Halo 2: Shadowed pasts and Ancient Runes

Chapter 5: Those you thought you knew
October 5, 2552 Detention center
1453 hours

The Spartans armor was removed and they were all shoved into a hijacked Covenant detention center. The plasma barriers fell, sealing them inside. Nathan, Cam and Twilight walked out of the room and back into the bustling military base.

"Why did they attack us? I thought they were on our side!" Twilight asked astonished. She still couldn't figure out how they knew Nathan, Cam and Bill were still alive either. Nathan shrugged.

"Doesn't matter at this point. I'm just glad they suck miserably at fighting, otherwise we'd be dead."

Twilight gulped. She couldn't understand how Nathan was always so calm during these types of situations. Then again, she wasn't used to death being her tea buddy. She rolled her eyes and shook her head at his calm attitude.

Nathan frowned as they walked past those other Spartan's armor. He walked over and inspected the devices carefully. They were each their own separate colors. Laurence's green, Selina's Pink, Garry's black, and Sharif's red. The visor was a tiny slit, the mouth guard covering 80% of the face plate. The rest of it was something to behold as well. The plates were all smooth and even, as apposed to the rough bumps and indents in Nathan's. The black mesh was replaced by some sort of flexible metal. He had no idea what it was.

These weren't normal suits of armor.

"We need to have a chat with our guests. But, we'll let the shock of their capture sink in."

Twilight looked up and her fiance' and sighed. "Can we talk?" She asked. He and Cam both stopped and looked at her. She rolled her eyes. "Alone?"

They both stood still. "Without you, Cam?" Cam gave a nod.

"Oh, sorry." He said. He nodded to Nathan and strolled off. Twilight led Nathan down an empty hall and sat him down on the floor, taking a seat next to him.

"Nathan, I want to talk about our future."

Nathan half smiled and nodded. "Alright. What is it you want to talk about?"

She gulped. "Well, when the baby arrives, I was hoping you'd hang up your armor for good."

Nathan stared at her wide eyed. What if someone attacked the planet? What if they tried to take her away from him?

What if they killed her?

Twilight saw him in thought mode and put a hoof on his shoulder.

"We have more than enough guards to protect the planet, and well..." She looked away and frowned lightly. Nathan knew what was going on. She was afraid of loosing him. And with a child on the way, well, retirement seemed like the best course of action. For her sake.

"After we find out what this is all about, I promise I'll put my old life behind me. I'll settle down and help you raise the child, okay?"

Twilight smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Alright. I'm glad you understand." She said happily.

She stood and Nathan did the same. "I just hope we can find out answers to this." He said, sounding more unsure by the minute. Twilight nodded in agreement.

"I know. Me too."

Laurence paced his cell for the hundredth time, his Spartans staring at him in frustration. Gary stood and punched at the shield door across the room.

"Do you mind, Sir? You're pacing is getting a little tedious!" He shouted, sitting back down. Laurence exhaled explosively and slid down the purple walls.

"How in the fuck did this species pull all this off?" He asked astonished. "This is all Covenant tech! How'd they get it to work?"

Sharif shrugged. "Well, they do have three Spartans who know quite a bit about Covenant technology. Maybe they helped them set it up."

"What about their weapons?" Selina pointed out. "They looked Covenant, but not." She said trailing off.

"Reverse engineered?" Sharif pointed out.

Laurence shrugged. "If so, then this species could be more of a threat to us than we realize. Who knows what could happen if they figure out space travel."

"So we quell the uprising before it happens?" Gary asked. Laurence shrugged.

"I guess. For the good of the UNSC and the human race."

Sharif snorted. "A lot of good we'll be in here." He spat. Laurence sighed again.

"True. Well, we'll just have to-"

He was cut off when the prison's doors parted, and Nathan and a purple unicorn strolled in.

The Spartans looked at the pair in anger.

"You four aren't doing anything of the sort. You think that they are the bad guys, you're wrong. So I'm going to talk to each of you, one by one. I expect you to answer me, or my partner here will be more than happy to preform a memory spell."

They all looked at the purple unicorn, who's nose was wrinkled in anger and horn glowing. They looked to one another, then back to Nathan.

"Selina? You're first." He said, lifting the shield on her cell. She walked out and was instantly cuffed by Twilight.

"For every ponies safety. You understand."

Selina nodded and followed Nathan and Twilight down the halls. She received hard stares from the Stallion guards who passed her by, knowing what her and her team did to one of their own.

Nathan opened a heavy metal door. One light hung over the metal table and chair. Nathan pushed Selina into the chair and sat opposite of her.

"Tell me why you're here." Nathan said flatly. She turned away and folded her arms across her chest.

"It's classified."

Nathan slammed his fists on the metal desk, denting it. Twilight recoiled in surprise.

"Don't give me that!" He said loudly. He then threw her helmet onto the table. "What kind of armor system is this?"

"It's classified." She retorted. Twilight tensed, expecting the same reaction from him, but he just smiled and placed his M6D on the table.

"I'm going to ask you one last time. What are you doing here, and what kind of armor is this?"

She gulped and looked at the gun, then back to him. "I- we... It's-"

He cut her off and fired the gun right past her head. She screamed and Twilight took a step back out of fear.

"Do you really want to say, 'It's classified' again, Selina?"

She began shaking uncontrollably. "W-w-we were sent to bring you in a-and w-w-we're testing the Mark VII a-armor." She said, barely holding back the tears.

"You're team has always been sloppy." He goaded. She shifted and slumped in her seat. He went on, pulling out a file Almya had printed out for him. He threw the pictures on the table one by one.

"You see the carnage of these victories?" He asked. She gazed at the pictures. Covenant camps burning and Covenant corpses piled into rows upon rows, waiting to be burned. Marines standing around happily with the Spartans, celebrating their victory.

"These are the victories of me and my men." He said quietly. "Do you want to see yours and your teams?"

She gulped and nodded. Nathan threw an empty folder on the table and she frowned.

"You have none, soldier. You and your team have no victory. Your assaults? Sloppy. Your strategies? Non-existent. I can't even begin to imagine why you four were chosen."

Selina slammed her fists down as well, leaving her own tiny dents in it. "At least we didn't betray the UNSC!" She shouted.

Nathan laughed. "You think our decision was that of betrayal? You think we're 'aiding an unknown, possibly hostile species'? You don't know the full extent of what my men and I have been through, do you?"

Twilight gave him a quizzical stare as he threw down the next folder, the pictures spilling out. It showed the flood, the people who had been turned, and the corpse of the Gravemind.

Selina put a hand to her face at the creatures in the picture before her. Nathan picked them back up and leaned in close to her.

"I can tell you've never seen anything like that. Let me just say what I've been through in that battle. I lost two of my men, Shelly and Issac, and I nearly lost my sanity and my life. Me and my remaining men retired. It may not have been an official way, but it was the only way a Spartan can exit the fight."

"By playing dead?" She asked angrily. "You have a duty to the UNSC! You can't just exit the war when we need all the soldiers we can get! And not just any soldiers. We need you..." She trailed off.

Nathan looked down to Twilight who sighed and quickly walked out the door. Nathan nodded to Selina and followed her.

"Twilight? Are you okay?" He asked. She looked up and sighed.

"No. How did I know they wanted you back in the war? And what in Celestia's name was that?!" She asked angrily. Nathan shifted uneasily

"Sorry, Twi... Just interrogating, that's all." He said apologetically. Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Your idea of interrogating is pretty gruesome, you know that? You shot at her!" She protested.

Nathan shook his head. "I didn't shoot at her, I shot next to her. There's a big difference." Twilight got an angry look on her face.

"Sometimes, I don't even know who you are! I just-"

She suddenly backed away and clutched her stomach, moaning in pain. Nathan hastily grabbed her hoof and looked her over.

"Twilight? What's wrong?" He asked nervously. She gave him a cringed look and tried to force a smile.

"I-it's fine. It's just the baby." She said waving him away. Nathan shook his head.

"No it's not. Come on. Let's get you back to your office."

Almya turned her head quickly as Nathan burst in with Twilight in his arms. She stood quickly and walked over.

"Is everything alright?" She asked. Nathan put Twilight on the couch and lowered the machine onto her stomach. He turned to Almya and frowned.

"Start a scan. I want to see what's going on."

Almya nodded and activated the device. An image popped on the screen of the still growing fetus. Almya studied it carefully. "Hmm. It's heart rate has elevated, and it seems to be... shifting. What could cause this?"

"Could it be caused by stress?" Nathan asked quickly. Almya shrugged.

"Unknown. But it could be a safe bet. Twilight?" Almya said turning to the unicorn. Twilight looked at her with pained eyes. "I need you to take deep, relaxed breaths, alright?"

Twilight nodded and began to breath in large, rhythmic breaths. Almya looked back at the screen and smiled.

"Alright, things seem to be going back to normal. Twilight, I think it would be a good idea if you took a few days off." Almya said. She put a holographic hand on her shoulders and smiled. "Doctors orders."

Twilight nodded. She didn't need to argue with that. She had been wanting to take some time off anyway for other reasons. She nodded to her AI. "Alright. If the Doctor ordered it."

Twilight shakily stood, Nathan helping her the entire time. Almya smiled at the two and stood. "You two should go back home. Get some rest. You had quite the day and I think it'd do you both some good."

Nathan nodded and ran a hand through Twilight's mane. "Let's go home, sweetheart. I'll make you a nice dinner. Sound good?"

She smiled. "Sounds good." She said happily. They left the office and shut off the lights. "Goodnight, Almya!" They called out in unison. She smiled and laid on the table, twiddling her thumbs.

"Ah, what it's like to be in love." She sang, shutting down for the night.