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Captain Iverson scowled at the view monitor for what felt like the thousandth time. The men, women and.....aliens..of Reclamation went about their duties, tying this, reinforcing that. It sickened him that such valuable resources were being wasted on an "if" If the Covenant find the index, If the Covenant fired the ring. No people no matter how intelligent would willingly kill off all live in the galaxy, themselves included, just to contain some creature. Altruism was never popular, especially when you held power. But the battle for Earth that raged at that moment....that was real, not some alien myth about the afterlife. The Alias and her crew could turn the tide but no, instead here they were sitting on their asses fighting over nothing. Any chance to kill the Covenant he got, the Captain would be aboard, but this was just ridiculous. He wished command would just send the cut off transmission and recall them to Earth. With a loud sigh, he collapsed into his chair and began reviewing the base status. There were 5 forward bases and one operational base. The operations base was not 300 feet below the Alias as it burned for orbit after yet another day. The 5 forward bases were each positioned in a different environment, covering all points. Oasis was positioned in the desert, Wolf was in the plains, Poseidon was on the coast line, Shinto was in the mountains and Snowman was in the arctic region. No base was more than a days drive from the Operations base and supply lines were well maintained. A day passed. Two. The Captain was sitting in his quarters, toying with the antique revolver he had gotten some years ago as a gift from the fleet commander when the large red light signaling a message from command began flashing. He had the transceiver in his hand before the sound started.
"Commander!"
"Hello Captain. how goes Reclamation?"
"We gain more ground on the bastards everyday sir."
"Than its too bad. We're aborting operation and want both the Alias and Cleansing Fire back at Earth on the double. The Covenant are giving us hell and we need every ship available. I expect you here tomorrow Captain."
"B-but sir, it will take at least two to retrieve personnel and equipment from the surface, and-"
"We don't have two days son! Have your sorry ass here by tomorrow or so help me a court martial will be the least of your troubles!" With that, the comm went dead. The Captain was sweating now. He had two choices. One, leave the men and women in his charge behind to face death on this....ring. On the other hand, if the Covenant won and he hadn't been there to add what little he could, it would haunt him for the rest of his life and if humanity won.....the firing squad and who knew what else awaited him. He hesitated for just a moment before pressing the the intercom button.
"This is Captain Iverson. Alias has been ordered by the fleet commandant to return to Earth immediately. Without retrieving ground personnel." He could hear the shouts of outrage and gasps all the way down the corridor. But there was nothing to be done for it.
"Drop all supplies and provisions planetside. Its the least we can do." After the drop off was completed, the Alias linked with Cleansing Fire and entered slip space.
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Aboard the Heavenly Adjutant Brute chieftain Romais laughed at the fleeing ships and roared victory. Moments later however, the large holo-screen was light up with the image of Truth.
"Romais. The humans are amassing at the blue planet. They will not be given the privilege of seeing the holy lights propel we, the faithful, untoward the Great Journey. Travel to Earth and rid the universe of the heretics." Romais did not even argue for his men; the Prophet's will was law stronger than any earthly bonds. Soon, Heavenly Adjutant was tunneling through slip space towards Earth.
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Master Sergeant Jack Hayden lay prone on the top of a dune, eye pressed to the scope of his rifle. His spotter John Reed lay next to him, peering through his Pathfinder.
"Alright Jack, move up .03 and right .05 and hold for a moment." The sun was bright without his polarized drop helmet, but targeting through the helmet just felt....wrong.
"God Brutes are ugly as hell." Jack said lightly, tightening his crosshairs on a Brutes unprotected head.
"Which is why we're here", and after a moment,"Fire." The sniper rifle's crack shattered the quiet of desert. The long streaking white path of super heated and cooling oxygen stretched from the Dune over a mile away, through where the Brutes skull used to be, past another and into the sand. Loud bellows and shouts echoed up from the valley floor.
"Ah crap they're getting Choppers. We'd better get outta here fast." Jack pulled the ODST helmet on and clicked it into place before mounting the Mongoose and speeding off with John on the back platform.

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Hey, I don't like ya tone. If ya do it again, I'll stab you in the throat with a soldering iron and piss down the hole.

>>> MESSAGE RECEIVED
>>> PROCESS OWNER: XCB-10782739
REPORT: CONDUIT FAILURE
Plasma conduit 009-381 in [section] 726 [quadrant] 3 has been breached. As no [outside agent] has accessed [kappa site] in [878068942 hours, 4 minutes, 46 seconds]—[allowing for a 61360 hour, 54, minute, 2 second margin of error]—sabotage would seem unlikely. This would tend to signify that the structural failure was purely mechanical in nature; perhaps a manufacturing flaw. Request maintenance detail [at earliest opportunity].
>>>MESSAGE SENT
>>>PROCESS OWNER: 117649 [Reproachable Instigation]
>>>DESTINATION: [Section] 726 [quadrant] 3 [oversight]
Dispatch constructors to plasma conduit 009-381. Relay this to XCB-10782739: Maintenance detail dispatched
>>>COMMUNICATION TERMINATED
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A lone green eye looked over the mass of holograms at the heart of the enormous room. The Monitor sat at the center of a web spanning ten thousand miles across the vast emptiness inside the ring, monitoring every twitch, every slight movement of the strands, looking for anything amiss. His Installation was on standby, and as much as 117649 Reproachable Instigation disliked enacting Mass Sterilization protocols, if asked at this moment, he would have to say that he was looking forward to bringing his Installation's successful firing record up to 1.2 trillion simulated and two actual.

Over the two weeks since he had received the standby signal from Installation 05, 117649 Reproachable Instigation had had his Sentinels checking and rechecking every system, from the phase pulse generators to the spin modulation engines. Everything had to be perfect when the order arrived, the one word command that spelled the end of whatever Flood outbreak was occuring: Fire.

What troubled the Monitor of Installation 07 was that the command had not arrived. Standby had begun two weeks previously. Surely a Reclaimer could have traveled to Installation 00 and activated the array by now. Perhaps the Reclaimer hesitates out of a desperate hope that there is another way to contain the situation, the Monitor thought. I sympathize, of course, but short of annihilating each individual Flood cell in the galaxy, there is no other way. You must realize this, Reclaimer, and quickly, that we may successfully contain this outbreak.

117649 was snatched from his reverie by an incoming message.

>>>MESSAGE RECEIVED
>>>PROCESS OWNER: YNF-17909054
REPORT: INCOMING CONTACT, UNKNOWN CLASSIFICATION
[slip stream space] aperture detected within [10,000 kilometers] of the Installation. Duration and strength preclude natural phenomenon. This would tend to signify an incoming starship.
>>>MESSAGE RECEIVED
>>>PROCESS OWNER: XJI-6794536
REPORT: INCOMING CONTACT, STARSHIP
The incoming contact has been positively identified as starship. Judging by the strength and quality of the [slip steam space] apertures, the starship utilizes a drive scavenged from a [Forerunner] vessel. Judging from transmissions sent by the vessel, the race piloting it is estimated at Tech Level 4.
THREAT LEVEL: MINIMAL. The transmissions from the vessel indicate that the pilots view the Installation as an object of reverence.
POSSIBILITY OF CONTAINMENT BREACH: MEDIUM. If this race attempted to access restricted areas, their use of scavenged [Forerunner] technology could allow for a breach of containment.
RECOMMENDATION: Activate Sentinels. Prepare for possible outbreak.
>>>MESSAGE RECEIVED
>>>PROCESS OWNER: YNF-17909054
REPORT: INCOMING CONTACT, MIXED KNOWN/UNKNOWN CLASSIFICATION
Multiple [slip stream space] apertures detected within [10,000 kilometers] of the Installation. Duration and strength preclude natural phenomenon. This would tend to signify an incoming starship. One of the [slip stream space] apertures match those generated by the starships which arrived previously. The other [slip stream space] aperture does not match with any known drive configuration.
>>>MESSAGE RECEIVED
>>>PROCESS OWNER: XJI-6794536
INCOMING CONTACT, THREAT LEVEL INCREASE
Analysis of communications from the newly arrived vessels indicate that this second group, calling themselves variously, "UNSC Forces", "Covenant Seperatists" and "Combined Taskforce" are in a state of conflict with the previously arrived group, who call themselves "The Covenant". War may break out between the two. In addition, if containment is breached, the [Flood] could spread onto one of the ships.
RECOMMENDATION: Prepare Sentinels for possible outbreak. Ready Constructors to repair battle damage.
>>>MESSAGE SENT
>>>PROCESS OWNER: 117649 [Reproachable Instigation]
>>>DESTINATION: INSTALLATION 07/ SUBSYSTEMS/ SENTINELS\CONSTRUCTORS
Prepare to enact Containment Protocols. Do not rouse the Containers or Enforcers yet.
>>>COMMUNICATION TERMINATED
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117649 let out an electronically modulated sigh. "What ever will I do with you, interlopers?"
*****
A week later, the Monitor's question was answered.

>>>MESSAGE RECEIVED
>>>PROCESS OWNER: YNF-17909054
DEPARTING CONTACTS
The fleets in orbit around the Installation, both Reclaimer and Covenant, have departed via [slip stream space] apertures. [Ground forces] from both [sides] are still present on the ring.
POSSIBILITY OF CONTAINMENT BREACH: MINIMAL. Even if one of these races were to release the Flood, the outbreak would be limited to this Installation until a Compound Mind were formed. Seeing as Reclaimers are present on the ring, any breach of containment could be dealt with quickly and efficiently by activating the array.
>>>COMMUNICATION TERMINATED
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117649 Reproachable Instigation bobbed happily. He hummed a little tune, then floated out of the Control Room, satisfied that the situation could be controlled, and that any violation of Containment Protocol could be dealt with easily and elegantly.

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http://roleplayerguild.com/f26/bound...ruitment-5739/

ZJB-10985764 looked at the Forerunner machinery as it continued to do what it had done for centuries, and would do for yet more centuries, then turned around, seeing the group of five regular Sentinels stationed behind him, and the vast expanses of arctic. His duty was currently to monitor the ring's environment systems and make sure that they did not terminate, or worse, malfunction. ZJB-10985764 then hovered towards the main control room of this ring, where it 'knew' that the Monitor of this Installation also was. His duty was temporarily fullfilled, seeing as of how every sub-environmental control machine were in perfect shape and working at one hundred percent.

ZJB-10985764 reached the main control room, then monotonously recited "All environmental systems working at one hundred percent. Sub-environmental systems checked and running at one hundred percent. All environmental systems at one hundred percent efficiency. Possible minor scratches on sub-environmental machine ARC-01934. Location of ARC-01934: Arctic Zone.". It, unlike the Monitors, could not actually think beyond a set limit of parameters, which was why Forerunners had made it so that on each Installation, there was a Monitor which the Sentinels on the Installation obeyed without fault.

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"You know what? This is serriously weirding me out." The voice that came from the black helmet was made harsh and metalic by the voice filters, but still female.

"What?" A reply came from another dressed in identical black armor, but male, as the two stood on top of a grassy hill, surveying the wooded landscape around them.

Ahead, the jagged cliffs of mountains that nothing geological had created rose to snow-capped crescendos. Looking up at them threatened to induce vertigo; as the ringworld's other half glistened 'up' in the sky.

"This whole damned mess, is what." The pair put their boots into motion, winding down through the trees in a slow, cautious patrol.

"A month ago, these slimy bastards were shooting at us. I cant be the only one that remembers that. And now we're trusting them at our backs? Just like that? Because they had a glorified bad day at work?"

Her companion shrugged and pulled a leafy frond from a seam in his carbine. It was a Covenant weapon; all smooth curves and irridescant metal. "Eh. We're stuck here until - if - the Alias picks us up...Might as well make the best of it, right?"

She shakes her head, "And 'the best of it' is letting -them- play ambushers while -we- play bait? I dont like being the bait, Sanders. The bait gets eaten. ... Plus that nav tech on the Alias owes me fifty bucks. If he doesnt survive, how the hell am I going to get my money?"

A playful knock upside the helmet from the taller ODST, "-I'll- give you fifty bucks if you shut up for the rest of the trip. Besides, Keris. You should be proud. The Covies hate us so much they come gunning for our armor almost as much as a Spartan's. We make the perfect bait."

A heavy sigh, "I have a bad feeling about this."

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Click the little hatchling to help him grow! (Opens a new window, no worries!)

Spark Assost 5.045 it at the gates of the containment facility, it saw some kind of shadows along the wall. He followed closley, he got up to a point it saw 10 flood in front of it, 2 armed with huminoid battle rifle wepons, 8 others unarmed. he destroyed 1 armed flood with it's modded sniper rifle and destroyed the other with it's blade, 4 flood jumped on it's head. It threw down two and lasered the two others, unfortunatly only 1 was killed and the other was hevily injured.As the fight rages on it destroys the injured one with the sniper rifle and runs as the 4 floods folow it closeley and sebd a volley of fire to him.

It sends a distress signal
>> Spark Asosst 5.045 require help being persured by 4 flood, 2 armed and in process of firing. Send help A.S.A.P. Any patrolling sentinels in the area assist A.S.A.P sending quardonates.
>> preparing to send quardanates...
>>sending quardanites...
>>quardinates sent
>>detecting critical level of flood activity...
>>sending level report to monitor...
>>data sent

It was running down when it was shot 5 times in the circitry
>>circitry damadged
>>minimal damadge, no system alterations
>>sending information to monitor....
>>information failed to be sent
>>comm damadge detected
>>radar damadge detected
>>systems commencing reboot
>>reboot failed
>>atempting to send damadge report...
>>failed
>>power at %80
>>power at %50
>>power at %20
>>wepons systems shut down to pervent further power loss
>>radar systems shut down, forward visors only scence of vision
>>comms shut down
>>memory banks saving memory
>>memory saved
>>power at %40

With this distress The AI went into full atention to escape. Slowly the speed increases. after aproxamtly 20 minutes of running it has lost the flood.the Systems are now atomatacly equaly distrabuting attention to all running systems.
>> warning, 1 minute system reboot initiated.
>>please stand by

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im your avreadge evry day drunk guy, lol just kidding, im your unavreadge evryday very drunk guy .

The Mongoose spit sand in all directions as it flew across the barren dunes and valleys of Halo's desert. Sand and dirt bounced harmlessly off his thick drop helmet as Jack pushed the Mongoose for all it had.
"Hey Jack, we've got a problem." Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that four Brutes riding Choppers were in pursuit and gaining fast. John chuckled as he reached down and freed the JackHammer rocket launcher strapped to the Mongoose.
"Remember jackass, aim the port away from my head." John gave no sign that he had heard as he tracked the incoming Brutes with the launcher. When they were within 70 yards, he waited for the sound of the boost thrusters on the Chopper before firing. Unable to turn, the rocket slammed into the Chopper and hurled debris and shrapnel about. John laughed; one Brute was holding its arm and a fair deal of blood was pooling out. The next rocket narrowly missed its target and impacted in the sand, un exploded. A Brute pulled up beside the Mongoose and pulled a Spiker from an unseen holster, but before it could fire John had slammed the bulk of the JackHammer into its head. The riderless Chopper reared back and slammed into another. The last Brute had gotten ahead of them and was now Barreling towards them at full speed. John brandished his Battle Rifle and tightened the crosshairs on the Brute. One burst was all they had time for. He pulled the trigger and the Brutes head rocked back. Its shield had absorbed the bullets, but the effect was the same. Jack veered the Mongoose to the right and John primed a plasma grenade and hurled it at their stunned foe. It caught just below the engine and in a flash both rider and vehicle were reduced to scrap. John released a tense sigh and sat down.
"Oasis, this is Wanderer, that patrol wont do nobody any harm now." The usually happy voice on the other end was bleak and flat now.
"There's a much bigger problem at hand."
"What, did Iverson finally get the stick up his ass removed?"
"No, but he left and took both the Alias and the Fire with him. We're stranded." Jack froze. No way would Iverson just leave them; he was a prick but he wasn't heartless. When he told the operator as much, she played the Captain's message to the crew. John was outraged.
"That son of a bitch! I knew he'd leave us eventually! If I see his face again, I'll fuckin tear it off and eat it!"
"Listen, just get back to Oasis. Operations called and asked for each forward to send a few men back to figure out what we should do. We can't spare anyone else so it looks like its you and John. It looks bad but they won't just forget about us and we still have the cruiser." But without any inhabited world within four hundred lightyears and no Shaw Fukijawa engines, they would just be damning themselves to a slow death in space. After another 20 minutes of bland desert, a large pool of water came into view with a large circular dome building and the hulking Elephant transport next to it. He dismounted the Mongoose and left for the building, not bothering to wait for John. There had better be a good fucking explanation for this.

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Hey, I don't like ya tone. If ya do it again, I'll stab you in the throat with a soldering iron and piss down the hole.

Keris may have known about the Alias's departure a few minutes ahead of most others. Why? She was her unit's communication's specialist. She monitored, intercepted, and decoded all sorts of transmissions and signals with her slightly oversized pack with its bouncing black antennae. If she happened to monitor her own sides encrypted communiques? ... Well, call it staying on the ball.

It didnt change that she was pissed about it. Livid, actualy, her fingers tapping a staccato rythm on her battlerifle with the urge to kill something. Prefferably something dressed in Navy captain whites.

But the chance doesnt come.

<Sigma, homeplate. Come in Sigma.> The transmission was scratchy with encryption, but her unit had the codes and instantly translated the message from Shinto.

"Go, homeplate. This is Sigma."

<How goes the hunting?>

"Not a damned thing moving but me and Sanders. No sign of our covvie allies, either. I think they're taking a nap."

<Lucky for you, then. Command wants some folks back here ASAP. You got the short straw.>

"....Are you shitting me? You remember what happened last time I had to talk to the upper eschelons? My knife -still- smells like potato peels."

<Not my call, get it done Sigma. Look at the brightside, we're probably all screwed anyway. You can probably afford to mouth off.>

Grumbling obsceities as she signs off, Sanders shrugs and chuckles, shooing her away as he turns to continue on the patrol.

Flipping him the bird, too, just to make herself feel better, Keris shoulders the battlerifle and heads off at a trot to their basecamp; a little clearing in the center of the rocks that held their extra ammunition and a pair of mongooses.

It doesnt take long for the nimble little fourwheeler to bounce through the forest and hills, arriving at a walled encampment crawling with Marines, Navy, and Covenant. She barrels through the gate and doesnt bother to slow down for a waddling grunt, getting a sadistic kick out of how it squeals and moves its stubby little legs to dive out of the mongoose's way.

Another group of them yammer at the ODST in their high-pitched voices, but she just waves cheerfuly and pulls around a corner to park near the command post.

Pulling off her black helmet to reveal short blonde hair and glacier-blue eyes, she rubs the black ink of a winged snake tattooed around her neck. The volunteers of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers were all quirky, if not insane, individuals. Forgive a lance-corporal her odd method of asking for luck.

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Click the little hatchling to help him grow! (Opens a new window, no worries!)

((Nice signature Dust, I'm glad to see I'm not the only Rammstein fan here. ))

Arant looked across the frozen wasteland pass. Two mountains had formed next to each other with only this small space in between, and the Covenant was coming through to supply their units on the other side. 'D-Pass' as the marines here called it, from all the dead already here.

"Arant, man, how long we gotta wait here with these marines?" Arant's friend, Hubert, asked. They were Orbital Shock Drop Troops, straight from the Alias. They didn't like this arctic region, but they had to stay here until they were given new orders or reinforcements arrived."How the 'ell should I know?" Arant replied, his eyes staring out the way the Covenant was expected to come from under his purple-hue'd helmet.

"Get ready!" someone called from down the line, and everyone else ducked down behind outcrops and in caves, waiting for the perfect time to ambush the oncoming army.

"C'mon..." Arant muttered, waiting with his battle rifle shouldered. The first Chopper appeared from around the corner, flanked by two ghosts and another Chopper behind it, with two more ghosts. He put his sights on the Brue driving the Chopper in the lead. "Now!" he shouted, and the valley exploded into chaos.

He pulled the trigger, but the Chopper jerked to the left, causing his three round burst to hit the Brute's stomach and chest. It roared in rage and was blown into several pieces by a rocket launcher, one of several shooting. He watched a marine get stuck by a grenade, exploding in a shower of blood, smoldering flesh, and guts. Screams echoed across the arctic region, the white snow turning red.

A few minutes later, it was him, Hubert, and two others fighting on both fronts; the ambush had been ambushed. The sounds of Hubert's assault rifle mismatched with his battle rifle. "Reloading!" he shouted, flipping the bullpup clip out and sticking a new one in, pointing and aiming a grunt's head. He pulled the trigger and it blew the methane tank off it's back, causing it to run around screaming, slowly suffocating.

He heard a scream and turned, seeing a grenade sticking out of the ground in between the four. He quickly grabbed it and ripped it out of the snowy ground, chunking it back at the horde in front of him. The grenade exploded over their heads, causing debri and flame to devour four Brutes. He turned -

- and saw Hubert get smacked in the head by a gravity hammer. Hubert's limp corpse flew backwards, headless. Cursing, he let out a spray of bullets at the armored chieftan. The Brute swung at him, but he dived backwards and came up, reloading and letting out more fire. Eventually the shield faded and he ran close enough so the thing couldn't hit him with the end. He smacked it in the face three times and shot pointblank into its neck, kicking it in the stomach as he backed up. It fell to the ground on its knees, letting out a continuous roar. He shot it in the face with two bursts and slung his battle rifle on his back in the same swift movement.

He picked up the gravity hammer, looking around at was going on. One of the other marines had died, his head melting away from the plasma, while the other was running uphill. He was getting shot at, he realised, and followed after the other guy. The man was screaming as he threw his gun on the ground, and in return was shot in the back by a jackal sniper. Cursing, he dived into a nearby cave, the hammer in his hands causing his knuckles to turn white. He turned his night vision on and looked around, walking back two steps. He fell down a hole feet first.

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Jack stood in Oasis, staring down the techs and non-combat personnel as he strode to the command chambers. The doors opened slowly and he glared at Major Esters for a tense moment before saluting.
"Hello Master Sergeant. Please, take a seat." He collapsed more than sat in one of the rough portable chairs.
" The Alias and the Fire left for a more...urgent...assignment, but we were reassured that we would be-"

"Don't bullshit me Mike. If I wanted optimism and pointless ideas I would've asked command. Whats the situation?" The Major was silent for a moment, but after letting out a long sigh he began talking.

"We have enough supplies and provisions to last us a year, considering nothing happens to it. We have the munitions for the next five months. After that....I don't know. Halo has a multitude of environments, but no edible organics that we know of, but we haven't exactly looked into that yet. Listen, Ops is calling in the NCOs and some men from each forward. Since Sanchez died and Roberts is still healing up, that leaves you and John."

"Alright. I need a couple of hours..."

"Sorry Jack, but they want you now."

"Typical."

"Take the Eagle. Good luck Jack and for what its worth, I'm sorry." Jack put his helmet back on and stalked out. Well, at least he would get to fly the Eagle. He climbed into the VTOL and John pulled himself into the side niche and sat down. The landscape sauntered by, and Jack marveled at it still. Desert faded into forest, which meshed into plains, rolled into coastline and eventually spiraled up into mountains. The Ops base loomed in the distance, the large metallic base surrounded by methane tents and Elite quarters. As the Eagle soared inward, a radio call broke in.
<Eagle, identify and respond over.>
"This is Wanderer and Spider, coming in on command over."
<Good to hear you Wanderer, but Snowman's got a problem. They set an ambush on the pass, but no ones checked in yet. Command wants you and Spider to get up there. If they're stranded give'm a lift, but if it hit the fan...clean up.> Jack was silent for a long while. He had transferred to Oasis from Snowman, and he still had a few friends there.
"Ok command, we'll go pull their ass outta the fire. Or snow."
<Thanks. See you boys later. Command out.> Jack popped the cockpit open and leaned out to talk to John.
"Hey John, were goin over to Snowman real quick. Jacuzzi party and we're invited."

"Too bad I forgot my speedo." Jack laughed as he closed the cockpit and angled the Eagle toward the towering peaks of Warlock.

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Hey, I don't like ya tone. If ya do it again, I'll stab you in the throat with a soldering iron and piss down the hole.

ZJB-10985764 floated out of Halo's main control room, with it's entourage of five Sentinels fanning out behind it. It's current orders were a sweep of the various points of establishments where Humans and Covenant had settled down, so as to check on their probability of breach of containment protocols, which would then necessitate immediate attention and possibly lockdown of endangered zone.

ZJB-10985764 saw the Human-Covenant establishment not far away, surrounded by what his sensor arrays told him was what the Covenant called 'methane tents' and Sangheili quarters, then ordered his five lesser Sentinels to engage their weapons systems, but keep them in standby until protocol requires them to open fire for whatever reason.

ZJB-10985764 looked towards the plains and then it saw it, a human Pelican which, on closer inspection, temporarily housed a Reclaimer, which, according to ZJB-10985764's protocol, was not to be harmed by Sentinel gunfire.

ZJB-10985764 hovered upwards, higher into the air, so as not to endanger the Pelican, while also being able to monitor this Human-Covenant establishment, it's lesser Sentinels still fanned out behind it as they hovered upwards too.

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