Seven: Destiny for Two

You are not bound to loss and silence, for you are not bound to the circles of this world…

The Chief sat back in the pilot's seat of the Pelican for a moment and just breathed. It was getting hard to do by the day; he didn't have much time left, but it had already been over a year since he returned. It was more than some had received. Fortunately Joyeuse hadn't questioned when he asked her for the Lifeworker nanomachine stim shots for healing, so it wasn't nearly as bad as it might have been otherwise.

Still… He pressed a hand against his stomach and palpated his flesh through the armor. No, not long at all. Two, maybe three weeks before he couldn't hide any longer.

This was probably going to be his last mission for the UNSC.

He pulled his helmet on, sealed it, and fiddled with the oxygen levels until he could breathe easy. But as he did so, there was another flicker of blue across his HUD before it degaussed. He made a note for Joyeuse - she'd been trying to track the unusual data bursts in between running intel for his ops - but pushed it away, tapping a key to open a COM channel and saying, "Sierra-117 to Infinity, Blue Team has located Argent Moon. Signs of hostile activity, but she's still here."

"Copy that, 117," was the reply, "Eliminate all hostiles, secure Argent Moon. You may deploy when ready."

"Affirmative, Infinity. 117 out." He flipped a few switches to turn on the autopilot and autosentry. "Joyeuse? You ready?"

"Always, Dad."

He visually swept their surroundings until his anticipation saw what his actual eyes could not: a Forerunner stealth corvette, the Nighthawk, gliding alongside the Pelican for the moment, hidden from sight by active camouflage even the Infinity's sensors couldn't detect. When the Spartans deployed, they would stand off at a safe distance for observation and support.

He nodded in the ship's direction, knowing they would see, then swung the Pelican around so the deployment bay faced Argent Moon, and got up to join the rest of his team in the bay.

He missed the Parallel Spartans, but it was nice being back together with his own Spartan team, too.

"Here you go." Kelly passed him his assault rifle.

"Thanks, Kelly. Everyone ready?"

"Affirmative," Linda answered, and hit the switch to open the bay.

"Go go gadget scopes!" Kenera whispered in his ear.

The Chief closed off his external speakers for just a moment. "Settle down," he said with a smile.

As he stepped up next to Linda, Fred grabbed his arm. "You good?" the other Spartan asked.

His concern was appreciated but unnecessary. The Chief had fought on in a worse physical and mental state than this, and he could - and would - do so again. But... We love only once. There will be no other. And with potentially (most likely) a near eternity stretching out ahead of him, without her...

He pushed it from his mind and nodded, and Fred released him, though he clearly didn't believe him. The Spartan could still read his brother, knew that he wasn't willing to let this go, but they both knew this was neither the time nor the place.

They all stepped up to the edge of the deployment bay and activated their thrusters. "Blue Team," the Chief said when they had the best angle they were going to get, "fall out."

The Spartans pushed off from the Pelican and fired their thrusters, steering through the asteroid field that surrounded the station. As they closed in, all four of them drew and leveled their weapons, though only the Chief fired to break the viewport glass, letting them burst into the station.

There were Storm Covenant inside, of course. All of the Sangheili drew their plasma swords and prepared to engage – but then the bay began to really depressurize, the atmosphere rushing outward into the void. The Spartans fired their thrusters again and activated their mag boots to hold them fast to the deck. The Sangheili weren't prepared, and so were dragged out into space before a barricade slammed up to seal off the breach. "Hull breach contained," said the station's automated system in an unusually cheerful voice, "Repressurization of affected areas completed."

"What do we know about Argent Moon?" Fred asked as they began their advance.

"ONI research station," Linda answered, "Went dark nineteen months ago. Last week Kig-Yar scavengers found it, and sold the find to Jul 'Mdama's people."

"We clear the Covenant and return this station to ONI," said the Chief.

"Fastest route to retrieval is to seize Central Control," Kelly reported, "Eliminate hostiles between here and then, then deactivate gravity and life support systems."

"Ship data center is just ahead. We can pull down Argent Moon's schematics there."

They headed out onto an observation platform to bypass a locked hatch. "Looks like they were designing a new stealth-class vessel."

"And a highly toxic bioweapon that escaped containment and killed off all the station personnel," Joyeuse said only to him, appearing in a small vidscreen on his HUD, "We've taken the liberty of shutting down Intrepid Eye as well - she was responsible for the bioweapon and its containment breach."

"Is she onboard?"

"Not anymore. The Storm Covenant took her, but Nethalia made the decision to terminate her, given everything that she did - and was willing to do - to 'prepare humanity for the Mantle'. I can have a briefing prepared for you, if you'd like."

John made a face and flashed an agreement at her. "The Mantle" was still such bullshit.

"They lost years of expensive R&D with this station," Kelly said.

They headed through another hall and down a short ramp. This hatch opened at their approach and let them into a chamber where two Grunts were downloading data from the station. The Chief signaled Kelly, then both of them sprinted forward and assassinated the aliens. "Joyeuse, get into the systems and download everything you can, then wipe it. If Intrepid Eye was planning on using this bioweapon, she had to have a way to prevent it from targeting those she favored; we all might need it if something happens. But avoid compromising yourself at all costs."

"Please, Dad. You know who my mother is." She flipped her hair over a shoulder and rolled her eyes, then vanished from his HUD. But as she went, there was another brief blue flash - the only reason he caught it at all was because his HUD degaussed afterwards.

The super soldiers continued moving through the hatches and halls, killing all the Storm Covenant that stood in their way. Eventually they reached the data center. "We've got a complete set of datasec keys for the station," Linda said as the Chief aimed for the main console, "We should be able to pull down Argent Moon's schematics and find a path to Central Control."

Fred analyzed the map the other man pulled up, then said, "Should be a straight shot to Central Control through the assembly bay ahead." After a moment more, he added, "There're still Prowlers in the hangar bays. Nobody from ONI got out of here alive, did they?"

"No," Linda answered, short and to the point.

The Chief heard the other Linda hum in agreement over the COM, and he couldn't help a small smile. 'The more things change…' Aloud, he said, "Let's go," and led the way into the next hall, where a lift stood empty. Once they were all aboard, John started them down.

"Central Control's straight across this bay."

"Everything's ripped up," Linda commented.

"They must be stripping the experimental ship for parts," the other woman agreed, peering down at the ship in question.

"Scavengers," Fred grunted, "taking what supplies they can find. The Covenant's war against the Arbiter must not be going well."

"Jul 'Mdama is a lot of things," Linda agreed, "but he's no Prophet."

The Spartans descended to the lower level, smashed through a grating, and dropped even further to the deck below. The Covenant heard them coming and were waiting for them, and the four of them engaged the aliens, slaying the Grunts with ease before moving on to the Jackals and Elites. Their bodies dropped to the decks in spades, and the humans kept moving across the bay, dodging fire and leaping from platform to platform, taking out any aliens that got between them and their goal.

"So this station was just drifting?" Fred asked with a slight grunt as he threw an Elite off a ledge, "For two years?"

"Apparently," Linda answered.

"How does an asset that big go missing for that long?"

"Its location was not consistent with expected drift patterns."

"Meaning…?"

"Someone didn't want it to be found, and sent it in a direction no one would expect."

"There's a bioweapon out of containment on the station," John answered their unspoken question, "Though if the Covenant is anything to go by, it's now inert, or it hasn't had time to kill them yet. The station AI steered it away from known colonies before he shut down.

"Central Control is through those doors," They entered another hallway after clearing the last of the Storm Covenant. He led the way across the catwalk, only to jerk back when his anticipation picked up on the destructive arrival of the Hunter. The Spartan dodged back, bringing his weapon up to bear – but the Mgalekgolo got there first and slammed its massive shield down onto the catwalk. The metal just couldn't take that level of punishment. The walk and the pipes under it gave way, sending him plunging down through the mist below.

-------------------------------------------

John woke in what looked like ruins made of dark, almost oily stone at first glance. He recognized the onset of a vision, but something was different about this one, something – real. It felt as if he was actually standing in the ruins, rather than observing from the outside. Then he realized where he was, and shot to his feet. "Domain? Are you there?"

:Wait:.

"'Wait?'" he repeated, frowning, "What's going on? I hadn't thought you'd be active yet - you weren't in the Parallel, not until the very tail end, right before we left for here."

:Wait:, it said again, then turned its broken attention elsewhere. Still, the Spartan heard it say, :This way, over here:.

It was leading something to him through the ruins of its databanks. He tensed, lifted his weapon to a ready position, turned it into a suppressor with just a thought but didn't level it just yet. He'd been something like friends with the other Domain; he hoped that this one wasn't an enemy.

He saw blue, and his jaw dropped, eyes going wide.

"Cortana?!"

"John!" she cried, and sprinted to him, nearly throwing herself into his arms. He dropped his rifle in a heartbeat to catch her and hold her close.

"Melintyë, enedhen," he gasped. I love you, my heart. Even as he bent to press their foreheads together, he knew he was squeezing tight enough to hurt, but he couldn't stop himself. Didn't want to, since she was clutching back just as tight.

"Melintyë acca," she returned. I love you too. But then she pulled back, looking scared, anxious, hunted. "John," she said, looking him dead in the eye, "I need you."

"Where? What's going on?"

"There's no time to explain, not fully," she answered shaking her head, then looking back up, "Meridian. What happened on Oban, Conrad's Point, Ursa IV - it's all connected. The next one's on Meridian - it'll bring you to where I am. Please, I need you!"

"I'm already on my way," he told her, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

But then the Domain said, :Coming!: and the AI's panic returned at once.

"Go!" John stepped back from her and called his suppressor back to his hand, "I'll be with you soon. Go!"

She disappeared into the ruins, and he took cover, then whipped back to face the way she'd come - only to be struck dumb a second time.

"You!" the Didact roared, eyes blazing as he stepped from the darkness, "I should have known it would be you she sought - how dare you profane the Domain with your presence!"

John squeezed the trigger, only to have a dozen Knights swarm him all at once, led by another ancilla like them. They drove him back away from the corrupted Warrior-Servant. "Kill him!" the Forerunner shouted at them - but before they could try, the Domain said, :Haste!: and cut their connection.

He came out of the Domain just as suddenly as he went in, gasping for breath. He was back on the Argent Moon, but the sharpness of the disconnect left him confused, disoriented, off-balance.

"Chief… what's wrong?"

The rest of Blue Team had found him. He let Kelly and Fred help him back to his feet, then weighed his options. In the end, there really was only one.

"Joyeuse, patch yourself into TEAMCOM."

"What's up, Dad?" she responded immediately, "You dropped out of contact there for a second - even we couldn't get a lock on you."

The other Spartans jolted at the sudden voice in their ears. Of all the things they had expected, a cheerful female voice calling the Chief Dad probably wasn't it.

"What happened is that Cortana just contacted me from the Domain." He heard his daughter inhale sharply, and knew she had to be relaying his words to the rest of the Fleet as well, her or someone else who was with her on the Nighthawk. "And she's not alone - the Didact is out of containment, in there with her, chasing her, with some other unknown ancilla. I want to know what happened on Oban, Conrad's Point, and Ursa IV right now - she said it's connected, probably to him, and 'the next one's on Meridian.'"

"Researching now. You finish up your mission, and I'll get everything I can find ready for you."

"Acknowledged. Have the Nighthawk ready to extract us."

"Understood." Joyeuse snapped off.

"Chief…" Kelly started, but trailed off.

"I'll explain what I can on the way, but there's a reason I haven't said anything before - to anyone, not just you. It's all pretty unbelievable, even for us. Frederic, get us back on course for Central Control." He flipped on his armor's flashlight with a silent command.

"Bringing up schematics," the other man reported, "There's an elevator we can use, but access is four levels down."

"Mark a path," the Chief instructed, and led them all down into the station's service tunnels, saying, "While Cortana and I were on Alpha Halo, I had an accident with the Flood. When we were doing our run through the Autumn, trying to detonate, the parasite got the better of me. My shields went down, and an Infection Pod got on my back, attacked my neck. It sliced through the undersuit, pierced my skin – but Cortana rerouted the energy for my shields when they started to recharge and popped the damned thing before it could fully infect me.

"But I guess some Flood cells still got inside and had enough of a presence to catch the enemy Gravemind's attention, because while we were adrift on the Dawn… well. Things only got crazier from there."

The tunnels were filled with Grunts, but the Spartans cleared them out and reached a service supply room. There some stealth Sangheili joined them, but they didn't cause much more trouble than their non-stealth fellows before the Spartans killed them and moved on.

"…and then Cortana and I got married and had two biological children to add to our hundred thousand adopted ones who call us 'Mom and Dad' when it really isn't appropriate. There was political intrigue involved in that, but it's mostly irrelevant. But then the Gultanr had a vision of danger here, in this universe, so the two of us came home, and everyone else followed."

Fred said, "Jesus fuck."

"That about sums it up, yeah."

"Meridian's a backwater," Kelly said, "If Cortana's really still active, what's she doing so far out on the frontier? And 'next one' what?"

"That's what Joyeuse is finding out."

The Spartans continued through the service corridors, no longer arguing about letting John take point after they paused briefly to let him show that his anticipation let him - not match Kelly's speed, but definitely keep up with her, making up for his slowness by reading her moves in advance and countering her actions before she'd even begun to move. He took out the suicide Grunts the foresight picked up the instant they rounded the corners ahead of them - when the tunnel started creaking and groaning alarmingly as something followed them along outside the walls. "Hunters," the Chief said just before one slammed its shield against a fiberglass barrier, but as he'd seen, the viewport didn't yield. "They're keeping pace with us."

The tunnels continued to rattle under the Mgalekgolo's blows as the humans sprinted ahead. The sounds faded away for a time – right before they encountered more Kig-Yar and suicide Unggoy. But the noises picked back up again as they continued down.

In another service supply room, they encountered more Grunts and Jackals, this time led by a zealot with a plasma sword. John slipped around and knifed the Sangheili from behind while the other Spartans took care of the rest.

The banging of the Hunters resumed again as they passed Level Three and continued down toward Level Four. As a hatch slid open in front of them, Kelly said, "Covenant battle net just lit up."

"Covenant ships exiting Slipspace," John reported, spotting the ships before they'd even emerged.

"We're outnumbered here, Chief. A few thousand to one."

He agreed with Fred's assessment, but- "Surrendering Argent Moon is not an option."

"Neither is fighting half the Covenant in close quarters," Linda interjected.

"Then forget about reaching Central Control," he answered her, "The plan changes to asset denial. We scuttle the Argent Moon."

"Ship's engine core is near here," Fred reported, "Same plan as the Perpetual Devotion?"

"We overload the reactor and evac," he agreed, elaborating for Linda, who hadn't been there, "Ship explodes, destroying any ships nearby. As an added bonus, it gets rid of the bioweapon, too."

"The reactor is below the lab just ahead," Fred informed them, "We can use air ducts to travel between them. Marking the access panel."

John keyed in the code and stepped onto an observation lift. As he did so, Joyeuse came back over the line. "Dad, there's chatter about Sali 'Nyon and Jul 'Mdama on Covenant COMs. The new arrivals say the former's dead, and the latter's in UNSC custody."

"What?" Fred said for all of them, his head snapping up, "'Mdama's been captured? Alive?!"

"Looks like it."

They reached the ground floor of the lab before the ancilla could give them more details. "More Hunters…" John growled, seeing the squirming of the Lekgolo that made up the larger beasts even before they fell from above to join back together in the armor on the floor.

"They're strong but slow," Fred said, "We can use the lab equipment to keep above them and out of their reach."

"Agreed."

The closest Hunter slammed its gun and shield against the glass viewport even as the hatches to the lift slid open. "Weapons free," John ordered, and sprinted for the nearest lab deck, jumping up and hauling himself up out of the way of an attack. He turned to fire back down at the Hunter near the lift, ducking to evade the fuel rod round it shot back at him.

As usual, Kelly played the rabbit, making the Mgalekgolo turn their backs to the other Spartans. It gave them the same opportunity it always did, letting them fire at their exposed flesh. John signaled for them to focus fire on the one nearer to their sister. When it fell, the other roared and tried to charge Kelly, but she was far enough away that she had more than enough time to hit her thrusters and dart out of its path. The Hunter's rage blinded it such that the Spartans were able to defeat it the exact same way as before.

The four of them continued their advance through the station, though John could feel himself beginning to flag. "Schematics show a path to the reactor through here," Fred said as they arrived at a vent labeled 'Override Junction.' As they dropped through it, he continued, "The reactor room is just ahead. We can light this fuse and bolt."

"No salvage for the Covenant," Linda affirmed.

"Right, let's go," Kelly agreed.

John slammed through another barricade, and jumped down to kill a pair of Jackals. "Reactor controls are on the far side of the room. Eliminate the Covenant forces and get to those controls," he ordered, sprinting forward with Kelly to engage a Sangheili on a platform spanning one side of the room.

Despite not being actively maintained for more than a year and a half, the reactor was still running, still intact, and its shielding was still up to code, absorbing fire from the gunfight without so much as a crack, for which the Spartans were immensely grateful. They all had had missions go even more pear-shaped than this one already was, so it was nice to have something going at least a little bit right for once.

The super soldiers blew through the Covenant line with the devastation that had earned them the name Demons. "Area's clear," Kelly called at last, "Initiate the overload."

John keyed in the code, and a pulse of energy shook the room. "Reactor failsafe disarmed," the system informed them, "Failure imminent."

"Got it. Reactor's overloading. Move for the hangar bay-"

"Containment protocol initiated."

"Containment…?"

"The station's gonna try to cool the reactor," Fred realized, following John as he made his way back toward the reactor cylinder.

"I guess the UNSC has better reactor safety protocol than the Covenant," Kelly chuckled.

"They should, given how many times they've seen us destroy ships that way," John agreed, smiling briefly before sobering, "but we need to stop that. Board the reactor."

"Board the reactor?" Kelly repeated incredulously.

"If it's being moved, we should go with it." He jumped up on top of it, the rest of Blue Team right behind him.

"Coolant chamber ready," said the automated system, "Stand clear of deployment bay."

"The safety systems are set to pump coolant to the reactor," Fred said as they began their descent.

"This whole plan fails if that coolant gets a chance to work," Linda tacked on.

It wouldn't. They'd make sure of it.

"Shame to lose the Argent Moon," Kelly commented, "but I'd love to see the look on the Covenant's faces when she goes supernova."

"How do we stop it?"

Fred consulted the schematics, then answered, "There are sheds located on either side of the cooling chamber. Those are our targets."

"Reach the control sheds," John ordered as the reactor dropped into the bay, looking around to see what they had available, "Get the cooling system offline. Kelly, go. Linda, cover her. Fred and I will get airborne so we can kill the vents when the shades open."

"Roger that," the other Spartans chorused, and moved into position. Kelly leaped down from the reactor and landed on a catwalk to one of the sheds. Linda remained atop the cylinder, and rained fire down on the enemies in the other woman's path and those who attempted to slip in behind her. The fastest Spartan made good time, and quickly opened the shades.

"Warning," said the system, "Security shutters disengaged. Warning: coolant system shutters exposed to open space."

John and Fred each reached and claimed a free Banshee at almost the same time and launched into space, circling back around to begin bombarding the vents all around the bay. More Covenant reinforcements arrived in the form of Phantoms, but the Spartans' Banshees were faster and more agile than the transports, and they easily dodged fire while aiming for the cooling vents.

The system continued its alerts, unaware that the immanent coolant system failure was exactly what they wanted. When the last vent was destroyed, it advised they evacuate, which was one alert they were willing to listen to. Kelly attempted to call in the Pelican so they could bring it with them in case they needed it – Nighthawk could make seekers, true, but she was too small to have real dropships of her own - but there was no signal from the autopilot; the Covenant must have shot it down.

"Joyeuse!"

"ETA damned quick; stand by for pickup."

Barely a moment later, energy bolts whizzed out of the dark somewhere below them, destroying all the Phantoms harrying them in a wave of explosions. Then a silvery Forerunner ship, shaped like a tail-less manta ray but still sleek and advanced, decloaked below them, upside down to expose its loading dock. The hatch folded open, someone in Forerunner armor waiting for them.

Familiar, MJOLNIR-inspired Forerunner armor - with "104" on the breastplate.

"C'mon, Blue Team!" the Parallel Fred called up (down?) to them, "Places to go, things to do!"

"What the fuck."

"I told you," John said, and jumped, thrusters firing, aiming for the other. The Parallel Spartan caught him easily and pulled him in, even as the rest of his team stepped up for the others.

Linda was right behind him, Kelly and Fred not far behind her. When they were all aboard, the Nighthawk sealed up and began racing away, even as the Parallel Fred said, "Bridge is this way."

John fell into step behind him, opening up a COM channel. "Sierra-117 to Infinity. Argent Moon scuttled. I've reassigned Blue Team, destination Meridian. Contact from Cortana and the-"

"Negative, 117. Another team is already being prepped to deal with her."

John stopped dead in the hall. So did everyone else, and the Infected let out an ominous, angry hiss.

"You're to return to Infinity immediately."

John didn't even need to think. "Negative, Infinity," he answered, his voice like ice, and closed the connection. "I don't like it."

"Whoever they are, let's get to Meridian before they do," Kelly said, shifting past him, her Parallel counterpart close behind.

"Kelly-"

"No need to do this by yourself, Chief. Well, sort of," said Linda, inclining her head to her other self, who returned the gesture. Then they both moved past him to follow the Kellys.

"They won't court-marshal all of us, right?" Origin Fred said, slapping his shoulder, before following after the others.

John looked up at Parallel Sam, who shrugged. Then the Chief shook his head and followed them all to the bridge.

The Nighthawk was already past the edge of the asteroid field, the Slipspace drive spinning up with a faint but nostalgically familiar hum in the background. Then the star-streaked darkness of the other dimension swallowed their ship as they jumped away.