[}{]

Aurellian "Ollie" Van Graff

August 2nd, 2552

[}{]

Winter purred nicely as we swooped silently between a couple of asteroids. The low thrum of the dampened fusion reactor was about all that could be heard as the crew, comprised of myself, the Viper, and Preston, journeyed in silence.

Captain Harper stood hunched over me, directing me by eye towards a small anomaly way out in the planetary solar system. It'd been a long journey, two days at sub-light speeds spent in crippling silence.

Preston scowled, as he had been for days. It'd been a week or so now since we'd picked him up and he'd given his sister hell the entire time. Eventually, after days of bickering, she snapped and ordered us both onto the ship for some special mission. Now, I don't see what I'm doing here, I'm pretty sure the Viper could pilot this craft and get her home to me in one piece but maybe she figured she'd want a witness to any sibling related attempted murders or such-like. Part of me thinks that Maddie just don't wanna see Nico and I don't blame her, though my reasons and hers are probably very different. I seen that boy do things that'd make Halsey blush and I'd gotten a front row seat to 'em as well. Makes my tummy churn thinking about it.

"There." She said, pulling me back from a deep dive into my least favourite trauma.

"Nothing here," I said, glancing around, "you sure this is the spot?"

"Quite so" Tuk said cheerfully, "watch this."

Ahead of us, a shroud lifted, a ship the size of a frigate appeared like an angel, wreathed in a blue light that twinkled against the sun.

"Boys," Maddie began, "this is ARC DREAM. This is what I have been working towards since Drake found me on Skopje."

"It's a forerunner ship!" I said, my eyes wide and mouth salivating.

"No, it's human. Ancient human." The Viper grinned, a wanderlust in her eyes, sparkling like the stars. "When I graduated, I was set on a course to find our species birthright, I didn't know it then but I was on the path to Tukmen'tukhan's own tomb"

Preston stared at her blankly, I was impressed he could maintain composure as the little A.I. directed the Winter towards the docking tube. It was a mishmash of our two technologies, a brilliant miasma of new and old.

"Bullshit." Preston said, leaning back in his chair. "That's just some ONI prototype."

"I don't know, P." I said, eyes wide, "the Winter is an ONI prototype, that… is something else entirely."

"Take a look for yourself," Tuk said, opening the door, "this is all a gift for you."

The doors opened to a sweeping corridor, bright and white, lined with blue lights and a cleanliness unseen on UNSC ships.

"So you're an ancient A.I?" I asked, drawing a wondrous breath at the pristine millenia-old ship as it sat silently in space.

"He is." Maddie replied, "he was the first step, this ship was the second."

"Step on what, a great journey" I replied with a laugh.

We were greeted by a spritely woman who seemed about my age and had brown hair cropped to her shoulders, her eyes were a deep and inviting brown and she smiled as Maddie introduced her.

"This is specialist Jade Roberts, an expert in forerunner technology and currently, the only staff member for ARC DREAM that you haven't met."

"Nice to meet you, boys" she said, offering me a hand.

"pleasure, ma'am"

"Jade is fine" she said, just as Preston rolled his eyes.

"How did apes build this?" Preston said, flicking a shutter button on the wall.

"They didn't," Jade said, interrupting Maddie, "about a hundred thousand years ago, humanity was at the zenith of biological life. We stood shoulder to shoulder with the Forerunners as a galactic power."

"What's the average height of an Elite, eight feet?" Maddie mused, "Tuk, how tall were you."

"I was below average at nine feet two inches."

"No shit?" Preston said, laughing, "seeing us waddling around at around six must be like watching a live exhibit at a museum"

"Crude, but accurate" Tuk replied, his formless voice sounding as though it were said through a smile.

"So what the hell happened? If y'all were so tall and so advanced, why aint we like that?" I asked, watching the pulsing lights along the floor change colour as we moved gingerly through the ship.

Maddie led us towards the front of the ship, her demeanour changing slightly. I assumed the bridge was at the front of the ship but in actuality, it was just an observation deck. The bridge, as it turned out, was secured in the centre of the ship, where the hull was furthest from the nerve centre.

"We fought two enemies sequentially and lost the second war. King Harold situation." she began, "firstly to the flood, a parasite that could consume all life in the galaxy and secondly, the Forerunners."

"The covenant God's?" I said, air rushed into my lungs like a whip.

"Just advanced aliens, I'm afraid," Jade said, shrugging, "although, that much is pretty clear to anyone not indoctrinated into Covenant Theology. Regardless, we lost the war and one of Tuk's greatest enemies: the Ur-Didact reduced humans to…"

"Animals." Tuk spat.

"Rude." Preston said, pouting, "we're standing right here."

"Your brother is a fool, Maddie." Tuk said, his voice turgid with the kind of anger that only genocide can induce.

"My brother is a good man, he just doesn't understand, yet." Maddie replied, looking to Preston with a little hope in her eyes.

"Too right, I don't understand. This is unhinged."

"We can answer any question you might have," Jade said, opening the door to the observation deck.

It wasn't made from glass but rather from giant screens that projected a live feed from the outside. Were it not for the fact that I saw Jade lean behind the screens and turn them on, there was no way that a guy could tell it were fake.

"So this is what you found on Ballast…" I said, "Wait, the Covenant fleet you wiped out, that was this ship?"

Maddie shook her head, "this is a science vessel, it might be able to take out a dozen cruisers but there were originally two, this ship and a battlecruiser called the Hel. We lost the Hel destroying that fleet."

"Damn…" I replied, running a hand over the lab equipment dotted about the place, "so this ship, she's the real prize, huh?"

Jade nodded, excitedly, "She's filled with more data banks than ONI's Alpha Site in New Mombasa. This Ship houses the collective knowledge of a lost species hell bent on revenge and resurgence. The secrets to slipspace, shielding, terraforming, mass accelerator weapons, plasma guns, advanced medicine, the secret potential of the human genome, it's all here."

"So ARC DREAM is what, exactly?"

"It's ONI's plan to secure a long-term future for the human race." Maddie said, with a smile.

"It's your plan," Tuk reminded her, "ONI is a means to an end."

"They fund it" Maddie shrugged, "we can't run it without them, which is why we're pillaging Reach as it falls for personnel and assets. Our plan is to find something called a World Forge, a piece of technology used by ancient humans when they first began to colonise the stars. According to the data banks, it was used twice in Sol. Firstly on Mars, which worked quite well, and secondly on Venus, which went disastrously. The reason it's a vile wasteland now is because they left it as a ruined reminder of the dangers involved with terraforming. When we find it, we're going to establish a colony with it and build up from there in secret until…"

"Until we can avenge Earth… again." Tuk finished, his avatar emerged in its full glory, towering over us like a skyscraper.

Preston, who had been standing near the window looking out to space, glared wildly at Reach in the distance. "I thought," he said, shaking his head, "that you were going to make an elaborate apology, like always. I didn't expect an elaborate excuse."

Maddie glared at him, her gait like stone as she approached, "I'm sorry." she said, to my surprise. "Truly, I am genuinely sorry. I never thought for a moment to find another solution, I signed Maggie's life away to an organisation that I knew did awful, awful things and then I joined up with them, too. I'm sorry for not telling you later on and I'm sorry for getting you and your career mixed up in all this. I was naive and I was stupid."

He turned to face her, his eyes full of waves of emotion, "then what is all this, Mads? Why show me this?"

"Because it's the reason I've always gone on. The reason I can never turn away from ONI. It's the one hope I have to make things right, to make the universe a safe place for humanity to live and grow up. The Maggie's of the world, kids whose future's were robbed from them, the hope that ARC DREAM will bring us all is why I made some of those decisions. Preston," she took his hands in her own, "the reason I'm showing you this is because it's all I live for."

I wasn't sure what was going on. I looked at Jade who whispered that she'd fill me in later, then hushed me as though she were watching some kinda movie.

"Mads," Preston said, pulling his hands away, "It wasn't the Covenant who took Maggie from us. It was ONI. They could have saved her pro bono and they should have."

Maddie didn't say anything to that. Her brother sighed and backed away slowly, shaking his head in defeat. I swallowed, watching as he went off to wander the ship, with a sprite of Tuk in tow.

"He gonna be okay?" I asked, breaking the grim silence that followed.

Maddie blinked and looked over to me. "Hm? Yeah, he'll be fine. He needs some space."

"You sure about that?" I replied, glancing back at the door.

She laughed briefly, holding back tears, "Yeah, believe it or not we were the closest siblings in my entire family. He's sensitive… needs to be alone when he's upset."

Jade leaned in, "Maggie was their sister, Maddie made her a SPARTAN when she was saved on Skopje. The procedure worked but she died on Ba-"

"Yes, thank you, Jade." Maddie said, running her fingers through her hair. "Sorry, Ollie, I didn't just bring you here as a tag-along. I actually wanted to ask you something."

I frowned, "you did?"

She nodded, clearing her eyes and voice of the vulnerability that had been there only a moment beforehand, "I need people I trust, people who don't like ONI. People who can keep me honest and wary of them."

"Outsiders."

She nodded, "my team is full of them, each one discarded, each one of them self made, and each of them brilliant."

"I'm only brilliant at flying, Ma'am."

"Cut the Ma'am, shit." she smiled, "Ollie, I want you to Captain this ship for me, when the time comes." I couldn't quite process it, my mind simply filled with all those happy chemicals the doctors tell you about getting from seeing nature or something. "Ollie?"

"I'm honoured Ma-aaddie." I smiled, "that you'd trust me with your last hope… it means a lot."

"You're up to the task and anyone who has my brother's trust also has mine. Tuk can work with you on sims while we're planetside but for now we need you in the Winter. Especially if Nico is around. I don't trust him."

"Why not?" I asked, "I mean, if ya'll don't mind sharing."

She smiled, looking past me to her own history in the distance, "we were highschool heartthrob's but mostly it's Parangosky. I got a feeling that Parangosky is up to something because the Fall of Reach will change everything. Eventualities would need to be considered, the recycling of civilization, the continuation of humanity… ARC DREAM isn't the program she will be betting on, I imagine."

"Why not? Seems like our best chance if you ask me."

She sighed, "because she's losing control over it. Much as I want to stay in lockstep with her, Tuk won't let me. Katya and Jack only stay because ONI are pretty hands-off with this project. Nico is a change that they don't like. He's Parangosky's man. Used to be me but she can't quite control me, much as she's tried… and much as I've let her."

"She gambled on you, she lost."

"Maybe," she said, leaning against the table, "I don't know. You ever wonder if the world just doesn't like you? Like you can't relate to anyone or truly love them because there's this divine providence that keeps you from finding that thing you've always been looking for?"

"Well, I'm asexual, which is divine providence for something, I suppose" I laughed, "kinda the universe's way of saying stay in your lane and enjoy the ride."

Maddie smiled, "There's a beauty in that, though. Sometimes I wish I was ace."

"I hope you don't mean to imply I don't love," I teased.

"Wouldn't dream of it, I just mean that you get to take people as they are, there's a lack of clarity in sex. I suppose that's why my mother wasn't thinking straight when she…" Maddie frowned as though she'd realised something for the first time.

"I know what you mean, though." I said, "but sometimes it's not the universe, sometimes it's a big scary organisation that's manipulated you since you were a child. They put a world on your shoulders and told you not to shrug or the fallout is your fault, hardly a wonder you're a mess, darlin'."

Maddie grimaced, "you too?"

"My thoughts on ONI are pretty plain, Maddie."

She stood up and pinched the bridge of her nose, "It's not like I don't know you're right. I once argued with Drake- the agent who recruited me, about how ONI had set me up to fail." She put her hands on her hips, watching Jade as she sat cross legged on the floor, working on a manuscript of some kind. "They'd created an environment where I felt as though I needed to do anything to win, I created that A.I, Walsingham and took him with me to tip the odds in my favour. When Drake found out, he reported it and Parangosky punished me by sending my sister to Ballast, away from safety on Earth."

"Jesus…"

"She made Eliza think it was her decision, she made me believe that it was necessary. I thought I defied her when I disobeyed an order but… but I still toed the lines she wanted me to be wary of. I never wavered from the goals of ARC DREAM because she knows I can't let it go. I mean, what am I supposed to do? Hand the project over? Even if Tuk would let me, I'd never trust ONI to be responsible with this sort of data. Can you imagine the bioweapons we built one hundred thousand years ago? Could you trust ONI not to use them on rebels?"

I scratched the back of my head and winced, "you know," I said, searching for the right words, "people like you seem to think that ONI is necessary, that it exists to serve humanity in this war against aliens. The truth is, ONI has been around for almost four hundred years. It's been doing heinous things long before we ever had first contact. When this war is over, do you think they will just go away?"

Maddie shook her head, "Good point."

"So, why even bother with them?"

"Well, I can't just cut and run, not while they have my family, not when they fund this whole thing. I'd be putting my whole life on the line…" her brow hardened, "and for what? Personal power?"

"People who don't want power are the ones who deserve it most."

"Ollie, it wasn't the cool gadgets that made me want to sign up for ONI. I saw Drake move fleets at his singular command, I saw real power and I wanted it so that I could save our people."

"All I'm saying is that you think you've been put in a box and maybe you have" I said, folding my arms, "But there's always a way out, difficult as it might be. Don't act on it, just… think. When the time is right, you'll know what to do. You're too good a person to just let ONI take control of something like this. You could do a better job alone and I think you know it."

Maddie smiled, warmly, for the first time that I known her. "That's a hell of a compliment," she said, shaking her head, "If things were different I'd say you knew your way to a lady's heart."

"Sucks for you" I laughed.

"Me and everyone else" she said, standing up straight, "right, we better get back to it. You got any questions?"

"Just one. She got a name?" I asked, my eyes as wide as the void lurking beyond the hull.

"The ship? Fenrir." she replied.

"Fenrir… perfect."

[}{]

Aurellian "Ollie" Van Graff

August 4th, 2552

[}{]

"Aegis Fate, this is UNSC Winter, Requesting permission to dock" I said, stifling a yawn. It had been a quiet but more relaxed trip back to the Aegis Fate. Preston had been quiet but his anger seemed to have dissipated a little as he and Maddie began to mend their relationship.

"Winter, this is Aegis, you're good to go. Deck is clear, glad to have you back."

"Roger that, Aegis, good to be back."

"Captain Harper said to let the Viper know that her babysitter has arrived."

"Thanks for the heads up, Winter out."

I looked to Maddie, who had been sitting lazily in the chair next to me.

"Ready for another go at it?"

She gave me a look that made me laugh, "you ever wanted to space yourself just to avoid something?"

"That bad, huh?"

She nodded, "I've never been great at confronting the past."

I stood up as the Winter powered down, "Maybe it'll be good for you."

"Maybe." She said, looking out the window from her chair, a small figure approached from the far side of the hangar, clad in black. "I've faced certain death a hundred times, fought Elites in hand to hand combat, and been a Covenant prisoner but none of it makes my stomach churn like inevitable human interpersonal drama."

"The Viper gets anxious," I mused, "you might actually be human, afterall."

"I'm only human," she said, sighing.

"Now ain't that a terrifying thought" I grinned, "the indomitable human spirit."

"Endurance is definitely one of our better traits"

"Exactly, so just keep moving, keep believing. If we all do that, there's no way we can lose."

"I wish I shared your optimism"

"You will, in time." I held out a hand for her and smiled, "get up, let's show him what you really are."

She didn't seem convinced as she took my hand and yanked herself gingerly to her feet. She looked out the window at the figure, who was now much closer, his sharp features almost visible as he reached the fuel link where several Pelicans were hooked in. Large cables lead from the craft to the little rectangular pillar that jutted out from the deck.

Maddie walked off, her movements confident and determined. In a moment, all the apprehension she might have had dissipated entirely, like breath on the wind, and she seemed undaunted by the man. I watched him open his arms when she approached, a smile spreading across his face as I shared a paternal glance with Tuk, whose avatar appeared on his platform next to my Captains chair.

"You seem concerned," I said, watching Maddie as she was held in his arms.

"He is an unknown quantity."

"He's a psycho, Tuk."

"We're all killers here," he replied, "what worries me is how he will react to Maddie. She's changed a lot since they last met."

"You have known her that long?"

"No, but I am an ancient A.I, extrapolating is kind of my thing."

"Agent Nico Belloc." I said, letting the name ignite the tinderbox of memories lying in my head.

He stepped aboard, slinging his rifle over his shoulder. I looked back from my seat in the pelican, blood lined the rubber soles of his boots. His helmet was cracked, a smile lurked beneath, glass fell from the place where his visor should have been. His jaw trembled, his fingers were jittery as the blood rage subsided.

He turned and my eyes wandered to his rifle. Another childishly etched mark appeared along its stock as he folded his arms, watching as his more seasoned men hauled the new blood aboard. The boy wept, shuddering as he threw up, convulsing as he shook his head.

Nico knelt. He glanced back at me and whispered something to the boy, who nodded…

…and thanked him.

I swallowed and jogged to the ramp, ducking below the wing and hopping over a fuel cable as I met Nico's eyes. He had pulled Maddie in for another hug but when he saw me, his eyes, his devils windows, snapped to me like a robotic AA turret.

"Ollie?" he said, pushing Maddie back, a light blush on her cheeks.

"Belloc." I replied, flatly.

"It's been a while, how was the clink?"

"I wish you knew."

"Ha! No doubt, brother." he slapped my shoulder and grinned, "Mads, you got the UNSCs best pilot as your personal chauffeur?"

Maddie squirmed back into shape, throwing back whatever embarrassment had flushed her cheeks as though it were just another step on a hike. "Captain Van Graff is far more than that." she said, the wariness hiding behind her blue eyes.

"Did he tell you what we got up to?"

"I know enough, sounds like you enjoyed it a bit more than he did."

"Hey, remember Miss Allen's literature class? It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. A-"

"-Tale of Two Cities, yes, I remember it." Maddie folded her arms, "what are you doing here, Nico?"

"You still read that shit?" he asked, ignoring her, "haven't bothered much myself. Been too busy looking after Ollie."

I scoffed and shook my head, it was hard to believe a person could be so dismissive of the work we did together. The Devil himself would struggle to keep a meal down, reading what Nico did.

"I do, when I can."

"Icy reception, huh… I thought you'd be more excited to see me, Mads. You always were obsessed."

"Don't be rid-"

"Ah!" Nico snapped his fingers, "was it because I didn't text you back?"

Maddie smiled, leaning back as she folded her arms, "Don't flatter yourself, Nico. That was all a very long time ago. I'm certainly not interested in a lackey."

"The only difference between me and you is the species of the target," he sighed, "I thought you were supposed to be a realist, Parangosky said you were on the same page as me but all of a sudden I'm the bad guy for doing my job."

"No one said you're the bad guy," Maddie replied, "I called you a lackey."

"You don't know what it's like, okay?" he said, his canines glinting in the light of the Aegis Fate's flight deck. "I do the dirty work no one else will, I didn't luck out like you did, Mads. You think when I go to bed, I dream of a life this empty?"

I rolled my eyes, I'd heard this one before.

"My conscience might be clear and my desires violent but I promise you there's still a soul behind my work."

Maddie seemed to soften and I winced, "It's not work. It's murder and you love it." I said, stopping him from getting his talons into her. If Maddie were to leave this war with her soul intact, she'd need to stay well away from Nico. His eyes flashed red hot, the whites of his eyes terrified me, darting to my neck and then towards my heart.

"You know that I'm holding back," Nico said, glaring at me, "no one bites back that hard on their inner fire like I do. It never shows its true colours because I reserve that for the covenant, don't I?"

I didn't reply.

"Don't I?!"

I swallowed, nodding slowly.

His eyes twinkled like a grenade going off as he stepped forward and took Maddie's hands in his own. "You're a good girl. You always have been and that's why you need to see the world how I do, so that we can win this fucking war." Maddie seemed paralysed as he continued, her eyes searching his as he lips parted for something to say, "I understand you're not ready for that yet but you will be, I promise. When you throw away that part of you that separates you from me. To those animals, we will become the most prolific covenant killers the galaxy has ever seen. Until then, until you understand… I'm yours to control."

"You don't control feral dogs," I spat, "you put them down."

"If my trigger finger itches, pull me back. If my knife is drawn, force it back. If I need warmth… hug me. Maybe I'll change."

Maddie pulled back, her blue eyes unsure of herself for the first time I'd seen her. Nico, for his part, backed away. He smiled to himself as he turned, his part played well. Like a gardener, a seed of doubt had been planted, one that, if Maddie's friends didnt weed out, would rot and consume her. It was the sort of cancer that would kill you slowly, growing and nurturing itself until it was noticed.

Noticed when it was too late.

"That's not what you are, Maddie." I said, placing a friendly hand on her shoulder.

"No," she said, her voice uncertain like a child calling for a parent in the dark, "but it could've been me."

[}{]

Maddie "The Viper" Harper

August 11th, 2552

[}{]

He cracked his fingers, his eyes fixed to the floor as though deep in thought. In the quiet thrum of the ship, Nico's crunching joints rattled around the walls, echoing down the corridor. He wore an expression of severity, one that I could scarcely comprehend as I walked nervously towards him. As I approached, he blinked and looked up, staring at me with hungry eyes. Over the last week or so, I'd begun to realise how damaged my old friend was. He had a look about him that screamed get your hands off me, irrespective of whether you were ten inches from him or ten metres.

"You came," he said, smiling.

"It's a briefing, Nico." I replied, stopping well short of him.

"An inventive place for a first date, right?" He replied, his teeth cutting the air with a cynical and yet earnest bite.

"Very funny. I thought I've made my feelings clear" I said, walking past him towards the bridge.

"You've barely spoken to me, actually." He said skipping to catch up to me.

"Can't imagine why."

"No, me neither" he said, shrugging, "couldn't be my occupation, you'd be a hypocrite"

"It's just you" I shrugged, stopping as we neared the door.

"Now that's just mean," he said, putting himself in front of the bio lock on the door, "you need to admit that you like a man that plays God."

"I don't need to do anything, Nico. Now get out of my way."

"Come on…" He ran his hands along my biceps, "I thought you might be different but you're just like all those suits back on earth, grey and dull, a part of the crowd. I thought you were The Viper, but you're just like everyone else, scrambling to make a living doing the devil's work."

I scowled and snapped a fist at his gut, it was quick and sharp, designed to wind him. I smirked as he barreled over, holding back a wheeze.

"You don't know the first thing about playing God. I do. You're just a tool for us, you jump when we say, you don't ask questions, and you certainly don't fucking touch me without asking first."

"Damn," he grimaced, "there she is. That fire, you've always had that… I'm surprised you managed to bottle it up for so long."

"ONI trained me to be more than a killer, Nico."

"Too well," he said pointedly, still standing in front of the scanner, "they've blunted you. If I'm not mistaken, you're brittle, you're starting to break and buckle under the weight of everything."

"Whatever you say," I shrugged.

"Osman and Parangosky have been watching you," he replied, flashing those teeth again, "They're worried, too."

"Oh yes, I'm sure, why else would you be here?"

"To rekindle our love" He grinned.

"Love?" I snorted, "you were a highschool crush six years ago. Get a grip and move on."

"Tell me with a straight face that you don't want me."

"I do not want you" I replied, "Now, this is an order, get the fuck out of my way."

He breathed in sharply, grinning like a hyena, "Parangosky is watching you, Maddie. I don't know what you've done but it seems like she doesn't trust you. You want to keep your project, right?"

I swallowed, nodding as he stood aside.

"Then start toeing the line."

Meeting his gaze with my hardest glare, I put my hand to the scanner. The door clicked and hissed apart, slithering back until the bridge revealed itself. It was empty, save for a select Skeleton crew of trusted officers, and Alex stood, a sceptical brow arched in our direction. Next to him, Preston recoiled, folding his arms as he met Nico's eyes.

"Head inside, Agent Belloc, Parangosky is on the line. She wants to talk."

Nico nodded and circled me on his way past me, wandering nonchalantly across the bridge to Alex's comms room. When the door slid shut, I sighed, letting go a flurry of stress that sputtered from my throat in shivers of tension.

"Always hated that guy," Preston said, "heard some things about him way back when."

"Belloc?" Alex asked, eyeing the door he'd gone through.

I nodded, "Parangosky is suspicious."

"Does she have a reason to be?" Alex asked, worry sat on his face like dew as he looked nervously back in the direction of the door.

Preston smirked, "I hope so, it's about time you stuck it to those pigs."

When I didn't reply, Alex stepped forward. "Maddie, is there something I should know?"

I bit my lip and scowled, "I'm not sure, things are moving quickly. ONI had Preston locked up and they were using James to run ONI black ops… Ollie was in on it, too."

"And now all of them work for you" Alex noted, "that's not a coincidence."

"I don't work for you" Preston replied, "just do we're clear."

"James is supposed to be locked up, Preston is supposed to be dead."

They both frowned, exposing concerned lines in almost exactly the same place on both of their faces.

"When SWORD BASE was attacked, ONI tried to clean house. James seems to believe that Preston is a threat to my relationship with ONI."

"They're right about that," Preston said, shrugging.

"Belloc is literally in the next room," I said, punching him in the arm.

"I'm not going to let them control me like they got you two and grandpa Joey." He spat.

"P, wind your neck in," Alex said, "I don't want my janitors to have to mop your entrails off my bridge"

It annoyed me but Preston listened to him, folding his arms and falling silent. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"So what about James, I thought you hated each other?" Alex asked, turning to me.

"This is what I mean, everything is moving so fast that I can't make heads or tails of it. James saved Prestons life because he hates ONI. James was involved in Ollie and Nico's headhunting missions but I don't know the specifics. Again, they all turned back up in my life just as the covenant discover Reach. ONI are up to something big now that Reach is compromised but I can't work out what it is, and somewhere in all that, Nico has been sent here to make it very clear that my goodwill with Parangosky is running out."

"What are you going to do? ARC DREAM needs ONI to function."

"I don't know…"

"So this operation to find the girl, it's all a front?"

"Almost definitely" I said, gulping, "there's no way Parangosky just has a hunch about Mikaela being there. She told me there's more to it but-"

"But you're not allowed to know," Preston said, bitterly. "How many times are you gonna let them play these games with you?"

"Forever. This is ONI we're talking about."

"Kind of pathetic"

"You saw what I'm fighting for, Preston. That's bigger than all of this petty nonsense."

"My life is petty nonsense is it? Maggie, too?" He was rabid, "when Eliza was moved to somewhere that was going to be invaded, was that petty?"

"Preston-"

He stepped forward, hissing at me, "no! You listen and you shut up, okay? I have to listen to you excuse this shit but the truth is that Maggie only died because Eliza was there, because her family was in danger. Mum chose to be there, that's on her but Eliza was manipulated on account of a mistake you made. If she wasn't there, they'd both be alive. Parangosky killed our sister and you won't stop defending it. I've seen what you're fighting for, Maddie, I believe you're right but where's the line? When will you stop these people from meddling in our affairs?"

"There's always more to give, P, always."

"So that's it, then? You're gonna let them chip away at you and replace you bit by bit. Like some spook of theseus?"

"But what am I supposed to do? I'm hearing a lot of criticism but not many answers." I folded my arms, squaring up to my brother, our eyes level as Alex chuckled to himself.

"I don't mean to raise the mood," he said, putting an assured hand on both our shoulders, "but whatever we do, we will do together. God help anyone who gets in the way of you two."

"Just need to see eye to eye first" Preston said, watching me.

"Ugh, we do, Preston!"

"I'm not so sure"

"Preston I swear to-"

The door hissed apart and we all turned, Alex pulled his hands back from our shoulders as Nico glanced between each of us. He looked hungrily between us, sizing us up. In particular, he gazed ravenously at me, looking as though I was being stolen by a rival pride of lions.

He stalked forward, "are you going to let me brief us all or are you going to keep me waiting?"

"You're running this OP?" Alex asked, trying to size the man up.

Nico nodded, his eyes vacant as he met my brother's stare. "That a problem?" He asked, searching for any kind of dissent.

"Just thought NOBLE team might come aboard, given they're taking the lead on this."

"Please, those freaks couldn't think their way out of a corridor." He laughed to himself and it took all my strength not to cave his head in right there.

"Fuck you," Preston spat, stepping forward.

Alex yanked him back, standing in front of him. Their eyes met and I saw the pain there as they shared a moment together.

"You're out of line, Lieutenant." I said, striding towards him, "come on, let's get this over with."

"My apologies," he lied, slithering inside the room behind me.

Katya and Jack stood at the far end of the room, talking quietly with James. They looked up when they saw us, their eyes going straight to Nico as he stood at the head of the table. Ollie was there, too, slaying back in a chair with his boots on the desk.

He bolted upright as he saw me, mouthing 'sorry' as I rolled my eyes at him.

"Alright everyone, simmer down and settle in." Nico said, pressing a button from the keypad at his end of the table. The conference room darkened as it was sealed off, its independently operated generator kicked in and purred as a screen moved across the table, ,flashing a holographic map in front of us. "First things first, we will split into two teams to do recon on an area of the continent that HIGHCOM have creatively dubbed 'the dark zone'. The mission involves pairing up with two elements of Noble team. Ive been told that Noble Six and Noble Three will be working with Recon Team Bravo, that will be myself and Captain Harper."

All eyes turned to me as I ran scenarios in my head. Sure, I was putting myself in a position to be manipulated but it was better than trusting him to look after the lives of my friends.

"Sounds good. What about the others?"

"They will be on the Winter as an extraction team. The HVT we're looking for is believed to be with the local militia but between them and us, there's a few guard posts and some Gúta."

"What's that?" Preston asked.

Nico tapped on his screen and a fifteen foot troll appeared on the screen. "They're an endangered species on Reach but the militia use areas they operate in to keep the UNSC and other authorities away. We've lured the militia in using a shipment of the UNSCs most cutting edge equipment, we regroup at this waterfront, where the weapons have been left for them to recover."

"A sting operation like this takes a lot of planning, how do you know Mikaela will show up?"

"That's nothing you need to worry about. We go in light, snatch her and get out. Winter and the extraction team is all the support we need but we also have overwatch courtesy of battlegroup SUDAN."

Alex nodded, "I've tasked Grafton to keep an eye on you, too. Should this all go wrong, you'll have your air support. If the Covenant turn up in force though, we only have three frigates, I'm not saying you'll be in deep with no cover but… well, I guess that is exactly what I'm saying."

Nico shrugged, "This is nothing you haven't all done before. Well, you haven't Preston but you're not even supposed to be here."

Preston laughed, "sucks for you."

They glared at each other and I stopped biting my thumb for a moment, "when we leave, what will Noble Team do?"

"Recon. The UNSC are planning to attack the dark zone in a mass armoured charge tomorrow. UNSC army is going all in on an assault on Szurdock Ridge and Noble aim to provide them with a direction to go in." He didn't take his eyes off Preston the entire time he spoke and, to his credit, Preston didn't back down either.

"Is that everything? Ollie asked, nervously, "I'll go prep the Winter if it is."

"Just one thing." I said, standing up, "Mikaela is my HVT, if anything happens to her, I will kill you."

Nico didn't seem fazed by that but there was an oppressive atmosphere in the room, which lingered right until he left.

When the door slid shut, Tukmen'tukhan appeared on the table, stroking the long braided beard on his chin. "That one is dangerous."

"Don't we know it." I said, "Alright, everyone, let's fall out. We're dust off in thirty."

Preston lingered as the others filed out, he glanced at me and then away, scratching his stubble.

"What's up, Prez?"

"How did they convince you?"

"I don't follow" I replied.

"ONI, how did they convince you to sign up and submit to their discipline when no one else could?"

I blew air out of my mouth, "circumstance, mostly. You throw a kid like me into a meat grinder, build them up to be special, give them all the toys in the world to play with… then say that they come with a condition."

"To save Maggie's life?"

"No, Maggie had little to do with it. I didn't know that she was injured until long after they'd hooked me."

"So what was the condition?"

"Obedience. Not like you would think of it, more… an acceptance of the world as they see it. Slowly, they ask more and more of you until you forget the things that drove you in the first place. I remember… there were people who saw what was going on. There were a few people who told me that Drake could have gotten me out well before I eventually did. Even before I was captured, in fact."

"That's what I don't understand mads, what made you stay?"

"I don't know… I was the centre of everything, or at least I felt like I was. Then I found Tuk and there was no going back.," he looked at me as though I was pathetic, his eyes were like a judge's gavel, striking at the heart of my actions without so much as a muscle moving on his part. "I know what you're thinking, Prez. It was selfish, I know; I was alone for the first time in my life and didn't know if any of you had survived. Seeing the other soldiers… they were amazing to me. Drake was like a God, Naomi was almost alien. To me at the time, they looked like the world could throw everything at them and they'd not even blink. I wanted that strength, I wanted to impress them."

"And then you found ARC DREAM?"

I was clutching at my elbows, leaning against the wall as I looked up at him from beneath my brow, "It's not easy to explain but the whole thing captured my imagination. Between trying to find ARC DREAM and ONIs influencing me… I don't see how I could have avoided throwing in with them."

"I see."

"I remember a conversation I had with my ex, George," I said, smiling sadly at the memory of him, "I said that I had ended up dedicating so much to this war that it saved me from having to find out what I wanted. All I knew is that I was obsessed with the mystery around Tuk and following the truth, wherever it led me."

"It's not about ONI, then. It's a means to an end."

"That's what I've been trying to say. I just don't know how I could keep ARC DREAM without them. Parangosky has access to more information than any human alive, we might want Mikaela for different reasons but the only reason I know where she is, is because Parangosky allows it."

"This life is yours mads, I certainly don't have the answers for you." He stepped forward, his eyes softening to a kind glimmer as he hugged me. "You never let anyone tell you what to do. That's who you are, it's what you're meant to be. Seeing you like this, I thought they'd changed you. I'm not going to let you continue like this, Mads, I'll remind you that you're the girl who would ruin my games with Alex so that you could be a part of it. I'll remind you that you smoked because it was your middle finger to a world that told you it was wrong, and I'll show you that Parangosky fucked up when she decided to mess with my little sisters head. You will be unstoppable and you will be good. Parangosky was right to fear me because you'll be the best of all of us when you take that leap, when you leave that evil woman behind."

I shuddered in his embrace, thinking about what he said. It would change my whole world to betray ONI. My life would be over as I knew it. Everything I'd worked for and everything I'd learned, what was I without that? What did such a rebellion even look like? Was it betrayal? Defiance? I'd tried the latter before and I was still here, dragging my feet and making excuses.

Trust yourself, lass. Drake said, his voice ringing in my head as Preston pulled away and stepped back, a little tear welling in his eye.

With a firm nod and acceptance that something in my life had to give, I thought back to my journey to find Tuk. It had taken perseverance to find him, it had taken daring, skill, and my friends. I knew that when the time came I would have a decision to make, I would know when it came and I would do, not what was necessary, but what was right.

As my mind ran away from me at the inevitable conflicts to come, I found myself at peace. Although things were undoubtedly due to get worse, the despair I had felt since Ballast had lessened slightly. Perhaps it was acceptance but a seed had taken root in my mind, one so inconceivable that it almost seemed exciting. The hair on my neck stood tall as ambition, curiosity, and excitement licked at my skin.

I grinned and Preston saw it, that seed, that unkillable idea, he saw it in the depths of my cold blue eyes. Frozen and firm, I pressed the button on the door panel and turned to Preston.

"Preston, it will be me." I said, "I promise it will."

Hi guys,

Apologies for the lack of uploads, I've had a few chapters sat ready for months but I let the writing slip and I'm sorry about that. I'm not going to promise regular updates but I do intend to see out Maddie's story. I hope you enjoy what is to come. I think you'll like it :)