The Retainer: Escalation

by MarshalSun

Tyler Williams, now Tyler 071, after his perilous start of a journey he never imagined, now he must live through the full height of a war he only read in the books he read...many will be lost, some may even be dear to him, but the grand question, will he make through? Will he remain sane by the end of it, and when the next phase begins...only Fate knows... [Act 02] [Retainer saga]

7. Chapter 5: Goodbye Jericho

Disclaimer: All HALO characters not my own belong to Microsoft and Halo studios

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Chapter 5: Goodbye Jericho

4th Cycle, Tenth year of the Ninth age of reclamation

Location: Slipstream space, Zanar pattern light cruiser, Wrathful inquisition

Third Person POV

-

The hypnotizing violet light illuminated inside the chamber, even the curved walls of the chamber bore the colour of the same light.

The chamber itself was a modest one, but it was a grand prize to posses such a chamber in a ship tasked and purposed for war, where warriors were meant to travel across the very stars, destroy, conquer, subjugate and explore.

To be granted such chamber, one had to be the highest of all warriors onboard a vessel, the most accomplished, the most competent, and the most favored.

It was in this room that Kal'arn meditated in, donned in his golden harness, signifying his rank and position as a Zealot, he sat on his knees, with eyes shut as he meditated.

It was a method, a form used to clear one's mind, some used it to heal, while others utilize it to ponder, thoughts, confirm with themselves in troubling times.

It was often frowned upon in Sangheili culture, as one who make use of it were considered as weak minded…and weakness was something utterly despised by the Sangheili.

But those of Khan were not blinded by the practices of others of their kind, the old ways were in many ways flawed, pride was a weakness and a Sangheili's greatest strengths, it was this pride that forced one to crave power, to become stronger and superior.

And it was this pride which clouded the Sangheili, too proud to accept, too proud to see and too proud to question.

Kal'arn had seen what pride could do, he had seen what it had led to…arrogance, he understood best what arrogance would mean, after all, he had been present when the Arbiter was felled in single combat, a feat many would consider impossible.

But it was that impossibility that he had witnessed, had been an honor or a disgrace, he had seen it with his own eyes, a great and ruthless warrior felled due to his own arrogance.

Kal'arn had come to accept that a change would be necessary, a change for the Sangheili as a whole, if their arrogance continued, then the humans may very well exploit it to its very core…but it was a task almost unimaginable, neither did Kal'arn have the influence or power necessary to enact such change.

The other Kaidons would laugh, jeer and mock at his proposal…after all, what could the words of the Kaidon of the Weakest Clan mean…

All he could do was change his own clan, their own beliefs, and their own practices, it was a much possible task, considering that his people were already cultured to changes, it was why they survived for so long, their adaptability was what allowed them to, even if it may seem shameful, dishonorable and even heretical, nothing was more valuable than another chance to prove.

Another chance to serve, to flee and live to fight another day…Kal'arn had learned that very much, being a coward may be disgraceful, but in the end it was the cowards that would live to reap the rewards.

It was why the Kig'yar pirates had managed to evade them, their cowardice was what enabled them to escape their wrath for so long, what allowed them to continue their heretical and treasonous works of selling THEIR holy arms; one's crafted from the gifts left by their Gods, to their enemies…the Humans.

The door to the chamber hissed open, and in walked another Sangheili, one donned in maroon harness, signifying his status of Obedientiary, or Officer.

"What is it" Kal'arn questioned, his backs turned to towards the Sangheili that had entered.

"Leader" the Sangheili, one Nara 'Tessamee spoke out, "The Shipmaster requests your presence…he deems it urgent"

Kal'arn could only hum in response, "Then so be it, lead me to where I am called" he said, getting back on his feet, and turning to face the Sangheili.

Nara had been one of the few to escape with him from the Holy world, four years go. He had been with him since the first Human world Harvest, and till now.

Kal'arn saw potential in him since the very beginning, the Sangheili was cunning, but most importantly he was truthful, no drop of deceit was ever seen from him and among HIS warriors, he was the most loyal…second only to Ekar.

Kal'arn followed the Sangheili who led him through the hallways of their vessel. The Wrathful for most of its service under him had seen combat only against smuggling vessels, those which belonged to the Kig'yar.

Many would have considered this as a disgraceful duty, one meant for the least worthy warriors…but to Kal'arn it was equally, if not much more important than their war against the humans.

These pirates had plagued the stars for many centuries, it had been them that had been responsible for countless rebellions occurring, why they were such fiercely armed…and now they were supplying Humans with THEIR technology, technology which belonged to the Covenant.

It posed a colossal threat to their war effort; Kal'arn had studied in past engagements that the Humans were adaptable…far more compared to even the Sangheili of Khan. It was a terrifying thought; Humans were already stubborn and fierce in their defense, but armed with possibly Covenant weapons, or for worst, their own reversed engineered weapons.

This war would rage on for eternity if that were so, Humans may be similar in size to the Unggoy, but their will was on par with even the Sangheili…and their Demons were a thousand times more terrifying.

Nara halted besides the closed entrance to another Chamber, "The Shipmaster awaits you inside" he gestured.

Kal'arn nodded and stepped forwards, the door automatically sliding open. Stepping inside the Chamber, he was greeted by the sight of his close Friend, Ekar, donned in his white harness, signifying him as an Evocati.

Ekar stood right before a closed projector, his arms folded, that was until he turned towards Kal'arn, "My Friend, it is good that you were able to arrive in such short notice, I hope I did not interrupt anything?" he greeted and inquired.

"Never, my friend. Now what is it that requires my presence, I had tasked you to deal with any minor relay's and orders" Kal'arn said as he walked towards Ekar, stopping right beside him.

"You did…but this is…far more than anything minor" Ekar said, intriguing Kal'arn as both of them turned towards the projector.

As they did so, the Projector came to life, and from its hollow tube was projected a hologram of a High Prophet…more specifically the High Prophet of Regret.

With eyes widened Kal'arn, along with Ekar bowed their heads. It was not every day that a Hierarch would personally contact you, if ever.

"Noble Hierarch, what calls of you to grace us with your presence" Kal'arn said in a humble and submitting tone…it was the only tone he knew the Hierarchs would not be agitated by.

"Kal'arn Khanee, it has been a great many years since we last spoke, I glean I did not trouble you with my presence" Regret asked, his voice ever so filled with smoothness and wisdom.

"Never Sire, we are your humble servants, we are always prepared for your calls" Ekar answered instead of Kal'arn.

The Hierarch simply hummed in response and leaned forwards, "I credence the report that you have yet to finish the Kig'yar heretics?"

Both Kal'arn and Ekar lowered their head in shame, what they had thought would take a few months or a year or two, had now become an embarrassing three years almost. "I am willing to accept any punishment for my failures" Kal'arn said, always willing to receive the blame and spare those under his command.

"That would not be necessary" Regret stated, surprising both Sangheilies. "There is a new task I have. A new fleet created by my will, a new Human world has been located, one they call, Charybdis IX"

"What would you have us do, Sire?" Ekar asked.

"Your vessel has fought and hunted the internal enemies of our Covenant, now it is ripe for it to face its true enemies" Regret stated, "Your gifted talent as a Commander, along with your fierce warriors will be required on the field when the battle commence, make anew Khanee, this is a task of utmost importance, one which we will be eager for your participation"

With that the Hologram vanished, and once more the chamber was left with only Kal'arn and Ekar as its sole occupants. The two Sangheili turned to each other, having heard the new will of the Prophet.

There was a silence between the two, but soon, it was Ekar that broke it, "Finally! After years, we can finally battle the Humans once more!"

Kal'arn only nodded, he sometimes admired his friend's love for battle, especially against the Humans, who he too had grown to respect as proper warriors. After all, spending so long, hunting for Cowering pirates had shown the battle hungry Sangheili the value of Humans as enemies.

But Kal'arn only clenched his hand, something which Ekar noticed, "Is there something troubling you, my friend?"

Kal'arn released his clench and glanced at his friend, "Yes…we have failed a task, one which the Hierarchs had personally tasked us with…I feel though that we have failed, disappointed them"

Death had never been Kal'arn fear, instead it had been his fear of leaving things incomplete, fear of disappointing individuals he respected, individuals who had high hopes with him, and finally, fear that he would bring his clan down, destroying it completely, destroying everything his ancestors had worked to preserve, and everything his father had risen from ashes.

"My friend, you shouldn't worry of that, had the Hierarch not deemed our previous task unimportant? You should feel honored that you have been called personally by the Hierarch, not many have such privileges as you" Ekar said before ending. "You are highly favored by the High Prophet

Kal'arn slowly nodded, agreeing with his friend, "I…believe you are correct, forgive me for my blindness"

"You are never blind my friend, I am certain of it...Shall I order the new task?" Ekar asked.

Kal'arn nodded, "Yes, certainly do"

---

February 12, 2535, 0112 hours [MILITARY CALENDER]

Location: Lambda Serpentis system, Jericho VII, Materials facility 09

-

The lands were dark, swallowed by the darkness of night, in the skies were the countless millions of stars, all shinning from distances considered impossible to reach…..that is, had it been five centuries ago.

However, even then with the eerie calmness of the night, the planet still ached of battle, all over, from the ocean to the forests, nowhere was spared from the scars of war, and it was in this period, that a small platform, perched on the slope of a hill, was where the most sudden activities began.

Dozens, if not even hundreds of Covenant fliers were seen patrolling through the skies around the city and the facility.

The alien fliers hunting like hawks, while coordinating like bees, it was clear that nothing would get past them, and that nothing would dare challenge them.

While the Alien fighters scoured the skies, six of their dropships were seen hovering above a platform erected on a slope of a hill, the platform itself already swarmed with countless aliens, ranging from the Small cowardly one's, to the bird like creatures.

However it was those that descended from the dropships that truly demanded the attention. Accompanying a host of Violet armored grunts, were atleast two dozen similarly armored Elites, donned in a light violet harness, all of which were led by a single elite armored in White.

The large host of Covenant troops, belonging to the Special Operations Branch, had been awaiting further reinforcements…their mission was simple; eliminate every single Human occupant inside this structure, who were trapped inside, their only escaped blocked by them.

It would have been accomplished by any unit inside the Covenant, but the sudden distress beacon from their Silent Shadow compatriots had forced their involvement in this matter…they had to delay this assault by the hours as circumstances far too important had diverted these Operative's attention else where…

As the six dropship or the Phantoms flew away, the White armored elite, or the Commander barked out orders in its own tongue.

Orders which were likely to commence the assault as not moments later, two other Spec Ops elites standing besides the Opened entrance upholstered their plasma rifle, each of them dual wielding it, as they stepped foot inside of the facility, leading the assault while being followed by a trail of grunts, numbering into dozens, while their Elite superiors followed suite behind them, accompanied with the Commander.

The inside of the facility, especially Ground Zero was darker than ever, its long hallways consumed and covered by the darkness.

But it was no difficulty for these Operatives, as their armor possessed small sections which illuminated a spectrum of light varying from green to blue, granting them enough visibility to navigate these dark hallways.

As the Column of grunts led by the two elites passed by two of the many turnings on either side, a sudden movement on their left flank, right at the end of the turning had spooked one of the cowardly grunts, who did not hesitate to express it, dropping his weapon while squealed, halting mid way, which in turn halted the entire column.

One of the lead elites turned back at the spooked grunt, giving it a deadly glare while growling, which placed the grunt back in order, who then picked his weapon up and continuing, however not before giving on last glance at the left hallway, before being pushed by one of the grunts behind him.

Midway through the facility, the Elite Commander barked orders for some from the column to split up, which numbered into six different teams, each having a force of six grunts and two elites, these teams would continue along the various different turnings and junctions, a force strong enough to destroy anything small in its path.

And even if it faced something much greater, then the other teams, including the main contingent would come to its aid…and so it was, seven different forces, each of them in different routes in a facility they had no knowledge of, tasked with hunting its occupants…but they were to find out that their prey, was instead the Predator.

Among the dark corners of the junctions and turnings, the shadowy figures of individuals could be seen, shuffling around, stalking every contingent of Covenant that dared ventured in.

The Humans themselves were divided into squads of four, each squad coordinating with the other, awaiting the perfect opportunity to lay off their trap, one which they had prepared in the hours leading up to this.

For each of the six smaller Covenant teams, a squad or two of Marines were set in peruse, with some of them accompanied with one of the five Super Soldiers they were assigned with.

The main contingent of Covenant troops were however stalked by three squads of marines, accompanied by two of the SPARTANs. The plan was set; they had the terrain advantage, which would greatly affect the outcome of this engagement, one which they were confident to survive.

Silently observing from one of the corners along the turnings, a Azure blue armored SPARTAN with a dome shaped helmet studied each and every soldier in the main contingent, four elites, along with the White one, accompanied with atleast one and a half dozen grunts, all of whom were navigating in a tightly packed formation…perfect for their surprise.

Tyler checked his DMR one last time; all his weapons were checked, with a detonator in his other hand, he scrolled through his music list inside of his HUD, this was one of the perfect moments to play music in…a music which he was sure would make him a whole lot more ballsy…and a little bit of badass.

He selected the chosen music, confirming its selection to be played…Tyler could only grin behind his faceplate. He had always wanted to play this music while he was in combat, and now was the time…the time to play Six shooter from Coyote Kisses.

Meanwhile as the music started to kick inside the SPARTAN's helmet, the main contingent of the Spec ops Covenant crossed by a seemingly large junction with four routes, one on sides, another in front, and finally the last one inclined towards the left.

The two lead elites halted in their tracks and scanned each and every route, their dual weapons still drawn and aimed. The grunts however clumsily walked around the junction, awaiting further instructions from their Elite superiors.

However it was one of these grunts that noticed something off on one of the walls along their junction, closing in on this eye sore, the grunt froze in its tracks as it realized what it truly was, and in its eternally cowardly behavior, it could only squeak out loudly, something which would only further annoy the elites.

But, the Commander too took note of it, immediately turning towards where the grunt was, his gaze soon fixed on the object that was placed on the wall, it didn't take any further observation before he saw the tiny red flashes emitting from it.

Hastily scanning around the junction, and to his horror, the entire junction they were on seemed to be mined with these explosives, and before he could even relay orders, the explosives went off, causing a loud BOOM to echo around the entire facility, slightly shaking the interior.

There was no doubt that the sound created by the explosion alerted every other Covenant group, even the rear guard stationed outside this facility…but it also was a signal for its human defenders, one which would begin the slaughter.

As the dusts settled with the main contingent, the Commander rose to his feet, observing his remaining troops, his fellow Elites had managed to survive due to their energy shields, but some the grunts of lacked any were the ones to mainly suffer, atleast half of the grunts were dead, while the other halves either shaken, shell shocked or straight up cowering, unable to even lift their weapons.

It was then that the vulnerable contingent came under fire from almost every direction in front of them, the few cowering grunts were immediately cut down, while those that were only shaken quickly ran back towards the exit, their moral now completely shattered.

However their Elite superiors would not stand for this, two whom were with their Commander kicking the retreating grunts back into the front, while their shields absorbed the oncoming bullets.

Meanwhile the two elites in the lead, rolled into cover, using the dead corpses of the grunts as meat shields, a tactic used to absorb human ammunition, or reduce its overall damage.

Which was why, when the bullets from one direction stopped coming, the elites aimed their dual plasma rifles and returned fire, the blue projectiles travelling through the dark hallways, ways which were long, but as the projectiles traveled it too illuminated the surroundings around it, before it too disappeared as it impacted against its intended target or simply a wall.

But this tactic soon proved to be ineffective, as fire was not only coming from one direction, but it seem to be from three different direction, and that difference started taking its effect when one of the elites besides the Commander had his shields disabled, and before any further reaction, the elite was shot right through his head, it's body falling lump on the ground as it was instantly killed.

However the Commander did not even spare a glance at his dead comrade only focused on getting a clear view of his enemies. That was when the other elite besides him ignited his energy sword, completely enraged by the death of his compatriot, the elite dashed forwards towards a particular hallway, from where some of the fire was coming from.

But before the elite could even cross the centre of the junction, he noticed something on his right, a figure on the hallway towards his right…but it was too late as his eyes caught onto a blue armored figure just centimeters away from him, his weapon already drawn, while its face remained hindered…the elite could only widen his eyes as he realized the danger he was in.

Interrupting the already chaotic battle of his section, Tyler rammed into one of the Spec ops elites who had its energy sword drawn, intercepting it mid way along its charge, sending the poor elite slamming onto the wall, possibly breaking his spine or neck in the process.

"Guten tag" Tyler said under his breath as he aimed his DMR straight at the Commander.

He had noticed one of the two lead elites turn toward shim, his dual plasma rifles aimed, but Tyler wasn't worried about him…someone else would deal with those two.

Before the elite could fire even a single shot, it too was slammed to the wall by something strong, something with the brute strength almost comparable to a brute.

Without any delay, Cassandra lunged her knife into the elite's neck, killing it immediately, while its blood smeared over her armor, she then turned her attention over to the second elite, who too noticed her.

She watched as the elite threw away both his weapons and drew his own energy sword, ready to charge the SPARTAN. But before the elite could even begin, Cassandra simply picked up a plasma grenade from the dead elite with her, activating and throwing the grenade towards the other elite, sticking it straight in between its mandible…and seconds later, the elite's head was completely eviscerated, its blood and possibly brain matter smeared around the walls.

As Cassandra finished off the elites, Tyler fired off five shots at the Commander, three of which landed and were absorbed by its shields, however, his mere presence seemed to have triggered something within the commander as he too activated his energy sword, but unlike the other elites, he had two energy swords.

'God this is giving me flashbacks about me and the Arbiter ' Tyler thought as he got a slight déjà vu, his dual with the Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee had been one of great frustration for him…but he was damn sure this one wouldn't be like the one with the Arbiter…that was only a once in a life time moment.

Placing his DMR on his back, Tyler charged the elite, while the Commander too dashed towards the oncoming SPARTAN, eager to cut him down with his twin blade, and so as Tyler drew near the Commander's range, he swung both his blade's aiming to cut him in half with both his blades.

But Tyler was no fool, and he had anticipated this move…it was almost a default at this point, and so he jumped right over the elite, both dodging his swing and flanking him on his back, and just as he was right above his neck, Tyler unholstered his sidearm, the M6D.

Firing three shots at the Elite's neck, the first shot finally brought down its shields, while the final two shots were its finishing blow, completely tearing through the Elite's armor and flesh, and as Tyler landed perfectly on his feet, the elite on the other hand stumbled and collapsed onto the floor.

"Show off" Cassandra remarked over TEAMCOM.

"There is no harm in it" Tyler smugly replied as he turned towards Cassandra, the music still play inside his helmet through his ipod.

Cassandra only sighed as she double tapped each and every corpse with her assault rifle, "Guess we're done here"

"I don't think so…" Tyler said pointing towards the main hallway which led towards the entrance, with their enhanced vision; they could see another large group of Covenant, made up of Grunts, Jackals and a few elites rushing towards them.

Tyler was sure they could see them, and was even quadruple sure that they were these Spec op's rear guards, 'Guess this clean up wouldn't take so long' Tyler thought as he grinned under his face plate.

"Good, I wouldn't have been satisfied with my current kills" Cassandra said over TEAMCOM, Tyler was sure she too had some what of the same thoughts as him, he was starting to feel more in more in common with her, it had been clear since day one that she would be his second in command, but now…she and him felt like they shared the same brain cell…metaphorically.

"Me too…signal the Lieutenant, tell him we have a second round coming in" Tyler said.

-

Meanwhile on others sections of the facility, small firefights erupted with the other splinter Covenant groups, each of them were caught off guard by the sudden BOOM, and were now being cut down by the very bullets of the enemies they were sent to hunt.

Three of the six groups were already eliminated, with the remaining Squads of marines rapidly either converging towards Tyler's section or towards the other Squads to further aid them.

And that was where the main fighting was, miraculously, the remaining three Covenant groups had managed to converge on each other, although suffering severe casualties, but these casualties were made up of grunts…expendable to the covenant.

The remaining elites, numbering six in total along with a few grunts held out in a three way junction, firing raining down from each direction, but unlike the main contingent, these one's fared much better, having the numbers and the chock points to hold.

Adding with their energy shields, the elites managed to suppress the marines from any advancement, but that was what they were acquiring to accomplish…they were simply stalling their alien enemies for the real push.

Suddenly the gunfire from each direction completely halted, allowing the elites to lower the weapons and look around the area, confused and puzzled by the sudden stop…had they won? They were about to find out.

One of the elite's noticed something's rolling below their feet and in between them, it hadn't taken even a second for it to realize what the object was, and he shouted in its own tongue, one which to a human ear sounded like a roar.

Five frag grenades exploded right in the mist of the covenant formation, one which killed off the reaming grunts, while also lowering the shields of the elites, and also disorienting them.

One of the elites recovered faster than the others, his vision become much more clearer, but before he could even make any move, a 14.5 x 114mm round pierced right through his head, splattering his head in an instant.

The other elites too started to regain their senses and sight, however one particular elite as he opened his eyes, was greeted with the sight of a olive green armored individual, with a golden-orange faceplate staring directly into his soul, the individual just few inches away from the elite…unknown to the elite, the SPARTAN…Alexander had his BR aimed straight at his head.

Before the elite could properly react or even process, Alexander pulled the trigger, immediately blowing the elite's brains out, before quickly turning over to the other elites who all raised their weapons towards him.

But before any of them could fire, two more elites were gunned down from the other direction, and for a brief second, the remaining two elite's split their attention to both directions.

Alexander only smirked behind his faceplate as he watched the mighty elites scramble to a defense, one which would not matter in the slightest. On the other end, Owen remained stoic in his approach, his Assault rifle still aimed at the elites.

It was a rare stand off for them, neither side taking the first move, but it was clear that whoever took the first move, the outcome will still favor the SPARTANs…but before either of them really end this, the two elite's had their head splattered as two more 14.5 x 114mm rounds slammed through their heads.

And approaching from the third direction, which was behind the elites, Maria slowly walked towards the two SPARTANs, and even with her helmet on, it was clear she was irritated.

"Come on Maria, leave some for us" Alexander playfully whined.

"Maybe if you two would STOP wasting time and actually finished the work!" Maria shot back, silencing the loud mouthed SPARTAN, while Owen simply sighed in agreement.

Interrupting the three SPARTANs, the sounds of the Marines cheering could be heard from all three directions, "WHOOO, TAKE THAT YOU COVIE PIECE OF SHIT!"

"THAT'S FOR HARVEST YA ALIEN BASTARDS!"

"OH I WANNA KILL SOME MORE!"

"They're crazy" Owen said through TEAMCOM.

"I'd put them in the, Lively Category, ODSTs fit more in the Crazy category" Maria corrected through TEAMCOM.

"Maybe they just love the Covenant" Alexander again, jokingly suggested through TEAMCOM.

"Shut up" Both Maria and Owen replied at the same time, before turning to each other.

"Let's regroup back with Tyler" Owen suggested.

"Agreed" Maria nodded.

"Can I talk now?" Alexander asked.

"NO!" Both Maria and Owen shot at him…it did not at all hurt Alexander feelings, instead it only made him feel much better, to him, getting his team members annoyed at him was the best way to cheer things up…sometimes.

-

Back with Tyler, he was finished off the last Elite, shooting him right in the face with his magnum, as he lay mortally wounded on the ground…the music in his helmet had ended a few seconds ago, a perfect timing as he too was finished with his part.

Around him, Cassandra was busy once more double tapping each any every corpse, although it was a severe waste of ammunition, it was for a just reason, Tyler was damn sure that one day an elite would pretend to be dead and when everything is normal, jump him or one of his teammates…and that was something he couldn't allow.

The marines too filled out of the multiple hallways, some of them kicking the bodies of their dead alien enemies, while others outright spat at them…he could hear their jeers and mocks towards them.

"That's what you get you ugly Alien assholes" one of the marines cursed at an Elite as he kicked his body.

"Ey leave the curses for the livin, I don't think the dead have any feelings" another marine said, brining in some dark humor.

"Tch" the marine scowled, spitting at the elite's dead corpse one last time before moving on.

'Well…I can only imagine how post war will be with people like him still alive' Tyler thought, thinking about a future that was still almost two decades away, and one he wasn't certain if it'll happen.

Even the lieutenant seemed riled up by their decisive victory, "You see this, boys! We've gotten ourselves a whole company's worth of kills, and we're gonna kill even more of em, and we're gonna kick their sorry asses back up their mother's asses!"

"ORAH" the marines all unanimously shout.

The Lieutenant then marches towards Tyler, removing his helmet as he neared him, "Lieutenant, what's the status on casualties?" Tyler asked.

"Well, we got six KIA's and twelve WIA's, the rest are all fit and ready to kick more Alien asses back to their mother's wombs" the Lieutenant said, full of energy…."Sir, forgive me for my choice of words, but that was the most fucking darntastic badassery of badass I've seen in my life!"

'Yep…he's riled up' Tyler thought, but Tyler chuckled, his sense of humor was something that would never fade away.

"I must say sir, you're plan worked fantastically, this platoon would have never managed to kill this many alien bastards on its own, and I must say…You're a Goddamn genius" the Lieutenant further complimented…

Tyler chuckled, "Compliments for later, Lieutenant, we still have a war to fight…get the wounded some medical assistance, we'll wait for the other squads to regroup" he said.

"Aye, Sir" the Lieutenant saluted before leaving.

"So, you not gonna play Medic?" Cassandra asked over TEAMCOM, it was no different or unique for his team to always bug him about being THE SPARTAN medic…it sometimes really got to his nerves.

"Who's gonna coordinate things here then?" Tyler asked in a nonchalant tone.

Cassandra chuckled as she bumped her shoulders against his, "I thought I was your second for a reason?"

"You are…but something's are best left to me" Tyler said. "Plus, I'm sure without me; Maria would strangle Alexander one day"

With that both SPARTANs shared a brief laugh, gaining some attention from the nearby marines, who simply shrugged and continued on.

It hadn't taken too long for the other three SPARTANs to finally regroup with them, along with the final squads of marines…this plan truly had worked way better than expected.

"Status?" Tyler immediately asked as the three of them neared him and Cassandra.

"All clear" Maria answered over TEAMCOM, to which Tyler nodded.

"Plan worked better than expected" Alexander commented.

"Yeah…" Tyler nodded, he still couldn't fathomed how this worked so well, especially against Spec ops elites, who he remembered to be absolute crack shots when it came to grenade throw…but in this ambush, they hadn't even tossed a single grenade, thought that could be because of them getting off-guard.

"Good thing you listened to my idea of delaying the timer for the warhead…we would have been atomized hours ago if you hadn't" Owen said, which Tyler one hundred percent agreed to, this plan had many flaws…all of his plans had flaws when he came up with them…it was only through the observations of his teammates that allowed him to further improvise…after all he wasn't perfect…he never was.

"Speaking of which…are you gonna prime it?" Tyler asked, to which Owen nodded, "Take third squad with you, I'd not have you go alone"

Owen didn't argue, but it seemed Alexander had some light remarks about it, "You have no faith in him or something?"

"No…just that it's always best to be cautious" Tyler answered.

"That's Tyler for you" Cassandra chimed in chuckling. While Owen had already began to leave the group, making his way towards the hidden elevator.

"We should call for EVAC" Maria suggested to which Tyler agreed.

Coincidently the Lieutenant too was once again making his way towards the SPARTANs, this time he seemed a bit more urgent, jogging towards them.

"Sir, second Squad's cleared out the exterior as well, should we call for EVAC?" the Lieutenant asked.

"Affirmative" Tyler nodded, "Take petty officers Zero seven two and Zero six two with you as well"

"Yes, sir!" the Lieutenant nodded, immediately turning around and jogging back towards the entrance, followed by the two SPARTANs, who managed to keep up with the marine by simply walking…it almost seemed comical to Tyler.

"So what are we gonna so?" Cassandra asked, folding her arms.

Tyler copied her by also folding his arms, checking the time displayed on his HUD…0144, "Wait"

---

Three whole hours was how long it took for them to finally finish…Tyler was applaud by the amount of time he had to wait, which had clearly tested his patience.

Owen had ran into some problems with the warhead, its timer being slightly malfunctioned, which would have meant that someone had to pull off a Jorge and stay behind, manually detonating the nuke.

But Owen being the technical genius with whatever magic, somehow managed to not only repair the timer, but also link it to the detonator he had used to set off the charges used for the trap.

Stepping out of the facility after God knows how long, Tyler was finally greeted with the warmth of the sun, which now shone bright in the sky…'wasn't it night just moments ago…..fuck, day cycles still are confusing' Tyler thought.

Outside, the remaining marines could be seen helping the wounded, while some were dragging the covenant corpses, throwing them down the edge of the platform.

"How long did you set the timer again?" Tyler asked, making sure to confirm.

"Five minutes" Owen replied in a straight tone, getting an immediate look from both Tyler and Cassandra, who both had their eyes widened. "Just kidding, one hour, take it or leave it…should give us enough time to pack up and leave"

"Not cool" Cassandra was heard murmuring, while Tyler internally sighed, he really had been freaked out to learn the fact that they had FIVE minutes till this hill becomes a bootleg volcano.

"Although…the large debris could cause a lot of collateral…" Owen then turned towards the city, which in turn had banshees swarming above like hawks. "The city would be…renovated by the debris…it doesn't feel right, there still could be people down there"

Tyler had to bite his lips…it was a hard truth to swallow, but he knew there was no alternative…he knew there won't be many alternatives in the future as well, "Their casualties won't be for nothing…we'll make sure of it"

That was when Maria and Alexander too walked towards them, "You guys sure had fun making us wait this long" Alexander said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Don't blame it on us, blame our resident engineering expert" Cassandra swiftly directed the blame towards Owen.

"My delays are due to important reasons" Owen defended himself, a point he was correct in…but that didn't mean he wouldn't be the one to blame.

"Yeah right" Alexander scoffed.

Meanwhile Tyler turned to Maria and asked, "How's our EVAC looking?"

"Ask the Lieutenant" Maria said, pointing towards the Marian officer who happened to also be making his way towards him.

"Sir, I got good news and bad news, which one you wanna hear first?" the Lieutenant asked.

Tyler looked at his teammates, silently discussing which one to pick though TEAMCOM…that was when Tyler broke the silence. "Bad news first, it's better to get the bitterness out first"

"Well in that case, bad news is…the Commune's gone" the Lieutenant broke it down in a simple way.

"What do you mean by gone?" Cassandra asked, Tyler simply glanced at Maria and Alexander, who he was sure knew what the reason was.

"The ship got blown up five hours ago, seemed to have gotten hit by one of those plasma torpedo things, no survivors from the entire ship it seems" the lieutenant explained

The three SPARTANs tensed up upon hearing that…their situation had somehow gone south once more, only this time, it was way more serious…the Commune was their ticket out of this planet, and with the ship gone…

"What about the good news?" Owen asked.

"Good news is that we'd managed to get in contact with the destroyer Resolute who's Captain has agreed to send in some pelicans for EVAC" the lieutenant said, "The Captain seemed to be quite hesitant in sending EVAC, but after mentioning we had wounded AND a team of SPARTANs, oh boy did that bastard's tone change, would have loved to his face when he heard that"

While the two SPARTANs besides Tyler sighed in relief, Tyler himself felt something else, a sense of familiarity and chills…'Resolute…wasn't that the ship that carried John and the other SPARTANs off of Jericho...Motherfucker-' Tyler thought as he came to the sudden realization of this change…

"How long till EVAC then?" Cassandra asked, although that question was automatically answered as soon, not even seconds after her she asked, three Pelicans flew above them, circling around the hill once, before finally beginning to land on the edge of the Platform. "Guess that answers it…"

The lieutenant too turned towards the landing Pelican, before immediately darting off towards his men, barking orders in the process, "Alright boys! Wounded up first, those who're still clean as a new born, stay as rear guard! Now move it!"

"Guess we're up too" Tyler said, to which the others nodded. The team of SPARTANs walked towards the Pelican in the centre, which was in no doubt, meant for them and them only…although Tyler would have preferred the Marines to join them as well…but it was what it was.

Before stepping into the Pelican, the pilot's voice came over COMs. "This is Victor-O-five to SPARTAN Team, get saddled up, we'll be taking off immediately"

"But the marines are yet to finish with their boarding's" Tyler said over COMS, confused on why the pilot seemed to be in a hurry.

"Sir, I've got orders to get you and your team out first, you're our top priority" The Pilot gave a reasonable answer, but that didn't explain why they would need to ditch the other two Pelicans.

"We can wait for a while, I'm sure we can delay about a few minutes" Alexander suggested over COMs.

"That's not viable, Sir. We've only got a limited time before those Covenant fliers catch on to us" the Pilot answered.

That took Tyler aback, "How the hell were you able to get down in the first place then?" he asked over COMs, Tyler couldn't care if he was breaking his professionalism, right now he wanted answers, and he couldn't care about if he sounded professional or not.

"We'd gotten fighter escorts which kept those Banshees away from us. Sir, the more we stay the more our chances for escape lowers"

"What about the marines then? Won't they get caught by the banshees then?" Maria asked over COMs.

"It's a necessary sacrifice, the five of you are worth more than a platoon of marines" the pilot answered, one which for the first time angered each and every SPARTAN.

Any one of them would have lashed out and argued, had it not been for Tyler's intervention with his next set of words. "You said the Banshee's were our problem right?"

Tyler cracked his knuckles and took a deep breath, "Then leave them to me" he ended, closing COMs.

Those words stunned each and every other SPARTAN…all four had known that their leader, Tyler, was at times, a crazy bastard…but this was almost lunatic level of things.

"You can't be serious, how are you eve-" Owen was about to argue, but he remembered one specific feature that Only Tyler possessed…his armor's in-built thrusters. "Don't tell me…"

Tyler simply nodded, confirming his and everyone else's fear's and assumptions.

Five minutes, Tyler was seen standing at the edge of the platform, each of the two Pelicans loaded with the marines, while the third one had his team…except for one.

"Out of all the mad, crazy and downright stupid ideas, I will bet fifty credits that this is the peak of it" Cassandra said, standing next to Tyler.

Tyler chuckled, "I'll make sure to get that fifty then" he joked, one which Cassandra found unfunny for obvious reasons.

He checked his hips, confirming that all his equipments were set…two M7 SMGs, six frag grenades and four Plasma Grenades…along with his already present load out of a DMR and M6D along with his twin combat knives.

"Don't even think about it…You know you could die here" Cassandra said, expressing her concerns.

"You aren't gonna try and stop me? Talk me down maybe?" Tyler jokingly inquired.

"Would you even listen?" she shot back, glaring directly at Tyler bulbous helmet.

"Good point…" Tyler nodded, she knew him well…but not too well, "See you top side then…I'll find my own ride out of here"

Cassandra nodded, making her way towards the pelican, which was now preparing to take off, before she entered the pelican, she glance one last glance towards Tyler, the ramp soon closing shut.

Tyler watched as the Pelicans started taking off, giving him the signal to proceed. 'Alright…show time' Tyler mentally told himself before jumping off the edge of the platform.

The hill was slope, and Tyler would have landed flat on the sloped ground…Would have…just feet's away from the ground, Tyler activated all eight thrusters, instantly sending his flying towards the city.

It took Tyler a while, but he finally managed to get a balance of himself his head at front, and his hands on his SMG's, Tyler crossed the distance between the hill and the city outskirts in a matter of seconds.

In his HUD, on the top right, just below the ammo counter, Tyler could notice a small bar appear, the bar being almost fully filled, with only a tiny almost unnoticeable amount being empty…That was the energy that his thrusters had…and it seemed to be enough for what he was about to pull off.

Flying by above multiple buildings, Tyler caught eye of dozens of Banshees in the distance, right in front of him. Increasing the power on his fifth and sixth thrusters located on the bottom of his boot, Tyler rapidly gained acceleration, closing the distance in a matter of seconds.

Getting in range, Tyler unholstered his dual SMGs, holding both of them in his hands; he aimed them at two of the banshees. He fired a series of shots which all mostly bounced over the banshee's armor, only scratching it.

But he hadn't aimed to destroy them…No, he had aimed to get their attention, a task which he had succeeded in…too much, as dozens of Banshees including the one's that he shot started to rapidly circle around towards him, diverting their course towards him.

'Holy shit this was a bad idea' Tyler thought as he flew passed the swarm of banshees, all of which started to trail him.

Tyler decreased the power on his boot thrusters, allowing equal distribution of power among his thrusters…however that was a massive mistaken as it allowed some of the banshees to get in within range.

Flying low towards the city, Tyler flew a few hundred feet above the cities' road, his flanks now covered by the tall skyscrapers of the city, while the banshees continued to trail after him, maneuvering through the tightly packed road like an army of wasps, ready to stink the one who dared to poke their nest…and Tyler had the honor to be that individual.

Tyler continued to fly through the city's roads, now coming under fire from some of the lead banshees behind him, their blue plasma cannons flying just past and around Tyler, always being inches from ending him.

That's when he noticed something coming up in front of him, a fallen over billboard leaning against one of the building and blocking his route…atleast at the level he was flying in…there was a small space below and above.

Making a quick decision, Tyler dived towards the bottom opening, he was sure it would give him a few seconds before the Banshees would catch up to him.

Noticing his planned move, one of the banshees's fired its fuel rod cannon, the green orb in trajectory to intercept Tyler before he could begin his maneuver.

However Tyler heard the sound of the fuel rod coming towards, and in the split millisecond performed a horizontal 360 spin, the green orb passing just by him as his body faced the sky, he could feel the heat radiating from the projectile as it passed which was never good.

Just as the projectile impacted the sign on the large billboard, Tyler too flew right under the said board, the impact from the projectile leaving a small hole in the sign while the area around it melted.

Just as Tyler came below the board, exiting back onto the road, inside his helmet or his ipod, a music suddenly started playing, he may have miss clicked or a malfunction may have occur…either way he could use some music in this situation to make it LESS stressful.

And to his surprise, the music that played was one he was very familiar with…every Halo fan would be familiar with it. 'Bloody hell, thank you Space Jesus for playing this' Tyler thought as he grinned like a mad man under his faceplate…out of all the music in his playlist…the Mjolnir theme from HALO 2 began to play.

Unfortunately for him, that smugness of him lasted only a few seconds as he once again came under fire from the banshees…his motion tracker was going nuts with the amount of Contacts behind him…to put it simply, it was comparable to a full on tide of red chasing after Tyler.

But with the aid of MUSIC, all that stress and tense almost vanished, and now he started to feel badass once more…he was starting to feel ballsy…As plasma continued to fly all around him, Tyler continued to conduct evasive maneuvers and more horizontal spins.

Forget about being like Iron man, Tyler started to feel a whole lot more like Rico Rodriguez from the Just Cause series, and for obvious reasons as well, seeing as the crazy stunts he continued to pull while being chased by literally the entire Covenant Air force.

Tyler had already placed his SMG's back on his hips, and so with his now free hands, he grabbed two Plasma grenades, activating it and throwing it high-mid air as he flew by.

As the grenade started to descend back downwards, multiple banshees too passed by, but two unlucky one's were unfortunately and fortunately stuck by the grenades, which soon exploded, sending the two banshees crashing towards one of the building on the side or straight onto the road bellow.

That was not the end however, as just a few hundred meters ahead, Tyler noticed a turning toward the right, a perfect chock point for him to exploit.

Increasing the power on his thrusters once more, Tyler speeded towards the turning, the banshees not being too far behind, always in the speed to catch up with him in any time.

But it seemed the grand chase was nearing its climax, as just before reaching the turning, Tyler pulled out the pins from four of the frag grenades, ejecting them as he turned on the turning.

Usually the grenades wouldn't have done much, and wouldn't have even hit HIS intended target…but this was a narrow point, one where everything would be tightly packed as they made their way through…meaning he wouldn't miss.

Two banshees flew right near the grenades, AND in the exact same moment, those same grenades detonated at the same time. The impact from the grenade didn't fully destroy the two banshees, it did however obscure their vision as it created a small wall of smoke, while also damaging the banshee's wings which both slowed and forced the pilots to lose control.

It was then that Tyler plan started to affect the covenant, one banshee crashed into one of the damaged ones in front, then another, then another, the wall of smoke completely obscuring what was in front of them, and making them completely oblivious to what they were about to join.

And just like that, out of the dozens of banshees chasing the lone SPARTAN, only five managed to evade the catastrophe, only managing to avoid the crash by flying high above.

Tyler as he flew away could hear the distant sound of the banshees crashing and even exploding, "WOOHOOO!" Tyler shouted, he felt alive…and damn he felt like the main character…he had done something even he had considered impossible…and he was damn sure no one believe this…but luckily his helmet cam was online…meaning this was recorded, not that he would brag, but it was the first of many badass moments he would cherish.

Tyler started to gain altitude as he began to fly up higher; he had been flying dangerously low to the ground, almost at the risk of accidently hitting a large pole or something.

That was when he noticed a building in the distant right in front of him, the building or skyscraper was tall like every other, but the thing was, it's exterior was mostly glass windows, windows from which he could see one end to another…meaning….

'This is gonna hurt' Tyler thought as he accelerated his thrusters, and in mere seconds he went from flying through air and around a city to flying through glass and an office by the looks of it.

As he flew through the building he continued to smash through furniture like desks and chairs, and with the speed he was going, he was starting to see the exit or the window on the other end of the building…smashing right through and exiting back into open sky.

The first thing he noticed was not the shorter buildings, or the long highway that seemed to lead outside the city, but a single lone Banshee that seemed to be flying around the area, completely unaware of him.

'Alright Tyler, let's see how your flying skills are' Tyler mentally said to himself as he flew towards the Banshees, as it continued to fly Tyler landed on its left wing, tiling it a bit…but before any reaction from the banshee came, Tyler pushed the hatch open, revealing the elite pilot inside who turned back to look at him, his eyes widening.

Before it could even react, Tyler simply grabbed it by its leg and threw him out of the cockpit, sending the elite screaming down to the ground where death awaited him, then Tyler immediately slid into the empty cockpit, closing the hatch as the pilot's seat/cockpit came back online.

Tyler had to say, the banshee sure was uncomfortable, and the fact that it was his first time in it didn't help one bit…but the interior was…way different than what he had imagined…the best he could describe it was that it was simply an enlarged HUD.

An aiming reticle in the centre, the overall structural integrity of the banshees on the top left, and the plasma cannons overheating indicator/bar on the top right, and finally a sensor on the bottom left…the controls however were a different story.

It was like a holographic steering, on both sides which probably controlled each wing or anti grav pods on the edge of the wings…either way, it was confusing…but he quickly memorized how to fly, it would be a skill he would need in the future as well.

Coincidently the music too ended as Tyler started to fly the banshee, 'Goodbye Mjolnir, hmm maybe I should play the yank's Freebird' Tyler thought as he pondered on what music to play next.

In the meanwhile he continued to fly the banshee, having no idea where to actually fly it towards…if he was correct, this type was only meant for atmospheric flight, meaning taking it to space was a no go…his thought was cut short as he noticed the coast line in the distance, somehow he had completely missed that...his enhanced eyesight could barely make out a valley of some sort near the coast line

The coastline was a good distance away from the city, meaning he could perhaps call an extract from there…he was once more taken out of his thoughts as he witnessed above him, five banshees, probably from the horde that was chasing him, completely ignore him and make their way towards the coast line as well.

'Well well well…why does my luck favor and curse me at the same time' Tyler thought, he too started to trail the five banshees, although in a much slower pace, he didn't want them to catch on the fact that a LONE banshee was knowingly trailing behind them…NO, he wanted them to believe that his banshee was damaged, maybe a slight malfunction.

Either way, the five banshees continued their course towards the beach, flying in formation as they speeded away in the distant…once more Tyler felt like he knew this particular coast or area around it from somewhere…'Hang on a minute…wasn't-' Tyler remembered exactly which point he was heading towards…where those five banshees were heading towards…wait…FIVE banshees!

---

February 12, 2535, 0500 hours [MILITARY CALENDER]

Location: Lambda Serpentis system, Jericho VII, Twenty kilo meters away from Damask

-

"Contact. All teams stand by: enemy contact, my position."

John knew there were probably more than a hundred of them—motion sensors were off the scale.

He wanted to see them for himself, though; his training made that lesson clear: "Machines break. Eyes don't."

The four SPARTANs that composed Blue Team covered his back, standing absolutely silent and immobile in their MJOLNIR combat armor. Someone had once commented that they looked like Greek war gods in the armor . . . but his Spartans were far more effective and ruthless than Homer's gods had ever been.

He snaked the fiber-optic probe up and over the three-meter-high stone ridge. When it was in place, John linked it to his helmet's heads-up display.

On the other side he saw a valley with eroded rock walls and a river meandering through it . . . and camped along the banks as far as he could see were Grunts.

The Covenant used these stocky aliens as cannon fodder. They stood a meter tall and wore armored environment suits that replicated the atmosphere of their frozen homeworld. They reminded John of biped dogs, not only in appearance, but because their speech—even with the new translation software—was an odd combination of high-pitched squeaks, guttural barks, and growls.

They were about as smart as dogs, too. But what they lacked in brainpower, they made up for in sheer tenacity. He had seen them hurl themselves at their enemies until the ground was piled high with their corpses . . . and their opponents had depleted their ammunition.

These Grunts were unusually well armed: needlers, plasma pistols, and there were four stationary plasma cannons. Those could be a problem.

One other problem: there were easily a thousand of them.

This operation had to go off without a hitch. Blue Team's mission was to draw out the Covenant rear guard and let Red Team slip through in the confusion. Red Team would then plant a HAVOK tactical nuke. When the next Covenant ship landed, dropped its shields, and started to unload its troops, they'd get a thirty-megaton surprise.

The Chief detached the optics and took a step back from the rock wall. He passed the tactical information along to his team over a secure COM channel.

"Four of us," Blue-Two or Kelly 087 whispered over the link. "And a thousand of them? Piss-poor odds for the little guys."

"Blue-Two," the Chief said, "I want you up with those Jackhammer launchers. Take out the cannons and soften the rest of them. Blue-Three and Five, you follow me up—we're on crowd control. Blue-Four: you get the welcome mat ready. Understood?"

Four blue lights winked on his heads-up display as his team acknowledged the orders.

Blue-three was the call sign for Fred 104, while Blue-Four was for Linda 058, and Blue-Five…would have been Sam, but due to his temporary transfer, that role was filled by James 005.

For four years now, Blue team has been a five man team of SPARTANs…John trusted in the skills of each and every one of his teammates…after all, he grew up with them…but even after years of fighting alongside four other SPARTANs, John still felt a sense of emptiness in the team…as if something were missing.

The sixth slot in the team…over the course of the decade since the war with the covenant began, only two people ever held this role…the most recent was, Kurt, who had been declared MIA on the same year he had been transferred over to the team…something which John still remembered.

And the original sixth member, the first to hold that role…was Tyler, who John knew was somewhere out in the galaxy, fighting his own battles, with his own team, and living his own War.

One part of him unanimously agreed on the decision for Tyler's removal from the team, one: he was already a higher rank than John, and it would have caused some confusions if he were to still remain on the team, and Two: He was an excellent leader, there was something about him that John still hadn't figured out…he always seemed to know the right idea, for the right situations, even if his plans were often simple…it was that simplicity that always succeeded in one way or another.

The other part of John however, utterly opposed Tyler's removal from the team…this reason however was more personal, than practical…Tyler had become a close friend, a brother to him…his calmness and joking attitude at times helped lightened the mood in the team, even though Sam and Kelly still often did try, they simply didn't have that touch, that feeling that Tyler gave off…and it why John kept all of this to himself, never trying to think about…would he like to meet him, perhaps cross paths with him one day? Absolutely…would he go out of his way too…No.

"On my mark" The Chief crouched and readied himself. "Mark!"

Kelly leaped gracefully atop the ridge—three meters straight up. There was no sound as the half ton of MJOLNIR armor and SPARTAN landed on the limestone.

She hefted one launcher and ran along the ridge—she was the fastest Spartan on the Chief's team. He was confident those Grunts wouldn't be able to track her for the three seconds she'd be exposed.

In quick succession, Kelly emptied both of the Jackhammer's tubes, dropped one launcher, and then fired the other rockets just as fast. The shells streaked into the Grunts' formation and detonated. One of the stationary guns flipped over, engulfed in the blast, and the gunner was flung to the ground.

She ditched the launcher, jumped down—rolled once—and was back on her feet, running at top speed to the fallback point.

John, Fred, and James leaped to the top of the ridge. John switched to infrared to cut through the clouds of dust and propellant exhaust just in time to see the second salvo of Jackhammers strike their targets.

Two consecutive blossoms of flash, fire, and thunder decimated the front ranks of the Grunt guards, and most importantly, turned the last of the plasma cannons into smoldering wreckage.

John and the others opened fire with their MA5B assault rifles—a full automatic spray of fifteen rounds per second. Armor-piercing bullets tore into the aliens, breaching their environment suits and sparking the methane tanks they carried. Gouts of flame traced wild arcs as the wounded Grunts ran in confusion and pain.

Finally the Grunts realized what was happening—and where this attack was coming from. They regrouped and charged en masse. An earthquake vibration coursed through the ground and shook the porous stone beneath the John's boots.

The three SPARTANs exhausted their AP clips and then, in unison, switched to shredder rounds.

They fired into the tide of creatures as they surged forward. Line after line of them dropped. Scores more just trampled their fallen comrades.

Explosive needles bounced off the John's armor, detonating as they hit the ground. He saw the flash of a plasma bolt—side stepped—and heard the air crackle where he had stood a split second before.

"Inbound Covenant air support," Linda reported over the COM link."ETA is two minutes, Chief."

"Roger that," he said. "Blue-Three and -Five: maintain fire for five seconds, then fall back. Mark!"

Their status lights winked once, acknowledging his order.

The Grunts were three meters from the wall. John tossed two grenades. He, Fred, and James stepped backward off the ridge, landed, spun, and ran.

Two dull thumps reverberated though the ground. The squeals and barks of the incoming Grunts, however, drowned out the noise of the exploding grenades.

John and his team sprinted up the half-kilometer sandstone slope in thirty-two seconds flat. The hill ended abruptly—a sheer drop of two hundred meters straight into the ocean.

Linda's voice crackled over the COM channel:"Welcome mat is laid out, Chief. Ready when you are."

The Grunts looked like a living carpet of steel-blue skin, claws, and chrome weapons. Some ran on all fours up the slope. They barked and howled, baying for the SPARTAN's blood.

"Roll out the carpet," John told Linda.

The hill exploded—plumes of pulverized sandstone and fire and smoke hurtled skyward.

The SPARTANs had buried a spider web pattern of Lotus antitank mines earlier that morning.

Sand and bits of metal pinged off of the John's helmet. John and his team opened fire again, picking off the remaining Grunts that were still alive and struggling to stand.

His motion detector flashed a warning. There were incoming projectiles high at two o'clock—velocities at over a hundred kilometers per hour.

Five Covenant Banshee fliers appeared over the ridge.

"New contacts. All teams, open fire!" he barked.

The SPARTANs, without hesitation, fired on the alien fliers. Bullet hits pinged from the fliers' chitinous armor—it would take a very lucky shot to take out the anti-grav pods on the end of the craft's stubby meter-long wings.

The fire got the aliens' attention, however. Lances of fire slashed from the Banshees' gun ports.

John dove and rolled to his feet. Sandstone exploded where he had stood only an instant before.

Globules of molten glass sprayed the SPARTANs. The Banshees screamed over their heads—then banked sharply for another pass.

"Blue-Three, Blue-Five: Theta Maneuver," John called out.

Fred and James gave him the thumbs-up signal.

They regrouped at the edge of the cliff and clipped onto the steel cables that dangled down the length of the rock wall.

"Did you set up the fougasses with fire or shrapnel?" John asked.

"Both," Fred replied.

"Good." John grabbed the detonators. "Cover me."

The fougasses were never meant to take down flying targets; the SPARTANs had put them there to mop up the Grunts. In the field, though, you had to improvise. Another tenet of their training: adapt or die.

The Banshees formed into a "flying V" and swooped toward them, almost brushing the ground.

The SPARTANs opened fire.

Bolts of superheated plasma from the Banshees punctuated the air.

John dodged to the right, then to the left; he ducked. Their aim was getting better.

The Banshees were one hundred meters away, then fifty meters. Their plasma weapons might recycle fast enough to get another shot . . . and at this range, John wouldn't be dodging.

The SPARTANs jumped backward off the cliff—guns still blazing. John jumped, too, and hit the detonators.

The ten fougasses—each a steel barrel filled with napalm and spent AP and shredder casings—had been buried a few meters from the edge of the cliff, their mouths angled up at thirty degrees. When the grenades at the bottom of the barrels exploded, it made one hell of a barbecue out of anything that got in their way.

The SPARTANss slammed into the side of the cliff—the steel cables they were attached to twanged taut.

A wave of heat and pressure washed over them. A heartbeat later five flaming Banshees hurtled over their heads, leaving thick trails of black smoke as they arced into the water. They splashed down, then vanished beneath the emerald waves. The SPARTANs hung there a moment, waiting and watching with their assault rifles trained on the water.

No survivors surfaced.

They rappelled down to the beach and rendezvoused with Blue-Two and -Four.

"Red Team reports mission objective achieved, Chief," Kelly said. "They send their compliments."

"It's hardly going to balance the scales," Fred muttered, and kicked the sand. "Not like those Grunts when they slaughtered the 105th Drop Jet Platoon. They should suffer just as much as those guys did."

John had nothing to say to that. It wasn't his job to make things suffer—he was just here to win battles. Whatever it took…

"Blue-Two," the Chief said. "Get me an uplink."

"Aye aye." She patched him into the SATCOM system.

"Mission accomplished, Captain de Blanc," John reported. "Enemy neutralized."

"Excellent news" the Captain said. He sighed, and added, "But we're pulling you out, Chief."

"We're just getting warmed up down here, sir."

"Well, it's a different story up here. Move out for pickup ASAP."

"Understood, sir." The John killed the uplink. He told his team, "The party's over, SPARTANs. Dust-off in fifteen."

Without any waste, John and his team started to jog up the ten kilometers of the beach, one which took a few minutes…After all a SPARTAN's term for Jog was woefully different compared to what a normal human would consider a jog, the pace of their speed included.

They could see their pelican in the distant, waiting for their arrival, and before long, they were only a few meters away from their extract. Fred, Linda and James were the first to fill into pelican, and John too was close behind them, but he halted in his tracks as he noticed something.

Turning back, he watched as Kelly, stopped mid way, her complete attention turned towards the vast ocean that stretched far into the distant.

"Kelly" John called out to her, it wasn't unusual for the SPARTAN to stop mid track to admire the scenery, but right now was not the time for it.

But the SPARTAN did not budge, here attention still fixed towards the ocean. Having no choice, John decided to approach her, he knew he had to snap her out of here vegetative state.

"We have to leave, Now" John said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Doesn't it look beautiful?" Kelly asked, never averting her gaze from her current view.

John turned towards what she was facing, "It won't be permanent", he said. It was the butter truth, this planet would fall the same fate as many others before…burned to the ground, turned into a wasteland…

"It's a shame we're leaving this place" she said, turning towards John, "There so few left"

John could feel the disappointment in her voice; it was no surprising, among all the SPARTANs, Kelly other than her unmatched speed was also known to be the most emotionally expressive of them…and he had seen her like this way more often.

"There will be more places to fight for" he said.

"Will there" John heard her whisper…he remembered Tyler too was asked a similar question, on 2526, right after the aftermath of Circinius IV…and unlike him, John couldn't find a proper answer…he couldn't make any false promises…if only Tyler were here to answer such question…

As the two SPARTANs made their way towards the pelican, they were forced to halted in their tracks as the sudden chilling sounds of an engine greeted their ears…the sound did not originate from the pelican, neither did it sound like any human aircraft…and they weren't mistaken…it was another Banshee.

John and Kelly immediately spun around, their guns tainted towards anything that may come within their sight…but to their surprise, and confusion, the sight they caught off was not of a Banshee swooping down to take them and the pelican out with a single strike.

Instead they saw the brief sight of a Banshee, wobbling in its flight pattern which was directed straight towards the ground. Before long, they witnessed the banshee crash onto the shallow waters and then explode in a blue ball of plasma, leaving a smoking ruin.

However John was not someone to take chances, he had to make sure nothing made it out. "Blue-three, four and five, stay inside. Blue-Two and I will investigate it" John said, before slowly making his way towards the banshee, weapons aimed, alongside Kelly.

-

Moments Earlier

'Son of a bitch-' Tyler thought as he continued to handle the controls of the banshee.

The squadron of banshee he was trailing had disappeared over the ridge, just a few minutes ago. If he remembered this particular moment correctly, that meant that John and Blue Team's Maneuver succeeded.

But that was not why he was mentally cursing…what had actually happened was a string of bad luck and almost comical level of logic.

He had caught a much clearer sight of the valley, having noticed a river run through it. But that was when things went downhill. Out of nowhere his left anti-grav pod on his left wing was shot, disabling it and thus, making his controls a mess.

The shot should have been impossible to make since he was still at a distance where he couldn't be spotted by any ground forces, concluding that his banshee had collided with a stray bullet…one which almost seemed unlikely.

But that was not the end, due to his ecstatic controls, the banshee started to become more and more unstable, often tiling over to one side, completely unstabling the banshee which now felt like it could immediately dive downwards on its own, possibly crashing into either a tree or a rock…either way it wasn't goof for Tyler .

'Alright Tyler, luck may hate you, but that ain't gonna stop you' Tyler mentally encouraged himself, even though the banshee was wobbly, Tyler was still able to steer it towards the coastline.

If the banshee truly decided to nose dive into damnation, then atleast Tyler would want to land on a much less solid surface.

It was then that the sensors on the banshee picked up the signs of a Pelican...or he hoped, right on the beach, town kilometers up along the coast.

A distance which he covered in less than five minutes, after all, a banshee was ridiculously fast, and even if it was crippled on one wing, it could still cover any distance…just that the pilot had to know what he was doing.

Finally however, Tyler streak of luck with the banshee finally came to an end as he lost total control of the craft, which was now diving straight towards the ground…but whether it was the last ounce of luck or simply a perfect position.

The banshee instead of slamming into the surface, flew over the ridgeline, now instead of diving towards solid ground…it was now making for sand…or maybe water, Tyler couldn't tell, neither did he have time to as he had to eject, NOW.

Kicking the hatch open, before jumping out, Tyler made sure to leave one last gift for this banshee…an activated plasma grenade, which would surely destroy the banshee either before or after it impacts the ground…a simple asset denial.

His ejection however was off timed, soon after he jumped off the banshee, it didn't even take a millisecond before he crashed onto the shallow water…he had definitely jumped out while the banshee was just feet's away from the surface.

The banshee landed a few feet right to Tyler, as it did so, as he had planned, it exploded into a blue ball of plasma, only leaving a smoke of ruins…some which did cover his sight from viewing what was on the other side.

'Haha…there goes my flying license' Tyler mentally joked to himself as he got up to his feet.

The water was only a feet or two deep, which meant only his boots, and lower leggings were under the water…not that it would matter if they weren't.

Making his way towards the crash site, Tyler finally came clear out of the wreckage, walking through the smoke and out the other side…where he stopped right on is tracks as he caught sight of something or some ones….'Oh….' he thought…he knew this was inevitable but…in this circumstance…he would have never expected…

John and Kelly had been slowly making their way towards the crash site, their guard and weapons never dropping. It was then that they caught sight of a figure exiting the smoke, both SPARTANs were ready to fill the Elite pilot with bullets.

But…what actually came out not only stunt, but also shocked and confused them…both of them. A familiar figure in azure blue armor, with similar height to John, and most importantly a bulbous dome shaped helmet, both SPARTANs upon seeing the individual slowly lowered their weapons, their expressions although hidden by their helmet were predictable…disbelief, confusion…and shock?

An awkward silence followed between the three of them, both side staring into each other, neither side making the first move…'Umm…should I say something?' Tyler mentally considered, as this silence was making that a whole lot more awkward than it should be.

But lucky for him, that silence was finally broken by John, who's voice carried nothing but disbelief, "Tyler?"

"Hi" Tyler simply waved, he didn't know what to say, what should he even say?

The two SPARTANs seemed un-reactive to his seemingly calm, nonchalant and friendly greeting, only making this situation much more awkward.

John would have said something more, Tyler knew he would have…even if he didn't, the one besides him most certainly would not hesitate to.

It was then that both SPARTANs placed the guns on their back and straightened themselves…that's when Tyler realized. 'Oh shit, I'm an Officer….how did I forget I was an officer!' Tyler thought.

As the two SPARTANs had their arms mid way across their shoulder's, nearing their head, it was then that Tyler saw it fit to intervene, he didn't want this reunion to be awkward. "You better put your hands down, I'm not in a mood to take salutes…I will feel awkward if YOU two salute ME" he said.

John and Kelly simply looked at other for a brief, clearly confused at Tyler statement, which in turn he too was confused with. 'Did that even make sense?' Tyler thought.

Kelly was the next to react, but instead of directly speaking, or even any Physical greetings, she simply swiped two fingers across her face plate…a move Tyler recognized immediately, after all only SPARTAN IIs were known for utilizing it…SPARTAN Smile.

Tyler smiled behind his face plate and simply returned the gesture, Kelly HAD been the one to teach him that, way back in 29…although this was his first REAL moment he was using this in…it was poetic in some sort.

John approached close to him, "I wasn't informed of any other additional teams on this planet"

'Of course John, you had to ruin the moment with your professionalism and straight to the point attitude' Tyler thought, having known him PERSONALLY, had really screwed up his perception of John in general, back in HIS universe, Tyler use to be awed by the Master Chief's cool nature and further attributes from the novels…but knowing him in person…he wasn't different at all from his potrail in the book and games…just that he felt more…irritated by it, after all he WAS and IS experiencing it.

"One word John…Classified" Tyler had to hold a snicker as he uttered to words, it felt so good to rub someone like John…the Master Chief with the Classified closing to a question.

As expected John was not satisfied with the answer, but he knew there was little he could do, he wouldn't prey open on things that are meant to not be known…Kelly however would have had something to say…had she actually been paying her full attention. Her gaze was fixed not on Tyler as a whole, but somewhere around his left…close to where his hand was…she had noticed something, and she was internally contented by it.

Tyler walked pass the two SPARTANs, patting John on the shoulders, "Don't think about it too much, if I were you, I probably won't" Tyler said, one which was however a lie as Tyler would over think himself to death had he too been kept in the dark with minimum information…that is had it been a decade ago. "Also, I hope you won't mind me hitching a ride"

John and Kelly watched as Tyler continued to walk towards the pelican. If there was one thing they had learned…then it had to that the Tyler they remembered, was still the Tyler they knew.

Kelly simply shrugged at John before following behind the nonchalant SPARTAN, John too jogged up behind, catching up to them.

As Tyler stepped right on the ramp of the Pelican, he could see the three SPARTANs inside clock their head towards him, and he could guess they were all wondering, How and Why he was here…"Tyler?" Fred said in a tone similar to John.

"Hallo" Tyler waved with nonchalance, after today's haywire of events; professionalism was the least of his concerns. "Mind if I hitch a ride?"

"Not at all" Linda replied.

Tyler went in and took a seat, further away from the ramp, and next to him, Kelly and John too took their seats, with Kelly being the one next to him. The ramp closed, and the pelican's engines flared up and it began to ascend, leaving the planet's atmosphere

"We weren't expecting Special Forces" James commented, Tyler knew he was joking, but he couldn't help but feel a wave of nostalgia, after all it was a quote he remembered from another Famous game series.

"That's the point" Tyler replied, humoring the SPARTAN.

"So, mind sharing what you're doing here?" Fred asked.

"Classified, Fred" Tyler answered.

Fred simply nodded, he didn't bother to ask any more, after all the Classified stamp meant that it was confidential…and he wasn't one to stick his nose for secrets.

Silence was what followed inside the pelican, Tyler felt out of place here…even though he shouldn't, this WAS his former team…and unofficially still his team…but having spent leading Bravo had really altered his experiences…and with Blue team's more serious and professional approach…he couldn't help but feel out placed.

"You kept it…" Kelly whispered over to him, gaining his attention.

Tyler wondered what she was on about, but he soon caught on and briefly glanced towards his left hand/gauntlet…before returning his gaze up front. "Why wouldn't I?" he whispered back.

"I mean you did waste some of your time customizing and vandalizing my armor…I felt it would be disrespectful to remove it…and I've grown to like it" Tyler ended.

Kelly smiled brightly under her face plate upon hearing that, "I knew you would like it" she whispered back.

Tyler silently nodded, it felt good to meet his former teammates again…however he did notice one small detail, one particular individual that was missing from the team, "Where's Sam?" Tyler asked.

"Temporarily transferred to lead Green team" Linda answered.

'Damn' Tyler thought, out of everything he would have guessed, THAT was not on his list.

"Guess we have some catching up to do" Tyler said.

Suddenly he felt someone slightly wedge his sides, "A LOT of catching up to do" Kelly corrected.

Tyler couldn't help but gulp, the last time she had wanted some catching up was back on 26, right after Circinius…and it had been…eventful.

---

February 12, 2525, 0524 hours [MILITARY CALENDER]

Location: Lambda Serpentis system, Jericho VII, UNSC destroyer, Resolute

-

In orbit, there were dozens of frigates, destroyers, and two massive carriers. Every ship had carbon scoring and holes peppering their hulls. They were all maneuvering to break orbit.

They docked in the port bay of the UNSC Resolute. Despite being surrounded by two meters of thick Titanium-A battle plate and an array of modern weapons, Tyler still knew that all it would take was one lucky shot and this thing was good as a rust bucket.

Stepping out of the pelican, Tyler was greeted with the sight of personals shifting around; the wounded were being taken to med bays, while the dead were being enclosed in a zipper. Tyler recognized some of the wounded marines as being a part of the 307th platton.

There other five SPARTANs from Blue team were also heard walking behind him, exiting the pelican. Kelly was the one to stop right beside him, while John stood on his left…he took his time to scan the interior.

That was when he noticed another Team of SPARTANs walking towards them, one he had embarrassingly quite nearly forgotten about…Bravo team…his own Team.

Cassandra was of course at the lead of his team, her way of walking indicated him that she was pissed…very pissed, which made the next few moments even more predictable.

Before Tyler could even greet them, he felt a pang of pain in his stomach, as Cassandra immediately punched him there as she got in range. Tyler simply grunted in pain as he stumbled a few centimeters back, although this was a normal and almost a daily occurrence in his team, it was however not for Blue team, who were all glancing at both him and Cassandra, clearly taken aback by her actions.

Even some of the personals on the hanger bay diverted gazes towards them, after all it wasn't everyday you'd see a whole Gang of SPARTANs, and one where one SPARTAN got punched by another…if ever that is.

"Ow, I guess I deserved that" Tyler said chuckling a bit.

Cassandra didn't reply, but it was clear she was not amused.

"Had you been any later, you might have received a kick instead" Alexander commented.

"I'd much rather prefer that" Tyler sarcastically said, which only got him another, slightly less powerful punch from Cassandra.

"You keep your mouth shut, you know you could have died doing that!" she scolded, to which Tyler shyly scratched the back of his helmet.

"I don't know what you did, but I have to guess it was bad?" James interrupted their banter, "I don't remember Cassandra being a hot head so…it must be bad, right?"

"Correct, yet also not…if you spend some time with our team, you'd understand her reasons" Owen corrected, "Good to see you again, James"

"Good to see you're back alive, Owen" James remarked.

Meanwhile, "Fred…" Alexander said.

"Alex" Fred followed; both SPARTANs stared at each other for a moment, before soon extending their hands and shaking it in the most manly shake Tyler had seen to this day.

"Never thought I'd see you alive" Fred commented.

"I'm offended with that you know" Alexander joked.

While off in the corner of the group, Maria and Linda both stood side by side, both of them simply observing the interactions go on. "Wanna try at range later?" Linda offered.

"Sure" Maria replied.

Tyler simply kept his mouth shut as Cassandra continued to berate him, something which he was sure the other's from Blue team had no idea about…John on the other hand seemed to be…amused by the sight, the only person he had really seen scold Tyler had been Kelly, and so seeing another SPARTAN do that was refreshing.

Kelly on the other hand continued to stand besides Tyler, silently observing the banter between him and Cassandra, she would have laughed out loud at the sight, but a strange feeling in her stopped her…she didn't exactly know what it was…but she felt a sense of envy as she Tyler interact with Cassandra…was she Jealous? No…that wouldn't be, whatever feeling this was, she hated it.

"We'll be needed at the bridge" John told Tyler, one which he was silently reliving about, John had accidently or not, saved him from Cassandra's scolding, which made her seem like his Mom..

"Then we should get going" Tyler said in an urging tone, pushing John away from the group, he and John quickly made their way out of the port bay.

"What did he actually do?" Kelly asked the SPARTAN in front of her.

"Why do you want to know?" Cassandra inquired, her tone was less of irritation but more of curiousness.

"Just curious, and also a reason to beat him up for" Kelly said with a smirk behind her face plate.

It was obvious Cassandra also had a smirk behind her faceplate, looking around she gave her answerer, "How about a more…private place?"

-

Tyler and John rode on an elevator to the bridge, John had his report to make and Tyler had his explanation on what he and his team were doing down there…although that answer would be the same that he had given to everyone else.

During this moment, John had taken his opportunity to read Red team's after action report on a data pad he had acquired, along with Green team's augmenting three divisions of battle hardened UNSC Marines stalling the covenant ground advance. Casualties were still coming in, but on the ground atleast, the covenant seemed to have completely stonewalled.

Tyler too had taken his chance to peak at the report as well; after all he had only been in a much minor part of the planet's overall battle…although his mission had resulted in a success, it was one which probably would benefit ONI more.

Moments later the elevator door slid open, and Tyler along with John stepped on the rubberized deck. Both he and John snapped a crisp salute to the Captain, who Tyler remembered and confirmed to be Captain De Blanc. "Sir, reporting as ordered" John informed.

The junior bridge officers all took a step or two back from him and John. It was clear they weren't used to seeing SPARTANs in full MJOLNIR up close…if ever. Most line troops had never even seen a SPARTAN in their life, most probably hearing them only through exaggerated and over glorified rumors…Tyler didn't mind this type of reaction, he had gotten used to it so long ago.

The view screens showed stars and Jericho VII's four silver moons. At extreme range, a small constellation of stars drifted closer.

The Captain waved both Tyler and Chief closer as he stared at that cluster of stars, and the rest of the battle group, "It's happening again"

"Request permission to remain on the bridge, sir" John said. "I…want to see it this time, sir"

Tyler could understand his reasoning…he too had seen the glassing of planets a bit too many times than desired…Biko…Circinius…Eridanus…and the Second and final glassing of Harvest…Jericho would juts be another addition to the list…one he didn't like.

The Captain hung his head, looking weary. He glanced at John with haunted eyes. "Very well, Chief. After all you've been through to save Jericho Seven, we owe you that. We're only thirty million kilometers out-system, though, not half as far as I'd like to be." He turned to the NAV Officer. "Bearing one two zero. Prepare our exit vector."

He turned to face the John. "We'll stay to watch . . . but if those bastards so much as twitch in our direction, we're jumping the hell out of here."

"Understood, sir. Thank you."

Resolute's engines rumbled and the ship moved off.

It was then that the Captain finally turned towards Tyler, who had been feeling a bit…Out of place again. "Now then…Lieutenant-Commander…" the Captain started.

He had waved Tyler a bit away from John, for a much more private conversation, but Tyler was sure that John could still hear them…it was obvious.

"Now then. Mind explaining what you and your team were doing planet side?" the Captain demanded, clearly wanting an answer. "As far as I'm concerned, Command did not inform me or anyone of additional SPARTAN teams being deployed planet side"

"Unfortunately, Sir, that's classified" once again, Tyler stamped the Classified mark on the question; however the Captain was not a SPARTAN, and was certainly a high enough rank to demand answers.

"Son, I don't believe that will do. We've bled for this planet for god knows how long, lost lives, ships and equipments. I believe everyone here deserves a proper explanation as to why a team that has never even participated on this battle, just suddenly appears one day" the Captain shot back, Tyler didn't take any offense, he knew where he was coming from and sympathized with him, after all, had Tyler been in his place and been given the same reply, he too would be livid.

"And even if you don't give me an answer, Command sure is gonna demand some" the Captain ended.

Tyler internally sighed, he had to give an answer of some sort…one which he knew would not fully reveal their mission, but be enough to satisfy the Captain…and he had the right one.

Tyler leaned a bit closer towards the Captain, right next to his ears. "I believe Naval Intelligence would take care of that" he said in a low tone, hopping that John didn't hear or catch on. But to his disappointment, it seemed he had heard that very clear as his body seemed to tense up as soon as Tyler ended.

The Captain eye briefly widened before returning to the stone hard expression, it was clear that answer had taken him off guard, and most of all, it seemed to have answered some of his questions. "I see…I just needed to confirm"

Tyler nodded in agreement, "Confirmation is what we need in this war, at this point" Tyler said. "Sir, if I may, where's our next stop?"

The Captain sighed, "Anywhere but here" he answered, it was not the exact answer Tyler wanted…but he didn't pester.

They had stood there for an hour of so…Tyler didn't count, just that he watched as another planet suffered the same fate as many before…Him and John had exited the bridge, having been dismissed.

Walking down the hallway, they were making route towards their designated barracks where the rest of the SPARTANs to were stay at…Tyler had been offered a special Officer's quarters, but he denied that…after all, sleeping with the boys was better than alone.

"So you're working for ONI" John broke the silence as they walked.

"Come on John, we've all worked for them, and you know we're meant to keep our mouths shut about what we do for them" Tyler said.

"At least you could have said it was under ONI's jurisdiction" John replied.

"Maybe…but I didn't want to take the risk" Tyler said.

John silently nodded. They came near the door towards the barracks which slid open. Walking inside they could see that most of the SPARTANs were out of their armor…Most, the only outliers being Tyler team…Bravo Team, who still stayed within their armor.

Tyler scanned everyone present in the room, and not one person was unfamiliar to him. The main attention of his however was the tall giant in the room, Sam.

"Tyler!" Sam exclaimed as he opened himself for a hug.

"Sam!" Tyler simply joined in with his humor, opening up as well…last time he had been caught in a bear hug…this time he would much prefer it in equal terms…he had to give it, Sam knew how to hug people.

The two SPARTANs, one fully armored while the other not, embraced each other in a manly hug, as Tyler refers it. Letting go of their hug, the two SPARTANs simply shared a laugh.

"How come I never got a hug" Kelly grumbled.

"It's a men thing Kells, deal with it" Sam said with a grin.

Kelly in response simply pouted slightly.

"So, any news from up top?" Alexander asked.

"We're staying here until a viable stop" Tyler answered.

But before he could add more, Sam chimed in as he wrapped an arm around Tyler's shoulders, a smirk on his face, "Which could me a month, two or three at best. Meaning we're gonna be sticking together until then"

Tyler couldn't really say anything to that as he was busy trying to get off of Sam's grip, which did take a while. "I've not seen this many of us gather at once since Chi ceti" Cassandra commented.

"Many are still missing" Fred added, to which she nodded to.

"So Tyler, care sharing us some of your experience?" Solomon asked. he was one of the more Chill SPARTANs as far as Tyler knew him.

"Maybe another time" Tyler said. There would be a lot to tell, even if it excluded some of the parts involving Trove and some of the Forerunner ruins.

"Yeah, after all, me and him have some catching up to do" Kelly interrupted, a wide grin on her face, cracking some of her knuckles

"Yeah…he's dead" Alexander whispered over to Maria.

"Good" Cassandra whispered. Tyler was confused as to why she seemed pissed, but then looked to Cassandra, having guessed that she may have spilled some beans about his stunt.

Cassandra simply waved him off, to which Tyler could only internally feel anguish in…'Damn you Cassie…' he thought.

"Jesus Kelly, maybe spare the poor guy, were meeting him after four years after all" Sam chimed in, Tyler couldn't tell if he was joking or serious…either way, both him and Kelly simply burst out laughing at that…something which somewhat confused Tyler.

Tyler simply stared at Kelly who laughed…'I must say…she's quite pretty…….wait a second……oh Tyler you Motherfucker….' Tyler internally cursed himself as he realized what he was thinking, blushing behind his face plate on that thought…

Seeing that everyone else seemed to be distracted, Tyler quickly made his way over to the door, exiting the barracks as he wanted to clear off his mind.

He walked down the hallway for a few seconds before stopping by a notice board, one which contained news articles, some Notice from the UEG and finally propaganda…lots of it…

But his mind was not focused on that…it was something else, 'Fuck Tyler, Fuck. You can't be falling in love…we never have fallen in love…FUCKKKKK' Tyler mentally screeched…he had completely forgotten about Kelly's pissed mood and now was worried about his emotions for her.

'Calm down…Calm down, it's just a woman Tyler, it's just a woman….ITS A FUCKING WOMAN, OF COURSE WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH ROMANTICALLY' Tyler went from reassuring to simply cursing himself internally…he didn't know how, but it had gone from Simple Asset denial, to Average day in London or lots of shakin in the dark, to Stalingrad level of structural combat, to finally Just Cause level action…all of which Tyler had participated and flawless performed in…all to be flustered with a feeling he was just having…he felt stupid…but that was what falling in love was…you'd feel stupid.

"Why you're out here" a voice, belonging to Cassandra spooked him out.

"Jesus…Cassie…what are you doing here?" Tyler asked.

"I was asking you that" Cassandra shot back.

"Oh…urm…just something that troubled my mind" Tyler assured.

"Really? Mind sharing?" She asked.

Tyler didn't know if he should…he didn't know what she would think…how she would react…and most of all if she could help him…after all, he may have trained to be a soldier, but he had never trained to be a lover…he hadn't reached that level yet back on his universe.

Sighing, he answered, "Promise me you won't tell anyone"

"My lips are sealed" Cassandra assured, which lightened the weight on Tyler's mind.,

"Okay, so……I'm in love" Tyler came out straight, anxious on her reaction.

Cassandra simply stared straight at him, directly at his faceplate for a moment, "Why is that troubling? Aren't we all in love with each other?"

'Oh this Bi-' Tyler thought as this was absolutely not the answer he had expected or even hoped for, "Not THAT type of love Cassie, I mean it in a Romantic way, you understand?"

"Oh…" Cassandra realized her mistake briefly looking away in embarrassment while also blushing at what Tyler was really talking about. But she soon returned her gaze towards Tyler, even behind her faceplate, it was clear she had a serious face. "So is it me?"

"Would I be fucking telling this to you if you were?" Tyler said his English accent slipping out, completely appalled by her…obliviousness.

"Good point" Cassandra said. "So who is it then? And does she know about it?"

"Don't get me wrong, she's a really good friend, a best friend if I may, maybe even my closest friend. She's nice to me most of the times, friendly and would not hesitate or lose a chance to get one on me…and No, she doesn't know, I…started feeling this about her just now…" Tyler listed out.

Cassandra pondered for a moment, with what Tyler had listed, there were a lot of people that were crossed out, and he had said he was feeling this way just now…and the she finally placed Two and Two together, getting the answer. "Wait! You're in love with Kelly!" she exclaimed.

Tyler froze, but immediately placed his index finger on his faceplate where his lips would be, signaling her to be quite about it. "Oh, yes, sorry" she apologized in a low tone, before returning to a normal one.

"So any advice you could give me, you've basically grew up together…even if it was boot camp" Tyler said.

"Well, first off, I'd say play it slow, don't immediately barge out with your feelings, instead let her open up herself, if that doesn't happen, second, try to be more…open with her, deeply open with her…" Cassandra advised.

"I don't know Cassie, I feel nervous" Tyler stated to which Cassandra internally face palmed.

"You've done much dangerous and crazy things, never dropping a sweat of fear, and now a girl, someone you're close with already is what your nervous about?" Cassandra asked, almost disappointed, "Who know, she might have already fallen for you, she seems very close with you"

"Nah…I don't think so…that's how we've been since day one of our meeting" Tyler said, brushing it off.

"I won't be too hasty" another voice chimed in. Tyler simply froze as he turned towards the voice, and standing there on the hallway was Sam, his arms folded and a proud smirk on his face.

"How much have you heard?" was all Tyler cared about.

"Since the Troubled mind part" Sam said, which simply horrified Tyler, now Two people knew of his new found feelings…

"Sam, don't tell anyone, I quite frankly beg of you" Tyler pleaded.

"Of course I won't" Sam said as he neared Tyler and Cassandra. "You're my best friend; it's my job to keep things secret for you"

Tyler simply sighed open hearing that, 'Well thank God' he thought.

"What did you mean by, won't be too hasty" Cassandra asked, regaining Tyler attention.

"About that, I won't be too hasty to judge, I'm telling you Tyler, Kelly seems to have the hots for you, ninety nine percent" Sam said in confidence.

But Tyler didn't budge and seemed unconvinced, "Yeah right…I don't think so, she still treats me the same as she always did, doesn't look at me weird and acts like we've known for life, we're just really close friends"

Sam simply frowned, "Seriously, I'm not lying"

Cassandra meanwhile stayed quiet. Tyler feeling that he had already thought about it too much finally ended, "Alright let's stop about my feelings, I'd not have my mind be completely occupied with it"

Tyler started to walk in the opposite direction, one which had a turning in the distance, "And where are you going" Cassandra asked.

"To the gym" he answered.

"In full armor? Wouldn't you break things there?" Sam joked.

"Wouldn't make a difference without armor" Tyler answered as he remembered the property damage he had inflicted on the Roman Blue, "See you then"

With that Tyler disappeared along the hallway, talking the turning. Sam and Cassandra continued to stand near the notice board, a moment of silence between the two before they turned to each other.

"So…" Cassandra started.

"So…" Sam followed.

Cassandra smirked under her faceplate, "How about we plant some seeds of love?"

Sam simply grinned wildly like a mad man, "You damn sure"

"I'll deal things with Tyler" Cassandra said.

"And I'll deal with Kelly" Sam said, their grins and smirks never disappearing.

Both of them soon shook hands with force, "DEAL!" both of them said in unison

It was then, after a few seconds after their deal that Kelly walked by them, halting in her tracks and gazing at them. "Have you two seen Tyler?"

Both Cassandra and Sam let go of their hands, which Kelly seemed to have ignored or not noticed, "He went to the gym" Cassandra pointed.

"Why are you looking for him, Kells?" Sam asked.

"Oh, me and him have some catching up remember? And I can finally go all out in a sparring match" she answered as he cracked her neck. "See ya"

She too then vanished in the distance as she took the turning. Once more both Sam and Cassandra looked at each other. "Yep they're in love" Cassandra commented.

"Yep…just that Kelly doesn't know it…hey atleast Tyler's somewhat open about it" Sam added…

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A/N: ANNND THAT ITTTTT…..Holy shit I made this chapter WAY too long. Originally I had planned for the early chapters [1-6 or 7] around 8k-12k in terms of word…not 17K! Well guess that's it…anyways…damn did I write too much….

One thing, I can't promise when the next chapter will be, by Thursday I've got my college reopening [Yes I have a life to live] meaning I won't be able to write more often, maybe except for the weekend…what I'm saying is that updates would now become less frequent, at best maybe 1 chapter per week…yeah….that sucks but hey…life can be fair at time…and as I've said a million times…I AM NOT ABANDONING THIS BOOK…So…Take care, andddd……P E A C E.