~Moira~
The two Flood hybrids entered one pelican as Moira began to look it over. "Do you know how to fly this?" Mati asked cautiously.
"Of course, it's good because I have this." She replied pulling out an AI chip as a hologram of a woman with long blonde hair, blue eyes, black shirt and white pants with high heels appeared.
"What may I help you with today Lady Moira?" The AI asked. "Julie, would you be a doll and fly this to that giant metal ring for us?" She asked.
"Of course." Julie replied as Moira placed her chip in the slot of the ship. Before long, the pelican hovered into the air before taking off into the sky as they made their way to the Installation.
"So what happens now Miss?" Mati asked. "Now, we begin Phase Two." Moira replied with an evil smirk.
~Jason~
The group returned to base before noticing a pelican lifting up and flying away. "Probably a routine recon op." Aaron said as he helped the Lieutenant into the medical tent. One UNSC doctor turned and scoffed.
"I swear it's like clockwork with you. Even Chief knows when it's time to retreat." He complained as him and a few doctors went about and removed his armor to get a better look at his injuries.
"Some stitching and a little bit of the serum and you'll be okay." He said as Jason laid on his stomach while two doctors began to stitch his back wound.
"Well, hopefully I won't return next time with wounds." Jason joked before feeling the needle in his back.
"Hopefully, it's too much paperwork with you Spartans." The man said before leaving. Jason stood up as he grabbed a UNSC shirt and placed it on as he left the tent to see everyone packing up weapons, armor, intel, everything.
"What's going on?" Jason asked as a Private walked by. "We're packing up sir and heading to the Infinity. Moira is gone and this planet is clean of all Covenant and Flood. Arbiter and his Swords of Sanghelios, including the banished Elites, left a while ago sir." The Private replied. Jason nodded as the man left to go back to his duties. He walked to the cafe tent as he sat next to Aaron, Wuss, Timbrr, Envy, and Kelly.
"So, moving day." Envy said as he grabbed his drink and took a swig. "What, you'll miss it here?" Wuss asked.
"Maybe, or who knows. Might retire to this planet, have a family. It'll be nice." Envy replied with a smirk.
"Well, that's a luxury you can't afford right now." Kelly said. "Who says I can't? I'm old enough, I can retire. Put this whole genocidal war behind me." Envy retorted.
"Don't forget, Cortana is still out there, plotting her next move against us and the rest of all intelligent life in the galaxy." Kelly countered.
"Damn it, I hate it when you SPARTAN-IIs are right." Envy scowled as he downed the rest of his drink.
"Well, I'm gonna head out. Omega wants me to help move out the armory." Envy said placing the cup on the table and nodding as he left.
"Better join him, I know he'll make Mitsugi and Echo annoyed." Wuss said standing up and saluting goodbye as he left.
"I hate working, but I'll suck it up and go." Timbrr moaned as she stood up and trudged her way after Wuss, leaving Kelly, Jason, and Aaron.
"I promised I'd help Mitsugi with something, I'll see you later sir, ma'am." Aaron said with a nod before getting up and leaving as the two remained in their seats. Kelly looked at him and reached over as she placed her hand on his and sighed.
"So now what?" Jason asked as he leaned forward. Kelly shrugged her shoulders and sighed.
"I don't know, but I do know we have to be alert for Cortana. I know Chief will go through Hell twice and back again if there were a way to save her. But I fear there will be nothing to save. She's not herself at all, the Cortana we knew died with the Didact's ship." Kelly said. Jason nodded and squeezed her hand lightly.
"Whatever we're facing, we face it together." He said before leaning over and kissing her lightly. He leaned back in his chair as he looked at Kelly's face, she smiled warmly as the two enjoyed the silence. Giving them time to think about their relationship and the big step before it was stopped as a marine walked in and cleared his throat.
"Sir, Ma'am, we have a situation. Master Chief and Captain Lasky have requested your presence." He said before saluting and walking out. Jason sighed as the two stood up and made their way to the command tent to see Chief and Lasky standing side by side as a holographic map showed.
"Ah, Spartans, glad you're here. We have a situation and it seems this 'Moira' isn't what we thought." Lasky said as Chief pressed a few buttons and showed the shipyard of Pelicans. One spot was missing as an officer walked over to the pilot and began speaking to him.
"While you and your squads were returning after Jason's little scuffle, Moira and her goon slipped past and hijacked one of the pelicans before slipping away." Lasky reported as he folded his arms.
"About that, I'm sorry sir. It won't happen again." Jason apologized. "You're damn fucking skippy you ain't gonna pull that shit again son. We're at the most pinnicale point of this war about the galaxy. I have to worry about a damn, possible, Covenant renewal, a malfunctioning AI that thinks she's God among us, and the 7th Installation spinning in this sector. Those are major disasters I'm trying to halt, but I have to drop everything because an aging SPARTAN-III is starting to disobey orders!" Lasky shouted, causing Jason to back up temporarily.
"I understand sir." Jason said. "Do you? Because I'm starting to have second thoughts about you. I could understand Chief, but unlike you, he showed us that Cortana was a bigger problem. I don't know if I can trust you." Lasky said before returning to the map.
"Captain, Lieutenant Yeager has proven to be useful. He was the one to show us the location of the 7th Installation, he warned us about the Covenant, and the Flood." Kelly interrupted. Lasky turned to Kelly with a glare.
"Don't interrupt Spartan." Lasky warned before Kelly walked over to him. "With respect, sir, I will." Kelly replied. Lasky glared at her before turning back to the map.
"I'm not Del Rio, but another outburst like that and you'll end up in the brig." Lasky said before waving his hand. Jason and Kelly saluted before leaving. As the two made their way to barracks, they began to help bring everything out and on a pelican. As Jason placed the last box on, it hovered and left to the giant ship hovering over the camp.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Kelly said, breaking the silence. "He was right, I let my anger get the best of me. Now two of my best friends and men I've had the pleasure of leading are dead. Us SPARTAN-IIIs aren't made like you II generations. We were made to be disposable, discarded, forgotten. For a while, I was glad to be a Headhunter. I could go into battle, dying as a shadow, I had no one to fight for, no mother, father, no one. If I died, I'd die knowing I tried my best to save millions of lives. I tried to be like Chief, fight not for recognition or anything, but fight because it was my job." Jason said as he looked to the sky.
"But you don't have to think like that anymore, you have people who care about you." Kelly said patting his shoulder.
"Maybe, but sometimes I wonder, if I had died during one of my ops, Josh and Riley would still be alive." Jason continued. Kelly stared at him before noticing a clear tear slide down his cheek and drop as it stained his shirt. Before she could say anything, a marine jogged over and informed them about the hijacked pelican. Kelly turned to see Aaron, Mitsugi, Echo, and Gem waiting for them, the three Spartans in combat gear.
"Let's move sir." Aaron said holding his Assault rifle. Jason nodded and made his way to the armory as he began placing his armor on before grabbing a pistol and a few magazines of ammunition. Kelly joined him as she placed her armor on and grabbed a shotgun as well as a pistol and few magazines for each.
"Let's move Lieutenant." She said as Jason ran after her and hopped onto the waiting pelican that idled for him. Aaron tossed the rifle to him as he placed it on his back. Aaron walked into the cockpit as everyone else secured themselves in the hangar.
"I am most thrilled you have accepted Captain Lasky's order." Gem said happily. "We don't really have a choice." Aaron pointed out.
"Whatever the prognosis is, we must stop Moira. She doesn't know the parasite that lives in her." Gem continued.
"Yeah, we know. We got a first hand glance at it." Echo grumbled. "I've run simulations and have devised a cure, but it'll take time to synthesize an antidote. I have everything, I just need a sample of her blood. Can you Reclaimers do this?" Gem asked, but instead of sounding like Spark, he sounded like he actually cared or he went against his protocols.
"Yes Gem, but I need to ask, how did you get captured by her?" Kelly asked. "When I left with you, she sent one of her minions with a low EMP dart and brought me to their hideout." Gem replied.
"Huh." She said before growing silently. "Entering the Ring's atmosphere in 5." Aaron said over the comms as the ship began to shake. Jason turned his helmet around before placing it on and sighed. As the shakes subsided, Jason could feel the Pelican land on the ground as the bay doors opened, allowing the occupants to exit. Aaron walked next to Jason and handed him Hera's AI chip as the SPARTAN-III inserted her into his helmet.
"Well hi stranger." She said with a smile. "Hey." Jason replied, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"What's up? You seem down." Hera asked as Jason relayed everything, from coming to this planet, to Aaron's faked death, Josh's death, Riley's death, everything until now. The Spartans may be powerful warriors, but under that armor was still a human.
"I'm sorry, truly I am Jason." Hera said, her voice laced with sympathy. Jason smiled warmly as the group made their way to the control room. A few Flood stragglers were afoot before being quickly dispatched by the team. Gem told them the Index was secured away in the Library as he brought up a map of the Ring. He highlighted an area that marked where Moira and her compatriots were waiting.
"Huh, it appears to me that the meddlers are in section 2815 in area 343. Strange, why would they use that area as a base of operations?" Gem wondered aloud.
"Can you teleport us there?" Kelly asked. "Why certainly but it appears she has activated some force field around her area, blocking all communications and teleportation." Gem replied.
"Get us as close as you can, leave the blood sample to us." Jason ordered as he placed his rifle on his back.
"I'll need to use your suit's recharging shields. I apologize, but the effect of the EMP dart is still there. Most of my protocols have been paralyzed." Gem said.
"Do it." "Prepare yourselves." Gem said as the Spartans joined hands before seeing various yellow rings surrounding them as they disappeared before reappearing in a section of the honeycombed interior of the Ring. The Spartans released their grips on one another and stumbled before regaining their bearings.
"Damn, I forgot that was a rough feeling." Aaron said as he shook his hands. "No time to dawdle Reclaimers, hurry." Gem said urgently in the comms before growing silent. Jason stood and looked at his group as he pulled his rifle from his back and turned. They made their way slowly, eyes peeled on their motion trackers. On occasion they would see a red dot run by before disappearing as they neared the hideout of the two.
"I'm getting a bad feeling about this." Mitsugi said. "You and me both." Jason replied as they turned a corridor.
"I wonder what Gem said, about that place they're hold up in. He sounded frightened." Echo said.
"My guess, there's more Flood spores in that area." Aaron guessed. "Maybe, but let's focus on the task at hand." Mitsugi replied as she aimed her Battle Rifle down the corridor. The group continued down the corridor, a loud shriek could be heard as Jason held his fist up.
"What the hell was that?" Echo asked quietly. "You don't want to know." Jason replied before shadows emerged from the end of the lit corridor. A group of Flood forms appeared and stared them down. Jason held his rifle at them before a hulking pure form walked over and raised it's clubbed arm.
"Wait, do not shoot. Let me lead you too our foe." It said as the combat forms stood on either side of the walls for the group.
"Why should we trust you? Aren't you gonna betray us?" Kelly demanded. One combat form turned and growled.
"We have a truce for now, then we shall be enemies again." It said as Kelly pulled out here magnum and aimed it at the monster's head. The humans stood ready, geared for combat as the monsters surrounded them and growled.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy. We have a shared enemy, now, why haven't you been able to rid her yourself?" Jason asked turning to the pure form.
"She is too powerful, this 'Moira', over powers me as a Gravemind. She is without limits if she continues down this path." It said as Jason nodded.
"Then we'll work together until Moira is defeated. But, you cannot exist for you and your kind threaten the very existence of the universe." Jason replied as the pure form stared at him before nodding.
"I understand your reasoning. But, we starve without sufficient bio-mass." It replied. "Even if you do kill all sentient life, you will starve and die." Jason said. The monster growled before turning and ushering them forward. As the group made their way into the lab, a husky laugh could be heard.
"Well, well, well. The heroes come at last." She said as she appeared, but a large group of Flood combat forms appeared before the combat forms escorting the Spartans turned on them. The pure form growled as it prepared for battle.
"Come then, fight." She growled.
A/N: Oh snap, a chapter finally. I apologize but finding inspiration is kinda hard, even when reading other people's stories/watching movies/etc. I think I got the traction again for this one. I hope you fellas enjoyed it, until next time, tata for now!