As the altercation between the human and the Commando came to an end, the Infiltrator finished arguing with the engineering crew and glanced over, narrowing her eyes at the General harness-wearing Sangheili before pulling up her datapad and tapping at it. After a moment, she paused, seeming to be reading it before stowing the pad quickly and approaching him and offering a salute in Sangheili fashion. "Pardon my rudeness, Commander," she spoke, the Scottish accent returning, " I dinnae realize you were mah new commanding officer when I was trying to save the marine from his own smart mouth." Pulling out her datapad again, she tapped it rapidly before Vael's would beep at him.

"Infiltrator Comi'Masam, formerly in service with Joint Operations Unit Cerberus. The same unit that Spartan Lucas Ryker came from, presuming that this is the well-spoken of Aegis Team." While she maintained a respectful tone and stance, but it was clear she'd spent time with the humans in several mannerisms and again in her accent. "I understand part of my transfer is due to Ryker, Commander."

---

Vael simply observed through most of the altercation. His stance was that any problem between members of his team should be dealt with however they saw fit, on their own time. Indeed, he gave little restriction as to how his soldiers should behave, as long as they could perform well during their missions. The moment any of their issues started to affect a mission, however, Vael made it known that he would solve their problems himself. If necessary, he would have stepped in to remind Tar not to do anything that would prevent the Human from fulfilling his duties.

Ultimately, though, Tar decided to release the Human and go on her way. A merciful conclusion, overall; perhaps moreso than he deserved. In any case, Vael had made his own observations of the encounter, and drawn a few possible conclusions about this new team member. ”You do not carry yourself as most Humans around us, Petty Officer Flint. For most of your soldiers, we walk among one another, holding closed old wounds that beg to be opened, though we work to keep them sewn shut for the good of our futures. These wounds can bear anger and pain, or respect for some, but it is a history we have shared as enemies. I do not see that weight in your words. You are young, yes? And you do not know my people, not as enemies, and not as allies?”

With others approaching, Vael finally took the time to grab his datapad and confirm the new transfers to his team. Petty Officer Second Class Johnathan Flint, recommended for engineering expertise, and Infiltrator Comi ‘Masam, assigned by the recommendation of Spartan Ryker. The Spartan had proven himself a capable warrior during their time working cooperatively, but Comi would need to do the same, regardless of recommendations. At least her mettle would be easier to test than Flint’s. His reason for being among them were for skills that Vael was unfamiliar with, and that he did not truly know how to measure aside from seeing the results during the mission. ”The weight of words will only carry you so far. I still expect your merit to be proven in battle.”

---

Flint fell from the Sangheilis grip and hit the floor boots first, with a display of athleticism, managing not to fall over and stay on his feet. After he regained his balance he turned back to Vael standing rigid at the position of attention while he addressed him. He was right. He was never really affected by the war and the covenant like other people were. Just like Flint, his parents had grown up being a doctor and scholar on earth never seeing the covenant as the evil enemy that others do. Flint treated them no different than he would other humans, to him, they were all living beings. To be frank that didn't mean he treated them all well, quite the contrary. His only interests were in the hearts of machines, digging into the how and why each piece of technology did what it did. He found sanctuary in the knowledge and calm in the process of obtaining it. Other humans and all species for that matter carried a vast unknown and uncertainty for Flint. It was much harder for him to trust a human like he could a machine.

"Yes Sir, I am relatively young, I don't treat anyone differently than I would any other human. I suppose I am ignorant of the deep wounds others possess. I will be more careful. As for my merit, If you need something fixed, disabled, opened, sabotaged or anything else along that line, send it my way and I'll handle it without a hitch. You'll see."

He hoped he managed to do a little damage control with the commander after such a display right in front of him. But in the end Flint didn't really care either way. He knew that as soon as he got his hands on a task up his ally, the team would warm up to him. They just needed to know what he was capable of.

Comi nodded, offering a Swords salute before replying to Vael. "As is our way, Commander. I will go and prepare my gear for the mission." Giving another salute and then turns and heads for the door. Getting to know her new teammates could wait, as there was the mission to prepare for. Plus this opportunity would let her catch up with Spartan Ryker and get his take on most of the rest of the team thus far. She smiled slightly as she went, knowing that things would only become more interesting with a joint effort team that was more dedicated to the idea than Cerberus had been.

Yalu stood around near Vael's wing for a short while longer. He held his hands behind his back and sized up the newcomers to their team. The infiltrator Comi'Masam gave a unique first impression to say the least. Yalu still had to strain to understand her words. But if she came with Lucas' recommendation, she was clearly not compensating for any lack of skill.

The new engineer Flint was more of an unknown. Yalu was willing to accept the ignorance of Flint's youth, but the physicality of this human was lacking, even in comparison to the non-spartan humans on their team. At least if this one was injured, none of them would be burdened by carrying him around. Perhaps he was recommended for being adept at crawling into small spaces to perform his technical duties? In that case, he had better be more expert than a Lekgolo worm at sabotaging the defence infrastructure at their mission destination.

With Vael still getting them up to speed, Yalu felt his time wasting. He unclasped his hands and started a stride to the armoury. "I need to meditate before this mission," he said to himself, letting out a deep breath.

---

Like most of the others, Vael first prioritized heading to the armory to equip himself for the mission ahead. It would still be hours before they were set to begin, but he wanted to ensure he would be ready at a moment’s notice. He could manage the changes to his team, though his impression of the new Human was not particularly positive. Most Humans were not like the Spartans, who were strong, capable warriors even by Sangheili standards. The average Human was…variable. During his time in the war, he had seen excesses of both cowardice and courage from Human warriors. Sometimes, they would flee like Unggoy as their will was broken, and at other points, they would fight against overwhelming odds to the last breath against superior foes, and sometimes even attain victory. Only time would tell how this Human would compare.

Vael was not a normal member of the ship’s crew, but he did not attract near as much attention as the Humans undoubtedly would, aside from the fact that the crew he passed tended to quiet down from their conversations when he was near. As a high ranking officer, that was not a fact he found strange. He only heard parts of conversations between a few Unggoy on the way to the armory, but even though he heard them perfectly clearly, he found what they said to be as incomprehensible as it was irrelevant.

All of the team’s equipment had been transferred to the ship, and Vael quickly found the crate containing it after he arrived. Given the mission parameters, he did not intend to arm himself differently from his standard preference. An energy sword, plasma rifle, and his carbine would be sufficient for what they would be facing. For his armor’s equipment, active camouflage would be the most useful for the first objective of dealing with the anti-air cannon. After that, they would be returning to the ship, so there would be a chance for the team to adjust their loadouts for the assault.

Vael was surprised when the hologram of the Human AI, Shih, appeared at the end of a table near to him, at the center of the room. Evidently, it had been given approval to interface with at least some part of the ship. Vael was not sure that he approved, but it was not his decision.

”I believe there is something I should inform you and your team about.” Shih announced to Vael as soon as she appeared.

Vael turned his head back and spoke calmly. ”Very well. You may speak, construct.”

”Right…if you bring your attention to those crates over there, there is some new equipment that has been approved for Aegis team’s use. It took a lot of…debate, but there are weapons and equipment recovered from Prometheans that both UNSC personnel, and your people, can you. I may have to do some work to interface the armor abilities with your harness, but I have been told it can be done. The modules are adaptable.” Shih explained.

The concession to allow Vael and his team to use the Promethean equipment could have been seen as an offering of trust, through Vael doubted ONI would be so kind. Likely, it was a decision driven by circumstance and practicality. Jul ‘Mdama’s forces were still working with Prometheans after the campaign on Requiem, so it seemed likely that the Swords of Sanghelios would be able to recover Forerunner equipment just as easily. Sharing it with Aegis team now simply allowed them to seem more cooperative.

Opening up the crates, Vael did find a variety of options available. Promethean enhanced visual sensors, hardlight shields, and autosentries were all available, as well as a small variety of Promethean weapons. There were multiple boltshots, suppressors, and grenades, two lightrifles, as well as a single scattershot, binary rifle, and incineration cannon. They were all powerful weapons, but ammo availability would be a limitation. If one chose to use one of the weapons, they would only have a single spare reload.

There was no time to waste for any of the crew aboard the Magnificent Defiance. So normal activity quickly resumed once Tar had removed herself from the situation, with dozens of orderlies and droids transporting cargo to be stowed in the various holds.

Unfortunately, Tar was intent on striding right through their operating space as she brooded on the task at hand and the unexpected help she was receiving. Some of it welcome, some of it not. Suddenly, a platform containing tightly bound crates whooshed down the ramp of a Pelican to be collected by one of the automated hangar grabbers.

It appeared on one side of Tar’s peripheral vision and she quickly turned to face it. She seized the platform in mid-swing and transferred the energy through her stance, tipped it over and away from her. The servos whined as the platform attempted to right itself, but Tar offered no apology. She carried on through to the armoury, deep in thought.

There weren’t many alternatives to murdering Uztel, if she got her hands on him. If by some miracle she could convince the Keep to recognise her as rightful successor while he still lived, she could banish him from Brissekh. But there was always the chance he could plot her death from afar. That wouldn’t do at all!

Tar stalked into the armoury with potential plans and speeches circulating in her head. Her blades will have been packed up and sent to her quarters along with her other effects. She’d need to go and get those before deployment. An armourer on the ship she’d travelled with Silent Shadow on had developed a special mount for both handles on the small of her back, which meant she could carry more weapons and gear in the field.

Tar made the most of it, clipping four Spike Grenades to her belly. After pondering it for a little while, she followed up by stowing a Carbine and a Storm Rifle on her back and a Mauler on each thigh. She stared longingly at some of the ammo vests on display, but none would fit around her torso and armour. She also watched some of the other UNSC troops attaching front holsters to their chests. The Humans had inferior armour, but their ingenuity and resourcefulness was still impressive.

Her attention was diverted by Aegis team’s leader talking to one of the machines. Some interesting objects caught her eye in the crate they were examining. She walked over. “Forerunner weapons?” She asked. She didn’t know much about them.

Mention of the Forerunner weapons made Yalu crack an eye open. From where he sat, now properly armoured on a bench trying to put his mind at peace, he could just see into the crate. How the ancient weapons shone in his vision.

Yalu stood up and removed the enclosing helmet of his red assault harness to approach. Behind him were his selection of weapons: plasma grenades, concussion rifle, and a replacement needle rifle taken in lieu of his previous plasma carbine. One of them might not come with him this time.

"So fine and elegant these artifacts are," he said. "Had I laid eyes on such things before the betrayal, having used the Prophets' imitations for so long, I might have noticed their arrogance sooner." He reached carefully for the scattershot. It reassembled in his grip to form its true shape. He curled his mandibles in quiet delight. "Shih, tell me more about this one, if you please."

From one side of the armory, where Ryker was going over his DMR and making sure the pieces of gear that were shipped to ship ahead of him were still in good order. At the same time, he was talking with Comi'Masam about the team and it's members. Or at least the ones who'd been put back on the team. A quick review of their roster revealed that one SPARTAN-III and the Mgalekgolo both weren't recalled to Aegis, but that was a risk that came with a joint team. As he finished running a cleaning swab down the barrel when he overheard the conversation between Shih and Commander Vael. Finishing the barrel swab, he quickly replaces the parts and approaches, spotting the crate and the goodies inside as he approached.

"Had a couple of buddies who served on Requiem, newer SPARTAN-IVs. They had limited chance to use the weaponry, but one of them got real good with with that Hard Light Shield module. Read the intel reports on the Promethean vision, so I'll be snagging one of those if no one has complaints."



Securing her SRS99 on her harness as well as her pistol and specially designed energy sword on her thighs respectively before joining the others at the crate and glancing in. A smile crossed her face as she picked up one of the modules. "Hardlight Shield, excellent for pushing up corridors and providing mobile, if temporary, cover in an open battlefield. Definitely my preferred module when an op goes south." Appraising the weapons, she shakes her head. "I don't much care for the Forerunner weaponry, lacks the power of a good plasma rifle or human assault rifle."

---

Right when requested, Shih’s avatar appeared next to Yalu as he observed the alien weapon in his hands. ”This weapon has been officially designated as the Z-180 Close Combat Rifle/Asymmetric Engagement Mitigator. Common vernacular identifies it as the ‘Scattershot’. It is a close-to-medium range weapon which fulfills a similar combat role to the UNSC’s M45 Tactical Shotgun. Based on our testing, it appears to fire a spread of hard light projectiles created from energy cells loaded through a breach-loading mechanism. It has a capacity of five energy cells and, like many Forerunner weapons, is capable of completely disintegrating the bodies of living beings, most likely for the purpose of denying them as assets to the Flood. The individual projectiles can ricochet off of hard surfaces and possess limited tracking capabilities. A single shot at close range can defeat any known armor system.” She explained. The weapon was not loaded at the moment, but there were a total of ten cells available, and she had instructions available for anyone who chose to take Forerunner equipment.

For a moment, Yalu was lost in the mystery of the scattershot's design and mechanics, turning it in his hands and looking down its sights. He almost forgot it was a weapon. Shih's explanation gave him the details he needed to know, but he hoped to learn more about this technology later.

"Thank you, construct," Yalu nodded to the avatar before taking up the ten shots he would be limited to during the mission. He somehow expected them to be heavier.

Some of the others were not so convinced. Yalu gave a grunt. "Suit yourselves. This weapon shall suit many roles. Especially at our destination. I may count on those shields you found to make better use of it, too." He held the scattershot aside and perused the rest of the crate. The autosentry caught his eye. He picked one of the modules out and went back to the bench to read through its operation.

The concussion rifle would be left in the armoury for this mission. The keep no doubt had a few to use in the field should he need to find one.

---

With the speed of Covenant slipspace borers, it took only a few hours for their ship to reach their destination. Although, they dropped out of slipspace at the far edge of the solar system to link up with the rest of the fleet to make sure they remained out of sensor range. The rest of the Swords of Sanghelios fleet was modest in size, consisting of ships ranging in size from the small, nimble Man O’ War, up to the CCS-class Battlecruisers that had once made up the backbone of the Covenant navy. From that, only a part of the fleet would be moving in to create the diversion, while the rest would stay back in reserve as reinforcements.

If all went to plan, the Magnificent Defiance would be landing, undetected, in a remote location directly on the planet’s surface. A pair of phantoms would take them about halfway to the keep from there, but they could not approach completely by air if they wanted to avoid detection. They would have four Type-46 Spectre vehicles to bring them the rest of the way in a reasonable time.

Vael was among the first in the hangar from Aegis team. He stood waiting beneath one of the phantoms, watching as the spectres were being attached underneath. Since the Forerunner equipment was available, Vael had decided to replace his plasma rifle with a boltshot pistol. If all went to plan, they would not see much combat in the first part of the mission, so the limited ammunition would be less of a concern, while the additional power and ability to disintegrate corpses would be more useful. Once they disabled the anti-air cannon, they would be returning to the ship, so there would be an opportunity to change his loadout before the main assault.

After some consideration, Tar didn’t take any of the Forerunner toys. This didn’t feel like the right mission to be experimenting with body-vaporising armaments; any traitors deserved the point of her sword. She equipped an active camo battery but declined the other possible armour addons. Soldiers in her Keep fought hard but slow, weighed down by heavy, traditional armour. It was one of the things she had failed to modernise before she left. She needed to be light and quick on her feet to survive, as she wouldn’t be able to match their strength.

Tar headed to the staging hangar with others from Aegis Team. She walked slowly, calmly, with head bowed. She recognised the need to control her emotions, but didn’t understand all these last-minute additions. Not only was an ‘exploitation specialist’ now on the roster, whatever that was, but she also noticed a female Infiltrator tagging along too. They hadn’t spoken yet, and she wasn’t sure there would be time now. Tar growled, and shook her head slightly. No matter - there was a job to do. She’d do it alone if she had to. She patted her gear again, to make sure everything was exactly as she liked it. Excellent. The only thing left now was to get started. She looked at Commander 'Virisusai expectantly.

Ultimately, nothing about Lucas's loadout for the sabotage of the anti-air weaponry, though he did integrate a Promethean Vision module with his helmet. According to Shih, he wouldn't be able to run both his active camouflage and the vision at the same time due to power limitations, but that wasn't a problem he was concerned with. As he approached the hangar where the team was gathering to get ready to board, he racked a round into the chamber on his DMR and then stood quietly, humming to himself as he waited to get the mission started.



Infiltrator Comi likewise was waiting in the area with the phantoms, though she had arrived after Commando Tar'Mdalak. The mission, now that she had access to the briefing information she'd missed while the rest of Aegis Team was planet side, she could understand her response to Flint earlier, though for him, the Human-Covenant War was mostly just stories, if she understood things correctly. Her weapons had remained unchanged and her armor ability was still only the active camo module, as she saw no need for a hardlight shield during the first half of the mission. Stealth would prove more valuable.

---

For Aegis team, they simply needed to board the phantoms to be ready for the mission, though for them to even make it to the ground to begin with relied upon the skill and planning of the ship’s crew, and the rest of the fleet. After about another half hour, the rest of the fleet made their advance under the cover of stealth. They approached the planet from the opposite side of the planet from where most of the Covenant ships were positioned, which made it easier to avoid detection on approach. However, as planned, the fleet intentionally strayed close to the “hidden” listening post to allow the Covenant to detect their presence. Immediately, the Covenant fleet went into alert and deployed to intercept the Swords fleet.

This was the signal for the Magnificent Defiance. Once the defending fleet was out of position, it advanced at its best speed under the cover of its stealth systems to make it into the atmosphere while there was a gap in the Covenant’s sensor coverage. From inside their phantom in the ship’s hanger, Aegis team could not see what was happening outside, but Vael was given constant updates on the progress of the mission. Their Blockade Runner made a bee line straight for the planet’s surface while walking a very fine line with the speed they maintained. While the ship’s shields could certainly handle the heat of re-entry on any habitable world, the ship’s crew had to be careful not to generate atmospheric disturbances strong enough to be detected, while still getting to the surface as quickly as they possibly could. The skirmish in orbit would not last too long before the Swords fleet made their retreat.

Ultimately, the ship did make it to ground safely, though only time would tell if they had truly remained undetected. It had landed on the same continent as ‘Mdalak keep, at least, but to ensure they were not spotted, their landing zone was extremely far from civilization, in an unsettled region. Considering the difficult terrain, it would have taken days to reach their objective by land. Fortunately, the phantoms could bring them close enough to cut that down to a few hours.

The particular phantoms the team was using were equipped with active camouflage, so they kept up a good pace once they left the ship. Still, it was a cautious pace just to ensure they did not show up on any sensors. Overall, Aegis team spent about an hour in the back of their phantom before they finally arrived at their drop zone.

The pair of phantoms maneuvered into a valley between multiple, towering mountains with peaks obscured almost entirely by fog. They located a grassy area in the forest just large enough to drop their specters, then did the same for the team itself through the grav lift.

Vael’s feet sank partially into the mud as soon as they hit the ground. It was raining rather heavily, which, along with the fog, made visibility quite poor. Even with how deep in the wilderness they were, Vael still had his carbine at the ready as he left the phantom, and still went through the trouble of clearing the area before holstering it.

After offloading the team, both phantoms immediately set off back towards the Magnificent Defiance. Given that they could not afford detection, they would not be risking staying on station for rapid support. If they were detected, Aegis team would be on their own until their ship could deploy a full rescue team. If they could realistically reach them at all, of course. As long as the keep still had its air defenses available, their Blockade Runner could not come too close.

The phantoms engaged their active camouflage as they lifted off, and while it still provided protection against sensors, the rainfall meant that Vael could clearly see their silhouettes from a much farther distance than usual. He hoped the storm would not persist at their destination, but if it did, they would need to be ready to adapt.

”Mount up. The mission relies on us now.” Vael ordered.

For the most part, Comi and Lucas kept to themselves on their Phantom, speaking quietly and punctuated by the occasional laugh or chuckle from one of the two. When game time came, they were ready to go.



As his boots hit the soft earth of the planet's surface, the SPARTAN-IV was already putting his DMR to his shoulder and moving to secure the perimeter before anything else was done. However, he had to admit that the weather conditions would make this trip just a little trickier than they'd likely anticipated. Of course, as he cleared his quadrant and found nothing, he did smile as he recalled the days with his old Black Ops squad, using weather like this to hide both their approach and their exfiltration. This might not be so bad after all, all things considered.

Hopping into the back seat of one of the spectres, DMR still in hand. "Well, on the upside, you can't ask for better weather to mask an approach from the low ground."



Comi had landed alongside Ryker when she dropped from the Phantom, but moved in an opposite direction. She had her sniper rifle stored on her back and her plasma pistol up and at the ready, though her sword remained on her hip as she moved to the edge of the clearing and secured it. Following that and doing as she was ordered, she sat in the spectre separate from Spartan Ryker, storing the pistol and drawing her sniper rifle. "I am in agreement, Commander. Any guards on patrol will not see us through the rain and fog."

Tar sat quietly through the phantom ride, listening to every rattle and hum of the hull as if it was talking to her. Her mind slowly calmed, uncoupling from the galaxy outside Brissekh to focus solely on the mission.

They all knew what they were doing, they’d seen the maps and force strength reports. Now all that was left was to walk those paths and eliminate anything that got in their way. Tar was loyal to Brissekh, but like any other Sangheili warrior, wouldn’t hesitate to kill her clanmates if they refused to stand aside.

She checked her loadout one more time, then stared into space again. Time passed, until suddenly it was time to go. Tar got up and stepped into the grav lift without hesitation.

The rain whipped about her as she levitated down to the ground, bringing the smell of wet vegetation with it. This instantly brought back memories from Tar’s childhood, foraging and hunting in woods like these. She scanned around as she flew, taking in the edge of the forest and the mountains in the background. It was good to be home; she could’ve warbled with delight had it not risked attracting attention.

Tar’s feet sank into the mud with a satisfying squelch. Thankfully as her armour had been crafted on Brissekh, her shoes came with small retractable studs to keep her steady on this kind of unstable ground. The Commando raised her carbine and fanned out, securing the perimeter as rain hammered the clearing and trickled into the cracks of her breastplate.

Once Vael gave the order to mount up, Tar moved quickly to the lead Spectre, stowed her carbine and hopped into the driver’s seat. The front hull closed in around her legs, leaving just her head and upper body exposed. She activated the vehicle, and it floated into a ready position. “The fog could get worse. Stay close.” Tar grunted, checking her instruments. She wasn’t as familiar with driving Spectres as she was with Phantoms and Banshees, but most of the principles were similar.

The descent to the planet could only accommodate so much meditation. Yalu found himself ruminating too much to glean any more benefit to his mind and body. He opted to bring himself back to the present around him and joined in conversation with his team mates. He grew quiet when they were near the ground.

The grav lift hatch opened to blast them with cool humidity. Yalu almost spat at how thick the air was. This place, the plant life and the atmosphere, it could be as potentially disorienting to the team as it would their enemy. The notion of the keep guards' home ground advantage sank in as deep as his toes into the mud.

Maybe bringing along 'Mdalak would be more a benefit than he had estimated.

"Mounting up," Yalu obeyed, hoisting himself up and dropping into the cockpit of the next Spectre vehicle. He deposited his needle rifle in a suspension holster beside the controls and powered up the sleek grav craft like a swift morning routine. It hummed to life and raised a foot above the mud.

"Do not get too comfortable," Yalu warned. "They might have your Promethean optics too. Do your best to spot them first."

---

Vael took the driver’s seat of one of the spectres himself. It was going to be a long drive, so he wanted to be sure that each one was taken by an experienced driver. He did not want any delays in getting to their objective ,if they could be avoided. Although, he did still decide to defer to Tar to lead their convoy. Being a local, she had more intimate knowledge of the environment and terrain, especially surrounding the keep. He believed it would be wise to take advantage of her experience.

”Check your maps. Our objective is located on a plateau in the mountains near the keep. Once we come close enough, we will proceed on foot up the mountain. We will establish the communications jammer for the Human construct to use to cut off the cannon’s guards from the keep. Should we be detected, we must ensure there are no survivors to report our presence.” Vael explained as he prompted Tar to take the lead.

---

Although they had to move through a forest, the spectres were maneuverable enough that the team started out making good time. Once they came to a small river they could follow, they were even able to press on at full boost for over ten minutes straight. Naturally, the closer they came, the more cautious they would need to be.

However, before the cannon’s defenders could even begin to be a problem, there was another obstacle manifesting around them. The rainstorm surrounding them did not subside. Far from it, the storm grew ever stronger as time passed. Heavy rain turned into a torrential downpour, deafening thunder followed cracks of lightning every few seconds, and winds picked up to the point that the rain was falling near horizontally. The storm was strong enough that the spectres started to tilt in the wind. Vael had to turn his vehicle into the wind at an angle just to keep going straight, which only added to the issue of poor visibility. Vael could just barely make out the glow of the gravity propulsion drive of the spectre ahead of him. For those on the turrets, and especially the side passengers, it would be a struggle just to hang on.