the academy's main purpose is, is to train those who want to become Huntsman and Huntresses, protectors of those who are unable to protect themselves from the creatures known as Grimm-"
"You did mention them, and that was going to be my next question." Chief interjected, allowing the short teen a chance to breathe.
If he hadn't, the poor girl might have gone on talking until she passed out.
Yang then answered. "You know, the Grimm, animal looking creatures that are pitch black. Horrible killing machines bent on destroying anything with a pulse and the ability to sense fear… don't tell me that you have never seen one?"
She then asked, to which the pair looked at each other, the silence speaking volumes for the blonde. "Wait, but if you don't fight Grimm, how long have you been fighting the Covenant?"
"Twenty seven years now." Chief stated.
"And so the only thing you had to deal with in those years was just the Covenant?" Yang said with an alarmed tone.
"Well-"
"It's complicated" Cortana went to speak, but Chief cut her off.
"So if I understand this correctly, you are all students of an academy that trains you to become the warriors of the next generation? Your sole job is to hunt down and kill these creatures known as Grimm to protect the civilian population?"
"That is a brief overview, but a correct one nonetheless." Weiss confirmed.
"And what about weapons? The only weapon I'm able to see is the one attached to your hip, which if I have to guess is a rapier." Before the snow haired girl could answer, Ruby quite literally burst forward as she unsheathed the weapon and stood before the two as she held it out. Cortana when wide eyed in amazement while Chief visibly flinched, a single rose petal fluttered into the open palm of the Spartan II. Though his augmentations allowed him to perceive time much slower compared to a normal human, he still found that this young girl moved at a breakneck speed.
"Hold on one second." Chief spat out to his own surprise. "How did you do that?"
"You mean how did I run so fast?" Ruby asked, her intuition told him that maybe Grimm weren't the only thing unique to Remnant.
"Yes." Both members of the UNSC said in unison, almost startling Ruby as they did.
"It's my semblance." She answered, but judging by their lack of acknowledgement she went on. "Semblances are… well they are what we describe as an extension of your aura, they can be almost anything. I can run extremely fast, I call it speed.
Weiss has many varying abilities that are referred to as Glyphs; which can do things like to help speed us up, slow down or perception of time, even allow us the ability to climb unclimbable surfaces.
Blake has what she calls shadow clones, where she can make a single duplicate of her that is able to distract enemies or can allow her to evade attacks while it takes the blow.
And Yang, she can take a punch and deal it right back to her enemy if she wants, or can wait with that energy and use it against something else."
"Interesting." Ruby heard Cortana say, the code on her body moving a little more faster than before.
"And with these Semblances, do they take a toll on your physical stamina? Would you say, not be able to use your speed if you became exhausted?"
"It can do, but what really ties to your aura-
Now as for what aura is, well that is tied to your very being, your soul, all life in Remnant, except the Grimm, have a form of aura. Not to confuse you, which I think I am, an aura almost acts like a shield, some people have strong ones, others weak, they are passive and will protect a person from things that-
at this point I can understand why they were amazed by me surviving the aliens attack - the marines would die from."
"Sorry for the tangent, but you were saying something about weapons?" Chief went to ask.
Ruby's eyes went wide as she almost forgot, still clutching Weiss' weapon in her hand. "Well this is Myrtenaster, she can hold six vials of dust in each chamber."
"Like a revolver?"
"Correct." Weiss said, casually walking up and snatching the weapon back from Ruby.
"She is a custom built weapon based on a design my grandfather had, as you have noticed is designed for slashes, parries and piercing attacks primarily, but as Ruby had noted it can be used in combination with dust to certain effects."
"And what is dust?" Cortana felt the urge to ask, she had a suspicion as to what the girl meant, but she still wanted to know.
"I'll do my best to explain."
Weiss gave it some thought before speaking, producing a vial of ice dust as she went on.
"Dust is if not one of the most essential resources on Remnant, acting as both a fuel source to power our world and as a key propellant in our weapons. We have attempted to use other forms, but dust remains the most efficient and heavily funded enterprise.
Dust on appearance is a crystalline material that can range in various types, from fire, to ice, wind and gravity to name a handful. The only downside is that its effectiveness only works if it remains confined to the planet's surface and lower atmosphere; once it crosses the region that you deem space, all properties of dust as a fuel goes away.
Hence why we are the first to cross that boundary." She then handed the spartan the vial, the glass container looking quite small in his hands as he lifted it up to a nearby light source to inspect its contents.
"If you broke the container on Remnant, your hand would be coated in ice."
"And if you break several different vials you would have recreated Ruby and Weiss' first meeting." Yang joked as she sent a knowing wink to the pair.
As Chief handed her back the vial, he then drew his attention to the girl yet to say anything. "And, what about the Faunus?"
Blake sighed as she took the metaphorical spotlight for the Spartan's direct question.
"The Faunus are almost identical to humans, except for the fact that we have physical differences in the form of animal traits. For example, I have… cat ears, which give me an advantage to localize my surroundings with increased hearing. For someone like say, our friend Sun, he has a monkey tail in the exact location of where a human tail bone would end, his extra appendage gives him extra dexterity and is quite nimble because of it. Faunus and humans can have children too, though the chance of having a human child or a faunus is a fifty fifty chance. Aside from that, humans make up a majority of the population of Remnant and as such, we face varying degrees of confrontation. In places like Vale, Faunus have a somewhat equal footing.
The same cannot be said for Atlas where Faunus are used as a cheap labour force and treated as less than second class citizens."
She kept her attention on the man before her, knowing that if she even glanced at her friend, she would take that as a jab at her, despite there being no bad blood between them. "The academies fortunately do not discriminate and take applicants of all walks of life, as long as they can prove themselves up to the task."
Chief simply nodded his thanks for the information, and as he was about to turn back to ask Ruby more about weapons, the teen looking to be on the brink of passing out if she didn't-
"You cannot be serious!"
They heard the muffled yell of an annoyed Hosky from the other side of the room.
The four looked puzzled, while the spartan watched the still locked door to Silva's 'office'. After a minute or so later, the marines filed out momentarily glancing their way, giving a friendly nod to the girls and a salute to the Chief before leaving.
"Alright you four. It's your turn." The Sergeant named Johnson said, gesturing for them to enter.
"But I haven't-" Ruby protested, but was cut off by Chief.
"You'll have time to tell me and Cortana later, but right now you're needed by Major Silva." He answered in earnest.
The hood wearer nodded solemnly, following right behind the rest of her team. Once they were inside, Johnson closed the door behind him.
"Gotta hand it to you, you handled things quite well." Cortana said as she echoed in his helmet, now that Silva had received the holo-projector, she was comfortably positioned back inside the Mark V armour's helmet matrix.
"The question is, did we kill time, gather intel or were we genuinely interested in their way of life?"
Chief wondered aloud, the girls were willing to talk openly to him, they were there to listen.
But at the same time he knew Silva was going to subject him to harsh scrutiny if he didn't relay what he had ascertained.
He was met with silence, and for once, he was glad she didn't say a word.
As for RWBY, they were once again greeted by the Major, the man standing behind a mock up desk, beside him stood Johnson and just like Cortana, the four saw a holographic projection of an AI, this one bathed in blue light.
"Well girls, I frankly don't know where to begin really. Those marines spoke highly of each one of you. Running in the blink of the eye, the ability to create illusion, manifesting protective sigils from thin air, and pure endurance… You four are what we call a sight for sore eyes."
Ruby then spoke up.
"Thank you very much for the appreciation sir, we had a long talk with the Master Chief while waiting to see you. And although we did all the talking, we understand why you might be amazed by what we can do. I can say for certain that whatever it is you need from us we will follow your orders since you command everyone else."
The girls were puzzled as the man chuckled, but as he settled down, he explained. "Though I am flattered, my role in this whole operation is only temporary. You see, when we were making our assault here on Alpha Base, we have gotten word that our real leader; Captain Jacob Keyes has been captured by Covenant. He and the other captured survivors are being held on a Covenant ship located on this ring, The Truth and Reconciliation. There is no doubt they will be interrogated for any and all valuable intelligence. And we're going to organise a rescue before they can be moved to one of the ships in orbit… or have no need for prisoners."
As soon as Silva laid out the situation, Ruby wasted no time in her decision. "Major Silva, I can safely say on behalf of my team and I, that if there is anything we can do to help, we are willing to be signed up to assist in the rescue.
A month or two before we ended up here; we helped prevent a terrorist attack, or at least dampen what could have been a far worse outcome, it became known as The Breach. You can count us in without any regret." She then glanced between the others. "Right guys?"
"Right." They answered in unison.
"Spoken like true marines." Johnson said from Silva's side, his arms crossed and his head nodding in admiration.
"I'll keep you in mind if I need you, now although I wouldn't lie that I'm curious to learn about you and your world you call home, but for now Wellsley (referring to the AI at his desk), Cortana and I will begin to formulate the plan to rescue the Captain. So for now, you are dismissed." He then turned to the marine. "Johnson, if you wouldn't mind showing our new allies here to the armoury and help them adjust to life in the corps."
"It would be my pleasure sir." He then walked over to the door and gestured to the four. "Right this way…" He had a wry smirk on his face at their leader Ruby looked like Christmas had come early for her upon hearing the news of going to the armoury.
"Oh and Johnson." Silva called out just as he was about to step out.
"Send in the Masterchief before you leave."
"Don't worry I've got it, " Yang called out while crossing the doorway.
"You're up big guy." She said while giving him the finger guns.
With that, he watched as the four parted ways along with Johnson. Leaving Major Silva, Cortana, Wellsley and Chief alone.
"I'll tell you, those four are something. They even volunteered to help in the rescue effort." Silva said while looking at the closed door. "I might actually take them up on it." He muse, but as he looked at the Chief, his demeanor took a more serious tone.
"Now personally, you and I don't really see eye to eye.
You are a freak of science and that is clear your kind was a failed experiment.
If this war will ever be won by the UNSC, the ODSTs are the ones to do so." He spat in pure disdain for the so-called man who had murdered two of his men, and gravely wounded two others, all while at the age of fourteen.
But in spite of this, Silva looked at the Spartan with the same degree of authority as he would with a marine or ODST.
"In saying that, I'm giving you secondary orders in conjunction with your primary objective. Look out for those four while on the rescue mission. They might have already faced the Covenant in order to get here, but they'll be dealing with far worse when the time comes."
"Yes sir." Chief answered firmly.
"Good, now we need to begin to formulate the plan, leave Cortana here and you are dismissed to rest until the mission has been finalised. Apparently we've salvaged a water filtration system and managed to get hot water thanks to some of the engineers, so go take a shower first if anything."
With a mutual salute between the two, Chief was dismissed.
Aboard the Truth and Reconciliation
Keyes was suspended in the air by his arms, faced with nothing but the purple hue of the chamber he was in, and the sly split lip who was running this ship.
"So I finally have the ship master who damaged my ship under my grasp. As you heard, the Supreme Commander has allowed you the grace of your life, but only if you reveal to me exactly what he wants to hear."
"And if I don't?" Keyes retorted without stuttering
"Well, you will endure pain beyond the limits your mind is able to comprehend.
I advise you talk now to make your death quick and painless rather than long and arduous."
Just as he said this, a blood curdling scream echoed through the corridor beyond the two. Keyes didn't bother to hide his dread as he appeared to forget the Elite standing in front of him. His body sagged under their binds, helpless to do anything, if he were in the position of his men he would gladly take it.
"Maybe, with something of worth you are willing to divulge, I may grant them an even quicker death to ease their suffering…" 'Ravamee bargained
"Forget it." Keyes glared back at him. "Have it your way." He answered, reaching up and removing one of his restraints
"Then you, as I am told by Moramee, that the one you call Dowski told him; Will come to know hell by my hand."
Back on Alpha Base
Ruby found her way into the command centre, fortunately Major Silva had to listen to the report given by the Chief.
Or at least she imagined he was still with the Chief. So the only people in the room were several marines who were beginning to file out as she walked in, as well as Cortana and Wellsley.
"Hey Cortana, could I talk to you about something?" She timidly asked, rocking back and forth on the balls of her heels.
"Mistress Ruby, though your youth and your naivety of war is not lost on me, I do encourage you to understand that Cortana and I are AI specifically designed to deal with combat scenarios. Your curiosity for knowledge is appreciated but not welcome at this time-"
"Wellsley, it's fine."
Cortana interrupted sternly though politely.
"Could you give us five minutes and then we can reconvene after. We have compiled quite a few battle plans already so perhaps you could relay them to Major Silva in that meantime."
"If you insist Ma'am, and Ms Rose, please don't find my previous comments as any form of transgression. I am not really equipped to speak to non military personnel, let alone a child born not from the planet Earth in origin."
"Apology accepted Wellsley." The teen smiled warmly.
With that, Wellsley bowed his head before departing, his holographic figure evaporating in blue pixels.
"So Ruby…" The young leader almost jumped as the female AI cheerfully beamed at her.
"What exactly did you want to talk to me about?"
Ruby appeared nervous for a few seconds, looking for the right words as she found the entire room interesting as opposed to Cortana.
Finally she plucked up enough courage to talk about something that had been on her mind since she laid eyes on her. "You are an artificial intelligence… right?"
Cortana nodded patiently."That is correct, I'm known as a smart AI."
"Now I don't know how to say this, but, can you keep a secret?" She whispered.
"Ruby… I know we aren't really on a first name basis with each other just yet, however, the information I carry beyond the ability to take in information and relay it back, is the location of our homeworld, one of the highest pieces of intelligence the enemy can get their hands on. Of course I can keep a secret…" Cortana then emphasized by making a gesture of locking her lips shut with her hand like she were using a lock and throwing away the key.
"Okay, well, I have this friend… Her name is Penny. She is nice and sweet and really awesome to be around…" She trailed off again, losing the momentum of joy in her voice, nerves replacing them once again.
"But?" Cortana asked with intrigue.
"There isn't a but." She retorted before flat out telling her. "Penny is an android."
" Oh…" She answered, her thoughts momentarily going back to what Blake had told her.
"And I'm the only one in our team who knows." Ruby added.
"Interesting…" Cortana pondered the notion before Ruby spoke up.
"So my question is, what is it like? To be an AI that is?"
Blake climbed the top of the base, and as she got close to the landing, she saw Johnson standing there overlooking the landscape, the ring intersecting with the horizon.
"Beautiful sight ain't it?" He said without turning back, years of corp's training told him he wasn't alone. "Don't worry, it's just me. Come on up." He invited, gesturing to the empty space beside him.
She casually met him on the landing and looked out to see the landscape before her. The two held mutual silence, quietly enjoying the change of scenery as the sun was gradually moving to the edge of the ring, casting a shadow on its inner surface as if nightfall was creeping in on their respective homeworlds.
The silence was then interrupted by the subtle actions of the marine beside Blake, she turned and looked on. In his hand, he held a small brown object no longer than his middle finger, he twirled it in his fingers before looking over to Blake. "You don't mind if I light this up?" He asked politely, both his eyebrows raised as if to feign sarcasm.
"No…" Blake answered calmly.
He nodded in approval, looking down to find his lighter before striking the flint and bringing the flame to contact. "Even with the threat of the alien bastards attacking us at any moment, one can still enjoy the finer things in life."
He said after letting out a long drawn out puff, rolling the thing in between his fingers as he looked at it.
"Nothin' like these cigars.
Only have a few of 'em left. I figured that with what little time I have before we get back in action, I might as well have one now."
He took in another breath before letting it out.
"They come from a little place on humanity's home planet called Cuba, a few centuries ago these were the only thing they were known for. Bet you've never even heard of a cigar, let alone seen one where you're from." Johnson smiled as he breathed in the calming smoke before slowly exhaling.
"Actually, we do have them on Remnant." Blake stated.
At that Johnson nearly gagged on the puff he was savouring… spluttering as he tried to breathe.
"Say WHAT?" He asked, looking at her before looking down and wondering if the Sweet Williams in his hand was defective. "You're kidding right?"
Blake simply shook her head.
At that, Johnson simply shrugged his shoulders and place the cigar once more in his mouth, slightly chewing on it as he spoke, his eyes focused back towards the landscape. "Whelp, if we ever get outta here alive and find a way to get you girls home. You better invite me next time I get service leave and let me try one of them foreign cigars of yours."
Blake chuckled as she answered. "I promise I will. And you can hold me to it if I forget."
Ruby didn't know how long she talked for with Cortana, however that changed as a voice entered the room.
"Ruby, what are you doing here?"
The hoodwearer turned to see It was Johnson, the man not visibly angry, but still held himself the same way her dad would when he caught her trying to steal strawberries from the pantry.
"C'mon now, best get yourself ready, we'll be heading off in ten minutes or so. So get your team together."
"Right." Ruby said as she straightened up. "I'll talk to you later." She said to Cortana, but froze as she looked back at Johnson. "You uh, wouldn't happen to know where they all are by any chance?"
Johnson smirked before answering. "Well, Yang was busy taking a shower from what I heard, that's just a few tents down from here when you step out.
Weiss was resting, that's three doors down.
And Blake, well Blake was with me at the top, she was still there before I left so chances are she's still there."
"Okay, I'll go get them." Ruby answered, giving one final wave to the two before leaving.
"She weren't bothering you or nothing?" Johnson asked with concern.
"Of course not. It was actually refreshing to talk to someone like that." She answered happily.
"You need to get ready too ma'am. I still gotta wake Cheif up too, and once I'm done that I'll send him your way." Johnson said with a slightly tired voice, something Cortana picked up immediately.
"Sergeant, can I ask you something?
You knew where each of Ruby's teammates were and yet you came here to notify Ruby first. Even when Blake was right next to you."
"I don't know what you mean." He said, playing dumb.
"I'm a smart AI capable of thousands of computations a second, my ability to keep track of time is down to the nano second. I fail to understand why you took this route.
And why didn't you wake the Chief up first?" She questioned in confusion.
Johnson turned away, not meeting her gaze.
"Is something the matter, Sargent?"
Johnson looked back to the door Ruby had walked through before sighing. "Yeah there is." He said before looking back at her. If we ever do make it outta here alive somehow and get back home, ONI's gonna want to talk to these girls… And I don't mean exchanging pleasantries… I just know it."
Cortana's face fell, knowing Johnson was right.
Finally after the silence had hung in the air, she sighed.
"We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it. But first things first is getting to the Captain."
At long last I have finished the chapters pertaining to HALO.
Normally at this point I would write up the review... but it's 2am and I will do so next chapter, or post the replies before the start of the next we'll see.
That being said, the current date is the 28th, The same day as the early Access to Age Of Mythology Retold.
So I am going to be playing the hell out of it once it comes out at 10 am AEST.
I AM BEYOND HYPED,
Until the next chapter.
Good night.