//------------------------------// // Fates Collided // Story: Return of the Guardian // by Requiem17 //------------------------------//         Gentle vibrations traveled up Ale’s legs before his body mass began dissipating the waves. Harsh lighting filled his vision before he mentally commanded his HUD to polarize further. He shifted slightly and a dull clang filled his hearing. He looked down and saw the steel grating of the floor. Looking back up he turned his head left and right, checking his surroundings. He was in a small room with a single bed, sink, shower, and desk filling the space. There was a large storage locker and a huge titanium safe located on the wall as well. The room, quite standard in all UNSC ships, still seemed… unfamiliar to Ale; and yet he knew this was his room. The screen on his tac pad on the desk displayed his personal user settings as well as his name, rank, and insignia.         The environment confused Ale, the super soldier attempting to remember how he got here. A sense of belonging flooded through him and he relaxed. What was he thinking? Of course he was supposed to be here. He vaguely remembered recent battles with the Remnants of the Covenant. He didn’t give them much thought as a strange sense of carelessness washed over him if he tried to remember the battles in detail. Shrugging he made to step forward before a rush of hot air blew through him. He recoiled in further confusion. His armor’s environment controls read no changes and reported full system operation. The heat smoldered into his core and he felt a blanket of warmth cover him, comforting his troubled thoughts. Ale shook off the mental confusion and blamed it on his aging body.         He stepped towards the safe and instinctively input the code. The side light on the lock beeped and turned green while the door swung open with a soft hiss. The back wall of the safe had particularly shaped cubbies, Ale realizing they were storage compartments for his individual armor pieces. Deciding to leave his armor on he closed the safe and checked the locker, finding it to be storage for his weapons that he was currently equipped with. There also was a cleanly pressed dress uniform and a few other odd trinkets located in a side compartment set aside for such objects. He closed the locker and stood in the center of the room; a little lost as to what he should do. Shrugging he sat at his desk and began cleaning his weapons.                                 ----------------------------------------------------------         *FWOOSH… BOOM!!!*         “Damn it! They got a noob tube!”         “Shut your trap Brenden and lay some suppressing fire!”         “Yes sir Sergeant James sir!”         *RATATATATATATATAT… RATATATATA…*         “Where the hell is Sean at!?”         *BANG*         “Rocket down!”         “... Never mind, I found him.”         “Move up, double time!”         Twelve dark shapes darted out from cover and began sprinting through the black smoke that filled the air. They ran towards an old mining outpost, the rusty complex providing the Insurrectionists the perfect real estate in the surrounding area. The troops were breathing heavy as they stormed through the main gate, instinctively taking cover behind scattered equipment and low walls in the small courtyard. Not a moment too soon as a LAAG opened up from a shrouded window located high up on the cliffside. “Fucking predictable.” “Stow it Sean!” “The feck’ did I do? Brenden said it!” “And you would instigate it!” The chain gun continued to rain lead heavily around the courtyard, spraying across the cover the ODSTs were hiding behind. Whenever one of the highly trained soldiers popped up from hiding the chain gun would sweep back in their direction, forcing the ODST back into the dirt. “Call in the calvary!” “Shut up James! She’s working on it! You just focus on not getting killed!” “Aha! You do want me around!” “I’m going to kill you!” “Love you too Chuck!” “You two are going to be on latrine duty for the rest of the campaign if you don’t shut your pie hole and fire on that HMG!” “Yes sir Chronos sir!” The heavy gun was steaming visibly, the gunner neglecting to give the overheating weapon a break. A slight shimmer appeared behind the gunner before falling completely. The intimidating Spartan was never seen as she raised her magnum and placed it on the back of the gunners head. The rebel froze, the machine gun whirring down as he released the triggers. “Lights out, asshole.” The weapon reported loudly while a bright flash briefly flickered into existence. The gunner slumped to the ground as the Spartan put her weapon away. She stepped up to the window and vaulted out, falling two stories. She landed with a loud thud, her legs folding into a crouch to dissipate her momentum. She stood up and strolled towards the assembling ODSTs with a visible swagger. “All clear,” she reported as she joined the group, her smirk practically oozing through her golden visor. “Remind me never to get on her bad side.” “You better not Alex, her backside is mine.” “You couldn’t handle her Rico.” “And how would you know?” “Call it, a woman's intuition.” Rico stared at her before replying in Spanish. Chuck burst into laughter, the only other member in the squad who could understand the Hispanic’s native language. “What did he say!?” Chuck just continued laughing, provoking Lilly further. “I’ll beat that ghastly taco language out of you if you don’t tell me chump!” Chuck’s laughter dried up. “What did you call me?” he asked in dead seriousness. Lilly smiled, knowing full well that she had hit a nerve. “What? Got a problem with me calling you chump, chump?" “Why you-” “Chuck, Lilly, can it. We don’t have time for your squabbles.” The two ODSTs quieted down as the imposing form of their Captain approached them. “Now, if you’re quite finished we need to finish clearing out the compound. Erika, did you search the building on your way to the gunner?” “Uh… well, not really.” “... Ha! She messed up! You owe me 20 credits!” Brenden said, gesturing for Lilly to cough up her debt. The Private First Class pulled out her knife and began sharpening it along her shoulder pauldron. “You’re not getting out of this one.” Lilly then scratched her armor with the knife, producing a terrible squealing before she finished her stroke, her knife held in front of her as she tilted her head inquisitively. “... Eh, maybe some other time then.” A few of the group chuckled before straightening up, a certain eyebrow lift from a woman with her hands placed on her hips evoked respect from her troops. She shook her head before giving out orders. “Ryan, Erika, clear out the docks. Watch the cliff edge though, there could be mines. Eton, go with Brenden towards the motorpool. The rest of you, rally on me. We’ll clear out the main building. Move out!” The soldiers began splitting up and headed towards their respective objectives. The black armored Spartan IV looked at her assigned companion and sighed. “Of course I’m stuck with the rookie.” A voice called over the radio, “What was that?” “Nothing sir!” “That’s what I thought. Besides, he could use the experience from a veteran like you.” The comm clicked dead before she could reply. She looked towards the oblivious Private who was eyeing the docks. She sighed again before pushing past the Private. “Listen up kid! You stick on my ass like flies on stink and maybe you’ll live through this.” “I was wondering what that smell was.” Erika smiled before turning towards Ryan. “I’ll give you that one rookie, but if you do it again I’ll break your nose.”         The rookie mumbled, continuing the short trek towards the docks with the Spartan. They arrived within two minutes, the tall Spartan halting. “Movement, watch your sectors.”         The Spartan held her SAW out in front of her and swept side to side, checking the corners of scattered crates rapidly. There were storage sheds to their right, a cliff on their left, and a massive warehouse in front of them.         *Static* “Find anything yet?”         “No sir. We’re moving towards the warehouse.”         “Keep me posted.”         Ryan checked his SMG before following the Spartan into the building. The room was incredibly gloomy, shafts of light cutting through the dust filled air from ventilation windows located near the ceiling. Both Erika and Ryan were unbothered from the dust as their suits were sealed and provided them with filtered air. This was not the case for someone else as a distant cough echoed throughout the room. Both soldiers froze, their weapons pointed to one of the catwalks up high.         “Cover me,” Erika said over the comm.         “Yes ma’am.”         The Spartan began moving slowly in a combat crouch through the room towards the steel staircase leading up to the catwalks above, keeping watch for any ambushes along the way. She stopped when she heard a faint sound coming through the floor beneath her. She listened to the sound as it slowly increased in intensity. Ryan stopped looking up at the catwalk and listened intently. His eyes suddenly widened as the noise increased drastically.         “MOVE!” The Private began running towards the confused Spartan. Erika was about to command him to stay when the crate next to her suddenly exploded outwards. Her form was brightly lit up in white light as 3.28 tons slammed into her. She crashed through the windshield and crushed the driver, causing the Warthog to accelerate rapidly. Ryan watched in horror as the ‘Hog’ smashed through the weakened wall of the warehouse and become airborne off the edge of the cliff, taking the Spartan with it as well.         *Static* “Private! What the hell is going on!?”         Ryan was about to respond before weapons fire began pouring over his location. Ryan instinctively leaped towards a nearby crate and crouched behind it, firing blindly around the corner. “Ryan!? Answer me!” “It’s an ambush! They took Erika off the cliff with a goddamn Hog!” “Fuck! We’re coming to you! Hang on!” Ryan’s SMG clicked, signalling that the magazine had run empty. Swift as lightning, he dropped the spared mag and swapped it for a fresh one. Breathing deeply, he popped out of cover and sprayed the top of the crates the rebels were hiding behind. He quickly dropped behind cover as they in turn returned fire. The clattering of boots on steel echoed above him and his stomach dropped. He quickly began shooting up at the darkened maze of catwalks. He smiled when he heard screaming and turned his attention back towards the crates. ------------------------------------------------ “Movement!” The squad dropped onto their knees and fired down the path, dropping the rebels that were moving into a flanking position on the warehouse. “Let’s go people! We don’t need another fatality today!” The squad hustled to their feet and began sprinting towards the crumbling building, heading straight towards the flashes emanating from the open doorway. They stacked up on the either side of the door. “Ryan, what’s your status?” *Heavy breathing* “Running low on ammo! I can’t see where they’re coming from!” “Corporal, sitrep!” Corporal Eton peeked around the doorway and activated his VISR. “Unknown number of hostiles, filing in from a hidden entrance on the floor and the catwalks above.” He waited a second before continuing. “Damn it. Ryan is right in the middle of it. He’s taken cover behind a crate.” “Move in on my mark. 3…” The clicks of magazines being secured and armor checked filled the air quietly. “... 2…” The ODSTs slowed their breathing and positioned their weapons at the ready. “... 1… Go, go, go!” The soldiers filed in quickly through the opening, firing their weapons to cover their entrance. They moved from crates to other pieces of debris, covering each other with suppressing fire as they moved closer to the Private. “Reaching objective in 5…” The Squad slammed into the crate, halting their momentum. “Rico, check him!” the Captain ordered. Corporal Rico dropped back into cover before crouch walking over to Ryan. “Have you been shot?” “No. I think I had a heart attack though.” “Well, nothing I can do about that. If you need a band-aid I have plenty of those.” Ryan stared at Rico for a few seconds before shaking his head. “N-no thanks. I’ll just suck it up.” Rico patted him on the shoulder. “Good man!” He turned and headed back towards his post. “Good as new Captain!” “Excellent! Now let’s give our new friends a warm helljumper welcome shall we?” “Oo-rah!” The sound of gunfire echoed louder trifold as the squad all began firing at once. The screams of the rebels signalled their success as they cut down the enemy with the utmost efficiency. It didn’t take long for the highly trained squad to eliminate their enemies, only spurts of gunfire signalling the execution of a few stragglers. The squad relaxed and began checking themselves for injury or damage to their equipment. The Captain walked up to the hole in the ground and turned on her tactical lamp. The hole had a large sloped ramp leading into an underground weapons cache. She shook her head in disgust before turning towards her squad. “Chronos, I want that hole filled 2 minutes ago!” “Yes sir!” The soldier ran over to the hole and disappeared into the depths. The Captain turned towards her troops. “Anyone hurt?” “No sir!” She approached the rookie and crouched next to his sitting form. “What happened?” she asked gently, the squad quieting down as they witnessed a rare event. The Private refused to look her in the eye as he responded, “We heard something up above. Erika went to investigate while I covered her approach. There was sound coming from beneath us. Next thing I know those fucking bastards took her off the cliff.” The rookie finally looked up into her visor. “I-I tried to warn her. I’m sorry Captain. I accept full responsibility for losing a key asset to the team.” Her smile was hidden behind her helmet as she shook her head. “It’s not your fault Private. You did what you could and you did it excellently. Things happen in war that we cannot control. I selected you for this squad for a reason Private and I’m not about to have High Command questioning my decision because of a faulty soldier. Get up before Erika comes back from the grave and kicks your ass for feeling sorry.” The rookie gave a muffled chuckle before taking the Captain’s outstretched hand and lifting himself up. She patted him on the back and let the squad surround him and give their support briefly. She turned towards James, “Sergeant, radio in Fleet. Objective complete. One casualty. Lieutenant Erika Steiner.” James glumly nodded before attempting to reach Fleet. The Captain turned around in time to see Staff Sergeant Chronos jogging out of the hole. “Explosives set Captain.” “Good work. Alright Shadow, time to ditch this place. We got places to be!” “Oo-rah!” The squad began to move before a brief flash of light from the rafters caught their attention. A loud bang resonated throughout the room, one of the soldiers falling to the ground with a clatter. “Sniper!” “Get to cover!” The soldiers hid behind cover, attempting to hide every part of their body. “Who was hit!?” the Captain demanded. “Rico!” “Rico can you hear me!?” The form on the ground didn’t respond and was silently still. “Fuck! Sean, where’s he at!?” “The rafters, 11 o’ clock!” “Can you take him?” “You bet your mother’s arse you can. Sally’s on the job.” Before anybody could move gunfire erupted from all around them. “Move!” The squad sprinted as quick as they could, moving to a nearby control room on the ground level. “They’re flanking all around us sir!” “Well start firing and show them we mean business!” Every trooper popped out of cover quickly, fired, and ducked back into safety. They would shuffle slightly to either side of the position they had just fired from to attempt avoiding the sniper. It was at this point that Private Daniel noticed movement from Rico. “Captain! It’s Rico!” The Captain pulled out a fiber optic camera from her wrist mounted tac pad and fed the end around the corner of the building. She could see the numerous flashes from the rebel soldiers coming from all directions. She zoomed in on the form of Rico and smirked. She watched as he slowly moved his hand towards his satchel, a brief glimpse of purple causing her to smile wider. “Covering fire!” the Captain yelled, the troopers acting upon her command instantly and without question. They all popped out of cover and fired from the crumbling control room. Rico rolled onto his back and yelled at the top of his lungs. “Say hello to my little friend!” The tell tale sound of a Needler rang out over the explosive resonance of ballistic weaponry. The deadly shards of pink doom sought out their target, hiding high up in the rafters. A scream followed by an explosion with red rain signaled the end of the sniper. “The Covenant are here?!” “We gotta get outta here! Retreat!” “You’re not in command! The Covenant are not here! Keep firing on the damned UNSC!” Rico took the rebels momentary distraction and hauled himself to his feet. He sprinted towards the control, cussing obscenities in Spanish as bullets peppered after his wake. He didn’t take the time to run around the side and through the door, deciding to instead launch himself through one of the few unbroken windows closest to him. The Captain retracted the camera and grabbed Rico’s armor, hauling him towards her behind cover. “You damn fool! Why didn’t you respond to us!?” “Well if somebody,” he turned towards Sean, “hadn’t been so preoccupied making out with their weapon the sniper would have been taken care of.” He tucked his plundered Needler away. “But no, I gotta take a round in the back and almost cough up my cajones.” “I’ll make sure Sean is doing his job properly next time,” the Captain humored Rico. “Can you fight?” “Yes sir!” The Captain nodded and released Rico, allowing him to begin firing his own weapon. The Captain checked her rifle before standing and firing alongside her team. These were her kids, and she was responsible for them. You don’t get assigned to Shadow, Shadow picks you. The team continued fighting for almost 10 minutes non-stop before trouble reared its big ugly head once again. “I’m running low on ammo!” “We all are Alex! Only shoot at what you can see!” The squad slowly came to the realization that they may not make it out of this alive. The grim soldiers continued to fight, burning through their ammo reserves. *Click, click, click* The Captain tossed her rifle down and raised her sidearm, popping off headshots as quickly as she could. The brick wall next to her suddenly exploded, showering her armored form debris. She quickly rolled away from the hole and continued to fire. A few seconds later the rebels ceased firing. “Why’d they stop?” “Shhh!” The Captain slowed her breathing and opened her senses to her surroundings. She noticed that there was a subtle vibration in the floor. It was slowly becoming more prominent, the rest of the team suddenly noticing it as well. “I would know that sound from anywhere,” Ryan reported as noise began echoing off the rocks outside of the warehouse. The Captain nodded in agreement. “Tank.” The team instantly began preparing any grenades or explosives they had available on them. “The Innies aren’t firing because they believe that a tank will stop us.” *BOOM* A shrill echoing noise screamed through the air before one of the walls in their cover exploded. “Everyone, cover Chronos and James! Give them your explosives. Chronos, now would be a good time to detonate the hole!” “Yes sir!” The 66 year old Staff Sergeant pulled out a detonator and, on the Captains command, detonated the C-4 in the tunnel. The fiery column shot into the air, burning a few Innies hiding in the rafters. Their burning bodies ran along the catwalks, a few falling over the safety rails. The Scorpion turned its attention to the explosion, giving the team it’s window. “And I thought I was the rookie.” “Covering fire!” Shadow Squad stood and fired on the Insurrectionists with the dredges of their ammo. Chronos and James ran out of cover and sprinted for the tank with all their might, the Staff Sergeant outpacing his younger comrade. Thier run was interrupted when  the turret of the tank turned towards them and opened fire, forcing them to jump into a ditch. The round slammed into the ground nearby, tossing gravel over the soldiers. “Shit! We are so fucked!” “Captain! We are no go copy?” “... Is there anything you can do?” “Negative! We’re pinned down!” “Stay put! I’ll see what I can do!” The Captain looked at her team, most of them firing their sidearms as they didn’t have any other ammunition. A few members of the team looked at her and nodded, knowing full well that they weren’t throwing in the rag yet. “It’s been an honor Captain.” “Oo-rah!” the team chorused. The Captain smiled and shook her head. “What are we!?” “Helljumpers!” “Where do we come from!?” “The Shadows!” “See you in Hell!” “Feet first!” The ODSTs were hopped up on adrenaline and ignored the projectiles impacting near their bodies. They roared mightily and fired as their very lives depended on it. Everything slowed down, the battle frozen in time; explosions and bullets became visible for a split second. The Captain had a strange sense of deja vu, a distant warmth sparking slightly within her. Her eyes widened as memories came rushing past. The warmth was very tentative, almost non existent. ‘Ale?’  Time sped back up into real time as static burst through the radio. “I don’t believe it! Captain! It’s the Lieutenant!” The Captain shook her head, cursing her bodies misgivings. She couldn’t be distracted by her false desires. She placed her hand on the side of her helmet. “What do you mean!?” “It’s Erika! She’s- oh shit!” The Captain didn’t receive a response as Chronos and James witnessed the Spartan running at the Scorpion like a bull. The driver saw her coming out of the corner of her eye and attempted to turn the turret towards her. The tank was too slow as the Spartan simply jumped and landed on the tank with a loud clang, slightly denting the metal beneath her. She stood directly over the cabin of the tank and stared through the orange glass at the driver. “Enjoy the view, it’s the last thing you’ll ever see!” With each leg firmly planted on either side of the cabin she punched through the glass and grabbed the rebel by his shirt collar. With one swift pull she yanked him out of the tank and threw him clear over the cliffs edge, the rebel screaming the whole way down. It was a long, long drop. The Spartan climbed into the cabin and turned the turret back towards the warehouse. She steered the tank forward and began mercilessly firing into the rebel groups. The squad got up and spread out, intent on cleaning up anything she missed. The tank soon fell silent as it’s scanners didn’t show anymore hostiles. The squad rallied up on the tank and watched as Erika pulled herself out. The Captain approached her and smiled. “It’s good to see you.” Erika did not respond, prompting the Captain to frown. “Lieutenant?” The super soldier fell over into a crumpled heap, the Captain getting the full view of her status. Her armor was heavily dented and it looked like one of her legs was bent slightly. Rico was immediately over her, plugging a tacpad into a port in her armor. “Captain! She’s going into shock! Her body sustained heavy injuries! She has a collapsed lung, internal bleeding, one fractured femur, and a broken tibia and fibula! Her armor is severely warped by her broken leg!” The Captain turned towards Sergeant James. “Get Fleet Comm now! We need medvac!” “Sir, yes sir!” The Captain crouched next to Erika and looked at Rico. “Is there anything you can do?” “Morphine. I can give her morphine. Other than that, she’s out of my hands. You need a tech squad to get her armor off!” “Do what you can.” The Captain looked towards Erika and grabbed her hand. “You will make it through this you hear me!? Answer me soldier!” Erika turned her head slightly, looking at her Captain. “I-I’ll be back r-right? They’ll patch m-me up and send me back out, right?” The Captain nodded, squeezing her hand harder. “D-don’t go back out there w-without me.” The Captain turned towards her onlooking team. “Daniel, Brenden! Carry her out, carefully!” The two ODSTs nodded before gently grabbing either side of her. They picked her up and shuffled out the door, Rico attaching a syringe box to a medical port to Erika’s armor. “You’ll be okay Erika,” Brenden said. “After all, we still have to prank the Captain, eh?” Erika gave a weak chuckle before coughing. “Set her down here!” They did just that and stood by incase they were needed again. The rest of the squad set up a defensive perimeter around them. They had technically just cleared out the area but this was a war zone. “This shouldn’t have happened.” “You’re damn right Eton. Just be proud that you took out a rebels weapon cache. You saved lives today.” “Yeah, I still don’t feel like I did.” The Captain silently agreed, turning towards the sound of a Pelican dropship. --------------------------------------------- A low beeping emanated from the tacpad on Ale’s desk, causing him to wake up abruptly. He clambered out of bed, his armor clicking and the bed groaning from his weight. The gel layer in his suit was much more comfortable than the UNSC issued mattresses. He approached his desk and read the new message waiting for him. ‘Spartan 02-05, Report to meeting room 7 for briefing.                                 Commander Typhoon, UNSC’ Ale acknowledged the message and turned his tacpad off. He slipped his helmet on and walked out of his room, the door sliding shut behind him. He walked down the hall like he had done it hundreds of times, heading down several decks until he reached the middle of the ship. He stopped at a door marked ‘Briefing Room 7’ and opened it. Ale saw a large squad of ODSTs and a ship officer in the room. The officer was sitting in one of the chairs by the long table while the rest of the ODSTs stood or leaned against the wall. One of the ODSTs was bend over the table and in the officer's face, and by the sounds of it disagreed with something. Ale stopped, the door closing behind him. The two were still arguing and didn’t pay any attention to him, it was the stares of over a dozen ODSTs that made him wary. They weren’t hostile persay but they did ooze judgement. Whatever was going on, Ale didn’t like it. “For the last time, Captain, there are no other Spartans aboard and High Comm wants your team equipped with one.” The officer stood up, prompting the Captain to stand up straight as well. “I don’t care what they say! I handpick my team! You got that? I am not going to have an un-,” the Captain froze when she looked over and saw Ale. “Ah, Chief Petty Officer. This is Captain Luna of Shadow Squad. She’ll be your new CO. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have other duties to attend.” Ale stepped out of his way and let him through. Ale turned his attention back to the Captain. She was… interesting to say the least. She had a strange dye of blue in her hair and her eyes were a striking cyan. Must have been some sort of mutation. She was also staring at him with an intensity that made Ale very uncomfortable. The rest of her team was staring at the Captain, looking a little unsettled as well. Ale stepped forward and saluted. “Spartan 02-05 reporting for duty ma’am!” The ODSTs quickly jerked their heads toward Ale, some of them smiling. After a few seconds their smiles turned into confused frowns as they looked towards their Captain again. “Uh, Captain? You alright?” Luna blinked and closed her mouth with a click. She kept her eyes on Ale but turned her head slightly towards her team. “I’m just fine Sean.” She turned full on to Ale and nodded, allowing him to drop his hand. “Well, welcome to Fireteam Shadow, Shadow Squad, The Creeping Black, whatever you want to call it. We have been called many things.” She twirled her finger in the air and began moving towards the door, the ODSTs placing their helmets on and following after her. She motioned for Ale to stick beside her as she continued down the hall. “You will refer to me as sir, not ma’am. One thing you need to know is that in this squad, rank does not matter. You could be a Private for all we care. We are in this together and I expect results. High Comm thinks that you will be the perfect replacement for our last Spartan.” She stopped and stared through Ales visor, her height terrifyingly similar to his. “I will be the judge of that. You read?” “Yes sir.” “Excellent. She opened a door nearby and her troops filed past. “Welcome to your new home.” Ale peered through the doorway, his sight greeted by a small hangar. Checkerboarded drop pods consisted of most of the space. Along one wall there were weapon racks and storage containers. There were several heavy steel doors aligning one wall, Ale spotting two bunks in one open door. He turned and looked at the Captain. “I already hav-,” “Someone will grab your possessions. If you’re going to be a part of my team you will eat, sleep, and live with my team. Is that a problem?” Ale eyed the Captain carefully, sizing up just what he was getting into. Her eyes stared into his, Ale noticing a careful guard hiding what she really was. He nodded before replying, “Yes sir.” He stepped through the doorway and prepared for the long road ahead of him. The door slid shut, hiding Ale from Luna’s view. She nodded towards a passing Marine and walked quickly down the hall. She reached a bathroom and stepped inside. After checking the stalls to make sure they were empty she approached the sink and turned on the faucet. She splashed cold water on her face and began shivering violently. “Calm down Luna. Get a hold of yourself. It’s not him. It can’t be. It’s just a Spartan who just so happens to share his armor design, colors, insignia, service number … voice…” Luna slumped against the wall and began crying quietly, tears that were a long time coming. She stifled her sobs and beat her fists on the wall. Painful memories flashed through her mind, causing her further grief. She missed her home; she missed him. Sniffeling loudly she stood back up and straightened her hair. She adjusted her armor and wiped her eyes. Staring into the mirror she nodded before exiting the bathroom. She headed towards the nearest secluded tacpad she could think of. Which just so happened to be the now empty room of her most recent recruit. She had a mystery to solve.