Two battalions' worth of Nikkes and UNSC Marines gathered for the briefing of one of the largest military operations of the war. Said briefing was being held in the largest auditorium available in the Outpost, the stadium, with military staff from all three main branches of the UNSC Military. The NUEG had sent forth a few representatives to participate in a limited manner.

One of these battalions was a Squadron, an armored battalion-strength element of the UNSC Military, armed with Oryxes and the newly-modified M810 Scorpion MBTs, which were armed with 120mm railguns for better destruction of any enemy unit that dared set foot in front of them. Aside from that, they had a company of Nikkes for Logistics, led by the members of Infinity Rail and their train, the Ark Rail.

Rio sat there, looking at the other Nikkes around her, her own newfound teammates from the Counters included as she said, "Y'know, this feels eerily familiar," to Rapi. Rapi nodded in agreement, thinking back to the prep and pep talks from just before the Second Surface Reclamation War. Though, this time, there was a certain air of professionalism instead of just prideful boasting.

Anis told the two, "Relax, would ya?" with a smirk. She seemed pretty confident in what was about to happen and, honestly, it wasn't like Rapi didn't understand. The UNSC was working to streamline Nikke Combat Teams from three down to one multirole squad, with each squad containing various multirole-capable Nikkes, plus integrated and organic support from the UNSC Marines.

"I'm sure Master and the others aren't the old Ark's military command," Neon remarked as she hugged her shotgun. Their vehicles were waiting for them outside, meaning they'd deploy after the briefing. The other members of the Nikke squads agreed, with the Lucky Strikes, who were sat ahead of them, smiling back at the group.

Syuen commented, "Plus, this ain't a planet-spanning op. They pinpointed Modernia on a map at this point. All we're gonna do is kick her door down, surround her and take her in," as she checked her own SMG. She hummed, then watched as the commanders, officers and even Andersen appeared from the left.

All chatter that once was ongoing between friends, comrades and newfound battle buddies died down as Alyosha stepped onto the stage first, next to the Chief, Blue Team, captain Cutter and Andersen. He breathed a sigh, then stood still behind Andersen, helmet slung under his arm, as the Chief Deputy began to speak, "Ladies, gentlemen. Glad you could make it to the briefing in time."

A few laughs echoed, though most of the crew remained quiet, listening to their officers speak. Andersen, to his credit, simply said, "I'll cut straight to the chase. Within six hours, the might of a UNSC Marine regiment and all the organic support we can muster for it will be deployed to the south-western wastes with one objective:The capture of Heretic codename MODERNIA."

A holographic display activated behind them, depicting Modernia, the visored, silver-haired young woman. Alyosha stared, however, at the white bandages in her hair, with even Rapi and Anis noticing them now that they had them in full view. Andersen continued, "This operation will be a two-parter. Your objective is to locate Modernai's main base of operations, preferably with Modernia inside, then encircle it and tighten the noose."

"She will emerge to confront the combat force with her entire roster of Raptures, some of which may be using optical Camouflage derived from captured Covenant technology," The Chief deputy spoke. A few quiet murmurs of discontent about the enemy's capabilities made their way to the Lucky Strikes and the Counters, but the teams remained calm otherwise. Andersen looked at Cutter, then nodded.

The Captain stepped up, "For that reason specifically, the UNSC Spirit of Fire's air wings, many of which will be loaded with experimental electromagnetic bombs intermixed with conventional and cluster ammunition, will be available as direct air support in the AO. Wombat UCAVs are already combing the desert there to provide us better lines of sight, but we'd still like proper eyes on before any of you call a bomb in."

The laughs grew slightly louder, a bit more mirthful. Even Alyosha cracked a smile at that, but as he glanced at the Chief and the others, he returned to the usually serious young man he always was in combat. Rapi saw him and smiled a little, before she leaned back and continued to listen. The Captain spoke calmly, "Obviously, we trust you to put those bombs where they need to go. We wouldn't have let you carry a gun otherwise."

"Not so sure about that, sir," Forge quipped as he and Johnson stared at them, "A bunch of my fellow Jarheads aren't particularly good with complicated stuff like actually aiming a laser designator."

More mirthful laughs escaped the crowd, with Anis giggling at that. Cutter snorted and shook his head, keeping it professional, "Thank you for the enlightening statement, Sergeant. It's a good thing you're not the one we're relying on to drop said bombs," and that got even more laughter out of the crowd, with Doctor Anders herself letting out a short laugh from nearby. The officer then continued, "Regardless..."

"Commander Harris, the Master Chief and Blue Team will take field command of the operation," Cutter then told them, lifting his hand to show the Spartans, "They, with the help of Cortana, will coordinate the Operation's finer details from the front line and will be the ones to utilize the Vapaus rounds on Modernia, in order to bring her in. Commander, if you care to explain how," and he turned to Alyosha.

The young man nodded, then stepped forward and cleared his throat before he started speaking, "As per Doctor Halsey's own reports and microscopic tests, the substance 'Vapaus' can and will disrupt nanomachine activity within the confines of a Nikke's or Heretic's body, meaning it will disable their regeneration powers and the resistance they have to stun weapons. It also means that any unit hit by this will be lacking a NIMPH…"

A few gasps echoed and Alyosha nodded, "Yeah, I reacted the same when the Doc told me…" then he pulled one of the bullets out of his belt and said, "This little thing, made from the blood of people like me, Chief and Chief Deputy Andersen, might be the last step to you all being truly free to make your own choices. We'll see how to make more, but, with that implication hanging in the air, ladies, we have a fight to win and one of the Queen's Pawns to take off the board… Watch each-other's backs out there. This is gonna be our toughest fight yet. Dismissed!"

"Sir!" The Regiment-strength force replied loudly, some of them visibly excited. Rio stared at the Commander with a hint of surprise, then looked at Rapi and asked, "Is he usually this straightforward?" as they stood up and moved out of the place in a neat and orderly fashion. Rapi nodded, to which the Sniper spoke, "And no cameras to broadcast the whole event," as she looked around.

"Like I mentioned before, our current government isn't the CG," The girl replied as they descended the steps and walked out of the stadium. They looked over the edge of the artificial cliff nearby the place, where the Goddesses' statue stood, watching the central area of the Outpost being used as a gathering spot for dozens of UNSC Pelicans:Their insertion into the AO.

"Nor is our Commander a normal one," Joked Anis as she hefted her launcher over her shoulder, "Seriously, the guy's something at times. I wonder if he realizes the carrot he's just dangled in front of the entire Nikke population of the Outpost…" then she jumped a little as she felt a hand tap her on her shoulder.

Stella spoke, "He knows. And it's not a carrot. Consider it more an unspoken promise."

Anis took a moment and sighed, then nodded, "Right… Thanks, Stel," while Rio chuckled and Neon smiled. Rio herself looked at Rapi next, to see she'd cracked a small smile and her grin grew as she gave the girl a gentle elbow in the shoulder. She was also briefed on the fact Stella was actually Harris's sister.

"Don't mention it," The girl chuckled as she hefted her medical gear. She then looked over to the left and saw Syuen sitting there, staring at the arrayed forces with some degree of awe. She asked, "You alright there, Syuen? You look a little… Not sure if off-put or just not all there…" as she saw a flicker of an inscrutable emotion play across the girl's face.

"... This is the greatest gathering of military forces in the Ark in about seventy years," She murmured, leaning on her shield, "It's like watching images of a Pre-War parade on the Arknet," and she seemed to take the sight in. She told them, "Y'know, I was born in the Ark. Raised to be Missilis's heir and all that crap. Wonder what dad or my sister would feel about me now that I'm a Nikke," with a hint of melancholy.

"You have a sister?" Neon inquired, genuinely surprised.

"You have a dad? I thought they cloned pain-in-the-butt Missilis Heirs by the dozen nowadays!" Anis asked jokingly, to which Syuen gave her the most deadpan stare she could muster, opposite her usual demeanor back when she was human. The buxom blondie chuckled and said, "I'm kidding. Your sis still around?"

Rapi led the way downstairs, with Syuen replying, "She's probably working with Halsey as we speak. Not a fate I'd wish on anyone since that woman apparently has a bad 'leave coffee where it lay and get a new one' habit," as a half-joke, though, to people who knew her before, Syuen's jokes landed about as well as her lack of anger management classes. Still, some of'em took it to heart.

Anis joked back, "Still angy she stole your show?"

Syuen rolled her eyes, "Not as angry as you must be for not fitting in a proper dress," and that got a couple laughs. Anis glared, but cracked a smirk at that. Syuen added, "I can hit back nowadays, blondie. I'm a Nikke, too, no longer the thin little wafer that your XO over here kicked into a near coma…" and as she felt phantom pains in her chest, she demanded, "Seriously, why?! I get you weren't mind-wiped, BUT DID YOU HAVE TO HIT ME IN THE CHEST?!"

"A little payback," Rapi replied, casting a glance back at Syuen that could freeze lakes. It sent a chill up the CEO-turned-MP-Nikke's spine as they walked, but the girl's expression softened as she said, "I'm not usually one for petty revenge like that, but I aimed for a spot that wouldn't kill you… Just hurt really bad."

"That's recomforting," The shielder Nikke replied sarcastically.

As they reached the gathering spot, they paused as they saw Echo 419's Pelican being loaded up, with TALOS, Kilo and Mighty Tools present. Rapi asked, "Centi? Liter? What're you doing?" as she saw them packing gear and weapons aboard the Pelican. She looked at Captain Rawley next and asked, her, too, "What's going on?"

"Command wants an OP built nearby our target area so the other birds have where to land," Foe Hammer replied with a smile. She put her helmet on and said, "Mighty Tools asked for TALOS and Kilo to help. I'll be aboard preppin' us for takeoff, ladies. Take your time," and she walked to the rear of the vehicle, climbing aboard.

The group looked at the two women before them, with Centi waving over their commander and reinforcements:A Marine platoon led by the Shevchenko siblings. Liter herself leaned against the font of the Pelican and said, "Command figured six hours is gonna be enough time to get us a small forward ops base in the area. So, they picked the best construction team for the job."

"Guess that makes sense," Rapi spoke, "Why TALOS and Kilo, too, though? They're Lucky Strike members, or HEAVY GRAM when they aren't assigned to them," before looking over at Kilo. The green-haired girl turned quickly and awkwardly waved, before bumping her head against TALOS's front armor and whining.

"Simple," Liter quipped, "The Three-Dimensional Printer on TALOS's arm's gonna expedite the process a bunch."

"Sure will make things easier for us, heh. We'd have had to call Electric Shock off a repair job in the Ark if we wanted electrical circuitry done for the turrets," Centi laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. Mike Shevchenko gave her a pat on the shoulder and a smile, which caused her to blush and giggle, before the Marines of the squad boarded the transport. Sev's sister laughed at that.

Stella grinned, teasing, "And that was~?"

"J-Just our Commander and the support elements," Centi giggled awkwardly, "Nothing else~, ehehe…"

Liter spoke in a deadpan, "Don't be fooled, kids. She jumped his bones already," which caused the mechanic beside her to start sputtering like a diesel engine trying to start in the winter, face burning red. Anis and the others burst into hollering laughter, while Syuen covered her mouth to hide her own chortles.

As a modified Cyclops Mech stomped its way forward, Stella quipped, "And speak of mechs…" before she stepped in front of the heavy mechanoid, which was armed with a high-caliber autocannon on one arm, a missile launcher on its back and a shield emitter and extra armor on its core. It was painted a bright silver, to the point it almost looked more like a Missilis mech. Stella took her helmet off and gave a wave, greeting, "Hello, PALAIMON. I see you got a few upgrades."

"GREETINGS, STELLA," The mechanoid, which had its own AI, spoke in about as deadpan a voice as TALOS did, though his was more booming, lower in pitch, "ONE SECOND, PLEASE. HE IS BEING DIFFICULT," and he popped open the three-part canopy, revealing a flustered young man that scrambled for a second, before he saw that it was actually light from the outside peering into his armored suit.

He raised a hand and waved awkwardly, "Hey, Stell," before he jumped out of the vehicle.

Stella giggled and said, "Hey, Daniel. Didn't know they're deploying you as well."

"Well," The mech pilot rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "After the upgrades, they figured it was best if they tested the new Battle Suits and all… PALAIMON kinda volunteered us, too," before he cracked a smile, "Anyway, how are ya?"

"We're all alright," She replied, looking back at the team. Anis was being her usual self, while Neon, though quiet, looked around, her glasses glimmering to the point you couldn't see her eyes as she stared intently at the UNSC's armored vehicles and equipment. Rapi seemed rather happy, while Rio was grinning ear-to-ear and Syuen, well… She was Syuen. She was calm. The girl told him, "About the usual."

"Good! That's good," He sighed deeply, then said, "We should probably prep to go, huh?"

"Yeah…" Stella nodded, then blushed and whispered, "We still on for that date after?"

"O-Of course," The young man stuttered. She beamed at that, while he blushed a little harder. The rest of the team watched the exchange with smiles, only pausing to watch Alyosha, Chief and the Lucky Strikes approaching. The Spartans and Nikkes smiled a little at the sight, with Alyosha giving a wave to Daniel and Stella. The young man gave an awkward wave back, then bowed out.

Six hours later, above the Ark and Outpost, in the bright blue sky, dozens of Dropships and their escorting strike fighters made their way over into the deep deserts of the South-West. Wombat drones relayed locations and targets to the fighters and gunships, which struck them with missiles and guns as they flew over, clearing a corridor through into enemy territory.

The Garrisons left in the Ark watched the deployment on cameras, patrolling the city with smirks. One of the largest scale operations undertaken in the past few decades by the Ark, made possible by the arrival of their new allies. It wasn't being televised or advertised, but savvy Civilians knew where and how to watch the stuff.

It was like watching an entire force of knights on horseback, as some civilians had said on the Net. Dozens of craft ranging in size from the beloved Pelicans, guardian Hornets and Sparrowhawks to heavy dropships carrying the armored elements of the Formation, all heading in the same general area. Modernia probably knew they were coming. She seemed the type.

Aboard one of the Pelicans, Matis and the Rookie watched the ground rushing past them, their gazes locked onto the allied aircraft around them. Maxwell commented, "She won't know what hit her," quietly as she slammed a mag home into her modified railgun and let the first round feed. She looked at the others, seeing Laplace smile and Drake grin as they prepped their own guns.

Ahead of them, a platoon of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers resided, armed to the teeth. They were members of SUNRAY, the Spirit of Fire's personal contingent of ODSTs. Rookie nodded respectfully to the members of the Elite fireteam, then tapped his com and relayed, "Spartan Team OMEGA is also on the ground… Didn't think they'd actually made it through the War, but…"

"QRF," Maxwell spoke, "Sounds like we got a lotta work ahead of us, eh, Handsome?"

"We do," The man replied as the Pelicans turned right at their digital checkpoint. The Longswords' bomb bays opened and each launched a Cruise Missile toward a distant target. Suppression of enemy air defenses, according to radio calls. As the Pelicans arrived over their next checkpoint, they began dropping their altitude for landing and slowing down.

A few more minutes later, the craft were over their intended target:A Forward Operations Base built incredibly fast by the UNSC's and Ark's representative Engineer corps. It was being expanded by Liter, Centi and Kilo, with the defensive turrets already active and firing at incoming Rapture scout drones, taking them out of the air before long.

The landing pads, flattened and packed sand and gravel, were soon occupied as the Pelicans disgorged their troops onto the surface and lifted off at the last man and Nikke. They dropped them in waves, while the Armor was neatly deployed from the holds of the heavy dropships all together. Oryx IFVs, Scorpion MBTs and Warthogs and Saddlebacks lined up neatly by the makeshift motorpool, crews dismounting.

As the Counters and Lucky Strikes landed, the Commanders of both teams caught sight of a specific trio of Nikkes. Clad in a desert camouflage Poncho instead other usual white, though retaining the hair color, Snow White was the first to see them. She smiled, then paused as she saw the glinting trinket around Pinne's neck.

She greeted them with a wave first, then said, "Goddess Squad, just the ladies I wanted to see, heh…" as she approached. Both Scarlet and a severely up-armored Rapunzel had turned and noticed her, eyes slightly widening. The shotgunner smiled awkwardly, then said, "Yeah, I remember Ark Guardian. And everything else…"

"... Welcome back to the world of the living," Snow murmured, then looked at the others and asked, "Do they…?" and she paused as she saw Commander Harris, armed with a new rifle of some kind. One attached via tubes to a backpack connected to his MJOLNIR. She stared in confusion, trying to figure out the weapon type as she looked at the magnetic coils attached to two prongs at the front.

"They know," The girl replied, "The Luckies helped me get my necklace back, after all," and she smiled at them, "I'm honestly glad to know that you girls are still kicking… Sorry for the scare back when we first met, Scarlet. I couldn't remember anything. Like I'd been shot in the head or something," only to see them all visibly wince. She chuckled, sad, then nodded, "Yeah…"

"Doth thou feel any different about existing… Again…?" Scarlet asked, hand resting on her hip and away from her blade. She'd changed a bit, too, with additional armor plates looking exactly like those of a Samurai attached to her form, though still allowing her a full range of movement. Pinne shrugged, a bit concerned, to which Scarlet said, "A perfectly normal phenomenon, however concerning."

"Perhaps it was God's blessing that you came back to the world, Pinne," Rapunzel smiled, hand resting on the hilt of a weapon that looked close to a broadsword. It was sheathed in a magnetic sheath, obviously, but it looked different to a normal sword. And Rapunzel still had her Staff for shielding and ranged engagements.

Pinne nodded, then said, "You know how it is. Even in Death, we still serve…"

Rapunzel visibly smiled at that, "You know Warhammer, too!?"

"Yes? I 3D Printed myself a Guard army in secret, thanks to Kilo. Heck, I'm still working on painting them," Pinne replied, to which the giddy God-worshipping Rapunzel started jumping for joy. Pinne, however, was confused, murmuring, "That would explain the Sister of Battle style outfit," and then speaking aloud, "Who in the Sam Fuck taught Rapunzel about 40k!?"

Johnson coughed awkwardly as he passed by them, to which Pinne crossed her arms. Both Scarlet and Snow cast amused glances at the man, smiling, before the one clad in a desert cammy poncho said, "We gotta have a talk with the old man about teaching stuff… Seriously, he might be worse than Red Hood in that regard."

"Perhaps another time," Scarlet chuckled, "What pray-tell doth the Lord carry there…?"

"I'm gonna go talk to him about that," Snow spoke. As she walked, she patted Pinne on the shoulder and said, "Welcome back, Pinne… Someone's gonna be happy to see you again…" which caused Pinne to frown. The very woman that presumably had to put her down, the young woman thought, while Scarlet frowned. Rapunzel nodded.

"... Where is Dorothy, by the way…? I should apologize," Pinne inquired, looking at them. One exchange of sad looks between the two of them caused her to worry, but they both shrugged, which caused her both to relax and gave her slightly more concern. How could members of Goddess not know where she was?

"Hey, Commander," Snow raised a hand. Alyosha smiled behind his helmet and gave a wave back, with the girl asking, "What weapon is that?"

Alyosha shifted the gun a little, then said, "Doc Halsey and Materials Group worked with Misriah Arms for this one. Decided to give it to me to test," and he tapped it, "It's a plasma rifle prototype," which caused the woman to blank. She pointed at it, mouthed 'plasma' and Alyosha replied, "Yep. A plasma beam weapon, actually. Cortana gave us details on how to make it and it's connected to my suit for power."

"He's taking a big risk, as usual," Anis quipped as she looked at Snow, "What're ya up to there, Snow?"

"Sniping for the mission… Figuring out the design for the gun," She replied absentmindedly, then started looking over the plasma rifle with interest. She seemed to be scanning it, leaning forward, cupping her own chin and looking it over. It was an interesting design, with heat sinks and coolant lines incorporated into a decently comfortable-to-wield design. Only problem was probably the power necessary to use it. Solvable, but it'd take some research, or her coming back to the Ark.

The rest of the Counters and the Lucky Strikes stared at her as she stared at the weapon and soon realized that the stories Andersen had told them of the girl, that she was once a gun nut to rival all gun nuts in the world, were about as true as they came. She loomed for a minute over the weapon, poked it, narrowed her eyes when a detail didn't make sense…

… It was kind of sweet in a way.