Jaune-G027

Chapter 25

The tunnel expanded to a hallway with a train like system after a corner. Noble team entered to continue to reach their mission. "You're new A.I friend tell you anything else Dot? Dot?" Carter asked. He receives silence for a while. "She's been expecting you." Aunty Dot reported. "That's perfect." Emile says sarcastically as the train like pod moves. 

Doctor Halsey appears on the screen on the pod. "Apologies for the unusual security measures, Commander, but the stakes demand it." Dr. Halsey says. "Dr. Halsey, the Casualty reports have you listed as..." Carter is cut off. "Yes, well, as they say, news of my death has been greatly exaggerated. I only wish the same could be said for the rest of Noble team." "We all do ma'am." "It may please you to learn that the data module Noble Two procured from Visegrad station contained exactly what my scientist promised, a latch key discovery. It has unlocked, at last, the secrets of this excavation." "Not sure I understand." "Your orders were a pretext for you to come here and have been overridden. You are here team Noble, to ensure the delivery of this vital data to a secure location." The pod stops and starts to descend. "Doctor our order are to destroy all sensitive materials..." "Others will handle the demolition." Carter pauses for a moment. "I'll need to confirm with Colonel Holland about this new directive." "He will be briefed, you belong to ONI now." 

The pod neared its destination, with an unnaturally large cave revealing itself "Before you is an alien artifact neither human or Covenant in origin, advanced beyond our comprehension, until now. Thanks to Noble Two, the decrypting of its data is nearly complete." A part of the cave suddenly came down, warning Noble team and Dr. Halsey that it wouldn't be able to last for long. "Whatever were doing down here, we better do it quick." Emile commented on the falling rocks. "Have your data ready ma'am, were coming down soon." Carter told Halsey. "The decrypting crosses is still under way..." Halsey replied "I don't think you understand, were running out of time. If it isn't portable when we reach you, were getting you out of there." "The research will all be for naught if you pull me out, this is humanities best chance for survival. I can't leave it!" Halsey exclaimed. "I beg you buy me as much time as you can, I think Covenant are coming and if they get their hands on this, humanity will die!" The pod landed and Noble team surveyed the area, noticing four turrets that once activated, would fire until destroyed, once they were destroyed, nothing more could be done, because at that point, the Covenant would have swarmed in and even Jaune would nob be able to take on multiple Wraith tanks. 

Jaune rushed to each turret, activating them, then falling back to the entrance to the lab behind barricades near ammo piles, MA5K in hand. Phantoms roared overhead, deploying all their troops behind a rocky hill to provide cover, thought Jun did pop an Elite's head. The Covenant forces pilled onto a bridge, providing a choke point for Emile to launch a grenade into the crowd of grunts and Jackals. They kept coming. Jun posed Elites and Brutes heads clean off, Emile blasted any who got to close with his shotgun and blew up any who pinched up with his grenade launcher, Jaune and Carter both made quick work of the hordes of Jackals and grunts. 

When the first wave was wiped out, two Phantoms came in and unloaded their troops in the east, out of sight and left. Caught by surprise when turret A started to take damage, all of Noble team turned to turret A, as it went up in flames, and the Covenant poured in. 

Soon enough the horde dwindled down to where Jaune could safely charge in and not be killed immediately.  When he did this, the chemicals died off and Jaune went head in in a berserker state of mind, slashing and blocking all attack with Crocea Mors. Emile moved up to be able to use his shotgun and even his Kukri when it was needed. When Banshees came in, Carter rushed to grab a twin barreled rocket launcher and Locke onto the Banshee and blew it to bits. With Jun popping heads, Jaune and Emile in melee, and Carter taking care of Banshees when situation called for it, the held out in from of the base. 

When the last Covenant was killed, the base opened up and Noble team walked inside. 

Sprinting down the dimly lit halls, they eventually found a massive, blue, control room with Dr. Halsey at its center. There were two little barriers that contained A.I.'s, one blue with hints of purple wrapped in a skintight suit with code flowing through it, and an one yellow with a massive fur coat and skinny jeans, highlighted in gold. "What is this stuff?" Emile asked. "Knowledge, a birthright from an ancient civilization." Halsey answers. "These two A.I.'s are its custodians and they have chosen Noble team to be their couriers." She continues. "Chosen, by and A.I.?" Emile asks confused. "By these two A.I. yes. Their measure of you carries as much weight as my own, perhaps more. You are to take Cortana, the blue and purple one, to the UNSC ship breaking yard in Aszod. There you will find an Halcyon class Cruiser waiting to take her off-planet with the Chief." "I understand." Carter proclaims. "Do you?" Halsey asks. "Mankind is outmatched. When Reach falls, and it will fall, our annihilation is all but certain. Unless, we can gleam from this artifact a defense against the Covenant. A game changer. On the level of the conical bullet in the nineteenth century or faster than light travel in the twenty-third." Halsey explains. "And what if we can't?" Carter asks. "An apt question, if there were somewhere else to place our hope. There is not." Halsey remarks. She moves over to Cortana to extract her into a cylindrical container, in the center shines blue. She walks to Jaune, holding it. "Take it Lieutenant, she has made her choice." Carter nods and Jaune reaches forward with both hands to grab it.  "Do you have it?" Halsey asks. "Yes, I have her." Jaune responds. Halsey lets go. 

She turns back and does the same process to what she did to Cortana. Soon another cylindrical container that looks identical only with a gold glow come out. Halsey grabs it and walks toward Jun. I will take Annalise to Spartan-B312, though I will need an escort. Jun, Annalise has chosen you to to be her courier to take her to him." Jun, with the same way Jaune grabbed it took ahold of her. "Do you have it?" Halsey asks. "Yes, I do." Jun responds. Halsey lets go. "Noble team head outside, except for you Noble Six, I want to have a word with you in private." Haley says. Jaune stays. The rest of Noble team leaves.

"Lieutenant, there is a third sister A.I. here. Thought I kept her a secret, only you, me, and the other two A.I.s know of her." Halsey says.  A mostly red A.I. appears infant of Jaune and Halsey wearing a red tank top with camo cargo pants with a red and orange pattern. "She must be kept a secret as she hold the ket to this vault, we can't let the Covenant get their hands on this. All Hyper Lethal Spartans will revive there out smart A.I. Now, I can outfit you with a helmet that looks the exact same except that it has a port to be able to hold an A.I." Halsey explained.  She moved to reach over and grab a hidden hemet identical to his helmet except it has an A.I. jack at the back. Jaune took off his helmet to reveal a scarred, war torn face that barley resembled Jaune Arc. Hair short, stubble across his chin and upper lip, and a scar on his cheek from a lucky needler when he wasn't with a helmet, that taught him a valuable lesson. "The A.I. sisters can communicate when they are in close proximity to each other." Halsey explained. Halsey also reached over to put Emily into a chip that could be placed at the back of his head. 

Jaune put on the new helmet, which felt no different from his old helmet, took the chip from Halsey, and instantly, he felt a warm sensation pulse throughout his brain. "Hey Jaune, I'm Emily, as you already know, and I'm gonna be your A.I. Ok, sooooo, I've done my research on the three Hyper Lethal Spartans and you stood out to me, so I chose you." After a long pause Emily spoke again. "Soooo, are you going to introduce yourself or you just gonna sit there and to, whatever your doing?" 'Huh, so this is what having an A.I. put straight into your brain feels like, warm.' Jaune thought to himself. "I'm just getting used to this." "I know I'm so awesome right, and dang, you got a lot of room up here, I like it." "We can talk later I swear, lets go meet up with the rest of Noble team." "Fine, but you better follow through on that promise."