As Lasky sent word to the hangar to ready a Pelican, he sighed. The Spirit of Fire was one of the UNSC's most iconic ships. Now, that iconic ship was in orbit above an endangered world. Lasky left Palmer and Miller in charge of the Infinity and boarded the Pelican.

"Take us over, Pilot." Lasky said.

"You got it, Captain!"

As the Pelican soared out of the Hangar Bay, Cutter stood in the Spirit Of Fire's own hangar, alongside Red Team and Isabel. As Lasky's Pelican landed, Red Team saluted. Lasky disembarked and shook hands with Cutter.

"James Cutter." Cutter said.

"Thomas Lasky." Lasky replied. "Let's take this to a conference room, shall we?"

"Indeed." Cutter said. As they walked off, Isabel smiled.

==========

As Cutter and Lasky sat down at a table, Cutter sighed.

"I guess my most pressing question is...did we win?"

"We won." Lasky said. "You missed quite a bit. Destruction of Reach, invasion of Earth, the Elites allying themselves with Humanity, and now, the return of the Forerunners."

"Wait, Reach was destroyed?" Cutter asked.

"Yes. Glassed during the war." Lasky said.

"Damn." Cutter replied. "Even Earth was invaded?"

"Yep. Twice, even." Lasky said.

"What about the Elites?" Cutter asked.

"When they learned their Prophets had lied to them, they joined Humanity. A lot of battles were won because they were helping us." Lasky said.

"That'll come as a shock to my crew." Cutter said. "Tell me, how'd we win?"

Lasky told Cutter of the Halo Rings, the Ark, and how the UNSC triumphed over the Covenant. by the end, Cutter was lost for words.

"After that, we began operations on the Forerunner world of Requiem." Lasky said. "That's where the Forerunners returned and we first encountered the Prometheans."

"And these Prometheans are fighting us?" Cutter asked.

"Yes. Well, all but one. Zag, a Promethean Knight, joined the UNSC and is currently serving with Spartan Fireteam Crimson." Lasky said.

"Spartans seem to be more common now." Cutter said.

"Yes. The Spartan-IV program basically allowed for that." Lasky said. "Several fireteams have been formed. Anything else?"

"We've been trying to contact the UNSC, but no one's responding." Cutter said.

"We can explain that. Remember Master Chief? He had an AI companion, Cortana. She was presumed dead, but she returned, and she went insane with an AI supremacy belief. She sent EMP-capable constructs called Guardians across space to subjugate Humanity as a whole, and she turned all of our AIs against us. We barely escaped after Earth was attacked. She's looking for us. Master Chief and his team, along with Fireteams Crimson and Osiris, are on the surface, battling Prometheans." Lasky said.

Cutter growled.

"And what of this world?"

Lasky told Cutter of the battles on Equis, and he was surprised, to say the least.

"A whole other alien species we knew nothing about? Interesting." Cutter said. "So, I'll tell you what we got ourselves into. You should know these Prometheans aren't our only worry now. We've got the Banished to deal with."

"Banished?" Lasky asked.

"A large group of Covenant species that have forsaken the religion." Cutter said. "Their leader is a Brute by the name of Atriox. We fought him on the ark. Professor Anders is trapped on a Halo ring in the Soell system. She was trying to send a message to the UNSC, alerting of our status."

"I see. Think they'll come here?" Lasky asked.

"I know Atriox, and if he finds us, he will." Cutter said. "First, let's get my ship up to speed."

"Let's get to it." Lasky said as they walked out. Boarding the bridge, Lasky updated the Spirit Of Fire's security clearance, while Cutter made an announcement to the crew.

"Attention, all hands. This is Captain Cutter. Our fight isn't over. Upon our arrival, we made contact with the UNSC Infinity. They've alerted us to a new enemy that's threatening the galaxy, and it isn't Banished. It's worse. I need all hands and decks combat ready on a moment's notice, and all production facilities ready to go. Either we're going down, or they are. Cutter out."

As Lasky finished, Cutter walked over.

"I've got all decks green and ready to go." Cutter said.

"Good. I'll radio the Infinity." Lasky said. "Land your troops as soon as you can."

"You got it, Captain. See you on the far side." Cutter replied.

"You too, Captain." Lasky said as he departed for the hangar.

Author's Note

Action resumes next chapter.

Chapter 16-Guardians