I slowed down as I made my way towards the lightbridge. For such an advanced civilization, the Forerunners neglected to add safety railings and I wasn't in the mood to fall off.
	“So...What exactly is this place?” I asked. It took a few seconds for my AI to respond. Such an occurance was rare among AIs. Jenn composed herself and made her response.
	“Well, I took in a lot of new information from the Cartographer itself. Well, first of all let me explain that the Cartographer is just the key to the lock. It's basically a giant map of all the Forerunner facilities on the planet. But here's the kicker. There's only one other than this.”
	“Only one? That's odd. Do you know it's purpose?”
	“Yes,” She replied hastily. “It seems to be some form of advanced medical facility constructed for an 'Ur-Didact'. I don't know who exactly that is but I would imagine he would have been quite important to warrant his own medical site.”
	“Great, the Covenant will think he's a god of some sort and that's it some sort of divination machine.” I sighed. “Do you have any idea of it's capabilities?”
	“Unfortunately, no. Looks like I'll be in for a surprise just like you,” she added with a bit of play.
	I wasn't really feeling it. Having my heart broken just a few minutes before and another engagement in another few meant I wasn't exactly in high spirits. I didn't know what to say, so I put the suppressor on my DMR's quick-detach flashhider. I couldn't help but think of what had happened earlier. Her declaration of love to me, and my acceptance of that fact. It was all so new to me.
	“Your heart rate's rising. Are you ok?” inquired Jenn.
	“I'm fine.” was all I could manage to say. I decided to bring my focus to the mission, and activated my active camouflage as I stepped off the lightbridge. I turned the bridge off and searched for a good position. I found a nice corner and went prone, activating my grippod as I laid down. About a minute later, a group of red blips appeared on my radar, near the door to the chasm. I took a deep breath as the massive door opened.
	Out came three Zealots, weapons drawn. That was standard fare for investigating Forerunner sites and relics. What I saw next surprised me. Behind them were six brutes in with their shaggy fur. Not only were Brutes uninvolved in such  matters of high religion, they had a fierce rivalry with the Elites. There had been a few instances during the war where we had found bodies of Brutes and Elites that had seemingly killed each other out of spite. I focused my aim on  the tallest Brute. Unlike the others, his fur was more grayish in color, and he wielded a Gravity Hammer. No doubt he was a Chieftain. He sniffed the air and looked around the room carefully. It seemed he found nothing to pique his interest, and he spoke up.
	“It seems as though we are the first to enter here in a very long time, Shipmaster. The lightbridge hasn't been activated and I don't smell any humans.” growled the Brute. The Elites seemed on edge, and despite the news, they remained alert. I suspected the tension came from the presence of the Brutes. The Elite at the head of the formation turned his head halfway, and then turned to meet the gaze of the Brute. His Energy Sword still remained activated. I shifted my aim to him, and aimed the scope's reticle on his head.
	“You are right Cassius. But I still feel something wrong. As if we are not alone.”
	Another Zealot with a plasma rifle turned towards him. “I feel it too, brother.”
	The Brute seemed confident, almost triumphant. The whole scene was unsettling. “Relax, Shipmaster. We have been blessed by those who came before us to discover the Cartographer and it's secrets first. Not the humans. With the discovery of this site, and that of the Sacred Ring, the Path to the Great Journey awaits!”
	Sacred Ring? What the hell was that? I thought.
	The Elite with the Energy Sword paused for a few moments. “There is something that troubles me as well, Cassius. Why are you here? It is not the Jiralhanae's place to search for holy relics. That matter of pride is for the Shangheili. Why have the Prophets assigned you to this mission, instead of more of my own men?” he said. I could see the grip tighten on his Energy Sword.
	Cassius stared at him for a moment and started laughing. “Concerned with honor now, Shipmaster? Yes, it was a shame what happened to you early in the war. But I will tell you why the ordered me on this mission, Shipmaster. To ensure the Jiralhanae pave the way for the Great Journey, and the elimination of you and your pathetic race!”
	In an instant, the Brute leader raised his Gravity Hammer over his head, and his comrades drew their weapons on the Elites. “No!” exclaimed the Shipmaster. Cassius attempted to strike down the Shipmaster, however the Elite proved to be incredibly agile. The Brute growled in frustration as the Elite crouched and then jumped out of the way of the gravity well with amazing speed. One of the other Elites was not as fortunate as one of the other Brutes shot him with two Maulers, one in each hand. While too far away to instantly kill him, the sheer force of the projectiles propelled him over the ledge. His screams could barely be heard of the sounds of the melee. I took aim at his killer and put a round in between his dome. He dropped to the floor with a satisfying thud as I shifted my aim to another of the Brutes. An Elite armed with a Plasma Rifle beat me to the kill however. It peppered the ape-like creature with a line of plasma fire that started from the stomach and ended at it's head. Amazingly, the Brute stood still for a second before it leaned backwards and fell flat on it's back, dead. The Elite spat on it's body, but had not disengaged. Another Brute with a spiker had snuck up behind him and hit the Elite with the blades on his weapon. This drained the Elite of his shields, and the Brute kicked him to the ground. The brute squeezed off a few spikes into the base of the Elite's head, and he stopped struggling as violet blood started oozing out of his skull. Letting him take care of the Elite, I snapped my aim to the exposed neck of the Brute and squeezed the trigger. A 7.62 bullet pierced his throat, and he dropped to the floor with his hands on his neck. As he made a strange gurgling sound, I put a round on his dome, knocking off the armor plate, following off with another round in his cranium in quick succession. He had a short spasm, firing off a few rounds from his Spiker in my direction.
	“Shit!” I tried to roll out of the way of fire but I was too late. Two had struck my armor, disabling my active camouflage. As I materialized, I could see my presence being recognized by my enemies. The remaining Covenant paused in surprise for just a split second, and stared at me. The Shipmaster took advantage of the moment and stabbed another Brute. The remaining Brutes were confused on who to engage. I aimed center mass at one who began to raise his weapon at me and fired a three rounds.. He fell to his knees, and I put a round through the front of his head as he fell forward. I shifted my aim to the Shipmaster but what I saw next was truly incredible.
	The last brute seemed to be protecting Cassius with his life. He was firing with his Spiker but mostly missing the Elite. The Shipmaster sprinted towards him, ducked, and jumped up above him. With one quick arc, he cut the Brute's head clean off his body. He then used the Brute's shoulders as a stepping stone for a lunge towards Cassius. The Shipmaster extended his Energy Sword back away from him as far as he could, and then thrust it forward for all of his might. The Brute was fast, but not fast enough. He deflected the Energy Sword with the shaft of his Gravity Hammer, preventing the sword from stabbing him in the chest. However, this caused the blade to angle towards his arm, and it was sliced clean off. Cassius howled in pain at the loss of his appendage. I fired twice at his direction, hitting skin but not seeming to cause any critical damage. The Shipmaster went diving for cover behind the control console and Cassius ran towards the entrance, leaving little spots of purple blood behind him. In an instant, I had lost my sight of him, and I cursed having missed my opportunity.
	I saw a flash of golden movement in my peripheral vision. I looked to my left and saw the lone Elite charging towards me with his Energy Sword. I raised my weapon slightly to engage him, expending the rest of the magazine to draw down his shields. I heard a click, and transitioned to my sidearm. He moved with blinding speed, and he was almost on top of me. I raised my pistol but he jumped out of my line of fire, using the wall next to me to pivot towards me. The last thing I saw was the look of rage in his eyes.

. . .

	I knew I wasn't dead from the sharp pain in my head. I groaned as my head touched the ground. Somehow my helmet had been taken off. Was I in a hospital? I gingerly opened my eyes and realized my situation was much worse.
	It was nighttime. Somehow, I was in a forest. And across from me was the Shipmaster. I instinctively went for my pistol but found my hands and feet were energy cuffs. I saw the Shipmaster make a slight motion for his Energy Sword hilt, but retract as he realized of my pacification.
	“You son of a bitch!” I cried out. “I'll fucking gut you for this I swear to-”
	“Save your energy for the fight ahead, Demon. We will both need it.” He replied evenly.
	“What the fuck are you talking about, split-jaw? I'd rather die than help your fucking Covenant.”
	“Then it is good for you that the Prophets have deemed my species unworthy of the Path, or so it seems.”
	I couldn't believe what he was suggesting. “You must be smoking some crazy shit to think I would work with an Elite, let alone a Zealot. You've probably killed thousands of people just to get to your rank you piece of shit!”
	“Listen!” he replied angrily as his hand wrapped into a fist. “I have no time or interest to argue with you. We need each other's assistance or the treacherous Jiralhanae will have our heads! Don't you realize that if I had wanted you dead, I would have killed you at the Cartographer?”
	Shit, I thought. I had completely forgotten about the Cartographer.
	“What about the it. Did you destroy it?”
	“Yes Demon, I blew it up with your detonator. But now we must leave, or the Jiralhanae will pick up on our scent...Can I trust you not to kill me?”
	I couldn't believe what was happening. I sure as hell didn't trust him, but he was right. He could have killed me at the Cartographer or at any point before now. And no doubt the Covenant were now thick in the area after discovering a Forerunner relic. I would need all the help I could get.
	I took a deep breath. “Alright...you have my word. Now would you mind unshackling me?”
	“As you wish.” was all he said. As he did so, he kept his hand on the hilt the entire time. He was incredibly tense. I got up and rubbed the back of my head with my hands.	
	“Your helmet and weapons are by the tree. I suggest you take them.”	
	“Yeah, no shit.” was my reply. I put my helmet on and holstered my pistol. I picked up my DMR and took the empty magazine out of it, replacing it with a new one. I racked the bolt, causing a satisfying metallic sound that caught his eye.
	“I don't plan on letting go of my weapon anytime soon,” I said.
	“As do I. Something else, Demon. I'm sure you've killed many thousands of my kind as well. I think that makes us...even.” He turned his gaze ahead of him and started walking. I took up the rear.