Halo 2: Shadowed pasts and Ancient Runes

AN: Okay, so this chapter is going to explore the hesitation Nathan has around the Commander. What could possibly have happened in their past to get him so flustered around her? Let's find out. Okay, go back to reading my little ponies. :)

Chapter 14: It looks like a flower
Planet: Earth October, 17, 2552
1708 hours

"Oh, come on, Chief! For the love of all things good, please don't-" But it was too late. Nathan's protesting couldn't stop the Chief from driving the dilapidated Warthog headlong into the two Wraiths guarding the bridge to Voi. The fighting for the past hour or so had gone from driving, to foot, back to driving again. Nathan didn't want to tell the Chief this, but his driving would make even the most iron clad stomach chuck.

Master Chief dove from the drivers seat onto the Wraith on the left. However, being left out of the Chief's plan, Nathan stayed on the Warthog as a ball of blue detonated the front, sending the man flying into the air. "SHIT!" Was all that could be heard as he flopped onto the second Wraith's driver canopy. He quickly recovered however and ripped the hatch off, sticking the driver inside. He jumped off the back as the behemoth went up in a ball of flame.

"Nice work." John said, joining Nathan's side. Nathan frowned and lifted his visor.

"Next time you have a plan, feel free to include me in it." He said sternly. The Chief ran up ahead and didn't stop to turn around to talk.

"I didn't."

Nathan shook that one off and joined the Chiefs side as a pack of jump pack Brutes flew above the battlefield. Sending the two Spartans scattering for cover. The Chief hid behind a road barrier and Nathan jumped behind a pile of weapon pods, using a panel to block the Spiker rounds. He looked to his feet to see a Sniper. He smiled and hefted it, taking aim on the aerial Brutes. There were three of them, and four shots in the Sniper. Easy enough.

He let out three bursts and watched as two of the Brutes fell. The last one was injured, however and taking him out was going to be too easy. He sighted the last Brute again and shot its jetpack, sending it careening into the cliff wall, showering the rock in blood.

He and the Chief burst from the cover and took out the Brutes milling around the blockade. "Spartan, get your sniper on top of that tower." John yelled, pointing to the floating Covenant platform. Nathan nodded and ascended the short grav lift, taking aim on the Brutes at the entrance to the tunnel.

He watched as the Shade opened fire on the advancing Chief. Nathan took a deep breath and sighted the little open spot for the gunner to see out of. He watched as the tiny Grunt tumbled out, slumping to the cold concrete without a head. He then set his sights on the Brutes not in cover behind the crashed Pelican. The Weapons Chieftan, however was a problem.

He only had three shots left, and the Chieftan's shields were twice as strong as a normal Brutes. He cursed and jumped off the tower, making his way to the Chief.

John dove over the portable barrier and kicked a Brute square in the jaw. It cursed in its alien tongue and berzerked, punching the Chief square in the chest. John flew back and quickly sprung to his feet. He pulled out his Battle Rifle and sighted the hulks face. A single three round burst exploded the front of its face, sending it hard into the dirt.

John dove away as the Weapons Chieftan came out of the tunnel. It pelted his concrete cover, disintegrating it with every hit. He peaked over to see more Brutes come out of the tunnel. He silently cursed and took a deep breath.

Before he could dive into the fight, he saw Nathan running straight for them. A shimmer of light surrounded the Spartan as a decoy was sent running into the battlefield. The Brutes, too confused as to what was going on, focused their fire on both of them, which lessened the fire being brought on Nathan. He jumped on top of the downed Pelican and landed straight on a Brutes head, crushing its skull with his immense weight.

The Weapons Chieftan roared and opened fire again, but was met by a few well placed frag grenades. They detonated, destroying its shields. It roared in defiance as Nathan leveled his Sniper for a point blank blast.

John walked over to the man as the echo of the Sniper shot bounced through the canyon. He smiled as Miranda's Pelican descended, dropping off more troops and a Warthog. Miranda's voice sounded throughout the Comms channel.

""Lord Hood. We made it." She said. Hood came on, relieved that the Spartan's were making progress.

"Music to my ears, Commander. What about the Ark?" He asked, unsure of the situation from his ship.

"Fully uncovered, Sir." Miranda said again. Lord Hood sighed. Obviously the situation sounded more grim to him than it did to the two Spartans listening in.

"Then we don't have much time. Marines... Truth doesn't know it yet, but he's about to get kicked right off his throne. You will take our city back. And drive our enemy into the grave they've been so happily digging. One final effort is all that remains."

John and Nathan walked off, but a private channel opened from Lord Hood himself. Nathan stopped and listened. "G129? Good, you can hear me. I want you to take a scouting team ahead. Let the Master Chief handle this one. I want you to address me personally on whatever you find. Am I understood?"

"Affirmative, Sir." Nathan said, turning back to Miranda's Pelican. John stopped and noticed, turning back to his new ally. Nathan noticed and smiled. "Don't worry, Sir. I got new orders. Get your men to Voi and stop Truth."

The Chief climbed aboard the Warthog and nodded. "See you soon, Soldier." And with that, the convoy sped off into the tunnel to help with the Final Effort.

The marines inside the Pelican's troop cabin went rigid in their seats when Nathan stepped in. He climbed into the cockpit and sat next to Miranda. "Do you know my orders?" He asked. She nodded and smiled.

"As always. Hopefully this mission will go better than our last, huh?" She smirked. Nathan blushed under his helmet and nodded. She sped off into the direction of the mountains and let a small memory of their intertwined past creep into her mind.

(FLASHBACK!)

UNSC Collony world: New Llanelli
January 21, 2546
2234 hours

"Private Keyes! Get your Pelican out of there! The fire is too heavy!" Captain Moabbi ordered. She shook her head and sped forward faster.

"No! There are still civilians in the area! I'm not leaving until they are all out!" She yelled with defiance. The Captain came back a little more angry than usual.

"Get out now! Otherwise we're leaving you behind!" He had given her an ultimatum. Stay and die, or pull out and let hundreds die. The answer was obvious.

She shut her mic off and turned to her co-pilot, who nodded and smiled. "To the end, Ma'am." She smiled and saluted him, bracing as her craft came under heavy fire.

"Hey, Nathan!" Shelly whispered into her mic. Nathan turned around to see her still above him on the cliff with her sniper.

"Yeah, Shel? What is it?" He asked. He was as quiet as possible, since they were behind enemy lines. Grunts may have been stupid, but their hearing was excellent. And an Elite? If you were spotted by one of those, you might as well kiss your ass goodbye.

"I see that anti-air battery. If we're going to get these civvies out of here, then we gotta take that out first." She affirmed. Nathan sighed and looked at the group of men, women and children, all with the tell tale fear written in their eyes. Most of them thought it ridiculous that their saviors were two fifteen year old children. Some even tried to take their weapons and assume control.

Nothing that a little combat training didn't take care of. They may not be able to wear the cool armor yet, but marine green was just fine to them for the time being.

"Alright, Shel. I'm sending my group up to you. I'll go it alone. Take care of me with that sniper, huh?" He said with a laugh. She gave a snort, too and made a kiss sound into the mic, which Nathan quickly returned. He turned back to the civilians and nodded.

"Alright, get up that hill and take cover. We'll get that AA battery taken care of and we'll be home free. I promise." He said with a smile. He looked down as one of the little kids tugged at his pants. She had tears in her eyes and she clutched her teddy bear tight. Nathan leaned down and smiled. The girl sniffled and spoke.

"Mister? Is it scary?" She asked. Nathan smiled and cocked a brow.

"Is what scary?" He asked. She turned around, back to who he assumed was her brother, who nodded and smiled at her. She took a deep breath and continued. "Is it scary to die?" She asked.

Nathan was taken aback by the morbid question this little girl had just asked. She asked something no child should even have to think about. Although, Nathan had to think about it nearly his entire life. With a war against a genocidal collective of aliens, death is usually on the forefront of everyone's minds. He took a deep breath and smiled.

"I promise you wont have to find that out until you're really old. Now go. It'll be okay." He said, hugging the girl tight. She smiled and walked back over to her brother, who put an arm around her.

"Shel? Keep them all safe, okay?" He asked, having seen just how bad things could be. She gave an 'mhmm', and with that, Nathan shut off his mic and began the slow decent into the enemy camp.

He slammed behind one of the purple crates, clutching his MA5K tight. There were plenty of groggy Grunts sleeping under the shadow of the large T-38 Tyrant. Nathan wasn't worried about them, so much as the Zealots that milled about the area. He gulped when he saw the swords strapped to their armor.

No. Now was no time to be a coward. It was now or never, and Nathan knew that he had a job to do, not just for himself, but for that little girl.

He dove from cover and lobbed a grenade into the pack of sleeping Grunts. It detonated, sending limbs and blood across the camp. Alarms began to sound as the Zealots called to one another in alien tongues. Nathan froze when one spotted him, who froze as well. They were locked in an epic stare down, waiting to see who would strike first.

Nathan had his hand clamped around the hilt of his knife, the Elite, the same with its sword. It moved its jaws in what Nathan assumed to be a smile and spoke. "Human filth. You cannot best me." And with that, it activated the Energy sword and charged.

The Elite was fast, faster than Nathan originally anticipated. But he was prepared. He snapped the knife out and lobbed it, and, like he expected, the Elite slashed it out of the air. Nathan used the time that the Elites sword was above him to go in low, smashing the butt of his rifle into the Elites underarm. Nathan may not have had the augmentations done yet, but he still packed quite a punch.

The Elite dropped the sword in surprise and pain, snarling at the Human before him. Nathan pulled out a frag and slammed it into the Elites mouth, catching it on his sharp, razor teeth.

Nathan rolled as the Elite screamed, going up in a ball of flame a second later. He ran straight into the Tyrant before the other Elites could catch him and destroyed the core. But before the Tyrant detonated, however, it fired its last salvo at an incoming Pelican, which then careened into the forest. At that instant, Nathan heard the Captain on the radio.

"Everyone! Fall back to the evacuation zones! We have transports waiting! GO!"

Shelly waved to him from the ledge, calling his name. "Nathan! Come on! We have to go, now!"

Nathan couldn't. He couldn't just leave the Pelican in enemy territory. What if their were survivors. If it were him in that crash, he'd want someone to save him. He shook his head and called to her on the radio.

"Go! I need to check that crash! Get out of here while you still can!" At that, the other Elites began to fire. He rolled out of the way, taking a shot to the chest. He gasped as the armor melted away, and the remaining plasma burned his chest. He heard Shelly about to protest and shut his mic off, running into the woods to see if the pilots were okay.

Miranda couldn't see or hear. If it wasn't for the pain she was feeling, she'd of thought she was dead. Everything was beginning to come back to her now. She heard the echos of plasma fire and the thumps of detonations. Her vision began to return and she saw the lifeless eyes of her co-pilot staring back at her. She would have screamed if she had any strength to do it. She inhaled sharply as something grabbed her, draping her across their back.

She felt the jarring movements of whoever had her run through the jungle, firing behind them the whole time. She could see the green of Marine armor and silently thank whichever god was watching out for her.

Then cursed it as the man who had her took a shot to the back. He fell to the ground, tumbling Keyes into the dirt. She watched as he barely stood, clutching an M90A CAWS. He ducked under an Elite's energy blade and blew its chest out the back, sending the chunks of flesh, bone and organ into the tree behind it. A group of Jackals encircled him and opened fire.

The man ducked to the dirt and rolled behind a tree, taking out his pistol. He shot at any bit of flesh exposed. Feet, hands, shins, the tips of the head; they were all hit and sent the Jackals either running away in pain, or flopping on the forest floor, clutching their respective wounds.

She gasped as he picked her back up and ran into a clearing. She heard the whine of Pelican engines speeding off, and the man slumped to the ground, yelling in defeat and anger. He stayed silent for a few seconds, until finally taking the initiative to check on the girl.

"Are you alright?!" He asked her. She opened her eyes and made out the man who saved her. He looked young, too young in fact to be a soldier. She just nodded and closed her eyes again.

"Hey! Stay awake, Ma'am! You hear me?! You're going into shock!" She barely registered the voice and kept her eyes shut. After that, everything went dark.

Miranda felt the rays of sunlight hit her face. She sighed and groggily sat up, clutching her midsection as she did. To her complete surprise, however, she found herself totally naked, save for her underwear. Her midsection was bandaged and her head had a cool pack taped to it, to keep the swelling at bay. She looked at her surroundings and saw that she was in one of the planets many cave systems. She found her pistol next to her and took it, slowly making her way to the entrance.

She made her way to the mouth of the cave to see the soldier who she assumed saved her. Her assumption about him before were correct. He was definitely young. He stood at at least her height of five in a half feet. His eyes were a deep hazel and his smile seemed to be forced, but still genuine.

"Hey. How did you sleep? Are you feeling okay?" He asked, his voice cracking a few times as he spoke. Miranda simply just stared at him, dumbfounded as to how the Marine core didn't notice how young he was when he enlisted. "How old are you?" She finally asked. He just gave her a quizzical stare.

"I'm 16. Why do you ask? How old are you?" He shot back. Her head shot back and she gave a slight smile.

"21. Now, were you the one who undressed me?" She asked. He nodded and smiled.

"Mhmm. You had severe bruising to your abdominal area and some internal bleeding. I was able to preform the necessary surgery to stop the bleeding. The brain swelling, however, is going to take some time. You should rest." He said, going over to her side.

"W-wait! You said you... preformed surgery on me? You're 16 years old and you know how to do surgery?" She asked astonished. He gave her another blank stare and nodded.

"Yeah... Every Spartan is trained how to. You must have hit your head pretty hard, huh?" He asked with a child like chuckle. Miranda was completely dumbfounded. She had heard all about Spartans on the news and in the military, but never came face to face to one. Come to think of it, they were all adults in their mid twenties, early thirties. How come this one was so young?

"I thought Spartan II's were older." She said with a laugh. Nathan crossed his arms and frowned, much the way a child would.

"Well, I'm a Spartan III. So.... yeah." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. He smiled and looked back at her. "There's a river down below. You wanna go for a swim?" He asked eagerly. Miranda smiled and, seeing as how there was nothing else to do, agreed.

The hike through the woods was spent with the Spartan in the front, his MA5K aimed at anything that moved. When they did reach the river, however, he loosened his grip on the weapon and undressed.

Miranda looked away and bit her lip as he turned to her. He was a lot stronger than he looked with his armor on. Every muscle he had was toned to near Adonis levels. His eight pack glistened with sweat from the heat of the afternoon. He looked like an Olympic athlete!

"Come on! The movement and the cold water will be good for your wounds! Hop in!" He assured her, diving into the deep river below. Wow, that was a lot more than I was expecting... She thought awkwardly. Eventually she stripped herself of her underwear and dove in after him.

He cheered at her flawless entry and laughed as she splashed him on her way up. "That was an awesome dive, Ma'am! How'd you do it?" He asked curiously. She smiled and slicked her short hair over her head.

"A few years of middle school swim team. And you don't have to call me ma'am. My name is Miranda. I don't believe I caught yours." She frowned. Nathan got an apologetic look on his face, but quickly recovered with his same smile.

"Oh. I'm Nathan G129. Nice to meet you!" He said, diving into the deep river. Miranda waited expectantly for him to come back up, but he didn't for quite some time. She began to worry, and worry quickly turned to panic after a minute.

"Nathan?! Where are you!" She called out nervously. She jumped when she heard him pop up behind her, clutching a large orange and green fish in his hands.

"I got us dinner!" He said triumphantly. He began to blush when he felt something as she stared at him. He didn't know what to make of the feeling at the time, since it was foreign to him. He looked at the naked woman in front of him, her light breasts bobbing as she paddled in the crystal clear water, her legs slowly kicking back and forth. His heart raced and he quickly looked away. She noticed his behavior and couldn't help but giggle a little.

"You want to go make dinner now?" She asked, matching his shade of red. He quickly nodded and swam up to the cliff side, climbing his way up like it was nothing. He looked back down to Miranda and, realizing she had severe wounds, couldn't make the climb. He quickly dove back down and paddle next to her.

"I'm sorry! I can't believe I forgot of your wounds. Grab my neck, I'll get us back to camp." He said happily. She did as instructed and gasped as he pulled them up the cliff, just as quickly as he did before without her 126 pound frame on his back. The thought of his strength left her a little flushed herself.

They reached the top quickly and Nathan quickly redressed, but decided to give the woman his shirt. "Here. It's better than just wearing panties around all day, huh?" She blushed and nodded, putting the shirt and her underwear back on. The shirt was small, barely covering her lower stomach. But, it'd have to do. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, as the saying goes.

They quickly made their way back to the makeshift camp, Nathan being completely oblivious this time, unlike his carefulness when they fist left. He was having a good time talking to Miranda and bragging about how he caught the large fish.

"-And it nearly got back into its home. You do NOT want to know how big this things parents were." He said with a shudder. She gave a quizzical stare and smiled.

"Oh, I think I do. Nothing should be too hard for you, huh?" She asked with a wink. He frowned and folded his arms, the fish still latched onto his knuckles.

"No, but then again, a 30 foot long fish would be pretty hard for you to handle, too." He said, sticking his tongue out at her. Miranda chuckled and climbed up the hill to the cave, followed by Nathan.

Although, Nathan kind of wished he was in front. He gazed at Miranda's curvature as she climbed up the hill. He gulped and blushed again, trying to look away. But his eyes kept wandering back to it. Miranda turned around with a smile, but noticed his gaze and the immense blush on his face. That, in turn, caused her to blush as well. She didn't hold it against him that he stared. He was a young adult who probably had never seen a woman out of uniform before. Still, he could have been more discreet about it.

The night waned on. Nathan had prepared and cooked the fish, serving it to Miranda and himself. They sat deep in the cave around the glow of the fire. Miranda took another piece from the cooking pan Nathan had in his pack, loving the perfectly cooked meal.

"This is amazing!" She said between bites. "How did a soldier like you learn how to cook?" Nathan smiled at the praise and took another delicate bite, savoring the meal.

"I was trained how to cook, in case I ever ran out of rations in the field. All us Spartans were." He said, leaning back on his hand.

"Well, thank you for the lovely-" She stopped and grabbed her side, wincing in pain. Nathan noticed and quickly crawled over.

"Miranda? Are you okay? What is it?" He asked panicked. She continued to clutch her abdomen, but smiled.

"I-it's nothing. Just a... just must be some pain from the surgery." She assured. She wasn't prepared for what the Spartan did next. He positioned himself directly behind her, placing both his hands around her stomach, slowly needing the muscle and skin. She inhaled sharply when his touch caused pain, but relaxed when his fingers massaged it away.

"Is that any better?" He asked. She tried to answer but couldn't make her mouth work. Every thought was lost with each rotation of his fingers. She shut her eyes tight and simply decided to nod.

He worked one hand on her back, and the other on her stomach. She moved with him, her body becoming like clay in his hands. She felt a pang of guilt realizing his age, but it wasn't like they were doing any-

She gasped when she felt his lips touch her neck, working their way down her shoulder, then made their way back up to her ear. He lightly nibbled the lobe, and she tensed up with the bite. This wasn't right and she knew it deep down inside. But, this man looked like he was in his twenties, despite his stature. He continued to work his hands around her body, exploring places neither his hands, or anyone elses had gone before.

She inhaled sharply when his hand made contact with her breast, lightly squeezing it. Nathan heard the gasp and saw the blush on her face. Good thing She likes it, because I have no idea what I'm doing. He thought dryly. He rubbed underneath her breasts and slowly began to lift the shirt off her. She gave no protest so he finished the job quickly.

He gulped, staring at the nearly naked woman in front of him. How in the hell did he manage this? It was like something out of an old romance movie that Deep Winter had shown them during school. He gulped when she turned around, her face completely red. Her smile made it obvious she liked where this was going and where she placed her hands made it obvious she wanted it to go further.

He involuntarily bent forward when she grabbed his shaft through his pants. She gave the tiniest chuckle and laid him back on the hard, stone ground. Miranda may have never had sex before, and neither had he, but she was going to make sure both their first times were everything they had expected.

"After all, we're trapped on an invaded planet..." She thought. "Might as well get some enjoyment out of our last days alive... She ran her fingers down his perfectly toned chest and stomach, stopping when she made contact with the buttons of his pants. She looked back down at him, his eyes lingered from her hands, back to her face. He visibly gulped and smiled.

"Is this... really happening?" He asked her. She smiled and bent down, a millimeter from his face.

"I guess it is..." She whispered, quickly kissing his lips. He let out a muffled 'mmmh' as she parted his lips and slid her tongue over his. He shut his eyes and wrapped his arms around her. How was this happening? How did he get so lucky? Then he remembered their predicament on this planet. He shrugged it off and began a game of tongues with Miranda, who giggled in response.

At least the companies pleasurable...

Miranda quickly pulled herself away, gasping for air. Nathan did the same. She smiled and undid his pants, quickly pulling them down. Nathan smiled and tilted his head all the way back, eyes wide and trained on the ceiling. Miranda blushed as she pulled her underwear down. It was now or never to back out, but she chose never.

She positioned herself over him and smiled. "Well, I guess it's time we-"

"HUMANS!"

"KILL THE DEMONS!"

"Fuck..."

The night before...

"I'm sorry, Spartan G230! We have to leave system! The Covenant fleet won't wait for us to save one man!" The Captian yelled over her protests. Shelly was red in the face. The argument with the Captain had been going on for about an hour now, and the only reason she hadn't been kicked off the bridge was because the crew was too afraid to get in the way of a pissed off Spartan.

"He's not just one man!" She bellowed. "He's the greatest Spartan alive! How can you sit there and say his life isn't worth it! Every life is worth it!" She began to narrow her eyes and frowned. "How many others did you leave down there?" She asked with angry curiosity. The Captain rolled his eyes and turned back to the view screen.

"Only those who refused to leave." He said simply. Shelly hated when people turned their backs on her, and she quickly rectified the situation. She whirled the Captain around and placed firm hands on his shoulders.

"You WILL stay in system and send a platoon down there now!" She bellowed. The entire bridge crew was in a state of total shock. They wanted desperately to turn away, but were transfixed on the utter shock of Spartan vs Captain. It was now a battle of stares, to see who would break first. The Captain's face was red with anger, Shelly's face was contorted into an impassible defense, showing nothing but determination and unwavering loyalty to her closest friend.

The Captain sighed explosively. "Alright! Fine!" He yelled. He turned to his second in command. "Lieutenant? Get the ODST's ready for a search and rescue. Drop them at Spartan G129's last known location."

The Lieutenant nodded and began to radio the orders. The Captain turned back to Shelly with narrow eyes. "You're going too. Bring him back, or else I'll personally position for your court marshal." He threatened. She smiled and slid her Marine helmet back on.

"Wouldn't have it any other way, Captain." She saluted and strolled off the bridge, making her way to the hanger where the ODST's were setting up shop. They turned from their packing, staring at the young girl beside them. One of them trotted up beside her, smiling the whole time.

"You must be the Spartan coming with us. Gunnery Sergeant Buck, but you can either call me Gunny, or Buck. Take your pick." He held out his hand, which Shelly grasp strongly.

"Alright, Gunny. When do we drop?" She asked impatiently. He turned to the pods, a frown on his face. He slowly walked over to his and inspected it carefully. He gave an, 'aha' and firmly slammed his loose AR into place. He turned back to Shelly and smiled.

"Now we can go."

Shelly's heart raced as her pod floated over the free space. She winced as the timer counted down all too quickly. She sweat like a grease monkey in her new ODST armor and felt as if she was going to pass out. Buck came over her radio and chuckled.

"Easy, missy. You're gonna have a heart attack with those kinds of vitals. Just take a deep breath and everything will be okay." He assured. She nodded and inhaled deeply.

"You don't want to know why I don't like heights." She said with a shudder, remembering her first day of Spartan training. She smiled, remembering Nathan's heroics. He had saved her life, and now it was time to repay him in kind for it.

She gasped as the timer hit zero and her pod launched from the rack. There was a moment of weightlessness before she finally settled back into the seat. She saw Buck on the view screen. His visor was lifted and he had a look of unnerving calmness. She was amazed how brave the ODST core was. She'd have to show them how brave a Spartan could be.

"Alright, men! Adjust trajectory now." Buck ordered. All at once, everyone's pods shot to the left, placing them just above their desired coordinates. Shelly looked out the small windows as the inky blackness made way to clouds, then the landscape of mountains and forests. She let out an 'oomph' as her pod's chute opened, rapidly slowing her decent with bone breaking speed.

She held her breath as the pod hit. She exhaled and activated the explosive bolts, sending the door skidding into the jungle. She saw the other ten or so pods land in a cluster around her and follow the same routine. It was now night again, since this world cycled time zones in 5 hour increments

"Alright, boys! Search and rescue! Anyone got a read on his IFF tag?" Buck asked. The other ODST's shook their heads. One stepped forward, however, with a large smile on his face.

"I got another IFF tag. It's three miles east. Towards that mountain." He said, pointing to the large, imposing jut of rock. Buck nodded and smiled.

"Who's is it?" He asked. The marine scanned the name and nodded.

"Private Miranda Keyes. Shes a pilot. Reports list her as MIA, just recently, too. Looks like we'll be bringing her home, since we can't find the other Spartan." He said with a bit of happiness.

"Or, they could be hiding together." Shelly pointed out. We'll save two birds with one squad. Now, lets just get moving, before-"

"Phantom!" one of the Marines yelled. "Hit the dirt!"

All at once, the ODST's slammed to the ground, remaining as still as possible. The search light passed over them, then the ship continued onwards, speeding off towards the mountain.

The same one they were going to.

Nathan and Miranda were held up in the back of the cave. Their little party ruined by a Covenant patrol scouting the caves for survivors. Miranda fired with her pistol, while Nathan used his MA5K. Luckily, they had time to redress in what little clothes they had before the fighting started. Miranda wore her panties and Nathan's shirt, While Nathan was bare chested, with his padded pants covering his delicate areas from hostile fire.

"Fucking Covenant!" Nathan yelled. "Why do you ALWAYS ruin something great?!" He leaned over the rock and pelted a Grunt in the face with his fire. Nathan ejected the clip and reached for another at his side.

"I'm out!" Miranda yelled. Nathan passed her one of his extra pistol mags and frowned.

"If we get out of this, I'm buying you a yacht." He joked. Miranda smiled and rolled her eyes.

"I hate boating." She retorted. Nathan fired again and chuckled.

"I hate dying, so let's make it through this in one piece, huh?" He asked. She nodded and fired again, taking out a rolling Jackal.

Shelly and the ODST's were just outside the cave entrance. "She's in here." The same marine as before said, pointing into the dark hole.

As if to confirm this, the sound of rifle fire, followed by plasma shots and Covenant calls of war echoed through the mouth of the cave. Shelly didn't hesitate. She jumped right in and ran down the dark passage, opening up into a chamber packed with Covenant Grunts, Elites, and Jackals. She looked over to the back of the room, to see the pilot firing on the Covenant with her pistol. Nathan popped up a second later with his rifle, taking down one of the Elites.

"Well, this looks like a shit party. Let's provide some better entertainment." Buck said from behind the girl, leveling his Spartan laser. He fired at the Zealot in the back, who collapsed with a foot wide hole in his chest. The Grunts, confused by the new assault, began to run in all directions, screaming in fear.

The ODST's cut the rest of the dazed troops down, ending the firefight once and for all. Nathan jumped down from the rocky precipice, followed by Miranda. The ODST's and Shelly stared at the half naked duo in confusion and curiosity.

Nathan and Miranda couldn't tell anyone about what had happened, so they began to blurt out explanations all at the same time.

"Oh! This isn't what you think! Her clothes were ripped and burnt in the crash, and-"

"He had to preform surgery on me, so I couldn't continue wearing them-"

"We were waiting for rescue when you all showed up so-" They both inhaled from their long winded speech and simultaneously said-

"Thank you."

Shelly smiled wide and hugged her friend tight. "Nathan! I thought I lost you back there! Don't ever scare me like that again! You promise?" She asked. Nathan smiled and nodded.

"I promise. Now, can we just PLEASE get the fuck off this planet?" He asked, staring back at the Covenant troops. Buck nodded.

"Alright. I got an evac coming. Welcome home you two."

"Miranda? Hey, you alright?" Nathan asked from the seat next to her. She jumped when he touched her shoulder and nodded. She looked back over to the fully armored man and smiled.

"Yeah... I'm alright." She confirmed. She jolted the Pelican into the air and set it on autopilot. She turned back to Nathan, who was still sitting in the seat next to her. "It's good to see you again." She finally said. Nathan removed his helmet and smiled.

"Yeah... I know what you mean." He said with a smile, remembering that night as well. "Stupid Covenant." He said under his breath. Miranda smiled and put her hand on his.

"I missed you..." She said sadly, obviously caught up in the emotions of the past. it had been six years since they last saw each other. So much time probably left so many questions. "When we have a free moment, I'd like to catch up with all our lost time." She said smiling. Nathan returned it and nodded.

"I'd like that a lot. But, lets focus on saving the galaxy right now, alright?" He said, squeezing her hand. She nodded and got back to flying. Nathan returned to the troop cabin to see the Marines strapped in tight, still rigid in their seats.

"Alright recon team. Lets do our jobs and do them right!" Nathan yelled. The troops cheered and the Pelican continued to roar to its destination.

Miranda set the Pelican down in the half destroyed New Mambasa, opposite of Voi. He and his recon team jumped into the empty city streets and ran for the large, dilapidated building. Nathan clicked his mic to Miranda. "We're green, ma'am. You can get your bird out of here."

She pulled the ship up over the buildings. "Stay safe, Nathan." She said quietly, then sped off back towards Voi. Nathan turned to the recon team and nodded.

"Alright, troops! Let's get in that building. I want eyes on the dig sight, and see if we can't get a good sight on Truth as well..." He said, hefting his Sniper. The marines laughed and ran into the large, empty lobby of the building.

Nathan wished he had Almya right now. She'd have known which way to take and what parts of the building were unsafe. Right now, all Nathan had was instinct, and instinct told him to take the service stairwell.

"All right, marines. Follow me." He said quietly, in case Covenant still patrolled the area. He and his men climbed up floor after floor for almost thirty minutes, before reaching the top floor of the building.

From the top, the tilt of the building was evident. The front had been blown away, leaving an unobstructed view of the dig sight ahead.

"Lord Hood to Recon team Bravo." Nathan said into the mic. He heard the static, then the old man.

"You in position?" He asked. Nathan nodded

"Affirmative. If we get a clear shot of the Prophet, we'll take it. Otherwise we'll keep an eye on the situation. We wont let you down." He confirmed.

He grunted and began addressing Miranda. "Kilo 23, this is Forward unto Dawn. I need a sit rep Commander."

Miranda came through again "Atmospheric disturbances intensifying above the artifact, Admiral." She said, all business this time. Nathan didn't really like the all business Keyes. Oh well. Lord Hood could have her ass on a plate for being disrespectful.

Damn it... now I'm thinking about her ass! He shook the thoughts off, remembering his Twilight. That gave him comfort. He missed her more than anything, and the thought of their homecoming party was almost too much to handle.

"And Sierra 117?" Lord Hood asked, snapping Nathan out of his 'daydream',

"Moving as fast as he can, Sir. I know he'll get it done." She affirmed. The mics snapped off and Nathan's helmet was now as quiet as a grave.

"Sir, look." One of the Snipes said, leaning over the side of the building with his S2 AM Sniper Rifle. Nathan crouched next to him and used his helmets zoom to look at the bottom of the Forerunner ship.

Truth was standing below it, giving a sermon...

"Cocky son of a bitch." Nathan said with a chuckle. He clicked his mic on and connected to Forward unto Dawn.

"Lord Hood? Guess who's finally out of his ship?" Nathan chuckled.

"Do you have a shot, son?" Lord Hood asked, a bit of anticipation in his voice. Nathan looked over to the sniper, who gave a thumbs up.

"Affirmative, Sir." Nathan confirmed. There was a pause on the mic, allowing Nathan a moment to take another look at the gangly little alien in the hover chair. The mic crackled and Lord Hood came back, determination etched in his voice.

"Take it. Take the shot."