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NOTES: I apologize for my horrible work in the last Rebirth submission, I hope this one will fit better to your expectations. As with the last one, and with all upcoming works from Shadow's point of view, the "::" will indicate Covenant language being spoken. If you were here for my first two series, you would know that I was known for my endless action battles and fight scenes. My writing style has somewhat changed, perhaps matured, and those type of scenes will no longer be a major part of the Rebirth series.

Shadow awoke once more, but decided that to hide his awareness would probably do nothing for him anyway. He slowly opened his eyes and a pale blue ceiling greeted him. He looked to his right and then to his left. To his right was a small table with various Covenant medical tools, while on the left where some surgical bladed weapons that he had never seen before. Had he been tortured and had the memory of the event escaped his thoughts? Perhaps. But what purpose would they have to make him forget about the pains they put him through? Such doubts that had been brought forth made him doubt the possibility of torture. He looked forward, sitting up to do so. It was then that he noticed an enormous difference in his physical condition. His legs did not feel the extreme pain that they were once in. To the contrary of a natural extinct of relief, it made him more fearful than anything. Had they cut his legs off? He couldn't feel anything in his legs! Frantically, he whipped off the thin white blanket that lay on his body. He felt a sudden coldness on his body, but he ignored it in search for the answer for the lack of pain in his legs. To his surprise, he did see legs...and they were not shattered and pointed in all different directions. They were repaired. Perfectly...perhaps even beyond that standard. But why? He had so many questions, and no one to ask them to. Then the thought came to his mind. He quickly raised his right arm...but the device that contained EVA's data chip was gone. Where the hell was it? He began another frantic search for her, but to no avail. He leaned back in his bed. He was still very weak, and his confusion made him more lost and scared than anything. Fear was generally something that he didn't bother with, something he had learned to resist...he was always prepared for the physical pain of battle, but not the mental pain of being lost or thoroughly confused. Such felt him smaller than anything in the world. But he had to fix that...and find out what was going on.

He decided to find out for himself. If his legs were better, then he could ditch this place - after finding some weapons. He sat up again and jumped from the bed. But his legs immediately collapsed from underneath him and he fell on all fours.

::The numbness and the lack of function will disappear within a few days, human::

Shadow quickly looked up, and was greeted by the golden elite that had spoken with him while he was in the jail cell. He had so many questions to ask the elite, but he only managed to utter one.

"Why?"
::Because we need you and your skills. We need you to assassinate a Covenant military enemy::
"So in this time, whenever it is, you fight your own race? Is it a civil war?"
::More or less. A renegade named Shade leads the enemy. She is our main target, but she possesses powers beyond imagination. We need you to kill her::
"What makes you think I would help a Covenant soldier?"
::Because we will kill you if you don't, not that death bothers you. I do know of your morality during the time of the destruction of our first invasion forces, and that you made a sudden move to an honorable end. You have long been a respected human, as your honor and bravery has surpassed even many of our greatest soldiers. If this is so, then you'll respect my generosity in by both enhancing your body and letting you live by doing this simple task::
"Its not that easy. I don't kill for money, even for paying back those had saved my life anymore."
::This Shade is pure evil, human. If you had any true honor within you, you would be compelled to stop her before she wreaks havoc on both your race and ours. You're the only person that can accomplish this::

Shadow thought for a few seconds. He had sworn to himself that he would never kill another person for any reason other than self-defense from then on. But his honor also needed to respect the fact that the Covenant commander had saved his life. He was torn between his options. But in reality, he knew he had only one true choice, and the Covenant commander knew it as well.

"Alright. I'll do it."
____________________________________________________________

Two days later...

"I'm going to need my rail gun, a MA5B human assault rifle, and my grappling pistol. All of this along with the other equipment that you found me with."
::It will be done, human. But the MA5B assault rifle is quite old, and will be hard to procure.::
"Then find me the modern equivalent."
::It will be done.::
"And my clothes?"
::They will be mended.::

Shadow nodded in response. In the two days since his awakening to his recovery, and the time he had made the deal, he had grown a certain respect to the Covenant commander and the entire Covenant group. They had a certain way doing things, and very strict caste system that didn't appeal to him at all. But the way they did things...how they did them, all revolved around honor and pride. It was something that his kin needed to learn some of. Despite the fact that he should have been killing these aliens, and that he should be avenging the deaths of all the people that they had killed, he couldn't bring himself to do it. They had taken him in...in a way, and he was grateful to them for healing him rather than casting him aside, or killing him. Of course it was for their own betterment and advancement, but he couldn't help but view it as generosity and kindness. He still held a bit of aloofness towards the aliens, but he realized that the Covenant felt the losses of war as well as the humans. To bring upon wrath upon them because they had killed humans would be hypocritical. He would have to kill his own race for slaughtering countless Covenant soldiers as well. Once again, life had put him in a great moral dilemma. Just fucking wonderful.

He had realized that he wasn't on Earth after all. Somehow a certain force or "magic" had placed him in future. Somehow as well, his weapons were transported with him, and had arrived with him in the future at the battlefield. They had repaired all the devices and the weapons, as they were smashed as he made the fall back in his own time. He also had learned that they had not only healed his entire body, and mended his shattered legs, they had given him very small implants throughout his body to significantly boost his abilities. Their technology was far superior to that of those that were used for the Spartans, and they claimed that his abilities were now up to par with theirs, despite the fact that his life was not at all in danger form the minute implants. He hated anything artificial in his body, and at first, he despised his new enhancements. But he soon realized that it was a part of his existence now, and they would surely help him survive in the future. EVA was back as well. They had repaired the vital systems, and she was overall fully functional, though she was suspicious of her own proper functions. She was apprehensive, in light of the possibility that they had programmed a certain security function into her line code. It was actually a very real possibility, and to heed her advice to be wary of her actions was probably a good idea. Even though almost everything he had during his own time was still with him now, he still couldn't help but feel somewhat odd. Something felt out of place. It was as if his transplant into this time had caused a ripple effect throughout the universe. He didn't know. But he was going to find answers. And Shade would probably have them.

::Human::
"What."
::There is a small Covenant city outside of our base. It is controlled by our forces, and they will be notified of our newfound alliance::
"And?"
::Well, we believe that Shade's flagship is located in orbit somewhere above this planet. If you hope to get to her, you need to get to her ship somehow. We hear that she is personally on this planet somewhere. If you can find some way of following her undetected, then perhaps you have a chance at finding her ship::
"And what after that?"
::That is for you to discover human. We made this deal because you are who you are::
"Fair enough."
::Contact will be limited. We will know if you're successful. And we will know if you're not successful. The need to contact us is therefore superfluous::
"Then when I kill her, I won't be returning. You've already paid more than your bounty for her death."
::Goodbye. The briefing information has been downloaded to your console, as well as all our information on your target and her closest advisors. The next time we meet, we'll probably have our gun sights on each other::
"Don't count on it."

Shadow slowly turned around after they made their somewhat awkward farewell. He slowly walked through the blue-lit hallways, the automatic doors doing a quick scan of his body signature, ensuring that he was the human that was allowed to pass through the facility. He continued through the hallway, loading in his newfound assault rifle and his sniper rifle in the meantime. He walked to the main doors, and they swung wide open, revealing a snow-covered ground in front of him. The numerous flakes flooded into the facility, melting as they passed through the threshold of the base and the outside environment. In the distance, he could see the faint outline of the small Covenant inhabited city where he was supposed to find Shade and kill her. He had no intent of following her all the way to her capital ship. He was going to kill her right then and there in the city. He had both the sniper rifle and the assault rifle in each of his hands, their cold metallic bodies floating at his sides as they hung from his hands. He snapped each over his shoulder, one at a time, and gripped his hands into a fist. Walking out in the cold white world made him feel more scared and frightened than ever of the future that he was now in...but the fear vanished along with the hum of the Covenant facility as its doors swung close behind him, locking him out.

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