[b]Try not to be rude folks. If you are going to criticize, I would prefer it be constructive criticism rather than inappropriate remarks made under the pretense that you dislike it because you just dislike it; at that point, you are not helping me improve my creative thought process. This is my own creation and it was created due to me deciding that I wanted a more interesting story for Halo; that is just my opinion. Personally, I feel as if 343 put all the wrong types of "drama" in these new Halo games and failed as story tellers'. I am a fan of drama, but I feel like an audience would be more interested in the drama foreshadowed in this piece. This piece is my own take on a "Halo 4 and beyond" story. Note that I have literally killed off some of the characters' in my story because I do not want them in my own story. [u]Also, if you are not a fan of reading, this post may not be suitable for you (i.e. do not post "tdlr".)[/u] This story is just part of my own version of a story for Halo 5. Note that I have also created a story for Halo 4 that leads up to this one. I hope you all find it quite interesting. Thank you.[/b] In pursuit, Fireteam Osiris fall right into Kelly’s trap. Linda, on over-watch with her SRS99D, puts an armor-piercing round through Vale's head; Fireteam Osiris yells her name but Vale lays motionless on the floor. Osiris get's to cover and is forced to split up, only to be flanked by Kelly and her SMG's (whom they cannot see due to her training in stealth). Tanaka slides behind a corner searching for Linda's location, suddenly confronted by Kelly who quickly surprises her from the shadows. The two get into an altercation but Kelly's years of experience in hand-to-hand combat throw Tanaka on the ground and have her executed by SMG fire to the head. Buck is too far but fires his shotgun at Kelly who disappears into the shadows again. He tries to pursue as he screams Tanaka's name but Fred intercepts him with his shoulder and Buck is thrown sideways onto the floor, while his shotgun falls in between him and Fred. Locke attempts to rescue Buck but Linda fires a warning shot through the wall Locke is behind, missing Locke's head on purpose. Locke backs up and gets down as he watches Buck retaliate. Buck grabs the shotgun on the floor at the same time as Fred (sporting a shotgun as well as a battle-rifle on his back). Buck tries to remove the shotgun from Fred's hands but barely moves the Spartan II. Fred swings the shotgun up, knocking Buck backwards as he pumps one round straight into Buck's chest. Locke yells Buck's name as charges out to meet Fred, but Fred drops the shotgun and quickly disappears into the shadows as well. Just as Fred disappears, John steps out of the same shadow, iconically holding his assault rifle. All of Blue Team watch as John steps over Buck's lifeless body, puts his rifle away, and stops in front of Locke. Locke has his assault rifle trained on Johns head. "Stand down Spartan...” John warns, “…before I make you stand down." "ONI ordered me to capture you, and I am not leaving here without you; even if that means bringing back your dead body." Locke fires his weapon but John swats it out of Locke's hands before a single round hits his armor. Before Locke can even think about throwing a punch, he's up in the air clutching John's wrists; John holding him by his neck. Blue Team steps out of the shadows watching as the 7'2 foot tall Spartan, weighing half a ton in his original Mark 6 armor, throws agent Locke intro the ground in front of him, effectively breaking Locke's neck. "You really don't wanna piss me off right now...", John says as he stands tall, looking ahead; not evening checking on Locke's body. "Blue team! We need to get to the Arbiter before the UNSC makes it to Sanghelios. The UNSC and ONI have severely crippled the Arbiter's fleet. If the Infinity gets here they won't stand a chance", John explains. Fred pulls out his BR55, "So much for that truce." John turns and shows Blue Team a small hologram of the Vadam Keep. "ONI's been crippling the Sangheili military internally. Without an organized military and a capable fleet, the Arbiter's forces will be overrun in the next 12 hours." Linda points at the hologram and expands the size of the image. The close up shows a fortress scarred by craters and smoking from plasma damage. Two scarabs are defending the front and back of the keep but it continues to take banshee and seraph fire from rebel factions. "The fortress looks like it won't last long. Are you sure we should be getting involved?" Linda asks. "You've been away from the war for a while. All of you have. I know it must be confusing for you since the war seems like it began and ended quickly but alot's happened while you all were gone. These elites are our allies." John takes out the AI chip in his helmet and holds it out "If we can get them out of there, they can help us get to Cortana." John changes the image on the holopad to an image of the Sphere (shield) world he and Cortana discovered after floating in the wreckage of the Forward Unto for three years. "That's Trevelyan..." Kelly says. John puts the holopad away. "Exactly. We need to get back to that shield world before the UNSC discovers it. It has a Forerunner fleet on the ground that Dr. Halsey and the crew of the Spirit of Fire have been working on since we (he and Cortana) found you. As soon as Dr. Halsey repairs Cortana's core Cortana can upload herself into the Forerunner defense system on the planet, we can lock the doors and activate those ships. We need the Arbiter's forces to so we can get off-world as well as create a fleet of our own. The UNSC won't be able to follow us to the edge of the galaxy." "John, are you sure this is a good idea? If the flood got pushed back, it would be too great of a risk to pursue them. We can't risk another infection to spread in our Galaxy. Our only option is the Halo array and that's not an option." Fred interjects, "He's right Kelly. If what Cortana said is true before she went rampant, the cycle's going to repeat itself. We have to find out who unleashed The Flood in our galaxy so we can stop them before they do it again. We need those Forerunner ships to get there because not even the Covenant ships are capable of traveling to distant galaxies in as quickly as a week. Besides, if the UNSC thinks we've all gone AWOL, that's fine by me." These new "spartan" squads they've got can protect them." Fred punches John in the arm sarcastically as he walks over to inspect the Locke's armor systems. Kelly observes Fred, "Dr. Halsey would find these new Spartans' shameful." "Our Spartan III's back on Onyx could take these guys...", Fred scoffs. "...but their armor’s cute, I'll give 'em that." "Take their ammo if you need it but we've gotta move. The Arbiter doesn't know that the UNSC reinforcements he requested are coming to take him out", John says. "Doesn't Lord Hood know they're on our side?" Linda asks. Fred looks up, "He thinks the Arbiter betrayed us", he says. "ONI's been pulling the strings behind the scenes; they glassed part of a human colony using a stolen cruiser to get the UNSC to think that the Arbiter betrayed us", John explains. "We can't save that keep but we can save the Arbiter and his people. Let's go Blue Team! Technically, the elites attacking the Arbiter's keep are still part of the Covenant so if you missed out on the war, now’s your chance to show them why we won." Fred checks his ammo and cocks his rifle, "Awesome. Let's go meet your friend then." Fred jogs out, followed by Linda and Kelly. John looks down at Locke for a moment before stepping over the body, putting the AI chip in his helmet, equipping his MA5C and walking out. Blue Team board their pelican dropship, fitted with an M831 Warthog on the back and an M274 Mongoose stowed on the inside. Kelly gets into the cockpit with Fred while Linda checks her ammo and speaks with John about the Halo array. Blue Team takes off and heads for distant smokestacks coming from the Vadam keep.