Vandread Fan Fiction ❯ VanDread - Halo ❯ Confrontation ( Chapter 10 )

VanDread - Halo

Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or VanDread, the two belong to their respective owners, which are Gonzo for VanDread, and Bungie for Halo.

Chapter 10

Confrontation

< >: Thoughts

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The Nirvana was currently near the perimeter of an ancient space station surrounded by asteroids and those were connected by tubes and connectors, it had been constructed during the Colonization Era of Earth. The old station shared the same name-tag with it's fellow stations and that name was Mission and they all served as temporary havens for weary travelers and merchant ships, acting as supply depots for many centuries. However, this particular Mission was abandoned and now was nothing more than a derelict hulk by the time the Nirvana came across it. However the captain had ordered an exploration and salvage unit into the station in hopes of getting any more data concerning their enemies, and also get some extra supplies and parts for the ship.

Currently, Meia, Parfet, Jura, Barnette, Dita, Hibiki, the Master Chief in full armor and weaponry, Cortana, and Pyoro were onboard the mission.

**************

In the bridge…

“So that is what a Mission is? I've never seen one in my whole life before.”

Buzam commented as she looked at the station through the view screen along with the Captain, which was very much the truth since there were no such stations as this one anywhere near Megele or Tarak for that matter and this was her first viewing of one such station.

“I know…I remembered them when I was young, they prospered during the Colonization Era and served well as a haven and trading post…but now with the Colonization Era over, it just stays there…I hope we can find some useful materials still in that old ruin.”

Magno replied as she recalled the old days when she was a little girl back in the fleet.

**************

In the Mission…

Meia was busy removing several parts from some of the circuit boards in the Mission's main data core archives, and along with her was Cortana, who being a former AI knew just what parts were needed and what were not, as she helped the Dread Squadron Leader…she was currently dressed in the same outfit as she normally wore, but had one the Marine Body Armor vest. Parfet was along as well in order to salvage what other parts the others might have missed

Next to them was the Spartan carrying a MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle and an M6G Magnum on the side, Hibiki was there as well..dressed in his own Marine Body Armor and carried another M6G Magnum. The Tarak teen was trained by the Spartan how to use the weapon, but told him to only use it in self defense since the Spartan didn't want him to just shoot without reason. The rest of the Fire Teams were on security in the Nirvana, since the Master Chief was more than capable of handling things on this salvage mission. He needed them to protect the ship, while he would take a ride in the Longsword fighter that he took to get there. Pyoro came along as well…though for what reason, the Spartan had no idea.

Jura and Barnette were currently moving about in the other part of the station, Barnette was looking for food, cooking supplies and more…while the ever fashion conscious Jura was more in the mood to find new clothes for her wardrobe. Her plans with Bart didn't work, but that certainly didn't mean she was giving up the notion anytime soon.

Back in the data storage center…

“It's great that the Captain recalled this Mission, we might be able to find what we need here for the time being.”

Parfet replied as she took several circuit boards and data drives for testing later on back in the Engineering Bay on the Nirvana. While the Navi-robot was explaining to Dita just what the station was.

“That's enough chatter you two…we've got a lot of work to do here and we're wasting time talking.”

Meia said towards the two as she continued her work on the parts that she knew the pirates needed to keep the ship operational…however while she was doing her duty…another person or robot for that matter was not.

“This is work? All you're doing is looting the place.”

Meia sighed and replied back to the small floating robot.

“We're not looting this place…we're here to salvage parts and equipment that's no longer being used. This station's very much abandoned and no one resides here anymore, so we take the parts and what we find and put them to good use.”

“You should make the orders clearer then.”

“Don't so picky Pyoro…”

The Spartan quickly turned and clicked the safety off his MA5C Assault Rifle and looked to the rafters, and so did Hibiki as he took out his M6G, both men looked around at first and the Spartan quickly made some hand signals to the Tarak teen. Hibiki nodded and placed down his salvage and placed his gun before him and took out the Combat Knife that he also had.

Meia was surprised and spoke.

“What are you two doing?!”

Hibiki gave the signal to be silent and he watched the Spartan as the Master Chief looked around and then after a few seconds, the Spartan gave the signal to move out, Hibiki nodded and he then turned to Meia and spoke.

“The Chief's heard something…we're not alone on this station…better tell the others.”

Meia's eyes widened that that and she quickly got on her communicator to contact both Jura and Barnette and warn them that they were not alone as she knew that considering the military training and experience that the Spartan had…he would not be lying. Dita tried to follow but the Spartan shook his head and spoke to the redhead.

“Stay here with Meia…Hibiki and I wi9ll handle this.”

The two men then moved out in formation as they covered each other with their weapons while Pyoro followed the pair. As the two arrived in the alleyway…the Spartan halted and looked around the area and then gave signals for Hibiki and a plan. Hibiki got the idea and nodded as he went ahead while the Spartan moved around and used the other passages to circle around.

As Hibiki moved through the corridors where the shops were located, he was followed by Pyoro who tried to keep up with the Tarak teen, but had a hard time due to Hibiki's physical training and conditioning in his time under the Spartan. The pair arrived before a courtyard and the Tarak teen looked about.

“What's wrong?”

“It's here…there!”

Hibiki turned upward as he spotted movement on a nearby beam and aimed his Magnum right at the being that appeared to be making all the noise his mentor heard. He activated the laser sights on the weapon and spoke in a clear voice as he tried to keep calm and focused.

“Whoever or whatever you are, you'd better come down right now…I'm giving you a fair warning!”

In a moment, the being responded and fell down the rafter and landed before the Tarak teen and the Navi-robot…making Hibiki pause as the being was not human…or even a Harvester.

“What the heck are you supposed to be?!”

The creature was an orangutan, an old Earth creature that belonged to the Primate family and judging from the clothes the ape was wearing, it appeared to be female. Hibiki didn't know what to make of this creature and so placed away his Magnum to try and figure out just what this creature was…

The orangutan however was not very convinced of the boy and then directed her attention to Pyoro, and before Hibiki could react properly, the female orangutan dropped the parts she had and leaped towards Pyoro and before the eyes of the Tarak teen, the ape began to slobber all over the Navi-robot and lick it affectionately…much to Pyoro's absolute displeasure and discomfort…which it made known.

“AAAAUGGGGHHHHH!!!! STOP IT!!! THAT'S SO UNSANITARY!!!! HIBIKI!!! HELP!!!!”

Hibiki could only gape in shock as the presence of the orangutan, since not only was it the very first time he had ever seen the creature, but he had no idea as to what to do…however, he barely had time to react as he felt his trained senses warn him of danger as he turned and took out the Magnum and aimed it.

Hibiki spotted another being in front of him and this time, it was a man, the man was taller than him but a few feet and appeared older as well. He was dressed in a tunic and pants, with boots, and from the way he dressed, this man was certainly not from Tarak. He had several stripes of paint on his face and had what appeared to be some sort of eye-patch on him as well, a technological one at that. The man was well built and appeared to have a body builder's build on him. Hibiki felt something though…something off about the man before him.

The man seemed to be a fighter of some sort, but he had this strange aura of sneakiness in him, as if there was something that spelled trouble about him. Hibiki had been taught to not trust strangers easily by the Spartan and to not leap in when he was not sure of what he was facing and who he was facing, the Spartan's training paid off as despite seeing that the stranger was a man like him, he was not going to think he was an ally right off the bat.

Hibiki kept the Magnum right at the man's head and didn't take his eyes off of him as he spoke.

“You're not a man from Tarak…who are you and what's you're business on this mission?”

The man didn't even bother to acknowledge Hibiki's question and the Magnum aimed right for his forehead and spoke to the orangutan.

“Stop that Utan and come here.”

The female orangutan eeped and moved over to it's apparent master and showed the person Pyoro, the man's smile was not friendly in the eyes of the young Tarak teen as he didn't like the looks of that smile…that was the smile of someone planning something dangerous and the way he looked at Pyoro was that of a very greedy person.

“Well now…a functional Navi-robot…who'd think there'd be one of them in this musty and dark old place? I bet we can make quite a bit of cash with this one…once we strip him down to parts of course.”

Utan gave a look of shock that and held Pyoro in her arms and made it known to her master that the idea was one she was not going to approve of yet. This made Hibiki even more wary and a bit angry at how arrogant this man was, but he kept calm and spoke out once more.

“Hey, I asked you a question, who are you and what are you doing here on this station?”

Rabat looked at Hibiki and gave him an examination. The boy was shorter than he was and appeared to be at least a strong person, but he was far stronger than this little kid…despite the armor he was wearing and the weapon he had on him…though they certainly don't match any type of body armor and weaponry he had seen before, and the boy seemed competent on the gun's use, considering his stance and posture. But Rabat had not survived being a trader by just examining others.

“Why should I tell you my name? And judging by you're garb, you're not from around here…despite that fancy armor you have on you. Do you even know how to use that weapon you snot nosed punk?”

Hibiki glared at that statement but kept his cool, he would dishonor his mentor if he let this man goad him into a fight.

“What did you call me?”

Rabat smirked and replied.

“What? You don't like that term I called you? How about short stuff then? Or runt?”

“Are you trying to goad me into a fight?”

“If I am…what are you going to do about it?”

“The only reason I haven't shot you're arrogant mouth off with one this M6G Magnum's bullets is the fact that you're not one of this Harvester Shock Troopers and you are a human being. But don't make the mistake of thinking just because you're not a Harvester and a human that I won't shoot you if you try anything…and I happen to be a pretty good shot myself. Now answer my question, and let the Navi-robot go…now.”

Rabat snorted and looked at the boy once more, wondering just who this arrogant punk was and how he was going to teach him a lesson.

“All right then, the name's Rabat, I'm a trader, and I'm here to find supplies for myself and the ship I own, and since introductions are out of the way punk…why don't you hurry back to you're little bed and put down that thing before you hurt yourself? Play with you're toys and let the grown-ups play with the real guns.”

Hibiki glared abut kept the weapon in his hands.

“Not bloody likely you arrogant ass…now let go of the Navi-robot.”

“Or you'll what? Shoot me? If you really think you're man enough to take me on by yourself…why don't you put down that gun and fight me man to man with you're fists…or are you too much of a little snot to try?”

Hibiki glared once more and his temper was growing hotter at the second, however something distracted him and he briefly lowered his guard as he spotted Dita, Cortana, and Meia heading towards him. That was all the trader needed as he grabbed Pyoro and hurled the Navi-robot at Hibiki…the Tarak teen barely managed to spot the flying Navi-robot and was forced to drop the pistol as to avoid accidentally shooting the floating robot. The Navi-robot flew on and struck Meia on the head, forcing the other two to help her… Rabat knew that things were not looking good and a hostage was what he needed to even up the odds for him, and the brat was close enough.

However…he didn't count on the fact that Hibiki still had the combat knife with him and the Tarak teen recovered enough to reach for it in a reverse grip and lash out with it, just as Rabat came at him. The trader was able to spot the knife and move out of the way from his attempt, but only barely as Hibiki's attack slashed part of his tunic, but missed the flesh.

Rabat was then tripped by Hibiki with a sweep kick and the trader fell on his stomach, and he was not happy as he planned to get back and deal with that punk…but as he tried to turn around he found himself looking at the barrel of a strange but dangerous looking Assault rifle…and the weapon was dangerously close to his neck, he followed the weapon and found himself staring at a massive giant of a man in armor made from green and black…while he had a helmet on and a golden visor that hid his face and allowed Rabat to see his own face looking back at him…and for some reason…it made the normally arrogant and smug man afraid…very afraid.

Unlike the Tarak teen he had faced before…the new arrival was giving off the aura of a person who was NOT to be messed around with and Rabat had to admit that he was the one who was now in a dangerous spot…and to his shock the man took out another pistol like the one the kid had with lightning speed and aimed it at Utan who was about to spring at him to stop him, he fired a round in warning and Utan stopped her attempt as the bullet was buried inches from her hands, and the laser of the M6G Magnum was now square on her forehead and the man didn't even look at her direction. And he was still holding the weapon he aimed right at him with no trouble. Rabat was stunned at how fast the armored man could move and the armor he wore was unlike anything he had ever seen before…it certainly was no ordinary armor suit that the trader was familiar with. The trader knew there and then not to try anything while the weapon was near him and then the stranger in the powerful armor spoke in a calm and emotionless tone to him.

“Tell that orangutan of yours to stay still because the next time I shoot…it's going to be for real.”

Rabat knew that for this time, there was no way out of this mess and signaled Utan not to try anything. The orangutan obeyed as the armored man turned to the boy who picked up his own weapon, while sheathing the knife.

“You all right Hibiki?”

“Yes Chief…I'm okay.”

The Spartan then redirected his attention to the trader…he had been able to sneak in close enough to outflank the trader the minute he saw him. The guy spelled trouble to the Spartan as soon as he saw him, the guy might act like a trader, but something told the Spartan that there was a lot more to this Rabat than meets the eye, and like Hibiki, he didn't like what he saw…he looked at the trader and could tell that this guy fought like a sneak and was armed like one as well and from his attempt to attack Hibiki, the Spartan knew there and then that he was not to be trusted. The Spartan then decided to interrogate this one as the others arrived…along with Jura and Barnette who rushed as soon as they heard the gun-shot.

“Now listen here…I'm going to let you off the floor and let you get on you're feet so you can talk and explain yourself…you try anything that can be considered a threat…I'll shoot you.”

Rabat nodded as the Spartan moved away…moving the MA5C ICWS Assault Rifle slowly from his neck, and that allowed Rabat to get to his feet, just as Barnette arrived with her Glock 9 pistol drawn and Jura had her sword out. The Spartan then placed aside his M6G and held his Assault Rifle in both hands while keeping the weapon aimed the trader. Meia came and aimed her laser ring as well and glared at Rabat, and so did Hibiki who aimed his own M6G at Rabat.

The presence of the weapons and the Spartan made Rabat realize that combat was not going to solve anything…so he would have to rely on his mouth to see him through this mess. He would get his chance as Meia spoke to him in a serious tone.

“Who are you and what are you doing here on this station?”

“The name's Rabat, I'm a trader, and like you I'm here to get supplies and parts from this abandoned mission.”

“You're no trader.”

Rabat turned to the Spartan and spoke to the Super Soldier in the same way as he spoke to Hibiki, just so he could see just what sort of person this guy was.

“What makes you say that?”

“No trader carries high powered pistols, a small grenade pouch, and a pair of hidden knife holsters on him, one on his back and the other in his boot, though you might have other weapons…and judging on the way you tried to overpower Hibiki here, I'd say you've been trained in covert warfare and unconventional tactics and no trader will willingly attack anyone unless in self defense…unless you have some alibi to prove I'm wrong?”

“Okay so I'm not you're average trader…so what? I did what I thought was advantageous for me and I'm just trying to make a living.”

Meia frowned at the way this guy was going on but before things could get underway, the sounds of explosions filled the air and the Mission began to shake. The Spartan quickly used his COM system to the bridge.

“This is Spartan John-117 to the Nirvana, what's going on?”

“The Harvesters are in the area Master Chief…get back here on the double ASAP!”

The pirates got the message and knew that now was not the time to start talking with the new arrival as they all headed off to their respective ships…Dita went with the Jura, Barnette, and Meia to their Dreads, while John and Cortana headed off to board the Longsword they both had used to get here…while Parfet and the others were now taking to the shuttle. The Dread pilots knew that they had to protect the shuttle so it would arrive safely to the Nirvana. They quickly packed it up and Rabat did likewise and headed to his own ship that he had stored on the other side of the Mission. However, as he and Utan were running, Utan showed something that made the trader smile…it seemed that the pirates had left something in their rush to defend the ship.

**************

The pirates were all on the move as the Dreads took to space while the Longsword Fighter and the Megele Shuttle made their way to the Nirvana, while Hibiki was also getting into the act. The Dreads were able to shoot down several more fighters of the Harvesters while Hibiki managed to slash down several of the alien fighter craft. Apparently the Harvesters have tried a smaller variant of the Cube Fighter for better success rates on the pirates as the units attacked at full force.

John and Cortana worked in tandem with one another as they both fought off the Harvesters and protected the Nirvana Shuttle as the Chief handled the weapons, while Cortana dealt with the flying part and it showed their respective skills. The Spartan was by rights a Navy person and was trained in the use of all UNSC vehicles, including the Longsword. As they made their way to the Nirvana along with the Shuttle, the former AI rushed as fast as she could to man the weapons on the Nirvana while the Spartan got ready for possible boarding parties as he called in the Fire Teams to get ready for combat.

As Cortana made it to the bridge and into her holo-tank, she immediately was told by the others how the Harvesters had managed to evade the Nirvana sensors, apparently they had been able to get enough data on the scanner frequencies of the ship's sensors to gum it up and allow their forces a better chance at catching them all unprepared. Cortana was going to fix that pretty quick as she began to power up the weapon systems and targeting sensors. And in less than a few minutes, the Nirvana came alive with shells from the Point Defense Guns and Archer Missiles flying out and slaughtering the enemy like they were all target boards with Cortana at the helm.

On the other side, Rabat powered up his ship that resembled a small sized barge and a yacht in one and the trader began to pull out of the station and spotted the battle, while he liked the looks of the Dreads, he was not in the mood to stay there too long. But it was then that he spotted the Nirvana unleash the Longsword Fighters that got his attention, along with the Vanguard Hibiki piloted.

As far as he knew the fighters that the Nirvana unleashed were certainly not Dreads as though the Dreads could come in all colors and sizes, the fighters before him were all uniform in design and were in a green-grey color scheme and as such were not very appealing to women, but they appeared to be very well armed and were more than capable fighters, even though a few were shot down. He then directed his attention to the Vanguard before him and wondered about the color scheme, overall form and the weapons…it certainly didn't match the Vanguards of the men of Tarak he had heard of…but the unit certainly was no slouch.

As the battle continued, Hibiki was able to down several more Cube Fighters and then directed his attention towards several more fighters, but as he took one of the alien fighters down with his Vanguard's sword, he was then joined by Jura who contacted him and spoke in her usual seductive tone.

“Well now, let's combine and we can end this ourselves, what do you say?”

Hibiki groaned as he looked at Jura and gave her a look of exasperation.

“We're in the middle of a fight here! Now is not the time for this sort of thing!!!!”

Jura was not about to give up just yet as she followed Hibiki's Vanguard, intent on fusing her Dread with his Vanguard. As she fought off several Cube Fighters, she was now closing the distance to her target and she was now going to create something beautiful…

But she got beaten to it as Dita's Dread came out of nowhere and fused with Hibiki's Vanguard to form the first VanDread…suffice to say…the blonde was far from happy with the outcome.

“Dita! He was mine!”

The redhead however smiled back and gave Jura the look as she replied.

“Sorry, but you snooze, you lose!”

“Grrr! I'll get you for that!”

Hibiki sighed as he was still trying to get used to the two women arguing about these things but he put that aside as several Cube Fighters directed their attention towards the VanDread, with that in tow, the Tarak male began to take the fight to the Harvesters.

As they were able to even up the odds, the two of them realized that the Mission was the area where the Harvesters were attacking from and therefore had to be destroyed. As much as Hibiki disliked the idea of having to sacrifice so much workable material and supplies since his people were very much not the kind to waste resources, he knew that it was far better to deny the enemy supplies and equipment than to let them have it.

With that in mind he activated the VanDread's main cannons and locked onto the Mission, the massive cannons locked in on the target and fired their main beams, the energy bolts slammed into the station and obliterated it into nothing but wreckage and scrap metal and a massive flash of light as the beams from the VanDread struck the Mission's still workable power cores…further adding power to the explosion itself. The battle was over as the Harvester forces had no support ships and those that were not caught in the blast and the debris that shredded their comrades were quickly dispatched by the Dreads and the Longswords that were controlled by Cortana through her AI commands from the bridge of the ship.

Rabat's eyes widened as he looked at his ship's tactical screens at the VanDread, the machine was NOT a machine he was very familiar with and seeing the utter power that thing had made the trader's eyes alight as he began to imagine the amounts of money he could get from the sale of both the Dread and the Vanguard from eager customers…especially certain clients of his who would love to get their hands on the merchandise.

“Did you just see what I just saw Utan?”

The orangutan nodded as well, her surprise evident on her face.

“Then I guess that means we've really hit the jack-pot then.”

However, his attention was directed elsewhere as several surviving units of the Harvester forces directed their attention on him, he looked at his scanners and then turned to Utan with a nod.

“Go ahead Utan, knock yourself out.”

The female orangutan made several happy noises and rushed up to the back of the ship, and a few moments later a mecha appeared on the back of the ship and was armed with missile launchers and cannons and as soon as the mecha was out on the ship, the orangutan activated the controls and from the various weapons came barrages of lasers, cannon shells and missiles that filled the void of space.

The Cube Fighters were being reduced into scrap…but Rabat was far from happy as he looked at the weapon supply readouts and saw them all going empty in a span of two minutes, all the Cube Fighters were wiped out…but the mecha's weapons were now bare of any munitions.

“Damn…there goes last weeks trade funds…”

Rabat then turned his attention to the Nirvana and was once more surprised, the ship resembled a Pioneer class Colony ship, which in itself was interesting enough since the ship class no longer was used…but what was even more surprising was the fact that the ship seemed larger, more well armored and it was apparently very well armed, and those massive cannons in front of it certainly were NOT standard issue for colony ships…there was no way that could be a colony ship. It seemed that the mystery…and the possibility for profit was very much looking very tempting indeed.

**************

In the bridge…

“What a waste of a good station….and all that precious loot that could have been placed to good use.”

Magno said as she was flanked by Dita, Jura, Meia, Hibiki, Barnette, and the Spartan who was near Cortana's holo-tank imager.

“That's my loot actually since I was here before you all came.”

The crew in the bridge looked to see the image of Rabat as he hailed them via communications relay link. Magno looked at the trader with some suspicion and replied.

“What do you want?'

“My ship's engine got damaged by all the fighting you people started and me helping you ladies out with the stragglers. So what do you ladies intend to do about it?”

Magno didn't like the attitude this unknown man was giving her and so did the rest of the crew.

“Who do you think you are, making demands of us? We happen to be pirates and we don't ask for help.”

“Oh really now…then I guess that means I get to keep this one then?”

Rabat and Utan then revealed Pyoro, much to Dita and Hibiki's shock and discomfort, along with John and Cortana as they realized that they had left the Navi-robot behind. Magno looked on with a measure of surprise at this development and knew that despite being a Navi-robot, Pyoro was part of the crew and his safety was her concern.

“Hmm…I guess we have no choice for now…you may come onboard.”

“All right then…I'll be right there.”

The Spartan gave a very low but audible growl at this…showing his irritation at having that sneak on this ship, he didn't trust the man in the slightest and made it obvious. Cortana noted that as despite being incased in his enhanced Mjolnir Mark VI the Spartan would make certain gestures to show his irritation and she was the only one who could see it…being his partner and friend for many years.

“Something wrong John?”

The others turned to the Spartan as he spoke as soon as Rabat was out of hearing range and off the comm. link.

“I don't trust him…he's going to be trouble the very second he's on this ship.”

That statement made the others very tense, as they knew that if the Master Chief acted this way, they had to be careful on what they were doing, he only acted this way when there was something of great importance on his mind.

“I have to agree with John Captain…I've got a bad feeling about that man.”

Cortana said as well as she recalled her meeting with the trader…or whatever he was…for some reason, he reminded her of Colonel James Ackerson, the man who at one point had been the most dedicated opponent to Dr. Catherine Halsey, her `mother' and founder of the Spartan II Program. She knew Ackerson as he was a high ranking member of ONI and had been pushing his own Black Ops Projects against Dr. Halsey and he had even interfered with the testing of the Mjolnir Mark V before…nearly killing John with ordnance and orders beyond the test guidelines…she sent him packing but he managed to weasel himself out of the mess. This guy was not the Colonel in all ways…but the aura was the same.

“We have to bring Pyoro back here…but I have no doubts you and you're Fire Teams can keep an eye on this one Master Chief.”

Magno replied to the Spartan just as she had been told by the security teams that Rabat's ship had now latched on the Nirvana. The Spartan gave a slight nod and made his way to…greet their `guest'. Hibiki came along as he still didn't plan on forgetting the insults Rabat had thrown at him and the man's attempts to take him hostage.

**************

The Nirvana's Docking Bay…

As soon as he was able to dock his ship properly and ensure he was in good straits, the trader made his way to the main hold, the trader waited as the door opened and before he knew it, he was greeted by a large security force…all of which were female, and very attractive.

“Well now…this ship certainly has a lot of attractive females onboard.”

The trader moved down and began to give several of the women gifts and even tried to give something to Jura, which for some reason, the blonde wasn't keen on getting just yet. Rabat however was being insistent until Hibiki spoke to the man, while still wearing his Marine Body Armor and carrying both his M6G Magnum and his Combat Knife.

“You had better knock it off, what you're doing is disgusting.”

“You're the one to talk little boy, I'm just being friendly, that's all.”

“Friendly my ass…don't think for a second I've forgotten how you tried to take me hostage.”

“Well that's not my concern right now…besides I don't want to waste time with you.”

“That's enough.”

Both men turned to see Meia who then aimed her laser ring right at Rabat. The aqua-haired girl was not forgetting the event that happened before and she made it very clear that she was not in the mood to have a discussion.

“You're coming with me to see the Captain, try anything and you'll be in for it.”

“Yes ma'am, you're wish is my command.”

“Knock it off Rabat.”

Rabat turned and found himself looking at the Spartan and the giant was looming over him once more, and he took an unconscious step backwards as he found himself staring at the golden visor once more. As much as he disliked backing down from anyone…there was something about that giant of a man in the green and black armored suit that spelled extreme danger to Rabat. He calmed himself a bit and saw Utan backing away from the Spartan as well…he then spoke to the Spartan.

“All right then I'll try not to step on you're toes.

As Rabat was led away by both the Spartan and Meia, Parfet got into a chasing run with Utan to get Pyoro back, who the female orangutan was not keen on handing back to the head engineer, despite her please and Jura's insistence that they stopped running around her.

Meanwhile Hibiki gritted his teeth and glared at Rabat as he left the scene…

**************

In the bridge…

“The men here, including that young man you first met are from Tarak, they are all prisoners of war and are temporary members of my crew…we are from Megele and we're only on a temporary agreement of cooperation until we return home.”

Magno said as she spoke to Rabat, who was being watched over by both Meia and John-117.

“So that's the deal eh?”

He then activated a nearby switch and then spoke to Bart about being careful not to catch a cold when he saw him in the Navigation Well.

He then turned to the side and found himself staring at Cortana who was currently in her holo-tank and thus in her AI form, and Rabat had to admit, that for a hologram…this woman was certainly attractive.

“And who pray tell as that lady?”

“The name's Cortana.”

Cortana said with a straight and serious demeanor, unlike her usual witty, sarcastic, and professional self, she still didn't trust Rabat in the slightest at all.

“She's our ship's gunner and ground operations coordinator if you want to know.”

Meia replied as she kept an eye on the trader…while she was not using her laser ring, she was more than ready to respond if Rabat tried something.

Cortana then disappeared to Rabat's surprise and then the holo-tank opened and out came Cortana in her female form, and it was there that the trader recognized her as one of the crew of the Nirvana that was on the station.

“Hey I recognize you now…you're an attractive one too, maybe you'd like to have a gift.”

“No thanks.”

“I insist…”

“She said no Rabat, leave it at that.”

The Spartan said with authority, stopping Rabat cold in his tracks when he tried to approach the former UNSC AI. Rabat then looked at the Spartan and sighed once more as he stood away, he then had a thought and faced Magno.

“I take it you're giant friend here is a prisoner of war as well?”

Magno gave a smile at that question and replied.

“The Master Chief? No…he's a special case…he's the leader of the Nirvana's security detail, our combat specialist, and leader of the Fire Teams.”

“He leads you're forces on missions? I thought women of Megele are against men of Tarak?”

“He's not from Tarak…it's a little hard to explain and I don't have much time, suffice to say, he is very different and therefore is not subject to the rules Megele has towards men. Now…what exactly do you want from us?”

“Not much really, I just want to remain here until my ship's engine is repaired and then I'll be on my way…and of course…being a trader, I would like to do some trading business while I am here.”

Magno looked at him hard and nodded.

“You may do so…but cause any trouble on this ship and I will have you removed from here, understood?”

“Understood Madam Captain…”

**************

Later…

Hibiki was fuming mad as he paced the room back and forth in the UNSC section of the Nirvana, along with him was Duero and the Tarak teen was not in the best of straits as he recalled how Rabat had acted while they had first met. Right now the trader had set up shop and had been selling his wares, including jewels and other things to the women on the ship…and the women were going for it…hook, line and sinker…

That is…except the women who served with the Fire Teams, who noted the slight but present show of hostility their commander, the Master Chief directed to Rabat. They were not entirely sure why the normally calm and collected Spartan would be showing this hostility towards the new arrival, but they knew that their commander would have good reason to act this way and thus, they were wary of Rabat and despite their desire to see his wares as the rest of their comrades, they made sure not to cross paths with him.

“That guy really pisses me off! And the Chief doesn't even trust him!!!!! Why the hell is he still here on the Nirvana?!”

“You realize that he is a trader, and he does have legitimate reason to be here, his ship was damaged and will be soon repaired, by then, he will leave.”

“That's not the point here! He tried to take me hostage on the Mission and the Chief said that he was no mere trader…there's something that's very wrong with that guy!”

Duero nodded at that, the Spartan never acted like this before and he certainly showed his displeasure towards Rabat, which was surprising indeed for someone like him. And while he had not acted towards Rabat, he still showed that he didn't trust the man. And Duero had to admit that something about Rabat made no sense, like Hibiki, he had been in the hall when Rabat came onboard and he observed the man carefully to determine what he can about the trader.

“Maybe you're right, the Master Chief certainly does not trust Rabat, and that in itself is something. Not to mention he seems to know things about men and women we certainly don't know about, with the exception of the Master Chief himself and Cortana as well.”

Hibiki paced back and forth once more for a few more minutes, until he could take it no longer and left the room in order to keep a watchful eye on the trader, which the Spartan himself was doing at the very same moment.

**************

Elsewhere…

Rabat had set up shop and was already collecting quite an amount of credits from the women as he plied his wares before them, Meia looked on in wariness as she didn't like the way her crew members were fawning over the goods Rabat brought with him, along with the things he spoke of about his knowledge of men and women. His charm was considerable…but her years on the streets of Megele told her that underneath all that charm, there was something very suspicious about the man.

She turned her attention to the women who were NOT affected by Rabat's charm were members of the Spartan's Fire Teams, who while not in their Marine Body Armor and their uniforms and in their usual Megele garb kept a safe distance from the trader. She had to admit that she could tell that they were interested in the jewels, but their respect for their commander and their notice of his suspicions towards Rabat made them very cautious and wary of the trader as they knew that their commander did not trust him.

And speaking of the Spartan, he arrived with Cortana in tow as the two of them looked at Rabat as he still went on with his work. Meia walked over to the two and said her piece.

“I don't trust him at all.”

“Join the club…that guy spells snake to me…and he's becoming a serious problem.”

Cortana said with certainty as she kept an eye on the trader, while John himself kept his hands clenched and unclenched them once every so often. It was then that the Spartan spoke to Meia and the others as he studied the man.

“I was watching his ship during the battle…he wasn't even surprised when the Harvesters attacked, and he didn't even come to help out, but merely observed the whole thing, as if he had seen this before. He knows something about the Harvesters…he's trying to hide it from us.”

He then turned to Cortana when he spotted the normally level-headed Parfet buy some of the wares Rabat had, and those were engine parts and power couplings. He even saw Paiway trying makeup on, and Rabat saying she should wait a few more years before she tried it on. His main concern however were the parts that Parfet had bought, this guy was trouble and he was up to something and the Spartan wanted EVERYTHING that guy sold to be properly inspected, and engine parts were certainly of great concern to him.

“Better head back into the bridge and try to access Rabat's ship, namely the data archives…we need to find anything that can shed more light on him.”

“On it john.”

With that, Cortana left the scene and headed for the bridge, while Hibiki arrived on the scene and then was approached by the Spartan.

“Keep an eye on him Hibiki, and keep you're cool when you follow him…if he tries anything, contact me and the Fire Teams ASAP.”

“Where are you going?”

“I sent Cortana to try and infiltrate the data archives of Rabat's ship…I need to know just who this rat is. Until then, you keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't try anything to endanger anyone on the Nirvana. Is that clear?”

Hibiki nodded and as soon as Rabat made his way around the ship, the Tarak teen followed him, while the Spartan moved back to the UNSC section to make sure that he could lock down the place…no way was he going to let Rabat sneak into the Forward Unto Dawn and steal it's secrets.

**************

Later…

Rabat shook his head a bit as he entered the Hanger bay on the men's side of the ship. He had tried to see the rest of the ship, but one section appeared to be on lock-down and he couldn't access it for some reason. The trader also made a note to avoid the Commander, the one named Buzam A Calessa…something about the statuesque silver haired woman seemed off…he ran into her when she had been in the hanger where his ship was at the very moment. She appeared to be examining the ship that he owned, and when he tried to distract her, he felt something different and as such backed away from her.

As he arrived, he spotted the Vanguard owned by Hibiki, his eyes lightened as he knew that this Vanguard was the key to the whole transformation and could very well be the mother lode he was looking for, though he would still need to get into the Vanguard's cockpit to see just what was the systems on the Vanguard in order for him to find out just how that transformation worked.

However, as he made his way closer to the Vanguard…some else came on the scene…

**************

In the holo-tank on the bridge…

Cortana looked through the data archives in Rabat's ship. The UNSC AI had to admit that while the guy did have some good encryption systems, but nothing that she couldn't bypass. Even though she had been given a human body, Cortana had been given a considerable boost in her abilities, both in her human form and in her AI form, in her human form, she had better physical abilities and was somewhat stronger and faster, though not in the same degree as the Master Chief…John, for that matter. And her abilities as a smart Ai had improved exponentially while in her AI form, allowing her to bypass and override systems with far greater ease and precision than she did in the past.

As she scanned the information, it didn't take very long for her to find out about Rabat's true nature and his business dealings. And the woman was far from pleased as she read all the data that she could find. It turned out Rabat sold bootleg junk and stolen parts, the man once sold faulty parts to several ships, and no doubt had caused serious damage to the said ships in question, he sold already worthless supplies to people and swindled them out of their money…and more, he had shady dealings with arms dealers and who knew what else. One was for sure…this Rabat was not a man that they should associate with.

< This guy's nothing but a con artist, rat, and parasite…I can't believe we ever let him on this ship!>

She then found a hidden file and quickly began to hack her way into the insides…what she found were payments, amounts, checks, and charts…navigational charts.

<What the heck are these? They seem to be the kind used by prospectors…but there's no way this guy's a miner...let alone a scout…>

It was when she dug deeper that she realized that the charts were of worlds that have already barren…but according to the data records, the planets used to have flourishing civilizations of humans, but as she played the time frame, the planets were somehow stripped clean of life and were reduced to being barren wastelands.

<My God…Rabat's nothing but a traitor! A traitor to the whole human race! But for whom is he working for?!>

She dug in deeper and found the last file…titled…special clients. The file was protected…even more so, but she bypassed it and when she read the files, and cross checked the information carefully and when she found out just who was Rabat working for…she felt a new emotion…

Rage…

<YOU VILE BASTARD!!!!>

Cortana wasted no time as she copied all the data into her memory core and then made her way to the UNSC section. The Master Chief was bare of his Mjolnir Mark VI Armor and was busy locking down the storage unit to store the Armor when Cortana showed up on one of the nearby holo-tanks.

The Spartan could tell that the information that Cortana had recovered was serious and when he saw the data and Cortana told him everything…he clenched his fists tightly and spoke only a few words.

“That traitor is leaving this ship now…even if I have to throw him out.”

**************

Hibiki managed to follow Rabat's trail and when he spotted Rabat, his blood boiled even further as he found the trader trying to get into his Vanguard and what was worse…was the fact that Rabat was trying to charm Dita.

“Come on, can I just take a peek?”

“No! This is Mr. Alien's partner!”

“Please?”

“I said no! No one but Mr. Alien can pilot it so leave it alone!”

“Aw come on, I'm not going to steal it little missy.”

“I said no…”

“Geez you're stubborn, look, he's a man of Tarak as far as I've heard and he doesn't like women, so why don't you just let me take a peek? I promise I won't break it.”

“No!”

Rabat leaned down and was going to try once more, but something inside Hibiki was boiling real hot. The guy's actions were sickening to him and the way he was trying to win Dita over were even worse. Hibiki didn't know why, but the thought of Rabat laying a finger on Dita was enough to get him even more angry, he still didn't know why he felt this way and why he was becoming defensive about Dita, but he was not going to tolerate this anymore as he stepped forward and called Rabat's attention.

“Hey you!!!”

Rabat turned and gave a slight snort as he spotted Hibiki, who was bare of his armor and his weapons. Dita spotted Hibiki and she suddenly felt elated that Hibiki was in the same room as her, when Rabat began to charm her in order to get his hands on Hibiki's Vanguard, she resisted and was not going to let it happen.

“Mr. Alien!”

“Step away from that guy…”

As Dita stepped away from Rabat, the trader turned and gave Hibiki a look of arrogant smugness.

“Who are you to tell her who to associate with kid? As far as I knew, both you and her are supposed to be enemies.”

“That's none of you're business you dirty rat!”

Rabat laughed a bit at that and replied.

“That's all you can come up with tiny?”

Hibiki however kept his cool and then tightened his fists and shouted back at Rabat.

“I don't like you…period, and the Chief certainly doesn't like you either, he doesn't trust you…more so than me, so I suggest you quit acting like you're some big-shot around here and get off this ship….even if I have to be the one to toss you're stinking hide out the nearest airlock!”

Rabat gave up the smile and gave a dark glare at Hibiki and got into a serious posture.

“You know something kid…you've got a very big mouth and you've been quite an annoyance to me ever since I met you.”

“The feeling's mutual.”

“Hah, tell you what then, you want me gone from the ship and to leave you're partner and you're female friend here…then why don't you try and beat me in a fight. If you, by some chance manage to hit me with enough hits, then I'll consider leaving the ship, if I beat you until you can't stand up, then you leave me alone…deal?”

Hibiki knew that he was in a bit of a bind as Rabat was stronger, taller, and no doubt more skilled than he was since he had previous experience, but he was challenged and as a man of Tarak, he was bound to answer the challenge, if he didn't it would be a blow to his pride and his honor as a man, yet he had to be cautious in this situation since this was going to be a fight for real and one mistake could spell danger, defeat, or worse…

Rabat decided to finally goad Hibiki and give him the pummeling he felt this loud-mouth kid deserved and he was going to enjoy this.

“Well come on…unless you actually got some guts in you, you had better throw the first blow…or are you too much of a loud-mouth with no real guts…you snot nosed brat.”

That got Hibiki's goat as he charged right at Rabat, forgetting for a moment his training as he made his plan to finally make Rabat eat the arrogant attitude he had on him and make him pay for trying to think he can just waltz into the Nirvana and try to play the kind man when he was a liar, cheat, and worse.

Rabat smiled slightly as Hibiki charged as he readied his trap for the young man, this was going to be an easy fight since that brat lost it and was charging at him like some rookie who never even got into a serious fight, and he was going to enjoy this. He then made a special signal with his eye behind the eye-patch.

Hibiki had no time to react as the eye-patch suddenly unleashed a powerful and blinding flash of light that forced him to stop and close his eyes, slowing Rabat the chance to go in and slam his knee right into Hibiki's stomach, making the boy shout in pain and surprise as he was hit hard. Hibiki barely had time to react and clear his vision when Rabat launched a punch combination, one to his side and another to his face…forcing Hibiki back to his knees.

Rabat grinned as he got ready to attack once more, and Dita cried out in fear for Hibiki and she felt this desire to cry for Hibiki and try to stop this, as Rabat was about to kick Hibiki, she was about to rush in and stop this mess, but Hibiki was not going to stop, he knew that Dita would get hurt if she tried to interfere and the last thing he wanted was for her to be hurt. Rabat might have caught him off guard, but that was going to be the last time he was going to make the same mistake.

He blocked the kick and from his position on the floor launched a kick of his own that caught Rabat off guard and the blow slammed right into the trader's gut, forcing Rabat to lean forward, Hibiki then fired a rabbit punch that struck Rabat right on the neck, making the trader gag as he moved back, Rabat growled as he recovered his breath and launched out another punch and Rabat was able to dodge the attack and recalled his lessons from the Master Chief as he closed in and used the punch's own momentum to strike at a nerve cluster on Rabat's arm, causing the trader to feel a fire-storm of pain and the Tarak teen used his smaller size to move behind Rabat and kick Rabat on the back of his knees, forcing the trader to his knees and allowed Hibiki to get some distance from Rabat.

<Damn that brat! I'll get him for that!!!>

Rabat got to his feet and growled as he launched several attacks at Hibiki, the Tarak teen used his training to equalize as he dodged, evaded, and blocked the incoming attacks, but he still knew that while he was stronger and faster than he was before he took the training the Spartan had given him, he was still outmatched in sheer strength and size by the trader. And that was proven true as he managed to block a punch, but Rabat then grabbed his tunic and punched him hard on the chest and the trader tossed him aside. Hibiki was hurt badly, but he could tolerate it due to the same training he had been given by the Spartan.

He evaded another knee strike and used it to his advantage as he used the knee to move him upward and he connected his knee to Rabat's chin, making the trader's teeth slam together, and making him bleed, the Tarak teen than launched an elbow strike to Rabat's nose, making it bleed, but Rabat recovered and landed his own elbow to Hibiki's shoulder, injuring the young man and sending Hibiki to the floor, and Rabat kicked him hard…forcing Hibiki to slide to the floor as he held his ribs from the pain, but he glared defiantly at Rabat. Rabat was really angry as he approached Hibiki, the boy proved to be a good fighter, but the trader was angry now and vowed to really make Hibiki pay for those attacks as he drew out a pair of knuckles made from hard metal and vowed to make the boy bleed badly.

“STOP IT! LEAVE MR. ALIEN ALONE!!!!”

Dita rushed up to stop Rabat as she held Hibiki, she knew that what she was doing was very dangerous and she could very well be hurt, but she was not going to let Mr. Alien get hurt even more by this man who truly proved to worthy of Mr. Green Alien's distrust.

“No! Stay behind me!”

Hibiki didn't know why, but he was not going to let Dita get hurt by anyone, namely by the bastard before him…despite the pain on his ribs he moved to stand and shielded Dita from possible harm. The teen didn't know why he was doing this, but he didn't care…and this was his fight, he didn't want Dita to be hurt and to interfere as well. Rabat looked on and snorted at the two of them.

“Don't worry, this will all be over brat.”

As he launched an attack with the knuckles he felt that one good clean blow was all he needed to finally make this punk suffer for having such a big mouth…however his attack didn't connect with Hibiki's face and his arm with the knuckles appeared to be in the grip of something that resembled a high powered vice…no matter how he tried to move his arm to strike at Hibiki, he couldn't even move a millimeter at all. He turned and found himself staring at a man with deep green eyes who seemed to be as pale as snow itself and was as tall, or slightly taller than he was…the guy liked to be a cross between his own build and that of a gymnast, but there was no mistake the strength this guy had as no matter how hard Rabat tried to move his arm…he couldn't even budge an inch.

The man was wearing a black tank top and grey military pants with boots and was pale skinned all over, but the thing that got Rabat's attention was the aura of zero emotion, calm, efficiency, precision, power, and more…there was something dangerous and lethal about this guy. But what really got Rabat surprised was the fact that he had never seen this guy before, ever since he boarded the ship, he had never met this guy before, and that was what really worried him. The trader managed to get some breath and spoke to the new arrival.

“Who are you? I don't recall meeting you before?!”

The pale skinned man then replied.

“You and I have already met Rabat…I was the one who had that Assault Rifle on you're throat.”

That was enough to jog the trader's memory as he recalled facing that green and black armored giant of a man with the golden visor, and his sense of uncertainty returned and he now knew that this was not going to be a good situation. The now unarmored Spartan glared at Rabat coldly and then with a near negligent toss of his hand, sent the trader a few feet away.

Rabat groaned as he got to his feet, still surprised that this guy could toss him at least six feet away with just that casual toss. He then decided that maybe the guy was just lucky and without that battle-suit of his, he could even up the odds with the Master Chief once and for all. The Spartan however was not in the mood to play games today however as Cortana had told him everything there was to Rabat that she had been able to dig up on him.

“You're leaving this ship right now.”

“And for what reason is that? I just want to settle accounts with that kid who's not stopped disturbing me and butting into my business.”

The trader said as several more members of the Nirvana came on the scene to witness just what was going on with Rabat, the Master Chief, Dita and Hibiki. Even the Captain and the Commander were there as well, along with members of the Nirvana Fire teams, the Security Teams, and the Dread Squadrons, including Meia, Barnette, and Jura.

“You're nothing but a gutless parasite who sells bootleg junk and you con people out of their own hard earned savings, you feed on the misery and sufferings of others for your own benefit…you don't deserve to be called a human being, but a parasite in human skin. I've seen the records of all you're dealings in faulty equipment, expired supplies, fake materials, and stolen goods Rabat.”

The trader and con artist looked on in anger as the Spartan spoke the truth, though how he found out about the things he did were a serious concern for him. He however was not going to be intimidated this time.

“Who do you think you are to try and tell me how to do my business?”

“Does you're business include selling out other human worlds to be Harvested Rabat?”

THAT got the attention of everyone on the Nirvana right off the bat as they all looked at Rabat and the Spartan, wondering just what John was talking about. Rabat had a sinking feeling in his gut and tried to keep a cool head as he spoke once more.

“I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“Don't even think you can lie to me…I looked at the data in you're ship that I had Cortana retrieve while it was in dry dock and we copied ALL the information in them…including the data concerning you're special clients, the ones who pay you a huge bounty for every human world you visit…and not just to trade… no doubt…but to assess their offensive and defensive capabilities, their standing forces, and how many viable individuals there are on each world…no doubt you even try to get the locations of their home planets…all for you're clients who pay for the information and charts you give them.”

Rabat remained silent as Magno and Buzam stepped forward and revealed themselves to the Spartan and the trader. And the older woman was the first to speak.

“What sort of information are you talking about John?”

“Who are these clients of Rabat anyway?”

Buzam asked as well. The Spartan then took out a data pad as Cortana arrived and glared at Rabat with intense…almost visceral hatred…totally unlike the normally witty and friendly woman, and that was in itself very much unexpected to the rest of the crew on the Nirvana as they had never seen Cortana this angry before. John then answered the questions given to him both Magno and Buzam.

“I had Cortana access Rabat's data archives while he was here to get all I could about him. She found that this guy sells worthless junk and faulty parts whenever he lands on other worlds. And like I said he gets all the credits he can from those people to line his own pockets…but the real money he gets is from selling those planets and their people out…to the Harvesters. This gutless parasite of a trader is also a mercenary spy working for the very same aliens who are harvesting human worlds Captain…and no doubt you've been gathering data on this ship and the crew as well…so you can sell them to the Harvesters for the highest bidder.”

The reaction of the crew was a mix of utter shock, horror, and outrage that this man before them would willingly work out a deal with the ruthless and inhuman Harvesters, resulting in worlds being harvested and he did it all just for money. The room was now filled with the emotions of anger as all of the crew looked at Rabat with intense hatred and disgust…several members of the Fire Teams and the Security Teams wasted no time and aimed either Laser Rings or Laser Rifles at Rabat, while Jura took out her sword, Barnette took out her Glock 9, Meia aimed her laser ring and Buzam took out her whip as the pirates all were itching to execute Rabat for this genocidal treachery.

Magno read the data and found the information to be totally authentic and she knew that since Cortana was truly loyal to humanity and the same could be said for John, there was no reason for either of them to lie about this. Her gaze hardened like cold, solid steel on Rabat as she put the data -pad down.

“You've worn out you're welcome here Rabat…before you get yourself disintegrated here and now, you had better leave.”

Rabat tried to come up with a defense but saw that the jig was up and he would be killed, but before that was going to happen, he was going to make the man before him pay, and without his battle-suit, it would be easier before he escaped to his ship since he had more than enough tricks on how to escape. He reached for a flash grenade that he had in his pouch…but he couldn't be prepared for what was about to happen.

The Spartan rushed Rabat at high speed and grabbed Rabat's arm as he reached for the grenade and he launched out a powerful punch to Rabat's stomach, and followed with a kick to the side and a punch to the side of the face…and all three attacks were at the span of a tenth of a second. Rabat was then tossed by the Spartan and he flew into the air…and slammed hard into several containers with a loud smash…and the sound of flesh hitting metal was heard as Rabat hit the wall as well.

Seeing how fast the Spartan could move and attack at such a short frame of time made the pirates gap in awe and shock as the Master Chief didn't even flinch or show any exertion, it was as if the whole attack was effortlessly done by a machine. The Spartan then slowly made his way to where Rabat had landed as Rabat struggled to get to his feet.

Rabat spat out a gout of blood hard as he tried to breath, but he felt like he had been hit by a massive wrecking hammer three times. As he tried to breath, he felt his lungs spasm and his ribs move in a very unsightly way, plus he felt as if he had been run over as his organs made a symphony of pain that he never heard of before, along with his spine as if it had been broken in half. He felt something in his mouth and spat out another large gout of blood and this time it had four of his molars in it and his jaw felt like they had been hit with a shot-gun at point blank range. His entire body felt like it was going to break in half…and all from just three attacks!!!!

Rabat managed to get himself to his feet, but he slipped and barely evaded a punch coming his way from the Spartan and heard the sound of steel being bent hard over him since the containers he had smashed into were near a wall when he looked to the wall and his eyes widened as he saw a deep impression of a fist in the wall…nearly two to three inches deep in the steel and he looked to find the fist belonging to the Spartan…and what was even more terrifying was the fact that despite having a cut on the hand and some blood on that hand of his…the man wasn't even showing any discomfort or pain in the least…the con artist and Harvester spy could see no emotion on the guy's face, nothing…he was totally emotionless, and not a single flicker of pain was on his face…like a machine. A machine in human form…

He didn't need to know that the blow was right where his head had been…if the fist had indeed connected to him…it would have splattered his head like a rotten melon being crushed by a sledge hammer at high speed…and that made him even more terrified of the man before him

< MY GOD….WHAT THE HELL IS THIS GUY?!?!?!?!>

John-117 looked at Rabat as he pulled his fist back…the pain he had barely phased him as he had felt far worse than this little gash and due to his bones being grafted by advanced ceramics and his nerves being altered, there was nothing wrong with his arm…he didn't care about the bleeding as he looked at Rabat with the same emotionless, calm, and deadly stare, but with a slight hint of contempt. He then grabbed Rabat's tunic and lifted the man as if he was nothing more than a feather pillow…and slammed him into the wall once more.

Unknown to Rabat, the Spartan used only his weakest attacks, but there were those who had seen the videos of his tests and knew that even the Spartan's weakest attacks could already send any normal man into the ICU of a hospital for months or even years of recovery, and for Rabat to get only the weakest attacks meant that the Spartan was giving him a very fair warning…as warnings go.

John-117 then spoke in the same cold and emotionless tone to the man he had in his grip.

“You have fifteen seconds to get off this ship and never come back traitor…because if you come back, if you dare show you're face on the Nirvana, and try to charm or harm it's crew…”

The Spartan moved like lightning and then gripped Rabat by the throat with his slightly bleeding hand and nearly chocked the trader…Rabat felt as if his throat was in a vise as the Spartan's grip was powerful enough to crush bone and bend steel like it was soft wax…The Spartan then spoke in the same cold and emotionless tone and gave the trader a very icy and serious threat…or a promise.

“I'll kill you.”

With that, the Spartan dropped Rabat, who managed to get his breath back and looked at the Spartan who still retained his icy cold visage and showed that even without his weapons and armor…taking this guy head on was an open invitation to a slow and extremely painful execution. The Spartan then added another threat that made it very clear to Rabat that he was not lying if he said he would kill him.

“And if you and I meet again…you're a dead man.”

It was then that Utan appeared, while chasing Pyoro who managed to make his way free of the female orangutan. The female creature then spotted Rabat in his bloody and battered state and rushed to his aid and with her help…he got to his feet, and as he made his way to the ship he gave on last look at Hibiki who was also being supported by Dita who glared back at him defiantly. The trader looked back at the Spartan and vowed silently to have his revenge on the Spartan no matter what.

**************

Later…

The Nirvana was moving along slowly after a few hours. Parfet was happy that Cortana had found out that the parts were false and she was able to remove them before they caused damage to the Nirvana, but the work took a long time and Rabat had been able to escape. The Spartan told the captain to let Rabat leave for now…as Cortana had copied Rabat's ship's transponder codes and she could be able to keep track of him no matter what. They had other matters to deal with than chasing him about, and the Spartan made it clear that he was going to keep his promise to kill Rabat if he ever saw him again.

Hibiki winched as he was being treated by Duero of his injuries from his fight with Rabat, but the Tarak teen sucked it up as the Spartan entered the room wearing his Mjolnir Mark VI, along with Dita and Cortana. The teen looked at his commanding officer and mentor and smiled a bit.

“Hello Chief.”

“How are you feeling?”

“I'm okay, all things considered, Duero said my wounds will heal soon so I'll be back and about in a few days.”

Cortana smiled at that.

“You did real good out there Hibiki, even if Rabat was stronger and had an edge you gave him a good piece of you're mind…plus you're helping of Dita from that situation was very brave.”

Hibiki didn't know what to say at first, being praised by a woman was unheard of on Tarak, but he felt thankful that Cortana was giving him her sincere thanks as he knew that Cortana would not lie about those words in the least. He scratched his head a bit and gave a slight cheeky smile at the group.

“Aw it was nothing.”

Dita smiled and walked forward hesitantly and twiddled her fingers a bit as she blushed. She never felt this way before, when she saw Hibiki shield her from Rabat despite the risk of him being injured more, and it made her feel something more for her Mr. Alien. She gulped and spoke to Hibiki.

“Th-Thank you for…thank you for saving me Mr. Alien…I'm really sorry you got hurt…”

Hibiki shook his head and replied.

“Don't worry, I'll be up and about soon enough…though I'll need to be in bed for a bit.”

“Then I can take care of you!”

“Huh?”

“I'll bring you food and keep you company until you're better Mr. Alien, I want to help you get better so you can beat those bad aliens!”

With that, Dita hugged Hibiki, but gently as well and that made Hibiki blush bright red for some reason…all the while, Cortana and John looked on…with the former Ai smiling warmly while the Spartan merely looked on…his face hidden by his helmet and visor.

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In another part of space…

“THAT BASTARD, THAT WITCH, AND THAT BRAT WILL PAY FOR THIS!!!!”

Rabat swore as he his medical scanners finished their work and told him the extent of his injuries. The injuries from the brat were somewhat painful, some bleeding in the inner mouth and a bleeding nose, he was not happy that he got these injuries from a brat who was smaller than him…but the Spartan's attacks were the worst he had so far. He had seven broken ribs that thankfully not pierced his organs…he had some internal bleeding in the liver and his intestines were also cut, his stomach was badly injured. He had lost some teeth and there were several fractures on his jaw and cheeks from the punch to the face. And the amounts of money he had would not be enough to totally heal those injuries.

To add further insult to injury, Cortana had purged his data archives of information, leaving him with no data to send to his clients, and his accounts were purged clean…leaving him with only change and small bits. This really got him pissed as Cortana had also taken the liberty of dumping all his worthwhile cargo of goods while he was not looking, leaving him with scraps to bargain with…essentially he was now poorer than a mouse.

Hr growled as he took out a medical kit and applied some pain-killers to dull his wounds, but he had to be careful not to aggravate his injuries further. And as he began to patch himself up he recalled that there was one good thing about the whole mess as he reached for a small piece of cloth…that had blood on it…but not his.

He had been able to use a small absorbent cloth to take some of the blood from the cut on the Spartan's arm, it was not much, but it would prove useful in the coming future…for now…he had to rest and recover as he made his way towards another path away from the Nirvana as he placed the cloth in a suspension tank to preserve it and the blood as well.

For now…it was score one for the good guys…but soon, the wheels of fortune will be in his favor and that of his clients.

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To be continued…

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Author's Notes:

This is the end of this chapter and as you can see, Rabat should consider himself lucky that John allowed him to leave alive, but not before giving him a dire threat and promise. And Cortana certainly rubbed coarse salt on the wounds by dumping all of Rabat's cargo and stripping him of his remaining funds.

The reason that Rabat is still around is that he still has a part to play in the story… so killing him now would have been a mistake this early out…but trust me when I say that Rabat is NOT going to get out scot-free just yet and he is going to have his punishment coming to him soon enough. But here's a good question…

What does Rabat plan to do with the blood sample of the Spartan when he gives it to the Harvesters?

We'll just have to wait now won't we?

On the next chapter is yet another filler where the Nirvana once more sends it's Fire Teams on another mission and this time it's going to be one hell of a fire fight as they will now be helping the people of a planet under siege from the Harvesters…and the action is about to go up a notch!

Trailer:

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The soldiers on the ground and in the ruined city were stunned out of their minds as they saw the Spartan do what they thought was impossible…especially given the weapon he was wielding. They had heard they were going to get some back-up. They certainly were not expecting their back-up to be an all female ground strike team with one giant of a man in green and black armor.

“DID YOU SEE THAT?!”

“MY GOD!!!!”

“THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!!”

“HOW DID HE DO THAT?!?!?!? THAT WAS FREAKING AWESOME!!!!”

The Spartan paid little attention to the comments and stares as he hefted the Gravity Hammer and watched as the Harvester forces were thrown once more into chaos…and all from one hammer swing.

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See you on Chapter 11 - Rescue attempt.