The next four days passed by very much like the first. I spent most of my time in my room with Jenn, doing menial things but simply enjoying each other's presence. It was peaceful, but the anxiety of the coming battle was always there. I could tell the Marines felt it too. Most stayed in their dorms, each reflecting on the news in their own way. They generally only came out to socialize at the small fitness room on board or at the mess.

	The wild card was Kor. I hadn't seen him at all in the past few days, and decided after breakfast that it would be appropriate to pay him a courtesy call. I looked up his dorm in the ship's data files, and made my way over. I decided that the polite thing to do would be to knock.
	“The door is open.”
	I entered to find the eight foot tall alien getting up from bed, most likely having been relaxing. He had some balls for leaving the door open when half the ship probably wanted to kill him, but I imagined it would be dishonorable to lock the doors. Or something like that.
	“What is it you came to discuss?”
	“Just wanted to how you're holding up.”
	He gave me a confused look. “But I'm not holding up anything right now.”
	“Oh, it's a human saying. Like how you're doing.”
	“Ah, I see. The food here is not to the Sangheili palate, but it is nutritionally sufficient. As for how the rest of your people see me, I can sense some tension. But nothing has happened. I am quite bored however. It has just given me time to think about the betrayal over and over, and it fills me for rage. I yearn for battle.”
	As if on cue, the familiar call tone of the Navy messaging system. “All hands, all hands. Report to the briefing room immediately. All hands, all hands. Report to the briefing room immediately.”
	I sighed. “Looks like you got your wish. We're probably exiting out of slipspace soon. Come on.”
	The briefing room was relatively small, but was ample enough for us, and being made for SPARTANs, didn't require Kor to hunch over as many human vessels would have. The captain of the vessel was waiting for us to file in. When I asked him who was giving our new orders, he simply stated  they were from the top. The rest of the Marines filed in casually, excitedly talking amongst each other with the usual pre-mission jitters. They knew combat was going to be close at hand.
	“Is this everyone?” asked the Captain.
	“Yep. Let's get this show on the road.”
	The display flashed on to reveal an aging man dressed in the white dress uniform of the UNSC. The pins on his collar gave the rank of Fleet Admiral. The nametape simly read “Hood.”
	“Sir!” I said, snapping to a salute. The Marines looked up and did the same. The response was so fast it sounded almost painful for them.
	“At ease, Spartan; Marines. I have new orders for you.”
	“What did you have in mind, sir?” I responded.
	“In about an hour, give or take, you'll be exiting out of slipspace and arriving at Earth. The situation there has changed drastically since you last received news. The Prophet of Regret's fleet has left Earth, going where; we don't currently know. The Covenant have spread across the planet. We suspect that they're looking for Forerunner artifacts, and we've noticed a particularly heavy concentration of them around Paris. What's more, an important Covenant Minister has accompained them, and is apparently leading from the ground himself. Your orders are to find out whatever the Covenant is looking for, destroy it if it's a threat, and kill this Minister of Relic Safety at all costs.” He paused and took a long, hard look at Kor. “We've also intercepted reports of the Elites and the Brutes fighting amongst each other...I see you've made an interesting friend here, Jacob. Hopefully he can be of use to us to rally more Elites to our side. I'm placing you in command of this operation, and you carry my full authority on any other units your run across. Is that understood?”
	“Yes, sir. We won't let you down.”
	“And Sierra?”
	“Yes sir?”
	“Get your troops ready for a hard drop. You'll link up with the frigate Agincourt soon enough. Any other questions?”
	“If I might, sir, I have only one. What will happen to my, uh...” Was it right to call her my girlfriend? I wondered
	“Not to worry son. I was told about her by a special...someone. She'll stay with us at command in Africa, where it's safe. She'll function as your handler for this op. That all?”
	“Yes sir.”	
	“Good luck, and godspeed. Hood out.”
	The Marines whispered among each other, surprised that the orders came from that high up.
	“Well what are you waiting for, gentlemen? Get your shit together! Meet me by the airlock in 45 mikes, locked cocked and ready to go!”
	Barnes ran up to me on the way to the armory.
	“Hey slick, got a question for you. You ever think these Marines have used a drop pod before?”
	“I doubt it, should make for an interesting show though. I just about shat myself the first time I used one.”
	He laughed. “Me too, man. Well, see you at the lock. If there's one thing I can tell, it's that we'll get this shit done right or die trying.”
	“Damn straight brother. Oorah.”
	Twenty minutes later and I had my armor on, my kit sorted out, and my rifle and pistol together. I paid a visit to my room, knowing that the impending conversation was going to be tough.
	I opened the door and was greeted by Jenn sitting anxiously at the foot of our bed.
	“Jake? What's going-” She paused, seeing me in my gear.
	“We're being deployed.” Jenn let out a shaky sigh.
	“I see.” She reached at the base of her skull and pulled what had been the AI chip. “Well, I think you'll be needing this then.”
	“Will you be able to function without it?” I asked.
	“Yeah, no problem. The distance is also short enough so any information I take in on the chip will be relayed to the receptor connected to my brain.” She placed her hand into mine, and folded it with the chip in it, while placing her other hand on my cheek. She edged just a bit closer. 
	“Jake, promise me you'll be careful. I want to see you when this is all over. Please just promise me this.” She was beginning to lose her composure. 
	I pressed my hand against hers. “I promise I'll come back to you Jenn. Don't worry. I'll be fine as long as you're with me. It'll be just like old times.” I placed two fingers to my mouth, kissed them, and made a short swipe along her lips.
	“What was that?” she asked.
	“A symbol we Spartans have. We use it in place of a smile. Nobody outside of the program knows what it is except for Halsey and Mendez. And now you.”
	She retraced the movement with her own hands and smiled.
	“Jenn, I'm sorry but I have to go now. Just, before I go, I need you to understand how much I love you. I-”
	“Don't. I already know, because it's how much I love you.”
	I nodded. “See you soon, love.” I turned and slowly made my way towards the door. I turned around to get one last look of her. She nodded with tears down her cheeks, and I made my way out of the room. I put the chip inside the helmet's port, but didn't bother putting it on yet. I had my heart broken and I felt like I needed some time alone. While she was still with me, I was scared that I would never meet her in person again. And that thought was almost as bad as if I were to lose her altogether. There was just something about being with her, the “real” her, that was incredible beyond words. I was so smitten it felt like it almost hurt. And it was the greatest and yet most horrible feeling in the world.

. . .
	Half an hour later and I was overlooking the view of the planet from my drop pod. My rifle was locked into the spacer next to me, with my pistol at my hip. I would be ready to immediately enter the fight if it called for it, which it likely would considering the dire situation below.
	 Earth. It had been so long since I'd been there. A part of me was happy to be home, but I wished it was under better circumstances. I wondered if my home still even existed, or even if my mother was still alive. 41 years was a long time. So much had probably changed. Would she even recognize me? Probably not. I sighed and put my helmet. At least there was still someone I could depend on.
	“Hey.”
	“Hey,” responded Jenn. “Are you ready?”
	“As ready as I'll ever be. Still, even with the all of the anxiety of what's to come I can't shake this weird feeling I have. It's just weird to be home I guess, after all this time. I wonder if it's still the way it was when I left.”
	“I think I know you feel. The closest thing I had to a home was the Vienna, and now that's all gone,” she said sadly.
	“Jenn, when this is all over, we'll get a place of our own. I'll leave the service, and we can finally live in peace. How does that sound?”	
	“That would mean the world to me, Jake. I think an agri-world would be nice. All that beautiful scenary and none of the crowding.”
	“I couldn't agree with you more.”
	The green light at the top of the pod blared in my face. We were about to drop, and I switched my comm channel to the squads.
	“Alright, everyone. This is where the show starts. See you all topside.”
	With a loud thud, the pod was away. I took what I would assume would be my last look at space for a while as I stormed through the atmosphere. The drop pod shook from the wind resistance, and I wondered how my non-ODST comrades were holding up. To someone inexperienced with drops, it would seem quite terrifying.
	The black of space soon blended into the deep blue of the stratosphere, quickly turning into the light blue of the troposphere.
	Suddenly, black puffs of smoke filled the display on my helmet. Flak. I soon also began to see blue streaks of plasma fire. This was going to be a hot landing.
	“Shiiiiit!” I heard one of the Marines scream. We would be on the city in moments.
	A large cloud of flak exploded in front of me. Instantly, the warning of the alarm sounded to signify I was going off course as my pod spun rapidly. As soon as it happened, I felt the pod stop with a thud. I had landed. 
	“Fuck, door's malfunctioned.” I said as the smoke from my landing cleared. I had lodged in the parking garage on top of some poor bastard's car, or what remained of it. And to my pleasant surprised, I was greeted by the snarl of a rather large Brute and two Jackals. I took my pistol off safe and chambered a round.
	I flipped the Brute a single-fingered salute as I pressed the explosive release bolts. The door blasted off, crushing the Brute beneath a wall. I snapped to the first Jackal with my pistol, putting two rounds into his chest and another into his head for good measure. The last Jackal had fled when the Brute died, however I scoped in with my HUD and fired a round into the base of his skull, almost tearing his head off his neck. I stepped out of my pod, yanked my rifle out of it's slot, and holstered my pistol. Racking the bolt and taking it off safe, I quickly scanned the room for any more hostiles. Seeing none, I ran towards the exit in order to link up with my squad. It was time to get to work.