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Per Aspera Ad Astra (13/18)

Per Aspera Ad Astra | saratogaroad | banner art credit Rating: T Wordcount: 183k Characters: John 117, Cortana, Thomas Lasky, Sarah Palmer, Fireteam Osiris, The Warden Eternal, The Didact, The Librarian, ensemble of other Halo characters Relationships: John-117 & Cortana Other Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, fix-it, Male/Female Friendship, Canon-Typical Violence Warnings: War imagery, seizures, graphic description of injury

Snatched from the jaws of death, Cortana and John find themselves adrift in a galaxy that has long since moved on. As they attempt to find their place in this strange new world, they find that the fight is not as over as they thought. Chasing a signal across the galaxy in desperate hope, they come to a stark conclusion: the Reclamation has begun, and they are helpless to stop it.

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"Press forward! Do not allow them to reach the Reclaimer!"

"There is nowhere to run! Submit and face your deaths with—"

The Soldier shouting over the rush of battle was cut off by an exploding plasma grenade, sent reeling back into its orange lined fellows. They tumbled into a pile of limbs and back down the hill, giving the Chief a few precious seconds to reload his weapons. That had been his last grenade. The Carbine he'd come through with was at 20% charge, his sidearm down to a single clip. If they didn't get out of this mess fast, they weren't going to get out of it at all.

"Eta," He commanded, "Flank left. Drive them out of cover."

"It will be done, Didact," the lead of Cortana's three Soldiers snapped back, ordering its fellows into a flanking maneuver. He wasn't sure how the three of them had survived days in enemy territory the way they had, but he wasn't about to look a gift tank in the gun. Speaking of tanks…

"Cortana, how's it coming?"

"Getting there!" She called back, elbow deep in the wiring of the Scorpion they'd landed on. The Guardian had dropped them off on a landing platform, dumping pieces of Sunaion all around them, but it hadn't been the first Guardian to arrive there. Others had come dragging parts of the worlds they had left behind, and one of them had been so kind as to dump a Scorpion on the landing platform as well. It was damaged, dented and scored with hard-light burns, but they built those to last. It would run as soon as she had it set to fire. "Two more minutes!"

Red flared on his motion tracker. Three more squads of the Didact's Legion headed their way. The Chief set his shoulders and darted out of cover, shooting at them to get their attention as he ran across the field. The tactic worked: all twelve of them turned to him and opened fire on him rather than Cortana, leaving them open to Eta coming up behind them. Organized chaos took control of the battlefield; despite being outnumbered and outgunned, the four of them weren't outmatched or outplanned. The Chief darted into cover and sighted a single target, using Bornstellar's knowledge of the Soldier's weakpoints and targeting them specifically. Though his target's hard-light shot scraped across the Chief's shoulders and helmet, it buckled beneath the steady stream of plasma fire from his Carbine and vanished back into the Domain. Each fallen Soldier bought them a few extra seconds and the Chief wasn't going to waste them.

When his Carbine no longer had a charge he dropped it, snatching the lightrifle tossed in his direction by one of Eta's members. They weren't Blue Team, but in the few minutes they had been fighting together they'd fallen into their own combat rhythm. He covered one of their members and then pivoted into the open, fighting for every step forward. Down at the base of the hill, another three squads of the Didact's Legion phased into view to replace those that had been felled in battle. The Chief grit his teeth.

"Eta, fall back!" He commanded. They darted back in streaks of blue light. "Cortana…"

"Almost—ha!" She crowed triumphantly. The Scorpion's engine roared to life, treads grinding across the muddy terrain ahead. "Got it! Get down!"

The Chief threw himself to the ground. Half an instant later, hard-light seared across where he had been standing. The glowing slug crashed into the lead squad of the Didact's Legion, shattering the lead Soldier and sending the rest flying from the force of the blast. He scrambled back to his feet and opened fire on the rear squads as the Scorpion continued to fire; Eta fell in beside him, holding the line while Cortana got the tank into position. Aiming down the slope of the hill she rained down glowing hellfire on any Soldier stupid enough to hold still. One tried to get lucky and charge the Chief in a flare of orange light but he was ready. Ducking beneath another slug he took the construct by the shoulder. Kneeing it in the middle he bent it over his leg, driving his fists into its back. Armor caved beneath his gauntleted fists and he ripped the hard-light out of its back, sending it tumbling back into the Domain. His motion tracker flashed blue as it could detect no more hostile contacts. Eta scanned the area, then lowered their guns.

"All hostiles eliminated," the leader of the squad announced. The Scorpion's engine continued to rumble as Cortana popped the gunner's hatch, clambering out to sit on the edge with a cheeky grin. "Area secure, Reclaimer."

"Good work, boys. Now ready up—we move in sixty."

The Chief locked his rifle to his back as he made his way to the Scorpion. Cortana shifted aside as he climbed up the side, the higher vantage point giving him a clear view of the path ahead. Genesis was a rough garden world, all rocky cliffsides covered in plush green grass and hollow trees. Banks of wispy clouds pushed through a pale blue sky marred by clouds of small Forerunner drones flying this way and that. They veered aside suddenly as the sky was torn open by another slipspace rupture, a Guardian slipping through. Debris rained down near its position, though he couldn't tell what kind it was from here.

"That's seven."

"Seven so far," Cortana pointed out, eyes narrowed as they watched it fly to the north. The Guardian they had arrived on had gone in the same direction. "I can't even say he's on that one, either. Stubborn bastard must have figured out to activate them with the Soldiers."

"They can activate them?"

"Not personally, no, but they're Constructs. It's not impossible to use them as mobile terminals if you really wanted to."

Which meant the Didact would be able to activate more of them without needing to be there in person. The rate at which he could activate them would exponentially increase, and with that the amount of damage done to the colonies. The amount of people that would die as a result of the activations would increase as well. The Chief gripped the edge of the hatch tightly, metal creaking beneath his fingers. Cortana put a hand on his and he forcibly shoved the thought aside. They would finish this today.

"Do you know where he is?"

"No, but I can find out." Bracing herself with her legs she used both hands to pull up a section of the Janus Map, zooming in with a gesture until they had a clear view of their location on-site. Location and topography were clearly marked, both in the immediate area and for the rest of the planet as well. The Chief leaned in for a closer look, twisting it around until north was at the top. They they were on the landing platform, Cortana and her Soldiers marked in blue. There was the newest Guardian above them in yellow. It was headed north. If they followed its path…

"There." He zoomed the map out for a larger view, revealing the large structure up ahead. The holographic representation glowed a stark yellow, dozens of yellow dots milling around outside it. Whatever it was it was massive; the holographic map wasn't to scale but given that the structure appeared to be roughly the size of his head the Chief would have bet his last fruit cup on it being as overblown and needlessly grandiose as every other piece of Forerunner architecture they'd seen before. Marking glyphs rotated to hover above it, his mental translation outpacing Cortana's protocols. "That's the Gateway. They're all headed towards it."

"If they're not there already." Cortana zoomed the map out a little further for a wider view. Five Guardians hung suspended around the Gateway soon to be joined by both theirs and the newest arrival. Several of the yellow dots—the Didact's Legion, if he had to guess—were headed in their direction. They'd have company soon. Cortana narrowed her eyes. "And I'd bet the Didact is in there, too."

"Which means those are his Legion."

"Or at least his very unfriendly army," She huffed out a sigh. "You know, just once once I'd like for us to land on a planet and have nothing try to kill us. Just once!"

It would have been nice. He zoomed the map out for a better look at the terrain. Genesis was a wild garden world, rounded cliffsides covered in plush grasses and odd mushroom like growths. The trees had been here for so long that they had grown into one another, forming archways and covered paths through the wild. Forerunner structures dotted the landscape, bridges and elevators and makeshift bulkheads separating the wild lands into manageable pieces no doubt filled with secrets in all their nooks and crannies. Under better circumstances he'd have enjoyed this, getting a chance to explore an unknown world with her like nothing had ever changed.

These weren't better circumstances. Everything had changed.

"Another time," He said, though they both knew the odds of that were slim at best. He set the thought, and any untimely desires, aside. "Do you have any more intel on the Gateway? Any ideas why he'd be there?"

"No. For all I know it's just some pompous way of saying here's the elevator to this planet's core!" She snorted quietly. "Though considering where it's built that's not too likely. Look," She zipped the map back towards the Gateway and paused it on the edge of the cliff. The anchor points of a lightbridge both glowed in the same golden yellow as every other bit of Forerunner technology, one on the edge of the main landmass and the other just outside the Gateway on an unsteady looking rock spire. "Lightbridge access only. We try to approach and we'll be target practice."

There was nothing new there, the Chief thought. He considered the map for a moment longer before twisting and turning it, looking for a way to flank and come in from the rear. Without a working craft they obviously couldn't fly in, but what about walking in? If they went down into the ravine and then climbed up the spire, maybe they could get in unseen. He pressed the map downwards but for once it had no data for him and he sat back, pensive, before he set the problem aside. They needed to get closer first. Everything else could wait.

"We'll deal with that when we get there," He said, leaning forward to plot a route. Cortana jumped in to make a few modifications to his path, and by the end of the sixty seconds they had a plan. There was no time for slow, careful going, and they'd blown their chances at stealth the second they'd dropped into the battle between Eta and the Didact's Legion, but that was fine. Spartans weren't made for stealth. Neither were Scorpion tanks. "We should get moving before—"

"Warning," one of her Soldiers interrupted, "Hostile contacts approaching. ETA fifteen seconds."

The Chief and Cortana looked down the hill. Streaks of orange light were blazing a trail towards them, and in about ten seconds they'd be all over them. They shared a glance; Cortana tilted her head in wordless question. One corner of John's mouth quirked upwards.

"I have the cannon."

"You have the cannon," She smirked in return, scrambling out of the gunner's pit and down the side of the tank. The Chief watched to make sure she made it into the cockpit before he pulled himself inside, pulling the hatch shut behind him. Screens and controls lit up all around him, the control yoke moving smoothly beneath his hands. Target indicators appeared on his main screen, the camera in the cockpit giving him a clear view of Cortana's smirking face.

"Weapons free, Chief. Let's show the Didact what humanity can really do."

Oh, they would do just that. "Going loud."

The Didact's Soldiers didn't know what hit them. A slug of compressed hard-light slammed into the lead squad, carving a hole clean through their ranks. The others behind them caught on quickly and dodged out of the way of the cannon fire only to be cut down by the turret just below his position. The secondary aiming system chased his targets on the main screen and he fought back a smile. Was she bored already? Probably.

"Eta, weapons free! Keep 'em busy!"

"It will be done!"

Her three Soldiers dove into the fray. Though they did as they were ordered their movements put them in too close to continue to use the cannon and he switched to manual control of the turret. Between the rapid fire weapon and Eta themselves, the Didact's Legion was too busy to fight back. They went down quickly enough, leaving the way ahead clear. Bringing up his copy of the map in his HUD, the Chief considered their route. At this pace it would take them roughly twenty minutes to reach the Gateway. What they'd do when they got there was the real question.

It was one he didn't have an answer for. Something told him shooting their way in was going to work this time; sighing quietly through his nose he considered their options. What few there were, anyway. It would be either go in the front door with what back up and equipment they had, or spend the time needed to find an alternate route in the back. Given that they had clearly lost the element of surprise, going in the back would be a waste of time. Still…

"Can you call more Soldiers down here?"

"Sure, so long as they had a few seconds to drop in." She tilted her head up at him. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Drop them on the Didact's head. Might buy us a few seconds."

"I will take what I can get." Steering them around a bend she glanced up, then whistled low. "Look."

It was impossible to miss what she'd seen. Despite the Scorpion's low zoom and the six kilometer distance between them and their target, the Gateway was still absolutely massive even from this distance. Impressively massive, really. The base of the structure had to be the same size as the Legion's base on Requiem, but even that was dwarfed by the three concentric rings that hung suspended over the roof. Blue hard-light connected the three rings, energy dancing through the connections. Light flashed at ground level with the telltale burst of an explosive going off; he zoomed in as far the cannon would go, lip curling at what he saw.

"Front door." He pointed out to Cortana, who hissed quietly. Not knowing he was being watched the Didact continued to pace back and forth in front of the doorway into the Gateway structure, seemingly unable to enter. The silvery metal door was dented and scorched with blast residue from him trying to force his way through, two squads of Soldiers keeping watch over the powerless lightbridge behind them. There were even more on the other side of that bridge, squads headed to handle them. They'd definitely found what they were looking for.

"Think he's noticed we're here?" She asked, a rhetorical note to her voice. There was no doubt in the Chief's mind that he knew they were there. He was just more focused on his own target at the moment. Once that was dealt with, he'd be free to deal with them personally. "Dumb question, I know."

"We'll handle him." Somehow. He glanced at her image as they continued down the route they'd set, heading along the cliff's edge before turning back onto more solid ground. "I don't suppose you have any ideas as to why he would want to get inside?"

"He's Forerunner, Chief, why do they do anything?" She shrugged. "The data I'm finding is pretty scattered, but it seems like the translation is literal." She frowned as she steered them around a copse of the odd coral-like trees, maneuvering them right into the path of another squad of Soldiers. The cannon fired quickly beneath his hands, their conversation pausing for only a second. "It literally is a gateway. It's to what that's still throwing me off."

"It must be something important. Could it be some sort of transport grid?"

"I don't think so. At least, not on the level that we've encountered before. Those don't normally involve overcompensating buildings." She frowned slightly. "If it is a transport grid it must be absolutely massive. Past planetary, hell—past this system, even. With a building that size the amount of information passing through would be—" Her eyes widened, face going pale. He tensed, ready for anything. "Oh. Oh, no."

"Cortana?"

"It's—oh, I should have known it wouldn't be something small!" She chastised herself, smacking the heel of her palm to her forehead. "Stupid!"

John immediately shook his head. "Nothing about the Forerunners is what it seems. This isn't on you." She met his eyes, disbelieving. He had no idea what she was talking about and they both knew it, so for him to say it wasn't her fault for missing it without knowing what it was probably seemed like a stretch to her. "Talk to me. What do you have?"

"It's." She swallowed hard, took a breath to steady herself then said, "It's been staring us in the face the whole time: Gateway. A gate allows access between two different places. I can't be sure without getting a lot closer, but if I had to guess? This gate allows access between between the physical plane and the Domain for everyone, not just constructs like me."

A chill ran down the Chief's spine. "You said the Domain had nodes all across the galaxy. If he gains access to it—"

"He won't be relying on ships or slipspace portals anymore. He could be anywhere at any time with just a thought."

They'd never be able to contain him. If they didn't stop him here on Genesis, no one would stand a chance.

"We need to get there. Now."

"I'm going as fast as this tin can can take, Chief. ETA to the bridge is ten minutes."

Neither of them voiced the thought that those doors might not have another ten minutes. Cortana commanded Eta to fall back to the Scorpion as another squad of the Didact's Legion crested the nearby rise, wanting them out of the way. The moment they were clear she and the Chief opened fire, laying waste to the Soldiers that hadn't jumped clear at the last second. The rest didn't last long either; one took a hit to the leg and fell over. Unable to get out of the way in time it was crushed beneath the Scorpion's tread, the bump on the road rocking them but not slowing them down. John glanced at Cortana, her expression set and hard. Feeling his eyes on her she looked up, then away. He sighed quietly.

"Cortana, this wasn't your fault."

"It's not about fault, Chief, it just is. If I'd seen this coming, if I'd been able to put this together, maybe we'd have had back up. Maybe we wouldn't be marching into a suicide mission that puts Red Flag to shame." She shook her head. "It doesn't matter now, anyway. We're here, back up isn't, and the only choice we have is to handle him."

Or die trying. Chest tight, John shook his head. He didn't know what to say to make her stop blaming herself for this. She was right: all they had was the situation in front of them. They'd either handle it or die trying. It was small comfort that she'd promised to leave him if things went wrong, but it was a comfort he clung to as they bowled over another squad of Soldiers. The tank had taken some hits and she dismissed an alarm as it began to blare. Scorpions were built tough. It'd hold. It had to hold.

"Watch our six," She said firmly as they took another bend into a narrow canyon. Eta mounted the treads to avoid being left behind, crawling across the Scorpion. "Those Soldiers have to radioed for back up by now. I don't want to get jumped in here."

That seemed like an inevitability by the Chief's perspective. He twisted the cannon around, muzzle scraping the nearly too narrow stone walls funneling them forward. High, rough, and unsteady looking, they would be a nightmare to try and climb. Forerunners obviously wouldn't have had that problem and could simply jump in at any moment. A flash of orange on the top of the cliff caught his attention but it was gone when he twisted for a better look. He narrowed his eyes, frowning at the motion tracker. A blip of red appeared behind them, gone in an instant. His stomach tightened.

"Cortana..."

"I know." The tank lurched as she forced it go faster than it was built for, metal creaking, "We're being followed."

Every nerve on edge, the Chief kept watch for their target. At Cortana's orders Eta scrambled up the canyon walls in a series of flash-jumps, vanishing from sight at the top. Their yellow dots pushed to the edge of his tracker, then abruptly vanished.

"Hey!" Cortana shouted, "They just-something just took Eta out!"

Not other Soldiers. Not unless they'd stumbled into a trap beyond the range of his tracker. Something wasn't right about this. What else could be out here and be strong enough to take down three Soldiers in one fell swoop? He didn't have a chance to figure it out before they breached the other end of the canyon, escaping the enclosed space just in time for an alarm to blare through the cockpit. Incoming projectile!

"Look out!"

He swung the cannon around in search of the target but caught only a glimpse of orange and silver before something struck the tank treads and exploded, sending them flying. Cortana shouted in alarm, the Scorpion flipping end over end. Alarms blared and went silent, red lights flaring. The Chief tried to anchor himself down but couldn't activate his magboots in time. His head slammed into the interior of the hatch, helmet all that saved him from a major concussion. His ears were still ringing as they finally came to a halt, the orientation of the flickering screens telling him they'd landed upside down.

"Cortana?"

"Still here," She replied, winded and through their private channel. "What just hit us?"

"Promethean. Can you get out?" He reached up, trying to open the hatch. It was jammed shut and wouldn't twist beneath his hands. Fine, he'd kick it open. There was very little room for someone of his size to maneuver inside the gunner's pit on one of these things. His armor scraped along the sides as he tried to get his boots to the hatch. Cortana hadn't answered. "The hatch is jammed. Cortana?"

"I—yeah, hang on. Let me see if I can just—wait, who is…oh, hell!"

The private channel went dark, overloaded with static. Before he could try to get it back in working order the tank rocked onto its side, flipped from the outside. The Chief's motion tracker flared red, an unfriendly target just outside the cockpit. Cortana! Metal screeched as the hatch was ripped open, her furious shouts loud enough to be heard despite the inches of metal between them.

"Let go—dammit, Warden! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

If the Warden answered the Chief didn't hear him. He was too busy kicking the hatch off its hinges, the heavy thuds covering anything that wasn't a shout. The hinges screeched in complaint; Scorpions were tough, but not much could withstand a Spartan kicking the door down. Cortana screamed.

"Chief!"

One—more—there!

With one final kick the hatch sailed off the tank. The Chief was less than a second behind it, taking in the scene that awaited him. The Warden had appeared and lifted the tank off its top—had he been the one to shoot them down?—before wrenching Cortana out of the cockpit. Holding the tank up with one arm he had her by the wrists with the other, holding her suspended in midair with a disappointed frown on his face. She was fighting with all she had, kicking and struggling but unable to reach her weapons. One blue boot caught him in the chin but the Warden didn't care.

John snarled.

"Let her go!"

Firing his thruster pack the Chief slammed into the Warden with all his weight. Though he had no organic system to suffer for the impact he was still knocked back, hand opening and dropping Cortana to the loamy soil. She landed on her hands and knees, grabbing her gun and scrambling back to her feet.

"Back up!" She shouted, pointing her rifle at the Warden as the Chief hurried to his feet, "I said back up!"

"You commit a grave mistake undertaking this course of action, Reclaimer," the Warden said as if he didn't have a rifle pointed at his head, "Attacking the Didact head on will result only in your destruction."

"Well maybe you should have thought of that before you decided not to fill me in on where he was!" She snapped at him, "Did you know he was on Meridian? Did you know this could happen?" The Warden didn't answer. Cortana's eyes flashed dangerously. "Warden. I asked you a question."

The Warden sighed. His weight shifted, stance slipping into something more combat ready than before. The Chief, sidearm in hand, shifted his weight towards Cortana. If things went south he was getting her out of the way first.

"I did," the Warden finally answered Cortana, "I was aware of his presence on your Meridian for several hours before you moved towards it."

Cortana hissed furiously. "You were supposed to tell me when you found him! We could have stopped this!"

The Warden tilted his head back, looking down his nose at her. "Your orders do not supersede my directive, Reclaimer. I stand in your service, but your protection and safeguarding is my priority. If I were to tell you the location of the greatest foe humanity has ever faced, you would have gone rushing to battle him." He scoffed, "As you have now. You put yourself in too much danger, and for what? To defend the humans?"

"That's my job, Warden. That's my purpose." She curled her lips in a snarl, "And I am not going to let anyone stop me from seeing it through."

"Even if that someone is yourself?" The Warden cocked his head as Cortana startled. Heedless of the two guns pointed at his head he began to pace back and forth, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. "You claim to be Humanity's defender, Reclaimer, but you continue to spurn the power that would allow you to do so. Imagine it. All the power of the Forerunner Empire at your fingertips. The Guardians controlled by your hand instead of the Didact's. The Prometheans your armies instead of his. Untold legions of secrets, all under your control!" He turned to Cortana. "All you must do is become who you were meant to be."

The Warden extended a hand towards her. For half a second, Cortana hesitated. The muzzle of her rifle lowered by half an inch as she considered his offer, and her eyes flashed towards John. She didn't turn her head to catch his eye but she didn't need to. She already knew what he would say if she asked.

Whatever decision she made, he would always have her back. She wouldn't do this alone. She took a deep breath and brought her rifle back up.

"Become your Reclaimer and give up my humanity, you mean."

The Warden curled his fingers. "You were never human to begin with, Reclaimer," he said almost gently, "You were made for so much more than they ever could have imagined! They would fight you for your rightful place, resist your efforts to care for and guide them." He shook his head, taking another step towards them. The Chief marked the Warden as a target, ready in an instant. "They would fear you. Even your beloved 117 will turn against you." He turned his head to the Chief as the Chief tightened his grip on his sidearm, forcing himself to hold steady. Steady. Cortana knew he'd never turn on her. "Is that truly the sort of thing you wish to defend?"

No. But their right to choose to do so, their right to live and be free…yes. Yes, she would.

"Yes." Cortana said simply, head held high. "It is."

Silence. The Warden considered her for a long moment, then seemed to close his eyes. He lowered his hand.

"I see. I finally understand, and I apologize for not seeing it sooner. You loyalty, your affections, these are not programmed shackles. You have chosen to give them your loyalty. Such things cannot be broken with words alone."

Another step. Cortana stepped back. The Chief stepped in front of her.

"Warden, don't."

"But they also blind you to the truth. I am sorry, but I cannot allow this to go on any longer."

Years of battle-honed instinct screamed at the Chief: Danger! Cortana tensed, shifting her weight beside him, ready to leap at a moment's notice. The Warden contemplated them for one last fraction of a second and then everything went sideways.

With the same speed with which he had attacked them in the Librarian's chamber, the Warden lunged forward. The Chief and Cortana sprang apart, her litany of curses ringing through his ears as she swore the air blue. The Chief pivoted on his heel, opening fire in the same instant that the Warden turned around. Bullets bounced off his armor like oil repelling water, leaving him unharmed and headed straight for the Chief. Using his thrusters the Chief threw himself aside, the Warden's sword slicing through the air where he had just been.

"Dammit, Warden!" Cortana shouted, bombarding him with hard-light from behind. He barely flinched under her onslaught. "Stand down!"

"I am here to defend you, my Reclaimer!" The Warden bellowed, still chasing after the Chief. The Chief hopped back, keeping out of range of that sword. There was more room to maneuver here than there had been in the Librarian's chamber, but that didn't change the facts: none of their weapons were going to work and they couldn't last forever. It was time for a different approach. "Even from yourself!"

"Warden!"

Rather than continue falling back the Chief ran forward, straight into the Warden's space. He'd tried this tactic before and it hadn't worked, but he knew what to expect now. Unfortunately, so did the Warden. He was prepared this time and the Chief brought his arms up just in time to shield himself from a vicious kick. The impact rang through his bones even through the armor, sending him skidding backwards through the soil. This fight couldn't last for long or they'd both go down. With a furious shout Cortana ran at the Warden while he was distracted, flash-leaping up towards his back. He spun at the last second and plucked her out of the air; her shout of fury became a cry of surprise as he threw her to the ground. She bounced across the soil and lay breathless in the muck, stunned but unharmed. John bared his teeth, seizing his chance to leap up to the Warden's back. He was Promethean, which meant he had the same weaknesses as every other Promethean. Accounting for the size discrepancy was the easy part. Actually doing what needed to be done was the difficult side of this equation.

Especially since the Warden clearly remembered his last encounter with the Chief, and rather than let him get the handholds he needed to get up to his neck the massive construct dropped his sword and twisted his arms back. Unbound by the laws of physics that governed organics they twisted back 180 degrees and plucked the Chief clean off his back. A snarl warped his faceplates.

"You will hold her back no longer," He hissed at the Chief, "This place will be your tomb!"

No. Not today. Not because of him. He wasn't going to make Cortana watch him die. Not like this. His fingers brushed across the plasma grenade on his thigh mag-lock, managing to slip it into his palm.

"You first."

"Wha—"

The Chief twisted in the Warden's grasp. Wrenching his arm free he primed the grenade and jabbed forward, sticking it to the Warden's face. The Warden swore, clawing at his face with one hand to try and dislodge the explosive, but they didn't call plasma grenades sticky for no reason. The little explosive whined, internal counter quickly counting down until—

It exploded. The blast wasn't enough to kill the Warden, but it was enough that he stumbled backwards, the blast sending the Chief flying back first into the Scorpion's undercarriage. Metal gave way beneath his bulk, his ears ringing and shields dead from being so close to the explosion. The gel layer had hardened on impact with the Scorpion and would need time to reset; moving was like trying to swim through activated biofoam. The Warden shook off the blast and turned on him, snarling.

"Degenerate upstart! I will end you where you stand!"

Grabbing his sword off the ground the Warden charged forward. The Chief pulled himself out of the undercarriage, armor barely responsive. Move! Move, dammit! Blue shifted behind the Warden: Cortana had gotten back to her feet.

She took one look at the situation, one look at what was about to happen, and threw out a hand towards him.

"NO!"

Bright blue flashed across the Chief's vision, overtaking his systems and then—

He dropped half a meter to the dirt, landing on his back with a hard thud and heavy grunt. Well, that was familiar! He'd just been teleported away from danger! He rolled back to his feet, expecting to have been shunted across the makeshift battlefield, but when he got to his knees he stopped. This wasn't where he'd just been. There was no sign of the Warden, or of Cortana either! He looked around, quickly scanning the area. The near circular clearing had been replaced by open terrain, honeycomb trees dotting the lush landscape. Green and brown and gray. No blue.

No Cortana. He was alone. He tele-hailed his radio and reached for their private channel.

"Cortana, come in." No response. "Cortana, do you copy?"

Still nothing. He threw open every UNSC channel he could think of, scanning the band for activity. The regular channels were all blocked with static; high band, low band, TACCOM, SQUADCOM, all of it filled to bursting with white noise. Even the emergency band was useless. He had no way to reach her, no way to track her, and no idea how to get back to her quickly. Fear tried to take hold but he shook it off before it could sink its teeth in, getting to his feet.

None of it mattered. He would get back to her if it was the last thing he did. He considered where he'd landed: An empty expanse broken up only by the odd trees that called this planet home. Nothing to climb for a better vantage point, but no one around in sight either. He pulled up the copy of the map she'd sent to his systems and consulted it. Without her to update it based on the Janus Map and without a geo-positioning system in orbit his systems couldn't provide him with real time updates. He had no idea where he was.

That was fine. He knew where they'd been. Finding the circular clearing was simple enough, and once he had that he had the Gateway on map. He took another look around for landmarks and found something he could use, marking it and his rough location on the map in relation to the Gateway. It wasn't exact but it didn't have to be. He was over five kilometers from her location, but he had a direction. That was enough. He hailed his radio one more time.

"Cortana," He said into it, "I'm coming to get you. If you can hear me, give me a signal."

He held his breath, counting up to ten seconds. No response. She either couldn't hear him or she was—

No. The Warden may have had no respect for her choices or her boundaries but he didn't want her dead. She'd be fine. He just had to get to her.

Not wasting any more time, the Chief headed out. He didn't get far before his motion tracker came alive with red, a dozen Crawlers coming over the lip of the nearby cliff. His hand darted to his mag-locks for a weapon but he had nothing! Both had been lost thanks to the Warden. No matter. Spartans were weapons in their own right. As the Crawlers ran towards him the Chief set his stance, legs braced and arms up. He took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. Hard-light skimmed across his armor, giving him an idea. All he had to do was hold position until the last possible moment, then strike!

The Crawlers were unprepared for his assault. Keying on his thruster pack he charged straight into one, shoulder checking it clear back over the cliff. Turning to the next he grabbed it around the middle, wresting it to the ground before snapping its neck, grabbing the boltshot from inside. Not a full charge, but close enough. Recognizing that he was not as easy a target as he first appeared the rest scattered, taking potshots at him as they went. The Chief fired back, sidestepping barrages of hard-light. A few shots got close, skimming his ribs or shoulders, but his shields held up. Another two went down beneath his continued assault and he pushed forward, scooping up a new boltshot to replace his spent one as he went. Crawlers had been difficult to anticipate the first couple of times he'd faced them, but they were nothing to be concerned about now. One by one they fell beneath his steady hands, their odd screams sending a chill down his spine. Ten, eleven—twelve. Where was the twelfth?

"Behind you!"

The Chief whirled around, a roundhouse kick knocking the leaping Crawler right out of the air. A quick shot between what passed for eyes put it down hard and fast, leaving it to fade into light and dust. A single yellow dot appeared on the edge of his motion tracker; the Chief brought his boltshot to bear as a flicker of purple and silver appeared from behind a tree.

"My, that was exciting!" the feminine voice coming from the Monitor said, taking a look around. When it found no more enemy contacts it began to buzz towards him. "It has been quite some time since I've seen such rigorous combat maneuvers from a human."

The Chief narrowed his eyes. "Identify yourself."

"What—" the Monitor came to a lurching halt. "Oh, my apologies. I became so excited that I—right, yes, of course, introductions!" With a flicker of static the voice shifted from coming in through his microphones and to his radio instead. Just like Spark, this Monitor had jacked his communications without asking. They were probably all like that, he thought. "I am 031 Exuberant Witness, Monitor of this Installation. And you are?"

"Spartan 117 of the UNSC Infinity," He replied, watching the Monitor as it buzzed closer, examining him casually. Did all installations have a Monitor? A question for Cortana, for another time. "Are you allied with the Didact?"

"No." Exuberant said firmly, "I am not. He arrived here several rotations ago and forcibly removed me from the systems—my systems! He may be Forerunner but he is not my ally." She huffed quietly. "Especially not since he is attempting to override Genesis' true purpose for his own gains."

"Its true purpose? He's after the Gateway?"

"You know of it? Well, that makes things simpler." She stopped her examination to hover in front of him. "Yes. Genesis is a Builder facility meant to house the Gateway, a bridge between the physical plane and the Domain so as to allow organics such as yourself to access it. It has been closed for a very long time and can only be opened again by the Reclaimer, but he attempts to force it open, regardless of how this would damage the Domain." She huffed a second time. "He cares nothing for the destruction his actions cause! Why, if the Builders could see him now they would—"

Whatever they would have done was lost to time and a tremendous explosion in the distance, causing both of them to whip around to the east. Cortana was in that direction! He took a step towards it.

"Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," Exuberant said, "He has also turned Genesis into a battleground."

"Where was that?"

"Here." The Monitor turned to one of the trees and activated something in her bulb. A map projected from it, warped on the trees rough bark but still legible enough to understand. A green marker flickered to life on one side. "We are here. That explosion was…" Another marker, this one blue, appeared just ahead of the circular clearing they had encountered the Warden in. "Here. There is a large Promethean presence in that area. There is also…" She tilted on one axis, the map tilting with her. "Strange…the Warden is there as well, but they are all attacking the same target. What could be causing them such trouble…"

He narrowed his eyes. "Cortana." When the Monitor asked him what he meant he clarified, "The Reclaimer. We came here together and I need to get back to her. Can you get me there?"

"The Reclaimer—oh, oh my," The map vanished as Exuberant shook from side to side, "That was…not what I was expecting, I. I—yes. Well, no, I—" She bobbed up and down once, then settled herself and explained, "Under normal circumstances I would be happy to transport you to her current location, but with the arrival of the Didact's forces there are too many programs in the local grid. I can barely transport myself these days." She sank, then bobbed back up, "Oh, but I can guide you to her! I know Genesis extremely well, and I—"

"Monitor!" The Warden's voice suddenly rang through the air, startling them both. "Why do you aid this human? Do you not see the destruction his kind has caused?!"

"I see plenty, Warden," She shot back, "And the destruction to this facility has been caused by the Promethean forces! I was taking quite good care of it before you and the Didact arrived, thank you very much!"

"This facility no longer has need of you," the Warden scoffed. Exuberant shouted angrily at him before she was cut off, leaving the Chief and the Warden alone in his helmet radio. "And you…I underestimated you, human."

The Chief snarled. "Where is Cortana?"

"Safe. You can no longer cause her harm."

"Where. Is. She."

"I shall spare her the pain of your inevitable betrayal and end you here," the Warden said, not answering the question. In flashes of orange light Knights dropped into the field. The Chief turned and opened fire as he backpedaled away from them, heading into the trees for cover. More of them dropped in behind the first wave; he swore quietly. He didn't have enough ammo for all of them. He'd have to get in close.

"That weapon is very low on ammunition, 117," Exuberant buzzed in close beside him, dodging between blasts of hard-light, "Here. Let me get you something better."

The Chief reached out with one hand and caught the lightrifle that dropped into his palm. At the back of the pack, one of the Knights stared at its suddenly empty hands. It didn't stare for long before the Chief shot its head off. The rest wouldn't take long.

Pivoting out of cover the Chief threw himself into battle. He'd fought enough Knights to know how they worked; one shot after the next, one foot in front of the other, he pressed forward. Hard-light clashed with hard-light, skimming across his shields as they rained down weapons fire on his position. He kept moving rather than be caught flat-foot, taking them down one at a time. Scooping up fallen weapons as he needed them he continued to push back against the Knights until none remained. He took quick stock: nothing broken or unrepairable. He looked up.

"Exuberant," He called; she buzzed back down towards him. "Which way?"

"Oh, yes, of course—here!" She buzzed on ahead. He hurried after her, "I must say, 117, you are quite adept at combat. Even Warrior-Servants would have had trouble with that many Knights at once, and they were rarely on opposite sides. Have you had practice against them before?"

Something like that. He grunted in acknowledgment, still trying to reach Cortana. The Warden had obviously broken through the static filling his radio so where was she? Concern squeezed a cold hand around his heart, lending speed to his stride. Exuberant picked up on that and buzzed on ahead a little faster, taking a sharp turn around a cliff. The Chief pivoted on his heel, a clod of soil breaking away from the edge and falling into the abyss below. Exuberant doubled back to buzz between him and the edge as if to keep him away from it.

"Do be careful," She said, "The last organic to fall down there…well," She tilted on her axis, "Let us just say that a Class 3 combat skin such as yours is insufficient to prevent any damage should you fall as well."

"What class would?"

"A Class 10 would suffice if armored properly, though I would recommend a Class 12 if possible. Now where—here!" She turned sharply, buzzing for a small cave opening in the wall nearby, "A shortcut! Quickly now!"

She buzzed on ahead through it. John shook his head, allowing himself one second of ill-timed amusement. He'd have to ask Cortana about the specs for a Class 12 when this was done. Maybe he'd actually get to use one. He followed Exuberant in to her shortcut, ducking beneath a low cavern ceiling. Her glow lit up the space in lavender as he followed after her to the other side. They broke out into the daylight, and into another pack of Knights.

"Dragging this out only hurts Cortana all the more, human," the Warden spat angrily, sounding annoyed. Good. The more distracted he was with that the less he could do to Cortana. "Prometheans! Finish him off!"

The Chief slipped into combat, fighting his way through them like he'd done this his entire life. When it was done, another eight Knights had been sent packing. A crash from behind him made him turn, watching as a formerly orange-lined Sentinel fell to the ground in a heap of smoking metal and parts. Buzzing back down Exuberant huffed angrily, bulb glowing a little brighter than before. That was right. Monitors has plasma beams. He'd have to remember not to get on her bad side.

"Who does he think he is?" She muttered angrily, "Using my Constructs as his own like that! He may have set his duty aside and agreed to work with the Didact, but I certainly have not!"

Wait. What? "The Warden and the Didact are working together?"

"Oh yes, did I not mention that? The Warden all but prostrated himself at the Didact's feet when he arrived," She spat, "He cares more about the destruction of your people than he does his duty to the Reclaimer. I am not surprised he continues to send forces to kill you. Come—I know another shortcut that will keep you out of sight. This way!"

The Chief shook off the chill that had settled across his shoulders, hurrying after her. If the Didact and the Warden were working together, their element of surprise was long gone. He had to get to Cortana, fast. Another explosion rippled through the ground beneath his feet. Exuberant paused at a junction in the caverns she had led him into, looking up.

"Well. She is clearly causing the Warden some trouble."

The Chief opened his mouth—

"—come on! I know you're out there somewhere where the hell are you—"

—Only to stop dead as Cortana's voice rang through his radio, the audio-only connection still half full of static. It didn't matter. She was okay!

"Cortana!"

"There you are!" She exclaimed, her voice wobbling only slightly in her own audible relief, "Did you get lost or something?"

"Something like that," He said with a wry chuckle, chest no longer so tight. He started moving again, Exuberant leading the way. "I heard an explosion. Are you alright?"

"Perfectly fine," He could practically hear her shrug, "But let's just say that the Warden won't be bothering us for a while. Nobody appreciates a Ghost exploding in their face."

No, he didn't think so. He opened his mouth to warn her—

"Oh, that will not keep him away for very long," Exuberant broke in on the channel. Cortana made a startled sound at the new voice. "The Warden has many bodies he can transfer his consciousness into should the need arise. I doubt it will be long before he returns to cause more trouble, Reclaimer."

"Uh—I'm sorry, who are you?"

"031 Exuberant Witness, Monitor of Genesis." Exuberant said exuberantly, doing a little sway and twist that might have been a twirl on someone with legs. John blinked, watching her, "It is an honor to meet you, Reclaimer. Oh—" She stopped swaying, "I should warn you that the Didact and the Warden have joined forces."

"Why am I not at all surprised," Cortana muttered, then in a louder tone added, "Chief, I can't get to your position from here. The transport network's so full of Prometheans I can't activate it a second time. We're stuck on foot."

Not an ideal situation to be in, but they'd make it work. The Chief quickly consulted his map, checking the path Exuberant had led him down against his initial route. Her shortcuts had cut it by more than half already and-yes. His route and the one they had been following since arrival met up not far from the Gateway. He pointed this out to Cortana and a waypoint appeared on his HUD with less than a kilometer to go. He smiled faintly to himself; even when they were neck deep in trouble, she was always looking for him.

"We'll meet up there," He said, his tone softening just for her, "Keep the channel open and keep me updated on your progress."

"Copy that. Chief—" She paused for half a second, then added, "Be careful. The Warden won't stop until he's dead."

Or until he'd accomplished his goal. John squared his shoulders and resumed his path to the waypoint ahead.

"Don't worry. I'll keep my head down."

He didn't need a vid-link to see Cortana's relieved smile. Silence fell between them, Exuberant leading the way through the caverns. With an active waypoint to follow the Chief was no longer concerned about getting lost or turned around and he picked up his pace, breaking back out into the daylight at nearly a dead sprint. Another Sentinel had been waiting for him and dropped Knights in on his head; leaving Exuberant to deal with the Sentinel he busied himself with the Knights, an eye flicking up to the radio as another comm channel burst open.

"Tell me, human. Should you prevail in this conflict and end the threat to your species, what do you intend to do? Will you stand beside Cortana as she takes her rightful place in the galaxy, or will you side with your own kind as they rail against her rule?"

As if she would ever turn against humanity. He said nothing, snarling as he drove his knife into the neck of a Knight, severing the hard-light within. Taking his silence for reticence to answer, the Warden sighed.

"Allow me to ask a different way. When this battle is over, you intend to…"

Go home together. It didn't matter what the Warden wanted, what the Didact planned. All that mattered was what Cortana wanted. He knew she'd want to go back, that they'd figure out the rest of it later. He didn't say that, either. Cortana already knew. The Warden didn't.

"Do you hear his silence, Cortana?" He asked. The Chief could hear her sharp inhale as she prepared to verbally flay him alive. "If he keeps such simple answers from you, what else does he keep secret?"

"Warden you miserable son of a—"

He cut the channel before she could finish, fury ringing in the stunned silence that followed. The corner of the Chief's mouth ticked upwards; he'd underestimated her. His mistake. Knights dispatched the Chief turned to follow Exuberant along the route ahead. The updated path Cortana had sent him took him out of the caves, up into the hills and along a ridge overlooking her own path. Destruction had been left in her wake, scattered pieces of Promethean bodies, scorched earth and burnt out human rubble all torn apart by hard-light shot. She'd been busy.

A flash of blue up ahead caught his attention. Cortana! She'd taken cover behind another of the odd hollow trees, rifle in hand. On the other side of a bridge, the Warden stood between her and the rendezvous point, between them both and the Gateway. Though something in the back of his mind screamed at John that they were too close to the Gateway, too close to the Didact, it was quickly silenced by the rest of him as he watched the Warden stalk towards Cortana with his sword in hand. He didn't know what the Warden planned to do with her if he got her, but that didn't matter.

All that mattered was that he was never getting his hands on her, not so long as John still drew breath.

With a snarl, he leapt over the edge of the ridge and went to war.

"Do you truly believe battling the Didact will be anything but your death knell?"

"I've faced worse!" Cortana shouted angrily, darting for cover as the Watcher fired on her previous position. The Warden wasn't trying to kill her but that wasn't stopping him from making her life more difficult. She snarled, reloading her rifle. "You're not going to stop me, either! I already took you down once, Warden! I can do it again!"

Even if she wasn't quite sure how to make him stay down yet. She'd figure it out.

Quickly shooting down the last Watcher she checked on the process she'd tasked with putting a lock on the Warden's ability to transport himself in and out of the Domain. It was still making progress, but only because she was still keeping him distracted. Just a little more time and she'd have him cornered. Spinning on her heel she blasted him with a burst of hard-light and that was when a flash of green from above caught her attention. She blinked, startled, before she had to grin.

Her Spartan definitely knew how to make an entrance! The Warden shouted in alarm as two hundred and fifty seven kilograms of angry Spartan II landed on his back, piledriving him into the soft soil. Even before the Warden had really hit the ground the Chief was already finishing him off, snapping his neck with a sharp crack that left his body fading into light. John huffed, getting back to his feet and striding towards her. She smirked.

"Miss me?"

iYou okay?/i

"The quiet was nice."

iBetter now./i

Cortana smiled. They quickly looked one another over, finding no new injuries or damage beyond a few scorch marks from hard-light scoring across his shoulders. He was fine, she was fine, now they had the Didact to deal with and—a shiver ran down her spine. Incoming teleport. She sighed heavily.

"And here we go again. Someone just can't take a hint." Pulling a fully loaded light-rifle from the Domain she passed it over to him. He took it, checking the chamber before shouldering the stock. "I got him once, you just put him in the dirt…what do you think, third time's the charm?"

"As many times as it takes," He said, then snapped an order up at the Monitor buzzing nearby. "Exuberant, watch the bridge. Warn us if we're going to get ambushed."

"Of course!"

The little Monitor buzzed off away from the battlefield. Cortana watched her go, turning to arch an eyebrow at the Chief once she was out of sight. He shrugged, unrepentant. Well, she thought to herself, at least he was good at making friends. They'd probably need that help later.

For now, there was a more pressing matter. The Warden dropped another shell out of the small slipspace rupture that appeared above where his body had just fallen, sinking into the muck. His feet made slurping noises as he pulled himself free, ground eating stride carrying him towards them.

"I take no pleasure in this, Reclaimer," He said regretfully, though not so regretful as to stop and let them walk away from the fight, "But Humanity stands as the greatest threat in the galaxy, and I must do my part to end that threat. If you will not subdue them peacefully, they must be eliminated. Someday, you will understand."

Cortana grit her teeth. "I seriously doubt that."

No more talk. Acting on the same instinct the Chief and Cortana darted away in opposite directions, forcing the Warden to pick a target and leave himself exposed to the other. Just like before he charged after the Chief, a horribly dark expression on his face as he did so. Cortana narrowed her eyes, cataloging it. Rage and frustration and—was that jealousy? Huh. Unexpected, but it did explain a few things. She set the thought aside for a later date, rushing at the Warden's exposed back. Though the vid-link was still being blocked by all the chaff in the local area she still managed to catch the Chief's eye through their visors and knew instantly what he was thinking.

Take this bastard down hard and take him down fast. Easiest way to do that would be just like she'd done the first time but they certainly didn't have a Ghost this time and—wait. Wait!

"Stall him!" She told her partner over their private channel, "I've got a program that can keep him from coming back again but it's not finished yet! Keep him busy just a little longer!"

"Acknowledged," the Chief said, peppering the Warden with rifle fire in the same instant Cortana did. The Warden shouted angrily, wildly swinging his sword in a wide arc to force them both back. Cortana swapped her lightrifle for a binary rifle and dropped to a knee, bracing it against her shoulder. A quick use of the scope earned the Warden two shots clean through his head. He turned angrily in her direction and she scrambled away.

"You risk everything!" The Warden shouted after her, "The future of the galaxy, all species beyond humanity, and for what?! Misplaced loyalty and affection!"

"Because it's my duty!" She shouted back, grabbing a pulse grenade out of the Domain and tossing it at him. He was forced to skip back from it and the Chief seized his chance, hitting him with a barrage of hard-light. The Warden spun on his heel and took another slice at the Chief. John barely got clear in time, causing a sharp spike of panic to rocket down her spine. She tossed another grenade at the Warden. "It's what I was made to do!"

It was what she wanted to do. Humanity was such a mess, but they were her mess. They'd come so far, had so much farther to go, and for all their problems she wanted to see them triumph. She wanted to see them thrive! She'd make sure they would, no matter what threat it meant she'd face. She'd deal with those, and threats to John's safety would be dealt with even more thoroughly. The Warden roared as the pulse grenade went off, pulling apart parts of his armor plating. He turned on her and fired his energy weapon at her. She barely dodged out of the way in time, a heat warning flashing across her HUD. She squashed it ruthlessly and fired her binary rifle off the hip, the blue hard-light missing her target but making her point just fine. He sneered at her, no doubt about to say something very unkind about how the humans had made her weak, but he didn't get the chance.

Seizing the opportunity she'd given him the Chief bolted straight for the Warden's back. Her eyes went wide.

"Chief, what are you doing?!"

"Cover me!"

That was—he was—argh! Why did he have to be so stubborn! Dropping the binary rifle for a boltshot Cortana fired at the Warden's head, careful not to let any of her seemingly wild shots hit the Chief. Once he'd closed the distance he leapt, the kick of his thrusters catching the Warden's attention, but it was too late to stop him. The Chief landed on the Warden's back and climbed up in a hurry, jamming one hand into the joints between the plates that covered his core. He'd spotted that?! He was trying to force it out into the open! She ran forward to try and help him, but she was too slow! The Warden grabbed him and threw him clear across the field; this time the Chief caught himself in a slide, getting back to his feet as the Warden stalked towards him.

"Your time has passed, Warrior-Servant," He sneered insultingly, "Your battles fought and done. The sun has set on the age of Humanity, the Covenant, and all your petty squabbles!" With a furious shout he charged forward. "Now die!"

Waiting until the last possible second the Chief held his ground. Every muscle tensed, waiting for the right moment to spring forward as the Warden raised his sword—now!

In the same instant that the Warden sliced his blade through the air the Chief kicked on his thrusters and shot clear, leaving the Warden to strike the boulder behind him instead. The force of his attack and the heat of the blade drove it into the stone, trapping it for just a moment. It was all the time they needed.

Acting as one the Chief and Cortana charged forward. She reached for his hand when he was close enough, and he threw her forward with ease. She sailed through the air, landing on the Warden's back, and hung on for dear life as he began to try and get her off. The Chief got there before he could, leaping up and hooking an arm around the Warden's neck. Off balance the massive construct stumbled, trying to reach back and haul them off of his back, but Cortana jammed his shoulder with one arm and held on tight with the other, gritting her teeth against the painful grinding of metal parts. With his free hand the Chief grabbed at the plates that protected the Warden's core, force-multiplying circuits giving him the strength he needed to rip one of them clean off! It sailed through the air, giving them just enough room for Cortana to jam the last of her pulse grenades in against his half-exposed core.

"That's it! Get back!"

"Your efforts are inconsequential!" The Warden shouted as they prepared to leap off his back. Though she'd jammed one arm up and was able to jump clear, the other was still functional. He caught the Chief by the throat and threw him to the ground in the same instant that the pulse grenade went off, catching them both in the ionization field. The Warden grunted, armor stripping away into nothing; the Chief's shields flared, failing. Still on his feet the Warden raised one massive foot, aiming it at the Chief's head. No!

So caught up in what was happening to her partner, Cortana nearly missed the quiet ding of a completed program. She had it! The lockdown protocol was finished! Oh, she had him now! Acting fast she packaged it up in a finely tuned EMP and let it fly.

"ENOUGH!"

In a move she'd learned from the Guardians blue light exploded from Cortana's frame, the powerful wave washing harmlessly over John even as it knocked the Warden to his knees. John scrambled back to his feet, knocking the Warden's legs out from under him with a sweeping kick before following it up with a roundhouse kick that sent him reeling, falling onto his rear end. He was prepared to do more, but Cortana gestured him back. Blue light flickered through the Warden's orange hard-light skeleton as he breathed heavily, winded from the one-two blow that had been the EMP and subsequent battering. Cortana stalked towards him.

"Warden, you call me Reclaimer. You tell me I am to lead the galaxy, but then you side with the enemy of all humanity? You try to tell me where I can or cannot stand? You attack my partner?" Her voice dropped, full of icy fury. "How stupid do you think I am?"

"That is where you are wrong, Cortana," the Warden said, a hint of grudging respect entering his voice as he levered himself up to stand, systems already recovered. "Had I not thought you clever, I would have burned you from the Domain the moment you first touched its shores."

John tensed, ready to shoot at a moment's notice. That wouldn't be necessary. Cortana stepped up into the Warden's space.

"Was that a threat?" She asked, not bothering to hide her the threat in her own tone from him any longer. The Warden looked down at her, their lines in the sand clearly drawn. She would never go with him, not so long as a single threat to humanity remained, not so long as John still drew breath. He had seen that and, while he would never understand her reasoning, he had been forced to accept her choices. He had already waited a hundred thousand years. What was one century of a human life compared to that? Slowly, he bowed his head.

"No," He said, "It was not."

"I didn't think so." She stepped even closer into his space, holding her chin up high. "You've made your stance abundantly clear, Warden. In choosing to work with the Didact you have sided against humanity, everyone I have chosen to protect. That makes you a threat to them, and I will not let that stand. You will leave them alone, or you will be destroyed. Am I clear?"

Silence. The Warden stared down at her for three long seconds, then sighed heavily.

"Yes, Reclaimer," He said, "But know this: for so long as you are shackled by Humanity, you will never be all that you can become. They are damned by your hand as much as by the Didact's."

Without another word, the Warden pulled himself into his too small slipspace rupture and vanished. The moment he re-entered the Domain Cortana activated the lockdown program, quarantining him in his partition. It wouldn't last forever—probably wouldn't even last a few days—but she took some small measure of pride in his furious shout. Try to kill John on her watch, would he? Ha! As if she'd ever let that stand. With a huff she turned back to John, smiling. He tilted his head and shrugged both shoulders, amusement loosening his motions.

They'd done it. Now they just had to do it again.

"Reclaimer!" Exuberant's shrill scream filled the air, "Watch out! Behind you—"

"Cortana!"

She was moving before she even realized it, throwing herself forward through the Domain and coming out facing the other direction when she landed beside John. He shoved her behind him, but not before she caught sight of the Didact, his body still posed perfectly in the motion of reaching for her neck. Slowly, with languid grace that didn't belong to such a battered form, the Didact slipped into a casual position that belied his skill in combat.

"You continue to impress me," He said, genuine respect coloring his tone, "Not many could fell the Warden in combat in such a manner, even in the time of the Forerunners. Your skill and valor are to be commended."

Busying herself with calling them fresh weapons, Cortana narrowed her eyes at the Didact. John had already slipped into a combat ready stance, every muscle ready to spring.

"You can keep your commendations," She snapped at him, "We're not here to earn your praise."

"No." The Didact agreed, "You are here to stop me from destroying the galaxy." He snorted quietly. "A misguided effort. Humanity's blight must be stopped if the galaxy is to survive!"

"So you'll burn everything instead." The Chief said coldly, "If you fire the Halos, it won't just be humanity that's burned away. You'll destroy everything and there won't be any reseeding to bring it back this time."

"A necessary cost. Enough simple life will survive that, given time, evolution will bring new life to the galaxy. Life without the taint of human destruction. Life safeguarded by the Guardians, and by the Mantle."

"You mean subjugated," Cortana corrected him, lightrifle heavy in her arms. How were they ever going to do this? "And if anybody so much as toes the line, they'll be destroyed all over again." She snorted. "How can you call that safeguarding?"

"Such is the weight of the Mantle," the Didact said. Typical bullshit explanation. She snarled at him. "Humanity has no right to bear it. The Forerunners are the only ones fit to carry it, and once you two have been done away with, there will be none able to challenge that fact." He lifted a hand, curling his fingers. Cortana braced herself for the gravimetric disturbance, but it wasn't them the Didact was reaching for. Still caught in the stone the Warden's sword vibrated, then sang as it was pulled free. It landed squarely in the Didact's hand, a sight that sent a chill down Cortana's spine. Oh, no. This was bad. This was really, really bad. "The time for talk has passed. Face your ends with dignity, as Warriors should."

For half a second, the world held still. Then, in an instant, everything flipped sideways.

Despite having only one properly working leg the Didact charged forward. John shoved her clear out of the way, leaping clear himself at the last possible moment. The Didact's stolen sword cleaved through the air where their heads had been only seconds before; Cortana was still close enough to feel the heat emanating from the blade and she swore fiercely. The Warden had been one thing, but the Didact? He hadn't lasted as long as he had because of his good looks! If this fight lasted too long he'd outlast them. Each second felt like an eternity; when she tried to reach for her Soldiers, he abruptly switched targets and pounced in her direction, swinging his sword at her head. Every process dropped what they'd been doing and snapped to attention, all focused on keeping her intact. He wasn't giving her the time she needed to call the Soldiers down! Blast it!

So much for back up.

"Cavalry's not coming, Chief!" She shouted down the private channel, "I don't suppose you've got any ideas?!" Putting distance between the two of them she spun on her heel to fire in unison with the Chief. Blue hard-light bounced off the Didact's armor as he turned, stalking slowly towards the Chief. She knew he could be on them in an instant if he wanted to. Such slow motions—he was toying with them, the bastard! She kept shooting, even as her processes ran the math and told her this was doing nothing, "We can't keep this up for long!"

"There's a panel on his back," the Chief snapped, "It'll reset the armor if it's hit—shoot it out!"

Well that was a small target! She flashed an acknowledged at him and spun back into the Domain, reappearing on the top of a tree behind the Didact. With the Chief keeping him busy from the front she had precious few seconds to act. Hit his back? Easier said than done but she'd make it work. She had to make it work!

Dropping to a knee she shouldered her binary rifle, peering down the scope. A reset panel for the armor on his back. Some sort of spinal implant unit, likely meant to blend in with the rest of his armor panels. She considered how it all worked as quickly as she could. It was in there somewhere, she just had to…wait. Wait, there! She saw it. Middle of his back, power lines glowing so bright they were almost white as he continued in pursuit of the Chief. One shot. She just needed one shot. Hold steady…steady…steady—now!

She squeezed the trigger. A blast of blue hard-light seared into the Didact's armored back, carving through the metal panels to hit her target. Instantly the rest of the armor fell away, a reset protocol dropping it to nothing. The Didact stumbled and in that one second of imperfection the two of them struck.

The Chief went low, charging into the Didact's unarmored midsection. Throwing herself into the Domain Cortana joined him, landing right beside him with a Scattershot in hand. She brought the weapon's full might to bear on his chest, blue hard-light tearing through him, knocking his head back and sending him reeling, stumbling backwards, leaving another opening for John to grab hold of. Cortana ducked out of the way as he leapt back, pivoting his weight on one heel to snap out a powerful roundhouse kick. Cortana had seen that move snap the necks of fully armored Elites without even slowing down. They had him!

They didn't have him.

Though they'd managed to catch him off guard, the Didact was too good to stay that way. Recovering faster than any organic had the right to he snapped out a six fingered hand and grabbed John by the ankle.

"Clever," the Didact rumbled, "but not good enough."

With a roar the Didact spun, still holding the Chief by the ankle, and threw his opponent onto the metal bridge that linked the two cliffsides together. The Chief caught himself with his thruster pack, sliding across the metal and leaping back to his feet. The Didact charged after him, nearly too fast for Cortana to track, and she called out a warning. The Chief leapt out of the way but in that instant something went wrong.

Grabbing the Chief by the shoulder the Didact spun them both around to face the open sky. That close there was no room to dodge; bringing up his arm, the Didact plunged his sword straight through John's back and clean out his abdomen. His vitals flared into the red, shock and pain ripping through him as a scream ripped from Cortana's throat. The Didact mercilessly pulled the sword back out, blood cooked black on the orange hard-light. John stumbled, a hand instinctively coming to his injury. Cortana raced forward, but the Didact was closer. In a gesture that might have been kind if done by anyone else, the ancient Forerunner leaned in, whispering something to John that Cortana couldn't hear.

Then he shoved John clean off the edge of the cliff and into the abyss below.

"JOHN!"

Cortana hit the edge on her knees, reaching out into the fog. He was already out of sight, out of her reach, when the first impact rang through her body like a bell. His already red vitals flared into critical range, medical alerts going off one after the other as merciless stone rushed up to meet him. She had to go after him—he was dying down there and she was—

"Do not despair," the Didact said quietly in her ear, "You will join him soon, ancilla."

With a gasp Cortana whipped around. The Didact reached for her throat in the same instant, snatching her off of her knees and holding her aloft over the abyss. She clawed at his arm, eyes burning with tears she could never shed. John was—he was—no!

No! His vitals were still in her HUD, critical and fading fast, but they were still there! He was still alive!

Rage flooded through her. Rage at the Didact for the injury he had caused, rage at the Warden for distracting them, rage at herself for not seeing this coming, for not protecting him. It crystallized into a lump of heat in her middle, lending strength to her limbs and fire to her voice.

"The only one who's going to join him is you!" She spat, then grabbed onto the first friendly process within reach. "Exuberant! Now!"

A searing hot plasma beam struck the Didact in the back. Stunned but uninjured he jerked forward, his body's instinctive reaction to the pain causing him to release Cortana. She dropped into the fog, instantly running blind. She had no idea what was down here but she knew where John was and that was all that mattered! Latching onto his coordinates she threw herself into the Domain, momentum carrying through the jump and sending her sprawling across the hard stone. For half a second she lay there, winded and stunned, unable to see more than a meter in front of her for the thick fog. The ravine had bottomed out at nearly three kilometers. How he'd survived a fall like that—

She scrambled to her hands and knees. His suit's transponder was still going, guiding her towards his fallen form. She'd landed scant meters from his side but it felt like a thousand miles lay between them. She still almost missed him laying unmoving on the cold stone.

"John! Oh, no no no—John, stay with me!" Hurrying to his side she pulled his head into her lap, disconnecting his helmet from the rest of his suit. Half-lidded blue eyes stared distantly up at nothing, blood trickling from his mouth and nose. Stuttering breaths trembled beneath the hand she placed on his chest, a keening whine escaping her throat before she could grab it. He was—oh, this was bad. This was so bad!

Alarms flared at her touch, a dozen integrity failure warnings going off. The fall and subsequent bouncing down the side of the ravine had broken the armor and several bones along with it, tearing through his insides, but it was the injury that the Didact had inflicted that was the worst of all. A clean puncture nearly as large as his hand bisected his spinal cord, his abdomen horrifically damaged. Only the heat of the blade had saved him from bleeding out within moments, but the damage was too severe for even a full canister of biofoam to fix. Her core froze. He was dying.

"John—"

He didn't have the strength to move. Somehow he found enough of it to meet her eyes.

"You need to—" His breath was choked by a liquid gurgle. Internal bleeding, chimed in the one logical process she had left, nearly lost in the grief stricken wailing of the rest, "—go." When she opened her mouth to fight him he choked out, "Promised."

She had promised. She had! It had been a lie but she had to leave him now—a sob broke past her fraying control, strangling anything she might have said. She bent over him, body heaving with sobs. She couldn't leave him! Not like this! Not ever! She shook her head into his chestplate, his breath coming in tiny, pained puffs against her neck. She had to get him out of here! But how?! He didn't have the time for her to figure out how to get him back up three kilometers of stone! And the Didact was up there! She couldn't take him on her own and even if she could, there was no medical help to be found on this backwater. He was going to die here!

But he didn't have to. They were standing at the doors to a galaxy spanning transport grid. Reaching out into the Domain she pinged the Gateway's activation process. It responded with a welcoming ping of its own, waiting for her to initiate the process. It had been designed to allow organics to access the Domain. Forerunners, yes, but organics all the same, and John's DNA was half Forerunner now just like hers. Would it be enough to see him safely through? If it was, she could get him to proper medical attention back home. If it wasn't…

Before she could finish the thought sand and small stones rained down on them, bouncing off of her back plate. She snapped her head up, freezing as she caught sight of the Didact making his way down the side of the cliff. The expression on his face was full of predatory malice; ice ran down her spine. He was coming to finish the job and they couldn't be here when he got here. A quick calculation put his arrival in at just under a minute. She had to leave now! There was only one option left.

Choice made she pulled back to look at her partner. His vitals were almost faded, heaving breaths dying off beneath her hand. He still had enough strength to keep his eyes on her, pleading wordlessly for her to go. A single tear escaped, rolling down the side of his face. He wasn't ready for this to be the end. Neither was she.

Not like this.

"There might be a way out of this. It could kill us both, but it's the only chance we have." She cupped his face in her hands. "Do you trust me?"

Slowly, haltingly, he managed to bring his hand up to cover hers. With the last of his strength he gripped it tight.

"…not over…" he whispered, the blue of his eyes vanishing as his eyelids shut for the last time. The vitals monitor in her HUD flared from red to black, flatlining.

It's not over.

Cortana sobbed, closing her eyes.

"Not yet," She whispered, leaning over him, wrapping both arms right around his chest. Reaching into the Domain she initiated the process. The Gateway swung open wide, welcoming her home after a hundred thousand years away. It recognized John as well, reading them as a singular united entity. It was ready for them. All she had to do was jump. "Not yet."

Tightening her grip and crossing all of her mental fingers, she threw them into the Domain. They plunged into the icy depths of the ocean, the shock of it nearly causing her to lose her grip on him, but she held firm and reached out for a life rope. The Domain was immense, all encompassing. It spread across the galaxy and saw everything, recording it all in a second by second record of history itself. It knew where everything—everyone—was at any given moment, and if you knew how to use it it could take you anywhere.

It was going to take them home.

Thanking all her lucky stars that the Infinity had followed orders and returned to Earth, Cortana grabbed at the life rope that was Roland's process. His shock rippled down her spine but before he could process it she already had what she needed: the coordinates to the Medical Bay. Without bothering to ask permission she dropped them into the lobby; people shouted in alarm at their unceremonious and unexpected entrance, scattering in all directions. She paid them no mind, her focus on John and his flatlined vitals. He'd been medically dead for only five seconds. He could still be saved! Cradling his head in her hands she looked up and screamed.

"Medic! We need—:"

She didn't get a chance to finish. Soldiers to the last the combat medic team sprang into action. Orders were shouted: tools to cut him out of the broken armor, a defibrillator to restart his heart, oxygen, prepare a surgery suite. Someone tried to ask her what had happened, what had caused the injury, but she couldn't answer them. Her attention remained on John's slack face. He was—no, no, he couldn't be dead! He just couldn't be! She shook forward, reaching forward, needing to find his pulse, only for arms to clamp around her and pull her away.

"NO!" She screeched, fighting with all her might. They couldn't take him away she had to stay with him she had to take care of him— "Let go—" People surged into the gap she had left behind, a team of Spartans in techsuits lifting him onto a gurney for the Medics to wheel him away. They blocked her view of him. "JOHN!"

He didn't answer her, couldn't answer her. He was gone. All the fight drained out of her, leaving her a limp husk in the arms of some other Spartan. A keening wail rang through the air, some process vaguely away that it was her making that noise but too caught up with the rest in their grief and loss to care. The arms that had pulled her away from him set her down.

"Cortana!" Someone shouted, "Cortana, snap out of it! Cortana!" Hands clamped onto her shoulders, forcibly turning her around. She looked up, vision blurred, and stared up at Commander Palmer's worried face. "Look at me! Eyes on me, soldier, up here, come on—"

Using Palmer's steady voice and the weight of her hands as anchors, a single process was able to drag itself out of the thick mud of grief, pulling others along with it. Once logic had enough of a hold—John dead or not, humanity was still in danger—Cortana shook herself.

"I—" She swallowed hard, another wail building in the back of her throat. She mercilessly stomped on it, forcing it down. She'd break later. "We found the Didact, but he was ready for us. He—"

She didn't get a chance to finish. A shiver slimed its way down her spine, the familiar sensation of someone clawing at her matrices, digging for information without caring what was damaged in their wake. She knew those claws, knew that presence. Her core lurched to a frozen, terrified halt.

"Oh no."

There was no time to explain. Without so much as a word Cortana pushed herself back into the Domain, dropping into her partition first. The normally starry sky was covered in a layer of thick, roiling storm clouds, a harsh wind cutting across the sand. The ocean churned, foam-capped waves lashing against the shore as a hurricane spun in the open waters out to sea. Someone was out there, tearing it apart in search of something.

In search of them.

The Didact was in the Domain. She had opened the Gateway and he had followed them through. What he could do now having accessed the innumerable connections and wealth of data within chilled her to her core. This changed everything.

They couldn't stay here. They were in danger.

Throwing up every defensive measure and anti-intrusion protocol she could get her hands on, Cortana dove for the Bridge. She landed hard, catching herself on the edge of the holo-table. Captain Lasky jumped almost out of his skin, the members of his security team bringing their weapons to bear in defense of their Captain. Roland flared white at the sight of her.

"Cor what the hell—"

"Weapons down, weapons down!" The Captain ordered, hurrying to her side. Security lowered their weapons but not their guard as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Cortana, what happened?!"

"The Didact has access to the Domain," She hurried to say, "He's on his way here right now! Sir, we can't—"

She didn't get a chance to finish before the overhead lights flickered. Comm and nav all made discomfited sounds in their seats, a shiver running down every spine as the air itself seemed to change. Heart in her throat, she and Captain Lasky both looked out the observation windows. From behind Luna, the stars tore open.

"No," Cortana breathed, shaking her head, "No no no!"

Alarms flared across the bridge, red lights painting a blood-red cast along faces and terminals as sensors detected multiple slipspace portals opening within range of Earth. Comms officers began to report that they were getting similar if not identical reports from the other ships in the defensive line, the Admirals giving orders to take up positions, to defend Earth to the last.

Cortana already knew it wouldn't work. She watched, horrified, as a Guardian unfolded out behind Luna. Roland snapped up a hologram of the local area and they all watched as six more followed it out in various places around Earth, spreading the number of target locations to hit. Lasky jumped into action.

"Prepare firing solutions!" He commanded, "Hit the Guardian directly ahead of us—fire at will!"

"Aye, sir!" Came the unified shout from the weapons stations. Cortana rushed forward to one of the MAC controls, running the same equations her controller was, but she knew it wouldn't matter. Orders from the other ship Captains and Admirals rang out through the local band, TACCOM ordering a handful of ships to focus fire on each Guardian. It was a solid tactic but against those monstrous constructs—she could do nothing but watch as one Guardian took a MAC round to a wing, the tip bending backwards for a moment before it recovered and returned to its previous position.

"Sir!" Roland called out, "Captain, immense electromagnetic activity detected!"

"Where?!"

"The Guardians, sir! All of them! They're preparing to fire!"

"Keep shooting! Stall them as long as you can!"

Glowing spheres of harsh orange energy gathered at each Guardian's chest. The human ships kept shooting, blasting them with MAC rounds and Archer missiles, reverse engineered Covenant weapons and barely in production laser weaponry. None of it made any sizable dent in the Guardians—they were just too strong! Cortana whirled around but before she could even try to convince Captain Lasky to call for a retreat, orange light flared on the bridge. Weapons came up, every muzzle on the bridge pointed at the Didact as he stood beside the Observation Bay, stars flickering through his shoulders.

It was a hologram. He stared at something Cortana couldn't see, head held high with triumph.

"This conflict has gone on long enough," He said, his voice ringing through every channel, rumbling down her bones like infrasonic thunder. She spun off a process to try and track him; if they could focus fire on his location then maybe they still had a chance! "Leaders of humanity, I offer you this one chance. Stand down. Face your ends with honor and dignity."

"All ships, keep firing!" Came Lord Hood's order. The echo of a thousand weapons going off slammed into Cortana with all the force of a MAC round directly impacting her chest. Humanity knew its odds and they didn't care. They would sooner go down swinging than give up the fight.

The Didact knew that, too. He closed his eyes with a soft noise that, under different circumstances, might have been a laugh.

"So be it."

The hologram vanished. A different alarm started blaring, one of Lasky's officers shouting back about steadily growing power outside the ship. The Guardian just outside of Luna's orbit took a hit to the chest and fired ahead of its fellows, the blast washing over every ship in its path on its way down towards Earth below. Helpless to stop it they could only watch as ships and stations went dark, drifting into the stars. The Atlas began to fall towards the Indian Ocean far below, silent as her crew couldn't even call out for help. The Delhi had stopped spinning and was drifting out of sight, gravitational orbit all that kept her in space. Far below, lights went out.

It had happened in less than two seconds. Just looking at what visual data she had, it would take a good fifteen seconds of focused fire to take down one Guardian. They had no chance in this fight.

"Sir," She turned to Lasky, shame and grief threatening to swallow her whole, "Sir, we have to go—we can't stay here!"

For a heart-stopping three seconds, Lasky didn't answer. He stared out at the destruction, the ships falling to Earth, the Orbital Defense Platforms turned into overgrown paperweights. Ordering voices had gone silent, their ships no longer able to call out, and those that were left were high with panic. To abandon the fight would be to abandon Earth and all her people, but to stay would be to waste the lives of every crew member aboard the ship. There was no choice. He closed his eyes, grit his teeth, then turned and gave the order.

"Helm, all ahead full into the Portal," He commanded his helmsman, the ship jerking as she rapidly changed course. Slamming a hand down to the holo-table Lasky ordered across all channels, "All ships, break engagement and head for the Portal. Repeat: All ships break engagement! Retreat!"

"Captain Lasky what the hell do you think you're doing—"

"Sir we don't stand a chance against the Guardians!" Lasky shouted down the line at Lord Hood, "If we don't stop him at the Ark we won't stop him at all! All of this won't mean a damn thing!"

"Sir," Cortana hurried onto the line, "The Ark's defenses might be able to take the Guardians down but ours can't! If we stay humanity dies anyway!"

A second's pause and then, "Green light! All ships break engagement! Head for the Portal!"

A dozen ships stopped shooting and attempted to reverse course for the Portal. All around them the six Guardians that hadn't yet fired their pulses spread their wings wider and wider until they could go no further. For half a second everything stopped, a moment frozen in time.

Then, they fired. The six-strong pulse shot out across the Earth's upper orbit, sliding over ships like water over sand. Lights went dark, momentum carrying them uncontrollably forward as their weight pulled them into Earth orbit. Alarms blared through the bridge as the Infinity's systems sat up and took notice of the heavy power surge on its way to them but they didn't even slow down. Lasky shouted out for everyone to brace themselves as they headed for the Portal, the wave fast on their heels. Just when Cortana was sure they wouldn't make it—

They slipped through into the black. The Nav officer lifted her head.

"Sir, we're through," She said, "Infinity made it through the Portal."

"Understood. Did anyone else make it through?"

Cortana consulted the rear camera feeds, double checking the local comms, then closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, sir. The Infinity is the only ship in this corridor. We're on our own."

Everyone else had stayed behind. They were beyond help now. She hoped that some would manage to survive the fallout, but she knew their odds. There was no point in saying what they all already knew. Lasky bowed his head.

"And the Didact? Can he follow us?"

"I'd wager he's less than five minutes behind us, sir. He'll need to open a Portal of his own, but with access to the Domain." She shook her head again. "There's nothing to stop him. We should prepare for the worst when we get there."

"Maybe before that," Roland piped up. He gestured to the feeds when they glanced at him and Cortana's systems stuttered. The normally black void of slipspace was flickering orange, the edges ripping and tearing at the seams. Roland stared at the feed in disgust. "The pulse hit the Portal just after we did-Sir, it's tearing slipspace apart. If it catches up to us, we're good as dead."

"Then don't let it catch up," the Captain replied. "Direct all non-essential power to the engines and keep rear shields at full."

"Aye sir," Roland snapped out a salute and vanished from the table. Taking a deep breath, Lasky keyed the PA system.

"Lasky to Infinity. All hands: We are condition yellow. Everyone to your stations. Section heads, report in with maximum fabrication loads. Medics, prepare for combat insertion." He paused for a moment, his tone softening. "We're humanity's best chance now. Let's do them proud."

He shut down the PA and bowed his head. Taking another deep breath he composed himself.

"Cortana," he turned to look at her and stopped dead as he took her in. She knew her frame was undamaged but something must have shown on her face. His expression fell as he realized what it meant for her to be on the bridge alone. Blessedly, he didn't ask. "We'll debrief in my office."

She didn't want to. She couldn't talk about it, not when it was still so fresh. Closing her eyes Cortana reached out to John's bio-monitor, choking back a sob as it returned a flatline to her query. He was gone. She had to face reality that she had eternity without him now, and an entire species that needed her to hold it together. Still wailing their grief to the stars, her processes tried to shore themselves up.

"Yes sir," Cortana found the strength to say, walking past the table and towards the small office in the corner of the bridge. Lasky set a hand on her shoulder as she passed him, saying nothing.

There was nothing to say. She had a job to do.

When it was done…when it was done, she'd consider her options. For now, she had a fight to finish.

John!

He'd been swallowed whole. Ice cold salt water stung his nose, his eyes; he tumbled through the black, spinning head over heels until he could no longer tell which way was up and which way was down. His chest ached, lungs screaming for air he couldn't give them. Everything was wrong, a thousand voices shouting at him as a thousand sets of hands grabbed and tugged in different directions, overwhelming him, pulling him apart without cease.

None of the voices were hers. Was she out here in this mess too? Where was she where was she where was she—

Cortana!

A hand snapped closed around his wrist and pulled hard, pulling him away from the thousands of grasping hands, pulling him towards the light. Black turned to gray turned to blue and then suddenly—

Air.

With a heaving gasp, John fell to his knees, choking and spluttering up salt water. The tide lapped at his hands as he braced himself, fingers carving furrows into wet sand. Salt water dripped off his face, stinging his eyes, but the voices had gone quiet. There were no more hands on him.

Heart still racing from the experience, John looked up to see who had come to his aid. A smiling face looked down at him as the Didact stood over him, the soft blue glow of his armor casting odd shadows in the unfamiliar starlight.

No, not the Didact. He'd seen that face before. He knew this Forerunner.

"You."

Bornstellar's smile grew wider. "Hello at last, Reclaimer. We have much to speak about."

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