I had filled in the squad of the recent developments during the hike. The march to the Falcons was, aside from a few scares, relatively uneventful. The VTOLs were nestled in a small grassy clearing, and I could barely make out some mountains in the back. In another life, it would have made for a beautiful photo. We split the squad into two groups of 5 for each Falcon. It would be cramped, but it would suffice. Myself, Kor, and the three ODSTs would ride in one chopper, while the Marines would ride in the other. The relief was almost palpable when the Marines were told they wouldn't be riding with the Elite. I was just about to climb aboard my bird when Barnes pulled me aside.	
	“Hey, Jake, ya got a minute?”
	“Sure, what is it?” I replied.
	He motioned me to follow him out of earshot of the rest, so I obliged.	
	“I gotta be honest slick, I've been with you 100% of the time before this. But not now. Gonna be frank, I don't trust your new friend. And I know I'm not the only person in the squad that feels this way.” I had gotten to know Barnes pretty well at this point but I had never seen this confrontational side of him before.
	“Alright, first of all, he's not my friend. I don't like him any more than you do, but I do owe him my life and we could use the extra pair of hands. And second, I don't trust him either, but I watched his squad be betrayed and murdered by a bunch of Brutes. On orders of the Prophets. So I don't think he's a Covenant spy. In fact, I don't think he's Covenant at all anymore. And he had a thousand chances to kill me or hand me over to the Covenant, but I'm still here. Either this is some ridiculously complicated attempt to kill me or find this Venerable Instrument, or he's here to help us.”
	Barnes was silent for a few moments, then shook his head. “I still don't trust the fucker.” he said, and walked off towards the Falcon. I gave him his space and took my place at the mounted gun.
	Our Falcon was armed with two MG460 Automatic Grenade Launchers, which were often referred to “Agiles” in slang. Belt fed and select-fire, the destruction of the single-shot M319 was increased ten-fold in an incredible force-multiplyer. It was decided that myself and Kor would man the AGLs, as we were the most exposed with the best shielding and armor. As well as this, Kor would be unable to try anything from within the interior, as he'd have 3 ODSTs blast him into submission if he did. I got in and inspected the AGL. Satisfied with it being loaded and chambered, I kept it on “Safe” and leaned back into the provided seat. I fastened the seat-belt as my legs dangled over the side of the craft. I kicked my feet back and forth a bit like a child, not really caring if anyone saw it. I enjoyed the feeling and that was all that mattered. Barnes gave the Pilot the a-OK for takeoff, and the engines roared to life. The whine of the helicopter blades became louder and higher pitched as the jet engines provided a whoosh that would have been deafening if not for my armor.
	“Pilot?” I asked.
	“Yeah?” responded a woman with an English accent.
	“When will we get there?”
	“The valley you specified is about 3 hours from here if we move at top speed. We might have to slow down for stealth, but we should get there in about 4 in case that happens.”
	I thanked the pilot and realized I had some time to kill. A lot of time really. I took my helmet off and took the time to process the past eighteen hours. It had been my first time being able to do so. I thought about Jenn of course. I thought about what the future held for us, assuming there even was a future to begin with. I wonder if she'd be able to leave the UNSC, or if I'd have to stay on assignments with her. Assuming we make it through this, I'd like to transition to civilian life, although I would rather be with her than have a normal life without her. And how would people react? Would the accept us? A Spartan and an AI. I can't think of an odder combination.
	 Barnes must have noticed my glassy-eyed stare as I felt a tap on my shoulder. One of the other ODSTs, Pushkin, told me in a thick Russian accent that he would take over on the gun, and that the Lieutenant wanted to speak to me. I hunched over towards Barnes, who had motioned me to come over to him.
	“Somethin' on your mind?” he asked after he took off his helmet.
	“Nothing.”
	“Nothin' my ass. I see you all stary-eyed over there. As your CO, I demand you tell me what's ogoing.” This was the first time Barnes had truly pulled rank on me since I met him. But I knew he was concerned about me and my mental health, so I obliged.
	“I guess you could say it's um...” I suddenly realized how much I didn't want to tell him about Jenn. “Girl trouble.”
	A wicked grin appeared on his face. Sometimes he really could be an asshole.
	“So who'd you fuck when the General ordered you to stay put? I had a feelin' you weren't going to take that order lightly. Some nice Army POG eh? I imagined it wouldn't be hard for a Spartan to pick up a chick for a one-night stand.”
	“No, Barnes, I didn't fuck anybody at HQ. It's different than that.”
	He looked confused. “So who the fuck was it? If you boned any of the Marines on board the Vienna I would have heard about it.”
	“For fuck's sake I didn't have sex with anyone. I'm still a virgin for your information.”
	“Alright, so you've fallen for someone. Who man? I don't see you really interacting with the rest of the Marines save for Pulowski, and I'm pretty sure neither of you are gay.” He thought about it for a second, but in an instant his eyes went wide. 
	“No...Dude...Did you-did you fall in love with Jennifer?”
	My gaze instantly hit the floor and I could feel my face heating up. I was probably blushing.
	“Holy fucking shit...You know man, it's bad business falling in love in a warzone. I can tell you that personally.”
	“I know Barnes, but it's...different. Her being an AI that is.” I paused. “What do you mean about knowing it personally?”
	He sighed. “A few years ago, me and a trooper under my command had a thing together. It didn't really amount to anything more than a 'I'm scared and really horny so let's fuck' kind of thing, but still. It was an amount of compassion that shouldn't have been there... I always feel a sense of guilt when someone under my command dies, but I'm usually able to rationalize it in the big picture. But...it was different y'know? Us being a different kind of close and all. I've always struggled with her death, and the years haven't made it any better. And things certainly looked better than. And now with Reach gone? It's only a matter of time before they come knockin' on Earth dude.”
	“But she's an AI Barnes. She's tied to me. The only way she dies, is if I die. It's a blessing and a curse, really. Of course, I technically don't have to worry about her as she's not a physical person under my command. But on the other hand, she's directly tied to my actions. I can accept it when someone else dies. I hate it, but it's a part of war. But if I fuck up? That's entirely on me. So in reality I worry twice as much about her, and myself for that matter.”
	He nodded his head. “I mean, if you're happy, then that's good. I'm just advising you on the risks.”
	“I know buddy. I appreciate the concern, really I do. Right now I just think I need some alone time, that's all. You know, to reflect.”
	“Alright. I understand. You do you brother...Pushkin! Our friend's going back on the Agile. You've been relieved.” The Helljumper nodded and got up from the seat. I put my helmet on and took my position once more at the AGL. The sun had just begun to rise. I gasped as the sun's light bathed an enormous waterfall in a variety of orange-gold hues. It was truly remarkable. 
	“Oh my god...that's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen” said Jenn. 
	“That's one for the picturebooks” stated Pulowski over comms.
	“Alright! We're about a klick North from the point you specified, Spartan. I see a small field on the right, I'm going to land us there,” the pilot said.
	“10-4! Alright Marines, get ready to move out when we land!” I replied. I got a variety of acknowledgments, and we landed shortly after. 
	We took a took a knee as I scanned to make sure the LZ was clear. Cycling through IR and Thermal modes, I saw nothing. Satisfied, I motioned for them to follow me as I took point. Not wanting to waste time, I had my squad run to the objective. We descended down a hilly forest, and soon found ourselves in a large valley. An enormous, rocky cliff was on the other side of the valley.
	“Well, if my data is correct, the entrance is here...buried under that rock. Hmm. How do you think we get there?”
	“Oh I know just the thing” I said with a mischievous smile. “Sierra 114 to Falcon Kilo 111, request fire support mission. 25 rounds, 40mm HE. Fuse time: zero. Uploading target co-ordinates to your HUD now.” I lased the co-ordinates with my DMR and told the squad to stand back about a hundred meters. About a minute later, a distant droning sound could be heard. I looked up and saw my Falcon thunder overhead. It came down hovering just ahead and to the right of us. “Kilo 111 to Sierra 114, beginning fire support mission.  Firing for effect. 40 out!” A slow but continuous “bloop” sound was heard, followed shortly by a cacophony of massive explosions. 
	“That good enough 114?” I waited for the dust to clear and got a good look at a large, metallic structure with lights on it. “Yeah, that's good enough Kilo 111. Thanks for the assist.”
	“No problem 114. Glad we could be of assistance.” The VTOL took off, presumably towards the landing site.
	“Marines! Form up!” I motioned for them to form a circle around me, which they did. “Here's the plan. Barnes, Kor, and I will investigate the structure. I'll need the rest of you to stay out here and pull security. If anything happens, hail us on comms as soon as you can. Got it?”
	“Yes sir!” they replied in unison. I turned to Barnes.
	“Come on bro, let's go,” I said. We walked out of earshot of the Marines when Barnes tugged on my shoulder.
	“So what's the plan for us?” he asked
	“Dude, I don't fuckin' know. I know as much about this place as you do. We'll have to play it by ear I guess. Come on, I'm kind of dying to find out what this place is.”
	He nodded and followed me. As we approached the entrance, we realized the door was actually not much taller or wider than me, and that most of the structure was actually just a wall.
	“I had expected it to be...bigger,” said Kor.
	“Yeah,” I replied. I went up to it to look for a door control panel, but the door opened automatically as I did. “Hey, that's neat” said Barnes. The interior of the site was pitch black. When I entered through the door, a series of lights went on automatically.
	This interior was much more plain than the Cartographer. Save for a large strip of light down the middle and on the ceilings, there was no detailing inside whatsoever. The room was long and rectangular in shape, but ended abruptly at a strange looking raised platform. In front of us was a stand with holographic displays. As we got closer to it, we realized that it was an elevator. “Guess there's only one way down” I said as we got onto the platform. I pressed the most obvious display and away we went. The elevator traveled with extreme speed, just enough that we would fall at the same pace. However, I couldn't see any other floors on the way down. This is either something really dangerous or some fucked up kind of medical center I thought to myself. Just as soon as we began, we started to slow down. We finally reached a small door that looked like it was made of three pieces, with a blue circular piece in the middle. I turned to Barnes and Kor.
	“Stay here.” I said. “If something happens to me in there, I want you to hoof it out of here and regroup with the group outside. Go directly to ONI with the location of the site, and don't think look back. Got it?”	Barnes nodded, and Kor wished me good luck. I stepped forwards, and the door opened up for me.
	Ahead of me was another door. However, it appeared sturdier than the one before it. Small bits of reinforcement could be seen on the door's three segments. But before I could think of what do next, the door behind me closed and an orange laser swept the room vertically. I flipped my rifle off safety, but a moment later the next door opened.
	“What was that?” I asked of Jenn.
	“A scanning signal of some sort.”
	“Probably an airlock then, scanning to make sure we weren't contaminated with radiation or something.”
	“I hope so,” she replied. I took a deep breath and walked forward.
	The path forked ahead of me. Below Forerunner symbols, three large, semi-circular doors were preceded by a meter-tall metallic cylinder. Lights pulsed through it which made it seem important. I found a slot for an AI chip and plugged in my companion. She appeared before me with the skin-tight clothing that I saw before at the Cartographer.
	“Guess you like the new look.” I said smugly.
	“I think it looks good, don't you?” she said with a seductive smile.
	“Hey, I wasn't complaining. You do look good in though. I mean really good.”
	“Well, as much as I would enjoy modeling for you, we have a mission, remember?”
	I looked down at the ground and rubbed the back of my neck. “Oh, uh, of course. So, is this the medical station you told me about?”
	“Yes, or I think so. The doors to the left and right are 'modification' chambers. It appears that this Ur-Didact underwent extensive biological mutation here, but for what purpose, I have no idea. The middle door though...”
	“What is it?”
	“I don't know. It won't let me open it. I tried about ten thousand ways, but I kept on getting the same response every time: Reclaimer, Reclaimer, Reclaimer.”
	“What the hell is a Reclaimer?”
	“I think it's a Forerunner term for humanity. See, I accessed the logs from the scan and among an analysis of every molecule of your armor and in your body, came the same term. I think it'll only open up if you try.”
	I took a deep breath. “Alright, here's hoping I don't suffer an agonizing death for this. Let's go.” I said as untethered her from the console. I approached the door. Different from the others, the color of it's light was red rather than blue. Not seeing an obvious control panel, I tried pressing the door. Surprisingly, it opened before me, and lights went on as I entered.
	The room was a sterile white and formed a rectangle with a hexagonal end. Half of the room was empty while the other was walled off by a rectangular pane of glass. In the middle of the divider was a white rectangular console with a rather obvious slit for an AI. Behind the glass was a interesting looking contraption. A slab of metal around 10 feet long rose up from the floor. It was surrounded on all sides by funnels mounted on the ground like upside-down fishooks. Above the slab sat a giant rectangular plume.
	“Think that's the Venerable Instrument?” I asked.
	“I-I guess so. Plug me into that slot and I'll see if I can figure out what it is.”
	I walked forward and placed my AI into the slit provided. Unlike other Forerunner consoles, however, this one swallowed the chip whole and sealed itself. I kneaded my eyebrows in confusion.
	“Jenn, was that-”
	The AI immediately appeared before me. However, she shone with a violet light, instead of the standard blue. “Normal?” I finished slowly.
	“Amazing...The power...” Suddenly, she looked at me.
	“Jake, I need to tell you something. What I'm about to do, I'm doing for us.”
	“Wait, what do you mea-”
	The clear glass suddenly turned black. I heard a metallic thud, and turned around to find the door had locked behind me. I drew my DMR and fired at the black glass but they simply bounced off, not even leaving a scratch or marking.
	“Barnes! Barnes do you read me! Jennifer's gone fucking mad!” I waited for a response but heard nothing.
	I boosted my signal across any and all frequencies. “This is UNSC Spartan Sierra 114! AI unit JNF-0542-8 has gone AWOL and I'm trapped at co-ordinates 40.7128 degrees north, 74.0059 degrees west. Requesting immediate assistance.” Nothing came back. I decided that either someone had heard me and couldn't respond or that she was jamming all of my communications. All I could do was wait.