"A great sacrifice was made in the name of mankind today," Doctor Halsey spoke, her voice low, quiet, respectful, as she held a flower in her hand. The Outpost had darkened all of its lights, while Nikke and UNSC forces and government representatives gathered at the Memorial Hall within it. Hundreds of Nikkes, clad in dress uniforms and all bearing different faces, stood side-by-side with the young new generation of Commanders.

Doctor Halsey, also wearing a black UNSC uniform of her own, her hat slung under her arm, continued, "A soldier of humanity has given her life in service of the people of the Ark and the continued survival of her race. Though once scorned as a mere replacement and thought little of by the masses, Missilis Product Number Twelve dash Zero-Nine, chosen name 'Niner'... Pre-Nikke name Amanda Colbert… Paid the ultimate price in an operation to destroy a Tyrant-class Rapture Factory, Material H."

Lined up along the memorial building, which had long since been expanded beyond a mere wall, arrayed in squares of dozens of Nikke and soldiers, the defenders of mankind stood vigil as, sadly, the first coffin was marched in by members of the Lucky Strikes. Though they attempted to maintain straight faces, Signal herself couldn't help, tears welling in the corners of her eye. Pinne was not far behind, either, with Layla and Sam bringing up the rear.

At the front, beside Pinne, the Chief, clad in his own Dress Uniform, held the Coffin close. They passed by the Counters. Alyosha himself wore a standard brown Commander uniform of the Ark, though now bearing a couple of medals, a UNSC emblem sewn onto the shoulders. He'd taken his hat off as the Chief and the others passed, putting it up to his chest as a salute. He saw Goddess and Andersen there, too, snapping salutes as the coffin passed by them.

"She died in the line of duty, protecting her Commanding Officer, Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, and her Squadmates from the Tyrant's attacks. Her willingness to risk her own life in the pursuit of Victory ennobled all of us and has earned her the Wings of a Goddess," Halsey's voice quivered for but a moment, "It, like the sacrifices of all Nikke and soldiers that fight daily to protect mankind, will never be forgotten. It has set her name in stone, by the side of her sisters of ages past…"

"We thank you, Niner. Goddess of Victory. Guardian of Mankind. Rest peacefully," Halsey spoke, her last words drawing a few tears out of Pinne, a girl whom Halsey, Cortana and Chief had seen struggling on the way back to the Ark, understandably enough. Halsey had even seen some strange activity in her NIMPH during a routine checkup, but chose to postpone asking questions for after the funeral.

Beside her were Captain Cutter, Commander Keyes and important personalities from the Ark, including the other two heads of Nikke manufacture, Ingrid, who wore her own military uniform, and Mustang, who chose something incredibly well-suited for the funeral:A black suit and tie with no fancy bling or attachments and a pair of white gloves. Even his usual demeanor had vanished in favor of keeping a solemn moment serious. Behind them, the Spartans stood guard, all of them, in dress uniforms of similar color.

Sergeant Johnson marched in front of a platoon of Marines as Chief and the rest of the Strikes brought forth the coffin. In the rear of the formation was Kilo, who stood beside Signal, comforting her a little. Delta remained stoic, though it'd be a lie for her to tell anyone she wasn't going to cry, too. At some point. The team stood over one of the many spots where Nikke coffins would be placed.

One would consider it an extravagant waste of space to bury the dead in a fancy mausoleum like this, especially during war time. What many did not account for was both the fact that this Mausoleum had been designed by Tetra's very own CEO ages ago, but abandoned due to the lack of resources, and that the UNSC Spirit of Fire had brought a great deal of said resources to build anything.

The Sergeant-Major stood in front of the Marines, then barked, "PRESENT ARM!" only to watch the seven raise their Battle Rifles. As customary, almost half the unit of seven were Nikkes, surprisingly of a similar make going by the Product 12 marks on their necks. They were stoic, looking only down the scopes of their weapons. The man barked, "FIRE!"

Three times did the rifles ring, spent casings clattering against the basalt floor as the Spartan and his team, pall-bearers, gently let down the coffin in its designated place. As it reached the bottom, the team gently let go of the ropes, then straightened their postures and snapped salutes. Chief himself stared down at the coffin, wondering what more he could've done to save her.

The others stared at the scarred face of the man before them, noticing the faintest trickle of an emotion in a blemished mask of chiseled stone. He closed his eyes and breathed a sigh, almost unnoticeable to anyone who had not worked with the Spartan for the past few months. It was the most emotion he'd shown to date.

They all frowned. Upon the dismissal of the Funeral Detail, Pinne stopped the Chief and, much to his surprise, the entire team hugged him, with Cortana not far behind. He stared, dumbfound for a moment, his eyes widening, before he awkwardly hugged them all back, sighing deeply. He looked back and saw Alyosha smiling, then nodded to him.

Chief nodded back, letting the hug go on for a few minutes. Then, all three teams, that being the Counters, Lucky Strikes and Matis, stood over the grave, hands on their laps. Sammy spoke, "She was always kind of a ray of sunshine, that one… Gonna miss the hell out of her," quiet, reserved, but smiling, as she pushed her glasses onto the bridge of her nose.

"She was a good gaming partner, too… And she loved babbling on about her mom's baking," Layla chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. "It was honestly the sweetest thing, her and her mom… Hope they're hugging each-other up there," She then added in a murmur, rubbing her arm. The others nodded in agreement.

"She died a true hero," Laplace spoke, soft and calm. The rest of Matis nodded in agreement.

Delta pat a crying Signal's head, then breathed a sigh and said, "She was always a good shooter. Had our backs… I couldn't have asked for a better comrade. I just wish I'd gotten to know her a bit more before…" and she stopped short of saying anything. Kilo, who was the newest member of the team, avoided saying anything. She was too new.

Chief understood, simply nodding to her. He then turned and finished the Lucky Strikes line up by speaking, "She was the first Nikke that truly became part of my command in a sense. She gave her life protecting us. Protecting me. I don't think there is a way to repay what she's done for me at the moment."

"Sure there is," Alyosha spoke, his voice slightly low, "Live, Chief. It's what she wanted when she took that hit for you… Because she knows you're the man that started it all. You started the wave of reinforcements that's letting us operate across the world right now. You gave us all hope. And more importantly, you saved her when she needed it. When everyone else had given up."

"He's right," Syuen added next, much to everyone's surprise. She said to the Chief, "I was gonna scrap her. And if I did manage to drag her to Missilis for that, we'd have probably lost one of the two lunatics capable of winning this damn war," then looked down at the grave, telling Niner specifically, "Sorry about that…"

"Man, did you genuinely get replaced or something? There's no way in high hell you're the same Syuen we started out with!" Anis asked jokingly, causing the others to laugh a little. Chief sighed, wanting to crack a smile, but retaining his stoic persona… At least until Cortana tugged at the corners of his mouth, forcing him to smile and making the entire team laugh.

Stella chuckled and said, "Now kith," to Cortana and Chief.

That caused both of them to blush, much to Chief's chagrin and Cortana's horror. The rest of the platoon burst into even louder laughter, only calming down a bit once they looked at Niner's tomb. They all gently placed flowers down above it, then gave their salutes. Pinne herself whispered, "I'm so sorry, Niner… See ya 'round, girl…"

… Some hours later, the teams had scattered to their dorms, with Chief, Cortana and the Blues now walking together to the Missilis HQ. The Chief had stopped by the Barracks to retrieve Niner's stuff, all to deliver it to her remaining family before going to the HQ as well. When they got to the Headquarters, Halsey was waiting for them.

She said, "Welcome back… I'm sorry I did not leave the Vapaus with you now, John," as she motioned for them to enter the place. As they did, the group found Mana sitting at the microscope. Looking up, she turned to face the Spartans and AI. Halsey said, "The properties of this bullet are terrifying. It's a nanomachine killer."

"It can strip a Nikke of their NIMPH?" Cortana blinked, stunned. Halsey nodded, to which Cortana hummed and said, "Then… The NIMPH is where the Corruption attaches itself. Which would make sense, considering what I felt from Niner…" only to pause. She sighed deeply, rubbing her eyes and mumbling, "Even in death, you still serve, eh, Nines?"

"Her sacrifice did more than just save the Master Chief," Mana spoke from the computer, her voice soft and respectful, "It provided Cortana and, by extension, us, an insight into how the Corruption works. We've had suspicions and some data pointed toward it, but never something as concrete as what you must've seen."

"Yeah," Cortana sighed deeply, rubbing her eyes, "I can give you the details. Just gotta save my data on a drive and hand it over. Thank the maker I'm not completely reliant on this stuff," and she walked over to sit down next to a device specifically designed to copy the combat data of Nikkes to its systems. All of the Big Three had one and they had common parts.

"Thank you," Halsey spoke, then lifted her tablet and started typing on it. She told Chief and the Blues, "If you want to rest, I'd suggest doing so… Word of mouth is the Heretic, Modernia, is making moves and we need to be ready to intercept her and her little leashed pet, Chatterbox. We'll need all available teams for it."

"Don't worry, ma'am," Chief replied, "We'll be ready."

"John," Halsey replied, her expression softening to that of an understanding mother, her brows raised and a small, if sad smile on her face. She told him, "Take it as an order. Rest… Stay with your teams, both the Blues and Luckies. You all haven't served a mission together at all. Cortana will join you soon enough."

"... Okay," The Spartan breathed, then showed the others to follow. They saluted Halsey again, then departed the HQ, with the doctor breathing a sigh and pushing her glasses to the bridge of her nose. Cortana, meanwhile, had attached the necessary bits to download the data from her NIMPH-based Brainstem, while making sure her chip-related data was still there in case she needed to ditch the body due to Corruption.

As they walked out, Kelly asked Chief, "So, whaddaya wanna do, John?"

"I suppose what Doctor Halsey ordered," The man replied with a heavy sigh, taking his helmet off. He told them, "Let's go talk to the Squad. Relax… As long as we can," then he slung the helmet under his arm. He walked away, calm, to which Kelly, Sam, Fred and Linda stared, surprised. Sam felt a pang of guilt that showed on his face.

Fred told him, "Don't start, Sam," quietly. He gave the young man a gentle punch in the shoulder, then said, "John takes every loss hard," before he walked forward. The others walked with him, Samuel simply giving a nod of approval as they did so, his own helmet slung under his arm. The young man couldn't help it, though.

Some part of him knew that the first soldierly loss John tasted wasn't the Spartans they lost to the Augmentation Failures, though they certainly were a heartwrenching first case of casualties among the Spartans. He was the first man ever lost in combat by John… And for a similar reason, too. He took a shot that John thought he was supposed to take. It was too similar to this case for Sam to just let it go…

Kelly added, "Hey. I can see the face, Sam. Don't. Nothing good'll come out of it," as she crossed her arms. She added, "C'mon, Lin, agree with u-" only to pause as she saw Linda do the unexpected. She put a hand around Sam's shoulder and gave him a slight squeeze, before looking at the other two and nodding. Kelly smiled, too, then said, "See? Even Lin agrees."

"Fair," Sam sighed deeply, "C'mon. Let's not let John go at it alone, eh?"


Commander Harris's room

Alyosha looked over the paperwork on his table. Aside from a few requisition forms from the Nikkes in the Outpost, few items of substance were present, like budget approvals left from before they departed for the mission and a few confirmations for additional troops to be deployed to the area:New Elysion Mass Production models armed with UNSC gear. The first to incorporate it.

Missilis, Elysion and Tetra were now cooperating instead of competing, outright providing support to grow the Misriah Arms representative that was aboard the Spirit of Fire as he grows the Company's name. 'Affordable Rapture protection? Look no further than Misriah Arms! Protecting humanity for centuries under the UNSC!'

He cracked a smile at that, then sighed as he signed the approval for the transfer of a couple of new squads over, then he set the touch-pen for his tablet down to the side and looked around, thinking to himself that, maybe, if he or Chief had spotted that tentacle underneath sooner, that if they'd have looked down…

Marian's face flashed in front of his eyes, covered by the bandages. Then, another face, familiar but horrifying, appeared. The Heretic, 'Modernia'. The woman that had protected Chatterbox from Snow and the rest of their team during the Northern Area Operations. He blanked, knowing full well that a familiar face would be behind the visor, but the similarities overlapped in his mind and he-

He blanked, taken out of his momentary trance by a knock on the door frame. He'd now noticed he left the door open, letting Rapi come close enough to do that. She showed a twinge of sadness, but calmly asked, "May I come in, Commander?" to which he smiled again. If there was ever a time where he said no, he thought, he would slap himself.

"Any time," He offered, then showed her to her seat. Standing up, the man walked over to a new addition to his room's kitchen:A Coffee maker with coffee pods. He asked, "Coffee?" to which she immediately perked up, looking at him with wide eyes. She nodded rapidly, mouth slightly open. He snorted, then pulled out two cups and prepared them. He asked, "Milk and sugar?"

"Yes, please," She replied, meek. So, he made two Capuccinos, bringing them to the coffee table. He sat down next to the girl, still out of his MJOLNIR(Which was resting on a reinforced armor stand nearby, ready to be put on) and offered her the cup. She nodded, saying, "Thank you…" before taking a sip and visibly shivering, face red as she let out a cutesy noise.

He chuckled a little, blushing and averting his gaze as he sipped his own coffee. He instantly forgot his own second-hand embarrassment and looked at the coffee in the cup, eyes wide, then said, "Holy shit, this is good. Beats the knockoffs they gave us in our usual mess kits," to which Rapi gave another noise of approval.

"All it's missing is a good croissant or some pastry," The girl said with the greatest emotion he'd ever heard in her voice. He showed her to wait, set his own cup and plate down, then poked over the couch, pulling up a pair of pastries in UNSC-marked MRE bags. He undid the zip-locks, letting air into the bags, then offered the girl one of the croissants. She smiled brightly at that, taking it and biting into it before visibly shivering.

"Cute…" Alyosha thought aloud, covering his mouth and trying not to stare. She didn't hear him, thank the maker, focusing on her coffee and the sweet pastry he'd offered. He turned back to his own coffee, asking, "So… What's up?" while gently sipping from it, to make sure it lasted as long as possible. He arranged his shirt, glad he did a bulk order of larger ones for more casual wear.

"Hm?" She raised a brow, mouth slightly full and crumbs all over her cheeks. He smiled again, but didn't say anything. She blinked, swallowed the food and drink, then said, "Oh, right… I came to see how you were doing, Commander…" as she set the items down and wiped her mouth with a napkin. His smile grew a bit sadder at that.

"I'm okay," He sighed deeply, "More worried about Chief."

She nodded in understanding, "You went through the same thing…" and she slumped back into the couch, mumbling, "We all did…" as she looked at the cup. Alyosha sighed, images of Niner's face flashing in his mind, only to be paralleled by those of a damaged Marian again. He slouched, then nodded in agreement, staying quiet.

Seeing that, she put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Sorry, I…" before taking a shaky breath, "It was horrifying, seeing it again."

"What about you?" He asked, looking at her.

"Doctor Halsey slated me for a checkup within a few hours. I figured I'd come spend that time talking through things," She told him, then breathed in and out, "Commander… I do have a confession to make. Do you know how Syuen would've wanted to mind-wipe us? Me and Mihara, I mean. Before Cortana intervened and convinced Enikk to let her gather evidence and leave us be."

"I do," He replied, leaning back as he looked at her. He blinked as a few pieces of a puzzle settled in his brain, before he said, "You're… Not showing any signs of Corruption, either…" and fully turned to face her. Her eyes widened the moment she realized he basically understood what she was about to say, then simply nodded to confirm it. His face went through various emotions, but most prominent were joy, where a smile appeared, eyes widening, then surprise, where the mouth turned into an 'o' shape and finally a little bit of fear. He looked upon the girl before him and asked, "Will Halsey-"

"Yes. She will find out I lack a proper NIMPH system," Rapi replied, "I trust her, however. Fully. The same way I trust you… Well, no, not really," She mumbled, then said more surely, "But close enough. Same with the Master Chief," to which he smiled again. She blushed, then cleared her throat and stated, "You seem worried, Commander…"

"I am," He answered, "But I'm sure it's gonna be alright. The UNSC has done nothing but proven themselves to be our friends. Hell, Chief's one of the most reliable people I know… I'm sorry he had to go through what we did with his squad, but I hope Niner's resting well, knowing her squad's still going strong…"

Rapi nodded, then told him, "You should talk to him. Despite his tough exterior, I'm sure he needs reassurance from one of his peers and a fellow commander. He might not look it, but Cortana told me he's the type to carry the weight of every single soul he commanded and lost, so…" she pat him on the shoulder. He chuckled and nodded. The Chief and him could bond over another thing now.

"Let's finish our coffee and then we'll both head on out, alright?" He asked. She nodded, then both turned to grab their specific, now lukewarm cups and drink. They drank together in a soothing silence, simply enjoying each-other's company… And not noticing Neon and Anis looking at them from the door, which both had forgotten to close. Both looked at one-another, then bumped fists before gently moving back and away.

Thirty minutes later, Rapi had been called to the Missilis headquarters via com-link, while Alyosha had gone to search for the Chief. He presumed he'd find the man either with Blue Team, or just alone somewhere nearby. Much to his surprise, however, he walked into the barracks of the Lucky Strikes. He saw Chief sitting among the girls. The man also noticed him and snapped an immediate, respectful salute which Alyosha replied to in kind.

All remaining members of the Squad, Kilo and somehow TALOS included(The mech barely fit in the room. How?) were around the Chief as the man was seemingly telling them a story. He raised a brow and asked, "I'm not interrupting something, am I?" with a smile. Kilo, who smiled the brightest of them all, shook her head.

Delta said, "The Master Chief was telling us stories of his own exploits in the Human-Covenant War," while also wearing a smile.

"... I would've told them earlier, before we left," Chief sounded a slight bit regretful, despite his semi-stoic face, "But we didn't have time. Now…" and that regret right there, in that single pause, told Alyosha more than he needed to know. He also saw Blue Team, Samuel included, listening in and ready to help patch any holes in the plot, so to speak, with how they remember certain events.

"I'm sure she's listening in, too," The Commander nodded, understanding. He asked, "You mind if I tag in as well?"

"You're free to join at any time, sir," Chief replied calmly, garnering the approval of most of Blue team and the rest of the Luckies. Alyosha smiled, then walked over and sat down on the mat in front of the Chief, to which the Spartan began again, "... As I was saying, I, Cortana and the other survivors had escaped the first Halo encountered by mankind and stolen a Covenant vessel…" and, just as Alyosha had expected, the man wasn't boasting. Simply telling the tale as fact.

Anis and Neon also joined in to listen, while Kilo, though slightly horrified by the reveal of the fact the Chief had faced the Flood beforehand, listened intently to her Commander as he spoke. Like a daughter listening to her father regale her with tales of his life. Chief remained calm, his face less impassive and more focused as he told it all.

Moments later, Cortana stepped in, too, just as Chief was getting to the Unyielding Hierophant side of the story, with Johnson not far behind, even outright calling it the 'Uneven Elephant' as a joke, which garnered a few laughs and even caused the Chief to crack a smile, shaking his head. Cortana sat down beside the Chief and leaned against him as he retold the tale of its destruction.

"... Enough dead heroes, huh?" Cortana thought to herself as she recalled Admiral Whitcomb and Haverson, whom Chief now spoke of. Despite the team's apprehension, Haverson had proven himself in his final moments as more than just another ONI suit and earned himself a place in Humanity's panoply of war heroes, right next to Whitcomb.

… Personal stories seemed to be helping in further bonding and mending the wounds, though. Thank the maker…