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Dr. Catherine Halsey sat in the bridge of the Chiroptera class ship that she had hijacked from the Eradinus colony. Checking her medical logs, she noted that Spartan 087, Kelly, would awake from her drug induced slumber in about a half hour. She sighed and turned to her task at hand.

The Covenant knew the location of Sol… Earth. Based on information that she had received from Cortana she conjectured with relative certainty that the Covenant did not know that Earth was mankind's homeland, though if the destruction at Reach was any indication a force large enough to obliterate Earth's defenses and wipe out any hope of victory would arrive in system to recover the Forerunner artifact hidden somewhere amongst Earth's vast landscape. Dr. Halsey knew that she had one chance to end this conflict, or at least distract Covenant forces long enough so that Cortana's invaluable information on Covenant war systems could be integrated with UNSC military technology.

She took two memory crystals out of her medical supply bag. One contained all the information regarding Halo, the Flood, the time and gravity warping crystal, Colonel Ackerson's personal files, and anything else that Cortana had deemed necessary for this mission. The other was a brand new smart A.I., though new was a misnomer; Vega simply hadn't been activated yet, despite existing for over two years. She loaded Vega into the ship's mainframe and began the boot process.

Within microseconds the image of a star in total eclipse popped out of the holographic projector to Dr. Halsey's left; Vega had already loaded the official UNSC encyclopedia and had chosen her image. Dr. Halsey saw solar flares flicker around the star's corona, and assumed that that was Vega's way of visualizing a thought process. Dr. Halsey loaded Cortana's information into Vega and initiated the boot process; it would take about ten minutes for her to configure her files, get used to her operating procedures, and incorporate the Covenant data essential to this mission. Vega was specifically designed to adapt Covenant technology to human needs, and the brainwave scans Cortana had performed on the Covenant Engineers would hopefully provide invaluable insight into Covenant technology without actually needing any of it on hand.

Dr. Halsey turned her attention to battle footage that Spartan 117, John, had recorded through his MJOLNIR armor. She tasked the Chiroptera's ship borne A.I. to separate confirmed kills of human combat forms with Covenant combat forms. While a very old A.I. model, and notably lacking abilities unique to A.I. such as Cortana or Vega, it could perform some rudimentary tasks while Vega was busy building herself. After several seconds, the completed data request flickered onto the ship's main computer. As expected the number of Covenant combat forms greatly outnumbered the number of human forms, but the numbers still didn't add up. The Master Chief had, according to this A.I., at least three hundred confirmed kills on human combat forms.

Taking into account unconfirmed kills, kills registered by Sentinels, and flood forms not encountered during the Chief's brief stay, Dr. Halsey estimated that there must have been over one thousand human combat forms on Halo. Even if she had doubled the actual number there were easily more human combat forms than humans available on The Pillar of Autumn, and she knew that at least one hundred ODST and Navy personnel had secured the Truth and Reconciliation. Just as she had expected, there had already been humans on Halo before The Pillar of Autumn had arrived.

Vega would have to confirm Dr. Halsey's suspicions regarding these humans' origins as the ship borne A.I. did not have the capability to break into high security files. However, she could determine her next destination and alter her course before Vega was ready to operate. Dr. Halsey already knew that one of the crystal's forms had its tendrils point towards Halo, and she knew through Cortana that other Halos existed, so it seemed logical that the other tendrils identified their locations as well. She loaded the crystal's form into the ship A.I., and a hologram of it appeared on the navigation screen. It slowly shrank until its position was only denoted by Reach. Lines sprang from its tendrils, and the image of Reach slowly zoomed out until each line stopped at a star system. By the time it finished most of the galaxy was visible on the navigation screen. She noted that the first Halo was the second closest to Earth; there was one other closer in proximity, with the rest spread relatively evenly across the galaxy.

Then she noticed something peculiar. The ship's A.I. had projected each line with a different thickness. Dr. Halsey pulled up the crystal's image again and ran an optical scan on the tendrils. She hadn't observed it before, but each one reflected light at different angles, and if positioned properly, a light would emit a laser styled beam from each tendril of varying thickness. She further noted that the Halo closest to Earth had the smallest light beam. Logically that meant it was the smallest Halo. That was her target.

"Hello Dr. Halsey." Vega was ready.


Kelly felt groggy. Extremely disoriented, she struggled to get off the bed upon which she laid but couldn't move her legs. She quickly sat up, scanning the room for movement or hostiles, but saw nothing. Looking down at her legs she saw that they had been strapped in place to prevent her from falling off the bed. Slowly Kelly recounted what had happened, remembering Dr. Halsey's injection and not much else. She removed the straps from her legs and gathered her bearings.

She was on a ship, no doubt about that. From the tremors running throughout the bulkheads she realized that the ship was in Slipspace. There was only one door so she cautiously moved towards it. Her scanners picked up no activity, so she moved through. There was a single corridor with three doors. The left door was labeled "Engineering," while the door on the right was labeled "Quarters." The final door, labeled "Bridge," interested her the most; she wanted to know where she was, and that was the best place to find out. She approached the door but stopped when her sensor picked up movement on the other side. Her FoF tags registered yellow for an unknown target. She was unarmed, but assumed that a single being would not pose a significant threat, especially if it wasn't Covenant. She burst through the door and charged the target.
"Ah, Kelly, I see you've awoken." Kelly skidded to a stop, immediately recognizing Dr. Halsey. "Please, sit down, I have a lot to discuss with you, and I'm pretty sure that you won't like most of it." Kelly wanted to protest and ask dozens of questions, but obediently sat down and removed her helmet. They were in no imminent danger and she had a headache.

Dr. Halsey began. "Please do not interrupt me until I finish explaining what we're doing here. While these are less than optimal conditions, I assure you that our mission is of central importance to the survival of humanity. Are you familiar with Colonel Ackerson?"

Kelly quickly recalled some briefings with his name attached, as well as some conversations that she had overheard mentioning him as an ONI bigwig. "Yes ma'am, though I am unfamiliar with his military record or place in the UNSC chain of command."

"Good," replied Dr. Halsey, "I'll fill you in on what you need to know. He and I have had a less than friendly rivalry over the years; he was extremely jealous of the Spartan and MJOLNIR programs and their successes in the war. Whether for personal glory or something else, he constantly subverted my funding, authority, and ability to conduct research in deference to his own projects. Recently I have garnered information that he has started his own version of the Spartan program, though there are no records of the program's location or activities."

Other Spartans? Kelly wished that John were here, he would have loved this information. Their numbers had been greatly reduced following the battle for Reach, and another group of Spartans could easily swing the war in the humans' favor. Dr. Halsey continued. "Using information provided by John and Cortana I have discovered that humans were on Halo before The Pillar of Autumn landed there, and I'm pretty sure that Colonel Ackerson had something to do with it. I won't bore you with the details, but I've found the locations of other Halos. I think the other Spartan program is there. We're going to attempt to rendezvous with them and, with any luck, recruit them to revive an old mission. This is Vega." Dr. Halsey gestured towards the A.I. hovering over a holoprojector. "She will join you on your mission."

Kelly realized why her head hurt; she had received the same upgrades that John had, the capacity to interface with an A.I. on foot. This excited her; while he never let on, she could tell that John had grown attached to having Cortana around. Besides, the A.I. would double her physical abilities, and with her speed already beyond that of the other Spartans (even John's with Cortana) she could only imagine how fast she'd be able to run once linked up with Vega. However, she still had concerns that needed to be addressed.

"Ma'am, permission to speak freely?" she asked.

"Of course."

"Where are the other Spartans? John, Fred, Linda, Grace?"

"As I'm sure you remember, they are planning an attack on a Covenenant fleet preparing to head towards Earth. While I know that you would rather fight along side them, I needed a Spartan for this mission. Even if they fail our mission could save humanity… or what's left of it." Kelly thought this over for a second. She didn't like it. John would need every Spartan left to succeed on that mission. And if this mission was so important, why hadn't all of them come along? Why was she drugged and essentially kidnapped? Before she could voice her concerns, Dr. Halsey spoke.

"You're wondering why you're here and why I took you without your consent?" Kelly nodded. "Like I said, I could only take one of you. I chose you for two reasons. First, simplicity; it was easy to get you alone. Second, you're the fastest human in the galaxy, and I believe that your speed will be an asset on this mission. As to why I took you without your consent. I'm sure that you've figured out that I didn't have anyone's consent for this mission, and had I made my intentions known neither John nor Admiral Whitcomb would have allowed it, and my window would have closed. Now we don't have much time, and I need to run through some diagnostics with Vega in your suit." Kelly was still extremely uncomfortable with the whole situation, and had virtually anyone but Dr. Halsey been standing there she would have commandeered the ship and turned towards Earth. However, she trusted Dr. Halsey, even if that trust was beginning to waver, and her sense of duty told her that if Earth's survival required this mission then she would complete it, even if her own survival was not guaranteed.


Dr. Halsey mindlessly ran though tests while Kelly and Vega became acquainted. Vega was mild mannered, she didn't have the sass that Cortana had. She would match Kelly's personality well. Before Kelly had woken up, Vega had decrypted and analyzed most of Colonel Ackerson's files. Sure enough, he had taken a freighter full of marines and dropped it on Halo. He must have found that crystal and not told anyone, the bastard, but why he chose that particular Halo was a mystery. Perhaps he had enough semblance of duty to pick a Halo a little farther from Earth in case the Covenant were already there as well. Regardless, a week after the freighter left Earth a small ONI vessel had arrived at Reach from an unknown location, stayed in orbit for several days, and jumped towards the direction of the Halo closest to Earth. What interested her most was that Ackerson had loaded one of the new Nova nukes with its lithium triteride casing as well. He must have discovered the Flood on the first Halo and left Reach prepared to destroy the second one should something go wrong. That would be extremely useful. After running some brief exercises, Vega spoke over the ship's intercom. "Five minutes until we return to normal space, Dr. Halsey."

"Good," she replied, "assuming there's a Halo there scan the surface for military frequencies, but be prepared to jump out if you see the slightest hint of Covenant forces."

"Calculations complete. Four minutes and thirty seconds." Dr. Halsey saw Kelly twitch occasionally; she was communicating with Vega inside her armor. That was a good sign; they needed to build a rapport quickly. There was one final test that needed completion before they were ready to go.

"Vega, are your camouflage calculations complete?" Dr. Halsey saw Kelly perk up, clearly interested in whatever was about to happen.

"Yes, preparing to bring active camouflage online now." Kelly's shields flickered and Dr. Halsey felt a static charge run through the air. Kelly's figure slowly became transparent until it was nothing more than a distortion in the cargo bay. Vega spoke again. "Shields recharging. There is no negative effect on the armor borne fusion pack. The camouflage does not drain power. Adjusting refraction." Kelly blinked out of view instantly; as usual, the Covenant did not understand how to optimize their technology. Then Kelly spoke.

"Dr. Halsey, how is this possible?" Dr. Halsey jumped; Kelly had moved directly behind her and she hadn't even known it. This was incredible.

"Vega is specifically programmed to understand Covenant technology. I matched the Covenant Engineers' brainwaves to the tasks they performed, courtesy of Cortana, and it seems that Vega can use the patterns to decipher other Covenant technology, even if we don't have it in front of us. She reasoned that the camouflage used by the Covenant on the battlefield was linked to their shields, as we never discovered a camouflage generator. Vega was able to improve the technology so that there is no light distortion; you are one hundred percent invisible. She has also modified your suit's signal to jam Covenant sensors, so assuming that you stay quiet, you should be able to walk through an encampment without being detected. You should be able to fire and remain concealed, but if you use a Covenant plasma weapon your camouflage will deactivate. Try to stick with human weapons. Anything that you carry will camouflage as well." Kelly snapped back into view and nodded approvingly. The ship shuddered, and Vega's voice clicked over the intercom.

"Entering normal space. I detect a large ring structure orbiting an unknown planet, 7000 kilometers in diameter. Scanning—military frequencies detected, preparing to enter ring's atmosphere." Dr. Halsey strapped herself into the bridge. Kelly stood in the cargo bay, and Vega spoke in the back of her mind. "Dr. Halsey took the liberty of loading weapons onto this ship for you. Check beneath the bed." Kelly lifted the mattress and opened a bulkhead contained underneath. Inside was one of the new BR 55 battle rifles, several magnum pistols, two cases of grenades, and a shotgun. She grabbed the shotgun and a case of shells, attaching it to her back holster, eight grenades, the battle rifle, and five extra clips. "Good choices. I would have made the same selections." Kelly was going to have to get used to someone speaking inside her mind. It was an alien feeling.


The Chiroptera class ship, while not specifically designed for atmospheric flight, did have wings that swung out from beneath its hull to aid in the event of a landing. The ONI never wanted to get caught with its pants down, and their ships were no different. They had to be equipped for anything. It shuddered and dropped precipitously in an air pocket before settling into a calm descent. Vega guided the ship around sensor arrays to avoid detection and set down twenty kilometers from the structure emitting UNSC frequencies. The rear hatch hissed and creaked open as the hydraulic lift lowered Kelly's thousand pounds to the ground. Dr. Halsey radioed Kelly from the bridge. "I will be staying here and refitting the ship for our next mission. Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns that you may have. Please try to hurry; we do not have much time. Most importantly, be prepared for anything. Even if there are Spartans here they may not be friendly." Unfriendly Spartans? Kelly didn't understand how that was possible, but put the thought into the back of her head. She was also curious about their next mission. Apparently they wouldn't be returning straight to Earth. She oriented herself and faced the nav point that Vega provided.

"That is our target location, twenty kilometers ahead. I have not detected any chatter regarding our entry; I believe that surprise is still on our side." Kelly activated her camouflage and broke into a sprint; it was the perfect time to test her upgraded abilities. She covered over twenty yards per stride, running at nearly one hundred kilometers per hour. She slowed her pace and brought her battle rifle up to her visor. Vega linked a targeting reticle in her visor's HUD to the battle rifle's barrel. Vega even accounted for wind in the firing trajectory. Kelly continued to practice some maneuvers, jumping and darting in and out of rock formations. She slowed down to a jog when she came within one kilometer of the facility. Noticing a rock ledge, she crawled under its cover to observe the facility from a distance.

She was surprised by what she saw. The facility clearly did not originate with the ring; it resembled the Chiron facility that she had trained on in Mars orbit with the other Spartans. She activated her suit's automatic binoculars and the facility automatically designated itself "Chiron TL-34." Vega detected Kelly's confusion.

"This facility is a very large prefabrication. Before construction it could probably have fit into the cargo bay of a standard Ursinus class freighter. I estimate that a team of one hundred engineers could erect the structure in just less than two weeks." That meant that a team of thirty Spartans could finish it in less than two days. "It has an automatic designation of Chiron TL-34; it would seem that this is the thirty-fourth Chiron class training facility constructed."

Kelly scanned the facility for an entrance, but couldn't find one. It must be on the other side of the building. She crawled down behind the ridge, using it for cover while she circled the facility in search of an entrance. "Have you detected any transmissions originating from or headed towards the facility?"

Vega paused for a brief second. "No, though I am detecting a series of encrypted com channel clicks… it seems that someone is sending signals by clicking their com channel on and off in sequential patterns."

"Patch me in." Kelly listened to the clicks. Vega identified six different operators on the channel, though one was clearly the leader as most of the clicks originated with that source. It was a different system than the Spartans and she used, more basic. She realized that it was exactly the same method that CPO Mendez had taught them on Reach. John and the rest of the Spartans had slowly adapted it to their own needs. It had been years since she had heard this method used. Kelly quickly recognized that the six person team was performing maneuvers, and Vega placed a nav marker six kilometers upspin of their current position.

While eavesdropping on the strategic maneuvers Kelly saw an entrance to the Chiron facility large enough to fit two pelican drop ships side by side and stopped. "I suggest that we wait here for the team to return," said Vega. Kelly climbed a tall tree, and within five minutes the six signals began rapidly approaching.

In less than three minutes two warthogs with MJOLNIR equipped soldiers each came out of a forest and crossed a field towards the facility. One warthog had the standard chain gun on back while the other sported a Gauss cannon. As they approached Chiron TL-34 the garage began to open. It's now or never thought Kelly. She clicked the standard friend greeting across the com channel. Both warthogs skidded to a stop and the gunners pointed in her general direction. The drivers remained in their seats, guns drawn, while the passengers rolled beneath the warthogs in a prone position, scanning the top of the ridge. Just as we would have done it, how strange.

"I agree, their methods closely mirror those of Dr. Halsey's Spartan program," chimed Vega. Kelly had forgotten that the A.I. could all but read her mind. "I recommend taking a position on the ground before continuing communication." It was a good idea; if they fired she would not be able to maneuver quickly until she hit the ground, and that Gauss cannon could turn the tree she was in into a thousand projectiles. Kelly nimbly performed a back flip off the tree and landed silently on the ground, but she brushed against the branch of an adjacent tree.

The Gauss cannon fired, obliterating the tree that she had stood upon just a second before. Splinters pinged harmlessly off her shield, and her camouflage held fast. Ten more soldiers in MJOLNIR armor came running out of the garage area. Four were equipped with S2 AM sniper rifles, two with jackhammers, and the rest with the same BR 55s that she had herself. Even if each soldier had a quarter of her abilities she knew that she was outgunned. "Any ideas Vega?"

"Yes, one." Vega switched to a broadcast frequency. "All UNSC troops, stand down. Under protocol 23-41 section A we are assuming command of this facility."

The soldier manning the Gauss cannon replied. "We have strict orders to follow commands handed down by Colonel Ackerson, and only Colonel Ackerson."

Vega responded. "Override code 477A-E3-H3. Our authority originates with Fleet Admiral Sir Terrence Hood." Kelly wondered where Vega had obtained such a code, but shrugged it off; she was sure that Dr. Halsey and Vega had broken a number of UNSC regulations to steal that code just for this mission. She watched the other soldiers closely, noting slight hand and head movements. They were communicating on closed channels. Before she could ask Vega to hack into their com systems, the Gauss gunner responded.

"Show yourself. Your code checks out, but we need visual confirmation that you are not Covenant."

Vega answered, "Lower your weapons and have your local commander separate his or herself from the group equidistant between the ridge and your forces. We shall meet you there." She closed the frequency and spoke directly to Kelly. "Deactivate your camouflage, but not where they can see you do it. Then move slowly over that ridge. Be prepared to run." Kelly hid behind a tree and deactivated her camouflage. She then proceeded over the ridge, matching the other soldiers' commander's pace. Kelly saw the group converse excitedly over their private channel; they probably expected some kind of military brass, not another soldier in MJOLNIR armor.

Kelly met the group commander several seconds later. His armor seemed identical to hers, except that it was a deep cobalt blue instead of green. Vega spoke through Kelly's personal channel. "I ran a quick scan on their armor. It's very similar to yours. The armor itself is denser and can probably take twice the punishment of your suit, but its shields are half as strong and take longer to recharge. However, it seems that each suit is equipped with an A.I. of considerably less ability than me. Still, I assume that with their help the unit operates even more efficiently than you and your fellow Spartans."

Kelly spoke first. "Senior Chief Petty Officer Spartan 087. I am assuming command here. May I ask where your outfit originated from?"

The other soldier replied. "Master Gunnery Sergeant Mermidan 217. We've been trained on orbital stations and in various systems across UNSC territory. Our systems are heavily based on the Spartan project, though we were informed that all Spartans were dead due to tactical deficiencies and poor training." Kelly flinched at his words. She remembered her schooling at Reach; the Mermidans were the greatest warriors that Greece had in the Trojan War, a group too small to defeat an army on its own but superior even to Sparta's troops. He accepted her authority, but barely. The Mermidans were marines and technically he outranked her. This could become sticky.

"No sir, the Spartans have dozens of tactical victories to their credit. We have multiple units engaging Covenant forces as we speak, and I have strict orders to get you and your outfit to a ship twenty clicks downspin of this location to assist in defending Earth." Mermidan 217 hesitated, clearly discussing this with the other troops behind him.

"Did you come alone, Spartan?"

"I have a civilian research specialist on a ship twenty clicks downspin of here. She may be able to upgrade parts of your armor, including your shielding." It wasn't Kelly's style, but she had to throw tidbits of information at this Mermidan to prove her worth. Colonel Ackerson had clearly spoken ill of the Spartan program, and the Mermidan commander would need coaxing to follow her orders down to every detail. To her surprise the Mermidan removed his helmet. She saw John staring back at her.


Dr. Halsey watched as this so-called Mermidan removed his helmet, though she was nowhere near as surprised as Kelly. She "accidentally" forgot to tell her that these soldiers were clones of Kelly and the other Spartans. She opened up a line to Kelly and Vega. "Find out how many Mermidans they have, what kind of weaponry they have, and get as much of it as possible into that field. I'm going to fly this ship to you to expedite the loading process. I also need a complete readout of the facility's equipment; I may need some of it for a retro fit on this ship. Be sure to get that Nova."

Kelly spoke quickly with Mermidan 217, and replied to Dr. Halsey's request. "Ma'am, they have a total of thirty-three soldiers. They've granted you permission to land in the field half a kilometer upspin of the facility, but before they accept my command I have to prove that I am actually a Spartan." Just as she suspected. Ackerson had cloned each of the Spartans that survived augmentation; thirty-three Spartans, thirty-three Mermidans. This test, however, was an unexpected hitch, but at this point she knew that arguing would be futile. In the back of her mind she wished that John was here; he had a knack for surviving these tests.

"Understood. I'll be there in five minutes. Be extremely careful Kelly, you never know what they have planned for you." Dr. Halsey closed the com channel. She ran over her calculations one more time. If this facility had what she needed their next mission would become considerably easier.


Mermidan 217 led Kelly into the facility. The other Mermidans had removed their helmets as well. She saw Grace, Linda, Li, even Sam. She wanted to run over and hug Sam, but in the back of her mind she knew that it wasn't really him. One Mermidan kept its helmet on; she assumed that it was her clone. Vega had confirmed Kelly's suspicion, noting that skin cells dropping off Mermidan 217 were an exact DNA match to John. Mermidan 217 stopped in a room overlooking a maze. "This is one of our hostile navigation facilities. You'll note that in place of doors a soldier accesses different rooms through teleportation devices that we discovered on this ring. As a small hint, your sensors will still read the other side of a teleportation device as if it were a door. We are going to play a game of capture the flag. You will face four of my Mermidans. If you manage to grab the flag and return to your safe zone in less than four minutes I will give you full command of myself and my Mermidans. If not a different arrangement will be necessary."

Kelly was not happy about this. They were wasting time, and she wasn't sure that she could beat four Mermidan soldiers. "Will we be using stun rounds?"
"No, stun rounds have no effect on our shield systems. I assume the same goes for you. We have guns that fire holographic bullets, which will drop your shields in a realistic fashion. When your shields reach zero, either four body hits or one headshot will count as a 'kill.' Obviously you will only have one life. You will be given two flash grenades; this is your only advantage, my team will have none."

Kelly smiled beneath the cover of her tinted visor. That may have provided the tactical advantage that she needed. "I'm ready, where do I enter?"

"The stairs are to your left. You will have one minute to prepare yourself and orient with your weapon. I and my remaining Mermidans will observe from up here. One final note, the only rule is to avoid destroying the walls; crashing through them will result in disqualification. If you do engage in hand to hand combat only use suppression moves; nothing fatal and nothing that will cause permanent damage to my team or their armor. They have the same instructions."

Kelly moved downstairs into her safe zone. Her weapon was a BR 55 battle rifle with two simulated clips. She wondered if their weaponry was the same, hoping that it was. She clipped one grenade to her hip but concealed the other in her fist. Vega had noted communication between Mermidan 217 and the others in the maze, and Kelly could only assume that he would attempt to relay tactical information across heavily encrypted channels. "Is the active camouflage ready?"

"Yes," replied Vega, "and I have refined the activation procedure. It should only take one tenth of a second to completely manipulate light refraction."

"Good, get read to activate it the second that my first flash grenade goes off."

The countdown timer ticked down to zero. The game had begun. Kelly immediately banged the flash grenade into the palm of her hand, arming the three second fuse. She cooked the grenade for two seconds and threw it at the observation deck. He visor snapped to blackout mode, blocking the blinding light from her eyes. The grenade detonated perfectly at eye level with the Mermidans in the observation booth. By the time their eyes adjusted, Kelly's active camouflage had completely concealed her. They didn't even know that she hadn't left her room.

Vega began theorizing. "They know this maze inside and out. I believe that they will leave two Mermidans guarding the flag from hidden positions while sending two to remain near this room and wait should you recover the flag."

"That's what I'd do," said Kelly. "Can you find a way to override the lights? I want to black out the maze."

"Scanning… if you can manage to stand in one of the teleportation beams as it overcharges I can pulse your shields and short circuit the lights. There are emergency light systems, though, spread thinly across the maze. They will glow red. I can not access these systems from within the maze."

"That's fine, how do I make the beam overcharge?"

"It is difficult. You must remain in the receiving end of one of the teleportation beams as one of the Mermidans tries to enter. When blocked, the teleporter should overcharge in an attempt to force matter through." Kelly was beginning to like Vega's Covenant technology assessments. She understood why John was so attached to Cortana.

"My sensor footprint is zero, correct?"

"Yes."

"Notify my when you detect one of the Mermidans. Flash on my sensor signature, I'll lure one into the teleporter." Forty seconds had ticked off the clock before Kelly moved out of the room. The teleporters offered a strange sensation; she felt herself pull into millions of pieces and reassemble instantly. It was as if she was consciously aware of each individual piece when she was apart. There was no time to dwell though as she detected two of the Mermidans moving rapidly towards her position. Vega was right; the Mermidans were sending two to the safe zone. Vega turned Kelly's sensor masking off, and the Mermidans immediately moved towards her position. Kelly took a teleporter and waited in its beam on the other side. She watched her sensors as one moved into the room next to her, then down two rooms, then in front of the teleporter on the other side.

She felt a vibration as the first Mermidan tried to push through. The teleporter charged, and Vega pulsed Kelly's shields. They overloaded and dropped as warning signals blared through her armor, but the lights instantly failed. Vega reactivated Kelly's sensor masking system, and Kelly jumped on top of the teleporter. The Mermidan that had attempted entry from behind waited in the other room, assuming that Kelly was near, but the other Mermidan came flying out of the room's other teleporter. She saw a faint red glow off his helmet as his night vision amplified the room's dim lighting, but he couldn't see her, even when looking right at her. The other Mermidan came through the teleporter below her. She silently dropped behind him, punched his fusion core thereby dropping his shields, and gave him a three round holographic clip to the head. He was out. The other Mermidan began firing wildly, but Kelly had already sprinted past him towards where she assumed the flag was.

Vega spoke up. "I have determined the layout of this maze based on what we've seen compared to human tendencies when designing mazes. Accuracy is ninety-four percent likely. The flag should be here." Vega highlighted a nav point on Kelly's HUD. She sprinted at full speed until she came up to the room. She detected two signals positioned for cross fire cover of the flag. She moved through the teleporter and unclipped her second flash grenade. As quietly as possible she pressed herself behind the flag. She could hear a faint humming through the facility's floor. She didn't know that it was the Halo's main firing mechanism.
"Vega, can you arm this grenade remotely? I don't want to bang it and make any noise."

"Yes, fuse primed." Kelly blocked her visor once again, holding the grenade, and left her other hand millimeters away from the flag. After two and a half seconds she lightly tossed the grenade in the center of the room. It went off and she grabbed the flag.

The two Mermidans began firing erratically into the dark room, their night vision blinded by the flash grenade. Kelly dove to her left, rolling as lucky bullets dropped her shields half way down. She grabbed one Mermidan's gun, broke it in half, and smashed the butt end into the top left of his helmet. This was a weak point on the Spartan helmet; a strong blow generally knocked its wearer unconscious. The Mermidan armor was no different. The remaining Mermidan dropped his battle rifle and picked up a shotgun. He stood immediately in front of the teleporter and began firing, hoping to discover Kelly's location with the gun's wide spray. Kelly sprinted along the wall and performed a diving scissor kick, dropping the Mermidan to the ground. He managed to swing the shotgun around and fire into her leg, dropping her shield. One more shot and she would be out. Kelly hooked her leg around the shotgun and squeezed. The barrel bent, rendering the gun useless. The Mermidan pulled a sidearm from his hip holster, but Kelly knocked it away with her elbow and sprung backwards. She quickly brought her battle rifle to her shoulder and fired four bursts into his head. There was one Mermidan left.

Word had obviously spread that Kelly had camouflage, and as she approached her safe area she saw that smoke canisters had been activated. Her camouflage overloaded and she snapped into focus. She still had a sensor advantage, but the Mermidan was remaining dead still. She would have to be careful. "You can make it if you sprint; they will never catch you," said Vega.

"I know, but I want to win decisively; I don't want to give 217 any reason to doubt me. I'm taking this guy out." Kelly turned on her infrared viewing mode and began to scan for the Mermidan. Their suits had heat control as well. "Vega, can you use my shields to cook the air, raising the ambient temperature?"

"Yes, one moment." Kelly's shields popped again, dropping to ten percent. "Temperature spike, six degrees Celsius."

"Compensate my heat masking and scan for cold spots."

"Compensation complete, scanning. Four cold spots found, this one matches a Mermidan silhouette." Vega marked the outline on Kelly's HUD. She targeted the head and fired four shots. For half a second nothing happened, but she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and ducked just in time to avoid a rifle blow to the side of her head. The Mermidan had used his friend's armor as a decoy. Clever.

Kelly rolled away from the attack and whipped the flag pole towards her attacker. She hit him with such force that it lifted him off the ground, sending him flying towards the wall. He hit with a crack and she saw his shields flicker out. One headshot and the game was hers. She marched into the safe zone with thirty-seven seconds to spare.


Dr. Halsey had landed and disembarked the Chiroptera class ship by the time Kelly appeared from inside the facility. A dozen Mermidans were quickly preparing crates full of weaponry and ammunition, as well as a series of titanium rods, generators, cables, and other equipment necessary for her upgrades. Several minutes later Kelly emerged from the facility, followed by the remaining Mermidans. She must have passed. Dr. Halsey squelched a feeling of pride and moved to greet her.

"Dr. Halsey, this is Mermidan 217, local commander of this unit," Kelly said.

"Dr. Catherine Halsey? Your reputation precedes you. Had these orders not originated with the highest levels of UNSC command I would be forced to deny participation." The Mermidans had been instructed to distrust her.

Dr. Halsey snapped back. "Never mind that, Colonel Ackerson was killed during a Covenant assault on Reach. I have assumed complete command of his military and research projects, and that includes you. I can show you the pertinent paperwork if you need it, but until then I need your Mermidans complete cooperation and best speed to complete these modifications to this ship." She handed Mermidan 217 a data crystal. "You have one hour. Your armor-borne A.I. should aid you in this endeavor." Dr. Halsey motioned for Kelly to follow her onboard the ship.

Once on the bridge, Dr. Halsey closed the door and locked all frequencies. "Tell me Kelly, what is your assessment of these soldiers?"

Kelly thought for a second and replied. "I'm sure that Vega sent you their armor specifications, so you must be asking about them as actual soldiers. They're undisciplined; when the environment changed in the test they had for me the Mermidans panicked. Further, they seem to disregard standard military protocol and are generally abrasive. I don't believe that they have any actual combat experience. Still, I'd take any one of them over a standard UNSC troop."

Dr. Halsey mulled Kelly's words for a full twenty seconds. She agreed with her analysis; the Mermidans were inferior combat units to her Spartans, but only due to abridged training and lack of experience. She wondered if Ackerson had given them anything that, with proper training, would make them superior to her own Spartans. It didn't matter; there was limited time before the next mission, and they would have to do. She finally spoke. "I agree. Let's see if Vega can cook up any virtual training programs to load into the Mermidans' A.I.; that should give them a quick step up. They'll need it where we're going."

Kelly furrowed her brow. She still didn't know what was next, but she knew it would be dangerous. "Ma'am, exactly where are we going?"
Dr. Halsey smiled. She wanted to tell her, but not yet. "You'll know soon enough. Go outside and make sure the Mermidans are on schedule. Oh, and leave Vega here with me." Kelly disconnected Vega and left the bridge. Dr. Halsey had Vega prepare the ship for shields and camouflage.


Kelly sat in the rear cargo bay with the thirty-three Mermidans. The ship had been in Slipspace for over three days, and she had begun to wish for cryo tubes. Boredom was beginning to get to her. Vega kept most of the Mermidans busy with virtual training programs designed to acquaint their A.I. with Covenant tactics and successful Spartan combat methods. Kelly had used the down time to socialize with the other Mermidans and had gained most of their trust. They would listen attentively as she described battles that the Spartans had engaged in.

Mermidan 217 had perked up at the mentioning of CPO Mendez, the Spartans' primary trainer during their time on Reach. Apparently he had performed the initial training for the Mermidans, though a live fire accident killed him only a month into the program. It was a pity; all the Spartans had an abundance of respect for their trainer, and it disheartened her to hear it. Based on what Dr. Halsey had told her about Col. Ackerson she wondered if he had played any part in Mendez's death, though there was no way to confirm it.

She even engaged in some friendly sparring with the Mermidans, testing their hand to hand combat skills. Most were adequate, on par with the Spartans, though they lacked creativity derived from battlefield experience. Still, she learned several new maneuvers from Mermidan 239, Isaac's clone; he was particularly adept at grappling moves.

Now, she sat and waited. She was disappointed in the Mermidans' focus; they joked and poked fun at one another, not traditional methods for preparing for battle, particularly one with paramount importance to Earth's survival.

Dr. Halsey came through the cargo bay doors. Kelly assumed that she was there to continue treatment for wounds that Kelly sustained while obtaining the Forerunner artifact from Reach, but her face told Kelly that it was time for mission breaching. She quickly stood up and snapped to attention. "Ma'am!" The Mermidans looked around, slightly confused. They were not used to offering military greetings to civilians, though most stood up out of courtesy.

"At ease, Kelly." Dr. Halsey surveyed the soldiers in the cargo bay. She knew that she was sending many, if not all of them to their deaths. "Vega has prepared some programs for your armor. They will give you camouflage abilities similar to Spartan 087's, though not as powerful. They will also improve your shield's efficiency, but again, without equipment I can not match your suit's abilities with the Spartan's." Several of the Mermidans looked around and nodded to each other approvingly. "Vega, could you prepare the briefing please?"

Vega appeared over a holoprojector in the cargo bay. "This is unknown planet 679a-2 in an uncharted system close to the galactic core. We have temporarily named it Intention. We discovered this planet's location hidden deep within Covenant star logs. It seems that this is the home planet for the Covenant's government, composed mainly of beings they refer to as 'Prophets.'" Kelly suddenly understood what was going on. They were going to attempt to complete the mission originally designated for the Spartans before the invasion of Reach. The Mermidans began whispering amongst themselves, and Kelly shook her head. What poor discipline. Vega continued.

"From the data we have recovered, it seems that this planet is lightly guarded by Covenant standards. They never considered the possibility of an invasion, most likely assuming that their massive fleets would provide front line protection. Still, my best estimates put five super carriers, ten carriers, and twenty-five various other ship classifications in orbit, more than enough to destroy our small vessel. Stealth is of the essence, and I have derived a plethora of authorization codes and jamming techniques to confuse orbital defenses long enough to reach Intention's surface. From there Spartan 087 will lead an expedition to capture at least one high ranking Prophet. Before exiting the Nova nuclear device will be armed. Should mission failure seem imminent, the Nova device should be armed on a short fuse. The destruction of Intention should remove the command element from the entire Covenant, which may throw the remaining species into civil war."

Vega's solar storms raged across her corona as she remotely downloaded programs into the Mermidans. Kelly looked around and to her satisfaction saw considerably more serious looks in the Mermidans' eyes. They understood the significance and importance of this mission. She hoped that their sense of duty preceded their instinct for self-preservation. Vega spoke again. "We will be exiting Slipspace in twenty minutes. I suggest that you carry light weaponry; I do not believe that Elites or other warrior classes are allowed on this planet's surface; it is deemed too holy. Speed will be essential to this mission's success."

Dr. Halsey took Vega's memory crystal out of the projector and handed it to Kelly. She inserted Vega into her armor, and felt her icy presence in the back of her mind. "Kelly, I know it is not your style, but you must be authoritative with the Mermidans. I fear that they may break under the pressure of combat situations."

"I thought that you said there weren't warriors on the ground?"

"I do not believe so, but we must assume that even Prophets are capable of handling weaponry."

Kelly sighed and started to bark orders to the Mermidans. She already knew who was adept with which weapons, arming ten with sniper rifles, six with jackhammers, and the other fifteen with a variety of short and mid-range weapons. Each carried four grenades. She carried a battle rifle and a shotgun herself, along with her complement of grenades. Kelly grabbed Mermidan 217 to discuss formations.


The Chiroptera class ship shuddered as it exited Slipspace. Intention filled the bridge's viewing screens; Vega had learned Cortana's advanced Slipspace jump maneuvers quickly, and their jump placed them just outside the planet's atmosphere. The orbiting ships quickly turned to face the space rupture, but Vega had already moved the ship a quarter of the way around Intention and had begun her descent. Kelly stood at the bridge, along with Mermidan 217. The planet seemed marshy in nature with large city structures rising from its only two continents. As the ship raced through the atmosphere a massive city loomed over the visible horizon. Kelly knew that was their target.

Three minutes later the ship landed in a clearing, still completely cloaked. Kelly exited first, her camouflage activated, followed by the Mermidans. Though they too possessed camouflage, their formations looked like a mass of light distortion. Vega had installed viewing systems into Kelly and the Mermidans' HUDs allowing them to view each other as if they were not camouflaged. The system would be a valuable asset in battle.

The formation deployed into four groups. Red team, comprised of Kelly and three Mermidans (one of which carrying a sniper rifle), moved ahead and blazed a trail through the thick marsh in which they had landed. Blue, Green, and Yellow were each made up of three snipers, two jackhammers, and various other weapon sets. Mermidan 217 led Blue team. When they reached their objective Blue, Green, and Yellow would engage enemy hostiles while Red moved for extraction. Mermidan 217 carried the Nova bomb and would arm it in the city. Vega had rigged a system where if Kelly and the Mermidans were all killed in action the fuse would instantly arm, destroying at least the city and hopefully Intention itself.

Red team pushed ahead quickly; Kelly had chosen the Mermidans' three fastest runners to complete her team, and her clone, Mermidan 287, was amongst them. Even with Vega's visualization tool Kelly had a difficult time seeing the Mermidans as they moved from shadow to shadow. The team covered the three kilometers to the city in under a minute and approached its walls.

The entire city was surrounded by a wall two hundred meters high. Kelly put Red team in defensive positions and signaled Green team to approach. Yellow and Blue were positioned a half kilometer to either side. Thirty seconds later Green team leader, Mermidan 239, approached. Kelly asked for a jackhammer and one shell. She quickly disassembled the shell, removing the warhead, and replaced it with a grappling hook. She tied the other end of the line to a nearby tree, aimed at a point just over the wall, and fired. The rocket flew out of the launch tube towards its target.

It hit an invisible wall over the physical wall and tumbled back down. They weren't going over any time soon. Vega had a suggestion. "Move to the wall and punch it at full strength. I want to assess its properties." Kelly obliged, sprinting at full speed to the wall, hitting it, and returning to tree cover. "I estimate that the wall is only three meters thick, though it is constructed of an extremely dense stone. I do not believe that we can blast through it. However, it seems to be supported internally by gravity lines, so it seems reasonable to assume that the walls are not buried any more than a few meters."

Kelly immediately understood; they had to dig, and fast. No doubt the city's shield was activated upon their Slipspace exit, probably to protect it from bombardment. She gave orders for Yellow and Blue to rendezvous at her position. They arrived forty seconds later. Kelly ordered the snipers into the trees for cover, where they were to signal any enemy movement. The rest of them abandoned cover and began to dig.


Even with body augmentation and MJOLNIR armor this was hard work. Kelly and the Mermidans had been digging for a half hour, having to pause ever few minutes to work together to remove a large rock. Vega had been correct; the wall was only buried two meters, but moving horizontally proved to be a challenge. The Mermidans didn't have anything to support the walls of their makeshift tunnel with, and the soupy marshland was proving uncooperative in holding itself up. Exasperated, Kelly knew that drastic measures were necessary. She even broke radio silence.

"Mermidans, on me. We're going in two at a time. You will maintain physical contact with your partner while passing beneath the wall. Each pair will also maintain physical contact with the pair before it. If you get stuck, tap the soldier in front of you three times; you should get pulled through." Kelly jumped inside the hold, followed immediately by Mermidan 217. She respected the offer, but needed her second in command to go last. If there was any resistance on the other side this mission didn't need both its commanders getting killed simultaneously. Mermidan 217 understood and moved to the back. Another Mermidan jumped in.

They began to crawl. The thick slog was extremely difficult to push through, and once they were both surrounded by it movement came only centimeters at a time. They began moving like inchworms beneath the wall. Kelly felt the Mermidan behind her imitating her motions. A thick stench of rotting organic material began to filter through Kelly's suit, only adding to her sense of claustrophobia. It took fifteen minutes for Kelly to feel the wall's corner, signifying the other side, and she and her partner began to pull the muck away from the top of their heads in an effort to move upwards. One minute later she felt her hand puncture the ground above them. Her partner grabbed her leg and propelled her out of the ground.

Kelly landed with a soft squish and instinctively rolled to avoid fire, settling on one knee and pulling up her battle rifle. She quickly scanned the area. There were no life forms visible or on her sensors, so she quickly returned to the hole and pulled up her partner. In another minute ever Mermidan was out of the hole and had taken up a loose semicircle position. Kelly noticed that their active camouflage, while still working, had been coated in slime from the tunneling, and instructed the Mermidans to pulse their shields. They did and the slime flew off in every direction. They were practically invisible again.

Mermidan 217 moved up next to Kelly to survey the landscape. They were between two moderately sized structures, ornately decorated in alien symbols. Every visible structure was shaped like a pyramid sheared off at the top to provide what looked like a landing pad with one exception. In the center of the city was a massive spiraling tower built of a highly reflective material, considerably different from the rest of the stone structures. Kelly didn't need a nav point; she knew where they were going.

The Mermidans and Kelly split into four teams again. She gave strict instructions to move towards the structure at best speed while maintaining stealth. If engagement was necessary all targets were to be assumed hostile.

Red team forged ahead, sprinting between the buildings as fast as possible. To her surprise Kelly saw no life forms, nor did she detect anything on sensors. Red team covered three kilometers before Kelly dug her feet into the ground and skidded to a stop.

The spiral wasn't the structure; it was the top of the structure. The rest of the structure plummeted towards the planet's core, underground. Kelly stood at the edge of an immeasurably tall cliff. The structures in front of her were supported by gravity lifts, giving the illusion from a distance that the center structure was only several more kilometers ahead. Vega had been thinking as well.

"I estimate that the spiral structure is forty-nine kilometers ahead. These structures appear to be decorative and increase in size as they approach the main structure; the illusion of a shorter distance is quite convincing from a distance. The Mermidans and you should be able to jump from structure to structure to reach what I assume is the capitol." Kelly was not happy. This put her and her team in the open for almost fifty kilometers. What happened if there came a point where they could no longer jump the distance between two structures? Unfortunately she had no choice. Green, Blue, and Yellow arrived seconds later. She informed them of the situation and they moved ahead.


The Mermidans and Kelly had been running and jumping at a full sprint for twenty minutes. They had covered twenty-six kilometers in that time, and while the jumps between structures slowly lengthened, Vega estimated that they should be able to make the last jump. Kelly and Mermidan 217 were getting nervous. They still had not spotted any signs of life in the city and were beginning to worry that the city was uninhabited.

Seventeen minutes later Kelly again skidded to a stop. Another snag. The last jump was over two hundred meters long; there was no way for them to make it. Worse, the capitol structure appeared smooth, meaning nothing for a grappling hook to grab hold of. Kelly had to think, and fast.

"Vega, how far is the drop to solid ground from here?" Kelly leaned over the edge.

"I would estimate it at seven kilometers. You would never survive the fall, even with your armor."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Kelly opened up a com channel to the Mermidans. "Mermidans, we're going to the ground. Spread out evenly over the past five structures and line the perimeter. Wait, you've all had jump training, correct?" The Mermidans acknowledged. "Good. On my mark jump off the edge. Angle yourself so that you line up with the gravity lifts. Hook one arm in; the upward force should slow you enough to make a soft landing. I don't know what's down there, but assuming we survive the fall rendezvous with your team immediately. Radio silence from here on out."

The Mermidans dispersed over the six structures, lining at their perimeters. Kelly jumped and gave the signal a half second later. She wanted to be sure to be the first on the ground.

Her structure was six hundred meters tall, but the second she cleared its wall she moved into a spread eagle position. Her motion sensor detected the Mermidans around here; they were holding their positions well. She made a rough airfoil with her body and angled towards the gravity lift. It took her over a kilometer of free fall to reach it, and stuck her hand in the soft purple beam. She immediately felt resistance, but not enough to safely slow her decent. She plunged her entire arm in. That slowed her descent, but still not enough to prevent her from breaking bones upon impact. She rotated her body, shoving both her feet and her arms in. That did it; she could drop out several meters from the bottom and land safely. Kelly checked her motion sensors and saw the Mermidans at varying elevations relative to her, but it seemed that they had all figured out how to safely slow their descent. She still had one kilometer to go.


Kelly was the fifth to touch down on solid ground, and she quickly moved into the shadows of a structure behind her. Within thirty seconds all the remaining Mermidans had touched down as well. They moved back into their teams and proceeded cautiously towards the capitol structure.

Still no enemy contacts. This was beginning to look like a wild goose chase. Kelly reached the capitol structure and spotted an entrance to her right. Red team followed her over, and Blue, Yellow, and Green teams took up covering positions in the shadows. She approached the door, but nothing happened. She couldn't find a handle or trigger to open the door. On a whim she deactivated her camouflage. The door swung upon. All four teams quickly moved inside.

They moved down a tight corridor for a hundred meters and came upon an awe inspiring sight. The structure was mostly hollow; there was a vast landscape of fields, waterfalls, and even a desert, all pock marked with strange rock formations of some religious significance. More importantly, Kelly finally saw enemy contacts, and they were ready for a battle.

The Prophets all sat on what appeared to be floating chairs. There were at least one thousand of them. Kelly didn't see any weaponry, but Kelly knew better than to wait for them to shoot. She immediately ran to her right, followed by Red Team. Blue, Yellow, and Green spread out across the landscape. All at once the Prophets' chairs glowed a deep green. Kelly had seen this before, on the arms of a Hunter. The Prophets fired in broadside fashion at Green Team, immediately vaporizing ten Mermidan soldiers. This wasn't good.

Kelly broke radio silence. "Spread out, engage enemy forces; try to spread their fire and KEEP MOVING. We can't take too many more volleys like that." She heard intermittent crackling as sniper fire from Blue and Yellow teams flew across the battle field. Almost every shot hit its mark; a Prophet's head, and to Kelly's relief, they did not have shields. In less than ten seconds Blue and Yellow teams had dropped forty targets, and despite the small impact comparative to the force's size, if had an effect. The Prophets began firing in all directions at random targets.

Kelly continued to sprint into a flanking position, followed at a growing distance by the rest of Red team. A volley of jackhammer rockets slammed into the middle of the Prophet formation, killing two dozen instantly. Several of their chairs malfunctioned and fired into the Prophet formation, taking several more with them. The Prophets continued to drop the inexperienced Mermidans. After one minute less than half of Yellow team was operational, Blue team had lost three, and her own Red team was down one.

She noticed that none of the Prophets had fired at her since she had broken off from the Mermidans, and she thanked Vega. Her superior camouflage rendered her invisible to the Prophets. Kelly prepared to throw several grenades into the formation, but thought better of it. Such a maneuver would alert them to her position. Then she saw what they were guarding: a high velocity gravity lift that ran all the way to the top of the structure. It glowed a faint white color, making it difficult to see from a distance, and was thin; it could only support a single rider at a time.

She knew that the high ranking Prophets would be at the top of that lift. She also knew that the room above the structure would be the idea place to leave the Nova. "217, are you still there?" Kelly's request was met with static, followed by Mermidan 217's voice.

"Affirmative, most of my team is pinned but I'm moving in your direction, what do you have in mind?"

Kelly hesitated to duck under a stray plasma shot. It dissipated on the rock behind her. Interesting, she wished that she could get a sample of this rock to Dr. Halsey. She quickly refocused on her mission. "Do you see that gravity lift?"

"Affirmative, you going up?"

"That's right, and I'm taking the Nova with me. See if you can get Yellow and Blue to open a hole around the lift."

"Roger that, I'm coming to you."

Kelly thought for a second. A handoff would be too risky, and the Nova's weight could slow her down too much. She had a better idea.

"Negative 217, get into a secure position where you can throw the Nova to the lift without it hitting the ground. Did your training ever include twentieth century sports?"

"Affirmative."

"I'm Jerry Rice, you're Carson Palmer. Hit me long." It didn't matter that Kelly had botched the player combination, Mermidan 217 understood. Kelly dug in and sprinted full speed towards the lift. She ducked in and out of Prophet clusters; they never acknowledged her. Two jackhammer rockets whizzed overhead and struck Prophets ten meters to her right. By the time shrapnel flew in her direction she was two hundred meters closer to the lift. Out of the corner of her eye Kelly saw Mermidan 217 stand up and heave the Nova towards the lift. A plasma shot caught him squarely in the gut. Let's hope that his last maneuver was a good one she thought. The Prophets saw the Nova too, and began firing, but their slow plasma shots couldn't track the flying bomb. At sixty meters from the lift Kelly jumped onto a Prophet's chair and jumped again. She stretched her right arm as far as it would go, and everything seemed to move in slow motion. The bomb pressed into her hand and she curled her arm towards her body. Kelly brought her other arm over the bomb and rotated her body, landing on her back. She slid into the gravity lift and shot upwards before the Prophets knew what had happened.

In less than ten seconds she popped through the floor of the structure's upper room. There was only one door and no guards. Kelly dropped the Nova and set a one hour fuse. If she wasn't at Dr. Halsey's ship by then she'd be dead anyway. Vega broke the silence. "There is a data port to your left, insert me." Kelly obliged. "I will remain here, you will need me to lower the city shields. The top spire of this structure rests flush with the energy shield. I can see three Prophets in the adjacent room. The one in the center wearing the green robe is your target. Neutralize the other two, they are useless to this mission. I will unlock the door for you, but move quickly. I can only hold off the Covenant A.I. for about five minutes before they destroy my code. Grab the prophet and climb to the top of the spire. I have deactivated the gravity lift so no one can follow, go!"

The door flew open and all three Prophets turned. The one with the green robe was on a floating chair, but it did not appear to have weaponry. The other two sat on the ground around a holographic depiction of the battle raging below. There were only a few Mermidans left, and they were pinned in a corner. Without their chairs the Prophets resembled something Kelly had seen in what Dr. Halsey called a "classic science fiction movie." Jabbu the Hoot, or something like that. No matter, in two seconds both were dead, and another two seconds later Kelly had leapt onto the remaining Prophet's chair and pulled him out. He screamed at her with a religious flourish, promising death and other wonderful endings. Kelly broke both his arms and strapped him to her back, but not before gagging him with her utility belt. She climbed the hundred meters to the top of the spire until she touched the city's energy shield with her hand.

Vega spoke through her armor's speakers. "Shield deactivated, stand on top of the spire." Kelly did so, but wasn't sure where to go from there. "On my signal jump in the direction of Dr. Halsey's ship, I have marked it with a nav point." Kelly was about to protest, but thought better of it. Vega had brought her this far, she had no reason not to trust her. "NOW!"

Kelly jumped forward with all her might, bending the metallic spire where she once stood. The city's shields flickered on and Kelly began sliding. She realized what was happening; the shields were circular, she would slide all the way back into the marsh.

Ten minutes later she was only a few hundred meters from the city wall but was sliding far too quickly to land safely. Vega was probably gone by this point, devoured by enemy Covenant A.I. Unbeknownst to Kelly, Vega had programmed one last trick into the shield systems. Just one hundred meters from the city wall the city shield began to vibrate, increasing its friction. Kelly stopped inches from the edge. The shield then flickered off, dropping Kelly onto the wall's edge. She attached a grappling hook and rappelled down with the writhing Prophet on her back.

Her feet touched the soft swampy ground and she broke into a full sprint. Even with the Prophet on her back she covered the three kilometers back to the ship in just over a minute, praying every step that the ship was still there. She burst into the clearing, but there was nothing there. "Dr. Halsey, come in, this is Kelly. I have the Prophet and the Nova is armed! Do you copy!?"

The Chiroptera class ship snapped into view. Kelly had forgotten that it was cloaked. The rear hatch hissed open, and Kelly ran inside. She quickly restrained the Prophet to a bulkhead and ran to the bridge. Dr. Halsey was already preparing to launch.

"Is it just you?" she asked.

"Yes, the Mermidans perished in battle. They fought well." Kelly felt a pang of sorrow. Despite their unprofessional work ethic, they would have made great additions to the UNSC forces. Particularly the Spartans. With more training they could have matched the Spartans' abilities man for man. "The Nova should detonate in about forty-five minutes."

"Understood. Lucky for us Vega left me a program to do an atmospheric Slipspace jump, calculations courtesy of Cortana." The ship vibrated, creaked, and groaned in the planet's atmosphere. It lifted two kilometers off the surface before a Slipspace rupture opened before it. The ship slipped through, off to some unknown destination before turning towards Earth.

Forty minutes later a blinding flash ripped through the city, obliterating its shields and cracking the planet's surface along a three thousand mile stretch. The planet fractured under the pressure of its rotation, and slowly drifted into three large sections. Atmosphere spewed from its disintegrated ozone and magnetic forces. Intention and its Prophets were dead. The supreme ruler of the Covenant was in human hands. Mission complete. Spartans always won.

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