Dust and Echoes

by trestwho

After a successful mission, a UNSC fleet makes a random slipspace jump only to come across an uncharted system containing a sliver of humanity, one with seemingly no connection to Earth and whose natural abilities defy reason. In a galaxy full of terrifying dangers, the UNSC and Remnant must work together to defend all they know from annihilation.

28. Regroup, Recover, Retaliate

Dust and Echoes (RWBY/Halo)

Chapter 27: Regroup, Recover, Retaliate

[~][~]

Pain. Heat.

That was all Harriet could feel as the force of the explosion sent her flying back. As she hurtled through the air, the Ace Operative could feel her Aura strain and stretch to its absolute limit in a desperate attempt to protect her, but soon it shattered. Her skin blistered under the intense heat, and her throat burned from how much she was screaming. But soon the pain became numb even as the world around her flipped end over end and she slammed into the ground.

When she finally came to a stop, all she could hear was a faint, incessant ringing in her ears. Her eyes feverishly blinked away the lingering image of her hand stretching toward two silhouettes, which had been seared into her retinas as if she'd stared into the sun. The ground underneath her shook from the impacts of each plasma mortar which sent columns of dirt, dust, and debris skyward. Overhead, barely visible from the clouds of smoke, was the Covenant warship raining plasma mortars down onto their position.

In the back of her mind, Harriet knew she needed to get up. Part of her tried, but found that she was unable to move. All she wanted to do was to lay motionlessly on the ground, particularly as the world continued to shake and spin. Her heart thundered inside her chest, faster that it had ever done before, yet a deep tiredness seemed to overtake her.

Soon she was barely able to comprehend what was going on, idly moving her head around in a confused daze. That was when she saw, out of the corner of her eyes, a pair of boots appear. A moment later, she was quickly yet carefully picked up bridal style then carried over the shaking earth. Harriet could faintly hear voices, but she was unable to understand what they were saying.

"Get…here-!"

"Put her…table…!"

"…going into…shock!"

"…morphine!"

The last thing she felt was a needle puncturing her skin, injecting cool relief into her veins. Then she released a content sigh and the world turned black.

[~]

Qrow Branwen breathed heavily as he clenched the edge of a steel table hard enough to leave indentations underneath his fingers. The plasma bombardment seemed to have subsided over the past few minutes, judging by the distinct lack of explosions and tremors, but he wasn't particularly focusing on that. Instead, all of his attention was squarely centered on the broken woman lying on the table.

It all fell apart so fast he was still barely able to comprehend what exactly had happened. One moment he was chasing after the Brute Chieftain who had just ripped victory right out of their hands, about to slice his head clean off his shoulders. The next, the Gods-damned Covenant warship that appeared out of thin air started firing plasma mortars right on top of them. Given how the Brute Chieftain had thrown down a bubble shield right before the bombardment, he got the distinct sense that the Brute called the bombardment himself.

That action turned what should've been a hard-fought but well-earned victory into what could only be described as a complete disaster. The bombardment provided enough cover to allow the Covenant to extract the Cartographer's data. Just as importantly, they had taken casualties of their own. Most of the marines who were with them were gone, killed in the chaos as they retreated to the relative safety of the underground bunker. Only the ODSTs of Task Force 141, Sergeant Johnson, and Lieutenant Dare were left.

But it wasn't just them. Thomas Cornell and Sepia Honeycreep, two of his fellow Huntsmen from the Kingdom of Vale, were killed instantly when a plasma mortar scored a direct hit. There was nothing anyone could do. The only comfort Qrow could take was that they died instantly as their bodies vaporized under the white-hot heat of a plasma pillar. Compared to their other Remnantian casualty, they were lucky. Harriet Bree had attempted to save them. With her Semblance, she was perhaps the only person who reasonably could've. Throughout the Battle of Peponi, Qrow had witnessed first-hand just how swift Harriet was, and he could confidently say that she was the fastest person he had ever seen in his life. And she knew it, too, something she was more than happy to rub into anyone's face at any given opportunity.

Now Harriet's broken body was lying motionless on a steel table, barely clinging to life as Lieutenant Farah and Sergeant MacTavish did everything they could to keep her alive. It was touch and go for a while. Her injuries were so severe that she had started going into hypovolemic shock, and MacTavish had to perform CPR for several minutes before her heart rate and breathing stabilized. Entire canisters of biofoam had been expended to treat her wounds, and it still wasn't enough. Multiple syringes of pseudomorphine were sticking out of her right arm, or rather what was left of it as everything below the elbow was simply gone, reduced to a mangled, scorched stump. Much of her skin was covered in second-and-third degree burns which stretched up from her face all the way down to her ravaged legs. The only reason he could tell that she was still miraculously alive was the slow and labored movement of her chest as she breathed. Each breath created a harsh wheezing sound that reminded Qrow of sandpaper on wood.

Gone was the competitive and arrogant Huntress. In her place was a broken, crippled burn victim. Qrow briefly shifted his gaze from Harriet to look at the rest of her team, all of whom were barely able to keep it together. The normally stoic and composed Vine was clenching his fists and grinding his teeth together with enough force to make his already strained Aura flicker dangerously. Elm was breathing harshly as she covered her mouth with her hands, tears pouring out of her eyes and down her dirt-and-blood-covered cheeks. Only Clover was able to mostly keep it together as he leaned over her body, careful to give the ODSTs enough space to do their work. But his eyes never once left Harriet's form, and Qrow could see a righteous anger that promised nothing but pain and suffering to whomever did this to his teammate.

If nothing else, it was now clear to Qrow that, despite whatever the Ace-Ops liked to tell themselves and others, they did not see each other as just coworkers.

Releasing a sigh, Qrow finally turned around and looked towards the only remaining Huntress from Vale. Casper Marine was sitting against the broken remains of a polycrete column, staring blankly into nothing and not reacting at all to Fiona's futile attempts to comfort her. He recognized that look, had seen it before countless times on both civilians and Huntsmen alike. Qrow knew that, even if she wasn't physically hurt, mentally it was a completely different story. He hadn't interacted with the other Vale Huntsmen as much as he should've, but he knew they were close to each other. Losing her remaining teammates in one fell swoop, unable to do anything to save them…he couldn't imagine a worse feeling. Maybe one day she would recover, he hoped, but today was not that day.

"Dare to Midsummer Night. Requesting immediate medevac," Lieutenant Dare spoke into her communicator, standing just outside the door to the bunker. She briefly paused to look at Harriet then shifted her gaze over to Casper. Her expression fell, then she closed her eyes, turned around, and continued, "Specialist Bree is in need of emergency medical care, and Huntress Marine is no longer in any condition to fight. Huntsmen Cornell and Honeycreep are KIA."

"…Acknowledged, Lieutenant. Pelican en-route. ETA, five minutes," Shakespeare replied over the shared comm channel. "Were you able to secure or destroy the memory cache?"

"No. The Covenant got away," Dare admitted, her fist clenched tightly.

"I see…," Shakespeare replied, then the line fell silent. Qrow supposed nothing else had to be said.

He didn't pay attention to what the pair said after that, instead refocusing his attention onto his fellow survivors. No one said a word as the gravity of the situation was truly dawning on everyone. Right now, Remnant was in more danger than it had ever been in its entire history. An alien armada hellbent on wiping humanity from existence was on the precipice of discovering Remnant's existence. Should that come to pass, there was nothing anyone could do to stop them.

After a few minutes, they heard the roar of a Pelican's engine as the VTOL spacecraft touched down just outside the bunker. The ODSTs and Huntsmen immediately began to move towards it, parting as a team of corpsmen carrying a stretcher and medical equipment arrived to move Harriet.

"Be careful," Clover gently ordered to the lead corpsmen, who nodded towards the Ace Operative with an understanding look.

"Don't worry, we got her," she said as her team expertly shifted Harriet from the blood-soaked table to the stretcher. Elm briefly reached out to gently clench Harriet's sole remaining hand one last time, but her teammate was unable to return the gesture before she was carried away.

As Qrow and the others followed them, they watched as Harriet was carried onto the Pelican. Just behind her was Casper Marine who acted as though she was on autopilot, following the direction of a Marine MP who guided her to a seat. Dare was standing in front of the troop bay, talking to Commander Keyes who had a grim expression on his face. There was so much ash in the air that it was already accumulating on his beard and giving his dark skin a somewhat grey appearance, but he clearly didn't care as he instead bit down hard on his pipe.

"This…is a problem," Commander Keyes noted once Dare finished filling him in on the situation.

"Yeah, no shit," Qrow couldn't help but snark. Normally he imagined that such a break in decorum would cause offended eyes to shoot in his direction, but right now he knew no one cared about that.

"It's my fault, sir," Dare declared as she stood ramrod straight. "Keeping the delegates safe and securing the data drive was my responsibility. I failed."

"While I appreciate the intention, Lieutenant, I don't think any of us thought Brutes would show up," Johnson pointed out. "Much less that crazy bastard of a Brute Chieftain calling a plasma bombardment on himself."

"He recognized what I was doing and adapted almost instantly," Elm growled, her voice briefly drowned out as the Pelican took off towards the Midsummer Night still hanging overhead, with another Pelican already coming down to take its place.

"Yeah. I've fought a lot of Brutes before. Normally they're just that. Big, strong, and tough," Captain Price added as he crossed his arms over his chest. "But that one? He was calm, composed, and smart. I've never seen a Brute like that before. Have you?"

"No," Dare confirmed, then released a growl. "But that doesn't matter. What does matter is that he got the Cartographer's data. Do we have any leads on where they went?"

"We tracked a flight of Phantoms over to a nearby mountain range," Keyes revealed as he removed his pipe from his lips. "They've likely established a forward operating base in the area, and I imagine they don't intend to stay long."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get the bastards!" Elm snarled as she gripped Timber's shaft tightly. Knowing that Dare was about to object, the Ace Operative immediately rounded on her and continued, "Don't you dare try to tell us that we're not coming. That bastard nearly killed my teammate, and I'm going to make him pay."

"Calm yourself, Elm," Vine advised her, but Qrow could tell that he barely was able to himself.

"Do not tell me to calm down! Not after what he did to her!" Elm shouted, taking a heavy step towards Vine before she felt Clover gently place his hand on her shoulder.

"That's enough, Elm," he told her. Elm was breathing heavily, her eyes bloodshot from all the tears she had shed. After a moment, she hung her head and stepped back. Clover nodded towards her, then shifted his attention towards Dare and Keyes, frowned, and added, "But she is right, Commander. We're not backing down from this. Not now."

Commander Keyes stared right into Clover's eyes, then shifted his gaze over the rest of the Huntsmen and Huntresses that were left. Qrow was able to tell that, to varying degrees, everyone was in agreement. The only one he was uncertain of was Gron, but that was to be expected, and he was clearly being outvoted by the rest of the White Fang based off of the enraged looks on their faces.

After a moment, Keyes released a sigh then said, "Somehow I figured that was the case. Not that I blame you. If I were in your position, I'd do the same thing."

"Thank you, sir," Clover replied, and Keyes nodded.

"But we have a problem," Keyes revealed. "We don't know the strength of the remaining Covenant ground forces, and much of what we had on the Midsummer Night was used during the assault on the Cartographer. In addition, their corvette made an in-system jump to escape our fleet, then went back under cloak. We've lost track of it for now."

"I thought in-system jumps were impossible?" Robyn asked, but Keyes shook his head.

"Covenant slipspace technology is far more advanced than anything the UNSC can do. What's impossible for us is possible for them," he clarified, then released a sigh. "In any case, the Midsummer Night, along with a few ONI Prowlers in-system, are trying to hunt it down, but until then we cannot provide direct support."

"Then call up General Armani. Have him allocate Army forces to assist with the assault," Lieutenant Karim suggested. "That data doesn't affect just Remnant. There are dozens of human colonies in there."

"He already is," Keyes confirmed. "Three platoons are on their way here right now."

"Just three?" Price incredulously asked. "Surely he can spare a few more, or at least a company."

"Believe me, he wanted to. General Armani understands the gravity of the situation completely. Unfortunately, our remote scanning outpost on the outer edge of the system picked up an increase in inbound slipspace traffic about an hour ago," Keyes answered, causing everyone's eyes to widen.

"They're already here?" Qrow asked, but Keyes shook his head.

"Not yet, no. But they be will soon," Keyes confirmed. "Most of the fleet is preparing, and right now General Armani is pulling back as many of his forces as possible to New Timbuktu to assist with the evacuation."

"What about the Cartographer?" Clover asked.

"It's being prepped for demolition as we speak," Dare replied. "Our AIs are gathering as much information as they can before the Covenant arrive. Once they do, they're immediately being pulled out."

"The Covenant fought very hard to make sure we didn't capture the Cartographer in the first place, ma'am. They will try to get it back," Johnson pointed out.

"Which is why a garrison is being kept around the site. Even if we manage to destroy the data drive the Covenant have, if they get the Cartographer again it'll be for nothing."

"Can't we just destroy the Cartographer now and send the garrison after the Brutes? It wasn't that big," Sienna Khan suggested, but Keyes shook his head.

"The Covenant were only excavating a portion of it. Our ground radar indicates it extends for nearly a dozen kilometers in all directions. If we want to make sure the Covenant can't get a single byte of data, all of it needs to be destroyed. Our engineers are good, but they need time to do their work."

Qrow frowned and clenched his fist as he went over their situation. Right now, they had three competing but equally important objectives, all of which needed to happen. Securing the data drive was arguably the most important, but that didn't mean they could just leave the Cartographer alone. He also didn't like the idea of leaving the people of New Timbuktu to die, especially after Vyraj. He tried to figure out a solution to their dilemma, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out how to do so without taking away from the others.

That was when Clover spoke up and suggested, "We split ourselves up into three teams."

"Excuse me?" Dare asked as the others turned their attention towards Clover, who stood up straight and folded his arms behind his back.

"During the Assault on the Cartographer, Huntsmen proved to be highly effective force multipliers against the Covenant, ultimately serving as a decisive factor in the assault's success," he pointed out. "A single fully-trained Huntsman, even aside from their Semblance, is worth dozens of marines, and there are twelve of us still able to fight. There is no reason to allocate all of us to one objective."

Qrow realized exactly where Clover was going with this, and he added, "He's right. By splitting up the Huntsmen, General Armani can allocate more forces towards securing the data drive without threatening the evacuation or the demolition."

"Or potentially get all of you killed," Dare pointed out, clearly eager to prevent more Huntsmen casualties under her watch. "Besides, by that logic you shouldn't split yourself up at all. Instead, you should deep-strike the only Covenant forces currently on the planet before they doom Remnant and render everything we've done moot. That'll free up our larger scale regulars to do the jobs they're better suited for: evacuating the population and rigging the facility to blow."

She did have a point, Qrow reluctantly realized. He also got the sense that, if she had it her way, Dare would've sent all of them straight back to the Midsummer Night and made this a purely UNSC affair.

"No offense, Lieutenant," Yuri spoke up, "but I get the sense that, no matter where we go, that would be a possibility. Besides, we're Huntsmen. We all know what we signed up for."

"More importantly, while the Brutes may be the only Covenant forces on the planet for now, we know for a fact that will not be the case for long," Vine added. "An entire Covenant fleet is about to bear down on Peponi. We do not know the size of it, but we can safely assume they will overwhelm the UNSC's orbital defenses as they usually do. When that happens, they will land entire armies across the planet, with a particular focus on both the Cartographer and New Timbuktu. If we send every remaining Huntsman after the Brutes, we risk leaving critical areas undermanned when Covenant reinforcements arrive. By splitting us up into three teams, we can better ensure that all three objectives are accomplished."

Dared seethed, but after a moment relented and replied, "I…see your point. Then why not split between the Cartographer and going after the Brutes? Why bother assisting with the evacuation?"

"Do you really need to ask that?" Fiona asked sadly, causing Dare to focus her attention on her before releasing a sigh of her own.

Once again, the Huntsmen collectively nodded in agreement, and the UNSC commanders couldn't help but grumble in both understanding and consternation. After a moment, Keyes rubbed his hand through his beard and admitted, "I can understand the merits of the plan. It's risky, but frankly at this point anything we do is. Playing it safe is no longer in the cards. But who do we send to each objective?"

"I can help secure the Cartographer," Qrow volunteered. "I'm the only one without a team, so I wouldn't be breaking anyone up."

Normally he would've volunteered to go after the Brutes. After all, hunting down dangerous opponents was something he had plenty of experience with. But, after looking at the Ace-Ops, he got the sense that someone else already had dibs on that assignment.

"I'll go with ya. Someone needs to hold your hand," Johnson immediately offered, and the veteran Huntsman nodded in agreement.

Robyn then raised her hand and replied, "My team and I can help with the evacuation. We're pretty good with crowds. Had to do it a lot back in Mantle."

"So are the White Fang," Sienna added. "Besides, the bulk of the Covenant will be attacking the city when they arrive. We need as many Huntsmen there as possible."

"That leaves us to go after the Brutes," Clover declared, somehow making himself stand up even straighter as both Elm and Vine copied his stance.

Keyes and Dare stared at the gathered Huntsmen for a moment, then he nodded and said, "Alright, I'll allow it. Dare, I want you to accompany the Happy Huntresses and the White Fang into New Timbuktu. Hill, Khan, from this point forward this is a military operation. You follow whatever orders she gives you, understand?"

"Yes, sir," Robyn replied, giving the commander a grin and even a salute while Sienna simply nodded in agreement.

Keyes couldn't help but roll his eyes and slightly smile before shifting his attention to Task Force 141. He then said, "Captain Price, I trust you and your men can handle a few Brutes?"

"We can manage," Price replied as he glanced towards Clover. "You up for it, mate?"

Clover narrowed his eyes, then declared without an ounce of humor in his voice, "You...have no idea."

[~]

The entire Covenant camp was awash in activity as the Brutes hurried to follow their Chieftain's commands. From his position in the camp's center, Rteda was able to see much of what they were doing. There wasn't a whole lot of packing, from what he could tell. Rather, the Jiralhanae were focusing their efforts on preparing for their upcoming evacuation. Demolition charges were being set on all the camp's structures, denying the enemy any potential asset that could be gleaned from them. The plasma turrets of their Shadows and Prowlers were being refilled with carrier gas alongside the internal magazines of their Choppers' explosive autocannons. At the same time, the Jiralhanae were literally ripping chunks of metal off of salvaged human vehicles and welding them onto their own to repair or augment sections of armor, forming a patchwork covering that stood in sharp contrast to the pristine elegance Rteda was used to. He supposed, given the Jiralhanae's nature, this wasn't a surprise. They were always quite resourceful.

It was clear, though, that the rest of his Zealot team didn't appreciate the Jiralhanae's efforts, with Xesan openly snorting before remarking, "Barbaric. I do not understand why anyone would prefer those hulking beasts to a Ghost or Spectre."

"Indeed," Viza confirmed, his arms crossed as he glared at all the Jiralhanae surrounding them. He breathed harshly though his nose and shook his head, then continued, "I cannot believe the Minister sent them down here. Had he no faith is us? We did not need rescue."

The other Zealots nodded in agreement as Isan added, "Of course. We would've fought our way out. There was no reason for the Minister to send Jiralhanae savages after us."

A few Jiralhanae passerby openly rolled their eyes and snorted in irritation but otherwise kept moving. While the Zealots themselves continued to talk among themselves, only Ir remained silent, his gaze utterly focused on the Jiralhanae Chieftain Atriox. Rteda briefly focused his attention on Ir, trying to study the mixed emotions on his face. From what he could tell, there was anger and, to his surprise, a little bit of wariness that bordered on fear. He had been like this ever since Atriox had asserted himself, followed by Ir's own conversation with the Minister of Veracity which had confirmed Atriox' earlier claims.

Knowing that the Blademaster wouldn't appreciate his staring, Rteda turned his attention towards Viza and asked, "Must you continue to insult them?"

"Why are you defending them?" Viza shot back, completely undeterred.

"Because, whether you want to admit it or not, they saved our lives and are members of the Covenant just like us," Rteda pointed out, narrowing his eyes and refusing to back down. He then released a sigh and said, "My keep taught me that, even though we, as Sangheili, are inherently superior to all but the San'Shyuum, that is no reason to disparage or insult those beneath us. To do so is to undermine and abuse our own status, and is a dishonor in and of itself. All serve the Covenant in their own way and should be respected as such. That includes the Jiralhanae."

"Sound advice, in theory," Tul remarked. "But it's clear that your keep hasn't ventured beyond its borders that much. I have served the Covenant directly for dozens of annual cycles, and in my experience the only ones you can truly rely on are your fellow Sangheili. The Unggoy are too cowardly and undisciplined. The Kig-Yar are only loyal to whoever pays them the most gekz. The minds of the Yanme'e are too strange for me to even begin to understand, and the same applies to the Lekgolo."

Tul narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, then added, "But I would sooner treat any of them as an equal over a Jiralhanae. Tell me, Rteda. Have you ever fought alongside one of their packs before?"

"I can't say I had the pleasure," Rteda admitted, and Tul snorted while the others mirthlessly chuckled to themselves.

"A mercy that you haven't," Tul said. "Believe me when I say that they are savages by every definition of the word. The humans call them Brutes for a reason, and it is a moniker well deserved."

"I am aware of their reputation, and if even half of it is true, it sickens me," Rteda replied, letting out an involuntary shudder as he remembered some rumors his old lance shared among themselves over the things Jiralhanae packs had done. The game 'tossers' was particularly infamous, and he tried not to think of the specific details on how the game was played.

He then shook his head and continued, "But even if that is the case, my point remains the same. The humans and their Demons were about to overrun our position. They would have killed us and taken the memory block for their own. If it weren't for the intervention of Atriox and his packmates, the mission would've been lost. For that reason alone, they deserve our gratitude."

Rteda briefly shot his gaze over to the Chieftain in question, who was overseeing a tactical map of the terrain with Decimus, who appeared to be his second-in-command. They weren't using a holographic map like he was used to. Rather, they were instead using what appeared to be a physical map made of paper, likely recovered from a nearby human settlement.

"Your logic is sound," Tul admitted as he sat up straight once again before slowly looking around the camp. "But you are forgetting one key detail, Rteda."

"And that is?"

"The Jiralhanae are a direct threat to our position within the Covenant," Tul declared, only for Rteda to openly scoff and roll his eyes.

"That's preposterous. The Sangheili and San'Shyuum have been leading the Covenant as equals ever since its inception," Rteda pointed out. "Our partnership is forged into the Writ of Union itself. It is ironclad."

"Then why have the Prophets granted the Jiralhanae command of their own ships, their own fleets and armies?" Tul rhetorically asked. "Why have they been allowed to use their own homegrown technology, even allowed to upgrade them with our own? They did not invent gravitic propulsion, it was derived from the Forerunners' grace. They have twisted and warped the Forerunners' legacy into their own visage, something that should have been declared heretical. Yet the Prophets continue to allow it. Do you know why, Rteda?"

Rteda was silent for a moment, then admitted, "No, I don't know why."

"Because the Jiralhanae seek to replace the Sangheili as leaders of the Covenant," Tul declared, "and they're too useful to the Prophets for them to be put in their place. Especially as the war against humanity continues. For that very reason alone, Rteda, it is our duty…no, responsibility, to remind the Jiralhanae who their superiors truly are. You cannot treat them as equals. Because if you do, they will attempt to step over you."

Rteda stared into Tul's eyes, the two Sangheili Zealots refusing to look away or so much as blink. In the back of his mind, Rteda swore that Tul and the other Zealots were being paranoid. Worse, that their paranoia would undoubtedly lead to the very situation that their abuse was meant to prevent. Tul may have claimed that the Vasov Keep hadn't seen much beyond its borders, but that couldn't be further from the truth. They had learned, long ago, that treating all of their subordinates well led to a more prosperous and peaceful union. While their neighboring keeps often had to deal with heretical rebellions and uprisings, Vasov Keep didn't have to worry about such things, allowing them to accumulate power and prestige while sending their warriors to fight the true enemies of the Covenant.

But as much as he wanted to say that out loud, he knew his words would fall on deaf ears. It was clear that his fellow Zealots were stubbornly set in their ways. Releasing a huff, Rteda stood up from his seat and declared, "Believe what you want. I'm going to speak to the Chieftain."

"And why is that?" Isan humorlessly asked.

"Someone needs to offer condolences for the loss of his packmates," Rteda declared, then turned around and walked straight towards Atriox without saying another word.

Several of the Jiralhanae gave Rteda confused looks as he carefully made his way through the crowd towards Atriox. It was readily apparent to the Zealot that they didn't understand what his intentions were. Some growled and snarled at him once his destination became apparent, making it clear to Rteda what would happen if he attempted to do anything to Atriox. Not that Rteda had any intention of doing anything to the Jiralhanae, nor would he be able to based off Ir's earlier attempt.

When Rteda got within a few feet of Atriox, Decimus snapped his attention towards the Zealot and stood in his way, then snarled, "What do you want, Sangheili? If you seek retribution for your Blademaster's sunken pride, you can turn around right now or I'll make you."

"That is not my intent," Rteda replied while staring at Decimus' fangs. Normally he would lock eyes with who he was speaking to, but he knew that Jiralhanae took that as a challenge. Given Decimus' demeanor, the last thing he wanted was to convey anything that could be seen as a threat.

He then continued, "I merely wish to express my condolences."

Decimus raised an eyebrow at Rteda's admission, but before he could say anything, Atriox released a grunt. The Jiralhanae warrior took that as an order, and although he let out a displeased huff, he walked away to give the pair relative privacy. Rteda watched him go, then approached the table that Atriox was hunched over.

"You may speak," Atriox ordered, and Rteda nodded.

"As I said, I wish to express my condolences for the loss of your packmates," Rteda declared while giving Atriox a respectful bow of his head. "They sacrificed their lives to save my own and those of my fellow Zealots. For that, we are grateful."

Atriox was silent at first, then he looked up at Rteda with a glare and growled, "Do not lie to me, Sangheili."

Somewhat alarmed, Rteda replied, "I'm not lying, Chieftain."

"Not about you," Atriox clarified. "The mere fact that you are here telling me this is more than enough proof of your intentions. I'm referring to you lying on behalf of your lance. They are not grateful. If anything, the fools are resentful we intervened at all."

Part of Rteda frowned at how his teammates were being described, but the rest merely sighed before he said, "That is…regrettably correct. I tried to make them understand, but they would not listen."

"They're Zealots," Atriox pointed out. "Having a stubborn refusal to see anyone's point of view other than their own is what defines their order."

Confused and somewhat insulted, Rteda replied, "I'm a Zealot as well."

"Clearly not one who's been with them long enough for them to shackle your mind fully," Atriox countered, then stood up. He locked eyes with Rteda, allowing the Sangheili a glimpse into his soul. Much to his surprise, he didn't see any trace of anger. Instead, it was eerily calm.

Atriox glanced behind Rteda towards the rest of his team, then released a grunt and said, "In any case, your condolences are appreciated but unnecessary. My pack wasn't sent down to save you. That was merely a byproduct of securing the memory cache."

Rteda nodded, having suspected as such, then said, "That may be, but the point remains the same. You and your Jiralhanae saved our lives, and for that I am grateful."

The Chieftain grew silent for a moment as he looked over Rteda from head to toe, then nodded. Rteda nodded back and prepared to walk back to his team, whom he knew were glaring angrily at his attempt at interspecies dialogue. Perhaps earlier in the campaign he might've cared, but strangely that apprehension was fading more and more.

But before he could, Atriox spoke up again, "Wait. Before you go, I have some questions."

Tilting his head, Rteda asked, "About what?"

"The Demons," Atriox clarified as though it was obvious, which in retrospect it was. What else would a Chieftain want to know about?

"Ah, yes. Them," Rteda muttered, then stood up straight. "I must admit, I do not know much about them. This was only our second engagement, and the first was only hours before. I also wasn't able to get a good look at them in the chaos of battle, and you undoubtedly witnessed some of it yourself when you arrived."

"That may be, but experience is experience, no matter how small," Atriox claimed. "I want to know everything you know. What they look like, how they fight, their strengths and weaknesses. It doesn't matter how small or seemingly inconsequential the information is, I want you to tell me regardless."

Rteda was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement before saying, "Of course. In regards to how they look, on the surface they appear to be nothing more than humans wearing non-standard uniforms. Some of their features did appear…strange, though. A few had what seemed to be a second set of non-human ears on top of their heads, and another had feathers instead of hair. Another's legs looked more like a Sangheili's than a human, only covered with fur and ending with hooves."

"Hmm," Atriox hummed to himself as he rubbed the bottom of his chin. "Part of me wants to dismiss such things as another cosmetic choice for humans, like piercings or tattoos. Same with dismissing the legs as simply a strange prosthetic. But the rest of me suspects that they're not."

"What do you mean?"

"I suspect that those nonstandard attributes were not cosmetic choices. They're too extreme, and I've never seen another human soldier with anything like them before," Atriox claimed. "Obviously we do not have anywhere near a full picture to make a conclusion, but we must consider the possibilities that these were either random mutations, the result of human genetic modification experiments, or something natural and, up until this point, never fielded. Perhaps a subspecies, maybe…"

Part of Rteda wanted to refute such possibilities as outlandish, but the rest realized that the Jiralhanae Chieftain had a point. Not to mention there were multiple examples within the Covenant itself of multiple subspecies living together, such as the Kig-Yar. If one didn't know any better, they would think that a Ruuhtian, Ibie'shan, and T'vaoan were all separate species. It stood to reason that, across the hundreds of colonies the humans had settled, similar genetic deviation would occur. In any case, speculating on such things was pointless. There were far more important details to discuss.

He quickly moved on and continued, "Regarding how they fight, they appear to specialize in these unique combination weapons that can transform from melee to firearm in a blink of an eye. But, in my honest opinion, they're far too specialized to be mass produced."

"Indeed, I figured as much. The maintenance and training alone would be a tremendous hurdle. Most likely these Demons chose their weapons themselves, and trained in how to fight with them over the course of years."

"I suspected that as well," Rteda confirmed. "But I don't know why they would make such things in the first place. Humans tend to focus almost entirely on firearms over melee, relegating the latter purely to a last resort. Most of them simply aren't built for intense melee combat. They're too frail. And the munitions they used…they had these elemental effects. Just before the battle began, some of them managed to infiltrate into the heart of our defenses and detonate bombs that practically conjured a storm, flood, earthquake, blizzard and a volcanic eruption all at once."

Atriox openly tilted his head in confusion at the mention of the bombs, his jaw idly moving up and down but no sound springing from his lips. But his confusion lasted for only a moment before he shook his head. He hummed to himself for a few moments, clearly attempting to discern any useful kernels of information against their new foes. Then, as he continued to slowly stroke his beard, he looked back into Rteda's eyes.

"It's possible that their weapons have some cultural or practical significance from whatever planet they hailed from. And these Demons obviously possess the strength to excel in melee where their lesser brethren cannot. As for their munitions…I've never heard of such a thing before. Perhaps the Minister might know, or another San'Shyuum above him," Atriox suggested, then released a growl. "But we're only speculating. There could be any number of reasons why their weapons behave the way they do."

Rteda sadly nodded in agreement, then said, "Most importantly, aside from their enhanced strength and speed…these Demons appear to have some form of personal energy shield that's strong enough to protect them from small arms plasma-fire. What's more, they have these…abilities that I cannot even begin to explain. One could create an invisibility field around themselves and their allies. Another blew into a horn on her sword and conjured portals. That was how the human army managed to completely bypass our defenses. They just appeared in the heart of our fortress."

"That answers that question," Atriox remarked, momentarily looking away and scrunching his face as he struggled to comprehend the revelation. Even after all this time, Rteda couldn't understand exactly what had happened. Teleportation technology wasn't unheard of in the Covenant. They employed it themselves on numerous occasions. But they required vast towers to consolidate the teleportation parameters, which was a technology the humans lacked. Yet this human was able to employ teleportation on a far more tactical scale than even the Covenant could, which boggled the mind.

Atriox continued, "But that doesn't explain how or where these shields and abilities came from. They weren't wearing any armor I could see, so it clearly wasn't coming from an external power source. Do you have any inkling?"

"Sadly, none," Rteda admitted, then scratched his head and suggested, "Perhaps it's some form of new, experimental technology that they implanted into the human's bodies where we can't see? Or maybe it was external and we just couldn't see it?"

After a moment of silence, Rteda growled and complained, "I hate not having the answers to these questions."

"As do I, but we must make do," Atriox said. "Tell me, when you fought these demons…did you notice any weaknesses? Gaps in their abilities?"

Rteda hummed to himself as he thought it over, then answered, "Their shields…while they appeared to protect the Demons from damage, it seemed as though they could still feel pain. One of them was playing a tune that was putting us to sleep, but when he got shot he stopped due to the impact."

"Hmm, that might be useful. The one I fought needed to have her bare feet planted onto stable ground. Without that, the effect was useless."

"So these abilities have limitations?"

"They have to. Nothing has no limits. Not even the Forerunners," Atriox asserted, then he released a sigh. "Is that all you know?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Rteda answered while giving Atriox a nod, and the Jiralhanae nodded back.

"It'll have to do," he determined. "I'll spread the word to the rest of my pack, let them know what they'll be up against when we move out."

"What do you mean? Do you think the humans are going to attack us again?" Rteda asked, and Atriox locked eyes with the Zealot.

"Of course they will," Atriox declared without an ounce of hesitation. He then looked at the memory block and claimed, "I suspect the information on that memory block is far too valuable for the humans to simply let us get away with it."

Rteda followed his gaze and, after a moment, nodded in agreement and replied, "I suppose you're right. Having the precise locations of every nearby Forerunner relic would be a valuable prize."

"That's not what they care about," Atriox countered, catching Rteda off-guard.

"What do you mean? What else could they care about?"

Atriox huffed, then instructed, "I know your Blademaster may discourage critical thinking, but I ask you this: During all your years fighting the humans, what have they cared the most about whenever the Covenant invaded one of their worlds?"

"Evacuating their people?" Rteda answered, but Atriox shook his head.

"No," Atriox said. "I have fought the humans since the beginning of this war, interrogated countless individuals, and in time I became aware of a standing order all humans have to follow. This order, named after one of their admirals, specifies the complete destruction of any record that contains the location of another human colony at any cost. They would sooner let an invaded world fall than let more be found."

"Okay, so their strategy is to hide…but what does that have to do with the Cartographer?" Rteda asked, not quite certain where Atriox was going with this.

"The humans already have the Cartographer itself. Undoubtedly their artificial intelligences are combing over every scrap of data they can glean from it before our fleet arrives," Atriox explained. "But despite having the source, they are trying to prevent us from extracting the data already gathered. In fact, I don't think they were trying to capture it, not really."

"…They wanted to destroy it," Rteda muttered, his eyes widening as realization began to set in.

"Yes, and how many times have human worlds just so happened to have Forerunner relics on them?" Atriox rhetorically asked, and Rteda gasped.

"The Cartographer…it has the location of human colonies!" Rteda shouted, and Atriox nodded.

"Exactly," Atriox confirmed. "Your Blademaster was content to only look at the surface explanation. But the key to winning a war is knowing your enemy. The humans know they are hopelessly outmatched and will stop at nothing to ensure that other human colonies do not get discovered. Mark my words, they will not stop pursuing us until either they are dead, or we are."

Everything made sense now. The intensity of the human counterattack, Atriox' preparations. He was expecting a small army of humans to chase after them and preparing accordingly. Rteda already respected Atriox for what he saw of his skill in battle, but he could feel his estimation of the Jiralhanae rise even more. If what he said was true, and Rteda saw no reason to believe otherwise, the memory block would only be truly safe once it was escorted out of the system entirely.

"I'll let the others know to expect a heavy fight," Rteda said as he gave Atriox another bow. "Thank you, Chieftain."

Atriox huffed in acknowledgement, but before Rteda could leave, he said, "I would be careful if I were you, Zealot."

"What do you mean?" Rteda asked in confusion, then Atriox gave a sharp tilt of his head towards Ir who was still glaring angrily at them both.

"Your Blademaster…I suspect his patience with you is running thin," Atriox surmised, and Rteda sighed.

"Yes, he's told me as much," Rteda regretfully admitted. "I know that some of my suggestions have not gone over well with him."

"Such as?"

Part of Rteda didn't want to answer, but given how courteous Atriox had been thus far, he decided to do so, "When we took over the refinery, we captured dozens of human workers. I suggested that we hold them hostage since humans typically don't want to kill their own. But Blademaster Haramai refused and…had us execute them, then dump the bodies in the open by the river."

Atriox let out an angry breath then responded, "Fool. While the humans would've attacked regardless, by holding the workers hostage or, at the least, concealing their bodies, the humans might've shown at least a modicum of restraint. Instead, your commander gave them free rein to bomb you from orbit."

"…Indeed," Rteda muttered before shaking his head. "In any case, Blademaster Haramai may be under a lot of stress right now, but he is a respected and worthy commander. One I am honored to fight under."

Atriox huffed, then said, "Maybe, but during our entire conversation he has been glaring at both me and you while keeping his hand hovering over his energy sword."

Rteda's eyes widened, and he quickly glanced towards his leader who, just as Atriox claimed, was keeping his hand near his sword while glaring at them both.

"As I said, the Zealot order doesn't like free-thinkers," Atriox declared. "Nor are its members expected to ever leave their ranks alive. It may be wise to stay on your guard."

With that, Atriox turned around and walked away, already relaying the intelligence Rteda had shared to his other commanders to disperse among the troops. Rteda watched him go, then once again turned towards the Zealots. Before, he might've looked at them with a sense of pride for being counted amongst their number. But now, as he felt their collective stares, all he could feel was trepidation.

[~]

Standing on a mound of rubble, Sienna Khan watched as more and more UNSC troops arrived. General Armani had agreed with Clover's plan to exchange his troops for Huntsmen. Apparently their performance during the Assault on the Cartographer, along with the testimony of dozens of soldiers who directly witnessed their actions, had impressed him tremendously. An entire company of two-hundred and fifty soldiers had been allocated to retrieving or destroying the Cartographer's data, outfitted with Warthogs and Falcon gunships for aerial support. The terrain the Covenant had retreated to made Scorpions ineffective, unfortunately, but the Warthogs were outfitted with Gauss cannons which, according to Captain Price, should be more than enough to punch through Covenant armor.

Of course, she and the White Fang wouldn't be participating in that segment of the operation. That honor went to the remaining Ace-Ops. Sienna would've loved nothing more than to be the one to ensure the Covenant wouldn't get off Peponi with the data. To have the White Fang, the faunus, be the ones to save Remnant from perhaps the greatest threat to its existence they had ever known was more than worth the risk. Not to mention she personally loved being in the thick of battle against those who had wronged her people.

But, at the same time, she couldn't fault the UNSC's logic. This was a critical military operation that affected both of their peoples, which made unit cohesion the utmost priority. As much as Sienna loved fighting the Covenant, she also found that she chafed under military guidelines after a while. The Ace-Ops were pure military, being able to work with how the UNSC did things better than anyone else in the Huntsmen delegation. It probably helped that the UNSC was basically Space Atlas in Sienna's opinion. They were like two peas in a pod.

Of course, there was also the fact that the leader of those Brutes critically injured one of their own. That demanded retribution, and more than anyone else Sienna could understand that. So, as she watched the Ace-Ops converse with the ODSTs and the company's Major about their battle strategy, with her arms crossed and her face firm, she felt content. At least they wouldn't be completely out of action in New Timbuktu when the Covenant inevitably invaded it in an attempt to prevent the planetary evacuation. Speaking of, on the horizon she could see another transport flying away through the upper atmosphere, taking its passengers to Gods knew where.

Her musings were interrupted when she heard someone cough behind her, prompting Sienna to look over her shoulder where, to her curiosity, she saw Gron.

"Sienna, may I have a word?" Gron began in a respectful tone.

Sienna nodded and grunted as she turned around, then said, "Of course. I assume it's about the mission in New Timbuktu?"

"It is…about that, yes," Gron confirmed, but the way he said it made Sienna raise her eyebrows in confusion.

"If you're worried about taking orders from Lieutenant Dare, understand that this is only a temporary arrangement born out of necessity," Sienna pointed out, but Gron shook his head.

"No, it's not about that. Not fully, anyway," Gron admitted, then quickly looked around to see if there was anyone nearby or within earshot. Sienna knew there wasn't. Everyone else was too busy preparing for the battles ahead, including Lieutenant Dare while Commander Keyes had already gone back to the Midsummer Night.

"Then what do you want to talk about, Gron?" Sienna asked more harshly this time.

Gron stood up straight, then whispered, "I think this is an opportunity for us."

Sienna was silent for a moment, then admitted, "Yes, protecting the human civilians would endear the UNSC towards the White Fang. I imagine with their support—"

"Not that," Gron interrupted and fervently shook his head. "Frankly, from everything I've seen, the UNSC are fascist oppressors. We don't need nor should we want their support."

Sienna frowned then replied, "I'll admit that some of the UNSC's policies do not sit right with me, and had they been at peace then I would be in full agreement with you. But the Covenant changes everything."

"Which brings me to what I wanted to talk about," Gron began. "The Covenant are a threat to our people, yes. But only because we share Remnant with humanity. We have a prime opportunity to change that."

Sienna narrowed her eyes, then asked with deceptive calm, "What are you talking about?"

Gron was apparently oblivious to the growl underlying his superior's voice as he pointed to the small collection of Covenant small arms the UNSC was already gathering and explained, "The UNSC has been taking every single scrap of Covenant technology they can get their hands on. They're claiming all the spoils as their due, just like humans always do. But when the Covenant attack New Timbuktu, it's going to be very chaotic. They're not going to be able to look over our shoulders the whole time. If we can just—"

"Stop," Sienna harshly interrupted her subordinate, catching him off guard.

Undeterred, Gron continued, "Look, I know it's risky. But if we can convince Fiona to use her Semblance—"

"Not. Another. Word," Sienna snarled, finally shutting Gron up. "Are you listening to yourself right now? You are suggesting that we smuggle Covenant weapons to Remnant and do, what? Overthrow humanity? Are you insane?"

"You've seen how powerful their weapons are," Gron pointed out. "With them, we'd be able to strike back against those hurting our people like never before. No more 'bandit raids' on our caravans or 'peace keepers' cracking down on our protests, not when even the strongest protections can't save them from our retaliation. And if it takes sabotage or assassinations… only a few would be needed to destabilize the worst companies, or even the Kingdom governments, and inspire our people to rise up."

"Yes, which is exactly why we need to be working with the humans, not against them!" Sienna hissed. "Only by working together can we protect ourselves."

"The Covenant are at war with humans, not faunus," Gron countered, his earlier respectful tone gone and replaced by anger and disbelief. "The only reason why the Covenant are a threat to us at all is because they see the faunus as with the humans. Not only would overthrowing the humans on Remnant provide us with the justice we deserve, it'll show the Covenant that we are not with humanity should they somehow find Remnant anyway."

Sienna clenched her fists tightly and ground her teeth together out of sheer rage, then she growled, "When I first learned of the Covenant's existence, I said that very same thing. That humans and faunus are not the same. Do you know what Admiral Cole and the others told me? They told me the Covenant wouldn't care; that they would see us as humans with extra bits and pieces. Nothing more, and nothing less."

"Of course a human would say that. Especially ones trying to use us," Gron claimed, but Sienna stomped forward suddenly enough to make Gron flinch.

"Better to trust their word than to count on the genocidal aliens who burn worlds to be reasonable," Sienna warned as she pressed her face mere centimeters away from Gron's.

"…I thought you, of all people, would understand," Gron muttered in disbelief, but Sienna shook her head.

"I have never shied away from defending ourselves against humans who have wronged us," Sienna pointed out. "I've never been afraid to use violence to advance our cause, even if Ghira Belladonna doesn't agree with it. But even if our methods differ, our cause is the same. I desire equality between humans and faunus, not to oppress them as they have done to us in the past. To do otherwise is not justice, but vengeance and spite. Look around you for God's sake, this isn't the Faunus Rights Revolution, all your plan would do is weaken us when we can least afford it."

Sienna breathed harshly in and out of her nose, then warned, "Throw these thoughts out from your mind. Entertain them no further. Do not make me regret picking you over Ghira's objections. Do I make myself clear?"

Gron locked eyes with Sienna then, after a moment, lowly replied, "Crystal."

Sienna continued to stare at Gron, silently daring him to try anything. When she was finally confident that Gron had been dissuaded, she released a huff, then turned around and walked away. At the same time, she ordered, "Join back up with the others. We'll be heading into the city in a few minutes."

"…Understood," Gron said as he followed her orders.

Sienna didn't even bother trying to look at him, instead keeping her mind focused on what was to come. At the same time, she decided that, once the battle began, she would keep Gron close to her if at all possible. She may have dissuaded him for now, but there was always the chance he might do something stupid.

When she finally rejoined the other members of the White Fang, everyone was silent. Abby and Yuri could tell there was tension between Sienna and Gron, but judging by the confused glances they were sending towards each of them, they had no idea why. That was good, in Sienna's opinion. The less people who knew what Gron had suggested the better. If she had it her way, no one would. Especially someone from the UNSC. She could only imagine how they would react, and none of it was good.

Finally it came time for the assembled army to leave. Soldiers were loading up into Pelicans, Falcons, and other forms of transport. She, the White Fang, the Happy Huntresses and Lieutenant Dare all got into one Pelican, the Ace-Ops and the ODSTs boarded a trio of Falcons, while Johnson and Qrow hopped into a Warthog. The Huntsmen and Huntresses shared one final look between them, all knowing that this just might be the last time any of them would see each other. One by one, they gave affirmative nods, then Sienna's view was cut off by the closing doors of their Pelican. The aircraft rumbled under the force of its engines, then she felt her stomach shift as it rose skyward and began to make its way towards the city.

After a few minutes of flying, Sienna saw Dare reach up to the side of her helmet. Through her depolarized visor, she could see her expression shift. Even without asking, Sienna felt that she knew the reason, but as Dare lowered her arm and looked towards the others, she felt the need to ask anyway.

"What is it?" Sienna asked, and Dare locked eyes with her.

"The Covenant reinforcements have arrived," Dare revealed, and the air suddenly felt that much heavier.

[~][~]

Hello, everyone! Here is the latest chapter of Dust and Echoes, and the first part of the 3-4 part finale to The Covenant arc. Special thanks to NaanContributor and Jesse K for their help in bringing this chapter to life.

Not a very action-packed chapter, and more of a setup as all the pieces are put into place for the rest of the show. Rest assured, once the action starts, it will not let up until it is done. Lots of things are happening, and I think you guys are really going to enjoy what we have planned.

Now then, to answer some of your questions:

I won't be delving into the specifics of future arcs, but I will say that the next arc is the Integration Arc. Rather than being a singular narrative like what we've done so far, the Integration Arc will be a series of standalone chapters with plenty of time-skips between them. It is far more focused on the political/cultural side of things rather than fighting the war itself. Which is just as important, mind you. I anticipate the Integration arc will be the shortest arc of Dust and Echoes, probably around 10 chapters or so. Stuff like Remnant's military build-up, recruitment, civilian reactions to once again being at war, infrastructure, trade, and so on. Not to mention Aura, AIs, etc. After the Integration Arc, it's the Beacon Arc where we finally switch our primary RWBY perspectives to the main characters of this story, teams RWBY and JNPR.

Current plan is that D&E will end with the ending the Human-Covenant War. This isn't because I don't like the 343-era, because I do like what they've done with the series for the most part, but because my story is centered around the Human-Covenant War and it's ending would also be the perfecting ending to my story. I might do something with Halo 4, but that is years away.

Glad you guys liked the last chapter, particularly Atriox' inclusion and our first Huntsmen casualties. This was something I had been planning for quite some time now. This is a war story, after all, and not one where one side of the crossover (Halo or RWBY) is meant to have absolute advantage over the other. People are going to die or, in the case of Harriet, be wounded in terrible ways. Huntsmen and Huntresses may have some crazy advantages while on the field, but they are not invincible. They will be but the first of many.

And yes, Atriox at this point is still canonically a member of the Covenant. He didn't leave and found The Banished until 2549 during the Battle of Algolis. If that sounds familiar, that is the battle that the Halo Legends short "The Prototype" took place in. Given how the story is currently in 2541, that is eight years away. He is one of my favorite characters in Halo, and is one I am eager to explore further as Dust and Echoes' story continues. He is the tertiary antagonist of the story behind Salem and the Prophet of Truth.

Once again, I must reiterate that I do not take suggestions for my stories or what I should write. The reviews are not the place for you to pitch a story or character idea to me. They will be ignored.

That's it for now. Let us know what you think. If any of you have a TV Tropes account, any assistance in updating the TV Tropes page would be greatly appreciated. We hope you enjoy and see you next time!