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Death was highly overrated.
The cold, silent loneliness it wrought was nothing compared to the horrors that unbelievers and heretics were supposed to feel. In fact, she felt right at home there alongside faded memories, the old ghosts of thought. Such memories were listless…useless.
The visions haunted her still, a woman with flowing hair and caring eyes; a woman who bore wisdom like a second skin; a woman who resembled her and was not her.
But this woman was not alone, for her memory was accompanied by another, a man with a cruel face and loving, gentle hands.
So too drifted a song that lingered even when it was not welcome, given life by two voices that had no identity and no importance. What was most unsettling was her subconscious belief that something was indeed very wrong, that there was indeed a greater awareness than what was currently being experienced. It was a world beyond blackness, full of strange, unfamiliar pictures that composed her reality. Then she heard voices and her wonderings were replaced with calculations. No. Emotions, rather.
"The snow is going to make her condition far worse, if such a thing is possible." This voice was familiar. She recognized it and searched for a name or a face, but found none. All she could recall was pain, and she did not want to be hurt again. She could take no more punishment. If she begged, would they no longer harm her?
Inside she pleaded, doing her best to speak. Then she heard a distant echo of her thoughts.
 
"No," Was all she heard in response. The first awareness of her own body was in the way of a slight twitch. "She falls more ill by the moment, Kodos, hurry!"
"I proceed as hastily as I can, hold what warmth you are able."
"I am trying, you must hurry before her condition becomes irrevocable!"
"Calm, friend. Your emotion will do us no good here."
 
Emotion.
That was feeling. She deciphered that easily. It was unpleasant, she decided. Carefully she caught that emotion by its metaphorical throat and strangled it.
 
"Kodos, you are right of course. But stone-logic could lead us into our own graves. We must be careful."
"Of course," The second voice replied casually.
 
Logic…could lead one to a grave. A grave was a bad thing. Graves meant death…the end of an existence. If logic and emotion were wrong, she would destroy them both. With emotion strangled, she beat logic senseless. Little did she know that neither of these meant a thing much worse and alien than either of them when they were twisted to suit wrongful purposes.
It was a simple, subtle thing. Insanity.
 
She saw a great blue sky that moved always in one direction, very quickly. So quickly she could not register what was happening, merely smiled in contentment. It was a nice blue, like the pedals of a flower. She closed her eyes and let the sight lull her into calm. She was most certainly freezing, but she was mostly numb to that feeling. The next thing she knew warmth was slowly reawakening her, gently calling frayed nerves back to their functional selves, though she could not understand why there were little creatures crawling all over her skin. Sometimes they bit, and hurt. Other times they were oddly still. But that was unimportant, she had a… something. She had a physical form.
This opportunity could not go to waste. Revitalized, curious to see what she was, exactly, she opened her eyes for the first time.
 
Bright!
The world was a blinding place filled with yellows, whites and crimson reds that burned at the eyes. She closed them, her advance thrown back. It was better to keep them closed, she realized. The world was an unforgiving place, and she no longer wanted pain. So slowly, little by little she turned her head, faced the dimmer regions she felt comfortable risking, and opened her eyes again. No painful bright things attacked her, and so she continued to stare. Who, what… why was she?
No answer became apparent.
So she stared, and felt nothing, and knew little. And kept on staring, feeling nothing; knowing little. The trouble was, she couldn't break that reverie. 
 
Mikka wondered how long she would last here.
He couldn't feel the cold, of course, but he had personal shielding. And Kodos was in fact thousands of tiny Kodos, all sharing heat. He would be fine. He nodded as a new idea struck him. They were well protected from the elements, but the dampness of the cave would have to be dispelled. He immediately set about building a fire. The storm outside would disguise it from view. Sometimes it was better to rely on the natural to survive.
As Kodos gathered the necessary materials, he began to grow frustrated with the natural way of doing things. The gods-forsaken wood just wouldn't combust. Eventually he decided to ignite the flames with a plasma rifle. He was far more successful that time.
 
"Nothing treads near, we are safe for the moment." The Hunter meekly played the part of sentry.
  "That is good. Yet I cannot help but wonder where we are."
"We are on Holy Ring. In a frozen climate, surrounded by beasts that would kill us."
He allowed an incredulous expression to show, curling into a tight ball for comfort and giving one final instruction to his companion before dozing off. He was exhausted.
 
Never once had Kodos taken his attention off his true task, to guard against any threats. Even as he gathered what Mikka had asked, he always kept himself well aware of what was going on to the best he could be expected to.
 The generally cautious Hunter stared out into a never-ending snowfall and thought of his bond-mate. Despite that crippling blow, delivered as he was slain, Kodos persisted. He held no grudge, it had been his own fault. He would not think of it, however. Not now.
There were more important things he could do. Such as watch and forget, some things were better left to the past. He could hear the crackling of the flames, pitifully small against the vibrant whistle of wind outside. It was a quiet moment, rare in his recent life. He would appreciate it as fully as he could.
He shook off the light coating of snow that seemed to choose solely him to rest upon. It was growing annoying, chilling. Kodos moved closer to the heat of the fire they'd made.
 
It was strange how feverish Shade was acting, her condition was beyond his simple, some would say barbaric wisdom. This thing that plagued her was more than just a malady or a disorder of the brain, it was a sickness of the soul. He tried to find some empathy, but learned that he had none- not for this one.
He felt loneliness when he looked in her eyes, which stared at him. Passed him.
It wasn't long before he found himself watching the cave entrance again.
 
"Why must the Control Rooms forever remain under a glacier?" He huffed. "Far be it from me to ask for a warmer place."
A great boom wrenched him from his thoughts.
High above, something was happening. He could hear it even through the storm, and that, he knew; was most certainly astonishing. It was time to wake Mikka.
 

The Uzumri had quite literally fought tooth and nail for that display of pyrotechnics.
The moment they'd ejected the escape pod, their enemies had fallen over the ship like flies to a well-worn corpse. These Forerunner were persistent, sly and powerful. A worthy opponent for any Torra, though Tras'Lok grudgingly admitted that he was far out-classed.
Still, his spirit would not relent, and so when the single-ships began strafing the hull, he was the solid pillar on which a great thing was erected.
 
"We should run."
The Covenant continued what tasks they had set themselves to perform with calm and diligence. Even Shadow's pragmatic voice could not break his aura of command. If they were to survive it would be by his word alone.
 
"I am aware, honored Human. But I shall not withdraw from this field until the pod is safely away."
"Fine." He shook his head. "What do we do?"
 
The deck shuddered as a mine detonated nearby.
Whatever damage incurred was purely superficial, as it was the Uzumri who would score the first blow. Under the expert guidance of several pairs of Torra hands the point defenses let loose everything they had, setting up fatal cross-fires. Several hostile signatures faded off the displays as the massive warship kicked into motion.
 
Going from standstill to breakneck speed was a daunting process, they were essentially giving the enemy a giant bulls-eye as they accelerated to maneuvering speed. Shadow knew these 'Forerunner' would use that advantage to do whatever damage they could. He'd been given no options, which meant he was expected, he realized, to offer whatever advice he had. He started to think.
 
To call it a prospective battle would be a large overstatement. A single ship, still reeling from conflict both internal and external, was set to combat a fleet of technologically superior craft. Even more unfortunate was that this armada was in better formation and better prepared for the clash. Indeed, this was not to be a battle. It was going to be a slaughter, the elimination of a single craft: the Uzumri.
 
"I've calculated the odds of our survival," whispered EVA to Shadow.
"I don't want to know."
"What are we going to do? Do you think Tras has the cunning to…"
"I don't know. I do what I can to help."
"Even if we escape, you're a prisoner here. You're a dead man. You're trapped on the bridge with the ship's most dangerous soldiers. You're, as you might say, fucked."
"We'll see."
 
Tras was barking out orders at an impressive rate, now, simultaneously preparing the Uzumri for battle and establishing his right as the new leader the ship. With Tras, there was no hesitation. Every command was carried out in an utmost precision and to its ultimate completion. There was no conflict of interest and no hope for change. Tras was in command of the Uzumri, and there was no question as to his legitimacy as Ship's Master.

"We must escape, Tras."
"Human, I refuse to commit such an act. We shall stand until the pod has landed on the Halo without disruption."
"Then let us at least have some cover from that massive armada."
"What do you suggest?"
"There's a large asteroid cluster nearby. I say we use it for cover."
"A veritable deathtrap, human. This forerunner armada would fire indiscriminately into the field. Detonation of those large pieces of rock will surely send large hunks into our hull."
"I doubt that they would take such a tactic. I may be on the bottom of the evolutionary ladder here, but I can estimate the firepower and tactics of an enemy very well. Whoever leads that armada seemed to me one of precision and exactness. Firing like that into a field of largely unknown substances would seem foolish in his mind. He will enter the field and weed us out, I am sure. Until then, we will buy time for both Shade and the crew of this ship."
"A simple plan, human. Perhaps it may work in the end."
"Hurry up. They don't seem to be hitting us hard, their full-scale weaponry must not be in full range yet."
"Understood."

Tras turned from Shadow, evidently to carry out the plan that had just been laid out.

"I want the ship to be redirected towards the asteroid field. As the ship comes broadside, I want all plasma torpedoes on the starboard side to be fired at the nearest possible enemy target. When we are finished, redirect all power to the shields and main engines. You all know what must be done in your respective stations, I need not walk alongside each of you in this moment. This is a critical maneuver, and it must be carried out with the utmost care. Am I heard?"
"Yes Sir!" resounded a united crew.

And so the Uzumri began its swift rotation, being impaled by various sorts of increasingly damaging weapons all the while. Each blast from the Burning Eternal glanced off the Uzumri's shields making it seem, temporarily at least, like a bright star in the dead of the black space. Such a bright light seemed to make the Uzumri a beacon of hope, or at least a sign of intensity. The beauty of the ship at this moment of defense was made all the more jaw dropping as the attacks became more numerous and the activation of the shields more rapid. The attacks tore at the ship more viciously and more often than in the previous moment, becoming more and more difficult to ward off. Soon, the sight was not of a ship that was graced momentarily by that of the elegant light from the shields, but rather of a ship that was constantly enclosed by this shell, never given the opportunity to deactivate and recharge.

How could a ship be such a pearl in this sea of blackness? Indeed, the fact that its image in battle was so graceful and stunning was simply a testament to its very purpose as a ship of war. Only in battle was the Uzumri so staggeringly bright and strong.

Even under the attack, the shields must fall for but a moment. And indeed they did, the bright star becoming a silent creature that was nonetheless the same knife in the dark. The shields lowered, and the plasma torpedoes were away, lighting the swimming surfaces of the ship once again with a brilliant blue light. The torpedoes sped away, the knights of the Covenant charging to their doom in battle. The Uzumri continued its rotation, the end accented by the sudden engagement of the ship's engines as it sped away.

The Uzumri's retreat would have to be quick, as the recently fired torpedoes would do little halt the beast that hunted the beleaguered Covenant force. Shadow looked through the rear viewing port just in time to watch the torpedoes make contact. The blue of the torpedoes disappeared for a moment, lending a brief visual quiescence. But this break in the fireworks of space were once again interrupted by the detonation of the ships that were the Uzumri's next victims in battle.

"Well, that's a few down. Only a couple dozen to go," Shadow remarked.
"We will not have to eliminate the rest of the fleet just yet. We are nearing the asteroid field and are preparing for an emergency deactivation of all active systems."
"Lets just hope they can't still find us for a while."

Panels began flashing everywhere.

"What the fuck is going on?"
"The Forerunner have decided to send a single volley at us. Each ship has fired in unison. We will not reach asteroid field in time."
"Hundreds of lethal bolts, no doubt. Well, how much energy does the ship's shields have?"
"Not enough for this kind of blow."
"Then what must be done?"

Tras stared at Shadow for a moment before turning back to the bridge controls.

"I have a tactic that may prove successful, though it has yet to be implemented correctly in the grand history of our race. We will detonate our shields, sending out a wave of energy around us. It will detonate or phase out any projectile that is currently aimed at us."
"Do it. And do it fucking quickly. We have only moments before impact."

The bright light that surrounded the Uzumri faded away, its place taken by an enormous globe of energy that spread across the vast battlefield. It would have little effect on the aggressors, but it would ensure that any incoming piece of damaging equipment sent towards the Uzumri was neutralized. And so the action carried out its function to its fullest, the detonation of all Forerunner blasts becoming a wall of fire as they all detonated at the same time. A veritable firestorm, the magnitude of the explosion resulting from all the simultaneous explosions was of little consequence with its distance from the quickly retreating Uzumri.

"And so, my respect for the Elite race becomes all the more apparent," muttered Shadow to himself.

The now shieldless ship halted, its position on the other side of a very large asteroid. The engines died, their bright lights slowly fading away. Any external illuminations were deactivated, and the Uzumri became as black as the night of space. Within the main deck, numerous lights went out. Those that didn't disappear were lowered to a more appropriate level of visual excitation. The Uzumri now slept…with one eye open of course.

Moments passed. Several more. Quiet.

EVA turned to Shadow.

"We'll lose. They aren't chasing us into the field because they are sending in crews to find and steal Shade away from us."
"That isn't something we can help right now, EVA."
"The human AI is correct, human," Tras interjected. "We will fail in our mission, if we let Shade's new roof be that of the Burning Eternal."

Before a response could be made, a rumble made itself known. The rocking became more and more violent as a crack seemed to appear in the very fabric of space. Like a demented spider's web, the fracture spread through the walls of space, becoming more and more devastating. The rocking within the bridge of the Uzumri seemed absolutely unbearable. There was no doubt that casualties were being experienced at this very moment.

And after only moments of being present, it disappeared again.

The time rift was gone. Space had become reality once more. Shadow, badly bruised from the intense rocking, quickly rose to his feet and looked out of the main window. Gunfire. Throughout the Forerunner armada. The Fighter/Bombers looked to have veered off in supporting of their larger Command Ship. What was going on?

"What the hell?" asked Shadow with some level of absolute astonishment.
"Whatever it may be, human, we shall take advantage of this situation that the Forerunner seems to be steeped in. We shall find Shade."
"You will?"
"No. We will."
"Since when was I involved in this whole escapade?"
"Human, you boarded this ship with all intentions of weaving your own story with Shade and her experiences. Do you truly wish to end it now? You shall come with me and help me save her. At the very least, you will be exercising your skills as a fighter."
"None of those are incentives for me. But I will join you for my own reasons. I am not on your side. I only happen to be at the same place with the same goals. Nothing more."
"Understood, human. You will be given all the supplies that you require."

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